From: World Bank president (Mr.David Robert Malpass) Date: Tue, May 24, 2022 at 2:59 PM Subject: PLEASE REPLY.SO THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE YOUR FUND $1 MILLION U.S. DOLLAR To: -- APPROVED REFUND OF FUNDS THE SUM OF $1 MILLION U.S. DOLLAR Good morning how are you doing I hope all is well this is world bank president I want you to know that today is Tuesday be the first and last day so all you have to do is to try your possible best to send me the Google Play gift card $250 with your home address information so that I will deliver your fund sum of $1 million u.s. dollar to your home address information to them being Tuesday because after today being Tuesday you will not receive your fund $1 million u.s. dollar again so all you have to do right now once you receive this message try your best to look for App Store by the Google Play gift card $250 and send it to me World Bank president (Mr.David Robert Malpass) ( officefill189@gmail.com ) If you received a similar letter, please ignore it. Do not answer it. If you do, you will end up on more of the mailing lists used by the criminals behind this fraud. Read more.... News UNFPA supports care ecosystem for older persons in Vietnam By Azernews By Sabina Mammadli Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov discussed prospects for bilateral relations in energy, trade, economic, information technology, transport and transit, the Foreign Ministry told Azernews. The meeting was held during Bayramovs official visit to the country. Welcoming Azerbaijan's top diplomat, the Bulgarian prime minister stressed the importance of the visit, noting Azerbaijan's assistance to the country in the energy sector at a very important time for Bulgaria. Further, he emphasized the role of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in this context, adding that Azerbaijan is a reliable partner. For his turn, Bayramov noted high-level political ties between the two countries accompanied by dynamic economic development. The two men added that the conduct of a meeting of the Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria, slated for 2022, will contribute to the further expansion of economic ties. Further, Bayramov informed Petkov about the post-conflict situation in the region, the restoration and reconstruction carried out in the liberated lands, as well as on the demining processes, and the peace-building steps taken by the Azerbaijani government. The sides also discussed regional issues, ties in education, culture, tourism, and other topics of mutual interest. In a similar vein, on May 31 the Azerbaijani minister and his Bulgarian counterpart Teodora Genchovska also discussed the prospects for the development of relations in the energy sector, as well as in transport, information and communication technologies, agriculture, tourism, humanitarian and other fields. Genchovska stressed the importance of the visit, which took place on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Further, she expressed satisfaction with the development of cooperation between the two countries over the past 30 years in a number of areas, including energy, transport and communications, tourism and others. Noting the symbolism of holding the meeting on the eve of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations, Bayramov stressed that relations between the two countries are developing in the spirit of respect for the principles of international law and mutual understanding. He added that the high-level political dialogue between the two countries is accompanied by positive dynamics in the economic sphere. Minister Genchovska expressed Bulgaria's readiness to contribute to the demining process carried out by the Azerbaijani government. After the meeting, the parties got acquainted with the exhibition dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and made statements to the press. Dozens of St. Vincent Health and Ascension Health workers in Indiana who were suspended without pay for not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine are asking a federal court to open a class action lawsuit. The 64 workers claim the hospital network discriminated against them because they objected to the vaccine on religious grounds. "Ascension Health established a coercive process calculated to force healthcare workers and staff to abandon their religious objections to the COVID-19 vaccination and receive the vaccination against their will," the lawsuit claims. Ascension Health owns St. Vincent Health. In July 2021 Ascension Health announced a requirement that its associates had to get the COVID-19 vaccination by November. There are roughly 14,700 associates in Indiana. More: Indiana St. Vincent hospitals will require associates to be vaccinated against coronavirus Ascension Health said in a July news release that "tens of thousands" of its workers had already been vaccinated. "But we must do more to overcome this pandemic as we provide safe environments for those we serve," the release stated. Like other hospital networks in Indiana, St. Vincent Health allowed workers to get an exemption if the vaccine conflicted with religious beliefs or medical conditions. But the 64 workers who filed the lawsuit Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana say St. Vincent Health and its parent company "failed to individually and properly assess each application for religious exemption." A St. Vincent Health spokesperson declined to speak about the allegations, saying they are not able to comment on pending litigation. IndyStar also requested comment from Ascension Health. "Ascension Healths pressure tactics involved delaying final decisions on requests for religious exemptions and denying applications for exemption within time frames that gave applicants little time after denial to consider options other than vaccination," the lawsuit claims. Story continues More: Hospitals offer exemption for COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Many employees took it. As a result, the plaintiffs were suspended without pay from Nov. 12 until Dec. 17. They were originally told they'd be fired Jan. 4 if they didn't get the vaccine, the lawsuit claims, but around Dec. 17 the hospital network began telling people who claimed religious exemptions that they could return to work. The workers are asking the federal court to find that the hospital network violated federal discrimination law, and to order the hospital network to pay them for the time they spent out of work. They're also requesting financial compensation for the alleged harms. While the lawsuit lists 64 plaintiffs, lawyers estimate that hundreds more may have been affected. Not the first lawsuit against St. Vincent Attorneys leading the class action lawsuit filed a similar lawsuit against Ascension Health and St. Vincent Health in November on behalf of five workers who said their religious exemption requests were denied. The five workers asked the same federal court to force St. Vincent Health to let them return to work. More: Indiana bill proposal seeks ivermectin as COVID treatment. Why pharmacists are up in arms In December, four of those employees were told they could return to their jobs. The fifth worker in that lawsuit pediatric critical care physician Dr. Paul Halczenko was not allowed to return to his job at the Peyton Manning Children's Hospital in Indianapolis because St. Vincent Health said the threat posed by an unvaccinated associate who works with acutely ill pediatric patients posed too great of a risk. Under federal discrimination law, businesses do not have to accommodate religious exemptions if they can show that such an accommodation could place undue hardship on their business. More: End of Indiana's public emergency in sight after Senate OKs bill limiting vaccine mandates One claim from the doctor was that his specialized medical skills would deteriorate if he was not allowed to practice. Federal Judge James Patrick Hanlon still denied Halczenko's request. "The harm that Dr. Halczenko has sufficiently established atrophy in his medical skills during the pendency of this case may constitute a high hurdle in his career's future, but not irreparable injury," Hanlon wrote. Halczenko appealed. His case is now in front of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The lawsuit filed Friday is against 21 defendants, including St. Vincent Health and Ascension Health as well as their facilities in Indianapolis, Carmel, Anderson, Evansville, Williamsport, Kokomo, Boonville, Bedford and Fishers. Read the legal complaint here. Call IndyStar courts reporter Johnny Magdaleno at 317-273-3188 or email him at jmagdaleno@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @IndyStarJohnny This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana St. Vincent workers who declined COVID-19 vaccine sue hospital Memorial Day is a time to remember and honor those who have given their lives in service to their country. And on May 30, a crowd gathered at the Library Park veterans promenade to do just that. A brief ceremony, sponsored by the Exchange Club of Mooresville-Lake Norman, in conjunction with the town of Mooresville, was held at the park with John Gallina, co-founder and CEO of Purple Heart Homes in Statesville, serving as the speaker. Gallina said: As a combat veteran, I can tell you, the bombs are still bursting, the rockets still put off a red glare, our flag is still standing because of the people that arent able to be here today. And thats what today is about, not about the veterans, not about the barbecues, not about going out on the lake, but its about taking the time to remember those that paid a price in order for us to live a better life. Noting how easy it is to just walk past one another aimlessly or respond on social media to things that are shared, he challenged each one there to truly see and understand the needs of others. I believe that as we take time and we pause to pay our respect and honor those that went before us, I think if they could speak to us, they would challenge us to do more to help each other and those that are still here, Gallina stressed. They would challenge us to get out of our comfort zone, to have greater understanding and empathy for those that are around us in need. Thats a part of forming that more perfect union. Its the responsibility of the people, not the government, he continued, to honor those left behind and those that are suffering. Countless Americans are suffering from post-traumatic stress. Countless Americans just need to be loved on, he told the crowd. They just need to know that they matter. That their service mattered. Pointing out that he saw many veterans who came for the event, he said they didnt come for themselves but to remember and honor someone else. Bill Sawyer, of Mooresville, was one such veteran who noted that the day was to remember others. He shared that he served in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968, and with emotion he added, where we lost 58,000 people. Sawyer said that being able to be at the ceremony means we have the ability at this time every year to recognize all those lost souls who served our country. Over 2.8 million Americans have died, Gallina said with emotion. Its really hard to even fathom. I think of just the seven that I know that I served with, but 2.8 million have died so that we can gather here today. So when you go home today, think of how we can just repay a portion of those acts of honor and courage and sacrifice of service by doing something for somebody thats still here. Freedom and being able to attend a ceremony on this day was what veteran Kerry Murdock noted. A Vietnam veteran, having served in the Army in 1968 and 1969, he said, I think it means were free to come to a ceremony like this. In addition to Gallina, Mooresville Mayor Miles Atkins shared a few words and read the towns proclamation for Memorial Day. He thanked the veterans who have served, but, he noted, we are here to honor and remember those that weve lost. The proclamation began by noting that the day was a national event and is a solemn reminder that free is never free. It is a moment of collective reflection on the noble sacrifices of those who gave their last measure of devotion and service for our ideals and in defense of our nation. Marlo Mikeal, co-chair of the Exchange Clubs Americanism Committee, welcomed everyone and shared a few words, noting that Memorial Day has a special place in her heart personally. An Air Force veteran, she shared that she and her children are a Gold Star family, having lost her husband while he serving this country. Remembering the lost loved ones, she said, is what this day is all about. My hope is that you will spend at least part of this day not only remembering and cherishing the memories of those whove served our great nation, but if possible taking time to reach out to a family member and sharing a story of their loved one or just letting them know you are thinking about the loved one because its in those memories that that person still lives, she continued. John Liburdi, of Mooresville, a retired Air Force colonel who served 40 years active duty six in the Navy and 34 in the Air Force was at the event. Assigned overseas 26 years and also aboard ship, Liburdi noted he was telecommunications and information systems, computer network manager overseer. He noted that being at the ceremony was an opportunity to pay my respects as the rest of the community is doing to all those who served and also made the ultimate sacrifice for their country and I think this is a wonderful manifestation during very turbulent times in the world and also in our society. So I think this is a good thing for everybody. Others participating in the special Memorial Day ceremony included Cotton Ketchie, who shared the invocation; veterans Kathleen Green and Ralph Dagenhart, who presented the colors as well as conducting a ceremonial folding of the flag; Kaci Everhart, who sang the national anthem; and Tristin Sneary, who carried a specially made wreath to honor those who have fallen and placed it near the podium after which he played taps, bringing the ceremony to a conclusion. The day started out like any other for Ethan Beam. He got ready for work, albeit running a little behind, and set off for the drive to Boone on N.C. 181. Its a commute he makes nearly every working day, save for the occasions he opts to take U.S. 321 instead. But that commute took a turn for the worst when he saw a truck hauling canisters filled with different gases bearing down on him. I had like a little premonition that something was about to happen, Beam said. About that time, I seen him coming around the curve in my lane and he tipped over, probably two or three car lengths away. That started a dramatic series of events that left Beam with a broken arm. He started to tip and ... like the top of his hood hit the center of my grill, and he just, like, flipped across the top of my truck and down the side of it, Beam said. All I could see for a little bit was mostly glass and smoke, but once everything kind of came to a stop and I actually slid up to a stop, I started seeing all of the gas cylinders theyre spinning around in the road, expelling the gas out of them and theyre taking off, going up under the truck and stuff like that. All I could think was to get out and get away from it. When he could tell the crash was imminent, Beam said he drove his work truck as far off the road as he could get and pulled his legs flush against his seat. That was the only reason that I was able to get my legs free and get out because the floorboard and dash and everything crushed in, Beam said. I visibly knew that my arm was broken. I could see that it was L shaped, it went down to my wrist and then my hand was pointed off to the right. He said he checked to make sure he could feel his toes, wiggling them in his shoes. The dash was pushed down against his knees to the point that he couldnt wiggle his legs, but he was able to get out of the truck by leaving his shoes inside it. When he got out of the truck, he said he dropped to his knees in prayer. I have a little boy due Nov. 4, Beam said. I was just glad to be able to get out, walk away. I was glad I was still able to walk on this earth and, hopefully, be here to see my little boy show up. Trooper J.M. Baker with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol told The News Herald the crash occurred when the truck carrying canisters of gases went into a curve at around 45 mph and went left of center. The suggested speed in that curve was about 20 mph, Baker said. The driver of the truck, Chad Sales, told troopers he thought his brakes went out. Baker said a review of the trucks brakes Wednesday showed they had not been properly maintained and had failed. Sales, of Fletcher, was charged with driving left of center and exceeding a safe speed, Baker said. Beam said he has seen countless wrecks on that stretch of highway, and that he hoped people would pay attention. Just be careful, Beam said. You never know what lays around the next curve. Everybody needs to slow down and just take precautions. Watch out for the motorcycles, theres a lot of motorcycles up there this time of year. The truck Beam was driving the day of the crash, a 2014 Ford F-150, belonged to his company. He said the company asked if he wanted another Ford when they replace the totaled truck. I was like, darn skippy, Beam said. It saved me one time, hopefully the next one will save me again if that was to ever happen again. Chrissy Murphy is a staff writer and can be reached at cmurphy@morganton.com or at 828-432-8941. Follow @cmurphyMNH on Twitter. 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. Cramer Clark of Anaconda ran to the battered F-150 Ford pickup that had careened off Montana 48 Wednesday morning and then rolled. He was shocked to see a woman pinned beneath the truck. I was surprised she was alive, he said later. Brooke Haldane, 19, told Clark she was having trouble breathing because of pressure exerted by the pickups frame. He quickly retrieved a bumper jack and eased the pressure. He said he was afraid to move her because the extent of her injuries was unknown. It was clear shed been ejected from the vehicle when it rolled. Haldane ended up pinned beneath the 1999 Ford in a field along Montana 48 not far from Warm Springs. The Anaconda woman was headed to the Montana State Hospital for work in the kitchen when the accident occurred. Calls to 911 summoned help and police officers and other emergency responders from Anaconda-Deer Lodge County sped to the scene, sirens blaring and lights flashing. Police used wooden blocks to secure the truck frame off the ground and gently moved Haldane to safety and then to a stretcher around 9:15 a.m. She was conscious and talking in a voice barely above a whisper. She was transported to the Community Hospital of Anaconda for treatment of a number of injuries and later released. She was the trucks sole occupant. More than one police officer at the scene said Haldane was lucky to be alive. Dennis and Jennifer Gwin, Haldanes parents, said Wednesday afternoon that they are deeply grateful for the work of the emergency responders and others who helped their daughter. They said her injuries include a hip bone fracture, a fracture on her lower spine and contact burns she suffered when pinned beneath the truck. Love 5 Funny 0 Wow 5 Sad 8 Angry 1 It has been 12 months since the Butte-Silver Bow Veterans Treatment Court started its work and true to its mission, it is changing lives. Nine veterans have been in the intensive program that combines treatment, counseling and accountability. Even with its many challenges, two will graduate soon and the others are on their way. Its just awesome to see them as they come before me now because they have some pep in their step, Butte City Court Judge Jerome McCarthy said Tuesday after a ceremony marking the courts first year. Their color is great, they are smiling, you know, theyre talking about their families, theyre talking about their jobs, theyre excited to live life without being under the influence, McCarthy said. Its fantastic. Its the best part of this job. McCarthy oversees misdemeanor offenders in the program, District Judge Robert Whelan handles felony cases, and a team including prosecutors, veteran mentors, mental-health and addictions counselors, a coordinator and others make it work. Many attended the noon ceremony and reception in Whelans courtroom, as did veterans in the program. Two of them with misdemeanor offenses will graduate soon, the others are progressing and three more are being screened for the program. Veterans courts across the country have proven successful in helping veteran offenders address addictions, serious mental-health problems and often times co-occurring disorders. In Butte, a screening committee identifies veterans who might benefit from the program and as part of their criminal sentences, those offenders are sent to the new court and agree to its standards and commitments. The commitments often include intense supervision, alcohol and drug testing and treatment, mental health services and case management. For 12 to 18 months participants meet with probation officers, police officers, prosecutors and defense attorneys, and they talk weekly with McCarthy or Whelan. Our motto is to leave no veteran behind and because of some very helpful partners, we are able to do that mission every day, Mike Clague, a Navy veteran and prosecutor on the court team, said to about 50 people who attended the event. The partners and supporters include U.S. Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester, the Gianforte Family Foundation, Veteran Mentors, Friends of the Veteran Mentors, the Montana Health Care Foundation, the U.S. Veterans Administration, Justice for Vets, Butte-Silver Bow and the state of Montana. Clague said program coordinator Susanne Clague and veteran mentor coordinator Mike Vincent have played instrumental roles in the court. But the most important partners in the program, he said, are the veterans going through it. Our veteran participants decided that they wanted to change how they were doing things and they put their faith in the Veterans Treatment Court to make sure they would get the help needed to make that change, Mike Clague said. Their closest partners are often their mentors fellow veterans who join them for court sessions and group meetings, and lend encouragement and guidance whenever needed. Mentors know what the veterans have seen, felt and been through because they have been through those experiences too. These bonds allow the mentor to walk the mentee through the courts program in a nonjudgmental way that helps to engage, encourage and empower the veteran to successfully return to his community and family, Vincent said at the ceremony. All our mentors have a shared and deep empathy for veterans. One mentee told me, It means a lot to know I can always call and talk to my mentor, Vincent said, adding that volunteer mentors take our oath of no veteran left behind seriously. Other mentors in the Butte program include Mick Ringsak, Bob Green, Mike Lawson, Ed Kelly, Jack Walsh, Lyndsay Alt, Brian Trudgeon, Pat Mohan, Dan Gardipee and Rocko Mulcahy. Vincent said veterans treatment courts are among advancements we have made in helping veterans since he came home from Vietnam in 1968. Yet there are still vets slipping through the cracks and its our job to find and support them, he said. McCarthy said its a joy to see those in the court literally turn their lives around. The best part of the week is to see these folks just get back to living and seeing their lives change for the better, he said. 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. Butte police reports Change of heart A little after midnight Wednesday, an officer arrived at the Town Pump, 1370 Harrison Ave., to investigate a report of a man who was causing a ruckus and refusing to leave. Michael William Mallo Jr., 33, of Butte, apparently had a change of heart and had already left when the officer arrived. He was found walking along the 1600 block of Elm Street and was taken into custody without incident as he had warrants out for his arrest for felony and misdemeanor counts of criminal contempt. No plates Just after midnight Wednesday, an officer out on patrol noticed a four-wheeler without license plates parked outside of Lucky Charm Casino, 2325 Harrison Ave. Turns out the four-wheeler had recently been reported stolen out of Helena. Timothy James Atkins, 43, of Butte told the officer it was his, but Atkins was taken to jail for felony buying or possessing stolen property. Threatening customers On Tuesday night, officers were called to the Richest Hill Casino, 22 W. Galena St., to investigate a man who reportedly was threatening customers. Terry Felix Hardground, 61, of Butte had already left the casino and reportedly had chased one customer down to the next block. Hardground, who was allegedly intoxicated, was picked up in the 200 block of South Arizona Street and jailed for felony parole violation and the misdemeanor offenses of simple assault and disorderly conduct. Stolen vehicles A 1998 white Chevy GMC pickup was stolen in the 2800 block of Locust Street. It was later discovered in Fargo, North Dakota. A 1999 red Dodge pickup was taken from the 300 block of West Gold Street. A 2002 Polaris 200 Sportsman ATV was taken from the 2700 block of Parrot Street. A 2006 Honda motorcycle was taken from a storage unit on Paxson Street. Crimes and misdemeanors: A mailbox was damaged in the 200 block of Curtis Street A box of power tools that were stored behind Montana Techs Student Union Building was stolen. Stolen were eight Rubber Maid totes of household belongings strapped on a rack of a Jeep Wrangler parked at Super 8, 2929 Harrison Ave. License plates were taken off a Toyota Tacoma parked in the 1300 block of Hobson Avenue. Someone was playing video games too loud in the 200 block of Trinity Loop and a neighbor called police to complain. When an officer arrived at the residence, though, everything was quiet. The passenger-side window of a truck was broken out while parked in the 20 block of North Alabama Street. A call came in about suspicious activity at the U.S. Post Office, 701 Dewey Blvd. According to the caller, a man wearing a black hoodie was walking around the parking lot but when police arrived, they were not able to locate him. Two outdoor cameras, along with camera equipment, were taken from a vehicle parked at Fairmont Hot Springs. Someone spray painted a tarp on Civic Center Road. Garbage was dumped behind the Butte Toyota, 5103 Harrison Ave. A woman reportedly heard four distinct gunshots on Trapper Creek Road, but no patron at the Melrose Bar saw or heard anything. Certainly not the first time, but someone was playing video games again too loudly at a residence in the 70 block of Trinity Loop. When police arrived, not a peep could be heard. An employee at the Town Pump, 3700 Harrison Ave., found a small baggie of suspected methamphetamine and turned it over to the police. A boom box was taken from a building in the 500 block of South Main Street. Graffiti was spray painted on a retaining wall in the rear of Subway, 350 S. Montana St. License plates were taken off a vehicle parked in the 600 block of Utah Avenue. Graffiti was again spray painted, this time on the side of the Mountain View Trinity Methodist Church, 301 N. Montana St. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 11 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 group of Ramsay residents is trying to get construction of a sprawling Loves truck stop halted pending an appeal before the Butte-Silver Bow Zoning Board, but major excavation work is underway at the site 7 miles west of Butte. Residents in the tiny community have been fighting the project for years but have lost several rounds so far, and when Butte-Silver Bow recently issued building permits, contractors on bulldozers and backhoes went to work. Ramsay residents were told two years ago they could appeal decisions on the permits to the Butte-Silver Bow Zoning Board once they were made, and though they did so within days, construction had already started. The residents, through attorneys, sought a stay on the permits from the county and when that was rejected, asked the courts to intervene. State District Judge Robert Whelan in Butte has set a Thursday hearing on the legal request. The Zoning Board will also consider the residents zoning claims sometime this month, but despite those pending matters, work on the project is underway. Ramsay resident Jim Ayres believes Loves purposefully jumped the gun and the county has allowed it. I feel like they (county officials) are going to go, Well, we cant do anything about it now, they have already started and Loves has already spent a bunch of money. We cant stop them now, Ayres said. The Montana Standard reached out to the Oklahoma City-based truck stop giant for comment Tuesday and as of Wednesday afternoon, had not heard back. Loves Travel Stops & Country Stores announced plans to locate a truck stop next to Ramsay in January 2017. It had 410 locations across the U.S. then and now has more than 530 in 41 states, including in Missoula and Hardin in Montana. The one at Ramsay would include a large convenience store, an Arbys restaurant, a casino, a tire shop and parking for at least 110 semis. Numerous Ramsay residents have opposed the project from the start, saying the truck stop will bring traffic, noise, pollution, transients and crime to their quiet community of about 40 houses. But their attempts to thwart the project have failed so far. Butte Silver-Bows Planning Department says Loves met all requirements for recently issued building permits for a convenience store, fuel canopy, diesel fuel canopy and a tire shop, plus an excavation permit. But Planning Director Dylan Pipinich said his staff cautioned Loves about starting construction with an appeal from Ramsay residents pending before the Zoning Board. When we issued the permits, we told Loves, You know, these guys are probably going to appeal, Pipinich said. And when they appealed, we called them and what we told them is, This is at your risk. We will make you put everything back (if you lose). The legal motion filed in District Court asks all building permits be revoked pending a ruling on the appeal before the Zoning Board. The board will consider the appeal sometime this month but a date has not been set. Judge Whelan issued an order last week telling the county to either stay the permits pending a Zoning Board ruling or show cause on Friday why they should not suspend the permits. Kim Wilson Jr., a Helena attorney representing the Ramsay residents, said the limited issue before Judge Whelan is whether the permits under local laws can and should be suspended pending the Zoning Board ruling. The county says the permits have been issued so there are no more proceedings for county officials to stay. Ramsay residents contend the permits can and should be stayed and if Whelan agrees, Wilson said, in theory construction would be stopped for now. From a practical standpoint, he said, residents are justifiably concerned about construction continuing while an appeal is pending. Residents say Ramsay has had zoning regulations on the books for decades that do not authorize a truck stop. They say Butte-Silver Bow changed zoning maps in 2019 based on a crayon drawing, but past maps show the entire complex falls within Ramsay zoning. Because of that, they say, Loves should be required to get a special use permit or some kind of variance to locate there. They tried to make that case to the Zoning Board during a July 2020 meeting but were told their appeal was premature. Board Chairman Dave Wing said the entire discussion that night would be put in the record and if and when a location permit was issued, and Ramsay citizens wanted to appeal, they could argue all of their points then. The county considers the recently issued permits a location permit. We will no doubt hear this again in the future and I will do so with an open mind, Wing said then. Ayres said Tuesday that residents have been banking on that pledge, but now, before they have gotten that hearing, construction has started. I was assuring people out in Ramsay, Weve got our day coming, dont worry about it, he said. I told one lady, You are not going to see anything (construction) this summer. They cant get it going this summer because they just cant. Obviously they can." Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 9 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. Wednesday, June 1 SONGBIRDS TALK A songbirds presentation will be the topic in the Get to Know Your Wildlife Neighbors summer series at 7 p.m. at the Woodson Ranch Waldie-Kanouse Visitor Center, 2 miles northwest of Laurin along the Ruby River. Food and drinks will be served at 5:30 p.m. TREE-PLANTING PROJECT Volunteer tree planters should show up at 9 a.m. or throughout the day for assignments at the Front Street Station, 800 E. Front St. For details, visit http://www.mainstreetbutte.org or Facebook at uptownbutte, or call 497-6464. CLASS OF 61 LUNCH Butte High School class of 61 will meet for lunch at 11:30 a.m. at Christinas Cocina Cafe, 2201 Silver Bow Blvd. CLUBS AND MEETINGS The After Hours Book Club will meet at 6 p.m. at MacKenzie River Pizza to discuss Woman of Troublesome Creek. For details, call 406-723-3361. The Living Word Prayer Group meets at 7 p.m. at Holy Spirit Parish, 4400 Continental Drive. All are welcome. Wii games are played from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Butte Public Library's Teen Zone. Open line dancing is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. above the Scandia Bar, 537 S Main St. For more details, call 415-601-9436. Fine Line Dancers beginner line dance classes are at 6 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 224 W. Park St. The cost is $5 per class. For more details, call 406-498-3903. The Butte Chess Club meets from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Butte Public Library on the first floor, 226 W. Broadway St. All ages and abilities are welcome. The Butte Library has several chess boards or you can bring your own. For details, call the library at 723-3361. Line dancing classes with Colleen Klobucar are from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the YMCA. Members can dance for free. The cost is $5 for non-members. For details, call Colleen at 406-490-6935 or 406-782-1266. Butte sunrise Kiwanis Clubs weekly meeting 7 a.m. at Perkins Restaurant. Guest speakers Frank Grady and Mick Ringsak will talk about the "Visit Veterans program at the Butte Veterans Home. Adult ukulele jam sessions are offered from 6 to 7 p.m. in the ballroom at the Clark Chateau, 321 W. Broadway St. Some ukuleles are provided; other accompanying instruments are welcome. There is a suggested donation of $5 to help support the program. For details, contact Cari Coe, program director at ccoe@bsb.mt.gov or 406-565-5600. The Butte Public Library offers after-school clubs from 4 to 5 p.m. in the teen zone at the library weekdays for teens and tweens. Snacks and materials are provided. For details call the Library at 406-723-3361. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Early in the Covid-19 epidemic, I visited the Bison Range on the Flathead Indian Reservation in northwestern Montana. But the bison didnt get the memo about social distancing. A trio of bull bison each a ton on the hoof fed on bunchgrass. I watched my sons eyes grow wider as one of the bulls approached our truck, as if it might want to rub off its winter coat on the fender. Not long ago, the Bison Range visitor center would have given my family a history of the place by focusing on Theodore Roosevelt, Americas 26th president and founder of the National Bison Range. Now, that story is getting a much-needed makeover. TR still captivates the American imagination, as demonstrated by the recent Ken Burns miniseries on PBS. In particular, Roosevelt has been lionized by conservationists. He helped rescue American wildlife from extinction after the market-hunting bloodbaths of the 1800s, created the first national wildlife refuge, and signed the Antiquities Act that enabled the creation of national monuments. More than any other elected official in U.S. history, he made conservation a household word. Americans were so grateful we carved his face on a mountain. But that ignores the rest of his legacy. Roosevelt was also a white supremacist who believed that whites were meant to rule the world. His views on race warped his policies, both foreign and domestic. Its easy to dismiss this dark side of Roosevelt as reflecting the norm for his era, but he was behind the times even in his times. This contradictory man was someone who knew birds by their songs and wrote bestsellers about the beauty of nature. Yet he also threw around racial slurs and used pseudo-science to justify his racist policies. So, what are we to make of this today? Is TR a hero for being a trustbuster, savior of the Grand Canyon and the egret? Or did he set destructive policies for a century to come? Perhaps both are true. Case in point: The huge bison that thrilled my son. Before 1776, tens of millions of bison roamed North America. But by the time Teddy Roosevelt was a young cowboy in the Dakotas in 1883, only a few hundred animals still lived in Canada and this country, somehow avoiding the mass slaughter that accompanied Manifest Destiny. After Roosevelt shot one of the last lonesome bison, the death is said to have sparked a change in him, spurring him to become a conservationist. But there is more to that story. Indigenous people had created deep cultures of conservation that predated Columbus. In Roosevelts day, tribes were desperate to save the bison and their way of life. It was Indigenous people, such as Sam Walking Coyote and Michael Pablo, who helped rescue a small herd of bison from Saskatchewan, and brought them back to the Flathead Reservation. President Roosevelt also wanted to restore bison, and as president in 1908, he created the National Bison Range by taking 18,500 acres out of the Flathead Indian Reservation. But this action ignored the wishes of the Salish, Pend Oreille and Kootenai people, who had been forced to live there since 1855. Whats more, the bison refuge was run not by the tribes, but by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which mostly inflated Roosevelts role in the story and dismissed those of Native Americans. But history has written a new chapter. Congress in 2020 moved to return management of the Bison Range to the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes, and this May, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland visited the Bison Range to take part in a celebration of that long-awaited change. The return of the Bison Range to the Tribes is a triumph and a testament to what can happen when we collaboratively work together to restore balance to ecosystems that were injured by greed and disrespect, said Haaland at the ceremony. It has taken decades, but a historic wrong has been righted. All we had to do was look honestly at history and one of our conservation heroes. Ben Long is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. He is senior program director at Resource Media in Kalispell. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Germany may offer pensioners 500 euros to spend the winter in Spain The proposal is being suggested as a way to reduce dependence on Russian gas in the cold German winter The president of the Association of Independent Travel Agencies in Germany has put forward a proposition for Germans to save energy and help to reduce the countrys reliance on Russian gas by recommending that pensioners spend the winter in much warmer climes, such as in Spain Marina Linnhoff, the associations president, told the Rheinische Post: Travelling against Putin is better than freezing because of Putin. And, to this end, she proposes that the German government offer every pensioner 500 euros to help them spend the coldest months away from Germany, and instead be in the Canary Islands or other warm places in Spain. The idea of spending the winter in warmer climates should be taken seriously, mainly because it is a way of saving energy that can be used in industry, Linnhoff insisted. The response from German politicians has been very mixed. On the one hand, some are considering making the proposal a reality, while others have rejected it outright. In the latter group is the chairwoman of the Bundestags tourism committee, Jana Schimke, who has warned of the high cost of the measure. She says it would cost around 10 billion euros, a figure that would not compensate for the cost of gas consumption. Spain welcomes German tourists In Spain, however, the proposal has been warmly welcomed. According to Doris Borrego, president of the Canary Islands Holiday Rental Association, bookings for periods of one to three months increased by 20% as soon as Linnhoffs proposal was made public. The German market is the second most important market for the Canary Islands and one of the most loyal. Bookings for next winter have already increased considerably. There are even confirmed bookings for winter 2024/2025, said Ms Borrego. In Mallorca, one of the favourite destinations for Germans, they are keeping their fingers crossed that the measure will go ahead. Maria Gibert, manager of tourist rental association Habtur Balears, said, We have received the news very well. Right now, we have a very promising summer ahead of us, house bookings are at a very high level, over 85% occupancy. The problem is that, in winter, bookings are very low, the figure drops to 20%. The president of the Murcia employers association HoyTu, Jesus Jimenez, is hopeful that the southeastern province of Spain can be one of the German pensioners chosen destination, but stated that it is complicated to compete with Mallorca, because it is [Germans] preferred destination. However, he pointed out that Murcia has an advantage: the average temperature and the days of sunshine , which make it more similar to the Canary Islands. For the moment, the German government has not yet made a statement on the issue. But given the fear of no longer receiving gas from Russia, the government is working on an emergency plan to reduce consumption in industry and households, and further news on the plan will be presented in the coming weeks and months. Image: Archive By Azernews By Vugar Khalilov Azerbaijans convincing victory over Armenia in the 44-day second Karabakh war in 2020 has ushered a new phase in the relations between the two arch-enemies, paving the way for the start of the negotiations for the resolution of the Karabakh conflict. The active military phase of the Karabakh conflict started in late 1988 with outright territorial claims and ensuing military aggression and occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia. However, nearly 30-year-long talks between Yerevan and Baku under the aegis of the OSCE Minsk Group to have the occupied lands liberated peacefully yielded no results and led to the second Karabakh war in September 2020 and consequently the liberation of the Azerbaijani territories. In the early stages of his term in office, the incumbent Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who came to power on the waves of popular protests of 2018, exacerbated the overall picture with his harsh anti-Azerbaijani rhetoric, justifying Armenias occupation of Karabakh and adjacent territories to bolster his popular support. The Armenian leaders inflammatory trips to Karabakh, particularly to the historical Azerbaijani city of Shusha, as well as his declaration that Karabakh - Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory - is part of Armenia, stymied peace talks and forced Azerbaijan into the 44-day war. However, Pashinyan's failure in the war led him to soften his stance and engage in talks in order to improve ties with Azerbaijan and resolve post-conflict concerns. The war came to an end with the signing of the November 10, 2020, trilateral declaration, signed by Azerbaijani, Armenian, and Russian leaders. By the way, the Armenian opposition marched in the streets in Yerevan late that night to protest the signing of the first ceasefire deal with Azerbaijan through the mediation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Armenian opposition demanded Pashinyan's resignation in protest at the "humiliating" truce. The number of demonstrators, however, was not large enough to persuade Pashinyan to quit. Following the snap parliamentary elections, the incumbent prime minister has solidified his position in the National Assembly, winning the majority. Further, important phases of peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia took place in Brussels under the auspices of European Council President Charles Michel, in line with Baku's five key principles, which emphasize the states' territorial integrity, in other words, urges Armenia to give up its territorial claim against Azerbaijan. Following his second meeting with Azerbaijan's president in Brussels, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told the Armenian parliament that the international community wants Armenia to "lower the bar" on its claims to the Karabakh territory. After Pashinyan's address in parliament, in which he advocated for striking a peace accord with Azerbaijan, a wave of demonstrations erupted in Armenia. The current opposition protests are organized by Armenian revanchist forces, led by former Armenian presidents Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan, who are accused of war crimes against innocent Azerbaijani people during the first Karabakh war (1988-1994). The two war criminals were the major instigators of Azerbaijan's Karabakh separatist movement, which brought instability and carnage into the region for over 30 years. The fundamental purpose of revenge-seeking political forces, like Hayastan (Armenia) bloc, the Republican Party, and the Dashnaktsutyun and Motherland is to sabotage peace talks with Azerbaijan, boost their popularity, and regain power in Armenia. "Pashinyan is a traitor," said Ishkhan Saghatelyan, a parliament vice-speaker and one of the opposition leaders, adding that the ongoing public protests will compel the prime minister to resign. The Armenian Hraparak daily reports that the opposition will proclaim the end of the current stage of civil disobedience acts in order to rebrand the political groups, engaged in the campaign. There is a need to introduce new things and new faces, as well as generate fresh scenarios. As a result, a break is required to achieve this goal, according to the daily. The revanchists appear to have been unable to acquire enough public support to realize their objectives, and thus are looking for new instruments to preserve their popularity. In general, whenever there was a glimmer of hope for peace with Azerbaijan, Armenian revanchist parties attempt to disrupt it. The Armenian parliament shooting in 1999, which killed two de facto decision-makers in the country's political leadership - Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan and Parliament Speaker Karen Demirchyan, both of whom were willing to compromise in the Karabakh conflict - is a vivid example of Armenian revanchist groups' anti-peace stance. In the 1999 parliamentary election, the victims' reform-minded alliance secured a majority, thus removing President Robert Kocharyan from the political arena. The shooting resulted in substantial changes in the political landscape of the country, ultimately derailing the negotiations started with Azerbaijan for a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict. Unlike earlier acts of sabotage by revanchist organizations, the present demonstrations in Armenia appear to be unable to mobilize a sufficient number of people to put pressure on the government to halt the peace negotiations with Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, on the other hand, has emphasized several times that his country is prepared for the worst-case scenarios and that Armenia should avoid revanchist rhetoric and remain dedicated to peace discussions. "Revanchist forces that occasionally emerge in Armenia should know that this is the only way out for Armenia and perhaps the last chance," Aliyev said at the 5th Congress of World Azerbaijanis in Shusha on April 22, 2022. By Alex Pologruto | Jun 1, 2022 Mallory Wooldridge, a recently graduated senior from Murray State University, was awarded a study abroad grant worth $1,000 from the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. MURRAY, Ky. Mallory Wooldridge, a recently graduated senior from Murray State University, was awarded a study abroad grant worth $1,000 from the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi the nations oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Wooldridge is one of 125 students nationwide to receive this award. The grants are designed to support undergraduates, both members and nonmembers from campuses that have a Phi Kappa Phi chapter, as they seek expanded knowledge and experience in their academic fields by studying abroad. Wooldridge, from Murray, Kentucky, graduated from Murray State with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish with a German certificate in May 2022. She will use this grant to study abroad at Heidelberg University in Heidelberg, Germany. I am incredibly honored to have received the Phi Kappa Phi Study Abroad Grant, and am thankful for all who supported me through the application process, especially Dr. Roxanne Riegler and Dr. David Pizzo, said Wooldridge. This scholarship will allow me to continue my studies of the German language at Heidelberg University in a German language and culture immersion program. I will study alongside many other international students, allowing me to learn not only about German culture, but also to gain a truly global perspective. The selection process for a study abroad grant is based on the applicants academic achievement, campus and community service, relation of travel to academic preparation and career goals, a personal statement, letters of recommendation and acceptance into a study abroad program. Each recipient receives $1,000 to be applied toward travel abroad. Established in 2001, the Study Abroad Grant Program is part of the Societys robust portfolio of award and grant programs, which gives more than $1 million each year to outstanding students and members through graduate and dissertation fellowships, funding for post-baccalaureate development and grants for local, national and international literacy initiatives. To learn more about the Study Abroad Program and other Phi Kappa Phi awards please visit phikappaphi.org/awards. KYIV, Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that 200,000 children are among the Ukrainians who have been forcefully taken to Russia and dispersed across the vast country. They include children from orphanages, children taken with their parents and those separated from their families. The purpose of this criminal policy is not just to steal people but to make those who are deported forget about Ukraine and unable to return, Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to the nation on Wednesday, which was International Childrens Day. Zelenskyy said Ukraine would punish those responsible but first it would show Russia on the battlefield that Ukraine cannot be conquered, that our people will not surrender and our children will not become the property of the occupiers. Zelenskyy said 243 children have been killed so far in the war, 446 have been wounded and 139 are missing, adding that it could be more as his government doesnt have a full picture of the situation in areas occupied by Russian troops. He then described the deaths of 11 children, calling them by their first names and saying how they were killed. KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: Report: China bars Russian airlines with foreign planes US sending medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine Italy imports more Russian oil despite impending embargo High prices, Asian markets could blunt EU ban on Russian oil Sanctioned Russian oligarchs megayacht hides in a UAE creek Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: LVIV, Ukraine A regional governor in western Ukraine said a Russian airstrike on transport infrastructure wounded two people Wednesday. Lviv region Gov. Maksym Kozytskyy didnt name the target of the Russian strike near the city of Lviv. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the countrys interior minister, said the Russians hit the Beskidy railway tunnel in the Carpathian Mountains in an apparent effort to cut a key railway link and disrupt shipments of weapons and fuel. The Lviv region has served as a key conduit for supplies of Western weapons and other supplies. KYIV, Ukraine The Ukrainian Orthodox Church on Wednesday said two monks and a nun have been killed in the shelling of a historic monastery in eastern Ukraine. The church said in a statement that three monks were also wounded by Mondays shelling, which heavily damaged the Sviatohirsk monastery in the Donetsk region. It didnt give further details. The monastery, located on the steep right bank of the Seversky Donets River, is one of the most important historic Orthodox monasteries in Ukraine. The monastery provided shelter to civilians fleeing the fighting and had previously been hit by Russian shelling as the Russian troops were pressing their offensive in Donbas. KYIV, Ukraine A regional Ukrainian governor on Wednesday said Russian troops have taken control of about 80 percent of the key city of Sievierodonetsk. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said Russian troops were advancing amid fierce street battles with Ukrainian defenders of the city. He noted that in some districts the Ukrainian troops managed to push the Russians back. Sievierodonetsk, the administrative center of the Luhansk region, has been the focus of Russias offensive in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland of Donbas. It has come under relentless Russian bombardment, and Haidai said Tuesday that Russian air strike hit a tank with nitric acid at a chemical factory, releasing toxic fumes. COPENHAGEN, Denmark Two exit polls by Danish broadcasters show that around two thirds of voters in Wednesdays referendum backed abandoning Denmarks 30-year-old opt-out from the European Unions common defense policy. TV2 broadcaster said that 66.6% voted in favor of ending the opt-out which would have limited practical effect for either Denmark or the EU and 33.4% against. Public broadcaster DR had the figures at 69% for and 30.9% against. The polls were published just after voting ended. The referendum was the latest example of European countries seeking closer defense links with allies in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine. The main effect of abandoning the opt-out will be that Danish officials could stay in the room when EU colleagues discuss defense topics and Danish forces can take part in EU military operations. PARIS The head of Interpol on Wednesday raised alarms about a possible uptick in weapons trafficking once the war in Ukraine ends. Interpol Secretary-General Jurgen Stock told the Anglo-American Press Association that he has no doubt illegal arms trafficking will increase. We have seen that in the Balkans region, Stock said. We have seen that in theaters in Africa that, of course, organized crime groups try to exploit this chaotic situation, availability of weapons and even weapons that are used by the military. Small weapons are the main concern, he said. Stock encouraged Interpols 195-member countries to intensively use available databases that can help trace and track weapons, for instance those stolen in another country. No country in our region can deal with it in isolation because the criminals Im talking about are operating globally, Stock said. Interpol, based in Lyon, France, does not carry out investigations but provides training for police and customs officers to, for instance, identify trafficking routes, Stock said. KYIV, Ukraine Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday thanked Poland for its military support. Speaking at a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Zelenskyy hailed what he described as unprecedented defense support from Warsaw. He also voiced gratitude to Poland for hosting Ukrainians who were forced to leave the country during the war, praising its warm and humane attitude to our people. Our relations have progressed through the war of Russia against Ukraine from warm and good-neighborly relations to another stage of strong and historic ties, Zelenskyy said. WASHINGTON NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday said hes convening a meeting of senior officials from Finland, Sweden and Turkey to try to overcome Ankaras objections to the two Nordic countries joining the alliance. Stoltenberg told reporters that the talks will be held in Brussels in a few days with senior officials, but provided no further details. Im confident that we will find a way forward, he said. Roused by security concerns over Russias war on Ukraine, Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO last month. But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is blocking their path. He has said theyre not doing enough to fight Kurdish extremism. Asked how long it might take to end the standoff, Stoltenberg said his goal is before the NATO summit. U.S. President Joe Biden, Erdogan and their NATO counterparts are meeting in Madrid from June 28-30. We want to make sure that all allies have their security concerns taken into account, and that includes Turkey, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. THE HAGUE, Netherlands The Dutch government on Wednesday announced what it is calling the biggest boost in its military spending since the end of the Cold War as war rages in Ukraine. Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said threats in the world and the war in Ukraine show that peace and security cannot be taken for granted. Ollongren unveiled 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) a year in increased military spending. The extra money will fund military hardware purchases in coming years including six new F-35 fighter jets and a doubling of the militarys fleet of MQ-9 Reaper drones from four to eight. The Defense Ministry said the investment means the Netherlands will meet the NATO agreed defense spending of 2% of its gross domestic product in 2024 and 2025. It also aims to ease shortages in military supplies and equipment. That will enable military personnel to work with the best equipment and train a lot without constant shortages of spare parts, transport and ammunition, the ministry said. RIYADH, Saudi Arabia Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday said international sanctions are affecting Russias ability to export its own grain amid fears of a global food shortage. Speaking during a visit to Saudi Arabia, Lavrov said Russian grain exports may not be directly under sanctions, but the ships carrying the grain face extra hurdles. Although the West very loudly reminds that grain was not subject to sanctions, for some reason they shyly keep silent that ships that carry Russian grain did fall under the sanctions, he said. They are not accepted in foreign ports, in European ports, and they are not insured. And, in principle, all the logistical and financial chains related to the supply of grain to world markets, they were under the sanctions of our Western colleagues. Russia has also been accused of preventing Ukraine from exporting its grain harvest and of looting Ukrainian grain supplies for Russian use. BERLIN Germanys foreign minister says the West must give Ukraine long-term support, and is defending the time its taking to deliver weapons systems to Kyiv. Annalena Baerbock told the German parliament that Russian President Vladimir Putin has fundamentally changed his strategy after failing to take Ukraine quickly. She said that he is now counting on having more staying power than we who support Ukraine. Baerbock said Wednesday that we need staying power in supporting Ukraine. The minister fended off criticism of perceived delays in fulfilling promises to send weapons, telling lawmakers that the stuff has to arrive and above all the soldiers must be able to use it. Her comments came hours after Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany will send modern air-defense missiles. Baerbock said those were originally supposed to go to another country, which she didnt identify. She said that we need these medium- and long-term signals that we havent given up on Ukraine in three months, but that we are defending it durably as we can without participating in this war ourselves. STOCKHOLM United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says there is progress in talks to allow the export of grain stored in Ukrainian ports and ensure Russian food and fertilizer have unrestricted access to global markets. I think that there is progress, but we are not yet there, Guterres said Wednesday, adding these are very complex things, because everything is interlinked. Russias war on Ukraine has closed the countrys Black Sea ports, halting food exports to many developing countries. Guterres reiterated that the world should have access to the Russian production of fertilizers and foods that is also essential for global markets in the present situation. Guterres spoke in Stockholm where he met with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson ahead of a climate and environment conference Thursday and Friday. MOSCOW A leading Russian scientist has urged Moscow not to shut itself off from scientific cooperation with unfriendly countries such as the United States. Alexander Sergeev, president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a state-backed body linking research institutes and labs across the country, said ties between scientists in Russia and abroad certainly must continue, in comments reported by the Interfax news agency Wednesday. The Russian government has drawn up an official list of unfriendly countries, including those which have issued sanctions against Russia such as the U.S., Britain, Japan and European Union members like France and Germany. We should not in any case, on our own initiative, perhaps following the slogans of various hotheads, break off relationships with our colleagues in unfriendly countries, Sergeev said. MOSCOW A Kremlin spokesman says Moscow negatively views U.S. plans to supply more weapons to Ukraine. The Biden administration announced on Tuesday that it will send Ukraine a small number of high-tech, medium-range rocket systems. Ukrainian leaders have begged for rocket launchers as they struggle to stall Russian progress in the Donbas region. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during his daily conference calls with journalists on Wednesday that Moscow doesnt trust Kyivs assurances that the multiple-launch rocket systems supplied by the U.S. will not be used to attack Russia. U.S. officials say the aid package expected to be unveiled Wednesday tries to strike a balance between the desire to help Ukraine battle ferocious Russian artillery barrages while not providing arms that could allow Ukraine to hit targets deep inside Russia and trigger an escalation in the war. Peskov nonetheless accused the U.S. of deliberately and diligently pouring fuel into the fire. The U.S. sticks to the line of fighting with Russia until the last Ukrainian (left standing), he said. WARSAW, Poland Polands prime minister says the European Union member country will serve as an economic hub for neighboring Ukraine, helping it export grain and other products while Russia blocks Ukraines export routes, chiefly its ports. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki spoke Wednesday in the Ukrainian town of Borodyanka, near Kyiv. Morawiecki was in the heavily damaged settlement to inaugurate a series of container houses for homeless residents that was funded by Poland. Morawiecki said Poland is working on expanding its infrastructure and capacity to facilitate the export of millions of tons of Ukrainian grain and other agriculture products. Poland is receiving EU funds for the purpose, Morawiecki said. He stressed that North Africas countries rely heavily on Ukraine grain and could face problems feeding their populations without it. LISBON, Portugal Portugal has sent 146 Marines to join a NATO force stationed in Lithuania as part of efforts to bolster the alliances eastern flank in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine. The deployment includes divers specializing in deactivating mines and other explosive devices. Portugals defense ministry said the aim of the mission is to support high levels of readiness and discourage direct or indirect threats against NATO members, especially in the Baltic Sea region. The detachment which departed Wednesday is to remain in Lithuania for three months. COPENHAGEN, Denmark Polling stations are open in Denmark for voters to decide whether to abandon their countrys 30-year-old opt-out from the European Unions common defense policy. The referendum on Wednesday is the latest example of European countries seeking closer defense links with allies in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine. It follows Sweden and Finlands historic bids to join NATO. Some 4.2 million Danish voters are eligible to cast ballots in the referendum. The yes side - in favor of getting rid of the 1992 opt-out - has been ahead in recent months. Polls showed it with around 40% support and the no side with 30%. KYIV, Ukraine A regional governor in southern Ukraine says Russian troops are retreating and blowing up bridges to obstruct a possible Ukrainian advance. Mykolayiv region governor Vitaliy Kim claimed Wednesday on the Telegram messaging app that Russia was on the defensive. They are afraid of a breakthrough by the (Ukrainian Armed Forces), but we are not afraid and we support our troops, he wrote. Kim didnt specify exactly where the retreat he described was happening. The parts of the Mykolayiv region which have been held by Russian forces in recent days are close to the large Russia-occupied city of Kherson. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Tuesday that Ukrainian fighters had seen some success in the Kherson direction. Russia is concentrating most of its military power on trying to capture all of eastern Ukraines Donbas region. BRUSSELS The European Unions asylum agency says the number of people from former Soviet countries seeking international protection in Europe has skyrocketed since Russia launched its war in Ukraine. The agency said Wednesday that about 14,000 Ukrainians sought asylum in March, a figure some 30 times higher than before the war that started Feb. 24. The number is on top of the estimated 3 million Ukrainians who have applied for emergency protection under an EU program that provides shelter, access to jobs, medical treatment and education to war refugees. The biggest increases in asylum-seekers were recorded among citizens from Belarus, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. But the EU agency says its not clear whether these people came from their home countries or were living in Ukraine when the war started. The number of Russians seeking asylum in the EU also rose to 1,400 in March, the highest level since 2018. Asylum is usually granted to people in danger of suffering serious harm due to their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership of a social group, and to those fleeing war, torture and degrading treatment. BERLIN German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says his country will supply Ukraine with modern anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems, stepping up arms deliveries amid criticism that Germany isnt doing enough to help Kyiv. Scholz told German lawmakers on Wednesday that the government has decided to provide Ukraine with IRIS-T missiles developed by Germany together with other NATO nations. He said Germany will also supply Ukraine with radar systems to help locate enemy artillery. The announcements come amid claims at home and abroad that Germany has been slow to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs to defend itself against Russia. 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 fire department had arrived on the scene of the house that had been leveled in the natural gas explosion, but still, only about half of the family that resided in the house had been accounted for. Two daughters had been blown away from the building and landed on the roof of a neighboring house. The father had been located. The mother and an infant daughter were still missing inside the hole in the ground that used to be a house in the Abingdon, Ill., community. As I made my way through the pieces of the house, most of which were no more than a foot in size, I saw several people down inside what was the basement of the house digging through the remains. This happened several years ago when I was called to a report of a house that had exploded. The cause turned out to be someone working on a natural gas line. Another person had entered the house and turned a light on. For those who dont know, even after the explosion, the area is still very treacherous. Heat, plus fuel, plus oxygen equals flame. In many cases when pieces are exposed to oxygen it flares up. Having covered Abingdon, I knew most of the members of the police department. There they were, down in the hole in the ground. Many of the officers had been off duty at the time and had responded from wherever they were at. They had not had the chance to change into a uniform. What surprised me is they were down in the hole that was the basement of the house, wearing no protective gear at all, digging through the remains looking for survivors. Ill say that again they were down in the still-smoking hole, most wearing a polo or T-shirt and jeans, being sprayed so they wouldnt catch fire, digging for survivors. All around them, the areas were flaring up and there was a real danger of another explosion. That wasnt their concern. Their concern was finding the mother and the infant. This is only one situation I can name I have seen personally when the police, in my opinion, have gone above and beyond, risking injury themselves, to save others. I actually took a couple of criminology classes in college, and the other students had told me they wanted to be police officers because they wanted to help people. Since the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, which left 19 children and two adults dead, several very bad reports have come out about the response of the police department to reports of an active shooter inside the school. Reports indicate that officers were lined up outside the school, not letting parents in to get their children, and not going in themselves to confront the shooter. All the while, the children in the classroom where the shooter had taken refuge were calling 911, begging for help. I saw one report that said an officer had seen the shooter inside the school with a rifle, saw him go into a classroom, and just withdrew and did nothing. The room was apparently breeched when a squad of border patrol officers arrived. From what I have seen, I dont believe Uvalde is very different than Muscatine. I couldnt help but be creeped out when I went to the Uvalde Police Department Facebook page and found many of the same kinds of things that are on the Muscatine Police Department page. There was a lot of public service posts, as well as warnings about the weather. Suddenly and completely out of place, there was a post about an active shooter. The thing is, I cant see any of the members of the Muscatine Police Department not responding if there is a situation like that. I actually once saw a wave of police charging a dangerous situation that was unfolding outside the police department. I think this is a situation where we really need to wait for the investigation to conclude to see what happened. I dont know if there was some kind of miscommunication or if they thought no one was in danger. As much as I would hate it, if the situation turns out to be like its being reported, the officers who did nothing would be at least partially responsible for the deaths of those people. Because of the seriousness, I think it is only fair to give the officers every opportunity to let the truth come out. This is probably the biggest question I have about the situation, even overshadowing my curiosity about how an 18-year-old from a broken family was able to afford two $1,800 rifles. I realize there are probably only around six officers on the entire department (Uvalde has a population of about 15,000), and this is not the type of thing any officer can be entirely prepared for. Still, when you are trusting the police for your protection, not to mention the protection of your children, you have to know they will do whatever it takes to do their job. If the situation ends up being as it is reported, on top of the tragedy that will not be forgotten in that town, the people of Uvalde will also have some very tough decisions to make about their police department. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Dear Journal: I hope that all Democrats get out and vote in the June 7 primary election. There are three choices when it comes down to the U.S. Senate race, and it seems to me that Admiral Michael Franken stands above the rest. Hailing from small town Iowa, Franken has worked in his father's shop, worked in a slaughterhouse, received a Navy scholarship, and earned an engineering degree. While serving in the Navy he saw sea duty on four destroyers, a destroyer squadron, and an aircraft carrier. He was the commanding officer of the U.S.S. Winston Churchill. Admiral Franken has a wealth of Pentagon experience and has served on numerous strategy, policy, and planning positions- even serving as a legislative aide to Senator Edward Kennedy. Under President Obama, Franken led the effort to combat terrorists and pirates in Africa. Domestic policy is his primary focus, however. He knows right from wrong- in contrast to his likely opponent in the November election, Senator Charles Grassley. Grassley has lost his way, having drank the Trump Kool-Aid. Vote for Admiral Michael Franken on June 7! Don Paulson Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WEST LIBERTY Parties continue to try to work out an agreement as a new deadline looms to resolve a dispute between the city of West Liberty and the volunteer fire department to continue fire service. In the meantime, should negotiations fail, the volunteer department's fire chief warns West Liberty residents could see response times grow by 15 to 20 minutes as they rely on volunteers from surrounding communities. The West Liberty Fire Department has extended a deadline from June 3 to June 7 to work toward an agreement in good faith or cease services inside the city. The fire department has said if the city does not sign a notice outlining its commitment to finalizing and approving a new 28E agreement with the volunteer department by Oct. 1, they are walking away. West Liberty Fire Chief Kirt Sickels said the department had made a last-ditch effort to work with the city to continue service. Sickels said the department made an offer that, if the city agreed, would allow the department to continue service. He said the city made a similar counter-proposal; however, a sticking point is the city's use of the word "intend" instead of "commitment" to reach a new fire-service agreement with the department. "We keep extending our hand to them to try to get something done," Sickels said. "We made a last-ditch effort here to try to do this and make sure our community isnt put in any kind of peril." West Liberty City Manager David Haugland did not return an email request for comment before press time. The fire department had proposed a new 28E agreement that would include the city, the fire department and the rural fire district on its ruling board. The district would be funded in the same way the current department is and the fire building and equipment much of which was donated and part of which is owned by both the city and the rural district would be the property of the ruling board. In a previous interview, Haugland said the city has contacted fire departments in nearby towns that the city has a mutual aid agreement with to provide service. These include Atalyssa, Wilton, Nichols, West Branch and Muscatine. Having responded for mutual aid in these towns, Sickels, a 20-year veteran firefighter, said that response time is much longer than normal, about 15 to 20 minutes longer from the closest cities of Wilton and Atalyssa. He said in the event of an emergency that amount of time for a response could be devastating." "Thats the bottom line," Sickels said. The fire department announced in April its intent to break with the city, alleging the city has been actively waging war on the department for three years, citing issues such as mixing department funds, micromanaging the department and deliberately stalling attempts to hire new emergency medical technicians. The city says those allegations are unfounded. The department intends to continue service to the West Liberty Rural Fire District, which is separate from the city. The West Liberty Rural Fire District also has a pending lawsuit filed against the city of West Liberty alleging the city is keeping the rural district from receiving fire service. The petition alleges the city has violated the provisions of the parties contract and breached its fiduciary responsibilities. The petition requests the court create a new 28E agreement between the city, the rural district and the fire department. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 MUSCATINE Muscatine City officials are contemplating a new program to better and more humanely control free-roaming cats within the city. City council members will meet Thursday to consider setting a public hearing for June 16 on a proposed ordinance that would allow community members to begin trapping stray cats to spay, neuter and vaccinate them. Such programs have been seen as a humane alternative to mass euthanasia of free-roaming cats and an effective way to control the stray cat population in a community, according to the Iowa Humane Alliance. At the councils May 12 in-depth meeting, the city staff was directed to proceed with establishing community cat regulations in Title 6, Chapter 8 of the Muscatine City Code. "There is nothing in city code about these feral cats, which is why they are trying to come up with something," communications director Kevin Jenison said. "It is following the animal control ordinances we have completed during the first part of the year." The new ordinance would create a program where free-roaming cats, which may be feral or semi-feral, are humanely trapped, neutered, ear-chipped, vaccinated, deemed healthy by a veterinarian and released. These criteria will apply to cats no one owns. The ordinance also stipulates that the city will have no responsibility for the care of community cats. Jenison said there is nothing in city code that would state what would be done with a feral cat that does not meet the city requirements for a community cat. He said this will be discussed further as the ordinance is developed. The council will also discuss holding the second reading of an ordinance updating city codes related to civil penalties and fines for municipal infractions, as well as discuss waiving the third reading and just approving the ordinance. The ordinance increases standard civil penalties to align with Iowa codes. The new ordinance will also remove penalties for the keeping of pit bulls in the city. The possible increase in revenue to the city will be determined by the number of violations issued. Jenison said the purpose of the ordinance is to bring the city up to date with state requirements for fines and penalties for violations of city codes. The codes can include such things as vegetation control or other nuisance ordinances. The meeting, which begins at 7 p.m., will be held in the Muscatine City Hall council chamber. It will also be live-streamed on the citys YouTube channel or people wishing to join from a computer, tablet or smartphone can to go https://www.gotomeet.me/CityofMuscatine/city-council-meeting. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 HELENA, Mont. (AP) Montana's top schools official was fined $100 after she pleaded no contest to a citation alleging she illegally passed a stopped school bus while children were boarding. Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen on Wednesday entered the plea meaning that she did not not admit guilt but was not contesting the charge, according to Helena Municipal Court records. Arntzen was cited last week for illegally passing the bus in a residential subdivision on the morning of May 19. She said she does not recall the incident, but the East Helena Public Schools bus driver recognized her and wrote down the license plate of the pickup truck that passed the bus, according to police reports. The school district also gave Helena police two photos from the school bus video camera showing the incident. Helena Municipal Court Judge Anne Peterson suspended $400 of the $500 fine and ordered that Arntzen could have the citation removed from her driving record if she has no traffic violations over the next two months, court documents said. 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 All of South Africas prominent banks offer app-based banking with varying fee structures, charging different amounts for basic payments, prepaid purchases, debit order disputes, and instant transfers. MyBroadband compared the app transaction fees of South Africas prominent banks and three well-known digital banks and found significant differences between them. We analysed app banking fees for Absa, Capitec, First National Bank (FNB), Nedbank, Standard Bank, Discovery Bank, TymeBank, and Bank Zero. Our comparison focused on banking products with the lowest monthly fees. We compared Absa Basic Banking, FNBs Easy PAYU, Nedbank Pay-as-you-use, and the Standard Bank MyMo accounts. We found that FNB, TymeBank, and Bank Zero accounts do not charge a fee for account payments and transfers, while the others charge fees ranging from R1.00 to R2.50. FNB doesnt charge for stop payment orders or prepaid airtime purchases either, similar to South Africas digital banks Discovery Bank, TymeBank, and Bank Zero. Discovery Bank is the only bank that doesnt charge a fee for debit order disputes, while the other banks prices range from R5 to R10, with TymeBank being the most expensive. Bank Zero does notify customers of every debit order placed on their account. This allows clients to reject unauthorised debit orders before they cost money to dispute. Regarding stop payment instructions, Absa charges the highest fee at R32, while FNB, Standard Bank, and Discovery Bank process the orders for free. Instant payment services are where the most significant differences appear. Absa, Nedbank, Standard Bank, and Discovery Bank charge a minimum of R10 for immediate payments, while Capitec and FNB charge a flat rate of R7.50 and R45, respectively. More specifically, Absa charges R10 for immediate payments up to R1,000 and R49 for larger transactions. Nedbank allows instant payments of up to R3,000 for R10. Anything higher than that will be charged R49. Standard Banks R10 fee is for immediate payments under R2,000, and it charges R50 for anything higher. Discovery Bank charges a flat R10 fee regardless of the amount being transacted. It is similar to Capitec in this regard, which charges a flat rate of R7.50 per immediate payment. TymeBank charges R7 per R1,000 transacted, with a cap of R35. Bank Zero does not provide the option for immediate payments. A selection of app transaction fees from banks in South Africa are summarised in the table below. Banking app fee comparison Bank Account payment Stop payment Debit order dispute Instant payment Prepaid airtime purchases Absa R1.00 R32.00 R5.00 R10 / R49* R1.50 Capitec R1.50 R9.00 R5.00 R7.50 R0.50 FNB No charge No charge R5.00 R45 No charge Nedbank R2.20 R5.00 R5.00 R10 / R49* R1.50 Standard Bank R1.20 No charge R5.00 R10 / R50* R0.50 Discovery Bank R2.50 No charge No charge R10 No charge TymeBank No charge R10 R10 R7 per R1,000* No charge Bank Zero No charge R8 R8 No charge Absa: Basic Banking account; FNB: Easy PAYU account; Nedbank: Pay-as-you-use account; Standard Bank: MyMo account. *Nedbank charges R10 for instant payments up to R3,000 and R49 for payments over R3,000. *Standard Bank charges R10 for instant payments under R2,000 and R50 for payments of R2,000 and above. *Absa charges R10 for instant payments up to R1,000 and R49 for payments over R1,000. *For instant payments through TymeBank, users are charged R7 per R1,000 paid, with a cap set at R35. Now read: Billions flowing into payment companies in South Africa E-tv owner eMedia has announced that MultiChoice dropped four of its channels from DStv without warning. This comes after the Competition Tribunal ruled against eMedias appeal to keep the channels on MultiChoices satellite TV platform. Viewers were left in the dark with no programmes as they tried to watch certain eMedia channels on the DStv platform last night, the company stated. MultiChoice turned off eExtra, eMovies, eMovies extra, eToonz immediately and without warning as soon as the ruling was announced. eMedia approached the Competition Tribunal in April after MultiChoice renewed its channel supply agreement with the company and refused to include the four channels. No reasons were provided for the ruling by the Competition Tribunal, eMedia said. It said the unannounced switch-off also left eMedia without sufficient time to communicate to viewers. Viewers are angry and disappointed that they are no longer able to see their programmes via the DStv platform, said eMedia. All the e.tv channels will continue to broadcast on Openview. E-tv and eNCA will still be broadcast on DStv. eMedia announced in its annual results last week that eExtra, eMovies Extra, and eReality rank in the top 15 of all satellite channels available in South Africa. It noted that the channels contributed to the companys audience and revenue share. Openview and eMedias channels on DStv accounted for 21.9% of the companys advertising revenue, bringing in R468.1 million. eMedias direct-to-home satellite TV unit achieved profitability for the first time, with content costs for the year pegged at R446.3 million. Therefore, losing four of its channels on DStv could be a substantial blow to eMedia. During the Competition Tribunal hearings, MultiChoice revealed that it would only have capacity for 11 more channels on its satellites after cancelling the four from eMedia. MultiChoice argued that the rejection of the eMedias four channels was based on an assessment of their distinctiveness and appeal, which fell short of DStvs commercial requirements. MultiChoice responds MultiChoice has refuted eMedias allegation that it switched the channels off without warning. It pointed to a media query from TV journalist Thinus Ferreira at the end of March, suggesting that its response qualified as sufficient notice. We had shared a media statement on the flighting of the channels in questions [from Ferreira] sometime in March with an indication of the expected date for carriage to cease, MultiChoice stated. In its response to Ferreira, MultiChoice said it expected the Competition Tribunal case to be concluded by 31 May, and that it would carry eMedias four channels until then. Tech distributors in South Africa have noticed an increase in laptop sales and work-from-home products since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Alviva Holdings. It said it does not measure actual unit sales but had noticed substantial growth in laptop and work-from-home (WFH) accessory revenue. Alviva Holdings is the parent company of Axiz, Pinnacle, and Tarsus. MyBroadband reached out to the three distributors directly, but they did not respond to our requests for comment. Mustek also did not respond to requests for comment. We have had meaningful notebook revenue growth along with other work from home products like networking, accessories and monitors, Alviva Holdings CEO Pierre Spies said. The increased sales coincided with a decline in desktop revenues. The JD Group noticed a similar trend. Its tech marketing executive Stef Michael told MyBroadband that the company had seen more people investing in hardware to work from home more efficiently and comfortably. JD Group owns Incredible Connection, HiFiCorp, and the online store Everyshop. We have seen the laptop/PC re-emerge as the centre of our digital lives as the need for remote work has increased, and it has become clear that the mobile phone is not adequate for video conferencing and productivity, Michael said. Simply put, we need larger screens and comfortable keyboards and form factors to work effectively from home. Employees are unlikely to have the IT support their employer could provide at home, making after-sales support an essential factor for purchasing decisions. Michael said Incredible Connection had maintained strong sales through unique value propositions, including a free three-year warranty and its in-store support and advice. Load-shedding the work-from-home enemy In July 2020, MyBroadband reported the impact load-shedding could have on hybrid working and WFH arrangements. Having a stable electricity supply is critical to support remote working, and load-shedding can make remote working difficult for employees without some form of backup power at home. It can also increase the cost of remote working if employees decide to invest in backup power. Costs to consider include the installation of an inverter or generator, the cost of the equipment itself, and fuel for those who decide on going the generator route. Sygnia CEO Magda Wierzycka said load-shedding directly impacts peoples ability to work remotely. South Africas power situation has worsened since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, making work-from-home and hybrid arrangements impractical except for more affluent workers. Now read: AMD announces Ryzen 7000 processors By Trend The Chairman of the Iran-Syria Joint Chamber of Commerce Keyvan Kashefi said that Irans export of products to Syria doubled in the current year in 1401 (started March 21, 2022), Trend reports citing Mehr. Speaking at a conference on Iran-Syria economic development held in Tehran on Sunday, he said that the two countries of Iran and Syria enjoy the high capability to export their products to the region in cooperation with each other. Iran and Syria have achieved good results in this respect at the unsparing efforts of officials and private sectors, the most important of which can be referred to as the considerable export hike of the country to Syria, Kashefi highlighted. Giant steps have been taken by officials of the two countries in line with further expansion of bilateral trade ties, he added. Elsewhere in his remarks, he pointed to the main task of chambers of commerce in encouraging traders and businesspersons to expand their business activities and added that reducing preferential tariffs play a very key role in boosting bilateral trade which must be taken into serious consideration. He expressed hope that the two countries of Iran and Syria have high trade capacities to expand their cooperation in trade and economic fields. Russian information security firm Kaspersky warns that the alleged compromise of President Cyril Ramaphosas email account is a significant threat to South Africa. The impact of such a leak is extraordinary depending on the nature of communication within, said Kaspersky senior security researcher Maher Yamout. He highlighted that South Africa is going through turbulent times politically and economically. The threat actor could literally destabilise the country if equipped with the right emails, Yamout warned. Kasperskys comments follow a Sunday Times report about a group calling itself SpiderLog$. According to the report, the group provided screenshots proving they could access sensitive military and intelligence data. In one of the screenshots, SpiderLog$ showed it could get into the defence and state security departments webmail interface. SpiderLog$ also reportedly obtained details of a loan President Cyril Ramaphosa took out from one of South Africas top four banks in the 2000s. It said it used data leaked by another group called N4ugtysecTU after it breached credit bureau TransUnion earlier this year. The leaked data included peoples home addresses, ID numbers, and cellphone numbers including those of prominent figures such as Ramaphosa and EFF leader Julius Malema. TransUnion disputed that leaked Home Affairs data came from its servers, saying that the attackers had obtained it from an earlier breach. South Africa is a playground for hackers because anyone is able to map your countrys digital infrastructure, SpiderLog$ warned. Kasperskys Yamout said SpiderLog$ is probably associated with N4ugtysecTU Theres no SpiderLog$ before this incident, so [they are] likely a newly fabricated actor, stated Yamout. With the leaked content composed of phone numbers, addresses, personally identifiable information (PII) this could be used to impersonate anyone in the leak and steal victims digital accounts. Yamout said if someone has your PII, they can call your bank and try to convince the operator they are you to gain access to your account. Apparently, this is what happened with the presidents email account, Yamout said. To protect against this kind of attack, Yamout said two-factor authentication is crucial for any digital account, in addition to strong, frequently-changed passwords. Also, do not underestimate patching, he said. In Lyman in the Donetsk region, thanks to the actions of our soldiers, it was possible to eliminate difficult occupiers. The Kadyrovites were killed there, and among them is their high-ranking commander. According to sources on Channel 24, the leader of the militants, Denis Pushilin, was arriving in Lyman, Donetsk region, today, June 1. It was with him that the Kadyrovites came there to show off, and went with a load of 200. The invaders were covered with artillery According to sources, our artillery worked for the Russian occupiers. The operation was planned, the enemies were specially awaited. Moreover, the occupiers were waiting for shells greased with lard. Thanks to the blow, a very high-ranking Russian military man was eliminated. It is about 45-year-old lieutenant colonel Zaur Dimayev. He was the deputy commander of the 4th Battalion of the Akhmat Kadyrov Special Regiment. Together with Dimayev, another 40 "Kadyrov-Tiktokers" who came to our land to kill were killed. Also in intelligence noted that the purpose of this visit of fighters was public relations. The Kadyrovites and Pushilin allegedly wanted to know the video in the bombed-out Lyman. They had to shout something about ahmat, their favorite phrase, from which they had already made memes. They wanted to show the leader of the Donetsk militants how they "liberated" the city and communicate with local quilters and traitors. What is known about Dimayev Zaur Dimayev was the deputy commander of the fourth battalion of the Akhmat Kadyrov special regiment. He and other Kadyrov members of the special regiment were in the Zaporizhia direction. His death has haunted him in recent days. After all, on May 31, he and the rest of the invaders were driving a UAZ "Patriot" and came under artillery fire in Komyshuvas. There were also reports that two Chechen police officers were among the dead in the Ukrainian military fire, and four others were injured. The driver of their SUV also became a cargo of 200. Kadyrovites at war in Ukraine It was these representatives of the Russian occupation forces who intimidated Ukraine from the very beginning. Allegedly, they are particularly cruel. In fact, most of them prove that they came here not to fight, but to shoot a video in a tic-talk, looting and instilling fear. We laugh at them and call them tic-talk troops. Moreover, they became so enamored that they began to steal even the Russian military. Read also: 14 OMBR shot down occupant drone correcting fire (PHOTOS) Russia's casualties in the war in Ukraine amounted to about 30,700 - the General Staff of the Armed Forces 25-year-old defender caused irreparable damage to the invaders: the story of Hero of Ukraine Serhiy Parkhomenko At least ten occupiers were burned: cadres of successful work of the Armed Forces SOCIETYBattle group K2 effectively defeated enemy tanks in Donetsk region (VIDEO) Ukrainian pilots broke into Azovstal defenders seven times, delivering ammunition and necessary equipment. VIDEO Veterano Brownie founder opens charity auction to buy drone for the Armed Forces Armed Forces blew up enemy landing combat vehicle (VIDEO) The russian occupiers lost more than 30500 soldiers, and 1358 tanks For the first time, Ukraine took part in a meeting of the Steering Committee of the NATO Cyber Center In the south of the Armed Forces of Ukraine lined up armored vehicles of the occupiers from ATGM (VIDEO) The French journalist became the eighth media man to die in the line of duty The situation regarding the Russian invasion The total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02 to 01.06 were approximately: personnel in - about 30 700 (+200) people, in - about 30 700 (+200) people, tanks - 1361 (+3) units, - 1361 (+3) units, armored combat vehicles - 3343 (+41) units, - 3343 (+41) units, artillery systems - 659 (+10) units, - 659 (+10) units, MLRS - 207 (+0) units, - 207 (+0) units, means of air defense - 94 (+1) units, - 94 (+1) units, aircraft - 208 (+0) units, - 208 (+0) units, helicopters - 175 (+1) units, - 175 (+1) units, UAV operational and tactical level - 519 (+4), - 519 (+4), cruise missiles - 120 (+0), - 120 (+0), ships / boats - 13 (+0) units, - 13 (+0) units, of motor vehicles and tank trucks - 2290 (+15) units, - 2290 (+15) units, special equipment - 49 (+1). The enemy suffered the greatest losses in the Kryvyi Rih and Bakhmut directions. Data are being updated. Beat the occupier! Let's win together! Our strength is in the truth! The video shows the moment when the Russian BRDM-2 (combat reconnaissance patrol vehicle) was brought down by the military servicemen of the Royal Brigade in the Luhansk region. Read also: 25-year-old defender caused irreparable damage to the invaders: the story of Hero of Ukraine Serhiy Parkhomenko At least ten occupiers were burned: cadres of successful work of the Armed Forces SOCIETYBattle group K2 effectively defeated enemy tanks in Donetsk region (VIDEO) Ukrainian pilots broke into Azovstal defenders seven times, delivering ammunition and necessary equipment. VIDEO Veterano Brownie founder opens charity auction to buy drone for the Armed Forces Armed Forces blew up enemy landing combat vehicle (VIDEO) The russian occupiers lost more than 30500 soldiers, and 1358 tanks For the first time, Ukraine took part in a meeting of the Steering Committee of the NATO Cyber Center In the south of the Armed Forces of Ukraine lined up armored vehicles of the occupiers from ATGM (VIDEO) The French journalist became the eighth media man to die in the line of duty Anti-aircraft missile forces of Ukraine destroyed two missiles of the occupiers EU approves oil embargo for Russia and disconnection of Sberbank from SWIFT The United States will supply MIM2 HIMARS missile launchers to Ukraine . The head of the White House wrote about the transfer of weapons in his author's column in the New York Times. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday, May 31, that the United States would provide Ukraine with more advanced missile systems and ammunition so that the Ukrainian military could "more accurately hit key targets on the battlefield." According to the President of the United States, the purpose of arms transfer is simple: the United States wants to see a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and protect against further aggression. "We will provide Ukrainians with more advanced missile systems and ammunition that will allow them to more accurately hit key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine," Biden said. Complex HIMARS Photo: shephardmedia.com The Voice of America writes that after Biden's article was published, a senior US administration official told reporters on condition of anonymity that HIMARS missile systems would be provided to Ukraine. "These systems will be used by Ukrainians to repel Russian attacks on Ukrainian territory, but they will not be used to strike at Russian territory," he said. In addition, Washington will continue to supply Ukraine with modern weapons, including: Javelin anti-tank missiles; Stinger anti-aircraft missiles; powerful artillery and high-precision missile systems; radars; unmanned aerial vehicles; Mi-17 helicopters; various ammunition. This will be the 11th military aid package approved so far, and it will be the first to use $ 40 billion recently approved by Congress. The media report that HIMARS for Ukraine will be equipped with ammunition that will hit targets at a distance of about 80 kilometers (49 miles). He noted that these weapons will strengthen the combat capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to repel Russia's full-scale invasion. M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). Photos from open sources The M142 HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) uses a 6-wheeled M1140 FMTV tactical truck as its chassis. The launcher can be used as a rocket-propelled grenade launcher (MLRS) and as an operational and tactical missile system. Read also: Russia's casualties in the war in Ukraine amounted to about 30,700 - the General Staff of the Armed Forces 25-year-old defender caused irreparable damage to the invaders: the story of Hero of Ukraine Serhiy Parkhomenko At least ten occupiers were burned: cadres of successful work of the Armed Forces SOCIETYBattle group K2 effectively defeated enemy tanks in Donetsk region (VIDEO) Ukrainian pilots broke into Azovstal defenders seven times, delivering ammunition and necessary equipment. VIDEO Veterano Brownie founder opens charity auction to buy drone for the Armed Forces Armed Forces blew up enemy landing combat vehicle (VIDEO) The russian occupiers lost more than 30500 soldiers, and 1358 tanks For the first time, Ukraine took part in a meeting of the Steering Committee of the NATO Cyber Center In the south of the Armed Forces of Ukraine lined up armored vehicles of the occupiers from ATGM (VIDEO) The French journalist became the eighth media man to die in the line of duty Anti-aircraft missile forces of Ukraine destroyed two missiles of the occupiers In a blow to Napas addiction recovery community, one home for clients of nonprofit Serenity Homes has been sold, eliminating six housing units for those that need it the most. On May 13, Napas Gasser Foundation sold a home leased by Serenity Homes of Napa Valley located at 1008 Evans Ave. in Alta Heights. The buyers are listed as Jeffrey Cisi and Vanoli LLC of San Francisco. The sale price was $800,000, according to the transfer tax paid. Serenity Homes board member Beverly Saxon Leonard said that the Gasser Foundation and Serenity Homes were able to come to a mutually satisfying resolution about the sale. We have an ongoing, good relationship with the Gasser Foundation, Saxon Leonard said. Theyve been very supportive of Serenity Homes and they are an important part of our future. But the loss of the Evans Avenue home has left Serenity Homes scrambling to find a new place so that we can house people, she said. The Gasser Foundation decided in April to sell the 1920s-era house "after learning the cost to make needed, extensive repairs" to the property, said Gasser Foundation CEO Nancy Watt. Watt noted that the foundation still owns two other homes, also leased to Serenity Homes for recovery housing, "and continues to support programs that support individuals in recovery." The Gasser Foundation has also provided a range of other affordable housing in Napa, including the South Napa Shelter, Stoddard West apartments, Hartle Court apartments, and new affordable units off Valle Verde Drive, said Watt. Jeffrey Cisi could not be immediately reached to comment on the sale. After the Evans Avenue home was removed from the Serenity Homes program, the nonprofit found room for those six residents at other Serenity Homes locations, such as two homes on Lernhart Street in Napa. Squeezing in extra people means its tight on Lernhart, thats for sure right now, Saxon Leonard acknowledged. Initially we were in a panic because we didnt know whether we could relocate our residents and we didnt want to put them out on the street, she said. Serenity Homes has an elevated responsibility to the people it invites into its premises. Theres an element of care that needs to be honored. And we didnt want to put that risk as a result of (this sale). Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. In the long term, Serenity Homes wants to buy or lease another home to replace the Evans Avenue housing so it can best accommodate Serenity Homes members, she said. Of course, with Napa County real estate prices on the rise, that is the tricky part. Its a big problem because our organization is a nonprofit not a money-making venture, Saxon Leonard noted. Luckily, Gasser provided us with some funds so we could find replacement housing, she said. And hopefully well be able to use those funds to possibly use as a down payment, or to lease a replacement rental. Maybe someone would be willing to donate a residence or we could buy it at a reduced price, she suggested. Were looking for those angels to support the program, and its rough out there because there are a lot of nonprofits in Napa Valley and everyone is looking for funding, she said. Unfortunately the type of program we have people with substance abuse problems its sometimes not the kind of program that people want to support. Johnny A stepping down: Serenity Homes celebrates 25 years After 25 years at the helm of Serenity Homes, Napa's Johnny A. is getting ready to pass the torch. Serenity Homes has a total of six homes in Napa that can accommodate up to 40 people, said founder Johnny Apodaca. In 26 years, more than 4,000 people have successfully completed the Serenity Homes program and have moved on to what for the most part have been sober lives, she noted. Its very worthwhile. The ultimate goal includes not only having an adequate number of homes, but to be able to provide the kind of programs people need in order to get them up and functioning as contributing members of society. For Serenity Homes to grow the program, not only does it need more housing, it also needs greater recognition to receive additional funding, said Saxon Leonard. To help Serenity Homes of Napa Valley 1971 Lernhart St., Napa, CA 94559 shnv.org 707-224-6927 Wed like to be recognized as a viable nonprofit in the area of nonprofit fundraising, she said. Its been difficult to get that recognition so far, she said. For example, Serenity Homes would like to attract attention from prominent giving groups such as the Napa Valley Vintners and the Napa Valley Community Foundation. What the nonprofit really needs is a knowledgeable fundraising and grant writing staffer to take the nonprofit to the next level, Saxon Leonard said. Serenity Homes also needs to educate the public, she noted. We provide an important service to Napa and Napa County by providing homes for people who are essentially transient and destitute who have substance abuse issues. We have to look at his an opportunity, not a negative, said Saxon Leonard. The loss of the Evans Avenue home is an opportunity to try and achieve the larger vision for Serenity Homes, she said. You can reach reporter Jennifer Huffman at 707-256-2218 or jhuffman@napanews.com Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. According to information published by the UK government on June 1, 2022, the Royal Navy vessel HMS Tamar visits Darwin this week after successful completion of a first deployment in the Indo-Asia Pacific as part of Britains permanent naval presence in the region. Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link River-class Offshore Patrol Vessel HMS Tamar (Picture source: Royal Navy) The Royal Navy vessel HMS Tamar visits Darwin this week (w/c May 30) after successful completion of a first deployment in the Indo-Asia Pacific as part of Britains permanent naval presence in the region. HMS Tamar visits the Northern Territory briefly for crew rotation, before continuing its permanent deployment in the region. Over the course of their five-year deployment, HMS TAMAR and sister ship SPEY plan to work with allies and partners across the region and plan to visit countries from Australia to Japan, and Fiji to Singapore. Since deploying in September 2021, Tamar and her sister ship Spey have traveled 25,000 nautical miles to Columbia, through the Panama Canal, transiting along the US West Coast and into the region via Hawaii. It has been an exciting time for the ship and crew where they have opened new relationships, strengthened others, delivered essential aid to countries in need, and helped deter illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. The ship has worked with a number of maritime forces in the region including; the US Coast Guard, US Navy, Royal Australian Navy, Royal New Zealand Navy, Republic of Fiji Navy, Royal Brunei Navy, and Indonesian Navy. About HMS Tamar HMS Tamar is a Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessel of the Royal Navy. Named after the River Tamar in England, this is the seventh Royal Navy ship to be named Tamar. She is the fourth Batch 2 River-class vessel to be built. The Batch 2 River-class ships are fundamentally different in appearance and capabilities from the preceding Batch 1. Notable differences include the 90.5 metres (296 ft 11 in) long hull, a top speed of 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph), Merlin-capable flight deck, a displacement of around 2,000 tonnes and greatly expanded capacity for accommodating troops. Google fined $100M over Google Photos' facial recognition feature Resistance Movement announces upcoming actions The World Bank worsens forecast for global economy Janet Yellen: US faces unsustainable inflation Germany is ready to increase its military mission in Lithuania in response to war in Ukraine European Parliament commends recent rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia Representatives of Japan and NATO agree to intensify military cooperation North Korea ignores numerous US dialogue initiatives Germany does not recognize Taliban as legitimate rulers of Afghanistan 10 people detained in case of clashes at Demirchyan and Proshyan streets intersection in Yerevan Athens is in full readiness for even most extreme scenario from Ankara Blankspot: New documents give unique insight into how talks went after Karabakh war European Parliament won't be silent on latest violations of fundamental freedoms in Turkey NEWS.am digest: Protests continue in Yerevan, stun grenades reportedly fired at people Australia to bring coal-fired power plants back on line to tackle energy crisis Taliban consider topic of human rights politicized White House: Increase in Saudi oil production is not the central issue with Riyadh Defense Ministers of Russia and Turkey discuss security of navigation in Black Sea Armenia Deputy PM discusses with French Ambassador work on unblocking regional transport communications WSJ: Saudi Arabia, Israel are moving towards rapprochement through US mediation EU Special Representative for South Caucasus visits Turkey Armenia Parliament Speaker to visit Iran Armenia FM receives relatives of POWs What will Lavrov and Cavusoglu discuss during meeting in Ankara? Non-cash summer: a chance to win 22 travel vouchers for the clients of Ameriabank Shoigu: Total number of Ukrainian servicemen who surrendered reached 6,489 Minor detained in connection with June 3 clashes in Yerevan is released Armenia deputy PM, American envoy reflect on unblocking of regional transport communications 4 tons of cocaine seized in Italy Russia lifts transport communication restrictions with Armenia, Kyrgyzstan Dollar, euro still weakening in Armenia Wizz Air kicks off Larnaca-Yerevan-Larnaca flights Turkey plans to buy Ukrainian grain at a discount of over 25% Municipality to re-launch Armenias Dilijan Textile Factory as multi-functional urban space IBM closes business in Russia Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises military reserve training preparatory program underway Armenia finance minister: More than AMD 157bn were spent in 2021 from funds allocated to health ministry Believers in Azerbaijan prisons go on hunger strike Japanese government alarmed by fall of yen against dollar Kremlin has no information on CSTO peacekeepers possible engagement in Donbas, Peskov says High-tech industry minister briefs Russia Ambassador on details regarding Armenia's first space satellite Minister: Armenia health ministry spent about $79M in 2021 to fight coronavirus Increasing healthcare spending in Armenia cannot be considered complete solution, minister says First flight of latest carrier-based drone to take place in 2025 Kazakhstan-Azerbaijan cooperation documents signed Artsakh Diocese Primate: Azerbaijan wants to replace Dadivanks Armenian clergy with Bakus Russian Diocese servants Summit of Americas to adopt 5 documents Secretary General to speak about work related to CSTO crisis response mechanism Armenia opposition MP: Police use stun grenades in front of EU embassy but latter is silent US expresses readiness to support progress, including as OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Venice Commission chair to arrive in Armenia on official visit Azerbaijan defense minister visiting Turkey World oil prices on the rise Resistance Movement marching towards EU Delegation to Armenia office Envoy to US has remote meeting with Co-Chairs Pallone and Speier of Congressional Caucus on Armenian issues Johnson retains post as UK Prime Minister Newspaper: Artsakh Defense Army ex-commander summoned for questioning about 20 times Newspaper: Armenia authorities' efforts to stop waves of protest in diaspora are in vain Minister shot dead in Dominican Republic Azerbaijani Parliament Speaker hopes for signing peace treaty between Yerevan and Baku Armenia Defense Minister: At this stage we see no danger of war with Azerbaijan Armenia Defense Minister: Head of General Staff of Armed Forces will be appointed after structural changes France is negotiating with UAE regarding supply of oil, diesel fuel Ishkhan Saghatelyan presents program of actions for tomorrow Hungarian FM agrees with Zelenskyy's 'psychological problems' opinion Germany to need 5 billion euros per year due to Russian gas sanctions Elon Musk names release date for Tesla robot Flights between Makhachkala and Baku canceled by Azerbaijani authorities NATO drills to be held in Turkey from 20 to 28 June Resistance Movement procession starts in Yerevan Reuters: US to allow Venezuelan oil supplies to Europe Ministry of Economy: Armenia's trade with Iran and China increased in 2021 Foreign Ministers of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan to meet in Baku NEWS.am digest: Over 2,000 people detained in Yerevan protests, 50 injured Lebanon calls for US mediation after vessel appears in waters disputed by Beirut Armenia MFA: European partners assure they are ready to liberalize visa regime with Armenia Iran, Iraq and Turkey trilateral meeting in Baghdad on water rights Resistance Movement holds rally in Yerevan Rashid Nurgaliyev: Washington is satisfied with the Karabakh conflict UK to supply Ukraine with MLRS, which can hit targets at distance of up to 80 km Samsung sued for technology theft Armenia opposition: Today we met with leaders of Artsakh opposition political forces Taliban condemn Indian party member's remarks against Prophet Muhammad Parliament Speaker: Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is matter of rights of Armenians to live in their homeland in security Armenia MFA: Issue of return of Armenian POWs is raised on various international platforms Armenia PM receives participants of CSTO PA Council meeting Armenia FM: Foreign Ministry's 2021 business trips are less than planned Iran to respond to any action taken at IAEA meeting MFA: There will be no delays in European financial aid to Armenia on EUR 2.6 billion IAEA: Iran close to possessing significant atomic bomb material Defense Ministers of Turkey and Ukraine discuss issues of safe passage of commercial dry cargo ships One citizen injured in June 3 incident in Yerevan remains in hospital Iranian Foreign Minister's visit to Turkey postponed Japan predicts power shortage for 1.1 million homes in winter Dollar, euro continue depreciating in Armenia Lavrov: Russia and Turkey are interested in solving emerging food issues Mirzoyan: Most important priority of our foreign policy is to ensure security of Armenia, Karabakh MFA: Armenia continued to deepen allied relations with Russia in 2021 FM: All communications must operate under jurisdiction of country through which they pass FM: Armenia MFA needs considerable, consistent staff renewal By Trend The military events in Ukraine had a direct impact on world trade routes. Many countries, including the UK, the US, Canada and the EU states, have introduced a ban on the entry of ships flying the Russian flag into their ports. Turkey did not join the anti-Russian sanctions, continuing to receive cargo from all directions, which had a positive effect on the cargo turnover of its ports. According to the Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, ports of Turkey increased their transshipment of goods by 6,000 tons from January through April 2022 compared to the same period last year. Turkish ports handled 124.9 million tons of cargo from January through April 2021, including 24.4 million tons of transit cargo. Turkish ports handled 130.8 million tons of cargo from January through April 2022, including 27.7 million tons of transit cargo. Despite the growth in the total volume of cargo transportation, their transshipment by Turkish ports on the Black Sea, which washes the shores of both Russia and Ukraine, has decreased. According to the ministry, the largest Turkish port on the Black Sea, port of Samsun, handled 3.6 million tons of cargo from January through April 2021. The port of Samsun handled 3 million tons of cargo from January through April 2022. Another major Turkish port, Zonguldak, handled 3.9 million tons of cargo from January through April 2021. The port of Zonguldak handled 3.7 million tons of cargo in the same period of 2022. A total of 3.1 million tons of cargo were transshipped through the port of Eregli from January through April 2021. This port handled 2.6 million tons of cargo from January through April 2022. A similar picture can be seen in the transshipment rates of smaller Turkish ports. For example, the port of Bartin handled 664,846 tons of cargo from January through April 2021. Cargo transshipment by this port amounted to 564,659 tons for the same period in 2022. The port of Trabzon handled 555,754 tons of cargo from January through April 2021. This figure amounted to 381,116 tons from January through April 2022. Another port on the Black Sea, port of Hopa handled 92,427 tons of cargo from January through April 2021. Transshipment decreased to 41,442 tons from January through April 2022. The situation with deliveries from the ports of Russia and Ukraine directly affected the reduction in cargo turnover in the Black Sea ports of Turkey. According to the Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, 19.6 million tons of cargo were delivered from Russia to Turkey in the first quarter of 2021. Transshipment from Russia amounted to 17.2 million tons of cargo in the first quarter of 2022. A total of 4.8 million tons of cargo arrived from Ukraine to Turkey in 2021. The transshipment of goods from Ukraine amounted to 3.5 million tons in 2022. At the same time, there is an increase in cargo traffic from other countries of the Black Sea, two of which - Bulgaria and Romania - have banned ships from Russia from entering their ports. Therefore, 1.08 million tons of cargo arrived in Turkey from Bulgaria from January through April last year. The transshipment of goods from Bulgaria through Turkey amounted to 1.2 million tons from January through April 2022. A total of 2.2 million tons of cargo arrived in Turkey from Romania in four months of last year and 2.4 million tons during the same period of 2022. Some 696,087 tons of cargo arrived from Georgia to Turkey from January through April 2021. Turkish ports handled 799,572 tons of cargo from Georgia from January through April 2022. Thereby, even the situation in Ukraine has had a negative impact on the transshipment of goods by ports of Turkey on the Black Sea. Turkish governments flexible policy has allowed it to increase the volume of cargo transportation, mainly due to countries that have stopped trading by the sea with Russia. It can be assumed that Turkey will maintain the current measured growth rate of cargo transportation, given the ongoing tension in the region and the need of Western countries for a trade intermediary. Despite the fact that the European Union decided to cut Russian oil imports by 90% by the end of the year, Italy became the only country in Europe to increase it, AP reports. The EU oil embargo is currently jeopardizing one of Italy's largest oil refineries, located in Sicily, which could deal an economic blow to the economy of the depressed region. Italy has agreed with its EU partners to cut Russian oil imports by 2023, a move that Prime Minister Mario Draghi has described as a total success that was unbelievable just a couple of days ago. But Rome also has to deal with the fate of an oil refinery in Sicily owned by the Russian company Lukoil. As a result of previous sanctions against Russia, ISAB Srl paradoxically moved from processing 15% of Russian oil to 100%. This is because banks have refused to take the risk of providing a loan to the Russian-controlled company ISAB that would allow it to buy oil from non-Russian sources, even if it is not expressly prohibited, said Matteo Villa, an energy analyst at the ISPI think tank in Milan. Vessels continue to arrive at the port refinery with crude oil from the Russian parent company. In May, Italy received about 400,000 barrels of Russian oil per day, four times the level before the war in Ukraine, according to Kpler. Of this amount, ISAB received 220,000 barrels. Italy is the only country in Europe increasing oil imports, Villa said, having gone from being the sixth largest importer of Russian oil to the largest in the three months since the war. Azerbaijani units have once again advanced in the mountainous terrain opposite the village of Nerqin Hand in Armenia's Syunik region, Sputnik Armenia reported. Earlier, Sputnik Armenia, on the basis of fresh satellite images, recorded a new advance of the enemy in two sections in the mountainous terrain located in the direction of the village. Prior to the publication, the publication sought a comment from the Defense Ministry but did not receive one. Afterward, the Defense Ministry confirmed that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces had invaded the territory in the direction of the village back in spring 2021. Later they left the territory due to weather conditions and returned after the snowfall. There was no official information about this until March 2022. At the same time, it is clear that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces made their way in this direction in March-April 2022, which can be seen in the satellite photos. The fresh images show that in addition to the already established advance (Arrow 1) Azerbaijani border troops have advanced in two other areas (Arrows 2 and 3), penetrating deeper into the territory of the Syunik region. In one case (Arrow 2) active road construction works were carried out after April 20, in the other (Arrow 3) presumably in May. Today, however, the Armenian Defense Ministry says there is no repeated advance of Azerbaijani units in front of Nerqin Hand village in Syunik region. The defense ministry circulated a statement in which, referring to its statement of March 21, notes that the deployment of Azerbaijani units in the specified section of the border occurred after November 9, 2020, i.e. in the post-war period. "And immediately after fixing the fact of deployment, the Armenian Armed Forces took the necessary measures to take control of the Azerbaijani units, as a result of which the movement of Azerbaijani military is fully controlled by the Armenian forces, and any attempt to advance will lead to retaliation," the statement says. The Defense Ministry urged to refrain from spreading information that "damages the authority of the army and causes unwarranted tension in the society." Khachik Baghdasaryan, the village headman, also confirmed to the newspaper Pastinfo the fact of appearance of the new post in front of the village. However, he said he did not know who the post belonged to. Earlier Sputnik Armenia found out that Azerbaijani units had infiltrated into the Armenian territory much to the south, near the height called "Vardasar". The Defense Ministry at first denied this fact, but later at the request of Sputnik Armenia confirmed the advance, stating that it took place a year ago. The publication was told that the enemy positions were established in May-June 2021. By Trend North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) commenced the turnaround of the Kashagan offshore and onshore facilities, Trend reports citing NCOC. A turnaround is one of the most important planned activities which implies full production shutdown for a short period of time once every few years as dictated by the regulatory compliance and business needs. The turnaround at Kashagan offshore and onshore facilities is aimed at assuring production system integrity and safety, mandatory activities and inspections required by Kazakhstan regulations as well as some works and projects aimed at debottlenecking and further increasing the production system capacity and reliability. The turnaround involves more than 2 million man-hours. The planned duration of turnaround activities is 45 days. The Kashagan field is considered one of the largest oilfields discovered over the past decades. Its recoverable reserves are estimated at 9 to 13 billion barrels of oil. The commercial production at Kashagan started in autumn 2016. Supporters of the Resistance Movement organized a protest outside the building of the Shirak regional administration. "The administration of the Shirak region has always served the Armenian people. But now this structure does not serve their interests. It serves more those buffoons who implement the Turkish program. It would be good if the employees of the regional administration would join our action today. I hope they, watching what is going on, even from their windows, agree with us. Today it's Karabakh, tomorrow it will be Gyumri and Yerevan," said one of the protesters. The protesters expressed their desire to meet with the governor of Shirak Nazeli Baghdasaryan to clarify her position on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. But the protesters were told that the governor was not in the building. There are police officers at the entrance to the Shirak regional administration building. Turkey has not received documented guarantees that Sweden and Finland will refuse to support Kurdish political organizations, including the extremist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) recognized by Ankara, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking in parliament. We have not yet been provided with any specific document. We cannot believe the words that would not be enshrined in the documents, Erdogan said. He also recalled that Sweden and Finland supported the embargo on the supply of weapons to Turkey, but at the same time "armed terrorists from Syria for free." This practice does not correspond to the rule of law. These are the methods of terrorist countries, he said. The issue of Finnish and Swedish support for Kurdish political organizations became especially acute after these countries decided to join NATO. Turkey blocked the expansion of the alliance to the Scandinavian Peninsula, demanding guarantees from Helsinki and Stockholm that they would not support the PKK. We have openly stated that we oppose the membership of these two countries in NATO because of their support for the terrorist organization PKK and its offshoots. NATO is a security organization, not a terrorist support organization. They protect these terrorist organizations along with the police in Sweden, Finland, Germany, France and the Netherlands. They are marching with banners depicting the leaders of terrorist organizations, Erdogan confirmed Ankaras concerns. By Azernews Some 403 historical and cultural monuments with state registration were inspected by the representatives of Azerbaijans Ministry of Culture in liberated lands, Azernews reports, citing the State Service for Protection, Development and Restoration of Cultural Heritage under the ministry. According to the State Service, officials began to perform tasks to the primary inventory and protection of cultural objects such as monuments and institutions. Moreover, they monitored 162 objects located in these territories, which do not have state registration but are of historical, architectural, and archaeological value. During the monitoring, it was discovered that 51 of 185 historical and cultural monuments with state registration were completely destroyed, and 134 were partially destroyed. Besides, some 864 cultural institutions were identified during the initial monitoring, including 462 libraries, 20 museums, 26 children's music schools, one cinema, two theatres, two galleries, and three cinema clubs. Currently, the monitoring is ongoing. Many historical monuments were seriously damaged or destroyed as a result of the Armenian aggression. Monuments, museums, and archival funds belonging to the Azerbaijani people were plundered as well. Over 700 historical and cultural monuments registered by the state before the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were looted, including the 11 and 15-span Khudaferin bridges in Jabrayil, Ganjasar, and Khudavand sanctuaries in Kalbajar, the mausoleum in Aghdam's Khachin Turbetli village, the Azykh cave in Fuzuli as well as the Shusha state historical and architectural reserve as a result of Armenian vandalism. Local and foreign experts are currently rebuilding Azerbaijan's liberated territories. Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the digest of top news of protests in Yerevan as of 01.06.22: Armenian police clashed with protesters in Yerevan amid a wave of demonstrations against the prime minister that has seen thousands of people block government buildings, close roads and shut down the metro system. Police said a group of people outside a government building had clashed with police officers and called for protesters to obey the law. "We once again urge you to show exclusively lawful behaviour during public actions, to obey the lawful demands of the police officers", the police said in a statement. During the protests on Monday, over 100 people have been forcibly apprehended. Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a phone talk. The Russian President welcomed the first meeting of the Demarcation and Border Security Commission between Armenia and Azerbaijan and reaffirmed Russia's readiness to support the border demarcation process. The next meeting of the Commission will be held in Moscow. The sides referred to the issue of opening regional communications and an agreement was reached to intensify the work of the trilateral working group. PM Pashinyan shared to the Russian President his impressions of the recent meeting in Brussels, expressing concern over the comments following the meeting that have nothing to do with the substance of the discussions. The sides also discussed issues related to the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, in particular, the possibility of intensifying the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs format. In the context of tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan in recent days, European Council President Charles Michel has reaffirmed the EU's commitment to deepen cooperation with both countries to promote a secure, stable, peaceful and prosperous South Caucasus for the benefit of all people living in the region, the statement by the representative of the President of the European Council says. Michel welcomed "the first historic meeting of both countries' Border Commissions on 24 May and stressed the paramount importance of ensuring stability and security along the state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan as delimitation will be pursued. President Michel noted that for a sustainable normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, it is important to address all outstanding issues at hand, including advancing discussions on the future peace treaty and addressing the root causes of conflict. The Armenian Defense Ministry refuted yet another Azerbaijani lie. "The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry has once again disseminated a report on the violation of the ceasefire by the Armenian side, in which it claims that the Armenian armed forces fired at Azerbaijani military positions located in the eastern and northeastern sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in the evening and night of Tuesday. This information does not correspond to reality. The situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is relatively stable and is under the full control of the Armenian Armed Forces," the Armenian Defense Ministry said. World-famous rapper 50 Cent will give a concert in Yerevan on 1 July. Ahead of the event in the capital of Armenia, the rapper sent greetings from the USA. "Hey, whats up, I look forward to perform for you on 1 July. Don't miss it," the rapper says in a short video. Earlier, the rapper made another note about the concert to be held in Armenia, saying were going to have a good time! The US is "adding fuel to the fire" by supplying weapons to Kyiv, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday in response to President Joe Bidens decision to provide more advanced missile systems to Ukraine. "We believe that the United States is purposefully and diligently adding fuel to the fire," Peskov told reporters on a regular conference call. The Ukrainian authorities have long asked the United States to supply high-tech, medium-range rocket systems. Biden said Tuesday the US is providing Ukraine "more advanced rocket systems and munitions" as its war with Russia grinds on. Representatives of the Resistance Movement today met with more than two dozen non-parliamentary forces and discussed the statement of the Movement regarding Artsakh, around which they expressed their position, Ishkhan Saghatelyan, vice-speaker of the Armenian parliament from the opposition, told reporters. He said that there were political forces to which they appealed, but those, for various reasons, were not present at the meeting. Until the evening, we will sum up the results of the first stage of consultations and publish a list of those parties that spoke in favor of the principles and positions promulgated by the Resistance Movement on the Artsakh issue, the vice speaker said. At this point, I can say that almost all the forces present were in this mood (meaning that they were for - ed.), Saghatelyan said, adding that only this issue was on the agenda of today's discussion. The Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament from the opposition noted that they attach great importance to this format of dialogue with non-parliamentary forces, adding that such consultations will be periodic. We will summarize everything and report on the final results, the oppositionist noted. He also added that there are parties that, having read the text of the statement, asked for time for discussion, after which they will present their positions, although at least no one from the forces present objected. When asked whether the text of the statement could change as a result of these meetings, Saghatelyan said that there would be no substantive changes. We keep the content of the text of the statement, which was submitted to the National Assembly. There may be editorial or other changes. Such proposals were made by the current political forces, he said. Saghatelyan also informed that an agreement was reached to hold a meeting on this issue with an even larger number of invited forces, since there were quite interesting proposals from the participants. When asked on the basis of what principles non-parliamentary forces were invited, the oppositionist said that, with the exception of a few forces that became servants of the Civil Contract party, everyone was invited. Michael A. Elliott, dean of Emory College of Arts and Sciences since 2017, will be the next president of Amherst College, a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Elliott joined the Emory University faculty in 1998, after earning his PhD from Columbia University and his BA from Amherst College. He will begin serving as Amhersts 20th president on Aug. 1. As dean of Emory College, Elliott has led Emorys core undergraduate division of more than 5,600 students and 570 faculty members. During his nearly 25 years at Emory and six years leading the College, Elliott has amplified the liberal arts and sciences while advancing Emory Colleges excellence in research, teaching and experiential learning. Michael Elliott has been an outstanding leader at Emory because of his profound commitment to our students and faculty, and to the important role the arts and sciences have today, says Emory President Gregory L. Fenves. Even as the leader of Emory College, he showed the traits of all great professors curiosity, inspiration and ambition. I know he will elevate Amherst College and make significant contributions to his alma mater. From developing Emory Colleges strategic plan, Leading the Liberal Arts and Sciences, in 2017, to co-leading the launch of the universitys new Student Flourishing initiative this year, Elliott has made major strides in faculty diversity and eminence, undergraduate liberal arts education, philanthropic support and recruitment of top students. I have truly enjoyed working with Michael as a colleague, campus leader and collaborator, especially on our university-wide initiatives to invest in faculty eminence and student flourishing. Michael has given so much of himself to Emory College and Emory as a whole to help us become more excellent, more inclusive and more successful, says Emory Provost Ravi V. Bellamkonda. Although we are all sorry to say farewell, Im thrilled for him to be offered this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lead his alma mater. The fact that members of our leadership team are sought after to take the helm at other great institutions is not only a tribute to the individual, but a clear sign that others recognize Emorys strong vision and leadership in academia. Advancing faculty eminence Throughout his tenure as dean, Elliott has enhanced the research profile of the faculty, and, with his leadership team, has been instrumental in diversifying the Emory College faculty. Almost half of all new faculty members since 2017 identify as belonging to historically underrepresented groups, women in STEM disciplines, or both. As a result, Emory College has nearly doubled the percentage of faculty members belonging to a historically underrepresented group, defined by the university as African American, Hispanic/Latinx or Native/Indigenous. He has also identified research strengths across the natural and social sciences and the humanities to build communities of scholars who can address the most pressing questions of our time, such as the recruitment of more than 30 new faculty members advancing scholarship on race, ethnicity and inequality. Elliott also has enhanced the research profile of quantitative science disciplines, most notably with the expansion of quantitative theory and methods into a department, as well as growth in math, computer science, economics and other areas. Under Elliotts leadership, the arts at Emory have been enlivened as well with the creation of an associate deanship for the arts, an increased commitment to arts disciplines and innovative programs such as the Arts and Social Justice Fellows. Translating the value of the liberal arts for students Elliott has enthusiastically worked to amplify the value of the liberal arts and sciences for students. He helped to double the College's funding for undergraduate research and led the creation of the Emory Edge program and fund, which integrates personal and professional development into the curriculum and offers students financial support for experiential opportunities. In partnership with Oxford College Dean Doug Hicks, Elliott established the Mellon Humanities Pathways program, which leverages faculty strengths and alumni connections to highlight the value of humanistic inquiry to many careers. Elliotts vision of holistic student support will become manifest with the launch of the Pathways Center this fall as part of Emorys Student Flourishing initiative. Led by Branden Grimmett, incoming associate dean and vice provost for career and professional development, the Pathways Center will integrate undergraduate career exploration with the academic experience while establishing stronger alumni and mentor connections and increasing student participation in internships, entrepreneurial projects, research, education abroad and service learning. Legacy of growth, strength for the College Emory College grew significantly during Elliotts deanship. Since 2017, admissions applications have grown by 40%, resulting in Emorys most diverse and academically distinctive undergraduate classes. Elliott has significantly expanded donor support for the College and alumni involvement in the life of the university. Emory College has raised nearly $225 million toward its $350 million goal for 2O36, the largest fundraising campaign in Emory College and university history. Campaign funds raised for Emory College will increase student access through scholarships, support faculty growth and retention, shape an enhanced student experience, and grow innovative scholarly programs. Elliott also completed the Scholarship Endowment Initiative, raising more than $80 million for endowed scholarships in Emory College and more than doubling the number of new or augmented scholarship endowments. Emory has been my home for more than two decades, and Ive learned more on this campus than I could ever put into words, Elliott says. From my first moment here, I have been inspired by the commitment of Emorys faculty and staff to the mission of the liberal arts, and serving as dean has been more rewarding than I could have possibly imagined. I feel immensely grateful to everyone faculty, staff, students, alumni who has supported me during my career here, and I am truly honored to be returning to Amherst College as its 20th president. Elliott has maintained an active scholarly presence while holding multiple leadership roles. The recipient of prestigious research fellowships, he has authored two books on American literary and intellectual history and serves on the editorial board of The Norton Anthology of American Literature. In 2018, Elliott oversaw the launch of Digital Publishing in the Humanities, an effort to position Emory as a national leader in the future of academic publishing. Prior to his deanship, Elliott served as senior associate dean for faculty from 20092014, as executive associate dean from 20142015, and as interim dean from 20162017. In 2008, Elliott was awarded with the Emory Williams Distinguished Teaching Award, which recognizes excellence and innovation in undergraduate teaching. Elliott will continue to serve as Emory College dean through July. Bellamkonda will name an interim dean in the coming weeks, after which a national search for the next dean will commence. By Azernews By Ayya Lmahamad The Main Anti-Corruption Department under the Prosecutor-General's Office is probing a criminal case into materials on illegal actions of officials of the State Tax Service under the Economy Ministry, Azernews reports per a joint statement of the ministry and the Prosecutor-General's Office. The probe identified that the head of the Main Territorial Tax Department No.6, Mirjavad Hashimov, entered into a preliminary conspiracy with the department's senior tax inspector, Zakir Kazimov, and received a bribe totaling AZN20,000 ($11,760). It was found out that the bribe was received twice from a citizen for failure to carry out prompt measures of tax control in connection with the identified violations in the activities of a taxpayer. In connection with illegal actions, Hashimov and Kazimov have been prosecuted as suspects under Articles 308.2 (abuse of official powers entailing grave consequences), 311.3.1 (receiving a bribe by a group of persons by prior agreement), and 311.3.3 (receiving a bribe in a large amount) of the Criminal Code. A measure of restraint in the form of arrest was chosen by a court decision. The Main Anti-Corruption Department continues necessary investigative measures to identify and prosecute all suspects in this case. ###Embeddable### Story Highlights Latest figure is statistically similar to previous high of 70% in 2021 Weekly churchgoers remain the primary opponents WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Seventy-one percent of Americans say they support legal same-sex marriage, which exceeds the previous high of 70% recorded in 2021 by one percentage point. These data are from Gallup's annual Values and Beliefs poll, conducted May 2-22. When Gallup first polled about same-sex marriage in 1996, barely a quarter of the public (27%) supported legalizing such unions. It would take another 15 years, until 2011, for support to reach the majority level. Then in 2015, just one month before the U.S. Supreme Court's Obergefell v. Hodges decision, public support for legalizing gay marriage cracked the 60% level, and last year it reached the 70% mark for the first time. Weekly Churchgoers Are the Final Holdouts of Opposition Rising national support for legal same-sex marriage reflects steady increases among most subgroups of the population, even those who have traditionally been the most resistant to gay marriage. Adults aged 65 and older, for example, became mostly supportive in 2016 -- as did Protestants in 2017 and Republicans in 2021. Americans who report that they attend church weekly remain the primary demographic holdout against gay marriage, with 40% in favor and 58% opposed. Analyzing Gallup's trends since 2004, Americans who seldom or never attend church have always been mostly supportive of same-sex couples getting legally married. Among those who attend nearly weekly or monthly, support did not rise to the majority level until 2014. Weekly churchgoers, however, have yet to reach a majority level of support in the trend. The current 40% among this group who support same-sex marriage is within the 39% to 44% range Gallup has recorded since 2016. ###Embeddable### Bottom Line As Gallup's trend on support for legal same-sex marriage inches ever upward, the question is when it will reach its ceiling. While support has typically increased by small percentages on an annual basis -- often within the margin of error -- cumulatively, the increases have produced a transformation in U.S. attitudes on an issue Americans once vehemently opposed. Some observers of the Supreme Court's leaked draft opinion related to Roe v. Wade in May have questioned whether an overturning of Roe would clear a path for the conservative-leaning court to also overturn Obergefell. If this were to happen, the court would be moving in opposition to a public opinion trend that has shown increasing support. To stay up to date with the latest Gallup News insights and updates, follow us on Twitter. Learn more about how the Gallup Poll Social Series works. Nicole Brewer, a 26-year veteran of Portland Fire & Rescue and student at OSU Center for Health Sciences School of Forensic Sciences, was recently named the 2022 Investigator of the Year by the International Association of Arson Investigators. Forensic Sciences student named IAAI Investigator of the Year Media Contact: Sara Plummer | Communications Coordinator | 918-561-1282 | sara.plummer@okstate.edu Nicole Brewer, a 26-year veteran of Portland Fire & Rescue and student at OSU Center for Health Sciences School of Forensic Sciences, was recently named the 2022 Investigator of the Year by the International Association of Arson Investigators. Brewer has already earned a masters degree from the School of Forensic Sciences Arson, Explosives, Firearms and Toolmarks Investigation (AEFTI) program and is now working toward a Ph.D. in the same area from OSU-CHS. Both degree programs are offered online. I had always wanted to be a fire investigator, Brewer said, and she worked first as a volunteer firefighter before being hired by Portland Fire & Rescue in Oregon more than 26 years ago. For the past 15 years, she has worked as a police-certified fire and arson investigator conducting more than 2,500 fire and explosion investigations. I love the part of solving the puzzle. I like the challenge of it, she said. Applying the science, applying the logic, and then putting all the pieces together. Brewer said fire is very mysterious to people so understanding the physics and chemistry of fire and how it reacts in different environments and then being able to explain why a fire did what it did is a vital part of her job. And even after so long in the fire and arson field, she still wants to know more. Brewer said she first heard about OSU-CHS AEFTI program at a conference several years ago. Someone told me You should go to Oklahoma States program. Its for people who are already working in the field, she said. Programs for fire investigators are few and far between, especially online programs. Brewer said she was impressed that the courses were taught by instructors with ATF backgrounds and it allowed her to work at her own schedule. I found its been a great program. The flexibility is very helpful in making this educational experience possible. Ive had the chance to go to an ATF lab and learn from some of the best out there, she said. Im finding I keep learning more and more about this field. That striving to know more and improve may be one reason Brewer received IAAIs Investigator of the Year Award. She was first recognized by the Oregon chapter of IAAI and was then nominated for the international award. I received the Oregon Fire Investigator of the Year and that was above and beyond what I imagined. To receive the Investigator of the Year award, it still seems so surreal, she said. Ive been a fire investigator for so long, its who I am. The fire service has just become a part of me. I still feel like I have something to give, and I still feel like I have something to get. Its a rewarding career. "To receive the Investigator of the Year award, it still seems so surreal. Ive been a fire investigator for so long, its who I am. The fire service has just become a part of me." - Nicole Brewer, School of Forensic Sciences Ph.D. student and Portland Fire & Rescue arson investigator. AEFTI Program Director John Frucci, Ph.D., said Brewer is the fourth person associated with the program to be recognized with the IAAI Investigator of the Year Award. The other winners include Frucci, OSU CENFEX Range Manager Billy Magalassi and AEFTI Adjunct Professor Jamie Lord. It is the highest award you can receive as a fire investigator internationally. Now we have four winners associated with our program, which is amazing, Frucci said. Im so excited for Nicole and honored to have her in our program. Brewer said this is the first international fire award for Oregon and Portland Fire & Rescue. My supervisor is floored. Its good for the whole fire bureau to receive this kind of honor, she said. This is a high-level award and I hope that I live up to it. I hope I continue to earn it. I hope I do the award proud. New Delhi [India], June 1 (ANI/NewsVoir): Trebonn, a young Italian kitchenware brand plans to enter the Indian market this summer. Known for its innovative approach to product design, Trebonn designs kitchenware products which combine ease of use and functionality with superior design and aesthetics. Founded by an Italian father-and-sons trio, Trebonn has a huge range of unique products which are sure to appeal to the modern Indian consumer. Amongst their wide range of interesting products is a chopping board which can be rolled like a mat to be stored easily, a pair of tongs that moonlights as a serving spoon as well as a salad fork, and a grater with an attached container for ease of collection, among many more. Federico Bonardi, MD of Trebonn said, "Trebonn products are designed to bring together design, creativity and functionality in the kitchen. We aim to create magic with everyday kitchen objects by reimagining them with vibrant colours, and numerous uses. We believe our products would provide excellent value to the modern Indian household looking to create the kitchen of their dreams. And we feel that Dozo Services are the perfect partner for us to enter the Indian market given their 12 years of experience and success with other European brands." Excited to bring the brand to India, Amitabh Airi, Board Advisor of Dozo Services said, "Penetrating the Indian market is tricky for international brands because India is a complex mix of traditional, modern, and online trade. Trebonn has great potential and our goal this year is to establish them not just in the metros but also in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. Over the last few years, we have seen an increase in demand for kitchenware products which are functional, aesthetically pleasing, and have a luxurious touch and that is why we think this young brand is highly relevant." The Indian kitchenware market is growing multifold since the pandemic which brought back people's focus to their homes. Currently, not many players exist in the innovative kitchen accessories segment, however, the presence and reception of the few players that exist show that there is a huge demand. "When we launched another similar brand in the kitchenware segment in early 2015, we saw a growth of almost 5 times in a span of 5 years. Besides, we were also able to understand and analyse the demand for different products with regard to customer segments. We know that houseware products are also popular as gifting options, especially during the gifting season, and we think Trebonn products will fit well with the needs of the Indian consumer. Trebonn's chopping board that fits the knife within, or cooking pods are great examples of form meeting function and we are excited to launch fresh brands with fresher products in the market," said Tomo Kobori, Co-founder of Dozo Services. "There is a generational shift towards wanting to build a better lifestyle, especially at home. We have seen Indian customers becoming more interested in buying luxury and premium products for not just their living rooms, but also kitchens and bathrooms. And we see this trend growing more in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities even more. We want to help curate homeware products and continue to bring useful and unique products directly to the customer," quoted Shivani Airi, the Chief Strategist at AltVibes.com (Dozo Services' online e-commerce platform). Dozo Services has been focused on bringing in, establishing, and providing premium quality and unique International houseware brands to the Indian market like Riedel, Hario, Toddy, Thermos, Kyocera, Inomata, and many more. AltVibes.com is the digital arm of Dozo Services that curates the most celebrated global brands in Barware, Kitchenware, Tea-ware/Coffee-ware, and expanding into more categories. In a world of way too many choices, AltVibes.com provides its users with a unique experience to feel good, buy good, and do good. Its Co-founder, Tomoyoshi Kobori, is a serial entrepreneur who has set up several successful startups across the globe. His ventures aim to include not just established brands but also SMEs and small-scale manufacturers, artisans, and vendors of lifestyle products. Its principal advisor, Amitabh Airi, is also the principal advisor to many international brands looking to penetrate the Indian market. With over 35 years of experience, he has helped launch and establish the popularity of prominent glassware and homeware brands like Riedel, Nachtmann, Spiegelau, Vacu Vin, Aramoro and Mesa among others in the Indian market. This story is provided by NewsVoir ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) Thousand Oaks (California) [US]/Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 1 (ANI/BusinessWire India): UnifyTwin announces the launch of the Intelligent Industrial App Suite which offers five Business Apps to address various aspects of the industrial life cycle driving towards sustainable business outcomes. These apps are now deployed and validated in over 450+ industrial customers worldwide. UnifyTwin is now on an expansion path and is pursuing strategic partnerships for scaling. UnifyTwin's next-generation offering of Intelligent Industrial Apps addresses the pain points of various industry personas across the industrial life cycle. All apps are validated across multiple industry segments such as Pharma & Chemical, Textile, Refinery & Energy, Metals & Minerals and Building Materials. Customers across these industries are validating the significant business value and quick Return on Investment (ROI) from these Intelligent Apps. The simplicity of the solution along with apps for specific use cases is the secret behind scaling across multiple industrial plants in such a short period of time. Here is what some of the customers who are scaling with this product had to say about the apps: Srirangarajan, CIO, Global Pulp and Fibre Business, Aditya Birla Group - "In our digital journey, UnifyTwin has been a great partner in co-creating a solution for the heart of Textile Fibre manufacturing leveraging their Intelligent App Suite and helped us meet our KPI's." G V Subramanyam Gupta, Chief Information Officer, Welspun Flooring Ltd - "Using the UnifyTwin Application, we are now able to take advantage of the unified contextualized insights from our connected workers and machines in real time. The differentiated Remote Monitoring digital manufacturing solution is now driving towards predictable productivity & quality of our products in the coating plant." C B Bhardwaj , EVP and Chief Of Manufacturing, Jubilant Ingrevia Ltd- "Our Digital Transformation initiatives leveraging the Intelligent App Suite from UnifyTwin for Yield/ utilities Optimization with Analytics have been a great success. We look forward to leveraging the UnifyTwin Knowledge Cloud to deploy across our plants." Gopi Krishan M, Deputy General Manager, Orient Cement Ltd- "UnifyTwin Solution, as a comprehensive IoT solution, has helped us to simplify Remote Monitoring, connectivity to machines, perform data acquisition, monitor and archive Plant Control room data for analysis." The details of the launched apps are as follows: 1. Smart Energy: With an imminent need to reduce energy consumption and costs in industrial operations, Smart Energy App is a plug and play solution to connect smart energy meters to the cloud and provide proactive insights and recommendations for energy savings. 2. Glens Sustainability: Focusing on helping customers measure & reduce industrial pollution, GHG and drive Net Zero goals, this app addresses the sustainability and carbon accounting needs of enterprises. This app is MCERT certified and is already the market leader in Asia and the Middle East. 3. Yield Optimizer: It is purpose-built to help process manufacturing plant managers capture golden batch parameters and provide autonomous recommendations to consistently achieve maximum yield, bringing a multi-fold increase in manufacturing efficiencies & annual profits. 4. Remote Monitoring: The app provides a simple plug and play model to monitor any machines or assets by configuring condition-based monitoring alerts and identifying operational anomalies. 5. Asset Analytics: It takes asset monitoring to the next level with predefined 120+ digital asset models that apply artificial intelligence to achieve improvements in asset efficiency and provide proactive recommendations for predictive maintenance. "Our apps are built to solve specific pain points of multiple personas in the industrial journey by a team of industry veterans and domain experts. We learnt that the apps need to be built on a common Industrial Knowledge Graph by unifying human and machine interactions and events so that these apps can learn and drive contextualized insights and recommendations for real-time decisions," said UnifyTwin CEO and Founder, Sudheesh Narayanan. UnifyTwin will be demonstrating the apps live in Hannover Messe in Hall 4, Stand F78/1 from May 30th - June 2nd, 2022. 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], June 1 (ANI/BusinessWire India): Trace Network has partnered with Indian retail, textiles and apparel business consulting giant Technopak Advisors, enabling metaverse capabilities for them. This alliance marks one of the largest Web3 alliances for the global fashion and lifestyle space, fueled by the power of NFTs. Trace Network is facilitating the fashion and lifestyle industry to step into the virtual realm and unlock new opportunities through digital fashion in the metaverse. Notably, with three decades of experience working with organizations across retail, consumer goods, manufacturing and services-- Technopak comes with a vast multi-industry exposure and understanding of the ever-expanding landscape of challenges and opportunities. The consulting giant has been providing its valuable services to brands like Reliance Brands, Aditya Birla Fashion Ltd, Arvind Brands, Best Seller Brands, Bata, Manyavar, Blackberry, Woodlands, Forever New, Calvin Klien, Celio, Mufti and many more in the fashion industry. The primary area of focus in this collaboration will entail the creation of a series of experiential and immersive brand stores in the metaverses for fashion brands to connect them to their customers. These stores will be created in a manner to display the special line of digital fashionwear as NFTs that can be bought from the virtual stores itself. The users' avatars created via Trace Network's BUDDY can then visit these stores to take a look at these products, check out details via the NFTs, test the product by actually wearing them on their avatars and then make a purchase decision. To add more to this, once the user has decided to buy a product by looking at the virtual brand store, they can also buy the physical products via the ecommerce sites of the brands that deliver the product to their doorstep. Speaking on this partnership, Sunil Arora, Co-Founder, Trace Network Labs said, "We are very excited to partner with Technopak in bringing greater synergies between the fashion & lifestyle businesses worldwide and the concept of the metaverse. We aim to work together in enhancing global Web3 integrations in this space and unleash the power of the Metaverse and experiential commerce for them." "We are happy to partner with Trace Network on our global mission to equip and enable our fashion & lifestyle clients for the future. The prospect of being in the Metaverse brings with it new and exciting opportunities. We will work with Trace to aid fashion and lifestyle brands in their quest to leverage Metaverse & its vast potential," Team Technopak Advisors added. This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India) Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 1 (ANI/ Scenic Communication): Sante` Spa Cuisine has been on a steady growth path, despite the demanding challenges brought on by the pandemic. They have recently launched their second outlet at Chennai, making it the sixth outlet of the brand. They have launched Sante Spa Cuisine in Khar West, Mumbai. The first outlet is in Koregoan Park, Pune, and one each in Ahmedabad and Bengaluru. Sante Spa Cuisine is opening the second outlet in Bangalore and the second one in Pune before August 2022. This will take the tally to 8 outlets in India, with plans in place to go global very soon. Today, as the world is opening up, an increasing number of people are looking for better, newer experiences, especially in the hospitality and restaurant sector, experimenting with different food and ambience. And that's what Sante Spa Cuisine is known for. Sante`has already made a mark among such customers, offering them a wholesome vegetarian and vegan fine dine restaurant setting with curated menus using fresh and exotic ingredients. Its tagline, 'Spa Cuisine' and " Honestly Healthy " is a reflection of the brand's commitment to offering a wholesome fine dine experience in vegetarian food with Vegan, Satvik, keto and gluten-free options. Sante does not use any refined products or colours or artificial flavours in any format. Brainchild of Chartered Accountant and avid fitness and health-conscious entrepreneur, Sonal Barmecha, Sante`started out as a passion project and today is a brand to reckoned with, appreciated by food connoisseurs and general foodies including the non-vegetarian foodies alike. Sonal is a passionpreneur and an innovator in the food sector. Speaking about the journey, and the future plans for the brand, Sonal Barmecha, Founder and CEO, said, "I believe the millennial and GenZ population is ready to embrace this healthy, cruelty-free and environmentally inclusive choice of food. And the pandemic further pushed people switch to healthier lifestyles, including adopting vegan and vegetarian food choices, which are not only healthier for the body but also good for the environment. Sante spa cuisine was launched in 2016. Since then we have grown more than 100% year on year and today we are present in 5 cities with 6 restaurants in action and two more will be operational by August 2022. All this speaks volumes at the speed of growth of the Brand and we cannot be anything but grateful and hopeful for the future!" Sante`spa cuisine is focused on the core idea of a shared planet and hence their offerings revolve around vegetarianism, veganism, environmentalism, awareness and an idea of minimalism. From procuring the freshest and wherever possible organic ingredients, greens and micro-greens to sourcing from the best of the farms and local businesses around the outlet, Sante` is focused on adopting environmentally sustainable business practices. The restaurant also uses a lot of unrefined, non-white produce to get patrons the earthy flavours which are authentic to our roots. And the menu is specially curated with innovative recipes to suit the food palate for all age groups from infants to senior citizens. The menu comprises of freshly made salads, wholesome smoothies, cold-pressed juices and a wide variety of starters and entrees. The juices are mostly detox, chlorophyll and matcha rich which energises and refreshes consumers. They serve appetisers, ragi based pizzas and a variety of balanced main courses which have an option of vegan, gluten-free, amino rich, protein-rich and high fibre. They also have different types of shakes made with soya, almond, coconut and fresh A2 milk. Sante provides guilt free desserts made with natural sweeteners like organic honey, jaggery and stevia. AgneloRajesh Athaide, Partner, Sante` Khar, came on-board as a strategic investor in 2020 and has been a steady force in the growth of the brand. He has been instrumental in drawing up long term expansion plan, creating new business models such as launching hamper sales, as a new vertical and introducing the new range of desserts called "Guilt free by Sante". Since his involvement, the brand has grown from 4 outlets in Jan 2021 to 8 outlets by June 2022 - registering a 100 per cent growth, in spite of the deadly second wave that lashed out at the country in mid-2021. Speaking about his vision for the brand, AgneloRajesh said, "I see huge growth potential for Sante` as it caters to the changing preferences of the new consumer. With vegan, and cruelty-free offerings, the brand is on a growth trajectory and we aim to soon expand to other metros across the country, bringing the best of vegan and guilt-free fine dine experiences. In addition to the unique food offerings, we are also focusing on innovative business models, like curated subscriptions and collaborations, to further enhance our reach and visibility. The Indian consumer today is ready for experimenting and adopting healthy lifestyles in the long run and Sante` is here to offer them just that." The Chennai outlet is the 6th restaurant outlet of Sante` and the second one in the city of Chennai. The brand was launched in 2016 with the first outlet in Pune in 2016. It was a 1400 sq.ft space then and by 2021, became a spacious 10K sq.ft. restaurant. Sante Spa Cuisine in Khar West, Mumbai, has the latest additions of dishes with new combinations. The restaurant as the other outlets, boasts of a great ambience. Sante is one of India's leading restaurants providing Vegetarian and Vegan Cuisine. With presence in 5 cities, Sante is taking the vegetarian and Vegan world by storm. The restaurant is the brainchild of Sonal Barmecha and has been curated by Celebrity Chef Shailendra Kekade. He has been in the industry for more than 35 years and has a good fan base for his food curation. Agnelorajesh Athaide has joined the group as a strategic investor and is adding game changing ideas to the growth of the organisation. The menu is curated to suit the food palate for all age groups from infants to senior citizens, thanks to the creativity of Chef Shailendra Kekade. Awards and Achievements: - Forbes India - Power Woman of the Year - Time Food Guide Awards: Last 4 years for best vegetarian & health food - Mid-Day Awards: Best Health Food Restaurant Mumbai - Women Entrepreneur of the Year: Creme Magazine - Best Restaurant of the Year: Creme Magazine - What's Hot: Best Health Food Restaurant in India Sante Spa Cuisine is also the most consistent on online ratings with an average of 4.8/5 on Zomato for last 4 years. This story is provided by Scenic Communication. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/ Scenic Communication) Hosur (Tamil Nadu) [India], June 1 (ANI/NewsVoir): TVS Motor Company sales was at 302,982 units in May 2022. The year-on-year growth is not comparable due to the low base of sales in May 2021 because of the localised lockdown imposed by the Government of India during that period. Two-Wheeler Total two-wheelers sales grew from 154,416 units in May 2021 to 287,058 units in May 2022. Domestic two-wheeler sales grew from 52,084 units in May 2021 to 191,482 units in May 2022. Motorcycle sales grew from 125,188 units in May 2021 to 148,560 units in May 2022. Scooter sales of the Company grew from 19,627 units in May 2021 to 100,665 units in May 2022. The shortage in the supply of semiconductors has impacted the production and sales of premium two-wheelers. We are working aggressively with alternate sources and taking every effort to improve supplies at the earliest. Some improvement has been seen this month. We are optimistic that volumes will revive to normal levels once the semiconductor supplies improve. International Business The Company's total exports registered sales of 110,245 units in May 2022 as against 114,674 units in May 2021. Two-wheeler exports recorded sales of 95,576 units in May 2022 as against 102,332 units in May 2021. Three-Wheeler Three-wheeler of the Company grew by 28% from 12,473 units in May 2021 to 15,924 units in May 2022. Electric Vehicle The domestic two-wheeler sales include TVS iQube Electric sales of 2,637 units in May 2022. TVS Motor Company is a reputed two and three-wheeler manufacturer globally, championing progress through Sustainable Mobility with four state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Hosur, Mysuru and Nalagarh in India and Karawang in Indonesia. Rooted in our 100-year legacy of Trust, Value, and Passion for Customers and Exactness, we take pride in making internationally aspirational products of the highest quality through innovative and sustainable processes. We are the only two-wheeler company to have received the prestigious Deming Prize.Our products lead in their respective categories in the J.D. Power IQS and APEAL surveys. We have been ranked No. 1 Company in the J.D. Power Customer Service Satisfaction Survey for consecutive four years. Our group company Norton Motorcycles, based in the United Kingdom, is one of the most emotive motorcycle brands in the world. Our subsidiaries in the personal e-mobility space, Swiss E-Mobility Group (SEMG) and EGO Movement have a leading position in the e-bike market in Switzerland. TVS Motor Company endeavours to deliver the most superior customer experience across 80 countries in which we operate. For more information, please visit www.tvsmotor.com. 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] June 1 (ANI/BusinessWire India): Recently, the Indian Dispute Resolution Centre (IDRC) organized 'Arbitrate in India Conclave, 2022' at the India International Centre, New Delhi. This event marked the 2nd anniversary of IDRC. Justice Arjan K. Sikri, Former Judge of the Supreme Court of India and Judge, International Commercial Court, Singapore was among the panellists at the event. Balbir Singh, Additional Solicitor General; Tejas Karia, Partner and Arbitrations Head, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Vanita Bhargava, Partner, Khaitan and Co. were the other panellists of the conclave. Sanjeev Srivastava, former BBC India Head was the Moderator for the conclave. Justice AK Sikri stated that, "We need to take small steps. Just in one day's time we can't think that the western countries would come and look forward to India as an International hub. So why not start with South Asian countries. We may have good arbitration centres in Singapore, Hong Kong etc. but there is nothing in the 6-7 countries around India. Once we start, they'll look forward (to Arbitrate in India). If we are able to show our work, we are able to show our mettle, and we are able to demonstrate to the world that we are successful, then it would spread to other countries as well." Justice Sikri said that, "'How to make India a hub of international arbitration' is not limited to only arbitration but all ADR tools including mediation and conciliation as well. In limited words, when we talk of international arbitration, we seek to invite parties not belonging to India or one of the parties being Indian while the other party is a foreign one. They must resolve their disputes by coming to India. The IDRC has also been established with the same motive." Justice Skiri further stated that just like 'Health Tourism', India should focus on "Whether we will be able to create a kind of an environment to nurture 'Legal Tourism'? As of now, many countries have been able to achieve it and Singapore is one of the examples if we talk in the context of Asia." Balbir Singh, ASG, emphasised on the need for having a trained pool of arbitrators to add value to the Indian system, as well as trained representatives, that not only include the Indian Bar but also foreign lawyers coming to India. He lamented the present scenario wherein, "We advocates go to the courts and after the court hours we do arbitration, and we may think that we have a separate Arbitration Bar." He said that we need more specialists like his co-panellists, Tejas Karia and Vanita Bhargava. He also said that, "We need more IDRC like Arbitration Centres across India." He added that, "In a broad spectrum, India wants to be a USD 5 trillion economy and I think dispute resolution is one of the components of that economic activity which would finally result in achieving this kind of number the government is looking at." He assured that, "the government is very conscious of this part." Tejas Karia talked about the need for institutionalisation of Arbitration, use of technology, reduction of approaching courts in Arbitration, except in extreme cases. Emphasising on one major benefit of Institutional arbitration he said that there is no need to go to the court for appointment of arbitrator. He further said that, "I have been advocating that India can never become a hub of international arbitration because India is a very large country with so many diversities and judicial disciplines, and we are comparing ourselves with Singapore, London, Paris, Hong Kong which are cities or small countries." He said that in the size of India that can never happen. He suggested, "We should rather identify cities in India that can be a hub for International Commercial Arbitration, focusing on the cities in which the court system is supportive or are arbitration-friendly jurisdictions and judges are trained and experienced to handle arbitration matters." Vanita Bhargava noted that the government has been really proactive in making amendments to try to control mischief, and should continue this endeavour. She also mooted the need for having specialised courts dealing specifically with Arbitration cases, as the commercial courts handle other matters as well which take away the time. Talking about the best model for India, Bhargava said that, "We should start with the cities though it is not just one aspect of having an institution. Courts are also pro-active. We can start with the metro cities. Once you develop a model in 4 big cities, you can take it to other cities. Where there is more investment, such cities can be targeted to develop robust institutions and courts for the training of judges. Trained judges must be posted there." About the Event: Arbitrate in India Conclave: Let's make 'Resolve in India' a Reality The event marked the Second Anniversary of the Indian Dispute Resolution Centre which was inaugurated by HMJ Arjan K. Sikri, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India in May 2020. In a short span of time IDRC has accomplished more than 500+ arbitration proceedings and assisted in numerous International and National Arbitrations presided by Retired Hon'ble Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts despite pandemic conditions. The Conclave was organised to bring to the fore our Nation's strengths and challenges in becoming an International Arbitration Hub. The Conclave will ponder over the theme 'Arbitrate in India' to strengthen the Govt's call for 'Resolve in India'. Apart from former judges of Supreme Court and High Courts and senior advocates, the IDRC panel arbitrators, leading law firms, the PSUs and members of the Bar association also attended the conclave. Entire Event was organised professionally by IDRC's Board of Advisor Members Tanmaya Mehta, Divyansh Hanu Rathi, Sumedha Sindhu Rathi and Riya Rathi. Organisers - Indian Dispute Resolution Centre - IDRC IDRC is an Institutional Arbitration Centre established by the not-for-profit Organisation 'International Dispute Resolution Council'. IDRC is registered with the Ministry of Commerce and NITI Aayog and empanelled with the Ministry of Law and Justice, GoI. It provides a state-of-the-art institutional environment for online and offline resolution of disputes through Arbitration, Mediation and Conciliation as well as Expert Determination and Early Neutral Evaluation from its Cloud Based inhouse Digital Platform and through its affiliates in all major Cities in India. In a short span of time, IDRC has accomplished more than 500+ arbitration proceedings and assisted in numerous International and National Arbitrations presided by retired judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts despite pandemic conditions. For video click here Event also saw participation of: - HMJ Sunil Ambwani, former Chief Justice Rajasthan High Court; - HMJ JR Midha and HMJ Vinod Goyal former judges of Delhi High Court; - HMJ Rameshwar Malik former judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court; - Pinky Anand, Additional Solicitor General of India; - PK Malhotra, former Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice; - Sanjay Rathi, Hony. Secretary, Bar Council of Delhi; - SS Rana, former Director General, Excise and Customs. - Entire litigation team of Khaitan & Co. led by Ajay Bhargawa - Entire litigation team of SNG and Partners - Senior Advocates: P. Nagesh, Sushil Salwan, Ratan Kumar Singh, Col. R. Bala, Geeta Luthra, DN Goverdhan, Ramesh Gupta and ors. - Anju Rathi Rana and K Biswal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India - Mahavir Singh, Judicial Member ITAT - SS Sirohi, former member Telecom Board - Ajit Pandey, Member Judicial, PNGRB - Anil Kapoor, Former Director, 'Make in India', PMO - Dr OP Yadav, Chairman, National Heart Institute - Host of media persons, Senior Bureaucrats and officers of Public Sector Undertakings - And many other dignitaries. Event was supported by - 1. Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Law Firm2. Khaitan & Co, Law Firm3. RattanIndia4. Torrent Pharma5. Bank-se Digital Platform6. SNG & Partners, Law firm7. Trademarkclick.com8. Telecommunications Consultants India, Union of India PSU Knowledge Partners to the Event were: 1. National Law University, Delhi2. O.P Jindal Global University3. Vivekanada Institute of Professional Studies, Delhi4. Galgotia's University5. Indian Institute of Arbitration, IIArb6. Indian Institute of Mediation, IIMed7. Latestlaws.com8. Lexidem & Rathi, A Global Law Firm 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] June 1 (ANI/PNN): Dr Sameer Bhati, Director of Star Imaging and Path Lab, was honoured with Commendation Roll by Rakesh Asthana, Commissioner of Police, Delhi, for assisting Delhi Police in setting up a Wellness clinic in the West District. The Award Ceremony was organized at Police Station Hari Nagar, where the Chief Guest Rakesh Asthana also inaugurated the Cyber Police Station of West District along with a creche and a Police Public Library. Delhi Police has constantly launched welfare and outreach initiatives for social welfare. The Wellness Clinic at West District is also a part of such initiatives prepared and will be started soon. The Clinic set up at Hari Nagar aims to provide Pathology Diagnostic Services and Doctor Consultation to the common public. Star Imaging, under its campaign Star Healthy India Mission, supported Delhi Police West District in providing a Blood Sample Collection Booth and arranged Doctors, including Physicians, Gynaecologists, Physiotherapists, Eye Specialists, Dentists, Nutritionist and Physiotherapist. The clinic was initiated with a vision of serving society with Affordable and easily accessible healthcare facilities. Dr Sameer Bhati, Director, Star Imaging and Path Lab, said that it was an Honour to get the opportunity of serving the Society. Star Imaging is determined to Build a Healthier and Happier India, and for that, we need to work on the initiatives that are specially designed to gift Health and wellness to every person in the community. Wellness Clinic is one such concept that will make the Quality Healthcare facilities easy to avail for the lower strata of the community also. Along with Delhi Police West District, Star Imaging has previously worked together for Mission 10000 Corona Warriors and Skill Development among Youth. This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN) Gulf Islamic Investments (GII), a leading UAE private equity, real estate and venture capital firm, has acquired 100% of Anglo-Gulf Trade Bank (AGTB) from Abu Dhabis sovereign wealth fund Mubadala. The consideration for the transaction was undisclosed. AGTB is a Category 1 Digital Bank licensed by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the international finance centre in the capital of the UAE and was established by Mubadala as the worlds first digitally-enabled trade bank. Based in the innovation-friendly environment of ADGM, AGTB, was set up to address a growing gap in the trade finance market, which has become highly fragmented. As the first digital bank of the ADGM, it provides its customers with technology-enabled smart banking solution in a well-regulated ecosystem.-- TradeArabia News Service Reliance Brands Limited (RBL) said on Wednesday it has signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with Plastic Legno through which it will acquire a 40 per cent stake in Italian firm's toy manufacturing business in India. Plastic Legno SPA is owned by Sunino group which has over 25 years of toy production experience in Europe. The Italy-based group started its India business in 2009. "Keeping with Prime Minister's vision of Atmanirbhar India, this collaboration with Plastic Legno's deep experience in world-class toy manufacturing coupled with our strong footing in the global toy retail industry would open new doors and unparalleled opportunities for toys manufactured in India," a spokesperson of Reliance Brands Limited said in a statement. "It is imperative for RBL to build design to shelf capability for a strategic advantage over the competition and to be an accelerator in building a robust toy manufacturing ecosystem in India not only for domestic consumption but also for global markets," the spokesperson added. RBL has a strong play in the Toy industry with its portfolio of Hamleys, the British toy retailer and homegrown toy brand - Rowan, making RBL one of the leading toy distributors. Hamleys currently has a global footprint across 15 countries with 213 doors and is India's largest chain of toy stores. "We are very privileged to have RBL as a partner in this joint venture. We are confident that Plastic Legno's experience in Toys production and Hamley's commercial outreach, will complement one another to enable the JV Company to achieve greater heights and successes," said Paolo Sunino, co-owner, Sunino Group. "We have important development plans to implement, always in the spirit of creating a cultural background in this specific sector in India. We are ready for the challenges of the future, but when there is a group like RBL alongside, we are sure that together we can do a great development," Sunino said. (ANI) Actor Akshay Kumar, whose period drama 'Prithviraj' is set to hit theatres soon, has said that Indian cinema is now going big in the international arena and lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's contribution towards this. The actor said he missed out on attending the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in France after testing positive for COVID-19. Walking the red carpet on the opening day of the global festival in France as part of the Indian contingent would have been a special moment for him, the superstar said, pointing out that was for the first time he had received an invite for Cannes. "I couldn't go. That was the first time in my life that I got an invitation to go to Cannes. Mujhe kisi ne nahi bulaya (No one invited me earlier)," the 'Phir Hera Pheri' actor said in an exclusive interview to ANI. "It might be possible that I have not done such films that can go to Cannes. Nahi bulaya nahi bulaya isme sharam ki kya baat hai (I was not invited earlier and there is nothing to be ashamed of)," he said. When asked about the the Indian film industry arriving at the global scene, Akshay lauded the Prime Minister's leadership and said things have been changing for India. "...I am sure and all thanks to our Prime Minister who has taken us so big in such a huge way internationally. Things are changing for our country," he added. Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur led the Indian delegation at Cannes 2022 Red Carpet last month. The theme for this year's pavilion was 'India the Content Hub of the World' which showcased Indian cinema across the linguistic, cultural and regional diversities of the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also penned a message expressing his immense pride in India's presence at Cannes and said that India truly possesses the immense potential to become the content hub of the world. He highlighted that the Government of India remains steadfast in its efforts towards furthering ease of doing business in the film sector. India was named as the official 'Country of Honour' at the Marche' Du Film, which was organized alongside the Cannes Film Festival, in France. Directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi, 'Prithviraj' is based on the life story of 12th-century king Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan. It also stars Manushi Chillar in the role of Queen Sanyogita, Chauhah's Sanyogita. (ANI) Superstar Akshay Kumar had interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019, perhaps for the first time that the premier of the country was sitting down for such a question and answer session. Ahead of the release of his period drama 'Prithviraj,' the actor recalling his 2019 interview, for which he received both bouquets and brickbats, said that he had refrained from putting forward policy questions to the PM as it would have looked "fake". "I asked him questions straight from my heart, things that I wanted to know, just like a common man would ask. Things like why our PM wears his watch upside down? I just wanted to know it (on the manner in which PM Modi ate mangoes). Otherwise, what difference would there be between me and others? I would not go and question him about policies. That is not my job. If I had done so, it would have looked fake. I just wanted to ask him simple and straight questions. We just talked and I cracked jokes," Akshay said in an interview to ANI. The 'Toilet: Ek Prem Katha' actor recalled that he was taken aback when he got the opportunity to interview the Prime Minister. In a candid conversation with the actor, PM Modi had dwelt of little known details like disclosing what his favourite fruit was, his preparation for the first UN speech and so on. "I was taken aback, I did not know that I would get a chance to do that and I was honoured to sit and talk with him. I was a little bit nervous but after I began conversing, he made me not feel nervous and then everything just flowed. I was just enjoying talking to him," Akshay added. The actor said that the PM Modi's ability to "mould himself" was a great thing that helped the actor during the interview. Sharing his experience, he further said, "I think that the best part about our Prime Minister is he knows how to mould himself. If he is talking to me, he will mould himself towards me... If he is talking to children, he will (mould himself) according to their age. I think the ability to mould himself is a great thing in him." The actor had missed out on attending the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival held in France recently after he tested positive for COVID-19. Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur led the Indian delegation at Cannes 2022 Red Carpet last month. When asked if the Indian film industry has arrived in the global scene, he lauded the Prime Minister's leadership and said things are changing for India and that and Indian cinema was going big in the international arena and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership for it. "I am sure and all thanks to our Prime Minister who has taken us so big in such a huge way internationally. Things are changing for our country," he added. India was named as the official 'Country of Honour' at the Marche' Du Film, which was organized alongside the Cannes Film Festival, in France. This was the first time that this honour has been bestowed on any country and came at a time when India is celebrating its Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. (ANI) When two creative people get married, it is difficult for both to grow simultaneously without intruding into each other's space. Think 'Abhimaan' where Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bhaduri essayed those fictional characters so perfectly. But this is the 21st century. Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna have a marriage where they have divergent views on almost all aspects of creative pursuits and yet they manage to make the relationship work. Sometimes even across continents. Twinkle spends a lot of time with son Aarav who is studying in London these days. She herself is honing her skills in fictional writing while her husband Akshay is set to make waves one way or the other with his latest film 'Samrat Prithviraj'. He very candidly says that he divides time between London and India, picking up any role that offers him a chance to shoot in London. Akshay is a family man through and through- a doting father, a dutiful son and brother and an equal partner to his wife. While speaking exclusively to ANI on a whole gamut of issues, Akshay grins when asked about 'pind da munda' marrying into South Mumbai sophistication. He says "It works very weirdly. I have no idea. She thinks there, I think there (We think in two opposite directions)." Akshay has a child-like way of accepting what comes his way in life, he admits that he is a sponge when ideas come his way. Acutely conscious that he is not as well read, as educated as his wife, he says he reads her articles, and listens to her views, her opinions just as he does when meets with learned people. And that sometimes spurs his creative instinct. "If asked and not why did you do it. If asked, then she will give me a suggestion. If she asks me to read her column, I will read it. If she asks what I think about it; I will say this is not a good thing. If not asked, I keep myself aside. I don't interfere with her life, she doesn't interfere with mine." he said. A big void in his life is the passing away of his mother with who he shared a very special bond. His only sibling, his sister lives in the same building as him. In the interview to ANI, he mentions how work-life balance is extremely important for everyone. On the subject, Akshay said,"It is very important that you keep a balance of your life." He spoke of how a few days ago he had gone to a village for shooting where he visited a farmer's house for tea. " I will tell you the truth, though his house was really small there was happiness all around, even more than mine, though I have everything." "They were happy because there are not stressed about anything. They wake up in the morning and go to work, in the evening they eat dinner before sunset. They work for the entire day, their children go to a school nearby. They have kept a balance." "They told me that in the night 'I tell my children stories from the Ramayan and they go to sleep, sometimes I so tired that while narrating I myself fall off to sleep while they don't'. So, I realized that they have kept a life balance and this is a thing to learn, to go back to our basics, we are not in our basics." 'Prithviraj', which is directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi, is set to release on June 3 in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Manushi Chhillar, Sanjay Dutt and Sonu Sood are also a part of the period drama. The film is based on the life story of brave and mighty king Prithviraj Chauhan and portrays the great warrior's valour and valiant fight against the cruel invader Muhammad Ghori. (ANI) On May 26, the writer of the BAFTA-winning drama 'Sitting In Limbo,' Stephen S. Thompson died of cancer. He was 56 years old at the time. According to Variety, Thompson, an author of Jamaican heritage, wrote his first novel, 'Toy Soldiers,' in 2000. 'Missing Joe' (2012) and 'No More Heroes' are two more works by the author (2016). Thompson wrote 'Sitting In Limbo,' a feature-length drama, in response to his brother Anthony Bryan's fight against deportation during the Windrush crisis, a British political controversy in which many immigrants from Caribbean countries who arrived in the UK before 1973 were imprisoned and deported. The film, directed by Stella Corradi and starring Patrick Robinson and produced by Left Bank Pictures, was broadcast on BBC One in June 2020 and won the BAFTA for Best Single Drama. Thompson was the editor and publisher of the online literary journal The Colverstone Review and had written for publications such as The Observer, The Voice, Wasafiri, Five Dials, and Arena Magazine. He taught screenwriting at Central Film School in London and lectured on creative writing at Winchester University, Birkbeck College, and the University of Edinburgh. His family said in a statement: "Stephen passed away on Thursday 26th May after a short battle with cancer. He fought hard to beat the odds after being diagnosed just a month earlier, but, ultimately, spent his last few weeks at home, as was his wish, receiving end of life care. Throughout this time, Stephen showed a characteristic determination to live." They continued, "In the end, however, the rapid progression of cancer meant his body was unable to match the power of his indomitable mind, and he passed away peacefully surrounded by love. His family, friends and partner are heartbroken at his passing but so incredibly proud of all he achieved, both personally and professionally, during his all too short life", as reported by Variety. The BAFTA said in a statement, "We are so sorry to hear of the passing of Stephen S. Thompson - a brilliant screenwriter who won a TV BAFTA for Single Drama 'Sitting in Limbo' and was nominated for Emerging Talent: Fiction in 2021. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time". "Absolutely devastated to hear about the loss of a blazing talent, a dear friend and colleague @ss_thompson - gone far too soon. Feel lucky to have known Stephen S. Thompson & bathed in his brilliance. #RestInPower," said BAFTA chair Krishnendu Majumdar. Casarotto Ramsay & Associates represented Thompson. (ANI) Ahead of the release of the historical drama 'Samrat Prithiviraj' starring actor Akshay Kumar, the film's makers visited Somnath temple in Gujarat and Varanasi- both pilgrimage sites for Hindus. In an exclusive interview with ANI, the superstar who essays the titular role of Prithviraj Chauhan, said he had visited Varanasi also known as Kashi - the temple city, not for religious reasons but for its culture and to make people aware of the city's association with the 12th-century valiant king. "Kashi is related to Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan. I had gone for the culture thing. I had gone to tell people that this is our culture and why it is essential... I had gone there to pay my respect," Akshay said. He and other team members of the film visited Varanasi on May 30. The film's director Dr Chandrapraksh Dwivedi, talked about "Hindu nationalism" in the context of the film. The director said he "would call it cultural nationalism and there is nothing wrong in the revival of Hindu nationalism or cultural nationalism because the character of this nation is Hindu, and when I say Hindu it means culture." He further talked about why the film's team visited Varanasi and Somnath and said that Varanasi is the "cultural capital or the spiritual capital of India." Dwivedi added that "because there is so much debate going on in the country, I thought that I should remind people that the first time the temple at Kashi Vishwanath was destroyed, it was by Qutb-ud-din Aibak. Who was Qutb-ud-din Aibak? He was a slave of Muhammad Ghori, who is there in our film. So that was also a relation (for us to visit.)" He also stated that since 1192, the country has been under "the rule of invaders" and said, "There was a lot of torture, so many religious conversions, this society went through a lot. Today, in this free country, we have an opportunity to bring back our culture. And Somnath temple became an example of that in 1948, as it was reopened." "So I ask this many times that is rebuilding and renovating our own temples wrong? It's not just a temple, it is the centre of our faith," Dwivedi said. 'Samrat Prithviraj' is set to release on June 3 in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Manushi Chhillar, Sanjay Dutt and Sonu Sood are also a part of the period drama. (ANI) Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar on Tuesday said Delhi Health Satyendar Jain arrested in connection with a money laundering case should be sacked from the cabinet by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Kumar said even as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Jain, Kejriwal tried to protect and defend him. "Jain's involvement in 'hawala' transactions, converting black money into white for Kejriwal, besides acting as fund collector for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), are now open secret." He alleged that instead of sacking a corrupt minister like Jain, Kejriwal was trying to defend him, and the one who defends the corrupt, is guilty of corruption too. He said Jain's arrest by the ED was "better late than never", adding that "truth can never be suppressed, as it will always come out". Addressing a press conference at the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee office, Kumar said: "Even before he became a minister in the Delhi Cabinet, Satyendar Jain had dealt in hawala transactions for shell companies, and bought farm lands in Delhi at over Rs 27 crore but Kejriwal still made him a Minister to use him as a fund collector. " Kumar further said that 80 per cent of Delhi Ministers have been caught in one case or another, and have been in jail, while criminal and other cases have been filed against 38 AAP MLAs. --IANS miz/pgh ( 235 Words) 2022-05-31-20:06:04 (IANS) The politics over textbook revision in Karnataka refuse to die down as the ruling BJP is now in a fix over a fresh row over the description of social reformer Basavanna, who is revered by the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community. The prominent seers of the community have urged Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to get the description of Basavanna corrected. They have also warned Bommai of protests if the revision is not carried out. The Veerashaiva-Linagayat community is standing firmly with BJP in the state, and the issue is being considered seriously by the ruling party. Basava Jaya Mruthyunjay Swamiji of Koodalasangam Mutt and Panditaradhya Shivacharya Swamiji of Taralabalu Mutt have warned the state government about revision of the lesson on Basavanna. Expressing shock Jaya Mrutyunjay Swamiji stated that the principles propagated by Basavanna and Kuvempu have been disrespected. Basavanna chose to leave his house due to inequality. However, different versions are presented in the textbooks now. Bommai's father was also a follower of Basavanna. He has the guidance of religious seers. Bommai must take steps to revise the mistakes, he said. He urged Bommai not to maintain silence over the issue and tell the world about Basavanna's principles and he should also know how his father lived. "We cannot tolerate damage caused to Basavanna philosophies," he said. Panditaradhya Shivacharya Swamiji warned of statewide protests if Basavanna's philosophies are misrepresented. He has written to Bommai explaining that the Textbook Revision Committee has left out, edited the lesson on Basavanna for the class 9 textbook. Education Minister B.C. Nagesh had met Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji, the religious seer revered by another dominant community, the Vokkaligas in Karnataka on Monday to clarify about the regional anthem written by Kuvempu. --IANS mka/bg ( 298 Words) 2022-05-31-20:08:02 (IANS) The proposed Bill to replace the Governor with the Chief Minister as the chancellor of all state-run universities in West Bengal will be tabled in the Assembly for clearance during the forthcoming Monsoon Session starting June 10, sources said. Going by Trinamool Congress' numerical strength in the Assembly, the state government will have no problem in getting the proposed Bill passed with a comfortable majority. However, the state government will then have to send the Bill to Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar for his assent. State Education Minister Bratya Basu has already said that in case the Governor refuses to clear the Bill, the state government will pass an ordinance to bring the changed system into practice. Debates have already started over the proposed Bill with a large section of educationists describing it as a direct attempt by the ruling party to gain political control over the functioning of the state universities. Dhankhar himself has slammed the move, calling it a diversionary tactics by the state government to shift attention from the ongoing controversies in the state, including the CBI probe into the recruitment irregularities in the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC). The Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, has claimed that Trinamool Congress' wish to see Mamata Banerjee as the chancellor of state universities will remain a distant dream, just as the Chief Minister's dream to set up a legislative council in West Bengal. --IANS src/arm ( 259 Words) 2022-05-31-21:08:03 (IANS) A market leader in mobile air compressors, Atlas Copcos Portable Air division is playing a key part in meeting global climate objectives. The company, as part of a wider Atlas Copco Group initiative, is committed to doing business within planetary boundaries. With that in mind it has set itself a range of ambitious emissions reduction targets that are grounded in climate science through the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Funded by the IKEA Foundation, Amazon, the Bezos Earth Fund, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the UPS Foundation, and many major businesses such as BMW, Nike, Daimler, and SNCF, the SBTi gives companies a clearly defined path to reduce CO2 emissions in what it calls a race to the top in zero-carbon transition. The organisation also checks that a companys targets are in line with what the science demands regarding greenhouse gas emissions. Whole value chain reductions Science-based targets differ from other goals because they are absolute reduction targets; they are not related to cost of sales but targets across a companys entire value chain. It includes emissions from energy consumed on direct operations, such as manufacturing, vehicles, and offices, emissions generated when producing materials or components used in products, and emissions from the use of those products. Having its emissions targets monitored by an internationally recognised organisation gives Atlas Copcos a competitive edge by increasing credibility in the eyes of the customer and ensuring total transparency. More importantly, however, the targets inspire innovation and encourage positive change. Team effort The company now has an approved science-based target to reduce the emissions from its direct operations by 46% by 2030, compared to 2019 levels. Everyone in the company has a role to play in this. For example, by how they get to work, what products are developed, and what kind of energy is used in the factories. The plan by Atlas Copcos Portable Air Division is to be carbon neutral in all its operations through green power in factories, optimised processes through digital technology, energy reduction, the use of fossil-free fuel, and a CO2 neutral car fleet. While it is essential to tackle emissions from direct operations, a year-long research project from Atlas Copcos Portable Air Division found that a bigger opportunity to make a positive environmental impact relates to how customers use its solutions. The company found that a majority of emissions comes from the lifetime use of products. That is why Atlas Copco has the target to reduce the carbon impact of its products-in-use by 28% by 2030 (compared to 2019 levels.) One route the company is adopting is driving the shift to carbon-free solutions, such as its all-electric E-Air compressor range. E-Air in urban environment By embracing innovation to provide the most efficient and sustainable solutions available, Atlas Copcos Portable Air division intends to give customers the tools required to meet demanding applications while also helping them achieve their sustainability targets. In terms of equipment, some compressors will eliminate the need for using fossil fuels and consign exhaust gases to history, such as mobile electric compressors. Variable speed drive (VSD) compressors meanwhile, can be driven by battery or fuel cells, while their motors operating speed self-adjusts (or even shut down) to precisely match the users need for compressed air. For larger projects, mobile compressors are likely to run on hydrogen; or on synthetic fuels made from converting unwanted gases, waste, and by-products. By developing advanced equipment and revolutionising its direct operations against closely monitored science-based targets, Atlas Copcos Portable Air division is accelerating its drive towards sustainability.-- TradeArabia News Service Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday accused the BJP of "horse-trading" as independent pro-BJP candidate Subhash Chandra filed his nominations for the Rajya Sabha seats from the state as the fifth candidate and asserted that Congress shall win all three seats. Talking to media, Gehlot said: "BJP has fielded Subhash Chandra, but from where will they get votes? None of our MLAs are going to be sold. Our MLAs saved the government without any inducement. What will they offer to those MLAs who refused to be sold even for Rs 35 crore? "They know they don't have all the votes. Will they do 'horse trading' here and spoil the atmosphere?" He alleged that "under the leadership of Amit Shah, they tried to topple our government. This world knows. Now they have started again by fielding Subhash Chandra. From where will these votes come? Then these people want to do the same horse-trading? They are not instilling good traditions in Rajasthan". "Each one of our comrades has saved the government. 19 such companions, who were taken away after being misguided, have also joined us now. Everyone is united. When they know that we cannot win, then why are they putting this tradition in Rajasthan?" the Chief Minister said. --IANS arc/vd ( 225 Words) 2022-05-31-21:18:04 (IANS) The textbook revision row is likely to snowball into a major crisis in Karnataka as the ruling BJP stayed defiant on the issue while Kannada activists who staged protest on Tuesday warned the party of consequences if the revision is not dropped. Education Minister B.C. Nagesh once again rejected the demand, saying "textbooks are already printed". "Questions were not raised when sex education was given to Class 7 school children. If they want to protest, let them do it. They will realise their mistakes," he said. "Is there a need for children to read about death? Should small children read about sex? This was done by the previous committee. Why is there no photograph of the temple in the textbook? All this has been rectified," he explained. T.A. Narayana Gowda, President of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike has demanded the Textbook Revision Committee be terminated immediately and the government should distribute previous year's textbooks. "His observations on Kannada flag were questionable. He had openly branded legends of Kannada literature Kuvempu and Poornachandra Tejaswi as 'anti-Brahmins'. How could the ruling BJP give such a responsibility to a person with such a background?" Narayana Gowda questioned. "Rohith Chakrathirtha should be asked to leave the state. If these demands are not met, the government will have to face consequences," he warned. "The committee has insulted the lineage of thinking by removing texts of Kannada litterateurs such as P. Lankesh, Sara Aboobkar, Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar, Aravinda Malagatti, B.T. Lalitha Naik. The lesson on social reformer Narayana Guru has been removed from Class 10 textbook," Narayana Gowda alleged. "We cannot tolerate the attitude of the government to play with the feelings of Kannadigas to promote a particular ideology," he said. Education Minister Nagesh, however, defended Chakrathirtha. He said: "Why litterateurs are behaving like this? I do not understand." Another thinker and Dalit author Moodnakoodu Chinnaswamy has also written a letter to Nagesh regarding a poem in Class 5 textbooks. Former speaker of the Legislative Assembly Ramesh Kumar has also written a letter to the Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to intervene in the matter of textbook revision row. --IANS mka/pgh ( 364 Words) 2022-05-31-22:43:15 (IANS) The Delhi Police has initiated legal action as per the law in the said matter. Complaints have been received from both the groups, alleging excesses by the other group, a senior police officer said. Delhi Police, in its FIR copy, mentioned, "A brawl took place between two groups of students of Ramjas College, on Tuesday. Reportedly, one group having affiliation with the Students' Federation of India (SFI), edited a caste-based slogan that was initially painted by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) supporters over a wall and changed it to another caste-based slogan.""About two-three students from both sides have suffered minor injuries. Complaints have been received from both groups. Legal action is being initiated as per law," a Delhi Police official said. Further probe into the matter is underway. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday wished Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on his birthday and prayed for his long and healthy life. Mandaviya, who holds the portfolios of health, and chemicals and fertilisers in the Modi government, turns 50 today. Lauding the Union Minister, PM Modi said that he has made great efforts to strengthen India's health, chemicals and fertilisers sectors. Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said, "Birthday wishes to Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya Ji. He's making great efforts to further strengthen our health, chemicals and fertilisers sectors. Prayers for his long and healthy life." Mandaviya thanked PM Modi for the wishes and said that he considers himself fortunate to get to serve the people of India under his leadership. "Thank you PM Narendra Modi Ji for your kind wishes. It is your constant support and guidance that drives me to serve the country with more passion and dedication. I consider myself fortunate for the opportunity of serving the people of this great nation under your leadership," he said. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also wished Mandaviya by commending his efforts toward the betterment of the health sector in the country. "Greetings and best wishes to Mansukh Mandaviya ji on his birthday. He is making commendable efforts towards creating better health facilities and infrastructure in the country. Praying for his good health and long life," Singh tweeted. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also greeted Mandaviya on Twitter and said that his skill and enthusiasm are inspiring. "Hearty birthday greetings to my colleague in the cabinet Mansukhbhai. Your skill and enthusiasm are inspiring for all of us. I wish you good health, happiness and prosperity and continued success in the service of the nation," Jaishankar tweeted. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also took to Twitter to wish the Union Minister and lauded his dedication to improving India's healthcare sector. Praying for Mandaviya's good health, Sarma said, "Heartiest birthday greetings Hon'ble Union Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya ji. Your dedication towards improving India's healthcare sector is commendable. May Maa Kamakhya and Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev bless you with good health and long life in the nation's service." Before the Union Cabinet reshuffle in 2022, Mandaviya was the Minister of State for the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. (ANI) In a meeting held on Tuesday, Yadav was entrusted with the responsibility amidst the National President's presence. Reportedly, a resolution was also passed in the presence of RJD national president Lalu Prasad Yadav regarding the caste-based census and membership campaign in the party, post which the handover of the responsibility was confirmed. "Tejashwi Yadav is the Leader of the Opposition and already he has been taking decisions, so he has been authorized once again," said senior RJD leader Alok Mehta. Earlier, speculations were made around Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) trying to forge an alliance with Janata Dal (United). Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday cleared the air saying talks about an alliance are "all imaginary". Speaking to the media on Thursday, Yadav said, "This is all imaginary. When I went to Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it was my initiative and not of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Does it mean I was forging an alliance with BJP?". (ANI) Malayalam actor-producer Vijay Babu, who has been granted interim pre-arrest bail in a sexual assault case, arrived in Kerala's Kochi from Dubai on Wednesday. The Kerala High Court on Tuesday granted Vijay an interim pre-arrest bail until the next hearing date - June 2. While addressing the media, after his return, Vijay said that the truth will come out. "I was told in court that I will come today. That's how I came to be. I have full faith in the honourable court. I will fully cooperate with the police. The truth will come out. Thanks to all the family and friends who stood with me," he said. Vijay may appear before the police as a part of the interrogation today. There are two cases registered against him. One is the sexual assault case and the other one is for disclosing the identity of the complainant through social media. The complainant alleged that she has been sexually assaulted by Vijay Babu in a flat in Kochi. The offence was repeated by the accused more than once, she said in the complaint. The complaint said Babu committed the offence on the pretext of offering roles in movies to the woman. Following the accusations, Vijay stepped down from the executive committee of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) in May. The actor said that he will stay away from the Executive Committee of the organization till he is proven innocent in the sexual assault case to save the association from 'disgrace'. (ANI) The federal agency's move followed the questioning of senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress Treasurer Pawan Bansal in April this year in New Delhi in connection with its money laundering probe into the National Herald case. The agency then recorded the statements of both the Congress leaders then under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The National Herald is published by Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and owned by Young Indian Pvt Limited (YIL). While Kharge is the CEO of YIL, Bansal is the Managing Director of AJL. The ED is currently investigating the shareholding pattern and financial transactions as well as role of party functionaries in the functioning of AJL and YIL. The YIL promoters include Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. BJP MP Subramanian Swamy had alleged that the Gandhis cheated and misappropriated funds, with YIL paying only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that AJL owed to the Congress. He had filed a complaint with a Delhi court earlier. Following the court taking cognisance of an Income Tax Department probe against YIL on Swamy's petition, the ED also registered a fresh case under PMLA. (ANI) Union Minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday lambasted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for "giving a clean chit" to arrested Cabinet Minister Satyendar Jain while also posing a set of questions to the Aam Aadmi Party supremo. Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged money laundering case and sent to custody till June 9. However, Kejriwal on Tuesday defended Jain calling the latter a true patriot and terming the allegations against him 'false'. Addressing a press conference here today, Irani said, "Arvind Kejriwal presumed the role of a judge and gave him a clean chit. I want to ask Arvind Kejriwal a few questions. My first question is, can Kejriwal deny that Satyendar Jain laundered Rs 16.39 crore using 56 shell companies with the support of hawala operators in Kolkata from 2010-11 to 2015-16?" The Union Minister further asked if Satyendar Jain declared that money laundered representing the undisclosed income under the income disclosure scheme 2016 in the name of his close associates Ankush Jain, and Vaibhav Jain is a self-declaration by him in 2016. "Is it true that the principal commissioner of income tax has held that the unaccounted income of Rs 16.39 crore was not of Ankush Jain and Vaibhav Jain, but that Satyendar Jain was the real owner of the income," she asked in her series of questions to the Delhi CM. Citing an order of the Delhi High Court delivered on August 21, 2019, Irani said that the Court bench has confirmed the very findings of the principal commissioner of income tax that "Satyendar Jain indeed himself is the real owner of the money laundered". "Is it true that Satyendar Jain is the beneficial owner of the shell companies namely Prayas InfoSolutions Pvt Ltd, Indo Metal Impex Pvt Ltd, and Akinchan Developers Pvt Ltd and he controls them through shareholding along with his wife?" she asked. "Is it true that through this black money, Satyendar Jain took the ownership of 200 bighas of land in many areas of Delhi to his advantage?" Irani added. She further asked if providing a huge return on the investment on the land in the vicinity of unauthorised colonies by Satyendar Jain was the "real reason why the Aam Aadmi Party regularised the unauthorised colonies". "Does Arvind Kejriwal knowingly now give patronage to those who have deceived the people? How long will 'Desh ka gaddar' continue to receive your support?" asked Irani. Meanwhile, Kejriwal came out in the open to defend the arrested Minister, claiming that the case registered against him is fake and politically motivated. "Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain has been arrested by Enforcement Directorate. I have personally read all the papers and case filed against Satyendra Jain by ED and it is completely false. We have a very strict and honest government. We are hard-core patriots; we can get beheaded but can never betray the country. His arrest is politically motivated," Kejriwal said while addressing a press conference on Tuesday. (ANI) Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Jugal Thakor Lokhandwala on Wednesday said that Population Control Bill should be discussed in the upcoming Monsoon Session of the Parliament to curb the increasing population of the country. Speaking to ANI Jugal Thakor said, "If we do not control the increasing population then people will not get the place and the facilities which they should get. So, I would also like to have the Population Control Bill to come up in both the Houses of the Parliament in the coming session." BJP Upper House MP Thakor further said, "We are seeing in the country that we have reached a population of more than 135 crores and because of this, we are not able to provide the kind of facilities that we should be providing and the only reason behind it is the population of the country, which is huge and we have fewer resources. Due to this, people are also not getting uplifted." Amid growing calls for action and state-level initiatives, India may soon get a law for population control. Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel on Tuesday assured that such a law would "soon" be brought in, thus echoing comments made by several leaders in recent years. India presently has a population of around 1.4 billion close to China which has the highest. (ANI) About 5,281 people from the Valley would be going on the pilgrimage this year. The department of health services is providing vaccine doses free of cost. The pilgrims lauded the arrangements and appreciated the efforts of the government in arranging the vaccination facilities under one roof. "We thank the organizers for the vaccination drive. Their aim to keep us safe is really thoughtful," said Aquib Javaid, a pilgrim. Earlier, an orientation-cum-training program was organized by authorities of Hajj house Srinagar in various districts of the Kashmir Valley on May 21. These orientation training programmes were conducted o spread awareness and provide information about performing Hajj. The authorities distributed special pamphlets and various experts delivered brief lectures to help the devotees. The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and a once-in-a-lifetime duty for all able-bodied Muslims to perform if they can afford it. Before the virus emerged, some 2.5 million people used to travel every year to Saudi Arabia for Hajj. (ANI) Employees in Europe, Middle East and Africa who practice hybrid working models as part of their digitising workplaces, have experienced better overall wellness in areas such as mental, physical and financial wellbeing, says a study. According to the new Cisco Global Hybrid Work Report, the study polled over 10,000 employees across the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) countries. Overall, 76% said hybrid and remote working has improved all aspects of their wellbeing. In addition, just over 75% reported their work-life balance has improved, mainly due to more flexible work schedules. Close to 60% said they saved at least four hours per week thanks to reduced commuting times, while 22% saved eight or more hours a week. The findings are part of the Cisco Hybrid Work Report, an extensive study which among others - examined five key areas of employee wellbeing including financial; physical; mental; social and emotional wellbeing. Social Wellbeing Modern life is fast paced leaving many people with little time to spend with family and friends. It is no surprise that 39% of those surveyed said they reinvested the extra time with family, friends and pets. 67% said hybrid work has improved family relationships, while almost 46% said hybrid working has improved relationships with friends. Financial Wellbeing An often-overlooked benefit of the hybrid workplace is the amount of money that can be saved by avoiding the daily commute to and from the office. This includes savings on fuel costs, as well as the money spent on small items such as buying a coffee or meals, which can quickly add up during a week. Unsurprisingly, 69% said they saved money while working remotely, while 84% believed these savings can be maintained over the long-term. With so many employees from EMEA experiencing the financial benefits, almost 67% of those polled said they would take these savings into account when considering changing jobs. Emotional and mental wellbeing Emotional health impacts on many areas of our lives and can be improved as a cumulative effect that encompasses other fields such as social wellbeing. As such 53% of people questioned said hybrid and remote working has improved their emotional wellbeing. Interestingly, just over 78% of responders also said hybrid working made them happier with 55% saying remote work has helped them to reduce their stress levels. Physical Wellbeing This sense of wellbeing also extends to an individuals physical health with 60% of those questioned saying their physical fitness has improved, as they exercise more when working remotely and changed their eating habits. About hybrid work Hybrid work as a concept emerged as part of the digital transformation of work and workplaces that accelerated with the pandemic. It aims to center the work experience around the needs of the individual workers, as they collaborate securely across the organisation and beyond. Companies that empower their employees with the option of working on or offsite can help foster inclusiveness, engagement and a sense of well-being among staff. For Cisco work is what you do not where you go. The company has therefore implemented many practices aimed at supporting its own employees to work in a hybrid way. Cisco has extensive experience in developing a wide range of collaboration technologies and strategies to help other organisations to fully realise the potential of hybrid work. The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the decision of St Stephen's College to conduct an interview round for admission to the unreserved category for the academic session 2022-23, despite Delhi University's warning. A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Sachin Datta issued a notice to St Stephen's College in the PIL filed by a law student Konika Poddar. The bench has directed St. Stephen's College, Delhi University (DU) and University Grant Commission to file their response in four weeks. The matter has been listed for July 6, 2022. The petition filed through Advocate Akash Vajpai stated that taking interviews where the award of marks is left to the subjective satisfaction of the selection committee gives ample room for discrimination and manipulation. It is stated that admission in DU's undergraduate courses is ordinarily based on candidates' intermediate marks and in the last couple of years, the cut-off for admission in some of the most sought colleges has remained 100 per cent. Now, a committee constituted by DU has recommended that admission may be carried out through a Common University Entrance Test (CUET). The PIL stated that DU policy specifically says that admission in the general category seats in its minority colleges like St Stephen's will be done only on the basis of marks obtained in CUET while in admission on reserved seats those colleges can give 15 per cent weightage to the interview and 85 per cent weightage to the CUET score at the time of admission. It is sought that admission should be granted according to the DU's recommendation. (ANI) Keeping the upcoming elections of Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat in mind the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will hold its national executive meeting in Hyderabad on July 2 and 3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, party president JP Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and a host of other members of the BJP national executive will be participating in the two-day-long meeting. This meeting which takes place every quarter is taking place after a long time because of the COVID-19 restrictions in place. The last meeting of the BJP national executive took place in New Delhi in November 2021 just before the elections in five states including Uttar Pradesh, where BJP registered a thumping victory in early 2022. Several important discussions including how the party is looking to fare in the upcoming elections and the growth of the organisation, a role that a party sees for itself as a build-up to the 2024 general elections are likely to be on the agenda. In this meeting, the party passes political as well as economic resolutions lauding the work that has been done at the Centre by the Narendra Modi-led government. Recently, the Narendra Modi-led Central government has completed eight years in office with 2019 being a big win over the 2014 general elections. The choice of the venue for the national executive meeting is an extremely important as well as significant one with the kind of push that the BJP has been making towards the state of Telangana. Recently at a public meeting which was held in Telangana, PM Modi spoke about the bright prospects of his party in the state and condemned the dynasty rule of the KCR family. Earlier, BJP national president JP Nadda as well as Union Minister Amit Shah on their recent visit to the state had called out the rule of the KCR family and said that Telangana was looking for a change and could give a chance to the BJP. On his front, the Telangana Chief Minister and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) party chief K Chandrashekar Rao not only has been hitting out at the Central government and the Prime Minister but has also been holding meetings with several leaders in the Opposition-ruled states in a bid to form an anti-BJP and anti-Congress front. On their front, the BJP has been keeping up the fight alive with BJP Telangana president Bandi Sanjay leading the fight for the state from the front. During the agitation, Sanjay was jailed by the TRS-led government. There has also been a face-off between the ruling NDA government and the TRS in the Parliament with the TRS MPs boycotting the Parliament session for a few days demanding the procurement of paddy by the Central government. The state of Telangana goes to elections at the end of 2023 and the TRS-led government in the state will be seeking its third term. (ANI) For the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the active cases among the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) officers and personnel is in single digits. According to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) data, CAPFs have only six active cases on May 30. Among the individual forces, CRPF, National Security Guard (NSG), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have reported zero active COVID cases while Border Security Force (BSF) and Services Selection Board (SSB) have reported a single active case each. Meanwhile, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) recorded four active cases. It is a big achievement in terms of the safety of security personnel because due to the nature of their job they are vulnerable to getting infected as personnel stay together in barracks, eat in the same mess and travel together, a senior official said. As per the data, a total of 1.11 lakh personnel got COVID-19 infection out of which 1.10 lakh recovered and 356 succumbed to the virus. The least infected force was NSG which reported only single death. "Precautionary dose has been administered to all eligible personnel. Only the personnel with comorbidities or other health issues were exempted," he said. The official further added that precautions will continue to take place. Central Armed Police Forces are going to be deployed for the upcoming Amarnath Yatra, and ITBP is already deployed in Char Dham yatra for the safety and security of pilgrims. "Going with the record number of pilgrims visiting Char Dham yatra, we are expecting a record number of pilgrims in Amarnath Yatra as it going to resume after two years. CAPFs personnel will manage the crowd and other duties that will involve close interference with the public," said an officer in BSF. Another officer with CRPF said that it's kind they have developed strong immunity and are ready to be at work with full capacity with more confidence on all fronts. At the pandemic's peak, among the seven CAPFs, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was the worst affected due to COVID-19 with 33,244 personnel getting infected and a total of 136 losing their lives. But at present, the force reports zero active COVID-19 cases. "We were deployed in elections duties when COVID-19 was at its peak. We have already seen the worst phase. All personnel are vaccinated including Precautionary dose so there is no need to worry. Regular yoga and other activities help maintain the immunity," the CRPF officer added. COVID-19 appropriate behaviour like a face mask, sanitiser, and regular hand wash will be advisable to all personnel. (ANI) The court has ordered Waze to appear before it on June 7. The dismissed police officer had appealed to the court to become an approver. Waze has sought to become an approver in the corruption case and has requested to be pardoned and made an approver. Both Waze and Deshmukh are in judicial custody in separate cases by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), respectively. NIA arrested Waze in March in connection with the investigation into the recovery of explosives from a car parked near Mukesh Ambani's house in Mumbai. Waze is the prime accused of placing an explosives-laden vehicle near Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani's house Antilia in Mumbai on February 25. Meanwhile, Deshmukh was arrested on November 1 in connection with extortion and money laundering allegations levelled against him by the former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh. In a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav 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. (ANI) Kerala High Court on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of Vijith Vijayan in the Pantheerankavu UAPA case for alleged Maoist links. Vijayan, the resident of Wayanad district in Kerala, is the fourth accused in the said case. He was arrested on 21 January 2021 and approached the High Court after his recent bail plea was rejected by the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court. While rejecting the bail plea, the Division Bench of Justices K Vinod Chandran and C Jayachandran observed in their judgement, "The questioned documents, as examined by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) prima facie bring forth the intention of the appellant to indulge actively in the furtherance of extremist ideologies of the Maoist movement." "Prima facie truth in the allegation raised against the appellant (Vijith Vijayan) has to be found that the appellant was a member and occupied an important position at the organisational level, was actively involved in propagating the ideology of revolt against the elected Governments and was also engaged in recruitment as also defining the manner in which the ideology is to be effectively implemented in society," they noted. The case pertains that three young men, found under suspicious circumstances in November 2019, were arrested by the Pantheerankavu Police while on patrolling duty. Out of the three, two-- Thwaha Fasal and Allen Shuhaib-- were already apprehended under the UAPA alleging that they were supporting proscribed Maoist groups, which have been declared terrorist organisations. Later the case was taken up by the NIA. Notably, Fasal and Shuhaib were granted bail by the Supreme Court on 28 October 2021, while the third accused CP Usman is absconding. (ANI) A day after a school teacher was killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday took a jibe at the Centre saying 15 security personnel and 18 civilians were killed in the last 5 months and Kashmiri Pandits have been protesting for the past 18 days but the BJP is 'busy' celebrating 8 years of the Modi government. The Congress leader's statement came after a Hindu school teacher Rajni Bala was fired at by terrorists in the Kulgam district of the Kashmir region on Tuesday. "In Kashmir, 15 security personnel were martyred and 18 civilians were killed in the last 5 months. Yesterday also a teacher was murdered. Kashmiri Pandits are on dharna for 18 days but BJP is busy celebrating 8 years. Prime Minister, this is not a film, it is the reality of Kashmir today," Gandhi tweeted in Hindi. Earlier on Tuesday, Bala, a Hindu school teacher was fired at by terrorists in the Kulgam district of the Kashmir region. A resident of Samba in the Jammu region, Bala sustained injuries when terrorists fired at her in the Gopalpora area of Kulgam where she was posted as a teacher, police said. According to Jammu and Kashmir Police, the incident took place at the High School Gopalpora area of Kulgam. She was taken to the hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. The incident took place days after Kashmiri TV actor Amreen Bhat was killed by unidentified terrorists in Budgam's Chadoora area in Jammu and Kashmir on May 25, while her 10-year-old nephew was injured. Earlier, Rahul Bhatt, an employee of the Tehsil office in the Budgam district's Chadoora, was shot dead by terrorists in the Budgam on May 12, reminding the Jammu and Kashmir administration of a targeting killing. (ANI) The Delhi High court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing on the bail plea of Sharjeel Imam in a case involving alleged inflammatory speech in the Jamia area in December 2019 against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC). Justice AK Mendiratta adjourned the hearing on the bail plea after the Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad sought an adjournment. He submitted that the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) is to argue in this case and he is not available. The bench listed the matter for July 26. Advocate Tanvir Ahmed Mir argued that Sharjeel Imam is in custody for the last month. This case involved the section related to Sedition and promoting enmity between groups by disturbing communal harmony. He also submitted that the Supreme Court has stayed the proceedings in Sedition cases. In these circumstances, the petitioner should be granted bail. The counsel for the petitioner also submitted that the Allahabad High court while granting bail in a matter connected with the alleged speech at Aligarh Muslim University has said that the speech was not an incitement to violence. The bench after hearing the submission said that this case involved the alleged speech. Other bail matters are under consideration. So in view of the cascading effect of the speech, it would be appropriate to hear the matter at length, the bench said. This case pertains to the FIR registered for an alleged inflammatory speech at Jamila. This case was registered in New Friends Colony. The lower court had denied bail to Sharjeel. He had challenged the order before the Delhi High court. He had filed a petition through Advocate Ahmad Ibrahim and Talib Mustafa. The petitioner had moved an application in the petition after the supreme court's recent direction on Sedition law. The Delhi High court had on May 17, 2022, granted the last opportunity to file a response on the petition. (ANI) Stating that he is taking a break from politics, Brijesh Kalappa, the former Congress leader and Supreme Court advocate who resigned from the party earlier on Wednesday, asserted that 'politics without passion' leads one to nowhere. "Politics without passion will not take you anywhere...I was not happy with what I was doing, hence taking a break," he told ANI. He also added that various other parties including Aam Aadmi Party are reaching out to him but he has not taken any decision on the same. "AAP is certainly reaching out to me like other parties, but I have not made a decision," he added. Earlier in the morning, Kalappa announced his resignation in a facebook post citing his "lack of energy and enthusiasm" towards the party. Apart from his reason to part ways from the party, Kalappa had noted down several things including his gratitude and loyalty towards the party. He had highlighted how he always performed best to his satisfaction and "never felt enervated and lacking in energy and enthusiasm, even at the worst times for the party in the aftermath of 2014 and 2019 debacles". "I have been representing the Party on Hindi, English and Kannada channels since the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) years in 2013- for almost a decade and have clocked 6,497 debates. Besides, the Party has been regularly assigning Political work to me which I have performed to the best of my satisfaction. Regarding TV debates, I have done my very best at all times and have never ever appeared without adequate preparation for any debate," he added. It further read, "But, in the recent past, I have been finding myself lacking in passion, while my own performance has been listless and perfunctory. It is under these circumstances that I am left with little option but to resign from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress and to end an association that began in 1997." Earlier on May 27, Kalappa raked up a controversy by commenting on Bharatiya Janata Party leader KS Eshwarappa's "bring back Temples" comment. Kalappa had slammed Eshwarappa for his comment "all 36,000 temples will be brought back to the Hindus." (ANI) The Kerala High Court on Wednesday reserved its order on a plea filed by the Crime Branch of Kerala Police seeking more time to conclude the investigation in the 2017 Actress Assault Case. A Single Bench of Justice Kauser Edappagath considered the plea today. The prosecution urged the court that, "the probe team had to make every piece of evidence admissible, failing which the accused will challenge it as inadmissible before the trial court. The video clips in the case are highly necessary for proper adjudication of the case to satisfy the Court of the necessity to extend the time frame to complete the further investigation." In the meantime, the Court declined the request of the survivor actress seeking that the judge might avoid hearing the matter. She noted that the judge had earlier recused from hearing her plea seeking proper investigation and hearing in the case. Earlier on May 24, the Kerala Communist Party of India (Marxist) secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had said that the plea filed by the survivor actress in the 2017 actress assault case was mysterious and allegations raised by her against the state government were baseless. The survivor actress, on May 23, had approached the Kerala High Court seeking its intervention in the case to ensure justice and alleged that a move is being made to subvert the case. In her plea, she alleged, "It is an attempt to influence the politicians in the ruling alliance to end the case. Despite the evidence that accused actor Dileep's lawyers were trying to influence witnesses, they were excluded from the investigation by the probe team. It was informed that a move was being made to end the case in a hurry. This raises the question of whether this will lead to denial of justice." Dileep is the Malyalam actor who have been the eighth accused in the case apart from Sunil Kumar, Martin Antony, Manikantan, VP Vijeesh, Salim, Pradeep, and Charley Thomas. The case pertains that an actress, who worked in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu films, was allegedly abducted and molested inside her car by a group of men who had forced their way into the vehicle on the night of 17 February 2017. (ANI) A letter written by an advocate highlighting the alleged targeted killing of migrants in Kashmir has been sent to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana, urging for an investigation into the matter by the National Investigative Agency (NIA) and security for Hindu minorities in Kashmir. The letter written by advocate Vineet Jindal on Wednesday stated that the killing of a school teacher, Rajni Bala, in the district of Kulgam on May 31 was the seventh such attack in the last month. He said three policemen and three civilians have been killed by terrorists in recent targeted attacks. The lawyer requested the CJI to take cognizance of the alleged targeted killings of Hindus in Kashmir. He sought a direction from the apex court to provide adequate security to Hindu minorities in Kashmir on an immediate basis. The advocate also demanded that a special unit be set up to build and implement a system to ensure the safety and security of minority groups in Kashmir. Also a direction was sought to grant Rs 10 lakh in compensation and a government job for one family member of the Hindu victims. The letter stated, "These target killings are not only an attempt to create fear among Hindus residing in Kashmir but also an attempt to wage war and unrest in the country. This systematic targeting of the Hindus has created a sense of fear, vulnerability and insecurity among the Hindu community living in the Valley." "Many government employees who returned to the Valley after being given jobs under the Prime Minister's special employment scheme for Kashmiri migrants have quietly left accommodations and many of them have been demanding transfers from Kashmir to Jammu owing to the fear of losing their lives and for the sake of their families well being," the letter further stated. (ANI) Month of Action for Children launched Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh officially launched the Month of Action for Children at a ceremony in Hanoi on Tuesday (May 31). The special month is held every June to promote child care and protection, and mobilise social resources for the work. Under the theme Joining hands to care for, educate and protect children, the month aims to engage socio-political organisations, social organisations, families and communities in the care, education and protection of children. Addressing the event, PM Chinh stressed that we should not only hold a month of action but always act for children. While recognising many remarkable achievements in child care and protection, the PM said problems remain, such as abuse and violence against children, child drownings, suicides, and poverty. He emphasised the three main pillars of childrens lives, which are family-school-society, saying that the country needs a strategy for children, with solutions to improve their health and education. The PM also underlined the need to fully enforce the Law on Children and other legal documents on child care, education and protection. He called on every individua to ensure that children are the first to benefit from socio-economic development in the country. At the ceremony, PM Chinh and officials presented gifts to disadvantaged children. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh presents gifts to a child at the Vietnam National Children's Hospital in Hanoi on Tuesday. VNA/VNS Photo Duong Giang Earlier in the day, PM Chinh also visited and presented gifts to patients at the Vietnam National Children's Hospital in Hanoi. He talked to children receiving treatment at the hospital and wished them early recovery from illnesses. Speaking to officials and medical workers at the hospital, the Government leader stressed that after the COVID-19 pandemic is put under control, more attention should be paid to health care for children. He acknowledged the great work of the hospital over more than half a century since it opened, and urged the hospital to develop into a model health care establishment for children. PM Chinh asked the hospital to work with other medical facilities and the Health Ministry to research the pandemics impacts on childrens physical and psychological health. He again stressed the priority that the Government gives to health care and education, and appealed to the medical workers at the hospital to give the best possible care for the patients. The hospitals officials reported that the hospital gives medical checks and treatment to around 1 million children each year. Aramex, a leading global provider of logistics and transportation solutions, has entered into a binding agreement to fully acquire Access USA Shipping (MyUS) for a cash purchase price of $265 million. The acquisition is in line with Aramexs strategy to expand its cross-border operations and to capitalise on the attractive growth opportunities from a fast-growing $4 trillion global e-Commerce sector. MyUS is a global technology-driven platform that enables cross-border e-Commerce providing cost-effective package forwarding solutions to millions of customers who shop from retailers based in the US, UK and China. Proprietary software MyUS has cutting-edge proprietary software and scalable technology, industry-leading expertise gained over its 24 years of operations and a customer-centric business model that innovatively addresses the needs of shoppers worldwide. The acquisition is expected to unlock several benefits for both entities, including operational synergies and improved efficiencies, shared technology platforms and the opportunity to service new markets. Commenting on the acquisition, Othman Aljeda, Chief Executive Officer of Aramex, said: We look forward to soon welcoming MyUSs customers and employees to Aramex. MyUS's business and expertise are a natural extension of our solutions, a complementary to our flagship product- Shop & Ship, and we see significant benefits to be derived from this acquisition. New trade lanes We believe this transaction will open new trade lanes for both companies, as well as increase trade flow from major global trade hubs into the Middle East, where Aramex is a leading player. We are acquiring a profitable business and this transaction is value accretive to Aramex and our shareholders. It will also create great value for our customers and partners. Ramesh Bulusu, Chief Executive Officer of MyUS, said: We are very proud of our company and what we have built up over the past 24 years, maintaining a strong brand and loyal customer base. Aramexs acquisition is a testament to our strength, future potential, and scale and success in growing our footprint in the attractive, fast growing and evolving global e-Commerce business. The investment we have made in the company throughout the years, and our successful focus on providing innovative cross-border e-Commerce solutions have resulted in significant growth for our business and brand. This acquisition allows our customers and business partners to benefit from Aramexs global network, international expertise and scale, while still being able to enjoy our personalised, tailored solutions. We are confident that under Aramexs stewardship, MyUS will continue to grow and flourish. The acquisition of MyUS is subject to customary closing conditions, including applicable regulatory approvals. Aramex will fully disclose the details of the transaction upon closing, which is expected in the third quarter of 2022.-- TradeArabia News Service Locals in Chittorgarh's Dhuncha Bazar area pelted stones at police on Wednesday as the situation remained tense following the killing of former BJP councillor Jagdish Soni's son last night. The deceased was identified as Ratan, a resident of the Gandhinagar area of the city. He was the son of former councillor Jagdish Soni. According to reports, Ratan was attacked by some unknown assailants at Shivaji Circle of the city late Tuesday night. After the news surfaced, there is an outrage among people. People first gathered at Subhash Chowk and protested outside the Kotwali. Further, Chittorgarh MP Chandra Prakash Joshi and BJP MLA Chandrabhan Singh reached Kotwali and demanded the arrest of the culprits. Markets are closed in the city after the incident. Speaking to ANI, Chittorgarh Superintendent of Police (SP) Preeti Jain said, "Postmortem of the body to be conducted. Three people detained so far and FIR registered. The deceased's family has demanded financial assistance and a job for a member of the family." "Section 144 has not been invoked and Internet services are not blocked in the area. RAC and STF deployed, and the situation is completely under control. Postmortem of the body will be conducted," added the SP. Three people detained so far and FIR was registered, she added. The Chittorgarh Collector said, "A job will be provided to the widow of the man who was killed yesterday and compensation of Rs 25 lakhs will be given to his family. The current situation is peaceful. The postmortem will be conducted today after which last rites will be performed." Speaking to ANI, the former BJP councillor Jagdish Soni said, "The administration has agreed to our demands. We should get justice. Last rites will be performed today after the postmortem is conducted." (ANI) The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to Delhi Police on a plea moved by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Amanatullah Khan challenging the opening of history sheet by the Delhi police and declaring him as a 'bad character'. Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain issued notice to Delhi Police to file a response on the plea. The matter is listed for July 28. The bench declined to interfere in the decision taken by Delhi Police. The bench said the matter is subjudice and they will not act upon it. The court said that the matter required consideration. The counsel for the petitioner urged the court to pass an interim direction for Delhi Police not to act on the decision. AAP MLA Amanullah Khan has moved a petition through Advocate M Sufian Siddiqui challenging the decision taken by the Delhi police. He sought quashing of the decision. The petition has stated that the dossier was leaked to the media in contravention of rules and regulations in this regard which mandate it to be kept confidential. The petitioner said it is a classic case of brazen abuse of the process of law by the Delhi police. The plea moved by AAP MLA from Okhla has sought to quash the history sheet and the proposal declaring him a "bad character". He also sought to remove his name from the register for surveillance to keep a close watch on his activities. The SHO Jamia Nagar had submitted a dossier to the DCP of South East and to the ACP of New Friends Colony along with a proposal of opening a history sheet and tagging Amanullah Khan's name as 'Bad Character'. The petition said that the approval was granted in a mechanical manner. (ANI) "Members of the Delhi Legislative Assembly called on today. We discussed various issues pertaining to the City and their constituencies," Lieutenant Governor said in a tweet. Earlier on May 27, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met the newly-appointed Lieutenant Governor of the national capital. On May 23, Saxena, the chairman of Khadi and Village Industries Commission, was appointed Delhi's new Lieutenant Governor after Anil Baijal resigned from the position citing "personal reasons" last week. Following the appointment of the new Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Kejriwal had extended a warm welcome to Saxena. "On behalf of the people of Delhi, I extend a warm welcome to the newly appointed Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Vinay Kumar Saxena. For the betterment of Delhi, he will get full cooperation from the cabinet of Delhi Government," said Chief Minister Kejriwal in a Twitter post. (ANI) Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is leading the country, is the hope of the nation. He has heralded a new era of development in India with his able and strong leadership. Addressing a media conference after inaugurating the 8th-anniversary celebrations of Narendra Modi's government in Udupi, Bommai said, "Modi is a statesman who brought political stability for the nation's progress. His bold decisions, long term vision and care for the last man in the social order, have made him a popular mass leader." Modi has brought a new transformation to the country by providing basic amenities for the people, good education, and health services. His Atma Nirbhar pitch has given a new direction for the nation to emerge strong. His selfless leadership is empowering the people of the country. "His food security, economic empowerment, Garib Kalyan programmes with the spirit of Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikaas, Sab Ka Vishwas, Sab Ka Prayas has made the people not just beneficiaries, but partners in progress of the nation", Bommai said. "The Prime Minister is giving high priority to the semiconductor sector in the country. Karnataka is proud to have signed the MoU setting up India's first semiconductor plant in the country. Modi has a vision to make India Atma Nirbhar in the energy sector by giving greater thrust to renewable energies like solar and wind energy. Initiatives have also been taken for energy storage and the use of ethanol. The Hydrogen policy seeks to reduce the dependence on Petrol and Diesel in the long run", Bommai said. The Modi government completed 8 years in office on May 31. His welfare programmes have benefited crores of people. As the country celebrates its 75 years of independence, it is time to introspect and chart the future course for the next 25 years to make India the world leader (Vishwa Guru), Bommai said. Bommai further said, "Modi's Atma Nirbhar Bharat mission with thrust for Make in India is taking India on the path of self-reliance in defence production. The tapped drinking water scheme for every household in the country is a mega project which no other Prime Minister in the past showed the willpower to take up. About 25 lakh households in the state have already been covered under the project," "The Make in India, Mudra programmes have given a big push to the industry and self-employment of the youth. India is home to the highest number of Startups and Karnataka has the lion's share of them. Karnataka also has the highest number of Unicorns and Decacorns. Modi has a new vision for India's progress", Bommai said. The slew of welfare programmes for the farmers including the Kissan Samman, Atal Bhoojal, and Neem-coated urea manufacturing have induced new dynamism for growth in the agriculture sector. (ANI) Cabinet on Wednesday approved the appointment of Rabindra Kumar Agarwal as Deputy Director (Administration) (JS level), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. Agarwal is appointed under the Department of Health and Family Welfare with pay at Level 14 in the Pay Matrix for a combined tenure upto May 31, 2023, or until further orders. "The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Department of Health & Family Welfare for the appointment of Rabindra Kumar Agarwal, lAS (KL: 1997) as Deputy Director (Administration) (JS level), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi under the Department of Health & Family Welfare with pay at Level 14 in the Pay Matrix for a combined tenure upto 31.05.2023 or until further orders, whichever is earlier," the order reads. (ANI) Reacting to Congress' allegation over the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoning Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and MP Rahul Gandhi over the National Herald case on the behest of the Modi government, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president JP Nadda on Wednesday said that a criminal never accepts his crime. "Have you ever heard of a criminal accepting that he is a criminal or a dishonest person," said Nadda after Congress said that the Modi government is using the central agency to suppress them. ED on Wednesday summoned Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over the National Herald case, which was closed by the investigating agency in 2015. Briefing reporters, Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala said, "Started the National Herald newspaper in 1942, at that time the British tried to suppress it, today Modi govt is also doing the same and ED is being used for this. ED has given notice to our president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi." Nadda further said, "A man who is on the dock and on bail, why doesn't he go to the court and talk? This is exactly like your face is messed up but you are cleaning the mirror." "Look, there is corruption and the court is looking into it. All I have to say is that if there is a charge sheet against you, then go to the court and face it. The one who is not honest looks out for bail", he added. Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, "Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi will go to ED office on June 8." The federal agency's move followed the questioning of senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress Treasurer Pawan Bansal in April this year in New Delhi in connection with its money laundering probe into the National Herald case. The ED is currently investigating the shareholding pattern and financial transactions as well as the role of party functionaries in the functioning of Associated Journals Limited (AJL) owned by Young Indian Private Limited (YIL). The YIL promoters include Congress President Sonia Gandhi and MP Rahul Gandhi. (ANI) Hours after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over the National Herald case, the Congress attacked BJP-led Central government on ED's action and alleged that PM Modi government is trying to suppress the voice of the Opposition. Responding to Congress's allegation, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Malviya said, "If you didn't do anything wrong then explain your side of the story to the Court. Nothing will happen by making political statements like this," Malviya said. The BJP leader also responded to ED's action on Congress's Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and said, "It is an ongoing investigation. In the National Herald case, there has been a violation of the Representation of Peoples Act. The ED will investigate since the Gandhi family is the main shareholder in the National Herald therefore they have been summoned." On Congress's allegation of the BJP misusing the Central agencies against the Opposition, Malviya questioned, "What do they want? They can carry on with corruption and no action should be taken against them? If you have misused your position and power, then action will be taken." ED on Wednesday summoned Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over the National Herald case, which was closed by the investigating agency in 2015. Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said, "Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi will go to ED office on June 8." (ANI) A civilian was injured after being shot at by terrorists in the Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, said police. The Police further said that the civilian has got an injury in his leg and his condition is stated to be stable. "The terrorist fired upon one civilian Farooq Ahmad Sheikh in Chidren, Keegam area of Shopian. He got injury in leg and has been shifted to hospital. His condition is stated to be stable," the Kashmir Zone Police tweeted. This is the second incident this week. Earlier on Tuesday, a Hindu school teacher Rajni Bala was fired at by terrorists in the Kulgam district of the Kashmir region. Bala, a Hindu school teacher was fired at by terrorists in the Kulgam district of the Kashmir region. A resident of Samba in the Jammu region, Bala sustained injuries when terrorists fired at her in the Gopalpora area of Kulgam where she was posted as a teacher, police said. According to Jammu and Kashmir Police, the incident took place at the High School Gopalpora area of Kulgam. She was taken to the hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. The incident took place days after Kashmiri TV actor Amreen Bhat was killed by unidentified terrorists in Budgam's Chadoora area in Jammu and Kashmir on May 25, while her 10-year-old nephew was injured. Earlier, Rahul Bhatt, an employee of the Tehsil office in the Budgam district's Chadoora, was shot dead by terrorists in the Budgam on May 12, reminding the Jammu and Kashmir administration of a targeting killing. (ANI) BJP National President JP Nadda on Wednesday said that the party has done all the work to make the eight years of the Modi government unmatchable including service, good governance and welfare of the poor. Addressing the state working committee (SWC) meeting in Bhopal, Nadda said, "We all have to take unmatchable eight years of Modi government to the people because it is our responsibility. We have done all the work to make the eight years of the Modi government unmatchable including service, good governance and welfare of the poor." The BJP president instructed party workers to reach out to all sections of society. "Let us make our work universal and inclusive, let's work to reach out to all sections of the society. We have to reach out to the villages, poor, exploited, deprived, downtrodden, oppressed, tribal, women and youth and empower them," Nadda said. He also emphasised women's empowerment and said the "Nari Tu Narayani" and other programmes have been implemented to help them in every way. "Empowerment of women under 'Nari Tu Narayani' and along with other programs like Mudra Yojana, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan etc. have been run to help them in every way. Under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Programme, 2.58 crore have been assisted in Madhya Pradesh," he said. Nadda further said, "Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas is our working moto. We have policies and as well intention to work." "Under BJP, Madhya Pradesh is emerging as one of the leading states in terms of economy with its growth rate at 19.74 per cent. It's no longer a 'beemaru' (weak) state which it used to be under the Congress," he added. (ANI) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday launched the second phase of the Government School Transformation programme under the 5T initiative, under which as many as 2,908 schools will be transformed with modern infrastructure and amenities to enhance quality of education. Five 'Ts' propel Odisha's governance. They are transparency, teamwork, technology and timeliness -- leading to transformation. During the launch of the second phase of the programme, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik virtually dedicated 532 transformed Government schools in 5 districts of the state - Khordha, Boudh, Malkangiri, Sonpur and Mayurbhanj. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said, "School Transformation has given wings to children's dreams of a better future and doing something big in life, if their dreams come true, the goal of a new Odisha will be fulfilled and the foundation of a new Odisha will be laid." Explaining the importance of 5T to children, Patnaik said that education brings an impactful change in life and advised the children to make good use of this important phase in life and create a new identity for themselves, their families and Odisha. (ANI) Krohne, a global manufacturer of process instrumentation, is showcasing its innovative products and solutions at a major industry trade fair, IFAT 2022, being held in Germany. The event which runs till June 3 at the Trade Fair Centre in Munich, offers a major environmental technology platform for companies to promote innovations in water, sewage, waste and raw material management. Krohne has a long heritage in supporting automation and process control in this space through precision engineered measurement equipment and technology, it stated. Frank Janssens, Vice President, Krohne Middle East and Africa, said: "We have been in operation for over a century and our group is built on key values we still have today. At IFAT companies have the chance to experience our creativity for finding the best solutions to problems with our pioneering thought process and engineering capabilities." "By opening up our knowledge base in this bespoke manner, we feel we are able to deliver the personalised exhibition experience without restriction. We are able to add value to new and existing customers and partners who can learn more from our experts at their convenience," stated Janssens. "The event provides an excellent opportunity for public and private sector stakeholders to experience and engage with the sector," he added.-TradeArabia News Service Two days after Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader, Dilbag Singh, who is also a witness to the killing of farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri in October 2021, was allegedly attacked by armed assailants, Uttar Pradesh Police said that the BKU leader identified the suspects. The identified suspects, however, claimed that the BKU leader had been 'planning such attack on himself to get (arms) license.' The police further noted that the BKU leader was provided with a gunman for security, but he gave him an off on the day of the attack. In a conversation with ANI on Wednesday, Lakhimpur Kheri Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Suman said, "He has a gunman for security provided to him by the administration, but he gave the gunman an off on his own and the same day this firing incident took place." "Last night, he claimed he was fired upon thrice. We have filed an FIR. FSL Team from Lucknow called for a ballistic report. He identified suspects who instead stated that he'd been planning such an attack on himself to get (arms) license," Sanjeev Suman said. Notably, according to the police, the Lakhimpur Kheri district president of BKU, Dilbag Singh was attacked on Tuesday as two unidentified men on a bike followed his SUV and opened fire on him. The BKU leader had told the cops that his police guard was on leave when the attack happened. The Lakhimpur Kheri incident took place on October 3, 2021, when a group of farmers was protesting in the district against the Centre's three farm laws. (ANI) She lauded the workers for standing by the party in challenging circumstances. "What next now! Should we lose hope? Whoever wanted to be upset is gone...but those present here will fight...You didn't leave even in challenging circumstances, stood by the party and ideology," Priyanka Gandhi said. Congress is holding two-day state-level 'shivirs' from June 1 to discuss way ahead from the 'Udaipur Declaration' adopted after three-day Chintan Shivir in Rajasthan. Priyanka Gandhi had actively campaigned for the Congress in the state polls but the party got a severe drubbing and won only two of 403 seats in the assembly polls held earlier this year. After the Chintan Shivir, two prominent faces - Kapil Sibal and Hardik Patel - have left the Congress. (ANI) During his visit to Bratislava, he will call on Slovakia's Prime Minister Eduard Heger, and will hold discussions with his counterpart, Foreign and European Affairs Minister Ivan Korcok, the MEA statement said. He will also attend the GLOBSEC 2022 Forum and speak on the topic "Taking Friendship to the Next Level: Allies in the Indo-Pacific Region". Jaishankar is scheduled to meet Austria's Minister of European and International Affairs of Austria Alexander Schallenberg on the sidelines of the GLOBSEC 2022. During his visit to the Czech Republic, he will hold discussions with his counterpart, Jan Lipavsky, which will provide an opportunity for a comprehensive review of bilateral cooperation. The Czech Republic will be taking over the EU Presidency from July 1. In addition to meeting the political leadership of the two countries, Jaishankar will also interact with a cross-section of the Diaspora, including Indian students, in both countries. "India has traditionally enjoyed close and friendly ties with both Slovakia and the Czech Republic. EAM's visit will impart further momentum to bilateral relations with the two Central European countries," the statement said. --IANS miz/vd ( 221 Words) 2022-06-01-20:08:28 (IANS) Ahead of the Stockholm+50, the crucial environment summit, India on Wednesday emphasised that it is the time to celebrate 50 years of collaborative action and at the same time, also to introspect what has been achieved and what more is yet to be done. Stockholm+50 is a global environmental meeting to be held on June 2 and 3 to commemorate the first-ever conference of the United Nations on Human Environment in 1972. "The developing world needs not just an industrial 'transition', but an industrial renaissance - a flowering of industries that will create jobs and prosperity along with a clean environment. The developed nations, with their historical experiences, must take lead in the global transition towards net-zero and low carbon industry," Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said. "When we celebrate 50 years of collaborative actions, at the same time, it is important to introspect on what has been achieved and what more is yet to be done," he said at the Industry Transition Dialogue as a part of the joint initiative with Sweden, the Leadership for Industry Transition (LeadIT) at Stockholm. The LeadIT initiative lays specific focus on hard to abate sectors that are key stakeholders in the global climate action and require specific interventions. Yadav said that this high level of dialogue (of LeadIT) has contributed to the UN Conference 'Stockholm+50' on the theme of "a healthy planet for the prosperity of all-our responsibility, our opportunity" that will also set the agenda for COP27, the annual climate change conference to be held at Egypt's Sharm-el-Sheikh five months later. Apart from Yadav, the event was also addressed by Sweden's Minister for Climate and the Environment, Annika Strandhall, a statement from the Indian Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister said here. He also updated the audience about the progress made under the initiative that includes the sectoral road mapping, workshops and industrial field visits to facilitate knowledge sharing and combined efforts. India chaired the roundtable dialogue on 'Priorities for Implementation 2022-23'. With Japan and South Africa joining as the latest members of the initiative, the total membership of LeadIT has increased to 37 countries and companies together that shared their initiatives, success stories and plans for the future. --IANS niv/vd ( 380 Words) 2022-06-01-20:48:09 (IANS) Interacting with the Indian diaspora in Gabon, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has said that despite being only 1,500 in number, the community has made a significant contribution in various fields in the country. Addressing the Indian diaspora on Tuesday, the Vice President said that the government's aim is to make people happy and reforms are the need for the hour. "Reforms are the need for the hour, our aim is to make people happy. And happy to note that despite being only 1,500 in the number you've made a significant contribution in various fields," he said. Naidu is on a three-nation tour to Gabon, Senegal and Qatar. Vice-President Naidu's visit to Gabon was the 1st leg of his tour. He had very extensive interaction with the leadership of Gabon. He called on Gabon's President Ali Bongo Ondimba, covering various areas of cooperation. Pradeep Bhavani, a businessman who has lived in Gabon for 10 years said: "India has a good future in Gabon. At least 45 enterprises have invested here. Africa is an undiscovered natural resource. India should discover those resources here." "The investment sector includes mining, mineral resources, natural tourism, and medical sector," he added. While another businessman, Hitesh Punjabi from Rajasthan's Jodhpur said that Indian community has increased in Gabon after President's visit to India. "I m very positive about the bilateral relations between both the countries," Hitesh who has lived in Gabon for 12 years told ANI. African country Gabon is truly looking for enhancing its partnership with India during Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu's visit to the nation. In a special briefing on Vice President's visit to Gabon, Dammu Ravi, Secretary (ER) said, "Gabon is truly looking for enhancing its partnership with India. They feel that it's time for them to diversify their economy and be partners with India, particularly in the energy sector." (ANI) Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told the regular press briefing that the move "is an important step to create a conducive environment for direct, intra Sudanese talks to end the political crisis in the country." "We encourage the authorities to complete the release of political detainees," the spokesman said, adding that the UN urges Sudanese stakeholders to engage in constructive dialogue in good faith to find a way out of this crisis. Dujarric said that the trilateral mechanism consisting of the UN mission in Sudan, UNITAMS, the African Union and the Inter-governmental Authority on Development will continue to work collaboratively to help facilitate a Sudanese owned and led solution and to find a way to end the political impasse in Sudan. Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Sunday lifted the state of emergency imposed since last year's military coup. The order was reportedly made "to prepare the atmosphere for a fruitful and meaningful dialogue that achieves stability for the transitional period." Sunday's decision came after a meeting with senior military officials recommending the state of emergency be lifted and people detained under an emergency law be freed. (ANI/Xinhua) A delightful view of all five naked-eye planets will line up in the dawn sky in June, according to a monthly American magazine, adding that all of them will also be in their proper order from the Sun. According to a release issued by the online publication Sky & Telescope which is part of AAS Sky Publishing, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the American Astronomical Society, June's lineup is such that the planets are arranged in their natural order from the Sun. Throughout the month of June, shortly before the Sun rises, viewers could see Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn -- in that order -- stretching across the sky from low in the east to higher in the south. Mercury will be tougher to spot: Early in the month, viewers will need an unobstructed eastern horizon as well as binoculars to potentially see the little world. As the month wears on, Mercury climbs higher and brightens significantly, making it easier to see, and thus completing the planetary lineup, the statement read. The last time the five naked-eye planets were strung across the horizon in sequence was in December 2004. It is to be noted that this year, the gap between Mercury and Saturn is much shorter. There are several dates of note this month. From June 3-4: On these two mornings, the five planets span 91 when the separation between Mercury and Saturn will be at its smallest. According to Sky & Telescope magazine, the planetary lineup on June 24 morning is even more compelling. To begin with, Mercury will be much easier to snag, making the five-planet parade that much more accessible. The view will remain for about an hour, from when Mercury pops above the horizon to when the rising Sun washes it out of the sky. Notably, the real bonus is the waning crescent Moon positioned between Venus and Mars, serving as a proxy Earth. By this time of the month, the planets are spread farther across the sky -- the distance between Mercury and Saturn will be 107. If it's cloudy on the dates of note, you still have all the mornings in between to take in the view of the five naked-eye planets adorning the southeastern horizon. (ANI) The C-130 aircraft took off to Pakistan to deliver the consignment at the request of the war-torn country. The consignment including medicines, medical equipment, bedding and food items, was delivered through a C-130 aircraft at the request of the war-torn country, the Dawn reported. This was the second consignment from Pakistan to Ukraine. Another consignment will be sent on June 3, the report added. The first consignment of more than 15 tons of humanitarian aid was sent to Ukraine through two C-130 aircrafts from the Noor Khan Base in March. The decision was taken at the request of the Ukrainian embassy in Islamabad for humanitarian assistance along with a list of urgently-needed items. Previously, the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs had proposed that the country should provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. It suggested that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) should mobilise the requisite assistance containing non-military items as requested by the Ukrainian embassy and organise its transportation, the Dawn reported. It had also moved a formal summary to the prime minister to immediately dispatch the assistance to Ukraine. Notably, millions of refugees, mostly women and children, have moved to Poland and other neighbouring countries, amid the ongoing military situation. Ukraine had raised an international appeal for global assistance to address humanitarian needs. Russia started its military operation in Ukraine on February 24. This large-scale operation has reportedly resulted in a humanitarian crisis, leading to crippling sanctions from Western countries targeting Moscow's high-profile individuals and companies. (ANI) The Chinese companies suffered from a poor image after the media reported about their tax evasion case in Bangladesh, but seems to have failed to deter them. Last year, in December, Bangladesh authorities discovered that China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), was involved in the tax evasion while importing the construction material for government projects, Bangladesh Live News reported. After the case of embezzlement of funds in megaprojects came under the spotlight, the Bangladesh authorities forced the Chinese government to withdraw from financing three infrastructure projects. But it seems that these media reports don't stop Chinese companies from hiring the sub-contractors from Beijing and also show them as a part of the main company to avoid paying the taxes to the Bangladesh government, Bangladesh Live News reported citing some unconfirmed reports. Chinese companies reportedly hired Chinese sub-contractors and showed them as a part of the main company in Dhaka-Chittagong Railway Line. A Chinese company working on this project has hired 16 Chinese sub-contractors and shown them as a part of the main company. Another project helmed by the Chinese company Tebian Electric Apparatus (TBEA) working with Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) has hired four Chinese sub-contractors. A Chinese company has even taken a six-storey building on lease in Narayanganj in which employees working on the projects are kept. Besides, coal plant and infrastructure projects in Bangladesh are causing widespread displacement of highly populated rural areas and endangering their ecosystem, reported Bangladesh Live News. It seems Beijing has failed to act against the corruption and malpractices of Chinese government-affiliated companies. Corruption is often a key element of Chinese economic engagement in the South Asian region. Estimates suggest that Beijing was responsible for the largest Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) related to corrupt business practices, by value globally, particularly in developing countries. Meanwhile, in May, another case of tax evasion against the Chinese company, Sino-Kemmed Trading Co. unearthed by the Bangladesh authorities. Sino-Kemmed Trading company, a subsidiary of Global Pet Products Co Ltd. located in Shenzhen, has declared to send a consignment of coated calcium carbonate to one of its Dhaka-based associates namely 'NB Trading House'. However, on physical examination, the Bangladesh officials recovered 120 tonnes of high-value Dextrose Monohydrate. The Dextrose was concealed as the label was that of coated calcium carbonate inside, Bangladesh Live News reported. According to the media report, the consignment arrived at Chittagong port and was carried in five containers under Vashi Shipping Pvt Ltd. If the authorities had not detected it at right time then it would have resulted in the loss of Bangladeshi Taka (TK) 42 Lakhs 13 thousand to the exchequer. Some media reports suggest that the port authorities/ customs were under tremendous pressure from senior levels not to disclose the name and real identities of Chinese companies. Though Beijing projects itself as a reliable economic partner, its economic partnership seems to be turning out as an albatross for the recipient countries. (ANI) "Happy to make an introductory call on Delhi CM @ArvindKejriwal today. We discussed urban management collabs including on water, public housing, as well as waste management. These issues are import to all urban centres, and very relevant to Singapore and Delhi," the Higher Commissioner of Singapore to India tweeted. Meanwhile, on Monday, Simon Wong thanked the Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, Meenakshi Lekhi for hosting the Deputy High Commissioner of Singapore to India, Alice Cheng. "Thank you Minister @M_Lekhi for hosting our very own DHC Alice Cheng and the others! We thoroughly enjoyed the interaction and exchange of views," Wong Tweeted. Deputy High Commissioner of Suriname Ria A Sital organised the get-together of female Deputy Chief of Missions posted in Delhi. "Happy to attend the get-together of female Deputy Chief of Missions posted in Delhi. Thanked Cd'A of Suriname Ms. Ria A. Sital for organizing this gathering. It provided a good opportunity to exchange views on different subjects from women empowerment to culture," the Union Minister tweeted. (ANI) Dubai South, the largest single-urban master development, has signed a deal with International Humanitarian City (IHC), which will take IHC humanitarian-aid shipments to a new level of efficiency and accuracy. As per the memorandum of understanding, IHC, the largest humanitarian hub in the world, will implement Masary, an e-gate pass system, to track and trace shipments within a secure network and ensure efficient management of cargo movement. The agreement was signed during the two-day Seamless Middle East Summit in Dubai, which concludes on June 1, by Giuseppe Saba, CEO of IHC, and Abdul Basit AlMarzouqi, Director of the Logistics District at Dubai South, in the presence of senior members from both entities. Logistics crucial Saba underlined the importance of the e-gate pass system, saying: Logistics play a crucial part in IHCs operations, and the e-gate pass system will strengthen the efficiency of IHC communitys emergency response. It will save time on aid shipment processing and, ultimately, save the lives of people in need. We would like to consider the signing of this agreement as a starting point for our partnership with Dubai South. Through this partnership, we hope to further develop any tool or facility that could help IHC and its community achieve the goals identified by His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, when he founded IHC. AlMarzouqi said: As a prominent logistics hub, we are committed to facilitating optimal smart operational solutions for our clients to ensure seamless services and the uninterpreted flow of goods. Dubai Souths Logistics District will continue to enhance its portfolio of offerings and address the increasing complexity involved in the movement of goods. As such, it will promote best practices and establish a tech-enabled dynamic ecosystem that would allow our valued clients to thrive in this competitive market. Master-planned city Dubai South was launched as a Dubai Government project in 2006, representing an emerging 145-square-kilometre, master-planned city based on the happiness of the individual. The city is identified as Dubais flagship urban project and is designed to create 500,000 jobs in an integrated economic environment that supports all types of businesses and industries. IHC, which was founded in 2003 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed, is the only non-profit, independent, humanitarian free-zone authority, hosting a community of around 85 members comprising UN organisations, non-profit and non-governmental organisations and commercial companies. The international humanitarian community in Dubai consists of about 500 people, representing around 80 nationalities, thus positioning itself as the largest humanitarian hub in the world.-- TradeArabia News Service The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has urged the Taliban to urgently probe the recent disappearance of journalists and asked to bring the perpetrators to justice. This comes after Afghan journalists, Ali Akbar Khairkhwa and Jamaluddin Deldar, reportedly went missing from Kabul, with their whereabouts unknown since May 24. Ali Akbar Khairkhwa, a reporter for local newspaper Subh-e-Kabul, and Jamaluddin Deldar, head of Gardiz Voice Radio in Afghanistan's Paktia province, allegedly disappeared in Kabul on May 24. According to IFJ, members of Khairkhwa's family reported that the journalist had been missing since departing for the Kote Sangi area of Kabul's District 5 to report and attend university classes. Khairkwa's mother and brother contacted the Taliban authorities, suspecting their role in the journalist's abduction, however, the Taliban denied involvement. Deldar's family alleged that the radio executive was arrested by members of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan on May 24, but did not know the reason for his arrest. Islamuddin Sanjar, of Gardiz Voice Radio where Deldar worked, claimed that Deldar remains in the custody of Taliban forces. A statement published on May 30 on the radio station's Facebook page said, "Jamaluddin Deldar, responsible for Gardiz Voice Radio, has been in Taliban prison for nearly a week. Silencing the media's voice is a violation of other laws. He should be released as soon as possible." Omaduddin Dawran, a Pashto writer, has also been reported missing on social media. The Taliban's Ministry of Interior Affairs, responsible for law enforcement and civil order, announced an investigation into the cases of the missing journalists. "The issues which you have mentioned are under investigation. Whenever the investigation is finished, we will share it with you," said Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafay Takor. Since the Taliban's takeover in August last year, attacks on Afghan journalists and media workers, including imprisonment, harassment, and assault, have significantly increased. An estimated 1,000 journalists have fled the country since August, with threats, harsh restrictions, and economic collapse leading to mass closures of media outlets. In the latest South Asia Press Freedom report 2022-22, the IFJ documented 75 media rights violations, including 12 killings and 30 arrests, in Afghanistan from May 2021 to April 2022. "Contrary to the Taliban's public commitment to protect freedom of the press and freedom of expression, incidents of harassment, attack, detainment and abduction of journalists have risen significantly following the Taliban's takeover in August 2021. The IFJ urges the Taliban to immediately investigate the disappearance of journalists Ali Akbar Khairkhwa and Jamaluddin Deldar, bring the perpetrators to justice and increase efforts to safeguard journalists and media workers in Afghanistan," the IFJ said. (ANI) A three-meter tall replica of the "Pillar of Shame" statue honouring the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident will be unveiled at a commemorative vigil in Taiwan on Saturday evening, local media reported. Ahead of commemorations for the Tiananmen Square incident this weekend, this statue will be unveiled in Taipei after funds were raised by New School for Democracy (NSD) to help develop a copy of the sculpture made by a Danish artist, Taiwan Focus reported. Tseng Chien-yuan, Chairman of the NSD, said the focal point of the vigil will be the unveiling of the replica of the statue that was previously erected at the University of Hong Kong. Last December, Workers at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) had removed the Tiananmen Massacre statue, widely known as the "Pillar of Shame," after the university had said the statue must go. This monument was created by a Danish artist in memory of those killed in the Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing in 1989. Sophie Richardson, Human Rights Watch's China Director, had said slammed the Chinese government for being afraid of a statute. "The world's second-largest economy. Largest standing army. Permanent member of the UN Security Council. Nevertheless, China govt afraid of a statute and what it represents, stealing it away at night, under wraps...pathetic," Richardson had tweeted in December. The Tiananmen incident was precipitated by the peaceful gatherings of students, workers, and others in Beijing's Tiananmen Square and other Chinese cities in April 1989, calling for freedom of expression, accountability, and an end to corruption. The government responded to the intensifying protests in late May 1989 by declaring martial law. On June 3 and 4, the military opened fire and killed untold numbers of peaceful protesters and bystanders. In Beijing, some citizens attacked army convoys and burned vehicles in response to the military's violence. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Chinese government should acknowledge and take responsibility for the massacre of pro-democracy protesters in June 1989. The authorities should immediately allow commemorations of the occasion in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, and cease censoring discussions of the crackdown, according to the rights watchdog. (ANI) China's state-run news channel, China Global Television Network, or CGTN has launched a new documentary series pointing to terrorism by Uyghurs in Xinjiang. The new propaganda by the Chinese is contradicting the Western nations who were expecting that Michelle Bachelet's visit will help reveal the atrocities done by the Chinese authorities on Uyghurs. The move comes after United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet recently concluded her visit to Xinjiang. Part 1 of this multi-series documentary was uploaded by CGTN on YouTube and its website on May 31ST, 2022. It focuses on the terrorist activities in Hotan, a major oasis town in south-western Xinjiang reported local media. It attributes the terrorist activities to "three evil forces- separatism, religious extremism, and terrorism." It highlights how the terrorists operate and how they have killed so many innocents in Xinjiang. It even shows an interview of a surrendered terrorist who recounts how he turned into an extremist and now regrets it, reported local media. A recent article by Wall Street Journal highlighted how China is effective in shaping public opinion due to the strong placement of its propaganda material on YouTube and Google. And this is an example of how quickly its propaganda machinery works, reported local media. This series is attempting to cement the public perception that it is indeed terrorism that has plagued Xinjiang due to which authorities take stringent actions. This video cannot be found in Chinese yet and has been uploaded on YouTube which shows it is projected towards outside audiences, reported local media. Human rights campaigners have been accusing the ruling Communist Party of China of committing widespread abuses in Xinjiang in the name of security, steps which include confining people to internment camps, forcibly separating families, and carrying out forced sterilization. Moreover, a post uploaded on LinkedIn by a Chinese citizen journalist living in the UK shows the Southern Theatre Command is forming an internet media and political propaganda team in response to the Taiwan issue and it will consist of 45 members, reported local media. The date on the document is not very clear but the document appears to be dated May 12th, 2022. Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the south-eastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades. Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that "Taiwan's independence" means war. (ANI) Central and Eastern European governments (CEE) have decided to align with the European Union and the United States despite China's diligent efforts to strengthen ties with the bloc as Washington offered CEE countries meaningful security guarantees through NATO. The inclination of CEE also came as a result of China's tacit response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, followed by threats and wicked strategies towards Taiwan. "Instead of celebrating 10 years of cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries, known as 16+1, in April 2022, the communist nation desperately dispatched its special representative for the forum on an eight-country tour to repair the relationship worsened by the war in Ukraine," said the vice president of the Romanian Institute for the Study of the Asia-Pacific (RISAP), Andreea Brinza as quoted by Nikkei Asia. China's repeated attempts to strengthen CEE ties through the 16+1 have been long and tortuous as most CEE countries are now firmly aligned with the rest of the EU, the U.S., Japan, or even Taiwan except Hungary and Serbia. The vice president of RISAP pointed out Beijing's numerous mistakes, the most crucial one being to ignore European Union concerns that the 16+1 mechanism was just a divide and conquer tactic to gain influence within the EU's less developed half. China's biggest mistake of all was its obliviousness to CEE disillusionment and its slow distancing from Beijing, which began just as U.S.-China relations started to deteriorate in 2017, she said. Moreover, its deliberate ignorance of how feared Russia was in the region and how important U.S. security were for CEE countries has resulted in them turning into staunch US allies. Beijing also failed to honor its promises or implement them fast enough, with the Budapest-Belgrade railway project being a prime example. CEE countries signaled their dissatisfaction towards China via project cancellations, critical statements, the arrest of a Huawei employee accused of spying, and the nurturing of stronger ties with Taiwan, while they signed memorandums of understanding targeting Huawei, and join the U.S. Clean Network, a U.S.-led effort to address long-term threats to data privacy, security, and human rights posed by authoritarian countries, Nikkei Asia reported. The CEE countries are now actively strengthening ties with Taipei, ignoring China's protests and threats. The 16+1 mechanism will never give China the broader regional influence it craves without a serious change in behavior and strategy. China's journey through Central and Eastern Europe was a long one, but instead of demonstrating long-term vision and strategy, it showcased how to lose a region in a 10-year span. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and China's support to Russia in opposition to the enlargement of NATO has given rise to a new order in Central and Eastern Europe, away from the Chinese dominance and expansionist policies and concerns the world about the reliability of the Asian giant as a partner which can be counted on. (ANI) In the last few years, India has repositioned itself strongly on the world map in its diplomatic relations. From sending Covid vaccines to 150 nations to taking steps to get Pakistan blacklisted in FATF, India has asserted its presence everywhere. The vision of the government about the world is free from old shackles. This is the reason that by helping over 150 countries at the time of Covid, India gave new confidence to the world to fight the biggest pandemic of the century. In the post-Covid era, the world is looking towards India with a new hope. This is the reason that from G-20 to BRICS, from Quad to SCO Summit, and from ASEAN to Eastern Economic Forum and COP-26, India's voice was taken very seriously. India has proved that it is ready to take on a big global responsibility after it took over the UNSC presidency last year for a month in August. "If there is a motive, then my country is immortal. If the world remembers, then remember my country, see the future of my country, the world should proudly say for my country, this is a country which can show the way for human welfare. This country has the power to bring the world out of trouble." With this thinking, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is fulfilling Swami Vivekananda's dream of 'Bharat becoming a Vishwa Guru' (Global Teacher). Now the voice of a confident India is being heard in every important international forum of the world. In the difficult times of Covid, Vishwa Guru India not only showed the world the courage to deal with the crisis but also showed its strength and resilience. The reason for the changing image of India in global relations is the continuous effort to enhance the credibility of the country, increase security as well as make the lives of the people of the country easier. An example of this is the passport and visa facilities. More than 300 new passport centres have also been established in the country in the last few years. Modi said, "The power of India's passport has increased, any citizen going to another country, when he shows his Indian passport, then he is seen with pride." The Indian passport has climbed seven places to 83rd position in the 2021 Henley Passport Index from the 90th spot in the year 2020. India has isolated Pakistan in the global arena on terrorism grounds. The International Court of Justice ruled in favour of India in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case and forced Pakistan to grant consular access. Due to the lack of even minimum support at the UN Human Rights Commission, Pakistan did not get a chance to raise the Kashmir issue. It is a result of India's growing clout that after the cowardly terrorist attack in Pulwama and the subsequent airstrikes by India, all major global leaders stood in solidarity with India. India also strongly believes in neighbour first and extended neighbourhood policies. It believes it is important for every nation to not only choose their friends carefully but also promote enduring partnerships taking into account events that have a worldwide impact. With an aim to promote better relations with neighbours, the policy of 'Neighborhood First' was adopted whereas the policy of 'extended neighbourhood' was accorded a key priority to give a new dimension to relations with distant countries. With the new thinking of the top leadership, the world's hesitancy towards India also started dispelling and India is providing stewardship to the world with the spirit of 'Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam' during the Covid phases. Vaccination against Corona started with this mantra and when India developed two homegrown vaccines, it lent a helping hand to other countries by supplying vaccines to over 150 countries. International Solar Alliance (ISA) is another initiative taken to meet the special energy needs of solar resource-rich countries which are led by India and France. The headquarter of this international organization is in India. So far, 103 countries have become its members. India is an important strategic partner of the Quad group along with the US, Japan, and Australia. This partnership is very important from the strategic point of view of Asia and the Pacific. Along with America, Japan, and Australia, now 2+2 talks with Russia also started. India was elected a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the eighth time. Showing another humanitarian side during the Russia-Ukraine War, Operation Ganga was launched to bring back more than 22 thousand of its citizens. Indian students from other countries of the world, including Pakistani citizens, were alsoevacuated. As a responsible nation even during the Corona period, India successfully launched the 'Vande Bharat Mission' and 'Operation Samudra Setu' campaign to bring its citizens from the countries around the world. Seven Maldivians were evacuated along with 647 Indians from the Chinese city of Wuhan. In 2015, 'Operation Rahat' was launched to evacuate Indian citizens from Yemen. When the earthquake struck Nepal on April 25, 2015, special aircraft provided relief material and India provided assistance of USD 67 million. (ANI) Sri Lanka has relaxed import restrictions on 369 items in March and April this year, the country's Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies, has issued a gazette notification on the relaxation, the Ministry said in a press statement. Earlier, those who wanted to import any of the 369 items had to obtain an import licence, and the decision to restrict the import was taken to reduce foreign currency spending on foreign products. On Monday, Sri Lanka's central bank announced that it will ensure importers have access to adequate foreign exchange through the banking sector to import essential items. Sri Lanka is witnessing an unprecedented economic crisis and political crisis. Large scale protests have been taking place for months, leading to the ouster of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. Wickremesinghe on Sunday said that five finance committees and 10 oversight committees will be appointed to resolve the economic and political crisis faced by the country. Wickremesinghe said new committees will be appointed to supplement the already existing committees on government finance namely: the Public Finance Committee, the Accounts Committee, and the Committee on Public Enterprises. Ten oversight committees that report to the parliament on policies will be appointed, and the parliament should act on the recommendations of these committees, the new Sri Lankan PM said in a special statement. Wickremesinghe had also stressed the need to change the structure of the parliament to strengthen it. In the official statement, he called for a 21st amendment to the constitution to make the President and cabinet accountable to parliament. "We propose a National Council. A committee consisting of the Speaker, the Prime Minister, the leader of the opposition and the leaders of the major parties is called the National Council. The National Council can talk about the policies of the country as well as about the decisions of the Cabinet," the Sri Lankan PM had said. (ANI) China on Wednesday announced a large-scale military exercise around Taiwan, the third such exercise in the past month as tensions continue to rise in the Taiwan Strait. "The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has recently organized joint combat-readiness security patrol involving multiple services and arms in the waters and airspace around the Taiwan Island," said Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesperson for the PLA Eastern Theater Command, in a written statement on Wednesday. These actions are a necessary response to the collusion activities between the US and the "Taiwan independence" forces, said the spokesperson. He pointed out that the US has been making frequent moves on the Taiwan question recently, saying one thing and doing another, openly and secretly emboldening and supporting the 'Taiwan independence' forces, which will put Taiwan in a dangerous situation and bring serious consequences to itself. This statement comes as 30 Chinese warplanes breached Taiwan's air defence identification zone or ADIZ on Monday, while US congressional delegation was on a surprise visit to Taiwan. A US delegation led by Sen Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, arrived in Taipei on Monday in an unannounced visit. Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said 30 Chinese warplanes made incursions into its air defence identification zone, or ADIZ, the highest daily figure in more than four months. China continues to regard the self-governance island Taiwan as its province that it threats to overtake using force. Last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington does not support the independence of Taiwan but will continue to strengthen relations. "We oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side. We do not support Taiwan's independence and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means," Blinken said. "We'll continue to uphold our commitments under Taiwan Relations Act to assist Taiwan in maintaining a sufficient self-defence capability." Blinken also said the US will continue to expand cooperation with Taiwan on its many shared interests and values as well as "support Taiwan's meaningful participation in the international community, deepen economic ties consistent with our One China Policy." (ANI) The ugly face of Chinese repressions on Uyghur minorities in Xinjiang once again surfaced after an academician Andrian Zenz disclosed the disturbing realities of China's minority policy. The files disclosed by Zenz include a 2017 internal speech by Chen Ouranguo, a former Communist Party Secretary in Xinjiang, in which he is reportedly ordered guards in internment camps to shoot and kill anyone who tries to escape and directed officials in the region to "exercise firm control over religious believers," reported The HK Post. The files also consist of thousands of photos and official documents from China's Xinjiang confirming the unscrupulous, harsh and violent treatment of Uyghur minorities in the country. Although China has denied violation of human rights of the minorities in the country, the leaked photographs and internal documents sent to Zenz by an anonymous source who hacked into the official database in Xinjiang point to the contrary. China has forced Uyghurs into mass internments notwithstanding its claim that the internments were voluntary. The leaked data vindicates allegations of Chinese authorities allegedly detaining over one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in a network of detention centres and prisons in the region. Earlier, it was alleged that hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs as well as Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and other ethnic minorities were forcibly held in camps for communist indoctrination and training. The ghettoization and forceful detentions were started somewhere in the year 2015 when a senior Chinese communist official apparently noted that "a third" of Xinjiang's Uyghurs were "polluted by religious extremist forces", and needed to be "educated and reformed through concentrated force". Xinjiang, inhabited by ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities never seemed fully within the Communist Party's grasp, according to many analysts. Since July 2009 and till 2016 there had been several instances of violent disputes between Uyghur and Han Chinese, reported The HK Post. These violent reactions from Xinjiang Muslims were sparked by the Chinese government's diktats coercing them to give up their ethnic identity to follow Chinese-type communism, efforts to change the demography of the region encroaching on living space as well as employment opportunities of Uyghurs. Instead of meeting the aspirations of the ethnic minorities and ensuring their human rights, Beijing maintained that its actions in Xinjiang were justified in response to the threats of extremism and terrorism. It did not address the reasons for the agitation among Muslim ethnic minorities. On the contrary, it tried to promote their assimilation into the Han culture, often by force, reported The HK Post. The latest documents reveal a 2018 internal speech apparently by Public Security Minister Zhao Kezhi citing direct orders from President Xi Jinping to increase the capacity of detention facilities. According to the documents, Chinese officials believed that two million people in Xinjiang alone had been "severely influenced by the infiltration of extremist religious thought". (ANI) Three people have been sentenced to up to 44 months in jail for rioting in Hong Kong during the 2019 protests. The trio Chan Lok-yi, 26, and Chau Kam-wai, 25 - a couple - and Edmund Wong, 45 were accused of taking part in riots near New Town Plaza in Sha Tin on September 22, 2019, when Hong Kong was in the midst of months-long protests and unrest, reported Almond Li, writing in Hong Kong Free Press. District Judge Adriana Noelle Tse Ching said it was premeditated and organized, with more than 100 people joining and taking up distinct roles. Tse also said it did not take the protesters long to paralyze traffic in the densely populated area, adding that roadblocks were set on fire, risking people's lives and potentially causing damage to property. The trio were convicted of rioting in January. Chau was also found guilty of obstructing a police officer in discharging his duty, as reported Hong Kong Free Press. Chan was handed a 41-month sentence, Chau received 44 months for two charges and Wong was jailed for 40 months. Tse said the incident was not the most serious among cases of a similar nature, but a heavy sentence was needed to deter others, reported Almond Li. Protests erupted in June 2019 over a since-axed extradition bill. They escalated into sometimes violent displays of dissent against police behaviour, amid calls for democracy and anger over Beijing's encroachment. Demonstrators demanded an independent probe into the police conduct, amnesty for those arrested and a halt to the characterisation of protests as "riots." Hong Kong's changes, including the shutting down of newspapers and an overhaul of the curriculum in schools and colleges, have come thick and fast in recent months after Beijing, in June 2020, passed a new national security law that lists stiff penalties for subversion and secession. The passing of the law followed months of pro-democracy protests in 2019 calling for direct elections, including for the top post of Chief Executive, who is now nominated. Beijing has also overhauled the electoral system, reducing the share of directly elected representatives in Hong Kong's Legislative Council (LegCo), down from 50 per cent to 22 per cent. The new rules also introduced a review committee to decide on the eligibility of candidates to ensure only "patriots" could run for office. (ANI) Deputy US Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi and Taiwan Minister John Deng on Wednesday met virtually and launched the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, a move that is likely to evoke a strong reaction from China. The two sides met under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO). This new initiative intends to develop concrete ways to deepen the economic and trade relationship, advance mutual trade priorities based on shared values, and promote innovation and inclusive economic growth. "As a key outcome of the meeting, both sides will work at pace under the auspices of AIT and TECRO to develop an ambitious roadmap for negotiations for reaching agreements with high-standard commitments and economically meaningful outcomes in the following trade areas: trade facilitation, regulatory practices, agriculture, supporting SMEs in trade, harnessing the benefits of digital trade, promoting worker-centric trade, supporting the environment and climate action, etc," the office of the US Trade Representative said in a statement. This comes as China has warned the US against enhancing ties with the democratic island that Beijing regards as its island and threatens to overtake by force. China today announced a large-scale military exercise around Taiwan, the third such exercise in the past month as tensions continue to rise in the Taiwan Strait. "The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has recently organized joint combat-readiness security patrol involving multiple services and arms in the waters and airspace around the Taiwan Island," said Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesperson for the PLA Eastern Theater Command, in a written statement on Wednesday. These actions are a necessary response to the collusion activities between the US and the "Taiwan independence" forces, said the spokesperson. He pointed out that the US has been making frequent moves on the Taiwan question recently, saying one thing and doing another, openly and secretly emboldening and supporting the 'Taiwan independence' forces, which will put Taiwan in a dangerous situation and bring serious consequences to itself. This statement comes as 30 Chinese warplanes breached Taiwan's air defence identification zone or ADIZ on Monday, while US congressional delegation was on a surprise visit to Taiwan. (ANI) Some 187 candidates from 16 countries competed in 10 categories for the 4th Emirates Energy Award (EEA) in September for which the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy is finalising preparations. The 4th Emirates Energy Award, which will be held during the Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition (WETEX) in Dubai, is hosted under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, under the theme Inspiring Innovation for Sustainable Energy. EEA aims to promote Dubais role in energy and transform it into a global hub for renewable and clean energy as well as energy technology innovation. Applications and projects are evaluated by prominent international judges and experts in energy innovation. This aligns with the vision and directions of Dubai, the UAE and the world for a more sustainable future by establishing a resilient energy sector, capable of promoting sustainable economic growth, considering the global challenges in protecting the environment and combating climate change by securing energy supplies. The Award received 187 applications from 16 countries, including the UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Iran, Turkey, Australia, Finland, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Energy innovations and projects Participants include energy innovations and projects that focus on sustainability, conservation, and achieving the highest energy efficiency across all operations; from generation to consumption, clean energy, youth capacity building, and research and development. The Emirates Energy Award aims to promote energy conservation initiatives, identify and share best practices, and showcase the potential of clean energy and energy efficiency. In its fourth round, the Award has attracted specialists working in sustainable energy, and improving educational outcomes about energy, said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and Chairman of the Emirates Energy Award. The Emirates Energy Award contributes to enhancing sustainability in the global energy sector to face global challenges related to climate change and protecting the environment by employing innovation in developing practical solutions and anticipating a sustainable future for energy to enhance its contribution to the development of all sectors, added Al Tayer. A pivotal role The Award highlights the best innovations in energy efficiency. It also plays a pivotal role in supporting regional scientific research and efforts related to energy. We are confident that the innovations of the fourth round will exceed expectations, given the global trends towards sustainability, easing pressures on natural resources and facing climate challenges, in addition to the firm desire of all stakeholders to contribute to achieving the goals of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, said Al Tayer. In line with the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 to shift to clean energy sources, the Emirates Energy Award has consolidated its role as an important platform that energy professionals aspire to participate in with their best practices and innovative solutions. We are pleased that the current edition of the Award has received 187 applications from many countries worldwide, beyond the Middle East and North Africa. This indicates the growing role of the Award as an ideal platform for creativity and innovation in energy conservation and increasing the share of clean energy sources around the world, said Ahmed Buti Al Muhairbi, Secretary-General of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy. With the tremendous technological development and increased welfare, it is necessary to find alternatives to fossil foil and replace it with clean and renewable sources and develop practical solutions to increase energy efficiency and reduce consumption. These are the objectives we are committed to finding radical solutions by providing the opportunity to creative minds in the region and the world to innovate effective tools and systems capable of making a shift in the energy journey, added Al Muhairbi. Connecting creative minds We believe that connecting these creative minds is the key to all challenges. Through the fourth cycle of the Emirates Energy Award, we strive to present a unique set of innovations and research to leave a legacy in clean, renewable energy and energy technology, added Al Muhairbi. The Emirates Energy Award includes 10 categories on key goals including creativity, innovation, energy efficiency, and promoting the use of renewable energy compared to other resources; as well as the economic, social, and environmental impact of energy conservation. The Award has consolidated its position as a platform for energy innovation. It promotes the clean energy sector in the Middle East and North Africa by highlighting the best practices and pioneering works in energy efficiency. We seek to transform Dubai into a leading global hub for energy solutions to present to the world advanced clean energy technologies and tools that increase energy efficiency. This will enhance the security of energy supplies and meet the future needs of electricity and water, while implementing the highest sustainability standards, said Taher Diab, Secretary-General of the Emirates Energy Award. The Award will mark the beginning of a new era for innovation to accelerate the adoption of modern and more developed technologies that contribute to building an energy system that supports the development and creates a new sustainable world for the next generations, added Diab. Broad interest Shortly after the submission period ended by the end of last August, a team of experts and judges began evaluating the applications according to many criteria that considered the factors of creativity, innovation, energy efficiency and the promotion of renewable energy. The broad interest in participating in the Award reflects its excellence and the quality of its evaluation. This indicates the increasing efforts made by all stakeholders and those interested in developing the energy sector and adopting renewable energy sources. The Award seeks to support all regional and global sectors to adopt the best innovative solutions in clean energy, conservation of energy and water, as well as protecting the environment, said Dr Eesa Al Bastaki, Chairman of the Technical Committee of Emirates Energy Award. Applications for the fourth cycle included projects and programmes in energy efficiency, clean energy, research and development, capacity building, best practices and solutions targeting sustainable energy sources and clean energy. The participants in this cycle are very distinguished, and we will make sure to evaluate them according to the highest standards and in line with the Awards objectives, and highlighting the best innovations and research that can add to the current energy landscape, added Al Bastaki. The Award enjoys a prestigious reputation among all relevant entities and individuals concerned with creating a better future for the energy sector in the UAE, the region and the world. This can be seen by the success of the past rounds of the Award which represent an important part of Dubais work system in anticipating the future of energy. We work with all teams to achieve wider awareness of the Awards ambitious objectives, which align with global trends in energy efficiency and finding technical solutions for expanding the use of clean and renewable energy worldwide. The Awards impact continues to increase, which will make a positive change in using energy as a vehicle for development, and safe and sustainable living in the future, said Dr Yousef Al Akraf, Executive Vice President of Business Support and Human Resources at Dewa, and Chairman of Marketing and Events at the Emirates Energy Award. More partners Since its launch, the Award has attracted some of the largest academic and research institutions concerned with developing energy technologies in the region and the world. Through our coordinated efforts, we have succeeded in attracting more partners to increase the momentum of the Award and make the greatest possible impact on the energy through the various award cycles. Over the years, we seek to transform the Award into a leading global platform for launching innovations and inventions in the energy field to the world and transforming them into pioneering projects. This great impact will be demonstrated through the fourth cycle, which enjoys the support of various stakeholders as well as the presence of prominent global experts and sector leaders, said Omar Al Qurashi, Chairman of the Planning Committee at Emirates Energy Award. The Emirates Energy Award aims to raise awareness among individuals, organisations, and society on the importance of sustainable development in the UAE and the region. The Emirates Energy Award will be given in the Awards 10 categories: Energy Efficiency - Public Sector, Energy Efficiency - Private Sector, Large Energy Project, Small Energy Project, Distributed Solar Generation (Large Scale 500kW), Distributed Solar Generation (Small Scale < 500 kW), Education & Capacity Building, Applied Research & Product Development, and Young Energy Professional.-- TradeArabia News Service Attacking the western countries over the issue of the global shortage of food grains, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday said the West is silent about the fact that Russian ships carrying grain were sanctioned. Although the West very loudly reminds the world that grain was not subject to sanctions, for some reason they bashfully keep silent about the fact that ships importing Russian grain were sanctioned, Lavrov was quoted as saying by Sputnik news agency. "They are not accepted in European ports, they are not insured, and, in principle, all logistics, financial chains that are associated with the supply of grain to global markets, were under the sanctions of our Western colleagues," he said at a press conference following his visit to Saudi Arabia. Lavrov stressed that otherwise, Russia had no problems with ensuring a stable supply of grain markets. "As far as Russia is concerned, there are no problems with ensuring a stable supply of grain to world markets. The problem lies primarily in the lack of free exit from Ukrainian ports through minefields that were planted by Ukrainian military personnel," he added. This statement comes a few days after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday told the leaders of France and Germany that Moscow was willing to discuss ways to make it possible for Ukraine to resume shipments of grain from Black Sea ports. Putin held a telephone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and confirmed Moscow's readiness to continue peace talks with Kyiv. "Russia is ready to help find options for unhampered exports of grain, including exports of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports," the Kremlin said. "Increasing supplies of Russian fertilizers and agricultural products will also help reduce tension on the global food market, which, of course, would require removing the relevant restrictions," it added. Putin said that problems with food supplies were caused by anti-Russian sanctions and other mistakes of the West. "Based on specific data, Vladimir Putin explained the real reasons for the difficulties with food supplies, which were the result of the misguided economic and financial policies of Western countries, as well as the anti-Russian sanctions they imposed," the Kremlin statement said. (ANI) Russian gas holding Gazprom has confirmed the complete suspension of gas supplies to Denmark's Orsted Salg & Service and Shell Energy Europe following failure to pay in rubles. "As of the end of the working day on May 31, Gazprom Export did not yet receive a payment from Orsted Salg & Service for the gas supplied in April, which was to be made in compliance with the Russian President's Decree No. 172 dated March 31, 2022," the statement said, as quoted by TASS news agency. Gazprom said that payments for gas supplied since April 1 must be made in rubles via new account details, of which the counterparties were duly informed. But they did not comply. On Tuesday, Gazprom Export said that starting June 1 it would suspend contracted supplies of Russian gas to Orsted and Shell Energy Europe for refusal to make payments in rubles. This comes after European Council President Charles Michel had agreed to ban "more than 2/3rd" of Russian oil imports. "Agreement to ban the export of Russian oil to the EU. This immediately covers more than 2/3 of oil imports from Russia, cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine. Maximum pressure on Russia to end the war," Michel tweeted on Monday on the first day of the summit in Brussels. "This sanctions package includes other hard-hitting measures: de-Swifting the largest Russian bank Sberbank, banning 3 more Russian state-owned broadcasters, and sanctioning individuals responsible for war crimes in #Ukraine," he added. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU, after reaching an agreement on a partial ban on Russian oil, will cut oil imports from Russia by 90 per cent by the end of 2022. "I welcome the EUCO agreement tonight on oil sanctions against Russia. This will effectively cut around 90 per cent of oil imports from Russia to the EU by the end of the year," von der Leyen said on Twitter. Back in March, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the transfer of natural gas payments for EU countries and other states that introduced restrictive measures against Russia into rubles to stop using dollars, euros and a number of other currencies in settlements. Putin even signed a relevant decree and said Russia would consider unfriendly countries' failure to pay in rubles from April 1 as non-fulfillment of obligations under gas contracts. (ANI) China on Wednesday opposed the recent US-New Zealand joint statement, saying it "distorts and smears" the country's normal cooperation with Pacific Island nations and "deliberately hypes" up the issues in the South China Sea. This comes after US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Tuesday reaffirmed their steadfast commitment to the Pacific Islands region. They also raised concerns about the growing strategic competition in the Pacific region, which threatens to undermine existing institutions and arrangements that underpin the region's security. "China hopes New Zealand to stick to independent diplomatic policy and engage in enhancing security mutual trust among regional countries and maintaining regional peace and stability," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said in response to the latest NZ-US joint statement. "China firmly opposes to the joint statement that distorted and smeared China's normal cooperation with Pacific Island Countries, deliberately hyped up the South China Sea, made irresponsible remarks on China's internal affairs such as Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong," he added. Zhao further said the US has military bases all over the world, yet raises "so-called concerns" about normal security cooperation between other countries. In a joint statement, Biden and Ardern on Tuesday expressed concern about the security agreement between China and the Solomon Islands. "In particular, the US and New Zealand share a concern that the establishment of a persistent military presence in the Pacific by a state that does not share our values or security interests would fundamentally alter the strategic balance of the region and pose national-security concerns to both our countries," the joint statement read. Experts believe that China is seeking a regional agreement with Pacific island nations that would expand its role in policing, maritime cooperation, and cybersecurity. Biden and Ardern also opposed unlawful maritime claims and activities in the South China Sea that run counter to the rules-based international order, particularly the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). They reaffirmed support for freedom of navigation and overflight, in the South China Sea and beyond. "We reiterate our grave concerns regarding the human rights violations in Xinjiang, and the erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, which undermines the high degree of autonomy enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law. We underscore the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues," the statement added. (ANI) China, which once promised to bring prosperity to Nepal through its investments, has now abandoned dozens of large-scale projects in the Himalayan nation. After tension arose in Nepal-India ties briefly in 2015, then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli visited the northern neighbour, and China connected with Nepal in multi-year strategic projects. "At the time of Oli's visit to Beijing, he had announced that Nepal had been transformed from a 'land lock' to a 'land link' country. Nepal had signed many points with China regarding the construction of inter-country infrastructure during that time," Krishna Timalsina wrote in Khabarhub. "Even then, China hastily linked these same infrastructure projects to the implementation of the BRI agreement and returned to China by declaring Nepal a "land-linked" country from a landlocked country," he added. According to the Nepalese portal, China's commitment and investment project proposals fell by the wayside again. Nepal has a weakness in not being able to move ahead with the big projects undertaken by China, said Planner Dr Jagdish Chandra Pokhrel on China's inability to implement its old commitments despite repeated assurances. "We look at every project from a political point of view, depending on the agreement reached under which government, the projects under BRI are in disarray and the projects under MCC are also under scrutiny," Pokhrel said. "Therefore, we must continue to focus on our needs and priorities," he added. China's priority is not grants but loans, he added. In May 2017, Beijing signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Belt and Road Initiative with Kathmandu for the purposes of opening new connectivity routes through building roads, railways, ports and aviation, alongside further investments in communication technologies, hydropower and energy projects, finance and tourism. Experts say China's ambitious Belt and Road initiative (BRI) is not likely to work with Nepal due to a number of economic, infrastructural and environmental concerns. The COVID-19 pandemic has exasperated these issues. Nepal and China signed the BRI agreement 5-year years ago. However, even after so many years have passed the BRI projects are nowhere to be seen on the horizon, The Kathmandu Post reported. "We had a slow start. It took time to select projects and then we trimmed down the number of selected projects from 35 to nine," said Pradip Gyawali, who served as the Foreign Minister to Nepal. "As we were working on the project implementation plan and its framework, the pandemic hit, and the entire priority was shifted," he added. According to The Kathmandu Post, certain political and ideological reasons have hindered the progress of BRI in Nepal. Since the projects under the BRI were mostly funded with loans, taken by Nepal, the country Kathmandu had reduced the number of projects to nine from thirty-nine. (ANI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday raised the issue of the misuse of freedom and the dangers of extremism with the Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly. Jaishankar in an extensive conversation with Joly discussed the expanding political and economic engagement between the two countries. "An extensive conversation recently with Foreign Minister @melaniejoly of Canada. Discussed expanding our political and economic engagement, as also our cultural and community connections. Spoke about the misuse of freedoms and the dangers of extremism," tweeted Jaishankar. This comes after pro-Khalistan groups in Canada have been trying to rake up anti-Indian sentiments and revive the movement. Earlier in February, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan in Rajya Sabha had stated that a "small fringe group of pro-Khalistan elements in Canada" is spreading anti-India feelings and the government is closely engaged with Canada over the issue. "The vast majority of people of Indian origin in Canada share a warm emotional bond with India and have worked for the betterment of relations between India and Canada," he said. "There is a small fringe group of pro-Khalistan elements in Canada who spread anti-India feelings through their extremist statements and activities," he said. The EAM also exchanged views on the Indo-Pacific and the global effects of the Ukraine conflict with his Canadian counterpart. "Exchanged views on the Indo-Pacific and the global effects of the Ukraine conflict. Agreed to strengthen multilateral cooperation, including in the Commonwealth," tweeted Jaishankar. The Russia-Ukraine war has many spillover effects - surge in oil prices, a major blow to the global economy, while the world is just recovering from the stress of the coronavirus pandemic. Since the European countries are most dependent on Russian oil and gas, it's predicted that the economic consequences of this war will be hard on the region. (ANI) Jerusalem Post, an Israeli newspaper on Wednesday refused to budge before China's threat of severing ties with the publication if it does not remove Taiwan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu's article. Yaakov Katz, editor-in-chief of Israel's best-selling English newspaper, wrote on Twitter that he received a call from the Chinese embassy demanding the story be taken down or China would sever ties with the paper and "downgrade relations with the state of Israel," reported Taipei Times. "Needless to say, (the) story ain't going anywhere," Katz wrote. In the interview published on Monday, Wu said that Taiwan is on the front lines of China's "rapidly expanding authoritarianism," which is also attempting to infiltrate into the East China Sea and South China Sea, reported Taipei Times. Taiwan has the responsibility to defend itself against a possible Chinese invasion, but also hopes to "engage in more security cooperation" with the US, including weapons supplies and military training, Wu said. He expressed concern that China is "learning the wrong lesson from the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine" and is becoming more determined to invade as China's military aggression toward Taiwan seems to be escalating, reported Taipei Times. Taiwan is preparing militarily and diplomatically -- trying to "make friends with as many people as possible," such as countries in eastern Europe, as well as enhancing its relationships with countries such as Canada, Australia and Japan, he said. Israel and Taiwan are like-minded countries that share the same beliefs in freedom, democracy and human rights, he said, adding that Israel's determination to defend itself has always been a good example for Taiwan. Despite China's intervention, "there is still more that can be done to boost Taipei-Jerusalem ties," he said. Wu said Israel should refuse preconditions when dealing with China, as it often weaponizes trade relations with countries -- as Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Australia know well, reported Taipei Times. He reminded Israel to "be very careful" when doing business with an authoritarian nation and not to "allow these kinds of business ties to jeopardize our national security." (ANI) Nearly 100 days of war in Ukraine have brought devastating consequences for children at a scale and speed not seen since World War II, UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), said on Wednesday. Three million children inside Ukraine and over 2.2 million children in refugee-hosting countries are now in need of humanitarian assistance. Almost two out of every three children have been displaced by fighting. Based on reports verified by OHCHR, on average more than two children are killed and more than four injured each day in Ukraine - mostly in attacks using explosive weapons in populated areas. Civilian infrastructure on which children depend continues to be damaged or destroyed; this so far includes at least 256 health facilities and one in six UNICEF-supported 'Safe Schools' in the country's east. Hundreds of other schools across the country have also been damaged. Conditions for children in eastern and southern Ukraine where fighting has intensified are increasingly desperate, according to the UN agency. "June 1st is International Day for the Protection of Children in Ukraine and across the region," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. "Instead of celebrating the occasion, we are solemnly approaching June 3 - the 100th day of a war that has shattered the lives of millions of children. Without an urgent ceasefire and negotiated peace, children will continue to suffer - and fallout from the war will impact vulnerable children around the world." UNICEF is also warning that the war has caused an acute child protection crisis. Children fleeing violence are at significant risk of family separation, violence, abuse, sexual exploitation, and trafficking. Most have been exposed to deeply traumatic events. It said these children urgently need safety, stability, child protection services, and psychosocial support - especially those who are unaccompanied or have been separated from their families. More than anything, they need peace. At the same time, the war and mass displacement are devastating livelihoods and economic opportunities, leaving many families without sufficient income to meet basic needs and unable to provide adequate support for their children. UNICEF continues to call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and to protect all children from harm. This includes ending the use of explosive weapons in populated areas and attacks on civilian infrastructure. Moreover, the UN agency is appealing for full humanitarian access to safely and quickly reach children in need wherever they may be. (ANI) The world's worst women's rights crisis demands an urgent and proportionate response from the UN Human Rights Council, urged a coalition of 25 leading NGOs from all world regions on Wednesday. Taliban has imposed draconian restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly and movement for women and girls. As a result of this, women and girls in Afghanistan are facing a human rights crisis, deprived of the fundamental rights to non-discrimination, education, work, public participation and health. In an open letter to Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States to the UN Human Rights Council, the NGOs called for and support an urgent debate at the 50th session of the UN Human Rights Council regarding the women's rights crisis in Afghanistan. "We further urge you to support a resolution responding to this crisis," read a letter which included signatures from Afghan Women's Educational Center, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) Since August 2021, when the Taliban took control of the country, there has been an enormous deterioration in the recognition and protection of the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, including with respect to the rights to non-discrimination, education, work, public participation, health, and sexual and reproductive health. The Taliban has also imposed sweeping restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly and movement for women and girls. Afghanistan is now the only country in the world to expressly prohibit girls' education. In the last few weeks, the situation has worsened dramatically, with a Taliban directive that women and girls must fully cover themselves in public, including their faces, and leave home only in cases of necessity. International investigations, witness testimony and video evidence indicate that women human rights defenders and others protesting against the restrictions and violations have been subject to home invasions, threats, abductions, enforced disappearances, and assaults with electric devices and chemical sprays. According to rights groups, this is the most serious women's rights crisis in the world today, and the most serious women's rights crisis since the Taliban took over Afghanistan the last time in 1996. (ANI) The SEZ brings together 144 companies from 19 countries operating in 22 industrial sectors, including a cluster dedicated to wood processing which brings together 84 companies. GSEZ is a PPP between ARISE IIP and the government of Gabon. Launched in 2010, Special Economic Zone is a multi-sectoral industrial park located 27 kms from Libreville. Indian businessmen, residing in Gabon, said there are lots of natural resources available in Gabon which makes the nation hotspot for good quality wood. Speaking to ANI, a businessman said, "We can find a very fine quality of wood here. We are exporting wood furniture to the middle east and USA. After the visit of the Vice President, we are hoping that our business/trade will get a boost". "I am in the textile business and living here for a long period of time. I am exporting my textile products to many countries. After VP's visit to Gabon, our morale is very much high, another businessman involved in the textile business said. As part of his three nations tour, Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu arrived in Gabon on May 30 on his first-ever high-level bilateral official visit from 30 May to 1 June 2022. Apart from discussing active economic engagement and identifying new areas for cooperation, particularly in agriculture, green energy, mining, health and pharma, ICT, defence, and maritime security, Vice President also had a joint meeting with the President of the National Assembly and President of Senate where both sides appreciated the leadership in upholding democratic values and traditions and agreed to have regular Parliamentary exchanges. The Vice-President addressed a business forum even in Gabon. (ANI) A security source said that there were no casualties reported till now, said Tolo News. More details are awaited. Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan last August, the country has been mired in violence. Moreover, the law and order situation has deteriorated and Afghan citizens are in perpetual fear of blasts and explosions. Recently, the terror group ISIS (ISIL) claimed responsibility for a series of explosions in the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif, which killed 9 people and left 15 others injured on May 25th. Three explosions rocked the capital of Balkh province on May 25, leaving at least 9 people killed and 15 others injured, Khaama Press reported. Meanwhile, on the same day, a blast at Masjid Sharif Hazrat Zakaria mosque in Kabul City left at least two worshippers dead, according to officials, Al Jazeera reported. In response to the attacks in Balkh and Kabul, the US Special Envoy for Women and Human Rights in Afghanistan, Rina Amiri said that the Taliban must ensure people's security and prevent similar atrocities."The heinous attacks in Mazar & Kabul serve no purpose but to inflict further devastation on innocent Afghans who have suffered enough," Amiri tweeted. (ANI) Dubai has been named the number one destination globally for association meetings in 2021 by a report of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). The newly-published ICCA Statistics Report ranked Dubai the top city in 2021 both for the number of meetings organised by international associations and estimated participants at these events, reported Emirates News Agency WAM. Dubai is showcasing its excellence in hosting business events at the 2022 edition of IMEX Frankfurt, the worlds leading meetings industry exhibition, with its largest ever delegation at the trade show. The record participation underlines Dubais position at the forefront of the global business event sectors recovery and the strong interest from meeting planners across the world to explore the citys offerings and capabilities. Dubai was among the first destinations to resume in-person business events after the COVID-19 pandemic, opening itself to hosting international meetings and attendees as early as October 2020. Helal Saeed Almarri, Director-General of Dubais Department of Economy and Tourism, said: "Driven by the visionary leadership and guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the city has rapidly emerged in the post-pandemic period as a host destination of choice for international associations and their major meetings, as well as the wider business events ecosystem. Dubais number one ranking in the ICCA Statistics Report reflects the priority placed on restarting business events in Dubai and engaging with the association community to highlight the citys readiness and safety measures. "The ability of international associations to meet in person safely is critical, giving them and their respective memberships vital opportunities for knowledge sharing, professional development and networking. We continue to work closely with international associations to ensure that Dubai can provide a platform for their business events and add momentum to the recoveries of the respective professions and industries they serve." A total of 32 co-exhibitors have joined Dubai Business Events (DBE), the citys official convention bureau, at IMEX Frankfurt 2022, which runs from May 31 to June 2. Partners joining DBE at the event include Emirates, Jumeirah Group, Dubai World Trade Centre and Emaar Hospitality, as well as a wide range of other hotels, attractions and destination management companies (DMCs). The combined teams from DBE and the co-exhibitors are expected to have over 500 client meetings at the newly-designed Dubai stand during the three-day show. The global marketplace for the business events community, IMEX Frankfurt is taking place in person after a two-year hiatus amid the global pandemic, and is welcoming over 2,800 buyers from around the world spanning agencies, corporates, independents and associations. Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said: "Dubais strong presence at IMEX Frankfurt is a testament to the citys commitment to driving the recovery of the global business events sector, and building on the lead the city has taken in reshaping the industry in the wake of the pandemic. Dubais position as a world class business events destination has only been possible thanks to the citys visionary leadership and the combined efforts of stakeholders across the public and private sectors. "We continue to see a robust and growing appetite among meeting planners and association executives to rebuild their event calendars and collaborate with destinations that can provide them with safety, stability and a diverse range of offerings. Our partners from across the city have once again stepped up to ensure that Dubai is able to present a unified and comprehensive proposition to a global audience." Beyond the meetings at the Dubai stand, DBE is also leading a number of events and activations that will facilitate engagements with key decision makers, including an evening reception for event planners; a dinner for members of IAPCO (professional conference organisers) in collaboration with Melbourne Convention Bureau; and a breakfast with association executives hosted in collaboration with International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). Furthermore, DBE will participate in several knowledge exchange and business development events taking place on the sidelines of the show. IMEX Frankfurt is part of a year-round calendar of activities for DBE, facilitating engagement with meeting planners and buyers around the world. Other major trade shows this year include IMEX America (October 11-13), IBTM World (November 29 December 1), while DBE will also lead roadshows and sales missions across all its key markets. Just a few weeks before the end of his tenure, outgoing German ambassador to India Walter J Lindner has lauded India and said that the country has a variety of colours and density of impressions. Sharing his experience of living in India, the German envoy on Wednesday said that New Delhi has taught him to live to the fullest. "India has an incredible intensity of colours, and of variety. But there's no country in the world which has such a variety and such a density of impressions," Lindner told ANI. The outgoing envoy also believes that his style of diplomacy was away from protocols and focused on meeting real people. "My perception of diplomacy is different, it's away from protocols. I'm in a country to know that country, for it I need to talk to rickshawala, kulfiwala. This gives me a broader perspective of a country. We as diplomats also have to change," he added. Elaborating on his 3.5-year tenure as ambassador, he said: "I have seen most of the states in the country and from north to south, from Lakshadweep to Calcutta, and from Bhubaneshwar to Leh. I have also been to temples and buildings of religious venues. I've eaten food in the different states. I'm very active on Twitter and on social media. I let people participate in travels." The envoy said he was first attracted to India during the global "Concert for Bangladesh" organised by Pandit Ravi Shankar and the Beatles in August 1971. When asked about the future of his favourite ambassador car called Amby, Lindner shares that Amby will decide its own future. "I'll listen to what she has to say. If she wants to retire in peace in a garage, it's cool. If she likes a prospective new companion, I'll be okay with that, too." Moreover, Lindner also applauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership skills in running such a big country and stated that former German Chancellor Angela Merkel always was curious about how he managed to lead such a large country. (ANI) New York [US], June 2 (ANI/Xinhua): The United Nations on Wednesday welcomed the first commercial flight from Yemen's Sanaa airport to Cairo earlier in the day, a UN spokesman said. Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told the regular press briefing that "this was the seventh flight operating under the terms of the UN brokered two-month nationwide truce and represents an important element of the truce." A total of 2,495 Yemenis have traveled so far between Sanaa, Amman and Cairo. Dujarric said that the UN thanks the government of Egypt for the invaluable support in bringing about this important achievement, and the government of Yemen for their constructive role in making this possible. "Despite the good news today on the Cairo flights - and the improved humanitarian situation the truce has delivered over the last two months, we must be clear that humanitarian needs in Yemen remain high," said the spokesman. Some 19 million people will go hungry this year, including more than 160,000 who will face famine-like conditions. More than four million people have been displaced since the war started. Severe needs persist across all sectors, according to the spokesman. Aid agencies need 4.28 billion US dollars to assist 17.3 million people across the country this year. So far, only 26 percent has been funded. "This means that core programs like food assistance, healthcare and other activities are scaling back when they should be expanding," Dujarric said. (ANI/Xinhua) Lieutenant Hsu Ta-chun from the Air Force Academy class of 2021 took off in his AT-3 trainer with the aircraft registration number AR32, tail number 852, at 8:03 am on Monday, Taiwan News reported citing UDN. Hsu, who was born in 1999, was embarking on his second solo flight when his aircraft disappeared from radar at 8:08 am, as per the media outlet. According to the Kaohsiung city fire bureau, at 8:09 am it received a report of a plane crash at Tianchuo 1st Road in Gangshan district. As per the preliminary investigation, 5 AT-3 trainers conducted exercises near Tainan City's Xigang District. When they returned, only four returned safely, and they soon realized one of the pilots was missing. The Air Force launched a search and rescue mission, but it was soon called off once the crash scene was discovered by Kaohsiung firefighters. In March, Taiwan's National Security Bureau (NSB) has confirmed that a Chinese military aircraft crashed into the South China Sea earlier that month. NSB Director-General Chen Ming-tong on March 10 confirmed that a People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) plane had crashed into the South China Sea on March 1, according to Taiwan News. Earlier there were reports that a Chinese military patrol plane had crashed off the coast of Vietnam. However, China never acknowledged the incident, but as per the Taiwanese media there was a sudden drop off in Y-8 flights through Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ), with none reported from March 2 to March 7. Taiwan Society for Strategic Studies researcher Chang Ching on March 7 decried media report as "nonsense," asserting that China's military is more open than in the past and that if a crash had occurred, it would not have covered it up, Taiwan News reported. (ANI) One man is in custody and another was transported to a hospital Wednesday after a shooting in Centre County, a state police at Rockview spokesperson said. Officers were dispatched Wednesday afternoon to a domestic dispute between two men along the 100 block of Capstone Lane in Worth Township, spokesperson Christopher Fox said. The gunman shot the man in the leg and fled before being taken into custody, police wrote in a statement. Officers did not release additional information, including the severity of the mans injuries. An investigation is ongoing. East Mountain Road off U.S. Route 322 was expected to be closed for some time. One man is in custody and another was transported to a hospital Wednesday after a shooting in Centre County, a state police at Rockview spokesperson said. Check back for updates on this breaking news story. City officials in Jackson, Mississippi, are weighing gun reform measures after at least four youths, including a 12-year-old standout student who was fatally struck, were shot in a single day last week. Adrian McDougles, 12, was killed on a sidewalk while with his brother Onterrio, 16, who was also hit but survived, police said. They were two of four children struck in shootings in Jackson on Thursday. The brothers were walking on a sidewalk in Jackson shortly after 1 p.m. when a car drove up and one or more people inside opened fire, police said. VIdeo: Biden vows to meet with Congress on guns after Uvalde massacre Two 18-year-olds have been arrested on suspicion of murder and aggravated assault, Deputy Police Chief Deric Hearn said. This homicide is another senseless homicide in our city, all dealing with gun violence, where we have lost such a young-age child, Hearn said at a news conference. A motive remains unknown, police say. The deadly violence comes amid surging gun crime nationwide and the backdrop of a historic number of murders in the city of 153,000. The City Council and its public safety committee Tuesday considered ways to combat gun violence with proposals from exempting Jackson from the states open-carry gun law to very aggressive policing, according to a city agenda. Jackson, Miss., City Council member Aaron Banks. (City of Jackson, Miss.) Council member Aaron Banks also proposed exploring ways to hold parents responsible if their underage children possess firearms or participate in gun crimes. The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi said in a statement Tuesday that a parental accountability law is needless and redundant. It unfairly violates due process by holding a person liable for someone elses actions, it said. It said the state already has a law that holds parents liable when they knowingly allow children to conceal firearms. Adrian's death last week was particularly painful because he was a rising star, teacher Luciana Taylor told NBC affiliate WLBT of Jackson. Story continues Adrian was good and bright and smart and funny, and he had so much life ahead of him, she told the station. Theres no telling what he could have become. On the evening the city learned Adrian had died at a hospital hours after the attack, Banks, the City Council member, challenged parents to check their childrens rooms for weapons every night. If I found a gun in my sons room, he told WLBT, I would rather hand it over to the police and face whatever I have to face than instead of having to plan a funeral. Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascon (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) Alexander Torres was convicted of murder on shaky evidence. A witness to the shooting on New Year's Eve in 2000 told police at first that the assailant hadn't seemed to know his victim, while Torres had a long history with the man. The witness changed his story more than once and named Torres as the shooter only after several rounds of interviews. Another witness initially identified Torres as the killer, but admitted later that he had picked him from a photo lineup simply because he bore the closest resemblance to the shooter. And Torres had a solid alibi: He had been celebrating the new year at his mother's house in another part of Paramount when Martin "Casper" Guitron was gunned down. A cast on his hand made it unlikely he would have been able even to pull the trigger. Torres was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison. But after spending more than 20 years behind bars, the now-42-year-old has been cleared of the killing and released from prison. In April, after a review of the case, a judge found Torres factually innocent, concluding that a series of missteps had led to his arrest and wrongful conviction. The judge's order followed a review of the case by the California Innocence Project and the office of Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascon, who campaigned on a promise to take a harder look at questionable convictions. Torres' sentence was vacated in October with little fanfare, but his release was announced at a news conference Wednesday arranged by Gascon's office. In a statement, the district attorney apologized to Torres and praised the work of his revamped Conviction Integrity Unit. While it is this offices job to hold people accountable for the harm they cause, it is equally important that we critically reexamine past convictions, the statement read. The exoneration could provide a boost for the embattled district attorney, who is under heavy criticism from inside and outside his office over his policies aimed at reducing mass incarceration. Story continues Though his predecessor, Jackie Lacey, often touted the work of her office's case review unit, she limited the types of cases the unit could review, leaving it relatively hamstrung compared with similar units in other large cities such as Chicago, Houston and New York. When he took office, Gascon appointed to his transition team a number of civil rights attorneys and lawyers with expertise in reviewing the integrity of past convictions. He also pledged to alter the way the office reviewed such cases. Mike Semanchik, a managing attorney with the California Innocence Project, said that while more could still be done, the unit under Gascon has "certainly invested a lot more time, effort and resources into investigating these sorts of cases than prior administrations have. The California Innocence Project is reviewing about a dozen other convictions with the district attorney's office, Semanchik said. Audrey McGinn, an attorney who worked on Torres' exoneration for the California Innocence Project, said that it is unclear what or who was to blame for the wrongful conviction, but that often investigators pay more attention to evidence that supports what they already believe. I think its a product of tunnel vision and ignoring the red flags, especially when you put a photo in front of a witness and say, 'This is the guy,' she said. He was an easy target, and it was easy to establish motive." Guitron was walking with a friend near Somerset Boulevard and El Camino Avenue in Paramount, a city of roughly 55,000 residents east of Compton, when a blue 1990s Chevrolet Caprice stopped in the middle of the road. A man got out and walked up to Guitron, repeatedly asking, "Are you Casper? Are you Casper?" using Guitron's street name, before shooting him. #BREAKING Alex Torres Exonerated! Torres spent 21 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. We collaborated with the LA District Attorney's Conviction Integrity Unit to free Torres and get him declared INNOCENT! More here: https://t.co/h5fFbshLac#XONR8 pic.twitter.com/MSr6VLpe8E CA Innocence Project (@CA_Innocence) June 1, 2022 In a joint motion for factual innocence, attorneys for both sides agreed that Torres would have recognized Guitron, with whom he'd had a long-simmering feud stemming from their membership in rival gangs. The motion also cited the accounts of several family members who reported that at the time of the shooting Torres was celebrating New Year's and his mother's birthday at her house in another part of town. Furthermore, no murder weapon was recovered and no other physical evidence connected Torres to the scene, according to the filing. The effort to exonerate Torres got a significant break when his family hired a private investigator, who managed to track down the driver of the Caprice. The driver eventually led authorities to the man they now believe was the shooter. That man, like the driver, has since been arrested in the Paramount slaying and has been incarcerated since the early 2000s after his conviction for a series of armed robberies. According to the National Registry of Exonerations, 161 people were exonerated of murders and other serious crimes in the country last year adding to the hundreds of those freed since the late 1980s. In all, they spent a combined 1,849 years behind bars. Nearly half had been charged with a murder they didn't commit. Black people accounted for a disproportionate number of the wrongfully convicted. In a majority of the cases from last year, the wrongful convictions resulted from "official misconduct," either by prosecutors, police or forensic experts, the organization found, while 47 were due to mistaken identifications by witnesses. An additional 19 exonerations came about because of "proven false confessions," the organization determined. UC Davis law professor Irene Oritseweyinmi Joe said that cases like Torres' should trigger an intensive, top-down review of what went wrong. Police, prosecutors, judges and even public defenders should all face the same scrutiny, given the key roles they play when the justice system doesn't work. "Every action that couldve been taken even if it wasnt required to be taken at the time [should be] reviewed to make sure that it doesnt happen again," Joe said. For the record: 9:19 p.m. June 1, 2022: An earlier version of this article said a judge found Alexander Torres factually innocent last month. It was in April. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. The overwhelming majority of Arizonans are concerned about rising gas prices, according to a new poll out Wednesday. The Arizona Public Opinion Pulse survey by OH Predictive Insights (OHPI) showed that 97 percent of Arizona voters say they are concerned by gas prices. Additionally, 91 percent of Arizonans participating in the survey said they expected the already high gas prices to rise again a month from now. Only 9 percent said they expect prices to be the same or lower. In terms of blame, the poll found that 36 percent of respondents blamed rising gas prices on President Biden, 26 percent blamed oil companies and 23 percent blamed the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. The survey also found that 4 in 5 respondents said they were concerned about supply shortages. The long-term anticipated impacts from the pandemic are surfacing as it globally disrupts the supply chain, heightening concern for Arizonans as supply shortage continues to burden virtually everyone, Mike Noble, OHPI chief of research, said in a statement. With statistically all Arizona voters [97 percent] concerned with gas prices and 80 percent concerned with supply shortages, it is clear that pocketbook issues are a national, bipartisan pain point that must be tackled by leadership heading into this pivotal midterm election, Noble added. The survey was conducted May 9-16 and included 938 registered voters in Arizona. It has a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points. The results come as gas prices have hit record highs and continue to climb after already surging significantly earlier this year when governments turned away energy supplies from Moscow amid Russias invasion of Ukraine. As of Wednesday, the average gas price in Arizona was $4.973 per gallon, above the national average of $4.671, according to the American Automobile Association. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. WASHINGTON The Air Forces secretive and highly classified Next Generation Air Dominance fighter program has started its crucial engineering and manufacturing development phase, Secretary Frank Kendall said Wednesday. In a discussion at the Heritage Foundation, Kendall said the Air Force began early experimental prototyping on NGAD in 2015, when he was the Pentagons top acquisition official. This was essentially an X-plane program, he said, designed to reduce risk and develop key technologies needed for the production program. The technology has continued to progress, he said, and the NGAD effort is now envisioned as a family of systems incorporating several elements, including a handful of autonomous drone aircraft accompanying the manned aircraft in formation. It typically takes the Air Forces acquisition programs almost seven years to reach initial operating capability from the beginning of the EMD phase. Although the service has already been working on NGAD for about that long, because it just recently started work on the EMD phase, it will still be several more years before the program will reach IOC. The clock really didnt start in 2015; its starting roughly now, Kendall said. We think well have capability by the end of the decade. But NGAD could also be the most expensive aircraft program in history. Kendall told lawmakers in April each piloted aircraft under the program would likely cost several hundred million dollars apiece. The Air Force asked Congress for almost $1.7 billion for NGAD in its fiscal 2023 budget, including $133 million in research, development, testing and evaluation funding. Kendall also indicated in his remarks Wednesday he wants the Air Forces acquisition programs to more quickly move to production. Too often, he said, it takes years to reach that stage, and hes instructed the Air Force to set up programs in a way that get meaningful capabilities to airmen as soon as possible. Im not interested in demos and experiments unless they are a necessary step on the road to real capability, Kendall said. What we tend to do is do a quick demo, and then we have to start an EMD or development program and wait several more years, because we didnt start the developmental function. If we dont need it to reduce risk, we should go right to development for production and get there as quickly as we can. And, he said, he has such a sense of urgency about the need to get cutting-edge capabilities, like the uncrewed combat aircraft accompanying manned aircraft, into the field that hes willing to accept more risk. Jun. 1SALEM A man accused of "fishing" mail and packages out of a North Salem mailbox got a brief taste of freedom Friday afternoon then, probation officials say, almost immediately flouted the conditions of that release. Wensly Plaisir, 22, who until his April arrest was living at 50 Palmer St. in Salem, was in custody at Middleton Jail, unable to make the $2,500 bail in the case and with his release in a separate Dorchester gun case revoked. On Friday, Salem District Court Judge Randy Chapman agreed to release Plaisir on a reduced bail in the stolen mail case and reversed the bail revocation in the gun case, on the condition he wear a GPS ankle bracelet and go directly to his mother's home in Sterling. He also ordered Plaisir to stay out of Salem. As a probation officer was putting the bracelet on him, Plaisir pointed out a cut on his face and said he wanted to have a doctor look at it. So the probation officer notified the bracelet monitoring center that Plaisir would be stopping at the hospital. Instead, Plaisir went back to Palmer Street, the probation officer reported. The GPS showed him at several locations around "The Point." Plaisir's lawyer, William Barabino, said his client and his girlfriend stopped for gas at a Speedway, went to her apartment and then stopped at the police station to pick up belongings confiscated after his arrest. After that, he went to the hospital, and was having his blood drawn when his girlfriend called to tell him there were police at the apartment. Barabino said his client then had trouble reaching the monitoring center. After he was treated, he left and went to Sterling. That's where he was arrested his lawyer says at gunpoint by police. "He hears there is a warrant for his arrest and the police were at his house," Chapman said in response. Why not just go clear things up at the police station, the judge asked. "To me the order was unambiguous," Chapman continued. "There is no part of the order that indicates he can run some errands first ... he apparently wants to push the edges." Story continues The judge said he'd taken into account Plaisir's age and lack of prior convictions in agreeing to release him Friday. But he wasn't giving him another chance, revoking his bail in the Salem case for 90 days. A status hearing is scheduled for June 13. Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis Motley Fool Given the number of rumors and false starts surrounding additional stimulus payments, it makes perfect sense that so many Americans have questions. 1. Does the federal government plan to send another round of direct stimulus payments? As of this writing, the federal government has no plans to send another stimulus payment. Tourism Malaysia, the promotional board under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac), will showcase the countrys unique blend of Truly Asia heritage aiming to attract more than 2 million international tourists this year. Tourism Malaysia participated in the recent Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2022, where it signed a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) with Dubai-based Emirates Airline as part of the recovery and development of traffic to Malaysia from key markets across the airlines network. Through this strategic agreement, Tourism Malaysia will work with Emirates to explore mutually beneficial initiatives that will drive tourism into Malaysia, and offer Emirates more opportunities to serve the market, which include familiarisation trips, workshops, seminars, digital campaigns, in-flight marketing campaigns and other marketing programs. The mission's goal at the ATM is to re-establish and strengthen the region's commitment to good tourist cooperation, future partnerships and better cooperation with the travel and tourism industry. Dato Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri, Malaysias Tourism Arts and Culture Minister said: We will continue to place strong emphasis and focus on the Middle Eastern market in terms of outbound tourism. Hence, we will be stepping up our promotional efforts here. It is indeed a huge relief for the tourism industry as we welcome more international tourists, newcomers and regulars alike, to further boost our economy. Therefore, we hope for a strong rebound in our market as the border reopening will open doors for the tourism revival to bolster recovery. We are targeting to attract 2 million international tourist arrivals this year with more than RM8.6 billion ($2 billion) in tourism receipts. Malaysias participation at the recently concluded Expo 2020 Dubai thus provided a timely opportunity for sharing its multicultural identity and approach with the whole world. In an effort to secure full recovery for tourism and other economic sectors, the Malaysian government recognises the need to strengthen international cooperation and multilateralism, as well as to promote Malaysia as part of the worlds big family. During Expo 2020 Dubai, Motac also hosted the Eco-Tourism Week to promote Malaysia as the next top of the mind eco-tourism destination in the world, in line with its National Tourism Policy 2020 2030 to highlight sustainable and responsible tourism. The week-long programme was participated by 16 Malaysian organisations and tour agencies, providing a chance for them to revive promotional efforts on the global stage. Visitors were able to experience Malaysia, Truly Asia at the Energising Harmony segment at the Malaysia Pavilion, with daily performances as well as showcase of the diverse traditions, arts, and crafts that belong to different ethnic groups of Malaysia. These include the exotic and energetic traditional dances of the Borneo ethnic groups, Malay, Indian and Chinese cultures. The shows by the ministrys National Department for Culture and Arts were a hit with visitors and piqued their interest in visiting Malaysia. Furthermore, visitors were treated to a distinctive palette and a tapestry of Malaysian flavours at the Malaysia Cafe operated by Malaysia Pavilions F&B partners, Nur Malaysia and Marrybrown. Visitors had the chance to sample popular and delectable Malaysian delicacies like nasi lemak, kuey teow, roti canai and more. TradeArabia News Service May 31On Wednesday, May 25, there was a public draft presentation detailing the updated progress of the Athens 2040 comprehensive plan. This plan is a collaboration of the city of Athens, Athens City Council, Athens Planning Commission, Athens' city staff, meeting hosts and organizations, Center for Lifelong Learning, a consultant team, among others. Population growth As of the 2020 census, Athens experienced an estimated 33.9 percent growth in population since 2000 with 25,406 people residing in the city. The city experienced a 16 percent population growth between the 2010 and 2020 censuses. The population of Athens is expected to continue to grow significantly over the next two decades. Athens saw a record 283 building permits in 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's State of the Cities Data System. "This trend has continued into 2020 and 2021, even amid the Coronavirus pandemic and an unpredictable national economy," the plan stated. Athens has an average household size of 2.33 members, which is less than the averages of Alabama and the United States at 2.46 and 2.57 respectively. Athens has a median wage of $53,809, slightly higher than the Alabama median wage of $53,171 and more than $13,000 less than the United States' median wage of $67,086. Athens has a wage disparity where white households have a median income more than $25,000 greater than Black and Hispanic/Latino households. This is comparable to the wage disparity seen in Alabama and the United States. Employment As of 2018, the labor force residing in Athens was 9,076 with 13,547 jobs within the city. "Athens plays a critical role as an employment center for Limestone County and the overall North Alabama region. While suburban growth around Athens has continued at a rapid pace, the city of Athens is far from a bedroom community to the employment centers in neighboring Madison County, contrary to popular belief," the plan stated. Story continues 6,806 residents commute out of Athens to work elsewhere, while 11,277 commute into Athens to work. 2,207 residents live and work inside of Athens. "This is a pattern that has not witnessed significant change over time, despite the growth of the city. In fact, the patterns in 2002 were quite similar, even though the population and job base in Athens was significantly smaller at 11,514 jobs," the plan stated. In 2002, there were 11,514 jobs in Athens, which dropped to 10,691 in 2010 after the Great Recession. Over the last decade, the job count has continued to grow as the economy has recovered. 17.5 percent of the Athens labor force works in manufacturing, 12.5 percent in retail trade, 12 percent in social assistance and healthcare, 9.4 percent in accommodation and food services and 8.9 percent in professional, scientific and technical fields. Job sectors in Athens are 17.1 percent manufacturing, 16.7 percent educational services, 15.1 percent healthcare and social assistance, 15 percent retail trade and 12.5 percent accommodations and food services. Jobs in Athens typically pay less than those outside of Athens. "Athens remains an employment center for Limestone County and the region, even though significant numbers of residents commute out for work. The job types in Athens differ slightly from those outside the city, with the notable sectors of Science/Technology jobs located outside the city and a significantly higher percentage of jobs within the city in the healthcare and education sectors," the plan stated. "Income levels differ between jobs in the city and those outside of the city, with increases in earnings for jobs located outside of Athens. Significant in-commuting and out-commuting creates a "different reality" for many residents depending on their household work patterns." Housing A variety of housing types beyond the traditional single-family detached unit are needed to satisfy the preferences for how people choose to live. The city needs housing options for people of all ages, abilities and income levels to ensure Athens is an economically viable place to live and work. "The 481 residential building permits issued in 2021 in the city of Athens show that new housing is being supplied rapidly. However, the variety of housing types is lacking," the plan states. 77.9 percent of housing units in Athens were single-unit structures as of 2019. 18.9 percent were two-unit structures and 3.2 percent were mobile homes and other housing types. 9,397 units were occupied in Athens as of 2019. "Single-family detached homes are clearly the predominant housing type in the city. Of the total estimated occupied housing units in 2019 (9,397), 74 percent of them were single-family detached structures, and just under 4 percent were single-family attached. The remaining approximate 20 percent were either apartments or mobile homes," the plan stated. "This presents an opportunity for Athens to offer new forms of housing that will make the city more desirable and affordable to a wide array of individuals and families." Most housing in the city was built between 1960 and 2009. Infrastructure "Infrastructure needs in Athens change over time, as some portions of the community transition from agrarian to rural to suburban to urban. Demands for service generally increase over time in these areas, and existing facilities expand, or new facilities are built, to provide minimum levels-of-service to existing and new customers," the plan stated. The City of Athens Utilities Gas Department operates and maintains 400 miles of gas mains and related infrastructure with 7,500 customers in Athens, Limestone County, Elkmont and Ardmore. The City of Athens Utilities Electric Department purchases power from the Tennessee Valley Authority and provides power to 47,000 customers in Limestone County. It maintains more than 2,000 miles of overhead wire and 300 miles of underground wire. The City of Athens Water Services Department provides water to 10,600 customers It maintains a water treatment plan permitted for 13.5 million gallons per day and includes two pump facilities, seven elevated storage tanks, a booster pump station, 286 miles of water mains and treated water storage tanks with a capacity of 7.5 million gallons combined. The City of Athens Utilities Water Services Department provides sewer services to 7,200 customers. "The Athens Sewer Treatment Plant is located on Sanderfer Road. The system is permitted for 9 million gallons per day. The current peak demand at the plant is 7 MGD under normal conditions in the winter months. The collection system includes 163 miles of sewer pipe and fourteen lift stations to convey waste water uphill to the treatment plant in some areas," the plan stated. More information regarding population growth, economics and employment, housing, infrastructure, community and cultural resources, historic preservation, transportation, natural resources, land use and community character, conceptual plans and action plans can be found in a more than 200-page document at www.athens2040.com. The documents detail current statistics for each category and plans for growth and evolution. Questions can be directed to city planner Matt Davidson at mdavidson@athensal.us or (256) 262-1412. KRIV Houston police say a woman was chased through a gas station parking lot, knocked to the ground, punched and then robbed. The incident occurred around 2 a.m. May 23 in the parking lot of a gas station the 7600 block of Airline in Houston. Police need the public's help to identity the three female suspects. (Video: Houston Police Department) By Kirsty Needham SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's foreign minister Penny Wong will travel to the Pacific island kingdom of Tonga on Friday, days after her Chinese counterpart visited and discussed Tonga's heavy debts to Beijing, Tonga's government said. Wong will also visit Samoa for its 60th anniversary of independence celebrations, in her second visit to the Pacific islands since being sworn into office last week, her office said. The trip comes as China's foreign minister Wang Yi continues an eight-nation tour of the region, and the United States and its allies express concern about Beijing's ambitions for security ties. Wong said Australia wanted to listen to Pacific leaders. "We will increase our contribution to regional security: we understand that the security of the Pacific is the responsibility of the Pacific family, of which Australia is a part," she said in a statement. Tonga's Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni earlier said six agreements had been signed with China's Wang on his trip to the capital Nukualofa, with his office confirming discussions were held about Tonga's loans from China. Tonga, which was hit by a volcanic eruption and tsunami in January, has external debt of $195 million or 35.9 percent of its GDP, of which two-thirds is owed to China's Export-Import Bank, its budget shows. Debt repayments to China spike in 2024, on a loan used to rebuild its central business district after riots in 2006. Australia and New Zealand are its biggest donor nations, the budget also shows. VANUATU VISIT China's Wang arrived in Vanuatu on Wednesday, where Vanuatu broadcaster VBTC said he met with Prime Minister Bob Loughman at the 1,000-capacity convention centre gifted by China in 2016, to sign agreements and discuss bilateral and international issues. Other major infrastructure projects China has funded in Vanuatu include its parliament, a highway, a tuna processing plant and a large wharf. Story continues On Monday, a virtual meeting hosted by Wang in Fiji with counterparts from 10 island nations deferred consideration of a sweeping agreement spanning policing, security, fisheries, data and a free trade zone, proposed by China. China has since released a position paper on "Mutual respect and common development with Pacific Island Countries", listing a range of topics it wants included in a multilateral agreement. Several Pacific nations have said any regional pact with China would first need to be discussed in the Pacific Islands Forum, a group which also includes members that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan not Beijing, as well as Australia and New Zealand. U.S. President Joe Biden and New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern aired concerns about China's bid to expand its influence in the Pacific on Tuesday. Biden said Washington had no desire to dictate to the region but to partner with them. "We have more work to do in those Pacific islands," he said. Despite their small populations and economies, each Pacific state represents a vote at international forums such as the United Nations. They also control vast swathes of resource-rich ocean and access to a region with strategic military significance. (Reporting by Kirsty Needham; Editing by Tom Hogue and Lincoln Feast) A man killed in a shootout with Austin police last week appears to have made the initial 911 call on himself, according to details released by police this week. Police identified the man who exchanged gunfire with officers in Southeast Austin on May 26 as 48-year-old Robert Hammitt. Austin police have not yet identified the five officers involved in the shooting. But authorities on Tuesday released some details about them: Two of the officers are field-training officers: One has nearly eight years of service; the other has five years of service with the Austin police. A third officer has 4 years of service. The other two officers were involved in a training capacity, having recently graduated from the Austin Police Department Training Academy in January. Officers responded at 4:55 a.m. May 26 to the 1500 block of Crossing Place off East Riverside Drive, according to Austin police. They headed to the location after a man, who told dispatchers his name was Robert Hammitt, reported that a man wearing tan clothing was holding a rifle inside a Ford F-150 pickup and pointing the gun at him. Previous coverage: Man killed by police after trading gunfire with officers in Southeast Austin, authorities say When officers arrived at the scene at 5:10 a.m., they found a pickup matching the description of the vehicle mentioned in the call, police said. They also spotted a man matching the description in the 911 call he was later identified as Hammitt. Two officers slowly walked over to the truck and instructed Hammitt to leave his hands outside the vehicle and exit the truck, according to the police. "Within seconds of the truck door opening, Hammitt began to fire shots in the direction of the officers," according to an Austin police statement Tuesday. Police Chief Joe Chacon, addressing reporters hours after the incident last week, said the five officers scrambled to find cover and shot back. The man appeared to have been wounded and was still moving in the vehicle. The officers told him to get out of the truck so they could give him first aid, but Hammitt did not respond, according to police. Story continues Texas school shooting: Uvalde school police says he's been speaking with DPS daily, contradicting Texas Rangers "Officers finally were able to approach the vehicle safely to open the car door and extract the individual from inside," Chacon said. "Once they ensured that he did not have any weapons in his hands or on his person, they immediately began life-saving measures." Austin-Travis County EMS medics arrived and continued to treat the man, but he was pronounced dead at 5:37 a.m., a statement from police said. Investigators did find a gun inside the truck near where Hammitt was sitting, according to Austin police this week. It was still unclear as of Wednesday whether Hammitt was actually pointing his gun at people, or if he made a false report. Robb Elementary School shooting: Uvalde says goodbye to the first of 21 victims Body camera footage capturing the incident will be released, according to Chacon. However, he did not give an estimated time for when that would happen. "Per APD protocol, the five officers have been placed on administrative leave," the police statement Tuesday said. "APD will conduct two concurrent investigations into this incident: a criminal investigation by the APD Special Investigations Unit in conjunction with the Travis County District Attorney's Office, and an administrative investigation conducted by the APD Internal Affairs Unit, with oversight from the Office of Police Oversight." Police said anyone with more information about this incident can call Crime Stoppers at 512-472-8477, or use the new Crime Stoppers App. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Authorities offer details in last week's fatal Austin police shooting The city of Baltimore has filed a lawsuit against the ghost gun manufacturer Polymer80 Inc. alleging the company and its firearms have created a public health crisis in the city. In a statement on Wednesday, the city said that Polymer80, the nations largest gun manufacturer, intentionally undermined various federal and state firearm laws to manufacture, design and sell ghost gun kits and parts to customers without a background check. The city announced the lawsuit on the same day the states new gun law went into effect. The law prohibits people from purchasing, receiving, selling, offering to sell or transferring ghost guns. It also prohibits people from selling or offering to sell firearms that are not legally licensed. The city said in its lawsuit that Polymer80s main customers are those who are trying to avoid law enforcement or who cannot obtain a gun with a legal license, such as those who are underage, who are gun traffickers or who have past criminal convictions. The lawsuit alleges that the manufacturer had not complied with the Maryland Handgun Register law or the Maryland Handgun Qualification License law prior to the states ban on the sale of ghost guns going into effect. Ghost guns are a devastating menace to the people of Baltimore, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D) said in a statement. This lawsuit shines a light on Polymer80 and individuals who routinely create a marketplace for deadly, untraceable weapons. The availability of these weapons particularly to criminals, juveniles and other people who are prohibited from owning a firearm presents a growing public health crisis. We must stop Polymer80 and companies like it that profit from destroying our communities, he added. The lawsuit also names Hanover Armory, a local gun shop in Maryland, as a defendant in the case and alleges that the store sells Polymer80 kits without determining whether its customers are prohibited from owning firearms. Story continues In a statement, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said he supports Scotts lawsuit, adding he will keep fighting for gun reform on the federal level. We cannot & will not accept senseless gun violence as normal. The crackdown on ghost guns here in MD is a step fwd, but our state is not an island, Van Hollen said in a tweet. As @MayorBMScott takes on manufacturers & our new law goes into effect, Ill keep fighting for federal, common-sense gun safety laws. House Democrats have scheduled a special session of the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday to send a slate of tougher firearms rules to the chamber floor. Democrats are facing a more difficult lift in the Senate. A bipartisan group of senators is currently negotiating a bill in response to recent mass shootings in a Buffalo, N.Y., grocery store and in a school in Uvalde, Texas. The Senate group is reportedly focusing on incentives for states to create red flag laws to seize weapons from those deemed a threat to themselves or others. The senators are also looking at legislation to expand background checks for firearms sales and transfers. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Ringo Starr has made "peace and love" his personal mantra and he wouldnt have it any other way. The beloved Beatle told Fox News Digital during a press launch ahead of his All-Starr Bands first North American tour since 2019 that its never been more important to spread the message. "Well its always been important and I do spread the message," said the 81-year-old. "I mean, you look at the photos in the 60s, were all doing this. We loved 66 when flower power was coming in. It was such a change in those years people with flowers and loving each other." The English drummer is rarely photographed without flashing the peace sign. It is believed the heartfelt statement is connected to the Maharishi, the Indian spiritual leader the Beatles famously visited in 1968. It has stayed with Starr as his career and music evolved as an artist. FOO FIGHTERS' TAYLOR HAWKINS REMEMBERED BY OZZY OSBOURNE, RINGO STARR AND MORE: 'AN AMAZING MUSICIAN' Ringo Starr has made peace and love his personal mantra. RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images "There were a few bad moments, like Kent State and things like that, but we just went right for it," said Starr about the 1970 massacre where the Ohio National Guard opened fire on unarmed college students at a war protest at Kent State University. Four students were killed, and nine others were injured. Not all of those hurt or killed were involved in the demonstration, which opposed the U.S. bombing of neutral Cambodia during the Vietnam War. "It was part of how we felt," said Starr on sharing the message then and now. "And I keep doing it now. I do it, I can only have myself do it. I cant force anybody to be peaceful and loving." The statement is one Starr will continue to share as he hits the road. His vehicle for the last three decades has been the All-Starr Band. He is known for inviting a rotating crew of veteran musicians with the main requirement being that they must have been part of some hit song to keep the set list varied and fresh. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER Story continues Ringo Starr performs with his All-Starr Band at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino on Oct. 20, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Denise Truscello/WireImage Starr also spreads his message of peace and love every year on July 7 his birthday. During this time, Starr is known for requesting his fans take a moment and ask for peace and love. Hes been holding the event since 2008 and has celebrated in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, Germany and other places. Last year, during the pandemic, he held a peace and love drive-by in Beverly Hills. In 2020, the event was online as people were quarantined at home. The idea started when someone asked Starr what he wanted for his birthday. "And out of the blue, I thought, You know what would be great if everyone at noon on the 7th of July went peace and love," he previously recalled in 2016. "Wherever you are on the bus, down the mine, wherever you could just go peace and love.' That would be a great gift to me." The Beatles, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, in 1962. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Starrs seemingly boundless enthusiasm for making music has endured. And it all stemmed from the moment that he decided to join a band that gave him three brothers for life. Starr and McCartney, 79, are the remaining members of The Beatles. Lennon was murdered in 1980 at age 40. Harrison passed away in 2001 at age 58 following a battle with cancer. "It was a super incredible connection of peace and love," Starr reflected in 2021 on becoming part of the Fab Four. "It was so great. I still miss John and George, but thats how life is. Paul and I are still great friends, and we support each other." Catchphrases like Just Do It are designed to be clear and succinct, with zero ambiguity to their message. But just because catchy slogans inherently have one meaning, doesnt mean that they arent open to reinterpretation. Location Gallery is hosting HYPE, an art exhibition featuring over a dozen local artists visually reimagining popular catchphrases like, Have a Nice Day, or There is No I in Team. Hype was conceived and curated by Location Gallery Director Peter Roberts who reached out to several established Savannah artists including Stacie Jean Albano, Chariton Alexakis, Lino Azevedo, Jenny Eitel, Maxx Feist, John Harkins, Rob Hessler, Deborah Sherron Miller, Melody Postma, Adam Stafford, and Michelle Stafford. 'In Savannah things move slowly': How the city's art scene has changed in longtime writers' eyes 'A magical time': A history of First Friday in Starland and how it shaped Savannah's hip district Recent Location Gallery shows: The Artists and the Truck come to Location Gallery to culminate 30 years of friendship and art I felt it was important to update some of these mottos and phrases and ubiquitous sayings that have been with us for a long time and sort of do a refresh on them, said Roberts. See if the artists themselves can make a piece that speaks as powerfully without the text actually in the piece. 'Keep Calm and Carry On' by Michelle Stafford Represented mediums include paintings, sculpture, drawings, and mixed media. Trying to convert a piece of text that has been entrenched in the public conscious for decades is no easy task, but the artists were able to capture the essence of the words in exciting new ways. Lina Azevedos The Truth is Out There, for example, presents a UFO sighting in the style of a Renaissance painting. Melody Postmas Go Big or Go Home is a splash of pop art stencils and cartoon iconography. Michelle Staffords vibrant Keep Calm and Carry On presents a spiritually enlightened dog meditating amongst happy daisies. And Stacie Jean Albano relocates the dangling Hang in There, Baby kitten into a Paul Cezanne-like cubist landscape. Story continues Other recent local exhibitions: Meg Kettelkamp's latest exhibition is evoking Savannah's 'Ghosts' and the liminal space we miss There are definitely some where I didnt see that coming, but are definitely great, said Roberts. Its also a bit of a wobble affect for the viewer because they see the art and then they see the title. So Loose Lips Sink Ships becomes something completely different. 'Hang In There Baby' by Stacie Jean Albano Each artist was given the option to produce three pieces. Roberts himself produced three works based on the phrases Keep America Beautiful, Give Peace a Chance, and This is Your Brain on Drugs. One of course is relying on my usual punster stuff and the other two are more, for lack of a better word, expansive, and not quite as silly, said Roberts. It was tough not to put text in the work. In-depth: How Savannah artists, educators are using arts grants to enrich local classroom experiences Proceeds from HYPE will go to support The League of Woman Voters of Coastal Georgia, an apt choice considering their mission to protect and empower voters, and present politics in ways that go deeper than campaign poster sloganeering. 'The Truth is Out There' by Lino Azevedo I was having a little of a struggle deciding which non-profit to use and then I realized that what the League of Women Voters do is they cut through the hype, meaning they have debates between candidates and have very pertinent questions that youre not going to hear in a campaign ad, explained Roberts. Theyre realtime answers. Thats necessary for people to make the right call and an informed vote. I love that theyre non-partisan and that they get the information out in a way that doesnt always happen. HYPE opens on Friday with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m., and will remain on display in the main gallery through mid-July. With mid-term elections looming on the horizon, HYPE provides an excellent opportunity to support the democratic process. 'Have A Nice Day' by John Harkins Its also a way for people to get original art at a good price point,added Roberts. I think thats important, as well. Weve all seen the Keep Calm Carry On poster relentlessly, but to get that framed and on a wall, you could have had an original piece of art and supported a local artist. IF YOU GO What: Hype! By Various Artists When: Friday from 6-8 p.m. Where: Location Gallery @ Austin Hill Reality, 251 Bull St. Cost: Fr Info: locationgallery.net This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah GA art galleries: Location Gallery hosts Hype! A man appointed by the Department of Veterans Affairs to manage veterans benefits pleaded guilty to stealing over $300,000 from at least 10 of his clients, according to federal prosecutors Raymond Huffman, 61, of Brunson, South Carolina, pleaded guilty to using his position as a fiduciary, in which he received payments on behalf of veterans who were unable to manage their benefits due to illness, disability or old age, to steal and misuse the funds, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Department of Justice. From Oct. 26, 2015 through July 18, 2018, Huffman and his company, Huffman Fiduciary Services were accused of receiving money from the Department of Veterans Affairs and [did] willfully and knowingly misappropriate, embezzle and use the money in an unauthorized manner, according to a federal indictment. One of the victims was a veteran who had died in 2018 from whose estate Huffman stole, according to the news release. Stealing funds meant for a veteran is a despicable crime, U.S. Attorney Corey F. Ellis said in a statement. We owe it to our veterans, who have sacrificed so much for this country, to ensure they are not victimized when they most need assistance. Huffmans attorney could not be reached for comment by McClatchy News. Huffman admitted to stealing $304,413.75, and receiving more than $10,000 in fees, according to the release. He faces a maximum of 50 years in prison, as well as a fine of up to $250,000 in restitution and 30 years of supervision after his release from prison. U.S. District Judge Bruce Howe Hendricks will sentence Huffman after reviewing a sentencing report. Man caught lifting weights after $730K disability payout now going to prison, feds say Retired VA worker stole furniture donated by Walmart for destitute veterans, feds say Scams target military service members on Memorial Day, watchdog warns. What to know WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States will provide Ukraine with more advanced rocket systems and munitions so it can "more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield." In an opinion piece in the New York Times on Tuesday, Biden said: "We have moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table." (Reporting by Eric Beech) The New York Times The Kremlin-backed mayor of the Ukrainian town of Enerhodar was standing on his mothers porch when a powerful blast struck, leaving him critically wounded. A week later, about 75 miles away, a car packed with explosives rocked the office of another Russian-appointed official in the occupied southern city of Melitopol. In a rarity, both Ukrainian and Russian officials confirmed the blasts, which struck deep inside Russian-controlled territory. And both explosions appeared to be the work of what Several Australian Muslim youths said that they were shocked after hearing about Surya being invited for addressing the events in Australia and called it deplorable and revolting. Waquar Hasan | TwoCircles.net Support TwoCircles NEW DELHI Several Muslim groups, academics and rights groups have slammed Australia India Youth Dialogue (AIYD) for inviting controversial Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Tejasvi Surya to its conference and called upon it to cancel the events where Surya was set to address. Surya, who is currently in Australia, was set to address a series of events from 31 May to 4 June organized by the AIYD). An Indian-origin Muslim youth, who refused to reveal his identity for fear of being targeted, told TwoCircles.net that one of the events where Surya was going to address was cancelled after they built pressure against his invitation. AIYD has a series of events planned for him. One of those events was to be held at Swinburne Universitys campus in Parramatta (a suburb in Sydney), which was organized by ECA (Education Center of Australia. This was meant to be his first event and yes it was cancelled, he said. But he is still set to address a series of events and Muslims in Australia are trying to pressurize the government and the institutions to do the right thing and revoke his visa (by Govt) and cancel his events (by AIYD/Universities). Surya is a controversial figure who is accused of making several hateful and inflammatory comments against Muslims and Christians in India. In December last year, he had talked about bringing Christians and Muslims under the Hindu fold. There are people who belonged to Hinduism but were converted to Islam or Christianity. It is our duty to bring these people back into the fold of Hinduism. Also, Hindus in Pakistan who were converted to Islam should be brought back into the fold, said Surya, who is the national president of BJPs youth wing. Earlier in May last year, he forced Bangalore Municipal Corporation to fire 17 Muslim employees because of their religious identity. Several Australian Muslim youths said that they were shocked after hearing about Surya being invited for addressing the events in Australia and called it deplorable and revolting. Shocked at first, but then we had to come quickly to organise through emails, petitions, social media whatever we could, he said. The Indian-origin Muslim youth pointed out that Indian-origin Hindus and Muslims have no communal feelings with each other in Australia. They get along well with each other, he said. However, there is a small section of people within Hindu community in Australia that cheer for BJP, Narendra Modi and by extension everything that BJP/RSS stands for, he pointed out. Several organizations the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC), Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV) and The Australian Alliance against Hate (AAH), asked the partners of the event to withdraw their support citing Suryas anti-Muslim views. In a statement issued on May 27, AFIC expressed its deep concern over Suryas participation in AIYD conferences. Mr Surya has expressed clearly incendiary anti-Muslim views and has stirred hatred and violent sentiments against our Indian Muslims brothers, sisters and childer, AFICs President Dr Rateb Jneid said. According to Jneid, AFIC has sent to the sponsors and the relevant authorities to protest the invitation of Surya to Australia and provide a clear overview of Suryas incendiary remarks and activities to them. It has also urged the government to reconsider his visa status. We have been tracking listed sponsors and Alhamdulillah 4 of them have been removed since the letter was sent. One sponsor wrote to us denying that they sponsored the event and were at a loss as to how their name was included, Jneid said. In a statement issued on May 31, the ICV called upon the AIYD to withdraw its invitation to Tejasvi Surya and asked the sponsors and partners of the conference to express their strong disapproval to the organizers and withdraw their support if necessary to make the point. It also criticized the Australian government for giving a visa to Surya and asked it to revoke the same. The ICV pointed out that Surya is known in India for divisive public comments and anti-Muslim sentiment. He has tweeted that we must unapologetically agitate for a Hindu Rashtra which is code for calling for Hindu supremacism. Indian media has reported on Suryas attempts to stoke anti-Muslim anger during the Covid pandemic, a dangerous strategy to fan communal hatred during a time of crisis when social harmony was essential, said ICV. Not just Muslims, but other Indian origin people in Australia also protested against Suryas invitation. A prominent author of Indian origin in Australia and Lecturer in Creative Writing at UNSW, Roanna Gonsalves, asked people not to support Tejasvi Surya in Australia. Hinduism = beautiful, spiritual way of life. Hindutva = fascist misogynist militaristic supremacist ideology@Sydney_Uni @SwinburneOnline @Swinburne Please do not support such a misogynist Hindutva fascist in Australia. Please sign petitiion here https://t.co/PyHyp7XYrl https://t.co/KUxfc9hikf Roanna Gonsalves (@roannagonsalves) May 30, 2022 She also shared a link to an online petition which is demanding the Australian government revoke Suryas visa and urging the organisers and sponsors to dissociate from him. Waquar Hasan is a journalist based in Delhi. He covers human rights abuses and hate crimes. He tweets at @WaqarHasan1231 Gunmaker Glock Inc and its parent company have been sued by a woman who was injured in an April subway mass shooting in Brooklyn that was described as one of the worst terror attacks on the New York City transit system. Frank James, 62, is accused of carrying out the mass shooting on a subway in the Sunset Park neighbourhood of Brooklyn on 12 April. While there were no casualties in the mass shooting, 10 commuters were shot and over a dozen more were injured. Authorities said a 9mm Glock semiautomatic handgun was used in the attack. Ilene Steur, 49, one of the 10 left injured in the shooting, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. She has alleged that Glock Inc is aware its product design promotes concealment and allows a user to inflict unparalleled civilian carnage. In her lawsuit, she said the suspect had purchased the Glock 17 handgun in 2011 from a pawn shop in Columbus, Ohio. The company manufactured the high-capacity pistol to provide enhanced pointability that makes it user-friendly and more accurate, alleges Ms Steur. The lawsuit defined pointability as a term that describes a pistols natural ability to act as an extension of the shooters hand and eye coordination. The gunmaker chose to disregard the unreasonable risks of the Glock firearm in its marketing strategies, said the lawsuit. It stated that the company also fails to terminate contracts with gun distributors who sell a high volume of guns traced to gun-related crimes. In her lawsuit, Ms Steur has asked the gun manufacturer to institute and carry out policies, practices, and programs which eradicate the effects of its past and present unlawful marketing and distribution practices. It also asks for financial compensation for the physical pain and suffering, permanent physical injuries, emotional pain, suffering, mental anguish, embarrassment, and isolation resulting from the gunmakers unlawful marketing and distribution practices. Story continues Ms Steurs attorney Stanford Rubenstein said on Tuesday that his client suffered considerable physical damage due to the shooting. Ms Steur was on her way to work when she was shot at and suffered significant gunshot injuries, with a bullet entering through her buttocks, fracturing part of her spine just above her tailbone and ripping through the rectum, Mr Rubenstein told CNN. The lawsuit... is an effort to hold accountable to a victim a gun manufacturer whose marketing strategies we allege, results in guns being put in the hands of those who kill and maim innocent victims, Mr Rubenstein said in a statement. Those who manufacture and distribute guns have a moral responsibility to work with government to end the epidemic of gun violence and mass killings in our county. Last year, New York state passed a law that allowed civil suits to be filed against gun manufacturers. The lawsuit comes a week after teenager Salvador Ramos shot dead 21 people, including 19 children and two adults, at Texass Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) California moved a step closer Wednesday to creating sites where people could legally use drugs under supervision designed to save them from dying if they overdose, over the objections of opponents who said the state would be enabling dangerous and illegal activity. The full Assembly will now consider allowing test programs in Los Angeles, Oakland and San Francisco, more than a year after the proposal narrowly passed the state Senate. We know that we are experiencing a crisis of overdose deaths, and these are preventable," said Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener. This is one way to help keep people safe and to actually help people get into treatment. Assembly Public Safety Committee members advanced the bill on a 5-2 vote after hearing conflicting statistics about the experiences in Canada, Europe, Australia and most recently two sites in New York City. There has been not a single overdose death in the supervised sites, said Wiener and proponents of his bill. But people still are dying around them, attracted to neighborhoods where drug use is overtly sanctioned by the government, countered opponents. There is a magnet effect so that people come into the area, said John Lovell, testifying on behalf of the California Narcotic Officers Association and several other police organizations. What theyre proposing is addiction maintenance. ... I think that we need to embrace addiction recovery," said Michael Shellenberger, author of a book entitled San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities" and a no party preference candidate for California governor. Clean needle exchanges were once also controversial, before they became a largely accepted way of minimizing the spread of HIV, hepatitis and other diseases that can be spread through the sharing of dirty needles, said Vitka Eisen, a former heroin user herself. She now heads the low-income health care provider HealthRIGHT 360 and sits on the boards of the California Council of Community Behavioral Health Agencies, California Association of Drug and Alcohol Program Executives, and National Council for Behavioral Health. Story continues In the face of a crisis, we must do things differently," she said, referring to the national onslaught of opioid deaths, often fed by the prevalence of fentanyl. The governing bodies in each of the California jurisdictions have already asked to be included in the test program if Wiener's bill becomes law. It would remain up to them whether to go ahead and to what extent. The test programs would run until 2028, and the participating governments would have to split the cost of an independent study on the effectiveness of the program and its impact on the community, due by 2027. Former Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, vetoed a more limited proposal in 2018, saying then: Fundamentally, I do not believe that enabling illegal drug use in government sponsored injection centers with no corresponding requirement that the user undergo treatment will reduce drug addiction. The new proposal split the Assembly committee along party lines. Democratic Assemblywoman Mia Bonta, wife of California Attorney General Rob Bonta, is a co-author of the bill who called it a "potential opportunity for us to be able to address the pandemic that we are facing around drug abuse. California would be creating an enabling program that enables people to continue to do what is very damaging and destructive, not only to themselves but to the public at large," said Republican Assemblyman Kelly Seyarto. The goal, he said, should be to get them off of drugs and get them out of this dependency instead of allowing it. Democratic Assemblyman Miguel Santiago said he, too, was skeptical, until he witnessed the open drug use on Los Angeles' Skid Row. You have to come to the conclusion that it is better that they use it in a facility where it is at least supervised, Santiago said. "It is an attempt to create a safe place for people to use (drugs), to help them when they are at their lowest, and to prevent the worst from happening. The committee's chairman, Democratic Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, said he initially was very apprehensive and fought the idea. But he had an uncle and a cousin die of drug overdoses on San Francisco's streets in the 1980s, when the family's attempts at tough love failed to save them. Safe injection sites may not be a perfect solution, Jones-Sawyer said, but "we need to go ahead and try something new. TORONTO (AP) Indigenous leaders met with Canadian bishops on Wednesday and were told Pope Francis won't add more stops, as they requested, to his trip to Canada, where he will apologize in person for the abuse suffered by Indigenous people at the hands of the Catholic church. Pope Francis, who has been using a wheelchair because of a bad knee, will head to Canada on July 24 and visit Alberta, Quebec and Iqaluit, a small town in the far north. The pope leaves on July 29. Three locations were picked. The survivors had no say in that. We werent asked, said Ken Young, a former regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations in Manitoba. We asked the bishops if that could change to include other venues, perhaps Kamloops, and that answer was no. Richard Smith, the archbishop of Edmonton, said the Vatican made it clear the trip had to be short, considering the popes health. The Vatican has announced those three sites, and when the Vatican announces it, thats it, Smith said. Smith said hes astonished Francis is going ahead with the visit considering his limited mobility. Smith noted that a planned trip to Lebanon was cancelled and said Francis still plans visits to South Sudan and Congo in early July. I dont know this, but I wouldnt be surprised if people were advising him not to travel at all, Smith said. With the Canada trip, Francis, 85, will be testing his stamina. After weeks of limping badly due to what the Vatican has said is a badly strained knee ligament, Francis began arriving at some public appearances in a wheelchair. Pressure for a papal apology increased when the apparent remains of over 200 children were detected buried in unmarked graves in Kamloops, British Columbia, last year at what had been Canadas largest indigenous residential school. There are also unidentified remains in unmarked graves at other residential schools across Canada. Indigenous leaders wanted Francis to visit Kamloops. From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 Indigenous children in Canada were forced to attend state-funded Christian schools as an effort to assimilate them into Canadian society. Canadas government has admitted that physical and sexual abuse was rampant in the schools, with students beaten for speaking their native languages. Story continues Earlier this year, Francis made a historic apology in the Vatican for abuses in Canadas church-run residential schools and expressed sorrow and shame for the lack of respect for Indigenous identities, culture and spiritual values. He said then that he wanted to go to Canada to deliver the apology personally to survivors. Young said the apology at the Vatican didnt go far enough but said he's confident the pope will say the right thing. The church has to accept ownership and responsibility for what happened to First Nations people and families, Young said. The impacts were life changing and life lasting. We expect, at least I expect, the pope to apologize on behalf of the Catholic Church in the right way. How that works out in terms of words is something we have agreed to work on with the bishops." Ted Quewezance, former chief of the Keeseekose First Nation in Saskatchewan and the interim chair of a residential survivors school group, said they would like to see the wording of the apology Francis will make in Canada. He said they also need to work out how to get survivors to the locations the pope will visit. Smith, the the archbishop of Edmonton, said the pope will say the right thing because he really wants this to be a step forward and a step in the whole healing process. VALENTYNA ROMANENKO WEDNESDAY, 1 JUNE 2022, 15:11 Chernihiv Oblast is ready to fight back if Russia resumes the offensive. However, there is currently no evidence that Russia is forming a strike group for a second offensive. Source: Viacheslav Chaus, Head of Chernihiv Oblast Military Administration, and Andrii Demchenko, spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, on air during the 24/7 national newscast Quote from Chaus: "As for our defence capabilitiesChernihiv Oblast is ready to defend itself if another wave of active hostilities begins here. Our border guards are prepared. Better prepared than on 24 February. We are prepared for the possibility of another enemy attempt to advance on Chernihiv Oblast." Details: Chaus noted that a concentration, albeit not critical, of Russian troops has been observed along the entire Ukrainian border (with both Belarus and Russia). According to the Head of Chernihiv Military Administration, Russian troops continue shelling border-adjacent areas in Chernihiv Oblast and are using river boats to move along the Dnipro river near the Ukrainian-Belarusian border in order to keep the Ukrainian forces "on their toes." Demchenko explained Russias reasoning behind this approach. Quote from Demchenko: "The enemys actions are intended to demonstrate its presence [in the area - ed.] so that Ukraine would have to maintain a certain number of defence troops there, thus hindering their redeployment in hot spots and areas of active hostilities. At the same time, we have no evidence that Russia is forming a strike group to re-enter the territory of Ukraine. However, our reconnaissance suggests that Russian troops are strengthening their positions on the territory of the Russian Federation." A Chicago police officer was shot and seriously wounded during a traffic stop late Wednesday afternoon in the Englewood neighborhood. Meanwhile, officers were searching for at least two suspects and police remained outside a building in the 6300 block of South Bishop Street as of about 9:15 p.m. SWAT officers left the scene before 9:30 p.m. About 5:45 in the 6100 block of Paulina Street, two uniformed officers driving a marked squad car tried to make a traffic stop, Superintendent David Brown told reporters. The driver of the car they were trying to pull over sped off, then slowed down, coming parallel with the police car, Brown said. Suddenly, someone inside the car fired at the officers, wounding a female officer, according to Brown, who said she was in serious but stable condition at the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she will spend the night. Earlier, Brown described her condition as critical. The suspects crashed the car moments later in the 6400 block of South Bishop Street and ran, Brown said. Witnesses told police they may have run in different directions and fled into nearby buildings, Brown said. Officers found a gun in the area where the car crashed and found car keys that were dropped near the gun, Brown said. The crash happened not far from the Englewood District police station, 1438 W. 63rd St. Its too early to determine whether or not this is the gun, Brown said. But we have found a gun in the immediate area where the offender fled after crashing the car. Helicopters and police surrounded the area where the shooting happened. At about 6:30 p.m. near the hospital, 5841 S. Maryland Ave., officers were directing traffic. Southbound Cottage Grove Avenue was blocked at 55th Street while northbound traffic on Cottage Grove was diverted east or west at 57th Street. Additionally, about a dozen police cars were stationed nearby and around the hospitals emergency room. In an emailed statement, Mayor Lori Lightfoot expressed her concerns for the outrageous attack on our officers. Story continues My family and I will be praying for the injured officer and the entire department as they grapple with yet another heinous and deliberate assault on our officers lives, Lightfoot said. I have asked the superintendent to use every resource possible to find the person responsible for this attempted murder of a police officer and bring them to justice. rsobol@chicagotribune.com scasanova@chicagotribune.com China's foreign ministry released a statement on Wednesday condemning a joint statement between the U.S. and New Zealand, which blamed China for human rights violations. Zhao Lijian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, said the joint statement was unfairly critical of the Chinese government and seeks to agitate its own internal affairs, Reuters reported. U.S. President Joe Biden and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern met at the White House Tuesday and released a joint statement that expressed "grave concerns" on human rights conditions in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Xinjiang. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian takes a question at the daily media briefing in Beijing on April 8, 2020. Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images The statement came as China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi is traveling around the Pacific island region, worrying the international leaders. US MILITARY WILL DEFEND TAIWAN 'IF IT COMES TO THAT,' BIDEN SAYS "The establishment of a persistent military presence in the Pacific by a state that does not share our values or security interests would fundamentally alter the strategic balance of the region and pose national-security concerns to both our countries," it said, Reuters reported. BIDEN WARNS XI OF CONSEQUENCES IF CHINA SUPPORTS RUSSIA, WHITE HOUSE SAYS Biden and Ardern also said their two countries wanted a peaceful resolution to rising tensions in the region. China's foreign minister was also recently in Tonga and signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attend a welcome ceremony at the Akasaka Palace state guest house in Tokyo on May 23, 2022. Eugene Hoshiko/Pool/AFP via Getty Images Biden recently visited the region, including stops in South Korea and Japan, for his Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity tour. By Max Hunder KYIV (Reuters) - A number of civilians are sheltering from Russian shelling under a chemical plant in the Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk and authorities fear it may still have stocks of dangerous materials, the regional governor told Reuters on Wednesday. Russian forces entered the city, the largest still held by Ukraine in the eastern Luhansk region, late last week after weeks of shelling as they try to take full control of the industrial Donbas region. Ukraine on Tuesday said a Russian air strike hit a nitric acid tank in Sievierodonetsk, releasing a large pink cloud. "There are civilians there in bomb shelters, there are quite a few of them," Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Gaidai said of the Azot chemical plant, adding that there were "strong Soviet-era" bomb shelters under the factory. "It's a privately-owned plant, we can't know 100% if any chemicals are left," he said. "We were assured that there were no (chemicals) left, but as we can see there are still some remnants," he said, referring to Tuesday's discharge. Reuters could not independently confirm the account. Gaidai said the plant was not likely to become the site of a weeks-long siege similar to the Azovstal steel complex in the southeastern city of Mariupol. The Ukrainian military did not put up fortifications in the plant because of the chemical risk, he said. "It will not be a second Azovstal as that had a huge underground city... which isn't there at Azot," he said. Gaidai said 70% of Sievierodonetsk was held by Russian forces, 10-15% was a "grey zone" and the rest was held by Ukraine. "We will defend the region to the last city, village, or resident of Luhansk region. We will do everything possible, and even the impossible, not to let the enemy advance further," he said. He said some humanitarian supplies, including water and medicine, had been built up before the Russian attack but that Ukraine had lost contact with the city's hospital. Story continues One bridge into Sievierodonetsk from the neighboring city of Lysychansk had been destroyed and the other had been damaged but was still passable by light vehicles, Gaidai said. Gaidai, who was born in Sievierodonetsk, said he did not want to let his emotions get the better of him while his home city was being destroyed. "It is of course very painful. But if a surgeon cries during every surgery on a patient, then he is a bad doctor," he said. (Additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Grant McCool and Rosalba O'Brien) TheBlast On Tuesday morning, Lyssa Chapman told the world that she was officially married to her girlfriend, Leiana Evensen, who she calls Lei. Chapman is the daughter of Dog the Bounty Hunter, who didnt seem to be in attendance at a beautiful wedding ceremony in Hawaii. The two have been together for five years and finally [] Cariol Horne became a fixture for police reform in Buffalo after she stopped another officer from choking a Black man during an arrest. Her influence became evident again after she helped her community following the Buffalo mass shooting. (Photo: Phillip Jackson/HuffPost) Cariol Horne became a fixture for police reform in Buffalo after she stopped another officer from choking a Black man during an arrest. Her influence became evident again after she helped her community following the Buffalo mass shooting. (Photo: Phillip Jackson/HuffPost) BUFFALO, N.Y. After a gunman opened fire in a supermarket in a Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York on May 14, Cariol Horne was among the first on the scene. Horne isnt a cop at least, not anymore. She served as an officer for 20 years, up until she was forced out of the Buffalo Police Department in 2006 for intervening when a white officer used excessive force on a Black man. Now, shes a local activist in this predominantly Black community. She is a Black woman too. And she knew she needed to be there to help her neighbors after an 18-year-old white male, who posted a long, racist screed before he drove several hours to Tops Friendly Market, shot 13 people 11 of whom were Black. There was an immediate outcry against racism in the wake of the shooting, but Horne worries it will quickly fade away. Ten days after the racist attack in Buffalo, another 18-year-old opened fire in a Texas elementary school, killing 19 children and two teachers. Buffalo activists and others want to be sure the racist attack isnt forgotten. Vice President Kamala Harris said enough is enough over the weekend after visiting the funeral of Ruth Whitfield, an 86-year-old Black woman who was killed by Payton Gendron the day of the Buffalo shooting. We have had no real change as far as ending racism because it is like we start dealing with it and then we stop, Horne, a mother of five, said of the U.S. We just take a pause. But there should be no such thing as taking a pause. Hornes own life has been marked by violence against Black people, its aftermath and how the countrys racial reckonings can make change but still fall short. In the incident that upended her career, Gregory Kwiatkwoski, a fellow police officer had David Neal Mack in a chokehold during an arrest, a tactic law enforcement has done in the past but now has been condemned nationwide. Horne yelled at Kwiatkwoski to stop. When he didnt, she grabbed his arm from around Neals neck. Story continues Kwiatkwoski punched her in the face. The department sided with Kwiatkwoski. Officials said that Horne endangered him during the arrest. She was offered a suspension, faced multiple internal disciplinary charges and then was fired months before she would be eligible for her pension. The good old boy system and white supremacy system was still in place, Horne said. That was in 2006. It took until September 2020, following the death of George Floyd, for anything to change. The Buffalo Commission Council passed Cariols law, giving officers the right to intervene if another officer is using excessive force. Prior to the law passing under her name, the Buffalo Police Department was not paying Horne her pension. After the law was passed, a New York Supreme Court ruling in 2021vacated Hornes firing. Now, Horne feels she is left with another mission: Mending a racially terrorized neighborhood that already suffered from issues of neglect in the city. We [America] are constantly focusing on other issues other than black issues, she said. In 2020, America got 20/20 vision. Now they can see all the hate and all we have been talking about. They were gaslighting us all along. Even after George Floyd, we still have not had any significant change. The day Biden came The Buffalo race massacre has brought the citys local and racial segregation issue into the spotlight. And after top leaders, reporters and other prominent national activists leave their town, Horne wants Buffalos needs to still be remembered. When President Joe Biden visited on May 17, Horne was among 200 or more people who gathered at a rally just outside of the community center where he was set to speak. She and other activists, including Myles Carter and David Louis, spoke to the crowd. Hornes gray curly afro blew in the wind as she demanded an end to racial terrorism to Black neighborhoods. David Louis, a local activist (left), looks on during a rally outside of a neighborhood community center the day President Joe Biden came to give remarks following the Buffalo mass shooting. (Photo: Phillip Jackson/HuffPost) David Louis, a local activist (left), looks on during a rally outside of a neighborhood community center the day President Joe Biden came to give remarks following the Buffalo mass shooting. (Photo: Phillip Jackson/HuffPost) They wanted Biden to see an example of it. Horne led the crowd in chants while calling for law enforcement to let Robin Gary inside the center where Biden was speaking. Gendron had pointed a gun at Garys head while she was with her daughter inside the supermarket. His gun left a heat mark on her head. She was a survivor of Gendrons racist attack and did not deserve to be left behind, Horne said. And while she understood national securitys presence outside of the community center, the added presence of state police standing in line and blocking residents did not sit well with her. Eventually, law enforcement let Gary inside of the center. But shouts for Biden to do more on addressing Americas racial issues head on, continued. Multiple residents said that nothing changed since George Floyd was murdered and that Biden never felt a need to come to their community until this recent tragedy. I feel like it was a big distraction, Louis said. A lot of people got caught up with the president coming. When [its] Cariol who has been here, is actually doing something for us. Cariols policing and race solutions Buffalos East Side has now been thrusted in the spotlight and Horne wants the country to know that they need more resources in the community. She and other activists believe Gendron took advantage of the long neglected neighborhood. He exploited the opportunity to gun down Black people in their only community supermarket because he and others like him did not care about their lives. To go through the civil rights movement, and to witness the murder of George Floyd, it is really like what has changed? Horne said. She has ideas for solutions. She wants the country and all local police departments to take on Cariols Law to encourage officers to intervene when they witness others engage in excessive force. She also wants youth to have access to trauma and mental health services that would help them develop better conflict resolution during disagreements. And she wants Americas grim record of racism, violence and oppression towards Black people in the country taught in Buffalos school systems. One thing she does not believe will help is putting more money into police budgets. This year, the Common Council in Buffalo approved a $5.2 million dollar budgetfor the Buffalo Police Department to purchase at least 20 new police vehicles and create 14 new detective positions. Many other cities in the country, with Bidens backing, are increasing the amount of money being allocated to departments. The East Side, meanwhile, desperately needs funding for revitalization. Near the community center where Biden spoke, there are boarded up homes, uneven sidewalks and roads spotted with potholes. Over the last 30 years, conditions have worsened for Black Buffalo residents, with many of them out of work, lacking higher level education and living below the poverty line, according to a report that traced the Black lives of Buffalo starting from the 1990s. Flowers left outside of Tops Friendly Market and a sign with the names of the 10 people who were killed in what authorities have described as a racially-motivated shooting at a Buffalo, New York, on May 14. (Photo: Phillip Jackson/HuffPost) Flowers left outside of Tops Friendly Market and a sign with the names of the 10 people who were killed in what authorities have described as a racially-motivated shooting at a Buffalo, New York, on May 14. (Photo: Phillip Jackson/HuffPost) The study, compiled by researchers at the University of Buffalo, noted that communities remained segregated based on house value and social class and ultimately trapped Black residents in low-income and marginalized neighborhoods. Researchers also found that due to low levels of education attainment, fewer Black residents were able to find jobs with good wages. Horne is calling for more from the president and America as a whole. She said she wants Biden to sign a hate crime bill aimed at protecting Black people similar to the legislation he signed last year, addressing hate crimes against Asian Americans after a man went on a shooting rampage at three spas in Atlanta killing eight people, including six women of Asian descent. People of color in America have always been oppressed and historically treated unfairly especially Black residents since the countrys inception, Horne said. If the president took up the matter, she would be happy to help. Joe Biden is a very busy man so he may be forgetful. I think he should put me in charge of policy for [the] police and give me the budget. I dont want to put that burden on him, Horne said. I would like to create an act, like Cariols Law, to protect Black people, she continued. Because if you protect Black people you protect all people. If you put your focus on the issues we have been screaming about since we have been enslaved, then we would have change. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... BERLIN (Reuters) - Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed solidarity for Ukraine in what she described as a "barbaric war" with Russia at an event on Wednesday, after months of silence prompted criticism of her own policy towards Moscow. Merkel, chancellor for 16 years until December, said she would not offer advice from the sidelines but she supported the government's efforts to "find an end to this barbaric war", a participant at the event told Reuters. "My solidarity goes to Ukraine," the participant quoted her as saying at a farewell ceremony for the outgoing president of the DGB trade union confederation. A fluent Russian-speaker after growing up in the former communist East Germany, Merkel drew criticism from the United States and others for supporting the planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, designed to deliver Russian gas directly to Germany. Merkel's successor, Olaf Scholz, has shelved the project. She also stressed the need to keep talking to Russian President Vladimir Putin even after the annexation of the Crimea and conflict in eastern Ukraine which led to Western sanctions. Although Merkel, a conservative, gave a brief statement shortly after Russia's invasion in February, saying there was no justification for the blatant breach of international law, her silence since then has raised eyebrows. Actor Ulrich Matthes, a friend of Merkel's, defended her, telling Stern magazine this week that the war concerned her but she did not want to get involved. "I suspect she doesn't want to be a kind of secondary chancellor," he was quoted as saying. Some other German politicians, including her former foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel, have acknowledged that the policy of reconciliation with Russia may have been too optimistic. Facing criticism that Germany is doing too little to help Ukraine, Scholz said earlier on Wednesday that Germany would supply Ukraine with the IRIS-T air defence system. Story continues Late on Wednesday, the parliamentary budget committee cleared the way for a planned 100 billion euro ($106 billion)fund to beef up Germany's military to pass through parliament on Friday. ($1 = 0.9392 euros) (Reporting by Holger Hansen; Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Richard Pullin) On May 31, Ambassador Qin Gang held friendly talks with Mayor of Dallas Eric Johnson at the Dallas City Hall in Texas. Mr. Johnson welcomed Ambassador Qin to Dallas and recalled his visit to China with fond memories. He said that Dallas is the fourth largest metropolis in the United States, with the focus of developing a more diverse economy and becoming more international. The city of Dallas is making efforts to promote more international economic, trade and cultural exchanges, and create a sound and safe environment for investors from all over the world to do business in Dallas. Ambassador Qin spoke highly of Dallas' economic prosperity and dynamism. He said that with China's huge market and strong consumer demand, the opportunity and potential of cooperation between China and Dallas is huge. Ambassdor Qin expressed his hope that Dallas would increase the exchanges and cooperation with its sister city Tianjin and other Chinese cities in economy and trade, people-to-people and cultural engagement, and city governance, and promote more practical cooperation that will benefit both sides. Ambassador Qin also expressed welcome for Mayor Johnson to visit China again in the future. An overwhelming majority of Danes, almost 67 percent, voted Wednesday in favour of joining the EU's common defence policy 30 years after opting out, results showed with 100 percent of ballots counted. The vote comes on the heels of neighbouring Finland and Sweden's historic applications for NATO membership, as the war in Ukraine forces countries in Europe to rethink their security policy. "Tonight Denmark has sent a very important signal. To our allies in Europe and NATO, and to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. We're showing that when Putin invades a free country and threatens stability in Europe, we others pull together," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told cheering supporters. "Denmark now can partake in the European cooperation on defence and security. And for that I'm very, very happy," she said. Denmark's defence opt-out has meant that Copenhagen, a founding member of NATO, has since 1993 not participated in EU foreign policy where defence is concerned and does not contribute troops to EU military missions. Earlier in the day, Frederiksen had said as she cast her ballot that Denmark, a country of 5.5 million people, was "too small to stand alone in a very, very insecure world". "There was a Europe before February 24, before the Russian invasion, and there is another Europe after," she said after the results came in. "When there is once again war on our continent, you can't be neutral." A total of 66.9 percent of Denmark's 4.3 million eligible voters voted in favour of scrapping the opt-out, while 33.1 percent voted against. EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel welcomed the result. Denmark's decision was a "strong message of commitment to our common security", von der Leyen tweeted, saying Denmark and the European Union would benefit. "This decision will benefit Europe and make both the EU and the Danish people safer and stronger," Michel meanwhile wrote on Twitter. The traditionally eurosceptic country has often said "no" to greater EU integration, most recently in 2015 when it voted against strengthening cooperation on police and security matters for fear of losing sovereignty over immigration. Story continues - Danish opt-outs - Denmark has been an EU member since 1973, but it put the brakes on transferring more power to Brussels in 1992 when 50.7 percent of Danes rejected the Maastricht Treaty, the EU's foundation treaty. It needed to be ratified by all member states to enter into force. In order to persuade Danes to approve the treaty, Copenhagen negotiated a series of exemptions and Danes finally approved it the following year. Since then, Denmark has remained outside the European single currency, the euro -- which it rejected in a 2000 referendum -- as well as the bloc's common policies on justice, home affairs and defence. Copenhagen has exercised its defence opt-out 235 times in 29 years, according to a tally by the Europa think tank. Frederiksen announced the referendum just two weeks after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and after having reached an agreement with a majority of parties in Denmark's parliament, the Folketing. At the same time, she also announced plans to increase defence spending to two percent of gross domestic product, in line with NATO membership targets, by 2033. - 'Ukraine the major reason'- "These kinds of votes are even more important than earlier. In times of war it's obviously important to state if you feel that you want to join this type of community or not," Molly Stensgaard, a 55-year-old scriptwriter, told AFP as she voted in Copenhagen's city hall. Nikolaj Jonsson, a 28-year-old sociology student, was however unhappy with the timing of the referendum, saying it had been called "in times of unrest to emphasise a 'yes'". "I don't think it's fair to put this ballot right here, right now, because it pushes lots of people toward a yes who would normally be more sceptical toward the EU," he said. The director of the Europa think tank, Lykke Friis, told AFP there was "no doubt that Ukraine was the major reason for calling the referendum". Eleven of Denmark's 14 parties had urged voters to say "yes" to dropping the opt-out. Two far-right eurosceptic parties and a far-left party called for Danes to say "no", arguing that joint European defence would come at the expense of NATO, which has been the cornerstone of Denmark's defence since its creation in 1949. po/imm OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Many of the top seeds and familiar teams will be absent when the Womens College World Series starts Thursday. Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso believes those are good reasons for her top-seeded, defending national champion Sooners to be concerned heading into their opener against No. 9 seed Northwestern. Florida State, Virginia Tech, Arkansas and Alabama are top six seeds that didnt make it to Oklahoma City. Gasso said that means there are more teams left that overcame the odds on the road to qualify. Northwestern, for example, rallied from a 5-0 deficit in its deciding super regional game to knock off Pac-12 champion Arizona State on the road and punch its ticket. Its that kind of fresh, free lets go for it, we got nothing to lose mentality, Gasso said. Thats what you are seeing around the country right now, which makes for a pretty exciting World Series because any of these teams can win this. Its not just two or three. Its been a strange year, indeed. Florida is the only representative from the Southeastern Conference a league that had sent at least two teams in each of the past 13 tournaments, including five in 2015 and four in 2016. But parity is a real thing. Even with two-time USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Jocelyn Alo and a team that leads the nation in batting average, scoring and earned run average, Gasso doesnt expect an easy run. Oklahomas two biggest rivals Big 12 opponents Texas and Oklahoma State qualified. Those two teams are responsible for the Sooners only two losses this season. Those teams that got here are still on a crazy roll, Gasso said. They havent been home for weeks, but they dont care because theyre in this beautiful bubble right now that they dont want to get burst with. Texas will face No. 5 seed UCLA and No. 7 Oklahoma State will play Arizona. No. 14 Florida will play Oregon State in the other Thursday matchup. The World Series starts with a double-elimination tournament and concludes with a best-of-three championship series that will begin June 8. Story continues The Pac-12 got three teams in just not the ones that might have been expected. UCLA had its usual dominant year on its way to getting into the field. But Oregon State went 9-15 in conference play and broke through. Traditional power Arizona tied for last place in league play at 8-16, yet still found its way into the field in coach Caitlin Lowes first year stepping in for the retired Mike Candrea. They finished last in their conference, but theyre Arizona, Gasso said. Theyll always be Arizona. ALO REPEATS Alo repeated as USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, becoming the just the fifth player to win the award in consecutive seasons. Alo has the career Division I record with 117 home runs. She has 29 homers this season and ranks second nationally with a .497 batting average. HEALING PITCHER Oklahoma pitcher Jordy Bahl, the NFCA Division I Freshman of the Year, will return to the circle after an arm injury slowed her late in the season. The Papillion, Nebraska, native hasnt pitched since the Sooners regular-season finale on May 7. Youre going to see her pitch this week, Gasso said. How much? Were still working. FARAIMO RETURNS UCLA pitcher Megan Faraimo is back after missing the World Series last year with a hand injury. She was a first-team All-American last season and a finalist for USA Sotball Collegiate Player of the Year. This season, she went 22-4 with a 1.70 ERA and 278 strikeouts in 181 2/3 innings. I think it does feel a little more special, she said. I have always been hungry to get here, but not being able to be with my team last year, I just feel very blessed and honored to be here now. OREGON STATES RUN Oregon State had a 10-game losing skid from mid-April to May 1 and didnt look anything like a World Series team. But seven of the losses were by one run. Since then, the Beavers have gone 8-2. Sometimes you learn more from the losses than you do the wins, Oregon State coach Laura Berg said. Just a few things that go our way, we win those games. SISTER MATCHUP Oklahoma States Miranda Elish and Arizonas Madi Elish will be on opposing teams in the opener on Thursday. I think its her dad and her brother are going to be on Arizona side and her mom and her aunt are going to be on our side, trying to kind of make it fair, Oklahoma State coach Kenny Gajewski said. I told them they dont have to make it fair. They can all be on our side, but well see where that goes. ___ Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: twitter.com/CliffBruntAP. Assemblyman Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) speaks at a news conference in Sacramento in January. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Robert Rivas, a San Benito County Democrat and an advocate for farmworkers, secured the support Tuesday from his current Democratic colleagues to become the next speaker of the California Assembly. The announcement was made Tuesday night in a joint statement with Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) at the conclusion of a lengthy closed-door meeting of Assembly Democrats, capping off a tumultuous few days as they each sought control of the lower house. The two legislators offered no timeline for a transition of power to Rivas, who said the caucus wants to keep Rendon in charge until at least the end of the legislative session in August. The statement was not clear on when Rivas would succeed Rendon or how long he will have to hold his supporters together to officially secure the job. I applaud Robert Rivas for securing the support of a majority of the current Democratic Caucus to succeed me as Speaker of the Assembly, Rendon said in the statement. I agree with the majority of our current caucus that Speaker Rendon should remain as Speaker for at least the rest of this legislative session," Rivas said. "I look forward to working with him for the betterment of California and the unity of the Assembly Democratic Caucus. Democrats currently hold 58 of the chamber's 80 seats. The November election will bring a new crop of lawmakers to the Assembly to fill seats left vacant by legislators who have resigned, termed out, or declined to run for reelection. Rivas could have to earn the support of incoming lawmakers later this year if he is not officially confirmed as speaker before they take the oath of office in December. The ascension of Rivas would signal the beginning of the end of Rendons more than six years as the most powerful legislator in the lower house and the longest-serving California Assembly speaker in the last quarter of a century. Leadership changes in the Legislature are often negotiated in private and announced in a joint statement between the outgoing and incoming leader. But Rivas' effort to replace Rendon turned into an unusual power struggle. Story continues Rivas, 42, first approached Rendon on Friday, claiming to have secured commitments of support for his bid to become speaker from a majority of Assembly Democrats. But Rendon initially rebuffed Rivas' attempt to be acknowledged as his successor. Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) has served as leader of the lower house since 2016. (Associated Press) Several hours after the contentious meeting on Friday, Rivas sent out a press release announcing that he had "secured enough votes from members of the Democratic Caucus to become the next Speaker of the California State Assembly." All members of the Assembly, regardless of party, vote on the choice of the house's speaker. Typically a formal vote to elect a speaker takes place when a new legislative session convenes and a leadership transition is put in place, but aspiring leaders sometimes push for an informal agreement when they earn enough support in the majority caucus. Both lawmakers worked to shore up support to their side over the weekend, while some of their allies launched blistering attacks on social media. On Tuesday, Rivas' supporters in the Assembly forced a private caucus meeting shortly after the Assembly floor session began. Rendon's supporters wanted to postpone the caucus until after Tuesday's floor session ended. A few Republicans joined Rivas' group of progressive and moderate allies in a series of procedural votes to convene a caucus, in which Democratic lawmakers spent several hours discussing the potential speakership succession. Lawmakers said that no vote was taken in that meeting. The expected change would mark a power shift in the Legislature and likely lead to a shuffling of committee chairs and other key positions. Whether there's a substantial policy difference between Rivas and Rendon remains to be seen. A cornerstone of Rendon's leadership philosophy has been to delegate his office's power, giving committee chairs more control over the fate of legislation. As opposed to a top-down style favored by some Assembly leaders in the past, his approach made committee chairs more influential with interest groups at the state Capitol and, in turn, made those lawmakers among his most powerful allies. Rivas was elected in 2018. The Latino lawmaker's Assembly biography says he was raised by his single mother and grandparents in Paicines, where his grandfather was a farmworker. He was elected to the San Benito County Board of Supervisors in 2010 and served two four-year terms. His current Assembly district, considered a safe Democratic seat, includes Big Sur, Gilroy, Salinas, Watsonville and a smattering of other communities along the Central Coast. The California Labor Federation, an umbrella organization that represents more than 1,000 labor unions and 2 million workers, gave Rivas a 95% voting score during his time in the Assembly, which means he has backed nearly all labor proposals that came before him. The United Food and Commercial Workers, consumer attorneys, firefighters and the Service Employees International Union's California State Council funded an independent expenditure committee to support his first race for the Assembly. He also received support from charter schools and the California Building Industry Association. Oil companies opposed his campaign. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Democratic Senate candidate Charles Booker and Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. Timothy D. Easley and Greg Nash/AP Democrat Charles Booker released a striking ad featuring him wearing a noose around his neck. Booker, who is Black, used the image to attack his Senate opponent, GOP Sen. Rand Paul. Paul, seeking re-election this year, opposed a bill making lynching a federal hate crime. Democratic Senate candidate Charles Booker released an ad on Wednesday in which he wears a noose around his neck while criticizing his opponent Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky for a series of controversial statements and positions related to race and civil rights. Booker recently became the first Black Kentuckian to win the Democratic nomination for US Senate. In 2020, he lost the nomination to Amy McGrath in a bid to take on then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. He's seeking to unseat Paul this year, though a January 2022 poll found the incumbent Republican led Booker by 16 points. "The pain of our past persists to this day," Booker intones over an image of a noose hanging outside the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. "In Kentucky, like many states throughout the South, lynching was a tool of terror. It was used to kill hopes for freedom." The Kentucky Democrat then appears with a noose around his neck. "It was used to kill my ancestors," he says. Booker goes on to note Paul's comments comparing a right to healthcare to slavery, his comments criticizing the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act, and the fact that he blocked an anti-lynching law from being passed in 2020. "The choice couldn't be clearer," says Booker as he grips the noose. "Do we move forward together, or do we let politicians like Rand Paul forever hold us back and drive us apart?" Paul was the lone senator to block the speedy passage of the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act in 2020 making lynching a federal hate crime. He argued at the time that lynching prosecutions should be limited to "crimes resulting in substantial risk of death and extreme physical pain." But Paul went on to co-sponsor an amended version of the bill this year, which passed both chambers and was signed into law by President Joe Biden in March. In a March op-ed for the Louisville Courier-Journal, Paul explained why he sought an amendment to the original bill. Story continues Reached by Insider for comment, Paul's deputy campaign manager Jake Cox pointed the op-ed. "Dr. Paul worked diligently to strengthen the language of this legislation and is a cosponsor of the bill that now ensures that federal law will define lynching as the absolutely heinous crime that it is," he said. "Any attempt to state otherwise is a desperate misrepresentation of the facts." But the Kentucky Republican, a self-styled libertarian and the son of former Texas congressman and three-time presidential candidate Ron Paul, did compare the right to healthcare to slavery during a Senate hearing in 2011. "With regard to the idea whether or not you have a right to health care you have to realize what that implies," he said at the time. "I am a physician. You have a right to come to my house and conscript me. It means you believe in slavery." As for the Civil Rights Act, Paul has denied being opposed to the landmark 1964 legislation. "I've never been against the Civil Rights Act, ever," he told an audience at Howard University in 2013. However, he did express reservations with the bill's ramifications for private property rights, telling the Louisville Courier Journal in 2010 that "in a free society, we will tolerate boorish people, who have abhorrent behavior." "I think it's a bad business decision to exclude anybody from your restaurant," he also said. "But, at the same time, I do believe in private ownership." Read the original article on Business Insider Finland's ambassador to Singapore, Antti Vanska (right) and with Singapore's President Halimah Yacob (left). (PHOTOS: Embassy of Finland in Singapore) SINGAPORE Finland was pushed to seek membership with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as Russias blatant invasion of Ukraine has transformed the Nordic countrys security thinking, said its ambassador to Singapore, Antti Vanska. In a recent interview with Yahoo News Singapore, Vanska said Finland experienced a very profound change in its security surroundings after its giant neighbour attacked Ukraine on 24 February this year. So that was a major shift in our part of the world, which we interpret in Finland as a reasonably big enough reason to change our security solutions. So that made us apply for NATO membership, in order to increase our national security, said Vanska. His comments came after Finland and neighbouring Sweden applied on 18 May to join NATO and are awaiting approval. The applications must be unanimously approved by all 30 NATO members before the two countries can join the alliance. Finland anchors its security framework on the Finnish Defence Forces and extensive international cooperation. With a conscription army and a large pool of reservists, Finland can fully mobilise up to around 900,000 personnel out of a population of about 5.5 million people in the event of a war. When asked how Finland can contribute to NATO, Vanska said his country has a highly capable and strong national defence system within a modern society. Finland is already totally interoperable with the alliance despite not being a member, and has participated in NATO-led crisis operations in places such as Afghanistan, Kosovo and Iraq, according to Vanska. Members of the MPK, the National Defence Training Association of Finland, at a military base in Helsinki, on 14 May 2022. (PHOTO: AFP via Getty Images) In addition, NATO is not just a military alliance but also a political grouping, Vanska said. Finlands political views are compatible with NATO's thinking, with both sides forging an easy connection. Objections against NATO expansion Support from the Finnish people for NATO membership has surged from around 30 per cent traditionally to around 70 per cent recently, with strong support across the political parties and Parliament in Helsinki due to the war in Ukraine, Vanska said. Story continues However, NATO member Turkey opposes the inclusion of Finland and Sweden in the alliance, accusing the Nordic countries of harbouring individuals whom it claims to be terrorists, including those from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Ankara also opposes the decisions by Finland and Sweden in 2019 to stop arms exports to Turkey. When asked about the objections, Vanska said he is not overly concerned as Finland and NATO have been engaging with Turkey at various diplomatic levels to address Ankaras concerns. The two countries have very good relations and have cooperated within the United Nations in peace mediation initiatives, he added. Finland's Ambassador to NATO Klaus Korhonen, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Sweden's Ambassador to NATO Axel Wernhoff attend a ceremony to mark Sweden's and Finland's application for membership in Brussels on 18 May 2022. (PHOTO: Reuters) Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin signalled in Moscow last month a softening in the Kremlins objection to Finland and Swedens decision to join NATO, saying that the alliances expansion does not pose a direct threat to Russia. However, he warned that "expansion of military infrastructure into this territory will certainly cause our response. Russias longstanding opposition to NATOs expansion does not come as a surprise, Vanska said. Finland, as a sovereign country, makes these decisions by itself. NATO is a defence alliance so it's not threatening Russia, and that would be important for Russia to understand. Ultimately, ties with Russia have been adversely affected and Finland was compelled like many countries including Singapore to condemn the Kremlins violation of international law and order, Vanska said. Many Finnish companies with extensive investments in Russia have either suspended or shut their operations there as they have lost confidence in doing business with their neighbour, according to Vanska. The economic impact on Finland has not been significant as trade with Russia accounts for less than 10 per cent of its overall trade, he added. WWII transformed Finlands culture Finlands preoccupation with security planning also stems from its recent tumultuous history with the Soviet Union the predecessor state of Russia. The two countries fought two wars during World War II: the Winter War from late 1939 to early 1940, and the Continuation War from 1941 to 1944. Finland suffered about 300,000 total casualties including about 90,000 deaths in the wars, and ceded significant territories to the Soviet Union. As a result of its experience in WWII, Finland has since been adopting a stance of neutrality, particularly in relation to the Soviet Union and later Russia, with whom it shares a 1,340km border. Just a few days before Finland formally applied for NATO membership, its Prime Minister Sanna Marin said in Helsinki, When we look at Russia, we see a very different kind of Russia today than we saw just a few months ago. We cannot trust anymore that there will be a peaceful future next to Russia on our own. On the decision to join NATO, she alluded to Finlands WWII trauma and said, Its an act of peace so that there would never again be war in Finland. Finnish troops on outpost duty at the Finnish-Russian front on 17 October 1939 just before the Winter War. (PHOTO: Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Vanska said Finlands WWII experience has shaped its mentality and deeply embedded meticulous security planning as part of Finnish culture. Finns know that wars are catastrophic, they lead to human tragedy and loss. We have experienced that ourselves. So it has been a very heavy, historic experience and because of that, we have a culture that we need to be prepared for the worst. While Finland aspires to have good neighbourly relations with Russia, the current situation is deplorable, and Vanska expressed pessimism about a bilateral reset in the near term. I hope that someday Russia will become a modern, democratic and prosperous country that is capable of living in peace with all its neighbours but that is not happening now. The future does not look good. Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore HELSINKI (Reuters) -Finland and Sweden said on Wednesday they would continue a dialogue with Turkey over their bids for NATO membership, but did not say whether there had been progress on overcoming Ankara's objections to their joining the military alliance. The Nordic neighbours applied to join NATO last month in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but they have faced resistance from Turkey, which accuses them of being safe havens for Kurdish militants and wants them to scrap arms export bans. "Together with Sweden, we will do our homework and prepare for the questions Turkey has," Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told reporters in Helsinki, commenting on talks that took place in Ankara last week. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said during a visit to Washington that he would convene senior officials from Finland, Sweden and Turkey in Brussels in the coming days to discuss the issue. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, after meeting Stoltenberg, said NATO members' security concerns should be taken into consideration, but said he was confident the accession process for Finland and Sweden would move forward. A bid to join NATO requires unanimous backing from the alliance's current 30 member states. Speaking at an event in Stockholm, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said she expected constructive meetings with Turkey to take place in the near future. "Our responses to demands and also questions from Turkey we will take up directly with Turkey and also sort out any issues and misunderstandings that there might be," she said. Haavisto said he saw no need for the legislative changes related to terrorism that were demanded by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday. Turkey has accused Finland and Sweden of harbouring people linked to groups it deems terrorist organisations, including the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), but Haavisto said the PKK was already considered a terrorist group by all EU members, including Finland. Story continues Haavisto gave no timeline for the ongoing talks with Ankara, but struck an optimistic note. "Perhaps such a thought still exists that at the Madrid summit, NATO could have something positive to tell about expansion," he said, referring to a meeting of the alliance due to be held in Spain at the end of this month. (Reporting by Essi Lehto and Anne Kauranen in Helsinki; additional reporting by Simon Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk in WashingtonEditing by Terje Solsvik and Helen Popper) The Georgia Department of Public Health on Wednesday announced the states first suspected case of monkeypox virus. DPH said a man who lives in metro Atlanta with a history of international travel has shown symptoms, but more testing is needed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to confirm the case. In the meantime, a DPH spokeswoman said the man is being monitored and the agency is doing contact tracing to find people he may have had contact with recently. The man was ordered into isolation and the length of time he must isolate depends on when his symptoms clear up. The CDC is tracking 18 confirmed cases in the U.S. including Georgias case and others in California, Utah, Massachusetts, and Florida. USAT reporting: Monkeypox is now in 7 states. US health officials urge awareness, not fear. What to know: CDC issues monkeypox warning advising travelers to 'practice enhanced precautions' More info: Monkeypox is in the US: Here's what you need to know. According to the Associated Press, Rosamund Lewis, the World Health Organizations technical lead for monkeypox research, confirmed that cases have been recorded across 30 different countries. She told CNN on Tuesday that the global outbreak is quite different than the norm, because its happening simultaneously in several places at once. Were seeing cases all appearing in a relatively short period of time. Were seeing that in a few days, in a couple of weeks, were seeing over 500 cases, Lewis said. This is different. This has not been seen before. Closer look: Rare monkeypox cases around the world Monkeypox has not previously triggered widespread outbreaks beyond Africa, where it is endemic. Health authorities are expressing concern about the unusual uptick but also stress that the virus is far less transmissible than the coronavirus. In July 2021, Georgia monitored more than 40 people for suspected cases of monkeypox, but ultimately none tested positive. More than 200 people in the U.S. were monitored after coming into contact with an individual who contracted monkeypox before taking a July flight from Nigeria to Atlanta and then to Dallas. Story continues Many of the current cases are travel-associated and occurred in men, according to Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the CDCs Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology. None of these people with confirmed or suspected monkeypox reported having recently been in central or west African countries where monkeypox usually occurs, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria, according to the CDC. The CDC released a level-2 alert last week , advising people to practice enhanced precautions and warning that the disease can be fatal in up to 11% of people who become infected. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is shown March 15, 2020, in Atlanta. The CDC says the risk to the general public is low but people should avoid close contact with anyone suspected of having the virus and seek medical care immediately if they develop new, unexplained skin rash or lesions on any part of the body, with or without fever and chills. A leading adviser to the World Health Organization has described the unprecedented outbreak of monkeypox in developed countries as a random event that appears to have been traced back to sexual activity at two recent raves in Europe. Health officials say most of the known cases in Europe have been among men who have sex with men, but anyone can be infected through close contact with a sick person, their clothing or bedsheets. Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted infection, and anyone can become infected regardless of sexual orientation, according to health officials. Early symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, back pain, muscle aches and low energy. The virus can go on to cause rash and lesions on the face or genitals. The lesions or papules, become blisters filled with white fluid. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported an imported monkeypox case identified in Maryland on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021. The CDC says there is no proven, safe treatment for monkeypox but smallpox vaccines and antiviral treatments can be used to help control outbreaks. President Biden has assured Americans that the United States has enough vaccine stocks to address the threat. The U.S. emergency stockpile holds two vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration that could be used to contain monkeypox, CDC officials have said. The stockpile contains more than 100 million doses of the original smallpox vaccine. But that vaccine can have serious side effects and shouldnt be given to certain patients, including those who are immunocompromised. A newer vaccine, called Jynneos, was approved in 2019 for prevention of both smallpox and monkeypox. The U.S. has more than 1,000 doses of the Jynneos vaccine in stock and is releasing some, according to McQuiston. The vaccines that protect against smallpox havent been part of standard childhood immunizations since the 1970s. Smallpox was declared eradicated worldwide in 1980. As a result, most people under the age of 50 have no immunity to this kind of virus. Monkeypox was first discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research, hence the name monkeypox. In 2003, the United States recorded dozens of monkeypox cases that were traced to infected pet prairie dogs. The pets were infected after being housed near imported small mammals from Ghana. That was the first time that human monkeypox was reported outside of Africa. The Associated Press contributed to this report This story was made possible through a partnership between the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Savannah Morning News. This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: First case of monkeypox confirmed in Atlanta, Georgia Corey Anderson, 18, was arrested at a residence in Lutz, Florida, after authorities were tipped off about his posts. JANIFEST/Getty Images Authorities were tipped off to a social media post from Florida resident Corey Anderson, 18. Anderson posted snaps of himself with what looked to be firearms, authorities said. The caption to some of Anderson's images read: "Hey Siri, directions to the nearest school." A Florida man was arrested this week for posting social media snaps of himself with what appeared to be firearms, then captioning some of the images asking for directions to the nearest school. Corey Anderson, 18, was arrested at a residence in Lutz after authorities were tipped off about his posts, said a news release from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. Anderson had uploaded photos of what looked to be firearms, including a handgun, a rifle, and a tactical style vest, per the Sheriff's Office. The release said Anderson's caption for several of the images he posted read: "Hey Siri, directions to the nearest school." Anderson's threat came just over a week after a horrific mass shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. At least 21 people, including 19 children, were killed after an 18-year-old gunman barricaded himself in a classroom and opened fire. The Sheriff's Office said it later found that the handgun and the rifle featured in Anderson's images were airsoft guns, which shoot pellets instead of real bullets. They then charged Anderson with a written or electronic threat to conduct a mass shooting. "This type of threat is unacceptable. This man intentionally instilled fear into our community as a sick joke, but be warned, this is no laughing matter," said Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, per the release. He added that his office would do everything it could to apprehend and charge people like Anderson who make threats to schools. "We take school threats very seriously, if you see something suspicious, please contact us immediately," Chronister said. Anderson's arrest came just a day after a 10-year-old in Florida threatened to shoot up the Patriot Elementary School in Cape Coral. "Right now is not the time to act like a little delinquent," said Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno in a statement. "It's not funny. This child made a fake threat, and now he's experiencing real consequences." Read the original article on Business Insider Police in Florida have been criticised for revealing the identity of a fifth-grader and perp-walking him for allegedly threatening to conduct a mass shooting. The Lee County Sheriffs Office said they were tipped off about a threatening text message sent by a fifth-grade student at Patriot Elementary School in Cape Coral on 28 May. The incident came just days after 18-year-old Salvador Ramos went on a shooting spree, killing 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on 24 May. Although the shooter was gunned down, the local police were accused of not acting promptly and wasting up to an hour. The Lee County Sheriffs Office in a statement on Saturday said: The School Threat Enforcement Team was immediately notified and began analytical research. Due to the nature of the incident, the Youth Services Criminal Investigations Division assumed the case. Officers then interviewed the minor and arrested him for making a written threat to conduct a mass shooting. Right now is not the time to act like a little delinquent. Its not funny. This child made a fake threat, and now hes experiencing real consequences, sheriff Carmine Marceno said. The sheriffs office released the childs name, a mugshot and the arrest video, revealing the minors identity to the public. A video shared on Facebook showed the boy dressed in a hoodie and shorts, with his hands cuffed behind his back, being taken to a car by an officer. According to Mr Marceno, the schools threat assessment team received the text message that the boy sent to a classmate, where he said get ready for water day along with the image of an assault rifle taken from the internet. I did a campaign: fake threat, real consequence. While I understand the boy is 10 years old, his brains not fully developed, hes a juvenile, I have to tell you: when a 10-year-old presses a trigger, the aftermath is the same regardless of the age, the sheriff said. Story continues You dont get to come into one of my schools in my county and present deadly force. Because we meet deadly force with deadly force, without one second, without hesitation, Mr Marceno added. If you think youre going to come and kill a child, a teacher or a faculty member, think again we will kill you immediately. Congressman Byron Donalds on Monday praised the authorities. Fake threats come with real consequences, and I applaud the dedicated professionals of the Lee County Sheriffs Office for taking action and providing peace of mind to our community". In my district, fake threats come with REAL consequences, and I applaud the dedicated professionals of the Lee County Sheriff's Office for taking action and providing peace of mind to our community. We don't mess around in Florida. https://t.co/qva1bk5gn9 Congressman Byron Donalds (@RepDonaldsPress) May 31, 2022 Many others, however, tore into the police for bringing the child a lifetime of shame. The sheriff has already determined that the threat was fake but made a choice to plaster his name and image on social and traditional media, Facebook user Aura Bogado commented on the sheriffs video. None of that makes anyone safer; it only guarantees a lifetime of shame for a literal child who obviously made a huge mistake but doesnt deserve this. Another user, Valerie Faye, questioned the sheriff's office. Why are you showing his face? He is a minor. Unless he is being charged as an adult, this isnt ok. Of course he needs to face consequences, but he is hopefully young enough to get the help he needs. Putting this video out is horribly inappropriate, wrote Kim Rippere. You just publicly shamed and gave away the identity of a child because he had a popular misdemeanour, added Justin Ruby. A former Macomb County treasurer, who also served as chief of operations for ex-Prosecutor Eric Smith, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge in the forfeiture fund embezzlement case that centers around his former boss. Derek Miller, 38, is the third defendant to plead in the case after businessman William Weber and Smith's former chief assistant prosecutor, Benjamin Liston. Weber and Liston pleaded guilty in 41-B District Court in Clinton Township a year or more ago and are awaiting sentencing. Former Macomb County treasurer Derek Miller, who was chief of operations for ex-Macomb County prosecutor Eric Smith, during a circuit court appearance, held via Zoom, on June 1, 2022. Miller, who resigned from the county in February, pleaded guilty to the 90-day misdemeanor charge of a public official refusing/neglecting to account for county money. A sentencing date of Aug. 10 is set, but that date may be adjourned if Smith's case isn't wrapped up by then. As part of his plea, Miller is agreeing to testify, if necessary, at all future proceedings in the case against Smith. If the plea is accepted by the court and Miller fulfills the terms in the plea agreement, the state attorney general, at sentencing, will dismiss the two felony charges against Miller, according to the agreement. Miller "will not be sentenced to incarceration, and the People will not object to Defendant's request for relief under MCL 771.1(2)," which deals with probation and delayed sentencing and could see the eventual dismissal of the case. From left, Former assistant prosecutor Derek Miller listens to testimony with his attorney Steve Fishman before his preliminary exam in front of visiting judge Cynthia Arvant inside 41B District Court in Clinton Township on July 9, 2021. Miller briefly answered yes or no questions posed to him from the judge and the state prosecutor about the signed plea agreement. Oakland County Circuit Judge Nanci Grant, who is handling the cases after Macomb County judges recused themselves, previously denied a motion to quash the two felonies against Miller. Prosecutors allege Miller suggested changing the Employer Identification Numbers on the accounts in question. According to the plea agreement, Miller said to Smith and others in June 2018 that the numbers on two of the accounts could be changed to numbers that were not associated with the county. Story continues It states Miller "further acknowledges as true and will testify that the purpose of changing the EINs of these accounts was to secret or hide from the Macomb County Treasurer, the Macomb County Department of Finance, the external accounting auditor for Macomb County, the Macomb County Board of Commissioners, and ultimately the public, the financial specifics or facts concerning these accounts holding public county funds and to refuse the accounting of these public monies, in violation of law." It states Miller "also acknowledges as true and will testify that Eric Smith agreed to this scheme or conspiracy" and requested Miller to go to the bank holding these accounts with Smith's former administrative secretary, which Miller did. The plea agreement also states Miller "acknowledges and will testify that later, in November of 2018, he verbally refused the Macomb County treasurer's request to change these accounts EINs back to county-associated EINs, and further refused to transfer these accounts to the county treasurer's custody, in violation of law." More: Ex-Macomb prosecutor Eric Smith at sentencing says he made very poor decisions, choices More: Former Macomb chief assistant prosecutor pleads guilty to misdemeanors Smith is facing 10 charges in the probe, with state prosecutors alleging he embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from his former office's drug and forfeiture funds for personal and unauthorized business expenses during the course of several years. In April, one of his attorneys, John Dakmak, told Grant there have been some conversations about a potential resolution in the case. Assistant Attorney General Michael Frezza on Wednesday requested another pretrial be set should an agreement be reached with Smith, though he said prosecutors don't have one at this time. A pretrial is set for June 29, the day before Smith, 55, of Macomb Township, is to surrender to the Federal Bureau of Prisons in an unrelated federal case in which he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice charges after he was accused of stealing money from his campaign fund in a kickback scheme. Last month, a federal court judge in Detroit signed an order for a new date for Smith to surrender to federal prison on or after June 15, but no later than June 30. Smith was sentenced Feb. 16 to 21 months in federal prison and initially was to report within 90 days of his sentencing, or in mid-May. He pleaded guilty in federal court in January 2021 after being accused of stealing just under $75,000 from his campaign fund from 2012 to 2019. Former Macomb County prosecutor Eric Smith walks outside the United States District Court in Detroit on Feb. 16, 2022. Smith was sentenced for stealing money from his campaign fund. More: Ex-Macomb prosecutor Eric Smith is a free man for a little longer The delay for Smith to surrender was made because his attorneys didn't have a "clear status" of his embezzlement case, Dakmak previously told the Free Press. Dakmak asked Grant on Wednesday if both sides could appear before her before the June 29 court date if there is cause. Grant said that would be no problem and "that's a phone call away." A final pretrial date was set for Aug. 24. Dakmak previously acknowledged the request with the federal court was "not the norm, but each case is its own circumstances and characteristics. It's appreciated when a judge considers the uniqueness of any particular case." Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith Smith served as a longtime prosecutor in Michigan's third-most populous county, overseeing everything from low-level misdemeanors to notorious cases, including Stephen Grant, who killed and dismembered his wife in a case that made national headlines. He resigned on March 30, 2020, less than a week after he was charged in the embezzlement probe. Liston pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor charges of willful neglect of duty by a public officer holding public trust in September 2020. State prosecutors said he used some of the funds for personal laptops, travel expenses to his Arizona residence and a piece of sound equipment. Former Macomb County chief assistant prosecutor Benjamin Liston, far right wearing a green tie, at a plea hearing with his attorney, Michael Manley, and Judge Cynthia Arvant in 41-B District Court in Clinton Township on Sept. 17, 2020. As part of the plea agreement, Liston will be sentenced to 60 days in the county jail, will relinquish his law license in Michigan and will pay nearly $16,000 in restitution to the county. He also has to cooperate in the ongoing prosecution of the embezzlement case, including to testify truthfully about Smith. Four felony charges filed against Liston will be dropped as part of the plea agreement that he signed. More: Businessman: Ex-Macomb prosecutor tried to 'disguise' security work done at his home Weber, owner of Weber Security Group, pleaded guilty in June 2021 to a misdemeanor charge of conspiracy to commit a legal act in an illegal manner. He admitted to falsifying an invoice at Smith's request for a security system installation at Smith's home to make it appear that it was installed at the prosecutor's office in Mount Clemens. The Attorney General's Office said Smith asked Weber to produce the false invoice in response to a subpoena in a pending circuit court action. Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter. Support local journalism. Subscribe to the Free Press. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ex-Macomb treasurer Derek Miller pleads guilty in embezzlement case On May 31, 2022 local time, King of Tonga Tupou VI met with visiting State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Nuku'alofa. Tupou VI asked Wang Yi to convey his cordial greetings to President Xi Jinping and recalled with pleasure the friendly exchanges he had with President Xi Jinping during his visit to China in 2018 and their successful phone conversation last September. He said, since the establishment of diplomatic ties between Tonga and China 24 years ago, bilateral relations have been developing with great vigor. When Tonga was confronted with the quadruple challenges of the volcano, tsunami, flight interruption and the COVID-19 pandemic, China came to its assistance from thousands of miles away, winning wide praise and heartfelt thanks from the Tongan people. Facts have proved that the friendship with China has always been reflected by concrete actions rather than empty promises. Tonga firmly pursues the one-China principle and will continue to take it as the cornerstone to continuously push forward bilateral relations. Tupou VI said that he was glad to see the success of the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting and thanked the Chinese delegation for paying a visit to South Pacific Island Countries despite the pandemic. Some people have made some comments on the cooperation between Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and China, but sovereign states have the right to opt for how they get along with other countries. Wang Yi conveyed President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings, saying that His Majesty the King, who had personally facilitated the establishment of diplomatic ties with China as early as when he served as Foreign Minister, is a founder and important promoter of bilateral relations. Under the guidance of the two heads of state, China-Tonga relations have always maintained a steady and sound momentum of development. After the volcanic eruption caused a disaster in Tonga, President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolence at the earliest time possible, and various departments of China took immediate action and raced against time to deliver relief materials. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, China has provided Tonga with many batches of emergency anti-pandemic supplies in a timely manner. The friendship between the two countries has been further elevated during disaster relief and the fight against the pandemic. China will, as always, respect Tonga's unique national conditions and governance model, and support Tonga in safeguarding its independence, sovereignty and social stability. China wishes the Tongan people a happy life and better development. Wang Yi said, this visit to Tonga, which is a part of his trip to the South Pacific region, embodies a concrete action to practice the diplomatic philosophy that all countries, big or small, are equal, and China will take specific measures to support Tonga in speeding up post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. We will prove with facts that this trip to the South Pacific region is a trip of friendship and cooperation. China is also a developing country. We have a deep understanding of the legitimate needs and urgent aspirations of developing countries, especially small and medium-sized ones, and we are ready to do our utmost to help developing countries catch up with the trend of the times and accelerate development and revitalization. China hopes that the world can be truly fair and all countries are truly equal. Tupou VI highly appreciated China's efforts to set up a reserve of emergency supplies for PICs and carry out cooperation in poverty alleviation, climate change response and others. Wang Yi said, China has set up six new platforms specifically for PICs, including poverty reduction and development, climate action, disaster preparedness and mitigation, agricultural cooperation, and Juncao technology. China is ready to share its development experience with PICs and provide support in talent, technology, finance and other aspects to help PICs enhance their capacity for self-driven development. After the meeting, Wang Yi met with Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni and attended the signing ceremony of cooperation documents on disaster prevention and mitigation, agriculture and fisheries, health and others. On the same day, Wang Yi held talks with Tongan Foreign Minister Fekitamoeloa Katoa 'Utoikamanu. MADRID (AP) Spanish police have found a 46-year-old former princess of Qatar dead in her bed at home in southern Spain, authorities said Wednesday. Kasia Gallanio was found dead Sunday morning in her apartment in Marbella, a Malaga province a police spokeswoman said. Police went to the house after receiving a call from one of Gallanios daughters in France, who said her mother had not been returning calls, the spokeswoman said. Police entered the house with the help of a janitor at the apartment complex and found Gallanio in bed, with no signs of violence, according to the spokeswoman who spoke on condition of anonymity, in line with her departments rules. She said Gallanio had U.S. nationality and was 46. An autopsy is due to ascertain the cause of death. Gallanio was married to Abdelaziz bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the 73-year-old uncle of the Emir of Qatar, according to French newspaper Le Parisien. They had three children and fought a long custody battle over them. Gallanio accused her former husband of sexual assault against one of the children. He denied the allegation. The children live with their father in Paris, according to Le Parisien. Gareth Bale has thanked Real Madrid for making his football dream come true (Nick Potts/PA) (PA Wire) Gareth Bale has marked the end of his Real Madrid career by thanking the club for making his football dream come true. Bales nine-year spell in Madrid ended on Saturday when he was a non-playing substitute in Reals Champions League final victory over Liverpool in Paris. The Wales captain became the first British player to win the Champions League on five occasions, while he also won three LaLiga titles and multiple Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup crowns. I write this message to say thank you to all my team mates past and present, my managers, the backroom staff, and to the fans that supported me, Bale posted on his personal Twitter account. I arrived here 9 years ago as a young man who wanted to realise my dream of playing for Real Madrid. To wear the pristine white kit, to wear the crest on my chest, to play at the Santiago Bernabeu, to win titles and be part of what its so famous for, to win the Champions League. I can now look back, reflect and say with honesty that this dream became a reality and much, much more. Gareth Bale celebrates scoring against Liverpool in Real Madrids 2018 Champions League final win (Nick Potts/PA) (PA Archive) To be a part of this clubs history and to achieve what we achieved while I was a Real Madrid player has been an incredible experience and one I will never forget. I also want to thank President Florentino Perez, Jose Angel Sanchez and the board for giving me the opportunity to play for this club. Together we were able to create some moments that will live forever in the history of this club and football. It has been an honour. Thank you! HALA MADRID! Bale joined Real from Tottenham in 2013 for a then world record fee of 85million. Story continues The 32-year-old scored more than 100 goals for Real, three of them coming in Champions League finals, with his stunning overhead kick against Liverpool in 2018 proving decisive. Bales relationship with Real fans and the Madrid media had soured in recent seasons, with his commitment to the club questioned in the Spanish capital. He was accused of being more interested in playing golf and for Wales, rather than for Real, and was often absent because of injury issues. Bale spent the 2020-21 season on loan at Tottenham and, in another injury-hit campaign, made just seven appearances in his final year at Real. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on June 1, 2022. Abdulhamid Hosbas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Germany said Tuesday it will send heavy weapons to Ukraine, after criticism for its slow supply. Leaked documents found that Germany had sent hardly any supplies to Ukraine since March 30. Vladimir Putin has pressured countries like Germany to limit their help for Ukraine. Germany said Tuesday that it will send heavy weapons to Ukraine, following criticism that it was holding back arms in apparent deference to Vladimir Putin. After Russia invaded Ukraine, Germany stepped up its commitment to NATO pledging to meet the suggested threshold of 2% of spending on defense but Chancellor Olaf Scholz has since been accused of inaction. German opposition leader Friedrich Merz accused Scholz of "dithering and timidity" last month. Speaking to Germany's parliament Wednesday, Scholz scrambled to defend his government's record, and said Germany would send Ukraine IRIS-T anti-aircraft systems. Scholz also said Germany had sent plenty of equipment to Ukraine, listing 15 million rounds of ammunition, 100,000 hand grenades, and than 5,000 anti-tank mines. However, leaked documents published Tuesday by the Welt am Sonntag newspaper on Tuesday showed that Germany has sent only two deliveries of weapons to Ukraine since March 30. The documents also show that Ukraine asked Germany for Harpoon anti-ship missiles, but Germany did not grant the request, Welt am Sonntag reported. (Welt and Insider share a parent company, Axel Springer.) The slowdown came as Russian was pressuring Ukraine's allies not to send it powerful military equipment. In a call on Saturday, Putin warned Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron against sending arms to Ukraine, saying it would risk "further destabilization of the situation." In recent weeks, Ukraine has begged the West to supply it with stronger gear, such as long-range missile systems, so it can continue its efforts to drive Russian forces out of the country. In a statement Tuesday night, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: "Everyone at all levels must now be lobbyists for the supply of modern heavy weapons and modern artillery to our state. All those systems that can really speed up the victory of Ukraine." Story continues Experts recently told Insider that the current state of Russia's invasion is about to freeze, with the front lines staying more fixed and combat becoming more attritional, meaning long range weapons will become more important. President Joe Biden said Monday that the US would not supply Ukraine with long range missile systems capable of reaching Russian territory. However, in an op-ed for The New York Times published Tuesday, Biden wrote that the US will send Ukraine a number of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, which have a a range of 48 miles. Read the original article on Business Insider KYIV, Ukraine (AP) The U.S. and Germany pledged Wednesday to equip Ukraine with some of the advanced weapons it has long desired for shooting down aircraft and knocking out artillery, as Russian forces closed in on capturing a key city in the east. Germany said it will supply Ukraine with up-to-date anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems, while the U.S. announced it will provide four sophisticated, medium-range rocket systems and ammunition. The U.S. is trying to help Ukraine fend off the Russians without triggering a wider war in Europe. The Pentagon said it received assurances that Ukraine will not fire the new rockets into Russian territory. The Kremlin accused the U.S. of pouring fuel on the fire. Western arms have been critical to Ukraines success in stymieing Russias much larger and better-equipped military, thwarting its effort to storm the capital and forcing Moscow to shift its focus to the industrial Donbas region in the east. But as Russia bombards towns in its inching advance in the east, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly pleaded for more and better weapons and accused the West of moving too slowly. Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian presidents office, hailed the new Western weapons. Im sure that if we receive all the necessary weapons and strengthen the efficient sanctions regime we will win, he said. The new arms could help Ukraine set up and hold new lines of defense in the east by hitting back at Russian artillery pieces that have been battering towns and cities and by limiting Russian airstrikes, said retired French Gen. Dominique Trinquand, a former head of Frances military mission at the United Nations. "The NATO countries the European nations and the Americans have progressively escalated the means that they are putting at Ukraines disposal, and this escalation, in my opinion, has had the aim of testing Russian limits, he said. Each time, they measure the Russian reaction, and since there is no reaction, they keep supplying increasingly effective and sophisticated weaponry. Story continues Military analysts say Russia is hoping to overrun the Donbas before any weapons that might turn the tide arrive. It will take at least three weeks to get the precision U.S. weapons and trained troops onto the battlefield, the Pentagon said. But Defense Undersecretary Colin Kahl said he believes they will arrive in time to make a difference in the fight. The rocket systems are part of a new $700 million package of security assistance for Ukraine from the U.S. that also includes helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, radars, tactical vehicles, spare parts and more. The rockets have a range of about 50 miles (80 kilometers) and are highly mobile. Ukraine had pushed unsuccessfully for rockets with a range of up to 186 miles (300 kilometers). Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow does not trust assurances that Ukraine will not fire on Russian territory. We believe that the U.S. is deliberately and diligently pouring fuel on the fire, he said. Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintzev later went further, directly accusing Ukraine of planning to fire U.S.-provided missiles from the northeastern Sumy region at border areas in Russia. The claim, which he said was based on radio intercepts, couldnt be independently confirmed. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Ukraines push for more weapons is a direct provocation intended to draw the West into the fighting. He warned that the multiple rocket launchers would raise the risk of an expanded conflict. Sane Western politicians understand those risks well, he said. As the new weapons shipments were announced, a Russian missile hit rail lines in the western Lviv region, a key conduit for supplies of Western weapons and other supplies, officials said. Regional Gov. Maksym Kozytskyy said five people were wounded in Wednesday's strike, and the head of Ukrainian railways said the damage was still being assessed. Germany's promise of IRIS-T air defense systems would mark the first delivery of long-range air defense weapons to Ukraine since the start of the war. Earlier deliveries of portable, shoulder-fired air defense missiles have bolstered the Ukrainian militarys ability to take down helicopters and other low-flying aircraft but didnt give it enough range to challenge Russias air superiority. Germany has come under particular criticism, both at home and from allies abroad, that it isnt doing enough. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told lawmakers that the IRIS-T's surface-to-air missiles are the most modern air defense system the country has. With this, we will enable Ukraine to defend an entire city from Russian air attacks, he said. The radar systems will also help Ukraine locate enemy artillery. A regional governor said Russian forces now control 80% of Sievierodonetsk, a city that is key to Moscows efforts to complete its capture of the Donbas, where Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists have fought for years and where the separatists held swaths of territory even before the invasion. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said Russian troops were advancing in the city during fierce street battles with Ukrainian forces, though he noted that in some districts the Ukrainian troops managed to push them back. The only other city in Luhansk that the Russians have not yet captured, Lysychansk, is still fully under Ukrainian control, he said, but is likely to be the next target. The two cities are separated by a river. If the Russians manage to take full control over Sievierodonetsk within two to three days, they will start installing artillery and mortars and will shell Lysychansk more intensively, Haidai said. Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said the country is losing between 60 and 100 soldiers a day in the fighting. He turned the focus to children in his nightly video address, saying 243 of them have been killed in the war, 446 have been wounded and 139 are missing. The real numbers could be higher, he added, as his government doesnt have a full picture of areas under Russian occupation. Zelenskyy also said 200,000 children are among the Ukrainians who have been forcefully taken to Russia and dispersed across that vast country: The purpose of this criminal policy is not just to steal people but to make those who are deported forget about Ukraine and unable to return. In southern Ukraine, a regional governor sounded a more positive note, saying Russian troops were retreating and blowing up bridges behind them. They are afraid of a counterattack by the Ukrainian army, Vitaliy Kim, governor of the Mykolayiv region, said on the Telegram messaging app. ___ Jordans reported from Berlin. Associated Press writers Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine, Lolita C. Baldor in Washington and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine A would-be robber and an employee were shot Tuesday afternoon during a botched robbery at a cellphone store location in Baltimore, police said. Northeast District police responded to a shooting about 1:40 p.m. Tuesday at the Metro PCS store in the 5400 block of Sinclair Lane in Frankford. Officers found two men suffering from gunshot wounds that were non-life-threatening, police said. They were taken to the hospital. The alleged robber walked into the store about 1:25 p.m. seeking customer service but employees told him they would not be able to assist him, a news release said. He then left the store but returned a short time later with a handgun and announced a robbery, police said. An employee wrestled the robber for the gun, but it discharged and struck the other employee in the leg, according to police. The handgun then fell to the floor at which time the victim, who had been shot in the leg, picked up the handgun and shot the suspect in the abdomen, the release said. The investigation is ongoing and police didnt identify the suspect. He will be charged with attempted armed robbery, reckless endangerment and handgun violations after he is released from the hospital, police said. Several hours later, a 16-year-old boy was shot in the arm while he was inside a store in Upton. Central District officers were in the 1800 block of Pennsylvania about 5:25 p.m. when they were flagged down by the victim, according to a release. He was taken to a hospital. The victim told police someone had shot him in the left forearm through a window from outside the store at 1841 Pennsylvania Ave. before fleeing on foot, the release said. Anyone with related information is asked to call 410-396-2411 or call Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7lockup. Jun. 1CORTLAND A pair of familiar foes in South Jefferson and Skaneateles squared off yet once again for supremacy in Section 3 girls lacrosse. And once again, there wasn't much separation between the two teams as the outcome went down to the wire. Julia O'Connor scored four goals, including generating the game-winner with 11.6 seconds remaining in regulation to lift the second-seeded Lakers to an 8-7 triumph over the top-seeded Spartans on Tuesday night in Section 3's Class D title game at SUNY Cortland. Goalie Rachelle Cain made seven saves, including five in the second half, to secure the win for Skaneateles (16-3), which claimed its third consecutive sectional title. "It's something special," O'Connor, a junior midfielder, said. "I know our (last) sectional championship the score wasn't as close, but to win it with a goal with 11 seconds left, it's really something cool." The game represented the fifth time South Jefferson has faced Skaneateles in a Section 3 final over the past six seasons. "I'm not surprised at the scoreboard in terms of the goal differential and I think it just ended up being a chess match," South Jefferson coach Jen Williams said. "And I thought they capitalized when they needed to." This meeting featured another suspenseful ending between the two teams, with the decision coming down to the last play. "This is huge, huge," Skaneateles coach Bridget Marquardt said. "(South Jefferson) is a great team, they've been battling all year, they had lost only one game coming in, so we knew we had our hands full. It went back and forth until the end, and we wouldn't expect anything less from them." Macy Shultz, Madelyn Barney and Jordyn Badalato each scored a pair of goals for the Spartans, who finish their season at 17-2. "Skan's a great team, I think we both brought our best today and they just happened to come out on top," Shultz, a senior midfielder, said. Story continues In a tight game that included five lead changes, Shultz scored an unassisted goal off transition as South Jefferson tied the game at 7-7 with 4:03 remaining in regulation. "To get back in it and to tie it up, that was a great feeling," Shultz said. "I knew it was going to be like that the whole game, a one-goal game and it just came down to the end." The Spartans won the ensuing faceoff, but the Lakers made a defensive stop and after calling timeout with 1:36 left, maintained control of the ball until the final seconds. O'Connor broke free and spun her way away from a South Jefferson defender and scored the deciding goal on a low shot from the left side. "She wanted us to shoot with limited time left," O'Connor said of Marquardt. "And then I think I just like saw an opportunity and went for it." "They knew who to get the ball to, she's got fantastic speed and came around the crease and she did a great job of placing it and everything," Williams said of O'Connor. " ,,, It was a good setup and they recognized we were out of our defense that we typically play to try and slow them down a little bit and they capitalized on it." The Spartans won the draw, but were unable to get a shot off despite quickly moving the ball down field. South Jefferson was bidding to win its first sectional title since 2018, when it defeated Skaneateles in the final. "I thought we were evenly matched, I thought their goalie played outstanding and I think that was a game changer right there," Williams said of Cain. The Spartans were edged by the Lakers, 11-10, in the Section 3 final in 2019 and reached the semifinal round last season. In this meeting, South Jefferson built a 4-1 advantage in the first half, capped by a goal from Savannah Hodges with 13:14 left until halftime. But Skaneateles responded with the next three goals to tie the game at 4-4 heading into the half. "We had a 4-1 lead and I thought we should have settled it down a little more," Williams said. "But I trust my seniors and I think they thought they had an opportunity and that turned into two more goals for (Skaneateles) and they put it in when they needed to. And that got them a little momentum." The Lakers took their first lead of the game at 5-4 on a tally from Bella Brogan, who finished with four goals of her own on the night, 3:28 into the second half. Shultz answered by converting on a free-position attempt to tie the game at 5-5 with 19:02 left in regulation. The goal snapped a scoring drought of 19 minutes and 42 seconds by South Jefferson. The Spartans later tied the game once again, this time at 6-6 as Cain stopped Karsyn Burnash's free-position attempt, but Barney was there to fire in the rebound with 10:53 left. Brogan then put the Lakers back in front by finishing off a feed from O'Connor for a 7-6 lead with 8:33 to play. Cain denied South Jefferson on its other three free-position bids in the second half. "Our goalie, we gave her player of the game today," Marquardt said. "She was outstanding and this is her first year in goal, so she played great." "Maybe our shots weren't as accurate as they should have been, but she definitely played a great game and I tip my hat to her on that," Williams said of Cain. "Because we're pretty good shooters and I thought she played it very well." In the possession game, South Jefferson combined to win 14 of 17 faceoffs on night, led by the tandem of Shultz, Burnash and Ireland Morgia, including securing all nine draws in the first half. "You hate them to feel the weight of the last game of the season to come down to this," Williams said. "But it's certainly not an indication of how their play was throughout the season or all the success they've had throughout the years. That's what championships are, it's whoever plays better every single moment of the game, and I thought we had some moments where we had some letdowns and they had some great saves." South Jefferson, which won its fifth consecutive Frontier League this season, defeated Jordan-Elbridge, 25-1, in a home sectional quarterfinal before downing Marcellus, 19-4, in a semifinal last Thursday to reach the final. "This group was special, we had eight seniors who played together since we were young, so it's a really hard loss for us, we're never going to be on the field together again," Shultz said. "But for the younger kids, I think it's a great learning experience and it will only help them in the future." The Charlotte City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the citys $3.2 billion budget for fiscal year 2023. The budget includes pay raises and bonuses for city employees as well as a starting pay increase for people employed by the police and fire departments. It also includes raised fees for some services and street parking, but tax rates wont increase. The 2023 budget will begin on July 1, the start of the citys next fiscal year. Heres a breakdown of some significant items in the budget. TROUBLING BEHAVIOR: See how CMPD will use a new early intervention system Affordable housing The budget includes about $100 million for affordable housing efforts to use toward down payment assistance and the creation and rehabilitation of affordable units. The $100 million will fund: 900 new units 200 units acquired and/or rehabilitated for low- to moderate-income residents 200 down payment assistance loans 60 neighborhood matching grants to award economically-disadvantaged neighborhoods with art, beautification, festivals, special events and public safety 90 physical barriers removed for ADA compliance Programs to increase public safety and beautification Fee increases There are fee increases for services such as solid waste and water. The increase for water would be 3.54%, or about $2.49 a month for the average home owner. The storm water service fee would increase 3.8% on average, about 34 cents a month. Curbside pickup would go up 92 cents a month. Taxes There are also no tax increases, layoffs, furloughs or reductions in core services. City employee pay The approved budget includes salary hikes for some employees at 8% over the next year. The money is meant to help recruit and retain people as companies and municipalities across the country have struggled to find labor. City workers also have protested over their compensation. The city will also set aside $2 million for employees who cant live in the city because they cant afford a deposit or down payment on a home. Story continues The bonuses and pay raises for employees across the city include: 8% raise for all hourly employees. This would go into effect in two stages, with a 4% increase in July and a 4% increase in January. 2% of salary bonus for all hourly, salaried and public safety workers. Theres a $1,000 bonus minimum for those groups. An additional 2.5% salary increase for any worker whose labor requires a commercial drivers license and a 2.5% increase for people working second and third shifts. 4% merit pool raise for all salaried employees who dont work in public safety. 3% increase for all public safety employees. 10.5% increase to the starting pay for all police and fire department employees 9% by July and 10.5% by January. Parking The street parking rate for uptown and South End will jump from $1 an hour to $1.50, and the city will start charging people to park on Saturdays. Charlotte City Manager Marcus Jones said the city hasnt changed rates since the late 90s and expects to generate an additional $700,000 a year from the fee increase. Jones said revenue from the parking fee increase should help deal with cuts the city has seen for street improvement projects. Police compensation The budget includes a 5.5% bump in the police budget to account for increases in compensation, health care and retirement. By Ross Kerber (Reuters) -A majority of shareholders of gunmaker Sturm Ruger & Co voted in favor of a shareholder resolution calling for a human rights impact report, executives said on Wednesday. The company also said all director nominees were elected and that investors approved its auditor and executive pay at its annual shareholder meeting, which was webcast. The passage of the shareholder resolution marked a setback for the Southport, Connecticut-based company, which had opposed the measure. It came after mass shootings in May, including one in Uvalde, Texas where a teenage gunman killed 19 schoolchildren and two teachers, that reopened a long-running U.S. debate over gun control. The resolution, put forward by a nonprofit Roman Catholic health system, said, "The inherent lethality of firearms exposes all gun makers to elevated human rights risks" and that the company lacks sufficient policies or practices to account for product misuse. It said a 2019 report Sturm Ruger had published on its measures to address gun safety "failed to put forward meaningful solutions to address gun violence." After the vote, Sturm Ruger Chief Executive Christopher Killoy said he expects the board will now consider how best to respond, and that the company would give a final voting tally in coming days. Killoy referred to proponents of the measure as "anti-gun activists" and said its passage was "largely due to the support of institutional shareholders, many of whom declined to even speak with us, and others who blindly followed the guidance of ISS (Institutional Shareholder Services) or Glass Lewis." Both top proxy advisers had recommended investors vote for the resolution. Resolution proponent Laura Krausa of Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health said via email that the health system hopes Sturm Ruger will conduct the review. "We know we can find common ground on common-sense approaches" to safety that respect gun ownership rights, she said. (Reporting by Ross Kerber; editing by Jonathan Oatis) Miami Herald As a single-engine Cessna began a tragic descent on May 14 near the Haulover Inlet Bridge, pilot Narciso Torres told his air traffic controller peers in Miami Approach Control: Mayday-Mayday-Mayday ... 54Z, uh, lost engine power. ... I dont know where I am going to put this down, but Im going down right here. On May 31, 2022 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Tongan Foreign Minister Fekitamoeloa Katoa 'Utoikamanu in Nuku'alofa. Wang Yi said, under the guidance and care of the two heads of state, China-Tonga relations have maintained sound and steady development, and mutually beneficial cooperation has yielded fruitful results, bringing tangible benefits to the Tongan people and making positive contributions to regional peace, stability and development. During this visit, the two sides have reached extensive consensus on deepening cooperation in various fields and advancing Belt and Road cooperation, and signed a batch of economic cooperation agreements. The two sides should step up coordination, follow through on the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, and give full play to the positive effect of cooperation, so as to help Tonga's post-disaster reconstruction and economic development. Wang Yi said, an important takeaway from China-Tonga exchanges is that we have always respected and supported each other and lent a helping hand when the other side encountered difficulties and challenges. A friend in need is a friend indeed. Bilateral relations have withstood the test at a critical moment and our friendship has been further elevated. We appreciate Tonga's firm adherence to the one-China principle, understand and support Tonga's efforts to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests, and support Tonga in accelerating development and revitalization and playing an active role in regional and international affairs. China is ready to deepen political mutual trust, cement the foundation of bilateral relations, continue to echo each other in the international arena, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries. 'Utoikamanu said, China is Tonga's long-term and important partner. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, Tonga has clearly felt China's friendship from its strong support and help, which also gives us full confidence in post-disaster reconstruction and defeating the pandemic. Tonga also sticks to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and will continue to firmly adhere to the one-China principle. Tonga and China will continue to respect, trust and support each other, and constantly push forward the bilateral strategic partnership. Tonga will actively participate in Belt and Road cooperation and promote bilateral cooperation in various fields and people-to-people and cultural exchanges. The two sides exchanged views on cooperation between China and Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and agreed to take the opportunity of the just successfully held second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting to advance the implementation of the outcomes of the meeting. Wang Yi said, based on equal-footed full consultation, a new consensus on how to deal with the complex and volatile international and regional situation has been reached at the Foreign Ministers' meeting. That embodies new strides in promoting overall mutual trust and cooperation between China and PICs. After the meeting, China issued the Position Paper on Mutual Respect and Common Development with Pacific Island Countries and put forward the vision and proposal for cooperation in the next stage to better meet the expectations of PICs. We are ready to further build consensus and form synergy with PICs to achieve common development and prosperity. Wang Yi stressed, as developing countries, China and South Pacific Island Countries have extensive consensus, similar concerns and common missions. We are good friends understanding and trusting each other. Recently, some people attacked and discredited China's cooperation with South Pacific Island Countries, claiming that China will increase its military presence in PICs. This is complete misinformation. China has no intention to compete with anyone, let alone vie for geopolitical interests or create a so-called "sphere of influence". Zero-sum games, which will only lead to a lose-lose situation, have no place in China's diplomatic tradition. China stands for win-win cooperation, treats all countries as equals and is ready to develop friendly relations with all countries. What we support is greater democracy in international relations, multilateralism and the centrality of the United Nations. What we oppose is unilateral bullying, colonial mentality and pointing fingers at small and medium-sized countries in a condescending manner. China has offered solid support for PICs in developing their economies, improving people's well-being and maintaining stability. Such efforts are still ongoing. We are ready to set an example for all parties in helping PICs accelerate their development and look forward to cooperating and making joint efforts with all countries willing to support PICs. 'Utoikamanu said, as an old Chinese poem goes, "A bosom friend afar brings a distant land near", Tonga will always be an "island of friendship" for Chinese friends. Echoing 'Utoikamanu, Wang Yi also cited two lines from an ancient Chinese poem," A long journey proves the stamina of a horse, and the passage of time tells the true from the false." He said, China will be a true and reliable friend of Tonga and other PICs. JERUSALEM (AP) Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian woman in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday who they said had approached them while carrying a knife. Another Palestinian was killed as the army went to demolish the family home of an attacker. The military released a photo of what it said was the knife she was carrying. It said the soldiers were patrolling a highway near the Al-Aroub refugee camp in the southern West Bank. No soldiers were wounded. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the woman as Ghafran Warasna and said she was shot in the chest. The Palestinian Prisoners' Club said the 31-year-old had been released from Israeli prison in April after serving three months. An Israeli security official said Warasna was jailed from January to March after attempting to stab an Israeli police officer in the West Bank city of Hebron. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said she attempted to stab the soldier on Wednesday at point-blank range. There were no photos or videos immediately available to confirm the account. The Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate said Warasna had worked on and off as a journalist for more than a decade. Dream Radio, a local station in Hebron, said she was on the way to their studio for a broadcast when she was killed. In a separate incident, at least one Palestinian was killed in or near the northern West Bank town of Jenin, according to the Health Ministry, which did not provide further details. Israeli forces were operating in the nearby village of Yaabed in order to demolish the family home of a Palestinian who methodically gunned down five people in Bnei Brak in March. Such operations often ignite gunbattles between Palestinian militants and Israeli troops. The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jenin has been the epicenter of a recent wave of violence. Israel has carried out near-daily arrest raids in the West Bank amid a string of attacks by Palestinians that have killed at least 19 people. Story continues Tensions have soared following the killing in the West Bank of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who worked for Al Jazeera, and an Israeli ultranationalist march through a Palestinian neighborhood in east Jerusalem. Recent weeks have seen at least 35 Palestinians killed by Israel. Some were gunmen killed in fighting with Israel, while others were shot while allegedly throwing stones or firebombs at Israeli troops in the West Bank. But an unarmed woman and at least two people who appear to have been bystanders were also among those killed. Abu Akleh died during an Israeli military raid in the West Bank. The Palestinians say Israeli troops killed her, while Israel says she was caught in the crossfire of a battle and it's not clear if soldiers or Palestinian gunmen fired the deadly bullet. Palestinians have carried out dozens of stabbing attacks in recent years, often against Israeli soldiers. But Israel has also faced criticism from rights groups who say security forces sometimes use deadly force rather than arresting suspected attackers or stop them with nondeadly force. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war and the Palestinians want it to be the main part of their future state. Nearly 3 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule in the territory, alongside a growing population of nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers who have Israeli citizenship. The last serious peace talks broke down more than a decade ago. ___ Associated Press writer Josef Federman contributed to this report. By Kate Chappell KINGSTON (Reuters) - A Jamaican legislator is asking the country's parliament to name reggae legend Bob Marley a national hero, an effort that comes amid rising nationalism in English-speaking Caribbean countries that are distancing themselves from their colonial past. The proposal by lawmaker Lisa Hanna would make the iconic singer a national hero, a title already held by seven Jamaicans including Black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey and the nation's first prime minister Alexander Bustamante. It comes months after Barbados bestowed a similar honor on pop singer Rihanna during a November ceremony in which the island severed its ties to the British monarchy and created a republic - a process Jamaica is also considering. "Bob Marley deserves that recognition because he lived a very short life that transformed the thinking of people around the world," Hanna told Reuters in an interview at her Kingston office. It is not immediately evident when parliament will vote on the measure. Hanna hopes it will be approved in time for the 60th anniversary of the country's independence on Aug 6. Marley was born in 1945 in the rural parish of St. Ann to a white English father and a Black Jamaican mother. When he was 12, he moved to Trench Town in Kingston, where he and musicians Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh developed what would become a globally recognized reggae sound. Marley died in 1981 of melanoma, a form of skin cancer. His rise to fame helped create a positive image for Jamaica, which at the time was beset by deep political division that played out in violent street confrontations and shootouts between gangs of opposing ideologies. "It was the possibility that Jamaica could actually have a superstar in the middle of the poverty and the violence," said Matthew Smith, a Jamaican historian at the University College of London. Marcia Griffiths, who sang for years with Marley, including on classic tracks such as "No Woman, No Cry," also supports Hanna's proposal. Story continues "Bob is a legend and an icon who has done so much for the entire world," she said in an interview. "The power and the force of music can change the world, and that is why God gave us a man like Bob." (Reporting by Kate Chappell in Kingston, writing by Brian Ellsworth in Miami; Editing by Bernadette Baum) Jun. 1A federal judge ruled Tuesday that nine plaintiffs who sued Gov. Janet Mills over Maine's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers cannot do so anonymously. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Jon D. Levy's 13-page ruling requires the anonymous plaintiffs to file an amended complaint containing their names by June 7. The ruling came in response to a motion filed by the Portland Press Herald, Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel and Sun Journal. "Having carefully weighed the relevant factors, I conclude that the Plaintiffs have not met their high burden of showing a need to overcome the strong presumption favoring public access to civil proceedings, as required for them to continue pseudonymously," Levy wrote in his decision. The newspapers, referred to in court documents as intervenors, argued that the plaintiffs should not continue to be permitted to proceed pseudonymously because of the plaintiff's "alleged fear of harm no longer outweighs the public's interest in open legal proceedings." The plaintiffs are Maine healthcare workers who in August 2021 challenged a change in state law that requires employees of designated Maine healthcare facilities to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The plaintiffs' reason for refusing the vaccine "is rooted in their religious-based objection to abortion and their assertion that fetal stem cells were used in the development of COVID-19 vaccines," the court documents state. Levy explained that at the outset of the lawsuit he allowed the healthcare workers to proceed anonymously after they argued that their reasonable fear of harm outweighed the public's interest in open litigation. Levy said he reserved the authority to reconsider. In Tuesday's decision, Levy stated that the "plaintiffs' religious beliefs and their resulting medical decisions not to be vaccinated against COVID-19, whether considered separately or together, do not present privacy interests so substantial as to support pseudonymous proceedings." Story continues "In the final analysis, however, there is a near total absence of proof that their expressed fears are objectively reasonable," Levy wrote. "On this record, the plaintiffs privacy interests have not been shown to outweigh the public interest associated with the presumption of openness that applies to civil proceedings." Liberty Counsel, the conservative group that represents the plaintiffs, has argued that Maine needs to offer a religious exemption for vaccines because it offers a medical exemption. The rule treats people who seek a religious exemption less favorably, Liberty Counsel contends, and therefore violates their right to freely practice their religion. It wasn't clear whether the plaintiffs planned to appeal Levy's ruling. "Since your paper is party to the dispute and represented by council, Liberty Counsel can only address the newspaper's attorney regarding this matter," Holly Meade, a spokesperson for Liberty Counsel, said in an emailed response to a request for an interview late Tuesday night. Federal judges at every level the U.S. District Court, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston and then the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block the mandate from taking effect while the courts considered the merits of the lawsuit. Liberty Counsel, a conservative group that represents the plaintiffs, then filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, asking for full briefing and oral argument before the Supreme Court. The petition was denied in February. The mandate took effect in October, and major health care providers reported at the time that most workers decided to get their shots and keep their jobs. The case is different from the legal battle over the federal vaccine mandate for employees at private companies. Maine did not allow hospital and nursing home workers to forgo shots for religious reasons and the nine plaintiffs Levy now says must identify themselves demanded that option. New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has a late call to make on Trent Boult (Adam Davy/PA) (PA Wire) Trent Boults last-minute arrival from the Indian Premier League means he may have to sacrifice an appearance at Lords this week, but New Zealand captain Kane Williamson insists his side are full of Test match purists. Boult went all the way to the IPL final with Rajasthan Royals so only touched down in England two days before the start of the series. That left him a solitary training session to prove his fitness for a five-day game and get reacquainted with the red ball, and he may instead have to wait until next weeks visit to Trent Bridge. Hes just arrived but hes keen as, Williamson said of the left-arm quick. Theres a number of things to consider. Trent is a world-class player but weve got great variety in our bowling attack. Its working out who is ready to go. Most are, obviously Trent is one to look at. Williamson is not short of bowling options, with Tim Southee, Kyle Jamieson, Neil Wagner and Matt Henry all raring to go, and he is adamant that a Black Caps side who were crowned inaugural World Test champions at the Ageas Bowl last summer remain fiercely committed to the five-day format. Our Test team are so passionate about the format. There does seem to be real movement within cricket, but you certainly still see the purists get a real kick out of red-ball cricket, and our team is full of those sorts of people, he said. You certainly still see the purists get a real kick out of red-ball cricket, and our team is full of those sorts of people. Kane Williamson These guys are so passionate about Test cricket were a nation that probably doesnt play quite as much as England, Australia and India and probably play slightly shorter series. So for us there is a lot of excitement to be playing Test cricket, especially here at Lords. Becoming Test champions was an amazing achievement and a proud thing for New Zealand cricket. But your motivation is to try and move the team forward. Williamson confirmed Daryl Mitchell would line up in the middle order, taking the place of fellow batter Henry Nicholls following his bout of coronavirus. (Getty Images) Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson have been photographed in London this week, having arrived ahead of the UKs special bank holiday weekend in honour of the Queens platinum jubilee. The reality star and her boyfriend reportedly flew to the capital on Monday and have been photographed on a shopping trip in Mayfair. It comes after Davidson officially left Saturday Night Live (SNL) after eight years on the comedy show, on the set of which he met Kardashian when she hosted the show last October. Photographs of the pair taken on Tuesday showed Kardashian wearing a full Balenciaga outfit, featuring a cropped beige hoodie and shiny gold leggings that ended with pointed stiletto boots. Davidson, who recently died his hair platinum blonde to match his girlfriends, wore a black hoodie under a quilted black jacket with dark green trousers and white trainers. The couple also visited the River Cafe in Hammersmith, west London, on Monday night. Ruth Rogers, owner of the cafe who previously interviewed Davidson as a guest on her podcast, River Cafe Table 4, posted a photograph of herself opening a car door for the couple on her Instagram. The chef wrote in the post caption: About last night. In the picture, Kardashian wore dark sunglasses and an all-black outfit similar to the one she wore on Tuesday. Some reports have speculated that Kardashian and Davidson are in London to meet with other celebrities attending the Queens platinum jubilee parties. Festivities to celebrate the monarchs historic milestone begin on Thursday 2 June and will continue until Sunday 5 June. The BBCs Platinum Party at the Palace concert on Saturday is one of the most star-studded events taking place over the special bank holiday weekend, with stars including Diana Ross, George Ezra, Alicia Keys, Craig David, Mabel and more set to perform. Kardashian and Davidsons relationship began after they shared a kiss during a sketch on SNL, in which she played Princess Jasmine and he played Aladdin. Since then, they have been photographed going on dates and holidays together. They made their red carpet debut as a couple in May when they attended the 2022 White House Correspondents Association Dinner in Washington DC. In an episode of The Kardashians that aired in May, the SKIMS mogul described Davidson as the sweetest, nicest human being on the planet. LONDON (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Wednesday the world could be on the verge of a major food crisis, blaming "illegal restrictions" imposed on Russia by Western countries and decisions by Ukrainian authorities. More than three months since invading Ukraine, Russia has seized large parts of its neighbour's coast and is blockading its ports, but is trying to pin the blame for the lack of grain shipments on Western sanctions and on Kyiv itself. "We are potentially on the verge of a very deep food crisis linked to the introduction of illegal restrictions against us and the actions of Ukrainian authorities who have mined the path to the Black Sea and are not shipping grain from there despite Russia not impeding in any way," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. (Reporting by Reuters) The Kremlin said Wednesday that President Joe Biden's plans to send advanced rocket systems to Ukraine was "adding fuel to the fire." "We know that the United States has been purposefully and meticulously adding fuel to the fire," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. "The United States pursues the course towards fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian." Biden said Tuesday the U.S. would provide advanced rocket systems to help Ukraine defend itself, as Russia's invasion nears the 100-day mark. "We have moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table," Biden wrote in an opinion piece in The New York Times. "That's why I've decided that we will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine. PHOTO: A Ukrainian artillery gunner adjusts his sights after firing on Russian troops a few miles away near the village of Vuhledar, in eastern Ukraine, on May 31, 2022. (Finbarr O'Reilly/The New York Times via Redux) Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said Wednesday that if Ukraine receives multiple-launch rocket systems from the West there were "risks" of a third country becoming involved in the conflict, according to Interfax. "Such risks, of course, exist," he told reporters, responding to a question, according to Interfax. The White House principal deputy national security adviser, Jonathan Finer, said Wednesday morning that "Russia has brought this on itself." "We don't negotiate our security assistance packages to Ukraine with the Kremlin," Finer said during an interview with CNN, adding that Biden had warned Russian President Vladimir Putin "directly" that if he "launched a new, renewed invasion of Ukraine, the United States would increase the amount of security assistance we were providing, including new and advanced systems." MORE: Russia-Ukraine live updates: Russians, Ukrainians fight street by street in key city "They have not been pleased by the amount of security assistance we've been providing to the Ukrainians, frankly, since far before this most recent phase of the conflict began," Finer said. Story continues PHOTO: Ukrainian soldiers from the 95th Air Assault Brigade ride on an armored vehicle as they head toward the frontline near the city of Kramatorsk in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, May 25, 2022. (Finbarr O'Reilly/The New York Times via Redux) The United States will send high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), which will enable the Ukrainians to "more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield from a greater distance inside Ukraine, and to help them repel Russians," a senior Biden administration official told reporters Tuesday. The missiles will be provided as part of a new $700 million security assistance package for Ukraine -- the 11th of its kind from the U.S. -- which will also include additional Javelin anti-tank missiles, helicopters, tactical vehicles and artillery rounds. The HIMARS is a longer-range rocket system that can fire munitions up to 190 miles. But the munitions the U.S. plans to provide Ukraine have a maximum range of around 43 miles, according to Pentagon officials. Officials say they wanted to limit the range so that the weapons would be used on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine but not fired farther into Russia itself. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the weapons systems were "precisely what they need to defend themselves against the ongoing Russian aggression." NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, standing alongside Blinken in Washington, said the United States' support was "making a difference on the battlefield every day," and called the latest round of assistance "a demonstration of real U.S. leadership." As Russia has shifted its invasion to the east of the country, Ukrainian fighters have found themselves outgunned by a Russian military with more powerful artillery. PHOTO: US M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers fire salvoes during the 'African Lion' military exercise in the Grier Labouihi region in southeastern Morocco, June 9, 2021. (Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images, FILE) Ukraine has struggled to push back Russian advances, and its leaders have long asked the U.S. to send more powerful guns. "We need more heavy weapons delivered as soon as possible, especially MLRS, to repel Russian attacks," Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, tweeted last week, referring to multiple-launch rocket systems. MORE: What you need to know about Russia's blockade of Odesa An official stressed Tuesday that the Ukrainians had given the United States "assurances they will not use" the new systems the U.S. is providing "against targets in Russian territory." "The Ukrainians have given us assurances that they will not use these systems against targets on Russian territory," Blinken said Wednesday. PHOTO: Ukrainian soldiers shoot with assault rifles in a trench on the front line with Russian troops in Lugansk region on April 11, 2022. (Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images) The administration has taken pains to underscore this distinction, given Russia's warning that advanced systems would be seen as an escalation. "We are mindful of the escalation risks in everything we're doing with this," Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl told reporters Wednesday. "We've been mindful of that, but at the same time, Russia doesn't get a veto over what we send to the Ukrainians." Biden's announcement came a day after he sparked confusion during a quick exchange with a reporter outside the White House. Asked if he planned "to send long-range rocket systems to Ukraine," Biden only responded, "We're not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that can strike into Russia." White House officials clarified they were still considering sending longer-range systems to Russia. Ultimately, the U.S. stopped short of sharing the longest-range ammunition that could be fired by the HIMARS. PHOTO: President Joe Biden speaks during the 154th National Memorial Day Wreath-Laying and Observance ceremony to honor America's fallen, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, May 30, 2022. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters) As part of the $700 million package, the U.S. will be sending four HIMARS to Ukraine along with precision ammunition. The systems had been pre-placed inside Europe in anticipation of Biden granting Ukraine's request for the systems so as to speed up the transfer, according to Kahl. The Defense Department also created an accelerated three-week training program to teach Ukrainians how to employ and maintain the systems outside of Ukraine. By comparison, U.S. service members normally go through closer to six months of training on HIMARS. "I will say the Ukrainians have proven time and time again to be extraordinarily ingenious and quick learners. And so I think we've been able to speed things up in the training cycle based on how quickly the Ukrainians have learned systems and been able to integrate them into their activities," he said. In his Tuesday New York Times essay, the president stressed the action was not intended to start a broader conflict, and said the U.S. was "not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders" nor did it "want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia." MORE: US-supplied howitzers to Ukraine lack accuracy-aiding computers "We do not seek a war between NATO and Russia," Biden wrote. "As much as I disagree with Mr. Putin, and find his actions an outrage, the United States will not try to bring about his ouster in Moscow. "So long as the United States or our allies are not attacked," he continued, "we will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces. Kremlin warns Biden sending rockets to Ukraine 'adding fuel to the fire' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com A 16-year-old Lansing student was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly made a social media post that referenced him becoming involved in a shooting at the school. The arrest comes one week after an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two adults in a mass shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and 18 days after a gunman killed 10 people in a mass shooting at a Tops Store in Buffalo. Tompkins County sheriff's deputies responded to Lansing High School around 8:50 a.m. Wednesday and said the post was created on Snapchat and shared by another student who commented that the other student was going to carry out a shooting at the school. Once it was shared, many other students and school officials viewed the post. Deputies said the school then secured those involved and has since cooperated with a sheriff's office on an investigation. The student who was arrested was not found to have a firearm with him during the arrest, deputies said. He was charged with the felony of making a terroristic threat. The student's name was not disclosed because of his age. Arrangements were made so the student would appear in Tompkins County Court on Wednesday. More: Two hospitalized after shootings in Ithaca; police searching for suspect More: Ithaca convenience store owner gets probation in food stamp fraud case More: 'It's like a petri dish for worry to grow': Baby formula shortage takes toll on parents The sheriff's office has also taken action to ensure the student does not have access to firearms, a sheriff's office press release stated. Deputies say they believe the school is no longer at risk from the incident. "I commend our Lansing School officials for their prompt action and notification to law enforcement, this was handled extremely well, Tompkins County Sheriff Derek Osborne said. Deputies will continue to provide a security presence at the school throughout the remainder of the school year, the news release stated. Story continues Following the Uvalde shooting, Osborne reported that upon taking office three years ago, he encouraged deputies to park in school parking lots whenever they needed to idle their patrol cars to take breaks or write reports. Osborne said, if we need to park a patrol car, it should be at a location such as a school, referencing the fact that schools are considered soft targets when it comes to domestic terrorism. The sheriff's office asks parents to speak with their children about the seriousness of the posts. Anyone who finds such posts should report them immediately instead of making assumptions regarding their validity. Follow Matt Steecker on Twitter @OnTheStecord. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. This article originally appeared on Ithaca Journal: Lansing High School student arrested after shooting threat Nearly 50 House lawmakers on Wednesday introduced a bipartisan resolution to attempt to completely end U.S. military involvement in Yemens civil war. The Yemen War Powers Resolution, backed by 48 co-sponsors, would end all U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalitions war in Yemen. The bill, led by Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), will mark the third time lawmakers have invoked their war powers during the conflict. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is expected to introduce a companion version in the Senate when the body reconvenes next week. The resolution would require approval by a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate. Yemens civil war has been raging since 2014, when Iran-backed Houthi rebels took over the capital of Sanaa, sparking military conflict between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition backing the Yemeni government. President Biden in his first month in office ended U.S. support for Saudi-led offensive operations in Yemen, but a small number of American forces are still involved in airstrikes and counterterrorism operations against al-Qaeda and affiliated groups in the country. The administration also continues to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia, describing relations between Washington and Riyadh as vital and stressing that the United States remains committed to Saudi Arabias defense. Critics, however, have accused the administration of continuing U.S. support of the conflict through providing aircraft maintenance and intelligence sharing, which they say still enables offensive operations that have killed thousands of civilians. The new resolution seeks to block that by putting an end to U.S. intelligence sharing that enables offensive Saudi-led strikes and stopping logistical support such as providing maintenance and spare parts to coalition members engaged in the anti-Houthi bombings. It would also prohibit American personnel from being assigned to command, coordinate, participate in the movement of, or accompany Saudi-led coalition forces engaged in hostilities without prior specific statutory authorization by Congress, according to a statement on the resolution. Story continues Congress, not the Executive branch, has the sole authority to declare war and authorize involvement of U.S. forces in overseas conflicts, including inserting U.S. troops as advisors in aid of foreign-led hostilities, DeFazio said in a statement. Its critical that the Biden Administration take the steps necessary to fulfill their promise to end U.S. support for the disastrous Saudi-led war in Yemen. We should not be involved in yet another conflict in the Middle East especially a brutal war that has created the worlds largest humanitarian crisis and contributed to the deaths of at least 377,000 civilians. A United Nations-brokered truce has temporarily paused Saudi airstrikes, but efforts to ease aerial and naval blockade on food, fuel, medicine, and travel are still tenuous, according to the lawmakers. With that truce scheduled to expire early this month, the new bipartisan resolution signals broad congressional resolve to ensure that Saudi-led airstrikes cannot resume, while adding incentive for the Saudi-led coalition to arrive at a broader, negotiated peace settlement, they write. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Australia supports Vietnam with additional 7.2 million Covid-19 vaccine doses Australia has shared 7,245,800 million Pfizer-BioNTech paediatric Covid-19 vaccine doses with Vietnam purchased through an agreement with UNICEF and in partnership with Vietnams Ministry of Health. The vaccines were delivered between 20 and 28 May to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Australia supports Vietnam with additional 7.2 million Covid-19 vaccine doses. Photo by the Australian Embassy in Vietnam Australia has now shared more than 22.2 million Covid-19 vaccine doses with Vietnam, including 7.8 million doses for Vietnams adult Covid-19 vaccination program and 7.2 million Moderna doses for paediatric use to launch Vietnams Covid-19 vaccine rollout for children. Speaking about the recent deliveries, Australias Ambassador to Vietnam, Robyn Mudie, said that he was delighted that they could share more than 22 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine including 14.4 million doses to support Vietnams paediatric vaccine campaign. Along with doses, Australia is delivering a AUD60 million package of support for Vietnams Covid-19 vaccine rollout. As part of this package, Australia is working in partnership with UNICEF and the Ministry of Health to strengthen vaccine delivery systems including cold chain upgrades, training for healthcare workers, production of communications materials, and planning and implementation of the vaccine rollout in remote provinces across Vietnam. This package also includes mobile vaccination sessions to remote and hard to reach areas, so that the most vulnerable populations are not left behind. As Covid-19 remains with us, vaccines are still our best bet to reduce the mortality and impact of the disease. Vaccines help to reduce the probability that children will get long Covid or suffer major side effects., said Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative. UNICEF is delighted to join hands with Australia to provide Covid-19 vaccines for children in Vietnam as well as to support our partners to enhance the capacity of the health and immunization systems to efficiently and equitably distribute Covid-19 vaccines. On May 31, 2022, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi held a video meeting with Foreign and Security Policy Advisor to the German Chancellor Jens Plotner in Beijing at request. The two sides exchanged views on China-Germany relations and international and regional issues of common concern. The Lexington Police Department is warning the public about a scam that involves scammers impersonating cops. Police said the scammer impersonates law enforcement agencies and asks for payment over the phone for a fine or arrest warrant. Real Lexington police officers will not request any type of monetary payment over the phone, including credit card information, money or bitcoin, police said. Police say to call (859) 258-3600 if you are contacted by someone claiming to be from the Lexington Police Department and asking for money. The Fayette County Sheriffs Office reported a similar telephone scam last week, saying its a scam thats resurfaced. Telephone scam resurfaces in Fayette County, sheriffs office warns Cheryl and Liam met on The X Factor in 2008 (Getty) Liam Payne has opened up about co-parenting with Cheryl, sharing how he plans to always glue himself to their five-year-old son Bear. In an appearance on the Impaulsive podcast, hosted by Logan Paul, on Tuesday 31 May, Payne revealed that Cheryl has taken the reins on parenting Bear. She gives me full autonomy of my own life to be able to go and do what I do, and at the same time I know [Bear] is being taken care of because he is all she cares about, he said. Payne said he regularly surprises his son and takes him to school once or twice a week. I love to take my son to school, its so much fun and I know he loves it too, he told Paul. The other day he was asleep, and his mum said to him morning sunshine. And then my deep voice came in saying morning and he went huh!, Payne recalled. And he went wow daddy, that was the biggest surprise of my life, you being here today. Thats the best s***t, taking care of him and watching him grow. While Payne previously split his time between the UK and the US, he has now returned to the UK and lives just three minutes away from Cheryl and Bear. I always glue myself to where he is, I owe it to him. My life is now his, my money is his, Payne said. The former One Direction star disclosed that he is in constant conversation with himself about Bears future and has set up several companies which he will offer to his son. He can run them one day if he wants to, or if he wants, he can sell them. Thats his choice. Payne, 28, and Cheryl, 38, started dating in 2016 after first meeting on The X Factor in 2008, when Payne was a contestant and Cheryl a judge on the show. The couple welcomed their son, Bear, in November 2016. They announced their separation in May 2018. Sharing the same statement to both of their Twitter accounts, the pair said they still have so much love for each other as a family. Northampton, MA --News Direct-- Bristol Myers Squibb Company I never questioned my goal of becoming a Black neuroscientist because I had already met one, and for that, I am forever grateful, said Kaelyn Brown, who first joined the Science Club for Girls (SCFG) at six years old. She continued the program throughout her youth, became a SCFG mentor during college and served as the co-director of the Harvard University Mentor Chapter. Recently graduating from Harvard with a degree in neuroscience, Brown credits her early exposure as critical to her pursuit of a career in science. SCFG was founded in 1994 to foster excitement, confidence and literacy in STEM for girls and gender-expansive youth from historically underrepresented communities with free, experiential community-based programs. The organization offers a wide array of opportunities through its hands-on programming and ensures that diverse mentors are available to serve as role models for the students, which helps them visualize a future career in STEM. As a way of eliminating access barriers, SCFGs clubs are free for anyone interested in learning more about the field, which paves the way for a diverse and equitable future of STEM. Across its programs, 75 percent of the girls and over 50 percent of mentors are from backgrounds historically underrepresented in STEM. Bringing STEM to schools Bristol Myers Squibb is committed to educating, hiring and inspiring a new generation of physicians and scientists from historically underrepresented communities and addressing serious gaps in care facing patients from these communities. To honor that commitment, in 2020, the company signed on as a sponsor of SCFG to fully fund all aspects of running a science club, providing two full semesters per year of free, mentor-led and hands-on STEM programming to eight girls in grades K to 8 and two junior mentors in grades 9 to 12. With the support of partners like Bristol Myers Squibb, SCFG brings STEM to schools and community centers during after-school programs and on weekends and introduces scientific concepts to students at a young age when they are most curious. Ultimately, these programs nurture their passion for STEM while putting them in a position to pursue a career in the field. Story continues Photo: Science Club for Girls scientist, Jhianna, examining her rocket before its launch Over the last 12 years, 90% of the programs high school juniors and seniors have gone to college, and of those girls, 55% have chosen to major in STEM. As part of that 55%, Kaelyn says the program served as a great inspiration that shaped her future aspirations. Additionally, the program allowed her interest in science to flourish while providing mentors that looked like her. Science has always been, and will always be, for everyone, Brown said. Sharing with the next generation The SCFG partnership also gives Bristol Myers Squibb scientists the opportunity to share their knowledge and expertise with the next generation of scientists. In the spring semester of 2021, Shana Walrond, senior research scientist, was one of the companys volunteers who met with students every week for eight weeks, mentoring them and leading experiments. Numerous other company volunteers sat on panels to discuss their careers and lessons learned along the way or helped pack science kits with materials and instructions for kids to participate in virtual programming. Despite switching to a virtual format due to the pandemic, the organization expanded its reach to more audiences, growing to 350 participants in the past year. Walronds motivation to volunteer with SCFG centers on her desire to give back to her community. Growing up in Cambridge, she too participated in local universities mentorship programs that exposed her to science. Looking back at myself at that age, those programs inspired me to pursue a career in STEM because they gave me the confidence that I was smart enough to succeed in the field. Coming from an immigrant family, they also helped me realize that there were people in STEM jobs who looked like me, which helped me see a future in STEM, said Walrond. For Walrond, the most exciting and rewarding part of participating in SCFGs program is that it shows her what the industrys future will look like, full of women who are insightful, intelligent and willing to share. These girls dedication to furthering their skillset goes beyond lessons, and parents have taken notice of their hard work at home. One of her mentees, Fatimah, told her mom that she uses her imagination during the program and feels like a scientist, and her home is her lab. According to her mother, even after Zoom lessons conclude, Fatimah continues to work on the days project or shell start a new building a new one on her own. The girls dedication to learning from this program amazes Walrond every day as she knows the future is in good hands. Learn more about Bristol Myers Squibb here View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Bristol Myers Squibb Company on 3blmedia.com View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/local-cambridge-stem-program-empowers-next-generation-of-female-scientists-965167282 The exterior of the house. Mott & Chace Sothebys International Realty The haunted house that inspired "The Conjuring" was sold for $1.5 million. The three-bedroom home was built in 1736 and sits on an 8.5-acre lot surrounded by woods. The new owner intends to continue using it as an overnight paranormal investigation business. The haunted farmhouse that inspired the horror movie "The Conjuring" has been sold for $1.5 million, up from its original asking price of $1.2 million. The exterior of the house. Mott & Chace Sothebys International Realty The Burrillville, Rhode Island, house is "one of the most well-known haunted houses in the United States," per the listing. Cory and Jennifer Heinzen bought the home at 1677 Round Top Road in June 2019 for $439,000, listing records show. Two years later, they put it up for sale for $1.2 million. They have now sold the property for $1.5 million, per a press release from their agents, Benjamin Kean and Ben Gugliemi of the Blackstone Team at Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty. Although constructed in 1736, the property only started showing up in official records in 1836, Kean told The Wall Street Journal in 2021. The median listing home price in Burrillville is $420,000, per Realtor.com. The $1.5 million farmhouse is a price outlier and the most expensive home sold in Burrillville on record, the listing agents told Insider. The Heinzens did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. "The Conjuring" is loosely based on the real-life work of ghost hunters Ed and Lorraine Warren, who investigated paranormal events at the house in the 1970s. Famous American ghost hunters Lorraine and Ed Warren. April 30, 1980. They were hired to investigate the paranormal events that took place in the house in the 70s. Russell McPhedran/Fairfax Media via Getty Images) The Perrons and their five daughters lived in the home from 1971 to 1980, per The Conjuring House, a website dedicated to the estate. During their stay, they were subjected to numerous ghostly happenings, eldest daughter Andrea Perron told USA Today in 2013. She claims she witnessed her mother being possessed by a spirit. Eventually, the family turned to paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren for help. While "The Conjuring" was not filmed at 1677 Round Top Road, the Perron family's supernatural experiences in the house formed the basis of the 2013 film. The movie was turned into a franchise with numerous sequels and spin-offs, including "The Conjuring 2" and "Annabelle." Story continues The Heinzens, who just sold the house for $1.5 million, claim to have experienced several creepy moments in the house, too. Jennifer and Cory Heinzen, paranormal investigators, pose in the library of the "Conjuring" house in Harrisville, RI on Oct. 14, 2020. Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images "We've had doors open on their own, footsteps, disembodied voices, electronic voice phenomena, and some awesome spirit-box sessions," Cory told Insider's Susie Heller in a 2019 interview. The Heinzens used the property as a business where visitors could conduct overnight paranormal investigations, per The Conjuring House website. They charged $125 per person for an overnight investigation that started at 6 p.m. and lasted until 8 a.m the next morning. They decided to let go of the property due to Cory's health problems and the stress of managing the business, the Heinzens told The Wall Street Journal in May. The new owner of the home is real-estate developer Jacqueline Nunez, who was represented by Ricardo Rodriguez and Bethany Eddy of Coldwell Banker Realty in the transaction. "We are thrilled for our client. She has been very excited about this home from day one. Not only is this a record-breaking sale for that market but it is a significant home with a unique history," the buyer's agents told Insider. The farmhouse sits on 8.5 acres of land and is surrounded by a dense forest. The remote farmhouse is surrounded by the woods. Mott & Chace Sothebys International Realty It's a 40-minute drive from Providence. The remote location is part of the reason why Nunez fell in love with the house. "Even without the paranormal activity, this would be a place that I would have loved to own. Stone walls, a river that runs through it, the woods, a footbridge, an open field it's just a gorgeous property," Nunez told Insider. Rumor has it that the home is haunted by the ghost of Bathsheba Sherman, who had lived there in the 1800s, per the listing. It's the main entity that terrorized Perron's family, Perron told USA Today. This spirit also served as inspiration for the main antagonist in the film. Nunez's deep interest in the paranormal is what drew her to the home. The dining room. RR&A/Coldwell Banker/Drone Home Media "I believe with the happenings at this house, it really gives us an opportunity to study the activity and to communicate with people who have died," she said. Although she is a real-estate developer in Boston, Nunez stressed that she did not purchase the property to create any new developments. "It was a personal purchase for me," she said. The house features beamed ceilings and wide-board hardwood floors. Ouija boards sit atop the fireplace mantel. There is a fireplace in the living area RR&A/Coldwell Banker/Drone Home Media To ensure that the next owner lives up to their expectations, the Heinzens insisted on interviewing her before she was allowed to purchase the home, Nunez said. "They wanted to find someone that was going to keep and grow the business that they had started, which I absolutely intended to do," she said. The Heinzens also wanted to make sure that whoever bought the house did not live in it year round, she added. "I didn't sign anything that limits me in terms of how often I can be there. But their reason for that is because the energy there is so strong that it can begin to affect people who are in the house for an extended period of time," she said. Due to competition from other buyers, Nunez ended up purchasing the house for more than its original asking price of $1.2 million. The library. RR&A/Coldwell Banker/Drone Home Media The Heinzens told The Journal that they had received more than 10 offers for the house when they first put it up for sale, including anonymous bids. "There were so many offers it was a bidding war," Nunez said. "I feel very fortunate that I'm the one that ended up with the property." Despite closing on the property just last week, Nunez told Insider she's already had first-hand experiences with paranormal activity in the house. The cellar. RR&A/Coldwell Banker/Drone Home Media "I was with a ghost hunting group last night. We were sitting upstairs and they were trying to talk to some of the spirits," she said. "There was loud and heavy footfall on a staircase, and we could have sworn that there was actually someone else in the house, but there wasn't. That was pretty amazing to hear." The house has three bedrooms and one full bathroom. There's also a barn that is currently being used as storage, Nunez said. A rocking chair stands in the corner of one of the bedrooms. Mott & Chace Sothebys International Realty "I think the Perron family and even a couple of other owners had animals in there, including horses," she said. While she has no concrete plans to renovate the barn at the moment, she hopes to turn it into an events space sometime in the future, she added. As the home's new owner, Nunez is fully prepared to encounter some spooky events. Raggedy Ann dolls are placed throughout the home, in reference to the haunted doll from the movie series. Mott & Chace Sothebys International Realty "I mean, I certainly expect that things that will startle me will happen, but I don't believe that the energy in the house is evil at all," she said. Read the original article on Insider National Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is over, but the mission of honoring and sharing Hawaiian heritage continues year-round at Haleakala National Park in Maui. "Haleakala is a sacred place to Native Hawaiians," said Honeygirl Duman, an interpretation and education specialist at the park. "We have sites that tie to certain people in Hawaiian culture in our stories, that people can trace their ancestry back to." Legend has it that the demigod Maui stood on Haleakala's mountaintop to lasso the sun and extend daylight, according to Hawaii's official tourism arm just like in Disney's "Moana" song "You're Welcome." Haleakala means house of the sun in Hawaiian. It's still known for its awe-inspiring sunrises, which are so popular that summit viewings require reservations, but the land means much more to Native Hawaiians past and present. Haleakala National Park is known for its stunning sunrises. Visitors must make reservations to see it from the park's summit. BLACK SAND AND CRYSTAL CLEAR WATERS: A local's guide to Hawaii's beaches 'IF YOU'RE SURFING, YOU ARE A SURFER': Plus-size women have a champion in Hawaii "What makes Hawaii Hawaii?" asked Duman, who is Native Hawaiian. "It's not just the mai tais. It's not just the sandy beach or the hula dancers. It's so much more. "It's the resources that we have, and it's the culture that came from our resources that made us who we are today," Duman said. Native Hawaiians have cared for Haleakala for more than 1,000 years, according to the national park's website. "It's what we call malama 'aina," Duman said. "Malama is to care for, and 'aina refers to the land, but it also extends out to the ocean as well." The National Park Service's Leave No Trace principle helps carry on that legacy. Haleakala park rangers and cultural practitioners brought in by the park help share other Hawaiian traditions with visitors. WHAT DO PARK RANGERS ACTUALLY DO? A lot more than you know Story continues Haleakala National Park's Honeygirl Duman makes a shaka gesture, exuding the aloha spirit of Hawaii. Duman loves sharing Haleakala's deep Hawaiian roots with travelers but said the best part of the job "by far" is creating opportunities for local youth. "People here in Hawaii, some are struggling to survive," Duman said. "So many people are leaving the islands for the U.S. continent to make a living." Duman wants the next generation of Hawaiians to know they can stay and have a future and shows them one way through internships at the park. Duman is excited about a new educational program the park is developing in the Hawaiian language, or 'olelo Hawaii, which Duman didn't learn growing up but did as an adult. "It's not just for us here. It's for serving that community as a whole," Duman said of the lessons for immersive language students. "Hopefully that can be an example or integration for other parks sites who want to be able to connect with their Native communities." NATIVE AMERICA: How to see America through Native travel Captivating flora and fauna can be seen throughout Haleakala National Park on Maui. Travelers can learn more about Native Hawaiians and Hawaii at several other National Park Service sites across the islands. Other park service sites include Pearl Harbor National Memorial and Hono'uli'uli, a national historic site that is not yet open to the public, which will share the history of Japanese incarceration on the islands during World War II. MEANINGFUL MAUI: These experiences will immerse you in Hawaiian culture HOPING TO VISIT DIAMOND HEAD? Get in line. Iconic Hawaii landmark begins requiring reservations. Waves crash into the Kipahulu shoreline at Haleakala National Park on Maui. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hawaii beyond the beach: Digging deep at Haleakala National Park A man wanted since the death of a 22-year-old on Christmas morning was captured while trying to cross the border into the United States. Metro Nashville Police said 25-year-old Darwin Perez-Castellanos was detained while crossing into the country. While he was in custody, U.S. border patrol agents learned there was a warrant for his arrest in connection with the death of Edil Hernandez. Hernandez was shot to death while driving near the 4500 block of Nolensville Pike about 3:20 a.m. Christmas morning, police said in December. OPINION: Tennessee's recently passed truth in sentencing law centers around politics, not prevention Read this: Metro Nashville police officer, two teachers charged with sexual abuse crimes after teen reports abuse The shooting was thought to be connected to a dispute earlier in the evening involving a relative of Hernandez and several others at the San Jose Fiesta Restaurant. The relative who was involved in the argument left the restaurant before Hernandez, police said. When Hernandez left that night, a red Toyota Tacoma and another vehicle were said to have followed him, police said a witness reported. Perez-Castellanos remains detained in Eagle Pass, Texas, police said. Contact Tennessean reporter Kirsten Fiscus at 615-259-8229 or KFiscus@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KDFiscus. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: U.S Border Patrol agents detain man wanted after Christmas killing Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene has made a novel argument against Canadas proposed new gun control legislation: It invites a Russian invasion. Trudeau foolishly completely ignores how taking guns away from his people makes his country weak and vulnerable to being invaded and easily taken over by another stronger country, the US congresswoman opined on Twitter. Like, perhaps Russia, who is very angry at America right now. Canadas prime minister, Justin Trudeau, introduced the legislation on Monday in the wake of last weeks deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The bill would ban the sale and purchase of handguns, effectively capping their numbers in Canada. In addition, Mr Trudeau proposed a mandatory buyback program for assault weapons including AR-15s, like the one used in Uvalde which have been banned in Canada since 2021. Ms Greene was outraged. Without guns in the hands of its citizens, she reasoned, Canada would be powerless to stop Russian invaders. Canada has an incredibly weak military & now with Trudeaus gun grab, his people are left defenseless not only by a criminal attacker, but also defenseless against another countrys military invasion, the Republican tweeted. This is a terrible violation of rights to innocent Canadians by their Gov. Ms Greene offered no evidence that Russia plans to invade Canada. Many readers on Twitter, some of them Canadian, were perplexed. If Russia is angry with America right now, why would Russia invade Canada? one asked. Wait, am I currently expected to own a gun and am *personally* responsible for defending my country against Russia? another responded. Missed that memo Others wondered what good handguns would do against Russian bombs. So to make sure I understand: allowing citizens to have handguns, AR-15s, whatever, will be enough to defend the country against tanks, major artillery, mortars, howitzers, rockets, missiles, possibly even nuclear weapons? someone else tweeted. Okay then. Story continues 2. Trudeau foolishly completely ignores how taking guns away from his people makes his country weak and vulnerable to being invaded and easily taken over by another stronger country. Like, perhaps Russia, who is very angry at America right now. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) May 31, 2022 if Russia is angry with America right now, why would Russia invade Canada? also. we do have an armed forces, here. maybe you weren't aware. you seem to be not aware of a lot of things. not all of us were spawned in a peach tree dish. so this is Peaches... (@PeachesSo) May 31, 2022 Others pointed out that the Canadian rights Ms Greene trumpeted may not exist. Unlike in the United States, where the Second Amendment enshrines a right to bear arms, nothing in Canadas constitution explicitly protects gun ownership. We have a different constitution, with different rights and responsibilities, one Canadian commented. It doesnt include a Second Amendment. We defend our country from foreign invasion with our military in concert with treaties (see NATO), not our civilians. So we dont have many mass shootings. Others turned Ms Greenes argument around on her. Why does the US need to spend so much on their military since they are so safe with all the civilian guns? someone asked. The Independent has reached out to Ms Greenes office for comment. WWE Hall of Famer Tammy "Sunny" Sytch, a Matawan native, entered a plea of not guilty on Tuesday to DUI causing death and other charges stemming from a deadly traffic crash in Ormond Beach, Florida. Ormond Beach police said that on March 25, Sytch's vehicle failed to stop and crashed into the back of a stopped car at the intersection of U.S. 1 and Granada Boulevard, leading to the death of Julian LaFrancis Lasseter, 75. Sytch had a blood alcohol content of .280, which is 3 times the legal limit of .08 set by Florida law, police said. Police also found an unsealed bottle of vodka in her car. Tammy Sytch hands her jewelry to her fiance, James Pente, as she is taken into custody, Friday, May 13, 2022, after her bond for a drunk driving causing death charge was revoked. A test also detected THC in Sytchs blood, indicating she had been using marijuana sometime before the crash, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Besides the DUI causing death, Sytch, 49, was charged with one count of driving with a suspended revoked license causing death/serious injury; four counts of DUI with "damage to person;" and two counts of DUI with damage to property. The charges add up to a potential 26 years in prison if convicted on all counts and with the sentences running consecutively. Trending: Brielle company owner, wife and son indicted on charges of bilking the government New podcast: Sonya Deville of WWE joins the Under The Ring podcast this week Sytch did not make a statement as she stood next to her defense attorney, Steven deLaroche, before Circuit Judge Karen Foxman at the S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach. DeLaroche waived the formal reading of the charges and entered a plea of not guilty on her behalf. Tammy 'Sunny' Sytch was in handcuffs during hearing, waved to fiance Sytch's wrists were in handcuffs attached to a belt, but she still raised a hand to wave to her fiance, who was sitting in the gallery, as she walked out of the courtroom to be transported back to the Volusia County jail. Sytch was arrested on May 6 and released on a $225,000 bond from the Volusia County jail on May 7. But Assistant State Attorney Ashley Terwilleger filed a motion to revoke her bond and hold her in jail pending the outcome of her case. Story continues On May 13, Foxman agreed with Terwilleger that Sytch posed a threat to the community because of her repeated instances of driving while intoxicated. DeLaroche had asked that Sytch be allowed to remain free but required to wear an ankle monitor with an alcohol sensor. Foxman said a monitor would be too easy to evade. Sytch's fiance, James Pente, said after the hearing that he apologized to the family of the man killed and said Sytch feels bad about it. "She feels absolutely terrible. I can't emphasize it more. She just feels bad in general," he said. "Everybody's life's ruined." When asked if there was any discussion of a plea deal, he said he could not comment on the workings of the case. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Ex-WWE star Tammy Sytch from Matawan NJ pleads not guilty in fatal DUI Its a go: Commissary shoppers in eight locations around the country can now travel from their computer to their front door to pick up their groceries. Commissaries at eight military installations are testing doorstep delivery of groceries within a 20-mile driving radius of the stores. If the test which began today and runs through Aug. 30 is successful, the plan is to eventually deliver groceries from all commissaries in the continental U.S. to customers on and off base. The stores are: Fort Belvoir and Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia; Scott Air Force Base, Illinois; Fort Bragg South, North Carolina; MacDill Air Force Base, Florida; Fort Lewis, Washington; and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and Naval Station San Diego in California. The doorstep delivery service is an extension of the current worldwide Click2Go program, where customers order their commissary items online, pay for it and then pick it up at the commissary curbside. Now, the commissary agency is taking it to the next step. Its an effort to give eligible customers more convenient access to their benefit, according to Bill Moore, director and CEO of the Defense Commissary Agency. We learned from our focus group of new young, single enlisted service members that they value convenience as much as their savings, and they want low-cost, healthy options, he said in an announcement of the start of the test. The delivery fee in most cases will be less than $4. Thats in addition to the cost of groceries, the commissary 5% surcharge, and any tips you provide for the delivery driver. The service is open to all authorized customers within the 20-mile radius. This includes active duty, Guard and reserve members; military retirees; Medal of Honor and Purple Heart recipients; former prisoners of war; 100 percent disabled veterans and those with a VA-documented service-connected disability rating; authorized family members; and VA-approved and designated primary family caregivers of eligible veterans. Story continues Heres how it works, according to commissary officials: The authorized customer logs on to shop.commissaries.com, and clicks the Click2Go button. After authentication, you select your store and choose from that stores full assortment of grocery or center-store, items. Frozen foods are available, as well as fresh fruits and veggies. In some cases, theres a smaller, more refined selection online than what you find in the store of top selling items such as fresh meat, deli and bakery items and fresh seafood. As you shop online, the virtual shopping basket is updated, reflecting the items and prices. Doorstep delivers starting June 1 for 8 military commissaries Once youve finished shopping, you proceed to checkout and select the Delivery option. You enter your address and choose a two-hour window for delivery, with a minimum lead time of three to four hours. The eCommerce system determines whether youre within the delivery area and if your chosen delivery window is available. Once confirmed, youll finalize payment for your order cost of groceries, the 5% surcharge, delivery fees and your tip for the driver. The commissary agency will email you to confirm the order number, transaction amount, delivery date and window. If delivery isnt possible, youll be offered an opportunity to pick up your groceries at the store or cancel the order. In April, the commissary agency awarded contracts to two companies to provide the delivery service: ChowCall of Chesapeake, Virginia, for $177,084; and YouUp Delivery Inc., of Roswell, Georgia, for $72,915, according to the contract documents. Both companies are hiring. On the afternoon of May 31, 2022, President Xi Jinping had a phone conversation with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema. Xi Jinping pointed out, China and Zambia are "all-weather friends" enjoying traditional and amicable relations and unbreakable friendship. In the past year, China-Zambia relations have maintained a positive momentum of development, with two-way trade volume hitting a record high and Zambia becoming the country attracting the most Chinese direct investment in Africa. The cooperation between the two countries enjoys huge potential and bright prospects. China attaches great importance to China-Zambia relations, and stands ready to work with Zambia to consolidate and deepen the China-Zambia friendship, and push bilateral ties to higher levels and broader areas. Xi Jinping stressed, the two sides should grasp bilateral relations from a strategic height, support each other on issues concerning respective core interests, strengthen inter-party exchanges, and share experience in state governance. The two sides should strengthen strategic communication and policy synergy, fully implement the nine programs of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, promote more Zambian goods, especially quality agricultural products, to enter the Chinese market, and strengthen anti-pandemic cooperation. Both sides should carry forward the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (Tazara) spirit, keep it updated in accordance with the trend of the times, and make Tazara an important transportation channel in the region. Xi Jinping stressed, China and Zambia are both developing countries, and promoting solidarity and cooperation with Zambia and other African countries is China's long-term and firm strategic choice. The two sides should adhere to independent foreign policy, firmly safeguard international fairness and justice, and uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order underpinned by international law. China stands ready to work with Africa to advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, deepen cooperation in healthcare, poverty mitigation and agricultural development, trade and investment, green development, digital economy and other fields, help boost economic recovery and sustainable development in Africa, and promote the building of a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era. Hichilema said, the Chinese people, under President Xi Jinping's outstanding leadership, have achieved prosperity and development, and the Zambian side deeply admires the achievements China has made. He thanked China for its long-term and significant support for Zambia's national development and for offering vaccines and other assistance to Zambia in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Zambia is ready to strengthen exchanges with and learn from the Communist Party of China (CPC), consolidate and deepen the traditional friendship forged by the elder generations of leaders of Zambia and China, and push for greater development of bilateral ties to benefit the two peoples in the spirit of high-level mutual trust and cooperation. Zambia firmly adheres to the one-China principle, and supports the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, all of which were proposed by China. Zambia stands ready to work with China to actively advance the implementation of the three initiatives, and deepen all-round cooperation within the FOCAC framework. Hichilema wishes the 20th National Congress of the CPC a complete success. Scientists are trying to better understand why monkeypox is spreading rapidly across the world in regions that do not typically harbor the disease since the United Kingdom confirmed its first case of monkeypox in early May . "We've never really seen this type of observation from monkeypox before, so this is particularly concerning," said Andrea McCollum, an epidemiologist who heads the poxvirus team at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In this Centers for Disease Control and Prevention handout graphic, symptoms of one of the first known cases of the monkeypox virus are shown on a patients hand. Courtesy of CDC/Getty Images Over 550 confirmed cases of monkeypox in 30 countries have been detected globally, including approximately 18 in the United States, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the CDC. "We're seeing cases all appearing in a relatively short period of time. We're seeing that in a few days, in a couple of weeks, we're seeing over 500 cases. This is different. This has not been seen before," said Rosamund Lewis, WHOs technical lead for monkeypox. The CDC notes monkeypox belongs to the same genus of virus as smallpox , but after smallpox was eradicated by worldwide vaccination in 1980, waning immunity against monkeypox may have contributed the surge in cases since smallpox vaccination is no longer recommended, according to Nature. WHO: MONKEYPOX NOT EXPECTED TO BECOME PANDEMIC, MUCH REMAINS UNKNOWN Africa usually has a few thousand cases in an average year, mostly in the western and central parts of the region , but just in the past week the cases outside Africa have exceeded the total number detected outside the continent since 1970, when the first human case was detected. But even though scientists are worried about the rapid spread of monkeypox, its no coronavirus, according to Nature. Monkeypox is not as infectious as SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic , because it does not transmit from person to person as easily and because we have vaccines to prevent it, said Jay Hooper, a virologist at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Story continues SARS-CoV-2 spreads through tiny droplets in the air called aerosols, but scientists believe monkeypox spreads primarily through close contact with bodily fluids, so a person infected with monkeypox will infect a lot fewer close contacts than someone infected with the coronavirus, Hooper added. Research from sequencing viral genomes from people infected with monkeypox in Belgium, France, Germany, Portugal and the United States suggests the monkeypox strain resembles the much less lethal strain found in West Africa, which has a death rate of less than 1% in rural populations. In comparison, the much more virulent strain in Central Africa has a fatality rate up to 10%, according to Nature. MONKEYPOX AND ENDEMIC DISEASES BECOMING MORE PERSISTEN, WHO SAYS These sequences are most similar to the cluster of monkeypox cases that cropped up outside outside Africa in 2018 and 2019 and were linked to travel in West Africa. So the simplest explanation is the person who had the first non-African case of the year became infected through either animal contact or close contact with someone already infected with the virus while traveling to a similar region in Africa, says Bernie Moss, a virologist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Researchers hope to discover if the rapid rise in cases are from a viral mutation that allows monkeypox to transmit more easily, says Dr. Raina MacIntyre, an epidemiologist specializing in infectious diseases at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. But unlike SARS-CoV-2, which is an RNA virus that is adept at evading immunity from vaccines or prior infection, monkeypox is a DNA virus, which are known to be better at repairing mutations than RNA viruses. This means the monkeypox virus is less likely to suddenly mutate and make person-person transmission easier, MacIntyre added. But its still "deeply concerning" monkeypox cases are rising in people with no connection to one another, McCollum said. Scientists are also trying to discover why the case clusters include mostly men ages 20-50 years old, many who have sex with men (MSM), but MacIntyre says it could be coincidental that the virus was introduced into a MSM community and continued to spread as it is not known to be a sexually transmitted infection . United Kingdom Health Security Agency, however, recommends symptomatic monkeypox patients should abstain from sexual activity while lesions are present even though there is no known evidence of the virus in genital excretions. In addition, they recommend use of condoms for eight weeks after infection. In this Centers for Disease Control and Prevention handout graphic, symptoms of one of the first known cases of the monkeypox virus are shown on a patients hand. CDC/Getty Images Although the CDC notes there is no specific treatment for monkeypox, several antivirals may prove to be beneficial. In addition, the United States has a stockpile of millions of smallpox vaccines, two of which are approved and are generally effective also against monkeypox. The CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recently published recommendations to limit the use of the smallpox vaccine known as Jynneos to healthcare workers and laboratory personnel who work closely with the virus. McCollum noted these therapies will not be deployed on a large scale, but instead close contacts of those infected with monkeypox will be vaccinated in a method called "ring vaccination." "The first part is to identify those who are infected and to isolate them and make sure that they get the care they need," said Dr. Raj Panjabi, who leads the White House's monkeypox response. "The second part is to ensure we vaccinate those who've been exposed to the infected individuals. If we do that again and again and that's our approach at the White House and across the government then we have a better chance of ending this outbreak." TomTom revamped its business strategy in 2019, taking a bet on driverless cars Eva Plevier/Reuters Geolocation tech company TomTom is cutting 10% of its global workforce. The layoffs are concentrated in its maps unit, due to improvements in TomTom's mapmaking automation. 500 employees will be affected by the restructuring, according to a press release. Geolocation tech firm TomTom is laying off 500 employees in its maps unit after engineering investments improved its automated mapmaking platform, the company said. It announced the decision in a company press release published on Wednesday. The number of maps unit employees affected is equivalent to around 10% of the company's total global headcount. "Higher levels of automation and the integration of a variety of digital sources will result in fresher and richer maps, with wider coverage," said TomTom CEO Harold Goddijn in the statement. A TomTom spokesperson told Insider: "The intended reorganization is spread over more than 20 countries globally. We will not comment on the specific country by country impact as we want to ensure a diligent process with all parties involved." It added: "When hiring, the potential redundant profiles are considered thoroughly, to see whether these could be a match, before turning to the market." The company said it would assist any employees involved, where possible, to find and apply for new positions within TomTom. TomTom's stock has fallen nearly 19% year-to-date. Tech companies have been battered by stock sell-offs as yearly revenue projections have been downgraded and investors have gotten jitters. Once best-known for its satellite car navigation, Amsterdam-based TomTom revamped its strategy in 2019, including to cater to self-driving car mapping technology. It has signed a string of partnerships with major car brands to provide HD maps to their systems, amounting to a roughly 60% market share in HD maps when measured by total car volume, according to a corporate pitch deck. It also has ongoing partnerships with Uber, Microsoft, and Apple Maps, according to Venture Beat. Story continues TomTom joins a rapidly growing list of tech companies slashing their workforces, including European tech darling Klarna, a "buy now, pay later" fintech that laid off around 700 of its employees this month. Streaming giant Netflix, delivery startup Gorilla, and retail investing app Robinhood have also made recent cuts to their workforces. Read the original article on Business Insider The Washington State Patrol says nearly a thousand drivers refused to stop on the states highways during the first five months of this year. They are essentially ignoring the troopers lights and sirens. Some blame a new law that stiffened requirements for police to pursue drivers they suspect of doing something wrong. But those who support the new law say it is saving lives. The law says the driver must be wanted for something other than, for example, an expired license tab. In fact, they have to have probable cause to believe a violent felony has been committed or that the driver is seriously impaired. Since the law went into effect, hundreds of drivers on the states highways have apparently kept going when troopers have tried to stop them. It happened on Memorial Day. Police officers chased a driver through Kent and into Federal Way. It ended with the suspect in custody. But these pursuits are happening less often because of a new state law. Weve had 934 people between January 1 and May 17 this year statewide that have failed to stop for a traffic, said Sgt. Darren Wright, a spokesman for the Washington State Patrol. They are not stopping despite the police lights. Thats correct, said Sgt. Wright. Sgt. Wright also says troopers arent trying to stop fleeing drivers because of the strict new guidelines under House Bill 1054 passed last year. The new law says that unless somebody you have probable cause for a violent felony, which is things like murder, rape, armed robbery, things like that, said Sgt. Wright. Or we have reasonable suspicion that there is an impairment. And even then, a supervisor has to approve the chase. What I hadnt understood before looking into the data was how common this is, said Dr. Martina Morris. A statistician, she provided the data for the new law. Active vehicle pursuits are the second most common cause of death in police encounters here in Washington State, said Dr. Morris. And half of the people killed are bystanders and passengers. Story continues And it can happen even once police break off the pursuit. Seventy-four-year-old Robert Mauzay of SeaTac was struck and killed nearly two years ago by a driver still fleeing despite the state trooper having stopped the pursuit. Dr. Morris calculates that in all 71 people have been killed because of pursuits since 2015 in this state alone. The risk is not balanced by the need to apprehend, said Dr. Morris. She says in the 12 months before the new law took effect, 11 people died in active vehicle pursuits. Since the new law took effect, just one person a bystander has died. And Sgt. Wright says troopers will continue to follow the law and chase after drivers only if they meet the new criteria. He says it is a felony to ignore law enforcements signal to stop. Jun. 1A Nevada attorney who has represented the family of an Orofino man who died in an officer-involved shooting has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against Clearwater County Sheriff Chris Goetz. Stephen P. Stubbs, in association with Boise attorneys Nathan R. Starnes and Joe Frick, claims in a 12-page document that Goetz violated Stubbs' First Amendment free speech guarantee by removing comments Stubbs made on Goetz's Facebook page. Stubbs claims Goetz "first censored and then blocked (Stubbs') polite and public questioning of the integrity of the investigation and why the sheriff had not released the body camera footage (from the incident). In this way, the sheriff's contorted and dishonest account of his officer's deadly aggression towards a mentally ill man could remain dominant." Stubbs represented the family of Michael J. Trappett, of Orofino, who died Jan. 31 after allegedly threatening two Clearwater County deputies with a knife. The incident was first investigated by the Lewiston Police Department. Latah County Prosecutor William W. Thompson eventually concluded that the officers' actions were legally justified. Goetz, contacted by phone Tuesday, declined to comment on Stubbs' lawsuit. His Facebook page, however, displays a disclaimer saying that it is not the official page for the sheriff's office or for Clearwater County. The page, created as a campaign tool, includes sheriff's office-related items, personal items "or other things I find of interest. The purpose is to let the citizens of Clearwater County, Idaho know what I think since Facebook is used by so many residents. I will not discuss open criminal cases or cases that are pending court action." In his lawsuit, Stubbs claims his comments on Goetz's Facebook page "were deliberately deleted or hidden from public view." Stubbs said his comments did not contain obscene, sexually explicit, or racially derogatory content. Rather, he said, his comments "questioned the legitimacy of (Goetz's) statement (regarding the circumstances of Trappett's death) and suggested that his facts were not accurate or misleading." Story continues "Stubbs has had his speech and expressive conduct suppressed and his civil rights infringed," the lawsuit states. Goetz has "banned an individual member from participating in public discourse. Individual members and persons who challenge the statements, positions, and opinions of public leaders will continue to face an ongoing threat that their posts or commentary will be arbitrarily deleted and/or that they may be banned from ... a public forum." Stubbs is asking the court for a jury trial and for unspecified monetary damages and attorney fees. Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com. By Richa Naidu LONDON (Reuters) - Billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz didn't have to wage an all-out proxy war this time - Unilever welcomed him onto its board with little apparent fuss. Peltz will become a non-executive director in July after his Trian investment vehicle built up a 1.5% stake, Unilever said Tuesday, four months after reports originally surfaced that he was buying into the group. When he takes up the role, Peltz will have had a hand in running three out of the world's four biggest consumer goods companies, including Procter & Gamble and Pepsico. Through Trian, the 79-year-old New Yorker has elbowed his way into the boardrooms of some of the biggest names in the industry, from Heinz to Oreo-maker Mondelez - building a reputation for pugnacity on the way. One former Heinz C-suite executive, who was part of the group's proxy battle with Peltz and worked with him before he left Heinz's board, told Reuters: "Peltz was ferocious during what was a very damaging proxy battle; very bruising during that time." Procter & Gamble also went up against Peltz in 2017 in what was then the most expensive proxy fight in U.S. history and won marginally, eventually adding him to its board "because the election results were so close". In contrast, Unilever's Chairman Nils Andersen welcomed Peltz's appointment following "extensive and constructive discussions". Peltz said he looked forward to "working collaboratively with management". Both Unilever and Trian declined to comment beyond their initial statements. Unilever, whose shares have dropped some 35% from their September 2019 peak, has already faced combative shareholders of late. The group, which makes Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Knorr stock cubes, has been under pressure from investors to reform since the start of the year, criticized mostly for its underperforming margins and three failed bids for GlaxoSmithKline's consumer health business. Story continues "Given the range of brands they have at their disposal and the global footprint in which these are sold, Unilever is one of the 'crown jewels' of UK-listed large capitalization companies - but recent performance has left a lot to be desired," Jack Martin, a fund manager at Unilever shareholder Oberon Investments, said. "A disastrous recent attempt to buy GSK's consumer healthcare unit and some bizarre rhetoric around Hellmann's mayonnaise having a purpose has meant discontent expressed from a number of large shareholders recently in the press." That may make Peltz a welcome addition to the group. What sets him apart, according to those he has worked with, is the "intensity" with which he drives change, and his ability to keep company executives on their toes with thorough research. "He's very well informed, very good with the press. We were repeatedly surprised - he absolutely knew everything that was going on," the former Heinz executive said. "He talked to ex-Heinz people, analysts, industry experts - he had obviously done his homework." Peltz brought an "energy, intensity and focus" to the business, the source, who declined to be named, added. Since Peltz joined its board, P&G shares have spiked about 90% - and the company has undertaken the overhaul Peltz had repeatedly called for. Investors in Unilever will be hoping for a similar result. The company has taken some steps to cut costs by consolidating its headquarters in London, getting rid of some slower growing businesses like its Lipton tea brand, and trimming jobs. But for many investors, that isn't enough. "Their portfolio needs to be much more focused," said Ashish Sinha, portfolio manager at shareholder Gabelli. "They've made tons of very little acquisitions which fall below the radar, but if you aggregate them, the total outlay is quite large in terms of the amount spent." "We want to see much more accountability in terms of how some of those acquisitions are performing," Sinha added, citing Dollar Shave Club, which Unilever bought for a reported $1 billion in 2016, as a business that underperformed. When Peltz joins Unilever's board, he will be part of the group's compensation committee, with a say over management's salaries. "Have they spent the right amount of money on acquisitions?" Sinha asked. "And does that reflect aptly on Alan Jope and top management's compensation?" (Reporting by Richa Naidu; Editing by Matt Scuffham and Jan Harvey) Whilst it may not be a huge deal, we thought it was good to see that the Venture Life Group plc (LON:VLG) Non-Executive Chair, Paul McGreevy, recently bought UK50k worth of stock, for UK0.34 per share. Nevertheless, it only increased their shareholding by a minuscule percentage, and it wasn't a massive purchase by absolute value, either. Check out our latest analysis for Venture Life Group Venture Life Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year In fact, the recent purchase by Paul McGreevy was the biggest purchase of Venture Life Group shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that even when the share price was higher than UK0.33 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. In the last twelve months Venture Life Group insiders were buying shares, but not selling. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction! There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them). Insider Ownership Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Our data indicates that Venture Life Group insiders own about UK2.3m worth of shares (which is 5.6% of the company). We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership. Story continues What Might The Insider Transactions At Venture Life Group Tell Us? We note a that there has been a bit of insider buying recently (but no selling). The net investment is not enough to encourage us much. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. We'd like to see bigger individual holdings. However, we don't see anything to make us think Venture Life Group insiders are doubting the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Venture Life Group. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Venture Life Group you should be aware of. If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt. For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Jun. 1A case against a Springfield charitable organization that the Ohio Attorney General's office accused of mishandling funds and property has been settled. An anonymous tip led to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost launching an investigation against Carleton F. & Ruth T. Davidson Trust. Yost's office alleged that trustees misused funds and property associated with the trust for personal purposes. It is unclear when the investigation was opened. However, a settlement was reached on May 12, 2021, according to Yost's office. "The trust and the (Ohio Attorney General's office) have agreed to resolve the charitable investigation, in order to avoid the cost and expense of further investigation and potential litigation, on the terms set forth in this agreement," according to the settlement. All of the terms laid out in two separate settlements have been reached, a spokesperson with the Ohio Attorney General's office confirmed recently. The specific violations alleged against the trust is unclear. But, as a result of the settlement agreement signed last year, a property was ordered to be sold or donated. In addition, a board member was ordered to pay restitution and resign from his post, the trust agreed to maintain three unrelated trustees at all times and complete board of governance training. A property owned by the trust and sometimes referred to as the Davidson Nature Park, was sold and Trustee Doug Rice agreed to pay restitution of $30,000 to be distributed by the attorney general's office. Rice also resigned from his position. The property in question regarded three parcels of property located at or around 4465 East National Road that accounts for 120 acres of land. It was sold last November by Norma Dillon and Douglas E. Rice to DARP LLC for $1,350,000, according to the Clark County Auditor's office. Rice, named in one the of the settlements, was also barred from serving as trustee for the trust in the future. Story continues Although the trust and Rice entered into agreements with the Ohio Attorney General's office, that does not constitute an admission of "the facts or violations of law" alleged by the state, according to a copy of the settlement regarding Rice. In addition to the sale of property, another settlement was eached "with an individual board member who served as signatory on accounts and agreements that appeared to personally benefit the board member's late father." Though it did not mention Rice by name, he was the one that agreed to pay restitution in the settlement pertaining him, according to the AG's office. The Carleton F & Ruth T Davidson Trust was created in 1987, and the nonprofit's agreement requires its trustees to "hold and administer in Trust for religious, charitable, scientific and educational purposes all of the assets which may come into the Trust..." "On the basis of the charitable investigation, the (Ohio Attorney General's office) has a reasonable basis to believe that certain violations of Ohio law have occurred," stated a settlement between the AG's office and the trust that was signed last year. Hannah Hundley, a public information officer for the attorney general's office, recently clarified that settlements were reached with both the trust and Rice individually. "All other terms of both settlements have been complied with as far as we know," Hundley said in a recent email to this news organization. Ohio lawmakers approved a plan to spend $3.5 billion over the next two years on projects at parks, schools, prisons and more. State lawmakers approved a capital budget bill that calls for spending $3.5 billion on improving school safety, upgrading parks, investing in community projects and helping Intel build a semiconductor plant in Licking County. Another bill detailing how to spend another $942 million also passed the House and Senate Wednesday. The capital budget, which now awaits Gov. Mike DeWine's signature, is a state spending bill done every two years. It pays for bricks-and-mortar projects and includes earmarks for community projects. Ohio is sitting on surplus tax revenue, so at least $1.5 billion of the budget will be paid with cash instead of borrowed money, said Sen. Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls. The biggest winner in the spending is Intel Corporation, but the plans also include cash for parks, prisons, schools and local community projects. Here are some highlights. Intel coming to Ohio In January, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Ohio had landed a deal with Intel, which promised to invest $20 billion in Licking County to build two semiconductor factories. It's set to be Ohio's largest economic development project in state history. The DeWine administration pledged more than $2 billion in incentives to the company, half of which is laid out in the capital budget. Intel in Ohio: Here's how Ohio won a bid by Intel to build the world's largest chip factory The initial incentives include $300 million for a water reclamation plant, $101 million for increasing water and sewer capacity, $95 million for road work and a $600 million grant to offset the cost of building the plants here, rather than in other countries. Suppliers and other Intel-related projects may also see tax breaks. Money can be clawed back, however, if Intel fails to hit certain performance standards, such as the number of jobs created and the amount of capital investments. Some have criticized the standards as not strict enough, such as lack of a requirement to hire Ohio residents. Story continues Grants for school safety In the wake of the Uvalde, Texas, mass shooting that killed 19 elementary school students and two teachers, DeWine called for a series of proposals to beef up school security and mental health services. One proposal is to equip Ohio's 5,300 public school buildings with state-of-the-art safety infrastructure. "It is not going to be cheap," the governor acknowledged Friday. Under the capital budget, around $100 million from Ohio's portion of the American Rescue Plan Act will go toward school safety grants. Grants will be a maximum of $100,000 per school building for both public and chartered non-public school districts. Schools will have to apply for the money, which can be used for inspection and screening as well as other physical enhancements. However, those that have already received prior funding for school safety recently will not be able to apply. State park upgrades Almost $200 million of the state's American Rescue Plan Act money is set aside for improvements to state parks, which has been a priority for the governor. "From Maumee Bay to Geneva to Lake Hope to Great Seal to Hueston Woods to John Bryan, our state parks are the crown jewels of Ohio, and they add so much to our quality of life and what makes Ohio such a great place to live, he said in his State of the State address. About $137 million will be spent on facilities such as cabins, restrooms and campgrounds. New and improved trails will be funded with $15 million. Wastewater and water systems operated by the Department of Natural Resources will get $50 million. Hundreds of millions dollars more from the state will also fund improvement of state park facilities. Prisons and jails Jails and prison projects across Ohio will get $403 million. The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction has cited the need for adequate spacing, especially after the pandemic. Money will be spent on window replacements, HVAC upgrades, shower renovations and security upgrades. About $50 million will go to county jails, which are also facing similar problems with aging infrastructure. They've said they've had to house even more people, particularly those with substance abuse and mental health issues. "This is a sound investment that will strengthen public safety and allow counties to address the growing and evolving needs of todays criminal justice system, said Debbie Lieberman, president of the County Commissioners Association of Ohio. About $6 million will go toward constructing community-based correction facilities, which are intended to divert nonviolent offenders away from state prisons. In addition, another $103 million will go toward Department of Youth Services projects, including a 120-bed facility to replace Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility. Second primary election Lawmakers plan to give $20 million to county boards of elections to hold an Aug. 2 primary election for state legislative races under the smaller spending bill. Voters didn't cast ballots on those races in the May 3 primary because of a protracted fight over redistricting. The Ohio Supreme Court has rejected multiple times legislative maps drawn by the Ohio Redistricting Commission as unconstitutional. A federal court ruled that a set of maps rejected by the Ohio Supreme Court would be used for an August primary. The commission still needs to produce constitutional maps for later election cycles. Appalachia money DeWine in his State of the State address highlighted the importance of investing in rural Appalachia, not just Ohio's urban areas. The smaller spending bill includes $500 million to fund and launch a new Appalachian Community Grant Program, which will give money to research and implement new community projects with the aim of boosting or revitalizing those communities. DeWine had said he envisioned money being used for downtown re-development, broadband coverage, workforce development, student wellness and addiction treatment. "One of the most important things we can do that will benefit - not only the 32 counties in the Appalachian region, but also our entire state - is to make a long overdue, comprehensive investment in Appalachia," said the governor. Community projects and others Local communities will get $191 million from the capital budget for projects such as parks, theaters or other attractions. More than $32 million will be allotted to mental health facilities around the state. Facilities like YMCAs want to create better wrap-around services, such as affordable housing and more outpatient sites. For a full breakdown of allocations in the capital budget, you can view the whole list here: https://www.lsc.ohio.gov/documents/budget/134/capitalAppropriations/itemAnalysis/capitalanalysis.pdf. Titus Wu is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What is in Ohio's $3.5B capital budget this year? Russian oil The publication notes that some OPEC member states are concerned that sanctions and a ban on oil imports into the EU "will undercut Russia's ability to pump more." Already this year, Moscows production may reduce by at least 8%. If Russia is excluded from OPEC, other countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, will be able to increase production, which is what the European Union and the United States are asking them to do. Read also: EU should stop Putin from paying for his war with an oil levy It is unknown at this time whether Russia will agree to leave the organization. Earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that the sixth EU sanctions package against Russia has already been agreed and mentioned the key areas targeted. "European countries have agreed to significantly restrict oil imports from Russia, he explained. And I am grateful to everyone who worked to reach this agreement. The practical outcome is minus tens of billions of euros, which Russia will now be unable to use to finance terror. Read also: Russian energy embargo: Europe must stop financing Putins Ukraine war News agency Reuters, which saw a draft of the sanctions package, said on May 30 that it could include a ban on oil imports by sea, while sanctions against oil pipelines to landlocked Hungary, Slovakia and Czechia would be imposed later. European Council President Charles Michel has said that the sixth package of sanctions against Russia will be approved on June 1-2. Russia's war against Ukraine is in its fourth month. Owen Wilson was the victim of a "grand theft" incident after his tires were stolen from his Tesla parked overnight in Santa Monica last weekend. Law enforcement officials confirmed the wheels were reported completely removed from the vehicle on Sunday, May 22. "No one saw anything. There were no witnesses to the crime," Lieutenant Rudy Flores of the Santa Monica Police Department confirmed to Fox News Digital. Total loss estimates reportedly exceeded $4,000 and officials are "checking neighborhood home security cameras for any leads" on the case. Grand theft under California Penal Code Section 487(a) is defined as unlawfully taking another person's property valued in excess of $950. The crime can be charged as either a felony or a misdemeanor. Owen Wilson's tires were stolen from his Tesla in Santa Monica last weekend. The actor attended the 'The French Dispatch' screening during the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 12, 2021. Marc Piasecki/FilmMagic The 53-year-old "Wedding Crashers" actor reportedly parked the vehicle outside his home in the affluent neighborhood, and noticed the "rims and tires" were gone in the morning, according to TMZ. Tesla's electric vehicles range anywhere from the basic Model 3, $43,990 base price, to the Model X Plaid, which starts at $119,990 and offers an estimated 335 miles range of distance per charge with top speeds of 200 miles per hour. Wilson most recently starred as Charlie alongside Ben Affleck's fiancee, Jennifer Lopez, in the romantic comedy "Marry Me," and is gearing up to play a priest in the "Haunted Mansion" with Danny DeVito and Rosario Dawson. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva recently said, "Its profitable to do crime in Los Angeles County" as he addressed District Attorney George Gascons policies last month, which he claimed sparked higher crime rates in the city. LA SHERIFF SAYS DEPUTIES MAKING ARRESTS, BUT CASES FALL APART WHEN THEY REACH DA GASCON "Were having people [from] out of county, out of state, coming here to LA to do home invasion robberies, burglaries," Villanueva said, before adding that "foreign nationals [are] coming here to do burglaries." The 53-year-old actor has starred in dozens of movies through the years, including the recent romantic comedy with Lopez. James Devaney/GC Images More than 400,000 people have signed a Los Angeles County petition calling for Gascons recall. The petition is required to have 566,857 by July 6 in order to get the recall question on the November ballot for Los Angeles voters. Story continues A 2021 attempt didn't gather enough signatures by the filing deadline to go to a vote. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER On his first day in office effective Dec. 8, 2020, Gascon released a memo listing 13 misdemeanor offenses the DAs office would no longer would prosecute in efforts to "reimagine public safety and best serve the interests of justice and community well-being," including driving without a valid license, drug possession, drinking in public, public intoxication, loitering to commit prostitution, resisting arrest, and trespassing. Villanueva, a Democrat running for re-election in June, called out Gascon as allegedly contributing to the uptick in LAs violent crime. His office presented 13,238 cases that the district attorneys office later rejected because they dont conform to Gascons "special directives." Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva says deputies making arrests, but cases fall apart when they reach DA Gascon. Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews "Astonishing number of cases," Villanueva told Fox News. "These are people that did bad things that left a victim, have the evidence presented, and they said dont bother.'" According to data provided by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department , homicides are down 40% from this point last year; however, robberies and aggravated assaults are up more than 11%. "The deputies are going to continue doing their job, they make the arrests, theyll write the reports, but then what happens after its submitted to the D.A is where it all falls apart," Villanueva said. On June 1, 2022, President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolence to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro over the severe floods in Brazil, which have caused heavy casualties. Xi Jinping said, I was shocked to learn of the severe floods in northeastern Brazil, which have caused heavy casualties and property losses. I would like to express deep condolences to the victims and extend sincere sympathies to the bereaved families and the people in the disaster-hit areas. I wish the injured an early recovery. Petrol prices are on the rise despite the chancellor 5p-a-litre cut. Photo: Press Association Average UK petrol prices soared by 10p in May, the second largest monthly rise on record, while the cost of filling up a car with diesel reached 100 for the first time ever. According to the RACs Fuel Watch data, a litre of unleaded rose from 162.87p at the start of May to 174.02p by the close. This was less than a penny short of the all-time biggest rise recorded in March when a litre of petrol jumped by 11.61p to 163.28p. However, the major difference with the May rise is that this happened after the historic 5p-a-litre duty cut invoked by chancellor Rishi Sunak on 23 March and, of course, despite this, the cost of a litre has rocketed to yet another record high, the RAC said. Read more: Petrol and diesel prices: How much is it costing to fill your tank? Last month also saw average diesel prices climb to new records, with a litre going up to 183p, a hike of more than 5p. This took the cost of a complete tank above 100 for the first time ever. A full tank of petrol also hit the landmark cost of nearly 96. The drastic rise of prices at the pump has been driven by oil (BZ=F) rising from $106.07 (84) to a late month high of $124.45 a barrel a 17% increase. In addition to this, a weaker pound (GBPUSD=X) has also had an effect as fuel, like oil, is traded in dollars on the wholesale market which can dramatically affect the price retailers pay to buy it. The average price of a litre of unleaded across the big four supermarkets, which dominate UK fuel retailing, went up nearly 9p from 160.31p at the beginning of May to 169.05p by the end. Diesel increased from 174.18p to 180.38p a jump of 6p a litre. On the motorway a litre of petrol closed the month at 187.66p, up by nearly 5.5p from 182.19p at the start. Diesel finished the month at 197.71p, up from 192.5p, with the prospect of hitting 2 a litre very real in the near future. The RAC now expects average petrol prices to hit 185p as a result of the rising cost of oil, with diesel heading towards the 190p mark. It is calling on the UK government to intervene. Story continues Read more: Rising food and fuel costs sting low-income households Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February the price of petrol has gone up 24p a litre, For diesel the figure is 30p. This means the cost of filling a 55-litre petrol car has gone up by 13, and a diesel one by 16.50. Both of these figures would have been even higher had the government not cut fuel duty, RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said. While its hard to imagine prices getting much worse, the wholesale price of petrol has now gone above diesel which spells yet more bad news at the pumps in the coming weeks. With drivers facing such a dire situation on the forecourts we badly need further intervention from the chancellor as households and businesses surely cant take much more financial pain in conjunction with the horrendous hikes in gas and electricity. He added: Something needs to be done, whether thats a further cut in duty from the current 53p charged on every litre bought at the pumps, or a reduction in VAT from 20%. Arguably, a duty cut would make a bigger difference to both businesses and individuals, but it also seems very unfair that the Treasury is benefitting to the tune of 30p a litre in VAT revenue from the record high prices as its effectively a tax on a tax, applied on top of the wholesale fuel cost, duty, delivery and retailer margin. the challenges drivers are facing, a VAT cut would be instant and wouldnt be swallowed up by fluctuations on the wholesale market. Watch: Why are gas prices rising? The Queen at the 2013 Trooping the Colour in Buckingham Palace (PA) (PA Archive) The UK will mark the Queens 70th year on the throne in a special four-day bank holiday weekend in June. Her Majesty became the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee on 6 February 2022. Her significant milestone will be celebrated in a number of events and initiatives taking place across the UK during the long weekend. These will include public events and community activities, as well as national moments of reflection on the Queens 70 years of service. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said that more than 70,000 Big Jubilee Lunches have been planned across all four UK nations, with an expected 10 million people set to celebrate with their neighbours during the weekend. Culture secretary Nadine Dorries said the UK will celebrate it with tradition, pomp and circumstance. The Queen and members of the royal family on the balcony at Buckingham Palace watch a 2019 flypast (Victoria Jones/PA) (PA Wire) I hope that people and communities across the country will come together to pay tribute to Her Majesty whether that be to watch on big screens or toasting Her Majesty at a Big Jubilee Lunch with their neighbours or coming together in their local village hall. Here is the full schedule of celebrations taking place across the Platinum Jubilee weekend. When is the Platinum Jubilee? The extended four-day bank holiday to mark the Queens Platinum Jubilee will take place from Thursday 2 June to Sunday 5 June. Thursday 2 June On this day, the Queens Birthday Parade will begin at 10am. Trooping the Colour marks the official birthday of the British Sovereign and usually takes place on the second Saturday in June. However, this year, the ceremonial event will take place two days earlier as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. The 1st Battalion, Irish Guards, and more than 1,200 officers and soldiers from the Household Division will put on a display of military pageantry on Horse Guards Parade, alongside hundreds of Army musicians and around 240 horses. The timings are as follows: 10am: Trooping the Colour parade begins 10.30am: Member of the royal family leave Buckingham Palace for the parade ground Story continues The parade will be completed with a six-minute flypast of more than 70 aircraft from the Royal Navy, the Army and Royal Air Force, which will soar over Buckingham Palace. The Queen is expected to watch the flypast from the palace balcony with other working members of the royal family. Platinum Jubilee Beacons will also be lit on the first day of the long weekend. A special ceremony will be held at Buckingham Palace at 9pm to light the Principal beacon, which involves The Tree of Trees, a 21m-high tree made of 350 smaller trees. At 9.25pm members of the royal family will arrive to watch the lighting of the principal beacon at the palace. Other beacon events will also take place, including community beacons that will be lit by communities, charities and other groups, and Commonwealth beacons in all 54 capital cities of the Commonwealth. Friday 3 June A Service of Thanksgiving will be held at St Pauls Cathedral to give thanks for the Queens reign. Royal family members will begin to arrive from 11am and afterwards, at 12.25pm, they will attend a Guildhall reception hosted by the Lord Mayor. Great Paul, the largest church bell in the country, will be rung for the first royal occasion in its history for the service. The ringing of Great Paul will be followed by a peal of bells to celebrate. The bell was made in 1882 but fell silent in the 1970s due to a broken mechanism and was restored in 2021. Members of the royal family are expected to attend, possibly including the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Duke of York. Saturday 4 June The Queen is expected to attend the Derby at Epson Downs on Saturday 4 June with other members of the royal family. The Derby will take place at 5.30pm. Frankie Dettori and Willie Carson are expected to be par of a guard of honour at the Derby, with up to 40 past and present jockeys there who have ridden for the Queen. The day will also be marked with a Platinum Party at the Palace, hosted by Kirsty Young and Roman Kemp. The event will be broadcast live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and across the BBC network. The concert will include three stages, 3D projections across the front of Buckingham Palace and an in-person audience of 22,000, including 10,000 tickets allocated in a public ballot and 5,000 tickets for key workers. The line-up includes Queen + Adam Lambert, George Ezra, Alicia Keys, Nile Rodgers, Andrea Bocelli, Duran Duran, Bond composer Hans Zimmer, Ella Eyre, Craig David, Mabel, Elbow, George Ezra and Diana Ross. It will also feature appearances by Sir David Attenborough, Emma Raducanu, David Beckham, Stephen Fry and Dame Julie Andrews. Members of the royal family will arrive from 7.40pm, and the open-air concert will kick-off at 8pm and go until 10.30pm. Sunday 5 June Celebrations conclude on Sunday with the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, which will see thousands of performers process down The Mall. The pageant will begin at 2.30pm and last until 5pm. A giant dragon puppet the size of a double decker bus will feature in the procession, as well as corgis, acrobats, unicorns, dancers and circus acts. According to DCMS, the grand finale will showcase 150 national treasures, including Ed Sheeran who will sing the national anthem. The event is expected to be watched by up to one billion people worldwife and more than 10,000 people will be involved in the 15 million procession. There is speclation that the royal family could make another appearance on the balcony on this day. Millions of people will also sit down to a Big Jubilee Lunch in the afternoon as more than 200,000 local events have been planned, including screenings, street parties and lunches. WARSAW (Reuters) -Poland stands to get an economic boost from helping Ukraine, prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday as he headed for a meeting of the two governments to seal economic cooperation and help Ukraine's reconstruction. A staunch ally of Kyiv, Poland has been one of Ukraine's biggest financial supporters since the Feb. 24 invasion, but Morawiecki said helping Ukraine could also benefit Poland's economy. "Today we are preparing several agreements between specific ministries, which will help Ukraine and give Poland an economic impulse," Morawiecki told a news conference in the town of Borodianka near Kyiv. Agreements on streamlining border traffic and customs controls, cooperation between businesses, and on reopening an idled power line to export electricity to Poland from Ukraine were among those signed on Wednesday in Kiev. Kyiv and Warsaw have been discussing imports of electricity from Ukraine, which would support the stability of the Polish power system and allow Ukraine to benefit from synchronization of the transmission grid with the European Union network. Power utilities are already supplying equipment including cables and transformers to help restore electricity supplies in areas of Ukraine affected by the war. "It's matter of months, as soon as Ukraine wins the war, and will certainly win it, we will be ready to buy electricity from Ukraine," Morawiecki told a news briefing in Kiev after a meeting of the two governments. Morawiecki said earlier Poland would become a shipper of Ukrainian grain and other goods and an economic hub for Ukraine. Poland's railways stand to benefit from transporting Ukrainian grain to Baltic sea ports. With Russia controlling or effectively blockading Ukrainian Black Sea ports, grain shipments have stalled since the invasion began, while Moscow has blamed Western sanctions for disrupting exports of both grain and fertilizer. (Reporting by Alan Charlish, Marek Strzelecki, Pawel Florkiewicz, Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Bernadette Baum and David Holmes) Jun. 1A horrific mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 21 dead has local schools grappling with a potential shooting threat on their campuses. "Recent and frequent events" prompted the Mojave Unified School District to close its six schools Tuesday after threats posted on Instagram directed toward California City High School surfaced, according to a statement released on Facebook. "Unfortunately, the police department has been unable to identify who is posting or if the threat is credible," according to a statement released by the district. "Additionally, the (California City Police Department) is not staffed appropriately to respond to a threat of this nature in any way." In another incident, the Tehachapi Police Department arrested a 12-year-old boy Tuesday in connection to issuing threats about shooting a school, according to a news release. These incidents sparked questions about how police departments generally respond when confronting a school threat. Local incidents A student notified the California City High School principal of an Instagram threat Monday morning, Katherine Aguirre, superintendent of the Mojave school district, said Tuesday. Aguirre said she conversed with the California City police watch commander Monday before shuttering all school campuses in her district. Aguirre added the officer told her an investigation didn't significantly progress because students were not at school Monday, and the department faced staffing problems. "It was just in extreme caution," said the superintendent, who added that a decision to suspend school was made in coordination with board members and staff. "If somebody's intent on doing something, there's no sense in leaving any site vulnerable." Sgt. Shannon Hayes with the California City Police Department refuted claims about inadequate resources. He admitted the agency is short-staffed "like anybody else," but it can "accordingly and appropriately" respond to each threat. Local, state and federal partners are assisting the agency in the investigation, he noted. Story continues "So, unfortunately, the school got bad information yesterday," Hayes said. Aguirre said by Tuesday morning she was told enough police officers could investigate and respond to the school. However, she had made her decision Monday night to allow parents enough time to make plans for child care. Students will return to school Wednesday, she said, because officers will be on campus. Regarding the second local incident, the Tehachapi Police Department said it was alerted by the Tehachapi Unified School District about an Instagram post Tuesday about an unidentified school campus. Parents of the suspect, a 12-year-old boy, owned several firearms that were "properly and safely" secured, according to a news release. These individuals were "extremely cooperative" and voluntarily gave up their firearms to officers for "safekeeping." The boy was not a student in the Tehachapi Unified School District, but was a Tehachapi area resident, the TPD news release noted. The Tehachapi Police Department urged community members to report school threats immediately and to monitor social media activity of their children. 'A difficult, dynamic situation' Local law enforcement agencies have mapped out potential responses to a school threat. Sgt. Robert Pair, spokesman for the Bakersfield Police Department, who did not comment on local school threats or authorities' response in Uvalde, said it is hard to generalize each school threat because "they are so very different." Generally, parents report to police about a potential school threat after hearing about alarming activity on social media from their children, Pair said. Police investigate to pinpoint who posted a supposed threat. This process may take time, depending on the social media platform used, he added. "We take them seriously," Pair said. "Ultimately, you have to work them like it's a worst-case scenario and it's a valid threat until you prove otherwise. That's how we investigate them." Social media has caused the frequency of threats against schools to increase. Those issuing threats also can hide behind anonymity, Pair said. Identifying an account holder can take time depending on how fast police can identify the user based on how accessible the information is from the social media site. Social media users also have caused false associations involving local school districts. One such incident arose last week after the BPD investigated a threat against "RHS." Ultimately, Pair said, officers learned the school being referenced was in Texas, but this information spread on social media across the nation, leading local police to investigate Ridgeview High School. An "all-hands-on-deck" response is elicited if police cannot identify an individual making the high-probability threat, or they cannot find a person broadcasting threats, Pair said. Any "alarming" information about a suspect's background also prompts a response, Pair said. Individuals who have made homicidal statements, possess firearms or have a history of mental health issues are factors that can elevate concern, he added. Police have a "hierarchy of actions" when confronted with an active school shooter, he said. Stopping the threat by "whatever means necessary" is imperative because nothing can happen until the threat ceases, he added. Depending on the situation, police can then begin rescuing children and administering first aid. School shootings have changed since the 1999 Columbine school shooting, Pair added. Before Columbine, shooting incidents in schools generally were treated as hostage situations. Authorities now respond to "dynamic events" in which a suspect's sole purpose is to kill, he said. "It's a very difficult dynamic situation," Pair said. "Even in training, it can be very intense." You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @idesai98 on Twitter. Jun. 1Middletown Division of Police is investigating three incidents of gunfire in the city Tuesday night and early this morning, one that injured a woman. At about 8:45 p.m., officers were dispatched to the 400 block of Curtis Street on a report of several gunshots, according to city officials. They found several apartments struck by gunfire. Officers searched the area and reported no injuries during this investigation. Two hours later, officers were again sent to the 400 block of Curtis for a second call of shots fired at about 10:47 p.m. This time officers found a female struck in the neck by a bullet. The victim was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Detectives were investigating the second shooting on Curtis when they received a call of shots fired on in the 600 block 16th Avenue at about 12:57 a.m. The officers received additional information that a car crashed into a tree at 16th Avenue and South Verity Parkway with the occupants fleeing. One of the passengers was located and transported to the police station for questioning. Middletown Police Chief David Birk said detectives have not not determined if all three incidents are connected. The investigation is continuing with search warrants being executed, the chief said. Anyone with any information about any of the shootings is asked to call 911 or 513-425-7700, or contact Det. Becki French at 513-425-7742. POPSUGAR If you're one of the over 500,000 people who follow Ella Halikas on Instagram or TikTok, you already know that the 25-year-old is much more than her modeling portfolio. And that's saying something, considering front and center on that portfolio is none other than the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, in which Halikas appeared (in truly stunning fashion) in 2021. NY Daily News A condiment-obsessed Queens murder suspect hoarded sweet-and-sour duck sauce in his refrigerator but not enough to stop him from killing a Chinese food delivery worker in a feud over his wish for more, a police source said Tuesday. When cops opened accused killer Glenn Hirschs refrigerator, they found it full of items to flavor up his food including lots of duck sauce of the kind given ... PRINCE GEORGE A man being pursued by a Hopewell deputy sheriff was shot and killed in a confrontation with the deputy and other officers. The Virginia State Police is leading the investigation into the incident that unfolded around 12:30 p.m. The pursuit went from Hopewell into Prince George County and ended at the intersection of Temple Avenue and River Road. By that time, Hopewell Police and a federal agent had arrived to back up the deputy. Authorities said gunfire was exchanged between the unidentified suspect and the officers at the intersection, and the suspect was shot multiple times. He died at the scene. It was not immediately clear which of the officers on the scene fired the fatal shots. State police are investigating the shooting but not the pursuit. Temple Avenue was expected to be closed between Oaklawn Boulevard and Puddledock Road for most of the afternoon and evening while investigators work the scene. The deputy has not been identified. Hopewell Sheriff Travis Stanley has not released a statement about the incident yet. This is a developing story. Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist and daily news coach for USA TODAY Network's Atlantic Region which includes Virginia. He is based in Petersburg, Virginia. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com. This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Virginia deputy involved in fatal shooting of a pursuit suspect LAS VEGAS (AP) A Memorial Day weekend shooting on a Las Vegas-area freeway was an apparent ambush by Hells Angels members on rival Vagos biker gang members returning from a veterans cemetery ride, according to a police report made public Tuesday. Richard John Devries, who police identified as the Las Vegas Hells Angels chapter president, and club recruits Russell Smith and Stephen Alo were arrested late Sunday, several hours after the shooting on U.S. 95, according to Henderson police reports. At least six of the seven people taken to hospitals with wounds or injuries following the midday Sunday gunfire were Vagos members or affiliates, the report said. They were riding motorcycles back to Las Vegas after stops at Hoover Dam and the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City. A person whom police identified as an anonymous witness provided video showing three men wearing Hells Angels attire riding up to the Vagos group including one who appeared to have an object in his left hand before shots were fired. Police said multiple spent bullet casings were found strewn for more than a mile (1.6 kilometer) along the freeway. It was not clear from the police narrative if anyone in the Vagos group fired weapons, or if all the people who were reported injured received gunshot wounds. Two were hospitalized in critical condition, according to a police statement issued Monday that said a seventh person involved in the shooting arrived at a hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. Police on Tuesday did not provide an update of the conditions of the injured. Devries, 66; Smith, 46; and Alo, 26, remained jailed on $380,000 bail pending court appearances on multiple attempted murder, conspiracy, battery and weapon charges. Jail and court records did not immediately reflect court dates or if the men had attorneys who could speak on their behalf. Several attorneys who have represented Hells Angels and Vagos members in criminal cases in Las Vegas in recent years did not immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press. Story continues The freeway remained closed for more five hours during an investigation also involving Las Vegas and Boulder City police and the Nevada Highway Patrol, according to the Henderson police reports. Police said video obtained Sunday morning at a coffee shop in Boulder City and later from a dashboard camera of a police vehicle on a highway in Boulder City showed Devries, Smith and Alo among multiple members of the Hells Angels ... prior to the shooting call. Cellphone GPS location data put the three men together on U.S. 95 after the shooting, the reports said. 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 Russian President Vladimir Putin during the CSTO summit in Moscow on May 16, 2022. Getty Images Private equity firm Pamplona is looking to cut ties with Russian oligarch backers, per Bloomberg. Pamplona wants to replace its biggest backer; an investment firm that froze out two Russian cofounders. Pamplona has also had initial talks with Apollo Global, sources told Bloomberg. Private equity firm Pamplona is turning to US investment companies to help cut ties with Russian oligarch backers, Bloomberg reported. Pamplona Capital Management has sought help from American financial services and investment firm Jefferies to help distance itself from Russian oligarch connections, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg. In addition, the private equity company has held initial discussions with investment giant Apollo Global Management, some of the sources told Bloomberg. The two companies didn't speak about a structure for a deal in the talks, which were deemed provisional, one person familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity, told Bloomberg. Some of the sources told Bloomberg that it's part of Pamplona's effort to replace its largest backer, LetterOne, a London-based $22 billion investment firm. LetterOne froze out two of its cofounders, Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, in early March after they were sanctioned by the UK and EU over their close ties to the Kremlin in the midst of the Ukraine war. Three of the firm's board members also stepped down, despite not being sanctioned, LetterOne told Insider at the time. Pamplona oversees nearly $3 billion of LetterOne's money, a LetterOne spokesman previously told Bloomberg. Pamplona, Jefferies, Apollo, and LetterOne didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside of normal working hours. Hundreds of companies all over the world, including financial firms and banks, have cut ties with Russia, following its invasion of Ukraine in late February. Many private equity firms have since steered clear from deals that involve Russian firms and individuals because of the war, Bloomberg reported. Read the original article on Business Insider The platinum jubilee celebrations begin on Thursday 2 June (Getty Images/iStockphoto) The Queens platinum jubilee is upon us, with a four-day bank holiday weekend of festivities set to begin on Thursday. The public holiday is in celebration of the monarchs historic reign as she marks 70 years on the throne. Events organised by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Buckingham Palace include the Trooping the Colour ceremony on Thursday and a Service of Thanksgiving at St Pauls Cathedral on Friday. Buckingham Palace will also host the Party at the Palace on Saturday, and a Platinum Jubilee Pageant has been planned for Sunday. Separately, members of the public have organised their own celebrations up and down the country, including more than 16,000 street parties. The official events will also see performances from celebrities including Ed Sheeran, Alicia Keys, Craig David and Sir Elton John. Given the extravagance of the celebrations, they will come with a hefty price tag. Heres everything we know about how much the platinum jubilee is costing. How much money has the government set aside? In his March 2021 Budget, Chancellor Rish Sunak announced that 28 million is being set aside to fund the jubilee celebrations. What other funding is being used? The National Lottery has set up a platinum jubilee fund, which is making more than 22 million available to help communities across England celebrate. The fund is providing grants of up to 50,000 to 70 community projects up and down the UK. Additionally, Arts Council England has a Create Jubilee Fund which is supporting voluntary and community organisations in England to ensure creative and cultural activities are given centre stage during the bank holiday weekend. The fund has been issuing grants of up to 10,000. Separately, the council announced 175,000 to help public libraries celebrate. Sport England created the Queens Platinum Jubilee Activity Fund from a pot of 5 million National Lottery money. Grants from 300 to 10,000 are being issued for initiatives which are bringing a community together and tackling inequalities. Commuter - stock shot Railway workers will go on a three-day strike over pay and jobs later this month. The strike is expected to cause widespread disruption to passenger and freight services in England, Scotland and Wales. When is the strike happening? Strikes are due to take place on: 21, 23 and 25 June. The action will "shut down" the country's railway network, according to the union involved - the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT). RMT members include everyone from drivers, guards and catering staff to signallers and track maintenance workers. Which lines are affected? People working for 13 train operating companies, which run services in different parts of the country, will take part in the strike. These are: Chiltern Railways Cross Country Trains Greater Anglia LNER East Midlands Railway c2c Great Western Railway Northern Trains South Eastern Railway South Western Railway TransPennine Express Avanti West Coast West Midlands Trains. In addition, workers at Network Rail, which maintains the railways throughout Britain, also voted to strike. So, the impact of the action would be felt across England, Scotland and Wales. What about other rail operators? Workers at two companies who were part of the RMT ballot did not vote to go on strike. GTR, which operates the Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express, voted for action short of a strike - for instance refusing to work overtime. And Island Line on the Isle of Wight voted against any action. But even operators whose workers are not in favour of a strike expect services to be affected. For example, Transport for Wales - which is not in dispute with unions - has warned of disruption because its trains use railways run by Network Rail. In Scotland, the RMT has announced a strike ballot over ScotRail's pay offer, although it's not yet known when any action would take place. What could the impact be? The planned strike covers both the management of track, signals and tunnels (Network Rail) and the running of the trains (the train operators). Story continues It will affect both passenger services and the movement of goods by train, including fuel and some food. Rail replacement sign The government said it would prioritise the supply of food, goods and energy in the event of widespread strikes. Trains might only run for part of the day, such as from 07:00 to 19:00 and only on main lines. Services could also be reduced to around a fifth of the normal weekday timetable. Contingency plans are being worked on to keep some services running, but timetables would have to be scaled back. Will I have to go to work? The pandemic has made working from home more common. The Chartered Management Institute said it expected bosses to give staff flexibility to avoid the disruption where possible. It said: "In terms of the direct impact on commuters, there's no doubt it will be less than train strikes of two or three years ago." But not everyone will get that option. A "great divide" has emerged between people who can be flexible in such situations and those who have to come to work, it said. Why is the strike happening? The dispute is about pay, conditions and planned job cuts. The RMT said members working for train companies have been subject to "pay freezes, threats to jobs and attacks on their terms and conditions". Network Rail plans to cut 2,500 maintenance jobs as it tries to make 2bn of savings over the next two years. The RMT said the jobs are safety critical, and cutting them will make accidents more likely. Network Rail said it would not consider any changes that would make the railways less safe and that modernisation is needed. The Rail Delivery Group, which represents train companies, has urged the union to call off the strikes. It says "no one wins in the event of a strike". Can a strike be avoided? The strike would be called off if all parties can reach an agreement - and they all say they want to continue negotiations. Network Rail said it will do everything it can to avoid industrial action. The RMT said it was open to "meaningful negotiations", but warned they would need "new proposals to prevent months of disruption on our railways." A state representative is advocating for the father of a Uvalde, Texas, school shooting victim to be able to attend his daughters funeral after a report that he was denied compassionate release from a Kentucky prison. Eliahana Cruz Torres, 10, was one of 19 children killed on May 24 when an 18-year-old gunman opened fire inside the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, killing 19 children and two adult teachers, according to Texas officials. Her father, 46-year-old Eli Torres, is incarcerated at the McCreary United States Penitentiary, a federal prison in Pine Knot. Torres was convicted in Del Rio, Texas, of drug trafficking and conspiracy. After a request for compassionate release was reportedly denied, state Rep. Attica Scott sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Gov. Andy Beshear asking for their help. Her family is desperately seeking a way to ensure that her father gets an opportunity to attend his daughters memorial ceremonies, Scott wrote. ... If Eliahanas fathers rehabilitation record and behavior as an inmate would merit, this family would greatly appreciate him to be able to unite with them as they mourn the loss of their family member. She said in her letter that the father and daughter were one week from seeing each other in person before Eliahana was shot and killed. The Federal Bureau of Prisons didnt confirm with the Herald-Leader the report that the request was denied. For privacy, safety, and security reasons, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) does not provide information on any individual inmates conditions of confinement to include compassionate release requests or a request for temporary release, said Scott Taylor, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons. According to court documents, Torres was found guilty by a jury in 2013 for possession of cocaine in or around a private school, and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. His scheduled release is for February 2033, according to federal prison records. Story continues The Bureau of Federal Prisons uses compassionate release in particularly extraordinary or compelling circumstances which could not reasonably have been foreseen by the court at the time of sentencing. Procedures cover initiation of request under extraordinary or compelling circumstances, requests based on medical circumstances and requests based on non-medical circumstance for elderly inmates. Procedures also cover requests based on non-medical circumstances concerning the death or incapacitation of the family member caregiver of an inmates child. The reported denial of Torres release has sparked many in the United States and Kentucky to advocate on behalf of his release. A tweet about the denial of Torres release has received 31,000 retweets and 87,000 likes. PLEASE HELP: This is Elihana Cruz Torres, one of the victims of the Uvalde massacre. Her dad is incarcerated for a drug-related offense. He received the last letter from her on Friday May 20. Thursday afternoon he found out of her passing and his compassionate release was denied. pic.twitter.com/hN5mZk2ewL Lidia Terrazas (@LidiaTerrazas) May 28, 2022 Scott saw the viral tweet herself, and said she felt the least she could do in the state where Torres is incarcerated was reach out to the governor, and President Biden. She posted the letter she sent on her own Twitter page and called for the public to do their part as well. While the Bureau of Prisons has denied the request to allow Eliahnas father to attend her funeral, our advocacy on behalf of her family must persist. I sent this letter to @POTUS and @GovAndyBeshear demanding they do something! #UvaldeStrong #Uvalde #Kentucky https://t.co/j6wwbySTtJ pic.twitter.com/TyM2XDMVGw Rep. Attica Scott (@atticaforky) May 31, 2022 Scott said she didnt know why Torres request was denied, but had reached out to the Bureau of Prisons and Beshear to learn more. At the end of the day, this is interestingly about compassion, Scott told the Herald-Leader. Louisville claims to be the most compassionate city in the state, and we must show that by fighting for this family, and for Mr. Torres to attend his daughters funeral. The representative reported she did receive a confirmation letter from Beshears office that her letter was received, but received no comment from his office or Biden Wednesday afternoon. I hope that people of Kentucky can find in their hearts to step up and call for action to get Mr. Torres home on compassionate release to attend the funeral of his daughter to help build a sense of community and unity across the country, she said. More than that, we need people to come together for gun reform and stop these mass murders and shootings from happening further. LAKELAND The man described as the longest-serving inmate for marijuana crimes in the country will be out of a South Florida prison before Christmas. Richard DeLisi, sentenced to 90 years by a Polk County judge after his conviction in 1989, will be released in December, 18 months ahead of his scheduled departure, The Last Prisoner Project announced Monday in a news release. The nonprofit, which advocates for inmates serving long sentences based on nonviolent, marijuana-related offenses, has been seeking DeLisis early liberation. Richard DeLisi DeLisi, the subject of a recent article in The Ledger, is being held at South Bay Correctional Facility in Palm Beach County. Advocates say DeLisi, 71, is at high risk of death if he contracts COVID-19 because of various health problems. This will be the first Christmas since 1988 that DeLisi doesnt spend behind bars. LEDGER REPORT: Release sought for country's longest-serving marijuana convict sentenced in Polk It feels amazingly wonderful to know that I will be home with my family and loved ones very soon, DeLisi said, as quoted by his legal team in the news release. I am grateful to everyone who has been there and helped me along in these long years. If I could go back to 1988 I would tell my former self to put more value in the time I spend with my family. I have learned that money is something that comes and goes but family is forever. Polk County native Mary Bailey is a co-founder of the Last Prisoner Project, a nonprofit devoted to seeking release for inmates serving long sentences for marijuana-related crimes. The group is advocating for Richard DeLisi, sentenced in Polk County in 1989 to 90 years in prison. The Florida Department of Corrections did not respond to a request from The Ledger by Tuesdays print deadline. The news release from The Last Prisoner Project said the agency would issue DeLisis official release date on Monday. Mary Bailey, a Polk County native now living in Hawaii, is one of the co-founders of The Last Prisoner Project. I am absolutely overjoyed to learn about Richards upcoming release, Bailey said by email Tuesday. His story really hits home for me in many ways. I am so incredibly grateful to all of the activists, attorneys and journalists who have worked towards the shared goal of Richard being united with his loving family. The fact that Richard and his family will be reunited in time for the holidays this year warms my heart. Story continues Richard DeLisi, left, at a racetrack during his marijuana-smuggling days and at right, his prison mug. Prison life begins in 1989 DeLisi and his older brother, Ted DeLisi, were convicted in 1989 of trafficking in cannabis, conspiracy to traffic in cannabis and a violation of the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act. Judge Dennis Maloney sentenced both brothers to three consecutive 30-year sentences, well beyond the recommendations in judicial guidelines. Though they lived in Broward County, the brothers were arrested and tried in Polk County. Ted DeLisi during the drug-smuggling days with his brother, Richard. Ted DeLisi successfully appealed his conspiracy conviction and was released from prison in 2013, but Richard DeLisis appeal was rejected. Lawyers consulting with The Last Prisoner Project compiled a 223-page document in August arguing for DeLisis release and sent it to the office of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. That was a supplement to a clemency application DeLisi filed earlier this year. The governor sits on the Florida Clemency Board, which has the authority to grant inmates release before their terms are over. The board isnt scheduled to meet until December. Dennis Maloney, now a Senior Judge for the 10th Judicial Circuit, which comprises Hardee, Highlands and Polk counties, handed down the 90-year sentences in 1989 to Richard and Ted DeLisi. The Florida Department of Corrections can make recommendations for conditional release to inmates considered terminally ill or permanently incapacitated and deemed not a danger to others. The release is granted by the Florida Commissioner on Offender Review. A doctor who studied DeLisis case for The Last Prisoner Project said he has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, hypertension, diabetes, prostate problems, arthritis, degenerative disk disease and back problems and has sustained mini-strokes. It is my expert opinion, based on my education, training, certification, skills, and experience, that within a reasonable degree of certainty if Richard DeLisi is not released, he will contract COVID-19 in prison and within a reasonable probability die as a result, Dr. Karen Gedney wrote in her report. South Bay Correctional, a privately run prison operated by the GEO Group, has reported 421 positive tests for COVID-19 among inmates and 85 among staff members. Six inmate deaths had been attributed to the viral illness as of Tuesday afternoon. Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a clemency board hearing in January 2019. Overall, the Florida Department of Health reports that 180 Florida prison inmates have died of COVID-19 complications. 'Dark chapter of my life is finally over' The team working for DeLisis release included Mariah Daly, a legal fellow with The Last Prisoner Project, Chiara Juster, Elizabeth Buchanan and Michael Minardi. All provided their services at no cost, the nonprofits leaders said. The clemency packet included a letter from DeLisis brother-in-law, Robert Burrows, who said he and DeLisis sister, Laura, have a spare bedroom prepared for him in their house in Broward County. Ted DeLisi now lives in North Carolina. The clemency application contained letters of support for DeLisi from other family members, childhood friends, fellow inmates, prison supervisors and others recommending his release. Corrections officers at South Bay Correctional described him as a model inmate and an outstanding inmate. Richard DeLisi during the drug-smuggling days with his brother, Ted. The report said that DeLisi has only been cited for five minor infractions during his 32 years in prison, the most recent a telephone violation in 2005. The Last Prisoner Project estimated that Florida has spent more than $1.6 million on DeLisis incarceration to date and said it typically costs $70,000 a year or more to hold an inmate older than 50. Richard DeLisi booking mug in 1993 I am so excited to hug my children and grandchildren, DeLisi said in the statement provided by his legal team. I have missed so many important moments with them and I can't wait to get out there and create precious memories with everyone. I am so thrilled that this dark chapter of my life is finally over. DeLisis daughter, Ashley, was 3 years old when he went to prison. I just want to hug my dad outside of prison, she said, according to the release from The Last Prisoner Project. Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13. This story has been updated to clarify the process for conditional release of inmates considered terminally ill or permanently incapacitated and deemed not a danger to others. This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Richard DeLisi: Longest-serving pot inmate in US to get early release Russia's President Vladimir Putin visits a Rosneft refinery in the Black Sea town of Tuapse in southern Russia October 11, 2013. REUTERS/Alexei Nikolskyi The US and UK have said they want to ensure that Russia is never able to take aggressive actions again. But as long as the EU continues to rely on Russian energy, it's providing funding that Russia could use for more military campaigns like the Ukraine war. Ukraine has ripped into the EU for continuing to purchase Russian energy as the war rages on. Top officials in the US and UK have signaled that the broader goal of the West's support for Ukraine is to see Russia defeated so decisively that it's unable to invade other neighbors in the future, but that may well be unattainable despite their stiff Russia sanctions and arms support to Ukraine. "Now is not the time to be complacent. There should be no talk of ceasefires or appeasing Putin. We need to make sure that Ukraine wins, that Russia withdraws, and that we never see this type of Russian aggression again," British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Friday. These comments echoed remarks from US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin following a trip to Kyiv in April. "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," Austin told reporters at the time. But as long as Russia continues to be a major supplier of gas and oil to the EU, it will effectively have a chokehold over much of the region, and a revenue source to fuel future military campaigns. Even if Ukraine wins the war and regains its territory, Russia's influence over Europe's long-term energy supply grants Moscow significant leverage and power. Russia exported much less crude in April, for instance, but the rising prices triggered in part by its invasion of Ukraine resulted in $28 billion in energy export revenue. The Kremlin has also discounted its energy relative to other countries' exports, solidifying its existing trade relationships with India and China. With Russia's brutal war grinding on, commentators and Ukrainian leaders are arguing the EU must to do much more and sooner to break its reliance on Russian energy. Story continues Ukraine's top diplomat, Dymtro Kuleba, in April said that as long as the West "continues buying Russian gas and oil" then it's "supporting Russia's war machine." The US and its allies have slapped unprecedented sanctions on Russia over the war. But Kuleba has warned that the West's ongoing Russian energy purchases limits the impact of these economic penalties. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a virtual address to the World Economic Forum in Davos last week pushed for "maximum" sanctions on Russia, including an oil embargo. "We urgently need to move away from our dependence on Russian fossil fuels," Valdis Dombrovskis, European vice president and commissioner for trade for the European Commission, told CNBC last week. "We are in somewhat of a paradoxical situation where we are providing massive support to Ukraine with one hand and then we provide financing to Putin to continue its war with another hand. So this clearly needs to stop," Dombrovskis said in separate comments during a trade panel at the World Economic Forum, per the Associated Press. The Biden administration rolled out a ban on Russian oil, coal, and natural gas in late March, with the president saying the US "will not be subsidizing Putin's war." The UK followed with a plan to phase out oil imports by the end of the year. The EU which relies on Russia for 40% of its natural gas and 27% of its oil took a smaller first step, announcing in April it would only immediately ban Russian coal. On Monday, the bloc agreed to ban most Russian oil imports by the end of the year. This came after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has close ties to Putin, stalled the agreement for weeks citing economic concerns. Hungary's resistance to a complete ban led the EU to agree to a partial embargo that bars sea shipments but exempts pipeline deliveries as Hungary receives, and upon which the Orban regime relies. "This immediately covers more than 2/3 of oil imports from Russia, cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine," European Council president Charles Michel tweeted on Monday, adding, "Maximum pressure on Russia to end the war." Additionally, Poland and Germany said they would end pipeline imports. "This will effectively cut around 90% of oil imports from Russia to the EU by the end of the year," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a tweet Monday. But at the end of the day, this is not a total or immediate ban. The EU can't quickly sever its ties to the Kremlin's energy business without facing a crisis of skyrocketing prices and dramatically slowed economic growth. Russia, meanwhile, is still raking in plenty of cash with which to power its war effort. Despite a sharp drop in crude output, elevated prices lifted the country's oil and gas revenue to 1.81 trillion rubles ($28 billion) in April, according to the country's finance ministry. That's up from 1.2 trillion rubles in March. More broadly, the Kremlin expects to bring in $321 billion from its energy business in 2022, Bloomberg reported in April, up more than a third from last year. Much of that business will come from India and China. Both countries have ignored sanctions and continue to snap up Russian oil at a Kremlin-backed discount. Yet the EU remains a major buyer. The group has spent about $58 billion on Russian fossil fuels since the invasion of Ukraine began in late February, according to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Germany alone is the second-largest buyer after China and the single largest buyer of Russian gas. It's true the EU has plans to cut itself off from Russian energy. But with prices at historic highs and a full embargo several years away, the bloc has little choice but to continue indirectly funding Putin's invasion. Read the original article on Business Insider Filipino American small business owner Mar Velicaria sat down with NextShark to talk about what their identity and online platform mean to them. In February, Velicaria went viral on TikTok for their minimalist and modern Philippine accessories, garnering more than 1 million views on their most popular TikTok video. Marharlika, Velicarias small business, is a brand that Velicaria created after noticing the lack of minimalist jewelry that proudly presented their heritage. The accessories incorporate aspects of Filipino heritage and culture in its designs with a focus on the Philippines Sun. More from NextShark: 'Forbidden City' author Vanessa Hua on honoring the 'space for agency' of those who lived the Cultural Revolution The most popular collection, the Reyna collection, is a series of accessories (headpiece, rings, and earrings) that play off the Tagalog word "Reyna," which translates to "queen" in English. The Reyna headpiece's design molds the original Philippines sun design into a crown-like ornament. In addition to this interpretation, the Sunpaguita headpiece draws its inspiration from the sunpaguita flower, a common plant in the Philippines. Growing up in San Diego, Velicaria describes a large amount of resources and events that focused on their heritage and culture. Thus, the inspiration for Marharlika began with the idea of combining traditional and modern aspects of Filipino culture. Velicaria asked themself, How can I present Filipino culture in the way that I would like to, which would be in a sleek way or an elegant way? Story continues More from NextShark: Free drinks 24/7 and endless goodies: US athlete Timothy Lam gives inside look at Olympic village When reminiscing on the creation of Marharlika, Velicaria emphasizes their artistic background and education. I was going to be an artist no matter what, they proudly state. The designs for many of Marharlikas most popular accessories, including the Reyna headpiece, began with them drawing on literally anything. However, when Velicaria first created these headpieces, they had no intention of mass producing them. I just wanted to make them, Velicaria shares. My mom was the first to suggest I sell and start a small business. I was hesitant at first, but something I like to tell people is that the internet cyber bullied me into becoming a small business. Once Velicaria had posted about their creations onto the internet, their audience was already hooked. Velicaria also touches on how their creations were performing the role of modernizing Filipino traditional accessories which can often seem foreign and distant to younger generations and bridging the gap between tradition and modernity. I never expected anything I create to make such an impact on other people, they state. When it comes to Filipino culture and identity, Velicaria critiques the focused media that is curated through Westernized eyes. Even while growing up in an Asian-dominant community, Velicaria remembers that their only depiction of themselves was the Philippine-American War, which only took up a single paragraph in the textbooks. However, there has been a change to ensure that Filipino Americans are in our textbooks because they have played a huge part in our lives and history, Velicaria shares with a smile. The work that we are doing right now is incredible, but there is so much to be done. There are a lot of us here that really want that representation. This was another form of inspiration for Velicaria. By creating Marharlika, it really helped give an idea that the popular accessories you see can be combined with heritage, which connect them to their families, culture, and histories. That is incredibly empowering, they express. There is an audience. There are customers [for artists and creators] that believe in our ideas and that is incredible because it shows how important it is to keep things like [Marharlika] going. View this post on Instagram A post shared by M A R H A R L I K A (@marharlika) With the growth of Marharlika, Velicaria emphasizes the incredible growth of their platform and social media following, especially with their viral moment on TikTok. Although their growth was gradual-ish, Velicaria confesses that I cant imagine the number Im at. I almost pretend to not acknowledge it because I feel like its so overwhelming. For Velicaria, it feels the most real to them when people approach them in public. With excitement, Velicaria explains that these moments are the most valuable to them because it really does feel good that so many people believe in the things that I create. It really is the best feeling in the world. When asked about what advice they would give to those who looked up to them, Velicaria shares the need for [taking] it one step at a time and [going] at your pace. Even if you do take it one step at a time and go at your own pace, if you believe in what you make and put in the effort, the people around you will also do the same. As a result of her taking it one step at a time with Marharlika, Velicaria relays how they are now in a position to take on more followers and business opportunities. In addition, their business is in a position to stay for a long time and make an impact that will last even longer. View this post on Instagram A post shared by M A R H A R L I K A (@marharlika) Highlighting the importance of mental health, especially in the AAPI community, Velicaria shares that as an artist, Marharlika takes up so much of my heart and soul. Yet, when they are about to share their creations with the world, there is also fear because if people dont like what I put out, it seems like a dislike for me. This can be really hard, Velicaria confesses. As much as you want to be strong and say that you dont care about what people think, for me it does matter. Not everyone can be incredibly strong all the time. I need to take care of myself because Marharlika is basically a huge part of me, and if I make sure that Im OK, Marharlika will be OK as well. Feature Image via @marharlika/Instagram I simply cannot let the latest school massacre slide by without commenting. For one, I cannot conjure up the mass quantity of thoughts and prayers it would take to get this off my mind. I dont want to think about the bloody scene inside that Texas elementary school when an 18-year-old, armed with a freshly (and legally) purchased assault rifle, gunned down 19 children and two of their teachers. Dan Tackett I dont want images clouding my thinking, but Im haunted by the horror these young victims must have suffered as they watched their classmates, one by one, being slaughtered. They witnessed the bloody scene unfold, that is, until it was their turn to take a bullet. The AR-15 assault rifle used in this massacre is no .22-caliber gun used to hunt squirrels. It fires high-velocity ammunition that creates massive wounds upon impact with flesh. It seemingly has become the firearm of choice among people who carry out mass shootings. First responders who have been involved with these shootings say the damage caused by AR-15 bullets is often so great that bodies of victims cant be immediately identified. Reporter Jonathan Franklin with National Public Radio last week gave this description of the firearm: The AR-15, like its military version, is designed to kill people quickly and in large numbers, hence the term assault-style rifle, gun control advocates told NPR in 2018. They say it has no valid recreational use, and civilians should not be allowed to own them. The gun industry, gun owners and their supporters on the other hand, say AR-15s are used for hunting, target practice and shooting competitions and should remain legal, NPR reported in 2018. The AR-15 was called America's Rifle in a January 2016 blog post from the National Rifle Association. More: Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts pay tribute to veterans buried at Camp Butler National Cemetery Evidently, it holds that same title of Americas Rifle in the minds of many politicians, who refuse to even consider reviving a ban on the sale and manufacture of AR-15-style firearms. (Such weapons were banned for 10 years under federal legislation that expired in 2004.) Story continues Many, many legal gun owners in the United States, I believe, have been fed the National Rifle Associations line of fear until its taken deep root. That NRA line goes like this: Dont give them an inch because they will take a mile. In other words, a ban on any style of gun will eventually be followed by the feds knocking on your doors and confiscating all weapons. Its not going to happen, folks. There are too many gun owners and too many guns out there to make that a reality. I, too, am a gun owner of three vintage firearms handed down by family members, and I would oppose having them taken from me. More: 10 things to see and do this summer within 100 miles of Springfield I simply see no reason to own an assault rifle unless owners believe it may be a vital tool in fighting Americas next civil war. There, Ive said the unthinkable, but I believe too many gun owners in the United States have this mindset. If you are looking for common sense to prevail, please dont think too long and hard about a goofy proposal that U.S. Senator Ted Cruz is pushing. Cruz firmly believes that America doesnt have too many guns, but instead our schools have way too many doors. His answer to the mass shootings in schools boils down to having an armed presence outside the one single door to a public school one way in, the same way out. Thats the common-sense approach from this Texas senator, who amazingly earned his law degree from Harvard Law School. Can you imagine having that scenario at Lincoln Community High School and the logistical chaos that would cause on a daily basis? What happens when a fire breaks out at the school? Worse yet, what happens when a fire breaks out and blocks the single entrance? Do anything about guns, Senator? No way, they arent the problem; people with mental problems and schools with too many doors to let them enter are to blame. End of story. Once again, I take note that common sense has taken a holiday from the world in which we live. Keeping assault rifles out of the hands of killers will lessen the carnage. It might even allow a lot more fourth-graders to go home safely from school each day. I dont take credit for the following, but I believe its worth repeating. Its author is unknown, according to the Internet source where I found it: How about we treat every young man who wants to buy a gun like every woman who wants to get an abortion: A mandatory 48-hour waiting period, parental permission, a note from his doctor proving he understands what he's about to do, a video he has to watch about the effects of gun violence ... . Let's close down all but one gun shop in every state and make him travel hundreds of miles, take time off work, and stay overnight in a strange town to get a gun. Make him walk through a gauntlet of people holding photos of loved ones who were shot to death, people who call him a murderer and beg him not to buy a gun. It makes more sense to do this with young men and guns than with women and health care, right? I mean, no woman getting an abortion has killed a room full of people in seconds, right? Dan Tackett is a retired managing editor of The Courier. He can be reached at dtackett@gmail.com. This article originally appeared on Lincoln Courier: Thoughts on the school massacre and how to stop the madness A man was arrested by the Sioux Falls Police Department after he allegedly assaulted one woman and stabbed another. Jason Edward Parrin, 40, from Sioux Falls, is charged with aggravated and simple assault, according to police spokesperson Sam Clemens. The call came in to police around 1:45 p.m. Tuesday to the area of 10th Street and Summit Avenue. A 65-year-old woman allegedly saw Parrin by a vehicle and said he was acting strange, Clemens said. More Argus911: 2 people critically injured after crash near Vermillion, authorities say. He began choking the woman before another woman, a 58-year-old, stepped in to help. Parrin then allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed her a few times in the chest and arms, Clemens said. Police arrived on scene and arrested Parrin for the incident. The stabbing victim was transported to the hospital and is being treated for life-threatening injuries, Clemens said. The first woman assaulted suffered minor-injuries and didn't require medical attention, Clemens said. As of Wednesday morning Clemens said the stabbing victim is doing better. Got a story idea from your community? Email reporter Alfonzo Galvan at agalvan@argusleader.com or follow him on Twitter @GalvanReports. This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Sioux Falls man arrested for allegedly stabbing, assaulting 2 women LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Slovenia's lawmakers approved a new centre-left government on Wednesday of Prime Minister Robert Golob, who leads a new party and replaced populist premier Janez Jansa promising to make people proud. Fifty-three deputies in the 90-member parliament endorsed a government comprised of ministers from Golob's Freedom Movement party, Social Democrats and the Left, who formed a majority coalition after a national election last month in which Freedom Movement beat Jansa's SDS. Twenty-eight MPs voted against. Golob, a former executive of a state-owned energy company, said that his 17-minister government will include experienced politicians and experts of whom seven will be women, the highest number in a government yet. "We don't want a government that would need 100 days of peace because we know we won't have it," Golob told the parliament, referring to the situation in the world becoming increasingly tense. He said priorities of the new government will be to improve the health and welfare systems, depoliticize the police, focus on green energy and increase media freedoms, among others. The government includes former prime minister Marjan Sarec who will now serve as defence minister, and EU parliament member Tanja Fajon who is confirmed as foreign minister. Fajon has said that she would rather see Slovenia getting closer to "core EU countries" such as Germany, France and Italy than with countries of the Visegrad Group, an alliance of Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, which was preferred by former premier Jansa. The new government will have its first session later on Wednesday following an official handover ceremony to Golob from Jansa. (Reporting by Antonio Bronic in Ljubljana and Daria Sito-Sucic in Sarajevo; Editing by Grant McCool) An anti-government protest in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka is calling on farmers to grow more rice as it faces its worst economic crisis in more than 70 years. The country's agriculture minister made the appeal as he said the country's "food situation is becoming worse". It comes as severe shortages of essentials, including food, helped to push inflation, the rate at which prices rise, to a new record high. Also on Tuesday, the government raised taxes to help pay for critical purchases, including fuel and food. The island nation of 22 million people has been hit hard by the pandemic, rising energy prices, and populist tax cuts. A chronic shortage of foreign currency and soaring inflation has also led to a shortage of medicines, fuel and other essentials. Agriculture minister Mahinda Amaraweera told journalists "it is clear the food situation is becoming worse". "We request all farmers to step into their fields in the next five to ten days and cultivate paddy [rice]," he added. Sri Lankan officials have been looking for ways to boost food production, as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has warned of severe food shortages by August. The country is also applying for assistance from a South Asian food bank, which has supplied rice and other goods to countries in need, the Financial Times newspaper reported. Food commissioner J Krishnamoorthy told the newspaper in an interview that her department had "just started the process" of asking the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) for "food bank assistance". Ms Krishnamoorthy added that Sri Lanka was seeking around 100,000 metric tonnes of food in the form of donations or subsidised sales. The SAARC is a grouping of eight countries in South Asia. It includes Sri Lanka and India, which is emerging as one of Sri Lanka's biggest providers of aid. Sri Lanka's Food Commissioners Department and the SAARC did not immediately respond to BBC requests for comment. Story continues On Tuesday, the Sri Lankan government announced an immediate increase to value added tax (VAT) from 8% to 12%. The move is expected to boost government revenue by 65bn Sri Lankan rupees ($179.9m; 142.7m). It also said corporate tax would rise in October from 24% to 30%. Earlier this year, then-Sri Lankan financial minister Ali Sabry told the BBC that he saw a need to raise VAT. He added that the nation needed $4bn (3.2bn) over the next eight months to pay for imports of daily essentials. Also on Tuesday, official figures showed that Sri Lanka's rate of inflation rose to a record 39.1% in May, from a year ago. It had reached a previous high of 29.8% in April. Inflation reduces the purchasing power of money since more money is now needed to buy the same items. High rates of inflation mean that unless income increases at the same rate, people are worse off. This may cause them to spend less as they make fewer purchases from businesses. Last month, Sri Lanka defaulted on its debt for the first time in history, when grace period to come up with $78m of unpaid debt interest payments expired. Defaults happen when governments are unable to meet some or all of their debt payments to creditors. It can damage a country's reputation with investors, making it harder for it to borrow the money it needs on international markets, which can further harm confidence in its currency and economy. A South Carolina paper mill blamed for producing nauseating odors that sickened its neighbors near Charlotte is pressing a federal court to toss out a lawsuit by those who want compensation for troubles theyve suffered from the stinking air. A team of attorneys for the New Indy paper company was in federal court Wednesday, arguing that the class action lawsuit is unjustified and not worth the courts time. During a two-hour hearing in Columbia, they challenged assertions that the stench from the York County mill has affected people within a 20-mile radius and on both sides of the state line. They also questioned claims about illnesses and injuries people say they have suffered from breathing the powerful odors. The New Indy lawyers included former U.S. Attorney Peter McCoy and representatives of the Morgan, Lewis and Bockius law firm, a company with offices around the world. Scott Schutte, an attorney with Morgan, Lewis and Bockius, called claims that people have been harmed by the odors intentionally vague. People living within 20 miles of the plant have not proven their injuries, he said during the hearing before U.S. District Judge Sherri Lydon. That echoed legal filings made earlier this year that said neighbors have not stated any viable claims. The lack of proof should justify dismissing the case, legal filings show. Lawyers representing area residents against New Indy disputed that, noting that plenty of people have been hurt and that the odor is one of the biggest issues the attorneys have dealt with in the southeastern United States. We are unaware of an air case of this type in the area, said Chase Brockstedt, a Delaware lawyer whose firm has experience in odor issues involving industrial facilities. Wednesdays arguments by New Indys attorneys didnt go over well with Kerri Bishop, a South Carolina resident who said the mill is making people sick and ruining the quality of life for thousands of suburban Charlotte residents. Story continues Im just surprised they think its not plausible the pollution could go 20 miles out; Im a little shocked, she said after the hearing. She has led a citizens effort against New Indy. But Bishop said she was encouraged by Lydons questions during the hearing, saying the judge seems interested in hearing the truth. Lydon was skeptical of arguments that New Indys parent corporation, a California company, was not potentially liable for the air pollution. The New Indy Catawba paper mill is accused in court documents of cutting out pollution controls that then caused odors to stink up communities in both Carolinas for more than a year. The problems occurred after New Indy Catawba bought the plant in 2018 and switched the manufacturing process from bleached paper to brown containerboard. Lydon said New Indys parent company New Indy Containerboard appeared well aware of changes made to the plant that have been blamed for causing overpowering smells. Attorneys representing New Indy Containerboard said the parent company should not be liable because it had not planned to operate in South Carolina, as opposed to its subsidiary, New Indy Catawba. Containerboard ran the company, Lydon said, noting that it made an array of day-to-day decisions. Lydon did not rule Wednesday, but what she decides has substantial implications for New Indy. If New Indy Containerboard is not included in the case, it could substantially weaken efforts to gain compensation for residents affected by the pollution. The parent company, owned partially by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, could be forced to pay multiple millions of dollars beyond what it already is paying attorneys to compensate residents who say their lives have been disrupted by the plant odors. Neighbors are pursuing whats known as a class action lawsuit, one that could allow a wide array of people to file legal claims if they show the New Indy plant hurt them with its air emissions. The judge has yet to decide whether to certify the class. Neighbors say as many as 625,000 people could be affected a claim that New Indy calls inaccurate and overstated. Officials with New Indy Catawba say alleged odors were not spread evenly around the plant, as neighbors contend. The company issued a statement Wednesday saying it had made substantial progress on odor remediation and has upgraded the plant. New Indy has been on the hot seat since early 2021, when neighbors began to complain to state regulators about a rotten egg stench that permeated communities on both sides of the state line. While paper mills often produce unpleasant smells, the ones from New Indy were alleged to be far more powerful than anything produced by Bowater, the plants former owner. The smell was believed to be from excessive hydrogen sulfide releases. New Indy acquired the former Bowater plant in 2018, then switched manufacturing processes. But in doing that, the mill bypassed several key pollution control processes as it switched from making bleached paper to brown containerboard, records show. New Indys troubles with neighbors not only have generated lawsuits against the company, but state and federal regulators also have stepped in. Late last year, the US Environmental Protection Agency fined the company more than $1 million and ordered the company to correct problems that contributed to the odors. The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control is waiting to hear whether a federal court approves the fine or orders tougher penalties before the state agency files its own enforcement case. Wednesdays hearing was packed with lawyers on both sides of the issue. They included Schutte and others from the Morgan, Lewis and Bockius law firm representing New Indy. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Morgan Lewis has attorneys across the United States and in foreign countries. It also has had a long-standing client relationship with the Kraft family and has participated in a pro bono legal service with the New England Patriots, according to a 2013 Boston Business Journal article. The firms website shows that its clients include about two-thirds of the Fortune 500 companies. Lawyers representing citizens against New Indy include firms associated with state Sen. Dick Harpootlian, D-Richland; and Reps. Tommy Pope, R-York, and Leon Stavrinakis, D-Charleston. David Hoyle represented the prestigious Motley Rice firm from Charleston, which has extensive experience in pollution and personal injury cases. The Schochor, Federico and Staton firm of Baltimore and the Baird, Mandalas Brockstedt firm of Delaware also are representing citizens. Those firms are experienced in environmental cases against corporations. The Baird, Mandalas firm, for instance, recently won a $205 million groundwater contamination settlement for a Delaware community affected by a chicken processing companys pollution., the companys website says. The case also was made over odors. The Schochor firm says it has collected more than $1 billion for clients. The firm, also involved in the water pollution case cited by the Baird firm, has represented clients in environmental and medical injury cases. Warning: Minor spoilers ahead for "Stranger Things" season four. In episode two of the new season, Mike arrives to visit Eleven and Will on March 22. We know from season two that March 22 is Will's birthday but no one wished him "Happy Birthday." In season two of Netflix's "Stranger Things," Joyce Byers tells Will a story about his birthday, and mentions that it's March 22. But either co-creators Duffer Brothers forgot this detail, or the new season begins with an incredibly depressing birthday for Will, with not a single person remembering to celebrate his life. The title card for the first episode, "The Hellfire Club," tells us that the date is March 21, 1986. In that episode we also learn that Mike is flying to California the very next day, March 22, to visit Eleven and Will. But not a single character not even Joyce mentions that it's Will's birthday. In fact Will is the one who appears to have a gift for Mike (a rolled up tube that is likely the mysterious painting he's been working on). But Mike doesn't give Will an enthusiastic hug at the airport or seem happy to see his supposed best friend, sending Will into a saddened mood. At the roller skating rink, Will is left to skate by himself. He later tells Mike about feeling left out and like Mike doesn't make an effort in their relationship, but Mike brushes this aside. All of this happens on March 22 the day that (according to the show's past episode) is Will birthday. One TikTok compiling video clips of the episode was seen five million times in one day. The top comments, which were liked by over 100,000 people, are all about the sadness of Will's situation. "BRO NOO no wonder he was so sad bro," one person wrote. "THIRD WHEELING ON HIS BIRTHDAY??" another said. "I WOULD CRY." Viewers seemed split on whether it was intentional. However, if it was intentional, it tops off a sad list of life events for the character. He grew up with an absent father and anxious mother, got lost and nearly died in an alternate dimension while being hunted by a supernatural monster, then got possessed by a second, scarier monster. Now he's in a new school with no friends, and his own family has possibly forgotten his birthday. Story continues Will in season two of "Stranger Things." Netflix Throw in the fact that he's stuck with that bowl haircut (something actor Noah Schnapp told Insider he's asked the Duffers to change), and it's downright depressing. In an interview with Schnapp last week, Insider asked about the isolation Will is experiencing in California. "We're used to seeing him facing those supernatural forces and the antagonist against him is a monster or a dark thing in the Upside Down," Schnapp said. "But this season we see him in a new place with a new struggle it's just him coping with his new environment in California and facing personal identity crisis a little bit and high school struggles." He continued: "It was fun as an actor to just play this new side of Will. Not running away from the monster, but running away from real life problems that I think fans can really relate to and resonate with. I think it's important for 'Stranger Things' to tell those kinds of stories and show fans that they're not alone in their struggles, too." "Stranger Things" season four, part one, is streaming on Netflix now. Read the original article on Insider Stranger Things viewers are criticising the show over its treatment of a storyline involving Will Byers sexuality. Since season three, the Netflix series has hinted that Will might be gay and is struggling to come out after developing feelings for his best friend, Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard). Wills sexuality has become a talking point following the release of season four last week, as the show has provided several more hints that he might be gay. In season four, Will is shown to be extremely upset with Mike for not staying in touch after he moved to California. He is also shown to recoil when a girl flits with him in class, where he is doing a project on Alan Turing. Turing is the mathematician and computer scientist who helped to break a number of German ciphers during the war. He was later persecuted for being gay in 1952. However, Noah Schnapp, who plays Will, said in an interview that the shows creators, the Duffer brothers, intentionally never really address it or blatantly say how Will is. I think thats the beauty of it, he said, adding: That its just up to the audiences interpretation if its Will kind of just refusing to grow up and growing up slower than his friends or if he is really gay. Noah Schnapp as Will Byers in Stranger Things (Netflix) Millie Bobby Brown, who plays Eleven, said: Can I just say, its 2022 and we dont have to label things. However, following this interview, many have expressed annoyance with the fact the show might be shying away from directly speaking about the subject, and are now accusing the show of queerbaiting. Leaving such identities unexplored and open to such interpretation is not the masterstroke they think it is, TV journalist Scott Bryan said. Its not beautiful and understated when queercoded male characters get all the s*** of being queer and none of the joy or peace that comes with it, @adspexi added. Others commented on the irony that Schnapps comments arrived just before Pride month began on 1 June. Can someone please tell these people it's okay for a show to address and blatantly say how a character is gay? It's 2022. I don't care what time era the show is set. It's not "beautiful" to leave a character's sexuality "up for interpretation" esp when they're queer coded anyway. https://t.co/rVBuTZpbpV Vanessa Clark (@FoxxyGlamKitty) May 31, 2022 In honor of pride month, Netflix is keeping gay characters in the closet, @nickdiramio wrote, while @Zach_Frank quipped: So excited for Audiences Interpretation Month to start tomorrow. Story continues Its being suggested by some, though, that Schnapp was merely playing coy and that Wills sexuality will be explored in a scene set to air when the fourth season concludes later this year. TV writer Tyler Dinucci wrote: I think the problem with the Will Byers stuff is theyre gonna reveal hes gay at some point but its going to be a plot point so it makes the ability to answer questions about it at the moment weird. Dinucci also praised the writing surrounding Robin (Maya Hawke) and her sexuality. no more queer baiting no more queer coding no waiting for a show to end to reveal that a character was gay all along either clearly portray a character as gay, or keep them straight. enough copping out with leave it to audience interpretation im over gay subtext https://t.co/5f5FzZTO4l Jerrica (@JinkiesJerrica) June 1, 2022 Only straight people would think that's beautiful https://t.co/BMaQVWmvog Alfie Amaya (@fonsythesnowman) May 31, 2022 In other recent Stranger Things news, actor Charlie Heaton addressed fan complaints that his character Jonathan, along with Mike and Will, have been sidelined in the new season. Meanwhile, Brown has been defended after a bizarre series of memes misattributing homophobic quotes to her resurfaced online. Stranger Things season four is available to stream on Netflix now. Read The Independents review here. The Independent is the official publishing partner of Pride in London 2022 Check your strawberry stash! The United States Food and Drug Administration and the Centers For Disease Control are currently investigating a multistate outbreak of hepatitis A that is likely linked to fresh organic strawberries. The berries in question are branded as FreshKampo and HEB, and would have been purchased between March 5, 2022, and April 25, 2022. They were sold nationwide, as well as in Canada. While the potentially contaminated strawberries are currently past their shelf life, consumers who purchased strawberries between the aforementioned dates and then froze them with the intention of consuming them later, should not eat them. The berries were distributed and sold across the country at several grocery store chains, including but not limited to: Aldi, HEB, Kroger, Safeway, Sprouts Farmers Market, Trader Joe's, Walmart, Weis Markets, and WinCo Foods. The FDA notes that if you are unsure of what brand of strawberries you purchased, or where you bought them from prior to freezing them, the strawberries should be thrown away immediately and not consumed. RELATED: Jif Peanut Butter Recall Now Includes Pre-Packaged Items Made With Potentially Contaminated Peanut Butter According to epidemiologic and traceback data, these fresh organic strawberries are a likely cause of illness in this hepatitis A outbreak. The investigations show that cases in California, Minnesota, and Canada report having purchased fresh organic strawberries branded as FreshKampo or HEB prior to becoming ill. The illness onset dates range from March 28 April 30, 2022. Box of strawberries Jackie Bale/Getty Images Thus far, the FDA reports that there are 17 hepatitis A cases in the United States linked to these strawberries, along with 12 hospitalizations. Califorfnia has reported 15 cases, while Minnesota and North Dakota have reported one case each. If consumers believe they purchased the contaminated strawberries, ate them in the last two weeks, and have not been vaccinated against hepatitis A, the FDA recommends they immediately consult with their health care professional to determine whether post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is needed. PEP is recommended for unvaccinated people who have been exposed to hepatitis A virus in the last two weeks because vaccination can prevent a hepatitis A infection if given within 14 days of exposure. Those with evidence of previous hepatitis A vaccination or previous hepatitis A infection do not need PEP. RELATED: How to Store Strawberries So They Won't Spoil Quickly Contact your health care provider if you think you may have symptoms of a hepatitis A infection after eating these fresh organic strawberries, or if you believe that you have eaten these strawberries in the last two weeks. Tech companies got their way in Texas on Tuesday. The Supreme Court just blocked a controversial law that allows Texas residents and the attorney general to sue social media companies over their content-moderation decisions. The law, HB 20, prohibits tech platforms from removing or restricting content based on the viewpoint represented in the users expression and was designed with conservative claims of techs liberal ideological bias in mind. HB 20 passed in September but has had a rocky ride through the courts in the months that followed. It was swiftly blocked by an injunction after passing, but a trio of federal appeals court judges paused the temporary injunction earlier this month in a surprise win for the law's proponents. The Supreme Court ruling isn't the final word on HB 20, which still faces a lawsuit from two tech industry groups, the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and NetChoice, challenging its constitutionality. After the surprise decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals unblocked the law earlier in May, the tech trade groups asked the Supreme Court to intervene with an emergency stay. Justice Samuel Alito reviewed the request and ultimately brought the case to the broader Supreme Court for the interim decision. Justices John Roberts, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett voted to overturn the Fifth Circuit's ruling. Justice Alito and Clarence Thomas, Elena Kagan and Neil Gorsuch voted against vacating the ruling. "While I can understand the Courts apparent desire to delay enforcement of HB20 while the appeal is pending, the preliminary injunction entered by the District Court was itself a significant intrusion on state sovereignty," Alito wrote in his dissent. In a statement following the Supreme Court ruling, NetChoice celebrated the win while acknowledging that it is only "halfway there" as the case makes its way to district court. "Texass HB 20 is a constitutional trainwreck," NetChoice Counsel Chris Marchese said. "We are relieved that the First Amendment, open internet, and the users who rely on it remain protected from Texass unconstitutional overreach. STORY: Taiwanese who have never held a gun before are taking shooting lessons for the first time, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine ramps up anxiety. Their fear is that giant neighbor China could make a similar move on the democratic island. Taiwan tightly controls gun ownership and the use of these airsoft guns - which are similar to BB guns - is taught for competitions. China's growing military pressure on the island it claims as its own, combined with the conflict in Ukraine, has spurred debate about how to boost defences in Taiwan - including whether to extend compulsory military service. Max Chiang is CEO of Polar Light, a combat skills training company: At the moment, the number of people participating in this kind of activity in Taiwan is currently increasing. This has been already a trend in the past two years, since Chinese fighter jets started flying close to Taiwan, there has been an increase. After the Ukraine war started, the numbers have tripled or quadrupled, more and more people are coming to take part. Some in Taiwan fear that China, which has never ruled out using force to bring the island under its control, may take advantage of a West distracted by the Ukraine conflict. Tattoo artist Su Chun was determined to learn how to use the air guns. (In case of war) the country will notify you (reservists) to gather in a certain location and then hand out guns and other equipment. Because most likely there will be teams made up of many people, I think there will certainly be all kinds of people, those who are prepared, people who arent prepared and also those who are panicking. I think all those types will be there. I am sure that most people dont want to go to war, I also dont want to go to war, but in the unfortunate event of this really happening, I will be mentally prepared. Taiwan has raised its alert level but has reported no unusual military movements by Beijing. But some politicians in Taiwan have urged the public to start thinking about survival plans. The Uvalde schools police chief has so far ignored requests for a follow-up interview made by state investigators reviewing the the deadly shooting at Robb Elementary, officials told BuzzFeed News. Pete Arredondo, police chief for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, was the incident commander in charge during the May 24 shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead. On Friday, officials said he made the decision not to confront the shooter immediately because police believed everyone in the classroom was already dead in spite of 911 calls coming from children begging for help and transitioned the response to a "barricaded" situation instead of an "active shooter." The Texas Department of Public Safety is conducting the investigation into the shooting, which is the deadliest at a school since Sandy Hook in 2012. On Tuesday, officials confirmed that Arredondo has not responded to requests for a follow-up interview. "Uvalde PD and Uvalde CISD are still cooperating," a spokesperson for the department told BuzzFeed News. "However, the Chief of Police for CISD has yet to respond to the Rangers' request for a follow-up interview that was made a couple of days ago." Arredondo did not immediately respond to BuzzFeed News' requests for comment. Arredondo's lack of response to investigators' inquiries comes after the Texas Department of Public Safety admitted it was a mistake for police to wait more than an hour to breach the classroom where the shooter killed 21 people. "With the benefit of hindsight ... of course it was not the right decision," said Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety. "It was the wrong decision." In addition to the leadership of the school district police department, Arredondo recently won election to the Uvalde City Council and had been set to be sworn in Tuesday. NBC News reported, citing the city's mayor, that the ceremony was postponed to keep the focus on the victims of the shooting. Story continues Arredondo's lack of response to state investigators also comes as troubling questions have emerged about how police responded to the deadly shooting. The Department of Justice announced Sunday it would be conducting an independent review of the law enforcement response. Video from the day of the shooting shows officers cordoning off the area while parents pleaded with them to confront the shooter inside. The confrontations at times turned violent, with officers shoving parents and holding Tasers during the tense moments. Law enforcement officials have also found themselves walking back important details of their response to the deadly incident. For example, police initially said a school resource officer had confronted the shooter before he walked into a building of the school. Officials later said that was not the case. On Tuesday, DPS also walked back their comments that a teacher had propped open a door that was used by the shooter to enter the school. A spokesperson for the agency told NBC News the teacher had propped the door open, but after spotting the shooter, kicked aside the rock that was used to keep it open and closed the door. The door, for some reason, did not lock, the spokesperson said. More on this Associated Press The Vatican has long defended its World War II-era pope, Pius XII, against criticism that he remained silent as the Holocaust unfolded, insisting that he worked quietly behind the scenes to save lives. A new book, citing recently opened Vatican archives, suggests the lives the Vatican worked hardest to save were Jews who had converted to Catholicism or were children of Catholic-Jewish mixed marriages. Documents attesting to frantic searches for baptismal certificates, lists of names of converts handed over by the Vatican to the German ambassador and heartfelt pleas from Catholics for the pope to find relatives of Jewish descent are contained in David Kertzers The Pope at War, being published Tuesday in the United States. By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) -Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday urged state lawmakers to convene special panels to examine school safety, mental health and police training in the wake of last week's elementary school shooting in which 19 children and two teachers were killed. Abbott, a Republican who is opposed to gun restrictions, called on lawmakers to establish committees to recommend measures his office and the legislature could take to prevent mass gun violence in schools. Abbott made his proposal in a letter to fellow Republicans Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and state House Speaker Dade Phelan eight days after an 18-year-old gunman walked into a fourth-grade classroom of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, 80 miles west of San Antonio, and opened fire with an AR-15 style semiautomatic rifle. The attack was the deadliest U.S. school shooting in a decade. It ended when officers who had waited nearly an hour to storm the classroom - even as children hiding inside repeatedly called emergency-911 pleading for help - finally charged in and shot the gunman dead. Authorities have said there was no armed police presence to halt the gunman when he first arrived, easily scaled a fence and entered the school through an unlocked rear door. The shooter had legally purchased the murder weapon on his 18th birthday and later bought a second rifle and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. "We as a state must reassess the twin issues of school safety and mass violence. As leaders, we must come together at this time to provide solutions to protect all Texans," Abbott wrote, asking lawmakers to also consider issues of social media and firearms safety. Abbott, who is seeking re-election in November, has said that stringent gun laws are not effective barriers to violence and that policymakers should instead focus on increasing access to mental health care. In response to Abbott's letter, state Representative Chris Turner, a Democrat, posted on Twitter a list of gun control measures proposed following a 2019 shooting rampage that killed 23 people at a Walmart store in El Paso. Story continues "Looking for solutions? Here are some proposed to you in 2019 following El Paso mass shooting," he wrote. "We never heard back." Abbott's request coincided with the day of a funeral for Irma Garcia, one of two teachers slain at Robb Elementary on May 24, and her husband Joe, who died of a heart attack two days later. Separately on Wednesday, the superintendent of Uvalde's school district, Hal Harell, said students and staff will not return to Robb Elementary for the new academic year in the fall, but he left unclear whether the campus would ever reopen. After the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, where 26 people including 20 first-graders perished, the school building was demolished and a new $50 million school was built on the same site under the old name. Likewise, a new, $25 million building was erected on the campus of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where a gunman killed 14 students and three staff members in 2018. The classroom building where the shooting took place was closed but still stands. The U.S. Justice Department on Sunday said it would review law enforcement's response to the shooting, as anger grows over the failure of police to more swiftly and forcefully confront the gunman. The state of Texas and county authorities say they are also conducting their own inquiry. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), through a spokesperson, said on Tuesday that Pete Arredondo, the Uvalde school district police chief who acted as on-scene commander during the shooting, had "yet to respond to a request for a follow-up interview made a couple of days ago." In a CNN interview on Wednesday, Arredondo disputed suggestions that he was not cooperating with investigators. "We have been in contact with the DPS every day, just so you know," he said. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Additional reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Mark Porter and Grant McCool) Officers outside Robb Elementary School Texas police have said the gunman who shot 21 people dead at a school last week entered through a door that was supposed to lock, but somehow did not. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), which is investigating the shooting response, confirmed a teacher had initially propped open the door. But a spokesman on Tuesday said the teacher closed the door once the gunman entered the campus. Public anger has risen as new details of the shooting emerge. Initial reports of the gunman getting into the school via an exterior door that was accidentally left open by a teacher had suggested a breach of school policy. Employees at Robb Elementary School are required to keep doors closed and locked. However, an attorney for the unnamed employee told the San Antonio Express-News on Tuesday that she had closed it and "thought the door would lock because that door is always supposed to be locked". Don Flanary said the woman had propped the door open with a rock so she could carry food from a car into a classroom, but she "kicked the rock away when she went back in" after realising a gun-wielding assailant was on campus. Texas DPS spokesman Travis Considine said on Tuesday that video footage verified the door had been shut. He said investigators were now looking into why it had not locked. "She came back out while on her phone, she heard someone yell, 'He has a gun!', she saw him [the gunman] jump the fence and that he had a gun, so she ran back inside," Mr Considine said, adding that the employee had removed the rock as she re-entered the building. The DPS also confirmed on Tuesday that Uvalde school district police chief Pete Arredondo had not yet responded to a Texas Rangers' request made "a couple of days ago" for a follow-up interview. The school and the city police force have faced intense scrutiny since last week's attack. At a heated news conference on Friday, DPS chief Steven McCraw confirmed 19 police officers had lingered in the hallway as the gunman barricaded himself inside a classroom. Story continues He said the commanding officer had waited until the school janitor arrived with the keys because he did not believe it was still an "active shooter" situation. "Of course it was not the right decision," Mr McCraw said. "It was the wrong decision." The first funerals after the shooting took place on Tuesday, as Amerie Jo Garza and Maite Rodriguez, both 10, were laid to rest. More funerals are planned for Wednesday, including a joint service for Irma Garcia, a 48-year-old teacher, and her husband, who died of a suspected heart attack two days after the shooting. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden said he plans to meet members of Congress to look for any possible way forward on gun control. But the prospect of any such measure passing on a polarised Capitol Hill is widely seen as being unlikely. Surging energy prices are pushing UK businesses to raise prices. Photo: Phil Noble/Reuters One in every three UK firms expect to raise their prices because of surging energy bills, according to a survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Around half of all UK businesses reported that prices of materials and goods jumped in April compared to the previous month, with a third of firms stating that their production had been hit by recent increases in energy prices. The UKs energy price cap, the maximum amount a utility company can charge an average customer per year for the amount of electricity and gas they use, has risen by 54%, meaning a steep rise in bills this spring. As of 1 April 2022, the cap rose from 1,277 to 1,971 for a household on average usage. That means a 693 per year increase for the average customer. Read more: UK energy price cap expected to rise to 2,800 in October, says Ofgem boss UK households and businesses face even higher bills as the boss of the UK's energy regulator has warned that the energy price cap is expected to rise to around 2,800 in October. "Now, this is uncertain, we are only halfway through our price cap window but we are expecting a price cap in October in the region of 2800," Jonathan Brearley, CEO of Ofgem, told the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee. Around a third of UK businesses (29%) expect to increase the prices of goods or services sold in June 2022, with energy prices being reported as the main factor for businesses considering to do so at 38%. Approximately a quarter (23%) of businesses reported a lower turnover in April compared to the previous month, with the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles industry reporting the biggest drops. Companies are also having finding workers, with 12% saying they had experienced difficulties in recruiting employees. Hotels and restaurants struggled the most to find staff, as almost one in three (31%) firms in that sector reporting difficulties. Read more: UK firms' growth to 'flatline' as cost of living crisis bites Story continues A separate survey by the Bank of England revealed that UK businesses last month expected to raise their prices by 5.9% over the next year. Companies expected to see wage growth of 4.8% over the coming year, the survey showed. Watch: Why are gas prices rising? Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally Greensburg, Pennsylvania, on May 6, 2022. Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Trump's PAC claimed, groundlessly, that Brian Kemp's win in Georgia was because of fraud. Kemp beat Trump-endorsed David Perdue in last week's governor primary, with 74% of the vote to 22%. Trump had sought revenge on Kemp for refusing to help him overturn the 2020 election. Former President Donald Trump's political action committee (PAC) suggested, groundlessly, that Georgia Governor Brian Kemp won his primary via fraud, returning to a familiar theme. The claim was made despite the very clear result, in which Kemp came 52 percentage points ahead of Trump endorsee David Perdue, winning 7% to 22%. Trump's "Save America" PAC on Tuesday posted a Substack article by former Newsmax correspondent Emerald Robinson on its news feed entitled "Something Stinks in Georgia." The article groundlessly questions the legitimacy of Kemp's win last week against Trump-endorsed candidate David Perdue in the Republican gubernatorial primary. "On Primary Day in Georgia, Kemp gets 74% and Perdue gets 22%. Nobody in any election in America gets 74% of the votes. Ever. It doesn't happen," Robinson writes, claiming that such a lead is all but impossible against a Trump-endorsed candidate. "Obvious fraud." Trump has long refused to accept the legitimacy of contests in which he has been defeated, and his allies have championed his baseless allegations. No evidence has emerged that last week's primary was marred by fraud. Stephen Fowler, a journalist for public radio in Georgia, responded to the claim on Twitter by highlighting times that US politicians did indeed win by extremely large margins. Ronald Reagan won the state of Utah in 1980 with 73% of the vote, Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene won Georgia's 14th Congressional district in 2020 with 74% and Trump himself won Wyoming in 2020 with 70%, Fowler noted. Trump in 2020 he famously refused to concede to Joe Biden after his defeat in the presidential election, and has since made so-called "election integrity", the centerpiece of his campaign as he stokes rumors of a 2024 presidential bid. In Georgia, Trump was seeking to unseat Kemp in revenge for the governor refusing to help him overturn his defeat in the state in 2020. In the secretary of state primary, Trump-endorsed candidate Jody Hice was defeated by Brad Raffensperger, who had also refused to take part in Trump's bid to overturn the election. Read the original article on Business Insider (Independent) Multiple people have been killed in a shooting at a medical clinic in Oklahoma on Wednesday, according to reports. Police in Tulsa said they responded to reports of a man with a rifle at St Francis Hospital, which then turned into an active shooter situation. They said the shooter is now dead, though it remains unclear whether he was killed by police. An unnamed police captain also told The Associated Press that multiple people had been wounded and some, unfortunately, were killed The Tulsa Police Department said: Officers are currently going through every room in the building checking for additional threats. We know there are multiple injuries, and potentially multipled casualties. This story is breaking and will be updated. TUNIS (Reuters) -Tunisia's president sacked 57 judges on Wednesday, accusing them of corruption and protecting terrorists in a purge of the judiciary that comes as he seeks to remake the political system after consolidating one-man rule. In a televised address President Kais Saied said he had "given opportunity after opportunity and warning after warning to the judiciary to purify itself". Hours later the official gazette published a decree announcing the dismissals. Among those sacked was Youssef Bouzaker, the former head of the Supreme Judicial Council whose members Saied replaced this year as he moved to take control of the judiciary. The council had acted as the main guarantor of judicial independence since Tunisia's 2011 revolution that introduced democracy and Saied's changes prompted accusations he was interfering in the judicial process. Another prominent judge on the list of those sacked was Bachir Akremi, whom some political activists accuse of being too close to the Islamist Ennahda party and of stopping cases against it. Ennahda and Akremi both deny that. Last summer Saied dismissed the government and seized executive power in a move his foes called a coup before setting aside the 2014 constitution to rule by decree and dismissing the elected parliament. He says his moves were needed to save Tunisia from crisis and his intervention initially appeared to have widespread public support after years of economic stagnation, political paralysis and corruption. Saied, who has also replaced the independent electoral commission, has also said he will introduce a new constitution this month that he will put to a referendum next month. However, nearly all Tunisia's political parties have rejected the move along with the powerful UGTT labour union. With Tunisia's economy failing, and with public finances in crisis, Saied meanwhile faces the prospect of growing popular anger over high inflation and unemployment, and declining public services. The UGTT said this week that public sector workers would go on strike on June 16, posing the biggest direct challenge to Saied's political stance so far. (Reporting By Tarek Amara; Editing by Lincoln Feast.Writing by Angus McDowall Editing by Chris Reese) ISTANBUL (AP) Turkey will no longer hold high-level talks with neighboring Greece, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday amid rising tensions between the traditional rivals. Ankara resumed negotiations with Athens last year following a five-year break to address differences over a range of issues such as mineral exploration in the eastern Mediterranean and rival claims in the Aegean Sea. We broke off our high-level strategy council meetings with Greece, Erdogan told a meeting of his partys lawmakers in Ankara, adding: Dont you learn any lessons from history? Dont try to dance with Turkey. The talks had made little headway, but were a means for the two countries to air out their grievances without resorting to a potential armed standoff as had occurred as recently as two years ago. Erdogan's pivot on the talks appeared to have been triggered last week when he signaled his displeasure at comments made by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during a trip to the U.S. Erdogan said Mitsotakis no longer exists for him after accusing the Greek leader of trying to block Turkeys acquisition of F-16 fighter planes. Erdogan also commented on Turkeys objection to Sweden and Finland joining NATO. Ankara has complained the Nordic states harbor terror suspects and arm a group in Syria it accuses of being an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK that has waged a 38-year insurgency inside Turkey. NATO is a security organization, not a support organization for terrorist organizations, he said. The U.S. and EU have categorized the PKK as a terror group. However, its Syrian wing, the Peoples Protection Units, or YPG, has played a leading role in the U.S.-led fight against the Islamic State group. Erdogan said those who tried to legitimize the PKK with letter tricks were deceiving themselves, not us. The president added that Turkey would not change its stance on the Swedish and Finnish NATO application without seeing binding documents demonstrating a hardened approach to those Ankara considers terrorists. Story continues Regarding a new cross-border military operation in Syria, Erdogan said Turkey was entering a new phase in its goal to create a 30-kilometer (19-mile) buffer zone south of the frontier. The territory is controlled by a Syrian Kurdish administration and Ankara says it has been used to launch attacks on Turkey. Erdogan singled out the towns of Tall Rifat and Manbij as targets Turkey will be clearing of terrorists. Both lie west of the Euphrates river while the main Kurdish-controlled region is to the east. By Francois Murphy VIENNA (Reuters) - The United States, France, Britain and Germany are pushing for the U.N. nuclear watchdog's Board of Governors to rebuke Iran for failing to answer longstanding questions on uranium traces at undeclared sites, a draft resolution seen by Reuters showed. The move is likely to anger Iran, which generally bristles at such resolutions, and that in turn could damage prospects for rescuing the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Indirect talks on that between Iran and the United States are already stalled. Iran, which insists its nuclear programme is peaceful while the West says it is moving closer to being able to build a bomb, would respond to any "unconstructive action" taken at next week's board meeting, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said. Western powers had held off submitting a draft resolution to previous quarterly meetings of the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board on this issue to avoid derailing talks. But those talks have not been held since March. The issue has now come to a head since the IAEA told member states this week that Iran had not given it credible answers on the particles found at three mainly old but undeclared sites, although both sides agreed in March to revive discussions aimed at resolving such open issues by now. The IAEA board "calls upon Iran to act on an urgent basis to fulfil its legal obligations and take up immediately the (IAEA) director general's offer of further engagement to clarify and resolve all outstanding safeguards issues", the draft text sent to IAEA member states and seen by Reuters on Wednesday said. The text, dated Tuesday, did not say which countries drafted it. Two diplomats said it was the United States and the so-called E3, namely France, Britain and Germany. The draft has yet to be formally submitted for the meeting which starts on Monday. Board members could adopt it unopposed or put it to a vote, but the draft is likely to be adjusted before it is submitted. "We will naturally respond in a strong and appropriate manner to any unconstructive action" by the board, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said, according to the ministry's Telegram channel. (Reporting by Francois Murphy; Additional reporting by Reuters correspondents in Dubai; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Edmund Blair) Photo taken on Oct 28, 2021 shows the White House in Washington, DC, the United States. [Photo/Xinhua] Since it took office, the Joe Biden administration has implemented so-called "value diplomacy" that is materialized in it classifying countries in light of their political systems as well as their attitudes toward its hegemony. Those sharing its "values" or those willing to sacrifice their autonomy for it are invited to form cliques with it. Therefore, all the countries that it invites to attend the summits it convokes are expected to accept certain US propositions. This actually creates more trouble for those countries that are invited to attend the summits than those that are not since the summits and whatnots are invariably intended to isolate those countries that Washington has labeled as human rights violators, non-democratic or authoritarian. No matter what ties those countries may have with those that are invited. That's why some major countries in Latin America have refused to accept the US' invitation to participate in the Ninth Summit of the Americas that it is hosting in Los Angeles, California, on June 6-10. Although the summit has the theme of "Building a Sustainable, Resilient, and Equitable Future in the Western Hemisphere", Washington's propensity for labeling countries friends or foes, depending on whether they pay lip service to its values or not, means the participation of some invited leaders is still in doubt. Earlier this month, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that his participation will not be confirmed until the US invites every country in the hemisphere, arguing that no country should be excluded from the summit. US officials have repeatedly said the governments of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela will not be invited to the summit due to their human rights records. Such an embarrassing state of affairs for the US over an Americas summit is rare since former US president Bill Clinton convened the first Summit of the Americas in Miami, Florida, in 1994. No wonder the Joe Biden administration has been trying to persuade the Mexican president to participate in the event, and to convince Argentina, Chile and Honduras to not oppose the meeting. The US can measure other countries with its own yardstick, but it cannot and shouldn't force other countries to accept its measurement. If the Biden administration sends a second batch of invitations to Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to ensure the summit can be held as scheduled, that will only be further evidence of the US administration's humiliation. Russia is advancing in the east behind a barrage of artillery that has strained Ukrainian defenses and Western unity over support for a protracted war. The United States' much-anticipated decision to send Kyiv long-range missile systems that will allow its forces to fire farther and faster has likely come too late to save two key cities in the Donbas region that has become the focal point of the fighting. But delivery of the weapons after months of urging from Ukrainian officials will help the countrys military face the next, potentially decisive stage of the conflict as the Kremlin perhaps hinted at in response, accusing the U.S. of deliberately pouring oil on the fire. President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that the U.S. would be sending Ukraine the high mobility artillery rocket system, or HIMARS. "This new package will arm them with new capabilities and advanced weaponry, including HIMARS with battlefield munitions, to defend their territory from Russian advances," he said in a statement. The HIMARS is a variant of the longer-range multiple-launch rocket system, or MLRS. The U.S. is sending four of the rocket launch systems to Ukraine. A senior Ukrainian official told NBC News after the announcement that he remained very much worried particularly since they have committed only a small battery of MLRSs, meaning they yet wont make a large difference. MLRS missiles typically have a range of up to 40 miles, and can be equipped with GPS-guided missiles. This would be a significant upgrade of the Ukrainian artillerys current range, which tops out at around 20 miles with the M777 howitzers its allies have so far provided. The systems have the added benefit of being self-propelled, meaning they can be fired and moved fast enough to avoid enemy response salvos. Phil Wasielewski, a fellow at the Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, said the systems would aid Ukrainian forces in the Donbas, where the battle has turned into an artillery duel. Story continues He said that combined with their targeting capacity aided by commercial drones and counter battery radars, the systems would provide a distinct qualitative and quantitative improvement to Ukraines combat capability. "These rocket artillery systems can destroy Russian cannon artillery systems and not be touched by them." Ukraine's allies are slowly stepping up their exports of heavy weaponry, with Germany promising Wednesday to supply Ukraine with modern anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems. However they are unlikely to arrive in time to save swaths of the country's east from being battered and overrun. The Russian assault in Ukraines industrial heartland has edged toward capturing two key cities, with the mayor of Sievierodonetsk one of the last urban areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk province and a key target of the Kremlin's Donbas offensive saying Wednesday that Russian forces now control around 80 percent of the ruined city. A Donetsk People's Republic militia's multiple rocket launcher fires from its position not far from Panteleimonivka, in territory under the government of the Donetsk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine, on May 28, 2022. (Alexei Alexandrov / AP) Lacking long-range missile capability, Ukrainian forces are experiencing heavy losses, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying that up to 100 soldiers could be dying in battle each day in the east. The combination of artillery barrage, airstrikes and missile strikes is what we expected from Russia from the beginning of the war and they are grinding the Ukrainians down, said William Alberque, director of strategy, technology and arms control at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. In comments earlier this week, he said that if Ukrainian forces had the MLRS during Russia's advance, they would have had a "better chance of breaking up Russian advances with little risk of destruction." Speaking before the announcements from Washington and Berlin, the senior Ukrainian official said his country had long been communicating to the U.S. and its allies what it needed to win the war. This is about long-range firearms, howitzers, MLRS, air defense, the official told NBC News. This is an active artillery war. A war in which you need long-range firepower," the official said. This war is about shooting and moving. Who can shoot the longest and fastest wins. Dating back to before the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian government and its supporters in Congress have appealed to the Biden administration repeatedly for certain weapons, and the White House initially declined or it has taken weeks or months before approving the delivery of items such as anti-aircraft Stinger missiles and drones. A man walks away from a burning house garage after shelling in the city of Lysytsansk in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas on May 30, 2022. (Aris Messinis / AFP - Getty Images) U.S. officials have grappled for weeks over sending the MLRS to eastern Ukraine, largely due to the systems' extended ranges, which could potentially allow Ukrainian forces to fire directly into Russian territory. Biden on Monday told reporters that the U.S. would not send to Ukraine rocket systems that can strike into Russia." A senior administration official said Ukraine has agreed not to use them to launch rockets into Russia. Echoing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov's comments, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned Wednesday that any arms supplies "increase the risks of a direct collision between Russia and the United States," according to the state-owned RIA Novosti news agency. Moscow's messaging over the long-range weapons systems showed it "knows exactly how to play on the West's doubts and fear of a direct NATO-Russia confrontation," said Michael A. Horowitz, a geopolitical and security analyst who is the head of intelligence at the consultancy Le Beck International. He said that it wasnt too late for the weapons to help Ukrainian forces defend positions and stanch further Russian advances in the Donbas. But each day the West hesitates is a day Russian artillery rules the battlefield. Russian advances are preceded by massive fire. Each city lost by Ukraine is a city leveled to the ground, making each retreat even more painful, Horowitz said. Mark Cancian, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said another Western concern was overloading Ukrainian forces with myriad new weapons systems, all of which require time for soldiers to be trained to use and maintain. The West has already given them artillery, armored personnel carriers, anti-artillery radars, he said. If the Ukrainians had two years to absorb all this, that would be no problem. But theyre doing this in real time. Were asking the Ukrainians to do in a couple of weeks what it would take us several months to do." A defense official said Tuesday that the Defense Department believes it can get the training for Ukrainian troops down to a week or two for basic operations and that there will be longer training courses for maintenance of the system. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that Ukraine had given assurances that it will not use long-range weapons systems provided by Washington against targets on Russian territory. Blinken was asked what could be done to minimize the risks of escalation as the United States provides long-range weapons systems to Ukraine, after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Washington. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Simon Lewis) JOHANNESBURG (AP) South Africans are feeling the bite of fuel price increases as a result of Russias war in Ukraine and the rise in the Brent crude oil price. Neighboring Zimbabwe and other African countries are also grappling with increasing fuel prices. South Africa, the continent's most developed economy, saw gas prices go above 24 rand ($1.50) per liter, more than $5.80 per gallon. Diesel prices also went up. The latest increases make fuel in South Africa about 40% more expensive than a year ago. To try to hold down the spike in price, the government has reduced its tax on fuel sales. The government said the increases were a result of the rise in the price of Brent crude oil. The fuel price increase is the latest addition to South Africas economic woes, which include a 34.5% unemployment rate and an economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic which resulted in the loss of an estimated 2 million jobs. Economists are warning of further increases throughout the year, which will hit consumers already dealing with rising food, electricity, and transport costs, University of Witwatersrand economist Professor Jannie Rossouw said. The biggest impact would be felt by the poor, who are already facing economic hardship, he said. The government has to do what it expects ordinary people to do by also cutting costs and using public money frugally because reducing the fuel levy will have a big impact on its revenue collection," he said. I'm not happy with the increase, it is too much. It will now be too difficult to buy food for the children, we will end up having to sell our cars to avoid petrol costs, said Soweto motorist Mwelase Mooki as he waited in the gas station line to fill up his car before the petrol increase came into effect at midnight. Fuel prices have also risen in neighboring Zimbabwe. Gasoline now costs about $1.70 per liter, up from $1.44 before Russias invasion of Ukraine. The government attributes the increases to the war in Ukraine. Story continues To reduce fuel prices, Zimbabwe has reintroduced the mandatory blending of gas with ethanol produced locally. Starting Wednesday petrol will be blended with 20% ethanol, which will reduce the pump price by 7 cents, said information minister Monica Mutsvangwa. Zimbabwe's government said this week that it will also embark on a $20 million upgrade of an oil pipeline from Mozambiques port city of Beira to increase its capacity and reduce the inland country's reliance on trucks to deliver fuel. Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate has risen to 66% as prices of basics spike in response to increases in gas prices. The state-owned bus transport company more than doubled its fares last week. Uganda has also been battling rising fuel costs since 2021 after the government increased excise duty on petroleum products. However, the prices have surged even higher in recent months, driven by a brief period of shortages in neighboring Kenya as well as what the government sees as inflationary pressure stemming from the war in Ukraine. A liter of gas in Uganda now costs about $1.50, a sharp rise from an average of $1 in early 2021. The East African country is vulnerable to price shocks because the government doesnt engage in price intervention, Stephen Kaboyo, an analyst with the Uganda-based asset management firm Alpha Capital Partners, said. In Uganda, the oil market was liberalized and prices are determined by the market forces, unlike other regional countries where oil prices are subsidized by their governments, he said. Therefore, any change in global oil prices is directly transmitted to the local pump prices. ___ AP journalists Farai Mutsaka in Harare, Zimbabwe, and Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda, contributed. Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified aircraft in a comparison by the Air Force secretary between the KC-46 and the KC-135. He had praised the KC-46 as a major night-and-day improvement over the KC-135. WASHINGTON The U.S. Air Forces top civilian said Wednesday the service is eyeing a 5% cut in the minimum number of aerial refueling tankers it is required to keep in its fleet. And Air Mobility Command announced later that day that the KC-46A Pegasus tanker is now approved to refuel about 97% of aircraft flown during U.S. Transportation Command missions. During an event at the Heritage Foundation think tank, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said the service plans to ask Congress for permission to cut its tanker fleet requirement from a minimum of 479 refueling aircraft to 455. Congress set that 479 requirement when it passed the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, which was based on a TRANSCOM study from 2018 that found that number to be the minimum fleet size required if war broke out. At the end of 2021, the Air Force had about 490 tankers in its fleet. Kendall said a tanker capacity of at least 455 would be adequate to respond to a threat from China, which the military considers the United States current pacing challenge, as well as other missions. But as the Air Force closely considers its priorities in a tough fiscal environment, the service cant do everything all the time, he explained. And he warned the services ability to respond to multiple major crises at once may be tested. Given the threats that we face, the idea that we can do a major war and a major contingency simultaneously is a stretch, Kendall said. The Hudson Institute said in a November 2021 study that the Air Forces refueling capacity had become brittle and aged, and had little headroom to take on new missions. The study said this endangers the nations ability to sustain combat against a major adversary if war broke out. Story continues Kendall also said the Air Force is growing more concerned that tankers may faced an increased threat of being shot down in combat. How to design a more combat-survivable tanker is one of the key questions the Air Force is asking as it starts to envision what its future KC-Z tanker should look like. But, Kendall said, thats still an open question and the Air Force hasnt gotten very far on finding an answer. He also reiterated that the Air Force has become much less confident that it will hold a competition for the KC-Y bridge tanker, which will pave the way for the services next-generation KC-Z. If the service doesnt hold a KC-Y competition, it would buy more KC-46 Pegasus aircraft from Boeing while retiring older KC-10 and KC-135 tankers. Kendall praised the KC-46 as a major night-and-day improvement over the KC-135. He acknowledged the program has had problems, including with its faulty original remote vision system, and noted aircraft-maker Boeing has lost a huge amount of money on the program so far. But Kendall said the Air Force and Boeing are working their way through the KC-46s problems, and the service is on a path to being able to handle all the aircraft that need aerial refueling. More missions for the KC-46 Air Mobility Command announced after Kendalls event that its top leader, Gen. Mike Minihan, on Tuesday approved the seventh interim capability release mission set for the Pegasus. The KC-46 is now approved to refuel the F-35B and F-35C fighter jets during TRANSCOM-tasked missions, AMC said. The latest mission set also cleared the Pegasus to refuel the B-1B Lancer, C-135 variants, the E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, the EC-130H Compass Call, the KC-10 Extender and the P-8 Poseidon on TRANSCOM missions. Credible and reliable KC-46A tanker capability is now available to our joint and international partners, Minihan said. A year ago, the commander said, the Pegasus was not yet cleared to refuel aircraft during any TRANSCOM missions. That changed in July 2021, when the first interim capability release clearing it to refuel aircraft with its centerline drogue system was released. One month later, the KC-46 had been OKd to refuel the B-52 Stratofortress, C-17 Globemaster and other Pegasus aircraft with its refueling boom during TRANSCOM missions. More aircraft were incrementally added in the months that followed. Before Tuesday, the KC-46 could refuel 85% of the aircraft it needed to on TRANSCOM missions. The KC-46 conducted its first operational refueling of an international allied aircraft in April, with the refueling of Spanish EF-18 Hornets during an exercise at Moron Air Base in Spain, AMC said. The KC-46 was already authorized to refuel F-18s from Canada and Spain, and it is now approved to refuel planes from Finland, Italy, Australia, Malaysia and Switzerland. A KC-46 from the 22nd Air Refueling Wing at McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas also conducted a 24.2-hour flight May 5-6, which is the longest duration flight in AMC history. The U.S. ambassador to Japan is excited for the country to broadly build out its own defensive infrastructure. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel praised Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's commitment to bolstering the island nation's defenses Wednesday at a public discussion in Tokyo, according to the Japan Times. Emanuel, speaking on a panel with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, applauded the current administration's steps toward defensive independence. The ambassador went on to promise that Washington would be an "everlasting Pacific presence and energy" as growing concerns of Chinese aggression toward Taiwan remain. BIDEN AT QUAD SUMMIT: US STRATEGIC AMBIGUITY TOWARD TAIWAN AND CHINA HAS NOT CHANGED Japan has begun taking seriously calls for it to raise a traditional, standing military in the face of foreign threats. Currently, the Japanese Constitution explicitly forbids the nation from wielding a military, and allows only for the garrison of a small Self-Defense Force. LDP officials have been pushing for a vote to overturn this constitutional clause for decades. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has heightened international tensions, making Japan more open to a military than ever before. An April proposal will allot approximately 2% of the national GDP to defense a record high for the pacifist country. The Chinese Communist Party aired a video last year in which it warned Japan of a nuclear response and "full-scale war" if the island nation interferes in China s handling of Taiwan. "We will use nuclear bombs first," the video said. "We will use nuclear bombs continuously. We will do this until Japan declares unconditional surrender for the second time." Japanese and U.S. forces have conducted a joint fighter jet flight over the Sea of Japan, Japans military said Thursday, in an apparent response to a Russia-China joint bomber flight while President Biden was in Tokyo. The Japan-U.S. joint flight on Wednesday involved eight warplanes based in Japan, including four U.S. F-16 fighters and four Japanese F-15s, the Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces said. NSA Director Gen. Paul Nakasone testifies on Capitol Hill in 2018. Thomson Reuters US Cyber Command's top general said the US has conducted "offensive" cyber operations to help Ukraine. Gen. Paul Nakasone said operations have involved offense, defense, and information activities. US officials tend to be careful with how they discuss America's offensive cyber capabilities. The top US cyber official revealed on Wednesday that the US has conducted "offensive" cyber operations supporting Ukraine as it battles Russia. US Army Gen. Paul Nakasone told British media outlet Sky News that "we've conducted a series of operations across the full spectrum; offensive, defensive, [and] information operations." He did not specify the targets of these operations. Nakasone heads US Cyber Command and serves as the director of the National Security Agency. Though short on details, his disclosure is rare and notable given that US officials tend to avoid publicly discussing America's offensive cyber capabilities. Additionally, the Biden administration has been carefully striking a balance between supporting Ukraine and avoiding escalating tensions with Russia. During his discussion with Sky News, Nakasone praised Ukraine for its ability to repel Russian cyber attacks and chided critics who have suggested that reports of Moscow's cyber operations against the country have been blown out of proportion. "If you asked the Ukrainians, they wouldn't say it's been overblown," he said. "If you take a look at the destructive attacks and disruptive attacks that they've encountered you wrote about it in terms of the attack on [satellite company] Viasat this is something that has been ongoing." FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that Russia is taking "specific preparatory steps" to carry out damaging attacks. Addressing cyber concerns in particular, Wray said Russia's strikes are becoming "more destructive as the war keeps going poorly." "We've seen the Russian government taking specific preparatory steps towards potential destructive attacks, both here and abroad," Wray told a Boston College cyber security conference, The Wall Street Journal reports. Story continues In addition to the cyber operations Nakasone acknowledged, the US has, along with its allies, also provided Ukraine with weapons and other forms of assistance, but there are limitations. President Joe Biden himself outlined on Tuesday night the limits of US involvement, stressing his long-held view in a New York Times op-ed that the US wishes to keep its own forces out of the war. Biden also sought to continue to clean up his vague suggestion of regime change after his March assertion that Putin "cannot remain in power" irked some Western allies. "As much as I disagree with Mr. Putin, and find his actions an outrage, the United States will not try to bring about his ouster in Moscow," Biden wrote. "So long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces." Read the original article on Business Insider The Uvalde Police Department and school district are no longer cooperating with the State of Texass investigation into the shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24, which killed 19 children and two teachers. Law enforcement sources in Texas, speaking to ABC News, relayed the decision to the press on Tuesday, a week after the deadly shooting. The withdrawal of cooperation comes after the Texas Department of Public Safetys director, Steve McCraw, announced on Friday that the decision by Uvalde police officers not to breach the two classrooms where the shooter was located was the wrong decision. After arriving at the scene of the incident on May 24, up to 19 municipal police and school district police officers were engaged in a standoff with the shooter, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, for nearly 50 minutes while he was inside with children. As many as eight or nine children were still alive during this time and were placing 911 calls to police dispatch, pleading for help. Earlier, Texas DPS spokesman Victor Escalon had said that police presumed all children inside the classroom were dead. However, footage obtained by ABC News revealed that police dispatch had relayed the information to officers, saying the room was full of victims at this moment at 12:13 p.m. Only at 12:50 p.m. did a tactical team of U.S. Border Patrol agents breach the classroom and kill Ramos. That revelation, contrary to earlier reports about the police officers actions, sparked public outrage over the decision to fall back while children were still alive, during which time some are believed to have been killed. Texas governor Greg Abbott, in a press conference on Friday, said he was misled with inaccurate information about the sequence of events, while Representative Joaquin Castro (D., Texas) called for an FBI investigation into the actions of police. In a statement in response to the sources comments, the Texas DPS, which is leading the investigation, said that the Uvalde Police Department and Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District have been cooperating with investigators, but said that the chief of the Uvalde CISD Police . . . has not responded to a request for a follow-up interview. Story continues That chief, Peter Arredondo, was the incident commander on-scene on the day of the shooting who reportedly ordered officers to fall back. Arredondo had made two media appearances on the day of the shooting to provide updates after the incident but has not been seen in public since. It is unclear what impact the lack of cooperation from Uvalde authorities will have on the investigation. While the Uvalde Police Department is overseen by the towns mayor, Don McLaughlin, the school districts police is overseen by the school superintendent, Harold Hansen. As of writing, neither parties, nor the individual police departments, have responded to National Reviews requests for comment. More from National Review The school district police chief who served as on-site commander during last week's deadly shooting in Uvalde, Texas, said Wednesday that he's talking daily with investigators, contradicting claims from state law enforcement that he has stopped cooperating. In a brief interview, Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo told CNN that he's speaking regularly with Texas Department of Public Safety investigators. "Ive been on the phone with them every day, Arredondo said. The chief has been the focus of ire in the community and beyond over allegations that he delayed sending officers into the school on May 24, believing that the gunman was barricaded inside adjoining classrooms and the shooting had morphed into a hostage situation. Nineteen children and two teachers died in the attack at Robb Elementary School, the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade. Funerals began this week, and U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona attended Wednesday's services for teacher Irma Garcia, who was killed in the attack, and her husband, Joe Garcia, who died of a heart attack two days later. The district announced Wednesday that students and staff would not return to that campus, though plans were still being finalized on where the less than 600 students would attend classes in the fall. Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez said Wednesday that his office is working with state and federal agencies to request upwards of $45 million in federal funding for the school. According to the U.S. Department of Education, its School Emergency Response to Violence, known as Project SERV, funds short-term education-related services to help educational facilities recover from a violent or traumatic event in which the learning environment has been disrupted. Gutierrez said he is unaware of any plans to tear down Robb Elementary but that funds obtained through the program by other schools have traditionally been used to rebuild. Story continues State officials have said police waited for more than an hour outside the classroom where Salvador Ramos, 18, opened fire, despite repeated pleas from children calling 911 for help. At one point there were as many as 19 officers in the hallway, Steven McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said. Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin told media outlets in a Wednesday interview that hed arrived at the funeral home across the street from the school about 15 minutes after the first call came that Ramos had crashed his truck nearby. McLaughlin said that while at the funeral home, he was standing near an official he identified only as the negotiator. He said that person unsuccessfully tried to reach the gunman via cellphone. His main goal was to try to get this person on the phone, McLaughlin said in the interview with Telemundo San Antonio and The Washington Post. They tried every number they could find, but the gunman did not pick up the phone. Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Tuesday that Arredondo had not responded to DPS requests for two days, while other officers in the Uvalde city and schools police departments continue to sit for interviews and provide statements. Arredondo has not responded to multiple requests for comment from The Associated Press. Considine told AP Wednesday that Arredondo had not responded to Texas Rangers' requests for follow-up interviews as of Tuesday. The Texas Rangers the investigative arm of the Department of Public Safety that focuses on major crimes have not commented on Arredondos insistence he was in regular touch with DPS. The Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas, which represents police officers, has urged its members to cooperate with all government investigations into the shooting and police response, and endorsed a federal probe by the Justice Department. The confusing and sometimes contradictory information released in the week since the deadly shooting continued Tuesday with the revelation that the exterior door used by the gunman was not left propped open by a teacher, as police previously said. They have now determined that the teacher, who has not been identified, propped the door open with a rock, but then removed the rock and closed the door when she realized there was a shooter on campus, Considine said. But, Considine said, the door that was designed to lock when shut did not lock. Since the shooting, law enforcement and state officials have struggled to present an accurate timeline and details of the event and how police responded, sometimes providing conflicting information or withdrawing statements hours later. State police have said some accounts were preliminary and could change as more witnesses are interviewed. On Wednesday, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the state to conduct in-person school district security audits, including random, unannounced intruder detection visits to campuses to find weak points and how quickly they can penetrate buildings without being stopped. This will improve accountability and ensure school districts are following the plans they create, Abbott said in a letter to the head of the Texas School Safety Center at Texas State University. Texas has more than 1,200 school districts, according to the Texas Education Agency. Abbott also asked top lawmakers to convene a legislative committee to examine and make recommendations on school safety, mental health, social media, police training, firearm safety and more. The next Texas legislative session is scheduled for January 2023, although some lawmakers have urged Abbott to call a special session in response to the shooting. After previous mass shootings at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Santa Fe High School and a Walmart in El Paso, Abbott convened roundtable discussions, sometimes involving survivors and victims families. After the 2018 shooting at Santa Fe High School, lawmakers in 2019 approved $100 million for schools to improve campus safety with metal detectors, vehicle barriers, shooter alarms systems and other safety measures. They also allowed more teachers to carry guns on campus and be trained in campus shooter response. But Abbott and state lawmakers resisted calls for stricter gun ownership measures. In 2021, Abbott signed into law a measure that allows people 21 and older to carry handguns without a license or training. In Uvalde on Wednesday, Ramos mother was denied service at the drive-thru. Adriana Reyes then walked into an adjacent convenience store where the cashier said she would not be served. She declined to speak with an Associated Press reporter on the scene, saying: I dont want to be rude but I dont want to say anything. ___ More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting ___ Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press writers Adriana Gomez Licon in Uvalde; Jake Bleiberg in Dallas; and Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report. Jun. 1Environmental and community organizations say they were blindsided by the Valencia County Commission's approval of a new "natural resource overlay zone" that could open the doors to local oil and gas development. The ordinance allows developers to apply for exploratory surface and subsurface mineral development in the county without changing existing zoning on targeted properties. The five-member commission approved the ordinance in a 3-1 vote on May 3 with one commissioner absent and virtually no public input. That's because the commission published just one legal advertisement regarding the ordinance on April 15 in the Albuquerque Journal, with no other publicity offered, according to local community activists. Commission rules mandate that public notice be published twice over two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation before placing an ordinance on the agenda. That didn't happen, and now the commission is expected to revisit the issue at its biweekly meeting Wednesday. Commissioners could be asked to repeal the ordinance to comply with the two-notification rule before reintroducing it again at a forthcoming meeting, said Commissioner Joseph Bizzell, who sponsored the original overlay zone initiative. Bizzell blamed the mishap on County Attorney Dave Pato. "The attorney messed up and I told him afterwards to do it right," Bizzell told the Journal. "... We're going to open it back up and make sure that everybody has the ability to come in and speak their mind." Local activists said they learned about the ordinance after it was approved, and now they're worried that it's specifically aimed at opening the doors to oil and gas exploration in Valencia County. That's because long-time oilman Harvey E. Yates Jr. attended the May 3 commission meeting to support the ordinance, raising concerns about his interest in local hydrocarbon development. Yates has since confirmed to the Journal that he is committed to exploring for oil and gas in the county and did, to some extent, assist the county in developing the ordinance. Story continues "We're super concerned that it could open up the possibility for fracking in our community," said Ann McCartney, a member of advocacy group Valencia Water Watchers. McCartney said members of her organization will attend Wednesday's meeting to seek repeal of the ordinance and speak out against it being brought back at a future meeting. "We want this to be repealed, and we'll rally community support if they bring it back," McCartney said. "We anticipate they probably will, because three commissioners have already supported it." Environmental organizations are watching closely. The Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter is encouraging its members to attend the commission meeting. "We have 35,000 members and supporters around the state," Rio Grande Chapter Director Camilla Feibelman told the Journal. "Our people will show up." Overlay zone Bizzell said he's been working on the overlay ordinance for about a year, largely because of his interest in retrieving brackish water from underground wells on Valencia County's West Mesa that could be cleaned up for community use. "The West Mesa is one of the largest brackish aquifers," Bizzell said. "It's unusable water, but there's desalinization plants that could clean up that water." The county could pipe the processed water to municipalities like Los Lunas and Belen, or even Isleta Pueblo and Albuquerque, Bizzell said. Such projects can already be done without the newly approved overlay zone, but the ordinance speeds the application and approval process by avoiding the need for zoning changes. Under the ordinance, a developer could apply for surface or subsurface mineral development without changing current land-use zoning so that surface-based residential, commercial or industrial activities continue uninterrupted. "This is just a stepping stone that allows people a process to be able to use their property and go into a natural resource, whether its gravel, brackish water or oil and gas," Bizzell said. Developers must still apply to the county for an overlay permit through a public process to show that a project is consistent with county rules and regulations to protect community health, safety and welfare. That process would be open to public comment through a hearing at the county's planning and zoning commission, and then a second hearing and final vote by the commission. The ordinance excludes mineral overlay permitting on any land within the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, defined as the county's "greenbelt." And, if an overlay zone is approved, the permitted project must take place within 24 months, or the property reverts to its original zoning, Bizzell said. Such county overlay zoning already exists for solar and greenhouse development. But unlike those ordinances, the natural resource overlay zone contains specific guidelines that would require the county planning and zoning commission to assess only health, safety and general welfare concerns that are directly related to a proposed location, and not base any potential rejection on generic or speculative impacts. The evaluation would also consider a project's economic development, job creation and tax benefits. Neither the solar nor greenhouse overlay zone ordinances contain such directives. Environmental pushback If the ordinance is reintroduced following two-notification compliance, environmental organizations will likely intervene, said Tom Solomon of Albuquerque-based 350 New Mexico. In 2017, that group and others mounted stiff resistance in Sandoval County to a proposed ordinance for developers to pursue oil and gas activities there. Hundreds of activists packed commission meetings in opposition, helping to defeat the measure. "If there's potential for another drilling and fracking site to crop up like the one we fought in Sandoval County, then we would get involved," Solomon told the Journal. "It's too early to jump to conclusions. But Yates is the head of one the state's biggest oil interests, and given his involvement, we're concerned, as are other environmental organizations." Mary Feldblum of Earthwork's Oil and Gas Accountability Project called the lack of public information before the County Commission's May 3 meeting "frightening." "Just to say 'we're gonna drill' without informing the community and discussing all the safety concerns and impacts with the pubic, that's a problem," Feldblum said. "People were really caught by surprise." Bizzell said he's committed to transparency. "I just want to make sure that everybody has a voice," Bizzell said. "Whether you're for or against it, please come and give public comment." None of the other four country commissioners responded to repeated Journal requests for comment. Valencia County News-Bulletin Assistant Editor Julia M. Dendinger contributed to this report. If you go The Valencia County Commission meets at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the county administration office, 444 Luna Ave. in Los Lunas. Longtime New Mexico oilman hopes to drill in Valencia County Yates believes some areas hold commercial potential... May 31, 2022 12:07PM Editor's note: An earlier version of this story misstated the number of members and supporters the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter has in New Mexico. The correct number is 35,000. The story has been updated. Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told senators on Tuesday that she expected inflation to remain high and the Biden administration would likely increase the 4.7% inflation forecast for this year in its budget proposal. During a Senate Finance Committee hearing, Yellen said that the United States was dealing with "unacceptable levels of inflation," but that she hoped price hikes would soon begin to subside. U.S. Consumer Price Index inflation has been tracking above 8% in recent months, the highest readings in over 40 years and well above President Joe Biden's administration's forecast for its fiscal 2023 budget. 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. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) says a new COVID relief package is "very, very much needed." (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) The U.S. is headed for a lot of unnecessary loss of life," the Biden administration says, if Congress fails to provide billions more dollars to brace for the COVID-19 pandemics next wave. Yet the quest for that money is in limbo, the latest victim of election-year gridlock thats stalled or killed a host of Democratic priorities. President Bidens appeal for funds for vaccines, testing and treatments has hit opposition from Republicans, who've fused the fight with the precarious politics of immigration. Congress is in recess, and the next steps are uncertain, despite admonitions from White House COVID coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha of damaging consequences from every day we wait. Administration officials say they're running low on money to stock up on, or even begin to order, the latest vaccines, tests and treatments. Also lacking are funds to reimburse doctors treating uninsured patients and to help poor countries control the pandemic. House and Senate Democrats have been wrangling over how to resolve the stalemate and even over which chamber should vote first. Its an open question whether theyll ever get the GOP votes theyll need to pull the legislation through the 50-50 Senate, and prospects in the narrowly divided House are unclear as well. There is still an urgency to pass a COVID relief package, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), said last week. Its very, very much needed. Optimists hope the measure could start rolling once Congress returns to session next week. Pessimists say that without quick resolution, Democrats may not have enough leverage to push the money to passage until early fall. Thats when they could stuff it into legislation that will probably be needed to finance government and avert a federal shutdown a pre-election distraction Republicans will be desperate to avoid. The heap of sidelined Democratic initiatives has grown this year, a victim of GOP opposition and rebellions by centrists like Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.). Casualties include bills on voting rights, healthcare, environment, taxes, gun curbs, abortion rights, policing tactics and an investigation of the 2021 Capitol storming by then-President Trumps supporters. Story continues While lawmakers have approved massive packages financing federal agencies through September and helping Ukraine counter Russias invasion, other priorities are dead or drifting, even as Democrats days running Congress are likely dwindling. Republicans are favored to win House control in Novembers elections and could grab the Senate as well, and Democrats frustration is clear. So far it hasnt moved, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) said of Bidens latest $22.5-billion request for COVID-19 relief, which he initially sent Congress three months ago. But then, neither has sensible gun legislation, neither has voting rights. The 50-50 Senate sucks, she said. The COVID money is needed quickly, officials say. Their warnings have come with over 1 million U.S. deaths from the disease and a fresh variant that daily is hospitalizing over 100,000 Americans and killing more than 300. Both numbers are rising. Officials say that, lacking fresh funds, the U.S. is falling behind other countries that are already lining up supplies needed for fall and winter. That's prompted Jha to plan for the chance that Congress provides no new money at all, threatening painful choices about what to do if there aren't enough vaccines or therapeutics for all who need them. It would be terrible," Jha told reporters recently. I think we would see a lot of unnecessary loss of life if that were to happen." Congress has provided $370 billion for purchasing supplies, research and other public health initiatives to combat the pandemic, according to administration tallies obtained by the Associated Press. Around $14 billion of it was unspent or not committed to contracts as of April 5, the documents show, an amount the administration says falls below the ultimate need. Most Republicans are skeptical about added pandemic funding. I have a hard time believing that theres not enough money and not enough flexibility already" to use it, said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.). Counterintuitively but unsurprisingly for the always perplexing Senate, one intractable puzzle stymying Democrats is immigration. Senate Republicans are demanding a vote amending the pandemic legislation with language retaining Trump-era border controls that, citing COVID-19, have made it easier to bar migrants from entering the U.S. A federal judge has blocked Biden from ending those restrictions. Liberals want Congress to eliminate the clampdown, but some moderate Democrats in both chambers facing tough reelections want to vote to retain it. The result: testy divisions between the Democrats' two ideological factions, and knotty questions for party leaders about how to resolve them and push a pandemic package to passage. Their task is compounded by disputes between House and Senate Democrats over why the COVID-19 battle remains unresolved. Senate Democrats note a bipartisan $15.6-billion pandemic compromise was on the cusp of House passage in March until that chamber's progressive Democrats rebelled against spending cuts to pay for it, derailing the money. Were waiting for the House to send us something," Schumer said last week. House Democrats say that even if they do, the biggest hurdle will still be the Senate, where 10 GOP votes will be required to reach that chamber's usual 60-vote threshold for passage. They note that an April deal between Schumer and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) for $10 billion in COVID-19 money collapsed after Republicans demanded the immigration vote. We want to get COVID-19 done, but the only impediment right now is the United States Senate," House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters recently. That's left Republicans waiting for Democrats' next move. I would imagine at this point way over half of our members will vote against this, no matter what. So the question is what do you do to get it acceptable to 10 or 12 [Republican senators]," said Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, a member of GOP leadership. "And I dont know. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A high school student in Washington state has been arrested after bringing a loaded gun to class, authorities said Tuesday. Staff at Skyview High School found the handgun inside the jacket of the male student while he was on campus, the Clark County Sheriff's Office said. The juvenile, whom police did not name, told school officials that he brought the firearm to school for "self-defense," according to the sheriff's office. Authorities described the firearm as a semi-automatic handgun that had rounds in the magazine and an empty chamber. UVALDE HERO BORDER PATROL AGENT SPEAKS OUT ON COMPLETE CHAOS, RUSHING IN TO SAVE STUDENTS The student was arrested for unlawful possession of a firearm and possession a dangerous weapon on school ground. Police said he was referred to speak with a designated crisis responder after being taken to a juvenile detention center. The investigation was ongoing. No additional information was immediately available. One guests pictures from a Chinese zoo have recently gone viral for showing a lions reportedly natural, straight mullet. A visitor of the Guangzhou Zoo shared pictures on Little Red Book, or Xiaohongshu, a Chinese site where users share content, product photos and reviews. While the page is most often used as a fashion and luxury platform, one user used it to post hilarious photos of a lion with an unusual hairdo. As seen in the photos, the lions mane looks like a stylist blow-dried out his entire head of hair, giving him perfectly kempt, straight locks. More from NextShark: 'Got that 'come over' text but she lives in Celadon City': 'Tweet like Pokemon were real' game goes viral As netizens pointed out, the funniest part was his bangs, which were comparable to those of Tiger Kings Joe Exotic. Hahah hairstyle is really important! commented one user. Other people stated that the lion did not look the same as it did during their last visit. More from NextShark: Indian Doctor Gets Over 5 Million Views Dancing for His Patients When I went there two months ago, his hair wasnt like this. Now he looks so dumb (but in a cute way), reported one netizen. When I went there in March, the haircut was like that. But at that time it was relatively shorter so it didnt look this stupid. People raised the question of whether one of the employees cut the lions hair, or if it was natures doing. More from NextShark: Chinese beauty guru and self-titled Wakanda Queen sparks outrage over blackface tutorial When a Guangdong news outlet reached out to the zoo staff, a member responded that they dare not cut, assuring that the lions bangs happened by itself. Featured Image via More from NextShark: Drew Barrymore and Martha Stewart teach TikTokers how to eat ramen with scissors Ukrainian servicemen prepare to detonate unexploded Russian ordnance on the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv, on Wednesday. (Natacha Pisarenko / Associated Press) Western nations are promising more and more advanced arms to bolster Ukraine's defense as its troops battled a grinding Russian offensive that was closing in on capturing a key city in the east. Germany said Wednesday that it would supply Ukraine with modern antiaircraft missiles and radar systems, and the U.S. is to unveil a new weapons package for Kyiv later in the day that is expected to include high-tech, medium-range rocket systems. The U.S. is trying to strike a balance by helping Ukraine battle ferocious Russian artillery barrages while not providing weapons that could allow Ukrainian forces to hit targets deep inside Russia and trigger an escalation in the war. The Kremlin's spokesman told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. was pouring fuel on the fire. Heavily damaged buildings and destroyed cars in Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine, following Russian attacks. (Francisco Seco / Associated Press) Western arms have been critical to Ukraines success in stymieing Russias much larger and better-equipped military thwarting its initial efforts to take the capital and forcing Moscow to shift its focus to completing its capture of the eastern industrial Donbas region. But as Russia bombards towns in its inching advance in the east, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly pleaded for more and better weapons and accused the West of moving too slowly. Military analysts say Russia is hoping to overrun the Donbas before any weapons that might turn the tide arrive. Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian presidents office, hailed the new Western weapons. Im sure that if we receive all the necessary weapons and strengthen the efficient sanctions regime, we will win, he said. The new arms could help Ukraine set up and hold new lines of defense in the east by hitting back at Russian artillery pieces that have been battering towns and cities and by limiting Russian airstrikes, said French retired Gen. Dominique Trinquand, a former head of Frances military mission at the United Nations. The NATO countries the European nations and the Americans have progressively escalated the means that they are putting at Ukraines disposal, and this escalation, in my opinion, has had the aim of testing Russian limits, he said. Each time, they measure the Russian reaction, and since there is no reaction, they keep supplying increasingly effective and sophisticated weaponry. Story continues Military analysts say Russia is hoping to overrun the Donbas before any weapons that might turn the tide arrive. Germany has come under particular criticism, both at home and from allies abroad, that it isnt doing enough. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told lawmakers that the IRIS-T SLM missiles that it will send are the most modern air-defense system that Germany has. They can operate at longer ranges than the Cold War-era antiaircraft vehicles it has previously provided. With this, we will enable Ukraine to defend an entire city from Russian air attacks, he said. He said Germany would also supply Ukraine with radar systems to help locate enemy artillery. In addition to the rocket systems it had promised, the U.S. package will include helicopters, Javelin antitank weapon systems, tactical vehicles, spare parts and more, two senior administration officials said Tuesday. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the package before it is formally unveiled. One official noted that the advanced rocket systems would give Ukrainian forces greater precision in targeting Russian assets inside Ukraine. The rockets, which have a range of about 50 miles and are highly mobile, will allow Ukrainian troops to disrupt Russian supply lines, said another Western official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Residents carry bottled water in the war-torn Ukrainian city of Slovyansk on Tuesday. (Francisco Seco / Associated Press) The U.S. has received assurances that Ukraine will not fire rockets into Russian territory, according to the senior administration officials. Russia views "negatively" the U.S. plans to supply more weapons, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday, saying that Moscow did not trust Kyivs assurances that the rocket systems would not be used to attack Russia. We believe that the U.S. is deliberately and diligently pouring fuel on the fire, Peskov said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Ukraines push for more weapons is a direct provocation intended to draw the West into the fighting. He warned that the multiple-rocket launchers would raise the risk of an expanded conflict. Sane Western politicians understand those risks well, he said. The announcements come as a regional governor in the Donbas said Russian forces now control 70% of Severodonetsk, a city that is key to Russia's efforts to seize the parts of the region not already controlled by Moscow-backed separatists. Gov. Serhiy Haidai of the Luhansk region said street fighting was ongoing in the city, where about 13,000 people remain even though 90% of residential buildings have been damaged. Tens of thousands have fled the city, once home to about 100,000 people. He noted that the only other city in the Luhansk region that Russians have not yet captured, Lysychansk, is still fully under Ukrainian control. If the Russians manage to take full control over Severodonetsk within two to three days, they will start installing artillery and mortars and will shell Lysychansk more intensively, Haidai said. Separately, in a Telegram post Wednesday, Haidai noted that some Ukrainian troops had pulled back from Severodonetsk. The evacuation [of civilians] has been halted. There is no possibility to bring in humanitarian aid, Haidai wrote. Zelensky said the country is losing between 60 and 100 soldiers a day in the fighting and that another 500 are wounded. He told the U.S. TV channel Newsmax on Tuesday night that the most difficult situation is in the east of Ukraine and southern Donetsk and Luhansk the two provinces that make up the Donbas region. In southern Ukraine, a regional governor said Russian troops were retreating and blowing up bridges to obstruct a possible Ukrainian advance. Vitaliy Kim, governor of the Mykolaiv region, said in messages on Telegram on Wednesday that Russia was on the defensive. They are afraid of a counterattack by the Ukrainian army, Kim wrote. He didnt specify where the retreat was happening. The parts of the Mykolaiv region which have been held by Russian forces in recent days are close to the large Russia-held city of Kherson. Zelensky said in his nightly address there had been some success in the Kherson direction for Ukraine. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Armed Forces of Ukraine learn how to use the US-made -777 howitzers Thanks to the skill of our defenders, the Russian occupiers are receiving a rebuff they did not expect. Let me remind you that three types of 155-mm artillery are already working successfully on the front lines: M777 howitzers, FH70 howitzers, and CAESAR SPHs. Read also: Will Putin use chemical weapons in Ukraine? It was simply impossible to imagine this back in March. But today it is already a reality that materialized due to great teamwork led by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. I am also happy to announce the news: the 155-mm artillery pool is being replenished. Ukraine has already received M109 SPHs in one of its modifications. This equipment is of very high quality. Its supply was the result of cooperation between several countries. I would also like to inform you that the coastal defense of our country will not only be strengthened by Harpoon missiles they will be used by trained Ukrainian teams. I am confident that the military brotherhood of Harpoons and our Neptunes will help us liberate and make our Black Sea safe again, as well as reliably protect Odesa. The supply of these missiles was also the result of cooperation between several countries. It allowed us to receive the Harpoons from Danish partners with the participation of our British friends. I have repeatedly noted British leadership and the special efforts of my friend and colleague, a great friend of Ukraine Ben Wallace. Among the latest supplies, I would like to point out over 100 American UAVs of various types. Like any minister in my position, I wish I had many more weapons and as soon as possible. Because the lives of our people are at stake. Read also: Japan, Germany re-arm. What will it change? At the same time, we must understand: in the last month and a half, for instance, we have received more NATO-standard artillery shells than there are Soviet shells available! The important thing is that we have already obtained more than all the plants of our allied countries can produce in 6 months (where there are still production lines of Soviet-type ammo). And we will obtain more because the number of artillery weapons will keep growing. Story continues The strategic decision to switch to NATO-type heavy weaponry already has a concrete dimension. The cooperation of partnership states that provide Ukraine with weapons and equipment is already unprecedented. In every comment on weapons and on the support of Ukraine as a whole I thank my fellow defense ministers. This is not just mere politeness. It is a clear indication that Ukraine is not alone. Drastic changes, the main results of which still lie ahead, were made possible due to the outstanding leadership of the United States of America. The position of our American friends allowed the free world to realize the real goal: the Kremlin must be vanquished, not just stopped. I have already mentioned that in Warsaw I had the honor to attend a meeting with the US President Joe Biden, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and a great friend of Ukraine with whom we are in close contact and whose contribution I greatly value US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III. Read also: Military expert explains what weapons West can provide to Ukraine and whether it can change the war At that meeting, President Biden clearly outlined the strategic approach and decision-making criteria on weapons. The respective decisions must simultaneously give Ukraine real reinforcement on the front lines, not disturb the unity of US allies, consider practical possibilities of assistance (i.e., certain weapons must be in stock), and be of a systematic rather than sporadic nature. That is the logic that guides our activities. It is supported by our partners. The abovementioned unprecedented cooperation proves that. However, it is our people who are taking the blow, not the weaponry. We have seen examples when modern weapons and equipment failed to make a difference if people did not want to fight for their country. Instead, the Ukrainian army has shown mass heroism combined with high professionalism, while the entire Ukrainian nation has shown remarkable resilience. The days, hours, and minutes of the recent weeks are passing slower than ever in my life. Because we are forced to wait. To wait and at the same time fight for increased quantities and the expansion of artillery range which we will receive and report on very soon. We are waiting for new batches, knowing that they are already being loaded and that our soldiers have started practicing on the training grounds. Despite all this, I look to the future with optimism. After all, Ukraine will still win. Read also: Ukraine needs its partners to provide it with MLRS weapons, says Podolyak This column was first published on Reznikov's Facebook page. NV is republishing it with permission. Photo credit: AFP - Getty Images Irans air force has lost several jet fighters and trainers in the last three years. The country, once swimming in American arms, has been cut off from modern weapons by arms embargoes until recently. As a result, many of Tehrans aircraft, particularly fighter jets, are almost a half-century old. Iran is facing a ticking time bomb: its aging air force. Several of the countrys fighters have crashed in recent years, with most of the incidents involving old, obsolete aircraft that other air forces around the globe have long since retired. Due to years of arms restrictions, the country has been relying on scores of jets purchased before the rise of Irans modern governmentmore than four decades ago. Dont miss any of our best-in-class military and defense news. Join our squad. Iran has lost at least five fighter jets since 2018, according to Forbes . Three of the crashes involved Northrop F-5E Tiger jets. An F-5 crashed in 2018 , killing the pilot. In February 2022, another F-5 crashed , killing two more pilots. On May 25 of this year, another F-5 crashed in Isfahan province , killing both pilots. The F-5s were part of a stream of military hardware purchased by the Shah, the autocratic ruler of Iran. The Shah, flush with hard currency from oil sales, purchased British tanks and ships; German rifles; and American fighter jets, tanks, and other armored vehicles to create what was, at the time, the most powerful military force in the Persian Gulf. Photo credit: Kaveh Kazemi - Getty Images The problem? The Shah was forced from power in 1979, replaced by a theocratic, virulently anti-American regime. Defections and political purges internally gutted the Shahs military before fighting an eight-year war against Iraq. Since the Iran-Iraq war ended in 1988, Tehran has operated under international arms embargoes and other restrictions in addition to economic woes, hobbling its ability to modernize its armed forces. As a result, Irans fighter jet fleet is one of the oldest in the world. According to Flight International , the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) flies 199 fighter jets. Almost all of them date back to the 1970s, with just a handful of Russian-made MiGs acquired as recently as the early 1990s. American planes, including 63 F-4D/E and RF-4E Phantom fighters, 35 F-5E Tigers, and 41 F-4 Tomcats, still make up the bulk of the IRIAFs fighter force, despite the fact that Irans current government cut ties with the United States in 1979. Story continues U.S. fighter jets are among the most technologically advancedand technically complexin the world. Civilian employees loaned out from defense contractors often provide support to keep the planes flying, especially in the case of developing countries such as Iran in the 1970s. In 1979, after the change of government and a rise in anti-Americanism, defense contractors pulled their workers from Iran. Many foresaw the collapse of Irans air force as imminent. That didnt really happen. Iran has managed to keep a substantial number of aircraft flying, but at the price of slowly cannibalizing its fleet of planes. In 1973, Iran ordered 141 single-seat F-5E Tiger fighter jets. The F-5 Tiger was a single-seat, low-cost ($1.16 million) fighter exported in large numbers to friendly foreign air forces around the world. Long considered obsolete, most countries have retired it. A version of the fighter, the T-38C Talon jet trainer, still flies with the U.S. Air Force. Photo credit: ATTA KENARE - Getty Images Iran may still be flying just one-sixth of its original Tigers, but that theyve kept flying for nearly 50 years without new replacement parts and support from the original manufacturers is a herculean accomplishment. Iran has also attempted to smuggle F-5 parts from abroad, though its not clear how successful the smuggling campaign has been. Although Iran has been successful in keeping its geriatric American planes flying, the recent rash of crashes is likely an age issue. Unlike larger planeslike the KC-135 Stratotanker and B-52 Stratofortress bomber, both of which are nearly 70 years oldthe U.S. doesnt fly any fighter jets that date to 1973. Fighter jets subject their airframes to more physical stress than larger airplanes, inducing metal fatigue on the airframe. The result is a shorter lifespan for fighters. Photo credit: Getty Images Two of Irans recent crashes involved F-5F fighters, the two-seat version of the jet used to train pilots for the single-seat F-5E. Iran purchased only 28 F-5Fs, and Flight International estimates only 14 are still flying as of late 2021. After the latest pair of crashes, that number is down to 12, reducing training opportunities for Iranian pilots for the F-5E and other fighters. Iran needs new planes, and the international arms embargo that prevented it from buying new ones expired in October 2020 . Despite this, Tehran has not rushed out to place orders for new warplanes, and its not clear why. What is clear is that Irans 20th-century air force will continue to fall out of the sky if the country doesnt replace it with 21st-century jets. A half-century is much too long to fly a fighter jet, and Irans pilots are unfortunately paying the price. You Might Also Like An attempted robbery was thwarted in Maryland when a pair of employees fought back against an armed suspect, according to Baltimore police. The incident started when a customer walked into a Metro PCS store on Baltimores east side around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 31, the Baltimore Police Department said in a news release. The man asked for customer service, but after the employees explained that they couldnt help him, he left returning moments later with a gun in hand. Now armed, the customer announced he was robbing the store, police said. One of the workers moved in on the suspect and tried to disarm him, according to the release. The gun went off during the struggle, striking the other employee in the leg. The pistol fell to the floor and the wounded employee grabbed it and shot the suspect in the abdomen. Police were called and the suspect was taken to a hospital, according to the release. He was arrested on charges of attempted armed robbery, reckless endangerment, and various handgun violations. Four armed intruders broke into Indiana home but just two survived, police say Bear charges through window and attacks couple inside their home, Wisconsin cops say Highway shootout between rival motorcycle gangs injures 7, Nevada police say Trooper fatally shoots armed driver at traffic stop in North Carolina, state reports Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Emin Sansar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images A Newsmax host asked Zelenskyy if Russia's invasion may have been prevented with Trump as president. Zelenskyy said it was not important which party was in power in the US. He told the host, Rob Schmitt, "I am sorry if I'll be saying something that you don't like." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shut down a Newsmax interviewer who prompted him to say that there would be no war in Ukraine if former President Donald Trump were still the US president. Zelenskyy was interviewed by Rob Schmitt, a Newsmax anchor, in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, on Tuesday about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Schmitt asked Zelenskyy: "Do you think that different American leadership, do you think that different Western leadership, may have prevented this aggression? "There are many Americans that believe that if somebody like Donald Trump was still in the White House that this invasion would not have happened. What is your position?" Zelenskyy responded by saying that he was grateful for the help given by US President Joe Biden, and that the most important thing for Ukraine is support from the American public, regardless of which party is in power. Zelenskyy said: "Well, I believe what's the most important is the assistance from the people of the United States. They are paying the taxes, and the money being allocated to support Ukraine comes from the taxes, and it's all of that humanitarian, financial, military support to Ukraine. So I am grateful to the current president of the United States as well as to those in the political parties that support us." "I am sorry if I'll be saying something that you don't like, but for us as the country in war, it doesn't matter whether it's Democrats or Republicans. It's the people of the United States that support us," he said. Zelenskyy later added: "I don't know what would happen if the president, if Donald Trump would be the president of the United States for this situation, so I cannot predict what would happen." Story continues Zelenskyy said that it was important that US institutions such as Congress work the same regardless of who is in power, to keep "the values of the United States." Newsmax is a right-wing outlet known for its support of Trump. Trump has previously said that him being in power would have prevented Russia from invading. He said in a statement on February 24, the day Russia invaded, "If I were in Office, this deadly Ukraine situation would never have happened!" Trump and Zelenskyy have a significant political backstory, and the question of US support led to Trump's first impeachment. Congress impeached Trump over a 2019 phone call with Zelenskyy when he urged the Ukrainian president to investigate Biden, his political rival, and his son Hunter Biden seemingly in exchange for military aid. Read the original article on Business Insider A recent Associated Press article asked if America is numb to suffering and death. More than 1 million Americans have died from COVID-19, yet many are unwilling even to wear a mask to protect others. Nineteen fourth-graders and their two teachers were just riddled with bullets in Texas and 10 Blacks gunned down in Buffalo, and still Congress refuses to take action on gun control. Humans, it seems, are incapable of grasping large numbers in a meaningful way, but even when death is relatively small in scale, we look the other way. The larger dying, however, is on a planetary scale, which we are even more unable to grapple with. Perhaps that is the problem. Three billion birds have disappeared in North America since 1970, along with nearly 60% of all vertebrates worldwide. Sixty percent! If we see a fox lying mangled by the road or a bird dead under our window, we mourn these singular losses, but fail to notice their larger demise. In short, we focus on the near and dear and relatively minor concerns because the real threats are too great. This myopic view spells trouble for future generations as well as the folks who would like to survive pandemics or not be shot while sitting in class or buying groceries. What we lack is a failure of imagination. Cant you imagine if it was your parents who died from COVID or your children who never returned from school? Cant you imagine it? Now imagine a world without old forests, birdsong or clean air and water. Imagine humans struggling to find food and shelter on a global scale. Imagine yourself trying to find food and shelter. No? Two years ago I wrote about the need for empathy. We need empathy not only for fellow humans, but for all life forms. Children with normal brains are born with empathy, a natural desire to ease the suffering of others, be it a playmate in tears or a bird fallen from a nest. Somewhere along the way, many of us have lost that innate feeling, whether from bad parenting or a callous society. So when we hear about mass extinction, climate change and the destruction of the ecosystems that sustain us, we simply bury our heads in the sand. Suffering and death have always been part of life, but a minority of humans inflicts suffering on others without a second thought. So why does the silent majority let a few wealthy, powerful people destroy the basic human impulse to show concern for others? We allow gun makers, politicians, oil companies and manufacturers to run roughshod over us. We buy their lies, or we ignore them, with the same final result. Americans, in particular, have completely failed to teach their children about the importance of the common good. We are so wrapped up in our belief in individual rights that we can let everyone and everything else suffer and die. Cant we imagine a different world and act to save it? Shannon Brennan can be reached at shannonw481@gmail.com. RICHMOND Gov. Glenn Youngkin is holding his fire until after the General Assembly acts Wednesday on a pair of budgets that deliver most of the tax cuts the freshman Republican governor promised in his campaign last fall, with some help from his Democratic predecessor. Youngkin, in an appearance to ceremonially sign bills to reform the beleaguered Virginia Employment Commission and give private employers a new option for offering paid family leave to employees, said Tuesday hes pleased with the framework in a budget compromise unveiled informally last week. We still have work to do, he said. The work will resume Wednesday when the assembly reconvenes in special session to adopt changes to the current budget for this year and a new $165 billion budget for the two fiscal years beginning July 1. The budget agreement includes $100 million for nontraditional lab schools two-thirds of what Youngkin had asked and an additional $22.5 million per year to pay for school resource officer incentive grants. Legislators will consider that provision eight days after a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. The budgets a joint conference committee approved contain $4 billion in tax cuts, including one-time tax rebates, a partial repeal of the sales tax on groceries and a break for low-income working families that Youngkins predecessor, then-Gov. Ralph Northam, included in his parting budget proposal nearly six months ago in a nod to his successors political priorities. From the start, Virginia families deserved a budget that helps them make ends meet and invests in the future, said Ashley C. Kenneth, president and CEO of the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, which had lobbied for the refundable earned income tax credit. This conference proposal makes some notable steps in that direction, including much-needed relief for parents. The budget agreement also includes raises of 5% each year for state employees, teachers and other state-supported local employees, with the first payable Aug. 1, and a $1,000 bonus Dec. 1. It would make $1 billion in additional state contributions to public employee retirement plans and $80 million for other retirement benefits to reduce long-term unfunded liabilities. Unfinished business In addition to adopting the two budgets, the legislature will complete work on about four dozen bills it left unresolved when it adjourned its 60-day session March 12. The assembly also will elect judges to two general district court judicial vacancies, but isnt likely to fill two vacant seats on the Virginia Supreme Court and one on the State Corporation Commission until it returns later in June to act on Youngkins vetoes and proposed amendments to the budgets and other legislation during a seven-day window for his actions. Also Wednesday, House Democrats will choose a new leader after ousting former Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, on April 27. The candidates are Del. Don Scott Jr., D-Portsmouth, who led the push to oust Filler-Corn, and two candidates who were allies of Filler-Corn when she was speaker: Del. Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, and Del. Rip Sullivan, D-Fairfax. Youngkin will find much to like in the two budgets, including a nearly 80% boost to the standard deduction for income tax filers during the next four years and an exemption for military retirement income that will reach a maximum limit of $40,000 in four years. The budget agreement would not repeal the local option sales tax on groceries or suspend the state gas tax for three months, as Youngkin had sought. It would give one-time tax rebates of $250 per person and $500 for families, instead of the $300 and $600 give-backs the governor and House Republicans had wanted. Resource officers The governor said he went online on Sunday night to check the details of the budget deal to ensure it included the money for officers in schools. There is sufficient money in the budget to fund school resource officers across the commonwealth hugely important, he said Tuesday. Youngkin acknowledged the political ramifications of the school shootings in Texas and an apparently racially motivated attack at a supermarket in Buffalo on May 14 that killed 10 people, all Black. The assembly will consider at least three bills related to firearms and gun violence Wednesday. The reality is there is going to be a lot of politics around this at both ends, he said Tuesday, and politics is not the way right now to make progress on the things we can do. On lab schools, Youngkin wants colleges and universities to open the K-12 schools with public dollars as an option to traditional public schools. Youngkin initially requested $150 million to help establish new schools and fund the cost of developing programs. School buildings The budget also breaks new ground for the state in helping local school divisions repair or replace old school buildings. It includes $1.25 billion for a combination of grants and low-interest loans for school modernization, including $400 million in payments to school divisions in the first year. Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, who led a bipartisan commission on school construction and modernization, said she worked with Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, and Del. Israel OQuinn, R-Washington County, to make a major investment in repairing Virginias crumbling school infrastructure. This investment provides a strong start, but we have many years of work ahead to modernize Virginias aging schools, McClellan said Tuesday. She also touted the budgets inclusion of more than $272 million to partially restore state funding of school positions such as social workers, psychologists and nurses which had been capped under the Standards of Quality 13 years ago during the Great Recession. The agreement also includes $10 million per year to carry out a compromise of what McClellan said was her proposal to require every elementary school in Virginia to have a full-time principal, regardless of the schools size. However, the assembly could backtrack on marijuana decriminalization a signature policy breakthrough under two years of Democratic control before Republicans won back the House last fall. The proposed budget agreement would make public possession of more than four ounces of marijuana a Class 3 misdemeanor. The assembly passed legislation in 2021 to legalize up to an ounce of marijuana for adults, and make amounts up to a pound punishable by a civil infraction, not a criminal misdemeanor. Hazing Among other unresolved issues, a bill that addresses the punishment for hazing at Virginias colleges is expected to be tabled until next year, said Courtney White, the cousin of Adam Oakes, who died after a VCU fraternity party last year. The House passed a bill that would have made hazing a Class 5 felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison if it results in the bodily injury or death of a student. Currently, hazing is a Class 1 misdemeanor, and those found guilty serve no more than one year in jail. The Senate passed a different version of the bill that would keep hazing a misdemeanor. Oakes family supports the House version. Three former members of the Delta Chi fraternity have been found guilty in connection to Oakes death. None has received jail time. Richmond Times-Dispatch staff writers Patrick Wilson and Eric Kolenich contributed to this report. There are no adjectives that can accurately describe the gruesome act committed by 18-year-old Salvador Ramos at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. He killed 19 children and two teachers. Evil is about as close as it gets. President Biden and some fellow Democrats predictably called for more gun control laws without explaining why current laws are not obeyed by people intent on breaking them. Texas state Sens. John Whitmire (D) and Roland Gutierrez (D) said Ramos had legally purchased one of the assault rifles from a federally licensed gun store on May 17, one day after he turned 18. The following day, reported the Houston Chronicle, he purchased 375 rounds of ammunition. Then, on May 20, he reportedly bought his second assault rifle. At a news conference, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Ramos posted on Facebook his intention to shoot his grandmother, posted again after he shot her, and then posted he was going to shoot-up an elementary school. Why did no one contact the police? The most important question is could this tragedy have been prevented? The initial narrative of a quick law enforcement response is now in question. The Associated Press reported police waited outside the school for at least 40 minutes and perhaps one hour while parents and onlookers urged them to do something. Authorities said Ramos lingered outside the school building firing shots for 12 minutes before going inside. That should have been enough time for the police to stop him. Before the shooting, Ramos tagged a Los Angeles girl on Instagram, hinting at his intentions. The girl said she had never met him. Why didnt she contact authorities? News reports quoted her as afraid, but after the shooting she regretted not doing so. Ramos had taken a picture of two AR-15-style weapons he purchased and posted it on social media. One can support the Second Amendment and still favor bans on weapons of war. There should, at a minimum, be a waiting period, a full background check, a mental evaluation and a look into instances of anti-social and erratic behavior and family structure. The Uvalde school districts website says it has proponents to curb and/or eliminate elements of violence, vandalism, disruptions and fear in its schools to provide a safe and secure environment for all. Clearly that failed. At a news conference held Thursday, it was reported that Ramos was allowed to enter Robb Elementary without opposition, contradicting earlier reports that Uvalde police officers engaged the killer. The website says proponents consist of four officers, including two within the school district ... security staff that patrols door entrances and parking lots at secondary campuses ... canine detection services, modern detectors and alarm systems; perimeter fencing at Robb and other schools and outside buzz-in systems; security cameras, a locked classroom door policy ... and a threat reporting system. That sounds good, but investigators, parents and relatives will want to know which, if any of these, were not operative or malfunctioned? Parents have a right to expect schools to protect their children from harm. It wasnt that long ago when parents could send their children off to school, expecting them to return safely. Schools, then, were considered as safe as ones home. Faculty and staff saw it as their duty to protect students from injury. Even running in the hallway could require a child to stay after school as punishment or meet with the principal. Today, it appears only homeschooling can guarantee a safe environment for kids. While some people in Uvalde and elsewhere may select that option, most wont, or are unable to for various reasons. Each time one of these evil acts occurs, we hear from politicians that we cant go on like this. OK, then tell us how to stop it. Laws alone have not succeeded. Again, examining prospective purchasers more closely might help, along with waiting periods and more rigorous background checks. There is also a moral element to this and other school shootings which should not be overlooked. Preachers, please, take note. Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. The Japanese government on Tuesday revoked the permit of an intermediate organization that introduces foreign trainees to host companies after it failed to prevent the physical abuse of a Vietnamese man by his Japanese co-workers at a construction firm. The organization, Okayama Sangyo Gijutsu Kyodo Kumiai in Okayama Prefecture, western Japan, was prohibited from introducing foreign trainees to companies for five years under an administrative punishment issued by the justice and labor ministries. The 41-year-old Vietnamese man, who came to Japan in the fall of 2019, sustained serious injuries, including a broken rib, in repeated assaults by his co-workers that began a month after he joined the construction firm, Six Create in the city of Okayama, according to the man and a labor union supporting him. When he was taken to hospital for a broken tooth following a beating, an organization worker who accompanied him falsely told a doctor that the man had fallen off his bicycle, they said. In punishing the intermediary organization, the Immigration Services Agency of Japan said the body had failed to properly oversee the construction firm, submit a report on the matter and implement necessary steps after it was consulted by the man. Women in Japan could be forced to seek their partners consent before being prescribed the abortion pill, which will reportedly be approved late this year three decades after it was made available to women in the UK. Under Japans 1948 Maternal Protection Law, consent is already required for surgical abortions with very few exceptions a policy that campaigners say tramples over womens reproductive rights. In principle we believe that spousal consent is necessary, even if an abortion is induced by an oral medication, Yasuhiro Hashimoto, a senior health ministry official, told a parliamentary committee earlier this month, according to Bloomberg. Campaigners are calling on health authorities to ditch the rule requiring women to gain written consent from their partners before a doctor can prescribe a course of abortion drugs. Kumi Tsukahara, a founding member of Action for Safe Abortion Japan, said: Spousal consent becomes an issue is when there is a disagreement with the spouse or the spouse is forcing the woman to give birth against her will. ...continue reading Apple's WWDC 2022 dates confirmed - conference to be held between June 6 and June 10 New Delhi, Wed, 01 Jun 2022 NI Wire Dates for Apple's WWDC 2022 dates are confirmed and the conference is scheduled to be held between June 6 and June 10. Apple is expected to release the details of the upcoming iPhone 14 series. Company might also provide more details on its upcoming iOS 16 and the macOS operating system. There are big expectations from Apple in the upcoming WWDC 2022 event. Apple is gearing up for the WWDC 2022 event and expected to come with the latest development in their OS for iPhone and Mac. We are expecting many innovations from Apple for iOS and macOS. Developers are excited about the new features of iOS. This year the WWDC 2022 conference is fixed between June 6 and June 10. During the WWDC 2022 event Apple is expected to introduce the latest innovations by their team. We have already seen the design of iPhone 14 Pro in a new render where larger cameras and a bigger display were shown in the image. As per the users expectations, Apple might come with the latest innovations in its products. Apple might announce all these innovations in the upcoming WWDC 2022 conference. We have already seen the leaked render of the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro, the render shows the bigger screen in the iPhone 14 Pro. iPhone 14 is also expected to come with the bigger cameras along with the bigger screen. Although we are expecting some delay in the release of iPhone 14 series, it is expected that Apple will launch these phones by the end of this year. The delay is due to Covid-19 pandemic, which is affecting the manufacturing of these phones. Apple all geared up for the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 6. This year the company is going to set up the program for over 30 million Apple developers around the world. Apple is using various means of communications to enable the 30 millions developers to join the conference. This online event will be free for all the Apple developers around the world. Apple will unveil its products in the upcoming WWDC 2022 and these products will be launched in the coming months. So, developers and users of Apple products are eagerly waiting for the event which will start on June 06. Apple might come up with the latest technologies and various tools for development of applications for their hardware. Developers are waiting for the latest update on iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS. In the week-long event developers will get an opportunity to connect with the designers and engineers. The WWDC22 is expected to start at 10 am on June 6 (IST around 10:30 pm). Events are expected to feature all the groundbreaking innovations by Apple. This event will be live-streamed for free and users around the world can view the event on the various live streaming platforms including Google Youtube. Apple WWDC 2022 will also give more details of the upcoming iOS 16 version and the watchOS8. Apple might showcase iPadOS 16 version for iPads, and show its enhancements. A jury sided with Johnny Depp in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard. The verdict issued Wednesday awarded the Pirates of the Caribbean actor more than $10 million Wednesday and vindicated his allegations that Heard lied about Depp abusing her before and during their brief marriage. But in a split decision, the jury also found that Heard was defamed by one of Depps lawyers, who accused her of creating a detailed hoax that included roughing up their apartment to look worse for police. The jury awarded her $2 million in damages. Election letters Editors note: All election-related letters must be received by 5 p.m. Friday to run on Sunday. Nothing will be accepted after that deadline, aside from candidate response. ARPA transparency After attending Council Bluffs City Council and Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors meetings, I see stark contrasts between the two regarding allocation of COVID recovery funds. First, transparency. Council Bluffs online site explains ARPA, defines appropriate use, and lists criteria to determine priorities. It also has an up-to-date chart of approved ARPA projects. In contrast, Pottawattamie County has no online site for ARPA funding. When I asked where I could find similar information, I was told I could search through the 2021 and 2022 minutes or speak to the auditors office. The auditors office emailed me a list of expenditures and possible allocations of the $18.2 million the county will receive. This information is not available to the public without a request and there is no criteria for determining the validity of potential projects. Supervisor Justin Schultz confirmed this at a Concerned Citizens of Pottawattamie County (CCPC) meeting in March when he said the board doesnt have a defined process and that they take the requests as they come and then decide. He agreed that the board should have metrics. Second, public input. In Council Bluffs, Mayor Walsh sent a survey requesting public input on ARPA spending priorities. Not the case in Pott County. In fact, at a CCPC meeting in October, 2021, Supervisor Scott Belt said that the board didnt have THREE members willing to reach out to the public, that there had been no agreement on a survey, and, therefore, there would be no public input for the first half of ARPA money. To stop this from happening again, members of CCPC, a coalition of Pottawattamie residents, and a UTST Iowa organizer, planned a series of town halls to get input on the final round of ARPA funding. Though invited to each, no board members attended in Oakland, one attended in Avoca, and two attended in Council Bluffs. Its unfortunate that more board members werent available to listen to their constituents! I believe Mayor Walsh and the City Council are moving deliberately because theyre cognizant of doing what benefits most people. After all, the money doesnt have to be allocated until 2024 and spent by 2026. I want to see the Board of Supervisors be as diligent in their practices. Remember, this is one time money. We must make sure ARPA funding goes where it was intended and has the most impact. Geri Frederiksen Council Bluffs Considering seniors with COVID recovery funds I attended the Town Hall at the Council Bluffs Library on Wednesday, May 4. The discussion focused on how to allocate the second round of COVID recovery funds that the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors is due to receive. At the Town Hall, I presented my proposal to allocate $200 per month to citizens of the county who are 70 years of age or older and make $35,000 per year or less. The money must be spent on vouchers for housing, utilities, medical bills, prescriptions, food, gas, and/or transportation. No cash. Vouchers only. The following Tuesday, May 10, I attended my first Board of Supervisors meeting where I presented my proposal during the two minute public comment portion. Since only two of the five board members attended the Town Hall, I wanted to be sure the entire Board heard my proposal. I also gave each supervisor a printed copy. I followed up by attending the next Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, May 17, where I inquired as to whether they had given any consideration to my voucher proposal. They told me they hadnt received the $9 million in COVID recovery funds yet, and so it would probably not be until the third quarter, likely September, when they would consider it. After the meeting, a candidate for the upcoming Board elections approached me and asked if she could use my proposal in her campaign. I agreed. I frequent the Council Bluffs senior center, and I listen intently to senior citizens as they discuss their financial struggles, many of whom live solely on their Social Security income. Whether its with my proposal or another, I sincerely hope the Board of Supervisors gives worthy consideration to helping our countys seniors. Arlan Ullrich Council Bluffs Protect our children School safety is inadequate. I, and many like me have "had it" with school shootings/terrorism. Government has failed to enact anything useful for over a decade. There is plenty of publicity about gun control and mental health services. These are long term issues that will not protect our children quickly. It's time for local citizens to stand up and do what's right to protect our children. I know it will cost, but believe it would have public support if implemented. We need to prevent intruders with weapons from entering the buildings. Bullet proof glass on doors (and exterior window glass) to prevent the person from shooting the way in or shooting into a classroom. Metal detectors at main entrances, and more security people manning the hallways and non-primary doors. At least two, well trained security people working every day, cameras monitoring entrances (both sides). And training/instruction to staff and students to not open doors for people coming in. There should be consequences to persons who allow others to enter without proper screening. These are just my ideas for now. More research needed, but I am hoping that federal or state grants, private fundraising and probably not that much extra cost per person for this implementation. We cannot not wait years for government debate and investigational committees to 'decide' what to do. Randall Derrig Carter Lake A vote for Cole Button While in office as the Pottawattamie County Recorder, before the pandemic, I was planning ahead looking for someone to take my place, knowing I would be retiring eventually. I felt it was important to have an individual that would pay attention to detail, with a strong work ethic. Prior to the pandemic, due to the addition of accepting passport applications, the Recorders Office general basic budget reflected that the office made more money than it spent and I wanted an individual that would continue the positive direction the office was going. Therefore, I recruited Cole Button. Cole took it upon himself numerous times to come into the office prior the pandemic. This gave Cole an opportunity to work with me voluntarily to gain knowledge about the Recorders Office with no compensation. He also asked questions of the staff and they explained their duties and responsibilities. Cole is personable, friendly, professional and a quick learner. Cole also graduated from Iowa State University. After a number of my conversations with Cole, I am confident Cole realizes the importance of serving the customers and not to micro manage the staff because the staff works well together, they are dedicated and they are good at what they do! Pottawattamie County is fortunate to have exceptional employees as those in the Recorders Office. I highly recommend Cole Button for Pottawattamie County Recorder and I encourage you to consider voting for Cole Button in the Republican Primary June 7. Mark Brandenburg Council Bluffs ARPA funds should help retain, recruit teachers Iowas educational system used to be No. 1 in the nation. However, we now find ourselves in 24th place. So, what happened? And how can we fix it? I fear that Iowa schools K-12 will continue to decline unless every community gets involved. Maybe local control would work better in Iowa? Especially in small towns, where funding has decreased yearly. We simply cannot continue to deprive our teachers, administrators, paras and other support staff of the fundamental tools required to improve the educational system. Currently, schools are toxic places to work. Many teachers are deciding to leave teaching altogether or retire early due to too many pressures including little parental support; lack of funds on state and federal levels to adequately supply the classroom and the students constant, overwhelming testing (let teachers teach); and lack of mental health services for both teachers and students. COVID-19 was a true test in many ways. Teachers immediately had to teach virtually, which they did admirably. Students (and their parents/guardians) had to adjust to school classrooms on a small screen. Incoming ARPA recovery funds, which definitely includes strengthening our educational system, could be used as bonuses for teachers who choose to stay in their current teaching positions and/or for new teachers as a signing bonus. This would not be a long-term solution, but rather a great short-term incentive for our teachers. Please talk to your favorite County Board Supervisor if you believe teachers could use this bonus. Scott Belt, Lynn Grobe, Justin Schultz, Brian Shea or Tim Wichman are each tasked with having to decide where to spend $9.1 million dollars in Pottawattamie County. They should hear from you. Donna Rhubottom Council Bluffs 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. The 2022 Euromed Summit of Economic and Social Councils and similar institutions kicked off Tuesday in Marrakech, under the theme COVID-19: the role of civil society in the reconstruction and resilience of the Euro-Mediterranean region. The summit, organized by the European Economic and Social Committee (ECSC) and Moroccos Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE), analyzes the post-covid challenges facing the Euro-Mediterranean region, means to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and reconstruct the economic and social sectors as well as the various opportunities revealed by the COVID-19 to promote sustainable development in the Euro-Mediterranean region. Addressing the opening session, the President of the EESC, Mrs Christa Schweng, called for the adoption of recovery plans in the Mediterranean area, with measures to improve the economic, social and environmental situation. In this context, she stressed that the recovery must be guided by principles, such as respect for the rule of law, the protection of democratic values and a shared commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals and climate neutrality, indicating that trade can be used as a lever for sustainable and inclusive economic growth. She also emphasized the need for cooperation on the environment and climate between the countries of the Mediterranean area to create more jobs in the blue economy and protect biodiversity. Cooperation should also be strengthened in areas such as an effective vaccination campaign and a rapid recovery of SMEs and the tourism industry, she insisted. As to the role of civil society, Mrs Christa Schweng called for the greatest possible involvement of civil society organizations in order, among other things, to better protect young people, women, migrants and people with disabilities. Mrs Christa Schweng also dealt with the relations existing between the European ESC and the Moroccan EESC that she described as excellent, and cited as an instance the creation of the EU-Morocco Joint Consultative Group, to make the voice of civil society heard in the negotiations for a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) between the EU and Morocco. Taking the floor, the Deputy Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Abdelkader El Khissassi, recalled the mission of this intergovernmental organization that aims, he said, at strengthening cooperation and dialogue at the regional level and to promote the implementation of concrete regional projects having a direct impact on citizens, in particular young people. The Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected the economies of all countries without exception, has exacerbated the inequalities between the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean, he said, emphasizing the part euro-Mediterranean cooperation can play to mitigate the negative repercussions of this global health crisis. He also highlighted the role of civil society in the context of post-Covid-19 recovery, explaining that NGOs and associations have extensive experience and a vast network that covers rural and remote areas. Touching on the projects launched by the UfM, Khissassi focused on the regional Team Europe Initiative, recently launched by the European Union (EU) with the aim of contributing to the implementation of the new agenda for the Mediterranean and its economic and investment plan. The Euromed summit features a special session on Debriefing on disaster management in the Mediterranean, in addition to plenary sessions on Covid-19: the role of civil society in the reconstruction and resilience of the Euro-Mediterranean region; Renewed partnership with the Southern Neighborhood; and Networks in the Euro-Mediterranean area developing regional cooperation. It also includes workshops focusing on topics such as the road to economic recovery; Mitigating the social impact of COVID-19; and the impact of COVID-19 and the Ukraine war on sustainable development in Euromed. The event is bringing together some 120 participants from economic and social councils, or similar institutions, representatives of employers, trade unions, other economic & social interest groups as well as NGOs from member countries of the Union for the Mediterranean. The European Economic and Social Committee will elaborate an information report on the main theme of the summit, in close cooperation with its counterparts in the southern Mediterranean. A group of Peruvian MPs have called on their countrys government and left-wing President Pedro Castillo to withdraw recognition of the Polisarios self-proclaimed SADR and to cut ties with a phantom entity not recognized by the United Nations. The call was made during a meeting of the Congresss foreign relations Committee held lately in the presence of foreign minister Cesar Landa Arroyo. During the debates, several lawmakers representing various political parties have urged the government to reverse such an irresponsible political decision, warning that maintaining recognition of a fictitious entity undermines Perus international credibility as well as international law. Last month, the Peru-Morocco parliamentary friendship group held its first meeting in Lima at the headquarters of the Peruvian legislative institution. On this occasion, President of the Peruvian Congress and member of this group Maria del Carmen Alva Prieto said the Congress is aware of the erroneous decision taken by the government of Pedro Castillo who has restored relations with a phantom entity. For his part, the groups chairman and Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the Congress, Ernesto Bustamante Donayre, voiced support for Moroccos autonomy plan offered for the Sahara under the Kingdoms sovereignty, saying this plan is the only solution to the regional dispute over the Sahara. Tunisia will send to the US remains of American soldiers who perished in the North African country during the Second World War. This came following an agreement between the two countries that was signed Tuesday. Tunisian top diplomat Othman Jerandi inked the Memorandum of Understanding with Natacha Franceschi, the Chargee dAffaires of the US embassy in Tunisia. Per the deal, the North African country will unearth the remains of 2,841 of American soldiers who died and were buried at Carthage cemetery. More than 18,500 American troops died in the North African campaign led by the US and its allies to flash out Germans in 1942 during the Second World War. Various heads of sovereign Libyan institutions invited by the speaker of the House of Representatives (HoR) Anguila Saleh to discuss the draft 2022 budget proposed by one of the countrys rival Prime Ministers, gave a cold shoulder to the meeting held Tuesday in Sirte. No one from the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Libya, and the Control Authority Administrative Board, the Audit Bureau, the Board of Directors of the National Oil Corporation, and the Anti-Corruption Authority made it to the Sirte meeting chaired by Saleh. The heads of those various sovereign state institutions were invited last Thursday to attend the meeting summoned by Saleh. Their absence is a blow to Fathi Bashagha; the chosen Prime Minister of the parliament. The HoR hand-picked in February the former Interior Minister to replace UN-backed Abdel Hamid Dbeibah. The latter has however refused to surrender power. During the Sirte meeting, Saleh indicated that the Central Bank of Libya is not allowed to disburse funds without a general budget law, and called for guaranteeing the distribution of state revenues in a fair and transparent manner. The Central Bank under the House of Representatives should be managed by the Board of Directors and in accordance with the law, and not only the governor alone should manage the bank, as all of this is contrary to the law and is considered an invalid act that may amount to the crime of abuse of power, he added. Despite the appointment of Bashaga in February, the Central Bank has continued to support Dbeibahs Government of National Unity (GNU). Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions, Inc. Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions, Inc Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions (OTCPK:AITX) has filed its FY 2022 10-K on time. Revenue Increases 400% Over Prior Year Detroit, Michigan, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions, Inc., (OTCPK:AITX), a global leader in AI-driven security and productivity solutions for enterprise clients, filed its annual report on Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission for its fiscal year 2022 ended February 28, 2022. AITX is a full SEC reporting company that files detailed annual and quarterly reports. So much was accomplished in fiscal year 2022, said Steve Reinharz, CEO of AITX. Beyond the outstanding revenue growth is the structural growth that has put AITX and its RAD subsidiaries in a fantastic position. I expect that this will catapult us in the future. Key Takeaways from the FY 2022 10-K Filing Revenue Increases 400% Of Prior Years Total revenue for the year ended February 28, 2022, was $1,447,109, which represented an increase of $1,086,221 compared to total revenue of $360,888 for the year ended February 28, 2021. The company seeks to meet this growth rate for this fiscal year. Cash Flows from Financing Activities Cash increased to $4,648,146 on February 28, 2022, from $1,044,418 on February 28, 2021.The Company received over $12.5 million in share proceeds and over $9.4 million in new loans, mostly long term. Not only did this influx of cash improve liquidity it allowed the Company to fund its operations and growth. Company Growth & Harmony Headcount on February 28, 2022, and 2021 of 75 and 23, respectively, represents a 226% increase. Current employee count is 83. This growth is in support of the necessary infrastructure build (Administration, Business Development, Engineering, Production) to achieve the Company's growth objectives and meet future sales demands. Rapid growth and creation of departments and teams can create significant challenges and set back the company if not completed successfully. Story continues Solutions Development AITX and its subsidiaries announced and/or launched several new solutions during the fiscal year and in the first quarter of the current year. These solutions leverage the RAD platform to provide unique 'security-in-a-box' solutions that can be deployed in less than 30 minutes and provide innovative solutions such as weapons detection and more. Introduced in FY 2022 was the award-winning line up of ROSA 3.0, AVA 3.0, RAD Light My Way, ROAMEO 2.0, plus several enhancements to RADs software suite. Significant Expansion of Sales Funnel and Potential RAD's sales funnel grew substantially in both quantity and quality. Technically the qualified opportunity count increased over 100%, but when the improved quality and depth is considered, the funnel increases could be considered closer to 300%. Furthermore, the RAD dealer network almost doubled during the fiscal year which further substantiates our target market's acceptance and excitement. Management feels that new deployed devices in the subsequent fiscal year can be between 250 and 1250, representing 100% to 500% growth. There remains potential for even larger device rollouts although management cannot estimate or guarantee with further specifics. Additional key takeaways from the 10-K filing can be found via this link. FY 2022 will prove to be a catalyst year for AITX. We built on our momentum to grow our business and reach into new markets with new solutions, Reinharz added. As we look forward, the strong demand for our solutions, the execution of our sales strategy, and the constant advancements to our technology leads me to believe that we could see significant growth, up to 20 times, in our recurring monthly revenue run rates at the end of current fiscal year ending February 28, 2023, Reinharz concluded. The Company expects to file for uplisting to the OTC QB by June 10, 2022. Follow Steve Reinharz on Twitter @SteveReinharz for future AITX and RAD updates. AITX through its subsidiary, Robotic Assistance Devices, Inc. (RAD), is redefining the $25 billion (US) security and guarding services industry through its broad lineup of innovative, AI-driven Solutions-as-a-Service business model. RAD solutions are specifically designed to provide a cost savings to businesses of between 35%-80% when compared to the industrys existing and costly manned security guarding and monitoring model. RAD delivers this tremendous costs savings via a suite of stationary and mobile robotic solutions that complement, and at times, directly replace the need for human personnel in environments better suited for machines. All RAD technologies, AI-based analytics and software platforms are developed in-house. CAUTIONARY DISCLOSURE ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements in this news release other than statements of historical fact are "forward-looking statements" that are based on current expectations and assumptions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements, including, but not limited to, the following: the ability of Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions to provide for its obligations, to provide working capital needs from operating revenues, to obtain additional financing needed for any future acquisitions, to meet competitive challenges and technological changes, to meet business and financial goals including projections and forecasts, and other risks. Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement(s) and/or to confirm the statement(s) to actual results or changes in Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions expectations. About Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions (AITX) AITX is an innovator in the delivery of artificial intelligence-based solutions that empower organizations to gain new insight, solve complex challenges and fuel new business ideas. Through its next-generation robotic product offerings, AITXs RAD, RAD-M and RAD-G companies help organizations streamline operations, increase ROI, and strengthen business. AITX technology improves the simplicity and economics of patrolling and guard services and allows experienced personnel to focus on more strategic tasks. Customers augment the capabilities of existing staffs and gain higher levels of situational awareness, all at drastically reduced cost. AITX solutions are well suited for use in multiple industries such as enterprises, government, transportation, critical infrastructure, education, and healthcare. To learn more, visit www.aitx.ai, stevereinharz.com, www.radsecurity.com and www.radlightmyway.com, or follow Steve Reinharz on Twitter @SteveReinharz . ### Steve Reinharz 949-636-7060 @SteveReinharz Attachment SINGAPORE, June 01, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Liminal, a wallet operations infrastructure that secures digital assets in a simple and efficient way, has raised $4.7 million in its seed funding round led by Elevation Capital. The round also saw participation from prominent investors like LD Capital, Woodstock, Nexus Ventures, and crypto ventures like CoinDCX, Hashed, Cadenza Ventures, Vauld, Better Capital, and Sparrow Capital. There are also marquee angel investors like Andreas Antonopoulos, Balaji Srinivasan, Sandeep Nailwal, Jaynti Kanani, Ajeet Khurana, amongst others. Liminal is the first wallet architecture to provide the MPC and MultiSig to secure digital assets across different blockchains. This plug-and-play platform provides unmatched support to exchanges by eliminating manual operations by 90% and saving manual refill hours. Safe custody of digital assets is a key challenge faced by businesses and institutional investors, and custodians like Liminal will play a big role in facilitating the mass adoption of digital assets and Web3. The company was founded in 2021 by Mahin Gupta. A serial entrepreneur, Gupta built Indias first blockchain company BuySellBitco.in. Prior to this, he co-founded ZebPay, one of Indias largest crypto exchanges. Through Liminal, he has embarked on a journey to simplify and automate wallet operations, and self-custody of digital assets for businesses and institutional investors. Liminal has, in one year of operations, processed transactions over $2.5 billion, automated transactions worth $400 million, and has around $50 million in assets under protection. At its core, Liminal provides asset security and ease of transacting. Liminals automated wallet solution makes it easier for crypto-native businesses, SMEs, and Web3 startups to manage their workflows across different blockchain protocols, saving them significant development cost overhead. It provides services to clients such as exchanges, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to help them securely scale their digital asset operations. Story continues The primary concern regarding digital asset security is maintaining the safety of the keys while adhering to compliances. If this key is misplaced or lost, it could mean huge losses for the owners, whether individuals or businesses. This is why digital asset custody is of great value. Once investors are assured about the safety of their keys, it will mean more people gain trust in the cryptocurrency and related applications like Web3 commerce, DeFi, etc. Liminal Key is insured by one of the most trusted and reputable global insurers, making it a company that is future-ready. The company counts ZebPay, DIFX, and Flitpay as clients, and is currently focused on expansion in the APAC and MENA region, eyeing dominance in the automated wallet infrastructure operation space. The team at Liminal comes with over ten years of experience in running cryptocurrency exchanges, and it understands the difficulties businesses using wallet infrastructure face. "We will be using the funds to invest in hiring and product development," says Gupta. "With Liminal, we solve the very real problem of securing and scaling digital assets where users have to use different wallets and infrastructure for different protocols. Our three layers provide key management, operational automation, and compliance for enterprises," he adds. Gupta is mentored by leading thought leader Andreas Antonopoulos, whose strategic advice has helped shape the business for Liminal. "The team at Liminal has an impressive record and extensive real-world experience in custody, key management, and security. Above all, they care about doing things the right way," says Antonopoulos. Vaas Bhaskar, Principal at Elevation Capital, said, "Rapid adoption of digital assets is going to be driven by multiple new-age crypto businesses and institutions. These businesses are increasingly demanding plug-and-play custody solutions that are built taking their unique needs into account, including security, regulatory readiness, and operational efficiency. We have been very impressed with Mahin and his teams customer obsession and knowledge of this space. We are thrilled to partner with Liminal on this journey." "With a team of veterans that have already made waves in the Web3 landscape in the past, Liminal is bringing security and comfort to individual and institutional self-custody with its digital assets custody solution. We are delighted to support them in their journey to one of the most prominent names in the security and custody sector," said Himanshu Yadav, Founding Partner at Woodstock. Balaji Srinivas added, "As they say, 'not your keys, not your crypto. Liminal is emerging as a viable alternative for holding your crypto." About Liminal Liminal is an enterprise-grade platform that offers a robust infrastructure to secure digital assets. Liminal enables crypto-native companies to securely scale their digital asset operations through automated, plug-and-play wallet infrastructure. Liminals security-first approach, allows projects to define customized policies and assign roles to users based on their responsibilities. Liminal's operations excellence framework provides efficient fees management, transaction confirmation guarantees, seamless onboarding and other wallet operations. Our unified interface ensures the same wallet management experience for multiple blockchains. About Elevation Capital Elevation Capital is a leading venture capital firm which provides seed and early stage capital for emerging companies in India. Elevation Capital has been investing in India since 2002 deploying almost $2 billion of capital in over 150 companies. The firm announced its eighth pool of capital of $670 million in April 2022. The firm is led by Co-Managing Partners Ravi Adusumalli and Mukul Arora, along with three Managing Directors Mridul Arora, Deepak Gaur and Mayank Khanduja. The firm has invested in over 150 companies across Consumer Internet, SaaS, Fintech, Consumer Brands, Edtech, Healthtech and Web3/Crypto, and has offices in Bengaluru, Gurgaon and Salt Lake City. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220531006014/en/ Contacts Olivia Troisi Wachsman E: liminal@wachsman.com VILLEURBANNE, France, June 01, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News: NAVYA (FR0013018041- Navya), an autonomous mobility systems leader, is one of a consortium of foremost companies selected to make up the ULTIMO project, which is financed by the European Commission and the Federal Government of Switzerland within the framework of the Horizon Europe research and innovation program. ULTIMO is the successor to the AVENUE project, which was launched in May 2018 with the aim of speeding up the development of transportation by autonomous vehicles across the cities of Europe. Within the project, thirteen NAVYA shuttles underwent trials in six European cities: Lyon, Luxembourg, Geneva, Copenhagen, Esch-sur-Alzette and Sion. The AVENUE trials were carried out by a consortium of partner companies, each one chosen for its high level of commitment to the development of new types of mobility. Together they demonstrated how self-driving shuttles could be integrated in a city's existing public transport system and offer users an ever more innovative experience, including transportation on demand. NAVYA's shuttles offered the citizens of each urban area specific use cases: within the confines of a stadium in Lyon, throughout the grounds of a hospital in Geneva and Copenhagen, over a business park in Luxembourg and as links to the city centers of Esch-sur-Alzette in Luxembourg and of Sion in Switzerland. ULTIMO promotes user-centric sustainable mobility through the large-scale deployment of autonomous vehicles The success of the trials prompted the AVENUE team to step up their ambitions, which resulted in a widening of their operations with a view to bringing them to market. They brought together experts in the field of autonomous mobility, connectivity and related services to participate in the ULTIMO project to: deploy self-driving shuttles on a large scale, with transportation on demand managed by a mobile phone application, conduct trials of a multi fleet and multi OEM management system, analyze the key innovation fields in order to standardize the connectivity processes. Story continues ULTIMO represents NAVYA's largest self-driving shuttle deployment in Europe This multi-vendor project has 2 priority partners for the supply of shuttles, including Navya, with a total potential for deployment of up to 45 vehicles in three European cities over the next four years. The official announcement will take place during the summer of 2022 and the launch in October of the same year, once all the partner companies of the consortium have confirmed their participation and completed the necessary formalities. "ULTIMO builds on the experience and success of the AVENUE project and backs up the dominant role self-driving shuttles will play in the public transportation offer. Our shuttles will be deployed in urban environments in user-centric conditions based on operational models that are both commercially viable and sustainable. This is a crucial step that marks the transition from experimentation to the deployment of our shuttles on a large scale. Furthermore, it is the first time that an autonomous mobility deployment project brings together autonomous solution providers and large fleet managers to work together and offer common solutions and interfaces for operators of public transportation. Our team will play its part in making ULTIMO a success for NAVYA and for the development of sustainable autonomous mobility." Sophie Desormiere, CEO of Navya The ULTIMO project is backed by the EU-funded Horizon Europe research and innovation program. About NAVYA NAVYA is a leading French company that specializes in the supply of autonomous mobility systems and related services. It was founded in 2014 and has a total of 280 employees in France (Paris and Lyon), in the United States (Michigan) and in Singapore. NAVYA's aim is to become the benchmark provider of level 4 autonomous mobility systems for the transportation of people and goods. The company achieved a world first when it launched its Autonom Shuttle for passengers in 2015. Since that year and up until 31 December 2021, more than 200 vehicles were sold in 25 countries. In 2021 Navya launched its industry equivalent, the Autonom Tract, a tractor for the transportation of goods. The company is firmly and actively committed to CSR, and it was awarded the ISO 9001 certification in September 2021. The Valeo and Keolis groups count among Navya's historical shareholders. NAVYA is listed on the Euronext regulated market in Paris (ISIN code: FR0013018041- Navya). For further information, visit our website: www.navya.tech View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220531005791/en/ Contacts NAVYA CSR, Marketing & Communication Manager Nathalie Marcy nathalie.marcy@navya.tech +33 (0)7 63 20 00 52 Chief Financial Officer Benoit Jacheet finance@navya.tech NewCap Investor Relations Thomas Grojean Nicolas Fossiez navya@newcap.eu +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94 NewCap Media Relations Nicolas Merigeau navya@newcap.eu +33 (0)1 44 71 94 98 Jay Hovey has unofficially won the race for Alabama State Senate District 27 by one vote over incumbent Tom Whatley, but Whatley still has time to challenge for a recount. After hearing the results, Hovey said this highlights the need for every individual to cast their vote. Weve joked this whole week, after the fact, that every vote counts, and obviously when it comes down to one vote, thats never been more true, Hovey said. After waiting a week with Hovey clinging to a four-vote lead, officials at the Lee County Meeting Center gathered Tuesday afternoon to count the provisional ballots from Lee County in the race for the state senate seat. Provisional ballots are votes where there was initially a question about the voters eligibility. The vote is counted once that question is resolved. There were 87 total provisional ballots in the three-county district, including 67 in Lee, 14 in Tallapoosa and six in Russell. Of those provisional ballots, 15 had the District 27 race on the ballot and were accepted to be counted, including 10 in Lee County and five in Tallapoosa County. Russell County did not have any accepted provisional ballots in the race. Whatley beat Hovey on provisional ballots in both counties, winning 6-4 in Lee and 3-2 in Tallapoosa. After adding those provisional votes to the precinct totals, Hovey still led by one vote, with a total of 16,745 votes cast, or 8,373 for Hovey and 8,372 for Whatley. Lee County Probate Judge Bill English has seen a race this close twice before. He said in the early 1990s in a race for Auburn City Council there was a tie that had to be broken by a coin toss to determine the winner, which would have happened again for this race if there was a tie. Since this is a party primary, it will be up to the candidates if they want to have a recount of the votes, said Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones. Theyll have to file whatever action they intend with the party themselves because it is a party primary as opposed to a general election, Jones said. English said it would cost about $4,000 to request a recount. If the recount changes the outcome of the election, the county will pay the fee, but if the outcome remains the same, the candidate will pay it. Elizabeth Ham, the Republican executive committee chair of Lee County, said she will send the results to the Republican party and the party will send them to the Alabama Secretary of States Office. Ham said after the secretary of state certifies the election, the clock starts running, and Whatley will have 48 hours to ask for a recount. Ham believes this would start on Friday. On election night, Hovey appeared to be cruising to victory to those monitoring the results in Lee County, where he piled up 6,610 votes in that county to Whatleys 3,942, or about 62% of the vote. But despite Tallapoosa and Russell counties having far fewer voters than Lee County, Whatley dominated both counties to such a great extent that he nearly wiped out the entire deficit. Whatley won Tallapoosa by 3,540 votes to 1,555, or about 70%, and Russell by 881 to 202, or about 81%. At that point, Hovey led Whatley 8,367 votes to 8,363, but the two candidates still had to wait a week for the provisional ballots to be counted. I appreciate everyone in Lee County showing up and supporting me, said Hovey, the Auburn city councilman for Ward 7. He said he knew going into this election race that Whatley had a 12-year head start in name recognition. Obviously the margin last week highlighted the need for each vote, and as it comes down to today, that one extra makes all the difference, Hovey said. Whatley did not immediately return calls from the Opelika-Auburn News on Tuesday evening. If Hoveys win becomes official, he will run against Democrat candidate Sherri Reese of Opelika in the general election in November. ASEAN needs to strengthen centrality, unity, solidarity: Cambodian FM Xinhua) 13:00, May 31, 2022 PHNOM PENH, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn said here on Tuesday that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) needs to strengthen its centrality, unity, and solidarity to address key challenges for the sake of regional and global peace, security, and sustainable development. Cambodia is the chair of ASEAN for 2022. "We are of the view that the current regional and international context necessitates the strengthening of our shared commitment to ASEAN centrality, unity, and solidarity," he said in a keynote address at a workshop on Cambodia's contributions to ASEAN since assuming membership in 1999. "It is furthermore crucial for ASEAN to consolidate its spirit of 'Togetherness' if we are to be effective in tackling our common pressing challenges to ensure regional and global peace, security, and sustainable development," he added. Sokhonn, who is also a deputy prime minister, said Cambodia will continue to draw on the ASEAN's spirit of "Togetherness" to consolidate efforts, internally within ASEAN as well as with ASEAN partners, to achieve the goals of building a resilient ASEAN community, in line with the ASEAN Community Vision 2025. "I am confident that we can prove once again that we have the determination and capability to further strengthen and promote peace, stability, security, and prosperity in the region for the well-being of our peoples," he said. "That's the true spirit of 'Let's act together'." Founded in 1967, ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) He looks hot Reply Thread Link Im so happy for him! He looks great! This line really hit me where I live: Bullying puts you in a place where, later, you have so much unlearning to do. If youre getting teased and made fun of and called names on a daily basis, theres no way thats not going to get inside of youparticularly when youre already feeling so much shame. Nobody even needs to open their mouth and youre already feeling it. Reply Thread Link Hey boo, hey! I just love this "James Dean/B&W hot young man in anguish" direction that Elliot/his team has gone. Reply Thread Link i'm so happy for him being his (hottest) self Reply Thread Link Why are people making it more difficult? It really breaks my heart. It really breaks my heart. Thats literally all were trying to communicate. Thats whats so funny to me. When people say, Cancel this. Cancel that. No, they get four more comedy specials and have a jillion followers! The people getting canceled are the trans people who are suffering, or killing themselves, or murdered. I often find that its the media that does it. People can actually be communicating in a way that isnt aggressive, but then suddenly its all about creating this tension, and then this person doubles down on that! And, like: No. Its a conversationwhich, by the way, is what youre saying youre asking for. Jokes have an impact that hurts people. I understand that people might think it doesnt. I understand that theyre not meaning to. But: Its not a joke. Its not a joke. You believe what youre saying. You believe it. Its not a joke. They believe it. Its clearly not a joke. And all were saying is: Can you just please listen and understand the harm that it causes? Thats all were trying to say. That is literally all we are trying to say. And then we get inundated with hatred for saying it. But Im sorry: You are the ones who dont want to have the conversation. Youare the ones who are so sensitive, who cant handle people saying, Hey, can you not do that? This was a great interview yall should really read it. Reply Thread Link When people say, Cancel this. Cancel that. No, they get four more comedy specials and have a jillion followers! EXACTLY. If you're getting paid millions of dollars to complain about being canceled in front of huge audiences, you probably weren't 'canceled.' And it's probably not even a thing. Reply Parent Thread Link Are u seriously asking ONTD to read? i think you know better, sis. Give us 3 bullet points and a few pretty pictures witch nice colors. Edited at 2022-06-01 02:42 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link accurate information, ljtryout I do wish posts like this would stop getting approved if they dont at least include some bullet points with quotes and accurate information. And I do meaninformation, Reply Parent Thread Expand Link he looks great Reply Thread Link His hair looks good!!!! Reply Thread Link [ Spoiler (click to open) ] Edited at 2022-06-01 02:21 pm (UTC) I'm wondering when he'll ditch the bangs. They look way better here but it still reminds me of this style Reply Thread Link people have made fun of his forehead for years and years, i bet it's a security thing Reply Parent Thread Link oh for sure! it also really changes his face but man bangs generally are not my fave Reply Parent Thread Link I actually like his hair on the cover. The stringy, flat ones were bad but I like them poofy. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link He looks sooo good! Honestly, it makes me so happy to see him now - he looks so at ease and comfortable and happy. I hope he continues to have success and joy in life <3 Reply Thread Link the planner i'm using this year has quotes for every week spread and all june it seems to be lgbtq figures and his quote is next week, and it made me smile to see it was attributed to him with the correct name already "the more I hold myself close and fully embrace who I am, the more I dream, the more my heart grows and the more I thrive." Reply Thread Link i love that quote of his so much. it made me tear up a little bit when i first read it in his coming out Reply Parent Thread Link He looks great. All I can say is good luck. Society is still so primitive. At least, he gets to live his truth. Edited at 2022-06-01 02:34 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link Before the image loaded I was praying to every gay god that his hair was better now, and it is!! That kinda wet/stringy bangs look was just heartbreaking. But he looks so good & so confident! I always just sort of assumed his shy/uncomfortable manner was just general discomfort with fame (and it was probably that too, understandably), but now it's clear that it was all the 'you have to be this kind of girly or else' pressure getting to him. :\ It's so unfair what we do to people, famous or otherwise. Reply Thread Link His hair looks so much better than it did at first. LOVE. Reply Thread Link Keeping Workers Safe from Heat-Related Illnesses & Injuries Employers can no longer afford to not consider high heat hazards. The requirements and standards for helping to keep workers safe in hot environments are, well, heating up. This includes team members who must work outside in the sun. Of course, the health and safety of workers has been a chief concern for businesses for quite some time. Even so, the OSHA has started ramping up efforts to increase legislation and standards to ensure worker safety in hot environments by issuing an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM). It's doing this in concert with the current administration's interagency efforts. A September 20, 2021, statement on Whitehouse.gov titled FACT SHEET: Biden Administration Mobilizes to Protect Workers and Communities from Extreme Heat, confirmed this: "New initiatives at OSHA and across agencies will enhance workplace safety, build local resilience, and address disproportionate heat impacts." "The United States experienced a dangerously hot summer this year, breaking records last set during the Dust Bowl. The climate crisis is making heat waves more intense and frequent endangering workers and communities. During the June 2021 heat wave in the Pacific Northwest, states reported hundreds of excess deaths and thousands of emergency room visits for heat-related illness, an excerpt from the factsheet explained. Recognizing the seriousness of this threat, the Biden Administration is taking immediate action on heat hazards to protect workers and communities as part of a broader commitment to workplace safety, climate resilience, and environmental justice. The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, and Agriculture; the Environmental Protection Agency; and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are announcing a set of actions that will reduce heat-related illness, protect public health, and support the economy." This article originally appeared in the June 2022 issue of Occupational Health & Safety. China plans to have 33 percent of its electricity sourced from renewable power sources in a new renewables plan by 2025. China, which had a 28.8 percent share of renewable electricity in 2020, also looks to raise the share of non-fossil fuel energy in its overall energy mix to 20 percent by 2025, according to the new five-year plan from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) cited by Reuters. Non-fossil fuels accounted for 15.4 percent of China's primary energy consumption in 2020, Reuters notes. China, the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter, is also the key growth driver of renewable power capacity installation globally. Solar and wind power installations have surged in recent years, but China has put more emphasis on energy security in recent months. Although China looks to start cutting coal consumption after 2026, it is still planning to build new coal capacity. It also left the door wide open to more coal in the renewable plan. Earlier this year, China said it would continue to maximize the use of coal in the coming years as it caters to its energy security, despite pledges to contribute to global efforts to reduce emissions. Chinese President Xi Jinping has told representatives from its biggest coal-producing region, Inner Mongolia, that China "could not part from reality" and that it is "rich in coal, poor in oil and short of gas." The energy transition is a long process, and China cannot just "slam the brakes" on coal, according to Xi. China is concerned about its energy security after the autumn 2021 power crisis and, most recently, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which pushed energy commodity prices sky-high. China needs to accelerate efforts to decarbonize, including reducing coal consumption, the latest UN climate report says, while China has placed emphasis on coal production and coal-fired generation at least in the next few years as it prioritizes energy security. China is one of the laggards in emissions reductions and its short-term energy policies are incompatible with the global targets, one of the report's authors said in April. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The technical panel of the OPEC+ group has reduced its global oil demand forecast for 2022 by 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) ahead of the alliances meeting on Thursday, Energy Intelligence reports. The Joint Technical Committee (JTC) held its regular meeting today to review oil market developments ahead of Thursdays meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) that would be followed by the OPEC+ ministerial meeting, OPEC said on Wednesday, without providing details of the discussions. According to a report for the JTC to review, global oil demand is now expected to grow by 3.4 million bpd this year, with the geopolitical situation and COVID developments cited as key risks to the forecast, Energy Intelligence reports. Last month, OPEC revised down its global oil demand growth estimate for 2022 a second month running. OPEC said in the middle of May that oil demand would grow by 310,000 fewer barrels per day than the growth anticipated in the April report. OPEC+ meets on Thursday, and it is widely expected to rubberstamp its moderate monthly increases in oil production when it decides output levels for July. Despite the EU ban on most Russian oil imports, the alliance is unlikely to increase production quotas more than planned, according to numerous reports of the past few days. Some OPEC members are mulling over the possibility of suspending Russia from the OPEC+ deal that limits the amount of crude oil that each member can produce, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing OPEC delegates. Suspending Russias role in the group could allow other members to increase oil production at a quicker pacealthough there are only a few OPEC members believed to have the capacity to ramp up production as quickly as the current deal allows. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and met with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. The ministers praised the OPEC+ deal and the cooperation between Russia and Saudi Arabia in the oil market, Russia says. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: In recent weeks, Argentinian authorities have kick-started efforts to boost Vaca Muertas development, but it wont be of any use in the current crisis. The Vaca Muerta shale play, which is Spanish for Dead Cow, is estimated to hold 16 billion barrels of oil and 308 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Argentina is home to one of the worlds largest shale gas deposits, but a lack of investment and political will means it is still an importer of natural gas. Argentina, home to the worlds second-largest shale gas deposit, cannot help gas-starved Europe, which is scrambling to obtain non-Russian natural gas after Russias invasion of Ukraine. In fact, Argentina cannot even help wean itself off its energy import dependence in the short term despite the huge resources at the Vaca Muerte shale. The development of Vaca Muerta has hit various snags over the past half-decade, from perennial economic crises to global oil and gas crises and domestic foreign exchange limitations. Moreover, Argentina has failed to advance pipeline projects to take the gas out of Vaca Muerta to its neighbors first and to the global LNG market next. Thus, the country holding one of the worlds single biggest shale gas deposits cant do anything currently to alleviate the global natural gas crunch in a gas-starved market, in which Europe is outbidding Asia for LNG supply. Europe is attempting to reduce its dependence on Russian pipeline gas as Gazprom threatens to stop its supply to more customers who refuse to pay in rubles. Despite its potential as a producer, Argentina imports natural gas and spent billions of U.S. dollars last year on LNG imports. It also lacks the pipeline and LNG terminal infrastructure to export its gas, more than one-third of which comes from the Vaca Muerta shale. Despite plans from all presidential administrations of the past half-decade, authorities have just recently opened the tender for a new major gas pipeline, named Nestor Kirchner after the former president, to connect the Vaca Muerta shale gas play with a port town north of Buenos Aires. The ineptitude of our public servants means the aptly named Nestor Kirchner pipeline that could have saved the country some US$7 billion in natural gas imports this year wont be done before 2024, Agustino Fontevecchia, Digital Director for Editorial Perfil, wrote earlier this year. For years, Argentina has been betting big on boosting oil and gas production at its largest shale play, Vaca Muerta in the Neuquen province. Vaca MuertaSpanish for dead cowhas been dubbed the Argentinian Permian, although its geologic properties have been compared more appropriately to the Eagle Ford. The Vaca Muerta shale play is estimated to hold recoverable resources consisting of 16 billion barrels of oil and 308 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Those numbers make the Vaca Muerta the worlds second-largest shale gas deposit. Related: Oil Rises As Market Expects Fuel Demand To Continue Increasing Over the past few years, however, Argentina has missed the opportunity to capitalize on the huge gas resources by failing to advance infrastructure to bring those resources to its domestic demand centers and to the global market. Had Argentina made those advances, it could have helped in the current energy crisis, and it could have helped itself with gas export revenues, considering that Europe is more or less ready to pay any price for additional LNG supply that would replace Russian pipeline gas. In recent weeks, Argentinian authorities have made some progress in kick-starting efforts to boost Vaca Muertas development and the construction of pipelines to make Argentina self-sufficient in gas supply and an exporter of LNG. Last week, Argentina announced it would allow easier access to foreign currency for energy firms in a bid to boost the development of the Vaca. Argentina has the energy the world needs. In order to take advantage of it, we have defined clear rules supporting investment and employment, Argentinian President Alberto Fernandez said, announcing the decision. Argentina has had capital controls since 2019 to protect its foreign currency reserves. With eased access to U.S. dollars, energy firms will be able to import specialist equipment for development, especially for fracking. Last week, Economy Minister Martin Guzman discussed with the governor of the Rio Negro province, Arabela Carreras, the potential of a liquefaction plant and an LNG export facility in the area. Argentinian state-owned energy firm YPF is reviewing four locations in the provinces Buenos Aires and Rio Negro for a major LNG project that would cost $11.5 billion and could make the company a net energy exporter, YPF president Pablo Gonzalez told national news agency Telam in an interview this week. Argentina currently produces more gas than it can transport, and its existing pipelines are collapsing, the YPF executive said. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: U.S. fuel exports have hit record highs and the banning of Russian oil imports by the European Union will only add to demand. While refineries have the ability to bring more capacity online, investors are unwilling to get involved in long-term oil and gas projects. There appears to be no end in sight for the current fuel supply crisis, with summer demand set to spike while refineries run at an unsustainable rate. Last week, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources, that the Biden administration was looking into the possibility of restarting idled refineries in order to boost fuel production and tame prices. Meanwhile, operating refineries are running at utilization rates of over 90 percent, which, according to industry insiders, is an unsustainable rate. And come hurricane season, if there is refinery damage, things could get really ugly with the fuel supply situation. Welcome to the downstream nightmare of the energy world. The United States has lost around 1 million bpd in refining capacity since 2020, according to a Reuters report that also cited one analyst, Paul Sankey, as saying this meant the country is in what is effectively a structural shortage of such capacity. Globally, refining capacity has shrunk by over 2 million bpd since 2020. According to the International Energy Agency, this is not a problem at all. The IEA estimated that global refining capacity shed 730,000 bpd last year and that, this year, refinery runs would be about 1.3 million bpd lower globally than what they were in 2019. The reason that would be no problem for the IEA is that demand for oil is seen as 1.1 million bpd lower than what it was in 2019. Not everyone is so calm, however, especially in the United States, where retail fuel prices are breaking records while refiners convert their refineries to biofuels production plants. "It's hard to see that refinery utilization can increase much," Gary Simmons, chief commercial officer of Valero, told Reuters. "We've been at this 93% utilization; generally, you can't sustain it for long periods of time." Interestingly enough, despite the imbalance in supply and demand, which has pushed the crack spreads to the highest in years, refiners do not seem to be planning new capacity additions. The reasons: time and investor sentiment. "Investors do not want to see companies pouring money into organic oil and gas growth," Jason Gabelman, director at Cowen, told Marketplace last month. In addition to this, building a new refinery is a lengthy and expensive endeavor that few refiners appear to believe is justified despite the record crack spreads. Also, investors have become more impatient and don't want to wait for returns from projects such as new refineries. At the same time, demand for refined products remains strong: U.S. fuel exports are running at record rates, a lot of them going to Europe, which, like the U.S., reduced its refining capacity over the last two years but now needs new sources of oil products after it embarked on an emergency course to cut its dependence on Russian oil and fuels. Speaking of Russia, sanctions have resulted in a substantial reduction of refining capacity, with Reuters estimating as much as 30 percent idled, with some 1.2 million bpd in capacity likely to remain offline until the end of the year, according to JP Morgan. Related: Russia Says It Will Find Other Oil Buyers After EU Ban Meanwhile, in Asia and the Middle East, refining capacity has been on the rise. In Asia, the new additions have topped 1 million bpd, according to a Bloomberg chart, while in the Middle East, new refining capacity since 2019 has reached about half a million barrels daily. The balance of refining capacity, then, has not just changed but also shifted geographically. The U.S. two weeks ago exported 6 million bpd in refined petroleum products. After the EU approved an embargo on Russian crude and products, albeit "in principle" for now, chances are that demand for imports from the U.S. will rise further, straining U.S. refiners even more. Then it will be time for hurricane season, and even if the Gulf Coast gets lucky this year, refinery closures in anticipation of storms making landfall are pretty much guaranteed, based on what we have seen in the past. This does not bode well for fuel prices, which have become a major issue for governments on both sides of the Atlantic. There is a certain sense of irony in that one, although by no means the only, reason for the capacity imbalance is investors' focus shift from oil and gas to alternative energy sources. The way things look, refiners could build more refining capacity, but investors are unwilling to participate in the long-term growth of the oil industry, as Marketplace's Andy Uhler put it. What this translates into is higher fuel prices for longer until demand begins to subside, which would probably happen at some higher price level. In the immediate term, however, with driving season soon to be in full swing, the refining capacity situation will likely make a lot of lives harder. And while gasoline is in the headlines because of the millions of drivers who have to pay a lot more at the pump, the bigger problem remains diesel - the fuel that the freight industry depends on to bring goods from producers to consumers all over the world. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Oil prices rose early on Wednesday as Chinas financial hub Shanghai reopened after a two-month strict lockdown, giving hope to oil bulls that Chinese fuel demand will rebound, while fuel inventories in the U.S. are at multi-year lows. As of 10:35 a.m. EST on Wednesday, WTI Crude was up 1.59% at $116.50 and Brent Crude was trading 1.71% higher at $117.59, as market participants turn bullish on oil again, expecting rising fuel demand in the summer holiday season despite high prices. In addition, fuel inventories in the United States are lower than the five-year average and at their lowest in years as refinery capacity cannot catch up with pent-up demand post-COVID. U.S. gasoline prices hit another record high today, at $4.671 per gallon national average, according to AAA data. Thats nearly $0.50 higher than the $4.187 national average price just a month ago, and compares to $3.045/gal at this time last year. So far, the pent-up urge to travel caused by the pandemic outweighs high pump prices for many consumers, AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross said on Tuesday. But 67% of drivers recently surveyed told us they would change their driving habits if gas hit $4.50 a gallon. That number rises to 75% at $5 a gallon. If pump prices keep rising, will people alter their summer travel plans? That remains to be seen. Gasoline prices in the U.S. are set for new records in the coming days as crude oil prices are supported this week by the partial EU ban on Russian oil imports agreed upon late on Monday. Moreover, the EU and the UK look to implement a coordinated ban on insurance for tankers carrying Russian oil, UK and EU officials told the Financial Times. Considering that the UK is home to the insurance organization International Group of P&I Clubs that covers a whopping 95 percent of tanker liability globally, this move could be a significant blow to Russias ability to export its oil. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The CEO of a Deutsche Bank subsidiary resigned Wednesday, just a day after German authorities launched a heavy-handed raid on the companys offices in Frankfurt over allegations of greenwashing. A whistleblower claimed that DWS, a Deutsche Bank subsidiary managing some $900 billion in assets, misled investors in its 2020 annual report by claiming that more than $450 billion in its assets met environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. Deutsche Bank holds an 80% stake in DWS. On Wednesday, DWS CEO Asoka Woehrmann said he would step down in order to protect the institution [...] and to clear the way for a fresh start, Euronews reported. On Tuesday, DWS offices in Frankfurt were raided by a team of some 50 investigators, following claims by a former executive that the company was exaggerating its funds environmental credentials, the news outlet said. In an interview with Fortune, a spokesman for the German public prosecutor said that in the course of the investigation since January, weve found evidence that could support allegations of prospectus fraud. The allegations are that DWS has been advertising so-called ESG financial products for sale as being particularly green and sustainable when they actually weren't," the spokesman said. DWS has denied misleading investors. The raid and the resignation of the DWS CEO suggests that greenwashing, defined as the dissemination of disinformation to present an environmentally responsible public image, is starting to be treated as fraud. Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its plan to root out greenwashing, targeting funds that are benefiting financially from marketing themselves as major ESG players, while misleading investors. The SECs plan, which has been met with derision on Wall Street, is to push through regulations that would require 80% of assets to meet ESG criteria in order to claim ESG credentials. The SEC is also considering additional reporting requirements and disclosures. According to Bloomberg, Wall Street says the SECs efforts here are vague and premature at a time when ESG criteria have not been defined by anyone. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Libya is losing another 22,000 barrels per day due to a pipeline leak at the Sarir Tobruk oilfield blamed on delayed budgets that have left the operating company unable to maintain its oil transmission infrastructure, according to local media reports. Some 22,000 barrels per day are now leaking into the desert from damages to the pipeline, which links the Sarir Tobruk oilfield to a terminal in the port of Tobruk. The leak began on Tuesday and was reported to the operating company, Libyan Arabian Gulf Oil Company (AGOCO) on Wednesday. AGOCO is owned by the Libyan National Oil Company (NOC). On its Facebook page, AGOCO released video footage of the oil leaking into the desert. With two rival governments, Libya has been unable to overcome a standoff that has seen some 380,000 barrels per day of oil taken offline over anti-government protests. In mid-April, Libya declared force majeure on its 300,000 bpd Al Sharara oilfieldthe countrys largestand was also forced to take oil offline at the 70,000 bpd El Feel oilfield. In February, the eastern-backed parliament in Tobruk named Fathi Bashagha as the new prime minister, while his rival, incumbent Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, has refused to step down. Earlier this month, Bashaga attempted to resume the role of prime minister in the capital, Tripoli, but was forced out after clashes between his militia security forces and those of Dbeibah. Bashaga has now set up his government in Sirte, the gateway to Libyas Oil Crescent. Last week, prior to the desert leak, Libyan Oil Minister Mohamed Aoun told Argus that the countrys output was now around 750,000 barrels per day, representing a 40% decline from the first quarter of this year. Protesters are demanding a more equitable distribution of oil revenues between east and west. Until either a power-sharing deal between the rival governments and a new deal is reached on oil revenue distribution, oil production will remain stifled, with Bashagas forces nominally controlling the Oil Crescent, and Tripoli controlling the Central Bank. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Crude oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserves may be headed into commercial inventories, but the American Petroleum Institute (API) still reported a draw this week for crude oil of 1.181 million barrels, while analysts predicted a draw of 67,000 barrels. The draw comes even as the Department of Energy released 5.4 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves in Week Ending May 27. U.S. crude inventories have shed some 76 million barrels since the start of 2021 and about 19 million barrels since the start of 2020, according to API data. In the week prior, the API reported a small build in crude oil inventories of 567,000 barrels after analysts had predicted a draw of 690,000 barrels. Oil prices rose on Wednesday as China's financial hub, Shanghai, reopened after two months of Covid-19 lockdowns. WTI was trading up 0.05% on Monday at $114.70 per barrel on the day minutes before data releaseup almost $4.50per barrel on the week. Brent crude was trading up 0.18% on the day at $115.80and up more than $2 per barrel on the week. U.S. crude oil production stagnated at 11.9 million bpd in the week ending May 20. Crude production in the United States is down 1.2 million barrels per day from pre-pandemic times. This week, the API reported a draw in gasoline inventories of 256,000 barrels for the week ending May 27, on top of the previous week's sharp 4.223-million-barrel draw. Distillate stocks saw a rise in inventory, of 858,000 barrels for the week, nearly offsetting last week's 949,000-million-barrel decrease. Cushing saw a minor 177,000-barrel build this week. Cushing inventories slipped again to 24.778 million barrels in the week prior, as of May 20, according to EIA datadown from 59.2 million barrels at the start of 2021, and down from 37.3 million barrels at the end of 2021. At 4:45 pm, ET, WTI was trading up at $114.80 (+0.07%), with Brent trading up at $115.70 (+0.12%). By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The OPEC+ alliance is solid, with the level of cooperation within it strong, according to a statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry following a meeting between Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. "They noted the stabilising effect that the tight cooperation between Russia and Saudi Arabia has on world markets for hydrocarbons in this strategically important sector," the statement said. The news comes on the heels of a Wall Street Journal report that said some OPEC members are considering excluding Russia from the extended cartel as Western sanctions weigh on its production. According to the report, excluding Russia from the oil production increase deal would allow other producers such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to boost their output more significantly, in line with requests made by the U.S. and Europe, as well as the International Energy Agency most recently. It's worth noting that Saudi Arabia and the UAE themselves have repeatedly signaled that they had no plans to boost crude oil production beyond their production quotas under the OPEC+ agreement. How a change in Russia's participation in the deal could change that sentiment remains to be seen. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the OPEC+ members with the most substantial spare production capacity. OPEC+ is meeting tomorrow to discuss the production deal, and while analysts had so far expected zero surprises from the cartel, the WSJ report, which cites unnamed OPEC delegates, might pique the interest of OPEC observers. OPEC+ was created in 2016 to address the oil market downturn at the time. Initially, it was about reducing production to boot prices. When the pandemic hit, these cuts were deepened to unprecedented levels of close to 8 million bpd. Then the current agreement was closed last year to gradually return to pre-pandemic levels of output in tune with demand recovery. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The UK and the European Union have agreed to jointly shut off Russias access to oil cargo insurance, the Financial Times reported, which would severely affect its ability to export crude. This will likely contribute substantially to the already considerable turmoil in international oil markets, ultimately pushing prices even higher. The insurance ban is part of the sixth package of sanctions that the EU approved against Russia this week, which also famously includes a gradual oil and oil product import embargo on Moscow. Its hard to underplay how significant a move this is by the UK and EU. Taking out insurance will have a huge impact on Russias ability to export its oil. Its one of the toughest sanctions Europe has in its armoury, said RBC Capital markets Helima Croft, as quoted by the FT. According to the report, the UKs involvement was crucial for the implementation of the insurance ban. Before it signaled it would take part in the ban, there was worry in the EU that London could attract more business as European insurers shunned Russian oil cargos. The ban is not without flaws, however. First, it is difficult to prove where the oil being shipped on a tanker actually comes from, according to unnamed sources interviewed by the FT. The only complication is making sure it is Russian oil to begin with, an insurance industry source told the FT. Its not the easiest job in the world, but neither is it impossible. Second, some insurers may refuse to cover any vessels coming from certain ports even though these ports do not service only Russian commodities. As the FT notes, some Russian ports handle Kazakh oil, which is not subject to sanctions. Currently, G7 members are discussing a wider insurance ban on Russian oil shipments, which could take effect in six months, according to a senior official from the European Commission. [Russia] then actually has a big problem shipping the stuff around, the official told the FT. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The Bahamas has announced plans to sell $300m in blue carbon credits in 2022. The Bahamas has become the latest emerging market to seek to leverage its natural environs to fund projects to protect its environment, announcing plans to sell blue carbon credits before the end of the year. In late April the government unveiled plans that would give companies the opportunity to purchase the credits to offset their own carbon emissions. The proposed deal is based on the Bahamas estimated 4270 sq km of mangrove forests, seagrass beds and other ecosystems that absorb and store significant amounts of carbon. Upon announcing the initiative, Prime Minister Philip Davis said the Bahamas aimed to raise $300m to invest in efforts to maintain the countrys marine environment, as well as other renewable energy and green projects. The nation has pledged to generate at least 30% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030, and is partnering with international institutions like the EU and the Inter-American Development Bank to roll out solar energy projects. The importance of blue carbon While green carbon credit projects that involve forests and grasslands are well established in global financial markets, the sale of blue carbon credits is still at an early stage. However, there are some signs that this may be beginning to change. This shift comes as governments and companies alike are becoming more aware of the environmental potential of maritime ecosystems in combatting climate change. Coastal ecosystems like mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass meadows have substantial carbon storage potential: not only can they store up to 10 times more carbon than land forests, but they can also hold carbon for 10 times longer than tropical forests. Another initiative based on blue carbon credits is the Cispata conservation project, located on Colombias Caribbean coast. A collaboration between Colombias Marine and Coastal Research Institute, Conservation International and Apple, the project aims to conserve and restore 11,000 ha of mangrove forest. Those involved say the project will remove an estimated 1m tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere over the course of its lifetime. It is hoped that blue carbon credit sales will help to cover half of the projects $600,000 in operating costs. Meanwhile, in Japan, power company Electric Power Development, better known as J-POWER, has begun generating its own blue carbon credits by raising algae and a seagrass bed near its Kitakyushu plant. The company does not plan to sell the credits but rather use them to offset carbon emissions from its power plants. By establishing seagrass beds around the country, J-POWER expects to absorb 100 tonnes of carbon per year. There are a number of other blue carbon conservation projects taking place in emerging markets around the world, including Kenya, Senegal, Madagascar, India and Pakistan, the last of which is home to the worlds largest mangrove restoration project, spanning an estimated 350,000 ha. Environment-linked financing in emerging markets The expansion of blue carbon conservation and credit projects is another example of how emerging markets are increasingly looking to find innovative ways to fund environmental projects. For example, in September last year the government of Belize launched a debt-for-nature swap to restructure its sole sovereign bond. Under the terms of the deal, Belize bought back its debt at a significant discount $0.55 cents for every $1 in exchange for increasing efforts to protect its marine environment. Meanwhile, earlier this year the World Bank issued the worlds first wildlife conservation bond, raising money to protect endangered black rhino populations in South Africa. The five-year, $150m rhino bond is an outcome-based financial instrument tied to the rate of population growth of black rhinos in South Africas Addo Elephant National Park and Great Fish River Nature Reserve, meaning that investors will receive a success payment if the population increases. In a similar vein, Chile became the first country to issue bonds tied specifically to sustainability goals when it sold $2bn in US dollar-denominated sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) in March. In contrast to other types of green bonds that raise money to fund environmentally friendly developments such as solar and wind power projects, SLBs incentivise climate-positive solutions by incorporating environmental objectives, along with a series of penalties for issuers if they fail to meet their goals. In Chiles case, the bond stipulates that the country may emit no more than 95 tonnes of CO2 and equivalent by 2030, and that 60% of its electricity production should come from renewable sources by 2032. Given the increasing focus on environmental, social and governance metrics in both the public and private sectors, the development of environment-based financing initiatives could set a precedent for emerging markets looking to raise funds in the future. By Oxford Business Group More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: NEW YORK Health officials remain perplexed by mysterious cases of severe liver damage in hundreds of young children around the world. The best available evidence points to a fairly common stomach bug that isnt known to cause liver problems in otherwise healthy kids. That virus was detected in the blood of stricken children but oddly it has not been found in their diseased livers. Theres a lot of things that dont make sense, said Eric Kremer, a virus researcher at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of Montpellier, in France. As health officials in more than a dozen countries look into the mystery, they are asking: Has there been a surge in the stomach bug called adenovirus 41 that is causing more cases of a previously undetected problem? Are children more susceptible due to pandemic-related lockdowns that sheltered them from the viruses kids usually experience? Is there a mutated version of the adenovirus causing this? Or another not-yet-identified germ, drug or toxin? Is it some kind of haywire immune system reaction set off by a past COVID-19 infection and a later invasion by another virus? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and investigators around the globe are trying to sort out whats going on. The illnesses are considered rare. CDC officials this month said they are now looking into 180 possible cases across the U.S. Most of the children were hospitalized, at least 15 required liver transplants and six died. More than 20 other countries have reported hundreds more cases in total, though the largest numbers have been in the U.K. and U.S. Symptoms of hepatitis or inflammation of the liver include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools, joint pain and jaundice. The scope of the problem started to become clear only last month, though disease detectives say they have been working on the mystery for months. Its been maddeningly difficult to nail down a cause, experts say. Conventional causes of liver inflammation in otherwise healthy kids the viruses known as hepatitis A, B, C, D and E didnt show up in tests. Whats more, the children came from different places and there seemed to be no common exposures. What did show up was adenovirus 41. More than half of the U.S. cases have tested positive for adenovirus, of which there are dozens of varieties. In a small number of specimens tested to see what kind of adenovirus was present, adenovirus 41 came up every time. The fact that adenovirus keeps showing up strengthens the case for it playing a role, but its unclear how, Dr. Jay Butler, the CDCs deputy director for infectious diseases, told the Associated Press. Many adenoviruses are associated with common cold symptoms, such as fever, sore throat and pink eye. Some versions including adenovirus 41 can trigger other problems, including inflammation in the stomach and intestines. Adenoviruses previously have been linked to hepatitis in children, but mostly in kids with weakened immune systems. Recent genetic analysis has turned up no evidence that a single new mutant version of the virus is to blame, said Dr. Umesh Parashar, chief of the CDC group focused on viral gut diseases. Adenovirus infections are not systematically tracked in the U.S., so its not clear if theres been some recent surge in virus activity. In fact, adenoviruses are so common that researchers arent sure what to make of their presence in these cases. If we start testing everybody for the adenovirus, they will find so many kids that have it, said Dr. Heli Bhatt, a pediatric gastroenterologist who treated two Minnesota children with the liver problems. One was a child who came in nearly five months ago with liver failure. Doctors couldnt figure why. Unfortunately, not having a cause is something that happens, Bhatt said. Roughly a third of acute liver failure cases go unexplained, experts have estimated. Bhatt said the second child she saw got sick last month. By that time, health officials had been drawing attention to cases, and she and other doctors began going back and reviewing unexplained illnesses since October. Indeed, many cases added to the tally in the last few weeks were not recent illnesses but rather earlier ones that were re-evaluated. About 10% of the U.S. cases occurred in May, Butler said. The rate seems to be relatively flat since the fall, he added. Its possible that doctors are merely discovering a phenomenon thats been going on for years, some scientists said. COVID-19 vaccination has been ruled out because the vast majority of these children are unvaccinated, Butler explained. But past infection with the coronavirus itself might be factor, scientists say. The CDC recently estimated that, as of February, 75% of U.S. children had been infected. Only 10% to 15% of the children with the mysterious hepatitis had COVID-19, according to nasal swab tests given when they checked into a hospital, health officials say. But investigators are wondering about previous coronavirus infections. Its possible that coronavirus particles lurking in the gut are playing a role, said Petter Brodin, a pediatric immunologist at Imperial College London. In a piece earlier this month in the medical journal Lancet, Brodin and another scientist suggested that a combination of lingering coronavirus and an adenovirus infection could trigger a liver-damaging immune system reaction. I think its an unfortunate combination of circumstances that could explain this, Brodin told the AP. JERUSALEM (AP) Israel and the United Arab Emirates signed a free trade agreement on Tuesday, the first of its kind that Israel has concluded with an Arab country. The UAE agreed to normalize relations with Israel in a U.S.-brokered deal in 2020, the first of the Abraham Accords that Israel eventually concluded with four Arab nations. Since then, the two countries have boosted cooperation in a number of economic sectors. Israel & the UAE just signed a historic Free Trade Agreement the first of this scope to be signed between Israel & an Arab state, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tweeted. This was the fastest FTA to be signed in Israels history. Mohamed Al Khaja, the UAE ambassador to Israel, called it an unprecedented achievement. Businesses in both countries will benefit from faster access to markets and lower tariffs as our nations work together to increase trade, create jobs, promote new skills and deepen cooperation, he tweeted. Dorian Barak, president of the UAE-Israel Business Council, predicted that bilateral trade would exceed $2 billion this year, rising to $5 billion in the next five. Dubai is fast becoming a hub for Israeli companies that look to South Asia, the Middle East and the Far East as markets for their goods and services, he said. Nearly 1,000 Israeli companies will be working in and through the UAE by years end. Its unprecedented. Israel has more limited commercial relations with neighboring Jordan and Egypt, Arab countries that signed peace treaties with Israel decades ago. In the years leading up to the Abraham Accords, Israel had steadily increased cooperation with Gulf Arab states like the UAE, which share its security concerns about Iran. Supporters of the accords view them as an historic breakthrough in Mideast diplomacy. The Palestinians rejected the accords as a betrayal of their cause because they shattered a longstanding Arab consensus that any normalization with Israel should come in exchange for progress in the long-defunct peace process. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) Legislation authorizing marijuana for medical use in North Carolina and developing a system to grow, sell and regulate cannabis was recommended by a state Senate committee Wednesday, nine months after it last surfaced. The measure, which now heads to the Senate floor for the first of two required votes Thursday, would allow patients with at least one of the more than a dozen debilitating medical conditions to purchase and use marijuana with their physician's formal approval. Those conditions would include cancer, epilepsy, Crohns disease and post-traumatic stress disorder. The bill envisions several dozen medical cannabis centers across the state operated by 10 state-licensed growers and vendors. They could sell up to 30-day supplies of pot or cannabis-infused products to patients or their caregivers, who would have to obtain registration cards from the state Department of Health and Human Services. Ten percent of the cannabis suppliers' monthly revenues would be forwarded to the state. The legislation idled in the Senate since last August after advancing through three policy committees. Brunswick County Republican Sen. Bill Rabon, chief bill sponsor and a cancer survivor, said the measure was never on a fast track, adding that he wanted to ensure all of his colleagues' questions were answered to build bipartisan support. Bill supporters have included war veterans and others with severe illness who say marijuana can ease pain or help them lead more normal lives. The bill is designed to give the citizens of this state who need and deserve compassionate care just that, Rabon said during debate in the Senate Rules Committee, which he chairs. "It is nothing more than trying to help those people with the care that they need and augment their treatments. Senate leader Phil Berger said Tuesday that he planned to support the bill on the chamber floor. The bill, if approved by the full Senate, would then go to the House, where Speaker Tim Moore said he didn't expect medical marijuana to be discussed until 2023. That would mean new legislation would have to be filed. Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia allow the medical use of cannabis products, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Conservative Christian groups remain opposed to the measure and their representatives spoke against the bill in the committee. We all want to be compassionate and help people in need, said Jere Royall with the North Carolina Family Policy Council. But he said several medical associations still don't support the medical use of marijuana and research shows significant health risks remain. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. KYIV, Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that 200,000 children are among the Ukrainians who have been forcefully taken to Russia and dispersed across the vast country. They include children from orphanages, children taken with their parents and those separated from their families. The purpose of this criminal policy is not just to steal people but to make those who are deported forget about Ukraine and unable to return, Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to the nation on Wednesday, which was International Childrens Day. Zelenskyy said Ukraine would punish those responsible but first it would show Russia on the battlefield that Ukraine cannot be conquered, that our people will not surrender and our children will not become the property of the occupiers. Zelenskyy said 243 children have been killed so far in the war, 446 have been wounded and 139 are missing, adding that it could be more as his government doesnt have a full picture of the situation in areas occupied by Russian troops. He then described the deaths of 11 children, calling them by their first names and saying how they were killed. KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: Report: China bars Russian airlines with foreign planes US sending medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine Italy imports more Russian oil despite impending embargo High prices, Asian markets could blunt EU ban on Russian oil Sanctioned Russian oligarchs megayacht hides in a UAE creek Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: LVIV, Ukraine A regional governor in western Ukraine said a Russian airstrike on transport infrastructure wounded two people Wednesday. Lviv region Gov. Maksym Kozytskyy didnt name the target of the Russian strike near the city of Lviv. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the countrys interior minister, said the Russians hit the Beskidy railway tunnel in the Carpathian Mountains in an apparent effort to cut a key railway link and disrupt shipments of weapons and fuel. The Lviv region has served as a key conduit for supplies of Western weapons and other supplies. KYIV, Ukraine The Ukrainian Orthodox Church on Wednesday said two monks and a nun have been killed in the shelling of a historic monastery in eastern Ukraine. The church said in a statement that three monks were also wounded by Mondays shelling, which heavily damaged the Sviatohirsk monastery in the Donetsk region. It didnt give further details. The monastery, located on the steep right bank of the Seversky Donets River, is one of the most important historic Orthodox monasteries in Ukraine. The monastery provided shelter to civilians fleeing the fighting and had previously been hit by Russian shelling as the Russian troops were pressing their offensive in Donbas. KYIV, Ukraine A regional Ukrainian governor on Wednesday said Russian troops have taken control of about 80 percent of the key city of Sievierodonetsk. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said Russian troops were advancing amid fierce street battles with Ukrainian defenders of the city. He noted that in some districts the Ukrainian troops managed to push the Russians back. Sievierodonetsk, the administrative center of the Luhansk region, has been the focus of Russias offensive in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland of Donbas. It has come under relentless Russian bombardment, and Haidai said Tuesday that Russian air strike hit a tank with nitric acid at a chemical factory, releasing toxic fumes. COPENHAGEN, Denmark Two exit polls by Danish broadcasters show that around two thirds of voters in Wednesdays referendum backed abandoning Denmarks 30-year-old opt-out from the European Unions common defense policy. TV2 broadcaster said that 66.6% voted in favor of ending the opt-out which would have limited practical effect for either Denmark or the EU and 33.4% against. Public broadcaster DR had the figures at 69% for and 30.9% against. The polls were published just after voting ended. The referendum was the latest example of European countries seeking closer defense links with allies in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine. The main effect of abandoning the opt-out will be that Danish officials could stay in the room when EU colleagues discuss defense topics and Danish forces can take part in EU military operations. PARIS The head of Interpol on Wednesday raised alarms about a possible uptick in weapons trafficking once the war in Ukraine ends. Interpol Secretary-General Jurgen Stock told the Anglo-American Press Association that he has no doubt illegal arms trafficking will increase. We have seen that in the Balkans region, Stock said. We have seen that in theaters in Africa that, of course, organized crime groups try to exploit this chaotic situation, availability of weapons and even weapons that are used by the military. Small weapons are the main concern, he said. Stock encouraged Interpols 195-member countries to intensively use available databases that can help trace and track weapons, for instance those stolen in another country. No country in our region can deal with it in isolation because the criminals Im talking about are operating globally, Stock said. Interpol, based in Lyon, France, does not carry out investigations but provides training for police and customs officers to, for instance, identify trafficking routes, Stock said. KYIV, Ukraine Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday thanked Poland for its military support. Speaking at a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Zelenskyy hailed what he described as unprecedented defense support from Warsaw. He also voiced gratitude to Poland for hosting Ukrainians who were forced to leave the country during the war, praising its warm and humane attitude to our people. Our relations have progressed through the war of Russia against Ukraine from warm and good-neighborly relations to another stage of strong and historic ties, Zelenskyy said. WASHINGTON NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday said hes convening a meeting of senior officials from Finland, Sweden and Turkey to try to overcome Ankaras objections to the two Nordic countries joining the alliance. Stoltenberg told reporters that the talks will be held in Brussels in a few days with senior officials, but provided no further details. Im confident that we will find a way forward, he said. Roused by security concerns over Russias war on Ukraine, Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO last month. But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is blocking their path. He has said theyre not doing enough to fight Kurdish extremism. Asked how long it might take to end the standoff, Stoltenberg said his goal is before the NATO summit. U.S. President Joe Biden, Erdogan and their NATO counterparts are meeting in Madrid from June 28-30. We want to make sure that all allies have their security concerns taken into account, and that includes Turkey, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. THE HAGUE, Netherlands The Dutch government on Wednesday announced what it is calling the biggest boost in its military spending since the end of the Cold War as war rages in Ukraine. Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said threats in the world and the war in Ukraine show that peace and security cannot be taken for granted. Ollongren unveiled 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) a year in increased military spending. The extra money will fund military hardware purchases in coming years including six new F-35 fighter jets and a doubling of the militarys fleet of MQ-9 Reaper drones from four to eight. The Defense Ministry said the investment means the Netherlands will meet the NATO agreed defense spending of 2% of its gross domestic product in 2024 and 2025. It also aims to ease shortages in military supplies and equipment. That will enable military personnel to work with the best equipment and train a lot without constant shortages of spare parts, transport and ammunition, the ministry said. RIYADH, Saudi Arabia Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday said international sanctions are affecting Russias ability to export its own grain amid fears of a global food shortage. Speaking during a visit to Saudi Arabia, Lavrov said Russian grain exports may not be directly under sanctions, but the ships carrying the grain face extra hurdles. Although the West very loudly reminds that grain was not subject to sanctions, for some reason they shyly keep silent that ships that carry Russian grain did fall under the sanctions, he said. They are not accepted in foreign ports, in European ports, and they are not insured. And, in principle, all the logistical and financial chains related to the supply of grain to world markets, they were under the sanctions of our Western colleagues. Russia has also been accused of preventing Ukraine from exporting its grain harvest and of looting Ukrainian grain supplies for Russian use. BERLIN Germanys foreign minister says the West must give Ukraine long-term support, and is defending the time its taking to deliver weapons systems to Kyiv. Annalena Baerbock told the German parliament that Russian President Vladimir Putin has fundamentally changed his strategy after failing to take Ukraine quickly. She said that he is now counting on having more staying power than we who support Ukraine. Baerbock said Wednesday that we need staying power in supporting Ukraine. The minister fended off criticism of perceived delays in fulfilling promises to send weapons, telling lawmakers that the stuff has to arrive and above all the soldiers must be able to use it. Her comments came hours after Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany will send modern air-defense missiles. Baerbock said those were originally supposed to go to another country, which she didnt identify. She said that we need these medium- and long-term signals that we havent given up on Ukraine in three months, but that we are defending it durably as we can without participating in this war ourselves. STOCKHOLM United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says there is progress in talks to allow the export of grain stored in Ukrainian ports and ensure Russian food and fertilizer have unrestricted access to global markets. I think that there is progress, but we are not yet there, Guterres said Wednesday, adding these are very complex things, because everything is interlinked. Russias war on Ukraine has closed the countrys Black Sea ports, halting food exports to many developing countries. Guterres reiterated that the world should have access to the Russian production of fertilizers and foods that is also essential for global markets in the present situation. Guterres spoke in Stockholm where he met with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson ahead of a climate and environment conference Thursday and Friday. MOSCOW A leading Russian scientist has urged Moscow not to shut itself off from scientific cooperation with unfriendly countries such as the United States. Alexander Sergeev, president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a state-backed body linking research institutes and labs across the country, said ties between scientists in Russia and abroad certainly must continue, in comments reported by the Interfax news agency Wednesday. The Russian government has drawn up an official list of unfriendly countries, including those which have issued sanctions against Russia such as the U.S., Britain, Japan and European Union members like France and Germany. We should not in any case, on our own initiative, perhaps following the slogans of various hotheads, break off relationships with our colleagues in unfriendly countries, Sergeev said. MOSCOW A Kremlin spokesman says Moscow negatively views U.S. plans to supply more weapons to Ukraine. The Biden administration announced on Tuesday that it will send Ukraine a small number of high-tech, medium-range rocket systems. Ukrainian leaders have begged for rocket launchers as they struggle to stall Russian progress in the Donbas region. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during his daily conference calls with journalists on Wednesday that Moscow doesnt trust Kyivs assurances that the multiple-launch rocket systems supplied by the U.S. will not be used to attack Russia. U.S. officials say the aid package expected to be unveiled Wednesday tries to strike a balance between the desire to help Ukraine battle ferocious Russian artillery barrages while not providing arms that could allow Ukraine to hit targets deep inside Russia and trigger an escalation in the war. Peskov nonetheless accused the U.S. of deliberately and diligently pouring fuel into the fire. The U.S. sticks to the line of fighting with Russia until the last Ukrainian (left standing), he said. WARSAW, Poland Polands prime minister says the European Union member country will serve as an economic hub for neighboring Ukraine, helping it export grain and other products while Russia blocks Ukraines export routes, chiefly its ports. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki spoke Wednesday in the Ukrainian town of Borodyanka, near Kyiv. Morawiecki was in the heavily damaged settlement to inaugurate a series of container houses for homeless residents that was funded by Poland. Morawiecki said Poland is working on expanding its infrastructure and capacity to facilitate the export of millions of tons of Ukrainian grain and other agriculture products. Poland is receiving EU funds for the purpose, Morawiecki said. He stressed that North Africas countries rely heavily on Ukraine grain and could face problems feeding their populations without it. LISBON, Portugal Portugal has sent 146 Marines to join a NATO force stationed in Lithuania as part of efforts to bolster the alliances eastern flank in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine. The deployment includes divers specializing in deactivating mines and other explosive devices. Portugals defense ministry said the aim of the mission is to support high levels of readiness and discourage direct or indirect threats against NATO members, especially in the Baltic Sea region. The detachment which departed Wednesday is to remain in Lithuania for three months. COPENHAGEN, Denmark Polling stations are open in Denmark for voters to decide whether to abandon their countrys 30-year-old opt-out from the European Unions common defense policy. The referendum on Wednesday is the latest example of European countries seeking closer defense links with allies in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine. It follows Sweden and Finlands historic bids to join NATO. Some 4.2 million Danish voters are eligible to cast ballots in the referendum. The yes side - in favor of getting rid of the 1992 opt-out - has been ahead in recent months. Polls showed it with around 40% support and the no side with 30%. KYIV, Ukraine A regional governor in southern Ukraine says Russian troops are retreating and blowing up bridges to obstruct a possible Ukrainian advance. Mykolayiv region governor Vitaliy Kim claimed Wednesday on the Telegram messaging app that Russia was on the defensive. They are afraid of a breakthrough by the (Ukrainian Armed Forces), but we are not afraid and we support our troops, he wrote. Kim didnt specify exactly where the retreat he described was happening. The parts of the Mykolayiv region which have been held by Russian forces in recent days are close to the large Russia-occupied city of Kherson. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Tuesday that Ukrainian fighters had seen some success in the Kherson direction. Russia is concentrating most of its military power on trying to capture all of eastern Ukraines Donbas region. BRUSSELS The European Unions asylum agency says the number of people from former Soviet countries seeking international protection in Europe has skyrocketed since Russia launched its war in Ukraine. The agency said Wednesday that about 14,000 Ukrainians sought asylum in March, a figure some 30 times higher than before the war that started Feb. 24. The number is on top of the estimated 3 million Ukrainians who have applied for emergency protection under an EU program that provides shelter, access to jobs, medical treatment and education to war refugees. The biggest increases in asylum-seekers were recorded among citizens from Belarus, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. But the EU agency says its not clear whether these people came from their home countries or were living in Ukraine when the war started. The number of Russians seeking asylum in the EU also rose to 1,400 in March, the highest level since 2018. Asylum is usually granted to people in danger of suffering serious harm due to their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership of a social group, and to those fleeing war, torture and degrading treatment. BERLIN German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says his country will supply Ukraine with modern anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems, stepping up arms deliveries amid criticism that Germany isnt doing enough to help Kyiv. Scholz told German lawmakers on Wednesday that the government has decided to provide Ukraine with IRIS-T missiles developed by Germany together with other NATO nations. He said Germany will also supply Ukraine with radar systems to help locate enemy artillery. The announcements come amid claims at home and abroad that Germany has been slow to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs to defend itself against Russia. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. ISTANBUL (AP) Turkeys president told journalists that Ankara remains committed to rooting out a Syrian Kurdish militia from northern Syria. Like I always say, well come down on them suddenly one night. And we must, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on his plane following his Saturday visit to Azerbaijan, according to daily Hurriyet newspaper and other media. Without giving a specific timeline, Erdogan said that Turkey would launch a cross-border operation against the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units, or YPG, which it considers a terrorist group linked to an outlawed Kurdish group that has led an insurgency against Turkey since 1984. That conflict with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK, has killed tens of thousands of people. However, the YPG forms the backbone of U.S.-led forces in the fight against the Islamic State group. American support for the group has infuriated Ankara and remains a major issue in their relations. Turkey considers the PKK and the YPG to be one and the same. The YPG and its affiliated political party have controlled much of northeastern Syria after the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad withdrew in 2012. All coalition forces, leading with the U.S., have provided these terror groups a serious amount of weapons, vehicles, tools, ammunition and they continue to do so. The U.S. has given them thousands of trucks, Erdogan said. He warned that Turkey wouldnt need anyones permission to fight terror. If the U.S. is not fulfilling its duty in combating terror, what will we do? We will take care of ourselves, he declared. While acknowledging Turkeys security concerns, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price has voiced concerns about Turkeys plans, saying a new offensive could undermine regional stability and put American forces at risk. Ankara has launched four cross-border operations into Syria since 2016 and controls some territories in the north with the goal of pushing away the YPG and establishing a 30-kilometer (19-mile) deep safe zone where Erdogan hopes to voluntarily return Syrian refugees. In 2019, an incursion into northeast Syria against the YPG drew widespread international condemnation, prompting Finland, Sweden and others to restrict arms sales to Turkey. Now Turkey is blocking the two Nordic countries' historic bid to join NATO because of the weapons ban and their alleged support for the Kurdish groups. Turkey has stepped up military operations against the PKK in northern Iraq, where they are based. The PKK is considered a terror group by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union. Just as we are conducting operations in northern Iraq against the PKK and PKK's offspring, the same situation applies even more to Syria and is much more important, Erdogan said. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. BOLIVIA, N.C. (AP) A North Carolina man who won a $10 million lottery prize in 2017 has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the 2020 fatal shooting of his girlfriend. The News & Observer reports that Michael Todd Hill, 54, of Leland, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced Friday in the killing of 23-year-old Keonna Graham of Navassa. Graham was reported missing on July 20, 2020. She was later found dead in a hotel with a gunshot wound to the back of the head. In a news release from the 15th Prosecutorial District of North Carolina, prosecutors said surveillance footage from the hotel showed Hill was the only person in the room with Graham. They said Hill later confessed to shooting Graham after she had been texting with other men while at the hotel. Hill won $10 million from a scratch-off ticket in August 2017, WECT-TV reported. For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, The News & Observer. WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden said Monday that the Second Amendment was never absolute and that, after the Texas elementary school shooting, there may be some bipartisan support to tighten restrictions on the kind of high-powered weapons used by the gunman. "I think things have gotten so bad that everybodys getting more rational, at least thats my hope, Biden told reporters before honoring the nation's fallen in Memorial Day remarks at Arlington National Cemetery. His comments came a day after he traveled to the shattered Texas community of Uvalde, mourning privately for three-plus hours with anguished families grieving for the 19 children and two teachers who died in the shooting. Faced with chants of do something as he departed a church service, Biden pledged: We will. After the Uvalde trip, Biden spent Sunday night at his home in Delaware. As he arrived at the White House for Memorial Day events, he was asked if he's now more motivated to see new federal limits imposed on firearms. Ive been pretty motivated all along," he said. Im going to continue to push and well see how this goes. In Congress, a bipartisan group of senators talked over the weekend to see if they could reach even a modest compromise on gun legislation after a decade of mostly failed efforts. That included encouraging state red flag laws to keep guns away from those with mental health problems. A congressional aide said the senators would meet virtually Tuesday and throughout the week. The Second Amendment was never absolute," Biden said. You couldnt buy a cannon when the Second Amendment was passed. You couldnt go out and buy a lot of weapons. Later, the president and first lady Jill Biden were joined by Vice President Kamala Harris, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at Arlington National Cemetery for a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Standing at attention under a cloudless sky in the late-May heat, Biden saluted as taps played, after laying the wreath of multi-colored flowers wrapped in red, white and blue ribbon in front of the tomb. Delivering remarks honoring fallen servicemembers, he said Memorial Day is always a day where pain and pride are mixed together. Today we are free because they were brave, the president said. But Biden said the nations experiment in democracy remains under threat, both abroad, in the form of Russias invasion of Ukraine, and in division at home. He called upholding democracy the mission of our time. Our memorial to them must not be just a day when we pause and pray, Biden said. It must be a daily commitment to act, to come together, to be worthy of the price that was paid. In his earlier statements to reporters on guns, Biden said hed not spoken to Republicans on the issue but my guess is ... theyre going to have to take a hard look. There is nowhere near enough support from congressional Republicans for broader gun measures popular with the public like a new ban on assault-type weapons or universal background checks on gun purchases. Still, Democratic advocates hope meaningful measures could still pass. Biden said he had taken some executive actions on guns but I cant outlaw a weapon and can't "change the background checks. He said he didn't know where congressional negotiations stand, but theres realization on the part of rational Republicans that we cant keep repeating ourselves. Before returning to Washington, the president and first lady, whose veteran son Beau died of cancer caused by a brain tumor in 2015, attended church Monday morning and laid flowers at their sons grave. Todays the day our son died, Biden said at Arlington, telling families that he knows remembrances like Mondays can reopen that black hole of pain. But he said because of their commitment to the ideals of America, A part of them is still with us no matter how long ago we lost them. The Bidens also hosted a breakfast in the White House's East Room with about 130 members of veteran organizations, military family groups and senior Defense Department and other administration officials. The president, the first lady and representatives from five Gold Star families who lost relatives in combat also planted a Southern magnolia tree on the White House South Lawn. The tree came from a sapling of a nearby magnolia planted by President Andrew Jackson in 1835. As the group used shovels to toss dirt on the newly planted tree, Biden grinned and said shovel brigade." He and the first lady later held hands with those gathered in a circle around the tree and prayed silently. AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. UVALDE, Texas (AP) Mourners gathered Wednesday at a Catholic church to say goodbye to Robb Elementary School teacher Irma Garcia who died in the shooting at the Uvalde, Texas, grade school and her husband, Joe who died two days later from a heart attack. Nineteen children and two teachers Garcia and her co-teacher, 44-year-old Eva Mireles were killed May 24 when an 18-year-old gunman burst into their classroom. The litany of visitations, funerals and burials began Monday and will continue into mid-June. At Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Wednesday, twin black hearses carrying the coffins of the Garcias arrived in a procession led by police and civilian motorcycle riders. Covered by flowers, the two closed caskets were borne by pallbearers past a phalanx of police in uniforms and priests in white robes. Some sobbed throughout the service in which Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller offered thanks for Irma Garcias dedication. He listed the names of the slain schoolchildren several times throughout the homily. Because you were there with them, he said. You did what you would have done with your own children. You took care of them until your last breath. Irma, 48, was finishing up her 23rd year as a teacher at Robb Elementary. In a letter posted on the schools website at the beginning of the school year, Garcia told her students that she and Joe had four children a Marine, a college student, a high school student and a seventh grader. Most of the readings during Wednesday's service and the homily were in English, with Garcia-Siller offering some words in Spanish. We are all hurting, he said. In the midst of so much, please, please people need comfort, people need you. Let us all foster a culture of peace. Joe, 50, collapsed and died after dropping off flowers at his wifes memorial. The couple would have been married 25 years on June 28 His obituary noted that he and Irma began their relationship in high school and it flourished into a love that was beautiful and kind. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, who attended the Garcias funeral, said in a statement that America must unite as a country against this senseless cycle of violence, act immediately to protect our children, and make sure that every child and every educator feels safe in our schools. Another funeral Wednesday was for 10-year-old Jose Flores Jr., also at Sacred Heart. He made the honor roll and received a certificate on May 24, hours before the shooting. His father told CNN that his son loved baseball and video games and was always full of energy. On Tuesday afternoon, hundreds turned out to remember Amerie Jo Garza, a smiling fourth-grader whose funeral Mass was the first since the massacre. The funeral for 10-year-old Maite Rodriguez was Tuesday night. At Amerie's funeral, mourner Erika Santiago, her husband and their two children wore purple shirts adorned with images of the victims. She described Amerie as a nice little girl who smiled a lot, and who was so humble and charismatic but full of life. Investigators continue to seek answers about how police responded to the shooting, and the U.S. Department of Justice is reviewing law enforcement actions. The blame for an excruciating delay in killing the gunman even as parents outside begged police to rush in and panicked children called 911 from inside was placed on the school districts police chief, Pete Arredondo. The director of state police last week said Arredondo made the wrong decision not to breach the classroom, believing the gunman was barricaded inside and children werent at risk. On Wednesday, Arredondo told CNN that he's talking regularly with investigators from the Texas Department of Public Safety, contradicting claims from state law enforcement that hes stopped cooperating. Authorities have said the gunman, Salvador Ramos, legally purchased two guns not long before the school attack: an AR-15-style rifle on May 17 and a second rifle on May 20. He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law. Ramos was killed by law enforcement. More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. TIRANA, Albania (AP) Albania's Interior Ministry said Saturday that four Albanian women and nine children, all related to Albanians who joined Islamist extremist groups fighting in Syria and Iraq, have been repatriated from a Syrian camp. The group, which landed at the Pristina Adem Jashari Airport in neighboring Kosovo, was joined by other Kosovar citizens leaving the hell camps, the statement said, without disclosing the number. At least one man's blurred face was seen in a video distributed by the ministry. Speaking at the airport, Albanian Interior Minister Bledi Cuci thanked U.S. authorities and Lebanese Gen. Abass Ibrahim, who has played a key role in the repatriation efforts. Kosovar Interior Minister Xhelal Zvecla did not give details on the Kosovar citizens repatriated but assured that specialized institutions would take care to rehabilitate and de-radicalize them. Cuci said 43 Albanian women and children whose husbands and fathers joined Islamic State group and most often have been killed in fighting have been brought back in four missions since 2018. Cuci said Albania had a list of citizens still in the camps and would continue efforts to bring them back. Kosovo has repatriated at least 121 people since 2019. I would like to assure Albanians that we are determined to bring back from those camps any Albanians who has remained there, every child and every woman, said Cuci. Hundreds of people from Albania and Kosovo joined the Islamic State and other groups fighting in Syria and Iraq in the early 2010s. Many were killed, and their widows and children are stuck in Syrian camps. Follow Llazar Semini at https://twitter.com/lsemini Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. The White House says a small private airplane entered restricted airspace near President Joe Bidens Delaware vacation home on Saturday, and that led to the brief evacuation of the president and first lady. The White House says there was no threat to Biden or his family and that precautionary measures were taken. After the situation was assessed, Biden and his wife, Jill, returned to their Rehoboth Beach home. The Secret Service said in a statement that the plane was immediately escorted from the restricted airspace after mistakenly entering a secured area. The agency said it would interview the pilot who, according to a preliminary investigation, was not on the proper radio channel and was not following published flight guidance. A federal judge has tossed a lawsuit filed by the parents of a bar owner who killed himself after being charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of a Black man during unrest in downtown Omaha in May 2020. In a ruling filed two years and a day after protests sparked by the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, U.S. District Judge John Gerrard ruled that David and Glenda Sue Gardner had no basis for the lawsuit alleging their son, Jake Gardner, killed himself because authorities had violated his constitutional right to a fair trial. Gerrard ruled the parents could not connect Gardners suicide to any constitutional violation. And Gerrard rejected the notion that special prosecutor Fred Franklin, who guided the grand jury to charges in the case, somehow conspired with Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine, who elected not to charge Gardner before deferring to a grand jury. Gerrard ruled that Franklin didnt say anything that shocked the conscience at a press conference announcing that the grand jury had charged Gardner, 38, with manslaughter in the May 30, 2020, death of James Scurlock, 22. Gardner had confronted Scurlock outside his bar near 12th and Harney Streets after someone shattered a plate-glass window and Scurlocks friend hurled a sign at the window. Thinking the bar had been shot up, Gardner and his father, David, went out and down the street, and David Gardner pushed a bystander. Scurlocks friend ran and decked David Gardner. David Gardner got up and held a knife by his side. Jake Gardner, a former Marine, then pulled a gun and held it by his side as he walked backward. A young woman tackled Gardner from behind. On his back in a puddle, Gardner fired what he described as a warning shot that caused her and Scurlocks friend to scramble away. Scurlock jumped on Gardners back and wrapped one arm under his chin and appeared to be wrestling for control of the gun. Supporters have suggested Scurlock was trying to disarm an active shooter. After an 18-second struggle in which Gardner yelled get off me several times, Gardner switched the gun to his left hand and fired over his shoulder, killing Scurlock. A day later, Kleine ruled that Gardner acted in self-defense, noting that Gardner claimed Scurlock had him in a chokehold. Amid protests, Kleine agreed to allow a special prosecutor to be sought to present the case to a grand jury. A judge appointed Franklin, a former federal prosecutor, to guide a grand jury review of the case. Three months later, in September 2020, grand jurors charged Gardner. Gardner, who had gone to the West Coast after he said he received threats, killed himself in Oregon on Sept. 20 rather than turn himself in to face trial. John Pierce, a California attorney who has represented several Jan. 6 Capitol riot defendants and who once represented Kenosha, Wisconsin, gunman Kyle Rittenhouse, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Kleine and Franklin. Among the eyebrow-raising claims, Pierce alleged that Kleine and Franklin conspired to deprive Gardner of a fair trial. In turn, Pierce alleged Gardner felt so hopeless and despondent that he killed himself. Gardners parents pointed to a press conference Franklin gave after the indictment that, they said, cast Gardner as a racist and a killer. Franklins opinions about the governments evidence were nothing more than that, Gerrard wrote. And Franklins confidence in the governments evidence isnt shocking to the conscience. There is absolutely no legal basis to conclude that Franklin or anyone else is liable, under federal or state law, for Franklins alleged braggadocio. Nor is there any evidence that Kleine and Franklin conspired, the judge said. After Franklins press conference, Kleine held an impromptu press conference criticizing Franklin for how he portrayed the case. Kleine made it clear he stood by his determination that Gardner had fired in self-defense. Gerrard said Gardner would have had ample chance to receive a fair trial, despite Pierces claims to the contrary. Prospective jurors often havent heard much about even sensational cases; and jury selection allows attorneys to root out jurors who have biases. The Court is confident that an impartial Douglas County jury could have been selected regardless of Fred Franklins press conference, Gerrard wrote. (Pierce) insists that there would have been no way to mitigate the prejudice he claims was caused by Franklins remarks. That legal conclusion is untenable. The right to an impartial jury doesnt require ignorance by prospective jurors, Gerrard continued. It simply requires them to set aside previous knowledge of a case and rely only on evidence presented in court. The judge also took issue with some of Pierces legal arguments. At one point, the judge questioned whether two non sequitur sentences had been inserted mistakenly into a brief Pierce submitted. Theres no other explanation for their presence, the judge wrote. At another, the judge said, Pierce argued that Franklin violated the so-called Brady rule that requires prosecutors to turn over potentially exonerating evidence to defense attorneys. Pierce seems to be arguing that Franklin had a duty to disclose exculpatory evidence at the press conference in order to make the public aware of it, Gerrard wrote. There is no such constitutional obligation. But whatever counsel is arguing, its not a Brady violation. Gerrard wrote that the loss of a child is devastating under any circumstance. Gardners parents are undoubtedly bereaved, and of course they have every right to be, Gerrard wrote. The events that led to this case were tragic for Gardners family and for Scurlocks. But not all tragic circumstances ultimately lead to legal liability. This is one of those instances. 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. RPaul Brown had just arrived home Monday evening after visiting his parents graves for Memorial Day when he heard a large explosion from the direction of a nearby industrial area south of downtown Omaha. Boom! Brown said. It shook the house. Two more heavy booms followed in rapid succession after the first at about 6:30 p.m., then a series of smaller booms, Brown said. His wife wondered if some partying neighbors were shooting fireworks, but Browns suspicions that the trouble was at a chemical plant two blocks away were soon confirmed. Black smoke soon billowed above the neighborhood and downtown Omaha, sirens wailed and hordes of gawkers flocked into the surrounding streets, railroad tracks and peoples yards as a chemical-fueled fire tore through the Nox-Crete Inc. warehouse at 1415 S. 20th St. Fire officials said no one was injured in the three-alarm blaze. Omaha firefighters, initially trying to battle the fire inside the warehouse, quickly realized that it was too dangerous and the building unstable and fell back to pour water on the flames from outside. The building, valued at $456,200, is a total loss, Battalion Chief Scott Fitzpatrick said. An automatic fire alarm at Nox-Crete alerted firefighters shortly before 7 p.m. Nobody was at the warehouse at the time, Fitzpatrick said. The fire quickly accelerated to a three-alarm blaze. At its peak, 50 Omaha Fire Department personnel, four aerial trucks and eight fire engines were deployed in fighting the fire, with two medic units also on the scene, Fitzpatrick said. The departments Foam Task Force was also deployed, pouring fire-suppressing foam on the blaze. Some of the chemicals sometimes dont really go out very well with the water, Fitzpatrick said. Foam kind of acts to kind of smother the vapors of it. The warehouse, east of 20th Street, is squeezed between two sets of railroad tracks, and lies below a steep embankment from a residential neighborhood. Firefighters couldnt get close to the fire to fight it, as it kept burning east away from where they could station themselves beside 20th Street. But it helped when, with the rail lines closed, Union Pacific Railroad personnel helped the Fire Department get a firetruck onto the tracks above to pour water down about midnight, Fitzpatrick said. The fire was suppressed enough to go down to a two-alarm status at about 11 p.m. Monday. By 1 a.m. Tuesday, the department was down to two engines and two ladder trucks at the scene. By 6 a.m., the fire had been reduced to a few hot spots and only two units remained. With how big this fire was, our aerial operations were the biggest factor, Fitzpatrick said. Some of our new newer aerial ladders have a high remote-control nozzle, he said. We dont even have to put firefighters up at the tip. The department used one of those remote-control aerials. Hundreds of people swarmed as close as they could get to watch and photograph the fire. Fitzpatrick estimated that early in the blaze, about 150 to 200 people were crowded about two blocks away near Jones Automotive. He said he was talking with a police officer about moving the onlookers back when there was an explosion and something in the fire flew about 50 feet up in the air. They pushed the crowd back. Omaha police evacuated neighborhoods from 13th to 20th Streets and Leavenworth to Martha Streets as smoke created a hazard in the area, although interviews Tuesday with people who live nearby indicated that many people did not leave their homes. Neighbors above the fire to the east described a chaotic scene in which throngs of cars and more than 100 people on foot crowded the street and private yards to watch the fire. Some gawkers even ventured onto the railroad tracks into the acrid black smoke to get close-up views and videos. The chaos led to arguments between residents and onlookers, including one that reportedly led to a neighbor firing a gun into the ground during a dispute over a man trespassing on her fathers yard. Police eventually arrived, the evacuation was ordered and much of the crowd dispersed about 11 or 11:30 p.m., neighbors said. Mariela Hernandez and her children, who live due east from the fire scene, watched in fear as smoke billowed above and, for a time, embers rained on their roof and driveway. Little parts of the fire were coming here, and we were scared the house was going to get on fire, Hernandez said. But the embers went out as they fell, said her son, Kevin. The family got the evacuation notice on his phone, but decided to stay, in part because the heavy traffic would have made it hard to get out, they said. Brown did evacuate, along with his wife and their 20-year-old Chihuahua, Munchkin. His son and brother came and got him Monday night. They made me go, because Im an old geezer, I guess, said Brown, who has lived in the house for 73 of his 75 years. The Columbus Community Center at 1523 S. 24th St. opened as a shelter for evacuees. Fitzpatrick said about 15 people went to the shelter. The evacuation was lifted early Tuesday morning. On Tuesday, the Nebraska Regional Poison Center sent a notice to Omaha-area emergency departments about the Nox-Crete plant fire. It is unknown what chemicals were involved, the notice read. Some of the chemicals may contain hydrocarbons which can cause respiratory irritation if inhaled and possibly (central nervous system) depression. So far, the notice reads, the poison center had been contacted by one person with an indirect exposure who was experiencing dizziness. Emergency departments were asked to contact the poison center if they see any affected patients. Douglas Countys main air-quality monitor near 41st and Pacific Streets didnt pick up the smoke Monday night because the wind was blowing the wrong way, a county official said Tuesday. At the height of the fire, more than 2,380 OPPD customers between Leavenworth to Grover and from Ninth to 26th Streets were without power. Power had been restored to most of the customers by midnight and to all customers overnight. MUD, OPPD, Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Railroads assisted at the scene. For a time, trains were halted in the area. Nox-Crete, according to its website, produces chemicals to keeping concrete from sticking to tools and forms. Its product line also includes bond breakers, liquid floor hardeners, joint fillers, sealing compounds and water repellents. World-Herald staff writer Kevin Cole contributed to this report. 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. Christopher Burbach Chris Burbach covers the Douglas County Board, Planning Board and other local government bodies, as well as local neighborhood issues. Follow him on Twitter @chrisburbach. Phone: 402-444-1057. Follow Christopher Burbach Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today A former Bellevue elementary school principal was sentenced Wednesday to two years probation, including the first 10 days in jail, after being found guilty of injuring a motorcyclist while driving drunk. Andrew C. Miller, 47, of Omaha, was arrested Sept. 17, 2021, after a causing a collision near 141st and Pacific Streets that injured Omaha motorcyclist Bruce Blaydes. The 59-year-old Blaydes was treated at Creighton University Medical Center-Bergan Mercy. Miller also was found guilty of reckless driving, a misdemeanor. In addition to probation, he was ordered to pay Blaydes $20,000 in restitution. He also had his drivers license revoked for 18 months. It was the second misdemeanor drunken-driving conviction for Miller. At the time of the crash, he was principal at LeMay Elementary School in Bellevue. Miller resigned on Sept. 22, according to a spokeswoman for the Bellevue Public Schools. Investigators determined that Miller and Blaydes both were westbound on Pacific Street about 7:15 p.m. that day when Millers pickup truck rear-ended the motorcycle driven by Blaydes. An arrest affidavit said officers noticed Miller had bloodshot, watery eyes and slurred speech. Miller said he had been drinking multiple alcoholic beverages, but he refused a preliminary breath test, according to the affidavit. He was arrested after a blood test completed at the Nebraska Medical Center found Miller to have a blood-alcohol level of .08. Douglas County court records show Miller was charged with misdemeanor first-offense drunken driving after an arrest on Aug. 29, 2009. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six months probation and a $400 fine. Miller had been with the Bellevue Public Schools for 17 years and was principal at LeMay for nine of those years. 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. Representatives of several city, county and state departments will present information and field people's questions at a public meeting this evening about the Nox-Crete chemical plant warehouse fire. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at The Berkley, 1901 Leavenworth St. in downtown Omaha. Representatives are expected to be there from the Omaha Police, Fire, and Public Works Departments, the Douglas County Health Department, and the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy, among others. The meeting is open to the public, but it's intended for people living in neighborhoods near Nox-Crete's burned warehouse, 1415 S. 20th St., particularly those from the area evacuated during the fire. That was 13th to 20th Street, from Martha to Leavenworth Streets. Each department or agency is being asked to give a two- to five-minute presentation, then people from the public can ask their own questions, said Douglas County Board Member Roger Garcia, whose district includes downtown and South Omaha. He organized the meeting because so many of his constituents have questions and concerns about the fire. For people who can't attend in person, the meeting will be on Zoom here (use passcode: 165546). The meeting will also be streamed live on the Douglas County Facebook page. 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 Sarpy County Attorneys Office has welcomed a new four-legged employee: Trio, a trained facility dog. Trio, a 2-year-old Labrador retriever, joined the staff in May. His job duties include creating a sense of calm at the courthouse while also providing emotional support to crime victims and witnesses, especially children. Trio is partnered with Jean Brazda, the Sarpy County Attorneys Office chief of staff. The duo trained together in April at Canine Companions in New Albany, Ohio. Im proud that were able to provide a facility dog for crime victims who have experienced trauma, Brazda said. They need to know they are not going through the process alone. Trio, like other dogs from Canine Companions, went through 16 months of obedience and socialization training, followed by six months of intensive training geared toward his specific assignment. He was provided to Brazda to work in the Sarpy County Attorneys Office at no cost. Brazda previously worked with Manny, the first courthouse facility dog in Nebraska. Manny worked in the County Attorneys Office for eight years. He died in January. For the past eight years, weve seen firsthand the important role a facility dog can play in a courthouse setting, Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov said in a statement. Were excited to have Trio at the Sarpy County Courthouse and know hes going to do amazing work. 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. Twelve years ago today, a Cass County district judge sentenced Douglas Countys former top crime scene investigator, David Kofoed, to 20 months to four years in prison for tampering with evidence. In March 2010, Judge Randall Rehmeier convicted Kofoed, 53, of planting blood evidence to bolster the prosecution of Matthew Livers and Nicholas Sampson, who were charged in the 2006 shotgun slayings of Murdock farmers Wayne and Sharmon Stock. In 2006, Kofoed was helping build a criminal case against the two Nebraska cousins, who ultimately were found to have no connection to the slayings. A speck of murder victim Wayne Stocks blood was found on a piece of filter paper that Kofoed said he used to swab a car authorities thought Sampson and Livers used the night of the killings. The speck of blood was the only evidence among 420 items that linked the cousins to the slayings. Livers and Sampson were arrested before law enforcement eventually linked the killings to two Wisconsin teens, who later pleaded guilty. Charges against Livers and Sampson were later dropped. At the trial, Rehmeier also allowed special prosecutor Clarence Mock to present evidence involving the 2003 murder of a 4-year-old Plattsmouth boy. In the Plattsmouth case, Kofoed had produced a perfect DNA sample of the childs blood from inside a Bellevue trash bin five months after the boys father supposedly put his body there. Rehmeier said Kofoeds crime was particularly egregious because his actions tarnished the reputation of Nebraskas criminal justice system. The criminal justice system will not tolerate, nor shy away from, investigating allegations of misconduct. I think the criminal justice system needs to be cleansed every once in a while from people who attack it from the inside, and the result will be severe and a conviction, special prosecutor Clarence Mock said following the sentencing. Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine noted that Kofoed was convicted of a crime involving forethought and calculation not a crime of passion. Its a crime that I would categorize as one of the worst tampering with evidence in a case as a law enforcement officer, Kleine said. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. DENVER (AP) A Denver-based federal appeals court has agreed with a lower court's dismissal of a lawsuit that claimed the 2020 presidential election was stolen from President Donald Trump and had been rigged by Dominion Voting Systems, Facebook (now Meta) and others. Friday's opinion from the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, first reported by Colorado Politics, found that eight plaintiffs from across the U.S. had no standing to assert that the outcome of the election violated the constitutional rights of every registered voter in the United States. The lawsuit relied on baseless conspiracy theories spread by Trump and his supporters that the election was stolen in favor of Joe Biden. Among others, it named Facebook and Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems, whose election machines remain the focus of some of the most fevered and continuing unfounded speculation about voting fraud. U.S. Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter dismissed the lawsuit in April 2021, finding the plaintiffs failed to show they had suffered specific injuries due to the election result and thus had no standing to bring the lawsuit. The appeals court agreed and dismissed the plaintiffs' request to make the lawsuit a class action on behalf of all registered U.S. voters. Neureiter in November ordered two lawyers who filed the lawsuit to pay more than $180,000 in attorneys fees for the defendants but delayed the order pending the appeal. Telephone messages seeking comment from the lawyers, Gary D. Fielder and Ernest J. Walker, on Tuesday were not immediately returned. The penalties included $62,930 payable to Dominion and $50,000 to Facebook, which the lawsuit alleged censored conservative voices leading up to the election. Repeated audits and recounts found no significant fraud in the presidential election. Trumps own administration said the election was clean. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. JACKSON, Miss. (AP) The Mississippi attorney general is deciding whether to file a lawsuit to recover $2.3 million in public money that the state auditor said was misspent by a community college and some business leaders. A spokesman for Auditor Shad White told the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal that Itawamba Community College, a former college dean, owners of furniture manufacturing company Chapter 3 Inc. and a former employee of the furniture company have not repaid the Workforce Enhancement Training funds. The auditors office demanded the money in October, but it does not have authority to pursue civil or criminal sanctions. Cases go to the attorney generals office. Attorney General Lynn Fitch's chief of staff, Michelle Williams, said the office is evaluating whether to file suit. Fitchs office could have started investigating the case late last year. But when the Daily Journal contacted the agencies, both discovered miscommunication had caused a delay. Legislators this year largely left the Workforce Enhancement Training fund laws unchanged. Most of the demand letter recipients have denied mishandling the training money, even as criminal cases are pending. The money is collected through an unemployment insurance tax on businesses. The funds were previously controlled by the Mississippi Community College Board. The Office of Workforce Development was rebranded as Accelerate Mississippi and now oversees the roughly $25 million, though it is required to collaborate with the community college board. Accusations of misspending happened while the community college board still had oversight. The Senate this year introduced a bill to tweak the training funds. House leaders amended it by directing Accelerate alone to administer and oversee the funds. That language was removed from the bill's final version, so state law still provides a role for the community college board. Accelerate Executive Director Ryan Miller told the Daily Journal that the organization has worked with an accounting firm and set regulations to ensure training dollars are spent properly. Those guardrails include asking community colleges to apply for training funds similar to how other government groups use a Request for Proposal process to solicit bids from vendors. For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Early voting for the June 28 special 1st Congressional District election is underway. The election will decide who will serve the remaining six months of what had been Rep. Jeff Fortenberrys ninth term. Two state senators were chosen by their respective political parties: Democrat Patty Pansing Brooks and Republican Mike Flood. They both will also square off in the Nov. 8 general election in a battle for a two-year term after winning the primary vote. Nebraskas 1st District includes Madison, Stanton, Cuming, Platte, Colfax, Dodge, Butler, Seward, Lancaster and Cass Counties, along with parts of Sarpy County (including La Vista and the bulk of Papillion) and northeastern Polk County. Early voting started Tuesday. Lancaster County Election Commissioner David Shively reminded residents that state law permits any registered voter to vote an early/absentee ballot, but they must request that ballot in writing. An early/absentee ballot request form is available through the Nebraska Secretary of State website at sos.nebraska.gov/elections/2022-elections (click on 2022 Special ElectionU.S. Congressional District 1). June 17 is the last day for voters to return an early/absentee ballot application to their county election office. Fortenberry announced his resignation from Congress March 26, two days after a federal jury convicted him of one count of concealing conduit campaign contributions and two counts of lying to federal agents. He has since requested the convictions be overturned. The judge in the case has scheduled a hearing on Fortenberrys request on the same day as the former congressmans sentencing, which happens to be the same day as the special election, June 28. The old saying might go, its not the grades you make, its the hands you shake, but in truth it takes equal parts classroom experiences and professional connections to launch a career today. While student academic achievement is the primary mission of every university, the importance of building connections between students and prospective employers primarily through internships is undeniable. But not all internships are created equal, and neither are the outcomes. A recent study from the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that in 2021, students who worked paid internships were nearly twice as likely to receive a job offer than those who didnt take on an internship at all. The study sends a very clear message: paid internships are the difference between meaningful employment and underemployment. This matters even more when according to UNOs Center for Public Affairs Research, Nebraska has lost 2,000 college educated people per year to other states over the last 10 years. To make matters worse, 72% of those losses are from individuals between the ages of 20 to 29 years old. Added up over time, the lost economic potential is staggering. But why are paid internships so important? And what do paid internships have to do with young people leaving the state? Students from low-income backgrounds who often need to work part- or full-time jobs to support their academic journeys quite literally cannot afford to work for free. At the University of Nebraska at Omaha, nearly 80 percent of our student body are already employed full- or part-time in addition to their coursework. When we restrict who can gain meaningful work experience and build connections while in college based on their economic background, two things happen. First, low-income students who are unable to take on an unpaid internship are at a disadvantage in the states job market, forcing them to look out of state for a career they can apply their degree to, or remain underemployed in Nebraska. Second, because employers place an emphasis on internships during their recruitment process, the talent pool for them to pick from in our state shrinks, and those employers end up looking out of state for talent. Both outcomes contribute directly to what is called brain drain, or the emigration of high-skilled people from one state to another. If we truly want to make a difference in our community and slow brain drain, universities in our state must play a more active role in connecting our students with paid internships in their communities. Similarly, as we attract talent from out of state, we must make an extra effort to retain those students and keep them in our Omaha community. Earlier this month we announced a groundbreaking partnership with nearly 50 Omaha-based companies and non-profits called UNO Career Connect to close this gap. Through this program, partner employers that include Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, and nonprofits pledge a certain number of internship positions to UNO students. For UNO students especially the one-third of our student body that is Pell grant-eligible and the roughly 25 percent that are Nebraska Promise eligible it opens up new opportunities, experiences, connections that they wouldnt have had otherwise. For employers, it provides a new level of access to the talent they need to move their businesses forward. Most importantly, for our state, it keeps top talent in Nebraska, effectively turning the tide against brain drain. More than 1,800 UNO students received their diplomas during Spring 2022 Commencement ceremonies on Friday at Baxter Arena. Each of these students and the thousands more who will follow in the years ahead have an incredible amount of talent and love for their campus communities. The graduates that we fail to keep in Nebraska will be another states gain. We owe it to our students and the future of our state to give them every opportunity to work, live, grow, and make a difference right here in Nebraska. Joanne Li, Ph.D., CFA, is the chancellor of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. CHARLESTON Eastern Illinois University announced on Tuesday that Matthew Bierman has been hired as its new vice president for business affairs. Bierman will come to Eastern from Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, where beginning in 2018 he served as chief financial officer, a member of the Presidents Cabinet, and liaison to the Board of Trustees for a variety of board committees. David Glassman, president of Eastern, said in a news release that Bierman's addition to the EIU team will benefit the university greatly. Throughout the interview process, Matt clearly exhibited his ability to lead through passionate collaboration across myriad departments and functions," Glassman said. "We are excited for him to join the team and cant wait to see how his leadership will positively impact the business and corporate relationship functions of the university. Prior to his time at Illinois Wesleyan, Bierman served as the vice president for administrative Services (2016-18), interim director of business services (2014-18), director of university budget (2011-17) and director of residential facilities (2006-12) at Western Illinois University, among other roles at this Macomb institution from 1999 to 2006. Bierman is scheduled to assume his new role at Eastern on July 5. As the top-ranked, most affordable public university in the state of Illinois, EIU continues to position itself for successes through its focus on students, its delivery of quality educational opportunities, and by meeting the emerging needs of our society, Bierman said. Contact Rob Stroud at (217) 238-6861. Follow him on Twitter: @TheRobStroud 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. SPRINGFIELD Doctors in Illinois may now perform abortions on minors without notifying the childs parents or obtaining a judicial bypass of the notification requirement. Thats because a bill passed by the General Assembly during last years fall veto session and signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker repealing the states 1995 parental notification requirement officially took effect Wednesday. That development came as the U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to overturn its landmark 1973 decision in Roe vs. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide, and as the debate over abortion rights has become a central issue in this years elections. House Bill 370 passed the General Assembly in October despite opposition from some Democrats. It creates the Youth Health and Safety Act which, among other things, declares it to be public policy in Illinois that residents and people coming into the state should have access to reproductive health care, free of unnecessary barriers or bans on particular procedures. It also repeals the 1995 Parental Notice of Abortion law, which did not go into effect until 2013 due to prolonged litigation. Supporters of repealing the law argued that it imposed an undue burden on young pregnant women, especially those who became pregnant through rape or incest, while opponents argued that the notification requirement protected a parents right to guide their childs health care. Those same arguments were reiterated Wednesday as groups on both sides of the issue reacted to the new law taking effect. It is a grave injustice that the Illinois General Assembly and Governor Pritzker repealed this law, the Catholic Conference of Illinois said in a statement Wednesday. The Parental Notice of Abortion Act was a broadly-supported, reasonable safeguard that allowed Illinois parents to properly exercise love and care for their children. But the ACLU of Illinois, which lobbied in favor of the repeal, said the new law gives young people more autonomy over their own health care. Prior to today, pregnant young people could make any medical decision without barriers except abortion. Now thankfully they have the same right to make a confidential decision about their health care as everyone else, Emily Werth, staff attorney at the ACLU of Illinois, said in a statement. Today abortion is treated just like all other forms of health care in this state. Meanwhile, Pritzker was on the campaign trail in East St. Louis Wednesday where he hosted an event with local lawmakers and Planned Parenthood of Illinois to tout his support for abortion rights and to criticize his Republican challengers for their opposition to abortion. Every Republican running for governor of Illinois this year wants to make Illinois an anti-choice state. Every single one of them, he said. Asked about those remarks at a separate news conference, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, who is leading the GOP pack in recent polls, avoided discussing his own views about abortion but instead accused Pritzker of using abortion to sidestep other issues. He doesnt want to talk about the fact that crime is spinning out of control in the state of Illinois. Taxes and wasteful spending is spinning out of control, he said. He doesnt want to talk about the corruption that has prevented us from going forward and progressing as a state. He wants to talk about things that are already determined to be codified law in the state of Illinois. When pressed by a reporter to say whether he would reinstate the parental notification law if he is elected governor, Irvin said, absolutely. Reinstating that law would require action from the General Assembly. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Was there a moment when it dawned on you that the Uvalde massacre of 19 schoolchildren and two teachers is not going to result in any meaningful change in our nations gun laws? I suspect that there wasnt. As a nation, weve already accepted the subtext that plays in the background of all mass shootings: These deaths are merely the collateral damage that we incur for maintaining our right to own a firearm. If the murders of 20 6- and 7-year-olds at Sandy Hook didnt move us to action, why would 19 more deaths of children in Uvalde? In other words, in the aftermath of the heartbreaking slaughter last week, few expected Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to champion bold new plans to prevent further school shootings. Still, it was jarring to hear Abbott minimize the death toll in Uvalde by comparing it to the murder rate in Chicago. When you start a sentence with I hate to say this, its probably a signal that you shouldnt. But this is a lesson that Abbott hasnt learned: I hate to say this, but there are more people who are shot every weekend in Chicago than there are in schools in Texas. This is misleading, at best, and its cold comfort to the families in Uvalde who lost their children. Abbott was relying on an oblivious rationale for doing nothing about gun laws. Nevertheless, he conceded that there are things that can be done to prevent school shootings. Abbott said, Anybody who shoots somebody else has a mental health challenge. Period. The government, he said, needs to find ways to target this mental health challenge and do something about it. He pointed out that in a 40-county region around Uvalde, there are no mental health hospitals. He noted a great need for a physical mental health care facility in this region, as well as more personnel, more strategies to deal with the challenges of mental health. What else can we do? Abbott referred to 2019 legislation regarding school hardening, measures that should make it more difficult for shooters to enter schools. Sen. Ted Cruz said that after the Santa Fe, Texas, school shooting in 2018, parents of some of the eight students killed stressed to him the importance of making schools invincible, even if it requires turning them into armed camps defended by security guards and teachers with guns. In other words, despite their reluctance to pass laws that will keep high-powered, high-capacity weapons out of the hands of school shooters, our state and national leaders regularly tout measures that they say could stem the bloodshed. Which leaves us with one question: Why havent they enacted them? Republicans have been in charge of Texas since 1994, the last year a Democrat won a statewide election. If Abbott knows that a 40-county area surrounding Uvalde has no mental health care facilities, why arent Texas Republicans responsible for that failure? And if school hardening is the answer, why havent schools in Texas been hardened? Robb Elementary School in Uvalde certainly wasnt hardened, and reporting from the Texas Tribune and elsewhere indicates that the district in Uvalde is more typical than exceptional. If better mental health care facilities and hardened schools are the Republican answers to school shootings, why dont we have them in Texas, where Republicans have been in charge for three decades? Some Republicans blame the school districts, suggesting limitations on the powers of the Republican legislature and governor. But the Republicans in charge have not hesitated to impose their will on all Texas schools with regard to the teaching of critical race theory, gender issues and other matters that should be in the hands of educators. Republicans claim to support better mental health care and hardened schools, but I suspect that they themselves understand these are actually disingenuous dodges that deflect attention from the real issue. In any case, Republicans who have little faith in government are just not very good at governing, in Texas or elsewhere. And therefore the carnage continues. John M. Crisp is a Tribune News Service columnist. jcrispcolumns@gmail.com Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 McConnell will not allow Senate action to vote on even sensible gun regulation. The Texas governor's presser Wednesday blamed mass shootings on everything but ability to access military grade weapons at 18. In many states, at 18 one cannot even purchase alcohol and/or tobacco products. Yet here we are: at 18 a person can purchase a high velocity AR15. Many European and other nations have high rates of gun ownership yet none have the mass shootings that occur in America. Why? Most countries have a more restrictive firearm owning guidance policy. They wonder what is wrong with America. Comes up frequently when U.S. dignitaries attend multi-nation meetings. Switzerland found, in part, stricter background checks, rules prohibiting domestic abusers from owning weapons and secure locks on firearms in the home with decreased rates of gun-related deaths. Not really so restrictive is it. The NRA and the Texas governor did not cancel NRA convention just a few days from Uvalde shooting. Guess what, no guns allowed in convention center while some are speaking. Quite the double standard. Did you know NRA contributes big sums to many in Congress? One example: McConnells recent take $1,267,139. No wonder he and other GOP Senators do not want to have gun ownership policies. Do we continue spiraling down this road to mass shooting after mass shooting: schools, places of worship, movie theaters, malls, stores and other venues? There was just 10 days between these last two. Consider the emotional trauma especially to surviving children who witnessed, the guilt a mother has for just taking her daughter to school. Enough. I beg of everyone, use the power of the vote. Democrat, Republican or independent: hold accountable those unwilling to even discuss sensible gun legislation. Mary H. Haskell, Bloomington Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Please vote for Judge Amy McFarland for Circuit Judge in the Republican primary. Judge McFarland is the most experienced candidate. She has more than 20 years of varied legal and trial experience. She has served with distinction as an Associate Judge since her appointment by the Circuit Judges in 2016, causing her to be named presiding judge of the Family Court division, one of the most difficult divisions of the court. Her accomplishments have also been recognized by the Illinois Supreme Court, which has assigned her to teach family law to all judges in Illinois and to the COVID-19 operations Task Force. The people who are in the best position to assess Judge McFarland's judicial abilities are the attorneys who appear before her and the judges who served with her. Over 90% of the attorneys who practice before Judge McFarland ranked her as "recommended" in the Illinois State Bar Association Judicial Advisory Poll. The recommended ranking was based on the attorneys' experience with Judge McFarland's integrity, impartiality, legal ability, temperament, court management, health, and sensitivity. Judge McFarland's opponent received a ranking of "not recommended." At least 13 retired circuit judges endorse Judge McFarland for her fairness, honesty, knowledge, competence, and experience. Circuit judges play a very important role in our lives. Please vote for Judge McFarland - the candidate who has proven she is qualified to serve us well. Catherine A. Pratt, Bloomington Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Throughout her county board tenure, Sharon Chung has proven herself a conscientious and thorough representative. She asks hard questions that deserve response and is not afraid to bring voice to those often ignored. This governmental experience has prepared her well as she competes in the Democratic primary on June 28 for the new Bloomington-Normal 91st House District. If Jonathan Logemann brings the same energy to the U.S. Capitol that he brings to his classroom he would make a great representative for the Illinois 17th Congressional District. He teaches high school economics and business, is an Illinois Education Association union member, serves on the Rockford City Council and is an Illinois Army National Guard member, having served in Afghanistan. This varied service means Jonathan understands our challenges from the classroom, workplace, small business to foreign affairs. All politicians claim to love veterans, but they are few in D.C. Jonathans overseas service attunes him to our current service people and veterans to ensure they are more than thanked for their service, but cared for appropriately. Finally, having watched his previous service as Illinois Treasurer, Alexi Giannoulias would make a responsive Secretary of State. When he became State Treasurer, an immediate action was to halt campaign contributions from banks, contractors or employees. His vision includes ensuring open doors, responsiveness and a updated programs at our drivers license facilities. For the June 28 Democratic primary, these three would not only serve well, but make us proud. Mike Matejka, Normal Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, (GIPC) has revealed that there are a lot of investment opportunities in the Upper West Region that remain untapped and could be profiled and marketed to the investment market both locally and internationally. If you look at the various resources that the region has, I believe there are a lot more that have not been captured, and it is important for us to let the world know what is bound in the region, the GIPC said. Mr Edward Ashong-Lartey, the Director of Investor Services at the GIPC, revealed this in Wa on Tuesday during a sensitisation for the general public, business community and the Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) in the region on the activities of the GIPC and ways in which the centre could support their businesses to grow. The GIPC is carrying out a nationwide public sensitization to enable the business community and the public to understand the mandate and operations of the centre as well as to identify business opportunities that could be marketed for investment. About 120 people including businesses, representatives of the various MDAs and members of the public participated in the sensitization. Mr Ashong-Lartey indicated that in spite of the many businesses and investment potentials in the region, only five businesses had registered and benefited from the GIPC since 1994. He observed that the centre was responsible for the promotion and coordination of both foreign and local investments in the Ghanaian economy. He encouraged the businesses to engage with the business development specialists at the GIPC to enable them profile specific business opportunities, which they could market to the investment community. There is a lot of enthusiasm among the business community in the region, the resources are there and there are willing entrepreneurs here, so together we can work to promote what the region has to offer, Mr Ashong-Lartey observed. Mr Mohammed Abdul-Mumin, the Upper West Regional Director of the Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA), said the GIPC mostly supported limited liability businesses and said most businesses in the region were sole proprietorships hence their inability to benefit from the GIPC. For businesses to grow, they go beyond one persons capabilities. You need to open up for other people to partner with you. The partnership will also increase employment and national incomes, he explained. Mr Abdul-Mumin urged the businesses and people in the region to maximize the business development opportunity the GIPC was presenting. 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 British High Commissioner to Ghana, Her Excellency Harriet Thompson, and Head of Strategic Partnerships and Diaspora, Jasmine Griffiths, have spent the first six months of 2022 visiting some British-Ghanaian movers and shakers working across the countrys business community. Harriet and Jasmine kicked-off their visits with the team at Shell Foundation, a UK charity supporting Freezelink, a Ghanaian temperature-controlled transport and warehousing company founded by Owusu Akoto. Both Owusu and the Shell Foundations West Africa Regional Manager, Kwaku Owusu-Achaw met with the British High Commission Team to talk about the progress of the company. Since the first visit to Freezelink at the beginning of the year, Harriet and Jasmine have gone on to visit and met with: Sylvia Arthur who founded LOATAD (Library of Africa and The African Diaspora), housing books by writers of African, African-American, Caribbean, Black European, Afro-Latin, and Indigenous descent; Izzy Obeng at Foundervine, an international training consultancy which made it onto Forbes 30 list of Social Impact 2022; Andrew Takyi- Appiah Director and co-Founder of Zeepay, one of Ghanas fastest growing Fintechs; Sustainability champion, Valerie Labi, co-founder of Cargo Bikes, who offer a solution to the problem of increasing carbon emissions from vehicles. And finally, Eben Awuah, at Dr Mensa Otabils newly built International Central Gospel Church-Christ Temple East, where Ebens company Amason, an audio-visual has just installed a state-of-the art sound system. The British High Commission in Ghana has long championed the work of British-Ghanaians; this increased after HRH Prince Charles and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall visited Ghana in 2018. Today the High Commission continues to work with our diaspora friends, partners and colleagues to grow opportunities and partnerships. The Mission worked closely with the Diaspora Affairs Office of the President and the Ministry of Tourism during the Year of Return and Beyond the Return initiative and continues to partner with Diaspora-led events such as Tech in Ghana, Afronation and Afrochella. To ensure the ongoing mutual success of the High Commissions work and partnership with the Diaspora, the Mission is growing by creating and recruiting two new leadership roles within the team: Head of Diaspora Relations & Strategic Partnerships, and Diaspora Engagement Manager. Commenting on the work of the Diaspora team, British High Commissioner to Ghana, Harriet Thompson said: The people connections between the UK and Ghana are to be treasured. Ghanaian-British, British-Ghanaians and members of the diaspora have so much to offer both countries. I have loved my visits to these trailblazers, and there are so many more on our list to visit. We want to do more with these communities, which is why we are expanding our Strategic Partnership & Diaspora team with two new roles. We are looking for individuals to own the High Commissions relationship with the diaspora and diaspora institutions and help to coordinate the main tools of the UKs cultural power. They will establish a new public-facing British-Ghana Diaspora Office the first of its type in the world for the UK, to build and enhance our strategic partnership with organisations such as the British Museum, V & A, Clarence House, Tech in Ghana, Ghana Museums Board, iconic British brands, and other major cultural institutions. Further information about the new vacancies: Head of Diaspora Relations and Strategic Partnerships Diaspora Engagement Manager HEO 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 Starsight Energy, a leading African commercial & industrial solar power supplier with a significant presence in Ghana, has been ranked the fastest growing solar and renewable energy company in Africa by the Financial Times (FT). According to the FT, in its inaugural ranking of Africas fastest-growing companies in 2022, Starsight is the sixth fastest growing company in Africa and the first energy and renewable energy on the list. The rankings show that Starsight made tremendous progress since its inception in 2015. The companys revenues in 2020 stood at US$8.886million as compared to its revenues in 2017 which was at US$0.832million. Currently, its absolute growth is 1154.403 percent and a compound annual growth rate of 132.351 percent. Staff strength of Starsight stood at 42 in 2017 but increased to 108 in 2020, hence making it to the fastest growing company rankings by FT. With more than 51MW of solar power installed in West Africa as at the end of 2021, the pan-African renewable energy company operates in three regions in Africa: West, East and South Africa with a clear plan to be in other regions. Managing Director for Starsight Energy Ghana, Emmanuel Ayifa Baah in an interview with the B&FT described the feat as humbling. It is humbling but at the same time it is a recognition of the hard work the team has put in place over the period. It is just natural that you get rewarded when you do solve a problem. It is humbling to know that what you are doing to help companies Go Green whiles saving them on electricity cost & carbon emissions has been recognised on a global scale. When you have a business operating the previous year only in Nigeria and just a year plus down the line, you have operations in Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and then into South Africa, obviously that is a major leap from one location to all of these locations, Mr. Ayifa Baah said. Operations in Ghana Delving deeper into the companys operations in Ghana, Mr. Ayifa Baah explained that there is some 10MW of solar power under deployment for commercial and industrial institutions with over 50percent installed. The bulk of our installations are in Accra but we have installations in Kumasi, and some parts of the Eastern Region, he said. Mr. Ayifa Baah, striking an optimistic tone, said by the end of 2022, Starsight Energy Ghana is seeking to have more than 10MW installed for Commercial & Industrial clients. The call to adopt solar as a more sustainable power option With the recent request for increment in electricity tariffs as a result of a general increase in generation cost of utility companies, Mr. Baah urged consumers, especially commercial and industrial users of power, to look at solar as a more sustainable option. When you go solar, you save money and protect the environment at the same time, he said, adding that at Starsight, their lease-to-own package lead to consumers saving at least 15 to 45 percent of their monthly electricity bills. We run a lease-to-own model. We build the solar plant at our cost, we maintain it at our cost, you just pay for using the plant and while you are paying, you are acquiring it. Our contracts start from five years and if you want a contract for over 10 years, we can, we are very flexible with our options. You do not incur any additional cost; you are still paying your monthly utility at a reduced amount and yet get to own the plant within a number of years. Our target starts from 15 percent reduction in your tariff all the way to 45 percent per kilowatts hour savings on electricity cost, Mr. Ayifa Baah added. 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 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. Lightening accompanied by a thunderstorm on Monday struck three teenagers in Ho, killing one and left two others unconscious. The family of the deceased suspect their relative was struck by a "thunder god" and has therefore moved to Nogokpo to consult the oracle. Emmanuel Dorli, 17, known in Ho as a coconut seller, died instantly when the lightening struck during a late afternoon rainfall Monday (May 30, 2022). As of midday Tuesday, the body was still lying in the open, covered with plantain leaves. The incident happened opposite the regional head office of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). The deceased was a student of the Sokode Senior High Technical School. Two female students Two female students who were walking together with the deceased were also struck unconscious by the lightening. The students, whose names are yet to be disclosed, were rushed to the Ho Municipal Hospital where they were treated and discharged. Rituals Some residents insisted that rituals needed to be performed for the deities of the land before the body could be taken away. At the time of filing this report, a team of police personnel and officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) were at the scene of the incident. Some members of the family of the deceased turned up at the scene to request for more time to enable them consult a shrine and return to perform the appropriate rituals before the body could be sent to the morgue. 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 A total of 500 trained lifeguards over the weekend, passed out at the Eastern Naval Base in Tema New Town, in the Greater Accra Region. The trained lifeguards, drawn from about nine regions in the country, comprised of both males and females. They are expected to be deployed to save lives on Ghana's water bodies across the country. Speaking at the passing out ceremony, Mr. Kwaku Ofori Asiama, Minister of Transport, congratulated the trainees and urged them to use their acquired skills to save lives on the Volta Lake and other water bodies. He said as part of the project, the government would provide free life jackets to commuters on the Volta Lake and help educate residents along the lake. "This project will also provide jobs to the youth in the coastal areas," he said. The Basic Water Safety and Life Guard Training Course was made possible as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the Ministry of Transport and Ecozoil, a subsidiary of the Jospong Group of Companies (JGC) and fell under the Volta Lake Transport Safety Project (VLTSP). The course was undertaken in two parts with the first part commencing on February 11, this year, which lasted for six weeks. The Executive Chairman, JGC, Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, in a short address, urged the lifeguards to do their best to make water transport safer in the country. He announced that his outfit will provide three-speed boats to the Ghana Navy to help support the security agency in its naval operations. The VLTSP, he explained, had become necessary because of the challenges bedeviling transportation on the Volta Lake and other water bodies in the country. "Transportation on the Volta Lake is plagued with challenges including lack of life jackets for commuters, overloading on boats, and lack of safety education on the lake," he bemoaned. He said the project would provide employment for the youth from communities along the Volta Lake and equip them with basic skills in water survival and rescue operations to ensure safety of commuters on the lake. "In addition, it helps to maintain cleanliness at the various landing sites, provide safety education to both boat operators and commuters, provide life jackets to commuters to protect them on the lake," he added. Dr Siaw Agyepong disclosed that the project covers 40 municipal district assemblies (MDAs). He, therefore, thanked the Transport Minister for the confidence he reposed in his company which resulted in the renewal of the project. "I also want to thank the Chief of the Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Isaah Yakubu, the Flight Officer Commanding the Eastern Naval Command Commodore Emmanuel Ayensu Kwafio, for the training of the lifeguards. "To the Ecozoil team, let's work hard to ensure that the project achieves its objectives so it can become a model for other countries in the world to emulate," he charged the trainees. 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 Ghana National Gas Company has cut sod for the construction of two separate three-bedroom doctors' bungalows for the Kyebi Government Hospital in the Abuakwa South Municipality of the Eastern Region. This is to help solve accommodation challenges facing the hospital. Many newly posted doctors are compelled to turn down posting to the area due to the challenge of accommodation. It is as a result of this that Ghana Gas decided to start the project for the health personnel to enable them to provide essential health services to the people. Speaking at the grounds breaking ceremony, Municipal Chief Executive for Abuakwa South Akosua Asabea Annor said quality healthcare is anchored on the kind of dignity and respect society gives to healthcare personnel coupled with the availability of medical equipment, adding that the lack of accommodation has been a hindrance to quality healthcare in the municipality. She believes the provision of the doctors' flats will help reduce the accommodation challenges of the Kyebi Government Hospital and ensure quality healthcare for the people. Assistant Manager in charge of Project for Ghana Gas and the Project Director Humphrey Senam assured that they will work assiduously to complete the project within six months and called for cooperation. Speaking on behalf of the Okyenhene, the Guantuahemaa for Akyem Abuakwa and a Board Member for Ghana Gas, Nana Adwoa Esaah Bene, said the construction of the doctors' bungalow will end the syndrome of no accommodation, a situation which scares many medical officers away from taking appointments in the area. The Hospitals Administrator, Divine Nartey, said medical staff are still struggling with accommodation, making their work very difficult, but added that in spite of the challenges, personnel had dedicated themselves to duty. 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 minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has said government is poised to use ICT to transform the newly created regions. Speaking at the 3rd Girls in ICT event held at Akyerensua in the Ahafo Region, Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful hinted on a monitoring mechanism employed by her ministry to ensure the tools given and the knowledge impacted are utilised for the intended purpose. We are focusing on the new regions so not to leave anyone behind. We shall follow up to ensure the skills acquired are put to good use she said. Under the theme; Access and Safety, this years girls in ICT is looking at access of internet for girls and the safety of users. The best 100 girls were presented with laptops and certificates. The best 20 girls will have fully furnished ICT laboratories established in the schools. The legislator noted the STEM education site at Akrodie, a suburb of Goaso will be used to advance ICT studies for many that will like to pursue their interest in the field of Science, Engineering and ICT. She also hinted that more computer laboratories and Rural Telephony Sites are being constructed to enhance the voice and data connectivity for the rural folks in the region. However, she reminded the people to register their SIM cards before July to avoid it being blocked. We are not going to extend the deadline for registration of the SIM cards again because the deadline has been extended already, make sure you register by the end of July because we want to use thatto fight cybercrime in the country. I am appealing to all of you to get a Ghana Card and use it to register otherwise youll lose your card either for voice or data services she warns. Regional Minister for the Ahafo Region, George Yaw-Boakye in his welcome address expressed gratitude to the Ministry for considering such a young region as part of beneficiaries for the Girls in ICT initiative. He eulogised Mrs. Ursula Owusu Ekuful for her great work towards ensuring that ICT education is spread across the country and bridging the digital gender gap. 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 Head of Linguistics at the University of Ghana, Professor Kofi Agyekum, popularly called Opanyin Agyekum, has issued a stern caution to political parties, particularly the New Patriotic Party, against the culture of vote buying; technically described as "monecracy". Monecracy in the Ghanaian political context refers to the political aspirants inducing delegates with items and money in order to woo them. The New Patriotic Party (NPP), over the weekend, elected their Regional executives in the party's Regional delegates elections and information is rife that some of the aspirants splashed huge monies on the delegates to vote for them. Speaking to host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" programme, Opanyin Agyekum highlighted the dangers of this monecracy and warned the political aspirants to refrain from such behavior saying, "if care is not taken, any person at all with too much money will become President and someone else having lots of money will just become an MP without having the required capabilities and qualifications . . . Sometimes, when you look at a candidate who won elections, you ask yourself how would such a person have won if not for his or her money". "Let's be very careful . . . for how long will this continue?", he queried. He was also worried this monetization in partisan politics has taken over youth politics in the Universities as he feared the kind of leaders that the youth desiring to lead the nation in the political sphere may turn out to be when they assume political offices. 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 The incumbent Ashanti Regional Chairman for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has expressed gratitude to elders Nana Nkansah Ayeaboafo and Amb. Edward Boateng, his Campaign Team, his entire staff led by Andy Owusu and Nana Afia and the entire leadership and supporters of the NPP in the Ashanti Region for his decisive re-election. Chairman Wontumi, over the weekend, retained his seat as the NPP Regional Chairman in the Ashanti Region. Chairman Wontumi first won the position in 2014 and was re-elected in 2018. Before this, he was the Constituency Chairman for Bosomtwe. At the end of the elections, Chairman Wontumi polled 464 votes against that of his closest contender, Chairman Odeneho Kwaku Appiah (COKA), who got 306 votes, having served as Constituency Chairman for Afigya Kwabre South for close to 20 years. Robert Asare Bediako, a former Asokwa Constituency Chairman who entered the contest for the second time, came third with 20 votes. Kwabena Owusu Aduomi, a former Member of Parliament for Ejisu, came fourth with nine votes. Oheneba Kofi Adum Bawuah managed three votes at the fifth position. Speaking to the media after his victory, Chairman Wontumi, expressed appreciation to the leadership and supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for another opportunity to lead the Ashanti Region ahead of the Breaking the 8 agenda. I wish to express my heartfelt appreciation to the leadership and supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for their unflinching support and votes in the recent elections. I believe if we are united, we will break the 8. He further noted that his re-election was an indication that the NPP has a stronger chance of "Breaking the 8" in the 2024 elections. Breaking the 8 has started from the Baba Yara Stadium; NDC you cannot stop us, he said. He said the NPP has a strong message for Ghanaians and before this could be translated into governance, the party must be united and ready to break the 8. We should demonstrate this by standing together and be united so that we are able to break the 8 in 2024, he admonished. Chairman Wontumi stressed that we may have our differences but we need to work together since a lot is expected from us as a formidable political party. The NPP believes in healthy competition. He praised all the aspirants for the efforts they put in and asked that they all join hands as a team to break the 8. He reiterated the Partys commitment to making Ghana the jewel of Africa. 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 Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has denied claims attributed to him that he went public to contradict the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin regarding the release of funds to Parliament to run its business. According to him, he did not go out to undermine the Speaker but only spoke to the issues he knew concerning the release of some monies to the House. Apparently, some communication had been made to the Speaker that I had gone out to contradict him in public, so the Speaker came to the House and made some statements which I consider unfortunate. Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu refuted the claim when he commented on the issue on Tuesday in Parliament in a bid to clarify the matter, which he said was borne out of miscommunication. The Majority Leader also explained that on Wednesday May 25, 20222, the Director of Finance and the Clerk of Parliament came to him to discuss the status of Parliaments finances and in their presence, called the Controller and Accountant General (CAG) because, it appeared the situation was dire. He said the Attorney General assured him that twenty-five million cedis (GH25,000,000) was going to be released to the House by the close of the day and later called the Director of Finance who confirmed that the money had been released to Parliament. He said it appeared the Speaker was not aware the GH25 million had been released to the House and was surprised to hear on Thursday that the Speaker had made a statement to the extent that Parliament did not have the money to run its usual business. He said the Friday morning radio interview in Kumasi only sought to clarify that some amount of money has been released to Parliament and not to undermine the Speaker. I did not go out there to contradict the Speaker but only spoke out to what he knew. My prayer is that collectively, the leadership and the Speaker shall have to invite the Minister of Finance and the Controller and Accountant General, that going forward, these occasional hitches do not occur he added. After the comment by the Majority Leader, Speaker Bagbin also replied by stating that members were aware of the challenges Parliament is facing in connection with the delays in budgetary releases to the House to run its business. He explained that for the first quarter of 2022, Parliament was expected to receive GH54 million to run its programmes but only Seven million cedis was released, and the GH25 million which has been released is part of arrears of GH84 million for 2021. We are giving you this information so that leadership and the Speaker are not blamed for not responding positively to the request of members and committees to transact their business because the there is not there, that is why we find ourselves in this situation, he said. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The British High Commissioner to Ghana, Harriet Thompson is surprised at a four-page response from the Ghana Police Service following her tweet on the arrest of Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a Convener of FixTheCountry Movement. The statement which has been described as "harsh and strong-worded" asked the British High Commissioner to "keep within the limits of what concerns her" "Ordinarily, the Ghana Police Service would not have responded to comments such as yours, obviously made from either a biased or uninformed position. However, we have learnt from previous, painful experience that it has not been helpful to ignore such misguided, unwarranted and biased comments intended to tarnish the reputation of the Ghana Police Service and that of our country" the statement signed by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare indicated. "For the moment, we would recommend a Ghanaian saying that might guide you in your diplomatic engagements. The saying goes: 'di wo fie asem' it means learn to keep within the limits of what concerns you, the statement added. Speaking on Accra-based television station, GHOne, Madam Thompson said: To me, it feels like a stretch. It feels like me saying I am interested in something is a long way from people saying we must take to the streets". It is clear from the reaction that it has not been received in the way that it was intended. I wasnt expecting a response from the IGP at all...commenting on something that is of great interest to a lot of people in a country is not interfering in the affairs of that country. There are other articles of the Vienna Convention that could be relevant in this case. She is, however, "looking forward to move beyond this incident and continuing to work with the Ghanaian police force as well as the very many other institutions that we enjoy very good relationships with." NDC Reacts Meanwhile, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has described as "regrettable and misguided" a letter from the Ghana Police Service to the British High Commissioner, Harriet Thompson. According to the party, the IGP "should have raised his concerns about the British High Commissioners tweet on Oliver Barker-Vormawors latest arrest with Ghanas Foreign Minister through the Minister for the Interior for it to be addressed via the usual diplomatic channels". "The IGPs regrettable and misguided letter has the tendency of jeopardising the enviable cordial bilateral relations between Ghana and Britain. Ghana and the UK have shared strong friendly bilateral relations and official communications must avoid tones and language which are considerably discourteous, offensive and needlessly provocative," the statement signed by Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the General Secretary of NDC . 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 Bernard Allotey Jacobs has jabbed the organizers of the June 4th protest over their request to the Police to allow them carry weapons to the streets. Broadcasters Captain Smart, Okatakyie Afrifa and Convener of the FixtheCountry Movement, Oliver Barker-Vormawor are the organizers of the yet-to-be held demonstration. They are reported to have sent a letter to the Police saying, "we will bring our own security company to provide protection to demonstrators. All weapons held by demonstrators or by the contracted security personal will be for personal protection only; and all weapons will be duly permitted in accordance with the Arms and Ammunitions Act, 1972 (NRCD 9) e) Proposed route and destination: We expect that the Demonstrators will gather at Circle". They also demand that they address the nation on the State-owned media. The procession will move from Circle to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, where the Protestors will make a demand a slot on GTV to speak directly to the Nation and lay out our grievances, in accordance with Article 55(11), which guarantees fair opportunity to Ghanaians to present their programmes to the public through equal access to the state-owned media," the letter stated. But Allotey Jacobs is taken aback by the ridiculous demands of the group stating, "for them to go to Broadcasting and be given a chance to talk to the nation is like a coup d'etat". He wondered why the group will make such demands if they have no ulterior motives. "We all have been on the streets always championing our course. What is the course for? Look, you can't camouflage something with a name when you don't see the political undertone. This the new thing I am seeing but I have been a political leader before. "I have organized demonstrations but knowing very well that this country is on red alert that terrorists can come into this country at any given time. We are being warned; 'See Something, Say Something . . . and never has it occurred that people will embark on demonstration with the demonstrators wielding weapons. It's never also occurred in this country that demonstrators will ask for GBC to talk to the nation and to present their grievances," he said. Allotey Jacobs warned them not to cause mayhem in the country. "We're not illiterates. They should note that should any chaotic event happens in Ghana, they will never go scot-free, even their families, because you won't kill my family for your family to go scot-free." 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 " " Marchers carry a huge LGBTQ+ flag during the San Jose Gay Pride parade on July 1, 2018 in San Jose, Costa Rica. Manuel Arnoldo Robert Batalla/Getty Images Growing up in San Francisco means I've always had the privilege of being immersed in all things pride. Rainbow flags wave year-round in and beyond the city's Castro district, and I've never known a June that wasn't wholly dedicated to prepping for the city's massive Pride Parade, celebrating the LGBTQ+ community. But it's safe to say this tiny 49-square-mile (127-square-kilometer) bubble I live in is a unique space for acceptance and equality; the right to express gay pride isn't guaranteed in most parts of the world, but the movement has come a long way since its inception more than 50 years ago. Advertisement The Stonewall Riots It started on June 28, 1969 at exactly 1:20 a.m. That's when New York City police stormed Manhattan's Stonewall Inn because it was operating without a liquor license a document the NY State Liquor Authority refused to bestow upon establishments that served the gay community. Officers began arresting patrons and hit one handcuffed woman over the head. This set off a full riot as the crowd grew, and 10 police officers barricaded themselves inside the Inn. The crowd set the barricade ablaze, and while the officers were rescued, the riot ensued for six more days. Thousands of people took part in demonstrations outside the bar to show support to the iconic LGBTQ+ institution that served and offered solace to a persecuted community. " " The Stonewall Inn, on Christopher Street in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, the day after President Barack Obama announced the Stonewall National Monument in 2016, and less than two weeks after the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando. Wikimedia Commons ( CC By-SA 4.0 The Stonewall Riots, as they're now known, kicked off a revolution within the community members were no longer willing to sit by silently as they were treated like second class citizens. A few months after the events at Stonewall, activist Craig Rodell and his partner Fred Sargeant, along with Ellen Brody and Linda Rhodes proposed a resolution at Philadelphia's Eastern Regional Conference of Homophile Organizations (ERCHO) to hold a commemorative anniversary march the following year, on the last Saturday of June. Advertisement The First Pride Parade Known then as the Christopher Street Liberation Day March, the first pride parade was a group effort, largely led by activist Brenda Howard. The outspoken New Yorker helped spread the word and also suggested turning the one-day event into a week-long celebration. But the use of "pride" as the event's slogan came courtesy of planning committee member L. Craig Schoonmaker. As he said in a 2015 interview in The Allusionist, "A lot of people were very repressed, they were conflicted internally, and didn't know how to come out and be proud. That's how the movement was most useful, because they thought, 'Maybe I should be proud.'" The official chant for the march became, "Say it loud, gay is proud." The first pride event hardly resembled the colorful, joyous celebrations that take place today. In a 2010 piece for the Village Voice, Sargaent wrote that there were "no floats, no music, no boys in briefs." Instead, they held signs and banners, and chanted: 'Say it clear, say it loud. Gay is good, gay is proud.' This was long before anyone had heard of a 'Gay Pride March.' Back then, it took a new sense of audacity and courage to take that giant step into the streets of Midtown Manhattan." " " The San Francisco Gay Pride parade, June 25, 2017. Meera Fox/Getty Images The festive pride parade as we know it today more closely resembles events that took place outside of New York. The day before the Christopher Street Liberation Day March, Chicago commemorated the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots with a celebration of speeches, dancing and workshops that lasted a week. And on the same day as New Yorkers marched, members of the Los Angeles LGBTQ+ community held the first city-sanctioned pride parade, and activists in San Francisco marched through the streets as well. Two years later, SF held its first official parade with 2,000 marchers and 15,000 spectators. Within a decade of those first historic events, most major cities in the United States were holding their own pride parades, and metropolises around the globe followed suit. According to organizers and participants, the larger-than-life floats, colorful costumes, and all-out unbridled joy evident in these events are central to their purpose: To empower members of the LGBTQ+ community to feel free, safe and equal even though the fight for those rights still continues. " " People march in the Gay Pride parade on June 9, 2018 in Rome, Italy. The parades have become international symbols of love, tolerance, pride and respect for all. Stefano Montesi - Corbis/Getty Images New York, Chicago and San Francisco continue to commemorate the events at Stonewall the last weekend of June, while Los Angeles kicks off festivities earlier in the month. On the national level, President Bill Clinton declared June Gay and Lesbian Pride Month in 1999, and while George W. Bush let the tradition slip, President Barack Obama reinstated the official declaration during each year of his administration and established the Stonewall National Movement in 2016, a 7.7-acre (3.11-hectare) area around the Stonewall Inn that is now the country's first LGBTQ+ national park. Learn more about the origins of the pride movement in "The Stonewall Reader," edited by the New York Public Library. HowStuffWorks picks related titles based on books we think you'll like. Should you choose to buy one, we'll receive a portion of the sale. Now That's Interesting San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker created the rainbow flag that represents gay pride. When it debuted in 1978, it had eight stripes, but the modern iteration has six: red, orange, yellow, green, indigo and violet. " " A memorial was erected at the Robb Elementary School on May 26, 2022, following the mass shooting there, in Uvalde, Texas. Nineteen students and 2 adults were killed, with the gunman fatally shot by law enforcement. Brandon Bell/Getty Images On the morning of May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas, an 18-year-old gunman named Salvador Ramos shot his grandmother in the face, and then sent a text message to a 15-year-old girl in Germany whom he'd met on the internet. "Ima go shoot up a elementary school rn," he reportedly wrote. Then Ramos took his grandmother's truck and drove to nearby Robb Elementary School. After crashing the truck into a railing nearby, he continued on foot to the school and walked inside, carrying a semi-automatic military-style rifle that he'd recently purchased, and began shooting. By the time the slaughter had stopped, 19 children and two teachers were dead. So was the teenage gunman, who had been shot to death by a tactical team [sources: Hernandez et al.; Bogel-Burroughs; Levinson et al.]. For a nation that has seen a string of mass shootings over the past two decades, it was yet another collective trauma. What was even more shocking to some was the ease with which Ramos, a teenager whose behavior reportedly had grown increasingly troubling and violent, had been able to legally obtain weapons The day after Ramos turned 18, he went into a local store and purchased a semi-automatic rifle, and in the several days that followed, he purchased 1,657 rounds of ammunition and a second semi-automatic rifle [sources: Klemko, Foster-Frau and Boburg; O'Kane]. Advertisement And once again, as they have so many times in the past, gun control advocates called for stricter laws to prevent such tragedies. "We have to act," President Joe Biden, a longtime advocate of gun control, said in a TV address on the evening after the Uvalde mass shooting [source: Whitehouse.gov]. Tragic events spark fear and outrage, drive up gun sales and, conversely, inspire calls for expanded (or better-enforced) gun control. This has been the pattern for the past half-century, since Congress passed the Gun Control Act of 1968 following the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Brady Act, which requires background checks by licensed dealers (but does not apply to gun shows), arose from the 1981 assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan [sources: ATF; Hennessey and Mascaro]. The act is named for James Brady, Reagan's press secretary who also was injured in the attempt and went on to become a gun control advocate. The possibility of legal reform remains unclear, and the composition and effectiveness of such laws remains hotly debated. One proposed gun law reform involves banning assault weapons such as the popular AR-15, the semi-automatic rifle used in numerous mass shootings, including the 2012 attack on Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, which took the lives of 20 young children and six teachers, and the slaughter of 59 people by a gunman who fired on a concert from a hotel room window in Las Vegas in October 2017 [source: Blankstein et al., Calabrese and Siemaszko]. Such a ban was passed by Congress in 1994 and stayed in place for a decade, before it was allowed to lapse in 2004. Attempts to revive the measure have failed, though some Republicans are now saying they are open to banning AR-15s in light of the Uvalde school shootings. After the 1994 law was passed, public support for gun control receded. In 1991, a Gallup poll found that 78 percent of Americans favored stricter regulation of the sale of guns, but by 2011, the year before Sandy Hook, just 44 percent of Americans supported tougher laws. Since then, support for tougher regulation has risen and fallen, perhaps driven by repeated instances of mass killings, and settled at 52 percent in 2021 [source: Gallup]. Other pollsters have seen similar fluctuation. A poll conducted by Quinnipiac University in the wake of the Parkland mass school shooting found strong support for various gun control measures. Sixty-seven percent of Americans favored revival of the assault weapons ban, and 97 percent favored universal background checks on gun purchasers. (Currently, people can avoid such screening if they buy from private owners or at gun shows.) An April 2021 Q poll, however, found that support for an assault weapons ban had declined to 52 percent, and support for universal background checks had dropped to 89 percent [sources: Quinnipiac, Cook, Quinnipiac]. In the U.S., the gun control debate comprises strongly held views about constitutional law, the rights of the individual, the role of the state and the best way to keep society safe. But it also encompasses an important practical question: Do countries with stricter gun laws experience less crime or fewer homicides? The answer is anything but simple. " " The famous biblical story of Jesus raising Jairus' daughter from the dead includes Jesus speaking a few words of Aramaic. Photos.com/Getty Images Biblical scholars agree that Jesus of Nazareth, a Jewish man from a working-class background in Judea, would have spoken Aramaic, a 3,000-year-old language that shares linguistic DNA with Hebrew. The New Testament, which records the life and works of Jesus, was first written in Greek, but snippets of Aramaic survive in the text. In Mark 5:41, for example, Jesus raises a child (Jairus' daughter) from the dead, saying "Talitha cumi," which is Aramaic for "Little girl, I say to you, arise!" And in Matthew 27:46, Jesus cries out in agony from the cross, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?," meaning "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" in Aramaic. Advertisement Several languages were spoken in Jesus' time (first century C.E.), when the Roman Empire ruled Judea, a Jewish kingdom. Aramaic was the "everyday" language of conversation and commerce among Jews like Jesus and his followers. That's why most of the Aramaic words and phrases in the New Testament are direct quotes attributed to Jesus. Jesus may have also understood and spoken some Greek, too. That's because Greek was the lingua franca of the Roman world and was spoken by traders who plied their goods throughout the ancient Mediterranean. Latin, meanwhile, was reserved for legal and military matters, so Jesus probably knew little if any Latin. What about Hebrew? The Torah and most of the other books of the Hebrew Bible (known to Christians as the Old Testament) were originally written in Hebrew, although there are fragments of Aramaic here and there (Genesis 31:47, for example). The two languages do have some commonalities, but also many differences. In Jesus' time, Hebrew was mostly read and written by religious scholars and scribal elites. Jesus may have been able to quote the scriptures in Hebrew from memory, but as a member of the craftsman class it's unlikely that he could actually read and write in Hebrew or any other language. Aramaic is an ancient Semitic tongue that originated with the Aramaeans, who lived in the northern part of modern-day Syria. Aramaic was once spoken across the Middle East, carried by conquering armies of Assyrians and Persians into new territories. Most of the speakers were Christians and Jews in the Middle East who dispersed to other regions because of persecution and took up other languages. Over the millennia, Aramaic splintered into 150 dialects and is still spoken today by pockets of Christians and Jews living in Iraq, Syria and Eastern Europe, although the modern tongue would be unrecognizable to Jesus. Now That's Cool Turlock, California is home to the largest community of Assyrians in the U.S., and they still speak a modern dialect of Aramaic. Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain The demand for cash increases in times of crisis since many people consider banknotes and coins to be a particularly safe way to keep money. Moreover, cash is the only instrument of payment that is largely independent of a technical infrastructure. It is therefore essential that, during a crisis, people can access cash, particularly when otherelectronicmeans of payment might not be available or only to a limited extent. This is why researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS are working closely with partners to develop a security framework that can be implemented during emergencies and crises. It specifically aims to further secure the work processes of cash management companies. Despite a growing trend for cashless payments, demand for cash remains high throughout Europeand even the coronavirus crisis had little effect on this. Although the pandemic prompted a decline in cash payments in the euro area, the European Central Bank (ECB) confirmed a rise in the demand for banknotes, recording an increase of 190 billion euros, or 550 euros per capita per citizen of the euro area, between March 2020 and May 2021. This apparent paradox can be explained by the fact that people tend to hoard cash to cope with uncertainty. Research shows that, at the beginning of the pandemic, consumers cut back their spending but increased their liquid asset portfolios. Unrestricted access to cash The partners behind the BASIC project also agree that maintaining the cash cycle and ensuring that people can access supplies is imperative, particularly in times of crises and emergencies or when other, electronic payment means are not readily available. Emergencies can range from situations where a failing IT system causes the closure of just one service provider branch to sudden staff shortages in large numbers, a prolonged blackout or even a pandemic which affects all players such as the Deutsche Bundesbank (central bank of Germany), commercial banks and cash management companies. Such cases call for a resilient and functioning cash infrastructure to provide emergency funds to people and to maintain the economic cycle. Dovetailing emergency and crisis concepts for cash handlers The BASIC project partnersincluding credit institutions, trading companies, cash management companies and research unitsare therefore developing a new security framework that aims primarily to safeguard the work processes of cash management companies in the event of an emergency or crisis. The first step involves describing possible crisis scenarios and examining the corresponding pre-existing emergency plans of individual trading groups, financial institutions and cash management companies. However, such plans often only cover the individual players behind the plan in question. The project partners therefore need to validate these plans with regard to successful conditions and a need for action, to then establish a uniform framework which enables cash handlers to optimize and dovetail their emergency and crisis plans. Using a mathematical optimization algorithm to control cash distribution "Cash distribution forms part of the critical infrastructure which has to function even in times of crisis. People view cash as an important anchor of confidence," says Laura Brouer, a researcher at the Center for Applied Research on Supply Chain Services at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS. Together with her colleagues, she is developing a mathematical optimization algorithm to ensure unrestricted access to cash in the event of a crisis. The flexible algorithm can be customized and incorporates many different questions: Where can people continue to withdraw cash? How can we guarantee the availability of cash resources at a national level? In the event of a crisis, what are the ideal places to withdraw cash from (ATMs, banks) in Germany? How do we ensure that there is a fair distribution in both rural and urban areas if there are fewer places available? What kind of substitute places must be defined for each cash withdrawal point in the event of a crisis? What criteria do these substitute places need to fulfill? The algorithm includes parameters such as coverage, density, distance or affiliation to a certain bank. The algorithm is currently undergoing test runs using geodata from OpenStreetMap, a data source that is publicly accessible. In the future, the Bundesbank will establish an inventory to provide the necessary database. The mathematical model results in recommended actions. "The BASIC algorithm indicates which of the available ATMs and banks in Germany are the best withdrawal points for cash distribution. In the process, we select a percentage of the existing cash withdrawal points. This means that if only 30% of these withdrawal points can be supplied with cash, for example, we determine which 30% would be the most relevant," explains the mathematician. When applied within the security framework, the algorithm can be utilized both in terms of operational crisis support (which ATMs should be supplied if only 30% are available or if only 30% are accessible due to staff shortages) and in crisis preparation (which are the central cash withdrawal points that should be covered by emergency power generators). "We want to produce a target strategy that informs how the algorithm can be used," says Brouer. The mathematical model created will be used to model people's cash withdrawal behavior in the event of a crisis and then to control cash distribution. "We are creating a database which indicates the best central cash withdrawal points throughout Germany that can be flexibly adapted to different crisis scenarios." Explore further Can introducing a central bank digital currency improve social welfare? Comparing global citational distortion over time. a, The average national citational distortion in L distortion plotted across fields on the y axis and over time on the x axis for select countries. b, The average national citational distortion plotted for core countries and peripheral countries on the y axis and over time on the x axis. The gap in the average distortion in the citational well is growing between core and periphery countries. The shading around the trends denotes the standard errors of these averages. Note that citational distortion should be interpreted as the difference in the number of standard deviations between edges in the citation network (measured in terms of standard deviations relative to the edge weights in the citation network) and those in the text similarity network (measured in terms of standard deviations relative to the edge weights in the text similarity network). Credit: Nature Human Behaviour (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-022-01351-5 A trio of researchers from Queens College, City University of New York, the University of California, Los Angeles, and Stanford University has found that a citation bias exists in research papers and the problem is growing worse. In their paper published in the journal Nature Human Behavior, Charles Gomez, Andrew Herman and Paolo Parigi describe their analysis of millions of research papers and what it showed them about citation bias. When researchers write papers describing their work, they typically cite previous works to support their own findings or assumptions. In this new effort, the researchers found that the choice of citation shows a bias toward research from certain countries. More specifically, papers written by people in the U.S., the U.K. and China are far more heavily cited than are those from other countries such as Mexico and Brazil. The researchers pulled data from repositories of published research papers and analyzed it using special algorithms. In all, they analyzed data for almost 20 million papers representing work by researchers in 150 fields over the years 1980 to 2012 and found a strong citational bias in research papers. They described those countries where researchers can expect to get more citations as "highly overcited." They also found some countries to be simply overcited, such as the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany, and some that were clearly undercited. The researchers also noted that the degree of bias increased over the period they studied. The researchers suggest that citation bias tends to skew toward more resource-wealthy countries, such as the U.S., Europe and parts of Asia. They note that such countries also tend to host the best universities, have the most Nobel winners and the most journal editors. They further note that citation bias has led to a lot of research being overlooked by the international community, impeding scientific growth worldwide. Explore further Women are undercited and men are overcited in communication More information: Charles J. Gomez et al, Leading countries in global science increasingly receive more citations than other countries doing similar research, Nature Human Behaviour (2022). Journal information: Nature Human Behaviour Charles J. Gomez et al, Leading countries in global science increasingly receive more citations than other countries doing similar research,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-022-01351-5 2022 Science X Network The burden of gathering firewood falls disproportionately on women. Credit: Lucian Coman/Shutterstock One consequence of the meteoric rise in the price of fossil gas has been that cooking meals is now much more expensive. In the U.K., food bank users declined potatoes as they couldn't afford to boil them. In Germany, increased heating and petrol costs have even forced some food banks to suspend their services. In low and middle-income countries, over 2.5 billion people cook with liquefied petroleum gas (often abbreviated to LPG). This is a byproduct of fossil gas extraction that is compressed into cylinders for distribution. The price of LPG has also increased sharply in recent months, which has led to fewer people using it for cooking. Sudden price changes in LPG typically see households revert to cooking with more polluting alternatives, such as wood and charcoal, which can be gathered for free or bought in small amounts. A Nigerian news article published in December 2021 described a woman who started cooking with gas two years ago but has since returned to using charcoal as LPG prices have soared. In India, rising LPG prices coupled with the scaling back of a government program to subsidize cooking gas are forcing people to use firewood. This has also been documented in Rwanda, Brazil, Vietnam and Kenya. COVID-19 lockdowns at the start of 2020 had already pushed many poorer households around the world into using wood or charcoal due to fuel shortages and a loss of income as businesses were closed and people were urged to stay home. Women and girls tend to suffer the most when LPG becomes unattainable, as they are usually responsible for gathering firewood. The task can take up to several hours a week and it prevents many from attending school or work. Burning wood and charcoal for cooking also exposes people to dangerous levels of indoor air pollution in kitchens. It is estimated that this causes four million premature deaths each year, out of the more than three billion people exposed. Cooking with wood and charcoal is also a problem for the climate, as it emits potent greenhouse gases like black carbon. But the consequences of high cooking fuel prices don't end there. Food and energy are closely linked People in the poorest parts of the world tend to consume very few processed foods and lots of staple foods, such as dried beans in East Africa, which cannot be eaten raw. Because they must cook most of their meals to eat, people in low-income countries typically require more energy to prepare a meal and face a difficult choice between paying for food or fuel when LPG becomes more expensive. It has been reported that a combination of rising gas and food prices has forced families to eat fewer, lower-quality meals in Sri Lanka and Vietnam. This same pattern emerged when COVID-19 restrictions were implemented in 2020, and an inability to afford cooking fuels restricted access to adequate food in both high and low-income countries, including Kenya and the US. Having to skip meals because of unaffordable fuel not only leads to malnutrition but also worsens physical and mental well-being. Rising cooking fuel prices can cause families to reduce their intake of protein because preparing fish and meat requires more energy than vegetables or grains. People in low and middle-income countries are likely to avoid or undercook meals rich in protein to save money. Protein intake already falls significantly short of recommended levels in many of these countries. Governments can cap the price of cooking fuels and offer targeted subsidies to help those most vulnerable to energy poverty. Not only could these measures protect public health in the difficult year ahead, they could also benefit the climate. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Annual PTR (per 1000) (blue, solid line), MST (%) (black, dashed line), Italy, 19162020 (with the exception of 19431945 during World War II). Source: Own elaborations on Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) data. Credit: Population and Development Review (2022). DOI: 10.1111/padr.12464 Scientific literature has considered human population trends as "slow," with fertility and mortality driving long term changes that are fully appreciable in generation-long periods, but the current exodus from war-ridden Ukraine to the rest of Europe or the acceptance of more than 1 million Syrian asylum-seekers in Germany in 2015 and 2016 show that our view of population change needs some updating. In his latest paper appeared on Population and Development Review, Bocconi Professor Francesco Billari shows how migration trends make population change much faster. Featuring both global and more detailed country-level data from Italy and Germany, the study documents how migratory movements constitute an important determinant of population dynamics. Crucially, the change in demographic perspective from "slow" to "fast" can help policy-makers taking more informed decisions. Phenomena like the transition from populations characterized by high fertility and low life expectancy to a paradigm of lower fertility and higher life expectancy in developed countries, or population aging in Europe are observable in such a long time span that 5 to 20 years must be be considered as the near future. Such a large horizon has suggested that demography constitutes a "megatrend" that determines political, economic and social change rather than being determined by it. Empirically, the long-term population turnover rate (PTR) defines the in-and-out flows of a population due to births, deaths, immigration and emigration. Without considering migratory rates, the PTR computes population change only on the basis of birth and death rates which, on their own, do not change rapidly. In the last 70 years, the speed of population change was halved and this finding is in line with the larger demographic transition mentioned earlier. However, Prof. Billari also measures the relevance of migratory movement in the population turnout rate through an index called migration share of turnover (MST). It appears that migration is an increasingly relevant indicator of population change but the results differ according to world areas. In Europe, migratory movements have almost become the most important determinant of population change, especially for smaller countries. Globally, countries with a higher Human Development Index (HDI) also experience a higher MST. Not only they are more likely to have completed the demographic transition to lower fertility rates but they are also more likely to be the destination of migration flows. As a result, the influx of migrants is responsible, on average, for a larger share of the overall population turnout. Notably, migration flows are a remarkably faster phenomenon than generational population. A more fine-grained analysis on population rates and migration in Italy and Germany shows how the political and economic cycles have a dramatic impact on both population turnout and the MST. In Italy, policies designed to curb emigration have diminished the importance of migration in the first half of last century. In Germany, a more generous approach toward the migratory crisis which followed the Arab Springs has dramatically increased the MST. "In general, we can conclude that the currently prevalent 'slow demography' perspective is misleading when applied as a general approach to the study of population change," Professor Billari said. Considering a "faster demography" can be advantageous to both politicians and scientists. "By devoting more resources to gathering and analyzing data on population flows, scholars can contribute to our knowledge of demographic trends in a fast-changing population environment," Prof. Billari continued. "At the same time, greater attention to the coevolution of socio-economic factors and demography can help policymakers to make more informed choices." Explore further Algorithms trained on historical data make more accurate forecasts of population changes than demographic modeling Provided by Bocconi University The Mississippi River flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. According to researchers at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, river sediments and ocean currents helped simple sea life in the Gulf survive a deep-ocean mass extinction 56 million years ago. Credit: U.S. Geological Survey An ancient bout of global warming 56 million years ago that acidified oceans and wiped-out marine life had a milder effect in the Gulf of Mexico, where life was sheltered by the basin's unique geologyaccording to research by the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG). Published in the journal Marine and Petroleum Geology, the findings not only shed light on an ancient mass extinction, but could also help scientists determine how current climate change will affect marine life and aid in efforts to find deposits of oil and gas. And although the Gulf of Mexico is very different today, UTIG geochemist Bob Cunningham, who led the research, said that valuable lessons can be drawn about climate change today from how the Gulf was impacted in the past. "This event known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum or PETM is very important to understand because it's pointing towards a very powerful, albeit brief, injection of carbon into the atmosphere that's akin to what's happening now," he said. Cunningham and his collaborators investigated the ancient period of global warming and its impact on marine life and chemistry by studying a group of mud, sand, and limestone deposits found across the Gulf. They sifted through rock chips brought up during oil and gas drilling and found an abundance of microfossils from radiolariansa type of plankton that had surprisingly thrived in the Gulf during the ancient global warming. They concluded that a steady supply of river sediments and circulating ocean waters had helped radiolarians and other microorganisms survive even while Earth's warming climate became more hostile to life. Examples of radiolarians, a type of microplankton. These tiny lifeforms need normal salinity seawater with plenty of nutrients including silica to grow and maintain their glassy shells. Researchers at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics found fossilized radiolarians in geologic samples dating back 56 million years, proving that life persisted in the Gulf of Mexico despite global warming that left many oceans barren. Credit: U.S. Geological Survey "In a lot of places, the ocean was absolutely uninhabitable for anything," said UTIG biostratigrapher Marcie Purkey Phillips. "But we just don't seem to see as severe an effect in the Gulf of Mexico as has been seen elsewhere." The reasons for that go back to geologic forces reshaping North America at the time. About 20 million years before the ancient global warming, the rise of the Rocky Mountains had redirected rivers into the northwest Gulf of Mexicoa tectonic shift known as the Laramide upliftsending much of the continent's rivers through what is now Texas and Louisiana into the Gulf's deeper waters. When global warming hit and North America became hotter and wetter, the rain-filled rivers fire-hosed nutrients and sediments into the basin, providing plenty of nutrients for phytoplankton and other food sources for the radiolarians. The findings also confirm that the Gulf of Mexico remained connected to the Atlantic Ocean and the salinity of its waters never reached extremesa question that until now had remained open. According to Phillips, the presence of radiolarians alonewhich only thrive in nutrient-rich water that's no saltier than seawater todayconfirmed that the Gulf's waters did not become too salty. Cunningham added that the organic content of sediments decreased farther from the coast, a sign that deep currents driven by the Atlantic Ocean were sweeping the basin floor. The research accurately dates closely related geologic layers in the Wilcox Group (a set of rock layers that house an important petroleum system), a feat that can aid in efforts to find undiscovered oil and gas reserves in formations that are the same age. At the same time, the findings are important for researchers investigating the effects of today's global warming because they show how the water and ecology of the Gulf changed during a very similar period of climate change long ago. A map of the Gulf of Mexico showing rivers that were flowing into the Gulf 56 million years ago. The colored circles mark the location of geologic samples. The orange arrows mark river outlets. The data was used in a study by the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics to investigate the climate impact of ancient global warming on the Gulf and its implications for the basin's energy reserves. Credit: University of Texas Institute for Geophysics The study compiled geologic samples from 36 industry wells dotted across the Gulf of Mexico, plus a handful of scientific drilling expeditions including the 2016 UT Austin-led investigation of the Chicxulub asteroid impact, which led to the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs. For John Snedden, a study coauthor and senior research scientist at UTIG, the study is a perfect example of industry data being used to address important scientific questions. "The Gulf of Mexico is a tremendous natural archive of geologic history that's also very closely surveyed," he said. "We've used this very robust database to examine one of the highest thermal events in the geologic record, and I think it's given us a very nuanced view of a very important time in Earth's history." More information: Robert Cunningham et al, Productivity and organic carbon trends through the Wilcox Group in the deep Gulf of Mexico: Evidence for ventilation during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, Marine and Petroleum Geology (2022). Robert Cunningham et al, Productivity and organic carbon trends through the Wilcox Group in the deep Gulf of Mexico: Evidence for ventilation during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2022.105634 Credit: USMC Archives from Quantico, USA, CC BY 2.0 A team of researchers from Poland, the U.S. and Peru has found evidence that suggests Inca children selected for sacrifice were given drugs to keep them calm prior to their deaths. In their paper published in Journal of Archaeological Science, the group describes their analysis of hair and fingernail samples from two small Incan children who had been sacrificed on Peru's Ampato volcano. Prior research has shown that human sacrifice was a common practice in Incan societycalled capacocha, it was conducted by priests as a means of controlling the population. Ceremonies involving sacrifice were typically held to celebrate major events, such as the birth of a royal son, or a battle victory. Those selected for sacrifice were typically young women and children. In this new effort, the researchers studied hair and nail samples that had been left behind by two sacrificial Incan children (aged 6 or 7 years old), approximately 500 years ago. In studying, the samples, the researchers found small amounts of cocaine and also two compounds found in a flowering vine known to be used to make ayahuascaa hallucinogen. The two compounds, known as harmaline and harmine are monoamine oxidase inhibitors. The researchers note that they did not find evidence of DMT, however, which is another major ingredient in ayahuasca. It was not clear if its absence was intentional or was merely an accident. Regardless, its absence meant that the drugs given to the children would not have resulted in hallucinations, instead, they would have simply calmed them, making things easier for those tasked with sacrificing them. The researchers note that the children would have known what was going to happen to them, weeks in advance; thus, they would very likely not have gone along willingly with a sacrifice. Giving them drugs to calm them down would have allowed for forcing them to march to their death without them putting up a fuss. People chosen for sacrifice came from all across the empire, which would have meant a long journey prior to being killed during a sacrificial ritual. The researchers note that giving the victims calming drugs appeared to workSpanish colonizers wrote of witnessing Incan sacrificial rituals where the victims appeared to be calm and ready for execution. Explore further Skeletal tests suggest sacrificial victims during Shang Dynasty were held for a time More information: Dagmara M. Socha et al, Ritual drug use during Inca human sacrifices on Ampato mountain (Peru): Results of a toxicological analysis, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports (2022). Journal information: Journal of Archaeological Science Dagmara M. Socha et al, Ritual drug use during Inca human sacrifices on Ampato mountain (Peru): Results of a toxicological analysis,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2022.103415 2022 Science X Network Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain 2020 marked Lake Michigan's highest water level in 120 years, experts said, and climate variance makes future water levels challenging to predict. Coastal impacts are well-documented, but the effect of lake level rise on the area's inland waterways is poorly understood. A University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign study examined how Lake Michigan's rising levels affect water quality, flood control and invasive species management within the Chicago-area waterway system that connects the lake to Illinois, Indiana and the Mississippi River basin. The study, led by civil and environmental engineering professor Marcelo Garcia and graduate student Dongchen Wang, focused on how lake-level rise influences the unique bidirectional flow of the Chicago-area waterway systeminitiated by the engineered reversal of the Chicago River in 1900and its connection to the Calumet-area waterway subsystem situated along the Illinois-Indiana border. The study is published in the Journal of Great Lakes Research. "The Calumet-area waterway subsystem was examined in detail for this study because it serves as the Chicago-area's only primary connection to Lake Michigan not completely controlled by hydraulic structures," Garcia said. The researchers built complex computer modelscalibrated and validated against observed field datato reproduce the effect of past lake-level rise on the Calumet waterway subsystem's flow. To study the impact of future rises, the researchers plugged realistic increases in the Lake Michigan levels into their model. "Our models successfully replicated the observed bidirectional flow and water levels of the Calumet subsystem," Wang said. "With that, we could look at various hydraulic scenarios. For example, when lake levels are 0.5 feet below the Calumet subsystem's normal level, the discharge in the Grand Calumet River is around zero, and water flows east toward Indiana and the Great Lakes basin. However, when we increase the lake level to 1.5 feet above normal, the flow reverses direction and drains west into Illinois toward the Mississippi basin." The area surrounding the Calumet subsystem has a long history of heavy industry, and streams and rivers in the area contain chemical pollutants, the researchers said. Restoration and environmental cleanup projects have left the system's channels broader and deeper after the dredging of polluted sediments. If the lake remains at a high level, the system could serve as an uncontrolled connection for invasive species to migrate between Lake Michigan and the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. "State and federal agencies have made efforts to separate the Great Lakes basin and Mississippi River basin to control the spread of pollution and invasive species," Wang said. "However, we can now confirm that water can flow freely via the Grand Calumet River to Lake Michiganor backward through the Chicago area waterway system toward the Mississippi River basin when the lake is at a high levelaffecting an area much greater than originally understood," Wang said. The study found that the spread of pollutants and invasive species through bidirectional water flow is not the only issue associated with Lake Michigan's era of high water levels. "This work helps us better understand how the entire Chicago area waterway system will respond to flooding," Garcia said. "It will also better define the need for policy change related to Illinois' Lake Michigan water diversion laws. The researchers said there is still an immense amount of work needed to better characterize these initial findings and hope that the study results will motivate state and federal agencies to increase support for continued research. Explore further Chicago waterwaysstill flowing after over 100 years More information: Dongchen Wang et al, Impact of Lake Michigan water level rise on complex bidirectional flow in the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS), Journal of Great Lakes Research (2021). Dongchen Wang et al, Impact of Lake Michigan water level rise on complex bidirectional flow in the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS),(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.jglr.2021.10.008 Graphical abstract. Credit: Environmental Science & Technology (2022). DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c01204 A new analysis by researchers at Masaryk University, the University of Toronto, and NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) has found most countries are not on track to remove their stocks of highly hazardous polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) by the 2028 deadline set forth in the Stockholm Convention, the global chemicals management treaty. The report found more than 10 million tons of PCB-containing materials remain and pose public health and environmental threats globally. Additional findings from the report "Persistent Problem: Global Challenges to Managing PCBs," published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, include: 42% of signatories to the Stockholm Convention are unaware of the amounts and locations of PCB stocks in their country. Only 30% of signatories to the Stockholm Convention are on track to meet the target of environmentally sound management of all PCBs by 2028. A lack of administrative, financial, and political capacities are key impediments to successfully managing PCB stocks, especially in low-income countries, despite these countries not being responsible for most PCB production or use. The U.S., the world's largest producer and user of PCBs, was found to have decreased its sizable stocks by only about 3% since 2006. Despite having the financial capacity to responsibly eliminate PCBs, the U.S. has no regulatory deadlines to do so, is not a party to the Stockholm Convention, and its PCB inventory is poorly documented compared to Canada and Czechia. The inability of global agreements like the Stockholm Convention to effectively manage PCBs bodes poorly for the management of other toxic chemicals that are found in myriad products, like the highly persistent PFAS (per-and poly fluoroalkyl substances) and chlorinated paraffin chemicals. PCBs are persistent organic pollutants and carcinogens and were widely used for their insulating and flame retardant properties. PCBs were banned in the late 1970s by many countries, including the U.S. and Canada, but the chemicals are still present in transformers, capacitors, and building materials in many countries. "We're only six years out from the Stockholm Convention's deadline to responsibly eliminate PCB stocks, but shockingly little progress has been made," says Lisa Melymuk, assistant professor of environmental chemistry, Masaryk University. "With effective regulations and good governance, Canada has successfully managed and destroyed its PCB stocks. However, evidence suggests that Canada has not applied this 'lesson learned' for PCBs to other highly hazardous chemicals," says Miriam Diamond, professor, Department of Earth Sciences and School of the Environment, University of Toronto. "Global mismanagement and inequities make elimination of these persistent chemicals unlikely. This analysis is an international wake-up call to limit the production of hazardous chemicals, like PCBs. We just can't clean up the mess that they create," says Veena Singla, senior scientist, NRDC. Explore further Researchers study polar bear poop to learn how chemicals are trapped in the body More information: Lisa Melymuk et al, Persistent Problem: Global Challenges to Managing PCBs, Environmental Science & Technology (2022). Journal information: Environmental Science & Technology Lisa Melymuk et al, Persistent Problem: Global Challenges to Managing PCBs,(2022). DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c01204 The PanAf citizen science project is open to anyone willing to take part in annotating camera trap videos from across tropical Africa. Credit: MPI-EVA/PanAfChimp&See.org Researchers reporting in the journal Cell Genomics on June 1 have produced the first catalog of genomic diversity for endangered chimpanzees in the wild. The catalog, which includes 828 chimp samples from across their range, offers a detailed reconstruction of chimp population structure and fine-scale patterns of isolation, migration, and connection. The researchers use this information to design a method to link confiscated chimpanzees to their place of origin within about 100 kilometers, with the goal to support efforts to combat the illegal trade of chimpanzees and related products. "Chimpanzees are an endangered species with massive population declines in recent years," said Claudia Fontsere, first author of the study at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE), a joint center of CSIC and Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) in Barcelona, Spain. "Our efforts to describe the current genomic diversity of this species are an attempt to provide a fine-scale map of connectivity between populations that can be of service to conservationists as a baseline and guide to build upon their conservation efforts." The effort would not have been possible without coordinated sampling of thousands of chimp fecal samples by the Pan African Program (PanAf) at 48 locations together with years of effort to develop methodological strategies to efficiently retrieve and enrich the proportion of host DNA in fecal samples, the researchers say. Fecal samples come with many technical challenges as they contain only small amounts of degraded chimpanzee DNA, but they also have advantages for the study of endangered species as they allow for extensive collection with minimal interference to the animals. These approaches can now be put to work to study many other endangered primates and other species. "Since we are using sequencing of a whole chromosome with thousands of independent markers, compared to few microsatellite markers, we have a much broader view of the genome [that] is needed to refine and describe the very complex evolutionary history of chimpanzees," adds Tomas Marques-Bonet, principal investigator from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE) and co-lead of the study. "Impressively, we are doing it with non-invasive samples, which, in a sense, are the best of all worldsa valuable source of genomic DNA but collected in a way that animals never need to be contacted or disturbed beyond researchers existing in their habitat." Because the fossil record and ancient DNA for chimps is limited, the only way to reconstruct their past is through studies of living individuals. Scientists recognize four chimp subspecies, but questions had remained about their relationships. There have been long-standing questions about how connected those subspecies are and have been to each other. To explore these questions in the new study, Fontsere and colleagues retrieved partial genome information from more than 800 non-invasively-collected wild chimpanzee fecal samples from across their current range. They focused their attention on chromosome 21, the smallest contiguous nuclear sequence in the chimpanzee genome and a source for a wealth of genomic sequence data for use in inferring chimpanzee population structure. "Just by our sampling method, we have discovered around 50% more, and new, genetic variants on chromosome 21 than previous studies," Fontsere said. "Our dataset has been key in understanding recent and past gene flow between populations where previous sampling gaps impeded their study. Also, it has allowed us to describe if populations have been isolated recently or whether there was a historical event that did so. By characterizing the genomic singularities of each community or population, we also created a map that links genomic information to geographic location so that we were able to devise a strategy to infer the geographic location of chimpanzee individuals." Wild chimpanzee defecating. Credit: MPI-EVA/PanAf Previously, only 59 whole chimpanzee genomes had been sequenced with limited information on their origin, the researchers note. Large datasets from thousands of geo-referenced fecal samples also exist, but they represent only very small fragments of the entire genome. With these new samples and genomic data, they've been able to fill the previous gaps in the distribution of Eastern and Central chimpanzees. Fontsere says they've also provided a more nuanced understanding of the genetic differentiation of the four recognized chimpanzee subspecies. They found a link between historical population structure, barriers of genetic continuity between chimpanzee populations, and geographical barriers such as rivers and lakes. "We were able to show, using different analyses that look at very old and more recent variation, that the history of chimpanzees is complex, much like that of our own species," says Mimi Arandjelovic, co-lead of the study from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, iDiv, and Leipzig University. "Chimpanzee subspecies were indeed separated in the past but have since also experienced genetic exchange between populations. This nicely explains why different studies aiming at reconstructing different ancestral periods have come to different conclusions about the evolutionary history of chimpanzees." Graphic abstract of the study. Credit: Marina Alvarez-Estape Among many other insights, the evidence also reveals extensive connectivity in Western chimpanzees. "This is so critically important to their conservation and really argues that connectivity between forests across Western Africa, especially in the northern region, needs to be preserved for the protection of these populations and the subspecies," said Marques-Bonet. The researchers say they are now beginning to use the methods they've developed for chimpanzees with other great apes and primates. Their findings in chimpanzees confirm that fecal samples, although more complex than blood samples, are a fine source of host DNA for any species. The PanAf also continues to analyze data collected over eight years from 18 countries across Africa, at over 40 temporary and long-term research and conservation sites. The goal is to understand the evolutionary and ecological drivers of chimpanzee cultural and behavioral diversity. Anyone interested can pitch in and help by annotating videos at the citizen science project: www.zooniverse.org/projects/sa ledore/chimp-and-see. More information: Claudia Fontsere et al, Population dynamics and genetic connectivity in recent chimpanzee history, Cell Genomics (2022). www.cell.com/cell-genomics/ful 2666-979X(22)00062-3 Claudia Fontsere et al, Population dynamics and genetic connectivity in recent chimpanzee history,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.xgen.2022.100133 Telephoto view looking east of the active lava lake within Halemaumau at the summit of Kilauea. Credit: N. Deligne / USGS / Public Domain A lava lake in a crater of Kilauea spent ten years sloshing and churning before the volcano gave a bigger belch. Kilauea erupted dramatically in 2018. Earthquakes, ash plumes, and lava flows disrupted life on Hawaii's Big Island and changed the volcano's topography. But Kilauea was more gently erupting for a decade before its big blowout. One prominent feature of this slow-moving eruption: A persistent lake of lava that formed inside the Halema'uma'u crater at Kilauea's summit. New research from University of Oregon earth scientists reveals how the dynamics of this lava lake, along with deformation of ground around it, encode the signature of migrating volcanic gases and changing magma temperature in the shallow plumbing system of the volcano. "It's a new view into the dynamics of a really popular volcano," says Leif Karlstrom, an earth scientist at UO who led the work. "People could stand near the lava lake rim and visit the lava flows coming out. But under the surface, there was lots more going on." Karlstrom and Josh Crozier, a former UO Ph.D. student now at the USGS California Volcano Observatory, report their findings June 1 in the journal Science Advances. Kilauea's lava lake was fed by a below-ground magma chamber, connected to the surface by a passageway. Since lava cools and solidifies fairly quickly, maintaining a consistent lava lake requires a remarkable balance: a steady influx of new lava from the depths, with enough lava leaving to prevent too much pressure from building up. To learn more about the volcano's deeper dynamics, researchers analyzed data collected by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory from 2008 to 2018. An array of sensors positioned around the volcano record vibrations and other disturbances. "Once something physically disturbs the magma chamber or the lava lake, it sloshes around, and we can measure that with seismometers," says Josh Crozier, a former graduate student in Karlstrom's lab. "Over this decade-long eruption, we detected tens of thousands of such events. We're combining this data with a physics-based model of processes that creating these signals." Just as the sound made by a fork tapping on a drinking glass changes based on the amount of liquid in the glass, or the sound of a drum changes based on its shape, the seismic signals observed around Kilauea summit encode resonance of magma sloshing in and out of the shallow magma chamber. The characteristics of this resonance, unlike simpler musical instruments, are determined both by the shape and properties of the magma such as temperature and gas content. By carefully examining resonant signals over the entire eruption, the researchers could deduce what was happening inside the volcano without directly probing the hazardous and extreme environment. "We can actually see gas building up over time and temperature changing without any direct measurements," Crozier says. A simple model for effusive volcano eruptions such as at Kilauea says that magma gets pushed up from depth and spurts out of the volcano, like toothpaste squeezed out of a tube. But in the case of Kilauea's 2018 eruption, "we don't see any signs that there was a big magma influx leading up to eruption," Crozier says. Instead, the new analysis supports an idea that shallow processes associated with draining of the summit magma chamber down the volcano's east rift zone, helped shape the big eruption. It's too soon to use that information to forecast future eruption behavior, Karlstrom emphasizes. But eventually, it could help scientists make more informed interpretations of the volcano's seismic signals. "That's the next stepidentifying implications of these variations we found for dynamics and human hazards of the volcano." Explore further Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano stops erupting after months of lava More information: Josh Crozier et al, Evolving magma temperature and volatile contents over the 20082018 summit eruption of Kilauea Volcano, Science Advances (2022). www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abm4310 Journal information: Science Advances Josh Crozier et al, Evolving magma temperature and volatile contents over the 20082018 summit eruption of Kilauea Volcano,(2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abm4310 Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain NASA on Wednesday announced it has awarded contracts to two companies to develop the next generation of spacesuits for missions to the International Space Station and the Moon. The winners of the Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) Contract were Axiom Spacewhich has organized commercial flights to the ISS and is working on its own private space stationand Collins Aerospace. "History will be made with the suits when we get to the Moon. We will have our first person of color and our first woman that will be wearers and users of these suits in space," Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston told reporters. The values of the contracts have not yet been announced but they have a combined ceiling of $3.5 billion through 2034. NASA could end up picking both companies, just one, or add more companies later. Experts at the US space agency laid out the technical standards they required of the suits, with the companies responsible for designing, certifying and producing the suits as well as support equipment for both the ISS and the Artemis missions to return to the Moon. "The existing spacesuit has been the workhorse for the agency for 40 years," said Dina Contella, operations integration manager for the ISS. The next generation will be more flexible, versatile and durable. NASA originally wanted to build the suits itself, but began transitioning to industry partners after the agency's auditor said the suit was facing significant development delays. Explore further NASA pushes back crewed Moon landing to 2025 or later 2022 AFP An artist's rendering of the JPSS-2 satellite, which will be renamed NOAA-21 once in orbit. Credit: NOAA NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are now targeting Nov. 1, 2022, as the new launch date for NOAA's Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite mission. During recent tests of a key instrument designed to collect visible and infrared images, the team found and corrected an issue, which resulted in additional time needed to complete thermal vacuum testing. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite instrument, or VIIRS, experienced a test equipment issue during thermal vacuum testing. Engineers determined the issue was the result of the movement of test equipment caused by temperature fluctuations during the test. After modifying the test set up, the team retested the system, and it demonstrated excellent performance. JPSS-2, the third satellite in the Joint Polar Satellite System series, is scheduled to lift off from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. The satellite, to be renamed NOAA-21 upon successfully reaching orbit, will continue the work of its predecessors NOAA-20 (formerly JPSS-1) and the NOAA-NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi-NPP). NASA's Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy Space Center, is managing the launch. JPSS-2 will scan the globe as it orbits from the North to the South Pole, crossing the equator 14 times a day. From 512 miles above Earth, it will capture data that inform weather forecasts, extreme weather events, and climate change. VIIRS collects imagery for global observations of the land, atmosphere, cryosphere, and oceans. Launching as a secondary payload to JPSS-2 is NASA's Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID), dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter. LOFTID is a demonstration of a hypersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator, or aeroshell, technology that could one day help land humans on Mars. Together, NOAA and NASA oversee the development, launch, testing, and operation of all the satellites in the JPSS program. NOAA funds and manages the program, operations, and data products. On behalf of NOAA, NASA develops and builds the instruments, spacecraft, and ground system, and launches the satellites, which NOAA operates. Explore further JPSS-2 satellite instrument passes readiness test Asphalt seeps, like this one being inspected by lead author Ryan Mohammed on the island of Trinidad, hold countless fossils of now extinct animals that once roamed through parts of the Caribbean. Credit: Alexis Mychajliw Prior to the First World War, sprawling European empires collectively controlled roughly 80% of Earth's landmass. Following WWII, that percentage drastically shrank, as colonies and occupied territories successfully vied for their independence, leading many to assume that the colonial mindset of taking from smaller countries to support large nations had been relegated to the past. But a new study by an international collaboration of researchers shows how the legacy of colonialism is still deeply entrenched within scientific practice across the Caribbean archipelago. Rather than solely critiquing these practices, however, the authors hope the study serves as a map to help researchers avoid the pitfalls of extractive science. "We wanted to provide a solutions-based approach," said lead author Ryan Mohammed, a Trinidadian biologist and postdoctoral research associate at Massachusetts' Williams College. "We want to encourage foreign scientists to incorporate local people and knowledge into their research and try to provide avenues for local scientists to springboard their scientific careers." The authors outline systemic issues related to perceptions and scientific practice in the Caribbean. They then describe positive steps being taken in two countriesTrinidad and Tobago and The Bahamasthat follow a clear path toward a more equitable exchange of resources and benefits from research. The myth of pristine islands omits Indigenous influence Islands have played an essential role in the origin and development of ecology and evolutionary biology and are often viewed as natural laboratories, where complex patterns like migration and diversification can be teased apart. "When trying to understand these processes, you go to islands because they're isolated, they seem controllable and there are many of them, allowing you to repeat experiments or make comparisons," said senior author Alexis Mychajliw, an assistant professor at Vermont's Middlebury College. The Caribbean islands are a biodiversity hotspot that have attracted naturalists for centuries. But, Mychajliw explains, they also have a long history of human habitation: They've been the home of Indigenous communities for thousands of years, and they were the first European colonies in the Americas, calling into question whether current patterns were caused by "natural" processes. "Viewing these spaces as natural laboratories also implies that people haven't had a role in shaping them in the past," she said. The idea that Indigenous communities in the Americas made no lasting alterations to their environments, known as the "Pristine Myth," has been debunked on multiple occasions but is often still the default notion in environmental and ecological studies. Even when properly accounted for, deciphering the signature left by more than 5,000 years of human habitation in the Caribbean can be challenging. "When Europeans 'discovered' the Caribbean islands, what they saw and recorded wasn't necessarily the natural state of the region's biodiversity," said senior author Michelle LeFebvre, assistant curator of South Florida archaeology and ethnography at the Florida Museum of Natural History. "For example, Indigenous people moved animals up from South America and in between islands, resulting in a biocultural diversity. If we really want to understand the natural history of an area, archaeologists, paleontologists and biologists all need to work together." Caribbean scientists construct a puzzle with missing pieces Caribbean researchers attempting to piece together the natural history of the archipelago's more than 7,000 islands run up against multiple obstacles. One of the most formidable of these is a lack of access to specimens. To illustrate this issue, the authors conducted a global analysis of digitized natural history collections from Trinidad and Tobago, which showed that the vast majority are housed in North American and European Institutions. The same pattern holds true for other islands in the Caribbean as well. "Many Bahamian collections are in museums throughout the world, which requires local scientists to travel outside their country to incorporate those specimens into their research," said co-author Kelly Fowler, a Bahamian anthropologist with the National Museum of The Bahamas. Nor is this problem restricted to specimens. Guppies are model organisms on which scientists conduct detailed studies to uncover patterns shared by a variety of species. Although guppies can now be found just about anywhere on Earth, they're native to parts of South America and Trinidad and Tobago. Since at least the 1940s, guppies have been extensively studied in Trinidad, and more than 1,000 papers have been published on guppy research. "They've been used to study everything from ecology and evolution to pathology and the vector spread of disease," Mohammed said. "But none of this research actually gets back to Trinidad, and Trinidadians often don't even know about the work that's been done on these fish." Mohammed was the first Trinidadian to co-author a paper on guppies in 2001 and was later the first lead author on a guppy study in 2012. He's conducted most of this work in the United States, as this is currently the only way to feasibly access data. Fossils find their way back to Trinidad and Tobago The exportation of natural-history specimens directly curtails local research and education, but it also has more subtle and pernicious effects that influence everything from cultural identity to conservation. Mohammed referenced a fossil from an extinct group of giant armadillos found in Tobago. Researchers have known that Trinidad was once connected to current-day Venezuela based on similar fossils found in both countries, but the bone plate from Tobago is the sole piece of evidence that indicates all three were likely once a continuous landmass, he said. "If we didn't know of this fossil's existence, we wouldn't know about that connection. The problem is, that fossil doesn't reside in Trinidad and Tobago; it's currently elsewhere." Such fossil specimens in the tropics tend to be rare compared with temperate environments, as the warm and moist conditions near the equator result in the rapid decomposition of plant and animal remains. Trinidad is a spectacular exception to this rule. The island's southern spur is home to the largest tar pits on the planet, which entomb a plethora of fossils in sticky, viscous asphalt deposits. Giant ground sloths, armadillos, relatives of modern elephants called gomphotheres, and rodents were all pulled from the surrounding area in the early 20th century when foreign oil companies began pumping out asphalt for export. Of the 68 known mammal fossils excavated from the pits, the majority are located outside of Trinidad, and nearly all of the preserved plants, birds and insects referenced in early manuscripts from the time seem to have disappeared entirely. An international collaboration of researchers from multiple institutions is now spearheading an effort to return these fossils to Trinidad. "For local scientists to train the next generation, they need to have collections where they are," LeFebvre said. Advancing science through equitable partnerships in The Bahamas Other institutions are working with local and foreign researchers to ensure that any specimen leaving its country of origin in the Caribbean only does so as a temporary loan. In the study, the authors reference the longstanding partnership between the Antiquities Monuments & Museums Corp. (AMMC) in The Bahamas and the Florida Museum. The Bahamas is another example of a tropical region with an exceptional fossil and archaeological record. The natural history of Great Abaco Island is recorded not in seeps and tar pits but in cavernous sinkholes. For over three decades, local and international collaborators worked to build what became the country's largest natural history collection on Abaco while sharing resources, distributing their findings and developing public exhibits and educational material. The strength of these collaborative efforts was tested in 2019, when the category 5 Hurricane Dorian made landfall and stalled over The Bahamas, decimating the museum facilities along with much of Abaco and Grand Bahama. All of the associated specimens might have been lost, had not the long history of trust and collaboration between AMMC and the Florida Museum enabled researchers to mount a speedy rescue effort to retrieve and rehabilitate the collections. Kelly Fowler sees the potential for such outreach and curation efforts on other islands in The Bahamas going forward. "I'm hoping that I can assist the AMMC in reestablishing a similar program for New Providence to fill that knowledge gap and inspire future professionals," she said. Interdisciplinary and international science needed to address 21st-century problems All the issues addressed in the study come down to the nature and strength of scientific collaborations, says LeFebvre. "There needs to be a level of personal relationship and trust-building, slowing down to hear what the local scientists and community stakeholders want and what they're interested in gaining from any given collaboration," she said. LeFebvre contends that an exchange of ideas among people from multiple backgrounds and disciplines is needed for an accurate understanding of past ecosystems, which, in turn, is a necessary requisite for protecting modern environments. And while inclusivity should be the status quo in all scientific practice, it's paramount in regions like the Caribbean that are still reeling from the effects of colonialism. "It can be tempting to think that science is an apolitical endeavor," she said. "This was the assumption throughout colonial history, and it's still an undercurrent in scientific practice. But museum collections and natural-history specimens are not apolitical or neutral. We need to continue finding ways to conduct science in a more socially and culturally responsible way." The research was published in The American Naturalist. Explore further Additions to natural history collections declining More information: Ryan S. Mohammed et al, Colonial Legacies Influence Biodiversity Lessons: How Past Trade Routes and Power Dynamics Shape Present-Day Scientific Research and Professional Opportunities for Caribbean Scientists, The American Naturalist (2022). Journal information: American Naturalist Ryan S. Mohammed et al, Colonial Legacies Influence Biodiversity Lessons: How Past Trade Routes and Power Dynamics Shape Present-Day Scientific Research and Professional Opportunities for Caribbean Scientists,(2022). DOI: 10.1086/720154 Localization through spectrally dependent scattering and transitions. (A) Localization via first-order scattering: waves with different wave numbers k (different colors) undergo scattering events that depend on the spectral decomposition of the potential. (B) The bandwidth-limited spectrum of correlated disorder, , represents gratings with random amplitude and phase. The nonzero components lie in the intervals [ k 0 k/2, k 0 +k/2]. (C) Scattering processes mediated by a single spectral component k 0 [from ], with the dispersion curve (k) = k2/2 describing the phase mismatch. A first-order phase-matched transition: A wave of wave number k 0 /2 scatters efficiently to k 0 /2 because (k 0 /2) = (k 0 /2). A second-order phase-matched transition takes place when a wave scatters from k 0 to 0 and subsequently to k 0 . The intermediate state at k = 0 is called virtual because it is phase mismatched with the initial wave ( k 0 ) unequal to (0). With the grating component at k 0 , there is no phase-matched scattering for a wave that starts with 0.75k 0 . Credit: Science Advances (2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abn7769 In collaboration with the group of Professor Mordechai Segev (Technion, Israel Institute of Technology), physicists from the group of Professor Alexander Szameit (University of Rostock) have demonstrated a novel type of mechanism that can prevent light waves from spreading freely. So far, the underlying physical effect had been considered far too weak to fully arrest wave expansion. In their recent experiments, the physicists observed that such light localization is nevertheless possible, demonstrating the uncanny sensitivity of wave propagation across a wide range of spatial length scales. Their discovery was recently published in the journal Science Advances. In 1958, Phil Anderson surprised the international scientific community by predicting that an electrical conductor (such as copper) can abruptly turn into an insulator (such as glass), when the atomic crystal order is sufficiently shaken up. In the jargon of physicists, such "disorder" can pin the otherwise freely moving electrons down, and thus, prevent any substantial electrical currents through the material. This physical phenomenon, known as "Anderson localization," can only be explained by modern quantum mechanics, where electrons are treated not only as particles, but also as waves. As it turns out, this effect, for which Phil Anderson was awarded a share of the Nobel Prize in Physics 1977, applies also to classical settings: Disorder can likewise suppress the propagation of sound waves or even light beams. The research of the physics professors Alexander Szameit and Mordechai Segev deals with the properties of light and its interaction with matter. Recently, the team of Professor Segev made an astonishing discovery: Light waves may even show Anderson localization induced if the disorder is practically to them. Going far beyond Phil Anderson's original considerations, this new type of disorder exclusively contains spatially periodic distributions with certain wavelengths. "Naively, one would expect that only those waves whose spatial distributions somehow matches the length scales of the disorder can be affected by it and potentially experience Anderson localization," explains Sebastian Weidemann, who is a Ph.D. student at the Institute for Physics in the group of Professor Szameit. "Other waves should essentially propagate as if there were no disorder at all," continues Dr. Mark Kremer, who is also from the group of Professor Szameit. In contrast, the recent theoretical work from the Technion team suggested that the propagation of waves could be dramatically affected even by such "invisible disorder." "When light waves can interact multiple times with the invisible disorder, a surprisingly strong effect can build up and arrest all light propagation," says Ph.D. student Alex Dikopoltsev from the group of Professor Segev as he describes the effect. In close collaboration, the physicists from Rostock and Israel demonstrate the new localization mechanism for the first time. "To this end, we constructed artificial disordered materials from kilometers of optical fiber. Arranged in an intricate fashion, our optical networks emulate the spatial spreading of electrons in disordered materials. This allowed us to directly observe how practically invisible structures can successfully ensnare light waves," explains Sebastian Weidemann, who conducted the experiments together with Dr. Mark Kremer. The discoveries constitute a significant advance in fundamental research on the propagation of waves in disordered media, and potentially pave the way towards a new generation of synthetic materials that harness disorder to selectively suppress currents; whether light, sound or even electrons. More information: Alex Dikopoltsev et al, Observation of Anderson localization beyond the spectrum of the disorder, Science Advances (2022). Journal information: Science Advances Alex Dikopoltsev et al, Observation of Anderson localization beyond the spectrum of the disorder,(2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abn7769 Hours after unveiling the first image of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way, scientists from the Harvard & Smithsonian-led team discussed its significance in an online panel. Credit: Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Not long ago, the idea of photographing a black hole was as quixotic as photographing a unicorn. Now, scientists have not one but two images of two different supermassive black holesand they both look as magical as flaming doughnuts. "I remember when black holes were purely theoretical," said Ellen Stofan, under secretary for science and research at the Smithsonian and former chief scientist at NASA, during a post-reveal panel on Thursday. Moderated by Stofan, the conversation brought together four members of the Harvard-led team of scientists that in 2019 revealed to the world the first image of a black holea behemoth dubbed M87 after its galaxy, Messier 87. Hours before the panel discussion, the team shared a second imagea close-up of Sagittarius A-star (or Sgr A*), the black hole snacking on light and cosmic debris at the center of our very own Milky Way galaxy. "There can be no doubt now that we've seen black holes for the first time," said Shep Doeleman, founding director of the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration, an international team of more than 100 scientists led by the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. "It's the dawn of a new era in astronomy." In this new era, scientists could proveor disproveEinstein's long-held theories of gravity and relativity, find Earth 2.0, or discover a wormhole to another universe. (The latter won't be so hard for Doeleman, who said, cheekily, that he comes from another universe.) Photographing a black hole is even harder than it sounds. To capture images of objects so far away, "You'd need a telescope the size of the Earth," said Kari Haworth, an engineer and the chief technology officer for the Center for Astrophysics. "We didn't do that because that's impossible, and it would ruin a lot of people's views," she said. Instead, the researchers turned the Earth into a giant telescope by coordinating individual machines positioned in Hawaii, Chile, Mexico, Spain, France, and other locations. Each team had to snap a photo at the exact same time. Because black holes gobble up everything that gets too closeeven lightthey cannot be seen. But their massive gravity pulls in and compresses nearby light and debris, creating a spinning gaseous eddy that's teeming with energy. "Turning falling matter into luminosity," was how Doeleman put it. That luminosity can be seen and photographed. Some of the light that gets pulled into the black hole's gravitational field makes a U-turn or a loop-de-loop before escaping and shooting off in the direction of Earth, carrying an image of where it came from. The EHT team's final photograph is a composite of pictures taken by each telescope and stacked one on top of each other. To combine all that datawhich is light, captured at a very precise moment in timethe team needed to achieve one more strange feat. Each telescope team froze their light, stored it on hard disks (it's too massive to send across the internet), and flew it, by airplane, to one central location. M87, the first black hole to get the star treatment, is about 1,000 times larger than Sagittarius A-star and far more stable, but the images came out nearly the same, a coup for the EHTand Albert Einstein. Einstein theorized that black holes have only three characteristicsmass, spin, and chargeand no "hair" (as astrophysicists like to call additional properties). The only difference is a slight blur in the image of Sagittarius A-star. Our galaxy's black hole is fussier, as fidgety as a toddler, and it's harder to capture a clean picture of something that's constantly changing, said astrophysicist Paul Tiede. Plus, there's some cosmic soup between us and Sagittarius A-star, which obscures the images ever so slightly. "Even given this," Tiede said, "I'm still struck with how similar these images are." By the way black holes are described, you might expect them to be insatiable monsters, sucking in everything in space like a bathtub drain. Not exactly. While they are the most powerful objects in the universeDoeleman said a black hole formed from folding the Earth in half could power Manhattan for a yearthey're not gobbling up entire galaxies, just warping space-time and displacing objects from their intended paths. That's good news because the EHT team suspects there's a supermassive black hole at the center of every galaxy. But even with these new images, Tiede said, "We know barely anything about them." (Asked why the black holes are doughnut-shaped, he replied, "Because they're delicious.") "Black holes live at the frontier of our current knowledge of physics and astrophysics," said Angelo Ricarte, who brought his pet black hole named Poea soft black orb with two googly eyesto the panel discussion. These new images are already helping Ricarte and other scientists study the strange physics of the superheated gases orbiting the black holes, as well as how the behemoths spew jets of these gases a million light years in any direction. Those jets, Ricarte said, could help explain "our cosmic origin story," have profound effects on how our galaxy evolves, or bridge theories of the very big with the very small to support a theory of everything. "There are a lot of things we still don't understand fully in this extreme environment," he said. To gain a better understanding, Doeleman wants to build an even bigger telescope by putting another imaging device on a satellite orbiting the Earth. He also hopes to capture something more exciting than a photo of a black hole: a movie of a black hole. "If we could time the orbits of matter, that would be a completely different test of Einstein's theory," he said. This story is published courtesy of the Harvard Gazette, Harvard University's official newspaper. For additional university news, visit Harvard.edu. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain "21 dead in Texas elementary school shooting." "Gunman kills 10 at Buffalo supermarket in racist attack." "At least 1 dead and 5 wounded in shooting at California church." Such headlines have dominated the news in 2022, with at least 213 mass shootings already on the books less than five months into the year. With each comes complicated questions for journalists: How much should they focus on the perpetrator versus the victims? How, if at all, should they reference the hate-filled tomes that inspired the crime? How can they cover the story without harming loved ones or inspiring copycats? "There is a real tension point between what kind of media coverage best serves impacted communities and what kind of coverage best serves the public in a right-to-know or need-to-know way," said Elizabeth Skewes, an associate professor of journalism and media studies at CU Boulder who studies media coverage of mass shootings. In the wake of the Uvalde, Texas, shooting, taking the lives of 19 school children and two adults in an elementary school, Skewes discusses what trends her research has revealed and what advice she has for journalists. When and how did you get interested in studying this? I got started on it because of the 2012 Aurora theater shooting. There was a lot of coverage of the shooter, James Holmes, who had dyed his hair orange. Family members were saying, "Don't talk about the shooter," and some Denver news stations were trying to honor that. In my heart, I wanted to respect that. But then I thought, there's a lot about his story that I want to know: What were the red flags? Why didn't people, like his therapist, report what they saw? We do need to talk about them to some degree so we can better recognize warning signs and intervene the next time. I wanted to study that tension point. What has changed in the way media outlets cover mass shootings? The first one we're looking at is the 1966 "tower shooting" at the University of Texas at Austinthe point when these started ticking up. Back then, there was much more focus on the shooter, and coverage of the victims was limited to name, age and condition in the hospital. That was before the HIPAA privacy laws, so hospitals were still allowed to release that information to the press. Post-Columbine, we've seen a shift to a greater emphasis on the victims' stories. And since Ethan Crumbley's parents were charged with involuntary manslaughter after he fatally shot four classmates at Oxford High School in Detroit, Michigan [in November 2021], more attention is now being paid to the parents. Some argue that covering the shooter inspires copycats, the contagion effect. Does it? One 2015 study says that statistically speaking, when a mass shooting occurs, it increases the probability of another mass shooting by 0.3 new incidents for two weeks after the initial shooting. However, the idea is challenged by other research on the topic, so the answer isn't clear. To me, in the era of social media, it seems almost naive to attribute this to traditional media outlets. We can clamp down and say to The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and Buffalo News: Let's not talk about these people. But other perpetrators are often getting their inspiration from social media sites anyway. For instance, Payton Gendron, the Buffalo shooter, is believed to have been radicalized on [the online anonymous bulletin board] 4chan. How else has social media changed the way these things are reported? It has challenged mainstream media in two ways. In cases like the King Soopers shooting, there was a guy with a cellphone recording and saying, "I'm a journalist." Well, he's not a journalist, in the sense of being trained and understanding law and ethics and storytelling. He's just a guy pointing a cell phone at stuff with no decorum or respect for others. That hurts journalism. The other place where it gets challenging is that the information is out there anyway, and news organizations are trying to find their balance between noting what's out there and giving the shooter a voice. How are they straddling that line? A lot of news organizations have landed on mentioning writings or videos but not linking to them. I think that's appropriate. For members of the public who might really want to see them, they can be found. However, typically it's not as easy as a simple Google search since a lot of social media outlets will remove writings or videos as soon as they are aware of the shooting. So finding them takes a little more work. That's how it should be. NPR refuses to use the term manifesto to refer to Gendron's 180-page document glorifying the white nationalist "great replacement." What do you think? They make a good point. Words do have meaning, and calling the writings of a mass shooter a manifesto could signal that it has more depth or gravitas than calling it a screed, for example. Likewise, perhaps we should stop calling the "great replacement" a theory. It gives it too much credence. What else can journalists do to cover these events sensitively? Media organizations need to be careful about when and how they talk about shooters. If you go back to 1966, the Texas tower shooting, for instance, there were lots of stories about how Charles Whitman had been a Boy Scout troop leader and a pianist and things like that. Honestly, I don't really care about what a good guy this person supposedly was early on. Media organizations don't need to do anything to humanize someone who has just done something so horrendous. What I want to know is: How did they get the weapons? What were the signs somebody around them could or should have caught? Also, timing is critical for naming the victims. You don't want the media to be the way someone finds out that their son, daughter or close friend was killed. Does the media have a role to play in preventing mass shootings? There is a tendency for media outlets to report that something happens and move on to the next headline. What I would love to see is more big national projects looking at this in terms of policy issues. That's in part what I am doing with my project. Whether it's gun laws or mental health or better reporting mechanisms or holding parents accountable, let's put it on the table and create a forum for discussing it. The media needs to keep a spotlight on this, beyond just, "Here's another tragic event," just as politicians need to do more than say, "Our thoughts and prayers are with you." We can do more. The axolotl, or Mexican salamander (Ambystoma mexicanum), is nature's champion of regeneration. Prayag Murawala, Ph.D., of the MDI Biological Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, is leading the effort to establish the axolotl as a laboratory model for the study of human regeneration. Credit: MDI Biological Laboratory With its amazing capacity to regenerate tissues and organs, its ability to reproduce in a laboratory environment and the ease with which its genes can be manipulated, the Mexican salamander, or axolotl, holds enormous promise as a model for the study of regenerative medicine. But unlike research on traditional models like the mouse, fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) and roundworm (Caenorhabditis elegans), which has progressed into the genetic age, the study of the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) has been held back by a lack of scientific tools to work with it, including sophisticated genomic resources as well as experimental and genetic tools. That is now changing due to research at the MDI Biological Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, and elsewhere. The development of new tools to work with the axolotl is elevating it to the level of established research models and positioning the community of scientists who use it as a model for exponential growth. As a result of these changes, the laboratory is expected to become a global epicenter for axolotl research. The institution's growing prominence in the axolotl community is owing to Prayag Murawala, Ph.D., who joined the faculty last year. Murawala, who previously worked in the laboratory of Elly Tanaka, Ph.D., the world's preeminent axolotl researcher, at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology in Vienna, Austria, brought the latest tools for working with the axolotl, many of which he developed, to his new post, along with a commitment to fostering the growth of the axolotl as a research model. Many of the tools that have been developed for working with the axolotl, as well as those that are critically needed to expand the scope of axolotl research, were recently described by Murawala in two papers, "The Use of Transgenics in the Laboratory Axolotl" and "Gene and Transgenics Nomenclature for the Laboratory AxolotlAmbystoma Mexicanum," both published in the June 2022 edition of Developmental Dynamics. In addition to Murawala, authors include Ji-Feng Fei of Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, in Guangzhou, China, and, on the nomenclature paper, Tanaka and S. Randal Voss, Ph.D., director of the Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center (AGSC) at the College of Medicine at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, a federally funded center for the distribution of axolotl research animals. "The ability of some animals to regenerate has fascinated observers for thousands of years, including early MDI Biological Laboratory investigators such as scientific luminaries Thomas Hunt Morgan and Richard J. Goss," said Hermann Haller, M.D., president. "In his efforts to develop the axolotl as a model, Prayag is carrying on a long and venerable laboratory tradition of looking to nature to gain insight into human health." The axolotl, a Mexican salamander that is now all but extinct in the wild, is a champion of regeneration, with the ability to regenerate almost any body part, including brain, heart, jaws, limbs, lungs, ovaries, spinal cord, skin, tail and more. Gaining increased insight into the cellular and genetic mechanisms underlying this ability could lead to new treatments for traumatic injury, disease, congenital malformation and aging. Most axolotl research is now focused on the question of fibrosis (scar formation)or why axolotls regenerate limbs and tails while mammals such as mice and humans form a scar at the site of an injury. But because of its amazing regenerative capabilities, the possibilities for research in the axolotl are wide open, especially given the plethora of new tools that are becoming available to work with it. "With these tools in place, we expect to see exponential growth," Murawala said. "We only need to look at other animal models to get a sense of the variety of topics that can be studied. Most axolotl research is now focused on limb or tail regeneration, but there is also the opportunity to study regeneration in the brain, heart, lung, spinal cord and more. We are not running short on biological questions to investigate." The need for transgenic animals While the axolotl has been a subject of study in vertebrate developmental biology for more than 150 years (most laboratory models are descendants of animals brought to Paris from Mexico in 1863), it has attracted renewed attention in recent years as a model in regenerative biology and medicine due to advances in the development of new genetic and genomic resources. Among these are transgenic animals, or animals that have been genetically engineered for characteristics important for research. Using gene-editing techniques, researchers can, for instance, create animals whose cells are labeled with fluorescent tags, which allows them to study how cells behave under a fluorescence microscope; or animals in which genes have been "knocked out," which allows them to study gene function. Currently, few transgenic axolotls are available to U.S. and Canadian researchers from the AGSCindeed, the lack of transgenic animals is one of the barriers to axolotl research cited in Murawala's recent transgenics paper. But that is changing due to his establishment of mechanisms for the importation of transgenic animals to the United States from Tanaka's and other European laboratories. Prayag Murawala, Ph.D., a scientist at the MDI Biological Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, is leading the effort to establish the Mexican salamander, or axolotl, as a laboratory model for the study of regeneration. With the ability to regenerate almost any body part, the axolotl is nature's champion of regeneration. The development of new tools to work with the axolotl is elevating it to the level of established research models and positioning the community of scientists who work with it for exponential growth. Many of the new tools developed for working with the axolotl, as well as those that are critically needed to expand the scope of axolotl research, are described by Murawala in two papers published in the June 2022 edition of the journal Developmental Dynamics. Credit: MDI Biological Laboratory As a result of these efforts, the MDI Biological Laboratory's already sizeable axolotl colony of non-transgenic animals is now the largest repository of transgenic axolotls in North America, with 30 to 40 lines available to North American researchers. In the future, Murawala plans to coordinate with the AGSC in the distribution of transgenic research animals propagated at the MDI Biological Laboratory. In addition to furthering research, the distribution of transgenic animals, which can take years to develop, also protects lines that are now available in only a few laboratories from being lost to potential pathogens or other catastrophes. The need for uniform nomenclature In addition to transgenic animals, another need cited by Murawala is that of uniform gene and transgenic nomenclature, which is the subject of the second paper. Although the large and complex axolotl genome, which is 10 times the size of the human genome, has been sequenced by teams from Tanaka's and Voss' laboratories, much work remains to be done on establishing gene and transgenic nomenclature. "If we want to exchange information, we have to have accurate and unambiguous communication, which is why standardized guidelines have to be put forward," Murawala said. "If I call a gene one thing and you call it another, it will create confusion. Since the authors of our paper were heavily involved in developing axolotl gene assemblies and transgenic animals, we were in a good situation to write the guidelines." Another critical need is that of an online database similar to the FlyBase and WormBase databases used in the study of fruit flies and roundworms. Such a database would integrate the genetics, genomics and biological data essential for effective communication and sharing of results within the axolotl community and among those studying other salamander models with whom axolotls share characteristics. In collaboration with laboratory scientists James Godwin, Ph.D., who also studies the axolotl, and Joel H. Graber, Ph.D., director of the computational biology and bioinformatics core, and in coordination with axolotl researchers across the world, Murawala is developing an "AxoBase" database that aims to unify axolotl-related resources on one website. The group expects to launch a basic website within the next few months, although developing a comprehensive database will take much longer. More information: Lydia Tilley et al, The use of transgenics in the laboratory axolotl, Developmental Dynamics (2021). Lydia Tilley et al, The use of transgenics in the laboratory axolotl,(2021). DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.357 Sergej Nowoshilow et al, Gene and transgenics nomenclature for the laboratory axolotl Ambystoma mexicanum, Developmental Dynamics (2021). DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.351 Provided by MDI Biological Laboratory Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain The global scientific community has issued another warning that increasing climate change and biodiversity loss will together reinforce negative impacts on people around the world, including food insecurity, health risks and disrupted livelihoods, as well as involuntary displacements leading to social unrest. The latest assessment reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) warn that the window to avoid far-reaching and irreversible impacts of climate change and global biodiversity loss on people and nature is rapidly closing. Last year about 50 experts nominated by the IPCC and IPBES produced the first-ever collaborative workshop report bringing together the climate and biodiversity science communities. The report explored the tradeoffs and synergies between climate and biodiversity considerations, and how such interactions are driven by human economic activity, with very serious impacts on society as well. The report provided information relevant to the implementation of the Paris Agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity's Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, and the Sustainable Development Goals. The report found that "Simultaneously meeting these agreements relies on immediate and sustained efforts for transformative change which encompass technological and environmental policies as well as changes to economic structures and profound shifts in society." Now, a new article published today in the scientific journal BioScience builds on the IPBES-IPCC workshop report. Written by world-leading climate and biodiversity scientists who were also part of the IPBES-IPCC report, it argues that to effectively and equitable address planetary emergencies, it is crucial to activate deep and urgent ("transformative") changes across economies and societies. They authors claim that such needed changes contrast with policies being currently proposed that focus on incremental changes; that is, changes restricted to actions that are accommodated within existing societal and economic structures and goals, such as those promoting increases in energy efficiency without questioning the paradigm of continuous exponential economic growth. The authors of the new article argue that incremental changes will not gain sufficient traction to be scaled-up if they are not accompanied by broader system-wide changes and that current incremental changes also risk being too slow to avoid severe negative impacts on people and nature. To illustrate the opportunities and challenges that might be encountered when trying to build more transformative approaches to governing the interactions between climate, biodiversity and society, the article draws on examples from forest ecosystems, marine ecosystems, urban environments and the Arctic. This new article in BioScience is designed to contribute to the much-anticipated and long-delayed "Paris-style agreement for nature" set to take place later this year in Kunming, China where 196 countries will aim to set ambitious goals for biodiversity. The authors hope that their calls for transformative change will help to better inform the setting of biodiversity objectives, targets, and indicators for the next decade. According to Unai Pascual, Ikerbasque Research Professor at the Basque Centre for Climate Change, and lead author of the article, "International policy initiatives such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity are surprisingly lagging behind the scientific evidence about the need to integrate a climate-biodiversity-society nexus perspective in their decisions. I hope that the efforts by the global scientific community in this regard will be followed up by action from the policymakers. We need urgent and decisive action amidst the accelerating climate and biodiversity crises." Victoria Reyes-Garcia, ICREA Research Professor at ICTA-UAB, part of the IPBES-IPCC report and co-author of this new article states that "It is unlikely that we are able to resolve the climatic, environmental, and social crises that humanity faces today using the same logic that created these challenges. On their own, technological fixes, current governance structures, and economic incentives/disincentives will not suffice to generate the transformative change needed to ensure a future with a livable climate, a rich environment, and just societies. To achieve these goals, we need urgent changes in the way we value nature and govern the rich common heritage of the Earth." Explore further Tackle climate change and biodiversity loss together: UN panel More information: Unai Pascual et al, Governing for Transformative Change across the BiodiversityClimateSociety Nexus, BioScience (2022). Journal information: BioScience Unai Pascual et al, Governing for Transformative Change across the BiodiversityClimateSociety Nexus,(2022). DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biac031 Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Sweden is often lauded for its gender equality. The gender gap in unpaid (house)work is narrow. Wide access to affordable, state-subsidized daycare, together with the right for parents of young children to work part time, means that women's participation in the labor market is relatively high. And parental leave policies are generous. At the same time, among the 38 countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the employment gap between people born in Sweden and immigrants is among the widest. This impacts a large proportion of the Swedish population. One in five people in Sweden were born abroad and an even larger share of Swedes have at least one foreign-born parent. To understand this dichotomy, my colleagues and I looked at how discrimination in the Swedish labor market varies by gender, ethnicity and parenthood. I found that having a name deemed to sound foreign results in applicants receiving far fewer responses than people with typically Swedish-sounding names. Correspondence audit of the labor market To study hiring discrimination, you can ask workers about their personal, and subjective, experiences. However, using only survey or register data to adequately measure discrimination across the labor market is difficult, if not impossible. An alternative method, adopted by both by sociologists and economists, is what is called a correspondence audit. Nowadays this mostly involves researchers submitting written applications from fictitious candidates to real advertised job openings. The researchers then record the responses received from employers. For our study, we submitted 5,641 applications in response to job ads on the Swedish Employment Agency's website, between 2013 and 2020. In total, our applications covered up to 20 occupations. These varied in terms of qualification levels required, industry and sector, as well as gender spread and ethnic diversity. We used common Swedish names to signal the majority ethnicity (white Swedish). And we used common Slavic and Arabic names as foreign-sounding namesthese represent some of the largest foreign-born population groups, and visible ethnic minorities, in Sweden. I found that applicants with foreign names receive substantially fewer positive responses to their job applications than those with typically Swedish names. The difference in the callback rates between applicants with Swedish and foreign-sounding names is almost 15 percentage points. In other words, if someone with a Swedish-sounding name sent out 10 applications, someone with a foreign-sounding name would have to send out 15 to expect the same number of callbacks. What's more, among applicants with foreign names, we found that men are contacted less often by employers than women. In a smaller study on a subsample of about 2,100 applications, we found no evidence of systematic discrimination based on gender or parenthood status. Discrimination across Europe These results broadly echo recent research from Europe. While previous findings on gender discrimination are somewhat diversedepending on the country and occupational contextmany recent European studies do not show discrimination against women in general. In fact, there is some evidence of hiring discrimination in favor of women. Discrimination against job applicants with foreign-sounding names, on the other hand, is well documented. There are also severalstudies, from the Nordic countries (Denmark, Sweden, Finland), that show that men with foreign-sounding names face greater hiring discrimination than women. The issue is complex. Other European studies have variously not found ethnic discrimination to differ by gender, or have shown discrimination patterns to varydepending on the gender composition of the occupation and the backgrounds (ethnic or racial) of the applicants. We focused on the early stage of the formal hiring process, but not final hiring decisions. Discrimination can, of course, also take place at every other phase, be that in terms of who gets promotions, training opportunities; who is paid what wages and who is let go. These findings imply that discrimination against job applicants with foreign-sounding names contributes to ethnic inequality in Sweden, particularly for men. If men with names deemed to be foreign receive fewer responses to job applications, they are probably less likely than men with names deemed Swedish to end up in an interview and to be hired. Explore further Four ways your name can affect your job prospects This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. This figure shows the difference between the previous and only known way of triterpene biosynthesis, compared to the new pathway which the researchers uncovered. Credit: Ikuro Abe, 2022 A collaborative effort has revealed a new type of triterpene, a group of organic compounds which are an important source of many medicines. Until now, all triterpenes were believed to be derived from squalene, itself a type of triterpene. However, for the first time, researchers witnessed biosynthesis of triterpenes in fungi without the use of squalene. This important discovery opens up a whole new world of possibilities for pharmaceutical science. Triterpenes are organic compounds which are abundantly found in animals, plants, microorganisms and even us. About 20,000 different triterpenes have been found and they are widely used in cosmetics, food supplements and, most importantly, medicine, thanks to their anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic and other valuable properties. Until now, all known triterpenes were thought to be generated from a common precursor or source, squalene. However, as revealed in Nature, a collaborative effort among the University of Tokyo and KEK in Japan, Wuhan University in China and Bonn University in Germany, has found a new type of triterpenes that doesn't require squalene. "Nobody could have imagined this happening in nature. This is the discovery of a new biosynthetic machine," explained Professor Ikuro Abe from the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Tokyo. Often, multiple enzyme reactions are needed to create complex molecular compounds, such as when our bodies use squalene to create hormones and bile acid. However, in just a single enzyme reaction, a simple molecule called a C5 isoprene unit, or building block, was the starter to construct a very complex triterpene molecular structure. The discovery happened almost by accident by the team at Wuhan University, who were working on genome mining to find new natural products. They were not necessarily searching for triterpenes, but they found new genes widely distributed in fungi. "They didn't know the genes' function," said Abe. "So they did a characterization of these news genes, and one of them happened to be triterpene synthesis." That is when they asked the other teams to get involved. According to Abe, the team at Bonn University are good at chemistry, so they worked on elucidating the detailed enzyme reaction mechanism, and researchers at the University of Tokyo and KEK applied their expertise in structural analysis. He said that once you understand the structure, you can modify it. "Change something here or there and see what happens. We can understand the structure-function relationship. It's like a puzzle," he explained. "Chemistry in nature is more efficient than the chemical synthesis we use in industry. That is why we are interested in the biosynthetic processes done in nature," Abe said. "Nature's method is a better, cheaper and cleaner process. We are trying to better understand how processes take place in nature so that we can recreate or redesign it in the lab, to get more and more important and useful compounds." This new discovery is only the beginning. "Now that we have solved the protein structure, we are already manipulating the biosynthetic machinery to try to produce more useful molecules, for example, for drug development," Abe said. Credit: ESA The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope will release its first full-color images and spectroscopic data on 12 July 2022. As the largest and most complex observatory ever launched into space, Webb has been going through a six-month period of preparation before it can begin science work, calibrating its instruments to its space environment and aligning its mirrors. This careful process, not to mention years of new technology development and mission planning, has built up to the first images and data: a demonstration of Webb at its full power, ready to begin its science mission and unfold the infrared Universe. "This first release will be a remarkable moment for the mission, giving us a first glimpse of how Webb will transform our view of the Universe," said Chris Evans, ESA Webb Project Scientist. "We are looking forward to sharing the experience of seeing these first images and spectra with the public across Europe." Behind the scenes: Creating Webb's first images "As we near the end of preparing the observatory for science, we are on the precipice of an incredibly exciting period of discovery about our Universe. The release of Webb's first full-color images will offer a unique moment for us all to stop and marvel at a view humanity has never seen before," said Eric Smith, Webb program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "These images will be the culmination of decades of dedication, talent, and dreamsbut they will also be just the beginning." Deciding what Webb should look at first has been a project more than five years in the making, undertaken by an international partnership between NASA, ESA, the Canadian Space Agency, and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, U.S., home to Webb's science and mission operations. "Our goals for Webb's first images and data are both to showcase the telescope's powerful instruments and to preview the science mission to come," said astronomer Klaus Pontoppidan, Webb project scientist at STScI. "They are sure to deliver a long-awaited 'wow' for astronomers and the public." Credit: European Space Agency Once each of Webb's instruments has been calibrated, tested, and given the green light by its science and engineering teams, the first images and spectroscopic observations will be made. The team will proceed through a list of targets that have been preselected and prioritized by an international committee to exercise Webb's powerful capabilities. Then the production team will receive the data from Webb's instrument scientists and process it into images for astronomers and the public. "I feel very privileged to be a part of it," said Alyssa Pagan, a science visuals developer at STScI. "Typically, the process from raw telescope data to final, clean image that communicates scientific information about the Universe can take anywhere from weeks to a month," Pagan said. What will we see? While careful planning for Webb's first full-color images has been underway for a long time, the new telescope is so powerful that it is difficult to predict exactly how the first images will look. "Of course, there are things we are expecting and hoping to see, but with a new telescope and this new high-resolution infrared data, we just won't know until we see it," said STScI's lead science visuals developer Joseph DePasquale. Early alignment imagery has already demonstrated the unprecedented sharpness of Webb's infrared view. However, these new images will be the first in full color and the first to showcase Webb's full science capabilities. In addition to imagery, Webb will be capturing spectroscopic datadetailed information astronomers can read in light. The first images package of materials will highlight the science themes that inspired the mission and will be the focus of its work: the early Universe, the evolution of galaxies through time, the lifecycle of stars, and other worlds. All of Webb's commissioning datathe data taken while aligning the telescope and preparing the instrumentswill also be made publicly available. On 11 March 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) team completed the stage of mirror alignment known as "fine phasing". Although there are months to go before Webb ultimately delivers its new view of the cosmos, achieving this milestone means the team is confident that Webbs first-of-its-kind optical system is working as well as possible. Credit: European Space Agency What's next? Science! After capturing its first images, Webb's scientific observations will begin, continuing to explore the mission's key science themes. Teams have already applied through a competitive process for time to use the telescope, in what astronomers call its first "cycle," or first year of observations. Observations are carefully scheduled to make the most efficient use of the telescope's time. These observations mark the official beginning of Webb's general science operationsthe work it was designed to do. Astronomers will use Webb to observe the infrared Universe, analyze the data collected, and publish scientific papers on their discoveries. Beyond what is already planned for Webb, there are the unexpected discoveries astronomers can't anticipate. One example: In 1990 when the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope launched, dark energy was completely unknown. Now it is one of the most exciting areas of astrophysics. What will Webb discover? Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Life as a part-time retail worker can be tough. Hours can vary widely from week to week. Workers may be called in at the last minute or sent home before their shift is over. They may work late one day to close the store and start early the next to open, a practice known as "clopening." They simply may not get enough hours to make ends meet. But what if employers adopted more responsible scheduling practices, providing workers with consistent, predictable and adequate schedules with a measure of employee control? Starting in 2015, a group of researchers, including Pradeep Pendem, then a graduate student and now an assistant professor of operations and business analytics in the UO's Lundquist College of Business, conducted a large-scale field experiment at Gap retail stores to find out. Their findings, published in March in the journal Management Science, found that stores that adopted responsible scheduling practices were more productive and saw increased sales and reduced labor hours compared to Gap stores that maintained the status quo. The study provides "evidence that retailers may not need to choose between profits and employee well-being by demonstrating that responsible scheduling practices can serve both goals," the authors say. It's the first randomized field experiment to evaluate the effect of scheduling practices on business outcomes in retail stores. The study found store productivity rose 5.1 percent, store sales rose 3.3 percent and labor declined 1.8 percent. Pendem, who joined the Lundquist College of Business in 2018, is one of four co-authors, with colleagues from the University of North Carolina (where Pendem earned his master's and doctoral degrees), the University of Chicago, and the University of California, San Francisco. Their work was cited in a bill now before Congress, HR 6670, the Schedules That Work Act, that would permit employees to request changes to their schedules without fear of retaliation, ensure that employers consider those requests, and require employers to provide more predictable and stable schedules for employees in certain occupations. The study also was cited in the 2022 Economic Report of the President recently released by the White House Council of Economic Advisors. "It is immensely satisfying as a researcher to see the references to my research study in a congressional bill and in the Biden-Harris administration's 2022 economic report," Pendem said. More importantly, he said, it was gratifying to see national policies being backed by rigorous scientific studies. Several cities and states, including Oregon, have already adopted laws that regulate scheduling practices by large companies, including retailers. The study examined the longstanding practice by employers to match labor supply to customer traffic. Operations management researchers have developed sophisticated algorithms for scheduling labor to closely track variations in consumer demand. These "workforce optimization systems" create an ebb and flow of workers in and out of the workplace as the volume of customers rises and falls across hours, days and weeks. But "these workforce management systems have failed to consider worker well-being," Pendem said. Such practices can inflict considerable costs on workers navigating unstable and unpredictable schedules, the study says. Unpredictable work schedules can have significant negative effects on sleep quality, mental health and happiness and are associated with unstable child care arrangements and negative health and behavioral outcomes for children. In addition, such practices hit workers of color harder, according to the Schedules That Work Act. Compared to their white workers, workers of color are more likely to have canceled shifts, have on-call shifts, be involuntary part-time workers, have trouble getting time off, and be required to work "clopening" shifts. To find how more responsible scheduling practices would affect both businesses and employees, Pendem and colleagues designed an experiment with the cooperation of Gap Inc., the global clothing retailer. Starting in 2015, they studied 28 Gap stores with more than 1,500 employees in San Francisco and Chicago for nine months. The stores were divided into two groups: Nine stores were control stores, where managers made no changes to workers' schedules, and 19 stores were treatment stores, where managers agreed to adopt so-called "responsible scheduling practices," including: Stable shift structures, with fixed start and end times for shifts. Core scheduling, with employees getting the same shifts week to week. "Part-time plus," where managers were asked to build a core team of part-time workers whom they would regularly schedule for at least 20-hour weeks. Targeted additional staffing, where managers were given modest increases in their stores' labor budgets for times when the store was deemed to be understaffed. Tech-enabled scheduled changes, in which employees used a third-party app to post shifts they did not want to work and to pick up additional shifts. Several mechanisms account for increased sales and decreased labor hours when firms adopt reasonable scheduling practices, Pendem said. One is that when employees have stable schedules, they're happier and put in more effort at work, he said. And when they have stable schedules, workers are more likely to show up for work on time and less likely to stay late. Pendem said he expects more firms will adopt scheduling practices based on the study. And if Congress adopts the Schedules That Work Act, "such policies will indeed encourage firms to embrace these practices," he said. Explore further Variable schedules harm workers and businesses More information: Saravanan Kesavan et al, Doing Well by Doing Good: Improving Retail Store Performance with Responsible Scheduling Practices at the Gap, Inc., Management Science (2022). Journal information: Management Science Saravanan Kesavan et al, Doing Well by Doing Good: Improving Retail Store Performance with Responsible Scheduling Practices at the Gap, Inc.,(2022). DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2021.4291 Credit: Rachel Austin, Author provided Next time you go diving or snorkeling, have a close look at those wondrously long, bright green ribbons waving with the ebb and flow of water. They are seagrassesmarine plants which produce flowers, fruit, and seedlings annually, like their land-based relatives. These underwater seagrass meadows grow in two ways: by sexual reproduction, which helps them generate new gene combinations and genetic diversity, and also by extending their rhizomes, the underground stems from which roots and shoots emerge. To find out how many different individual plants are growing in a seagrass meadow, you have to test their DNA. We did this for meadows of ribbon weed seagrass called Posidonia australis in the shallow sun-drenched waters of the Shark Bay World Heritage Area, in Western Australia. The result blew us away: it was all one plant. One single plant has expanded over a stretch of 180 km making it the largest known plant on Earth. We collected shoot samples from ten seagrass meadows from across Shark Bay, in waters where the salt levels range from normal ocean salinity to almost twice as salty. In all samples, we studied 18,000 genetic markers to show that 200 km of ribbon weed meadows expanded from a single, colonizing seedling. How did it evolve? What makes this seagrass plant unique from others, other than its enormous size, is that it has twice as many chromosomes as its relatives. This makes it what scientists call a "polyploid." Most of the time, a seagrass seedling will inherit half the genome of each of its parents. Polyploids, however, carry the entire genome of each of their parents. Sampling Posidonia. Credit: Rachel Austin, Author provided There are many polyploid plant species, such as potatoes, canola, and bananas. In nature they often reside in places with extreme environmental conditions. Polyploids are often sterile, but can continue to grow indefinitely if left undisturbed. This seagrass has done just that. How old is this plant? The sandy dunes of Shark Bay flooded some 8,500 years ago, when the sea level rose after the last ice age. Over the following millennia, the expanding seagrass meadows made shallow coastal banks and sills through creating and capturing sediment, which made the water saltier. There is also a lot of light in the waters of Shark Bay, as well as low levels of nutrients and large temperature fluctuations. Despite this hostile environment, the plant has been able to thrive and adapt. It is challenging to determine the exact age of a seagrass meadow, but we estimate the Shark Bay plant is around 4,500 years old, based on its size and growth rate. Other huge plants have been reported in both marine and land systems, such as a 6,000-ton quaking aspen in Utah, but this seagrass appears to be the largest to date. Other huge seagrass plants have also been found, including a closely related Mediterranean seagrass called Posidonia oceanica, which covers more than 15 km and may be around 100,000 years old. The shallow, salty waters of Shark Bay. Credit: Angela Rossen, Author provided Why does this matter? In the summer of 201011, a severe heatwave hit land and sea ecosystems along the Western Australian coastline. Shark Bay's seagrass meadows suffered widespread damage in the heatwave. Yet the ribbon weed meadows have started to recover. This is somewhat surprising, as this seagrass does not appear to reproduce sexuallywhich would normally be the best way to adapt to changing conditions. We have observed seagrass flowers in the Shark Bay meadows, which indicates the seagrass are sexually active, but their fruits (the outcome of successful seagrass sex) are rarely seen. Our single plant may in fact be sterile. This makes its success in the variable waters of Shark Bay quite a conundrum: plants that don't have sex tend to also have low levels of genetic diversity, which should reduce their ability to deal with changing environments. However, we suspect that our seagrass in Shark Bay has genes that are extremely well-suited to its local, but variable environment, and perhaps that is why it does not need to have sex to be successful. Even without successful flowering and seed production, the giant plant appears to be very resilient. It experiences a wide range of water temperatures (from 17 to 30 in some years) and salt levels. Transplant experiments. Credit: Martin Breed, Author provided Despite these variable conditions and the high light levels (which are typically stressful for seagrass), the plant can maintain its physiological processes and thrive. So how does it cope? We hypothesize that this plant has a small number of somatic mutations (minor genetic changes that are not passed on to offspring) across its 180 km range that help it persist under local conditions. However, this is just a hunch and we are tackling this hypothesis experimentally. We have set up a series of experiments in Shark Bay to really understand how the plant survives and thrives under such variable conditions. The future of seagrass Seagrasses protect our coasts from storm damage, store large amounts of carbon, and provide habitat for a great diversity of wildlife. Conserving and also restoring seagrass meadows has a vital role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Seagrasses are not immune from climate change impacts: warming temperatures, ocean acidification and extreme weather events are a significant challenge for them. However, the detailed picture we now have of the great resilience of the giant seagrass of Shark Bay provides us hope they will be around for many years to come, especially if serious action is taken on climate change. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Credit: CC0 Public Domain The image of young adults living in a hookup culture with emotionally meaningless relationships might be a common theme in movies and daytime talk shows. But it does not seem to be the norm in real college life, suggests a new study from University of California, Davis, researchers. The study, published May 28, is the first of its kind to look at early relationship developmentthe time period in which people experience rising and falling romantic interest for partners who could, but often do not, become committed partners; in other words, "crushes." Previous studies have examined committed relationships on one extreme, and first impressions on the opposite extreme. To obtain their data, researchers surveyed 208 heterosexual college students at a Midwestern university about their dating habits, their various likes and dislikes, and attraction to potential partners over a seven-month period. Participants described an average of five crushes during this stretch of time and reported about 15% of them turning into dating relationships at some point. They collected a total of over 7,000 reports on these potential partners. What predicted whether or not these attractions ultimately fizzled? "What took us by surprise is that many of the important factors were the same things you would have seen in a committed relationship," noted Paul Eastwick, UC Davis professor in the Department of Psychology and lead author of the study. "This supposed hookup melee actually looks a lot like people taking relationships for a test run." The authors used machine-learning approaches to identify the strongest predictors of romantic interest in each crush. Machine learning, or the use of algorithms and statistical models to analyze and draw inferences from patterns in data, is especially useful at identifying predictors that are likely to be robust and replicable, the authors said. Over the course of the study, some of the best predictors of sustained interest in a partner turned out to be markers of attachment, such as seeking out someone's presence as much as possible, feeling distressed when separated from them, and wanting to tell them about successes. These features are traditionally considered markers of pair-bonded relationships. "When feelings of attachment and emotional connection start to kick in, young adults seem to take it as a sign that this is a crush worth pursuing," said study co-author Samantha Joel, an assistant professor of psychology at Western University. "Sexual and emotional attraction seem to go hand-in-hand, even before a committed relationship materializes." Other factors that were known to be critical in initial impression contexts had no effect at all in the current study. Specifically, physical attractivenessthe most commonly studied variable in the whole initial attraction literaturewas surprisingly weak. Participants also uploaded photographs of their crushes, and the researchers used a team of coders, who didn't know the subjects of the photographs or anything about them, to rate how physically attractive the crushes were on a 1-10 scale. This variable turned out to be completely irrelevant to whether participants were romantically interested in the crushes. "If we had been looking at a bar, or speed-datinga setting where you have to compete to be noticedthese coder ratings of physical attractiveness should have been exceptionally good at predicting which partners were highly desired and which ones were not," Eastwick explained. "But that isn't what the data revealed at all." According to Eastwick, these findings imply that early relationship development is a mating context in which people search for evidence of compatibility. "It isn't about fighting to get the 'most valuable' partner you can," he said. "It's about trying to find someone who inspires both a sexual and emotional connection. That's how young people initiate relationships." The study, "Predicting Romantic Interest During Early Relationship Development: A Preregistered Investigation Using Machine Learning," was published in The European Journal of Personality. Co-authors were Joel; Kathleen Carswell, assistant professor, Durham University; Daniel C. Molden and Eli J. Finkel, professors, Northwestern University; and Shelley A. Blozis, professor of psychology, UC Davis. This study was designed by Molden and Finkel. Explore further Machine learning predicts satisfaction in romantic relationships More information: Paul W Eastwick et al, Predicting romantic interest during early relationship development: A preregistered investigation using machine learning, European Journal of Personality (2022). Paul W Eastwick et al, Predicting romantic interest during early relationship development: A preregistered investigation using machine learning,(2022). DOI: 10.1177/08902070221085877 LAKE LUZERNE An individual in the Hadley-Luzerne Central School District will not attend school in-person for the remainder of the school year following a threat made on social media over Memorial Day weekend. In a letter sent to parents from Beecher Baker, superintendent of schools for Hadley-Luzerne, it was announced that the threat made reference to plans to do harm once school resumed from the long weekend on Tuesday. The superintendent said in the letter that there would be an increased police presence at the district on Tuesday and throughout the week. The district reached out to both the Saratoga and Warren County sheriffs offices, according to the letter. Terry Comeau, Warren County undersheriff, confirmed that the Sheriffs Office had been contacted by the district regarding the threat. He said that the sheriffs investigations unit made contact with the child who made the threats, as well as the parents of the individual. Comeau said that the next step will most likely involve a date in Warren County Family Court. Baker was unavailable for further comment Tuesday. In the letter, he encouraged parents to reach out to personnel in the district for support if their children are experiencing more anxiety or stress due to recent events, such as the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24. We would like to thank the people who saw something and said something, Baker said in the letter to parents. It is important that we all work together as a community to help everyone feel safe. Jay Mullen is a reporter for The Post-Star covering the city of Glens Falls, Warren County and crime and courts. You can reach him at 518-742-3224 or jmullen@poststar.com. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 2 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. A group of about 80 nursing homes filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn New Yorks law that established staffing minimums and resident-care spending levels for nursing homes. The state law, which was approved in 2021, requires every facility to maintain daily staffing hours equal to 3.5 hours of care per resident per day by a certified nurse aide, licensed practical nurse or registered nurse. The law also requires nursing homes to spend at least 70% of revenue on direct resident care, and at least 40% of revenue on resident-facing staffing. The lawsuit, in part, asserted Gov. Kathy Hochul illegally took arbitrary and capricious executive action when she ordered enforcement of the law will begin in March during a national health-care staffing shortage, which hinders hiring and retention of workers, court records show. The nursing homes in the lawsuit also argued New York violated federal laws that protect union bargaining rights and access to Medicare and Medicaid funding. LeadingAge New York, a nursing home trade group, filed the lawsuit Monday in state Supreme Court in Albany County. The combination of poor policies, lack of funding, and a workforce that is in short-supply have resulted in a perfect storm of circumstances that leaves us with no other remedy than to seek the intercession of the courts, James Clyne, Jr., president and CEO of LeadingAge, said in a statement. Hochul and the state Health Department didnt immediately respond to questions about the lawsuit. Nursing homes requested the judge immediately block enforcement of the state law and declare it illegal or unconstitutional. The lawsuit also seeks compensation for legal costs associated with the litigation. Violations of the staffing-minimum and spending-level requirements carry penalties of up to $2,000 per day for facilities. Penalties could also include seizure of their excess revenue. State officials in early April said they would refrain from imposing fines initially to allow nursing homes time to comply with the law. It remains unclear if any penalties have been issued thus far. The lawsuit followed months of debate over implementation of New Yorks nursing home staffing minimum law, which was approved last year by lawmakers and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. On Dec. 31, Hochul issued an executive order that delayed enforcement of the law, which was initially to take effect on Jan. 1. At the time, she cited pandemic-related staffing shortages impacting health care facilities as the reason for delay. After issuing two other similar orders delaying enforcement, Hochul on March 31 issued an executive order calling for enforcement of the staffing law. It came after Attorney General Letitia James and members of the 1199 SEIU Healthcare Workers East pressured Hochul to stop postponing implementation. New Yorks law functions arbitrarily to penalize and, potentially force closure of, nursing homes that do not meet a blunt, one-size-fits-all model, the lawsuit claims, adding the law fails to account for resident needs, investments in facilities and other factors. Further, nursing homes argued Hochuls executive order in March that initiated enforcement of the law also recognized the health care staffing shortages had not materially improved in recent times, court records show. Nursing homes affiliated with LeadingAge also argued they would need to hire, collectively, over 4,000 nurses and aides to meet the requirement of the state law, court records show. There is no evidence that job applicants for these positions exist, the lawsuit added. New Yorks average wages for nurses and aides are second-highest in the country behind California, the lawsuit noted, and New Yorks employment rate for those positions is also among the highest nationally. In arguing that the state law violates federal laws protecting union bargaining rights, the lawsuit cited the fact some nursing homes have unionized workforces that establish their own staffing ratios and other labor conditions. New Yorks law could also improperly impact nursing home funding from Medicare and Medicaid the government health programs covering millions of poor, elderly and disabled Americans, the lawsuit claims. Meanwhile, nursing homes asserted in the lawsuit that New York has yet to provide financial assistance to nursing homes for COVID-19 response or for staffing to comply with the mandate. The 2021-22 state budget allocated $64 million and the 2022-23 budget allocated $123 million for nursing home staffing but but none of those dollars have been distributed to providers, the lawsuit claims. A statement issued by 1199 SEIU Healthcare Workers East asserted the lawsuit misrepresented many issues connected to the staffing-minimum and spending-level requirements. The union noted other states, including Massachusetts, Florida and California, have similar measures requiring staffing minimums at nursing homes. New Jersey and Massachusetts also recently enacted requirements linked to spending on resident care, the labor group added. We are disappointed and concerned that (New York) nursing home operators and their trade associations continue to spend their resources fighting commonsense resident protections rather than investing in improving care at their facilities, the union stated. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Officers responded to the first block of North Arkansas Avenue at 6:40 p.m. after receiving reports that someone had been shot by a BB gun pellet. According to police, somebody then told Officer Wen You that he had been shot with a BB pellet coming from a white Nissan Altima with four men inside. Officers Joseph Kelly Jr. and Matthew Talavera stopped a car that fit the description close to the scene and stopped it at Arctic and Michigan avenues, police said Wednesday in a news release. Police searched the car and allegedly found two airsoft pellet guns and a loaded handgun with a high-capacity magazine. Woman dies after boat capsizes in Absecon Bay ATLANTIC CITY A 56-year-old Bridgeton woman died Monday morning in Absecon Bay after the b The firearm was a ghost gun, a self-assembled gun that lacks a serial number, making it difficult to trace, police said. Arrested were Isaiah Burris, 27, Joshua Carrion, 23, and Damian Maestre, 23, all of Philadelphia; and Owen Ricketts, 23, of Morrisville, Pennsylvania. All four were charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a ghost gun, transporting a weapon without a permit or license, transporting a weapon without a serial number, possession of a high-capacity magazine and conspiracy to unlawfully possess a weapon. Ricketts additionally was charged with simple assault with a weapon, two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon and two counts of possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose. All four were sent to the Atlantic County jail. Contact Chris Doyle cdoyle@pressofac.com Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Hundreds of Atlantic City casino workers have picketed outside the Tropicana casino. They're demanding a new contract with the citys nine gambling halls that guarantees employees a share in the post-COVID recovery. The old contract expired early Wednesday. Union leaders and workers say they'll demonstrate as often as necessary, and are feeling the pinch from rising gas and food prices. Atlantic City casinos and their online partners are collectively making more money than before the pandemic. But they say not all the casinos have surpassed pre-pandemic levels for in-person revenue. The casinos keep only about 30% of online and sports betting money. PLEASE BE ADVISED: Soon we will no longer integrate with Facebook for story comments. The commenting option is not going away, however, readers will need to register for a FREE site account to continue sharing their thoughts and feedback on stories. If you already have an account (i.e. current subscribers, posting in obituary guestbooks, for submitting community events), you may use that login, otherwise, you will be prompted to create a new account. OCEAN CITY City Council last week took a unanimous stand against a proposal to run power lines across the community, part of the Ocean Wind 1 offshore turbine project. The proposal to build almost 100 wind turbines off the coast has proven deeply unpopular in Ocean City, but this resolution relates only to the matter of allowing easements for the power lines across property purchased under the state Green Acres program. That issue is in front of the state Board of Public Utilities, which held public hearings on the matter May 19. Former Councilman Michael DeVlieger, a critic of the wind power proposal who recently fell short in his bid to return to the governing body, proposed the resolution at Thursdays meeting. Council members agreed to put his proposed resolution on the agenda, after a quick review by city attorney Dottie McCrosson, and it was approved unanimously. We ask the Board of Public Utilities to decline this request, reads the resolution, citing health concerns. The city administration has argued there are other routes for the powerlines, such as through the Great Egg Harbor Inlet rather than bisecting the city. As proposed, as part of the Ocean Wind 1 project, power lines would run across the island and across Upper Township to the former B.L. England power plant, where the power would enter the grid. Lease terms for California offshore wind projects released The Biden administration is advancing plans for offshore wind projects that would place hundreds of turbines in California's coastal waters. The U.S. Interior Department on Thursday released lease terms for projects planned for the state's central and northern coasts. Bidders would be required to engage with tribes and ocean users like fisheries as well as try to reach labor agreements for eventual construction. It will be several months before the lease sale begins. The proposed California projects are among several the Biden administration is promoting to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and achieve the nation's climate change goals. The plant is now idle, with plans under discussion to redevelop the area, but part of those plans includes use as one of the connection points for the Ocean Wind project. Last year, Ocean City officials reacted angrily to a state bill that took a decision over allowing the power lines to cross their jurisdiction out of their hands, giving it to the BPU instead. Stephen Sweeney, then president of the state Senate, said the bill was aimed at keeping Ocean City from blocking offshore wind. Officials with rsted, the Danish energy company leading the offshore wind project, have told Ocean City the lines would cross the beach far underground, unnoticed by beachgoers or homeowners. Contacted on Tuesday, Madeline Urbish, rsteds head of government affairs and policy for New Jersey, said the 35th Street route was chosen for the power line because it would cause the lease disturbance to people and the ecosystem. She said it is proposed to run about 30 feet under the beach and cross the island in the existing rights-of-way much like other utilities and then run along Roosevelt Boulevard and over to the former power plant. In addition to the rights-of-way, the proposal would impact areas on the beach and one on 35th Street that have been acquired for public use through Green Acres. Urbish said the BPU hearing was advertised and that notice was sent to each member of council and to the city administration. Some opponents of the project said the meeting was not sufficiently advertised, and suggested more residents would have spoken out if they had known there was an opportunity. There will be more chances. The project is about halfway through a two-year federal approval process, which coincides with a separate state permitting process. A windy war of words in Ocean City OCEAN CITY With some in favor, and more opposed, local residents turned out in force Satur Urbish said project officials have reached out to local residents, including holding several public information meetings in Ocean City, but were open to doing more. I think weve done quite a bit of outreach over the years, she said. I think were always open to doing more and for meeting with folks and continuing to educate people. The Ocean Wind project is part of the states plan to meet the goals of two orders from Gov. Phil Murphy. Executive Order 8 in 2018 set a goal of 3,500 megawatts of renewable energy by 2030, and Executive Order 92 in 2019 increased the goal to 7,500 megawatts by 2035. At least at the recent council meeting, the mood was clearly against the project. Several speakers criticized the proposal. DeVlieger and other residents also spoke at the public hearing opposing the easement, while he said representatives of environmental organizations spoke in favor. I was happy during the election to hear a unified front from council and the mayoral candidates, stating that they werent for the Ocean Wind 1 project and that they werent for power lines coming through Ocean City, he told council. At Davos, Kerry cites progress on China-US climate group John Kerry, Americas top official on climate change, says that the U.S. and China are making progress on putting together a group of experts from both countries to work toward quickly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Kerry made the comments while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. It comes as government and corporate leaders are debating whether oil and gas companies can or should be part of the future transition to renewable energies such as wind and solar. The question is both practical and urgent, as Russias invasion of Ukraine has forced many countries that depended on Russian oil and gas to make swift changes to energy supplies. But he alleged the city administration passed up a chance to comment on the matter. Not so, said city Business Administrator George Savastano, who read into the record the citys lengthy comment on the issue, submitted in writing to the BPU. In it, the city argues there are other, less disruptive routes available that would allow the project to move forward, and argued it was inappropriate to seek comment before federal and state impact studies have been completed on the proposal. As read by Savastano, the letter states that the city did not participate in the filing process, nor did it consent to the application. The board would be correct to conclude that Ocean Citys absence from this process is indicative of an absence of local consensus that this application is in the best interest of Ocean City and its various constituent groups, Savastano said. He said there is a vast list of unknowns associated with the Ocean Wind project. He said the city reserves the right to challenge any approvals granted to the project. We ask the Board of Public Utilities to decline these requests, Savastano read from the letter. George, thats a great letter, said DeVlieger, one of several residents who commented on the matter at the meeting. Still, he suggested the city be present at future hearings in addition to sending comment beforehand. Carbon removal technologies to get $3.5B federal investment The federal government is investing in machines that suck giant amounts of carbon dioxide out of the air in the hopes of reducing damage from climate change. The Department of Energy says it will release $3.5 billion to groups developing direct air capture and other technologies that remove carbon dioxide, which when released into the atmosphere causes global warming. Climate scientists say humans have already allowed too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to prevent dangerous rises in global temperatures. They say on top of curbing emissions we must also remove carbon dioxide from the air thats already been released. I think we need to be in their face, present at all of these events, he said. While not all Ocean City residents oppose the Ocean Wind plan, many have spoken publicly against the proposal, citing its potential impact on wildlife, commercial fishing and beachfront views. As proposed, the turbines would be visible from the beach, standing 15 miles offshore. Ocean Wind is planned to power a half-million homes, with more offshore wind projects in the works as well. The only thing Ill say is that we need to take every necessary step within our power, legally and otherwise, to stop this, Council President Bob Barr said. These folks have proven to be very bad actors, in my opinion. Not forthright. He said the company has not done enough to answer Ocean Citys questions about the project, and suggested they are rushing through the approval process. Why are you in such a hurry? Barr said. Why are we not being given the opportunity to review the reports that the state and federal government are going to put out? Contact Bill Barlow: 609-272-7290 bbarlow@pressofac.com Twitter @jerseynews_bill Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. WILDWOOD After about 90 minutes searching the ocean near the beach Tuesday night, officials called off the search for a missing swimmer just before 6 p.m. Were in recovery mode right now, fire Chief Ernie Troiano III said Wednesday. The Fire Department led the rescue efforts. The Beach Patrol had lifeguards in stands over Memorial Day weekend but will not have guarded beaches on weekdays until June 13. The Fire Department responded to a call for swimmers in trouble Tuesday afternoon. Troiano said firefighters with paddleboards were able to bring in two men from the water. One was about 200 yards from the beach, the other 125 yards out, Troiano said. When both men were back on the beach, they told rescuers about a third swimmer who was missing. We never had a visual on this person, Troiano said. They had a description, a young man in his early 20s. Search underway for swimmer off Wildwood beach WILDWOOD Rescuers were searching the water off Andrews Avenue on Tuesday night, near the W The Fire Department launched an extensive search, which included helicopters from the State Police and the Coast Guard, rescue boats from both agencies and a response boat from the North Wildwood Fire Department. Troiano said a boat from Sea Tow also responded. At one point, Coast Guard swimmers entered the water as part of the search, but did not find anything. At some point, it transitions from a search and rescue to a recovery operation, said Steve Stocks, Wildwoods Beach Patrol chief. He was not in the area during the rescue, but on Wednesday morning he reiterated calls for people to only swim in front of an on-duty lifeguard. He said ocean swimming is different from other environments, including powerful currents that can carry even the strongest swimmer far from shore. Wildwood welcomes visitors from around the country and visitors and workers from around the world, he said, and many may not be familiar with the rip currents of the Atlantic. Troiano said the two other swimmers and the missing swimmers girlfriend on the beach were certain he was in the water. He said the missing swimmer and the others were visiting Wildwood from out of the area, but said he would not release a name or other information as of Wednesday morning. Wednesday morning, the beach was quiet, he said, without the rescue crews, boats or helicopters of the night before combing the waves. Its kind of a waiting game right now, unfortunately, Troiano said. Contact Bill Barlow: 609-272-7290 bbarlow@pressofac.com Twitter @jerseynews_bill Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. WILDWOOD Rescuers were searching the water off Andrews Avenue on Tuesday night, near the Wildwoods Convention Center, after a swimmer was reported missing. Beach Patrol Chief Steve Stocks said the Wildwood Fire Department had lead on the operation, which was still underway late Tuesday. A firefighter with the department said he did not have any information to release as of 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, saying the fire chief was still on the beach. The Coast Guard also responded. According to Petty Officer Darryl Davis at the Coast Guard station in Cape May, the initial call came in about a missing swimmer at 4:32 p.m. The Coast Guard responded with a helicopter and a response boat. WPVI-TV 6 in Philadelphia reported that three swimmers had been rescued, and that the search continued for another. The search continued for hours, according to the report, and images showed multiple boats searching the water close to shore, as a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter hovered overhead. State and local police, along with firefighters from several communities and civilian boat owners, participated in the search. No details were immediately available about the missing swimmer. Lifeguards reunite for summer 2022 At the Jersey Shore each summer, visitors look at lifeguards perched high on their stands an Stocks said Tuesday that the lifeguards are not yet on duty full time for the summer. He asked people to swim only in front of a lifeguard a call echoed by lifeguards throughout the shore. But with a scorching hot day Tuesday, some were in the water. Water rescues are common along the beach. For instance, over Memorial Day weekend, Ocean City lifeguards reported 41 water rescues throughout the city, including four that took place after guards went off duty. Before Ocean City guards started for the year, lifeguards pulled three young people from the water near 10th Street. Officials say they were caught in a rip current. A 12-year-old from Mays Landing was hospitalized after being pulled in. In that instance, guards swam to the rescue of two swimmers and then spotted a shirt in the waves. They signaled to the personal watercraft operator, who reached the third swimmer, who was submerged. Ocean City Fire Department personnel launched a second watercraft to assist in the rescue of the submerged boy. Fire, Beach Patrol and police responders performed multiple rounds of CPR on the submerged victim before he was transported to Shore Medical Center in Somers Point. Officials said the boy was breathing on his own but was unresponsive. He was later transported to Cooper University Hospital in Camden. Contact Bill Barlow: 609-272-7290 bbarlow@pressofac.com Twitter @jerseynews_bill Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP Amid growing youth mental health concerns, more must be done to avoid a nationwide crisis, especially as children become older, a panel at Stockton University said Tuesday. Were seeing more issues with more children, said local school nurse Victoria Druding, adding more students have come to her for mental health treatment. The six panelists, each with a different expertise in mental health and emotional wellbeing support, shared thoughts Tuesday during a discussion at Stocktons Campus Center Theater. Twenty to 40 guests heard opinions about mental health in young people and what can be done to help reduce youth depression, anxiety and self-harming behaviors. Overall, the panelists discussed the rise in mental health conditions among children, teens and young adults since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020. The emotional toll of social distancing protocols, virtual learning, family financial strains and rising pandemic-related substance abuse have fueled a mental health crisis urgently needing to be tamed, said Druding. Other than COVID, many students may be feeling overwhelmed following May 24s mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, which killed 21 people, 19 of whom were students, said moderator Melissa Tomlinson of the New Jersey Education Associations Executive Committee. The state of mental health, post-COVID-19 Michele Noble, 52, of Egg Harbor Township, has been part of Mental Health Association progra Even before the pandemic forced millions into isolation and changed daily life, the trend in mental health treatment for youth had been climbing toward alarming numbers, the panelists said. Data, although lagging, suggests anxiety in children, teens and young adults increased by about 29% between 2016 and 2020. Depressive disorders increased by 27% during those years as well, said Dr. Brian Isaacson, chair of AtlantiCares Department of Psychiatry and founding psychiatry residency training director. Whats worse, Isaacson said, is that the rise in mental health conditions has transpired into alarming suicide rates, making it the second leading cause of death for those ages 10 to 24. This is disheartening, Isaacson said, adding youth suicide rates between 2010 and 2020 rose by more than 37%. Our current system is currently inadequate to care for these children, and theres multiple factors in that. Part of it is that New Jersey may not be allocating therapists in the most useful way, the panelists said. New Jersey, being one of the nations most diverse states, has high numbers of heavily Latino and Black communities. Not placing counselors of those ethnicities in those communities schools may not help Black and Latino students cope well enough, Druding said. Governor: Texas gunman said he was going to shoot up school The governor of Texas says the gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school had warned in online messages minutes before the attack that he was going to shoot up a school. Gov. Greg Abbott says the shooter, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, used an AR-15-style rifle in the attack Tuesday at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. About 30 minutes before the shooting, Ramos sent three online messages. According to the governor, Ramos posted that he was going to shoot his grandmother, then that he had shot the woman, and finally that he was going to shoot an elementary school. Abbott says Ramos had no known criminal or mental health history. Evil swept across Uvalde yesterday, Abbott said. We cannot expect that some therapists are going to be able to work smoothly with all students, Druding said. One factor, the panelists agreed, is not enough funding for in-school and out-of-school mental health treatment. While New Jersey is one of the nations best in offering mental health services to its school-aged children, each panelist agreed that the amount of funding and available resources is still not enough. More funding allocated to mental health resources can help make the field offer competitive salaries and attract prospective therapists and doctors. Doing so also could help close the diversity gap, said Amy Kennedy, a former Democratic congressional candidate. Kennedys husband, former Rhode Island U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, in 2013 founded the Kennedy Forum, an organization that advocates for evolving the nations health care system and expanding mental health services. Other than additional funding for mental health treatment, Kennedy said insurance coverage must be altered to reimburse those with Medicaid and improve school health care billing. Overall, Kennedy said, more regular funding is needed to create sustainable mental health resources. So many school districts have been fortunate to start using ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds and pandemic-related funds, Kennedy said, but knowing that thats going to end, theyve had to spend those funds, and its challenging to think that theyre going to bring staff on only to let them go in a year. Contact Eric Conklin: 609-272-7261 econklin@pressofac.com Twitter @ACPressConklin Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. TRENTON New Jersey resident Shashuna Atwater is still living with the awful smell of sewage that inundated her basement when the remnants of Hurricane Ida struck New Jersey nine months ago, destroying photographs, diplomas and other irreplaceable belongings. Atwater, of Newark, was one of roughly two dozen people who spoke Wednesday during an event in Trenton calling on federal officials to speed up and improve disaster aid. Atwater said she had given all her information to the Federal Emergency Management Agency but still hasnt gotten the financial relief she said she needs to rebuild. Shes out of luck with her landlord, too, who told her insurance wouldnt cover the damage. The aftermath was worse than what you saw when you first looked because here goes the cleaning up part, and youre all alone, Atwater said. We have to do better. Wednesdays event comes nine months to the day since Idas rains struck New Jersey, leaving 30 people dead in the state, turning roads into waterways, flooding basements and leaving a path of destruction across the state. It also comes at the start of a new hurricane season that experts warn could include another round of deadly and costly storms. FEMA has allocated about $250 million in assistance and approved aid to some 45,000 applicants, the agency said in an email. In addition, the Small Business Administration has set aside $248 million for Ida recovery and the Housing and Urban Development Department has earmarked $228 million in aid for Ida relief. Some of the cash has stalled at the state level as New Jersey officials work to dole it out, though, said Meghan Mertyris, a community organizer for the New Jersey Organizing Project, which bills itself as a grassroots organization representing the states shore region and an advocate for improving disaster funding after Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Tuesday sizzles in top 10 May day for heat The thermometer reached 95 degrees Tuesday at Atlantic City International Airport. And while The group hosted Wednesdays event outside the Statehouse Annex building. Democratic Reps. Andy Kim and Tom Malinowski both seeking reelection this year after first winning election to Congress in 2018 appeared alongside affected residents and organizers. Kim said he was sorry for the federal governments response and that people whose homes were ruined in the storm should have gotten help quickly. When they turned to those that they needed the help from they didnt get it, Kim said. For that I apologize on behalf of our country. That is not the way we treat Americans. That is not the way we treat the people that are here. The people here standing with me theyre not asking for the moon. Theyre asking for fairness. Malinowski echoed a refrain President Joe Biden made in September when he visited areas in the Northeast ravaged by Ida, naming climate change as a culprit. Climate change is here. It is 5, 10 feet of water in your basement. It is your house in the state of New Jersey left in a state of complete disrepair, Malinowski said. Speeding up disbursement would require better communication between the federal government and the public, Kim said. He added that congressional oversight could help with that. Shirley Eosso, of Basking Ridge, Somerset County, whose basement and garage flooded during Ida, said she got $249.99 from FEMA as well as some assistance through a flood insurance policy she carried. She was at the event Wednesday, she said, to speak up for people who couldnt afford to take off work because they might need the time to deal with the next flood that might happen. The process is broken. The money is there. How do we get it to the people who need it? she said. Four years after President Donald Trump undermined U.S. national security by withdrawing unilaterally from the Iran nuclear deal, I believe for political gain, the United States is still experiencing the consequences. The deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, blocked Irans path to a nuclear bomb, de-escalating a critical security risk and keeping service members out of harms way. Trumps withdrawal put the threat of a nuclear Iran back on the table and put us in a weaker position to deal with other grave threats. Thankfully, President Joe Biden is engaged in serious negotiations to bring Iran back to the international agreement. However, a return to the Plan of Action is still under threat by domestic political squabbles. A case in point: The key sticking point is the status of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps designation as a foreign terrorist organization. Of all the debates surrounding the deal, the Revolutionary Guard designation is the most peculiar. Its a largely symbolic label. In my career in the U.S. military, I understood that symbolism is important, but I knew substance to be most critical. Tough talk is cheap and often risky especially when U.S. security and military escalation are on the line. The foreign terrorist designation should not stand in the way of the United States preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. We need to keep our eye on the ball. Even if the Biden administration lifts the label, Irans Revolutionary Guard will remain heavily sanctioned. The corps has been designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist since 2017. The Revolutionary Guards foreign special operations arm, the Quds Force, is responsible for Irans most egregious activities and has been labeled a global threat since 2007. Beyond that, Irans government has been listed as a state sponsor of terror by the United States since 1984. Bottom line: The Revolutionary Guard will remain a global pariah no matter what. It is dangerous to allow a symbolic foreign terrorist designation to prevent the substantive restrictions on Iranian hardliners that would come with a return to the nuclear deal. The Revolutionary Guard is a bad actor and an adversary, and without meaningful diplomatic action it could get its hands on a nuclear weapon. We only need to look at Russia to see how nuclear weapons can embolden adversaries to menace their neighbors. The Revolutionary Guard designation is trivial for our overarching priority: preventing an Iranian nuclear weapon. And it is inconsequential when it comes to other security priorities. The label has had no meaningful effect on curbing terrorism or enforcing human rights sanctions. The Trump administration imposed the designation to prevent the Biden administration from rejoining the nuclear deal despite some top Pentagon officials and national security analysts warning that the move would backfire, harming U.S. troops and allies in the region. They were right. In the year after Trump designated the Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization, attacks by Iranian proxy forces increased by 400 percent. Far from stopping the Revolutionary Guard, the foreign terrorist listing emboldened them. The Trump administrations withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal unleashed Irans nuclear program rather than containing it. This policy failure should not politically bind the Biden administration it should give the president more ammunition to end a dangerous standoff and re-enter the nuclear agreement. The Iran nuclear deal remains in U.S. security interests and the interests of our allies. With Irans nuclear program off the table, we can better address other Iranian threats like the destabilizing activities in the region. Critics argue that the only way to deal with Iran is to withdraw from negotiations and double down on sanctions. But as it stands, the United States has exhausted its leverage under the Trump administrations maximum pressure strategy, which only served to unshackle Irans nuclear program. A negotiated solution to Irans nuclear program is the only reasonable path forward. This is why it is so disappointing that some senators voted recently for a non-binding Motion to Instruct that suggests they support hamstringing the president by adding non-nuclear demands to the nuclear negotiations, risking their collapse. The nuclear deal opens opportunities to tackle other issues, but we cannot squeeze every issue into a non-proliferation agreement. We never did that with the Soviet Union, and it does not make sense to do it with Iran. The senators should remember the Trump Iran policy was a colossal failure. Today, Biden can reverse that failure by rejoining the agreement that removes the Iranian nuclear threat and lowers tensions. It is the right move for U.S. national security. We cannot let what appears as a political challenge of righting one failed policy prevent us from addressing the far more severe threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. And we should not be bound by the shallow talking points of the Trump administration and hawks who have been itching for war with Iran for decades. The decision in front of U.S. policymakers now is whether they will get caught in a sanctions trap set by the chicken-hawks who pushed the U.S. to the brink of war with Iran, and in the process make a diplomatic resolution nearly impossible. As a military man of 30 years with three children currently serving, I would implore civilian leaders to put country over politics and do everything in their power to rejoin the nuclear deal. Let us not sanction our way into war. Instead, let us show the courage to choose peace. Paul D. Eaton is a retired major general in the U.S. Army. He is also a senior adviser at VoteVets. The Rock Island Arsenal isn't a target for potential closure, congressional leaders say, despite calls to reassess military bases around the country. The chair of a budget-writing defense subcommittee, Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minnesota, has voiced her support for evaluating military bases and identifying unneeded space, a process called Base Realignment and Closure. The acronym BRAC "strikes fear into the hearts of Quad-Citians," Scott County Supervisor Tony Knobbe told fellow supervisors last week in a public meeting. In 2005, the Pentagon decided to move the Rock Island Arsenal's 1,200-person-strong TACOM, a chemical and armament systems unit, to Michigan. Also in 2005, the Pentagon recommended closing the 301-person Defense Finance and Accounting Service at the Rock Island Arsenal, but the Arsenal kept a separate department that had been recommended for closure and gained another. The threat of BRAC comes with the possibility, however slight, of closures of one of the Quad-Cities' top employers. The Arsenal employs 5,089 civilian, 471 military and 669 contracted employees. All told, 14,000 community jobs are tied to the Arsenal. But U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Illinois, representing Rock Island County, said the Quad-Cities need not worry. Let me be clear: There is no Base Realignment and Closure process underway," Bustos said in a prepared statement. "In fact, the Arsenal's role in our nation's defense network is growing." Likewise, Scott Lohman, president of the Rock Island Arsenal Defense Alliance, a Quad Cities Chamber-affiliated nonprofit, said the alliance was not expecting a BRAC request this year since the Department of Defense did not include one in its appropriations request. But, "there are changing political dynamics on Capitol Hill that may open up a debate on BRAC in the coming years, and we will do whatever it takes to be prepared," Lohman said. Bustos, a member of the House Appropriations Committee and subcommittee on defense, pointed to an additional $70 million in federal funding invested this year in the Arsenal for research, development and manufacturing, including large-scale 3D printing. "I've spent a decade fighting for the Quad-Cities, and on my watch, the Arsenal remains well-positioned to help lead in the defense of our nation and for our allies, Bustos said. Rock Island Arsenal spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment for this story. Commands at the Rock Island Arsenal include the Army Sustainment Command, First Army, Joint Munitions Command, and Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center, among others. "The Rock Island Arsenal Defense Alliance continually fosters relationships and identifies opportunities to best position the region to have a positive outcome if a BRAC process is undertaken," Lohman said. Local elected officials expressed the threat of a BRAC always exists, which is why members of local boards and commissions encouraged members to continue to convey to lawmakers the importance of the Rock Island Arsenal both to the Quad-Cities and to the nation. A 2012 Government Accountability Office report found that the 2005 round of BRAC did not produce the cost savings that were expected because of increased cost estimates in information technology and construction as well as complicated record keeping on realignments and closures. Davenport Mayor Mike Matson, board vice president of the Rock Island Arsenal Defense Alliance, gave a presentation to the Bi-State Regional Commission outlining the importance of the Rock Island Arsenal, in case any BRAC discussions do arise. "I dont know that a discussion means anything more than a discussion, but any time there is a discussion we need to advocate for the arsenal," Matson said. "Keep it in peoples heads that we all support the arsenal." 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 meeting to discus several topics including the Moline water and the Apoyo Village projects is being held Wednesday at Silvis CityHall. According to a release, the town hall meeting will discuss: the vote to disband the civil service commission, a lead service line replacement project, a fireworks ordinance, the Moline water project and the proposed Apoyo Village project. Apoyo village is a low-income housing project proposed by the Greater Metropolitan Area Housing Authority of Rock Island County as a 24- to 26-unit project located at 2001 5th St. Those who oppose the Apoyo Village project say the project is targeting tenants on release from the Illinois Department of Corrections and that the project is less than a half-mile from Bowlesburg Elementary School and several day care centers, and just more than a half-mile from United Township High School. Meeting to be held today to oppose Apoyo Village project in Silvis A meeting to oppose the proposed Apoyo Village project in Silvis will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 10, in the Community Room at the Silvis Police Department, 600 Illini Drive. In April, Moline City Council members approved an agreement with Silvis to provide for the bulk sale of surplus potable water. About half of the residents of Silvis would receive water from Moline under the agreement after years of struggling with water-pressure issues and complaints of poor water quality. The annual revenue from the agreement is estimated to be $180,000. Moline to provide water to portions of Silvis After years of struggling with water-pressure issues, some Silvis residents may find some relief thanks to Moline. IF YOU GO: The meeting is being held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 1, at Silvis City Hall, 121 11th St., and is open to the public. Those with questions can call City Hall, 309-792-9181, according to the release. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 CAMBRIDGE, Ill. Convicted murderer Scott F. English, 52, of Kewanee, has been charged in Henry County Circuit Court with two counts of felony sexual abuse. English served 23 years of a 50-year sentence for the October 1996 beating death of 3-year-old Jami Sue Pollock of Kewanee. He was originally given a life sentence, but that was successfully appealed and he was given day-for-day credit in the 50-year sentence. He was released in December 2019. According to the new charges, English committed two separate acts of sexual conduct with a person under the age of 18 between May 1, 2019, and May 28, 2022. Judge James Cosby set bond at $250,000 on Monday. In court Tuesday, Judge Dana McReynolds arraigned English on the charges and penalties and set a preliminary hearing for June 6. If found guilty, English would be eligible for a sentence of up to seven years. The public defender's office was appointed to the case. A Kewanee man who killed a 3-year old was released in 2019. He was arraigned Tuesday for molesting children. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 6 Davenport firefighters rescued a dog and two cats trapped in a burning home on Monday. The Davenport Fire Department was sent around 11:40 a.m. to investigate a report of a fire on the back porch of a home in the 2800 block of West Dover Court, according to a news release. When they arrived, firefighters found fire and smoke visible on the back of the residence. Those inside the residence were able to escape before firefighters arrived on the scene, while fire crews rescued the dog and cats and returned the animals to their owner, the release states. No injuries were reported. The fire traveled up the outside of the house and got into the attic before firefighters arrived, the release states. Searching the home to ensure the fire was fully extinguished took several hours. The home was not habitable as of Tuesday, but the residents did not need Red Cross assistance. The cause of the fire was under investigation, the release states. The fire on Dover Court was the second fire Monday in Davenport, according to the fire department news release. The other happened about 12:30 a.m. in the 1700 block of West 69th Street, according to the news release. When they arrived, firefighters found heavy flames engulfing the side of a detached two-car garage. The fire was quickly under control, but the garage and two vehicles were damaged by the flames, the release states. No one was injured, the release states. The release did not provide any information about the possible cause or origin of the fire. 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. A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a Davenport man to more than 12 years in prison on gun and drug charges. Julian Darnell Black, 28, must serve 12 years for possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Iowa. Black must also serve five years of supervised release upon completion of his prison sentence. Federal court records state that, on June 12, 2021, Black had the drugs and a loaded rifle. The case against Black began while the Davenport Police Department was investigating a domestic incident in which he was considered a suspect. Officers seized two baggies of methamphetamine and the rifle from Black. He pleaded guilty to the charges on Jan. 24 as part of a plea agreement, according to court records. As part of the arrangement, a count of being a felon in possession of a firearm was dropped. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A meeting to discus several topics including the Moline water and the Apoyo Village projects is being held Wednesday at Silvis CityHall. According to a release, the town hall meeting will discuss: the vote to disband the civil service commission, a lead service line replacement project, a fireworks ordinance, the Moline water project and the proposed Apoyo Village project. Apoyo village is a low-income housing project proposed by the Greater Metropolitan Area Housing Authority of Rock Island County as a 24- to 26-unit project located at 2001 5th St. Those who oppose the Apoyo Village project say the project is targeting tenants on release from the Illinois Department of Corrections and that the project is less than a half-mile from Bowlesburg Elementary School and several day care centers, and just more than a half-mile from United Township High School. Meeting to be held today to oppose Apoyo Village project in Silvis A meeting to oppose the proposed Apoyo Village project in Silvis will be held at 1 p.m. Sund In April, Moline City Council members approved an agreement with Silvis to provide for the bulk sale of surplus potable water. About half of the residents of Silvis would receive water from Moline under the agreement after years of struggling with water-pressure issues and complaints of poor water quality. The annual revenue from the agreement is estimated to be $180,000. Moline to provide water to portions of Silvis After years of struggling with water-pressure issues, some Silvis residents may find some re IF YOU GO: The meeting is being held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 1, at Silvis City Hall, 121 11th St., and is open to the public. Those with questions can call City Hall, 309-792-9181, according to the release. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 China's new configuration AG600 large amphibious aircraft makes maiden flight Xinhua) 08:16, June 01, 2022 Photo taken on May 31, 2022 shows a full-state new-configuration model of China's AG600 large amphibious aircraft in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province. This new-configuration AG600 amphibious aircraft conducted a successful maiden flight on Tuesday, according to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). (Xinhua) BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhua) -- A full-state new-configuration model of China's AG600 large amphibious aircraft conducted a successful maiden flight on Tuesday, according to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). This new-configuration AG600 amphibious aircraft took off from the Zhuhai Jinwan Airport in south China's Guangdong Province at 10:55 a.m., and then safely landed at the airport after a 20-minute flight, said the AVIC, the country's leading plane-maker. During the maiden flight, it also conducted multiple flight test missions, including constant speed climbing, reducing speed in level flight and a simulated go-around. AG600 aircraft remained in good condition throughout the flight, with the control system operating well and all systems working stably, said the developer. The successful maiden flight of the full-state new-configuration model marked a new phase for the AG600 project and a major breakthrough in developing the firefighting functional model of the large amphibious aircraft, said the AVIC. This new configuration AG600 aircraft is specially developed to serve firefighting missions, with a maximum take-off weight of 60 tonnes and maximum water-storage capacity of up to 12 tonnes. It fills China's need for a large firefighting aircraft, the AVIC added. It is installed with a pressure cabin, fly-by-wire flight control system, integrated avionics system, and systems for its future firefighting missions. Compared with the previous model of AG600, the new firefighting-configuration AG600 aircraft boasts higher performance, larger water-dropping capacity and longer range, said the developer. AIRCRAFT FOR EMERGENCY RESCUE The AG600, together with the Y-20 large transporter and the C919 single-aisle passenger airplane, is part of China's key project to independently develop a "large aircraft family." Codenamed Kunlong, the AG600 is a key piece of aeronautical equipment in China's emergency-rescue system. It is developed by the AVIC to meet the needs of firefighting and marine rescue missions, as well as other critical emergency-rescue operations. It is also the first Chinese homegrown large specialized aeroplane to be developed under the civil-aircraft airworthiness standards, said the AVIC. The first AG600 successfully completed its maiden flight in 2017, its first take-off from a water reservoir in 2018, and its maiden flight over the sea in 2020. The aircraft requires diverse testing areas and will need to meet strict requirements due to the complicated nature of its future missions. It is capable of operating in complex weather and environmental conditions, with the capacity to rescue up to 50 people per mission. VAST POTENTIALS The AG600 research and development team gained key-tech of amphibious aircraft during the AG600 tech-demonstrator's diverse maiden flights from the ground, water reservoir and the sea, as well as diverse key functional test flights, said the AVIC. The AG600 will be capable of serving firefighting missions in 2023. Then, the firefighting type and emergency rescue type of AG600 aircraft are expected to receive certification and enter the market respectively in 2024 and 2025. The AVIC will facilitate building of the Chinese homegrown air-emergency-rescue-product system with the AG600 project as the lead. It will accelerate the AG600's entry into the market, and boost construction of the emergency-rescue command center and demonstration operation base, said the AVIC. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) An Interstate 80 exit ramp in Davenport will close nightly starting Tuesday, June 7 for a traffic sign installation project. The exit ramp from westbound I-80 to northbound U.S. 61 (exit 295B) will close nightly from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. from June 7 until June 16, weather permitting, according to the Iowa Department of Transportations Davenport construction office. Motorists will be directed to use the exit 292 exit ramp during the ramp closure, according to an Iowa DOT news release. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Two years ago, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin quietly co-founded a consulting firm with a top city aide, whos also a lifelong friend, and two men from Virginia. The arrangement has raised several potential conflict of interest issues for Irvin: Theres a mayor going into business with a city employee who is so close to Irvin that the mayor calls him a stepbrother. Theres the employee skirting through a process requiring city approval for side jobs. And theres the two Virginia men, who went on to get a $15,000 city contract without their ties to Irvin being disclosed. As Irvin seeks to become Illinois next governor while running for the GOP nomination on June 28, the episode joins other previously disclosed arrangements in raising questions about where Irvin draws the line between public duties and private ventures. Irvin has blanketed the airwaves portraying himself as a relative outsider who would clean up a state government but he has come under increased scrutiny especially over the five years he has run Illinois second-largest city. That scrutiny now includes questions about the consulting firm Aurora Dynamic Solutions, based two blocks from City Hall. Irvin owns it with Michael Pegues, who Irvin hired right after being elected mayor in 2017 to be Auroras chief information officer. While the two are not related by blood, Irvin considers Pegues a stepbrother because Irvins biological father who did not raise Irvin at times raised Pegues, and Irvin has said he and Pegues have been close since childhood. Irvin never announced his ownership in Aurora Dynamic Solutions, and it isnt disclosed on the state ethics form he filed when he ran for governor. As of Tuesday, the consulting firm had a half-finished website thats designed to be hard to Google but if someone could find it advertised a wide swath of services, including government consulting. For its first seven months of existence, the firm also was co-owned by Ranapratap Chegu and Gyanchander Gongireddy, two Virginia men who run a consulting firm in suburban Washington, D.C. At that same time, the city gave the pairs Virginia firm a $150-per-hour consulting contract to help the Irvin administration work with COVID-19 data, according to Aurora city records. Irvins campaign said the mayors firm was started in 2020 basically as a fallback career if Irvin, a defense attorney by trade, lost his 2021 mayoral reelection bid. Irvin, of course, didnt lose that race. So, his campaign said, the firm has just sat there, with zero clients or income, for nearly two years. Mayor Irvin never intended and does not intend to commence any business operations through Aurora Dynamic Solutions until after he is out of public office, campaign spokeswoman Eleni Demertzis said. As for why the administration inked a deal with the mayors former Virginia business partners, a spokesman for Irvins Aurora administration said the contract followed normal city rules. Still, political experts said the episode raises questions: Why would a sitting mayor start a business with Pegues, a city employee hes supposed to be supervising? And how did two of their business partners end up getting city work? While he saw no egregious ethical violations, Kent Redfield, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Springfield, said that there is a casual mixing of the public and private interests and a lack of concern over transparency which is all too common in politics as usual in Illinois. The latest revelations follow other issues that have been raised involving Irvin and his time as Aurora mayor. The Aurora Beacon-News first reported in 2018 about donations to Irvin from several companies that benefited from city actions. One telecommunications firm Scientel Solutions became a top contributor after Irvin persuaded a reluctant City Council to approve a new antenna for the firm over complaints it went against city plans and would interfere with plans already approved for a nearby firms antenna. WTTW-Ch. 11 recently reported Scientel continued to contribute more to Irvin while winning city contracts, as had developers who received city incentives. Bloomberg reported business ties between Scientel and Irvins biggest political benefactor, Ken Griffin. Another type of potential conflict emerged in mid-May. A joint investigation by the Tribune and Aurora Beacon-News uncovered how Irvin came to the scene of his then-girlfriends arrest by Aurora police for allegedly hitting a store security guard. According to a police report, an officer overheard Irvin saying the charges would be taken care of. Irvin has maintained that hes never crossed an ethical or legal line. He said he has not allowed political contributors to influence his decisions. As for what he said during his girlfriends arrest, Irvin said he meant the case would be taken care of through the traditional legal process, not by him meddling. New venture Irvin has blasted into contention for the Republican slot for governor, armed with $50 million pumped into his campaign by Griffin, Illinois richest man and a longtime political adversary of Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Irvin hoping to convince Republicans to let him take on Pritzker has used Griffins cash to saturate TV and other media, positioning himself to voters as a tough-on-crime, true-conservative war veteran eager to cleanse Springfield of corruption. Though he has been criticized on the campaign trail for dodging basic questions, Irvin has portrayed himself as transparent as both a mayor and candidate for governor. But his development of Aurora Dynamic Solutions has flown under the radar. In June 2020, public records show, Irvin filed paperwork with the state to incorporate the company, listing himself as the top of four managers of a firm that initially would be run out of his condominium. When asked recently about the business, Irvins campaign confirmed to the Tribune that Irvin became the firms majority owner, with a 51% stake, after pitching in $5,100 to fund the startup. Among the other three was Pegues, who fronted $1,900, while each of the Virginia men added $1,500, the campaign said. The reason Irvin began the business in the summer of 2020, his campaign said, was because he was up for reelection to his roughly $165,000-a-year mayoral post in April 2021. In case Irvin lost, he and Pegues, both military veterans, wanted to get an early start at the complicated and lengthy process needed to certify a business as veteran-owned, Irvins campaign said. That would help them more easily land government consulting contracts. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which handles certifications, told the Tribune the process typically takes about a month, even amid the early pandemic in 2020. Aurora Dynamic Solutions has repeatedly started the certification process but not yet completed it, a VA spokesman said. There was little controversy when Irvin hired Pegues for a top city job. But, Redfield said, starting a firm together adds a new dimension to a boss-employee relationship. Irvin hired and supervised Pegues, who is paid roughly $161,000-a-year by taxpayers. Anytime youve got a situation where people can question whether youre taking into account personal feelings in supervising or hiring, then people wonder whats the motivation: Is it entirely in the best interests of the city? Or are you pulling punches or putting your thumb on the scale because of personal relationships? Redfield said. When asked how starting a firm with a subordinate was not a conflict of interest, Irvins campaign said the mayor never intended to run the business with Pegues until Irvin was out of office. The Tribune also found Pegues did not file a formal application with the citys human resources department when he helped start the firm, even though city rules call for employees to do so for side jobs. While exempting elected officials, the city code broadly defines a side job as any involvement in the management, operation or direction of any enterprise, public or private. Aurora spokesman Clayton Muhammad said Pegues didnt file the formal application for the side business because the company doesnt have employees or revenue. As things move forward, the process will be followed, Muhammad said. Muhammad also defended the mayor not publicly announcing that he created the new firm, saying there was no requirement and if he had done so at a city meeting it could have run afoul of ethics concerns that hed use his city position to promote his private venture. Pegues did not return calls for comment. Irvin and Pegues did disclose their ownership of the firm in required city filings in spring 2021 that are only viewable by those who formally request the record through the Freedom of Information Act from the Aurora clerk. Irvin submitted his the same day Aurora voters reelected him. Irvin has not disclosed his ownership of Aurora Dynamic Solutions on separately required state forms filed when he ran for governor, which are viewable online. Irvins campaign noted the state rules dont require disclosure of firms that make no money; so the firm was left off state forms. A website. An office. No clients. On the firms website auroradyn.com Irvin was recently pictured as CEO and Co-Founder while Pegues was President and Co-Founder. It advertised services from arranging cloud computing and mining big data to a wide variety of legal/paralegal support to state, local and federal government agencies. Still, its source code was written in a way to stop search engines from indexing it. That meant the website couldnt be found in a simple Google search. Irvins campaign said the website remained a work in progress because the firm had never begun soliciting work. In fact, the campaign said, the firm has lost money. Tax filings provided by Irvins campaign, for the period ending December 2021, show the firm reported no revenue. Expenses included $1,900, which the campaign said was for accountants, $3,600 on the latest office site and another $1,787 for travel last year. The campaign said the travel money went to cover a trip to Washington, D.C., to help get the firm certified as veteran-owned. The 2021 tax return also showed a $1,200 reimbursement. The campaign said Irvin mistakenly used the firms credit card for a purchase unrelated to the new company. The firm remains active, at least on paper. Even though Irvin won his reelection, three months later Pegues filed an annual report with the state, which kept the firm going. It now has an office on the second floor of the Aurora Business Center. Irvins campaign said the latest site was needed to apply to be a veteran-owned business. On a late May visit to that suite, the Tribune found a windowless door beside a small placard affixed with the name Aurora Dynamic Solutions LLC. No one answered the door. From business partner to city vendor While Irvins Aurora Dynamic Solutions reported making no money, a separate firm led by the Virginia men did get city work. Virginia records show Chegu and Gongireddy run a consulting firm in that state called Peridot Solutions. Fifteen days after Aurora Dynamic Solutions was incorporated in Illinois, Peridot submitted a proposal to Irvins administration on helping the city handle COVID-19 data, Aurora city records show. Chegu and Gongireddy left Aurora Dynamic Solutions in March 2021, according to Illinois records. And Aurora records show that, less than seven months later, the city paid Peridot Solutions $15,000 for the data work. When the Tribune called Peridot, a man who identified himself as Gongireddy confirmed the pair had begun the business with Irvin and Pegues but declined to discuss why, saying its a private matter. Gongireddy declined to answer more questions, then hung up. Neither Gongireddy nor Cheguresponded to questions submitted to Peridot by email about the new firm and the contract. Demertzis, with Irvins campaign, said the mayor and Pegues started the firm with the Virginia men because of their specialty in information technology. She said the pair was not promised any city benefits or business when they joined the new venture. When they left, their seed money was returned to them, she said. In October 2021, Peridots $15,000 contract for data and analytic consulting services was one of 49 bills approved by the City Council. It was tucked amid payments ranging from $75 for a barbecue fundraiser to $1 million for a new ladder truck. Those bills won unanimous approval in less than a minute. Aurora aldermen asked no questions, and Irvin didnt volunteer his ties to the men behind Peridot. When asked why Irvin didnt disclose the arrangement, Muhammad said the contract was processed properly through the citys procurement process. Even so, what happened with the mayors firm and the contract raises issues that voters could weigh come Election Day, said longtime Illinois political scientist John Jackson, a visiting professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondales Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. People are cynical on the politicians, and this is just one additional straw ... on the camels back that might lead voters to add them up and vote against this guy, Jackson said. Steve Lord from the Aurora Beacon-News contributed. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Hedge-fund billionaire Ken Griffin has upped his investment in Republican governor candidate Richard Irvin to $50 million, with an additional $5 million contribution reported Tuesday. The latest infusion of cash to Irvin came shortly after Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker launched an attack ad late last week contending that Griffins support for Irvin was the result of Irvins actions as mayor of Aurora to push through a project important to the hedge-fund investors high-frequency trading business, Citadel Securities. Griffin is founder and CEO of the Citadel investment firm. In a statement after Pritzker launched the ad, Griffin said of the first-term governor that he found it disappointing that a man born with a silver spoon has accomplished so little, especially as governor. Griffin, the states wealthiest individual at a worth Forbes has estimated at $26.5 billion, is Irvins chief political benefactor and had already given the Aurora mayor $45 million in his bid for the June 28 GOP nomination for governor against five rivals. Griffin and Pritzker have long feuded politically. Pritzker, an entrepreneur and an heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune, is worth $3.6 billion, according to Forbes. Griffin spent $22.5 million to back Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in his losing reelection bid against Pritzker in 2018. Pritzker spent more than $170 million of his own money to win the office. Two years ago, Griffin spent $53.75 million in a successful effort to defeat Pritzkers push to change the state from a flat-rate state income tax to a graduated rate system based on wealth. Pritzker spent $58 million to encourage the measures passage. A third billionaire is involved in the race, conservative megadonor Richard Uihlein of Lake Forest, who owns the Uline office packaging and supply business. Uihlein is backing Republican state Sen. Darren Bailey of Xenia. Uihlein has given Bailey more than $6 million and also has given an independent expenditure group backing Bailey nearly $8.1 million, including $3.27 million last week. Bailey and Irvin are scheduled to meet on Thursday evening in a debate with rivals Jesse Sullivan, a cryptocurrency investor from Petersburg, Bull Valley businessman Gary Rabine, former state Sen. Paul Schimpf of Waterloo and Max Solomon of Hazel Crest. The debate is sponsored by WLS-Ch. 7 and Univision Chicago with the League of Women Voters of Illinois and marks the first televised debate of the campaign featuring all six contenders. It will stream live at abc7chicago.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Peoples Action, a national group that supports progressive candidates for public office, has endorsed candidates in Iowa campaigns for the statehouse and county offices.Peoples Action endorsed Austin Frerick for an Iowa Senate seat in northeast Cedar Rapids and Marion; Jaylen Cavil for an Iowa House district in Des Moines; Jon Green and V Fixmer-Oraiz for Johnson County supervisor; and Kimberly Graham for Polk County attorney. Were proud to back the only candidates in Iowa who are building a movement instead of just building power, Peoples Action director of movement politics Brooke Adams said in a news release. They come from the multiracial working class and will fight for us at the statehouse, not greedy elites. Everyone in Iowa will be better off once they are elected. SCIENCE GROUP ENDORSES FRANKEN: 314 Action Fund, which works to elect more people with STEM backgrounds to public office, has endorsed Mike Franken in Iowas U.S. Senate campaign. Franken is a U.S. Navy veteran from Sioux City, and one of three Democrats running for the U.S. Senate in Iowa. Engineers are trained to solve problems, and with so much on the line for Iowans reproductive rights, climate change and the future of programs like Social Security and the Affordable Care Act voters will look for a proven problem solver like Admiral Michael Franken in November when they enter the ballot box, 314 Action president Shaughnessy Naughton said in a news release. Admiral Franken has the experience and discipline necessary to cut through the partisan noise in Washington and lead using evidence-based policy on Day 1. The other Democrats in the June 7 primary are former U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer of Cedar Rapids and Minden physician Glenn Hurst. The incumbent is Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley. He is being challenged in the primary by Sioux City attorney and state legislator Jim Carlin. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A factory tour is perhaps the most underrated sort of attraction in the U.S. When I first started writing about factory tours, I highlighted them as the "best free attractions you could find," but liability and staffing issues have forced many to start charging. Still, the chance to see exactly how some favorite item is made can be fascinating. And, fortunately, you can find an interesting tour just about anywhere you visit in the U.S. A fairly steady walleye bite at the tips and steady trout activity in the Black Hills appears to be the norm in the region despite a spell of cool, occasionally rainy weather hovering over the area. Angostura, somewhat surprisingly perhaps after a couple of lean years, and Orman have been producing active walleye bites, a situation varying depending upon weather particularly pesky winds. And trout of all types have been showing up in Black Hills lakes as well as streams where water flows are excellent at present. Keep in mind that steady is a variable, depending upon time and place, as well as the skill of the particular angler at work. However, despite the occasional naysayer, most fishing reports indicate a nice degree of success as waters warm and species typically traffic the warm water spots of lakes and streams. Though, as mentioned, cooler weather will continue into the first weeks of June, the present is an excellent time to venture out before recreational visitors and summer tourists amp up activity in the area. Regardless, heres a brief look at whats been happening. And possibly a portent of what might await. Angostura Reservoir: Walleye bite remains steady. Fish are showing up in shallow water, 10-15 feet, seeking warmth until lake temps climb above 60 degrees, and understandably during midday hours. Inlets and points should be hot spots as well. Crawler combinations appear to be working best though trial and error may be needed. Smallmouth bass activity reported as well. Belle Fourche Reservoir (Orman): Walleye bite is scattered (Fruitdale area has been active), though should continue to improve as water temps climb into the 60s (currently 57). Walleye are being located at depths of 12-15 feet of water and responding to bottom bouncers and minnows or worms. Some white bass activity reported as well. Black Hills Area Streams: Water levels have been excellent and area streams have been fishing well. Rapid Creek had been trout active throughout the system including through the city. Nymphs and streamers remain steady performers, and dry fly-fishing opportunities abound as well. Castle and Spearfish Creeks are producing in similar fashion. Curlew Lake: Reports have been sketchy. Some bass and panfish action reported while others have been coming up empty. Anglers allowed the opportunity to make their own history. Custer State Park Lakes: Catches of trout reported in most locations with fish receptive to a variety of presentations. Center lake continues to be a steady producer. Deerfield Reservoir: Fishing activity remains slow, probably due to somewhat remote locations and cooler weather. Limits of perch likely an easy option particularly for boaters with electronics and easy access to current hot spots. Mitchell Lake: The lake keeps coming up on the radar as a trout fishing hot spot at present. Pactola Reservoir: Rainbow trout bite remains excellent on a variety of presentations. Veterans Point and south marina areas have been hotspots. Some northern pike activity (chubs and smelt) reported in gulches on occasion. Roubaix Lake: Trout activity is the norm particularly during morning hours. And on a wide variety of presentations. Lake will become busy as soon as campgrounds fill up, which can be a hindrance to easy access fishing. Shadehill Reservoir: Reports of walleye activity remain positive though preponderance of fish caught are on the small side. Crawlers becoming the more popular presentation. Sheridan Lake: Trout and panfish activity has been steady, particularly from boats. Perch and largemouth bass bites are normal. Minnows, crawlers and spinner baits are all producing action. Tisdale Lake: Varied opinions galore as to the possibility of finding some northern pike action. A pot luck situation likely it would appear. Lake Oahe: Walleye bite on the upper stretches of the Missouri River remains excellent, with limits the rule rather than exception. Bite is tougher on the south end though bite is improving at Bushs, Spring Creek and in mouth of Cheyenne. Fish remain shallow for the most part (10 feet or less) and minnows remain the best option though crawlers are starting to work as water temps climb. Lake Sharpe: Excellent walleye action throughout the system. As above the dam, fish are shallow (10-12 feet of water) and responding to minnows and nightcrawlers. With temps warming, the docks can be busy particularly on the weekends, an encouragement to perhaps plan midweek excursions if possible. Lake Francis Case: Walleye activity has improved in Chamberlain area as water temps improve. Fish are shallow (10-15 feet of water) and have been responding to minnows, small spinners and crankbaits. Platte area has been busier with plentiful walleye activity as well as smallmouth bass. Area Fishing Tournaments First Fathers Day Tournament conducted by Fall River Swim Team: Angostura Reservoir, June 17 and 18. Three-person teams ($120). Registration is 6 p.m., Friday, June 17 at picnic shelter, Call Stacy Reetz (605-890-1484) for additional details. First Annual Wild Walleye Outfitters Fall Brawl: October 8-9, Belle Fourche Reservoir: 60 team limit; registration form available on Wild Walleye Outfitters website or call Kevin Vaughn (605-519-4286) for more information. For State Wide Fishing Tournaments, visit South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks website: gfp.sd.gov/events/. Dakota Angler & Outfitter, 513 Seventh St., Rapid City; The Rooster, 1441 W. Main St., Rapid City; Wheel in Bait Shop, 18696 Fishermans Road, Fruitdale, and West Prairie Resort, 28354 182, Pierre (605-264-5303) have contributed to this report. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Joann Hoof was just two days old when she went missing, but her mother, Lassandra Hoof, said she is running into multiple jurisdictional hurdles in her search to find her infant. Joann was born April 27 on the Pine Ridge Reservation to Lassandra Hoof and Jacob Barajas. After Barajas reportedly took Joann on April 29 without her mothers consent, Lassandra filed for temporary emergency child custody and temporary emergency placement of the baby, which the Oglala Sioux Tribal Court granted her on May 2. On May 24, the court granted Lassandra permanent guardianship over Joann, tribal court documents show. Despite the custody rulings and Joann being listed as officially missing on the South Dakota Attorney Generals missing persons list, Lassandra said she hasnt had much luck getting help from the Oglala Sioux Tribal Police Department. The department provided the missing person information to the South Dakota Attorney Generals office and are listed as the agency in charge of the case, according to Tim Bormann, the attorney generals chief of staff. Basically they said that custody hadn't been established, so they couldn't really do anything about it since he signed paternity on her, Lassandra said. The Journal has attempted multiple times over several days to get in touch with the Oglala Sioux Tribal Police Department investigators without success. The Federal Bureau of Investigation also has not confirmed if they are looking into the case. Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women USA posted Joann and Barajas information on May 2, and the Rapid City Police Department confirmed that Barajas and his vehicle are listed in the National Crime Information Center database as a person of interest to another agency, but there doesnt appear to be any criminal charges against Barajas. Tribal law enforcement arent able to arrest a non-native person who isnt on the reservation, and Lassandra believes that Barajas took the baby out of state. Rapid City family lawyer Kyle Krause said its not a crime to take your own child until theres a court order establishing custody. Its basically a free for all until somebody gets a court order, Krause said. He can grab the kid and run wherever he wants, at least within the country, and he hasnt violated any laws. Krause said states are required to honor tribal court rulings under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA). If she called my office and said, How do I get my kid back? Ive got this valid tribal court order. Id say, you need to go file a motion or petition to have that recognized (in state court). Basically, the question for that court is whether the tribal court would have jurisdiction based on those UCCJEA principles, Krause said. Lassandra and Barajas are still officially married, but their relationship was short-lived. Lassandra said their interactions started on Facebook. Lassandra said Barajas had been trying to get with her since 2020, but she didnt take it seriously because he lived out of state. But last year (2021), I decided to just throw caution out the window and talk to him, and he seemed like a pretty decent dude, Lassandra said. After Barajas visited South Dakota in late June, the pair went on a trip to meet his family out of state and Lassandra moved to Texas with her two children to be with Barajas. They married in early August 2021. About two weeks later, Lassandra found out she was pregnant. The relationship soured less than a month later, she said. Lassandra said Barajas became violent with her. Lassandra references the alleged violence in tribal court documents asking for custody of Joann. Despite the strain between the couple, Barajas attended Joanns birth. I had no intention of keeping her from him or anything like that. I told him to go ahead and come be here for her birth because I believe in having two parents, Lassandra said. Two days after being discharged from the hospital, Lassandra went to the Prairie Winds Hotel with Joann, her two other children and other members of her family, who she said left after dinner. Lassandras father went to the casino, and she and her children stayed in a hotel room. After going out to her fathers truck to get her hospital back, Lassandra said she returned to the hotel room to find Joann, Barajas and his Army duffle bag gone, she wrote in a statement requesting charges be filed against Barajas. Multiple attempts by the Journal to contact the Clerk of Courts at the Oglala Sioux Tribal Courts to confirm if charges have been filed were unsuccessful. Barajas' Facebook page pictures him wearing an Army uniform, and Lassandra said he was on a leave from deployment for the baby's birth and returned overseas after giving the child to a member of his family who Lassandra hadn't spent much time with. Ive been told I seem well put together, that Im holding it together and stuff, but no. Its been hard, Lassandra said. I haven't been able to sleep a lot because I miss her. Thats my baby. I didnt get to sit with her and bond with her or anything. Lassandra said she hopes to see some sort of change in the law regarding parental custody. I think something or a law needs to be made about this because other parents are gonna see this, and think that, Hey, I could go and kidnap my kid and then nothing's gonna happen, no charges are going to be pressed or anything like that. Law enforcement is not going to get involved. Its just going to be me and that person. Contact Shalom Baer Gee at sgee@rapidcityjournal.com You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 5 Angry 4 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Editor's note: This article was corrected at 6:21 p.m. June 1 to reflect the campaign mailer from Ryan Mechaley did not falsely contain an endorsement from Council member Pat Jones. The previous reference has been removed from the article. False, negative and aggressive campaign mailers can result in people not voting, a political science assistant professor at the University of South Dakota said. Voters in the Black Hills have received a barrage of mailers ahead of Tuesday's election for city, county, school and state races. Many have included false, misleading and negative campaign claims against opponents. Julia Hellwege, Ph.D., University of South Dakota assistant professor of political science and Government Research Bureau Director, said campaign mailers became commonplace after the Supreme Courts ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission in 2010. She said that ruling basically allowed for more campaign funding, which allowed more expenditures on mailers. She said mailers are a common tool used in campaigns because its relatively cost-effective compared to other strategies, like attending events and debates, and knocking on doors. Hellwege said the mailers are seen more frequently in high level races that typically raise more money and are able to grab the attention from outside sources. However, while mailers are cost-effective, theyre not very efficient. They will do more for turnout, getting people to go vote, reminding people to go vote, she said. Hellwege said the best mailers will have clear instructions on the date of an election and location of where to vote. She said if a candidate sends information about themself and doesnt have information about the election, its not going to be as effective. She said even who sends the mailer and how its sent matters. Hellwege also said mailers that have candidates names and voting information can be helpful because then people recognize a candidates name. Voters, especially for smaller local elections, if voters go to the poll and theyre looking atthe lower ballotand they dont recognize either of the names, theyre just not going to vote on that particular question, she said. Hellwege also said, though, that negative mailers about opponents can have a drawback. You have to be really careful with these because if youre sending out false, negative, aggressive mailers, and youre doing it relatively early in the campaign or early enough that theres a chance that people realize that theyre false, it will actually more likely hurt your own campaign, she said. People dont respond well to candidates who are running negative campaigns. They may turn against that candidate completely, or even worse, they might actually just not go out and vote. However, the negative mailers can potentially be effective if sent late enough in the election season when a candidate doesnt have time to respond or people arent able to find factual information. I would just generally try to stay away from them because the chances are, youre going to get negative backlash, Hellwege said. The concern of having people stay home, that they perceive politics as a negative, ugly thing, I think is more damaging. Several negative, false mailers were released in Pennington County regarding state legislative races, such as calling Republican Reps. Mike Derby and Jess Olson anti-pro-life, and the Rapid City Area School Board candidates, such as candidate Janyce Hockenbary calling teachers tyrants and her opponent a WOKE leftist in an incendiary campaign letter. Additional campaign mailers have targeted state Rep. Phil Jensen and state Sen Julie Frye-Mueller calling them "RINOs," or Republicans in Name Only, for their votes against a Meade County shooting range and against the state budget that included funding for the Fitzmaurice State Veterans Home. Michael Card, Ph.D., an associate professor of political science at USD, said people who are not well informed may be more likely to be influenced by the mailers than those who are aware of the issues. He said the negative mailers also reflect what he thinks is a change in elections over the past 40 years. Card said it seems there are more emotional appeals during campaigns rather than discussion of issues. He said in South Dakota, residents have the advantage of having plenty of opportunities to speak with candidates themselves at meet and greets, forums and town halls. Card said people can also read newspapers and go to forums Hellwege said people can also check candidates social media pages and websites. She said people can also likely reach out to the candidates themselves, and theyll likely hear back. She said people not voting means people wont really receive representation. It truly depends on all of us participating in not just voting, but also in communicating with our legislators, in participating in civic engagement with our community members, all of those things that are important, Hellwege said. Contact Siandhara Bonnet at siandhara.bonnet@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. Four days after the courts deadline, Pennington County States Attorney Mark Vargo told a judge Tuesday the state will not be seeing the death penalty for Arnson Absolu, the 37-year-old New York man charged with killing three people in Rapid City. Vargo told Circuit Judge Robert Gusinsky he was unaware that the 45-day deadline for the courts determination on the death penalty had passed. Absolu has been charged with three counts of premeditated first-degree murder for the August 2020 deaths of Charles Red Willow, 26, of Rapid City, Ashley Nagy, 29, of Greeley, Colo., and Dakota Zaiser, 22, of Rapid City. If convicted, Absolu would face a minimum of life imprisonment. Red Willow and Nagy were found dead Aug. 24, 2020, from multiple gunshot wounds in a vehicle at Thomson Park in Rapid City after a 911 call around 10:40 p.m. that day. About 20 people attended the court hearing on Tuesday, several of them wore memorial shirts for the victims. Two of Ashley Nagys nieces, Amarri Hiermeier and Allyson Hiermeier, spoke to the Journal afterwards. Amarri said she was upset about the state not pursuing the death penalty. We didnt get the news we wanted, Ammarri said. Allyson said it was hard to see Absolu in person for the first time. She had been to a hearing where he appeared virtually. Actually seeing him, and him looking back at us. I never saw him that close, so that gives you a very hard feeling, Allyson said. That happened at a park we used to go to a lot as kids with our aunt, so I cant look at the park the same. I was friends with the other two (victims), so I lost all three people. Its just a very hard feeling. Allyson said she understands why Absolu is fighting against the charges, but she wants to see him held accountable so the families can mourn in peace. No one can actually do that until he actually gets sentenced with something, Allyson said. Absolu is being held at the Pennington County Jail on no bail. He was apprehended in the Bronx, New York in January 2021 and extradited to Rapid City on Jan. 19, 2021 after being charged with the murders. Zaiser, the third victim found, was initially identified as a possible witness in the deaths of Red Willow and Nagy. His body was discovered on Sept. 24, 2020 near Sheridan Lake. Police previously stated they believe Zaisers body was moved to that location. Court documents estimate that Zaiser was killed sometime between Aug. 24 and 25, 2020. A motions hearing for Absolu will be held on July 12 at 2:30 p.m. at the Pennington County Courthouse. Contact Shalom Baer Gee at sgee@rapidcityjournal.com You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 4 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Crews will be buzzing along the Hull Street Road over the next 12 months starting Wednesday as the city launches the first phase of a major road improvement project for the Southside Richmond corridor. Councilman Michael Jones, who represents the area where the work is set to take place, said the $21.4 million first phase of the project will make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists by adding new sidewalks, streetlights, crosswalks and stormwater infrastructure. Weve got people living on both sides of Hull Street. Theyve got to walk Hull to get to the Food Lion, Dollar General and places like that. And weve got bus stops here, Jones said Tuesday from alongside the busy roadway. The average citizen cant walk like this on a daily basis. With the full project slated for completion in the next five to seven years, according to Jones, the first phase will begin this week with utility relocation work along a 1.25-mile stretch of highway from Hey to Warwick roads over the next year. City officials say crews with Dominion Energy, Verizon, Comcast and a few other fiber optic companies will work together to clear trees and install new poles, overhead lines and underground cables and conduits. Starting in spring 2023, crews will shift focus to reconstructing the existing divided highway to improve intersections, build turn lanes and widen medians which will feature new landscaping. There are two more phases of the project, which was first conceived in 2005, according to the citys five-year capital plan. The additional phases will cost $17.6 million and cover the entire Hull Street Road corridor spanning about 2 miles from Arizona Drive near Southside Plaza shopping center to the Chippenham Parkway just past River City Middle School. State and federal funding will cover almost the entire cost of the first and third phase of the project, but the city must still secure funding for the second phase. Richmonds capital spending plan projects that the city will raise the remaining $6 million for the project through municipal bond sales in the 2026 and 2027 fiscal years. Michael Paul Williams Follow Michael Paul Williams 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 Someday in a more enlightened future, we will have a memorial day commemorating school children lost to mass shootings. But until then, we will keep enlisting children as soldiers of misfortune the victims of politicians who cling to power with blood-stained hands while spouting arguments about our need to harden schools and arm teachers. We cant stop bad people from doing bad things, said Texas attorney general Ken Paxton in the aftermath of the May 24 slaughter at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in which 19 students and two teachers were killed and at least 17 people were wounded. Theyre going to violate murder laws. Theyre not going to follow gun laws. Ive never understood that argument. Ive never understood his argument, which says in effect: Lawbreakers, including murderers, are going to break the law anyway. Why try to stop them? With that sort of logic, why not dispense of all laws and let the criminals run amok? Instead, Paxton and his ilk would cast gunslinging teachers as saviors, asking them to do what police officers failed to do in waiting more than an hour to confront the gunman at Robb Elementary. Were the only nation in the world where civilian gun ownership outnumbers people 120 firearms for every 100 people, according to CNN and the Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey. We let unhinged 18-year-olds the shooter in Texas and the white supremacist in Buffalo legally purchase AR-15-style assault rifles and body armor. And yet, confronted with the obvious nature of the problem, some politicians would place unreasonable responsibility on the plate of already overburdened teachers, despite a poll by Morning Consult and Politico taken days before the Uvalde shootings showing nearly 6 in 10 respondents favoring stricter gun laws. The guns, stupid. Its the gun, said gun safety advocate Lori Haas, whose daughter was wounded in the April 16, 2007, mass shooting at Virginia Tech in which 32 people were killed and 17 others wounded. Haas said shes too afraid to think about how many more communities will suffer. Its too overwhelming. Guns kill. And if we dont recognize that, and address the risk, weve failed our children. Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears would beg to differ. Its not the gun, Sears said on Fox and Friends. A provocative photo of a rifle-toting Sears no doubt helped land her as a speaker at the National Rifle Association convention that began in Houston days after the Uvalde shooting. If shes so Rambo, send her into the next assaulted schoolhouse. In the meantime, we need more than posturing and denial. Instead, these pols are willing to make our schoolhouses armed, fenced-in encampments more closely resembling military installations or corrections facilities. We need fewer guns in schools, not more. Teachers should be teaching, not acting as armed security guards, said Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, in a statement the day after the Texas shootings. Arming teachers makes schools more dangerous and does nothing to protect students and their families when they go off to school, shop at the grocery store, attend church services, ride the subway, or simply walk down the streets of their neighborhoods, she added. Those lawmakers pushing to arm teachers and fortify school buildings are simply trying to distract us from their failure to prevent another mass shooting. The Virginia Education Association believes that the only personnel that should be carrying live firearms on a school site/facility should be law enforcement personnel. The Richmond Education Association Board of Directors opposes the arming of educators, citing studies that show arming educators creates another risk to the safety of students and staff. Being proactive will be the best preventative action that can be taken. A focus on the mental health issues that our students are challenged with would also be a preventative measure, REA president Katina Harris said in an email. Haas called arming teachers the most ridiculous thing Ive ever heard. Law enforcement trains for hundreds of hours to get the muscle memory required to use firearms effectively. But peripheral vision abandons people during fight or flight situations, she said. The element of surprise is always with the shooter. As first-graders in the mid-1960s, Haas and I shared a classroom. The idea of a gun-wielding intruder was unfathomable. But the previous Cold War decade introduced school children to duck and cover drills the government response to the threat of nuclear attack. Today, with shooter drills, we have similarly normalized the threat of schoolhouse carnage. Gaslighting pols are trying to get us to accept the unacceptable as the cost of them doing business. Any elected official who values guns more than children needs to be put out of work. Several lawmakers called out Virginias budget negotiators Wednesday for adding a new marijuana possession crime in the state budget in a process that lacked transparency and public input. Fairfax Democratic Sens. Janet Howell and George Barker, the chair and vice chair of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, negotiated the states new budget in private talks with House Appropriations Chair Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach. The budget creates a new misdemeanor crime for possession of 4 ounces of marijuana in public and comes after the legislature in 2021 legalized small amounts of marijuana for personal use by adults. Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, told colleagues in the Senate that it was rare for the legislature to create a new crime in the budget and said she hoped it wouldnt do it again. Previous legislative discussions on marijuana allowed for public comment from people who had been disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs, McClellan said, but the current process didnt. A handful of people that didnt include a single member of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus deciding new criminal penalties with no real opportunity for public input is concerning, she said. Asked about the concern, Howell said, Its so convoluted, but I would refer people back to the JLARC study that recommended that. She was referencing a study a year ago by the states Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission that recommended Virginia create a misdemeanor charge for adults who have what the state deems to be too much marijuana. Such proposals already failed twice this year during the legislative process. Several other lawmakers also criticized the decision by Howell, Barker and Knight to write marijuana policy into law without the usual feedback and transparency. Re-criminalization is sending us in the wrong direction, said Del. Mike Mullin, D-Newport News. Del. Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax, said the budget leaders stuck bad marijuana policy in the budget. Even some budget conferees the small group of lawmakers who help write the budget were caught by surprise over the marijuana provision, which was just released publicly Sunday. Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, and Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, were Senate conferees who signed off on the budget but noted their objection to the marijuana item. Democrats legalized small amounts of marijuana for people 21 and up in 2021. Adults can possess up to an ounce and grow up to four plants in their homes in Virginia. Possession of any amount above an ounce and up to a pound is illegal but punishable by a $25 civil infraction. Possession of more than a pound is a felony. Once Gov. Glenn Youngkin signs the budget and it goes into effect July 1, possession of 4 ounces or more of marijuana in public becomes a class three misdemeanor, and a second offense becomes a class two misdemeanor, which can result in jail time. A coalition of marijuana reform advocates issued a statement saying the move takes Virginia backward. Research and data have already outlined the historic disparate enforcement of these laws against Black Virginians, the statement from the Virginia CannaJustice Coalition said. BANGKOK The number of methamphetamine tablets seized in East and Southeast Asia exceeded a billion last year for the first time, highlighting the scale of illegal drug production and trafficking in the region and the challenges of fighting it, the U.N. said. The 1.008 billion tablets which would weigh about 91 tons altogether were part of a regionwide haul of almost 172 tons of methamphetamine in all forms, and was seven times higher than the amount seized 10 years earlier, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime said in a report Monday. I think the region is literally swimming in methamphetamine, said Jeremy Douglas, Southeast Asia regional representative for the U.N. agency, at a news conference in the Thai capital Bangkok unveiling the report on Synthetic Drugs in East and Southeast Asia. So theres going to have to be a radical policy shift by East Asia to address this problem or its just going to continue to grow, Douglas said. The drugs are largely consumed in Southeast Asia but also exported to New Zealand and Australia, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan in East Asia, and increasingly to South Asia. Production and trafficking of methamphetamine jumped yet again as supply became super concentrated in the Mekong (River region) and in particular Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, Douglas told The Associated Press in an email. The increased production makes the drug cheaper and more accessible, creating greater risk to people and their communities, the report said. According to Douglas, when he first worked in the region in 2002-2007, a meth tablet cost five to six times what it costs now. Methamphetamine is easy to make and has supplanted opium and its derivative heroin to become the dominant illegal drug in Southeast Asia for both use and export. The Golden Triangle area, where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet, was historically a major production area for opium and hosted many of the labs that converted it to heroin. Decades of political instability have made Myanmars frontier regions largely lawless, to be exploited by drug producers and traffickers. Douglas said at news conference Monday that there is a fundamental need to refocus law enforcement efforts against the drug trade. Theres lots and lots of seizures being made and no impact being made on the business itself. Organized crime just keep cranking out the volume, replacing seizures with more product, Douglas said. The chemical situation is highly complex and theres no essential chemicals being seized and they just continue to flow unabated, primarily through Laos into (Myanmars) Shan State, Douglas added. We also have huge money laundering operations at play in the region. We have no attempt fundamentally at the end of the day to address demand which is seemingly growing and can continue to grow because of the price point of the drug is so cheap. Given the problem of limited governance and low attention to the issue, the UN. agency said organized crime syndicates have the means to continue to produce more meth and to sell it to a growing population of young people with increased spending power. The political landscape has also served to ramp up production. In Myanmar, the military seized power from an elected government last year and is now engaged in an armed struggle against foes of military rule. Drug production in Myanmar is often associated with armed ethnic minority groups that sometimes battle the government and each other. Every group denies involvement in drug production and trafficking and point at other groups as responsible, but the drug economy is arguably the largest part of the economy in most or many parts of Shan and border areas of Myanmar and there is plenty of intel connecting groups to labs and shipments, Douglas said. The report also called Laos one of the countries most impacted by methamphetamine trafficked out of Myanmar. One of Asias biggest-ever drug busts was made in Laos last October, with police there seizing more than 55.6 million methamphetamine pills in a single raid. They also seized about 3,300 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, state media reported. A former custodian at Washington and Lee University who claimed that she was wrongly fired three days after testing positive for COVID-19 has reached a settlement with the school. Ashley Montgomerys lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Lynchburg had been scheduled for a trial starting Monday. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed in a brief notice filed last week, which asked that the trial be cancelled after both sides in the case had reached an agreement that comprehensively resolves the civil action. Montgomery had claimed that her termination violated her rights under the U.S. Family and Medical Leave Act. Hired in 2018, Montgomery was an industrious, generous and dedicated janitor who in addition to cleaning often donated or prepared food and drink for university employees, the lawsuit states. She became ill Dec. 5, 2020, with COVID-like symptoms and was placed on medical leave. Two days later, she tested positive for the virus. On Dec. 10, Montgomery received a letter from W&L stating that she was being immediately terminated. In asking that the lawsuit be dismissed, attorneys for the school argued that Montgomery could not demonstrate that her illness qualified her for FMLA protection. More to the point, they said, Montgomery was fired for violating W&Ls COVID-19 safety guidelines by serving food and drinks to other employees in a small kitchenette where it was not possible to maintain social distancing. School officials took action because the custodian intentionally and unnecessarily put its campus community at risk, Amanda Weaver, a Richmond attorney who represented W&L, wrote in asking Judge Norman Moon to dismiss the lawsuit. Nearly 500 employees were placed on leave under a school policy that provided pay for those who missed work because of the COVID-19 virus, and Montgomery was the only one to be fired, Weaver wrote. Moon had not ruled on the schools motion to dismiss the lawsuit at the time the settlement was reached. Paul Beers, a Roanoke attorney who represented Montgomery, declined to comment Tuesday. Drewry Sackett, executive director of communications and public affairs at W&L, also said she could not comment. 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. Will Davis is the first person to throw his hat into the ring for the new 39th District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates 2023 election. Davis, a Rocky Mount native, is seeking the Republican nomination for the 39th District, the boundaries of which were redrawn to cover Franklin County following the 2020 census. The 39th District was one of the General Assembly seats left without an incumbent by the redistricting. Rocky Mount residents may be familiar with Davis name. He is a fourth generation Rocky Mount attorney and works at his familys law firm, Davis Davis Davis & Davis. He held his campaign announcement at The Stable at the Virginian in Wirtz on May 24. Former Del. Charles Poindexter and former U.S. Congressman Virgil Goode both spoke at the event, giving Davis their endorsement. There were close to 150 people there so we were very pleased with the support from the community, Caroline Cooper-Davis, Will Davis wife, said. One of the Davis daughters, Isabelle, introduced her father before he took the podium. I want to bring common sense back into government. The peoples voices have been lost and that needs to change, Will Davis told The Roanoke Times. Davis said he learned about hard work and long days while helping out on his grandparents farm in the Glade Hill community during his childhood. He graduated from Franklin County High School and he received his bachelors degree at Bridgewater College and attended law school at Regent University in Virginia Beach. After graduating from law school we moved back to Rocky Mount and I joined my father practicing his practice here in Rocky Mount, Davis said. Davis said people have encouraged him to run for office since moving back, but he waited until now because of his family duties. I was just starting to practice law and also had young children, so it wasnt the right time, Davis said. Now, his youngest daughter, Emaline, is entering ninth grade at Franklin County High School and Isabelle, his oldest, is a rising junior at the University of Alabama. Franklin County has been so good to me and my family. I wanted to give back to the community and make a difference for future generations, Davis said. Franklin County is currently covered by the 19th and 20th Virginia Senate districts and the 9th and 22nd House of Delegates districts. Until the 2023 election, legislators can consider their constituencies unchanged. After 2023, Franklin County will be represented by the 7th Senate District and the 39th House District. None of the legislators currently representing Franklin County in the Virginia General Assembly have announced plans for either seat. Members of the state House of Delegates and Senate are required to live in their district. However, the redistricting process placed multiple incumbent legislators in one district and sometimes left incumbents outside of their current district lines. The new 7th Senate District and 39th House District were both left without incumbents. Del. Wren Williams, R-Patrick, currently represents the 9th District, which covers most of Franklin County, all of Patrick County and the western third of Henry County. He lives in what will be the new 47th House District and recently stated his intention to run for that seat in 2023. He will be running against District 7 Del. Marie March. Del. Kathy Byron, R-Forest, now lives in the new 53rd House District, but her old district the 22nd District covered portions of Franklin, Bedford and Campbell counties and Lynchburg which now belong to districts 39, 51, 52 and 53. Sen. David Suetterlein, R-Roanoke County, will live in the new 4th Senate District but he currently represents the 19th Senate District covering all but the southeastern quadrant of Franklin County, all of Floyd County and Salem and parts of Roanoke, Bedford, Montgomery, Wythe and Carroll counties. Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, resides in the new 7th Senate District that will cover all of Franklin County and part of Roanoke County. Stanley currently represents the 20th District, which covers the southeastern quadrant of Franklin County; all of Patrick and Henry counties and Martinsville; and parts of Danville and Pittsylvania, Carroll and Halifax counties. In January, Suetterlein declined to announce his plans for the 2023 election. Stanley and Byron do not appear to have made any announcements for the 2023 election yet. The Roanoke Times reached out to Suetterlein, Stanley and Byron multiple times to ask about their 2023 plans but did not receive any responses. 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. Cancellation of his summer job caused a Roanoke schoolteacher to miss rent for one month last year, and now his family faces possible eviction, similar to others across the city and region rebounding from coronavirus-induced hardships, even as pandemic-era renter protections expire. Faced with an eviction notice, Vincent Brown said he applied to the state for rent relief in April, but did not hear back about his status in time for one of the eviction-related hearings held in Roanoke General District Court on May 24. Late fees and a general increase in the cost of living have kept Brown behind on that one months rent, he said during a phone call last week. Im doing the best I can. I pay the rent, I pay the lights, I pay the water. I pay my car, I pay the insurance. I pay everything, Brown said. I just dont have any extra when Im done to pay that back rent. The special education teacher for Roanoke City Public Schools said his usual summer job working in the division warehouse was canceled last year due to pandemic precautions, leaving him short on rent for that August. Now Brown, 42, his wife and their three teenagers are contesting an eviction notice from property management. Theyre continuously charging me late fees, which makes me look like Im further behind than I am, Brown said. Im paying now, but Im waiting on rent relief, and Im playing catch-up from being hit by the pandemic. The Brown familys is one story of the coronavirus economic impact in Roanoke, and one case out of the roughly 3,000 evictions filed in court here since March 2020, according to web tracker data compiled by the Legal Services Corp.s Civil Court Data Initiative. Judge Francis Burkart continued Browns case to July, because Brown applied for the Virginia Rent Relief Program. The state RRP fund was created in early 2021, using more than $700 million from federal coronavirus relief allocations to pay off rent owed by pandemic-affected people. That program is ending, but its helped out a lot of people, Burkart said of Virginia rent relief during May 24 court proceedings. If the rent relief program comes through and everybody is satisfied, then nobody needs to be here. The rent relief money usually took about 45 days from application to arrival, Burkart said. As long as tenants applied for relief, the judge usually extended their evictions cases to give more time for the money to show up. Since the programs inception early last year, more than 3,500 households in the Roanoke and New River valleys received rent relief totaling at least $18 million, according to data provided by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. Roanoke alone accounts for more than 2,000 regional rent relief recipients, totaling $10.8 million sent to the citys residents, according to the DHCD data as of March 31. About half of Roanokes almost 100,000 residents are renters, demographic data said. But its unclear what level of protection or assistance will be available for Virginia renters moving forward. With funds drying up, the rent relief program closed to new applicants May 15. The Legal Aid Society of Roanoke Valley helped almost 500 low-income people file applications for approximately $2 million in rent relief, said Mona Raza, a staff attorney at the nonprofit who specializes in landlord-tenant law. We saw all kinds of families and some individuals just all kinds of people, Raza said of rent relief applicants. People are still calling, but unfortunately, its over. Spurred by a federal moratorium, eviction filings in Roanoke dropped significantly at the start of the pandemic, and as of late April were still about half as frequent in the court system as pre-pandemic averages, according to Legal Services Corporation data. The data shows 139 eviction filings in Roanoke this April, compared to 22 evictions filed in April 2021, where the normal average in April is 277 filings. Right now were kind of in a lull, sort of coasting along, Raza said of the citys eviction caseload. But theres probably going to be a tsunami coming in. Raza said a wave of evictions could be looming later this summer, once the last of the state rent relief money is doled out and as tenants leases are not renewed. Theres an incentive because of the housing market for landlords to sell, or to raise the rents, Raza said. Now theres no rent relief program, and the rents are increasing. So tenants are kind of in a bind again. Legal Aid and other organizations have been in discussions with city government to find additional aid for Roanoke renters, Raza said. If someone applied for rent relief, then it was very likely that they were going to get help, Raza said. There will probably be some news coming out about where people can go to get some help with their rent, but its not going to be anything like this program has been. For people facing eviction, it is important to attend court hearings, and to reach out to a lawyer for help, she said. Legal Aid provides free consultation to low-income people, and can make sure landlords are adequately following eviction law. Russell Potter reached out to Legal Aid for help after his apartment lease expired and the landlords did not want to renew it for a fourth year. His monthly rent at Brandon Point Apartments increased by about $90 since moving in, Potter said. The 73-year-old chess instructor said he is struggling mightily to find an affordable place to move into next, and he has lost income canceling classes to fight his eviction. Weve got a crisis going on here People are really suffering, Potter said. Where do people go without much money? Potter said some sort of rent control and an increase in affordable housing availability are needed in the region to keep people from homelessness. A study in 2020 identified need for at least 5,300 additional affordable rental units in the Roanoke Valley and Alleghany Highlands. Wake up and look around. Youre looking at a calamity when winter comes around here, Potter said. There are not enough housing units being built, and the ones that are being built are skyrocketing in price for no good reason. Legal Aid has helped Potter stay in his apartment, still paying rent past the expiration of his lease in December 2021, he said. But he fears the day when sheriffs deputies come to serve the eviction notice for good. Right now, my situation is kind of bleak, Potter said. I eventually will be visited by the sheriff at the door. 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. With a long-sought compromise reached, Virginias legislature will vote Wednesday on a state budget that regional politicians say includes a fair share for people and places in Southwest Virginia. Relief to taxpayers, money for school construction, raises for state workers including teachers and law enforcement, investments in health care and other regional facilities are among the budget items that area legislators mentioned Tuesday as they traveled to Richmond for Wednesdays vote. Del. Terry Austin, R-Botetourt, is vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and was one of the 14 House and Senate conferees who met behind closed doors after the Virginia General Assembly adjourned without a budget agreement in March. A budget conference report was released Sunday. With a $160 billion budget over the two-year biennium, theres a lot of things on those pages, Austin said of the budget report. A lot of money returned to the taxpayer. Plus, a lot of things that we wanted and needed are in the budget. Sitting on state coffers stoked partly by an influx of federal coronavirus relief money, legislators were able to offer direct tax relief to Virginians, said Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, who this year joined the House Appropriations Committee. We wanted to make sure that we provided relief directly back to Virginia, so there will be rebate checks of $250 up to $500 sent to all Virginians, Rasoul said. The rebate checks will likely be in the mail in August or September as soon as we can get them processed. And the state is doing away with its 1.5% portion of the grocery tax, although a 1% grocery tax will still be collected for localities to spend as desired, said Del. Joe McNamara, R-Roanoke County. He had proposed a total repeal of the 2.5% grocery tax, but the compromise is part of an almost perfect budget, McNamara said. Its something where we almost got there, and its just a matter of maybe we can finish the job up next year, McNamara said of compromises made. Of the overall budget: Its an awful lot of money going back to taxpayers pockets, while at the same time continuing to fund the Commonwealth of Virginia in a very prudent fashion. McNamara also pointed out a big boost in state funding for school construction. Advocates have long sought state support to help rebuild and modernize crumbling school buildings across the region and state. This budget provides almost $1 billion to school construction, which could leverage about $3.2 billion worth of building, McNamara said. This is not ongoing money, but it does provide a fantastic bridge until we start receiving money for school construction anticipated from the casino gambling that was approved a couple years ago. Rasoul said there is $750,000 for a study to reimagine Catawba Hospital in Roanoke County for improved mental and behavioral health services. While the state is taking a look at the whole behavioral health system, and developing a strategic plan for moving forward, we can specifically talk about how were going to reimagine and transform the Catawba [Hospital] campus to handle substance use disorder issues in our region, Rasoul said. We want to make sure we have these resources to help our families in need. Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, said the budget proposal includes $500,000 for the Virginia Museum of Transportation in downtown Roanoke. Museum leaders this year said the facility operates without a marketing budget, and needs upkeep. This is the official transportation museum of Virginia I asked for $2 million, and for it to be an official state agency, Edwards said. But $500,000, this is a good start Its important to increase tourism for the museum, and to help improve it. The budget also funds big-dollar projects in other parts of the state, like $1 billion for the Port of Virginia, and $300 million for widening Interstate 64 in eastern Virginia, said Austin, who chairs the House Transportation Committee. Thats part of the give-and-take of budgeting for so many needs statewide, he said. Yes, I wouldve liked to have that money for I-81 in our region, Austin said. Were going to get some money for I-81, but you know, theres a compromise. Sometimes you just have to compromise. Compromise is a word used frequently this week by state legislators, who on Wednesday hope to pass a budget that is signed timely into action by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, before the next government year begins July 1. There was good negotiation between the House and the Senate Theres been a great compromise, Austin said. Its an honor to be at the table and to help finalize all that and work through it. And you know, its nice to be able to bring some of it back home. 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 building of granite and brick stretched toward the heavens at a height never before seen in Roanoke. Unveiled in 1910, it stood seven stories tall, a testament to the very latest in turn-of-the-century technology as well as the rush of new prosperity pouring into the young city after the arrival of the railroad. The downtown structure, built to serve as the new headquarters of Roanokes first bank, greeted visitors with marble floors, columns inspired by the Temple of Apollo and carved rosette detailing. The building, which remains one of Virginias best-preserved examples of Edwardian-era architecture, was designed with painstaking care to convey a message Roanoke had arrived. This really became, for lack of a better term, an early skyscraper for that era, said local historian Nelson Harris. It was a symbol of the progress and prosperity in Roanoke at that time. There had been just an explosion in population and tremendous growth in Roanokes economy due to the railroad that created a lot of commercial and personal wealth in the community, he explained. You had a robust city, commercially, socially, culturally That was reflected in the construction of what became known as the Liberty Trust building. Today, the Liberty Trust building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is starting a new chapter and notching a new milestone for downtown. This spring, the building, which had most recently been used as leased office space, debuted the results of a multi-million dollar restoration and refurbishment that converted its office suites into an array of boutique hotel rooms. The new hotel, dubbed The Liberty Trust, celebrated its grand opening in May after phasing in a soft launch that began in mid-March. The 54-room luxury accommodations were part of a long-held vision of attracting more lodging options to downtown as Roanokes tourism economy grows. The core of downtown, for years, had only one hotel albeit it was the iconic Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center. It was only in 2016 that a second hotel, Hampton Inn & Suites on Church Avenue, opened its doors. The Liberty Trust is the third operation to join the district, and the first boutique hotel. The hotel redevelopment marked the first project undertaken by Fairfax-based Savara Hospitality in the region. Were always keeping our pulse on destinations that are growing in terms of visitors and that have lots of exciting things going on, said Vishal Savani, a managing director with the hotel group. And Roanoke has had some fantastic developments over the last seven or eight years; everything from the growth in its outdoor recreation to how downtown has seen so much development coming in with new apartments, restaurants and attractions. We had our eye on Roanoke for awhile. Savara Hospitality, which specializes in working with historic properties, first purchased the building situated at 101 S. Jefferson St. in 2018 with plans to open the hotel in 2020. The pandemic disrupted that timeline, but work eventually resumed, most visibly manifested in the scaffolding that surrounded the building as crews undertook a months-long process to carefully restore the ornamental parapet lining the structures roof. That type of attention to detail in the renovation was notable, said Alison Blanton, an architectural historian with Hill Studio who consulted on the project. It speaks to the developers belief in honoring even the smallest aspects of the buildings history. Its also in step with the effort and thought put into the building when it was first constructed. The building is so well-articulated and detailed, said Blanton. Nothing went unadorned. Even on the parapet in the cornices at the very top, which you can barely see from the street, its extremely detailed. Its just a great architectural expression of these Renaissance revival styles that bring all these classical motifs into play. The building was designed by one of Virginias leading architects of the era, John Kevan Peebles, whose resume included work on the restoration of the Virginia State Capitol and on the University of Virginias Grounds. The structure, marked by French Renaissance and Beaux Arts influences, originally served as the new home for the fast-growing First National Bank. That was Roanokes first financial institution. Its founding was directly spurred by the needs of the Shenandoah Valley Railroad, a precursor to the Norfolk & Western Railways formation. The seven-story building was the tallest in the city at the time. That feat of engineering was made possible by early advances in technology, including better fireproofing materials and the arrival of the electrical elevator, both of which made higher construction a more attainable and safe option. The building was a landmark of modernity when it debuted in 1910, according to its historical register nomination. It remained occupied by banks in one form or another for decades, including the Liberty Trust Company, which took up residence in it for 20 years. Savara Hospitality said the budget for the buildings restoration and conversion into hotel rooms ran into the seven figures although it declined to discuss the numbers in detail. The project celebrated its grand opening during National Travel and Tourism Week. The new hotel is coming online at a time when the industry is eagerly anticipating a rebound in its numbers as travel and events resume. Savani, of Savara Hospitality, said the response to The Liberty Trusts opening was excellent in its first few weeks. The hotel was booked up by travelers, group events and organizations during a recent week in May. In addition to its guest rooms, the hotel offers an event and meeting venue. Its also making plans to add a restaurant and bar to its lobby later this summer. A tenant for the restaurant space is being finalized now. The currently anticipated concept centers around small-plate dishes and signature cocktails. Regional leaders called the timing of the hotels opening particularly fortuitous noting in part its proximity to the Amtrak platform, just around the corner, and the plans to bring a second daily passenger train to the city later this year. Harris, who in addition to being a historian is also a minister and past mayor, said the hotel project was a welcome investment in the city. To attract this type of commitment from experienced outside developers bodes well for the city and the path its on, he added. The fact that Roanoke is on their radar screen, I think, says something about the vibrancy of downtown, Harris said. Its an affirmation that the city is vibrant and moving forward. Quick Links SACI Facebook : SACI Instagram: Statement on Diversity and Inclusion South African Chemical Institute The South African Chemical Institute is committed to diversity and inclusivity in chemical sciences. The Institute opposes discriminatory acts or threats based on race, ethnicity, citizenship, culture, language, disability, age, religious or spiritual beliefs, political opinion, gender, sexual identity, sexual orientation and economic class. The Institute is dedicated (i) to endorsing excellence and scientific credibility across chemical sciences conducted in academic, industrial, and governmental institutions, and (ii) to nurturing the values of diversity, inclusivity, and equity in the chemical sciences in South Africa. Hence, SACI will continue to play a leading role in assuring the professional competence and integrity of chemists and fostering international collaboration whilst upholding inclusivity and diversity. Statement on Sexual Harassment South African Chemical Institute The South African Chemical Institute will not permit any kind of sexual harassment (physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct) in the Institute or at events organised by or related to the Institute. The Institute is committed to and fully supports environments that are free of any form of unfair discrimination and harassment, including gender-based violence. Allegations of any form of sexual harassment will be dealt with seriously, expeditiously, sensitively and confidentially. Statement from SACI Council on tertiary training in chemistry as a result of disruptions to the 2020 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the professional body representing the interests of all chemists in South Africa, we recognise the challenges that the current COVID-19 crisis presents to all our members in academia, research and industry. We also acknowledge the challenges the current situation presents to our tertiary institutions and specifically the challenges presented by moving to online teaching. We applaud the efforts of all our members who work at tertiary institutions who have adapted and innovated to ensure that we can continue as far as possible with our teaching and learning of chemistry even when on campus face-to-face contact is not possible. Our tertiary institutions play a critical role in not only training the next generation of chemists, but they are also tasked with the important responsibility of ensuring that many people from other professions and disciplines are trained in the fundamental principles of chemistry. We reaffirm our belief that this training is essential, as chemistry is one of the central sciences. Key to this training is the practical component and laboratory based skills development. While we accept that this critical component of our training is not possible under the current situation, we strongly urge that plans be put in place to preserve this component of training as part of the curriculum as far as possible. In some cases, virtual laboratory tools can facilitate learning, but we believe that in laboratory practical training particularly for senior level courses should be preserved. SACI strongly recommends that at least a critical minimum practical experience should form part of the plans to complete the 2020 academic year at our tertiary institutions. We believe that this is essential to preserve the validity and integrity of the academic training programmes in chemistry. Latest Updates: Pay your SACI membership fees with SnapScan SACI Ties, Scarfs and T-shirts Periodic table ties and ladies scarfs R130 each. Periodic table T Shirt Short sleeve R180, Long sleeve R200 Please contact head office to place orders. There is also a courier charge of R150 per order for delivery. Millions of people around the world are affected by alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss and was thrown into the spotlight after actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars CALmatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California's state Capitol works and why it matters. Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers. " " Plastic collected in the canals of Amsterdam is repurposed by Plastic Whale into all kinds of useful objects instead of flowing into the ocean. Plastic whale Single-use plastic is everywhere. In many places in the world, it's nearly impossible to walk around outside for a few minutes without encountering an assemblage of cast-off plastic bags, bottles, flatware and other single-use detritus. None of these items are quick to decompose a plastic bag takes up to 20 years to break down, while a plastic bottle might take up to 450 years. Let that sink in. And of course, if you're seeing plastic on the street in a city like Amsterdam, it's likely that bottle or takeout container will end up in a canal, and ultimately the ocean, where it's not up to anything good. One thing we can do to protect the health of marine ecosystems is to keep plastics out of the terrestrial waterways that lead to the oceans in the first place. Advertisement Plastic Whale is a plastic fishing company whose mission is to make the world's waters plastic-free and create value from plastic waste. This Amsterdam-based company was started in 2011 with a mission not only to remove single-use plastic out of canals in Amsterdam and in the Rotterdam harbor, but to turn that trash into useful items. Plastic bottles are turned into foam plates to build their boats, and PET felt to make furniture boardroom tables, chairs, lamps and acoustic panels for offices. " " Plastic Whale will take you on a sightseeing tour of the canal city of Amsterdam, while giving you the chance to help clean up along the way. Plastic whale Plastic Whale's business model is fascinating: Groups of people corporate groups, tourists, school groups or families looking for an interesting way to spend an afternoon pay a fee for Plastic Whale to take them "plastic fishing." It goes a little something like this: A Plastic Whale guide takes you and your friends, family or co-workers all suited up in life jackets for those that want them and armed with fishing nets out on the Amsterdam canals in one of their boats, made entirely of Amsterdam canal plastic. The skipper points out the sights (in either Dutch or English) while steering the boat around the canal and sidling up to plastic waste bobbing along in the water, which you and your friends scoop up in your nets. Founder Marius Smit explained the Plastic Whale business model to SEVENSEAS Media: A plastic fishing trip for tourists costs 25 euros (around $26.85) per person. As a company we are financially self-sustaining; we are not dependent of any subsidies, said Smit. We have four main sources of income: company sponsorships, company plastic fishing events and exploitation of the boats (tourists and private boat rentals). Lastly, we give a lot of presentations about the way we created a fast growing social enterprise from scratch. According to the latest stats posted on the company website, in 2019, Plastic Whale's 13 boats (11 in Amsterdam and 2 in Rotterdam) took nearly 18,000 people plastic fishing in the canals of the two cities, hauling in a catch of around 40,500 PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles, and many times that volume in other waste. To book a tour with Plastic Whale, go to https://plasticwhale.com/booking/ and sign up to do your part in keeping garbage out of our oceans. " " Plastic Whale has joined forces with Vepa, one of the leading furniture manufacturers in the Netherlands, to take action against the plastic problem. Vepa creates circular office furniture made from plastic fished out of the Amsterdam canals by Plastic Whale. Plastic whale Now That's Interesting In the ocean, plastics and discarded fishing nets collect in "garbage patches" like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which constantly changes size and shape, but at its smallest is twice as big as Texas. FLORENCE, S.C. Daniel T. Jordan has joined the firm of McGowan, Rogers, Stewart & Hiller, PA. Jordan is an experienced attorney who has practiced in the areas of criminal defense, family law, and personal injury law for 11 years. He is a 2002 graduate of South Florence High School. From there, he attended and graduated from Presbyterian College with a B.A. in pollical science in 2006. After college, Jordan attended the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law in Montgomery, Alabama, where he graduated with his juris doctorate in 2010 before he returned home to South Carolina. Jordan began his practice in 2011 as public defender for Chesterfield County before he returned to Florence, where he practiced with Wallace H. Jordan Jr., P.C. until he opened The Law Office of Daniel T. Jordan LLC in 2014. After managing his own firm for nearly eight years, Jordan was approached by Porter Stewart and Kendall Hiller, managing partners of McGowan Rogers, regarding a merger. McGowan Rogers has been providing the people of the Pee Dee with exceptional legal representation for nearly 70 years, and Im humbled to join this prestigious firm and challenged to continue their legacy on into the future as I provide folks in the Pee Dee with legal services, Jordan said. In joining McGowan Rogers, Jordan will continue to practice in the areas of criminal defense, family law, and personal injury law in addition to now providing legal services in the areas of real estate, business consulting and litigation. We are excited to have Daniel join our firm, expanding our practice by bringing his background and experience in various areas of law, as well as joining Porter and me in the areas in which we already practice, said Kendall Hiller. Seguin, TX (78155) Today Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. Record high temperatures expected. High 102F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear. Low 74F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Robina Institute releases big new report on "American Prison-Release Systems: Indeterminacy in Sentencing and the Control of Prison Population Size" | Main | "Gentlewomen of the Jury" June 1, 2022 John Hinckley, Prez Reagan's would-be assassin in 1981, due to be fully released this month 40 years after being found not guilty by reason of insanity As reported in this new AP article, "John Hinckley, who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981, is no longer a danger to himself or others and will be freed from all restrictions this month, a federal judge said Wednesday, capping Hinckleys four-decade journey through the legal and mental health systems." Here is more: U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman said in September that he would free Hinckley from all remaining restrictions on June 15 as long as Hinckley continued to do well living in the community in Virginia as he has for years. At a hearing Wednesday in Washington which Hinckley did not attend, Friedman noted Hinckley has continued to do well, and the judge made no changes to his plans for full freedom from court oversight. Hes been scrutinized. Hes passed every test. Hes no longer a danger to himself or others, Friedman said at a hearing that lasted about an hour. Friedman devoted much of the hearing to talking about the long road of the case, which he was randomly assigned two decades ago, the third judge to be involved in the case. He noted that Hinckley, who turned 67 on Sunday, was profoundly troubled when he shot Reagan but that he had been able to get mental health help. Hinckley has shown no signs of active mental illness since the mid-1980s, the judge noted Wednesday, and has exhibited no violent behavior or interest in weapons. Hinckley was confined to a mental hospital in Washington for more than two decades after a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity in shooting Reagan. Starting in 2003 Friedman began allowing Hinckley to spend longer and longer stretches in the community with requirements like attending therapy and restrictions on where he can travel. Hes been living full-time in Virginia since 2016, though still under restrictions. Some of those include: allowing officials access to his electronic devices, email and online accounts; being barred from traveling to places where he knows there will be someone protected by the Secret Service, and giving three days notice if he wants to travel more than 75 miles (120 kilometers) from his home in Virginia. Prosecutors had previously opposed ending restrictions, but they changed their position last year, saying they would agree to Hinckleys release from conditions if he continued to show mental stability and follow restrictions. Prosecutor Kacie Weston said in court Wednesday that the government believes the case has demonstrated the success that can come from a wraparound mental health system. She noted Hinckley has expressed a desire to continue receiving mental health services even after he is no longer required to do so, and said the government wishes him success for both his sake as well as the safety of the community. Hinckleys longtime lawyer, Barry Levine, said the case had started with a troubled young man who inflicted great harm and but that, in the end: I think we have salvaged a life.... Reagan recovered from the March 30, 1981, shooting, but his press secretary, James Brady, who died in 2014, was partially paralyzed as a result. Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty were also wounded. Reagan died in 2004. In the 2000s, Hinckley began, with the judges approval, making visits to his parents home in Williamsburg, Virginia. His father died in 2008, but in 2016 he was given permission to live with his mother full time. Still, he was required to attend individual and group therapy sessions, was barred from talking to the media and could only travel within a limited area. Secret Service would also periodically follow him. Hinckleys mother died in 2021. He has since moved out of her home. In recent years, Hinckley has made money by selling items at an antique mall and by selling books online. June 1, 2022 at 02:57 PM | Permalink Comments The damage to the life of James Brady and his eventual death (33 years later, in 2014) caused by John Hinckley are tragic and painful. It is interesting to attorneys why Hinckley cannot be prosecuted for the death of Brady, even though he died from being shot 33 years earlier. The Common Law "year and a day" rule that was the law in 1981 (at the time of the shooting) was retroactively repealed by the D.C. Court of Appeals in July 1987. See, United States v. 528 A.2d 1211 (D.C.1987). That opinion makes fascinating reading for criminal law nerds, particularly the part about why a Common Law Doctrine can be repealed retroactively, despite the Ex Post Facto clause (which only applies to Legislative enactments, not to the Common Law). What ultimately stopped the DOJ from prosecuting Hinckley for Brady's death 33 years after the fact is that the Government would be collaterally estopped from denying that Hinckley was NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY at the time he shot Brady. Posted by: Jim Gormley | Jun 2, 2022 9:16:23 PM The fact is, had Hinckley shot four random people, he would not still be under Court supervision 40 years later assuming all other facts are the same. Posted by: Marc Shepherd | Jun 4, 2022 10:24:43 AM Post a comment "Sounds of Silence: A Thematic Analysis of Victim Impact Statements" | Main | John Hinckley, Prez Reagan's would-be assassin in 1981, due to be fully released this month 40 years after being found not guilty by reason of insanity The Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice today released this great big new report titled ""American Prison-Release Systems: Indeterminacy in Sentencing and the Control of Prison Population Size." Here are excerpts from this important report's introduction: Indeterminacy is the product of uncertainty, after a judge has pronounced a prison sentence, about later official decisions that will influence the actual time served by the defendant. The uncertainty extends over many future decisions, such as good-time awards or forfeitures by prison officials and release or release-denial decisions by parole boards. To the extent these later decision patterns are unpredictable, the judges sentence is indeterminate on the day of sentencing. When prison sentences are highly indeterminate, many months or years of time-to-be-served can be unforeseeable in individual cases. From a systemic perspective, indeterminacy can be seen as the field of play in which back-end officials with time-served discretion exercise their powers. The larger the field the greater the degree of indeterminacy the greater the whole-system impact of back-end decisions. Indeterminacy builds up cumulative effects over hundreds and thousands of cases. In systems with high degrees of indeterminacy, a substantial amount of control over prison population size is located at the back end of the system. In many states, back-end officials have more to say about prison numbers than sentencing courts. For those concerned about mass incarceration, serious attention should be paid to the prison-release frameworks at the back ends of America sentencing systems. These are varied and are often highly complex. In each state, it is important to consider the institutional structure for release decisions, how and by whom time-served discretion is currently being exercised, and the range of possibilities for future changes in existing decision patterns. Not all, but a large portion of the nations prison policy is implicated. In recent years, much of the mass incarceration debate has been focused on front-end decisionmakers such as courts and prosecutors. For a comprehensive slate of possible reforms, equal attention must be directed to the back end. This project offers new conceptual tools to better understand and compare the wide range of prison-release systems across America. We hope this will allow state officials to see their own systems in new perspective, and may shine a spotlight on policy options that would otherwise go unseen. Intriguing pyramids and a huge yellow dog have cropped up on the Senegalese capital's seafront. The enormous exhibits are part of the much-anticipated Dakar Biennale of Contemporary African Art, which opens on Thursday and promises to "break down" gallery walls by bringing modern art to the streets of Senegal. It's a fresh idea for the 14th Biennale as the organisers set out to challenge art's "elitist image". The exhibition is all about moving "the artist's studio to the street", they say -- a "plea for art to be more present in public spaces". By the ocean, people silently approach two pyramid-shaped mausoleums. Dozens of earthen faces appear in piles in their interior and on their outside walls, their eyes closed. Some are screaming. A line of shoes leads away from the tombs and towards the cliff edge of Dakar's corniche, as though they're falling into the sea. Senegalese artist Yakhya Ba's work is a powerful study of the agony faced by migrants and their families. A little further on, others take selfies by Egyptian artist Khaled Zaki's massive dog sculpture. He wanted his work to delight children -- and draw attention to the problem of stray canines in the Senegalese capital. - 'Africa at the crossroads' The Biennale this year will showcase works from more than 2,500 artists across 85 countries. It is to feature some 300 exhibits in the capital and nearby islands of Ngor and Goree, as well as around 100 in other towns and countries of the diaspora. The exhibition was postponed due to Covid in 2020, but the 2018 event attracted almost 250,000 visitors, including 50,000 from abroad. For this year's edition, artistic director El Hadji Malick Ndiaye asked 17 artists to produce monumental works to interact with locations along Senegal's coast, from fishing villages to universities and prisons. This year's theme is "Ndaffa" -- the forge in Wolof -- and "the construction of new models". Story continues "This Bienniale is symbolically strong because it's after the Covid-19 crisis that shook and tested African countries," Ndiaye told AFP. "Africa is at the crossroads of several changes. There are movements for a new appropriation of African heritage, questions about the CFA franc and the autonomy of African countries, unrest in several countries, and the emergence of new citizen consciousness..." He said participating artists had been invited "to have their own points of view on all this" and "forge new ways of thinking". - Dreamlike work - A former courthouse hosts the Biennale's international exhibition, which displays the work of 59 artists from 28 countries, including 16 African countries and 12 countries of the diaspora. There's dreamlike work from Senegalese painter and contemporary art sensation Omar Ba, video pieces courtesy of South African artist Sethembile Msezane, and space-age creations from Franco-Togolese-Senegalese Caroline Gueye -- who is also an astrophysicist. Other exhibits include a "forest" of 343 armless sculptures by Senegalese artist Ousmane Dia, a fierce critic of inequality who is calling for a new order "that focuses more on human dignity". There will also be a seminar, organised by Senegalese writer Felwine Sarr, discussing the restitution of African heritage. The Biennale, which runs until June 21, comes as war rages in Ukraine. Artistic director Ndiaye said art was vital to encourage reflection in such fateful, changing times. "When weapons crackle, we must make sure culture does too," he said. lp/lal/emp/sba/lcm/ah B 11% 68 40% 23 11% 6% 53082.14 7.71% 582.56 2% 35.21 544 810102.474 EcoBricks Silicon Hill198 5000 418961.5 5 21 BORRETT ROAD 73844 4 20225100 1400 3040 5133.71 589070 7% Growing your employer-based retirement account -- most commonly a 401(k) -- is quite a bit easier than it might appear. Success with retirement investing comes down to getting a few key things right, so it's best to ensure you're on the right track from the get-go. We'll review four key mistakes that you'd be wise to correct when it comes to investing in your 401(k). 1. Failing to qualify for your company match Most companies offer a matching contribution to 401(k)s up to a specified percentage of compensation (usually in the 2% to 6% range). For example, if you contribute 5% of your paycheck to your company's 401(k), the company will match your contribution. Using hard numbers, if you earn $100,000 and your company matches contributions up to 5%, you'd be smart to contribute at least 5% to the plan. You'd only have to contribute $5,000 to earn a company match of $5,000, which, when combined, is a nice sum of money for any investor. The company match functions as a guaranteed 100% return on investment, so it would be a clear mistake to miss out on free cash. 2. Not investing your 401(k) balance Some people will contribute to their 401(k) plans but for one reason or another will pass on investing their money. This mistake causes you to miss out on compound interest, which is one of the main benefits of investing in the first place. When it comes to retirement investing -- especially for a retirement that will take place many years in the future -- holding cash in your 401(k) makes little sense. Be sure to pick from the wide array of mutual funds likely present in your plan and start growing your money as soon as possible. 3. Not reading the vesting rules When you invest money in a 401(k), you become subject to the company's vesting schedule. When 401(k) money vests, it's said to be all yours if you were to separate from the company. Often, employee contributions vest immediately, while employer contributions may take several years or more to fully vest. 401(k) plans come with vesting schedules to incentivize employees to stay for a specific period of time (sometimes two, three, or five years.) Most companies will have you forfeit all or a portion of employer contributions if you leave within the first year of employment, but this is not an ironclad rule. Read your company's 401(k) plan document and learn how long you'd need to stay employed to be able to take your entire 401(k) with you, not just the portion you deposited yourself. 4. Investing your entire plan in company stock Sometimes, companies will allow you to (or even direct you to) invest your 401(k) in company stock. There are a few key issues with this. First, by being employed at the company, your career (or human capital) is directly tied to company performance. This means that by investing your 401(k) plan only in company stock, you're also tying your financial capital to the same factor. If your company were to fail or go bankrupt, not only would your job be affected, but your retirement savings could go down along with it. Second, investing your 401(k) solely in company stock causes you to miss out on the benefits of diversification. By spreading your money around in your 401(k), usually via mutual funds, you'll spread out your risks at the same time. Putting all your eggs in one basket in this way is surely a way to introduce trouble to your finances. If you do choose to keep some company stock in your 401(k), make it a modest percentage. 401(k) investing: Get the basics right Much of what makes a successful 401(k) investor is about completing a few simple tasks repeatedly. To get a better 401(k) outcome, remember to qualify for your company match, invest the money you've accumulated, read your company vesting requirements, and avoid concentrating your balance too much in company stock. If you can make these things happen, there's a good chance you'll find retirement investing easier and more fruitful than you'd ever imagine. 10 stocks we like better than Walmart When our award-winning analyst team has an investing tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* They just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now and Walmart wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. Stock Advisor returns as of 2/14/21 The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 June is Pride Month, when the world's LGBTQ communities come together and celebrate the freedom to be themselves. Pride gatherings are rooted in the arduous history of minority groups who have struggled for decades to overcome prejudice and be accepted for who they are. The original organizers chose this month to pay homage to the Stonewall uprising in June 1969 in New York City, which helped spark the modern gay rights movement. Most Pride events take place each year in June, although some cities hold their celebrations at other times of the year. Who celebrates it? Pride events welcome anyone who feels like their sexual identity falls outside the mainstream -- although many straight people join in, too. LGBTQ is an acronym meaning lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer. The term sometimes is extended to LGBTQIA, to include intersex and asexual groups. Queer is an umbrella term for non-straight people; intersex refers to those whose sex is not clearly defined because of genetic, hormonal or biological differences; and asexual describes those who don't experience sexual attraction. These terms may also include gender-fluid people, or those whose gender identity shifts over time or depending on the situation. How did it start? In the early hours of June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York's Greenwich Village, and began hauling customers outside. Tensions quickly escalated as patrons resisted arrest and a growing crowd of bystanders threw bottles and coins at the officers. New York's gay community, fed up after years of harassment by authorities, broke out in neighborhood riots that went on for three days. The uprising became a catalyst for an emerging gay rights movement as organizations such as the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance were formed, modeled after the civil rights movement and the women's rights movement. Members held protests, met with political leaders and interrupted public meetings to hold those leaders accountable. A year after the Stonewall riots, the nation's first Gay Pride marches were held. In 2016 the area around the Stonewall Inn, still a popular nightspot today, was designated a national monument. Where did the Pride name come from? It's largely credited to Brenda Howard, a bisexual New York activist nicknamed the "Mother of Pride," who organized the first Pride parade to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall uprising. What's the origin of the rainbow flag? In 1978, artist and designer Gilbert Baker was commissioned by San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk -- one of the first openly gay elected officials in the US -- to make a flag for the city's upcoming Pride celebrations. Baker, a prominent gay rights activist, gave a nod to the stripes of the American flag but drew inspiration from the rainbow to reflect the many groups within the gay community. A subset of flags represent other sexualities on the spectrum, such as bisexual, pansexual and asexual. Can I participate in Pride events if I'm not LGBTQ? Sure. Pride events welcome allies from outside the LGBTQ community. They are opportunities to show support, to observe, listen and be educated. The-CNN-Wire & 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. This story was first published in 2018. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 KYIV, Ukraine (AP) The U.S. and Germany pledged on Wednesday to equip Ukraine with some of the advanced weapons it has long desired for shooting down aircraft and knocking out artillery, as Russian forces closed in on capturing a key city in the east. Germany said it will supply Ukraine with up-to-date anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems, while the U.S. announced it will provide four sophisticated, medium-range rocket systems and ammunition. The U.S. is trying to help Ukraine fend off the Russians without triggering a wider war in Europe. The Pentagon said it received assurances that Ukraine will not fire the new rockets into Russian territory. The Kremlin accused the U.S. of pouring fuel on the fire. Western arms have been critical to Ukraines success in stymieing Russias much larger and better-equipped military, thwarting its effort to storm the capital and forcing Moscow to shift its focus to the industrial Donbas region in the east. But as Russia bombards towns in its inching advance in the east, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly pleaded for more and better weapons and accused the West of moving too slowly. Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian presidents office, hailed the new Western weapons. Im sure that if we receive all the necessary weapons and strengthen the efficient sanctions regime we will win, he said. The new arms could help Ukraine set up and hold new lines of defense in the east by hitting back at Russian artillery pieces that have been battering towns and cities and by limiting Russian airstrikes, said retired French Gen. Dominique Trinquand, a former head of Frances military mission at the United Nations. "The NATO countries the European nations and the Americans have progressively escalated the means that they are putting at Ukraines disposal, and this escalation, in my opinion, has had the aim of testing Russian limits, he said. Each time, they measure the Russian reaction, and since there is no reaction, they keep supplying increasingly effective and sophisticated weaponry. Military analysts say Russia is hoping to overrun the Donbas before any weapons that might turn the tide arrive. It will take at least three weeks to get the precision U.S. weapons and trained troops onto the battlefield, the Pentagon said. But Defense Undersecretary Colin Kahl said he believes they will arrive in time to make a difference in the fight. The rocket systems are part of a new $700 million package of security assistance for Ukraine from the U.S. that also includes helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, radars, tactical vehicles, spare parts and more. The rockets have a range of about 50 miles (80 kilometers) and are highly mobile. Ukraine had pushed unsuccessfully for rockets with a range of up to 186 miles (300 kilometers). Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow does not trust assurances that Ukraine will not fire on Russian territory. We believe that the U.S. is deliberately and diligently pouring fuel on the fire, he said. Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintzev later went further, directly accusing Ukraine of planning to fire U.S.-provided missiles from the northeastern Sumy region at border areas in Russia. The claim, which he said was based on radio intercepts, couldnt be independently confirmed. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Ukraines push for more weapons is a direct provocation intended to draw the West into the fighting. He warned that the multiple rocket launchers would raise the risk of an expanded conflict. Sane Western politicians understand those risks well, he said. As the new weapons shipments were announced, a Russian missile hit rail lines in the western Lviv region, a key conduit for supplies of Western weapons and other supplies, officials said. Regional Gov. Maksym Kozytskyy said five people were wounded in Wednesday's strike, and the head of Ukrainian railways said the damage was still being assessed. Germany's promise of IRIS-T air defense systems would mark the first delivery of long-range air defense weapons to Ukraine since the start of the war. Earlier deliveries of portable, shoulder-fired air defense missiles have bolstered the Ukrainian militarys ability to take down helicopters and other low-flying aircraft but didnt give it enough range to challenge Russias air superiority. Germany has come under particular criticism, both at home and from allies abroad, that it isnt doing enough. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told lawmakers that the IRIS-T's surface-to-air missiles are the most modern air defense system the country has. With this, we will enable Ukraine to defend an entire city from Russian air attacks, he said. The radar systems will also help Ukraine locate enemy artillery. A regional governor said Russian forces now control 80% of Sievierodonetsk, a city that is key to Moscows efforts to complete its capture of the Donbas, where Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists have fought for years and where the separatists held swaths of territory even before the invasion. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said Russian troops were advancing in the city during fierce street battles with Ukrainian forces, though he noted that in some districts the Ukrainian troops managed to push them back. The only other city in Luhansk that the Russians have not yet captured, Lysychansk, is still fully under Ukrainian control, he said, but is likely to be the next target. The two cities are separated by a river. If the Russians manage to take full control over Sievierodonetsk within two to three days, they will start installing artillery and mortars and will shell Lysychansk more intensively, Haidai said. Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said the country is losing between 60 and 100 soldiers a day in the fighting. He turned the focus to children in his nightly video address, saying 243 of them have been killed in the war, 446 have been wounded and 139 are missing. The real numbers could be higher, he added, as his government doesnt have a full picture of areas under Russian occupation. Zelenskyy also said 200,000 children are among the Ukrainians who have been forcefully taken to Russia and dispersed across that vast country: The purpose of this criminal policy is not just to steal people but to make those who are deported forget about Ukraine and unable to return. In southern Ukraine, a regional governor sounded a more positive note, saying Russian troops were retreating and blowing up bridges behind them. They are afraid of a counterattack by the Ukrainian army, Vitaliy Kim, governor of the Mykolayiv region, said on the Telegram messaging app. Jordans reported from Berlin. Associated Press writers Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine, Lolita C. Baldor in Washington and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SIOUX CITY -- Located in a blue and red food truck, Senor Taco is hard to miss. With a menu that is full of homemade favorites like sopes, tacos and mulitas, Josue Mazariegos is especially proud of the enormous Senor Burrito, which is half-burrito and half-fajita. "We want everyone to understand our Mexican history, culture and passion," he explained. "Our food reflects all of that." Mazariegos opened Senor Taco last year. "We started off slowly but business picked up," he said. That was especially true when Mazariego would bring Senor Taco to Sioux City Food Truck Fridays. "Food Truck Fridays brought a lot more exposure to our food," he said. "We are looking forward to being there every week." Now in its seventh season, Sioux City Food Truck Friday returns for the summer with a kick-off from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday at Pearl Street Park, at the corner of Seventh and Pearl streets. Volunteer organizer Sam Burrish said the event has grown into a regional destination, which promotes food culture and entrepreneurship in the downtown district. "In turn, it has helped cultivate a thriving food truck scene in the tri-state region," he said. The event will start off with eight trucks, including returning favorites, as well as a few newcomers. "We try to have a good variety of trucks," Burrish said. "That way, we can have something to satisfy most tastes." Indeed, Food Truck Friday, sponsored by Downtown Partners, the city of Sioux City and Seaboard Triumph Foods, has already gained a growing fan base. "At first, I thought it would attract mostly downtown workers," Burrish said. "Now, it can bring in people from all around the city or, even, out-of-towners who are surprised that Sioux City has so many food truck options." To a great extent, Food Truck Fridays has helped to facilitate a growing food truck scene across Siouxland. "It's been incredible to see Siouxland's food truck scene rapidly develop over the past seven years," Burrish said. "Food Truck Fridays contributes to Siouxland's quality of life." Senor Taco's Mazariegos agrees. "What makes Senor Taco special is that we have all of the flavors you know from home cooking," he said. "Plus we make it to our customer's satisfaction." 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. MONDAMIN, Iowa -- A Pisgah, Iowa, man was killed and another man injured in a single-vehicle crash Tuesday in rural Mondamin. The Iowa State Patrol said the crash occurred at approximately 6:58 p.m. near East Kelly Avenue and 180th Trail north of Mondamin. Thomas Peasley was driving north on Kelly Avenue in a Silverado pickup truck when he lost control, left the road and rolled several times before landing on the driver's side in the west ditch. Peasley, 22, of Pisgah, was killed in the crash. Another man in the pickup, Michael Rodriquez, 24, of Council Bluffs, was transported to a Missouri Valley, Iowa, hospital for treatment of his injuries. Neither of the men was wearing a seat belt. The state patrol said alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the crash, which is still under investigation. 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. Uvalde school police chief says hes still cooperating The school district police chief who served as on-site commander during last weeks deadly shooting in Uvalde, Texas, says hes talking daily with investigators, contradicting claims from state law enforcement that he has stopped cooperating. Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo told CNN in a brief interview Wednesday that hes speaking regularly with Texas Department of Public Safety investigators. Nineteen children and two teachers died in the attack at Robb Elementary School, the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade. Also Wednesday, the district announced that students and staff would not be returning to the Robb Elementary campus. Plans are still being finalized on where students will attend classes in the fall. 4 killed in shooting at Tulsa medical building, shooter dead Police officials say four people have been killed in a shooting at a Tulsa medical building on a hospital campus. Tulsa Police Department Deputy Chief Eric Dalgleish confirmed the number of dead Wednesday in the latest wave of mass gun violence occurring across the country. He also said the shooter was dead, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The motive for the attack was unclear. St. Francis Health System locked down its campus Wednesday afternoon because of the situation at the Natalie Medical Building. The Natalie building houses an outpatient surgery center and a breast health center. US and Germany agree to supply advanced weapons to Ukraine KYIV, Ukraine (AP) The U.S. and Germany are pledging to equip Ukraine with some of the advanced weapons it has long craved for shooting down aircraft and knocking out artillery. Germany said Wednesday it will supply Ukraine with up-to-date anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems. The U.S. said it will provide four sophisticated, medium-range rocket systems and ammunition. The arms shipments aim to bolster Ukraines defense as its troops battle a grinding Russian offensive that is closing in on capturing a key city in the east. Western arms have been critical to Ukraines success in stymieing Russias much larger and better-equipped military. Jury sides with Johnny Depp in libel case, awards him $10M FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) A jury sided with Johnny Depp in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard. The verdict issued Wednesday awarded the Pirates of the Caribbean actor more than $10 million Wednesday and vindicated his allegations that Heard lied about Depp abusing her before and during their brief marriage. But in a split decision, the jury also found that Heard was defamed by one of Depps lawyers, who accused her of creating a detailed hoax that included roughing up their apartment to look worse for police. The jury awarded her $2 million in damages. Sheryl Sandberg, long Facebook's No. 2 exec, steps down SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Sheryl Sandberg, the No. 2 executive at Facebook owner Meta, who helped turn its business from startup to digital advertising empire while also taking blame for some of its biggest missteps along the way, is stepping down. Sandberg has served as chief operating officer at the social media giant for 14 years. She joined from Google in 2008, four years before Facebook went public. Meta did not immediately respond to a message for comment. Sandberg has led Facebook's now Metas advertising business and was responsible for nurturing it from its infancy into a more than $100 billion-a-year powerhouse. Uvalde shooting highlights role of doors in security plans Doors have been at the center of the investigation into the massacre of 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas. Those include both the door the gunman entered and the one police did not open for over an hour. School officials under pressure to balance accessibility and safety confront a variety of decisions about the seemingly mundane act of going in and out of a building or classroom. But as the attack on Robb Elementary School showed, such choices can sometimes spell the difference between life and death. Former Corinthian students get federal student debt erased WASHINGTON (AP) The Biden administration says it will forgive all remaining federal student debt for former students of the for-profit Corinthian Colleges chain. Under the new action, anyone who attended the chain from 1995 to its collapse in 2015 will get their federal student debt automatically canceled. It will erase $5.8 billion in debt for more than 560,000 borrowers, the largest single loan discharge in Education Department history. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona says every student deceived, defrauded and driven into debt by Corinthian Colleges can rest assured that the Biden-Harris Administration has their back and will discharge their federal student loans. Slave reparations advocates hail historic California report SAN FRANCISCO (AP) California released an exhaustive report detailing how government laws and policies perpetuated discrimination against African Americans. Wednesdays report is a major step toward educating the public and setting the stage for an official government apology from California and the case for financial reparations. The 500-page document lays out the harm suffered by descendants of enslaved people long after slavery was abolished in the 19th century. It comes as states and school boards move to limit what can be taught in U.S. schools. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation creating the two-year task force in 2020, making California the only state to move ahead with such a study and plan. US Open's $10M purse offers hope for gender pay equality SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. (AP) Dottie Pepper recalls being paired with Meg Mallon for the final round of the 1991 U.S. Womens Open with what she viewed as an impressive $110,000 first-place prize on the line. Things have changed, but Lydia Ko says not enough. Mallon would win that title in 1991, collecting the first six-figure payout in womens golf history. Pepper says, That was a big deal. Three decades later, Pepper can hardly comprehend that the top female golfers in the world will be competing this week for a record $10 million purse. That includes a winners take of $1.8 million at the U.S. Womens Open at Pine Needles. Ko, the No. 3-ranked womens golfer in the world, said shes grateful for steps toward equal pay but added theres still a ways to go. Vocab questions reduce spelling bee to 3 letters: A, B or C OXON HILL, Md. (AP) An onstage vocabulary round introduced a new element of randomness into the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The multiple-choice vocabulary questions forced spellers to demonstrate a different skill set and knocked out some of the bee's most accomplished spellers during Wednesday's semifinals. Among those who were eliminated without spelling a word incorrectly were Roy Seligman and Vivinsha Veduru, who tied for fourth place in last year's bee. Veteran spelling coach Grace Walters called the vocabulary results tragic. Among the words and phrases that spellers failed to define were Stockholm syndrome, ragout and rumbustical. 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 A young man has been arrested and charged with two counts of manslaughter and driving under the influence causing injury in a Memorial Day weekend crash in Lincoln, Nebraska, that killed two women and injured 20 bystanders. The Lincoln Journal Star reports that 18-year-old Kyvell Stark, of Omaha, surrendered to police Tuesday. The crash happened the night of May 29 as a crowd watched classic cars cruise down the street. Police say Stark was driving a car nearly 90 mph before he collided with another car. The impact killed both women in the other car and sent both vehicles onto the sidewalk, where they struck onlookers watching the cruising event. It isn't yet clear if Stark has a lawyer who can comment on his behalf. WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden hailed Adm. Linda Fagan as new Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard and the armed forces' first female service chief, declaring during a change of command ceremony on Wednesday, It's about time. The trailblazing career of Admiral Fagan shows young people entering the services, we mean what we say: There are no doors no doors closed to women, Biden told around 2,000 cheering guests at Coast Guard headquarters. Those attending included service chiefs from other military branches and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The president added, This is what an admiral and service chief in the United States armed forces looks like and thanked Fagan for all that you've done throughout your career to open the doors of opportunity just a little bit wider" allowing "those following behind you a way through. Now we need to keep working to make sure Admiral Fagan may be the first but not the only, Biden said. We need to see more women at the highest levels of command in the Coast Guard and across every service." Fagan relieved Adm. Karl L. Schultz. In a brief address, Biden didn't mention Russia's war with Ukraine but said the choices the world makes today will "shape the direction of the world throughout the 21st century." The president said his administration is going to be calling on the Coast Guard more frequently to combat the threats of climate change, given that Wednesday marked the first day of hurricane season that is anticipated to be the seventh straight year of above-average hurricane activity in the Atlantic. Biden also called the Coast Guard an "essential element of his administrations Indo-Pacific strategy, and said he planned to engage to guard against overfishing by Chinese interests. 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) Boeing employees will still be allowed to perform some safety analysis on the companys aircraft, but for three more years instead of the five-year extension the company requested, federal regulators have determined. Federal Aviation Administration officials indicated Tuesday that the agency's decision on the safety-related work was designed to keep a closer eye on Boeing. Under rules in place for more than a decade, employees of aircraft manufacturing companies can be deputized to do certain tasks for the FAA. That practice came under more scrutiny after two deadly crashes involving Boeing 737 Max jets and allegations that Boeing employees misled regulators about a key flight system on the planes. Boeing's ability to do that work for the FAA was due to expire Tuesday. In a letter to Boeing, an FAA safety official said a three-year renewal was more appropriate than a five-year extension. There are multiple in work improvements that the FAA would like to assess within the Boeing organization over the next three years, Ian Won, acting manager of the FAA office that oversees Boeing, told the company. The list of items that the FAA wants Boeing to complete in the next three years includes ensuring that employees who help the FAA are protected from pressure by company managers, and making sure that Boeing quickly corrects any problems it finds. Boeing issued a statement, which in its entirety read, "As always, we are committed to working transparently with the FAA through their detailed and rigorous oversight processes. The FAA also said its inspectors and not Boeing employees will continue to be responsible for issuing final safety certificates for all new Boeing 737 Max and 787 jets rolling off the company assembly lines. That was a step taken in November 2019, during a 19-month grounding of the Max following crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. Deliveries of the 787, which Boeing calls the Dreamliner, have been halted most of the past two years because of a series of production problems. That is depriving Boeing of cash, because buyers typically pay a large portion of the purchase price for jets on delivery. This story has been updated to correct the year that the FAA took full responsibility for issuing safety certificates for Boeing 737 Max and 787 jets. It was November 2019, not 2020. 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 Myanmars military government and its opponents are trading accusations over a bomb that exploded Tuesday in the middle of the countrys largest city, Yangon, killing one and wounding nine others. State media linked Tuesday's blast to the armed movement that opposes last years military seizure of power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The self-styled National Unity Government, the main opposition body, has pinned the blame on the military government. Myanmar has been in turmoil since last years army seizure of power with military offensive in the countryside and urban guerrilla attacks in the cities. A second fatal bomb blast occurred Tuesday at an education office in eastern Myanmar. FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) A jury sided Wednesday with Johnny Depp in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, awarding the Pirates of the Caribbean actor more than $10 million and vindicating his allegations that Heard lied about Depp abusing her before and during their brief marriage. But in a split decision, the jury also found that Heard was defamed by one of Depp's lawyers, who accused her of creating a detailed hoax that included roughing up the couple's apartment to look worse for police. The jury awarded her $2 million. The verdicts bring an end to a televised trial that Depp had hoped would help restore his reputation, though it turned into a spectacle that offered a window into a vicious marriage. Heard, who was stoic in the courtroom as the verdict was read, said she was heartbroken. Im even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. Its a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously, she said in a statement posted on her Twitter account. Depp, who was not in court Wednesday, said the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled. I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up, he said in a statement posted to Instagram. Depp sued Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse. His lawyers said he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name. The jury found in Depp's favor on all three of his claims relating to specific statements in the 2018 piece. Throughout the proceedings, fans who were overwhelmingly on Depps side lined up overnight for coveted courtroom seats. Spectators who couldnt get in gathered on the street to cheer Depp and jeer Heard whenever they appeared outside. A crowd of about 200 people cheered when Depps lawyers came out after the verdict. Johnny for president! one man yelled repeatedly. Greg McCandless, 51, a retired private detective from Reston, Virginia, stood outside the courthouse wearing a pirate hat and red head scarf, a nod to Depps famous role as Capt. Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. I do believe that there was defamation, and I do believe that it did hurt his career, McCandless said. I think the jury heard the evidence, and the verdict was just. In evaluating Heard's counterclaims, jurors considered three statements by a lawyer for Depp who called her allegations a hoax. They found she was defamed by one of them, in which the lawyer claimed that she and friends spilled a little wine and roughed the place up, got their stories straight, and called police. Sydni Porter, 30, drove an hour from her home in Maryland to show support for Heard. She said the verdict was disappointing, but not surprising, and sends a message to women that as much evidence as you have (of abuse), its never going to be enough. The jury found Depp should receive $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, but the judge said state law caps punitive damages at $350,000, meaning Depp was awarded $10.35 million. While the case was ostensibly about libel, most of the testimony focused on whether Heard had been physically and sexually abused, as she claimed. Heard enumerated more than a dozen alleged assaults, including a fight in Australia where Depp was shooting a Pirates of the Caribbean sequel in which Depp lost the tip of his middle finger and Heard said she was sexually assaulted with a liquor bottle. Depp said he never hit Heard and that she was the abuser, though Heards attorneys highlighted years-old text messages Depp sent apologizing to Heard for his behavior as well as profane texts he sent to a friend in which Depp said he wanted to kill Heard and defile her dead body. In some ways, the trial was a replay of a lawsuit Depp filed in the United Kingdom against a British tabloid after he was described as a wife beater. The judge in that case ruled in the newspapers favor after finding that Heard was telling the truth in her descriptions of abuse. In the Virginia case, Depp had to prove not only that he never assaulted Heard, but that Heards article which focused primarily on public policy related to domestic violence defamed him. He also had to prove that Heard wrote the article with actual malice. And to claim damages, he had to prove that her article caused the damage to his reputation as opposed to any number of articles before and after Heards piece that detailed the allegations against him. The case captivated millions through its gavel-to-gavel television coverage, including impassioned followers on social media who dissected everything from the actors mannerisms to the possible symbolism of what they were wearing. Both performers emerge from the trial with reputations in tatters with unclear prospects for their careers. Eric Rose, a crisis management and communications expert in Los Angeles, called the trial a classic murder-suicide. From a reputation-management perspective, there can be no winners, he said. Theyve bloodied each other up. It becomes more difficult now for studios to hire either actor because youre potentially alienating a large segment of your audience who may not like the fact that you have retained either Johnny or Amber for a specific project because feelings are so strong now. Depp, a three-time best actor Oscar nominee, had until recent years been a bankable star. His turn as Sparrow helped turn the Pirates of the Caribbean into a global franchise, but hes lost that role. He was also replaced in the third Fantastic Beasts spin-off film, The Secrets of Dumbledore. Despite testimony at the trial that he could be violent, abusive and out of control, Depp received a standing ovation Tuesday night in London after performing for about 40 minutes with Jeff Beck at the Royal Albert Hall. Heards acting career has been more modest, and her only two upcoming roles are in a small film and the upcoming Aquaman sequel due out next year. Depps lawyers fought to keep the case in Virginia, in part because state law provided some legal advantages compared with California, where the two reside. A judge ruled that Virginia was an acceptable forum for the case because The Washington Posts printing presses and online servers are in the county. 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 BOSTON (AP) A Boston memorial to a famed Civil War unit made up of Black soldiers is being rededicated Wednesday after a three-year long restoration. Civic and military leaders are expected to be on hand for the ceremony at the Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts 54th Regiment Memorial on the Boston Common overlooking the Massachusetts Statehouse. The towering bronze relief, which is considered the nations first honoring Black soldiers, captures the stirring call to arms answered by Black soldiers who served in the unit, which was popularized in the 1989 Oscar-winning movie Glory. Civil war reenactors were slated to kick things off by marching up Beacon Street towards the gold-domed statehouse, just as the men of the original 54th did in 1863 and again in 1897, when the monument was completed by American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist and founder of Boston Universitys Center for Antiracist Research, headlines a slate of speakers that also includes Gov. Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. The memorial reopened last May following a $3 million restoration that involved not just careful restoration of the bronze bas-relief but also shoring up the monuments brick plaza and concrete foundation, and adding a new stainless steel frame between the bronze and the marble structure that surrounds it. The work was initially planned to take less than half a year, but due to the coronavirus pandemic and other factors, the restoration project ended up taking more time. Creation of the Shaw monument had been championed by prominent Black Bostonians in the aftermath of the Civil War. But the memorial was still among those that faced scrutiny amid a national reckoning on racism sparked by the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020. The memorial depicts Shaw, the units white commanding officer, riding on horseback while his Black soldiers walk in the background. And while the names of Shaw and other fallen white commanding officers were etched in the monument from its unveiling, those of the Black soldiers werent added until the 1980s, during its last major facelift. 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 In the hours and days following the fatal shooting of 19 children and their two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, authorities gave shifting and at times contradictory information of what happened and how they responded. The investigation of the massacre is ongoing, but much is already known about the nearly two hours that passed between when authorities say Salvador Ramos shot his grandmother and when police radio traffic indicated that the 18-year-old gunman was dead and the siege was over. TIMELINE Sometime after 11 a.m. Ramos shoots his grandmother in the face, according to Texas Public Safety Director Steve McCraw. Gilbert Gallegos, 82, who lives across the street from Ramos and his grandmother, heard a shot as he was in his yard. He runs to the front and sees Ramos speed away in a pickup truck and Ramos' grandmother coming toward him pleading for help. Covered in blood, She says, Berto, this is what he did. He shot me, according to Gallegos, whose wife calls the police to report the shooting. 11:27 a.m. Video shows a teacher, whom authorities haven't publicly identified, propping open an exterior door of the school, McCraw said. 11:28 a.m. Ramos crashes the pickup into a drainage ditch behind the school, McCraw said. Two men at a nearby funeral home hear the crash and run out to see what happened. They see Ramos jump out of the passenger side carrying an AR-15-style rifle and a bag full of ammunition. The men run and Ramos fires at them but doesn't hit them. One of the men falls but both make it back to the funeral home. The teacher who propped open the door meanwhile runs inside to grab her phone so she can call 911 and report the crash but as she comes back out while on her phone she realizes Ramos has a gun, according to Department of Public Safety spokesman Travis Considine. She removes the rock that had propped open the door and it closes behind her, but the door does not lock, Considine said. 11:30 a.m. 911 receives a call saying there was a crash and a man with a gun at the school, McCraw said. 11:31 a.m. Ramos begins shooting at the school from the school parking lot as police cars begin to arrive at the funeral home, McCraw said. Ramos then makes his way around the school building. The school district police officer who was working that day wasn't on campus around this time, contrary to previous reports, McCraw said May 27. The officer drives to the school immediately after getting the 911 call and approaches someone at the back of the school who he thought was the gunman. As the officer sped toward the man, who turned out to be a teacher, McCraw said the officer drove right by the suspect who was hunkered down behind" a vehicle. 11:32 a.m. Ramos fires multiple shots at the school and then makes his way toward the unlocked door, officials said. 11:33 a.m. Five minutes after crashing the pickup, Ramos enters the school and begins shooting into two adjoining classrooms, 111 and 112, McCraw said. He fires more than 100 rounds. 11:35 a.m. Three city police officers enter the school through the same door that Ramos used and are later followed by four other officers, McCraw said, putting a total of seven inside the building. Two officers receive grazing wounds from Ramos, McCraw said. 11:37 a.m. Gunfire continues, with 16 rounds being shot in total, McCraw said. Its unclear who fired the shots. 11:51 a.m. A police sergeant and other law enforcement begin to arrive, McCraw said. 12:03 p.m. A female (age unknown) calls 911 and whispers that shes in classroom 112, McCraw said. The call lasts 1 minute, 23 seconds. 12:03 p.m. Officers continue to enter the school, with as many as 19 officers in the hallway near the room where Ramos is holed up, McCraw said. 12:06 p.m. Anne Marie Espinoza, a spokeswoman for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, posts on the district's Facebook page: All campuses are under a Lockdown Status. Uvalde CISD Parents: Please know at this time all campuses are under a Lockdown Status due to gunshots in the area. The students and staff are safe in the buildings. The buildings are secure in a Lockdown Status. Your cooperation is needed at this time by not visiting the campus. As soon as the Lockdown Status is lifted you will be notified." "Thank you for your cooperation!" 12:10 p.m. The female (age unknown) who called 911 at 12:03 p.m. calls 911 again and says there are multiple dead, McCraw said. She calls again at 12:13 p.m. and then again at 12:16 p.m., when she says there are eight to nine students alive. 12:10 p.m. The first group of deputy U.S. marshals from Del Rio arrive from nearly 70 miles (113 kilometers) away to assist the various other law enforcement officers already on scene, according to the Marshals Service. 12:15 p.m. U.S. Border Patrol tactical team members arrive with shields, McCraw said. 12:19 p.m. Another girl in room 111 calls 911 and ends the call when a fellow student tells her to hang up, McCraw said. 12:21 p.m. Ramos fires his gun again and officers believe hes at one of the door of one of the adjoining classrooms, McCraw said. Police move down the hallway. 12:21 p.m. Three shots can be heard during a 911 call, McCraw said. Around this time, police are stuck in the hallway because both classroom doors are locked and they must seek keys from a school employee. 12:36 p.m. A child calls 911 for 21 seconds. Around this time, a girl calls 911 and is told to stay on the line and stay very quiet, McCraw said. The girl says, He shot the door. 12:43 p.m. The girl urges the 911 dispatcher to please send the police now. 12:46 p.m. The girl says she can hear the police next door. 12:47 p.m. She again asks 911 to please send the police now. 12:50 p.m. Officers open the doors with keys from a school employee, enter the classroom and kill Ramos, McCraw said. Shots can be heard over the 911 call. 12:51 p.m. Officers can be heard moving children out of the room, McCraw said. 12:58 p.m. Law enforcement radio chatter says Ramos has been killed and the siege is over, said Victor Escalon, regional director for the Texas Department of Public Safety. For more AP coverage of the Uvalde school shooting: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting 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 UVALDE, Texas (AP) The blame for an excruciating delay in killing the gunman at a Texas elementary school even as parents outside begged police to rush in and panicked children called 911 from inside has been placed with the school district's homegrown police chief. It's left residents in the small city of Uvalde struggling to reconcile what they know of the well-liked local lawman after the director of state police said that the commander at the scene Pete Arredondo made the wrong decision last week not to breach a classroom at Robb Elementary School sooner, believing the gunman was barricaded inside and children werent at risk. Steven McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said at the Friday news conference that after following the gunman into the building, officers waited over an hour to breach the classroom. Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the shooting. Arredondo, who grew up in Uvalde and graduated from high school here, was set to be sworn in Tuesday to his new spot on the City Council after being elected earlier this month, but Mayor Don McLaughlin said in a statement Monday that the meeting wouldn't happen. It wasnt immediately clear whether the swearing-in would happen privately or at a later date. Pete Arredondo was duly elected to the City Council, McLaughlin said in the statement. There is nothing in the City Charter, Election Code, or Texas Constitution that prohibits him from taking the oath of office." The 50-year-old Arredondo has spent much of a nearly 30-year career in law enforcement in Uvalde, returning in 2020 to take the head police job at the school district. When Arredondo was a boy, Maria Gonzalez used to drive him and her children to the same school where the shooting happened. He was a good boy, she said. He dropped the ball maybe because he did not have enough experience. Who knows? People are very angry," Gonzalez said. Another woman in the neighborhood where Arredondo grew up began sobbing when asked about him. The woman, who didn't want to give her name, said one of her granddaughters was at the school during the shooting but wasn't hurt. Juan Torres, a U.S. Army veteran who was visibly upset with reports coming out about the response, said he knew Arredondo from high school. You sign up to respond to those kinds of situations Torres said. If you are scared, then dont be a police officer. Go flip burgers. After his election to the non-salaried spot on the City Council, Arredondo told the Uvalde Leader-News earlier this month that he was ready to hit the ground running. I have plenty of ideas, and I definitely have plenty of drive, he said, adding he wanted to focus not only on the city being fiscally responsible but also making sure street repairs and beautification projects happen. At a candidates forum before his election, Arredondo said: I guess to me nothing is complicated. Everything has a solution. That solution starts with communication. Communication is key. McCraw said Friday that minutes after the gunman entered the school, city police officers entered through the same door. Over the course of more than an hour, law enforcement from multiple agencies arrived on the scene. Finally, officials said, a U.S. Border Patrol tactical team used a janitors key to unlock the classroom door and kill the gunman. McCraw said that students and teachers had repeatedly begged 911 operators for help while Arredondo told more than a dozen officers to wait in a hallway. That directive which goes against established active-shooter protocols prompted questions about whether more lives were lost because officers didnt act faster. Two law enforcement officials have said that as the gunman fired at students, law enforcement officers from other agencies urged Arredondo to let them move in because children were in danger, The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they had not been authorized to talk publicly about the investigation. McLaughlin, the Uvalde mayor, pushed back on officials claims, including remarks made over the weekend by Texas lieutenant governor, that they werent told the truth about the massacre. McLaughlin said in his Monday statement that local law enforcement hadn't made any public comments about the investigation's specifics or misled anyone. Arredondo started out his career in law enforcement working for the Uvalde Police Department. After spending 16 years there, he went to Laredo, a border city located 130 miles (209 kilometers) miles to the south, where he worked at the Webb County Sheriff's Office and then for a local school district, according to a 2020 article in the Uvalde Leader-News on his return to his hometown to take the school district police chief job. The school district's board of trustees approved his appointment to the spot. According to the Uvalde school district's website, the police force led by Arredondo also has five other officers and a security guard. Ray Garner, the police chief of the district in Laredo where Arredondo worked, told the San Antonio Express-News in a story published after the Uvalde shooting that when Arredondo worked in the Laredo district he was easy to talk to" and was concerned about the students. "He was an excellent officer down here, Garner told the newspaper . Down here, we do a lot of training on active-shooter scenarios, and he was involved in those. Arredondo, who spoke only briefly at two short news conferences on the day of the shooting, appeared behind state officials speaking at news conferences over the next two days, but was not present at McCraws Friday news conference. After that news conference, members of the media converged at Arredondo's home and police cruisers took up posts there. At one point, a man answering the door at Arredondo's house told a reporter for The Associated Press that Arredondo was indisposed. The truth will come out, said the man before closing the door. On Tuesday, Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Arredondo had not responded to DPS interview requests for two days, Considine said. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat whose district includes Uvalde, said on CNNs State of the Union on Sunday that he's asking a lot of questions after so many things went wrong. He said one family told him that a first responder told them that their child, who was shot in the back, likely bled out. So, absolutely, these mistakes may have led to the passing away of these children as well, Gutierrez said. Gutierrez said while the issue of which law enforcement agency had or should have had operational control is a significant concern of his, he's also suggested to McCraw "that its not fair to put it on the local (school district) cop. At the end of the day, everybody failed here," Gutierrez said. Associated Press writer Stengle contributed from Dallas, and also contributing were Curt Anderson in Miami, Jim Vertuno in Austin, Mike Balsamo in Washington and Elliott Spagat in Uvalde. More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/school-shootings 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 A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit against prosecutors filed by the family of a white Nebraska bar owner who killed himself after being charged in the fatal shooting of a Black man during 2020 racial injustice protests. U.S. District Judge John Gerrard said in an order Tuesday that there is no legal basis to conclude that Douglas County prosecutors are liable for the death of 38-year-old Jake Gardner. Gardner's parents accused Douglas County Attorney's Office, its top prosecutor and a special prosecutor of violating Gardners constitutional rights. Gardner was charged with manslaughter and other felonies in the May 30, 2020, shooting death of 22-year-old James Scurlock outside Gardner's downtown Omaha bar. He killed himself in Oregon. LINCOLN Nebraska's newest license plate will feature a backdrop of an original mosaic described as "the crown jewel" of art pieces on display inside the Capitol. Gov. Pete Ricketts, along with First Lady Susanne Shore and several state officials, unveiled the new license plate design Tuesday morning. Nebraska DMV Director Rhonda Lahm said she expects the state will print about 3 million new plates before the end of the year and start issuing them in January. The new general plate depicts a mosaic called "The Genius of Creative Energy," which features a man riding atop the clouds behind a backdrop of lightning and clouds. It is one of dozens of original mosaics designed by artist Hildreth Meiere, but Drew Davies, owner of Oxide Design Co. who submitted the design, described it as "the crown jewel" of the Capitol, as it is one of the first pieces visitors see displayed on the floor coming through the building's main entrance. Ricketts said the image also represents Nebraska's agricultural community, whose members routinely come up with creative solutions that help power the state. Shore led the plate design project and said she started brainstorming in 2018, after Ricketts was reelected. It wasn't until late 2021 when they settled on the final design. Though some may not recognize the image on the plate, Ricketts said he thinks the design will educate Nebraskans about the original art that is available to view inside the Capitol. "The building is like a history book," said Capitol Administrator Bob Ripley. Nebraska's license plate designs, which are renewed every six years under state law, have encountered a fair share of controversy over the last decade. In 2009, a plate design contest was hijacked by internet comedy company CollegeHumor, which encouraged its audience to vote for a plain gray design that then won the contest temporarily. After World-Herald reporters asked to see the raw data, the company that ran the state website admitted that it had given state officials bad information and that another plate actually had won. In 2017, Ricketts' administration selected the design, going with an image of a Sower statue that was supposed to represent the one that sits atop the Capitol. However, the Omaha World-Herald later reported that the image was the wrong Sower, and was actually a statue at Michigan State University. The state quickly revised the design to showcase the correct Sower. Though she stands by the latest design, Shore said she expects the newest plate will see its share of public criticism. "It is sort of a state sport in every state," Shore said. However, she said she hopes over time, the design will come to be known as a beloved license plate for Nebraska. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Most Americans who learned George Floyds name two years ago have still never heard the stage name by which his hometown of Houston recognized him: Big Floyd, member of the legendary rap group Screwed Up Click. Even if youve never heard of the Click or its anchoring leader, DJ Screw, you have felt and heard the groups impact on popular music and culture. Their innovative chopped and screwed method, with its trademark slowed-down, ethereal, drum-snapping, repetitive, bass-heavy, low-voiced sounds, echoes in songs and videos from Texans like Beyonce and Megan Thee Stallionand even beyond that, in a beautiful scene from the Oscar-winning Moonlight, or within hits by Miley Cyrus, Lil Wayne, Drake, Mac Miller, ASAP Rocky, Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Kendrick Lamar. In a more just world, Big Floyd would have achieved the fame hed long desired for having been part of this movement, rather than for what his death now represents; more would have heard Floyds voice from his vivid, straight-talking freestyles than from the recording of his wrenching final words. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sign up for the Slate Culture Newsletter The best of movies, TV, books, music, and more, delivered to your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. But now, this part of his life and career finally may be getting its due, and its celebration. Last month, the first major biography of DJ Screw and the S.U.C. was published by Houston journalist Lance Scott Walker, following 14 years of reporting. DJ Screw: A Life in Slow Revolution offers an overdue look at the life of this titan and his often-overlooked compatriots, combining deeply reported geographical surveys of Houston with oral histories from the people who knew Screw. Like the other major rap biography released last month, Justin Tinsleys It Was All a Dream: Biggie and the World That Made Him, the Screw bio lays out a historically informed, nuanced survey of the economic and technological factors that drove an artists creations and the Screwed Up Clicks careerthe kind of grounded study of a singular life that rarely garners such mass hype among rap fans. Advertisement Advertisement Its no exaggeration to say DJ Screw, born Robert Earl Davis Jr., changed everything. As Walker notes, he wasnt the first to champion the core aspect of chopping and screwingplaying a vinyl record at a slower speed in a public settingbut he did make an M.O. of it, and added his spins: interspersing bits of other songs within the slowed-down tracks, repeating certain lines and instrumental portions, sprinkling in loud, snapping drums to accompany repeated syllables, and capturing all these turntable tricks on cassette. These moves fleshed out the most essential aspects of any given rap song, forcing listeners to pay attention to the beats within the beats, drawing out words listeners may have overlooked. The songs werent warped, like they may have initially sounded; they were reinterpreted. And then there were the freestyles: Screw took beats from rap artists and had his friends (like Big Floyd) spit their own bars or sing their own melodies over those rhythms, later slowing the recordings of these sessions down and giving the rappers voices a deep, trippy ring and echo. In essence, Screw conducted a Houstonian symphony: variations on a theme, packed with images of tricked-out cars, overflowing codeine cups, and scratched-up vinyl discs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was completely counterintuitive to how most listeners thought this music should soundplayed at normal speed and loud volume, with the bass jacked upand yet they couldnt deny it. As Walker chronicles, artists like Ice Cube would send their singles to Screw and his team in order to get the chopped-and-screwed treatment, which led to further publicity. Screw was so iconic within his city that he not only brought national attention to Houstons rappers, but was credited with helping end violent rivalries between Houstons North and South sides; he was so iconic within his state that, months after he died of an overdose in November 2000, at age 29, Texas Monthly ran a lengthy profile of the man and placed his name in a coverline, right next to its centered photo of thenfirst lady Laura Bush. A Life in Slow Revolution not only offers Screw the studied biographical record he deserves, but also puts so many of his fellow S.U.C. members, whod never gotten a high-profile book of their own, squarely within the rap canon: Al-D, E.S.G., Big Pokey, Big Moe, and, of course, Big Floyd. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If DJ Screw serves to introduce more readers and rap heads to its subject, thats not the same role It Was All a Dream assumes for the Notorious B.I.G., one of the most beloved, worshipped, and documented rappers in history (we at Slate have done our part). Even so, there is great value for a newer book like Dream, not least due to the timing: Last month marked the date that would have been Biggies 50th birthday, which New York hailed with citywide parties. Biggie has been hip-hop royalty since 1994, but in recent years his canonization has accelerated: He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020 while being painted on several new murals in Brooklyn. Advertisement Advertisement Plus, Dream is a full measure of the man himself, going beyond coverage of his shocking, mysterious murder. As onetime music journalist Cheo Hodari Coker emphasized in the introduction to his 2003 book Unbelievable, much of the reason he wrote his own Biggie biography was to serve as a counter to then-prominent books that included full-spread, grisly photos of 2Pacs and Biggies corpses. If youve picked up a copy of Unbelievable just to find out who killed Biggie, then youve come to the wrong place, he noted. Thats not really what the book is about. This is a book about the man in full. Its the same goal Tinsley pursues in It Was All a Dream, in which he doesnt engage in any of the who killed him? speculation till the very end. Advertisement Advertisement It Was All a Dream is not nearly as strong a book as DJ Screw. It does pull off two compelling, admirable feats unusual for rap biographies: offering detailed historical and legislative context on the war on drugs, the international crack cartel, and the U.S.s tough-on-crime carceral politics that, together, ravaged Brooklyn; and talking to Biggies loved ones about his darker side, especially regarding his misdeeds as a romantic partner. (This also extends to inner-circle members like Diddy, who does not get to evade the story of the Astroworld-style tragedy that occurred at an early-90s concert hed hosted.) These are undercut by subsequent narrative weaknesses: Tinsley does not always make the connection between the broader national history and its direct impact on Big and his family, and he often falls into flowing phrases of hero worship. Still, its an important book, offering a full-fledged portrait of the late Christopher Wallace from the moment his mother emigrated to Jamaica, to his first rap battles in Bed-Stuy, to his so-called beef with you-know-who. Plus, instead of ending with Bigs assassination, Tinsley dedicates his final chapter to Biggies now-grown-up son, CJ Wallacewhat his life is like now, what he makes of his fathers impact, what he plans for his future. When so many rap chronicles wallow in death, Tinsley chooses instead to hail one of the young lives Biggie brought into this world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These two books arrive during an astonishingly prolific season for reported hip-hop biographies that center individual figures and dive into the cultural and political contexts that informed their lives and works. Despite controversies breaking out every so oftenas with Mac Miller stans dismissal of a journalistic biography in favor of a book of fan reflectionsrap biographies, as a genre, have been thriving. In the past few years alone, in addition to the Screw, Big, and Mac bios, weve seen the rapturous reception of high-profile books on J Dilla, Bushwick Bill, Nipsey Hussle, the Beastie Boys, Tekashi 6ix9ine, and Kendrick Lamar (who got two books!). A new book on MF DOOM is set for publication in 2024. Advertisement This may not seem so significant until you survey the landscape of rap literature and notice how few quality studies of individual figures are otherwise present. There are plenty of incredible hip-hop histories, but proper journalistic profiles of our greatest rap figures that engage with all aspects of their lives and environments are still lacking. When they do arrive, theyre often sadly late. Look again at the rap artists I mentioned in the last paragraph; with the exceptions of 6ix9ine and Kendrick, all these books have come after their subjects deaths. If multiple already-outdated biographies can exist for, say, Elon Musk, theres no reason we shouldnt be writing the stories of some of our most important rap pioneers while theyre still alive. Advertisement Advertisement Almost every famous veteran of other historic genresrock, pop, jazz, Broadway, etc.has at least a few biographies attached to their name. Meanwhile, good luck seeking out similarly rigorously reported tomes about, say, Nas, or Grandmaster Caz, or MC Lyte, or even Fab 5 Freddy. There are any number of possible reasons for this paucity: the decadeslong crunching and consolidation of publishing houses and media companies, the racist cultural gatekeeping that still sidelines those involved with the worlds biggest genre, and the increasingly whittled-down field of serious rap journalism. But whatever the cause, we now have books like DJ Screw and It Was All a Dream to help fix this problem, with more on the way. Rap scholars, music fans, and anyone who cares about the proper documentation of our cultural history should rejoice. Slate receives a commission when you purchase items using the links on this page. Thank you for your support. Five of the nine Supreme Court justices are prepared to overturn Roe v. Wade and wrest from hundreds of millions of Americans the fundamental right to access abortion. The four justices in the minority can and must stop that from happening. Chief Justice John Roberts, along with Justices Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor, should recuse themselves in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization and deny the Supreme Court a quorum, preventing the end of Roe. Federal law and the Supreme Courts own rules establish the quorum of justices necessary to do business at six. Put another way, unless at least six justices agree to hear a case, the Supreme Court cannot act. Thus, a denial of quorum would deprive the presumptive five-justice majority in Dobbs from adopting Justice Samuel Alitos leaked draft majority opinion, leaving Roe intact for now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe to the Slatest Newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. 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. Deprivations of quorum are not novel. For instance, in 2008, the Supreme Court agreed to hear American Isuzu Motors Inc. v. Ntsebeza, a case concerning a group of businesses accused of maintaining apartheid in South Africa. Because so many large corporations were named defendants, four justices recused themselves due to conflicts of interest. As a result, the Supreme Court lacked a quorum and the five remaining justices were unable to rule on the case. In such situations, federal law states that a majority of the remaining justices can either affirm the judgment of the lower court or, if they believe the lack of quorum is temporary, hold the case until the next term and decide it then. Accordingly, a majority of the five qualified justices in Ntsebeza voted to affirm the appeals courts judgment, presumably because they did not foresee their fellow justices conflicts of interest abating. Advertisement Advertisement Moreover, justices can recuse themselves from any case for any reason. To that end, while federal law compels recusal in the face of certain conflicts of interest, it imposes no requirement that unconflicted justices hear a case. Indeed, despite some lower courts imposing a duty to sit on federal judgesa duty that Chief Justice William Rehnquist once thought applicable to Supreme Court justicesnever has a majority of the Supreme Court held that its justices must decide a case where they are qualified to do so. Advertisement For example, despite his qualification to hear cases, Justice Robert Jackson famously took a leave of absence from the Supreme Court from 1945 to 1946 to serve as chief prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials, leaving eight justices to keep the court operating in his absence. Furthermore, to the extent a duty to sit ever applied to Supreme Court justices, Congress abolished it in 1974 to relieve federal judges from having to hear cases where they were arguably disqualified due to conflicts of interest, thus enhanc[ing] public confidence in the impartiality of the judicial system. One consequence of this legislation was an increase in the independence of the judiciary, giving judges the unchecked discretion to recuse themselves whenever they please, so long as federal law does not compel them to do so. Today, the four justices who will ostensibly make up the Dobbs minority can recuse themselves despite their having no apparent conflict of interest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Justice and the institutional legitimacy of the Supreme Court demand that these justices do so. No government should force pregnant people to give birth against their will. Plus, if Roe falls, countless other fundamental rights will be on the chopping block. And as Sotomayor warned at oral argument, overturning Roe would undermine the republic itself by fomenting an enduring stench that the Constitution and its reading are just political acts. In contrast, saving Roe would signal that, at least sometimes, this court still upholds the rule of law, politics be damned. A court whose legitimacy is on life support is better than a court whose legitimacy has been aborted. For all these reasons, it is vital to prevent Roes downfall by any lawful means. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here in Texas, we are familiar with such procedural maneuvers. Last summer, Democratic legislators fled the state to temporarily divest the Republican-led Texas House of Representatives of the quorum needed to pass a bill restricting voting rights. The gambit worked for several weeks until the legislators inevitably returned home. The difference here is that four justices could deny the Supreme Court a quorum to hear abortion cases permanently. Although this tactic would be wholly novel in the judiciary, there is also nothing new about a minority of officials in one branch of our federal government thwarting majority rule. Americans are undoubtedly familiar with the filibusterthe arcane rule where a minority of senators can block debate and prevent a majority of senators from voting on a bill. Depriving the Supreme Court of a quorum is a similar tactic. These kinds of undemocratic moves are unfortunately the only weapons we have against a political minority that has cemented its outsize influence in undemocratic ways. So, to the four justices writing your dissents in Dobbs: Stop writing. Take evasive action. Recuse yourselves. Denying quorum to avoid constitutional calamity may set a troubling precedent, but at least the Supreme Court would survive, as would the fundamental rights of millions upon millions of Americans. Watching your colleagues destroy a core constitutional right would be unimaginable. But watching them do so when you could have stopped them would be unforgivable. For more on the historic fight for abortion rights, listen to Slow Burn: Roe v. Wade. When you read almost any book about the history of abortion in America, one name comes up again and again: Sherri Chessen. Sherriwho, tellingly, was often identified as Sherri Finkbine, though she didnt use her husbands surnamewas a television personality on a kids show called Romper Room back in the early 1960s. She lived in Arizona, and she was the mother of four kids. When she got pregnant with her fifth baby, shed been having trouble sleeping, so she took a sleeping pill her husband had recently bought over the counter on a trip to England. Advertisement The sleeping pill was thalidomide. When she told her doctor shed been taking it, he told her that shed better come into his office: Thalidomide had been associated with extreme birth defects. Sherri consulted with her doctor, and she decided that the right thing to do, given the risks to the fetus, was to get an abortion. She was devastated by the choice, but she couldnt imagine making a different one. And she was worried that other women might be in a similar situation, so she used her platform to warn them about the dangers of thalidomide to fetal development. [Subscribe now to Slow Burn and listen to the first episode of Season 7: Roe v. Wade.] Advertisement The problem was that this happened in 1962, and abortion was illegal in the state of Arizona unless the pregnancy threatened the health of the mother. There was no protocol for what to do if the pregnancy threatened the fetus. As soon as she started speaking out about what she was facing, authorities in the state of Arizona told her that she wouldnt be able to get an abortion after all. A firestorm ensued. Sherri tried to make a plan to travel Japan for the procedure, but she was denied entry. She eventually had to travel all the way to Sweden to get her abortion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When I first started researching the years before Roe v. Wade, I came across Sherris story again and again. What happened to her is gutting and dramatic, and theres no doubt she has earned her place in historyher willingness to speak out for the sake of other women is particularly brave, considering all the grief it caused her. But I also came across another womans story, a story that started eight years later, and felt equally significant, even though it was rarely mentioned and seemed mostly forgotten: Shirley Wheelers. Advertisement Advertisement Shirley got an illegal abortion in 1970. And she became one of the first women to be arrested for doing so. Her legal troubles dragged on for two years and took all kinds of surprising twists and turns. Her experience showed what the cost to women could be when a procedure they so frequently found themselves needing was against the law. Shirley Wheelers story was not as palatable as Sherri Chessens. Shirley, unlike Sherri, was not married to the man she was dating when she got pregnant. Shirley had had a child, but that child was the result of rape, and she chose not to raise him. Shirley knew that she didnt want to have a second babyshe didnt want to bring another child into the world, and she didnt want to be a mother. The abortion she got in trouble for wasnt even the first illegal abortion shed gotten; it was her second. Advertisement Advertisement Its no real surprise that people still talk about Sherri but not Shirley. And yet both women spoke to the press about what was happening to them. Both womens stories were told nationally as they unfurled, and both influenced how abortion was talked about and understood. Sherris story got the nation talking about abortion, but Shirleys story became a rallying cry for women, and a warning about what could happen to them if the laws didnt change. It fueled the anger of women who were fed up with having to couch their desire to have control of their own reproductive health in what was considered proper or right. When Shirleys story took off, women were still willing to say that what they were fighting for was abortion on demand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For a time in 1971, Shirley herself became an inspiration to a budding movement. She was an unlikely person to step into that role. When she stepped onstage to speak to a crowd of women in the fall of 1971, it was actually the first political rally shed ever attended. But her tale offered specifics to a movement that needed a hero, and women rallied around her. Today, hardly anyone knows her name or what happened to her. I think thats a clear indication of how far the conversation has shifted since women won the right to abortion. The language of choiceeven for politicians who support abortion rightshas moved back to being about how abortion should be safe, legal, and rare. Advertisement This season on Slow Burn, Im telling the stories about what happened before Roe v. Wade. I wanted to understand what life was like for women before abortion became legal, how so many women came together to fight for the right, and what that fight actually entailed. I wanted to understand why the issue was so much different politically then than it is today: Before Roe, more Republicans supported abortion access than Democrats. Before Roe, there was no real alliance between religion and the right on the issuein fact, in many cases, clergy were actively involved in making sure that women had access to safe abortions. Maybe most of all, I wanted to understand what the Supreme Court thought about the decision it was handing down in January of 1973. Did the justices have any clue that it would go on to change our politics forever? Advertisement I wanted to understand Roe for the most obvious reason: It has become the justification for so many choices that the most powerful people in our country have made. Those choices have distorted our institutions and have left us in a contentious battle between two sides whose beliefs seem utterly impossible to reconcile. There is no resolution in sight to this standoff, but we are certainly on the precipice of change. If Roe falls later this month, as seems likely, we will be catapulted back into a world that most American women alive today have never experienced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This season, well tell you Shirleys story. Well revisit an irresistible Catholic couple who started as sex ed lecturers and almost inadvertently helped spark the rise of the right-to-life movement. And well talk about the legal arguments that helped a Supreme Court stacked with Nixon appointees to rule overwhelmingly for the constitutional right to an abortion. Along the way, well see stark glimpses of where American women are likely to find themselves if Roe falls. Listen to Slow Burn on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Join Slate Plus for your ad-free feed and member-exclusive episodes every week. The seasons reporting was supported by a grant from the International Womens Media Foundations Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists. I caught Lauren McGaughy, an Austin-based investigative reporter for the Dallas Morning News, as she was preparing to cover the National Rifle Association convention in Houston last week. Before that, shed been covering the Uvalde school shooting. When I asked her how many mass shootings shed reported on in the past few years, she had a list ready: the shooting at a Sutherland Springs church in 2017, the political fallout after a 2018 shooting at a Santa Fe high school. McGaughy and her colleagues even created an interactive map of every mass shooting in Texas since 1966, which have taken place everywhere from churches to restaurants and even a roller rink. McGaughys background helped her realize something was different about the Texas governments response to the Uvalde massacre. After the Santa Fe shooting, Republican politicians, for a brief period of time, seemed to say enough. Gov. Greg Abbott suggested hed be in favor of a red flag law that would restrict firearm access for those in crisis or who have a mental disorder. But this time around, there just doesnt seem to be any discussion, at least here in Texas, on the ground of gun restriction laws, McGaughy told me. Instead, when Abbott held a press conference in the hours after the shooting, he talked about mental health. On Tuesdays episode of What Next, I spoke with McGauhy about Texas history of mass shootings, and how the states response has shifted. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lauren McGaughy: In 2018, seeing Republican leaders of the state or openly discussing some kind of restriction on guns it was unusual. But the local arm of the NRA came in, and its always been against red flag laws. Then Abbott said didnt see a ton of support in the Legislature, so it kind of petered out. In the moment, everyone feels like there needs to be a serious talk about solutions. But the news cycle moves on, something else happens, or the moment passes and we end up further loosening gun laws in the state rather than putting any real restrictions in place. Mary Harris: Just a year or so after the Santa Fe shooting, people were killed at that Walmart in El Paso. Then a few weeks after that, people were killed in a shooting spree in Midland and Odessa. It was another moment where the governor and even his lieutenant governor, whos more conservative than Abbott, started talking about background checks for stranger-to-stranger gun sales. That also seemed like a big step when it happened. Did you think that maybe this was going to change things? Advertisement Advertisement When Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said he would be interested in discussing stranger-to-stranger background checks, yes, I thought this could be a moment where things could change. But then that, too, also died out. People were riled up and passionate, and then enough time passed without the support they wanted from the Republicans in the Legislature. Plus, we dont have that many restrictions left to loosen up. Advertisement Do you need a license or a permit or anything? In 2021, they did away with requiring licensing to carry a handgun in public. That was one of the biggest restrictions that was still on the books. So now we have unlicensed open carry of handguns and unlicensed open carry of AR-15-style rifles and the like. Then there were a couple other things that were tweaked: State legislators made it easier to carry a gun during an actual disaster, after Hurricane Harvey, and they made it easier to carry a gun into a house of worship, after Sutherland Springs. If you want to carry a gun into a church or synagogue, its just understood to be legal, unless there is an explicit restriction from the faith leader of that congregation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The response to a church shooting was more guns in church. Thats right. Sutherland Springs is not even a townits an unincorporated area and very conservative and religious. There werent many calls for gun control coming from the people of the area who were affected by the shootingthey werent saying that this is the time to crack down on guns. In fact, the two guys who chased down the shooter ended up becoming big gun legislation advocates. One of the now goes and speaks about the need for good guys with guns. So its important to note that each of these communities so radically different, and the demands of those communities may differ may differ as well. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Are looser gun laws what the people in Texas want? Well, which constituents? The ones who vote in a Republican primary would probably oppose gun restrictions, and frankly, those are the ones with the political power, because they get out and vote, and keep Republicans in power. If you look at the polling in Texas, there was one last year that showed that a majority of Texans did not want permitless carry. But if you look at the party-by-party breakdown, youre going to see that divide between Republicans and Democrats. If you break it down even more and you look at primary voters when youre talking about Republican leaders in Texas, thats who their constituency isif they dont want more restrictive gun laws, then its probably not going to become something serious in the legislature unless there is some other kind of outside force pushing it. Advertisement On the other hand: In Texas, teachers can already be armed. The state has tried to expand that program in the past. But the thing is, not a lot of teachers want to do it. So its not super popular. Right now, we have tens of thousands of schools, and the state only has 256 school marshalsarmed teachers and personnel. Its not going to suddenly explode across the state. Advertisement Advertisement It was interesting to hear the governor talk about mental health because a lot of people criticized that thought, noting that Texas didnt expand Medicaid and didnt make health care more available to its citizens when it could have. So the idea that solving mental health might solve this crisis of shootings, its a little hard to connect those dots when youre not funding mental health in the first place. Advertisement There was a Houston Chronicle investigation last year about how the state has approached mental health and funding across the board, for kids, adults, everything. The paper found that the state hasnt adequately dedicated itself to this problem. Its an incredibly complex one, but there have been proposals that havent really seemed to work. These for-profit companies will come in with an app or a software product and say, This will allow you to respond more quickly to a school shooting, or This app will allow you to monitor social media for signs of a student who may be struggling. None of those things have really panned out, but the state has invested in them. In fact, Uvaldes school district had spent state money on a product to monitor social media. Its purpose was to catch signs of someone struggling, to catch pictures of gunsbut this was not caught. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After your own experience with a mass shooting back in 2013, you talked about wanting to join the growing ranks of people determined to start figuring out how we deal with gun violence. Its almost a decade later. I feel like. From the perspective of a journalist, especially a journalist whos covered shootings in Texas in particular, do you feel like were any closer to figuring it out? I mean, if you just look at whats been happening, you would have to say no. Subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts Get more news from Mary Harris every weekday. 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. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court came within a single vote of letting states censor the internet, a shockingly close call for a court that professes a profound commitment to free speech. Just five justices were willing to stand up for the principle that social media companies have First Amendment rights, an outcome that would be unthinkable just a few years ago. It is now evident that the most reactionary justices have adopted the Republican Partys baseless paranoia about Big Tech censoring conservativesand adjusted their jurisprudence accordingly. Advertisement Tuesdays order in Netchoice v. Paxton halted a Texas law that violates nearly every First Amendment rule in the book. The measure, H.B. 20, was signed into law in September 2021 and targets the free speech rights of social media companies with more than 50 million active users in the U.S. each month, like Twitter, YouTube, and Meta. It prohibits these companies from engaging in content moderation by declaring that they may not censor users posts on the basis of viewpoint. If a platform does remove any content, it must notify the user and let them appeal the decision. These users can sue the company for imposing viewpoint discrimination, as can the Texas attorney general. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement H.B. 20 also bars platforms from placing warning labels on users posts to inform viewers that they contain objectionable content, such as graphic violence or nudity. It imposes sweeping disclosure requirements, including a biannual transparency report to the state that details every single action taken against content. And, bizarrely, it forbids email service providers from filtering spam, allowing users to collect $25,000 every day that their provider blocks the transmission of an unsolicited or commercial electronic mail message. Advertisement Advertisement Many of these rules are impossible to comply with. Major platforms have developed automated tools that remove billions of posts each year, and could not review and resolve each appeal mandated by H.B. 20 even if they hired millions more employees. Other rules would make these platforms unusable: Companies could not legally remove terrorist propaganda, foreign government disinformation, neo-Nazi recruitment videos, and other repulsive content. Indeed, it is an open question whether, under H.B. 20, Facebook could remove the livestreamed video of the recent white supremacist mass shooting in Buffalo. The Supreme Court has consistently held that corporations hold the exact same First Amendment rights as real people, and that these rights include editorial discretion over speech that they disseminate. Applying these precedents, a federal judge halted H.B. 20 before it took effect, finding an egregious violation of social media companies free expression. Shortly thereafter, a very conservative federal appeals court blocked a similar Florida law, holding that content moderation constitutes First Amendmentprotected speech. But the consistently lawless 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals saw things differently. On May 11, it reinstated H.B. 20, without bothering to provide an explanation. Advertisement Advertisement Two trade associations representing the targeted companies appealed to the Supreme Court. They hired several of the most prominent conservative Supreme Court practitioners, led by Paul Clement, in an attempt to persuade the justices that H.B. 20 betrays conservative values. Advertisement Advertisement This gambit worked, though only by a hair. In the end, a strange coalition of justices voted to freeze H.B. 20 once again: John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Sonia Sotomayor, and Stephen Breyer. Justice Sam Alito wrote a dissent, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch; Justice Elena Kagan also dissented but did not join Alitos opinion or write her own. At first blush, Kagans vote might appear to be the most puzzling. The liberal justice surely understands that H.B. 20 is an outrageous and impracticable partisan stunt that stifles free expression. But, for better or worse, her position is consistent with her broader antipathy toward resolving major disputes on the shadow docket, without full briefing or oral arguments. Kagan has repeatedly condemned the conservatives for using the shadow docket to signal or make changes in the law, transforming it into another place for merits determinations without the usual processes that legitimate the courts authority. She probably sought to demonstrate her adherence to this belief by noting her dissent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alitos dissent, joined by Thomas and Gorsuch, is a different beast. These three justices have long exploited the shadow docket to make radical changes to the law without hesitation. They also claim to support corporate free speechat least when corporations are trying to elect Republicans. On Tuesday, though, this trio sang a new tune. Alito wrote that it was quite unclear whether H.B. 20 is unconstitutional under existing law, because it is not at all obvious how our existing precedents, which predate the age of the internet, should apply to large social media companies. The justice trotted out the talking point that social media companies are analogous to common carriers, like telephone and postal companies, that merely transmit others speech without exercising their own. American law has long compelled common carriers to serve everyone equally. Perhaps, Alito suggested, social media companies are 21st century common carriers and can thus be legally barred from engaging in viewpoint discrimination. Advertisement Advertisement As the conservative Judge Kevin Newsom noted in the nearly identical Florida case, this theory conflicts with the very basis of social media censorship laws: the proposition that major platforms are suppressing conservative views. The Republicans who passed these measures believe that platforms reveal liberal bias by, say, deplatforming Donald Trump or removing a Hunter Biden story. But that accusation only proves that, in Newsoms words, these companies express themselves through content-moderation decisions. They cannot possibly be common carriers because they are constantly choosing which speech to promote or suppress. Thats why legislators enacted H.B. 20 in the first place! And if this process were not expressive, then nobody would complain about the alleged political bias reflected in these editorial decisions. Advertisement Advertisement Alito tried to get around this commonsense conclusion by complaining that social media companies have so much market power that they can shape public discussion by shutting out disfavored speakers. This claim is both true and irrelevant. For many decades, the Supreme Court has held that the First Amendment applies exclusively to the government, rebuffing efforts to impose constitutional limits on private companies abridgment of free speech. Its conservatives who led this charge, repudiating any state interest in regulating private censorship, even when corporations perform traditional government functions. Alito, Thomas, and Gorsuch previously endorsed this absolutist position; now they appear to have second thoughts. It is the height of hypocrisy for these justices to carve out a First Amendment exception for corporations that right-wing media has taught them to hate. Advertisement But the most ridiculous part of Alitos dissent was his complaint that halting H.B. 20 constituted a significant intrusion on state sovereignty. Texas, the justice groused, should not be required to seek preclearance from the federal courts before its laws go into effect. Oh, really? As my colleague Steve Vladeck noted, Alito has voted to halt state laws before they take effect at least 10 times on the shadow docket. The difference? Those statesCalifornia, New York, and Maineall have Democratic trifectas. It seems the justice believes that states deserve more respect from federal courts when they are controlled by Republicans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Which raises another question: If only five justices are willing to defend the bedrock constitutional principles flouted by H.B. 20, are any precedents really safe at this court? Suddenly, settled law is up for grabs, and no one can predict with any real certainty which corrupt and harebrained laws will survive at SCOTUS. Tech executives should be pretty happy with Tuesdays order: The five justices who halted H.B. 20 are certain to strike down the law when it comes before them on the merits next term. The rest of us, though, should pause to wonder how secure our own rights are when the countrys most powerful corporations and lawyers can barely convince SCOTUS to uphold the First Amendment. Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. Since Russias invasion of Ukraine began in February, between 50,000 and 70,000 IT sector workers have left the country. According to the Russian Association for Electronic Communications, at least 100,000 more are expected to leave in the coming months. If these calculations are correct, thats 10 percent of the total number of IT specialists in Russia. The countrys authorities are seriously concerned about the leakage of specialists. The secretary of the General Council of the ruling United Russia party, Andrei Turchak, said in late April that the struggle between countries for IT specialists was intensifying: We must honestly admit that with the start of the special military operation, some of our IT specialists, including young people, have gone abroad. Advertisement Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has also asked IT workers not to leave the country, offering them deferment of military service and preferential mortgages. Everything will be fine here, he said, promising that they would be able to earn money in Russia. Last week, Mishustin announced that 85 percent of the IT professionals who left after Feb. 24 have returned to the country (though it is impossible to independently confirm that). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, according to Bloomberg, the Biden administration intends to remove some visa restrictions for highly skilled professionals from Russia who want to relocate to the United States. Under current proposals, Russians with masters or Ph.D. degrees in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields, trained in the U.S. or abroad, could qualify for a simplified entry process. Advertisement Advertisement However, if 10 percent of the IT specialists in Russia have left or plan to leave, that means 90 percent remain. Slate talked to IT industry workers who decided to stay in Russia to find out why. We learned that, for some, leaving is too expensive; others have decided to stay in their homeland and support the invasion of Ukraine. Vladimir is a 37-year-old developer for an outsourcing IT company in Moscow. When the war first broke out, he thought of leaving Russia, particularly because sanctions imposed after the war began made it harder to live there. But ultimately, he says, The plusses do not exceed the minuses of relocation. He has a wife, two children, a car, an apartment, and a summer house. He also has a certain reluctance to leave the motherland. Further proof that he made the right decision was when friends told him Russians were no longer welcome in Europe. Advertisement Advertisement Vladimir expects the domestic IT industry to develop in Russia after the exodus of Western companies; small international startups are already replacing them. But he also believes that the new IT industry will be less ethical. He calls these companies not the most principled because they will continue to work in Russia in spite of the sanctions. Vladimir says that his friends and colleagues who left in the first weeks after Russias invasion of Ukraine have begun to returnthey did not feel comfortable in the countries they moved to. He argues that the Russian IT community is quite politicized but generally does not mix politics with work. He estimates that 90 percent of his friends and colleagues who left the country did so not because of disagreement with Putins policies, but because of financial risks. He calls Russian IT people calculating and pragmatic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He himself is following the situation in Ukraine and does not agree with the decision to start a war. Vladimir supported Russian oppositionist Alexei Navalny, who is now in prison, and attended his rallies. But now, according to Vladimir, the operation must be completed. He explains that if Russia were to pull out now, it would be a blow to the countrys image. Advertisement Advertisement Vladimir does not doubt that people are dying in Ukraine, but he does not feel sorry for them: They are citizens of another country. They are different. You dont ask a Londoner why hes not worried about the people of Africa, do you? Vladimir calls the war an uncool situation, but he has no friends or relatives in Ukraine; it is a foreign country to him. Advertisement After the interview, Vladimir sent a message: As for Londoners and Africans, it would be better to replace them with an American and Mexicans. Maxim is a 33-year-old software engineer from Moscow. Maxim loves his city, where he and his family live in an apartment he owns. But after the war and sanctions were introduced, he started to look for ways to leave. He considered Luxembourg, where he had an offer for a good job. But instead of doing what most of his colleagues didbuying a one-way ticket, picking up his family, and flying outMaxim did the math. Securing a furnished apartment in a convenient location, including a security deposit and other fees, would cost at least $16,000 in the first month. That didnt even include transportation, food, and clothes. And even if his offer would cover all these expenses, he would not be able to pay the loan on his apartment in Moscow because of restrictions on international transactions into Russia. In addition, the demand for housing in Luxembourg increased sharply after the war with Ukraine began, because of the influx of both Ukrainian refugees and Russians. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the end, Maksim decided to stay. He has not yet felt the effects of the sanctions; he has not lost his job; his salary remains the same. Maxim wants to continue to live comfortably. He cares about the political situation, but the well-being of his children worries him more. He believes they will have a better life in Russia than abroad. Maxim is sure that Russian IT companies will not be left without clients, and specialists salaries will only grow. Maksim describes himself as apolitical, saying that he has an opinion on the warhe is against itbut stipulating that he does not have enough information and does not believe in either of the warring sides: In any conflict, both sides are always to blame. Advertisement Other Russian IT specialists have quit their jobs and want to leave but do not know where to start. Vladimir Yakunin, who has been living in Silicon Valley for several years, helps such people. Yakunin worked in the Russian office of Google until 2014. After the annexation of Crimea, Yakunin and his wife moved to the companys headquarters in California. Yakunin is now busy advising IT specialists who have decided to leave Russia for the U.S. but dont know how to do so. Advertisement Advertisement Yakunin believes he made the right choice by moving. He has since received U.S. citizenship, because now the last thing he would want is to be a citizen of Russia only. He is ashamed to say he is Russian because Russia, he says, has committed the most heinous crime of the past 70 years. Yakunin would not want his children to go to a Russian school, where students are forced to line up in the shape of the letter Z, which has become the military symbol of Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yakunin is not optimistic about the fate of the Russian IT industry. He believes that almost all sectors in the country, including high technology, will eventually turn into smuggling. The sanctions, announced by the U.S. on Feb. 24, include restrictions on the supply of technology to Russia. According to Bloombergs estimates, the restriction on the supply of technological goods will have an impact, but not immediately. For a while, Russian companies will be able to work on old equipment, and they will be able to bring in new equipment surreptitiously. Yakunin predicts there will be no cultural or career growth in Russia and for its citizens, and this will go on for another 15 years. He is sure Russia will face the future of Cuba: In 20 years, he believes, there will be no modern vehicles or computers, and software engineers will be hackers who work for the government. Advertisement Yakunins current entourage consists of programmers from Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. Before the war, there was no division between them at all; it was one community. Now it remains largely united, but recently a colleague from Ukraine didnt let Yakunin at his table because he is Russian. The Russian IT workers I spoke with all asked Slate not to use their last names. When asked why, they said they did not want to have problems with the authorities or structures close to the authorities. One of these structures is Concord, which has recently proposed the idea of banning IT workers from leaving without notice. Catering company Concord was founded in 2010 and initially dealt with the delivery of food to Russian schools, army units, and the organization of banquets at the state level. (Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the company, got the nickname Putins chef after Concord organized the evening celebrating Putins 2012 inauguration.) Later, Concord and the structures under its control figured in the case of interference in the U.S. presidential election in 2016. According to the Russian business and IT news publication Vc.ru, Concorde says the mass exodus will adversely affect the cybersecurity of government systems, networks and programs and lead to data leakage. Therefore, the company proposes that Russian IT specialists should be required to inform the Federal Security Service at least one month in advance about plans to leave for an unfriendly state. But if Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin is to be believed and IT workers have largely already begun to return to Russia, these measures will not be necessary. Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. Proposed projects are self-sufficient. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Hydrogen is referred to as an energy carrier that is environmentally friendly. In the Slovak economy it has found its promoter in Economy Minister Richard Sulik (SaS). His ministry has created an action plan outlining where public money could go to support hydrogen technologies. At the beginning of June, it should go into an interdepartmental review. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement "We have only fine-tuned some minor details," confirmed Jan Weiterschutz, President of the National Hydrogen Association of Slovakia (NVAS). The action plan counts on investments of almost a 1 billion financed with European money and partly from the state budget. The private sector should add another 1.5 billion. Related article Related article Hydrogen is an opportunity for energy companies Read more Multiple lines for hydrogen trains The action plan places great emphasis on promoting the production, distribution and consumption of hydrogen in industry and transport. The idea is that by 2030 the state will support the purchase of 4,000 hydrogen-powered cars (judging by the Economy Ministry's preferences, it might even be at the expense of electric cars), 260 buses and 12 hydrogen trains. Slovak customs officers seized a hat from Texas. Employees no longer required to apply for sick pay. News: Receive notifications about new articles by email. Try the new feature and turn on the subscription. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Good evening. The Wednesday, June 1 edition of Today in Slovakia is ready with the main news of the day in less than five minutes. Dennik N ordered to remove an interview Vladimir Pcolinsky. (Source: Sme - Marko Erd) The Pcolinsky family has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Dennik N daily. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The court ordered the daily to withdraw an interview with PM Eduard Heger (OLaNO) that the family had objected to before the final verdict in a corruption case concerning Vladimir Pcolinsky, former head of the Slovak intelligence service. The interview contained 64 questions; the claimants only objected to one of them. The court, however, ordered the daily to withdraw the whole interview and video, which the daily did on May 31. UKRAINE AND UKRAINIANS IN SLOVAKIA Slovakia will build a container town and a tent camp at the Lest military training area and the Sliac military airport for members of foreign armed forces , which have strengthened NATO's military presence in Slovakia in response to Russia's military aggression in Ukraine. (TASR) , which have strengthened NATO's military presence in Slovakia in response to Russia's military aggression in Ukraine. (TASR) Slovakia will provide Ukraine with military equipment in the amount of approx. 21.6 million. This material assistance will come from the warehouses of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic. "This is exactly what Ukraine needs at the moment," Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad (OLaNO) said at a press conference on June 1. (SITA) This material assistance will come from the warehouses of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic. "This is exactly what Ukraine needs at the moment," Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad (OLaNO) said at a press conference on June 1. (SITA) The war in Ukraine has increased rental prices in Slovakia's bigger cities , shows a report drafted by the website Nehnutelnosti.sk. , shows a report drafted by the website Nehnutelnosti.sk. More than 2,800 Ukrainian refugees entered Slovakia at the Slovak-Ukrainian border on May 31. Of them, 206 applied for temporary protection. Oil embargo with no immediate impact on Slovakia Slovnaft refinery. (Source: TASR) Slovakia is one of the countries that will be exempted from the embargo on Russian crude oil European Union leaders agreed on at their May 30 summit. There will be no immediate effect on Slovakia once the embargo is in place. Slovnaft, a Bratislava-based refinery, will continue purchasing Russian oil. The Bloomberg agency reported that the embargo is advantageous for the Hungarian group MOL, of which Slovnaft is part. PM Eduard Heger declared that Slovakia would aim to cut off Russian oil supplies as soon as possible. If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription. Thank you. IN OTHER NEWS: The Vietnamese community wants to gain the status of an ethnic minority. The application will be examined by the Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. The application will be examined by the Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. The Economy Ministry has created an action plan outlining where public money could go to support hydrogen technologies. Slovakia wants to buy 2,000 doses of monkeypox vaccine through a joint EU procurement. (TASR) (TASR) The electronic PN [sick leave], or ePN, is a service of the Socialna Poistovna social insurance agency and the National Centre for Health Information , which replaces a paper form confirming incapacity for work. From June 1, 2022, people do not have to submit any documents to employers and Socialna Poistovna to apply for sick pay if their doctors are involved in the new service. , which replaces a paper form confirming incapacity for work. From June 1, 2022, people do not have to submit any documents to employers and Socialna Poistovna to apply for sick pay if their doctors are involved in the new service. No trains will run between Surany and Levice from June 1 to October 10 because of the reconstruction of the railroad. Instead, passengers will get on buses in Sala and they will be taken to Levice or to Nova Bana, depending on what their final destination. Dutch violinist and composer Andre Rieu performs with his 60-member private Johann Strauss Orchestra during a concert at the Ondrej Nepela Stadium on May 31, 2022 in Bratislava. (Source: TASR) The Vseobecna Zdravotna Poistovna health insurance company returned to the system of referral letters from June 1. Patients thus need to ask their GP for the letter if they want to see a specialist. Patients thus need to ask their GP for the letter if they want to see a specialist. In two weeks, Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky (OLaNO nom.) will submit a proposal for the construction of hospitals , which will be funded from the recovery plan. Martin and Bratislava should get new hospitals, he said on June 1. , which will be funded from the recovery plan. Martin and Bratislava should get new hospitals, he said on June 1. The Constitutional Court turned down Marian Kocner's complaint. He objected to the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of the Markiza promissory notes. He was sentenced to 19 years in prison in January 2021. (Dennik N) FEATURE STORY FOR WEDNESDAY Slovak scientists helping to develop the latest nuclear fusion reactor Scientists want to harness the same process that fuels the Sun. A megaproject that should generate power from nuclear fusion is being constructed in France. (Source: TASR/AP) Near Cadarache, 50 kilometres from Marseille, France, an international engineering megaproject aimed at replicating the fusion that occurs in stars is being constructed. The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, or ITER for short, is an experimental reactor that will demonstrate if the idea is viable and test the necessary technologies. This represents an important step towards achieving a functioning fusion power plant. ITER is funded by seven principal partners, one of which is the EU, and Slovak scientists have helped in its construction. More on Spectator.sk NEWS NEWS Custom officers confiscated a hat with crocodile teeth sent from Texas Read more NEWS NEWS Bear problem: people in central Slovakia say they will hire lawyers and ask Brussels for help Read more OPINION OPINION The world without phone booths Read more If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk. The decision was made based on a complaint of defamation in a question. News: Receive notifications about new articles by email. Try the new feature and turn on the subscription. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled The Pcolinsky family has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Dennik N daily. The court ordered the daily to withdraw an interview with the prime minister that the family objects to before the final verdict is made in a case concerning Vladimir Pcolinsky. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement In an interview with Dennik N on March 16, 2022, reporter Monika Todova asked PM Eduard Heger (OLaNO) whether the Slovak Information Service (SIS) is neglecting work because it is instead working to "save its former boss". The former boss is Vladimir Pcolinsky, currently facing criminal prosecution in a case of alleged bribery. Pcolinsky and his family insist the question is an "untrue factual statement", and that it was defamatory. "Spreading this kind of untrue statement that is nothing but a deliberate and ironic expression of the personal and biased opinion of the journalist about the work of the SIS leads to the violation of the rights of the claimants," cited the Bratislava III District Court from their complaint in its decision on May 11. The lawsuit was filed by Vladimir Pcolinsky along with his wife Adriana Pcolinska, his brother Peter Pcolinsky (both MPs of the coalition Sme Rodina), his mother Marcela Pcolinska and his other brother Lukas Pcolinsky. They demand Dennik N pay 50,000 in damages, 10,000 to each of the five people who filed the lawsuit, the daily reported. They also demand an apology to be published on the Dennik N website for a month. On May 31, 2022, the daily deleted the text of the interview from its website following an interim measure issued by the court. Dennik N publisher noted that the main predispositions to issue the interim measure were not fulfilled and that the measure is an undue interference with the fundamental right to freedom of expression and free spreading of information. The interview contained 64 questions; the claimants only objected to one of them. The court, however, ordered the daily to withdraw the whole interview and video. Vladimir Pcolinsky said they decided to file the lawsuit due to recurring untrue information presented by some journalists, "to at least symbolically show those journalists that they cannot deliberately spread lies and bear no responsibility for it." "Vladimir Pcolinsky decided to protect his name in court, but the problem he faces is not that newspapers write about him, but rather the serious allegations he faces," Dennik N editor-in-chief Matus Kostolny wrote. Beata Balogova, editor-in-chief of the Sme daily who is also a member of board of the International Press Institute, sees the court decision as a dangerous precedent. "Questions that offend or displease somebody, or even subjective questions, will occur in many critical interviews. Does that mean we will have to withdraw them?" Balogova wrote. Politicians have other avenues to react to the media, and court orders should be the very last resort. EU leaders have agreed to ban Russian oil within the next round of sanctions against Russia. News: Receive notifications about new articles by email. Try the new feature and turn on the subscription. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Slovakia is one of the countries that will have an exemption from the embargo on Russian crude oil that the European Union leaders have agreed on during their May 30 summit. PM Eduard Heger (OLaNO) declared that Slovakia aims to cut off oil supplies from Russia as soon as possible, but "we will be able to use Russian oil until the moment we obtain a full-fledged alternative," he said, following the first day of the late May EU summit. The cutting off of oil supplies from Russia will be gradual, with seaborne shipments to be blocked completely before the end of 2022. "This will effectively cut around 90 percent of oil imports from Russia to the EU by the end of the year," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Minor impact for now The leaders have agreed on an exemption from the embargo for supplies via the Druzhba pipeline for landlocked Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary. The latter has been blocking the decision on the embargo in the weeks running up to the summit. The hat was confiscated from a Zilina post office. News: Receive notifications about new articles by email. Try the new feature and turn on the subscription. A hat decorated with crocodile teeth from Texas did not make it through the custom officers. (Source: Courtesy of Financial Administration) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled A hat decorated with crocodile teeth sent from Texas did not make it to its owner after customs officers confiscated it due to missing documents. The Financial Administration stated that it confiscated a hat decorated with crocodile teeth at a post office in the northern-Slovak city of Zilina. The hat was sent from Texas, USA. The problem was the decoration more than the hat itself. Since the crocodile is a species protected by law, official documentation and a special permit are required to import the teeth to Slovakia. Without the proper papers, the package could not be delivered to its addressee, the Financial Administration said. The crocodile is on the list of protected animals, under the protection of the CITES convention. The handling of crocodiles falls under strict restrictions, to prevent further harm leading to their endangerment or extermination. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The importer was ordered to submit the required permits, which they failed to do. The black hat decorated with snakeskin and crocodile teeth for $275 was confiscated and not delivered to the original addressee. The Financial Administration says that the hat will serve for what they called educational purposes. People are dissatisfied with the government's bear management policies. News: Receive notifications about new articles by email. Try the new feature and turn on the subscription. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled The measures designed to ease bear attacks are insufficient and unreasonable, say people from an area where a number of bear attacks recently occurred. On the last day of May, a protest gathering was held in the town of Detva in central Slovakia. People voiced objections to the Environment Ministrys proposal put forward as a response to bear attacks and encounters in the past months, the My Zvolen local news website reported. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The mayors of the municipalities in the region say they are going to hire lawyers to analyse Slovak and EU laws, to find out how bear protection affects the freedom of people. "We are not against bears, but inappropriate numbers of them," said Jozef Bucko from the National Forestry Centre as quoted by My Zvolen. "People in the Podpolanie region learned to live with them in the past. Some 30-40 years ago, people could go into the woods alone, to pick mushrooms or go for a stroll. The hiking trails used to be full. Now people are panicking when entering the woods." Related article Related article If you go down to the woods today.watch out for bears! Read more People say that bears encounters are becoming more frequent, with bears sneaking up on farm animals or stealing from fruit trees, allegedly not interested in trash containers like in other villages. Growing bear encounters More than 3,000 miles and an ocean separate Amanda and Alan Richardson from trotter Rock Of Cashel, but distance is irrelevant when a horse is close to your heart. The Richardsons bred, developed and raced Rock Of Cashel while living in Ontario in the early 2010s. They co-owned the horse with partner Jeff Ruch until Rock Of Cashel was five, by which time the Richardsons had relocated to Alans native Ireland. Although the Richardsons sold their interest in Rock Of Cashel, they never stopped following him. Ten days ago, they saw the now 12-year-old stallion get career win No. 50 at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, and this past Saturday he upped his total to 51. Weve watched every single race since he was a baby, said Amanda. Hes a part of the family. Even though you have to sell them and move on sometimes, we watch him like hes one of our children over there. Rock Of Cashel is a son of Majestic Son out of the Richardsons mare Fighting Irish. An injury halted Fighting Irishs career at age three, but she found success as a broodmare. Rock Of Cashel, who has earned nearly $900,000 lifetime, was her first foal and the remaining five of racing age all made it to the track. Two of those have topped six figures. When Rock Of Cashel was born, however, there was little in his physical appearance to suggest a career as a racehorse. He was diminutive and possessed hair that Alan said was more in line with a member of the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy than a trotter. When we went to get him as a yearling, Im not telling you a word of a lie, it was like picking up a Shetland pony, said Amanda. We wondered how he was ever going to race. But he turned into an absolute iron horse. Hes not very big; hes wide and strong. From day one, we called him Happy Feet because he just sprung off the ground. Jeff Ruch told us, Hes small, but hes never looked in a mirror. Hes just so tough and he loves his job. He still just slugs it out and when he gets an opportunity, he just loves to win. He was always a horse that never stopped trying," added Alan. "Every race he came out of, he was always waiting on the next one. He never was sour. I think thats why hes lasted so long. When he won [his 50th race], it looked like he still thought he was three years old. Hes a lovely horse. Rock Of Cashel, who raced only once at age two to give him more time to mature, has won 51 of 275 career races and earned a paycheque 204 times. He was trained and driven by Alan until the age of four, when Rock Of Cashel was sent into the care of trainer Mark Harder in New Jersey, where his most lucrative victories have come in the Open Handicap at Yonkers Raceway. He has also won an Open and Preferred Handicap at The Meadowlands. He came into himself when he got to Yonkers, said Amanda. He was always such a good horse on a half-mile track. He could nearly go as fast on a half as he could on a big track. Rock Of Cashel has remained in Harders stable and has been owned by Ruch and Joseph Jannuzzelli since December 2015. When he was five, he was going so well and we were so far away, so it was time to sell, said Amanda. But he stayed with Mark and hes had the best life there. It worked out really well. And it doesnt look like hes stopping anytime soon. Amanda named Rock Of Cashel after the iconic site in County Tipperary that features an impressive cluster of medieval buildings and was once the seat of the high kings of Munster. I was looking at a map and saw Rock of Cashel and thought it would be a cool name for him, said Amanda. Every one of [Fighting Irishs] progeny we named after something in Ireland. Rock Of Cashels name proved appropriate. He is king to the Richardsons. Hes a gorgeous horse, beautiful, said Amanda. He just has character. He will always be our horse. We just love him. (USTA) With the draw for the 2022 Pepsi North America Cup eliminations just one week away, the majority of pacing three-year-olds aiming for Canadian harness racing's biggest prize have made on-track appearances and a fair number will be in action this weekend in divisions of the Somebeachsomewhere on Saturday (June 4). A full preview of Saturday's stakes-packed card at Mohawk will be posted separately. This year's edition of the $1-million Pepsi North America Cup will be contested on Saturday, June 18 at Woodbine Mohawk Park in Campbellville, Ontario. Here are the horses that are still Cup-eligible as of the May 15 sustaining payment and have raced or are in-to-go as of May 31, 2022. Aint He Special - raced on May 20 at Woodbine Mohawk Park, winning in 1:53. Entered to race on June 4 at Mohawk in the Somebeachsomewhere. All The Chips - raced on May 22 at Harrah's Philadelphia, finishing fourth, individually timed in 1:53.3. Entered to race on June 1 at Harrah's Philadelphia. Ario Hanover - raced on May 30 at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, finishing second, individually timed in 1:51. Atlas Hanover - raced on May 30 at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, winning in 1:51.2. Beach Glass - qualified on May 27 at Woodbine Mohawk Park, winning in 1:52.1. Entered to race on June 4 at Mohawk in the Somebeachsomewhere. Bob Loblaw - raced on May 28 at Woodbine Mohawk Park, finishing fifth, individually timed in 1:51.4. Caviart Camden - raced on May 22 at Harrah's Philadelphia, winning in 1:52.1. Entered to race on June 1 at Harrah's Philadelphia. Century Inspector - raced on May 26 at Woodbine Mohawk Park, winning in 1:54.3. Chikaboom - raced on May 28 at Woodbine Mohawk Park, finishing sixth, individually timed in 1:55.2. Dalby Hanover - raced on May 30 at Harrah's Hoosier Park, finishing sixth, individually timed in 1:51.2. Early Action - qualified on May 6 at The Meadowlands, finishing fourth, individually timed in 1:52 over a sloppy track. Fourever Boy - raced on May 30 at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, winning in 1:51.1. Frozen Hanover - qualified on May 27 at Woodbine Mohawk Park, finishing third, individually timed in 1:53.2. Entered to race on June 4 at Mohawk in the Somebeachsomewhere. Greatest Ending - raced on May 21 at Woodbine Mohawk Park, winning in 1:51.3. Entered to race on June 4 at Mohawk in the Somebeachsomewhere. Gulf Shores - qualified on May 14 at Scioto Downs, winning in 1:52.4. Hashtag Money - qualified on May 20 at Woodbine Mohawk Park, finishing fourth, individually timed in 1:56. Hurrikane Chuck - raced on May 23 at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, finishing third, individually timed in 1:53.2. Entered to race on June 1 at Yonkers Raceway. I Did It Myway - raced on May 29 at Harrah's Philadelphia, winning in 1:50.2. Kolby Two Step - qualified on May 27 at Woodbine Mohawk Park and finished second, individually timed in 1:52.4. Entered to race on June 4 at Mohawk in the Somebeachsomewhere. Lous Sassin - raced on May 30 at Pocono and finished second, individually timed in 1:52.3. Mad Max Hanover - raced on May 30 at Pocono and finished second, individually timed in 1:48.4. Magical Arthur - raced on May 29 at Woodbine Mohawk Park and finished fourth, individually timed in 1:51.2. Entered to race on June 4 at Mohawk in the Somebeachsomewhere. Many Moons - raced on May 28 at Woodbine Mohawk Park and finished seventh, individually timed in 1:53.4. Entered to race on June 4 at Mohawk in the Somebeachsomewhere. Market Based - raced on May 30 at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, winning in 1:50.4. Monte Miki - announced as retired on May 3 Nautical Hanover - raced on May 30 at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono and finished third, individually timed in 1:51.1. Night Hawk - raced on May 30 at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, winning in 1:48.4. Ontop Rainman - raced on May 13 at Woodbine Mohawk Park, individually timed in 1:54.3. Pebble Beach - raced on May 21 at The Meadowlands and finished second, individually timed in 1:48.1. Entered to race on June 4 at Mohawk in the Somebeachsomewhere. Ridinlikeyastoleit - qualified on May 13 at Truro Raceway, timed in 1:57. River Ness - qualified on May 28 at The Meadowlands and finished fourth after making a break, individually timed in 1:57. Rockaway Bay - raced on May 28 at Woodbine Mohawk Park, winning in 1:52.1. Ron - raced on May 28 at Woodbine Mohawk Park and finished sixth after making a break. Slick Richard - raced on May 19 at Woodbine Mohawk Park and finished fourth, individually timed in 1:54.4. Sport Secret - raced on May 28 at Woodbine Mohawk Park and finished second, individually timed in 1:50.4. Entered to race on June 4 at Mohawk in the Somebeachsomewhere. Stonebridge Helios - raced on May 28 at Woodbine Mohawk Park, winning in 1:50.3. Entered to race on June 4 at Mohawk in the Somebeachsomewhere. The Boss Said - raced on May 28 at Woodbine Mohawk Park and finished second, individually timed in 1:53.4. True Blue Lindy - raced on May 30 at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono and finished sixth, individually timed in 1:52. Velocity Chaps - raced on May 26 at Miami Valley Raceway and finished seventh, individually timed in 1:55.1. Vicious - raced on May 30 at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono and finished fourth, individually timed in 1:49.3. Wolftrax - raced on May 30 at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono and finished fifth, individually timed in 1:53.3. Considering Decoration Daynow Memorial Daywas inaugurated after the Civil War as Americans gathered to honor and decorate the graves of our fallen, then it is uniquely appropriate for us here in Culpeperthe most fought over county during the Civil warto highlight the sacrifice of the four most senior officers who fell in Americas largest cavalry action, the Battle of Brandy Station, June 9, 1863. Two were full colonels, one on each side; and two were lieutenant colonels, one on each side. Their remarkable stories are fascinating. These brave officers included a Mississippian who fought for the North; another, one of the richest men in the South; a New Jersey farmer whose body never left Culpeper after his death; and a North Carolinian who scouted Kiowa American Indians in Nebraska before the war. And fittingly as bold leaders of men, they all were killed, out front, while boldly advancing their troopers in fierce charges. Each, in fact, went down on widely divergent sectors of the battlefield, miles apart from one another. These officers are profiled in the order of their deaths on June 9. Col. Benjamin Franklin Grimes Davis Colonel Benjamin Franklin Grimes Davis entered West Point from Mississippi and graduated in 1854. One of his classmates was Jeb Stuart. Lt. Davis served in the Indian Wars and was badly wounded fighting Apaches in frontier New Mexico. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Grimes Davis remained loyal to the Union and served as regimental commander of the 8th New York Cavalry. Colonel Davis, 31, proved to be an outstanding cavalry commander and led the Federal attack across Beverlys Ford on the Rappahannock at about 5:30 a.m. on June 9. And at that point, Colonel Davis had about a half-hour to live. Riding out in advance, all alone, of the 8th New York Cavalry on Beverlys Ford Road, Grimes Davis presented himself as a prime target for an opportunistic lieutenant of the 6th Virginia Cavalry who boldly shot Colonel Davis in the head. Learning of Daviss death, Brig. Gen. John Buford, commanding all Federal Forces crossing at Beverlys Ford (12,000 men), described Colonel Davis as a thorough soldier, free from politics and intrigue, a patriot in its true sense, an ornament to his country and a bright star in his profession. Colonel Davis is today buried at West Point Cemetery. Lt. Col. Frank Hampton Six miles away, just east of Hansbroughs Ridge on Kirtleys Road at about 10:30 a.m., Lt. Col. Frank Hampton, 33, executive officer of the 2nd South Carolina Cavalry was soon to be sabered in the face and shot in the abdomen as he led his men to the attack. Brother of General Wade Hampton, Brigade Commander at Brandy Station, Frank Hampton of Columbia, South Carolina, hailed from one of the wealthiest families in the entire South. And even though Frank was a prime favorite with the ladies, he traveled north before the war and won the hand of a refined New York damsel, Sarah Strong Baxter Hampton. At the outbreak of the war, Frank Hampton again journeyed north, this time to fight Yankees. On the morning of June 9, Lt. Col. Hampton and his under-manned regiment courageously counter-attacked three Federal regiments on Kirtleys Road (Rt. 3), precisely in front (north) of an insensitively planned, Amazon data center, projected to be built right here, exactly where this heavy fight took place. Frank Hampton crossed swords with a 1st Massachusetts trooper, and the enemys saber slashed Hamptons face. Another Federal fired into Hamptons body and Hamptons horse bolted to the rear, toward Stevensburg. Frank Hampton would be taken by his troopers to Clover Hill (still stands, barely), a mile west of Stevensburg. He would die in the front parlor and an onlooker would later offer Hampton was utterly disfigured. Frank Hampton is buried at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Cemetery, Columbia, South Carolina. Lt. Col. Virgil Broderick During the mid-afternoon of June 9, at Fleetwood Hill, a half-mile from Brandy Station, Lt. Col. Virgil Broderick, 30, commander of the 1st New Jersey Cavalry, a farmer before the war, was surrounded by Confederate troopers shouting for the unhorsed Federal officer to surrender. As the Federal attack on Fleetwood Hill against Stuarts counter-attacking legions began to be summarily beaten back, the 1st New Jersey cavalry found itself isolated from the remainder of Union forces now withdrawing back toward the Rappahannock. Ascertaining the only route of escape was eastward, down the ridge itself, Lt. Col. Broderick led this charge and was soon unhorsed by Rebel horse artillerists. Virgil Broderick picked himself up off the ground and with a stormy voice started to swing his huge sword in wide circles. Urged to surrender, he killed a Reb trooper and was then pierced by Reb sabers. Coming to his aid, Major John Shelmire was also killed. These were the last two officers to die on Fleetwood Hill and both were buried where they fell. Both Lt. Col. Virgil Broderick and Major John Shelmire were later disinterred and are now buried at the post of honor, foot of the flagpole, Culpeper National Cemetery. Col. Solomon Williams Late in the day on June 9, about 4:30 p.m., two miles northwest of southern Fleetwood Hill, four Confederate regiments counterattacked Federals from upon the summit of northern Fleetwoodand the last Confederate officer to die during the battle of Brandy Station would also be the highest-ranking officer to die, Colonel Solomon Williams. Graduating from West Point in 1858, Lt. Solomon Williams, from Nash County, N.C., found himself chasing Kiowa American Indians while assigned to Ft. Kearny, Nebraska. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Williams resigned in May, 1861, and was soon appointed as regimental commander, 2nd North Carolina Cavalry. Going home on leave in May 1863, he married Maggie Pegram and returned to his command in Culpeper on June 4in just enough time to be killed on June 9. During the late afternoon of June 9, Colonel Williams ordered the regimental flag to be brought to his side. That order satisfied, Colonel William ordered the charge to begin and was immediately shot in the head. After his death, one of his staff aides wrote: He was beloved by his men; as brave and true a man as was in that army. Colonel Solomon Williams is buried in Arrington Cemetery, Nashville, NC. During four years of war, thousands of soldiers died in Culpeper County and it is sincerely hoped and anticipated we will continue to honor their noble sacrifice by protecting and preserving the battlefields upon which they gave their last full measure of devotion. A Star-Exponent columnist, Civil War historian Clark B. Hall lives in Culpeper County. Write him at clarkbhall@aol.com . When Louie Alexakis and his team opened Avli Taverna in Lincoln Park in 2018 after the success of their Winnetka location, it set the stage for three additional city locations to follow within just four years. Chicagos Greek dining scene has shown little sign of slowing down since, with openings that showcase the many dimensions of the cuisine, featuring seafood, spices, produce and meze, or tapas-like small plates. That, Alexakis notes, is one of the most important things to remember about Greek fare: It can be regional, and it can be creative, he said. Twenty years ago, Italian food was Italian food but today, you have to ask, Is it Northern Italian? Is it Tuscan? And weve seen that renaissance now in Greek dining. Beyond the nuances of regionality, there are the health benefits; the cuisine unabashedly emphasizes fruits, vegetables and fish. The fact that Greek tourism is booming adds to the allure of the country and each of these restaurants does its part in bringing us one step closer to the Mediterranean good life. What were seeing with the arrival of all of these restaurants is that Greek dining isnt a narrow definition but is actually quite wide, Alexakis said. Greek food really does have a greater breadth this, I believe, is just the beginning. Andros Taverna The octopus at Andros Taverna on Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago is seen April 4, 2022. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune) It didnt take long for this Logan Square newcomer to garner national acclaim, thanks to inviting interiors, warm hospitality and an impressive wine list featuring upward of 25 Greek labels. And then, of course, theres the culinary program, one that pays serious homage to seafood with sustainable practices (think small-boat suppliers, utilization of the whole fish and in-house butchery). The team takes its cues, as the name suggests, from Andros, the northernmost island of the Cyclades archipelago; along with the entire eastern seaside of Greece, particularly Volos (for the meze and the tsipouro drinks culture) and Thessaloniki, a crucial port for seafood and the spice trade. Those influences show up in plates such as crispy Mediterranean octopus or charcoal-cooked pork shoulder gyros. And to wrap it all up, a robust pastry program features finales such as chocolate halvah mousse and, yes, baklava froyo. 2542 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-365-1900, androstaverna.com Advertisement Lyra The slow-roasted lamb gyros at Lyra. The restaurant features hyper-fresh seafood, a plethora of produce and low-key party vibes. (DineAmic Hospitality) The team behind Prime & Provisions, Siena Tavern and BomboBar had been developing this concept for the past decade, thanks to countless trips to Greece. A memorable encounter with a street musician performing with a lyra, an ancient Greek stringed instrument, wasnt the only inspiration to come from Mykonos; hyper-fresh seafood, a plethora of produce and low-key party vibes all help to inform the ethos here. Start with orders such as sea bass carpaccio and prawns saganaki, then make way for larger plates, including whole Mediterranean branzino, slow-roasted lamb gyros or cast-iron moussaka. Keep sides and salads coming (think grilled Florina peppers or vine-ripened tomatoes with barrel-aged feta), order another glass of Assyrtiko, and groove your way through the evening. Between DJ-spun tracks, live music and island decor, its an easy task here. 905 W. Fulton Market, 312-660-7722, lyrarestaurant.com. Advertisement Meze Table The Greek chicken dinner from Meze Table. The menu is largely inspired by the slow-cooking philosophies of the Peloponnese peninsula. (Elizabeth Gartelos Morris) Inspired by their shared appreciation for food and hospitality, friends Elizabeth Gartelos Morris and Beth Salentiny began Meze Table, a food delivery and takeout service specializing in small plates. The menu is largely inspired by the slow-cooking philosophies of the Peloponnese peninsula, from which Gartelos Morris family hails, but she and Salentiny just as quickly wove in the street food influences of Athens. The result? Orders such as vegetarian moussaka (layers of roasted eggplant, onion and potato with Greek bechamel) or spanakopita (crispy phyllo enveloping spinach and Bulgarian feta cheese). Their favorite board is the classic meze, an impressive spread of beef and pork meatballs with mint and parsley; ground beef-stuffed peppers in tomato sauce; chilled potato, garlic and lemon dip; and loads of seasonal vegetables. Order two days in advance for pickup or delivery Thursday through Saturday, and gather a group these platters are meant to be shared. mezetable.catering Advertisement Kala While meat lovers will find plenty to sample, vegetarians are in good hands at Kala, thanks to options like halloumi cheese with sour cherry jam or baked feta with flakey phyllo, honey and toasted sesame seed. (Marcin Cymmer) Set to open this week, Kala blends a fast-casual approach with fine-dining philosophies, while also marrying classic Greek cooking with contemporary flavors and techniques. Many of the recipes come from partner Stephanie Guerres family and are rooted in the traditions of Kalamata a city known for its showstopping olive oil, but also for its vibrant citrus dishes and flavorful pork entrees. Kalas menu is peppered with options such as the chicken souvlaki sandwich with Cara Cara orange and fennel, or a pork version piled with pickled red onion and garlic cucumber Greek yogurt. And while meat lovers will find plenty to sample, vegetarians are in good hands too, thanks to options such as halloumi cheese with sour cherry jam or baked feta with flaky phyllo, honey and toasted sesame seed. 2523 N. Clark St., kalachicago.com Advertisement Avli Shrimp skewers at Avli, where the kitchen team makes a point of reflecting several regions in its cooking. (Mac Yellek ) Diners can head to five locations of this Greek restaurant, including the most recent opening within Time Out Market (where theyre serving iced frappes and street food favorites). The kitchen team makes a point of reflecting several regions in its cooking: meatballs from the ancient Greek city of Smyrna, honey cheese pie from Crete, feta shrimp from Piraeus and a wild greens pie from Epirus, to name a few. Consider that dedication to geographical detail all part of the teams manifesto, one that puts an emphasis on meraki (doing something with heart and soul) and philoxenia (friendship toward strangers). Get a taste of that hospitality at the chefs table offered at Avli on the Park, just east of the Loop. The experience is served in a private dining space and features two tasting menus to choose from: land (inspired by the fields, orchards and pastures of Greece) and sea (an ode to the seas, fisheries and islands). Multiple locations, avli.us Nicole Schnitzler is a freelance writer. 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. It was a small cemetery reached by an unpaved country road near Hebron, a Maryland town named after the city south of Jerusalem known as a burial ground for prophets. Ten years ago this month, my old platoon leader, U.S. Army Master Sgt. Stephen Smitty Smith was buried with full military honorsfour soldiers in dress blue uniforms carrying a flag-draped casket, while a volley of shots were fired and taps sounded. Alas, its a ritual that has been carried out many times since Smittys funeral. Smittys military career spanned a quarter-century of American conflictthe Cold War, post-Cold War European turmoil and Islamic Jihad. He was in Germany at Bad Aibling Station in 1985 as an enlisted soldier serving with a detachment intercepting Soviet and East German transmissions. He left active service, went to college and then joined the Maryland National Guard, where I met him in the 629th Military Intelligence Battaliona Cold War-focused unit which exists no more. The Gulf War in 1991 passed over the battalion but then there was a need for troops to police the turbulent Balkan states. Smitty volunteered in 1999 and deployed to Bosnia for more than a year. Then came 9/11 and, because of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, manpower was stretched worldwide. In 2003, Smitty again deployed with the National Guard when the battalion sent a company of solders to Kosovo. Smitty served many years as a noncommissioned officer (NCO)a role whose creed rightly establishes them as the Backbone of the Army, the human bridge between officers and enlisted soldiers. Says the creed: My two basic responsibilities will always be uppermost in my mindaccomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my Soldiers. A simple but a profound form of leadership. I saw those NCO leadership qualities up close as an enlisted Army reservist, and then an Army National Guardsman for 14 years. And yet, I still find it difficult to properly explain to my nonservice peers the military ethic behind such leadershipthe sense of duty and loyalty, the cohesion of diverse units (my battalion was majority-minority) and the camaraderie that fostered performance and accountability. Of course, compared to the vast majority of service members, my military service was modest, mostly composed of maintaining Humvees and performing administrative tasks. However, my three sons are active-duty military officers; two of them lead dozens of enlisted service members, work with complex equipment (some of it lethal) worth hundreds of millions of dollars and have been in tight situations that are unfathomable to their nonmilitary peers. My sons depend heavily on the Smittys of this world. Even after the grind of patrols in Kosovo, Smitty hung in there and in 2007 deployed to Iraq to work as an intelligence guy, the same job hed had at Bad Aibling Station 22 years and several New World orders prior. He came back a year later and his closest friends immediately knew something was wrong. He isolated himself and when he did emerge, he was erratic in behavior and a changed man. He hadnt been in combat in Iraq. The closest to danger hed come was when one evening, several Iraqi soldiers on his base haphazardly fired hundreds of rounds into the sky. Dozens of bullets rained down through a large tent in which Smitty was attending a briefing, injuring several soldiers. At the beginning of 2012, Smitty was found dead in his home of natural causes according to the Anne Arundel County, Md., coroner. At the funeral, his mother was defiant that the war killed my son. His sister said it was PTSD from Iraq, somehow amplified by his previous two deployments. A dozen guys from the unit gathered in the cemetery parking lot after Smittys burial, all of us shaken by the anger of his mom and sister. None of us knew what exactly had happened. And as with all guys whove served closely in a military unit, there was no lack of candor. One senior NCO who had driven 130 miles that morning to Hebron said, Look, guys, you all know Smitty didnt really like me at all and I didnt really like him. We had some real blowups in Kosovo and at Victory [Camp Victory in Iraq] and those rounds through the tent put us even more on edge. But I knew he respected me and I respected him. Regret was the dominant sentiment. Why hadnt we made more of an effort to see Smitty? To all these guys, mostly vets with an experienced outlook on service, it was a mystery. One thing though: The wrath of his mom and sister pounded in our heads. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs notes post-traumatic stress disorder was a significant public health problem in deployed and nondeployed veterans in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF). Studies show 15.7% of OEF/OIF deployed veterans screened positive for PTSD, compared to 10.9% of nondeployed veterans. Overall, 13.5% of study participants screened positive for PTSD. For the National Guard, the PTSD number was 14.5% of deployed troops. The U.S. Department of Defense Casualty Status report for Iraq and Afghanistan, which still is updated weekly, lists 4,431 U.S. deaths in Iraq and 2,352 in Afghanistan (as of May 23). On this Memorial Day, we honor them and the more than 1.1 million service members who are listed as casualties of all the wars fought by America. But as one of my old battalion comradeshimself an NCOsaid in the cemetery outside Hebron, sometimes there can be a different kind of casualty of war. Jeff Nelligan of Annapolis, Md., works at the F D A . He is the author of Four Lessons From My Three Sons: How You Can Raise A Resilient Kid. A Torrington woman faces charges after she allegedly left her infant in a vehicle. Scottsbluff Police arrested Lisa Marie Dominguez, 33, of Torrington, Wyoming, on a charge of negligent child abuse, a misdemeanor, on May 26. According to an arrest affidavit, Scottsbluff Police were called to Safeway at about 3:47 p.m. to a report of a woman who had left a child in a locked car which was not running. Witnesses estimated that the child had been in the vehicle for about 20 minutes after the woman had gone into the store. Scottsbluff Police Chief Kevin Spencer told the Star-Herald that an officer broke a window to enter the vehicle and recover the child. Officers had to cool the child because it was in distress, observed by the child sweating profusely and red in the face. According to the affidavit, the outside temperature was 84 degrees at the time. Spencer estimated that temperatures inside the car exceeded 100 degrees. Officers went into the store, having identified the woman from vehicle information and made contact with her in the store. After speaking to the woman, who had taken another child into the store, police arrested her. She appeared in Scotts Bluff County Court on May 27. She pleaded not guilty to the charge and has been scheduled to next appear in court on July 11. The woman has been released from jail. Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. LINCOLN Governor Pete Ricketts announced that he will host a town hall in Chadron on Wednesday, June 8. At the town halls, Ricketts will discuss the historic accomplishments of the 2022 Legislative Session. Among other successes, the governor worked with the Unicameral to pass the largest tax relief package in Nebraska history, enhance public safety, and strengthen Nebraskas water resources. Ricketts and others will give remarks before taking questions. The town hall event is open to the public. The town hall will be held 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. in Chadron at the Bean Broker, 202 W. Second St. Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Cade Horn, a 2022 Scottsbluff High School graduate, recently garnered recognition by Gov. Pete Ricketts and the Nebraska Department of Education as one of 22 Nebraskans in the high school graduating class of 2022 to score a perfect 36 on the ACT. Over a year after achieving that perfect score, Horn received notice that he would be recognized in Lincoln. While Horn was unable to attend the ceremony in Lincoln on Monday, May 23, he said the recognition for his academic achievement is appreciated. It made me pretty happy because throughout most of high school, up until that point, its not that I had been unsuccessful necessarily, but I had always kind of been lurking in the shadows, he said. I hadnt had anything big to be recognized for. Horn took the ACT as a junior, receiving his score shortly after. I was pretty excited, he said. I was expecting to get a pretty good score because I had done pretty good prep for it. I was expecting to probably get something in the high 30s, but not a 36 immediately. The score put Horn into an elite group of seniors, something Ricketts said was an impressive feat. Achieving a top score on the ACT exam is an impressive feat, Ricketts said during the recognition ceremony. These top-performing students have dedicated themselves to academic excellence, and their hard work has paid off. Thank you to the parents and teachers whose guidance has made their success possible. To the students congratulations. During the ceremony in Lincoln, NDE Commissioner Matt Blomstedt and ACT CEO Janet Godwin joined the governor in recognizing the students for their outstanding accomplishments. Congratulations to the remarkable Nebraska students who achieved a top score on the ACT, said Blomstedt. These students are nothing short of incredible, working through extremely difficult circumstances and overcoming obstacles through hard work and dedication. All of Nebraska should be proud of their accomplishments and we wish them the best in the future. Such success motivated Horn heading into his senior year to keep applying his learning. It was a big confidence boost, he said. It made me feel like a lot of the stuff I had done wasnt for not. It felt like I had learned a lot and had succeeded. Now a Scottsbluff High School graduate, Horn said it can be overwhelming at times. Theres a lot to do and theres a lot to look forward to, he said. Im excited for all of it. Horn will attend the University of Nebraska Lincoln this fall where he will study computer science. Computer science is kind of funny for me because I ended up getting into it on a whim, Horn said. I had pretty much convinced myself throughout my first two years of high school that I like engineering. But I ended up taking one programming class and I realized that computer science is my passion. He took the class during his junior year and said he realized his affinity for programming when they began working on individual projects. There was a point, I want to say toward the end of the first semester, where we started to work on our first real independent projects, he said. I realized how vast it can get and how much exploration there is, even though its been explored for a couple of decades now. He is looking at the field of cyber security. As students read his story, Horn said he hopes it inspires them to keep going. The best thing I can say is to keep pushing forward and keep pushing forward for yourself, he said. Make what you want to happen, happen. Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. LINCOLN Nebraska's newest license plate will feature a backdrop of an original mosaic described as "the crown jewel" of art pieces on display inside the Capitol. Gov. Pete Ricketts, along with first lady Susanne Shore and several state officials, unveiled the new license plate design Tuesday morning. Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles Director Rhonda Lahm said she expects the state will print about 3 million new plates before the end of the year and start issuing them in January. The new general plate depicts a mosaic called "The Genius of Creative Energy," which features a man riding atop the clouds behind a backdrop of lightning and clouds. It is one of dozens of original mosaics designed by artist Hildreth Meiere, but Drew Davies, owner of Oxide Design Co. who submitted the design, described it as "the crown jewel" of the Capitol, as it is one of the first pieces visitors see displayed on the floor coming through the building's main entrance. Ricketts said the image also represents Nebraska's agricultural community, whose members routinely come up with creative solutions that help power the state. Shore led the plate design project and said she started brainstorming in 2018, after Ricketts was reelected. It wasn't until late 2021 when they settled on the final design. Though some may not recognize the image on the plate, Ricketts said he thinks the design will educate Nebraskans about the original art that is available to view inside the Capitol. "The building is like a history book," said Capitol Administrator Bob Ripley. Nebraska's license plate designs, which are renewed every six years under state law, have encountered a fair share of controversy over the last decade. In 2009, a plate design contest was hijacked by internet comedy company CollegeHumor, which encouraged its audience to vote for a plain gray design that then won the contest temporarily. After World-Herald reporters asked to see the raw data, the company that ran the state website admitted that it had given state officials bad information and that another plate actually had won. In 2017, Ricketts' administration selected the design, going with an image of a Sower statue that was supposed to represent the one that sits atop the Capitol. However, the Omaha World-Herald later reported that the image was the wrong Sower, and was actually a statue at Michigan State University. The state quickly revised the design to showcase the correct Sower. Though she stands by the latest design, Shore said she expects the newest plate will see its share of public criticism. "It is sort of a state sport in every state," Shore said. However, she said she hopes over time, the design will come to be known as a beloved license plate for Nebraska. Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Organizers of the first Rescue Roundup were hoping for a big turnout, maybe 1,000 or 1,500 people. The turnout was even better than expected, said Donald Gullett of Piedmont Animal Rescue, one of the many rescue groups and shelters participating in Rescue Roundup. We had around 1,800 people, Gullett said. It really surpassed all of our expectations. And while the human turnout exceeded expectations, so did the main reason for the roundup to find homes for adoptable animals. We had 19 total adoptions at the event and an additional 28 animals that received applications and are still in the process of being approved, he said. Gullett said a total of 18 rescues or shelters took part in the Rescue Roundup. It was the culmination of months of hard work to bring as many rescues and shelters in one place to facilitate adoptions and raise awareness of the need for fosters and other volunteers. The Rescue Roundup also included a dog agility show from a group called K9s in Flight, and there were 103 vendors set up at the event. Gullett said the hope was the first Rescue Roundup would be so successful it would become an annual event. And that hope has come true, Gullett said. We will be having it again next Memorial Day weekend, he said. The second annual Rescue Roundup will be May 27 at the Iredell County Agricultural Fairgrounds. Recently the NC Department of Labor held the 2022 Safety Awards hosted by The Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce. The N.C. Department of Labor recognizes private and public firms throughout the state that achieve and maintain good safety records. This year regional companies received 42 awards with Keystone Powdered Metal Company Troutman, formerly Engineered Sintered Components, receiving a Gold Award for 15 years in a row. The Gold Award is based on the rate of days away from work, job transfer or restriction must be at least 50% below the industry average Shannon Viera, president & CEO of the Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce, welcomed all the attendees to The Gatherings Catering and Event Center. Meredith Watson, safety awards coordinator for the N.C. Department of Labor, spoke briefly to the winning companies, congratulating them on a successful and safe year. She then introduced the keynote speaker, Commissioner Josh Dobson of the Department of Labor. Dobson addressed the attendees, stressed the importance of listening to each other and working together as a team to meet common goals. I am excited to continue the collaborative training and education initiatives that have resulted in a continual decline in our states injury and illness rate, he said. He then handed out the safety awards to the winners in attendance, congratulating them, their team and their organization for a job well done. Silver Awards Criteria: Rate of days from work must be at least 50% below the industry average First year ARGOS USA (Carolinas) Corp/Statesville Plant Doosan Infracore Portable Power ECMD Inc./Crown Heritage Manufacturing ECMD Inc./East Coast Mouldings ECMD Inc./Sales Reps Gateway Recovery Inc. Town of Mooresville/Fire & Rescue Town of Mooresville/Public Works Second consecutive year G. L. Wilson Building Company Gold Awards Criteria: Rate of days away from work, job transfer or restriction must be at least 50% below the industry average First year Berry Global Inc./Mooresville Concrete Supply Company/Mooresville Plant Concrete Supply Company/Statesville Plant ECMD INC/Corporate ECMD Inc./Elkin DC Energy United/Cornelius Operation Center Energy United/Mocksville Operations Center Energy United/Statesville Operations Center Energy United/Madison Operations Energy United/Lexington Operations Center J C Steele and Sons/Warehouse J C Steele and Sons J L Raper Corp. Town of Mooresville/Public Utilities Town of Mooresville/Recreation Wilkes Community College Second consecutive year ARGOS USA (Carolinas) Corp./High Point Plant Third consecutive year 3A Composites USA, Inc. ARGOS USA (Carolinas) Corp./Mooresville Plant Gilbert Engineering Company McCombs Steel Company, Inc./Slingshot PowerWorks Electric Fourth consecutive year ARGOS USA (Carolinas) Corp./Clemmonsville Plant Fifth consecutive year Kewaunee Scientific Corporation Sixth consecutive year American Roller Bearing Company/Machine Shop Department ARGOS USA (Carolinas) Corp./Hickory Plant Callaway Industrial Town of Mooresville/Administration Seventh consecutive year ARGOS USA (Carolinas) Corp./Denver Plant Eighth consecutive year ARGOS USA (Carolinas) Corp./Winston-Salem Plant Ninth consecutive year American Roller Bearing Company/Administrative Department ARGOS USA (Carolinas) Corp/Taylorsville Plant 15th consecutive year Keystone Powdered Metal Company Troutman, formerly Engineered Sintered Components The Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce congratulated all award recipients who promote safety and accident prevention in the workplace. World-famous rapper 50 Cent will give a concert in Yerevan on 1 July. Ahead of the event in the capital of Armenia, the rapper sent greetings from the USA. "Hey, whats up, I look forward to perform for you on 1 July. Don't miss it," the rapper says in a short video. Earlier, the rapper made another note about the concert to be held in Armenia, saying were going to have a good time! Follow NEWS.am STYLE on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram A program that pairs area teachers with local industries to help them prepare students for the workforce recently wrapped up another year. Educators in Industry tours, facilitated by United Way of Southwest Virginia (UWSWVA), brought educators from 19 public school systems across the region into virtual contact with six regional employers. We do this to give teachers a resource to connect with businesses in our service area so they can understand the skill sets students will need for entry-level jobs, Melinda Leland, director of Youth Success for UWSWVA, said. It benefits the businesses, the teachers and the students. The businesses that hosted teachers this year include Tadano Mantis, K-VA-T Food Stores (Food City), Solar Biotech, Cary Street Partners, Electro-Mechanical and Pakalachian Food Truck. For each business, teachers learned new and different things, Leland says. For instance, with Pakalachian, they learned about running a food truck, and they also learned about the entrepreneurial mindset and whats involved in starting up and growing a small business. The tours began as in-person events five years ago, but the pandemic pushed the tours into the virtual Zoom environment for the last two years. That, Leland says, turned into a blessing in disguise. When we started doing this in 2017, we focused on middle school teachers who visited three businesses in one day. This year, we were able to bring in about 300 participants from middle and high schools who met with business operators via Zoom. That also allowed us to record the sessions and publish them on our website, unitedwayswva.org, for teachers who couldnt attend at that particular day and time. In addition, Leland says, teachers shared the recorded sessions directly with their students. China gets COVID-prevention ready for gaokao with record test takers By Liu Caiyu and Zhang Han (Global Times) 08:21, June 01, 2022 China is getting ready for the national college entrance exam for 2022, known as the gaokao, with a record test takers of some 11.93 million expected to take the make-or-break exam the largest gathering ahead of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The event will test the country's hard-won epidemic control system, following sporadic flare-ups in multiple places. This year's gaokaois the third to be held in the shadow of COVID-19. But drawing experience from the previous two years, observers believe local governments will make arrangements to ensure a safe and smooth examination season. Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlanurged careful preparation work in the lead-up to the 2022 gaokao. A record 11.93 million people are expected to take the examinations at 330,000 sites. Sun said the key is to implement health and COVID-19 monitoring for students and service staff during the exam, and take measures to guarantee every student who is eligible can take the exam, including those who are hit by the pandemic. An expert from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told the Global Times on condition of anonymity that China has accumulated two years of experience in organizing students to participate in gaokao. Related anti-epidemic measures have been very stringent and no major outbreaks have ever been reported because of the exam. Except for hard-hit Shanghai, which postponed its exams by a month, other provincial-level localities will kick off gaokaoon June 7 as usual, though some places are facing sporadic flare-ups and small outbreaks. A main challenge this year is that more students are affected, as the country is in a tough battle against the Omicron variant, the CDC expert said. To make sure that everyone who is registered, including those who are infected or close contacts under quarantine, can take the exam, Beijing will arrange for COVID-19 patients to take the exam at the Ditan and Xiaotangshan hospitals, while gaokaocandidates who are quarantined or live in sealed-off communities will take the exams at designated hotels or schools. Many provinces including East China's Shangdong and Jiangsu require students to be at the places where they have registered to take the exam by May 24. They must conduct health monitoring and take at least two nucleic acid tests in the two weeks ahead of the exam. A teacher surnamed Qiao from a boarding high school in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province, told the Global Times that students have all been told to stay put and report their health situations for a week through an app. Students were tested every two days in the past week and will be tested daily in the week prior to the exam. The high school is in charge of arranging the tests in collaboration with the local health institutes, Qiao said. Like the previous two years, back-up classrooms will be arranged in case of an emergency and medical staffers have been communicating with the school about epidemic prevention, including routine sanitation, the teacher said. Shanghai rescheduled its gaokaoto July 7-9 due to the severe epidemic, and it has required students stranded in other places to return to the city by June 4. They are required at least five nucleic acid tests prior to sitting for the exam, according to local the authority. To ease students' nervousness, Northeast China's Jilin Province will assign two psychologists at each exam venue. The city of Zigong in Southwest China's Sichuan Province held a drill recently to practice how to deal with an epidemic-related emergency, such as students having a sudden fever on the test day. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Artist Nick Cave and his Soundsuits at his exhibition Forothermore at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago on May 13, 2022. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) Thirty years ago, when Nick Cave made his first Soundsuit creating the foundation of what would become hundreds of signature costumes and sculptures, assembled with beads, old toys, stuffed animals, synthetic hair and sequins he wrote in his journal that he was working toward what Im leaving behind. He repeated this often in subsequent decades until it sounded like a mantra or a promise. His first Soundsuit was made in 1992, in response to the acquittal of Los Angeles police officers who beat Rodney King, sparking days of unrest. Made of twigs that Cave gathered in Grant Park, just outside his office then at School of the Art Institute, it gave some shape to his future: His Soundsuits became reminiscent of the crafting traditions of his family in Missouri, but also resembled the present. They asked how an artist should generate feeling. They advocated for a better tomorrow. They were approachable, sometimes joyful Muppets. And they could appear both prosaic and unsettling, submerging whoever climbed into one, erasing gender and race. When moved, they made noise, offering a new language. Advertisement They suggested pelts and bouquets and plumages and parades; they brought together African dance and Carnival and Christmas trees, and seemed to erupt from the ground. They made him famous. Advertisement "TM13" (2015) by artist Nick Cave. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) Thirty years later, on a recent morning, walking through the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, surrounded now by years of work made in response to ongoing violence against people of color, it was hard not to think about what Cave hoped to work toward, and leave behind. There were works made in response to the killing of Trayvon Martin, and a forest of gun-patterned wind spirals made in response to Chicago gun violence. Cave paused in front of a group of somber, forlorn Soundsuits, made in 2011 of black mother-of-pearl buttons, with large pewter-looking megaphones where heads should be. Again, this is just me responding to all the (expletive), he sighed. We were walking through Forothermore, Caves first major career retrospective, which just opened at the MCA and runs through Oct. 2. When he initially discussed the exhibition with curator Naomi Beckwith, he saw retrospectives as time travel, marked by celebratory exuberance. The artist, now 63, began new Soundsuits for the show that imagined him as a 16-year-old, picturing 2022. And then George Floyd was murdered. He scrapped the nostalgia. He went with funeral shrouds. To paraphrase something Beckwith (formerly the senior curator at the MCA, now chief curator at the Guggenheim) writes in the catalog: Not much changes, and yet it must. At the end of the day, so much of the work you see here is now behind me, Cave said. Im in a different mindset, and Im moving into painting and more into bronze works. Advertisement Still, as varied, moving and immersive as Forothermore ultimately turned out, Soundsuits remain the centerpiece; indeed, earlier this month Cave finished a vast mosaic for New York City subway stations, working Soundsuits into permanent murals. And through Sept. 7, a choreographed video of Soundsuits in motion will be projected twice a night against the facade of theMart (better known as the Merchandise Mart). Forothermore also includes a dozen new Soundsuits and fresh versions of older ones. We asked Cave to walk us through the highlights of the shows Soundsuit. At the center of that centerpiece is a connection between Cave then and now. Well start here: "Amalgram" by artist Nick Cave on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) Amalgam (2021) Made with: Bird figurines, tree branches, a mannequin. It doesnt look like a Soundsuit, but Cave reassures it is. Made of bronze. It looks exhausted, disarmingly casual for a statue, legs splayed, one arm braced against a stool. Its headdress sprouts of branches and birds has a Tim Burton fever-dream eeriness. I wanted it to suggest taking a moment, Cave said. There is so much to take in now, it needs a minute. That surface of roses and underbrush was cast in rubber and then applied to a mannequin. Branches were found in Garfield Park, the birds at thrift stores. Everything gets a mold. Its like 10 processes. Branches alone are about 40 pieces. The hands are mine. I sat in this position then (the mannequin) was arranged. Soundsuit (2019) Advertisement Made with: Copper molds, shoestrings, stuffed animals, sunglass lenses, pony beads. This one started with more joy, in anticipation of the retrospective. But when George Floyd happened, everything I was doing coalesced into a veil-like surface. Whats on the floor is what I call the emotional spill. I decided to just leave the excess material. I wanted to leave this feeling of pulling out my emotions and staying raw, just sort of standing in a space of pain and sorrow. I thought, should I be cutting these off? And No, this is how I am feeling. The surrounding Soundsuits are similarly mournful, draped in black, then covered in rows of faux flowers, vintage materials and sequined appliques. There was supposed to be more metal, and the next phase of the Soundsuits, but then I just covered all of that up, to sort of communicate the moment. Artist Nick Cave's "Soundsuits" at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago on May 13, 2022. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) Soundsuit (2015) Made with: Synthetic hair, metal, a mannequin. This is me wanting to eliminate myself from the usual materials. Most of these (Soundsuits) come out of an abundance of materials, and this one is a single element. I wanted to create a different sensation and vibration with this one. You want a viewer to imagine what it looks like in motion. TM13 (2015) Advertisement Made with: Pipe cleaners, beads, vintage blow-mold toys. The mannequin appears bound in a fishing net and obscured. I made this after Trayvon Martins death. Its a web that the figure is caught inside. But if you look at the bottom, I made sure to have part of a sneaker poking out. I wanted that little note of humanity. Artist Nick Cave and his 2022 "Soundsuit" at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago on May 13, 2022. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) Soundsuit (2022) Made with: Beads, plastic thrift store toys, hot pads, fishing tackle, fabrics. Created as an homage to Easter in Missouri, where he grew up with seven brothers. This is supposed to be what it felt like then, full of opulence. We would have this huge crazy egg hunt and dress up very nicely and get told we were so handsome, and I wanted to capture that extreme attention. The rabbit at the top, I moved it around until I came up with where its placement should be, then I filled in the rest. The rabbit was found at an antique store and used to be part of the display for a Russell Stover candy store. Its fabulous. A lot of the other toys came from antique malls. We used to do this twice a year we would fly out to Washington State and rent a cargo van and just shop at antique stores all the way back to Chicago, and thats how I found a lot of materials. Soundsuit (2011) Advertisement Made with: Twigs, upholstery, a basket (for the head). A replica of his first Soundsuit. The original is owned by a local collector who didnt want to loan it to the show (which travels to New York in November). This is me looking back at my starting point, seeing things take shape, realizing how to build volume. Its a disguise, but also a hybrid, and certainly tribal. I think Ive done 20 twig suits since 92. The 2011 "Soundsuit," and others, at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago on May 13, 2022. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) Soundsuit (2014) Made with: Wire, bugle beads, fabric, buttons, antique sifter. A continuation of his 2011 installation Speak Louder featuring seven megaphone-headed figures joined together beneath a single flowing fabric made of mother-of-pearl buttons. That piece was partly about wondering how we move together in protest. This is echoing alarm, and thinking about who is targeted and who is profiled. The interesting thing about the blue and black one (beside it) is I was thinking police uniform, but when lit you can see its red, black and green, colors of the African American flag. Soundsuit (2012) Advertisement Made with: Metal toy tops, globes, noisemakers, doilies, a rug. These things just made sense together to me. At the bottom, thats a Humpty Dumpty toy box I found thrifting. The rest, its the way the world looks. Its fragile, yet larger than life and ideas are swirling around my head. I thought of the doilies almost as medallions, and to have a craft element to honor traditions that seem almost nonexistent. Its collaging in the moment. Each of these (Soundsuits) takes a month or so. Depends. Four people work on it (in his Old Irving Park studio). But nothing is sketched out. Its improvisatory. Thats what I have always liked about making these. Its fluid, loose and each one kind of reminds you that sometimes you have accept things as they come. Forothermore runs through Oct. 2 in the Griffin Galleries of Contemporary Art at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave.; 312-280-2660 and mcachicago.org cborrelli@chicagotribune.com BRISTOL, Va. The city of Bristol, Virginia, on Friday agreed with Bristol, Tennessee's assertions and demands made in a lawsuit filed Thursday and is offering to pay part of that city's legal bills if city leaders will settle the complaint. On Thursday, Bristol, Tennessee, filed the 63-page complaint in U.S. District Court in Abingdon, blaming its sister city for not properly managing its landfill, creating a health hazard and nuisance. Bristol, Tennessee, is also seeking a temporary injunction, asking a judge to force Bristol, Virginia, to take a series of actions as recommended by an 11-member expert panel assembled by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. That panel set out 10 primary recommendations regarding the quarry landfill. On Friday, Bristol Virginia Mayor Anthony Farnum and City Manager/City Attorney Randy Eads released a statement agreeing to follow those recommendations, seeking Bristol, Tennessees help in securing outside funding to help pay for the work and offering to pay $250,000 of the Tennessee sides legal bills. Bristol, Tennessee, has spent at least $480,000 on legal bills concerning the issue. Yesterday, the city of Bristol, Tennessee filed a three-count complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia alleging the City of Bristol, Virginia has violated the Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and has created a public nuisance due to the odors emanating from the Citys landfill, the statement began. After setting out details of the complaint, the city then offered its settlement proposal. In an effort to limit unnecessary litigation, to minimize the financial exposure of legal fees for the citizens of Bristol, Virginia and Bristol, Tennessee, and to ensure available financial resources are expended to correct issues associated with the landfill, the city of Bristol, Virginia is prepared to offer the following to fully settle the lawsuit filed on May 26, according to the statement. When contacted, Bristol Tennessee Mayor Mahlon Luttrell said he had not seen Bristol, Virginias proposed settlement agreement. Other City Council members contacted either did not return calls, or had no comment on the issue. In its settlement proposal, Bristol, Virginia, offers the following: 1. The city of Bristol, Virginia will agree to temporary injunctive relief: a. Bristol, Virginia agrees to be enjoined from violating the CAA and RCRA and requiring Bristol, Virginia to comply with CAA and RCRA as soon as practicable, including, but not limited to, implementing the recommendations set forth in the expert report; b. Bristol, Virginia will take all actions necessary to eliminate the odor created by the landfill, including, but not limited to, implementing the recommendations set forth in the expert report; c. Bristol, Virginia will cease accepting outside commercial waste after the landfill is contoured to maximize stormwater runoff retention in the southeast corner of the landfill as discussed in the expert panel report; d. Bristol, Virginia will develop a plan for the closure of the landfill in accordance with the expert panel report and publicly release the plan within 120 days of Bristol, Tennessee agreeing to the terms of this proposed settlement agreement outlined herein; 2. Bristol, Virginia will compensate Bristol, Tennessee in the amount of $250,000 for its costs incurred in this litigation, which include its reasonable attorneys and expert witness fees; 3. Install a sidewall odor mitigation system around the perimeter of defendants landfill, if it is determined to be successful based on engineering standards after testing a sidewall odor mitigation system at the landfill. Funding from the state government, federal government or other granting agencies may be necessary to accomplish this task and Bristol, Virginia will aggressively seek outside funding to install a sidewall odor mitigation system. Bristol, Tennessee agrees to aggressively assist Bristol, Virginia in seeking outside funding opportunities; 4. Install and monitor a dedicated system of thermocouples in the waste mass to monitor landfill temperatures. Funding from the state government, federal government or other granting agencies may be necessary to accomplish this task and Bristol, Virginia will aggressively seek outside funding to install thermocouples in the waste mass to monitor landfill temperatures. Bristol, Tennessee agrees to aggressively assist Bristol, Virginia in seeking outside funding opportunities; 5. Cease accepting outside commercial waste at the landfill after the landfill is contoured to maximize stormwater runoff retention in the southeast corner of the landfill as discussed in the expert panel report; 6. Provide adequate cover of the waste at the landfill; and 7. Submit a report within 120 days, from the signing of a settlement agreement, detailing how the other recommendations of the expert panel report will be accomplished. 8. Bristol, Tennessee agrees Bristol, Virginia will have to identify funding sources to accomplish many of the recommendations of the expert panel. Both entities acknowledge the entire costs of these corrections cannot be borne solely by the citizens of the city of Bristol, Virginia. Bristol, Virginia is looking forward to resolving this litigation, as being in the best interest of all the citizens, and moving forward as a united community in the future, the statement reads. In its motion for an injunction Bristol, Tennessee, is seeking five things: installation of a sidewall odor mitigation system around the perimeter of the landfill; installation of a dedicated system of thermocouples in the waste mass to monitor landfill temperatures; for Bristol, Virginia, to cease accepting waste at the landfill, to provide adequate cover of the waste and for the city to submit a report within 60 days detailing how the other recommendations of the expert panel report will be accomplished. Editors note: Information is provided by the Cowlitz County Corrections Department and local law enforcement agencies. Each individual named in this report is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Assault, fugitive Kelso officers Friday arrested Amelia Brooke Kissee, unknown residence, on suspicion of third-degree assault, being a fugitive and third-degree malicious mischief. Fugitive Longview officers Friday arrested Nathaniel Stuart Smith of Longview on suspicion of being a fugitive. Burglary, theft Cowlitz County deputies Saturday arrested Ramsey Ray Smabeeb, 31, of Yacolt, Washington, on suspicion of second-degree burglary, first-degree theft, motor vehicle theft, criminal conspiracy, second-degree malicious mischief, introducing a contraband substance to jail and tampering with evidence. Vehicle theft Longview officers Saturday arrested Jordan Louis Swindell, 38, of Longview, on suspicion of motor vehicle theft. Theft Longview officers Sunday arrested Jose Anthony Malave, 60, of Longview, on suspicion of second-degree theft. Burglary Longview officers Monday arrested Justin Lee Hamm, 29, of Longview on suspicion of second-degree burglary. Burglary Longview officers Monday arrested Aaron Thomas Sjoblom, 45, unknown residence, on suspicion of second-degree burglary, making or having a burglary tool, third-degree theft and third-degree malicious mischief. Harassment Kelso officers Monday arrested Patsy Jo Hook, 47, of Kelso, on suspicion of felony harassment and second-degree reckless burning. Burglary Kelso officers Monday arrested Armon Unique Paul Santiful, 24, or Oregon City, Oregon, on suspicion of second-degree burglary. Unlawful imprisonment Longview officers Tuesday arrested Cindy Kaye Elliot, 48, of Longview, on suspicion of unlawful imprisonment. Protection order Longview officers Tuesday arrested Jacob Ryan Helms, 21, of Longview, on suspicion of two counts of violating a protection order. Burglary, drugs Longview officers Tuesday arrested Tatum Alexis Littau, 22, of Cathlamet, on suspicion of second-degree burglary, retail theft with circumstances, fourth-degree assault, first-degree criminal trespass and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. Assault Longview officers Tuesday arrested Brucejay J. Nimeisa, 36, of Longview, on suspicion of second-degree assault. Fraud A man reported Tuesday to the Longview police a known suspect opened a credit card in his name. Arson 100 block of Harris Street, Kelso. Monday. Report of a man trying to set fire to a back door. Assaults 1200 block of First Avenue, Kelso. Saturday. Report of friend punching a man. 100 block of Solomon Road, Kelso. Sunday. Report of neighbor punching a woman in the face. 100 block of Evergreen Road, Kelso. Sunday. Report of someone headbutting another person. 400 block of Oregon Way, Longview. Sunday. Report of a physical fight. Triangle Shopping Center and Ocean Beach Highway, Longview. Monday. Report of two men in a physical fight. 4600 block of Ohio Street, Longview. Tuesday. Report of someone firing a pellet gun at the reporting partys son walking home from school. 3000 block of Maryland Street, Longview. Tuesday. Report of a physical fight. 1200 block of 28th Avenue, Longview. Tuesday. Report of a 10-year-old hit with an airsoft gun. 200 block of Park Road, Woodland. Tuesday. Burglaries 700 block of Wheeler Street, Longview. Saturday. Report of a commercial burglary. 600 block of Goerig Street, Woodland. Saturday. Report of the front door of a business pried open. 1100 block of Washington Way, Longview. Saturday. Report of a commercial burglary. 1400 block of West Side Highway, Kelso. Monday. Report of a storage unit break in. 2900 block of Ocean Beach Highway, Longview. Monday. Report of a lock cut on an outside storage area. 1100 block of 15th Avenue, Longview. Monday. Report of forced entry of a locked area at a business. 1300 block of Hemlock Street, Longview. Monday. Report of items taken inside an apartment. 700 block of Ocean Beach Highway, Longview. Tuesday. Report of a person caught on video drilling into an office safe at a business. Stolen vehicles 900 block of 15th Avenue, Longview. Saturday. White 2002 Chrysler Voyager with Washington plates reported stolen. 400 block of Three Rivers Drive, Kelso. Sunday. Blue 2003 Chevrolet Silverado reported stolen. Washington C87622X. 2700 block of Hemlock Street, Longview. Sunday. White Ford F-150 reported stolen. 900 block of Eighth Avenue, Longview. Sunday. Dark green 1996 Honda Accord reported stolen. Washington BUW9099. 200 block of 17th Avenue, Longview. Sunday. Report of utility trailer stolen. VIN 000888777. 1700 block of 13th Avenue, Kelso. Monday. Green 2001 F-250 reported stolen. Washington C87088X. 1400 block of Pacific Avenue, Woodland. Tuesday. Silver 2005 F-350 reported stolen over the weekend. Washington C92869N. Thefts 6000 block of West Side Highway, Castle Rock. Saturday. Report of catalytic converter theft. 500 block of Grimm Road, Kelso. Saturday. Report of solar lights stolen. 1200 block of Ninth Avenue, Longview. Saturday. Report of men trying to steal a motorcycle. 5000 block of Lewis River Road, Woodland. Sunday. Report of the cash box at a firewood stand stolen. 600 block of 14th Avenue, Longview. Sunday. Report of catalytic converter stolen. 300 block of Grant Street, Kelso. Monday. Report of wallet stolen. 100 block of Triangle Center, Longview. Monday. Report of shoplifting. 2800 block of Ocean Beach Highway, Longview. Monday. Report of theft and trespassing at Lowes. Pleasant Hill Road and Horseshoe Bend Estate, Kelso. 1800 block of West Side Highway, Kelso. Tuesday. Report of catalytic converter stolen. 1500 block of West Side Highway, Kelso. Tuesday. Report of catalytic converter stolen. 300 block of Long Avenue, Kelso. Tuesday. Report of catalytic converter stolen. 500 block of Allen Street, Kelso. Tuesday. Report of rolling laundry basket stolen. Memorial Park Drive and 38th Avenue, Longview. Tuesday. Report of a vehicle lift kit stolen. 3100 block of Ocean Beach Highway, Longview. Tuesday. Report of a woman stealing a purse from an elderly couple. 500 block of Seventh Avenue, Longview. Tuesday. Report of two people placing cheaper price tags on items. 900 block of Frazier Lane, Woodland. Tuesday. Report of three catalytic converters and a generator stolen. Vandalism/malicious mischief 1800 block of West Side Highway, Kelso. Sunday. Report of juveniles throwing a knife at a building and damaging it. 700 block of Commerce Avenue, Longview. Sunday. Report of a damaged store sign. 2600 block of 38th Avenue, Longview. Sunday. Report of juveniles breaking windows of a church van. 2700 block of Lilac Street, Longview. Monday. Report of vandalism to vehicle. 100 block of Sierra Drive, Kelso. Tuesday. Report of a vehicle scratched. 400 block of Hicks Road, Castle Rock. Tuesday. Report of someone smashing a vehicle window with a rock. 1200 block of Commerce Avenue, Longview. Tuesday. Report of screws in vehicle tires. Vehicle prowls 1200 block of Sixth Avenue, Kelso. Saturday. Report of four juveniles trying to open car doors. 800 block of 32nd Avenue, Longview. Sunday. Report of two males leaving the scene after a car alarm sounded. 800 block of 32nd Avenue, Longview. Sunday. Report of two guns missing from vehicle. 900 block of Seventh Avenue, Longview. Sunday. Report of a vehicle prowl that occurred two days prior. 1000 block of 13th Avenue, Longview. Monday. Report of two people trying to break into a Mustang parked behind a Dairy Queen. 500 block of Kelso Drive, Kelso. Monday. Report of a firearm stolen from a vehicle. 2500 block of 50th Avenue, Longview. Monday. Report of two people trying to break into a vehicle in a driveway. 24th Avenue and Nicholas Boulevard, Longview. Monday. Report of a man trying to open vehicle doors. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 6 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. VANCOUVER Clark County sheriffs deputies arrested a boy Tuesday at Skyview High School after school employees reported finding a handgun in his jacket pocket. The boy, who was not identified, was arrested on suspicion of unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of a dangerous weapon on school grounds, the sheriffs office said in a news release. He told school officials he brought the semi-automatic handgun for self-defense, according to the sheriffs office. It had rounds in the magazine and an empty chamber. The boy was referred to speak with a designated crisis responder at the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center, the news release states. A boy, who was not identified, was arrested last week at Heritage High School on suspicion of possession of a dangerous weapon on school grounds. He reportedly told law enforcement that he had no intention of hurting himself or others, according to a sheriffs office news release. The investigation in both cases is ongoing. The Daily News, Longview, Wash. 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. After a two-year hiatus, the Ethnic Support Council is holding its 30th annual International Festival Saturday at Lower Columbia College with an emphasis on supporting refugees affected by the war in Ukraine. The organization did not hold the festival in 2020 or 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival is free and runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the LCC Student Center. The family-friendly event celebrates the areas growing diversity and includes multicultural performances, ethnic food booths, vendors, information tables and a fundraiser for Ukraine refugees, according to the Ethnic Support Council. Aristo Healthcare will offer COVID-19 vaccines during the event. Everyone 5 and older is eligible to receive their first vaccination series and a booster dose five months later, according to the Department of Health. Music and dance performances by several groups are scheduled throughout the day on the inside stage and outside pavilion, including: No Noe Ka Mauna Hula, dances of Hawaii, Folkloric Ballet of Southwest Washington, dances of Mexico, Sussefusse International Folk Dance Troupe, including dances of France and Ukraine, Vietnamese Community of Clark County, music and dances, Darka Dusty and the Borscht Beatniks, songs of Ukraine, Sofiia Lupyr, songs of Ukraine, Estampa Mexicana Folkloric Group, dances of Mexico, Turquoise Pride, Native American drums and dance, Channing Dodson playing bagpipes of Scotland and Uilleann pipes of Ireland. If you go What: Ethnic Support Council's International Festival. When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday. Where: Lower Columbia College Student Center, 1600 Maple St, Longview. Cost: Free. Info: 360-636-2791 or www.facebook.com/InternationalFestivalESC. The schedule includes three performances highlighting Ukrainian songs and dance, the organizations way of showing it stands with Ukraine during this time of war, said Cindy Lopez-Werth, Ethnic Support Council Board president. The Ethnic Support Council also plans to sell pro-Ukraine stickers and signs with 100% of the proceeds going to people from Ukraine who end up in Cowlitz County because of the war, she said. Amerigroup Washington, Brunos Pizza, Columbia Bank and other businesses and individuals are sponsoring the event. 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. A plan to install high-speed internet for the first time in parts of the Bunker Hill area moved forward Tuesday. The Cowlitz County commissioners approved a 10-year nonexclusive franchise agreement with Charter Communications allowing the company to lay fiber optic cable in the county right-of-way on parts of Germany Creek Road, Fall Creek Road, Sherman Road, Bunker Hill Road, Bunker Hill Place and Stella Road. In early March, the county approved a similar agreement with the Port of Woodland, allowing it to lay fiber optic cable in county right-of-way along Lewis River Road. Internet access Much of the rural area west of Longview does not have high-speed internet connections through systems like fiber optics, said Patrick Harbison, county utilities manager. Charter, a private company, received a state grant to provide service to the Bunker Hill area, he said. Germany Creek Road resident Louise Brown said during the Tuesday meeting she and her husband havent had access to high-speed internet for years. Brown said she and many neighbors have expensive satellite internet that is poor quality. Im really looking forward to having fiber internet services available, she said. I think we need to go farther out ... the whole west side of the county has nothing. Brown said some residents who live closer to Ocean Beach Highway can get Century Link service but it doesnt extend far into the area. The majority of people in Cowlitz County have internet access, but cannot always connect to what the Federal Communications Commission defines as high-speed broadband. According to the Washington State Department of Commerce, roughly 67% of Cowlitz County respondents on a 2020 broadband survey said their download connection speed was just at the FCCs broadband threshold or below. The state reports 8.6% of Cowlitz County residents who responded to the survey do not have internet access at all. While its unclear when the service in Bunker Hill will be available, Charter wants to begin installation this summer, Harbison said. Under the agreement, Charter will pay the county 5% of its gross revenue collected from customers using the new fiber on county land, he said. The company is also required to dedicate three channels to public, educational and government access programming, according to the agreement. 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. Vivo X80 Does it bring enough to the table to survive in this highly cluttered market? Find out here. What comes to mind when you hear PREMIUM? For me its something that offers above and beyond some basic or intrinsic value. I was expecting the same from Vivos new X80. Successor to Vivo X70 series, the Vivo X80 gets on with premium looks and some beefy camera experience at par. But is that enough to call it a PREMIUM phone? Well! It does have the task of convincing people to spend Rs. 55000 on a Vivo phone rather than an Apple iPhone 13 or a Samsung Galaxy S22. Apple has been holding its ground because of its excellent software design and support that most Android phones lack, while Samsung is the innovator. Hence, Vivo needs a strong key differentiator to break the premium market. If I overlook the branding issue and am willing to spend Rs. 55000 on an Android phone, then I would look for a feature packed smartphone that not only carries an excellent camera but also offers exceptional performance, long-lasting battery with fast charging support and an excellent user experience. With a 4500 mAh battery supported by 80W fast charging feature, MediaTek Dimensity 9000 processor, and excellent camera, Vivo X80 is trying to catch hold of a demanding user like me. But does it tick most of the premium features or just retain its identity of being a camera phone? I got to spend more than 10 days with Vivo X80 and heres what I felt. Vivo X80 Design As soon as you get the phone out of the box, the first thing that will grab your eyeballs is its giant camera bump which covers almost one-third of the back panel. The Vivo X80 resembles last years Vivo X70 Pro+ and is almost identical to its expensive sibling the Vivo X80 Pro. The handset is available in two color variants Cosmic Black and Urban Blue, and I got the latter for review. The Vivo X80 left me impressed at the first glance with its looks and feel. The glass that has been used on the back panel is a fluorite AG glass with soft touch anti-glare matte finish which resists fingerprints and smudges. The phone exudes a premium feel. Despite its 206 g weight, it doesn't feel heavy and can be manageable single handedly. On the front, the phone has a tall 6.78-inch AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution and 120 Hz fast refresh rate. The device features punch-hole selfie camera and in-display ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. The cherry on the top is that the display panel is bordered by extremely sleek bezels. On the right side, the phone houses the power button and volume controls that work flawlessly while on bottom, it has a USB C charging port and the SIM tray. Though it lacks support for Dolby Atmos for 3D sound experience, you will get dual stereo speakers on the top as well as on the bottom. Wait! Theres something more exciting. The handset is accompanied with a decent protective case matching the color of the rear panel along with Type-C-enabled earphones, a USB Type-C charging cable, extra silicone ear tips, and a SIM ejector tool. While premium brands like Apple and Samsung have been removing in-box accessories, isnt it great to get these freebies? Vivo X80 Display The Vivo X80 comes with a tall 6.78-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate. The Full HD+ resolution is quite overwhelming at this price point as some of its competitors like the Realme GT 2 Pro and Xiaomi 12 Pro come with a QHD+ resolution. However, it lacks the LTPO 2 panel that you can get on the Realme GT 2 Pro. The display exhibits vibrant punchy colors and offers wide viewing angles, making your binge watching session pretty exciting. The HDR support and loud, crisp-sounding stereo speakers gives all the HD goodness on streaming apps like Netflix and Prime Video and facilitates great gaming as well. The device comes with a rated peak brightness of 1500 nits. Also, the sunlight legibility is not an issue with the Vivo X80. The device is pretty bright even under harsh sunlight. Vivo X80 Performance The Vivo X80 is the first phone in India to be powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC paired with Vivos V1+ chipset. Further it has up to 12 GB LPDDR5 RAM and 256 GB UFS 3.1 storage. It handles multifunctionality at ease. However, Vivo's software is probably its weakest point even after it has exceptionally improved its custom UI skin over the last few years. FunTouchOS 12 is still a long way to go for offering a flagship-grade experience. There are hardly any visual changes in FOS12 over FOS11 as it still has the same old barrage of bloatware pre-installed on the phone. Though you can delete it, whats the point of pre-installing cheap apps like Moj and Takatak on a premium phone? The most disappointing thing is there are embedded advertisements thrown by Vivos own browser and the global search every now and then by swiping down on the home screen. This, by all means, feels cheap and kind of spoils the phone's appeal. Seriously Vivo, just stop with this habit already! That said, FuntouchOS does bring a lot of features and customization options along with all the latest privacy features and themeing benefits of Android 12. The Vivo X80 also guarantees to get updates up to Android 15, which is the standard by most other phones in the price range. Needless to say, day-to-day activities from calling, texting, to watching shows/movies all work exceptionally well. The Dimensity 9000 is as powerful as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 on paper and it shares one critical issue with the Snapdragon cousin -- its heating issue. I know that Delhi NCR is like a sauna these days but the Vivo X80 heats up easily even while scrolling social media apps. Maybe this is an issue with the early units and Vivo could release an update to fix it. Raw Performance wise, this phone can handle everything and I believe more flagships could use this chipset going forward. Vivo X80 Camera The Vivo-Zeiss partnership on the Vivo X series is pretty good. You get a fantastic camera array at this price point. The Zeiss T* coating on the camera lenses reduces glare and ghosting in images. The phone comes with a 50 MP Sony IMX866 primary lens with a sensor size of 1/1.49-inch. The primary lens also features OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) for sharp images. Additionally, you get a 12 MP telephoto shooter with 2x optical zoom and a 12 MP ultra-wide shooter. Theres a 32 MP snapper on the front for selfies and video calls. Coming to picture quality, the phone delivers crisp and detailed HDR images with good dynamic range in daylight. The phone does a good job by not overexposing or underexposing any area too much. Though the photos color saturation looks a bit unrealistic, they do look social media-ready. And, if you are looking for more natural-looking colors, you can use Zeiss mode, however, human subjects look unnatural as the skin tone looks washed out in some cases. Close-up shots look fantastic. Theres a 50 MP mode for more detailed pictures, especially when you zoom into photos. Theres also a Pro mode and portrait modes. Portrait images taken by the primary sensor are pretty good, with great details and sharpness. In low lighting, you can click excellent pictures with Night Mode active. Even without Night Mode you can shoot pictures with extended shutter speed letting enough light in. The ultrawide lens too shoots fantastic images but auto-HDR the images look softer than what the primary lens delivers. Now coming to selfie cameras, the pictures do look great at first glance but the auto-beauty mode tunes skin tones even when it is manually turned off. Over smoothing of skin textures and modifying of skin tones is a drawback. In short, there's lots of beautification going on. For more clarity on camera quality, check out the pictures shot on Vivo X80 here For videography, X80 features comes with a bunch of modes like Movie LUTs, Cinematic Video mode, Horizontal Line Stabilization, Pro Mode, and more. You can shoot 4K videos at 30/60 fps and 1080p at 30/60 fps from the rear camera. Theres also a slow-motion mode. Videos look excellent during the day than we have seen on many Android phones. Vivo X80 5G Battery The phone relies on a powerful 4500mAh battery which easily lasts for upto 14-18 hours on regular usage that includes surfing the internet, watching videos or films, attending calls or video calls. The Vivo X80 ships with 80W Fast charging support that gets the device charged from 10 to 100 percent in around 30-35 minutes. But, it could have been given the wireless charging support that is even available on cheaper phones like iPhone SE 2022, Samsung Galaxy S21 FE. Not a deal breaker but come on, Vivo. Verdict The Vivo X80 offers fast, reliable performance with decent battery life and superfast charging. Of course, the excellent camera features and plethora of creative camera modes also make it a great phone for shutterbugs to carry around. If I may say, it looks sexy -- not a compliment I can give other phones at this price. The only major disappointment is the software experience and the preloaded bloatware that breaks the premium experience to some extent. That being said, I would still call it a flagship to buy if youre looking for smooth performance and versatile cameras. If you want the best of performance and gaming, phones like the Realme GT2 Pro and Xiaomi 12 Pro can also be given a thought by paying a bit more. From the Samsung camp, the closest competitor is Galaxy S21 FE that offers additional features like Wireless charging, waterproof rating and slightly better cameras, but you would miss out on the in-box accessories, standout design and the 80W superfast charging. And lastly, the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 Mini are in this range as well but these phones don't have the sizzling appeal the Vivo X80 has to offer. The Redmi Note 11T Pro Series was launched in China just a few days ago on 24 May 2022 and response for the new smartphones has been incredible. In fact, some 270,000 units were sold within just one hour of the devices being made available for purchase! Following the achievement, Redmi General Manager Lu Weibing lauded the feat and shared the good news on his official Weibo account. In the post, he also shared a poster thanking all Redmi fans for the high volume of sales within just a short span of time. In case you missed the release of the series, heres a recap on the details of the Redmi Note 11T Pro Series. Comprising of the Note 11T Pro and Note 11T Pro Plus, both devices are powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8100 SoC. They also feature a 6.6-inch 144Hz LCD panel (20.5:9, FHD+), making them the first devices in the Note 11 series to support such a high refresh rate. Besides that, both devices also share a similar primary camera, which is a 64MP GW1 shooter. An 8MP ultrawide lens and a 2MP macro camera compliments the main sensor in both devices. The main difference between the two are their batteries, with the Note 11T Pro sporting a 5080mAh battery with 67W wired charging while the Note 11T Pro Plus having a smaller one at 4,400mAh but with support for a higher 120W wired charging, coupled with an in-house Surge P1 charging chip. The Note 11T Pro starts from CNY1799 or ~RM1,185 for the 6/128GB variant and the Note 11T Pro Plus starts from CNY1999 or ~RM1,317 for the 8/128GB trim. Besides the standard paint jobs, Xiaomi has also announced an Astro Boy edition priced at CNY2499 Yuan or ~RM1,646 with a configuration of 8/256GB. Xiaomi has yet to announce the devices availability outside of China, including Malaysia. However, based on previous releases, the series is very likely to hit the shelves in our country soon. What do you guys think of the Redmi Note 11T Pro Series? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave for the latest tech news! Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Another attempted hacking of a Costa Rican government agency's computer system led the country's public health agency to shut down its systems Tuesday to protect itself, complicating the medical care of thousands of people. At least 30 of the Social Security agency's 1,500 servers were infected with ransomware, according to the government. The latest breach follows an attack by the Russian-speaking Conti gang in April. That ransomware attack targeted multiple Costa Rican government agencies, especially its finance ministry, which still has not recovered control of some of its systems. This time the attack appeared to come from another ransomware gang known as "Hive." Conti and Hive were separate ransomware operations, said Brett Callow, a ransomware analyst at Emsisoft. Some analysts more recently, however, suspect they have established some sort of working relationship. "At a minimum, it would seem that somebody who works with Conti is also working with Hive," Callow said. "Conti likely partnered with other ransomware operations because it's been increasingly challenging for them to collect payments since declaring their support for Russia and threatening attacks on U.S. critical infrastructure." Alvaro Ramos, president of the Social Security agency, said in a news conference Tuesday that the quick shutdown of their systems prevented the cyber criminals from gaining control and encrypting their data as happened in the earlier attacks. He said that no ransom had been demanded. Later Tuesday, however, a portal Hive uses to negotiate with its targets appeared to indicate otherwise. "To decrypt your systems you have to pay $5,000,000 in Bitcoin," Hive's message said. Payroll and pension were not affected, according to the Social Security agency's general manager Roberto Cervantes. He added that some 300 systems experts were working on the issue. But for Costa Ricans who depend on the public health system, Tuesday was a confusing mess. Roger Gonzalez, a retired publicist in San Jose, said that when he arrived for a scheduled medical appointment Tuesday he found that all systems were down and everything was being written on paper. "The first thing the guard told us was that there was no system, to wait for the doctor because she would attend to us with the physical (medical) file, not with the computer, because they do not want to turn them on allowing the virus to spread," he said. Gonzalez said he was also told he would not be able to fill his prescriptions in the health center's pharmacy for the next two days and that an electrocardiogram that he was supposed to schedule Tuesday would be put off until systems were back up. The shut down was also keeping the government from updating its COVID-19 infection numbers amid a new wave of infections, according to Health Ministry. It also meant the Health Ministry could not issue orders to those infected to isolate. Social Security agency officials said they expected their systems to be back up in the coming days and that meanwhile the country's COVID-19 vaccination campaign would continue. Explore further Ransomware gang threatens to overthrow Costa Rica government 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Credit: De Petris et al Roboticists worldwide have recently been developing a wide range of sophisticated robotic systems designed to operate and complete missions in different environments. Some of these systems were presented at conferences, events or competitions. One of these competitions was the DARPA Subterranean (SubT) Challenge, which offered a US$3.5 million prize, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), to robot prototypes that could navigate underground environments most effectively. The teams who participated included roboticists at leading educational instituitions, such as MIT, CMU, CalTech and KAIST, as well as renowned research facilities, such as NASA-JPL or CSIRO. The winning team, CERBERUS, included members from both academia and industry, working at NTNU, UNR, ETH Zurich, UC Berkley, Oxford and Flyability. For the DARPA competition, the team at NTNU and ETH Zurich developed a marsupial robotic system that enabled collaborative exploration and mapping capabilities between a legged and aerial robot in a marsupial configuration. This system, introduced in a paper pre-published on arXiv and set to appear in a peer-reviewed journal, is designed to efficiently navigate and explore unknown underground environments. "Our study builds upon a very close collaboration between our lab (ARLAutonomous Robots Lab), now located at NTNU, Norway (and previously in Reno, Nevada), and our colleagues at ETH Zurich's RSLRobotic Systems Lab," Paolo De Petris, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told TechXplore. "Our primary objective was to satisfy the promise we made, at the beginning of the competition, to deploy a flying robot from a walking one." During the DARPA competition, De Petris and his colleagues were unable to demonstrate the operation of a system based on the collaboration between a flying and a walking robot in real-time, due to issues associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and restricted travel. Nonetheless, they continued to work on their system and experimentally tested it in a set of real-world environments. "Our idea comes from a very simple concept: the complementarity of walking and flying robots," De Petris explained. "We believe that in underground, perceptually degraded environments, the collaboration between a walking robot like ANYmal, which has awesome long operation time, high payload capability, communication to a ground station extension capability etc. but limited to ground operations, and a flying robot like RMF-Owl, results overall in a very efficient and logic exploration mission." The team envisioned their system being deployed is to complete missions in unknown underground environments. In this scenario, the ANYmal legged robot would be sent to the unknown environment with the RMF-Owl flying robot on its back. While navigating the environment, the ANYmal robot can create a map of the unknown space. As it does this, however, it could also identify potential regions in its surroundings where the RMF-Owl flying robot could be deployed, Credit: De Petris et al "These regions could be too high for ANYmal to reach or obstructed due to a collapsed section of a tunnel, and so on," De Petris said. "When ANYmal decides that there is no more space that he can explore, or simply by an operator command, if communication allows, it will place itself at the border of one of these identified regions, send the up-to-date map to RMF-Owl, and command the flying robot to explore the new section, updating and expanding the shared map." Ultimately, as the team envisioned their system, the RMF-Owl robot could explore regions that are inaccessible to the legged ANYmal robot. Once it finished its exploration sub-task, it would return to the point where it took off and land safely on the ground. So far, the team merely developed a prototype of their system. In the future, however, they plan to develop it further to include more features, particularly enhancing its marsupial deployment function. "Eventually, RMF-Owl should of course land on the back of ANYmal, have a recharging system to fill-up the battery while not flying, and many more awesome engineering peculiarities that we did not have time to implement," De Petris said. So far, the team evaluated their system in a series of tests and found that it achieved remarkable results. Specifically, they observed a good collaboration between the walking and flying robots, which enabled a broader exploration of unknown environments. In the future, their system could be implemented in a series of real-world environments. For instance, it could be deployed inside collapsed mines, sites with narrow passages, caves and even in big industrial facilities with complex inspection requirements. In all these scenarios, the team's system could enable a more precise and thorough exploration or inspection. "I am personally interested in collision-tolerant flying robots, as you might have noticed from RMF-Owl, but the question is: now that we can accept some collisions, how can we augment the autonomous exploration with this capability?" De Petris added. "One very interesting problem is related to path planning: traditional path planning algorithms will never find a path in a small gap if the robot does not fit nicely." In a subsequent paper set to be published soon, De Petris and his colleagues explored strategies to augment their system's collision-tolerant exploration capabilities. As the RMF-Owl robot is partly resistant to collisions, their robotic system could still manage to complete missions even if the robot partly collides with some objects. "Another personal goal I have is to go small scale: a lot of people are still scared when they see these giant carbon fiber 15-inch blades flapping around," De Petris added. "From a research point of view, big drones do not fit in tiny spaces. For example, we have an ongoing project for ballast-tank inspection and the manholes there are 0.6x0.4m (RMF-Owl barely fits)." Explore further How robots learn to hike More information: Paolo De Petris et al, Marsupial walking-and-flying robotic deployment for collaborative exploration of unknown environments. arXiv:2205.05477v1 [cs.RO], Paolo De Petris et al, Marsupial walking-and-flying robotic deployment for collaborative exploration of unknown environments. arXiv:2205.05477v1 [cs.RO], arxiv.org/abs/2205.05477 2022 Science X Network Credit: CC0 Public Domain The robots are here. An eagle-sized quadcopter flew above a wooded Schuylkill river bank, counting trees as it was designed to do in the forests of the Andes. Other robots swam underwater, where their hoops of mesh-like material billowed like jellyfish as they took pictures or searched for watercraft. Still others swarmed like mosquitoes, reading the landscape with GPS to find landing targets. Or they were seen wheeling and running, on four legs and two, as if practicing to further automate Amazon's warehouses. The glory of robots in action was on full display last week in the halls and parking lots at Pennovation, the former paint factory that houses the University of Pennsylvania's engineering labs. Robots of various stripes and sizes also appeared at the Penn medical school, the nearby Singh Center for Nanotechnology, and the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Penn students, professors and business partnersalong with the world's top robotic researchers and key companieswere showing off dozens of their creations for the International Conference on Robotics and Automation, a yearly conclave organized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers based in New York City. About 4,500 guests from 89 countries have filled city hotels for the robot lollapalooza. And that's not counting remote viewers of the group's first in-person conference since the pre-pandemic year 2019. The show was first held in Philadelphia in 1988, and only returned this week larger than ever, said Vijay Kumar, Penn's engineering school dean and past head of its General Robotics, Automation, Sensing & Perception (GRASP) Lab. This conference has 96 industry partners, pledging $868,000, a record amount, an IEEE spokesman said. The companies include warehouse operators led by Amazon, car makers such as Toyota, construction and farm equipment makers such as John Deere, and automation software developers such as Nvidia and Shield AI, Kumar said. A global outlook is much in evidence. The 54-member host committee, mostly professors, includes 24 from universities in Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada, and Australia. The U.S. market for robotics is $80 billion and growing by a robust 18% a year. "Robotics has become a fundamental discipline in engineering education," said Kumar, who co-chaired the event with Penn engineering professor George J. Pappas. "You have hardware and software levels. You drew integration from nature." The popularity of the Penn robotics lab, founded in 1979, helped Penn double its current roster of doctoral engineering students to about 800 since the mid-2010s, Kumar said. He credited the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, based in Maryland, for encouraging its many private contractors to support university research. Companies hire students, and take direct equity positions in professors' and graduate students' start-ups. Qualcomm bought Kumar's own robotics firm, KMel Robotics, in 2015. Qualcomm and Nvidia fund his research, which has given birth to a string of start-ups, including South Philly mine-mapper Exyn Technologies, and Pennovation-based IQ Motion Control, which makes smart motors. The scene at Pennovation The Pennovation parking lots looked like a dog park from a Marvel superhero movie, with sturdy pet-like quadruped robotsand even some human-like bipedsmarching and responding to kicks from their operators to demonstrate their ruggedness. "This one is water-resistant for half an hour. It has reversible motors, and is not camera-dependent [to sense what surrounds it]," so it can stay balanced without being told how to respond by a human operator, said Avik De, chief technology officer of Ghost Robotics at Pennovation. "It can do nine kilometers in three hours on one charge. It is full-sealed, so you can use it in the swamp," De added. "It uses components you can buy off the shelf," in line with a keep-it-simple ethic cited by many of the Penn robot developers. It could be used for security in a remote environment, and routine patrol inspections. Penn's link to a famous Turkish drone Robotics means business, and that business has often been war. The program's master's degree graduates include Selcuk Bayraktar, now the son-in-law of Turkish strongman President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Bayraktar's Penn and MIT studies in robotics helped prepare him to build the military-products maker that mass-produces the lethal, low-cost drones that Turkey and its allies have used to kill Armenian, Kurdish, and Syrian fighters from a distance. His last name has also become a popular folksong in Ukraine, where Bayraktar TB2 drones have been credited with slowing the Russian invasion. Some Penn roboticists are uncomfortable with the moral problem of their work being applied for killing. Bioengineering senior lecturer Brittany Shields addresses many of those issues in a required course on the ethics of robotics. Other robots on display are intentionally delicate. Penn doctoral student Dongsheng Chen's diving robots, with side panels enlarging and closing like jellyfish, were inspired by origami, the Japanese art of folding paper. Another Penn doctoral student, Gedaliah Knizhnik, prepared a mini-quad-copter to land in a pool-sized water tank, where five floating mini-docks had assembled autonomously to receive it, aided by magnets. "These are very simple 'bots," he explained. "Manufacturers who develop a product for this application usually assume it has to go in any direction" and install multiple motors and complex controls. "But those are subject to failure," especially in watery conditions, he said. "One-motor boats with simple flippers can do it, and just ride the flow for most of their observation period. You can save more than 70% on energy." Going super small Indeed, many of the robots on display made a virtue of simplicity. The Piccolissimo 2 dronedrawn from the Italian word for "smallest" while honoring the name of developer Matt Piccoliis small enough to fit in a child's palm, and uses a single actuator to respond to stimulia lighthouse beacon or an air current. It can be used for search-and-rescue or area patrols, said team head Drew Curtis. A team of cheap Piccolissimo 2 drones could "swarm" a target, like a flock of hummingbirds. "Event-based cameras" use LiDARLaser Detection and Ranginginstead of traditional light accumulation on a lens, to instantly process extra information from a subject. "It's a next-generation camera" because it's effectively composed of many tiny cameras, each the size of a pixel, that combine their data into a much sharper image, said Kumar, the dean, stopping his tour to watch the camera display. "This much more closely mimics the way the human eye works, so you need less data than a traditional camera. It's much less expensive," said camera project member Kenneth Chaney, as he used the camera to capture a fidget spinner toy whirling in real timeinstead of showing a blur like most cameras. "With event-based cameras, each pixel is its own small camera," noted Claude Wang, another member of the team. "It collects a lot more data than the eye can process." Tracking the trees Some of the drones can literally count and measure the trees in a forest"like Google does for roads," said Argentina-born student Fernando Cladera, dashing down two flights of stairs to set his drone in the screen of oaks along the Schuylkill for an audience filling a third-floor lab. His Falcon 4 can fly for 35 minutes, using a lithium-ion battery, which weighs a third as much as earlier lithium-polymer systems. Postdoctoral researcher Marc Badger's Treeswift drone also zooms through forest canopies. He's about to graduate and move to Boston, to work with another group of Penn grads, at Aescape.com, which aims to pioneer robot massage therapy. "They use the same Penn software, which was developed to model bird flight," he marveled. "A lot of robots are inspired by nature," said Kumar. "But the reality is, we don't know much about nature," so engineers are using robots to learn more, in a self-reinforcing cycle. Super thin robots At the CMOS group of researchers, the robots are as thin as a human hair; a handful are displayed resting in a copper U.S. penny, in Lincoln's ear. "That's about 300 microns across. These are dumb robots: no sensing," said Lucas Hanson, a Penn doctoral student who helps to fabricate them. "They move in response to illumination" and are expected to have medical applications, such as assembling gene therapies in the body. Sure enough, he turns up the light on the demonstrator, and the robotsshort trains of square electrodes and solar cellswiggle faster. Mathew Halm is using a desk-based, multi-elbowed robotic arm in a "physically based learning experiment," tracking and fielding balls and blocks he throws past it, and mapping their trajectories and resting places so they become easier to find and read. "We think it will be particularly useful for companies that want to automate warehouses," he said. "So many new products a day, it's impossible for humans to keep track of all of them." He'll be in Boston working for Amazon as an intern this summer. It's exciting, sometimes scary stuff. But, Kumar cautions: "Robotics is very speculative. It's far from clear what will work. People severely underestimate the problems. We have been working on self-driving cars since 1987. "Ten years ago the money was in drones. Now it's self-driving cars. It's unclear where all this will be 10 years from now. But the fundamentals will still apply." Explore further Penn drones navigate on their own, could save people from peril 2022 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Dystopian dramas invariably have more impact when one foot is firmly planted in the here and now. Thats the case with Zoe Kazans After the Blast, a chilling and darkly comic little play about the bleak future prospects for us carbon-based entities. Heres the setup. There has been some kind of catastrophe above ground (hence the title) and humans have retreated underground where theyre struggling with fertility and forced to answer to an authoritarian government. As a release, and as a relief from their near-constant state of agitation, they increasingly retreat to simulated environments, even if they have begun to understand the depressing consequences of such, on, say, an otherwise healthy childhood or marriage. Advertisement But when the real world has been so compromised, what choice do they have? Kazans main focus here is on a cute little robot named Arthur (hes a puppet, manipulated by Arielle Leverett). He arrives at the home of Anna (Kim Boler) and Oliver (Ruben Carrazana) and, at first, he knows not much. But Anna, who is pining for a child, teaches him how to recognize her speech, increasing his vocabulary and mental cognition until, before long, its hard to know if hes sufficiently akin to a human to help Anna deal with life, or merely a creepy, digitized panacea making it easier than ever for the government to control her anxiety. Advertisement Arielle Leverett and Kim Boler in Broken Nose Theatres Chicago premiere of "After the Blast." (Evan Hanover ) Sure, fear of technology is a sci-fi standard and this is not the first play to probe our legit worry that the machines are taking over the most intimate portals of our life. But the power of this piece, especially in JD Caudills production, lies in its believability: the robot looks like those that currently exist and the way the robot is taught in the show also rings familiar. People are doing similar things right now. All that said, and aside from the quality of the script, the main reason to catch this simple and intimate little show upstairs at The Den (now a thriving Wicker Park venue with comedy on the ground floor) is Bolers superb performance. Its a gutsy piece of acting thats sufficiently intense to raise the stakes and yet sufficiently warm and empathetic to tap into the anxiety that is plaguing so many people, after the pandemic, if that is even the right phrase. We often go to the theater (or hit the streaming button) to feel were not alone in our fears. Heres that opportunity with unexpected revelations to boot. Chris Jones is a Tribune critic. cjones5@chicagotribune.com Review: After the Blast (3.5 stars) When: Through June 11 Where: The Den Theatre, 1311 N. Milwaukee Ave. Running time: 2 hours Advertisement Tickets: Pay what you can, reservations can be made at brokennosetheatre.com WASHINGTON Diane Murray struggled with her decision all the way up to Election Day. But when the time came, the 54-year-old Georgia Democrat cast a ballot in last weeks Republican primary for Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. While state law allowed her to participate in either partys primary, she said it felt like a violation of her core values to vote for the Republican. But it had to be done, she decided, to prevent a Donald Trump-backed election denier from becoming the battleground states election chief. I feel strongly that our democracy is at risk, and that people who are holding up the big lie, as we call it, and holding onto the former president are dangerous to democracy, said Murray, who works at the University of Georgia. I dont know Ill do it again because of how I felt afterward. I just felt icky. Raffensperger, a conservative who refused to support the former presidents direct calls to overturn the 2020 election, probably would not have won the May 24 Republican primary without people like Murray. An Associated Press analysis of early voting records from data firm L2 found that more than 37,000 people who voted in Georgias Democratic primary two years ago cast ballots in last weeks Republican primary, an unusually high number of so-called crossover voters. Even taking into account the limited sample of early votes, the data reveal that crossover voters were consequential in defeating Trumps hand-picked candidates for secretary of state and, to a lesser extent, governor. Gov. Brian Kemp did not ultimately need Democrats in his blowout victory against his Trump-backed opponent, but Raffensperger probably did. The Republican secretary of state cleared the 50% threshold required to avoid a runoff election by just over 27,000 votes, according to the latest AP tallies. Based on early voting data alone, 37,144 former Democrats voted in the Republican primary. The total number of crossovers including Election Day votes, set to be revealed in the coming weeks, may be even higher. Crossover voting, also known as strategic voting, is not exclusive to Georgia this primary season as voters across the political spectrum work to stop Trump-backed extremists from winning control of state and federal governments. The phenomenon is playing out in multiple primary contests, sometimes organically and sometimes in response to a coordinated effort by Trumps opponents. While Trump railed against the practice over the weekend, there is nothing inherently wrong with crossover voting. Dozens of states make it legal and easy for voters to participate in either partys primary. And there are several isolated incidents of both parties engaging in strategic voting over the years. Still, Trump warned conservatives about crossover voting while campaigning Saturday in Wyoming, another state where the former presidents opponents are calling for Democrats to intervene this time to help save Rep. Liz Cheney from a Trump-backed primary challenger. Cheney, like Raffensperger and Kemp, refused to embrace Trumps views about the 2020 election. She also voted for his second impeachment after the Jan. 6 insurrection. Dont let the Democrats do what they did in another state last week, Trump told Wyoming supporters, complaining about what happens when you allow Democrats to vote in a Republican primary. While the practice has Trumps attention, it is often ineffective. Trumps opponents encouraged Democrats to help defeat U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in her Georgia primary last week. The congresswoman, who has embraced election lies and spoken at an event organized by a white nationalist, won by more than 50 percentage points. And in some cases, Democrats have been too focused on their own competitive primaries to cast a Republican ballot. That was probably the case in Pennsylvania, where some Democrats openly encouraged their base to vote for the Republican candidate for governor, Doug Mastriano, whose extreme views they felt made him more beatable in November. To cast a ballot in the May 17 GOP primary, however, voters needed to register as Republicans ahead of the contest because Pennsylvania has a closed primary system. And on the same day, Democrats were deciding their own high-stakes Senate primary. If the advance vote in Pennsylvania is any indication, few Democrats heeded the call to vote GOP. Of Republican primary voters who cast early or absentee ballots this year, only 1.7 percent voted Democratic in the 2020 primary. Those 2,600 votes, even if ultimately bolstered by more Election Day participants, were unlikely to have moved the needle in an outcome in which Mastriano beat his closest rival by nearly 320,000. On the forefront of the crossover movement, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., has called for an uneasy alliance between Democrats, independents and Republicans to take down pro-Trump candidates in GOP primaries whenever and wherever possible. Some states have open primaries like Georgia that allow people to vote in either primary, while other states have more restrictive rules. In an interview, Kinzinger said he was pleasantly surprised by the Democrats response in some races. He said he never expected the movement to be an earth-shattering game-changer right away. Kinzingers political organization, Country First, targeted thousands of former Georgia Democrats with mailers and text messages urging them to support Raffensperger for the sake of democracy. A Country First text message widely distributed to Georgia voters in the days before the election read: Dont wait for until the general election to go after the extremes. Vote in the Republican Primary for the candidate that supports truth and democracy. Kinzingers team was also active in North Carolinas closely watched congressional race in North Carolinas 11th District, where voters ousted the polarizing pro-Trump freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn in the Republican primary. As was the case in Georgia, the AP found a sizable percentage of Republican early ballots were cast by voters who participated in the Democratic primary two years ago. Specifically, more than 14% of the 38,000 early or absentee votes cast in the Cawthorn race more than 5,400 voters came from a Democratic 2020 primary voter. Cawthorn lost his primary by fewer than 1,500 votes. Back in Georgia, Raffenspergers team pushed back on the idea that he won the GOP primary because of Democrats. The team suggested that a number of crossover voters were actually Republicans who voted Democratic in recent years to protest Trump. It is clear that Brad Raffensperger carried a majority of the Republican vote here in the state of Georgia, and that there are people who stopped voting in Republican primaries after 2016 who are now reengaged, said Jordan Fuchs, a consultant to the Raffensperger campaign. An AP examination of voting records from before the Trump era shows at least a portion of Georgias 37,000 party switchers in 2022 had been in the Republican camp before Trump took office. Roughly between 9,000 to 13,000 voted Republican in the 2010, 2012 and 2014 primaries, according to the L2 data. Trump allies in the state, caught off guard by the crossover trend, were furious. It was a Democratic version of Operation Chaos, said Debbie Dooley, president of the Atlanta Tea Party, referring to the secret Nixon-era push to infiltrate liberal groups. I did not realize just how heavily the Democrats were going to cross over. Dooley launched a petition late last week to close Georgias Republican primaries to non-Republicans. More than a dozen states have closed, or partially closed, primaries that block members of opposing parties from participating. Meanwhile, Kinzinger said hes already crafting plans to execute a similar playbook in coming primaries in Michigan, Wyoming and Alaska. In addition to helping Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the Alaska Republican who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, Kinzinger said hes weighing whether to invest resources in trying to block former Gov. Sarah Palins congressional bid. Donald Trump came in and took over the Republican Party with nationalism, Kinzinger said. The American people have every right to determine who represents them in a congressional district, and if thats in a primary, thats in a primary. If they want to take back the Republican Party from the liar, they can do that, and Im certainly going to help them. 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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 Franklin County and the town of Rocky Mount will receive more than $1.5 million from the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission for two specific projects. The county has been promised $1.5 million to support development at Summit View Business Park, specifically its 118-acre Dogwood site. Rocky Mount, meanwhile, will get $44,940 for the Cox site at the Rocky Mount Industrial Park. The tobacco commission grant money is being used to prime sites around Virginia for development. The speed of business has accelerated, Franklin County Economic Development Director Beth Simms said. ...The pandemic put everybody behind. When people were making site decisions they...would kind of take their time and narrow it down. ... Now, they want to be up and going in 18 months. And that means the most attractive sites already have earthwork done, roads built and utilities installed. When site selectors and prospective businesses are looking at these sites, especially in Virginia, its pretty easy for them to eliminate certain sites early in the process because theyre not ready enough for them, Rocky Mount Cultural and Economic Development Director Daniel Pinard said. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership groups industrial sites into one of five tiers based on how ready they are for development, with tier one sites being the least ready and tier five sites being the most ready. The Franklin County and Rocky Mount projects will each use the grant money to reach a new level of readiness, hopefully increasing their appeal to developers and businesses. According to a May 13 release from the tobacco commission, the Franklin County grant will be used at the Dogwood site to complete grading of the 55+/-acre building pad for a 1 million square foot facility and associated parking, loading, and trailer spaces. The project would also include needed erosion and controls, storm sewer piping, and required best management practices. The ultimate goal is to produce a site that could support buildings, trailer storage and flex space. Were hoping to land a client that needs one million square feet, really, Simms said. ...Summit View is zoned as a regional enterprise park, so within that theres a list of uses that are use by right...but we really take everything on a case by case basis. Simms said the county is pairing the $1.5 million tobacco commission grant with another $1 million grant from the Virginia Economic Development Partnerships Virginia Business Ready Sites Program. Weve got a little over $2.5 million of state grant funds no local dollars, all state grant funds to do this work, Simms said. By next summer we would hope to have this phase of work complete. Rocky Mount, meanwhile will use its roughly $45,000 tobacco commission grant to take the Rocky Mount Industrial Parks Cox site from tier two to tier four. Pinard said the work to get there will largely involve completing certain architectural and engineering surveys by the end of 2023s first quarter. Its mostly about having the documentation on hand for when business prospects are looking at the site, Pinard said. ...You can refer to the geo-technical report, which would get into what the grading costs would be. Other reports that are part of this are a one foot topographical survey...an endangered species review, Waters of the U.S. delineation, preliminary environmental review. The 38-acre Cox site is owned solely by the town of Rocky Mount, and is attached to the land that forms the rest of the industrial park. Pinard said the local workforce and size of the site helped the town develop target industries, including wood product manufacturing, computer and electronic manufacturing and food manufacturing, but stressed that the town remains open to the possibilities. We are not at all hemmed in by those target sectors, Pinard said. We have target sectors because its good to have a vision for the property, but when the property is as undeveloped as it is, its very much a blank slate. 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. How to meet Grand Islands growing transit needs remains a concern for CRANE transit. Contracting with an Uber-style company for mobility on demand services for the community is one solution being considered. A series of Go GI focus group sessions held Tuesday at Grand Island City Hall proposed other alternatives and took input from the community on how to improve local transit. Leading Tuesdays session was consultant Jason Carbee with Omaha-based HDR. The data from the days three 45-minutes sessions will also inform a transit development plan being completed by Grand Island Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. This is a plan, looking to the future, trying to identify what the best options might be for how we could potentially made service changes to public transit in Grand Island and Hall County, said Carbee. Were trying to come up with something for the next 10 years, 20 years, that can be feasibly implemented. The first such focus group sessions were held in December, and a final session is planned for September. Decembers sessions resulted in four goals for improving CRANE: -Improve cost-efficiency of the transit system -Increase transit availability and responsiveness by using technology -Make service improvements that would increase transit ridership -Identify and pursue additional funding sources Three different service options (or, scenarios) were proposed: Expansion of current service; service addition, potentially mobility on-demand and going to a fixed-route system. These are potential ways to adjust our current system to potentially meet some of those gaps and get more ridership, said Carbee. Mobility on demand summons and pays for a ride via mobile phone. This would be a public-private partnership and is usually heavy on technology. Carbee cited Uber and Lyft as examples, which offer individual rides and run transit systems. The city or county or whomever would contract with a provider, and that provider would be a private company, Carbee said. The city, lets say, would contract with one of these providers to provide transit service locally. It would improve on CRANEs requirement of 24-hour notice before scheduling a ride, with the potential to reduce wait-time to 15 minutes, said Carbee. A public transit fare would be charged, as opposed to higher, open-market private company ride charges. It would be also a CRANE-branded app, he noted. CRANE currently does cash and punch-cards. A pay-with-phone service is being readied for July, using RouteMatch software, and will be called RM Pay. People will be able to do online booking and they can also create an account and upload funding to the account. The driver just marks paid and it automatically deducts from their account, explained Transit Program Manager Charley Falmlen. With mobility on demand, the company would hire drivers as contractors and lease capital equipment to the driver, said Falmlen. Drivers would not be employees of that company or the city, but independent contractors using leased equipment to provide the service. Its similar to Uber, its just that were the contract owner and were offering a reimbursement model for it, she said. A traditional fixed-route bus system is also a potentiality. An advantage is that it is easily understood. However, Grand Island may not have many corridors to benefit many people making the same sorts of trips at the same time, as routes would be limited to high-density areas. Also, there are higher capital costs. The public input sessions are going really well, Falmlen told The Independent. Were not quite there, she said. We still have a third step, but were getting very good input and lots of feedback. Some feedback from the community has been surprising, Falmlen said. I wasnt expecting so many people to be interested in keeping the current service as we have it and just expanding it, she said. That was really eye-opening. Central Ride Agency of Nebraska is contracted through Senior Citizens Industries to provide portal-to-portal transportation by appointment to Grand Island area residents for a one-way fare of $2. CRANE operates from 6 to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 9 to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information, visit www.crane-transit.com. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. WASHINGTON A federal judge gave his final blessing Wednesday to full freedom for John Hinckley, the man who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981, capping a four-decade journey through the court system for the once mentally ill Hinckley. U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman said in September that he would free Hinckley from all remaining restrictions on June 15 as long as Hinckley continued to do well living in the community in Virginia as he has for years. At a hearing Wednesday in Washington which Hinckley did not attend, Friedman noted Hinckley has continued to do well, and the judge made no changes to his plans for full freedom from court oversight. Advertisement Hes been scrutinized. Hes passed every test. Hes no longer a danger to himself or others, Friedman said at a hearing that lasted about an hour. Friedman devoted much of the hearing to talking about the long road of the case, which he was randomly assigned two decades ago, the third judge to be involved in the case. He noted that Hinckley, who turned 67 on Sunday, was profoundly troubled when he shot Reagan but that he had been able to get mental health help. Hinckley has shown no signs of active mental illness since the mid-1980s, the judge noted Wednesday, and has exhibited no violent behavior or interest in weapons. Advertisement Hinckley was confined to a mental hospital in Washington for more than two decades after a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity in shooting Reagan. Starting in 2003 Friedman began allowing Hinckley to spend longer and longer stretches in the community with requirements like attending therapy and restrictions on where he can travel. Hes been living full-time in Virginia since 2016, though still under restrictions. In this Nov. 18, 2003, file photo, John Hinckley Jr. arrives at U.S. District Court in Washington (Evan Vucci/AP) Some of those include: allowing officials access to his electronic devices, email and online accounts; being barred from traveling to places where he knows there will be someone protected by the Secret Service, and giving three days notice if he wants to travel more than 75 miles (120 kilometers) from his home in Virginia. Prosecutors had previously opposed ending restrictions, but they changed their position last year, saying they would agree to Hinckleys release from conditions if he continued to show mental stability and follow restrictions. Prosecutor Kacie Weston said in court Wednesday that the government believes the case has demonstrated the success that can come from a wraparound mental health system. She noted Hinckley has expressed a desire to continue receiving mental health services even after he is no longer required to do so, and said the government wishes him success for both his sake as well as the safety of the community. Hinckleys longtime lawyer, Barry Friedman, said the case had started with a troubled young man who inflicted great harm and but that, in the end: I think we have salvaged a life. John worked hard. He wanted to correct something that he was unable to erase, and this is the best outcome that one could imagine, Levine said after the hearing, adding that His regrets will always be with him with respect to the families of those he injured. Levine said his client hopes to pursue a career in music and has real talent. In July, Hinckley who plays guitar and sings and has shared his music on a YouTube channel plans to give a concert in Brooklyn, New York. Appearances in Connecticut and Chicago for what he has called the John Hinckley Redemption Tour have been canceled. Reagan recovered from the March 30, 1981, shooting, but his press secretary, James Brady, who died in 2014, was partially paralyzed as a result. Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty were also wounded. Reagan died in 2004. Advertisement In the 2000s, Hinckley began, with the judges approval, making visits to his parents home in Williamsburg, Virginia. His father died in 2008, but in 2016 he was given permission to live with his mother full time. Still, he was required to attend individual and group therapy sessions, was barred from talking to the media and could only travel within a limited area. Secret Service would also periodically follow him. Hinckleys mother died in 2021. He has since moved out of her home. In recent years, Hinckley has made money by selling items at an antique mall and by selling books online. Hinckley has said on his YouTube channel that he has started a record label, Emporia Records, and that his first release will be a 14-song CD of his music. He also promotes his music on Twitter. John Arias of Grand Island got involved in the Central Nebraska Veterans Treatment Court because he likes to look out for his fellow vets. Veterans like to support each other, said Arias, who is a mentor coordinator in the program. Veterans who enroll in the program have the ability to have criminal charges removed from their record. Arias served in the Marines for four years, from 1988 to 1992. Arias said he made poor choices when he got home from the Gulf War. Those bad decisions eventually landed him in prison. He is now trying to help other vets avoid making the same mistakes he did. Veterans have a bond, he said. When a veteran stumbles, fellow vets try to pick him up and get him moving forward. The Central Nebraska Veterans Treatment Court program, which is administered by the states judicial system, is meant for people who have pleaded guilty to a criminal charge. For those who enter the program, the sentencing is stayed, which means if veterans successfully complete the program the plea is withdrawn and charges are dismissed. In the case of driving under the influence, the charge is reduced. The Central Nebraska program is a collaboration between the Ninth and Tenth Judicial Districts, covering Hall, Buffalo and Adams Counties. Some of the people in Veterans Treatment Court suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. A combat veteran, Arias suffered from the same problem. When he and his fellow soldiers got back from the war, we did a lot of drinking, trying to self-medicate, he said. That drinking cost him his marriage and led to other problems. Arias started working with other veterans when he was in prison. Theyre not bad people. They just make poor choices, he said. Arias is mentoring two veterans right now. He spends a lot of time letting veterans vent. Occasionally, he makes a suggestion. But ultimately its up to them to decide what course they want to take, he said. People in the Veterans Treatment Court program must adhere to requirements. They must stay employed. They have to take classes and receive counseling. Many go to Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. So between their jobs, family life and classes, they stay busy. Arias supervises five or six mentors, one of whom is Julie Schnitzler. Schnitzler serves as a mentor to another veteran. Schnitzler, who lives in Kenesaw, was in the Army Reserves for 26 years, retiring in 2012. She is the principal of Howard Elementary School in Grand Island. As a mentor, she walks shoulder to shoulder with another veteran, Schnitzler said. She provides friendship and a listening ear to that woman. She tries to use her knowledge and experience to support her in whatever way is possible. She might share parenting tips as she listens to her talk about the frustrations of being a parent. Whenever possible, she tries to put a positive spin on the issues the woman faces. Its good for people in the program to have someone on their side, she said. Schnitzler said she is there to support her unconditionally. Mentors and veterans are separated by gender. Veterans and mentors have to follow rules, like I cant loan her or give her money, Schnitzler said. Veterans Treatment Court leaders want to make sure the program isnt being used for purposes other than getting a veterans life back on track. One reason Schnitzler got involved in the program is shes frustrated with a legal system that punishes people for a lifetime. Many people dont realize the lifelong punitive effects of breaking a law. Those people think, Well, they serve their time and theyre done, Schnitzler said. But the lawbreakers are left with a stigma and a record. They cant get certain jobs or are reluctant to apply for certain jobs because therell be a background check. Many people judge and dont forgive, Schnitzler said. Some neighbors might fear living near a felon, she said. But breaking the law might have been a onetime situation and now youre getting judged for the rest of your life, she said. Its important for people to have felonies removed from their records, she said. Thats important to me that people get second chances, Schnitzler said. If those people are truly trying and want to overcome their mistakes, then you know what? Lets give them a chance and lets let them overcome it. Arias says the Veterans Treatment Court is the best way for struggling veterans to find themselves again and find that dignity and honor that they once had in the military. People in the program are trying to correct their errors and basically become law-abiding citizens again, he said. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. YORK A jury trial has been scheduled for a man facing a multi-felony drug case in York County District Court, after he was allegedly caught with controlled substances during a traffic stop in York County. Enrique Torres, 28, of Lake Villa, Ill., has been charged with two counts of delivery of a controlled substance, both Class 2A felonies; two counts of having no drug tax stamp, a Class 4 felony; and possession of more than one pound of marijuana, a Class 4 felony. He appeared for arraignment in York County District Court, during which he pleaded not guilty to all counts. According to court documents, the case began when a trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol stopped a vehicle on Interstate 80 for a traffic violation. The trooper was also assisted by a deputy with the York County Sheriffs Department. Torres was a passenger in the vehicle and the driver was said to have a standoffish attitude toward the trooper and gave conflicting information as to their travels. It is stated in the affidavit that Torres appeared nervous and when asked if the vehicle could be searched, he is said to become agitated and argumentative. Torres was asked for consent because he was the person who rented the vehicle. The deputys canine alerted to the presence of narcotics and a probable cause search of the vehicle was conducted. During the search, troopers and deputies allegedly found three bacgs of marijuana in the rear cargo area, two bags in the back seat containing marijuana, 14 sheets of THC wax. The amount of marijuana was totaled at 17 pounds and the total amount of THC wax was estimated to be 5.6 pounds. The jury trial for Torres has been set for late October. Expert Viewpoint 5 Ways to Add Elements of the Science of Reading to a Balanced Literacy Program Teaching Reading Does Not Need to be an Either/Or Method Even before the pandemic, national test scores showed that only a third of American students were proficient in reading, with widening gaps between good readers and struggling ones. At the end of our third school year impacted by COVID-19, the statistics are even more disturbing. A new study of data from the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills one of the most commonly used reading diagnostic assessments found that more than 35% of K2 students were far behind in literacy skills and in need of intensive intervention. Similarly, The New York Times recently reported that 60% of students at surveyed high-poverty schools have been identified as being at high risk for reading problems twice the number of students as before the pandemic. The urgency to help these struggling students is reigniting debates about how best to teach children to read. The opposing sides in the reading wars tend to advocate for the use of curricula thats based either on the Science of Reading or on Balanced Literacy. Many schools use a Balanced Literacy approach (one study found at least 72% use it), but there is more to be explored by also integrating components of the Science of Reading to provide students with the support they need. The reading wars turn a complex issue into an either/or, when we really should be focusing on what works best for readers during every stage of their reading instruction. Science of Reading vs. Balanced Literacy: What's the Difference? These two approaches to teaching reading differ in some key ways. Supported by years of research in psychology and cognitive science, the Science of Reading promotes five components of effective reading instruction for young children: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. The scientific consensus is that teaching phonics systematically, explicitly, and cumulatively is key to successful reading instruction. But its important to note that the Science of Reading focuses on all the skills needed to become a proficient reader including spoken language, spelling and writing, background knowledge, and fluency. Balanced Literacy techniques encourage students to be constantly exposed to books. While this method does teach some phonics, it focuses mainly on teaching students to figure out words by using MSV (Meaning, Sentence structure, and Visual Information). Regardless of which method is used, research shows that around 40% of students can learn to read fairly easily. However, up to 60% need systematic, sequential, explicit instruction. Within that 60%, a subgroup of 10 to 15% will need even more structured and diagnostic literacy support. Incorporating the Science of Reading into Balanced Literacy Programs Students who are falling behind in a Balanced Literacy environment will benefit from using elements from the Science of Reading that improve phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Following are five ways that can help you integrate components of the Science of Reading into a Balanced Literacy approach: Have students spell out regular words phonetically, to help them understand the phonics elements within the words. Build fluency, motivation, and background knowledge by having students read short, high-interest, nonfiction passages. Encourage them to practice reading the passages several times until they are automatic with the words. Read together with students out loud, to increase their accuracy and expression. Give students material that allows them to work independently at their own level and pace. Work toward increasing reading stamina. Measure students' reading progress so that students can see their own growth and build confidence. Using these suggestions doesnt mean your teaching will become awkward or rigid. There are amazing free resources available that educators can use with students to keep learning fun and engaging. For example, you can use a cue card system to help emerging readers master visually confusing letters such as b, d, and p. Or you can use Word Sorts to reinforce and review the spelling patterns. These resources were developed by teachers, for teachers and can benefit students who could use a little extra help. When the Magic Happens Reading well is the cornerstone of a student's success in school. When students cannot read proficiently, they cannot learn appropriately; frustration ensues, and students feel defeated. Integrating elements of the Science of Reading will enable teachers to boost literacy while keeping students challenged, engaged, and feeling positive about reading and academics. Although the Science of Reading has sometimes been characterized as too cold or scientific, its structured literacy approach can lead to the greatest joy students experience: the joy of comprehension. When the words on the page finally start to make sense, students confidence soars. And as all teachers know, that is when the magic happens. What's all the fascination with Woodstock? The rock concert that turned out to become a landmark cultural event started off as an idea to make some profit by opening a recording studio and staging a music concert in Bethel, a rustic town about 100 miles northwest of New York City. A small ad in the January, 1969, Wall Street Journal read: "Young man with unlimited capital looking for legitimate and interesting investing opportunities and business propositions." According to a documentary film entitled "Woodstock Diary," entrepreneurs Joel Rosenman and John P. Roberts said the idea sounded like the script from "a television show about two young guys who had more money than brains. The only thing we didn't have was plot or figuring out what kind of nutty business venture they would get into." Rosenman said a concert in an area near the home of Bob Dylan and other music artists "would make a fortune it would be a no-brainer. It turned out to be a no-brainer, but in another way." The newspaper ad attracted the attention of local concert promoter Michael Lang who, along with Artie Kornfeld, set out to find a venue for the concert. By June, and even though several thousand tickets already had been sold for the so-called "Aquarian Exposition," to be held the third weekend of August, officials in the town of Wallkill denied permission to hold the concert there. The promoters received the go-ahead from the town of Bethel, about 35 miles away. Lang said he drove over a hill in the road and came across an amphitheater-shaped farm field that would be perfect for thousands of people to see a stage at the bottom. He made a deal with owner Max Yasgur. With only about six weeks to go, construction began in earnest to build a concert stage. A week before the show, organizers realized they would have the stage built in time but not a fence surrounding the area. Promoters originally anticipated around 50,000 attendees, yet 186,000 advance tickets already had been sold. Tickets for the three-day show cost $18 in advance and $24 at the gate, however no ticket booths and gates were ever built. Regardless, the music acts had been booked, the tickets had been sold and young people from across the country began to make their way to New York. As the concert date approached, early arrivers simply walked onto the site, with or without tickets. Performers on the first day included Richie Havens, Sweetwater, Bert Sommer, Tim Hardin, Ravi Shankar, Melanie, Arlo Guthrie and Joan Baez. Music began just after noon the following day and went continuously until nearly 10am the next morning with artists including Quill, Country Joe McDonald, Santana, John Sebastian, Keef Hartley Band, The Incredible String Band, Canned Heat, Mountain, the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, Sly and the Family Stone, The Who and Jefferson Airplane. The final day of Woodstock began with Joe Cocker at 2pm and continued with Country Joe and the Fish, Ten Years After, The Band, Johnny Winter, Blood Sweat & Tears, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Sha Na Na and Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix didn't take the stage until 8:30 a.m. as the final act at Woodstock. Because of rain over the weekend, most of the audience had already left the site and he played a two-hour set to an estimated crowd of about 30,000. Hendrix' performance included a legendary psychedelic rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. Famously, many music artists declined invitations to play or had other commitments, including the Beatles, Jeff Beck, the Byrds, Chicago, the Doors, Bob Dylan, Free, the Guess Who, Iron Butterfly, Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, the Moody Blues, Poco, Procol Harum, the Rolling Stones, Simon & Garfunkel, Spirit, Strawberry Alarm Clock and Frank Zappa. Attendance estimates ranged from 450,000 to 600,000, and it remains a phenomenon why ten times the expected number of people traveled to the concert. Perhaps it was a longing of youth who had experienced the so-called "Summer of Love" two years prior or because of frustration over the country's ongoing involvement in the Vietnam War. Although the Woodstock festival left its organizers close to financial ruin, they eventually profited from film and recording rights following the March 1970 release of the Academy Award-winning documentary film by the same name. As the owner of the Woodstock site, Max Yasgur spoke to the throng at one point. Recognizing the motto of the festival, which was "three days of peace, love and music," the farmer said "we can turn those adversities that are the problems of America today into a hope for a brighter and more peaceful future." In today's age of political division, global warming and violent conflict across many parts of the globe, perhaps we should remember Max' advice. Gary Gibula is an SIU alum, musician, writer, editor and author of the Music Historicity columns. He can be reached at gary@gratefulgary.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Scott Thorne thinks Carbondale and Southern Illinois University Carbondale are missing out on a great opportunity. The area businessman and marketing instructor at Southeast Missouri State University wonders why SIU and Carbondale do not recognize and celebrate connections with noted architect and futurist R. Buckminster Fuller. On his Carbondale Gazette blog last week, Thorne questioned the lack of commemoration of Fullers time in Carbondale. He called Fuller one of the great minds of the 20th century. Thorne wrote, It has always surprised me that Carbondale does not do more to play up the citys connection to him, and musing, Why not play up the connection they have to one of the few figures of international renown to call the city home? Fuller was a designer, architect, philosopher, inventor and futurist perhaps best-known for his development of the geodesic dome. In fact, Fuller and his wife Anne lived in a dome on Forest Avenue in Carbondale from 1960 to 1971 during his tenure as a professor of design science exploration at SIU. It is the only dome in which he ever lived. The home, which has been painstakingly restored by a not-for-profit organization, is one of several domes in community Thorne noted in his blog post, identifying two picnic-shelter-style domes on the SIU campus, a dome near the Gaia House Interfaith Center and one other geodesic dome residence in southwestern Carbondale. Still, Thorne thinks there should be more than a few structures to honor Fuller. If we are looking for some ways to make Carbondale stand out from other communities, emphasizing the fact that this is one of the few places where Fuller actually was a professor would be something, Thorne said. He suggested further recognition of Fuller. Id like to see a statue acknowledging him or renaming a building or naming a street after him; some sort of public acknowledgment of arguably one of the greatest thinkers of the last half of the 20th century who spent time and worked here, he said. Carbondale resident and Fuller fan Brent Ritzel agrees with Thorne. He was one of the organizers of a Fuller Future Festival about ten years ago. We just need to embrace Fullers legacy, Ritzel said. The bottom line is that the dome home has to be one of the top Bucky assets on planet Earth. We really have an incredibly unique asset here and we need to take advantage of it. Ritzel said he believes that the dome could potentially draw thousands of visitors to Carbondale annually. He added that he personally has hundreds of Fuller artifacts which he believes would make the beginnings of a future Fuller museum exhibition. Carbondale architect Thad Heckman, who co-authored Buckys Dome, a history of Fullers Forest Avenue home and its restoration, said he thinks winds of change are bringing Fuller more prominence in the community. I think in the last number of years, change is really coming into effect, he said. He explained grants from the City of Carbondale have assisted in the resurrection of the dome and he is designing a tribute to Fuller which will be included in Carbondales new Southern Illinois Multi-Modal Station. I think theres more of an awareness now in a positive way around campus of Bucky and they city is certainly very much aware and supportive of efforts to honor him, he said, adding that SIU now offers a honors class on R. Buckminster Fuller. I think more needs to happenawareness of Buckminster Fuller, promotion for the domethose kinds of things, he added. Carbondale City Manager Gary Williams has a photo of Fuller on his desk. He said Fullers history and reputation should be cultivated. We see the dome as a tourist attraction that has a year-round presence in Carbondale and I think there are more opportunities that the city and university can use to take advantage of Fullers affiliation. Williams said the city shares the same vision as the R. Buckminster Fuller Dome organization: to fulfill Fullers vision and preserve his legacy. We absolutely should acknowledge it more and celebrate the unique aspects, he said. Thorne is taking action to recognizing Fuller. Students from Brehm Preparatory School are painting a geodesic dome mural on the side of his Castle Perilous store in downtown Carbondale. But still, hed like to see more to connect R. Buckminster Fuller and Carbondale. We paint paw prints every year, so why not do something that calls attention to the communitys link to Fuller? he wondered. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A change to an Illinois law makes certain that youth entrepreneurs have the same access to assistance and resources as others in their desire to start their own business. State Sen. Dale Fowler, R-Harrisburg, introduced a bill to amend a previously enacted state code which directs the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic to establish Entrepreneurship Assistance Centers throughout the state. Fowlers amendment, which was co-sponsored by all of the Southern Illinois legislators, adds youth entrepreneurs to the target audience for the assistance centers. The events of the past two years have left their mark on our states economy, which is not very business-friendly right now. It can be especially tough for young people looking to start their own businesses, Fowler said. Helping youth entrepreneurs get started and succeed will boost local and state economies, generate jobs and provide revenues for communities. Senate Bill 2984 adds youth entrepreneurs to the groups that can be assisted at Entrepreneurship Assistance Centers though a program established in 2021 to be supported by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The other groups include minorities, women, individuals with a disability, dislocated workers and veterans. This new law defines youth entrepreneurs as persons between the ages of 16 to 29 who want to start a business in Illinois. Once the Entrepreneurship Assistance Centers are funded and established, they are to offer guidance to those wanting to start a business. Fowler said with the growth of student-entrepreneurship programs such as county-based CEO programs in high schools, giving these would-be business owners access to the same resources as others. With this, they will ll be able to have an opportunity to research and be a part of grant opportunities as well as get career education with the agencies and work with non-profit corporations and chambers. They will be included and have a seat at the table, Fowler explained Fowlers amendment passed by unanimous votes of the Senate on Feb. 16, and the House of Representatives on March 30. The bill was signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker in mid-May and becomes effective in 2023. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Take a look back at the mall from concept to construction to a grand opening gala held on Oct. 3, 1991, and beyond. Luxembourg's newest music festival will showcase 12 bands and even more DJ's from Luxembourg and more! Karol Koska and Kristian Horsburgh, the organisers of the Take Off Festival stopped by The Sam Steen Show on RTL Today Radio to talk about this weekend's event! The Take Off Festival promotes Luxembourg's small stage, placing local artists with various international acts around the genres of jazz-fusion and electronic. There's sure to be something for everyone, as 12 bands and even more DJ's are set to take the stage the 4 and 5 of June (this weekend). We want to promote the Luxembourg small stage and mix things up a little bit with a mix of jazz, electro and things like that, explained Karol Kuska who, in his day job, books the bands at Vantage in Beggen. "We wanted to bring all the guys who feature on that small stage, (at Vantage), and put them on a big stage, bringing them together with the bands we book from outside Luxembourg." The Take Off Festival starts this Saturday 4 June from 3 pm, you can grab your tickets here! Make sure to listen to the whole interview below and tune into The Sam Steen Show every weekday on RTL Today Radio from 6-10 am. Bird baths and feeders can return to Illinois yards Wednesday. The states Department of Natural Resources advised people to remove baths and feeders during the month of May to try to minimize the spread of a virulent strain of bird flu. Advertisement But that guidance has been lifted now that the spring migratory season of nonresident birds is complete and the risk of further disease outbreaks has been minimized, the IDNR said. The EA H5N1 strain of avian influenza is highly contagious and has also affected backyard and commercial poultry flocks, contributing to higher prices of meat and eggs. Bird flu has killed tens of millions of birds in the U.S., though the IDNR said it hasnt been detected in songbirds in Illinois. Advertisement A goldfinch feeds in Chicago's Norwood Park neighborhood on April 16, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) Bird flu was first detected this year in March among Canada geese. Since then it has contributed to the deaths of numerous bird species, including wild eagles, double-crested cormorants, snow geese, American white pelicans, red-tailed hawks, mallard ducks, redhead duck, lesser scaup, Canada geese, Rosss geese and turkey vultures in Champaign, Cook, Fulton, Lake, Madison, Peoria, Sangamon and Will counties, the agency said. IDNR recommends that people regularly clean their feeders and baths and that those who keep domestic chickens remain extra vigilant. More information is available on the USDA website. An image of Russian President Vladimir Putin has been shared thousands of times online alongside a claim he "has started to wear a bulletproof vest" after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Part of Putin's wrinkled suit jacket was circled in the posts as evidence for the claim. The photo has been shared in a false context: it has circulated in reports since mid-2017, almost five years before Russian troops invaded Ukraine. The photo was shared here on May 22, 2022. It shows Russian President Vladimir Putin bending over a body of water. In the post, the wrinkles on his suit jacket have been circled in red. The post's Thai-language caption translates to English as: "#StopWarInUkraine #StandWithUkraine. "Looks like Putin has started to wear a bulletproof vest." Screenshot of the misleading post captured on May 27, 2022 The post circulated online as Russian forces tightened their grip around key cities in the Donbas region, AFP reported. The image was also shared thousands of times alongside a similar claim linking it to the war on Twitter in Thai and English-language posts. However, the photo was shared in a false context: it predates the Russian invasion of Ukraine by almost five years. A reverse image search on Yandex, followed by a keyword search, found the photo published here on the Twitter account of a Russian media outlet Kommersant on August 4, 2017. : / pic.twitter.com/tnAhXwaqTH (@kommersant) August 4, 2017 The tweet's Russian-language caption translates into English as: "Vladimir Putin at the ceremony of releasing young omul fish into the Baikal lake Photo: Gleb Shchelkunov / Kommersant" Omul is a whitefish species of the salmon family endemic to Lake Baikal in Siberia. In the original image, Putin can be seen releasing multiple small fish into the lake. Below is a screenshot comparison of the image in the misleading posts (L) and on Kommersant (R): Screenshot comparison of the image in the misleading posts (L) and on Kommersant (R) The image was also shared in this article on Kommersant's website on August 4, 2017. The article states that while Putin was in Lake Baikal, he was asked if he was going to run for the presidential election in 2018. Putin, who has ruled Russia for more than two decades, was re-elected as president in March 2018 with a record vote share, AFP reported. The image was shared on August 5, 2017 in a Russian-language tweet here by Nasha Canada, a Toronto-based community newspaper alongside speculation that it shows Putin wearing something under his suit jacket. AFP has not been able to identify whether the original image shows the Russian leader wearing a bulletproof vest. AFP Fact Check has debunked other inaccurate claims about Russia's invasion of Ukraine here. After years of referring to their canines as their children, new dog owners in Luxembourg will finally be entitled to six months of full-time parental leave. The move is being lauded considering the effort it takes to train a dog, forge a bond, and teach it to do tricks like walking on its hind legs so that strangers on the street say, Oh, isnt that just adorable? Being the parent of a dog requires time, said Nanette Hausdeier, Minister of the newly formed Ministry of Darling Animal Companions. At minimum, you need to spend two to three hours every day talking to your dog in a goofy voice and saying, Whos a good boy? Whos a good boy? Thats right, youre a good boy, she added in a goofy voice, addressing a Chihuahua named Carlito that she takes to work and keeps inside her gray blazer. Laurell Shepherd, the mother of a French bulldog named Sissy and a Beagle named Xeno, says the announcement comes just in time because she is planning on adopting a baby Yorkshire terrier next month. People who dont have dogs cant appreciate the responsibility, especially in the beginning, she said. You need to consult astrological charts to find the right name. Youve got to ask your friend Monique, whos wonderful at knitting probably because she doesnt have much of a social life which is totally fine considering all the problems shes had with her hips, to make a cute little sweater for your canine that says My Mummy Loves Me. Youve got to hire a professional photographer to take dozens of photos of you and your new baby with your noses touching. And dont forget about the time you need to introduce your baby to everyone in the neighborhood, she continued. Your hairdresser, the woman at the service station whos friendly when shes not trying to quit smoking, and the distinguished young gentleman who lives up the street and is himself the father of a beautiful greyhound girl. When asked if new cat owners will also be able to take parental leave, Minister Hausdeier says absolutely not. Cats dont like people, not even the ones who give them food and clean their litter boxes day after day, she said. Kittens are pretty much independent from day one, and by day three they would actually prefer it if you just disappeared. However, she does say that people who get hamsters, fish, and lizards will be entitled to three hours of parental leave. You need to buy cages and tanks as well as food, she said. Also, it takes at least 30 minutes of staring at these types of pets to accept the fact that they will never be aware that you exist. You can find the Luxembourg Wurst's entire catalogue at wurst.lu Victims forced to work in slave-like conditions at a Brazilian property owned by Volkswagen during the country's dictatorship recount "grave and systematic" abuses, including rapes, beatings and being tied to trees, a prosecutor said Tuesday. The German carmaker is facing legal action in Brazil over allegations of rampant human-rights violations at a large farm it ran in the Amazon rainforest basin in the 1970s and '80s under the country's then military regime, media in Germany reported Sunday. The lead prosecutor on the case, Rafael Garcia, told AFP that investigators had collected depositions from victims who were lured to the farm with false promises of lucrative jobs, then forced to cut down the jungle under grueling conditions against their will to make way for Volkswagen's cattle ranch, which became the biggest in the northern state of Para. "Workers who tried to escape were beaten, tied to trees and left there for days," he said. "Those who tried to slip into the forest never came back -- there were simply stories that they had been killed. Workers were systematically, physically abused." Garcia said a task force of investigators had spent three years assembling evidence in the case, after a local Catholic priest came forward with horrifying accounts of abuse at the property he had compiled over the years. The task force's report contains a chilling series of allegations from former workers at the farm in southern Para, known as Fazenda Vale do Rio Cristalino, where armed guards reportedly kept violent watch over a workforce that prosecutors estimate numbered in the hundreds. "One worker tried to escape, but the gunmen caught him. As punishment, they kidnapped his wife and raped her," it says, citing three witness' testimony. "Another worker tried to flee and was shot in the leg. Yet another was left bound and naked." The workers were kept in "debt-slavery" by being forced to buy food and supplies from the farm store at exorbitant prices, and some died of malaria with no access to medical care, Garcia said. Prosecutors have summoned Volkswagen for an initial audience on June 14, where they will attempt to reach a settlement, he said. If that fails, the company could face charges. In 2020, Volkswagen agreed to pay 36 million reais ($6.4 million at the time) in compensation for collaborating with Brazil's secret police during the dictatorship (1964-1985) to identify suspected leftist opponents and union leaders, who were then detained and tortured. Whether in Luxembourg, France, Germany or Belgium, payroll taxes are high for single people, according to the OECD. According to the OECD's latest ranking of tax regulations, single people in Belgium pay the highest tax rate compared to other OECD countries. The other countries in the Greater Region, which include Luxembourg and its neighbours, also have tax rates well above the average for singletons. This classification indicates the tax burden (taxes and social contributions) of taxpayers according to the composition of their household. Here is the result in 2021 for single earners without children: Belgium: Taxpayers paid 52.6% of their income to the state, ranked first among OECD countries Germany: 48.1% in second place France: 47% in fourth place, behind Austria; Luxembourg: 40.2%,in 13th place. For reference, the average tax burden is 34.6% in OECD countries. No change due to health crisis In Luxembourg, this tax burden increased by 0.7% in 2021 compared to 2020, when the Grand Duchy occupied 15th place in the ranking. After a drop in 2020, labour taxation rose in two-thirds of OECD countries in 2021. The pandemic weighed heavily upon these costs, with the bill for the second year of the crisis largely subsidised by taxpayers. The Grand Duchy saw the "tax wedge" for the average single employee increase the most of all OECD countries from 2019 to 2021. This indicator calculates the difference between labour costs for the employer and the corresponding share of the employee's net pay after tax. In 2021, Luxembourg's tax wedge, which was therefore 40.2%, was broken down as follows: Income taxes (17.23% of labour costs for the average earner) Employee contributions (10.82%) Employer contributions (12.16%) OCDE Families benefit the most It's no secret that some types of households benefit the most from Luxembourg's taxation rules. The OECD figures speak for themselves: For families with two children, where both partners work, the tax burden is 34% (31.2% on average for OECD countries). For families with two children, where only one partner works, the tax burden drops to 19.7% (24.6% on average for OECD countries). It should be noted that Luxembourg ranks below its neighbours in this regard: OCDE The subject of tax inequality is an issue for the Bettel government, which promised to introduce a new, fairer tax scale for single earners, but the Covid-19 pandemic delayed this. In his State of the Nation speech, Bettel insisted the coalition government remained convinced that a major tax reform is necessary. However, this reform is not expected to take place before 2023. The maternity ward at the Centre Hospitalier du Nord has reopened as of 6am this Wednesday morning. This follows a two month closure due to staff shortages. A number of new measures have been introduced in the meantime. There is now a trained rapid response team on site, and a transfer to the CHL's NICU is possible following a collaboration agreement with the Luxembourg City hospital. The hospital management expressed their relief that the situation is now resolved in a statement released on Tuesday. Non-pneumatic-tyres eliminate punctures, while smart tyres have monitoring sensors. Both are being developed in Colmar-Berg. Airless tyres are already available on the market, and R&D has partly taken place in Luxembourg, at a well-known tyre manufacturer located in Colmar-Berg. Punctures will be a thing of the past. The new tyres are considered "maintenance free" and can do up to 3 times as much mileage before needing replacement. Like current LGV tyres, they can also be re-treaded, even further increasing their lifespan. Additionally, they are largely recyclable thanks to their build, a vast improvement over existing tyres which often end up being burned. A complex structure keeps the rubber tyre in shape while distributing the weight of the vehicle throughout the tyre, at the same time providing the necessary grip on uneven surfaces. The feel for the driver should be no different to traditional tyres. However, while there has been considerable progress, we are not quite there yet. The tyre presented in Colmar-Berg is merely a prototype. A market-ready model is expected in around 10 years. For now, the NPT has already found limited use, for instance at local delivery startup Starship, which uses small autonomous robots. Pitt Wagner The photos published on this site are subject to copyright and may not be copied, modified, or sold without the prior permission of the owner of the site in question. In parallel, the traditional air-holding tyre is inevitablty becoming smarter, with sensors monitoring their pressure and tread to keep the driver updated on their life cycle, or so they can adapt their driving style if necessary. This will become more imprtant with self-driving cars. Other monitored data includes tyre temperature or road surface, whether the car has winter or summer tyres and the surface contact. All this can lead to safer driving, but can also help transport and logistics companies maintain their fleet. Tragedies like the floods and landslides that killed more than 100 people in northeastern Brazil will likely keep happening as climate change advances unless authorities act to protect poor communities in high-risk areas, an expert said. Torrential rains over the weekend wrought havoc on the city of Recife and surrounding areas, the latest in a series of deadly storms to hit Brazil in recent months. Jose Marengo, research coordinator at the National Monitoring and Alert Center for Natural Disasters (CEMADEN), told AFP climate change will continue fueling ever heavier rains -- and that "if cities aren't prepared, we'll be mourning more and more deaths." - Is latest disaster related to climate change? - "Climate change is a long-term process that is advancing slowly. No one isolated, extreme event can be attributed to it. Rain and disaster are different things. "In Recife, very intense rains fell on areas near rivers and hills. Any intense rain in places like that will cause similar tragedies in these circumstances, with rivers sweeping away houses and avalanches of mud taking out everything in their path. "Climate change could be responsible for the rise in extreme, violent rain that is being detected not only in Brazil but around the world. But it can't be blamed for the fact that governments allow people to build in high-risk areas, or that the poor have nowhere to go and have to live in vulnerable areas. Those are urban planning problems." - What do Brazil's recent storms have in common? - "In Bahia state (northeast), where 33 people were killed in December, there is a phenomenon called the South Atlantic Convergence Zone that produces rain in the (southern hemisphere) summer. It's always present in southeastern Brazil, but in December it reached Bahia and caused deadly floods. A woman greets firefighters working to rescue and recover victims of a landslide in the Barro neighbourhood of Recife, Brazil, where the strom death toll in the country's northeast has risen past 100 / AFP "In Petropolis (southeast, where 233 people were killed in February), there was an intense meteorological phenomenon, unusual but not impossible, more similar to what happened now in Recife. In both cases, the rain had been correctly forecast, but the problem was vulnerable populations living in high-risk areas. "If you look at videos of landslides and flash floods from both Petropolis and Recife, it's impossible to tell which is which, because they were very similar disasters." - How can Brazil, other governments prepare better? - "Rain is only part of the problem. In Brazil, we're good at forecasting rain. The problem is the weak link in the chain: the vulnerability of the population. "It's a common mistake to say, 'The rain killed X number of people.' Rain doesn't kill people, except when it combines with the problem of people living in high-risk areas. "Governments need to prevent people from building on areas such as hillsides and evacuate people from existing houses to safer areas -- every year, not just when there are disasters. "And cities need to be better-organized, because we can see looking at the climate that phenomena like these rains are getting more intense and violent. "If people and cities aren't prepared, we'll be mourning more and more deaths. The rainy season is just starting in the northeast, and we may see a lot more such phenomena this year." The first cold winds announce the arrival of winter in Uruguay's jet setters' playground, Punta del Este. It's time for "2TK" to set flight from the plush seaside resort and return to Canada, a feat of endurance that fascinates scientists and delights local birdwatchers. Identifiable by a plastic band on one ankle bearing the name 2TK and a metal one with nine digits on the other, this ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres) has spent the southern hemisphere summer on the rocks off Uruguay's Atlantic coast feeding off mussels, alongside oystercatchers and other birds. When the food became scarce in Canada's artic tundra as winter swept in, the turnstone migrated 15,000 kilometers (9,300 miles) to South America. By April, 2TK had become "fatter" and ditched his grey plumage for one tinged with brown and orange ahead of his return to his native lands to reproduce, said Alvaro Perez Tort, 48, an amateur photographer and member of the Punta del Este birdwatching society that has been documenting the bird's trips to Uruguay since 2016. "2TK stole my heart," Perez told AFP. Alvaro Perez Tort, a member of Punta del Este's birdwatching society, has been documenting 2TK's visits to Uruguay since 2016 / AFP Every year he waits for the male turnstone's return to document him "as much as possible" to share on reportband.gov -- the continental database for observing banded birds run by the United States Geological Survey. "What's interesting is that a banded bird has a history: there's a city, a country or faraway place, a journey and people," said Perez. By photographing the bird "we feel like we're a part" of that history, he added, noting he has seen 2TK eight times at Uruguay's southernmost tip. - Bird 'jigsaw puzzle' - 2TK measures just over 20 centimetres but has already travelled around 350,000 kilometres, experts estimate, a distance equivalent to nine times around the planet / BIRDWATCHING PUNTA DEL ESTE/AFP 2TK is around 14 years old, according to the Bird Banding Laboratory, which organises the banding of one million birds annually in North America for conservation purposes. He was banded in 2012 in Delaware Bay on the US Atlantic coast, an important stopover for many migratory species. For laboratory chief Antonio Celis-Murillo, information provided by amateur birdwatchers is vital to "build the jigsaw puzzle" of each bird's movements. "Our work is successful thanks to the general public -- every person who reports a banded bird," he told AFP. "The reported information is so simple but valuable, because scientifically it tells us a lot. "Especially those reports from South America that we lack," he added. A turnstone and an oystercatcher looking for food on the rocks of Punta del Este, Uruguay / AFP These details allow scientists to plot the behavior of every species: their migration routes, where they stop, how long they stay there, how they live. It all helps to refine conservation projects. According to a 2019 study published in Science magazine, some three billion wild birds have disappeared from North America since 1970. - 'Lots of food' - Loss of habitat affecting all biodiversity "clearly shows its impact on migratory birds," who face ever-greater difficulties in their extraordinary journeys, said Adrian Azpiroz, a biologist and ornithologist who promotes ecotourism initiatives. And while turnstones are not threatened like other waders, their population is nonetheless shrinking. Biologist and bird expert Adrian Azpiroz says Uruguay's coastal lagunas attract migratory birds / AFP Of the estimated 300,000 on the continent, only several hundred or thousand winter on the Uruguayan coast. Others prefer southern Brazil or Argentina. Scientists believe these long-distance migratory birds have favorite winter retreats and are remarkably loyal, returning year after year -- just like 2TK. Uruguay's many coastal lagunas are "very productive from a nourishment point of view" for waders, said Azpiroz. That is why 2TK is likely to have traveled some 350,000 kilometers in his life -- the equivalent of nine times around the planet. That's a truly staggering accomplishment for a bird measuring little more than 20 centimeters (eight inches). Experts are still studying the sophisticated physiological and neurological mechanisms that allow him to recognize a location with such precision following a weeks-long air journey of thousands of kilometers. Many Uruguayan birdwatchers like to think the same thing that attracts them to return time and again to Punta del Este is what also caught 2TK's attention. The European Union agreed Monday to halt most imports of Russian oil by the end of the year. Its a move intended to further undermine Russias economy in response to the attacks on Ukraine, but it is also expected to have global repercussions, particularly for the oil market. Oil prices spiked to a two-month high in the hours after the announcement. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) nearly hit $120 per barrel a price it briefly surpassed in early March for the first time in a decade before sinking back toward last weeks prices. WTI closed on Friday at $115.07 per barrel, according to Insider. World oil consumption totals about 100 million barrels per day. Pledges to stop using Russian oil have left the rest of the world between 2 and 3 million barrels per day short, according to Trey Cowan, an oil and gas analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. The ban definitely bids up all the other barrels, excluding Russia, in price, because theres that shortage, Cowan said. Gasoline typically follows oil, meaning that with sustained high oil prices, the price at the pump is likely to keep rising, too. Regular gasoline averaged nearly $4.35 per gallon across Wyoming on Tuesday yet another record, according to AAA. A month ago, gasoline cost 20 cents less; a year ago, it averaged $3.05 per gallon. U.S. gasoline stockpiles have also plummeted in recent months as prices went up, according to the Energy Information Administration. Its been just under a month since EU leaders proposed a total ban on Russian oil imports. Countries most reliant on those imports, including Hungary, negotiated an exemption for oil transported by pipeline, though Germany and Poland, two of Russias biggest oil customers, also said they would stop using pipeline oil. The official agreement is expected to reduce EU consumption of Russian oil by 90%. Oil markets had already reacted, to some extent, to the possibility of a ban on Russian imports, Cowan said. That lessens how much higher oil (and gasoline) prices will climb. But formally barring imports wont help prices come down. In the near term, (the ban) probably just tightens the oil market, puts more upward pressure on prices, said Rob Godby, an economics professor at the University of Wyoming. In the longer term, its a little less clear. U.S. crude oil production is forecast to rise by about 1.5 million barrels per day from 2021 to 2023, making up some of the shortage. But the international players shaping oil markets including Russia, the EU and oil cartel OPEC leave the U.S. with limited say over how, or when, prices change. President Joe Biden cant force cautious, pandemic-rattled oil producers to scale up before theyre willing. And while prices have climbed high enough that many companies are now ready to boost output, they, particularly small operators, face supply chain problems and labor shortages that are raising project costs and causing monthslong delays. According to Godby, its too early to tell how significantly the EUs ban will increase demand for non-Russian oil. Its possible that with the pipeline exemption, some European countries could end up relying even more than they do now on pipeline imports from Russia, blunting the uptick in demand. Meanwhile, its still unclear what the supply response will be, Godby said. Cratering demand during COVID-19 lockdowns means surviving companies are producing less oil and are less willing to bet on new production, even when prices are favorable. And concern about climate change has left investors hesitant to spend money on fossil fuel infrastructure that could become stranded. But if high oil prices are sustained for long enough, new investments in the supply chain will eventually end the bottleneck, boosting oil supply and helping to bring down prices, Cowan said. Before the pandemic, he added, that investment wouldve already happened. Oils volatility could also have the opposite effect on energy markets. Gasoline-powered vehicles compete with increasingly practical electric vehicles, and if oil prices take a long time to come down (or get even higher), that would then force you to look at what is the best long-term solution, Cowan said. He doesnt think its fossil fuels. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Casper man shot by police Monday had stalked his wife and pointed a gun at her in the days prior to his encounter with officers, newly filed court documents allege. Gage Thomas Cordova, 24, is accused of using a gun to threaten his wife, who is in the process of divorcing him, after allegedly showing up at her house on Saturday. Cordova is further accused of leaving her threatening voicemails and using a Ring doorbell surveillance system at the womans home to listen in on her and police. The allegations are included in an arrest affidavit for Cordova that was filed Tuesday in Natrona County Circuit Court. A police officer shot Cordova on Monday while attempting to serve him with an arrest warrant in the case. Cordova suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said. He was treated at a hospital and taken to jail hours after the shooting. The shooting itself is only briefly mentioned in the arrest affidavit. The document indicates police were in the process of searching an apartment on Caspers east side when they found him in a bedroom closet. Police have said Cordova was armed, though they declined to disclose the type of weapon. The arrest affidavit indicates he had a gun on him at the time he was taken into custody. After the shooting, Cordova barricaded himself into the apartment, police said. He told them he had a mental illness and that voices were telling him to shoot himself, the affidavit states. He also said he couldnt afford necessary medication. After a negotiation, Cordova was taken into custody without further incident. The criminal case against Cordova is separate from the investigation into the shooting. The former was conducted by Casper police. The latter will be handled by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. The charges against Cordova aggravated assault, stalking and criminal trespass, all stem from the days and hours leading up the shooting. His wife told police he banged on her door on Friday night, but left when she ignored him, the affidavit states. The following night, he demanded to be let in, and when she did not comply, she said he pulled a handgun from his waist and told her, You just made the biggest mistake of your life, according to the affidavit. He left when one of her friends arrived. The court document goes on to describe a series of threatening phone calls, some of which indicated he knew she had gone to the police. Youre gonna need a SWAT team to leave the front door, one allegedly began. Another said, in part, Hello, Mr. Officer. I hope you realize that if you f****** find me, I will fight for my life. Police believe Cordova was keeping up on the situation by accessing a virtual doorbell that allowed him to hear what was going on inside. On Monday, police continued to search for Mendoza. That eventually led them to the east side apartment building where he was found. Cordova remained held Tuesday at Natrona County Detention Center. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 1 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. At least nine people were killed and about 50 others wounded during the Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the Chicagos summer events and violence. Police Superintendent David Brown on Tuesday praised his officers for their work during the weekend where their off days were canceled, as scores of police hit street beats in congested areas to quell violence during the citys first summer holiday since the lifting of pandemic restrictions. Advertisement During the weekend, police seized 250 illegal firearms, including 11 from beachgoers at North Avenue Beach on Monday. Officers detain a person at North Avenue Beach as a group of young people gather after seeing an internet meet-up flyer titled "North Ave Beach Takeover" on May 30, 2022, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune) Chicago police reported nine homicides and 47 shooting victims through midnight Tuesday. Three more people were shot overnight in two separate incidents, bringing the total to 50, according to a review by the Tribune. Advertisement The Tribune counts holiday weekend shooting numbers from 3 p.m. Friday through 6 a.m. the day after a Monday holiday. The weekend numbers exceed last years totals, which saw only three homicides and 34 shootings in a year still under social restrictions. This years homicide totals fall behind 2020, which saw 10 homicides and 2015, which saw 12 people killed. This year, Brown said homicides were down by 8%, while shootings were down about 15%. During one of the weekends more violent incidents, four men were shot, one fatally just before 10 p.m. Sunday during a family dispute that led to a shooting in the 4400 block of West Walton Street in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood, according to Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan. One victim, believed to be in his 60s, was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities havent yet released his identity, but said criminal charges against the gunman were pending. The other three victims, all between 25 and 45, survived their injuries. Members of the Chicago Police department's SWAT work the scene where a person barricaded themselves inside a residential building on the 4400 block of West Walton Street during the Memorial Day holiday weekend May 29, 2022, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune) The superintendent characterized most of the weekends violence as personal disputes resolved with guns. If you dont have a gun there, its just an argument that happens, Brown said. " With a gun in the mix, it leads to someone shooting and sometimes killing the other person theyre having an argument with. City officials at the news conference said the end of the pandemic meant the return of dozens of summertime festivals and events to the city. While the Memorial Day weekend is generally considered the start of summer-related violence, police and city officials have already had to create crowd strategies as temperatures have warmed up and brought large teenage gatherings downtown and North Side beaches. Several incidents, including the May 14 shooting death of 16-year-old Seandell Holliday near The Bean led to a City Council approved push by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to implement an earlier curfew on youth under 18. Police have also recently increased manpower and police resources at area beaches, using undercover officers, surveillance and checks for weapons and alcohol as crowds return to pre-pandemic levels. Advertisement Several people fight as a group of young people gather after seeing an internet meet-up flyer titled "North Ave Beach Takeover" on May 30, 2022, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune) On Monday, police made 13 arrests as thousands of people descended on North Avenue Beach and recovered 11 guns in what police called a mostly orderly day. Brown and Chief of Patrol Brian McDermott did describe an incident where officers made mass arrests after a group of teens began throwing glass bottles and a pineapple at officers. No injuries were reported, but the pineapple exploded when it hit an officers chest, police said. For the most part, there was no large fights that were breaking out. The crowds, besides the one incident where they were throwing objects at the police, were for the most part peaceful, McDermott told reporters. The superintendent touted recent strategic moves that include putting additional focus in struggling South and West side communities that has led to decreased homicides and shootings, as well as more recent resources placed on the Chicago Transit Authority to address an uptick in violent crime. Brown did try to temper expectations, pointing out that police respond to emergencies and not address basic social ills that aid crime. He spoke of the citys whole-of-government approach, which brings city and social services to communities, in addition to a heightened police presence. How do we resolve the root cause of violence and if that falls to police, youre putting too high of a burden for police to resolve poverty and mental health challenges and drug addiction. What the police can do is take guns off the street. Advertisement wlee@chicagotribune.com Twitter @Midnoircowboy All St. Stephens Indian School staff will need to reapply for their positions if they want to stay at the school following a federal investigation that found widespread wrongdoing among top administrators and board members, St. Stephens Executive Financial Administrator Jordan Shakespeare confirmed on Tuesday. Shakespeare is temporarily filling in for the new Bureau of Indian Education-appointed interim superintendent, Dr. Walter Coulter, while he is out of town. The previous interim superintendent, Blakke Bertram, left the position last week to take a new job, according to Shakespeare. The Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone business councils requested the Bureau of Indian Education open an investigation following various allegations against former superintendent Frank No Runner, including that he had engaged in sexual harassment, bullying, consumption of alcohol on school property, and creating a toxic environment, the resulting investigation report states. The bureau conducted the investigation in March and April and found that No Runner and other staff had engaged in behaviors including the use of drugs and alcohol on school property and at school functions, sexual misconduct and harassment, bullying and nepotism, according to a statement. It also found that school board members had misused school funds. The Wind River Inter-Tribal Council voted to fire administrators and school board members following these findings. Representatives of the Bureau of Indian Education informed staff members last week that they will have to reapply for their positions, according to Shakespeare. Friday was their last day of work. Former staff members will have to reapply for their jobs through the federal site usajobs.gov. Shakespeare said these will be open applications, meaning staff will have to compete with other applicants around the country for positions at the school. Its not clear if former staff members will have to go through a comprehensive application with interviews or if their application process will be simpler compared to other candidates. St. Stephens wont offer summer school because there wont be any staff, Shakespeare said. There were 93 staff members at the school. But Shakespeare said the Bureau of Indian Education may change the number of people that are hired back. Its not clear if that number will be greater or smaller than the former 93 positions. Bureau of Indian Education Communication Specialist Klarissa Jensen did not return the Star-Tribunes calls with this question and others by deadline. The Bureau of Indian Education is set to take over control of the school. Shakespeare said she doesnt know when the full Bureau of Indian Education takeover of the school will occur. For now, the Wind River Inter-Tribal Council is still in control of the school, Shakespeare said. Chairman of the Northern Arapaho Business Council Jordan Dresser did not respond to the Star-Tribune by deadline for comment. Love 3 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 2 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. The United States embassy in Port of Spain last Thursday acknowledged that it is supporting Quanten LLC, the American company that has been selected as the preferred bidder to acquire or lease the oil refinery at Pointe-a-Pierre. The embassy was asked to respond to comments made by Energy Minister, Stuart Young, in a Facebook post last week Sunday. Contractors in Tobago, who are owed millions of dollars from the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), had a meeting with Chief Secretary Farley Augustine and Division of Infrastructure Secretary Trevor James, on Monday. The meeting was held at the Division of Finance headquarters in Scarborough. This was confirmed by one contractor who spoke to the Express following the meeting. While remote work during the pandemic had its own challenges, now that many people are back in the office in some capacity, they are finding it more stressful and anxiety-triggering than they anticipated. According to a study by McKinsey, one in three employees say that returning to work has had a negative impact on their mental health, making them anxious and depressed. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. THE State has just one more witness to call against Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Deputy Ch School fights are not new. For as far back as anyone can remember, the schoolyard has been a place where teenagers, in particular, settle scores. What is new is the magnifying of school violence through camera phones and video posts on social media, which add an entirely different and more dangerous dynamic to the traditional school fights. It was 1964, when the G.O.A.T. (the greatest of all time), Muhammad Ali, remonstrated with H The feud between Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Tammy Wendt and the Board of Ethics has escalated to the courts after Wendt continued to defy a rule against nepotism by refusing to fire her cousin. Advertisement The countys ethics board filed the lawsuit Tuesday naming Wendt and her first cousin and top staffer Todd Thielmann as defendants. The complaint calls for a judge to uphold the countys ethics code, which forbids Wendt from employing Thielmann, and for Wendt to fire him and to pay the $2,000 fine the board imposed when it originally found she violated the nepotism ban. The lawsuit also demands Thielmann reimburse the county for all the compensation he earned working under Wendt, who most recently gave him a $150,000 salary, according to the public records. Advertisement Commissioner Wendt has flagrantly violated the Cook County ethics ordinance by hiring her first cousin into a senior position in her office, and she has steadfastly refused to comply with the order requiring her to correct that violation, Thomas Szromba, chair of the Board of Ethics, wrote in a statement. Orders from the Board of Ethics cannot simply be ignored. Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Tammy Wendt is being sued by the Cook County Ethics Board over her refusal to fire her cousin as her lead staff member. Wendt -- also an attorney who represented former Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke -- is shown during his trial in 2018. (Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune) Neither Wendt nor Thielmann responded to requests for comment for this story, but Wendt has previously said the outcry over her cousins hiring is an attempt to silence me because she did not hire who was sent to me. Thielmann has told the Tribune he will continue to manage Commissioner Wendts staff and do my job until she fires me. Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. In her April appeal of the ethics boards findings, Wendt attempted to make the case that the countywide ethics ordinance does not apply to her because the Board of Review has a separate policy. The ethics board said Wendts argument was meritless because the countys ethics ordinance applies to all its government employees and supersedes any rules by individual agencies such as the Board of Review. At the time of Thielmanns hiring, the countywide code banned the hiring of first cousins among other relatives, while the Board of Reviews rules did not include first cousins. The other two Board of Review commissioners have since amended their policy following a public flap over Thielmanns employment. Wendt, a Democrat from Palos Heights who ousted a Republican incumbent in 2020, is running for reelection to the property tax appeals board and faces Chicago Ald. George Cardenas, 12th, in the June 28 Democratic primary. Thielmann was hired in December 2020, immediately after his cousin took office, public records show. Wendt was also one of the defense attorneys for Jason Van Dyke, the former Chicago police officer convicted of murder in the shooting of Laquan McDonald. In his March ruling, Szromba wrote that Wendt both violated a county ban on hiring relatives and failed to uphold her fiduciary duty to the county because she was still employing her cousin despite being given several notices about the nepotism ban. Advertisement In addition to the ethics board, the Cook County Office of the Independent Inspector General also investigated Thielmanns hiring. The county watchdog found that Wendt violated the ethics ordinance and should remove her cousin from his post, according to a January report. The inspector generals office did not publicly name Wendt, but the ethics board ruling confirmed she was the subject of the watchdogs inquiry. Wendts primary opponent quickly weighed in Wednesday morning with a statement saying she acted shamelessly. I trust the people of Cook County will not reelect Tammy Wendt on June 28th due to her incompetence and flagrant disregard of ethics, Cardenas wrote. ayin@chicagotribune.com Scholz Announced that Greece Would Supply Its Soviet-Era Military Hardware to Ukraine: the Only Thing Is that Greece Has No Soviet Tanks Scholz Announced that Greece Would Supply Its Soviet-Era Military Hardware to Ukraine: the Only Thing Is that Greece Has No Soviet Tanks Oleksii Arestovych and Mykhailo Samus, the military experts, shared their comments regarding the recent statement by the Chancellor of Germany regarding a new deal, where Greece would supply its Soviet-era military hardware to Ukraine in exchange for more modern German systems. During his briefing in Brussels, Olaf Scholz, the Chancellor of Germany, announced a new deal with Greece, where the latter would supply its Soviet-era tanks to Ukraine in exchange for more modern armor provided by Berlin. In response Scholzs announcement, Oleksii Arestovych, the Adviser to the Head of Ukraines Presidential Office, noted that Greece has never owned Soviet-era tanks. Arestovych shared his comments during a conversation with Mark Feigin, the Russian journalist and human rights advocate. The problem is that Greece does not have any Soviet-era tanks in its arsenal. They have some AMPVs. I guess Cyprus should have some (Soviet-era tanks ed.), but its a very difficult story. The President (of Poland ed.) Mr. Duda says: we have supplied at least 200 tanks to Ukraine, and the German government promised to replace them with Leopards. Although, they havent delivered any Leopards yet, Arestovych said. Still, the Ukraines Presidential Office representative acknowledged significant support provided to Ukraine by Germany, while the heavy weapon supplies being a quite different story. Meanwhile, Mykhailo Samus, the military expert, also confirmed that Greece did not have any T-80 tanks, mentioned by Scholz, in its arsenal. This story with German weapon for Ukraine is kind of cursed. Actually, the Cyprus National Guard has T-80U tanks, BMP-3 AMPVs, Mi-35 helicopters, Tor-M1 and Buk-1M ADMSs in its arsenal. Although, Mr. Scholz is the only person, who can really explain what kind of deal the Germany has reached and with whom. I really hope that its not about supply of 80 tons of walnuts or something, because we need those tanks, Mr Scholz, Samus posted on Facebook. Read also: United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona: United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona selected and honored its 18th Annual Circle of Excellence Awards winners. The annual celebration of workplace philanthropy honors all of the hard-working campaign teams, generous companies, and talented individuals behind them who give of their time, talent and treasure to build a thriving community. This years Circle of Excellence Award winners included: Best of the Best ECL of the Year: TMC Team Rookie of the Year: Nick Hilton, University of Arizona LIVE UNITED Award: Child & Family Resources Building a Better Community Award: TMC HealthCare Cornerstone Award: R.E. Darling Co., Inc. Time, Talent, Treasure Award: Lillian Brantley-Thompson Champions of Caring Award: Caterpillar Inc. Partnership Award: Teamster Local 104 All American Award: Allison Duffy, Silverado Technologies Best Small Company: Rick Engineering Best Medium Company: QuikTrip Best Large Company: Freeport-McMoRan The Michael J. Harris Spirit of Tucson Award, given to the company that demonstrates excellence in corporate involvement and community leadership, went to Geico. Arizona Center for Civic Leadership: The Arizona Center for Civic Leadership at the Flinn Foundation has selected the 2022 Flinn-Brown Fellows. Members of the 14th cohort of Flinn-Brown Fellows, bringing together diverse political perspectives, experience and policy interests, currently serve in the private and public sectors, including business and industry, government agencies and nonprofit organizations. Becoming a Flinn-Brown Fellow brings membership in the distinguished Flinn-Brown Network and participation in the Flinn-Brown Academy, a 12-session policy institute that offers unparalleled rigorous learning about Arizona policy and politics and connections with top state leaders and policy experts. The Academy begins in August and concludes with the annual Flinn-Brown Convention in November, a daylong professional development gathering for the entire Flinn-Brown Network. The 2022 Flinn-Brown Fellows in Tucson, Pima County: Amy Cislak: Principal, Tanque Verde High School Julie Euber: CEO, SARSEF (Southern Arizona Research, Science and Engineering Foundation) Charlinda Haudley: Deputy Scheduler, Office of U.S. Senator Mark Kelly Douglas Hockstad: Assistant Vice President, Tech Launch Arizona Edgar Soto: Vice President, Pima Community College Kevin Volk: Investor and Housing Builder, Volk Company Submit items to business@tucson.com; please use Biz Awards in the email subject 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 Senate Republicans quashed a bid Tuesday to force a vote on legislation to forbid people from buying firearms unless they first have a background check. The party-line vote came on a bid by Sen. Martin Quezada, D-Glendale, to get a roll-call vote on his SB 1546. It was assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee but Sen. Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, who chairs that panel, never agreed to even give it a hearing. So Quezada used a procedural motion to waive the requirement for a committee hearing and demand the measure be brought immediately to the full Senate for a vote. Only thing is, first it had to survive a vote to waive the rules. And none of the Republicans who control the Senate agreed to support that move, shutting down any chance of debate. Federal law requires licensed firearms dealers to run a background check on would-be buyers before completing a purchase. But none of that covers person-to-person sales. More to the point, that exception applies to sales made at gun shows, where individuals can bring their collection of guns to sell to those in attendance. Quezada called that an unacceptable loophole given the number of mass shootings. A series of surveys have shown strong support for universal background checks. Most recently that included a poll from Morning Consult and Politico, conducted one day after the killing of 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, which found 81% said they want to make private gun sales and sales at gun shows subject to background checks. Petersen, in explaining his opposition to bringing the bill to the floor, said the restriction would stop law-abiding citizens from protecting themselves. Criminals do not follow laws, he said. It takes a good guy with a gun to stop a bad guy with a gun. Sen. Rebecca Rios, D-Phoenix, called that utter nonsense. There was an entire parking lot of police officers that didnt even approach the building because of the type of firearm this guy had, Rios said. She said there were dozens of good guys with guns standing outside the Texas school and that didnt stop the killing. Bring something that will work, said Sen. Vince Leach, R-Tucson, in opposition to what Quezada wanted. He cited the number of shootings in Chicago which have some of the strictest gun laws in the country. But Quezada said Republicans appear ready to blame anything and everything other than access to guns, calling them regurgitated gun lobby talking points. I was especially troubled by one specific diversion tactic that we saw members cling to for dear life last week, he said. That was this latest mass shooting, and mass shootings in general, are happening because God has been taken out of our schools or because we dont pray enough in schools, and because our nation has drifted too far from its Christian founding. That refers to comments by Senate Majority Leader Rick Gray, R-Sun City, who said mass shootings occur because children cant pray in school. Rios said foes of additional gun regulations always seem to have a litany of reasons why there are mass shootings, like video games and mental illness. Fact of the matter is, every other country in the world suffers with people that have mental illness, Rios said. Every other country in the world has video games. Every other country in the world has religion or lack thereof, she continued. Those are all red herrings. But Sen. Sonny Borrelli, R-Lake Havasu City, said what is lost in all this is that the Texas shooter purchased his firearms from licensed gun dealers. He called the argument that requiring universal background checks a myth and a smokescreen. While GOP lawmakers have refused to consider new gun restrictions, they have voted for measures to protect gun rights, like allowing people to drive onto school campuses without having to first unload a firearm. 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. PHOENIX One of the leading proponents of the claim of fraud in Arizona elections wants vigilantes to monitor ballot drop boxes in the upcoming election. During an informal legislative hearing Tuesday, Sen. Kelly Townsend, R-Apache Junction, complained about the failure of the Senate to either outlaw drop boxes entirely or require that they be monitored 24 hours a day. In fact, Townsend wants to deal with the issue of possible fraudulent ballots by eliminating early voting entirely. But that measure has failed to advance amid concerns about its effects, like one expressed by Senate President Karen Fann, R-Phoenix, about telling the 90% of Arizonans who now vote early, including the elderly, that they instead may have to stand in line in the sun to vote in the August primary. And Townsend said Tuesday that even if she could line up the votes this legislative session to outlaw drop boxes, or at least require they be monitored, it already is too late to put that into effect for the Aug. 2 primary. Thats unacceptable, said Sen. Kelly Townsend, R-Apache Junction, who also was on the Tuesday panel. But she had a solution of sorts that involved the people watching the hearing. I have been so pleased to hear of all you vigilantes out there that want to camp out at these drop boxes, right? she said to applause from the audience. So, do it. People out there watching you Townsend said that will send a message to mules who carry around and deposit fraudulent ballots into those boxes. Among the options, she said, will be trail cameras, normally used to monitor wildlife in remote locations. But thats only part of it. Were going to have people out there watching you, Townsend said. And theyre going to follow you to your car and get your license plate. Townsend, in an interview with Capitol Media Services after the hearing, defended the call. If its a person committing a crime, why wouldnt you get their license plate? she asked. Nor does she consider it intimidation. She acknowledged that state law allows individuals to deposit not only their own ballots in drop boxes but also those of people who live in the same household. And caretakers also can handle multiple ballots. I dont support intimidating people that are sticking grandmas ballot in a box, Townsend said. But if theres a clear crime, I want there to be a deterrent. That, then, leaves it up to the person doing the observation to determine whether a crime is taking place. Townsend said that becomes obvious in certain cases, saying there have been situations where individuals drive up to a drop box with a box or backpack full of ballots. She said its unlikely that anyone has 30 people living in their home. Movie claims vote fraud Townsends comments came at the end of a presentation to a select group of lawmakers by organizers of True the Vote. Thats the organization that provided material to Trump supporter Dinesh DSousa for his 2000 Mules movie claiming massive vote fraud from people depositing multiple early ballots in drop boxes, including here in Arizona despite state laws to the contrary. The Associated Press has labeled the analysis flawed. Much of what was presented Tuesday was not new but instead came from the movie. That included some video, none of which apparently came from Arizona, of people stuffing ballots into drop boxes. But there is an Arizona angle to all this. Guillermina Fuentes, a member of the Gadsden Elementary School District, was indicted last year on ballot abuse, forgery and conspiracy charges. She is set to enter into a plea deal Thursday. But the allegations presented by True the Vote contend that the problems with early voting and drop boxes are common. They said cell phone geolocation data shows the same people they dont have names but only electronic identification data going to drop boxes over and over again. Catherine Engelbrecht, the organizations founder, said that could happen only because these drop boxes are not monitored. And Gregg Phillips, also with True the Vote, brushed aside questions about whether such geolocation data is sufficiently accurate to reach the conclusions his organization reached. Panelists hand-picked Support for restricting or eliminating ballot drop boxes appeared to be unanimous among the members of the panel. That, however, was hardly a cross-section of legislative sentiments as only those chosen by Rep. Shawnna Bolick, R-Phoenix, were allowed to serve and ask questions of the presenters. Bolick said Democrats were left out because they have shown no interest in supporting any of the measures Republicans have proposed this year to revamp election procedures. She said, though, they were welcome to sit in the audience. But the panel she chose also did not include Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, who has been pursuing questions of election irregularities since the 2020 election. Finchem told Capitol Media Services he is glad that Bolick is finally taking the issue seriously. He said she had shown no interest in the November 2020 hearing he organized at a downtown Phoenix hotel where Trump supporters, including Rudy Giuliani, presented what they said was their own evidence of misconduct. Bolick said thats not true, saying she didnt go to that hearing because it was her daughters birthday. And theres something else: Finchem and Bolick are both running to be the Republican nominee for secretary of state. But she denied that Tuesdays event was in any way designed to provide some momentum to her campaign ahead of the Aug. 2 primary. I would never question the motives of one of my colleagues, Finchem responded with a smile. Arrests needed for change There have been no independent polls in the race. But the most recent campaign finance reports showed Finchem has collected more cash than anyone else at $940,000. Businessman Beau Lane took in $862,000, followed by Bolick at $213,000 and Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita at $123,000. Rep. Quang Nguyen, R-Prescott Valley, a member of the panel, said he has seen enough and reached some conclusions. The only thing I could see coming out of this meeting is people going to jail, he said. Until people go to jail, things may not change. Townsend added to that, urging the crowd to chant, What do we want? Indictments. When do we want them? Now. Bolick said that information gathered from True the Vote will be turned over to Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich who has said he is looking into election irregularities. But Brnovich may have to wait. Information sent to FBI Phillips, a board member of True the Vote, told lawmakers information already has been turned over to the FBI. He said it is up to the federal agency what it wants to share with the attorney general. On Tuesday, Bolick repeated her allegation that the 2020 election was rigged. She does have some history on this front. In 2021, Bolick sponsored legislation to allow the Arizona Legislature to overturn the results of a presidential election, even after the count is formally certified by the governor and secretary of state and even after Congress counts the states electors. The measure had a series of provisions designed to make it easier for those unhappy with elections to go to court. But the most sweeping would say that, regardless of any other law, the Legislature retains ultimate authority in deciding who are the states presidential electors. And it would spell out that lawmakers, by a simple majority, could revoke the formal certification of the election results and substitute their own decision at any time right up to the day a new president is sworn in. Bolick said Tuesday, though, that was only a preliminary approach, noting she never advanced the measure. 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. Uvalde school police chief says hes still cooperating The school district police chief who served as on-site commander during last weeks deadly shooting in Uvalde, Texas, says hes talking daily with investigators, contradicting claims from state law enforcement that he has stopped cooperating. Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo told CNN in a brief interview Wednesday that hes speaking regularly with Texas Department of Public Safety investigators. Nineteen children and two teachers died in the attack at Robb Elementary School, the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade. Also Wednesday, the district announced that students and staff would not be returning to the Robb Elementary campus. Plans are still being finalized on where students will attend classes in the fall. 4 killed in shooting at Tulsa medical building, shooter dead Police officials say four people have been killed in a shooting at a Tulsa medical building on a hospital campus. Tulsa Police Department Deputy Chief Eric Dalgleish confirmed the number of dead Wednesday in the latest wave of mass gun violence occurring across the country. He also said the shooter was dead, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The motive for the attack was unclear. St. Francis Health System locked down its campus Wednesday afternoon because of the situation at the Natalie Medical Building. The Natalie building houses an outpatient surgery center and a breast health center. US and Germany agree to supply advanced weapons to Ukraine KYIV, Ukraine (AP) The U.S. and Germany are pledging to equip Ukraine with some of the advanced weapons it has long craved for shooting down aircraft and knocking out artillery. Germany said Wednesday it will supply Ukraine with up-to-date anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems. The U.S. said it will provide four sophisticated, medium-range rocket systems and ammunition. The arms shipments aim to bolster Ukraines defense as its troops battle a grinding Russian offensive that is closing in on capturing a key city in the east. Western arms have been critical to Ukraines success in stymieing Russias much larger and better-equipped military. Jury sides with Johnny Depp in libel case, awards him $10M FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) A jury sided with Johnny Depp in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard. The verdict issued Wednesday awarded the Pirates of the Caribbean actor more than $10 million Wednesday and vindicated his allegations that Heard lied about Depp abusing her before and during their brief marriage. But in a split decision, the jury also found that Heard was defamed by one of Depps lawyers, who accused her of creating a detailed hoax that included roughing up their apartment to look worse for police. The jury awarded her $2 million in damages. Sheryl Sandberg, long Facebook's No. 2 exec, steps down SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Sheryl Sandberg, the No. 2 executive at Facebook owner Meta, who helped turn its business from startup to digital advertising empire while also taking blame for some of its biggest missteps along the way, is stepping down. Sandberg has served as chief operating officer at the social media giant for 14 years. She joined from Google in 2008, four years before Facebook went public. Meta did not immediately respond to a message for comment. Sandberg has led Facebook's now Metas advertising business and was responsible for nurturing it from its infancy into a more than $100 billion-a-year powerhouse. Uvalde shooting highlights role of doors in security plans Doors have been at the center of the investigation into the massacre of 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas. Those include both the door the gunman entered and the one police did not open for over an hour. School officials under pressure to balance accessibility and safety confront a variety of decisions about the seemingly mundane act of going in and out of a building or classroom. But as the attack on Robb Elementary School showed, such choices can sometimes spell the difference between life and death. Former Corinthian students get federal student debt erased WASHINGTON (AP) The Biden administration says it will forgive all remaining federal student debt for former students of the for-profit Corinthian Colleges chain. Under the new action, anyone who attended the chain from 1995 to its collapse in 2015 will get their federal student debt automatically canceled. It will erase $5.8 billion in debt for more than 560,000 borrowers, the largest single loan discharge in Education Department history. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona says every student deceived, defrauded and driven into debt by Corinthian Colleges can rest assured that the Biden-Harris Administration has their back and will discharge their federal student loans. Slave reparations advocates hail historic California report SAN FRANCISCO (AP) California released an exhaustive report detailing how government laws and policies perpetuated discrimination against African Americans. Wednesdays report is a major step toward educating the public and setting the stage for an official government apology from California and the case for financial reparations. The 500-page document lays out the harm suffered by descendants of enslaved people long after slavery was abolished in the 19th century. It comes as states and school boards move to limit what can be taught in U.S. schools. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation creating the two-year task force in 2020, making California the only state to move ahead with such a study and plan. US Open's $10M purse offers hope for gender pay equality SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. (AP) Dottie Pepper recalls being paired with Meg Mallon for the final round of the 1991 U.S. Womens Open with what she viewed as an impressive $110,000 first-place prize on the line. Things have changed, but Lydia Ko says not enough. Mallon would win that title in 1991, collecting the first six-figure payout in womens golf history. Pepper says, That was a big deal. Three decades later, Pepper can hardly comprehend that the top female golfers in the world will be competing this week for a record $10 million purse. That includes a winners take of $1.8 million at the U.S. Womens Open at Pine Needles. Ko, the No. 3-ranked womens golfer in the world, said shes grateful for steps toward equal pay but added theres still a ways to go. Vocab questions reduce spelling bee to 3 letters: A, B or C OXON HILL, Md. (AP) An onstage vocabulary round introduced a new element of randomness into the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The multiple-choice vocabulary questions forced spellers to demonstrate a different skill set and knocked out some of the bee's most accomplished spellers during Wednesday's semifinals. Among those who were eliminated without spelling a word incorrectly were Roy Seligman and Vivinsha Veduru, who tied for fourth place in last year's bee. Veteran spelling coach Grace Walters called the vocabulary results tragic. Among the words and phrases that spellers failed to define were Stockholm syndrome, ragout and rumbustical. 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. FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) A jury sided Wednesday with Johnny Depp in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, awarding the Pirates of the Caribbean actor more than $10 million and vindicating his allegations that Heard lied about Depp abusing her before and during their brief marriage. But in a split decision, the jury also found that Heard was defamed by one of Depp's lawyers, who accused her of creating a detailed hoax that included roughing up the couple's apartment to look worse for police. The jury awarded her $2 million. The verdicts bring an end to a televised trial that Depp had hoped would help restore his reputation, though it turned into a spectacle that offered a window into a vicious marriage. Heard, who was stoic in the courtroom as the verdict was read, said she was heartbroken. Im even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. Its a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously, she said in a statement posted on her Twitter account. Depp, who was not in court Wednesday, said the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled. I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up, he said in a statement posted to Instagram. Depp sued Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse. His lawyers said he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name. The jury found in Depp's favor on all three of his claims relating to specific statements in the 2018 piece. Throughout the proceedings, fans who were overwhelmingly on Depps side lined up overnight for coveted courtroom seats. Spectators who couldnt get in gathered on the street to cheer Depp and jeer Heard whenever they appeared outside. A crowd of about 200 people cheered when Depps lawyers came out after the verdict. Johnny for president! one man yelled repeatedly. Greg McCandless, 51, a retired private detective from Reston, Virginia, stood outside the courthouse wearing a pirate hat and red head scarf, a nod to Depps famous role as Capt. Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. I do believe that there was defamation, and I do believe that it did hurt his career, McCandless said. I think the jury heard the evidence, and the verdict was just. In evaluating Heard's counterclaims, jurors considered three statements by a lawyer for Depp who called her allegations a hoax. They found she was defamed by one of them, in which the lawyer claimed that she and friends spilled a little wine and roughed the place up, got their stories straight, and called police. Sydni Porter, 30, drove an hour from her home in Maryland to show support for Heard. She said the verdict was disappointing, but not surprising, and sends a message to women that as much evidence as you have (of abuse), its never going to be enough. The jury found Depp should receive $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, but the judge said state law caps punitive damages at $350,000, meaning Depp was awarded $10.35 million. While the case was ostensibly about libel, most of the testimony focused on whether Heard had been physically and sexually abused, as she claimed. Heard enumerated more than a dozen alleged assaults, including a fight in Australia where Depp was shooting a Pirates of the Caribbean sequel in which Depp lost the tip of his middle finger and Heard said she was sexually assaulted with a liquor bottle. Depp said he never hit Heard and that she was the abuser, though Heards attorneys highlighted years-old text messages Depp sent apologizing to Heard for his behavior as well as profane texts he sent to a friend in which Depp said he wanted to kill Heard and defile her dead body. In some ways, the trial was a replay of a lawsuit Depp filed in the United Kingdom against a British tabloid after he was described as a wife beater. The judge in that case ruled in the newspapers favor after finding that Heard was telling the truth in her descriptions of abuse. In the Virginia case, Depp had to prove not only that he never assaulted Heard, but that Heards article which focused primarily on public policy related to domestic violence defamed him. He also had to prove that Heard wrote the article with actual malice. And to claim damages, he had to prove that her article caused the damage to his reputation as opposed to any number of articles before and after Heards piece that detailed the allegations against him. The case captivated millions through its gavel-to-gavel television coverage, including impassioned followers on social media who dissected everything from the actors mannerisms to the possible symbolism of what they were wearing. Both performers emerge from the trial with reputations in tatters with unclear prospects for their careers. Eric Rose, a crisis management and communications expert in Los Angeles, called the trial a classic murder-suicide. From a reputation-management perspective, there can be no winners, he said. Theyve bloodied each other up. It becomes more difficult now for studios to hire either actor because youre potentially alienating a large segment of your audience who may not like the fact that you have retained either Johnny or Amber for a specific project because feelings are so strong now. Depp, a three-time best actor Oscar nominee, had until recent years been a bankable star. His turn as Sparrow helped turn the Pirates of the Caribbean into a global franchise, but hes lost that role. He was also replaced in the third Fantastic Beasts spin-off film, The Secrets of Dumbledore. Despite testimony at the trial that he could be violent, abusive and out of control, Depp received a standing ovation Tuesday night in London after performing for about 40 minutes with Jeff Beck at the Royal Albert Hall. Heards acting career has been more modest, and her only two upcoming roles are in a small film and the upcoming Aquaman sequel due out next year. Depps lawyers fought to keep the case in Virginia, in part because state law provided some legal advantages compared with California, where the two reside. A judge ruled that Virginia was an acceptable forum for the case because The Washington Posts printing presses and online servers are in the county. 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. Gov. John Bel Edwards agreed on Wednesday to a request from Louisiana lawmakers that he and his top attorneys testify before a bipartisan committee investigating allegations of a cover-up in the deadly 2019 arrest of Black motorist Ronald Greene. The request came just days after The Associated Press reported that Edwards and his lawyers privately watched a long-withheld video showing Greene taking his final breaths during his fatal arrest yet did not act urgently to get the crucial footage into the hands of those with the power to charge the white Louisiana State Police troopers seen stunning, punching and dragging the man. The video, which showed critical moments and audio absent from other footage that was turned over, didnt reach prosecutors until nearly two years after Greenes May 10, 2019, death on a rural roadside near Monroe. Prosecutors and detectives have said they were not even aware the 30-minute clip existed until six months after the governor viewed it in October 2020. State Rep. Clay Schexnayder, the Republican House speaker, cited serious questions that can only be answered by" the Democratic governor and his staff. This committee will do its job and see this through no matter where the evidence leads," Schexnayder said in a statement asking the governor to appear before the committee June 16. Edwards' top lawyer, Matthew Block, wrote in a public letter to the committee that he, another lawyer and the governor will all appear to testify. We are confident that this testimony will demonstrate that neither the governor nor anyone on his staff had any role in any attempt to cover up the facts related to Mr. Greenes death, Block wrote to Rep. Tanner Magee, the Republican who chairs the panel. Block previously had told the AP that there was no way for the governor to have known at the time that the video he watched had not already been turned over to prosecutors, and there was no effort by the governor or his staff to withhold evidence. The legislative committee for weeks has sought to reconstruct the state's response to Greene's death, interviewing a long list of law enforcement officials and even subpoenaing the handwritten journals of a former state police superintendent. Lawmakers are now pivoting to what the governor knew, when he knew it and what he did about an in-custody death that troopers initially blamed on a car crash. The legislative inquiry comes amid ongoing federal and state investigations that have not resulted in any charges. At issue is the 30-minute body-camera footage from Lt. John Clary, the highest-ranking trooper to respond to Greenes arrest. It is one of two videos of the incident, and captured events not seen on the 46-minute clip from Trooper Dakota DeMoss that shows troopers swarming Greenes car after a high-speed chase, repeatedly jolting him with stun guns, beating him in the head and dragging him by his ankle shackles. Clarys video is perhaps even more significant to the investigations because it is the only footage that shows the moment a handcuffed, bloody Greene moans under the weight of two troopers, twitches and then goes still. It also shows troopers ordering the heavyset, 49-year-old to remain face down on the ground with his hands and feet restrained for more than nine minutes a tactic use-of-force experts criticized as dangerous and likely to have restricted his breathing. The governors attorneys didnt mention seeing the Clary video in a meeting days later with state prosecutors, who wouldnt receive the footage until a detective discovered it almost by accident six months later. But state police say they showed the Clary video to Greene's family days after the governor viewed it. Several members of Greene's family denied they had seen the video, but one of their attorneys wrote lawmakers an email this week confirming they had, in fact, seen Clary's video, citing contemporaneous notes. Mustian reported from Los Angeles, Bleiberg from Dallas. 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. STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. (AP) Facing state demands to move forward, as well as public pressure after students produced a viral video showing widespread disrepair, a suburban Atlanta school board on Tuesday voted for a $50 million overhaul at an aging high school after previously voting three times against it. The DeKalb County school board voted unanimously to renovate Druid Hills High School, news outlets reported. I am proud to say today that were in unison, that we want whats good for this district, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that board chair Vickie Turner said. It feels quite refreshing that weve made this progress. The dispute over Druid Hills climaxed after students made a video about poor conditions including raw sewage, crumbling bathrooms and signs warning of possible electrical shock around utilities in one room. But last month the board rejected plans to overhaul the high school, instead voting to make minor repairs at all the districts schools. Students from at least two other DeKalb high schools have since published similar videos. The dispute dredged up racial and class tensions that often divide the 93,000-student district between a wealthier white minority in its northern end and a poorer, Black majority in the southern end. State Superintendent Richard Woods intervened in the dispute by saying the state would refuse to approve the districts facility plans until it addressed issues at Druid Hills. Such a refusal would block the district from obtaining state facilities money. Then the state appointed a special advisor to oversee the systems building upgrades and maintenance. In the meantime, board members fired Cheryl Watson-Harris as superintendent, with Turner appearing to blame Watson-Harris for poor conditions in a letter to Woods. Tuesdays vote adds Druid Hills to the districts five-year building plan. Work slated to begin in September will include roofing, plumbing, heating and air conditioning. The district will pay for it using local sales tax collections. The state hired Tanzy Kilcrease, who is retiring from Bibb County schools, to oversee DeKalb starting June 1. She told WABE-FM that she's going to assess conditions across the district. One of Kilcreases responsibilities will be ensuring DeKalb carries out repairs in its state corrective action plan, including some updates that must be completed by June 30. The state Department of Education said Tuesday it would approve state facilities funds for DeKalb as long as the district follows through. About 60% of the immediate needs identified in the plan have already been addressed, interim Superintendent Vasanne Tinsley said Tuesday. She said a broken sewer line will be repaired by Friday, while roof repairs will be complete within two weeks. She also said the district is working to repair heating, ventilation and air conditioning problems. This is a collaboration, Kilcrease said. Its a partnership. Its our goal for them to be successful in assuring that we have standard quality facilities for all of our students in DeKalb County. 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. Hedge-fund billionaire Ken Griffin has upped his investment in Republican governor candidate Richard Irvin to $50 million, with an additional $5 million contribution reported Tuesday. The latest infusion of cash to Irvin came shortly after Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker launched an attack ad late last week contending that Griffins support for Irvin was the result of Irvins actions as mayor of Aurora to push through a project important to the hedge-fund investors high-frequency trading business, Citadel Securities. Griffin is founder and CEO of the Citadel investment firm. Advertisement In a statement after Pritzker launched the ad, Griffin said of the first-term governor that he found it disappointing that a man born with a silver spoon has accomplished so little, especially as governor. Griffin, the states wealthiest individual at a worth Forbes has estimated at $26.5 billion, is Irvins chief political benefactor and had already given the Aurora mayor $45 million in his bid for the June 28 GOP nomination for governor against five rivals. Advertisement Ken Griffin, the founder and CEO of Citadel, on Nov. 5, 2014. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune) Griffin and Pritzker have long feuded politically. Pritzker, an entrepreneur and an heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune, is worth $3.6 billion, according to Forbes. Griffin spent $22.5 million to back Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in his losing reelection bid against Pritzker in 2018. Pritzker spent more than $170 million of his own money to win the office. Two years ago, Griffin spent $53.75 million in a successful effort to defeat Pritzkers push to change the state from a flat-rate state income tax to a graduated rate system based on wealth. Pritzker spent $58 million to encourage the measures passage. A third billionaire is involved in the race, conservative megadonor Richard Uihlein of Lake Forest, who owns the Uline office packaging and supply business. Uihlein is backing Republican state Sen. Darren Bailey of Xenia and Baileys campaign reported Wednesday receiving another $3 million from the billionaire. In total, Uihlein has now given Bailey more than $9 million and also has given an independent expenditure group backing the state senator nearly $8.1 million, including $3.27 million last week. Bailey and Irvin are scheduled to meet on Thursday evening in a debate with rivals Jesse Sullivan, a cryptocurrency investor from Petersburg, Bull Valley businessman Gary Rabine, former state Sen. Paul Schimpf of Waterloo and Max Solomon of Hazel Crest. The debate is sponsored by WLS-Ch. 7 and Univision Chicago with the League of Women Voters of Illinois and marks the first televised debate of the campaign featuring all six contenders. It will air live from 7 to 8 p.m. on Ch. 7s digital channel 7.2 and will stream live at abc7chicago.com. rap30@aol.com MADISON, Wis. (AP) Two court-appointed prosecutors declined Wednesday to charge a Wisconsin sheriffs deputy in the 2016 fatal shooting of a man sleeping in a park, saying they didn't believe they could defeat a self-defense argument. The decision echoes a district attorneys finding years ago that Joseph Mensah had acted in self-defense when he shot Jay Anderson Jr., one of three people he fatally shot over a five-year span. Mensah was a Wauwatosa police officer at the time but has since become a Waukesha County deputy. The special prosecutors, Milwaukee attorney Scott Hansen and La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke, spent months reviewing the case, consulting judges and attorneys and even conducting a mock trial with a jury and repeatedly found they couldn't overcome the self-defense argument. Ethical considerations prevent prosecutors from charging cases they know they can't prove beyond a reasonable doubt, Hansen said. I'm only sorry that there's nothing that we can do to help heal those wounds, Hansen told Judge Glenn Yamahiro as Anderson's family looked on from the courtroom's gallery. But there isn't. And that's our conclusion. Mensah came upon Anderson, who was 25, sleeping in a car after hours in a Wauwatosa park in June 2016. Mensah said he fired after Anderson reached for a gun on the passenger seat, and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm declined to charge Mensah later that year. Chisholm also chose not to charge Mensah in the deaths of either of the other two people he killed. Andersons family disputed that Anderson had reached for the gun. Their attorney, Kimberly Motley, used a obscure legal maneuver similar to a grand jury inquiry to persuade Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Glenn Yamahiro that there was enough probable cause to support charging Mensah. He appointed Hansen and Gruenke in December as special prosecutors to review the case and file charges if they saw fit. Motley argued Wednesday that Gruenke and Hansen were required by law to file charges since Yamahiro ruled enough probable cause existed to support a complaint. This law was put on the books to protect people that are victims, as my clients are," Motley said. Yamahiro said he believes the statutes required him only to find probable cause and launch a review. He said that self-defense is difficult to overcome and Hansen was right when he said prosecutors can't ethically charge cases they know they can't prove. He sympathized with Anderson's family but said he never thought a case against Mensah was a a slam dunk. I am sorry from that perspective this is not a more satisfying outcome for them," he said. Linda Anderson, Jay Anderson Jr.s mother, told the judge that all the work that went into forcing the second review had been for nothing. Im not stopping until that man is behind bars where he needs to be, she said, drawing applause from the gallery. Mensah's attorney, Jonathan Cermele, didn't immediately respond to an email message following the hearing. Mensah joined the Wauwatosa Police Department in 2015. That year, he fatally shot Antonio Gonzales, who prosecutors said had refused to drop a sword. Mensah killed Anderson the following year. In 2020, he shot and killed 17-year-old Alvin Cole as Cole fled from police following a disturbance at a mall. Mensah said he fired because Cole pointed a gun at him. That shooting sparked months of protests. In explaining his rationale for not charging Mensah in Coles death, Chisholm said evidence showed, among other things, that Cole fled from police carrying a stolen handgun, fired a shot while fleeing and refused police commands to drop the weapon. Mensah is Black, as were Anderson and Cole. Gonzales identified as Native American. Hansen and Gruenke wrote in a 25-page report summarizing their investigation and conclusions that the Gonzales and Cole shootings were relevant to Anderson's case and if they tried to tie the shootings together in court a judge wouldn't permit it. They added that Mensah put himself in danger during his encounter with Anderson by approaching Anderson's vehicle from the passenger side rather than the driver's side, using his squad's floodlights rather than its emergency lights, not waiting for back-up officers and failing to keep Anderson's gun in sight. None of that changes whether he acted in self-defense at the moment he opened fire, however, they said. Mensah resigned under pressure from the Wauwatosa Police Department in 2020 and joined the Waukesha County Sheriffs Department. The Anderson family has filed a civil lawsuit against Mensah in federal court. Motley said after the hearing that's she looking forward to deposing Mensah under oath. 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. PHOENIX Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said the latest bid by the Arizona Republican Party to kill all early voting for this years election not only comes too late but would cause chaos in the counties that would have to set up more polling places. In court filings Wednesday, attorney Roopali Desai, who represents Hobbs, said the party and its chair, Kelli Ward, have known for decades that Arizona allows anyone to vote early. In fact, Desai said, the Legislature has permitted some form of early voting since 1918. Yet the GOP is seeking an order from Mohave County Superior Court Judge Lee Jantzen to disallow no-excuse early voting ahead of the general election. But Desai also told the judge the challenge by Ward and the GOP, who have been trafficking in unproven claims of massive fraud in early ballots, actually has a more sinister purpose. Their claims are part of a broader ongoing effort to sow doubt about our electoral process to justify infringing voting rights, she said, noting that early and mail-in ballots made up nearly 90% of the votes cast in the 2020 general election. Even though plaintiffs claims are legally baseless, they threaten our democracy. The lawsuit by Ward and the state GOP contends that the Arizona Constitution requires that ballots be cast in person, and only on Election Day. Much of that claim is based on language that says that secrecy in voting shall be preserved. Attorney Anthony Kolodin says that cant happen when people have their ballots at home where they can be influenced by others, ranging from employers to unions, who pressure people to vote a certain way. But he said someone casting a ballot in a voting booth, alone, cant be coerced. In April, the Arizona Supreme Court tossed his bid to kill all forms of early voting, saying he needs to make his case to a trial judge. Kolodin followed through on May 17 with the claim in Mohave County. He also scaled back the lawsuit and is no longer asking to quash all forms of early voting. Now he wants to void only the 1991 law that extends the privilege to all, without having to offer an excuse like being out of the county, physically disabled or being at least 65 years old. Desai said this new version has no more merit. It starts with what she calls a last-minute bid to upset procedures on the eve of an election. Consider, Desai said, the situation in Maricopa County where election officials already have determined the number of voting centers needed based on the premise that the vast majority of people will vote early. If the county were enjoined from using early voting in 2022 elections, it would be forced to try to accommodate over a million more in-person voters on election day that it didnt budget or plan for, she told the judge. And Desai said even if the county could make the changes, doing so at this point would cause mass voter confusion. Beyond that, she said even if mail-in voting has the potential for less secrecy than in-person voting, that is no basis for a court to interpret the Arizona Constitution as prohibiting early voting and no basis to believe as voters are at greater risk of coercion or vote-buying, the latter of which is a felony. Not only is this rank speculation, but it also ignores the many safeguards built into Arizonas early voting system, Desai said. For example, she said, the law requires envelopes that voters use to return their ballots to conceal the contents and be tamper-evident when sealed. Desai also said election officials are required to removed voted ballots from the envelopes which do have voter identification without unfolding or reviewing them. And interpreting the secrecy provision in the constitution to restrict access to voting would undermine a fundamental right; one that constitutes the essence of American democracy, she wrote. Desai also said theres a bit of Arizona history that Ward and the GOP are ignoring in their claim that the constitution does not allow early voting. She pointed out that the first early-voting bill was approved in 1918, allowing active military personnel to vote through registered mail in war or peace time. Of note, Desai said, is that four senators who voted for the bill actually were delegates to the state constitutional convention eight years earlier. The measure was signed into law by Gov. George W.P. Hunt who was president of that convention. And subsequent expansion of the ability of people to vote by mail also were supported by convention delegates and signed by Hunt, including one that covers people absent from the county on election day and those who had a physical disability. For over 100 years, our state preserved Arizonans fundamental right to vote by offering some form of early voting, Desai wrote, saying the practice has proven extremely popular. Indeed, most of plaintiff Arizona Republican Partys voters vote early, including plaintiff Ward, who voted early as recently as 2020. Desai also had some more technical legal arguments for Jantzen on why Ward and the GOP lack legal standing to even challenge the law in the first place. She said Ward claims she has the right to sue as a taxpayer since Arizonas no-excuse mail-in voting system requires the unlawful use of taxpayer funds. Desai said, however, thats not the way the law works in Arizona. To have standing under a taxpayer standing theory, a taxpayer must be able to demonstrate a direct expenditure of funds that were generated through taxation, an increased levy of a tax, or a pecuniary loss attributable to the challenged transaction, she told the judge. But the lawsuit, Desai said, challenges not any specific use of tax dollars but only the provisions of election law allowing for early voting. On Twitter: @azcapmedia Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer: In April, I had the honor of standing in the Arizona State Capitol as Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation mandating a moment of quiet reflection at the start of each day at public and charter schools. Present were House Speaker Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa, and Rep. Alma Hernandez, D-Tucson, who sponsored House Bill 2707. In reflecting on the importance of the Moment of Silence bill, I looked back at my native country of Canada. Canadians are known for their politeness and friendliness but hidden beneath that friendly exterior was a terrible institutional disgrace: For much of the 20th century, and as recently as 1997, the Canadian government operated infamous residential schools. Indigenous peoples were compelled to send their children to these institutions, whose goal was to separate them from their culture and traditions and to assimilate them into the dominant culture. The results were dreadful, to say the least. Students who survived this experience suffer from ongoing trauma, as they were seriously abused and demeaned during their time of separation from their families. Some did not survive. In 2008, Prime Minister Steven Harper issued a formal apology. These objectives were based on the assumption aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal, he said. Indeed, some sought, as it was infamously said, to kill the Indian in the child. Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country. This atrocious re-education effort will remain a black mark on my home countrys history forever. It also highlights the importance of each childs cultural upbringing and the role parents must have as partners in the educational system. Arizonas Moment of Silence legislation recognizes that each child has a unique upbringing with values that should be cherished and that those values should be given room for contemplation in the classroom. The Moment of Silence law makes room for students to spend a minute or two in quiet thought. By its nature and design, it is nonsectarian and has therefore weathered litigation and is permitted or mandated in some 36 states to date. As Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day OConnor wrote in 1986, school-led moments of silence, unlike school-led prayers, are often permissible because they are not inherently religious and do not coerce participation in a religious act. The Moment of Silence specifically does not require or suggest that the children think about anything in particular during that moment. Their teachers do not tell them what to think about. Instead, they can ask their parents or guardians which gives space for meaningful conversations to take place at home between parents and children. Parents and children are constantly in communication as they begin their day, conclude their day, and squeeze in after-school clubs and chores. But interaction should not be confused with connection which is crucial to a childs development. Studies have shown that parent-child connectedness (PCC) is critical to helping children avoid risky behavior such as drug and alcohol abuse. Plenty needs to be done about education, and our elected officials are accountable for implementing that. But this is an important step in improving education in Arizona. Its a meaningful way that Arizonas schools are telling each and every child: You matter. Your culture matters. Your values matter. Yes, its just a minute. But its effects resonate far, far longer than that. Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin is the Outreach Director of Chabad Tucson, a Jewish network in Southern Arizona. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. When school ends, meals at school dont have to. School districts and community organizations across the Tucson area are working hard alongside parents to ensure all kids can stay healthy and fed this summer. Many schools participate in a federal summer meal program funded by the USDA. Use this map to find the location nearest you. You can access these programs for your kids no matter your income or where you live. In many districts, enrollment in that school district is not a requirement. Any child can eat nutritious meals for free when schools out. Below, find information on free meals from schools, in addition to other resources for families. School districts Four school districts across the Tucson area receive federal funding to provide breakfasts and lunches for ALL kids 18 and under, weekdays all summer long. You do not need to be enrolled in these school districts in order to feed your kid. For instance, if you live in Oro Valley and your child attends schools in the Amphitheater Public Schools district, youre still eligible for free lunch at the Marana and Tucson Unified school district schools offering breakfasts and lunches this summer. Meal program dates and hours vary by location. For more information, check out the sites for your nearest school district: Tucson Unified School District TUSD's summer meal program is available at every TUSD school. Summer meals can be picked up for any child 18 and under and taken home. Elementary schools: Available June 6-30, Monday-Thursday. Breakfast is served 7:30-8 a.m. Lunch is noon to 12:30 p.m. K-8 schools and middle schools: Available June 6-30, Monday-Thursday. Breakfast is served 8:30-9 a.m. Lunch is 1-1:30 p.m. High schools: Available June 2-29, Monday-Friday. Breakfast is served 7:30-8 a.m. Lunch is noon to 12:30 p.m. Amphitheater Public Schools Available at select locations through June 23. Breakfast is served 7:30-8:30 a.m. Lunch is available 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Marana Unified School District The Marana Cares Mobile runs Monday-Friday through July 29 at two different locations from around 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. For meals served at six select schools, dates and times vary but most serve breakfast and lunch Monday-Friday. Sunnyside Unified School District Available at select locations Monday-Friday through June 17 for grades K-8. Available Monday-Friday through June 27 for high schools. Hours vary. Community Food Bank partners While school districts serve meals just for kids weekdays during the summer, these Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona partners will serve meals to the whole family year-round. The Community Food Bank is only able to serve meals to people who are present at the facility. Unfortunately, individuals can't pick up multiple meals to bring home to their family. Visit the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizonas website for more information. Caridad Community Kitchen Location: 845 N. Main Ave. Hours: 2-4 p.m. Monday Holy Family Church Location: 338 W. University Blvd. Hours: 3-4 p.m. Sunday Living Faith Christian Center Location: 4108 E. North St. Hours: 3:30-5 p.m. Thursday Register for more free articles. Log in Sign up Northminster Presbyterian Location: 2450 N. Fort Lowell Road Hours: 5-6 p.m. Monday Saguaro Christian Church Location: 8302 E. Broadway Hours: 5-6:30 p.m. Wednesday Southside Presbyterian Location: 317 W. 23rd St. Hours: 7:30-9 a.m. Monday and Friday Pima County Public Libraries Summer meals are available for kids ages 0-18 at select Pima County Library branches, courtesy of partnerships with TUSD and the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona. TUSD will be providing breakfast/lunch at most of these locations for the month of June, while the Community Food Bank will supply breakfast packs in the month of July. These meals will be prepackaged and shelf-stable. Check out the library's snacks and meals event listings for more information. Joel D. Valdez Library Location: 101 N. Stone Ave. Eckstrom-Columbus Library Location: 4350 E. 22nd St. Richard Elias-Mission Library Location: 3770 S. Mission Road Southwest Library Location: 6855 S. Mark Road Flowing Wells Library Location: 1730 W. Wetmore Road Quincie Douglas Library Location: 1585 E. 36th St. Santa Rosa Location: 1075 S. 10th Ave. Sam Lena-South Tucson Location: 1607 S. Sixth Ave. Woods Memorial Location: 3455 N. First Ave. Valencia Location: 202 W. Valencia Road Esmond Station Location: 10931 E. Mary Ann Cleveland Way Additional resources The National Merit Scholarship Corporation on June 1 announced over 2,600 winners of National Merit scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities. Three local students Ronald Walker, Brianna Herrold and Joshua Farrell were all named recipients of this years prestigious title. Owasso High School senior Ronald Walker, of Sperry, received the National Merit Oklahoma State University Scholarship. He plans to pursue a degree in engineering. Brianna Herrold, a Collinsville resident who attends Rejoice Christian School in Owasso, also received the National Merit Oklahoma State University Scholarship. She plans to pursue a degree in communications. Farrell, who lives in Owasso but attends Augustine Christian Academy in Tulsa, received the National Merit Wheaton College Scholarship. He plans to pursue a career in actuarial science. This year, 155 higher education institutions are underwriting Merit Scholarship awards through the National Merit Scholarship Program. Sponsor colleges and universities include 82 private and 73 public institutions located in 42 states and the District of Columbia. College-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners announced are a part of the distinguished group of about 7,500 high school seniors who will receive National Merit scholarships for college undergraduate study worth nearly $28 million. Earlier this spring, NMSC announced winners of corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards and National Merit $2,500 scholarships. NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) Abortion rights advocates saw a problem: Theres a limited pool of medical providers who can legally perform abortions. In some states, one solution has been to authorize more providers beyond just physicians. But to allow other providers such as advanced practice registered nurses, physician assistants and certified nurse midwives to perform early term abortions, changes in state laws were needed. These legislative drives gained increased urgency once a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion showed the justices appear ready to overturn Roe v. Wade. All of these restrictions and bans that were seeing across the country are pointing more progressive states in the direction of, How do we expand care? said Elizabeth Nash, state policy analysist for the Guttmacher Institute in New York, a think tank that supports abortion rights. The proposed provider expansions face pushback from critics. They say letting non-doctors perform abortions could put womens health at risk, especially if medical complications arise, and they question whether mid-level practitioners are qualified. Heres a look at how the provider issue is playing out: WHAT WOULD THESE LAWS DO? The goal, supporters say, is to expand abortion access ahead of a potential influx of out-of-state patients from places where abortion might become illegal. Having more providers will also reduce wait times for in-state patients, and improve access for underserved communities. The various proposals authorize advance practice clinicians to provide medication abortions, in-clinic abortions or both. Abortion rights advocates say these clinicians often perform more complicated procedures such as IUD insertions, early miscarriage management and endometrial biopsies, a procedure where a small piece of the lining of the uterus is removed to check for cancer or other issues. Supporters say randomized trials have shown that aspiration abortions a common early term abortion that involves a suctioning procedure can be safely performed by these clinicians. We know that this procedure is effective and has an incredibly low 1% complication rate, said Amanda Skinner, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England. WHO IS OPPOSED? When lawmakers in Connecticut considered a provider expansion bill earlier this year, the states medical society warned of a potential slippery slope toward what it called mid-level providers doing surgical procedures, which are more risky. In submitted testimony, the Connecticut Medical Society said any new law should be very clear about limiting these providers to only doing in-clinic or in-office aspiration abortions. Among those who are against expanding abortion is Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee. Its not a surprise that the states would loosen or change the requirements of who can do them, she said, calling it a sign of desperation that theyre willing to put more womens lives at risk. The focus, she said, should instead be on helping women get through a difficult situation. WHERE HAVE NEW LAWS BEEN PASSED? Responding to the Supreme Court leak, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, recently announced he wants to codify into law regulations adopted in 2021 by the State Board of Medical Examiners, which allow a range of medical providers to perform aspiration abortions, and to set up a fund to pay for training. Four months earlier, he had signed a law guaranteeing abortion rights. We know without access, Murphy said, rights mean nothing. In Connecticut a Democratic-leaning state where Roe is codified into state law a provider expansion bill passed with bipartisan support and was signed into law last month. Abortion clinics in the state are already starting to see patients arrive from Texas, more than 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) away, where a new law restricts abortion after roughly six weeks. Thats according to Skinner, the regional Planned Parenthood CEO, who spoke during an interview at a clinic in New Haven. Right now, she says women face a frustrating two-week wait for in-clinic abortions at Planned Parenthood, the largest provider in the state. Besides Connecticut, laws were enacted in Maryland, Washington and Delaware this year to help shore up their provider pools by allowing non-physicians to perform certain early term abortions. Lawmakers in California are currently considering a bill that would update a 2013 law and allow some nurse practitioners to perform abortions without the supervision of a doctor, as currently required. WHAT ABOUT MORE CONSERVATIVE STATES? Lawmakers in some states where Republicans control the legislature, the governors office, or both have tried to pass legislation expanding the pool of abortion providers. The bills faced an uphill battle. North Carolina is surrounded by states with so-called trigger laws, which would immediately ban abortion if Roe is overturned. The state already has a shortage of physicians who perform abortions, and this will likely get worse if out-of-state women start seeking abortions there, said state Rep. Julie von Haefen, a Democrat. We have 100 counties in North Carolina. Ninety-three of those counties do not have an abortion provider. All of our abortion clinics are centralized in our urban areas, she said. So that is going to cause a big problem even just for women just traveling within our state. We have a large state. Von Haefen filed a comprehensive bill last year to remove what she calls barriers to abortions, including ending a ban on non-physicians performing abortions. That legislation failed, and von Haefen is not optimistic it will come up for a vote this year. The state has a Republican-controlled General Assembly and a Democratic governor. Similar bills to expand the abortion provider pool were proposed in Arizona and Nebraska, but faltered as well. Instead, Nebraska abortion-rights lawmakers and lobbyists said they focused on successfully fighting off a trigger law and two other anti-abortion bills this year. That's according to Sofia Jawed-Wessel, an associate professor of health and kinesiology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, who spoke via email as a private citizen and not on behalf of the university. Im certain we will continue to push those pro-choice bills in future sessions, depending on the outcome of Roe and the very likely special session that will be called should Roe be overturned, she said. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin speaks during a news conference at his gubernatorial campaign headquarters in Chicago on June 1, 2022. With him from left are Chicago FOP President John Catanzara, House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, running mate Rep. Avery Bourne and others. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) Two years ago, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin quietly co-founded a consulting firm with a top city aide, whos also a lifelong friend, and two men from Virginia. The arrangement has raised several potential conflict of interest issues for Irvin: Theres a mayor going into business with a city employee who is so close to Irvin that the mayor calls him a stepbrother. Theres the employee skirting through a process requiring city approval for side jobs. And theres the two Virginia men, who went on to get a $15,000 city contract without their ties to Irvin being disclosed. Advertisement As Irvin seeks to become Illinois next governor while running for the GOP nomination on June 28, the episode joins other previously disclosed arrangements in raising questions about where Irvin draws the line between public duties and private ventures. Irvin has blanketed the airwaves portraying himself as a relative outsider who would clean up a state government but he has come under increased scrutiny especially over the five years he has run Illinois second-largest city. Advertisement That scrutiny now includes questions about the consulting firm Aurora Dynamic Solutions, based two blocks from City Hall. Irvin owns it with Michael Pegues, who Irvin hired right after being elected mayor in 2017 to be Auroras chief information officer. While the two are not related by blood, Irvin considers Pegues a stepbrother because Irvins biological father who did not raise Irvin at times raised Pegues, and Irvin has said he and Pegues have been close since childhood. Irvin never announced his ownership in Aurora Dynamic Solutions, and it isnt disclosed on the state ethics form he filed when he ran for governor. As of Tuesday, the consulting firm had a half-finished website thats designed to be hard to Google but if someone could find it advertised a wide swath of services, including government consulting. A sign for Aurora Dynamic Solutions LLC marks their office in the Aurora Business Center along West Downer Place on May 23, 2022, in Aurora. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune) For its first seven months of existence, the firm also was co-owned by Ranapratap Chegu and Gyanchander Gongireddy, two Virginia men who run a consulting firm in suburban Washington, D.C. At that same time, the city gave the pairs Virginia firm a $150-per-hour consulting contract to help the Irvin administration work with COVID-19 data, according to Aurora city records. Irvins campaign said the mayors firm was started in 2020 basically as a fallback career if Irvin, a defense attorney by trade, lost his 2021 mayoral reelection bid. Irvin, of course, didnt lose that race. So, his campaign said, the firm has just sat there, with zero clients or income, for nearly two years. Mayor Irvin never intended and does not intend to commence any business operations through Aurora Dynamic Solutions until after he is out of public office, campaign spokeswoman Eleni Demertzis said. As for why the administration inked a deal with the mayors former Virginia business partners, a spokesman for Irvins Aurora administration said the contract followed normal city rules. Still, political experts said the episode raises questions: Why would a sitting mayor start a business with Pegues, a city employee hes supposed to be supervising? And how did two of their business partners end up getting city work? While he saw no egregious ethical violations, Kent Redfield, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Springfield, said that there is a casual mixing of the public and private interests and a lack of concern over transparency which is all too common in politics as usual in Illinois. Advertisement The latest revelations follow other issues that have been raised involving Irvin and his time as Aurora mayor. Republican candidate for governor Richard Irvin and running mate state Rep. Avery Bourne are interviewed during a campaign stop at Manny's Ale House in Elmhurst on May 21, 2022. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) The Aurora Beacon-News first reported in 2018 about donations to Irvin from several companies that benefited from city actions. One telecommunications firm Scientel Solutions became a top contributor after Irvin persuaded a reluctant City Council to approve a new antenna for the firm over complaints it went against city plans and would interfere with plans already approved for a nearby firms antenna. WTTW-Ch. 11 recently reported Scientel continued to contribute more to Irvin while winning city contracts, as had developers who received city incentives. Bloomberg reported business ties between Scientel and Irvins biggest political benefactor, Ken Griffin. Another type of potential conflict emerged in mid-May. A joint investigation by the Tribune and Aurora Beacon-News uncovered how Irvin came to the scene of his then-girlfriends arrest by Aurora police for allegedly hitting a store security guard. According to a police report, an officer overheard Irvin saying the charges would be taken care of. Irvin has maintained that hes never crossed an ethical or legal line. He said he has not allowed political contributors to influence his decisions. As for what he said during his girlfriends arrest, Irvinsaid he meant the case would be taken care of through the traditional legal process, not by him meddling. New venture Irvin has blasted into contention for the Republican slot for governor, armed with $45 million pumped into his campaign by Griffin, Illinois richest man and a longtime political adversary of Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Irvin hoping to convince Republicans to let him take on Pritzker has used Griffins cash to saturate TV and other media, positioning himself to voters as a tough-on-crime, true-conservative war veteran eager to cleanse Springfield of corruption. Advertisement Though he has been criticized on the campaign trail for dodging basic questions, Irvin has portrayed himself as transparent as both a mayor and candidate for governor. But his development of Aurora Dynamic Solutions has flown under the radar. In June 2020, public records show, Irvin filed paperwork with the state to incorporate the company, listing himself as the top of four managers of a firm that initially would be run out of his condominium. When asked recently about the business, Irvins campaign confirmed to the Tribune that Irvin became the firms majority owner, with a 51% stake, after pitching in $5,100 to fund the startup. Among the other three was Pegues, who fronted $1,900, while each of the Virginia men added $1,500, the campaign said. The reason Irvin began the business in the summer of 2020, his campaign said, was because he was up for reelection to his roughly $165,000-a-year mayoral post in April 2021. In case Irvin lost, he and Pegues, both military veterans, wanted to get an early start at the complicated and lengthy process needed to certify a business as veteran-owned, Irvins campaign said. That would help them more easily land government consulting contracts. Republican candidate for governor Richard Irvin at a meeting with the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board on May 17, 2022. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune) The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which handles certifications, told the Tribune the process typically takes about a month, even amid the early pandemic in 2020. Aurora Dynamic Solutions has repeatedly started the certification process but not yet completed it, a VA spokesman said. There was little controversy when Irvin hired Pegues for a top city job. But, Redfield said, starting a firm together adds a new dimension to a boss-employee relationship. Irvin hired and supervised Pegues, who is paid roughly $161,000-a-year by taxpayers. Anytime youve got a situation where people can question whether youre taking into account personal feelings in supervising or hiring, then people wonder whats the motivation: Is it entirely in the best interests of the city? Or are you pulling punches or putting your thumb on the scale because of personal relationships? Redfield said. Advertisement When asked how starting a firm with a subordinate was not a conflict of interest, Irvins campaign said the mayor never intended to run the business with Pegues until Irvin was out of office. The Tribune also found Pegues did not file a formal application with the citys human resources department when he helped start the firm, even though city rules call for employees to do so for side jobs. While exempting elected officials, the city code broadly defines a side job as any involvement in the management, operation or direction of any enterprise, public or private. Aurora spokesman Clayton Muhammad said Pegues didnt file the formal application for the side business because the company doesnt have employees or revenue. As things move forward, the process will be followed, Muhammad said. Muhammad also defended the mayor not publicly announcing that he created the new firm, saying there was no requirement and if he had done so at a city meeting it could have run afoul of ethics concerns that hed use his city position to promote his private venture. Pegues did not return calls for comment. Advertisement Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, right, brought in Michael Pegues for his innovation team at City Hall in 2017. (City of Aurora) Irvin and Pegues did disclose their ownership of the firm in required city filings in spring 2021 that are only viewable by those who formally request the record through the Freedom of Information Act from the Aurora clerk. Irvin submitted his the same day Aurora voters reelected him. Irvin has not disclosed his ownership of Aurora Dynamic Solutions on separately required state forms filed when he ran for governor, which are viewable online. Irvins campaign noted the state rules dont require disclosure of firms that make no money; so the firm was left off state forms. A website. An office. No clients. On the firms website auroradyn.com Irvin was recently pictured as CEO and Co-Founder while Pegues was President and Co-Founder. It advertised services from arranging cloud computing and mining big data to a wide variety of legal/paralegal support to state, local and federal government agencies. Still, its source code was written in a way to stop search engines from indexing it. That meant the website couldnt be found in a simple Google search. Irvins campaign said the website remained a work in progress because the firm had never begun soliciting work. In fact, the campaign said, the firm has lost money. Tax filings provided by Irvins campaign, for the period ending December 2021, show the firm reported no revenue. Expenses included $1,900, which the campaign said was for accountants, $3,600 on the latest office site and another $1,787 for travel last year. The campaign said the travel money went to cover a trip to Washington, D.C., to help get the firm certified as veteran-owned. Advertisement The 2021 tax return also showed a $1,200 reimbursement. The campaign said Irvin mistakenly used the firms credit card for a purchase unrelated to the new company. The firm remains active, at least on paper. Even though Irvin won his reelection, three months later Pegues filed an annual report with the state, which kept the firm going. It now has an office on the second floor of the Aurora Business Center. Irvins campaign said the latest site was needed to apply to be a veteran-owned business. On a late May visit to that suite, the Tribune found a windowless door beside a small placard affixed with the name Aurora Dynamic Solutions LLC. No one answered the door. From business partner to city vendor While Irvins Aurora Dynamic Solutions reported making no money, a separate firm led by the Virginia men did get city work. Virginia records show Chegu and Gongireddy run a consulting firm in that state called Peridot Solutions. Fifteen days after Aurora Dynamic Solutions was incorporated in Illinois, Peridot submitted a proposal to Irvins administration on helping the city handle COVID-19 data, Aurora city records show. Advertisement Chegu and Gongireddy left Aurora Dynamic Solutions in March 2021, according to Illinois records. And Aurora records show that, less than seven months later, the city paid Peridot Solutions $15,000 for the data work. When the Tribune called Peridot, a man who identified himself as Gongireddy confirmed the pair had begun the business with Irvin and Pegues but declined to discuss why, saying its a private matter. Gongireddy declined to answer more questions, then hung up. Neither Gongireddy nor Chegu responded to questions submitted to Peridot by email about the new firm and the contract. Demertzis, with Irvins campaign, said the mayor and Pegues started the firm with the Virginia men because of their specialty in information technology. She said the pair was not promised any city benefits or business when they joined the new venture. When they left, their seed money was returned to them, she said. In October 2021, Peridots $15,000 contract for data and analytic consulting services was one of 49 bills approved by the City Council. It was tucked amid payments ranging from $75 for a barbecue fundraiser to $1 million for a new ladder truck. Those bills won unanimous approval in less than a minute. Aurora aldermen asked no questions, and Irvin didnt volunteer his ties to the men behind Peridot. Advertisement When asked why Irvin didnt disclose the arrangement, Muhammad said the contract was processed properly through the citys procurement process. Even so, what happened with the mayors firm and the contract raises issues that voters could weigh come Election Day, said longtime Illinois political scientist John Jackson, a visiting professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondales Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. People are cynical on the politicians, and this is just one additional straw ... on the camels back that might lead voters to add them up and vote against this guy, Jackson said. Steve Lord from the Aurora Beacon-News contributed. jmahr@chicagotribune.com rlong@chicagotribune.com A Tulsa man pleaded guilty Tuesday to second-degree murder in Indian Country in connection with a fatal 2020 shooting. Daijon Marque Welch, 26, faces a 13-year prison term under the terms of a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. Welch was arrested April 22, 2020, the same day Cameron Wilson, 26, was found shot to death at a Tulsa motel. Police were dispatched to a report of a disturbance at the Tulsa Inn & Suites, 8201 E. Skelly Drive, about 8 p.m., according to a probable cause affidavit. The caller reported hearing loud yelling and someone yelling, Put your hands up, an investigator stated in the affidavit. The witness also reported hearing someone pleading not to be shot. Officers found one man dead, later identified as Wilson, and another with gunshot wounds to the torso and face. That man survived. Responding officers spotted Welch and Lasha Walker, 25, on Memorial Drive, and noted that they matched the descriptions of those who ran from the room. The room where the shooting occurred was rented in Walkers name, according to the affidavit. State first-degree murder charges against Welch were dismissed July 7 after he successfully challenged the states jurisdiction to prosecute him since he is a member of the Muscogee Nation and the crime occurred within the tribes reservation. Federal prosecutors named Welch in a criminal complaint the same day state charges were dismissed. In his written plea, Welch said he intentionally shot Wilson multiple times, hitting him in the back, hip, chest and right hand. Prosecutors indicated in the plea agreement, which still requires judicial approval, that plea negotiations have been influenced in part by the governments inability to locate other witnesses. Police said the shootings occurred when the group met to discuss the sale of marijuana. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. It was inevitable that immigration policy would seep into Tuesdays public meeting on the Cherokee Nation Businesses proposal to establish a temporary emergency intake facility for unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in the United States. And it did. Multiple speakers at the Tulsa County Board of Adjustment meeting, where CNB was seeking a zoning change to allow for the facility at Cherokee Industrial Park, argued that the United States should not be facilitating illegal immigration; it should be stopping it. But at the end of the day, members of the board which is charged with resolving land use issues cited a lack of information and uneasiness with the proposed site in voting 3-1 to reject the zoning change. I am not comfortable turning an industrial district into residential, board member Don Hutchinson said before voting against the project. Board member Michael Hicks, who also voted against the proposal, said he would have liked to see CNB provide more information about what it was planning. I think the location doesnt give me as much concern as the fact that information in the packet is lacking, in my opinion, Hicks said. The boards vote was 3-1. Kelly Dunkerley cast the other no vote, and William Tisdale voted in favor of the zoning change. BOA Chairman David Charney recused himself from the case. He is a property owner in the industrial park. Chuck Garrett, CEO of CNB, said he was disappointed by the boards decision. There are many children who are in need of compassionate care and humanitarian services, Garrett said in a prepared statement. Rest assured, we will immediately begin to work (on) alternative solutions to help meet the vital needs of our government partner. The question before the board was whether to approve CNBs request for a use variance to the zoning code to allow an emergency and protective shelter for unaccompanied minors to be established on property, which is zoned industrial medium. The proposed site of the facility is a five-building, 873,896-square-foot complex owned by Verizon Business Network Services LLC. The buildings are on 104 acres of tribal land. The Tulsa World reported on Sunday that the U.S. Department of the Interior recently identified Cherokee Nation Management & Consulting Services which is wholly owned by CNB as the lone company that responded to its request for proposals that was capable of setting up such a facility in time for the expected increase in immigrants crossing the border this summer. Attorney Nathan Cross, representing CNB, told board members the proposed facility could eventually hold 2,000 to 4,000 unaccompanied minors, depending on how it is ultimately laid out. The unaccompanied minors typically remain in intake facilities 30 to 60 days before they are united with a family member or a sponsor, Cross said. During that time, CNB would be responsible for feeding, clothing and educating the young people a task that could require as many as 2,000 workers. The facility is meant to be a place that is warm and welcoming for children, Cross said. Tulsa County Sheriff Vic Regalado expressed a concern voiced by several of the speakers who opposed the project on Tuesday a lack of communication by the applicant. CNB responded in February to the federal governments request for interested parties to operate the facility, but Regalado said he learned of the proposed project through a recent newspaper article. At the end of the day, other than this forum, the public has had no ability in which to talk about whether they support this, Regalado said. I think with a decision such as this, the citizens should be afforded that right. Before the Board of Adjustment voted, Steven Bilby, president of Cherokee Federal, a division of CNB, told board members that, despite what they had heard from some speakers Tuesday, the unaccompanied minors who would be served at the proposed facility are not illegal immigrants. These are not illegals; these are refugees, and they are children, Bilby said. And, yes, their circumstances might be different than ours, but they are still children, and they have a place, and they deserve a process. Featured video: 'Groundbreaking' album of songs in Cherokee language announced 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 Cherokee Nation says it no longer intends to turn a north Tulsa commercial property into a courthouse. The announcement comes a week after Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. went on social media to dispel a rumor that the tribe intended to place a jail in the North Pointe Shopping Center. He also agreed to postpone the tribes appearance before a city zoning board until June 28 to give all parties involved, including residents of north Tulsa, more time to discuss the proposal. Cherokee Nation has been listening carefully to the concerns of community leaders of north Tulsa about our potential purchase of the North Pointe property, Hoskin said Tuesday in a prepared statement. Based on these concerns, we are no longer exploring using the space for a courthouse. We are also no longer seeking a zoning variance from the Tulsa Board of Adjustment. However, the tribe does remain open to purchasing the building, which is on the northeast corner of Pine Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Hoskin said the tribe will continue evaluating how the building could be used to support the Cherokee Nations needs and growth in north Tulsa. This process will involve community input and engagement with various community stakeholders, as well as state and local officials, and we look forward to having these discussions, Hoskin said. City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper, who represents the district in which the shopping center is located, welcomed the news. It was Hall-Harper who requested that last weeks BOA meeting be postponed. We will be meeting with the Cherokee Nation so we can determine moving forward what is best for all involved, she said. They obviously had concerns and needs that they are trying to meet through their tribe and their tribal members, but you also are smack-dab in the middle of a community, a Black community, who are not tribal members. How can we work collectively, collaboratively, to try to meet the needs of all concerned? They are willing to do that, and I appreciate that. The Cherokee Nation District Court and Cherokee Nation Supreme Court are in Tahlequah. The part of Tulsa that is roughly north of Admiral Place and east of Tisdale Parkway is within the Cherokee Reservation. According to the tribes rezoning application to the Board of Adjustment, the Cherokee Nation has for several years been looking to establish a location within its reservation where it could provide day-to-day civic services and conduct other operations for its growing population in Tulsa. The need for those services has only increased since the U.S. Supreme Courts historic 2020 ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma, according to the rezoning application. Hoskins statement Tuesday made no reference to whether the tribe hopes to find another site to establish an additional courthouse. Featured video: Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) A jury sided Wednesday with Johnny Depp in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, awarding the Pirates of the Caribbean actor more than $10 million and vindicating his allegations that Heard lied about Depp abusing her before and during their brief marriage. But in a split decision, the jury also found that Heard was defamed by one of Depp's lawyers, who accused her of creating a detailed hoax that included roughing up the couple's apartment to look worse for police. The jury awarded her $2 million. The verdicts bring an end to a televised trial that Depp had hoped would help restore his reputation, though it turned into a spectacle that offered a window into a vicious marriage. Heard, who was stoic in the courtroom as the verdict was read, said she was heartbroken. Im even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. Its a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously, she said in a statement posted on her Twitter account. Depp, who was not in court Wednesday, said the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled. I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up, he said in a statement posted to Instagram. Depp sued Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse. His lawyers said he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name. The jury found in Depp's favor on all three of his claims relating to specific statements in the 2018 piece. Throughout the proceedings, fans who were overwhelmingly on Depps side lined up overnight for coveted courtroom seats. Spectators who couldnt get in gathered on the street to cheer Depp and jeer Heard whenever they appeared outside. A crowd of about 200 people cheered when Depps lawyers came out after the verdict. Johnny for president! one man yelled repeatedly. Greg McCandless, 51, a retired private detective from Reston, Virginia, stood outside the courthouse wearing a pirate hat and red head scarf, a nod to Depps famous role as Capt. Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. I do believe that there was defamation, and I do believe that it did hurt his career, McCandless said. I think the jury heard the evidence, and the verdict was just. In evaluating Heard's counterclaims, jurors considered three statements by a lawyer for Depp who called her allegations a hoax. They found she was defamed by one of them, in which the lawyer claimed that she and friends spilled a little wine and roughed the place up, got their stories straight, and called police. Sydni Porter, 30, drove an hour from her home in Maryland to show support for Heard. She said the verdict was disappointing, but not surprising, and sends a message to women that as much evidence as you have (of abuse), its never going to be enough. The jury found Depp should receive $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, but the judge said state law caps punitive damages at $350,000, meaning Depp was awarded $10.35 million. While the case was ostensibly about libel, most of the testimony focused on whether Heard had been physically and sexually abused, as she claimed. Heard enumerated more than a dozen alleged assaults, including a fight in Australia where Depp was shooting a Pirates of the Caribbean sequel in which Depp lost the tip of his middle finger and Heard said she was sexually assaulted with a liquor bottle. Depp said he never hit Heard and that she was the abuser, though Heards attorneys highlighted years-old text messages Depp sent apologizing to Heard for his behavior as well as profane texts he sent to a friend in which Depp said he wanted to kill Heard and defile her dead body. In some ways, the trial was a replay of a lawsuit Depp filed in the United Kingdom against a British tabloid after he was described as a wife beater. The judge in that case ruled in the newspapers favor after finding that Heard was telling the truth in her descriptions of abuse. In the Virginia case, Depp had to prove not only that he never assaulted Heard, but that Heards article which focused primarily on public policy related to domestic violence defamed him. He also had to prove that Heard wrote the article with actual malice. And to claim damages, he had to prove that her article caused the damage to his reputation as opposed to any number of articles before and after Heards piece that detailed the allegations against him. The case captivated millions through its gavel-to-gavel television coverage, including impassioned followers on social media who dissected everything from the actors mannerisms to the possible symbolism of what they were wearing. Both performers emerge from the trial with reputations in tatters with unclear prospects for their careers. Eric Rose, a crisis management and communications expert in Los Angeles, called the trial a classic murder-suicide. From a reputation-management perspective, there can be no winners, he said. Theyve bloodied each other up. It becomes more difficult now for studios to hire either actor because youre potentially alienating a large segment of your audience who may not like the fact that you have retained either Johnny or Amber for a specific project because feelings are so strong now. Depp, a three-time best actor Oscar nominee, had until recent years been a bankable star. His turn as Sparrow helped turn the Pirates of the Caribbean into a global franchise, but hes lost that role. He was also replaced in the third Fantastic Beasts spin-off film, The Secrets of Dumbledore. Despite testimony at the trial that he could be violent, abusive and out of control, Depp received a standing ovation Tuesday night in London after performing for about 40 minutes with Jeff Beck at the Royal Albert Hall. Heards acting career has been more modest, and her only two upcoming roles are in a small film and the upcoming Aquaman sequel due out next year. Depps lawyers fought to keep the case in Virginia, in part because state law provided some legal advantages compared with California, where the two reside. A judge ruled that Virginia was an acceptable forum for the case because The Washington Posts printing presses and online servers are in the county. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. WASHINGTON -- South Korean boy band BTS, a fundraising juggernaut for U.S. social justice causes, met with President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday to discuss hate crimes targeting Asians. The K-pop stars made brief statements to reporters prior to the meeting, calling for a halt to crimes targeting Asian Americans. "We were devastated by the recent surge of hate crimes, including Asian American hate crimes," band member Jimin said through a translator. "To put a stop on this and support the cause, we'd like to take this opportunity to voice ourselves once again." Kim Namjoon of the K-Pop band BTS and fellow members, (not in order), Kim Taehyung, Kim Seokjin, Jeon Jeongguk, Park Jimin, Jung Hoseok and Min Yoon-gi make statements against anti-Asian hate crimes and for inclusion and representation during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 31, 2022. Photo: Reuters The meeting came as Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander month in May drew to a close following a sharp upswing in hate crimes against the community in the past year. Attacks against people of Asian descent have escalated as some politicians and pundits have encouraged Americans to blame China for COVID-19. Fans of K-pop boy band BTS walk past an advertisement promoting their concert at Seoul Olympic stadium in Seoul, South Korea, March 10, 2022. Photo: Reuters While the meeting was closed to press, the White House said one goal was to "discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion and BTS' platform as youth ambassadors who spread a message of hope and positivity across the world." The musicians are known for using their lyrics and social campaigns aimed at empowering youngsters since making their debut in 2013. Their fan base extends into older demographics, tying their spending clout to an internet-savvy generation that harnesses the power of social media. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre introduces members of the K-Pop band BTS (not in order) Kim Taehyung, Kim Seokjin, Jeon Jeongguk, Kim Namjoon, Park Jimin, Jung Hoseok and Min Yoon-gi during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 31, 2022. Photo: Reuters In June 2020, BTS fans raised about $1 million in one day in the #MatchAMillion online campaign for U.S. social justice causes, matching the band's donation to Black Lives Matter. The group's management Big Hit Music said it was honored to be invited to the White House. "As we are visiting as artists representing South Korea, we look forward to discussing various topics including inclusion, diversity, anti-Asian hate crimes, culture and art," Big Hit Music said. U.S.-Vietnamese law enforcement cooperation has led to a life sentence for an American defendant who traveled to Vietnam to sexually abuse children, the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City said in a statement on Tuesday. Christopher Edwin Day, a 52-year-old U.S. citizen, was sentenced to life in prison in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida on May 16 after pleading guilty to two counts of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and two counts of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor into illegal sexual activity. The case began in the summer of 2016 when a local NGO in Hanoi reported the potential molestation of a minor boy to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Vietnam. Day traveled frequently between Florida and Vietnam over many years to meet and sexually abuse underage boys whom he had befriended and groomed online. He sought to buy his victims silence with money and gifts. HSI Vietnam worked with Vietnams Ministry of Public Security and the State Departments Regional Security Office in Hanoi to identify and interview more than ten of Days victims and their parents. During the investigation, Day returned to Florida so HSI Vietnam requested assistance from HSI Tampa in the middle U.S. district, which subsequently investigated, interviewed, and arrested him for child sex tourism in August 2019. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justices Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and the United States Attorneys Office in Tampa, Florida. Day ultimately pled guilty to the above charges in February 2020. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Read what is in the news today: Politics -- Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his hope to advance the relations between Vietnam and Astrazeneca PLC toward strategic cooperation in vaccine and drug production during his reception for CEO Pascal Soriot in Hanoi on Tuesday. Society -- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has appointed Nguyen Thi Lien Huong, head of the Vietnam Health Environment Management Agency under the Ministry of Health, as new Deputy Minister of Health. -- Police in northernmost Ha Giang Province on Tuesday arrested and initiated legal proceedings against Dang Van Thuy, deputy director of the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment, on suspicion of bribe acceptance. -- A truck crashed into the sidewalk of a road and broke the medium-voltage pylon in La Nga Commune, Dinh Quan District, southern Dong Nai Province, causing nearly 4,000 households to suffer power outages for several hours on Tuesday, Dong Nai Power Company said. -- Hot weather is in the forecast for north-central Thanh Hoa to south-central Phu Yen Provinces between Wednesday and Thursday, before spreading to the northern midland and delta regions from Friday to Sunday, according to the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting. Business -- Gasoline prices in Vietnam are forecast to increase by another VND1,000 per liter in the price adjustment session on Wednesday. (US$1 = VND23,190) -- Vietnam Airlines has divested a 35 percent stake in Cambodia Angkor Air, so the Cambodian airline is no longer an affiliated company of the Vietnamese flag carrier, which announced the sale on the website of the State Securities Commission. Education -- An international school in Ho Chi Minh City that has garnered a lot of attention on social media for the past days over a fight involving some of its students said in its report to the municipal education department that results from its interviews with related students, security camera footage, and mobile phone videos of the incident showed that the information being spread widely online is different from the truth. Sports -- Vietnam will play Afghanistan in a friendly at Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City at 7:00 pm on Wednesday. The match will be live on ON FOOTBALL and NEXT Sports platforms. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A convicted murderer broke out of a prison in the north-central Vietnamese province of Thanh Hoa for the third time on Tuesday. Trieu Quan Su, 31, who was convicted of murder, robbery, desertion, and prison break, escaped from the prison of the criminal investigation department under the Ministry of National Defense in Thanh Long Commune, Thach Thanh District, Thanh Hoa Province at around 5:00 pm on Tuesday, according to police in Thanh Hoa City, the provincial capital. Police said Su is a highly dangerous criminal, advising local residents to promptly contact police officers or military units or dial 0983736704 if they spot him. The criminal is 1.6 meters tall, has a straight nose bridge, a dark complexion, and a mole one centimeter from the end of the left brow, according to police description. The man was found guilty of murder, robbery, and desertion in 2013 after leaving his military unit five times and murdering a 49-year-old coffee shop owner in Hanoi in August 2012. This is the third time the inmate has broken out of prison. He escaped from jail for the first time in 2014 before being found guilty of intentionally causing injury and stealing property in 2016. Su escaped from prison for the second time in 2020 and again stole property. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Conjoined twin girls who share a liver have been sent to the Vietnam National Children's Hospital in Hanoi because one is in a critical condition, local media reported. The twins, named V.N. and V.T. from northern Lao Cai Province, were found to be conjoined at the 33rd week of pregnancy. Seven weeks later, they were delivered through a cesarean section and their birth weight was 2.2 and 2.8 kilograms, respectively. After birth, V.T. suffered from dermatorrhagia and pustules all over her body but her health is stable, while V.N. has been put on a ventilator given her pustules and respiratory failure. In addition, doctors found her suffering from a atrioventricular septal defect with the help of an echocardiogram. The twins were found to share a liver through an abdominal ultrasound scan. After failing to respond to treatment, the babies were transferred to the Vietnam National Childrens Hospital at midnight on May 28. At the hospital, doctors concluded that V.N. is suffering from a complete atrioventricular septal defect, single-atrium and single-ventricle heart, severe atrioventricular regurgitation, aortic disruption, arterial inversion, and pulmonary atrophy. V.T.s health is stable while V.N. is in a critical condition, according to the hospital. They are receiving good care and treatment with the coordination between the neonatal care center and the department of internal medicine. On Monday, the director board of the Vietnam National Childrens Hospital held a consultation with the participation of representatives of the departments of cardiology, surgical intensive care, neonatology, diagnostic imaging, endocrinology - genetic medicine, anesthesiology - intensive care, craniofacial and plastic surgery, and other relevant wards to work out a plan on an early surgery for the twins, striving to save both babies' lives. There will be multiple difficulties in the surgery. First, the liver of the two babies is conjoined and half of the lower body of V.N. is nourished by the hepatic artery of V.T.. Therefore, the abdominal and liver separation will pose a high risk of shock. However, if the separation is not conducted early, V.T. may suffer from heart failure as she has to pump blood to feed the two bodies. Moreover, the kids have many cardiovascular abnormalities. Cardiac surgeries on a normal kid are complicated and require professional knowledge and absolute accuracy, making the operation on V.N. and V.T. even more challenging. According to doctors, conjoined twins are very rare with a rate of 1/200,000 newborns and 70 percent of them are female. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Stan Grant hosts Q+A live from Sydney this week on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the historic Mabo decision. An ABC panel including Gail Mabo, daughter of Eddie Mabo, will reflect on whats been achieved since the High Court recognised Indigenous land rights. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to hold a referendum to enshrine a Voice for First Nations people in the Constitution and major faith groups have declared their support. The former government went to the election supporting a legislative option, but it remains to be seen if the Coalitions position on the Uluru Statement from the Heart will change under its newly elected leader Peter Dutton. Will the Opposition back Labors plans for a referendum and will we see support for constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians during the next term of government? After a brutal election loss, the Liberal party has chosen Queensland conservative Peter Dutton to replace Scott Morrison and appointed former Environment Minister Sussan Ley as deputy. In his first press conference as Opposition leader, Mr Dutton says he will work with the new Labor government but his partys policies will be squarely aimed at the forgotten Australians in the suburbs. Hes also admitted his boycott of the Stolen Generations apology was a mistake. Ms Ley says the Liberal party has heard women at the election and was determined to earn back their trust and faith. Meanwhile the Nationals have also appointed a new leadership team, with Queenslander David Littleproud replacing Barnaby Joyce and NSW Senator Perin Daley voted in as deputy. Mr Littleproud has paid tribute to his predecessors and says his deputy represents the future of the party. Will the departure of Barnaby Joyce see the Nationals shift their position on climate policy? How co-operative will the Liberal-National Coalition be under the new leadership teams? Gail Mabo, Artist and daughter of land rights campaigner Eddie Koiki Mabo Linda Burney, Minister for Indigenous Australians Julian Leeser, NSW Liberal MP Chris Kenny, Indigenous Voice Senior Advisory Group member Shireen Morris, Constitutional lawyer and author Frank Brennan, Priest, human rights lawyer and academic 8:30pm Thursday on ABC. The written word and tradition in China Chinese character 'kang' (meaning good health or to stay healthy): Editor's note: The Chinese character "kang" is the keyword for the traditional Duanwu Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival. "Kang" means good health or to stay healthy. Ancient Chinese people believed that natural disasters and illnesses were especially common between late May and early June, when Duanwu Festival is celebrated, so they prayed for the good health of their family and friends during this festival. This year's Duanwu Festival falls on June 3. With a history of more than 2,000 years, the festival is celebrated with a variety of traditions along with legends passed down for generations. 1. Commemorating poet Qu Yuan The best-known legend in China holds that Duanwu Festival commemorates the death of the poet Qu Yuan (340278 B.C.). Qu Yuan was a politician of the State of Chu and one of China's earliest poets. Faced with great pressure from the powerful Qin State, he advocated enriching the state and strengthening its military forces so as to fight the Qin. However, he was opposed by other aristocrats, and later deposed and exiled by his king. During exile, he continued to care deeply for his hometown and people and wrote a wide range of great poetry. In 278 B.C., Qu Yuan heard the news that Qin troops had finally conquered Chu's capital, and so plunged into the Miluo River and drowned himself. The day happened to be the fifth day of the fifth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. After his death, the people of Chu crowded the banks of the river to pay their respects. The Good Karma Hospital series four begins on ABC next week. In the first episode Lydia is forced to admit a highly contagious Nipah patient into her hospital when Ruby and new British Asian doctor Samir break protocol in the fight to save the girls life. Ram clashes with Lydia over the arrival of a headstrong trainee doctor. This debuted in the UK in January. The Good Karma Hospital series four finds our tropical Indian hospital busy as ever. The fierce and passionate Dr Lydia Fonseca is forced to confront her complex past and has to handle some home truths in order to save Greg (McConnell) from deportation and perhaps even their future together. With Ruby still reeling following Gabriels shock departure, she struggles to see in to an un- certain future, makes rash decisions and tries to find ways to vent her fury. Two new doctors arrive at The Good Karma Hospital. Charismatic British Asian Dr Samir Ha- san and Dr Nikita Niki Sharma, the epitome of a young, privileged Indian woman who is get- ting a taste of medicine at the sharp end. The series opens with a chance encounter between Ruby and Samir. Encouraged by Samir, Ruby breaks protocol when visiting a sick girl who has a deadly virus. Ruby and Samir take the girl (Karishma) to The Good Karma Hospital where Lydia recognises the Nipah virus but ignores Rams advice to refuse the child hospitalisation. Its a move that makes local politician Hira Grover a powerful enemy. Greg encounters Frankie Martin and her neurodiverse son Bobby, who are visiting India so Bobby can observe the nations birds. Frankie, who is struggling to allow Bobby any freedom, suffers a health scare. New headstrong trainee doctor Niki Sharma intervenes to support Frankie in order to allow Bobby to stand on his own two feet. As with all families, this medical family has their ups and downs, yet they are bound by duty to their patients and love for one another. Escape with us to Kerala in South India, with all of its contrasts and to this beloved community hospital. Saturday June 11 7:30pm on ABC. New Zealand comedy drama Inked and Swedish thriller A Class Apart both premiere this week at at SBS On Demand. Thursday, 2 June: A Class Apart All eight episodes available to stream, In Swedish with English subtitles. At Swedens top ranked boarding school there is a secret society for the super-rich, the Zebra Club. On the night of the new semester the select few indulge in the hazing of two new members. The following morning, one of them is found dead. Sara Boden (Aliette Opheim), a passionate counsellor at the public school nearby is fighting budget cuts and the school principal. When one of her troubled students is falsely accused of the murder she reacts on social media, criticising the boarding school and stirring up emotions in the community. In an attempt to save the boarding schools reputation, Sara, their biggest critic, is offered employment by the devious owner Carl (Henrik Schyffert). She accepts the position in order to find the truth behind the murder and expose the mechanism of power. A Class. Apart also stars Valter Skarsgard and Edvin Endre. A Class Apart is an SBS On Demand exclusive. Inked All eight episodes available to stream. In Mandarin, Cantonese, and English with English subtitles. Inked is a bittersweet bilingual dramedy in which 22-year-old Jiayue Qiu (Lisa Zhang) secretly follows her dream of becoming a tattoo artist, whilst struggling to connect with her unhappy father. After being uprooted from Nanjing, China, to Auckland, Aotearoa, Jiayue is trying and failing a medicine degree that her dad Rong chose for her but her dream is to become a professional tattooist. Ghosted by her now ex-boyfriend and kicked out from her flat, Jiayues only option is to return to her overbearing fathers house, while they struggle to talk in the aftermath of her mothers abandonment. Inked is an SBS OnDemand exclusive. By Renee Maltezou and Deborah Kyvrikosaios ATHENS (Reuters) - Raised in rural Greece, queer artist and author Sam Albatros recalls how their mother tried to console them about the bullying at school. "My mom said: 'Don't worry, when you grow up you are going to marry a woman, you are going to have kids and you will show them'... The worst thing is that she said this to actually comfort me," Albatros said. Last year, Albatros (their artistic name) published 'Faulty Boy', a book describing the challenges that gender queer children face in Greece, a largely conservative country where the influential Orthodox Church teaches that being gay is a sin. "Of course I felt the pressure to change," said Albatros, using an artistic name and wearing a sparkly black face mask to ensure the book is not linked to a certain identity. Greece this month banned so-called conversion therapy for minors, practices aimed at suppressing a persons sexual orientation or gender identity and which health experts and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community worldwide have condemned as psychologically harmful and unethical. Canada, New Zealand and France criminalised conversion therapy earlier this year, joining a growing number of countries to outlaw the practise. Prime Minister Mitsokakis, who is trying to break away from the traditional image of a conservative leader and faces elections in 2023, last year appointed a committee to draft a national strategy for improving LGBTQI+ rights. "I know that much remains to be done," he said on May 17, the international day against homophobia and transphobia. "Modern Greece has the will, the maturity, the heart and the soul to cover for the lost ground." The government has also repelled a ban on blood donations by gay men and has been training civil servants on LGBTQI issues, said Mitsotakis's chief economic adviser Alexis Patelis. The Greek LGBTQI+ community has welcomed the reforms over the past decade, including allowing civil partnership among same-sex couples in 2015 and the legal recognition of gender identity in 2017. But many feel they have been half-hearted. Story continues 'DANGEROUS LOOPHOLES' In practice, the gender identity recognition is a complex judicial procedure and discrimination issues emerged during the pandemic. Same-sex couples are not allowed to marry or adopt children. The ban on conversion therapy excludes adults, requiring their consent, a move which LGBTQI+ advocates say is effectively legalising what the United Nations has said can amount to "torture". It also confines practitioners to paid health professionals when they are often conducted by religious and other counsellors. "Unfortunately in Greece all of the reforms that have been approved (by parliament), are half, incomplete, with very dangerous gaps and loopholes," said Parvy Palmou a gender queer, non-binary psychotherapist with Greece's Transgender Support Association. The government also plans to ban unnecessary "sex normalising" surgeries on intersex babies born with atypical chromosomes that affect their bodies in a way that does not fit with the normative definitions of male or female. "They need to be able to decide for themselves at an appropriate age if and when they will perform any operation knowing the consequences and alternatives and not injure their body and soul irreparably," said Rinio Simeonidou, mother of an intersex teenager and member of Intersex Greece, a group which supports about 250 families with intersex members. She told Reuters that 13 years on from her own experiences, doctors were still advising mothers of intersex foetuses to terminate their pregnancies. Polls conducted this year by the Eteron and Dianeosis institutes showed that a majority of young Greeks support key LGBTQI+ reforms. But opposition remains. This month, seven priests wrote to Mitsotakis protesting against a TV advertisement for same-sex marriage: "Christians ... know that God created two sexes, man and woman. There is no third sex," they said in their letter. Making "Greece a better place for everyone" is the government's objective, Patelis said. But for Albatros, who lives in London and has earned hundreds of admirers for their art, returning home is not a plan for now. "I still do not feel comfortable here," they said. "I'm very bad with having to fight for things that I consider that they should be a given." (Reporting by Renee Maltezou and Deborah Kyvrikosaios; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) On Thursday, May 12, the 5th International Folklore Festival, also called 'Kharibulbul', kicked off in Shusha, the cultural capital of Azerbaijan. Organised by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan, it is being attended by musicians and dance groups from different countries, as well as folk groups from different regions of Azerbaijan. The event is held in May during the flowering of 'kharibulbul' (Ophrys caucasica), also known as the "official flower" of the Karabakh region according to local media. (Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden vowed Tuesday to meet with lawmakers about gun-control legislation, while aides said the administration is currently researching additional executive actions he might take in the aftermath of last weeks deadly massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Most Read from Bloomberg I will meet with the Congress on guns, I promise you, Biden said Tuesday as he welcomed New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to the White House. White House officials are examining what additional actions Biden could take unilaterally -- but fear he may have already exhausted all available options, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. Before the Texas shooting, Biden placed additional restrictions on so-called ghost guns that are sold in kits and assembled by consumers, as well as pistol-stabilizing braces that can make handguns handle more like rifles. Gun control advocacy groups have said Biden could do more through regulation to limit the sale of firearms, though the impact on mass shootings is likely to be minimal. Biden wants lawmakers to take a vote on legislation banning the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, Jean-Pierre said. Biden told reporters Monday he hadnt yet opened negotiations with GOP lawmakers on the issue, but he believed there was a chance to strike a compromise with rational Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Texas Senator John Cornyn. But on Tuesday, the White House said that Biden disagreed with McConnells assessment that mental illness and school safety were at the root of the issue - and declined to detail any specific plans for conversations with lawmakers. Biden does not support legislation hardening schools, as some Republicans have proposed, Jean-Pierre said. Story continues The White House has said its allowing congressional leaders to dictate the pace and framework of talks after the shooting -- which killed 19 children and two teachers -- prompted renewed calls for legislative action on gun control. Democrats in Congress have repeatedly tried and failed to strengthen federal gun laws. Read more: Biden Lays Flowers at Texas School Where Shooter Killed 21 Biden said he wanted to speak with Ardern about her meetings with major technology companies aimed at curbing extremist content online following a 2019 mass shooting at a pair of mosques in Christchurch. Ardern said she discussed a range of topics with Biden, including reforms technology giants can make to reduce harmful content, such as changing algorithms. They discussed the Christchurch Call to Action, a 2019 summit Ardern initiated that aimed to find ways to curb violent extremism online. I want to work with you on that effort, and I want to talk to you about what those conversations were like, Biden said during a portion of the Oval Office meeting held in front of press, later adding: The work youre doing with tech companies is really important. New Zealand also enacted a series of gun control measures after the 2019 shooting, restricting semi-automatic firearms and magazines with a capacity of over 10 rounds. Ardern expressed condolences for the mass shooting in Texas and one earlier this month in Buffalo, New York. Our experience, of course, in this regard is our own. And if theres anything we can share that would be of any value, we are here to share it, she told Biden. A senior Biden administration official said Ardern did not urge a specific course of action on gun control. Biden said there had been an awful lot of suffering in the US, much of it preventable. Ive been to more mass shooting aftermaths than I think any president in American history, unfortunately, and its -- so much of it, much of it is preventable and the devastation is amazing, he said. (Everytown for Gun Safety, which advocates for universal background checks and gun-safety measures, is backed by Michael Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent company Bloomberg LP.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. Bank Holiday fun Millions of people are gearing up to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee over a blockbuster four-day bank holiday weekend, which starts tomorrow. Now a trade union is calling for an increase in the number of bank holidays, saying British workers have fewer than those in other countries. Who wants more holidays? The TUC said workers deserve more breaks. England and Wales usually get eight annual bank holidays, while Scotland and Northern Ireland typically get nine or 10. In Northern Ireland, St Patrick's Day and Orangemen's Day are also bank holidays. In Scotland, January 2 and St Andrew's Day are bank holidays. How much do other countries get? The TUC said that by contrast, the average number of public holidays for EU nations is 12.8 days each year. Countries including Japan, Australia, USA and China also give their workers several more public holidays than the UK, said the TUC. What does TUC want? The union is calling for a minimum of four additional annual bank holidays. TUC general secretary Frances OGrady said: Its not fair on UK workers to get so few public holidays. They work just as hard as people in other nations who get a lot more. The Government should put this right by increasing our bank holidays to at least 12 a year." Will workers actually get the holiday? Ms OGrady added: New bank holidays must be accounted for with an increase to the paid leave that workers are legally entitled to. Otherwise, some workers will miss out, and the Government must toughen up enforcement to stop bosses cheating working people out of their holidays. Who else backs it? The unions' traditional adversary the Confederation of British Industry have called for the Queens Platinum Jubilee bank holiday to be made permanent. They believe an extra day off would provide a social and economic stimulus in the wake of Covid-19, and that any potential economic cost could be offset by a boost in general wellbeing. Story continues Is it going to happen? The UK government is cautious about any loss of productivity, with a spokesman explaining 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. Other royal bank holidays? There was a special bank holiday on June 7, 1977, as part of the Silver Jubilee of the Queen, and the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer on July 29 1981 resulted in an extra bank holiday. When did bank holidays begin? They were introduced by a man named Sir John Lubbock who was a scientific writer, banker and politician, and the first Baron of Avebury. He was also reported to have studied ants and tried to teach his poodle how to read. In 1871, he drafted the Bank Holiday Bill. When it became law, he created the first official bank holidays. Initially, it was just banks and financial buildings that would close, which is where the name comes from. But as time went on, businesses, shops, schools and the government all joined in. Alan Jones The Senedd in Cardiff (Senedd/PA) (PA Wire) The Welsh Government is to press ahead with plans to increase the number of Senedd members despite opposition from senior Conservatives. The reforms, proposed by Labour and Plaid Cymru as part of a co-operation agreement, would see the number of members increase from 60 to 96. Currently the Senedd remains smaller than its other devolved counterparts with the Scottish Parliament having 129 members and the Northern Ireland Assembly having 90. A Senedd committee has backed the changes saying a strengthened parliament would result in more powerful scrutiny of government and better representation of people in Wales. Todays Senedd is very different to the institution that was established over 20 years ago Huw Irranca-Davies, committee chairman Welsh Tories have called for the expansion plan to be put to a referendum, with party leader Andrew RT Davies calling it a waste of both time and money. The committee also recommended the Senedd become the first UK parliament to introduce a gender quota. A reform Bill could be introduced as early as next year with the aim for it to receive Royal Assent by May 2024, after which a boundary review would take place with the aim for it to be completed by April 2025, prior to the 2026 Senedd elections. The chairman of the special purpose committee on Senedd reform, Huw Irranca-Davies, said: Our report sets out a plan for a strengthened parliament which will provide a stronger voice for the people of Wales. Todays Senedd is very different to the institution that was established over 20 years ago. Its powers have increased to meet the ambitions of our modern and proud nation. It can now make laws and set Welsh taxes, issues which affect the lives of every single person in Wales. With greater powers must come greater accountability. We need a parliament that can effectively scrutinise the decisions taken by the Welsh Government, on behalf of the public it serves. The current system doesnt allow that to be done as well as it should be. Story continues Mr Irranca-Davies added: By leading the way on gender quotas, it will mean women a majority group in Wales will have certainty of fair representation, which can only lead to better and fairer outcomes for us all. The report provides detailed proposals for a new electoral system in Wales, including recommending closed proportional lists are used and that seats are allocated using the DHondt system. According to the document, there should be 16 new Senedd constituencies and each should have six members. The Welsh Conservatives have long opposed the plans, claiming the move could cost taxpayers up to 100 million over the next five years. Wales needs more doctors, dentists, nurses and teachers, not more politicians in Cardiff Bay Darren Millar, shadow minister for the constitution The report estimated the additional 30 MSs would cost around 12 million per year. Shadow minister for the constitution Darren Millar, who resigned from the committee in protest, said: Wales needs more doctors, dentists, nurses and teachers, not more politicians in Cardiff Bay. Leader Mr RT Davies said: What are Labour doing to tackle cost-of-living pressures? Bloating the size of the Senedd at the taxpayers expense. Thats money that could be spent helping to alleviate the pressures household budgets are under. Even if you agree with more politicians, it cant be right that Labour and Plaid are dictating the constituencies where people cast their votes. It reeks of pork barrel politics for electoral gain. A debate on the reports findings is set to take place on June 8. Young children and women are among the latest people to arrive in the UK after crossing the English Channel in small boats (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Wire) Young children and women are among the latest people to arrive in the UK after crossing the English Channel in small boats. A number of people were seen being brought ashore in a RNLI vessel at Dover, Kent, on Tuesday. The arrivals came as the Ministry of Defence confirmed that 32 people were brought ashore on Monday after six days without any crossings. A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, on board an RNLI lifeboat (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Wire) A total of 9,362 migrants have reached the UK after navigating busy shipping lanes from France in small boats such as dinghies since the start of 2022, according to analysis of Government data by the PA news agency. A total of 28,526 people made the crossing in 2021, compared with 8,466 in 2020, 1,843 in 2019 and 299 in 2018, according to official figures. The Home Office also released details last week showing that people fleeing Afghanistan made up almost a quarter of the migrants crossing the Channel in the first three months of the year. A woman and a young girl are among the latest people to be brought in to Dover (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Wire) Out of 4,540 people detected arriving by small boats between January and March 2022, some 24% (1,094) were Afghan nationals, according to the Government figures. This was the most out of any nationality recorded, followed by 16% who were Iranian (722) and 15% (681) Iraqi which both typically outrank Afghans in the numbers. Looking down from the hot air balloon, tourists are amazed by a painting covering the floor in the East Lake scenic area in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province. Covering an area of 6,000 square meters, the painting depicts a koi fish, which represents good luck in Chinese culture, and Wuhan's iconic Yellow Crane Tower. It was created by the Super Painters, a group of young artists who paint on surfaces such as the floor, walls and electricity junction boxes to add color to public areas of the city. The team has completed hundreds of works around Wuhan, which are found in popular scenic spots, business districts and apartment buildings. Some of the paintings are so eye-catching that passersby stop to take photos, while short videos of the paintings have gone viral on social media. "The paintings are not only art but a window showcasing the city's spirit and culture," says Zhang Hao, 32, founder of the Super Painters. Zhang graduated from the Hubei Institute of Fine Arts and started the team in 2016. Having lived in Wuhan for more than 10 years, he has deep affection for the city. Therefore, symbols of Wuhan are always a theme in his paintings. "I grew up by the Yangtze River. I want to raise people's awareness of protecting the ecology through the adorable smiles of the finless porpoises," Zhang says. When Wuhan began to renovate some old residential buildings in 2019, the team acquired a permit to put a picture of the finless porpoises on the 200-square-meter wall of one of the apartment buildings, which turned out to be a great success. Since then, the team has finished several other murals featuring the finless porpoise. Hu Meiting, 25, a member of the team, decided to join the Super Painters when she saw the floor painting in the East Lake scenic area. "It's so cool to draw such a large picture that can only be fully appreciated high above the ground," she says. "They chase their dreams so hard, and I'm proud to be part of the group," she adds. Now, the team is getting more professional and has formed a standard operating procedure. "We will go on decorating our city with paintings and stick to our aim of making the city more beautiful," Zhang says. A shame of human rights to coerce multinational companies to leave Xinjiang By Global Times editorial (Global Times) 08:23, June 01, 2022 German car giant Volkswagen has recently encountered a sudden increase of political pressure in the West and the US over a plant it opened in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region nine years ago. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said recently that Germany has refused a company's investment guarantees and the decision "was the "first time an investment guarantee has not been given on human rights grounds." The company was later identified by the media as Volkswagen. This is another specific case of groundless harassment of foreign companies in Xinjiang after Tesla was "besieged" for opening a new showroom in Xinjiang at the beginning of the year. The matter cannot be more obvious. In response to the so-called Xinjiang issue, several anti-China forces from the US and the West are joining forces to launch a large-scale, cross-field "coercion campaign." They first fabricated outrageous lies such as "forced labor" and "genocide" in Xinjiang, and then took advantage of their discourse power to speak with a "unanimous voices" in public opinion in the US and the West. Under the banner of "human rights", they constructed the "politically correctness" on the Xinjiang issue. By exploiting such "political correctness," they coerced international public figures who uphold objective and fair stance on Xinjiang-related issue and multinational companies that insist on carrying out normal business with Xinjiang, creating a "chilling effect" in public opinion and business sectors. Their intentions are extremely vicious. Volkswagen set up a factory in Xinjiang in 2013. At this factory, where 25 percent of its employees are ethnic minorities of China, it has never heard of a "human rights scandal" that violated German or Chinese labor standards in these years. Today, Volkswagen is forced to prove its innocence in front of the German media, and has to defend its normal and win-win business exchanges with Xinjiang which comply with the laws and regulations. This is a huge setback for the commercial civilization of the US and the West. The hidden hands behind the scene may not be able to burn the "heretics" to death like what the Inquisition did in the Middle Ages. But they attempt to crucify individuals or institutions that do not yield to their coercion, making them infamous until they become socially dead. Public opinion on Xinjiang related affairs in the US and the West is highly distorted. Although Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess said the company would not close its factory in Xinjiang, everyone can see that he voiced the words cautiously. There is no "forced labor" involved in Volkswagen's facility there, and the company just plans to continue operations there. He also said the presence of Volkswagen in Xinjiang will lead to the "situation improving for people." He told the truth. In these years, more and more multinational companies have come to Xinjiang because of the superior investment environment there. Their sharp business vision has been rewarded handsomely. On the other hand, they have also provided employment opportunities for local people. This is a typical win-win situation, and it is also contribution to human rights. On the contrary, those who use the excuse of protecting "human rights" in Xinjiang, are jeopardizing human rights in Xinjiang. They intimidate foreign companies to withdraw from Xinjiang and attempt to forcibly exclude Xinjiang from the global industrial chain. Isn't that direct harm to the right to subsistence and development of Xinjiang people? They want to destroy the cotton planting and automobile production in Xinjiang. Aren't they trying to turn the ways local people make a living into the victims of their goal - using Xinjiang to contain China? This is a kind of "economic terrorism" and substantial human rights persecution and racial discrimination. Honest speaking, the latest example in Germany is regrettable. Though it cannot represent the whole picture of China-Germany relations, it's a countercurrent that cannot be ignored. The German government refusing to provide "investment guarantees" for Volkswagen will not directly influence the company's business in China. But it sent a bad signal. The pragmatic, rational China policy long held during the Merkel era is being cast in the shadow of ideology. Based on groundless lies, a few German politicians and media outlets have forced German companies to kowtow to the American hegemonic rule, even stabbed German enterprises in the back. It is completely unreasonable from the point of common sense, or reason or law. They have been carried away by their allegiance to Washington. But the trend will not be reversed by a few people's sputtering. Anti-China forces in the US and the West are trying to "strangle" Xinjiang and stir trouble in China, but actions that go against the rule and trend will win no support and are doomed to fail. Whether it's Tesla or Volkswagen, they have made their choice amid the anti-China clamor. People with common sense know that not only opportunities, but also time and morality stand on the side of China. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Ballet dancer Chun Wai Chan was promoted to take on the role as the principal dancer at New York City Ballet. A former principal with Houston Ballet, Chan entered the company as a soloist in August 2021. He is now the first Chinese principal dancer at New York City Ballet. "I love the company. I love the people here and also the city," Chan said. "It kept me excited." He added that he hoped his new title would inspire Asian students "trying to fit in the dance community". Chan, who turns 30 next month, called the promotion "an amazing birthday gift". The promotion comes as New York City Ballet plans an ambitious 2022-23 season after pandemic disruptions. The company has been back onstage since September last year. Chan will play the role of Titania's Cavalier in George Balanchine's A Midsummer Night's Dream, which closes out the company's spring season with 10 performances at Lincoln Center. Chan was born in South China's Guangdong province and received training at the Guangzhou Art School. In 2010, he was a finalist at the Prix de Lausanne, an international competition in Switzerland for young dancers seeking to pursue professional careers in ballet. His finalist placement earned him a full scholarship to study with the Houston Ballet's second company, Houston Ballet II. In 2012, Chan joined Houston Ballet and ascended to the role of principal dancer in 2017. He was also a guest principal with Hong Kong Ballet in 2018 and 2019. WASHINGTON A lawyer for Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential campaign was acquitted Tuesday of lying to the FBI when he pushed information meant to cast suspicions on Donald Trump and Russia in the run-up to that years election. The case against Michael Sussmann was the first courtroom test of special counsel John Durham since his appointment three years ago to search for misconduct during the investigation into potential ties between Russia and Trumps 2016 campaign. The verdict marks a clear setback for Durhams work, especially since Trump supporters have looked to the probe to expose what they contend was egregious bias by law enforcement officials who investigated the ex-presidents campaign. The outcome is likely to hasten questions about the purpose of the inquiry and its cost to taxpayers, especially since the three criminal cases Durham has brought so far have fallen short of establishing any sort of sweeping conspiracy to frame Trump or derail his candidacy. The jury deliberated for several hours Friday afternoon and Tuesday morning before reaching its verdict. Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse after the verdict was delivered, Sussmann said he told the truth to the FBI, and the jury clearly recognized that with their unanimous verdict today. He added, Despite being falsely accused, I am relieved that justice ultimately prevailed in this case. In a separate statement, Durham said that though he and his team were disappointed in the outcome, they respected the jurys decision. He thanked the investigators and prosecutors on his team for their dedicated efforts in seeking truth and justice in this case. The trial focused on a narrow issue: whether Sussmann, a cybersecurity attorney and former federal prosecutor himself, concealed from the FBI that he was representing Clintons campaign when he passed along computer data that he said showed a possible secret communication backchannel between Russia-based Alfa Bank and Trumps business company, the Trump Organization. The FBI, which was already investigating potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, examined the data but quickly determined that there was no suspicious computer contact. The FBIs then-general counsel and the governments star witness, James Baker, testified that he was 100% confident that Sussmann had told him he was not representing any client during a September 2016 meeting the two men had. Prosecutors alleged Sussmann was actually acting on behalf of the Clinton campaign and another client, a technology executive, and that he hid that information to make the data seem more credible and to boost the chances of getting the FBI to investigate. They pointed to a text message Sussmann sent to Baker the night before the meeting in which he requested a sit-down and said hed be coming on his own and not on behalf of any client. Lawyers for Sussmann denied to jurors that he lied, saying it was impossible to know with certainty what he told Baker since they were the only participants in the meeting and neither of them took notes. They argued that though Sussmann legally represented the Clinton campaign, he didnt attend the meeting on the campaigns behalf and hadnt asked the FBI to take any action to benefit the campaign. They elicited testimony from former campaign officials who said Sussmann had not been authorized to visit the FBI. And they said that even if he did make a false statement, it was ultimately irrelevant since the FBI was already investigating Russia and the Trump campaign and, given the urgency of that probe, would have looked into the Alfa Bank data no matter the source. Sussmanns lawyers, Sean Berkowitz and Michael Bosworth, said in a statement that Sussmann should never have been charged in the first place. This is a case of extraordinary prosecutorial overreach. And we believe that todays verdict sends an unmistakable message to anyone who cares to listen: politics is no substitute for evidence, and politics has no place in our system of justice, the lawyers said. During the two-week trial, jurors heard from a slew of witnesses, including current and former FBI officials who described efforts to assess the legitimacy of the Alfa Bank data, ex-Clinton campaign aides and lawyers and colleagues and friends of Sussmann who vouched for his character. Jurors were instructed to put politics aside, but Trump and some of his supporters took note of the fact that the jury pool was taken from heavily Democratic Washington. The former president wrote on his social media platform that the legal system was corrupt and referenced the acquittal as one of several examples of our country going to HELL. The original Trump-Russia investigation, overseen for two years by former special counsel Robert Mueller, found multiple efforts by Russia to interfere on the Trump campaigns behalf but did not establish that the two sides had worked together to sway the outcome of the election. After Muellers work was done, then-Attorney General William Barr named a new Justice Department prosecutor, then-Connecticut U.S. Attorney Durham, to examine whether anyone from the FBI or other agencies violated the law as the government opened its investigation into Russian election interference and the Trump campaign. Durham has brought three criminal cases so far, though only one has been against a federal government employee and none of them has established any sort of sweeping conspiracy to frame Trump or derail his candidacy. The Alfa Bank matter, for instance, was peripheral to the Trump-Russia probe, with the since-discredited allegations not even warranting a mention in Muellers 448-page report. The 54th State District Court rejected a plea deal on Thursday negotiated for a Waco man charged with evidence tampering in the shooting death of a Waco 2-year-old during September last year, a spokesperson for the McLennan County District Attorneys Office said Tuesday. The plea agreement we (the DAs office) negotiated called for (Derrick Damon Pipkins Jr, 21, of Waco) sentencing to be consolidated and the judge rejected the deal, DAs office spokesperson Tom Needham said Tuesday after the Memorial Day holiday. The Pipkins case was shown on Friday to be scheduled for a jury trial on a third-degree felony evidence tampering charge stemming from his 2-year-old nephews shooting death last fall. The plea agreement worked out between prosecutor Randy Dale and defense attorney Jonathan Sibley would have called for Pipkins to receive a 10-year sentence. The sentence would have run concurrently with another sentence Pipkins is already serving, Needham said. Sibley said Pipkins withdrew his plea because the judge indicated she was not inclined to accept it the deal. The judge indicated she would have wanted Pipkins new sentence to start after he completes the unrelated sentence he is already serving, Sibley said. She also did not think the prosecutor on the case had enough interaction with the victims family regarding the deal, Sibley said. The prosecutor assigned to Pipkins cases since 2019 left the McLennan County District Attorneys Office in March for a job with the Bell County Attorneys Office, leaving Dale to take over. Where the case is now is like going back to square one, because it an either go to a jury trial or the prosecution and defense can work out another plea, Sibley said. Investigation of the toddlers death determined the shooting was accidental, according to court records. The toddler had removed a gun from Pipkins knapsack in back room of a Waco apartment, records state. Waco Police had charged Pipkins with evidence tampering as a third-degree felony in connection with the shooting death, court records show. Police reported he was prohibited from being in possession of a firearm at the time and attempted to conceal the weapon in an effort to keep it out of evidence, records show. Pipkins is already serving a 10-year sentence for two counts of deadly conduct stemming from a July 2019 incident, jail records show. He had been on probation for the 2019 charges and prevented from owning or possessing a firearm when his nephew died in September 2021, court records show. The 54th State District Court adjudicated his guilt on the 2019 charges in March, records show. 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. Rising temperatures and busy neighborhood parks signal the end of the school year, but Waco Independent School District is making sure students continue to have free meal options through the summer. The district began its summer feeding program Tuesday, offering free breakfast and lunch at sites around Waco for children ages 1 to 18, regardless of income or residency. Adults accompanying a child can also eat breakfast for $2.75 or lunch for $4.15. The feeding program will continue Mondays through Fridays until Aug. 9, with holiday breaks on June 20 and July 4. Several fixed sites began Tuesday, while others will open in the next few weeks. Two mobile trucks also began making the rounds Tuesday to apartments, parks and community gathering places. For a list and a map of feeding sites, visit wacoisd.org/summermeals. This year marks the 10th year Waco ISD has had summer feeding sites through the federally funded Seamless Summer Option Feeding Program. Frank Jimenez, who works with Child Nutrition Services in the warehouse, has been volunteering with the free meals program for five years. Jimenez said he has enjoyed seeing the smiles on the childrens faces as they approach the food truck where he gives out meals. I think it really helps out, Jimenez said. [Its] important to get the nutrition in [the kids] and to see them grow. If they need the food, we are here for them. Ive been in Waco ISD for five years and its a big deal for us to serve the kids and come out to the community [so they] can see that we are helping any kid. I think its a wonderful job we are doing. Jimenez said the number of children at each location varies daily during the summer, but he estimated that some sites get up to 30 children. We pack 16 items in a bag once a week, thats the weekend meal, Jimenez said. Some of the kids are not able to have extra, so we try to serve them a little extra. Sonia Sarricolea, food service manager at Waco ISD, said she has been working at the district for about 25 years, spending the entire time in nutrition services. The need in the Waco area has been increasing, so we started with the school buses then we came up with the food truck, Sarricolea said. Its helping a lot, in some places we have a good participation, but it depends on the [weather] sometimes. Joe Emmons, operations manager for child nutrition services at Waco ISD, said the program is not only offered in the food trucks, but also in community locations, as well as at some Waco ISD school sites. In 2019, the district debuted fully equipped food trucks in an effort to expand the program to more students. It just gets more out and it gives it a nice touch to offering food to the students, Emmons said. We actually have a menu right over here, [where] students can see what meals are offered for the entire month. So they can see, Oh wow, its hamburger day, and stuff like that. Eteccauni Hawthorn, a resident at the Kate Ross Homes, 937 S. 11th St. said when she saw the food truck parked in front of the complex, she was intrigued. Hawthorn picked up a sandwich, fries and an apple in a plastic foam clamshell container for her daughter, 6, who is entering first grade in the fall. Hawthorn was also accompanied by children ages 2 and 6 months. This [program] is good for everyone around here, to help the kids, Hawthorn said. Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The 100-year-old Cameron House, host to scores of receptions, parties and community meetings during its 40 years as the home of Art Center Waco, may soon welcome the public again as the new home for McLennan Community Colleges MCC Foundation with a second floor reserved for community history and a courtyard returning to use as a reception space. The three-story house, originally built as a summer home for the William Waldo Cameron family, closed in October 2017 after structural problems caused a floor to pull away from its wall supports, making its occupancy hazardous and forcing the art center to find a new location. Under a plan approved unanimously by MCC trustees Tuesday night, the house owned by MCC would see repairs and renovations financed largely, if not completely, from private donations, and a possible opening to the public a little more than a year after work gets started. Waco businessman and philanthropist Clifton Robinson has pledged $2.5 million for the project, the Cooper Foundation will provide a $200,000 grant, and further fundraising efforts are underway. The board chose Waco-based Mazanec Construction to tackle the project. Initial estimates place the cost of the work at $4 million, but that likely will be adjusted as Mazanec, acting as a construction manager at risk, finalizes the details of the project. MCC President Johnette McKown said she welcomes the proposal for the houses future. Since the buildings closure, McKown has said she hoped private donors would step up to save the house since the projected cost of repairs was too high for the colleges purposes. We are excited about the possibility of renovation. Demolition was always a possibility, she said Tuesday morning ahead of the board meeting. An earlier proposal discussed this spring involved space for an art gallery and exhibition, but when that component fell through, plans were reworked with Robinson stepping forward to fund part of the renovation, MCC Foundation Executive Director Kim Patterson said. Patterson said scores of community residents had shared memories of events held at the house over the decades, particularly of wedding receptions and parties held in a courtyard that was originally a swimming pool. Part of the renovations intent is to continue those memories into the future. This is our opportunity to maximize that jewel and our goal is to restore it to its former glory, Patterson said. There were so many emotional ties to that place. While the renovated house will serve as headquarters for the MCC Foundation, currently located in a small house on the other side of the colleges campus, its space, particularly its large courtyard, will be made available for use by local nonprofits and other community groups, Patterson said. A catering kitchen space and restrooms will be attached to the courtyard. The renovated houses second floor also will hold exhibits and interactive displays telling stories of the areas natural and cultural history, encompassing the greater Waco community, the Cameron family and MCC. Theres no other place the story of Waco is being told. This is definitely in MCCs wheelhouse, Patterson said. We want these spaces to be open to the community. Were making sure were telling everyones story (but) were not calling it a Waco history museum. Patterson said author Mark Firmins centennial history of Cameron Park, whose land was donated to the city of Waco by the Cameron family, gave an idea for the context in which Waco history could be referenced in the renovated house. William Waldo Cameron, son of the lumber company magnate William Cameron, built the Mediterranean-style house, complete with swimming pool and skeet shooting outbuildings in 1921, supposedly as a wedding present for his second wife, Helen Miller. Robinson and his wife, Betsy, in fact, will hold a renovation fundraiser at their home June 21, the anniversary date of the Camerons wedding. The Camerons would later move to San Antonio after the death of W.W. Cameron, and the J.D. George family bought the property in the 1950s and lived there through the 1960s. The Junior League of Waco acquired the house in the 1970s and renovated it to house the newly created Art Center of Waco, now called Art Center Waco. Forced to leave the house in 2017, Art Center Waco has since moved to downtown Waco, where it spent $3 million to renovate a former child care center as its new home. Though the Cameron House is more than a century old and connected to a major family in Wacos history, it does not have a state historical marker and is not on the National Register of Historic Places. The problems that forced the buildings closure are not beyond repair, said Stephen Benson, MCCs vice president for finance and administration. Its a pretty serious structural problem, but its fixable, Benson said. He estimates the repair and renovation work likely will take 14 to 16 months. 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. EV transition Hank Naughton, in a recent Trib column, describes three reasons the U.S. cannot rapidly transition to electric vehicles (EVs), and should focus instead on making internal combustion engine cars more efficient. First, he expresses concern about the domination of the lithium and battery markets by China. In reality, Australia and Chile are the top extractors of lithium, and Korean LG Chem and Japanese Panasonic produce about 40% of the worlds lithium-ion batteries. Further, Tesla and Volkswagen are now producing EV batteries in house. And by 2030, the Department of Energy has planned a secure supply chain for lithium-ion batteries with friendly nations only. Thus, China does not totally dominate battery production, and its role should not handicap the U.S. in the mandatory move to EVs, as it does not prevent us from manufacturing cell phones. Second, Naughton claims EVs are more expensive than gas-powered vehicles. This common misconception results from only considering purchase price. After purchase, EVs offer extensive savings, since charging is cheaper than gas fueling, EVs require no oil changes, and maintenance is minimal. In fact, the conservative Consumer Reports in 2020 found for all EVs analyzed, the lifetime ownership costs were many thousands of dollars lower than all comparable (internal combustion engine) vehicles costs, with most EVs offering savings of between $6,000 and $10,000. Third, Naughton relies on an opinion poll to denigrate EVs. It suggests that the transition to EVs is not a high priority for Americans, and that funding for EVs is not an effective use of taxpayer money. However, a poll commissioned by the nonprofit Coltura contradicts that result and found that 55% of U.S. voters believe that all cars sold in 2030 should be EVs. Further, a 2021 Yale University poll found that 77% of American adults sampled support tax rebates for energy-efficient vehicles or solar panels. In addition, Naughton exaggerates the cost of charging infrastructure, claiming the federal government must subsidize a charger for every American without a driveway. In fact, private companies, such as Electrify America and EVgo, as well as gas stations and apartment complexes, install chargers. And although he believes its not feasible, the following car makers have pledged to be all electric by 2030: Bentley, Fiat, Ford (Europe), Jaguar Land Rover, Lotus, Mercedes, Rolls-Royce and Volvo. But most disturbing is Naughtons total neglect of the climate crisis: The worlds climate scientists are screaming that we must electrify transportation rapidly. Naughtons lethargic transition would increase our risk of climate catastrophe. Alan D. Northcutt, Waco Gun reform America needs common sense gun reform now. We do not have to sit by and let our children die in their schools. Other democratic nations have solved this problem and I believe we can too if only our representatives will work across the aisle to find solutions that make us truly a nation to thrive in. Heather Nessler, Waco The world faces a growing threat of starvation due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. One alternative to alleviate the world threat is a plan to move grain out of Ukraine via Lithuania, which has significant political barriers. "Starvation is near, and we have everything needed to provide part of a solution," said Algis Latakis, the director-general of Klaipeda Port on Lithuania's Baltic coast. Mr. Latakis insisted that his facility could assist the world in avoiding a food catastrophe by removing the enormous mountains of grain that are currently stranded in Ukraine. The port on the Baltic Sea has silos that are capable of storing a large quantity of grain, railway lines that are capable of transporting it from Ukraine, where it has been stranded because of the war. Belarus maintains control over the railway lines that provide the most expedient, economic, and direct path for transporting huge volumes of grain from Ukraine to Klaipeda and other Baltic ports. But there is one major obstacle, Mr. Latakis admitted, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, the president of Belarus. Mr. Lukashenko is the one who, back in February, allowed Russian forces to flow into Ukraine from his country. However, doing so would require striking a deal with a ruthless leader strongly aligned with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, highlighting the complicated moral and political options that now face Western leaders as they work to avert a worldwide food crisis. Several potential routes are being considered to transport the essential grain out of Ukraine. These routes include sending barges down the Danube River or transporting the grain by truck and train through ports in Poland and Romania. However, each of these options presents a unique set of difficulties. The reopening of the port of Odesa on the Black Sea, which is currently blockaded by Russia and mined by Ukraine in case of an invasion, would be the most challenging task. Even if it is a long shot, the Lithuania route appears to be the most promising one for rapidly delivering food to regions like the Middle East and Africa that want it the most. Mr. Latakis, the head of the port at Klaipeda, said, "This is a decision that politicians need to decide, not me." It is up to them to determine what aspects of the situation are most significant. The heads of state in both the European Union and the United States have made it clear that they prioritize alleviating hunger above all other issues. Russia and Belarus are both angling for comfort from sanctions in return for assistance in preventing starvation. Although Western nations such as the United States and Ukraine are against removing the sanctions imposed on Russia due to its invasion, they have not ruled out the possibility of striking a deal with Belarus. Before Russia's invasion on February 24, most of Ukraine's agricultural goods were transported through Odesa and the city of Mariupol, which was the country's primary port on the Azov Sea but has since been destroyed. These shipments have been delayed due to the war, which has resulted in approximately 25 million tons of grain from the harvest of the previous year being stuck in silos and at risk of decaying if it is not transferred as quickly as possible. These estimates are from the United Nations. It is anticipated that an additional 50 million tons will be extracted in the coming months. The grain elevators in Ukraine are rapidly reaching their maximum capacity as more and more grain is brought in. At least those that havent been destroyed by Russian forces. There will be no more space available to store the forthcoming harvest in a short amount of time. Given the volumes that need to be transferred, Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, current avenues for grain movement "can only provide a limited respite of the food crisis" due to the severe bottlenecks that exist along those routes. In a written response to inquiries, he stated that the optimum solution would be for Russia to lift its blockade of Odesa or for Western countries to send warships to accompany grain-carrying vessels. Either of these two options would be preferable to the current situation. However, according to Mr. Kuleba, "this is an exceedingly challenging undertaking, and it carries a lot of security dangers." He refused to comment explicitly on the possibility of exporting the food to Belarus, but he did say: "We are desperate to export our goods as quickly as possible." Whatever is most effective." Antonio Guterres, the head of the United Nations, has been trying to negotiate a deal in which grain from Ukraine would be transported out of the country by ship or train. In exchange, Russia and Belarus would sell fertilizer products to the global market without the threat of sanctions. Guterres has warned of an impending "hurricane of hunger," and he is attempting to do so in the face of an impending catastrophe. Exporting their grain is likely the most pressing chore for farmers in Ukraine, who are on the verge of planting their second crop in just a few days, making it one of the most dangerous aspects of their career. The war has ruined once fruitful terrain, and now farmers are struggling to get their hands on diesel fuel, the majority of which used to originate in Russia and Belarus. Some people are reluctant to plow fields because they believe they may be mined. Others are fighting a losing battle as the Russian military attempt to seize their crops and tractors. According to Andrii Holovanych, the manager of Zakhidinyi Buh, a farm in western Ukraine close to Lviv where workers in body armor and helmets rumble by on tractors, "before, it was just about making profits." "Now, I feel as though the work we do makes a difference not just to Ukraine, not just to my own family's riches, but the entire world," I said. "Now, I really feel as though the work we do makes a difference." Russia places the burden for the plight of the farmers on the West, suggesting that the problems could be readily resolved if sanctions were lifted. According to Gabrielius Landsbergis, the minister of international affairs for Lithuania, this would not be possible unless Russia pulls its soldiers out of Ukraine and Belarus stops its repression. This leaves Western nations and Ukraine with no choice but to experiment with various potential solutions, each of which is loaded with complications. Test runs of trains transporting grain from Ukraine through Poland to Lithuania, for example, have lasted three weeks because of various track gauges in neighboring countries. This has required cargo to be loaded and unloaded many times during the test runs. Mr. Landsbergis feels that the only viable answer is to allow commercial shipping to begin in Odesa and the port of Mykolaiv, which is located close. This is because of the enormous quantities of grain currently stuck in Ukraine. He claimed that he went to London the week before last to urge the deployment of warships to the Black Sea to create a secure corridor for merchant vessels carrying grain from Ukraine. According to what he said, Britain promised rhetorical help but no ships. Turkey has proposed using its own ships to transfer grain from Odesa, which would require an agreement from Russia not to delay vessels, in addition to requiring Ukraine to demine the port. However, given the significant obstacles that must be overcome to put this strategy into action, it is likely that transporting large quantities of grain from Ukraine to hungry people will be most accomplished by rail via Belarus to Klaipeda and other Baltic ports located in Latvia and Estonia. The Minister of Transport in Lithuania, Marius Skuodis, stated that while this "won't cure everything," it will significantly lessen its severity. However, he did warn that it would "raise major political and moral difficulties." Potash, a crop fertilizer that Mr. Lukashenko's country is one of the world's major producers of, is the target of Mr. Lukashenko's demand that the European Union lifted sanctions on the commodity. Potash had previously been Mr. Lukashenko's primary source of hard currency. While Ukraine is adamantly opposed to any relaxation of sanctions imposed against Russia, its growing desperation to move grain that has been stalled as a result of the conflict has made it more receptive to the concept of a temporary relaxation of sanctions imposed against Belarusian potash. When asked whether the relaxation of sanctions on Belarusian potash was being contemplated, the White House reacted with a statement that attacked Russia and ignored the potash issue. The statement was in response to whether the sanctions would be lifted. In Ukraine, there are also significant reservations regarding the possibility of working with Lithuania. Roman Slaston, the leader of Ukraine's most influential agricultural organization, stated that one of the challenges was that numerous rail links through Belarus had been blown up by Belarusian railway employees who were sympathetic to the Ukrainian cause. Trucks, according to Mr. Slaston, could be a more promising possibility. He wants to move 40,000 tons per day by truck, which would require approximately 1,000 cars. His goal is to accomplish this. However, this results in its own set of issues: As a result of the closure of airports and seaports and the large number of trucks that have taken to the roads, border crossings have been completely clogged with kilometers of gridlock. According to Husak Bohdan, an agronomist at the Biorena farm, farmers in Ukraine are taking matters into their own hands by purchasing silo bags. Silo bags are long plastic sheaths that store around 5,000 to 6,000 tons of grain. In the meanwhile, farmers in Ukraine are buying silo bags. According to Mr. Holovanych, who works at the farm Zakhidinyi Buh, such solutions are frustrating, even if they are essential. He stated, "We don't raise food to store it." "The grain that we have stored in bags in our fields will not be used to feed the people who live in Africa." War in Ukraine exacerbates global hunger | DW News WATERLOO A Minnesota woman has been arrested for allegedly racking up more than $20,000 in charges and loans after using a fake ID to set up an account at a Waterloo credit union. Maegen Catherine Fortin, 39, of Otsego, was arrested Friday on a warrant for first-degree theft and identity theft. Bond was set at $10,000. Authorities allege Fortin used a bogus military ID card in another womans name to set up an account at Veridian Credit Union on June 5, 2021. Over the following month, she made withdrawals and took out loans totaling $22,628, court records state. The woman whose identity she used learned about the account through a credit monitoring service and contacted the Federal Trade Commission. Fortin was identified through surveillance video taken when she applied for the account, according to court records. Records show Fortin has a history of similar arrests elsewhere in Iowa and was wanted in identity theft investigations in Wisconsin and Nebraska. In an Iowa City case from January 2021, she allegedly opened an account at Green State Credit Union under another Minnesota womans name and obtained a $10,000 home improvement loan. In September 2021, she allegedly used a Texas womans identity to obtain at $6,000 loan from Ascentra Credit Union in Bettendorf. Two weeks later, she was detained after trying to use yet another womans name to buy a vehicle at an East Moline, Ill., dealership, and she was found with multiple ID cards in different names, according to court records. In December 2020, she allegedly used another persons name to open a $5,000 line of credit with Cobalt Credit Union in Council Bluffs, according to court records. She allegedly withdrew most of the money at ATMs at the Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs. Charges in the Council Bluffs incident were dropped after she paid restitution, records state. Photos: Drugs of Abuse 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. IOWA CITY Systems are not in place on the University of Northern Iowa campus to ensure compliance with a 32-year-old federal act that governs higher education crime reporting and security mandates leaving the Cedar Falls public university at risk of hundreds of thousands in fines and safety breaches, an internal audit shows. Non-compliance with the Clery Act can result in civil penalties up to $62,689 per violation, effective April 2022, as well as suspension in federal student financial aid programs, according to the audit, which was considered Wednesday by the Iowa Board of Regents while meeting at the University of Iowa. The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, enacted in 1990, requires colleges and universities receiving federal financial aid to maintain and report information about crime that occurs on or near campus. Compliance activities include the timely issuing of campuswide alerts in events of possible threats to students and staff. They also include identifying police, security and other administrators as campus security authorities and training them. Internal auditors in February released a similarly critical audit of the UIs Clery policies and practices, including timely warnings of threats, training and fire drills. Helen Haire, who has directed UNIs Department of Public Safety for a decade, also serves as UNIs Clery compliance officer. Before her arrival in 2010, the U.S. Department of Education conducted an external audit that uncovered violations and fines were levied, according to the new regents internal audit. Although significant process improvements have been made in the years since, policies and practices around Clery compliance still lack at UNI, according to the audit, which reviewed the last two years beginning at the start of 2020. Fire failures Fire drills are not performed for residence halls in accordance with (Annual Fire Safety Report) procedures and International Fire Code requirements, increasing the risk that students and staff may not effectively perform responsibilities in the event of a fire and evacuation, according to the audit. The International Fire Code with which colleges and universities must comply, according to state law requires four drills annually for each campus residential building, including at least one within 10 days of the start of classes. The internal UNI audit found the campus has no process in place for its Clery compliance officer to confirm drills have been performed according to the law; templates used to document fire drills dont contain required information; and post-drill documentation isnt consistently completed. In UNIs 2021 Clery report, provided to the regents in November, the campus documented the number of evacuation drills performed at its residential facilities in 2019 at between zero and two per facility, for a total of 18. Auditors advised UNI to better communicate fire drill requirements to its staff to ensure theyre conducting enough drills and properly performing them. UNI management committed to making improvements by September when a new crop of students will fill its residence halls. The university will increase the number of fire drills and ensure that fire drills are properly conducted in accordance with relevant laws, according to the audit. UNI also committed to doing a better job of making sure staff receive the mandatory fire safety training and of ensuring prospective students and employees are properly notified about campus safety plans and crime statistics. Crime stat issues The audit found UNI lacks detailed documentation of standard operating procedures for Clery compliance activities, increasing the risk that tasks are not properly performed. Additionally, campus security authorities as defined by the law arent properly identified, notified and trained. UNI has no process for confirming threatening incidents are properly considered for a campuswide warning, increasing the risk that the university community is not notified timely of possible threats. UNI in the last academic year issued four timely warnings to its campus about threatening incidents, spokesman Andrew Morse said Tuesday. But those incidents are not cataloged on the UNI website. Although the Clery Act requires campuses to track and report crimes in a certain geographic region within two business days, UNI procedures focus on its own public safety department. Procedures should be documented and implemented to ensure incidents are displayed in the crime log within the required two business days for all incidents, including (campus security authorities), confidential services, and local law enforcement reports, according to the audit. The audit noted UNI created a 14-member Clery committee in 2013, but there are no documented agendas or minutes from these meetings. The committee does not have a charter, defined purpose, authority, responsibilities, or deliverables, resulting in the committee being unable to establish goals and areas of improvements for Clery compliance, according to the audit. It recommended that the university should determine if a Clery Committee is necessary. UNI committed to doing so by November and taking other measures by no later than May 2023. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 WATERLOO Students at the Waterloo Career Center can now earn a teaching degree in three years after graduating from high school through a new partnership. Those partners from the Waterloo Community Schools, Hawkeye Community College and the University of Northern Iowa held the Degree in Three program launch Tuesday at the career center. Superintendent Jane Lindaman and presidents Todd Holcomb and Mark Nook of HCC and UNI, respectively, were joined at the event by Gov. Kim Reynolds. It seems like this was so easy that somebody should have done this a long time ago but it has so many moving parts that it took a while doing it, Lindaman said. The launch comes a year after the three institutions announced the Cedar Valley Degree Links partnership. That allowed students to earn a college degree faster by completing their first year at the career center, tuition-free, for manufacturing, digital technology, and construction programs. Now, the effort expands into elementary education. UNI education major Emily Riley earned her first college credits at the career center while a student at West High School. The junior followed the path of the new program: attended the Waterloo Career Center, received her associates from Hawkeye and is now a UNI student. Riley said shes grateful for what the three institutions will offer the next generation of teachers. When the program launched in 2021, no other partnership in Iowa existed between higher education institutions and a school district. Reynolds suggested the program is a model that deserves to be replicated across the state and could address workforce shortages. It is no secret that Iowa, like the rest of the nation, continues to face workforce shortages, Reynolds said. While there are a variety of ways to address the issue, I cant think of a more important long-term fix than the way that we educate our children. She also pointed toward the Teacher and Paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship, recently announced by the Iowa Department of Education. The grant program would allow high school students to earn a paraeducator certificate and associates degree. It would also provide a path for paraeducators to earn their bachelors degree. Reynolds said Iowa set aside $9 million for the program but has received over $50 million in requests. UNI also recently announced an online degree program for paraeducators to earn their teaching degree called the Purple Pathway for Paraeducators. Through this, paraeducators can earn their teaching degree in two years after successful completion of student teaching and be eligible for licensure in Iowa for either elementary K-6 or strategist I endorsements. Strategist I is the special education endorsement for teaching students with mild to moderate special needs. The Purple Pathway as well as Degree in Three work with Teach Waterloo, a grant-funded program to help Waterloo Schools increase the number of minority teachers in its classrooms. Iowa is known for education good public education, Holcomb, said. Its important we continue to supply the pipeline of good educators in our communities and retain the talent here. Talent retention is one of our key components to economic vitality. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 JESUP Eagle Scouts have made their mark on Jesup over the 80 years of Troop 95s existence. And theres only one place a person needs to go to find the full directory of projects that have been completed over the decades. Before Tuesday night, the Wall of Eagle assembled on the front of the Troop 95 food booth at the Land of Corn Park had 56 Eagle Scouts recognized with gold-colored plaques, each inscribed with the scouts name, project details, and completion date. But on the last day of May at a special ceremony in which history, accomplishments and stories were shared, Hayden Miller, 18, and Jacob Leach, 16, the newest Eagle Scouts, fastened their own plaques to the wooden wall. In doing so, they became the 57th and 58th to be honored in perpetuity. We wholeheartedly believe this is the only Wall of Eagle in Iowa, proudly displayed right here in Jesup, just a little small town in Northeast Iowa, with a rich history in scouting, said Curt Miller, an adult Scout leader and one of the creators of the wall. The troop dedicated the monument to the city of Jesup and its citizens for all to enjoy. Several scouts and their families were present along with a number of assistant scoutmasters and four past scoutmasters Albert Sparky Duroe, Merritt Jones, Bob Venem and Harry Dixon for the special ceremony. New Marine Corps recruiter to join Cedar Falls office Staff Sgt. Joseph Stewart arrived from Lisbon on April 1, and will now be a fixture at the office, 226 B Brandilynn Blvd., Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. If you look at this Wall of Eagle, you will see a lot of history representing what Troop 95 is and who they are, Miller said. You see accomplishments and challenges along the way. The Eagle Scout Project became a requirement after October 1965 and many of these projects are still with us today. Sadly, a few of these projects are not around anymore. Along with the 58 Eagle Scouts who have been honored, the troops eight scoutmasters also have gold plaques. The towns nine Silver Beavers, another prestigious recognition a Scout can receive, and one Silver Antelope, the highest award one can receive as a volunteer, also are represented by silver plaques. The Boy Scout monument was created in July on the food booth, which also is the site of past Eagle Scout projects and now has plaques to prove it. But at the time, the question was posed: Why are these Eagles not really recognized in town? The walls history extends back decades, as far back as former Scoutmaster Lee Fisher who served in the role from 1942 until 1982 and the first project of Richard Kurtz in 1950. Its a pretty amazing history, said Scoutmaster Kyle Troyer. Were super proud of it. Its pretty impressive what has come out of Troop 95 all the awards and the countless others, the people who have poured (their time) into Troop 95 that didnt necessarily get the awards and dont get the spotlight, Troyer later added. It literally takes everybody to run the troop. That same evening, the troop also recognized posthumously the addition of Jack Huntleys silver Lifetime Scouter plaque to the wall for his contributions from 1936 until 2021. His widow, Carole, and son, Zach, another Eagle Scout, accepted it on his behalf. Troyer said he relied on Huntleys experience when he became scoutmaster. I needed a lot of guidance, said Troyer. Theres someone in the background that I really leaned on and I really respected, and that was Jack. He quipped about sharing Huntleys strong coffee some mornings and how we would just talk Scouting. I know he had such a love for Scouting. We feel really strongly about Jack. We recognize that he didnt necessarily have a place on the wall, but we wanted him to have a spot, Troyer said. Lins family finds purpose in raising funds for playground addition in honor of late son Cooper The parents decided they wanted to honor his 'joyful, fun loving spirit while blessing a whole lot of other families.' 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. You are here: Business China's State Council issued a circular on Tuesday, urging the implementation of a package of detailed policy measures to further stabilize the economy. The package, which was announced at a State Council executive meeting last week, includes 33 measures covering fiscal and financial policies as well as policies on investment, consumption, food and energy security, industrial and supply chains, as well as people's livelihoods. China will enhance measures on value-added tax credit refunds, quicken fiscal spending and accelerate the issuance of local government special bonds, according to the circular. In terms of monetary and financial policies, the country will reduce real borrowing costs, boost financing efficiency via capital markets, and strengthen financial support for infrastructure and major projects. On investment and consumption, China will boost investment in transport infrastructure, promote the healthy development of platform economy and stimulate purchases of cars and home appliances, the document said. WATERLOO Unlike some people who struggle into their late teens or college years about what they want to do with their lives, Yolanda Wilson experienced early what direction her future would take. At 7, her maternal grandfather was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a disease that attacks the central nervous system. Its characterized by a rapid onset of numbness and paralysis. He spent the last three-and-a-half years of his life hospitalized at what is now MercyOne in Waterloo. I spent a lot of time in the hospital, Wilson said. We became real familiar with the nursing staff. We were very involved as a family.I was quite a curious child. As I got older the nurses would teach me and show me how to help, such as if a ventilator lost power and how I could help my grandfather breathe. From that point on, Wilson knew she wanted to work in health care, particularly obstetrics or pediatrics. She wanted to work with children. As she got older, she decided maybe she didnt want to be a doctor but maybe a nurse. We spend more time with the patients. When she got to middle school, MercyOne then Covenant Medical Center provided Medical Explorers for kids interested in the health care field. The program was very hands-on and from eighth grade to graduation from West High School, she completed Medical Explorers-mandated volunteer hours at Covenant. Upon graduating from West in 2000, she attended the University of Iowa two years and transferred to Hawkeye Community College where she earned her LPN and RN degrees, the latter in 2006. She spent six years in the post-operative unit at Missouri Baptist Medical in St. Louis while also doing pediatric home health nursing for a home health company. A divorced mother of three children, girls ages 11 and 9, and a 7-year-old son, she began to have child care issues. She returned to Waterloo where she had a larger support system to help raise her children. She was hired by America Health Services, where she worked with long-term and post-acute long-term patients in nursing homes and rehabilitation centers. While visiting her grandmother at MercyOne, her current supervisor remembered Wilson from her volunteer work at the hospital. Jewell Jones asked Wilson to apply for several openings at the hospital. Wilson did, and she returned in 2019. She works on the medical surgical floor, which also can admit the overflow of patients from cardiac, kidney and orthopedic areas. The driving factor for me for working in this area of health care is being able to help the patients who may come in at their worst, Wilson said. I dont always get to see them at their best (after discharge), but I get to see their progress. Wilson is very humble about her journey as a nurse. She has received the Daisy Award after being nominated by the family of a terminal patient. I was quite shocked. I did my job. I dont feel like I did anything extraordinary. The family obviously saw otherwise, the care and compassion we gave them. I am humbled and honored. She also has received certification in Advanced Cardiac Life Support and chemotherapy. She says the hospital also is working on a way to cross train nurses for more specialized units. We run the gamut of conditions on my floor from cancer to COVID, she said. During the year of the worst of COVID, I think I saw more deaths than I had seen in all of my previous years as a nurse combined, including working with the elderly. Wilson recognizes Jones as her mentor. Shes the person who asked me to come back to the hospital. Shes always encouraging, like if I want to learn a new skill. Shes always open to letting her staff grow. With working long hours and raising three children, Wilson said she enjoys unwinding by reading, singing, and traveling. The ocean is her happy place. Shes also active in her church, singing in the choir and working with a young adult group. Anyone interested in working in health care needs to have a level of compassion, she said. You are entrusted with the lives of not only the patient, but also their family. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Briefing by Russian Defence Ministry The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation in Ukraine. High-precision air-based missiles of the Russian Aerospace Forces have hit 5 control points, as well as 29 areas of AFU manpower and military equipment concentration. Operational-tactical, army and unmanned aviation have hit 61 areas of AFU manpower and military equipment concentration. The attacks have resulted in the elimination of more than 140 nationalists, as well as 9 tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, 1 battery of BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers, 6 artillery mounts and mortars, 13 AFU vehicles of various purposes and 1 OSA-AKM anti-aircraft missile system. Russian air defense means have shot down 1 Su-25 aircraft of the Air Forces of Ukraine near Sergeevka, Donetsk Peoples Republic and 1 Mi-8 helicopter near Kharkov during the day. In addition, 7 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles have been shot down near Gorlovka, Golmovskyi, Yasinovataya, Varvarovka in Donetsk Peoples Republic, Malye Prokhody, Novaya Gnilitsa in Kharkov Region, and Pyatikhatka in Kherson Region. Also, 2 Ukrainian Smerch multiple-launch rockets have been intercepted near Malaya Kamyshevakha and Kamenka in Kharkov Region. Missile troops and artillery have hit 128 command posts, 169 firing positions of artillery and mortar batteries, as well as 623 areas of AFU manpower and military equipment concentration. The attacks have resulted in the elimination of up to 200 nationalists, as well as 24 units of weapons and military equipment, including 1 battery of 155-mm M777 howitzers, 203-mm 2S7 Pion mount, BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher and 2 ammunition depots. In total, 185 Ukrainian aircraft and 129 helicopters, 1,077 unmanned aerial vehicles, 326 anti-aircraft missile systems, 3,363 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 457 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,744 field artillery and mortars, as well as 3,329 units of special military vehicles were destroyed during the operation. #MoD #Russia #Ukraine #Briefing @mod_russia_enjoy WtR Ukrainian armed formations, in violation of the norms and principles of international humanitarian law, continue to deliberately use medical infrastructure for military purposes. At the same time, the nationalists, using civilians as human shield, are systematically shelling Russian units, provoking the Russian Armed Forces to retaliate in order to further accuse them of killing civilians and targeting civilian targets indiscriminately. The Russian Federations Joint Co-ordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response continues to record such criminal actions by the Kiev regime: in Kharkov, a hospital building (Igor Muratov Street) has firing points on the upper floors and an ammunition depot in the basement, with medical staff and patients forcibly detained in the premises; in Chasov Yar, Donetsk Peoples Republic, wounded Ukrainian nationalist fighters are housed in the buildings of city hospital No 3 (Pirogova Street). Civilians, including the seriously ill, have been forced to leave the medical facility under threat of reprisals, and AFU units have equipped roadblocks and firing points at all approaches to the polyclinic; in Odessa, nationalists have equipped a stronghold in the building of Hospital No 9 (Pastera Street), with armoured vehicles and artillery placed in the surrounding area; in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Peoples Republic, a stronghold has been placed in Childrens Polyclinic No. 3 (Geroev Ukrainy Street), approaches to the building have been mined and polyclinic staff and patients, including children, are forcibly detained in the basement. These and other similar facts, despite our repeated statements, have to date been ignored by the World Health Organisation. Once again, we call on all international organisations, especially the World Health Organisation, to influence official Kiev and take effective measures to prevent the use of medical infrastructure for military purposes. Top News Today Algerian military delegation visited the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to discuss expanding cooperation in education and science with Russian colleagues. The first dry cargo loaded in Mariupol left the port escorted by Black Sea Fleet boats. In the Azovstal plant underground facilities in Mariupol, where the surrendered Nazis of the Ukrainian Azov formation were hiding, Russian servicemen found an isothermal van. 152 bodies of dead fighters and servicemen of the AFU were stored in the van with the broken cooling system. In the near future, the Russian side plans to hand over the bodies of Ukrainian fighters and servicemen found on the territory of Azovstal plant to representatives of Ukraine. Footage of combat sorties by Su-35S and Su-30SM fighter crews, the work of artillery crews of the Airborne Troops as well as Grad multiple-launch rocket launchers at night have been published. Russian Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response continue to record the continuing egregious facts of the inhumane treatment of civilians by the authorities in Kiev, and use of social infrastructure for military purposes by Ukrainian armed formations. Russian servicemen deliver humanitarian aid to the crew of the Turkish ship in Kherson port. The ship entered the Ukrainian port before the start of the special military operation and remained blocked in it due to mines laid by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. #MoD #Russia #Ukraine #HumanitarianResponse #HumanitarianAid @mod_russia_en WtR Kiev so unhappy with the EU A beggar on the street corner asked for money last night. I struggled to find some change in my bag. When I finally found some and gave it to him he complained: Too slow, too late and definitely not enough. Im definitely unhappy, said the Beggar Kiev the Beggar, is unhappy with the compromised oil embargo against Russia from the 6th package of EU sanctions: More More More If you ask me, I would say far too slow, far too late and definitely not enough, Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskiys office, said. Source: Senior Ukraine official says EU sanctions on Russia still not enough | Reuters Okay? Since when did anyone care what Ukraine says about anything? Interesting that Ukraine seems to think that what they think matters? Seems we have an issue in the Western world and it isnt a pretty sight to behold Excuse me, I only want $100 bills please, no small change WtR Turkey said Kyivs information about Russia putting mines in the Black Sea us a lie and then accused Ukraine of having mined its own ports. Because of this, alk the ships are blocked and cannot get out into and out of the Black Sea. This information was given by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu He said: Ukrainian mines prevent the withdrawal of ships with grain from Ukrainian ports, a search is underway for a mechanism to solve the problem, Russia has been working at cleaning the mines, as they have been on land. It is a fulltime job. Ukraine put thousands of ship mines in the sea and tens of thousands of mines all over the ground on land. They even used ship mines on the land The Kiev regime has repeatedly falsely accused Russia of mining their ports. The USA, EU and NATO have posted it in western media as truth and Turkey has never accepted those lies Just another lie by the Empire of Lies WtR Amazon Labor Union president teams up with Model Alliance in show of support for Fashion Workers Act By Roxanne Robinson Published Jun 1, 2022 Workers rights and labor unions are officially back in fashion. The Model Alliance, founded by former model Sara Ziff introduced the Fashion Workers Act, for which New York State Senator Brad Hoylman was the lead sponsor. Now, former worker turned founder of the Amazon Labor Union, Chris Smalls, is joining Ziff's pro-labor legislation that would regulate predatory management agencies. Currently, these operate without oversight, leaving models and other creatives physically, emotionally, and financially insecure and with lasting damaging effects. Chris Smalls speaking at the rally alongside Sara Ziff (front right) - Courtesy/Jaka Vinsek The bill was introduced in late March and was passed by a Senate Labor Committee on May 10, an almost Herculean feat for a piece of legislature that can take up to nine years in some cases to pass. Hoylman is joined by Senator Robert Jackson; Assembly Member Yuh- Niou; Kaja Sokola, the Jane Doe who Harvey Weinstein assaulted at 16 years old after being introduced to him by Model Management; photographer Tony Kim; celebrity makeup artist Nick Barose; and former models Alex Shanklin and Madisyn Ritland. Founded in 2012, the Model Alliance has advanced labor rights through strategic research, policy initiatives, and campaigns aimed at promoting fair treatment, equal opportunity, and more sustainable practices throughout the fashion industry. The organization championed multiple pieces of legislation, including the Child Model Act in New York and the Talent Protections Act in California. "It's unacceptable that the creative workforce behind the $2.5 trillion global fashion industry still lacks basic protections in the state that gave birth to the American labor movement. New York derives a huge benefit off the backs of young women and girls indentured to predatory management agencies like Next, which introduced models to known abusers like Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein. And it's not only models who experience these injustices makeup artists, hair stylists, and others who work behind the scenes also lack basic protections," said Ziff, founder and executive director of the Model Alliance, at a press conference held outside of Next Model Management in Soho. "I'm standing in solidarity with the Model Alliance for the Fashion Workers Act because it's important these management companies in the multi-trillion-dollar fashion industry are held accountable for exploiting models and creatives for years. We're all workers - no matter what industry you're in, whether Amazon or the runway, we deserve our fair share. We're not going to allow this system to keep exploiting us until we get what we deserve - especially for the Black and Brown individuals in fashion who experience even more abuse. Let's all stand as one and shut it down until these management companies do right by workers: they owe us money, respect, dignity, and damn sure owe us our fair share," said Chris Smalls, Amazon Labor Union president, activist, and former Amazon employee, among supporters of the bill some carrying signs calling out model agencies as being akin to Jeffrey Epstein, Harvey Weinstein, Peter Nygard, Jean-Luc Brunel and Bill Cosby. FashionNetwork.com spoke to Ziff via email to relay how an unlikely Amazon Labor Union leader joined the fight along with the Model Alliance. Smalls became somewhat of a local, if not a national hero, when he founded the first Amazon workers union on April 20, 2021, which grew out of the labor-activist group he founded called The Congress of Essential Workers. The New Jersey resident was working in a New York Amazon facility at the beginning of the pandemic and helped stage walkouts when it was noticed that the online shipping giant wasn't following strict Covid-19 guidelines, which in turn, endangered the warehouse workers. Ziff reached out to Smalls, who didn't take long to respond to her goal of gaining his support. New York State Senator Brad Hoylman speaks at the rally - Courtesy/Jaka Vinsek "Chris is a once-in-a-generation leader who has taken on seemingly un-slayable monsters, and his support is powerful he's organized workers in the world's fourth largest company, testified before Congress, and met with President Biden," Ziff said of Smalls, adding, "Now he's putting his weight behind the Fashion Worker's Act bill because every worker deserves transparency, fairness and basic respect in their workplace." While their industries may seem worlds apart, Ziff begs to differ. "Much like Amazon warehouse employees, the labor of makeup artists, hair stylists, and others who work behind the scenes is unseen, but they're the backbone of the industry. We all deserve basic labor protections," continued Ziff. "From the warehouses to the runways, we are all trying to have a voice in our work. That voice can take different forms, from unionization efforts, like the one Chris Smalls leads with warehouse workers at Amazon, to legislative advocacy to establish legal protections for models, makeup artists, and other creatives working in fashion." New York is the fashion capital of the U.S.; Fashion Week alone generates close to $600 million in income each year for the state. Many of the workers in it are freelancers with or without agents. New York City passed Local Law 140 of 2016, aka the Freelance Isn't Free Act, on May 15, 2017, to establish and enhance protections for freelance and gig workers, such as the right to a written contract, timely and full payment, and protection from retaliation. On December 1, 2021, New York City proved how serious they are about this law by filing a lawsuit against L'Officiel USA that alleged the then French-owned media company engaged in a pattern of failing to pay freelancers on time or at all, including writers, editors, photographers, videographers, graphic designers and illustrators. (Earlier this year, the media company was acquired by Hong Kong-based financial services company AMTD International). The Fashion Workers Act was launched with the support of the Freelancers Union and targeted those industry professionals that work with agents. "We've supported the Freelance Isn't Free bill because these are the same fights: every worker deserves basic labor rights that include the financial transparency to know when your next paycheck is coming and that it will arrive in a given period," said Ziff, adding that in the case of fashion workers, many work through management companies. "We don't contract directly with our clients. That's why the Fashion Workers Act is necessary." Based on the speed things have moved thus far is a positive sign for the legislations. After having only been introduced and passing the Senate Labor Committee within two months, the bill could get a vote on the Senate floor before the legislative session ends on June 2. The bill will otherwise be revisited in January 2023 when the legislature reconvenes. Hoylman is set on it happening sooner than later. "We have one week to pass the Fashion Workers Act and protect fashion's creative workforce from work exploitation. Fashion is one of New York's most important industries: it accounts for 5.5% of the workforce, $11 billion in wages, and nearly $2 billion in tax revenue each year. And yet the creative workforce behind the industry's success are not afforded basic labor protections in New York. The Fashion Workers Act changes that," said Hoylman. Weather Alert ...Heating Up This Week, Then Increasing Winds This Weekend... * Summer's first multi-day period of heat is projected Thursday through Saturday. Highs well into the 90s in Western Nevada and into the 80s for Sierra communities are expected, with potential for some records on Friday. There is a chance of cities such as Reno (15%) and Fallon (50%) of hitting 100 degrees on Friday. Heat health impacts are possible, especially for vulnerable populations and those outdoors for extended periods. Now is a good time to ensure cooling systems are in good working order. For more information, please see the Heat Advisory. * Winds are expected to increase for the upcoming weekend, with Sunday looking to be the windiest day. While not a major wind event, widespread gusts on the order of 30-40 mph are possible Saturday afternoon with gusts 40-50 mph Sunday. This would cause rough water on lakes, tricky travel for high profile vehicles, and increased turbulence for aviation. With dry air expected, these winds could also cause increased concern for rapid fire spread in vegetation that dries out due to the upcoming heat. * The hot temperatures will also result in minor rises on creeks and streams in the Sierra from snowmelt. Slightly higher flows of cold water could impact recreation and camping near streams, however levels will be well short of any flood stages. ...HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM TO 8 PM PDT FRIDAY... * WHAT...High temperatures Friday 95 to 100. * WHERE...Lower elevations of Lassen-Eastern Plumas-Eastern Sierra Counties including Susanville, Greater Reno-Carson City-Minden Area and Northern Washoe County around Gerlach. * WHEN...From 10 AM to 8 PM PDT Friday. * IMPACTS...Hot temperatures and sunny skies may cause heat illnesses to occur, especially for those sensitive to heat and outdoors for extended periods of time. Since this is the first heat event of the summer season, many people are not yet acclimatized to heat and may be impacted more than normal. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...These are potentially record setting highs for the date, and unusually early to be so close to 100 degrees. The average first 100 degrees for Reno isn't until July 10th. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Now is the time to prepare and ensure your cooling systems are in good working order. On the day of, drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air- conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. && Life returned to the streets of Shanghai on Wednesday as the city lifted most epidemic control measures in low-risk communities and allowed many businesses to resume operations. People were evidently eager to get out onto the streets after a lockdown that spanned over two months, as many could be seen strolling at the city's landmarks, including the Bund and the Pudong riverside, in the early morning. The sounding of the famous bell tower at the Bund at midnight was joined by the sounds of car horns as drivers celebrated the new beginning. Even before the new day started, police officers had removed isolation barriers between districts and all tunnels and bridges linking the two sides of the Huangpu River were opened. The city's public transportation system, including bus, metro and ferry services, has resumed full operations as well. Xiong Xiong, the person in charge of the People's Square metro station, one of the largest transfer stations in the city, said that peak passenger flow on Wednesday morning was about one third of the usual and the metro operation is smooth. Many venues in the city now require visitors to show proof that they had undergone a nucleic acid test which returned negative within the 72 hours prior to entry. According to Zhao Dandan, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, around 15,000 nucleic acid sampling sites, of which about 5,000 are accessible to the public, are currently operational in the city. The city's Party committee and the government on Wednesday expressed gratitude to those who have been involved in the latest fight against the virus in a public letter. It also extended thanks to national departments, provinces, cities and districts from across the country, as well as the military, for the assistance they provided to the city. The authorities also thanked all citizens for their support. Shanghai had reported over 600,000 COVID-19 infections in the latest outbreak. Daily new infections peaked on April 13 at 27,719 and the city achieved zero-COVID outside controlled and lockdown zones on May 17. The city reported five COVID-19 local confirmed cases and 10 asymptomatic infections on Tuesday. There are two types of people in the world: those who love eating sea urchin, and those who really, really dont. But no matter where you live on the subject, you may not be aware of the environmental impacts surrounding the delicacy known as uni, or why you should maybe start eating more of it. The Mendocino Coast is one of the biggest producers of sea urchin in California, and the folks up there would like to invite us all to the first ever Purple Urchin Festival, coming up June 17th through 19th (happy Father's Day, foodie dads!). Taking place in various locations in and around Fort Bragg, activities will center around indulging in the umami goodness that is uni. In addition to eating, Urchin Fest is prioritizing education around the sea urchin due to an overabundance of the purple variety in Northern California in the last few years. Why is this a big deal? Well, ecosystems are all connected, and if one thing is out of balance, it affects a bunch of other things. The recent collapse of the sea star population has led to an exponential growth of purple urchin, and then the subsequent decimation of the abalone population. So Mendo residents, including local chefs and producers, are working towards eco-friendly ways to resolve these intertwined issues. Sea Urchin Harvest on Van Damme Beach_Photo Credit Brendan McGuigan_High-res Sea urchin harvest on Van Damme Beach. (Brendan McGuigan) "It is my job to choose more sustainable ingredients and showcase them to the public, says Matthew Kammerer, executive chef at the Michelin-starred Harbor House Inn. Chefs have more of a role in today's food scene, where education about productsincluding why and how to use themcan help shape the public's dining perspective and have a positive outcome on future generations. Purple sea urchin has been on our menu since day one. We are proud to serve all local products, but this one has extra meaning for us. Not just its flavor, but to help remove some urchin numbers from the ecosystem that is on the verge of collapsing." Plenty of others are also joining the efforts, like the Mendocino Area Parks Association, Watermen's Alliance, Noyo Science Center, Freedive Shop and Urchinomics, a seafood company dedicated to restoring kelp forests by removing overgrazing barren sea urchins, feeding them on land, and selling them to distributors and restaurants. All of these organizations will be part of the festival by supplying select restaurant partners with uni, and also by leading a variety of educational events. Highlights include an uni demo and educational talk on Saturday morning at Van Damme State Beach, with samples and demonstrations on how to harvest, open, and clean urchin straight from the sea. On Sunday, you can nibble on scones and coffee in the Abalone Room at Little River Inn while watching the trailer for the upcoming documentary film Sequoias of the Sea, and then learn a bit more with a presentation by the executive director of the Noyo Science Center. (Brendan McGuigan) What to Eat During Mendocino Urchin Fest Kicking things off will be an outdoor demo and five-course purple urchin tasting luncheon ($150/person, $90 wine pairing option; reservations on Tock) on Friday June 17th, presented by Kammerer at The Harbor House Inn. This is a major highlight of the festival, so tickets may go quickly. There are also ongoing culinary offerings happening all weekend, including uni specials with an optional sake pairing from World Sake Imports at Little River Inn, which will also host a seminar ($80) with sake expert Kerry Tamura on the best sakes from seven different Japanese prefectures along with uni snacks on Saturday afternoon. Chef David Hopps of Izakaya Gama will offer various urchin dishes from 4pm to 9pm each night, including robatayaki, tempura, and raw preparations. Email info@izakaya-gama.com for reservations. Noyo Harbor Inn will be offering an uni special during dinner each night of the festival at their Harbor View Bistro & Bar, overlooking the scenic Noyo River. Elk Cove Inn will present an uni-themed menuexpect sea urchin flan with lobster Cognac sauce and a sea urchin risotto with mussel and porcini jusin their Sibo restaurant. In the morning over at Glendeven Inn & Lodge and Inn at the Cobblers Walk, guests can select an opt-in special menu featuring an uni scramble at breakfast each day, plus a decadent uni pasta each evening at the wine hour. Both are complementary to overnight guests. Van Damme State Park Beach. (Brendan McGuigan) Where to Stay During Urchin Fest Many of the places listed above that are offering amazing food are also great options for staying the weekend. If you cant score a room at Harbor House, there are a ton of good specials and discounts related to the festival, such as three nights for the price of two at Little River Inn, Glendeven Inn & Lodge, and The Inn at The Cobblers Walk. Elk Cove Inn will offer 50 percent off the third night when two nights are booked. Noyo Harbor Inn will offer 20 percent off for Thursday through Saturday nights. // Mendocino Urchin Fest is June 17-19, for details, go to urchinfest.com. Snuggling on your side often takes care of the snoring, but Salas recommends getting tested for sleep apnea, which is commonly treated by wearing a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) device. Eighty percent of people that meet the diagnostic criteria for apnea are not diagnosed, she says. But it increases your risk for heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure and heart arrythmias. Sleep apnea is also linked to an increased risk of dementia. Sleep on your back for back pain If youre one of the 80 percent of people in the U.S. who has battled back pain, the position you sleep in can mean the difference between waking restored or so stiff you want to crawl back into bed. Sleeping on your back in the neutral position is the gold standard, says Shaleen Vira, assistant professor of orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery and director of spine surgery research at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. A neutral stance means maintaining the natural curves and alignment of your spine. To do that, place a pillow roll or rolled towel under your knees, and choose the just right bed pillow. Sleeping with too big of a pillow will put your neck in kyphosis, meaning its leaning forward and causing strain, says Vira. And sleeping without a pillow or too small of a pillow can cause you to be hyperextended, causing other body stresses. Sleeping on your side preferably with a pillow between your knees to align your back is the next-best option, Vira says. But sleeping on your stomach, which requires you to turn your head to one side or the other to breathe, is the worst position for your spine because it flattens the natural curve of your back. It also stresses the back and neck to boot. Sleep on your side to boost brain power Concerned about your brain health? Side sleeping could help keep you sharp and possibly reduce your dementia risk. Heres why: During the day, toxic byproducts of the brains activities accumulate in the central nervous system and are flushed away during sleep via cerebrospinal fluid, which surrounds the brain and spinal cord. The brain waste includes beta amyloid, a substance found in the brains of people with Alzheimers disease. Research from the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) found that this waste clearance system works best when people sleep on their side, particularly the right side, says study coauthor Maiken Nedergaard, a professor of neuroscience and neurology at URMC, who discovered the brains cleaning system. The reason its beneficial for brain clearance is that the heart helps pump cerebrospinal fluid. The pumping of blood initiates pulsations of the blood vessel walls that drive cerebrospinal fluid into the brain, Nedergaard explains. This process works more efficiently when people lie on their sides, boosting the cleaning process. Sleep on your right side to protect your heart Data has shown that when people lie on their left side during sleep, the position of their heart shifts due to the pull of gravity. That causes changes in the hearts electrical activity that show up on electrocardiograms (ECG). When theyre sleeping on the right side, however, tissues and structures between the lungs hold the heart in place and ECGs remain normal. Sleeping on the left side isnt a problem if you dont have underlying heart issues. But for people with congestive heart failure and other heart issues, it can cause discomfort and even breathing difficulties. If that sounds familiar, try turning to your right when you hit the sheets. Sleep on your left side for better digestion The discomfort of heartburn, indigestion and acid reflux disease officially known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) can ruin a good nights sleep. But sleeping on your left side tends to make it a little better, Salas says. It takes some pressure off your stomach. In fact, research shows that not only do GERD sufferers who sleep on the right side experience more instances of heartburn than when on their left side, but these episodes also last longer. Slightly elevating the head of the bed or using a foam wedge to keep your head higher than your chest can also be helpful. Although its not treating the reflux, it can reduce the symptoms, Salas says. Nickel Sulphide Intersected 1st hole at Euston Prospect Perth, June 1, 2022 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Horizon Minerals Limited ( ASX:HRZ ) is pleased to announce new nickel drilling results from the 100% owned Golden Ridge and Cannon (Au-Ni) project areas located 18km to 30km southeast of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in the heart of the Western Australian goldfields (Figure 2*).Commenting on the nickel exploration progress, Horizon Managing Director Mr Jon Price said:"It's very encouraging that the first hole returned at Euston has hit significant nickel mineralisation which is a fantastic result. We look forward to receiving further assays from the outstanding holes and the single metre results. Looking ahead, we are enhancing our search for Nickel sulphide extensions through the downhole EM surveys being undertaken at Cannon and Golden Ridge which will inform future drill programs southeast of Kalgoorlie."The drilling formed part of the current CY22 program focussing on new discoveries across the 1,100km2 portfolio.During 2021, an Air Core program tested the Golden Ridge area to the west and to the south where highly magnetic ultramafics were known to exist. The drilling highlighted anomalous levels of Ni-CoCu within the regolith profile. This is the target for the follow up 2022 Golden Ridge exploration program.At Cannon, two nickel prospects have been identified in proximity to the existing Cannon open pit where nickel sulphide (pentlandite) mineralisation was discovered in komatiites in 2007/2008.Historical results from these areas include:- 3m @ 2.62% Ni, 542 ppm Co, 2400 ppm Cu from 156m and 2m @ 3.94% Ni, 709 ppm Co, 1,825 ppm Cu from 161m (Blair North Prospect, BNRC019)- 4m @ 1.78% Ni, 235 ppm Co and 1,400ppm Cu (Euston Prospect, BSRC041)- 5m @ 0.97% Ni, 231 ppm Co and 1,400 ppm Cu from 52m (Euston Prospect, BSRC004)Project GeologyThe Golden Ridge geology is largely associated with the north-south trending, sub vertical quartzfeldspar porphyry located between shales and cherts to the west and ultramafic (talc-carbonate) sequences to the east and further west. Mineralisation is similar to Boorara where gold is observed in flat lying vein arrays and thicker, steeper dipping contact style lodes.The Cannon deposit occurs within Horizon's Bulong South gold project located 30km east-southeast of Kalgoorlie in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia, on granted mining lease ML25/333.The Cannon deposit was discovered by Southern Gold Limited in 2008 following up geochemical anomalies testing for strike extensions of the George's Reward mineralisation immediately north of the Bulong South deposit. The George's Reward prospect was initially held by Northern Mining Limited and comprised an Inferred Mineral Resource of approximately 23,000 ounces when purchased by Westgold Limited in 2015.Summary of ResultsIn the Euston prospect, CARC22008 results of 4m @ >1.0% Ni, 607ppm Cu and 250ppm Co from 160m are encouraging. Further assaying, including single metre splits, are required to better define the >1.0% Ni grade returned in the preliminary ARM 33 assays. The chip tray photo (Figure 1*) provides visual confirmation of the pyrite-pentlandite mineralisation. This interval also lines up reasonably well with the historic mineralisation in BSRC041 (4m @ 1.78% Ni) and provides important vector information for the follow up drilling targeting thicker, high grade Nickel mineralisation. Further preliminary results from three holes additional to and around BSRC041 are expected in the next two weeks.At the Blair north prospect, west of the Cannon mine, two drill holes aimed to validate the historic mineralisation in BNRC019 (3m @ 2.62% Ni, 542 ppm Co, 2,400 ppm Cu from 156m and 2m @ 3.94% Ni, 709 ppm Co, 1,825 ppm Cu from 161m). The holes, to 222m depth, were drilled with one of them being cased for the planned DHEM survey. Assay results for both holes are pending.Horizon considers that both prospects were not adequately followed up (due to the Cannon gold discovery) and therein presents an opportunity to focus on these open targets at depth.The Golden Ridge surrounds were recently tested by seven RC holes for 1,530m specifically to test for Nickel fertility of the ultramafics and potential VMS mineralisation. Two of these holes were abandoned due to high water flows. Three holes have been selected for DHEM surveys, with one survey having been completed. DHEM surveys are a common exploration tool used to help identify potential massive sulphide conductors located nearby.One drillhole with preliminary multi-element results received to date discovered massive sulphides within a footwall felsic volcanic sediment. The nickel assay was correspondingly low being 1m @ 0.14% Ni from 282m in GRRC22003 and no other significant base metals values were returned. The maximum Nickel assay in this hole was 4m @ 0.37% Ni and 398ppm Co within the komatiite ultramafic. Further results are due in the next few weeks.Next StepsAssay turnaround times have been affected by recent COVID-19 related issues in the community as well as increasing backlog of samples at the laboratories. The Company is expecting to receive a significant amount of preliminary composite Au and Ni results in the coming weeks. Once the assays have been received, single samples will be collected and submitted. Ideally the drilling and DHEM results, will help locate any off-hole conductors that can be targeted for high grade Ni sulphide mineralisation when drilling resumes.The drill rig is planned to be at Black Flag, Yarmany, Lakewood and Penny's Find over the course of the coming months. Follow up drilling at Cannon and Golden Ridge is expected to recommence during the September quarter.*To view tables and figures, 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. Significant Large-Scale, 100% Renewable Data Mining Site Acquisition in Tasmania, Australia Sydney, June 1, 2022 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Tasmania Data Infrastructure Pty Ltd (TDI or TasData), an Australian-based digital infrastructure and Bitcoin Mining provider, is pleased to announce that it has executed a conditional sale agreement in respect of the purchase of the Que River mine site located in Northwest Tasmania. The Que River mining site covers a total area of approximately 300 hectares and is located directly adjacent to TasNetworks' Que substation and two large-scale transmission lines servicing the northwest part of Tasmania.The site includes a 40 Mega Volt Ampere (MVA) substation with capacity to power a significant number of data mining machines.QUE RIVER SITE IN TASMANIAAcquisition of the Que River Mine Site offers TDI and its shareholders a significant large-scale high performance compute park opportunity focusing on data mining.- Location - located in remote Northwest Tasmania- Renewable power - 100% renewable energy generation in Tasmania- Power - two transmission lines- Substation - directly adjacent the site- Elevation - 700-meter elevation enables a year-round cool climate making it an ideal location for data-mining- Position - close to Tullah, Zeehan, Queenstown, Savage River, and others - providing ready access to contractors and staff, materials, trades and site services- Land area - significant landholding of 30 hectares of previously disturbed area- Power availability - current 40MVA substation with significant additional power availability- Communications - advanced communications networks (fiber to site and radio towers)- Security - remote with limited access except via main access road- Scalability - significant land holding, additional power capacity, advanced communications networks and secure accessTDI is advancing its next phase of development further to a first-round capital raise of ~A$1.3M, which closed oversubscribed in January 2022.Significant progress has been made since this capital raising including securing the Que Mine Site, formal application to TasNetworks submitted for power connection, and the appointment of key consultants to assist with the feasibility study including design, research, analysis and development.TDI also continues critical workstreams including connection, permitting, communications and advanced mining machine acquisition discussions.TASDATA VISION FOR QUE RIVER:Potential for significant, 100% renewable MW growthEXPANSION PHASESPhase 1 - 1,500 machines PoC to 5MWPhase 2 - 9,000 machines to 30MWPhase 3+ - scope to augment and potentially expand substation as well as access existing 2nd power line to build new substation to well in excess of 100MW.The Que River Site has potential for significant, 100%-renewable MW growth with its existing land area and fiber communications infrastructure. - making it of comparable scale to existing, large-scale Bitcoin Miners globally.BOARD AND EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENTTDI was co-founded by Executive Directors, Mr. Michael Addison and Mr. Martin Holland. Mr. Addison has over 40 years corporate finance experience and was the founder of four ASX-listed companies including Genex Power Limited ( ASX: GNX ), which raised over A$1B for the development of renewable energy generation and electricity storage solutions across Australia.Mr. Holland brings over 15 years of corporate finance experience, including acting as a Mining Executive and founder of multiple ASX-listed companies. He currently sits on the Board of Cobre Limited ( ASX:CBE ), OzAurum Resources Limited ( ASX:OZM ), Armada Metals Limited ( ASX:AMM ) and was the founder and former CEO of Lithium Power International Limited ( ASX:LPI ).TDI appointed Mr. Brian Nizette to the position of Company COO/CFO. As well as being a qualified accountant, Brian brings with him a wealth of hands-on experience in the IT industry specifically in the Data Centre space. His in-depth technical background allows him to understand the intricacies of the operations of the organisation as well as the financial implications.About Tasmania Data Infrastructure Pty Ltd Planned Bitcoin Mining Operation in Tasmania. The southwestern city of Chongqing has kicked off a campaign allowing people the chance to win wetland plants, with the aim of promoting China's new law on wetland protection. According to the local government, internet users need to take a quiz on June 1 and June 2 to earn points, with the first 1,000 eligible respondents then receiving plants from Chongqing's 22 national wetland parks. The winners will be announced on June 3. At present, the municipality has created 10 wetland nature reserves, a nature reserve for rare and unique fish, 26 national and local-level wetland parks, and three key municipal wetlands, which jointly form a wetland protection system. Wetlands perform a variety of important functions, including water conservation and purification, flood storage, drought prevention, climate regulation and biodiversity maintenance. The law on wetland protection takes effect on June 1, and is the first specialized legislation in the field in China. Environmental and community organizations say they were blindsided by the Valencia County Commissions approval of a new natural resource overlay zone that could open the doors to local oil and gas development. The ordinance allows developers to apply for exploratory surface and subsurface mineral development in the county without changing existing zoning on targeted properties. The five-member commission approved the ordinance in a 3-1 vote on May 3 with one commissioner absent and virtually no public input. Thats because the commission published just one legal advertisement regarding the ordinance on April 15 in the Albuquerque Journal, with no other publicity offered, according to local community activists. Commission rules mandate that public notice be published twice over two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation before placing an ordinance on the agenda. That didnt happen, and now the commission is expected to revisit the issue at its biweekly meeting Wednesday. Commissioners could be asked to repeal the ordinance to comply with the two-notification rule before reintroducing it again at a forthcoming meeting, said Commissioner Joseph Bizzell, who sponsored the original overlay zone initiative. Bizzell blamed the mishap on County Attorney Dave Pato. The attorney messed up and I told him afterwards to do it right, Bizzell told the Journal. Were going to open it back up and make sure that everybody has the ability to come in and speak their mind. Local activists said they learned about the ordinance after it was approved, and now theyre worried that its specifically aimed at opening the doors to oil and gas exploration in Valencia County. Thats because long-time oilman Harvey E. Yates Jr. attended the May 3 commission meeting to support the ordinance, raising concerns about his interest in local hydrocarbon development. Yates has since confirmed to the Journal that he is committed to exploring for oil and gas in the county and did, to some extent, assist the county in developing the ordinance. Were super concerned that it could open up the possibility for fracking in our community, said Ann McCartney, a member of advocacy group Valencia Water Watchers. McCartney said members of her organization will attend Wednesdays meeting to seek repeal of the ordinance and speak out against it being brought back at a future meeting. We want this to be repealed, and well rally community support if they bring it back, McCartney said. We anticipate they probably will, because three commissioners have already supported it. Environmental organizations are watching closely. The Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter is encouraging its members to attend the commission meeting. We have 35,000 members and supporters around the state, Rio Grande Chapter Director Camilla Feibelman told the Journal. Our people will show up. Overlay zone Bizzell said hes been working on the overlay ordinance for about a year, largely because of his interest in retrieving brackish water from underground wells on Valencia Countys West Mesa that could be cleaned up for community use. The West Mesa is one of the largest brackish aquifers, Bizzell said. Its unusable water, but theres desalinization plants that could clean up that water. The county could pipe the processed water to municipalities like Los Lunas and Belen, or even Isleta Pueblo and Albuquerque, Bizzell said. Such projects can already be done without the newly approved overlay zone, but the ordinance speeds the application and approval process by avoiding the need for zoning changes. Under the ordinance, a developer could apply for surface or subsurface mineral development without changing current land-use zoning so that surface-based residential, commercial or industrial activities continue uninterrupted. This is just a stepping stone that allows people a process to be able to use their property and go into a natural resource, whether its gravel, brackish water or oil and gas, Bizzell said. Developers must still apply to the county for an overlay permit through a public process to show that a project is consistent with county rules and regulations to protect community health, safety and welfare. That process would be open to public comment through a hearing at the countys planning and zoning commission, and then a second hearing and final vote by the commission. The ordinance excludes mineral overlay permitting on any land within the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, defined as the countys greenbelt. And, if an overlay zone is approved, the permitted project must take place within 24 months, or the property reverts to its original zoning, Bizzell said. Such county overlay zoning already exists for solar and greenhouse development. But unlike those ordinances, the natural resource overlay zone contains specific guidelines that would require the county planning and zoning commission to assess only health, safety and general welfare concerns that are directly related to a proposed location, and not base any potential rejection on generic or speculative impacts. The evaluation would also consider a projects economic development, job creation and tax benefits. Neither the solar nor greenhouse overlay zone ordinances contain such directives. Environmental pushback If the ordinance is reintroduced following two-notification compliance, environmental organizations will likely intervene, said Tom Solomon of Albuquerque-based 350 New Mexico. In 2017, that group and others mounted stiff resistance in Sandoval County to a proposed ordinance for developers to pursue oil and gas activities there. Hundreds of activists packed commission meetings in opposition, helping to defeat the measure. If theres potential for another drilling and fracking site to crop up like the one we fought in Sandoval County, then we would get involved, Solomon told the Journal. Its too early to jump to conclusions. But Yates is the head of one the states biggest oil interests, and given his involvement, were concerned, as are other environmental organizations. Mary Feldblum of Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project called the lack of public information before the County Commissions May 3 meeting frightening. Just to say were gonna drill without informing the community and discussing all the safety concerns and impacts with the pubic, thats a problem, Feldblum said. People were really caught by surprise. Bizzell said hes committed to transparency. I just want to make sure that everybody has a voice, Bizzell said. Whether youre for or against it, please come and give public comment. None of the other four country commissioners responded to repeated Journal requests for comment. Valencia County News-Bulletin Assistant Editor Julia M. Dendinger contributed to this report. If you go The Valencia County Commission meets at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the county administration office, 444 Luna Ave. in Los Lunas. Editors note: An earlier version of this story misstated the number of members and supporters the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter has in New Mexico. The correct number is 35,000. The story has been updated. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal In New Mexico, the Yates family name is synonymous with oil and gas development, and the family patriarch, Harvey E. Yates Jr., is now applying that heritage to virgin lands in Valencia County. Jalapeno Corp. Yates Albuquerque-based oil and gas drilling and exploration company is actively assessing the geology and subsurface hydrocarbon potential on lands around the county that the Yates family either owns outright, or that it has acquired subsurface mineral rights to explore, Yates told the Journal in a recent interview. Between owned property and subsurface mineral rights, Yates holdings encompass at least 20,000 acres, mostly on the countys east side, which Yates largely acquired in the early 1980s from Horizon Land Corp., a real estate company that at one time owned about a quarter of all the land in the county. Yates acquired those holdings largely to explore for oil and gas, but he has also pursued other uses, such as ranching and some industrial development. Now, however, Jalapeno Corp. is directly focused on drilling into potential hydrocarbons trapped in the Albuquerque Basin below those lands, something Yates has envisioned for more than four decades. Im an old man 80 years old and I want to see a discovery there while Im still alive, Yates told the Journal. Im intent on doing some drilling. Undeveloped basin The Albuquerque Basin is a vast, undeveloped zone potentially rich in hydrocarbons that roughly stretches from the northern desert area in between Albuquerque and Santa Fe to Bernardo in the south, and from the Sandia and Manzano Mountains in the east to the Rio Puerco in the west. Sporadic drilling projects around the basin date back to between World War I and II. But most exploration back then focused on shallow zones that hold less commercial potential, rather than the deep shale and sandstone layers where oil and gas are more likely trapped at some 20,000 feet down, or about four miles deep, said Ron Broadhead, petroleum geologist emeritus with the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources at New Mexico Tech in Socorro. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Shell Oil Co. drilled much deeper to explore for commercial potential, providing a lot more geologic information that encouraged some further exploration by other companies in the 1990s and early 2000s. But none led to commercial production, likely because of the increased costs and risk for deep drilling in a new basin at a time of low prices and lack of modern hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technologies that could penetrate into mineral rich zones. Nobody ever really found enough to warrant commercial development, although with todays modern technologies, its possible, Broadhead told the Journal. Yates now believes those modern techniques could crack open productive areas in Valencia County. Theres very strong evidence of hydrocarbons in the Valencia County area, Yates said. In my view, its a prospective area, but with a lot of risk. Jalapeno Corp. would likely drill in three different prospective zones to test for potential. Wed hope for at least one well to hit, Yates said. We want to move on with it, but it will still take some additional geologic assessment first. Yates declined to reveal specific target zones. But if exploratory drilling, and eventually commercial operations, do take place, it would likely be located near interstate pipelines that already run through Valencia County south of Belen. Thats because the states new methane rules require gas development to occur near the infrastructure needed to capture and transport it to avoid venting and flaring. I wont say specifically where, Yates said. But its a good bet that our first well or wells would be close to a pipeline, and Valencia County is blessed with two interstate pipelines that go through it. Overlay zone Yates said he approached Valencia County officials over the past year regarding subsurface mineral exploration, because current zoning and regulation makes drilling very difficult in most places, if not impossible. I asked for a map of mineral resource districts, and when they finally produced one, it was inaccurate and showed virtually no place where you can drill, Yates said. I suggested to a county commissioner there and a lawyer that we ought to be able to explore down there. They had created an overlay zone for solar development and it seemed to me an overlay zone might be created for mineral exploration as well. The County Commission did approve a new natural resource overlay zone on May 3 that would potentially allow for exploratory oil and gas drilling, which commissioners will be discussing again at todays biweekly meeting. The overlay zone doesnt actually authorize drilling any place, but it offers the opportunity to apply for county approval, Yates said. I assure you, if we do apply, it wont be near homes, but it will likely be near the pipelines. Commissioner Joseph Bizzell, who sponsored the overlay ordinance, said county attorneys drafted the ordinance, and he has no direct relationship with Yates. However, Jalapeno Corp. donated $1,500 to Bizzells 2020 election, representing the bulk of money Bizzell raised in that campaign, according to records from the New Mexico Secretary of States Office. Yates attended the May 3 commission meeting and spoke in favor of the overlay ordinance. He also gave feedback on it before the commission meeting, suggesting modifications to the initial draft proposal, Yates told the Journal. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal Authorities say a 46-year-old man was shot and killed during his sons high school graduation party last weekend at a home in Tucumcari. Tyje Garrett, 42, is charged with an open count of murder in the May 28 death of Michael Arellano, 46. Garrett was dating the teens mother and both men shared a child with her. He was caught in Logan and booked into the Quay County Detention Center. Authorities said multiple people witnessed the shooting, including Arellanos 18-year-old son who was celebrating his high school graduation with friends and family. Prosecutors have filed a motion to detain Garrett until trial, calling him a flight risk with a history of arrests on assault, weapon and drug charges. Garretts attorney could not be reached Tuesday. According to an arrest warrant affidavit filed in Magistrate Court: Police responded around 9:45 p.m. to a shooting near Cemetery and Quay County Road 63 in Tucumcari. They found Arellano shot several times, surrounded by bullet casings, and he died at a hospital. Multiple people told police Garrett and Arellano had been drinking and arguing before the shooting. A few of them, including Arellanos son, saw the fight escalate into a shooting. The teen told police he had invited his father to his graduation party, and Arellano confronted Garrett for looking at him a certain way. He said that led to them getting into a dispute, and the teen asked his father to stop his behavior. Arellano left the party and started walking toward a cemetery down the street, according to police. Garrett left soon after in a truck. Arellanos son told police he wanted to be alone for a bit and also walked toward the cemetery. He said as he walked back he saw the two men near the open gate of the cemetery. The teen told police he heard bam, bam, bam, bam, and ran to his fathers side as Garrett drove away. He said Garrett had a rifle and had fired it earlier as a celebration thing during the party. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal With students largely stuck behind computer screens during the COVID-19 pandemic, standardized testing in New Mexico understandably took a hit. Despite kids being back in classrooms, the state likely wont be able to tell how theyre doing until next school year. During a Legislative Finance Committee meeting in mid-May, New Mexico Public Education Department officials said data from the SAT, the standardized test for juniors, will be available in August. But data for the final Measures of Student Success & Achievement assessments, the tests for grades three through eight for reading and math, wont be available until November. Testing for both wrapped up in May. The delays are only expected for this year, said Lynn Vasquez, director of assessment & learning management system. Thats because the MSSA tests are new, according to the PED, meaning the state has to determine new proficiency levels. Next spring, reports should be available about 10 days after testing windows close in mid to late May, the PED said. Still, several state legislators questioned this years turnaround time on assessment results, pointing out that a new school year will have started by the time the results are in. Im curious why its gonna take us six months to get the data back, said Rep. Meredith Dixon, D-Albuquerque. It seems like a long time, not only to get the data back but then making it difficult for us to plan moving forward for the budget of things that potentially would need to be changed. New Mexico Education Secretary Kurt Steinhaus acknowledged that turnaround time was just not acceptable. He added that may be an issue to be addressed in negotiations with Cognia, Inc., which processes assessment results. That contract expires in 2024, according to the PED. However, students have been tested at various times throughout the year. And according to interim assessment data for the 2022 school year, student achievement this year has been a bit of a mixed bag. The kindergarten through second-grade students, who all took the Istation interim tests, fared the worst. Reading at their grade levels at the beginning of the school year was 24%, compared to 31% at that time the year before, according to interim Istation testing data. That number edged up to 25% by halfway through the year, compared to the 37% who were reading at grade level by the middle of the 2021 school year. Students identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native were at 26% by the middle of 2022, compared with 43% halfway through 2021. Special education students in those grades went from 54% proficiency halfway through the 2021 school year to 36% by the middle of 2022. English-learner students proficiency rates were the same. The interim data for third- through eighth-grade students was not as complete. It was based on the 38% of students who took the interim MSSA tests. The percentage of third- through eighth-grade students who were on target in reading and math for the 2022 school year began 5 percentage points below numbers from the year before, according to interim MSSA data. But by the end of the year, the percentage of students on target for reading was on par with those from 2021 at 54%, and math achievement had pushed past previous levels of 19% in 2021 to around 22% of students. According to the interim MSSA report, the amount of students identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students who were proficient hovered around 30% halfway through the 2021 school year. For Hispanic students and economically disadvantaged students, those numbers improved to 34% midway through 2022. American Indian and Alaskan Native-identifying students remained at 29%. Steinhaus noted that not all districts use the same interim tests; many use alternative tests to the MSSA tests. In an ideal world, I think we would all prefer that it be the same test, Steinhaus said. However, all students take the same MSSA tests at the end of the year. Testing was waived in 2020, according to the PED, because of the pandemic. That came after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham nixed the states previous testing system in favor of the current MSSA tests, which were set to be rolled out that spring. In 2021, the state allowed the tests to be voluntary. ALBUQUERQUE A New Mexico man accused of shooting the mother of his child to death with the toddler in the room has been captured in Arizona. Lovington Police Chief David Miranda told KOB-TV in Albuquerque as he was driving back from Holbrook, Arizona, Monday that 26-year-old Zion Gibson killed the victim as the 3-year-old girl was nearby. According to investigators, 25-year-old Rosa Trujillo called 911 on May 23 when Gibson showed up outside her home in Lovington. The dispatcher heard Trujillo yell that Gibson broke a window and had a gun. Then the sound of gunfire erupted with nearly a dozen rounds heard. Authorities say Gibson called the victims parents and told them to check on the child because he had just killed Trujillo. Miranda says Gibson drove into Arizona. State police there took over pursuing him. He crashed his car in Holbrook and surrendered after a brief standoff. He will be transported back to New Mexico. Gibson is expected to be charged with first-degree murder and other counts. It was not immediately known Tuesday if he had an attorney. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal Environmental and community organizations say they were blindsided by the Valencia County Commissions approval of a new natural resource overlay zone that could open the doors to local oil and gas development. The ordinance allows developers to apply for exploratory surface and subsurface mineral development in the county without changing existing zoning on targeted properties. The five-member commission approved the ordinance in a 3-1 vote on May 3 with one commissioner absent and virtually no public input. Thats because the commission published just one legal advertisement regarding the ordinance on April 15 in the Albuquerque Journal, with no other publicity offered, according to local community activists. Commission rules mandate that public notice be published twice over two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation before placing an ordinance on the agenda. That didnt happen, and now the commission is expected to revisit the issue at its biweekly meeting today. Commissioners could be asked to repeal the ordinance to comply with the two-notification rule before reintroducing it again at a forthcoming meeting, said Commissioner Joseph Bizzell, who sponsored the original overlay zone initiative. Bizzell blamed the mishap on County Attorney Dave Pato. The attorney messed up and I told him afterwards to do it right, Bizzell told the Journal. Were going to open it back up and make sure that everybody has the ability to come in and speak their mind. Local activists said they learned about the ordinance after it was approved, and now theyre worried that its specifically aimed at opening the doors to oil and gas exploration in Valencia County. Thats because long-time oilman Harvey E. Yates Jr. attended the May 3 commission meeting to support the ordinance, raising concerns about his interest in local hydrocarbon development. Yates has since confirmed to the Journal that he is committed to exploring for oil and gas in the county and did, to some extent, assist the county in developing the ordinance. Were super concerned that it could open up the possibility for fracking in our community, said Ann McCartney, a member of advocacy group Valencia Water Watchers. McCartney said members of her organization will attend todays meeting to seek repeal of the ordinance and speak out against it being brought back at a future meeting. We want this to be repealed, and well rally community support if they bring it back, McCartney said. We anticipate they probably will, because three commissioners have already supported it. Environmental organizations are watching closely. The Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter is encouraging its members to attend the commission meeting. We have 3,500 members and supporters around the state, Rio Grande Chapter Director Camilla Feibelman told the Journal. Our people will show up. Overlay zone Bizzell said hes been working on the overlay ordinance for about a year, largely because of his interest in retrieving brackish water from underground wells on Valencia Countys West Mesa that could be cleaned up for community use. The West Mesa is one of the largest brackish aquifers, Bizzell said. Its unusable water, but theres desalinization plants that could clean up that water. The county could pipe the processed water to municipalities like Los Lunas and Belen, or even Isleta Pueblo and Albuquerque, Bizzell said. Such projects can already be done without the newly approved overlay zone, but the ordinance speeds the application and approval process by avoiding the need for zoning changes. Under the ordinance, a developer could apply for surface or subsurface mineral development without changing current land-use zoning so that surface-based residential, commercial or industrial activities continue uninterrupted. This is just a stepping stone that allows people a process to be able to use their property and go into a natural resource, whether its gravel, brackish water or oil and gas, Bizzell said. Developers must still apply to the county for an overlay permit through a public process to show that a project is consistent with county rules and regulations to protect community health, safety and welfare. That process would be open to public comment through a hearing at the countys planning and zoning commission, and then a second hearing and final vote by the commission. The ordinance excludes mineral overlay permitting on any land within the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, defined as the countys greenbelt. And, if an overlay zone is approved, the permitted project must take place within 24 months, or the property reverts to its original zoning, Bizzell said. Such county overlay zoning already exists for solar and greenhouse development. But unlike those ordinances, the natural resource overlay zone contains specific guidelines that would require the county planning and zoning commission to assess only health, safety and general welfare concerns that are directly related to a proposed location, and not base any potential rejection on generic or speculative impacts. The evaluation would also consider a projects economic development, job creation and tax benefits. Neither the solar nor greenhouse overlay zone ordinances contain such directives. Environmental pushback If the ordinance is reintroduced following two-notification compliance, environmental organizations will likely intervene, said Tom Solomon of Albuquerque-based 350 New Mexico. In 2017, that group and others mounted stiff resistance in Sandoval County to a proposed ordinance for developers to pursue oil and gas activities there. Hundreds of activists packed commission meetings in opposition, helping to defeat the measure. If theres potential for another drilling and fracking site to crop up like the one we fought in Sandoval County, then we would get involved, Solomon told the Journal. Its too early to jump to conclusions. But Yates is the head of one the states biggest oil interests, and given his involvement, were concerned, as are other environmental organizations. Mary Feldblum of Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project called the lack of public information before the County Commissions May 3 meeting frightening. Just to say were gonna drill without informing the community and discussing all the safety concerns and impacts with the pubic, thats a problem, Feldblum said. People were really caught by surprise. Bizzell said hes committed to transparency. I just want to make sure that everybody has a voice, Bizzell said. Whether youre for or against it, please come and give public comment. None of the other four country commissioners responded to repeated Journal requests for comment. Valencia County News-Bulletin Assistant Editor Julia M. Dendinger contributed to this report. SANTA FE Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed gun restrictions into law and called for a statewide ban on the sale of AR-15-style rifles a position she reiterated Tuesday in response to the recent massacre at a Texas elementary school. Republicans competing to challenge her this fall, by contrast, say they would defend gun rights and focus on other safety initiatives, such as strengthening mental health services and school security. Their comments come as New Mexico heads into next weeks primary election, when GOP voters will choose a nominee to face Lujan Grisham, who is seeking her second term. Republican candidate Greg Zanetti, an Albuquerque financial adviser and retired general, called the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, a senseless tragedy. An 18-year-old with a semi-automatic rifle, police say, killed 19 children and two teachers in the attack. Policy changes in response to the school shooting, Zanetti said, should focus on armed guards, metal detectors, mental health services and limiting points of entry. Further infringing upon the Second Amendment rights of our law-abiding citizens, he said, is not the answer. Republican candidate Mark Ronchetti, a former meteorologist at KRQE, said New Mexico should stiffen penalties for gun crimes, make it a felony to threaten a school shooting and invest in technology and other infrastructure to keep our schools the safest places in our communities. The state, he said, should also take steps to encourage retired police officers to begin a second career protecting schools. We need to keep guns out of the hands of those who shouldnt have them including criminals and those who threaten to harm others and commit acts of mass violence, Ronchetti said in a written statement to the Journal. This can be done while protecting the very important right afforded to all Americans under the 2nd Amendment. Republican candidate Rebecca Dow, a state legislator from Truth or Consequences, has voted repeatedly against legislation that would restrict gun rights. She said Tuesday that the state can respond to school shootings without interfering with adults constitutional rights. Mental health needs, partially early interventions, need to be addressed, Dow said in a written statement. It is critical that we find solutions that do not restrict the 2nd amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. The Journal was unable to reach the remaining two GOP candidates, Jay Block and Ethel Maharg, for comment by deadline Tuesday, but they have expressed support for gun rights. Block said on his campaign website that he has fought for our Second Amendment liberties as a member of the Sandoval County Commission, and Maharg said in a video on her site that theSecond Amendment was put in place to protect our First Amendment rights to free speech. AR-15 ban? The Texas school shooting is already intensifying debate among New Mexico lawmakers over how to protect schools and students. A 60-day legislative session starts in January. But voters have a chance to shake up the states political leadership before then. Races for governor, attorney general and all 70 seats in the state House are on the ballot this year. Since 2019, Democratic majorities in the Legislature have passed three major gun bills, all signed into law by Lujan Grisham. The legislation requires background checks before almost any gun sale; allows the temporary seizure of firearms from those considered a danger to themselves or others, a mechanism known as a red flag law; and mandates that domestic abusers surrender their guns. The Lujan Grisham campaign said Tuesday that her administration has provided funding to make behavioral health care more accessible, for law enforcement programs intended to break the cycle of violence and to provide more training to officers who work in schools. The governor also has advocated for a ban on the sale of AR-15-style rifles. Lujan Grisham has consistently called for a ban on the sale of some semi-automatic weapons, including assault rifles, for people of all ages, campaign spokeswoman Kendall Witmer said in response to Journal questions. Debate over gun legislation has triggered some of the most intense debates at the Capitol in recent years, inciting opposition by some New Mexico sheriffs and drawing crowds for Second Amendment rallies. Some firearms legislation has been blocked, including a proposal by Democratic Rep. Pamelya Herndon of Albuquerque this year to make it a crime to recklessly store a firearm that a minor gains access to. She has vowed to bring back the bill if she wins reelection. Campus killings New Mexico has had two deadly school shootings since 2017, in addition to one adjacent to a school. Bennie Hargrove, a 13-year-old student at Washington Middle School in Albuquerque, was killed by a classmate last year, and two teenagers died in 2017 at Aztec High School in the Four Corners area. Albuquerque Public Schools operates its own police department, with officers who carry guns. Five Republican candidates are competing in next weeks primary for the nomination to face Lujan Grisham next fall. A Libertarian candidate, Karen Bedonie, will also be on the ballot. KYIV, Ukraine The U.S. and Germany pledged Wednesday to equip Ukraine with some of the advanced weapons it has long desired for shooting down aircraft and knocking out artillery, as Russian forces closed in on capturing a key city in the east. Germany said it will supply Ukraine with up-to-date anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems, while the U.S. announced it will provide four sophisticated, medium-range rocket systems and ammunition. The U.S. is trying to help Ukraine fend off the Russians without triggering a wider war in Europe. The Pentagon said it received assurances that Ukraine will not fire the new rockets into Russian territory. The Kremlin accused the U.S. of pouring fuel on the fire. Western arms have been critical to Ukraines success in stymieing Russias much larger and better-equipped military, thwarting its effort to storm the capital and forcing Moscow to shift its focus to the industrial Donbas region in the east. But as Russia bombards towns in its inching advance in the east, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly pleaded for more and better weapons and accused the West of moving too slowly. Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian presidents office, hailed the new Western weapons. Im sure that if we receive all the necessary weapons and strengthen the efficient sanctions regime we will win, he said. The new arms could help Ukraine set up and hold new lines of defense in the east by hitting back at Russian artillery pieces that have been battering towns and cities and by limiting Russian airstrikes, said retired French Gen. Dominique Trinquand, a former head of Frances military mission at the United Nations. The NATO countries the European nations and the Americans have progressively escalated the means that they are putting at Ukraines disposal, and this escalation, in my opinion, has had the aim of testing Russian limits, he said. Each time, they measure the Russian reaction, and since there is no reaction, they keep supplying increasingly effective and sophisticated weaponry. Military analysts say Russia is hoping to overrun the Donbas before any weapons that might turn the tide arrive. It will take at least three weeks to get the precision U.S. weapons and trained troops onto the battlefield, the Pentagon said. But Defense Undersecretary Colin Kahl said he believes they will arrive in time to make a difference in the fight. The rocket systems are part of a new $700 million package of security assistance for Ukraine from the U.S. that also includes helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, radars, tactical vehicles, spare parts and more. The rockets have a range of about 50 miles (80 kilometers) and are highly mobile. Ukraine had pushed unsuccessfully for rockets with a range of up to 186 miles (300 kilometers). Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow does not trust assurances that Ukraine will not fire on Russian territory. We believe that the U.S. is deliberately and diligently pouring fuel on the fire, he said. Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintzev later went further, directly accusing Ukraine of planning to fire U.S.-provided missiles from the northeastern Sumy region at border areas in Russia. The claim, which he said was based on radio intercepts, couldnt be independently confirmed. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Ukraines push for more weapons is a direct provocation intended to draw the West into the fighting. He warned that the multiple rocket launchers would raise the risk of an expanded conflict. Sane Western politicians understand those risks well, he said. As the new weapons shipments were announced, a Russian missile hit rail lines in the western Lviv region, a key conduit for supplies of Western weapons and other supplies, officials said. Regional Gov. Maksym Kozytskyy said five people were wounded in Wednesdays strike, and the head of Ukrainian railways said the damage was still being assessed. Germanys promise of IRIS-T air defense systems would mark the first delivery of long-range air defense weapons to Ukraine since the start of the war. Earlier deliveries of portable, shoulder-fired air defense missiles have bolstered the Ukrainian militarys ability to take down helicopters and other low-flying aircraft but didnt give it enough range to challenge Russias air superiority. Germany has come under particular criticism, both at home and from allies abroad, that it isnt doing enough. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told lawmakers that the IRIS-Ts surface-to-air missiles are the most modern air defense system the country has. With this, we will enable Ukraine to defend an entire city from Russian air attacks, he said. The radar systems will also help Ukraine locate enemy artillery. A regional governor said Russian forces now control 80% of Sievierodonetsk, a city that is key to Moscows efforts to complete its capture of the Donbas, where Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists have fought for years and where the separatists held swaths of territory even before the invasion. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said Russian troops were advancing in the city during fierce street battles with Ukrainian forces, though he noted that in some districts the Ukrainian troops managed to push them back. The only other city in Luhansk that the Russians have not yet captured, Lysychansk, is still fully under Ukrainian control, he said, but is likely to be the next target. The two cities are separated by a river. If the Russians manage to take full control over Sievierodonetsk within two to three days, they will start installing artillery and mortars and will shell Lysychansk more intensively, Haidai said. Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said the country is losing between 60 and 100 soldiers a day in the fighting. He turned the focus to children in his nightly video address, saying 243 of them have been killed in the war, 446 have been wounded and 139 are missing. The real numbers could be higher, he added, as his government doesnt have a full picture of areas under Russian occupation. Zelenskyy also said 200,000 children are among the Ukrainians who have been forcefully taken to Russia and dispersed across that vast country: The purpose of this criminal policy is not just to steal people but to make those who are deported forget about Ukraine and unable to return. In southern Ukraine, a regional governor sounded a more positive note, saying Russian troops were retreating and blowing up bridges behind them. They are afraid of a counterattack by the Ukrainian army, Vitaliy Kim, governor of the Mykolayiv region, said on the Telegram messaging app. ___ Jordans reported from Berlin. Associated Press writers Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine, Lolita C. Baldor in Washington and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine SHANGHAI Traffic, pedestrians and joggers reappeared on the streets of Shanghai on Wednesday as Chinas largest city began returning to normalcy amid the easing of a strict two-month COVID-19 lockdown that has drawn unusual protests over its heavy-handed implementation. Shanghais Communist Party committee, the citys most powerful political body, issued a letter online proclaiming the lockdowns success and thanking citizens for their support and contributions. The move came amid a steady rollback in compulsory measures that have upended daily life for millions while severely disrupting the economy and global supply chains. While defending President and Communist Party chief Xi Jinpings hardline zero-COVID policy, the countrys leadership appears to be acknowledging the public backlash against measures seen as trampling already severely limited rights to privacy and participation in the workings of government. In one such step, the Cabinets Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism issued a letter Tuesday laying out rules banning non-standard, simple and rude indoor disinfection by mostly untrained teams in Shanghai and elsewhere that have left homes damaged and led to reports of property theft. Full bus and subway service in Shanghai was being restored from Wednesday, with rail connections to the rest of China to follow. Still, more than half a million people in the city of 25 million remain under lockdown or in designated control zones because virus cases are still being detected. The government says all restrictions will be gradually lifted, but local neighborhood committees still wield considerable power to implement sometimes conflicting and arbitrary policies. Negative PCR tests for the coronavirus taken within the previous 48 to 72 hours also remain standard in Shanghai, Beijing and elsewhere for permission to enter public venues. That measure didnt deter people in Shanghai from gathering outside to eat and drink under the watch of police deployed to discourage large crowds from forming. With the lockdown lifting, I feel very happy. I feel today how I feel during Chinese New Year that kind of mood and joy, said Wang Xiaowei, 34, who moved to Shanghai from the inland province of Guizhou just a week before the lockdown began. Liu Ruilin, 18, said she wasnt sure her buildings security guard would let her and others out on Tuesday night. The restriction ended exactly at midnight, she said. Then we said, Lets go to the Bund to have fun,' she said in the citys historic riverside district. We thought there wouldnt be too many people here, but we were surprised after coming over that a lot of people are here. I feel pretty good quite excited. Schools will partially reopen on a voluntary basis, and shopping malls, supermarkets, convenience stores and drug stores will gradually reopen at no more than 75% of their total capacity. Cinemas and gyms will remain closed. Health authorities on Wednesday reported just 15 new COVID-19 cases in Shanghai, down from a record high of around 20,000 daily cases in April. A few malls and markets have reopened, and some residents have been given passes allowing them out for a few hours at a time. The lockdown has prompted an exodus of Chinese and foreign residents, with crowds forming outside the citys Hongqiao Railway Station, where only some train services have resumed. Even while the rest of the world has opened up, China has stuck to a zero-COVID strategy that requires lockdowns, mass testing and isolation at centralized facilities for anyone who is infected or has been in contact with someone who has tested positive. The countrys borders also remain largely closed and the government has upped requirements for the issuance of passports and permission to travel abroad. At least half of foreign companies in Shanghai are waiting until next week to reopen while they put in place hygiene measures, said Bettina Schoen-Behanzin, a vice president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. As a precaution, many companies plan to have only half their workforce on site at a time. There is still quite some uncertainty and a scare that if there is a positive case in the office building or in your compound, you might be locked down again, said Schoen-Behanzin, who works in Shanghai. The strict restrictions in Shanghai, the countrys commercial capital and home of the worlds busiest port, dragged down Chinese economic activity and disrupted global manufacturing and trade. Retail sales fell by a worse-than-forecast 11% in April from a year earlier, government data show. Auto sales fell by almost half from a year earlier, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Private sector forecasters have cut their estimates for this years economic growth to as low as 2%, well below the ruling Communist Partys target of 5.5%. Some expect output to shrink in the three months ending in June. The economy is really in a crisis, said Schoen-Behanzin. The Port of Shanghai, the worlds busiest, appears to be back to 80% to 85% of its normal operating capacity, according to Schoen-Behanzin. She cited data that said the port had a backlog of 260,000 cargo containers in April. The rest of the world will feel these delays probably (through) June or July, she said. The city will likely see a mass exodus of foreign residents this summer, especially families with small kids, Schoen-Behanzin said. She said about half of Shanghais foreign residents had already left over the past two years. People are really fed up with these lockdowns, she said. Its not safe, especially if you have small children. ___ Associated Press Business Writer Joe McDonald contributed to this report from Beijing. ___ This version has corrected the timing on PCR tests to a range rather than only 48 hours before being permitted to enter a public venue. WASHINGTON The U.S. on Wednesday unveiled a new $700 million package of sophisticated weapons for Ukraine in an urgent effort to prevent Russia from seizing the final swaths of land in the Donbas region. But the most advanced rocket systems will take at least three weeks to reach the battlefront, raising questions of whether they will arrive in time to stop Russias slow but steady gains. The Biden administrations decision to send four medium-range rocket systems came after weeks of debate over whether the precision-guided weapons would provoke a strong military reaction from Russian President Vladimir Putin. It suggested the U.S. believes it has zeroed in on what weapons deliveries are worth the risk. We dont have an interest in the conflict in Ukraine widening to a broader conflict or evolving into World War Three. So weve been mindful of that, said Colin Kahl, the defense undersecretary for policy. But at the same time, Russia doesnt get a veto over what we send to the Ukrainians. Still, Kahl and other U.S. officials said that Ukrainian leaders have promised they will use the rockets only to defend their nation. The Ukrainians have given us assurances that they will not use these systems against targets on Russian territory, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday. There is a strong trust bond between Ukraine and the United States. However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday the U.S. is deliberately and diligently pouring fuel on the fire. He added that Russia doesnt trust Kyivs assurances that the multiple rocket launch systems supplied by the U.S. will not be used to attack. In order to trust (someone), you need to have experience with situations when such promises were kept. Regretfully, there is no such experience whatsoever, Peskov said. The need to train Ukrainian troops on the HIMARS system for about three weeks before they can go to battle raises concerns that Russia will have a window of time to capture key terrain in the east. It is a grinding fight, said Kahl. We believe that these additional capabilities will arrive in a timeframe thats relevant and allow the Ukrainians to very precisely target the types of things they need for the current fight. The Pentagon would not say how many rockets it will provide to Ukraine, only that it is sending four of the truck-mounted HIMARS systems. The trucks each carry a container with six precision-guided rockets, which can travel about 45 miles (70 kilometers). The expectation is that Ukraine can use the rockets in the Donbas, where they could both intercept Russian artillery and take out Russian positions in towns where fighting is intense, such as Sievierodonetsk. Sievierodonetsk is important to Russian efforts to capture the Donbas before more Western arms arrive to bolster Ukraines defense. The city, which is 90 miles (145 kilometers) south of the Russian border, is in an area that is the last pocket under Ukrainian government control in the Luhansk region of the Donbas. President Joe Biden in an essay in a New York Times, said that, We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia. The package announced Wednesday is the 11th approved so far and will be the first to tap the $40 billion in security and economic assistance recently passed by Congress. It includes a variety of weapons and equipment, ranging from helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems and radars to tactical vehicles, artillery rounds and spare parts. The weapons will come from Pentagon drawdown authority, so would involve taking them from U.S. inventory. Kahl said that the HIMARS systems have already been sent to Europe, and officials said the training could begin this week. Since the war began in February, the U.S. and its allies have tried to walk a narrow line: Send Ukraine weapons needed to fight off Russia but stop short of providing aid that will trigger a broader conflict that could spill into other parts of Europe. Over time, however, the U.S. and allies have amped up the weaponry going to Ukraine, as the fight has shifted from Russias campaign to take the capital, Kyiv, and other areas, to more close-contact skirmishes for small pieces of land in the east and south. To that end, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pleading with the West to send multiple-launch rocket systems as soon as possible to help stop Russias destruction of towns in the Donbas. The rockets have a longer range than the howitzer artillery systems that the U.S. has provided Ukraine. They would allow Ukrainian forces to strike Russian troops from a distance outside the range of Russias artillery systems. We are fighting for Ukraine to be provided with all the weapons needed to change the nature of the fighting and start moving faster and more confidently toward the expulsion of the occupiers, Zelenskyy said in a recent address. Ukraine needs multiple-launch rocket systems, said Philip Breedlove, a retired U.S. Air Force general who was NATOs top commander from 2013 to 2016. These are very important capabilities that we have not gotten them yet. And they not only need them, but they have been very vociferous in explaining they want them, said Breedlove. We need to get serious about supplying this army so that it can do what the world is asking it to do: fight a world superpower alone on the battlefield. Russia has been making incremental progress in the Donbas, as it tries to take the remaining sections of the region not already controlled by Russian-backed separatists. ___ AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee, AP writer Aamer Madhani and AP broadcast reporter Sagar Meghani contributed to this report. Flash As of the end of May 2022, the United States remained the country hit worst by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the world's highest caseload and death toll, both accounting for nearly 16% of global cases and deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. On May 11, the death toll from the coronavirus in the U.S. reached 1 million. U.S. President Joe Biden called it a "tragic mileston" when addressing a virtual global COVID-19 summit hosted by the White House, and ordered national flags to be lowered to half-staff to commemorate the American lives lost since the pandemic began. The once-unthinkable milestone represents about one death for every 327 American citizens according to Reuters, or more than the entire population of San Francisco or Seattle. Most of those deaths, some 600,000, happened after Biden took office in January 2021 at the peak of a major wave of the disease. The million deaths also means that more than 250,000 American children have lost a parent or primary caregiver due to COVID-19. People aged 65 and up have made up 75% of all coronavirus deaths in the U.S. The WHO released a report on May 5, estimating that nearly 15 million people worldwide were killed either by COVID-19 or by its impact on overwhelmed health systems between January 2020 and the end of 2021, more than double the official global death toll of 6 million. Most of the fatalities were in Southeast Asia, Europe and the Americas. On March 10, a study focusing on excess deaths to avoid undercounting and assess the extent of the pandemic's devastation was published in the Lancet medical journal. The findings showed that the global all-age rate of excess mortality due to the COVID-19 pandemic between Jan. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2021, was 120.3 deaths (113.1129.3) per 100,000 of the population, and excess mortality rate exceeded 300 deaths per 100,000 of the population in 21 countries. The excess mortality rate in the U.S. was 179.3 deaths per 100,000 of the population, while the rate in China was 0.6 deaths per 100,000 of the population. Although Shanghai and Beijing are currently engaged in battles against COVID-19 resurgences, both the infection rate and death rate of the coronavirus in China continue to remain at a relatively low level by global standards thanks to its dynamic zero-COVID-19 policy. LOS ANGELES Jada Pinkett Smith turned her husbands Oscar-night blowup into a teachable moment about alopecia areata, the hair-loss disorder affecting her and millions of others that, in some cases, can impact a persons sense of identity. Considering what Ive been through with my own health and what happened at the Oscars, thousands have reached out to me with their stories, Pinkett Smith said on Wednesdays episode of Red Table Talk. The actor said she chose to use this moment to give our alopecia family an opportunity to talk about what its like to have this condition and what it is. Her guests included the mother of a 12-year-old girl, Rio Allred, who was bullied over her hair loss and died by suicide, and a physician who explained the different types of the disorder. Before tackling the subject, Pinkett Smith addressed events at the March 27 Academy Awards. She and husband Will Smith, a best-actor nominee, were in the audience as presenter Chris Rock cracked a joke at Pinkett Smiths expense. Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2, cant wait to see it, Rock said. Pinkett Smith, who has spoken publicly about her alopecia, had a closely shaved head similar to that of Demi Moore in the 1997 movie. Smith strode from his front-row seat to the stage and slapped Rock, shocking the comedian and the audience. Smith, who returned to his seat and later accepted the Oscar for King Richard, subsequently apologized to Rock but was banned from the ceremony for 10 years by the film academy. Now, about Oscar night, my deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out, and reconcile, Pinkett Smith said on Red Table Talk in an indirect reference to Smith and Rock. The state of the world today, we need them both, and we all actually need one another more than ever. Until then, Will and I are continuing to do what we have done for the last 28 years, and thats keep figuring out this thing called life together, said Pinkett Smith, who previously had addressed the incident in a brief Instagram post that read This is a season for healing and Im here for it. The actor (Girls Trip, Matrix films), who hosts the Facebook Watch talk show with her daughter, Willow, and Adrienne Banfield Norris, her mother, said that millions of people are living with alopecia and what she called the shame that surrounds it. The condition, particularly for Black women, can affect a persons perception of themselves and force them to frequently confront others perceptions about beauty, hair and race and culture. Rios mother, Nicole Ball, recounted the impact of the Oscar incident, which took place less than two weeks after her daughters death. What is the universe doing right now? This is crazy,' Ball recalled thinking. People are going to be Googling, What is alopecia.What is this that weve never heard of? Its not a joke. According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, the disorder affects as many as 6.8 million people in the United States of any age, sex and ethnic group, and the symptoms can vary. I think the part that makes it most difficult for me is that it comes and goes. Youre going through a spell of something, and you got to shave your head, Pinkett Smith said. UVALDE, Texas Mourners gathered Wednesday at a Catholic church to say goodbye to Robb Elementary School teacher Irma Garcia who died in the shooting at the Uvalde, Texas, grade school and her husband, Joe who died two days later from a heart attack. Nineteen children and two teachers Garcia and her co-teacher, 44-year-old Eva Mireles were killed May 24 when an 18-year-old gunman burst into their classroom. The litany of visitations, funerals and burials began Monday and will continue into mid-June. At Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Wednesday, twin black hearses carrying the coffins of the Garcias arrived in a procession led by police and civilian motorcycle riders. Covered by flowers, the two closed caskets were borne by pallbearers past a phalanx of police in uniforms and priests in white robes. Some sobbed throughout the service in which Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller offered thanks for Irma Garcias dedication. He listed the names of the slain schoolchildren several times throughout the homily. Because you were there with them, he said. You did what you would have done with your own children. You took care of them until your last breath. Irma, 48, was finishing up her 23rd year as a teacher at Robb Elementary. In a letter posted on the schools website at the beginning of the school year, Garcia told her students that she and Joe had four children a Marine, a college student, a high school student and a seventh grader. Most of the readings during Wednesdays service and the homily were in English, with Garcia-Siller offering some words in Spanish. We are all hurting, he said. In the midst of so much, please, please people need comfort, people need you. Let us all foster a culture of peace. Joe, 50, collapsed and died after dropping off flowers at his wifes memorial. The couple would have been married 25 years on June 28 His obituary noted that he and Irma began their relationship in high school and it flourished into a love that was beautiful and kind. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, who attended the Garcias funeral, said in a statement that America must unite as a country against this senseless cycle of violence, act immediately to protect our children, and make sure that every child and every educator feels safe in our schools. Another funeral Wednesday was for 10-year-old Jose Flores Jr., also at Sacred Heart. He made the honor roll and received a certificate on May 24, hours before the shooting. His father told CNN that his son loved baseball and video games and was always full of energy. On Tuesday afternoon, hundreds turned out to remember Amerie Jo Garza, a smiling fourth-grader whose funeral Mass was the first since the massacre. The funeral for 10-year-old Maite Rodriguez was Tuesday night. At Ameries funeral, mourner Erika Santiago, her husband and their two children wore purple shirts adorned with images of the victims. She described Amerie as a nice little girl who smiled a lot, and who was so humble and charismatic but full of life. Investigators continue to seek answers about how police responded to the shooting, and the U.S. Department of Justice is reviewing law enforcement actions. The blame for an excruciating delay in killing the gunman even as parents outside begged police to rush in and panicked children called 911 from inside was placed on the school districts police chief, Pete Arredondo. The director of state police last week said Arredondo made the wrong decision not to breach the classroom, believing the gunman was barricaded inside and children werent at risk. On Wednesday, Arredondo told CNN that hes talking regularly with investigators from the Texas Department of Public Safety, contradicting claims from state law enforcement that hes stopped cooperating. Authorities have said the gunman, Salvador Ramos, legally purchased two guns not long before the school attack: an AR-15-style rifle on May 17 and a second rifle on May 20. He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law. Ramos was killed by law enforcement. ___ More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal Detectives are seeking the publics help in tracking down those responsible for shooting a 13-year-old girl in a suspected road rage incident earlier this year. Alexus Miller was riding in the back seat of a vehicle in Southeast Albuquerque early March 28 when she was shot, according to police. She was taken to the hospital and died about a month later. The teenager is the youngest person to be killed in a homicide this year. The Journal could not reach her family. Albuquerque police have remained tight-lipped on the case, and have not said who Miller was with when she was shot. It has also declined to release the initial incident report. At this time, we cant provide additional information that may jeopardize the investigation, said Rebecca Atkins, the Albuquerque Police Department spokeswoman. Atkins had provided some details about the shooting in early May, but the victims name and age had not been released until Crime Stoppers sent out a bulletin soliciting the publics help Wednesday. Atkins said around 1:50 a.m. on March 28 officers were dispatched to the area of Avenida Cesar Chavez near Interstate 25. She said the ShotSpotter gun shot detection system had alerted APD to a shooting in the area. Upon arrival officers observed one vehicle that had wrecked into a pole, Atkins said. At least one subject in the vehicle was struck by gunfire stemming from a road rage incident. She said the victim was taken to the hospital and on April 29 she died from complications associated to the wounds suffered in the shooting. Homicide detectives then took over the investigation. Crime Stoppers asked anyone with information about the shooting or subjects involved to contact the Albuquerque Police Department, Crime Stoppers or the detective investigating the case. Tips Police ask anyone with information to contact the Albuquerque Police Department at (505) 242-COPS (2677), Detective Leah Wise (505) 363-8123, or Crime Stoppers, anonymously, at (505) 843-STOP or p3tips.com/531. FAIRFAX, Va. A jury sided Wednesday with Johnny Depp in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, awarding the Pirates of the Caribbean actor more than $10 million and vindicating his allegations that Heard lied about Depp abusing her before and during their brief marriage. But in a split decision, the jury also found that Heard was defamed by one of Depps lawyers, who accused her of creating a detailed hoax that included roughing up the couples apartment to look worse for police. The jury awarded her $2 million. The verdicts bring an end to a televised trial that Depp had hoped would help restore his reputation, though it turned into a spectacle that offered a window into a vicious marriage. Heard, who was stoic in the courtroom as the verdict was read, said she was heartbroken. Im even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. Its a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously, she said in a statement posted on her Twitter account. Depp, who was not in court Wednesday, said the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled. I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up, he said in a statement posted to Instagram. Depp sued Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse. His lawyers said he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name. The jury found in Depps favor on all three of his claims relating to specific statements in the 2018 piece. Throughout the proceedings, fans who were overwhelmingly on Depps side lined up overnight for coveted courtroom seats. Spectators who couldnt get in gathered on the street to cheer Depp and jeer Heard whenever they appeared outside. A crowd of about 200 people cheered when Depps lawyers came out after the verdict. Johnny for president! one man yelled repeatedly. Greg McCandless, 51, a retired private detective from Reston, Virginia, stood outside the courthouse wearing a pirate hat and red head scarf, a nod to Depps famous role as Capt. Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. I do believe that there was defamation, and I do believe that it did hurt his career, McCandless said. I think the jury heard the evidence, and the verdict was just. In evaluating Heards counterclaims, jurors considered three statements by a lawyer for Depp who called her allegations a hoax. They found she was defamed by one of them, in which the lawyer claimed that she and friends spilled a little wine and roughed the place up, got their stories straight, and called police. Sydni Porter, 30, drove an hour from her home in Maryland to show support for Heard. She said the verdict was disappointing, but not surprising, and sends a message to women that as much evidence as you have (of abuse), its never going to be enough. The jury found Depp should receive $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, but the judge said state law caps punitive damages at $350,000, meaning Depp was awarded $10.35 million. While the case was ostensibly about libel, most of the testimony focused on whether Heard had been physically and sexually abused, as she claimed. Heard enumerated more than a dozen alleged assaults, including a fight in Australia where Depp was shooting a Pirates of the Caribbean sequel in which Depp lost the tip of his middle finger and Heard said she was sexually assaulted with a liquor bottle. Depp said he never hit Heard and that she was the abuser, though Heards attorneys highlighted years-old text messages Depp sent apologizing to Heard for his behavior as well as profane texts he sent to a friend in which Depp said he wanted to kill Heard and defile her dead body. In some ways, the trial was a replay of a lawsuit Depp filed in the United Kingdom against a British tabloid after he was described as a wife beater. The judge in that case ruled in the newspapers favor after finding that Heard was telling the truth in her descriptions of abuse. In the Virginia case, Depp had to prove not only that he never assaulted Heard, but that Heards article which focused primarily on public policy related to domestic violence defamed him. He also had to prove that Heard wrote the article with actual malice. And to claim damages, he had to prove that her article caused the damage to his reputation as opposed to any number of articles before and after Heards piece that detailed the allegations against him. The case captivated millions through its gavel-to-gavel television coverage, including impassioned followers on social media who dissected everything from the actors mannerisms to the possible symbolism of what they were wearing. Both performers emerge from the trial with reputations in tatters with unclear prospects for their careers. Eric Rose, a crisis management and communications expert in Los Angeles, called the trial a classic murder-suicide. From a reputation-management perspective, there can be no winners, he said. Theyve bloodied each other up. It becomes more difficult now for studios to hire either actor because youre potentially alienating a large segment of your audience who may not like the fact that you have retained either Johnny or Amber for a specific project because feelings are so strong now. Depp, a three-time best actor Oscar nominee, had until recent years been a bankable star. His turn as Sparrow helped turn the Pirates of the Caribbean into a global franchise, but hes lost that role. He was also replaced in the third Fantastic Beasts spin-off film, The Secrets of Dumbledore. Despite testimony at the trial that he could be violent, abusive and out of control, Depp received a standing ovation Tuesday night in London after performing for about 40 minutes with Jeff Beck at the Royal Albert Hall. Heards acting career has been more modest, and her only two upcoming roles are in a small film and the upcoming Aquaman sequel due out next year. Depps lawyers fought to keep the case in Virginia, in part because state law provided some legal advantages compared with California, where the two reside. A judge ruled that Virginia was an acceptable forum for the case because The Washington Posts printing presses and online servers are in the county. One of the most booming cities in the U.S. over the past decade thinks that it grew even bigger than the U.S. Census Bureau says it did. Austin, Texas, became the largest U.S. city to challenge its 2020 census figures when it filed an appeal with the Census Bureau last week, saying it has more than the 961,855 residents tallied during the nations once-a-decade head count. City officials believe around 7,000 housing units were missed, mostly in newly developed neighborhoods. In some cases, housing units were placed in the wrong location, said Lila Valencia, the city demographer for Austin. We are one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, Valencia said. Any region growing as fast as Austin is going to be hard to count. Among the 50 biggest U.S. cities, Austins growth rate of 21.7% between 2010 and 2020 was the second-largest in the nation, trailing only Fort Worth, Texas, which grew by 24%. As of last July, Austin was the 11th most-populous city in the U.S. The city of Austin is at the center of one of the most booming metro areas in the U.S., one that was attracting about 150 new residents a day in the middle of the past decade. Figures released last week show that two Austin suburbs, Georgetown and Leander, were the two fastest-growing cities in the U.S. last year, expanding by more than 10% each. Over the past several years, metro Austin has been a jobs magnet. Its home to Teslas corporate headquarters as well as a high tech hub for entrepreneurs attracted to its highly educated work force and the University of Texas flagship school. The census figures were used to divvy up congressional seats among the states and redraw political districts. Nothing can be done to change numbers for those purposes, but the outcome of any challenges can determine whether the cities and counties get their fair share when it comes to the distribution of $1.5 trillion in annual federal funding. Valencia said an inaccurate count would cause Austin to miss an unknown amount of funding for affordable housing, parks and low-income students. Its unknown how many people live in the 7,000 housing units. However, an average of almost 2.4 people live in each household in Austin, which translates into 16,800 people. This affects the quality of life of residents, so its worth it to make sure we get every single dollar that we deserve, Valencia said. The 2020 census undercounted the overall U.S. population by only 0.24%. The count was challenged by the coronavirus pandemic, natural disasters and political interference from the Trump administration. But some minority groups were undercounted at greater rates than the previous decade. Historically, racial and ethnic minorities, renters and young children are the people who have been undercounted. A report released several weeks ago by the Census Bureau showed that Texas was undercounted by 1.9%, which translates to about 560,000 residents. Texas was among several states with undercounts that did not direct as many resources as other states did to encourage residents to fill out census forms. Until Austin filed a appeal, Detroit had been the largest U.S. city to challenge its 2020 census numbers. The Census Bureau told Detroit officials that they needed to provide more information before the citys appeal could move forward, a city spokesman said in an email Wednesday. States and municipalities have until the middle of next year to appeal their census figures. Challenges are rarely successful, but so far almost 30 have been launched. They have been filed primarily by small towns and counties, about half of which are in the South. Residents of prisons, nursing homes and college dorms places that are known as group quarters were among the most difficult people to count during the 2020 census since students on campus were sent home when the pandemic began in the U.S. in March 2020, and prisons and nursing homes went into lockdowns against the spread of the coronavirus. Because of the difficulties in counting these residents, the Census Bureau created a separate program for challenges of group quarter counts. The bureau will start accepting those appeals next week. ___ Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP SANTA FE A political committee with a vague name and a Kentucky address has mailed out attack ads targeting Republican Ant Thornton, a retired aerospace engineer running for lieutenant governor. A mailer sent by the group, Americans for Strong Leadership, calls Thornton a liberal and a RINO, or Republican in Name Only. It cites a series of small donations he made 14 years ago to Barack Obama, then a Democratic candidate for president. Thornton, for his part, has been open about his past as a Democrat. His campaign website says that, like many African Americans, he was raised a Democrat but became disillusioned by the party, changing his affiliation in 2011. In an interview, Thornton said he was drawn to Obamas message of moving past partisan divisions in early 2008. But he later decided he couldnt vote for Obama after reading his book and learning more about his political positions. Since then, I have supported no one but Republican candidates, Thornton said. He voted for Donald Trump, he said, in the last two presidential elections. Thornton faces Peggy Muller-Aragon, a retired teacher and member of the Albuquerque school board, in the Republican primary for lieutenant governor. Americans for Strong Leadership is registered in New Mexico as an independent expenditure political committee, meaning it doesnt coordinate with any particular candidate. It hasnt reported any spending or donations to the state. It lists a Louisville, Kentucky, address. Emily White of Bluegrass Compliance, a campaign finance consulting firm in Louisville, said her company was hired to complete the paperwork to establish the political committee and that it would report its spending and donations as required by law. U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has tested positive for COVID-19 and has mild symptoms, the agency said Wednesday. Haaland, 61, is isolating in Nevada where she took part in a roundtable discussion Tuesday in Las Vegas about clean energy production on public lands, the Interior Department said in a statement. Haaland began experiencing coronavirus symptoms on Wednesday and tested positive. She is fully vaccinated and has received two booster shots. The statement said she expects to recover quickly. Haaland canceled travel plans elsewhere in the U.S. West and is working remotely. Haaland last tested negative on Monday during a visit to the White House and was not in close contact with President Joe Biden, the statement said. Other people who might have been in close contact with Haaland during her travels are being notified. SANTA FE New Mexicos vote-counting machines arent connected to the internet, and every voter casts a paper ballot, providing a paper trail to verify election results. These are among the facts the Secretary of States Office is sharing on a new website aimed at reinforcing confidence in state elections. The Rumor vs. Reality site outlines a host of facts about the states election system to combat misinformation. It points out that who you vote for is secret, that independent post-election audits are mandatory, and that the state uses paper ballots marked by voters, ensuring theres a paper trial in the event of a dispute. The machines that tabulate votes arent joined to a computer network or the internet, a process known as air gapping to ensure they arent hacked into, the site says. Visit NMVote.org and click the Rumor vs. Reality link on the left side to find the site. Its launch comes after Donald Trump and his supporters spread falsehoods about the 2020 election. An investigation by The Associated Press last year found no widespread, coordinated voter fraud. DONT WAIT: By law, Thursday is the last day to request an absentee ballot for the primary election. Saturday is the last day for early voting. Election day itself is Tuesday, when polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. SANTA FE Opening a restaurant in July 2020 during the middle of a pandemic takes gumption, confidence and determination. In two short years, Zacatlans chef-owner Eduardo Rodriguez has captured national attention with recognition from USA Todays Readers Choice Awards in 2020 as Top 10 Best New Restaurants in the Country and, in 2021, Conde Nast named Zacatlan one of the hottest tickets in town. Earlier this year, he received a prestigious honor most chefs only dream of a James Beard Award nomination. Based on these accolades, combined with the fact that Rodriguez worked for the inimitable Chef Eric DiStefano, of Geronimo and Coyote Cafe fame, for 20 years, I expected a sensational dining experience and was exhilarated to finally visit this casita on Aztec Street. A quaint space, you walk into the house and the hostess greets you on the left while the bar is straight ahead, reminding you that beer and wine are compadres (friends) with Mexican food. An inside dining area is to the left and a tight patio off to the right. Bright yellow walls bring sunshine into the enclosed outdoor space and you can hear birds chirping while Spanish music thumps melodically in the background. Greenery and flowers make the space feel cozy, while the eight tables are snug as a bug in a rug. Brunch is served from 10:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. and they reopen for dinner from 5 until 9 p.m. Though the dinner menu boasts classic Mexican dishes that had me salivating, I wanted to experience brunch for my first visit, which is significantly less expensive. Late one morning, my dining companion and I each ordered a bright red glass of Agua de Jamaica (hibiscus water) to quench our thirst. A lightly-sweetened tea, be sure to squeeze the lime on the rim into the drink for a puckery punch of acid. We shared a Cesar Salad ($12) and ordered Chilaquiles with Mole Negro ($12.50) and Fish Tacos ($20) and Churros ($8) for a classic Mexican dessert. Though we enjoyed the ambiance, the food left me and my partner a bit disappointed. So I returned for dinner a few weeks later with another dining companion, and this was the exceptional culinary experience I had originally hoped for. Even though we did not have a reservation, we were whisked away to a table in the main dining room. It was a Monday night and though they did not know we were honoring a meaningful occasion, the complimentary half-glass of Prosecco they brought made the gathering feel even more special. To set the tone for our dinner, my friend ordered a glass of Spanish Castillo de Monseran Garnachas ($13) to accompany her very first (and not last) authentic Mexican meal. Not having lived in Mexico as I have, she was unprepared but enthusiastic for the explosion of flavors, textures, temperatures and colors, and I was impressed by the chefs significant success with the dinner menu. Wanting to sample surf and turf appetizers, we started with Pork Belly Carnitas ($22) and Yellowtail Ceviche ($22). The chef and a waiter delivered our two appetizers to the table and the plates were so sophisticated and gorgeous, we took a few seconds to take it all in before we took our first bites. The Pork Belly Carnitas is a stunning dish that is big enough to share and so rich, it should be shared. Two strips of seared pork belly are placed on top of a delicate strawberry and rhubarb tamale that sits atop a circle of deep, dark and delicious mole. To offset the fatty pork, a vinegary mound of fennel and apple salad with pickled red onions works beautifully to add a layer of acid and crunch to this scrumptious dish. Once we devoured the pork belly, we transitioned to the cold ceviche. Served in a beautiful molcajete, fresh yellowtail snapper is chopped into bite-sized pieces and barely cooked with lime juice. A variety of diced bell peppers, chopped avocado, jalapeno and cilantro is added, along with a few capers for a briney kick. What surprised me was the inclusion of a few carefully placed fresh orange segments. This gives a sweet dimension to the ceviche and I plan on stealing this idea the next time I make ceviche. Homemade blue corn tortillas are fried and seasoned with a dusting of red spice. The combination of crispy chips and soft, succulent marinated fish made me feel like I was back in Zihuatanejo for a few minutes. Though there are eight incredible entrees to choose from, we both wanted the Whole Fried Red Snapper ($46) and our waiter assured us we could share the single entree since we had ordered two appetizers. Once again, when the plate was set before us, the presentation blew us away. The chef had lovingly filleted and sauteed the fish, and smartly used the red snapper carcass which he fried for plating. The fish mouth holds a thin slice of lime, while a serving of crab saffron risotto adds richness to the dish and elevates this to serious comfort food. The Veracruzana salsa, made with tomatoes, onions and green olives, pulls all of the flavors together and the grilled lemon half allows diners to add another layer of acid. We ate every last bite. We were supremely satisfied with our meal and felt rejuvenated by the food as we walked to the car. And we deeply appreciated that we were able to linger between courses and not be rushed through this meal that activated all of our senses. This exceptional dinner experience is proof that Rodriguez has diligently woven together his reverence for Mexico with the culinary lessons he learned working with one of New Mexicos most acclaimed chefs and has now added his own signature to every dish. In a city where red and green chile compete for attention, its nice to be able to immerse yourself in a meal that you would have to travel to La Condesa or Polanco districts in Mexico City to enjoy. Rather than fight the traffic and pollution in CDMX, we are grateful Zacatlan is here in The City Different. Bring your party shoes as Festival Sefardi returns to Albuquerque on Friday, June 3 through Sunday, June 5. This year, the festival is featuring two of the worlds leading Sephardic poets, Myriam Moscona of Mexico City and Cuban-born Ruth Behar. The art show Ostraca Imagined: Shards of Hebrew Poems from Spain will also premiere during the festival with an opening reception. We started having an annual festival in 2010 and it was about eight or nine in a row, and then the last couple of years, we havent done it because of COVID, director of Casa Sefarad and Festival Sefardi, Hershel Weiss said. So we are happy to be producing this festival again. Festival Sefardi will be hosted both on Zoom and in person at Congregation Nahalat Shalom in Northwest Albuquerque from the evening of Friday, June 3 to the night of Sunday, June 5. This festival will be open to all who wish to attend and nobody will be turned away due to lack of funds. We want to educate the public at large, about the history of Sephardic Jews in New Mexico, Weiss said. So I think a lot of people have become aware that what are known as the Hidden Jews are the crypto Jews of New Mexico, people who are raised Catholic and find out later in their life that they have Jewish history. Weiss says this is quite common in New Mexico. These Jews dont have a lot of Jewish venues where they can feel welcome and accepted for who they are, Weiss said. So Shalom really strives to be a synagogue where that is the case and we have wanted to be a gathering place for this community as well as the festival wants to also educate the wider population. The festival also features personal storytelling by Sephardic Jews of New Mexico, a potluck vegetarian Sephardic Shabbat dinner along with music and more. Behar is a professor of anthropology and has several publications about cultural anthropology. Myriam Moscona and Ruth Behar are highly respected in the world of Sephardic literature, and they will share their lives or backgrounds and also doing bilingual and trilingual culture meetings, Weiss said. They are excellent writers both devoted to their craft and have been for many years. This is the first time renowned authors Behar and Moscona have collaborated with bilingual poetry readings. Also during the festival, Nahalat Shaloms new Sephardic portico entryway will be dedicated. To learn more and to view a complete version of the festival schedule, visit Festival Sefardi at nahalatshalom.org. This project is supported in part by New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts, and by the Stratton-Petit Foundation. You are here: World Flash Three people were shot on the campus of Xavier University of Louisiana after a high school graduation ceremony on Tuesday, authorities said. The shooting took place following the graduation ceremony for Morris Jeff Community School, WDSU television station reported. A suspect has been taken into custody, according to the New Orleans police. No more information is immediately available. Xavier University of Louisiana is a private, historically Black, Catholic university in New Orleans, U.S. southern state of Louisiana, according to its website. The United States has seen at least 214 mass shootings so far this year, according to an online database that keeps a record of the country's gun violence incidents. More than 17,000 people have died in gun-related episodes across the United States over the past five months, including at least 653 children and teenagers. As one of the fastest-growing and most-awarded PR conglomerates in the world, Adfactors PR (India) has partnered with the Future Communicators Foundation (FCF) in launching a new four-year scholarship program. Adfactors PR joins four leading global agencies in providing Future Communicator Foundation Scholarships that further communication skills around social justice, sustainability, and civil society. We are pleased to support the international scholarships instituted by the Future Communicators Foundation, says Madan Bahal, Co-founder and Managing Director of Adfactors PR (India). Adfactors PR has been at the forefront in supporting the continuous learning and development efforts of PR professionals in India. The Future Communicators Scholarships add an international dimension to our efforts and we hope to benefit many young professionals aspiring to make a career in public relations. Madan Bahal was welcomed by Foundation Founder Allard van Veen (Canada) as a founding member of the FCF Scholarship program, joining partners including fischerAppelt (Germany), SPRG (Hong Kong) and FINN Partners (New York). Each agency has committed to providing US$ 10,000 in scholarships over the next four years. In addition to the US$ 10,000 provided by Adfactors PR for Future Communicator Scholarships, the Future Communicators Foundation provides its annual program, with a focus on young scholars and aspiring professionals in developing countries and underserved communities. Partner universities will be announced for Foundation scholarships in the coming months, with US$ 100,000 in scholarship funding donated by Founder Allard W. van Veen. Whether we are engaged in preventing disease or promoting sustainability, the world, more than ever, requires effective future communicators, says Allard. Future Communicators Scholarships will be available at education institutions selected by funding partners and will fund communications education, tools, and training for young professionals, including professional development and travel to conferences. The Scholarship program calls on applicants to develop a mock campaign addressing pressing social justice issues, and provides recipients with international networking through its global cohort, executive-level mentoring, and training opportunities with internships. SPRG has spared no effort to nurture the next generation of PR practitioners, by providing them with training and exposure that extends beyond local borders, said Richard Tsang, Founder and Chairman of SPRG Asia (Hong Kong). We are therefore pleased to support the Future Communicators Foundation with this scholarship, as it will open doors for communication students to gain truly global connections and experiences. We are very pleased to add our support for the Future Communicators Scholarships, said Peter Finn, CEO and Founding Managing Partner of global agency FINN Partners (New York). FINN Partners has a long history of supporting young people interested in entering the PR field. Our support of The Future Communicators Scholarships will add an international pillar to our scholarship program, said Andreas Fischer-Appelt, Founder and Managing Director of fischerAppelt (Germany). We are keen to professionalize young people's enthusiasm for communication and to find them an entry into the agency world. FischerAppelts scholarship program provides financial as well as non-material support in cooperation with the GPRA, Germanys association of leading communications agencies. The Apollo Hospitals Group, one of Asia's largest and most trusted healthcare group launched a campaign on the occasion of International Nurses Day with the theme Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya-From darkness to light' as a reverence to the nurses around the world. The campaign, comprising of ATL and BTL elements that highlighted the contribution of nurses- the frontline staff and torch bearers at Apollo, who lead the flame of healthcare sector today. Right from entering a hospital while we are sick to getting released after recovery, its the nurses who are always there to take care of us. Under their supervision, we come back to our health. Hence, its the nurses who are bringing us from dark to light. The term Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya is derived from a Sanskrit shloka which means Lead us from darkness to light. Shedding light on the theme of the campaign, Dr. Nandini Ali, Head- Brand and Marcom, Apollo Hospitals said, Apollo Hospitals has over 14,000+ nurses working in over 56 different specialties to cater to every patient's needs. Nurses work long hours, often under challenging circumstances, and they deserve our respect and appreciation. We at Apollo, the significance of the role of nurses is reflected through the group's logo. Nurses have been the strong force behind delivering world class healthcare since Apollo's inception, soaring high in line with the mission, vision and culture of the organization. While the ATL & BTL elements included hoardings, posters, and standees, the digital arm of the campaign, a video wish post, done by Publicis Health (creative visualisations) was launched on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter honoured Nurse Florence Nightingale on her birth anniversary and showcased the contribution of nurses make to our society. Another testimonial video, from the nurse of Apollo Hospitals, talking about the number of lives they save and the blessings they receive, brought an element of realism to the campaign. The AR filters were the highlight of the campaign making nurses the heroes, enabling the common man to showcase their gratifying tribute towards the nursing community. The theme was further amplified with wishes from across the sectors like the contemporary Telugu actor and screenwriter Siddhu Jonnalagadda on social media platforms. Overall, the campaign was a huge success with 12 million+ impressions received on all social media activities and a campaign average engagement rate of 3.23%. The metric marks the successful effort by Apollo Hospitals to raise awareness and acknowledgement of the enormous contribution of nurses to the healthcare sector and humanity. At a special preview of Top Gun: Maverick, the cast and crew of Fighter - Hrithik Roshan, Anil Kapoor and director Siddharth Anand were enthralled by the film. Ajit Andhare, COO of Viacom18 Studios who are producing Fighter along with Marflix Pictures, and distributing Top Gun in India hosted the screening for them at a city theatre recently. The three were caught singing praises for the Tom Cruise starrer and could stop raving about the action, nostalgia and sheer spectacle of the much anticipated movie. When asked about the experience, Hrithik Roshan said, "It was such an adrenaline rush! After more than three decades and so much waiting the movie surpasses all expectations. The nostalgia factor is obviously there but the evolution of the character and the story is what was the highlight for me. The aerial fight sequences were beyond anything I have experienced, they blew my mind." Anil Kapoor in his inimitable style was super excited about the film saying, Speechless. What a film! What action. And Tom Cruise is incomparable. Super fun experience and one should watch it in IMAX for the complete package. For people who have seen the first one it's a definite watch but for the next generation it's even more important! To see how cool the legacy is and continues to be. Siddharth Anand couldnt stop fanboying, I am a huge fan of the first film and have been waiting for this one since it was announced! I mean its a cult classic. Everyone I remember, wanted to be a Fighter pilot after watching that film. This one has true edge-of-your seat action and our endeavour is to make Fighter an entertaining large screen spectacle. On hosting the screening Ajit Andhare, COO, Viacom18 Studios explained, The idea was to inspire our cast & crew of Fighter as the unit heads into pre- production & prep led by Sid. What better way than experiencing the magic of Top Gun that's winning audiences hearts across the world. We all came out raring to go! Top Gun: Maverick released on 27th May in India and Fighter is slated to release in 2023. Flash Aleksandar Vucic was sworn in on Tuesday at the National Assembly for his second term as president of Serbia. Following his victory in the April 3 presidential elections, where he won 58.59 percent of the votes cast, Vucic took the oath of office in front of Serbia's lawmakers, ministers, former presidents and diplomats. He said his priorities will include maintaining peace and stability in the region, and that he will work to keep the Balkan country on its European Union (EU) membership path. Recalling that Serbia is surrounded by member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Vucic said that his country would maintain its military neutrality and would strive for good relations with its neighbors. Touching upon the energy and food crisis caused by the conflict in Ukraine, Vucic prioritized the country's energy supply for next winter and said that Belgrade will want to be spared from the effects of the West's sanctions on Russia. So far, Serbia has refused to join these sanctions as it considers Russia its traditional and strategic partner. Stressing the importance of his country's trade and investments ties with the European Union (EU), he said that Serbia wishes to become "a society of a European type," and pledged further reforms to that end. He confirmed that the new government, led by his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), will be formed by the end of July. Parents want the best for their children and getting vaccinated is important in providing protection from serious and sometimes deadly diseases which can be prevented by childhood immunizations. The summer is a great time to get ahead of the crowd seeking shots before the back-to-school rush to get vaccinations. Alabama state law requires all children to present an up-to-date Certificate of Immunization (COI) upon entrance to childcare centers and school. Parents are key in ensuring their children are vaccinated according to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Schedule, endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Vaccines protect against 16 serious and potentially life-threatening diseases. When children are not vaccinated, they are at risk of disease and can spread diseases to others in their classrooms and communities. Communities with groups of unvaccinated people are vulnerable to the spread of preventable diseases. Vaccine protects the people who receive the vaccine, as well as children too young to be vaccinated, persons with medical conditions preventing vaccination, and those who do not respond to the vaccine. Childcare-age children need vaccine to prevent diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, varicella, measles, mumps, rubella, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b, and pneumococcal disease. Children entering school need booster doses of diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, varicella, measles, mumps, rubella, and polio vaccines. Preteens and teenagers need tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, human papillomavirus, and meningococcal conjugate vaccines. All children 6 months and older need annual flu vaccines. Please check with your childs healthcare provider or local county health department to find out what vaccines are required according to their age. Parents can learn more about the immunizations children need at alabamapublichealth.gov/immunization. If you need an immunization record or COI, please contact your healthcare provider or the health department which administered your vaccines to locate your record on Alabamas immunization registry, ImmPRINT. A Certificate of Religious Exemption can only be issued by a county health department and is solely for entry to kindergarten through 12th grade students -- not for entry to institutions of higher learning. The parent or legal guardian must submit a written objection and receive education on the consequences of not immunizing their child to receive this certificate. There are many reasons to have your child vaccinated, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services lists the following: Immunizations can save your childs life. Vaccination is very safe and effective. Immunization protects others you care about. Immunizations can save your family time and money. Immunization protects future generations. (See full explanations at https://www.hhs.gov/immunization/get-vaccinated/for-parents/five-reasons/index.html) While COVID-19 vaccine is not required in the childhood vaccination schedule, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends COVID-19 vaccines and boosters for children ages 5 years and older when they are eligible. Serious reactions to vaccine in children and teenagers are rare, and COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, and free. Children and teens who have already had COVID-19 should still get vaccinated. As with all vaccines, children are better protected when they stay up to date with the recommended vaccine schedule. To help keep them and your community safe, fully immunize your children. Scott Harris, M.D., M.P.H. State Health Officer What a world of difference there is between anti-Islamic polemics emanating from the secular West and those emanating from the religiously charged Arab world itself. This is the thought I have whenever I watch Arabic-language programs and debates, which tend to have an unrestrained and animated quality. Fr. Zakaria Botros, first introduced to non-Arabic-speakers in this 2008 article, is an especially appropriate case study. Originally a Coptic Christian priest from Egypt turned polemicist and evangelist, since around 2000, he has become a major thorn in Islam's side, as evidenced by the many calls for his assassination. Zakaria appears on a satellite channel, al-Fady TV, where he regularly takes Islam to task, primarily by asking tough questions concerning many of its most authoritative texts (Koran, hadith, sira, tafsirs, etc.) and teachings. And I don't mean the tough questions that we're familiar with for example, if Islam is a religion of peace, why is the Koran inundated with violence and intolerance? No, he has dug into even the most arcane of Islam's books (almost all of which have not been translated out of Arabic) and unearthed some immensely problematic revelations. A recent episode, for example, revolved around a bizarre hadith recorded in several respected Islamic texts, including the hadith collections of Ibn Hanbal, a founder of one of Islam's four Sunni madhhabs. In it, Muhammad takes a companion, Abdullah bin Mas'ud, out into the desert night. The prophet then draws a circle in the sand and tells ibn Mas'ud not to leave it. Muhammad then goes off a little distance, at which point his companion and narrator of the hadith, says he saw two tall, naked men appear and go to Muhammad, whereupon "they began to ride [, which can also be translated as mount] the Messenger of Allah." Meanwhile, and all through the night, these strange men would also try to access Mas'ud, who records being "terrified," though they were prevented from crossing the circle made by Muhammad. Then, with the rising of the sun, they quickly absconded, whereupon Mas'ud saw Muhammad approaching him, "slowly and in pain from being ridden." The unflattering implications were then elaborated by Fr. Zakaria. Another episode revolved around the recent slaughter of a fellow Coptic Christian priest in Egypt, Fr. Arsenious Wadid. In it, Fr. Zakaria sought to expose the "true terrorist" behind this crime. It wasn't the actual Muslim murderer, he said, nor even Muhammad himself, but rather "the Lord of Muhammad that is, Satan!" Thereafter, he examined Koran verse after Koran verse dealing with deceiving, killing, plundering, and sexually enslaving women as proof of a diabolical rather than heavenly inspiration. As is his wont, he complemented his presentation by quoting Christian scriptures; for example, he said John 8:44 was a foretelling of Allah and those he would deceive: You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Although this quick summation of episodes risks presenting them as consisting of vindictive and undocumented slanders against Islam and its prophet, in reality, during the bulk of his hour-long episodes, including the aforementioned two, Fr. Zakaria offers copious documentation: he relies almost exclusively on well respected and authoritative Muslim sources, from al-turath al-Islami (the Islamic heritage). He methodically provides complete references to all the texts he uses; shows images of the text itself, including page number; and, finally, challenges any and all experts in Islam to call in and correct him if he's wrong. Such is the dilemma Muslims face: because his shows, which now number in the thousands, are entirely in Arabic and, for some two decades, have been aired via satellite and on the internet, millions of Muslims have been exposed to his relentless onslaught against their religion and their prophet even as the guardians of their faith, the ulema, offer little in response but ad hominem dismissals and calls for his death for insulting Muhammad. (As discussed here, one prominent sheikh, while being pressed by a talk show host to offer an answer to one of Fr. Zakaria's many accusations against Islam, responded by yelling at the host and storming off set on live television.) The latest strategy for dealing with Fr. Zakaria appears to be for Muslims collectively to pretend he doesn't exist. Anyone who ever raises his name during a televised show is immediately attacked for daring to name such a "despicable" personage. Even so, the quiet, ongoing efficacy of his mission is discernible, as evidenced by the frequent callers who tell him they were once Muslims who wished only to see his head on a platter, but that, through the years, they've come to embrace Christianity. This leads to perhaps the most effective aspect of Fr. Zakaria's ministry to Muslims: he speaks their language, in more ways than one. Unlike most Western critics, he doesn't critique Islam from a secular point of view by arguing, for example, that Islam is not conducive to "human rights" or "gender equality," concepts that have zero resonance with Muslims and can never supplant their more fundamental yearnings. Nor does he behave as many Western Christians, never once criticizing Islam, but rather hoping to build "ecumenical" bridges with Muslims concerning "shared commonalities," an approach well typified by Pope Francis and his ilk. As for those very few Western Christian critics who do approach Islam boldly, unfortunately, they lack the language skills to have any impact on or even be recognized by the Muslim world not least because they cannot access the many untranslated Arabic texts of Islam's long heritage, where so many of its lesser known but equally potent weaknesses lie. And so Fr. Zakaria appears to maintain his original mantle: that of a Christian evangelist boldly declaring the Gospel truth in order to save as many Muslim souls from, as he puts it, "the clutches of Satan/Allah." To that end, he has produced as many if not more episodes that have nothing to do with Islam and everything to do with bringing Muslims to Christ. A final ingredient behind his efficacy is, ironically, what no doubt turns off many in the West: he approaches his topic the same way Muslims do with passion, unrestrained and unfiltered, holding no punches, with not a little sarcasm if not outright ridicule. In his recent episode asserting that Allah is Satan, for example, he sincerely and passionately yelled at his viewers: "When will you wake up to the truth?! Stop being fools! ... Islam is a cancer in your bodies that must be removed before it's too late!" That Fr. Zakaria is currently 87 years old and still going strong only adds to the effect. It is due to all of these factors that Fr. Zakaria speaks their language (literally and figuratively); that he has expert knowledge of and regularly exposes Islam's most esoteric Arabic texts and teachings; that the guardians of Islam are unable to respond to him, aside from name-calling and death threats; that he articulates his arguments through not a secular, but rather a religious paradigm; and that he offers Muslims a real alternative to Islam (Christianity, as opposed to default Western paradigms of humanism or materialism) it is due to all of this that I think Zakaria Botros is having a profound impact on the Muslim world. Nor, I should add, is he alone. While this article has focused on Fr. Zakaria Botros, not least because he's one of the first to pioneer this method of reaching out to Muslims thanks first to the satellite and then to the internet he is hardly alone. In recent years, many others, including Muslim converts to Christianity Brother Rachid being most prominent among them have taken a similar approach on their television programs: presenting, questioning, and criticizing strange and problematic aspects of Islam, all of which are based on Islam's own texts. Such, then, is one of the most effective approaches to Islam one that is naturally being missed by the West, in part because of the language barrier, but more because the West, much like the Muslim world, rejects such an "abrasive," "disrespectful," and ultimately "overly Christian" approach to Islam. Raymond Ibrahim, author of the new book Defenders of the West: The Christian Heroes Who Stood Against Islam, is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, a Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum, and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute. Image: MrSuduvis via YouTube. There is a debate about whether to end the U.S. policy of strategic ambiguity toward the island of Taiwan and replace it with strategic clarity. President Biden in recent remarks has stated that the United States will militarily defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack or invasion. Administration officials have had to walk back the presidents comments, stating that U.S. policy has not changed from strategic ambiguity. The Biden administrations approach to this issue is, unfortunately, clouded in confusion. That has not always been the case, however. Americas leading statesmen and strategists have repeatedly noted the strategic importance of Taiwan since the Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek fled to the island in 1949, when the communists took over the mainland. On June 25, 1950, when North Korean forces invaded South Korea, George Kennan was summoned by Secretary of State Dean Acheson to discuss what Americas response should be to the communist aggression. In his diary, Kennan recalled that when he was asked about his views, he said whatever else happened it would be impossible for us not to take prompt steps to assure that Formosa [Taiwan] did not fall to the communists since this, coming on top of the Korean attack, would be calamitous to our position in the Far East. Kennan in July drafted a memo urging Acheson to make sure that the Defense establishment was fully aware of the seriousness of the danger of a successful communist move against Formosa. Kennan later told Britains ambassador to Canada that Formosa must be regarded as part of the whole Far Eastern picture, and that its abandonment would mean that all of the Far East and the Western Pacific. Including possibly Japan, must be abandoned to communism. In his memoirs, while Kennan expressed little confidence in Chiangs government, he wrote that he favored sending the Seventh Fleet to protect the island, which Truman did -- and that action prevented a planned Chinese invasion of the island. Another American strategist who believed that the defense of Taiwan was important to U.S. security was General Douglas MacArthur. In a June 14, 1950, memorandum, MacArthur advised the Joint Chiefs of Staff as follows: (1) The strategic interests of the United States will be in serious jeopardy if Formosa is allowed to be dominated by a power hostile to the United States; (2) [T]he western strategic frontier of the United States rests today on the littoral islands stretching from the Aleutians through the Philippine Archipelago, [and] [g]eographically and strategically Formosa is an integral part of this offshore position; (3) The geographical location of Formosa is such that in the hands of a power unfriendly to the United States it constitutes an enemy salient in the very center of that portion of our position now keyed to Japan, Okinawa, and the Philippines; (4) Formosa in the hands of the Communists can be compared to an unsinkable aircraft carrier and submarine tender; and (5) [T]he United States should initiate measures to prevent the domination of Formosa by a Communist power. And in his famous address to Congress after being fired by President Truman, MacArthur referred to Taiwan as a vital hub in the protective shield for all of the Americas and all the free lands of the Pacific Areas. The American geopolitical strategist James Burnham, writing in National Review in the 1950s, called Taiwan a key link in [Americas] western frontier, which runs from the Aleutians down the Japanese islands, the Ryukyus... to the Philippines. Taiwan, Burnham wrote, commanded Chinas... vulnerable and all-important north-south communications, both by water and (through the use of airpower) by land. Chinas threats to Quemoy, Matsu, and Taiwan, he explained, threatened the integrity of the Wests Pacific frontier; the allegiance of the overseas Chinese in the great Pacific ports; [and] the political attitude of allied and neutralist Asians. During the second Taiwan Strait crisis in the late 1950s, Burnham recommended the use of tactical nuclear weapons to defend the island. President Dwight Eisenhower publicly threatened to use nuclear weapons to defend Taiwan during the two Straits crises in the 1950s. In January 1955, Eisenhower persuaded Congress to authorize him to use armed force to defend Taiwan against a Chinese attack. It was a very broad authorization to employ the Armed Forces of the United States as he deems necessary for the specific purpose of securing and protecting Formosa... In the second volume of his memoirs, Eisenhower wrote about the Taiwan Straits crises: If the capture of the offshore islands should, in fact, lead to the loss of Formosa, the future security of Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and even Okinawa would be placed in jeopardy and the United States vital interests would suffer severely. After President Jimmy Carter ended formal relations with Taiwan, Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act, which pledged the United States to help Taiwan provide for its self-defense against a possible attack by China. And in 1996, President Bill Clinton responded to Chinas firing missiles near and over Taiwan and conducting amphibious exercises near the island by deploying an aircraft carrier battle group to the Straits. As recently as late 2020, national security analyst Loren Thompson, paraphrasing the great geopolitical theorist Halford Mackinder, called Taiwan the geographical pivot of history in the Pacific age, because it anchors a chain of islands that U.S. strategists have identified as crucial to containing the rising military power of China. Thompson concluded that if Taiwan fell under the sway of Beijing, either peacefully or by force, the strategic balance in the Western Pacific would be irreparably changed, and nations in the region would see it as the end of U.S. military dominance in the region, and their interpretation would be correct. As China has grown in power economically and militarily, the importance of Taiwan has also increased. What is fundamentally at stake is control of what the great Dutch-American geopolitical thinker Nicholas Spykman called the Asiatic Mediterranean, which includes the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea, the East and South China Seas, the Gulf of Thailand, the Java Sea, and the Andaman Sea. Geographically, Taiwan remains the key link and central hub in the first island chain that serves to contain the PLA Navy. Economically, Taiwans dominance of the microchip industry makes it both an economic and strategic prize of incalculable value. Strategic ambiguity, which was put in place by the Nixon administration to help secure Chinas assistance in defeating the Soviet Union in the Cold War, has outlived its usefulness. The confusion of the Biden administration is no substitute and may lead to dangerous miscalculations by China and our allies in the region. Its time for strategic clarity on Taiwan. Image: Alan Wu Why are so many Jews Democrats? It has been hard to fathom why the Jews, thought by many to be so intelligent and overrepresented in science, medicine, literature, music, and sociology, would embrace Democrat ideology so as to plant the seeds of their own economic and cultural destruction. Jews are voting Democrat in numbers that far outpace Gentiles and people have been wondering why for a very long time. It makes no sense if Jews are as intelligent as they are reputed to be. Democrat ideology works against the best interest of Jews in America. Seventy-three percent of American Jews say they are liberals who support Democrat candidates. What is puzzling is that you would think their affluence would lead them to choose Republicans, who are far better poised to serve Jews' economic interests. But no. One New Jersey rabbi proposed that Jews vote Democrat because its in their DNA. Jews were slaves in Egypt, which all good Jewish families still talk about. They were victims of the Holocaust where they were slaughtered wholesale. As a result of this history, it is thought, Jews have historically been motivated by a drive to do good in the world. There is no doubt Jews were and are still victims of anti-Semitism, but being a victim should not mean one is beholden to victimhood. Victimhood is how we got where we are today, with ethnic groups warring against white people and each other. Jews don't have to embrace toxic victimhood in order to remember their history. Until recently Democrats have always been for the little guy. In my own Jewish family that was the case, but that was back in the 50s when socialism and Marxism were mostly hidden from public scrutiny and no one could calculate the socialist damage being done. This is a different time. An acquaintance of mine proposed the notion that it is not in their DNA but in the colleges where this indoctrination toward liberalism and Democrat voting begins. Since Jews have a high rate of college attendance compared with other demographic groups and are exposed to socialist/Marxist ideas there, the college explanation makes some sense. In 2016, the Pew Center released a study that listed Jewish people as the most educated religious group in the world. In the U.S., another 2001 survey of Jews and college students revealed that of all U.S. Jews, 53% of them identify as liberal or Democrat. Of Jewish college students, 54% are Democrats. By contrast, only 22% of all U.S. Jews identify as conservative, the same percentage of college students who identify as conservative. What is college doing to Jews? Or maybe it is more a case of Jews flocking to liberal colleges; a chicken-egg question, perhaps. (Jordan Peterson thinks that personality type defines if you are a liberal or a conservative. This makes great sense to me, but is another discussion entirely.) I am not certain that college attendance is the only cause of Jewish liberalism, but it is probably the most likely culprit. Many colleges are festering pustules of regressive socialist/Marxist thinking. Our Jewish youngsters are being groomed intellectually to be perversely liberal. Malcolm Muggeridge opined that modern man is abolishing himself through education. His famous quote so eloquently and accurately albeit unknowingly predicted why America's prospects in 2022 look so tenuous: So the final conclusion would surely be that whereas other civilizations have been brought down by attacks of barbarians from without, ours had the unique distinction of training its own destroyers at its own educational institutions, and then providing them with facilities for propagating their destructive ideology far and wide, all at the public expense. Muggeridge goes on to describe American education and culture, that colleges would become havens not of education but of nihilism and self-absorption: Thus did Western Man decide to abolish himself, creating his own boredom out of his own affluence, his own vulnerability out of his own strength, his own impotence out of his own erotomania, himself blowing the trumpet that brought the walls of his own city tumbling down, and having convinced himself that he was too numerous, labored with pill and scalpel and syringe to make himself fewer. Until at last, having educated himself into imbecility, and polluted and drugged himself into stupefaction, he keeled overa weary, battered old brontosaurus -- and became extinct. Muggeridge, way back then, presciently managed to address many of our present-day problems in one fell swoop: abortion, pornography, unearned affluence, population demographics, drug use, and our pathetic education system. The prospect that Muggeridge is right that the bastions of education are causing this decline in American civilization is turning out to be not just the most reliable answer as to why Jews vote Democrat but also why non-Jews do as well. It is in the education system where young minds are most often shaped, not in the home. If a child raised in a conservative home is sent to public schools at say, four years old, he may well begin to list to port, shaped by forces diametrically opposed to most parental desires. If that child goes to college, the odds of cranking out a shiny new sexually perverse little socialist rise dramatically. Any parent wanting to maintain a childs conservative and/or Christian upbringing sabotages himself or herself by sending the child to a public indoctrination system or to many colleges. What predisposes Jews to vote for Democrats? When Jews were asked what values and political beliefs drive them, by far the most important thing was "equality." Not Israel, not persecution, but "equality." Today, that would mean "equity," a different animal, but Jews still are voting for Democrats in outsized numbers where they sabotage their own prospects of success. Democrats are not for equality. Just the reverse. Democrats are for some groups doing better than other groups despite qualifications, and Jews are not among the Democrats' favorite people if judged by some of the more vocally hostile politicians and platforms in our Congress. Jews would do well to realize that the Democrat Party is not their friend and in fact, often stands for ideologies Jews should be seriously against. Image: Picasa 2.7 One of the most cherished beliefs of the old-time racists, the ones who supported slavery or, when slavery ended, instituted and enforced the Jim Crow laws, was that the darker the skin, the more stupid the person. They were even able to provide evidence to support this theory by depriving minorities of access to education so that the racists could later use their lack of education as evidence of their stupidity. That was then. Now, Oak Park and River Forest High School (OPRF), in Oak Park, Illinois, has announced that the darker you are, the less the school will expect of you academically. Jim Crow would be proud. Oak Park is a suburb of Chicago and is home to around 53,000 people. Its majority White (66%), with Blacks coming in at 18% or so and Hispanics at 9% or so. Its an affluent community, with a median income of almost $97,000 and a median home price of $403,000. Nearly 96% of homes boast a computer and almost 89% of homes have broadband. Around 97% of the population has a high school degree and over 70% have a bachelors degree or higher. Image: Classroom by Sam Balye on Unsplash. The suburb has the highest voter turnout in Cook County and is solidly Democrat. In other words, its filled with and run by White progressives. That demographic explains why the OPRF has decided that the best way to deal with White privilege and Black victimhood is to give minorities a free pass through school, no education required: Oak Park and River Forest High School administrators will require teachers next school year to adjust their classroom grading scales to account for the skin color or ethnicity of its students. School board members discussed the plan called Transformative Education Professional Development & Grading at a meeting on May 26, presented by Assistant Superintendent for Student Learning Laurie Fiorenza. In an effort to equalize test scores among racial groups, OPRF will order its teachers to exclude from their grading assessments variables it says disproportionally hurt the grades of black students. They can no longer be docked for missing class, misbehaving in school or failing to turn in their assignments, according to the plan. [snip] Advocates for so-called equity based grading practices, which seek to raise the grade point averages of black students and lower scores of higher-achieving Asian, white and Hispanic ones, say new grading criteria are necessary to further school districts mission of DEIJ, or Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice. [snip] [Assistant Superior intended for Student Learning Laurie] Fiorenza called for a switch to race-based grading last August, after issuing a report chronicling a spike in F grades by OPRF students in the 2020-21 school year. OPRFs administration will adopt language that makes and keeps the system visible and continues to name racism as a complex interconnected structure, she wrote. We must recognize the unique challenges faced during the pandemic intensify the need for a systemic approach to confronting the racial and socioeconomic discrepancies often experienced by our underrepresented student population. In other words, the school failed the kids throughout the lockdowns and is now covering for that failure with a dressed-up version of social promotion, which passes kids from one grade to the next without ever bothering to educate them. (See, e.g., August Fells Savage Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, a high school that saw almost half its senior class have a GPA below 0.13.) There is nothing more demeaning than pointing to an entire racial group and effectively announcing, We know you are incapable of educational achievement, so well just pretend you succeeded. Nor does it make it better to point to the fact that these students face greater challenges than their White, affluent peers. Why do I say that? Because I know Jewish American history (they came up from the tenements to become middle class in one generation by focusing on academics) and because I went to school with literally thousands of kids who had either immigrated from China or whose parents had immigrated from China. At least half of these kids lived in slums and many never heard English at home. Nevertheless, they were almost invariably at the top of the class (especially the STEM classes, but even the liberal arts classes) because their cultural imperative was to study like crazy. But White progressives in Oak Park dont think minority kids are worthy of a cultural imperative that demands that they use their brains. Instead, like the slavers of old or the Jim Crow sheriff in the 1950s, these Whites (along with race-hustling Black leftists) are certain that Blacks are incapable of academic achievement. Its disgusting and, for the children trapped in these school districts, its heartbreaking. They are in schools that could educate them if it werent for the dominant, leftist White culture telling them, We know you cant do it so dont bother. Gabriel Sims-Fewer, left Vancouver due to its unwelcoming sense of classism and became an entrepreneur, starting a coffee shop in Toronto by the name of The Anarchist. Branded as an anti-capitalist, anti-colonial cafe, shop, and radical community space on stolen land, the cafe is the quintessential modern hipster hub, selling politically commercialized art, stickers, and other merchandise, as well as books on radical leftism. The shop carries high-end specialty coffee beans, and a range of vegan and gluten-free pastry options it is the paradise of a pseudo-Marxist. Across some of the products is the slogan, People Over Profit but of course, theyre not being sold at a loss. When one social media user asked The Anarchist about the proceeds from the anti-capitalist textiles, the coffee shop replied, Its not a charity, its a business. A laudatory article posted on a popular Toronto blog said: Currently, hes the only employee but hopes to grow the business into a worker-owned and operated co-op where every single person (himself included) is paid the same with all operational business decisions being made by consensus-based democracy free of managers or institutional hierarchy. There are two things worth noting about the passage above the fact that hes the only employee, and the anticipated chaos that accompanies all communistic endeavors. Sims-fewer is the only employee because hes actually a capitalist. As the owner of a small business, hes embracing wise financial decisions and a resolute work ethic the hallmarks of free enterprise. Secondly, the author of the blog notes that eventually, after Sims-Fewer retires from his stint as a capitalist, he can switch gears from tycoon to altruist. At that point, among all the other communist misfits, Sims-Fewer can institute a consensus-based democracy for business decisions. However, what if the company is split evenly? If there are no managers, who does the hiring? Who handles the dirty jobs? What happens when disagreements arise? Like a good communist, Sims-Fewer is not an intellectual. In all my years, I never seen nor smelled an issue that was so dangerous it couldnt be talked about. Hell, yes. Im for debating anything, declared Delegate Stephen Hopkins in a scene from 1776, the lively film about the signing of The Declaration of Independence. To that, I say Amen! Here in America, we are blessed with the First Amendment, which guarantees us freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is a rare thing in this world, and it deserves much credit for the success of the American experiment. Extremists on the left and the right here and overseas hate our First Amendment and freedom of speech because they hunger to control our thoughts and impose their beliefs on our society. In many of the subversive, America-hating colleges and universities across our land that preach the glories of diversity, all kinds of diversity are promoted, except intellectual diversity. Only leftist views are welcome. Conservative ideas are reviled as hate speech, racism, and even treason. In fairness, there are exceptions. The University of Chicago recently affirmed freedom of speech and drafted what is now called the Chicago Principles. Eighty-four other colleges and universities have adopted this eloquent defense of freedom of speech. The Chicago Principles convey the conviction of former University of Chicago President Robert M. Hutchins, who said, Without a vibrant commitment to free and open inquiry, a university ceases to be a university. Image: Debate from Pixabay. I taught English in government high schools for 23 years. The class I enjoyed teaching most was Speech and Debate. I chose the Lincoln-Douglas debate format, which calls for a 32-minute discussion. The two debaters are responsible for 16 minutes each as they spar. I always offered a wide range of topics to my students. The subjects had to be debatable, timely, and researchable. While some of the debates I witnessed in my classes were unremarkable, there were wonderful and sparkling exceptions that warmed my heart. As I reached the final phase of my teaching, my school system abandoned teaching Speech and Debate in favor of catchalls like English 9, English 10, English 11, and English 12. Considering the Cancel Culture environment in which we now live, I wonder if that decision was part of a more significant effort to discourage lively debate in favor of groupthink. Knowing how to think on our feet is essential. Hearing our debate opponent raise interesting arguments that must be rebutted challenges us intellectually. I applaud Delegate Hopkins and President Hutchins, both of whom relished the give and take of competing views. We are better when debate is welcomed, but Cancel Culture diminishes us. Speaking of Uvalde in an article titled "Out among the lights with Petula Clark," Marc Dion writes wonderfully of his childhood in a small Massachusetts town. He reminds me of my own youth, when all was new and yet old a time when honor and faith and decency meant something to children and adults. Dion, a broadly talented writer in sad possession of a single-file mind, neglects to mention that liberals have managed to steal all that is precious from modern childhood. That's how you arrive in Uvalde. In music we enjoyed an eclectic range of pop songs; Petula one moment, the Stones next up. Today, kids hear soulless depressives whining over an incessant progression of four chords. Sometimes they are visually treated to bulky women rolling on the ground together to a tune called "WAP." You don't want to know what that stands for suffice it to say that modern liberal adults love to rob children of virtue and grace as early as possible. Dion mentions the nuns at his school and says they were probably the only people he's ever met who could see heaven as clearly as you can see Nebraska on a map. I told you he's good. But liberals like Dion fight every day to replace those far-sighted nuns of high ideals with rainbow-obsessed freaks of the "we, she, them, they" variety. These nuts will spend hours talking about pronouns or critical theories. They barely notice that little Steve came to school upset this morning. Sensing only that his mood may slow the rhetorical train wreck, they utilize mean-spirited sarcasm to put Steve into his quiet place. They then continue their never-ending quest for sexual equality amidst the 70-odd genders they have recently discovered or thought of just now. It's all off a rather threadbare cuff. Dion recalls his father protecting him from vulgar speech. Liberals drown a child's world in vulgar speech. Screaming "f--- the police" while throwing a rock through the candy store window is the progressive approach to conflict resolution. Kids see it constantly on the nightly news. Oh, but liberals are good with words. Dion winds up with this: "[f]or the innocent souls that left the broken little bodies, I know what you left." I told you he's good. But I think that is more cynical than true. He can't acknowledge what little has been left to our children. All the innocent souls have been broken into and robbed by a liberal mindset that destroys the human spirit a veiled yet overbearing hostility that purchases student docility and compliance with a constant grinding wheel of blame, guilt, and lies. And then one overheats and explodes. I believe that liberals have psychologically damaged our children slowly over the last five decades. Now they want us to fondly remember the good old days. The good old days they killed. Image: PublicDomainPictures. One of the most cherished beliefs of the old-time racists, the ones who supported slavery or, when slavery ended, instituted and enforced the Jim Crow laws, was that the darker the skin, the more stupid the person. They were even able to provide "evidence" to support this theory by depriving minorities of access to education so that the racists could later use their lack of education as evidence of their "stupidity." That was then. Now Oak Park and River Forest High School (OPRF), in Oak Park, Illinois, has announced that the darker you are, the less the school will expect of you academically. Jim Crow would be proud. Oak Park is a suburb of Chicago and is home to around 53,000 people. It's majority-White (66%), with Blacks coming in at 18% or so and Hispanics at 9% or so. It's an affluent community, with a median income of almost $97,000 and a median home price of $403,000. Nearly 96% of homes boast a computer, and almost 89% of homes have broadband. Around 97% of the population has a high school degree, and over 70% have a bachelor's degree or higher. Image: Classroom by Sam Balye on Unsplash. The suburb has the highest voter turnout in Cook County and is solidly Democrat. In other words, it's filled with and run by White progressives. That demographic explains why the OPRF has decided that the best way to deal with White privilege and Black victimhood is to give minorities a free pass through school, no education required: Oak Park and River Forest High School administrators will require teachers next school year to adjust their classroom grading scales to account for the skin color or ethnicity of its students. School board members discussed the plan called "Transformative Education Professional Development & Grading" at a meeting on May 26, presented by Assistant Superintendent for Student Learning Laurie Fiorenza. In an effort to equalize test scores among racial groups, OPRF will order its teachers to exclude from their grading assessments variables it says disproportionally hurt the grades of black students. They can no longer be docked for missing class, misbehaving in school or failing to turn in their assignments, according to the plan. [snip] Advocates for so-called "equity based" grading practices, which seek to raise the grade point averages of black students and lower scores of higher-achieving Asian, white and Hispanic ones, say new grading criteria are necessary to further school districts' mission of DEIJ, or "Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice." [snip] [Assistant Superior intended for Student Learning Laurie] Fiorenza called for a switch to race-based grading last August, after issuing a report chronicling a spike in "F" grades by OPRF students in the 2020-21 school year. "OPRF's administration will adopt language that makes and keeps the system visible and continues to name racism as a complex interconnected structure," she wrote. "We must recognize the unique challenges faced during the pandemic intensify the need for a systemic approach to confronting the racial and socioeconomic discrepancies often experienced by our underrepresented student population." In other words, the school failed the kids throughout the lockdowns and is now covering for that failure with a dressed-up version of social promotion, which passes kids from one grade to the next without ever bothering to educate them. (See, e.g., August Fells Savage Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, a high school that saw almost half its senior class have a GPA below 0.13.) There is nothing more demeaning than pointing to an entire racial group and effectively announcing, "We know you are incapable of educational achievement, so we'll just pretend you succeeded." Nor does it make it better to point to the fact that these students face greater challenges than their White, affluent peers. Why do I say that? Because I know Jewish American history (they came up from the tenements to become middle-class in one generation by focusing on academics) and because I went to school with literally thousands of kids either who had immigrated from China or whose parents had immigrated from China. At least half of these kids lived in slums, and many never heard English at home. Nevertheless, they were almost invariably at the top of the class (especially the STEM classes, but even the liberal arts classes) because their cultural imperative was to study like crazy. But White progressives in Oak Park don't think minority kids are worthy of a cultural imperative that demands that they use their brains. Instead, like the slavers of old or the Jim Crow sheriff in the 1950s, these Whites (along with race-hustling Black leftists) are certain that Blacks are incapable of academic achievement. It's disgusting, and, for the children trapped in these school districts, it's heartbreaking. They are in schools that could educate them if it weren't for the dominant leftist White culture telling them, "We know you can't do it, so don't bother." Here's the latest bright-bulb idea from Joe Biden, who's hosting the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles on June 610: His new coming plan is "to tackle increasing migration." According to Reuters: WASHINGTON, May 31 (Reuters) President Joe Biden will seek regional consensus on a new economic agenda to build on existing trade agreements with Latin America and present a plan to tackle increasing migration when he hosts the Summit of the Americas, senior U.S. officials said on Tuesday. Previewing Biden's priorities for the June 6-10 gathering in Los Angeles, administration officials said his message will be that "we can't do business as usual" in the hemisphere. But they offered few specifics on how he would address the challenges exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Really? The guy who invited 2 million illegal migrants in as "asylum-seekers" is now wanting to keep them out? That's just a whiff of the problem. Here's the big one: Mexico has no intention of attending the conference. Mexico and a whole lot of the rest of the 34 or so countries in the regional grouping are planning to boycott the gathering because Biden has not invited Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua to come. "If all of the countries are not invited, I am not going to attend," Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador reiterated Friday. He's repeatedly said all of the region's countries must be invited, including those that Washington considers authoritarian and are under U.S. sanctions Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. Criticism like that has had the Biden administration scrambling to shore up attendance, including by dispatching Vice President Kamala Harris, first lady Dr. Jill Biden, and a special adviser for the summit, former Democratic senator Chris Dodd. The odds are there that Biden will cave and invite the hellhole regimes, which will make America look rather weak. But thus far, he hasn't. U.S. officials, according to the Reuters report, are downplaying the possibility of any problems with the plan with Mexico not in attendance. Yeah, sure. But with Mexico likely out, all we have are questions as to what kind of migration plan this is. Mexico is the transit point for the 2 million illegal migrants, who have been crossing our border in record numbers ever since Biden took office. Mexico's infamous cartels and human-smuggling networks advertise for illegals, facilitate the transfer, and make huge profits off the endeavor. What's more, Mexico generally benefits from shipping its surplus uneducated population to the States to take the pressure off the potential for unrest. Corrupt Mexican officials often reap "fees" from letting illegal migrants from other countries as well as their own pass through their territory. And once the migrants get to the States, there are the remittances migrants send billions in remittances that benefit the Mexican government through its banking system and by serving as a welfare system to the remainers so that Mexico doesn't need to support them itself. Not to include Mexico in this new coming masterplan from Biden is an exercise in futility unless Biden plans to go it alone; fire his Homeland Security chief, Alejandro Mayorkas; and resume building President Trump's wall. Not even President Trump did that, of course. Trump had no problem negotiating bilateral agreements with Mexico to keep illegal migration down to a minimum in win-win migration propositions. This, despite the fact that Mexico's president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is an avowed leftist, the same as Biden is. Trump actually had a cordial relationship with AMLO, as he is known. Biden, on the other hand, can't even get the Mexican president to come to a summit in Los Angeles. Biden's credibility on the matter is already pretty tattered: he rang the dinner triangle for illegal immigration, and migrants of all stripes were allowed in without vetting. After that, word got around that if you come, you will not be sent back, and the caravans from 124 countries came. And came. The Biden administration is currently in court fighting a judge's order that it preserve Title 42, a measure that permits the government to send back so-called asylum-seekers on public health grounds due to the pandemic. Biden wants to end that order and let the migrants in. Now any illegal border-crosser who yells "asylum" will be permitted to stay and work in the U.S. as his asylum case wends its way through courts, or else will be rubber-stamped by an open-borders activist who's been put on the government payroll as an "asylum officer." Should the illegal show up for his court date some three years down the line and then get ordered deported anyway, he...won't be deported, because he's not "a priority." This isn't exactly a credibility-builder for Biden's new claim to want to "tackle" illegal immigration. The idea that he now wants to "tackle" illegal immigration is bound to be a laughing matter at the summit. What's more, with Mexico out and, for that matter, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, all three of whom are prime shippers of tens of thousands of illegal migrants, few of the migrant-shipping countries, let alone the big Mexican transit point, are going to be involved in this. He may be planning to shovel money "for development," as he always does, but without Mexico, and the Latin socialist hellholes, the plan will be little more than Biden talking to the hand. It might have been a great opportunity for Joe Biden to hold up the shipping and profiting nations of illegals up to public scorn, had he invited all of them for the summit. But since Joe is trying to turn America into another Venezuela, well, that's a non-starter. What a waste of time. Image: U.S. Department of State banner, screen shot. "In all my years, I never seen nor smelled an issue that was so dangerous it couldn't be talked about. Hell, yes. I'm for debating anything," declared Delegate Stephen Hopkins in a scene from 1776, the lively film about the signing of the Declaration of Independence. To that, I say amen! Here in America, we are blessed with the First Amendment, which guarantees us freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is a rare thing in this world, and it deserves much credit for the success of the American experiment. Extremists on the left and the right here and overseas hate our First Amendment and freedom of speech because they hunger to control our thoughts and impose their beliefs on our society. In many of the subversive, America-hating colleges and universities across our land that preach the glories of diversity, all kinds of diversity are promoted except intellectual diversity. Only leftist views are welcome. Conservative ideas are reviled as hate speech, racism, and even treason. In fairness, there are exceptions. The University of Chicago recently affirmed freedom of speech and drafted what is now called the Chicago Principles. Eighty-four other colleges and universities have adopted this eloquent defense of freedom of speech. The Chicago Principles convey the conviction of former University of Chicago President Robert M. Hutchins, who said, "Without a vibrant commitment to free and open inquiry, a university ceases to be a university." Image: Debate from Pixabay. I taught English in government high schools for 23 years. The class I enjoyed teaching most was Speech and Debate. I chose the Lincoln-Douglas debate format, which calls for a 32-minute discussion. The two debaters are responsible for 16 minutes each as they spar. I always offered a wide range of topics to my students. The subjects had to be debatable, timely, and researchable. While some of the debates I witnessed in my classes were unremarkable, there were wonderful and sparkling exceptions that warmed my heart. As I reached the final phase of my teaching, my school system abandoned teaching Speech and Debate in favor of catchalls like English 9, English 10, English 11, and English 12. Considering the "cancel culture" environment in which we now live, I wonder if that decision was part of a more significant effort to discourage lively debate in favor of groupthink. Knowing how to think on our feet is essential. Hearing our debate opponent raise interesting arguments that must be rebutted challenges us intellectually. I applaud Delegate Hopkins and President Hutchins, both of whom relished the give-and-take of competing views. We are better when debate is welcomed, but cancel culture diminishes us. Once upon a time, it was "Mona Lisa men have named you." Today, the lady with the mystic smile who inspired one of Nat King Cole's greatest songs motivated a climate change activist to express his disapproval about something in the air. This is the story: Paris crowds bustling to see the Mona Lisa at the Musee du Louvre on Sunday were shocked to witness a man attempt to smash the protective glass case surrounding the famous portrait, before then smearing cake across its surface. The act of vandalism is thought to have been an environment-related protest. Eyewitnesses told French press that the man had disguised himself as an "old lady" in a wheelchair, wearing lipstick and a wig. He leapt out of the chair to attack the work and then later threw flower petals on the ground. He has not yet been identified by local media. Videos shared on social media show the man being escorted out of the gallery by museum security. In French, he says: "Think of the planet... there are people who are destroying the planet, think about that... That's why I did it." And so it goes. I guess smearing the portrait is going to remind us that we should go green, buy more electric cars, or just impose a carbon tax. Who knows what else he was thinking? I guess the good news is that he did not damage the classic. He did of course get his 15 minutes of fame, which is what he wanted in the first place. It is the kind of climate change fanaticism all of the headlines about the world disappearing in the next decade that makes this movement look so foolish. The world is not going to disappear any time soon, and neither is Mona Lisa, who will continue to attract more and more visitors. What will happen to the guy dressed up as an old lady in a wheelchair? Maybe he will get spend some time in jail for trying to destroy public property. Maybe he will end up on MSNBC and explain that Donald Trump made him do it. Or maybe the serious people who care about the environment will cut ties with this "bouffon," as the French call a clown. Yes, they should tell these exhibitionists to take their act elsewhere. PS: Click for my videos and podcasts at Canto Talk. Image: Public Domain. I remember going to the Oakland Museum when I was a kid. An amalgam of three smaller museums (art and natural history), it always leaned left, although it still had great Californiana art and history. Now, in addition to the general leftism that characterizes all modern American museums, the Oakland Museum is dedicating a whole exhibit to Angela Davis, a convicted felon connected to a judge's execution and a hardcore Marxist. For those who like traditional museums, the Oakland Museum has a stunning collection of items showcasing California art and design, California's natural sciences, the California craftsman movement, and general California history. As a decidedly nerdy child, I enjoyed going there beginning around 1970 or so. There were lovely things, such as this painting, in the museum's collection: Yosemite Valley, 1868, by Albert Bierstadt. But the museum is so much more because it's now a celebration of leftism all kinds of leftism, but especially Black activism. I was reminded of that when I received a press release boasting about the museum's 20222023 "exhibitions and projects." There's the celebration of feminism not just any feminism (voting rights, equal pay for equal work), but third-wave, intersectional feminism: Hella Feminist is rooted in the idea that discrimination against all elements of identity (gender, class, race, sexual orientation, physical ability, education, age, etc.) is interlinked and that no element can be addressed in isolation. There's an ongoing "Black Power" exhibit: Black Power illustrates the creative ways Black anti-racist activists in California supported their communities and challenged the U.S. government. Focusing on the example of the Black Panther Party, Black Power brings to light the tensions between a culturally and socially progressive California and examples of economic racism and oppression in the state. And a "Black Males" exhibit: Immerse yourself in intimate videos woven together and arranged to simulate face-to-face conversations between participants among a diverse group of over 160 Black men across the United States. But the exhibit that really caught my eye is the celebration of Angela Davis: Angela Davis: Seize the Time is an exhibition focused on Davis and her image. Organized in partnership with the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University, the exhibition provides a compelling and layered narrative of Davis's journey. Using the Angela Davis Archive in Oakland as both the heart of the exhibition and a source, visitors are given the opportunity to investigate how we remember, preserve, and activate radical Black history, while also allowing us to re-imagine the construction of the image of Davis as an icon of American Black radical resistance, female empowerment, and a threat to the white patriarchal status quo. Beyond the archive and popular culture references, the exhibition positions Angela Davis as a continuing touchstone for contemporary artists referencing mass incarceration, Black Lives Matter, and economic disenfranchisement. Contemporary artworks assert Davis' significance as a Black feminism intellectual and engage with her as a historical participant in a larger narrative, not simply as an unmoored image of radical chic. That description leaves out a few things. Angela Davis is an open Marxist who provided the guns that killed four people in a Marin County courtroom, including a judge. Some might think that's a reprehensible record. After all, the political ideology she espouses, through Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Castro, Pol Pot, and other socialist dictators, was responsible for the deaths of more than 100,000,000 people in the 20th century alone. And as noted, she was directly responsible for four deaths in that courtroom. Image: Angela Davis wanted poster. Public domain. But to the leftists at the Oakland Museum, she's "an icon of American Black radical resistance, female empowerment, and a threat to the white patriarchal status quo." The blood on her hands is washed away in the radical righteousness of her cause. What's sad is that the Oakland Museum isn't an outlier. Last month, the New York Museum of Jewish Heritage banned Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis. A curator at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art was fired for daring to say he would still consider art that White men created. The Smithsonian engaged in blatant anti-White propaganda. And the National Archives and Records Administration announced that its collection of core American documents is tainted by "structural racism." I blame academia for all of this. The taint of leftism that began in colleges in the 1910s with the Fabians, the 1930s with the Frankfurt School, and the 1950s with Soviet infiltration has seeped into everything. Wherever college graduates have gone, the rot has followed and museums are the preserve of the college-educated. Anyone shocked by the behavior of the Uvalde P.D. during last week's mass shooting in which dozens of officers milled around doing nothing (if not worse) while helpless victims were murdered has to come to terms with the simple fact that this is the face of the new policing in the 21st century. The story grows worse with each new detail. Cops took nearly twenty minutes to get to the school in a ten-minute-wide town. Once there, they entered the school, took some fire resulting in minor injuries, and fled no Fallujah vets here. Outside, they harassed, attacked, and arrested fearful parents begging them to do their jobs. At some point, a number of off-duty Border Patrolmen arrived but were denied permission to engage. As many as eighteen locals finally entered the school, but their tac chief decided it had transformed into a "barricade situation," which, according to the book, evidently means that no action is necessary, so instead, they moped about in the hallway. At last, after an hour and a quarter not forty-five minutes, not an hour the Border cops took matters into their own hands (one of them armed with a shotgun he borrowed from his barber), burst into the room, and finished the shooter off. During that entire tract of time, the gunman was executing children, which we know from the phone records of calls from within the classroom. The DoJ has pledged to look into it yes, that DoJ, which means we're unlikely to get any useful answers. But the answer to the major question why? is perfectly evident: it happened now because it happened before. Some of us recall the summer of 2020, when Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis, and several other cities were ravaged by anarchists and related trash while the cops, under orders from the various city halls, stood by and watched. It can't be said that they were defending nothing, because all the time they were defending something very important: their pensions. Some of us can even recall the Parkland School shooting in Florida, when a misfit shot up a school while school resource officer Scot Peterson cowered under an outside stairwell and refused to go in. Chief Scott Israel spent the next several weeks blustering, accusing everybody under the sun except Peterson and himself. It didn't save his job or, presumably his pension. But it goes back even farther than that, and beyond school shootings. In Cheshire, Connecticut on July 23, 2007, two felons decided to take down a well-to-do family under the impression that they were hiding riches galore in their home (an old story that goes back to the Clutters of In Cold Blood fame). After beating William Petit half to death, the goons, finding no money in the home, forced Jennifer Hawke-Petit to accompany one of them to the bank, where she withdrew $15,000. At the same time, she succeeded in alerting the teller. Local cops arrived in good time, only to be ordered to blockade the neighborhood and remain in place. There they sat for 45 minutes while their chief carefully assured that everything was being done exactly according to the book. (There's that number again 45 minutes. Is that in the handbook, too, I wonder?) During that period, Jennifer Hawke-Petit was raped and strangled. This proved a mercy, since it meant that she didn't have to witness her two young daughters being soaked in gasoline and burned alive. The cops can't even be said to have captured the perps, who slammed into a patrol car while fleeing. That was it. Nothing was done. Nobody was disciplined. No investigation was ever carried out. It just became, very quietly, the standard for current police operations, as we have seen in Seattle, Parkland, and Uvalde. No doubt the same has occurred elsewhere and has been slipped into the memory hole so that we peasants don't become confused and ask questions. But the United States is not Europe. We don't sit and whimper when the elites let us down. Traditionally, the response to a collapse in public order has been Committees of Vigilance, long disparaged as "vigilantes." It's a curious fact that several of the most notable vigilance committees in San Francisco, 1857; Bannock, Montana, 1863; and Athens, Tennessee, 1946 targeted corrupt law enforcement. It's too much to say, as an acquaintance did, that "we've got the Second Amendment to shoot cops who refuse to rescue kids." But Uvalde marks an inflection point. The next time will not be the same. Things will be very different and God help the cop who fails to get out of the way. Image: Public Domain. On May 28, Sky News Australia posted a video titled "New York bearing signs of 'societal decay.'" The video shows a man (who seems as if he is on drugs) entering a train car and sitting next to a young woman. He then touches her without consent, grabs her, drags her around a bit, and generally is an extremely unpleasant nuisance. He eventually leaves her alone and proceeds to try to kick out one of the windows. During the video, the young woman is seen looking at other passengers, with obvious worry in her eyes, begging somebody to please "help me." Nobody tries to help her. The news anchor, Rita Panahi, asks the question, "Where are the men?" If I had to guess, they were standing in their place, checking their male privilege, toning down their toxic masculinity, and coping with how their Time's Up. Perhaps the men wanted a demonstration of how women are actually the stronger sex. Perhaps the threat level just did not seem that high to them; New York has a duty to retreat, after all. Besides, New York has been in the habit of arresting those who defend themselves. Most likely, the men who were on the train did not care about this woman. They did not know her and were not likely to ever get to know her. How could it be worth it for these men to possibly be killed or maimed (it is unknown if the aggressor had a knife) for the sake of someone who may as well not exist to them? Then again, let us give these men the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps they probably did want to help this woman. Watching the video, you might notice something about the aggressor. My guess is that none of the men watching wanted to become the next George Zimmerman. We all saw the emotional toll Kyle Rittenhouse suffered for defending himself. (Yes, the media vilified him for having an emotional testimony.) The anchor refers to the men on the train as cowards, but I think that might be a bit unfair. Quite simply, Western society does not trust people who defend themselves or others. In 2016, a 17-year-old Danish girl was arrested for defending herself with pepper spray from a would-be-rapist. In 2020, a Virginia store clerk was arrested for defending his store from robbers. Even an elderly U.K. pensioner was arrested for "stabbing a burglar to death." It is entirely possible that those men had such cases in mind. In the armed defense community, there is a common phrase: "better to be judged by twelve than carried by six." In most cases, this is true; it is better to be alive to face trial than to be dead. But is it better to be condemned by society than to let a crime happen to another person? How difficult is it to imagine anyone who may have intervened being decried as racist? I can see the headlines maligning any actions taken as being racially motivated or entirely aggressive. Let us not forget the videos posted without context of the Covington kids, or how Darren Wilson maliciously killed an unarmed teenager. Perhaps the media would issue corrections for the "mistakes" made in the reports, but no doubt the names, faces, and workplaces of those involved would have already been exposed. Miss Panahi was definitely right about one thing: society is declining. The signs are legion and everywhere, but it is not necessary to get into that here. I just want to make the case that cowardice may not have been the only reason that no men acted that day, especially considering the society that fostered these men. Breason Jacak is a pen name. Image: Sky News Australia via YouTube. Auguste Antoine Piccard was a Swiss physicist, inventor and explorer, who became the inspiration behind one of Tintins most lovable charactersProfessor Cuthbert Calculus. The eccentric, hard-of-hearing professor made his first appearance in Red Rackham's Treasure, where Professor Calculus demonstrates a new kind of diving machine for underwater exploration, which too was inspired by one of Piccards invention. Using Calculuss submarine Tintin locates the wreck of the sunken 17th century vessel, the Unicorn, and recovers various artefacts including old documents that reveal that Marlinspike Hall is the ancestral home of Captain Haddock. Auguste Piccard and Professor Calculus from the Adventures of Tintin. But Auguste Piccard was much more than an inspiration for a cartoon character. He was an adventurer in his own right, who flew to the Earths upper atmosphere and dived into the depths of the oceans. Auguste Antoine Piccard and his twin brother Jean Felix Piccard were born in Basel, Switzerland, in 1884. Their father was a professor of chemistry at the University of Basel. The brothers followed in their father's scholarly footsteps and attended the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Auguste completed a degree in physics, while his brother studied chemistry. Following graduation Auguste remained at the Institute as a professor. Later, Piccard moved to the University of Brussels, where he accepted a newly created position in the physics department. Piccard became interested in cosmic rays and began to plan an expedition to the upper atmosphere, where he could measure cosmic radiation and thus provide experimental evidence for the theories of Albert Einstein. To reach great heights and survive, PIccard designed and built a pressurized aluminium capsule or gondola, inside which the intrepid explorers could comfortably sit and conduct various experiments as the hydrogen-filled balloon and the hanging gondola soared up through the dense air. Auguste Piccard with the gondola that he designed. On 27 May 1931, Auguste Piccard and his colleague Paul Kipfer took off from Augsburg, Germany in the pressurized capsule. During the ascent, the cabin began to leak, but they managed to plug it with vaseline and cotton. With the leak fixed, the balloon continued to rise until it reached a record altitude of 15,781 meters (51,775 feet), becoming the first persons to reach the stratosphere. Piccard and his companion measured the cosmic rays and found these mysterious radiation were far more powerful than at the earths surface. The explorers trapped samples of the upper air in cylinders. Analysis of these may prove it to be exceptionally rich in ozone. With observations completed, the explorers attempted to descend, but without success. As their oxygen tanks ran low, they floated aimlessly over Germany, Austria, and Italy. Cool evening air finally contracted the balloon and brought them down on a glacier near Ober-Gurl, Austria, with only an hours supply of oxygen to spare. They had been airborne for 17 hours. PIccard broke his own record a year later, on 18 August 1932, when he rose to 16,201 meters (53,153 feet) on another balloon. All in all, Piccard made 27 flights. Paul Kipfer and Auguste Piccard wearing makeshift helmets to please German laws which insist aeronauts should wear helmets. Having conquered the heavens, Piccard decided to plunge into the watery depths. In 1937, he designed a pressurized capsule that was capable of diving to the deepest depths of the ocean, an invention which he called the bathyscaphe. The term bathyscaphe comes from the Greek terms bathos, meaning deep, and scaphos, meaning ship. By necessity, the bathyscaphe was heavier than water and sank easily, but in order to rise from the depths Piccard used the same principles that took him to the stratospherebuoyancy. Piccard could not use air as the buoyant material because at the tremendous pressure at the depths, air compressed easily. So Piccard used gasoline, which was lighter than water and being liquid, it was incompressible. He designed a huge tank and filled it with gasoline. The passenger-carrying gondola was suspended underneath this gasoline tank. To make the now floating craft sink, tons of iron were attached to the float with a release mechanism to allow resurfacing. World War II interrupted the construction of the bathyscaphe, which was not completed until 1948. On October 26, 1948, the first test dive of the bathyscaphe was conducted successfully off the coast of Cape Verde. On November 3, 1948, in a deeper dive of approximately 1,400 meters (4,600 feet), the cabin withstood the pressure perfectly, but the float was severely damaged by a heavy swell of water that it encountered after the dive. The Trieste bathyscaphe. Photo: Getty Images Piccard with his son, Jacques, built a second bathyscaphe called Trieste and together they dove to 3,150 meters (10,335 feet) in 1953. In 1956, Auguste Piccard achieved a dive of 3,810 meters (12,500 feet). Only six years later, on January 23, 1960, Piccards son Jacques Piccard and a US navy lieutenant Don Walsh took the bathyscaphe to the deepest point in the ocean called Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, becoming the first persons to do so. Nobody returned to Challenger Deep for 52 years, until Titanic director James Cameron descended successfully on March 26, 2012. Auguste Piccard died on 24 March 1962 of a heart attack. He was 78 years old. Even after his death, Piccard continued to inspire a generation of balloonists, including his one grandson Bertrand Piccard who made the first non-stop balloon flight around the globe in 1999. Inspiration for Professor Calculus Belgian cartoonist Herge was inspired by Auguste Piccard and his bathyscaphe to create the character of Professor Calculus. The Swiss physics professor held a teaching appointment in Brussels when Herge spotted his unmistakable figure in the street. However, Piccard was a tall fellow, at 6ft 6in. In contrast, Professor Calculus was short. In an interview Herge stated: Calculus is a reduced scale Piccard, as the real chap was very tall. He had an interminable neck that sprouted from a collar that was much too large... I made Calculus a mini-Piccard, otherwise I would have had to enlarge the frames of the cartoon strip. References: # Popular Science, Aug 1931 # Auguste Piccard, the Versatile Explorer: from the Sky to the Bottom of the Sea, Open Mind BBVA # Britannica # Encyclopedia Feature: Chinese Bridge language contest attracts enthusiastic Egyptian teenagers Xinhua) 08:44, June 01, 2022 A contestant performs during the 15th Chinese Bridge language contest in Cairo, Egypt, on May 31, 2022. The 15th Chinese Bridge language contest was held at the Confucius Institute at Cairo University under the auspices of the Chinese embassy in Cairo on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) CAIRO, May 31 (Xinhua) -- "The Chinese Bridge contest was a challenge for me to defy my fears and learn one of the most difficult languages in the world," said Malak Ihab, an 18-year-old high school student who won on Tuesday the second place in the Chinese language contest for secondary school students in Egypt. The teenage girl, along with nine others, took part in the 15th Chinese Bridge language contest, which was held at the Confucius Institute at Cairo University under the auspices of the Chinese embassy in Cairo. "I plan to finish the advanced levels of the language course and find good job opportunities in the future," said Ihab, who is currently studying at the Egyptian Chinese Friendship School. "I love the Chinese history because it reminds me of the ancient Egyptian heritage," Ihab said. Nashwa Fahmy, the top prize winner in the competition and also an avid reader, said "the Chinese language and culture give me the freedom to fly with my thoughts and paint a colorful picture of my life." She wished that the language could be learned by more people, and not just limited to schools and universities. During the contest, Fahmy staged an amazing performance by telling a story, playing a Chinese traditional instrument, and performing a Chinese folk dance. "I learned that difficult beginnings will end with happy accomplishments," she said proudly while holding her big golden trophy. Mervat Mohamed, director of the Egyptian Chinese Friendship School, said "I'm very proud of my students who won very good prizes in the contest." Cultural activities like this give the students the confidence and resilience to continue learning a difficult language like the Chinese, she said. "China is very advanced at the scientific and technological level, and the strengthening cultural exchange between Egypt and China encourages students to learn the language," the Chinese language instructor said. Meanwhile, Wang Shenggang, minister counselor of education at the Chinese embassy in Egypt, said "the contest has become a bridge linking the two countries and promotes understanding among the people and contributes positively to enhancing China-Egypt friendship." There are four Confucius Institutes in Egypt and over 20 universities offer Chinese majors, the Chinese diplomat said, adding that he wished the students could have the opportunities to study and work in China. Gamal Al-Shazly, vice president for students affairs at Cairo University, stressed that "cultural cooperation plays a very important role in the friendly ties between Egypt and China." The language contests that have run in colleges and secondary schools are a chance for "cultural exchange between our students and the Chinese people," he said. Contestant Nashwa Fahmy plays a Chinese traditional instrument during the 15th Chinese Bridge language contest in Cairo, Egypt, on May 31, 2022. The 15th Chinese Bridge language contest was held at the Confucius Institute at Cairo University under the auspices of the Chinese embassy in Cairo on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) (ANSA) - ROME, JUN 1 - Mustafa, the six-year-old limbless Syrian boy who has been given refuge in Italy along with the rest of his family, on Wednesday visited Budrio, in the province of Bologna, ahead of a move to the town later in the year for treatment at a specialist centre. Mustafa was born without arms and legs due to a malformation caused by the medicines his mother took after she was the victim of a nerve-gas attack during the civil war in Syria. He was accompanied by his father Munzir, who lost a leg in bomb attack. The family, which also includes Mustafa's two sisters, have been staying at a centre run by Catholic charity Caritas since January. In September they will move to Budrio for treatment at a special prothesis centre. (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, JUN 1 - Ambassadors to Italy from Russia and Belarus will not attend a ceremony at the presidential Quirinale Palace Wednesday evening ahead of Thursday's Republic Day, official sources said Wednesday afternoon. The decision follows the recent EU decision not to invite representatives of the two countries to this kind of event after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The event will see a brief statement from President Sergio Mattarella followed by a concert by Venice's Fenice opera house orchestra, conducted by Myung Whun Chung. (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, JUN 1 - President Sergio Mattarella on Wednesday hailed the way Italy has taken in over 100,000 refugees from Ukraine since the Russian invasion. "Local councillors and public officials have been called on to do their jobs with enhanced spirit of service in order to provide rapid, effective solutions when faced with complex, unprecedented challenges, such as the health emergency and the social and economic repercussions of the international crises," he said. "The efforts made all over the peninsula to receive refugees from Ukraine have been the example of a coherent, virtuous approach". (ANSA). NAPLES - A minor is cited or arrested every 36 hours in Naples, police in the southern Italian port city said Wednesday. They said the problem of youth crime would be high on the agenda of a meeting of the municipal public order committee later Wednesday. For years police have complained about the high number of youths, some barely into their teens, who are used by the local Camorra mafia. Youth groups have been working hard to offer young people in the city's most crime-ridden areas alternatives to joining the Mob. Young criminals' activities have been well described in the novels and reportage of anti-mafia writer Roberto Saviano. They were depicted in the recent film based on his book, La Paranza dei Bambini. TUNIS - Algeria's energy and mining minister, Mohamed Arkab, has said that Algeria is coordinating with Tunisia to identify energy needs in order to avoid a crisis ahead of the summer season. "Algeria assists and supports Tunisia", added the minister at a meeting of the joint Tunisian-Algerian commission for energy and mining cooperation held in Algeria. The Tunisian minister of industry, energy and mining, Neila Nouira Gongi, also met Algeria's prime minister, who "stressed his country's will to work together to favor bilateral relations in these vital sectors". Gongi observed moreover that talks between the Algerian and Tunisian delegations will allow to "develop a partnership, not only commercial" in nature and stressed Tunisia's commitment to boost cooperation in the field of electricity and natural gas, given the current global situation, stating that Algeria has always supported Tunisia to overcome such crises. Discussions between the two delegations also focused on issues regarding renewable energy, energy transition and the trade of oil products. BELGRADE - Montenegro is the country that has made more progress towards EU membership but such process has stopped and no further progress has been recorded over the past two years, said Miroslav Lajcak, the EU representative for the western Balkans. He urged authorities in Podgorica to show more commitment for the country's European future. "During my visit to the country last year I spoke about the feelings in Brussels and that Montenegro had disappeared. The previous government had good intentions and valid documents, but there was no concrete action. Montenegro was not seen nor heard in Brussels", Lajcak told Montenegro's news agency Mina. The Slovakian diplomat said EU adhesion is not obtained with inaction, speaking instead of progress made by Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia. "No other country in the region is in front of Montenegro, which has however lost its dynamism, dealing more with itself than with its European path", noted Lajcak. "Time has been lost and it is now necessary to recuperate", he stated, adding that Podgorica has opened the last negotiating chapter with the EU in June 2020. TEL AVIV - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has denounced in a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken "US silence" and that of the "international community" on "Israeli provocations and practices clearly violating international law", Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. The agency said Abbas stressed that the "current situation can't be tolerated in the absence of a political horizon and of international protection for the Palestinian population". For this reason, Abbas has announced the adoption of "measures to deal with this Israeli escalation". The US administration - Wafa quoted the Palestinian president as saying - must "transform its words into actions" and must "not be satisfied with a policy of condemnation" on "unilateral measures" by Israel because "the situation on the ground is not acceptable anymore". The Palestinian president said he referred in particular to what is happening in Jerusalem "with attacks against the Al-Aqsa mosque by extremist settlers' groups, prayers in its courtyards and allowing these extremist groups to raise Israeli flags". The Palestinian president spoke about "violation of the status quo" not only at the holy site in Jerusalem known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount but also for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. According to Wafa, during the talks Blinken reaffirmed the Biden administration's commitment for a two-State solution, for a "halt to the expansion of settlements" and "unilateral actions by both sides". Blinken also confirmed "the administration's engagement for the reopening of the US consulate in Jerusalem" and that the US administration will send a "high-level delegation" to prepare the "visit of President Biden and discuss all issues raised by President Abu Mazen", as president Abbas is also known. Finally, Blinken - according to Wafa - expressed US approval for the "investigation into the murder of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, with the objective of pursuing and holding responsible the killers". The release of the Queens Birthday Honours ahead of the Platinum Jubilee provides an opportunity to celebrate individual outstanding achievements and contributions to British society. But who decides how honours are handed out, and what exactly do they recognise? Here the PA news agency takes a look at the inner workings of the honours system: What are honours for? Honours as part of orders of chivalry have been given by monarchs since the Middle Ages. In recent times, the British honours system recognises people who have made achievements in public life and committed themselves to serving and helping Britain. Sir Elton John after being made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (Dominic Lipinski/PA) It acknowledges long-term volunteers, innovators, entrepreneurs, individuals displaying moral courage, those making a difference in their community or field of work or people improving life for others less able to help themselves. Honours are given to people involved in a range of fields, including sport, health, science and technology, education, business and the arts and media. Gallantry awards recognising bravery can also be given to members of the armed forces and the emergency services and civilians. How are people nominated for honours? Any member of the public or an official body can nominate someone for an honour. UK nationals and citizens of 15 Commonwealth realms of which the Queen is head of state are eligible for nomination. People living or working overseas, whose achievements were made in another country or in the UK and have a significant international element, can be nominated too. Sir Jason Kenny and Dame Laura Kenny after they received their Knight Bachelor and Dame Commander awards (Kirsty OConnor/PA) Nominations are submitted to the Cabinet Offices Honours and Appointments Secretariat, which oversees the honours system. Someone who has made an exceptional contribution to the response to the coronavirus crisis in the UK can also be nominated. Non-British or Commonwealth country citizens can be considered for honorary awards. Who approves nominations? Consideration of nominations can take 12 to 18 months. The suitability of nominees submitted to the Honours and Appointments Secretariat is established through merit and probity and propriety checks. This vetting process, to avoid bringing the system into disrepute, can involve the input of government departments, regulatory bodies, professional organisations, HM Revenue and Customs and the ACRO Criminal Records Office. A group of 10 independent honours committees, each covering a specialist subject area such as sport or health, consider nominations. Sir Van Morrison at Buckingham Palace after being knighted by the Prince of Wales (Yui Mok/PA) The recommendations of these groups of independent experts and senior civil servants are passed on to the Prime Minister and, ultimately, the Queen for approval. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) oversees the Diplomatic Service and Overseas List. When are honours announced? Twice a year at new year and in June on the Queens official birthday. The lists are published in the official newspaper of the Crown, The Gazette. Once all recipients have been decided and checked, the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood at St Jamess Palace arranges investitures for the presentation of medals. These ceremonies, outside of pandemic times held about 30 times a year, take place at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and occasionally the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, and are hosted by the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge or the Princess Royal. In the past, the Queen would also have hosted investiture ceremonies. What types of honours are there? Lists typically comprise knights and dames, appointments to the Order of the British Empire and gallantry awards. The most senior ranks of the Order of the British Empire are Knight or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) and Knight or Dame Commander (KBE or DBE). Joe Wicks after receiving his MBE medal from the Prince of Wales (Steve Parsons/PA) These ranks permit the use of the title Sir for men and Dame for women, with the honour given to those who have made major contributions in any field, usually at a national level. The orders ranks, after knighthood or damehood, are Commander (CBE), Officer (OBE) and Member (MBE). Other honours include: Companion of Honour (CH) The honour recognises significant contributions to the arts, science, medicine or government over a long period of time. It is limited to just 65 people at any one time. British Empire Medal (BEM) Evolved from a medal associated with the creation of the Order of the British Empire, the BEM honours local community service that has made a significant difference. Honour recipients are appointed to an order of chivalry, that have different ranks, with most appointments made to the Order of the British Empire. Others include the Royal Victorian Order (RVO), to which the Queen personally appoints people for services to the British sovereign. The Order of the Bath is for senior civil servants and military officers, while the Order of St Michael and St George recognises service in a foreign country, or in relation to foreign and Commonwealth affairs. The Royal Red Cross (RRC), Queens Police Medal (QPM), Queens Fire Service Medal (QFSM) and Queens Ambulance Service Medal (QAM) respectively recognise the services of nurses, police, firefighters and ambulance service workers. Johnny Depp has said he feels at peace and is truly humbled after winning his multimillion-dollar US defamation lawsuit against former wife Amber Heard. The actor said his decision to pursue the case was only made after considerable thought and his goal was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome. Mr Depp sued the Aquaman star for 50 million dollars over the piece, titled: I spoke up against sexual violence and faced our cultures wrath. That has to change. The article does not mention him by name, yet his lawyers said it falsely implied he physically and sexually abused Ms Heard while they were together. Following six weeks of evidence and roughly 13 hours of deliberation, jurors returned a verdict in favour of Mr Depp on Wednesday. The actor was awarded compensatory damages of 10 million dollars (8 million) and a further five million dollars (4 million) in punitive damages. In his statement, issued through his spokesperson, Mr Depp promised fans that the best is yet to come and a new chapter has finally begun. Six years ago, my life, the life of my children, the lives of those closest to me, and also, the lives of the people who for many, many years have supported and believed in me were forever changed, he said All in the blink of an eye. The actor said his goal was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome (Craig Hudson/AP) False, very serious and criminal allegations were levied at me via the media, which triggered an endless barrage of hateful content, although no charges were ever brought against me. It had already travelled around the world twice within a nanosecond and it had a seismic impact on my life and my career. And six years later, the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled. Mr Depp continued: Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that. Ms Heard, who was present, was sitting between members of her legal team at the front of the court room, looked downcast as the ruling was read out by the judge (Court TV/AP) He said he had been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and the colossal support and kindness from around the world, adding: I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up. Concluding the statement, he added: The best is yet to come and a new chapter has finally begun Veritas numquam perit. Truth never perishes. Speaking outside the court, his lawyers Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez said they were truly honoured to have represented the actor and were so grateful to the jurors, and other members of court staff. It is time to turn the page and look to the future, Mr Chew said. Mr Depp was not present for the verdict, and was reportedly in the north east of England, after performing onstage for three nights in a row with musician Jeff Beck. He has been pictured onstage with Mr Beck at Sheffield Arena and The Royal Albert Hall in west London. Ms Heard, who was present, was sitting between members of her legal team at the front of the court room, looked downcast as the ruling was read out by the judge. She had her head bowed and appeared to be listening intently to the verdict. But the actress was awarded two million dollars (1.6 million) in damages after her counterclaim against Mr Depp over comments made by his lawyer Adam Waldman, who allegedly referred to her abuse claims as a hoax, was also found to be defamatory. Following the verdict, the actress said she was heartbroken but even even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. The disappointment I feel today is beyond words, she said in a statement, which was shared on social media. Im heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband. Im even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. Ms Heard said the verdict sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. She added that Mr Depps attorneys had succeeded in getting jury members to overlook freedom of speech. Im sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American to speak freely and openly, she said. Mr Depp had consistently denied the outrageous, outlandish claims of abuse and said he had spoken up for what I have been carrying on my back reluctantly for six years during his own evidence. The court previously heard that descriptions of Mr Depps drug use and violence were exaggerated by Ms Heard and her legal team. The case was brought in Virginia rather than in California, where the actors live, because The Washington Posts online editions are published through servers located in Fairfax County. Witnesses have included family members, friends, colleagues, employees and other individuals including British supermodel Kate Moss, as well as both Mr Depp and Ms Heard. During the course of the trial at Fairfax County District Court, legions of fans gathered outside in an attempt to enter the courtroom and observe proceedings. Many lined up outside the courthouse in anticipation of the verdict and gave huge cheers as the verdicts were read out. English Heritage will display 41 gingerbread monarchs at Kenilworth Castle in honour of the Queens Platinum Jubilee. The gingerbread monarchs, from William the Conqueror to Queen Elizabeth herself, have been hand-iced to depict each sovereign. English Heritage said it chose gingerbread due to its long history and association with the royal family. Elizabeth I is said to have impressed her guests with gingerbread likenesses of herself, while medieval gingerbread was thought to aid digestion after a meal. The biscuits will be displayed at Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire over the jubilee weekend. Queen Elizabeth I famously enjoyed a 19-day long celebration as a guest of her suitor, and would-be king, Robert Dudley. Despite the festivities, including tables heaving with baked goods, the queen rejected his proposal. English Heritage properties curator Sam Stones hoped the gingerbread kings and queens would give people a taste of the UKs rich history. At castles and historic houses across England, English Heritage is celebrating the Platinum Jubilee with a range of fun events, she said. Ms Stones added: Our gingerbread monarchs are inspired by the first Queen Elizabeth and are in honour of todays Queen we hope theyll give people a taste of this countrys rich history and inspire them to explore the stories behind each king and queen. The road haulage sector should be given a two-year deadline to improve conditions for lorry drivers and recruit more workers or face a new tax, ministers have been told. A cross-party group of MPs has called for the logistics industry to get its house in order, including better overnight facilities for drivers and new training routes to recruit more hauliers, as the sector faces labour shortages. But the Commons Transport Select Committee said that if the changes are not made within two years, then the most profitable parts of the sector should face a new tax. Lorries queue at the entrance to the Channel Tunnel in Folkestone (PA) Under the proposed Supply Chain Levy, large supermarkets, oil companies and online service giants could be forced to pay towards the cost of new facilities for heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers. Huw Merriman, the Conservative chairman of the committee, said: We urge Government to be brave and force the sector to get its house in order. A Supply Chain Levy has worked previously to incentivise reform. If the industry wont deliver change, Government should do so and send them the bill via increased taxes to those who produce and sell and make the most profits. Over the last year, a lack of HGV drivers has created a bottleneck in the supply chain, leading to fuel shortages at petrol pumps and empty shelves in major supermarkets. The committees report, Road Freight Supply Chain, says a key reason drivers do not stay in the sector is the lack of high-quality rest facilities. It is calling for minimum standards of facilities, including security, clean showers and toilets, healthy food options, and services for female drivers. The report highlights testimony from drivers who criticised poor washing facilities at overnight stay areas for HGV drivers, including dirty and vandalised showers. It also said that some drivers shun using official facilities and park in lay-bys overnight instead, a practice called fly-parking which can lead to fines. One driver quoted in the report criticised poor security at legal stopping places, claiming he would pay 37 a night to sleep in my cab and have my tyres slashed if he did not stay in a lay-by. The report says that if the industry does not adopt a sector-wide solution and improve conditions at services for drivers within two years, then the Government should step in and impose the Supply Chain Levy to fund new facilities. The committee has called for haulage companies to pay for the special training needed to drive a HGV, currently covered by drivers themselves. It said this could also be funded through the levy if the industry does not step up. The committee also highlighted the ageing and mostly male workforce in road freight, stressing that more needs to be done to encourage women and younger people into driving HGVs. Mr Merriman said: The long-term solution lies in moving more freight to rail and water. This will help decarbonise the sector and make it more attractive to drivers who want to operate over shorter distances; drivers who want to see their families at the end of a hard day rather than facing anti-social and dangerous nights sleeping in their cabs. In the near-term, we need better conditions to make moving essential goods a sound career choice. He added: Weve been here before. In 2016, the Transport Committee called for action in the haulage sector but little changed. Lack of diversity is holding expansion in the workforce back. Women make up as little as 1% of the workforce. The proportion of under-25s is under 3%. For too long, this lack of diversity has seen more drivers retiring than being recruited. Conservative MP Huw Merriman, who chairs the Transport Select Committee (UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/PA) The chief executive of the industrys biggest business group, Logistics UK, said blame for problems in the sector has been unfairly placed at the industrys door. David Wells said: To place all the blame for the supply chain issues facing our industry at our door does our workers a great disservice, and totally ignores the role which the Government and other agencies have played in creating staff recruitment and retention problems across the sector. He said many HGV drivers being unable to access suitable safe and secure truck stops across the country is a national disgrace, citing the problem as being down to local authority planning rules and red tape that prevent these facilities being built in the first place. He said the logistics sector is facing issues caused by a combination of factors, none of which are within its control including an ageing workforce, the loss of European workers after Brexit and the impact of the pandemic. He added: Its disappointing that the committee has taken so long to reach the wrong conclusions and not address the real public policy issues needing urgent attention. The Road Haulage Association said it broadly welcomed the report, but added that it is unreasonable for the logistics sector to fund things like driver training alone, due to the significant upfront cost, the acute shortage of drivers and the difficulties in retaining new drivers due to external factors. Managing director Richard Smith said: We welcome the recognition of the difficulties of life as an HGV driver. In many places HGVs and their drivers are simply not welcome. This needs to change. We welcome measures that will improve HGV drivers experiences on the nations roads and the way theyre treated. A Department for Transport spokeswoman said: We recognise the global challenges this critical sector faces and have taken an unprecedented 33 measures so far to address the HGV driver shortage. This includes making 11,000 training places available through our skills bootcamps so more people can launch careers as HGV drivers, boosting the number of HGV driver tests and investing in improvements to lorry parking and driver welfare facilities. Tackling global supply chain constraints remains a top priority for Government and well continue to support the road freight sector through our interventions. NS&I has released 65 facts about Premium Bonds to mark 65 years since the first prize draw: 1. The first Premium Bond was purchased by the then lord mayor of London, Alderman Sir Cuthbert Ackroyd, on November 1 1956. 2. The second Premium Bond was bought by the mayor of Lytham St Annes. 3. By the end of the first day on sale, more than 5 million worth of bonds had been purchased. Ernest Marples, the postmaster-general, pressing a button to start up Ernie for the first Premium Savings Bonds draw at Lytham St Annes, Lancashire (PA) 4. The public had to wait seven months for the first draw on June 1 1957. 5. The odds for the first draw were 9,600 to one. 6. The jackpot prize for the first draw was 1,000 (versus 1 million now). 7. The smallest prize for the first draw was 25. 8. The maximum investment in 1956 was 500 (versus 50,000 now). 9. There were 49 million bonds eligible for the first draw. 10. These 49 million bonds belonged to around six million Premium Bonds holders. 11. There were 23,142 prizes paid out in the first draw. 12. The odds of a 1 holding winning the 1,000 jackpot at the time were estimated to be around one in 505,079. 13. If you held the maximum 500 in Premium Bonds at the time, your odds of winning the jackpot increased to around one in 1,010. 14. 394,007 bonds bought prior to the first draw are still eligible to this day. 15. These 394,007 bonds won more than 100 prizes in 2021. 16. Harold Wilson, the shadow chancellor at the time of the launch of Premium Bonds, referred to them as a squalid raffle. 17. IFK341150 was the first ever Premium Bonds number drawn and was held by a Premium Bond holder in Cumbria. 18. The Premium Bonds draw was often a glitzy affair, with the likes of Bob Hope and Sir Bruce Forsyth starting the draw at some point. 19. The 1 million Premium Bonds prize was launched in April 1994. 20. June 1 2022 (the 65th anniversary of the first Premium Bonds prize draw) will see the 483rd and 484th millionaires created by Ernie (Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment). NS&Is prize checker app (NS&I/PA) 21. The longest amount of time a winner has waited to win the 1 million jackpot is 16,587 days (or 45 years and five months). This was a winner based in Newham, London, who held 17 in Premium Bonds. The winning bond was purchased in February 1959 and won the jackpot prize in July 2004. 22. At the other end of the spectrum, 12 winners have waited just two months to win the 1 million jackpot, winning in the first draws in which their bonds were eligible. 23. The above winner from Newham in London also had the smallest holding (17) ever to win the 1 million Premium Bonds jackpot. 24. Twelve people holding 1,000 or less have scooped the 1 million jackpot prize. 25. In the May 2022 prize draw, there were 117,819,813,615 bonds eligible to win tax-free prizes. 26. Since Ernie turned 60 in June 2017, this number has almost doubled from 64,057,711,819. 27. The figure has almost quadrupled from Ernies 50th birthday in November 2006, there were 32,329,928,097 eligible bonds. 28. The biggest increase in the number of eligible bonds month-on-month was March 2021, when the figure rose by 2,160,113,561 from the previous draw. 29. June 1 2022 marks the 780th Premium Bonds prize draw. 30. Bond number 200VB673507 is one of the luckiest on record purchased in January 2013 and belonging to a Premium Bonds holder from the West Midlands, the bond won four 25 prizes between July 2017 and March 2019. 31. More than 22.9 billion in prize money has been paid out by Ernie since the first draw in 1957. 32. In December 2006, NS&I made five people millionaires to celebrate 50 years since Premium Bonds went on sale. 33. In June 2007, NS&I again made five millionaires this time to celebrate 50 years since the first Premium Bonds prize draw. 34. In the run-up to the December 2006 draw, during one day in October, NS&I sold more than 220 million of Premium Bonds as people rushed to make sure they were eligible for the chance to win one of the five 1 million prizes. This remains a record for the most Premium Bonds sold in one day. 35. There are 21.1 million Premium Bonds customers. 36. Ten children under the age of 16 have won the 1 million jackpot. 37. The oldest ever 1 million winner was aged over 90 at the time of their win. 38. There has been a millionaire from every English county apart from Rutland. 39. Almost nine in 10 of the more than 3.2 million prizes paid each month are automatically reinvested into more Premium Bonds or paid directly into customers bank accounts. 40. The average holding size of the 1 million jackpot winners is just over 17,000. 41. The average time that jackpot winners hold their winning bonds for prior to winning 1 million is 1,870 days or just over five years. 42. Over time, the way that people check to see if they have won has changed. People can now use NS&Is prize checker app, the prize checker at nsandi.com or even Alexa. 43. The first incarnation of Ernie was developed by the team behind the Second World War codebreaking machine Colossus at Bletchley Park. 44. Ernie is now in his fifth incarnation to keep up with the volume of numbers needing to be generated each month. 45. Ernie 1 could generate 2,000 numbers per hour. 46. It was thought the first draw should take 30 hours to complete, but it went on for over two days because the engineers and staff needed to rest. 47. If Ernie 1 were still in use today, it is estimated that it would take around 175 days to generate the numbers needed for the monthly prize draws. 48. Ernie 1 used the signal noise created by neon tubes to generate numbers. 49. Ernie 3 is the longest serving Ernie so far, in use from 1973 until 1988. 50. Ernie 5 is the first incarnation of Ernie to use quantum technology to generate numbers. Premium Bonds from the 1960s and 1970s (Johnny Green/PA) 51. On average, it now takes Ernie 5 around 17 minutes to generate the random numbers required for the monthly draw. 52. Ernie has drawn more than 567 million winning bond numbers since the first draw. 53. The first draw took place in Lytham St Annes near Blackpool in Lancashire. 54. Having moved out of Lytham for a while, Ernie is now back in the seaside town where the first ever draw took place. 55. Ernie 5 is more than 40 times faster at generating the numbers needed than its predecessor, Ernie 4. 56. Ernie is so loved by people across the UK that he has received a swathe of Valentines, Christmas and birthday cards over the years. 57. There are currently more than 2.2 million unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes. 58. The value of unclaimed prizes is more than 77 million. 59. The largest unclaimed prize is worth 100,000. 60. London has the most unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes in the UK with more than 389,000. 61. This is closely followed by the south east of England with more than 329,000 unclaimed prizes. 62. The oldest unclaimed prize is worth 25 and is from November 1957 and is due to a holder in South Yorkshire. 63. Agent Million, whose job it is to deliver the Premium Bonds jackpot prize to the winners, has always been able to deliver the 1 million jackpot. 64. As there is more than one jackpot prize each month, there are four such agents. 65. Agent Million has sometimes had to leave the UK to deliver the jackpot prize. There have been five 1 million winners based overseas. Cafe Rouge founder Karen Jones has been recognised with a damehood for her contribution to the hospitality industry. Ms Jones is one of a number of business leaders to appear on the Queens Birthday honours list. Currently, Ms Jones is the executive chair of Italian restaurant chain Prezzo and also chairs fellow operators Hawksmoor and Mowgli. Cafe Rouge in Wellington Street, London (Victoria Jones/PA) The industry leader helped set up and float Theme Restaurants Ltd in her early twenties, before going on to launch French chain Cafe Rouge. In the early 2000s Ms Jones led Spirit Group, one of the countrys biggest pub firms, before its 2.7 billion takeover by Punch Taverns in 2006. Im deeply honoured and feel incredibly fortunate because I am keenly aware that such recognition is only possible because of unceasing work from many talented people to whom I am deeply indebted, Ms Jones said. Business is fascinating and hospitality is my passion: to be recognised for services to both makes me want to be better and do more. (PA Graphics) Together we will continue to build hospitalitys appeal as a sought-after sector in which to work, which provides great jobs, training and skills for the new cohort of young women and men who have come into the sector in recent times and who will be our leaders and entrepreneurs of the future. Elsewhere, Ron Kalifa, chairman of Network International and former WorldPay CEO, has been knighted for services to the financial industry, technology and public service. Mr Kalifa delivered an independent review of UK fintech on behalf of the Treasury last year. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot has also been knighted after leading the pharmaceutical giant through the Covid-19 pandemic. The Queen has also made Waterstones and Daunt Books boss James Daunt a CBE. AstraZeneca chief Pascal Soriot (AstraZeneca/PA) Steve Ingham, the chief executive of recruiter PageGroup who announced his plans to step down earlier this year, was also made a CBE for his contribution to business. Elsewhere, Tom Joule, the founder and chief brand officer of clothing brand Joules becomes an OBE. British Beer & Pub Association boss Emma McClarkin was also made an OBE for her contribution for the UKs pub industry. I am delighted and humbled to receive this honour, she said. It is truly wonderful to receive this recognition on behalf of the beer and pub sector and for the incredible work the British Beer and Pub Association have done throughout the pandemic and continue to do to support the sector I am so passionate about. The son of former prime minister Sir Tony Blair said he owes his newly bestowed honour to the staff at his tech start-up. Euan Blair, founder and chief executive of Multiverse, has been made an MBE for services to education in the Queens Birthday Honours this year. The awards have been made early this year to coincide with the Queens Platinum Jubilee, with her official birthday taking place on Saturday June 11. Mr Blair, 38, said: Its a real honour to receive this recognition, but its on behalf of an organisation full of people who are working tirelessly to build a truly outstanding alternative to university. Multiverses growth is testament to the power of apprenticeships to widen access to top jobs and give employers the skilled talent they need. Our community is now 8,000 strong and as we continue to scale, our ambition is to reach tens of thousands more individuals at every stage of their careers. Tech education start-up Multiverse matches young people with apprenticeship routes into work. It has worked with large, leading employers such as Google and Depop to offer young people an alternative path into employment than via university. The London-based company, originally named WhiteHat, last year raised 130 million dollars from US investors. Tony Blair with his family, including Euan, on the steps of 10 Downing Street, as he left office for the last time (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Mr Blair, the eldest son of former Labour prime minister Sir Tony, is believed to have a fortune of more than 160 million. The Evening Standard recently reported he is now worth more than three times his father, who is believed to have 44 million. He and his siblings, Nicky, Kathryn and Leo, spent their childhood in Downing Street alongside their mother Cherie while their father was in office between 1997 and 2007. The Yale graduate recently bought a 22 million, five-storey townhouse in west London featuring seven bedrooms, and an iceberg basement with a swimming pool. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has congratulated the Queen on a lifetime of service ahead of her Platinum Jubilee. Ms Sturgeon led a parliamentary tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, who is due to celebrate 70 years of reign from tomorrow. Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, the First Minister said the Queen had played an integral role in the story of modern Scotland and said it was no surprise the occasion was to be celebrated so widely. And she urged all Scots to mark Her Majestys values of integrity, wisdom, justice and compassion regardless of their views on the institution of the British monarchy. Queen Elizabeth II has often appeared at the Scottish Parliament to mark the opening of a new session (Andrew Milligan/PA) She said: It is of course the case that there are, and always have been different views in our country, indeed in this chamber, about the institution of the monarchy, and the democratic right to express those views is always to be celebrated. But this occasion of the Platinum Jubilee is not just about an institution. It is above all about the life and service of an extraordinary woman, someone who had no more choice than any of us do about the circumstances into which she was born- but someone who has given a lifetime of dedicated service. We should all pay tribute to that. And so it is absolutely right that we celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. Let us congratulate her warmly or a reign of unprecedented length and let us acknowledge with deep gratitude and respect her dedication to duty. Ms Sturgeon told MSPs that beacons will be lit across the country tomorrow night and a national thanksgiving service will be held at Glasgow Cathedral on Sunday, in addition to the many community lunches and street parties planned for the weekend. In honour of her service, the Queen will be presented with a limited edition Johnnie Walker whisky, with a special design to celebrate the beauty of Scotlands plants and wildlife, and a throw made of tartan commissioned in honour of the three bridges across the Forth. A Jubilee Wood of 70 native trees is also planned for Holyrood Park, in Edinburgh, which Ms Sturgeon said was a historically appropriate gesture as the Queens first duty in Scotland following her accession to the throne had been to plant a cherry tree that still stands by the entrance to the Canongate Kirk. The First Minister also said it had been a privilege to spend time with the Queen privately over the years, where she benefited from her wisdom and unique perspective on modern history. She will also be attending a number of events in London to mark the Jubilee, including the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Pauls Cathedral on Friday, June 3, and the Platinum Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace. Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross also paid tribute to the Queen, who he said he been a constant presence during times of adversity and triumph. The universities union has called on the Government to act now to stop a dangerous assault on arts and humanities provision. The University and College Union wrote to Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi on Wednesday urging him to reverse Office for Students 50% cuts to funding for arts and creative subjects. In the letter from UCU general secretary Jo Grady, the union raises serious concerns over a new wave of redundancies and course closures at UK universities, citing recent announcements from De Montfort University, Roehampton University and Wolverhampton University on redundancies, most of which are based in arts and humanities subjects. UCU said that under current plans, 242 academics would lose their jobs at De Montfort and Roehampton, while at Wolverhampton 146 courses will be culled, most of which are in performing arts, fashion, social sciences, interior design and fine art. Ms Grady described the plans as a dangerous assault on higher education which would damage careers and limit student choices. She added that the universities had helped to widen access for working-class students and accused vice chancellors of adopting the Governments reductive agenda, which aims to fuel a bonfire of arts and humanities provision. Ms Grady also criticised frequent public attacks on so-called low value courses and said that proposals to introduce student number controls for certain courses risked narrowing access to the arts to a small elite. Proposals for minimum entry criteria for student loans were also an attempt to quash the aspirations of working-class students, she said. At a speech at the UCU conference on Wednesday, Ms Grady said: I dont think there has been a more challenging time to work and campaign within further and higher education in the UK. But if the evidence of the last year is anything to go by, our members, our union, is more than up for the fight. A Department for Education spokesperson said: The Government continues to back our world-class higher education sector with an additional 750 million worth of funding for universities over the next three years and more 18-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds going to university than ever before. We are boosting creative education by providing a 10 million uplift to world-leading specialist providers in 2021-22, including more than 10 providers specialising in the arts, with a further 5 million planned for 2022-23. This funding will help improve the diversity and quality of creative education provision available to students. FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA - MAY 27: Actor Johnny Depp waves to supporters from his vehicle as he leaves a Fairfax County Courthouse May 27, 2022 in Fairfax, Virginia. The jury has started deliberation in the Depp v. Heard defamation trial, brought by Johnny Depp against his ex-wife Amber Heard. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Johnny Depp is speaking out after winning his defamation trial against his ex-wife, Amber Heard. In a statement shared by the 58-year-old actor on Instagram, Depp said he feels "truly humbled" not only by the verdict, but to have his life back, six years after their contentious 2016 divorce. "Six years ago, my life, the life of my children, the lives of those closest to me, and also, the lives of the people who for many, many years have supported and believed in me were forever changed," Depp began. "All in the blink of an eye." He continued, "False, very serious and criminal allegations were levied at me via the media, which triggered an endless barrage of hateful content, although no charges were ever brought against me. It had already traveled around the world twice within a nanosecond and it had a seismic impact on my life and my career." "And six years later, the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled," Depp added. While the allegations made against him by the op-ed Heard wrote for the Washington Post impacted both Depp's career and life, he said he feels at peace knowing that he was able to speak and reveal his truth not just for himself, but for his children, Lily-Rose, 23 and Jack, 20. "My decision to pursue this case, knowing very well the height of the legal hurdles that I would be facing and the inevitable, worldwide spectacle into my life, was only made after considerable thought," he shared. Adding, "From the very beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome. Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that." Depp went on to thank his fans for their love and support, and also said that he hopes his quest for truth will help other men and women who have found themselves in a similar situation, do the same. "I am, and have been, overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and the colossal support and kindness from around the world. I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up," he stressed. "I also hope that the position will now return to innocent until proven guilty, both within the courts and in the media." The Pirates of the Caribbean actor also thanked the judge, jurors, and court staff for their work and his legal team for their tireless effort in helping him to "share the truth." "I wish to acknowledge the noble work of the Judge, the jurors, the court staff and the Sheriffs who have sacrificed their own time to get to this point, and to my diligent and unwavering legal team who did an extraordinary job in helping me to share the truth," he noted. Depp concluded the lengthy statement by promising that the best is yet to come, and signed off with the Latin phrase, "veritas numquam perit," which translates to "truth never perishes." After deliberating for around 14 hours across three days, the jury decided Wednesday, in unanimous fashion, that Depp was defamed by Heard and that she "acted with actual malice," bringing the six-week-long case to an end. The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. Depp's punitive damages, however, were reduced by Judge Penney Azcarate to $350,000 in accordance with Virginia's statutory cap. Heard did win one of her three counterclaims, and was awarded $2 million by the jury in compensatory damages but nothing in punitive damages. Depp's lawyers, Camille Vasquez and Benjamin Chew, also shared statements following the verdict, with Vasquez saying that the verdict confirmed that the claims against Depp were not only defamatory but "unsupportive" of any evidence. "This verdict has confirmed what we have said from the beginning, that the claims against Johnny are defamatory and unsupportive of any evidence," Vasquez said. "We are grateful, so grateful, to the jury for their careful deliberation, to the judge, to the court staff, who have devoted an enormous amount of time and resources to this case." For his part, Chew said he and his legal team were honored to assist Depp in making sure his case was considered fairly. "Our judicial system is predicated upon each and everyone having his or her case heard and we were honored, truly honored, to assist Mr. Depp in ensuring that his case was fairly considered throughout the trial," Chew added. "We are also most pleased the trial has resonated for so many people in the public who value truth and justice. Now that the jury has reached its conclusive verdict, it's time to turn the page and look to the future." Heard and her legal team were in attendance when the verdict was read but Depp was not present he was watching from the United Kingdom though, where he was previously scheduled for several work commitments. Heard released a statement following the verdict saying, "The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I'm heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband. Im even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated." She added, "It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously. I believe Johnnys attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the UK. Im sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American to speak freely and openly." RELATED CONTENT Amber Heard 'Heartbroken' by Verdict in Johnny Depp Defamation Case Johnny Depp Vs. Amber Heard Verdict: Actor Wins Defamation Case Johnny Depp Spotted Partying as Jury Deliberates in Amber Heard Trial FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) A jury awarded Johnny Depp more than $10 million on Wednesday in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, vindicating his stance that Heard fabricated claims that she was abused by Depp before and during their brief marriage. The jury also found Heard was defamed by a lawyer for Depp who accused her of creating a detailed hoax that included roughing up their apartment to look worse for police. The jury awarded her $2 million in damages. The verdicts bring an end to a televised trial that Depp had hoped would help restore his reputation, though it turned into a spectacle of a vicious marriage. Throughout the trial, fans overwhelmingly on Depps side lined up overnight for coveted courtroom seats. Spectators who couldnt get in gathered on the street to cheer Depp and jeer Heard whenever they appeared outside. Heard, who was stoic in the courtroom as the verdict was read, said she was heartbroken. Im even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. Its a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously, she said in a statement posted on her Twitter account. Depp, who was not inside the courtroom Wednesday, sued Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse. His lawyers said he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name. The jury found in Depp's favor on all three of his claims relating to specific statements in the 2018 piece. In evaluating Heard's counterclaims, jurors considered three statements in which a lawyer for Depp called her allegations a hoax. They found she was defamed by one of them, in which the lawyer claimed that she and friends spilled a little wine and roughed the place up, got their stories straight, and called police. The jury found Depp should receive $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, but the judge said state law caps punitive damages at $350,000, meaning Depp was awarded $10.35 million. While the case was ostensibly about libel, most of the testimony focused on whether Heard had been physically and sexually abused, as she claimed. Heard enumerated more than a dozen alleged assaults, including a fight in Australia where Depp was shooting a Pirates of the Caribbean sequel in which Depp lost the tip of his middle finger and Heard said she was sexually assaulted with a liquor bottle. Depp said he never hit Heard and that she was the abuser, though Heards attorneys highlighted years-old text messages Depp sent apologizing to Heard for his behavior as well as profane texts he sent to a friend in which Depp said he wanted to kill Heard and defile her dead body. In some ways, the trial was a replay of a lawsuit Depp filed in the United Kingdom against a British tabloid after he was described as a wife beater. The judge in that case ruled in the newspapers favor after finding that Heard was telling the truth in her descriptions of abuse. In the Virginia case, Depp had to prove not only that he never assaulted Heard, but that Heards article which focused primarily on public policy related to domestic violence defamed him. He also had to prove that Heard wrote the article with actual malice. And to claim damages he had to prove that her article caused the damage to his reputation as opposed to any number of articles before and after Heards piece that detailed the allegations against him. Depp, in his final testimony to the jury, said the trial gave him a chance to clear his name in a way that he the U.K trial never allowed. No matter what happens, I did get here and I did tell the truth and I have spoken up for what Ive been carrying on my back, reluctantly, for six years. Depp said. Heard, on the other hand, said the trial has been an ordeal inflicted by an orchestrated smear campaign led by Depp. Johnny promised me promised me that hed ruin my life, that hed ruin my career. Hed take my life from me, Heard said in her final testimony. The case captivated millions through its gavel-to-gavel television coverage and impassioned followers on social media who dissected everything from the actors mannerisms to the possible symbolism of what they were wearing. Both performers emerge from the trial with reputations in tatters with unclear prospects for their careers. Eric Rose, a crisis management and communications expert in Los Angeles, called the trial a classic murder-suicide. From a reputation management perspective, there can be no winners, he said. Theyve bloodied each other up. It becomes more difficult now for studios to hire either actor because youre potentially alienating a large segment of your audience who may not like the fact that you have retained either Johnny or Amber for a specific project because feelings are so strong now. Depp, a three-time best actor Oscar nominee, had until recent years been a bankable star. His turn as Capt. Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean film helped turn it into a global franchise, but hes lost that role. (Heard and Depps teams each blame the other.) He was also replaced as the title character in the third Fantastic Beasts spin-off film, The Crimes of Grindelwald. Despite testimony at the trial that he could be violent, abusive and out of control, Depp received a standing ovation Tuesday night in London after performing for about 40 minutes with Jeff Beck at the Royal Albert Hall. He has previously toured with Joe Perry and Alice Cooper as the group Hollywood Vampires. Heards acting career has been more modest, and her only two upcoming roles are in a small film and the upcoming Aquaman sequel due out next year. Depps lawyers fought to keep the case in Virginia, in part because state law provided some legal advantages compared with California, where the two reside. A judge ruled that Virginia was an acceptable forum for the case because The Washington Posts printing presses and online servers are in the county. Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto As of March, the average monthly Social Security benefit is $1,618.29 for an individual, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA). Doubling up for a couple, that's $3,236.58. Not a bad haul, if it's supplementing other income or padding a nice, big nest egg. If Social Security is all you're living on, however, you're going to have to pick your retirement city very carefully to stretch those dollars to their absolute limit -- particularly on the notoriously expensive West Coast, which, for the purposes of this study, includes Alaska. Find Out: Social Security Schedule: When Benefits Will Arrive in May 2022 See: 10 Reasons You Should Claim Social Security Early To determine the best places for couples to live on the West Coast on only their combined Social Security checks, GOBankingRates used cost-of-living data from Sperling's Best Places. The ranking also includes ApartmentList data on the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment, as well as each city's livability score, sourced from AreaVibes. Each city was then given a combined score -- which represents a summation of all those factors -- with lower scores being better. The list is ranked in order of the worst score to the best. Read on to learn about the West Coast spots that are most welcoming to retirees living on Social Security. jared ropelato / Shutterstock.com Vallejo, California 2022 average 1-bedroom rent: $1,607 Vallejo has a lousy livability score of 56 -- livability scores are calculated by algorithms that factor in dozens of variables like proximity to amenities, crime and schools. The cost-of-living index is a high 131.3, with 100 representing the national average. The average one-bedroom apartment will run you $1,607 per month, the highest on this list. Jon Bilous / Shutterstock.com Riverside, California 2022 average 1-bedroom rent: $1,508 At 133.1, Riverside's cost-of-living index is even higher than even Vallejo's -- a full one-third more than the national average. The town's livability score is an unimpressive 59, mostly because of its relatively high crime rate. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $1,508, one of the three highest on the list. POLL: Does April's Stock Market Dip Concern You? Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto Seattle 2022 average 1-bedroom rent: $1,596 Moving up the coast to Washington is Seattle, a pricey city where the average one-bedroom costs $1,596. That contributes to a bruising 172.3 cost-of-living index -- the highest on this list, by far -- which means that daily living in Seattle is 72.3% more expensive than the national average. All in all, its livability score is an underwhelming 65 thanks to high crime rates, high housing costs and, of course, a high cost of living. Manny Chavez / Getty Images/iStockphoto Sacramento, California 2022 average 1-bedroom rent: $1,432 The capital city of California, Sacramento has a below-average livability score of 62, mostly because of its crime statistics and relatively high prices. The cost-of-living index there is 118.2, making the city nearly 20% costlier to live in than the national average. The typical renter will shell out $1,432 for a one-bedroom. JMcQ / Shutterstock.com Anchorage, Alaska 2022 average 1-bedroom rent: $1,176 In Anchorage, crime and real estate prices are high even by Alaska standards, both of which contribute to the city's drab livability score of 60. Although the average one-bedroom there costs $1,176 per month, one of the least expensive on this list, Anchorage residents still struggle with a rough cost-of-living index of 123.5. Spondylolithesis / Getty Images Napa, California 2022 average 1-bedroom rent: $1,522 Known for its legendary vineyards, daily life in Napa is nearly as pricey as its wine -- the cost-of-living index is 162.1, second only to Seattle. With an average monthly rent of $1,522, it's one of only four cities on this list where the typical one-bedroom costs more than $1,500. Overall, its livability score is a middling 70. Kyle Sprague / Shutterstock.com Portland, Oregon 2022 average 1-bedroom rent: $1,344 The cost of living in Portland is 30.8% higher than the national average. Although its $1,344 average rent makes it one of just five cities on this list where a one-bedroom goes for less than $1,400, its very high crime rate contributes to a dreary livability score of 65. DenisTangneyJr / iStock.com Fresno, California 2022 average 1-bedroom rent: $1,025 Just two cities on this list are less expensive than Fresno, which boasts a forgiving cost-of-living index of 102.6. With an average monthly rent of $1,025.00, a one-bedroom is cheaper in just thee other cities. Unfortunately, high crime contributes to a subpar livability score of 58. Ceri Breeze / Shutterstock.com Bremerton, Washington 2022 average 1-bedroom rent: $1,440 Bremerton comes up with an average livability score of 70. With a cost-of-living index of 108.9 and an average rent of $1,440 for a one-bedroom, it's certainly one of the more affordable cities to make the cut. GarysFRP / Getty Images Eugene, Oregon 2022 average 1-bedroom rent: $928 With a cost-of-living index of 105.3, Eugene is even more affordable than Bremerton. A lot of that has to do with the fact that it's one of only three cities on the list with a three-figure monthly rent -- $928 per month, to be exact, which makes it the cheapest on the entire list. Thanks to its high crime rate, however, Eugene earns a meh livability score of 65. John T Callery / Shutterstock.com Olympia, Washington 2022 average 1-bedroom rent: $1,436 The capital city of Washington has a cost-of-living index of 106.1, which puts it on the lower side of this list. Olympia's livability score is 74 -- the highest of any city profiled here -- and a $1,436 average monthly rent. benedek / Getty Images/iStockphoto Spokane, Washington 2022 average 1-bedroom rent: $947 Just one city on this list is cheaper to live in than the national average -- Spokane, whose cost-of-living index is an impressive 92.3. Although the city's paltry livability score of 67 leaves plenty to be desired, its $947 monthly rent makes it the No. 2 least expensive place to rent an apartment. Shutterstock.com Salem, Oregon 2022 average 1-bedroom rent: $979 With a cost-of-living index of 101.8, Salem is less expensive to live in than any city on this list except for Spokane. One of just three cities with a sub-$1,000 average rent, a one-bedroom goes for just $979 per month. That's all good news, despite Salem's low livability score of 69. More From GOBankingRates Methodology: GOBankingRates determined the best places for a couple to live on the West Coast on only their combined Social Security checks based on the (1) average monthly benefit for retired workers, $1,618.29, sourced from the Social Security Administration, and doubled ($3,236.58); (2) the overall cost of living in each city, sourced from Sperling's Best Places; (3) average 2022 rent for a one-bedroom apartment as sourced from ApartmentList; and (4) livability scores sourced from AreaVibes. Factors (2) through (4) were scored and combined, with the lowest score being the best. Factor (4) was weighted double in final calculations. All data was collected and is up to date as of April 22, 2022. This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 13 Best Places on the West Coast for Couples To Live on Only a Social Security Check While many people are familiar with the Queens record as the longest-reigning living monarch, she also holds a raft of other records, including appearing on the most number of currencies. Ahead of the Queens Platinum Jubilee, marking her 70-year reign, Guinness World Records has revealed the raft of records she currently holds. Most countries to be Head of State of simultaneously is a record which she set in November 2021, at 15 different countries. Also among her records are Longest-reigning living monarch, which she now holds having acceded to the throne on February 6, 1952. She became the longest-reigning living monarch in October 2016 after the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. She also holds the Guinness World Record for the most portrayed living monarch, having been played on stage and screen in productions ranging from Netflixs The Crown, the 2006 film The Queen, and even a cartoon cameo in The Simpsons in 2003. The Queen has been portrayed on stage and screen more times than any other living monarch, including by Olivia Colman in Netflixs The Crown (Netflix/PA) The Queen appears on at least 33 currencies, according to the Guinness World Records, making her the individual to have appeared on the most. Her face is printed on currencies across the world, including Australia, Belize, New Zealand, and Canada. The queen is on at least 33 different currencies, according to the Guinness World Records (Dominic Lipinski/PA) Shes also the oldest reigning queen, at 96, the wealthiest Queen, with an estimated wealth of 370 million according to The Sunday Times Rich List, and has opened more Summer Olympic Games than any other individual, having opened the 1976 games in Montreal, and the 2012 games in London. Other royal-related records include the monarchs St Edwards crown being the worlds most valuable. It is considered priceless, but after a calculation of the value of each component part, cashnetusa.com estimated its overall worth as 3,508,990 in an article dated October 2019. The memorial page of the official website of the British monarchy also holds the record for the most visited royal website globally as 14 million clicked on in September 1997 following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. One of the Queens crowns is considered to be the worlds most valuable (PA) The largest collection of royal memorabilia consists of more than 10,000 pieces and belongs to Jan Hugo in Australia, who has devoted her life to amassing British Royal family memorabilia since 1982. On 25 December 2012, the Queens annual Christmas message was broadcast in 3D for the first time. Here is a list of the Guinness World Record titles held by the Queen in full. 1. Longest-reigning living Queen 2. Most countries to be Head of State of simultaneously 3. Most portrayed living monarch 4. Oldest reigning queen 5. Most currencies featuring the same individual 6. Most Summer Olympic Games opened by an individual 7. Oldest monarch, British 8. Wealthiest Queen Other royal and Queen-related records: 1. First broadcast of the Queens Christmas message in 3D 2. Most valuable crown 3. Largest collection of Royal Memorabilia 4. Most visited royal website A patient with lesions due to a case of monkeypox is shown. The response to the monkeypox outbreak in Europe and elsewhere has forced some doctors to acknowledge that more could have been done to fight the disease in Africa. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention via Associated Press) As health authorities in Europe and elsewhere roll out vaccines and drugs to stamp out the biggest monkeypox outbreak beyond Africa, some doctors acknowledge an ugly reality: The resources to slow the disease's spread have long been available, just not to the Africans who have dealt with it for decades. Countries including Britain, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, the United States, Israel and Australia have reported more than 500 monkeypox cases, many apparently tied to sexual activity at two recent raves in Europe. No deaths have been reported. Authorities in numerous European countries and the United States are offering to vaccinate people and considering the use of antivirals. On Thursday, the World Health Organization will convene a special meeting to discuss monkeypox research priorities and related issues. Meanwhile, the African continent has reported about three times as many cases this year. There have been more than 1,400 monkeypox cases and 63 deaths in four countries where the disease is endemic Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo and Nigeria according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So far, sequencing has not yet shown any direct link to the outbreak outside Africa, health officials say. Monkeypox is in the same family of viruses as smallpox, and smallpox vaccines are estimated to be about 85% effective against monkeypox, according to WHO. Since identifying cases earlier this month, Britain has vaccinated more than 1,000 people at risk of contracting the virus and bought 20,000 more doses. European Union officials are in talks to buy more smallpox vaccine from Bavarian Nordic, the maker of the only such vaccine licensed in Europe. U.S. government officials have released about 700 doses of vaccine to states where cases were reported. Such measures aren't routinely employed in Africa. Dr. Adesola Yinka-Ogunleye, who leads Nigerias monkeypox working group, said there are currently no vaccines or antivirals being used against monkeypox in her country. People suspected of having monkeypox are isolated and treated conservatively, while their contacts are monitored, she said. Generally, Africa has only had small stockpiles of smallpox vaccine to offer health workers when monkeypox outbreaks happen, said Ahmed Ogwell, acting director of the Africa CDC. Limited vaccine supply and competing health priorities have meant that immunization against monkeypox hasnt been widely pursued in Africa, said Dr. Jimmy Whitworth, a professor of international public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Its a bit uncomfortable that we have a different attitude to the kinds of resources we deploy depending on where cases are, he said. It exposes a moral failing when those interventions arent available for the millions of people in Africa who need them. WHO has 31 million doses of smallpox vaccines, mostly kept in donor countries and intended as a rapid response to any reemergence of the disease, which was declared eradicated in 1980. Doses from the U.N. health agencys stockpile have never been released for any monkeypox outbreaks in central or western Africa. Dr. Mike Ryan, WHOs emergencies chief, said the agency was considering allowing rich countries to use the smallpox vaccines to try to limit the spread of monkeypox. WHO manages similar mechanisms to help poor countries get vaccines for diseases such as yellow fever and meningitis, but such efforts have not been previously used for countries that can otherwise afford shots. Oyewale Tomori, a Nigerian virologist who sits on several WHO advisory boards, said releasing smallpox vaccines from the agency's stockpile to stop monkeypox from becoming endemic in richer countries might be warranted, but he noted a discrepancy in WHO's strategy. A similar approach should have been adopted a long time ago to deal with the situation in Africa, he said. This is another example of where some countries are more equal than others. Some doctors pointed out that stalled efforts to understand monkeypox were now complicating efforts to treat patients. Most people experience symptoms such as fever, chills and fatigue. But those with more serious disease often develop a rash on their face or hands that spreads elsewhere. Dr. Hugh Adler and colleagues recently published a paper suggesting the antiviral drug tecovirimat could help fight monkeypox. The drug, approved in the United States to treat smallpox, was used in seven people infected with monkeypox in Britain from 2018 to 2021, but more details are needed for regulatory approval. If we had thought about getting this data before, we wouldnt be in this situation now where we have a potential treatment without enough evidence, said Adler, a research fellow at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Many diseases only attracted significant money after infecting people from rich countries, he noted. For example, it was only after the catastrophic Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014-2016 when several Americans were sickened by the disease among the more than 28,000 cases in Africa that authorities finally sped up the research and protocols to license an Ebola vaccine, capping a decades-long effort. At a press briefing on Wednesday, WHO's Ryan said the agency was worried about the continued spread of monkeypox in rich countries and was evaluating how it could help stem the disease's transmission there. I certainly didnt hear that same level of concern over the last five or 10 years, he said, referring to the repeated epidemics of monkeypox in Africa, when thousands of people in the continent's central and western parts were sickened by the disease. Jay Chudi, a development expert who lives in the Nigerian state of Enugu, which has reported monkeypox cases since 2017, hopes the increased attention might finally help address the problem. But he nevertheless lamented that it took infections in rich countries for it to seem possible. You would think the new cases are deadlier and more dangerous than what we have in Africa, he said. We are now seeing it can end once and for all, but because it is no longer just in Africa. Its now everybody is worried. Cheng reported from London. Cara Anna in Nairobi and Mike Stobbe in New York contributed to this report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Christopher Walken, seen in 2019, plays Frank in "The Outlaws." (Stephane De Sakutin / AFP via Getty Images) The 79-year-old Christopher Walken has made a long, Oscar-winning career out of setting every scene askew. With an offbeat line delivery that largely sidesteps the rules of punctuation, and a dancers mercurial sense of rhythm, Walken approaches every moment from a fresh angle. In Stephen Merchant and Elgin James new crime comedy The Outlaws, the icon of idiosyncrasy seems particularly out of place. Set in the rugged old port town of Bristol, where it follows the story of seven down-on-their-luck strangers forced together for community service, the series offers up a vivid cross-section of post-Brexit England. But Walkens shifty ex-con, Frank, communicates in the accent and cadences of the actors native Queens, N.Y. Speaking from his home in rural Connecticut, Walken explains that Frank is an American guy who went to England 40 years earlier. And he stayed there. He married, had children and became an expat. [But] it seems to me that he hadn't assimilated whatsoever. He's lived in England, but he's pretty much the way he was when he left America. Walken is drawn to characters who cant quite adjust to their surroundings, an inclination he credits to his Queens childhood. Both of my parents came to America when they were about 40 years old, he says. And in the neighborhood where I grew up, people spoke many languages in the street. When they spoke English, it was broken English lots of hesitating and searching for the right word. I grew up listening to English spoken that way. And I think it has had an effect on the way I speak. The Outlaws oscillates in tone from broad comedy to pulse-pounding thriller, and Walkens Frank is both a heartbreaker described by his own daughter as a lying, thieving, selfish old bastard and a goofball. (If youve ever wanted to see Walken perform a karaoke duet to the Pussycat Dolls, consider your wish granted.) I'm not sure there is a difference between so-called comedy and so-called drama, he says. You just try to do it as if you were making it up, as if the dialogue was coming out of your own brain. [You want] to know the material so well that you don't have to think about it anymore. Merchant, who created The Outlaws and appears as part of its ensemble, knew immediately that he wanted someone like Walken for the role and was pleasantly surprised to find the actual Walken available and willing. I knew [Merchants] work hes pretty amazing and coincidentally had just seen him on an American television interview, Walken says. Merchant journeyed to Connecticut to visit the star, and Walken sealed the deal by cooking him an omelet. Even though the role seems tailor-made for Walken, the famously prolific Deer Hunter and Catch Me If You Can star claims that he has never been choosy. Ive always approached acting as [being] a guy with a job, making a living, he says. I choose things to a certain extent, but Ive always just tried to keep working and taking the next best thing that comes along, and hoping for the best. This approach extends to other parts of Walkens life. I dont travel much, he says. I dont [need] to get on a plane and go somewhere, because my job already takes me to very interesting places. Even most of the clothing that I wear is from movies Ive done. Theyll give me a jacket or a shirt or something. My life is very oriented around what I do for a living. Despite a busy showbiz career and streetwise sensibility, Walken lives a quiet life (with casting director Georgianne Walken, his wife of 55 years) in Connecticut, where he famously doesnt own a cellphone or computer. I've seen The Outlaws because they sent me the discs, he says, but I have not seen it on Amazon [Prime]. I wouldn't know how to do that. Walken will testify to the benefits of life off the grid, but he also harbors nostalgia for Hollywoods industrial past. If Id been born 20 or 30 years earlier, Walken says, I think I would've enjoyed working in the studio system. You read books about the great stars, but there were also all these recognizable supporting actors who made 250 to 350 movies, and they had houses and families and wonderful regular lives, and they made a pretty good living. They had the sunshine and the beach, he continues. And they would get in the car in the morning and go to the studio and work in one of the great soundstages. And then maybe after lunch, they'd go down the street and be in a different movie, [wear] a different costume, play a different part. I think I would have liked that to be able to go home and sleep in your own bed. Walken is too singular, too strange (and too famous) a performer to be mistaken for a bit player. But in shows like The Outlaws, he continues to perfect his own vision of the ideal supporting actor, soft-shoeing on the line between blending in and standing out. He might be the most distinctive guy with a job in the business. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. REXBURG The director of a former Rexburg-based English teaching program is back in the United States after being jailed in China for more than 2 1/2 years. Alyssa Petersen was greeted with hugs and tears by her parents and other family members at the St. Louis Lambert International Airport on Sunday afternoon. It was kind of surreal until we finally saw her at the airport. Then it was finally real, said Clark Petersen, Alyssas dad. We had the whole family there. It was a neat family reunion. Police in Chinas Jiangsu Province arrested Alyssa in September 2019 while she was working as the director of China Horizons. She and her boss, Jacob Harlan the owner and founder of the company were accused of illegally moving people across borders. The Rexburg company arranges for college students to visit China and teach English to students. Jacob Harlan and Alyssa Petersen were arrested in 2019. Harlan remains detained in China. The case garnered the attention of United States lawmakers with the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which sent a letter to President Donald Trump in January 2020. The commission called the Chinese governments imprisonment or arbitrary detention of Americans deeply concerning and said that the arrests of Alyssa and Harlan coincided with the detention of a Chinese official in the U.S. on visa fraud charges. Friends and family members posted updates on a GoFundMe page, which raised over $50,000 to help cover legal fees. A trial was finally held for Alyssa in China in May 2021, and she was found not guilty, according to her father, but she remained in jail for the next 12 months. The case stalled as the prison and court systems closed due to COVID-19, and communication between Alyssa and her family was extremely limited. Weve been able to send letters, and sometimes she was able to get them depending on whether the consulate was able to visit with her. If the consulate was able to visit, she could communicate through them to us, but the last year and a half has been few and far between, Clark tells EastIdahoNews.com. Alyssa Petersen returned home after more than two years. Petersen declined to elaborate on the conditions his daughter endured while in custody but says he and his wife Carrie Petersen were never able to speak with Alyssa on the phone. They relied on friends in China for updates and prayed for her safe return. Earlier this month, Alyssa was sentenced to serve 2 1/2 years in jail with credit for time served and a release date of May 23. On Sunday, she was taken to an airport in China, where she called her parents. They let her call to say she was on her way home. It was a 13-hour flight to Los Angeles and then she had a three-hour flight to get home to St. Louis, Clark says. She is resting, is glad to be home, and looks forward to eating food instead of rice. As she said, hell is finally over. Harlan is still in China and the future of his case remains uncertain, but his wife says on a GoFundMe page that she hopes he will be released soon. Alyssa is taking time to process the events of the past few years before speaking in detail about it publicly, her family said, but has a message for everyone who prayed for her and offered help. I would like them to know that their support has been felt. It helped me survive, she said. There are other people who are still experiencing what I went through, and they need the same support, help and love. Nampa man had not played Idaho Lottery in a year. He scratched off a life-changing win Homeowners want special Boise tax district abolished. Judge casts doubt on key argument Burke Strunsky, left, is a Riverside County judge who took a leave from the bench in order to challenge two-term incumbent Michael Hestrin, right, for Riverside County district attorney. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) Jawhon Burts appeared in a Riverside County courtroom in late September, charged with a felony for a strangulation attack on the mother of his child. The prosecutor wanted him to serve a six-month jail term. But under a plea deal Burts struck with a Superior Court judge, the charge would be reduced to a misdemeanor if Burts completed a 52-week program for batterers. The agreement would have escaped public notice if not for what happened next. In December, less than three months later, Burts, 30, of Indio, was arrested again, this time on charges of torturing and murdering his 7-month-old son, Kyrie. Had the court chosen to impose the 180-day custody term as requested by the People, the murder of the defendants child could have been prevented, Deputy Dist. Atty. Barrett Von Esch wrote in a sentencing memorandum for the domestic violence case. Language of this kind appearing to lay blame on a judge for a horrific outcome is extraordinarily rare from prosecutors. It comes as the judge in question, Burke Strunsky, is challenging Von Eschs boss for the job of Riverside County district attorney in the June 7 election. Strunsky says that is the true motive for the memo, and he has filed an attorney-misconduct complaint with the California State Bar, denouncing the prosecutors remarks as inaccurate, unfair and politically motivated. Strunsky insists there was no legal basis to take Burts into custody on the day of the plea. The district attorneys office has weaponized the Burts case for political gain with false statements ... that essentially accused me of being responsible for the death of an infant child in a homicide case, Strunsky wrote. Riverside County Dist. Atty. Mike Hestrin declined to comment on the Burts case directly. He is running for a third term as a law-and-order candidate whose office handles 50,000 to 60,000 criminal cases a year across a vast county that stretches to the Arizona border. He said Strunsky, if elected, would be a progressive prosecutor "in the model of George Gascon," referring to the Los Angeles County district attorney. Strunsky disputes the description. He calls himself a pragmatist and a moderate, and said the sentencing memo is an example of the district attorney's attempt to mischaracterize him as soft on crime. "It's a way of getting voters to say I'm a weak liberal judge," he said. "It's using the office's authority inappropriately." Before becoming a judge, Strunsky was a deputy district attorney for 15 years whose successful murder prosecutions were featured on "Dateline" and "20/20." His campaign is endorsed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, which may or may not help in a county that voted to recall the governor last year. The sparring between one of Hestrin's deputies and Strunsky has brought attention to the race. On the morning of Jan. 23, 2020, Riverside County deputies arrived at the apartment of Hallie Knighton, the 26-year-old mother of Burts young daughter, in unincorporated Bermuda Dunes. Knighton told deputies that during an argument, Burts shoved her into a wall and grabbed her by the throat, strangling her for about a minute until her vision began to go black, according to an arrest affidavit. She said their 2-year-old daughter witnessed the incident. Knighton refused to go to the hospital and refused to press charges. After Burts was charged with felony domestic violence and a no-contact order was imposed, she successfully requested that it be modified to forbid only negative contact. She gave birth to Burts son, Kyrie, and she continued to see him. The felony domestic violence charge carried a maximum five-year term, and on Sept. 27, attorneys from both sides met with Strunsky to discuss how to resolve it. The prosecutor wanted Burts to serve 180 days in custody. It was Burts second domestic violence case involving an allegation of strangulation. In the prior case, from July 2018, another girlfriend told police that Burts had squeezed her throat violently during a fight in a car. The district attorney's office had filed the 2018 case as a misdemeanor domestic battery and allowed him to plead guilty to a lesser charge of disturbing the peace, designated as a "415 in the California Penal Code. Strunsky said the prosecutor did not inform him that the 2018 case had involved an allegation of strangulation. That would have been such a red flag, but they never mentioned that, Strunsky said. If it was a strangulation, why did they plead it to a 415? Its literally the charge you would put on your neighbor for playing music at night. Burts had already been in the domestic batterers program for months when Strunsky allowed him to strike the deal in the Bermuda Dunes case. In December, a facilitator in the batterers program estimated Burts risk of recidivism as low and wrote that he continues to make great effort" and was "practicing ways ... to prevent resorting to violence in his current relationship. Later that month, police arrived at the Indio apartment where Burts was living with Knighton to find that Kyrie was not breathing. Prosecutors say the child had a skull fracture, scalp and chest bruising and linear neck abrasions. Prosecutors say Burts admitted to being the sole caregiver that day, and that his daughter said that Burts had at least once placed a cord around the infants neck. This was the homicide of his own son, Von Esch wrote in the sentencing memorandum to the court last month, arguing that Burts should get the maximum five-year term for the Bermuda Dunes domestic violence case. There is a direct rationally discernible line of progression: from battery to felony domestic violence, from felony domestic violence now to homicide," the prosecutor wrote. "The defendant had clearly not learned his lesson and continues to commit crimes of an increasingly serious nature, culminating in the ultimate crime homicide. Von Esch added: Had the court followed the Peoples recommended sentence of a felony plea with 180 days custody time a life could have been spared. But neither the prosecutor nor Strunsky could have compelled Burts to take a plea that resulted in any jail time. Even if Burts had agreed to the 180-day jail term, it is far from certain that he would have been in lockup on the day in question. In reality, 180 days means half that time, and because of overcrowding, it is often even less, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, which runs the jails. Burts has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering and torturing his son. His attorney, Shaun Sullivan, said Burts was performing admirably in his court mandated classes, adding: Mr. Burts called 911 and was performing resuscitative measures on Kyrie when the authorities arrived. Further, the autopsy shows no indication of strangulation. Sullivan said the sentencing memo attacking Strunsky was a disgraceful attempt by Hestrin's office to hurt a political rival, and said he will ask the court to have the D.A.s office removed from the case. Along with Strunsky, Lara Gressley, an appellate lawyer with a background in criminal defense, is challenging Hestrin for the D.A. job. She questioned why Burts was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence on his first domestic violence case, rather than a felony, and was then allowed to plead guilty to a reduced charge of disturbing the peace. Thats less than a slap on the wrist, Gressley said. Its extremely disingenuous for the D.A. to blame the judge in this instance, because there are so many failures on the D.A.s part. Hestrin, as the two-term incumbent, has vastly out-raised his two challengers in the race and enjoys the funding and endorsement of law enforcement unions. According to the most recent campaign disclosures, Hestrin has raised about $1 million, Strunsky $117,000 and Gressley $100,000. Gressley and Strunsky have made it a point not to take police union money. Gressley has the endorsement of the Riverside Press-Enterprise, and she describes Strunsky as a "far-left progressive," a label he has resisted in a county where it carries major political liabilities. She points to Strunsky's supporters as evidence of his political leanings. Along with Newsom, Strunsky has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood and Inland Empire United, a nonprofit that champions progressive causes. There have been no public polls on the D.A.s race. If no candidate wins a majority of votes in June, the top two finishers will compete in November. Strunsky said there was no reason other than politics for Von Esch to have written the sentencing memo on the domestic violence case in the first place. That is because the murder charge puts the domestic violence case firmly on the back burner. The D.A.s office replied that memos are necessary to preserve arguments and inform the record as cases wind their way through the courts, often in the hands of new judges and lawyers. Brian Gurwitz, a defense attorney who sometimes practices in Riverside County, said Strunskys decision in the Burts domestic violence case agreeing to reduce the felony to a misdemeanor if Burts completed the batterers program was an extremely middle-of-the-road sentence, adding: Theres nothing about this sentence that would surprise the attorneys on either side. Strunsky said it is not a coincidence that the memo was filed three months after he declared his candidacy for district attorney. If prosecutors had considered Burts a serious threat in September, they had a duty to ask that his bail be revoked and that he be taken into custody, Strunsky said. But they did not. That I think gives you a sense of what everybody thought about his dangerousness, Strunsky said. No one could have predicted the result. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Protestors in Iran have grown increasingly hostile against the regime, after a horrific building collapse brought on by corruption and a lack of enforcement killed at least 34 people. Since the building collapse in Abadan last week, protesters have been reinvigorated following recent protests after authorities imposed massive price hikes on food and other vital goods. Videos shared on social media showed the anger felt by protesters against the hardline government. Authorities have rounded up dozens of peaceful protesters, this as the number of dead from the collapse is expected to rise. Locals have also begun blockading highways in protest, video from Iran shows. "The Iranian people are very clear in their message that they do not want reforms and don't believe 'reformer' leaders," Middle East political analyst Lisa Daftari told Fox News Digital. "To them, they've only proven to be wolves in sheep's clothing. The Iranian people's desires can be seen in the chants they're shouting on the streets; Namely, they're calling for 'death to the dictator' and a complete removal of the current regime." IRAN DISPERSES CROWD ANGRY OVER BUILDING COLLAPSE KILLING 29 A video circulating social media claims to show citizens in the Tehran district of Nazi-abad chanting "death to [Ali] Khamenei," a reference to the supreme leader of the nation. Video was widely distributed by the Iranian opposition group People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI). The video contents have not been verified or authenticated by Fox News Digital. Khamenei is the highest government and religious authority in the country, and holds his position for life. He has been accused of gross corruption and negligence towards public well-being a charge bolstered by the building collapse. "While there are many opposition groups both inside Iran and abroad, the element that the more popular movements have in common is secularism and democracy," Daftari continued. "The Iranian people have had enough of the clerical leadership, and believe that the current regime is 'the enemy of the people.' One of the popular chants heard in today's protests was 'They lie that the enemy is America. Our enemy is right here!" BIDEN MISSING IN ACTION AS IRANIANS PROTEST REGIME Chants and slogans heard at the site of the building collapse, were aimed against the regime's leaders: "Khamenei is a murderer; his rule is illegitimate." "The protesters are calling out the regime for its hypocrisy; In cutting subsidies for people, in making basic goods hard to come-by, but then pouring billions of dollars into global terror by supporting Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas and Palestinian Jihad in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen and the Bashar Al-Assad regime in Syria," Daftari concluded. Protests against the legitimacy of Irans Islamic Republic continue to sweep across the vast country triggered by a multitude of reasons, including rising food prices, the collapse of the twin-tower apartment building and a considerable loathing of the clerical regime. As the protests continue to intensify and spread, U.S. President Joe Biden has stayed on the sidelines and not personally weighed in on the revolts against the clerical regime. Ned Price, the State Department spokesman was asked Monday about the ongoing protests and told reporters that the U.S. stands by the protesters just as it had during last year's protests over water shortages. "We sent a very clear message to the Iranian people that remains true today. It was a message of the fact that we stand with you, we stand with the Iranian people who are trying to make their voices heard, and that we call on the Iranian Government to respect the right of the Iranian people to peaceful protest, and not to repress what are their fundamental demands." Danmara Triana, with her daughters Alice, center, and Claudia, show photos of them with their brother and father, who moved from Cuba to the U.S. in 2015. (Ramon Espinosa / Associated Press) Like many Cubans before him, Roberto De la Yglesia left most of his family behind when he made his way to the United States with only his son in 2015, hoping that he could soon bring his wife and daughters to join him. Years later, the mechanical engineer in New Jersey and his family back in Cienfuegos, Cuba, are still waiting with a mixture of renewed hope and skepticism now that the Biden administration has said it would reactivate the long-stalled Family Reunification Program, which allows Cubans legally in the U.S. to bring in close relatives. My life is on pause," said De la Yglesia's wife, Danmara Triana, sitting on the sofa of her house in Cienfuegos while surrounded by aging photos of the couple's life together. A few feet away, her 21-year-old daughter Claudia was awaiting the return from school of 7-year-old Alice. My day-to-day life hangs on this to see my son, to see my husband," Triana said. The 48-year-old accountant said she repeatedly checks the website of the U.S. Embassy in Havana for news. I get up in the morning and look at the telephone," she said. "Will I have an interview [for a visa] or won't I have an interview? The Biden administration says that roughly 20,000 applications for family-reunification visas have built up since 2017. That's when then-President Trump effectively shut down the program by withdrawing diplomatic personnel from Cuba in response to a spate of mysterious illnesses among diplomats that many suspected were the result of some sort of directed wave attack. But many similar incidents happened elsewhere even in Washington and the CIA has now determined that they were unlikely to be the result of attacks by Russia or other foreign adversaries. While the administration said in April it would begin resuming the visa program, it has not yet offered a timeline for ramping up the U.S. diplomatic presence in Cuba. So Triana and De la Yglesia wait. U.S. officials told the couple in 2017, shortly before diplomats were withdrawn, that they qualified for the program, and in 2020 they believed they had finished all the paperwork and paid all the fees. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, adding to complications. I feel stranded. I'm not based anywhere," said Claudia, who said she had dropped out of medical school, feeling horribly unmotivated. The withdrawal of diplomats was only one of many steps by the Trump administration to isolate Cuba and backtrack from a dramatic opening to the island under President Obama. Trump enacted more than 200 measures, including a ban on cruise ships, limits on money sent from the U.S. to Cuba and restrictions on U.S. visitors to the island. Biden announced that he would undo some but far from all of the Trump-era restrictions. With consular operations idled in Havana, U.S. officials told Cubans to seek visas at the operations in Guyana, across the Caribbean on the South American mainland a costly and impractical option for most. So with Cuba's economy in dire shape, increasing numbers have tried to reach the U.S. illegally, getting to South America or Mexico and making their perilous way to the U.S. border, adding to a record wave of immigrants seeking entry. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol says it detained Cubans 79,800 times at the U.S. border in the six months from October 2021 through March 2022 more than double the figure for the full 12 months ending in September 2021 and five times the figure for the year before that. Next door to Triana's house, 61-year-old Natacha Gonzalez lives with her two grandchildren. Her daughter, like De la Yglesia, now lives in the U.S. and began the reunification process in 2017. I feel like I have no oxygen. ... I've spent years at this, and it's not right that we are still waiting," Gonzalez's daughter, Yanelis Leon, said in a video call from Florida. I am not going to involve my children in a migration across borders where I am going to lose them. I want to do things right. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A top Ukrainian defense official on Wednesday warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin is using Ukraine as a "springboard" to launch a greater offensive in Europe. "There is an assumption that they are destroying civil and social infrastructure because they have no interest in it, because they have plans to use the territory of Ukraine as a springboard to move forward," Ukraines Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar told a local news outlet. "Most likely, Ukraine is not the final goal, and if the entire world does not stop Putin now, he will move from Ukraine to the European world." RUSSIA: US ROCKET SHIPMENTS TO UKRAINE ARE 'ADDING FUEL TO THE FIRE' Fighting has intensified in eastern Ukraine as Russian forces attempt to take over the city of Sievierodonetsk in Ukraines northeastern Luhansk region. Western defense officials assessed Wednesday that Russian forces have gained control of more than half of the city as a days-long brutal fight continues. Moscow, which has said its goal is to gain "full control" over eastern and southern Ukraine, is looking to take Sievierodonetsk as the final resistance holdout in Luhansk. The city has become strategically important as full occupation of it would allow Russian forces to claim control over the entire region and push west into northern Donetsk and potentially beyond. Ukrainian officials have long warned they believe that Russian forces will not stop even if they accomplish their alleged goal and will make another attempt for Kyiv. TOPSHOT - In this picture taken on April 13, 2022, a Russian soldier stands guard at the Luhansk power plant in the town of Shchastya. Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images ZELENSKYY SAYS UKRAINE LOSING 60-100 SERVICE MEMBERS DAILY IN INTENSE EASTERN FIGHTING Russia has largely relied on heavy artillery to pummel cities and towns across eastern Ukraine, but the fighting in Luhansk has increasingly turned toward ground offense operations. "Russian troops are following a certain M.O.," Maliar said in an interview translated by Pravda. "They are trying not to engage in street fighting although this is already happening in Sievierodonetsk because they are losing when it comes to street battles. "They prefer to destroy the city altogether and take over the territory alone without social infrastructure," he added. The deputy defense minister said Russia is not sparing its "men or equipment" as it intensifies its fight in Ukraine. Russian military and pro-Russian separatists keep watch as civilians are being evacuated along humanitarian corridors from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol on March 24, 2022. Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images It is unclear how many causalities Ukraine has incurred over the last 14 weeks but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is losing 60 to 100 service members a day with another 500 reported as injured. Russia has not made any recent announcements on its casualty count, but the Ukrainian defense ministry has claimed that some 30,700 Russian soldiers have been killed since Feb. 24 when Putin launched his "special military operation." Russian officials have increasingly made threats to neighboring nations like Moldova and Georgia, as well NATO nations like Poland as it escalates its campaign in Ukraine. The Biden administration will send long-range rocket systems as part of a $700 million weapons package to Ukraine, senior administration officials told reporters on Tuesday night. The new package is set to include High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and munitions to allow Ukrainians to more precisely strike targets from a greater distance inside of Ukraine, the officials said. The official added that the system would be used to repel Russian systems, they would not be used inside of Russian territory. The news comes after the White House sent conflicting messages after multiple news outlets reported that the administration was preparing to provide Ukraine with U.S.-made Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, which can fire rockets up to 300 kilometers. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Emergency personnel gather at the entrance to a subway station in the Brooklyn borough of New York, after a gunman filled a rush-hour subway train with smoke and shot multiple people, April 12, 2022. (AP) NEW YORK (AP) A woman wounded in last month's mass shooting on a New York City subway filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the maker of the handgun allegedly used in the attack and its parent company, accusing the firearm manufacturer of reckless disregard for human life." Authorities say a 9mm Glock semiautomatic handgun was used in the attack. In her lawsuit, filed in federal court in Brooklyn, Ilene Steur said Glock has endangered the public health and safety" with the marketing, distribution and sales of its guns. An email seeking comment was sent to Glock. Steur was one of 10 people shot and wounded on April 12 when a gunman fired dozens of bullets in a train full of morning commuters. The man charged in the attack, Frank James, has pleaded not guilty to terrorism and other counts. In the lawsuit, Glock is accused of marketing that emphasizes firearm characteristics such as their high capacity and ease of concealment, that appeal to prospective purchasers with criminal intent." New York City Police Department officers handcuff subway shooting suspect Frank R. James in the East Village section, of New York, Wednesday, April 13, 2022. (AP) The lawsuit was filed as the nation reels from last week's massacre of 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. In February, the families of nine victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting reached a $73 million settlement in a lawsuit against Remington, the maker of the rifle used in that attack. The families said the company should have never sold such a dangerous weapon to the public. They said their focus was on preventing future mass shootings by forcing gun companies to be more responsible with their products and how they market them. Gun rights groups said the settlement would likely have little effect on rifle sales and gun makers, who continue to be shielded from liability in most cases under federal law. But some experts said it may prompt insurance companies to pressure gun makers into making some changes. The Queen has made her trusted bloodstock and racing adviser John Warren a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (RVO). Mr Warren has been pictured over the years by the Queens side in the royal box or paddock whenever she attends major racing meetings. Thoroughbreds are the Queens great passion and she is probably never happier when working with her racing adviser, who is married to Lady Carolyn Warren, daughter of the monarchs previous racing adviser 7th Earl of Carnarvon. The Queen with her racing manager John Warren after her horse, Estimate, won the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot (Tim Ireland/PA) Together the couple own and run Highclere Stud near Newbury, Berkshire, and Lady Carolyns brother is the current Lord Carnarvon whose ancestral home is Highclere Castle, the setting for Downton Abbey. Mr Warren has been an adviser to the Queen for more than 13 years and also represents other leading horse owners from across the globe. Awards under the RVO are in the Queens gift and are bestowed independently of Downing Street to people who have served the monarch or the royal family in a personal way. Also recognised is Clive Alderton, principal private secretary to the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, who has been made a Knight Commander of the RVO. The Queen with Mr Warren at Royal Ascot last summer (Andrew Matthews/PA) The royal aide is enjoying his second period working for Charles and Camilla, having first joined their household in 2006 as deputy private secretary to the couple, before being promoted three years later to their private secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. The career diplomat, who had joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1986, was appointed the UKs Ambassador to Morocco in 2012 and served three years in the post before returning as the prince and his wifes principal aide. The Duke of Norfolk, Edward Fitzalan-Howard, has been appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the RVO for services to the monarchy. Under his hereditary tile Earl Marshal, the duke is responsible for organising major state events such as coronations and state funerals. Johnny Depp has won his multimillion-dollar defamation US lawsuit brought against his ex-wife Amber Heard. Here is a timeline of the legal twists and turns of the tumultuous Hollywood romance which has been put on display for the world to see. 2011 Johnny Depp and Amber Heard begin dating after meeting on the set of comedy film The Rum Diary. Johnny Depp and Amber Heard began dating after meeting on the set of The Rum Diary (Yui Mok/PA) Early 2013 Mr Depp is alleged to have been physically violent to Ms Heard for the first time. Ms Heard claims the actor slapped her three times after she joked about a tattoo he got on his arm during his relationship with actress Winona Ryder. He denies the allegation. 2015 Mr Depp and Ms Heard marry at a private ceremony in Los Angeles in February. The couple take a trip to Australia in March which Ms Heard describes as a three-day hostage situation, claiming Mr Depp is abusive while drinking heavily and taking drugs. Mr Depp again denies the allegations and says Ms Heard lost her temper after a conversation about a post-nuptial agreement. 2016 In May, the pair separate after an incident in which Ms Heard claims Mr Depp became angry at their LA penthouse and destroyed property with a bottle of champagne. Ms Heard files for divorce from the actor in May 2016 (Yui Mok/PA) Ms Heard files a petition for the dissolution of their marriage as well as a temporary domestic violence restraining order, which prevents Mr Depp from contacting her. The estranged couple reach an agreement concerning the dissolution of their marriage. Ms Heard later donates her seven million US dollar (5.5 million) settlement to charity. 2017 The couple become formally divorced in January. 2018 An article by The Sun newspapers executive editor, Dan Wootton, is published in April, in which he refers to Mr Depp as a wife-beater in the headline. The actor files his libel claim against News Group Newspapers (NGN) the owner of The Sun. Ms Heard publishes an article in the Washington Post in December which deals with her personal experiences of domestic violence. It is titled: I spoke up against sexual violence and faced our cultures wrath. That has to change, but does not mention Mr Depp by name. The actor filed his libel claim against News Group Newspapers (NGN) the owner of The Sun in 2018 (Victoria Jones/PA) 2019 Mr Depp launches a 50 million dollar (38 million) defamation lawsuit against Ms Heard, with his lawyers claiming the article falsely implies she was physically and sexually abused by the actor when they were married. He claims the piece caused him to be dropped from the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise and that Ms Heard was the one who had been abusive towards him. 2020 The pair meet in the Royal Courts Of Justice in London for Mr Depps NGN libel suit which was delayed due to the coronavirus crisis. Following a 16-day trial in July, a judge finds the content of the article proven to be substantially true. Mr Justice Nicol refuses Mr Depps application for permission to appeal against his ruling at the Court of Appeal. Mr Depps lawyers file grounds of appeal with the Court of Appeal, arguing the actor did not receive a fair trial and that Mr Justice Nicols ruling is plainly wrong and manifestly unsafe. 2021 The UK Court Of Appeal refuses permission for Mr Depp to appeal against the High Court ruling. 2022 Mr Depps 2019 defamation case against Ms Heard, also delayed due to the pandemic, began on April 11 at the Fairfax County District Court, in Virginia (Shawn Thew/AP) Mr Depps 2019 defamation case against Ms Heard, also delayed due to the pandemic, begins on April 11 at the Fairfax County District Court, in Virginia. Over the course of six weeks jurors hear from family members, friends, colleagues, employees as well as testimony from Mr Depp and Ms Heard. Multiple instances of alleged abuse are described to the jury with both parties claiming that they are the victims. On June 1 the jury finds in favour of Mr Depp and says that the 2018 article in the Washington Post is defamatory. Mr Depp is awarded compensatory damages of 10 million dollars (8 million) and a further five million dollars (4 million) in punitive damages. Marysville, CA (95901) Today Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 63F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 63F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Marysville, CA (95901) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 97F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 63F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. There are 5 state orphanages in Armenia, where 591 children deprived from parental care live. On June 1st, on the occasion of the International Day for Protection of Children, to turn childrens day into a celebration, and to address the needs of special institutions, benefactor Karen Vardanyan donated to orphanages passenger cars, necessary furniture, consumer electronics, special wheelchairs and chairs adapted for children with disabilities. The total budget of the program amounted 107 million AMD. As the word spread about the schoolteachers killing, Kashmiri Brahmin Hindus or Pandits, took to the streets at several places Security personnel stand guard as people from the Kashmiri Pandit community block a road to protest against the killing of the school teacher Rajni Bala, near Srinagar Airport, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. (PTI) Srinagar: A woman Hindu schoolteacher was murdered in cold blood by suspected militants in Jammu and Kashmirs southern Kulgam district on Tuesday. The gory incident sparked off protests by groups of Hindus, mainly government employees belonging to the Kashmiri Pandit community working in the Valley under the Prime Ministers special job package, and voicing security concerns reinforced the demand to be relocated to Jammu or any other part of the country. The police and local sources said Rajini Bala, 36, the latest victim of the target killings -- the seventh in the Valley so far in May -- was shot and critically wounded by unidentified assailants outside Government High School in Kulgams Gopalpora area, where she worked as a teacher, at 10.35 am. She succumbed to her injuries while being taken to hospital, the sources said. A resident of Jammus Samba district, Ms Bala was working in the Valley after her recruitment as a teacher in the Scheduled Caste category. As the predominantly Muslim Valley has no SC population, the teachers posts reserved for SCs are filled by candidates from the Jammu region. Ms Bala is the second schoolteacher from Jammu belonging to the SC category who has fallen to assassins bullets while working in the Valley. Earlier, Deepak Chand, who taught at Srinagars Government Boys Higher Secondary School, was along with Sikh principal Supinder Kour shot dead by masked men on October 7 last year. The police blamed the killings on The Resistance Front (TRF) which, it insists, is an offshoot of the banned Lashkar-e-Tayyaba militant group. The police later claimed that Mehran Yasin Shala, a top TRF commander involved in the murder of Chand and Kour, was along with two other militants Manzoor Ahmed Mir and Basir Dar gunned down in Srinagars Rambagh area on November 24 last year. The police blamed Ms Balas murder on separatist militants too and said the terrorists involved in this gruesome terror crime will soon be identified and neutralised. It said the area was immediately cordoned off with the help of reinforcements and a search operation to capture the killers dead or alive was underway. As the word spread about the schoolteachers killing, large groups of Kashmiri Brahmin Hindus, or Pandits, mainly government employees working in the Valley and often referred to as migrant employees, took to the streets at several places, including in Srinagar, to chant slogans against the killers and the government for its failure to protect the minorities in the Valley. A group of agitating migrant employees blocked traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu highway (NH44) at Vessu in Kulgam. It reiterated the demand for relocation either to Jammu or any other part of the country as we dont feel safe here. The migrant employees have been asking for relocation from the Valley even since one of their colleagues, Rahul Bhat, a revenue department employee, was shot dead by suspected militants inside his office in Chadoora town of central Budgam district on May 12. Their representatives had at a meeting with J&K lieutenant-governor Manoj Sinha here last week, insisted on being relocated to Jammu or any other part of the country. Mr Sinha, condemning Ms Balas murder, said all those involved will be given an unforgettable response. He tweeted: Terrorist attack on a schoolteacher Rajni Bala is the most reprehensible act. My deepest condolences to the bereaved family. Terrorists and their sympathisers will be given unforgettable response for dastardly attack. by Fady Noun The Shiite representative elected in the first round, with the minimum number of votes required (65 out of 128 in total). Independent MPs expressing protest were unable to prevent the appointment. Within the Assembly, however, a shift in the balance of power emerges. The goal now is to elect the president of the Republic and the premier, avoiding institutional deadlock. Beirut (AsiaNews) - Yesterday the "new protest" briefly crossed arms with the "old parliament", in the first meeting of the newly elected assembly resulting from the 15 May elections. A session during which the new legislative president was to be elected, as provided for by the Lebanese Constitution. The entry of 13 new MPs, an expression of the popular uprising of October 2019, did not take place with fanfare, as it did not achieve the aim of toppling Nabih Berry, leader of the Shia Amal party, from his seat. However, the new MPs still managed to impose a 'climate' of contestation with respect to the procedures used by Berry himself in conducting the sessions, demanding and obtaining that in counting deliberately invalid ballots, these should still be read and not automatically classified and filed as invalid. This new procedure in counting these void ballots is a child of the need for justice. A value that should permeate every institutional step, from the investigation into the catastrophic double explosion of 4 August 2020 at the port of Beirut to the protesters shot by the police outside Parliament, some of whom were hit in the eyes and lost their sight. Speaking in concrete terms, the Lebanese Assembly re-elected Berry for a seventh consecutive term at the head of Parliament, thanks to the 65 votes obtained in the first ballot. The result of the vote was as follows: 65 votes for Berry, 23 blank ballots and 40 void ballots. Berry's election confirmed one of the peculiarities of Lebanese parliamentary life over the last thirty years: the end of the hegemony, at least on a virtual level, by the Shiite Hezbollah-Amal tandem, which has held the representation of the Shiite community since 1992. After all, Berry, 84 years old, was the only 'viable' candidate to hold this office. It is well known that implicit or explicit threats have led several Shiite personalities in the country not to run for the 15 May legislative elections against Hezbollah, or to renounce them as a result of intimidation. At the same time, it is worth remembering that, according to Lebanese constitutional practice, the Speaker of the House belongs to the Shia community, the Head of State to the Christian Maronite community, and the Head of Government to the Sunni community. Berry was confirmed in his role even though Hezbollah, and its allies, lost their majority in the legislative elections. The election of Amal's leader must be credited to Hezbollah, which has shown that it can still manoeuvre to gain a majority. The MPs expressing the protests, as well as the parliamentary opposition represented by the Lebanese Forces and its allies, knew they could not remove Berry from his seat, but they nevertheless tried to prevent him from being elected in the first round with an absolute majority (65 votes out of 128), as required by the Constitution. From the final outcome, it is clear that they failed to do so and achieve their goals. Compared to past results, however, Berry enjoyed a slim majority this year. It is worth mentioning here that in the 2018 elections he was elected with 98 votes. Moreover, this decline is not due to the forces of protest, but to an increasingly pronounced antagonism between Berry and the Christian MP Gebran Bassil, leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, an ally of Hezbollah. Because of the dispute between the latter and Berry, described as a 'filibuster' (baltagi) by Bassil, Cpl MPs cast blank ballots at the polls (23 in total). The 40 ballots cancelled in the counting process represent the votes of protest members who, in this way, expressed their opposition to Berry's re-election by writing slogans on the ballot papers. Calculated by voice vote, the final score is also symbolic of a 'moving majority' that should mark the life of this legislature that has just taken office. Analysts and experts believe that Berry will preside over a parliament that is currently very fragmented. But it is still too early to tell whether this fragmentation will lead to a dead end, as is feared by David Hale, former US ambassador to Lebanon and former undersecretary of state for political affairs, who has now moved into the private sector. After his victorious re-election, Berry said that he intends to ignore the 'criticism' of his opponents, assuring that he will extend his hand to all MPs, especially those on Bassil's 'blank ballots'. Because the common goal, he added, is to jointly favour the appointment of a prime minister and the election of a new president of the Republic, avoiding any form of institutional vacancy. At the same time, the Assembly also elected a vice-president in the person of former minister Elias Bou Saab (the bloc referring to President Aoun), also having obtained 65 votes but on the second ballot. Both votes were completed with the election of two secretaries and three rapporteurs to form the parliamentary bureau. The elected officials then went to the presidential palace, as required by protocol. Prior to the parliamentary session, independent MPs had joined relatives of the victims of the August 2020 Beirut port explosion on the ledge overlooking the ocean of twisted wreckage. Following this, they led a symbolic march to Parliament, passing through some emblematic places such as Martyrs' Square and Samir Kassir, the beating heart of the protest. Today's headlines: an 80-year-old Singaporean climbed the highest peak in the Philippines; Belarus introduces the crime of 'doing nothing'; Oxfam calls for an extension of the truce in Yemen; Indonesia refuses to send its workers to Malaysia; Shanghai reopens and Beijing admits more patrols around Taiwan. CAMBODIA In the run-up to the municipal elections on 5 June, the opposition has re-emerged in Cambodia, where Prime Minister Hun Sen has ruled authoritatively for almost forty years. Son Chhay, a long-time politician and deputy secretary of the Candlelight Party, has organised a small gathering of opponents on the outskirts of the capital Phnom Penh, but is unlikely to achieve a victory against the ruling party. SINGAPORE - PHILIPPINES An 80-year-old Singaporean has become the oldest person to have climbed the highest peak in the Philippines: on 19 May, after two days of climbing, Peter Chong reached the summit of Mount Apo almost 3,000 metres above sea level without any problems. A former Singapore Airlines executive, he has always maintained a very active lifestyle and lives in the Philippines with his wife. INDONESIA - MALAYSIA An Indonesian labour agency cancelled the recruitment process of some migrant workers who were supposed to go to Malaysia to work on palm oil plantations. The sector, which depends on foreign labour, is short of 100,000 workers. Malaysia relies heavily on migrants from Indonesia, Bangladesh and Nepal but some of its companies have been accused of using 'forced labour'. SOUTH KOREA There are seven very young candidates in the local elections in South Korea after the minimum age for city council members was lowered from 25 to 18. Most of them are from small parties, while the country's two main parties are trying to win the loyalty of young people: the new president Yoon Suk-yeol was voted in March by 58% of men in their twenties, while the liberal Lee Jae-myung obtained the same percentage among women. CHINA - TAIWAN On the day of the reopening of Shanghai, Beijing admits to conducting patrols around Taiwan in response to 'collusion' between Washington and Taipei. In the past week, Joe Biden's statements signalled a shift away from the traditional 'US strategic ambiguity'. On Monday, Taiwan reported the largest Chinese air raid since the beginning of the year. YEMEN Oxfam called for a two-month extension of the ceasefire between the warring parties in Yemen that is due to expire at midnight today. The ceasefire signed in early April was essential in bringing aid to the population and brought "a long overdue sense of hope that the cycle of violence and suffering can be broken," said Ferran Puig, director of the humanitarian organisation, RUSSIA The Avtotor factory, which in the Russian Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad used to complete Kia and Hyundai cars, has reduced production by more than five times due to sanctions, and in order to maintain jobs has offered workers as an alternative to picking strawberries in the surrounding forests. BELARUS In Belarus, the 'crime of unemployment' or 'nihilence' (tunejadstvo) typical of Soviet times has been reintroduced, with special verification commissions that will remain active until the end of the year. The aim is to counter the practice of working or studying abroad without permission from the state, which will impose heavy additional taxes on these 'slackers'. by Melani Manel Perera The order was issued by the Supreme Court after considering three fundamental rights petitions. Duminda Silva had been sentenced to death for the murder of another former MP. His release last year had drawn criticism from civil society. Colombo (AsiaNews) - Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has ordered the judicial police to arrest Duminda Silva, a former parliamentarian sentenced to death for the murder of former MP Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra in 2011. Last year he had been granted a pardon by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who shortly afterwards appointed him head of the National Housing Development Authority. The Supreme Court, comprising three judges Preethi Padman Surasena, Yasantha Kodagoda and Achala Wengappuli, issued the order yesterday after considering three petitions, including one filed by Premachandra's wife and daughter challenging the lawfulness of the presidential pardon. The release of Duminda Silva on 24 June last year had been widely criticised by civil society groups. On the same day, 93 prisoners had been released, including 16 Tamil Tiger fighters. Lawyer and parliamentarian M. A. Sumanthiran questioned on what basis the president chose Duminda Silva to grant the amnesty when almost 9,000 prisoners remain imprisoned on death row. President Rajapaksa's decision will cause 'an erosion of the rule of law and a loss of public confidence in the administration of justice', the Sri Lankan Bar Association had commented. "The Supreme Court should act like this more often," said some citizens speaking to AsiaNews. "We should prevent all these dirty illegal attempts. We should not promote shootings, assassinations, robberies, all these things that destroy human lives," added Nalin and Malathi Gamage, a farming couple. "We are really happy with the Supreme Court's decision." Silva had been sentenced to death along with two others for the killing of Premachandra, which occurred during a gunfight between rival factions of the same political party in the capital Colombo. During todays general audience, Francis focused again on the consequences of the war in Ukraine, making a heartfelt appeal that every effort be made to resolve this issue. During the catechesis, he asked political leaders, How is it that modern civilisation, so advanced and efficient, is so uncomfortable with sickness and old age? Vatican City (AsiaNews) Pope Francis spoke again about the consequences of the war in Ukraine this morning, during the Wednesday general audience in St Peter's Square. The blocking of grain exports from Ukraine, on which the lives of millions of people depend, especially in the poorest countries, is of great concern, he said. I make a heartfelt appeal that every effort be made to resolve this issue and to guarantee the universal human right to food. Please do not use wheat, a staple food, as a weapon of war! During his address, Francis greeted Portuguese-speaking pilgrims in St Peters Square, saying, at the end of the month of May, we raised to Our Lady, Mother of Jesus, our insistent supplication for peace. Let us remain united with her, waiting for a new Pentecost, asking that the gift of the Holy Spirit make us discover paths of dialogue and unity. In todays catechesis, Francis focused on the prayer of the elderly man found in Psalm 71 to reflect on the topic Forsake me not when my strength is spent (Ps 71:9). The beautiful prayer, he said, encourages us to meditate on the strong tension that dwells in the condition of old age, when the memory of labours overcome and blessings received is put to the test of faith and hope. In addition to the reference to the vulnerability of old age, the elderly psalmist mentions that old age can become an occasion for abandonment, deception, abuse and arrogance vis-a-vis the elderly. In this throwaway society, this throwaway culture, elderly people are cast aside and suffer these things. This is A form of cowardice in which we specialize in this society of ours. Indeed, there is no lack of those who take advantage of the elderly, to cheat them and to intimidate them in myriad ways. Such cruelty also occurs within families, he lamented. The elderly who are rejected, abandoned in rest homes, without their children coming to visit them, or they go a few times a year. The elderly person is placed in the corner of existence. Instead, The whole of society must hasten to take care of its elderly they are its treasure! s who are increasingly numerous and often also the most abandoned. For Francis, when we hear about elderly people who have been deprived of their autonomy, sometimes even of their home, we can see the ambivalence of today's society towards old age. This is not a problem of occasional emergencies, but a feature of that throwaway culture that poisons the world we live in, the pontiff said. On a wider scale, How is it that modern civilization, so advanced and efficient, is so uncomfortable with sickness and old age? [. . .] And how is it that politics, which is so committed to defining the limits of a dignified survival, is at the same time insensitive to the dignity of a loving coexistence with the old and the sick? The elder in the Psalm rediscovers trust in the Lord and turns to God, who alone can rouse consciences that have been diverted by insensibility to the span of mortal life, which must be protected in its entirety. The elderly, by virtue of their weakness, can teach those who are living in other ages of life that we all need to abandon ourselves to the Lord; indeed, yes, there is a gift in being elderly, understood as abandoning oneself to the care of others, starting with God himself. According to pope, there is a "magisterium of frailty, hence, we must not hide the frailty of old age. This magisterium opens up a decisive horizon for the reform of our own civilisation. People, the pope added, must look at the elderly in their own family, ask themselves how close they are to them and how much the latter are part of their daily lives. Protect the elderly, who are wisdom, he said in concluding his address. In his first audience of June, the pope greeted Polish pilgrims noting that Today we begin the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, source of love and peace. Open yourselves to this love and take it to the ends of the earth, bearing witness to the goodness and mercy that flow from the Heart of Jesus. The UWSA is the most powerful ethnic militia in Myanmar, a state within a state like Hezbollah in Lebanon. Wa forces did not join other armed groups to fight the ruling junta. They are often used by China as a means to put pressure on Myanmars military. Yangon (AsiaNews) The United Wa State Army (UWSA) yesterday urged Myanmars military junta to open negotiations with the armed opposition to the military coup of February 2021. The call for talks by the powerful pro-China ethnic militia came at the end of discussions with the government of General Min Aung Hlaing in the capital Naypyidaw. The appeal is also addressed to all ethnic armed groups and to the Peoples Defence Forces fighting against the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw). The UWSA is a virtual state within a state, modelled on the Shia Hezbollah party in Lebanon. It controls two territorial enclaves, one bordering China and the other next to Thailand. Out of some 20 ethnic militias fighting for territorial autonomy on Myanmars borders, the Wa are the most feared by the countrys military. It can boast 25,000 soldiers, with one recruit from each family in the areas under its control, and it is armed with Chinese weapons and systems of its own production. The Wa play a key role in the drug trade and exploiting Myanmar's natural resources. Several observers consider them a key source of rare earths to China; the latter are precious minerals used in the most advanced electronic systems. The Wa Army did not join other ethnic militias in opposing the junta after its coup. When democratically-elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi was ousted from power, some militias offered help and weapons to the People's Defence Forces. Unlike the UWSA, an ethnic Chinese armed group launched attacks against Myanmars military. The Kokang army claims to have killed 100 government soldiers besieging their base in Mongko, Shan state in December. The UWSA's "neutral" stance is most likely due to Chinese pressure. Beijing wants to preserve its economic interests in Myanmar and often uses the Wa to put pressure on the countrys military. Beijing remains one of the few partners of the military junta, to the extent that Chinese authorities have never labelled the seizure of power by the military as a coup. by Nirmala Carvalho In Kerala, seven young men from different rites, languages and traditions solemnly join the religious order together for the first time in India. For Fr Ivel Mendanha, what unites the Redemptorists is the spirit of our Lord Jesus the Redeemer and the mission to proclaim him to those who are poor and abandoned. Vadavathoor (Kerala) For the first time in the history of the Redemptorists in India, a group of young men religious from different rites made their perpetual profession together. On 24 May, five candidates from the Province of Liguori, which follows the Syro-Malabar rite, and two from the Vice Province of Majella (Mumbai), which follows the Latin rite, took part in the ceremony held in Vadavathoor (Kerala). Provincial Superior Fr Biju led the service during the Holy Qurbana, the Syro-Malabar Eucharistic liturgy in Malayalam, but the rite of profession was in English after the proclamation of the Gospel. In his homily, the Vice Provincial of Majella, Fr Ivel Mendanha, said that, despite the differences in rites (Syro-Malabar vs. Latin), languages (Malayalam vs. Konkani), and cultures (Kerala vs. Mumbai), what unites the Redemptorists is the spirit of our Lord Jesus the Redeemer and the mission to proclaim him to those who are poor and abandoned. As Redemptorists, we are One Body despite our differences. The seven students, who attended Mt. St. Alphonsus Common Theologate in Bengaluru (Bangalore), will now take part in their final months of preparation for ordination as deacons and then as priests. The group of students from the Vice Province of Majella included another student who became seriously ill on the first day of the programme and had to be hospitalised. However, By the grace of the Lord and the prayers of so many, as well as the excellent medical staff at the Caritas hospital, he is slowing healing. We are looking forward to the day that he will make his final vows, read a statement issued by the Redemptorists. by Guido Alberto Casanova The change in language in educational material for the military reflects the more belligerent attitude of South Koreas new president, Yoon Suk-yeol, and the tensions fuelled by this year's long series of missile launches. For South Korea, a new nuclear test by the North is imminent. Seoul (AsiaNews) No one can have too many illusions about Yoon Suk-yeols position vis-a-vis North Korea. A conservative, Yoon is resolutely pro-US and in favour of a firm policy towards the North. If his Democratic predecessor, Moon Jae-in, tried to keep channels of communication and dialogue with Pyongyang open, the new conservative president is carefully reviewing relations with Pyongyang. In recent weeks, tensions have risen on the peninsula as North Korea undertook a long series of missile tests since the start of the year, the latest a few hours after US President Joe Biden ended his Asian tour. Furthermore, more nuclear testing can be expected. Just a few days ago, the South Korean government admitted that it considered a North Korean test imminent, with preparations in their final phase. South Korean authorities indicate the first half of June as the most likely time. Amid such tensions, South Koreas new conservative government is showing its distrust of Pyongyang more and more. The educational material distributed by the Defence Ministry to its troops clearly describes North Korea as an enemy. North Korea's provocations are security threats facing us, and as long as such security threats continue, the North's military and its regime are our enemy," reads the material now in use in the South Korean military since Yoon took office. The 2019 version, distributed under the Moon administration, simply referred to Pyongyangs "real military threats". A Defence Ministry spokesman, commenting on the new material, said the current administration intends to boost the spiritual combat power of military personnel. The changes to the military educational material serve precisely this purpose: to view the North as an enemy. The revision is not unexpected. During his confirmation hearing in parliament in early May, the new defence minister, Lee Jong-sup, described North Korea as an evident enemy given its nuclear and missile threats and expressed his support for the review. The change in language, however, may not stop there. As pledged during the election campaign, the conservative government plans to designate North Korea as an enemy in its defence documents. According to reports from the Yonhap news agency, the Defence Ministry is already gathering opinions on including such language in the next defence white paper. by Vladimir Rozanskij Official documents hacked from the Chinese authorities' servers have been published: 3,000 photographs of detainees, several videos, 20,000 arrest reports and over 300,000 personal details. They confirm that those in the Chinese region are concentration camps for Turkish-speaking minorities of the Islamic faith. Moscow (AsiaNews) - The US Foundation for the Remembrance of Victims of Communism has published secret materials on "re-education camps" in the Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang. The documents were obtained thanks to the hacking of local police servers. Adrian Zenz, a German anthropologist who became known for his research on the cultural genocide of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, received the documents from a source who preferred to remain anonymous, creating a special site called 'The police fake news in Xinjiang'. The site contains dozens of operational directives for Chinese police officers, more than 3,000 photos of detainees, several videos, 20,000 arrest reports, and more than 300,000 personal data of Xinjiang inhabitants. Foundation staff worked for over six months on the systematisation of all these materials. Zenz himself gave an interview to the BBC, in which he explains that the documents confirm that the re-education camps are by no means 'voluntary training institutions', as the authorities in China repeat. As Zenz recounts, 'we have everything, the confidential documents, the stenograms of the leaders' speeches, in which they speak freely about what they think, the electronic tables and the pictures. This is unprecedented documentation that belies the entire Chinese propaganda narrative'. The police files contain minutes indicating the mandatory presence of armed guards in the camps, the disposition of weapons and ammunition in the depots, and precise directives regarding the need to open fire on those attempting to escape. It is also ordered to blindfold, apply handcuffs and shackles to the feet of any 'student' who has to be transported from one camp to another, or even to hospital. The published materials confirm the claims of humanitarian activists that the Muslim population of Xinjiang is being repressed for the mere public expression of their religious faith. As an example, BBC journalists extracted from the files the story of Tadzigul Tahir: a woman is shown in the photograph, and in the background people with truncheons. Tadzigul ended up in the concentration camp because of her son, also interned on terrorism charges, who is described in the records as a 'person with stubborn religious convictions' only because he does not drink or smoke. There are many other examples of people being retroactively punished for actions performed many years earlier, even decades, such as studying Islamic texts at school age. The authorities have sentenced some of them to 10 years in prison for insufficient use of their computer devices, and in many cases people are punished for zero credit on their telephone lines, actions considered to be attempts to evade continuous digital surveillance. Experts believe that the police files reveal not only many details of the Chinese prison system, but also its overall extent. Zenz points out that most of the material relates to the province of Konasekher, the analysis of which shows that in the years 2017-2018 there were around 23,000 inmates there alone, i.e. more than 12 per cent of the entire local population. The authenticity of the photographs found was confirmed by experts from the Californian University of Berkeley, while the Chinese embassy in Washington commented on the published files that they were only 'materials related to the fight against terrorism, radicalism and separatism', and that there were no elements touching on human rights or religious freedom. A group enjoys one anothers company gathered inside of a topek structure in the downtown area of Glenwood Springs. The city bought five topeks from a furniture company based out of Denver during the pandemic to provide people with socially distanced and eating spots. They will be used in a public art project. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. UNITED NATIONS, May 31 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Tuesday called on the international community to support African countries in resolving their own problems in their own ways. "We call on the international community to support the efforts by regional countries in resolving African issues in African ways," Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told a UN Security Council meeting on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The envoy said that the deteriorating security situation in the eastern DRC "is deeply troubling," adding that armed groups continue to attack civilians, causing massive casualties and displacement. "China expresses its concern over the fierce clash in North Kivu last week. We support the swift issuance of a press statement by the Security Council, condemning the attacks and urging all armed groups to lay down their weapons immediately and unconditionally and participate in the political process initiated by regional countries in Nairobi," he said. Dai said that China welcomes the communication between the Governments of the DRC and Rwanda on the latest developments. "China supports the African Union and other regional organizations in promoting dialogue among regional countries to ease tensions." "China commends regional countries for reaffirming their commitment to the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the Great Lakes Region, and welcomes the launch of the two-track political and security process by the DRC, Kenya, Burundi, Uganda, and Rwanda at the Regional Heads of State Conclave held in Nairobi at the end of April." Dai noted that there is no simple military solution to eliminating the root causes of conflict in the DRC and the region. "An integrated approach must be taken. The Government of the DRC should improve its governance capacity, advance reform in key sectors, implement disarmament and demobilization programs, and deliver the dividends of social and economic development to the ordinary people." "Only by doing so, can the government achieve effective control over the eastern region. To resolve the problem of illegal exploitation and trade of natural resources, combating means alone is not enough," said the ambassador. "The key is to achieve mutual benefits and win-win results through regional cooperation and make common development the ballast for regional peace and stability. The international community should help the DRC and regional countries address humanitarian challenges and advance peace, development and humanitarian work in an integrated manner," he said. "China stands ready to continue its active role in supporting the DRC's efforts to achieve its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national security," said Dai. In March this year, in response to then-launched sanctions that prompted Airbus and Boeing to stop offering parts and maintenance in Russia, and European lessors to ask for their airplanes back, President Vladimir Putin signed a new law that said Russia could keep all those planes they had on lease. A rough estimate noted that this meant over 100 planes worth more than $10 billion, which Russia practically stole by refusing to return them when asked to. The number of Western-sourced aircraft could be as high as 700, more than half the current Russian fleet.A short while later, Russia changed its aviation rules to remove various safety regulations related to maintenance and certification a must, considering it no longer benefited from service and maintenance from the makers, Boeing and Airbus. It also instantly re-registered all those airplanes so that they were now Russian.All those airplanes are now banned from Chinese airspace. The infamously neutral (*but technically obviously partial) China is now requesting all airlines to provide updated electronic dossiers and portfolios to include details about the aircraft, owners of airlines, and ground handling contracts, Airways Magazine reports.While this applies to all airlines without discrimination, it impacts Russian-owned ones the hardest because theyre flying stolen aircraft for which they cant provide said documentation. As per the publication, Russian airlines would have to prove that their aircraft are not registered in other countries, and they cant do that because the planes are still registered to the European lessors, they stole them from.Technically, China is banning Russian aircraft from its airspace, but the updated regulations affect equipment whose legal status has not been confirmed following sanctions and which have been re-registered in Russia, the outlet points out. In short, stole aircraft from European lessors, which Putin decided he could keep. They should pretend to work somewhere else Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 1, 2022 Tesla executives just got a pretty clear heads-up. They must come into the office for at least 40 hours per week. Elon Musk sent out an e-mail that informed everyone they need to give up the comfort of their own home and work from relevant offices just as factory workers do every day.The CEO, however, didnt forbid remote work entirely. He just made it optional for those that want to work more than the minimum the company is accepting. Whoever wants to put in the extra hours can do it from the comfort of their own space. But executives must give at least 40 hours of weekly office activity before being able to charge the company some overtime. Elon Musk also made it clear the company hes leading is going to accept only minor exceptions thatll be personally approved by the CEO himself. The e-mail says this will be available only for exceptional contributors.Furthermore, the executive staff must do their minimum of weekly hours at one of Teslas relevant offices. The activity cant take place in spaces unrelated to the job description and responsibilities.Elon Musk confirmed the e-mail sent to Teslas top employees was real. He answered one of his followers on Twitter that asked if a screenshot published on the social network is true. Musk added later that executives should pretend to work somewhere else, underlining once again hes not a believer in the efficiency and efficacy of remote work. Tesla s CEO has been involved in a number of controversies lately. His Twitter buying saga, various political statements, and the way he decided to treat workers in China made some people think twice about what Elon Musk really wants to achieve. But despite the public scandals, Tesla continues to make ends meet even in an unforgiving market.But with the major health crisis almost gone, many companies are asking their employees to come back to the office as well. It's not just Tesla. Thats not very popular with high-skilled workers. The shift to jobs that dont require a 40-hour workweek in only one designated place might still happen until the end of this year. Recent years have brought about electric vehicles ( EVs ), autonomous ones (AVs), and even electric vertical take-off and landing machines (eVTOL). Theyre all still a work-in-progress, of sorts, but when fully ready for implementation, they'll reshape not only the industry, but the world.EVs, AVs and eVTOLs have been kicked into motion not by the big players of the industry, but either by newcomers, or companies working in another field altogether. Yet, seeing how all three have succeeded to some degree, we now have the big sharks moving in to take their share as well.Thats more obvious when it comes to EVs and AVs, but the emerging eVTOL market is shaping up to be perhaps more lucrative than the other two combined. And this is why were beginning to see carmakers getting increasingly involved in this segment as well, whichever way they can.The most recent to do so is Porsche, through Porsche Consulting, which struck a deal with Embraer offshoot Eve Holding to help it make sense of everything. More to the point, the Germans will help Eve define the eVTOL supply chain, global manufacturing and logistics macro strategy.More to the point, Porsche will look into industrial operation, logistics, supply chain and parts distribution, but also scalability and distributed production.We are pleased to work with a leader in the industry that can support us with strategic decision making. The UAM ecosystem is quickly evolving, and we can only achieve our goal if we spark enthusiasm for new ideas in manufacturing and supply chain areas, said in a statement Andre Stein, co-CEO of Eve.Im looking forward to seeing all of the new opportunities ahead, as technologies are profoundly changing industrial production.No details were provided on when Porsche should come up with some results for the task at hand. With such a relatively long history behind it, the older Nightsters have their share of customized examples trekking the roads of the world. Soon, chances are well hear a lot about the most recent one getting the same treatement, as shops have already begun tampering with it.But soon is not exactly right now, which means that, at least for the time being, if youre in the mood for a re-made such motorcycle, the past is where you should go. We did, and uncovered this thing here, a 2010 Nightster reshaped by a Spanish garage going by the name of FiberBull Looking particularly rugged, the almost all-black machine rides on custom wheels, with the rear one, naturally, sized at 300 mm in width. At the other end we get an inverted fork, and in between anything from custom headlight and handlebars to a chain transmission and a swingwarm.There is one thing that stands out the most about this build, nicknamed by the shop Rattlesnake, and that would be the seemingly massive fuel tank, made by hand and the only element of the machine that does not put on the black paint.The Nightster was not converted as new, and at the time it was ready to be shown to the public its odometer already read some 10,000 km (6,200 miles). We were unable to find out what happened to the Rattlesnake since it was made (as in, its current whereabouts), or how much it cost to put together. The Japanese companys American division determined that the fitting for the quick connector that brings together the fuel suction hose and inlet pipe was not within the desired spec. More specifically, the engineering team discovered a diameter of 12.6 millimeters rather than 11.8 millimeters.Isuzu then implemented a running change in production to use the correctly-sized fitting on April 18th. Vehicles assembled between March 28th and April 18th didnt leave the manufacturers control until after the incorrect fitting was replaced with the proper component. Even though the exhaust pipe is on the other side of the engine from the suction hose, Isuzu couldnt completely rule out the possibility that diesel fuel leakage might occur.On a similar note, Isuzu couldnt completely rule out stalling events caused by air pockets in the suction line. Despite not receiving a single warranty claim over this problem, the company determined that vehicles in the field have to be called back. The majority of the 154 trucks are in the possession of authorized dealers, yet a handful have been delivered to customers.The FTR trucks included in the recall were produced with Cummins turbo diesel engines between October 7th, 2021 and January 31st, 2022. As for FVR trucks, that would be December 8th, 2021 and January 25th, 2022. Isuzu further mentions that the badge-engineered Chevrolet Low Cab Forward is not affected by the said issue. The suspect component, produced by Fluid Routing Solutions, is known as part number 8976665721.Obviously enough, customers of the FTR and FVR will be mailed on June 24th with instructions to bring their workhorses in for a correctly-sized quick connector that features a blue connector rather than a red connector. BEIRUT, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon and Iraq on Wednesday agreed to bolster legal and judicial cooperation between their justice ministries, the National News Agency (NNA) reported. The cooperation, agreed upon during a meeting between Lebanese Justice Minister Henri Khoury and his visiting Iraqi counterpart Salar Abdul Sattar Muhammad, includes judicial notifications, penal fields and extradition issues between the two countries, according to NNA. "The Iraqi and Lebanese justice ministries have authentic and deep-rooted relations ... We must collaborate, cooperate and support each other in international and regional forums and in the League of Arab States," said Muhammad. For his part, Khoury said his ministry's relation with the Iraqi Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Judicial Council in Iraq is very special, highlighting Lebanon's aspiration to "further consolidate these ties in the near future." VTOL The German eVTOL manufacturer boasts of its Phoenix 2 now becoming the first-ever full-size electric jet aircraft to transition from hover to wing-borne flight. What makes eVTOLs different from other types of aircraft is their ability to transition from hovering, which is vertical flight, to horizontal flight. This transition means that the airflow attaches on the top of the flaps, getting smooth and following the shape of the flap and causing the tufts to become perfectly straight.So far, Lilium has only managed to achieve flow attachment for a few seconds during its many test flights, but that changed recently when the eVTOL jet finally succeeded in doing that across the entire main wing. Not only that, but the aircraft remained stable and performed flawlessly during the process.This is obviously an important milestone to reach by Lilium and a huge step forward on its path to launch its aircraft, as stated by Matthias Meiner, co-founder of the company.Liliums test campaign will continue throughout the summer, as the aircraft still has to prove its capabilities at higher speeds and in various flight scenarios. We have no word so far on when we could start seeing the eVTOL jet in the sky, but we do know that Lilium dreams big, with the German company already planning its global expansion. Lilium is working on a future aviation network, including vertiports in Florida, with plans of extending to other regions in the U.S. and, of course, Europe.The worlds first all-electricjet can adapt to many types of customers and uses. It can be configured as a luxury private jet with four seats, as a cargo jet with no seats at all, or as a six-seater for passenger flights. It has a low noise profile, a fixed-wing design, and its a zero-emissions aircraft. Liliums eVTOL jet can reach a top speed of 186 mph (300 kph) and promises to offer an equal range of 300 km (186 miles). Could this be a smaller Lucid being tested? It looks like a shorter wheel base than an Air, and the grille shape appears droopier and intake looks smaller. $LCID pic.twitter.com/GsgueNsxiA Taylor Ogan (@TaylorOgan) May 31, 2022 Ogan is the CEO of Snow Bull Capital, and he often shares interesting tweets about the automotive industry. On May 31, he posted a picture of a disguised vehicle on Twitter. According to him, it was clearly not an Air prototype. In fact, Ogan said that it seems to have a shorter wheelbase, a droopier grille, and smaller air intakes.For any vehicle to be put for sale by 2025, development has to start right now. Some companies have managed to create cars in 18 months, such as Fiat did with the second-generation Fiat Bravo also known as Type 198. However, totally new vehicles usually demand around three years from their first sketches until they are ready for SoP (start of production).Although it may seem early for Lucid to have a prototype of a smaller sedan than the Air, the company may have started to conceive it long ago. Another possibility is that Ogan photographed a mule built with many Air pieces. Lucid will build both vehicles over the LEAP (Lucid Electric Advanced Platform). The scalable architecture will allow the company to make them for different market segments.What holds Lucid back right now has nothing to do with its ability to create a new car: it relates to its production capacity. The Air and the Gravity will help the company scale up production and expand AMP-1 (Advanced Manufacturing Plant) in Casa Grande, Arizona. A smaller vehicle may also be a good option for AMP-2 , in Saudi Arabia.The company also has to multiply its Lucid Studios and Service Centers not to make the same mistake Tesla did when it launched a high-volume vehicle without the necessary infrastructure to service it. Model 3 owners have paid for that mistake until now.Speaking of the most affordable Tesla, the new Lucid will not compete with it. Peter Rawlinsons automaker already said it targets companies such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, and Audi. The only one among them to have an electric sedan is BMW: the i4 in most countries and the Chinese i3. The new Lucid may also challenge the NIO ET5 when it reaches global markets by 2025.Whether the prototype Ogan photographed is this smaller Lucid sedan or not, rest assured that the company either already started working on it or will do that pretty soon. Newark residents may see it around Lucids headquarters. If you happen to be in the area and manage to take more pictures of this mysterious vehicle, please dont forget to share them with us. SUV Nicknamed The Big Bear, Marcell Ozuna is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder who plays for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball. He made his MLB debut in 2013 with the Miami Marlins and he also played for the St. Louis Cardinals.The 31-year-old is hardly a new name in the sports industry and his net worth is estimated at around $12 million as of 2022. So, treating himself to a brand-new car doesnt come as a surprise.He splurged on a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, but he didnt keep it in his stock form. The MLB star worked with lianko_ramirez to give it a not-so-subtle, two-tone, color-changing wrap. They also fitted thewith blacked-out Forgiato wheels.Marcell Ozuna was so excited about its exterior that he didnt give us a glimpse of the colors he chose for the cabin. He captioned the set: Daddys little one is all ready for the streets, and thanked lianko_ramirez for making it real.Rolls-Royce introduced the Cullinan line in 2018. It meant a big change for the British luxury carmaker because it marked the luxury brands first and only SUV in the current lineup. It comes with an exotic yet imposing look, bringing all the features Rolls-Royce is known for: comfort and performance.Its powered by Rolls-Royce's powerful, 6.75-liter V12 twin-turbocharged engine, which paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission, sends out 563 horsepower (570 ps) at 5,000 revs and a torque of 627 lb-ft (850 Nm) to both axles.His new Rolls-Royce Cullinan might be luxurious, but its far from being the MLB players first expensive car. In 2019, for his birthday, Ozuna also treated himself to a brand-new car, a white Lamborghini Aventador S, which you can see attached below. SUV 30-year-old Jordon Mattingly, who happens to be the son of Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly, rounded up his memorable Memorial Day in county jail after he was arrested and charged with two counts of DUI , one count of public drunkenness, and refusal to submit to a chemical test. The story of how he ended up in jail is hilarious but only because no one was hurt.Evansville police started receiving calls about a silver Hondadriving erratically on the Lloyd Expressway at around 4.45 pm. The same Honda crashed into the center meridian shortly after, at speed reported by callers of 70 mph (112.6 kph), but that didnt stop the driver. With the car smoking and missing a tire, the driver went to the nearest dealership a Honda one and tried to sell it.The Courier Press says that he claimed damage from the car was from a few days earlier when hed hit a pothole. The car was still missing a tire and had considerable collision damage. Mattingly also claimed that he had only one drink, despite the fact that he was barely standing, and tried to brush off the swelling and bruising he had sustained in the crash. He wasnt convincing enough to sell the car (obviously), and police arrived to arrest him. To the officers, he said he wanted to sell his old car and buy a new one because why would he be in a car dealership otherwise.Police say Mattinglys breathalyzer returned a reading of .291, more than three times the legal limit in Indiana. Inside the wrecked car, they found several alcoholic beverages Mattingly is being held without bond. Selling his damaged Honda is the least of his problems right now. EV The total volume of this funding round is 500 million euros, as Porsche notes, out of which the German company will bring "an eight-figure sum."The sum is undisclosed, but Porsche has mentioned it will continue to hold "around 20 percent" of the Rimac Group after the transaction is completed.Meanwhile, Mate Rimac , the founder and CEO of the Rimac Group, will remain the biggest shareholder of the company that bears his name. As he explained, the Rimac Group plans to invest the fresh capital in expanding its production capabilities for high-volume projects, as well as hiring more staff.Just in 2022, the Rimac Group intends to hire 700 additional employees, which is a decision that may be linked to the intentions regarding the high-volume production mentioned above.Now, Porsche has had the inspiration of investing in Rimac since 2018, which made the Croatian company even more attractive to other investors.Ever since, the German conglomerate has kept increasing its stake in Rimac, but there is no mention of an intention of going past these 20 percent mentioned above. On the other hand, there is no mention of not planning to do so, but it will be up to the company's board to decide the next steps.In case you forgot, Porsche and Rimac teamed up in a joint venture last November with Bugatti, which will see the brands work together on certain aspects that are behind the scenes, but remain independent of each other.The Rimac Group is not just about Rimac vehicles, held by Rimac Automobili, but also includes a technology division. That one develops and manufactures high-performancecomponents, such as e-axles and batteries for electric vehicles.The importance of these components grows by the day in the automotive industry, and Rimac will be an even more sought-after Tier 1 technology partner. Queen Elizabeth has been the reigning monarch in the United Kingdom for 70 years, and 2022 is all about celebrating her Platinum Jubilee. Though recently plagued by some mobility issues and in somewhat poorer health, the Queen still managed to attend several major events in recent weeks. This weekend, she will be attending some more in London.To prepare for the weekend, she rested for a few days at her Balmoral private estate. Then, on May 31, she boarded a private jet to fly from Aberdeen to London, a trip that should have taken just one hour and a half. The plane, a reconfigured Embraer ERJ-135 operated by Luxaviation since 2020, left Aberdeen in a downpour and approached London in an electrical storm with heavy rain and hail. The Sun reports that the pilot initially came down for the landing at RAF Northolt but pulled back up into the air as the weather conditions were too bad to attempt a landing. The jet circled London for the next 15 minutes, which was enough for the weather to clear. The second landing attempt was successful and uneventful.The Queen's flight was delayed due to a lightning storm, a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace confirms. All the correct procedures were followed and there were no safety concerns. The Queen and the Royal Family fly a variety of aircraft, including military and civilian operated, and even commercial. This Embraer jet was from the latter category, a VIP jet produced until 2020 and reputed for its durability, a spacious and quiet cabin that can seat up to 30 people depending on configuration, and luxury amenities. The Queen also flies on an Airbus Voyager of the Royal Air Force, the No. 10 Squadron, and the Queens Helicopter Flight Skoda, for example, had to suspend production of the Enyaq iV all-electric utility vehicle for eight weeks due to a shortage of harnesses. Given these circumstances, the Czech automaker decided to expand cable harness production with the help of PEKM Kabeltechnik and a few other OEMs.The aforementioned supplier has managed to relocate a part of its cable harness production to Mlada Boleslav in the Czech Republic, officially called Czechia by the European Union and multiple other organizations.PEKM assembled the production equipment in halls provided by Skoda . The Czech facilities are staffed by 35 women who previously worked at the Lviv plant in Ukraine. As to what models benefit the cable harnesses manufactured in the Czech Republic, the list starts with the Karoq and Kodiaq SUVs. The Octavia and Superb sedans also received Czech-built harnesses.Further down south, Kromberg & Schubert has struck a deal with Skoda for additional capacity at the Moroccan plant in Kenitra. The aforementioned supplier has also increased production output at its Zhytomyr plant in Ukraine. Moving forward, the Czech automaker is going to duplicate the production of high-voltage cable harnesses for battery-electric vehicles.From the end of June, these components will be manufactured in Romania. Production from the Ukrainian plant in Khmelnyskyj will be duplicated as well in September. Last, but certainly not least, cable harnesses for the Octavia and Superb will be produced in the Moroccan city of Tangier.We have been working very closely with our partners over the past few weeks to minimize the impact of the war in Ukraine on the supply of cable harnesses, said Karsten Schnake, board member for purchasing. With great dedication, we managed to resume production in Ukraine within a short period and also significantly increase manufacturing capacities. On-the-road pricing is listed at 38,190 or $48,040 at current exchange rates compared to 34,095 or $42,890 for the standard model. Exclusively fitted with the double-clutch transmission of the wet-clutch variety, this five-door hatchback can be painted Serenity White Pearl or Phantom Black Pearl.What has actually changed from the standard model? The list starts with 19-inch forged alloys that sport a dark-bronze matte finish. Black emblems fore and aft, decals in red and gold, front-wing badges with the GPS coordinates of the Hyundai Motor Europe Test Centre at the Nurburgring in Germany, and N Light Seats with red accents also need to be mentioned. Goodies further include Alcantara with red stitching on the steering wheel, gear stick gaiter, handbrake lever, and the center console. Pretty neat, isnt it so?But wait, because were not done yet! Hyundai is much obliged to throw in red seatbelts, the N and Drive Mode buttons in red, and Drive-N Limited Edition carpeted floor mats with red and white stitching. The icing on the cake is the Drive-N Limited Edition numbered plaque that depicts the cars position among the 800-unit run. Alongside the 75 units coming to the UK, the European Union and Australia will be delivered 545 and 180 units. Hyundai sweetens the deal with driver-assist equipment thats currently not available in the i30 N, safety features that include Blind Spot Collision Avoidance Assist, Rear Collision Avoidance Assist, and Safe Exit Assist.As with the regular specification, the i30 N Drive-N Limited Edition is rocking a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with direct injection. In this application, it makes 276 horsepower (280 ps) and 289 pound-feet (392 Nm) of torque between 2,100 and 4,700 revolutions per minute. Its probably safe to say that no other Russian oligarch-linked superyacht faced as many twists and turns as Amadea. After having crossed the Pacific trying to find a safe haven, like so many other superyachts in the same predicament, the massive 348-footer (106 meters) built by Lurssen for one of the wealthiest Russians ended up stuck in Fiji for weeks, as authorities tried to figure out its ownership.It was finally proven in court that Suleiman Kerimov, a gold magnate and a billionaire who had also been sanctioned by the U.S. back in 2018, was indeed the superyachts owner, so the U.S. authorities were given the green light to take Amadea away from Fiji. But there was yet another bump in the road. According to Business Insider , citing court documents obtained by CBS News, the onboard crew refused to sail with the U.S. authorities.The reason for that? Apparently, fierce loyalty. The crew believed that its employment contract prevailed over law enforcement and that breaching it would give it a bad reputation in the industry. Considering the yachts saga and the international context, reputation seems like a small thing to worry about. But not for this crew.Another important aspect is that the crew members hadnt been paid since the owners assets were frozen. Meanwhile, millions of dollars were being pumped into the yacht for its maintenance alone, which was starting to become a serious burden for local authorities.Its true that the crews onboard these targeted superyachts have had to face the collateral damage of the owners being sanctioned. Ragnars crew infamously resorted to fishing in local waters after the local suppliers in Norway refused to refuel the vessel. Amadeas crew had to cross the Pacific and then remain stuck in Fiji for weeks without getting paid. They drew the line when it came to sailing with U.S. authorities to an unknown destination.The only solution was to get a new crew on board, but even that was no easy task. Amadeas captain opposed that as well, stating that the new crew members lacked proper vetting. All in all, seizing one of the largest and most opulent superyachts in the world was a battle for the U.S. from start to finish . And the finish line still isnt very clear. Granted, the Germans, Brits, and Italians turn mass-producing performance vehicles we'd all pass as supercars into an art forum. But in North America, it's a much smaller and more passionate cottage industry. An industry that was given the spotlight like never before, thanks to one car, the Saleen S7. Even in the age of the Corvette C8 Z06 and the Ford GT, the S7 is a car that stands out for its boldness and lack of thought for what the rest of the world thinks.The S7 is the brainchild of an American businessman and former racing driver named Steve Saleen. A man whose nationality may not immediately indicate his chosen career path. Many men in Saleen's shoes in the states chose the path of the oval track and restrictor plates in stock car racing. Instead, Saleen forged his career in the crucible of endurance circuit racing.At famous race tracks like Sebring and Le Man s and with celebrity co-racers like Tim Allen of all people, Steve Saleen learned the ins and outs of racecar engineering and design. It would suit him well in his side hustle of supercharging the living daylights out of Mustangs.Hitting the world scene back in 1999 for the 2000 model year, the Saleen's S7 ticked all the supercar boxes. It all starts with the engine. It's a Ford unit that many muscle cars should be intimately familiar with. Hailing from the Windsor line of V8s that powered everything from the Thunderbird to the Mustang and even F-Series trucks, this 427-cubic inch (seven-liter) monster jetted 550 horsepower in its original form. You better believe it wouldn't stay this powerful for long. Both varients were paired with a six-speed manual transmission.Featuring an entirely carbon fiber body and lightweight chassis using the same grade of steel used in M4 Carbine Assault Rifles, there was no expense spared anywhere underneath the S7. This includes the use of aluminum composite-alloy honeycomb reinforcing panels connecting the bodyshell to the chassis. The suspension was an independent multi-link setup with coilovers in the front with Brembo slotted six-piston brake calipers at all four corners.Because no bonkers hypercar is complete without some forced induction, later model twin-turbocharged versions of the S7 were built from 2005 to 2009. With twin spinney-boys in tow, the upgraded S7 TT jetted a very healthy 750 horsepower. Granted, the Mopar Hellcat and GM LT V8s have made such power figures routine in 2017, years later. But back in the mid-2000s, that was rocket ship performance.Keep in mind that in 2005, the Bugatti Veyron had yet to set the world on fire with its 253-mile-per-hour (407 kph) test runs for the record books. Without the Veyron to steal its thunder, performance figures like a zero to 60 time of 2.8 seconds and an estimated top speed of 248 miles per hour (399 kph), the S7 TT could have laid claim to the title of the fastest car in the world had the company had access to high-speed test tracks industry giants take for granted.Only around 100 examples of the S7 were built between 1999 and 2009. Today, both the naturally aspirated and twin-turbocharged examples routinely crack the $500,000 barrier, with rarer paint colors fetching far more. Even so, the only thing likely keeping the S7 from being more valuable is perennially being in the shadow of the slightly faster Veyron. What a pity, and what a shame.Check back soon for more classic supercar profiles here on autoevolution. Aerial photo taken on May 26, 2022 shows the Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Center in Lusaka, Zambia. Zambia on Tuesday commissioned an ultra-modern international conference center financed by China. The Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Center, with its main hall having a 2,500 sitting capacity, has been built to host the African Union (AU) mid-year summit this year. (Xinhua) LUSAKA, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Zambia on Tuesday commissioned an ultra-modern international conference center financed by China. The Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Center, with its main hall having a 2,500 sitting capacity, has been built to host the African Union (AU) mid-year summit this year. Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema thanked China for the wonderful gift, saying the government was grateful to the support given to the country's infrastructure development which dates back to the 1970s through the construction of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA). "This was a critical point in our history, when Zambia had no access to oceans and, therefore could not import or export goods due to the blockade in Southern Rhodesia," he said. The conference center, he said, will contribute to Zambia becoming a hub for hosting international conferences and meetings. He also commended the Chinese contractor for completing the project within the stipulated period. The Zambian president invited the Chinese for collaboration in ensuring that infrastructure projects were built at a correct price and delivered to prescribed quality in a timely manner. Zambia was looking to a new chapter of enhanced bilateral relations in order to improve the lives of the people of the two countries, said Hichilema. Du Xiaohui, the Chinese Ambassador to Zambia, said the construction of the project demonstrates the increased cordial relations that have existed between the two countries. He commended Zambia for the successful completion of the project which embodies the spirit of China-Zambia relations established by founding leaders of the two countries. The Chinese envoy said the project will go a long way in helping Zambia enhance its international status as well as enable the southern African nation to host major international events. According to him, the two countries have always treated each other as equals and with respect as well as supported each other. Wang Shulin, the General Manager of China Jiangsu International Economic Technical Cooperation Corporation Zambia Limited, said it was an honor for the company to be given an opportunity to construct and deliver the project. He said the company managed to construct the project in accordance with safety and environment standards despite the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Construction of the facility started in 2020. Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema (2nd R) tours the Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Center in Lusaka, Zambia, on May 31, 2022. Zambia on Tuesday commissioned an ultra-modern international conference center financed by China. The Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Center, with its main hall having a 2,500 sitting capacity, has been built to host the African Union (AU) mid-year summit this year. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuliang) Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema (R, front) receives the symbolic key of the Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Center from Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Du Xiaohui in Lusaka, Zambia, on May 31, 2022. Zambia on Tuesday commissioned an ultra-modern international conference center financed by China. The Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Center, with its main hall having a 2,500 sitting capacity, has been built to host the African Union (AU) mid-year summit this year. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuliang) Photo taken on May 30, 2022 shows the Main Conference Hall of the Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Center in Lusaka, Zambia. Zambia on Tuesday commissioned an ultra-modern international conference center financed by China. The Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Center, with its main hall having a 2,500 sitting capacity, has been built to host the African Union (AU) mid-year summit this year. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuliang) Photo taken on May 30, 2022 shows the Main Conference Hall of the Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Center in Lusaka, Zambia. Zambia on Tuesday commissioned an ultra-modern international conference center financed by China. The Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Center, with its main hall having a 2,500 sitting capacity, has been built to host the African Union (AU) mid-year summit this year. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuliang) Aerial photo taken on April 9, 2022 shows the Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Center in Lusaka, Zambia. Zambia on Tuesday commissioned an ultra-modern international conference center financed by China. The Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Center, with its main hall having a 2,500 sitting capacity, has been built to host the African Union (AU) mid-year summit this year. (Xinhua) Photo taken on May 30, 2022 shows the interior of the Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Center in Lusaka, Zambia. Zambia on Tuesday commissioned an ultra-modern international conference center financed by China. The Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Center, with its main hall having a 2,500 sitting capacity, has been built to host the African Union (AU) mid-year summit this year. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuliang) 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. Michel was also understood to deny advocating Nagorno-Karabakhs return under Azerbaijani rule during his trilateral meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held in Brussels on May 22. Aliyev said after the summit that he and Pashinian agreed to open a Zangezur corridor that will consist of a road and railway connecting Nakhichevan to the rest of Azerbaijan. He had demanded earlier that people and cargo using them be exempt from Armenian border controls. Pashinian and other Armenian officials denied Aliyevs claim, saying that Yerevan will not open any extraterritorial corridors. They insisted that the two sides reached understandings only on conventional transport links. Both parties confirmed [at Brussels] there were no extraterritorial claims with regard to future transport infrastructure. Speculation to the contrary is regrettable, Michels spokesman, Barend Leyts, said in a statement. Commenting on the past days' tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Leyts also sought to clarify Michels remarks made right after the Brussels talks. President Michel's statement on outcomes of the leaders meeting on 22 May should not be interpreted as favoring a predetermined outcome of discussions either way, he said. The European Unions top official said early on May 23 that the rights and security of the ethnic Armenian population in Karabakh should also be addressed during upcoming negotiations on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty. Armenian opposition leaders and Karabakhs leadership denounced the remark. They accused Michel of undermining the Karabakh Armenians right to self-determination by portraying them as an ethnic minority not eligible for independent statehood. In President Michel's opinion, all core issues that had led to the first Nagorno-Karabakh war as well as to the renewed hostilities in 2020 will need to be addressed by all stakeholders to create conditions for lasting and equitable peace, stressed Leyts. Late last week, Aliyev warned the Armenian side against insisting on an agreement on Karabakhs status. He said Baku could respond by laying claim to Armenian territory. The Armenian Foreign Ministry denounced the threat. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. Companies promote recruitment via livestreaming in China 08:51, June 01, 2022 By Li Zhen ( People's Daily Livestreaming shows for recruitment, one of the most popular online recruitment methods lately, is in the ascendant on Chinese short-video sharing platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou. An interview instructor (left) and a live streamer give tips on job interviews during a livestreaming show held at a studio in Qianjiang district, southwest Chinas Chongqing municipality, Feb. 27, 2021. (Peoples Daily Online/Yang Min) Instead of selling commodities, many live streamers on these platforms are promoting jobs. Some vloggers on the countrys popular video sharing platform Bilibili now post videos to show viewers the work environment of companies. Such novel methods of recruitment as well as online job fairs have gradually dominated online job hunting and recruitment in China, helping more job seekers chase their dreams. Meanwhile, more and more job hunters in China are willing to try new ways to seek employment. Niu Yanbin, a 48-year-old woman in China, saw a livestreaming show offering job information by chance and found a satisfying job for herself in the end. At first I just wanted to help my friend get a job. But then I found that quite a lot of the jobs were suitable for people of my age. So my friend and I both sent resumes, Niu said. The middle-aged applicant later became a worker on an intelligent equipment production line of a factory. I used to earn 3,000 yuan ($450) a month at most in my hometown, but now my salary has doubled. Thanks to the livestreaming show that provided the job information, I could find such a lovely job, Niu said. Liu Chao is one of the first live streamers to promote job opportunities via livestreaming. While other live streamers promote goods, we promote positions to help job hunters find ideal jobs more conveniently, said Liu. A recruiter with a company (left) briefs job seekers on the companys basic information, recruitment requirements and salary and compensation system during a livestreaming show held in Nantong city, east Chinas Jiangsu province, Feb. 10, 2022. (Peoples Daily Online/Xu Congjun) Liu posted his first short video for recruitment information on Kuaishou in April 2020. Now he runs a labor service company and has over 700,000 followers on the platform. His videos can help about 200 to 300 people find jobs every month, according to Liu. Since March, a precision manufacturing company based in Changzhou, east Chinas Jiangsu province, has cooperated with Liu for online recruitment, which has become a major means of recruiting workers for the company. The companys production lines normally require 700 to 800 workers, and often face labor shortages during the peak production season, according to Xu Kun, a human resources manager at the company. In the past, we always use the traditional recruitment methods, including participating in offline job fairs and putting up recruitment posters at the gate of our factory, which turned out to be not productive, Xu said, adding that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, recruiting migrant workers becomes more difficult. After we carried out cooperation with Liu, his team would take photos and make videos of our factory and show our work environment via livestreaming. In addition to clearly telling viewers our requirements, Liu also explains in detail local anti-epidemic policies so that job hunters from other regions can know whether they are allowed to enter Changzhou and what they are supposed to do to protect themselves from the virus after arriving the city, which makes recruitment so much easier for us, Xu said, adding that the recent 100 openings released by the company have been basically filled in a very short time. As this years graduation season approaches, many universities and government departments have actively provided services to facilitate online job applications for graduates. In mid-April, Wuhan University of Technology arranged five independent video conferencing rooms at its Nanhu Library, which are provided for graduates for free, according to an administrator of the university. The rooms are not only equipped with computers and dual cameras, but have fill lights, tripods, microphones and other devices. A staff member with a talent resources market in Qinhuangdao city, north Chinas Hebei province, provides information about jobs for viewers during a livestreaming show, April 19, 2022. (Peoples Daily Online/Cao Jianxiong) More than 90 percent of these video conferencing rooms are booked each day. They have been used by over 200 graduates since they were opened, said a staff member at the library. Chinas Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security carried out special events for the employment of graduates in large- and medium-sized cities from March 14 to May 20. Employers and human resources service agencies from various fields were encouraged to take part in the events, which included online job fairs targeting certain industries, regions and types of talents, recruitment-related livestreaming shows and online recruitment talks. Online recruitment, among other new methods of recruitment, can effectively meet the employment needs of different groups of people. It reduces job-hunting costs, increases opportunities and improves the efficiency of matching job openings to job seekers, and at the same time provides good publicity for companies to improve their images, bearing great significance for matching supply with demand on the job market and stabilizing employment. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) Photo taken on May 16, 2010 shows employees of the State Grid Ningxia Ultra-high-voltage Electric Power Co., Ltd and local people setting up grass grids in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Xinhua) YINCHUAN, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Looking at the southwest edge of the vast Maowusu Desert from above, one would not expect to see a green corridor of vibrant vegetation stretching across the wasteland. The spectacular 25-km corridor, paralleling an array of high voltage transmission towers, lies in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The towers, part of China's west-to-east power transmission program, have been safeguarded by the vegetation mainly consisting of grass and shrubs, which stabilize the sand and reduce desert-induced damage. The infrastructure is also part of the world's first 660-kilovolt direct current power transmission project. Operational in 2011, the project has transmitted over 330 billion kWh of electricity from the country's resources-rich west to the more developed, power-thirsty east. "In the past, it was all moving sand here and we couldn't drive in. We had to walk near the towers and patrol in the desert on foot," said Bai Lu, an employee of the State Grid Ningxia Ultra-high-voltage Electric Power Co., Ltd. Besides, challenges such as accumulated sand burying tower legs or tower foundation exposure due to backfill soil being blown away by winds also increased the difficulty of the maintenance work. "At that time, most of our efforts were focused on maintaining foundations of transmission towers in the desert, otherwise there would be a risk of the towers falling," Bai added. To tackle the challenges, the company Bai works at launched a campaign in 2012 to stabilize sand dunes along the transmission lines. "We were lacking in experience at first, and the survival rate of grass and trees planted was low. We consulted with the forestry department later to jointly roll out a plan for sand stabilization," said Yan Nanzheng, deputy general manager of the company. We have transformed the drifting sand dunes into fixed or semi-fixed sandy land by setting up grass grids, and then planted seedlings of Caragana korshinskii Kom and sowed mixed seeds of Artemisia desertorum Spreng and other species in the grids to restore vegetation under the towers, Yan added. The company also used drones to survey the grass grids to improve the efficiency of the restoration work. In the past decade, the campaign has added 1,446 mu of grassland (about 96.4 hectares) to the area. The areas once afflicted by sand-related disasters have been transformed to fixed sandy land, with weaker sand storms and signs of life emerging, said Bai. "Wild animals can be seen now and then during the patrol work," Bai said, adding that the transmission failure and the operation and maintenance pressure have been greatly reduced. Photo taken on May 29, 2020 shows fixed sandy land around the 660-kilovolt direct current power transmission project in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Xinhua) In Advance of New Zealand Borders Reopening, NZ Minister of Education Hipkins Champions Study-Abroad Opportunities in New Zealand You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @idesai98 on Twitter. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. 'All or Nothing' Meteor Event Possible Tonight, Tues; Oregon, Washington Coast Published 05/30/22 at 6:35 PM PST By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Portland, Oregon) Tonight and tomorrow night there's a unique possibility in the skies above Washington and Oregon: a meteor shower that is either a meteor storm or it's a total bust. According to NASA astronomers, the Tau Herculids may fire off as much as one one hundred or more per hour (maybe even up around 1,000 per hour), or it will be nothing at all. (Above: Cannon Beach, all photos Oregon Coast Beach Connection) Inland Oregon and Washington or the south Oregon coast will be your best bet tonight (Sunday night), but other parts of the Oregon and Washington coast won't be entirely without possibilities, if there really is a major light show. Forecast for Lincoln City northward, up through Seaside, Long Beach or Westport in Washington is mostly cloudy which means some minor breaks in the clouds. The southern Oregon coast and central coast including Newport, Yachats, Reedsport, Coos Bay and Brookings are forecast at partly cloudy this evening. Rural areas like these on the Washington coast or Oregon coast will have far less problems seeing this meteor shower through the meager breaks. However, all areas of western Oregon and Washington go to mostly cloudy tomorrow night (Tuesday). Wherever you are, it will be worth a look after midnight, according to OMSI astronomy expert Jim Todd in Portland. The NOAA weather forecast for Portland area indicates partly cloudy on Monday night and mostly cloudy for Tuesday night to view the Tau Herculids after midnight, Todd said. The Tau Herculids meteor shower could produce a meteor storm, as astronomers are calling it, but it depends on a lot that's going on with the debris from comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 (also known as SW 3). It's been called a thick of forest of space rocks, but NASA said that if the debris is going slower than 220 mph (321 kph), then you won't see a thing. That debris field will miss Earth and our blue orb and the debris will both be on their merry, separate ways. Another shot of good news: it's a new moon so there won't be much light interference from that astronomical body. Along the Oregon coast or Washington coast, any beach or cliff area will be fine for viewing, but you'll need to stay away from local lights as much as possible. Astronomers say around 2 a.m. may be best viewing. MORE PHOTOS BELOW Oregon Coast Hotels for this event - South Coast Hotels - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on Oregon Coast Beach Connection All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted LUSAKA, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Zambia on Tuesday commissioned an ultra-modern international conference center financed by China. The Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Center, with its main hall having a seating capacity of 2,500, has been built to host the African Union (AU) mid-year summit this year. Construction of the facility started in 2020. Produced by Xinhua Global Service This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate DJIBO, Burkina Faso (AP) African leaders gathered for a summit Friday in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, to address growing humanitarian needs on the continent, which is also facing increased violent extremism, climate change challenges and a run of military coups. Leaders called for increased mobilization to resolve a humanitarian crisis that has left millions displaced and more than 280 million suffering from malnourishment. For people in Djibo, a town in northern Burkina Faso near the border with Mali, any help cant come soon enough. The city in the Sahel region -- the large expanse below the Sahara Desert -- has been besieged since February by jihadis who prevent people and goods from moving in or out and cut water supplies. Few truckers want to run the jihadist gauntlet. Residents are suffering with no food or water, animals are dying and the price of grain has spiked. The goods are not arriving anymore here. Animal and agricultural production is not possible because the people cannot go back to their villages, U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator Barbara Manzi told The Associated Press from Djibo this week. Unless (a solution) is found, its going to be really a tragedy for the entire group of people that are here. Djibo has been at the epicenter of the violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that has killed thousands and displaced nearly 2 million people. While Djibo and Soum province where the town is located experienced periods of calm, such as during a makeshift ceasefire between jihadis and the government surrounding the 2020 presidential election, the truce didnt last. Since November, insecurity in the region has increased. Jihadis have destroyed water infrastructure in the town and lined much of Djibos perimeter with explosives, blockading the city, say locals. The towns population has swollen from 60,000 to 300,000 over the last few years as people flee the countryside to escape the violence. Blockading cities is a tactic used by jihadis to assert dominance and could also be an attempt to get Burkina Fasos new military junta, which seized power in January, to backtrack on promises to eliminate the jihadis, said Laith Alkhouri, CEO of Intelonyx Intelligence Advisory, a group that provides intelligence analysis. Militants resort to blockading when they see an opportunity to gain incentives in negotiating with the government and simultaneously send a message to their base that they are in control. Its a bargaining card and a winning one, he said. A U.N. team flew in briefly to assess the situation. The AP was the first foreign media to visit the town in more than a year. Today there is nothing to buy here. Even if you have cash, there is nothing to buy. We came here with four donkeys and goats and some of them died because of hunger. We were forced to sell the rest of the animals and unfortunately prices of animals have decreased, said cattle owner Mamoudou Oumarou. The 53-year-old father of 13 fled his village in February and said the blockade in Djibo has prevented people from coming to the market to buy and sell cattle, decreasing demand and lowering prices for the animals by half. Before the violence, Djibo had one of the biggest and most vital cattle markets in the Sahel and was a bustling economic hub. Some 600 trucks used to enter Djibo monthly, now its less than 70, said Alpha Ousmane Dao, director of Seracom, a local aid group in Djibo. Burkina Faso is facing its worst hunger crisis in six years, more than 630,000 people are on the brink of starvation, according to the UN. As a result of Djibos blockade, the World Food Program has been unable to deliver food to the town since December and stocks are running out, said Antoine Renard, country director for the World Food Program in Burkina Faso. Efforts to end the blockade through dialogue have had mixed results. At the end of April, the emir of Djibo met with Burkina Fasos top jihadist, Jafar Dicko, to negotiate lifting the siege. However, little progress has been made since then. Locals say the jihadis have eased restrictions in some areas allowing freer movement, but that the army is now preventing people from bringing food out of Djibo to the surrounding villages for fear it will go to the jihadis. The army denied the allegations. Meanwhile residents in Djibo say theyre risking their lives just trying to survive. Dadou Sadou searches for wood and water in the middle of the night outside of Djibo, when she says the jihadis are not around. We no longer have animals, we dont have food to buy in the market If you have children, you dont have a choice, she said. Debris is seen at the site of a blast in Changsha County of Changsha City, central China's Hunan Province, June 1, 2022. One person had been killed and 13 others injured as of 10:30 a.m. after a blast rocked a rice noodle restaurant in Changsha County, central China's Hunan Province, at about 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, according to the local publicity department. (Xinhua/Chen Zhenhai) CHANGSHA, June 1 (Xinhua) -- One person had been killed and 13 others injured as of 10:30 a.m. after a blast rocked a rice noodle restaurant in Changsha County, central China's Hunan Province, at about 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, according to the local publicity department. All the injured have been rushed to the hospital for treatment. The local fire, public security and emergency response departments have joined the rescue operation. Investigation into the cause of the accident is under way. Photo taken on June 1, 2022 shows the site of a blast in Changsha County of Changsha City, central China's Hunan Province. One person had been killed and 13 others injured as of 10:30 a.m. after a blast rocked a rice noodle restaurant in Changsha County, central China's Hunan Province, at about 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, according to the local publicity department. (Xinhua/Chen Zhenhai) Former guerrillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front take an entrance test for the Philippine National Police in Cotabato city, southern Philippines, May 29, 2022. Updated at 9:23 p.m. ET on 2022-06-01 As the muezzins call to prayer echoed at dawn in a remote village in this southern Philippine city, former separatist rebel Rashid Kanton was preparing recently for an examination that could change his life. The 35-year-old ex-member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front hoped to pass the exam to be considered eligible and among the first batch of former MILF insurgents recruited into the ranks of their former enemy, the Philippine National Police. I want to become a policeman to protect the people and catch the bad guys, he told BenarNews. And now we have the peace agreement, we want what was promised to us. We can be part of the police if we pass the examination. But the odds are against Kanton, who has only finished high school. He has spent nearly all of his life as a member of the front, which was the countrys largest rebel force until it signed a peace deal with Manila in 2014 to end its decades-long separatist insurgency in the south. Now, the former guerrilla force controls an expanded autonomous region in the southern Philippines, officially known as the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Kanton said he had joined the rebel force because he believed in the cause it was fighting for and because he was born into conflict. All his male relatives, at one point or another, were MILF fighters or civilians who helped in the rebellion, he said. One of the conditions of the peace deal was the integration of select fighters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front into the countrys police and military forces, subject to a rigid selection process. Like Kanton, Sahid Lumabao, a 23-year-old high school graduate from Datu Odin Sinsuat, said he was thankful for the opportunity to take the police exam. Every night before our examination, I was reading materials related to police duties and functions, Sahid told BenarNews. Thats my focus. I am doing this for my future family. A member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Fronts elite Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces is seen inside the groups Camp Darapanan on the outskirts of Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao province, southern Philippines, June 22, 2019. [Jojo Rinoza/BenarNews] Not entirely welcome Murad Ebrahim, the chief of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and head of the transitional government in the autonomous region in Muslim Mindanao, said that when they received the go-ahead from the government on the examination for the police force, many ex-rebels wanted to serve, although some were automatically eliminated because they lacked basic qualifications. After three years of the transition period, we are happy that we are finally taking the first step into making this provision a reality, Ebrahim, also known as Ahod Balawag Ebrahim, told BenarNews. Still, passing the examination is only one of the qualifications required for joining the police force, said Ricardo Bernabe III, who heads the National Police Commission. Once they have the eligibility, they can apply now to the Philippine National Police, he told reporters, adding that candidates would not be appointed for merely passing the examination. They have their recruitment process after the exam, he added. However, not all members of the national police force have openly embraced the prospect of rebels being integrated into their ranks, especially officers from special units who saw action in the volatile south, sources said. Seven years ago, 44 police commandos were killed in a fierce gunbattle with Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels in January 2015, following a clandestine operation to kill Malaysian terror suspect Zulkifli bin Hir (also known as Marwan), who was one of Southeast Asias most wanted militants at the time. In the botched operation at Mamasapano, Marwan was slain but dozens of the commandos were trapped and died after engaging the guerrillas, who said they thought they were under attack by enemy forces. It was described as the biggest single-day combat loss for the government in recent memory. The rebel group justified its action, saying government forces had entered its area in the south unannounced in violation of a ceasefire. The fighting set back the peace process, and it was only after President Rodrigo Duterte succeeded Benigno Aquino III that Congress passed a law giving autonomy to the areas in the south controlled by MILF. Mark Navales in Cotabato City, Philippines, contributed to this report. CORRECTION: In an earlier version, a quote about plans by an aspiring police recruit for a future family was wrongly attributed to Rashid Kanton. Soldiers inspect the site of an attack by insurgents on a marine police station in the Tak Bai district of Narathiwat province, southern Thailand, May 26, 2022. BRN separatists carried out a dramatic attack along the Malaysian border last week that shattered a nearly two-month pause in violence in Thailands Deep South, a pro-insurgent Facebook page and a Thai government peace negotiator claimed. Three Thai government security personnel were injured when more than 10 gunmen armed with assault rifles and grenades attacked a police station and a customs office in the Tak Bai district of Narathiwat province on May 25. The lead negotiator representing Barisan Nasional Revolusi rebels in Malaysia-brokered peace talks with Thailand challenged Bangkoks claim and questioned the validity of the social media post that his group was responsible for the raid. On the incident in Tak Bai, the BRN army launched attacks against the Siam military and destroyed cars. Thanks to God, with Allahs grace, three Siam military personnel were injured, and their spirits shaken, said a message posted on Facebook on Tuesday, referring to Thailand by its old name and the largest insurgent group in the mainly Muslim and Malay southern border region. Thai military officials identified the poster as a BRN supporter. On Wednesday, Lt. Gen. Thira Daehwa, who serves as the secretary for the panel representing Thailand in the peace talks, said he could not believe that the BRN ignored the local peoples wish for peace and livelihood. It is possible that the attack was meant to [the] ruin peace talks atmosphere and Ramadan peace, Thira told BenarNews. Anas Abdulrahman, the lead negotiator for the BRN panel, denied that the rebels were responsible. The Thai military has no evidence whatsoever to accuse BRN because no one declared that they are responsible for the Tak Bai incident, Anas Abdulrahman told BenarNews. So the Thai military assumes that those with the capability and capacity to launch such an attack would be BRN, so they accused us. And the attack in Tak Bai will not affect the peace negotiation process because it happened after the Ramadhan Peace Initiative expired. Anas also noted the Facebook post was not on the BRNs official page. Any official announcement will only be issued by the BRN central secretariat, BRN Information Bureau and BRN Negotiation Secretariat. BRN will not be responsible for any type of statements, media or announcements coming from any other medium or parties besides the ones mentioned here, he said. During the coordinated attack, the rebels hurled explosives and opened fire with automatic rifles at a marine police station on the Kolok River that separates Thailand from Malaysia, police said. The rebels also targeted a customs office and a convenience store. The raid marked the biggest eruption of violence since the two sides agreed in early April to a truce to last through Ramadan. The truce expired May 14. Lt. Gen. Kriangkrai Srirak, the commander of the 4th Army Region which oversees the Deep South, released details about the ongoing investigation on Wednesday. Regarding the Tak Bai incident, we have compiled evidence and done a forensic examination, which showed that the weapons used and bombs and pipe bombs were linked to insurgents. The spent shell forensics also showed the same links, he told BenarNews. Kriangkrai said the attackers attacked the marine police station because it was involved in recent crackdowns on illegal cross-border activities. He alleged that the suspected insurgents, who have not been identified, have ties to criminal syndicates involved in smuggling drugs and illegal goods across the frontier. We have to arrest the attackers. They the affected trafficking syndicate and the insurgents are linked. We have evidence, and we wont let them go unpunished, he said. Malaysia has served as a facilitator of peace talks between the government and southern Thai rebels most recently BRN. Facilitator Rahim Noor said more talks were scheduled for July. Kriangkrai, the Thai regional army commander, said the attack would not affect efforts to bring peace to the Deep South. Peace talks will continue to allow people to have a better quality of life and safety to live a normal life, he said. The armed separatist movement in the Deep South against Buddhist-majority Thailand began in the 1960s. Since the insurgency reignited in January 2004, more than 7,000 people have been killed and 13,500 others in regional violence, according to Deep South Watch, a local think-tank. Subel Rai Bhandari in Bangkok and Noah Lee in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report. BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday sent a message of condolence to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro over severe floods that have caused heavy casualties in the country. In the message, Xi said he was shocked to learn of the major floods in northeastern Brazil, which had caused heavy casualties and property losses. The Chinese president offered his deep condolences to the victims and sincere sympathies to the bereaved families as well as to the people in the disaster-hit areas. He also wished the injured an early recovery. Bennington, VT (05201) Today Light rain this evening. Thunderstorms likely by morning. Rain will be heavy at times in some storms. Low 62F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Light rain this evening. Thunderstorms likely by morning. Rain will be heavy at times in some storms. Low 62F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Bennington, VT (05201) Today A steady rain this evening. Showers with perhaps a rumble of thunder developing overnight. Low 61F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight A steady rain this evening. Showers with perhaps a rumble of thunder developing overnight. Low 61F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Shoppers walk through rows of plants, vegetables, and craft goods at the Pittsfield Farmers Market in this file photo. The Pittsfield Farmers Market is one of nine similar Berkshire-area events that have received a combined $100,000 in grants from Berkshire Agricultural Ventures in Great Barrington. Doves are released to the sky at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, capital of China, July 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Sun Fei) Having put forward the Global Security Initiative (GSI), China is ready to join hands with all peace-loving and development-oriented countries to blaze a path toward lasting peace and universal security, and forge a strong synergy to build a community with a shared future for mankind. BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Peace and development are shared aspirations of mankind, the pursuit of which, however, is hampered by unprecedented global changes, intertwined with emerging security risks and a widening development gap. As the world is wobbling under the pressure of a downward spiral of insecurity and recession, it is high time that the Global Security Initiative (GSI), proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, be acted on to tackle the "peace deficit" and security challenges through international cooperation. As a long advocate of the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, China has the best peace and security record among the major countries. According to a Gallup poll in 2020, China ranks third worldwide in the Law and Order Index, reflecting the Chinese people's confidence in the public security and governance of their country. Beyond its domestic safety and security, China has made positive contributions to the global endeavor for peace, setting a prime example as a responsible major country. As the only country which clearly says in its constitution that it sticks to the path of peaceful development, China has never initiated a war, never occupied one inch of foreign land, never engaged in proxy wars and never participated in or organized any military bloc. "If you look at Chinese history, it has never colonized other countries, and there is no tradition in China's foreign policy of taking other people's territory," former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt said. While China was always a pacifistic country in history, its words and deeds in recent decades have further forcefully demonstrated its pacifistic nature. From the Palestine-Israel conflict and the Iran nuclear issue to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and the transition of the Afghan situation, China has acted as a steadfast mediator wherever pro-peace efforts are needed. The United Nations Security Council votes on a draft resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, at the UN headquarters in New York, on March 23, 2022. (Xinhua/Xie E) Nowadays, flames of war have been reignited on the European continent. Unlike some of the world's top arms exporters that can't wait to send more ammunition to the battlefields in Ukraine, China takes an objective and fair stance on the basis of the merits and demerits of the issue, vigorously promotes peace and encourages talks. China has put forward a six-point initiative on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, and provided several shipments of emergency humanitarian aid. British political commentator Carlos Martinez described China's constructive role in the Ukraine issue as "admirable." Based on China's independent foreign policy of peace and its practice of this policy, the GSI embodies "the diplomatic tradition and wisdom with unique Chinese characteristics," said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in an article published in April. By offering public goods for global security, upholding the UN-centered international system and practicing true multilateralism, China has been turning into actions its commitments to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, as well as the principle of indivisible security. Soldiers on the Chinese contingent to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are awarded the United Nations Peacekeeping Medal during a medal parade ceremony in southern Lebanon, June 16, 2021. (Photo by Liu Xiongma/Xinhua) As the second-largest financial contributor to the UN Peacekeeping, China has dispatched the most peacekeepers among the UN Security Council permanent members. It has also taken an active part in international arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation treaties. "China has played a very, very important role in multilateralism and strengthening the United Nations," said Abdulla Shahid, president of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, when speaking to Xinhua last year. Calling for cooperation to address all forms of non-traditional security challenges, China has provided more than 2.1 billion COVID-19 vaccines doses to the international community to help bridge the "immunization gap." It has also taken big strides forward in tackling climate change and reinforcing digital governance, by setting its own carbon peak and neutrality goals, and launching the Global Initiative on Data Security. What China has done is highly recognized by the international community, particularly by a vast number of developing countries. In a world shadowed by the U.S.-led West's obsession with a new Cold War, power politics and bloc confrontation, the biggest strength to break through the mist toward a bright and peaceful future comes from cooperation and solidarity. Having put forward the GSI, China is ready to join hands with all peace-loving and development-oriented countries to blaze a path toward lasting peace and universal security, and forge a strong synergy to build a community with a shared future for mankind. PITTSFIELD Amid the streams of families fleeing war in Ukraine, there was something about this one that struck Michael Mazzeo, a Pittsfield man volunteering to provide relief at a border crossing. A young woman arrived pushing a stroller with a baby, accompanied by three other children ages, 3, 4, and 5 years old. The scene tugged at his heart. They came to us with just about nothing, Mazzeo said, recalling the moment. They had two bags of belongings. We gave them another stroller, hygiene kit and blankets. We comforted them and directed them to a bus to be relocated. Mazzeo, co-owner of Mazzeos Ristorante in Pittsfield, spent two weeks in April as a volunteer with Operation Blessing handling out food, water and blankets to Ukrainian refugees who crossed into Medyka, Poland. From April 15-30, except on Sundays, Mazzeo took shifts with the 40-year-old nonprofit, run through the Christian Broadcasting Network. The organization has conducted humanitarian and disaster relief efforts in 90 countries, including the United States, according to its website. Operation Blessing left its headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, on March 2 and has been in Poland ever since. In addition to relief efforts in Poland, the nonprofit has worked to get food, water and supplies to areas hardest hit by Russian artillery and invaded by Russian troops. CBN is such a solid organization, filled with people who care, Mazzeo said. I saw the difference we made because CBN knows what these people are going through. The United Nations estimates that 4.5 million Ukrainians have fled the country since Russia invaded the country in late February. Some were experiencing a full-scale war for the second time in their lives, having survived World War II. One woman I met had endured Nazi Germany when she was six, but managed to escape the horror of the war at the start of her life, Mazzeo said. Now, a woman who could barely walk was escaping war near the end of her life. It was very easy to admire her. She had a lot of pride and was resilient. Mazzeo said saw between 500 and 1,000 refuges every day. Those coming through the Operation Blessing area, in southeastern Poland, thanked the volunteers, he said, as they braved the cold and the rain that fell almost every day. Our mission was to warm their stomachs and warm their hearts. We were told not to get emotionally attached to them, he said. Quote "The first night I was there I wondered, 'What the heck am I doing here?' But the refugees traveled great distances in the cold and rain, so it didn't seem so bad for me." Michael Mazzeo Nevertheless, Mazzeo said he was moved by what he saw, and realized how blessed he was, as he stayed with four other volunteers in a two-bedroom apartment during the two weeks. The first night I was there I wondered, What the heck am I doing here? But the refugees traveled great distances in the cold and rain, so it didnt seem so bad for me, he said. Mazzeo says he made a pledge to help children, given that he doesnt have any of his own. He said he would return to Poland in a heartbeat. I learned a little bit goes a long way. My time there showed I was helping people, he said. A map of Hollow Fields preserve greets visitors at the site of property in Richmond. Town voters overwhelmingly approved a plan to expand public access to the site, but there are still issues to be resolved in the courts. Community News Editor / Librarian Jeannie Maschino is community news editor and librarian for The Berkshire Eagle. She has worked for the newspaper in various capacities since 1982 and joined the newsroom in 1989. GREAT BARRINGTON It isnt just residents waging a campaign on either side of the short-term rental regulation battle. Hosting platform giant Airbnb, as it turns out, also waded into the turbulence in the weeks leading up to Mondays annual town meeting, where residents will vote on a proposed bylaw. The company this month sent its Great Barrington hosts an email alerting them to the proposal, which includes limiting the total number of days per year to 150 that a homeowner can rent their house. Its crucial for Hosts to let the selectboard know that these proposed restrictions on short-term rentals will hurt the local economy, according to the email. It exhorted residents to attend the boards recent public input meeting on Zoom, and to write letters to board members opposing the proposal. The proposed bylaw has galvanized residents and town officials. Its also sparked a heated debate that is hinging on the property rights of those who are using short-term rentals to make ends meet or, for instance, put a child through college, and those who cant find a place to live or cant afford skyrocketing rents. Samuel Randall, an Airbnb spokesperson, said the company had to alert its hosts given the impact the bylaw will make on their pocketbooks and since hosts keep up to 97 percent of their rental income. He said nearly half the companys Massachusetts hosts have indicated in surveys that hosting is helping them stay in their home. Of that group, one-fifth said the money earned has helped them avoid foreclosure or eviction, he added. Almost 40 percent of hosts statewide said the income is helping them offset cost-of-living increases, according to the company. One Housatonic resident who has been publicly opposed to the bylaw says she wants the option of using Airbnb in the future should she decide to live somewhere else for a year as part of her work. People who rent their primary homes dont do it unless they need the money, Carol Diehl said. To supporters of the bylaw, however, Airbnbs involvement is a threat. When large corporations decide they have a stake in small town policy, be very afraid, wrote Select Board Vice Chair Leigh Davis in a Facebook post over the weekend. Sign-up for The Berkshire Eagle's free newsletters Sign up Davis, who is driving the proposal, shared a copy of Airbnbs email, calling it a dark harbinger of things to come. She said the bylaw is an attempt to balance these concerns with those of people who are locked out of the housing market altogether. Residents wanted [to have their rentals] available on a seasonal basis, she said, noting that the 150-day ceiling is five months, which will accommodate the typical three months of summer high season and the two months of the winter ski season. [Its] not arbitrary. Short-term rental vote tabled in Great Barrington due to unexpected possible conflict Do almost all Great Barrington Select Board members have a conflict of interest because they own property? A vote on the short-term rental bylaw is on hold until the state can help sort out the potential conflicts. She concedes it's hard to know exactly how the bylaw will change the dynamics. She and other supporters say anything is worth trying, and it could force people to sell their homes, releasing them into the inventory. They say it will surely deter real estate investors and keep neighborhood integrity intact. But critics say the bylaw is NIMBY-ism masquerading as virtuous regulation for the greater good. Some have drafted an alternate bylaw also up for a vote that removes the cap on rental days. They say it will hurt the economy an outcome that Airbnb also predicted in its email to hosts. Research shows both harm and benefits; a hike in housing costs where short-term rentals proliferate, versus the reduction of property values and tax revenue that comes from restriction. Airbnb hosts in Berkshire County made a total of over $20 million last year, according to Airbnb. And the 6 percent lodging tax brought in $404,000 for Great Barrington between September 2020 and December 2021. Airbnb says their hosts also contribute to the economy in more subtle ways, like recommending restaurants and other businesses to guests, according to a company survey. In another survey of Airbnb guests in Massachusetts who visited in 2021, 56 percent said they definitely or probably would not have stayed in the area were it not for the Airbnb listing, according to the company. Airbnb is no stranger to conflict. The company has sued cities over their regulations. Many of those lawsuits are dragging on. Right now, the town has 208 active short-term rentals at an average daily rate of $354, according to AirDNA, which collects industry data. Davis monitors these and said 20 new full-house rentals had been added since the end of January. JERUSALEM, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Israeli fighter jets have shot down a drone that entered Israeli airspace from Egypt's Sinai Desert, the military said Wednesday. "Israeli Air Force fighter jets intercepted (on Monday morning) a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) in the airspace over the Negev, adjacent to Mount Saggi," the military said in a statement. The drone was identified and monitored during the entire incident until it was intercepted after crossing into Israeli airspace, according to the statement. Israel's state-owned Kan TV news reported that according to an initial probe, the Egyptian drone was unarmed and lost control due to malfunction. There is no comment yet from Egypt. Israel and Egypt, former sworn enemies, signed a peace treaty in 1979. ANKARA, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey's planned new military operation into Syria will target Tell Rifaat and Manbij areas near the northern city of Aleppo before gradually extending to other parts of the neighboring country. "We are entering a new phase of our decision to create a 30-km-deep safe zone into Syria along our southern borders. We are clearing Tell Rifaat and Manbij from terrorists. Then we will do the same step by step in other regions," Erdogan said when addressing the lawmakers of the ruling Justice and Development Party at the parliament. On May 23, the Turkish president said Ankara would soon launch a new military operation against Syria's Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in an effort to link up areas already under Turkish control in northern Syria. Turkey's forces and the YPG militants often exchange fire in the region and their clashes have accelerated since early this year. The Turkish army launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016, Operation Olive Branch in 2018, Operation Peace Spring in 2019, and Operation Spring Shield in 2020 in northern Syria. Turkish authorities say the operations aim to eliminate terror threats against Turkey and provide a safe zone that will facilitate the return of Syrian refugees to their homes. The YPG is seen by Turkey as the Syrian branch of the country's outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, which has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than three decades. First up, Joe Biden is thinking about dropping tariffs against China. But theres a spy in prison this morning that helps us understand why he shouldnt. Ill explain. Your second brief, If youre looking for a good paying job, you might consider being a CEO for a health insurance company. One executive made $142M dollars last year. Let's talk about that. And as always, Im keeping an eye out for developing stories. Put this one on your radar. Mexican cartels are grooming American kids online and paying them cash to traffic illegals or run drugs across the border. Ill share details. If you enjoyed this episode of the President's Daily Brief, remember to subscribe and listen daily at podfollow.com/pdb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Primedia Group (Primedia), the owner of a broad portfolio of broadcasting and out-of-home assets, has entered into a strategic partnership with Paramount Global (Paramount), formerly ViacomCBS, providing clients and partners with a compelling audience engagement solution, that considerably broadens reach. Lindile Xoko Strini Naicker The industry-leading collaboration between prominent media brands, Primedia and Paramount - the first of its kind in South Africa - is a natural evolution in delivering a multi-platform content strategy in a highly competitive and dynamic environment. This partnership brings together the powerful and popular mass mediums of television and radio, presenting attractive, integrated solutions for clients and partners. What it further enables is the ability to leverage a more engaging mix of advertising channels that reaches a broader audience base all of which will be very valuable in unlocking greater commercial value for clients and partners.says Lindile Xoko, chief revenue officer, Primedia Broadcasting.The growth of radio and the prevalence of television - and increasingly, streaming - amplifies the need to create audience-led solutions that offer a diverse channel solution where content is king. This game-changing collaboration is a significant step forward for Primedia and Paramount, as both brands continue to offer diverse content, a streaming model, mix of platforms and reach - all in response to the evolving, media consumption patterns of audiences.adds Strini Naicker, vice president of commercial and content distribution for Paramount in Africa.Speaking on Primedias commitment towards driving inclusive access, Xoko concludes; AMMAN, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Jordan has been intensifying its efforts to fight narcotics smuggling along its borders with Syria amid the rise in drug-related crimes in the kingdom. "Jordan has stepped up its capabilities and is targeting all smugglers seeking to smuggle narcotics into Jordan and other countries via Jordan," Saeb Rawashdeh, a political analyst at the Jordan Press Foundation, told Xinhua. Citing figures by the Jordanian Armed Forces, the political analyst said Jordan's army has killed 34 smugglers in 2022 in four armed confrontations with drug gangs coming from Syria, adding 27 were killed in a major operation alone in January. In late May, the army said in a statement that they killed four infiltrators who tried to smuggle narcotics from Syria into Jordan. Rawashdeh told Xinhua that Jordan has confiscated millions of Captagon pills and large quantities of other narcotics. "The southern borders in Syria are currently home to various militias that aim to smuggle narcotics into Jordan and other countries, as selling drugs is the main source of income for these militias," he said. Director of the Directorate of Moral Guidance in the General Command of the Jordanian Armed Forces Mustafa Al-Hiyari said in a recent interview with the state-owned Al-Mamlaka TV that Jordan faces a war with drug smugglers on the borders with Syria. The smugglers were equipped with weapons and targeted the Jordanian army personnel, he added. Amer Saad, a retired military officer from the army, told Xinhua that the smugglers took advantage of the chaos and security vacuum in the south of Syria, and must be thwarted in a harsh manner. "The smugglers directly target our officers at the borders with Syria. So the army changed its rules of engagement and is striking the drug smugglers," Saad said. The National Jazz Festival Makhanda is once again uniting jazz musicians from across the country and the globe. Image supplied: Benjamin Jephta will play with his band including fellow Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz, Sisonke Xonti (2020) Image supplied: AusTebza joins the line-up at the 2022 National Jazz Festival Makhanda A quick look at the 2022 National Jazz Festival programme 24 June 25 June 26 June 27 June Image supplied: Mbuso Khosa is on the line-up at the 2022 National Jazz Festival Makhanda 28 June 29 June 30 June Image supplied: 2021 Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz, Vuma Levin, will perform two shows at the National Jazz Festival Makhanda 1 July 2 July Jazz has always been an essential part of the National Arts Festival and promises to be a big drawcard for audiences who have missed the live experience of jazz. The lockdown years have been particularly hard on musicians who always rely heavily on concerts and gigs, often at festivals, for their livelihoods.National Arts Festival CEO, Monica Newton, said, It's a much-needed reunion for jazz musicians who will once again gather together to jam, collaborate and share. With a big focus on local talent and local jazz excellence, the 35th National Jazz Festival Makhanda has assembled an exciting programme of artists from across SA. Our celebration of jazz this year is bitter-sweet; as musicians once again take to the stage of the Festival to engage with live audiences for the first time in two years, we will also be remembering and celebrating lives lost during the pandemicThe National Youth Jazz Festival brings together talented, young musicians from across South Africa and through the programme, some 300 plus young musicians from schools, universities and informal institutions around the country are able to meet and connect with successful and diverse jazz musicians. These young musicians also audition for the National Youth Jazz Band - a springboard that has helped shape the careers of artists like Kesivan Naidoo, Siya Makuzeni, Tutu Puoane and Kyle Shepherd. Many of these musicians in turn mentor younger musicians and so the circle continues.National Jazz Festival Makhanda curator Alan Webster pointed out that the programme has a strong line-up of younger jazz artists and, although the headlines are filled with young South African jazz artists, excellent musicians from Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Romania, Britain and Spain will be collaborating with them for this very special celebration of jazz.AusTebza at DSG Hall at 8.30pm.AusTebza at DSG Hall at 5pm.Eastern Cape Jazz Tribute at DSG Hall at 12pm.Dumza Maswana at DSG Hall at 8.30pm.Eastern Cape Jazz Tribute at DSG Hall at 12pm.Dumza Maswana at DSG Hall at 5pm.Mthunzi Mvubu Quartet at DSG Hall at 5pm.Sibusiso Mashiloane: Six Years of Sounding Home at DSG Hall at 12pm.Outeniqua High School (George) at DSG Auditorium at 2pm.Mats-Up featuring Mbuso Khoza at DSG Hall at 5pm.Stellenbosch University Gig Band at DSG Auditorium at 7pm.Xavi Torres Vicente Trio at DSG Hall at 8.30pm.Jam session led by Murray Buitendag at DSG Auditorium from 28 June - 1 July at 10pm.Durban High School at DSG Auditorium at 2pm.Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz - Vuma Levin I at DSG Hall at 5pm.SACS (Cape Town) at DSG Auditorium at 7pm.Bokani Dyer Trio at DSG Hall at 8.30pm.Jam session led by Justin Bellairs at 10pm.Mats-Up featuring Mbuso Khoza at DSG Hall at 12pm.Parel Vallei (Somerset West) at DSG Auditorium at 2pm.Benjamin Jephta - 'Born-Coloured; not Born-free' at DSG Hall at 5pm.UCT Little Big Band at DSG Auditorium at 7pm.Bernard van Rossum Quartet + Big Band at DSG Hall at 8.30pm.Jam session led by Mandla Mlangeni at DSG Auditorium at 10pm.Youth Jazz Vocal Celebration at DSG Hall at 12pm.Nick Ford Project (Cape Town) at DSG Auditorium at 2pm.Tutu Puoane at DSG Hall at 5pm.Rondebosch BoysHigh School (Cape Town) at DSG Auditorium at 7pm.Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz Vuma Levin II at DSG Hall at 8.30pm.Jam session led by Sakhile Simani at DSG Auditorium at 10pm.National Schools Jazz Band at DSG Hall at 12pm.Little Giants (Cape Town) at DSG Auditorium at 2pm.National Youth Jazz Band at DSG Hall at 5pm.Stirling Big Band (East London) at DSG Auditorium at 7pm.Kyle Shepherd Quartet at DSG Hall at 8.30pm.The National Jazz Festival Makhanda's programme can be found and bookings can be made here One of the key insights to come out of the 2022 Sanlam Benchmark Survey - an annual body of research into the state of retirement funds and retirees in South Africa - is the emergence of a new 'currency' in South Africa: post-pandemic job security. Source: Supplied. Kanyisa Mkhize, chief executive officer of Sanlam Corporate. Sanlam Health Solutions division Employee benefits seek to fuse healthcare, wealthcare and selfcare Health taking centrestage The retirement fund industrys role in driving environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns in SA Retirement reform and legislations As many as three million jobs, both blue- and white-collar, were lost in South Africa due to the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant lockdowns. The financial strain placed on the newly unemployed and the fear of job loss has taken a toll on South Africans mental health.It is then no surprise that respondents in theincreasingly see employment and earning an income as an asset. In response, the benefits and benefit strategies offered by employers have also evolved, becoming more empathetic to an employees holistic wellbeing, the Benchmark Survey found.The full survey findings will be released at a hybrid event to be held online and in Johannesburg on 14 June.The retirement-funds industry has also taken a knock over the pandemic. To attain a comprehensive perspective on those impacts, this years survey was expanded to include asset consultants, healthcare consultants, umbrella-fund sponsors and retirement-fund members to those surveyed.We wanted to more deeply reflect the views and experiences of all stakeholders as we take stock of these past two very unusual years, explained Kanyisa Mkhize, chief executive officer of Sanlam Corporate.The surveys findings have been revealing, said Mkhize. The full impact of the Covid-19 fallout has become pervasive through our sector and has affected our members profoundly. And not just financially.A thread that runs through the survey is the critical place that the theme of care has taken, she added. Covid was not only a painful reminder of how fragile all our lives are, but also how we cannot take our jobs and mental health for granted. Overnight many more of us realised what holistic health really meant, and why it matters.Taking cognisance of these concerns, this years research will examine how the industry needs to evolve in line with this new-found emphasis, added Mkhize. Among the questions the survey will answer are, whats next, and what should employee benefits look like in the post-pandemic world?Mkhize continued, Well also look at the industrys agility in responding to new or different demands for employee benefits and asked, how are we adjusting to new ways of work, new ways of living life and, with new perspectives on life, what is important to us?In response to the sweeping changes taking place in workplaces around the world, Sanlam Corporate recently evolved its offerings. In October 2021, it launched a new Sanlam Health Solutions division, Mkhize said. Alert to the evolving needs of its clients, the company has also introduced a number of strategic changes to strengthen and innovate its umbrella fund administration, group risk underwriting, investment management, life investments and consulting services.The themes the research will reveal within the context of the new tomorrow for employee benefits:Many employers are responding swiftly to the post-pandemic environment by looking after employees from a more holistic perspective. The survey will show that retirement-fund members experienced the pandemic on many, overlapping levels: the financial, the emotional, and the physical. This has led them to rethink the bundles of employee benefits they offer, reflect on the suitability of their retirement plans and adapt their retirement offerings to those holistic concerns.New for 2022, the Benchmark has polled health consultants to get a better understanding of the healthcare and selfcare needs of employees. Other insights gathered from these interactions will highlight the importance of employee benefits and health in the context of a tough economic environment. It will also emphasise the need for employees to protect their incomes to ensure uninterrupted savings for retirement.Discussions about retirement funding and savings are incomplete without considering the surrounding economic, environmental, and regulatory factors that affect the sector. With the background of South Africas unemployment crisis, the survey will for the first time examine to what extent South African retirement funds have incorporated ESG strategies in their investment mandates.Regulations such as the National Treasurys two-pot system; the tightening of the governance of umbrella funds; and changes to the Policy Protection Rules have been in the news recently and are all unpacked in this years report. The States proposed two-pot system is expected to reignite debate as more than half of survey respondents believe the two-pot will be detrimental to the long-term financial health of individuals.This years benchmark survey has, as it does every year, set out to capture the burning issues facing retirement funds, current clients and retirees in the country, said Mkhize.Since 1981, the Benchmark research has provided insights and created meaningful opportunities for engagement with industry stakeholders with the goal being to help effect a positive financial outcome in retirement for South Africans. The context in which we operate has shifted due to the pandemic and other external factors, but the core long-term needs of members, employers and funds remain largely unchanged.As a leading provider of employee benefits and umbrella fund solutions, Sanlam Corporates goal is to make a real difference in retirement-fund members lives. As one of the most referenced research papers in the retirement-fund industry, the annual Benchmark survey is one of many initiatives aimed at empowering South Africans to live, invest and ultimately retire with confidence. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L, Front) welcomes Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (R, Front) in Ankara, Turkey, on June 1, 2022. Turkey and Pakistan on Wednesday pledged to strengthen cooperation with a "strategic perspective" on both bilateral and international levels. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua) ANKARA, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Turkey and Pakistan on Wednesday pledged to strengthen cooperation with a "strategic perspective" on both bilateral and international levels. "We are ready to further strengthen Turkey-Pakistan relations with a strategic perspective in line with the history, friendship and potential of the two countries," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a joint press conference in Ankara with visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries last year increased the bilateral trade volume to over 1 billion U.S. dollars for the first time since 2011, Erdogan said, adding that their target is 5 billion dollars. "We are working to improve our cooperation in service sectors such as tourism, education, logistics, civil aviation, communications, and information technologies," he said. Erdogan said he is glad to see concrete projects in defense cooperation, noting that their joint production of corvettes under the MILGEM project "sets an important example in this sense." He said Turkey will start delivering four ships at six-month intervals starting from August 2023. MILGEM is a Turkish warship program that develops multipurpose corvettes and frigates. Sharif, for his part, said Turkey and Pakistan are "embedded deep into history and shaped by shared goals." Pakistan is willing to learn from Turkey's experience in the fields of e-commerce, education and infrastructure, he added. This is Sharif's first official visit to Turkey since assuming office in April. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) welcomes Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Ankara, Turkey, on June 1, 2022. Turkey and Pakistan on Wednesday pledged to strengthen cooperation with a "strategic perspective" on both bilateral and international levels. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua) NAIROBI, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said Wednesday that infrastructure modernization, renewed war against corruption, concerted efforts to sustain peace and cohesion will form part of his legacy. Kenyatta who addressed the nation during the celebrations to mark 59 years after Kenya attained self-rule from British colonialists, said the country had recorded impressive economic growth since he took power in April 2013 amid investments in modern roads, ports, railways and fiber optic. "My tenure in office put emphasis on transformative programs and reforms in healthcare, education, agriculture, energy, housing, social protection, commerce and industry," said Kenyatta. The 61-year-old Kenyatta who presided over the last public holiday ahead of Aug. 9 polls when he is expected to hand over power to his successor, added that fighting graft and promoting national unity had created a conducive environment to attract investments and spur economic growth. According to Kenyatta, his administration had constructed an additional 11,000 kilometers of tarmacked roads countrywide, besides enhancing access to electricity, clean water, shelter and health. "Infrastructure has a way of turning swamps into cities, dead spaces into high-value property, and village shopping centers into huge city malls. Without infrastructure, there is no way of finding new possibilities," he said. The president said that big-ticket infrastructure projects like the Chinese-built 480 kilometers Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) were aimed at stimulating economic growth for the long haul. Kenyatta who has served his two terms in office said the Chinese-built 27.1 kilometers Nairobi Expressway, the first of its kind in Africa, had already raised Kenya's stature as an investment destination. He clarified that Kenya's debt to GDP ratio was within limit, adding that improved fiscal discipline under his administration had ensured borrowed funds were utilized prudently. Kenyatta defended the rising public debt by his administration, saying that the country is still in a position to service its debts. He said that the next government should not shy away from borrowing to develop the country, provided the money does not end in corruption. "The only time debt is a burden to the nation is if a nation is led by looters. But in the hands of a visionary administration, debt is a catalyst for rapid development," Kenyatta said. Modernizing the security sector ensured that Kenya was protected from domestic and external aggressors, building investor confidence and allowing local start-ups to thrive, said Kenyatta. Kenyatta added that a devolved form of governance that he presided over as dictated by the constitution fostered inclusive growth, cohesion and stability. He said that under his administration, Kenya pushed for enhanced regional trade and integration, besides advocating for indigenous solutions to Africa's endemic challenges like civil strife. "On the global stage, we remain a leader in cooperative multilateral order as evidenced by our membership of the United Nations Security Council, which has provided us a voice on international peace and security matters threatening humanity," said Kenyatta. He cited corruption as one of the greatest undoings in development which hindered development projects when he took power in 2013. Kenyatta said the government has been forced to use the military to return sanity to a number of state organizations that have been riddled with corruption. He noted that re-engineering the education system to emphasize on skills acquisition has ensured that the country's youth are qualified for jobs of the future. Kenyatta said that championing gender equality remained his administration's key priority in the last nine years, adding that the country had six female cabinet members, a female chief justice and a female deputy presidential candidate thanks to affirmative action. Kenyatta said that investments in world-class sea ports, modern railways, highways and dams had not only hastened economic growth but created new jobs while fostering political stability. Kenyatta said that digitization of the public sector, which accelerated during his nine-year reign, improved service delivery, reduced wastage and improved ease of doing business in the country. He noted that in the last nine years, Kenya had moved from the 12th largest to the sixth largest economy in Africa, thanks to streamlined revenue collection and higher foreign direct investments. The overpopulation crisis could be solved within 50 years thanks to the evolution of virtual children, one of Britains leading artificial intelligence experts claims. Computer-generated babies that cost about $25 a month are likely to become commonplace by the early-2070s, according to Catriona Campbell. In addition to her expertise in AI, Campbell is also one of the UKs top authorities in emerging and disruptive technologies, and a former UK Government adviser. She says by 2070, augmented reality (AR) and haptic touch-sensitive gloves will make the experience potentially lifelike. By that time, up to one-in-five parents may decide to opt for a digital baby over a real one, she believes. It will create what is being dubbed the Tamagotchi Generation the first cohort of environmentally-friendly digital children who will not deplete the planet of any of its natural resources. Instead, they will exist only in the virtual metaverse a sort of 3D internet where they will grow up in real time and come to life at the touch of a button. How will virtual parenting work? Parents will see and interact with their offspring through next-generation AR glasses and haptic gloves. These devices allow users to experience a realistic sense of touch when handling virtual or holographic objects. They will cost nothing to feed, take up no space, and remain healthy for as long as they are programmed to live. And they could be accessible through a Netflix-type subscription service for as little as $25 (20) per month. While the concept might seem unpalatable, it represents a viable, long-term solution to birth control without preventing people from having children, according to Campbell. An estimated 350,000 babies are already born worldwide each day, far outnumbering the number of deaths. But by the year 2100, it is estimated that the worlds total population could have exploded to 11 billion, with overcrowded mega-cities rife with crime, disease, and extreme food shortages. A 2020 YouGov study into why couples choose not have children concludes that nearly 10 percent remain childless because of overpopulation concerns. Another10 percent choose not to start a family because of the cost of raising a child. Campbell was recently inducted into the BIMA Digital Hall of Fame alongside Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Stephen Fry and Dragons Den star Steven Bartlett, for her work in human-computer interaction. Her predictions about the future of AI and its impact on humanity are detailed in her new book, AI by Design: A Plan For Living With Artificial Intelligence, which hits the shelves this week. Virtual children may seem like a giant leap from where we are now, but within 50 years technology will have advanced to such an extent that babies which exist in the metaverse are indistinct from those in the real world, she says in a statement, per SWNS. As the metaverse evolves, I can see virtual children becoming an accepted and fully embraced part of society in much of the developed world. Based on studies into why couples choose to remain childless, I think it would be reasonable to expect as many as 20 percent of people choosing to have an AR baby over a real one, she continues. This will lead to the first, fully digital demographic which, although somewhat strange on first appearance, in fact represents what could be one of mankinds most important technological breakthroughs since the advent of the Bronze Age given its potential impact on global populations and societal change. Digital children will look, sound, act, and even feel like real humans Technology that lays virtual characters over the real world known as augmented reality is already hugely popular. It is a key part of the wildly popular Pokemon Go games, which superimpose cartoon monsters onto the real world through players smartphone screens. And a proof of concept for virtual children already exists in the form of BabyX, an ongoing experiment by New Zealand-based company Soul Machines to try and humanize AI so that it is more appealing for the public to interact with. At the rate AR and the metaverse is evolving, Campbell believes it is only a matter of time before it is used to create virtual children for couples that look, feel and behave exactly like the real thing. Using CGI and advanced machine learning an algorithm-based technology already used by chatbots to interact autonomously with customers online she believes these digital children will have photo-realistic faces and bodies, and will be able to recognize and respond to their parents using facial tracking and voice analysis built within an AR headset. They will be capable of speech and simulated emotional responses like a babys coo, a childs giggle, or a teenagers backchat and possess a form of digital memory and other cognitive abilities. Digital children will likely exist in the metaverse a computer-generated virtual world that can be thought of as a three-dimensional internet. Here, parents will be able to interact with their children in digital environments of their choosing, such as a sitting room, park, or swimming pool. And thanks to high-tech haptic gloves wearable devices that reproduce sensations like grasping an object or running your hand across a surface they will be able to cuddle, feed and play with their offspring at any time. Campbell also believes that parents will also be able to set their birth age from newborn to teenager and choose whether they grow-up in real time or activate only on command. The childs temperament and physical features, meanwhile, will likely draw on images of parents and personality quizzes to ensure they look and behave in the same way as they would if born biologically in the real world. Opportunity for those who cannot have babies naturally, or cannot afford them, to still raise a child Campbell, who was also instrumental in the launch of Skys red button interactive services, believes digital children will become a commercial reality within 50 years and widely available on subscription-type service through a variety of specialist providers. She refers to them as the Tamagotchi generation because they are the natural, evolved development of the 1990s digital toy lived on a keychain device. The pet had to be nurtured by the owner, from being hatched to adult life. Owners had to give Tamogotchis medicine when they were sick, and clean up after theyd been to the toilet. The state of the creatures happiness and hunger levels were indicated by meters, which had to be monitored frequently. The cyber tots of tomorrow will give people the chance to try parenting before committing to the real thing, and will provide an opportunity for those who cannot have babies naturally, or who cannot afford them, to still raise a child. They will also be in likely demand from ethically minded consumers who want the joys of parenthood without contributing to the worlds growing population crisis. Were already well on our way to creating the Tamagotchi Generation which, for all intents and purposes, will be real to their parents. On the basis that consumer demand is there, which I think it will be, AI children will become widely available for a relatively small monthly fee, says Cambell. Make no mistake that this development, should it indeed take place, is a technological game-changer which, if managed correctly, could help us solve some of todays most pressing issues, including overpopulation. Report by South West News Service writer Paul Andrews Ecuadorian writer receives China book award Xinhua) 08:55, June 01, 2022 QUITO, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Ecuadorian writer Veronica Bonilla has received the Special Book Award for 2021, the highest recognition by China for a foreign writer. At an emotional ceremony held Monday at the Chinese embassy in Ecuador, Bonilla received a golden statuette for her outstanding contribution to promoting Chinese culture. "I feel happy, honored and pleased to be the first Ecuadorian to receive this award and also to be the first Latin American to receive it. It is a very important thing, it fills me with pride and happiness," said Bonilla, visibly moved. "I am writing about China, a country that I fell in love with when I had the opportunity to get to know it because I want the children of the world to get to know China," Bonilla said, adding that all the work and effort she has put into her work pays off. Bonilla won the award for her richly-illustrated book "Platanario en China" published in 2019. The book, based on Bonilla's visit to China in 2016, combines calligraphy, zodiac, Chinese shadow theater, opera and other aspects of Chinese culture, through the journey undertaken by Platanario, an extraterrestrial character who finds himself in a number of works by the prolific author. The China Special Book Award has been awarded since 2005 to foreign translators, writers and publishers who have made significant contribution to promoting Chinese culture in the world. An official ceremony was held in Beijing on Sept. 14, 2021 to present the awards to 15 recipients from 14 countries. Ecuadorian ambassador to China, Carlos Larrea, received the award on Bonilla's behalf because the COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult for her to travel to the Chinese capital city. Monday's ceremony in Quito was attended by Chinese Ambassador to Ecuador Chen Guoyou, and Acting Ecuadorian Vice Foreign Minister Augusto Saa. Saa said that Bonilla's work is an example of the value of culture as a means of union between peoples. "Our countries have managed to develop an active cultural diplomacy and a powerful soft power tool that has contributed to mutual understanding." Larrea, the Ecuadorian ambassador to China, said in an online speech that the award won by Bonilla has become "a significant achievement of cultural exchange" between Ecuador and China, adding that an opera based on "Platanario en China" will be staged in cooperation with the National Children's Theater of China. In addition, an agreement has been reached with the Cervantes Institute in Beijing on a similar staging in Spanish. In congratulation, Chinese Ambassador Chen Guoyou said that Bonilla received the well-deserved award thanks to her long-term dedication to promoting Chinese culture to Ecuadorian children. "Recent years have witnessed the growing dynamism in the cultural exchange between the two nations through contacts in culture, science, technology, sports, education, among others," Chen said, noting that relations between China and Ecuador "are at the best moment in history." The Ecuadorian writer has so far translated three of her 83 books into Chinese. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) SYDNEY, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Papua New Guinea (PNG) will end its era of sending test samples outside the country after setting up PCR laboratories in its regional areas to speed up its COVID-19 response. PNG Deputy Pandemic controller Daoni Esorom told local media outlet Loop PNG on Tuesday that the labs could conduct tests on not only the coronavirus, but also tuberculosis (TB), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other infectious diseases. The labs, which will be set across the country, including New Guinea Islands, Momase Region, Southern Region and some highland areas, will cut down the turnaround times for COVID-19 results. PNG has been sending its samples to Australia and Singapore for WGS results. PCR testing is the first step of Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS), the process by which new Variants of Concern (VoC) are uncovered. "Clinical laboratories are of paramount importance in mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic and other further disease outbreaks and pandemics. From early diagnosis, clinical laboratories play a crucial role in monitoring disease progression and surveillance... assessing the prevalence of disease in the community," said Esorom. According to the country's latest statistics, there have been 44,425 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 651 deaths in PNG as of Thursday. HANOI, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Police of the central Thanh Hoa province have arrested seven drug traffickers and seized 10 cakes of heroin and 22,000 pills of synthetic drugs, the Vietnam News Agency reported on Wednesday. A 70-year-old woman, the leader of the trans-border drug trafficking ring, and a 48-year-old man, both from the province's Thanh Hoa city, were caught red-handed transporting 10 cakes of heroin and 18,000 synthetic drug pills. The woman had cooperated with some people to transport drugs from Laos to Vietnam, according to the news report. Further investigating the case, police arrested five other members of the ring, aged from 25 to 40, seizing 50g of methamphetamine, 4,000 pills of synthetic drugs, a small pack of ketamine, and more than 2.8 billion Vietnamese dongs (about 121,400 U.S. dollars) in cash, the news agency reported. According to Vietnamese law, those convicted of smuggling over 600 grams of heroin or more than 2.5 kg of methamphetamine are punishable by death. Making or trading 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal drugs also faces the death penalty. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) The U.S. and Germany pledged on Wednesday to equip Ukraine with some of the advanced weapons it has long desired for shooting down aircraft and knocking out artillery, as Russian forces closed in on capturing a key city in the east. A woman stands outside a Church to receive clothing in Borodyanka, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) KYIV, Ukraine (AP) The U.S. and Germany pledged on Wednesday to equip Ukraine with some of the advanced weapons it has long desired for shooting down aircraft and knocking out artillery, as Russian forces closed in on capturing a key city in the east. Germany said it will supply Ukraine with up-to-date anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems, while the U.S. announced it will provide four sophisticated, medium-range rocket systems and ammunition. The U.S. is trying to help Ukraine fend off the Russians without triggering a wider war in Europe. The Pentagon said it received assurances that Ukraine will not fire the new rockets into Russian territory. The Kremlin accused the U.S. of pouring fuel on the fire. Western arms have been critical to Ukraines success in stymieing Russias much larger and better-equipped military, thwarting its effort to storm the capital and forcing Moscow to shift its focus to the industrial Donbas region in the east. Ludmila Telehyna, 73, looks into a neighbor's appartment in the building where she lives, damaged in an overnight missile strike, in Sloviansk, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) But as Russia bombards towns in its inching advance in the east, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly pleaded for more and better weapons and accused the West of moving too slowly. Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian presidents office, hailed the new Western weapons. Im sure that if we receive all the necessary weapons and strengthen the efficient sanctions regime we will win, he said. The home of Eduard Zelenskyy and Nila Zelinska destroyed by attacks in Potashnya, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) The new arms could help Ukraine set up and hold new lines of defense in the east by hitting back at Russian artillery pieces that have been battering towns and cities and by limiting Russian airstrikes, said retired French Gen. Dominique Trinquand, a former head of Frances military mission at the United Nations. "The NATO countries the European nations and the Americans have progressively escalated the means that they are putting at Ukraines disposal, and this escalation, in my opinion, has had the aim of testing Russian limits, he said. Each time, they measure the Russian reaction, and since there is no reaction, they keep supplying increasingly effective and sophisticated weaponry. Military analysts say Russia is hoping to overrun the Donbas before any weapons that might turn the tide arrive. It will take at least three weeks to get the precision U.S. weapons and trained troops onto the battlefield, the Pentagon said. But Defense Undersecretary Colin Kahl said he believes they will arrive in time to make a difference in the fight. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivers his speech during a session of the German parliament Bundestag at the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) The rocket systems are part of a new $700 million package of security assistance for Ukraine from the U.S. that also includes helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, radars, tactical vehicles, spare parts and more. The rockets have a range of about 50 miles (80 kilometers) and are highly mobile. Ukraine had pushed unsuccessfully for rockets with a range of up to 186 miles (300 kilometers). Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow does not trust assurances that Ukraine will not fire on Russian territory. We believe that the U.S. is deliberately and diligently pouring fuel on the fire, he said. An elderly woman walks next to a building damaged by an overnight missile strike in Sloviansk, Ukraine, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko) Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintzev later went further, directly accusing Ukraine of planning to fire U.S.-provided missiles from the northeastern Sumy region at border areas in Russia. The claim, which he said was based on radio intercepts, couldnt be independently confirmed. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Ukraines push for more weapons is a direct provocation intended to draw the West into the fighting. He warned that the multiple rocket launchers would raise the risk of an expanded conflict. Sane Western politicians understand those risks well, he said. A survived dog lies next to a building damaged by an overnight missile strike in Sloviansk, Ukraine, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko) As the new weapons shipments were announced, a Russian missile hit rail lines in the western Lviv region, a key conduit for supplies of Western weapons and other supplies, officials said. Regional Gov. Maksym Kozytskyy said five people were wounded in Wednesday's strike, and the head of Ukrainian railways said the damage was still being assessed. Germany's promise of IRIS-T air defense systems would mark the first delivery of long-range air defense weapons to Ukraine since the start of the war. Earlier deliveries of portable, shoulder-fired air defense missiles have bolstered the Ukrainian militarys ability to take down helicopters and other low-flying aircraft but didnt give it enough range to challenge Russias air superiority. Germany has come under particular criticism, both at home and from allies abroad, that it isnt doing enough. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told lawmakers that the IRIS-T's surface-to-air missiles are the most modern air defense system the country has. View of an apartment building damaged in an overnight missile strike, in Sloviansk, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) With this, we will enable Ukraine to defend an entire city from Russian air attacks, he said. The radar systems will also help Ukraine locate enemy artillery. A regional governor said Russian forces now control 80% of Sievierodonetsk, a city that is key to Moscows efforts to complete its capture of the Donbas, where Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists have fought for years and where the separatists held swaths of territory even before the invasion. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said Russian troops were advancing in the city during fierce street battles with Ukrainian forces, though he noted that in some districts the Ukrainian troops managed to push them back. Nila Zelinska holds a doll belonging to her granddaughter, she was able to find in her destroyed house in Potashnya outskirts Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Zelinska just returned to her home town after escaping war to find out she is homeless. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) The only other city in Luhansk that the Russians have not yet captured, Lysychansk, is still fully under Ukrainian control, he said, but is likely to be the next target. The two cities are separated by a river. If the Russians manage to take full control over Sievierodonetsk within two to three days, they will start installing artillery and mortars and will shell Lysychansk more intensively, Haidai said. Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said the country is losing between 60 and 100 soldiers a day in the fighting. People ride a bike past a building damaged by an overnight missile strike in Sloviansk, Ukraine, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko) He turned the focus to children in his nightly video address, saying 243 of them have been killed in the war, 446 have been wounded and 139 are missing. The real numbers could be higher, he added, as his government doesnt have a full picture of areas under Russian occupation. Zelenskyy also said 200,000 children are among the Ukrainians who have been forcefully taken to Russia and dispersed across that vast country: The purpose of this criminal policy is not just to steal people but to make those who are deported forget about Ukraine and unable to return. In southern Ukraine, a regional governor sounded a more positive note, saying Russian troops were retreating and blowing up bridges behind them. They are afraid of a counterattack by the Ukrainian army, Vitaliy Kim, governor of the Mykolayiv region, said on the Telegram messaging app. ___ Jordans reported from Berlin. Associated Press writers Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine, Lolita C. Baldor in Washington and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine The latest data from Doctors Manitoba suggests the provinces surgical and diagnostic backlog has likely peaked, but a lack of capacity is preventing it from moving any faster. Advertisement Advertise With Us The latest data from Doctors Manitoba suggests the provinces surgical and diagnostic backlog has likely peaked, but a lack of capacity is preventing it from moving any faster. The total estimated pandemic backlog is now 166,903 cases, a decrease of 2,295 from last months estimate, according to a news release from Doctors Manitoba. This is the first time in over a year that the backlog has decreased. This reflects a return in many areas to pre-pandemic volumes which stops the backlog from growing, while in some areas additional capacity above pre-pandemic levels is now starting to clear the backlog. The updated backlog estimate shows: - 55,728 surgeries as of March 2022, an increase of 158 cases over last months estimate. - 44,094 diagnostic imaging procedures as of March 2022, down 2,095 cases over last months estimate. - 67,081 other diagnostic testing procedures as of April 2022, including allergy tests, endoscopies, mammograms, sleep disorder studies, and lung function tests, an improvement of 358 cases over last months estimate. Estimated decreases in the backlog were largely fueled by additional volumes in ultrasound, mammography and endoscopy. "Its some good news and much of the improvement reflects staff that was pulled from other areas and redeployed to be a part of the pandemic response," said Keir Johnson, director of strategy and communications for Doctors Manitoba. "Hospitals are getting back to pre-pandemic levels of surgery and testing they used to do. Getting back to those volumes stops the backlog from growing, but doesnt tackle the backlog itself." This change aside, there are still more than 166,000 surgeries and tests waiting to be performed, Johnson said. He pointed out most other areas were basically unchanged from last month, with very modest increases or decreases. The latest numbers represent a drop of 1.3 per cent. At the current rate, it would take six years to clear the backlog, according to Johnson. The advocacy organization also put forth a series of suggestions to help clear the backlog faster. The proposed solutions fall into two categories. First, the system must return to the baseline of pre-pandemic volumes. With the omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the initial focus has been on returning diagnostic and surgical capacity to pre-pandemic volumes. Once this is done, it will stop the backlog from growing. The other is to add capacity to clear the backlog. After more than two years, Johnson said Manitobas health-care system needs "significant" new capacity to catch up and keep up with the demand for tests and surgeries. This can include adding more capacity in hospitals, where traditionally most testing and surgeries have been performed, as well as considering out-of-hospital capacity in doctors offices and surgical centres. The recommendations come from consultations with different physician specialty groups. To determine the cataract surgery numbers, Johnson said they did collaborate with ophthalmologists to find out what actions need to be taken to tackle the backlog. In terms of cataract surgery, allergy testing, mammograms and complex lung capacity and respiratory tests, reducing caps and limits would help bring those back to pre-pandemic levels, Johnson said. The issue facing increasing capacity has been caps. The reason there are caps at all is budgetary. Johnson said the provincial government sets aside a limited amount of funds for all of those and once those are reached, there is a freeze. Another critical component is nurses and technologists. While Doctors Manitoba advocates for physicians, Johnson said this is the biggest barrier to clearing the backlog because nurses and technologists are critical in administering medicine. The provincial government has been working to increase spaces for nursing students, as well as get out-of-province trained nurses certified faster. Johnson said these steps are a good start, but the government must also care for the nurses already working in the system. "A lot of staff are stressed out, and burnout is a real issue in the system right now. Morale is at the lowest its ever been" he said. "What they could do is give more incentives for nurses to keep them working in the province. We understand it takes years to train new nurses and technologists, but they need to have supports in place for the ones here and coming in." The Sun contacted the Manitoba Nurses Union Tuesday for comment but didnt receive a response by press time. Its a difficult situation, but a human resources strategy is critical in clearing the backlog, said Bob Moroz, president of the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, in an email. Speaking specifically to the growing MRI backlog, wait times are averaging 24 weeks, up 50 per cent from February 2020. "This month, Shared Health stated that they need 16 additional MRI technologists to drive down wait times but stopped short of providing funding or any other commitments to achieve this," he said. "Manitobans have gone far too long without a plan." Shared Health and Manitoba Health didnt respond to a request for comment by press time Tuesday. The full surgical and diagnostic backlog dashboard can be accessed at DoctorsManitoba.ca/backlog. kmckinley@brandonsun.com Twitter: @karenleighmcki1 Stopping the military from internally prosecuting sexual misconduct is only one step towards improving conditions in the Canadian Armed Forces, according to a Brandon University sociology professor. Advertisement Advertise With Us Stopping the military from internally prosecuting sexual misconduct is only one step towards improving conditions in the Canadian Armed Forces, according to a Brandon University sociology professor. On Monday, former Supreme Court of Canada justice Louise Arbour released a report recommending that civilian police and courts handle sexual assault cases moving forward. There have been several high-profile cases in recent years involving top ranking members of the military, including former chief of the defence staff Gen. Jonathan Vance. "We need to be cautiously optimistic," said Christopher Schneider, a BU professor who recently co-authored a book titled "Defining Sexual Misconduct: Power, Media and #MeToo" with Stacey Hannam. "It was noted in the report that civilian courts are imperfect but that the civilian courts have more experience in the cases of sexual misconduct. When you look at the way any cases of sexual violence have been prosecuted in civilian courts, the track records is also not real stellar." While civilian courts have more practice dealing with those cases, Schneider isnt sure that the move will fix the problem. However, he said he believes that this report sends a signal to the military that theyve had enough time to deal with their failings and its been documented again and again that no improvements have been made. Removing people who could potentially abuse their position or rank to influence investigators technically under their commander from influencing investigations could be another positive. "One of the things here I think is important is that the military operates under a hierarchy, a command structure," he said. "So there is a disincentive for people who are victimized to go up through the ranks to report the sexual violence because the perception is and the reality is that its happened that it could adversely affect ones career in the military in terms of rank, promotion, treatment by ones colleagues. Again, this is all documented as well." That aspect, he said, is not present in civilian courts because of its different structure. Schneider wonders if thats what the recommendation is based on. When it comes to improving the culture in the military that led to cases of sexual misconduct and this report, Schneider said he believes that moving cases to the civilian system alone wont dismantle the power structures at the root of the problem. "These things happen as a result of patriarchy, misogyny and broader systemic issues," he said. "The military has its own culture, but moving it out of there isnt going to change that. For example, one of the recommendations is the possibility of scrapping military colleges where military cadets would start attending universities. "We know very well including whats happening in terms of the sexual harassment scandal that sexual violence against women happens at all universities. Moving one to the other is not going to correct or eliminate the problem of sexual violence." In an email to the Sun, Brandon-Souris Conservative MP Larry Maguire urged the governing Liberals not to let this report and its recommendations gather dust. "I firmly believe any investigation of sexual misconduct must be done by investigators outside the chain of command," he wrote. "It is unacceptable that allegations against a superior are reported to someone who reports to that person and may share information with them." Its important the grievance process has appropriate checks and balances, that grievances filed by members of the Canadian Armed Forces are addressed within a defined timeframe, and that additional measures for accountability are instituted, he added. "The government should also ensure the definition of sexual assault used by Canadian Armed Forces is applied uniformly and consistently throughout the organization and implement a victim-centred approach to victims of crime." cslark@brandonsun.com Twitter: @ColinSlark OTTAWA - The federal Liberals faced calls Wednesday to take a national approach to decriminalization amid the mounting death toll of the opioid crisis, even as the House of Commons voted against an NDP bill to allow drugs for personal use countrywide. Advertisement Advertise With Us Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada David Lametti rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, May 16, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle OTTAWA - The federal Liberals faced calls Wednesday to take a national approach to decriminalization amid the mounting death toll of the opioid crisis, even as the House of Commons voted against an NDP bill to allow drugs for personal use countrywide. After the rejection of the bill was announced, someone in the chamber could be heard crying out, "Shame on you!" Next year, British Columbia will join a handful of jurisdictions around the world where drug users will not face charges for possessing small amounts of some illicit drugs for personal use. "There isnt at this stage any larger discussion on decriminalization," federal Justice Minister David Lametti told reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday, noting that the issue falls under the health portfolio, not justice. Asked in French whether Ottawa should take a pan-Canadian approach rather than considering individual jurisdictions' requests, Lametti said that is something that should be studied, but the government is not doing so now. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared to leave the door open a little on Wednesday, saying the federal government will not pursue decriminalization with other jurisdictions without putting "the system and supports in place." Trudeau said the government took this approach with B.C. by building capacity and offering many ways to support people, such as projects offering a safe supply of illicit drugs. Carolyn Bennett, minister of mental health and addictions, left the door wider still. She said the government will watch how decriminalization unfolds in B.C. to see if it achieves its intended goals for "both public safety and public health." NDP MP Gord Johns said Wednesday that the federal government had an opportunity to pass his private member's bill, which would amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to decriminalize personal drug possession across Canada. Johns, who is the party's critic for mental health and addictions, said the toxicity of the drug supply is claiming Canadian lives. "I hope they'll do the right thing," said Johns ahead of the vote. "Otherwise they are going to have blood on their hands." The Bloc Quebecois, Greens and a handful of Liberal MPs ultimately joined the NDP in voting in favour of the bill, but it was defeated 71-248 with the Conservatives and most Liberals voting against. Bennett said that once B.C.'s plan has rolled out, and the results can be assessed, the federal government will be able to respond to any "unintended consequences." "I think all the other jurisdictions will be interested in learning from the B.C. experience," said Bennett. Not every province was jumping at the chance. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said Tuesday he has concerns about the federal governments decision to decriminalize possession of small amounts of illegal drugs in B.C. The Manitoba government also said Tuesday it will not follow B.C.'s example. Quebec Premier Francois Legault said Wednesday the province has no plans to pursue decriminalization, adding the government does not think it is necessary. On Wednesday, Saskatchewans government said it was not considering any decision to criminally exempt substances like methamphetamine and cocaine. It is unknown what potential long-term effects that decriminalizing illicit drugs will have with regards to public safety. Our government is focused on ensuring that treatment services are available to help people with substance abuse issues to access recovery, it said in a statement. New Brunswick Health Minister Dorothy Shephard said she was interested to hear what B.C. has done but it was too early to comment. Her province has been working to help people affected by the drug crisis rather than criminalize them, she said. On the campaign trail in Ontario, the New Democrats said they would work with Ottawa on decriminalizing drugs for personal use if elected, but the Liberals aren't considering a similar move. The Progressive Conservatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Separately, the City of Toronto has asked Ottawa to allow it to decriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs. Bennett said there has also been some interest from Montreal, Edmonton and Saskatoon, but they have not submitted proposals seeking decriminalization. Trudeau has said in years past that the federal government would not pursue decriminalization as an option for tackling the toxic drug and opioid overdose crisis. Conservative MP Brad Vis, who represents the B.C. riding of Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon, said he doesn't think decriminalization will fix the crisis in the province without also improving access to addiction treatments and mental health supports. B.C.'s three-year exemption from federal drug laws means people with small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use will not have their drugs seized by police. Vis said the province already had "de facto decriminalization," in which most police officers didn't arrest people for simple possession, nor did the Crown lay charges against those individuals. As a crisis of opioid-related overdoses and deaths rages on in Canada, advocates have long been saying that decriminalization would help to reduce stigma associated with drug use and help save lives. Since January 2016, almost 27,000 Canadians have died from opioid-related causes, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2022. --- This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship. With files from Mickey Djuric in Regina and Kevin Bissett in Fredericton NICOSIA, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus on Wednesday removed all remaining COVID-19 restrictions, including the indoor face mask mandate and all entry requirements at airports and ports, the Health Ministry said in a statement. The government made the decision last week citing the improved epidemiological situation in the country and the COVID-19 advisory group's recommendations. According to the Health Ministry's latest weekly pandemic update, the official daily count of new coronavirus cases has dropped to below 250 from close to 1,000 a month ago in a population of less than a million. The ministry said that the wearing of face masks will no longer be mandatory indoors, except in high-risk areas, such as hospitals, clinics and care homes. The ministry still recommends the use of face masks in crowded places by people belonging to vulnerable groups and by those who come in contact with high-risk individuals. In a separate statement, the Transport Ministry said that all COVID-19 measures at the country's airports and ports were lifted on Wednesday morning. Travelers will no longer be required to present a COVID-19 vaccination or recovery certificate on arrival. Coronavirus testing upon arrival has also been scrapped. The government has also deactivated its action plan for the smooth operation of the country's airports and ports, which according to Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos was a sign of return to normal. He said that the removal of restrictions should encourage travel and contribute to an increase in the number of tourists, as Cyprus is making an all-out effort to return to pre-coronavirus levels of tourism. Seven West Media boss James Warburton has urged the Albanese government to swiftly close a loophole in federal anti-siphoning laws to prevent subscription-based streaming services from capturing rights to popular sporting competitions such as the AFL. The comments, made just hours after new Communications Minister Michelle Rowland was sworn into the ministry, come as longtime AFL broadcaster Seven jostles with US streaming giants Amazon and Paramount in the leagues next rights deal. Warburton wants the laws to change so that sports such as AFL, NRL and cricket remain on free-to-air. Credit:Quinn Rooney Labor made a pre-election pledge to change anti-siphoning laws to restrict global streaming services from bidding for major sporting events such as the AFL and Australian Open before free-to-air broadcasters have the chance to do so. Warburton said in a speech at the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) in Sydney that closing the loophole needed to be an important priority for the new government. Free means keeping sport on free TV by ensuring Australians have access to events like the Olympics or their local AFL derby without having to pay, Warburton said. This is achieved through the anti-siphoning list, which ensures the most popular sporting events are on free-to-air television and not on subscription television. But there is a loophole in the anti-siphoning list. Currently, there is nothing preventing sporting codes selling directly to streaming companies, with the entire sport disappearing behind a paywall. The libertarian activists at the Australian Taxpayers Alliance are set to hold their annual Friedman Unchained conference next month at the unsuitably Soviet surrounds of the University Technology Sydney, with Northern Territory Senator-elect Jacinta Price booked in as the headline act. Change of jobs: George Christensen. Credit:John Shakespeare Price, the Country Liberals latest pick, is a Warlpiri-Celtic woman from Alice Springs, a Sky After Dark favourite and long-time conservative activist best known for her campaign to Save Australia Day. Getting a new senator is a big coup for the alliance, whove recently been fighting a largely unsuccessful battle to legalise vaping. Joining Price in the line-up so far is the Liberal Democrats former Victorian upper house MP and failed Senate candidate David Limbrick, famously fined for attending an anti-lockdown protest in 2020. Attendees willing to stump up $400 for a standard ticket will also hear from cryptocurrency enthusiast Sinclair Davidson, University of Queensland law professor Suri Ratnapala and the Australian Taxpayers Alliances own Gabe Buckley, a former Liberal Democrat Senate candidate and avowed Satanist and mad hedonist. Its a tough world out there for some of the 46th parliaments biggest culture warriors. George Christensen, who resigned from the Liberal Party before the election and then failed to get re-elected for One Nation, is now shilling $99 annual subscriptions to his daily Substack newsletter. Change of jobs: George Christensen. Credit:John Shakespeare For my little girls sake I just cant do this job for free, the former MP told his loyal subscribers. Will it be enough to replace his $211,250 per year backbench salary? Well Gorgeous George is boasting on his newsletter about turning down a cushy three-year $350,000 per annum government job so he could keep on posting. I still want to fight for my daughters freedom and her future, just like I want to fight for your freedom and future, he wrote. The newly elected president of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians has warned that pandemic-fuelled burnout in healthcare workers is a crisis demanding urgent action as the country heads into winter. In her first interview since being appointed in May, Dr Jacqueline Small called for the wellbeing of Australias healthcare workers to be the top priority as the nations healthcare system grapples with the combination of rising flu and coronavirus cases, delayed medical care, and severe staff shortages. Royal Australasian College of Physicians President Jacqueline Small. Credit:Janie Barrett Burnout has to be number one because it is immediate, its happening now, the paediatrician said. It is compromising the wellbeing of the workforce, and that affects the care that the health system can provide. If we dont have a healthy workforce then how can we actually be responding to the ongoing challenges? The long-running defamation case brought by war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith against three media outlets has entered its final days of evidence, as a former Special Air Service soldier was called to testify about a key mission in Afghanistan. On Wednesday, the 97th day of the trial, a former SAS troop commander dubbed Person 81 told the Federal Court in Sydney that he was present in 2009 during a mission in Afghanistan involving a compound dubbed Whiskey 108. Roberts-Smith was also present on that mission and the events that transpired on that day are a central issue in the trial. Ben Roberts-Smith arrives at the Federal Court in May. Credit:Louise Kennerley Roberts-Smith is suing The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times for defamation over a series of articles in 2018 that he says portray him as a war criminal who was complicit in the unlawful killing of unarmed Afghan prisoners. Under the rules of engagement that bound the SAS, prisoners could not be killed. The decorated former soldier denies all wrongdoing and has said any killings happened lawfully in the heat of battle. A 10-year-old girl from Ukraine has completed an extraordinary journey to escape the war, travelling 15,000 kilometres on her own to find safe haven in Australia. Victoria (not her real name) had never flown on a plane before but came via Hungary and Dubai with a small bag carrying only a few belongings, including a Ukrainian flag, which now hangs proudly on her bedroom wall. Ten-year-old Ukrainian girl Victoria on her flight to Australia. Ukrainian-born Australian resident Veronika Rowe said the girls survival instinct enabled her to make such a long journey to Queenslands Sunshine Coast. She didnt have any tantrums, she didnt cry, Rowe said. She just asked, Can I sleep on the plane? Thats what Emirates staff told us. These are commercial decisions, and these are issues that people should ask the company. I dont speak for the company. Livingstone Shire Council Mayor Andy Ireland said he got wind of Rineharts withdrawal last Friday. I rang the project engineer for Hancock, just to get a feel for the decision, and he said the level of involvement from all levels of government has been wonderful, he said. Its just a commercial decision theyve made that, at this point in time, it doesnt stack up financially. Businesses like Hancock Prospecting are in business to make money, and it didnt stack up, so I dont think theres any blame to be allocated here. I think everyone worked very hard to get this over the line. Regardless of the disappointment, Ireland said it didnt mean the end of Great Keppel Island. I think we, as a community, just need to keep supporting it. Great Keppel Island Resort in 2009, two years after its closure. Credit:James Shrimpton/AAP Ireland said his council had increased its contribution to local regional tourism organisation Capricorn Enterprise so it could continue to promote the modest facilities, such as camping grounds and boutique accommodation, already on the island. I think now will be the time for the state, which actually owns the islands and the leases that have been subject to negotiation up until now, to start taking a leadership role on this; sitting down with the stakeholders including council, the businesses on the island, the community in general and developing a strategic plan for Great Keppel, he said. At the moment, the state is committed to spending about $30 million on community infrastructure on the island, and that process has been underway for a period of time. And certain projects have been identified out of that, which will be good for GPI. Going forward, we need to have a much stronger strategic plan for the island. Such a plan is unlikely to see a return to the Great Keppel Island of Irelands youth, when visitors were enticed by the Get wrecked on Great Keppel Island advertising slogan. When I was growing up here, Great Keppel Island was pumping, he said. As a university student in those days, it was fantastic because we would go over there on Friday night after lectures, party on, sleep on the beach, and catch the boat home the following morning. It was a fantastic facility that was available to families and everybody, as well as the resort itself, which was available to paying customers. While such an approach would likely not fly in the era of responsible drinking, Ireland said there was still an opportunity to create a valuable family destination for the local community and tourists alike. But he remained realistic about the challenges of attracting investment. Loading I understand completely the cost of running islands and the cost of maintaining them, Ireland said. Whenever youre looking at something on an island, you can multiply your cost base exponentially, so it is extremely expensive to do anything. If you want to build something, youre probably dealing with about 11 different government departments at the same time, so it can be challenging from that point of view as well ... So I understand the decision, theres no one to blame. What parts of our city are you most proud of? What pieces feel the most like Melbourne? Perhaps it is one of our icons like the MCG or Flinders Street Station. Or maybe it is our laneways and bluestone footpaths. They feel luxurious to walk on, and have become synonymous with our city. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said however for our street furniture. Our stainless-steel seats, lighting, bins and tram shelters are functional but are entirely bland and generic. We interact with these city objects every day, yet they foster no community pride and conjure no sense of home. Their design has nothing to say about our creative and diverse city. Stainless steel seating in Bourke Street. Credit:Joe Armao With news that the City of Melbourne is reviewing the design standards for our street furniture, it is time to lift our ambition. One of the most beguiling abilities of good architecture or design is its ability to conjure identity. We need to be unleashing this power on our street furniture so that it sings Melbourne the same way that Flinders Street Station, Federation Square or the MCG does. We should be able to look at these objects in isolation and feel they intrinsically belong in our vibrant city, like a yellow cheese stick across a freeway. Residents in eastern Victoria were warned to brace for intense winds of up to 90km/h as a low-pressure system moved through the Bass Strait on the first day of winter. The Bureau of Meteorology had issued a severe weather warning for Melbourne, Gippsland and parts of north-eastern Victoria and urged residents to stay indoors on Wednesday morning. Icy winds and rain greeted commuters on the first day of winter in central Melbourne. Credit:Jason South The bureau cancelled all severe weather warnings in Victoria about 2pm on Wednesday, citing no more immediate threats. However, Victorias State Emergency Service continued to advise people to be aware of fallen trees and floodwaters on roads. A frost warning soon followed for every part of Victoria except the Gippsland districts. Parts of the state will see temperatures as low as minus 2 degrees on Thursday morning, with areas north of the ranges bracing for major frost. A log bridge for koalas, touted as the nations first, might help the leaf-loving locals cross Boundary Road in Brisbanes south, but a much greater threat looms over the marsupials habitat. With advice from koala experts, the log bridge is being built at Coorparoo by Brisbane City Council because 20 koalas have died after being hit by cars there in the past five years. A report into the first year of Queenslands new five-year Koala Conservation Strategy shows hits, complications and misses. Credit:Tony Moore But the annual report of the first year of the five-year South East Queensland Koala Conservation Strategy shows a more complex problem involving the habitat that koalas need to survive. Since mid-2020, councils no longer have control of koala populations in south-east Queensland. Missing woman Cara Morrissey and her dog were found safe on Wednesday afternoon following a cold and wet two-day search in Melbournes southeast. The 30-year-old left her home to walk her dog near Tirhatuan Park, which runs along the Dandenong Creek, at about 7.30am on Tuesday. Missing woman Cara Morrissey and her dog, Holly, were found at a train station late on Wednesday afternoon. Police had called in a specialist search and rescue crew to assist the investigation on Tuesday morning. Community members also jumped in to help, braving the icy weather to letterbox drop missing-person fliers. Rhonda Morrissey said when her daughter failed to return home from her morning walk, she began to search the nearby area. Education Department staff who are still registered as teachers are being offered expenses-paid stays in regional and rural Victoria to fill casual relief shifts at schools hit hard by COVID-related staff shortages. Influenza and COVID-19 cases have hit many schools hard this term. There is also a statewide shortage of casual relief teachers. Schools have split classes and, in some cases, sent certain year levels home, temporarily, to learn remotely. But, in all but a few instances, schools have stayed open. The Education Department is offering registered teachers expenses-paid stays in regional Victoria to plug COVID-related teacher shortages in rural schools. Credit: Victorias Education Department secretary, Jenny Atta, has urged any staff who retain teacher registration to step forward to work as relief teachers in government schools due to the continuing high level of COVID-19 transmission across the Victorian community. For staff willing and able to relocate for one or more days to provide relief teaching support in a rural location or regional centre, financial support will be available to cover all incurred expenses, including travel, accommodation and meals, Atta wrote in a departmental email last month. Australias most successful private technology company, graphic design software firm Canva, is withdrawing entirely from Russia following pressure from the Australian-Ukrainian technology community and discussions with the Ukrainian embassy. It had cut off payments from Russia on March 1, soon after the countrys invasion of Ukraine, but had kept its free service available there with anti-war design templates and a pro-peace banner. After Australian-Ukrainian activists began targeting the company in mid-May Canva stepped up its language but stopped short of pulling out of Russia, arguing it was aiding anti-war voices in the country. Canvas Cliff Obrecht announced the company is blocking Russia. But it has reconsidered, with co-founder Cliff Obrecht declaring on Wednesday the company is blocking access to Russia indefinitely, which will affect about 1.4 million users. Obrecht, who is Canvas chief operating officer, said while the company was proud of its role earlier in the conflict raising awareness, the situation had changed. Though there was room for voices and protest during the early stages of the war, the Russian government has now shut down the vast majority of communication channels, making it impossible for people to voice dissent, Obrecht said in a blog post seen by this masthead. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Negombo, Sri Lanka: As their engine broke down in rough seas and several began vomiting blood, the 12 young men on board a small trawler heading for Australia feared they would not make it out alive. If the [Australian] Border Force had been a day or two later, one of us might have died, said 31-year-old Sri Lankan fisherman Pathmanathan Anthony Pradeep. Some were so sick and there was only water left for two days. In interviews with The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in Sri Lanka, the men have told how they spent a perilous 19 days on the Indian Ocean before being intercepted west of Christmas Island on the morning of Australias federal election. Fisherman Pathmanathan Anthony Pradeep with his son and other members of the group who travelled from Sri Lanka to Australia by boat on their friends trawler. Credit:Pradeep Dambarage Their journey is the subject of an investigation by the new Labor government, which is probing the timing and circumstances of a controversial Border Force statement that almost immediately publicised the capture of their vessel on May 21 on the instructions of then-prime minister Scott Morrisons office. The announcement was an apparent diversion from a Border Force policy to not comment on operations in progress and was seized upon by the Liberal Party, which bombarded voters in marginal seats with text messages, urging them to keep our borders secure by voting Liberal today. Warnakulasuriya Iresha Dulanjal Fernando, wife of the detained skipper, and their daughter Leeza. Credit:Pradeep Dambarage Advertisement All friends and family aged in their 20s and 30s, the fishermen had been attempting to travel to Australia to escape the hardship of a crippling economic crisis in Sri Lanka that has brought the island nation of 22 million to its knees. Now back in the coastal city of Negombo after being deported by air from Christmas Island on May 24, those who were on the boat said they were unaware they were being used as an election-day political pawn. Barely able to put food on the table for their families as the bankrupt nation Sri Lanka reels from critical shortages of food, fuel, medicine and soaring prices, they said they had set off from the western coastal town of Kalpitiya before dawn on May 2 out of sheer desperation. A photo of the trawler that was intercepted by Border Force west of Christmas Island on the morning of the federal election. They did not pay people smugglers, they said, but organised the journey themselves on a boat one of them owned. An election in Australia was the last thing on their minds. How could we predict the day? We just wanted to save our lives and get to shore, said father-of-two Pathmanathan. We didnt even know there was an election on. We didnt know how many days it would take to reach Australia. Their testimony debunks a theory that Australian and Sri Lankan authorities could have colluded in arranging for the trawler to appear near Christmas Island only hours before Australians cast their ballots. Advertisement We didnt even know there was an election on. We didnt know how many days it would take to reach Australia. Pathmanathan Anthony Pradeep The fishermen believed Australia would take them in despite the Australian governments policy of turning back boats under Operation Sovereign Borders. People used to go to Australia and get accepted, so thats why we chose Australia, said Warnakulasuriya Meril Christopher, 39, a father of three who borrowed 150,000 rupees ($578) to pay his share towards fuel and supplies of the boat. We thought that since the Australians knew that we were going through tremendous hardship here, that people had no more food to eat, that they would accept us. It didnt matter what I did there, even if it was sweeping or cleaning toilets. My main objective was to provide a life for my children. We didnt think the Australian government would send us back like this. Father-of-three Warnakulasuriya Meril Christopher with one of his children. Credit:Pradeep Dambarage A decade ago, before Australia launched its boat turnback policy, as many as 120 boats a year ventured from Sri Lanka towards Australia, as people tried to escape civil war between the military and Tamil separatists, and the continued persecution of Tamils after the conflict ended in 2009. Now, as the South Asian democracys economy unravels, fuelling rising anger against the long-ruling Rajapaksa clan, Sri Lankans are being pushed to the edge again. In early May, the Sri Lanka Navy arrested 54 people who had embarked from the north-east town of Mullaitivu and were en route to Australia. Another boat headed for Australia was stopped in Sri Lankan waters on May 18, with 67 passengers and crew arrested, including five suspected of involvement in human smuggling. Advertisement Most of the men on the boat that made it close to Christmas Island are fishermen but Sri Lanka has all but run out of fuel in the past month. Most trawlers have no longer been able to get out to sea and what work they had has dried up. Yenuki Shenaya Bandara (left), who is six months pregnant, and her husband Araganthan Pradeep (right) who was on the boat. Credit:Pradeep Dambarage Araganthan Pradeep, a 29-year-old who dries fish for a living, chose to go despite his wife Yenuki Shenaya Bandara being six months pregnant with their first child. I vomited from the beginning until the end and I couldnt eat anything for the last three days so I vomited blood, he said. I went because I wanted to do the right thing by my wife and unborn child. I felt scared to leave her but I thought if I stayed, the situation here would be so bad that I wouldnt be able to look after her or the child in the future. His wife, who is 28, said: When I go to the doctor I have to spend a lot of money for my appointments. Its my first child after four years of marriage, so I allowed him to go so he could make a path for us. Sri Lankan police bring ashore a group of people who were attempting to travel to Australia on another boat before the election. Credit:AP On board, they battled for two days to repair the boats engine and only managed to fix a dangerous oil leak when they discovered an old roll of double-sided tape. They were drenched most of the time, they said, as they crowded at the front of the trawler to prevent it from capsizing. Advertisement One of the youngest on board, 21-year-old Warnakulasuriya Julian Priyanshan Fernando, an out-of-work sound engineer, pawned his familys jewellery, with their permission, on the afternoon before they departed in order to contribute 200,000 rupees ($777) towards the trip. Wed had this idea in our heads for a while but we hadnt intended to put it into action, he said. The actual thing happened very suddenly. I went and pawned the jewellery that afternoon and next morning at 4am we left. He had been working as a cashier in a mobile phone shop but with costs skyrocketing in Sri Lanka, the 20,000 rupees ($77) a month he was earning did not go far. The way Sri Lanka is going now I cant live with the salary I get and its not enough to look after my parents, he said. The money was good for a week or two but thats it. My father is a fisherman but there is no fuel so its difficult for him to go to work. Even though we are surviving in this situation, were not sure what will happen in a month or two. We dont know if what we earn will be enough for even a week. When they learnt that they would be flown home, we wanted to cry because we had suffered so much, Julian said. Advertisement Tata-owned has launched a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for its employees- in the airline's first drive to reduce headcount. The salt-to-steel conglomerate acquired the carrier last year. As of November 2019, the airline had 9,426 permanent . According to the VRS memo reviewed by Business Standard, permanent above 55 years of age or those who have completed 20 years of service can opt for the VRS package. But for cabin crew, clerical and unskilled workforce, those aged 40 can also apply. opting for VRS will receive an additional incentive over the ex-gratia amount, the memo said. Employees who apply for the Voluntary Retirement Scheme between June 1 and 30 June are being asked to get in touch with the head of personnel department of your region, the memo signed by Suresh Dutt Tripathi, Chief Human Resources Officer, said. While the company has announced a VRS, it is simultaneously on a recruitment drive and is conducting walk-in interviews for cabin crew in Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. It is also poaching hired mid- and senior-level executives from rivals for specialised departments such as engineering, network planning and revenue management. Arun Kashyap, who used to lead the engineering department at low-cost carrier SpiceJet, has joined as head of engineering. The Tatas are also bringing in executives from sister as leaders in the department. Rajesh Dogra, a TCS veteran who headed the Passport Seva programme, is now head of customer experience and ground handling at while Satya Ramaswamy, head of strategic initiatives at Tata Digital, is now the airline's chief digital and technology officer. Adil Noshir Tantra, head of Tata Consultancy Services for South Africa, is heading the project to revamp the Air Indis website and call centre. The idea is to include fresh blood and revamp the core department starting with the customer focused departments in the beginning, said a person aware of the development. LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia's decision three years ago to take control of a mine in the country's north will be subject to an hearing in January, the country's minister said on Wednesday, after a lengthy dispute over the mine's ownership. Zambia in May 2019 handed control of Konkola (KCM) to a state-appointed provisional liquidator, triggering a legal battle with its previous owner, India-listed Vedanta, with arguments heard in Zambia and South Africa. Zambia's government accused at the time of failing to honour licence conditions, including promised investment - accusations that has denied. Minister Paul Kabuswe said the referral to came after legal rulings. "Following the Court of Appeal's decision to stay proceedings and refer the matter back to - a decision supported by the Supreme Court - a hearing is now set for 9th January 2023," Kabuswe said in a statement. "In the interim, efforts are continuing to find a solution that unlocks KCM's potential and delivers maximum benefit to the people of Zambia." Kabuswe again denied speculation that the government plans to give KCM back to Vedanta, saying had "sacrificed" its licence to operate in the country. Vedanta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company last month offered to step up investment in KCM and implement several social responsibility programmes if it resumes control of the firm. (Reporting by Chris Mfula; Writing by Helen Reid; Editing by David Holmes) (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-focused Cordelia Cruises is planning to pump in excess of USD 1 billion by 2025 for acquiring at least three cruise ships as it aims to target the domestic market, which has world's third-largest coastline of 7,500 kms, a top company official said. The company's bullish outlook is in line with the government's projection of a 10-fold growth for this industry over the next decade. " will do extremely well in the cruise sector. I am confident that in the next 5-7 years will be one of the top five cruise destinations of the world, similar to China five years ago. We have aggressive expansion plans. We want to add at least three cruise vessels by 2025 that could cost over USD 1 billion," Waterways Leisure Tourism CEO Jurgen Bailom told PTI in an interview. Cordelia is owned by Waterways Leisure Tourism -- an arm of Dream Hotel Group -- controlled by the Indian American hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal. Bailom said with government's focus and support, the investment from this Indian venture could rise to even USD 1.5-2 billion to meet the growing appetite for cruising by Indians over the next few years. Many foreign cruise liners have already shown interest in entering India, he said. Asked about financing the expansion, Bailom said the Indian banking system does not have enough experience in vessel financing but there are "specialist financiers" for cruise liners. Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways recently said that the Indian cruise market has the potential to grow 10-fold over the next decade, driven by rising demand and disposable incomes. "We are a proud Indian company and will remain focused on domestic guests. After the COVID lockdown, since last September and now, we already had 1.15-1.18 lakh guests which is a good response," Bailom said. aims to increase cruise passenger traffic from 0.4 million at present to 4 million. Economic potential of Cruise tourism is expected to go up from USD 110 million to USD 5.5 billion in the years to come. "About two lakh Indian guests travel overseas for cruising every year. We expect this number to double in one year. While in the next 3 years the number of cruise guests may touch one million per annum for domestic cruising," Bailom said. Bailom noted that though ports are good but the access for 1,500-2000 guests to board and disembark for is not a very pleasant experience which needs an urgent correction. "We have submitted a white paper suggesting some measures including a five-year tax break that will boost the industry to expand the way the government aims," Bailom who is one of the key experts of the sector in India said in the virtual interaction. Bailom said the company is looking forward to connecting "Kolkata" as a destination in their East-coverage plan. Cordelia was till recently ferrying within West coasts, is now chartering into East coasts touching Visakhapatnam and Chennai. When asked, Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Santanu Thakur said the government will support the cruise industry to grow and cruise liners are welcome to touch new states. "We want a holistic experience for guests blended with the "culture" of the respective state when guests arrive at any destination," Thakur told PTI. Kolkata Port, known as Syama Prasad Port Kolkata, Chairman, Vinit Kumar has invited cruise liners to explore Kolkata. The port has plans to develop a cruise terminal. India needs more ports as six ports are not enough to cover the country with cruise tourism, Bailom 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 country's largest two-wheeler maker on Wednesday said its total sales stood at 4,86,704 units in May. The company had sold 4,18,622 units in April this year and 1,83,044 units in May 2021 when the sales were impacted due to the second wave of COVID-19. Domestic sales stood at 4,66,466 units last month. The company had dispatched 1,59,561 units in the domestic market in May 2021. The two-wheeler major also announced postponement of its first electric vehicle unveil, which was earlier scheduled to take place in July, to the festive season later this year. The volumes in the month of May indicate the continuously improving and the company expects the positive trend to continue in the coming months on the back of normal monsoon, decent Rabi harvest and continued government policy support, noted. While lauding the recent steps taken by the government to reduce the central excise duty on petrol and diesel, the company pointed out that the increase in the third-party insurance rates would, however, adversely impact customer sentiment at a time when the industry has just started to recover, as this will further increase the upfront costs of two-wheelers in India. "It is not usual to have insurance paid for 3-5 yrs instead of annual renewals, as is generally the case in many countries. The industry seeks government intervention and support in this regard," Executive Director Vikram Kasbekar stated. The two-wheeler industry provides employment to millions of people, thereby playing the role of an income enabler in the economic growth of the country, he added. "We need to continue to support its revival and growth," Kasbekar said. Hero MotoCorp Head of Emerging Mobility Business Unit (EMBU) Swadesh Srivastava said in line with the company's philosophy of providing the highest quality products to customers, the two-wheeler maker remains committed to bringing the best of (EVs) for its customers across the globe. "The ongoing geopolitical situation has resulted in enormous supply chain issues and shortage of various components, including semiconductors. Keeping customers as the top-most priority, we, therefore, feel it would be prudent to unveil the first EV product around the upcoming festive period instead of July as earlier announced," he noted. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ltd. is committing to a strategy of working with international partners and establishing overseas hubs after the pandemic exposed the financial dangers of not having a domestic air travel market. The airline is open to opportunities and will evaluate potential synergies, Chief Executive Officer Goh Choon Phong said in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday. We realized that without a domestic market has its challenges, Goh said. Thats why we have the multi-hub strategy. We establish an external hub, whereby we hope we can then participate in the growth from that market. Goh, a 58-year-old industry veteran who joined in 1990 and became CEO in 2011, is trying to guide one of Asias most pre-eminent carriers out of the toughest period in its history. This time last year, the airline had just announced a record annual loss and was flying only a few thousand people a month compared with as many as 2 million passengers in pre-Covid times. Unsure when the situation might improve, had to raise billions of dollars to get through the crisis. Now that Singapore and most other countries around the world have opened their borders again to quarantine-free travel, the carrier was able to increase traffic to more than 1 million passengers in April, the most since the pandemic began. Thai Setback Singapore Airlines has tried to operate in domestic markets before, to mixed success. The airline attempted to expand its footprint in Thailand in 2014, but the joint venture carrier ended up being liquidated when the pandemic hit. The multi-hub strategy involves setting up an airline venture in another country that can tap the potential growth in that domestic market, as well as benefit from any flow-on international services. Singapore Airlines budget carrier unit Scoot set up NokScoot Airlines Co., a venture with Nok Airlines Pcl, in 2014 to provide services for short- and medium-haul flights from Thailand. NokScoots board decided to liquidate the business in June 2020 after failing to fully start operations of the low-cost carrier. Im not ashamed to say that we have tried for example, in Thailand, with NokScoot and of course, with the pandemic it became very difficult, Goh said. Whats important really is the strategy of identifying the right partner to work with in the multi-hub scenario, he said. It may not work, but that should not deter us from doing what we think is the right strategy. And we must be willing to take some risk. Importance of India In the interview, Goh highlighted India as a key growth area, saying it is expected to become the worlds third-biggest aviation market by the middle of this decade, if not before. Singapore Airlines teamed up with Indian conglomerate Tata Sons Pvt. to form full-service carrier Vistara, which started flying in 2014. now serves nine overseas destinations and 31 in India, though it has yet to make a profit. India is obviously a very important one because its going to be massive, Goh said. We want to continue to look at scaling up and ensuring that it grows well. Apart from the huge domestic market -- already the worlds third largest -- Indias allure also lies in international passengers. Close to 4.8 million people traveled between India and Singapore in 2019, before the pandemic, data from Indias Directorate General of Civil Aviation show. With Vistara, Singapore Airlines aims to cater to Indians flying to Europe and the US, poaching them from Gulf rivals that dominate the Indian overseas air-travel market. Goh refused to be drawn on whether Singapore Airlines would be interested in buying a stake in Ltd., saying the company doesnt comment on confidential discussions it may or may not be having with partners. What I can tell you is that both Tata Sons and ourselves are equally committed to ensure that continues to grow, he said. Indian conglomerate Tata is majority owner of four airlines -- Vistara, Air India, AirAsia India Ltd. and Express Ltd. -- prompting speculation that it may consolidate or reorganize them into low-cost and full-service models. India doesnt allow foreign carriers to hold more than 49% of a domestic airline, so any reorganization may bring down Singapore Airliness stake in Vistara, unless it invests further. Codesharing and Alliances Another avenue of growth is establishing and deepening partnerships with other carriers through codesharing and joint-marketing activities, which helps expand networks at less of a cost. Singapores competition regulator granted conditional approval on May 10 for an agreement with Malaysia Airlines that includes revenue-sharing on some flights. The regulator is also assessing a similar partnership with Japans All Nippon Airways Co. A member of Star Alliance, Singapore Airlines already has partnerships with Air New Zealand Ltd., Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Scandinavian carrier SAS AB. Through its various tie-ups, the airline has been able to add more than 200 new destinations to its network, according to Goh. This thing about not having a domestic market is something you cannot overcome on your own, he said. Rating agency Moody's has upgraded the outlook on rating Limited (BPCL) from 'negative' to 'stable' as the government's decision to call off the proposed stake sale in the company eliminates the risk of potential deterioration in its credit quality. "If the divestment had occurred, we would have reassessed the sovereign support currently incorporated in BPCL's rating that results in a one-notch uplift," said Sweta Patodia, assistance and vice president and analyst, Moody's. On May 26, 2022, the government called off the process for the strategic divestment of its 52.98 per cent stake in the company. The rating agency affirmed BPCL's Baa3 issuer rating reflecting its position as the second-largest state-owned refining and marketing company in India. The company's credit metrics will recover over the next 12-18 months such that they will be more appropriately positioned for its current rating, it said The cancelation of the intended stake sale also alleviates concerns around the refinancing of BPCL's dollar-denominated bonds, which could have become payable within 45 days if the government's stake had been reduced below 51 per cent. The reduction in the government's shareholding below 51 per cent is also an event of default under the terms of the bonds and could have led to an acceleration of payment under the bonds. Moody's expects BPCL's operating performance to remain weak so long as its net realized prices for gasoline and gas oil are lower than international market prices. Even though the Singapore benchmark refining margins have remained buoyant, BPCL, along with the other oil marketing (OMCs) in India, has not been able to reap the benefits of the high margins. This is because the increase in net realized prices of transportation fuel for the OMCs has been slower than the increase in international prices, it said. Moody's believes that the government will eventually allow downstream to adjust selling prices, but such price increases will be implemented gradually. Consequently, BPCL's EBITDA to decline to around Rs 8,000-8,500 crore for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2023 (fiscal 2023) before recovering in fiscal 2024. For fiscal 2022, Moody's estimates BPCL's EBITDA, excluding inventory gains, to be around Rs 14,200 crore. Top have shown resilience in post pandemic business conditions and TATA Group, with its brand value up 12 per cent to $24 billion, continues to be the most valuable brand in the country, a new report showed on Wednesday. Taj Hotels (brand value up 6 per cent to $314 million) is the strongest brand in the ranking with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 88.9 out of 100 and a corresponding AAA brand rating, according to leading brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance. Brands in the banking (brand value up 16 per cent), IT services (brand value up 15 per cent) and telecoms (brand value up 7 per cent) sectors in India achieve high brand value as the economy is recovering from the impact of Covid-19. Infosys (brand value up 52 per cent to $12.8 billion) has overtaken LIC (brand value up 28 per cent to $11.1 billion) to become the second most valuable Indian brand this year. "Infosys has shown impressive growth this year, making it the fastest-growing IT services brand globally of 2022, thanks to its commitment to clients and focus on innovation," the report mentioned. Reliance (brand value up 5 per cent to $8.6 billion) achieved some marginal brand value growth to retain fourth position, while the State Bank of India (brand value up 29 per cent to $7.5 billion) improved one ranking position to increase from 7th to 6th. retains its top position "as it led by example through the Covid-19 crisis by innovating using technology to reach the masses". "The brand strengthened its strategic business and leadership initiatives with brand building activities across the globe. The brand's growth with sustainable and inclusive actions at its core is the driving force behind brand TATA," said the report. The pandemic and subsequent national lockdowns hit the hospitality sector the most and brands had to re-invent their strategies to remain relevant to the need of tourists. "The hospitality industry is recovering as five-star business hotels in metropolitan cities across the country have seen occupancy reach 75 per cent to 80 per cent in the past month," the report noted. Year 2022 is a tipping point for the Indian IT services industry - as in it, the industry crossed $200 billion in total revenue and $5 million in total workforce. TCS (brand value up 12 per cent to $16.7 billion) and Infosys (brand value up 52 per cent to $12.8 billion) are among the top 3 most valuable brands globally at the second and third spot, respectively. The Indian telecommunications industry is making its mark globally. India is the world's second-largest telecommunications market with a subscriber base of 1.16 billion users. Airtel (brand value of $7.7 billion) ranks No 1 in telecommunication sector in India with an impressive 28 per cent growth in brand value. At second position, Jio (brand value up 5 per cent to $5.1 billion) shows gains in growth followed by VI (brand value of $767 million) which continues to be resilient despite its numerous business challenges. --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.) on Wednesday said a committee of its directors will meet this week to consider raising up to Rs 4,100 crore via debentures. "The company proposes to offer rated, secured, redeemable, non-cumulative, non-convertible debentures aggregating up to Rs 4,100 crore in one or more tranches and in this regard, is holding a meeting of its duly constituted Committee of the Directors on Saturday, June 4," said in a BSE filing. The above issuance is pursuant to the board of directors' resolutions passed at their meetings on May 7, 2019 and October 3, 2020. Vedanta Limited is a globally diversified natural resources company with interests in zinc, lead, silver, iron ore, steel, copper, aluminium, power, oil and gas. (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.) leader and advocate, Brijesh Kalappa on Wednesday resigned from the party citing his "lack of energy and enthusiasm" towards the party. In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Kalappa penned down a note which read, "At the outset I wish to offer my heartfelt thanks to you for the several opportunities you provided to me. If I am recognized as a familiar face in all parts of this extraordinarily large nation- it is indeed thanks to your patronage. It is again thanks to your blessings that I was appointed as Legal Advisor to Government of Karnataka with the rank of Minister." "I have been representing the Party on Hindi, English and Kannada channels since the UPA years in 2013- for almost a decade and have clocked 6497 debates. Besides, the Party has been regularly assigning Political work to me which I have performed to the best of my satisfaction. Regarding TV debates, I have done my very best at all times and have never ever appeared without adequate preparation for any debate. Even at the worst of times for the Party in the aftermath of 2014 and 2019 debacles, I have never felt enervated and lacking in energy and enthusiasm," he said. "But, in the recent past, I have been finding myself lacking in passion, while my own performance has been listless and perfunctory. It is under these circumstances that I am left with little option but to resign from the primary membership of the Indian and to end an association that began in 1997," he said. Earlier on May 27, Kalappa raked up a controversy by commenting on BJP leader KS Eshwarappa's 'bring back Temples' comment. Eshwarappa has said that 'all 36,000 temples will be brought back to the Hindus.' The Congress leader has slammed the BJP leader's comment on temples. (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 price of 19 kg commercial liquified petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder was reduced by Rs 135 per cylinder on Wednesday morning. Each cylinder will now cost Rs 2,219 in Delhi, in Kolkata it will cost Rs 2,322, in Mumbai Rs 2,171.50, and in Chennai, it will cost Rs 2373. This is the first reduction in the price of commercial LPG cylinders after three months of consecutive hikes. The price of commercial was hiked by Rs 102.50, on May 1, which was the third straight monthly increase. Prior to that the price was increased by Rs 250 on April 1 and by Rs 105 on March. The price of commercial LPG cylinders was last cut by Rs 102.50 a piece on January 1, 2022. No change in rates of domestic . New rates are effective from today. ALSO READ: Price of commercial LPG cylinders reduced by Rs 102.50 starting Jan 1 The goverment has been raising the prices of both domestic and commercial prices for some time now, for which it has been slammed by the opposition parties. When the government raised the price of domestic LPG cylinder by Rs 50 ealier in May, the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala came down heavily on the Centre over the increase in the LPG cylinder rate, saying the BJP-led NDA government will end up shutting down the household kitchens across the country. Slamming the central government's decision, the Left party urged the people to protest against the price hike. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter and compared LPG prices between the UPA tenure and the present BJP government at the Centre. He claimed that the price of the LPG during the UPA tenure was Rs 410 and the subsidy provided was Rs 827, while the LPG costs Rs 999 during the NDA tenure with zero subsidy. The 24th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was held on Tuesday, an official statement said. The Indian delegation was led by Additional Secretary, East Asia, from the Ministry of External Affairs, and the Director General of the Boundary and Oceanic Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs led the Chinese side. The two sides reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the western sector of the India-China border. They recalled that since the last meeting of WMCC in November 2021, both sides have held the 14th and 15th meetings of the Senior Commanders in January and March 2022, respectively. The two sides exchanged views on the current situation along the LAC in eastern Ladakh. They agreed that as instructed by the two Foreign Ministers, both sides should continue the discussions through diplomatic and military channels to resolve the remaining issues along the LAC at the earliest so as to create conditions for restoration of normalcy in bilateral relations. In this context, they agreed to hold the next (16th) round of the Senior Commanders meeting at an early date to achieve the objective of complete disengagement from all friction points along the LAC in the western Sector in accordance with the existing bilateral agreements and protocols. --IANS miz/vd (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) One of the accused who attacked farmer leader on May 30 was a murder convict released from jail for good conduct, a police officer said on Wednesday. The attack on the farmer leader at an event in drew widespread condemnation from various quarters. "Shivakumar Atri (52) is a murder convict, who was released from the Hassan jail in 2015 for his good conduct," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sharanappa S D told PTI. He added that investigation is on to ascertain the accused persons' antecedents and their connections to find out those who might have instigated them to attack Tikait. The three accused in the ink attack case have been taken into police custody for further investigation in the case. On May 30, three accused posing as journalists entered Gandhi Bhavan where Tikait was holding a press conference. On the pretext of adjusting a microphone, one of them got on the stage and attacked Tikait with the mic while another one rushed there and threw ink on him. Later, the accused raised 'Modi, Modi' slogan before being arrested by the police. Tikait termed it an act in connivance with the state government and claimed there was attempt to eliminate him. The state alleged that the was behind the incident, which the state Home Minister Araga Jnanendra dismissed by saying those involved were not associated with the ruling party. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At the Udaipur Nav Sankalp consultation of the Congress recently, when declared: I have not taken one rupee from Mother India, I am afraid of nothing, and I will fight back, loud cheers greeted him. It seems, he had some inkling of the developments to come. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday issued summons to Congress president and Rahul Gandhi, in connection with a money laundering probe. It was for alleged irregularities in party-promoted Young Indian, which owns the Herald newspaper. Sources said that the federal agency is probing illegal benefit of Rs 414 crore in the form of property obtained by the Gandhi family under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency is also examining the books of the trust run by the Gandhi family and the possibility of involvement of a firm (newspaper) in hawala operations. As Rahul is out of the country, the party said he cannot appear before ED on June 2 when he has been summoned. Sonia will appear on June 8. The story begins in 1937, when Jawaharlal Nehru started a company Associated Journals Limited (AJL) with 5,000 other freedom fighters as its shareholders. The company did not belong to any person in particular. In 2010, the company had 1,057 shareholders. AJL published the Herald newspaper in English, Qaumi Awaz in Urdu and Navjeevan in Hindi until 2008. It had dues amounting to Rs 90 crore and was closed down. But it owned valuable real estate in Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Patna and Panchkula. In 2010, a company, Young India (YIL), was set up with Rahul, then a general secretary of the Congress party, as a director. While Rahul and his mother Sonia held 76 per cent of the companys shares, the remaining 24 per cent were held by Congress leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes, who are both dead. The company was said to have no commercial operations. Soon after its formation, YIL took over AJL. In 2012, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and advocate Subramanian Swamy filed a complaint before a trial court alleging that some Congress leaders were involved in cheating and breach of trust in the acquisition of Associated Journals by YIL. He alleged that YIL had taken over the assets of National Herald in a malicious way. The charge was that the directors had violated provisions of the Companies Act 1956. According to the ED investigation in the matter, the objective of the takeover was twofold: to obtain valuable benefits embodied in the business assets of AJL; and not pay any tax on the business income from them. It said the takeover included a fraudulent transaction involving the purchase of a non-existent loan of Rs 90.21 crore by the Congress for Rs 50 lakh. The loan was actually a book entry, designed to transfer 99 per cent of the shares of AJL to YIL (held by the Gandhi family). For this, The assessee company had taken accommodation entries of Rs 1 crore from a hawala entry operator located in Kolkata called Messers Dotex Merchandise. A commission of Rs 1 lakh was paid by cheque for the hawala entry of Rs 1 crore by the Gandhis, the ED says. The income tax (IT) department, which passed an order in October 2017 under (Sec 12 AA)3 of the Income Tax Act said the company needed to pay tax on a transaction amounting to Rs 413 crore. This amounts to Rs 249.15 crore. The last appeal by the family against the order was dismissed on March 31, 2022. The Congress party, however, challenged this. This is a strange case of money laundering where no money is involved. The case is more hollow than a pack of cards. We will face it. We are not intimidated. This reeks of vendetta, pettiness, fear and political cheapness, said Congress leader and advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Impasse on the census, arising out of the Centre's reluctance to undertake the exercise nationally, ended in on Wednesday after Chief Minister chaired an all-party meeting and agreed to conduct a state-specific survey. Briefing reporters after the meeting, which had been hanging fire for several months, Kumar said the exercise will be given the name jaati adharit ganana' (caste-based headcount), but clarified that it will be a survey much larger in scope as it will take into account people belonging to all religions and their socio-economic conditions. The necessary cabinet clearance will be given soon and we will ensure that the work is completed fast by fixing a time limit, he said in presence of delegates of all parties. Kumar underscored that there was unanimity among members of all parties on the issue, as had been evident earlier when unanimous resolutions favouring a census were passed by the state legislature in 2019 and 2020. Responding to a query about the all-party meeting taking place nine months after a delegation from the state had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press for the demand, Kumar allayed apprehensions about further delay. The meeting had to be put off because of various reasons, including elections. But now, the wheels will move fast. We will soon be putting out advertisements and commence training of personnel, said the chief minister. The census has become an emotive issue in where politics has been dominated by OBCs, whose last headcount was conducted during the British raj. Kumar, who owes his own rise in no small measure to the Mandal uprising, had headed the all-party delegation that met the PM last year and, after the Centre expressed its inability to extend the census beyond Dalits and tribals. He stressed that it was wrong to believe that the BJP, his ally in the state as well as the Centre, was opposed to a caste census, a charge repeatedly made by opposition parties like the . The Centre expressed its inability. It does not mean they (BJP) were opposed (to caste census) at any time. Their representatives accompanied us when we met the PM. You can see their representatives here, Kumar said. The was represented at the meeting, among others, by Deputy CM Tarkishor Prasad and state unit chief Sanjay Jaiswal. The chief minister, who belongs to the JD(U), said the findings of the survey will be shared with political parties and the public from time to time, making use of all communication forums, including social media. He, however, evaded questions about the mammoth exercise costing the impoverished state a bomb. Kumar's former deputy Tejashwi Yadav, who is currently the leader of the opposition and was present at the meeting as a representative of the RJD, was of the view that the state's survey should get financial aid from the Centre. I have shared my view at the meeting. The NDA has 39 out of 40 Lok Sabha seats in . The remaining one is with the Congress. In Rajya Sabha, we have presence and so do other parties from Bihar. We all may jointly raise the demand for central assistance, Yadav told reporters upon return to his residence. The young leader exulted that the headway was a victory for his father Lalu Prasad, the RJD's founding chief, whom he credited with having set the tone on the caste census issue. He also said he would favour a cabinet clearance at the earliest though the exercise could be put on hold till the floods are over and, preferably, taken up around Chhath' when migrants return to Bihar in droves. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Prime Minister has said that Islamabad is looking to forge partnerships for its geo-economics strategy, especially within the region, which apparently includes New Delhi. He was responding to a question about trade with India in an interview with Turkish media outlet Anadolu Agency ahead of his three-day visit to the country, Dawn reported. However, Sharif arrived in Turkey for the visit on Tuesday. Shehbaz said that as part of its shift from geo-strategy to geo-economics, Pakistan is looking to forge partnerships, especially within the region, based on connectivity. "Pakistan and India have a lot to gain from mutually beneficial trade," he said as quoted by Dawn. "We are cognisant of the economic dividends that can be accrued from a healthy trade activity with India," the Prime Minister said further. It is to be noted that after coming to power in Pakistan in early April, has written a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing his desire for peaceful ties with India and the resolution of all the outstanding issues. This comes in the wake of PM Modi's congratulatory wishes to the then newly elected Pakistani counterpart. Sharif, in his reply, thanked PM Modi for congratulating him and said that his country desires peaceful and cooperative ties with India, reported ARY News. In his first address to the National Assembly after being sworn in, Sharif had said, "We want good ties with India but durable peace is not possible until the Kashmir dispute is resolved." On Tuesday, India and Pakistan finalised and signed the annual report of the Permanent Indus Commission for the year which ended on March 31, 2022. The Indus Water Treaty has survived the wars between the two countries and the freeze in bilateral relations. The relations between India and Pakistan have been strained due to Uri, Pathankot and Pulwama terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir with New Delhi making it clear that talks and terror cannot go together. (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.) Health Minister Ma Subramanian on Wednesday attributed the sudden mushrooming of COVID-19 clusters in the State and spike in the infection in the city, as well, to the students coming from other States, particularly North, but said the situation is not alarming. Nearly 91 per cent of the students have tested positive for the highly transmissible BA.2 variant, yet the situation is under control, as precautionary measures were put in place, he said. The Minister was trolled for his remark that the students from the North were spreading the contagion. Twitteratis reacted sharply, taking exception to the remark. " Ministers compete among themselves on a daily basis to show 'who has got lesser brains among them.' Sadly, they are letting Tamil people down by their idiocy!" BJP state chief K Annamalai tweeted. Minister from Uttar Pradesh Jitin Prasada (BJP) slammed the Health Minister, saying "Disease and pandemics do not know any State boundaries or borders as we all have experienced. This is an extremely irresponsible and derogatory statement by the Heath Minister of TN, insulting North Indians." Subramanian, however, maintained that while the State government ensured prompt and appropriate steps to lower the number of cases, certain States like New Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring Kerala have not ensured that. "The cases spread to other students from the hostellers who come from those States. But, cases have remained below 100 for the last 3 months in with no fatalities due to COVID-19," Subramanian said. Due to testing and precautionary measures, the cases in IIT-Madras touched 237 and Sathya Sai College that saw 74 infections got reduced to nil cases at present, he said. "Anna University accounts for 23 cases now. VIT campus at Kelambakkam has 163 confirmed cases from out of 4,192 screened through RT-PCR. The count is likely to go up in VIT as we have subjected the remaining 1,500 students to RT-PCR test," the Minister told reporters here. There were about 5,600 students in the first year in VIT, Kelambakkam, staying in the hostel and nearly 80 per cent of them are from North. They returned from their home-States on May 12 and 13, he said and added that 91 per cent of the students who tested positive were infected with the BA.2 variant. Kerala and Maharashtra have been reporting over 500 to 1,000 cases in the last 24 hours. "I appeal to the people in Tamil Nadu to take adequate precaution. Those unvaccinated till now should take advantage of the camp to be held in one lakh places throughout the State and get the dose," the Minister 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.) Holding that high court orders will be preferred to those of the (NGT), the permitted tourism project construction in the Rushikonda Hills in on condition that no new excavation work should be carried out as long as the matter was not settled judicially. The quashed the NGTs order staying the construction of the project, and said there was no need for parallel proceedings. The matter is pending in the Andhra Pradesh High Court and the parties should await its orders, the told them. Earlier, the NGT had taken cognizance of the matter following a letter from MP Raghu Rama Krishna Raju, who said construction on the hills would affect the eco-sensitive zone adversely. The NGT had formed two committees and the second one was going to file a report on the environmental viability of the project. Till the report was due, the NGT had stayed construction. The Tribunal first constituted a committee of experts which found no violation of the environmental norms. It again constituted another expert committee to examine the environmental cost to the project, the apex court Bench observed. The Bench said two proceedings -- in the tribunal and the high court -- were bound to confuse the authorities concerned. It held the order passed by high courts would be preferred to those of tribunals. The Supreme Court, however, expressed concern over the project. The contentions raised by the other party are serious. We are of the view that the High Court strikes a balance between environmental well-being and economic activities. We hope the Court will take a fresh call on the issue. Until the HCs orders, no new construction will be allowed on the hills. Construction should only be carried out where the earlier resort stood and on the flat parts of the hills, the Bench said. Nawneet Vibhaw, partner, Environmental Law practice, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, said the order should be seen as an exception and not the rule. It is meant to prevent parallel proceedings. The NGT is very much the specialised forum to deal with substantial questions relating to the environment and it will continue to remain so. The facts and circumstances, in this case, were different and the matter was already being heard by the high court. : has attracted to the tune of over Rs 2.34 lakh crore since the formation of the state in 2014, an official report said. To accelerate industrial growth in the state and to make a favoured destination for investment, the state government had enacted the TS-iPASS( State Industrial Project Approval and Self Certification System) Act for granting approvals to the entrepreneurs at a single point within set time limits based on a self-certification furnished by the entrepreneurs. As on date 19,837 units with proposed investment of Rs2,34,836 crore and proposed employment of 76,56,460 have obtained approvals. A total of 15,747 units with an investment of Rs 1,33,325 crore and providing employment to 9,95,787 people have commenced operations i.e. 80 per cent of units that have obtained approvals have commenced operations, it said. The state government through its T-IDEA (Telangana State lndustrial Development and Entrepreneur advancement) lncentive Scheme 2014 is providing various kinds of incentives to the entrepreneurs, besides setting up Telangana Industrial Health Clinic as Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) with a corpus of Rs 100 crores of which Rs 10 crore is funded by the government. According to the report, till now more than 200 sick units were assisted by TIHCL. For revival of Ramagundam Fertilizers & chemicals Limited, the state government has confirmed the equity of 11 per cent. Equity and till date over Rs 261 crore was released towards part of the equity and setting up infrastructure. For revival of Sirpur Paper mills Ltd Aditabad, the K Chandrashekar Rao-led government has approved the proposal of J.K Papers Ltd and sanctioned the special incentives by according Mega Project status to it, it said. The Telangana government also established four Regional Micro, Small Facilitation Councils at Rangareddy, Medchal-Malkajgiri, Warangal Urban and Karimnagar for resolving delayed payments issues of MSMEs. (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.) Young women are more concerned about the mental health impact of being online than other internet users, with many citing personal safety fears and the harm caused by trolling, a study by Britains media watchdog has found. Regulators and activists across the world are increasingly calling on Big Tech companies to tackle hate speech on online platforms, a plea echoed by the head of Britains Ofcom regulator as she unveiled the report on internet usage. The message from women who go online is loud and clear, Ofcom Chief Executive Melanie Dawes said in a statement on Wednesday. They are less confident about their personal online safety, and feel the negative effects of harmful content like trolling more deeply. The report found that women aged 18-34 were more likely than any other group to report a negative overall impact on mental health, with 23 per cent of them disagreeing that being online has a positive effect on their mental health. In comparison, 45 per cent of men over the age of 18 agreed with that statement, while boys aged 13-17 were most likely to agree with it. Dawes urged large tech companies to take women's online safety concerns seriously. The research, which was conducted last year and surveyed more than 6,000 people, found that 60 per cent of female users who had experienced trolling said they were bothered or offended by it, compared to just 25 per cent of men. The study also found that women feel less able to have a voice and share opinions online. The sites and apps most visited by adults were owned by Alphabet (GOOGL.O), the owner of Google and YouTube. That was followed by Meta, which owns Facebook, and Instagram, and Amazon (AMZN.O). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Unique Identification Authority of India or UIDAI issues an easily verifiable 12 digit random number to all Indians -- which is known as number. On May 27, while citing a recent attempt to misuse a photo-shopped card, the agency office in Bangalore issued an advisory, cautioning people against sharing photo copies of card. It asked people to share masked Aadhaar instead, which can be downloaded from UIDAI website. The notification also cautioned against using a public computer to download e-Aadhaar. It also said that hotels and cinema halls were not authorised to collect photocopies of Aadhar. Let us first find out what masked Aadhaar is. To make Aadhaar more secure, the UIDAI gives you the option of a masked Aadhaar ID. A masked Aadhaar can be shared without revealing the users important personal informationincluding the 12 digit number. As the name suggests, the masked Aadhaar option basically allows you to mask your Aadhaar number in your downloaded e-Aadhaar. This involves replacing the first eight digits of your Aadhaar number with asterisks. Only the last 4 digits remain visible. E-Aadhaar is a password-protected electronic copy of Aadhaar, which is digitally signed by the competent authority of UIDAI and can be downloaded from the official website or mobile application of UIDAI. But just two days after it issued the advisory, the government withdrew the notification on May 29. The release advised the people to not to share photocopy of their Aadhaar with any organisation because it can be misused. Alternatively, a masked Aadhaar which displays only the last 4 digits of Aadhaar number, can be used. However, in view of the possibility of the misinterpretation of the press release, the same stands withdrawn with immediate effect. -- Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology While withdrawing the press release, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology -- the parent body of the UIDAI-- claimed that it could be misinterpreted. According to the new statement, the Aadhaar ecosystem had adequate features to protect user identity and privacy. Your masked Aadhaar is password-protected. So, you can open the file by entering the first four letters of your name in capital letters and your year of birth in the YYYY format. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor India's effort to break Inc and Inc's dominance of its e-commerce sector, by establishing its own open network, has begun lining up and other key players needed to move it forward, sources familiar with the matter said. Some of India's biggest are in discussions about setting up "buyer platforms" to let their customers place orders for goods and services over the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), which the Indian government soft-launched in April, the sources told Reuters. The success of the network, which would promise equal access to all online sellers and buyers regardless of their size, is a priority for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who faces pressure from small businesses to act against the outsized influence of and Walmart's Flipkart in India's e-commerce. Policymakers in other countries as well are looking at ways to rein in big tech companies' dominance of online purchases. "If you look at the seller side, anybody who can make their digital catalog visible using this common language will have access to a large pool of buyers shared across apps," ONDC Chief Executive T. Koshy said about the network. "It is no longer controlled by one large corporation." Koshy said he had held talks with banks, venture capitalists and telecoms companies, but declined to name them or to comment on how far the discussions had progressed. Indian e-commerce was worth more than $55 billion in gross merchandise value in 2021 and will grow to $350 billion by the end of this decade, according to government estimates. and Flipkart control more than 60% of that market, which now accounts for about 8% of consumer purchases in a country of 1.35 billion people. ONDC aims to cover at least 100 cities and towns by August, with a target of signing up 900 million buyers and 1.2 million sellers in five years. Bank of Baroda's chief digital officer, Akhil Handa, said his bank was in talks about the project but it was too early to talk about specific use cases. "This certainly has the potential to be the next big thing," he said. State Bank of India, Axis Bank, PunjabNational Bank, ICICI, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra and IDFC First are among other lenders in discussions with ONDC to set up buyer platforms, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media. Kotak said it had invested in ONDC with the belief that the project would "redefine digital commerce in the country". It did not comment on buyer platforms. The other did not respond to requests for comment. The platforms would allow the banks to drive use of their cards, loans, and other services, the sources said. The banks and other financial institutions had already committed to a combined initial investment of 2.55 billion rupees ($32.8 million) in the ONDC project. While the project is moving forward, however, there were doubts whether it would diminish the presence of Amazon and Flipkart. "The network is not about every small player colluding to make a big company like Amazon irrelevant," said Pranav Pai, managing partner at 3one4 Capital which invests in start-ups. "Factors like loyalty and trust for Amazon's fulfilment services will still play a part in consumer choices online." Amazon and Flipkart did not respond to requests for comment. Venture capital firms Accel and Sequoia are also in talks about potentially investing in start-ups that would join ONDC, one of the sources said. Telecom firms Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea are in discussions on how they could utilise the network, two of the sources said. The firms did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters reported last week that Alphabet Inc's Google was also in talks with ONDC, while Paytm, India's leading fintech company, had already joined. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) More companies join First Movers Coalition More than 50 companies have now joined the First Movers Coalition, which was launched by US President and the at COP26 to decarbonise the heavy industry and long-distance transport sectors sectors responsible for 30 per cent of global emissions. At Davos, John Kerry, the United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, joined these companies in sending a powerful market signal to commercialise zero-carbon technology. Their combined market cap is about $8.5 trillion across five continents and they are making unprecedented advance purchase commitments by 2030. Some 70+ of the CEO Climate Leaders Alliance the largest CEO-led climate action group globally agreed on taking bold action to translate pledges into tangible emission reductions. Covering 26 countries and 12 industries, and representing 120 companies in all, the alliance has a combined annual emission footprint greater than India or the EU. agreed to push for progress on critical 2030 and 2050 global climate targets, to deliver a successful outcome at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh. Investing in the jobs of tomorrow The Jobs Consortium, a group of public and private sector leaders focused on investment in the jobs of tomorrow, held their inaugural meeting in to drive a global recovery and investment agenda for the next two years. They aim to create growth in the jobs of tomorrow, new workplace standards and better wages for all, focusing on green and tech jobs as the high-growth, job-creating sector of the future. The premise is that increased investment and focused action from global leaders can yield a job-rich recovery. Over 50 to help reskill 1 bn The Reskilling Revolution initiative, launched in 2020, has now mobilised a community of over 50 CEOs, 350 organisations and 15 countries, all working towards a vision of giving 1 billion people better education, reskilling and upskilling. A network of country accelerators in Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Georgia, Greece, India, Oman, Pakistan, South Africa, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, with support from Denmark, Finland, Singapore and Switzerland, and a consortium of the largest online learning platforms are working together. Extending technologys frontiers to make the internet safer The meeting saw the unveiling of the concept of a Global Collaboration Village, a major move to harness the potential of the metaverse to create a place where international cooperation can be strengthened. An initiative known as Defining and Building the Metaverse was also launched, bringing together key stakeholders to define and build the parameters of an economically viable, interoperable, safe and inclusive metaverse. Meanwhile, the Global Coalition for Digital Safety has committed to developing emergency protocols for protecting digital safety to make the internet safer by tackling harmful content and conduct online. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) continued to be the best institute from the country, being ranked at 42nd place in the latest Asia University Rankings 2022 by Times Higher (THE). Following IISc in the top 100 institutions from Asia were JSS Academy of Higher and Research debuting at 65th place, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar at 68th rank and IIT Indore at 87th place. With 71 institutions as against 63 last year, India was the third most-represented country, behind Japan and mainland China. Further, there were 17 Indian universities in the top 200, down from 18 last year. Of the 14 that were ranked in both years, eight improved their rankings. Comprised of 616 universities from 31 countries and territories, the list highlights the dynamism and strength of higher across the Asian continent. China is home to the continents top two universities for the third consecutive year, with Tsinghua and Peking universities holding on to first and second place, respectively. Japan is the most-represented nation again this year, with 118 institutions, up from 116 last year. Moreover, a Palestinian university is ranked for the first time and Saudi Arabia has increased its representation in the top 100 from four to six institutions. According to Phil Baty, Chief Knowledge Officer, THE, spun out from its World University Rankings, the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings looks to provide a closer focus on the Asian context. Based on a comprehensive, balanced and rigorous set of performance indicators available, the rankings' methodology comprises 13 separate metrics used to assess research-intensive universities in the round. "Once again, this new dataset shows the extraordinarily diverse range of excellence across the Asian continent with 31 Asian nations/regions making the list, and with successes in all corners of the continent. The data demonstrate that Asia is perhaps the most exciting and most dynamic continent for higher education, research and innovation in the world today," said Baty. Following the governments nudge, the Board of (BOB) on Wednesday recommended a revised at Rs 2.85 per equity share (of face value Rs 2) for the FY22. Earlier on May 13, the board of Mumbai-based public sector lender had recommended at Rs 1.20 per equity share for FY22. On Tuesday, the board considered and approved the consequential changes (due to revision in dividend) in Audited Financial Results of the Bank for the quarter/year, ended March 31, 2022, BOB said in filing with BSE. The payment is subject to shareholders approval at the annual general meeting. The stock of BOB was trading 0.55 per cent higher at Rs 100.7 per share on BSE. The money for the revised dividend is to be paid out of net worth. The revised net-worth would be Rs 61,521 crore, down from Rs 62,375 crore as of March 31, 2022. The revision in dividend payout will also mean a small change in capital adequacy ratio (CAR) to 15.84 with common equity tier (CET1) of 11.59 per cent from the previous CAR of 15.98 per cent (CET1 of 11.74 per cent). The revision in audited results will not change net profit for FY22. The bank's net profit rose sharply to Rs 7,272 crore, as against Rs 829 crore in 2020-21. Last week, the board of another public sector lender Bank of Maharashtra recommended a five per cent dividend for FY22. It had not recommended a dividend when it met in April 2022 to approve results for FY22. With enhanced capacity to operate in a tough operating environment, the time was ripe for State Bank of India to engage in transformation, especially in digital banking for emerging opportunities, said the bank's chairman Dinesh Khara in a communication to shareholders in the annual report for 2021-22. The state-owned lender will scale up partnerships with fintech firms and companies to increase penetration and reach. It would also intensify efforts for lending to sectors covered by Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, electric mobility, said Khara. "Overall, FY22 has been a much better year compared to the year before (FY21). The pace of economic activity has picked up and the momentum is expected to continue," he said . The banks annual general meeting will be held on June 22, 2022. FY22 was not without its share of surprises. The outbreak of hostilities between Ukraine and Russia towards the end of FY22 has severely affected the global economic landscape. A look at the bank's financial performance in the past few years showed discernible improvement on all parameters. Thus, despite the challenges posed by the operating environment, the bank had better loss-absorbing capability, said Khara. "The banks risk management practices have delivered better results, especially in containing the slippages. The time is, therefore, opportune to undertake the much-needed transformation with an eye on emerging trends in banking, especially in India," he added. The bank will continue to accelerate its digital agenda both in front and back offices. The scope and reach of its Super App YONO would be expanded further and with enhanced user experience, said Khara. In business operations, the lender will leverage advanced analytics for deeper insights on internal data and its best possible usage. Mutually beneficial partnerships with fintech firms and companies will be explored further to increase penetration and reach, he added. is comfortably placed in terms of growth capital in the current year. Opportunities for lending in promising sectors such as sectors identified under and renewables as well as electric mobility will be explored to diversify the portfolio, said Khara. "Despite the economic headwinds, the bank has adapted well to the challenges posed by the operating environment. Hence, the performance achieved in FY22 will show further improvement in FY23." Hungarian authorities have confirmed the country's first case of monkeypox in a 38-year-old man. The disease does not spread easily, only through close contact, said the chief medical officer Cecilia Muller in a press conference on Tuesday. The disease lasts for two to four weeks and can spread more easily in immuno-compromised patients and pregnant women, she was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying. Muller noted that the infected have to be isolated during their convalescence. "We need to pay attention to these cases, to set up an early diagnosis. We need to follow the symptoms. If anyone has a suspicion of illness, please go see a doctor," she said. While monkeypox is primarily found in the tropical rainforest areas of central and west Africa, it has been increasingly identified in non-endemic countries. The World Organization has confirmed that there are 257 confirmed monkeypox cases and 120 suspected cases in 23 countries where the virus is not endemic. The WHO warned on Tuesday that the potential for further transmission in Europe and elsewhere this summer is high. --IANS int/shs (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President praised Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Tuesday for her success in curbing domestic extremism and guns as he tries to persuade a reluctant Congress to tighten gun laws in the aftermath of horrific mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York. The long-planned talks between Biden and Ardern were to center on trade, climate and security in the Indo-Pacific, but the two leaders' starkly different experiences in pushing for gun control loomed large in the conversation. Ardern successfully won passage of gun control measures in her country after a white supremacist gunman killed 51 Muslim worshippers at two Christchurch mosques in 2019. Less than a month later all but one of the country's 120 lawmakers voted in favor of banning military-style semiautomatic weapons. Biden told reporters at the start of his meeting with Ardern that he will meet with the Congress on guns, I promise you, but the White House has acknowledged that winning new gun legislation will be uphill climb in an evenly divided Congress. The U.S. president praised Ardern for her galvanizing leadership on New Zealand's efforts to curb the spread of extremism online, and said he wanted to hear more about the conversations in her country about the issue. Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron in 2019 launched an effort to work with tech companies on eliminating terrorist and violent extremist content online. Then-President Donald Trump declined to join the effort, but the Biden administration has since joined the Christchurch Call to Action. Biden over the weekend traveled to Uvalde, Texas, to grieve with a community that he said made clear to him they want to see Washington tighten gun laws in the aftermath of the shooting rampage that killed 19 children and two teachers. Biden heard similar calls for an overhaul of the nation's gun laws earlier this month when he met with families of 10 Black people who were killed in a racist attack at a Buffalo supermarket. Biden and Ardern also discussed a May 15 shooting at a lunch banquet at a Taiwanese church in Laguna Woods, California that killed one person and wounded five . The pain is palpable, said Biden, recalling his anguished conversations Sunday with families of victims of the Texas elementary school shooting. Ardern offered condolences and said she stood ready to share "anything that we can share that would be of any value" from New Zealand's experience. Our experience demonstrated our need for gun reform, but it also demonstrated what I think is an issue around violent extremism and terrorism online, Ardern told reporters following her more than hour-long meeting with Biden. That is an area where we see absolutely partnership that we can continue to work on those issues. It's unclear what, if anything, from could be applicable to the United States, which hasn't passed a major federal gun control measure since soon after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut that left 26 dead. Ardern, in comments to reporters, said the two countries' political systems are very different. Speaking of the Christchurch shooting, she said that "in the aftermath of that, the public had an expectation that if we knew what the problem was, that we do something about it. We had the ability with actually the near-unanimous support of parliamentarians to place a ban on semiautomatic military-style weapons and assault rifles and so we did that. But the New Zealand public set the expectations first and foremost. The New Zealand prime minister did not urge any particular course of action to Biden during their talks, but expressed a broad understanding of what the United States is going through, according to a senior Biden administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation. Ardern last week, during a speech at Harvard University's commencement, spoke to the scourge of disinformation that is spread and amplified on social media. She said it represents a threat to fragile democracies, The Christchurch gunman was radicalized online. The attack, like the Buffalo supermarket rampage, was livestreamed on social media, she noted. The time has come for social media companies and other online providers to recognize their power and act on it, she said at Harvard. Biden's talks with Ardern came after he made his first visit to Asia last week, a trip to Japan and South Korea meant to highlight his administration's efforts to put greater focus on the Indo-Pacific. In Japan, Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a new trade pact forged with 14 Pacific allies, including New Zealand. The U.S. sees the pact as an alternative to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which moved forward without the U.S. after Trump pulled out. Ardern said she reiterated her commitment to TPP even as New Zealand has joined the new U.S.-launched Indo-Pacific framework. (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.) Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly announced on Tuesday that is imposing new sanctions on Russia's financial sector. In a news release, the minister said the new measures would impose restrictions on 22 individuals and 4 entities, and that among the individuals and entities listed are senior officials of Russian financial institutions and their family members, as well as key financial institutions and banks. Since February 24, has imposed sanctions on more than 1,050 individuals and entities from and in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Canada's latest sanctions, like its previous ones, impose asset freezes and prohibitions on listed individuals and entities. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) has barred Russia's from flying foreign-owned jetliners into its airspace, the Russian news outlet RBK reported, after President Vladimir Putin threw the aircrafts' ownership into doubt by allowing them to be re-registered in Russia to avoid seizure under sanctions over Moscow's attack on Ukraine. The European Union, home to major aircraft leasing companies, banned the sale or lease of aircraft to Russian carriers in February. Putin responded by approving the re-registration measure in March, which prompted suggestions foreign owners may never recover planes worth billions of dollars. China's air regulator asked all foreign carriers last month to update ownership information and other details, RBK said, citing two unidentified sources. It said Russian that couldn't provide documents showing their aircraft were de-registered abroad were barred from Chinese airspace. The Civil Aviation Administration of didn't immediately respond to a request for confirmation and details of the decision. President Xi Jinping's government said in February it has a no limits friendship with Moscow but has tried to distance itself from Putin's war. Beijing has criticised Western sanctions but appears to be avoiding steps that might be seen as helping Moscow for fear of possible penalties against Chinese companies. The may introduce an ban for ships carrying Russian oil, Andriy Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of has said. "According to the data from Wall Street Journal, this will be part of the sixth sanctions package. This ban is one of the most serious financial instruments of the EU's influence that the bloc has at its disposal to harm the Russian . Now it will be difficult for to sell its oil to Asia, as European companies insure most of the world's oil trade," Yermak wrote on Telegram. The EU and the UK are also discussing a coordinated ban on insuring ships carrying Russian oil, he asserted. --IANS shs/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A multistate outbreak of A infections in the US and is likely linked to contaminated organic strawberries sold in leading grocery stores, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These strawberries were branded as FreshKampo and HEB, sold between March 5 and April 25 in groceries, including Walmart, Aldi, Sprouts Farmers Market and Trader Joe's, according to the FDA. "Consumers, restaurants, and retailers should not sell, serve, or eat any fresh organic strawberries branded as FreshKampo or HEB if purchased between March 5 and April 25," the FDA said in a statement. The agency urged people who purchased the fresh strawberries and then froze them for later consumption not to eat them, Xinhua news agency reported. Traceback investigations showed that cases in and US states of California and Minnesota reported having purchased fresh organic strawberries branded as FreshKampo or HEB prior to becoming ill. Illness onset dates ranged from March 28 to April 30, according to the FDA. A total of 17 cases of A had been reported in the US as of Saturday, and 12 people had been hospitalised with the highly contagious virus that can cause fever, nausea, stomach pain and fatigue, the FDA added. --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.) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday that his country will supply with modern anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems, stepping up arms deliveries amid criticism that isn't doing enough to help Kyiv. Scholz told lawmakers that the government has decided to provide with IRIS-T missiles developed by together with other NATO nations. He said will also supply with radar systems to help locate enemy artillery. The announcements come amid claims at home and abroad that Germany has been slow to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs to defend itself against Russia. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The European Union's groundbreaking decision to ban nearly all oil from Russia to punish the country for its invasion of Ukraine is a blow to Moscow's economy, but its effects may be blunted by rising energy prices and other countries willing to buy some of the petroleum, industry experts say. leaders agreed late Monday to cut Russian oil imports by about 90% over the next six months, a dramatic move that was considered unthinkable just months ago. The 27-country bloc relies on Russia for 25% of its oil and 40% of its natural gas, and European countries that are even more heavily dependent on Russia had been especially reluctant to act. European heads of state hailed the decision as a watershed, but analysts were more circumspect. The EU ban applies to all Russian oil delivered by sea. At Hungary's insistence, it contains a temporary exemption for oil delivered by the Russian Druzhba pipeline to certain landlocked countries in Central Europe. In addition to retaining some European markets, Russia could sell some of the oil previously bound to Europe to China, India and other customers in Asia, even though it will have to offer discounts, said Chris Weafer, CEO at consulting firm Macro-Advisory. Now, for the moment, that's not financially too painful for Russia because global prices are elevated. They're much higher than last year, he said. So even Russia offering a discount means that it's probably selling its oil for roughly what it sold for last year also. He noted that India has been a willing buyer and China's certainly been keen to buy more oil because they're both countries who are getting big discounts on global market prices. Still, has traditionally viewed Europe as its main energy market, making Monday's decision the most significant effort yet to punish Russia for its war in Ukraine. The sanctions have one clear aim: to prompt Russia to end this war and withdraw its troops and to agree with Ukraine on a sensible and fair peace, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said. Ukraine estimated the ban could cost Russia tens of billions of dollars. The oil embargo will speed up the countdown to the collapse of the Russian and war machine, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address that Ukraine will be pressing for more sanctions, adding that there should be no significant economic ties left between the free world and the terrorist state. Simone Tagliapietra, an energy expert and research fellow at the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel, called the embargo a major blow. Matteo Villa, an analyst at the ISPI think tank in Milan, said Russia will take a pretty significant hit now but cautioned that the move could eventually backfire. The risk is that the price of oil in general goes up because of the European sanctions. And if the price goes up a lot, the risk is that Russia starts to earn more, and Europe loses the bet, he said. Like previous rounds of sanctions, the oil ban is unlikely to persuade the Kremlin to end the war. seized on the new sanctions to try to rally public support against the West, describing it as bent on destroying Russia. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia's Security Council who served as the country's president, said the oil ban aims to reduce the country's export earnings and force the government to scale down social benefits. They hate us all! Medvedev said on his messaging app channel. Those decisions stem from hatred against Russia and against all of its people. Russia has not shied away from withholding energy to get its way. Russian state energy giant Gazprom said it is cutting off natural gas to Dutch trader GasTerra and Denmark's Oersted company and is also stopping shipments to Shell Energy Europe that were bound for Germany. Germany has other suppliers, and GasTerra and Oersted said they were prepared for a shutoff. Gazprom previously stopped the flow to Bulgaria, Poland and Finland. Meanwhile, the EU is urging other countries to avoid placing trade barriers on farm products as Russia's war increases the risks of a global food crisis. Zelenskyy has said Russia has prevented the export of 22 million tons of Ukrainian grain, much of it meant for people across the Middle East and Africa. He accused of deliberately creating this problem. Russian oil delivered by sea accounts for two-thirds of the EU's oil imports from Moscow. In addition to the EU cutoff of such imports, Germany and Poland have agreed to stop using oil from the northern branch of the Druzhba pipeline. Agreeing on sanctions against Russian natural gas is likely to prove much tougher because it represents a larger percentage of Europe's energy mix. "The very loud and clear message that Moscow will hear is that it will be near impossible for the to get any agreement on blocking gas because gas will not be as easily replicated from other sources in Europe as oil will be, Weafer 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 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by Imran Khan, moved the country's top court on Wednesday to direct the Shehbaz Sharif government and other authorities not to create hindrances in the party's second march on Islamabad, days after the first one was suspended following several clashes in the federal capital. Imran's party made the request in a plea filed in the Pakistan today, detailing an account of the circumstances of the PTI's last march on May 25, the Dawn newspaper reported. Explaining his decision to end the 'Azadi March' last week, the former Pakistan prime minister on Monday said he feared "bloodshed" after clashes between his party workers and authorities started escalating in the capital city of Islamabad. The Shehbaz Sharif-led government would have been the ultimate beneficiary of any ensuing chaos and violence. "The hatred against police had already intensified and seeing me [at D-Chowk] would have further stoked the sentiments of my workers," he said. "I was a 100 per cent sure that bullets will be fired. People from our side were also ready as some of them were carrying pistols. It would have led to further hatred against the police and the army and caused divisions within the country ...," he was quoted as saying in an interview by Dawn. had said his party would ask the Pakistan whether or not holding a "peaceful protest" was permissible in the country. After getting out of power, has been consistently making allegations about a foreign conspiracy against him and calling for early elections. Last week, multiple scuffles took place between the police and PTI marchers after and his convoy entered Islamabad and started marching towards the D-Chowk, which ended up in large scale violence. PML (N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Saturday had requested the Pakistani judiciary to remain "impartial" and maintain a distance from Imran Khan's . "Imran Khan, the revolution that you want to bring through the Supreme Court, the SC itself, along with the people of Pakistan, will foil it," Geo News quoted her as saying during a public gathering in Bahawalpur, Punjab. Khan first drags institutions into and then utters abusive words for them, the PML-N vice president said. The PML-N leader said that Khan started begging Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif two days before the "Azadi March" to announce a date for the elections. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) on Tuesday sent a consignment of 7.5 tons of items as humanitarian assistance to the people of amid the ongoing Russian military operation in the country. The C-130 aircraft took off to to deliver the consignment at the request of the war-torn country. The consignment including medicines, medical equipment, bedding and food items, was delivered through a C-130 aircraft at the request of the war-torn country, the Dawn reported. This was the second consignment from to . Another consignment will be sent on June 3, the report added. The first consignment of more than 15 tons of humanitarian aid was sent to through two C-130 aircrafts from the Noor Khan Base in March. The decision was taken at the request of the Ukrainian embassy in Islamabad for humanitarian assistance along with a list of urgently-needed items. Previously, the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs had proposed that the country should provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. It suggested that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) should mobilise the requisite assistance containing non-military items as requested by the Ukrainian embassy and organise its transportation, the Dawn reported. It had also moved a formal summary to the prime minister to immediately dispatch the assistance to Ukraine. Notably, millions of refugees, mostly women and children, have moved to Poland and other neighbouring countries, amid the ongoing military situation. Ukraine had raised an appeal for global assistance to address humanitarian needs. Russia started its military operation in Ukraine on February 24. This large-scale operation has reportedly resulted in a humanitarian crisis, leading to crippling sanctions from Western countries targeting Moscow's high-profile individuals and companies. (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.) Palestinian President has said the Palestinian leadership would take measures to confront the Israeli escalation against the Palestinians. Abbas made the remarks on Tuesday during a meeting with visiting Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in the West Bank city of Ramallah, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA. In light of the community's "inability to compel Israel to abide by law and resolutions," the Palestinian leadership is in the process of taking action to confront this Israeli escalation, said the WAFA report. The President didn't give the details of the measures or the date for implementing them, Xinhua news agency reported. "Israel's criminal actions and racial discrimination are carried out amid US silence on these provocations and practices that flagrantly violate international law," said Abbas. He accused the Israeli government of not abiding by the peace agreements signed with the Palestinians, international law, and UN resolutions, adding that the Israeli authorities carry on with their unilateral actions, mainly in East Jerusalem. The Palestinian President referred to the daily visits of "extremist Israelis" to the flashpoint holy site of Al-Aqsa mosque compound in East Jerusalem. On Sunday, around 40,000 members and activists of the Israeli far-right-wing groups joined the annual flag march that passed Damascus Gate and the Islamic quarter in the city, sparking tensions in Jerusalem and the West Bank. For his part, Safadi expressed to Abbas that Jordan stands by the side of the Palestinian people and their just Palestinian cause. He pointed out that the Palestinian and Jordanian sides will continue contact and consultations with the international community and concerned countries. --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.) Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's plan to introduce the 21st Amendment to the Constitution to empower Parliament over the executive president has met with resistance within the ruling SLPP coalition, party sources said on Wednesday. Wickremesinghe on Sunday batted for the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, saying it will curb the president's unlimited powers while enhancing the role of Parliament in governing the debt-ridden country which is also facing an unprecedented political turmoil. The 21st Amendment is expected to annul the 20A to the Constitution, which gives unfettered powers to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after abolishing the 19th Amendment that will strengthen Parliament. The proposal met with opposition from the loyalists of the Rajapaksa family, particularly from the supporters of Basil Rajapaksa, the former finance minister. Basil Rajapaksa, the younger brother of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, is a dual American and Sri Lankan citizen and the 21A seeks to bar dual citizens from holding any top public office. At the meeting held on Monday evening, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa told ruling Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) parliamentarians that he was fully backing the 21A. Some parliamentarians, who are believed to be Basil Rajapaksa's supporters, told Wickremesinghe that granting economic relief to people in the worst-ever economic crisis was more important than constitutional reforms, according to sources. However, another group of MPs had felt that constitutional reforms too were necessary for the government's bid to win support to tackle the economic crisis. Wickremesinghe was appointed Sri Lanka's prime minister by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after the resignation of his elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa. Wickremesinghe told the ruling coalition parliamentarians that they were free to talk to him on the clarification over the 21st Amendment. With the current economic crisis snowballing into a political crisis in April, over 50 parliamentarians of the ruling SLPP coalition broke ranks to remain independent. This resulted in the government losing its majority in the 225-member assembly. Sri Lanka's economic crisis has created political unrest with a protest occupying the entrance to the president's office demanding his resignation continuing for more than 50 days. Wickremesinghe said there was a need to change the structure of Parliament and create a new system. Wickremesinghe, whose job primarily is to revive the ailing economy by setting in reforms, has started with the task of introducing the 21st Amendment to the Constitution to restore the 19A of 2015. Under the 21A, the President will be held accountable to the Parliament. The Cabinet of Ministers is also accountable to Parliament. The National Council is also accountable to Parliament. Fifteen Committees and Oversight Committees are accountable to Parliament. in mid-April declared that it was unable to meet its foreign debt payments and the Monetary Fund (IMF) classified Sri Lanka's debt as unsustainable. Therefore debt restructuring was key for an IMF programme. (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.) is planning the worlds largest buildings in a mostly unpopulated part of the country as part of an entirely new $500 billion development called Neom, according to people familiar with the matter. Neom, the brainchild of Saudi Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman, aims to build twin skyscrapers about 500 meters (1,640 feet) tall that stretch horizontally for dozens of miles, the people said. The skyscrapers would house a mix of residential, retail and office space running from the Red Sea coast into the desert, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The plan is a shift from the concept announced last year of building a string of developments linked by underground hyper-speed rail, into a long continuous structure, the people said. Designers were instructed to work on a half mile-long prototype, current and former Neom employees said. If it goes forward in full, each structure would be larger than the worlds current biggest buildings, most of which are factories or malls rather than residential communities. Announced in 2017, Neom is Prince Mohammeds plan to turn a remote region of the country into a high-tech semi-autonomous state that re-imagines urban life. Its part of his plans to attract foreign investment and help diversify the Saudi away from a reliance on oil sales. The Line, as the car-free linear city that will form the backbone of Neom is known, could cost up to $200 billion to build, the prince said last year, though that was before the plan changed to include gigantic horizontal buildings. The Line is an out of the box idea," Neom chief executive office Nadhmi Al-Nasr said in an interview, declining to comment on the specifics of the plan. What we will present when we are ready to will be very well received, and will be viewed as revolutionary." To plan The Line, Neom worked with a California-based architecture firm called Morphosis, according to current and former employees at the Saudi project. Morphosis -- founded by Thom Mayne, once dubbed the bad boy" of American architecture -- didnt respond to requests for comment. The buildings would be different heights as you go," adapting to the landscape, with their final size determined by engineering considerations and the terrain, Al-Nasr said. An exterior door at Robb Elementary School did not lock when it was closed by a teacher shortly before a gunman used it to get inside and kill 19 students and two teachers, leaving investigators searching to determine why, state police said Tuesday. State police initially said a teacher had propped the door open shortly before Salvador Ramos, 18, entered the school in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24. They have now determined that the teacher, who has not been identified, propped the door open with a rock, but then removed the rock and closed the door when she realized there was a shooter on campus, said Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Department of Public Safety. But, Considine said, the door that was designed to lock when shut did not lock. We did verify she closed the door. The door did not lock. We know that much and now investigators are looking into why it did not lock, Considine said. Investigators confirmed the detail through additional video footage reviewed since Friday's news conference when authorities first said that the door had been left propped open. Authorities did not state at that time what had been used to prop open the door. Considine said the teacher initially propped the door open but ran back inside to get her phone and call 911 when Ramos crashed his truck on campus. She came back out while on her phone, she heard someone yell, He has a gun!', she saw him jump the fence and that he had a gun, so she ran back inside, removing the rock when she did, Considine said. Steve McCraw, the head of DPS, hadn't said why the teacher initially propped open the door when it was first detailed Friday. The first mention of a door left propped open, which officials now say didn't happen, led to questions about the teacher's actions and whether she had made a horrific mistake. Since the shooting, law enforcement and state officials have struggled to present an accurate timeline and details of the event and how police responded, sometimes providing conflicting information or withdrawing some statements hours later. State police have said some accounts were preliminary and may change as more witnesses are interviewed. San Antonio attorney Don Flanary told the San Antonio Express-News that the Robb Elementary School employee, whom he's not naming, first propped open the door to carry food from a car to a classroom, and that she immediately moved to close it when she realised the danger. She kicked the rock away when she went back in. She remembers pulling the door closed while telling 911 that he was shooting," Flanary told the newspaper. "She thought the door would lock because that door is always supposed to be locked, Flanary said. Flanary did not immediately return telephone messages left at his office from The Associated Press. Investigators are also still trying to interview Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo, who state police have said was the commander of the school shooting scene while it happened. Arredondo has not responded to multiple requests for comment from The Associated Press. McCraw, the head of the Department of Public Safety, has said Arredondo treated the active scene as a hostage situation and as if children were no longer at risk, while 19 police officers waited in the school hallway outside the classroom where Ramos was. McCraw called that the wrong decision, saying the focus of the investigation has shifted to Arredondo and the police response. Other officers in the Uvalde city and schools police departments continue to sit for interviews and provide statements, but Arredondo has not responded to DPS requests for two days, Considine said. Later Tuesday, the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas, which represents police officers, urged its member officers to cooperate with all government investigations into the shooting and police response and endorsed a federal probe already announced by the Justice Department. The organisation was also sharply critical of the constantly changing narrative of events that has emerged so far. There has been a great deal of false and misleading information in the aftermath of this tragedy. Some of the information came from the very highest levels of government and law enforcement, CLEAT said. Sources that Texans once saw as iron-clad and completely reliable have now been proven false. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) British Prime Minister has been forced to explain, by his own independent ethics adviser, why he believed that the partygate fine issued to him by Scotland Yard did not breach the country's Ministerial Code. Lord Christopher Geidt, who reports directly to the Prime Minister in an advisory capacity, said in an annual report on ministerial interests released on Tuesday that a legitimate question has arisen as to the fixed penalty notice issued by the Metropolitan Police over a COVID lockdown-breaching birthday party at the Downing Street in June 2020. The report notes that Johnson must set out his case in public. "I did not consider that the circumstances in which I received a fixed-penalty notice were contrary to the regulations," Johnson said in a letter of explanation to Geidt, which has been made public. "I have accepted the outcome and paid it in compliance with legal requirements. Paying a fixed-penalty notice is not a criminal conviction," he said. Geidt was also critical in his report about having repeatedly counselled the Prime Minister's advisers that he must offer a public comment on his obligations under his own Ministerial Code, a breach of which usually leads to a minister's resignation. That advice has not been heeded and, in relation to the allegations about unlawful gatherings in the Downing Street, the Prime Minister has made not a single public reference to the Ministerial Code, said the ethics adviser, who, according to "The Times", was on the verge of resigning over the issue. While Johnson has vehemently defended his actions and blamed the delay in his addressing the Ministerial Code on a failure of communication between offices, it marks yet another push towards a slow but steady build-up of discontent over his leadership. Several of his own Conservative Party members of parliament have been openly critical of his actions over partygate and many have also called for him to step down as leader and the Prime Minister. For Tory MPs to topple their leader, 15 per cent of them have to write to the chair of the party's powerful 1922 Committee of backbench MPs. The current number stands at 54 MPs and only the chair, Sir Graham Brady, is aware of the exact number of letters before revealing that the threshold has been met to trigger a vote of no confidence. If Johnson, 57, lost a confidence vote, he would be replaced as Conservative leader and prime minister. If he won, he could not face another challenge for a year. So far, that number does seem far from hitting the target, but the fresh rows are making it difficult for Johnson to move on from the scandal, as he had hoped after delivering another apology in parliament following the scathing report by top civil servant Sue Gray last month. He repeated this in his letter to Geidt, saying he had taken full responsibility for everything that took place on my watch, and reiterate my apology to the House and to the whole country. The Opposition Labour Party's deputy leader, Angela Rayner, said Geidt's report was "the latest sign of the rampant sleaze engulfing Downing Street", adding: "This Prime Minister has been found out and his days are numbered." It comes as Rayner and Labour Leader Keir Starmer received police questionnaires as part of an inquiry into alleged COVID rule-breaking at an election-related gathering in Durham in April last year, at which Starmer was pictured with a beer -- resulting in that being referred to as beergate. Both leaders have denied any breach of rules at the work-related event and pledged to resign if issued with fines. If the police decide to issue me with a fixed penalty notice, I would of course do the right thing and step down. People are entitled to expect that politicians followed the same rules as everyone else, Starmer has said, amid calls for Johnson to resign over his partygate fine. During the lockdown rules at the time, there was an exemption for work purposes and also if a gathering is reasonably necessary for the purposes of campaigning in an election. The local Durham Constabulary initially decided that no offence had occurred but the force went on to announce an investigation saying it had since received "significant new information". (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 regional Ukrainian governor on Tuesday said the Russian bombardment has caused a leak of toxic nitric acid from an industrial facility. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said a Russian air strike on Sievierodonetsk hit a tank with nitric acid at a chemical factory, causing a massive leak of its fumes. He posted a picture of a huge rose cloud hanging over the city and urged residents not to leave their homes and wear gas masks or make improvised masks from fabric soaked in soda solution. Sievierodonetsk has been the focus of Russia's offensive in Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland of Donbas. It has come under intensive artillery barrage and airstrikes as the Russian forces fought Ukrainian troops for control of the city in violent street battles. Ukrainian President met with his Slovak counterpart Zuzana Caputova to discuss defence support for Kiev, Zelensky's press service reported. During the talks on Tuesday, Zelensky said that has made a significant contribution to the strengthening of Ukraine's defence capabilities and praised the personal role of Caputova in granting defensive aid to Ukraine, Xinhua news agency reported. "I have been assured that will continue to provide maximum security assistance to Ukraine," the Ukrainian President told reporters after the talks. For her part, the Slovakian President said has supported Ukraine from the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict by providing not only military aid, but also political and humanitarian assistance. Slovakia has provided Ukraine with the S-300 air defence system and demining equipment, and supported sanctions against Russia, Caputova added. Zelensky and Caputova also talked about the prospects for Ukraine to obtain a candidate status to the EU and financial support for Kiev, Slovakia's role in Ukraine's post-conflict recovery, and assistance to Ukrainians who were forced to temporarily leave their homes due to the conflict. According to official figures, nearly 78,000 Ukrainians, including 31,000 children, have fled Ukraine to Slovakia since the start of the conflict. Caputova arrived in Kiev earlier on Tuesday at the invitation of Zelensky. --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 US ambassador to the on Tuesday said the Biden administration supports the shipment of Russian grain and fertilizer to address increasing global food insecurity sparked by the war in Ukraine. Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters at UN headquarters that there are no US sanctions on Russian shipments of grain and fertilizer, but she said companies are a little nervous and have been holding back. Thomas-Greenfield said the is prepared to give comfort letters to grain and fertilizer exporters and insurance companies in an attempt to get badly needed agricultural products out of Russia. She said the Biden administration is very supportive of efforts by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to allow grain exports out of Ukraine by train and the Black Sea, as well as his work to ensure Russian food and fertilizer have unrestricted access to global markets. A UN spokesman said Tuesday that Rebeca Grynspan, the secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development, visited Moscow on Monday and held constructive discussions with First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov on facilitating Russian grain and fertilizer exports. Grynspan was in Washington on Tuesday meeting with US officials, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. Global hunger levels are at a new high, Guterres said. He said Ukraine and Russia together produce almost a third of the world's wheat and barley and half of its sunflower oil, while Russia and its ally Belarus are the world's number two and three producers of potash, a key ingredient of fertilizer. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) U.S. President announced on Wednesday a new $700 million weapons package for that will include high mobility artillery systems, which can accurately hit targets as far away as 80 km (50 miles). "The will stand with our Ukrainian partners and continue to provide with weapons and equipment to defend itself," Biden said in a statement. Biden announced the plan to give precision HIMARS systems after receiving assurances from Kyiv that it would not use them to hit targets inside of Russian territory. Biden imposed the condition to try to avoid escalating the Ukraine war. A senior Defense Department official, briefing reporters at the Pentagon, said the would send four HIMARS systems to Ukraine initially. It will take about three weeks to train Ukranian forces on the use of the new systems, the official said. "No system is going to turn the war. This is a battle of national will ... It is a grinding, hard conflict," Colin Kahl, under secretary of defense for policy, told reporters. Ukraine has been seeking Multiple Launch Systems (MLRS) such as the M270 and M142 HIMARS - both made by Lockheed Martin - to provide more firepower at longer range to hit Russian troop concentrations and weapons stockpiles at Russia's rear. The longer range rockets Ukraine was seeking could have had a 300-mile range - well beyond howitzer rounds. The rockets that the Biden administration has agreed to have a shorter range than the Soviet-era rockets which Ukraine currently has in short supply. "The Ukrainians have given us assurances that they will not use these systems against targets on Russian territory," Blinken said at an appearance with Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. Jonathan Finer, deputy White House national security adviser, said earlier that Washington believed the system will meet Kyiv's needs. "This is a defensive conflict that the Ukrainians are waging. Russian forces are on their territory," Finer said in an interview with CNN. There are significant targets Ukrainians cannot reach with the weapons they currently have, Finer said, and the rocket system will make a big difference in the conflict in the southeast of the country, where Russian forces are currently focused. Beside the rockets, the new package includes ammunition, counter fire radars, a number of air surveillance radars, additional Javelin anti-tank missiles, as well as anti-armor weapons, officials said. Ukrainian officials have been asking allies for longer-range missile systems in the hopes of turning the tide in the war, which is in its fourth month. said the was adding fuel to the fire by supplying Ukraine with advanced rockets. Finer said Biden had warned Russian President directly, and publicly, what the consequences of any Ukraine invasion would be. "We are doing exactly what we said we would do," Finer said. " has brought this on itself by launching an invasion into a sovereign country from its territory." Thousands of people have been killed in Ukraine and millions more displaced since the Russian invasion on Feb. 24. As the United States and its allies provide Ukraine with increasingly sophisticated arms, Washington has held discussions with Kyiv about the danger of escalation if it strikes deep inside Russia, U.S. and diplomatic officials have told Reuters. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The will provide advanced systems to to use in defense against Russian forces but not for strikes inside Russia, a official said on Wednesday as Washington seeks to contain escalation of the conflict. U.S. President has agreed to provide with systems that can strike with precision at long-range Russian targets as part of a $700 million weapons package expected to be unveiled on Wednesday. Jonathan Finer, deputy national security adviser, said the Ukrainians have been requesting the system and Washington believes it will meet their needs. "We have asked Ukrainians for assurances that they will not use these systems to strike inside . This is a defensive conflict that the Ukrainians are waging. Russian forces are on their territory," Finer said in an interview with CNN. There are significant targets Ukrainians cannot reach with the weapons they currently have, Finer said, and the system will make a big difference in the conflict in the southeastern part of the country, where Russian forces are currently focused. A senior administration official said on Tuesday gave assurances they will not use the long-range missiles to strike inside . The package also ammunition, counter fire radars, a number of air surveillance radars, additional Javelin anti-tank missiles, as well as anti-armor weapons, officials said. Ukrainian officials have been asking allies for longer-range missile systems that can fire a barrage of rockets hundreds of miles away, in the hopes of turning the tide in the war, which is in its fourth month. A Russian official said Moscow viewed the development "extremely negatively." Finer, however, said Biden had told Russian President directly what the consequences of any Ukraine invasion would be. "We are doing exactly what we said we would do," he said. " has brought this on itself by launching an invasion into a sovereign country from its territory." Thousands of people have been killed in Ukraine and millions more displaced since the Russian invasion on Feb.24. As the and its allies provide Ukraine with increasingly sophisticated arms, Washington has held discussions with Kyiv about the danger of escalation if it strikes deep inside Russia, U.S. and diplomatic officials have told Reuters. U.S. intelligence has also warned about growing risks. Biden on Tuesday told reporters that "we're not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that strike into Russia." (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The has blocked a law that would ban large from removing posts based on the views they express. According to the New York Times, the court's brief order was unsigned and gave no reasons, which is typical when the justices act on emergency applications. The order was not the last word in the case, which is pending before a federal appeals court and may return to the Supreme Court. The vote was 5 to 4, with an unusual coalition in dissent. The court's three most conservative members -- Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr., Clarence Thomas and Neil M. Gorsuch -- filed a dissent saying they would have let stand, for now at least, an appeals court order that left the law in place while the case moved forward. Justice Elena Kagan, a liberal, also said she would have let the order stand, though she did not join the dissent and gave no reasons of her own. Justice Alito wrote that the issues were so novel and significant that the Supreme Court would have to consider them at some point, the report said. "This application concerns issues of great importance that will plainly merit this court's review," he wrote. " platforms have transformed the way people communicate with each other and obtain news. At issue is a groundbreaking law that addresses the power of dominant corporations to shape public discussion of the important issues of the day," he added. Justice Alito said he was skeptical of the argument that social media have editorial discretion protected by the First Amendment like that enjoyed by newspapers and other traditional publishers. The law's supporters said the measure was an attempt to combat what they called Silicon Valley censorship, saying major platforms had removed posts expressing conservative views. The law was prompted in part by the decisions of some platforms to bar President Donald J. Trump after January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The law, H.B. 20, applies to social media platforms with more than 50 million active monthly users, including Facebook, and YouTube. It does not appear to reach smaller platforms that appeal to conservatives, like Truth Social and Gettr, the law's challengers told the Supreme Court. --IANS vc/shb/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Western nations promised more and more advanced arms to bolster Ukraine's defence as its troops battled a grinding Russian offensive that was closing in on capturing a key city in the east. Germany said Wednesday it will supply with modern anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems, and the US will unveil a new weapons package later in the day that will include high-tech, medium-range rocket systems. The Kremlin spokesman told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. is pouring fuel on the fire. Western arms have been critical to Ukraine's success in stymieing Russia's much larger and better equipped military thwarting its initial efforts to take the capital and forcing Moscow to shift its focus instead to the eastern industrial Donbas region. But as the war drags on and Russia bombards towns in its inching advance in the east, has repeatedly pleaded for more and better weapons. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has occasionally criticized the West for moving too slowly in shipping arms and military analysts have said Russia is hoping to overrun the Donbas before any weapons that might turn the tide arrive. Germany has come under particular fire, both at home and from allies abroad, that it isn't doing enough. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told lawmakers that the IRIS-T SLM missiles it will send are the most modern air defense system the country has. With this, we will enable to defend an entire city from Russian air attacks, he said. Scholz said Germany is in talks with the United States to coordinate the supply of rocket systems Kyiv has asked for. In addition to the rocket systems it has promised, the US package will include helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, tactical vehicles, spare parts and more, two senior administration officials said Tuesday. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the package before it is formally unveiled. One official noted that the advanced rocket systems will give Ukrainian forces greater precision in targeting Russian assets inside Ukraine. Moscow views the U.S. plans to supply more weapons negatively, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday, saying the Kremlin doesn't trust Kyiv's assurances that the rocket systems will not be used to attack Russia. We believe that the US is deliberately and diligently pouring fuel on the fire, Peskov said. The announcements come as a regional governor said Russian forces now control 70% of Sievierodonetsk, a city that is key to Moscow's efforts to complete their capture of the Donbas, where Ukrainian and Russian-backed separatists have fought for years and where the separatists already held swaths of territory. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said in a post on the Telegram messaging app that some Ukrainian troops have pulled back from the city, though he later told The Associated Press that the troops who remained were battling it out in the streets. The only other city in Luhansk that the Russians have not yet captured, Lysychansk, is still fully under Ukrainian control, he said but it would likely be next. If the Russians manage to take full control over Sievierodonetsk within two to three days, they will start installing artillery and mortars and will shell Lysychansk more intensively, Haidai said. Zelenskyy, meanwhile. said the country is losing between 60 and 100 soldiers a day in the fighting and that another 500 are wounded. He told the U.S. TV channel Newsmax on Tuesday night that the most difficult situation is in the east of Ukraine and southern Donetsk and Luhansk, two regions that make up the Donbas. In southern Ukraine, a regional governor sounded a more positive note, saying Russian troops are retreating and blowing up bridges to prevent a possible Ukrainian advance. Vitaliy Kim, governor of the Mykolayiv region, said in messages on Telegram on Wednesday that Russia was on the defensive. They are afraid of a counterattack by the Ukrainian army, Kim wrote. He didn't specify where the retreat was happening. The parts of the Mykolayiv region which have been held by Russian forces in recent days are close to the large Russia-held city of Kherson. Zelenskyy said in his nightly address there had been some success in the Kherson direction for Ukraine. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Shares of (BDL) surged 7 per cent to Rs 840.80 on the BSE in Wednesdays trade, after the company signed a contract worth Rs 2,971 crore with Ministry of Defence, for supply of Astra Mark-I beyond visual range air to air missile (BVRAAMs) and associate equipments to Indian Air Force and Indian Navy. Earlier, the stock of state-owned aerospace and defence company had hit a record high of Rs 904.95 on April 19, 2022. In the past three months, BDL has outperformed market by zooming 87 per cent, as compared to 1 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. BDL is a public-sector enterprise supervised by the Ministry of Defence. The company manufactures surface to air missile (SAM), anti-tank guided missile, torpedoes, and allied defence equipments. Meanwhile, BDL has the order book position of Rs 10,170 crore as on April 1, 2022 which will be executable over the next 2-3 years. Besides that, the company has received leads for export of AKASH to friendly foreign countries,which is expected to materialize in one to two years. For the financial year 2021-22 (FY22), BDL reported a robust 94 per cent year on year (YoY) jump in profit after tax (PAT) to Rs 500 crore from Rs 258 crore in FY21. That apart, the company achieved sales turnover of Rs 2,817 crore during the fiscal year and registered a strong recovery of about 47 per cent jump in turnover from Rs 1,914 crore, a year ago. US President is set to meet with infant formula manufacturers as his administration works to ease nationwide shortages by importing foreign supplies and using the Defense Production Act to speed domestic production. The White House said Biden would host a roundtable on Wednesday with leaders of manufacturers ByHeart, Bubs Australia, Reckitt, Perrigo Co. and Gerber. The list is notable for who isn't on it: Abbott Nutrition, the company whose Michigan plant was shut down in February over safety concerns, sparking the shortage in the US. Biden will be joined by Heath and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. The meeting is expected to provide an update on what the administration has dubbed Operation Fly Formula to import formula from overseas into the US and deploy the Korean War-era production law to require suppliers of the formula manufacturers to prioritise their orders in a bid to ease any production bottlenecks. Those measures will help but won't immediately bring an end to formula supply shortages that have left people who depend on formula facing empty shelves or limits on purchases. The Food and Drug Administration began honing in on Abbott's plant last fall while tracking several bacterial infections in infants who had consumed formula from the facility. The four cases occurred between September and January, causing hospitalisations and two deaths. After detecting positive samples of rare but dangerous bacteria in multiple parts of the plant, the FDA closed the facility and Abbott announced a massive recall of its formula on February 17. US regulators and Abbott announced an agreement last month that would help pave the way for reopening the plant, though production has not restarted. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on why Abbott was not included in Wednesday's meeting. (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.) Record green output reduced Indian dependence on coal in May, despite 23.5% growth in power demand, contributing to a rise in utilities' coal inventories, a Reuters analysis of government data showed. Surging supply from renewables will go some way towards mitigating India's coal shortage amid extraordinarily rapid growth in demand, which has forced the country to reopen mines and return to importing the fuel. The share of renewable sources in power output rose to 14.1% in May from 10.2% in April. Coal made room for it, dropping to 72.4% of Indian generation from 76.8%. Coal's share was still higher than 70.9% in May 2021, however. Power shortages, driven entirely by demand and not declines in supply, narrowed to 0.4% of requirements in May. This compared with 1.8% in April, an analysis of daily load despatch data from federal grid regulator POSOCO showed. Demand in the financial year to March 2023 is expected to grow at the fastest pace in at least 38 years. Utilities' coal inventories at the end of April were at their lowest levels in years, but they rose 6.3% in May to 23.3 million tonnes, helped by renewables stepping up to carry more of the national electricity load. Climate activists have blamed a delay in installation of renewable capacity for the April power shortfalls, the worst electricity crisis in more than six years. India, the world's third-largest greenhouse gas emitter, is 37% short of its target for end-2022 green electricity capacity. Electricity demand in May was 23.5% higher than in the same month last year and up 11.9% on May 2019, the data showed. Wind energy generation, which typically picks up from May and tapers in August, was 51.1% higher in May than a year before, while solar power output increased 37.8%, the data showed. Generation from all renewable sources rose 44.1% from a year before, the fastest pace in at least 30 months. Analysts say the respite from power cuts in May is temporary and India's power crisis is unlikely to be resolved soon. India faced its worst power cuts in over six years in April. "Officials also know very well that monsoons impact mining and transport. Yet, no preemptive action was taken to resolve this crisis," the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said in a note last month. "A lower pre-monsoon coal stock at power stations indicates the possibility of another power crisis in July-August 2022," the CREA said. Because demand peaks during the daytime, higher generation from solar, India's main renewable energy source, is particularly important for easing the strain on an ageing fleet of coal-fired power stations. It also conserves coal for night-time generation and reduces pressure on the rail network. (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.) Today: The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty are likely to start trade on a subdued note on Wednesday as the GDP numbers came more or less on expected lines, and global cues too were mixed. As of 07:10 AM, the SGX Nifty futures quoted at 16,500 as against the spot Nifty close of 16,585 yesterday. Indias economy grew 4.1 per cent year-on-year in the January-March period of 2021-22 (Q4 FY22), even as the rate of growth slowed sequentially for a third straight quarter with the Omicron wave-induced restrictions and high commodity prices weighing on economic activities. READ MORE Meanwhile, these are the stocks that are likely to see some action in trades today. eMudhra: Certifying authority firm eMudhra will make its market debut today. The IPO was subscribed 2.7 times and the issue price fixed at Rs 256. Bata India: According to reports the promoters are likely to sell around 2.8 per cent stake in the company via a block deal today to raise Rs 630 crore. The floor price of the deal is fixed at Rs 1,750 per share, a 7 per cent discount to Tuesday's closing price. (BDL): The Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a contract with the company for building Astra Mark-1 beyond visual range air-to-air missiles (BVRAAMs) worth Rs 2,971 crore for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Navy. READ MORE of India: The insurance behemoth with assets of Rs 42 trillion, said it realised gains of Rs 42,000 crore from its investment in the equity in financial year 2021-22 (FY22), an increase of 16.6 per cent YoY. Raj Kumar, LICs managing director, said the insurer invests approximately 25 per cent of its assets under management (AUM) in the equity . READ MORE Pharma stocks: The Russia-Ukraine war has not dampened Indian pharma sales in that market. In fact, firms with a presence in Russia - Sun Pharma, Dr Reddys, and Glenmark - have posted high double-digit revenue growth during the ongoing crisis. READ MORE HDFC Bank: The merger of and HDFC will create a financial powerhouse, which will see the lender more than double its profits as well as balance sheet size in five years, Sashidhar Jagdishan, MD & CEO of HDFC Bank, said on Tuesday. READ MORE Cement stocks: The Indian cement industry is not only attracting billions of dollars of investment from the new entrants like the Adani group, but several financial investors such as Premji Invest and Radhakishan Damani have also picked up minority stakes in regional cement companies. READ MORE and Payment Services: The companys board is scheduled to meet on June 06 to consider and approve the proposal for raising of funds through issuance of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) worth Rs 2,500 crore. Reliance Infrastructure (REL): The companys board is scheduled to meet on June 03 to consider and approve raising of long-term resources by issue of Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) or similar securities. AU Small Finance Bank (AUSFB): The bank has fixed June 10 as the record date for the purpose of ascertaining the eligibility of shareholders for issuance of Bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1. Ritesh Properties & Industries: The companys board is scheduled to meet on June 15 to consider a proposal for sub-division of equity shares in the ratio of 1:10. Dredging Corporation of India: The company posted a net profit of Rs 1.06 crore in Q4FY21 as against a net loss of Rs 106.52 crore in Q4FY21. Total income was up 36 per cent YoY at Rs 289.58 crore from Rs 212.88 crore. Coal India gained 1.58% to Rs 196.10 after the state-run coal major's offtake stood at 61.2 million tonnes (MT) in May 2022, growing 11.3% compared with 55 MT recorded in the same month last year. The company's coal production jumped 30% to 54.7 million tonnes (MT) in May 2022 from 42.1 MT in May 2021. On a sequential basis, the coal production rose 2.24% while offtake increased 6.43% in May 2022 as compared to April 2022. CIL's production increased sharply to 108.2 MTs, till May'22 of the ongoing fiscal year, against 84 MTs for comparable period in FY'21. "Admittedly, sustaining the level of growth witnessed so far throughout the year is difficult but we will be monitoring the progress month by month to augment the output," said a senior official of the company. On a consolidated basis, the PSU coal major's net profit jumped 45.9% to Rs 6,692.94 crore on 22.6% increase in net sales to Rs 30,046.25 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21. Coal India is a coal mining company engaged in the production and sale of coal. As of 31 March 2022, the Government of India held 66.13% stake while Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India held 11% stake in the company. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) eMudhra: The stock will make market debut today. The initial public offer (IPO) of eMudhra was subscribed 2.72 times. The issue opened for bidding on 20 May 2022 and it closed on 24 May 2022. The company priced the issue at the top end of the Rs 243-256 per share IPO price band. Bharat Dynamics (BDL): The state-run company has signed a contract worth Rs 2,971 crore with Ministry of Defence. The contract is for the supply of ASTRA MK-I beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile and associate equipment to the Indian Air Force & the Indian Navy. Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL): The company's joint venture named RVNL - Bhartia JV has been awarded Letter of Acceptance (LoA) by Northeast Frontier Railway for Construction of Single Line BG Tunnel. The total estimated cost of the project is Rs 560.26 crore. HFCL: The company, along with its material subsidiary HTL, has received the purchase orders aggregating to Rs 237.25 crore, from one of the leading private telecom operators of the country for supply of optical fibre cables (OFC). Quess Corp: The board approved an interim dividend at Rs 4 per equity share for the financial year ended 31 March 2022. The record date is on 10 June 2022. Somany Ceramics: Saikat Mukhopadhyay has tendered his resignation from the post of chief financial officer of the company vide his letter dated 30 May 2022. Gujarat Themis Biosyn: Jagadish G. Kaujalgi, chief executive officer of the company, has tender his resignation with effect from 10 July 2022 vide letter date 30 May 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.) The European Unions (EUs) announcement of a joint decision to phase out imports of Russian has, together with some other developments, shaken up oil markets. This would be the sixth such package of sanctions of entities linked to the Russian Federation by the countries of the EU, and it would forbid the purchase of seaborne from in six months and of refined products in eight months. There will also be a ban on insuring Russian oil shipments to third countries such as India. Both these measures are, however, considerably less stringent than earlier proposed because of strong objections from within the bloc. The Hungarian government, the most Moscow-friendly in the EU, demanded that pipeline oil be excluded from any sanctions and that countries dependent on pipeline oil be allowed to substitute seaborne deliveries of oil if the pipelines were interrupted. And Greece, famously home to shipping tycoons, demanded that an earlier ban on Russian oil being carried on European hulls be rescinded. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor A new political headache is developing for the Union government with an all-party meeting convened by Chief Minister backing unanimously a census based on caste. will hold a census based on caste and a proposal to this effect will be sent to the cabinet, Kumar told reporters after the meeting. With other states likely to order copycat census exercises, the idea of caste, social equality and justice will likely become a live political issue. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar has given full-throated backing to a caste-based census after Kumar declared his intention to initiate the exercise. In Maharashtra, an agitation by the politically and economically powerful Maratha caste seeking a raft of benefits rocked the state a few years ago. In Gujarat, the demand for reservation by the politically powerful Patidar community led to an upheaval in 2017-18. In Karnataka, the political domination first by the Vokkaliga community and now by the Lingayats, and in Telangana, the resurgence of the Kapu community has created new faultlines in in the recent past. In the meeting, we unanimously decided that a caste-based census will be done in a set timeframe. Soon, a Cabinet decision will be taken and it will be available in public domain, Nitish told reporters at a briefing in Patna after the meet. The decision introduces a new dynamic in politics, the cradle of Indias social justice movement. The BJP initially made no secret of the fact that it was uncomfortable with caste as a unit in the census (the last time a caste-based census was conducted in India was in the 1930s with a limited exercise in 2011. Philosophically, the BJP believes that caste divides religious identity. Consequently, the central government turned down the introduction of backward caste as a column in the central census arguing it was too late to do so in the upcoming census, and also that it was inaccurate. The issue has been examined at length in the past at different points of time. Each time, the view has consistently been that the caste Census of Backward Classes is administratively difficult and cumbersome; it has suffered and will suffer both on account of completeness and accuracy of the data, as also evident from the infirmities of the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data, making it unusable for any official purposes and cannot be mentioned as a source of information for population data in any official document, the affidavit filed by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment said in the Supreme Court in 2021, arguing that a caste census would be difficult and cumbersome. With no political party being able to afford opposing a caste-based enumeration exercise, Bihars decision could become a new political template. The is set to hold its national executive for two days starting from July 2 in Hyderabad, sources in the party said on Wednesday. It is the key decision-making body of the which comprises party leaders from across the country. All top leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and president JP Nadda will attend the meeting. As the BJP is working to emerge as the main challenger to the in Telangana, the party is holding its key body meet in Hyderabad, the sources said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With the Bihar government on Wednesday announcing a caste-based census, leader termed it a victory for his party President and the party. "Lalu Ji was demanding a caste-based census for a long time. We have taken initiatives for it several times, like when I had written a letter to the Chief Minister for an all-party delegation to meet the Prime minister. Over all, we have fought at every stage for caste-based census. So it is a win for us and Lalu Ji," Tejashwi Yadav, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, said. "During the last census, then (Union) Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley said that the data related to the census went corrupt. Hence, it was not appropriate and useful for us. The Centre is conducting a census and if it would have agreed on adding one more column, there would be no need for an additional caste-based census to be conducted separately by state governments. It may help poor states like Bihar. "Unfortunately, the Centre does not agree on it. Even 39 out of 40 Lok Sabha MPs of Bihar are from NDA but they were not advocating it with the Narendra Modi government. If caste-based census would happen in the entire country, it would be in the national interest and helpful to make policies according to the status of particular caste and community," he added. He also said that during the meeting with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, where the decision was taken, his party had suggested to pass the proposal in the next cabinet meeting. "As there is a flood situation in Bihar every year, I have suggested that he start the survey from November this year. At that time, a large number of migrant people return home for the celebration of Chatth festival," he added. --IANS ajk/vd (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Many problems can be solved if Prime Minister drops his ego, MP suggested on Wednesday. Raut was addressing a gathering at the inauguration of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Sanskrutik Bhavan in Pune. "Only one message of Gautam Buddha should be kept in mind and that is to leave the ego. The people who dropped their ego have become victorious (in life). But some people nurture ego. If the ego is set aside, then many issues plaguing society, the state and the country will be solved. Someone should convey this to Narendra Modi," the Sena MP said. Speaking about the upcoming elections to various municipal corporations in Maharashtra, Raut referred to Hanuman Chalisa. "Hanuman Chalisa should be recited but people's problems are also important. Shiv Sena's corporators work hard to solve many basic issues concerning people but we didn't announce this on loudspeakers. But this time we will also put up loudspeakers to tell people about what has done," he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) RTHK: 'Teacher shut Uvalde school door but it didn't lock' The Robb Elementary School teacher who propped open an exterior door that law enforcement said a gunman used to get inside and kill 19 students and two teachers had closed the door but it did not lock, state police said on Tuesday. Investigators initially said the teacher had propped the door open before Salvador Ramos, 18, entered the school in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24. Investigators have now determined that the teacher, who has not been identified, propped the door open with a rock, but then removed the rock and closed the door when she realised there was a shooter on campus, said Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety. But, Considine said, the door did not lock. Investigators confirmed the detail through additional video footage reviewed since the Friday news conference when it was first stated the door had been left propped open. Authorities did not state at that time what had been used to prop open the door. Considine said the teacher initially propped the door open but ran back inside to get her phone and call 911 when Ramos crashed his truck. She came back out while on her phone, she heard someone yell, He has a gun!, she saw him jump the fence and that he had a gun, so she ran back inside, removing the rock when she did, Considine said. He continued: We did verify she closed the door. The door did not lock. We know that much and now investigators are looking into why it did not lock. San Antonio attorney Don Flanary told the San Antonio Express-News that the Robb Elementary School employee, whom he's not naming, closed the door shut after realising that a gunman was on the loose. She saw the wreck, Flanary told the newspaper. She ran back inside to get her phone to report the accident. She came back out while on the phone with 911. The men at the funeral home yelled, He has a gun! She saw him jump the fence, and he had a gun so she ran back inside. She kicked the rock away when she went back in. She remembers pulling the door closed while telling 911 that he was shooting. She thought the door would lock because that door is always supposed to be locked. Flanary told the newspaper that the employee had initially propped open the door to carry food from a car to the classroom. (AP) This story has been published on: 2022-06-01. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Washingtons conniving in collusion between power and capital results in human rights tragedies in private prisons 08:58, June 01, 2022 By Zhong Sheng ( People's Daily Thousands of federal, state, local, and tribal systems in the U.S. hold almost 2 million people in 1,566 state prisons, 102 federal prisons, 2,850 local jails, 1,510 juvenile correctional facilities, 186 immigration detention facilities, and 82 Indian country jails, as well as in military prisons, civil commitment centers, state psychiatric hospitals, and prisons in the U.S. territories, said a recent report from American public policy think tank Prison Policy Initiative (PPI). The U.S., with the highest incarceration rate in the world, has genuinely become a prison country, as Robin Kelly, Gary B. Nash Professor of American History at the University of California, Los Angeles, put it bluntly. Whats more bizarre is that about six out of every 100 people incarcerated in the U.S. are held in private prisons, as statistics suggested. The state and federal governments of the U.S. have contracted out the operation of public prisons to private companies on the pretext of purchasing services. Such an abnormal phenomenon has aroused widespread condemnation and criticism from all walks of life. Prisons, which are supposed to be correctional facilities that represent justice, are privatized by the U.S. and turned into slave factories where many politicians and business people have raked in huge profits. Since the 1980s, the U.S. government has included private prisons into its national correctional system under the banner of easing the pressure and lowering the costs of incarceration, shifting the responsibilities that should be shouldered by the government to interest groups. Driven by exorbitant profits, private prisons expanded rapidly. From 1990 to 2010, the number of private prisons in the U.S. increased by 16 times. More than 30 states in the U.S. were in cooperation with private prison companies. In 2019, about 116,000 people were held in private prisons in the U.S., suggested data from the website of The Sentencing Project, an American non-profit organization that has worked for a fair and effective U.S. criminal justice system. Last year, two U.S. private prison giants, CoreCivic and GEO Group, which have been listed both, saw their operating income reach $1.86 billion and $2.26 billion, respectively. It is the highest purpose of U.S. private prisons to create value for shareholders. CoreCivic was even named one of Americas Best Large Employers by Forbes. Once prisons are dominated by capital, money is placed above justice, which inevitably results in plenty of human rights tragedies. To fill prisons, prisoners jail terms were extended; and the government constantly produces prisoners through laws prosecuting minors. A shocking kids for cash judicial scandal in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, was exposed in 2011. Two local judges accepted over $2 million of kickbacks from two private prison operators in exchange for giving heavy sentences to juveniles who committed minor offences in the absence of an attorney and sending about 4,000 juveniles to privately run prisons between 2003 and 2008. A study conducted by the Washington State University found that private prisons lead to an average increase of 178 new prisoners per million population per year and longer sentences. The length of sentences also increases when private prisons come into a state, especially in nonviolent crimes that have more leeway in sentencing guidelines, according to the study. Private prisons make money by keeping humans in cages, which means that they will try every means to find more prisoners, pointed out American social activist Bonnie Kerness. UN human rights experts urged the U.S. to eliminate all for-profit detention facilities, according to an article published on the website of the UN. Private prison industry of the U.S. has developed a deep-rooted chain of interests in the countrys political and business circles, seriously distorting the U.S. judicial system. While several industries have become notorious for the millions they spend on influencing legislation and getting friendly candidates into office, private prison industry has managed to quickly build influence with comparatively little scrutiny, pointed out U.S. media. For-profit prisons and other interest groups have long been leveraging three magic weapons, namely political donation, lobbying and power-for-money deal, to affect political agenda and criminal policies. By increasing the number of incarcerated people and extending the term of imprisonment, these prisons have garnered huge profits. Statistics showed that between 2010 and 2015, CoreCivic and GEO Group spent around $14.6 million on lobbying for big government contracts. In 2015, the two private prison operators hired 20 lobbyists in Washington with $1.6 million and finally tipped the balance in favor of the private prison industry in three important federal bills. Private prison industry in the U.S., which has formed a tight and huge chain of interests, is essentially a product of the collusion between capital and power, said an analyst. Turning the government functions of corrections into a tool for pursuing profits and rehabilitation of offenders into a lucrative business, private prisons in the U.S. have not only deviated from the original purposes of corrections, but committed numerous crimes concerning human rights. However, such a black hole in state governance has long been indulged by the U.S. government, which proves again that the self-styled beacon of democracy has been unworthy of the title long ago. The root cause of the human rights violations in private prisons in the U.S. lies in the countrys flawed systems. When power and capital are placed above equity and justice, the so-called democracy and human rights are nothing but empty talk. (Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by Peoples Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.) (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) After the ED's summons to its top leaders, the on Wednesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of hatching a "cowardly conspiracy" against and Rahul Gandhi, and said it will not be cowed down by any "vendetta" leaders Randeep Surjewala and Abhishek Singhvi said the party will fight hard "legally, socially and politically". Addressing a press conference, they said party president has been summoned by the ED for questioning in a "fake" money laundering case linked to the Herald newspaper on June 8, and she was determined to appear before the agency as she has nothing to hide and is not scared or intimidated by such ''cheap tactics''. They said former chief has also been summoned, and that he has written to the probe agency to postpone the date to after June 5 as he is not in the country. The opposition party alleged that the "fake issue of AJL, (Associated Journals) is an attempt by BJP's propaganda machinery to deviate, divert and digress the attention of citizens from the multifarious vital issues of inflation, falling GDP and social unrest, social divisiveness in this country". "It is clear that the dictator is scared now and is trying to hide all his failures on the governance front by misusing all government agencies. A nasty and cowardly conspiracy is being hatched against the Congress leadership in order to mislead the nation," Surjewala said. He alleged that the Modi government has turned blind in the pursuit of political vendetta. "This time they have come out with a new hideous and cowardly conspiracy, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi getting ED notices issued against and Rahul Gandhi," he said. Singhvi said, "The Modi government should know that by registering such fake and fabricated cases, they cannot succeed in their cowardly conspiracy." Neither will the ED be able to stop the Herald, the voice of the freedom movement, nor will it be able to scare Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, he said, adding that there has been an exchange of no money in the case and the question of laundering does not arise. "The Congress leadership is fearless and ready to present itself before the probe agency. We will not be afraid of such tactics, we will not bow down, but we will fight hard legally, socially and politically," Singhvi added. "This is a part of a larger disease. A disease, which will consume the ruling party ultimately. The disease is one of attacking every political party purely on vendetta terms from Kashmir to Kanyakumari," he said,alleging that the BJP has tried to bring every political opponent under the net of "puppet" agencies like ED, CBI, IT, etc. The government has said that the agencies are doing their job and the the opposition leaders should not worry if they have done no wrong. Another Congress leader Jairam Ramesh termed the AGL case as "bogus" and said vendetta has touched a new low. "The Vishwaguru of Vendetta has hit a new low with the issue of ED notice to Smt Sonia Gandhi and Shri today. It is a completely bogus money laundering case foisted on them with neither money flow nor any laundering. Truth will triumph. We will not be silenced!," said Ramesh. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also hit out at the Centre over the ED notices to top Congress leaders. It "reflects the height of the suppression of the opposition being done by the Modi government by misusing the power," he said. "The central government is attacking democracy by doing of hatred. By sending ED summons to Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, BJP wants to suppress the voice of the opposition," Congress leader Sachin Pilot tweeted. Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said using power and constitutional institutions as weapons of political vendetta is cowardice. ''The entire nation stands with Sonia ji and Rahul ji," he tweeted using the hashtag "#TruthWillnotBow. Surjewala and Singhvi said the main mantra of the newspaper which became the "voice of the freedom movement" was: "Freedom is in danger, protect it with all your might." "Today again, the ideology supporting the British rule is conspiring to suppress the 'voice of the freedom movement'," Surjewala claimed. While Sonia Gandhi, 75, has been asked to depose before the federal agency on June 8, is understood to have been asked to appear earlier. The case to probe alleged financial irregularities in the party-promoted Young Indian that owns the Herald newspaper was registered recently. The National Herald is published by Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and owned by Young Indian Pvt Limited. The agency recently questioned senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal as part of the investigation. The questioning of the Gandhis is part of ED's investigation to understand the shareholding pattern, financial transactions and role of the promoters of Young Indian and AJL. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chief Minister on Wednesday said he has been invited to attend the World Cities Summit in to present the "Delhi Model" and is looking forwards to discussing urban solutions with other leaders. The summit will take place on August 2-3. High Commissioner of Simon Wong called on Kejriwal at the Delhi Secretariat on Wednesday, according to an official statement. Kejriwal informed Wong about Delhi's streetscaping and road redevelopment project and said his government would be open to inviting companies from to develop pilot stretches under the project. The high commissioner said he would love to explore the collaboration on the project. The leaders also held an in-depth discussion about Delhi's efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent vaccination programme. Wong invited Kejriwal to attend the World Cities Summit (WCS) 2022. Accepting the invitation, the chief minister said he looks forward to attending the summit and discussing urban solutions with other leaders. "High Commissioner of Singapore H.E. Mr. Simon Wong called on CM Shri at the Delhi Secretariat today. The Singapore Government has invited the CM to the coveted World Cities Summit. The CM has duly accepted the invitation," the chief minister's office said in a tweet. Kejriwal and Wong also discussed avenues for collaboration and cooperation in the sectors of water, waste management and public housing. Wong said Delhi and Singapore are two distinctive urban centres that share a common set of problems. He gave the formal invitation letter for the summit from the Prime Minister's Office of Singapore to Kejriwal. The chief minister thanked the Singapore government for the invitation and said he will send an acceptance letter to it for the same. WCS is an exclusive platform for government leaders and industry experts to address liveable and sustainable city challenges, share integrated urban solutions and forge new partnerships. It is jointly organised by Singapore's Centre for Liveable Cities and the Urban Redevelopment Authority. WCS 2022 will also feature the WCS Smart Cities Workshop, an exclusive in-person networking event to advance smart city projects through one-on-one consultation clinics with suitable partners and funders. (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 Rajasthan deputy chief minister and Congress leader on Wednesday said his party needs to evaluate the reasons why it has not been able to repeat its government in the state. In Rajasthan, the Congress and the BJP have been alternately coming to power with not party repeating its government. Currently, Rajasthan is ruled by the Congress and the next Assembly polls in the state are schedule for next year. "We have to accept the fact that once we were left with only 50 MLAs and another time with 21 MLAs," he said pointing to the party's failure to retain power. "Our governments have repeated in Delhi, Assam and Andhra Pradesh," Pilot told reporters on the sidelines of a two-day party workshop. What are the reasons that the party has not been able to repeat its government in the state, he said, adding that it should be discussed. "In the workshop, we will discuss how to fight the elections with solidarity and how the Congress party government can be repeated," he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A experiment to crack down on password sharing outside of households has left users flummoxed, as the streaming giant increased subscription fee for such users, forcing some of them to cancel their subscriptions. In March, quietly rolled out an experiment among customers in three small markets in Latin America, asking them to pay extra when sharing their account passwords outside their homes. The streaming giant announced the new password-sharing policy in Peru, Chile, and Costa Rica. According to global tech news site Rest of World, for some users, the price increase has been enough to convince them to cancel their accounts outright. "Others continue to share their accounts across households without any notification of the policy change or have ignored the new rule without facing enforcement," the report said. Overall, the lack of clarity around how Netflix determines a "household" and the differing charges levied on different customers have left subscribers in the test confused, "risking action from consumer regulators". As the OTT platforms witness a surge in subscriptions amid the pandemic, the problem of password sharing has also grown and resulted in stalled user growth for several players. The major OTT giants, including Netflix, are working relentlessly to fix the problem of password sharing. Netflix's terms of use have always stated that subscribers are not allowed to share accounts outside of their household, but the platform had never previously enforced extra charges for infringing the policy. For the first time, the company is defining "household" as exclusively people a subscriber lives with, said the report. Netflix representatives told Rest of World that it knows some subscribers understand "household" as related to immediate family but that it has always defined the term as people living in the same building. The company said different subscribers might be paying differing charges. Peru's consumer rights agency, the National Institute for the Defense of Free Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (Indecopi), said that the "differing charges could be considered a way of discriminating against users arbitrarily". Netflix saw its stock tumbling by 20 per cent after it reported a loss of 2 lakh paid subscribers in the first quarter of 2022, its first subscriber loss in over a decade. Moreover, it forecast a global paid subscriber loss of 20 lakh for the April-June quarter (Q2). Netflix is fast losing long-term subscribers. According to a survey report by The Information, new data show that people who have been subscribers to Netflix for more than three years accounted for 13 per cent of cancellations in the first quarter this year. --IANS na/shb/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Due to an outage on podcast hosting platform owned by Spotify, Megaphone, podcast listeners could not access many of their shows for more than eight hours this week. According to The Verge, the outage stemmed from the company's failure to renew Megaphone's security certificate. "Megaphone experienced a platform outage due to an issue related to our SSL certificate," spokesperson Erin Styles was quoted as saying in a statement. "During the outage, clients were unable to access the Megaphone CMS and podcast listeners were unable to download podcast episodes from Megaphone-hosted publishers. Megaphone service has since been restored," Styles added. As per the report, it is a simple mistake with big ramifications. Megaphone, which inserts dynamic ads into episodes, hosts many of the industry's top shows. It also distributes shows on platforms beyond Spotify, including Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. hosts many of its own licensed and owned shows on Megaphone, the report said. Styles said that the company is reaching out to affected publishers. acquired Megaphone in December 2020 for $235 million, making it the streamer's biggest purchase in its quest to build a comprehensive podcasting tech stack. Spotify did not comment as to why Megaphone's SSL certificate was left to expire and why it took so long to fix. The certificate expired at 8PM ET on Monday, according to data found by Podnews. The issue was not resolved for another eight hours, according to the platform's status page. Even after Megaphone came back online just before 6AM ET, podcasters experienced delays with the Megaphone CMS. As of 9:45AM, the company said the issue was fully resolved. --IANS vc/shb/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) DaveAI's strategic round of funding is led by Maruti Suzuki, who have made their first investment made through the Maruti Suzuki Innovation Fund Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 1 (ANI/NewsVoir): DaveAI, a virtual AI avatar led sales experience platform announced a strategic round of investment led by Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. - India's largest automobile brand, GHV - India's first and biggest industry Co-Creation innovation and investment group for Japan, Singapore and South East Asia, and Hakuhodo Inc. - A global top 10 Integrated Marketing & Innovation Company. The round also saw participation from existing investors Mumbai Angels Network and IIIT Seed fund. Talking about the investment, Sriram P H, Co-founder & CEO said, "This strategic round of investment will help us meet growing global demand for assisted digital sales experiences. We have scaled rapidly in the last year with these strategic partnerships and are in early discussions about our Series A round to take us through the next phase of global growth." DaveAI was the winner of Maruti Suzuki MAIL program, powered by GHV India's largest mobility test bed. Maruti Suzuki, is leading this round by making their first investment through the Maruti Suzuki Innovation Fund. "The investment would help MSI strengthen its offering to customers by creating a customised sales experiences on the web, virtual reality and augmented reality," the auto major said in a regulatory filing. DaveAI's Virtual AI avatars power Maruti Suzuki's digital car buying journey across cars delivering & gt;30% increase in sales metrics. DaveAI virtual avatars mimic a human sales brain coupled with state of the art 3D Visualization, which is an industry first. "We are at the forefront of enabling some of the country's largest brands in retail & banking, take their first step in creating brand avatar powered immersive Metaverse experiences," said Dr Ananth, Co-founder & CTO of DaveAI. DaveAI has already leveraged GHV's Digital transformation Lab & Industry Co-Creation programs to engage & scale with large enterprises in India & South East Asia. According to Vikram Upadhyaya, Founder, GHV Group - "We, as GHV, are delighted to back DaveAI with additional capital, as the company has shown a consistent performance on T.E.S.T.PoC (C), GHV's proprietary venture evaluation thesis. Further, the company aligns well with GHV's vision of empowering Deep tech digital portfolios, as a part of its Digital Transformation framework for Enterprises such as Maruti Suzuki. This is one of the first examples of the most successful outcomes of Maruti Suzuki MAIL program powered by GHV, and I am sure there would be many more to come." DaveAI witnessed 300% yoy growth in revenues in FY 2022. The platform is leveraged by large enterprise customers that include Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, BPCL, Landmark Group, Raymond, Karnataka Bank etc. "Hakuhodo Inc. is very bullish on Indian Startups' Innovation capabilities. DaveAI's technology will be integrated with Hakuhodo's Advance MarTech Stack and will be made available in 150 offices across 20 countries, creating an edge for the Global Network," - Rakesh Yadav, CEO of Hakuhodo Group's India Digital arm, AdGlobal360, said. DaveAI has strong partnerships with leading technology companies such as Intel and SAP. With MSIL & Hakuhodo joining in, DaveAI is all set to build an Industry first platform that will help create next generation of sales experiences. This round also saw participation from DaveAI's existing investors Mumbai Angels - India's premier platform for private investment that's holds an AUM of USD 130 Mn and a 200+ strong portfolio spanning a wide range of sectors, & tech startup investor IIIT Seedfund. Talking about DaveAI's capability in reshaping businesses, Nandini Mansinghka, Co-founder & CEO of Mumbai Angels said, "AI driven retail applications are coming into the limelight as the need for advanced data driven analytics and engagement becomes the norm. DaveAl, with its real-time analytics solutions for customized recommendations holds immense potential in boosting retailing KPIs for businesses. I am confident that the fresh capital will enable them not only to scale up but also maximize the profitability of retailing businesses." Talking about the investment, Viiveck Verma, Co-founder of IIIT Seedfund said, "We have a longstanding association with DaveAI since their early stage when our network investors were mentoring them as part of IIIT CIE's Avishkar program. It is great to see this deep tech platform now being used by several global enterprises and one of them making a strategic investment. As existing investors, we are glad to continue supporting the team at DaveAI as they venture into the next phase of growth." 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.) New Delhi [India], June 1 (ANI/NewsVoir): 'Valour & Wisdom' attempts to establish the praxis that RIMC has shaped the nation's military leadership. This has been done through a scheme of well-researched chapters accompanied by historic documents including pictures, from some of the better-known archives in India and abroad, and also freshly photographed frames as and where necessary. The Doon valley and Mussoorie hills is home to several colonial-era public schools which groom young minds to take over the leadership role in different spheres of life. One of the oldest among them is the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC). It was inaugurated on March 13, 1922, as the 'Prince of Wales' Royal Indian Military College', by Prince Edward VIII, the then Prince of Wales. It was founded to fulfil the national demand for the Indianization of the officer cadre of the British Indian armed forces post World War I, where more than 70000 Indians sacrificed their lives in support of the Allied forces. It was set up in the pattern of British public schools to groom Indian youth for entry into Royal Military College, Sandhurst, UK, prior to awarding them a Royal Commission into the officer cadre. This nursery of military leadership completed 100 years of existence on March 13 2022. Whenever an educational institution reaches a milestone in its existence, it's the opportune time for it to reflect upon its contribution to society. In the West, it is now an established practice to research and write the history of an institution during its jubilee celebrations. In India, the practice, however, has been to bring out self-congratulatory volumes in the genre of coffee table books. The volume at hand has been helmed by credible editors, which includes veteran journalist and author Sidharth Mishra, who despite being alumni of the institution has approached the project objectively. Commenting on the book on RIMC, one of the co-authors of the book Sidharth Mishra said, "RIMC has contributed to the nation-building immensely and the book is a rare attempt to highlight the academic institution's valuable contribution to India's defence forces as well as other spheres including business and economy." The book attempts to tell that RIMC is not just celebrating a century of existence in brick, mortar and greenery but it is celebrating the leadership its alumni have provided at various critical stages of the evolution of our Nation. The Second World War, various wars and military expeditions of the post-independence era, the support provided to the civil population in combating natural calamities and combating terrorism in various sectors is replete with the instances of a Rimcollian, as an alumnus of RIMC is known, in the leadership role. In fact, it was the Rimcollians who were in higher echelons of the military at the time of independence, who built and guided the Indian Armed Forces into a formidable foe to reckon with. As time progressed, Rimcollians also diversified into sectors and streams other than military, excelling once again in the new uncharted areas. The spirit of valour and wisdom infused into the young minds of the cadets at this august institution has enabled them to rise to the highest echelons of their chosen career, be it in the armed forces or otherwise. A book like this would probably need a sequel to tell many of the stories in detail which find mentioned only in brief in this otherwise voluminous title. AIR Marshall PP Reddy was at RIMC between 1967-72. He was commissioned into the Indian Air Force in 1976 as a fighter pilot. After serving in uniform for almost 40 years, he retired in 2016 as CISC (Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to The Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee), the most important tri-service assignment before the emergence of the Chief of Defence Staff. Post-retirement, he was picked by then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar as a Consultant for Defence reforms. A former President of the Rimcollian Old Boys Association, he is presently the Chairman of its editorial committee. Sidharth Mishra, a veteran media person and academician of repute, was at RIMC between 1979-83. On leaving school, he joined Delhi University and followed it up with a very fruitful career in mass communication rising to become a newspaper editor. An author of standing, he has nearly 20 books and over a thousand articles and research papers to his credit including publications from the prestigious Oxford University Press and the National Book Trust of India. On changing course to academics, he has led and taught at some very prestigious institutions in the country. 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.) India has the worlds fourth-largest coal reserve. It is the second-biggest producer of fossil fuel behind China and is home to the worlds biggest coal miner, Coal India, which accounts for 80% of the countrys domestic output. The minable capacity of already allocated coal blocks is around 15% to 20% higher than the expected demand in 2030. So why, year after year, Indias power plants face coal shortages that lead to widespread power outages leaving parts of the country in the dark and industries in a limbo. There are several factors. India has had a long-standing policy to minimise imports of coal. In February 2020, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi had said that the country would stop importing thermal coal from 2023-24. Joshi had said the Coal Ministry would coordinate with Railways and Shipping Ministry and enable Coal India, captive and commercial miners to evacuate more coal by 2030. But despite efforts to increase the supply of domestic coal, there was a gap between the demand of coal and its supply. And the coal stocks at the generating stations are depleting at a worrisome rate. Now, Power Ministry is blaming declining coal imports for the current crisis. In 2018-19, 21.4 million tonnes of coal was imported for blending, 23.8 million tonnes in 2019-20 and in 2021-22, it fell to 8.3 million tonnes. Coal inventories at power plants have declined by about 13% since April to the lowest pre-summer levels in years. And for the first time since 2015, will import the fuel for use by state and private power generating companies. The power ministry said the decision was taken after nearly all states suggested that multiple coal import tenders by states would lead to confusion and sought centralised procurement through . The Centre faced pushback from states as imported coal is five times costlier than the one mined domestically. Recently, the government also stepped up pressure on utilities to increase imports to blend with local coal. It has even warned of cuts to the supply of domestically mined coal if power plants did not build up coal inventories through imports. But the power ministry on Saturday asked states to suspend tenders that are "under process" Despite record production, Coal Indias supply has not been able to meet the demand. In April 2022, the company registered a growth of 27.64% by producing 53.47 million tonnes. Former coal secretary Anil Swarup told Washington Post that Coal Indias production stagnated in the last few years because of a failure by the government to appoint senior management and fund mining expansions. Shreya Jai of Business Standard points a mismatch between coal, power and railway ministries. ower units did not stock up when had surplus coal. Imported coal-based power units not functioning for several years. Pressure of mining and supplying coal lies solely on Coal India. Coal Indias output has grown slower than the captive mines, awarded over the last six years. During 2020-22, production from the captive mines jumped by 38.5% while CIL saw a tepid growth of 3.4%, according to government data. These captive mines were awarded to private companies and state-owned utilities over the last five years after the Supreme Court in 2014 scrapped all coal block allocations made over the past two decades Last year, three tranches of coal auctions were held after a hiatus of two years and nine blocks were successfully awarded In September 2021, the Union ministry of coal issued a stern warning to captive coal block owners, saying their mines should ramp up production or face regulation in coal supply from CIL. The ministry observed that production from these mines was below target. Of the 43 operational coal mines awarded to private companies in the power, steel and metals sectors, not a single one is meeting its targeted annual production. On May 6, Coal India said it will offer its 20 closed and discontinued underground coal mines to the private sector to reopen and bring into production on a revenue-sharing model. Shreya Jai says current power supply chain seems unprepared to handle high growth period, state discoms are unable to pay gencos, but electricity supply chain needs to be fixed starting with state discoms, she said. Meanwhile, the Railways is grappling to balance demands from the thermal power industry for faster coal supplies with the demands of other industries. It has to keep rakes ready to meet the rising demand for just about every other bulk commodity, from cement and steel to sand and food grains. The strained balance sheets of discoms have consistently triggered delayed payments to power producers, often affecting cash flows and disincentivising further investment in the electricity generation sector. For the second time in two years, the Union Power Ministry notified a scheme for discoms to defer their dues towards the power generating companies. With the dues of the discoms touching a record high of Rs 1 trillion, the ministry has proposed a scheme to liquidate the discoms dues in 48 monthly instalments. Strengthening the value chain of the power sector will ensure that coal supply-demand mismatch is resolved in the long term. Its normal for car manufacturers to focus on their highest variants. They are, after all, seen as the image leadersthe one that carries th... It seems each big situation is used as an opportunity for (Prime Minister) Justin Trudeau. The recent Texas shooting is just another prop-up for a political opportunity for the Liberals. With everything Trudeau and his Liberals have done in the past couple of years, it is hard to not think they are growing mad with power and using each situation to their advantage. Now that (NDP leader) Jagmeet Singh has joined forces, there is literally nothing the (Conservative) Opposition can do to hold (the government) accountable. It is sickening to listen to Trudeau answer any questions from the Opposition or a critical thinking media source. Over the years, our gun laws have become increasingly stricter. However, the crimes committed with guns have increased. The writing is on the wall, stricter gun laws do not apply to criminals who are already unlawfully using guns. The only ones these restriction hurt are the lawful gun owners. If an intoxicated driver kills a person, we do not blame it on the car, we blame the person. The same is true with firearms. We need to look at what is going on in our society that makes these shootings a regular occurrence in todays world. I remember a Sears catalog with guns being advertised, being dropped off for school with a rifle in the back window of our truck and firearms being a regular tool for a variety of situations outside my small Prairie town. Lets see how many criminals line up to hand over their illegal firearms. Taking firearms away from law-abiding citizens and leaving firearms in the hands of criminals, is a scary situation. Our country is crumbling under this government and its arrogance. Kris Garwasiuk Photo: The Canadian Press Jacob Sansom (left) and his uncle Maurice Cardinal are shown in a handout photo from the Facebook page "Justice for Jake and Morris." THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Facebook-Justice for Jake and Morris A jury has found a man guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the shooting of two Metis hunters on a rural road in Alberta. They also found the man's father guilty of two counts of manslaughter. Lawyers for Anthony Bilodeau and his father Roger Bilodeau had argued the shooting was in self-defence. The Crown argued the accused took the law into their own hands when they chased down Jacob Sansom and his uncle Maurice Cardinal, because they believed the hunters had been at the family's farm earlier and were trying to steal. Prosecutors said the shooting was in no way justified. "This simply is a case of taking the law into your own hands and it's a case of tragic results," Crown lawyer Jeff Rudiak told the jury during his closing statements Monday. "Two innocent men, Jake and Morris, had absolutely no business dying that night these two fellas did nothing wrong." Jurors heard that Sansom and Cardinal had been moose hunting before they were found dead on the side of a road near Glendon, Alta., in March 2020. Sansom was shot once in the chest and Cardinal was hit three times in the shoulder. The jurors, who began deliberations around suppertime Monday, returned the verdicts late Tuesday afternoon. They found Anthony Bilodeau guilty of second-degree murder for shooting Cardinal and guilty of manslaughter for shooting Sansom. Court heard that on the night of March 27, 2020, Anthony Bilodeau got a call from his father and younger brother, who were pursing a white Dodge pickup they suspected had been on the family farm earlier in the day. Roger Bilodeau told his older son to meet up with them and to bring a gun for protection, court was told. Anthony Bilodeau testified that his phone was still connected to his father's Bluetooth speaker when he heard thuds and cracking glass before his brother screamed for someone not to kill or hurt his father. Court heard that Sansom smashed the passenger window of Roger Bilodeau's Ford F-150 with his bare fists then allegedly attacked Joseph and Roger Bilodeau in the truck. When he arrived, Anthony Bilodeau said, he shot Sansom because the man had charged toward him. He also said he heard Sansom call out to Cardinal to get a gun so they could kill him. Anthony Bilodeau said he shot Cardinal after the hunter came at him with a large gun. He said Cardinal told him he was going to kill him in retaliation for shooting Sansom. Anthony Bilodeau testified he could see Cardinal's gun had a magazine attached and he feared for everyone's safety. He said he shot Cardinal another two times in the back of the shoulder. The prosecutor said the killings were unlawful because there had been no threat of violence when Anthony Bilodeau was told to bring a gun. Rudiak said Anthony Bilodeau was the first person to produce a gun and intensified the situation. Brian Beresh, a lawyer representing Anthony Bilodeau, told the jury to find his client not guilty because he had no choice but to shoot the two hunters. Beresh focused on the alcohol levels of Sansom and Cardinal. A toxicology report showed Sansom's blood-alcohol level was nearly three times over the legal driving limit, while Cardinal's was nearly twice over the limit. The prosecution said that wasn't relevant in the case. Court also heard that after the shooting, Anthony Bilodeau cut up his gun and threw it in a dump. He also disposed of lights from his bumper at another dump. He testified that he did it because he was in shock and didn't want to go to jail for protecting his family. Shawn Gerstel, Roger Bilodeau's lawyer, said his client only followed Sansom and Cardinal to ask them why they were in his yard. Rogers actions that night were a mistake, but they were not criminal, Gerstel told the jury. He said the Bilodeaus were on the phone for roughly two and a half minutes before the shooting and could have not developed an "unlawful plan." (Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau has just banned vetted and licenced firearms owners from buying, owning, and selling handguns in Canada, while he has done nothing to stop the flow of firearms across our border. He has also not interfered with our armed and drug-dealing criminals plying their illegal drug trade in our schools, parks and on our streets. Our safe residential neighbourhoods have become public shooting galleries. One of the first things Hitler did after gaining control over the German parliament in the early 1930s was to ban and confiscate all firearms. That made it a lot easier for him to control the German people and to prevent them from stopping the atrocities committed prior to, and during the Second World War. He argued, like Trudeau, that it was done in the interest of public safety. The people in Ukraine are more fortunate. Most of the men there have military experience, as volunteers or have served time in the regular armed forces. What Trudeau is doing is attempting to disarm Canadians, while he is busy transforming Canada into a Cuban-style socialist dictatorship, where only the police and the military have firearms. Andy Thomsen Photo: The Canadian Press Quebec Premier Francois Legault. Quebec's premier is being accused of stoking fears about newcomers after he gave a recent speech warning Quebec risks turning into Louisiana if the province doesn't have more control over immigration. Francois Legault told delegates at his party's convention on the weekend that the survival of the Quebec nation depended on the federal government granting Quebec more power over who can immigrate to the province. The premier even warned that Quebec risked becoming like the state of Louisiana formerly under the control of France where only a fraction of the population still speaks French. His comments sparked strong reaction from opposition parties, who accused him of inventing a crisis and of suggesting immigrants are a threat. Liberal leader Dominique Anglade said the premier "lacked heart" toward immigrants, while Quebec solidaire spokesperson Manon Masse accused Legault of using immigrants to distract people from his government's failures on issues such as housing and climate change. Masse said more than 90 per cent of Quebecers speak French, compared to only "a handful" of people who still do in Louisiana, and she questioned why the premier would compare the two. "Why would the premier do that, other than to put forward a threat that doesn't exist?" she said Tuesday. "There's no crisis here in Quebec." Ruba Ghazal, Quebec solidaire's language critic, said the province is enriched by the tens of thousands of newcomers who arrive each year, noting that her own family was the product of immigration more than 30 years ago. "I have news for Francois Legault: my family and I are not a threat to the survival of Quebec." Legault said in his speech that while Quebec has the right to select about half of the 50,000 immigrants who settle in the province each year, the rest are chosen by the federal government. He said federally selected immigrants refugees and people in the family reunification stream are much less likely to speak French than those chosen by Quebec, who are mainly economic immigrants. He said Ottawa must transfer to Quebec the power to select immigrants in the family reunification stream so that the province can better protect the French language. "Im asking at the next election for a strong mandate to negotiate that with the federal government," he told cheering supporters at his party's annual convention, in Drummondville, Que. "Its a question of survival for our nation." In Quebec City on Tuesday, Anglade accused Legault of lacking empathy toward immigrants who want to reunite with their parents. "He's telling us that if there's a woman who has been working in Quebec for two years and wants to bring her partner and son, that's an attack on the survival of Quebec," she said. Saul Polo, a Liberal legislature member who is also an immigrant, said Legault's comments were a shameless exaggeration that insulted Quebecers. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday appeared unwilling to consider transferring further power to Quebec. "It's certain a country has to have its say on its immigration," he said in Ottawa, adding that jurisdiction is shared with Quebec to allow the province to prioritize francophone immigration. Photo: The Canadian Press Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault. Ottawa and the Northwest Territories are in discussions with a large American charity about permanent funding for a program that puts First Nations people in charge of looking after parks and other conservation areas on their traditional lands. Representatives from all three groups have agreed to try to work out a way for The Pew Charitable Trusts to help fund the Indigenous Guardians program in N.W.T. If successful, the project could expand to other such programs across the country. "Our programs are rarely infinite in time," Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault said from Stockholm, Sweden, where he was attending meetings. "There's great interest in the federal government in continuing to support this program. "If other actors like it as well and if they want to support it, that's wonderful." Guardian programs depend on local Indigenous people to act as eyes and ears on the land. They manage protected areas, monitor animals and plants, test water quality and watch development. They also help create land-use and marine-use plans. There are currently 80 guardian programs across Canada. They are funded by a $173-million commitment over five years in last year's budget. Last week in Yellowknife, the three parties met to discuss ways to make that funding permanent at least in the North through an agreement with Pew, which, through its trusts, controls more than $8 billion. "Indigenous and other local communities have centuries of knowledge and experience in managing their lands and waters," said an email from Tom Dillon, Pew's manager of conservation programs. "It's important to us that they benefit directly from these initiatives and that we help to galvanize government support to make their conservation aspirations durable." Indigenous people welcome Pew's interest in ensuring the program remains in place, said Dahti Tsetso, a member of the Indigenous Leadership Initiative, which convened the meeting. "There is a lot of support across the board for exploring how this could support the guardians program," she said. First Nations across the North are interested, added Tsetso. The Assembly of First Nations has been in support of guardian programs since 2015. Tsetso said there are many more possibilities if a deal with Pew can be reached. "It's like creating an investment strategy," she said. "We're looking at injecting a ton of resources into the N.W.T." A consultant report done for the initiative concluded that every dollar spent on a guardians program generated $2.50. Guilbeault said there's nothing new about private charitable dollars funding public environmental programs. "Philanthropies have been involved in conservation projects in Canada for a very, very long time," he said. "We've worked collaboratively together with many of them and often we will invest in projects together." Tsetso said there's no timeline yet for when the money could help to fund the program. "We're very much at the start of discussions," she said. Photo: Contributed UPDATE 11:47 a.m. A federal judge gave his final blessing Wednesday to full freedom for John Hinckley, the man who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981, capping a four-decade journey through the court system for the once mentally ill Hinckley. U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman said in September that he would free Hinckley from all remaining restrictions on June 15 as long as Hinckley continued to do well living in the community in Virginia as he has for years. At a hearing Wednesday in Washington which Hinckley did not attend, Friedman noted Hinckley has continued to do well, and the judge made no changes to his plans for full freedom from court oversight. He's been scrutinized. He's passed every test. He's no longer a danger to himself or others, Friedman said at a hearing that lasted about an hour. Friedman devoted much of the hearing to talking about the long road of the case, which he was randomly assigned two decades ago, the third judge to be involved in the case. He noted that Hinckley, who turned 67 on Sunday, was profoundly troubled when he shot Reagan but that he had been able to get mental health help. Hinckley has shown no signs of active mental illness since the mid-1980s, the judge noted Wednesday, and has exhibited no violent behavior or interest in weapons. Hinckley was confined to a mental hospital in Washington for more than two decades after a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity in shooting Reagan. Starting in 2003 Friedman began allowing Hinckley to spend longer and longer stretches in the community with requirements like attending therapy and restrictions on where he can travel. He's been living full-time in Virginia since 2016, though still under restrictions. Some of those include: allowing officials access to his electronic devices, email and online accounts; being barred from traveling to places where he knows there will be someone protected by the Secret Service, and giving three days notice if he wants to travel more than 75 miles (120 kilometers) from his home in Virginia. Prosecutors had previously opposed ending restrictions, but they changed their position last year, saying they would agree to Hinckleys release from conditions if he continued to show mental stability and follow restrictions. Prosecutor Kacie Weston said in court Wednesday that the government believes the case has demonstrated the success that can come from a wraparound mental health system." She noted Hinckley has expressed a desire to continue receiving mental health services even after he is no longer required to do so, and said the government wishes him success for both his sake as well as the safety of the community. Hinckley's longtime lawyer, Barry Levine, said the case had started with a troubled young man who inflicted great harm and but that, in the end: I think we have salvaged a life. John worked hard. He wanted to correct something that he was unable to erase, and this is the best outcome that one could imagine, Levine said after the hearing, adding that "His regrets will always be with him with respect to the families of those he injured. Levine said his client hopes to pursue a career in music and has real talent. In July, Hinckley who plays guitar and sings and has shared his music on a YouTube channel plans to give a concert in Brooklyn, New York. Appearances in Connecticut and Chicago for what he has called the John Hinckley Redemption Tour have been canceled. Reagan recovered from the March 30, 1981, shooting, but his press secretary, James Brady, who died in 2014, was partially paralyzed as a result. Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty were also wounded. Reagan died in 2004. In the 2000s, Hinckley began, with the judge's approval, making visits to his parents home in Williamsburg, Virginia. His father died in 2008, but in 2016 he was given permission to live with his mother full time. Still, he was required to attend individual and group therapy sessions, was barred from talking to the media and could only travel within a limited area. Secret Service would also periodically follow him. Hinckley's mother died in 2021. He has since moved out of her home. In recent years, Hinckley has made money by selling items at an antique mall and by selling books online. Hinckley has said on his YouTube channel that he has started a record label, Emporia Records, and that his first release will be a 14-song CD of his music. He also promotes his music on Twitter. ORIGINAL 7:25 a.m. A federal judge is set to preside over an important hearing for John Hinckley, the man who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and is on the verge of being released from all remaining restrictive conditions. U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman said in September that he would free Hinckley from restrictions on June 15 as long as Hinckley continued to do well. Officials say Hinckley has, and Wednesdays hearing, which Hinckley will not attend, is not expected to alter those plans. Hinckley was confined to a mental hospital in Washington for more than two decades after a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity in shooting Reagan. But starting in 2003 Friedman began allowing Hinckley to live for longer stretches in the community with requirements like attending therapy and restrictions on where he can travel. Hes been living full-time in Virginia since 2016, though still under restrictions. Those include: allowing officials access to his electronic devices, email and online accounts; being barred from traveling to places where he knows there will be someone protected by the Secret Service, and giving three days notice if he wants to travel more than 75 miles from his home in Virginia. In July, Hinckley who plays guitar and sings and has shared his music on a YouTube channel plans to give a concert in Brooklyn, New York. Appearances in Connecticut and Chicago for what he has called the John Hinckley Redemption Tour have been cancelled. The judge has said that Hinckley, who turned 67 Sunday, has displayed no symptoms of active mental illness, no violent behavior and no interest in weapons since 1983. In a status report filed ahead of Wednesdays hearing, prosecutors wrote that health officials who have overseen Hinckleys treatment for years believe he has recovered his sanity such that he does not present a danger to himself or others because of mental illness if unconditionally released as planned. Prosecutors had previously opposed ending restrictions, but they changed their position last year, saying they would agree to Hinckleys release from conditions if he continued to show mental stability and follow restrictions. Prosecutor Kacie Weston wrote in a court filing ahead of the hearing that the Government has found no evidence to suggest that Mr. Hinckleys unconditional release should not be granted as the judge previously said he would. Reagan recovered from the March 30, 1981, shooting, but his press secretary, James Brady, who died in 2014, was partially paralyzed as a result. Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty were also wounded. Reagan died in 2004. In the 2000s, Hinckley began, with the judges approval, making visits to his parents home in Williamsburg, Virginia. His father died in 2008, but in 2016 he was given permission to live with his mother full time. Still, he was required to attend individual and group therapy sessions, was barred from talking to the media and could only travel within a limited area. Secret Service would also periodically follow him. Hinckleys mother died in 2021. He has since moved out of her home. In recent years, Hinckley has made money by selling items at an antique mall and by selling books online. Photo: Twitter The Canadian Transportation Agency says Flair Airlines is "Canadian" and may continue to operate in the country. The agency announced Wednesday that the carrier meets the criterion to qualify as "Canadian" under the Canada Transportation Act. In mid-April, news broke that the airline could have been forced to cease operations because it didn't meet the conditions to qualify as "Canadian owned." At least 51 per cent of a company's voting interests must be owned and controlled by Canadians and no more than 25 per cent of the voting interests may be by any single non-Canadian entity or individual. On May 3, Flair responded to the agencys preliminary determination which included "amendments to its unanimous shareholder agreement and promissory note (to U.S. investor 777 Partners of Miami)," the CTA said in a news release. The CTA found that Flair addressed its concerns and that Canadian shareholders "have the right to appoint no less than half of the board, and no less than half of the members of the board must be Canadian." Additionally, the agency found that the airline has demonstrated that it can lease new aircraft without having to rely on 777 Partners. Prior to the announcement, Flair CEO Stephen Jones told Glacier Media in a phone interview on April 18 that customers should "absolutely be comfortable" in keeping the flights that they'd previously booked with the airline. Jones had stressed that the airline would not be "grounded as a consequence of review," adding that Flair had been working with the CTA to address the situation. The low-cost carrier recently announced two new routes to Puerto Vallarta. The new routes will provide service between the Mexican sun destination and Vancouver and Edmonton. Photo: Glacier Media The victim of a brutal and deadly stabbing in her own home is being remembered as "giving and kind" and "always hopeful, always forgiving, always laughing." Christin Marion West will also be deeply missed, her mother and sisters variously said as they read out victim impact statements Tuesday during a sentencing hearing for Dennis Daniel Gladue. "I have lots of pictures of Christin, but I cannot look at them without breaking down crying non stop," said mother Beatrice West. Gladue, 38, is facing a sentence of life in prison without eligibility for parole for 15 years under a joint submission Crown and defence counsels put forward during the hearing at the Prince George courthouse. He was arrested on Aug. 7, 2021, several hours after West's body was found in her first floor apartment. According to an agreed statement of facts, West and Gladue had been in an "intimate relationship." West's mother had also been living in the same building and had last seen her daughter alive on Aug. 1 when the couple had returned from a camping trip. Beatrice West noticed Christin West's car missing from the building's parking lot on Aug. 2 and repeatedly tried to call her over the next few days before reporting her daughter missing on Aug. 6. Friends and family also went searching for Christin West and went to an encampment in downtown Prince George where Gladue was known to be living. When no sign of her was found there, they returned to the apartment and, when the building manager refused to let them into the unit where West was living, sister Nicole West made her way into the apartment via its ground floor window. Inside, they found West's body covered by a blanket. She was 35 years old at the time of her death. The conflict was "over nothing," the court was told, but, according to Gladue, West nonetheless pulled a knife on him. He got the weapon away from her, the fight continued and West got the knife again. Gladue said he got the knife back once more and told her to stop, but she kept wanting to fight. By then the knife was "up to her neck and he quote-unquote, just pushed it in," the court was told. West started screaming and Gladue said he stabbed her a few more times to stop her yelling. Then, certain she would not survive the wounds she had already suffered, Gladue told police he continued to stab her so "she would die fast and not suffer." By the end, West had been stabbed more than 30 times and many of the wounds were in her hands and arms, suggesting she was fighting to ward off the attack. From there, Gladue covered West with a blanket and then poured bleach on her to cover up what he expected would be a smell. He then took a shower and then stayed in the apartment for about an hour before leaving in her car. Gladue subsequently pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, which implies the act was committed on impulse rather than with planning and forethought. Doing so, and so avoiding the necessity of an "extremely difficult" trial, combined with factors related to his Indigenous heritage, would suggest 10 years without eligibility for parole would be the "starting point," the court was told. But that Gladue and West were in an "intimate relationship," pushed the range up to 12-15 years. A sentence in the the upper end of that range was further warranted by the fact that West was an Indigenous woman with "elevated vulnerability" who was murdered in her own home and that Gladue had a history of violent, alcohol-related criminal offending. Indeed, Gladue had been released on parole roughly a year before the incident and appeared to have gotten his life back on track after landing a job in construction. But when he hurt his back, Gladue began self medicating with drugs and alcohol and had devolved into a "train wreck" by the time he was arrested. Friends and family of West occupied much of the gallery in a small courtroom. Dressed in jailhouse reds, a sturdy-looking Gladue avoided eye contact with them as a sheriff guided him to the prisoner's box and he kept his head bowed as Nicole West glared at him prior to delivering her victim impact statement. "Time will never heal, time will never take away the night I found Christin," Nicole West said. Given his chance to speak, Gladue limited his comments to a simple apology. "I'm terribly sorry for what I've done, I wish I could take it all back," he said. Photo: The Canadian Press Assembly of First Nations former chief Phil Fontaine, center, stands outside St. Peter's Square at the end of a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, Thursday, March 31, 2022. Residential school survivors met with Roman Catholic bishops today to discuss what they expect from Pope Francis visit to Canada next month.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Andrew Medichini Residential school survivors met with Roman Catholic bishops today to discuss what they expect from Pope Franciss visit to Canada next month. The meeting followed two days of talks among some members of the National Indian Residential School Circle of Survivors about the visit and reconciliation with the church. Ken Young, the former Assembly of First Nations regional chief for Manitoba, says he was satisfied with the Popes apology for the churchs role in residential schools in Rome earlier this year. Young says he has hope the pontiff will also say the right thing when he comes to Canada. The group of residential school survivors wants the papal visit expanded to more locations beyond the scheduled stops in Alberta, Quebec and Nunavut during the trip from July 24 to July 29. Richard Smith, the archbishop of Edmonton, says the bishops of Canada are committed to work with survivors and all Indigenous people during the visit and moving forward. Photo: The Canadian Press People hug outside the scene after a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. A grand jury on Wednesday charged the white 18-year-old accused of fatally shooting 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket with domestic terrorism motivated by hate and 10 counts of first-degree murder. Payton Gendron, who has been in custody since the May 14 shooting, is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Erie County Court. The 25-count indictment also contains charges of murder and attempted murder as a hate crime and weapons possession. Gendron had previously been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting, which also injured three people. He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors told a judge May 20 the grand jury had voted to indict Gendron but did not disclose charges, saying proceedings were ongoing. The domestic terrorism charge accuses Gendron of killing because of the perceived race and/or color of his victims. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed the domestic terrorism hate crime law in August 2019, in the wake of a mass shooting targeting Mexicans at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas. The measure, dubbed the Josef Neumann Hate Crimes Domestic Terrorism Act after an attack at a rabbis home in Munsey, New York, was signed into law on April 3, 2020, and took effect Nov. 1, 2020. The charge, Domestic Acts of Terrorism Motivated by Hate in the First Degree, is punishable with a sentence of life imprisonment without parole. Murder charges were filed for each of the victims, who ranged in age from 32 to 86 and included eight shoppers, the store security guard and a church deacon who drove shoppers to and from the store with their groceries. The gunman, carrying an AR-15-style rifle he had recently purchased, opened fire on Saturday afternoon shoppers at the only supermarket in the predominantly Black neighborhood. The shooting, followed 10 days later by a mass shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers inside a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school, has renewed a national debate about gun control and violent extremism. Federal authorities also are investigating the possibility of hate crime charges against Gendron, who apparently detailed his plans and his racist motivation in hundreds of pages of writings he posted online shortly before the shooting. The attack was livestreamed from a helmet-mounted camera. Gendron drove about three hours from his home in Conklin, New York, intending to kill as many Black people as possible, investigators have said. His attorney, Brian Parker, said he had not seen the indictment and could not comment, adding that prosecution and defense attorneys have been barred by a judge from discussing the case publicly. Photo: Kathryn Parkhill It was a colder and drier May everywhere in the Okanagan Valley up to Kamloops, and weather trends look like more of the same is on the way but possible looming heat events should not be discounted. Doug Lundquist, meteorologist with Environment Canada, said temperatures didn't reach their monthly average overall at any of the weather stations in the cities. Penticton was 1.8 C below average, Kelowna close to 2 C below, and Vernon 1.1 C below. "Pretty much that's the story for everywhere from Kamloops down to the border. Colder than average, and drier than average," Lundquist said. It may have seemed more rainy than usual, but Lundquist attributed that to gloomy skies and the chill in the air. "When it's cold, we tend to think it's rainy. If it's warm and rainy, it evaporates faster. When it's cold and rainy you'll see it on the ground, it's damper. But it was cold and dry," he said. "Even though it was cold and dry, it still felt wet, but it truly wasn't." Lundquist said this is the first May since 1991 that Penticton, as an example, has not seen a single day reach 25 C or above. And "cooler than average" looks to be the trend overall for the summer. But Lundquist says that is not guaranteed, and people should prepare now in case of a heat dome similar to last summer. "The computer models are hinting at a possible extreme heat event for Northern California and Southern Oregon. And that's just a little too close for comfort. That's a long ways away yet, but I just do worry that even if we have colder than average summer, say July and August end up cold, but we have another heat event. We have to prepare now for the possibility of heat," Lundquist said. "Not only would that affect our fire weather, but it would also perhaps get the freshet, what's left, going. So we're not out of the woods." Lundquist hopes Interior residents will use this time before the potential heat comes to make sure they are ready. "We do really need to change our attitude towards watching the vulnerable when we get heat. Even in the Okanagan, people do succumb to the heat," Lundquist said. "It's not likely to happen every year but let's be ready for anything Mother Nature decides to give us." Photo: The Canadian Press The local Google office is seen on November 1, 2018 in Montreal. Google is taking the extraordinary step of writing to every MP and Senator expressing fears that the online news bill is being rushed through Parliament without proper debate.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz Google is taking the extraordinary step of writing to every MP and senator expressing fears that the online news bill is being rushed through Parliament without proper debate. In its letter, Google warns that the bill needs more scrutiny because of its far-reaching implications, including for the way the search engine ranks content and elevates information from trusted sources such as the government. Bill C-18, as it is known in Parliament, is designed to support the Canadian news industry and would make online platforms such as Google and Meta compensate media organizations for reusing their journalism. Conservative House leader John Brassard accused the government of stifling scrutiny by MPs by fast-tracking the bill through the Commons into committee with only a few hours of debate. The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In its letter, Google says it agrees with the bill's aim to support journalism, including financially and through regulations, but says there are flaws in the proposed legislation that could force Google to support foreign state-owned news outlets. Pakistan on Tuesday sent a consignment of 7.5 tons of items as humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian military operation in the country. The C-130 aircraft took off to Pakistan to deliver the consignment at the request of the war-torn country. The consignment including medicines, medical equipment, bedding and food items, was delivered through a C-130 aircraft at the request of the war-torn country, the Dawn reported. This was the second consignment from Pakistan to Ukraine. Another consignment will be sent on June 3, the report added. The first consignment of more than 15 tons of humanitarian aid was sent to Ukraine through two C-130 aircrafts from the Noor Khan Base in March. The decision was taken at the request of the Ukrainian embassy in Islamabad for humanitarian assistance along with a list of urgently-needed items. Previously, the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs had proposed that the country should provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. It suggested that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) should mobilise the requisite assistance containing non-military items as requested by the Ukrainian embassy and organise its transportation, the Dawn reported. It had also moved a formal summary to the prime minister to immediately dispatch the assistance to Ukraine. Notably, millions of refugees, mostly women and children, have moved to Poland and other neighbouring countries, amid the ongoing military situation. Ukraine had raised an international appeal for global assistance to address humanitarian needs. Russia started its military operation in Ukraine on February 24. This large-scale operation has reportedly resulted in a humanitarian crisis, leading to crippling sanctions from Western countries targeting Moscow's high-profile individuals and companies. (ANI) On Thursday, June 2, 2022, at 10:30 a.m., the California (CA) Local School Wellness Policy (LSWP) Collaborative will explore how to leverage the CA Universal Meals Program and school wellness community partnerships to establish schools as nutrition hubs and improve nutrition security for students and the community in the 202223 school year. Participants will: Describe "nutrition security" and "school nutrition hubs" Understand the opportunity the CA Universal Meals Program provides the school wellness community to improve nutrition security among students and families Identity innovative and impactful strategies to support schools as nutrition hubs Brainstorm ways to bring nutrition hubs to your school communities using available resources Speakers include: Kathy Saile, MSW, California Director, No Kid Hungry Amy Garfinkel Farm to School Network Lead, California Department of Food and Agriculture, Office of Farm to Fork Crystal Young, Nutrition Education Consultant, California Department of Education (CDE) Wendi Gosliner, DrPH, RD, Nutrition Policy Institute For more information about the LSWP requirements, visit the CDE LSWP web page. The CA LSWP Collaborative hosts Winning at Wellness Webinars to inspire school communities and stakeholders to implement highly effective LSWPs in schools. For more information, visit the CA LSWP Collaborative web page . Audience The audience includes all state and local school nutrition professionals, superintendents, school business officials, and community partners involved in school wellness policies. Schedule CA LSWP Collaborative Winning at Wellness Webinar: How to Establish Your School as a Nutrition Hub in the 202223 School Year Thursday, June 2, 2022 10:30 a.m. to Noon Please register in advance for the Winning at Wellness webinar This webinar is free to attend. This webinar will be recorded and posted on the CA LSWP Collaborative web page . After registering, you will see a screen that says Webinar Registration Approved with a link to the webinar. You will also receive several emails with information about joining the webinar. First, you will receive confirmation the day you register and then you will receive two reminder emails: one day and one hour prior to the webinar. If for some reason you cannot find the email confirmation, or do not receive the reminders you can always reregister. You can also cancel your registration at any time, if you do not plan to attend. Audio only Connection Information Dial by your location +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose) +1 646 876 9923 US (New York) Webinar ID: 823 0065 2769 Tip for Attendees To save time before the meeting, please check your system to make sure it is ready to use Zoom. Visit the Zoom test link . . If you experience issues, visit Zoom Help Center web page for assistance. If for some reason you receive an error message that the host has declined your webinar registration, try using an alternate email address. While not ideal, you may also join by phone if you have technical issues logging in from your computer. Reasonable Accommodation Pursuant to state and federal statutes, individuals with a disability may request reasonable accommodation to attend or participate in the CA LSWP Collaborative Winning at Wellness Webinar on Thursday, June 2, 2022. Requests for reasonable accommodations should be directed to the CA LSWP Collaborative by email at calocalschoolwellnesscollab@gmail.com no later than seven days prior to the event. Contact Information If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact Crystal Young, Nutrition Education Consultant, by email at cyoung@cde.ca.gov. Questions: Nutrition Services Division | 800-952-5609 Last Reviewed: Tuesday, May 31, 2022 Ecuador completes first cement export contract ICR Newsroom By 01 June 2022 Ecuador has exported cement for the first time, delivering 32,660 to of cement in 16,330 Bigbags to Peru, according to a local news service. The consignment was supplied at the end of April to position Holcim Ecuador as bulk cement exporter in Latin America and diversify its export value offer. The shipment was made possible by an investment of US$2.2m to expand infrastructure and implement the project. Published under This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact The Chanute Tribune office at 620-431-4100 if you have any questions An employee of U-Haul, 2022 Broad St., told police a woman had rented a Chevy Express van for one day a couple of months ago. She said the vehicle was never returned to any U-Haul location. U-Haul has sent several certified letters and attempted to make contact with the woman, with no success. The employee called police later to say the vehicle was finally returned, but had new damage to the front and rear. * * * Police observed a minivan parked in the alleyway behind a residence on E. 13th Street with its doors open. Upon further investigation a man came out of the house and asked what was going on. He said that the vehicle belonged to his wife and they had not been driving it. Police also found a previous report where this man had been arrested for driving this vehicle without a license, as well as stalking someone while using this vehicle. The man said that he would have the vehicle moved so as to not block the alley access. * * * A woman on Cypress Street Court told police that her boyfriend was cheating on her and she wanted him out. Officers spoke with the boyfriend and he said he was getting his stuff and leaving. He left without incident. The woman said she doesn't want him back on her property. * * * A woman on High Street called police and showed them where her apartment door was ajar. Police searched the apartment before she entered. The apartment was clear and she told police that nothing looked out of place. * * * A woman on E. 10th Street told police someone had entered the storage building on her property and stolen a non-working lawnmower. She also wanted it reported that she believes there have been homeless people looking in the area for other items to steal. * * * An anonymous caller reported finding a purse at Homer Street and Granada Street. Police found the brown purse on the ground at the intersection. The purse contained a Social Security card. The purse was transported to Property. * * * A man on James Lane called police because he was in a verbal dispute with his neighbor. Police spoke with both of them and the man's mother. The disorder stems from the easement from the road to the man's house. The man was trimming the bushes and the neighbor did not like that he did so without a courtesy call. Both men were able to come to an agreement and police left without further issue. * * * A man called police and asked if squatters have rights in Tennessee as related to vagrants living on the railroad tracks. Police informed him that they could not remove vagrants from the area around the railroad tracks without the property manager asking them to trespass them. * * * A man told police he was in the drive-thru of CVS, 4700 Hwy. 58, and his driver's-side mirror hit a yellow pole, causing the mirror to crack. The man further said the pieces also scraped the driver's door. * * * A man told police he rented a hotel room from the Best Western Royal Inn, 3644 Cummings Hwy. using an app on his phone. He said he did not realize there was a fee for pets. The front desk clerk said that when she told the man this he cursed at her, so she asked him to leave. The man understands that he will need to use the app to be refunded his money. * * * A man was reported sleeping on the covered back porch of the hair salon at 3929 St. Elmo Ave. Police spoke with the man, who identified himself. He showed no warrants in NCIC. The salon did not wish to criminally trespass the man from the property. He was asked to leave the property and did so without issue. * * * Police initiated a traffic stop at 600 N. Orchard Knob Ave. on a tan Ford F150 displaying a temp tag. The driver told police he was currently trying to fix his truck to make it drivable and be able to have a correct tag. He said that he paid approximately $100 for the tag at "the dealership up the street," referring to Ken's Auto. He said that he continues to pay for the tags until the vehicle is paid off through Ken's dealership. * * * An employee at the Comfort Inn, 2420 Williams St., took police to the third floor where two vending machines were damaged. Of those two, one was broken into where the money was accessible. The employee said she doesn't know if there was any money in the one that was fully broken into. She said the guy who empties the money possibly came during the day and emptied the money. Officers asked the employee if there were any vending machines on any other floors and she took officers to the second floor. That machine was also damaged. The employee said the cameras that were pointed at the elevators and vending machines had been turned to point away from them by someone. Officers were unable to view footage because the employee did not have access to the cameras. She said the manager would be back in the morning at 9 a.m. No suspect information was available. The 2022 Wings Over North Georgia Air Show will host its 10th anniversary air show at Russell Regional Airport in Rome, on Oct. 15-16. The event will feature the U.S. Air Force F-16 Viper Demonstration Team in addition to other military and civilian performers. Tickets are now available for sale for the 2022 event. A variety of ticket options will be offered for the upcoming show. Aviation enthusiasts can purchase advance-only premium patio club and general admission tickets for traditional seating options. There also will be vehicle access to a drive-in, tailgate-style parking section with a limited number of premium front-row and second-row air show viewing locations. There are ticket options for every preference for seating. The headlining Air Combat Command F-16 Viper Demonstration Team is based at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, SC. With its unique reptilian paint scheme, the F-16 Viper performs precision aerial maneuvers to demonstrate the unique capabilities of one of the Air Forces premier multi-role fighters. This season the F-16, also known as the Fighting Falcon, marks the 75th anniversary of the U.S. Air Force, which was established in 1947. The 2022 weekend also will serve as the launch for the inaugural Air Show Racing Series (ARS). The ARS offers a unique approach utilizing two racing lanes with ten inflatable pylons spaced approximately 600-feet apart for dual, slalom competition lanes. The course is a three-dimensional track for multiple heats of match-racing competition. Attendees will have the rare opportunity to witness a first-time event hosted for an air show audience. WONG also will recognize the anniversary of the U.S. Air Force with static displays at the show site. Performances by additional military acts will be announced soon. Premium Airport Camping is available for those wanting to experience the full weekend of activities. Reservations are available now at https://www. wingsovernorthgeorgia.com/ attractions/camping . The 2022 show also will include the return of a show favorite, the Veterans Parade. Current and former members of the U.S. Armed Forces are invited to join the procession of hundreds in a march down the flightline. The show pauses just prior to the performance of the air show headliners to acknowledge veterans and show appreciation for their military service. Patriotic music and flyovers during the parade add to the celebration and gratitude shared by the crowd. The cast of Misery has spent the past few weeks bringing Stephen Kings classic tale to the stage. From left, Mark Morgan as Buster, Kevin Baskette as Paul, and Tammy Rice as Annie. - photo by The Ringgold Playhouse The cast of Misery is led by Kevin Baskette (left) as famed writer Paul Sheldon, and Tammy Rice as the unforgettable Annie Wilkes - photo by The Ringgold Playhouse The Ringgold Playhouse will open its much-anticipated stage adaptation of Stephen Kings thriller, Misery, for five performances beginning Thursday night. Review for Misery: The play, which is based on Mr. Kings bestselling 1987 novel of the same name, became even more popular following the 1990 film adaptation starring Kathy Bates and James Caan. Now, famed screenwriter William Goldman has adapted the story for the stage. Im just so excited to finally bring this show to the Depot stage, said Director Ronald King. Ive been a Stephen King fan since I was a teenager, so this show means a lot to me. According to Mr. King and TRP Executive Director Adam Cook, this production has been atop the companys wish list for a while. Its a show that has been on our to-do list for a number of years, Mr. Cook said. Director Ronald King has been aching to do this play for a long time, but the rights werent available we looked again when we were mapping out our 2022 season and the show was finally available for production. Misery follows successful romance novelist Paul Sheldon (Kevin Baskette), who is rescued from a car crash by his number one fan, Annie Wilkes (Tammy Rice), and wakes up captive in her secluded home. While Paul is convalescing, Annie reads the manuscript to his newest novel and becomes enraged when she discovers the author has killed off her favorite character, Misery Chastain. Annie forces Paul to write a new Misery novel, and he quickly realizes Annie has no intention of letting him go anywhere. The irate Annie forces Paul to write as if his life depends on it and it does. In addition to the powerful tandem of Mr. Baskette and Ms. Rice in the roles of Paul and Annie, the cast is rounded out by TRP veteran Mark Morgan as Sheriff Buster, who keeps checking in on the house giving updates to Annie about the search for the missing writer she adores. Im proud of the psychological dance that has developed between the two main characters its the heart of the show and it keeps the audience on the edge of their seat, Mr. King said. I hope that we can bring Stephen King fans in to join our theatre community. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with two matinee performances Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 general admission and $8 for seniors and students. Tickets can be purchased at the door, or in advance at Eventbrite.com. For over 35 years, Women of Distinction of Greater Chattanooga has honored women annually who give of themselves through their time, energy, and talents to make a difference in the community and beyond. A Woman of Distinction is one who volunteers her time to help improve the quality of life for others. She establishes standards that inspire and encourage other women to achieve their full potential, provides leadership and influences decisions that shape and define the city and community. Women of Distinction of Greater Chattanooga is excited to announce the following 2022 Honorees: Rebecca Ashford President, Chattanooga State Community Cynthia Cindy Hall Chandler Attorney, Spears Moore Rebman & Williams Patti Lamsey Dungan Retired currently Independent Human Resources Consultant Angeline Betty Fairchild Community Volunteer Dr. June Hanks Associate Professor, UTC Martina Sherese Harris Interim Dean Nursing & Allied Health, Chattanooga State Community College Renee P. Nail Executive Director, Scenic City Womens Network Janelle Reilly Chief Executive Officer, CHI Memorial Jody Bethea Riggs Private Wealth Advisor, Ameriprise Financial Mary Anne Kaiser Williams Development Manager, Tennessee Aquarium We are thrilled to continue this tradition of honoring remarkable women in our community," said steering committee member Lynda Minks Hood. "This years exceptional honorees have set themselves apart through their civic, cultural, philanthropic, and environmental commitments. We are looking forward to celebrating them at our benefit luncheon." Since 1993, a Tennessee Woman of Distinction recipient has been honored for her years of distinguished leadership, volunteer activities, philanthropic work or professional accomplishments that have contributed to improving the quality of life in Tennessee. This year's Tennessee Woman of the Year is Louise Mandrell. Since 1983, more than 340 local women have been honored as Women of Distinction. This year's proceeds will benefit Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, a program that mails free, high-quality books to children from birth to age five. In Hamilton County more than 12,000 children receive books each month, regardless of family income, and each child registered from birth receives 60 books. For more information about the annual awards luncheon on Wednesday, Oct. 19, with registration beginning at 11 a.m. and lunch at 11:30 a.m., and to purchase tickets, visit WomenOfDistinctiongc.com. Tickets are $75 per person. All reservations must be made by Thursday, Oct. 13. ArtsBuild recognizes the recipients of the 2022 Ruth Holmberg Arts Leadership Award Hacker and Kitty Caldwell and Charlie and Iantha Newton. The annual Ruth Holmberg Arts Leadership Award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the arts in Chattanooga and who are actively engaged in the cultural life of our community Arts Builders who exemplify ArtsBuilds mission to build a stronger community through the arts as demonstrated by their significant contributions to the arts and their leadership. ArtsBuild President James McKissic said, We are delighted to honor these two couples for their incredible dedication, passion, and support for the arts. Each in their own way, these inspiring Arts Builders have positively impacted the lives of many people in Chattanooga through the arts and have elevated the arts in a way that builds pride in our city and makes our community stronger. Hacker and Kitty Caldwell Hacker and Kitty Caldwell have been engaged in the civic and cultural life of Chattanooga for decades. After completing his MBA at the University of Virginia, Mr. Caldwell returned to his hometown of Chattanooga to work for the appliance manufacturing company his great-grandfather started in 1904, originally named Tennessee Stove Works and then Modern Maid in the 1960s. When the company was sold and production moved to South Carolina, Mr. Caldwell turned to a long career and successful business managing hedge funds. Originally from Virginia, Mrs. Caldwell joined Mr. Caldwell in Chattanooga in the late seventies after they were married. Having studied American art history in college, she immediately began volunteering as a docent at the Hunter Museum of American Art. She has also served on the Hunter Museums Board of Trustees. One of her contributions has been to initiate the Chairmans Circle program of the museum, whose members provide vital support to the museum. In fact, both Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell have played a part in the transformation of the Hunter Museum becoming the institution it is today. During Mr. Caldwells tenure as Board chair, the museum embarked on the $22 million 21st century waterfront building project to add 28,000 square feet of new construction, 34,000 square feet of renovation, restoration of the 1905 mansion, the creation of an outdoor sculpture plaza, and a complete reinstallation of the museums permanent collection. The Caldwells time and financial resources were instrumental in the completion of the project in 2005. Yet perhaps the most valuable thing Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell have given to the museum and Chattanooga is their expertise as art collectors. As members of the museums first collectors group, they traveled to New York City many times to visit galleries and learn about and seek out items for the museum. As leaders in that role, they have helped the museum to acquire close to 30 artworks for the permanent collection. Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell are proud that their love of the arts has rubbed off on each of their four children as well. Each one is actively involved in the arts and volunteers on the boards of arts organizations in their own community. Two of their daughters live in Chattanooga Betsy Caldwell Cake who serves on the board of directors of the Creative Discovery Museum and Pop-up Project, and Charlotte Caldwell, founder and director of Stove Works, a contemporary exhibition space and artist residency program. Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell have seen Chattanooga evolve and grow to become a city known for its vibrant arts and culture, and hope that more artists visit and decide to make Chattanooga their home. The Caldwells say this award is an incredible honor for them, because Ruth Holmberg was a dear friend and mentor. They consider themselves as just one in a long line of arts patrons who have shaped a legacy and paved the way for a better and stronger Chattanooga because of the arts, a path that continues for the next generation to carry forward. Charlie and Iantha Newton When Charlie and Iantha Newton started SPLASH Youth Arts Workshop, the program was a natural evolution of the ways they were already giving back to the community. Every Sunday for eight years, the Newtons and friends would prepare and serve meals in their downtown Chattanooga art studio for 75150 homeless individuals and families. When they noticed that some of the kids who would come had problems with reading, they did art projects together with the kids and saw how transformational art was in terms of their learning abilities, social interactions, and just for having fun. SPLASH now operates in the old James A. Henry Elementary School on Chattanoogas west side in what was Mr. Newtons own 5th grade classroom, so in a way he has come full circle. Mr. Newton grew up in the neighborhood and knew from age five that he wanted to be an artist. He took art classes through high school, got a degree in art at UTC, worked for a while as a freelance artist, and then went back to school to earn his MFA at Norfolk State and Old Dominion University. Mrs. Newton grew up in a working-class family of seven in London, England. As a child, Mrs. Newton loved art too and would make fashion clothes for her dolls and then as a teenager she designed and made real clothes for fashion shows she organized on her own. While she never saw her path to art as a career, art has always been a natural ability and part of her everyday life. She met Mr. Newton in London while he was on a study abroad trip there in 1986. Five years later Iantha moved to Chattanooga, and they were married. After his training, Mr. Newton made a conscious decision to come back to Chattanooga to make his living as an artist. Over the years he had noticed how most African American artists from Chattanooga left, but in Mr. Newtons opinion, there is something about living and working in the place where you grew up that gives you a sense of freedom and informs your work like no other place does. He never thought of himself as a teacher or mentor, but now looking back, he realizes the ways he has served people in that role, especially by encouraging fellow African American art students. In the SPLASH studio, Mr. and Mrs. Newton have an apprentice-style approach to teaching that gives each individual student what they need to develop the unique talent and abilities they already possess. Working together in the classroom, Mr. Newtons more direct way with the kids complements Ianthas more nurturing qualities. As practicing professional artists, both Mr. and Mrs. Newton believe it is important to continue to make their own art so that what they offer to their students comes from a place of authenticity. In their words, We are just giving what we have to offerwe are giving art. If you let the focus be entirely on the people you are serving, then the community will show you what the needs are. Ruth Holmberg Arts Leadership Award The first Arts Leadership Award in 2014 recognized Ruth Holmberg for her extraordinary support of the arts and cultural community in Chattanooga over 70 years. Since 2014, the annual award has honored Mrs. Holmberg with her name. Past recipients include Mai Bell Hurley, Fletcher Bright, Sonia Young, Booker T. Scruggs II, Alice L. Smith, Warren Barnett, Candy Kruesi, Ann Law, and Mitch Patel. It is our hope that this annual award honors individuals who share the same spirit and passion for the arts as Ruth did, said Marcus McKamey, Board chair of ArtsBuild. Recipients of the Ruth Holmberg Arts Leadership Award have given selflessly of their time, energy, and resources to building a stronger community through the arts. Logan Johnson has been named the 2022 National Dairy Month Chairman for Hamilton County. Mr. Johnson was honored May 26 at the Tennessee June Dairy Month Kickoff Event at Battle Mountain Farm in College Grove. The event included recognition from Brian Flowers, president of the American Dairy Association of Tennessee, and Jeff Aiken, deputy commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. The official kickoff celebration recognized Tennessee 4-H members efforts to promote National Dairy Month in Tennessee. "Co-sponsored by The Dairy Alliance, the American Dairy Association of Tennessee, 4-H and the Tennessee Farm Bureau, National Dairy Month activities are designed to communicate the value of milk and other dairy products to Tennessee consumers. Chairpersons play a vital role in spreading dairys message in their communities," officials said. I am very passionate about the dairy industry because of the numerous health benefits. Dairy has a ton of nutrients and it just tastes good, Mr. Johnson said. Dairy is an important part of living a healthy lifestyle and having the opportunity to spread that information is a fantastic way to serve my community and beyond. Mr. Johnson, a high school sophomore, is the son of Pete and Mandi Johnson. He is an active member of his 4-H chapter, focusing on Health, Nutrition and Fitness, Citizenship and Leadership project areas. Mr. Johnson is part of the Honor Club and has acted as a Healthy Lifestyles Ambassador, attending the 4-H Healthy Lifestyles Conference as a delegate. We wish Logan much success in his role of communicating the nutritional benefits of milk and dairy products to the people in Hamilton County, said American Dairy Association of Tennessee President Brian Flowers. Logan will appreciate the cooperation of the people there. His interest and enthusiasm will result in a better-informed community from which all will benefit. Originally deemed National Milk Month by American grocers in 1937, National Dairy Month began to promote dairy consumption during peak milk production in the summer. Today, Junes working alongside The Dairy Alliance to engage consumers through social media, radio contests, T-shirt giveaways, events and more. For more information on how you can celebrate National Dairy Month, visit online at www.thedairyalliance.com/dairy-farming/june-dairy-month/. To recognize the fundraising efforts of the Whitfield County Fire Department over the past four years, the Dalton Shrine Club presented a sign to the department. An identical sign has already been installed outside Room 253 at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Dayton, Ohio, where funds donated by local motorists during the annual Whitfield Firefighters and Dalton Shriners Team Up for Kids boot drive have been used to help treat children. A portion of the donations is also used for the annual Santa in Uniform program, which provides gifts for underprivileged children during the Christmas holidays. The fire department and the Shrine Club first joined forces four years ago for a boot drive, which has since raised about $30,000 each year. This years fifth annual event will be held sometime in October. Without the help of this fire department, it would be hard to raise that much money, said Charlie Bailey, past-president of the Dalton Shrine Club and chairman of the annual boot drive. People have been really generous with their donations, and we appreciate their kindness. Weve not had a bad year since we started, and people have really accepted us. We look forward to the boot drive each year, and we love the Santa in Uniform, too. Thats a blessing we get to help with that. Whitfield County Fire Chief Ed OBrien said the department is pleased that all the money raised during the boot drive goes directly to children, either for Christmas gifts or for treatment at the Shriners hospital. Our firefighters know where the money goes, he said, and its nice to know our names up there (on the hospital wall sign) and that they helped raise that money. The biggest thing for us is that all of it goes to the hospital; theres no administrative fees, no expense accounts, all of it goes there. Thats the big reason we really like teaming up with the Shriners. Chief OBrien praised the efforts of local firefighters and Dalton Shriners, who stand along several major local roads holding firefighter boots to accept donations annually from motorists. Its amazing how much we can collect in three or four hours each year, said Jerry Leonard, past president and treasurer. Mr. Leonard said that the Shriners operate two childrens hospitals, one in Dayton and another in Greenville, S.C., where regardless of their ability to pay, children are treated for anything to do with orthopedics, anything to do with burns, anything to do with skin. We also treat cleft lip palates and birthmarks. We provide these services, and it doesnt cost the families a thing. We transport them, put them up, feed them the whole ball of wax. I tell people Ive got your heart if I can ever get you to the hospital to see these kids. They are amazing. Many patients from the Whitfield County area have been treated at the hospitals over the years, including a newborn with cleft feet right now. Well fix it all, and it wont cost the family a thing, Mr. Leonard said, and well continue paying because it will take several surgeries to correct. Mr. Leonard praised the other members of the club, saying Im just proud of our little old Dalton Shrine Club because all theyre in it for is for the kids, not in it for anything for themselves. Weve had great leadership for the past 10 years, doing things the right way for the right reasons. Weve built a good reputation in the community, and we want to keep that. Over the past 25 years, the local club has raised more than $1.2 million for the hospitals and the annual Shrine Circus - through a variety of events that includes: 25th Annual Gospel Singing featuring The Hoppers and The Greesons on June 25 at 7 p.m. at Carolyn Baptist Church, 2305 Cleveland Hwy., Dalton. 11th Annual Sportsmens Raffle on June 23 from noon to 5 p.m. at Yaarab Shrine, 400 Ponce de Leon Ave., Atlanta (more details at www.shrinesportsraffle.com). Georgia Mountain Moonshine Cruiz-In on July 28-30 at the Dalton Convention Center, featuring muscle cars and trucks, street rods, hot rods, vendors, collector car auction, and more. TL;DR: Chuck Berrys Johnny B. Goode inspired one of The Beach Boys famous songs. Mike Love decided the song should be about a teenage girl. The Beach Boys song was more popular than Johnny B. Goode. Chuck Berry | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Chuck Berrys Johnny B. Goode is one of the most important classic rock songs. Mike Love said the track inspired one of The Beach Boys songs. In addition, Love revealed why he decided the Beach Boys song in question should be about a teenage girl. The Beach Boys released a new song as The Beatles swept the United States In his 2016 book Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy, Love discussed the idea behind one of his bands songs. On Feb. 3, 1964, even as The Beatles were sweeping America, we released a new single, conceived in a rather spontaneous fashion, Love wrote. The previous September, Brian and I were in a taxi in Salt Lake City, Utah, heading from a Holiday Inn to the airport. Love wanted to write a song about teenage life. I told Brian that I thought we should write a song about that teenage experience of getting your drivers license, borrowing your parents car, and then driving to see and be seen, he wrote. The song in question was Fun, Fun, Fun. RELATED: Fleetwood Macs Lindsey Buckingham Said The Beach Boys Released the Best A Side/B Side Combo Ever How Chuck Berrys Johnny B. Goode inspired the song Love felt the song should be about a teenage girl. But instead of a teenage boy doing it, I had this image of a great-looking girl in a hot car, and she tells her father one thing to borrow the car but then does something else, he wrote. We unspooled the idea further. Love decided to draw influence from Berry. We thought it should be up-tempo, with a Chuck Berry opening guitar riff (like that in Johnny B. Goode), and because we were in Southern California, the girl should not be taking her fathers car but her daddys car,' he said. RELATED: Brian Wilson Said Elvis Presley Was in the Studio When He Was Making 1 of The Beach Boys Songs How Chuck Berrys Johnny B. Goode and The Beach Boys Fun, Fun, Fun performed on the chart in the United States Johnny B. Goode was not a huge hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The song reached No. 80 on the chart for one week. The track appeared on the album Chuck Berry Is on Top. The album did not chart on the Billboard 200. Fun, Fun, Fun was a much bigger hit on the chart. The song reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining on the chart for 11 weeks. The Beach Boys released Fun, Fun, Fun on the album Shut Down Volume 2. The album reached No. 13 on the Billboard 200, staying on the chart for 38 weeks. The Beach Boys created many great songs and Berry definitely deserves credit for inspiring Fun, Fun, Fun. RELATED: Mike Love Felt The Beach Boys Were Cutting into Jimmy Buffett Territory With a No. 1 Song TL; DR: Giada De Laurentiis has a twist on ice cream sandwiches. The Food Network puts gelato between slices of grilled bread. Giada De Laurentiis has other ice cream sandwich recipes. Giada De Laurentiis | Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic Food Network stars have all sorts of variations of ice cream sandwiches. Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond has a recipe for an ice cream sandwich cake. Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten uses a store-bought shortcut to make her own version. As for Giada De Laurentiis, the cookbook author puts an Italian spin on the classic summer treat. De Laurentiis ice cream sandwiches not only call for gelato but also a grill. Giada De Laurentiis makes an Italian version of ice cream sandwiches It wouldnt be a De Laurentiis recipe without an Italian element. The Food Network star is known for infusing her food with Italian flair, typically ingredients or dishes she grew up eating and loving. And her version of ice cream sandwiches is no different. Featured on her Giadzy website, De Laurentiis ice cream sandwiches are made with Italian ingredients. The Eat Good, Feel Good author uses vanilla gelato, also known as Italian ice cream. But De Laurentiis doesnt stop there. She spruces it up with chocolate hazelnut candies, suggesting Baci. This is perhaps unsurprising to her longtime fans because De Laurentiis loves chocolate. So much so that she celebrates her birthday with the same Barefoot Contessa chocolate cake. De Laurentiis ice cream sandwiches feature another Italian element in the form of chocolate hazelnut spread. She recommends using Pariana, which, according to the product description, contains nuts from the Piemonte region of northern Italy. A seven-ounce jar costs $16.65 on De Laurentiis website. While its certainly not a must-have to make De Luarentiis ice cream sandwiches, Pariana is, however, her pick. So for those who want to make a near-identical version at home, this is the way to do it. Finally, dried fruit and nut bread (De Laurentiis uses raisin walnut as an example) rounds out the ingredient list. How to make Giada De Laurentiis grilled ice cream sandwiches We are going to make the best gelato sandwiches ever, De Laurentiis said on Giada in Italy Season 3. In a bowl, she mixed together softened gelato and chocolate hazelnut candies. The Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef transferred it to the freezer before going to the grill. De Laurentiis heated up a grill and put slices of bread on it until they turned golden brown. With the bread slightly charred, she coated each slice with hazelnut spread. Now for the gelato. De Laurentiis pulled it out of the freezer, putting a scoop on half of the bread slices. Finally, she put the remaining slices on top to create ice cream sandwiches. If I could live on this, I would, De Laurentiis said as she took a bite. Giada De Laurentiis has other versions of the summer treat These are so fun for 4th of July! My lemon ricotta cookie ice-cream sandwiches!https://t.co/JtUZZmBDAQ pic.twitter.com/6eb6mEFqy7 Giada De Laurentiis (@GDeLaurentiis) June 21, 2021 Already made De Laurentiis grilled ice cream sandwiches or simply dont want to fire up the barbecue? The Food Network star has other ice cream sandwich recipes that dont require grilling. De Laurentiis has a chocolate peanut butter version made with homemade cookies. Then there is her Frozen Smores recipe. Finally, theres De Laurentiis spin on her lemon ricotta cookies which get sandwiched between gelato and sorbet. RELATED: Giada De Laurentiis Lighter Chocolate Pudding: Its a Dessert Youll Really Feel Good About Eating Actors Jackie Chan and Jet Li were two of some of the biggest action stars of the 90s and early 2000s. So when the opportunity came for Chan to work with Li, Chan seized the opportunity despite not liking the script. But after the film, Chan realized his initial instincts were right, and warned viewers that the film might not be as good as they thought it would. Jackie Chan warned viewers that The Forbidden Kingdom wasnt a great movie Jackie Chan and Jet Li | Zhao Wei/Getty Images The 2008 film The Forbidden Kingdom was a fantasy film co-starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li. It followed a teenager played by Michael Angarano whos transported to ancient China where he must free a fairy tale warrior. If he doesnt, hell be stuck in that timeline and wont be able to return home. Although Chan was aware that many anticipated this long-awaited collaboration between himself and Li, Chan wasnt too impressed with the movies finished product. So much so, he felt obligated to warn fans about Kingdoms quality. The movie I just shot with Jet Li, The Forbidden Kingdom, actually isnt that great, Chan once said as reported by the Xinhua News Agency (via China Daily). He would later assert that the movie was primarily made for Americans and not Chinese audiences. Because of this, fans shouldnt have expected too much. Chinese viewers may not like it. If I say its a good movie now, then many people will be filled with overly high expectations and be disappointed when they see the movie, he added. Jackie Chan and Jet Li tried to make a movie 20 years before The Forbidden Kingdom For Chan, the film gave him the opportunity to work with his good friend and fellow action star Jet Li. But before Kingdom, Chan tried to make a movie with Li decades prior. However, plans fell through. Weve known each other for more than 30 years, and 20 years ago we tried to work on a movie together, Chan once told MTV News. I called him, and we sat and talked, and he agreed, and I wrote the script and he agreed to the script. I told my company to do it, then somehow it [didnt come together]. I said Why? and they said, Because they want to own the rights. Who owns the rights? Golden Harvest wants to own the rights. China Star wants to own the rights. Who owns the DVD rights? Who owns the video rights? I said, No! Who cares? Just make the movie! Jacie Chan didnt like the script for The Forbidden Kingdom Chan would eventually get the opportunity to work with Li. And to many, seeing the two fight was a spectacle alone. The first day they fought each other is where theyre by themselves in the scene, Angarano said. It took two weeks to shoot that fight. Chan once described how spectators would crowd around film sets just to see him and Li duke it out. Everybody thought, Wow! But for us, it was nothing, Chan added. To us, it was just another movie, an ordinary day, but when the day came, a million people showed up, surrounded [the set], and there were paparazzi trying to take photos. Every day, the paparazzi tried to get in to take photos. They just wanted to see Jet maybe give me a punch. But for Chan, Li was one of the only reasons he decided to do the film. Initially, the Rush Hour actor didnt take too kindly to the script. When they gave me the script, I thought it was nonsense, Chan once said according to Today. But they told me Jet was doing it so I said yes. The other reason was the director. I loved The Lion King so I knew hed make a great fantasy for the kids, and it is. RELATED: What Is Martial Artist and Actor Jackie Chans Net Worth? Matthew Morrison is known for judging contestants on the hit Fox reality TV series, So You Think You Can Dance, as well as starring in Glee. Unfortunately, news broke that Morrison had to leave the show due to flirtatious texts between himself and a contestant. So, is the judge married? Heres what to know about Matthew Morrisons wife and kids. Who is Matthew Morrisons wife, Renee Puente? Matthew Morrison and Renee Puente | Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Jetblack Matthew Morrison and his wife, Renee Puente, married in 2014. According to In Touch, the Tony Award nominee, the two first met at a Grammy Awards party in 2011. Morrison said he heard her speaking pidgin, or Hawaiian slang, and thats what caused him to pause. I sang backup for a guy named Don Ho in high school and spent summers in Hawaii, he told The New York Post a year after their marriage in 2015. So, when I heard her speak, I said, Howzit, sistah? and she laughed. The rest is history. In Touch notes Puente was born in Hawaii to a single mother, and her heritage and culture heavily influenced her future. She has a career in modeling, music, and acting. She acted in the film Divergent and modeled for Bebe and Calvin Klein. Morrison and Puente married in Hawaii after three years of dating and an additional 15-month engagement. Is Matthew Morrison a dad? How many children does the couple have? Matthew Morrison and Renee Puente with one of their kids | Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Good+ Foundation Matthew Morrison and his wife, Renee Puente, have two kids together. Revel James Makai Morrison was born in 2017, and Phoenix Monroe Morrison was born in 2021. Puente noted Phoenix would be her last child, according to Us Weekly. The couple was over the moon to welcome Phoenix after going through a prior miscarriage. Puente experienced pregnancy loss in 2020, and she posted about it online. Matthew and I have been so intentionally trying to get pregnant and calling our child Im trying to call in my child that I know is waiting for us, she wrote. And so on our second cycle of calling this child in, we got pregnant. And it was among just such extraordinary intention and love. I miscarried. It seems parenthood and loss brought the couple together. Seeing her come into her power as a woman has been, I think, transformational for our whole family, Morrison told People after Phoenixs birth. She is such a leader and really just creating these movements and stuff with her speaking and really trying to empower other women and talking about things that a lot of women go through but are scared to talk about it, like miscarriage. Its unclear how his So You Think You Can Dance firing will affect his family Former 'So You Think You Can Dance' judge Matthew Morrison was reportedly relieved of his duties on the show after sending 'flirty direct messages' to a contestant. https://t.co/9fieO2lREH Entertainment Weekly (@EW) June 1, 2022 Matthew Morrison was fired from So You Think You Can Dance due to misconduct. According to People, Morrison had an inappropriate relationship with a female contestant. They didnt have sex, but he reached out to her through flirty direct messages on social media, a source told the publication. She felt uncomfortable with his line of comments and went to producers, who then got Fox involved. He was fired after they did their own investigation. Its unclear if Matthew Morrisons wife will respond publicly to the news. For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheets YouTube channel. RELATED: Glee Cast: Which Star Has the Highest Net Worth and How Much Did They Make For the Show? George Harrison was many things during his lifetime: An underrated guitarist, crucial to The Beatles success, and the one who forced the members of the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys to check their egos at the door. Harrison was perpetually in good spirits, even as he battled cancer near the end of his life. His final words to Ringo Starr illustrate it, and so does how Harrison and Paul McCartney interacted when the former was near death. Paul McCartney (left) and George Harrison performing with The Beatles | Edward Wing/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images George Harrisons heartbreaking final words to Ringo Starr showed his strong spirit When The Beatles needed to replace original drummer Pete Best, Harrison talked McCartney and John Lennon into adding Starr. Lennon and McCartney took up a lot of the spotlight, but Starrs steady timekeeping on drums and Harrisons underrated guitar-playing helped the band achieve legendary status. Harrison and Starr spent years working together closely, and Starr made sure to see his former bandmate before his death. On his way to Boston to see his daughter, who was fighting a brain tumor, Starr visited Harrison in Switzerland. An ill and bed-ridden Harrison still retained his spirit, though. When Starr told the guitarist he had to depart for Boston, Harrison responded, Do you want me to come with ya? Those were Harrisons final words to Starr. McCartney also spent time with Harrison just before his death. Macca once revealed that though Harrisons body was failing him, his spirit was not. Paul McCartney and Harrison joked about things days before his death After Harrison delivered his heartbreaking final words to Starr in Switzerland, he had a chance to meet the other surviving Beatle. McCartney met Harrison in New York not long before his November 2001 death and revealed they spent time reminiscing, as he told Uncut: I sat with him for a few hours when he was in treatment just outside New York. He was about 10 days away from his death, as I recall. We joked about things just amusing, nutty stuff. It was good. It was like we were dreaming. He was my little baby brother, almost, because Id known him that long. We held hands. Its funny, even at the height of our friendship as guys you would never hold hands. It just wasnt a Liverpool thing. But it was lovely. Paul McCartney on his final meeting with George Harrison That was the final time McCartney saw Harrison, but Macca has proven in the years since that his friend was never far from his mind. McCartney continues honoring Harrison Have a great day on what would have been my mate Georges birthday Paul#PaulMcCartney #GeorgeHarrison pic.twitter.com/xFBommfZaN Paul McCartney (@PaulMcCartney) February 25, 2021 McCartney and Harrison grew up together. They lived in the same area, rode the same bus to and from the Liverpool Institute, and played in a legendary band together. So it makes sense that Macca continues to think of his friend often. On the 20th anniversary of Harrisons death in 2021, McCartney took to Instagram to share a black and white photo and a simple message reading, Hard to believe that we lost George 20 years ago. I miss my friend so much. Love Paul. Harrison never seems far from McCartneys thoughts, and neither is a physical reminder. The so-called quiet Beatle gifted Macca a fir tree, which Sir Paul planted outside his house. So every time he leaves the house, a special tree helps him remember his friend. For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheets YouTube channel. RELATED: George Harrison Co-Wrote Ringo Starrs 1st No. 1 Song Cherokee Nation Tribal Councilor E.O. Smith explains his support for a policy change that requires at least five sponsors for proposed legislation. The Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall has arrived in Cheshire. The Wall will be displayed at Bartlem Park from now through June 6. On Wednesday morning, a processional gathered at the Farmington Polo Club in Farmington to escort the wall to Cheshire. The Ride for the Brave was sponsored by the Hometown Foundation. Opening ceremonies are scheduled for this evening, June 2, beginning at 6:30 p.m., at Bartlem Park. All members of the public are welcome to attend. The Wall is a 3/5th-scale replica of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. It stands 6 feet tall at the center and stretches almost 300 feet from end to end. This Traveling Memorial stands as a moving reminder of the great sacrifices made during the Vietnam War. It was made for the purpose of helping heal and rekindle friendships and to allow people the opportunity to visit loved ones in their hometown who otherwise may not be able to make the trip to Washington, D.C. Because of the Brave, Inc., in partnership with the Town of Cheshire and The Hometown Foundation, is hosting this event. Because of the Brave is a nonprofit founded by 18-year-old Hayley Falk to honor veterans and educate youth. The Hometown Foundation is the charitable nonprofit of Bozzutos Inc. Each day, I hope to remind everyone of the service and sacrifice of those who have gone before us to preserve our way of life, our freedom. With the Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall coming to town, it is a time for us as citizens of this great nation to honor every name on the Wall along with the Gold Star Families, said Falk. Everyone is invited to join in paying tribute to the names on the Wall along with thanking and welcoming home our Vietnam veterans. Come as a family, bring your children, so that the next generation can be educated on service and sacrifice. While war can seem to surround us, learn how Chris Blattmans research reveals the rarity of war and roots of it. Here on the Better Samaritan were learning how to do good better. Using Jesus story as a guiding metaphor, this involves getting better at (like the Good Samaritan did) helping the person left by the side of the Jericho road who was robbed and beaten up. It also involves learning how to make the metaphorical road safer. Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace, by Chris Blattman, helped me to better understand why the road is dangerous at timesand also how we can make it safer. Full disclosure: the author, who is professor of global conflict studies at The University of Chicago, is also my brother-in-law. I highly value Chris, not just for marrying my sister, but also for important insights from his research and experience. Whether you work at a national or neighborhood level, I think youll find this conversation and his book encouraging and helpful in your work for peace. Kent: In the past year, Afghanistan and then Ukraine have dominated international headlines. Yet in Why We Fight, you explain that war is rare because the cost to everyone involved is so high. With the depressing human cost of war in the news everyday, I found your book, and this insight, encouraging. Can you explain how you came to understand that war is rare when it can feel like its happening all the time? Chris: Well, I have to point out that I didnt write a book called Why We Dont Fight. Obviously we do. But I wanted people to start with the realization that we have really strong reasons not to fight, and so we usually dont. Youre right that this seems like a strange message for this moment when, as were talking, theres a massive conflict in Ukraine. But Id argue thats because we only pay attention to the conflicts that happen. One example came two weeks into Russias invasion of Ukraine, when India accidentally launched a cruise missile at Pakistan. Calm ensued. War wouldve been so unimaginably costly, both sides strove to avoid it. As they have for decades. Another example is that schoolchildren will learn about the US invasion of Afghanistan for the next two generations. But almost none of them will hear about Americas 1994 invasion of Haiti. After a military general seized power from a newly elected President, Colin Powell arrived in Haiti, with the backing of the United Nations. Powell showed the new dictator a video of dozens of American military planes taking off full of soldiers and equipment. Thats not a live feed, Powell explained, that was two hours ago. The general capitulated right there. Fighting wasnt worth it. It almost never is. Even Putin tried to avoid war in his own insidious way. For 20 years he tried every underhanded means possible to co-opt Ukraine. Dark money, propaganda, political stooges, assassinations, support for separatists. He tried everything else he could because as violent and costly as these things were, not one of them was as risky or as ruinous as war. The problem is that nobody writes books about the times we dont fight. We overlook all the quiet compromises. That makes us like doctors who only see critically ill patients, and don't know about the normal state of human health. That has a few bad effects. One is that it could make you demoralized and depressed. Why work so hard to make all these ill people healthy if you dont realize how common it is. More seriously, those doctors are probably going to misdiagnose the ailment, and dole out terrible treatments. I dont want us to make that mistake with war. Kent: You give five reasons for war. Unfair question since you go into depth about each in the book, but Ill ask anyway: Can you briefly explain each? Chris: Everything starts from the fact that war is unimaginably destructive. We can see that playing out in Ukraine right now: the deaths; the fields untilled; the cities that look like rubble; the empty treasuries on both sides. Terrible costs like these push most groups to try everything possible to avoid all-out fighting. I like to tell people: if you take just one insight from the book, I suggest this: war is costly, and every answer to why we fight is a reason that a society or a leader ignored those costs. Now, this can happen in lots of ways, but like you say, a big message in the book is that there are really five ways this happens. Most explanations for most wars fall into one of these five reasons that societies or leaders ignore the costs or are willing to pay them. Let me stick with the example of Russia and Ukraine. The first I call unchecked interests. Think of Vladimir Putin. He can ignore most of the costs, because hes not accountable to the people who pay them. Autocrats like him are insulated from all that. They can pursue their private interests. These unchecked leaders only care about the fraction of the costs they face. So theyre too quick to use violence. The second I call intangible or ideological incentives. An example is Putins imperial obsessionsa desire to make Russia great again, or to achieve personal glory and a place in history. War is still costly and risky to him (even if hes a dictator), but hes willing to pay that price for intangible and ideological reasons. The third I call uncertainty. We all have to remember how uncertain all these were just a few months ago: the bravery and resolve of ordinary Ukrainians; Russias military strength; the Wests unity on sanctions. When circumstances are this uncertain, its easy to get the costs and benefits wrong. Nobody expected Russia to get a bad draw on all these thingsleast of all Putin. War is partly a gamble. The fourth I call misperceptions. Because its not just that were uncertain, we also take in information in biased ways. Every story you hear about Putin being insulated, isolated, overconfident, or underestimating the costs of warthese are stories of misperceptions. Basically, it means judging the costs and risks wrongly. The fifth and final is a strategic concept known as a commitment problem. This happens when one side cant trust the other to commit to a peace agreement, so it has to lock in its advantage while it can. This one isnt as applicable to the Russian invasion as the other four, but let me lay out how it could play a role. Earlier this year, Ukraine had acquired Turkish drones, and was building its own defensive missiles, like the Neptune ones that sank the Russian warship. Invasion was only going to get more difficult for Russia, and the Ukrainians could hardly commit not to protect themselves. Meanwhile, the Ukrainians were getting closer to the West and democracyagain, something they could hardly commit not to do. Arguably, Russia was at its peak leverage. It was now or never. Amidst this commitment problem, it was time to take advantage of this fact and invade before their ability to do so disappeared. Those are the five. Of course, one thing I want to be clear about is that explaining aggression isnt excusing it. Just because Purin had strategic or ideological incentives to invade doesnt make it right. Kent: You dont just write about nations going to war. You also explain your experience with other conflicts, for example with gangs in Chicago. Can you talk about that? Chris: So my day job doing research is trying to find and test ways to create peace in civil wars and violent cities. And I think the reasons why nations fightand what stops themcan help us understand war and peace at these lower levels. And vice versa. Lets take Chicago where, like a lot of American cities, homicides have been spiking. Why are young gang members shooting one another? I see evidence of at least three of the five reasons. One is intangible incentives. Not glory, like the story of Putin. More often its vengeance. Theyre pursuing blood feuds. Someone killed their brother or their best friend. Theyre willing to pay the costs of fighting for their honor or because theyre angry and they want revenge. A second is misperceptions. Some men are making these decisions in a hot, reactive state. So their passions get the better of them. But then theres uncertaintywhich is subtler but arguably more important. One of the gang leaders I worked with told me about the first time he was robbed as he was selling drugs. They thought he was weak. He told me he realized: If I dont do something about this, Im done. So he tracked down and shot the man who robbed him. He had to do that a few more times to build a reputation. By the time I met him in a gang exit program I helped design, he was a repeated but regretful killer. So why did he need to construct a reputation? Because of uncertainty. Theres no need for a reputation in a world where everyone knows your strength. But in an uncertain world, sometimes fighting is your best way to signal to others you should not be messed witha strategic incentive to start some fights that then prevents others. I think this is one of the reasons the US stayed so long in Afghanistan. America wasnt just pursuing revenge. It was building a reputation, to warn every other rogue state or terror group what would happen if they attacked American soil. So obviously these fights (Ukraine, Afghanistan, gangs in Chicago) are incredibly different, but they can share certain psychological and strategic logics. Kent: I think this book is helpful for NGOs, missionaries, and churches who are working on justice issues in their communities. For a humanitarian practitioner, how can understanding root causes of war (and of avoiding war) help us be better peace builders for the communities we work in? Chris: This is something I struggled with my whole career. Its how I tried to end the book. I didnt want to end with a tale of its all getting better. And I didnt think there was a 10-point policy prescription that everyone could follow. I think of it a little like being a doctor. Someone comes to you with an ailment. You dont just give them tylenol and radiation and send them on their way. You carefully diagnose whats going on, knowing that you might get it wrong. You try a treatment, then look carefully to see if it has the expected effect. If not, maybe the diagnosis was wrong, and you try again. Then there are also people designing new treatments and medicines. Theyre trying to understand the deep roots. Then they develop something newmaybe something just a tiny bit differentand they test it out cautiously and look for signs of ill effects, or unintended consequences. Thats how medical progress has been made. In these little steps, by thousands of doctors and nurses and lab technicians. Peacebuilding doesnt happen in huge leaps with grand solutions. Peacebuilding to me is the same. It doesnt happen in huge leaps with grand solutions, and theres no best practice that every possible conflict needs (like tylenol and radiation). In the book I try to give people a better toolkit for diagnosisthe focus on the costs of war, the attention to the healthy cases, and the five reasons. I hope people are better able to see whats going on in their city or community or country. I also walk through the toolkit the world has for building peace, and how each of them attacks at least one of the five reasons. But if youre working in local communities youll be like a doctortesting the treatments, never being too confident you have the diagnosis right, always on the lookout for unexpected effects, and always trying to improve the diagnosis and the medicine. Kent: I heard progress reports along the way as you wrote this book over several years. As you look back, what encourages you most about what you learned and what discourages you when considering the paths to peace that are ahead? Chris: One thing I learnedand what I think a lot of the world is waking up tois that the peacebuilding tools we have are not all that effective when a great power has an unchecked leader, an ideological incentive, and is misperceiving or uncertain or unable to commit. So the United States could invade Iraq, or Russia could invade Ukraine, and we dont as a global community have enough tools to help these disputes get resolved without violence. A lot of Americans are skeptical about tying their countys hands by signing on to international agreements, like the international criminal court, or widening who gets a say on the United Nations Security Council. And I get that. It puts American leaders at risk. And there are a lot of nasty regimes out there that would use these international institutions to do things that arent in our interests. But current events have reminded me that the nasty regimes are capable of doing some really terrible things because they arent bound by international law. I think we have more to gain than lose by strengthening these institutions, deeply flawed as they may be. The other more optimistic thing I learned, however, is that when it comes to every other kind of conflictsmall nations fighting each other, civil wars, gang wars, street violence collectively we know a lot more than most people think. More than even I thought, even after working in the area for 20 years. Thats great. What was frustrating is that no one ever tried to bring it together in one place, all the lessons from different social sciences, and all the insights from the people out there who are actually doing the hard work. So thats what I tried to do, and hope people find it helpful and inspiring. 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 Christopher Blattman is a Professor at the University of Chicagos Harris School of Public Policy. You can follow his work at chrisblattman.com and on Twitter @cblatts. It was nearly noon in Chengdu, and the early June day had begun to heat up. Several Christians from Early Rain Covenant Church stood in front of a gynecological hospital, handing out pamphlets to people walking past. The Chinese pro-life activists had gathered for Childrens Day (June 1) and were asking women to refrain from getting an abortion that day. Their pastor, Wang Yi, was supposed to join them. But early on that 2013 morning, police officers had blocked him from leaving his house. From 2012 to 2016, members of the well-known Reformed congregation took to the streets of Sichuans capital on Childrens Day to advocate against abortion. Throughout the year, the church organized anti-abortion public lectures. But activists frequently faced government pushback; police often blocked speakers from leaving their homes or broke into the venue to halt events. By 2016, the crackdowns seemed to have worked; the anti-abortion event publicity disappeared from WeChat. At the end of 2018, Wang was arrested and jailed and the government banned Early Rain from gathering. But the government had also changed its tune on abortion. After decades of China pushing its one-child policy, the reality of a low birth rate led to policies encouraging families to have two or three children. Today, the disbanding of Early Rain and the governments pivot on abortion have led pro-life Chinese Christians to reflect on the best strategies to protect unborn babies and take care of pregnant women. Though disagreements exist over how this congregation and the greater church have organized around fighting abortion, Early Rains courage in proclaiming a pro-life message impressed many in the wider Christian community. Most Chinese people, including Christians, lack a basic understanding of life and Gods sovereignty over it, said Ruth Lu, who returned to Shenzhen after finishing her graduate studies overseas. (With the exception of Wang, Christians in China quoted in this piece have been given pseudonyms for their own safety.) The voice that upholds life is precious when most people are used to giving up on life so easily, Lu added. It is especially precious because public Christian witness like that of the Christians in Chengdu is a rare occurrence. A wonderful witness to the gospel Early Rain made its case for its pro-life values on theological grounds. Every human beings life is made by God and belongs to Him, says an anti-abortion statement written by Wang. Consequently, no one has the right to murder Gods creation. A fetus is a human being from conception, it adds; therefore, the commandment thou shalt not kill means thou shall not abort when it is applied to the issue of abortion. Chinese Christians widely agreed with Early Rain on these points. While overseas reports often only highlighted Yis church, activities such as the distribution of the anti-abortion pamphlet were an interdenominational ministry that many other churches participated in as well, said Xiao Yu, a Chengdu resident who works for a ministry that helps pregnant women and mothers. In the reality of China, such ministry is a wonderful witness to the gospel and one of the significant missions God has given to Christians in China, she said. Over the years, this ministry has continued, albeit in a small way. It has saved the lives of many fetuses, and some who have had abortions have heard the gospel and even been baptized. Early Rains pamphlet also included four demands of the municipal government, hospitals, and Chengdu residents: Abortion advertisements should be banned outdoors, in the media, in schools, and on buses. Abortions by minors should require the consent of both parents. Hospitals should inform those seeking abortions of the alternatives to abortion and all the possible dangers of abortion. No abortions should be performed on Childrens Day. Some Christians, however, questioned the efficacy of these demands, as well as Early Rains activism practices. I admire the brothers and sisters of the Early Rain for their actions in difficult circumstances defending the values of their faith, but I do not necessarily agree with the strategy, said Shaolong Jiang, who pastors a Mandarin congregation in Chicago. When a young woman who is already thinking about abortion receives an anti-abortion booklet by the road, the conversation about abortion already happens too late. In the numerous conversations Jiang has had with women about abortion, hes often wished the church was more proactive on this issue. He says his time in the US has shown him the need for a holistic strategy for pro-life activism. In the United States, the church has made many efforts to legislate against abortion, but can the church really support women who lack the social resources to have their children? he said. Where is the church when these women are facing all the hardships and despair that they need to go through in raising their children alone? What can we do for them? While the church in China encourages Christians not to have abortions, it seems to lack the commitment to take on the responsibility of raising the child together, says Hu Yue, who pastors a church in Shanghai. Instead of letting individual families face the consequences of not having an abortion, the church should let the child be born and then raise it together with the family. [Chinese Christians] anti-abortion promotion may have overplayed the impact of the government policy, emphasizing systemic sin at the expense of downplaying individual sin, he said. Creating the illusion that the official family planning policies are evil and individual abortion is because the woman has no choice. A new form of family planning The Chinese governments policy change from only one child to actively encouraging and incentivizing couples to have babies presents a new and different challenge to the Christian pro-life witness. Last August, the Chinese government passed a law officially allowing families to have up to three children. The shift comes as the countrys population grows increasingly old and exits the labor force. But this new freedom is unlikely to change many minds; the expense of raising a child and a lack of confidence in marriage leave many young people disinterested in having a family, says Lu. What Christians advocate for marriage and childbirth has accidentally become conforming to the policies advocated by the government, she said. This, in turn, has ironically led some young people who resent the policy of encouraging childbirth to become resistant to Christian values. Chinas family planning policies have never held to consistent moral values, says Jiang, pointing to the governments wild policy swings. Instead, many of these decisions have been made with politics or economics in mind. Chinese people, including Christians, have generally accepted the presupposition that the government has the right to regulate fertility, says Shi Ming, a house church pastor, who believes that believers should reconsider this position. Indeed, as Hu points out, policies that encourage more children are also a form of family planning. Regardless of future government policy, the church has a responsibility to care for those most affected by it. Recently, during a public chat on the app Clubhouse, a young woman who had chosen to have an abortion asked Jiang what the church could do for her and for women like her. As a pastor of a church, my faith and my calling require that I cannot support your choice of abortion or anyone elses, Jiang said. But even if I dont support abortion, that doesnt mean our church wont come alongside women. If you are in my church, we will be there for you to the end. [ This article is also available in and . ] For a long time, Americans committed to fighting racism have rallied around the ideals of colorblindness. Both legally and culturally, they have sought to build a society where, in Martin Luther King Jr.s famous words, people are judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Over time, however, the persistence of racism has raised doubts about the colorblind approach. In response, groups like Black Lives Matter have seized on the rival paradigm of antiracism. Instead of aspiring to colorblindness, its proponents say, we should acknowledge that America is plagued by deep-seated racismand then take aggressive steps to stamp it out. In Beyond Racial Division: A Unifying Alternative to Colorblindness and Antiracism, Baylor University sociologist George Yancey seeks a new way forward, one grounded in a vision of healthy interracial communication and community. As Yancey argues, both colorblindness and antiracism result in racial alienation, which prevents us from working out our racial issues together in a way that honors the dignity, value, and worth of every individual. In different ways, Yancey sees colorblindness and antiracism erecting barriers to this goal. As he puts it, colorblindness ignores the realities of racial injustice, past and present. As for antiracism, he faults it for exacerbating racial division, in part by issuing an implied permission slip to disrespect white people and creating a clear expectation that whites defer to nonwhites. What can succeed where colorblindness and antiracism have failed? Here, Yancey emphasizes an ethic of mutual accountability and a reliance upon moral persuasion. This means, for starters, that when it comes to conversations on race, everyone is allowed to participate, and everyones ideas are taken seriously. It also means an openness to having our opinions changed and our blind spots exposed. As Yancey remarks, collaborative conversations allow those we disagree with to hold us accountable to their interests [so that] we are forced to confront the ways we have fashioned solutions that conform to our own interests and desires. Much of Yanceys argument is compelling. Hes right that too often in conversations on race, we neglect a range of perspectives. And I appreciated his critique of secular frameworks, like antiracism, for expressing a naive confidence in human perfectibility. I am, however, left with certain questions and concerns. One relates to Yanceys appeal to his own racial background. When you are a Black man in the United States, he writes, it is difficult to escape your racial status. Yanceys personal experience may be relevant, but his statement seems to imply that his skin color gives him special insight into racial issues, which undercuts his emphasis on conversations where everyone gets a say. I also would have preferred greater clarity on the standards that help determine what counts as racial progress. Yanceys vision for moral suasion is built on a premise of shared morality: Once people become convinced the new action is the moral thing to do, he writes, then change will likely occur. But this invites the question of which moral standard is in play. Is it pragmatism? Group consensus? Divine revelation? And if the parties involved disagree, by what standard will their disagreements be arbitrated? To be sure, Yancey affirms that Christians must place biblical truth above all other efforts to gain knowledge. Yet elsewhere he states, Christians cannot propose new directions for society as if they were given to us from God and expect everyone else in society to obey. Its true that we cant expect our culture to embrace Christian standards of righteousness. Yet we are obligated to explain how the gospel offers a truly transforming vision of racial unity. Out of the nations, God has called out one new people to be a big spiritual family. Calling the nations to discipleship is the only hope for lasting transformation. Ultimately, I appreciate Yanceys effort to reach across divided racial lines from a Christian perspective. His language of mutual accountability adds a needed component to our conversations on race: a competition of ideas. Simply put, we need more models for pursuing these conversations well. But we should always weigh our models against the truths of Scripture. Monique Duson is a cofounder of the Center for Biblical Unity. Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here. Scott Morrison went to church. And he invited the journalists along too. One month before Australias federal election in 2019, the prime minister traveled to Horizon Church, a Pentecostal congregation in New South Wales. He closed his eyes, raised his hands, and let the cameras click away. The images drew a sharp reaction from a public uncomfortable with charismatic worshipand from Christians who saw it as a publicity stunt. But then Morrison won. His Liberal-National Coalition (LNC)a center-right partyovercame the predictions of pollsters and secured 77 seats. I have always believed in miracles, he said. And tonight we've been delivered another one. Three years later, Morrison returned to the same church. Again the journalists followed. But this time the election didnt go his way. The LNC lost to the Labor Party on May 21, and the next day Morrison stood up at Horizon Church and read a few passages from the Bible. At the last election, we really understood it was for such a time as this, he said in an emotional three-minute talk. And now we understand it was for such a time as that. As Morrison leaves office, evangelicals are assessing the way his faith interacted with his politics: how that was covered by the media, how it was viewed by the public, and how they would want Christians to act, as Christians, in the public sphere. Morrisons faith has become a story because he is prominently and publicly Christian, as opposed to many past Christian prime ministers whose faith has been a more private affair, said Chris Mulherin, an Anglican priest and the executive director of ISCAST (formally, the Institute for the Study of Christianity in an Age of Science and Technology), a group working to strengthen the relationship between faith and science. Morrison has used his faith believing (rightly, I think) that sincere faitheven Pentecostal faith where he is photographed with hands in the air and eyes closedis not only attractive to Christians but also to a silent almost-majority who respect religious belief. About 60 percent of Australians identify as Christians, according to the 2016 census, but only about 15 percent are connected to a church. In practice, the countrys public spaces are essentially secular, and religious politicians are expected to keep their faith private. Its uncommon for leaders to even gesture at a generic Christian culture and tradition. Nobody in Australia ends speeches by saying God bless Australia, said Michael Bird, the academic dean at Ridley College in Melbourne. Morrisons public expressions of faith were, for that reason, quite jarring. The national spotlight found him as he spoke about the laying on of hands; receiving a vision from God telling him to run for office; and working behind the scenes to get Hillsong founder Brian Houston an invitation to meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House. Previous prime ministers, including Kevin Rudd, Tony Abbott, and Malcolm Turnbull, all described themselves as Christians, but some people saw Morrisons faith as sort of off-puttingor at least questionable. He doesnt keep it purely private, but neither does he wear it on his sleeve, Bird said. It comes out from time to time. The political value of Morrisons faith was never exactly clear. If the public exposure of his Pentecostalism was a strategy to garner support, the math didnt seem to add up. No Australian political party has won the majority of churchgoing voters in the last decade. Though one 2016 survey found that 40 percent of churchgoers supported the LNC, that works out to about 6 of every 10,000 voters. Not exactly an election-winning bloc. And for most Australian evangelicals, that hasnt been a goal. Australian evangelicals dont have the numbers to take over a political party, said John Sandeman, who founded the Australian Christian publication Eternity. Our desire to impact society is not as politically directed as in the US. Instead, Aussie evangelical engagement in politics is shaped by a culture that doesnt put much faith in politicians, according to Mark Sayers, the senior leader of vision and teaching at Red Church in Victoria. Mandatory voting laws mean almost everyone goes to the polls on election day, but they rarely feel a strong emotional connection with the person theyre voting for. Australia uses ranked-choice voting in national elections, so voters arent even asked to give 100 percent of their support to one person but to just state the order of their preference. We are very cynical about politics and deeply suspicious of leadership, Sayers said. We are also deeply egalitarian, and due to the tall poppy syndrome, we have no time for leaders who lose touch with ordinary people. Australians will punish at the polls a leader regardless of their politics who forgets from where they have come or who is not authentic. Some evangelicals also may have not resonated with Morrisons public expressions of faith because of cultural distinctions between evangelicals and Pentecostals in Australia. Historically, evangelicals in the country have not started new denominations or created a strong, independent subculture. They worshiped in the three quasi-official Protestant churchesAnglican, Methodist, and Presbyterianor joined one of the smaller Baptist, Churches of Christ, or Seventh-day Adventist churches. Most were culturally moderate, if not mainstream. Pentecostals, on the other hand, have stood apart. And since the 1980s, these churches and networks of churches have grown rapidlywithout ever establishing deep connections with other evangelicals. Pentecostalism is the new kid on the block, said Meredith Lake, author of The Bible in Australia: A Cultural History, and can appear a bit mystifying. But the sharpest criticisms from Christians who disliked the way that Morrison mixed his faith and politics werent directed at his charismatic sensibilities. Nor were they focused on his public displays of piety. Christians were frustrated, instead, when they couldnt see that the prime ministers being a believer made any difference. His own stated position is that the Bible is not a policy handbook, Lake said. My question is, Are his governments policies any different because Morrison is the leader of his party, rather than another, non-Pentecostal member of the cabinet? Do we see evidence of Morrisons Pentecostal faith causing a departure from the imperatives of neoliberalism? Last fall, a diverse group of Christians asked Morrison to open the country to more refugees from Afghanistan. They appealed to their shared faith, but it didnt get the results they hoped for. Tim Costello, executive director of Micah Australia, an international Christian social justice organization, found it frustrating and confusing. Scott Morrison in his maiden speech to Parliament in 2008 spoke effusively about his personal faith in Jesus. He spoke of his debt to pastor Brian Houston. He spoke of his heroes like Bono, Tutu, and Wilberforce and that he wanted to make poverty history and lift Australian Aid, Costello said. Then he presided in government overseeing the deepest cuts to Australian Aid, leaving it at its lowest level in our history. Evangelicals concerned about climate change had a similar experience. Appealing to their shared faith with the prime minister didnt seem to help their cause. Common Grace, an evangelical social justice advocacy group, knitted scarves that showed the increase of the average global temperature over the last hundred years, mailed them to their representatives, and asked to meet one on one. Many of the conservatives, including Scott Morrison, would not meet with Christians in their local electorate who were gifting them a scarf, and many didnt even respond when their gifted scarf was mailed to them, said Brooke Prentis, former CEO of Common Grace. To know you cant meet with your local member as a Christian and share what matters to you as a Christian was very disheartening. On the other hand, Morrison did at times back issues that evangelicals in Australia cared about, but he couldnt deliver a victory. Perhaps the most important political fight of Morrisons career was the fight for a religious freedom bill, which left many evangelicals disappointed. When Morrison took office in 2018, replacing Turnbull, he was expected to deliver on an LNC promise to pass a religion antidiscrimination bill. The issue had become a concern after Australia legalized same-sex marriage. Religious freedom is widely seen as having been a key issue in the 2019 election, which Morrisons party unexpectedly and decisively won, said Natasha Moore, a senior research fellow at the Center for Public Christianity. Despite this mandate, Morrisons government struggled to turn the religious freedom bill into law. Both Christian conservatives and LGBT advocates greeted the first two drafts of the bill with disdain. The third, introduced last fall, was deemed better by evangelicals but could not command a wide base of support. We were portrayed as bigots, haters, etc., said David Ould, an Anglican minister in Sydney. We had been pointing out to the political parties that were only asking for what they want for themselves, which is the right to hire people who believeactually believewhat they stand for. But its been whipped up into hysteria over, you know, gay teenagers and trans teenagers, who apparently we want to just throw out of all the schools. Morrison couldnt maintain control of his own party, and earlier this year five members crossed the aisle to vote with the opposition on an amendment to weaken protections for taxpayer-supported religious schools. Religious groups withdrew their support from the modified bill, and the proposal died. Morrison attempted to revive it in the final month before the 2022 election, as part of the agenda for his next term, but then he went down in defeat. The religious discrimination bill failed despite extensive consultation, many rounds of submissions from across the political spectrum, and a strong push from the party in power, Moore said. The bill and the whole question became toxic. Little headway was made in convincing the public that this bill was anything other than an attempt to enshrine bigotry. In the end, Morrison disappointed the evangelicals who agreed with him on policy, as well as the ones who didnt. As he leaves office, its unclear what future, if any, there will be in Australia for his brand of evangelical politics. Some evangelicals are asking whether they should reconsider supporting the Labor Party. Others, such as Barney Zwartz, a senior fellow at the Center for Public Christianity, hope Christians can exert influence by being politically independent. However counter-intuitive it sounds, Christians should be swinging voters, he recently wrote in a Melbourne newspaper, looking at all the parties afresh each time round. Morrison, for his part, decided to go back to church and make his last statement as prime minister at Horizon Church. After years of criticism for how he connected faith and politicswhether he should do it at all, do it a different way, or do it more effectivelyhe pulled up the Bible on his smartphone and read from Micah 7. My God will hear me, he read. Do not rejoice over me, enemy of mine. Though I fall, I will rise. Though I live in darkness, the Lord is a light for me. 35 Arkansas churches considering departure from UMC over homosexuality debate Thirty-five congregations in Arkansas that belong to The United Methodist Church are undergoing processes of discernment for possibly disaffiliating from the mainline Protestant denomination over its ongoing homosexuality debate. As the UMC Arkansas Conference begins to hold its official annual meeting this week, 35 of its 634 member churches are involved in the disaffiliation process. A conference spokesperson confirmed the number of churches under discernment in an email to The Christian Post on Wednesday, adding that she was uncertain as to how many more will undergo the process in the near future, labeling it pure speculation. The spokesperson directed CP to a video of Arkansas Bishop Gary Mueller explaining the options for congregations unsure of whether they will remain in the denomination. This included pointing out that the UMC Book of Discipline still presently maintains a traditional stance on LGBT issues, including a ban on the blessing of same-sex unions and a ban on the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals. The three options included staying with the denomination indefinitely, waiting for the results of the 2024 General Conference, or leaving under the present standards for disaffiliation, which include a congregational vote, communication with conference leadership, and certain financial payments to the denomination. This is not a battle to be won, its not a mixed martial arts cage match. Its a time of grief and discernment, said the bishop. We need to respect the best intentions of others. On May 1, a theologically conservative alternative to the UMC known as the Global Methodist Church was launched in response to the ongoing debate over LGBT issues in the denomination. Since then, churches across the UMC, especially in the United States, have announced plans to disaffiliate from the mainline denomination to join the nascent GMC. The Wesleyan Covenant Association, a theologically conservative UMC group, recently said that 107 UMC congregations in Florida had taken measures aimed trying to join the GMC. The Florida chapter of the WCA said: 107 Florida Methodist churches have chosen to initiate the process to depart the Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church 107 represents approximately 20% of the 560 United Methodist Churches in the Florida Conference. This broad group of churches include both large and small congregations along with Anglo, African American, Latino, Korean, and other ethnic communities of faith. These churches will align with the new Global Methodist Church (GMC) which launched on May 1, 2022. North Carolina preschool teacher resigns amid outcry after using flashcard with pregnant man A North Carolina preschool teacher who used a set of flashcards featuring a picture of a pregnant man has resigned following an outcry from parents and lawmakers. Last week, Tim Moore, the Republican speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, issued a statement announcing that Republican Rep. Erin Pare received an email from a concerned constituent alerting her to the use of LGBT themed flashcards "to teach colors to children in a preschool class at Ballentine Elementary School. One of the flashcards included an image of a pregnant man to illustrate the color white. The flashcard is part of a set titled Progress Pride Flag Rainbow Families Flash Cards." The set is touted as a way to explore the colours and meanings of the updated Progress Pride Flag. The sold-out collection features custom-designed illustrations portraying LGBT families of diverse races, ages, sexualities, genders, and abilities. Another flashcard in the collection depicts a family led by two mothers, which was created to introduce the color pink. Rep. Pare immediately contacted the principal of the elementary school to alert her of this constituent concern and to confirm the use of the flash cards in the classroom, Moore said. The principal of the school took swift action to investigate and respond to the information. After finding the stack of cards in a preschool classroom, the principal verified with the teacher that they had been used by the teacher in the classroom to teach colors and confirmed that the flash cards were not part of the approved curriculum. Moore noted that upon discovering them, the principal immediately took possession of the cards, contacted the WCPSS area superintendent, and engaged human resources. The Wake County Public School System, the largest school district in the state, told local news outlet WRAL Tuesday that the teacher who used the LGBT-themed flashcards has resigned. In a statement emailed to WRAL, Wake County Public School System Spokesperson Lisa Luten reported that the district is concerned to learn of the inappropriate instructional resource found in a preschool classroom. Pare, who represents North Carolina House District 37, which includes Ballentine Elementary School, praised the school for addressing the concerns of her constituent in a swift and professional manner. She maintained that schools should only be using age-appropriate materials, and these flashcards clearly do not meet that standard for a pre-school classroom. I hope schools across Wake County and the State of North Carolina will follow the example of Ballentine and respond swiftly when a parent expresses concern and ensure that materials like this are not being used to teach young students, she added. North Carolina lawmakers are weighing a Parents Bill of Rights bill similar to the recently enacted Florida law that bans school officials from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity with students in kindergarten through third grade. In addition to a provision prohibiting the discussion of such topics with young students, the measure would require schools to notify parents of any changes in the name or pronoun assigned to their child in school records. While multiple committees in the Republican-controlled North Carolina Senate have reported favorably on House Bill 755, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has derided the proposal as the Dont Say Gay bill and indicated that he would likely veto it. A poll conducted by Cygnal on the weekend of May 21-22 revealed that 57% of North Carolina voters support the creation of a Parents Bill of Rights while 24% oppose it. Videos shared by the Twitter account Libs of TikTok reveal that the attempt to introduce the concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity to preschool students is not an isolated incident. One video features a non-binary preschool teacher discussing how students in the classroom have started wearing pronoun pins, which allow them to pick a new pronoun pin every day. Another shows a preschool teacher asserting that Im a non-binary preschool teacher and my kids know Im non-binary. Diversity is my favorite thing to teach says non-binary preschool teacher who also makes 4 year olds pick a pronoun pin every day to wear pic.twitter.com/6IRmh4v8Co Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 12, 2022 They know Im not a girl or a boy. I use they/them pronouns in the classroom, the teacher stated. I go by Mx. Grae in the classroom, not Miss or Mr. More recently, Libs of TikTok shared a picture of a sign promoting Family Pride Day at Sudbury Cooperative Preschool in Massachusetts. The event includes a drag queen story time and a parade. A preschool in Massachusetts is hosting a pride event including drag queen storytime and a pride parade. pic.twitter.com/cOrW9HbQPu Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 31, 2022 Stephen Baldwin celebrates baptizing his mother before her death, praises her example of Jesus The matriarch of the famous Baldwin family, Carol Baldwin, died at 92, and her son, Stephen Baldwin, said he will see her again, as he had the honor of baptizing her. According to her eldest son, Alec Baldwin, Carol Baldwin died in Syracuse, New York, this month. In his post, the actor noted that his mother spent many years of her life advocating for breast cancer research after surviving the disease herself. He honored the impact his mother made in this world. Her youngest son, Stephen Baldwin, also took to social media with a post dedicated to his mother. He, however, spoke of Carols spiritual impact and shared an intimate moment he and his wife, Kenya, shared with his late mom. August 4th, 2014, this was the day I knew for sure I would never have to worry about my mom again, the Baldwin son said on Instagram. The post showed a photo of Carol Baldwin emerging from the water in Skaneateles Lake in 2014 after asking Baldwin and his wife to baptize her. When my mom made this request, I told my wife, No worries we'll do it on our next trip. But Kenya said, No my love we will baptize her tomorrow, he explained. Baldwin said thank God for his wifes encouragement and his mothers willingness to be baptized. In Christianity, baptism is seen as an act of identifying Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, memorializing the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. According to Bible Gateway, it's an ordinance "immediately instituted by Christ himself in Matt. 28:19, 20, and designed to be observed in the Church till He come." Thank God for the bold and courageous women in my life, Baldwin shared. His gratitude went most of all to my mom who in our friendship we didn't have to say much as we are similar in our desire to love and serve others. Baldwin added, Thanks mom I might not have found Jesus without your loving example of humility, grace and unconditional love!!! I'm grateful to God that I will see you again. The Least of These actor ended his post by asking his mother to say hi to his aunt Louise and father. Hailey Bieber, Stephen Baldwin's daughter, also shared a post about her grandma. "The matriarch of the Baldwin family completed her journey here on earth," Bieber wrote Friday. "Today I celebrate her, the life she lived, and the legacy she leaves behind. We love you." Alec Baldwin's obituary on social media noted that along with her six children, Carol Baldwin and her late husband, Alexander Rae Baldwin Jr., had 25 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Middle school teacher calls police over allegation student was involved in 'sex work' A Loudoun County, Virginia, teacher recently contacted police after the school librarian allegedly defended the presence of a book containing details about prostitution in the middle school library by claiming that it's helpful to preteen and teenage student sex workers. The conversation reportedly started after the Sterling Middle School teacher asked the librarian if the school had a copy of the book Seeing Gender by Iris Gottlieb, which includes a chapter titled "'Sex Work' Is Not a Bad Term." The teacher, whose name has been concealed for privacy reasons, had seen a May 24 tweet highlighting the chapter and its presence in a Loudoun County middle school library on the LCPS Can Do Better Twitter account. From a Loudoun middle school library, Seeing Gender by Iris Gottlieb. pic.twitter.com/wnoQMLlpKw LCPS Can Do Better (@LCPSDoBetter) May 24, 2022 As The Daily Wire reported, the teacher told police in a recorded conversation that the librarian, whose name is also withheld for privacy reasons, confirmed the library had the book and asserted it was beneficial to students engaged in sex work. The librarian did not provide the names of any current students, only pointing to one that graduated six years before that had allegedly been involved in the practice. "She started talking about how there's kids who come to the library who do sex work, and this makes them feel validated," the teacher said in the interview. "As a teacher, if you get an individual student coming to you because you're abused, you have to go [to] the police immediately." During the teacher's interview with police, Deputy Jamie Holben a former school resource officer for the middle school stated that the school is in a neighborhood where authorities have reason to suspect there are cases of child trafficking. The Christian Post reached out to Loudoun County Public Schools and the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office for comments on the claims. Responses are pending. While police have not yet responded to requests for comment on the incident, the officer that spoke with the teacher stated that authorities would investigate the matter. Executive Director of the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Initiative Kay Duffield said in a 2019 statement to Loudoun Now that Virginia has the sixth-highest number of human trafficking cases in the U.S. Additionally, the director stated that most cases occur in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, which includes Loudoun County. The middle school teacher claims the book provides instructions to students about selling their bodies for hormone replacement therapy and other needs. The librarian reportedly replied: "There's no pornography in it, so it doesn't matter." In addition, the librarian allegedly insisted that she marked the book for eighth graders, not the younger middle school students. "I said, 'what happens if a sixth grader checks it out?'" the teacher recalled. "She said, 'I have a conversation with them about it.'" The passage of the book pictured in the tweet explains that "Sex work is also used as a non-stigmatizing term for 'prostitution.' ... Using the term 'sex work' reinforces the idea that sex work is work and allows for greater discussion of labor rights and conditions." The book informs readers that some people in the "sex trade" do not define what they do as a form of labor, "but simply a means to get what they need." In addition to money, the chapter states that someone may "exchange sex or sexual activity for things they need or want, such as food, housing, hormones, drugs, gifts, or other resources." The book also notes that some sex workers operate within "legal working conditions, such as pornography or exotic dancing, and wish to avoid the negative associations with illegal or informal forms of sex work." This incident is not the first time a Virginia school district has faced criticism for reportedly exposing students to sexually explicit materials. During a Sept. 23 school board meeting last year, a parent of a student in Fairfax County Public Schools, one of the largest school districts in the U.S., read and shared images from two books available in the district's high school libraries. "After seeing a Sept. 9 school board meeting in Texas on pornography in the schools, I decided to check the titles at my child's school, Fairfax High School," the parent, Stacy Langton, told board members. She discovered that the same books are available in public school libraries in her school district. According to Langton, the books Gender Queer and Lawn Boy depict men and boys having sex and contain graphic sexual descriptions. "Both books describe different acts," she said. "One book describes a fourth-grade boy performing oral sex on an adult male. The other book has detailed illustrations of a man having sex with a boy." The mother read the curse words and sexual acts featured in both books, maintaining that "this is not an oversight at Fairfax High School." A school board member interrupted her, noting that "there are children in the audience here." Virginia passes law defining religion as including outward expression,' not just belief Virginias Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has signed a law that legally defines religion as including actions and expressions, not just personal belief, which is viewed as a win by religious liberty advocates. Known as House Bill 1063, the legislation defines the word religion as meaning any outward expression of religious faith, including adherence to religious dressing and grooming practices and the carrying or display of religious items or symbols. Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter told The Christian Post in a statement Tuesday that the legislation is a modest step to advance religious liberty in Virginia. Governor Youngkin has a firm spiritual foundation that guides his entire life and will use every ounce of his authority to protect Virginians First Amendment right to freely live out their faith, Porter said. HB 1063 is a modest step toward preserving religious freedom in the Commonwealth and the Governor hopes to continue to build on that in the future. Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal group that has argued religious liberty cases before the United States Supreme Court, applauded the passage of HB 1063. ADF Senior Counsel Gregory S. Baylor said that the measure provides a necessary and helpful clarification in the law to help ensure Virginians wont face discrimination simply for outwardly expressing their religious beliefs. Virginia law forbids discrimination on the basis of religion in multiple contexts yet fails to define the actual term religion, which can leave Virginians vulnerable to hostile reactions to expressions of their faith, said Baylor in a statement. We commend Gov. Youngkin and the Virginia General Assembly for resolving this ambiguity so that Virginians can freely live out their faith without fear of government punishment. The bill was introduced by Del. Irene Shin, a Democrat representing northern Virginia, with the aim of protecting individuals with an outward religious expression like wearing a yarmulke or cross from being discriminated against. In April, after the legislation passed both houses of the General Assembly in unanimous votes, Youngkin offered an amendment to HB 1063 that would have instead defined religion as all aspects of religious observance, practice, or belief. Shin denounced this change of language, claiming in a statement posted to Twitter that it perverts the intention of this legislation and the legislative body. After maintaining that Youngkin hijacked my bill to push his own insidious, right-wing agenda, Shin unveiled the hashtag #GetYourOwnDamnBill to highlight her disapproval of the amendment. Last week Gov Youngkin aka Wolf in Fleece Clothing amended my bill HB1063. I'm furious he hijacked my bill to push his own insidious, right-wing agenda. Maybe I should be used to it by now but nah I'm still appalled by his recklessly divisive policies.#GetYourOwnDamnBillpic.twitter.com/f41xQgV5Ah irene shin ???????? (@ireneshintweets) April 21, 2022 The practical implications of the Governors amendment would be to create legal protections for discriminatory and bigoted policies, acts and beliefs under the guise of religion, she continued. The fact that this Administration would co-opt a universally approved bipartisan measure designed to ensure equal protections and weaponize it to advance their agenda of discrimination and division, while sadly unsurprising, is still appalling. Although the governors amended version of HB 1063 passed the Republican-controlled House of Delegates in a vote of 52-48 last month, it was not taken up by the Democrat-controlled Senate in time for the governors action deadline. HB 1063 was one of 23 bills Youngkin signed into law Friday, as the regular session of the 162nd Virginia General Assembly came to a close. He acknowledged that while most of these bills were returned to me in an imperfect form, I firmly believe they offer a bipartisan path forward. The governor vetoed an additional seven bills sent to him by the legislature. Our founders did not intend the worship of democracy in our republic Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide (John Adams,1814, letter to John Taylor). To the 2022 graduating class of Midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., President Joe Biden recently alleged Chinas President Xi Jinping told him: Democracies cannot be sustained in the 21st century. Biden not only said he disagreed with Xi but went so far as to tell the soon-to-be commissioned naval officers: You'll be representatives and defenders of our democracy. Sounds corny, but literally our democracy, that's why you swear an Oath. This same over-the-top rhetoric about democracy has become pervasive among many on the political left in recent years. I believe we need to start fighting the increasingly false rhetoric about holding democracy above all else, including our republic. I know to some this may seem heretical but let me explain. First, its critical to understand that the American founders were voracious readers of history, and through the study of previous democracies, they came to the conclusion that pure democracies were doomed to fail. James Madison put together the Constitutional Convention, drove much of the debate at convention, and defended the Constitutions ratification by the states more than any other. Defending the non-democratic aspects of the Constitution in Federalist #10, Madison wrote: Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths. John Jay, the first chief justice of the Supreme Court, similarly warned that, Too many ... love pure democracy dearly. They seem not to consider that pure democracy, like pure rum, easily produces intoxication, and with it a thousand mad pranks and fooleries. John Adams also wrote of the pitfalls of pure democracy in an 1807 essay: Democracy, will soon degenerate into an anarchy, such an anarchy that every man will do what is right in his own eyes, and no man's life or property or reputation or liberty will be secure. Note he was writing this two decades after the birth of the our constitutional republic and warning about democracy becoming the alternative to a republic. Benjamin Rush went so far as to claim: A simple democracy is the devil's own government. George Washington slammed the evils of democratical governments in a 1786 letter to Marquis de Lafayette. Famed writer and historian Gore Vidal put it simply that, The founding fathers hated two things: Monarchy and democracy. They wanted a Republic. That is what we have in America. The Naval Academy graduates Biden addressed will take the same oath of commissioning I took 32 years ago. Nowhere in that oath is the word democracy, and that is purposeful. The oath is that I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic and will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. That Constitution establishes the American Republic and checks the power of majority rule to ensure protection of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Rights our Declaration claims are from God, and a democratic vote cannot remove. Though this system includes democratic attributes, its greatest attribute is in preventing the mob rule dangers associated with pure democracy. It includes checks and balances between the three branches of government. It provides checks and balances between the federal and state governments. All these parts of the Constitution are what those Naval Academy officers should support and defend in the years to come. The reason why many people elevate the use of the term democracy beyond its rightful place in our republic is due to what happened around the middle of the 20th century. Parliamentary systems and republics faced autocratic enemies like fascism and communism. For ease of terminology, all systems including democratic attributes were called democracies. In recent years, the political left has taken this to a new level. They go so far as to claim the non-democratic attributes of our constitution, like the Electoral College, should be abolished. They have started attacking the Supreme Court in a way we have never experienced. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats have called the Capitol building the temple of democracy and a sacred place. Winston Churchill once said democracy was the worst system of government, except for the others. He said that from the standpoint of his constitutional monarchy with all the checks and balances against pure democracy involved. He would never have deified democracy or told new officers they took an oath to democracy. Our nation needs to put our republic back on track and stop making democracy a false god used for partisan purposes. Tony Evans says US facing God's judgement because Christians are 'cultural,' not 'biblical' NASHVILLE Moral and societal issues are worsening across the United States because Christians are becoming more cultural than biblical," and the country is facing Gods judgment as a result, according to pastor and bestselling author Tony Evans. We've been more cultural Christians than biblical Christians, Evans, the senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, told The Christian Post in a sit-down interview. Our identity is to be rooted in the Imago Dei, in the image of God. But we've gotten so ingrained in the thinking of the culture, that we wind up being parakeets to what the society is saying, rather than taking a solid, loving but clear stance on what God is saying, he continued. The 72-year-old founder and president of The Urban Alternative is the author of over 125 books, booklets and Bible studies. The first African American to earn a doctorate in theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, he recently released an updated version of his 2015 book, Oneness Embraced: A Kingdom Approach to Race, Reconciliation, and Justice. In it, he offers an alternative way of looking at the racial tensions seen across the country and a biblical framework for unity, why it matters, what it is, and how it works. From womb to tomb, God identifies the person as a bearer of the image of God, so much so that James 3:9 says that you can't even curse a person because they are created in the image of God, he said. The dignity of every human being has to be held in the highest standard less you insult God. And when you understand that, that is how God made us and that is how he wants us to relate, God is not colorblind, He's just not blinded by color. He recognizes and has created the uniquenesses of the cultures in which we are born and the ethnicities, but He never wants that to be the deciding factor for decision making in our lives. Evans explained that elevating anything identity, race or national allegiance above Christianity is idolatry, and whenever that national allegiance causes you to have non-Christian perspectives, underneath the flag, then what you have done is you've created a national idol that God must resist, reject and judge. I think one of the things we're facing now is the judgment on America because the failure of the Church to be the people of God that represents His Kingdom more than we represent the nation, the pastor said. Gods judgment is currently playing out, he said, as evidenced by the conflicts that seem unending in recent years. He cited 2 Chronicles 15:3-6, which reads, in part: One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress, and Romans 1, which speaks of God removing Himself from those who remove themselves from Him. What we're seeing now is conflict, and the conflict is the judgment because God has been removed and the idolatry of culture, nationalism, and race has replaced God's primacy in our lives, Evans said. He's allowing a conflict until it gets so bad that we wake up and look up. What God does is He lets things continually decline until we get desperate enough to return to His standard, and His standard is biblical unity, the pastor continued. God has one goal line and that's His kingdom, and His kingdom is His divine rule. And He wants to rule and overrule our ethnicity. He wants to rule and overrule our skin color. He wants to rule and overrule our human relationships when they get in the way of His divine standard. So there must be a radical return to biblical truth, biblical standards and biblical unity. He explained that whenever God sees disunity, He keeps Himself away because He can't be Himself because of His unified nature. So were actually praying, preaching and having worship services while telling God He's not invited, because of our illegitimate disunity, which means we just wasted our time, he said. The answer, Evans said, is reconciliation and unity, and thats something the Church desperately needs. He encouraged Christians to act as bridge builders and foster relationships with those across the racial and cultural lines without compromising the essentials of the faith. From God's throne comes righteousness and justice. Righteousness is the standard of right and wrong that is established by God. Justice is the equitable application of God's moral law applied in society. So one is vertical obedience, and the other is a horizontal relationship. And whenever you have the vertical and horizontal you can have the cross. Evans contended. The way you know you're being serious about the conflicts in the culture is that you are visibly and verbally involved in reconciling things that have been historically divided. If all we're doing is discussion, discussing our division and not creating the windshield of reconciliation, because we're living in the rearview mirror of our past history, we will not be moving where God is moving. And if we're not moving where God is moving, we're moving by ourselves. Evans shared his thoughts on some of the other issues plaguing the church, including the exodus of young people from the Church. A recent study found that Generation Z, born in the late 1990s and early 2000s, is now the least religious generation yet, with 34% of them identifying as religiously unaffiliated. To combat this trend, the father-of-four said we must speak in the language that people are listening to today, and for the younger generation, social media and technology will be a driving force in communication. He stressed the importance of relationship and relevancy when it comes to getting young people involved in church. I think we need to amp up how you can use that to share your faith, because now you're being relevant to the communicative mechanisms that are relevant in the culture, but then it must be combined with relationship, he explained. Because their generation is so relationally driven, we want to provide points of connectivity they're so engaged in improving things in the in the culture, this gives them a tool they can use to make a difference while they're sharing their faith. Evans also issued a challenge to pastors and church leaders as scandals within the ministry continue to arise and reports reveal that just 37% of pastors have a biblical worldview. I want to challenge them to stay tethered to the Word and their relationship to the Lord as their primary goal, because ministry can become a God within itself; it can become your idol, the Winning Your Spiritual Battles author said. And when ministry becomes your idol, God is in the background, and when God is in the background, you become vulnerable, he continued. So I would say keep that dynamic to God's Word and God's person as a promise in your life, and then have people around you who can speak into you with authority. Don't be an isolated Lone Ranger, because like a salmon swimming upstream, a bear can pick you off if youre isolated. So you want to make sure that you're in relationships that can be sustainable, and that can be authoritative in your life. But though times can seem bleak, Evans emphasized that we can still have hope, because one of two things is happening: God is allowing chaos because He's setting things up for His return, or, if He's not returning on the short term, Hes doing a divine reset and reshaping culture, because He's been marginalized too long. He's upsetting the applecart until we get back in line with Him so that He can do something new, Evans added. Either way, we're going to be better off. Why ministering in the metaverse is the Netflix of evangelism In the parable of the Great Banquet told by Jesus in Luke 14:15-24, the master of a house who planned a big feast was forced to send his servants to search the streets and lanes of the city to bring the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind to enjoy his bounty after the guests he invited turned down his offer to celebrate. Like the feast at the masters house in Luke, the offerings of many traditional brick and mortar churches in America are being rejected by society and Christians alike. This reality is forcing a growing number of churches to shutter or curtail their programs as they struggle to fill their pews amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the ranks of the religious nones continue to swell. In 2020, as the pandemic marched into its first year, David Kinnaman, president of the California-based Evangelical Christian polling firm Barna Group, and Mark Matlock, director of insights, cited earlier research highlighting how a majority of young people who grew up in the Church will either walk away from their faith or from the Church when they become young adults. They also warned the pandemic will make this crisis of faith even worse unless steps are taken to stanch its impact. In March, another report from Barna showed that while Christians by definition are disciples of Jesus who accept and help with the spreading of the Gospel, a majority now see their spiritual lives as private. Many born-again Christians have argued that they dont need to share their faith with others because of reasons including, They can get to Heaven through their different religious belief, We shouldnt impose our ideas on others, and The Bible tells us not to judge others. Last month, The Christian Post also reported on how an increasing share of the Churchs audience has been migrating to online ministries in the metaverse, which Chevon Lewis, a representative of social media giant Facebook, calls the next evolution in social technologies and the successor to the mobile internet. Meta Platforms Inc., Facebooks parent company, is investing heavily in the metaverse, which Lewis describes as a set of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people who arent in the same physical space as you. Some experts believe that churches currently being established in the metaverse will eventually overshadow the megachurch model of worship. Earlier this month, nearly 500 people gathered online for the Metaverse Church Summit, which featured a host of Christians involved with ministry in the metaverse. One of them was Bill Willenbrock, a hospital chaplain who has been leading a Christian fellowship on VRChat for about three years. VRChat is a growing collection of more than 25,000 virtual reality worlds where some 30,000 users are online at any one time. For Christians looking to do low-risk evangelism, Willenbrock, who has approached thousands of people on VRChat in his avatar and finds ways to talk with them about faith in God, says the metaverse is like the subscription streaming service Netflix when it comes to finding opportunities to evangelize. The opportunity before us is just staggering. VR chat, metaverse in general is really like the Netflix of evangelism, he said. If you have 30 minutes, if you have an hour, you can be doing evangelism from wherever you are and thats so exciting. Evangelism in other areas can require gas mileage and effort, packing up and going somewhere, but you can do this all from your computer and any moment you have some extra time to share the love of God. And thats just remarkable, revolutionary really, the hospital chaplain told the audience. Willenbrock, who does his VR Chat ministry on his own time and dime, contends that evangelism in the metaverse, including places like VR Chat, is much easier than doing it in the real world for a number of reasons, such as meeting in an avatar state or digital representation of yourself. That makes the social risk of sharing the Gospel much lower," he said. "People are anxious about what if theyre ill-prepared or what if they look like a fool, or what if they look preachy, theres all these anxieties that come with sharing the Gospel and VRChat, metaverse evangelism reduces those, in some places completely eliminates those, Willenbrock said. And this is why I think this would be the ideal space if youve got an evangelism team if youre trying to learn how to share the Gospel. This would be like the optimal training ground. You can talk to real human beings. Hear their concerns, hear their objections, hear what gives them pause for believing in Christ. I really think thats a really exciting opportunity even for more physical churches as well, he explained. Another reason why its important for Christian ministries to invest in metaverse evangelism, said Willenbrock, is that this is where young adults, particularly males, have migrated. These people need you. The demographics of VRChat are really the inverse of the demographics of the Church, in general, in the United States, the metaverse pastor said. Now, your ministry may be an exception, but the Church in the United States generally is older, getting older every single year, whereas VRChat is primarily younger. Anecdotally, 17 to 26. Thats the range, he continued, quoting passionately from the book of Psalms about declaring Gods power to the next generation. So if youre trying to share the Gospel with the next generation, here they are. Theyre in the VRChat, he said. Willenbrock said the audience in VR Chat is predominantly younger males who are excited to hear about Christ from Christians who are prepared to answer their questions. Now, of course, there are young men and women in VRChat, but especially young men. We ask ourselves, 'Where are they?' and theyre here in VRChat, the pastor said. He painted a picture of VRChat as a place where people are generally kind and receptive to a conversation compared to other social media like Facebook. It can get real nasty [on Facebook] but [in] virtual reality you have this sense of sharing space and people are more kind when they share space, and so I think that makes it an exciting place to share the Gospel, he said. People can hear the kindness and love and concern in your voice where someone would be lost in mere text. A haven for those who suffer from agoraphobia What Christians interested in evangelism should also know, said Willenbrock, is that many of the young people who spend time there struggle with social anxiety, also referred to as agoraphobia. The people on VR chat are oftentimes, this isnt always the case, but are oftentimes neglected by society. These are people, many of who have agoraphobia. They dont like to go into places of community. They may be even shut-in, not just for medical reasons but for social anxiety, and many of these people they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They desperately want social interaction and community, but they also find them very anxiety-provoking, Willenbrock explained. The anonymity provided by VRChat through the use of avatars, he said, provides a place where they can find love and community. These people they maybe are rejected because they are agoraphobic. They dont have a lot of interaction with people so they may be lower on the EQ spectrum and may have personality traits that are a little off-putting, but these are the people that Christ loved. These are the people that Christ embraced, he said. Im reminded of these words from the Apostle Paul: Consider your calling brothers, not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world,' he said. And so we have the opportunity to bring the love of God to people that may have no other opportunity to hear of Christ. Virtual reality, he suggests, provides a safer place for people to discuss religion than in real life. People are dying to have these conversations because we are told in society do not talk, never ever, ever talk about politics or religion. And consequently, religion becomes this very interesting topic, but its deeply personal and people have their own ideas and you never get to hear about these ideas because well, its taboo, he noted. Willenbrock said there are many times when he has opened up religious discussions in VRChat about religion and watched his audience quickly grow from one person to an entire room just listening to the conversation about Christ about why we should believe in Christ. He says he gives people reasons for his faith and people interested in doing ministry in VRChat should be prepared to do the same. The Church has not been prepared. I think a lot of people the best answer they got on why they should believe in Jesus is you know, You should believe. Their grandmother just went, You should believe, he noted. Im not the big apologetics guy but I do think people in VRChat are asking for a reason. If we can give them a good reason for why they should believe. I think its very powerful and people become, they start to lean in on the ear, 'Oh theres actually a real reason to believe that theres love and purpose and joy and the cosmic resolution to all the brokenness.' Thats exciting. Preparing for metaverse evangelism If one decides to make the jump into metaverse evangelism, Willenbrock warns that it's crucial to be prepared for the personal part of oneself that will emanate from their avatar their voice. I think our voice needs to be conveying the love and care that were not here to win a debate or beat them in an argument. Were here to share the most exciting thing in our life. And so I think loving our voice and trying to remind ourselves of why were here to not win a debate but to share the love of God I think thats really important, he said. Christians should also be prepared to listen. We always want to talk to people, we never want to listen. I think there is a reality that if we genuinely care and listen to other people, people will genuinely care and listen to us, Willenbrock said. Also, be prepared for the question of theodicy and positions on the LGBT community, he added. One of the things we should be prepared to talk about right off the bat [is the question] if you believe in God why do bad things happen to good people? That question of theodicy, thats going to be prime in VRChat, he said. I think that the main reason why people are so overwhelmingly moving to that none category no religious affiliation is because theyve experienced tragedy and pain, Willenbrock said. Theyve cried out to God and well, God didnt help me out. Im still experiencing pain and tragedy. Christian leader warns persecution could be far worse if Biden pulls out of Iraq President Joe Biden's plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of the year could lead to increased persecution of Christians and other religious minorities, the president of the Congress of Christian Leaders has argued. Rev. Johnnie Moore, a former commissioner of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and an evangelical communications executive, recently spoke with conservative commentator Glenn Beck on his podcast and discussed the situation for Christians in the Middle East. The interview comes over a month after Biden announced that the U.S. will end its combat mission in Iraq by the end of the year but will continue to train and advise the Iraqi military. Considering all the despair surrounding the pullout of U.S. forces in Afghanistan this year and the rise of the Taliban in that country, Beck asked Moore, should we be trying to convince those people [in Iraq] ... get out right now? Im always hesitant to say Get out right now.' But these are decisions for these people to make, Moore responded. But Im telling you if I were sitting there in northern Iraq, watching the exact same people in Washington, D.C., do the exact same thing with another country ... So if Im a Christian or Yazidi or another threatened community sitting in Iraq, yeah, I would be getting out of there as quickly as I could," he continued. Moore, the author of Defying ISIS: Preserving Christianity in the Place of Its Birth and in Your Own Backyard, warned that "we could see" what took place in Afghanistan "all over again." "But once this genie is out of the bottle, you thought ISIS was bad five or six years ago, you haven't seen anything yet," he said, referencing the Islamic State terrorist group that killed and enslaved thousands after it conquered large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014. According to estimates, there were about 1.5 million Christians in Iraq in 2003, and the number has reduced to fewer than 250,000. Even after the defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq in December 2017, many of Iraqs Christians havent found their homeland liveable. They have either not returned home or have continued to leave the country. Following the drawing down of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the Taliban quickly seized control of much of the country, taking the capital Kabul last month and forcing the government to flee. Afghanistans newly formed interim government includes more than a dozen leaders who are designated terrorists and ex-Guantanamo detainees. The U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern warned last week that as the Taliban is cracking down on protests and journalists, concerns are being raised among religious minorities of increased oppression and persecution because the Taliban have promised strict enforcement of Sharia law. Almost all Afghan Christians estimated to be between 8,000 and 12,000 are converts from Islam and remain largely closeted and hidden from the public eye due to severe persecution. Their status as converts makes Afghan Christians direct targets for persecution by both extremist groups and society in general, ICC reports. In Afghanistan, leaving Islam is considered extremely shameful and converts can face dire consequences if their conversion is discovered. The fears are not unfounded, given the new leadership. Prior to the Talibans takeover of the country, Afghanistan was one of the hardest places in the world to be a Christian, ICCs Regional Manager for South Asia William Stark said in a statement. With the Taliban now in complete control and likely to return the country to the oppression of the 1990s, it will be nearly impossible to be a Christian in Afghanistan. Islamic State fighters temporarily capture Nigerian military base, force residents to flee Militants believed to be aligned with the Islamic State temporarily overran a town and military base near Lake Chad in Nigerias troubled Borno state, forcing many residents to flee for their lives as the rise of extremism continues to plague the northeast part of the West African country. Brig. Gen. Sagir Musa, the director of the Nigerian Armys public relations unit, said in a statement shared by the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday that military troops were able to regain control of the Marte area of Borno following an attack by extremists believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State West Africa Province. The attack, which security sources said was claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group through its Amaq News Agency, occurred Friday and drove military personnel from the area. The Islamic State claimed to have killed seven people and captured one. The terror group also claimed that aligned fighters seized weapons, ammunition and at least six vehicles. The group additionally claimed to have burned down an Army barracks. Reuters reports that the assault came about two months after residents, who had earlier been driven from their homes due to attacks by extremists, had returned home under a government program. In a statement last weekend, the Nigerian Army said that its troops tactically withdrew in order to defend against an attack outside of Marte. AFP notes that extremist fighters tried to attack Marte earlier last week but were repelled by military forces. The militants regrouped with more fighters for Fridays overnight raid. Sources stated that Fridays raid was seen as a fightback after military troops recently overran an ISWAP camp in Talala village. In the Marte attack, sources told Reuters that most residents fled to the nearby Dikwa local government area or to Bornos capital, Maiduguri. The Nigerian Army regained control of the military base on Sunday morning after what has been described as intense fighting, sources told AFP. Musa told the media that the Air Task Force played a large role in pushing the terrorists out of the region, which included the destruction of seven militant gun trucks as well as the killing of several jihadis. Sources confirmed on Sunday to AFP that jihadis had left the town. However, the sources confirmed that the militants reportedly burned the barracks and stole weaponry and vehicles. Sources also confirmed that seven soldiers were killed and eight others were captured. The attack comes as ISWAP, which split from Boko Haram in 2016 and is based in the Lake Chad area, continues to wreak havoc on communities in northeast Nigeria. Along with ISWAP, the existence of Boko Haram, radical Fulani herders in Nigerias Middle Belt and armed bandits elsewhere in Nigeria have made life difficult and dangerous for many Nigerians. The United Nations estimates that nearly 3 million Nigerians have been forced to flee from their homes due to the violence. In December, the U.S. State Department under President Trump listed Nigeria on its list of countries of particular concern, a designation that identifies countries where governments tolerate or engage in violations of religious freedom. A U.S.-led coalition largely eradicated the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria after the terrorist group gained control of large swaths of territory in those two countries. However, critics contend that the international community is not doing enough to combat the presence of Islamic State extremists who are terrorizing and expanding in Africa. Various regions of Africa have noticed steep escalations in terrorism in recent years, such as the Sahel countries and Mozambique in southern Africa. As estimates suggest that as many as 2,200 Christians were killed in Nigeria in 2020, Nigeria is ranked as the ninth-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution on Open Doors USAs 2021 World Watch List. More Christians are murdered for their faith in Nigeria than in any other country, an Open Doors factsheet reads. Violent attacks by Boko Haram, Hausa-Fulani Muslim militant herdsmen, ISWAP (an affiliate of the Islamic State group) and other Islamic extremist groups are common in the north and Middle Belt of the country, and are becoming more common farther south. Latino group denounces ELCA heads decision not to punish trans bishop A Latino Lutheran group has denounced a decision by the head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America not to remove a trans-identified bishop for allegedly racist actions. Last week, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton called for Sierra Pacific Synod Bishop Megan Rohrer to resign, but Eaton refused to pursue official disciplinary charges. In a statement released in response, the Latino Ministries Association of the ELCA said they were deeply saddened and disturbed by the decision not to pursue disciplinary action against Rohrer. In this weak and compassionless statement, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton framed racist actions as unwise decisions and unfortunate events, completely ignoring the suffering of an entire community of color of the church-body she is called to serve, the Latino Ministries Association said in a statement shared with The Christian Post. Communities of color in this church should be concerned about the inability of the presiding bishop to support and protect them against systemic racism. The association called on Eaton to publish the report of the ELCA listening panel that was tasked with this investigation and urged the Sierra Pacific Synod to bring a motion calling for the removal of Bishop Megan Rohrer, and asked the Conference of Bishops to bring disciplinary charges against Bishop Megan Rohrer. While the association considered Rohrer's election to be a significant step forward in the diversity of this church body, they also believed that this advancement has been marred by [Rohrers] actions and subsequent reactions steeped in defensive white supremacy. Other groups that joined the association in its statement include: the LGBT group Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, the African Descent Lutheran Association, the European Descent Lutheran Association for Racial Justice, and other ELCA leaders. Rohrer, who uses they/them pronouns, was installed last year as the leader of the California-based ELCA Sierra Pacific Synod, becoming the first openly trans-identified bishop in the progressive Mainline denominations history. After being installed, multiple allegations of racism and other unethical behavior surfaced, including the reported mistreatment and firing of Pastor Nelson Rabell-Gonzalez of Mision Latina Luterana. Concerns over Rohrer led Eaton to approve the creation of a listening team that conducted interviews of people in the synod to determine if Rohrer should be removed from power. Last Friday, Eaton issued a statement calling for Rohrer's resignation, yet also refused to file official charges against Rohrer, arguing that Rohrers decisions are not automatically grounds for discipline. A high burden of proof exists to translate allegations into substantive findings that can be presented to a disciplinary body. In this situation that high burden was not able to be met, Eaton said. Moreover, disciplinary proceedings that would be likely to arrive at a similar conclusion as my review are time-consuming and risk delay in the necessary healing processes that must occur. For their part, the leadership of the Sierra Pacific Synod posted a statement on Tuesday expressing support for Rohrer, saying they believe Rohrer can continue to be effective in [her] role as bishop of the Sierra Pacific Synod. As a Synod Council, we have not had any direct information that leads us to conclude that Bishop Rohrer has lost the trust of the congregations and pastors within our region or that it is in the best interest of the Synod at large for them to resign, stated the synod. Rohrer led us through difficult times in a difficult situation and acted in consultation with the Synod Council and Churchwide. We are committed to moving towards reconciliation and restoration of all parties, believing in faith that this is possible under Gods grace. CeCe Winans, Lauren Daigle urge Christians to answer God's call: 'He sends the ones who are available' NASHVILLE Christian music superstars including CeCe Winans, Lauren Daigle, Michael W. Smith, Danny Gokey and Third Days Mac Powell shared wisdom for the next generation of CCM artists, highlighting the importance of following Gods lead and remaining scripturally sound in a rapidly changing culture. Christian music veterans and newcomers alike gathered at Nashvilles Grand Ole Opry House Sunday for the K-LOVE Fan Awards, a night defined by hope, inspiration and comradery. Ahead of the show, nominees, performers and guests spoke with The Christian Post on the red carpet about their hope for the future of Christian music and the next generation of believers. Matthew West, who hosted the nights show alongside Tauren Wells and was also nominated for Male Artist of the Year, walked the red carpet with two of his daughters. The 45-year-old Dove Award-winner told CP that the best advice he can offer up-and-coming artists is to stay humble, stay focused on the lane that God has put you in, and youre going to have a major impact on society and culture. I hope I've been a positive role model for other young artists who come in, he said. And I'd say the biggest encouragement I can give is always put God first in your life. And don't worry about comparing yourself to others. You know, artists can be just like everybody else on social media, where you're comparing, What does this artist have going on? How high is this song on the charts? And you can let that stuff rule you. And when it rules you, it robs you of the true understanding of how God is using you in life. Winans and Daigle, who performed together at Tuesdays show and have countless awards and chart-topping singles between them, both encouraged younger believers to just be who God has called you to be. God has empowered them to be more than enough for this generation, Winans said. I think, God is so amazing that every generation, He gives the talents, the gifts, exactly what they need. I just want the young people to be who they are, and take all the limits off. God will take you further than what you could ever imagine. Daigle added that God has wired each person so creatively, adding: There's a thing called a zeitgeist, which is where time and culture intersect. And it's when God decides to say, This is the one I have appointed. This is the one I'm calling out. Let's go; come on. This is how we get the people ready for what's to come. He sends the ones that are uniquely available, I think." If you feel like God is calling you to this or that, He's touched your life in some sort of way. Ask Him to open doors and see the places that He'll take you, she added. Winans said she hopes CCM keeps growing and covers the world, stressing that the world needs to hear the Good News of the Gospel. That's what it's all about, she said. What started as a niche genre in the 1960s at Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California, CCM is today a multibillion-dollar industry, with many artists finding huge crossover success. According to the Berklee School of Music, the fastest-growing radio market in the United States today is Christian music. Smith, of the most recognizable names in CCM for the last four decades, told CP he believes humility is the key to truly honoring God. The artist, whos won three Grammy Awards, 45 Dove Awards, one American Music Award and was recently inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, was nominated in the Book Impact category for his book, The Way of the Father. Stay humble. It's not about you. And that's the key. I'd rather humble myself; being humbled by God is not a lot of fun. So I just think that's the key. And I think God will exalt you and I think He'll give you a favor and I think He'll do extraordinary things if you stay humble, the 64-year-old artist said. Mac Powell, the former frontman of Third Day who is now a solo artist, encouraged artists to remain biblically sound, stressing the importance of not watering down the message of the Gospel. I think as an artist, you're always wanting to make music that will reach people outside of the walls of the Church, but at the same time, we all often think about that term, we're preaching to the choir, he said. I've gotten criticized in the past for making very Gospel-forward music because you go, Well, you're just preaching to the choir. Well, I know I was in the choir, and I needed to be preached to. So artists can do both. We can do music and art that reaches outside of our walls, but at the same time, encourage our brothers and sisters that are within the Church. American Idol alum Danny Gokey, who was nominated for Male Artist of the Year and was also a presenter, encouraged the next generation to seek first the Kingdom, adding: A lot of us, we want to be famous for Jesus, but He doesn't need our fame, He needs our hearts and our obedience. And He needs us to speak what hes saying, because the words that we put in music speak to people who are in basements, in hospitals, ready to take their lives. I'm telling you, the uniqueness of His voice inside of us and displayed through us is a big deal. And we must be tuned in. He stressed that regardless of what happens in culture, Gods message never changes. God's Word is the most stable foundation to build on, the artist said. For me, it's taking God's Word and formulating it in such a way that it's fresh. When I write, I go to the Lord and say, What do you want to say? And then the packaging is the producing the sound, and we try to get it out there. A lot of times God uses prophetic moments in my life that I write into songs. The K-LOVE Fan Awards will air on TBN June 3, airing back to back at both 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET. Pro-life group to counter abortion activists' 'summer of rage' with 'summer of service' A pro-life leader is rallying her group to counter the promises of violence this summer from abortion extremists with acts of servitude following a leaked draft opinion indicating that most justices are inclined to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized abortion nationwide. Militant abortion activists have vandalized churches and pro-life pregnancy centers throughout the country, with Women's March President Rachel Carmona promising that this will be a "summer of rage." Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins told The Christian Post that her organization had already been working for over a year to put initiatives together for the summer when she heard the Women's March president's declaration. "When I saw this 'summer of rage declaration,' obviously I was like, 'Wait a minute, we have a 'summer of service.' This is exactly what we're doing," the pro-life leader said in an interview with CP. "I was like, 'Well, we can't let them do this. Do something better. 'Resist the summer of rage and join the summer of service.'" The Supreme Court is considering whether to uphold Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban, and a ruling is expected sometime in June. According to a May 2 Politico report, a leaked draft opinion shows that a majority of the justices are leaning toward reversing Roe. A statement the following day by the court verified the authenticity of the draft opinion, but also said the draft does not reflect the final ruling. In anticipation of the ruling, many pro-life groups are making preparations to help women and children in a post-Roe society. This Valentine's Day, SFLA relaunched "Standing With You," a program that ensures pregnant women know where to find resources and support on campus. The group gave the website a "facelift," according to Hawkins, using the talking point, "In a post-Roe America, no woman stands alone." SFLA started the program 12 years ago, calling it "Pregnant On Campus" at the time, which served as a database of resources for pregnant and parenting students. A few years ago, Hawkins said her team decided to expand the program and make it national. After renaming it "Standing With You," a chat feature was added, allowing users to instantly connect with someone at Heartbeat International, which runs the largest network of pregnancy centers in the country. A phone number was also added, connecting women to pregnancy centers in their community. "We really wanted a national resource, a one-stop-shop where women and families who were facing an unexpected pregnancy could go for support," Hawkins said. The pro-life group is also doork nocking and making communities aware of pregnancy resources through its "Abortion Free Cities" campaign in 22 cities throughout the country. In addition, Hawkins revealed that SFLA is launching a billboard campaign in multiple cities, including Naples, Florida, Dallas, Texas, Tacoma, Washington, and Sacramento, California. "We've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on digital ads, and now billboards should be launching in a week advertising 'Standing With You' and nonviolent resources like this," the SLFA president said. One billboard campaign is called "See Her Hurt," and it will direct women to a website where they can watch a video about the emotional pain caused by abortion. The other billboard directs people to the "Standing With You" website, where they can find information about pregnancy support services. In March, Hawkins also began spreading the word about an idea she had to host a "Standing With Her Sunday," a national simulcast slated to take place at the end of the summer this year. The event will feature pro-life leaders from national groups such as Turning Point USA, Support After Abortion, and the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. The event is still in the planning stages, but the purpose is to show church leaders how to help their community and congregants access life-affirming resources in a post-Roe era. "Because this is when the Church is really going to have to step up. And I know far too many Christians who simply don't know about all these pregnancy resources, these nonviolent alternatives that exist," Hawkins said. SFLA is also promoting a digital and physical pledge program called "Standing With Her Summer," which the group will distribute online. The program enables people to pledge that they will stand with women facing unexpected pregnancies. Participants will then receive email updates about how to take an active role in serving women and children. Hawkins revealed that SFLA will also distribute the "Standing With Her Summer" pledge at Christian music festivals taking place this summer, including ones in Washington and Pennsylvania. "We take this responsibility very seriously that we're going to be this first post-Roe generation, and we have a lot of work to do," the pro-life leader said. In addition to SFLA, local pregnancy centers and the leaders of national pro-life organizations such as Human Coalition and Lifeline Children's Services outlined their plans earlier this month to help women in a post-Roe society. "The truth of the matter is, Lifeline [Children's Services] and other organizations like ours, we're ready," Lifeline President Herbie Newell said in an interview with CP. "We're scaled for the ability to help more women." Zambia commissions China-funded modern conference center Xinhua) 09:01, June 01, 2022 Aerial photo taken on May 26, 2022 shows the Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Center in Lusaka, Zambia. Zambia on Tuesday commissioned an ultra-modern international conference center financed by China. The Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Center, with its main hall having a 2,500 sitting capacity, has been built to host the African Union (AU) mid-year summit this year. (Xinhua) LUSAKA, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Zambia on Tuesday commissioned an ultra-modern international conference center financed by China. The Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Center, with its main hall having a 2,500 sitting capacity, has been built to host the African Union (AU) mid-year summit this year. Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema thanked China for the wonderful gift, saying the government was grateful to the support given to the country's infrastructure development which dates back to the 1970s through the construction of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA). "This was a critical point in our history, when Zambia had no access to oceans and, therefore could not import or export goods due to the blockade in Southern Rhodesia," he said. The conference center, he said, will contribute to Zambia becoming a hub for hosting international conferences and meetings. He also commended the Chinese contractor for completing the project within the stipulated period. The Zambian president invited the Chinese for collaboration in ensuring that infrastructure projects were built at a correct price and delivered to prescribed quality in a timely manner. Zambia was looking to a new chapter of enhanced bilateral relations in order to improve the lives of the people of the two countries, said Hichilema. Du Xiaohui, the Chinese Ambassador to Zambia, said the construction of the project demonstrates the increased cordial relations that have existed between the two countries. He commended Zambia for the successful completion of the project which embodies the spirit of China-Zambia relations established by founding leaders of the two countries. The Chinese envoy said the project will go a long way in helping Zambia enhance its international status as well as enable the southern African nation to host major international events. According to him, the two countries have always treated each other as equals and with respect as well as supported each other. Wang Shulin, the General Manager of China Jiangsu International Economic Technical Cooperation Corporation Zambia Limited, said it was an honor for the company to be given an opportunity to construct and deliver the project. He said the company managed to construct the project in accordance with safety and environment standards despite the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Construction of the facility started in 2020. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) Metaverse For Evangelism, Ukrainian Church Severs Ties With Russia, Tony Evans Warns Christians Are "Cultural" And Not "Biblical" link to download the audio instead. link to download the audio instead. 07:16 07:16 For Christians looking to do low-risk evangelism, hospital chaplain, Bill Willenbrock, who has approached thousands of people on VRChat in his avatar self and finds way to talk with them about faith in God says the metaverse is like the subscription streaming service, Netflix, when it comes to finding them. A branch of Ukraine's Orthodox Church announced Friday that it's breaking from Russia over President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, declaring its "full independence" against Russia's spiritual authorities. Mental illness has traditionally been a thorny topic inside some churches and continues to spark challenging discussions today. Moral and societal issues are worsening across the United States because Christians are becoming more cultural than biblical," and the country is facing Gods judgment as a result, according to pastor and bestselling author Tony Evans. 9-year-old Ellie Garcia shared the Gospel before she was killed by Uvalde school shooter Ellie Garcia, one of the 19 children killed by a teenager at Robb Elementary School in Texas last week, would pray every night out loud and shared the Gospel on social media before she died about a week before her 10th birthday. Garcia, a 9-year-old victim of Tuesdays mass shooting at the school in Uvalde, had posted a TikTok video, saying: Hey, guys. I just wanted to give you a little catch-up. Jesus. He died for us. So when we die, well be up there with Him. In my room, I have three pictures of Him. Her father, Steven Garcia, posted the 15-second video on Facebook. Garcia also shared how his daughter loved to pray. He shared a photo that he took in January of his young daughter laying on her bed with her hands folded in prayer. "Caught my Ellie Gee in the middle of her talk with our almighty I love you baby girl and I love the way you pray," he wrote at the time. "She prayed every night out loud so we can pray with her," Garcia added. "I remember this day we had just bought the lamp that is on and she wanted to sleep with it on so she aired up her air mattress gave Us a hug and kiss and went to pray as mom made treats in the kitchen! These memories are all I have left." A GoFundMe page for the Garcia family has raised $128,078 of the $50,000 goal as of Monday morning. She was born June 4th. This coming week she was going to be turning 10 years old, it says of Ellie. Eliahna was such a sweet girl with a lovely and beautiful soul. She would light up everyones world with big smiles & big hugs. It adds, She will never be forgotten we will always remember our ramen noodle girl forever! We appreciate all of our family, friends, surrounding communities and everyone across the world for all the love & prayers our family has been receiving. The suspect, an 18-year-old Latino male, got into a fourth-grade classroom and killed 19 schoolchildren and two teachers last Tuesday. About 80 Border Patrol agents responded to the shooting, according to reports. The shooter was in the schools hallways at 11:40 a.m., and he was killed by the agents more than an hour later, at 12:58 p.m. The delay in the agents' response has led to severe criticism of law enforcement. The officer in charge on the scene, identified as Uvalde Police Chief Pete Arredondo, believed that the shooter was a barricaded suspect who was no longer a threat. But 911 calls showed that many children were still alive at the time, according to Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has assured, Were not going to be here talking about it and do nothing about it. We will be looking for the best laws we can get passed to make communities safe. In a column for The Christian Post reflecting on the shooting, Greg Laurie, the pastor and founder of the Harvest churches in California, stressed that "this is a time to mourn." "The key is to cry out to God Himself," he wrote. "He will hear your prayer. If you are one of the parents who lost one of these children and is reading this right now, let me say this to you I am so sorry for your loss." He added, "If you have put your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you will see your child again. They are not just a part of your past, they are also a part of your future." Sky gazers hoping to see rare meteor storm to cap off Memorial Day Americans might get to see a rare meteor storm on Memorial Day evening, according to astronomers. The storm is expected to be the brightest in years, with shooting stars filling the sky. Each year, the Earth moves through the debris stream from the defunct comet 73P/Schwassmann Wachmann 3, or SW3. And a rich field of the debris from the comet, which splintered into countless pieces in 1995, could intersect the Earth on Monday night, resulting in a brief but intense meteor shower over North America, AccuWeather reported. If it occurs, the meteor shower is expected to last only about 30 minutes post-midnight Monday, from 12:45 to 1:17 a.m. Eastern time, the American Meteor Society said. We believe that this event has a chance of being something spectacular," the American Meteor Society added on its website. "When viewing events such as these, one should expect nothing extraordinary to happen but certainly hope for the best! The website advises stargazers to Start your viewing session at least an hour prior to the time of the expected outburst, just in case the predictions are off. This will also allow your eyes to be fully adjusted to the dark surroundings. On Nov. 17, 1966, those in the U.S. were able to view the major meteor storm known as the Leonid Meteor Storm. According to Space.com, a shower is when it's possible to count between 25 and 50 meteors under a clear, dark sky per hour, while normally, only three or four meteors are visible per hour. A storm is when meteors appear at rates of a thousand or more per hour, and in a few rare cases, rates have been 10 or even a hundred times greater. Will Americans really get to see a meteor storm? Were going to come very near to the end of the javelin of dust that was released in 1995 and the question of whether well see anything or not depends on how long that spear is, ABC Science quoted Jonti Horner of the University of Southern Queensland as saying. "Even if this doesnt lead to a big storm itself, it means the next time we have a big storm, well be able to predict it much, much better because of what we learned from this. In 1933, a meteor storm occurred in the wake of periodic comet Giacobini-Zinner and exploded over Western Europe. According to Nature.com, the storm caused concern across many districts in Portugal and people took refuge in churches. The Kennedy Space Center and the leap of faith In the latest episode of The Big Conversation, Justin Brierley visited with Richard Dawkins and Francis Collins. These two prominent scientists promote the polar opposite beliefs of atheism and Christianity. Dawkins wrote The God Delusion, while Collins led the Human Genome Project and wrote The Language of God. In spite of the huge spiritual chasm between them, these two deep thinkers nevertheless agree with one another on many scientific conclusions. For example, Scientists of all worldviews agree that the physical constants of our Universe and the conditions of the early Universe are exquisitely fine-tuned for life. (Here is a comprehensive list of 140 factors of fine-tuning for life in the Universe as compiled by astronomer Hugh Ross.) As rational and reflective scientists, Dawkins and Collins deeply appreciate these astounding factors of fine-tuning. With that commonality in mind, consider this helpful analogy. Dawkins and Collins are free to travel to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A car ride or a plane ticket is all that is needed. A trip to the Moon, however, requires a rocket with far more power than an airplane or an automobile. Likewise, mans intellect can only take him so far, similar to the limitations of airplanes and automobiles. There is a point at which spiritual rocket power is needed if man is going to obtain faith in God, and specifically, faith in Jesus Christ. The Kennedy Space Center represents the fine-tuning of the Universe, and the Moon represents Christian faith. Francis Collins took the space flight from fine-tuning to faith while in his 20s when God converted his soul from atheism to Christianity. This supernatural shuttle required the rocket fuel of the Holy Spirit. One thing to keep in mind is that the space flight from fine-tuning to faith requires a certain measure of humility. Humble yourself before the Lord and he will lift you up (James 4:10). Humility before God is necessary in order to be lifted up from fine-tuning (Kennedy Space Center) to faith (the Moon). God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). Gods grace is like rocket power for the soul. Where might a person start if faith in God is a completely foreign concept? You could begin by offering this sincere prayer with an honest heart and an open mind: God, if you are real, I would like to know it. Please reveal yourself to me. God, if the Bible is true, I would like to understand it. Please reveal the truth to me. Jesus, if you died for my sins on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day, I am willing to believe it. Please reveal the Gospel to me. And then read the 3rd chapter of the Gospel of John and meditate upon those 36 verses. You may wonder, What could such an exercise accomplish?" Well for starters, Faith comes from hearing the message (Romans 10:17). Your intellect and human reason can get you to the space station (fine-tuning), but only the Holy Spirit can get you to the Moon (faith). Jesus said, You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you (Acts 1:8). No one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3). After reading the 3rd chapter of John, you could offer this additional prayer: God, if what I just read is the truth, please plant it deep within my soul. That is, if you are real, and the Bible is true, and Jesus truly is the Savior I need in my life. And then repeat this sequence once a day for a week. Do you know why so many intelligent men and women do not yet have faith in God? The answer is simple. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14). In other words, intelligent men and women who work at the Kennedy Space Center are not able to jump to the Moon. A rocket is required in order to get there, such as NASAs powerful new rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS). In similar fashion, the Holy Spirit is the only one who can bring you to saving faith in Jesus Christ. You cannot obey your way" to the Moon, and your religious deeds cannot get you there. You can only believe your way there by trusting Jesus. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Francis Collins has faith in Christ, whereas his good friend and well-known atheist Christopher Hitchens never claimed to have faith even up to the day he died. None of us are smart enough or strong enough to make it to the Moon by our own intellectual power. Martin Luther penned this insight in The Small Catechism: I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel. In other words, you can only get to the Moon through the rocket power of the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, our fallen nature resists the very space flight that is necessary in order to be saved from our sins. A proven way to obliterate one's moral resistance to God is to approach the Savior with this heartfelt request: Forgive my sins dear Lord. Wash me Jesus with your precious blood. You might want to check out my CP op-ed, Christianity is not Rocket Science, as well as the article, An Encounter with God on the Moon: Astronaut Jim Irwins Incredible Lunar Experience. The Earth is mans first stop; the Moon (faith) is the second stop for believers, (John 3:16; John 14:6; Acts 4:12) and Heaven is the final destination and eternal home for Gods children (John 14:2; Revelation 22:1-5). In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all peopleand everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Acts 2:17,21). 77 years on, Dutch honor legacy of American liberators who helped defeat Nazis in World War II Netherlands American Cemetery reflects generational bond between American and Dutch families Far from Americas shores, U.S. war heroes who fought and died defeating Nazi Germany have found an eternal welcome among the Dutch people. Located in the town of Margraten, near the famous Cologne-Boulogne highway built by the Romans and used by Caesar and other historical figures, the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial is the only American military cemetery located in the Netherlands. Spanning nearly 66 acres, the cemetery includes a burial area divided into 16 plots, where more than 8,300 American soldiers most of whom lost their lives nearby are laid to rest amid a sea of white crosses, ornamental cherry trees and flowering rhododendron shrubs. Their headstones are set in long curved rows, many of them adorned with American and Dutch flags in honor of their service and sacrifice. A wide, tree-lined mall stretches out to the flagstaff that crowns the cemetery's crest. Beyond the burial area, a tall memorial tower casts a long shadow over the site. Engraved on the tower are the words In Memory of the Valor and the Sacrifices Which Hallow This Soil. At its base, a somber reflecting pool graces the Court of Honor, where 1,722 names of those missing in action are recorded on the Tablets of the Missing, with rosettes marking the names of those fallen who have since been recovered and identified. Facing the reflecting pool, a statue representing all the women who have suffered the loss of a father, husband or son stands watch as three doves of peace take flight over her shoulder. The tranquility of this place stands in stark contrast to its history, when it was liberated on Sept. 13, 1944, by the U.S. 30th Infantry Division, forcing the withdrawal of German troops after a four-year occupation. In December 1944, American forces suffered massive losses in the Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge) when the Germans placed a counter-attack near Bastogne. By the following March, Operation Varsity pushed the U.S. Army further into Germany, all the way to Berlin. Months later, Germany would surrender unconditionally, ending the second global conflict of the 20th century. Ton Hermes with the Foundation for Adopting Graves American Cemetery Margraten told The Christian Post that after U.S. troops crossed the Dutch border on Sept. 12, 1944, they remained in the area for five months, staying in schools, barns and private residences. The local population had a very warm and friendly connection with their liberators, Hermes said via email. Indeed, every grave at Netherlands American Cemetery has been adopted by a local citizen. Since 1945, residents have brought flowers to the cemetery and partnered with the foundation, which created a program known as The Faces of Margraten. When a resident received the news that "their soldier" the soldier they had staying in their home, those who ate and drank with them was killed, Hermes said they adopted his grave as if he was a part of their family. The Faces of Margraten collects photos of fallen soldiers and sponsors a bi-annual event at the cemetery during Dutch Memorial Day weekend, during which more than 3,000 photos are on display next to headstones and the Walls of the Missing, bringing visitors face-to-face with their liberators, said Hermes. He said during that time, its not uncommon to see people in World War II-era military vehicles or placing a state flag at the grave of all American soldiers from that particular state. Decades after the end of the war, Hermes says locals continue to have an unbreakable bond with the fallen. One day, the NATO commander from Brussels visited the American cemetery in December during Christmastime. It was snowing and freezing cold. He expected to find an abandoned cemetery, he said. But instead, said Hermes, he saw people wandering between the graves and he asked them what they were doing under these weather conditions. They all answered that they visited their soldier at Christmastime to bring flowers and say a prayer, 75 years after World War II," said Hermes. In 1948, when the American cemetery in Margraten was appointed the only American military cemetery in the Netherlands, all American next of kin received a letter asking whether they wanted their son or husband repatriated. Many American families decided to leave their husband or son in Margraten: 8,301 were reburied at the cemetery, while 10,000 remains were repatriated back to the States. Since then, Hermes said many graves have been adopted by families and passed on from one generation to the next. This is how they show their respect and gratitude for the sacrifice of these boys, he added. He says even today, Americans are surprised when they hear about the adoption program. Many of them hope to get in touch with the adopting family and families feel comforted that someone is tending the grave of their father or grandfather, Hermes said. Claudia Welzen-Holsgens can see the Netherlands American Cemetery from the farm where she works in Margraten, but her connection to the site is far deeper than that. She and her sister, Lucinda, and brother, Patrick, are the third generation in their family to care for the grave of a U.S. soldier. Their grandfather fought against the Germans and their grandmother was a nurse at a hospital in Maastricht. The two met after their grandfather stepped on a German landmine and lost his leg. When the war was over, the Netherlands asked if they would adopt a grave of an American soldier, Welzen-Holsgens said. In 1945, they adopted the grave of T Sgt. John H. Barnhart of Kansas, who was serving in the 354th Infantry when he was killed in Germany. Since then, Barnharts final resting place has been entrusted to Welzen-Holsgens' grandparents, then her parents, and now she and her siblings and their children. We visit the grave almost every week and on special days, like Memorial Day, all the people who adopted a grave get an invitation to this special day to come to the American Cemetery in Margraten, she said. Airplanes fly over the cemetery [on] that day and the cemetery is covered with flowers. Following the death of their grandmother and grandfather in 2002, Barnharts grave passed to their mother, Ria Holsgens-Coeymans (and her husband Al Holsgens). She, in turn, began a search to locate Barnharts family, even writing to the U.S. Embassy for assistance. After years of searching, Welzen-Holsgens' mother was contacted by Melissa Barnhart, managing editor of The Christian Post, in 2015 after she learned of the adoption program and sought to discover who had adopted her grandfather's grave. She wanted to thank the family for caring for a man they had never met, an American soldier who they lovingly call "their boy." Sadly, after only a few short years of correspondence, Holsgens-Coeymans died from cancer. Welzen-Holsgens has since adopted a second soldier, John P. Mullen of Pennsylvania, and said she is still searching for Mullens family. Some families never had the chance to make the expensive trip to Europe, leading to stories like those of David Marshall, a WWII U.S. Army veteran and friend of Benedict G. Schmitt ("Smitty"), who is buried in Margraten. Marshall was a member of the 84th Infantry Division and met Schmitt when he was assigned to the 334th Infantry Regiment. The two trained together in the heavy weapons battalion and ended up both sailing to the United Kingdom. When they arrived, they trained for two more months and then landed at Omaha Beach, before moving to the vicinity of Gulpen in the Netherlands. It was there the 84th Infantry including Marshall and Schmitt were drawn into the fight. The first day of combat involved a joint U.S.-British operation to clear a narrow path for the 334th to advance. As they moved forward, a German heavy artillery barrage ensued. Within 15 minutes of their first action, Marshall says Schmitt was hit by an enemy shell. He went out in front of me, we had six squads in our platoon, his squad went out before my squad, Marshall said in the 2018 documentary Remember. When I went out, thats when I found him. Marshall says his family didnt want Schmitts body sent back to the U.S., so he was laid to rest at the Netherlands American Cemetery. Decades later, Marshall says he continues to visit his friend and comrade Schmitty and salutes the Dutch people for honoring American soldiers who paid the ultimate price. I think its wonderful, he said. When I first heard about it, taking care of American graves, this is beyond the realm of what you have to do. According to Hermes, Dutch popular sentiment toward the U.S. remains high, with a waiting list of over a thousand would-be adopters. Nowadays, the popularity of adopting is bigger than ever, said Hermes. Hermes attributed the Dutch bond to a long relationship with the U.S., with many Americans having family roots in Europe or the Netherlands, including former U.S. Ambassador in The Hague Pete Hoekstra. In 2018, board members of the Adoption Foundation were invited by the American World War II Orphans Network to come to Washington for a celebration, along with a mens choir from Margraten. Hermes said the choir performed at several locations including Arlington National Cemetery and, along the way, thanked the people that never knew their fathers because they were in Europe and never came back home. Ukrainian Orthodox Church severs ties with Moscow over Patriarch Kirill's support for Putin's war A branch of Ukraine's Orthodox Church announced Friday that it's breaking from Russia over President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, declaring its "full independence" against Russia's spiritual authorities. The decision followed a meeting of the church leadership. In a statement, its council condemned Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine and Patriarch Kirill, the head of Russia's church, for supporting the "special military operation" in Ukraine. "The council has approved the corresponding additions and changes to the Statute on the Management of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, indicating the full autonomy and independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church," the council said in a statement published on its page Friday. Kirill has backed the war in a series of sermons, calling for Russians to "rally around" the authorities, accusing "enemies" of attempting to destroy the unity between Russia and Ukraine. On Sunday, the Moscow church leader released a statement in response to the decision by its branch in Ukraine to cut ties. "We fully understand how the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is suffering today," Kirill said, according to The Moscow Times. The church leader and Putin ally warned that the "spirits of malice" are trying to divide the Orthodox people of Russia and Ukraine but insisted they would not succeed. Former DIA Intelligence Officer and Putin's Playbook author Rebekah Koffler described the Ukraine Orthodox Church's move as a "huge blow" to Putin. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Koffler said "Kirill and Putin are buddies," adding that Russia's president "has weaponized the Russian Orthodox religion as a geopolitical tool." "The idea of Putin unifying the Russian world, including Ukraine and other post-Soviet states, hinges on the idea that Russia is the center of Christianity and the center of the unique Eurasian civilization that the Russians believe is exceptional just like Americans think America is exceptional," the analyst said. "Once the church splits, it takes the whole divinity idea out of it." The analyst speculated that it was unlikely that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church would join the Kyiv-based Orthodox Church Ukraine after declaring its independence. She predicted that some Ukrainian Orthodox parishes would remain in Moscow, however, despite the decision. "With Russian forces gradually but steadily establishing control over Eastern and Southern Ukraine Putin's primary goal at this phase of the war they have to balance their parishioners' interests," Koffler explained. "Some of the priests may decide to stick with Moscow, in order to survive a possible new regime if Putin succeeds in securing full control of Donbas and establish the so-called 'Novorossiya' (new Russia)." The analyst noted that the split is likely due to Putin's targeting of civilians to put pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. According to the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,930 people have been killed, 4,532 have been injured, and more than 6 million have fled their homes since the invasion began. "Regardless of whose side you're on, even if you buy into Putin's explanation for why he's doing it, you can't, as a spiritual person, condone civilian deaths," Koffler said. "Bottom line, the split punches a hole in Putin's narrative that the Russians and Ukrainians are spiritually and ethnically one people and therefore Ukraine should not exist as a separate country." In July 2019,more than 500 congregations joined the newly created Orthodox Church of Ukraine seven months after it left the Russian-affiliated church and was granted autocephaly. Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, the "first among equals" in the Orthodox Church, allowed the creation of an independent church in Ukraine. Many in the Eastern European nation had requested the new church in response to Russia's 2014 annexation of the Crimea from Ukraine. The Russian Orthodox Church announced in October it was severing ties with the central Orthodox Church community in protest of the decision. The Ukrainian invasion has led to tense relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and other parishes. In March, the Russian Orthodox Parish of Saint Nicholas of Myra in Amsterdam announced on Facebook it was seeking to leave the Russian Orthodox Church in opposition to Kirill's support for the Ukrainian invasion. The announcement was "extremely painful and difficult for all concerned" and came in response to what the parish called a "threat to the parish and the clergy." The parish said it filed a request for "canonical dismissal" and "also sent a request to Metropolitan Athenagoras of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg (Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople) to be received into his diocese." Amid ongoing tensions between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church as the war continues, a Christian radio broadcaster called on Christians in both regions to unite. "This is a great time for the church in Ukraine to be strong and be an example and witness for Christ, knowing that God is in control, God is sovereign, and everything is according to His plan, so we don't worry about it," Daniel Johnson, founder of New Life Radio satellite network based in Odessa, Ukraine, said in an interview with The Christian Post before the war began in February. "We go on the air explaining to Christians that this is their time, this is their time to be a witness for Christ, and it's really a wonderful opportunity for the Church despite all the chaos that can be happening here." Johnson said the Evangelical community in Ukraine is "working mainly to just put the word of God out there ... to the general public and even to the Orthodox listeners who like to listen. We're teaching them the word of God and saying, 'Trust the Lord and your ultimate allegiance is to Jesus, not to the leadership of any one country that you find yourself in." Georges Jouve: a collectors guide One of the definitive ceramicists of the 1950s, the French artist produced a wide range of works that fit into any collection Over the last two decades, Georges Jouves sinuous, black vases have become go-to accents for top interior designers looking to bring timeless touches to their clients collections. The breadth of the ceramicists oeuvre, however, extends far beyond this form and colour with which he has become so synonymous. Because of the diversity of his objects, from abstract to nearly classical in their silhouettes, Jouves work was and continues to be adapted to a wide range of interiors and collectors across a spectrum of tastes, says Michael Jefferson, Design Specialist. Hes also from this magic moment in the postwar era when there was a tremendous amount of innovation, optimism, and a synthesis of many arts, but specifically in architecture, design, decor. Below, discover how Jouve discovered his calling as a ceramicist, what his most coveted pieces are, and why his market is surging more than ever. His interest in ceramics was a by-product of being displaced during World War II Born in Fontenay-sous-Bois, France, to two decorator parents, Jouve studied architecture and art history prior to serving as a soldier during the Second World War. After being captured and detained in a German camp for two years, he managed to escape to his stepparents home in Dieulefit, a potters village in the South of France. In looking for a way to make money, Jouve explored the earth beneath his feet, making clay from local soil. He soon learned that clay was a material he could manipulate easily in his hands to express his freedom and creativity. He found a willing collaborator with a kiln in a nearby town where he could fire his creations. He had to ride the works in a crate on his bicycle over mountainous terrain to get to the kiln, and many works cracked along the journey, which did not deter him. During the summer of 1944, Jouve and his family moved to Paris, though in 1954, Jouve relocated again to the south in Aix-en-Provence. He is known as much for his use of colour as he is his use of black and white Celebrated for his glazed and enamelled stoneware, Jouve had already perfected his distinctive satin-finish black glaze by the late 1940s. He started making ceramics with galena glaze that contained elements of black and metallic. Black became Jouves signature colour because it allowed him to express the sculptural aspects of his ceramic forms, says Jefferson. His most important and finest works are often black. Jefferson adds, He did, however, have a very broad approach to colour and a full palette. He is also known for his usage of white, and he used distinct shades of yellow, orange, green, red, and sometimes blue. Jouves use of both fired glaze and enamels over ceramic is another unique component of his work. His works are noted for their diversity of form and subject matter What makes Jouve a perennial favourite is this contradiction in his work, says Jefferson. There is this simplicity and abstraction shapes and colour in space and at the same time within his oeuvre, you see works that are figurative and relate very directly to animal and plant forms. Figurative forms, such as his depiction of the god Bacchus or mermaid-like sirens, range from the classically proportioned to those that take on an abstract, even Cubist sensibility. Animal forms include birds, especially the rooster, as well as sharks and bulls. In other instances, subjects relate to the sun, or are entirely abstract and amorphous. In terms of utilitarian works, objects range from vases, platters, bowls, and lidded boxes to lamp bases, wall lights, and tables. No matter their size, his furnishings retain a sculptural feel. This is another reason why Jouve is sought after when you collect Jouve, you can have an assemblage of cylinder vases, or you can move beyond that and pursue larger-scale furnishings, or major abstract sculpture, or even figurative sculpture. Above all, he created works as objects of beauty and contemplation For Jouve, designing ceramics was less about solving issues of functionality and more about producing objects of beauty. He saw beauty as vital to life. His works became objects for aesthetic contemplation and enjoyment, and he believed access to beautiful objects was a fundamental right of humankind, explains Jefferson. He also created fantastic lamps and tables that were exceedingly functional as well as being aesthetic objects in their own right. Freedom of expression and choice was an important tenet in Jouves approach to design and living. His tiled tables are amongst his finest technical achievements Many designers and decorators wanted to utilise Jouves work in their interiors or architectural installations. Jouve made ceramic tiles that were then formed into textured walls or used as tabletops. These pieces show Jouves great range of ability to incorporate ceramics both as repeated tiles, or also as sculptural, freeform tabletops that even channel other aspects of modern art, like the work of Constantin Brancusi, says Jefferson, who references a coffee table comprised of four thick white ceramic tiles that form an elongated oval shape, reminiscent of Brancusis seminal 1928 sculpture, Bird in Space. Its really a masterpiece of his furniture design. In May 2022, Christies achieved a new record for Jouve when his glazed ceramic and oak table from 1950 sold for 1,062,000, more than doubling its low estimate. The work was made in collaboration with designer and artist, Janette Laverriere, with whom Jouve made some of his most desirable sculptural tables. He was aligned with top designers of his time, and their collective market is surging After the war, Jouve became deeply embedded in Parisian life and its artistic scene. His work was published and exhibited in major galleries around the world. Hes very much linked to Jean Prouve and Charlotte Perriand, whose works would be exhibited with Jouves at major exhibitions and by important dealers, such as Steph Simon, who was a key retailer for Jouve says Jefferson. Its for this reason that many people that collect French design love Jouve as additional accents in their collections. These designers were born of the same ethos in the postwar era, so they work quite well together. Meet Molly Goddard, British fashions rising star With Goddards exuberant creations inspired by Tess of the dUrbervilles on display in London as part of our Art of Literature exhibition, the designer, above left, talks to Christies about the diverse influences on her creative journey Molly Goddard is one of British fashions standout stars. Since launching her eponymous label in 2014, the London-based designer has dressed celebrities ranging from Rihanna and Agyness Deyn to Adwoa Aboah and Killing Eves Villanelle (Jodie Comer). Shes also won high-profile accolades, including the British Emerging Talent Award at the 2016 Fashion Awards, Breakthrough Designer at the Harpers Bazaar 2017 Women of the Year Awards, and the 2018 BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund. In 2019 she was awarded a BFC Fashion Trust grant. Now, she has her own outlet at Dover Street Market in London and is represented in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts Costume Institute in New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In June, selected looks from Goddards archive collections including her Autumn/Winter 2019 Ready-to-Wear collection, inspired by Thomas Hardys Tess of the dUrbervilles will be shown in The Art of Literature: Auction Highlights (6-15 June), part of London Now, at Christies in King Street. Open a larger version of this image Alfred Stevens (1823-1906), Ophelie (Ophelia). Oil on canvas. 79 x 47 in. (200.6 x 120.6 cm). Estimate: 60,000-100,000. On view at Christies The Art of Literature highlights exhibition, 6-15 June 2022. Offered in The Isabel Goldsmith Collection: Selected Pre-Raphaelite and Symbolist Art, 30 June-14 July 2022, Online Open a larger version of this image Look 4 from Molly Goddards Spring/Summer 2020 Collection. Photo: Courtesy of Molly Goddard Curated by specialists Victoria Gramm (Post-War and Contemporary Art), Mark Wiltshire (Books and Manuscripts), and client advisor Annabelle Scholar, the exhibition explores the connections between art and literature over the centuries through a selection of lots from across Christies summer season of auctions. Highlights include Alfred Stevenss Ophelie (Ophelia), above, one of a series of works depicting Shakespeares tragic character painted by the Belgian artist between 1886 and 1891; and Fernand Khnopffs atypical portrait of Medusa, showing her asleep, with the body of an eagle and a womans head (below). Also on display will be Rodins Thinker, originally conceived in 1880 as part of La Porte de lEnfer, the artists monumental gateway representing Dantes Inferno. At first, Rodin intended the ruminating man to be an image of Dante contemplating his own work, but he then opted to divest the sculpture of any explicit reference. The result is a timeless and universal symbol of reflection and creative genius. For Annabelle Scholar, Goddard is the embodiment of London Now. In this cross-category exhibition were looking at how the written word has inspired artists and creatives to make works of art or bring new meaning to existing works of art, she says. We are thrilled to include these wondrous creations by Molly, which were inspired by a classic of English literature and have ushered in a new era in British fashion. Goddard has made her name creating fantastical dresses in brightly coloured tulle, taffeta, organdie and silk that are as happily paired with loafers and chunky knits as they are with stilettos and glittering jewels. Though layered and voluminous, they are lightweight and anything but rigid. I want people to feel comfortable and confident, says the 33-year-old designer. Dressing up should lift your spirits and make you feel happy: its such a fun feeling when a dress takes up physical room in a space. Open a larger version of this image Look 29 from Molly Goddards Autumn/Winter 2018 Collection. Photo: Courtesy of Molly Goddard But it isnt all about playing dress up Goddard is deeply concerned with the art of construction: hand-craft techniques such as smocking, shirring, tatting and crocheting are essential to her aesthetic. I grew up right next to Portobello Road in west London and spent a lot of my youth going to the vintage markets there, she says. I loved the care, attention and techniques that went into making vintage clothes. I think its incredible that people used to wear garments with precious hand-embroidery and lace as nightwear and underwear. Before long, Goddard was making clothes and jewellery for herself and her younger sister, Alice, who now works as a stylist. Every Friday night I would get home from college, make myself a dress and then go out in it, she recalls. Then, when I was around 15 or 16, I discovered John Galliano and Alexander McQueen, and I knew that I wanted to go to Central Saint Martins and study under Louise Wilson. She did a BA in fashion knit before enrolling in an MA course at Central Saint Martins in 2012 which she struggled with and failed. Surprisingly, however, she says, It turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me. Open a larger version of this image A look from Molly Goddards Autumn/Winter 2019 Collection inspired by Tess of the dUrbervilles by Thomas Hardy. Photo: Courtesy of Molly Goddard With London Fashion Week looming, and nothing to show from her course, she decided to create a portfolio of sorts, with the aim of landing a job. I never thought I would start my own brand, she admits. But I had this idea with my boyfriend [Tom Shickle] to make around 15 dresses for 15 friends. We rented a church hall in Mayfair and threw a huge party. The whole thing cost about 300. The off-schedule presentation in September 2014 was an unexpected hit, drawing influential fashion press, as well as brands and buyers. Since then she has become a regular fixture at London Fashion Week, collaborated with retailers on sell-out collections, and expanded her range of products to include menswear, bags and bridal. Which brings us back to her 2019 Ready-to-Wear collection. Hardy paints an incredible picture of the English landscape and seasons in Tess of the dUrbervilles, says Goddard. This collection was definitely about being wrapped up against the weather, physically and metaphorically. Open a larger version of this image A look from the Autumn/Winter 2019 Collection. Photo: Courtesy of Molly Goddard Models sashayed down the catwalk dressed for a storm, protected by balaclavas and sturdy boots. Wind machines installed along the runway caused their dresses to flare and flutter. I wanted their dresses to be bashed and knocked around in the wind, says Goddard. This protective element was a nod to Tesss strength and durability. The six dresses coming to Christies will be suspended from the ceiling rather than displayed on models or mannequins. Whats lovely about seeing the dresses like this is that it gives visitors the opportunity to look underneath and see their construction, she says. I like the structure of the dress to be made from the manipulation of fabric rather than a tutu, underskirt or crinoline. At Christies youll be able to see all of that really clearly. Open a larger version of this image Look 10 from the Autumn/Winter 2019 Collection. Photo: Courtesy of Molly Goddard So why these six? They are a very good representation of what we do best, she explains. By which I mean taking relatively normal designs and turning them into something totally different, using techniques like shirring and hand-smocking, or by scaling them up and using unexpected fabrics. Look 10 (above) is a case in point. Goddard has elevated a simple babydoll silhouette with bunches of small pleats around the waist, a voluminous, elongated skirt and elegant elbow-length sleeves and, in typical Goddard fashion, paired it with boots and tailored trousers. Open a larger version of this image The Daria, from the Autumn/Winter 2019 Collection. Photo: Courtesy of Molly Goddard The Daria (above) will also be on display. There will be lots of pink, smocking and tulle, she says with a laugh. I dont think of these pieces as old-season but as being very current to me now. Each collection, it transpires, is born out of extensive, immersive research into both real and imaginary worlds. I like to go to the library and scan through books and images, and people-watch and go to markets, and then pull it all together to create a loose theme or imaginary person to serve as a kind of muse, she says. I think about what that person might do, and what they might wear, and how and when they might wear it. That kind of immersive approach shapes our shows, too. Sign up today Christies Online Magazine delivers our best features, videos, and auction news to your inbox every week Subscribe Its been said that theres no business like show business. Although I have no doubt that Hollywood is in a league of its own, my experience is that theres no business like family-owned business, and there are 32.4 million family-owned businesses in the United States as validation. Family-owned businesses are the engine of the American economy, generating 78% of new job creation and accounts for $80 million jobs, according to research by Family Enterprise USA. Studies have also shown that approximately 35% of Fortune 500 companies are family-controlled. In fact, the greatest part of our countrys wealth lies with family-owned businesses; contributing 54% of the private sector GDP, or $7.7 trillion dollars. While working with family can be rewarding for many reasons, it also proposes a unique set of challenges, including the ability to separate personal from professional lives. It takes practice and a lot of patience, but separating the two is vital to achieve harmony between home and the workplace. When my wife, Blanca, and I launched SOS Hydration in partnership with my brother, Tom, we knew it was imperative to the health of our company and our personal lives to be flexible in shifting from our traditional familial roles to those of our business. Related: What to Know to Run a Successful Family Business Acknowledging your own strengths and weaknesses as a leader is essential to the prosperity of any company, and partners with the expertise to fill in the gaps help to provide a supportive foundation for building a strong team. When establishing the roles in our family-owned business, we took into account our different personalities and learning styles, which were easy to assess due to the nature of our relationships. As a result, we effectively manage a successful business together without personal feelings clouding our professional judgment. Here's how you can, too. Key skills to master There are three key skills that family-turned-colleagues should master to maintain a neutral work environment and avoid conflict. Embrace transparency. Before going into business with family, have a vulnerable discussion together surrounding the collaborative dynamic you each envision, and set clear expectations to help achieve those goals. Make a genuine effort to remain respectfully straightforward in all of your business interactions, including triumphs, failures and uncertainties. Listen objectively. Ego has no place in a family-owned business, and as such, its important to leave your family dynamic at home. Colleagues who are related should apply the same respect and fairness to business dealings that theyd expect to receive, and strive to listen with neutrality no matter the topic. Trust each other. When youre in business with your family, its necessary to place complete trust in one anothers abilities, decisions and intentions. This is why transparency and impartiality are invaluable they are actions that breed trust. Likewise, having trust in yourself is paramount, and taking ownership of your actions is true leadership. Working with family is not for the faint hearted, yet there are fantastic benefits in doing so. When family members consistently apply transparency, nonpartisanship and trust as the cornerstones of their family-owned business, it has the opportunity to reach its fullest potential and make a lasting impact. Related: How to Manage the Challenges of a Family Business Best practices for a healthy dynamic In addition to the key skills for maintaining a positive and conflict-free work environment, Ive also implemented what I consider to be the four core best practices for a healthy family enterprise. Set clear boundaries. Work should stay at the workplace. Talk through the pros and cons of work at the end of each business day and then let it go. When circumstances arise that require business conversations outside of working hours, allot a 30-minute time limit to discuss and then commit to revisiting at an appropriate time. Weekends are reserved for real family time and work talk is restricted. Stay in your lane. Everyone has responsibilities and everyone knows to adhere to them. This is when trust comes back into play; trusting each others process (and progress) helps to prevent disagreements and conflicting opinions. Enjoy extracurricular activities together. Myself and my brother are former elite runners, and still indulge in a run together whenever we have the chance. Spending joyful, quality time together outside of work reminds us that were human and more importantly, were family. Learn from the losses. Allow yourself to feel the human emotions of a loss or a failure that affects the business, talk about it together, and then move forward. Dont allow business lows to jeopardize your personal relationships. Last but not least, recognize company victories in their various forms to further strengthen leadership, unify a team and foster loyalty. When you celebrate the wins in your family-owned business, no matter how big or small, youre driving motivation and deepening the connection between the family members that are invested in the success of your business. Related: The How-To: Building A Successful Family Business Copyright 2022 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Dollar Flight Club Since January 2022, roundtrip flight costs have increased by more than 40 percent with predictions that this trend will continue. For one-time travelers taking a yearly vacation, this is an unfortunate but often manageable cost. For those who travel regularly for work, the rising flight costs is a significant loss. Dollar Flight Club Premium Plus+ Lifetime Subscription is a service that sends up-to-date flight deals to your inbox and boasts the potential to save up to $2,000 on Business, Premium Economy, and Economy class flight deals. For a limited time, a lifetime subscription with Dollar Flight Club Premium Plus+ is on sale for $99 (Reg. $1,690). PARIS (AP) French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday said his country would make a present of a horse to Queen Elizabeth II, to mark the celebrations of her 70 years on the throne. The Elysee said Macron decided to give the queen, a known horse lover, a 7-year-old grey gelding belonging to the largely ceremonial French Republican Guard named Fabuleu de Maucour. It was to be delivered to Windsor Castle Wednesday. Click here to read the full article. A Virginia jury has found that Amber Heard defamed Johnny Depp when she wrote a 2018 Washington Post op-ed alluding to her past claims of domestic violence. However, the jury also found that Depp defamed Heard, through his attorney, in the course of fighting back against her charges. The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages, plus $5 million in punitive damages which Judge Penney Azcarate reduced to $350,000 in accordance with the states statutory cap. The jury awarded Heard $2 million in compensatory damages for her counterclaim. The court clerk read aloud the jurys verdict, finding that Heard had defamed Depp with each of three statements in the op-ed. The jury also found that Heard had acted with actual malice, meaning that they were convinced she had made the statements knowing they were false. The jury ruled in favor of Heard on one out of three statements that were made by Depps lawyer, Adam Waldman, in the Daily Mail. Waldman had asserted that Heard and her friends had set up an ambush, a hoax, when police were called to the couples apartment in May 2016. In a statement after the verdict, Depp said that Heards false claims had a seismic impact on my life and my career. And six years later, the jury gave me my life back, he said. I am truly humbled. Depp said he was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and the colossal support and kindness from around the world, and that the verdict left him at peace. From the very beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome, Depp said. Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that. Depps attorneys, Camille Vasquez and Ben Chew, gave brief statements outside the courthouse thanking the jury for their verdict. Though the jury awarded damages to both sides, the outcome is a clear win for Depp, who lost a similar trial in the United Kingdom in 2020. Depp brought that lawsuit after The Sun newspaper called him a wife beater. The judge ruled that Heards allegations are substantially true. The lingering question now is whether he can rehabilitate his film career, which has been moribund for the last four years. Heard issued a statement saying she was disappointed and heartbroken by the outcome. The disappointment I feel today is beyond words, Heard said. Im heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband. Im even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously. I believe Johnnys attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the UK. Im sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American to speak freely and openly. Heard was in the Fairfax, Va., courtroom to hear the verdict. Depp watched from the United Kingdom, where he has been appearing at concerts in the U.K. A spokesperson for Heard criticized Depp for not coming to court, saying Your presence shows where your priorities are. The jurors five men and two women began deliberating on Friday afternoon. They returned to the courtroom with a verdict at 3 p.m. Wednesday, but were briefly sent back to the jury room because they had not filled out the damages amounts on the verdict form. Depp brought the lawsuit against his ex-wife in March 2019, alleging that Heard had implicitly accused him of domestic violence in the op-ed. In the piece, Heard called herself a public figure representing domestic abuse, and spoke about the backlash she had received for speaking out. The op-ed did not cite Depp by name, but he alleged that it nevertheless had a devastating impact on his career. Depp testified that he filed the lawsuit to clear the record and to restore his reputation, both in the eyes of the film industry and for the sake of his children. I pride myself on honesty. I pride myself on truth. Truth is the only thing Im interested in, Depp said in April. Im obsessed with the truth. Heard countersued in August 2020, alleging that Waldman had defamed her in a series of statements to the Daily Mail. She testified that she has been hounded and threatened on social media on a daily basis since making her claims against Depp, and that her career has suffered as a result. The two sides presented dramatically different versions of reality over the course of the six-week trial. Depp alleged that Heard was the real abuser, and that she had a need for violence. He acknowledged that the couple had arguments, but denied ever hitting Heard. Heard alleged that Depp had routinely hit her, particularly while either drunk or high. The jurors heard from more than 60 witnesses, including the couples friends, relatives, employees, agents, doctors and therapists. The two sides offered conflicting expert testimony on psychiatry and social media analysis, as well as photographs, audio clips of the couples arguments, and numerous emails and text messages. One of Depps witnesses, couples therapist Laurel Anderson, testified that Depp and Heard engaged in mutual abuse, and that Heard had given as good as she got. Depps team also presented several of Depps bodyguards and friends, who testified that they never saw Depp strike her and they had not seen bruises when she had claimed to be injured. Depps team also played audio clips from the couples fights, in which Heard admitting to hitting Depp and called him a baby. Heard gave four days of testimony about their relationship, often sobbing as she described repeated assaults. Her lawyers also played clips of Depp bellowing Youre a fucking cunt! and showed graphic and violent text messages from Depp, in which he called her a filthy whore and said that he hoped that karma kicks in and takes the gift of breath from her. Heard also said it was humiliating to have to go through a televised trial on these issues, and that she wished for the whole thing to be over. I want to move on. I want Johnny to move on too, she said. I want him leave me alone. Heard now is expected to appeal the verdict. Her lawyers may take issue with a series of pre-trial rulings, including one that denied a motion to move the case out of Virginia. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Millions of people around the world are affected by alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss and was thrown into the spotlight after actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars. The slap stunned millions, drew widespread condemnation and earned Smith a 10-year ban from the ceremony after he apologized. It came after Rock threw a pointed joke that some felt was insensitive at Jada Pinkett Smith about her hair loss. Advocates said at the time that increased awareness about the condition, which is fairly common but little discussed, could be a small bit of good to come out of the blowup. Wednesday, Jada Pinkett Smith, dedicated an episode of Red Table Talk to the disorder. Heres a look at the disorder, and how hair is tied up with beauty and race, culture and self-identity: ___ WHAT CAUSES ALOPECIA? Alopecia areata can make hair fall out of the scalp in patches and also affect other parts of the body, like eyebrows and nose hair. Alopecia can come on quickly, is unpredictable and can be incredibly tough to deal with mentally, said Brett King, a hair loss expert at Yale Medicine, told The Associated Press in March. Imagine if you woke up today missing half of an eyebrow, he said. That unpredictability is one of the things thats so mentally treacherous and awful because you have no control of it ... its a disease that strips people of their identity. While seldom discussed, its actually fairly common: the second biggest cause of hair loss, after male or female pattern balding. About 2% of people have it. Its not physically painful, in some cases it spontaneously goes away and it can be treated. ___ HOW DOES IT AFFECT WOMEN? WHAT ABOUT KIDS? While its unclear if Rock was aware of Pinkett Smiths diagnosis, hair is a large part of anyones appearance, and for women its bound up with cultural concepts about what makes them look feminine. Most women are expected to have good hair, said William Yates, a Chicago-based certified hair loss surgeon. Theyre well aware that men lose their hair and bald gracefully, so to speak, but a female losing their hair is devastating. The condition also tends to hit people when they are relatively young. Most are diagnosed before age 40, and about half of them are children when the disorder first appears, said Christopher English, a board-certified dermatologist for Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City. Having the condition is especially tough for teenagers, for whom appearance anxiety and peer pressure are often already at an all-time high, said Gary Sherwood, communications director at the National Alopecia Areata Foundation. Rio Allred, a 12-year-old girl with the disorder, took her own life after being bullied at school in Indiana. Her mother appeared on Red Table Talk to talk about the loss less than two weeks before the Oscars. Some studies have also pointed to the disease being more prevalent among Black and Latino people, Sherwood and Yates said. The National Institutes of Health states it affects all racial and ethnic groups, men and women. Rocks joke was not unusual, Sherwood said. This has been around as long as there have been humans on Earth ... for centuries people would not talk about it. __ WHATS IT LIKE TO HAVE ALOPECIA? Rocks joke was tough to hear for New York interior designer Sheila Bridges. She spoke to Rock for his 2009 documentary Good Hair about the importance of hair in Black culture. For many Black Americans, grooming and styling choices are intertwined with a desire to buck what is considered normal or acceptable by wider society. From Afros and cornrows to wigs and hair extensions, Black hair can be more than just style statements. In her interview, Bridges talked about the shame and humiliation of losing her hair to the disease, how her hairstyle is intertwined with her racial identity and how the loss of her hair affected her sense of femininity and social currency. The Oscars slap left Bridges with conflicting emotions: She condemned Smiths assault on Rock, sympathized with Pinkett Smith and was deeply disappointed in Rock. It is not easy as a woman to navigate life without any hair and a society that is obsessed with hair, Bridges said. She doesnt wear wigs because she doesnt want to, and also hopes to normalize and de-stigmatize the appearance of bald women. But even a decade after she decided to go bald in public, Bridges said its still difficult for some to accept: I rarely make it through the week without someone saying something thats very, very insensitive. Hair in general can already be a fraught landscape for Black women, who have been expected for generations to alter their natural hair texture to fit a white standard of beauty. Black women are 80% more likely to change their natural hair to meet social norms at work, according to a 2019 study by the Dove personal care division of the Unilever USA company. Black students are also far more likely than other students to be suspended for dress code or hair violations, according to the research that helped convince the U.S. House to vote to prohibit discrimination based on natural hairstyles in March. The only good thing that can come out of all this is that alopecia is front and center, Bridges said about the Oscars slap. ___ AP Race and Ethnicity writers Annie Ma in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Aaron Morrison in New York contributed to this story. Whitehurst reported from Salt Lake City. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Theres always been a taste for antique furnishings. These days, a widely acquired taste. Antiques are hot partly because of supply chain delays and higher prices for many custom or mass-market pieces. Theres also the public's turn toward sustainability: Environmentally-conscious buyers are averse to throwaway furniture, and are trying to reuse and recycle. And as always, pop culture plays a role. Period-specific shows like Bridgerton, Downton Abbey and Outlander have given the styles of bygone eras a romantic glow. Mad Men stoked a hot market in midcentury modern furniture. And designers cite renewed interest in 70s and 80s decor, too. It's all led to crowds of designers and regular people at auctions, antique shops and estate sales. Online platforms, like vintage furniture retailer Chairish and collectibles site 1stDibs, also say sales are up. The good news from a design perspective is that it's easy and trendy to blend antiques into any room and mix them with pieces from any era, designers say. A classic 18th century cherry dresser might be given glamorous, brushed-copper modern handles. A curvy '60s floor lamp might light a room wrapped in prim Laura Ashley wallpaper. More 20th century vintage pieces are popping up, whether it's a finely carved Edwardian side table, a Le Corbusier chaise, a Pop Art-era mirror, or something as charming and small as a vintage book or ceramic. The variety of old stuff is swelling beyond the boundaries of traditional decor. And a mix creates interesting stories in a room. ANTIQUES AFICIONADOS PAST AND PRESENT Designers who became famous for expertly blending periods include Billy Baldwin, whom Architectural Digest called Americas dean of interior decoration in the 1950s and 1960s." He created swanky homes for society figures, and favored a mix of modern and antique furniture. Baldwin said an older piece "gives a room flavor. Jay Spectre, known for sleek, dramatic interiors, was enamored of Art Deco. And female decorators like Elsie de Wolfe and Sister Parish excelled at giving elegant, turn-of-the-century European furniture room to breathe in light-filled modern spaces. Today, designer Kelly Wearstler, for instance, brings an adventurous style to homes as well as to boutique hotels. My aesthetic is about mixology; always something old and something new, raw and refined, masculine and feminine, she says. Georgia Zikas, a designer in West Hartford, Connecticut, says modern art and an achromatic rug create a nice foundation for mixed furniture styles and dispel any dowdiness. An example of an easy update: One of Zikas' clients had a beautiful pair of vintage, crystal, Waterford lamps from her mother. They replaced the dated pleated shades with crisp, white, tapered ones. REGIONAL ACCENTS Different parts of the country seem to lean in certain directions concerning antiques. For example, in the South, where Im based, French antiques are most coveted because of our historically French heritage," says Lance Thomas, lead designer at Thomas Guy Interiors in Lake Charles, Louisiana. "Ive found that coastal cities like West Palm Beach in Florida, and Malibu in California, gravitate toward vintage and antique Italian contemporary pieces. The Midwest leans toward American antiques. Thomas says more clients than ever are asking for antiques. He and his team recently took a two-week buying trip to France to seek them out. HOW TO BUY If you're purchasing antiques sight unseen, Thomas says, use a reliable auction site. There are some very good fakes, and reproductions that would fool even the most experienced buyers, he says. "A reputable auction site will usually vet and list whether or not the item is authentic. Some of his tips for identifying true antiques: With mirrors, pay attention to spotting. Old mirrors were made of tin and mercury or silver, and over time have oxidized to create a waviness and splotching on the front. This patina is a good sign that its an antique." For cabinets and dressers, check how well they're constructed. Look at the back of the piece, where its less likely to be painted. Are there dovetail joints rather than well-hidden Phillips screws? And look for the hinging mechanisms are they hand-forged or machine-made? says Thomas. Carved and painted details can help confirm a piece's age because they indicate the furniture-making capabilities of the era. Many pieces in the 18th century will have similar embellishments to those of their 20th century counterparts. But the precision and exactness improved drastically between these two time periods, says Thomas. Curvy floral details, for example, probably wont be as rounded on an 18th century piece, because they didnt have the tools to create a perfect curve. Beau Ciolino, who with Matt Armato wrote the new book Probably This Housewarming (Abrams), recommends the app www.estatesales.net to get alerts about sales in your area. The best part about antiquing is that it can be so accessible, says Ciolino. While the old-school auction houses have a reputation for fine antiques, we also love perusing Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, consignment stores and estate sales. Other options include EBay, Etsy and ZZ Driggs, which both sells and rents vintage furnishings. You might not be able to swing the $3,000 for a James Mont Art Deco leather lounge chair, but maybe you can afford its $75 monthly rent for a year. One source that used to be reserved for the design trade has opened its doors to the public in New York City. The Gallery @ 200 Lex is 33,000 square feet of vintage and antique furniture from dozens of dealers. You can also see what The Gallerys dealers have posted on Incollect. FURNITURE FLIPPING Ciolino and Armato say they've seen a furniture flipping trend. While house-flipping may require a large amount of cash and time, many furniture flippers are taking worn pieces and either revitalizing them to their original glory or creating a completely new piece by re-staining, painting and replacing the hardware, and then selling them or keeping them for their own homes," says Ciolino. He says its usually best to leave reupholstering to the pros. Wooden items, especially those without intricate details, are perfect for beginner DIYers, says Armato. Dressers or side tables can typically use just a light sanding, paint or stain if you like, and a coat of sealant like clear enamel or linseed oil. Some metal pieces like outdoor iron chairs are also very DIY-friendly. Mary Maloney of Bees Knees Interior Design in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, reawakens old wooden furniture by painting it in cheery hues. My mom taught me how to spot great pieces in need of a little love and reinventing, Maloney says. I still treasure my first purchase a sweet little dresser that I found on an antique excursion with her over 40 years ago. When I was updating our guest bedroom, I painted it a sunny yellow. Antique furniture usually needs a gentle overall cleaning before any removal or covering of unwanted scuffs and scratches. Unless antique lamps have already been rewired, its best to bring them to a pro. And youll probably want to update the shades. - Kim Cook writes frequently for The AP about design, decor and lifestyles topics. She can be found on Instagram at @kimcookhome and reached at kim@kimcookhome.com. THEPALMER/Getty Images A Missouri City man was sentenced to 45 years in prison after pleading guilty to murdering his high school sweetheart and leaving her body in the trunk of her car in a Fort Bend neighborhood last year. Troy Larue Parker, 21, never gave police a motive for killing his girlfriend of five years, Sabrina Herrera, according to a release from the Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office. Parker gave a full confession to the crime and told authorities that on Aug. 27, 2018, he strangled Herrera with a cord while she was at his house, officials said. Astros pitcher treats dads to Father's Day shopping spree The 30-year-old will be experiencing his first Father's Day as a dad this month. Rittenhouse reverses course, will attend TAMU 'feeder school' The 19-year-old amended previous statements implying he was enrolling as an Aggie in 2022. Stories about Asians migrating to the United States are often familial. We grow up with tales of how our great-great-grandfather - or grandmother, or father - came to this country. Others get those stories from history books in school. We learn that the first major wave of Asian migration to the United States dates to the mid-1800s, and exclusionary policies followed soon after. Less often do we land somewhere in the middle - learning about why there was an influx of Cambodian refugees to a California beach town in the 1970s, for example, or South Asians to central New Jersey in the 2000s. Today, Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in the United States. We are far from monolithic, with ties to more than 20 countries and many more ethnicities and languages. The communities we have formed in various pockets of America all have stories to share. At the same time, there has been a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes since the beginning of the pandemic. Some residents are newly fearful of the neighborhoods their families have lived in for generations; others say the racism and xenophobia has been there all along. This project is a glimpse at the migration stories behind four places around the country - each with a rich history that deserves to be told. 1. Cleveland, Miss. Scattered throughout the cotton fields and long country roads on each side of the Mississippi River is the occasional low-slung building that once housed grocery stores run by Chinese Americans known in the region as the Delta Chinese. The first immigrants, who arrived in the post-Reconstruction era of the 1870s to work in the cotton fields, would over generations knit themselves into the fabric of the Delta, existing in the gap between Black and White residents of the Deep South. The Delta Chinese have dipped in numbers over the years, as have their stores, but their legacy played an important role in shaping the region. And this has prompted the remaining community of Delta Chinese to preserve and share their history. "I think the impact is the values that [we've] passed along to our families," said Gilroy Chow, an 81-year-old native of Clarksdale, Miss., and president of the Mississippi Delta Chinese Heritage Museum. "It says that the values they passed on to these families - the ones that stayed and the ones that moved - have had a strong work ethic, strong family values, strong belief in the education system." Chow's mother and father immigrated from China in 1916, first arriving in New Orleans before moving to the Mississippi Delta region and the small town of Clarksdale, which today has a population of about 14,000. "They stayed, working in grocery stores with cousins and uncles," he said. "We then moved to New York when I was 6, and I'm the only one that came back." Chow's parents were among the Chinese immigrants who ultimately settled in the Delta region of Alabama and Mississippi and whose path when they arrived in the United States was shaped by immigration restrictions that specifically targeted the Chinese. Work in cotton fields quickly proved too grueling and low-paying for immigrants trying to send money to their families in China, and a string of anti-Chinese immigration laws, including the 1875 Page Act that banned Chinese women, and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, prevented more Chinese immigrants from coming to the United States to work as laborers. Merchants, and their families, however, were exempt from the exclusion laws. "That's why you realize, 'aha' - that's why the story of so many Chinese in the Delta started with grocery stores," said Emily Jones, an archivist and historian at Delta State University in Cleveland, Miss., a town with about 11,000 people. "Being a merchant was the only way to come in - you had to have a plan and the financials to back it up, but 'paper sons' and 'paper daughters' was a big part of this story, too," Jones said, of the practice by immigrating merchants of sometimes claiming distant relatives or unrelated villagers as their children. The merchant Chinese immigrants still faced discriminatory policies once they arrived in the United States, including restrictions on where they could live or go to school, and they had to navigate a society starkly divided by Black and White when they were considered neither. The question of where Chinese immigrants and their American-born children fit in was raised in an education battle - Lum v. Rice - that ultimately went to the Supreme Court. Gong Lum, a grocery store owner from Rosedale, Miss., whose daughter was barred from remaining at an all-White school because she was "not of the Caucasian race," lost the case in 1927. Jones said that while the Delta Chinese endured racism and exclusion, there were also instances of togetherness and community. Tucked in the museum's archives are contracts between two Chinese families in Greenville, Miss., and Jewish property owners that conveyed the Chinese families had paid off a rental - in essence owning the property - and that the Jewish landlord would hold it in trust for the families until they could own it legally. "That's a truer side of what the South is, not the viciousness. And the Chinese were a big part of that," Jones said. "They had to navigate all the different things put in place to make them fail, and succeeded because of neighborliness and industriousness." The number of Delta Chinese peaked around the late '60s to early '70s, and began to decline as children - now fourth- and fifth-generation Americans - left the area to pursue school and work elsewhere. "An interesting dynamic of the Mississippi Delta Chinese, in the peak around 1970, there were probably about 2,500 Chinese," Chow said. "There were many families that settled in small and larger towns with grocery stores. . . . But within each town, you would find a Chinese grocery store - even in a town of 1,000, there may be two [Chinese] grocery stores, even." Chow returned to Clarksdale to raise his family and ultimately retire - he after years as an engineer whose work included NASA's Apollo space program, and his wife, Sally, as a schoolteacher - because of the community, and his fond memories of his early childhood years. "There's the saying about Kevin Bacon and everyone being separated by six degrees," Chow said. "If you're from the Mississippi Delta, it's more like three." - Kim Bellware - - - 2. Long Beach, Calif. Cambodia Town, a one-mile stretch of Anaheim Street in Long Beach, Calif., is lined with Cambodian-owned restaurants, grocery stores and community centers nestled in strip malls. According to 2020 Census data analyzed by The Washington Post, the Los Angeles metro area, which includes Long Beach, is home to more than 40,000 Cambodian Americans - the largest concentration of Cambodians of any city outside of Cambodia. The initial influx can be traced to the 1950s and 1960s, when a foreign exchange program between Cambodia and California State University at Long Beach brought a wave of affluent students to the area. Many of these students were the children of government officials and diplomats. But in the 1970s, the demographics of Cambodian immigrants to the United States changed quickly: Refugees were fleeing the Khmer Rouge, a violent regime that killed nearly 2 million people. According to data from the Immigration and Naturalization Service obtained by historian Sucheng Chan, nearly 160,000 Cambodians entered the United States between 1975 and 1994. The vast majority of these people were refugees. According to Chan, the Office of Refugee Resettlement, created by the Refugee Act of 1980, determined Long Beach to be a city with a sufficient amount of inexpensive housing and jobs that did not require English fluency. Affordable property allowed many Cambodian immigrants to start businesses and build the cultural hub that Cambodia Town is today. Sophya Chhiv, the daughter of Cambodian refugees, grew up in the heart of Cambodia Town. Like many other refugees, her parents landed in Long Beach, where cultural ties existed and familial seeds had been planted. However, the presence of other Cambodians in Long Beach - a sunny, beachy enclave about 30 minutes from downtown L.A. - did not make growing up in a new country any easier, according to Chhiv, now 38 and the mother of two children. "We were put in a place that did not have the right amount of resources for our community," Chhiv said. "Young folks, like myself and my sisters, can end up in prison or on drugs in gangs because we're trying to survive in a country we know nothing about. Our parents couldn't speak English, couldn't work, couldn't support us financially, mentally or emotionally." The situation got more dire in 2002, when a repatriation agreement signed between Cambodia and the United States put Cambodians convicted of crimes at risk of deportation. At the time, Chhiv was a founding member of Khmer Girls in Action, a community organization for gender and racial justice. In response, the organization launched an anti-deportation campaign that raised awareness and provided services to families who had been impacted. "The resettlement for Cambodian refugees [was in] overpoliced and underresourced [areas]," Chhiv said. "I felt like our community was being criminalized in so many different ways." Between the fiscal years of 2016 to 2018, ICE deported 218 Cambodians, according to a report by NPR. Many of these people are forced to return to a country that they are no longer familiar with - some had come to the United States as children. The Cambodian American community in Long Beach has rallied together to advocate against deportations that threaten to tear families apart, as well as other issues such as housing, which has grown increasingly more expensive in the city. Many Cambodia Town tenants are struggling to keep their businesses afloat, residents say, and several longtime Cambodian grocery stores and event spaces have closed recently. But longtime residents like Chhiv are fighting to maintain the pride in being part of the largest population of Cambodians outside of Cambodia: "Keeping Cambodia Town alive and well is very much needed," she said. - Emily Liu - - - 3. Philadelphia For more than 200 years, Philadelphia has boasted the title of America's birthplace. But the earliest waves of Filipino migration to the city were made possible through America's empire-building aspirations: its colonization of the Philippines, beginning in 1898 and lasting through the end of World War II. The first of these migrants were Filipino naval officers, whom the U.S. Navy recruited as messmen and stewards on their ships at the turn of the 20th century. A community began to bloom in southern Philadelphia, near the city's naval yard. In 1912, these retired officers founded what is considered to be the country's oldest Filipino American organization, the Filipino-American Association of Philadelphia, said Rommel Rivera, a psychiatrist who chairs its board. As Filipino seafarers began laying down roots in the city, another influential group of migrants arrived: "pensionados," elite students chosen by the U.S. government to be educated in American colleges. The program, established in 1903, was an offshoot of President William McKinley's larger goal of "benevolent assimilation," an approach that his successor, Theodore Roosevelt, continued after McKinley's 1901 assassination. The competitive grant offered education and advancement opportunities, particularly in fields of administration, medicine and engineering. The name "pensionado" comes from the $500 pension, or stipend, the U.S. government gave each scholar, equivalent to a little more than $16,400 today. The U.S. government's aim was to establish a class of Americanized Filipinos who would return to their homeland and help lead it. It could also strengthen the ties between colonizer and subject by quelling Filipino opposition to the United States after the Philippine-American war ended in 1902. Pensionados who passed through Philadelphia and other cities went on to become leaders in the Philippines. Antonio Sison, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's medical school, headed the University of the Philippines College of Medicine and the Philippine General Hospital during a time that encompassed the Japanese occupation of the country between 1942 and 1945. His wife, Honoria Acosta-Sison, who graduated from Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania, is known as the "Mother of Philippine Obstetrics" for developing the specialized field there. Philadelphia was an appealing choice for aspiring physicians, noted Rivera: Good medical colleges, including one for women, a fledgling Filipino community in a bustling port city. But he said there is "little documentation" about how other Philadelphia residents received the pensionados at the time. In other parts of the country, Filipinos were sensationalized or discriminated against. Indigenous Filipinos were showcased as part of the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. In California, a 1906 marriage between a Filipino pensionado and a White woman landed them on the front page of their local paper. In Indiana, fueled by reports that pensionados at the state university were "flirting with white girls," lawmakers introduced a bill forbidding White people from marrying "persons having more than one eighth Filipino blood." Still, these first medical students have a lasting legacy, helping to build the medical infrastructure of the Philippines and opening doors for future immigrants working in medicine, Rivera said. "In a way, it's an advantage . . . because it's easier for them to come here to the U.S.," he said. "What we've learned in the Philippines is what's being taught here." When the United States experienced a nurse shortage after World War II, it turned to Filipinos to help staff the nation's hospitals. Today, Filipinos make up more than a quarter of migrant nurses in the United States and 4% of all nurses, according to the Migration Policy Institute - and that number doesn't include second- and third-generation Filipino Americans. Filipino Americans are now 1.2% of the U.S. population, based on U.S. census data. In the greater Philadelphia area, there are an estimated 35,000 Filipinos - and at least five Filipino nursing associations, according to Rivera. The area's Filipino American community also includes students, physicians, restaurateurs and business owners. Rivera sees the proliferation of social and professional organizations, in particular, as a uniquely Filipino impulse. "We multiply by division," he said, using a phrase he had heard from a local elder. "We grow by dividing people." - Anne Branigin - - - 4. Edison, N.J. Driving down the street in Edison, N.J., you might see Indian restaurants, a Hindu temple, a mosque and a gurdwara. Edison, a township with a population of more than 100,000, is 48.6% Asian, up from 29% back in 2000. Speaking to The Post, residents described it as a peaceful neighborhood where immigrants had come to attend good schools and generate income. Its charm has only grown during the pandemic, which has fueled a real estate boom in the suburbs. Towns like Edison were already "magnets" for South Asian immigrants, "and then they become even more so because they already have the infrastructure that a certain community is craving," said S. Mitra Kalita, 45, author of "Suburban Sahibs," which in 2003 chronicled how surrounding Middlesex County has become home to one of the largest Indian populations in the world outside of India. Kalita, who has founded two media companies, URL Media and Epicenter NYC, said that South Asian immigrants are attracted to Edison's "schools, ethnic grocery stories, even funeral parlors that know the cultures and customs of an immigrant population." That same year, 2003, Jaspreet Singh and his family moved to Edison. He was 15. He recalled being sent to an "English as a Second Language" class and getting help from older South Asian students to understand lectures. He observed other students carefully. "In the cafeteria, I used to watch how they order the sub. Just what kind of bread they're taking, and things like that. So after one week, I could help the other kid, he was struggling to order a sub," Singh said. "It's like a helping train." Singh, now 34, is a co-owner of India Sajawat and Puja Hut, a religious-goods store in town. While the pandemic temporarily closed the store, it has seen a recent influx of business as people came to purchase Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist items, seeking out religious faith for comfort during uncertain times, according to Singh. The diverse array of products - idols, god houses and more - reflects the clientele, who hail from all regions of India, as well as Pakistan, Bangladesh and more. As Edison and Middlesex have grown increasingly Asian over time, that hasn't come without pushback. County residents describe facing a campaign against Asian migration in the region, including political fliers mailed to homes in 2017 that claimed: "The Chinese and Indians are taking over our town!" Kalita traces this to the surge in racist rhetoric during the Trump administration, which, she says, trickled down into local politics despite Edison's diversity and large, visible immigrant population. "You should feel safe sending your kids to school anywhere. But if you are brown, you should feel especially safe sending your kids to school in Edison, New Jersey," she said. But that sense of safety has come to feel more tenuous, she says, when "there is now a minority population that is contending with what it means to be a minority." - Shannon Liao A former Edwardsville resident has recently completed a sequel set in the city as a sequel to his first book. Author John Klobnak, of "Mr. and Mrs. Medal of Honor," now has the books sequel, "Stolen Revenge," available. The story involves a couple, both Army veterans who both won the Medal of Honor, Klobnak explained. The husband, a former sniper who killed a high-ranking Al Qaeda terrorist in Iraq, learns the son of the terrorist is now in the U.S. with a team of assassins and the husband is their main target. Through a few twists and turns, they end up relocating to Edwardsville looking for a safe haven., said Klobnak , of Creve Coeur , Missouri, who grew up in Edwardsville during the 1950s and graduated from Edwardsville High School in 1969. The book uses a mythical Edwardsville but still refers to some of the old places Klobnak knew growing up in the city, such as Vanzo's, Rohrkaste Dairy, Schwartz's Drugs, Jessie Cafe, and others. A lot of local landmarks are used , like Shale Pit, and the story includes the main female character, a former Army officer who is also an archeologist, discovering the location of the long lost Fort Russell, Klobnak said. The final part of Stolen Revenge happens with a major shootout at the Wildey Theatre. Al Canal and Rich Walker love the story, and I got to talk about the book at their recent short story contest, which I sponsored, Klobnak noted. He also used the names of many current and former Edwardsville residents as characters in the book, with one such character, Steve Horrell, as himself. Horrell, a Metro East journalist, is originally from Edwardsville and now lives in Glen Carbon. He is a former adjunct instructor-of mass communications at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and wrote for The Intelligencer for 18 years. Klobnak also shot several promotional videos in Edwardsville for "Stolen Revenge," which is available at Amazon.com. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) California moved a step closer Wednesday to creating sites where people could legally use drugs under supervision designed to save them from dying if they overdose, over the objections of opponents who said the state would be enabling dangerous and illegal activity. The full Assembly will now consider allowing test programs in Los Angeles, Oakland and San Francisco, more than a year after the proposal narrowly passed the state Senate. We know that we are experiencing a crisis of overdose deaths, and these are preventable," said Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener. This is one way to help keep people safe and to actually help people get into treatment. Assembly Public Safety Committee members advanced the bill on a 5-2 vote after hearing conflicting statistics about the experiences in Canada, Europe, Australia and most recently two sites in New York City. There has been not a single overdose death in the supervised sites, said Wiener and proponents of his bill. But people still are dying around them, attracted to neighborhoods where drug use is overtly sanctioned by the government, countered opponents. There is a magnet effect so that people come into the area, said John Lovell, testifying on behalf of the California Narcotic Officers Association and several other police organizations. What theyre proposing is addiction maintenance. ... I think that we need to embrace addiction recovery," said Michael Shellenberger, author of a book entitled San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities" and a no party preference candidate for California governor. Clean needle exchanges were once also controversial, before they became a largely accepted way of minimizing the spread of HIV, hepatitis and other diseases that can be spread through the sharing of dirty needles, said Vitka Eisen, a former heroin user herself. She now heads the low-income health care provider HealthRIGHT 360 and sits on the boards of the California Council of Community Behavioral Health Agencies, California Association of Drug and Alcohol Program Executives, and National Council for Behavioral Health. In the face of a crisis, we must do things differently," she said, referring to the national onslaught of opioid deaths, often fed by the prevalence of fentanyl. The governing bodies in each of the California jurisdictions have already asked to be included in the test program if Wiener's bill becomes law. It would remain up to them whether to go ahead and to what extent. The test programs would run until 2028, and the participating governments would have to split the cost of an independent study on the effectiveness of the program and its impact on the community, due by 2027. Former Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, vetoed a more limited proposal in 2018, saying then: Fundamentally, I do not believe that enabling illegal drug use in government sponsored injection centers with no corresponding requirement that the user undergo treatment will reduce drug addiction. The new proposal split the Assembly committee along party lines. Democratic Assemblywoman Mia Bonta, wife of California Attorney General Rob Bonta, is a co-author of the bill who called it a "potential opportunity for us to be able to address the pandemic that we are facing around drug abuse. California would be creating an enabling program that enables people to continue to do what is very damaging and destructive, not only to themselves but to the public at large," said Republican Assemblyman Kelly Seyarto. The goal, he said, should be to get them off of drugs and get them out of this dependency instead of allowing it. Democratic Assemblyman Miguel Santiago said he, too, was skeptical, until he witnessed the open drug use on Los Angeles' Skid Row. You have to come to the conclusion that it is better that they use it in a facility where it is at least supervised, Santiago said. "It is an attempt to create a safe place for people to use (drugs), to help them when they are at their lowest, and to prevent the worst from happening. The committee's chairman, Democratic Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, said he initially was very apprehensive and fought the idea. But he had an uncle and a cousin die of drug overdoses on San Francisco's streets in the 1980s, when the family's attempts at tough love failed to save them. Safe injection sites may not be a perfect solution, Jones-Sawyer said, but "we need to go ahead and try something new. LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) Slovenias parliament on Wednesday formally voted into office a new, center-left government, replacing a right-wing one that had pushed the moderate European Union nation toward populism. Lawmakers voted 53-28 for the Cabinet of Robert Golob, head of the liberal-green Freedom Movement party and a former business executive who only recently entered politics. Golob's Freedom Movement won April 24 elections in Slovenia, defeating the right-wing Prime Minister Janez Jansa and his Slovenian Democratic Party. Golob has formed an alliance with two left-leaning parties. The new government is a combination of experienced politicians and experts, Golob told parliament earlier on Wednesday. Im pleased we have such a good team and I look forward to the weeks, months, years and terms in office ahead, as I know this team will deliver good results," he said. Golob has said the government would promote social equality, green energy transformation and reform. Slovenias citizens will be proud of their new government, he promised. I think you can already feel it in the last few weeks that the mood is more relaxed, that tensions have eased, he added. Golob was referring to political tensions under previous PM Jansa, who has faced accusations of fostering divisions and curbing democratic freedoms. A close ally of Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Jansa has denied the allegations. SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) Another attempted hacking of a Costa Rican government agencys computer system led the countrys public health agency to shut down its systems Tuesday to protect itself, complicating the medical care of thousands of people. At least 30 of the Social Security agencys 1,500 servers were infected with ransomware, according to the government. The latest breach follows an attack by the Russian-speaking Conti gang in April. That ransomware attack targeted multiple Costa Rican government agencies, especially its finance ministry, which still has not recovered control of some of its systems. This time the attack appeared to come from another ransomware gang known as Hive. Conti and Hive were separate ransomware operations, said Brett Callow, a ransomware analyst at Emsisoft. Some analysts more recently, however, suspect they have established some sort of working relationship. At a minimum, it would seem that somebody who works with Conti is also working with Hive, Callow said. Conti likely partnered with other ransomware operations because its been increasingly challenging for them to collect payments since declaring their support for Russia and threatening attacks on U.S. critical infrastructure. Alvaro Ramos, president of the Social Security agency, said in a news conference Tuesday that the quick shutdown of their systems prevented the cyber criminals from gaining control and encrypting their data as happened in the earlier attacks. He said that no ransom had been demanded. Later Tuesday, however, a portal Hive uses to negotiate with its targets appeared to indicate otherwise. To decrypt your systems you have to pay $5,000,000 in Bitcoin, Hives message said. Payroll and pension were not affected, according to the Social Security agencys general manager Roberto Cervantes. He added that some 300 systems experts were working on the issue. But for Costa Ricans who depend on the public health system, Tuesday was a confusing mess. Roger Gonzalez, a retired publicist in San Jose, said that when he arrived for a scheduled medical appointment Tuesday he found that all systems were down and everything was being written on paper. The first thing the guard told us was that there was no system, to wait for the doctor because she would attend to us with the physical (medical) file, not with the computer, because they do not want to turn them on allowing the virus to spread, he said. Gonzalez said he was also told he would not be able to fill his prescriptions in the health centers pharmacy for the next two days and that an electrocardiogram that he was supposed to schedule Tuesday would be put off until systems were back up. The shut down was also keeping the government from updating its COVID-19 infection numbers amid a new wave of infections, according to Health Ministry. It also meant the Health Ministry could not issue orders to those infected to isolate. Social Security agency officials said they expected their systems to be back up in the coming days and that meanwhile the countrys COVID-19 vaccination campaign would continue. __ AP writer Christopher Sherman in Mexico City contributed to this report. NEW YORK (AP) Anger over Russias invasion of Ukraine turned bloody in a Brooklyn karaoke bar, with one Ukrainian patron stabbing another Ukrainian man in the face and neck after wrongly insisting the man was Russian, authorities said. Prosecutors are pursuing hate crime charges because of his mistaken belief about the victims nationality. Oleg Sulyma, 31, is accused of slashing a fellow Ukrainian immigrant with two broken beer bottles after hearing him speaking Russian and demanding proof of his ethnicity, including asking him to say a hard-to-pronounce Ukrainian word. I will show you what a real Ukrainian is!" Sulyma said just before attacking, according to prosecutors. Sulyma pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges including attempted murder and assault as a hate crime in connection with the April 25 attack, which took place at the Signature Restaurant and Falada Lounge in Sheepshead Bay. The neighborhood is home to many people with ties to Russia and Ukraine. Sulyma was released under supervision following his arraignment Wednesday and ordered to return to court Aug. 8. The man he's accused of stabbing, Andrii Meleshkov, required 17 stitches to repair his wounds, prosecutors said. A message seeking comment was left with Sulymas lawyer. At a previous court appearance, lawyer Arthur Gershfeld described the clash as a disputed argument between people and said Sulyma is the one who bore the brunt of it. Gershfeld alleged Meleshkov, 36, and his friends fought Sulyma, resulting in a collapsed lung and requiring multiple stitches to his lip and eye. Meleshkov told The New York Post he took Sulyma to the ground and sat on him after Sulyma stabbed him. Under New York state law, prosecutors can charge a person with a hate crime if theres evidence they were motivated to act because of what they believed or perceived to be true about a persons heritage or background, even if they're really members of the same group and those beliefs or perceptions are incorrect. According to prosecutors, Sulyma confronted Meleshkov and two of his friends around 3:45 a.m., just before closing time, because they were speaking Russian. You look Russian, he said according to prosecutors, and demanded they prove they were actually Ukrainian. He continued insisting they were Russian, even when they said otherwise. We switched to Ukrainian in order to calm him down, but it was getting him more and more agitated and he started asking us to translate words to prove that were Ukrainian, Meleshkov told the Post. Meleshkov told the Post that Sulyma asked him and his friends to pronounce the name of a type of Ukrainian bread, Palianytsia, because Russians typically have trouble saying it correctly. According to Meleshkov, the assailant told him: If you get it wrong, Ill have my way with you. Sulyma then smashed two beer bottles against a table, said Im going to cut you, and used the jagged edges to stab Meleshkov on the left side of his neck and the right side of his face, prosecutors said. Sulyma continued to hurl insults at Meleshkov and call him Russian after police arrived, prosecutors said. Meleshkov, a truck driver, said he was born and raised in Eastern Ukraine, where many people speak Russian, and that his mother is Russian. He moved to Brooklyn in 2015. Sulyma, a construction worker, has lived in Brooklyn for more than a decade. This defendant allegedly attempted to murder an innocent Ukrainian man who he believed to be Russian in a hateful and violent rage, Brooklyn District Attorney Gonzalez said in a written statement. Brooklyns diversity makes our borough so vibrant, and hate-motivated violence will never be tolerated here, Gonzalez added. ___ Follow Michael Sisak on Twitter at twitter.com/mikesisak. Send confidential tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips/. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate JACKSON, Miss. (AP) Former Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove is teaming up with a health care executive to apply for a state license to open a medical marijuana testing facility. The Mississippi State Department of Health started taking applications Wednesday for the state's new medical marijuana program for patients, medical practitioners, growers, processors, testers, and transportation and waste disposal providers. Musgrove and Quentin Whitwell, who are both attorneys, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that they are applying for a license to open Magnolia Tech Labs in Marshall County. To me, medical marijuana is ... a natural progression of options for health care in Mississippi and in America, Musgrove said. "I mean, to me, its obvious that it will eventually be offered in all 50 states. A wide majority of Mississippi voters approved a medical marijuana ballot initiative in November 2020, but the state Supreme Court invalidated the results of that election six months later by ruling the initiative was not properly on the ballot. Earlier this year, current Gov. Tate Reeves signed a law to create a medical marijuana program. Whitwell is involved with three rural hospitals in north Mississippi. He is owner and chief executive office of Panola Medical Center in Batesville, administrator and CEO of Quitman Community Hospital in Marks and chief operating officer and legal counsel for the Alliance Healthcare System hospital in Holly Springs, which is in Marshall County. Musgrove is a Democrat who was governor from 2000 to 2004 after serving one term as lieutenant governor. For nine years, he was chairman of the national Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services. Whitwell, who now lives in Oxford, served as a Republican on the Jackson City Council from 2011 to 2014. The two men said they have known each other for years. Whitwell said their facility would test for the potency of the marijuana. It would also check the products for impurities and pollutants. We recognized immediately that if the product is not safe and is not authenticated to be what someone would expect they are getting, there could be a problem, Whitwell said. They said they plan to open in Holly Springs because they have access to a facility that already has been doing toxicology testing. Essentially the same equipment is used for medical marijuana testing, Whitwell said. "So we already have staff and people, employees that know how to do tests properly. Cities and counties in Texas were well represented on a list of the fastest-growing places in the U.S. between 2020-2021, according to population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Between July 1, 2020, and July 1, 2021, eight of the fifteen fastest growing cities in the nation were located in Texas, the data shows. San Antonio saw the largest numerical growth in population over 12 month period, Census data shows. The city gained 13,626 residents for a total population of 1.45 million, making it the seventh-largest in the nation and the second-most populous city in Texas behind Houston. Fort Worth had the third-largest growth in population in the U.S., gaining 12,916 people between 2020 and 2021. Frisco gained 7,933 residents in 12 months, the third-highest total in Texas and the eighth-largest increase nationwide. The other Texas cities with the largest increases were New Braunfels (7,538), Georgetown (7,193), Leander (6,159), Denton (5,844) and McKinney (5,586). While Georgetown did not have the largest numerical increase in population, the Austin-area city had the largest percentage growth in population in the U.S., growing 10.5%, Census data shows. At that rate, the citys population would double in less than seven years, a Census press release said. The city has a population of 75,420, according to Census estimates. Texas is also home to some of the fastest-growing counties in the U.S., Census data shows. Rockwall County, in the Dallas area, grew the most in the nation between 2020 and 2021 with a population growth of 6.5%. Chambers County (5.7%), Hays and Comal counties (5.2%) and Fort Bend County (5.1%) were all also in the top 10 fastest growing counties in the U.S., according to Census data. The 15 largest U.S. cities remained the same, although half of the cities saw a decrease in population, according to Census estimates. That includes Houston, which lost 11,777 people between 2020 and 2021, and Dallas, which lost 14,777 people in the same period. Texas had the third-highest percentage increase in housing units in the 12-month period, growing 2.0% for a total of 11.9 million units. Utah was the state with the fastest growth at 2.7% followed by Idaho at 2.5%. Harris County saw the largest numerical gain in housing units in the country between 2020 and 2021, gaining 34,132 units. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LOS ANGELES (AP) A groundbreaking ceremony was held Wednesday for a museum that will permanently exhibit the retired NASA space shuttle Endeavour in Los Angeles. Endeavour will be displayed vertically as if ready for launch, complete with a massive external tank and solid rocket boosters on each side. U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and other local leaders attended the ceremony at the California Science Center in Exposition Park. The event coincided with the 11th anniversary of Endeavour's final return from space. The shuttle will be housed in the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, a 200,000-square-foot (18,580-square-meter) addition that will rise 20 stories high and contain 150 educational exhibits in multi-level galleries. About halfway through construction, Endeavour will be positioned in the new museum and the building will be completed around the full shuttle stack. Endeavour was built as a replacement for the destroyed shuttle Challenger and flew 25 missions between 1992 and 2011. When NASA's shuttles were retired, Endeavour was flown to California atop NASA's special Boeing 747 shuttle carrier in 2012, drawing crowds as it flew over the state. After landing at Los Angeles International Airport, the shuttle was placed on a special trailer that was carefully towed through tight streets to the California Science Center over several days. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MIAMI (AP) On this first day of the Atlantic hurricane season, federal officials are launching a new initiative to modernize building codes so that communities can be more resilient to hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, and other extreme weather events that are intensifying due to climate change. Deanne Criswell, the administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Ali Zaidi, the deputy national climate adviser to President Joe Biden, discussed the initiative Wednesday during a briefing at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, where recovering from a hit similar to Hurricane Andrew could cost hundreds of billions today. Updated building codes provide a range of smart design and construction methods that save lives, reduce property damage, and lower utility bills," according to a news release announcing the National Initiative to Advance Building Codes. It applies to new construction and to homes and buildings that are rebuilt due to damage. "The adoption of hazard-resistant building codes saves communities $11 per every $1 invested, Criswell said, citing a finding by the National Institute of Building Sciences. The initiative, approved by the National Climate Task Force earlier this year, comes amid signs that coastal communities should brace themselves for more intense storms. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted 14 to 21 named storms in the Atlantic this season, with six to 10 becoming hurricanes and three to six turbo-charging into major hurricanes with winds greater than 110 mph (177 kph). It's already begun with Agatha, a storm that battered Mexico over the past few days and may re-form in the Gulf of Mexico and possibly threaten parts of Florida by this weekend, the hurricane center said. This initiative is proof that acting on climate change delivers countless benefits to all Americans, especially in our most vulnerable communities, said Gina McCarthy, the president's national climate adviser. The program is designed to help buildings withstand damage caused by all natural disasters, including wildfires, tornadoes and floods. The codes ensure, for example, that roofs can withstand hurricane-force winds, that construction materials are resistant to flood damage and that insulation helps reduce heating and cooling costs, officials said. It's a no-brainer" to make new houses and buildings more energy efficient as a means of reducing climate change impacts, said Wendell Porter, professor emeritus of building professions at the University of Florida. But location is what really matters, he said. You dont want to rain on anybodys parade," Porter said. A big announcement that theyre going to build better houses, thats always good news. But until you decide to not build in certain locations, its a waste of time." Take coastal communities, for example. Its really hard to build a structure to actually withstand flooding," Porter said, Theres only two real good methods and thats either build it up, or retreat. Stilts or away." After Miami-Dade County was hit by Hurricane Andrew, stringent building code enforcement followed. But so did population growth, coastal development and climate change. Andrew was the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history at the time, causing more than $26 billion of damage in Floridas most populous areas. Likewise, officials said, education will be a key element of the modernized building codes. A FEMA analysis found that only 35% of cities, counties and towns across the country have updated hazard-resistant building codes. Cost is a factor: Construction and renovation designed for disaster resiliency can be more expensive. But the estimated savings for typical households in utility bills alone could be about $162 per year, officials projected. And on a larger scale, communities that have adopted modern building codes are already saving an estimated $1.6 billion a year in avoided damage from major disasters, officials said. That equates to a cumulative $132 billion through 2040 that won't have to be spent on disaster recovery. Federal agencies will use $225 million in infrastructure funding already approved for the U.S. Department of Energy to support energy code adoption, enforcement, training and technical assistance at the state and local level. They also predict that newer codes could deliver $138 billion in energy cost savings and prevent carbon emissions equivalent to what 195 million gasoline-powered cars emit in a year. The agencies said they plan to lead by example, implementing the new codes in federal buildings. Hadi Mizban/AP BAGHDAD (AP) Iraq's Electricity Ministry said Wednesday the country will face power shortages after crucial energy supplies from Iran were cut over non-payment. In a statement, the ministry said the total electricity supply was drastically reduced after Iran stopped exporting 5 million cubic meters of gas daily to Iraq. The gas imports are crucial for Iraq to meet soaring demands for electricity during the peak summer months especially in the southern provinces. CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) A West Virginia judge has ruled that jury selection will begin this week for a man accused of killing a Charleston police officer. Kanawha Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Bailey said during a pretrial hearing on Tuesday that jury selection for Joshua Phillips will begin Thursday, ahead of the trial scheduled to begin Monday, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported. MIAMI (AP) Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, an elderly leader of the former Cali cartel that smuggled vast amounts of cocaine from Colombia to the United States in the 1980s and 1990s, has died in a U.S. prison, his lawyer said Wednesday. In 2020, a judge had denied Rodriguez Orejuela, who was in his 80s, early release on compassionate grounds from a prison in Butner, North Carolina. His attorney, David O. Markus, had said at the time that the former drug kingpin was suffering a range of health problems. We were very sad to learn about his passing last night. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time, Markus said Wednesday. God has a new chess partner, the lawyer said, referring to Rodriguez Orejuela's reputation for outsmarting his enemies and rivals, for which he earned the nickname the chess player. Rodriguez Orejuela and his brother, Miguel, built a huge criminal enterprise that succeeded the Medellin cartel once run by drug lord Pablo Escobar. Both operations used violence and killings extensively for intimidation and enforcement. The Rodriguez Orejuela brothers were captured in 1995 and imprisoned in Colombia. At that point, Colombian law prohibited the extradition of its nationals. But under pressure from the U.S, Colombia lifted that ban in 1997. The brothers were found to have been continuing to traffic from prison and criminal charges were filed in Miami and New York. In 2004, Gilberto was extradited; Miguel was extradited the next year. Under a 2006 plea deal that the brothers reached with federal prosecutors in Miami, more than two dozen family members were removed from a U.S. Treasury Department list designating them as part of the Cali cartel. That spared some of them from prosecution for obstruction of justice or money laundering and also allowed legitimate family businesses in Colombia to continue operating. Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuelas prison release date had been scheduled for Feb. 9 2030. His younger brother, is serving his sentence at a Pennsylvania prison. Perhaps the biggest legacy of the Rodriguez Orejuela brothers was their ability to quietly corrupt Colombian politics, delivering shoeboxes of cash to Ernesto Sampers campaign prior to his 1994 election as president and buying off much of Congress. While painted in the popular press as less violent than Pablo Escobar and the Medellin cartel, the Rodriguez Orejuelas brothers were later accused of paying off journalists to suppress news of Cali cartel-related killings. New ranks of narcos quickly replaced the Cali cartel leaders after their arrest and extradition. Many of those successors became leaders of far-right military bands that the U.S. placed on its international terror group list in 2001. ___ Associated Press journalist Frank Bajak contributed from Boston. PHILADELPHIA (AP) A suburban Philadelphia man charged in the January 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol after he was turned in by an ex-girlfriend after reportedly insulting her intelligence for not believing the election had been stolen has pleaded guilty to a felony count. Richard Michetti, 29, of Ridley Park pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Washington to a charge of aiding and abetting obstruction of an official proceeding. He was originally also charged with trespassing, violent entry and disorderly conduct. KALEVA It is not a happy day but it is one of honor and a somber one for the families of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Starla Owens knows this her son Joseph gave the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan on Nov. 10, 2007. She is a Gold Star mother and was the guest speaker at the Memorial Day service held at the Kaleva Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 6333 on Monday. "I've been involved with just about anything veterans (related) since Joe's passing," Owens said. "I feel the only way to keep his memory alive is to volunteer my services as he would want us to do." Owens also spoke of the true meaning of Memorial Day and how it is more than just parades, barbecues and the unofficial first day of summer. "We think of it as a day to say thank you to those who have served, but that day is Veterans Day. However, Memorial Day is one of the many somber holidays. There is no happy when the news comes to a family of a soldier who was killed in action. There is no happiness in the thoughts of a father, mother, brother, sister or grandchild who died of wounds during war. There is no happy in seeing a flag-draped casket. There is no happy watching American flags flying at half staff. There is no happy at having a flag snapped and folded in front of a grieving family," Owens said. While she spoke in particular about the somberness of the holiday, she also spoke about the pride and honor associated with Memorial Day. "Yet there is honor in this holiday. There is much to be proud about. There is a reason to always raise the American flag and to show your patriotism," Owens continued. "When we forget those who gave their lives when we stopped saying their names, they fade away. That is why we must pay tribute to those fallen by honoring and remembering them." At the end of the service, Owens was presented with a Bronze Citizenship Medal by Sean Knudsen, the station commander for the Kaleva VFW Post No. 6333. Knudsen spoke of Owens' service to veterans and her level of dedication. More Photos A video of the ceremony and more photos can be found along with this article at manisteenews.com. See More Collapse "Starla Owens has selflessly devoted over 1,000 hours retained to assist community citizens and veterans throughout our work as a member and volunteer at the Kaleva VFW Auxiliary," Knudsen said. "She was the leader of Gold Star Mothers. As the mother of a fallen hero, (she) reflects the highest honor (of) outstanding faith and unwavering loyalty. The Bronze Citizenship Medal is awarded for her love and compassion for her family and her community instilled exceptional volunteer spirit," he said. However, Owens was not the only person to receive a medal. Calvin Murphy, a Vietnam War veteran and a member of the Kaleva VFW, also received several medals. In an email to the News Advocate on May 27, Knudsen wrote that Murphy, "... (a) former (Kaleva VFW) Post No. 6333 commander will be receiving the VFW Commendation Medal for his decades of service to fellow veterans and his dedication to veterans and their families in the state of Michigan and the United States. Calvin will also be receiving the VFW first responder medal for his service of 18 years deploying and fighting western fires while employed by the U.S. Forest Service." Murphy said he didn't know ahead of time that he would be receiving the medals; he was happy with the strong turnout at the ceremony. "It's just heartwarming that the ones that made the ultimate sacrifice are not forgotten ... and that can happen so easily," Murphy said. More information about the Kaleva VFW Post No. 6333 and the events and services they offer can be found on their Facebook page, facebook.com/KalevaVFW6333. The fathers in our lives define us in a way that no other relationship does. If our fathers were loving and supportive, we grow up with a different view of the world than we would have if our fathers had been domineering and unloving. Through memories, our fathers remain connected to us all our lives. Being a father. Being a dad. Such an important job. To raise a child with happy memories. For Fathers Day this year, I asked my niece, Tammy Groves Muir, to write about her father, my brother-in-law, Ken Groves, who passed away in 2003. Today, Tammy lives in California, but she grew up in Midland and graduated from high school here. Tammys great-great-great-grandfather, Henry White, came to the Village of Midland City in 1869, making her a member of First Families of Midland. Tammys story is Part I. My memories of my own dad will be Part II. The rest of this story is Tammy speaking in the first person about her dad as she remembers him. This is a story about family and fathers and love. This is memoir. We begin where the heart wants to begin, and we end where we choose. Our father was an amazing man who taught us about love, and those lessons have been passed on as we became mothers and fathers to our own children. Soon, we celebrate Fathers Day on June 19. These are my childhood stories of my father: Im young. I dont know how old I am, but I am an only child and the universe revolves around my parents and their universe revolves around me. I like it this way. But Dad tells me I am going to have a new sister. I am not worried about whether or not the center of my universe will change. I am secure in the knowledge that Im loved. My mother, however, has had to go to a hospital to have my sister, and only my father can see her. I am not allowed there. How can this be? I am nothing without Mommy and Daddy, and they can be nothing without me. I wait alone in a waiting room for forever, then my father comes out. Im tired, so he carries me to the car and hugs me and tells me he loves me, and he tells me about my new sister. Robbyn, my sister, is born on Good Friday. The Easter bunny is coming, and Dad and I must prepare. A basket for mom is just the thing. We decorate eggs, we shop for chocolate and pink Easter grass (my favorite), and we build an amazing Easter basket. All is right with the world. Dad and I welcome my new sister. I love her already. Dad hugs me and holds her. He loves both of us now. He winks at me and wonders if I would like some chocolate. Of course. Now Im in elementary school, and I love reading and books. So does my father. He reads books to me and he shares the stories he reads from his books. Mom is busy with my little sister and now my baby brother as well. Dad and I will go to the library. We go after dinner and we stay until it closes. No matter what has happened at school, or at home, or with my friends, books take me away. At first, I am in the childrens section of the library while my Dad looks for his books. I read all the fairy tales, Greek mythology, and when I run out of those, Dad tells me about a folk hero named Paul Bunyan. My Dad always has ideas for subjects to read about. He knows everything and I have so much to learn. For Dad and me, this is bliss to be surrounded by stories. I get older and now we are standing at the same bookshelves, looking for the latest Agatha Christie. Im rueful. Dad usually guesses the villain. I do not. Its a competition of sorts. I read even more mysteries. One day, I will guess the villain, but my Dad is a smart man. He smiles and teases me as I argue my theory of the case for the latest Ed McBain novel. We love guessing the endings. I love that Dad usually gets it right. I think he loves that I cant. He is a scientist; I am, well, the opposite. The love for books and bookstores never ends in a lifetime of memories with my father. Dad and I, forever searching for the one story that will help us understand the story of the world so that we may understand the story of ourselves. His is a quantitative exploration; I am all about the qualitative. Im now in the fifth grade and I have to do a physics experiment at home. My father has a doctorate in chemistry. He lives science. I prefer fantasy fiction. Our worlds rarely meet, but the love in them never wanes. My task is to take metal shavings and scatter them about at the pole of each magnet. Patterns emerge, one for the south pole and one for the north pole. I am to draw the patterns. The patterns I draw for each pole are the same. This defies physics. Each pole should have its own unique pattern. But mine do not. I repeat this experiment several times. Frustrated, I finally humble myself and reach out to my Dad, Mr. Science. Im told that what I have done is impossible. I perform the experiment, and to his amazement, both poles are identical. Against the laws of physics. My Dad looks at me and smiles. Only I could get a magnet with two south poles! He loves me enough not to even question this aberration. He tells me if anyone can defy the laws of the universe, it would be me. I grin. He loves who I am, even though I am so much who he is not. My brother and sister grow up and I am the eldest. Too old for family vacations, too young to argue. Dads love of new experiences is reflected in the itineraries of our trips. Each day is packed to the brim with sites, museums, galleries and monuments. Today we are at Gettysburg. I am 15. I do not appreciate battlefields. My brother does. My father loves them. The sign says a tour takes four hours. I gasp in horror. Dad says well go our own way. I breathe a sigh of relief. Perhaps at least the afternoon is salvageable. Kenny says, Dad, where is the Michigan monument on this field? I look around in shock. There are hundreds and hundreds of monuments. Dad loves his son and he loves this battlefield. We do not leave that field until the Michigan monument is found. The longest afternoon of my life. The best one of my brothers. And isnt that how love works? In all he did, Dad showered each of us with the seeds of love. He protected and nurtured our sense of selves in a world that was/is not always fair. Without this foundation, we could not have built our own families, our own traditions, our own Fathers Day. One last story. All of us -- Robbyn, Kenny and I -- go out of our way to surprise our Dad with our Fathers Day presents each year. We are all young and we love the challenge of disguising each gift so he will never guess what it is. He guesses a lot, however, and each year we get cleverer and cleverer. But our Dad is a smart man and we have few successes. Fast forward to another gift opportunity for Dad. His birthday is coming. I am now 30 and my father is traveling for work, so he will stop by my home in California while he is here. Im excited. I have his gift already, a book from the works of Shelby Foote, whom he loves. I dont disguise his gifts anymore. I am confident he will love it. Even though he guessed our gifts, he always loved them even without the surprise. But on his birthday this year, I am expecting a baby in a few weeks. Guess what? You will never guess, Dad! She is born on your birthday. Dad leaves from the airport and heads to the hospital where I am at. He holds his first granddaughter in wonder. He is humbled by this gift and I am thrilled by the surprise of it all. In the room it is only the three of us. Myself, my father, and my daughter. My father is smiling. One birthday gift he never guessed. One birthday gift that rocked his world. Robbyn, Kenny and I will love you always, Dad. Thank you for loving us. (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Stephen P. Hanna, University of Mary Washington; Amy Potter, Georgia Southern University, and Derek H. Alderman, University of Tennessee (THE CONVERSATION) On May 17, 2022, after weeks of negative stories on Montpelier in the national press, the foundation that operates the Virginia plantation home of James Madison finally made good on its promise to share authority with descendants of people enslaved by the man known as the father of the U.S. Constitution. This agreement is the result of a long struggle by this descendant community to make enslaved people more prominent in the history Montpelier offers the public. Though presidential plantation museums began addressing the topic of enslavement over 20 years ago, descendants were not given power over their ancestors stories. In 2018, provoked by years of slaverys being taught in erroneous ways, a summit of educators, museum professionals and descendants gathered at Montpelier to define a set of best practices for how historic sites should work with descendant communities. Ensuring that enslaved peoples descendants have power and authority within these institutions is central to the guide. Working toward that goal in 2021, Montpelier announced a historic agreement giving descendants equal representation on its board of directors. These innovations made Montpelier a leader in slavery interpretation. But that status was threatened earlier this year when Montpelier dissolved its power-sharing agreement with the descendant community. The foundations chairman said the board has found the committee (representing descendants) difficult to work with. Montpelier also fired senior staff who protested this decision, accusing them of speaking disparagingly, even hatefully, of the volunteer Board that governs this historic American Treasure. A firestorm of protest erupted. Thousands signed petitions urging Montpelier to live up to its promise to work with the descendants. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which owns Montpelier, stated that the foundations actions would set back Montpeliers efforts to continue the necessary work of uplifting descendants voices. Our research at Montpelier and at George Washingtons Mount Vernon and Thomas Jeffersons Monticello suggests descendant community involvement with the operations of a site affects what visitors learn about slavery at these museums. As cultural geographers studying how enslavement is presented at historic sites, we realize the importance of creating bonds between visitors and the struggles of enslaved communities at these historic homes. Such bonds help the public understand slaverys role in the lives of the Founding Fathers and in the creation of the American nation. Descendant voices at plantation museums Montpelier, Monticello and Mount Vernon are popular tourist destinations in Virginia where the public can experience, interpret and identify with historical figures and events. Before the pandemic in 2020, staff estimated that each year 125,000 people visited Montpelier, over 400,000 visited Monticello and over 1 million visited Mount Vernon. Some of these visitors find it hard to reconcile the Founding Fathers contributions to American democracy with their enslavement of Black men, women and children. For most of their histories, presidential sites catered to mostly white visitors by downplaying slavery to maintain the reputations of national heroes. Descendant communities increasingly claim presidential plantations as sites where they can incorporate their historical struggles and contributions into the nations story. This places them front and center in the ongoing battle over how slavery is remembered at the homes of Americas first presidents. Anthropologist Antoinette Jackson argues that descendant community involvement with plantation museums helps the public understand the diversity of Black lives before and after emancipation. Her research also suggests that descendant voices disrupt the long-standing white-centric history told at historic sites that has downplayed the everyday practices of living, resisting and surviving that characterized enslaved communities. Studying visitor experiences To determine the effect that descendant community involvement had on visitor experiences at Montpelier, Monticello and Mount Vernon, we surveyed 1,386 adult visitors when they first arrived in 2019 and 2020. We also documented the three museums tours and exhibits and surveyed 1,033 adult visitors as they left. The overwhelming majority of visitors 86% identified as white, suggestive of how uninviting these sites have been to people of color. On the pre-visit survey, 81% of visitors said they were very to extremely interested in learning about Madison, Jefferson and Washington. In comparison, only 57% said they were very or extremely interested in learning about enslavement. Over 90% of visitors took tours of the presidents mansions. While enslavement was mentioned on these tours, guides pointed at antique desks and painted portraits to emphasize that Washington, Jefferson and Madison were key players in Americas founding. According to staff we interviewed, descendants had little say over the content of mansion tours. Descendant involvement in the sites slavery tours and exhibits varied across the the three sites. The Slavery at Monticello tour included enslaved peoples biographies drawn from the oral history project Getting Word, in which descendants shared their stories and those of their ancestors with museum staff. On the tour, guides mention that members of the Fossett family, for instance, purchased their freedom, moved to Cincinnati and helped fugitive slaves find freedom. At Montpelier, descendants helped design The Mere Distinction of Colour exhibit. It featured the voices of descendants who connected the facts of slavery in Americas past to its legacy in the nations present. At Mount Vernon, the material presented on tours and exhibits that focused on enslavement was thorough and well researched, but contributions of descendants were not featured as much as at the other two museums. After their visits, people at all three sites reported learning more about Washington, Jefferson and Madison than about enslaved people. They also stated that these three men had a greater impact on the development of the United States than slavery did. These results are not surprising. Visitors arrived more interested in learning about the presidents and almost all took the mansion tours where guides talked more about the Founding Fathers accomplishments than enslavement. The impact of different voices Between 40% and 70% of surveyed visitors experienced tours or exhibits about enslaved people, but the voices of descendants made visitor experiences at Montpelier and Monticello much different than at Mount Vernon. Forty percent of 140 Montpelier visitors surveyed reported learning a great deal about enslaved people. In comparison, 32% of 389 Monticello respondents and only 16% of 504 Mount Vernon visitors said they learned a great deal. Descendant voices at Montpelier and Monticello also helped visitors understand slaverys impacts on the development of the United States. Fifty-seven percent of respondents at these sites stated that slavery had a great deal of impact on the nation. Only 42% of Mount Vernon visitors said the same. Finally, visitor experiences are influenced by how much they engage emotionally with what is said in museum tours and exhibits. The voices of descendants made a difference in this regard. At Montpelier and Monticello, over 80% said felt more empathy for enslaved people because of their visit. In contrast, just over 70% of Mount Vernon visitors said their empathy increased. Tough choices Presidential sites of the Founding Fathers are popular destinations that help people form their understanding of American history. Their plantations are key elements for the public to put presidential reputations in conversation with the struggles of enslaved people and the voices of their descendants. But as presidential museums try to redress their longtime neglect of enslaved Black people, a few vocal visitors accuse guides of attacking the reputations of the white founders. In our view, museums must be mindful of the roles they play in either reproducing or challenging racial exclusions still found in American understanding of history. Intensive public criticism helped make the Montpelier Foundation choose to challenge such exclusions. On May 25, 2022, the new governing board, half of whose members are now enslaved peoples descendants, named Elizabeth Chew as new interim president. Along with two others, Chew had been fired on April 18, 2020, as chief curator of the presidential home. While accepting the new position she said, We must embrace historys complexity and welcome the leadership of the living voices for those who were silenced here. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/modern-day-struggle-at-james-madisons-plantation-montpelier-to-include-the-descendants-voices-of-the-enslaved-181929. KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) A Kansas City woman accused of decapitating her 6-year-old son has been found mentally unfit to stand trial. A Jackson County judge last week placed Tasha Haefs, 35, in the custody of the Missouri Department of Mental Health after finding her incompetent to stand trial, the Kansas City Star reported. Haefs had been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the killing of Karvel Stevens. Officers who were called in February to a home in eastern Kansas City found the boy and a family dog decapitated inside and Haefs covered in blood. They also found bloody knives, and officials said Haefs told police she killed her son in the home's bathtub. Police went to the home after a woman believed to be Haefs called and said the devil was trying to attack her. Haefs' family members later told the Star that she had struggled for years with drug addiction, depression, severe trauma and hallucinations. A phone message left Wednesday morning with Haefs public defender, Laura OSullivan, seeking comment was not immediately returned. Mike Mansur, a spokesman for the Jackson County Prosecutors Office, said Haefs' mental competence will be re-evaluated after several months of treatment to see if she can stand trial at a later date. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate UVALDE, Texas (AP) Mourners gathered Wednesday at a Catholic church to say goodbye to Robb Elementary School teacher Irma Garcia who died in the shooting at the Uvalde, Texas, grade school and her husband, Joe who died two days later from a heart attack. Nineteen children and two teachers Garcia and her co-teacher, 44-year-old Eva Mireles were killed May 24 when an 18-year-old gunman burst into their classroom. The litany of visitations, funerals and burials began Monday and will continue into mid-June. At Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Wednesday, twin black hearses carrying the coffins of the Garcias arrived in a procession led by police and civilian motorcycle riders. Covered by flowers, the two closed caskets were borne by pallbearers past a phalanx of police in uniforms and priests in white robes. Some sobbed throughout the service in which Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller offered thanks for Irma Garcias dedication. He listed the names of the slain schoolchildren several times throughout the homily. Because you were there with them, he said. You did what you would have done with your own children. You took care of them until your last breath. Irma, 48, was finishing up her 23rd year as a teacher at Robb Elementary. In a letter posted on the schools website at the beginning of the school year, Garcia told her students that she and Joe had four children a Marine, a college student, a high school student and a seventh grader. Most of the readings during Wednesday's service and the homily were in English, with Garcia-Siller offering some words in Spanish. We are all hurting, he said. In the midst of so much, please, please people need comfort, people need you. Let us all foster a culture of peace. Joe, 50, collapsed and died after dropping off flowers at his wifes memorial. The couple would have been married 25 years on June 28 His obituary noted that he and Irma began their relationship in high school and it flourished into a love that was beautiful and kind. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, who attended the Garcias funeral, said in a statement that America must unite as a country against this senseless cycle of violence, act immediately to protect our children, and make sure that every child and every educator feels safe in our schools. Another funeral Wednesday was for 10-year-old Jose Flores Jr., also at Sacred Heart. He made the honor roll and received a certificate on May 24, hours before the shooting. His father told CNN that his son loved baseball and video games and was always full of energy. On Tuesday afternoon, hundreds turned out to remember Amerie Jo Garza, a smiling fourth-grader whose funeral Mass was the first since the massacre. The funeral for 10-year-old Maite Rodriguez was Tuesday night. At Amerie's funeral, mourner Erika Santiago, her husband and their two children wore purple shirts adorned with images of the victims. She described Amerie as a nice little girl who smiled a lot, and who was so humble and charismatic but full of life. Investigators continue to seek answers about how police responded to the shooting, and the U.S. Department of Justice is reviewing law enforcement actions. The blame for an excruciating delay in killing the gunman even as parents outside begged police to rush in and panicked children called 911 from inside was placed on the school districts police chief, Pete Arredondo. The director of state police last week said Arredondo made the wrong decision not to breach the classroom, believing the gunman was barricaded inside and children werent at risk. On Wednesday, Arredondo told CNN that he's talking regularly with investigators from the Texas Department of Public Safety, contradicting claims from state law enforcement that hes stopped cooperating. Authorities have said the gunman, Salvador Ramos, legally purchased two guns not long before the school attack: an AR-15-style rifle on May 17 and a second rifle on May 20. He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law. Ramos was killed by law enforcement. ___ More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The chant in Arabic blasted from rooftop loudspeakers, drowning out both the growl of traffic from nearby interstates and the chatter and clinking glasses on the patio of the dive bar that shares a wall with Minneapolis oldest Somali mosque. Dozens of men in fashionably ripped jeans or impeccably ironed kameez tunics rushed toward the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque. Teens clutched smartphones, and some of the older devout shuffled in with the aid of walkers from the high-rise complex across the street where thousands of Somalis live. This spring Minneapolis became the first large city in the United States to allow the Islamic call to prayer, or adhan, to be broadcast publicly by its two dozen mosques. As more of them get ready to join Dar Al-Hijrah in doing so, the transforming soundscape is testament to the large and increasingly visible Muslim community, which is greeting the change with both celebration and caution, lest it cause backlash. Its a sign that we are here, said Yusuf Abdulle, who directs the Islamic Association of North America, a network of three dozen mostly East African mosques. Half of them are in Minnesota, home to rapidly growing numbers of refugees from war-torn Somalia since the late 1990s. Abdulle said that when he arrived in the United States two decades ago, the first thing I missed was the adhan. We drop everything and answer the call of God. The adhan declares that God is great and proclaims the Prophet Muhammad as his messenger. It exhorts men women are not required to go to the closest mosque five times a day for prayer, which is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Its cadences are woven into the rhythm of daily life in Muslim-majority countries, but its a newcomer to the streets of Minneapolis, which resonate with city traffic, the rumble of snowplows in winter and tornado siren drills in summer. Americans have long debated the place of religious sound in public, especially when communities are transformed by migration, said Isaac Weiner, a scholar of religious studies at Ohio State University. What we take for granted and what stands out is informed by who we think of ourselves as a community, he said. We respond to sounds based on whos making them. Thats especially true when the sound is not a bell or a horn, but spoken words, as in the adhan. Hearing that voice, its a connection to God even if at work or in the fields or a classroom, said Abdisalam Adam, who often prays at Dar Al-Hijrah. Its a balance of this world and the hereafter. Dar Al-Hijrah got a special permit to broadcast for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in spring 2020, when Minnesota was under a pandemic lockdown, so the faithful could hear the adhan from home, mosque director Wali Dirie said. Soon it was resounding from speakers set up with the help of First Avenue, a nightclub made famous by Prince. People thought they were dreaming and wept at their windows. That community need led to the recent resolution authorizing the broadcasts more broadly. It establishes decibel levels and hourly limits in line with the citys noise ordinance, meaning that the early-morning and late-night calls to prayer are only aired indoors. At Dar Al-Hijrah now, elders call the prayer three times a day, drawing youth like Mohamad Mooh, 17, who arrived just five months ago. He said he wishes the broadcasts were even louder like back in Somalia, where the early morning calls woke him up. I know its a little bit complicated because of the society, Mooh added after a recent packed prayer service. Just like some Americans opposed church bells in the 19th century, the call to prayer has led to disputes over the years, from Duke University to Culver City, California. In Hamtramck, a small city surrounded by Detroit, councilors exempted religious sounds from the noise ordinance at a mosques request. Coming in the aftermath of 9/11, the amendment got embroiled in national controversy, but a referendum to revoke it failed. In the predominantly Somali neighborhood of Cedar-Riverside, tucked between downtown and two college campuses, Dar Al-Hijrah mosques adhan has met no backlash. Hoping to also prevent it, the Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center in south Minneapolis, which hosts some 1,000 men for Friday midday prayers, plans to hold meetings with neighbors before broadcasting publicly this summer. We care about the neighbors, said Abdullahi Farah, the centers director. We have to talk to them, explain to them and at least share our views on this. Abdullahi Mohammed stopped at Abubakar on a recent afternoon when he was driving by and was alerted by a call-to-prayer app, which he and many others use in the absence of a public broadcast. He said he would love to hear the adhan ringing out everywhere because it would teach Muslim children to pray automatically but also acknowledged non-Muslim neighbors might feel different. Between hesitancy to provoke tensions, technical complexities and the challenges of arranging for someone with Arabic and vocal skills to chant the call live, several mosques may decide not to broadcast, said Jaylani Hussein, director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. But other mosques are already eager to push for permission to broadcast all five prayers and hope to see Minneapolis set an example for cities across the country. We want Muslims to fully exist here in America, Hussein said, adding that the adhan is the last piece to make this home. Its incredibly important for Muslims to know their religious rights are never infringed upon. Several neighborhood groups consulted by The Associated Press said that while no formal discussions have been held yet, they expect most residents will be accepting. People will ask, Whats that? and then say, Thats cool, predicted Tabitha Montgomery, director of the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association. At two churches, founded more than a century ago by Scandinavian immigrants and now within earshot of the adhan, leaders also had no objections. Trinity Lutheran Congregation collaborates with Dar Al-Hijrah on charity and outreach events. Pastor Jane Buckley-Farlee said she likes hearing the adhan from her office. It reminds me that God is bigger than we know, she said. Hierald Osorto, pastor of the predominantly Spanish-speaking St. Paul Lutheran Church near Abubakar and another mosque, also anticipates no pushback from his flock. In fact, hes been thinking of bringing back the long-broken church bell as a way to gather the congregation and make it more visible in the neighborhood. It allows us to be known, Osorto said. Mowlid Ali, the imam at Abubakar, said part of the aim in broadcasting the adhan is precisely that mix of claiming belonging and outreach. We hope that through calling the adhan in public, it would actually bring more interest from the neighbors in knowing about the religion of Islam, Ali said. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. TRENTON, N.J. (AP) New Jersey resident Shashuna Atwater is still living with the awful smell of sewage that inundated her basement when the remnants of Hurricane Ida struck New Jersey nine months ago, destroying photographs, diplomas and other irreplaceable belongings. Atwater, of Newark, was one of roughly two dozen people who spoke Wednesday during an event in Trenton calling on federal officials to speed up and improve disaster aid. Atwater said she's given all her information to the Federal Emergency Management Agency but still hasn't gotten the financial relief she said she needs to rebuild. She's out of luck with her landlord, too, who told her that insurance wouldn't cover the damage. The aftermath was worse than what you saw when you first looked because here goes the cleaning up part, and youre all alone, Atwater said. We have to do better. Wednesday's event comes nine months to the day since Ida's rains struck New Jersey, leaving 30 people dead in the state, turning roads into waterways, flooding basements and leaving a path of destruction across the state. It also comes at the start of new hurricane season that experts warn could include another round of deadly and costly storms. FEMA has allocated about $250 million in assistance and approved aid for some 45,000 applications, the agency said in an email. In addition, the Small Business Administration has set aside $248 million for Ida recovery and the Housing and Urban Development Department has earmarked $228 million in aid for Ida relief. Some of the cash has stalled at the state level as New Jersey officials work to dole it out, though, said Meghan Mertyris, a community organizer for the New Jersey Organizing Project, which bills itself as a grassroots organization representing the states shore region and an advocate for improving disaster funding after Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The state is required to submit a plan about spending the funds, according to the Organizing Project's executive director Amanda Devecka-Rinear. There will also be hearings scheduled in which people can comment publicly, she said. Ida survivors can go to those hearings and make comments about the programs and whether or not they will meet their communities' needs, she said in an email, adding, This shouldnt take so long. The group hosted Wednesdays event outside the statehouse annex building. Democratic Reps. Andy Kim and Tom Malinowski both seeking reelection this year after first winning election to Congress in 2018 appeared alongside affected residents and organizers. Kim said he was sorry for the federal government's response and that people whose homes were ruined in the storm should have gotten help quickly. When they turned to those that they needed the help from, they didnt get it, Kim said. For that I apologize on behalf of our country. That is not the way we treat Americans. That is not the way we treat the people that are here. The people here standing with me theyre not asking for the moon. Theyre asking for fairness. Malinowski echoed a refrain President Joe Biden made in September when he visited areas in the Northeast ravaged by Ida, naming climate change as a culprit. Climate change is here. It is 5, 10 feet of water in your basement. It is your house in the state of New Jersey left in state of complete disrepair, Malinowski said. Speeding up disbursement would require better communication between the federal government and the public, Kim said. He added that congressional oversight could help with that. Shirley Eosso's basement and garage in Basking Ridge flooded during Ida. She said she got $249.99 from FEMA as well as some assistance through a flood insurance policy she carried. She said she attended the event Wednesday to speak up for people who couldn't afford to take off work. The process is broken. The money is there. How do we get it to the people who need it? she said. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) A North Carolina woman has been arrested outside of New York in connection with the death of her 3-year-old son in March, police said Wednesday. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police detectives said in a news release that an off-duty officer was approached at a park on March 12 by a female who said her her child was unresponsive in the pond. A former Minneapolis police officer pleaded guilty to a state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd one week before the second anniversary of his death. Thomas Lane admitted he intentionally helped restrain Floyd in a way that created an unreasonable risk and caused his death. He is scheduled to be sentenced on the state charge on Sept. 21. Photo provided/ Hennepin County Sheriff's Office/AP As part of Lanes plea agreement, a more serious count of aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder will be dismissed, according to reporting by The Associated Press. Lane and former Officers J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao have already been convicted on federal counts of willfully violating Floyds rights. While they have yet to be sentenced on the federal charges, Lanes change of plea means he will avoid what could have been a lengthy state sentence if he was convicted of the murder charge. On May 25, 2020, a different ex-Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for approximately nine minutes on a street in Minneapolis as he repeatedly said he couldn't breathe. The killing, captured on widely-viewed bystander video, led people to protests around the world against racial injustice. Lane, who is white, and Kueng, who is Black, helped restrain Floyd, who was handcuffed. Lane held down Floyds legs and Kueng knelt on Floyds back. Thao, who is a Hmong American, kept bystanders from intervening during the 9 1/2-minute restraint, according to reporting by the AP. All three are free on bond; the state trial scheduled for June is expected to proceed for Kueng and Thao. Additionally, President Joe Biden plans to sign an executive order on policing on Wednesday, the second anniversary of Floyds death, according to three people familiar with the matter, the AP reported. Protests in Michigan over racial injustice continue two years after Floyd's murder, and are still met with hatred. In April, Michigan State Police released footage of a Black man being fatally shot in the back of the head by a Michigan police officer during a struggle over the officer's Taser following a traffic stop. The footage led protestors to take to the streets across Michigan, similar to when the footage of Floyd's death was released. But not everyone is for equality. A Michigan man was charged with hate crimes after he allegedly intimidated supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement by leaving handwritten notes and nooses around his community, the Department of Justice said. Kenneth Pilon, 61, has been charged with six counts of interfering with federally protected activities for incidents dating back to June and July 2020 which is when the wave of nationwide protests began after the murder of George Floyd. PRAGUE (AP) A fire broke out Wednesday evening at a nursing home that takes care of people suffering from Alzheimer disease in the Czech Republic, injuring more than 50. The regional rescue service said ladders were used to evacuated 56 patients from the home in Roztoky, a town just north of Prague. A total of 54 were injured, with two in critical condition, the rescuers said. WARSAW, Poland (AP) Polands Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Wednesday his country is improving its transport infrastructure to ease the export of grain and other key products from neighboring Ukraine that has been severely restricted by Russia's invasion. Morawiecki spoke in the Ukrainian town of Borodyanka, near Kyiv, that was heavily damaged by Russian shelling. He was there to inaugurate container houses, provided by Poland, for people left homeless by the fighting. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) A judge on Wednesday found sufficient evidence to order the arrest of the mayor and finance director of one of Puerto Ricos largest cities accused in a multimillion-dollar corruption case. Jose Guillermo Rodriguez, mayor of the western coastal city of Mayaguez, and its finance director are accused of embezzlement of public funds and breach of duty. Authorities allege the two diverted $9 million in public funds meant for improvements at a local trauma center and instead used the money in high-risk investments. The League of Women Voters of the Midland Area is gearing up for a turbulent Midterm Election. With new state legislative districts and elections under increasing scrutiny, the League continues to work on educating and encouraging residents with participating in the electoral process. During the leagues annual meeting on Wednesday, the Daily News spoke to the League Chapter President Kim Steinke, on the groups plans this year and election misinformation. MDN: What is the league hoping to do this year to help educate, inform and promote voting? STEINKE: In the fall, (we will) probably (be) doing some more events at the Senior Center. We may have a program about where we are with the different petitions that are on the ballot. We did an update early on once we knew which ones were going to be on the ballot and which ones were not. We will probably be doing another update with what is going to be on your ballot, so that people have a good understanding. I think our first forums are going to be in July We will probably do them over two different days because we will do two at a time, and we are going to (host) at least four to six for binary forums. We are also getting involved right now with a petition, Promote the Vote 2022, to get (a) constitutional amendment to ensure that voters votes are going to count. With absentee ballots, we very much want to encourage people that work and older people to take advantage of getting their absentee ballots, which I believe just became available for the primaries. What are your plans to address election misinformation? We have a PowerPoint (to share) some of the ways that voters can be aware of myths and disinformation. Here is the tip to trust your valuable sources and if you do not think it sounds right, you might want to check it. We do mention to people that we are not going to tell you which trusted sources, but you need to make sure you are not getting information that is not true. There's a lot of that out there. What are you most concerned about going into this election cycle? We can only hope that we have people that will volunteer to work the polls. We really need people to help our county and city officials with counting the ballots. Last year in 2020, a few of us were poll watchers. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer asked very specifically to have the League because she trusts the League that we were there to make sure that there was not chaos (with) counting the ballots, that people would not be disruptive and stop the counting. My expectation is, again, that we are going to be asked to make sure, particularly our metropolitan areas, to make sure that people are not trying to disrupt the process We are concerned that people steal the drop off boxes or (other) shenanigans. Is there anything else you think the public needs to know about this year's election season? The city is having problems getting volunteers (for election night). We are going to need to have a sufficient numbers of poll workers and we are going need people to help the clerk counting the votes until election day is over. What we are needing, as some of our folks get older, we need young people. What I am hoping (for) is a campaign for the colleges, because we are going to be going to do some voter registration drives at Delta and Saginaw Valley. In my mind, this is a scary time. If we do not have enough people voting for people that are going to make sure that all the votes get counted, and we just decide to let a legislator take over, that is scary to me. I don't think that will come here in Midland, but it would not be at all surprising if there were problems. Disruptions of the electoral process? Disruptions with the counting of the votes. That, for me, is a concern. I do not think Midland itself would ever fall into that kind of a thing, but Michigan is definitely a state that is on our radar, and we are going to have a lot of people coming in with a lot of money. Who should community members know about the League of Women Voters of the Midland Area? Our main thing is that we are we are committed to being nonpartisan and non-political. We don't support candidates. Yep. We don't support political parties. Our main function has been what it's been for 102 years: to get people to understand what the vote means. Make sure they are registered, when to vote, know about absentee ballots and that they are educated. Iris Samuels/AP HELENA, Mont. (AP) Montana's top schools official was fined $100 after she pleaded no contest to a citation alleging she illegally passed a stopped school bus while children were boarding. Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen on Wednesday entered the plea meaning that she did not not admit guilt but was not contesting the charge, according to Helena Municipal Court records. SEATTLE (AP) The Seattle City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a measure that pushes app-based companies like food delivery services to improve wages and other working conditions for gig workers. Among other things, the legislation that was approved by a 9-0 vote would ensure app-based workers are paid minimum wage plus expenses and tips. Olivier Matthys/AP BRUSSELS (AP) The European Unions chief executive said Wednesday that Croatia is ready to join the group of countries using the euro single currency at the start of next year. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a tweet that the EU executive branch she heads believes that Croatia is ready to adopt the euro on 1 January 2023. UNITED NATIONS (AP) The United Nations said on the eve of Thursdays expiration of a two-month truce in Yemen that it has received preliminary, positive indications from the warring parties about extending the nationwide cessation of hostilities. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Wednesday that Hans Grundberg, the U.N. envoy for Yemen, is involved in intense work on ensuring the renewal of the truce. Yemens internationally recognized government and Iran-backed Houthi rebels accepted the U.N.-brokered two-month truce at the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on April 2. It has brought the first nationwide lull in fighting in the six-year civil war in the Arab worlds poorest country. On a positive note, Dujarric welcomed the first commercial flight from the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa, to Cairo earlier Wednesday. This followed last months resumption of flights from Sanaa to the Jordanian capital, Amman. The Sanaa-Cairo flight was the seventh from the capital, and Dujarric said a total of 2,495 Yemenis have traveled between Sanaa, Amman and Cairo so far. Reopening Sanaa airport to commercial flights was part of the two-month truce agreement. But the U.N. announced Saturday that the warring parties did not reach an agreement on another provision of the agreement during three days of talks in Amman lifting a blockade by the Houthis of the countrys third largest city, Taiz. The question of the blockaded city is key to extending the nationwide ceasefire. Grundberg said in a statement Saturday that a proposal had been floated in what he described as an initial round of discussions for a phased reopening of roads in Taiz and elsewhere, which would help facilitate aid deliveries and the movement of suffering Yemenis. He urged the government and Houthis to conclude internal deliberations and deliver positive results to the Yemeni people in ongoing talks in Amman. Dujarric said Wednesday that Grundberg was making intense efforts for a truce renewal. We have received preliminary, positive indications from the parties at this point, he said. Yemen has been engulfed in civil war since 2014, when the Houthis took Sanaa and much of the northern part of the country, forcing the government to flee to the south, then to Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition that included the United Arab Emirates and was backed at the time by the United States, entered the war months later, seeking to restore the government to power. The conflict created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world while becoming a regional proxy war in recent years. More than 150,000 people have been killed, including over 14,500 civilians. Two weeks ago, Grundberg said that since the truce began, fighting has sharply reduced with no aerial attacks emanating from Yemen across its borders and no confirmed airstrikes inside Yemen. Dujarric said humanitarian needs in Yemen remain high despite improvements since the truce, with some 19 million people expected to face hunger this year, including more than 160,000 who will face famine-like conditions. Aid agencies need $4.28 billion to assist 17.3 million people across the country this year, but only 26% of that amount has been funded, he said, urging donors to pledge money and turn pledges into cash. UNITED NATIONS (AP) A U.N. peacekeeping convoy was attacked by suspected terrorists in northern Mali on Wednesday and a Jordanian peacekeeper was killed and three other Jordanians were wounded, the United Nations said. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the supply convoy was under sustained fire for about an hour from attackers who used small arms and rocket launchers. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the attack and sent deepest condolences to the families of the peacekeepers and the government and people of Jordan, Dujarric said. According to the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali, the attack was the fifth incident in the northern Kidal region in just one week, Dujarric said. It is a tragic reminder of the complexity of the mandate of the U.N. mission and of its peacekeepers, and the threats peacekeepers face on a daily basis, he said. The Security Council later released a statement condemning the attack and and calling on authorities in Mali to investigate and bring those responsible to justice. The staatment added that council "underlined that attacks targeting peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law. Mali has struggled to contain an Islamic extremist insurgency since 2012. Extremist rebels were forced from power in Malis northern cities with the help of a French-led military operation, but they regrouped in the desert and began launching attacks on the Malian army and its allies. Insecurity has worsened with attacks in the northern and central regions on civilians and U.N. peacekeepers. Malis military returned to Kidal, a longtime rebel stronghold in the north, in February 2020, six years after its forces retreated amid violence. U.N. peacekeepers have also been deployed in the north. The U.N. force has said over 250 of its peacekeepers and personnel have died since 2013, making Mali the deadliest of the U.N.'s dozen peacekeeping missions worldwide. The U.N. special representative for Mali, El Ghassim Wane, issued a statement Wednesday saying the U.N. mission remains determined to support Mali's people and government in their quest for peace and security, Dujarric said. In August 2020, Malian President Boubacar Ibrahim Keita, who died in January, was overthrown in a coup that included Assimi Goita, then an army colonel. Last June, Goita was sworn in as president of a transitional government after carrying out his second coup in nine months. In mid-May, Goitas government said security forces had thwarted a countercoup attempt that it said was supported by an unnamed Western government. The accusations of foreign interference come as Goitas regime becomes increasingly isolated. A day earlier, the government announced that Mali was dropping out of a five-nation regional security force known as the G5. It was also sharply critical of former colonial power France, which announced in February it was pulling its troops out of Mali. While Malis junta initially agreed to an 18-month transition back to civilian rule, it failed to organize elections by the deadline in February. Last month, the government said it would need two more years in power before it could organize a vote. MADISON, Wis. (AP) A Wisconsin circuit court judge ruled Wednesday that it was legal for private grants from a group funded by Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg to be sent to the Democratic stronghold of Madison to help it run the 2020 election during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ruling from Dane County Circuit Judge Stephen Ehlke affirmed an earlier decision by the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission rejecting a complaint challenging the grant money from the Chicago-based Center for Tech and Civic Life as illegal bribery. It is the latest in a series of court rulings, both in Wisconsin and nationally, upholding the legality of the private grant money. The lawsuit challenging that ruling as it pertained to Madison was brought on behalf of five voters by Erick Kaardal, a former secretary and treasurer for the Republican Party of Minnesota, who is an attorney for the conservative Thomas More Society. Kaardal also filed four nearly identical lawsuits challenging the grant money being awarded in four other heavily Democratic cities: Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha and Green Bay. Those cases are all pending. The one targeting the grant money in Madison is the first to have a ruling. President Joe Biden won battleground Wisconsin over Donald Trump by just under 21,000 votes. That victory has been upheld by numerous courts, survived recounts ordered by Trump as well as independent and partisan reviews. Much of the attention from Republicans since Trump's loss has focused on the propriety of the Zuckerberg-funded grant money. Ehlke ruled that nothing in Wisconsin law prohibited the acceptance of private funding to help run elections. He also rejected arguments that the money went to communities to help Democrats, noting that the grant money went to any community that applied for it, regardless of how its residents tend to vote. The Center for Tech and Civic Life gave $8.8 million in grants to Wisconsins five largest cities all Democratic strongholds that voted for Biden over Trump as part of more than $10 million it gave to over 200 communities statewide. No community that applied for a grant in Wisconsin was turned down. There is nothing in the record demonstrating that the CTCL money was used to disadvantage certain populations over others," the judge said in delivering his ruling orally from the bench two weeks after arguments were held. He noted that numerous federal courts have rejected similar arguments, including one in Wisconsin that denied a lawsuit filed by Kaardal seeking to block the use of the money prior to the 2020 election. The Wisconsin Supreme Court refused to take a similar case shortly after the election. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., dismissed a third case over the grants last year. The Republican-controlled Legislature passed a bill this year to make it illegal for private grant money to be used to help run elections, but Democratic Gov. Tony Evers vetoed it. Ehlke noted the introduction of the bill in his ruling to buttress his finding that the law allowed for the acceptance of the grant money. Quite obviously, the Legislature introduced this bill because nothing in existing Wisconsin law prohibited these things," he said. Kaardal has been an active force among those who are trying to sow doubt about Biden's victory over Trump in Wisconsin. Kaardal has also worked with former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman on his taxpayer-funded investigation into the election. Kaardal also sued unsuccessfully in 2021 to overturn Bidens win in Wisconsin. Also last week, the Thomas More Society filed lawsuits alleging that the same five cities illegally used absentee ballot drop boxes in the 2020 election. The Wisconsin Supreme Court is expected to rule within weeks in a case that could determine the legality of drop boxes. Kaardal indicated after the ruling Wednesday that his focus was on preventing the use of drop boxes in the fall election and he may drop the pending cases in the four other cities related to the grant money received in 2020. Moving on 2022, he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. UPDATE: June 1, 11:11 A.M. Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo told CNN's Aaron Cooper in a brief interview Wednesday that he is still cooperating with Texas Department of Public Safety investigators in their probe of the response by law enforcement to May 24's mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. "I am in contact with DPS every day," Arredondo told Cooper outside his home Wednesday. Arredondo's statement contrasts with a story published by ABC News on Tuesday in which the outlet cited multiple law enforcement sources as claiming the police chief and local Uvalde officers had become uncommunicative toward investigators following a Friday press conference in which a DPS official criticized their tactical decision-making on the day of the shooting. --- End of Update --- A new report from ABC News alleges that local law enforcement departments in Uvalde, Texas are no longer working with state investigators who are looking into the response to last week's mass shooting at Robb Elementary that left 19 students, two teachers and the suspected gunman dead. "Multiple law enforcement sources" stated that the Uvalde Police Department and the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police force are "no longer cooperating" with the Texas Department of Public Safety's probe into the official timeline of events and decision-making of officers on the ground at the school, according to ABC's Josh Margolin and Aaron Katersky. The pivot by local law enforcement to noncompliance occurred shortly after a Friday press conference led by Texas DPS Regional Director Steve McCraw, who called officers' choice to wait more than an hour for tactical backup before engaging the suspect "the wrong decision." Gov. Greg Abbott likewise on Friday said he was "livid" regarding the inaccurate early reports from officers, which stated the gunman was immediately engaged by first responders upon arriving at the school's campus. Texas DPS officials declined to comment when contacted by ABC, and a call made to the department's media and communications department Tuesday afternoon was met with an automated message stating the office was closed until Monday. Another call to the department's after-hours line went unanswered. ABC's report of non-cooperation came just minutes before a Tuesday press release went out from the governor's office issuing a state of disaster declaration for the city of Uvalde. The decision to confer the emergency status upon the town was made in order to expedite the provision of state and local resources, according to the governor's statement. "The community of Uvalde has been left devastated by last weeks senseless act of violence at Robb Elementary School and should not have to encounter any difficulty in receiving the support needed to heal, Abbott said in a statement. This disaster declaration frees up the many resources available through the State of Texas and local jurisdictions to continue providing much needed support to all who were impacted and work in the community unencumbered by regulations unnecessary to respond to this tragedy. All of Texas stands with Uvalde, and we are prepared to provide support through all available means. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Vice President Kamala Harris led a high-powered American delegation to the United Arab Emirates on Monday to pay respects to the federation's late ruler and meet with the newly ascended president. The trip marks the highest-level visit by Biden administration officials to oil-rich Abu Dhabi, intended to be a potent show of support as America tries to repair troubled relations with its partner, particularly amid the fast-changing geopolitical landscape precipitated by Moscow's war on Ukraine. The delegation includes Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, CIA Director William Burns and climate envoy John Kerry, among others. The UAE named the assertive Abu Dhabi crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan its new president following the death of his half-brother last Friday. Sheikh Mohammed has served as the country's de facto ruler and shaped the country's muscular foreign policy since Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan suffered a stroke nearly a decade ago. Under Sheikh Mohammed's de facto rule, the UAE has intervened in regional conflicts from Yemen to Libya, used its vast oil wealth to exert sway abroad and transformed into a regional financial hub. Underscoring Abu Dhabis great influence in Western and Arab capitals, an array of presidents, prime ministers and princes descended on the desert sheikhdom over the weekend to honor the late Sheikh Khalifa, praise Sheikh Mohammed and solidify ties. French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson were the first European leaders to jet to the UAE capital. More dignitaries filtered through the Abu Dhabi airport's marbled presidential terminal on Monday. Britains Prince William came Monday to pay tribute to the late ruler of the former British protectorate, marking his second visit to the emirate so far this year. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian flew to the emirate for a meeting that could coincide with the U.S. visit. Iran has refused to meet American officials face-to-face, even as they negotiate a return to Tehran's tattered nuclear accord with world powers. The mourners, close allies of the UAE, have included some bitter rivals, like Iran and Israel, India and Pakistan, Qatar and Egypt a dramatic reminder of the countrys powerful role in the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin also congratulated Sheikh Mohammed on Monday, saying he was certain that your leadership will further strengthen the friendly Russian-Emirati relations, according to the UAEs state-run WAM news agency. Before heading to Abu Dhabi, Harris said she was traveling on behalf of President Joe Biden to offer condolences on the death of the long-ailing Sheikh Khalifa and to shore up America's crucial relationship with the UAE. The United States takes quite seriously the strength of our relationship and partnership with the UAE, Harris told reporters. We are going there then to express our condolences but also as an expression of our commitment to the strength of that relationship. It was widely expected officials would address the UAE's long-simmering frustrations about American security protection in the region as well as tensions that have emerged between the countries over Russia's war on Ukraine. The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia, has faced American pressure to shun Russia and pump more oil to improve stability in energy markets as Europe tries to wean itself off Russian crude. But the UAE is a key Russian trading partner and member of the so-called OPEC Plus agreement, of which Russia is an important member. Emiratis have rebuffed American demands resistance rooted in an apparent feeling that despite its continued strong military presence across the Arabian Peninsula, America is no longer such a reliable partner. After taking office, Biden lifted a terrorist designation on Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels that have fired missiles and drones at the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and is trying to revive Tehran's nuclear deal an accord that Gulf Arab states fear could embolden Iran and its proxies. America's abrupt and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan last summer and its long-term foreign policy goal of pivoting away from the Mideast and toward China has added to Gulf Arab concerns. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has suspended a multibillion-dollar sale of F-35 fighter jets to the UAE agreed by former President Donald Trump. Trump abandoned Tehran's nuclear deal and heavily courted Emirati and Saudi officials. This spring, Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE's ambassador to the U.S., described the allies as going through a stress test. ___ DeBre reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The cross-country manhunt for Kaitlin Armstrong the Texan yoga teacher wanted for the murder of elite San Francisco cyclist Anna Moriah "Mo" Wilson has entered its third week, and U.S. Marshals have now sent a message to the fugitive. After revealing that Armstrong likely flew from Texas to New York City days after the alleged jealousy-fueled killing of her boyfriend's ex-lover, authorities say her capture is inevitable. Come forward, Deputy U.S. Marshal Brandon Filla, who is leading the case, told NewsNation Prime on Friday. Surrender to authorities. Its just a matter of time. Were working day in and day out. Wed like to safely bring you into custody so you can have your day in court and tell your side of the story. Filla added that Armstrong is considered "armed and dangerous." When asked if there was evidence that Armstrong took another flight from LaGuardia Airport, Filla admitted authorities are in the dark. "We kind of lost the track," he said. "We lost the footprint in the sand when she landed at LaGuardia." Meanwhile it has been reported that Colin Strickland, the man at the center of the alleged love triangle-turned-homicide, has gone "underground" after fleeing the state of Texas. According to the Daily Mail, a friend of the professional cyclist said Strickland is worried for his safety, and fears his girlfriend may target him next. None of us can sleep. Hes staying out of sight until shes caught. I do know where he is but Im not mentioning where for his safety, the friend told the tabloid. Hes not in Texas, hes got completely out of Dodge." Strickland who recently lost his sponsorship deal with Specialized in light of the case is not a suspect. It has also been revealed that a separate arrest warrant for Armstrong which enabled police to bring her in for questioning, only to let her go the day after the killing was on a 2018 larceny charge for skipping out on a $650 Botox procedure in a Travis County spa. An affidavit acquired by Fox News reveals that after the procedure was completed, Armstrong presented her MasterCard at the spa but said she had another card in her car that she would rather use. She allegedly walked out and never returned. On May 11, Moriah Wilson, a champion mountain biker who lived and worked in San Francisco from 2019 until recently, was staying with a friend in Austin to prepare for an upcoming race. That evening she allegedly went swimming with Strickland, her former romantic partner and fellow racing competitor. Wilson was later found by her friend bleeding and unconscious in the bathroom with multiple gunshot wounds to the torso, before being pronounced dead by first responders. Strickland's girlfriend, Armstrong, is suspected of shooting and killing Wilson minutes after she returned to the apartment on the back of Strickland's motorcycle. So far, authorities have painted the murder as motivated by jealousy. The complex details of the case, involving recently purchased guns, text messages, lies and an anonymous tipster, were revealed in a seven-page arrest warrant. On Sunday afternoon around 100 friends, family and fellow cyclists gathered to remember Wilson on the steps of the Austin United States Courthouse. After the memorial, some rode their bikes to swim at Deep Eddy Pool, the spot where Wilson allegedly went with Strickland hours before her death. Wilson Family via GoFundMe All of Armstrong's social media profiles have been deleted. She was last seen carrying a yoga mat on her back at Austin International airport on May 14, reportedly while traveling to New York. Armstrong is white, 5' 8", and weighs approximately 125 pounds. She has long, light brown curly hair and hazel eyes. Anyone with information on Armstrongs whereabouts is urged to contact the U.S. Marshals Service Communications Center at 800-336-0102. WFO BINGHAMTON Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, June 1, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Binghamton has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Southwestern Broome County in central New York... Southeastern Tioga County in central New York... Northwestern Susquehanna County in northeastern Pennsylvania... * Until 415 PM EDT. * At 333 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm was located over Union Center, or over Endicott, moving southeast at 20 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and penny size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Expect damage to roofs, siding, and trees. * Locations impacted include... Binghamton, Vestal, Johnson City, Endicott, Little Meadows, Vestal Center, Endwell, Tioga Terrace, Brackney and West Corners. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO BINGHAMTON Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, June 1, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Binghamton has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Southwestern Broome County in central New York... Southeastern Tioga County in central New York... Northwestern Susquehanna County in northeastern Pennsylvania... Northeastern Bradford County in northeastern Pennsylvania... * Until 730 PM EDT. * At 706 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm was located over Warren Center, or 11 miles south of Owego, moving east at 45 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and penny size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Expect damage to roofs, siding, and trees. * Locations impacted include... Binghamton, Vestal, Johnson City, Endicott, Kirkwood, Conklin, Port Dickinson, Hallstead, Orwell and Windham. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. ...FLOOD ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EDT THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Urban and small stream flooding caused by excessive rainfall is expected. * WHERE...A portion of central New York, including the following county, Broome. * WHEN...Until 1000 PM EDT. * IMPACTS...Minor flooding in low-lying and poor drainage areas. Ponding of water in urban or other areas is imminent. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 708 PM EDT, Doppler radar indicated heavy rain due to thunderstorms. This will cause urban and small stream flooding. Between 1 and 2 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... Binghamton, Johnson City, Endicott, Vestal, Kirkwood, Conklin, Sanford, Windsor, Sanitaria Springs, Chenango Bridge, Harpursville, Endwell, Vestal Center, West Corners, Union Center, Maine, Port Dickinson, Port Crane and East Windsor. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. ...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR SOUTHEASTERN TIOGA AND NORTHEASTERN BRADFORD COUNTIES WILL EXPIRE AT 715 PM EDT... The severe thunderstorm which prompted the warning has moved out of the warned area. Therefore, the warning will be allowed to expire. However, a new warning was issued for Tioga, Broome, and Bradford, and Susquehanna Counties. However small hail and gusty winds are still possible with this thunderstorm. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until 1000 PM EDT for central New York...and northeastern Pennsylvania. Remember, a Severe Thunderstorm Warning still remains in effect for Bradford and Tioga Counties. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO AMARILLO Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, June 1, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Amarillo has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... East central Carson County in the Panhandle of Texas... Central Gray County in the Panhandle of Texas... South central Roberts County in the Panhandle of Texas... * Until 600 AM CDT. * At 455 AM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 9 miles north of Groom, or 15 miles south of Pampa, moving northeast at 20 mph. HAZARD...Quarter size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Damage to vehicles is expected. * Locations impacted include... Pampa and Lefors. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. Large hail 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. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO LUBBOCK Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Tuesday, May 31, 2022 _____ FLASH FLOOD WARNING The National Weather Service in Lubbock has issued a * Flash Flood Warning for... Northwestern Childress County in the panhandle of Texas... Northeastern Hall County in the panhandle of Texas... * Until 830 PM CDT. * At 618 PM CDT, Trained weather spotters reported thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the warned area. Up to 2.5 inches of rain have fallen. Additional rainfall amounts up to 2 inches are possible in the warned area. Flash flooding is already occurring in the town of Memphis with several roads reported as impassable at this time. HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms. SOURCE...Trained spotters reported. 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... Memphis and Lakeview. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM CDT FOR NORTHEASTERN WHEELER AND SOUTHEASTERN HEMPHILL COUNTIES... At 620 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Allison, or 20 miles west of Cheyenne, moving north at 25 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and half dollar size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Minor damage to roofs, siding, and trees is possible. Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Locations impacted include... Allison. For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO MIDLAND/ODESSA Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, June 1, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Midland has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Southeastern Jeff Davis County in southwestern Texas... * Until 430 PM CDT. * At 326 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 7 miles northeast of McDonald Observatory, or 12 miles north of Fort Davis, moving southeast at 15 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect wind damage to roofs, siding, and trees. * Locations impacted include... Fort Davis, Buffalo Trail Scout Camp, Black Mountain and Star Mountain. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO MIDLAND/ODESSA Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, June 1, 2022 _____ SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Midland/Odessa TX 432 PM CDT Wed Jun 1 2022 ...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of northwestern Reeves and south central Loving Counties through 515 PM CDT... At 432 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 9 miles west of Mentone, 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. Locations impacted include... Mentone and Slash Ranch. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until 1000 PM CDT for western and southwestern Texas. LAT...LON 3158 10381 3173 10389 3192 10361 3171 10347 TIME...MOT...LOC 2132Z 234DEG 14KT 3170 10376 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH The National Weather Service in Midland/Odessa has issued a * Flash Flood Warning for... Northwestern Brewster County in southwestern Texas... Eastern Jeff Davis County in southwestern Texas... West Central Pecos County in southwestern Texas... Southwestern Reeves County in southwestern Texas... * Until 830 PM CDT. * At 434 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 2 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... Fort Davis, Balmorhea, Balmorhea State Park, Balmorhea Lake, Saragosa, Davis Mountains State Park, McDonald Observatory, Camp Mitre Peak, Star Mountain, Toyahvale, Buffalo Trail Scout Camp, Black Mountain, Fort Davis National Historical Site and Indian Lodge. 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. In hilly terrain there are hundreds of low water crossings which are potentially dangerous in heavy rain. Do not attempt to cross flooded roads. Find an alternate route. Flooding is occurring or is imminent. It is important to know where you are relative to streams, rivers, or creeks which can become killers in heavy rains. Campers and hikers should avoid streams or creeks. ...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of northwestern Andrews and southwestern Gaines Counties through 500 PM CDT... At 435 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 12 miles east of Eunice, moving east at 25 mph. HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph and nickel size hail. This storm will remain over mainly rural areas of northwestern Andrews and southwestern Gaines Counties. western Texas. LAT...LON 3236 10298 3254 10306 3270 10270 3242 10260 TIME...MOT...LOC 2135Z 255DEG 20KT 3247 10294 MAX WIND GUST...55 MPH _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO MIDLAND/ODESSA Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, June 1, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING Severe Weather Statement National Weather Service Midland/Odessa TX 456 PM CDT Wed Jun 1 2022 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 530 PM CDT FOR CENTRAL REEVES COUNTY... At 456 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Toyah, moving northeast at 30 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... Pecos, Toyah and Pecos Municipal Airport. This includes Interstate 20 between mile markers 19 and 44. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. The National Weather Service in Midland has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Central Andrews County in western Texas... * Until 600 PM CDT. * At 456 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 17 miles west of Andrews, moving east at 20 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... Andrews, Andrews County Airport and Frankel City. ...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of southeastern Armstrong and southwestern Donley Counties through 530 PM CDT... At 456 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 8 miles northwest of Brice, or 13 miles southwest of Clarendon, moving east at 20 mph. HAZARD...Half inch hail. IMPACT...Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible. Lelia Lake. If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. LAT...LON 3490 10137 3493 10070 3475 10068 3475 10134 TIME...MOT...LOC 2156Z 251DEG 18KT 3477 10101 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN MAX WIND GUST...<30 MPH FOR NORTH CENTRAL JEFF DAVIS AND EAST CENTRAL CULBERSON COUNTIES... At 457 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 10 miles northwest of Kent, moving east at 30 mph. Kent. This includes Interstate 10 between mile markers 160 and 182. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO MIDLAND/ODESSA Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, June 1, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Midland has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Northern Ector County in western Texas... Southwestern Andrews County in western Texas... Northeastern Winkler County in western Texas... * Until 700 PM CDT. * At 556 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 15 miles southwest of Andrews, moving southeast at 20 mph. HAZARD...Two inch hail and 70 mph wind gusts. SOURCE...Chasers report two inch hail in western Andrews County. 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... Odessa, Goldsmith, West Odessa, Odessa Schlemeyer Field and Notrees. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. ...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR SOUTHWESTERN REEVES AND NORTH CENTRAL JEFF DAVIS COUNTIES IS CANCELLED... The severe thunderstorm which prompted the warning has weakened. Therefore, the warning has been cancelled. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until 1000 PM CDT for southwestern Texas. ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM CDT FOR NORTHERN ECTOR...SOUTHWESTERN ANDREWS AND NORTHEASTERN WINKLER COUNTIES... At 557 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 15 miles southwest of Andrews, moving southeast at 20 mph. HAZARD...Two inch hail and 70 mph wind gusts. SOURCE...Chasers report two inch hail in western Andrews County. 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... Odessa, Goldsmith, West Odessa, Odessa Schlemeyer Field and Notrees. ...FLOOD ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM CDT THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Urban and small stream flooding caused by excessive rainfall is expected. * WHERE...Portions of central Texas and north central Texas, including the following counties, in central Texas, Henderson. In north central Texas, Ellis, Kaufman and Navarro. * WHEN...Until 800 PM CDT. * IMPACTS...Minor flooding in low-lying and poor drainage areas. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - Doppler radar indicated heavy rain due to thunderstorms. This will likely cause urban and small stream flooding. Low lying and/or poor drainage areas will experience minor flooding in the advisory area. - Some locations that will experience flooding include... Ennis, Tool, Kerens, Seven Points, Trinidad, Alma, Rice, Garrett, Goodlow and Powell. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather The new-age luxury is all about comfort, and nothings more comfortable than shopping for your favourite brands in your PJs sans any judgmental side-eyes from a sales rep. A germ of an idea was born at lunch between two friends Gayatri Reddy Bhatia and Shikha Kajaria looking to change how luxury was served online to discerning consumers. The two entrepreneurs brainstormed further to create a curated market space called Sverve, an e-space for people to shop contemporary pret at affordable prices. Luxury for all While the term affordable is subjective from person to person, in the first leg of the launch the brand has capped the budget at Rs 50,000 offering a curation of contemporary styles for work and daily wear. Co-founder Gayatri Reddy Bhatia, explains the luxe for less concept and mentions, We witnessed a digital migration during the pandemic which sparked the idea and encouraged the importance of an online platform, allowing shoppers to shop from the comfort of their homes. Being accessible with quality products from renowned names does not dilute the essence of true luxury for us. One can now buy designer wear in a stipulated budget of Rs 50,000 and has access to styles for every age group from 16- 60 on the site. The founders believe its a special venture close to their hearts, where they were able to bond over common passion and apply it to a business to change the online shopping landscape. Sharing the back story of the brand, Co-founder Shikha Kajaria reveals, One day, over lunch, Gayatri and I were chatting about how tough it is to find contemporary designer wear in India. Whats available is often expensive and also most clothes are made on order, which takes up to a month. While trying to look for a solution to this we came up with the idea to launch a marketplace that gives women the opportunity to find the best of local and international fashion at competitive prices with extremely quick delivery. Brand wagon Currently, the founders have roped in Indian brands like 431-88 by Shweta Kapur, Amama, Anushree Reddy, De Castro Moda, Gur Organics by Pernia Qureshi, Jayanti Reddy, Kartikeya, Malie, Metallurgy, Not So Serious by Pallavi Mohan, Pinwheel, Shivan & Narresh, Vanilla Moon and Vikram Phadnis. Elaborating more about the services and perks of shopping with Severe, Gayatri adds, We have brands like PDKF, which will be added to our roster in the months to come, the brand supports traditional Rajasthani craft and its talented women. Our USP is express deliveries in 24 hours within Delhi NCR, 2-3 days in other cities in India, and 5-7 days maximum for international orders. The brand has also been inclusive by catering to various womens body types, by adding an option to shop as per a body type; shoppers also have the option to consult a stylist to help clarify any queries. Speaking about the brand expansion in the coming business months, the brand plans to make a physical presence through the launch of a physical store in Goa by the end of the year. Spilling some latest updates, Shikha informs, We are excited to announce that Jayanti Reddy and Anushree Reddy have launched a contemporary pret collection which is exclusive to Sverve, we are also looking at adding international labels as we grow. Our ambition is to build a discerning fashion community that has access to the best designers, beautiful craftsmanship, and most importantly, great fashion. Just in time for summer, pop duo the Lockyer Boys are back with a brand new single and video 'LATKD' out today on all digital streaming platforms. Watch video here. Visakhapatnam/New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the order of the High Court within their respective territorial jurisdiction will prevail over the orders of all tribunals including the National Green Tribunal concerning related issues. Making it clear that the development of the resort will be confined to the area where the structures of the earlier resort were situated, the court, however, made it clear that it will not create any equity in favour of the developers. The top court quashed and set-aside the green tribunals order setting up another expert committee to go into the allegations of damage to the environment including the shaving off of a hill located in Rushikonda by the developer of a resort near the eco-sensitive zone in Visakhapatnam seashore. Noting that officials of the state government are placed in a quandary as to which order to follow of the high court or the NGT -- a vacation bench comprising Justice BR Gavai and Justice Hima Kohli said the order of the constitutional court (high court) will prevail over the orders of the tribunals including NGT vis-a-vis the creation of a statute with a specific mandate relating to the environment and this is considered to be a placed at higher pedestal compared to other tribunals. The top courts vacation bench ruled so when lawyer Balaji Srinivasan appearing for respondent YSRCs Lok Sabha member Raghuraju Kanumuru urged the court not to quash the NGT order. He said the green tribunal was created by a statute and carried with it a much larger mandate relating to environmental issues. He cited top court judgments - practically suggesting that green tribunals are distinct from other tribunals vis-a-vis its powers and jurisdiction. The vacation bench quashed and set aside the order of the green tribunal that had set up a second expert committee over and above the functioning of an earlier expert committee set up by the tribunal and which permitted the current developer of the resort to go ahead with the construction activity limited to the area that was occupied by the structures of earlier resort and the levelled land. The earlier expert committee that was set up by the NGT had given findings favouring the new developer of the resort at the Visakhapatnam seashore. The court permitted the respondent Raghu Ramakrishnaraju to implead himself in the proceedings on the issue before Andhra Pradesh high court. Meanwhile, according to APTDC officials, the state government had allotted 69.65 acres of land in favour of the tourism department in the 1980s. APTDC built Haritha resorts in 2006, covering an area of 4439 square metres. Now a proposal is to develop a tourism project in its place. "The tourism project is currently in Stage-1. Land survey and road connectivity works are being carried out on 9.88 acres only in Revenue Survey No. 19 in the Rushikonda hill area. Construction of the buildings is yet to begin, said an APTDC official. A look back at last month's Provincial Nominee Program updates and draw results from across the country. Canadas PNP immigration results for May 2022 A look back at last month's Provincial Nominee Program updates and draw results from across the country. Canadas PNP immigration results for May 2022 A look back at last month's Provincial Nominee Program updates and draw results from across the country. Canadas PNP immigration results for May 2022 A look back at last month's Provincial Nominee Program updates and draw results from across the country. Alexandra Miekus Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Canadas Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) issued over 1,400 invitations to apply for provincial nomination in May. The PNP is an immigration program jointly administered by the federal, provincial, and territorial governments. It offers Canadian provinces and territories the opportunity to create their own immigration streams to better meet their labour market needs and economic development objectives. Canada introduced the PNP in 1998 to spread the benefits of immigration more evenly among provinces and to encourage immigration to smaller provinces and less populated areas of the country. Today, the PNP accounts for a significant share of economic immigration to most provinces and territories in Canada. In fact, many smaller Canadian provinces such as Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan depend on this program to meet their demographic and labour force needs. By 2024, PNPs alone are expected to result in more than 93,000 immigrants per year being admitted as permanent residents. Discover Your Canadian Immigration Eligibility Express Entry-linked PNPs Most participating provinces and territories have at least one PNP stream that is aligned with the federal Express Entry system, which is Canadas management system for three immigration programs: the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). Express Entry-linked PNP streams, also known as enhanced PNPs, allow a province to select candidates who have profiles in the Express Entry pool and invite them to apply for a provincial nomination. Express Entry candidates who get a nomination from a PNP automatically get 600 Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points added to their base score. In May, 1,134 candidates received Invitations to Apply in two separate PNP-specific Express Entry draws. At this time, FSWP and CEC invitations are on hold to reduce the Express Entry backlog that has grown due to administrative challenges brought on by the pandemic. However, Canadian Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced in April that Express Entry invitations for FSWP and CEC candidates will resume in early July. The Minister also stated that the majority of new Express Entry applications would be processed again within the six-month service standard set by IRCC. Alberta In May, Alberta released the results of one Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) draw. The province invited 100 candidates to apply for a provincial nomination on May 19 under the Alberta Express Entry stream. Invited candidates needed a CRS score of at least 382 in order to be invited. British Columbia The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) conducts weekly draws and invites the highest scoring candidates to apply for provincial nominations under the Express Entry British Columbia, Skills Immigration, the Tech, and Entrepreneur Regional Pilot streams. The province also holds special draws for candidates whose occupation has been identified as a priority. In May, more than 636 BC immigration candidates received invitations from the province. Manitoba Manitoba regularly issues invitations through the following three streams: Skilled Workers in Manitoba, Skilled Workers Overseas, and International Education Stream. The province held one general draw last month. A total of 315 Letters of Advice to Apply were issued of which 48 were sent to candidates who had a valid Express Entry profile. As a special immigration measure for Ukrainian nationals, Manitoba is also occasionally holding Expression of Interest (EOI) draws for individuals who meet MPNP eligibility criteria and are affected by the current situation in Ukraine. On May 20, the province held one such draw, issuing 13 invitations. New Brunswick In an update dated May 20, 2022, the New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP) announced that it was temporarily suspending the New Brunswick Express Entry stream. In an email to CIC News, a spokesperson for the NBPNP explained that this decision was due to a significant increase in demand from foreign workers and international students in Canada. And that if the program were allowed to continue on its current track, the large demand on our current programming would jeopardize access to immigration for certain sectors or client types when it is required, such as Internationally Educated Nurses or international students who are currently in New Brunswick and graduating later this year. This temporary pause only applies to the Express Entry stream and applications submitted on or after May 20, 2022. While no specific date was given, the spokesperson did indicate that the stream may re-open later this year. Other options are still available to employers who wish to hire foreign nationals, such as the New Brunswick Skilled Worker stream, the Atlantic Immigration Program, and the Federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island Provincial Nominee Program (PEI PNP) draws are prescheduled and held once a month. The PEI PNP held a draw on May 20 and invited 137 candidates from the Labour Impact and Express Entry streams and 16 from the Business Impact stream. Quebec Those who wish to settle in Quebec are assessed under a different system than those who want to settle elsewhere in Canada. Quebecs immigration programs are administered by the province and are distinct from Canadas immigration programs. On May 5, the Ministere de lImmigration, de la Francisation et de lIntegration (MIFI) invited 30 candidates to apply for a permanent selection under the Quebec Regular Skilled Worker Program (QSWP). Candidates had to have profiles in the Arrima Expression of Interest system and to have a valid job offer outside of the Montreal Metropolitan area. Saskatchewan Saskatchewan released details of a draw held through its Entrepreneur Expression of Interest system on May 5. The number of invitations issued was 54. Also on May 5, the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) invited a total of 197 candidates to apply for a provincial nomination. A total of 106 invitations went to Express Entry candidates and 91 invitations went to Occupations In-Demand candidates in that invitation round. In response to the crisis in Ukraine, Saskatchewan is also holding separate draws for people whose current country of residence is Ukraine. The latest draw was held on May 5 and with one invitation sent. Discover Your Canadian Immigration Eligibility CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options. Digital transformations are not just about technology, theyre also about business change. As technology increasingly permeates every aspect of the enterprise, the lines are blurring, with business unit employees frequently becoming business technologists and purchasing their own software and services. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of technology purchases are funded, at least in part, by business units outside of IT, according to a recent Gartner survey, with 26% of tech investments funded and presumably controlled entirely by IT. Analytics and AI are increasingly the capabilities for which business technologists are taking the lead. Industry observers say IT leaders are generally not opposed to business leaders taking more ownership of tech spending. If you speak to the vast majority of CIOs, theyll say those business transformations need to be led by the business leader with support from IT, notes Len Riley, commercial advisory practice leader at UpperEdge. This is due in part to the fact that pure SaaS vendors frequently sell directly to the business, Riley says. Vendors definitely influenced this. Another factor is that CFOs want expenses associated with a tech platform to reside within a business units profit and loss statement, which inherently increases the power and control for the business, along with accountability, he says. But there isnt always support or guidance from IT. When tech spending is fragmented through multiple SaaS vendors across multiple business units and even across departments within a business unit managing the relationship and spending to optimize value and get the most effective financing arrangements is a real challenge, Riley says. If a companys procurement group and IT have weak relationships with business units, you can rest assured the business is going to go off and do their own thing, he says. What sometimes happens after a business unit purchases its own technology, is the CIO is looked upon to do the rear-view mirror thing, and help figure out who is going to control or manage the relationship with whatever software vendor is involved, Riley says. To avoid this, CIOs are getting more deeply involved earlier in the spending process. Mapping out tensions Steve Miller, vice president and CTO of Steelcase, which manufactures furniture, interior architecture, and tech products, makes no bones about the fact that IT needed a makeover a few years back. There was a recognition that a lot of our behaviors and culture and practices were not compatible with a digitally transforming business, he says. Steve Miller Steelcase For example, in the companys online procurement process, a lot of business leaders in offices outside of the US were quickly standing up storefronts to sell products to make order flow more seamless, Miller says. But these business leaders didnt have a technology or security background and were circumventing IT. They wanted to move quickly, and the concern was, If I involve IT theyll hold me up. Miller calls that a fair characterization, and says that instead of IT continuing to take a one-size-fits-all approach to ecommerce, his team needed to recognize that different countries have different needs. We had to help identify tiers of capabilities. IT mapped out the tensions we were feeling, Miller says, and started thinking about where they needed to pivot to be successful. One clear area was in the relationship with the line-of-business (LOB) leaders. Not involving IT in tech spending decisions translates to a relationship management challenge to understand what that area of the business is trying to accomplish, whats behind the behaviors theyre exhibiting, and how can we change the way we work to better steer the company as a whole in the right direction, Miller says. When offices in other countries were purchasing their own software, Miller says there was duplicate spending a common issue when IT is not involved in LOB tech spending. They were recreating elements of their solution that were [already developed by IT] and it was wasteful and slowed them down, as opposed to using some of the interfaces and templates IT built, which would have helped them move faster, he says. Miller estimates that Steelcase has saved nearly 20% by getting their offices in other countries to use the templates. Now IT approaches the relationship with more of a laser focus on what each area of the business is trying to accomplish, and that has led to quarterly discussions on how to make good tech investment choices and where IT can help, he says. It wasnt about trying to stand in the way of lines of business on tech spending but making better decisions together, Miller says. Its about understanding our role in the discussions and facilitating the discussions across business groups. Both sides now come away not feeling its us against them. Fostering a culture that encourages tight partnerships At TIAA Bank, IT is becoming increasingly involved in driving the research and selection of software platforms. CIO John Elton says its part of a culture change promoting a more collaborative working relationship and tight partnership between IT and the banks business units. John Elton TIAA If business unit leadership has confidence that IT will work in their best interest, both groups will not just collaborate but also get to show their strengths, Elton says. Its always been my philosophy that your best results come when IT and the business partner together, he says. What I try to instill in everybody is if technology is laser-focused on meeting the business needs, that partnership will naturally grow, the trust will grow, delivery will improve. A change in culture at Fidelity Investments has also fostered a more natural partnership between IT and the business, says Brooke Forbes, CIO and head of technology for personal investing. We made a really significant shift in our operating model to move to agile full-stack, Forbes says. We wanted integrated digital partnerships between business, IT, and operations, and [go] the final mile and have fully mashed-up teams of business and technology people. Prior to the operating model shift, there were pockets of shadow IT due to a unit needing to make a tech purchase rapidly, she says. Pre-agile and operating model, you could see some of these [buying] decisions made outside of IT, Forbes says. But leadership began to see more positive outcomes when business units learned about technology so much so that Fidelity now devotes 20% of every week to cross-training all employees through a global program called Learning Tuesdays. Brooke Forbes Fidelity Investments Non-IT employees can learn about topics such as data as a service, AI, personalization, web and mobile technologies, and blockchain, she says. To ensure that business groups use the appropriate tools and that IT isnt circumvented in the purchasing process, Forbes says she has engineers sit in on meetings with various internal teams. I think one of the best things weve done is [implement] the notion of IT not being separate, Forbes says. IT is part of all business teams, and this shows up at the leadership table. Thats how baked it is. From identifying vendors to requests for proposals, interviews, and setting requirements process everything is done jointly, Forbes says. The fact that there is now joint decision-making and all associates are plugged into agile operations teams is the underpinning for us of our culture of co-creation, collaboration, and communication on everything were doing, she says. IT as a catalyst for business value If IT wants to better collaborate with business units on tech spending, it comes down to building solid, trusting relationships. Its not rocket science, just something both sides need to work at, leaders say. For TIAAs Elton, to prove its value when it comes to spending on new technologies, IT needs to adopt a less myopic view of its worth. Traditionally, IT leaders would look at technology and think solely of what it can deliver versus really being focused on the business and then seeing a tool as a catalyst to meet those business needs. So its a matter of perspective, and the leader in general, of any tech organization, usually sets that tone, Elton says. Leaders on both sides of the aisle have to be very open to the strengths both bring to the table and the business has to trust that IT has its best interests at heart, he says. IT, of course, must work to build that trust by demonstrating this to the business. I put my businesss needs in front of my own teams needs, in a sense, Elton says. IT must recognize that the ultimate goal is to help achieve business outcomes and implement the technology that will help make that happen, whether its cool or not. While its tempting to go for a product with the newest features, the caveat is that IT is responsible for security, availability, performance, innovation, and speed to market and our own efficiencies. We cant ignore our own needs in that regard and we cant sacrifice them on behalf of the business, Elton says. How to get the business-IT relationship right Forbes says there are several ways IT can better collaborate with lines of business on tech spending, and it starts with investing in the relationships. The second thing IT can do is be an advocate for business leaders and encourage conversations about problems they have and how technology can solve them. She also recommends organizations consider deploying an agile model across the enterprise. When I talk to other CIOs, they say theyre doing agile but they may be doing it in the IT division, she says. Forbes also advocates for forming fully integrated teams. Kathryn Guarini, CIO of IBM, says that IT needs to understand what individual business units need their strategy, opportunities, and challenges so that we can prioritize investments in areas that will make a marked difference to their business. At the same time, we co-create with our businesses, becoming early adopters of IBMs products and services, providing proof points, and demonstrating the value of emerging technology deployed at enterprise scale. Miller of Steelcase says IT must be aware of the sense of urgency that business units have. Thats what theyre afraid of, that IT will make it take as long as it takes to purchase technology, while IT is concerned about issues if something is done wrong. Balance their needs with your need to do it safely, he advises. Make sure they understand we get it. UpperEdges Riley says it can be dangerous for businesspeople to negotiate SaaS partnerships without the advice of an experienced CIO. So we recommend balancing the skillsets of the CIO to manage tech partner relationships at an enterprise level while pushing accountability for project outcomes and operating effectiveness to the business units. He also suggests that the CIO have direct participation at the executive table to understand the business strategy. If they dont have a seat at the table thats a problem unto itself, he says. There needs to be annual or quarterly planning and alignment of the project portfolio to the business strategy, Riley says. CIOs also need a strong team of vice presidents to not only form strong relationships but face-off with each of the lines of business, because the CIO cant do it all. Riley says he advocates for CIOs to push the business to have accountability for the transformation theyre undertaking with a major proviso that the CIO is also supporting them not only on the execution of the program but on the management of the vendor relationship at the enterprise level. I think there are some business leaders who are smart enough to know what they dont know. For those business leaders who dont fall into this category, Riley says they will eventually see where the gaps are in their vendor relationship management strategy if they dont engage the CIO. If they let it go too far, youll inevitably see the chief procurement officer or CFO look at the disaggregation of spend across all these P&Ls with specific vendors, and there will be a reckoning, he says. Sorry, no valid subscriptions were found for this Publication. Please select from an option below to start a subscription. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 24 Hour Access New Delhi: Trouble is far from over for the Congress Partys Rajya Sabha nominees. In fact, in some cases, it is only growing. After facing internal discontent over its list of candidates, the party will now actually have to contest elections in three states -- Rajasthan, Haryana and Maharashtra for its nominees to enter the Upper House of Parliament. In Rajasthan, where the party is in power, it was meant to be a cakewalk for the three outsider candidates -- Randeep Surjewala, Pramod Tiwari and Mukul Wasnik. However, the entry into the fray by media baron Subhash Chandra, who filed his nomination papers on the last day with the support of the BJP, has rattled the party. Some Congress MLAs were openly upset about the fact that outsiders were given tickets, and with Assembly polls not too far away, no one from the state unit was even considered for a Rajya Sabha berth. If cross-voting happens, it may put the candidature of at least one of the three in jeopardy, which is likely to be Mr Pramod Tewari. In the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly, each candidate needs 41 votes to win. The Congress has 108 MLAs and the BJP has 71 votes. They have 30 surplus votes, but to win a second seat, they need another 11 votes. To win a third seat, the Congress needs 15 more votes. Smaller parties and Independents will therefore play a critical role to determine who wins the seat. There are 13 Independents, two Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) members, two of the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) and two CPI(M) MLAs. In Haryana, meanwhile, the entry of Kartikeya Sharma, son of former Congress leader Vinod Sharma, has queered the pitch for Congress candidate Ajay Maken. To win a Rajya Sabha seat in the state, a candidate needs to get at least 30 votes, and the Congress has 31. But no one is counting on Kuldeep Bishnoi, who has been sulking for some time, especially with Bhupinder Singh Hooda being given full control of the party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Also, in the last Rajya Sabha election, the official Congress candidate, R.K. Anand, lost because of significant cross-voting taking place. In Maharashtra too, the imposition of Imran Pratapgarhi has irked local leaders. Maharashtra Congress leader Ashish Deshmukh on Tuesday wrote to Congress president Sonia Gandhi announcing his resignation as general secretary of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee, calling it an injustice towards Congress workers. The BJP has put up an extra candidate to ensure that an election takes place. If there is cross- voting, the official Congress candidate could be in trouble. The Congress has been severely criticised for announcing these names as its candidates, and if the partys official candidates are defeated, it will be a huge embarrassment for the party high command. Primeste notificari pe email Contractare si Achizitie Bunuri Anunturi de Angajare Granturi - Finantari Burse de studiu Stagii Profesionale Oportunitati de voluntariat Toate Articolele Over the past few weeks, authorities in Ethiopia have arrested thousands of people in the northern region of Amhara, citing a crackdown on armed groups there. Tefera Mamo, a former senior military commander in Amhara, was detained after giving media interviews in which he criticized the national government. Numerous journalists have been swept up, too, both in Amhara and in Addis Ababa, Ethiopias capital, including nine media workers across two outlets that had recently covered the crackdown. On Saturday, the head of Ethiopias Human Rights Commission called on officials to release eighteen media personnel currently in detention, calling the figure a new low; on Sunday, he updated the number to nineteen, adding that we know of. The government, for its part, recently put out a chilling statement warning that it will continue to take irreversible measures on individuals involved in illegal activities who are planning and working to create havoc and chaos, also on those wearing a cloak of media outlets and journalists. Last week, in response to a question about the Amhara situation at a briefing, a US State Department spokesperson expressed concern about what he called the narrowing space for freedom of expression and independent media in Ethiopia. Ethiopian journalists, too, have spoken out about a crossroads moment for their profession, as Henry Wilkins, of the US-backed broadcaster Voice of America, recently put it, with Elias Meseret, a reporter who has worked with the Associated Press, telling Wilkins of a media climate marked both by a lack of professionalism and official harassment and intimidation. One journalist told Wilkins that press freedom in Ethiopia is still better now than in the highly repressive period prior to 2018, when the current government took overbut another told Al Jazeera that the situation now is as bad as, if not worse than, before. The pressure has made Ethiopian journalists contemplate quitting their jobs or fleeing to neighbouring countries, Al Jazeeras Zecharias Zelalem wrote yesterday. Some have toned down their reporting and are electing to write stories without bylines. New from CJR: Peter R. de Vries and the battle to cover gangs in the Netherlands At the time, many media-watchers considered 2018 to be a turning point for the Ethiopian press; journalists who were then in exile returned home, and a number of new outlets flourished. The administration of Abiy Ahmed, the newly installed prime minister, allowed access to hundreds of websites that had been blocked under the prior regime while also moving to free journalists and other political prisoners; in its annual global census of jailed journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists found none in Ethiopia for the first time since 2004. In 2019, Ethiopia hosted unescos annual World Press Freedom Day, with a UN official hailing the countrys commitment to democratic reforms, especially in the media sector. Later the same year, Abiy won a Nobel Peace Prize after ending a long-term conflict with neighboring Eritrea. And Ethiopia shot up forty places on Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index. Also in 2019, CPJs Muthoki Mumo visited Ethiopia and reported back on the encouraging signs for the press there. I was fighting for press freedom, Abel Wabella, a journalist who was detained on terrorism charges in the pre-Abiy era, said, but I did not expect it to happen in such a short time. Reporters with whom Mumo spoke, however, also urged caution, noting persistent challengesaround access to government officials, for instance, and ongoing advertiser skittishness about investing in critical mediaand fretting that their newfound freedoms were, so far, rooted less in legal rights than political goodwill. Befekadu Hailu, the editor of a weekly, told Mumo that he didnt know whether the flowering of press freedom would last. There is equal chance for the change to regress as it can progress, Befekadu said. It needs collective effort of the media, civil society, and government to save it from falling into the vicious cycle. The caution would quickly prove prudent. Even before Abiy was awarded the Nobel, arrests of journalists started to tick up again; CPJs 2019 count found only one still in prison, but cautioned that this figure didnt include multiple complex cases of jailed activist-journalists. Early in 2020, Yayesew Shimelis, a columnist and TV host, was detained after reporting on the spread of covid and later charged under terror laws; then, in the summer, the authorities implemented a national internet blackout (having sporadically blocked the Web on a regional basis since Abiy came to power), raided at least one media outlet, and arrested more journalists amid protests following the fatal shooting of a popular musician. CPJs count at the end of 2020 found seven journalists in prison. By that point, war had broken out between Abiys administration and forces in the northern region of Tigray whose leadership dominated the national government prior to 2018. Sign up for CJR 's daily email According to RSF and Ethiopias Human Rights Commission, six journalists were detained in the first week of the conflict alone. One of those was Medihane Ekubamichael, an editor at the Addis Standard, with Tsedale Lemma, the publications editor in chief, suggesting that his arrest was connected to his early coverage of the war and ethnic Tigrayan heritage. A couple of months later, Tsedale spoke to my CJR colleague Feven Merid about the challenges Ethiopian media were now facing, and took aim at credulous prior Western coverage of Abiy. There was a lot of hysteria, a lot of enthusiasm and happiness around the Peace Prize. That is how the international media functions, Tsedale said. Now the international media is confronted with a reality that we have been trying to highlight for a while. Theyre reporting on the prime minister based on his words and based on his actions now. I think there is this moment of reckoning. People are seeing through him for what hes doing. The period of infatuation seems to have come to a screeching halt. As the war developed, it was shaped by a furious battle for its narrative, with government officials shutting off Tigrays internet and impeding physical access. Those who tried to report on what was going on in the regionwhere various parties have since been accused of rampant human rights abusesfaced increasingly sharp threats. In January 2021, just days after Tsedale spoke to Merid, Dawit Kebede Araya, a journalist with a state-owned Tigrayan broadcaster, was detained, then killed while driving in the regional capital, with the Addis Standard and others reporting that security forces were to blame. (By one count, Dawit became the first Ethiopian journalist killed in relation to their work since 1998, though CPJ is still investigating the circumstances of his death.) In February 2021, Lucy Kassa, an ethnic Tigrayan journalist, had just filed a story to the LA Times about alleged gang rape by Eritrean soldiers allied to Abiys government when unidentified men barged into her home in Addis Ababa and threatened to kill her. I no longer feel safe here, she wrote afterward, also for the LA Times. In March 2021, workers with Western outletsthe BBC, Agence France-Presse, and the Financial Timeswere arrested in Tigray. In May 2021, government officials expelled Simon Marks, a correspondent for the New York Times who had recently reported on atrocities including rape. The year since then has seen at least one more killing of an Ethiopian journalist (the circumstances were again murky), more assaults of media workers, and more arrests, with some of those detained held in military camps; by the end of 2021, CPJ data showed Ethiopia as the second-worst jailer of journalists in its region, after Eritrea, a reversion to its pre-2018 status. Around the same time, with Tigrayan fighters surging, Abiy declared a state of emergency and the authorities subsequently swept up a number of journalists, including Amir Aman Kiyaro, an AP freelancer, and Thomas Engida, a camera operator; earlier this year, the state of emergency ended and Amir and Thomas were freed by a court, though reports at the time noted that both journalists still faced legal jeopardy. Last month, the government expelled Tom Gardner, an Economist correspondent, for unspecified ethical violations. Then came the latest wave of arrests, the context for which has been as complex as the rest of Ethiopias war: forces and armed groups in the Amhara region fought on Abiys side against the Tigrayan forces, but relations between the national government and regional power brokers have grown strained. Its simpler to state that journalists, once again, have been caught in the middle. Back in 2019, when CPJs Mumo visited Ethiopia with press freedom at a high ebb, she noted that the dawn of the Abiy era wasnt the first time that the countrys media had experienced a period of liberalization; it had also done so in the nineties, only for that to be followed by a crackdown. The vicious cycle has now come around again. Tazebew Assefa, a board member at Ashara Media, an Amhara outlet that was raided just weeks ago, told Al Jazeera recently that the authorities are now actively muzzling the private press, but that isnt a solution. In fact, it may serve to push disenfranchised people to other forms of struggle, including armed struggle. Below, more on press freedom in Ethiopia and around the world: Ethiopia: In a recent op-ed for The Guardian, Kristin Skare Orgeret and Bruce Mutsvairo examined how informational polarizationa key problem identified worldwide in RSFs latest World Press Freedom Indexis emerging as one overarching hurdle inhibiting progress in both Ethiopia and Mali. Ethiopian news media have become dangerously divided along ethnic lines, Orgeret and Mutsvairo wrote. Facebook and Twitter have come under fire over their roles in the conflict. Critics argue they are not doing enough to prevent the spread of hate speech and incitements to violence on their platforms. Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen has also stated that in places like Ethiopia social media is fanning ethnic violence, a claim the firms reject. In a recent op-ed for The Guardian, Kristin Skare Orgeret and Bruce Mutsvairo examined how informational polarizationa key problem identified worldwide in RSFs latest World Press Freedom Indexis emerging as one overarching hurdle inhibiting progress in both Ethiopia and Mali. Ethiopian news media have become dangerously divided along ethnic lines, Orgeret and Mutsvairo wrote. Facebook and Twitter have come under fire over their roles in the conflict. Critics argue they are not doing enough to prevent the spread of hate speech and incitements to violence on their platforms. Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen has also stated that in places like Ethiopia social media is fanning ethnic violence, a claim the firms reject. Ukraine: Also for The Guardian, Isobel Koshiw assessed the state of the TV landscape in Ukraine, where rival channels have been broadcasting the same content since Russia invaded, an arrangement that has since been signed into law. Supporters of the arrangement say that it is necessarywith one calling it the information war equivalent of our anti-aircraft systems and pointing out that channels were left short-staffed after journalists left Kyiv earlier in the warbut others have been more critical, arguing, Koshiw notes, that it amounts to a monopoly of the information space by President Volodymyr Zelenskys team and could be exploited for political purposes. Also for The Guardian, Isobel Koshiw assessed the state of the TV landscape in Ukraine, where rival channels have been broadcasting the same content since Russia invaded, an arrangement that has since been signed into law. Supporters of the arrangement say that it is necessarywith one calling it the information war equivalent of our anti-aircraft systems and pointing out that channels were left short-staffed after journalists left Kyiv earlier in the warbut others have been more critical, arguing, Koshiw notes, that it amounts to a monopoly of the information space by President Volodymyr Zelenskys team and could be exploited for political purposes. The Netherlands: CJRs Caleb Pershan went deep on the murder of Peter R. de Vries, a Dutch investigative journalist who was shot and killed last year. When they took Peter, that was an accident waiting to happen, Paul Vugts, another reporter, said. But it was a big shock for us all, because who is going to be next? Is it going to be a judge? Is it going to be us? We dont know, but we expect more violence. Pershans article is the third in a CJR series on murdered journalists. You can read more about the seriesand find Paroma Sonis story on Mexico and Merids story on Haition this landing page. CJRs Caleb Pershan went deep on the murder of Peter R. de Vries, a Dutch investigative journalist who was shot and killed last year. When they took Peter, that was an accident waiting to happen, Paul Vugts, another reporter, said. But it was a big shock for us all, because who is going to be next? Is it going to be a judge? Is it going to be us? We dont know, but we expect more violence. Pershans article is the third in a CJR series on murdered journalists. You can read more about the seriesand find Paroma Sonis story on Mexico and Merids story on Haition this landing page. Everywhere: On Monday, The Guardian announced that its website is now available to users of Tor as an onion service. Tor helps conceal its users locations and makes it harder for internet service providers to identify what their users are accessing, meaning that users can bypass censorship in parts of the world where access to independent news might be difficult or if certain websites and services are banned, the paper writes. The introduction of a Guardian onion service means that the entire communication pathway between a reader and The Guardian takes place within the Tor network, thereby avoiding potential risks with the hop between the Tor network and the world wide web service while protecting reader anonymity in other ways. Other notable stories: Listen: Nina Totenberg on covering the Supreme Court 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. A Washington state law that requires plaintiffs to file a declaration declining arbitration when filing a medical malpractice suit does not apply in federal courts, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. The appellate panel reversed a decision by the US District Court in Tacoma that dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former jail inmate against medical providers at the Pierce County Detention Center because he did not file the declaration required by Revised Code of Washington section 7.70A.020. The law is one of the last vestiges of a package of tort reform bills passed in 2006 which had many of its provisions overturned by the Washington Supreme Court. The high court ruled in 2009 that a law that requires plaintiffs to file certificates of merit was unconstitutional. In 2014, the court overturned a law that made minors subject to the same statute of limitations as other plaintiffs with medical malpractice claims. The 9th Circuit panel said no state appellate court has yet ruled on RCW 7.70A.020. The statute requires plaintiffs to file a declaration declining arbitration when commencing a medical malpractice claim. This is in direct conflict with Rule 3s assertion that only the complaint must be filed to commence an action, the panels opinion says. Jeffery S. Martin was incarcerated in 2017 for violating the terms of probation that were set when he convicted of several misdemeanors in 1992, including assault and driving under the influence of intoxicants. While in jail, he sought treatment for a condition that caused severe pain, dryness and itchiness to both eyes. An amended civil complaint filed in December 2020 states that medical staff at the jail who were employed by NaphCare, an Alabama corporation ignored his complaints initially and did not administer prescribed medications after he was finally seen by an outside ophthalmologist. Eventually Martin had to undergo surgery to relieve dangerous high pressure levels in his eyes, but afterward staff at the jail continued to deny him needed medications, he alleges. As a result, Martin once a construction foreman has no depth perception or peripheral vision and is extremely sensitive to light, making him effectively blind, the complaint says. Martins malpractice lawsuit names Pierce County, NaphCare, Dr. Miguel Balderrama, nurses and other jail staff as defendants. The suit says NaphCare practices a de facto policy of displaying deliberate indifference to inmates medical needs to reduce costs. US District Judge Benjamin H. Settle dismissed Martins malpractice claims last March because he did not file the required declaration. On appeal, Martins attorney, Bardi D. Martin, argued that that the statute is unenforceable in Washington courts and does not create any penalty for failing to comply, unlike the other statutes that passed as part of the tort-reform package in 2006. He said enforcing the declaration requirement in federal courts would encourage defendants to remove cases to federal courts in order to dismiss them for non-compliance. The 9th Circuit did not rule on whether the declaration requirement is enforceable in state court, but did decide that the statute conflicts with federal rules of procedure. The panel said there is a growing consensus among the federal circuit courts that requirements that plaintiffs provide certificates stating that their cases have merit to not apply in federal courts. Washingtons declaration requirement similarly conflicts with federal rules, which require only that plaintiffs file a civil complaint. We hold that Washingtons arbitration declaration requirement does not apply in the federal courts, the opinion says. The district court should have applied the federal rules, not RCW 7.70A.020 in this case. The 9th Circuit remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings. HYDERABAD: Finance minister T. Harish Rao and panchayat raj minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao charged the Opposition BJP and Congress of attempting to sabotage Palle Pragathi programme set to begin from June 3 across the state by provoking sarpanches against the state government. Speaking to media personnel in Siddipet on Wednesday, both the ministers came down heavily on BJP state president Bandi Sanjay and Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A. Revanth Reddy for undertaking malicious campaign against Palle Pragathi and resorting to false propaganda that the state government owes huge arrears to gram panchayats with regard to works undertaken in villages as part of previous rounds of Palle Pragathi programme and pushed sarpanches into debt trap. They urged sarpanches not to fall in the trap laid by the Opposition parties to derail Palle Pragathi programme and make it a big success for the overall development of villages. They claimed that only the sarpanches belonging to BJP and Congress were making statements to boycott Palle Pragathi and majority of the sarpanches were with the TRS government. "Palle Pragathi and Pattana Pragathi programmes conceived by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao in 2019 were a runaway success. Both the programmes helped a lot for the comprehensive development of villages, towns and cities in terms of cleanliness, greenery, infrastructure development, civic facilities etc. The fact that the majority of the municipalities and gram panchayats figure in the list of awards announced by the Centre for best performance are from Telangana every year proves that these schemes are a big success. Unable to digest this, the BJP and Congress leaders are trying to derail these programmes by provoking sarpanches," said Harish Rao. Harish strongly condemned Opposition leaders' charges that the state government owed huge arrears to gram panchayats. "In April and May alone, we cleared bills worth Rs 700 crore to local bodies under Palle Pragathi and Pattana Pragathi programmes. There could be arrears of just seven to ten days which we will clear immediately. The fact remains that it's the BJP-led government at the Centre which owes arrears of s 1,200 crore to Telangana under NREGA scheme. If Bandi Sanjay is really sincere for the welfare of sarpanches, he should write a letter to the Centre seeking clearance of arrears and not write a letter to sarpanches seeking boycott of Palle Pragathi," he added. The Centre owed a total of Rs 8,995 crore grants to Telangana, of which a major chunk belongs to local bodies, Rao said adding that if recommendations of Niti Aayog asking Centre to give grants to Telangana for Mission Bhagiratha, Mission Kakatiya etc were taken into consideration, the Centre owed Rs 34,149 crore to Telangana. Dayakar Rao urged sarpanches not to fall in the trap laid by Opposition parties to derail Palle Pragathi programme. He requested them to make Palle Pragathi a big success and contribute to the overall development of villages. Dayakar Rao said the government would send a delegation to Delhi to put pressure on the Centre to clear Rs 1,200 crore NREGA arrears to Telangana. 3 shot on college campus after high school graduation ceremony in U.S. Louisiana Xinhua) 09:06, June 01, 2022 HOUSTON, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Three people were shot on the campus of Xavier University of Louisiana after a high school graduation ceremony on Tuesday, authorities said. The shooting took place following the graduation ceremony for Morris Jeff Community School, WDSU television station reported. A suspect has been taken into custody, according to the New Orleans police. No more information is immediately available. Xavier University of Louisiana is a private, historically Black, Catholic university in New Orleans, U.S. southern state of Louisiana, according to its website. The United States has seen at least 214 mass shootings so far this year, according to an online database that keeps a record of the country's gun violence incidents. More than 17,000 people have died in gun-related episodes across the United States over the past five months, including at least 653 children and teenagers. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) The confusing communications from the Union government on Aadhaar or the unique identification number, and the angst and disquiet these caused to the people, are the result of the ad hoc approach it has taken to the implementation of the whole project since its very inception. Recently, it withdrew a notification asking Aadhaar card holders not to share the number in full while still insisting on the exercise of normal prudence, but not before crores have been plunged into anxiety about the possible misuse of the data that they have already shared. The notification makes it plain that the government has been aware of the chinks in the data protection mechanism of Aadhaar and of the dangers involved. Yet it has chosen not to share its fears with the public. Worse, in all these years, the government has encouraged the use of Aadhaar with as many agencies as possible be they telecom companies or banking institutions even hotels were insisting on the production of Aadhaar in some parts of India. Those who opted for vaccination in private hospitals were also made to share their Aadhaar data. The bottomline is the government which used every trick in the book to make people subscribe to the number has failed them miserably when it came to data protection. Neither the United Progressive Alliance which started working on the idea of a unique number nor the National Democratic Alliance government which followed up on the project has ever bothered to take a comprehensive approach to such an important issue. The UPA government whose baby it is did not even bother to make it a legitimate child by seeking the authorisation of Parliament. The BJP, which did give it some legitimacy, also took the short cut it got it passed as a money bill. Whenever a citizen goes to court questioning the right of the government to ask them to link Aadhaar to one document or the other, the government goes on the back foot. Today, a government agency can ask for the production of the Aadhaar card only if the citizen receives some form of financial assistance from the government. In essence, the UID has ceased to be a mandatory identification document which it was once touted to be. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often talked about the role data will play in the new economy but the government he heads appears to have little clue about the need to protect citizens data. Laughably, the attorney-general of India has told the Supreme Court that the data is safe inside the centre which has a 13-foot high and five-foot thick wall. Since the issue is related to the protection of the personal data of citizens, the government must make a clean breast of the whole project, its shortcomings and its plans. It must also go back to Parliament with a piece of legislation that lists the uses of the data, authorises the agencies that can access it, ensures data privacy, fixes responsibility in case of breach and forms a body which an aggrieved citizen can go to if that occurs. Aadhaar is too important a topic to be addressed with quick fixes. 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. 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. 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 Singapore airlines mulls more India flights soon Singapore Airlines is planning to raise the number of India flights, as it is currently operating at pre-pandemic capacity of around 75%. The Singapore Airlines spokesperson said market feedback indicates that the current outbound traffic from India comprises of primarily pent-up leisure traffic, while business travel will take longer to return to pre-pandemic levels. Photo courtesy: SIA Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group - comprising full service carrier Singapore Airlines and low-cost airline Scoot - currently serves 13 destinations across India, the Business Standard reported. A senior Singapore Airlines executive said the carrier expects to announce more flights to India in the coming months. "The Indian market is recovering very strongly as well. We are seeing good load factors... we will be able to hopefully announce increases in flights over the next two schedules... whether it is for the winter schedule starting from October or even for next year," Lee Lik Hsin, Executive Vice President Commercial at Singapore Airlines, told reporters at an interaction at Changi airport here. At present, Singapore Airlines operates 73 weekly flights to Singapore from eight Indian cities -- Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Kochi and Hyderabad. Scoot operates 38 flights from six cities - Amritsar, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Tiruchirappalli, Trivandrum and Visakhapatnam. According to an airline spokesperson, SIA Group is currently operating around 75 per cent of its pre-COVID capacity. After remaining suspended for little over two years, scheduled commercial international passenger flights resumed to and from India from March 27 this year. Since then, there has been a strong demand for air travel. The Singapore Airlines spokesperson said market feedback indicates that the current outbound traffic from India comprises primarily pent-up leisure traffic, while business travel will take longer to return to pre-pandemic levels. Apart from resuming Airbus A380 plane services from Mumbai and Delhi, the airline, in January, launched its new Boeing 737-8 product from Hyderabad, Kochi, and Kolkata. This includes seats that recline into fully-flat beds in the business class. Talking about overall travel demand, Lee Lik Hsin said there is a "very speedy recovery phase we are seeing right now". "We will put in a capacity of 61 per cent by the end of June, 67 per cent by the end of September... very very strong load factors for April," he added. In April, SIA Group's load factor rose 18 per cent. To another query, Lee Lik Hsin said the rise in fuel costs is a concern for any airline. "We try to exercise as much cost discipline as we can on other aspects in our control. Fuel is one aspect that we do not control. We are hedged for this current year at 40 per cent. We have some protection to that extent but the rest is (up to) market forces," he noted. Read more Singapore News and India News here Joe Biden is cautioned by someone critical of the Taiwan stance that it could lead to US defeat if there is no change. Political analyst Joe Siracusa told the president that Washington couldn't win, and he was shooting himself in the foot. Biden's Visit to Japan President Joe Biden declared during a visit to Prime Minister Kishida Fumio in Japan that the US would intervene and protect Taiwan if China tried to take the island by force, reported the Express UK. The analyst commented on the comments that were spoken and should be cautious whenever he opens his mouth. Warning that it is serious how statements about Taipei should be framed thoughtfully stress that Biden is dreaming that America has a chance against Beijing, cited News Florida. Seeing the war games via zoom in Washington shows there's no way of winning. Furthermore, a problem with the resupply of the American or allied troops in the world. He added that China would claim Taipei and stress that Beijing is correct and dispel what the US is doing in telling the Taiwanese that Xi Jinping is a threat; when it's Washington that is gaslighting fears of a beasty takeover. Also, China can prove its point because Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations. It is interesting to note that during war games, the US will get support from two nations if there are hostilities. One of them is Japan because the Chinese rocket force will target its military, and Australia, which effectively allows itself to become cannon fodder due to following Joe Biden's Taiwan stance, which more or less means US defeat. Read also: Xi Jinping: 5 Things To Know About China's President Based on those assumptions, Siracusa said he should guide Biden's mouth when speaking about the island enclave, or the Chinese would make him eat his words. Nevertheless, the policy regarding Beijing is altering due to the US president's unwise pronouncement as damage control is spinning the truth. It is about the 'One China policy, which dictates that the US accept that the island is a part of China by default. But ever since, Washington has never considered the Beijing claim warranted, and it has its interpretation. If push comes to shove, the US does not have enough support from Japan and Australia to protect Taiwan; it can neither defend nor can America prevail. Following President Biden's remarks, a White House official released a statement declaring that the US position on the policy had not changed. Statement That Angered China The White House official said the policy is still the same, though the president's gaffe is on the record. Stating a reaffirmed commitment to peace and stability all over the Taiwan Strait and the One China policy, which includes the Taiwan Relations Act to assist the Taiwanese forces if attacked. Due to the president's statement that Beijing expressed anger at, saying it with firm world slamming what is seen as irresponsible words from the US leader. Reminded how the One China principle should be taken seriously or have repercussions. Furthermore, the US should stick to the principle and not interfere with Taipei, or US-China relations will be the casualty. Siracusa's warning to Joe Biden that his Taiwan stance is disastrous as the US defeat is guaranteed in light of the situation. Related Article: US Seeks To Maneuver Taiwan the Same Way as Zelensky in Pushing a Proxy War @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The lawyers continue to gather their billable hours as the legal tussle between data science company hiQ Labs and LinkedIn plays out in the United States federal courts. The most recent update took place in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, with Judge Marsha Berzon writing the opinion, where hiQ Labs was granted a continued preliminary injunction, which would allow the company access LinkedIns publicly available corpus of data. The ruling also remanded the companies for further proceedings on the subject. In addition, the court held that hiQs actions do not violate the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). The case is a must-follow for every CISO or data DPO as the outcome will have a material effect on privacy, the creation of privacy policies, and the operationalization of the policies in the global milieu. hiQ v LinkedIn background While the two companies may be at loggerheads, such wasnt always the case. LinkedIn participated in hiQs Elevate Conference in 2016. Its presence wasnt simply performative. Then director of business operations and analytics for LinkedIn Lorenzo Canlas received the hiQ Elevate Impact Award. Like many relationships, the lovefest between two parties leads to differences and this relationship came to an abrupt end when LinkedIn sent hiQ a cease-and-desist order in May 2017 and then blocked the companys access to LinkedIn. hiQ wasnt able to get LinkedIn to the negotiating table and without access to the publicly available data, found itself in the proverbial chicken wire canoe and sinking fast. hiQ was able to get an injunction against LinkedIns actions and remain afloat but destined to be engaged in years of legal entanglement with LinkedIn. Privacy implications of the April 2022 hiQ v LinkedIn court ruling The court ruling contained some noteworthy observations. The balance of equities discussion highlighted LinkedIn users could opt not to have their profile changes shared publicly. An example provided by LinkedIn is the user who may wish to avoid their employer seeing theyve begun a job search. The court made two observations that speak to the expectation of privacy. First, the court observed, There is little evidence that LinkedIn users who choose to make their profiles public actually maintain an expectation of privacy with respect to information that they post publicly. LinkedIns privacy policy which states, Information you put on our profile and any content you post on LinkedIn may be seen by others, which adds weight to the understanding that users post what they understand will be shared. The second observation by the court is with respect to the expectation that users employers being alerted to profile changes signaling an employee is engaged in a job hunt. The court noted employees could avoid such by rejecting public exposure of their profiles and eliminating their employers as contacts. As intimated in 2017, the court observed again in 2022 that LinkedIns actions undercut their arguments regarding expectation of privacy in users public profiles, highlighting the LinkedIn product Recruiter, which essentially allows recruiters to tag, monitor and receive updates on changes taking place within the profiles of individuals who they may wish to target, with full-on export capabilities. The blocking of hiQs access would have a deleterious effect on their ability to conduct business, and if LinkedIn wished to restrict public access it could eliminate the public access option, albeit at a cost to the performance of many users and, possibly, to its own bottom line. Why LinkedIns CFAA claim was denied The court was clear: If publicly available sections of a website lack limitations on access, they are not gated and publicly available. hiQs actions thus are no different than what anyone with a web browser could achieve, and the concept of without authorization does not apply to public websites. The opinion stated: The data hiQ seeks to access is not owned by LinkedIn and has not been demarcated by LinkedIn as private using such an authorization system. HiQ has therefore raised serious questions about whether LinkedIn may invoke the CFAA to preempt hiQs possibly meritorious tortious interference claim. Implications for data collection and aggregation What is particularly interesting, especially to those supporting privacy and or data collation efforts, is the courts observation, We agree with the district court that giving companies like LinkedIn free rein to decide, on any basis, who can collect and use datadata that the companies do not own, that they otherwise make publicly available to viewers, and that the companies themselves collect and userisks the possible creation of information monopolies that would disserve the public interest. The courts opinion may serve to bring the two parties back to the table where an amicable agreement can be reached. Without such, the two companies, five years in, remain on opposite sides of the coin, with hiQ still allowed to scrape LinkedIn data and apparently LinkedIn wanting the data for their own use and not a third party. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. is headed for a lot of unnecessary loss of life," the Biden administration says, if Congress fails to provide billions more dollars to brace for the pandemics next wave. Yet the quest for that money is in limbo, the latest victim of election-year gridlock thats stalled or killed a host of Democratic priorities. President Joe Bidens appeal for funds for vaccines, testing and treatments has hit opposition from Republicans, who've fused the fight with the precarious politics of immigration. Congress is in recess, and the next steps are uncertain, despite admonitions from White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha of damaging consequences from every day we wait. Administration officials say they're running low on money to stock up on, or even begin to order, the latest vaccines, tests and treatments. Also lacking are funds to reimburse doctors treating uninsured patients and to help poor countries control the pandemic. House and Senate Democrats have been wrangling over how to resolve the stalemate and even over which chamber should vote first. Its an open question whether theyll ever get the GOP votes theyll need to pull the legislation through the 50-50 Senate, and prospects in the narrowly divided House are unclear as well. There is still an urgency to pass a COVID relief package, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said last week. Its very, very much needed. Optimists hope the measure could start rolling once Congress returns next week. Pessimists say without quick resolution, Democrats may not have enough leverage to push the money to passage until early fall. Thats when they could stuff it into legislation that will probably be needed to finance government a bill that would avert a federal shutdown, a pre-election distraction Republicans will be desperate to avoid. The heap of sidelined Democratic initiatives has grown this year, a victim of GOP opposition and rebellions by centrists like Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. Casualties include bills on voting rights, health care, environment, taxes, gun curbs, abortion rights, policing tactics and an investigation of the 2021 Capitol storming by then-President Donald Trumps supporters. While lawmakers have approved massive packages financing federal agencies through September and helping Ukraine counter Russias invasion, other priorities are dead or drifting, even as Democrats days running Congress are likely dwindling. Republicans are favored to win House control in Novembers elections and could grab the Senate as well, and Democrats frustration is clear. So far it hasnt moved, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said of Bidens latest $22.5 billion request for COVID-19, which he initially sent Congress three months ago. But then neither has sensible gun legislation, neither has voting rights. The 50-50 Senate sucks, she said. The COVID money is needed quickly, officials say. Their warnings have come with over 1 million U.S. deaths from the disease and a fresh variant that daily is hospitalizing over 100,000 Americans and killing more than 300. Both numbers are rising. Officials say that lacking fresh funds, the U.S. is falling behind other countries that are already lining up for supplies needed for fall and winter. That's prompted Jha to plan for the chance that Congress provides no new money at all, threatening painful choices about what to do if there aren't enough vaccines or therapeutics for all who need them. It would be terrible," Jha told reporters recently. I think we would see a lot of unnecessary loss of life if that were to happen." Congress has provided $370 billion for purchasing supplies, for research and other public health initiatives to combat the pandemic, according to administration tallies obtained by The Associated Press. Around $14 billion of it was unspent or not committed to contracts as of April 5, the documents show, serious money but an amount the administration says falls below the ultimate need. Most Republicans are skeptical about added pandemic funding. I have a hard time believing that theres not enough money and not enough flexibility already" to use it, said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. Counterintuitively but unsurprisingly for the always perplexing Senate, one intractable puzzle stymying Democrats is immigration. Senate Republicans are demanding a vote an amending the pandemic legislation with language retaining Trump-era curbs that, citing COVID-19, have made it easier to bar migrants from entering the U.S. A federal judge has blocked Biden from ending those restrictions. Liberals want Congress to eliminate the clampdown, but moderate Democrats in both chambers facing tough reelections want to vote to retain it. The result: Testy divisions between the Democrats' two ideological factions, and knotty questions for party leaders about how to resolve them and push a pandemic package to passage. Their task is compounded by disputes between House and Senate Democrats over why the COVID-19 battle remains unresolved. Senate Democrats note a bipartisan $15.6 billion pandemic compromise was on the cusp of House passage in March until that chamber's progressive Democrats rebelled against spending cuts to pay for it, derailing the money. Were waiting for the House to send us something," Schumer said last week. House Democrats say even if they do, the biggest hurdle will still be the Senate, where 10 GOP votes will be required to reach that chamber's usual 60-vote threshold for passage. They note that an April deal between Schumer and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, for $10 billion in COVID-19 money collapsed after Republicans demanded the immigration vote. We want to get COVID-19 done, but the only impediment right now is the United States Senate," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters recently. That's left Republicans waiting for Democrats' next move. I would imagine at this point way over half of our members will vote against this, no matter what. So the question is what do you do to get it acceptable to 10 or 12 Republican senators, said Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, a member of GOP leadership. "And I dont know. WASHINGTON (AP) John Hinckley Jr., who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981, is no longer a danger to himself or others and will be freed from court oversight this month as planned, a federal judge said Wednesday, capping Hinckleys four-decade journey through the legal and mental health systems. U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman had freed Hinckley in September from all remaining restrictions but said his order wouldn't take effect until June 15. Wednesdays final hearing was scheduled to ensure Hinckley was continuing to do well in the community in Virginia where he has lived for years. Hinckley did not attend the final hearing, and the judge made no changes to his plans to give Hinckley full freedom from court oversight. He's been scrutinized. He's passed every test. He's no longer a danger to himself or others, Friedman said at a hearing that lasted about an hour. Friedman devoted much of the hearing to talking about the long road of the case, which he was randomly assigned two decades ago, the third judge to be involved in the case. He noted that Hinckley, who turned 67 on Sunday, was profoundly troubled when tried to kill the president, coming very close to doing so. But Hinckley has shown no signs of active mental illness since the mid-1980s, the judge repeated Wednesday, and has exhibited no violent behavior or interest in weapons. I am confident that Mr. Hinckley will do well in the years remaining to him, the judge said. He noted that lawyers for the government and Hinckley have fought for years over whether Hinckley should be given increasing amounts of freedom. It took us a long time to get here, he said, adding there is now unanimous agreement: This is the time to let John Hinckley move on with his life, so we will. Hinckley was confined to a mental hospital in Washington for more than two decades after a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity in shooting Reagan. The shooting was fueled by his obsession with the movie Taxi Driver and its star, Jodie Foster. In the movie, the main character at one point attempts to kill a presidential candidate. Starting in 2003 Friedman began allowing Hinckley to spend longer and longer stretches in the community with requirements like attending therapy and restrictions on where he can travel. He's been living full-time in Virginia since 2016, though still under restrictions. Some of those include: allowing officials access to his electronic devices, email and online accounts; being barred from traveling to places where he knows there will be someone protected by the Secret Service; and giving three days notice if he wants to travel more than 75 miles (120 kilometers) from his home in Virginia. Prosecutors had previously opposed ending restrictions, but they changed their position last year. Prosecutor Kacie Weston said in court Wednesday that the government believes the case has demonstrated the success that can come from a wraparound mental health system." She noted Hinckley has expressed a desire to continue receiving mental health services even after he is no longer required to do so, and said the government wishes him success for both his sake as well as the safety of the community. Hinckley's longtime lawyer, Barry Levine, said the case had started with a troubled young man who inflicted great harm and but that, in the end, I think we have salvaged a life. John worked hard. He wanted to correct something that he was unable to erase, and this is the best outcome that one could imagine, Levine said after the hearing, adding, "His regrets will always be with him with respect to the families of those he injured. Levine said his client hopes to pursue a career in music and has real talent. In July, Hinckley who plays guitar and sings and has shared his music on a YouTube channel plans to give a concert in Brooklyn, New York. Appearances in Connecticut and Chicago for what he has called the John Hinckley Redemption Tour have been canceled. Reagan recovered from the March 30, 1981, shooting, but his press secretary, James Brady, who died in 2014, was partially paralyzed as a result. Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty were also wounded. Reagan died in 2004. On Wednesday, Reagan's foundation issued a statement opposing the lifting of restrictions. The Reagan Foundation and Institute is both saddened and concerned that John Hinckley Jr. will soon be unconditionally released and intends to pursue a music career for profit," the statement read. It concluded, "We strongly oppose his release into society where he apparently seeks to make a profit from his infamy. In the 2000s, Hinckley began, with the judge's approval, making visits to his parents home in Williamsburg, Virginia. His father died in 2008, but in 2016 he was given permission to live with his mother full-time. Still, he was required to attend individual and group therapy sessions, was barred from talking to the media and could only travel within a limited area. Secret Service would also periodically follow him. Hinckley's mother died in 2021. He has since moved out of her home. In recent years, Hinckley has made money by selling items at an antique mall and by selling books online. Hinckley has said on his YouTube channel that he has started a record label, Emporia Records, and that his first release will be a 14-song CD of his music. He also promotes his music on Twitter. WASHINGTON (AP) The Biden administration announced on Tuesday that it will send Ukraine a small number of high-tech, medium-range rocket systems, a critical weapon that Ukrainian leaders have been begging for as they struggle to stall Russian progress in the Donbas region. The rocket systems are part of a new $700 million tranche of security assistance for Ukraine from the U.S. that will include helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, tactical vehicles, spare parts and more, according to two senior administration officials. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the weapons package that will be formally unveiled on Wednesday. The U.S. decision to provide the advance rocket systems tries to strike a balance between the desire to help Ukraine battle ferocious Russian artillery barrages while not providing arms that could allow Ukraine to hit targets deep inside Russia and trigger an escalation in the war. In a guest essay published Tuesday evening in The New York Times, President Joe Biden confirmed that he's decided to provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine. Biden had said Monday that the U.S. would not send Ukraine rocket systems that can strike into Russia. Any weapons system can shoot into Russia if it's close enough to the border. The aid package expected to be unveiled Wednesday would send what the U.S. considers medium-range rockets they generally can travel about 45 miles (70 kilometers), the officials said. The Ukrainians have assured U.S. officials that they will not fire rockets into Russian territory, according to the senior administration officials. One official noted that the advanced rocket systems will give Ukrainian forces greater precision in targeting Russian assets inside Ukraine. The expectation is that Ukraine could use the rockets in the eastern Donbas region, where they could both intercept Russian artillery and take out Russian positions in towns where fighting is intense, such as Sievierodonetsk. Sievierodonetsk is important to Russian efforts to capture the Donbas before more Western arms arrive to bolster Ukraines defense. The city, which is 90 miles (145 kilometers) south of the Russian border, is in an area that is the last pocket under Ukrainian government control in the Luhansk region of the Donbas. Biden in his New York Times' essay added: We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia. It's the 11th package approved so far, and will be the first to tap the $40 billion in security and economic assistance recently passed by Congress. The rocket systems would be part of Pentagon drawdown authority, so would involve taking weapons from U.S. inventory and getting them into Ukraine quickly. Ukrainian troops would also need training on the new systems, which could take at least a week or two. Officials said the plan is to send Ukraine the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, which is mounted on a truck and can carry a container with six rockets. The system can launch a medium-range rocket, which is the current plan, but is also capable of firing a longer-range missile, the Army Tactical Missile System, which has a range of about 190 miles (300 kilometers) and is not part of the plan. Since the war began in February, the U.S. and its allies have tried to walk a narrow line: send Ukraine weapons needed to fight off Russia, but stop short of providing aid that will inflame Russian President Vladimir Putin and trigger a broader conflict that could spill over into other parts of Europe. Over time, however, the U.S. and allies have amped up the weaponry going into Ukraine, as the fight has shifted from Russias broader campaign to take the capital, Kyiv, and other areas, to more close-contact skirmishes for small pieces of land in the east and south. To that end, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pleading with the West to send multiple launch rocket systems to Ukraine as soon as possible to help stop Russias destruction of towns in the Donbas. The rockets have a longer range than the howitzer artillery systems that the U.S. has provided Ukraine. They would allow Ukrainian forces to strike Russian troops from a distance outside the range of Russia's artillery systems. We are fighting for Ukraine to be provided with all the weapons needed to change the nature of the fighting and start moving faster and more confidently toward the expulsion of the occupiers, Zelenskyy said in a recent address. Ukraine needs multiple launch rocket systems, said Philip Breedlove, a retired U.S. Air Force general who was NATOs top commander from 2013 to 2016. These are very important capabilities that we have not gotten them yet. And they not only need them, but they have been very vociferous in explaining they want them, said Breedlove. We need to get serious about supplying this army so that it can do what the world is asking it to do: fight a world superpower alone on the battlefield. U.S. and White House officials had no public comment on the specifics of the aid package. We continue to consider a range of systems that have the potential to be effective on the battlefield for our Ukrainian partners. But the point the president made is that we wont be sending long-range rockets for use beyond the battlefield in Ukraine, State Department Ned Price said Tuesday. As the battle has shifted its dynamics, we have also shifted the type of security assistance that we are providing to them, in large part because they have asked us for the various systems that are going to be more effective in places like the Donbas. Russia has been making incremental progress in the Donbas, as it tries to take the remaining sections of the region not already controlled by Russian-backed separatists. Putin has repeatedly warned the West against sending greater firepower to Ukraine. The Kremlin said Putin held an 80-minute telephone call Saturday with the leaders of France and Germany in which he warned against the continued transfers of Western weapons. Overall, the United States has committed approximately $5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration, including approximately $4.5 billion since the Russia invaded on Feb. 24. ___ AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee and Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine The Chinese J-20 and Russian Su-57 are patrolling the Indo-Pacific, which is a direct challenge in joint combo patrols. Another is to show that US hegemony is not feared, but the two countries are unafraid of Washington. China, Russia Cooperation As part of their annual military cooperation plan, China's Ministry of National Defense confirmed last week that the Chinese and Russian Air Forces performed a joint strategic patrol over the Sea of Japan, East China Sea, and the West Pacific Ocean, as mentioned in the Global Times. The PLAAF dispatched advanced H-6K strategic bombers, while Russian Aerospace Forces sent Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers for strategic patrol, reported the EurAsian Times. Included in these patrols, according to Chinese military experts, are the stealth fighters that might lead air patrols. It is a threat to the US that considers the cooperation of Moscow or Beijing as their advanced fighters are challenging the US F-35. A Chinese military expert and TV commentator, Song Zhongping, told an outlet that rapid changes on the battlefield needed better weapons. This includes fighter jets that patrol the region. Advanced stealth fighters like the Mighty Dragon and the Felon may participate in the next patrol for better combat capacity. He added that heavy bombers are important and escort fighters to engage enemies. Having stealth fighters as escorts will deter radar and attacks beyond visual range. US assets will face a greater threat with Chinese J-20 and Russian Su-57 for joint combo patrols in the Indo-pacific last April. Read Also: Vladimir Putin: 3 Facts You Didn't Know About Russia's President - From His Judo Records to His KGB Pseudonym American forces have been deploying the F-35s in the contested region, so the drill is a response to the lone stealth fighter of the USA. Moscow and Beijing have tension with Tokyo over the Sea of Japan; a probable stealth brawl could happen. China's constant antagonism against Taiwan, and a flurry of military drills in April, finish a dangerous view. President Joe Biden recently declared that the United States might intervene if China decided to invade Taiwan. Two opposing Air Force in the region makes it a powder keg as the US pushes its hegemony. Involved in these air drills are J-16 flankers of the PLAAF, which escorts the heavy bombers regularly into Taiwan's ADIZ. Importance of Non-Stealth Jets A report that says that the J-16 fighters were part of the joint patrol last Sunday said a state broadcaster, in a posted photo of two with the H-6K bomber and Tu-95MS bomber, noted Wion News. Other sources stated the Defense Ministry of Russia had sent Su-30SM fighter jets to join the J-16 in the escort mission as a reciprocal arrangement. One observation is that the J-16 and Su-30 are both heavy fighters combined with the bombers, which will improve the combat readiness of the patrol. The PLAAF Flanker in the patrol has dual PL-10 close-range combat missiles, with long-range air to air missiles, showed an expert. Overall, the Chinese derivative of the Su-30 has been improved for long-range escort missions. The patrol was monitored by Tokyo but omitted non-PLAAF planes. If the stealth fighters were with the escort, they could have been missed. Joint combo patrols, including the Chinese J-20 and Russian Su-57 in the Indo-Pacific, signify that Washington has been trumped with only the F-35 as the lone stealth fighter of the west used in the region. Related Article: NATO Expansion Plots Ukraine Strategy To Destabilize Indo-Pacific Region, Chinese Media Alleges @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Contributed / Getty NORTHFIELD, MASS. A Rhode Island man has been arrested after he crashed into five motorcycles and injured eight people all of whom were part of a Connecticut motorcycle club in Massachusetts on Sunday. Of the eight people injured and taken to local hospitals, two are listed in critical condition at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, according to a Monday release from the Northwestern District Attorneys office. LAFAYETTE, Ga. (AP) An 81-year-old sheriff's deputy in northwest Georgia has been arrested after he was accused of raping a woman while on duty, authorities said Wednesday. Agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday arrested Walker County Sheriff's Office Deputy Jerry Glover of Rock Spring, according to a GBI news release. Glover is charged with rape, violation of oath of office and false imprisonment. ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) A 10-year-old Florida girl shot and killed a woman who had gotten in a fight with her mother, authorities said Monday. The girl and her mother were taken into custody Monday night following the fatal shooting of Lashun Rodgers, 41, outside an apartment complex, according to a news release from the Orlando Police Department. VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Canadas government said Tuesday it will allow British Columbia to try a three-year experiment in decriminalizing possession of small amounts of drugs, seeking to stem a record number of overdose deaths by easing fear of arrest by users in need of help. The policy approved by federal officials doesnt legalize the substances, but Canadians in the Pacific coast province who possess up to 2.5 grams of illicit drugs for personal use will not be arrested or charged. The three-year exemption taking effect Jan. 31 will apply to drug users 18 and over and include opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA, also known as ecstasy. Stigma and fear of criminalization cause some people to hide their drug use, use alone, or use in other ways that increase the risk of harm. This is why the Government of Canada treats substance use as a health issue, not a criminal one, tweeted Dr. Theresa Tam, Canadas chief public health officer. The provinces health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, said that we are taking an important step forward to removing that fear and shame and stigma. This is not one single thing that will reverse this crisis but it will make a difference, she added. Dana Larsen, a drug policy reform activist, called the announcement a step in the right direction, but said he would prefer to see development of a safe drug supply. Its not going to stop anybody dying of an overdose or drug poisoning, Larsen said. The drugs are still going to be contaminated. I think we need stores where you can go in and find legal heroin, legal cocaine and legal ecstasy and things like that for adults, he said. The real solution to this problem is to treat it like alcohol and tobacco. Alissa Greer, an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University who has a doctorate in public health, said a regulated decriminalization of drugs could help lessen overdose deaths. She said it would be good for users to be able to obtain drugs from "a regulated supply through various models, whether thats a prescription model, a pharmacy model, more of a compassion club model ... rather than going down to 7-Eleven and buying heroin. British Columbia is the first Canadian province to apply for an exemption from Canadas drug laws. In 2001, Portugal became the first country in the world to decriminalize the consumption of all drugs. People caught with less than a 10-day supply of any drug are usually sent to a local commission, consisting of a doctor, lawyer and social worker, where they learn about treatment and available medical services. In 2020, Oregon voted to become the first U.S. state to decriminalize hard drugs. Under the change, possession of controlled substances is a newly created Class E violation, instead of a felony or misdemeanor. It carries a maximum $100 fine, which can be waived if the person calls a hotline for a health assessment. The call can lead to addiction counseling and other services. Carolyn Bennett, federal minister of mental health and addictions, said the experiment in British Columbia could serve as a template for other jurisdictions in Canada. This time-limited exemption is the first of its kind in Canada, she said. Real-time adjustments will be made upon receiving analysis of any data that indicates a need to change. Since 2016, there have been over 9,400 deaths due to toxic illicit drugs in British Columbia, with a one-year record of 2,224 in 2021. Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart said he gets emails every Monday on drug deaths, including nine last week and 12 the week before. He said one week it was his own family member. I felt like crying, and I still feel like crying. This is a big, big thing, Stewart said. The 2.5-gram limit set by federal officials for the experiment falls short of the 4.5 grams requested by British Columbia. The higher amount already had been called too low a threshold by some drug-user groups that have said the province didn't adequately consult them. Sheila Malcolmson, British Columbias minister of mental health, said fear of being criminalized has led many people to hide their addiction and use drugs alone. Using alone can mean dying alone, particularly in this climate of tragically increased illicit drug toxicity, Malcolmson said. She said the coroner in British Columbia reports that between five and seven people die a day in the province from overdoses and that half of those happen in a private home, often when people are alone. Fear and shame keeps drug use a secret, she said. - Gillies reported from Toronto. MORRIS A local woman is collecting cards of sympathy for the residents of Uvalde, Texas, following the recent deadly shooting at an elementary school there. Lynda Petersen, who worked as a school psychologist in Thomaston for 30 years, said the notes will be delivered directly to a military veteran she knows who is a volunteer fireman in the community and whose aunt is a fourth grade teacher at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, where 19 students and two teachers were killed. This is a veteran Ive known for quite some time who reached out to me to ask for prayer, Petersen said. His aunt is a fourth grade teacher there. His girlfriend is a teacher at the high school in Uvalde. In retirement, Petersen has become an advocate for military veterans. After working with students for three decades, she turned her attention to members of the military in the early 2010s who were returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq. She runs a Christmas program for children of veterans, is on the board of directors for the nonprofit Task Force Vet Visits, and is an admin of a Facebook group called Suicide Prevention and Support Group for Military and Veterans. With that group, Petersen said she sends a daily morning message usually a photo or meme opening the door for any veteran who might need to talk that day. Thats when she heard from Uvalde. His aunt was scared to death and the family was scared to death because they didnt know which teachers were killed, Petersen said about their conversation. They had asked when she was finished with schoolthey asked her to stop by the house because they just really wanted to see her. Thats when they broke down and cried. Petersen, 77, said shes always looking for things to keep her busy in retirement. She said she felt that collecting cards of sympathy could do a lot of good. If I could ask some of my friends to write a simple note of support and comfort, and I could collect all of those notes and send them to my veteran friend who could pass them on to his aunt and his girlfriend and let them distribute them to teachers, to parents and to general community members, Petersen said. Petersen said her friend was also happy to hear of a vigil in Litchfield that was being held for Uvalde. One thing Ive noticed from him, they are happy and excited when people from outside of Texas are showing care and support, Petersen said. Just getting notes of comfort and support from people in New England might be a really positive thing. It doesnt cost much money. Petersen said the plan is for the veterans aunt and girlfriend to distribute cards around town if they chose to do so. Its coming from a local teacher or a local fireman, Petersen said, rather than a large organization. This is for comfort. It will be very meaningful to them. Anyone interested in creating a note can do so at a Little Free Library book share being held on June 4 at 118 West St. in Morris from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Petersen said anyone unable to attend but wants to contribute notes should email her at lyndapet@optonline.net. All cards should be unsealed and do not need to be stamped. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BRIDGEPORT Attendees at this weeks two forums on the hiring of a new police chief can, according to Mayor Joe Ganims office, expect a loosely structured event aimed at gauging what the community wants in its next top cop. Announced last Friday, the forums the first on Thursday, 6 p.m. at Central High School, the second on Friday, 1 p.m. at the Mertens Auditorium on the University of Bridgeport campus are part of a broader effort by city officials and search consultant the International Association of Chiefs of Police to involve the public in crafting a job description and qualifications. We really want to make sure the community has a say and a voice in this process, Jessie Lee, a senior consultant for the association, said in a video Ganims administration released Wednesday. Make sure you attend the forums, if possible, and really try to be there because your voice will count. As for how the two gatherings at Central and Mertens will be run, Tiadora Josef, Ganims communications director, said they would be loosely structured and that information will be shared with the public which will then flow into an opportunity for members to speak/ask questions. The entire search process is under intense scrutiny after former Chief Armando Perez and former Personnel Director David Dunn were arrested in September, 2020 by federal authorities and subsequently pleaded guilty to rigging the 2018 national search to ensure Perez was one of the three finalists whose names were forwarded to the mayor. Acting Chief Rebeca Garcia currently runs the force. Some local activists this week complained the Ganim administration is already off to a bad start and had not done enough to advertise Thursdays and Fridays forums to ensure a robust turnout. They did it sneakily, at the end of the day, before a holiday weekend, said Kate Rivera, referring to the Ganim administrations release of the search timeline last Friday just before 3 p.m. Callie Heilmann, who runs the Bridgeport Generation Now civic group, which in 2018 opposed Perez becoming chief, said since first hearing about the two forums Tuesday weve been on the phone, doing outreach to encourage participation. No one knew, Heilmann said. We do community organizing. If you want to get people out, you need to have a strategy to do so and a press release at 3 p.m. on a Friday is not a strategy. Engagement for engagements sake or for checking the box is not a process. Josef on Wednesday said a third forum will be held sometime next week. She also provided more details about the International Association of Chiefs of Polices additional outreach efforts to address some of the vagaries in Fridays press release. The release promoted an online survey https://www.bridgeportct.gov/BPDChief2022 and noted the association will meet with various organization and community stakeholders who will provide input on the characteristics and traits being sought for in a police chief (including) municipal employees, emergency and public safety representatives, City Council persons, (the) Bridgeport Police Commission and community organizations. Josef elaborated Wednesday. There will be a combination of online/email surveys and in-person/Zoom meetings, as well as phone calls, with those participants that the IACP wants to take a deep dive into their responses, at the IACPs discretion, to gain clarity on key points, she said. As for which community organizations will be contacted, Josef said, The IACP has suggested that we include community groups from different segments, such as the business community, the faith-based organizations and any pertinent special interest groups that are active in Bridgeport such as the NAACP or other minority groups. Please understand that these community organizations times and dates have not been finalized yet. Once finalized, we will send the information out. The 2018 search, conducted by the personnel department and consultant Randi Frank, was initially criticized for not being inclusive and transparent enough and trying to sideline Perezs critics. Perez was a close friend of Ganims and it was widely anticipated at the time that, given that close relationship and his being Bridgeports then-acting police chief, Perez would be made permanent top cop with a five year contract. Ganim in 2020 was never accused of any wrongdoing in the federal probe that resulted in Perezs and Dunns arrests and denied any knowledge of their efforts to cheat in 2018s search. When Frank first came to town that April, her schedule included private meetings with Perez, selected community leaders in the mayors office, and an invitation-only citizens meeting at the Liceo Cubano Club. Perez is Cuban. Excluded at that time were some of the groups who had been demanding policing reforms, like Generation Now, the local branch of the NAACP and the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport. Ganims office subsequently made Franks email address publicly available for anyone who wished to contact her and she returned to Bridgeport that May 10 to hold two community forums on the search. Still, not all recommendations were taken into consideration. For example, Rivera at one of those forums urged applicants for chief have a college degree. Perez did not graduate from college. We want someone with an education and experience, Rivera had told Frank at the time. But ultimately a college degree was not required. Lee in the video Ganims office circulated Wednesday emphasized the International Association of Police Chiefs will be focused on earning Bridgeport residents trust and on being transparent. We want to make sure the process itself, that there are no issues and concerns about integrity, Lee said. The most successful process is the engagement of stakeholders and community working collectively with the city to bring about the best candidate for Bridgeport. State Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, has for months publicly pressured the Ganim administration to launch a chief search. Stafstrom on Wednesday said he was glad it seemed to be moving swiftly ahead with the goal of forwarding three finalists to Ganim in September. Certainly in anything like this theres always going to be criticism you didnt provide enough notice, enough lead time, you didnt extend invitations to certain folks, Stafstrom said. That happens. But I certainly sense the urgency to get this search underway as quickly as possible. It has been lingering for far too long. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) With nearly all votes counted from a referendum Wednesday, Denmark is headed toward joining the European Unions common defense policy that it long eschewed, a new example of a country in Europe seeking closer defense links with allies after Russias invasion of Ukraine. The electoral commission said that with ballots fully counted in 84 of 92 Denmark's electoral districts, 66.9% voted in favor of abandoning the countrys 30-year opt-out from the common EU policy and 33.1% against. An overwhelming majority of Danes have chosen to abolish the defense opt-out. Im very, very happy about that, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said. We have sent a clear signal to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin," she added. "With the decision we have made, we show that when Putin invades a free and independent country and threatens peace and stability, we will move closer together. On Twitter, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock applauded the outcome of the Danish vote. Every step each of us takes, makes us stronger in the face of these tectonic shifts. Ending Denmarks opt-out would have limited practical effect for either Denmark or the EU. The referendum follows the historic bids by fellow Nordic countries Sweden and Finland to join NATO something to be taken up at a summit next month. For Denmark, a founding member of the 30-member defense alliance, joining the EUs defense policy would have a relatively modest impact on Europes security architecture, particularly compared to Sweden and Finland joining NATO. But Christine Nissen, a researcher with the Danish Institute for International Studies, said both moves were part of the same story, and would strengthen military cooperation on a continent stunned by the war in Ukraine. The main effect of abandoning the opt-out will be that Danish officials could stay in the room when EU colleagues discuss defense topics, and Danish forces can take part in EU military operations, such as those in Africa and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It would be the first time that one of the four Danish opt-outs from the EU's Maastricht Treaty, which laid the foundation for political and economic union, is scrapped by voters in Denmark. I believe people have voted yes because of the war in Ukraine. The yes side has tried to misuse the war in Ukraine to make the Danes feel that it is important that we stand together, said Morten Messerschmidt, the leader of the opposition Danish Peoples Party and a leading opponent of removing the defense opt-out. One of the founding members of NATO, Denmark has stayed on the sidelines of the EUs efforts to build a common security and defense policy in parallel with the trans-Atlantic military alliance. For decades, Europes been a source of contention in Denmark. In 1992, voters set back plans to turn the European construction into a union by rejecting the Maastricht treaty amid widespread opposition to a federal European government that could limit the sovereignty of individual nations. At an EU summit in Edinburgh, Scotland, later that year, European leaders agreed on a text with tailor-made provisions allowing Danes to ratify a revised treaty with four provisions. They allowed Danes to stay out of a joint EU citizenship, justice and home affairs, the monetary union which allowed Danes to stay out of the euro and keep the krone, and defense. The citizenship issue, which said European citizenship would not replace national citizenship, has since become irrelevant as other members later adopted the same position. But the other provisions remain intact despite efforts by successive government to overturn them. In a 2000 referendum, Danish voters decided to stay outside the euro and 15 years later they voted to keep the exemption on justice and home affairs. Frederiksen, who Wednesday became the first Danish prime minister to win a referendum on removing an opt-out, said she was not tempted to test other opt-outs in plebiscites. Turnout was 66.23%, according to initial official figures. ___ Follow all of AP's coverage of the Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON (AP) Hundreds of thousands of students who attended the for-profit Corinthian Colleges chain will automatically get their federal student loans canceled, the Biden administration announced Wednesday, a move that aims to bring closure to one of the most notorious cases of fraud in American higher education. Under the new action, anyone who attended the now-defunct chain from its founding in 1995 to its collapse in 2015 will get their federal student debt wiped clean. It will erase $5.8 billion in debt for more than 560,000 borrowers, the largest single loan discharge in Education Department history, according to the agency. As of today, every student deceived, defrauded and driven into debt by Corinthian Colleges can rest assured that the Biden-Harris Administration has their back and will discharge their federal student loans, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said. For far too long, Corinthian engaged in the wholesale financial exploitation of students, misleading them into taking on more and more debt to pay for promises they would never keep." Tens of thousands of former Corinthian students were already eligible for debt cancellation, but they had to file paperwork and navigate an application process that advocates say is confusing and not widely known about. Now, the relief will be made automatic and extended to additional borrowers. Those who have a remaining balance on their Corinthian debt will also get refunds on payments they have already made, Education Department officials said. But the action does not apply to loans that have already been paid off in full. At its peak, Corinthian was one of the nations largest for-profit college companies, with more than 100 campuses across the country and more than 110,000 students at its Everest, WyoTech and Heald schools. But the company shut down in 2015 amid widespread findings of fraud. The Obama administration working with Kamala Harris, who was then California attorney general and later became vice president found that scores of campuses were falsifying data on the success of their graduates. In some cases, the schools reported that students had found jobs in their fields of study even though they were working at grocery stores or fast food chains. Hundreds of students told investigators they were pressured to enroll with promises of lucrative employment, only to end up with huge sums of debt and few job prospects. Federal officials also found that the company falsely told students their course credits could be transferred to other colleges. The case inspired a federal crackdown on for-profit colleges, and the Obama administration promised to forgive loans for Corinthian students whose programs lied about job placement rates. The administration went on to expand a process known as borrower defense to repayment, which allows any defrauded student to apply for debt cancellation. But an explosion in applications for debt forgiveness, along with political battles over the process, created a years-long backlog in the process, leaving many former Corinthian students still awaiting relief. As of December, the Education Department reported it had more than 109,000 pending applications from students alleging fraud by their colleges, including many Corinthian students. Borrowers and their advocates have been urging the government to erase all Corinthian debt, saying evidence of misconduct was so widespread that all the chains students were the victims of fraud. The administration announced the action Wednesday as President Joe Biden considers broader student loan forgiveness for millions of Americans. As a candidate, Biden said he supports forgiving $10,000 in student loans for all borrowers. He later indicated that such action should come through Congress, but the White House has said he is considering whether to pursue it through executive action. Advocates said the Biden administrations decision brings long-delayed justice. "This is a tremendous student victory, and it belongs to the tens of thousands of borrowers who were cheated and abused by Corinthian Colleges, said Eileen Connor, director of the Project on Predatory Student Lending, which has represented Corinthian students in lawsuits. They never stopped fighting over three administrations for the justice they deserve under the law. Libby DeBlasio Webster, senior counsel for the advocacy group Student Defense, said the news gives a fresh start to former Corinthian students, but she noted that many defrauded students from other for-profit colleges are still awaiting help. We also hope todays news is a sign that other decisions are on the horizon for thousands of similarly situated students who are waiting for this kind of relief, she said. ___ The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content. When a couple decides to try to have a child by in vitro fertilization, its often accompanied by anticipation, anxiety and worry about whether the egg and sperm will unite and produce a healthy baby. So when the procedure to retrieve eggs from a womans ovary turns out to be physically painful, it can create long-term emotional pain, as well, according to a lawsuit and two women who underwent the procedure at the Yale University Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Clinic. They are among dozens of women and spouses who are suing Yale University, claiming the staff at the clinic should have known that, instead of receiving fentanyl to relieve pain during the procedure, they instead were being injected with saline salt water. The result was that dozens, perhaps hundreds, of women underwent the most painful fertility surgeries and procedures offered at the REI Clinic with little or no analgesia, the lawsuit states. Angela Cortese, 33, of Vernon, who first had her eggs retrieved on Dec. 3, 2019, said the pain was excruciating as a nurse wiped tears from her eyes and Cortese tried not to flinch every time theyre using this giant needle to retrieve the follicles. I want to say it was probably around 45 minutes that I was very much aware of what exactly was happening and feeling every pinch and prod, she said. And it doesnt feel like somebodys just pinching you. It feels like somebodys stabbing you through your vagina. It was horrific. Cortese and Victoria Seidl said they agreed to speak to Hearst Connecticut Media about their experiences in order to prevent such an episode from happening again. What the plaintiffs are claiming is that Yale showed carelessness and recklessness in failing to prevent a diversion of at least 75 percent of the fentanyl stored at Yale REI by one nurse, Donna Monticone, over at least five months. In all, 59 patients and 47 spouses are involved in the lawsuit against Yale. Monticone pleaded guilty March 1 in U.S. District Court in New Haven to one count of tampering with a consumer product. Judge Janet C. Hall sentenced her to four alternating weekends in prison, three years of supervised release, a $100 special assessment and $637.56 in restitution. Ive said it before. Ill say it again. She had a really great public defender, Cortese, a public defender herself, said of the sentence. She said she lost all sympathy for Monticone when she found out Monticone also had undergone IVF. Thinking about it was horrific Cortese and her wife, Holly Cortese, turned to IVF because Angela Cortese has a unicornuate uterus, meaning only half of the organ developed and she has only one fallopian tube, but she does have two ovaries. So then the decision was made, once we discovered that, to do reciprocal IVF, Angela Cortese said. So we would use my eggs and my partners uterus, essentially. At the time, Yale REI was at Long Wharf in New Haven and anesthesia wasnt available. They said I was getting the fentanyl and Versed, that I shouldnt really be aware of anything, Cortese said. It would be quick. Id be in and out and on my way. Thats not what happened, however. I was awake for and aware of the entire procedure, she said. Thinking about it was horrific. I try really not to think about it, honestly. Her heart rate shot up and the blood pressure cuff caused bruises on her arm because it kept tightening. Meanwhile, youre in the most vulnerable position you could possibly be in and youve got a team of nurses and doctors and theyre using a hollow needle to do the procedure vaginally and I watched the entire thing. At one point, the doctor asked her if she was able to continue because she was in so much stress, she said. Afterward, Cortese said she felt embarrassed and that she had done something wrong. It took two days for her to describe to her wife what happened. One embryo was viable and implanted in Holly Cortese. But she miscarried. And in the moment that I should have been comforting my wife about the miscarriage, I was panicking, Angela Cortese said. The world was shutting down. You would think that Id be concerned about her and a miscarriage in the pandemic and all I could think about was, oh my God, I have to do this again. Because she blamed herself for the painful procedure, Cortese went into this kind of panic planning mode and asked how can I fix it because I was blaming myself this entire time that I did something wrong. Despite the agony she experienced, Cortese returned to Yale REI again on June 9, 2020, this time on Yales West Campus in Orange. She was given anesthesia but, again, she was given saline instead of fentanyl. I woke up in the middle of the procedure to them telling me that I was in distress and that they couldnt proceed anymore, she said. They had gone through my bladder. They had wanted to retrieve eggs from her right ovary, the side with no fallopian tube, but were unable to do so. However, they did have one viable embryo, and Ezra Cortese was born April 7, 2021. Cortese did have a third retrieval on Sept. 1, 2020, which is not a part of the lawsuit, in which ketamine was used, and those eggs have been frozen, she said. She said she believes the third retrieval was necessary because the doctor was unable to get eggs from her right ovary the previous time. Now, Cortese said, she has good days and bad days. I try to focus on the family that I have and the positives that have come out of this, and I try and give myself space to kind of process that it wasnt my fault, but its really hard when you spend months and months consumed by the fact that youre the reason why somethings failing, when its not true. Cortese said she shouldnt have been in such pain and distress and I wouldnt have been had I gotten the pain medication that I was supposed to. I dont think about my first retrieval without reliving it. Its a hard thing to process and sometimes its easier just to compartmentalize and kind of put it out but it comes back. Trusting all would go well Victoria Seidl, 35, who lives in Essex with her husband, Christopher, and their 6-year-old son, Keegan, whom she conceived naturally, went to Yale REI when she was unable to conceive a second time. Seidl said after weeks of hormone injections and trusting that all would go well, she went to Orange to have her eggs retrieved on Sept. 28, 2020. I remember being out for, I dont know how long it was, but then feeling like such a sharp, stinging pain and like being fully awake, coherent, she said. The lawsuit, which claims she was given saline rather than fentanyl, states, she experienced excruciating pain. Seidl compared the pain to the stitches she had to have after Keegan was born, but she still becomes emotional describing the experience. Youre trying to be strong, youre just powering through because you know what the end goal is and youre trying to be strong for your family and your husband and your child and you just know, ultimately it will all be worth it, she said. Seidl said she was told there was just one embryo from the eggs that had been retrieved but it was a great grade A embryo, but we have no embryos to freeze. My thought process was, oh my gosh, this is my only shot at it, because I never want to go through that again, Seidl said. I was hoping that I had one or two to freeze just because I knew I never wanted to go back through that procedure again. So then I remember just being emotional about it, but again youre staying strong. She said having the embryo implanted was an emotional experience. You see how happy your husband is when you see the embryo go in to the uterus and you see it and its a relieving time, like OK, now we can just wait and see what happens. Two weeks later she was told the embryo did not attach to her uterus. Victim of a federal crime Seidl said she received a letter from Yale, which was delayed because she had moved and her mail was slow in being forwarded. It was a vague letter, she said. And it just said there was a nurse that was replacing saline with some of the fentanyl, and you may have been affected. Then it became clear. It wasnt until a few days later that I got a letter from the Department of Justice with the nurses name stating, Victoria Seidl, you have been a victim of a federal crime. I fell to my knees then, because you never think youre going to be a victim of something like that. Seidl said she wonders if the lack of the opioid affected her ability to conceive. You will always wonder. The pain that your body went through, the stress and the trauma, she said. Did the stress put a toll on your body that ultimately I was so stressed out that it didnt latch on because of pain? Did my uterus heal properly? These are questions that I ask myself many times. Yales attorney, Brock T. Dubin of Donahue, Durham & Noonan in Guilford, has filed a motion to strike the counts naming Seidl and several others from the lawsuit because they fail to state claims upon which relief can be granted and because their medical negligence claims duplicate other claims. Dubin also claims that most of the laws cited as having been violated do not give a private person the right to sue based on those laws. The lawsuit against Yale points out how psychologically and emotionally vulnerable Yale REIs patients are. Up to one-half of women seeking fertility services describe infertility as the most upsetting experience of their lives, it states. Anxiety and fear about the quantity/quality of eggs retrieved and future failures in treatment can create feelings of hopelessness, isolation and inadequacy during the process. A recognized threat Kelly Fitzpatrick of Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder, who is representing Cortese and Seidl, said, IVF patients are very loyal to the process. Theres a lot that goes into it, and theyre very faithful. Theyre getting hormone injections, theyre showing up for procedure after procedure, and one would expect the same level of loyalty from their providers. She said Yale is liable because an institution is responsible for putting in these procedures and protocols to safeguard its patients and prevent this very thing from happening. The opioid crisis is something that weve been dealing with for many years now. And it should have been a recognized threat that they guard against. While Monticone was convicted of replacing fentanyl with saline, saying she turned to the highly addictive opioid because of personal problems, the patients and their spouses are suing Yale. Yale REI, also known as the Yale Fertility Center, is part of Yale Medicine, which is composed of the clinical practices of the faculty of the Yale School of Medicine. The suit claims that Yale providers were alerted to the problem with its supply of fentanyl through patients intraoperative screams and postoperative reports of torturous pain, but that it didnt investigate the reports, minimized them or attributed them to the unavailability of an anesthesiologist. It claims Yale takes no responsibility for the hundreds of fentanyl substitution events that took place at the REI Clinic; it blames the single nurse who was able to steal the fentanyl, unabated, for more than twenty weeks. And it states Yale knew opioid diversion was possible, that an attempt was not a question of if, but when, and that it had happened before in other ways. The lawsuit then states that Yale increased the potential danger by storing bulk orders of controlled substances at REI and appointing Monticone to manage the stockpiles of opioids at the REI Clinic, without adequate diversion-prevention or -detection measures in place. According to Monticones sentencing memo, REI had ordered controlled substances from a pharmacy before each procedure when it was located in New Haven, but changed its practice in April 2020 when it moved to Orange. In adopting this business practice, Yale University prioritized profits over patient safety, the lawsuit claims. Plaintiffs seek transparency and justice for themselves and the untold number of women who suffered unimaginable terror and pain at the REI Clinic because of the carelessness and recklessness of Yale University. Monticone was able to replace the fentanyl because she had access to the storage room, which often was unlocked, according to the sentencing memo. According to a federal investigator, the fentanyl is stored in single-use vials with a rubber septum in which a syringe is inserted. Monticone indicated that she resealed the vials with the original adhesive to avoid detection and never took off the crimped top, the memo states. She inserted the syringe into the side of the septum to avoid detection. Monticone could not be reached for comment. Rob Picone, a field medical specialist with Provention Bio in New Jersey and a pharmacist with an interest in opioid diversion, said such a theft would be less likely in a hospital, because large institutions use automated dispensing machines that are linked to the drug-ordering system. Picone said preventative measures include having another nurse stand by if half of a vial of opioids is used and the other half needs to be disposed of. Cameras in the room where the safe is located would help. Fitzpatrick said they have not determined what safeguards were in place in the storage area. A Yale spokeswoman did not immediately return a request for comment. Health care institutions depend on the integrity of the people that operate within it, Picone said. Where theres a will, theres a way. edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382 Darwinian evolution is moving faster than expected, four times faster, as discovered by new research on the subject. The basis is how genetic variation is analyzed and how it works, much more genetic characteristics mean faster change due to dropping undesirable traits. Variation in Species Evolves Differently The scientists behind this latest study termed it "evolutionary fuel," and they analyzed information from 19 different wild animal groups worldwide, reported Science Alert. Informational analysis of the raw material to evolve is more compared to earlier estimates. Adjusting expectations of how quickly animals change is a relevant question in the era of climate change. According to Australian National University evolutionary ecologist Timothee Bonnet, the method allows to estimate the potential speed of current evolution in terms of natural selection throughout all traits in a population, noted Exeter. He added it has not been possible in previous methods, seeing an abundance of potential change surprised. the team Some of the wild animals under study are the superb fairy-wrens found in Australia, spotted hyenas of Tanzania, Canadian song sparrows, and Scottish red deer, which have evidence of hastened adaption on a large scale. Each field study lasted a remarkable 30 years, with births, deaths, mating, and progeny diligently documented. The shortest lasted 11 years, while the longest lasted 63 years. The researchers had a total of 2.6 million hours of field measurements to incorporate with each animal's genetic data. It took three years to determine how much genetics and natural selection significantly contributed to Darwinian evolution. Read Also: DeepSqueak AI Revolutionizes the Study of Marine Animals Calls in the World's Oceans of Sounds Although Charles Darwin assumed evolution is a slow process, prior studies have shown that evolution can occur in certain species in a few years, cited Techno Blender. A Remarkable Example of Evolution The peppered moth, which was predominantly white in the UK before the industrial revolution, has undergone rapid evolution, according to Bonnet. These moths lived in a polluted area and left blackened soot on trees and buildings, and the insects developed black spots for camouflaged and better survival. Developing the right color for better survival rose because of genetic variations of the insects. In time more of the moths became darker, and the former trait was lesser. Since it is the first study of its kind with a baseline to start working with, the authors of the study say there is not enough proof that species have evolved faster in the past. The evidence points out that what fuels evolution in species is much more than thought. Climate change affects wildlife all over the globe with varying effects that make it imperative to know how adaptation mechanisms work. It will identify those destined to die out or that can survive. The study's authors are worried that as climate change speeds up too fast, there will be animals that will not make it. More comprehensive and long-term studies will be needed to define exactly how quickly evolution will occur. Bonnet stressed that the study indicates that adaptation of species cannot be ignored, and it is a gauge of how responses to changing habitats vary, noted in the study. Darwinian evolution is faster with more fuel that increases the adaptive responses if the circumstances are right. It is found to be a significant factor that cannot be ignored. Related Article: Researchers Discover a Way To Tell If Dinosaurs Are Warm or Cold-Blooded, Changing How They Are Perceived @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MILAN (AP) Even as the European Union decided to reduce Russian crude oil imports by 90% by the end of the year, Italy has become the only country in Europe to increase them, an unintended consequence of EU sanctions against Russia. Meant to punish Russia for invading Ukraine, the EU oil embargo is now putting at risk one of Italys largest refineries, located in Sicily, which would deal an economic blow to the depressed regions economy. Italy agreed with its EU partners to cut Russian crude imports by 2023, a move that Premier Mario Draghi called a complete success,'' that just a couple of days ago wouldn't have been believable." But Rome also has to deal with the fate of the refinery in Sicily owned by Russias Lukoil. As a result of previous sanctions against Russia, ISAB Srl has paradoxically gone from processing 15% of Russian crude to 100%. Thats because banks have refused to take the risk of extending credit to Russia-controlled ISAB that would allow it to buy oil from non-Russian sources, even if not specifically barred from doing so, said Matteo Villa, an energy analyst at the ISPI think tank in Milan. Ships continue to arrive at the port-side refinery with crude oil from the Russian parent company. Italy in May received about 400,000 barrels of Russian oil a day in May, four times the pre-invasion levels, according to the Kpler commodity data company. Of that total, ISAB received 220,000 barrels a day from Russia. Italy is the only country in Europe increasing oil imports, Villa said, going from the sixth-largest importer of Russian oil to the the largest in the three months since the invasion. The plant employs 3,500 people at three production sites, including a refinery, gasification and electricity cogeneration plant, in Sicily's Syracuse province, and risks closure if a solution isnt found before the embargo kicks in. The plant and related activities generate half of the provincial gross domestic product and 8% of the regions economic activity, processing one-fifth of Italys crude oil imports. The refinerys future was already at risk in the longer term, due to Italys energy transition to more sustainable sources. The embargo has only increased the sense of urgency to find a solution. The mood today is even worse than yesterday, said Fiorenzo Amato, the secretary general of the Filctem Cgil union in Syracuse. The industrial hub ... employs many people, giving families the chance to live. Since learning of the embargo, refinery workers are growing more concerned about their future. It will be a disaster, said Marco Candelargiu. We hope they find a solution. You cannot destroy a province. The choice was made a long time ago to base the economy prevalently on the refinery. Villa said one solution would be for Italy to temporarily nationalize the refinery, a move permitted for energy emergencies under Italys Constitution, but a week of discussions has yielded no agreement. As an Italian-owned refinery, ISAB would be able to get the necessary financing to purchase crude from other sources and keep operating while longer-term solutions are sought. This is important for employment in Sicily, for the provisioning of gasoline and diesel to Italy and for our own political face-saving in Europe, Villa said. ___ Santalucia reported from Rome. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate RALEIGH. N.C. (AP) Republican legislation that supporters argue would give North Carolina parents more say over their children's public schooling and health, but critics say would intimidate and harm LGBTQ youth, is heading to the Senate floor after another affirmative committee vote Tuesday. The "Parents' Bill of Rights legislation includes a provision that would prevent instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in public school curriculum for kindergarten through third grade. Schools would have to notify parents about changes to their child's health and services that they are receiving like psychological treatment or before they could change a child's name or pronouns in records. LGBTQ activists likened these provisions to those in a recently approved Florida law opponents dubbed the Dont Say Gay bill. Several urged GOP lawmakers Tuesday to stop the measure, saying more young people would have their sexuality revealed against their will if it became law. Other youth will keep their sexuality hidden, increasing further the threat of suicide, bill opponents said. This bill proposes forced outing of queer kids, the Rev. Vance Haywood, senior pastor of St. Johns Metropolitan Community Church in Raleigh, told reporters. Its creating an environment where were telling folks that its not OK to be yourself. You have to hide parts of who you are." The measure, which passed the Senate Rules Committee on a divided voice vote, was expected to receive floor debate and a vote Wednesday. If approved, the bill would go to the House, which like the Senate is controlled by Republicans. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper already signaled his opposition, calling the bill a Republican political ploy and warning legislators to keep the Dont Say Gay culture wars out of North Carolina classrooms. GOP lawmakers would need help from several Democrats to override any Cooper veto. An override has not been successful since December 2018. The bill could turn into a Republican election-year cudgel used against Democrats in General Assembly elections. The measure would enumerate and broaden the rights parents already have in state and federal laws. Parents would be offered complaint and appeals procedures if they believe districts or administrators are not complying with the rules. We are seeing too many instances these days where the interests of parents and families are being overlooked or being ignored and are being even condemned, said John Rustin with the North Carolina Family Policy Council, who spoke for the measure. Senators shepherding the bill say the prohibition of instruction on LGBTQ issues is different than the Florida law, but some speakers Tuesday disagreed. All students and families deserve to see themselves represented in their curriculum, and that includes LGBTQ+ students and families, said Taylor Cordes, a recent North Carolina teacher. Sen. Ralph Hise, a Mitchell County Republican, said Tuesday that ensuring parents are notified before or when medical services are changed is reasonable. Hise described a situation where he and his son's physician had to sign forms so he could take an over-the-counter antacid at school. Compare that in the context where ... a child would be diagnosed and receive mental health treatment or physical health treatment without ever notifying a parent, Hise said. And weve got to go get a doctor and a parent signature for an antacid? The bill also would subject health care providers to disciplinary action by licensing boards and fines should they fail to receive parental consent for non-urgent medical treatments for a minor. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate STRATFORD Tasked with naming a new fire chief for the town, Mayor Laura Hoydick didnt have to look far. Hoydick named Deputy Fire Chief Jermaine Atkinson as the new chief Wednesday. Atkinson will assume the position on July 1 following the retirement of current Chief Brian Lampart. He has been an essential part of our towns emergency response framework in each of the roles he has held up to now, and I am looking forward to seeing Jermaine step up to this role and apply his skills, professionalism, and leadership as our new Fire Chief, Hoydick said in a written statement. Atkinson said he was excited to embrace his new role. I've grown up here in the department under the guidance and direction of many skilled leaders like Chief Lampart, and I look forward to this challenging new leadership role and moving our fire department forward, he said. Atkinson has been deputy chief since July 2021. He joined the department as a firefighter in 2001, earning a promotion to lieutenant in 2011 and then to captain and safety officer in 2016. In that role he directed training for the department and the town EMS. I worked really hard to make the fire department my home and make it a better place, Atkinson said. Atkinsons vision for the department includes maintaining its level of technical ability and its fire prevention programs. He also wants to improve its water rescue program and firefighter education, he said. He also said he is looking to continue with current community engagement initiatives, but wants to develop a stronger presence with the public and fire education. The goal is to become more open to the citizens of Stratford. To continue to reach out to the citizens and to continue to work together through emergency response, and especially fire prevention, Atkinson said. He had spent some time working hands-on with the community distributing vaccines and personal protection equipment, he said. I really got a chance to see people on a human level understand some of the things they were going through, he said. He said he is always going to listen to Stratford residents and he is here if you need me. In the medium term, he said his 5-year goal was the maintain the departments Insurance Services Office rating. This ISO rating is a rating of a departments performance against its standard. Stratfords ISO is a two, the second best rating available on the 10-point scale. Lampart announced his retirement on May 23, capping over 34 years of service to the department. He began his career there as a firefighter at 19 years old and worked his way up to chief. He had said he hoped Atkinson would get the job. The Stratford Fire Chief position is budgeted to pay $135,035 in fiscal year 2022-23, according to the town budget. mike.mavredakis@hearstmediact.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily blocked the counting of some mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania, an order that could affect the tight Republican Senate primary between former hedge fund CEO David McCormick and celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz. An order from Justice Samuel Alito paused a lower-court ruling in a lawsuit over a disputed 2021 local court election that would have allowed the counting of mail-in ballots that lacked a handwritten date. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia had ruled that the state election laws requirement of a date next to the voters signature on the outside of return envelopes was immaterial" and no reason to throw out such ballots. Based on that ruling, the state had advised counties to count those ballots in the race between McCormick and Oz, and McCormick promptly went to court to force counties to follow through. The race is currently in the midst of a statewide recount until June 8, with Oz ahead of McCormick in the initial tally by 922 votes out of more than 1.3 million cast even though some counties are still not done counting every ballot cast in the May 17 primary election. As McCormick scrounges for ballots to make up the gap with Oz, Alitos order could freeze McCormick's lawsuit in Pennsylvania state courts. Pennsylvania's Department of State which oversees elections did not immediately say Tuesday whether it will change its guidance to counties on how to handle the ballots. The U.S. Supreme Courts action, called an administrative stay, freezes the matter until it can give the case further consideration. There is no timeline on the high courts undertaking and the clock for McCormick is ticking down to June 8. McCormick's campaign insisted that Alito's order does not affect its case in the state's Commonwealth Court and that the federal appeals court opinion remains the persuasive authority" on the federal Civil Rights Act provision on which it based its decision. McCormick has been doing better than Oz among mail-in ballots, and his campaign has said it counted about 860 undated Republican mail-in ballots received by 65 of the states 67 counties. Counting the undated ballots will not put McCormick over the top against Oz, but it could help narrow the race. Some counties have already agreed to count the undated mail-in ballots, while others have not, saying they are waiting for legal clarity. The state law requires voters to write a date on the envelope in which they mail in their ballots. However, the handwritten date is not used to determine whether the ballot was cast on time, since the envelope is postmarked by the post office and timestamped by counties when they receive it. In any case, counties have acknowledged accepting ballots with wrong dates. Pennsylvania's state Supreme Court declined McCormick's request to intervene Tuesday, just after a judge in the lower statewide Commonwealth Court heard three hours of arguments in the case. In the meantime, McCormick's campaign on Tuesday asked the Commonwealth Court for a hand recount in 150 precincts across 12 counties. McCormicks campaign said it was targeting precincts where there was an unusually large proportion of machine-read ballots that recorded no vote in the Senate GOP primary. That could point to errors in the electronic scanners, McCormick's campaign said. ___ Sherman reported from Washington. ___ Follow Marc Levy on Twitter at twitter.com/timelywriter. Follow AP for full coverage of the midterms at apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections and on Twitter at twitter.com/ap_politics. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Majdi Mohammed/AP Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Majdi Mohammed/AP Show More Show Less 3 of 3 UNITED NATIONS (AP) The United Nations announced Tuesday that it is naming the annual training program for Palestinian broadcasters and journalists after Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot dead May 11 during an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric, who made the announcement, said Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American, had a distinguished career in journalism for a quarter of a century and was a trailblazer for Arab women, and a role model for journalists in the Middle East and around the world. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The school district police chief who served as on-site commander during last week's deadly shooting in Uvalde, Texas, said Wednesday that he's talking daily with investigators, contradicting claims from state law enforcement that he has stopped cooperating. In a brief interview, Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo told CNN that he's speaking regularly with Texas Department of Public Safety investigators. "Ive been on the phone with them every day, Arredondo said. The chief has been the focus of ire in the community and beyond over allegations that he delayed sending officers into the school on May 24, believing that the gunman was barricaded inside adjoining classrooms and the shooting had morphed into a hostage situation. Nineteen children and two teachers died in the attack at Robb Elementary School, the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade. Funerals began this week, and U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona attended Wednesday's services for teacher Irma Garcia, who was killed in the attack, and her husband, Joe Garcia, who died of a heart attack two days later. The district announced Wednesday that students and staff would not return to that campus, though plans were still being finalized on where the less than 600 students would attend classes in the fall. Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez said Wednesday that his office is working with state and federal agencies to request upwards of $45 million in federal funding for the school. According to the U.S. Department of Education, its School Emergency Response to Violence, known as Project SERV, funds short-term education-related services to help educational facilities recover from a violent or traumatic event in which the learning environment has been disrupted. Gutierrez said he is unaware of any plans to tear down Robb Elementary but that funds obtained through the program by other schools have traditionally been used to rebuild. State officials have said police waited for more than an hour outside the classroom where Salvador Ramos, 18, opened fire, despite repeated pleas from children calling 911 for help. At one point there were as many as 19 officers in the hallway, Steven McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said. Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin told media outlets in a Wednesday interview that hed arrived at the funeral home across the street from the school about 15 minutes after the first call came that Ramos had crashed his truck nearby. McLaughlin said that while at the funeral home, he was standing near an official he identified only as the negotiator. He said that person unsuccessfully tried to reach the gunman via cellphone. His main goal was to try to get this person on the phone, McLaughlin said in the interview with Telemundo San Antonio and The Washington Post. They tried every number they could find, but the gunman did not pick up the phone. Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Tuesday that Arredondo had not responded to DPS requests for two days, while other officers in the Uvalde city and schools police departments continue to sit for interviews and provide statements. Arredondo has not responded to multiple requests for comment from The Associated Press. Considine told AP Wednesday that Arredondo had not responded to Texas Rangers' requests for follow-up interviews as of Tuesday. The Texas Rangers the investigative arm of the Department of Public Safety that focuses on major crimes have not commented on Arredondos insistence he was in regular touch with DPS. The Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas, which represents police officers, has urged its members to cooperate with all government investigations into the shooting and police response, and endorsed a federal probe by the Justice Department. The confusing and sometimes contradictory information released in the week since the deadly shooting continued Tuesday with the revelation that the exterior door used by the gunman was not left propped open by a teacher, as police previously said. They have now determined that the teacher, who has not been identified, propped the door open with a rock, but then removed the rock and closed the door when she realized there was a shooter on campus, Considine said. But, Considine said, the door that was designed to lock when shut did not lock. Since the shooting, law enforcement and state officials have struggled to present an accurate timeline and details of the event and how police responded, sometimes providing conflicting information or withdrawing statements hours later. State police have said some accounts were preliminary and could change as more witnesses are interviewed. On Wednesday, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the state to conduct in-person school district security audits, including random, unannounced intruder detection visits to campuses to find weak points and how quickly they can penetrate buildings without being stopped. This will improve accountability and ensure school districts are following the plans they create, Abbott said in a letter to the head of the Texas School Safety Center at Texas State University. Texas has more than 1,200 school districts, according to the Texas Education Agency. Abbott also asked top lawmakers to convene a legislative committee to examine and make recommendations on school safety, mental health, social media, police training, firearm safety and more. The next Texas legislative session is scheduled for January 2023, although some lawmakers have urged Abbott to call a special session in response to the shooting. After previous mass shootings at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Santa Fe High School and a Walmart in El Paso, Abbott convened roundtable discussions, sometimes involving survivors and victims families. After the 2018 shooting at Santa Fe High School, lawmakers in 2019 approved $100 million for schools to improve campus safety with metal detectors, vehicle barriers, shooter alarms systems and other safety measures. They also allowed more teachers to carry guns on campus and be trained in campus shooter response. But Abbott and state lawmakers resisted calls for stricter gun ownership measures. In 2021, Abbott signed into law a measure that allows people 21 and older to carry handguns without a license or training. In Uvalde on Wednesday, Ramos mother was denied service at the drive-thru. Adriana Reyes then walked into an adjacent convenience store where the cashier said she would not be served. She declined to speak with an Associated Press reporter on the scene, saying: I dont want to be rude but I dont want to say anything. ___ More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting ___ Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press writers Adriana Gomez Licon in Uvalde; Jake Bleiberg in Dallas; and Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report. WFO LUBBOCK Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Tuesday, May 31, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Lubbock Texas has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Northwestern Childress County in the Panhandle of Texas... Northern Hall County in the Panhandle of Texas... * Until 515 PM CDT. * At 416 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 14 miles northeast of Turkey, moving northeast at 30 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... Memphis, Lakeview and Plaska Community. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. The National Weather Service in Amarillo has issued a Western Collingsworth County in the Panhandle of Texas... Southeastern Donley County in the Panhandle of Texas... * At 420 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 6 miles northeast of Memphis, moving northeast at 15 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and half dollar size hail. IMPACT...Minor damage to roofs, siding, and trees is possible. Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Wellington, Dozier, Samnorwood and Quail. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather New measures give fillip to foreign capital By LIU ZHIHUA (China Daily) 09:10, June 01, 2022 Technicians discuss products at a joint venture in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. HUA XUEGEN/FOR CHINA DAILY China will accelerate major foreign investment projects to attract foreign investment-a key point in the stimulus package of 33 measures unveiled by the State Council, China's Cabinet, on Tuesday to stabilize economic growth. The package covers fiscal, financial, investment and industrial policies. It comes amid growing downward pressure on the world's second-largest economy exerted by difficulties and challenges from unexpected factors, such as the domestic resurgence of COVID-19 cases and geopolitical tensions in Europe. Analysts said foreign investors are important contributors to China's economic development, and the nation is expected to further stabilize foreign investment to inject new impetus into economic growth. "The new measures are a strong and positive signal to foreign investors that China wishes to expand cooperation with foreign enterprises and welcome them to realize stable and long-term growth in China," said Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing. He also said Chinese authorities always welcome the views of foreign enterprises so that policies can be tweaked to better address certain issues relating to business environment and balance in economic development. Based on foreign investment projects that have been included in the Chinese government's special working mechanisms and green-track programs for foreign investors, the nation will review and greenlight such projects entailing large investments, strong spillover effect and a wide coverage of upstream and downstream industries. The revision of the industry catalog of sectors that encourage foreign investment will also be sped up, to guide foreign capital into fields like high-end manufacturing and scientific innovation, as well as into central, western and northeastern regions. The nation will also support foreign investors that seek to establish research and development centers in high-tech and emerging tech, apart from expanding enterprises' cross-border financing channels, enhancing communication with foreign chambers and enterprises, and facilitating foreign businesses. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Four Roman Catholic bishops have backed the archbishop of San Francisco's decision to deny House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Communion in her diocese because of her pro-abortion stance. Pelosi, whose congressional district includes parts of the city, received a letter from Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone earlier this month prohibiting her from receiving the sacrament "until you publicly repudiate your advocacy for the legitimacy of abortion and confess and receive absolution of this grave sin in the sacrament of Penance." House Speaker Banned From Receiving Communion Pelosi's impassioned reaction to a draft Supreme Court opinion that suggested the justices were on the approach of overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion across the country, prompted Cordileone's revelation. Cordileone's approach has now been adopted by three additional dioceses. Bishop Robert Vasa of the Diocese of Santa Rosa, which borders Cordileone's, excluded Pelosi from Communion on the same day Cordileone wrote his letter to her. Both Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, and Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, followed suit. Pelosi also commended protestors who gathered outside the residences of conservative justices following the disclosure of Justice Samuel Alito's draft ruling, according to NY Post. Because of his stance on abortion, a handful of hardline bishops began pressing last year to prevent President Joe Biden, a devoted Catholic, from taking Communion. Biden has stated that while he opposes abortion, he believes that women should be entitled to make their own decisions without government intervention. In October 2021, the president met Pope Francis in the Vatican. While Biden stated that the two did not address abortion, he stated that the pontiff advised him to keep receiving Communion. Read Also: Republicans Request More Information on Hunter Biden's Financial Information; Allies Reportedly Try To Flip Infamous Laptop Scandal Nancy Pelosi Defends Abortion Stance Pelosi has always supported abortion, which the Catholic Church considers a terrible sin that violates the commandment "thou shalt not kill." Last week, Pelosi defended her abortion support, claiming that abortion is a "frontman" for undoing access to contraception and in vitro fertilization. She also chastised the Catholic Church for failing to act against Catholics who favor the death sentence, Fox News reported. On May 22, Pelosi received Communion during Mass at Holy Trinity in Washington, DC's Georgetown area. The Archdiocese of Washington, DC, has been silent on the recent ban, except for replying incorrectly to a media query by saying that requests about preventing Pelosi from Communion "would be disregarded." Pope Francis promoted the San Diego bishop, who has spoken out against attempts to prohibit pro-choice politicians from the Holy Sacrament, adding to the debate over Pelosi's exclusion from Communion. According to HuffPost, Pelosi reacted last week to San Francisco Catholic Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone's claim that she is prohibited from receiving Communion because of her support for abortion rights. While the church opposes the death sentence, Pelosi stated they "take no action against anyone who may not share their position" on the subject. "What makes it so sad... It's important for women and families to understand that this isn't only about terminating a pregnancy," Pelosi added. Related Article: Why Was Nancy Pelosi's Husband Arrested, Jailed in California? @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A former Soviet Russia scientist described in terrifying detail how the country's prior bioweapons ambition led to considerable research into deploying monkeypox against its opponents, investigations that may have continued even after the USSR disintegrated. According to the UK Health Security Agency, another 71 cases of monkeypox were discovered in England over the weekend, increasing the total number of cases in the UK to 190. Soviet Scientist: Russia Planned To Use Monkeypox as Bioweapon Anyone infected with the virus, which spreads by "direct contact with a confirmed case, droplets, or contaminated surfaces and objects," is recommended to avoid sexual activity while experiencing symptoms and to use protection for the next eight weeks. While the danger to the general public is negligible, the UKHSA advises that new rashes or lesions be monitored, as per Daily Express. Monkeypox was initially identified in 1958, when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in study colonies of monkeys, thus the name. It comes from a group of about 12 West African and Central African countries. While it has maintained a low profile in recent decades, terrifying archive reports of an interview with Dr. Ken Alibek, a former Soviet scientist, have reappeared with its resurgence. He said in 1998 that the country had started looking into deploying monkeypox as a bioweapon earlier that decade. The World Health Organization (WHO) has cautioned that the 250 cases of monkeypox discovered in 20 nations are only the beginning. This WHO warning emphasizes the severity of the monkeypox outbreak. The Russian Defense Ministry has leveled an even more severe allegation, Newscast reported. The Monkeypox was allegedly disseminated from four US Biolabs in Nigeria, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Russia has requested that the WHO investigate the situation. This significant charge has been leveled by Igor Kirillov, the chief of the Russian Defense Ministry's "Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Defense Troupes." The allegations leveled by Kirillov were reported by the Russian news source Sputnik. According to the World Health Organization, monkeypox originated in Nigeria. "It is not a coincidence that the United States has at least four Biolabs working in Nigeria. These Biolabs are where the monkeypox began," Kirillov said. Kirillov urged that this be treated as a serious concern and that the WHO should look into it. It has already been revealed that the US does not take the necessary safety procedures to control the threat presented by these Biolabs. Kirillov said that the United States' biological agency is ineffective. Even terrorists, according to Kirillov, can take advantage of this leniency. Read Also: Mona Lisa Cake Attack Goes Viral, Video Shows Vandalism on Leonardo da Vinci's Painting Russia Might Hit US With Just 2 Missiles Meanwhile, hosts on Russian state television issued the latest in a long line of threats on Monday, claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin could "destroy the entire east coast of the United States" with just two missiles. Per The Sun, a member of Russia's parliament boasts about the country's military might in video from the country's flagship propaganda show, before labeling 2 million Ukrainians as "incurable." Alexie Zhuravlev, a politician, was joined on the chat program by Yevgeny Popov, the host of the Rossiya 1 channel show, a fellow MP and Russian state mouthpiece. The politician said that two Russian Sarmat 'Satan 2' missiles could destroy the whole east coast of the United States before adding that "two missiles for the west coast" would suffice. The 208 ton RS-28 Sarmat missile, also called as the 'Satan 2,' stands at the gigantic height of a 14-story tower block and is capable of striking targets at around 16,000mph. The world-ending nuclear weapon can also carry 15 bombs and can devastate an area the size of the United Kingdom in a single blow. Putin's allies believe the Russian military has up to 50 Sarmat missiles in its arsenal and have even threatened to use them to drown the United Kingdom in a radioactive wave. The 15 nuclear warheads aboard the Sarmat missile are each over 100 times more powerful than the nuclear bomb unleashed on Hiroshima during World War 2. Putin also claimed that his Satan 2 missiles are capable of "breaking through all contemporary anti-missile defenses." While such warnings have been more regular on Russian propaganda shows since the invasion of Ukraine, the prospect of mutually assured annihilation mitigates most of the risk. Along with threatening to destroy the United States with nuclear weapons, the frightening discussion also touched on the conflict in Ukraine, with the hosts repeating the invasion's "nazification" motif. Related Article: [Report] Russian Soldiers Refuse To Join Russia-Ukraine War, Prompting Vladimir Putin To Dismiss Them from Moscow's Army @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Imagination is a unique trait to have. Its not just a youthful attribute we once had as kids, but something that grows with us. A skill that starts with the mind as we perceive and engage with the world around us. In many ways, art is a medium that can expand how we look and think about things around us. Jud Turner and Amanda Renee Turner are two artists that seem to be reinventing where that mental creativity comes from and how they express it. With a unique studio that Turner named The Oblivion Factory, the two sculptors are known for their street art in Eugene as well as the deconstruction/reconstruction of their work something that they use as a base for their sculptures. Taking various found objects apart and putting them back together again are some of the ways they play with their craft. We live in a world where everything is mass-produced, Jud said. Its just a playground for that type of art and practice. As a society today, we are massive consumers, always getting new things and getting rid of stuff we dont need. This allows Jud and Renee to work with all kinds of materials. Jud mentioned their primary medium is welding, using metals and thermoplastics to make most of his sculptures. Things like recycled products and random found objects from junkyards to Goodwills are all repurposed in their work a pareidolia effect, a way of seeing patterns, shapes and even faces into ordinary objects, into their sculptures. Theres this altruistic, aesthetic devotion to making art, Renee said, and then theres this dance going on that you need to make money. Renee understands that in the art world, you dont always make money, but you get a sense of reward when you do this kind of work. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Renee has been making art all her life, traveling all over the world. Shes worked with glass, mosaic found objects, chainsaw carving, paint and anything else she can get her hands on. When she got to Eugene, she became interested in welding and possibly making sculptures, seeking an apprenticeship with Jud. Not only did she learn the art of welding, but she developed a relationship with Jud, and the two got married. The couple have worked dynamically on different projects. In Lane County, theyve been able to contribute some significant sculptures around the county. Some stand out and represent certain aspects of the city, along with their own ideas. Great Blue Heron, by Jud Turner Most students and people that live in Eugene will recognize this sculpture. Located on East 13th Avenue and Alder Street, the sculpture is a blue metal heron that stands as a symbol of nature and people in Eugene. The city and the University of Oregon reached out to Jud to make a sculpture for them. They wanted to fill that intersection with a public art piece, suggesting the schools mascot, the Oregon Duck. However, Jud thought the Duck was well represented all over campus and wanted to go in a different direction. The heron is a member of this community, and the UO is quite close to the river where the herons live, hunt and fish, Jud said. Its part of our environment that ties us to the natural world. Juds art likes to play with the idea of scale, space, nature and recycled material. The sculpture stands at 16 feet tall and is made of bicycle, motorcycle and car parts and two trolley tracks that were used in that intersection in the early 1900s. The city kept some of those steel beams and was able to hand them to Jud to work on for the sculpture. The sculpture has been there for about 10 years and stands as a symbol for the environment we share with the heron. The idea of that street is like a river of human traffic, so the heron at that size is sorta at the edge of this river of human traffic, Jud said. He plays with the idea that were in this bird's environment rather than the bird being in ours. The mere size of it also shows us the predatory nature of the bird on a human scale, mentioning that welding is about trying to find deeper meaning with all the parts that you use. With the heron, all these parts are elements of transportation that go under it, which include people, bikes and cars. It looks at us go by like prey going by the river. Justice, by Renee Turner This metal sculpture is found on East 5th Avenue and Blair Street on the Whiteaker side of town. The sculpture is called Justice and is about 12 feet tall. It has an array of colors and metals and shows a person with wings holding a scale in one hand and a sword in the other. She got the idea from a deck of tarot cards, being inspired by Stephanie Judio Lards artwork of justice on them. Its that theme of justice in the United States of America playing out these days, Renee said. She referred to the overall violence happening in our country and the justice or lack of justice that goes behind it. She mentioned some of the sheet metals she used for the sculpture's dress inspired this theme, particularly whats happened here in Oregon. She found one sheet that showed a salmon being held firmly by a human hand. Basically, as we sit on stolen land and the salmon that has sustained the people and the wildlife in this area, plays a part on environmental and social stuff, Renee said. Her piece seems to touch on each of these elements that range from nature, the ideas of inequality and how people have an effect on their surroundings. Finding these pieces of metal helped put together ideas that she was able to work on with the sculpture. Her work transmits these deep meanings and also ties in the spiritual connection of how we exist. This was her first welding sculpture she did for a friend, and you can read a poem about justice in our country attached to it. The Oblivion Factory has been pouring out sculptures for over 11 years now, providing a place for two sculptures that are full of ideas. They have artwork all over the world, and their studio continues to be a haven where they can rest their imagination or weld it for people to see. A top Russian politician has recommended that Russian security forces kidnap a NATO defense minister in Ukraine and transport him to Moscow. The delivery of Western weapons to Ukraine poses a direct threat to Russia, according to Oleg Morozov, who was first elected to the Russian parliament in 1993. He went on to say that any information obtained during questioning may lead to a reconsideration of Russia's military objectives. Over the last several weeks, pro-Kremlin voices in Moscow have become more hostile in their rhetoric. Russian MP Suggests Kidnapping NATO Defense Minister A Russian television personality with deep ties to Vladimir Putin threatened Britain yesterday, suggesting that the despot's invasion may reach Stonehenge. 'Putin's Voice' anchorman Vladimir Solovyov warned that Russia may attack Britain and target Boris Johnson's foreign secretary, Liz Truss. Per The Independent, when asked where Putin's ruthless dictatorship will put an end to its war, Ukrainian political expert Vasil Vakarov said, "Well, when we have to." A slew of Western officials have visited Kyiv to express sympathy with Ukraine. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited in April. President Vladimir Putin urged to disarm Ukraine and stop what he regards as Ukrainian ultra-nationalists' persecution of Russian-speakers, Mirror reported. He further claims that the US is exploiting Ukraine to threaten Russia by expanding NATO. Ukraine and its Western allies claim Russia is launching an unjustified attack on a sovereign state battling for survival. Ukraine has frequently warned the West that supplying modern weapons to the country risks intensifying the conflict. Ukraine has requested more long-range weaponry from the West. Read Also: [Report] Russian Soldiers Refuse To Join Russia-Ukraine War, Prompting Vladimir Putin To Dismiss Them from Moscow's Army Vladimir Putin Calls Ukraine Invasion a "Special Military Operation" A top Kremlin security official pledged yesterday that if provoked, Moscow will "fulfill threats" of a missile assault. Dmitry Medvedev, the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, called Washington's decision not to give Ukraine rocket weapons capable of hitting Russian targets "fair." Russia would have retaliated against Biden's "criminal decisions" against targets "not in Kiev at all," Medvedev stated on his Telegram channel. Morozov, a member of the Russian parliament since 1993, made the statements in response to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's recent train rides to Kyiv. He further argued that the influx of Western weapons into Ukraine is posing a direct danger to Russia. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia began on February 24 and has lasted 97 days, as per Fox News. Furthermore, Russian President Vladimir Putin has termed the 97-day battle as a "special military operation" intended at disarming Ukraine and ending what he sees as ultranationalists' persecution of Russian speakers in Ukraine. He also accuses the US of endangering Russia by influencing Ukraine through NATO expansion. Ukraine and its Western allies argue Russia is waging an illegitimate war on a sovereign state fighting for its life. Russia has repeatedly warned the West that providing advanced weapons to Ukraine risks aggravating the conflict. Ukraine has asked the West for more long-range weaponry. Related Article: Russia Allegedly Plans To Use Monkeypox as Bioweapon; Moscow Claims Virus Spreads Due to US Biolabs in Nigeria @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Prince Charles is preparing to honor Queen Elizabeth's remarkable 70-year reign with a Platinum Jubilee celebration. Her Majesty's son and heir have been representing the 96-year-old monarch at a series of recent engagements in the run-up to the royal milestone, despite persisting "mobility issues." The Prince of Wales, on behalf of his mother, performed the state opening of Parliament earlier this month. There have been calls for Prince Charles to be proclaimed Prince Regent ahead of the Jubilee, a position that permits a monarch's obligations to be carried out if they become incapable. Queen Elizabeth to King Charles Transition In light of these events, Express.co.uk talked with a constitutional expert on the royal protocol for Charles assuming the throne from the Queen. Dr. Robert Morris of the Constitution Unit at University College London outlined what would happen on the day Her Majesty passes away. The term "demise" refers to both the death of the Sovereign and the legal succession of their successor. Because there cannot be a break in executive rule, Dr. Morris said that Prince Charles would become King immediately following the Queen's death. In September of last year, information on the Royal Family's plans for the day the Queen passes away was revealed. The protocols, codenamed 'Operation London Bridge,' describe how Her Majesty's death would be notified to the Prime Minister, key government officials, and subsequently the general public. The Prime Minister will meet with King Charles, who will then conduct a broadcast to the country at 6 pm. From her ties with Commonwealth states with rising republican inclination to those weekly conversations with prime ministers, the monarchy will undoubtedly alter with her successor. The monarch's eldest son and successor, Prince Charles, delivered the set-piece Queen's Speech opening parliament, demonstrating that a change is already taking place quietly. Per Bloomberg via Yahoo, questions regarding the influence on politics will be asked when Queen Elizabeth eventually moves back from more frontline roles in the coming months. Prince Charles is already well-known for his "black spider" letters to ministers, which he has written in his signature handwriting throughout the years, expressing his views on everything from global warming to architecture. Read Also: Will Johnny Depp Return to Acting After Court Battle Against Amber Heard? Dwayne Johnson Rumored To Replace Him in 'Pirates of the Caribbean' British Royal Palace Silently Transfers Some Duties to Prince Charles There's also the question of popular opinion on the monarchy. Despite the acclaim from lawmakers at home, a survey released on May 27 indicated that the public is divided on whether the royal family is a luxury the UK cannot afford. According to the most recent records, the monarchy cost the public $111 million in 2020-21. The institution has had to deal with the consequences of the Queen's son, Prince Andrew, settling sexual abuse charges in a US court. Meanwhile, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have relocated to the United States. Prince Charles is becoming increasingly important to the aging monarch, who is handing more tasks to her eldest son and heir. That was evident last month when Prince Charles presided over the State Opening of Parliament with his wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, one of the monarch's most significant tasks. The minor shift highlights the royal family's struggles as the 96-year-old Queen continues on the throne while Prince Charles becomes the monarchy's increasingly visible face. The royals are striving to solidify the position of a sometimes misunderstood heir and establish that the House of Windsor will carry on as Britain celebrates Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee this week. For the time being, Prince Charles has realized that he can be a little less uptight in public - even more sociable. A special jubilee appearance on a television soap opera is a perfect example of this, as per Click on Detroit. On the long-running BBC soap EastEnders, Prince Charles and Camilla will surprise locals with a street party to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. "You have got to see this mystery guest," partygoers are informed in footage played after a recent program before the royal couple pulls up in a vehicle beside The Queen Vic pub. Related Article: [Report] Queen Elizabeth II Cancels Engagement with Prince Andrew To Meet Prince Harry, Meghan Markle's Daughter Lilibet @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. JANET STREET-PORTER: Despite receiving millions in bailouts from the government, the travel industry seems to be run by a bunch of executives who couldn't manage a scout troop Yesterday I nearly wept with joy as - against all the odds - I managed to re-enter the UK via Gatwick airport with minimum queuing. The only hiccup occurred when my new blue British passport- achieved at considerable cost and huge stress after the previous one went missing - was rejected by not one, not two, but THREE of the digital scanners at Border control. A member of the security staff sidled up and confirmed what I suspected- claiming the machines don't 'like' the new passports. That's bloody fantastic. We have airlines who don't seem to 'like' those irritating people called passengers and treat them with utter contempt. We have airports who haven't employed enough staff to handle the completely predictable half term holiday crowds. And high-tech gadgetry that doesn't 'like' new passports, the ones that Boris and the Brexiteers have foisted on us. The Border control officer I was subsequently referred to alleged I had been denied entry because my name was 'suspicious'. Yes, pigs can fly and I'm a member of a Bolivian drug cartel. Meanwhile, all those poor sods without blue passports arriving from the rest of the world were doing what our country has turned into an art form - queuing at Border control for hundreds of yards, patiently waiting to be allowed entry to Blighty, where we expect them to spend their cash and help re-boot our failing economy. I mean, why would anyone plan to go on holiday this summer, having seen the utter misery and chaos at our airports? At Easter we saw the same story - the travel industry sold millions of holidays, airlines took our cash for thousands of flights, and all along they knew that they didn't have the staff in place to fulfil those bookings. To stay afloat, airlines and airports had laid off workers during the pandemic, and then seemed surprised that as soon as restrictions on travel were lifted, we all wanted a break somewhere sunnier and cheaper than the UK. And millions of workers who had been made redundant had found jobs elsewhere which offered more sociable hours, and better hourly rates. Despite receiving millions in bailouts from the government, the travel industry seems to be run by a bunch of executives who couldn't manage a scout troop. Astonishingly, budget airlines and tour operators are still spending a fortune on ads offering cheap deals every day - even as existing customers are dumped off flights out of the UK by text (or even by a handy police officer brave enough to read out the bad news) and - if they are lucky enough to have got away, are flown back to the wrong airports, only to find their baggage has gone missing or got lost. The toll of human misery that's unfolded this week has been heart-breaking. Weddings have been cancelled. Family reunions abandoned. Travellers have given up and gone home to do jigsaws and watch the Jubilee celebrations on telly, explaining to their kids why they won't be swimming in the Med or playing on a beach. It makes my blood boil, because most of the travellers worse affected are not middle class folk like me on scheduled airlines (mind you, even then it's become a lottery, predicting whether your flight will take off one or two hours late) - these customers are hard working families who have scrimped and saved during Covid to get the funds to take a break and bring along granny and granddad and a few cousins to celebrate their delayed weddings and anniversaries. JANET STREET-PORTER: Astonishingly, budget airlines and tour operators are still spending a fortune on ads offering cheap deals every day - even as existing customers are dumped off flights out of the UK by text (or even by a handy police officer brave enough to read out the bad news). (Pictured: Long queues at Heathrow on Wednesday) They aren't the kind of people Boris goes on holiday with - who own villas with swimming pools and staff, luxury pads that can be rented out for 10,000 a week. These regular customers have already been fooled into thinking that any 'budget' airline or package deal holiday operator is going to offer them value for their hard-earned money. They are finding out the hard way that if a flight is cancelled, the package deal holiday you already paid for is worthless - because you won't be guaranteed to get there in time to enjoy your hotel, swimming pool and all-in catering. And if you decide to book your own flights - you will need a degree in business studies because every single airline regards customers as mugs who must be relieved of as much cash as possible in so-called 'extras'. I've got countless qualifications and yet I can't buy a ticket on BA, Ryanair or Vueling without being anxious about whether I have a seat, what my luggage allowance is and how long will I have to queue to board. The process will take hours, and what if my online boarding pass disappears when my phone battery conks out? For my trip to Seville and back last week I paid extra for a specific seat, extra for a bag and extra not to queue to board (which was a joke as everyone rushes forward to the gate at once). On my return, the check in queue was over 100 yards long - despite paying all these charges which amounted to a toll of over 50 each way. Because I felt brave enough to launch a strong complaint to someone who looked like they might be in charge, I managed to avoid the one hour wait. For the past week, hundreds of thousands of people have had their holidays ruined because of staff shortages, and the blame game has begun. JANET STREET-PORTER: The airlines have blamed delays in security checks- claiming the government ought to be speeding up processing the required background checks on new employees. But operators have had five months to sort themselves out since restrictions were dropped on January 24th. (Pictured: Long queues at Manchester on Wednesday) Easyjet has cancelled over 200 flights, Tui is cancelling six flights a day all this month which will ruin the holiday plans for up to 37,000 people. British Airways staff are threatening to strike. (But don't they do that almost every August? I think walk outs by British Airways cabin crew and check in staff are like Chelsea flower show, they come round with predictable regularity). As for passengers claiming their rights in compensation, good luck. During the pandemic, British Airways and Ryanair were extremely reluctant to offer passengers a full refund if the virus prevented them from flying. That indicates the contempt airline bosses have for their customers, the people that are responsible for their profits and their fat pensions. According to consumer watchdog Which? most are not willing to pay compensation or offer passengers another flight as soon as possible. The airlines have blamed delays in security checks- claiming the government ought to be speeding up processing the required background checks on new employees. But operators have had five months to sort themselves out since restrictions were dropped on January 24th. Even if the government agreed and the paperwork was streamlined, who wants to work in the travel industry? It's hardly a glamorous job, no matter what those glossy Virgin Ads would have you believe. Who would want to stand at a check-on counter at 6am being shouted at and harassed by people who have been stationary in a queue since 4am? People with babies and elderly relatives. Climbing Everest is probably easier than getting through Manchester airport in under an hour. I grew up believing that travelling the world would broaden my mind, enrich my life and be a huge source of joy. What a lie that's turned out to be. Air travel has become the quickest route to misery, discomfort, and frustration. Should senior churchmen involve themselves in politics? The Archbishop of Canterbury is certain they should. In a recent newspaper interview, Justin Welby declared: 'The idea that I shouldn't be political is . . . a nonsense. Everyone is political . . . Every decision we make is a political decision.' Karl Marx might have approved of such sentiments but it is an odd thing for an Anglican Archbishop to say. Is walking the dog political? Or giving money to the poor? Or becoming a Christian? Or wanting to take Holy Communion? What Dr Welby said is nonsense, of course. Trendy, shallow nonsense. I daresay that on reflection he might take it back. The Primate of All England has a habit of sounding off, and then retracting at least part of what he has said. His latest foray into controversy was to suggest in an interview with ITV's Tom Bradby that Prince Andrew is 'seeking to make amends' following his public disgrace. Unfortunately, he was unable or unwilling to provide a single instance of the Prince trying to atone. Dr Welby rightly said that 'forgiveness really does matter' and that 'we have become a very, very unforgiving society'. The implication was that we should forgive the Prince for his friendship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby (pictured) suggested it was a 'good thing' that Andrew was 'trying to make amends' following his settlement Prince Andrew meets the Archbishop of Canterbury during a Service of Remembrance for the 70th Anniversary of VE day at Westminster Abbey in 2015 The suggestion was also that we should draw a veil over his out- of-court settlement, reportedly worth 12 million, to Virginia Giuffre, after she had accused him of sexual assault when she was aged 17, an allegation he has vehemently denied. Dr Welby is a theologian, and I am not, but I had always thought that Christianity offers redemption and forgiveness to those 'who do truly and earnestly repent', as the prayer says. There is no evidence of Andrew acknowledging that he did anything wrong. In his infamous 2019 interview with the BBC's Emily Maitlis, he expressed no regret over his relationship with Epstein, and said he couldn't recall having met Giuffre. Nonetheless, he came up with 12 million to buy her silence. Conceivably the Archbishop knows something about Andrew's state of mind which the rest of us do not. But if the Prince harbours genuine feelings of contrition, he should convey them to a wider audience. Then he might be forgiven. The Archbishop, so adept at plunging into controversy, evidently had second thoughts after the interview. His spokesman maintained that his boss 'was not referring specifically to Prince Andrew when he said we must become a more forgiving society'. You could have fooled me and millions of others. Granted, this ill-judged defence of an apparently unapologetic Prince was not strictly political in the way Dr Welby's interventions often are. He must be one of the most garrulous and outspoken Primates to have occupied Lambeth Palace since the Reformation. He is forever tweeting, giving interviews, delivering speeches and making ex cathedra statements. He will offer an instant opinion on almost any subject under the sun before sometimes changing his mind, or even contradicting what he has said. Nonetheless, a new provocative opinion is quickly minted. His political views are generally woke and fashionable. They might as easily fall from the lips of a secular politician of a mildly Left-wing disposition. I have quoted his contention that he has every right to be political. Not if that entails being party political. The Duke of York, 62, has largely withdrawn from public life following his out-of-court settlement with his sex assault accuser Virginia Roberts earlier this year The royal - who will not feature on the royal balcony beside his mother, the Queen, as she celebrates her Platinum Jubilee this weekend - was spotted driving a green Range Rover on his way to the stableson Wednesday A good example was his recent Easter sermon, in which he let fly at the Government over its plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda. He claimed that such a policy could not 'stand the judgment of God' a bold statement since the Almighty's views about asylum seekers may not always be crystal clear. I happen to share Dr Welby's misgivings about Rwanda, since it has a despotic regime where nasty things can happen. Nonetheless, one can't reasonably criticise the Government's proposals in such extreme terms without suggesting a workable alternative. Dr Welby offered no solution to the curse of 'people smugglers' who charge asylum seekers extortionate sums to cross the English Channel in flimsy boats which sometimes sink. More than 300 people have drowned in the Channel over the past 30 years. The Archbishop has a habit of throwing a spanner in the works of government policies he may only dimly understand. Back in 2018, he jumped on Labour's bandwagon by arguing that the roll-out of Universal Credit should be delayed. It was what the Corbynite Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, was saying at the time. My objection is not only that Dr Welby probably doesn't grasp the complexities of Universal Credit (which, by the way, seems to be working pretty well) any more than he has got to the bottom of the asylum crisis. It is also that such remarks, rooted as they are in party-political controversy, are liable to be divisive. Can't we leave division to the politicians? Somewhat ironically, Dr Welby has just published a book called The Power Of Reconciliation, described by one newspaper as 'a heartfelt plea to the world to appreciate each other's opinions'. The Archbishop may see himself as a reconciler but he is in danger of alienating Christians and non-Christians alike who don't share his Leftist take on political problems. Recently he told a newspaper that the Church of England should beware 'throwing stones' at politicians. But that's exactly what he does. It's rare to find this proactive Prelate without a stone in his hand, about to take aim at a politician almost invariably a Tory one. If I were Dr Welby's spin doctor I imagine he has several I would advise him to go easy on the tweets and interviews and other political declarations, and to concentrate on reinvigorating the crumbling Church of England, which faces potential 'extinction' within 40 years, according to a recent report. The hot-headed Archbishop dived in headlong when, a few years ago, unfounded accusations of paedophilia were made against the late Bishop George Bell, who bravely spoke out during the war against the carpet bombing of Germany. It took years for Dr Welby to apologise for his error. He also grabbed the wrong end of the stick during a row about a monument in the chapel of Jesus College, Cambridge to Tobias Rustat, a 17th-century philanthropist with links to the slave trade. Various people wanted the handsome monument torn down. Others were against. 'Why is it such agony to remove a memorial to slavery?' cried the angry Archbishop, overlooking the fact that it was a memorial to a man, not slavery. An ecclesiastical court determined that it should stay. Politicians and other objects of Dr Welby's ire can mostly look after themselves. I worry for the Church my Church. It still has fine priests and devout worshippers. It deserves a spiritual leader who spends less time engaged in earthly squabbles. Don't forget that during the first Covid lockdown, in another rush of blood to the head, the Archbishop had the temerity to tell priests not to enter their own churches over Easter. This was an incredible presumption that caused enormous distress. True to form, he later said he regretted it. I've little doubt that Justin Welby is a good and holy man. If only he were a wiser one. Products featured in this Mail Best article are independently selected by our shopping writers. 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Advertisement The verdict is finally in for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's highly controversial $100 million defamation trial, with the jury ruling firmly in favor of the Pirates of the Caribbean star, stating that he was defamed by his former spouse who has been ordered to pay him $15 million in punitive and compensatory damages after accusing him of physical and sexual abuse. Heard was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages out of the $100million she was seeking in her countersuit against her ex-husband. She was awarded zero dollars in punitive damages. Despite the jury awarding Depp $15 million in total, the judge reduced the $5 million in punitive damages from that amount to the Virginia maximum of $350,000, meaning the actor will now only receive $8.35 million in total after paying Heard $2 million. The verdict, which was reached after less than three days of deliberation, draws to a close a sensational trial that has been heavily covered by media outlets across the globe, while also being analyzed by thousands of fans online - many of whom have been captivated and stunned by the accusations of abuse raised during the bitter legal battle between Depp, 58, and Heard, 36. But beyond the many revelations and allegations brought to light during the proceedings, the court case watched around the world has also shot several new faces into the spotlight - from members of the two legal teams to witnesses on the stand. Some witnesses were lauded as 'heroes' online for their bold behavior on the stand - like the ex TMZ reporter who was praised for furiously clapping back at Heard's attorney when she accused him of using his testimony to gain his 15 minutes of fame - while Depp's firebrand lawyer Camille Vasquez has quickly become a celebrity in her own right among fans of the actor, many of whom lauded her 'annihilation' of Heard on the stand. The verdict is finally in for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's highly controversial $100 million defamation trial, with the jury ruling that the Pirates of the Caribbean star was in fact defamed by his ex-spouse, who must pay him $15 million in damages The trial has seen a slew of witnesses who testified, and some went on to become viral social media stars afterwards, including psychologist Dr. Shannon Curry who is pictured on the stand FEMAIL has taken a look back at the all the people who became internet sensations due to their involvement the trial. Isaac Baruch (left) and Morgan Tremaine (right) both caused a stir online with their testimonies Depp did not appear in court on Wednesday, however his ex-spouse Heard was seen looking distraught as the verdict was read out Depp and Heard - 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 took place in Virginia, was held to determine whether a 2018 Washington Post essay written by Heard, in which she accused the actor of domestic abuse, defamed Depp - which a jury has now ruled was in fact the case. 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 James Franco. Attorneys for Heard 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. As the weeks-long trial finally reaches a conclusion, FEMAIL has taken a look back at the all the people who have earned their own form of fame throughout the lengthy legal proceedings. From Depp's lawyer and rumored love interest, Vasquez, to his longtime friend who broke down in tears over the accusations, here's all the people who earned online stardom after participating in the trial. 'The best comeback of the trial': Ex-TMZ reporter Morgan Tremaine Ex TMZ reporter Morgan Tremaine was branded a 'king' and 'the MVP' when he clapped back at Heard's lawyer after she accused him of only taking the stand to seek '15 minutes of fame' Tremaine, who worked as TMZ's field assignment manager, was called by Depp's team discuss a series of photos taken by the gossip site of Heard in 2016 During her cross examination, Heard's attorney Elaine Bredehoft accused Tremaine of speaking out about the matter in an attempt to get attention Ex TMZ reporter Morgan Tremaine was branded a 'king' and 'the MVP' when he clapped back at Heard's lawyer after she accused him of only taking the stand to seek '15 minutes of fame.' Tremaine, who worked as TMZ's former field assignment manager, was called by Depp's team to testify in court last week, in which he discussed a series of photos taken by the gossip site of Heard in 2016. The pictures in question showed the actress leaving court after filing for a restraining order against Depp, with what appeared to be a bruise on her cheek. But according to Tremaine, they were tipped off about the photo op - although he didn't specify who gave them the tip. During her cross examination, Heard's attorney Elaine Bredehoft accused Tremaine of speaking out about the matter in an attempt to get attention, but he quickly shut those rumors down, explaining that he was actually making himself a 'target' by taking the stand and stating, 'I gain nothing from this.' He then fired back at the lawyer and told her that he could 'say the same thing' about her taking Heard as a client - and his sassy clapback soon took the internet by storm. 'You know this case is being televised, right?' Bredehoft asked Tremaine during her cross examination. 'I am aware that there are cameras,' he responded. He then fired back at the lawyer and told her that he could 'say the same thing' about her taking Heard as a client - and his sassy clapback soon took the internet by storm The journalist's 'savage burn' quickly went viral, and many social media users started vehemently supporting the former TMZ staffer 'So this gets you your 15 minutes of fame, doesn't it?' she then suggested. Although Depp's lawyer objected to her question, the judge overruled the objection - prompting Tremaine to turn Bredehoft's question back on her. 'I stand to gain nothing from this. I'm actually putting myself in the target of TMZ, a very litigious organization and I'm not seeking any 15 minutes here. But you're welcome to speculate. I can say the same thing - by taking Amber Heard as a client - for you,' he fired back. 'A little argumentative, don't you think?' Bredehoft then asked him, taken aback. Tremaine said, 'Oh hardly, I find that to be purely logical.' Depp's lawyers appeared to be entertained by his response, and they erupted into laughter. Depp let out a small smile as his legal team giggled at the back and forth. The journalist's 'savage burn' quickly went viral, and many social media users started vehemently supporting the former TMZ staffer. 'Morgan Tremaine was the mother f**kin' MVP of the day,' wrote one person afterwards. Another added, 'Yes! Elaine Bredehoft needs some ointment for that burn.' 'Touche b***h,' read a third tweet, while someone else said, 'I want to get this video tattooed on my forehead.' 'Morgan Tremaine earned his 15 minutes of fame, even though he didn't want it,' joked a different user. 'Savage mode activated,' wrote another. Others called the moment 'absolute gold' and 'iconic,' while one person wrote that he 'f**king slayed.' 'Buy that man a beer or 10... Hero,' gushed someone else. 'That man sat down and said, "Not today, honey." Love it,' wrote a different Twitter user. Another person added, 'Mic drop! Amber is done.' 'This was the best comeback of the trial. Feel sorry for Elaine,' read another tweet. The pictures in question showed the actress leaving court after filing for a restraining order against Depp, with what appeared to be a bruise on her cheek (pictured) Tremaine testified that TMZ was tipped off about the photo op - although he didn't specify who gave them the tip 'That snap back,' wrote one user, alongside a clapping emoji. 'She shot, he dodged, then shot back at her right between the eyes.' During his testimony, Tremaine told the jury that the outlet was tipped off when they photographed Heard going to court in Los Angeles, California, in May 2016 - and that it was assumed she was going to 'display the bruise' that was allegedly caused by her ex. He said: 'The objective was to capture her leaving the courthouse and she was going to stop and turn to the camera and display the bruise.' While Tremaine did not reveal the source of the tip, he said that it came from a news producer, meaning that it would have been verified. Heard has testified that she was shocked to see photographers outside the court after a judge awarded her a restraining order against Depp. The court previously heard claims that Heard's team leaked the video of Depp smashing up his kitchen to TMZ. While Tremaine did not confirm this, he said that the video sent to TMZ was shorter than the one shown to the jury, meaning it had been edited. In the version TMZ received from its anonymous tip line, the part where Heard was 'sniggering at the camera,' was cut out, Tremaine said. 'The real hero in this trial': Clinical psychologist Shannon Curry Clinical psychologist Curry also became an internet sensation after she testified during the trial Back in April, the doctor, who was hired to review Heard and Depp's relationship, claimed that the Aquaman star suffers from two personality disorders Clinical psychologist Shannon Curry also became an internet sensation after she testified during the trial. Back in April, the doctor, who was hired to review Heard and Depp's relationship, claimed that the Aquaman star suffers from two personality disorders. The clinical and forensic psychologist told the court that she concluded Heard had traits consistent with Borderline Personality Disorder (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 Heard for several hours over the course of two separate dates in December 2021, before finally coming to a diagnosis. She also returned to the stand on May 25 to rebut testimony made by clinical psychologist Dawn Hughes, who was called by Heard's team as a defense witness, Hughes claimed she diagnosed Heard with PTSD as a result of what she described as intimate partner violence experienced during her relationship with Depp. However, Curry said she concluded that Heard 'grossly exaggerated' her post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after her relationship with Depp ended. Many people took to social media to gush over the psychologist after her testimony, with one calling her the 'real hero' of the trial. Curry said she concluded that Heard 'grossly exaggerated' her post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after her relationship with Depp ended Many people took to social media to gush over the psychologist after her testimony, with one calling her the 'real hero' of the trial 'All hail the queen,' another wrote, while a third said, 'Dr. Shannon Curry is gonna be a big inspiration for me when I start majoring psychology, Much love for her.' 'Ladies and gents THIS is what competence on the stand looks like,' a fourth tweet read. Someone else tweeted, 'Dr. Shannon Curry just slayed the court like a queen. Even when Elaine was way unprofessional and rude to her, she still kept her cool and professionalism. Much respect to Dr. Curry. We love you, Dr. Curry.' 'Huge thanks to Johnny Depp's legal team for introducing Dr. Shannon Curry to the world,' wrote another supporter. 'She's an incredible woman and an accomplished psychologist. Someone to look up to for sure.' During her testimony, 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. While conducting her evaluation, Curry explained she reviewed Heard's medical records, mental health treatment records, court exhibits, witness statements, and audio and video recordings. She also met with Heard (pictured in court) for several hours, before finally coming to a diagnosis 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. '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.' 'One of the best lawyers I've ever seen': Depp's firebrand attorney Camille Vasquez Depp's lawyer Camille Vasquez became an online sensation when she cross-examined Heard in court, with social media users praising her for 'annihilating' and 'obliterating' the star Vasquez (pictured during her cross-examination) became short with Heard at one point, telling her, 'I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't make an argument to the jury. It's inappropriate' The lawyer (center) was seen celebrating with the rest of Depp's legal team after their client was awarded $15 million in punitive and compensatory damages on Wednesday afternoon Throughout the trial, Depp's lawyer Camille Vasquez has become wildly popular with social media users, earning viral fame again and again for her bold behavior in the courtroom, as well as her personal chemistry with her famous client. Vasquez first became an online sensation earlier this month when she cross-examined Heard, with some fans claiming that she 'annihilated' and 'obliterated' the star with her questions. Vasquez said to Heard during the cross examination: 'Your lies have been exposed to the world multiple times?' to which Heard responded, 'I haven't lied about anything.' she then asked her, 'When you told this jury you punched Mr. Depp because you thought of Mr. Depp pushing Kate Moss down the stairs, you didn't expect Miss Moss to testify that never happened?' Heard answered, 'Incorrect, I knew how many people will come out of the woodwork to support Johnny.' Vasquez also pressed Heard about many other inconsistencies and accusations, and she even became short with Heard when she started to talk to the jury at one point. 'There is no question pending so I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't make an argument to the jury. It's inappropriate,' Vasquez snapped at Heard. Vasquez has gone viral on many occasions due to her tactics in the courtroom, with some social media users branding her a 'strong independent woman' 'Camille Vasquez is definitely one of the best lawyers Ive ever seen. Shes absolutely annihilating Amber heard. OMG!' wrote one person afterwards. 'That was an obliteration,' agreed someone else. 'Camille Vasquez you queen.' Another added, 'This is what a real strong independent woman looks like. Camilles intelligence and talent is so inspiring for women everywhere. She is a true example of strength facing evil.' 'Iconic. No matter the outcome, Camille, you did Johnny and ACTUAL victims of domestic violence well. Take a bow my queen,' someone else said. 'Camille Vasquez gave Johnny Depp the voice he never had against Amber Heards vicious claims. You can tell how much she feels for him and how much she wants justice for him,' gushed a different user. A sixth tweet read, 'Camille Vasquez did not come to play. She came to exact justice. Watching her is a win for all women. #CamilleVasquez I feel powerful watching her work. She is a beast!' Vaquez was born in July 1984 to parents Leonel and Marilia Vasquez, who are of Colombian descent. They live in a $1 million home in Buena Park, according to public records. Her father once owned a UPS Store in Anaheim. The location has been a FedEx store for the past 10 years, an employee previously told DailyMail.com. Vasquez graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor's degree in arts, communications and political science in 2006, Newsweek reported. Vasquez was born in July 1984 to parents Leonel and Marilia Vasquez (pictured), who are of Colombian descent. They live in a $1 million home in Buena Park, according to public records Vasquez graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor's degree in arts, communications and political science in 2006. She is pictured left with her mother and sister Fans started to wonder if romantic feelings had developed between Depp and Vasquez in recent weeks, after they noticed a slew of flirty interactions between the two However, body language expert Judi James explained that the amorous moments between them are most likely part of a plan to make Depp seem like a 'romantic hero' The fluent Spanish speaker went to Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles from 2007 to 2010 and worked at one law firm before joining her current practice, Brown Rudnick LLP, as an associate. She focuses on 'plaintiff-side defamation suits, with additional experience litigating contract disputes, business-related torts, and employment-related claims,' according to her bio on the law firm's website. She said that linking Depp to a 'fresh, smart, fragrant, and confident-looking woman' would 'destroy' Heard's recount of their toxic relationship She's also listed as having 'extensive experience handling parallel reputation management and crisis communications issues arising from these engagements.' She does not have any public social media profiles. Fans started to wonder if romantic feelings had developed between Depp and Vasquez in recent weeks, after they noticed a slew of flirty interactions between the two - including whispering in each other's ears, giggling together, and sharing coy smirks with one another. Rumors of a budding romance were fueled after a video of the Pirates of the Caribbean star helping the lawyer untangle her iPhone charger went viral on TikTok last month. He was also spotted pulling out her chair for her. However, body language expert Judi James explained exclusively to DailyMail.com that the amorous moments between them are most likely not due to a secret affair, but instead, are all part of a plan to make Depp seem like a 'romantic hero.' She said that linking Depp to a 'fresh, smart, fragrant, and confident-looking woman' would 'destroy' Heard's recount of their toxic relationship. Some people on social media have also pointed out that Vasquez appears to be wearing an engagement or wedding ring during her court appearances, but since she keeps her personal life so private, it's unclear whether or not she's in a relationship. 'Get you a lawyer like him': Depp's attorney Benjamin Chew - and his close courtroom relationship with the actor People have also shown love for Depp's other lawyer, Benjamin Chew, with many praising his close courtroom relationship with the actor Oftentimes during the trial, the two are seen smiling at one another and giggling together, and the internet can't get enough of their friendship Chew appeared delighted and relieved after the verdict was read out on Wednesday - and he was caught on camera embracing his fellow lawyers shortly in the courtroom People have also shown love for Depp's other lawyer Benjamin Chew, with many praising his close courtroom relationship with the actor. Oftentimes during the trial, the two have been seen smiling at one another and giggling together, and the internet can't get enough of their friendship. 'Get you a lawyer like Ben Chew! Mad respect for him,' wrote one supporter. 'Ben Chew, thank you for everything,' said another. Someone else gushed, alongside a snap of Chew and Depp together, 'The best power team ever! A five star team... Second to NO other! Friendship. Devotion. Respect. Loyalty. Lifetime Bonds. Alliance.' Chew also appeared to get emotional at one point during the trial when he mentioned Depp's children, Lily-Rose and Jack, with many fans pointing to this as a sign that he 'truly cares for' and 'believes in his client. 'Ben Chew showing heartfelt emotions getting choked up in closing, clenched my heart,' one person wrote. 'They have been on this case for years and have grown to care for each other so much.' Many people have pointed out Chew's emotional displays during the trial, pointing in particular to the moment when he appeared to 'choke up' while mentioning Depp's two children, Lily-Rose and Jack Another wrote: 'The other time I teared up was when Ben Chew referred to Johnny & his children & "how the truth was worth fighting for". The look on Johnny's face-stunned by Ben's emotions-broke my heart... I still can't watch it without crying!!' 'Ben Chew getting choked up after mentioning Johnny Depps children is just [heartbreaking],' a third person added. The lawyer also won a legion of fans last week when he was seen being given a stuffed alpaca toy by a supporter outside of the courtroom - which he then proceeded to put into his pocket, where it remained even as he addressed Judge Penney Azcarate. 'Ben Chew brought a lucky stuffed baby Alpaca to court and kept it in his pocket!!!' one person pointed out on Twitter on May 27. Another chimed in: 'Still here thinking about Ben Chew in court with a stuffed alpaca in his pocket, one of the most wholesome things youll see.' 'I fell in love with this guy within minutes': Depp's longtime friend Isaac Baruch Depp's longtime friend Baruch stole the internet's hearts when he took to the stand in April (pictured) Baruch, who became close with the Pirates of the Caribbean star when they were young, broke down in tears as he testified for his longtime pal The artist was propelled into internet stardom after his testimony and gained thousand of followers on Instagram - rising from just 200 to 18,000 followers in a matter of weeks Depp's longtime friend Isaac Baruch stole the internet's hearts when he took to the stand in April. Baruch, who became close with the Pirates of the Caribbean star when they were young, broke down in tears as he testified for his longtime pal. 'I want this all to end her to go heal, him to go heal,' he said as he became emotional. 'So many people have been affected by this malicious lie that she started and she created. It's not fair, its not right what she did, and what happened.' Baruch knew Depp since they were teenagers growing up in Florida, and has been described as his best friend. He later moved to California, where he worked as a musician and artist, as well as the office manager at the notorious Viper Room club in Los Angeles - which Depp used to own. Baruch testified that Depp loved his artwork so much that he let him live rent free in a penthouse apartment he owned in the Eastern Columbia Building and paid him around $100,000 during the three years he lived there so he could work on his art. He testified that he never saw Depp or Heard being violent to each other and that he only saw them argue twice. His tearful testimony was talked about by many people on the internet, with one calling him a 'legend' for speaking out, and another claiming they instantly fell in love with Baruch. His tearful testimony was talked about by many people on the internet, with one calling him a 'legend' for speaking out, and another claiming they instantly fell in love with Baruch 'I fell in love with this guy within minutes,' they wrote. Another person said his testimony will 'live with them forever,' while a third added, 'Isaac Baruch getting emotional while taking the stand about how many lives Amber Heards lies have affected really explains this whole lawsuit to everyone because what this man said truly speaks for itself.' 'I've never seen a truer, greater witness than the great Isaac Baruch,' gushed someone else. 'If you want to see someone displaying genuine emotion look at Isaac Baruchs testimony,' wrote a different user. 'Amber Heard ruined a lot of lives when she lied about Johnny Depp and she will continue for as long as shes enabled.' The artist was propelled into internet stardom after his testimony and gained thousand of followers on Instagram - rising from just 200 to 18,000 followers in a matter of weeks. 'Queen behavior': Supermodel Kate Moss wows the internet with her three-minute testimony Many people on the internet were cheering when Kate Moss gave testimony defending Depp in his trial against Heard. She is pictured during her testimony She took the stand on Depp's behalf and delivered a sensational blow to Heard's case by squashing the actress' claim that Depp once pushed her down a flight of stairs Many people on the internet were cheering when Kate Moss gave testimony defending Depp in his trial against Heard. The former couple dated from 1994 to 1998. The ultimately split after Depp said he needed to focus more on his acting career. They are pictured in 1994 The notoriously-private supermodel put aside her infamous hatred of interviews and the media in order to rush to Depp's aid in court last week, taking to the stand on his behalf and delivering a sensational blow to Heard's case by squashing the actress' claim that Depp once pushed his supermodel ex down a flight of stairs. Afterwards, many people took to Twitter to share their thoughts. 'Kate Moss came, spat facts, called amber heard a liar in front of thousands of people and left. Queen behavior if you ask me,' wrote one person. 'I've never had an opinion on Kate Moss, but the amount of respect and admiration I have for that woman now is off the charts,' said someone else. '25 years after they split, she has the elegance and grace to come forward when he needed her. She is a d**n queen!' Another added, 'Wednesday, May 25, the day you shall always remember as the day Kate Moss ended Amber Heard.' 'The immense respect I have for Kate Moss right now... She's a very private person and she has had her own share of dirt thrown at her by the media,' tweeted a different user. 'The fact that she's willing to stand up for Johnny Depp, all with a live cross examination waiting for her is some queen behavior.' After the model's appearance on the stand, many people took to Twitter to share their thoughts, with one calling it 'queen behavior' for Moss to testify, and another claiming she 'ended Amber Heard' with her statements During Heard's testimony earlier this month, the actress alleged that Depp once shoved Moss down a flight of stairs - but according to Moss, who dated Depp from 1994 to 1998, the Hollywood heartthrob actually helped her after she accidentally slipped. Heard made the claim while discussing an argument that she allegedly had with Depp at the top of a staircase, when she said her sister, Whitney Heard, stepped in between them. 'She threw herself in the line of fire. She was trying to get Johnny to stop. Her back was to the staircase, and Johnny swings at her. I dont hesitate and wait - I instantly think of Kate Moss and stairs,' she said. 'And I swung at him.' Moss said during her testimony that Depp never 'pushed her or threw her down any stairs,' in fact, she said that he tended to her after she tripped during a trip they took to Jamaica together. 'We were leaving the room and Johnny left the room before I did. There had been a rainstorm and as I left the room I slid down the stairs,' she recalled, while testifying via video link. 'I hurt my back, and I screamed because I didn't know what had happened.' She said Depp came running back to help her, adding that he 'carried her to her room and got her medical attention.' During Heard's testimony earlier this month, the actress alleged that Depp once shoved Moss down a flight of stairs - but according to Moss, he helped her after she accidentally slipped Depp struggled to contain his joy while she spoke to the court room, letting out a small grin as she recalled their '90s romance When asked directly by Depp's team if the Pirates of the Caribbean star ever pushed her down the stairs, Moss replied, 'No.' 'No, he never pushed me, kicked me or threw me down any stairs,' she told the court. The actor and the British entrepreneur were together for just over three years in the '90s, and when Depp dumped Moss so he could focus his full attention on his career, she admitted she was devastated for 'years' over the breakup. However, when she took the stand to defend her ex in court, it appeared as though she had nothing but warm feelings towards him, smiling at the mere thought of her past love with the movie star. Depp also struggled to contain his joy, letting out a small grin as she spoke to the court room about their '90s romance. Many viewers of the trial - which is being livestreamed online - were quick to notice the exes' happy compositions throughout the testimony, and they started to suggest that the pair should start dating again. Some social media users became convinced that Moss and Depp were going to reignite their former flame, and the internet was flooded with tweets from enthralled Twitter users who called Moss Depp's 'true love.' One pointed out that Depp 'lit up' when he saw Moss on the screen, while another wondered if they still had romantic feelings for each other. Some social media users became convinced that Moss and Depp were going to reignite their former flame after the testimony, while others called Moss Depp's 'true love' Others hoped that if they didn't, the court case would bring back their love for one another and spark a reconciliation 25 years in the making. 'Can we petition for Kate Moss and Johnny Depp to get back together or nah?' asked one user. 'Hands up - who wants Johnny and Kate back together?' said someone else. Another person wrote, 'You can tell Kate Moss still has love for Johnny.' 'I would love to see Kate Moss and Johnny Depp reconnect and grow old together,' added a different viewer. A fifth tweet read, 'I hope after this is over, Johnny realizes Kate was the one to marry as a life partner. I hope he phones her up and asks her out on dinner date.' 'Why has Kate Moss decided to testify - does she still love Johnny? I hope and think so,' gushed another user. 'Johnny's smile when Kate popped up on the screen? Y'all better get back together 'cause that cayute,' read another tweet. Someone else said, 'Can we talk about how Johnny's face lit sup after seeing her face on screen?' 'This is true love and respect between two people,' one person wrote. 'Kate and Johnny made me realize at 62 that your first love ever will be loyal forever,' tweeted a different social media user. 'You might not be the best match then. That's normal while discovering life and yourself. Nothing will ever be more pure, more honest, more you. Never ever.' 'The real stars of the this trial': The alpacas Every day, a slew of fans and supporters line up outside the courthouse in the hopes of getting a glimpse of Depp - and some have even brought live alpacas with them Many people on the internet were amused by the fact that fans have been bringing the animal to the trial, and they have taken a center stage in the trial The animal is symbolic in the case since it was used in a quote from Depp about his relationship with Disney after Heard released her op-ed about him in 2018 Every day, a slew of fans and supporters line up outside the courthouse in the hopes of getting a glimpse of Depp - and some have even brought live alpacas with them, which have taken a center stage in the trial. Depp reportedly claimed at the time that he would not return for another Pirates movie even if Disney offered him $300 million and a million alpacas. And now, fans are bringing the animal to court in an attempt to show their support. He is pictured in the franchise Many people were amused by the fact that fans have been bringing the animal to the trial, and pictures of them have since gone viral on social media. The animal is symbolic in the case since it was used in a quote from Depp about his relationship with Disney after Heard released her op-ed about him in 2018. Days after the article came out, he was dropped by the company, and his lawyers have argued that the essay was to blame. Depp reportedly claimed at the time that he would not return for another Pirates movie even if Disney offered him $300 million and a million alpacas. And now, fans are bringing the animal to court in an attempt to show their support. 'The real stars of this trial... the ALPACAS,' joked one Twitter user. Some people have joked on Twitter that the alpacas were the 'real stars of the trial' Another said, 'I hope that we can learn at least one thing from this trial: Don't underestimate the power of one man and a few alpacas.' Depp's lawyer Chew was even spotted bringing a stuffed alpaca with him into the courtroom earlier this month. 'Ill sure miss the alpacas,' read a third tweet, while discussing the trial coming to an end. '[The alpacas were] the best moment of the entire thing,' agreed another. 'How not to act in court': The bitter criticism of Heard's legal team Elaine Bredehoft and Ben Rottenborn Members of Heard's legal team have become well known for their part. Heard is pictured with her lawyer Bredehoft Back in April, TikTokers circulated a wild theory that Heard's lawyer (left) was a secret Depp fan, after they spotted a lookalike woman (right) in the crowd at his movie premiere in 2013 Some TikTok users became convinced that Heard's lawyer Bredehoft was a secret supporter of the Pirates of the Caribbean star They noticed that someone who looked a lot like her was seen waiting outside of an event Depp attended in 2013, while attempting to get a glimpse of the Hollywood leading man Members of Heard's legal team have become well known for their part - but for very different reasons than Depp's lawyers. Back in April, TikTok conspiracists circulated a wild theory that Heard's lawyer Bredehoft was a secret Depp fan, after they spotted a lookalike woman in the crowd at his movie premiere in 2013. Some TikTok users became convinced that the attorney was a secret supporter of the Pirates of the Caribbean star - after they noticed that someone who looked a lot like her was seen waiting outside of an event Depp attended in 2013, attempting to get a glimpse of the Hollywood leading man. A woman with short brown hair - similar to Bredehoft's - could be seen eagerly waiting behind a barricade with a camera in hand as Depp made his way to the red carpet in a YouTube video that was filmed at the Lone Ranger premiere in London, England, on July 20, 2013. Due to their alike features, many people on the internet were convinced that the doting supporter was actually Bredehoft. A woman with short brown hair - similar to Elaine's - could be seen waiting behind a barricade with a camera in hand at the Lone Ranger premiere in London, England, on July 20, 2013 Due to their alike features, many people on the internet are convinced the doting supporter (left) is actually Bredehoft (right) - who is part of Heard's legal team It's unclear if the woman in question is actually Heard's lawyer, but numerous social media users are now convinced that it's her One person posted the clip to TikTok and wrote, 'Amber's lawyer is a Depp fan,' while the well-known TikTok sound that says, 'Oh my God, who is that?' played in the background. The video quickly took the internet by storm, gaining more than 11 million views in a matter of days, and it left many people on the internet stunned over the woman's resemblance to Bredehoft. It's unclear if the woman in question is actually Heard's lawyer, but numerous social media users are now convinced that it's her. 'She probably took the job just to see him all day long,' joked one viewer in the comment section of the viral video. 'What if she is purposely doing bad, so that Johnny can win and she actually likes him?' theorized another. Someone else commented, 'I'm convinced she became her lawyer to see him.' 'Even Amber's team are on Johnny's side,' added a different user. Other comments read, 'Wait a damn minute,' and, 'Oh Hell naw, I thought it couldn't get better.' 'I cannot tell you how hard I laughed seeing this,' wrote another person. 'I really hope Amber sees this.' '[Whoever] noticed this is really a genius,' someone else said. Throughout the course of the trial, Bredehoft, along with Heard's other attorney Ben Rottenborn, have received a lot of negative comments online for representing Heard in court. Bredehoft, along with Heard's other attorney Ben Rottenborn, have received a lot of negative comments online for representing Heard in court However, some have defended the lawyer, with one writing that she 'doesn't deserve the horrible online hate' she has gotten 'Law schools will now use Elaine and Rottenborn as an example of how to not act in court!' wrote one person. Another said, 'Rottenborn and Bredehoft have absolutely zero dignity or integrity.' Others accused Bredehoft of 'lying' during her closing statement and 'misrepresenting witnesses and evidence.' However, some have defended the lawyer. 'Can we all agree that Amber's lawyers, at least Elaine Bredehoft, dont deserve the horrible online hate that should only be directed at Amber? They just got hired for a job. Its not personal,' read one tweet. 'I do feel sorry for #ElaineBredehoft Im 1000 per cent team Johnny but apparently Elaine was crying after court and she cant help that she had the worst client a lawyer can get,' added another person. 'What can you do when you have to represent evil? She probably is a great lawyer under normal circumstances.' Uber has released its annual Lost & Found Index that tracks the most bizarre and mundane items its customers have left behind while on a trip - and this year there was some truly hilarious mistakes made. With good times and travel back in full swing it's not surprising that Aussies have been out and about more. But with this comes an element of forgetfulness (and often a feeling of regret). Over the past year Aussies have stepped it up with the weird and wacky items that they've left behind during their Uber trips, including burger buns, a leaf blower, an electric scooter, a SpiderMan costume and a tiny 65 inch TV, just to name a few. Perth takes the crown as the most forgetful Aussie city and the gold star goes to those organised folk in Brisbane for being the least forgetful. With good times and travel back in full swing it's not surprising that Aussies have been out and about more. But with this comes an element of forgetfulness (and often a feeling of regret) One too many drinks at silly season celebrations were likely the cause of heightened forgetfulness last year, with the most forgetful day for Aussies being December 11, peak Christmas party time. 'With travel back in full swing, and with Mercury in retrograde influencing forgetfulness we're back with Uber's annual Lost & Found Index,' said Head of Rider at Uber ANZ Margarita Peker. 'From a prosthetic eye and a sewing machine to a sentimental metal straw and a leaf blower, Aussies and Kiwis have been more forgetful than ever this year. As we continue encouraging the country to get going again, we look forward to helping return these lost items - no matter how bizarre they may be!' The five items that were most commonly left behind included a phone or camera, keys, a wallet or purse, backpack and glasses. The five items that were most commonly left behind included a phone or camera, keys, a wallet or purse, backpack and glasses MOST COMMON ITEMS LEFT BEHIND 1. Phone/camera 2. Keys 3. Wallet/purse 4. Backpack / bag / folders / box / luggage 5. Glasses How to retrieve lost items: 1. Tap 'Your Trips' and select the trip where you left something 2. Scroll down and tap 'Find lost item' 3. Tap 'Contact driver about a lost item' 4. Scroll down and enter the phone number you would like to be contacted at. Tap submit. 5. If your driver picks up and confirms that your item has been found, coordinate a mutually convenient time and place to meet for its return to you. Advertisement STRANGEST ITEMS LEFT BEHIND 1. An adult toy 2. A leaf blower 3. Photo of a koala 4. A very important blonde wig 5. Betty's burgers buns 6. Spider-Man costume 7. Electric scooter 8. Dyson vacuum head attachment 9. A breath testing device 10. Gucci belt 11. Part of a turn table 12. Retainer 13. A sewing machine 14. A brand new 65 inch TV 15. A kettle and toaster Advertisement But there was a selection of wacky items procured for the lost and found pile, with a photo of a koala and a very important blonde wig among them. There was also a breath testing device, electric scooter, Dyson vacuum head attachment, a Gucci belt, part of a turn table, a retainer, a sewing machine, a kettle and a toaster. The best way to retrieve a lost item is to call your driver but if you leave your phone itself in the Uber ride, you can login to your account on a computer. A new mother has gone viral after sharing a video of her giving birth to her son in the Pacific Ocean. Josy Peukert, 37, uploaded a post on Instagram showing how she and her partner, Benni Cornelius, 42, drove to the beach so she could have her baby on the shoreline of Playa Majagual, Nicaragua. She delivered her baby without medical assistance in a so-called 'free birth', after turning down scans throughout her pregnancy. The video of waves crashing into her back as she writhes in pain through contractions has been watched over 200,000 times. Josy said: 'The waves had the same rhythm as the contractions, that smooth flow made me feel really good.' There are no available statistics for how many freebirths take place around the world each year, however the number is believed to be small but growing. The process is fraught with controversy, after a California woman's baby was stillborn in 2018 following a six-day labor with no medical intervention. Josy Peukert, 37, from Nicaragua, has gone viral after sharing a video of her giving birth to her son in the Pacific Ocean Explainng her decision, Josy said: 'I got this idea in my head I wanted to give birth in the ocean and because the conditions were right on the day that's what I did.' When Josy knew her labour was starting, her children went to stay with friends and Benni drove the couple to the beach with a birthing tool kit which included towels, a bowl with a sieve to catch the placenta, gauze and paper towels. Josy said: 'After Bodhi was born and wrapped up in towels I went back into the ocean to freshen up. 'Then I got dressed and we packed everything up and drove home where the three of us got straight into bed. She uploaded a post on Instagram showing how she and her partner, Benni Cornelius, 42, drove to the beach so she could have her baby on the shoreline of Playa Majagual The video of waves crashing into her back as she writhes in pain through contractions has been watched over 200,000 times The mother-of-four says she wanted her baby to be born with no medical intervention because doctors and midwives take away from what the female body can do on its own 'Later that evening we weighed Bodhi with luggage scales, he was 3.5kg or 7lb 6oz.' The mother-of-four says she wanted her baby to be born with no medical intervention because doctors and midwives take away from what the female body can do on its own. She said: 'I wanted to be worry-free for once. 'My first birth was traumatic in a clinic and my second birth was a home birth but by the third even a midwife in my home was too much. 'This time I had no doctors appointments or scans or outside influence. Healthy boy: After the baby boy was born they weighed Bodhi with luggage scales, he was 3.5kg or 7lb 6oz Josy gave birth to a baby boy, Bodhi Amor Ocean Cornelius, on 27 February 2022. He is now 13 weeks old Josy said the waves had the same rhythm as the contractions and that made her 'feel really good' Free birth: She said she had 'no fears or worries' just herself her partner and the waves. It was beautiful 'We didn't have a due date or deadline for the baby to arrive we just trusted that our baby would make its way. 'I had no fears or worries to welcome a new little soul into our lives, just me, my partner and the waves. It was beautiful. 'The soft volcanic sand under me reminded me there is nothing else between heaven and earth just life.' Josy gave birth to a baby boy, Bodhi Amor Ocean Cornelius, on 27 February 2022. He is now 13 weeks old. When Josy knew her labour was starting, her children went to stay with friends and Benni (pictured) drove the couple to the beach She brought a birthing tool kit which included towels, a bowl with a sieve to catch the placenta, gauze and paper towels She said: 'For weeks, I monitored the tide and so when the time was right for me to give birth I knew the beach would be safe for us. 'Bodhi is a really calm and satisfied baby. Everything is wonderful for him if he is in mama's arms. 'He is just as relaxed as he was in my tummy.' Josy and her husband-to be emigrated to Nicaragua from Germany where they met and had their first child together, Marley Mune, now two. Between them, they have seven children. Josy shared a video and birth story on her Instagram page @raggapunzel, where she has 6,800 followers and her video was shared all over the world Smile! New father Benni Cornelius beamed as he posed while sitting on the bonnet of their colourful van Josy posed for a sweet snap inside their van when she was a few months pregnant with their baby boy Bodhi When Bodhi was two days old, Josy shared a video and birth story on her Instagram page @raggapunzel, where she has 6,800 followers and her video was shared all over the world. It has now been seen over 200,000 times. However, after sharing her experience, Josy received some comments of concern and criticism about her choice to free birth in the sea. One commenter asked: 'Is this sanitary? There's a lot of bacteria in the sea.' Another wrote: 'What a shock for that bubba from a warm womb to the cold ocean.' What is a 'free birth'? A free birth or Unassisted Childbirth (UC) refers to when a woman chooses to give birth at home or elsewhere without the assistance of a healthcare professional, according to Doula UK. While the medical profession considers the practice a risk to both mother and baby, the organisation says it's a 'perfectly legal and legitimate informed choice for a woman to make in the UK'. However, article 45 of the Nursing and Midwifery Order it is an offence for any unqualified person to deliver a baby unless it is an emergency. Statistics on the number of UCs in the UK have not been collected by the NHS. In the US, around 7,000 babies are born a year without medical assistance. But it's not clear what portion of these are voluntary free births as the number naturally includes 'births before arrival' where there was no time for medical intervention. On Instagram alone the Freebirth Society of which Lisa was a member has more than 22,000 members. Advertisement Responding to the trolls, she added: 'Bodhi was born in the midday sun when it was about 35 degrees, we weren't worried at all that he'd be cold and I had no concerns about waterborne infections. 'He is perfectly healthy. I did all the research I needed to to make sure it was safe. 'Water is a barrier that is medically proven. 'For me and this baby I wanted to feel completely connected by my own self directed care. 'This pregnancy was the greatest gift we could have imagined and wished for.' However, after sharing her experience, Josy received some comments of concern and criticism about her choice to free birth in the sea Queen Letizia of Spain looked radiant as she stepped off a plane in Nouakchott today, kicking off a trip with the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation. The 49-year-old is in Mauritania to learn about what the Cooperation is doing in the region around health, governance and gender equality, rural development and food security. Upon her arrival, Letizia showed off a practical outfit, donning a red gilet bearing the Cooperation's logo. Underneath, she chose a chic all-white outfit, matching a crisp button-up shirt with straight-legged jeans. She paired her simple outfit with a pair of practical beige boots. The royal complemented her look with a fresh, natural makeup look. She opted for a dewy base with soft peach blush. Her green eyes were lined with a soft, smudged brown liner, and she opted for a glossy pink lip. Queen Letizia of Spain looked stunning today as she stepped off a plane in Nouakchott as part of a trip with the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation The 49-year-old royal looked casual in an all-white ensemble, topped with a red gilet boasting the logo of the Cooperation Her dark brown hair finished off the casual ensemble, flowing down her back in a glossy, straight look. After touching down, the royal was greeted by the country's First Lady, Mariem Fadel Dah, the wife of Mauritanian president, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani. The pair were snapped speaking with locals, including girls who reportedly offered the royal traditional gifts including camel milk and dates. Today's conversation between Mariem Fadel Dah and Queen Letizia marks the second time the pair have met this year. They came together in March after the First Lady and her husband visited Spain's Palacio de la Moncloa, and were received by the Spanish royal couple. Letizia's Nouakchott trip caps a busy few days for the royal, who in recent days has been snapped hosting a lunch at the Royal Palace in Madrid for former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. Just days before, on May 28th, the monarch was photographed in Huesca with her husband King Felipe as the couple celebrated National Armed Forces Day. After touching down, Queen Letizia was greeted by locals, including these girls, who appeared to be offering the royal gifts Letizia's trip, on behalf of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, is expected to highlight some of the work the organisation is doing in the region Upon her arrival, Letizia was greeted by the country's First Lady, Mariem Fadel Dah (pictured, right) the wife of Mauritanian president, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani The appointment marked Letizia's second public appearance since Spain's scandal-hit former King Juan Carlos returned to the country a week, bringing to an end his nearly two-year exile in the Middle East. His daughter Infanta Cristina, 56, was also present. The royal was staying with his close friend Pedro Campos, a former America's Cup sailor, at his home near the Galician resort of Sanxenxo, one of his favourite destinations where he has often been spotted in the past sailing with friends and family. He was expected to remain in the country for a few days, and understood to be meeting members of his family at Zarzuela Palace in Madrid. Spain's disgraced former king King Juan Carlos I (pictured, centre) recently returned to the country after almost two years of exile following a string of scandals Juan Carlos, who was snapped using a stick after arriving back in Spain, is said to have tarnished the reputation of the country's royal family. His son King Felipe has distanced himself from his father to restore public trust in the monarchy Juan Carlos, who ruled from 1975 until his abdication in 2014, left Spain in August 2020 after becoming the target of several probes in Spain and abroad over alleged tax avoidance and questionable dealings in the Middle East. Juan Carlos, 84, flew by private jet from Abu Dhabi to Vigo, in northwest Spain, where he was met by his daughter Elena, 58. His wife Sofia, 83, and son King Felipe, 54, the reigning monarch, were not present. The royal was spotted at the Royal Sailing Club of Sanxenxo, where he sailed alongside his 'Bribo' boat during the regatta of the InterRias trophy of the 6mR class Copa Espana 2022 circuit. In March Spanish state prosecutors paved the way for Juan Carlos' temporary return to Spain by shelving the criminal probes against him, saying any alleged crimes were spent or his Head of State status at the time protected him from prosecution. The decision was taken after he paid millions of pounds in tax regularisations. Felipe and his wife, Queen Letizia, have worked hard to restore public trust in the royal family his father's scandals that have tarnished the reputation of the royal family. Felipe has publicly distanced himself from his father. He failed to meet up with Juan Carlos during an official visit to Abu Dhabi earlier this month to pass on his condolences following the death of the United Arab Emirates' president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan aged 73. Letizia met Felipe VI at a dinner party in 2002, and the pair enjoyed an instant connection, leading to their royal wedding in May 2004. The former newsreader is the granddaughter of a taxi driver and the eldest daughter of Jesus Jose Ortiz Alvarez, a journalist, and first wife Maria de la Paloma Rocasolano Rodriguez, a nurse and hospital union representative. She attended public high school and did a degree at the Complutense University of Madrid. She later gained an MA in Audiovisual Journalism at the Institute for Studies in Audiovisual Journalism. While she doesn't carry out official duties, Princess Eugenie is stepping into the spotlight this week as she joins in celebrations to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. The daughter of the Duke of York headed to the V&A Museum this morning to view the Queen's Jubilee Emblem Display, and meet with Edward Roberts, the winner of the emblem design competition. The Jubilee Emblem design competition, which was run by the V&A and Buckingham Palace, called on young people aged between 13 and 25 to design an emblem to signify the Queen's unprecedented 70-year reign. A panel of experts including designers, artists, and a representative from the Royal Household picked Edward Roberts as the winning designer, with his emblem featured throughout the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Princess Eugenie headed to the V&A Museum this morning to view the Queen's Jubilee Emblem Display The V&A visit s a fitting engagement for art buff Eugenie who is a director at Mayfair gallery Hauser & Wirth The submissions are now all on show at the emblem exhibition, which started today at the V&A, and will run until June 15th. Meeting the competition winner was a fitting engagement for art buff Eugenie who is a director at Mayfair gallery Hauser & Wirth. The mother-of-one, 32, looked chic in a moon and star-print navy dress from Whistles, costing 149, which she previously wore to the Lord Mayor's Big Curry Lunch in April 2018. The visit follows an article published in The Spectator today, in which Eugenie payed tribute to her beloved 'Grannie' to mark her 70-year reign. She said she hoped her one-year-old son August would grow to have the Queen's 'patience, her calmness and her kindness while always being able to laugh at himself and keep a twinkle in his eye'. Eugenie's recycled 149 Whistles dress, featuring a galaxy print on a navy blue background, showed off her toned legs During the appointment, Eugenie met Edward Roberts (pictured, left), the winner of The Queen's Jubilee Emblem Competition Conversation: Eugenie appeared to be enthralled by the young competition designer, as the pair chatted during the appointment Edward's winning design (pictured) featured a crown motif on a purple background, as well as the number '70' to represent the seven decade reign, and the date She described the nation's longest-reigning monarch as having transcended time and been 'a constant rock for so many'. Reflecting on her 'own special little family' with the arrival of August, who was born in February last year, Eugenie said: 'I think of my grannie and what she has stood for, for so many people and for our family during these 70 years. 'I'd love Augie to have her patience, her calmness and her kindness, while always being able to laugh at himself and keep a twinkle in his eye.' Eugenie and her sister Beatrice will not appear on the balcony at Buckingham Palace tomorrow at Trooping The Colour after the Queen was forced to shave the numbers to 'those members of the royal family who are currently undertaking official public duties on behalf of the Queen'. Animated: Eugenie was pictured chatting animatedly with other gallery attendees, as they surveyed the competition entries Tim Reeve, Deputy Director of V&A, showed the royal around the gallery, with the pair appearing to be deep in conversation The royal, who is well known as an art buff, appeared to be in her element as she took in the art work on display Eugenie seemed delighted to get stuck in, discussing the different competition entries for the Platinum Jubilee emblem However, expectations have been made for her great-granchildren Louis, Charlotte and George and Princess Anne's husband. It's likely Eugenie will, however, join the family at the service of thanksgiving for the Queen at St Paul's on Friday, alongside the Duke and Duchess of Sussex who are flying in from California with their two children. And she will be spotted again on Sunday attending one of the Big Jubilee Lunches with her sister Princess Beatrice. The Queen's cousin has shared a glimpse into Her Majesty's childhood with her family as he shared photographs of the monarch as a child from his private photo album. Sir Simon Bowes-Lyon, 89, is the son of Sir David Bowes-Lyon whose eldest sister Lady Elizabeth was the Queen Mother, making him a first cousin of the monarch, 96. As a child, then Princess-Elizabeth, or Lilibet as she was affectionately called by her father, often visited the family home in St Paul's Walden Bury. Ahead of the Jubilee celebrations, Sir Simon shared a selection of snaps from his family albums with the BBC, showing the Queen as a young child playing in the grounds of the house. The Queen's cousin has shared a glimpse into Her Majesty's childhood with her family as he shared photographs of the monarch as a child from his private photo album In other photographs, the monarch can be seen cuddling up for a shot with her younger sister Princess Margaret In one black-and-white snap, the future monarch can be seen as a baby sitting in a pram on the driveway up to the house. Dressed in a bonnet and dress, she beams at the camera with apparent joy. Meanwhile in other undated photographs, she snuggles up for a shot with her younger sister Princess Margaret. In another, she and her sister can be seen posing while riding on a rocking horse in the house. In one black-and-white snap, the future monarch can be seen as a baby sitting in a pram on the driveway up to the house Elsewhere in an interview, Sir Simon showed the BBC royal reporter Nicholas Witchell a wall upon which were marked the heights of the princesses as they grew up. The photographs were revealed ahead of the Queen's Jubilee celebrations, which kick off tomorrow with Trooping the Colour, Sources close to the Queen indicated it is becoming 'increasingly unlikely' she will make the trip to Epsom Derby on Saturday during the four-day celebrations next weekend that will mark her 70 year reign. A special Jubilee Pageant will then take place on Sunday through the streets of London to wrap up the four-day celebrations. In the photographs, the Queen can be seen with her sister Princess Margaret (left) as well as with her mother, Queen Elizabeth whose younger brother was Sir Simon's father (right) In a surprise twist, the Queen could also meet her great-granddaughter Lillibet for the first time on Saturday - when she turns one - with Harry and Meghan jetting into London from California to take part in the four-day celebrations. However the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, along with Prince Andrew, will not appear on the Royal Balcony when the Queen is set to delight royal fans by making an appearance during Trooping the Colour. The monarch plans to put on a show of the resilience that has come to mark her record-breaking reign after vowing to make two appearances on the Buckingham Palace balcony on Thursday, the first day of her Jubilee celebrations. Elsewhere in an interview, Sir Simon showed the BBC royal reporter Nicholas Witchell a wall upon which were marked the heights of the princesses as they grew up The photographs were revealed ahead of the Queen's Jubilee celebrations, which kick off tomorrow with Trooping the Colour The appearances which come despite recent mobility problems will take place during Her Majestys official Birthday Parade, the start of the four-day bank holiday weekend. A Royal source said: The Queen is determined to take part in the Jubilee celebrations. Trooping was brought forward by one week to be part of the Jubilee this year and the Queen very much wants to be part of it. Crowds are expected to line the Mall to watch as the colour or flag is trooped by the 1st Battalion Irish Guards plus more than 1,500 officers and soldiers from the Household Division. The Chinese military said on Wednesday it had conducted a combat "readiness patrol" in the seas and airspace around Taiwan recently, saying it was necessary to respond to "collusion" between Washington and Taipei. Over the past two years, China has bolstered its military actions around Taiwan, which it claims as its territory. The United States' recent declaration of support for Taiwan has enraged China, according to Reuters. Last week, US President Joe Biden infuriated China by appearing to suggest a shift in the US policy of "strategic ambiguity" on Taiwan by declaring the US would take military action if China attacked the island. There had been no change in policy, according to US officials. The People's Liberation Army Eastern Theatre Command released a statement saying that a "readiness patrol" has taken place around Taiwan lately. It says the measure was "a necessary action against U.S.-Taiwan collusion" since recently Washington has "frequently made moves on the Taiwan issue.... instigating support for Taiwan independence forces." The command warned that such action by the US "will push Taiwan into a dangerous situation." Taiwan is a part of China, and Chinese troops are continuing to improve military training and preparations to "thwart" external meddling and acts by people who favor Taiwan's independence, according to the statement. China Continues To Bully Taiwan The statement did not mention the exact date of the military exercise. Though, Taiwan reported Monday that China sent 30 military aircraft into the island's air defense zone. According to Taipei's defense ministry, the recent Chinese military incursion was the largest since January, per an Al Jazeera report. Taiwan has protested about similar flights in its Air Defense Identification Zone, or ADIZ, on several occasions. No shots have been fired, and the Chinese planes have been flying in Taiwan's ADIZ, a larger area that Taiwan monitors and patrols to give it more time to respond to any threats. Read Also: European Leaders Agree on Russian Oil Embargo After Months of Discussions Taiwan argues that only its people have the power to decide the island's fate, rejecting China's claims of sovereignty. While Taiwan's government seeks peace, it has declared that it will defend itself if needed. Meanwhile, Taiwan announced that it seeks to deepen trade and economic relations with the US. According to two senior Taiwanese government officials, there will be talks between the two governments "in a few weeks." US, Taiwan Set To Bolster Economic Ties CNN reported that the upcoming discussions aim to explore concrete ways to deepen the US-Taiwan trade and investment relationship." The officials added that the talks would focus on institutionalizing cooperation on labor, supply chain flexibility, environment, labor, and sustainable progress. According to a senior official, a formal announcement will be made after coordination and consultations. The White House, on the other hand, has remained silent on Taiwan's declaration. Taiwan may send a delegation to the SelectUSA meeting in Maryland in June, according to a senior US government official. The summit encourages foreign companies to invest in the United States. Taipei was left out of President Joe Biden's Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), a regional economic plan launched earlier this week in Tokyo. The framework is Biden's attempt to engage a region with a growing Chinese influence. In the traditional sense, the IPEF is not a trade agreement. It comprises a "pillar" linked to trade, as well as other sectors such as strengthening supply chains, developing sustainable energy, and fighting corruption. Related Article: Turkey Still Blocks Finland, Sweden From Joining NATO Despite Pressure From the Military Alliance @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands unleashed her inner daredevil as she skydived out of a plane on Wednesday. The Dutch royal, 51, stepped out of her comfort zone during her visit to the Defence Parachute School in Breda. She looked the picture of confidence as she glided back down to solid ground with a member of the armed forces. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands unleashed her inner daredevil as she skydived out of a plane on Wednesday during her visit to the Defence Parachute School in Breda She looked the part in a navy jumpsuit and padded gloves as she made her landing. The mother-of-three beamed after the adrenaline filled activity, even fist pumping her instructor. Her blonde locks were swept back into a pony tail and despite jumping from a plane her makeup still looked immaculate. The parachute training courses are primarily intended for the Commando Corps, the Marine Corps and 11 Airmobile Brigade. The Dutch royal, 51, looked the picture of confidence as she glided back down to solid ground with a member of the armed forces Looking good! She really stepped out of her comfort zone during her visit to the training centre Her blonde locks were swept back into a pony tail and despite jumping from a plane her makeup still looked immaculate The mother-of-three beamed after the adrenaline filled activity as she made her way back to the centre Maxima was in her element after the jump and appeared to be in a jovial mood as she made her way home Since 2008, the Defence Parachute School has provided all the parachute training within the armed forces. In contrast Maxima was the picture of elegance last week as she stepped out in a stylish shirt dress for a university visit. The royal was typically chic in a relaxed white midi dress as she visited the University of Applied Sciences Leiden. Since 2008, the Defence Parachute School has provided all the parachute training within the armed forces Daredevil! The royal even fist pumped her instructor and beamed with relief after the terrifying activity She appeared in high spirits after the jump as an army member disconnected her harness from the parachute Maxima appeared in high spirits as she arrived at the vocational university in the western Netherlands, located in the city of Leiden. After receiving a warm-welcome from university staff, the royal met with undergraduates at the university to discuss the welfare of students in further education. Leiden University and the Dutch Royal Family maintain ties that go back to 1575, when William of Orange founded the University. Fun day! Maxima was strapped to an instructor for the jump and the pair landed safely in a field The armed forces helped the brave royal to her feet after she landed in a field near the training centre During her work visit the royal got a safety demonstration in the centre before she got into her jumpsuit A member of the armed forces explained to the royal how the equipment works and showed her what she will need for her jump The armed forces demonstrated how the skydive would go and showed Maxima how to parachute Maxima posed for a picture with the parachute team in front of the plane before taking to the sky's Many members of the Royal Family - including Maxima's husband King Willem-Alexander have studied in Leiden and several have received an honorary doctorate. Leiden is the oldest university in the Netherlands, and the alma mater of Willem-Alexander's mother Queen Beatrix, as well as the sixth US president John Quincy Adams. Maxima last visited the university over video call in April 2021, where she spoke to pupils, students and teaching staff about the challenges of online learning. She looked windswept after after the terrifying jump but still managed to keep a smile on her face Let's go! The Royal appeared to be in great spirits as she beamed while sitting in the plane before take off The parachute training courses are primarily intended for the Commando Corps, the Marine Corps and 11 Airmobile Brigade From sharing a tot of rum with EastEnders favourite Patrick Trueman to discussing family-run market stalls with Martin Fowler, fans have been given a further look at Prince Charles and Camilla's cameo in the British soap. EastEnders royalty Danny Dyer welcomed the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall to Albert Square in a special episode in honour of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Charles and Camilla surprised the residents of Walford after Mick Carter, played by Dyer, decided to throw a street party for the Square in celebration of the monarch's 70-year reign. The partygoers are left in disbelief when the royal couple pull up in a car outside The Queen Vic pub, greeted by Mick and Linda Carter, played by Kellie Bright. Before introducing Charles and Camilla to the residents, Dyer says: 'Welcome to Walford.' In the episode, which will air on Thursday, Charles is introduced to greengrocer Martin Fowler, played by James Bye who explains the history of his market stall dating back generations in his family who have lived on the Square. EastEnders royalty Danny Dyer welcomed the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall to Albert Square in a special episode in honour of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee In one scene, Camilla points out the 'nice little bottle' of rum from Trinidad that Patrick is holding. In unison, they say: 'A drop a day keeps the doctor away', causing the cast to laugh along with them Charles said: 'That's the wonderful thing about London, all the different markets and stalls where people inherit them over the generations.' The Prince of Wales said: 'You lip-read very well' when introduced to Frankie Lewis, played by Rose Ayling-Ellis, and commented: 'I don't know how you keep this lot in order,' to police officer Jack Branning, played by Scott Maslen. Camilla shook hands with fan favourite Shrimpy, played by Ben Champniss, and 'speechless' Harvey Monroe played by Ross Boatman. She was also introduced to 'legend of the square' Patrick Trueman, played by Rudolph Walker, and points out the 'nice little bottle' of rum from Trinidad that Patrick is holding. In unison, they say: 'A drop a day keeps the doctor away,' causing the residents to laugh along with them. Patrick then asks the duchess if he can interest her in a tot of rum before she leaves, to which Camilla agrees, as the cast cheer in the background. He later asks to pour a dribble into Charles' cup of tea, to which he replies: 'I thought you'd never ask.' The Prince of Wales, 73, and the Duchess of Cornwall (pictured cutting a cake), 74, will appear in Thursday's show to surprise the residents of Albert Square at a street party held in honour of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee One scene sees Linda Carter, played by Kellie Bright, guiding Charles (pictured centre) through the square The royal couple also met the soap's iconic characters Stacey Slater, played by Lacey Turner, and Sonia Fowler, played by Natalie Cassidy. At the end of the episode, Dyer's character shares a toast to Her Majesty the Queen and 'to all the people up and down the country doing exactly the same thing as us, celebrating'. The EastEnders star discovered in 2016 that he is related to Thomas Cromwell, Edward III, William the Conqueror and Henry III during filming for Who Do You Think You Are? The royal couple filmed the scenes in March when they visited the new Elstree set and met the cast and crew of the long-running BBC soap opera. In 2001, the Queen visited soap queen Dame Barbara Windsor, who played Peggy Mitchell, on the EastEnders set. The royal visitor stepped behind the bar at the Queen Vic, strolled around Albert Square and through the EastEnders street market, meeting stars of the show. The special Jubilee episode featuring Charles and Camilla is due to air on June 2. Sharp blonde bob, lashings of red lipstick, a smart white linen trouser suit and trademark pink stilettos. As GMTVs new political correspondent, I had dressed to impress. I was going for a politically-minded Uma Thurman and thought Id pulled it off. That was until the female producer asked loudly in front of the whole office: So what was your last job a hairdresser? The sniggers around the newsroom told me this wasnt friendly banter, but a barb intent on branding me a fluffed-up bimbo. Back then, more than 20 years ago, intelligent women were confined to brown cardies and loafers. It wasnt the first time Id been labelled a bimbo because of my sartorial choices. Nor that someone had underestimated me on account of my penchant for pink. L-R: Sunny Andrea, Rachel Rounds, Jen Parker. Rachel Rounds explains why she thinks it's good to subvert the notion of how successful, intelligent women should present themselves and reclaiming the word Bimbo is great Ill never forget when, upon learning where I went to university, a colleague gasped: What, you went to Oxford? As if women couldnt dress like me and have a brain. I have always liked to be glamorous. Although I didnt have the cash to splash on skin treatments and manicures, I did dye my deep brown hair blonde at Oxford. I wanted to see what would happen when men were faced with peroxide and brains in one neat package. It didnt always work in my favour and the bimbo label really stung. Now 51, Im past caring what others think. And Im delighted to learn that a new generation of unashamedly girly girls are reclaiming the term. Young women who love dressing up are defiantly calling themselves bimbos and refusing to be written off or belittled for their preferences. Some are winning huge social media followings as a result. Type #Bimbo into TikTok and youll see a host of cute 20-something babes with pink hair, embracing a very specific brand of hyper-femininity, telling you: I dont do it for the misogynistic male gaze. Even Carol Vordermans been called a bimbo Take American Chrissy Chlapecka, 21, who wears her pastel hair extensions and dramatic make-up with pride, cooing into the camera with a baby voice for her four million followers. British bimbo Kate Muir whose TikTok handle is @bimbokate says she aims to reverse the fetishisation of femininity and tackle gender oppression. That might sound distinctly counterproductive at first, but as a woman who has so often been written off as a bimbo, I can see the appeal of reclaiming the term. Admittedly, Im not sure Chrissy and her young followers can truly understand the venom behind the word bimbo. Ive always known bimbo is just a lazy term used by inadequate men and some spiteful, jealous women. But I also saw firsthand how it could hurt: so many women of my generation were forced to change what they wore, just to be taken seriously enough to pursue their chosen careers. Even the most brilliant women had it used against them for the most superficial of reasons. Cambridge graduate Carol Vorderman has been called a bimbo for her dress sense. And actress Kate Beckinsale, who has an IQ of 152 and read Russian literature at Oxford, says she was labelled a bimbo after she wore leather pants in the film Underworld. It strikes me as a way of writing someone off when you dont want to fight them on fair terms. And Im glad thats something young women are finally seeing through. Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde. The film marked a major victory in the war of labelling all blondes as dumb In 2022, a self-proclaimed bimbo is bright, switched on, engaged in the world around her and also happens to wear the flutteriest false eyelashes, pink stilettos and platinum blonde hair. Of course, therell be feminists who object to this pink and perky definition of femininity but I think its good to subvert the notion of how successful, intelligent women should present themselves. Ive always stayed true to my fashion sense. These days I am known as the shoe queen as I have heels and boots in every colour. My wardrobe rail recently snapped in half due to the sheer weight of clothing. It takes me about an hour to get ready in the morning and I dont like to leave the house without my make-up looking pristine. Although I dont spend a fortune, as I mix high end with High Street, I have never compromised on the way I look just to make other people feel more comfortable. So Im glad theres a wider cultural movement to embrace those historically written off as bimbos. Such is the rise of the trend that next year sees the release of the highly-anticipated Barbie movie with Margot Robbie starring as the embodiment of all things bimbo. Its director, Greta Gerwig, wrote and directed the critically acclaimed films Little Women and Lady Bird, both nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. In the film, Barbie goes on an adventure beyond Barbieland, only to discover perfection is on the inside. At work I met cabinet ministers and even the PM but I never stinted on short skirts and stilettos Meanwhile Legally Blonde a film that marked a major victory in the war against labelling all blondes as dumb is about to get a third instalment in the franchise, with Reese Witherspoon reprising her role as lawyer Elle Woods. As a child, I was academic and studied hard but my biggest influence was Molly Ringwald from the hit film, Pretty In Pink. I was desperate to be a make-up artist and loved trying out new looks on myself and my friends. The experimentation on my hair and clothes expanded from there. My mum was generally appalled by my outfits. She was a teacher and flamboyant dressing was never an option in a classroom full of adolescents. I guess growing up in a conservative household made me want to dress differently. I have to thank my female Oxford tutors for teaching me that women could be anyone or anything we wanted regardless of how we dressed. One friend wore leather shorts and fishnet stockings for most of her time there and they never berated her. Thats not to say I escaped the particular brand of misogyny that insists on pigeon-holing pretty young women. The year before I graduated, I went to the Union building to hear a Central Television executive give a speech about how to develop a career in TV. I had a burning ambition to be a political correspondent so at the end hung around, hoping for an introduction. He took me for tea at The Randolph Hotel, but turned to me with a lecherous smile and said: Have you thought about being a weather girl? He wasnt the first or the last man to take my glam approach to dressing as a come on. Long before the days of #MeToo, Ive had bosses push me into their offices, Oxford tutors try to kiss me, drunken TV bosses offer me jobs before theyve even spoken to me. It just made me all the more determined to succeed at my career on my terms. But I wasnt putting on a brown cardigan to ward off men, because in my eyes that would mean theyd won. Margot Robbie in the new Barbie film. In the film, Barbie goes on an adventure beyond Barbieland, only to discover perfection is on the inside Not all men are like that though. The lovely men I dated were proud of my femininity and brains. Far from wanting me to change, they told me never to alter who I was. In 1994, I started my first job in television as a political researcher on a Channel 4 progamme called A Week In Politics. I met many cabinet ministers and the odd Prime Minister and didnt stint on short skirts and stilettos. I loved looking like a woman and couldnt see why a serious job meant dressing in dowdy suits without make-up. It wasnt until three years later, when I was a political producer for Channel 4 News and shared a desk in the House of Commons, that my female boss told me to lose the short skirts. Rachel, no one will take you seriously wearing them, which is a pity because you have a great brain. I wasnt putting on a brown cardigan to ward off men I was flabbergasted. For the first time in my life, I felt ashamed about my appearance. Looking back, I can see she was trying to protect me from the bimbo label. But it stung. I begrudgingly toned down the skirts by a few inches and lost the red lipstick for a while. In 2000, I progressed to the role of political correspondent at GMTV. It was a tough gig. You were expected to look pristine at 6am, outside Downing Street, in all weather, while explaining Gordon Browns latest budget, and woe betide you if you didnt. The editor yelled at me once because I had chipped nail varnish on screen. There was always pressure to be better than our male colleagues, who seemed to bluster their way through a live interview while any woman who made a tiny mistake would be pilloried. I went on to work in the charity sector and, two years ago, I started my own communications business. Its an unexpected relief to be able to wear exactly what I like without the disapproving stares of management who simply dont know how to handle me. Of course Im not the only woman whos felt pressure to dial down her femininity and is now thrilled that its suddenly acceptable to be a modern bimbo. Jen Parker, 36, lives with her husband and their daughters Lily, five, and Amber, three, in Leicestershire. She runs her own book publishing business, Fuzzy Flamingo. She says: I have always adored the colour pink, make-up and dressing up, but I also have strong ambitions. Yet she always knew that strangers would see me with blonde hair and a big chest and make snap judgments. She explains: At school the boys used to tell bimbo jokes in front of me and thought it was hilarious. And I was regularly patronised by customers of the pub I worked in while studying at university. I felt judged all the time and had very low self-esteem. But she adds: I feel much more confident in my own skin now and like to dress well. And I dont believe I should compromise on how I look or behave. Paris Hilton. Women shouldn't have to dress in dowdy suits to get on in their career and if they want to wear make up and pink then they should be able to Recently I attended a business awards show wearing a bespoke pink dress it was bright, there were feathers on the corset area and yes, I looked fabulous. One of my idols is Marilyn Monroe. She was the ultimate bimbo, but she was far from stupid. She used her ditziness as a weapon to secure roles. When the word bimbo was meant as a judgment, I ran away from it. But today bimbo means owning my sexuality and sensuality and Im happy to claim it as part of me. Growing up, Jen was made to feel as if she had to choose between my brains and my love of femininity. I started to study less in order to avoid the labels of geek and swot. I felt like I should play down my abilities. Then at university I went the opposite way. I didnt try as hard with how I looked and focused more on study. Now Ive reached a much happier balance where I can enjoy dressing up and taking care of myself, but also work hard. I love making the best of myself every day. Pink, often stigmatised as a bimbo colour, is such a huge part of my personal and business branding. I wear the colour every day, and my office is well and truly flamingoed. Model and actress Sunny Andrea, 39, also says she is proud to use the word bimbo. She lives in Northamptonshire with her husband Danny, whos Peter Andres brother, and their two children, Hari, six, and Lena, 11 months. She says: Everything from my shoes to the clothes in my wardrobe, the hues in my make-up bag, my nails even my wedding ring are all fabulous shades of pink. Rachel (pictured) says there is a joy to embracing your innate femininity, rather than behaving as if you are ashamed of it I used to work in the financial services industry, which was very male dominated. As a woman on the trading floor, theyd automatically assume I was a doll they could treat how they wanted but I showed them how wrong they were. My independence and confidence always shone through. Its outrageous, when you think about it, that being very feminine is associated with stupidity. There are still people who think pretty girls must have no brains. Why on earth shouldnt an intelligent woman be feminine? Monroe was the ultimate bimbo... but far from stupid As for the dumb reputation the colour pink has? Please! Pink has connotations of femininity, positivity and compassion and Im not embarrassed by any of those qualities. Im a mum, Im proud, independent and a girly girl inside and out. Embracing your femininity shows you have oodles of confidence, too, because not everyone can pull it off, especially when some people still try to write you off as a result. Im proof you can look like this and still get on. I dress my 11-month-old daughter in pink, girly clothes and would be furious if anyone judged her for that. I know how much happiness and positivity femininity has brought me in my own life and I want to pass it on. I quite agree. There is a joy to embracing your innate femininity, rather than behaving as if you are ashamed of it. And by reclaiming this term of belittlement, weve ensured it no longer has the power to hurt us. So Im delighted the bimbo is back on her own terms. Elon Musk's go-to interview question a tricky math riddle with multiple answers has stumped TikTok after being shared by a math influencer. Tanya Zakowich, who is known as @pinkpencilmath on the platform, explained in her now-viral video that the billionaire would ask candidates to solve this brainteaser during interviews at SpaceX before posing the question to viewers. 'Youre standing on the surface of the Earth. You walk one mile south, one mile west, and one mile north. You end up exactly where you started. Where are you?' she asked. Scroll down for video Elon Musk's favorite interview question is a tricky math riddle with multiple answers Tanya Zakowich, who is known as @pinkpencilmath on TikTok, asked viewers to solve Musk's go-to brainteaser in a now-viral video Many people didn't know what to make of the riddle and assumed it was a trick question when they shared their guesses. 'Exactly where you started on the surface of the Earth,' one person responded, while someone else joked, 'SpaceX at Tesla that's where you are.' 'Bermuda Triangle! Stuff disappears there, so I figure all sense of direction was lost,' another deduced. One TikTok user shared a more philosophical answer, writing, 'You ended up in [a] better place than you were before, because you took action. You didn't stay where you were.' 'Youre standing on the surface of the Earth. You walk one mile south, one mile west, and one mile north. You end up exactly where you started. Where are you?' she asked Many TikTok users were stumped when Zakowich posed the question and guessed everything from the 'Bermuda Triangle' to the 'surface of the Earth' Zakowich never shared the answer to the riddle, but it is widely known after being featured in Ashlee Vances 2015 authorized biography 'Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future.' The SpaceX founder and CEO personally interviewed nearly all of the space manufacturer's first one thousand workers in the early years, including janitors, according to the book via CNBC. Musk, now 50, continued to interview engineers as the company grew and used his favorite riddle to see how prospective employees' minds worked. There are multiple answers to the riddle, but the first and most common correct response is the North Pole. The reasoning was explained by Popular Mechanics when the brainteaser was featured as the publication's 'Riddle of the Week' in 2017. There are multiple answers to the riddle, but the first and most common correct response is the North Pole. The second is the South Pole Ashlee Vance explained in his 2015 biography 'Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future' that the Tesla CEO cares more about the person's approach to problem-solving than the answer itself 'If you are standing directly on the north pole and you walk one mile south, then one mile west, then one mile north, you will arrive back at the North Pole,' according to the magazine. However, candidates who named the North Pole aren't given much time to celebrate figuring out the riddle because Musk will reportedly follow up and ask, 'Where else could it be?' The second answer is the South Pole, but fewer engineers give this answer, according to Vance's biography. 'Imagine a circle with a one-mile circumference that has the South Pole at its center. If you were to start one mile north of this circle, you would travel one mile south, one mile west all the way around the circle, and then one mile north back to your starting point,' Popular Mechanics explained. There were a number of people who figured out the correct answer on TikTok Most people who gave the correct answer on TikTok said the North Pole, but there were some who noted that the South Pole is also correct. 'There are a few solutions,' one person noted. 'One is the North Pole but also anywhere 1 mile north of a place close to the South Pole.' 'North or South Pole,' someone else added. Another answered, 'Anywhere 1 mile from the South Pole.' However, the TikTok users who came up with more creative solutions will be happy to know that Musk wouldn't disqualify them for getting the answer wrong. Vance explained in his biography that the Tesla CEO cares more about the person's approach to problem-solving than the answer itself. Kamala Harris' model stepdaughter Ella Emhoff dressed up as a bear for a brand new Mulberry campaign. To mark the opening of its Wooster Street flagship store in New York City, the British fashion company - which is best known for its luxury leather goods, particularly women's handbags - released a brand new zine called 'Softie.' Ella, 22, was photographed by Luisa Opalesky for the campaign, which featured her walking down the streets of Manhattan while donning a giant bear head. She wore a black pants suit for the shoot, and accessorized the look with one of Mulberry's Softie bags. Kamala Harris' model stepdaughter Ella Emhoff dressed up as a bear for a brand new Mulberry campaign To mark the opening of its Wooster Street flagship store in New York City, the British fashion company released a brand new zine called 'Softie' Ella, 22, was photographed by Luisa Opalesky for the campaign, which featured her walking down the streets of Manhattan while donning a giant bear head The model - who signed with major agency IMG not long after she went viral with her quirky inauguration ensemble - showed off her tattoos in one image that showed her clutching a bag Other shots showed her cradling the white purse in a pink, polka dot dress. While a third featured her in a black gown, holding a red Mulberry bag. Posing with an enormous fake animal on your head isn't as easy as it looks - especially because Ella admitted that she couldn't see anything in the costume. 'I couldnt see anything and just had to rely on people pulling me around and listening to Luisas voice,' she said to Vogue Runway recently. The model and designer recalled the photographer 'climbing on basically anything she could' and 'falling to the floor' to get the 'perfect angle' of her during the shoot, but admitted that the 'best shots' came more naturally. 'Some of the best shots we got came when we were just walking around or heading to the next location,' she recalled. Ella is based in New York and she paid tribute to the city and the 'amazing people doing really cool things' who live here while speaking about her new campaign She admitted that the 'best shots' came more naturally, telling Vogue Runway, 'Some of the best shots we got came when we were just walking around or heading to the next location' Ella made her runway debut at the Proenza Schouler show during New York Fashion Week in early 2021, after signing with modeling agency IMG The 22-year-old - who is the daughter of the vice president's husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, and his first wife, Kerstin - was skyrocketed into fashion fame when she wore a Miu Miu tartan coat with crystal-encrusted shoulders and a wide collar over a burgundy Batsheva dress during President Joe Biden's inauguration in January 2021. She then made her runway debut at the Proenza Schouler show during New York Fashion Week in early 2021, after signing with modeling agency IMG. At the time, IMG president Ivan Bart gushed that she represented 'authenticity,' telling the New York Times, 'Ella communicates this moment in time. Theres a cheekiness and a joy she exudes.' Later that year, she released her own knitwear collaboration with Batsheva, which sold out in minutes. She also starred in her first Vogue shoot, celebrated her graduation from Parsons School of Design, and walked in Balenciaga's show in Paris throughout 2021. The 22-year-old is the daughter of the vice president's husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, and his first wife, Kerstin. She is pictured with her dad, Kamala, and brother She was skyrocketed into fashion fame when she wore a Miu Miu tartan coat with crystal-encrusted shoulders during President Joe Biden's inauguration in January 2021 (pictured) Later that year, she released her own knitwear collaboration with Batsheva, which sold out in minutes. She is pictured with her step mom She also starred in her first Vogue shoot and celebrated her graduation from Parsons School of Design throughout 2021. She is pictured with her step mom (left) and father (right) She has gained a lot of attention online for not shaving her armpit hair, previously posing for crochet brand Memorial Day while showing off her unshaved pits. Ella grew up in Los Angeles, California, but after heading to New York for school, she fell in love with the Big Apple. 'I wasnt expecting to stay after college, but after creating a really strong community and life here, I couldnt leave,' she told Vogue Runway. 'What initially drew me to New York was the freedom that I felt people had here, especially in the way people dress and present themselves. 'I always felt a little embarrassed in LA expressing myself in the way that I wanted. Except for when I was in middle school. I really went for it then. 'Theres so many amazing people doing really cool things [in the city]. Its hard to not want to surround yourself with it at all times.' A young model who has grown her luscious locks a staggering one-metre long has revealed her nightly routine that helps stimulate growth. The 23-year-old from Sydney, who calls herself 'The Aussie Rapunzel', starts by applying rosemary oil to her scalp before using the Rapunzel Rescue Scalp Massager to gently bring blood flow to the area. The idea that rosemary oil encourages hair growth comes from the fact it has anti-inflammatory properties, promotes nerve growth and improves circulation. From there the blonde bombshell lightly ties her hair into a low bun and places a silk turban around her head, so none of the hair snags on her pillow throughout the night. She has also offered suggestions about shampooing and conditioning her long locks in the shower. The 23-year-old from Sydney , who calls herself 'The Aussie Rapunzel', starts by applying rosemary oil to her scalp before using the Rapunzel Rescue Scalp Massager to gently bring blood flow to the area Rather than applying the product directly onto her roots, she massaged it between her hands for a few seconds then ran it through her hair 'If you have super oily hair, you might be shampooing incorrectly,' she said on TikTok. Rather than applying the product directly onto her roots, she massaged it between her hands for a few seconds then ran it through her hair. She claims this 'breaks down all oils and dirt', leaving the hair feeling fresher for longer. 'A lot of people don't do this but it's such a simple thing that can be a game changer,' she said. 'Most have found this to be more effective for eliminating oily hair than directly applying it.' She has also offered suggestions about shampooing and conditioning her long locks in the shower The idea that rosemary oil encourages hair growth comes from the fact it has anti-inflammatory properties, promotes nerve growth and improves circulation In a separate video, she shared a lesser-known tip when conditioning your hair. While in the shower you should always 'ring out' the water from the ends before applying the product. The Aussie Rapunzel claims this allows the conditioner to 'penetrate' the strands and leave the hair feeling 'soft and silky'. 'I also leave my conditioner on for at least three minutes,' she said in the clip. The Aussie Rapunzel claims this allows the conditioner to 'penetrate' the strands and leave the hair feeling 'soft and silky' You should always 'ring out' the water from the ends before applying the product. The Aussie Rapunzel claims this allows the conditioner to 'penetrate' the strands and leave the hair feeling 'soft and silky' The Aussie Rapunzel previously told FEMAIL it takes 30 minutes to wash her hair and she prefers to dry it naturally which often takes between three to four hours. She admits her haircare is 'high maintenance' as she has to be 'gentle and patient' when brushing it and also implements heatless hair styling tactics found on social media. 'My hair is actually very heavy so it's hard to style but my go-to hairstyles are a slick back ponytail or recently I have been trying heat-less curls using a robe tie to curl my hair,' she said. The trick involves wrapping damp hair around a thin robe tie and leaving it to set for a few hours to create the curl formation. 'The results are amazing and it is the only way I can get curls to hold all day.' An Australian fashion brand sold out of a $69.99 tank top in a day after model and mother Emily Ratajkowski wore it while leaving the airport for the Cannes Film Festival. Emily was spotted in DISSH's Aria Black Knit Tank last week, a matching pair of black trousers and a jumper tied around her waist after leaving the airport en route to the red carpet. DISSH told FEMAIL the design sold out in record time as a result but will be restocked in June as a core winter piece in the upcoming knitwear collection. Emily was spotted in DISSH's Aria Black Knit Tank last week, a matching pair of black trousers and a jumper tied around her waist after leaving the airport en route to the red carpet DISSH told FEMAIL the design sold out in record time as a result but will be restocked in June as a core winter piece in the upcoming knitwear collection It features a ribbed knit fabrication, is sleeveless, has a high straight neckline and can easily be slipped over the head. This isn't the first time DISSH has been noticed for its simple and elegant designs. A whimsical white linen mini dress has become the ultimate cocktail outfit this summer with hundreds of women spotted wearing the design at engagement parties and wedding rehearsals. An Australian fashion brand sold out of a $69.99 tank top in a day after model and mother Emily Ratajkowski wore it while leaving the airport for the Cannes Film Festival Aptly named 'Aisle White Linen Bow Mini Dress' the $189.99 gown sold at DISSH has quickly asserted itself as a top seller, although it's currently sold out. Featuring a statement tie-up bow at both shoulders, a fold over neckline and voluminous circle skirt the dress is the perfect outfit for any bride-to-be before - or after - her nuptials. Made entirely out of linen it will stand the test of time while also being light enough to wear during Australia's hottest months of the year. Aptly named 'Aisle White Linen Bow Mini Dress' the $189.99 gown sold on the Australian website Dissh has quickly asserted itself as a top seller 'We continue to be inspired by the ever-loved ever-elegant Aisle Edit, returning this summer in even more magical silhouettes and design detail,' Dissh wrote online of its garment. 'This capsule collection is made for the modern bride and those that surround her, not only for the big day, but for long line of special events that orbit it. 'Made to enhance not overwhelm, each garment features thoughtful detail with timeless design without sacrificing the crucial wow factor.' For those looking for a little more length to this dress there is a midi option for $219.99. Featuring a statement tie-up bow at both shoulders, a fold over neckline and voluminous circle skirt the dress is the perfect outfit for any bride-to-be before - or after - her nuptials One scroll through the brand's Instagram reveals a number of brides have chosen the design for key events leading up to their big day, praising the sophisticated piece as the ultimate wardrobe statement It has already sold out once before online and had to be restocked It doesn't have a circle skirt and clings tighter to the waist and hips for a fine dining look. One scroll through the brand's Instagram reveals a number of brides have chosen the design for key events leading up to their big day, praising the sophisticated piece as the ultimate wardrobe statement. 'It is snug around the chest but so so so beautiful,' one customer said. 'I wore the long style for my elopement last week! Cutest dress,' said another. A third said: 'I have been eyeing off this dress for my engagement'. Gay and bisexual men should avoid oral sex and positions that involve face-to-face contact to limit the spread of monkeypox, a charity has said. The LGBT Foundation has released sexual health advice for men who have sex with men, who have made up the majority of new cases of the virus. Monkeypox relies on prolonged close contact to spread, meaning it can be passed on during sex although it is not classified as a sexually-transmitted infection. It transmits via direct contact with infectious sores or scabs and through body fluids, like droplets from people's mouths. The LGBT Foundation - a Manchester-based charity - has urged people to choose sex positions that are not face-to-face to reduce physical contact. It said: 'Consider having sex in front of a mirror if you want to see your partners face whilst having intercourse. 'Think about how you can reduce contact perhaps now is the time to try out some clothed role-play or that glory hole fantasy.' The majority of monkeypox cases in the fresh outbreak have been in gay and bisexual men and have been linked to raves, festivals and sex parties in Europe. The LGBT Foundation said men should also consider masturbating more and cleaning fetish clothing and equipment to reduce the spread of the virus. Gay men should try a 'gloryhole fantasy' or mutual masturbation instead of regular sex to limit the spread of monkeypox, the LGBT Foundation has urged. Pictured: The Gran Canarian pride festival, held between May 5 and 15 and attended by 80,000 people from Britain and across Europe, is being investigated after being linked to numerous monkeypox cases Health chiefs in the UK are currently advising anyone with a new rash or blisters to avoid having sex until they get tested. Brits who test positive are told to wear a condom for eight weeks after they overcome the virus. The World Health Organization has also urged people to their number of sexual partners. Public health messaging has predominantly been aimed at gay and bisexual men, but experts warn monkeypox can be spread by anyone. LGBT Foundation's 10 ways to reduce infection risks during sex Limit the number of people you have sexual contact with and the number of times you have sex You should ensure you thoroughly wash both before and as soon as possible after, ensuring you dont share towels Consider the surfaces that will be touched during the activity, consider using an easy to wipe surface or using a towel that can be thoroughly washed afterwards Consider less risky sexual activities such as mutual masturbation Continue to practice safer sex, whether it is through using condoms, PrEP, or both Some infections are passed on saliva or by skin to skin contact. To reduce this risk, avoid sexual activity that exchanges saliva such as kissing and spit play. Try to avoid oral sex, or reduce the risk by using barrier protection such as a condom, internal condom or dental dam for oral sex. Some infections can be passed on through faeces, including Shigella. For these infections, anal sex and in particular rimming increases your risk Choose a sexual position that isnt face-to-face. Think about how you can reduce contact - perhaps now is the time to try out some clothed role-play or that glory hole fantasy If you do use sex toys, ensure they are thoroughly cleaned before and after use Limit the use of any fetish clothing or gear. Clean any gear thoroughly before and after use Advertisement It comes after another 11 cases of the virus were spotted in England on Tuesday, taking the UK's total number to 190. The LGBT Foundation published 10 recommendations for sexually active gay and bisexual men to limit their risk of catching or spreading monkeypox. Its first guideline tells people 'the fewer people, the better' when it comes to sexual partners. The charity also recommends people avoid having sex on dirty surfaces or use wipes to clean them before and after. Masturbating together rather than full penetrative sex is advised because 'activity with less close contact will reduce the risk of some infections'. And people should continue to use condoms as a measure to lower the risk to themselves and partners, it said. Sex toys should not be shared between partners and people should avoid kissing, the guidance says. An almost identical list of reccomendations were published by the charity during the Covid pandemic to reduce the risk of passing on the killer virus during sex. But the guidelines have now been updated to include ways of preventing flu and monkeypox. The intro to the 10 recommendations reads: 'Whether it's Monkeypox, Flu, or Covid-19, close contact with sexual partners can increase your risk of contracting an infection. 'Despite this risk, we understand that for some people sex is important and so below are some ideas on how to reduce the risk.' UK Health Security Agency guidelines currently ask people to abstain from sex or close contact with others 'until their lesions have healed and the scabs have dried off'. Experts have previously linked the global monkeypox outbreak to sex at two festivals in Europe. Dr David Heymann, who used to head the WHO's emergencies department, said someone with the tell-tale monkeypox lesions likely 'spread it to others when there was sexual or close physical contact'. He said this may have happened at two recent raves in Spain and Belgium. The Gran Canarian pride festival, held between May 5 and 15, is being investigated after being linked to numerous monkeypox cases. And organisers of a large-scale fetish festival in Antwerp, which ran from May 5 to May 8, said there is 'reason to assume' someone at the event had monkeypox. On its designated monkeypox information page, the LGBT Foundation says: 'Monkeypox is spread through skin-to-skin or close contact, which means it can be passed on during sex, but it is not known to be sexually transmitted. 'It can be passed on by touching bedding, towels, or clothes used by somebody with a rash caused by monkeypox, or rarely through coughs and sneezes of a person with monkeypox. 'It is important that everyone is aware of monkeypox symptoms. 'Even if your rash is not monkeypox, other infections such as herpes and syphilis can cause rashes which need treatment. 'Rashes are common and most will not be caused by monkeypox, but may still require treatment. It is a good idea to speak to a medical professional if you have any new rash.' Dr Hans Kluge, the head of WHO's European division, has warned the current outbreak of the tropical disease 'may not be containable' People should reduce their number of sexual partners to help fight the spread of monkeypox, the World Health Organization has urged. Dr Hans Kluge, the head of WHO's European division, has warned the current outbreak of the tropical disease 'may not be containable'. He warned Europe had become the new epicentre of the virus, with the outbreak linked to sexual transmission at raves and festivals on the continent. Dr Kluge insisted the virus 'will not require the same extensive population measures' as Covid but said 'significant and urgent' action was needed to prevent more cases. The WHO stopped short of calling for contacts of known cases to be quarantined but called for 'critical' twice-daily temperature checks and 'close monitoring'. Dr Kluge said that while cases have been concentrated in men who have sex with men, there was nothing stopping it from spreading to other groups. The WHO earlier this week upgraded the global threat level to 'moderate', warning that community spread could lead to vulnerable patients or children catching the virus, which also spreads from touch, or interaction with contaminated surfaces or clothes. In total, there have been 606 confirmed cases of monkepox across the globe, with 130 more suspected since the first infection was found at the start of May. Around 70 per cent of the confirmed or suspected cases have been in Europe, with the UK count now at 190. Only Spain has seen more cases. The LGB Alliance a trans-exclusionary gay rights group attracted criticism on Monday after calling for all commercial sex venues to be closed ahead of Pride month, which begins today. People should reduce their number of sexual partners to help fight the spread of monkeypox, the World Health Organization has urged. Pictured: The Gran Canarian pride festival, held between May 5 and 15 and attended by 80,000 people from Britain and across Europe, is being investigated after being linked to numerous monkeypox cases UK monkeypox cases rise to 190 as 11 more Brits test positive Another 11 monkeypox cases were recorded in Britain yesterday, health officials announced. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said the new patients were all in England, bringing the UK total to 190. Officials said the 'risk to the general public from monkeypox is still low' but it is advising anyone with a new rash or scabs to self-isolate. Until now, those with suspected or confirmed cases of the tropical disease were being urged to seek advice from NHS 111 or a sexual health service. But officials said the move to introduce quarantine was to prevent further spread 'now that community transmission is occurring here in the UK and other countries'. Advertisement Experts have previously linked the outbreak to two festivals in Europe: The Gran Canarian pride festival, held between May 5 and 15, and a large-scale fetish festival in Antwerp, which ran from May 5 to May 8. The UK Health Security Agency (UKSA) updated its own guidance on Monday night to tell people to wear condoms during sex for eight weeks after clearing the virus. Anyone in Britain who develops a new rash or blister is being urged to quarantine and call 111 and not to leave isolation 'until you've been told what to do'. They are also been ordered to abstain from sex or close contact with others 'until their lesions have healed and the scabs have dried off'. Dr Kluge said in a statement last night: '[Europe] remains at the epicentre of the largest and most geographically widespread monkeypox outbreak ever reported outside of endemic areas in western and central Africa. 'Based on the case reports to date, this outbreak is currently being transmitted through social networks connected largely through sexual activity, primarily involving men who have sex with men. 'Many but not all cases report fleeting and/or multiple sexual partners, sometimes associated with large events or parties.' Dr Kluge said all young people, regardless of gender or sexuality, are at risk of the virus and should be aware of the symptoms. He said gay and bisexual communities have shown 'rapid health-seeking behaviour', adding 'we should applaud them' for coming forward with symptoms early. But he warned festivals and parties planned over the coming months could lead to further outbreaks of the virus. He said: 'The potential for further transmission in Europe and elsewhere over the summer is high. 'Monkeypox has already spread against the backdrop of several mass gatherings in [Europe]. 'Over the coming months, many of the dozens of festivals and large parties planned provide further contexts where amplification may occur.' The WHO said event organisers should share 'accurate, practical and targeted information' with attendees over summer. The LGB Alliance had a statement calling for gay saunas to be closed taken down by Twitter on Monday. In the statement, the group said: 'Monkeypox is spreading and gay and bisexual men have been affected disproportionately. 'Thats why we are calling on all commercial sex venues, such as saunas, leather/fetish bars and clubs with dark rooms to be closed for a month.' Critics accused the group of homophobia, arguing the move would lead to stigmatisation ahead of Pride month. But LGBA insisted the move would have helped 'save Pride' by preventing huge outbreaks just before the main events scheduled over the next four weeks. Malcolm Clark, head of research at LGBA, told the Daily Telegraph: 'We were really lucky this time that it wasn't another Aids, but what would have happened if it was? 'We would have been complaining about stigmatisation and still taking our time. It appears that 30 years after HIV, we haven't learnt anything. 'It's pure luck that this is a disease nobody dies from, but it could have easily been something else, it could have easily been worse. We should thank our lucky stars.' Andy Seale, from the WHO's department for HIV, hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections, on Monday said Pride parades pose little risk of spreading monkeypox. He said most transmission is linked to 'enclosed spaces' such as nightclubs and there is no 'enhanced risk' of transmission at the annual celebrations. The number of incidents reported to police by GP surgeries has doubled in the last five years amid a huge fallout over the lack of access to family doctors. Figures show there were 1,068 'violent incidents' logged at doctors' practices across the UK in the past year compared to 586 in 2017/18. Most callouts were due to threats of violence, verbal assaults and 'malicious communications'. But 182 cases involved physical assault. One GP in England who was verbally threatened with being stabbed claimed the problem was that patients now expect too much from their doctor. But the rise comes as separate figures show that some areas of the country have just one GP for every 2,500 patients. At the same time there are 1,500 fewer fully qualified family doctors working in England compared to five years ago. Tens of millions of appointments were cancelled or done remotely during Covid so doctors could focus on the virus, leading to a post-pandemic boom in demand. But many patients are still struggling to see a GP as services fail to bounce back, with less than half of appointments being conducted face-to-face. The data on violence was collected from 32 UK police forces under Freedom of Information (FOI) requests made by the British Medical Journal (BMJ). UK police recorded 1,068 violent incidents - which involve physical assault and nasty emails - in total compared to 586 in 2017. They are broken down above Official figures show just 63 per cent of consultations were carried out in-person in England in April. At the current rate, it would take until September 2023 to reach the more than 80 per cent of appointments being made in person seen before the pandemic England's GP postcode lottery was laid bare yesterday as official data showed some areas have half as many doctors per patient as others. Nuffield Trust analysis shows there are 39.5 GPs caring for every 100,000 people in Portsmouth. People in Thurrock have 40.3 family doctors for every 100,000 people in the area and in Hull there are 41.9 per 100,000 It also showed stalking and harassment of staff at GP surgeries have almost tripled over the last five years. GP leaders have slammed the rising level of violence as 'entirely unacceptable' and called for Government to address staffing shortages that are fuelling patient anger. The BMJ sent freedom of information requests to the 45 police forces in the UK. They asked for the number of recorded crimes committed at general practices and how each crime was categorised. Of the 45 forces contacted, 42 responded, of which 32 were able to provide data for the past five years. The data showed there 223 instances of stalking and harassing beheaviour at GP surgeries, nearly triple the 85 seen in 2017/18. This was driven by a surge in what are called 'malicious communications' which can include letters or emails with threatening content. Assaults without injury accounted for majority of the recorded incidents, some 400, in 2021-22. These type of assaults can include using threatening words to make someone think they are going to be attacked or violent actions which do not result in injury like shoving. Cases where people intentionally spit on someone can also count. The most serious incidents, assaults resulting in actual injury to staff, rose to 182 in 2021/22, almost double the 98 recorded five years prior. Government officials said violence against staff was unacceptable and measures like CCTV, panic buttons, and safety screens for receptionists had been rolled out at GP surgeries to help keep them safe. England's GP postcode lottery: Some areas have HALF number of doctors as others England's GP postcode lottery was laid bare yesterday as official data showed some areas of the country have half as many doctors per patient as others. Analysis by the Nuffield Trust thinktank revealed family doctors in the parts of the country with lowest access have 70 or more GPs per 100,000 patients, the equivalent of around one doctor per 1,400 patients. Yet in areas with the poorest coverage, like Portsmouth, Brighton, Hull and Thurrock, there were around just 40 GPs per 100,000 patients, or one for every 2,500. Campaigners described the shocking disparities as 'a serious failing' by the NHS, which was founded on the 'principle of equal treatment'. GPs admitted 'the number of patients per GP is rising to unsafe and unmanageable levels', and blamed the differences on staff shortages and increased demand post-pandemic. It comes after tens of millions of GP appointments were cancelled by the NHS during the pandemic so doctors could focus on Covid. Many patients are still struggling to see a GP as services fail to bounce back, with less than half of appointments now conducted face-to-face now. Advertisement Dr Adam Janjua from Fleetwood, Lancashire, told Radio 4 this morning that family doctors were facing an 'unprecedented' level of violence at work. I have been shoved in the chest, I have been threatened to be stabbed when I least expect it.' he said. Were seeing intimidation, social media abuse, the list is endless.' He said part of the problem was patient having expectations that are too high. There are less GPs, less staff, more pressures, people are feeling frustrated, he said. Dr Janjua also said violence behaviour had escalated since May 2021 when a letter from Government ordering GPs to scale back Covid pandemic restrictions and see more patients face-to-face was leaked to the press. Professor Martin Marshall, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said abuse towards staff was 'entirely unacceptable'. He urged the Government to urgently deliver its manifesto pledge to increase the number of GPs and practice staff to help ease patient frustrations. 'This is not the fault of GPs and our teams the real issue, is a shortage of GPs and other practice staff,' he said. Professor Marshall added that more family doctors will consider leaving the profession if they face violence and intimidation, exacerbating the staff shortages. Dr Chaand Nagpaul, the British Medical Association's chairman of council, said the figures on rising violence were 'alarming' and urged No10 to be more 'open and honest with the public' about GP shortages amid record patient demand. Ruth Rankine, director of primary care at the NHS Confederation, said GP surgeries were delivering 'over 50 per cent more activity than two years ago', but this could fall if violence drives family doctors away. 'This increased activity is being delivered in the face of falling GP numbers, widespread burnout and a wider health and care workforce crisis,' she said. 'Violence and abuse only further demoralises staff and risks making the situation worse with GPs and others considering leaving the profession earlier.' NHS data between March 2017 and March 2022, the latest available comparable figures, show the number of fully qualified GPs in England has fallen 1,768. Salford had the lowest proportion of patients seen in-person with less than half (46 per cent) of appointments made face-to-face. It was followed by Bury (51 per cent), Somerset (53 per cent) and Frimley (53 per cent). Some 79 per cent of appointments in Kirklees were done in person The NHS data also showed just under half of all GP appointments last month were carried out by fully-qualified doctors, with patients seen by other staff including nurses at the rest of appointments 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 NHS data shows there have been nearly 4.5milion booked GP appointments where patients did not turn up since the start of the year, about 40,000 per day The Government made a manifesto pledge in 2019 for an additional 6,000 GPs by 2024. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said security measures including CCTV, panic buttons and screens at reception have been rolled out across GP surgeries. 'Deliberate violence or abuse directed at NHS staff, who continue to work tirelessly to provide care, is unacceptable all staff, including GPs and their teams, deserve to work in a safe and secure environment,' they said. The data on violence comes as England's GP postcode lottery was laid bare yesterday as official data showed some areas of the country have half as many doctors per patient as others. Analysis by the Nuffield Trust thinktank revealed family doctors in the parts of the country with lowest access have 70 or more GPs per 100,000 patients, the equivalent of around one doctor per 1,400 patients. Yet in areas with the poorest coverage, like Portsmouth, Brighton, Hull and Thurrock, there were around just 40 GPs per 100,000 patients, or one for every 2,500. Campaigners described the shocking disparities as 'a serious failing' by the NHS, which was founded on the 'principle of equal treatment'. GPs have said 'the number of patients per GP is rising to unsafe and unmanageable levels', and blamed the differences on staff shortages and increased demand post-pandemic. The James Webb Space Telescope, an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency, aims to peer beyond our solar system to distant worlds orbiting other stars, as well as investigate the fascinating structures and origins of our universe and our role within it. And now, it plans to study two "super-Earths." Webb Plans To Study Two Exoplanets The James Webb Space Telescope is only a few weeks away from becoming fully operational. According to a news release on May 26, the lava-covered 55 Cancri e and the airless LHS 3844 b, which are two hot exoplanets categorized as super-Earths due to their size and rocky composition, are among the investigations intended for the first year. "These observations of 55 Cancri e and LHS 3844 b will be conducted as part of Webb's Cycle 1 General Observers program. General Observers programs were competitively selected using a dual-anonymous review system, the same system used to allocate time on Hubble," the Webb telescope news release read. What Is 55 Cancri e? 55 Cancri e orbits its Sun-like star at a distance of fewer than 1.5 million miles and completes one round in less than 18 hours. The planet's dayside is supposed to be covered in lava oceans due to surface temperatures much above the melting threshold of ordinary rock-forming materials. Read More: NASA Announces Earendel: The Farthest Star Ever Captured by Hubble Space.com reported that scientists also presumed that the planet is tidally locked to the star, which means that one side of the planet is always facing the searing sun, while studies from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope suggest that the hottest zone may be slightly offset. According to scientists, the offset heat could be caused by a thick atmosphere that can transfer heat about the planet or by lava rain at night, which removes heat from the atmosphere. Two teams will test these hypotheses: one, led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Renyu Hu, will look for signs of an atmosphere in the planet's thermal emission, while the other, led by Alexis Brandeker, an associate professor from Stockholm University, will measure heat emittance from the lit side of 55 Cancri e, as per the report by Space.com. What Is LHS 3844 b? The news release noted that while 55 Cancri e will reveal the fascinating geology of a world engulfed in lava, LHS 3844 b will present a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study solid rock on an extraterrestrial surface. LHS 3844 b, like 55 Cancri e, orbits its star very closely, taking 11 hours to complete one revolution. However, the planet's surface is not heated enough to be molten because its star is small and cool. What Is the Importance of These Studies? The significance of these discoveries extends far beyond just two of the galaxy's more than 5,000 known exoplanets. "They will give us fantastic new perspectives on Earth-like planets in general, helping us learn what the early Earth might have been like when it was hot like these planets are today," said Laura Kreidberg at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy. Related Article: James Webb Space Telescope Reveals Phenomenal Image of Stars A new mother has revealed her heartbreak after doctors found she had terminal cancer while she was giving birth. Medics found Lois Walker, 38, had tumours on her ovaries, liver and bowels as they performed a C-section on her last September. Moments before her newborn son Ray was placed in her arms for the first time, she was given the frightening news the masses might be cancerous. Test results two weeks later confirmed that she had stage 4 ovarian cancer, and that it had spread all around her body. The mother-of-three has accused Dove Valley Practice and Barnsley Hospital of 'negligence' and claims there were ample opportunities to catch the cancer earlier. Ms Walker, from Worsbrough in south Yorkshire, had complained of stomach pain for more than a year before giving birth, making 20 calls to her GP and numerous A&E trips. She had previously been struck with skin cancer and even expressed concern to doctors that she could be suffering cancer symptoms. But medics had dismissed her symptoms as anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome and part of 'getting old', labelled her as a hypochondriac and told her to avoid dairy. The doctor who delivered Ms Walker's son even cried and said he had let her down, she claims. Lois Walker, 38, (pictured with her partner Dale Wistow and newborn son Ray) was given the devastating diagnosis of stage 4 ovarian cancer during what should have been one of the happiest moments of her life Moments before her newborn son Ray was placed in her arms for the first time nine months ago, doctors saw tumours covering her organs as they performed a caesarean section Ms Walker, who had previously been struck with skin cancer, even expressed concern to doctors that she could be suffering cancer symptoms. But medics had dismissed her symptoms as anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome and part of 'getting old', labelled her as a hypochondriac and told her to avoid dairy. The doctor who delivered Ms Walker's son even cried and said he had let her down, she claims WHAT IS OVARIAN CANCER? Ovarian cancer affects the 2 small organs (ovaries) that store the eggs needed to make babies. Anyone with ovaries can get ovarian cancer, but it mostly affects those over 50. Sometimes ovarian cancer runs in families. The symptoms of ovarian cancer, such as bloating, are not always obvious. Ovarian cancer is often diagnosed late, but early diagnosis can mean it is more treatable. Around 7,500 women in the UK and 20,000 in the US are diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year. Nearly one in five women will survive for five years after a stage four diagnosis. The main treatments are surgery and chemotherapy. Other treatments include targeted medicines and hormone treatments. Source: NHS Advertisement Ms Walker said: 'It's been absolutely diabolical. They call themselves health professionals, and they're supposed to be giving us care, but that is negligence. 'I just feel like it could have been caught sooner, so I wouldn't have this late diagnosis - and I'm leaving three kids. 'If the NHS does not acknowledge that things need to change then I feel sorry for everybody and anybody.' Ms Walker first became unwell in June 2020, when she experienced strange bathroom habits and swelling around her diaphragm. She regularly called doctors at Dove Valley Practice and visited Barnsley Hospital, but was told she may have IBS. A fundraiser website set up by her sister Megan Walker, which has so far raised more than 8,000 for Cancer Research, states that she was unable to get a smear test because 'doctors weren't doing them' due to Covid restrictions. Ms Walker said she continued to phone her GP as her symptoms worsened. But the doctors just offered her drugs for hypochondria. She said: 'I was going to the doctors, but I couldn't tell them anything new because it was the same symptoms always, so they treated me with antacids. 'Then, I got told it could be health anxiety, so they put me on citalopram. 'I already suffered from skin cancer, so I said to my doctor, "You don't think I could have cancer?" 'And he said, "Oh no, it's just you getting old and bodies don't work as well".' Ms Walker found out she was pregnant in December 2020 and was left in unbearable pain after gender reveal scans 14 weeks later. She said: 'I could not deal with this pain, and the further the pregnancy went on, the more excruciating it became. It got to the point where I couldn't walk or eat. 'The doctor said that I weighed the same as I did 12 months ago, and by this time, I was nine months pregnant - and that didn't seem to ring any alarm bells.' Ms Walker said when the pain got too much to bear, she finally told doctors that she was prepared to kill herself if they didn't take her concerns seriously. She was admitted to the hospital for pain management where she was given morphine, but again there was no in-depth investigation by doctors into what was causing the pain. Ms Walker added: 'Then the final straw was when they had to get the mental health team involved because I said that it had reached the point where I would have to end both our lives, and I feel ashamed to say that.' Her doctor then conducted a more thorough probe into her concerns and found a mass behind her womb - leading them to deliver her baby the next day. And on September 3, 2021, as she went into labour with her third son, Ray, she found out from the doctor treating her that she most likely had cancer. Ms Walker said: 'When they opened me up, he said, 'I thought you said you didn't have any abdominal surgery?' and I said I hadn't. 'That's when I knew something had been found, as they called a few doctors in. 'They just said, basically, that my abdomen was so diseased that they needed to send off some biopsies and I'd have to wait. But I knew anyway. 'The doctor actually grabbed my hand and he cried and he actually said that he'd let me down.' Ms Walker's sister said her abdomen was 'riddled with cancer' and Ray even had an 'indent in his head' because he had been 'snuggled to the tumour in her womb'. Ms Walker's partner Dale Wistow (right) told the BBC: 'This could have been caught earlier than it was. It's just a bit sickening, especially with kids. We don't know what the future is going to bring now' Ms Walker (pictured with Ray and her son Ronnie, 3, said: 'It's been really, really hard. I didn't want to get attached to him, but he is my ray of sunshine. My kids are my purpose. I want to concentrate on making memories. If love could save me, I would never die' Despite undergoing chemotherapy soon after she got her diagnosis, Lois then found out that her cancer had spread, and it would be terminal. Around 7,500 women in the UK and 20,000 in the US are diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year. Nearly one in five women will survive for five years after a stage four diagnosis. She said: 'My liver had fused to my diaphragm, so that had to be cut back. My bladder had fused to the back of my womb, so that had to be cut back, and all my ovaries had fused. 'Then I had the devastating news that it's also on my bowels, my stomach and my liver. Obviously, that's never good - they're my main organs that I need. 'It's just about a comfortable life for however long I've got left, and that's where we are at the minute.' Ms Walker told the BBC that he abdomen has 'tumours everywhere' and doctors had described it as 'like a bag of sand that had been opened and it has gone everywhere'. She said her diagnosis made her worried about becoming attached to her newborn son. Ms Walker said: 'It's been really, really hard. I didn't want to get attached to him, but he is my ray of sunshine. 'My kids are my purpose. I want to concentrate on making memories. If love could save me, I would never die.' Her partner Dale Wistow told the broadcaster: 'This could have been caught earlier than it was. 'It's just a bit sickening, especially with kids. We don't know what the future is going to bring now.' When asked for comment, a spokesperson from Dove Valley Practice, where Ms Walker has filed a formal complaint, said: 'We are sorry to hear Ms Walker's concerns about her care and that she didn't feel listened to. 'We carried out a review of Ms Walker's care and referrals for tests and we shared those findings with her at that time. 'We welcome anyone with concerns about the care they have received with us to get in touch so we can investigate. 'Unfortunately, we cannot comment further due to our duty of confidentiality.' A spokesperson from Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust added: 'Barnsley Hospital is sorry to hear that Ms Walker has concerns about her care. 'We welcome any patient with concerns about the care they have received to get in touch with our Patient Advice and Complaints Team which investigates patient concerns to ensure action is taken in a timely and appropriate manner.' Georgia has become the ninth state to detect a monkeypox infection, health chiefs revealed Tuesday night as the U.S. tally rose to 18. Another three cases were spotted over the last 24 hours nationwide across the same number of states. They included the infection in Georgia in a man from Atlanta who had a 'history of international travel' and a fourth in New York. In California, health chiefs said they their third case was also in Sacramento in a 'close contact' of the first patient who was diagnosed after returning from Europe. Most cases in America have been detected among gay and bisexual men, with health chiefs often linking them back to international travel. But there are now growing signs the virus is spreading on American soil for the first time since at least 2003, with infections being spotted in 'close contacts' of cases. To limit the spread, Dr Hans Kluge, from the Europe division the World Health Organization, called on people to reduce their number of sexual contacts Wednesday as he warned the virus may be difficult to contain. Global health chiefs were caught off-guard by the outbreak outside West Africa where it is native with the virus now detected across more than two dozen nations with 600 confirmed infection, with 70 percent in Europe. Georgia today became the ninth state to report monkeypox in the outbreak. A fourth case was also reported in New York and a third in California that was in a 'close contact' of a previous infection Cut your number of sexual partners to help fight monkeypox, urges World Health Organization People should reduce their number of sexual partners to help fight the spread of monkeypox, the World Health Organization has urged. Dr Hans Kluge, the head of WHO's European division, has warned the current outbreak of the tropical disease 'may not be containable'. He warned Europe had become the new epicentre of the virus, with the outbreak linked to sexual transmission at raves and festivals on the continent. Dr Kluge insisted the virus 'will not require the same extensive population measures' as Covid but said 'significant and urgent' action was needed to prevent more cases. The WHO stopped short of calling for contacts of known cases to be quarantined but called for 'critical' twice-daily temperature checks and 'close monitoring'. Dr Kluge said that while cases have been concentrated in men who have sex with men, there was nothing stopping it from spreading to other groups. Advertisement The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed the three additional cases in its daily monkeypox dashboard update. Monkeypox is native to West Africa and typically spreads via physically touching infectious skin lesions that can appear anywhere on the body. Patients suffer a fever within 21 days of being infected, before developing a rash on their face that spreads to other areas and painful skin lesions. Most cases are mild and clear up on their own. But some turn severe with the fatality rate of the strain currently circulating in America at about one in 100. Doctors are currently offering patients antibiotics to help treat the infections. Stockpiles of a smallpox vaccine which is believed to work against its close relative monkeypox are also being made available to bolster immunity in close contacts of patients. The U.S. has spotted a total of 18 cases to date. New York City has the most, with four infections, followed by California and Florida which have both detected three cases. Two have also been spotted in Colorado and Utah, and one each in Georgia, Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington. Most of the cases are in gay and bisexual men, and can be traced back to international travel to areas currently experiencing an outbreak of the disease. But health chiefs caution that the virus could spill into other populations if it continues to spread undetected. Kluge issued a warning to Europe Wednesday where the outbreak is fiercest saying 'significant and urgent' action was needed to contain the virus although not on the scale that was needed for Covid. The chief stopped short of calling for contacts of known cases to be quarantined, but he said it was 'critical' for twice-daily temperature checks and close monitoring to be carried out. The WHO earlier this week upgraded the global threat level to 'moderate', warning that community spread could lead to vulnerable patients or children catching the virus, which also spreads from touch, or interaction with contaminated surfaces or clothes. Experts have previously linked the outbreak to two festivals in Europe: The Gran Canarian pride festival, held between May 5 and 15, and a large-scale fetish festival in Antwerp, which ran from May 5 to May 8. The growing case numbers come as America gears up for Pride parades this month across the country. But a WHO adviser has said there is no 'enhanced' risk of catching the virus at these events during the outbreak. On Monday, Andy Seale, from the WHO's department for HIV, hepatitis and sexually transmitted diseases said there was 'no enhanced risk' of catching the virus at pride parades. He added that condoms would not stop someone from being infected because the skin lesions through which the virus spreads open up all over the body. In Britain, health chiefs are telling people suffering any symptom of the virus such as a rash to abstain from sex and close physical contact. Once someone clears an infection they are being told to wear a condom for eight weeks 'as a precaution'. There is no evidence it spreads through semen. Speaking during the conference, Seale said: 'From our point of view, we would like to send a message that it is important that people who want to go out and celebrate gay pride LGBTQ+ pride to continue to go and do so. 'Most of these events are outdoors, they are family friendly. 'We don't see any reason to be concerned about enhanced likelihood of transmission in that context because the parties we have bene looking into have been in more enclosed spaces etc.' In the briefing, Seale also gave advice that wearing a condom would not be enough to stop the virus spreading. 'We shouldn't shy away from reminding people that it is still useful to talk about condoms, for example, for protecting people against pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. 'But for monkeypox, condoms will not provide a layer of protection that's additional given the fact that close bodily contact is the main risk factor.' Advertisement Big pharma company Pfizer is one of the biggest winners of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a recent report finding that its vaccine was the best selling pharmaceutical drug in the world in 2021 - nearly doubling the revenue figures of all products across the entire market. A report published Tuesday by Fierce Pharma finds that the Pfizer vaccine, a joint project with the German company BioNTech that is officially branded under the name Comirnaty, made $36.8 billion worth of sales last year, topping the entire global drug market by a large margin. Humira, an arthritis drug manufactured by AbbVie, comes in at a far second, bringing in $20.7 billion in sales last year. Moderna's vaccine, branded under the title Spikevax, was the third largest pharmaceutical product, earning $17.7 billion in sales - half of its top competitor. Covid vaccine manufacturers have been under criticism in recent months for prioritization of profits over protection, raking in billions of dollars on selling the drugs to large purchasers like the U.S. and western European nations while leaving others in the developing world behind. Regulators in the U.S. and elsewhere have been under fire for repeated approval for booster shots - which create more revenue for Pfizer and Moderna - despite limited evidence that more shots are needed to slow the virus's path. Pfizer's vaccine is most popular in the U.S., just as it is in much of the rest of the world, having been administered 346 million times since it first became available in late 2020 Pfizer's stock price has jumped 40% since the end of 2020, from $36.81 per share to $52 per share Wednesday morning The United States has become one of Pfizer's largest and most reliable customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The New York City-based company's Covid shot is most frequently used in the U.S., according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, having been administered well over 300 million times since it first became available in late-2020. Pfizer's vaccine has launched the firm, which was already one of biggest players in the lucrative pharmaceutical industry, to one of the most recognizable brands in the world, and proved to be a financial boon for executives and shareholders. The company's stock price has jumped 40 percent since the end of 2020, from $36.81 on December 31, 2020 to $52 per share on Wednesday morning. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla (pictured) has been paid $45 million in compensation over the past two years, banking on the successful rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines Albert Bourla, CEO of the firm, has been paid over $45 million in compensation over the past two years as well, according to multiple reports. His 'golden parachute', money he will be paid out should he be forced from the company if it is acquired, is believed to be upwards of $100 million as well. When asked for comment, a Pfizer spokesperson explained the company's financial arrangement with BioNTech. 'The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine collaboration is a 50/50 gross profit split; development costs are shared equally. Pfizer and BioNTech each book revenues in the markets where each company controls commercialization,' they said. 'Pfizer books the vast majority of the global collaboration revenue, except for Germany and Turkey where we receive a profit share (50/50 gross split) from BioNTech. We do not participate in the China region.' More purchases are likely on the way for the U.S. as well, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and CDC approving the Pfizer booster shots for children aged five to 11 years old in mod-May, a move met with criticism from many health experts. Dr Marty Makary, a public health expert at Johns Hopkins University, told DailyMail.com last month that the decision was the 'the biggest slap in the face of science weve seen during the pandemic,' and referred to the CDC advisory panel that approved the decision as a 'kangaroo court.' Bourla has been a proponent of more-and-more shots, though. He said earlier this year that all Americans will likely need vaccine doses every year for the long-term future, shots that would be purchased from his firm. Pfizer is also applying to have its Covid vaccine approved for American children aged six months to five years old, a controversial proposal that would likely lead to the U.S. making another large purchase of the jabs. Many have also criticized Pfizer's business practices related to the jabs over the past year. While major nations like the U.S., UK and others in Western Europe have east access to the shots - some nations even sitting on large stockpiles - many in the developing world have been left behind. In Africa, for example, only 23 percent of residents have received at least one shot of the vaccine, and 17 percent are fully vaccinated - figures dwarfed by their peers in the west. 'Big pharma companies have grown their businesses through shameless pandemic profiteering,' Maaza Seyoum, the global south convenor of the People's Vaccine Alliance told DailyMail.com last month. 'At the height of the crisis, they sold these lifesaving tools to the highest bidder while people were left to die in the global south. 'And they locked the technology behind a wall of intellectual property rules, refusing to share the recipes with the world.' Pfizer projects over $30 billion in revenue from the shots this year, nearly reaching last year's leading total. The company's golden goose may soon stop laying eggs, though. It is also the manufacturer of Paxlovid, a White House-touted Covid antiviral pill that is believed to be able to reduce hospitalizations and deaths caused by the virus 90 percent. Interest in the vaccines, and the Covid pandemic overall, has waned among the public. A recent Gallup poll finds that a third of Americans are no longer worried about the pandemic, one of the lowest figures recorded yet. Case figures are also increasing around the country without translating in hospitalizations and deaths as the same rates they were in previous periods of the pandemic. According to most recent figures, the nation is averaging 99,748 Covid cases every day, an eight percent drop over the past week. Deaths have not occurred at the same levels, though, with America recording 611 per day. The nation's booster rollout famously fell flat, with demand for the additional shots being much lower than many officials expected. Now, the White House is having trouble acquiring funding for future pandemic initiatives, which could lead to the country no longer being able to acquire the jabs. Walking more slowly in old age could be a warning sign for dementia, a major study has suggested. Researchers from the University of Minnesota and Monash University, Australia, monitored people over 75 years old and found that those who lost 0.05 meters per second from their pace every year and had signs of mental decline were most at risk. The international team said this was likely because as the the brain declines in the debilitating condition it also affects the areas involved in walking. About five million Americans have dementia, estimates suggest, with there being no cures for the conditions, just treatments that can ease symptoms. The above graph shows the incidence of dementia (y axis) since the study began by four groups. These are dual decliners (dark blue line) who had a slower gait and cognition, people with cognitive decline (orange), people with just a slower gait (blue line) and people with neither of the conditions (green line) Scientists say that walking about five percent slower per year in old age could be a warning sign of dementia (Stock photo) How can walking speed indicate dementia risk? A growing body of studies suggests that how fast someone walks in later life can indicate whether they have dementia. In the latest paper from American and Australian scientists experts found that a decline in gait speed of 0.05 m/s or more a year coupled with cognitive decline was a warning sign of dementia. Scientists say the link is likely because areas that decline in dementia are also involved in walking. This means that as they become damaged due to the disease, sufferers also experience trouble walking. About five million Americans have dementia, estimates suggest. Advertisement The study published Tuesday in JAMA Network Open tracked a group of over 15,000 elderly people for nearly a decade. In the paper the cognition and walking speed of 17,000 older adults was tracked for seven years. Participants were American and Australian, mostly female, and from white backgrounds. Scientists measured cognition every 24 months with tests for memory decline, processing speed and verbal fluency. Walking speed was checked twice every other year by measuring participants pace when they walked 10 feet. People who were 'dual decliners' had walks that slowed per year and declining cognition were most likely to be diagnosed with dementia. A fall in walking speed was defined as losing 0.05 meters per second or more from the normal pace at about 1.2 to 1.4 every year. This group saw about 178 cases detected, or 11.3 percent of their total number of participants. For comparison, those who showed no decline in cognition or gait, the pace in which someone walks, were least likely to have the disease with just 25 participants being diagnosed (0.3 percent). The scientists also looked at participants who had declines in just walking speed and just cognition. This showed the former were at a similar risk of the illness to those with no decline (27 cases, or one percent). In the latter group there were 158 cases diagnosed, equivalent to 3.9 percent of the group. The scientists analyzed the data last year, with the tests down between 2010 and 2017. Dr Taya Collyer, a biostatician from Monash University who led the study, and others said: 'It is possible that gait measures capture decline in [brain] domains, which are required (in addition to memory decline) for dementia diagnosis. 'Association between [brain] domains, such as processing speed and verbal fluency, with gait have been explained by the crossover in the underlying networks or pathology.' The team also said that their findings underlined the need to include walking tests when attempting to diagnose a patient with dementia. They said: 'These results highlight the importance of gait in dementia risk assessment. 'They suggest that dual decline in gait speed and memory measure may be the best combination to assess future decline.' Rates of esophageal cancer among middle aged Americans have rocketed in what one expert calls an 'alarming' finding. An abstract published last month for the Digestive Disease Week 2022 conference in Bethesda, Maryland, shows that rates of esophageal cancer among Americans aged 45 to 64 nearly doubling during the period from 2012 to 2017. Researchers have not yet determined what is causing this jump, and because this study was performed in Florida, there is a risk that environmental factors could be tied to parts of the state. The findings are alarming, though, and Dr Jaffer Ajani, a professor of gastrointestinal medical oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, believes it may be time to set guidelines for when people should receive screenings for the cancer. Rates of esophageal cancer among middle aged Americans nearly doubled from 2012 to 2017, researchers found, though they stayed the same in older and younger age groups Ajani told DailyMail.com that esophageal cancer is one of the more dangerous forms, and that people who find out they are sick once they are suffering symptoms are at a significantly increased risk of death. He compares the cancer's severity to that of pancreas cancer, which is widely regarded as one of the more serious forms of the condition. Dr Jaffer Ajani (pictured) told DailyMail.com that if the findings can be replicated elsewhere that it is time for health leaders to set standards for screening for esophageal cancer The research, which was presented at the conference, one of the largest for gastrointestinal experts across the world, included data from around five million Floridians across the period. Participants, all of which were adults, were split into three groups. Those 18 to 44 were considered 'young', the 45 to 64 year olds were considered 'middle aged', and those over 65 were categorized as elderly. The elderly group was most likely to develop the cancer, with 140 cases per 100,000 people in the age group in 2017 - a figure that stayed consistent across the time period. There were minimal cases of esophageal cancer in the young group, which also stayed consistent through the study period. Massive shifts were found among the group in the middle, though, without any clear explanation as to why. Ajani, who was not a part of the research, has a few theories as to why this could be the case, though. First, there is a chance that significant pollution - of which health officials have issued dire warnings about - that could be triggering the development of this disease. There also may be insecticide or other chemicals in food that is harming the gastrointestinal system. People who are obese - which is around 40 percent of Americans - or suffer from heartburn are also at an increased risk. There could also be environmental factors at play, especially if future studies in different states do not have similar results, which could mean the Floridian environment in particular puts residents at risk. The primary way to screen for the cancer is via an endoscopy, where a physician enters a long tube with a camera on the end into someone's mouth and down into their stomach to search for abnormalities (file photo) Either way, finding out will likely take years more of additional research to find if this is just a blip on the radar, or a significant problem for health officials to tackle in the coming years. There are two primary ways to detect the cancer - and screening can be crucial as it significantly increases a person's chance of survival if the malignancy is caught earlier. The most common way is through an endoscopy, a procedure similar to a colonoscopy where a physician enters long tube with the camera on the end into a person's body to look inside. An endoscopy uses the mouth, not the anus, though. Unlike colonoscopies, which are the most reliable way to detect colon cancer, there is no routine age to begin to receive an endoscopy. Ajani says that if this data is replicated elsewhere that it may be for the medical intelligentsia to come together a determine an age to receive the screenings. He is also a supporter of using liquid biopsies as a cancer screening tool. While endoscopies can be resource intensive - he says there likely is not any way to screen every single high risk person at the moment even if guidelines are set - the biopsies only need a blood sample. Liquid biopsies can help researchers learn more about the DNA of a person's blood, and detect when there are growth gene mutations present - which signal a tumor. An 'outdoorsy' father-of-two died after memory problems triggered by Lyme disease that left him struggling to remember the alarm code were diagnosed as Alzheimer's. Russell Bell, 65, from Raleigh, North Carolina, was tested for the tick-borne disease in 2016 after he also began having mood swings but the swabs came back negative. Doctors then said the computer scientist had early onset Alzheimer's after finding he could no longer complete math equations meant for a six-year-old. It was nine months later with his condition declining 'swiftly' that wife Nicole decided to take him for more tests, after her brother whose wife had just been diagnosed with the illness suggested he had Lyme disease. This time the tests came back positive, and Bell was immediately switched onto a course of antibiotics to alleviate his symptoms. Russell Bell, 65, from Raleigh in North Carolina, was taken for tests for Lyme disease by his wife Nicole (right) after he started repeating himself and became irritable in 2016 But the initial swabs came back negative. The family (pictured Nicole and Russell on their wedding day) were left struggling for nine months as his symptoms 'swiftly' got worse The antibiotics helped alleviate his symptoms, but after 18 months of treatment they kept coming back and his mental decline continued. His wife moved him to a residential care facility in 2019, and he died there in January after the COVID pandemic left him 'hunched over' and 'frail' after being unable to see his family for six months. About 30,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease in the United States every year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says. What is Lyme disease? Lyme disease is a bacterial disease that humans catch from tick bites. Within the first 30 days of illness an infected person will suffer fever, chills and headaches among others. A 'bulls-eye' shaped rash may also appear around the tick bite. Infections are normally diagnosed through observing symptoms and testing the blood for antibodies against the bacteria. But if the swab is done within the first three weeks of infection it may miss the disease because antibody levels are still too low in the blood. People who do not get treatment go on to suffer severe headaches, drooping on one side of the face and dizziness among other signs. In some cases the brain and spinal cord can also become inflamed, triggering memory problems. Cases caught in the early stages can be easily treated with antibiotics. But it may prove harder to cure the infection if it is caught late because of inflammation in the body. About 30,000 Americans are diagnosed with Lyme disease every year. Source: CDC Advertisement Most infections are easily treated with antibiotics if they are caught in the early stages. But if they are treated in later stages it may be difficult to cure the disease because inflammation in the immune system leads to symptoms persisting. Lyme disease is typically caught through being bitten by a deer tick, which frequent long grasses and woodland areas. It is diagnosed using a blood test that scans for antibodies against the bacteria. But if these are run within the first three weeks of infection they may miss the illness because antibody levels are too low to be detected. One study in Clinical Microbiology Reviews suggests up to 60 percent of cases are missed in this period. People infected with the virus initially suffer fever and muscle aches within three to 30 days of being bitten. A 'bulls-eye'-shaped rash medically termed an erythema may also appear around the bite site, which is typically red but rarely hot or painful. If infections are not treated they can lead patients to suffer severe headaches, drooping on one side of the face and dizziness. In some cases they can also cause inflammation of the brain and spinal cord which leads to behavioral difficulties and memory problems. Bell's wife wrote for TODAY that her husband did not suffer the tell-tale rash symptom which appears in about 80 percent of cases. But she said that in 2016 Lyme disease was one of her first thoughts for what could be her husband's illness. She said: 'Because Russ was very outdoorsy, and because I knew he had ticks on him over the years, Lyme disease was actually one of the first things that came to mind when I started looking into the symptoms of my husbands cognitive decline.' Describing his early symptoms where he struggled to remember codes he'd known for years, she said: 'My husband, Russ, who picked up the kids from school each day, had arrived home and wasnt able to turn the blaring alarm off.' 'I got home later that day and everything was fine. 'But I noticed Russ asking repetitive questions. Forgetting what time to pick up the kids. And he couldnt remember the alarm code the same one we had used for years.' Following brain tests doctors were convinced he either had suffered a stroke or had early onset Alzheimer's which strikes at around 65 years old. An MRI scan ruled out the stroke, leading to the Alzheimer's diagnosis. Bell then declined 'swiftly' with treatments failing to slow this. After he was re-diagnosed with Lyme disease, his wife said the antibiotics 'would help, and then Russ would come off them and decline'. 'Some of the more well-known symptoms of Lyme came up joint pain, swelling in his knees. But cognitively, he continued to decline.' When Bell was first moved to the care facility he was described as 'ok' with his wife coming to visit him every day. Bell was diagnosed with Lyme disease after his wife wanted him to be retested. He came back positive, and was put onto antibiotics which improved his condition. But his mental decline continued eventually leading to his wife moving him to a home Bell died in January after the COVID pandemic led to him being separated from his wife and family for six months. Describing her loss, Nicole said: 'I had lost my partner, the person I communicated with every day.' But when the Covid pandemic struck they were separated for six months and only able to see each other again when he had a seizure. 'It was now September 2020,' his wife said. 'He was hunched over. The man who had once been so engaging the life of the party was vacant. 'People asked if I thought he recognized me. I didn't think so. Russ passed away in January of 2022.' Describing her loss she said: 'I had lost my partner, the person I communicated with every day.' Nicole has written a book on the experience titled 'What Lurks in the Woods' which was published on Bell's 65th birthday in October last year. Apparently, I've missed a delivery and a call from my boss. I have two text messages on my phone telling me this but, curiously, no missed calls. I'm also not expecting any parcels. You may have guessed by now that both are scam texts which are plaguing all our phones. Like a model citizen, I duly forwarded these texts to the number 7726. Sending on scam texts will alert your mobile provider to investigate and block the number This free service was introduced by phone operators in 2014, and the digits 7726 spell out 'spam' on a phone's keypad. The idea is that by sending on scam texts it will alert your mobile provider to investigate and block the number. Information can then be passed to police and national security agencies, who are able to join the dots and track down those responsible for sending them. But until now, I wasn't entirely sure if my efforts were making a difference. Does anyone really do anything with these messages or do they disappear into a black hole? Well, Money Mail can today reveal that around 500 scams a month are being eradicated thanks to members of the public forwarding suspicious texts to 7726. One fraudulent text stopped in its tracks encouraged people to apply for an Omicron PCR test and linked to a fake website using the NHS logo. Another ripped off the branding of courier service DHL and told people to download an app to track their parcels. A third convincingly replicated the online banking sign-in for Santander even shamelessly including a warning to customers to beware of coronavirus scams. A phone plague Scam texts are designed to catch you out when you're in a rush and not concentrating. Many people would be quick to listen to a voicemail if they thought it was from their boss, for example. Crooks typically rely on victims mindlessly clicking on a link in the text that takes them to a fraudulent website. From here, they can infiltrate a person's phone to access their private information using malware. Or they will use a fake webpage to ask for personal details, such as your age and home address. Often, they impersonate bank staff or even police officers over the phone to trick a victim into transferring money. Details gleaned at an earlier stage of the fraud give scammers' lies an air of credibility and by the time victims realise it all began with a suspicious text, it's too late. Around seven million adults receive more than ten scam texts a month, according to research companies Electoral Calculus and Find Out Now. And for a significant minority, the effects can be devastating. People have surrendered information including bank account passwords and suffered huge losses. Nearly one million people fell for a scam message or phone call over a three-month period last autumn, according to communications watchdog Ofcom. Forward-thinking Last year, in dribs and drabs, I began sending the fraudulent messages I'd received on to 7726. But as the frequency of scam texts pinging on my mobile picked up, so, too, did my resolve to act. I forwarded three to 7726 in May alone, which had been sent just days apart. All of them came from different numbers. Admittedly, I have been guilty of just deleting some texts. As I said, I was never sure if anyone was picking them up at the other end of 7726. But since then, I've learned that some 12,000 scams reported via 7726 have been removed by the National Cyber Security Centre in the past two years. When you forward a suspicious text, your mobile network sends it to a third party called Proofpoint for analysis. This firm typically handled around one million fraudulent text messages every month last year. Computer programs sift and analyse the text messages, but the stream of reports are also supervised and fine-tuned on a daily basis by a team of 'threat engineers' and 'data scientists'. If a reported number is indeed a nuisance for example, if it includes a link to a fraudulent website it alerts the networks, which can block it to protect other mobile phone users. Scammers regularly change handsets or SIM cards to avoid detection. So, your operator can block the same content being sent by different numbers, too. When a scam text contains a link, the web page address is fed to the National Cyber Security Centre, which can then take it down from the internet. Information is also shared with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). The ICO can take action against legitimate companies sending nuisance messages. Meanwhile, the SFO can investigate and prosecute highly complex fraud cases. But there's scope for more scammers to be thwarted. Eight in ten people are unaware 7726 exists, according to Ofcom's research. And given that most people receive fraudulent texts at some point, the results could be better. Its success rests on more people using 7726 every time they receive a scam message. It costs us nothing to play our part. More information could also lead to action against the culprits. At the moment, few scammers end up facing justice in the courts. However, steps taken by the public have helped to stamp out some frauds and snare the criminals. The 7726 service was instrumental in catching text scammer Abdisalaam Dahir, a then 20-year-old computer science student from Enfield, North London. He defrauded the public out of 185,000 after sending texts pretending to be Royal Mail and HMRC, and was sentenced to nearly two years in prison. Reports made to 7726 also helped to convict Teige Gallagher, 21, who last year was sentenced to four years and three months in prison. His bulk text messages to strangers involved impersonating banks and the NHS. How to help To forward a text, press down firmly on the message and select 'forward'. This may be symbolised by an arrow. Take care not to reply to the message, as this shows the scammer your number is in use. I don't know if my texts have made a difference but pleasingly I haven't received any new messages for two weeks. So perhaps the fraudsters targeting my phone have grown weary, for now at least. Steve Wilson, head of cyber security software firm NortonLifeLock in the UK, says fake texts often call for action asking you to click on a link, download an attachment or ring a number. But he warns: 'Simply pressing on a link in a text could lead to a loss of personal data. 'Exercise caution when receiving unexpected messages about unpaid taxes, money refunds and other updates that either create a sense of urgency to act or promise monetary gains.' Meanwhile, if you receive a suspicious call purporting to be from your bank, dial 159. More than 75,000 calls have been made to this number since it launched last September. Currently, its primary purpose is to help protect customers by connecting them directly to their bank. But there are plans to develop the service to help track down fraudsters in future if the pilot is successful. Most of the big banks have signed up including Barclays, the Co-operative, Lloyds, Nationwide Building Society, NatWest, Santander, Starling and TSB. For more information about how to protect yourself from fraud, visit takefive-stopfraud.org.uk. Scam emails can also be forwarded to the National Cyber Security Centre via report@ phishing.gov.uk. moneymail@dailymail.co.uk Crooks are advertising fraudulent driving licences for banned and unqualified motorists on Instagram. Money Mail discovered more than half a dozen suspicious accounts on the social media site that claimed to sell fake driving licences for up to 400. One had amassed more than 11,000 followers, while many showcased photographs of multiple licences as proof of stock. Fraudsters: Instagram says it has now removed the accounts and blocked linked devices from creating new ones Several promised to remove bans and points from offending motorists' documents. Another claimed customers could buy 'full drivers' licences without exams'. It comes as a backlog means learners face waiting months to take their tests. A DVLA spokesman confirmed the accounts Money Mail brought to its attention were scams to 'obtain payment or personal information' from victims. Instagram says it has now removed the accounts and blocked linked devices from creating new ones. A spokesman added: 'Fraudulent activity including the selling of forged documents is not allowed on Instagram.' Local councils have been promised more than 1billion to help households struggling to cope with soaring bills. But few people know this pot of cash exists and a postcode lottery means many are in danger of missing out. Chancellor Rishi Sunak launched a 500million Household Support Fund in September last year. This was doubled to 1billion in March. And last week, the Chancellor pledged a further 500million so the scheme could be extended until March 2023. Money tree? Last week, the Chancellor pledged a further 500million so the Household Support Fund scheme could be extended until March 2023 This was on top of a raft of one-off payments to help with rocketing energy bills, which are forecast to hit nearly 3,000 a year in autumn. A separate 144million fund was also launched earlier this year for those who missed out on the 150 council tax rebate. This was only offered to those living in property bands A-D and should be paid by September. But who exactly is entitled to a share of the councils' cash and how do you claim it? The Household Support Fund is supposed to act as a safety net for those who have fallen through the cracks and are struggling to pay for essentials such as energy and food. A third of funding must go to households with children, and a third to support pensioners. The first 500million was available between last October and March and is now all gone. The second 500million pot is being distributed until September this year, and a third round of 500million will be handed out between October 2022 and March 2023. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have an equivalent scheme with about 41million, 25million and 14million of funding respectively for each six-month period. Each local council is allocated a certain amount from the overall fund and it is down to them to decide who qualifies for help. But Sue Anderson, of debt charity StepChange, warns that this 'patchwork' approach is confusing and makes it difficult for people to know if they are eligible for help. 'Many may not even know this discretionary form of support exists,' she adds. Some councils are getting in touch with vulnerable residents directly, while others urge people to apply themselves. Eligibility rules also vary widely. East Riding of Yorkshire Council, for example, specifies that households must be in receipt of council tax support and a second benefit, such as attendance allowance or personal independence payment. If they are eligible, payments are capped at 10 per individual for food and 150 per household for fuel. Households must wait to be contacted by the council. Calderdale council in West Yorkshire, on the other hand, has chosen to stagger two payments across May and July to families in receipt of free school meals and/or council tax reduction. Wherever possible, payments of 15 per child will be made directly into residents' bank accounts. If this is not possible, they will be given supermarket vouchers. Those eligible will be contacted directly. Yet Salford residents must apply for extra help themselves before September 30. Residents must provide evidence that they are struggling but need not be in receipt of any qualifying benefits. The council's website reports a high number of applications. Councils in England have received a share of the 144m fund for those who missed out on the 150 council tax rebate Torbay Council in Devon says it has already spent 128,000 of the 1.2million it has been allocated for April until September. By contrast, Birmingham City Council has yet to open its scheme. It is due to launch this month. Councils in England have also received a share of the 144million fund for those who missed out on the 150 council tax rebate. This will go to people on low incomes in council tax bands E to H. This will be used to make 150 payments to residents who live in band E homes and claim benefits such as universal credit, housing benefit or council tax reductions. It is up to councils to decide how they allocate the cash but it must be spent by November 30. Buckinghamshire, for example, was awarded 1.2million. This will be used to make 150 payments to residents who live in band E homes and claim benefits such as universal credit, housing benefit or council tax reductions. In Kensington and Chelsea, eligible residents will receive 120. The best way to find out if you are owed a share is by checking your council's website, where it should outline the qualifying criteria and whether you need to apply. With many local authorities reserving payments for those in receipt of benefits, it has never been so important to claim what you are owed. In April, Money Mail reported that more than 20billion of cash is going begging every year because households are unaware of their entitlements. Government figures show that a wide range of benefits, including child benefit and pension credit, all have chronically low take-up rates. Sumi Rabindrakumar, head of policy and research at food bank and poverty charity the Trussell Trust, says: 'The Chancellor described the Household Support Fund as part of his 9billion 'direct cash payments' support to UK households. 'It is vital that councils deliver on this promise and prioritise getting cash out to people to manage the current crisis. Too often, councils do not have the capacity to deliver the funding and people lose out.' For more information, contact charities such as Citizens Advice (citizensadvice.org.uk) or Turn2Us (turn2us.org.uk). moneymail@dailymail.co.uk My wife died on April 23 and when sorting out her affairs I rang Three to cancel her phone contract. I was told that this could not be done because I had set up a two-year contract for her in September last year. If I wanted to cancel this it would cost me 600, or I would need to pay the monthly payments of 44 until September 2023. That adds up to about 700. Please help. D. H., Gwent. Mobile phone company Three first asked our reader 600 to cancel his late wife's mobile deal, but then it waived the cancellation fee Sally Hamilton replies: Mobile phone companies are notorious for charging nasty penalties to those wishing to exit contracts early. There is a business argument, of course, as they need to claw back the upfront cost of the mobile device issued as part of any deal. But to be so cold-hearted to a recently bereaved customer is intolerable. I got in touch with Three immediately to ask it to put this obvious injustice right. As a result, its customer services team contacted you to offer its condolences and apologise, explaining that the person you reported your wife's death to had been poorly trained in dealing with the bereaved. You had been given incorrect information. SCAM WATCH If you are booking a last-minute summer get-away, beware fraudsters advertising fake villas and hotels online. Victims of holiday booking scams lose an average of 1,200, according to Lloyds Bank. Many are tricked into paying for accommodation that does not exist and the crooks then disappear without a trace. Holidaymakers should be especially cautious when using Facebook, as nearly two-thirds of this type of scam originate on the social media site. Stick to trusted websites such as Airbnb and Expedia. And always check customer reviews before handing over any money. Usually, if a Three phone contract customer passes away, its policy is for the account to be closed without charge. This applies even if the customer is not the account holder. Three corrected its error, cancelled your late wife's contract, and waived the cancellation fee. It also said you could keep her phone, and a couple of days later it sent you a food hamper to say sorry for its failing in this case. When I caught up with you this week you told me you were grateful the problem had been sorted, although it was clear that it had been an upsetting episode at an already distressing time. A Three spokesman says: 'We apologise for the difficulty D. H. has faced in closing this account our customer service was not up to our usual high standards on this occasion. We will be conducting further training with our team based on this experience.' Bulb Energy is asking me to pay 819 but it has never been my supplier Bulb Energy has been harassing me for the payment of a bill for 18 months even though it has never been my energy supplier. When I moved into a rental property in London in August 2020, I compared tariffs. I called Bulb and provided my email address and phone number but did not confirm I wanted to sign up. Instead, I chose British Gas, which billed me for electricity and gas until December 2021, when my tenancy ended. As background, in September 2020, I was notified by Bulb that it had been contacted by another provider to take on my supply and that I need not take any action. Even so, I received emails sporadically, asking me to set up a direct debit. In October 2020, I flagged to the company that I was with British Gas. At this point I noticed that Bulb had an inaccurate address for me, which I also mentioned. In February this year, I asked what I could do to ensure that the supplier never contacted me again. An agent said that if I just paid the outstanding balance of 24 on the account, the issue would be settled. Wanting this all to be over, I paid it. Then, this March, I received a distressing email telling me that my account was 819 in debit. I am at my wits' end trying to deal with the situation. S. R., London. Bulb Energy has been harassing our reader for the payment of a bill for 18 months - but it has now apologised and written off the 819 bill I was concerned that it might be hard to resolve your case because Bulb is one of the many casualties of a crisis in the energy market that saw more than 30 suppliers go bust last year. But unlike the smaller firms, whose customers were transferred to a new provider by regulator Ofgem under a 'supplier of last resort' arrangement, Bulb was considered too big, so was put into 'special administration'. This involved a firm called Teneo taking over the administration of the energy company. The upshot is that Bulb, which has 1.6million residential customers, is trading as before, though the hope is a buyer will emerge and the company will be sold. What this means for you is that complaints are still dealt with by Bulb. So, I asked the firm if it could shed any light on the matter. My intervention worked, because within two days it had investigated and resolved your case. It turns out your phantom bill was nothing to do with the firm's financial difficulties. The problem arose because of a confusion over meters. Your rental property was in a building once divided into three flats, which had been reconfigured into two properties by the time you moved in. The previous tenant had been supplied by Bulb, but when you asked to switch from Bulb to British Gas, it appears the latter mistakenly linked your account to a now redundant meter that had served the third flat. This caused a gremlin in the switching process and explains why you were bombarded with direct debit requests. Even though the meter error was not Bulb's fault, the company agreed that your repeated requests for help regarding the matter should have been dealt with more swiftly. Bulb has apologised and written off the 819 bill. It has also refunded the 24 you paid in your effort to make the problem go away. Straight to the point My Netflix subscription costs 5.99 a month. But in March two payments were taken. My bank said this was likely to be fraud and refunded me. But Netflix claimed just one sum had been paid and suspended my account. W. B., via email. You were frustrated by Netflixs lack of customer service. When I asked the firm to investigate, a spokesman refused to explain what had gone wrong. They instead suggested you contact its customer service team on 0808 196 5391 or via its online chat: help.netflix.com/en/contactus. When I withdrew 20 from my local Post Office cash machine I got a shock. My balance was just 52.91 around 1,000 less than expected. When I checked online at home my account showed the correct amount. What happened? P. T., Stockport, Gtr Manchester. The Post Office insisted its cash machine was not broken and pointed me towards your bank. When I sent Lloyds the printout you had received showing the smaller balance, a spokesman said it was not related to your account and belonged to the customer who had used the machine before you. My 32-year-old god-daughter listed a jumpsuit on eBay shortly before she died. Someone bought it and her mother dutifully posted the item. But the eBay account was then shut and we have been told the money cannot be traced or paid. S. J., Sandhurst, Berks. Ebay says that it was very sorry to hear about your experience and has now paid out 70, which includes a little compensation. A company contacted me claiming it could help recover unclaimed marriage tax allowance. I did not complete the online form as it asked for personal details such as our National Insurance numbers. Is this a scam? M. L., Wirral, Cheshire. You do not need a third party to claim the marriage tax allowance, so be wary of any companies offering this service. Even if they are not outright scammers, many charge hefty fees. To find out if you are eligible, or to apply for the perk, visit gov.uk/marriage-allowance. It is worth up to 252 per tax year and one person must earn less than 12,570 to qualify. The DeLorean is one of those automobiles that became iconic due to pop culture, specifically thanks to Universal Studios' Back to the Future movie series. However, before the car was turned into Dr. Emmett "Dok" Brown's iconic time machine, the DeLorean was just a futuristic-looking car that may or may not have impressed a lot of people. Here are ten things to know about the DeLorean before, during, and after its appearance on the big screen: Its Proper name is the DMC-12 Most people know the car as the DeLorean thanks to the Back to the Future movies, but in truth, the DeLorean's proper name is the DeLorean DMC-12. The DMC-12, according to Hot Cars, is equipped with a 2.7-liter V6 engine and could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 8.8 seconds. It is the first and only car of the DeLorean Motor Company (DMC), something we'll know more further down in this article. The DMC-12 Was Built In Ireland The car was built in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which isn't the friendliest of places back in the '80s, according to Maxim. Back then, the region was plagued by sectarian violence, which prompted the British government to shell out $175 million to construct DMC's factory. The British government at the time hoped that the factory could provide the jobs the region needs to help calm the people there. It Should Have Been Faster The DMC-12 may be able to go from 0 to 60 mph in 8.8 seconds, but its V6 engine, which is the product of a Peugeot-Renault-Volvo venture, never delivered the performance promised by DMC founder john Z. DeLorean. It Is Deceptively Fragile Not only was the DMC-12 slow, but it was also fragile due to the car's body being made of SS304 stainless steel, which is the same kind of metal used to make kegs and kitchen counters, according to Thrillist. Thanks to DMC using stainless steel, dents, and crumbles are common among DMC-12 cars. The material also meant that DMC-12 owners had to use gasoline and a scouring pad to wash it. However, this fragility is also an advantage in the event of a crash because... It Was Known For Its Safety Yes, despite the car's fragility, the DMC-12 is a car known for keeping its passengers safe thanks to its great crash protection. You could even argue that the DMC-12 is the pioneering car that previewed many safety concepts commonly used today in car manufacturing, such as crumple zones. Crumple zones are places in a car that are meant to collapse and absorb crash energy rather than passing it along to its passengers. Read More: US Reclaims First Spot From Japan on Top 500 Supercomputer Ranking It's More Expensive Than It Should Be The "12" in the DMC-12's name stands for the car's planned price - $12,000. However, by the time the car was fully developed and ready for production, the price increased to $25,000, which is around $54,510 in today's money, according to in2013dollars. There Are Only 6,000 DMC-12s In The World The DMC-12s are one of the rarer cars to see in the wild due to their limited numbers. Only 6,000 units of the car were ever produced by DMC due to low demand, and as such, any DMC-12 model is being "worshipped" by every car enthusiast. The low demand is brought on by the next entry in our list. The DMC-12 Is A Failed Car DMC initially found a huge demand for its first car, convincing the company to manufacture at least 20,000 units annually. However, the car's parts were of low quality, and the car itself was made by inexperienced workers from its Ireland factory, per a separate Hot Cars article. These two factors led to the car being poorly made, with owners complaining that the car was always breaking down and that the parts that were broken needed to be replaced with the same low-quality parts. The constant breaking down of the DMC-12 led to a significant drop in its demand, which eventually became irreversible, forcing DMC to permanently close its doors in 1982, per CNN. Six DeLoreans Were Used In The Movies According to Screen Rant, six DMC-12s were purchased to make the three Back to the Future movies. Three of the six were used during the first film, with one of them being torn apart to get interior angle shots while the movie's main characters are inside the car. The other three were used in the sequels, with one of them being destroyed by the train in the third movie, per DeLorean Rental.com. It Is Being Remade The DeLorean Motor Company was resurrected from the shadows by Liverpool-born mechanic Stephen Wynne, who was able to secure the defunct company's trademark DMC logo along with the legacy of the company's former founder, John DeLorean, per Future Car. Wynne was able to acquire the remaining DMC-12 parts and managed to create 9,200 units out of them, per Popular Mechanics. Today, the new DMC, which is headquartered in Humble, Texas, is creating a modernized, electric vehicle counterpart of the DMC-12, the DMC Alpha 5, while also servicing old DMC-12s that are still out there. Related Article: Lego Unveils Much Improved Version of 'Back to the Future' DeLorean Set Unilever shares soared after activist investor Nelson Peltz joined the board of the consumer goods giant. The FTSE 100 firm, which makes Ben and Jerry's ice cream, Marmite and Dove soap, said the billionaire will become a non-executive director having built up a 1.5 per cent stake through his investment vehicle Trian Fund Management. The elevation of the 79-year-old to the board followed meetings with Unilever chief executive Alan Jope and chairman Nils Andersen. Billion-dollar bride: Peltz and his daughter at her 3m wedding Shares jumped 9.4 per cent, or 329.5p, to 3825p on the news, as analysts said Peltz could help to turn Unilever's fortunes around. Investors are hoping he will use his position on the board to spearhead a turnaround similar to those he helped oversee at other consumer goods giants including Gillette owner Procter & Gamble. Analysts said he could push for the group to sell struggling brands to focus on faster-growing businesses, and increase its focus on more profitable sectors. Unilever shares have fallen 15 per cent since Jope took the top job in January 2019, significantly lagging the FTSE 100 which is up 13 per cent in the same period. Its value headed back towards 100billion again yesterday, closing at 95.1billion, valuing Peltz's stake at around 1.42billion. Peltz said he was 'delighted' to be joining the board and that Trian had made 'a considerable investment in Unilever'. He said: 'We believe it is a company with significant potential, through leveraging its portfolio of strong consumer brands and its geographical footprint.' Peltz is worth 1.3bn and look who's just joined the family... Nelson Peltz is one of America's richest men and Brooklyn Beckham's father-in-law. The 79-year-old who has a fortune of 1.3billion walked daughter Nicola down the aisle in April at her 3million star-studded wedding to David and Victoria Beckham's eldest son. Brooklyn and Nicola with Posh and Beck The ceremony packed with A-listers at Peltz's 79million estate in Palm Beach, Florida, was a far cry from the activist investor's roots. He was born in 1942 in Brooklyn, New York, and dropped out of the prestigious Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania. He earned a fearsome reputation as a tough-minded businessman, building his family's frozen food business into the biggest frozen food distributor in America's north-east. After running Triangle Industries, the biggest packaging firm in the world, he earned around 535million from its sale in 1989. He founded Trian Fund Management in 2005. Married three times and a father of ten, he is a friend of fellow New Yorker Donald Trump. But he distanced himself from the former president after the US Capitol riots last year. Andersen said: 'Peltz's experience in the global consumer goods industry will be of value to Unilever as we continue to drive the performance of our business.' His stake was first revealed in January amid a series of dramatic setbacks for the Dutch consumer goods giant. And Peltz's emergence piled further pressure on Jope after an embarrassing U-turn saw him pull out of an audacious 50billion takeover bid for GlaxoSmithKline's consumer arm. Jope's repeated attempts to buy the GSK business which is being spun off into a separate company named Haleon next month were slammed by investors and analysts and sent Unilever's share price tumbling. Another investor Terry Smith, who owns 0.8pc of Unilever through his firm Fundsmith, called the saga a 'near death experience'. He said bosses needed to focus on fixing Unilever's flagging business before looking to buy others. And it came after an earlier row with Smith who publicly blasted Jope over Unilever's obsessive focus on 'woke' issues. He lashed out at Unilever for being 'obsessed' with its sustainability credentials. Smith said that Unilever had 'lost the plot' by trying to define 'the purpose' of some of its brands like Hellmann's mayonnaise. Following the setbacks, Unilever kicked off a process to streamline its sprawling business that will see it cut jobs and simplify its structure into five units. It has also consolidated its headquarters in London to cut costs and last year offloaded its slow-growing Lipton tea business. Peltz is renowned for pushing strategic and governance changes at companies he is involved in. His firm Trian was responsible for an overhaul at Cadbury that saw it spin off its drinks business Schweppes before it was bought by US giant Kraft. Peltz also spearheaded an overhaul after taking a stake in P&G and joining its board. He criticised its ageing brands and a 'suffocating bureaucracy' leading to poor shareholder returns. Shares have soared since he invested in the business. Pressure: GSK boss Emma Walmsley GSK has snapped up another pharma business as it shifts focus towards medicines and vaccines ahead of the planned split from its consumer arm. The FTSE 100 drugs giant agreed to buy Boston-based Affinivax for up to 2.6billion. Affinivax is developing a vaccine to combat pneumococcal diseases which include pneumonia and meningitis as well as milder illnesses such as sinusitis which can cause headaches and a runny nose. GSK will pay 1.7billion upfront as well as additional payments worth 954million if the pneumococcal vaccine succeeds in clinical trials. The deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year. Hal Barron, GSK's chief scientific officer, said the deal to buy Affinivax 'further strengthens' the company's pipeline of vaccines. Steven Brugger, boss of Affinivax, said the tie-up would enable 'continued advances' for the company's technology and improve its existing vaccines. GSK shares rose 0.3 per cent, or 4.6p, to 1732.6p following news of the deal. The purchase is the largest deal for GSK since a three-part transaction in 2014 when it sold its oncology business to Novartis while also buying the Swiss firm's vaccines division and combining their consumer health segments into a joint venture. It also follows the acquisition of cancer drug developer Sierra Oncology, which GSK snapped for 1.5billionn in April. Max Herrmann, healthcare analyst at investment bank Stifel, said the purchase of Affinivax was 'a decent deal' and would allow GSK to access the multi-billion pound market for pneumococcal vaccines. He added it would provide 'a competitive advantage' for the firm as it considered 'the next stage' of its development pipeline beyond its current best-selling shingles vaccine, Shingrix. GSK boss Emma Walmsley is preparing to shift the firm's focus squarely towards medicine after it demerges its consumer health arm next month into a business called Haleon. She has come under increasing pressure from shareholders, including activist investor Elliott Management, to improve its medicine pipeline and hit growth targets once the split is completed. Ships carrying Russian oil have been hit by a coordinated insurance ban from the UK and EU. The prohibition will strive to keep the Kremlin out of the Lloyd's of London market. This latest embargo, which was first reported by the Financial Times, forms part of a new batch of sanctions from the EU and will impact Russia's ability to export crude. Ships carrying Russian oil have been hit by a coordinated insurance ban from the UK and EU It follows the EU's announcement that the 27-nation bloc has agreed to ban more than two-thirds of Russian oil imports. This was alongside a goal to cut out 90 per cent of Russian oil by the end of 2022. The new proposal was agreed at a summit focused on helping Ukraine with a long-delayed package of sanctions that was blocked by Hungary. President of the European Council Charles Michel said: 'We want to stop Russia's war machine and cut the financing of Russia's military capacity.' The French boss of AstraZeneca has been given a knighthood for his part in helping develop a coronavirus vaccine. Sir Pascal Soriot, who was born in France but now lives with his wife and two children in Australia, said he was 'truly humbled' to receive the honour. Humbled: Sir Pascal received the award for services to UK life sciences and the response to coronavirus The 63-year-old, who spends much of his time in Britain, where AstraZeneca is based, said: 'Growing up in France, I had many dreams and hopes for the future, but I never thought I would receive a knighthood from Her Majesty the Queen.' Sir Pascal received the award for services to UK life sciences and the response to coronavirus. AstraZeneca developed a Covid vaccine alongside Oxford University that was approved in 2020. The jab was used extensively across the UK and helped reduce the number of people admitted to hospital. Sir Pascal has been chief executive of AstraZeneca since 2012. He made his name early on in his tenure by fighting off a 80billion takeover bid by US rival Pfizer in 2014. AstraZeneca is now valued at over 160billion. Advertisement Hunter Biden's search history reveals an obsession with porn including incest fantasies, '18yrs old', 'lonely widow' porn, 'MILF crack cocaine porn', as well as instructions on how to hack a lover's cell phone and repeated google searches of himself. The list of searches covers just six days in March 2019 before he broke his laptop, took it to be repaired a Delaware shop, and then abandoned it. But it is packed full of revealing and disturbing websites. Dozens of videos on the laptop also reveal Hunter's penchant for filming himself having sex with prostitutes and posting the home movies on his own Pornhub account under the username 'RHEast'. The president's son took care not to show his face in his uploaded videos. Hunter Biden's abandoned laptop has laid bare his secret porn addiction as well as his penchant for making his own amateur sex videos. The internet search list shows Hunter was frequently visiting porn sites and making other Google searches shortly before he broke his laptop and took it to be repaired a Delaware shop where he abandoned it The president's son was a frequent visitor of porn sites including adult cam site Glasscams.com, where he often made screen recordings of himself (bottom right corner) interacting live with women The list of searches covers just six days in March 2019 during which he visited 281 websites, 98 of them pornographic His browsing history from March 12, 2019 shows he spent time on Pornhub and also searched for 'girl nude' on Google Of the 281 websites captured in his browsing history over six days, 98 were pornographic. Shockingly, Hunter texted a link to a Pornhub page to a phone number he had saved in his contacts book as 'Dad' on October 22, 2018. However, other texts show he and Joe Biden used each other's phone numbers at various times, so it is unclear whether the president was using that number at the time. Hunter, who had a controversial relationship with his brother's widow, also repeatedly searched Pornhub for videos involving widows, including 'Homemade widow porn', 'Homemade lonely widow porn' and 'Lonely widow porn'. The Biden son, who was 49 at the time, searched for porn videos involving teenagers according to his browsing history. Videos he visited included '18 Yrs old and really Good at Riding D***', 'TEENFIDELITY Country Girl Raylin Ann C****pie' and 'Lucky Foreign Student Stripped & F***ed by Horny Teen Pals'. Texts, photos and video footage on the laptop show the president's son ordering prostitutes and filming porn videos with them which he then posted online on his Pornhub account Hunter - who had a controversial relationship with his late brother's wife after his death - appeared to have a taste for incest fantasies as well as '18yrs old', 'lonely widow' porn, 'MILF crack cocaine porn' Above is a grab from a screen recording he took of his live web cam interactions with cam girls He also searched for 'Washington DC Milf Crack Cocaine' seven times throughout the week. Among his porn searches is a record of Hunter visiting a 2009 New York Post article about his sister Ashley Biden and her history of partying, arrests, and alleged cannabis use while she was a college student in New Orleans. He also used search engine DuckDuckGo, a more discreet alternative to Google, to search for himself several times between March 12 and March 17, 2019. Texts and videos on the laptop show the president's son ordering prostitutes to his hotel rooms in California and Connecticut, discussing buying and using crack with them, and filming porn videos with them which he then posted online on his Pornhub account. The profile picture for his account is a photo of two women sitting on him on a bed in a messy room, with a small white dog also perched on the bed in the background. The videos Hunter filmed on his laptop include one where a woman uses her feet during sex. In another video, Hunter puts his hand around a woman's throat while having sex. Photos found on the device included selfies and candid shots with his father, President Joe Biden iMessage records appear to show Hunter sent a link to a Pornhub page to a phone number he had saved in his contacts book as 'Dad' on October 22, 2018. However, other texts show he and Joe Biden used each other's phone numbers at various times, so it is unclear whether the president was using that number at the time The profile picture for his account is a photo of two women (pictured) sitting on him on a bed in a messy room, with a small white dog also perched on the bed in the background In one embarrassing video, a post-coital Hunter is seen nude and grimacing before farting audibly. In several of the raw videos on his computer, Hunter finished with the woman and then left the camera running as he hunched in front of the screen, poring over the footage Screenshots from another explicit video show Hunter left a woman tied up on his bed with a red stocking over her head while he went out to get pastries. He returned, and took a screenshot as he munched on a sandwich and laid a chocolate croissant out in front of the hooded and trussed woman. The videos are mainly filmed using his laptop's webcam, though he also filmed himself using a phone on a selfie stick, and in a threesome with two women, one of them uses an iPad to film a hard-to-reach angle. In several of the raw videos on his computer, he finishes with the woman and then leaves the camera running as he hunches in front the screen, poring over the footage. In one embarrassing post-coital moment the disheveled Hunter grimaces, leans to the left and farts audibly. Hunter had a paid-for, premium account on the website Pornhub where he earned several badges for his prolific use of the site and even uploaded his own explicit video. DailyMail.com can reveal Hunter also had a paid-for, premium account on the website Pornhub where he earned several badges (pictured) for his prolific use of the site and even uploaded his own explicit video A video on his laptop in which he recorded his screen shows him logging into his Pornhub account and searching for videos He listed his profile name as 'Harper', describing himself as a 45-year-old single, heterosexual male living in Paris Hunter's laptop is brimming with files that give a shocking glimpse into his debauched life during which he engaged in drug use and prostitution. This photo of him grabbing a woman's hair was recovered from his laptop A video on his laptop in which he recorded his screen shows him logging into his Pornhub account and searching for videos. At one point in the video Hunter navigates to his own profile, under the pseudonym RHEast. The page says he has watched 3,631 videos, had 24 subscribers and 66 'friends' on the site. He listed his profile name as 'Harper', describing himself as a 45-year-old single, heterosexual male living in Paris. An account with the username RHEast currently exists on the Pornhub premium site, with details that match the account and badges saying it has existed for at least five years. The RHEast page says it was last logged into three years ago. The previous profile picture, of two women sitting on Hunter on a bed with a small dog perched on the end, has been removed and all that remains are two playlists of porn videos. Other Pornhub users have commented on the videos, apparently aware the account was once used by Hunter. DailyMail.com last year commissioned top cyber forensics experts Maryman & Associates to analyze its data and to confirm the laptop's contents were real He repeatedly searched Pornhub for videos involving widows as well as some titled 'Washington DC Milf Crack Cocaine' seven times throughout the week Among his browsing history one day were visits to Pornhub, his bank website, as well a Google search of an article about his sister Ashley Biden's partying and arrest history Hunter also seemed to repeatedly Google himself in between browsing Hunter Biden's abandoned laptop has laid bare his secret porn addiction as well as his penchant for making his own amateur sex videos 'Natasha Nice? Abella Danger?' user GoonMcCumd commented, referring to the porn stars in the playlist's videos. 'Pretty good taste, Hunter. Now if only you didn't have that taste for crack and meth' Another user named 'ChinaJoeBiden' wrote 'good morning. It's a beautiful day to make money in China!' in an apparent reference to Hunters controversial Chinese business dealings reportedly under investigation by the FBI. On top of his pornography and prostitute interests, the president's son was a regular user of sex cam sites. His search history includes five visits to adult cam site Glasscams.com, and screen recordings he made on his computer show him naked, interacting live with the women on the site. Hunter's internet browsing also focused on hacking and spying on phones to catch infidelity. He looked up a private investigator's website and searched for questions on crowdsourcing Q&A site Quora including 'who may hack a cell phone?', 'Hire A Professional Hacker', 'Catch a Cheater', 'How do I track a cheating husband?', 'Have you ever hired someone to hack a cheating spouses cell phone?', and 'Can my cheating girlfriend cell phone be hacked?' Hunter searched for questions and answers on the site about 'spoofing' cell phone numbers, which involves creating a fake copy of a number to intercept calls and texts, and looked up articles on an Indian hacker called Kashmiri Cheetah. Hunter infamously dated his late brother Beau's (left) widow, Hallie Biden, after his passing in 2015. Files on his laptop suggest that he may have been spying on her At some point, Hunter also conducted searches about catching a 'cheating' girlfriend and instructions on how to 'hack a cellphone' Files on Hunter's laptop also show that he may have been spying on his lover Hallie, and accused her of infidelity with a friend of Hunter's and the Biden family. He kept spreadsheets full of text messages which appear to be from Hallie's phone, as well as annotated call logs from her phone in his AT&T bills, on his computer. In one testy exchange on February 6, 2017, Hunter texted Hallie and a family friend what appears to be a transcript of private texts between the man and Hallie. 'If you can possibly explain this as something innocent and - [the man] is just such a food friend then I will apologize,' Hunter wrote to them. Hunter wrote to the family friend '...if I sent this to your girlfriend when you were away (I went to CA for Rehab) AND 87 other texts just in march would you be OK with that?' In the text transcript, [the man] texts Hallie on March 3, 2016: 'Come pls. Need you here. One drink and I'll fill you in when you get here. For real. I need you.' Hallie replies: 'Feel free to stay here I'm in bed' and [the friend] responds 'I probably will'. A jealous Hunter appears to have been spying on his lover and brother's widow, Hallie Biden. He took a selfie with a phone showing her private texts with a friend, suggesting he went through her messages Hunter apparently kept spreadsheets full of text messages which appear to be from Hallie's phone on his computer. His sister-in-law and one-time girlfriend is seen planting a kiss on his cheek in a selfie After Hunter sent them the transcript, [the friend] responded angrily denying any romantic involvement with Hallie. 'I've blocked all of you on my phone. The idea that I lied to you about Hallie is so f***ing laughable,' he wrote. 'I will never talk to Hallie ever again until she tells you I never gave her any idea that I was interested in her. It's f***ing so pathetic. 'Two months after Beau died and I was trying to make time w her for real....even though Beau and I were not talking and are relationship ended the way it did do you honestly f***ing think I would try to f***ing make time with Hallie two months after he died. F***ing.' Newly-elected Nationals leader David Littleproud found love with a glamorous bank executive just months after splitting with his wife. Mr Littleproud spectacularly ousted former leader Barnaby Joyce in the battle for the party's top job in a post-election leadership spill in Canberra on Monday. The 45-year-old, who had a 20-year career in banking before he entered politics in 2015, couldn't wipe the smile off his face post-spill when he said: 'To be elected leader is one of the proudest moments of my life.' The father-of-three posted happy snaps on Instagram of himself with Amelia Dobson, 37, as they cast their votes in the federal election and celebrated with 'democracy sausages' in his electorate Maranoa, west of Brisbane. The pair are believed to have been an item since 2020 - after he and Sarah ended their 20-year marriage in 2019. Mr Littleproud announced the separation the day after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed he had split from his ex-wife, Carmel Tebbutt . David Littleproud and Amelia Dobson (pictured together) have been an item since about 2019 The couple posted happy snaps on election day - casting their votes, and celebrating with democracy sausages (pictured) 'It is an amicable split,' Mr Littleproud told the Warwick Daily News in January 2019, as he confirmed his marriage breakdown. 'My wife Sarah and I have been separated for some time.' Pictured: David Littleproud's ex-wife, Sarah The member for Maranoa had paid tribute to his wife in his maiden speech to Parliament in September 2016, a little more than a year before becoming a cabinet minister. 'I would like to pay tribute to my family,' he told the House of Representatives in 2016. 'My wife, Sarah, and our three boys- Tom, Hugh and Harry - are a constant pillar of support for me and for that I am truly grateful.' Since announcing the separation in 2019, Ms Dobson - who has a son with her ex-husband - and Mr Littleproud have been photographed together at events with their respective families. They took a happy snap with her parents and two younger sisters at her family's home in Clifton, in Mr Littleproud's electorate, on Christmas Day in 2020, and then again 2021. Ms Dobson regularly likes and shares Mr Littleproud's posts on LinkedIn, most recently his celebration of 40 years of Nationals membership. Like her boyfriend, Ms Dobson - who is originally from Hiroshima in Japan, grew up in Toowoomba, Queensland, and has three sisters - had a lengthy career in banking. Mr Littleproud (top left) is pictured with Ms Dobson (bottom left) at her family's home on Christmas Day in 2021 The couple cast their votes in the federal election on May 21 in Mr Littleproud's electorate of Maranoa She joined Suncorp's Toowoomba office in 2007, before leaving in 2017 for the Commonwealth Bank where she is an executive manager of regional and agribusiness for Queensland's south-west. Mr Littleproud also worked in agribusiness banking at Suncorp in Toowoomba in 2011. He was there for almost five years before he became a politician. He worked for the National Australia Bank for 17 years before moving to Suncorp. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Littleproud and Ms Dobson for comment. Mr Littleproud won the battle for leadership after a three-way contest with former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce and Darren Chester. The result meant Mr Joyce's second tenure as leader lasted less than a year after he rolled Michael McCormack in June 2021. The 45-year-old's election represents a shift in direction for the Nationals and could help de-escalate the so-called climate wars. Mr Joyce was against the Coalition's net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 target while Mr Littleproud was in favour. Mr Littleproud and Ms Dobson sip cocktails on a night out with her sister last year Newly elected Nationals Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie (left), newly elected Nationals leader David Littleproud and newly elected Nationals Deputy Leader Perin Davey on Monday The new leader said: 'The National Party today starts its journey towards 2025, with a vibrant team, ready to articulate the policies that are important to regional and rural Australia. 'This is about us as a party moving forward, not lurching to the left, not lurching to the right but bringing this thing called common sense to Canberra,' he said. 'A sensible centre is where you win elections, not chasing extremities down rabbit holes that don't work.' NSW senator Perin Davey was elected deputy leader, and Bridget McKenzie as the senate leader. Mr Littleproud said he would work closely with the Liberal Party - now led by Peter Dutton - to hold Labor to account and ultimately return to the Coalition to power in 2025. He added that there would be lessons from the election loss, but he was confident about the Nationals' direction ahead of the 2025 poll. 'There'll be a lot of unpacking of the election results not only in National Party seats but also in Liberal seats, I think that's what we need to learn from and understand,' he said. Barnaby Joyce has lost leadership of the Nationals to his former deputy David Littleproud. He left his wife in 2017 and had an affair with former Liberal staffer, Vikki Campion (pictured together with their sons) 'What's important is that we set forward on a pathway, a journey, to 2025 together.' Mr Joyce released a statement after he lost the ballot on Monday, saying: 'I suppose you think I'm sad. Not really.' He congratulated the new leadership team, and said he would get a chance to spend more time with his family. 'I want to congratulate David, Perin and Bridget, they have a mighty task ahead of them and I will give them all the support I can,' he said. 'Now, I have a chance to get back to my second greatest love, after my family, and that is my beloved people of New England, where I will have more time to get around my electorate and to be a person of service to them.' In December, 2017, Mr Joyce used a parliamentary debate on same sex marriage to confirm he was no longer with Natalie, his ex-wife of 24 years, with whom he shares four daughters. His affair with former staffer Vikki Campion's hit the headlines in February 2018 after photos emerged of his former staffer heavily pregnant. The couple now have two young sons together - Thomas and Sebastian. A Year 7 student who snuck $27,000 from his parents' safe and took thousands to school, showering his friends with lavish gifts, obtained the cash by raiding his future university fund, Daily Mail Australia understands. Parents received a letter from Epping Boys' High School, in Sydney's northwest, after the boy took classmates on extravagant shopping sprees that included computers and gaming vouchers. He then reportedly gave the rest of the money away, walking up to peers and handing them wads of cash - with some bundles totalling $500. The incident was quickly detected by teachers, who called police to the campus on Vimiera Road to investigate before the matter was dropped. Do you know more? Email Tita.Smith@mailonline.com A fellow student, who wished to remain anonymous, told Daily Mail Australia the boy's parents had squirrelled away $30,000 for his future studies. Police were called to Epping Boys' High School, in Sydney's northwest, last week after a boy brought in $27,000 Of that sum, he heard the boy squandered about $14,000 on purchases for the online game Fortnite - which allows users to buy its own currency, V-Bucks, for in-game purchases. V-Bucks gift cards can be picked up at retail stores like EB Games and Target then redeemed once gamers log into their Fortnite account. The remaining $13,000 was spent on generous presents and monetary gifts, with a number of students walking away with several hundred dollars. 'A mate came up to me and showed me that he had been given $150,' the schoolmate said. 'And he doesnt even know him. 'Another kid who is in Year 8 got $500.' The schoolmate said juniors were the primary beneficiaries of the spending blitz, but some seniors also reaped the benefits. Another pupil said a Year 7 boy was passed $400 in cash, while another boy from the same grade, who did not disclose the amount he received, said he has since given back funds at the insistence of his parents. The unusual event has shocked the school community and left the high-roller's parents devastated as they come to terms with the loss of their hard-earned savings. Epping Boys High School is a public educator in Sydney's affluent north west A schoolmate said the boy reportedly spent $14,000 on purchases for Fortnite, which has its own currency that can be purchased through gift cards then redeemed online 'Everyone was confused about why this kid was handing out money and why he would hand it out if he had that much money in the first place,' the schoolmate said. 'He was just an ordinary kid in Year 7.' Several other older students said they did not hear about the until following days because the handout took place in the junior's area of the playground. 'I could not believe it,' one boy said impressed. '27K. That's mad.' The schoolmate's mother, who learnt of the incident from her son before receiving the email, said she sympathised with the seventh grader's parents. 'He was flashing it around. Funding shopping trips, equipment. If that was my child, I would freak out,' she said. Sources have told Daily Mail Australia the boy squandered his university fund on online games and cash gifts for schoolmates The incident has left the school community in shock, leaving some students confused and others impressed 'His parents were absolutely livid. The whole situation is very sad.' Another parent whose son is in a different grade said what happened was 'just horrible'. 'The newsletter said he used the money to buy some gifts then gave the rest away,' she said. 'Then I heard in the news he was sprinkling it around like confetti.' A third mother whose child is also in Year 7 said she heard the student at the centre of the scandal was 'distressed' in the wake of his high-profile splurge. She said all children in that grade had been instructed during a year meeting to tell teachers if they had any additional information about the incident. Another student said there were three cops present at the school and kids were asked to return the money because it was a police investigation. In the email to parents, Principal Jessica Schadel said the cohort had been asked to 'reflect' on what they may know. Parents were sent a letter advising them of the unusual event last Tuesday, which saw police called to the school 'Today we had occasion to talk to year 7 about amounts of cash that has (sic) been circulating around in the form of 'gifts', gaming vouchers, funded shopping trips and computer equipment,' Ms Schadel wrote on Tuesday. 'The Youth Officer from Ryde Police also spoke to the year group regarding this matter. 'We have asked the boys to spend some time reflecting on what they may know about this issue and to see a member of the year 7 wellbeing team should they have any information.' Ms Schadel failed to return Daily Mail Australia's phone calls when contacted on Tuesday. A spokesperson for the Department of Education confirmed a NSW Police Youth Officer had spoken to students. 'Epping Boys High School has been working closely students and families impacted by this matter, with appropriate support for those involved,' they said. 'The school considers this matter to be now resolved.' Epping Boys' High School, a public educator, is located in Sydney's leafy and affluent residential Upper North Shore. It has earned a reputation for academic performance, which saw it place 86th in the top 100 schools across NSW in 2017 for its HSC results. Merna Kasha was struggling to put the pieces of her life back together after alienating her friends and family in the weeks leading to her death Merna Kasha was struggling to cope with loneliness after alienating her friends and consumed by a new relationship in the weeks leading to her death. One friend, who did not want to be named, said the 18-year-old 'felt like everyone was against her' as she faced drug and assault charges and was hit with two AVOs against a relative and a former friend. Ms Kasha's body was recovered from Green Valley Creek in Canley Heights about 2pm on Saturday after a month-long search. Police are still investigating, although early indications suggest her death is not suspicious. The teenager started isolating herself from her closest friends earlier in the year and 'wasn't acting like herself' as she became consumed in a new relationship and fought with her family. Ms Kasha was convinced 'she didn't have anyone to talk to about her problems' and began smoking marijuana to cope. Friends say she became increasingly private about her relationship with both her boyfriend and her family. 'She really wanted to make things work. She never even told me his name,' one friend said of her boyfriend. Ms Kasha would often smoke marijuana in the staircase of a public car parking lot in Fairfield as she 'waited on her boyfriend to call or message her'. A body believed to be that of 18-year-old Merna Kasha was found about 2pm on Saturday afternoon in the Green Valley Creek in Canley Heights - a month after she mysteriously disappeared But she had never mentioned going down to Greek Valley Creek and friends say they can't imagine why she'd ever head there alone. By the time Ms Kasha disappeared on April 28, she'd either blocked or deleted most of her old friends. Her Instagram account was made private and she'd stopped replying to messages from people trying to check in on her. I have no idea why she would have been at the creek Merna Kasha's friend She was simultaneously dealing with several matters before the courts - including drug possession charges. 'She was a really sweet hearted girl,' the friend said. 'My heart is just broken.' Police appealed for information into her mystery disappearance as recently as last Wednesday, which suggests new evidence came to light which prompted their discovery. The creek where Ms Kasha's decomposed body was found is just seven minutes from her family home. About 8pm on April 28 - the day of her disappearance - the teenager was dropped on a street just eight minutes from the creek. While she was never seen again, detectives believe she was in touch with family several times in the days after she vanished before contact stopped entirely. Merna Kasha, 18, disappeared on April 28 but police believe she communicated with family for several days after she was last seen It's understood she was distressed about her mounting legal woes. Ms Kasha had been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, destroying property, stalking and breaching an AVO and fronted court over the matters just two days before she went missing. The 18-year-old had no criminal history until March 2022, but in the six weeks prior to her disappearance she fronted up to court on seven occasions as her life spiralled out of control. In that period, Ms Kasha was also hit with apprehended violence orders against two people - a close relative and an 18-year-old former friend - and charged with drug possession. She was convicted over the matters and sentenced to a seven month community corrections order. Her matters last appeared in court on May 11, where she was convicted in absence for drug possession. Ms Kasha was ordered not to be anywhere near the relative's home and told she must undertake drug and alcohol counselling as part of her community corrections order. Detectives wearing blue gloves and holding huge binders left her family home about 1.45pm as investigations into Ms Kasha's death continue. Several brown paper bags of evidence were removed from the scene The teenager's distressed parents were comforted by loved ones as detectives sifted through her belongings at the family home in Fairfield on Monday afternoon. 'They're devastated. Their baby is dead, how do you go on after that?' one family friend, who did not want to be named, said as she left the home. 'We're all mourning. What has happened with Merna is a tragedy.' Police are still working to piece together her final days as they investigate how she came to be found in the muddy, isolated creek on Saturday afternoon. Detectives wearing blue gloves and holding huge binders left her family home about 1.45pm as investigations into Ms Kasha's death continue. Several brown paper bags of evidence were removed from the scene as distraught relatives watched on. Police will investigate how Ms Kasha came to be at the creek. Her body was found at the end of a dead end street and on the opposite side of a walking track that follows the water's edge Police at the scene on Saturday after receiving reports a body had been discovered Family and friends arrived at the home on Monday afternoon, many bringing dishes and bags brimming with supplies. Police were simultaneously scouring the creek where Ms Kasha's body was found. Specialist divers spent the morning in the muddy waters looking for clues. A police source said the police was 'pretty decomposed' after an extended period in the elements. 'The body was found in a creek after some pretty harsh weather conditions,' the source said. 'It's a really sad situation.' Police divers have begun scouring a muddy, isolated creek bed for clues after the body of a teenager who has been missing for a month was discovered. Neighbours told Daily Mail Australia their quiet dead end street was overrun by police on Saturday as the creek became the centre of the investigation into Ms Kasha's disappearance. 'It was chaos, but I knew nothing,' one resident, Mr Tai, said. 'My wife heard the commotion but we didn't know it was a body, we thought a house must be on fire.' Mr Tai was shocked to learn - via a group of young tradesmen working next door - that a body had been discovered in the creek behind his house. 'It's so shallow down there. All mud and rubbish like trolleys. It goes to dirt in no rain,' he said. Significant rainfall in recent weeks has helped to fill the creek, and police divers were required at the scene on Monday morning to aid in the investigation But significant rainfall in recent weeks has helped to fill the creek, and police divers were required at the scene on Monday morning to aid in the investigation. Police made a last ditch appeal for information into Ms Kasha's disappearance just last week. It's unclear if new information came to light on the back of that appeal that led to this development. Ms Kasha was last seen when a family member dropped her off on Kihilla St in the western Sydney suburb of Fairfield Heights around 8pm on Thursday, April 28. Her family was informed the discovery was likely the teenager. The body was found at the end of a dead end street and on the opposite side of a walking track that follows the water's edge. It is lined by dense bush and trees which significantly reduce visibility. A planned new crackdown for smokers and vapers aims to make the habit even tougher to continue amid growing concerns about the rapid rise of e-cigarettes and underage users. The popularity of vaping has surged in the past year, especially in teenagers, with numbers doubling among 16-24 year olds in just 12 months. Queensland has stopped short of proposing a New Zealand-style total ban in its overhaul of smoking laws, but is bringing in harsher legislation. A planned new crackdown aims to make life misery for smokers and vapers over growing concerns about the rapid rise of e-cigarettes and underage users The Kiwis have unveiled new legislation to ban young people from ever buying cigarettes in a rolling scheme to make the entire nation of five million smoke-free. People aged 14 and under in 2027 will never be allowed to buy cigarettes in their lifetime under Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's radical new laws. Queensland's health minister Yvette D'Ath decided against a similar blanket ban in her new proposed raft of tobacco law reforms. But shops will need to apply for a licence to sell cigarettes or vapes under the planned legislation. Smoking will also be outlawed in outdoor markets and school car parks, and children and drinkers will be banned from smoking areas in pubs and clubs. Retail workers under 18 would be prohibited from selling tobacco, and cigarette machines would be hidden behind the bar in pubs and clubs. Healthcare for smokers in the state costs about $27billion a year, Ms D'Ath says, while nationwide, the ever-increasing tax on cigarettes brings in just $17billion. One in 10 Queenslanders smoke every day, with about 12 per cent of deaths in the state caused by smoking-related illnesses, according to government figures. Queensland has stopped short of proposing a New Zealand-style total ban in its overhaul of smoking laws but is still bringing in tougher legislation Almost seven per cent of 12 to 17-year-olds smoke every day, while 16 per cent of secondary school students have used a vape. The Queensland health minister feared young people believed e-cigarettes and vaping were a 'healthy alternative' to cigarettes. 'You are actually breathing in dangerous chemicals, some of those chemicals are known to be carcinogenic, into your lungs,' Ms D'Ath said. Dr Kerry Chant said the growth of vaping has the potential to undermine decades of tobacco-control work in Australia, and begged youngsters to stop In NSW, statistics also show more young people are taking up vaping, despite the number of daily smokers continuing to fall. People over the age of 16 lighting up daily fell one per cent to 8.2 per cent in 2021, with almost one in four NSW residents now an ex-smoker, according to new data. But while the number of smokers has dropped, the use of vapes or e-cigarettes among young people has rocketed, with one in 10 now vaping. The 2021 NSW Population Health survey showed twice as many people aged 16 to 24 vaped last year compared with the previous year. 'This is a worrying trend for our young people because vapes can contain many harmful chemicals and toxins, even if they are nicotine free,' NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said. 'We know vapes can harm your health in the short-term, but the long-term effects are largely unknown.' The popularity of vaping has surged in the past year, especially in teens, with numbers doubling among 16-24 year olds in just 12 months She said the growth of vaping has the potential to undermine decades of tobacco-control work in Australia, and begged youngsters to stop. Children who experimented with vaping were three times more likely to take up cigarettes, with products heavily marketed through social media, she said. Quitting is one of the most important things a person can do for their health, Dr Chant explained. 'It will reduce your risk of 16 different types of cancer, coronary heart disease, stroke and other debilitating conditions,' she said. 'Concerningly, people put off quitting because they think they will be able to quit before the damage is done. But every single cigarette smoked is doing damage.' Queensland Cancer Council backed the new proposals over its concerns about the dramatic rise in popularity of vaping among youngsters. 'We're receiving more and more calls, particularly from parents, about the rise of e-cigarette use among children and young people,' said QCC's James Farrell. He called for more research into vaping use and a greater focus on the regulation of emerging products to 'keep keeping young people safe from e-cigarettes'. 'The regulations haven't really caught up with the emerging product. We don't understand the long-term health implications of them,' he said. New Zealand's incoming age-related lifelong ban on smoking only applies to cigarettes, and does not include vaping. One key reason for the sudden drop in NZ smoking numbers over the last two years is vaping, says Australian expert Dr Colin Mendelsohn (pictured) Australian expert Dr Colin Mendelsohn, author of the book Stop Smoking, Start Vaping, says New Zealand has successfully encouraged vaping as an alternative to smoking. And the change in attitude has coincided with a massive decline in the number of smokers, he says. 'More kids are vaping,' he admitted. 'But they don't progress to smoking. 'That's what going to kill them - smoking. Vaping for a few years isn't. We don't want them to vape, but it's not a gateway into smoking. It's actually a gateway out.' He echoed the call for innovative new approaches to tackling smoking. 'We've gone as far as we can with traditional tobacco control methods and the fact that smoking rates aren't falling any further means it's not enough,' he said. The proposals come as new research shows most Australians back a total ban on cigarette sales, with just 16.1 per cent believing that would be 'a bad thing'. More than half, 50.8 per cent, supported a phase-out, and an overwhelming majority of 61.8 per cent said it should happen within the next decade. The cost of cigarettes in Australia is soaring, with an average packet costing $40 What you could have bought instead of a weekly $40 pack of smokes Two six-packs of VB beer or four pints at any pub in Australia An unlimited calls, 10GB data mobile phone plan for a couple A day at Sydney's Taronga Zoo Two movie tickets at most cinemas A kilo of rump steak from Coles Advertisement The national survey by the Cancer Council also revealed 75.3 per cent supported stricter licensing regulations for retailers. Director of Quit Victoria Dr Sarah White says she expects fewer retailers to stock cigarettes regardless of any ban. 'The market might just get to a point where the retailers say, "There's not enough people buying these products, it's something I have to lock away, it costs me a lot to keep under my counter, we might just give it away",' she said. 'I've talked to quite a few retailers who are saying they're not sure whether they want to stay in the business because it's not very profitable for them.' Australia has most expensive cigarettes in the world, with a typical 25-pack of Marlboro costing $48.95. Anyone who smokes a pack a day will be shelling out about $18,000 a year to feed their habit. This has led to a surge in the black market tobacco as organised crime syndicates flood the Australian market with cheap smokes. The illegal tobacco trade is worth about $600 million annually, according to Border Force, but Queensland health authorities believe the overhauled laws will help combat the trade. Ms D'Ath added: 'We're taking this important step to ensure that illicit operators know that there's nowhere to hide, and they'll be caught if they do the wrong thing.' Advertisement At least 11 people have been killed and 33 are still missing after Hurricane Agatha caused flooding and mudslides in the Mexican southern Pacific coast state of Oaxaca. Governor Alejandro Murat made an appearance during President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's press briefing Wednesday morning and said that the powerful storm had subsided. He asked that a state of emergency be declared in 26 municipalities that were severely impacted by the Category 2 hurricane that made landfall Monday with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. President Lopez Obrador said Defense Minister Luis Sandoval would be dispatched to Oaxaca to lead the recovery efforts. 'He is going to be in charge of all the federal government's operations and in support of the municipal governments and the government of Oaxaca, of course the main purpose being providing the attention to the people who are affected,' Lopez Obrador said. Aerial view of the heavily damaged Puente Herradura (Herradura Bridge) after the passage of Hurricane Agatha in Oaxaca, Mexico A man stands near a restaurant that was destroyed by Hurricane Agatha after it made landfall in Oaxaca, Mexico, on Monday. Oaxaca Governor Alejandro Murat said Wednesday that the Category 2 storm killed 11 people and at least 33 people are still missing A shack in the town of San Isidro del Palmar was destroyed after Hurricane Agatha slammed hit the Mexican southern Pacific coast state of Oaxaca A Mexican soldier stands in an area damaged in the aftermath of Hurricane Agatha in San Isidro del Palmar, Oaxaca This satellite image made available by NOAA shows Hurricane Agatha off the Pacific coast of Oaxaca, Mexico on Monday. Agatha made history as the strongest hurricane ever recorded to come ashore in May during the eastern Pacific hurricane season Hurricane Agatha made history as the strongest hurricane ever recorded to come ashore in May during the eastern Pacific hurricane season. It wreaked havoc over a sparsely populated stretch of small beach towns and fishing villages in Oaxaca. Agatha lost its strength Tuesday as rains swept across the states of Chiapas, Veracruz, Quintana Roo and Yucatan. Murat said there is a 70 percent chance that the Pacific coast region could get slammed by a cyclone. 'That is why it is very important that the population remains sheltered, since there is a probability of landslides and overflowing of rivers,' the governor said. Residents in the Oaxaca neighborhood of Mazunte clean their houses due to the damage caused by the passage of Hurricane Agatha Residents assess the damage caused by Hurricane Agatha in San Ozolotepec, one of the 26 cities in the Mexican southern Pacific coast state of Oaxaca that were severely impacted by Hurricane Agatha, the most powerful storm to strike the region The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Wednesday that remnants of the storm will reach western Cuba, South Florida, and the Florida Keys on Friday and Saturday. While assessing the damage Tuesday, Murat told reporters that rivers overflowed their banks and swept away people in homes, while other victims were buried under mud and rocks. 'There were fundamentally two reasons' for the deaths, Murat told local media. 'There were rivers that overflowed, and on the other hand, and the most serious part, were landslides.' 8 AM EDT Wed June 1: A broad area of low pressure near the Yucatan Peninsula has a high chance of formation while it moves northeastward over the northwest Caribbean Sea and southeastern Gulf of Mexico during the next couple of days. Follow the latest at https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/5IsZCU9frW National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) June 1, 2022 Vehicles transit through the Oaxaca municipality of Tehuantepec before Hurricane Agatha, a category 2 storm, slammed the Mexican southern Pacific coast state on Monday Murat indicated that the deaths appeared to be concentrated in a number of small towns in the mountains, just inland from the coast. But he said there were also reports of three children missing near the resort of Huatulco. Murat said power had been restored to some communities near the coast, but that some bridges had been washed out and mudslides blocked a number of highways. San Isidro del Palmar, only a couple miles inland from the coast, was swamped by the Tonameca river that flows through town. Residents waded through neck-deep water to salvage what items they could from their homes, walking gingerly with piles of clothing atop their heads and religious figures in their arms. A gas station lies on the floor after it was knocked down by the powerful winds unleashed by Hurricane Agatha after the Category 2 storm hit San Isidro del Palmar, Oaxaca Aerial view of the damage after the passage of Hurricane Agatha in the Oaxaca city of Huatulco, where three children have been reported missing The Herradura Bridge was destroyed in Oaxaca, Mexico, after Hurricane Agatha made landfall. It's the strongest storm to hit along Mexico's Pacific coast since record keeping began in 1949, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center Argeo Aquino, who has lived in the town his whole life, said he could recall only two other occasions when he saw such flooding. 'The houses are totally flooded, so they are getting everything out,' Aquino said Monday as he watched his neighbors. 'There are stores, houses. More than anything else, we have to try to save all the good material, because everything else is going to be washed away.' The Tonameca's brown waters reached the windows of parked cars and the minibuses used for local transportation. Nearby, heavy rain and high winds lashed the beach town of Zipolite, known for its clothing-optional beach and bohemian vibe. The wind howled for about six hours on Monday, aid Silvia Ranfagni, manager of the Casa Kalmar hotel in Zipolite. 'The sound of the wind was really loud, high-pitched,' said Ranfagni. 'It started at 1 p.m. when the telephone coverage went out and it didn't calm down until 7:30.' 'A lot of trees were down, roads washed out,' she said. 'A lot of metal and thatched roofs were blown off.' Agatha formed on Sunday and quickly gained power. It was the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in May in the eastern Pacific, said Jeff Masters, meteorologist with Yale Climate Connections and the founder of Weather Underground. Amazon's Kindle app on Android is much more complicated now than it was before. The popular e-commerce company recently emailed users that they can no longer use the e-reader's Android app to rent or buy ebooks, and pay for Kindle Unlimited subscriptions and music through Audible, per CNET. The rental or buying of ebooks, as well as the purchase of Kindle Unlimited subscriptions, was previously done directly through in-app purchases. Kindle In-App Purchase Removal Details According to an email from Amazon, the change was necessary to "remain in compliance with updated Google Play Store policies," which require apps to use the Google Play billing system to charge for "in-app features and services." Amazon was one of the companies that Google allowed to use their own third-party billing system to collect in-app payments, Engadget said in its article. However, instead of giving Google a cut for every ebook it sells on its Android app, Amazon removed purchases altogether. The search giant takes a 15% cut from transactions using its PlayStore billing system. Google's updated policy covers digital content, subscription services, upgraded versions of a free app, and cloud services like data storage. Meanwhile, orders involving the sale of physical objects like groceries and clothes in apps or peer-to-peer payments or purchases made by gambling apps aren't covered by the updated rule. Read More: Cryptocurrency Revival: Terra Launches LUNA 2.0 With a Rocky Start Apps that do not comply with Google's updated Play Store rule will be removed from the PlayStore. Amazon did the same with its Kindle iOS app earlier in May, wherein the company removed the app's ability to offer in-app purchases to avoid giving Apple a cut of its in-app payments for ebooks and other digital content, such as music, and Kindle Unlimited subscriptions, per The Verge. To create a workaround for iOS users, Amazon will direct customers to Amazon's iOS app and go back to the browser, navigate to Amazon, and buy the content they wish to have using that route. For Android users, Amazon seems to have taken a similar but shorter route. Instead of directing customers to its Android app, customers will have to pay for content on a web browser and then, access the books through Kindle's digital library. The whole process is tedious and frustrating, to say the least. Kindle In-App Purchases Might Still Come Back Soon Amazon is not alone in its removal of in-app purchases to avoid paying a cut to Google. Barnes and Noble removed direct purchasing for the Android version of its Nook app. However, there is hope for the feature to return to Kindle as Google partnered with Spotify to test its third-party billing systems, which could be due to Google's legal battle with Epic Games. It is unclear if Amazon will soon be a part of this new third-party billing system. Related Article: Kindle Hack Can Delete All Your Books, Control Your Amazon Account: How to Download Update to Fix the Issue Advertisement Johnny Depp's lavish spending habits were put on blast with testimony from his former financial manager during the actor's defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard. Depp's former financial manager Joel Mandel testified earlier this month that the actor, 58, earned more than $600 million between 1999 and 2016. He claimed the Pirates of the Caribbean star's spending habits were becoming increasingly irresponsible during that time period. Depp spent his money on mansions, a fleet of luxury cars, traveling only by private plane and blasting his late friend Hunter S. Thompson's ashes from a cannon. He also spent $100,000 per month for an addiction doctor, $10,000 a day for security detail and $300,000 per month for a full-time staff. Depp's extravagant spending was first revealed in a 2016 countersuit from Mandel and his former business management company, The Management Group after Depp sued them alleging it grossly mismanaged his earnings. A countersuit followed that claimed Depp's lavish lifestyle that cost more than $2 million a month to maintain caused his recent financial troubles and that the star ignored their repeated warnings. Johnny Depp, 58, who reportedly earned more than $600 million between 1999 and 2016, spent the money on mansions, a fleet of luxury cars, traveling only by private plane The company handled Depp's finances during a lucrative time in his career as he launched the blockbuster 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise and other big-budget releases, including 'Alice in Wonderland' and the 2005 film 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.' Pirates of the Caribbean and its five sequels are estimated to have earned Depp more than $300 million, although he has now been axed from the movies, with a female-led reboot planned. The lawsuit said Depp paid more than $75 million to buy and maintain 14 homes, including a French chateau and a chain of islands in the Bahamas. Depp also spent heavily to buy a 150-foot yacht, fly on private jets and cultivate collections of fine art and Hollywood memorabilia requiring 12 storage facilities, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit against Mandel was settled in 2016, but Depp's spending was once again in the spotlight when Mandel took the stand earlier this month in the Depp vs. Heard defamation trial, testifying that Depp had become increasingly irresponsible over the 17 years he worked with him, during which he estimated the actor had earned $600million. He said spending levels became 'very large' around 2010 when Depp shot 'The Rum Diary' where he met Heard. Mandel testified that Depp consumed more alcohol and drugs at the time and discussion of finances became rare. Mandel's deposition was shown to jurors as part of Depp's lawsuit against Heard. Depp alleges Heard defamed him when describing herself as a victim of domestic violence in a 2018 op-ed piece which he claims led to tarnishing his career and loss of potential earnings. Heard filed a $100 million countersuit alleging Depp physically assaulted her during their marriage, often while he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Jurors were tasked with deliberating whether either actor was defamed and deserves millions of dollars in damages. $100,000 per month for an addiction doctor, $10,000 per day for security detail and $300,000 per month for a full-time staff Mandel testified that Depp sent $100,000 to Dr. David Kipper every month. Depp hired the doctor in 2014 to help treat his addiction issues after Depp became dependent on opioid medication following a leg injury, he said. Depp and Heard were also each assigned a nurse. Mandel testified that Depp sent $10,000 to Jerry Judge, Depp's former security manager, every day. Judge was in charge of employing a security team to guard Depp at all times. Depp also spent $300,000 per month for a full-time staff, many of whom worked at his portfolio of luxury properties. $75 million on luxury homes: Depp's $13.5m chateau in the south of France, a chain of islands in the Bahamas and five penthouses in L.A.'s Eastern Columbia Building Depp has spent $75 million to 'acquire, improve, and furnish 14 residences' around the world, including mansions in Queensland Depp paid millions for a private island in the Bahamas Depp listed his penthouses atop the Eastern Columbia Building for $12.8 million on September 21, 2016 in Los Angeles, California One of Depp's Hollywood homes. Each residence included a full staff, meaning Depp ran up hundreds of thousands of dollars-a-month in staffing costs for homes that usually lay empty Depp's farm in Lexington, Kentucky seen here in 2017, sits on 41 acres and contains a nearly 6000 square foot house with 6 bedrooms, 7 baths. The farm has 3 barns, 15 stalls, 10 paddocks Depp spent $75 million to 'acquire, improve, and furnish 14 residences' around the world, according to the lawsuit filed in 2016. His residences include or have included a 45-acre chateau in the south of France, valued at $13.5 million, a chain of islands in the Bahamas, several houses in Hollywood, penthouse lofts in downtown Los Angeles and a horse farm in Kentucky. Depp purchased five penthouses L.A.'s Eastern Columbia Building between 2007-2008 that were listed at a combined price of $12.78 million. Each residence included a full staff, meaning Depp ran up hundreds of thousands of dollars-a-month in staffing costs for lavish homes that usually lay empty. Depp's 45 luxury cars: Actor bought a fleet of vintage collectible cars including a 1960 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost and a 1959 Corvette Like any big-spending movie star, Depp also developed a taste for luxury and vintage cars. Depp has owned cars a slew of vintage collectible cars including a Rolls-Royce, 1959 Corvette, and a 1960 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost. The Corvette was gifted to Depp by the producer of The Rum Diary. Depp was given the 1959 Chevrolet Corvette that he drove in the movie The Rum Diary. The actor's love of cars led to him spending millions on cars over the years An $18 million luxury yacht Depp previously named the yacht Vajoliroja - a pun on the Jolly Roger pirate flag when said aloud - after his ex-partner Vanessa Paradis and their children Lily-Rose and Jack JK Rowling reportedly bought the yacht off him in 2016 for $18 million Depp previously named the yacht Vajoliroja - a pun on the Jolly Roger pirate flag when said aloud - after his ex-partner Vanessa Paradis and their children Lily-Rose and Jack. The actor spent 5million renovating the yacht in 2008, giving it a distinctly bohemian feel with plenty of wood and luscious fabric throughout its plush art deco interior, as well as a subtle pirate theme. JK Rowling reportedly bought the yacht off him in 2016. She was wooed by the lavish yet charming 156ft liner after holidaying onboard with her family. The author - who has faced her own trial by social media after being attacked by woke mobs over her views on trans people - threw her support behind Depp after initial allegations against him emerged. She released a statement backing him after calls were made for him to be fired from the Fantastic Beasts movie series, based on Rowling's Harry Potter book series. But studio bosses eventually gave in to fan pressure, and booted Depp from the franchise. Traveling by private plane Johnny Depp and Amber Heard arrive on private jet at Brisbane Airport in an undated photo Depp refuses to fly in anything but a private plane, according to The Management Group, so he bought a Gulfstream GV Depp refuses to fly in anything but a private plane, according to The Management Group, so the actor bought a Gulfstream GV. Those jets cost between $11 million and $14 million a month to buy, and a further $200,000-a-month on fuel and staffing costs. During Amber Heard's trial, the actress made dramatic claims about furious fights she'd endured with Depp aboard his jet. Thousands spent on wine each month Depp (pictured here at Times Square Virgin Megastore, NYC, in 1998), reportedly spent $30,000 a month on wine that was 'flown in from all over the world for personal consumption' Depp reportedly spent $30,000 a month on wine that was 'flown in from all over the world for personal consumption,' the suit claimed. Depp's business manager, Ed White, testified in court earlier this month that Depp and Heard ran up a $160,000 wine bill at Twenty Twenty Wine Merchants by the end of their marriage. Depp's alcohol and drug use has been a focal point of the trial. Heard alleged that Depp would get violent during rages fueled by drugs and alcohol. But Depp alleged it was Heard who was the abuser and that she typically drank two bottles of wine a night. Since the couple's divorce, Depp's tab at the wine company had been nearly eliminated, White testified. In his own testimony earlier in the trial, Depp didn't deny using cocaine, marijuana, and alcohol regularly, but denied that it became a problem. He said he sought treatment only when he developed an addiction to the painkiller Roxicodone, a brand name for the drug Oxycodone, which he took for a leg injury. Collection of guitars Johnny Depp plays famous guitar 'Greeny' in this undated Instagram photo Part of Depp's guitar collection is show as evidence during the Depp vs. Heard trial Depp's bloodstained guitar in court shows as evidence showing the results of their fights Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck perform at The Royal Albert Hall in London in May 2022 as Depp awaits the verdict in his libel lawsuit trial against ex-wife Amber Heard Depp owns an extensive collection of guitars, ranging from well-known models from Gibson, a Les Paul Custom, and a Les Paul Standard, as well as a 1956 Fender Stratocaster. But there are also some oddities like the Gibson Reverse Flying V and the Echopark Ghetto Bird. Most of Depp's guitars are vintage models. Expensive world-class jewelry Depp, famed for his unique sense of style which saw him help popularize tattoos, has many 'pieces of expensive world-class jewelry,' which he is often seen wearing, especially his rings. It was reported that Depp once 'walked into a [high-end jewelry] store, sat for a couple of hours,' an insider said. 'They showed him a lot of stuff, gave him champagne, and he walked out with a $400,000 diamond cuff. It was a classic sort of moment because it wasn't worth $400,000.' Rare Hollywood collectables Depp paid the highest bid for the one-eyed horse named Goldeneye from his film Sleepy Hollow, when he learned it had been sent to auction, and took him home with him Depp spent 'many millions on rare and expensive Hollywood collectables' from the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando. There are so many items that he has 12 storage facilities to house them. The actor charged more than $500,000 in rental fees for storage warehouses that hold collectibles including $17,000 in handbags and luggage, $7,000 for a Keeping Up With the Kardashians couch as a gift for his daughter, Lily-Rose, TMG claimed in the 2016 lawsuit. Following the filming of Sleepy Hollow, Depp paid the highest bid for the one-eyed horse named Goldeneye from the film that had been sent to auction, and took him home with him. Art collection Actor Johnny Depp auctions Basquiat's 1981 painting 'piece Pork', which was painted on a wooden door and is expected to bring in between $3.5 to $5million Depp has spent 'millions' to acquire and maintain an expensive art collection, the suit claimed. The collection includes over 200 pieces of art including works by Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. One of Basquiat's works, 'Self-Portrait' is one of the pieces he has owned. The art was put up for auction at Christie's in 2016 with a price of over $4.7 million. Supporting friends and family Depp has spent millions helping to support 'friends, family and certain employees,' the TMG suit claimed. At least $10 million was spent for living expenses for his sisters and late mother. He also bought his mother a multimillion-dollar home in Hollywood, and spent $35,000 a month on a residence for her when she was ill. Depp funded a startup music label run by a childhood friend, which cost him over $4 million with no revenue. He ultimately cut funding. Spent $5 million to blast friend Hunter S. Thompson's ashes from cannon Writer Hunter S. Thompson and actor Johnny Depp attend a book party at the Players Club in New York City, 1997. Depp spent millions to blast Thompson's ashes from a cannon when the writer died at the age of 67 Hunter S. Thompson's ashes shot from a cannon hundreds of feet in the air via fireworks. Depp spent $5 million to make his friend's wish of his ashes being shot out of cannon come true Depp spent $5 million to fulfill his writer friend Hunter S. Thompson's dream of having his ashes 'blast from a specially made cannon' over Aspen following the writer's death in 2005. 'All I'm doing is trying to make sure his last wish comes true,' Depp said at the time. 'I just want to send my pal out the way he wants to go out.' Depp played Thompson in the 1998 movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which is based on Thompson's iconic piece of Gonzo journalism. Depp and Thompson would regularly meet at Thompsons farm to shoot his guns and talk about literature, life and other musings, Far Out magazine reported. It was rumored that it was Depp who encouraged Thompson to publish his novella The Rum Diary. They remained friends until Thompson shot himself dead at the age of 67. And he STILL ended up with credit card debt Depp paid for millions in expenses for the 'The Management Group' (TMG) credit card over the years, but in their countersuit, the company claimed he stopped making payments in 2016. Depp had racked up $55,000 in debt that the company was forced to pay. Amerie Jo Garza, 10 Amerie Jo Garza (right) Amerie Jo Garza, a fourth grader at Robb Elementary, was one of 19 students confirmed to be killed Tuesday morning by Ramos, who cops say was carrying a handgun and an AR-15 during the attack that also killed two teachers in the classroom. Her grandmother, Berlinda Irene Arreola, said the 10-year-old was killed as she tried to phone 911 while sitting next to her best friend, who ended up 'covered in her blood.' Arreola said Ramos told the students and staffers inside the room, 'You're going to die,' before opening fire - shooting her granddaughter dead as she tried to phone for help. 'So the gunman went in and he told the children, 'You're going to die,' Berlinda told The Daily Beast. 'And [Amerie] had her phone and she called 911. And instead of grabbing it and breaking it or taking it from her, he shot her. She was sitting right next to her best friend. Her best friend was covered in her blood.' Uziyah Garcia Uziyah Garcia, 8 Uziyah Garcia, the youngest victim at age eight, was also killed in the attack. The child's family announced he was killed hours after announcing he was among the many children unaccounted for following the tragedy. The boy's grandfather, Manny Renfro, broke the news early Wednesday after being notified by authorities. '[He was] the sweetest little boy that I've ever known,' Renfro said. 'I'm not just saying that because he was my grandkid.' Renfro recalled how Uziyah last visited him in San Angelo over spring break. 'We started throwing the football together and I was teaching him pass patterns. 'Such a fast little boy and he could catch a ball so good,' the grieving grandad said. 'There were certain plays that I would call that he would remember and he would do it exactly like we practiced.' Makenna Elrod, 10 Makenna Lee Elrod Makenna Elrod, 10, had also been among the missing in the chaos that followed the massacre, with her father, Brandon Elrod telling reporters at the time he feared 'she may not be alive.' Her death was eventually confirmed by a family friend on Wednesday. 'It's pretty sad what this world's coming to,' the girl's father told local outlet KTRK after the shooting. A mother of one of Makenna's friends lamented the loss in a post to Facebook. 'Sweet Makenna Rest in Paradise!! My heart is shattered as my daughter Chloe loved her so much!!' the mom wrote. A relative Wednesday confirmed that the girl had been among the victims. Xavier Lopez, 10 Xavier Lopez Xavier Lopez, 10, was the first student victim to be identified as one of Ramos' victims. The child's mother, Felicha Martinez, told the Washington Post Tuesday that just hours before the massacre, the mom had been at the school to see her son participate an honor roll ceremony. She took a picture showing her son showing off his certificate. In the last exchange she had with the child, the mom heartbreakingly told the boy that she was proud of him and that she loved him, giving him a hug goodbye - not knowing it would be the last time she would see him alive. 'He was funny, never serious and his smile that smile I will never forget,' she recalled after learning of his death from police. 'It would always cheer anyone up.' The boy's cousin, Lisa Garza, 54, of Arlington, said Xavier enjoyed swimming and had been looking forward to the summer. 'He was just a loving 10-year-old little boy, just enjoying life, not knowing that this tragedy was going to happen today,' she said. 'He was very bubbly, loved to dance with his brothers, his mom. This has just taken a toll on all of us.' Amelia Sandoval, Lopez's grandmother, said: 'It's just so hard... you send your kids to school thinking they are going to make it back home but they're not.' Eliahana Torres, 10 Eliahana Cruz Torres Eliahana Cruz Torres, 10, had also been missing for hours until she was confirmed to be among the dead. Adolfo Cruz, her great-grandfather, said she didn't want to attend school the day of the shooting - but was told by her family that she had to attend. He said he remained outside the school gates throughout the night until he leanrned of her fate from local authorities. 'I hope she is alive,' he said at the time. Torres was an avid baseball player and played the sport in a local little league. Ellie Lugo, 10 Ellie Lugo Ellie Lugo was named as a victim of Tuesday's attack by her parents, with Steven Garcia and Jennifer Lugo confirming her death several hours after she was listed among the missing. 'It's hard to issue out a statement on anything right now my mind is going at 1000 miles per hour but I do wanna send our thoughts and prayers to those who also didn't make it home tonight!!! Our Ellie was a doll and was the happiest ever,' Steven Lugo said Wednesday. 'Mom and Dad love you never forget that and please try and stay by our side.' Nevaeh Bravo, 10 Nevaeh Bravo Nevaeh Bravo was confirmed to be among the dead late Tuesday, after her cousin posted on social media following the shooting to ask for helping the girl. Around 9 pm, she broke the news on Twitter. 'Unfortunately my beautiful Nevaeh was one of the many victims from todays tragedy,' she wrote. Sje said the schoolchild was 'flying high' and asked for the family to be kept in people's prayers 'Our Nevaeh has been found. She is flying with the angels above. We love you Navaeh very much princess.' 'Thank you for the support and help,' she wrote. 'Rest in peace my sweet girl, you didn't deserve this.' Bravo's age could not immediately be confirmed. Tess Marie Mata Tess Marie Mata Tess Marie Mata was also among those to perish in the attack, her sister, Faith Mata, revealed in a post to Facebook Wednesday. 'I honestly have no words just sadness, confusion, and anger,' she wrote. 'I'm sad because we will never get to tag team on mom and dad again and tell each other how much we mean to each other, I'm confused because how can something like this happen to my sweet, caring, and beautiful sister, and I'm angry because a coward took you from us.' Photos shared with the post showed Tess smiling in a baby photo, snuggling with a cat, doing gymnastics, flashing a peace sign, and posing in front of a large heart mural. 'Sissy I miss you so much, I just want to hold you and tell you how pretty you are, I want to take you outside and practice softball, I want to go on one last family vacation, I want to hear your contagious laugh, and I want you to hear me tell you how much I love you,' she wrote. Her age could not immediately be confirmed. Rojelio Torres, 10 Rojelio Torres Rojelio Torres, 10, was initially reported missing by his father, but on Wednesday was confirmed dead by his family. A person who said she was the boy's cousin wrote on Twitter: 'It breaks my heart to say my rojelio is now with the angels I'll forever miss you and love you my angel.' The child's father , Federico Torres, told Houston reporters that he was at work when he learned about the shooting and immediately raced to the school. 'They sent us to the hospital, to the civic center, to the hospital and here again, nothing, not even in San Antonio,' he said. 'They don't tell us anything, only a photo, wait, hope that everything is well.' Nearly half a day later, cops broke the news to the boy's family. 'Our entire family waited almost 12 hours since the shooting to find out Rojelio Torres, my 10-year-old nephew, was killed in this tragedy,' Torres' aunt, Precious Perez, told KSAT. 'We are devastated and heartbroken. Rojer was a very intelligent, hard-working and helpful person. He will be missed and never forgotten.' Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, 10 Jayce Luevanos Jayce Luevanos, 10, died in the shooting along with his ten-year-old cousin, Jailah, the child's mother said Wednesday. In a Facebook post, uncle Unberto Gonzalez shared photos of both kids while offering a touching tribute. 'My babies going to miss them like crazy!!!,' Gonzalez wrote. 'We luv y'all so much!!! I'm just lost right now!!! Fly high my beautiful Angels!!' Jailah Nicole Silguero, 10 Jailah Nicole Silguero Ten-year-old Jailah Nicole Silguero was also killed in the shooting, her mother, Veronica Luevanos, tearfully revealed to Univision Wednesday. She also lost her 10-year-old nephew Jayce to the tragedy. She said Jailah loved to dance and film videos on TikTok. The child reportedly also asked her mom the morning of the shooting if she could stay home from school - a request the now mourning mom rebuffed. 'I took her to school, but she didn't want to go. She told her father, 'Can I stay home?'' Luevanos said, noting that it was not a common occurrence for her daughter to make such a request. 'I think she knew something would happen.' Luevanos' mom confirmed the loss on Facebook Wednesday. 'Fly high my angels. We're going to miss yall so much,' wrote Veronica Luevanos - whose dad had died just a week earlier. 'I'm so heart broken,' she wrote with a photo of her daughter and nephew. 'My baby I love u so much fly high baby girl.' Alithia Ramirez, 10 Alithia Ramirez Fourth grader Alithia Ramirez was confirmed dead early Wednesday by her father, Ryan Ramirez, who shared a post to Facebook showing the 10-year-old with angel's wings. He had used the same photo the previous day as he pleaded for help finding her after the massacre He had heartbreakingly used the same photo the previous day as he desperately pleaded for help finding her after the massacre. 'Trying to find my daughter Alithia. I called all the hospitals and nothing,' he wrote at the time. He also reporters during his frantic search, 'I'm trying to find out where my baby's at.' Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, 10 Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, 10, was another killed by Ramos Tuesday - along with her cousin, who has yet to be identified. Annabell's father spent the afternoon after the shooting in frantic search for his daughter. Speaking to KHOU11 Tuesday, he lamented at how he was at a loss as to what do, having little success with the search. 'They're not letting us in at the hospital right now so we don't know where to go.' She has since been declared to be among the dead. Miranda Mathis, 11 Miranda Mathis Miranda Mathis, 11, was also confirmed as another casualty from the mass shooting early Wednesday, in a Facebook post by an older cousin who earlier that day had posted a desperate plea for help in locating the child. 'My sweet baby cousin we loved u dearly,' Deanna Miller wrote alongside a photo of the child with angel wings. 'I'm so sorry this happen to u baby please keep my family in your prayers,' she grieved. Miller's kids had also been at the school at the time of the shooting, but survived the attack. One of her sons told her that they were ushered out of a window by staffers during the attack and subsequently ran to a nearby funeral home after 'he heard the shooter say he was gonna kill all the kids.' Alexandria 'Lexi' Aniyah Rubio, 10 Alexandria Aniyah Rubio Alexandria Aniyah Rubio - who was better known to friends as 'Lexi' - was confirmed dead just before midnight on Tuesday. The ten-year-old was shot dead just hours after posing for a photo with her parents at the school's honor roll ceremony. Kimberly Mata-Rubio, the girl's mother, wrote of the loss: 'My beautiful, smart, Alexandria Aniyah Rubio was recognized today for All-A honor roll. She also received the good citizen award. We told her we loved her and would pick her up after school. We had no idea this was goodbye.' Maite Yuleana Maite Yuleana Maite Yuleana was another student to die in the attack that had attended the honor roll ceremony just hours before. A cousin of the girl's mother, Ana Rodriguez, announced the loss Wednesday. 'It is with a heavy heart I come on here on behalf of my cousin Ana who lost her sweet baby girl in yesterday's senseless shooting. 'We are deeply saddened by the lose [sic] of this sweet smart little girl. God bless and may she R.I.P Maite Rodriguez we love you.' Another relative shared a photo of Maite with her honor roll certificate. Her age could not immediately be confirmed. Jose Flores Jr, 10 Jose Flores Jose Flores, 10, was also killed in the shooting after attending the honor roll ceremony, where he was pictured triumphantly clutching a certificate celebrating the accomplishment. Uncle Christopher Salazar confirmed to the Washington Post Wednesday that his 10-year-old nephew was among the dead, after sharing a tribute to the child on Facebook. 'I love you and I miss you,' Salazar wrote in the post. The boy's father described Jose to CNN as an amazing boy and big brother to his two younger siblings. 'He was always fill of energy,' Jose Flores Sr. said. 'Ready to play till the night.' He said the boy loved playing baseball and video games. Jackie Cazares Jackie Cazares, 10 Jackie Cazares, 10, was another to be killed during the vicious attack at the elementary school. Her father Jacinto confirmed she lost her life inside her fourth-grade classroom. 'My baby girl has been taken away from my family and I,' the grieving father said in an online post. 'We're devastated in ways I hope no one ever goes through. ... It hurts us to our souls.' Cazares said his daughter, who was with her cousin, Annabell Rodriguez, when she died, was 'full of life and love'. Layla Salazar, 10 The 10-year-old student was the last of the slaying victims to be identified. Vincent Salazar told the Philadelphia Inquirer his young daughter was among those killed. He said she was 'a lot of fun' and recalled how they sang along to 'Sweet Child O' Mine' by Guns 'n' Roses whenever he drove her to school. Layla Salazar Irma Garcia, 46 - fourth grade teacher Irma Garcia Irma Garcia, who co-taught with Mireles for the last five year, had been at Robb Elementary for 23 years. Married to Joe for 24 years, she was a mother of four - Cristian, completing Marine boot camp; Jose, attending Texas State university University; Lyliana, a sophomore in high school; and Alysandra, a 7th grader. 'My tia did not make it, she sacrificed herself protecting the kids in her classroom, i beg of you to keep my family including all of her family in y'all's prayers , IRMA GARCIA IS HER NAME and she died a HERO,' tweeted her nephew John. 'She was loved by many and will truly be missed.' She was nominated as teacher of the year for the 2018-19 awards, organized by Trinity University. Eva Mireles, 44 - fourth grade teacher Eva Mireles Eva Mireles, a fourth grade teacher, was identified by her family as being one of the staff members shot dead. She had worked in education for 17 years. Her husband Ruben Ruiz, a veteran detective and SWAT team member currently serving as a police officer with the school district, held regular active shooter drills for the schools - most recently at the end of March. A back door at Robb Elementary School failed to lock properly before a devastating school shooting in which killed 19 students and two teachers were shot dead last week. Texas state police originally claimed last week that an unnamed teacher left the door propped open, but have now revealed that the teacher closed the door when she realized there was a shooter on campus. Unfortunately, when the teacher closed the door, it did not actually lock as it is designed to do when shut, Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said at a Tuesday news briefing. 'We did verify she closed the door,' he said. 'The door did not lock. We know that much and now investigators are looking into why it did not lock.' Investigators confirmed the detail through additional video footage reviewed since Friday's news conference when authorities first said that the door had been left propped open. Authorities did not state at that time what had been used to prop open the door. Then on Tuesday Considine revealed the teacher propped the door open with a rock but she ran back inside to get her phone and call 911 when 18-year-old Salvador Ramos crashed his truck on campus before he made his way inside and started shooting. 'She came back out while on her phone, she heard someone yell, "He has a gun!," she saw him jump the fence and that he had a gun, so she ran back inside,' removing the rock when she did, Considine said. Steve McCraw, the head of DPS, hadnt said why the teacher initially propped open the door when it was first detailed Friday. The first mention of a door left propped open, which officials now say didn't happen, led to questions about the teacher's actions and whether she had made a horrific mistake. A back door at Robb Elementary School, where a gunman entered through to get into a classroom in last week's shooting, failed to lock properly on May 24 after an unnamed teacher left it propped open with a rock The shooter Salvador Ramos, 18, was able to use that door to get inside the elementary school where he shot and killed 19 students and two teachers. Students are seen here running to safety after escaping from a window during the shooting Emergency personnel gathered near the school following the shooting Since the shooting, law enforcement and state officials have struggled to present an accurate timeline and details of the event and how police responded, sometimes providing conflicting information or withdrawing some statements hours later. State police have said some accounts were preliminary and may change as more witnesses are interviewed. San Antonio attorney Don Flanary told the San Antonio Express-News that the Robb Elementary School employee, whom hes not naming, first propped open the door to carry food from a car to a classroom, and that she immediately moved to close it when she realized the danger. 'She saw the wreck,' Flanary explained. 'She ran back inside to get her phone to report the accident. She came back out while on the phone with 911. The men at the funeral home yelled, "He has a gun!" She saw him jump the fence, and he had a gun so she ran back inside. 'She kicked the rock away when she went back in. She remembers pulling the door closed while telling 911 that he was shooting,' Flanary continued, noting: 'She thought the door would lock because that door is always supposed to be locked.' Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Chief of Police Pete Arredondo, 50, has reportedly stopped cooperating with investigators Arredondo reportedly changed the status of the shooting from an 'active shooter' to a 'barricaded suspect' and failed to send his officers in The revelation comes as authorities also revealed on Tuesday that the chief of Uvalde's school district police, Pete Arredondo, has stopped cooperating with investigators from the Texas Department of Public Safety, Arredondo, 50, has been fiercely criticized by state officials, the media and grieving parents for failing to send his officers into the elementary school when it was attacked on May 24. He believed at the time that the 18-year-old gunman, Salvador Ramos, was barricaded alone inside the building, and waited over an hour before breaching the classrooms as Ramos continued to fire. Salvador Ramos, 18, had locked himself inside a classroom where he started firing Ramos had locked himself in a classroom with children, but Arredondo treated the active scene as a hostage situation as if children were no longer at risk, while 19 police officers waited in the school hallway outside the classroom. Footage released on Tuesday showed that the Uvalde police actually knew there were still children stuck inside as they spoke to an injured student on the phone. McCraw has since called Arredondo's move to hold back on entering the school the 'wrong decision,' saying the focus of the investigation has shifted to Arredondo and the police response. On Tuesday, Considine said that Arredondo had stopped assisting their inquiries. 'Uvalde and Uvalde CISD departments have been cooperating with investigators,' he told DailyMail.com. 'The chief of the CISD did an initial interview but has not responded to a request for a followup interview that was made two days ago.' Fifteen minutes later, Considine contradicted himself, and told Dallas News: 'Uvalde PD and Uvalde ISD are cooperating. 'Plenty of their personnel have done interviews and given statements to investigators, so it's absolutely wrong to characterize both those departments as not being cooperative.' He did not explain why he previously said Arredondo was ignoring their request. Meanwhile, Arredondo was officially sworn in as a city council member on Tuesday in a private ceremony. Pallbearers carried the casket of Amerie Jo Garza, 10, who died in the mass shooting Mourners are seen arriving at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Uvalde for Garza's funeral Family and friends embraced during the funeral - the first one held for the victims of the school shooting And at the same time, the first funeral was held in Uvalde for Amerie Jo Garza, 10, who was laid to rest on Tuesday afternoon following a Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic church, a 114-year-old church about a mile from the elementary school where she was murdered. Her stepfather, Angel Garza, a medic, dashed to the school on hearing the news of the active shooter, and saw a 10-year-old girl covered in blood. He asked what had happened, and was told it was not her blood but that of her best friend Amerie - his daughter. Amerie had called 911, it later emerged, and the gunman, on hearing her call, shot her. 'I just want people to know she died trying to save her classmates,' her stepfather said. 'She just wanted to save everyone.' Many of the mourners who packed into the church on Tuesday were dressed in lilac and lavender - the favorite colors of a little girl who dreamed of growing up to be an art teacher. The church was decorated with pots of lavender, and her casket was gray with lilac. 'Amerie Jo Garza was a kind, caring, blunt, loving, sweet, sassy and of course funny little diva who 'hated dresses' but nonetheless; she truly had a heart of gold,' her family said. Garza described Amerie as 'the sweetest little girl' who was a good student and always well-behaved for her family. Jolean Olvedo, left, weeps while being comforted by her partner Natalia Gutierrez at a memorial for Robb Elementary School students and teachers Crime scene tape surrounds Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 25. Investigators are still working to determine exactly how the shooting unfolded Investigators are trying to determine exactly how the carnage at Robb Elementary School unfolded, amid widespread anger at a confusing and contradictory explanation of what happened. In particular, people have questioned why it took so long to end Ramos's rampage. The Texas force opened an investigation as a matter of routine. In addition, on Sunday the federal Department of Justice announced they too were launching an inquiry. Multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News that both the Uvalde forces had stopped assisting the state investigation. But on Tuesday, the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas - which represents police officers - urged its member officers to cooperate with 'all government investigations' into the shooting and police response. The organization was also sharply critical of the constantly changing narrative of events that has emerged so far. 'There has been a great deal of false and misleading information in the aftermath of this tragedy. Some of the information came from the very highest levels of government and law enforcement,' CLEAT said. 'Sources that Texans once saw as iron-clad and completely reliable have now been proven false.' Advertisement Las Vegas wedding chapels have been ordered to stop using Elvis Presley's likeness by the company that controls his image - in a move which many say will decimate their business. Authentic Brands Group sent cease-and-desist letters in early May to multiple chapels, which are expected to be compliant by now. With Elvis so closely tied to Vegas' wedding industry, some say the move could decimate their businesses. 'We are a family-run business, and now we're hanging with the big dogs,' said Kayla Collins, who operates LasVegasElvisWeddingChapel.com and the Little Chapel of Hearts with her husband. 'That's our bread and butter. I don't get it. We were just hitting our stride again through COVID, then this happens.' The Vegas Wedding Chamber said: 'It is especially concerning that Las Vegas chapels and impersonators are being targeted as so many people's livelihood depends on these weddings using his image.' An Elvis impersonator is pictured at the Graceland Chapel in Las Vegas. All venues promoting Elvis have been ordered by the company that controls his likeness to stop Elvis-themed weddings are a large part of the Las Vegas marriage industry Elvis impersonator Brendan Paul, right, walks down the aisle during a wedding ceremony for Katie Salvatore, center, and Eric Wheeler at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. Authentic Brands Group (ABG) sent cease-and-desist letters earlier this month to multiple chapels, saying they had to comply by the end of May Elvis impersonator Charles King sings on May 12, 2020 as he marries Alicia Funk, center right, and Vaughan Chambers at A Little Wedding Chapel Clark County Clerk Lynn Goya, who led a marketing campaign promoting Las Vegas as a wedding destination, said the order for chapels to stop using Elvis couldn't have come at a worse time for the sector. The city's wedding industry generates $2 billion a year, and officials say Elvis-themed weddings represent a significant number of the ceremonies performed. 'It might destroy a portion of our wedding industry. A number of people might lose their livelihood,' Goya said. One chapel last weekend had its Elvis impersonator change instead into a leather jacket, jeans and a fedora for a 'rock'n'roll' themed ceremony, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. The wedding industry in Vegas generates $2 billion a year, officials say - with a large percentage coming from Elvis-themed ceremonies An Elvis impersonator sings as a couple leave the Graceland Wedding Chapel Those who make their living as Elvis impersonators in Vegas have been angered by the announcement Graceland Wedding Chapel, which performs 6,400 Elvis-themed weddings per year, has not been served a warning yet, according to manager Rod Musum. The licensing company oversees the estates of big names like movie star Marilyn Monroe and boxer Muhammad Ali and 50 consumer brands. In the cease-and-desist letter, the company said it will halt unauthorized use of 'Presley's name, likeness, voice image, and other elements of Elvis Presley's persona in advertisements, merchandise and otherwise.' The letter also said 'Elvis,' 'Elvis Presley,' 'and 'The King of Rock and Roll' are protected trademarks. The order should not translate into legal action against Elvis-themed stage shows in Las Vegas such as 'All Shook Up' because impersonating someone for a live performances like shows is considered an exception under Nevada's right of publicity law, according to Mark Tratos, a local attorney who helped write the statute. 'An Elvis show is a performer essentially entertaining others by re-creating that person onstage,' Tratos said. Kent Ripley, whose business is called Elvis Weddings, said he has never run into this issue in 25 years of performing as Elvis. 'They want to protect the Elvis brand. But what are they protecting by taking Elvis away from the public?' Ripley asked. Jesse Garon, a full time Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas for more than 30 years, said he was devastated by the move. 'You would see one more person in the unemployment line,' Garon told 8 News Now. 'I have the best job in the world. We marry people and are part of their best day of their life.' Event planners say they are readying to take legal action. 'We have started a legal process to see what we can do,' said Melody Willis-Williams, president of Vegas Weddings. She told 8 News Now: 'It's my hope to join the chapels together and be a united front for this because i know how important this is for them as well.' 'Thousands' of out-of-work Australians who refused to get the Covid jab have revealed that vaccine mandates are 'destroying their lives' by leaving them 'helplessly unemployed'. The New South Wales government on April 20 announced that: 'Public health orders requiring key workforces to be vaccinated will be lifted', however bosses are still permitted to enforce their own vaccination mandates if they choose. This has left workers - including teachers, lifeguards and nurses - unable to make a living at a time when key industries are struggling to find enough staff amid a major workforce shortage. Daily Mail Australia understands that although jab mandates have ended in several states, many other companies and institutions are still following an unofficial no jab, no job policy. Organisations who sacked workers when state-ordered vaccine mandates were brought in in 2021, have refused to hire un-jabbed workers but do not have formal Covid jab policy for staff. 'Vaccine mandates have crushed my family,' a woman named Suzanne wrote to 2GB. A woman named Suzanne who worked in a supermarket for 15 years is now out of a job after refusing to get vaccinated against Covid (stock image) What are Australia's vaccine rules for workers in each state? AUSTRALIA: Covid vaccinations are entirely voluntary across Australia however the federal government has mandated those who wish to work in high-risk settings must get the jab. These include areas like the military and aged care settings. But rules in each state can vary. NEW SOUTH WALES: NSW has ended mandatory vaccination but individual businesses and industry associations are allowed to make their own assessments on the issue. This means, police, teachers and more must get the jab. QUEENSLAND: Workers in high-risk settings like schools, emergency services, healthcare and more are required to get the jab. However exceptions can be made in certain circumstances including a critical staff shortage. WESTERN AUSTRAILA: WA's current mandates apply to a wide range of workers, including those in emergency services, health care, supermarkets and cafes. But the state will be scaled back significantly from next week with only people working in healthcare, age and disability care, required to be jabbed. SOUTH AUSTRALIA: SA's vaccine mandates have ended but individual businesses are allowed to make their own decisions on whether to hire unvaccinated workers. VICTORIA: Mandatory triple vaccination requirements remains in place for - health and aged care, food processing, education workers and more. Those working in airports, agriculture, creative arts, emergency services, media, science and more, must be double jabbed. TASMANIA: Mandatory jabs are in place in a number of setting deemed high risk and individual businesses should seek legal advice before implementing a mandatory jab policy. NORTHERN TERRITORY: Health, disability and aged care workers are required to get the jab, along with staff employed at youth detention centres, homeless and family violence shelters. AUSTRAIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY: ACT follows national guidelines WHICH COMPANIES ENFORCE VACCINE MANDATES? Some large corporations which enforce mandatory jabs for workers include: Coles, Woolworths, Qantas, Virgin Australia, Telstra, the Commonwealth Bank and SPC. Daily Mail Australia understands that although jab mandates have ended in several states, many other companies and institutions are still following an unofficial no jab, no job policy. Organisations who sacked workers when state-ordered vaccine mandates were brought in in 2021, have refused to hire un-jabbed workers but do not have formal Covid jab policy for staff. Advertisement 'My husband was a taxi driver for 17 years. I have worked in a supermarket for 15 years. 'We didn't want to have the Covid jab - so we are out of a job. Our daughters are watching us struggle.' Another desperate Australian, Cherryl, is a registered nurse with 40 years experience but after being forced out of her profession because of the mandates, she's now working as a cleaner. Helen, who was formerly working as a nurse in patient transport, is stuck in a similar position. 'I am now unemployable and I have no choice but to sell my home,' she said. 'After one recent breakdown- I found myself on the phone to Life Line' Radio presenter Ben Fordham argues the issue of vaccine mandates is now 'too big to ignore'. Even Western Australia's strict vaccine mandates spearheaded by Premier Mark McGowan are being scaled back significantly from next week. From Friday June 10, only people working in health, age and disability care, will be required to be jabbed. Radio presenter Ben Fordham argues the issue of vaccine mandates is now 'too big to ignore' 'I've been saying for some time that vaccine rules were put in place to encourage people to get the jab,' he said. 'That campaign is over. We got to 95 per cent. Anyone who said no - is not going to change their mind now. We can't keep punishing people for exercising a choice.' 'Vaccine mandates were 'sold' to us - as a way of getting Australia out of lockdown. We're not in lockdown anymore. And vaccine mandates have outlived their purpose.' He says the draconian measures are now only serving two purposes - 'Destroying people's lives and leaving the rest of us disadvantaged - because there's a shortage of paramedics and frontline medical staff.' About 10,000 full time and casual school staff in NSW have been affected by Covid vaccine mandates lobbied by the Teachers Union, creating immense pressure on the state's education system. About 10,000 full time and casual school staff in NSW have been affected by Covid vaccine mandates, creating immense pressure on the state's education system (stock image) Bosses in the broader jobs market are also struggling to find enough staff with the number of migrants and working holidaymakers to Australia still lagging on the heels of the pandemic creating a shortfall. Judith, who worked as a teacher for three decades, lost her job in November after refusing to roll up her sleeve. 'My husband and son were working at one of Australia's biggest airlines. Our oldest daughter had trained to be a speech pathologist,' she said. 'We made a family decision not to have the jab. These mandates have utterly destroyed our lives.' Qualified teacher Amanda says she lost her job over the jab and has spent the first six months of this year 'clinically depressed'. A lifeguard who did not wish to be named, said he was dismissed due to Sydney's Waverley Council's vaccine policy and 'has never been so depressed' 'All I ever wanted to do was teach for the rest of my life. The mandate destroyed my life'. Depression and deteriorating mental health issues appears to be a common thread among those affected by vaccine mandates. A lifeguard who did not wish to be named, said he was dismissed due to Sydney's Waverley Council's vaccine policy. 'We are understaffed and have had an alarming number of recent medical incidents which require all hands on deck. 'I have never been so depressed about my future. I am now seeing a psychologist. These mandates have ripped me apart.' Fordham responded to the heartwrenching story by calling the council policy 'ridiculous'. 'If your child was drowning at Bondi Beach - would you give a stuff about the vaccination status of the lifeguard?' he said. Daily Mail Australia has contacted NSW Health for comment on the matter. If you or anyone you know is suffering from depression call Lifeline on 13 11 14. Read the heartwrenching stories of those who refuse to get the jab SUZANNE: 'Vaccine mandates have crushed my family.' 'My husband was a taxi driver for 17 years 'I have worked in a supermarket for 15 years. 'We didn't want to have the COVID jab - so we are out of a job. 'Our daughters are watching us struggle.' NERRIDA: 'My 20 year old daughter lost her dream job because of the mandates.' 'She was trained up ready to work at a camera shop - only to be told at the last minute- sorry no jab, no job. 'Almost 12 months later she is still helplessly unemployed.' LIFEGAURD: 'I am about to be dismissed due to Waverley Council's vaccine policy.' 'We are understaffed and have had an alarming number of recent medical incidents which require all hands on deck. 'I have never been so depressed about my future. 'I am now seeing a psychologist 'These mandates have ripped me apart.' SALLY: 'I'm a nurse with 18 years experience and was fired for declining to accept the vaccine.' 'I have used all my savings and leave in order to stay afloat.' CHERRYL: 'I'm a registered nurse with 40 years experience. I had to leave the profession because of the mandates. 'My friends and I are now doing cleaning jobs.' HELEN: 'I am a registered nurse who was working in patient transport.' 'I am now unemployable and I have no choice but to sell my home. 'After one recent breakdown- I found myself on the phone to Life Line' DEB: 'I am a nurse of 13 years. I was terminated in December.' 'My mental, emotional and financial health has suffered. 'I just want to go back to work' 'Thank you so much for raising this issue.' AMANDA: 'I lost my job as a teacher over the jab.' 'I have spent the first 6 months of this year clinically depressed. 'All I ever wanted to do was teach for the rest of my life. 'The mandate destroyed my life' JUDITH: 'I worked as a teacher for 3 decades but lost my job in November.' 'My husband and son were working at one of Australia's biggest airlines. 'Our oldest daughter had trained to be a speech pathologist. 'We made a family decision not to have the jab. 'These mandates have utterly destroyed our lives.' Advertisement Those flying in or out of the United States may soon have to put their masks back on, after the Department of Justice filed an appeal of an April decision that ended the unpopular mask mandate on planes and public transit. The Centers for Disease Control had first implemented the mandate in February 2021 amid rising COVID cases, but as the number of cases started to drastically decline the mandate became unpopular among both passengers and crew members. In fact, during a Senate hearing about the financial support airlines received in 2020 and 2021, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker and Southwest CEO Gary Kelly spoke out against the mandate. 'I think the case is very strong that masks don't add very much, if anything, in the air cabin environment,' Kelly said at the hearing in December. 'It is very safe and very high quality compared to any other indoor setting.' Both he and Parker pointed out that airlines improved airflow on board their planes in the wake of the pandemic, noting that high-grade HEPA air filters on planes capture almost all airborne contamination and the cabin air is often exchanged with fresh air from outside. 'I concur,' said Parker, according to CNN. 'An aircraft is the safest place you can be. 'It's true of all of our aircrafts - they all have the same HEPA filters and airflow.' Federal Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle finally struck down the pandemic-era mandate on April 18, ruling that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention failed to justify why such a mandate was necessary as COVID cases were declining - and did not follow proper rulemaking. She said that the CDC had exceeded its authority with the mandate, had not sought public comment about it and did not adequately explain its decisions. But , Reuters reports, the Department of Justice filed an appeal of the decision on Tuesday, writing that 'None of the district court's quarrels with the CDC order comes close to showing that the CDC has acted outside the "zone of reasonableness."' It added in the appeal that the CDC's findings on the spread of coronavirus in early 2021 provided 'ample support for the agency's determination that there was good cause to make the order effective without delay.' It remains unclear, though, whether the CDC would reinstate the mandate even if Mizelle's decision is overturned. Passengers celebrated onboard flights on April 18 as it was announced that a federal judge struck down the mask mandate for planes American Airlines CEO Doug Parker (left) and Southwest CEO Gary Kelly (right) testified before Congress that they do not believe travelers should be forced to wear masks on flights any longer The United States Department of Justice is now appealing that decision - claiming that Mizelle failed to show that the CDC 'acted outside the "zone of reasonableness."' A sign stating that masks are required stood at La Guardia Airport in New York The CDC first implemented a mask mandate for planes, trains and buses due to rising COVID-19 cases in February 2021. It had extended the mandate several times since - and had just extended it again until May 3, 2022 when Mizelle ruled against it to allow for more time to study the BA.2 omicron subvariant of the coronavirus that is now responsible for the vast majority of cases in the U.S. But since it was implemented, a score of unruly airline passengers were filmed brawling with staff members and others wearing masks over the mandate, and the Federal Aviation Administration reported that since January 2021, there had been a record 7,060 unruly passenger incidents reported - and 70% involved masking rules. Since the mask mandate was ruled unlawful, though, the Federal Aviation Administration reported that the rate of unruly passenger incidents fell to its lowest level since 2020. As a result, airline carriers had lobbied the government for months to kill the mandate. The mask requirement for travelers was the target of months of lobbying from the airlines, which sought to kill it. They argued that effective air filters on modern planes make transmission of the virus during a flight highly unlikely. Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress had also sought to overturn the mandate, pointing to states that rolled back rules requiring masks in restaurants, stores and other indoor settings, but still saw COVID-19 cases fall sharply since the omicron variant peaked in mid-January. The CDC first implemented a mask mandate for planes, trains and buses due to rising COVID-19 cases in February 2021. Passengers are seen wearing facemasks on board an Avelo Airlines flight in April 2021 As a result of the mandate, there was a huge wave of violent clashes on planes across the United States among passengers who wanted to be masked and other who've removed their coverings. A Sarasota woman is seen here creating a stir after she refused to don a mask in July Several passengers also sued the federal government over the mandate, with two plaintiffs and the Health Freedom Defense Fund filing a suit in federal court in July 2021 arguing that the mask mandate was unlawful and violated the Administrative Procedure Act. In her 59-page ruling on April 18, Mizelle suggested the mandate - in which non-complying travelers are 'forcibly removed from their airplane seats, denied board at the bus steps, and turned away at the train station doors' -- was akin to 'detention and quarantine.' She ruled that the only remedy was to end the mandate entirely because it would be impossible to end it for the limited group of people who objected to it in the lawsuit. The judge said 'a limited remedy would be no remedy at all' and that the courts have full authority to make a decision such as this even if the goals of the CDC in fighting the virus are laudable. 'Because our system does not permit agencies to act unlawfully even in pursuit of desirable ends, the court declares unlawful and vacates the mask mandate,' she wrote. Biden's DOJ, however, said that it will be appealing only if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concludes that it is necessary for the order to remain in place for the sake of public health. 'The Department continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health,' the DOJ wrote in a Tuesday statement. 'That is an important authority the Department will continue to work to preserve.' President Biden said in the aftermath of Mizelle's ruling that his administration would no longer enforce it, and claimed it is up to individuals to decide whether to wear one Federal Court Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle struck down the mask mandate for planes and public transit in an April 18 ruling, in which she declared that the Centers for Disease Control had acted beyond its authority in implementing the mandate In the immediate aftermath of that landmark decision, the Biden administration announced that it would no longer enforce the mandate, and said that wearing a mask should be up to the individual. Then-White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the next day: 'I'm not gonna get ahead of the Department of Justice. We'll let them make any decisions or announcements.' But she noted, 'The CDC continues to advise and recommend masks on aeroplanes. We're abiding by the CDC recommendations.' The Department of Justice, meanwhile, had filed a notice following the ruling that it would appeal. It noted, though, that it would only move forward with the appeal if the CDC concludes that it is necessary for the order to remain in place for the sake of public health. 'The Department continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health,' the DOJ wrote in a statement at the time 'That is an important authority the Department will continue to work to preserve.' An Australian breakthrough in fertility treatment has dramatically reduced the number of hormone injections needed and made IVF more affordable for women trying for a baby. Traditional IVF requires women to endure 12-14 days of hormone injections - the new treatment requires just two days of jabs. The Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney is the fifth location in the world to offer the new treatment, In Vitro Maturation (IVM), developed by the University of NSW Professor Rob Gilchrist and colleagues in Brussels. Under the new treatment, In Vitro Maturation (IVM), women will only need two days of hormone injections rather than the 12-14 days required under conventional IVF treatment (stock image) The hospital's Head of Obstetrics, Professor Bill Ledger, said the new development produces the same pregnancy rate and is less 'burdensome' than conventional IVF. 'We only give the woman two or at most three injections of a low dose of the hormone... then we collect the eggs that are immature,' Mr Ledger said. 'When they are fertilised they make better quality embryos and we can get the same pregnancy rate from IVM as we get from IVF.' Professor Ledger said smaller eggs collected from a woman are slowly matured in a laboratory rather than inside a woman's uterus, thus reducing the amount of injections needed. Head of Obstetrics at The Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney, Professor Bill Ledger (pictured), said the new treatment has the same pregnancy rate and is less 'burdensome' than IVF 'Using the treatment, doctors are able to collect much tinier 4-5 millimetre eggs from women and they are matured slowly in a laboratory in a special CAPA fluid that slows down the process from 24 hours to 48 hours,' Mr Ledger told the Advertiser. 'In conventional IVF the eggs have to mature inside a woman until they are around 18 or 20 millimetres hence the need for more injections. 'The patient could in theory come and see me on Monday, we can do the injection Tuesday, Wednesday and do the egg collection on Thursday. It's over in no time.' The treatment has slashed costs by 90 per cent from $4,000 to $400 as its quicker turnaround reduces medicine use and hospital resources. Starting this week the hospital will offer the treatment to up to 60 women this year, with a third of all fertility patients to receive it in the future. Women under the age of 36 who have a good egg reserve and good levels of AMH hormone - a substance produced by cells in ovarian follicles used to measure the quantity of eggs - will be eligible for the treatment. Women trying for a baby will experience fewer hormonal side effects such as bloating, nausea and headaches, causing fewer interruptions to their daily routine and work. The quicker process is a major development for women who need to freeze their eggs before undergoing harsh cancer treatment. 'If their cancer is fast growing they often dont have time to complete conventional fertility treatment before they start chemotherapy but its much more feasible when only two hormone injections are needed,' Professor Ledger said. The launch of IVM treatment at the Royal Hospital for Women coincides with the hospital's 'Heart for Her' foundation fundraiser which aims to raise funds for research and equipment. A group of millennials have learned what it was like 'back in the day' after they attempted to drive to an important meeting using a street directory. Matt Ford and Jack Steele, the pair behind the hugely popular Inspired Unemployed TikTok account, filmed themselves driving around Sydney's CBD with the directory, uploading the expletive-laden rant on Wednesday. The duo are known for their hilarious videos where they mock everyone from cyclists to revheads- but things got serious when they decided to challenge themselves on a recent drive and use a street directory instead of Google Maps. The footage showed them searching aimlessly through the directory, making wrong turns and venting their frustrations through loud cries and yelling. Jack (pictured) resented the complicated list of streets at the back of the directory 'Now I don't even know what street, we're on,' Jack said as they got more and more lost The pair also started a podcast, where they post videos of themselves discussing topics ranging from bad dates, pocket dialing, going to the toilet, snoring and getting a girlfriend. In their most recent episode, Matt mused with his friend saying, 'how hard it would have been to get around back in the day' without electronic maps, and posed a challenge to get to an appointment in the harbourside suburb of Millers Point in 20 minutes, just using a paper directory. The friends hop in the car, with Google Maps quoting the duo 19 minutes travel time to get to their destination. But before they can even set off, it takes the duo 17 minutes to figure out how to use the map - with their stress levels rising. Navigator Jack asked, 'how are you supposed to find where Millers Point is', as time ticked away, with Matt encouraging him to hurry up. 'You're putting a lot of pressure on me, that's not helping,' Jack said as they looked through the street names for the CBD suburb. Jack showed his resentment towards the complicated list of streets at the back of the directory - 'look at this thing, are you joking?' After they finally discovered the street address, Jack asked, 'how do we get there?' When they started driving, Matt drove without directions as Jack flipped back and forth in the book, before finally discovering where they were. 'Ok go straight, we are going to get so lost,' Jack said. 'Don't turn in there ... Oh maybe you should have now ... now I don't even know what street we're on'. They ended up crossing over the Harbour Bridge accidently before coming back and arriving 38 minutes late. But their tense car ride wasn't over yet, with the pair having a spat over parking. The boys hop in the car with the destination 19 minutes away but it took them 17 minutes to figure out how to use the map - with stress levels rising The antics led social media users to say how stressed they were watching the video with one questioning how people were ever on time before GPS systems and smart phones were invented. Another had sympathy for them for getting onto the bridge by accident, 'I've gone across that bridge by missing a turn too many times'. While others remembered helping a relative get to places using the book, with one sharing his experience sitting in the passenger seat with his dad. 'When you sat shotgun with the old man you were copilot! Give him one wrong turn and god bless you,' the punter quipped. An American expat living in Tasmania has been lambasted online for complaining about our 'sad and dense' bagels, with offended Aussies using the United States' issues with gun violence and healthcare to retaliate. TikToker Ashleigh, who goes by the name @coffeeenut online, moved from New York to Tasmania for university and noticed the bagels Down Under taste different compared to the US. 'Things in Australia that genuinely do not make any sense at all to an American who just moved - the bagels, moving on,' she said. Ashleigh blasted Aussie bagels for being 'so sad and dense' but said our coffee culture was worth the move. An American expat living in Tasmania has been lambasted online for complaining about Aussie bagels, with many Australians pointing to America's issues with gun violence and healthcare in response Ashleigh's comments didn't sit well with some Aussies, who begun comparing her complaint to America's gun violence and wildly expensive healthcare. 'I'll tell you what doesn't make sense for Australian people in America: guns,' wrote one. Another commented: 'Well I am amazed that Americans can buy guns but not a Kinder Surprise...because someone might get hurt...one f**ked up country, just saying.' 'She's not impressed. The rest of the world isn't impressed with their daily school shootings,' added a third. 'Sad she escaped the gun violence and lack of medical support for crappy bagels. Poor lady,' one user said sarcastically. 'Probably confused about our schools as well, mainly because they're not shooting ranges,' said another. The United States has had 230 mass shootings since the beginning of 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Australia, on the other hand, has had three since 1996, when former prime minister John Howard brought in sweeping gun reform following the horrific Port Arthur massacre where 35 people were killed. Ashleigh's comments did not sit well with some Aussies, as many began slamming her complaint saying it was preferable problem to have compared to gun violence and exorbitant healthcare The United States has had 230 mass shootings since the beginning of 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive. (Pictured: National Rifle Association meeting & exhibit at Nashville, Tennessee) Australia also beats the US in the health sector, thanks to Medicare. Medicare was introduced by the Whitlam government in 1975, where it was referred to as Medibank at the time. It was abolished in 1981 by Malcolm Fraser but later reinstated by the Hawke government in 1984 under the name Medicare. Not all users were pleased with the extreme reaction to Ashleigh's minor complaint about bagels, with many arguing the response was unnecessarily over the top. One American said: 'What a thing to say to someone over a bagel. Seriously, we dont have the best coffee, but someone is right to criticise it in my opinion lol. I wish we could get better coffee here.' 'Love Australians getting so offended and using this person's dislike for bagels as a scapegoat for school shootings as if this person is saying school shootings are ok, and bagels are not,' said a second user. 'SHE WAS BEING HUMOUROUS PEOPLE!' a Tasmanian resident stressed, before adding 'she's right, Australian bagels do suck, I loved discovering bagels when I visited the US'. The US also does not have universal health care but Australia does under the Medicare scheme. Stock image Not all users were pleased with the extreme reaction to Ashleigh's minor complaint about bagels, with many arguing the response was unnecessarily over the top In the US, bagels are a popular breakfast option that are often topped with cream cheese and butter. But Australians prefer bacon and egg rolls or avocado on toast along with a coffee first thing in the morning, rather than a bagel. Ashleigh's short video has gone viral and has been viewed a staggering 1.4million times, garnering hundreds of comments. In her video, the American expat conceded that Australian coffee was 'way better' than 'most' coffee in the US. Despite the differences between the US and Australia, Ashleigh said she made 'a good choice' moving internationally. Fed up businesses have spoken out about the lazy Centrelink recipients applying for jobs with no intentions of actually working. Warren and Tania, who run a small trucking business in Sydney, and have been struggling to get applicants through the door. Those on Centrelink are required to apply for a certain amount of jobs in order to get payments but many instead simply submit applications for jobs they have no qualifications for just to get the benefits. Tania said she and her husband had been trying to track down applicants but many either don't answer or say they aren't qualified. 'Most people don't respond to the ads, we ask them to call, they don't call they send an email that they're not qualified,' she told 2GB's Ben Fordham. 'They then don't answer the phone when we do call them, if they say they're going to turn up to the interview, they don't turn up.' Fed up businesses have spoken out about the lazy Centrelink recipients applying for jobs with no intentions of actually working (pictured Centrelink office in the Gold Coast) She said she had multiple jobs available but many of the applicants didn't show much 'enthusiasm'. 'Sometimes they don't even know what the job is they've applied for,' she said. 'We don't even get to a point of talking about the benefits that we can offer if they come work with us, they hang up or they turn their phones off. 'If they do entertain the idea of coming to try out the job they then don't show up.' The couple aren't alone in their struggle with Superior People Recruitment director Graham Wynn earlier revealing his company received countless bogus job applications from people on welfare who had no intention of working. He said rorters were handing in dodgy resumes to meet requirements to apply for a large number of jobs in order to receive unemployment payments. Anti-vaxxers, part-time university students, and unmotivated high school dropouts were among the welfare cheats he caught rorting the system. Many businesses have struggled to get new applicants as some prefer to stay on government benefits (pictured closed sign in Sydney) Some were deliberately applying for jobs they were underqualified for after seeing ads by the agency, which operates in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and New Zealand. Mr Wynn said 20 per cent of applications sent to his recruitment agency came from people he accused of trying to cheat the system. More than 2,000 applicants have been reported to authorities in as little as two months. One resume contained six measly words - 'I don't have a resume atm (at the moment),' Meanwhile, dole recipient and Sydney-based music producer 'Mumfighter' posted a video to his social media accounts on Wednesday showing the ridiculously quick way he meets government requirements for the JobSeeker payment. Mumfighter filmed a video where he challenged himself to send 15 job applications in eight minutes - and claims in the clip that he actually smashed it out in three minutes and 22 seconds. Under JobSeeker's so-called mutual obligation requirements, anyone who receives the government payment - which starts at $642.70 a fortnight - is expected to search for jobs for 15 to 29 hours per week. Data from March has revealed more than 900,000 Australians were currently receiving JobSeeker payments. The country's unemployment rate is at its lowest in 13 years They must apply for a set number of positions each month - but he managed to do most of them in one day in a 'speed run'. The video shows Mumfighter filling out his official Centrelink Jobactive page with the relevant information on the jobs he had just applied for. The former pro rollerblader and rollerblade instructor said he made the video for fun as he likes to 'pretend to do things faster than the average human' and normally takes the task much more seriously. 'In reality applying for jobs normally takes me anywhere from 1-3 hours depending on if I need to rewrite my resume slightly and how much I'm being hindered by my ADHD,' Mumfighter told Daily Mail Australia. While Mumfighter appeared to apply for 15 jobs in the video, he later said that he actually only applied for one during that time. Mumfighter recorded a 'Centrelink speed run' which showed the JobSeeker apply for 15 jobs in under 5 minutes (pictured) However, he labelled Centrelink's mutual obligation requirements 'arbitrary' and believes individuals would have a higher success rate with a lower minimum requirement. 'If I had to do only five then the quality could be better - employers definitely get spammed with too many applications for nearly every role so this would be good for both parties involved.' Data from March has revealed more than 900,000 Australians were currently receiving JobSeeker payments. The country's unemployment rate is at its lowest in 13 years. The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked a controversial Texas law that prohibits content moderation on social media posts based on "viewpoint"-legislation flagged by social media companies, such as Facebook and Twitter, as a trigger to proliferate hateful content online. The high court ruling overturns an earlier decision of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that also overturned a lower court decision that blocked the measure, called HB20. NetChoice and the U.S. Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA)petitioned the Supreme Court to stop the legislation, which was unblocked by the Fifth Circuit ruling. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito initially reviewed the emergency request to vacate the unblocking of HB20 by the Fifth Circuit and referred it to the rest of the high court. While Alito himself didn't favor overturning the previous ruling, the majority of Supreme Court justices supported the decision, including Justices John Roberts, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh. Joining Alito in dissent were Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Elena Kagan. Dangers of HB 20 Noted in Emergency Petition in their emergency petition with the court, NetChoice and the CCIA said, "HB20 would compel platforms to disseminate all sorts of objectionable viewpoints, such as Russia's propaganda claiming that its invasion of Ukraine is justified, ISIS propaganda claiming that extremism is warranted, neo-Nazi or KKK screeds denying or supporting the Holocaust, and encouraging children to engage in risky or unhealthy behavior like eating disorders." Texas' Republican attorney general Ken Paxton, meanwhile said HB 20 does not "prohibit the platforms from removing entire categories of content." Read Also: Twitter Transparency Report: 964,000 Accounts Flagged for Abusive Content in 2020, Hateful Conduct Policy Updated Paxton stressed that social media platforms can still make necessary content moderation, such as removing pornography, or disallowing Russian propaganda about Ukraine, without violating HB 20. Alito's said in his dissent that the case concerns "issues of great importance that will plainly merit this Court's review," describing HB 20 as a measure that "addresses the power of dominant social media corporations to shape public discussion of the important issues of the day." This Texas law, as well as a similar one from Floridaare expected to get the courts' attention for years to come. HB 20 Described as 'Constitutional Trainwreck' NetChoice counsel Chris Marchese hailed the decision, saying HB 20 is a "constitutional trainwreck," adding that his group is "relieved that the First Amendment, open internet, and its users stay protected from "Texas's unconstitutional overreach." HB 20 was passed in September but blocked by a lower court, which issued a preliminary injunction that prevented it from taking effect. In May, however, a federal appeals court for the Fifth Circuit ruled to stay the injunction pending a final decision on the case, which allowed the law's enactment as the court deliberated on the broader case. This prompted NetChoice and the Computer and CCIA to file an emergency petition with Alito, who is assigned to cases from that district. NetChoice and CCIA asked the court to block the law, arguing social media companies make editorial decisions about what content to distribute and display, and that the appeals court's decision would get rid of that discretion and chill speech. It said the court should vacate the stay as the appeals court reviews the important First Amendment issues central to the case. Related Article: Following the Buffalo Tragedy, New Jersey Attorney General Also Looks Into Discord and Twitch The last of the RAF heroes who sank Adolf Hitlers fearsome warship, the Tirpitz, has died at the age of 100. Sydney Grimes was a wireless operator on a Lancaster bomber on the final two of the three daring raids 617 Squadron made on the ship, dubbed The Beast by Winston Churchill. Mr Grimes family yesterday confirmed he died on May 27, three weeks after celebrating his 100th birthday. The largest German warship ever built, the Tirpitz sister ship to the Bismarck posed a constant threat to the Allies Arctic convoy supply runs. Sydney Grimes family yesterday confirmed he died on May 27, three weeks after celebrating his 100th birthday It had 120 guns, it was faster than any British warship and bombs bounced off its 12-inch steel armour. Born in the Essex village of Great Wakering near Southend, Mr Grimes was 17 when war broke out. He had left school at 14 to work as a clerk in E K Coles radio factory, later renamed EKCO. It was there he met Iris, whom he would go on to marry shortly before the Tirpitz raids. He served first with 106 Squadron then joined 617 Squadron, by then famous as the Dambusters from the bouncing bomb raids on dams in 1943. For the Tirpitz mission off the coast of Norway, Mr Grimes had a personal motivation. Mr Grimes was a wireless operator on a Lancaster bomber on the final two of the three daring raids 617 Squadron made on Adolf Hitlers fearsome warship, the Tirpitz (pictured) My brother was in the Navy on HMS London escorting Arctic convoys, he said. Hed told me about the Tirpitz and I knew it worried him. On the third raid on November 12, 1944, he and his comrades finally obliterated the warship Hitler had called the pride of the German Navy. On receiving the news the Tirpitz had been destroyed, Mr Grimes recalled: There was a cheer but the biggest emotion was a great sense of relief that we wouldnt have to go back again! Mr Grimes completed 43 operations and finished the war as a flight lieutenant. He and Iris, who died more than two years ago, had three children. New photos show the 26-year-old black woman who suffered serious injuries after being shot at by Kansas City police as they searched for a vehicle involved in an armed car jacking. On Friday Kansas City police fired at 26-year-old Leonna Hale five times after she told them there was a gun in the car and as a man who was with her fled. Horrified witnesses claimed the 26-year-old had been trying to cooperate before she was gunned down and handcuffed on the ground as blood seeped through her white t-shirt. Authorities tell DailyMail.com that Hale's pregnancy is just a 'rumor' and that they do not believe Hale is actually with child (Hale pictured in 2017) On Friday Kansas City police fired at 26-year-old Leonna Hale (pictured in an unrelated mugshot) five times after she told them there was a gun in the car and as a man who was with her fled Hale (pictured in 2017) was rushed to hospital after suffering serious injuries but was in a stable condition, police said Hale was rushed to hospital after suffering serious injuries but was in a stable condition, police said. The man, who was said to be her boyfriend, was also taken in by medics on an unrelated medical issue. Dramatic footage shows Hale being cuffed on the ground as she started to bleed from gunshot wounds at a Family Dollar store in Kansas City. Onlookers wailed as they repeated claims from Hale that she was pregnant, with one claiming: 'She did not pull out a weapon on them.' But authorities tell DailyMail.com that Hale's pregnancy is just a 'rumor' and that they do not believe she is actually with child, Highway patrol spokesman Sgt. Andrew Bell said. Doctors treating Hale have yet to comment on whether or not she is pregnant, police said. Not much is known about Hale, who has an undated mugshot for an unknown crime, but police said her last known address was in Topeka. According to her Facebook account she is the mother of a young daughter and her bio reads: 'Leonna don't take NO SH** from ANYONE first off and also I snap easily nd fast.' Cops said a gun was recovered from near the car - but it was not clear if Hale had been holding it - and they have launched a full investigation while the two officers involved were put on administrative leave. Kansas City police fired at Leonna Hale five times after she told them there was a gun in the car and as a man who was with her fled just before 8pm on Friday Horrified witnesses claimed the suspect had been trying to cooperate before she was gunned down and handcuffed on the ground as blood seeped through her white t-shirt She was rushed to hospital after suffering serious injuries but was in a stable condition. The man she was also taken in by medics on an unrelated medical issue One witness called She Danja claimed she was a medical assistant and slammed officers for their handling of the incident. She told the Kansas City Star: 'She did not pull out a weapon on them. She did not even have a stick in her hand.' She said the officers then fired at Hale five times. 'One, two, three, four five. I remember it because it didn't stop. They shot five times. I remember seeing her hit the ground and I froze.' She said she had been getting gas and ice cream from a nearby service station when she saw the commotion and heard gunshots. She said she first heard officers yelling 'get out of the car' to two people who were in the vehicle parked next to hers and the male driver fled before Hale exited her vehicle with her hands up. Officers swooped on her and told her to get on the ground but she allegedly said she was pregnant and could not lie down. Hale later said there was a gun in the vehicle and she started backing towards a fence in the parking lot before police drew their weapons. Authorities said cops in two cars were following up on a call about an armed carjacking after dispatchers provided them with a description of the vehicle and license plate. The officers spotted the car with two suspects inside the parking lot of the Family Dollar store at Sixth and Prospect Avenues in Kansas City and approached it. But the male driver then allegedly fled northeast as two officers pursued and Hale stepped out of the car and told officers there was a gun inside. Cops said a gun was recovered from near the car - but it was not clear if the woman had been holding it - and they had launched a full investigation while the two officers involved were put on administrative leave She Danja (pictured) was quickly asked to move on by the officers but hit back that her sons were still in the store getting ice cream One witness, who only identified herself as She Danja, said Hale had her hands up and ran three steps away before she was shot She Danja continued: 'They got her in handcuffs while they shot her y'all.' She said she was originally from Louisiana and Arkansas and was just visiting the city. She continued: 'I stopped here to get some gas, y'all, and my son just watched this. My one-year-old son just watched this. My 10-year-old son just watched this. And my 13-year-old son just watched this. 'She was fixing to cooperate. She got scared, she ran down there, they shot her. She ran and they shot at her one, two, three, four.' She Danja was quickly asked to move on by the officers but hit back that her sons were still in the store getting ice cream. She shared the video on Facebook, writing: 'When she got out the car she put her hands up and was talking to them to show she didn't have a weapon in her hand!!! 'She did run three steps away when she got scared at them all coming towards her with guns in her face. That's when she was shot that many times. 'Keep in mind, they chased her [boyfriend] who jumped out of the vehicle and he was captured unharmed... while she was left there in the street literally still near the vehicle she got out of. 'I'm literally in shock the whole video!' she wrote. 'I'm a whole medical assistant, and it's literally not how you handle a gunshot victim who's pregnant.' Missouri State Highway Patrol said it was investigating the shooting - as it is protocol - while the two officers involved have been placed on administrative leave. Spokesman Andy Bell said a gun 'was located' near the vehicle but did not say whether the victim was holding it at the time of the shooting, citing 'intricate details that have to be followed up on'. 'Everything's going to be analyzed, to be scrutinized by our officers,' he said, noting that they will review body camera footage from the incident. Interim Police Chief Joseph Mabin, meanwhile, told reporters that the department would be fully transparent with the highway patrol as the shooting investigation is conducted. 'We never want to be in these types of situations - not the public, not the police department,' he said. 'Anytime anything happens like this, it's a blight on our community.' The majority of Britons fear swimming in seas or rivers because they are worried about pollution. Environmental charity Surfers Against Sewage found that 52 per cent of people were scared of swimming in wild British waters. Nearly a quarter said they avoided them entirely due to fears water companies were dumping raw sewage there. Chief executive Hugo Tagholm said the water industry needed to cut this c**p so swimmers can enjoy the experience. Nearly one in four Britons (24 per cent) say they are avoiding swimming in UK waters due to the sewage scandal - water companies allowing sewage to flow into rivers and seas rather than treating it. More than half of Britons avoid swimming in the nation's seas or rivers due to health concerns over dumping of waste, according to a survey by Surfers Against Sewage. Pictured: Paddleboarders in Swansea Bay, Wales An overwhelming majority (74 per cent) of the public agree that sewage pollution is a real issue in UK waters, with almost half (45 per cent) having become aware in the last year of the risks associated with swimming in UK waters. The survey found a fifth of Britons (21 per cent) said they or someone they know has fallen ill after swimming in UK rivers and seas, most notably with an ear infection (10 per cent) or diarrhoea (9 per cent). The younger generation (aged between 18-34) are most at risk as the most likely age group to brave the UKs open water, with two fifths having tried wild swimming or water sports. Almost a third (31 per cent) of Brits believe water companies are violating the publics right to a safe, clean and healthy environment. Over half (55 per cent) believe funding for improvements to sewage infrastructure to combat pollution should come from water companies profits. This Jubilee weekend thousands of Brits are expected to take to the water. SAS has launched a free phone app, the Safer Seas & River Service, which offers a real-time sewage pollution alert service for people to check whether it is safe to take a dip. Mr Tagholm said: This Jubilee weekend, the public will flock to our amazing coastlines and rivers to enjoy the water and all the health and wellbeing benefits that taking a dip provides. It is clear the UK public are fearful about swimming due to the amount of raw sewage being discharged into waterways, and believe the water industry must cut this c**p. The public need a service to check for sewage pollution before entering the water, so they can enjoy the experience without worrying about getting sick. Surfers Against Sewage is proud to have pioneered the provision of real-time water quality information, through the Safer Seas & Rivers Service, which alerts users to sewage and agricultural pollution as and when it happens at hundreds of beaches and rivers nationwide. 'This helps surfers, swimmers and beach-lovers avoid polluted water and all the potential dangers it carries. Surfers Against Sewage have launched a free phone app, the Safer Seas & River Service, which offers a real-time sewage pollution alert service for people to check whether it is safe to take a dip. Pictured: Wastewater discharged in the Swale from paper mills in Kent Pam Spychal, wild swimmer and SSRS user from Norfolk, commented: I started wild swimming during the pandemic and love it. It brings me immense joy and connects me to nature and myself. I have noticed the smell of sewage around me as I bathe and every time it rains there is a sewage outflow at local beaches. 'Thats why I check the Safer Seas & Rivers Service app whenever I am heading for a swim, and I use the platform to contact our local water company and MP about the issue. Im grateful to Surfers Against Sewage for providing this free service and protecting us swimmers but it shouldnt be necessary - water companies and government must end sewage pollution. The sewage scandal has meant UK rivers are in a particularly bad state, with only 14 per cent deemed to have good ecological status. There are over 600 designated bathing waters in the UK but only two are located in rivers, meaning rivers are not subject to the same monitoring as many coastal waters. As a result, public information on water quality is limited. The Safer Seas & Rivers Service is currently only able to cover 8 river bathing sites, despite rivers being public favourites for swimming and water sports. President Joe Biden said Tuesday night that he would be arming Ukraine with 'more advanced rocket systems and munitions,' in a new op-ed for The New York Times outlining, 'What America Will and Will Not Do in Ukraine.' The use of the medium-range rocket systems will be restricted to be used only in Ukraine, White House officials said. 'The Ukrainians have given us assurances that they will not use these systems against targets in Russian territory, and so based on those assurances we are very comfortable they will not,' a senior White House official said on a call with reporters. President Joe Biden said Tuesday night that he would be arming Ukraine with 'more advanced rocket systems and munitions,' in a new op-ed for The New York Times outlining, 'What America Will and Will Not Do in Ukraine' Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines of the fight in the Donbas region. The new weapons could be used to attack Russian forces in this part of Ukraine Additionally, the White House said it would not be providing Ukraine with longer-range systems. Biden's op-ed was published on the eve of the 11th package of security assistance for the war in Ukraine being announced. 'We will continue providing Ukraine with advanced weaponry, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, Stinger antiaircraft missiles, powerful artillery and precision rocket systems, radars, unmanned aerial vehicles, Mi-17 helicopters and ammunition,' Biden said. That package, worth $700 million, will include HMARS - High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems - and ammunition, counter-fire radars, a number of air surveillance radars, additional Javelins, anti-armor weapons, more artillery rounds, several helicopters, additional tactical vehicles and a spare parts package, a White House official said. Smoke rises in the city of Severodonetsk during heavy fightings between Ukrainian and Russian troops at eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas Administration officials were pressed several times on whether Ukraine's leadership had pledged not to use the new rockets on the border to shoot inside Russia - before saying they had made that agreement. The rockets can travel around 48 miles. 'We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders,' Biden said in the op-ed. 'We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia,' the president also offered. Ukrainian forces are expected to use the rockets to target Russian forces in the Donbas region. The package will be the first financed by the most recent supplemental appropriations bill passed by Congress, which Biden signed into law during his trip to Asia. Thirty-two years ago when Margaret Thatcher was deposed as Prime Minister, this newspaper noted in this very column: 'The great oak has been felled not by the democratic will of the people but by her own party supporters.' We are still some way from a repeat of such incomprehensible regicide. Yet any moderate, pragmatic person observing events this week could be forgiven for thinking the Tory party has once more been seized by a collective madness. Rather than helping constituents struggling with the cost of living, a group of rebellious MPs has spent the recess seeking to wield the blade against the Prime Minister. Drunk on their own melodrama, a steady trickle have submitted no-confidence letters in a bid to topple their leader, possibly as soon as next week. It is hard to discern what these plotters hope to achieve through such wanton self-indulgence except one cannot ignore that many of them have had it in for Mr Johnson ever since he arrived in Downing Street. Leave aside for a moment that a resulting leadership contest would be a huge distraction from the real issues voters care about. It is hard to discern what these plotters hope to achieve through such wanton self-indulgence except one cannot ignore that many of them have had it in for Mr Johnson ever since he arrived in Downing Street The question that needs putting to the Prime Minister's detractors is: Who do they think will give their party a better chance of winning the next General Election? Chancellor Rishi Sunak's financial affairs have dashed his hopes. Liz Truss's stature has grown in recent months, but even the Foreign Secretary's greatest supporters would admit she remains sorely untested. As for Jeremy Hunt, the kindest thing one could say is that the former health secretary is unlikely to set voters' pulses racing. Mr Johnson, by contrast, is a proven winner with a track record of getting things done. He saw Brexit through, vanquished Corbynism, won a landslide, delivered a vaccine and led the world in defence of Ukraine. These are stunning achievements. Yes, there are obvious frustrations at his often lackadaisical style of leadership. Various self-inflicted scandals revealed a serial carelessness and a worrying lack of attention to detail. As for those lockdown soirees in No 10, they should never have happened. The PM rightly has taken full responsibility. Chancellor Rishi Sunak's financial affairs have dashed his hopes But for all his faults, Mr Johnson remains a politician of rare vigour, whose verve and charisma persuaded millions who had never voted Tory before to give him a chance. As for the nation's current travails, it is difficult to see what any other leader could have done differently. The fact remains that many of the pressing issues facing the country, such as rising food and energy prices, are the result of global events largely beyond the Government's control. Besides, it's not as if the PM is standing by and doing nothing. Last week, the Government announced a 21 billion package to help those struggling with their bills, which turned out to be far more generous than anyone expected. Liz Truss's stature has grown in recent months, but even the Foreign Secretary's greatest supporters would admit she remains sorely untested The truth is, all this divisiveness and in-fighting among Tories serves only to put Sir Keir Starmer one step closer to Downing Street. Dull and uninspiring as Starmer may seem, he cannot be underestimated. After all, his party is a very different prospect to the one that fought the last election. No Jeremy Corbyn sticking up for our enemies. No John McDonnell making crackpot spending promises which had even loyal Labour supporters running for the hills. And besides, an insipid leader lacking in dynamism might actually appeal to some voters after these roller-coaster past few years. But just the thought of a socialist government with a quasi-Marxist such as Sir Keir and his deputy, Angela Rayner, at the helm should alone be enough to send a chill through every Tory MP's bones. As for Jeremy Hunt, the kindest thing one could say is that the former health secretary is unlikely to set voters' pulses racing Worse still, such a scenario could also see Labour forge a pact with Nicola Sturgeon's SNP which would be the end of the Union something no self-respecting Conservative should want on their conscience. Those Tory MPs agitating for Mr Johnson to go must stop and take a deep breath. What they are doing only serves the interests of Labour, the anti-Brexit establishment and the Tory-hating BBC. Time is a political healer. The next election could still be two years away. The PM has every chance of winning back voters' trust. Destabilising the country now will have only dire consequences: market turmoil, a possible general election and eventually the very real prospect of a socialist government which would lead us to ruin. The Mail reminds these Tory rebels that Mrs Thatcher's demise led ultimately to 13 years of Labour rule and so asks them with all sincerity: Are you so vain and irresponsible that you would risk imposing such a catastrophe on your country? Gown-clad Oxford University students who celebrate the end of exams by covering each other in shaving foam, silly string and champagne will be fined 150 after a ban on the tradition. The university is clamping down on the summer ritual of trashing, seen as a rite of passage as students leave exam halls. While Oxford has previously vowed to crack down on the tradition said to cost it 45,000 a year to clean up this is the first time fines have been issued. Three penalties have already been handed out and officials are roaming campus to find offenders, according to university newspaper Cherwell. Those who fail to pay fines face further disciplinary action. Gown-clad Oxford University students who celebrate the end of exams by covering each other in shaving foam, silly string and champagne will be fined 150 after a ban on the tradition One student, who claims he poured roughly a tablespoon of lubricant on a friends head, told the newspaper: I was confronted by five proctor officers. One officer asked me to show him the packet, so retrieving it from my pocket, I handed it to him. He then proceeded to throw it on the ground behind him, and issue me the 150 fine. Oxford students union condemned the ban, claiming it creates a disproportionate punishment for poorer students. The report told students: Trashing is antisocial behaviour and has significant negative community, environmental and financial impacts on the whole Oxford community. If you throw, pour or spray substances after your exams, you are liable to a 150 fine, which will be strictly enforced this year, as a breach of the Universitys Code of Discipline. The university is clamping down on the summer ritual of trashing, seen as a rite of passage as students leave exam halls Instead of trashing, students have been told to consider nightclubs or an a celebratory day out as part of new guidance. An Oxford University spokesman said: We recognise that students will want to celebrate the end of their exams, and we are encouraging them to do so in a sustainable and respectful manner that is sensitive to both the environment and the wider community. University teams are working with local authority community enforcement across a number of locations around the city to strictly enforce the issuing of fines to students who litter by throwing food or other materials during post-examination celebrations. A woman has suffered severe wounds to her neck and face after she was bludgeoned with a rock and raped while partying at a secret psytrance 'doof' on a popular tourist beach - within sight of 200 revellers. The 31-year-old going to the toilet behind a sand dune on iconic Cable Beach, near Broome in Western Australia, in the early hours of Sunday morning when a stranger attacked her then fled the scene on foot. A police manhunt is underway to find her attacker who is described as roughly 177cm tall with a slim build, and possibly with dark skin. Despite extensive injuries, the tourist managed to drag herself back to the party to alert organisers. 'It occurred pretty much within sight, just behind a sand dune where the event was, so within a matter of metres from where people gathered, listening to music,' Sergeant Bryan Beck said during a press conference on Tuesday. She was taken to Broome Hospital in a critical condition, as the party raged on - one man told Daily Mail Australia he and many others didn't know about the incident until the following day. About 200 people were at the beach 'doof' on Saturday night - dancing just metres from where a woman was raped 'It's just shocking what happened,' he said. 'People come together from different countries and and have a good time and it's usually a good and positive vibe.' The woman is recovering at home and did not want to comment, but another person who was at the event confirmed she is in a great deal of pain. Sgt Beck urged anyone with information to come forward - adding that people may he hesitant due to potential drug and alcohol use at the event, but he assured people that the investigation is solely focused on the assault. He also said police do not have any information to suggested the perpetrator was a guest at the rave. Daily Mail Australia understands the beach parties are organised every weekend within an exclusive, and fiercely-protected, Facebook group called 'Broome Doofers'. One man said people from all over the world go to the beach parties in Broome (pictured: a DJ setup in Broome at a similar event) Cable Beach in Broome, Western Australia, is a popular tourist destination where visitors can ride camels on the beach (pictured) 'But the group page doesn't get used,' one man said. 'They do everything over Facebook messenger.' Organisers use the messenger app to tell locals and backpackers about each event - which feature lights, face paint, and DJs playing techno, house and psytrance music. Party-goers were tight-lipped when approached by Daily Mail Australia - afraid of losing their place within the group, should any of the town's 16,000 residents discover they spoke with the media. When asked who organised the event, one man said: 'None of your business.' He then suggested 'everyone knows' who the alleged rapist is, but others said that was simply not true. Detectives are urging any attendees who saw the incident or have any photos or videos of the event to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Nearly 50 Conservative party MPs have criticised Boris Johnson in public over the 'Partygate' scandal, while some have held talks over a possible replacement. In response, the Cabinet last night rounded on the 'reckless' rebels trying to remove Mr Johnson from No 10. Allies of the Prime Minister warned the plotters they could destroy the Conservative Party's best chance of winning the next election. As the mood at Westminster darkened, Mr Johnson's supporters hit back at the 'disgruntled ex-ministers' and nervous backbenchers agitating against him. Former Cabinet minister Dame Andrea Leadsom yesterday joined the trickle of Tories who have broken cover to criticise the Prime Minister over the No10 parties. She plunged the knife in as John Stevenson became the latest Tory MP to write a letter demanding the Prime Minister face a confidence vote. It came as the PM's ethics tsar Lord Geidt said there was a 'legitimate question' about whether his Partygate fine represented a breach of the ministerial code after senior civil servant Sue Gray released a report into her findings. Nearly 50 Conservative party MPs have criticised Boris Johnson in public over the 'Partygate' scandal, while some have held talks over a possible replacement Since the end of last week a steady stream of MPs - having had a chance to study Ms Gray's report in detail and consult with their constituents - have come forward calling on Mr Johnson to quit. According to The Times, 30 Tory MPs have now called for a confidence vote, while a further 16 have spoken publicly against their embattled party leader. Under party rules, the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee is required to call a vote of confidence in Mr Johnson's leadership if 54 Tory MPs - 15% of the parliamentary party - submit a letter calling for one. There is a growing belief at Westminster that it is only a matter of time before the 54 letters from Conservative MPs needed to trigger a confidence vote are reached. Former Tory leader William Hague said the Prime Minister was in 'real trouble' while another ex-leader, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, appealed to colleagues to halt their plotting until celebrations for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee are over. The celebrations which will take centre stage from Thursday and over the weekend. The Times also reported that rebel MPs have discussed trade minister Penny Mordaunt as a possible successor. Others are said to back former health secretary Jeremy Hunt and Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the foreign affairs select committee. From the current cabinet, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace are also seen as being in the running should Mr Johnson be ousted. Former Cabinet minister Dame Andrea Leadsom yesterday joined the trickle of Tories who have broken cover to criticise the Prime Minister over the No10 parties Boris Johnson toasts in 10 Downing Street during gathering on the departure of a special adviser, in London, Britain November 13, 2020 in this picture obtained from civil servant Sue Gray's report published on May 25, 2022 Meanwhile, Mr Johnson's backers accused the agitators of 'doing Labour's bidding'. One Cabinet source said: 'The rebels don't have a plan apart from dripping out the names of people who don't like the PM or who have an axe to grind. It is disgruntled ex-ministers and a couple of frit 2019ers [frightened MPs from the 2019 intake]. None is a surprise.' Downing Street insisted Mr Johnson still represented the best hope of victory for the Tories at the next general election. 'Who is the alternative?' a source asked. It came as: Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner received questionnaires from Durham Constabulary over Beergate; The PM began phoning Conservative MPs to shore up support; Former Tory leader William Hague said Mr Johnson was in 'real trouble'; Sir Iain Duncan Smith, another ex-leader, appealed to colleagues to halt their plotting until celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee are over. No10 last night rejected a suggestion that Mr Johnson could call a vote of confidence himself to end speculation over his leadership. A source said: 'No. We have got to focus on delivering for the public and getting on with things that really make a difference to people's lives rather than talking about ourselves.' No 10 also warned the rebels not to pull the rug from under the PM as he prepares to represent Britain at a series of international gatherings, where leaders will discuss the response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. As pressure grew on Mr Johnson yesterday, Dame Andrea became the latest senior figure to criticise him publicly. The former Cabinet minister, who backed Mr Johnson for the leadership in 2019, said Sue Gray's report into Partygate had exposed 'unacceptable failings of leadership that cannot be tolerated and are the responsibility of the Prime Minister'. A Cabinet source dismissed her remarks, saying: 'She got fired from Cabinet by Boris and wasn't happy, so why is anyone surprised when she comes out [against him]?' But Lord Hague said it was clear that allies of Mr Johnson who believed he had escaped unscathed after the muted initial response to Miss Gray's findings were mistaken. He said the senior civil servant's findings had lit a 'slow fuse' which could lead to a leadership ballot as early as next week. Lord Geidt (pictured) blasted Boris Johnson for having failed to have address allegations he breached the code in any of his recent public statements on Partygate A picture of Mr Johnson at a gathering in the Cabinet Room of No 10 on his birthday, which has been released with the publication of Sue's Gray report into Downing Street parties in Whitehall during Covid Lord Geidt, the independent adviser on the Ministerial Code, also questioned the Prime Minister's willingness to 'take responsibility for his own conduct' in relation to the ministerial rules and delivered a withering assessment of exchanges with Downing Street officials. This included Lord Geidt advising them that Mr Johnson should be 'ready to offer public comment' on his obligations under the code, noting this had 'not been heeded'. Mr Johnson, in a letter released on Tuesday evening, responded by claiming the FPN 'did not breach' the Ministerial Code as there was 'no intent to break the law'. He also insisted he had taken 'full responsibility for everything that took place on my watch' in light of lockdown-busting gatherings in Downing Street and pointed to his House of Commons apology. Amid suggestions Lord Geidt was considering his position over the handling of the issue, the Cabinet Office pushed back and insisted he is not quitting. But Lord Geidt appeared to hint about the prospect when, in his annual report, he noted he had attempted to avoid offering advice to Mr Johnson about his obligations under his own Ministerial Code. He added: 'If a Prime Minister's judgment is that there is nothing to investigate or no case to answer, he would be bound to reject any such advice, thus forcing the resignation of the independent adviser. 'Such a circular process could only risk placing the Ministerial Code in a place of ridicule.' The exchanges were made public after more Tory MPs publicly called for Mr Johnson to quit in the wake of Sue Gray's report on lockdown parties Downing Street. Rebel MPs have discussed trade minister Penny Mordaunt (pictured) as a possible successor to Boris Johnson. Others have touted former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt Last night it was reported that rebel Tories believe Mr Johnson could call a snap general election if he faces a confidence vote and wins by a slim margin. Two MPs told Bloomberg that backbenchers were discussing the possibility the PM could seek a fresh mandate from voters. Defending the PM, science minister George Freeman told BBC Radio 4's The World at One: 'He did not stand as the patron saint of virtue. People knew who they were electing. 'He got a massive majority, got us out of the Brexit deadlock, delivered the vaccine rollout. Before we change prime ministers, we need to make sure we're doing the day job first. We mustn't be driven by short-term speculation.' Johnson loyalist Nadine Dorries added: 'I think everybody should get behind the Prime Minister. People don't vote for divided parties.' Former cabinet minister Dame Andrea Leadsom became the latest senior figure to publicly criticise Mr Johnson, saying Ms Gray's report had exposed 'unacceptable failings of leadership that cannot be tolerated and are the responsibility of the Prime Minister'. In a letter to her constituents shared on social media, she stopped short of calling for him to go but said she and other Tory MPs 'must now decide individually on what is the right course of action that will restore confidence in our Government'. Meanwhile, Carlisle MP John Stevenson became the latest Tory backbencher to announce publicly that he has submitted a letter to the chairman of the 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady calling for a vote of no confidence. Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links, a former leader of the Scottish Tories, predicted there could be more letters submitted in the coming days. She said MPs will have constituents raising their feelings during recess, telling Piers Morgan Uncensored on TalkTV: 'I think that the trickle that you've seen in the last couple of days is part of that and we may see a few more.' Anthony Albanese's new ministry has been sworn in during a ground-breaking ceremony that involved a huge Bible, a pink Quran and noisy children. The Prime Minister's girlfriend Jodie Haydon appeared to laugh and smile as Employment Minster Tony Burke was sworn in with a very large Bible in the ceremony at Government House on Wednesday morning. Ministers can bring their own scriptures for their swearing in and Mr Burke used the Bible his great-grandfather brought to Australia from Ireland in 1880. Ms Haydon was filmed smiling as Mr Burke walked up to the Governor-General holding the enormous book, which sparked a flurry of memes on Twitter. Meanwhile, Ed Husic and Anne Aly became the first Muslims to serve as ministers and were both sworn in with a pink Quran. Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney followed her predecessor Ken Wyatt by wearing a kangaroo-skin cloak at the ceremony. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese poses with his new ministry after a swearing-in ceremony at Government House Linda Burney was sworn in as minister for Indigenous Australians on Wednesday morning Ed Husic and Anne Aly (pictured) became the first Muslims to serve as ministers and were both sworn in with a pink Quran Minister for Education Jason Clare and his family arrive for the swearing-in ceremony at Government House in Canberra Theres been some interest in the really large old bible I was sworn in on today as Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for the Arts. Dads grandfather came to Tumut from Ireland after the famine and bought it on 28 March 1880. pic.twitter.com/Pysj3J9xj5 Tony Burke (@Tony_Burke) June 1, 2022 Mr Albanese unveiled his new look frontbench on Tuesday night after claiming a 77-seat majority in the lower house with vote counting almost finished. A record 10 women are in the 23-person cabinet and the 30-member ministry now comprises 17 men and 13 women. Mr Albanese demoted Tanya Plibersek in his new ministry - but she insists she is happy with her new job as environment minister. Ms Plibersek - who is widely considered Mr Albanese's closest rival for Labor leadership - has been removed from the education portfolio she held in opposition. That role has been handed to Jason Clare who was lauded for his expert performances in daily press conferences as Labor's election campaign spokesman. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese surrounded by his record number of 13 female ministers after a swearing-in ceremony at Government House Mr Burke's unusually large Bible sparked memes on Twitter such as this one This 1930 image of the largest Bible in the world was also shared on social media in response Tanya Plibersek is pictured today being sworn in as Environment Minister in Canberra Ms Plibersek posted this picture of herself on Facebook on Tuesday night as she insisted she is happy with her new job as environment minister Jason Clare (pictured with his son today) has been appointed Education Minister in Mr Albanese's new cabinet Despite the demotion, Ms Plibersek revealed on Facebook she was 'delighted' to have been given the environment and water portfolios. 'I'm delighted to be appointed a Cabinet minister in the new Labor Government with responsibility for environment and water. I look forward to the challenge,' she wrote on Tuesday night. 'Australia is lucky to be home to the most beautiful natural environments in the world, which we need to protect and preserve for future generations. Let's get to work.' During the election campaign, Ms Plibersek rarely appeared with Mr Albanese and did not attend Labor's campaign launch in Perth, leading pundits to say she had been 'sidelined'. Ms Plibersek brushed off those suggestions, insisting she was campaigning all over the country and regularly appearing on radio and TV. The 52-year-old member for Sydney was deputy Labor leader for six years under Bill Shorten. Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek shakes hands with Australian Governor-General David Hurley Treasurer Jim Chalmers poses for a photo with Governor-general David Hurley at the swearing in Mr Albanese looks on during the swearing-in ceremony at Government House Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles tried to claim her move from education to environment was not a demotion because Labor is taking the environment more seriously than the previous government. Asked if Ms Plibersek's move was a demotion, he said: 'That's the last thing I would see it as. 'I mean that might be how the former government viewed that area of policy, but for us, the environment is front and centre - and it always has been in Labor Governments. 'And for Tanya it's been a source of enduring passion, and water as well,' he told the ABC on Wednesday morning. But pundits agree there is no question that education is a more high-profile role. Prime Minister Albanese unveiled his full ministry on Tuesday after claiming a 77-seat majority in the lower house. Ms Plibersek appeared alongside Mr Albanese on May 4 in Melbourne (pictured). But she was mostly campaigning separately from him Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured on Tuesday) has unveiled his new ministry, which has a few surprises ''It's a mix of people who have served in the cabinet before, it is the most experienced incoming Labor government in our history since Federation,' Mr Albanese said. 'This is an exciting team which is overflowing with talent with people absolutely committed to making a difference as ministers and assistant ministers in my government.' Mr Marles will take on the defence portfolio as well as the role of deputy prime minister while Penny Wong was announced as foreign affairs minister last week. Katy Gallagher is responsible for three portfolios - finance, public service and women. Clare O'Neil will be home affairs minister while Ms Aly is responsible for child education and youth. The cabinet features 10 women, including new child education and youth minister Anne Aly Clare O'Neil will be home affairs minister while Ms Aly is responsible for child education and youth Don Farrell will be trade and tourism minister as well as special minister of state, while Tony Burke will be employment minister. Mark Butler will assume health in the cabinet, with Chris Bowen in charge of climate change and energy. Don Farrell will be trade and tourism minister as well as special minister of state, while Tony Burke will be employment minister. Catherine King will be in charge of infrastructure, transport and regional development. Linda Burney will be Indigenous affairs minister, the second Aboriginal person to assume the role. Former opposition leader Bill Shorten will be minister for NDIS and government services, while Amanda Rishworth will be in charge of social services. Mark Dreyfus will be the new attorney-general, while Brendan O'Connor will be minister for skills and training. Julie Collins will be housing and homelessness minister, while Michelle Rowland will be communication minister. Madeleine King will serve as resources minister, Murray Watt as agriculture minister, while Ed Husic is the new industry and science minister. Eden-Monaro MP Kristy McBain will take on the portfolio of regional development and local government. 'This is a record number (of women), this is the most positive group that have ever been put forward in terms of the cabinet, the ministry and the caucus,' Mr Albanese said 'I want to see us move towards 50-50 representation across all of the spectrum.' Anthony Albanese says his new ministry is overflowing with talent Among the surprises in the outer ministry was new face Kristy McBain (pictured) who has only been an MP for two years Labor claimed a 77th seat on Tuesday with incumbent Labor MP Fiona Phillips expected to retain her seat following a nail-biting contest against Liberal candidate and former NSW minister Andrew Constance. 'Today Labor has claimed the 77th seat in the House of Representatives,' Mr Albanese said. 'It confirms indeed that Labor will be a majority government when Parliament resumes in July.' 'It means the Coalition failed to claim a single seat from Labor at the election.' He conceded it's a 'difficult day' for those who missed out on role on the frontbench, including Shayne Neumann, who was demoted to the backbench. Australian Industry and Innovation Minister Ed Husic shakes hands with Australian Governor-General David Hurley Qantas passengers have claimed they sent farewell messages to loved ones when their plane was forced to make an emergency landing. The QF2008 flight was due to land in Tamworth from Sydney on Sunday evening but was forced to turn around and land at Sydney Airport after issues with the aircraft's hydraulics. One passenger named Jesse claimed those on board were told to brace themselves as the plane 'may or may not' land on the tarmac. He said he was feeling extremely 'anxious and nervous' before the plane touched down. The QF2008 flight was due to land in Tamworth from Sydney on Sunday evening but was forced to turn around and land at Sydney Airport after issues with the aircraft's hydraulics 'I was literally expecting to belly dump without landing gear at Sydney airport so had sent out a couple of last messages to people. The lady beside me had done the same,' he told The Daily Telegraph. He said the second officer was reassuring passengers that they were going to land on one of the longest runways in Australia. 'She reiterated that we were having problems with hydraulic fluids and advised that we may or ''may not end up on the runway after landing'', the crew looked very worried at that stage as were many passengers,' Jesse said. The plane eventually came to a very smooth landing as emergency crews arrived. One passenger said he believed there were people on board praying as the plane went to land. 'I was praying,' he told Seven News. Another on board praised the pilot for 'one of the smoothest landings' he'd experienced. Qantas said that 'at no point' were passengers told the plane was at risk of not landing on the runway. One passenger named Jesse claimed those on board were told to brace themselves as the plane 'may or may not' land on the tarmac 'Passengers were informed that the aircraft may need to be towed to the gate after landing due to the hydraulic issue. At no point was the aircraft at risk of not stopping on the runway,' a spokesperson said. 'We understand this would have been a very unsettling experience for our passengers and sincerely thank them for their cooperation throughout the flight.' All passengers on board were provided with meals and accommodation before they were put on another flight back to Tamworth on Monday morning. The aircraft experiencing the issues has since been cleared for travel. It has been discovered that Whatsapp accounts can been breached by hackers using call forwarding. Malicious threat actors can now gain control of your WhatsApp account using a hacking technique called call forwarding. This method is not necessarily the easiest as it requires quick responsiveness and social skills on the part of the threat actors. However, to the skilled and experienced hackers, this could also mean taking control of a user's account within just a few minutes. There is a loophole that allows malicious actors to take control of the user's account of an unsuspecting victim and read their private messages as well as their contact list. WhatsApp's Call Forwarding-How Does It Work? WhatsApp, Meta's instant messaging app, has a loophole that allows malicious actors to take control of any user's account. Call forwarding, the technique that can be used, makes use of an automatic feature provided by mobile carriers that redirects incoming calls to a different phone number, as well as an option provided by WhatsApp to transmit a verification code for a one-time password (OTP) through a voice call. The founder and CEO of cybersecurity company cloudSEK, Rahul Sasi also confirmed that call forwarding provides success when it comes to breaching someone's account in the messaging app. Sasi released some specifics regarding the method, indicating that it is used to hack WhatsApp accounts. He added that the malicious actor must first persuade the victim to place a call to a number that begins with a Man Machine Interface (MMI) code that was set up by the cell carrier to facilitate call forwarding. According to Bleeping Computer, Rahul Sasi stated, "First, you receive a call from the attacker, who will convince you to make a call to the following numbers: **67* or *405*. Within a few minutes, your WhatsApp would be logged out, and the attackers would get complete control of your account." The first character of these codes is either a star (*) or a hash (#). They are not difficult to locate, and according to the testing that was tried out, the majority of the main mobile network operators support them. On some cell carriers, a particular MMI code can either redirect all calls to a terminal to a different number or redirect the calls that come in when the line is busy or there is no reception. If hackers are successful in convincing the victim to forward calls to their number, the malicious actor will begin the WhatsApp registration procedure on their own device, selecting the option that allows them to receive the one-time password (OTP) by voice call. After obtaining the OTP, the malicious user can register the victim's WhatsApp account on their own device and turn on two-factor authentication (2FA), which prohibits the account's rightful owners from regaining access to it. Read Also: Cryptocurrency Revival: Terra Launches LUNA 2.0 With a Rocky Start How To Prevent Call Hacking Call forwarding is just one of the numerous ways malicious actors can breach someone's phone. However, there is also SIM swapping, and phishing emails and text messages as methods of attack. In addition, nowadays, threat actors now use public Wi-Fi networks. They can create fake Wi-Fi networks to lure users who are in need of an internet connection, and when victims connect through their network, it will lead them to phony sites that will help them launch an attack. According to MUO, it is highly recommended for users to not connect to any Wi-Fi network to prevent hacking. It is also advised that users turn off hotspots in crowded places. With the call forwarding strategy, users are advised to not permit any access from an unknown caller. In addition, it is worth remembering that the two-factor authentication can help users add in that extra layer of protection and security. However, in this case, users must use it wisely to their advantage instead of allowing this tool to launch a hack on their devices. Related Article: Russian Cyber Criminal Forums Buy and Sell US College VPN Credentials Like It's Nothing - Sellers Even Ask for Donations A young boy living with a rare form of undiagnosed brittle bone disease has received a wonderful surprise from a kind-hearted stranger. Riley, 8, who has already sustained more than 70 fractures as a direct result of the horrible disease, got to experience a dream trip to the hospital for an appointment. His mother Janette Reid posted a heartwarming message on Facebook about her son's wonderful surprise. Riley (pictured), 8, who has already sustained more than 70 fractures as a direct result of the horrible disease, got to experience a dream trip to the hospital for an appointment Due to the family having to regularly travel to Brisbane for Riley's doctor's appointments, his parents decided to try and get him there in style. His father Matt tried calling a hire company to see if any could pick them up from the airport in Riley's favorite car, a Tesla. 'Unfortunately they didn't have any Teslas in Queensland,' Ms Reid said. 'But the lady said wasn't going to just stop there.' Ms Reid said 'the amazing lady went out of her way to track down a Tesla in Brisbane to pick the family up'. The hire car manager eventually chased down 'a lovely gentleman called Andrew who jumped at the chance' to do it. 'You couldn't wipe the smile off Riley's (pictured) face' after they were picked up in the Tesla 'Today you couldn't wipe the smile off Riley's face, we got picked up this morning from the Brisbane Airport in this little beauty,' Ms Reid wrote. 'This car is mind blowing, we got to see it completely driving itself, camp fire mode (the seats literally heat up), fart mode and even got a goodbye dance from the car.' Ms Reid thanked both the hire car manager and Andrew. 'All of this happened because of Matt trying to hire us one (Tesla) but instead the kindness of the lady that went above and beyond and finding Andrew that [has] done all of this out of the kindness of his heart,' she wrote. 'And the only payment he would take was Riley's smile. We are so thankful and these moments make all the hard time's worth it.' The heartwarming story was met with a flurry of kind messages. One woman commented 'omg what a wonderful thing they both did for Riley. I have the pleasure of knowing this little boy and his mum and little sister. They are a wonderful family and biggest heart. Riley has a big heart and is so kind to my son.' 'That is the most beautiful story I have read in a long time. Hope Riley is well and all your family and the gentleman with the car and the lady that tracked in down are all blessed abundantly,' another added. While a third person said 'what a gorgeous boy you have, so happy he got to experience this. Wish Tesla would hear your story and give you one for free.' A state-of-the-art Covid quarantine facility costing taxpayers $4 million a week is being portrayed as useless after mandatory isolation rules were scrapped across the country. Queensland's 1,000-bed Wellcamp facility near Toowoomba west of Brisbane has had an average of 41 guests a week since it opened in February - a number which dropped to 23 once the state dropped isolation rules for international arrivals on April 28. There were just seven guests staying at Wellcamp on Monday. Wellcamp at Toowoomba (pictured), Queensland's privately owned Covid quarantine facility, cost the state government $190 million to help build. There were just seven people staying at the 1,000-bed facility on Monday The Palaszczuk government has remained tight-lipped on the total cost of the privately owned project. No open tender process was undertaken before the government paid an estimated $190 million in its first year to help build the quarantine camp. In documents obtained by The Australian it was revealed Wellcamp, which is owned by Toowoomba-based Wagner Corporation, had cost $40 million for a medical company to provide services at the facility while another $48.8 million was spent on construction. Queensland's deputy premier and minister for state development Steven Miles said the facility is still being used for 'at risk' people, such as homeless or domestic violence victims, who test positive for Covid. The facility has been used by flood victims, refugees and Covid-positive patients who live with immunocompromised people. 'Without (Queensland Regional Accommodation Centre), some of the most at-risk individuals in the community would not have a safe place to stay whilst dealing with Covid-19,' Mr Miles' spokeswoman told The Australian. However, Deputy Opposition Leader Jarrod Bleijie believes the state government has 'completely lost the plot' in funding a facility that he says will cost over $200 million in its first year of operation. Mr Bleijie wrote to Auditor-General Brendan Worrall in February requesting he audit the secret Wellcamp deal to investigate the use of taxpayers' money. The 1,000-bed facility has been rendered useless after the state scrapped its mandatory isolation rules for unvaccinated international travellers on April 28 A spokeswoman for Mr Worrall said the audit office was still seeking information from government departments. The audit office said it will consider further action once information has been assessed. 'This will include identifying the various costs, understanding the procurement process, and reviewing leases and other agreements including the use of confidentiality provisions,' a spokeswoman for Mr Worrall said. 'We will consider further actions once we have obtained and assessed this information.' The state is locked into a 12-month lease with the Wagners, which is due to expire in February 2023. Announcement of the facility was part of a political attack by Ms Palaszczuk on former Prime Minister Scott Morrison's hotel quarantine failures. 'This is further action my government is taking to keep Queenslanders safe, Ms Palaszczuk said at the time of the announcement in August 2021. After repeated requests for federal funding were knocked back, Queensland's Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (pictured) announced the state would fund the facility itself Ms Palaszczuk announced the state would build the facility itself after the Scott Morrison government repeatedly blocked requests for federal funding in an eight-month stalemate. 'Scott Morrison failed to act, and we now have a dedicated quarantine facility for whatever may happen in the future,' she said this week. 'Following countless leaks from the nations hotel quarantine system, its clear there is an urgent need for alternative facilities in Australia,' Mr Miles said last year in justifying the project. 'This facility will help Queensland to continue to open up and avoid expensive lockdowns.' Opposition leader David Crisafulli, meanwhile, has criticised the leasing arrangements with Wagner. 'The lease expires at the start of next year, and the government has already flushed millions of dollars down the drain on a facility that Queenslanders will never own.' Affirmative sexual consent is now legally required in NSW, five months after the state parliament passed reforms to strengthen protections. Last November, the NSW parliament passed an amendment which clarifies, modernises and simplifies consent law. The new law defines consent as a free and voluntary agreement that cannot be presumed, and involves ongoing, mutual communication. The laws also clarified that if a person consents to one sex act, it does not mean they have consented to other acts. The amendment clarifies a person who is asleep, unconscious or intoxicated is not able to consent, with the government set to issue new directions to juries involved in assault trials. NSW Attorney General Mark Speakman said the new laws clarify that to engage in sexual activity with somebody, a person needs to say something to show consent, or needs to do or say something to seek consent. "These laws set clearer boundaries for consensual sex, reinforce the basic principle of common decency that consent is a free choice involving mutual and ongoing communication, and reinforce that consent should not be presumed," Mr Speakman said. Under the new legislation in NSW consent must be 'clearly communicated' and 'ongoing' meaning all parties must say or do something that demonstrates their willingness to continue. Pictured: A TV ad campaign highlighting the changes The attorney-general said the reforms were just one part of tackling sexual violence in NSW. "The consent reforms are not just about holding perpetrators to account, but changing social behaviour with clearer rules of engagement to drive down the rate of sexual assaults," Mr Speakman said. The government launched an awareness campaign in the lead up to the implementation of the laws, and the attorney-general said he was committed to ensuring the community understood the changes. Over the last six months the NSW government has also worked with judicial officers, prosecutors, defence lawyers and police to ensure they are well-informed about the change. The change is expected to improve the experience for victims within the justice system, and five new directions will be available for judges to hand to juries, to address misconceptions about consent. Those directions will clarify that sexual assault can occur in many situations including between acquaintances and married couples; that sexual offences do not always include violence or result in injuries; there are no 'typical' responses to sexual assault; trauma affects all victims differently; and consent cannot be assumed due to behaviour including clothing, alcohol or drug consumption. The change in law followed a review by the NSW Law Reforms Commission which took in more than 190 submissions and extensive community consultation. The review was prompted by survivor and advocate Saxon Mullins sharing her story on ABC's Four Corners in 2018. The change in law followed a review by the NSW Law Reforms Commission which took in more than 190 submissions and extensive community consultation The review was prompted by survivor and advocate Saxon Mullins (pictured) sharing her story on ABC's Four Corners in 2018 AFFIRMATIVE CONSENT LAWS EXPLAINED * Under the new consent laws, people will not be able to assume consent from somebody because they don't say no - silence is not consent. * Consent is considered an ongoing process, and a person can change their mind or withdraw consent at any time. * A person will not be able to consent if they are so intoxicated they can not make a choice, or refuse. * Consent can only be given freely and voluntarily, and cannot involve coercion or force. * Just because a person consents to one sexual act does not mean they have consented to others - consent must be present for all acts. * Consent cannot be given by people who are asleep or unconscious. Advertisement The new laws coincide with a statewide campaign about sexual consent involving TV ads explaining the changes with the tag line Make No Doubt HUNDREDS of private schoolgirls come forward to detail horrific sexual assaults by boys from some of Australia's most prestigious schools - and slam the 'sickening magnitude' of the problem BY ALANA TINDALE AND KIRSTEN JELINEK FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA Hundreds of girls from some of Australia's top private schools have claimed they were sexually assaulted and raped by their male peers. Dozens of harrowing claims have emerged due to a petition started to demand schools implement better sex consent education. The petition, launched on Thursday by former Kambala student Chanel Contos, 22, has uncovered disturbing allegations against boys from prestigious private schools. Nearly 7000 people, including many former students of private schools, have signed the petition or shared stories of their own alleged assaults. Hundreds of girls who attended Sydney private schools has claimed they were sexually assaulted and raped by private school boys and are demanding schools implement better sex consent education. Pictured: Chanel Contos is calling for better sex education Ms Contos said Kambala High School (pictured) gave her a 'great consent education but they gave it too late' Chantel Contos' petition now has signatures from close to 7,000 former and current school students across Australia Ms Contos told Daily Mail Australia she started the petition after her friend confided in her about a sexual assault case that happened when she was 14-years-old. 'When I saw how distressed she was eight, nine years later, I knew that something had to be done,' she said. 'The realisation you've been sexually assaulted, it's a hard thing to go through'. Ms Contos said she was forced to give oral sex to a boy when she was in Year 8, but did not realise she had been raped or learn about consent until she attended a sex consent class in Year 10 that presented by a former police officer. At least 1,500 former students have signed the petition or shared stories of their own alleged assaults, with some boys even saying they perpetrated assault as students. Pictured: Chantel Contos said she was forced to perform oral sex as her first sexual experience Ms Contos' petition now has 6,400 signatures and nearly 700 testimonies from woman aged between 13 to 50-years-old from across Australia 'I was angry, but also had a sense of clarity around that I had in fact been sexually abused,' she said. But she wasn't the only girl who realized they had just been sexually abused. 'I walked out of that room together with my friends and I remember the girls saying 'my guy could get seven years' or 'mine could go to jail for 17 years',' she recalled. Ms Contos said despite her school giving her a 'great consent education, they gave it too late.' 'A lot of people are already sexually active by 15 or 16, and you need to have this consent training before you become sexually active', she said. 'People who have contacted me have said they received no consent sexual education, especially boys schools said that it was minimal to none.' Ms Contos' petition now has 6,400 signatures and nearly 700 testimonies from woman aged between 13 to 50-years-old from across Australia. Allegations outlined in testimonials on the petition including being drugged and raped, being assaulted while intoxicated, waking up to find boyfriends having sex with them and being forced to perform oral sex. Ms Contos said two boys have left testimonies allegedly they have also experienced sexual assault, and around 15 have messaged to say they are questioning their past sexual experiences. Some former private schoolboys even confessed anonymously to perpetrating sexual assault or harassment, saying they regretted their actions. Ms Contos updates her followers online that over 300 testimonies had been sent into the petition in the last 24 hours alone 'When I was younger I hooked up with a girl at a party when she was so drunk she couldn't stand. Since then I have apologised to her and she has accepted,' wrote one person who said they were a student at in 2015. 'However I still think about the potential damage I did to her and wonder what longstanding damage I could've done to her as an adult.' Testimonials on the petition have accused unnamed students from Sydney's most exclusive all-boy schools, including Scots, Cranbrook, Sydney Grammar School, St Joseph's, Waverley, St Ignatius Riverview, and Shore. Women said they had attended all-girls schools including Kambala, Kincoppal-Rose Bay, St Catherine's School, Pymble Ladies College, Wenona, Queenwood and Monte Sant' Angelo Mercy College. The petition called for schools to provide consent sex education to students 'from a young age.' Chantel Contos (pictured) is calling for schools to provide consent sexual education to students from a young age Testimonials on the petition have accused unnamed students from Sydney's most exclusive all-boy schools, including St Ignatius Riverview (pictured) 'These are uncomfortable conversations to have with young teenagers,' it reads. '[But] it is far more uncomfortable to live knowing that something happened to you, or a friend, or perhaps that you were even the perpetrator of it, and it could have been avoided.' Schools told the Sydney Morning Herald they needed to be allowed to teach consent and sex education without being restrained by politics. 'It is also essential that schools (both public and independent) are allowed to teach about such matters rather than have them being constrained by the personal but public opinions of politicians or criticised when wanting to educate around sexuality,' said Wenona principal Dr Briony Scott. St Catherine's School headmistress Dr Julie Townsend said it was 'heartbreaking' to read the testimonials. 'It is clear from these girls' testimonies that many of them have suffered in silence for years, and we need to ensure that, not only do they understand what assault is, but know their rights in reporting it and charging someone,' she said. Principal of boys school Waverley College Graham Leddie said schools needed to be held to 'a high standard.' 'We need to raise our expectations of a generation of boys in Australia that have a reputation for being self-serving, entitled and craving instant gratification,' he said. Chanel Contos' petition nearly has 7,000 signatures from men and women across Australia Ms Contos (pictured) said she hopes the petition will bring change to sexuality education to students across Australia Ms Contos said she's thankful for the discussions and reflection the petition has opened across Australia and worldwide. 'I hope the petition brings change to sexuality education, it needs to be more holistic, not by only incorporating consent, but also the forces that shape behaviors such as toxic masculinity and rape culture', she said. 'I hope this will better equip younger generations, so they never had the delayed realization that they've been victims or perpetrators of sexual assault'. If this story has raised issues for you, please contact 1800 Respect 1800 737 732, Lifeline 13 11 14, beyondblue 1300 224 636, Domestic Violence Line 1800 65 64 63 Western Australia's strict vaccine mandates will be scrapped from next week. From June 10, only those working in healthcare and health support in hospitals and primary care, residential aged and disability care, will be required to be jabbed. The new changes also mean unvaccinated Australians and permanent residents travelling to WA will not need to quarantine for a week upon arrival. The cap on these travellers, which was 70 per week, will also be removed. The lifting of the vaccination rules comes a day after the deadline for 1million workers to have received their third jab. Western Australia 's strict vaccine mandates will be scrapped from next week Premier Mark McGowan announced WA Premier Mark McGowan said the time was right to ease restrictions with more than 81 per cent now triple vaccinated. 'The policy has been extraordinarily effective in protecting West Australians and helping achieve some of the highest vaccination rates in the world,' he said. From June 15 restrictions on access to remote Aboriginal communities will also be removed. Mr McGowan in November said the vaccine mandates were likely to hang around for a 'couple of years'. 'I can't say what a future premier might do, but they'll be in place for a very long time while I'm the Premier,' he told ABC Radio Perth. WA Premier Mark McGowan said the time was right to ease restrictions with more than 81 per cent now triple vaccinated (pictured couple in Perth leave Covid testing clinic) The mandates had once applied to 75 per cent of the WA workforce. The premier urged those in the state to be cautious as they head into winter. 'We're still in the midst of this Omicron wave, and coupled with this upcoming flu season it's vital people take every precaution, follow the health advice, keep up mask-wearing as necessary, ensure they are up to date with the Covid and flu vaccines and maintain handwashing and sanitising,' he said. 'We need to be vigilant, especially as we're getting into the colder months and people are now travelling more.' The state recorded 8,432 new Covid infections and one death on Wednesday. Joe Rogan said that Fox News and conservative media outlets were the only ones that supported him when he faced accusations of spreading vaccine misinformation earlier this year. 'They had my back through it,' Rogan, 54, said. 'It was Fox News that had my f*****g back.' Speaking on Tuesday's episode of his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan lamented that he felt Democrats had abandoned free speech and openness to other people's ideas. He said that in the past the right was the 'suppressive' party, but that now the left has assumed that mantle. Musician Neil Young speaking at Farm Aide 34 in 2019. Earlier this year he left Spotify in protest over what he characterized as vaccine misinformation on Joe Rogan's podcast Rogan was speaking with comedian Fahim Anwar on the episode, where the pair discussed the protests Rogan faced after he spoke with Covid-19 vaccine skeptics on an episode earlier this year. Prominent musicians including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell publicly left Spotify - the streaming service where Rogan has a $200million exclusive deal - saying that they would not rejoin until Rogan was booted from the platform. 'Liberal was pro free speech, people were open minded, non-violent, and people were open to other people's ideas,' Rogan said. Joni Mitchell attending the 2022 Grammy Awards in Las Vegas. She joined Young and others in protest of Spotify and Joe Rogan's presence on the platform Rogan spoke in defense of comedian Dave Chapelle, who has faced accusations of transphobia in recent years, on Tuesday's episode of The Joe Rogan Experience 'And the right was suppressive. Nanny state. Condemned certain language, condemned certain behavior. That's not the case today.' The pair also discussed comedian Dave Chapelle, whose recent accusations of transphobia in his material culminated in an on-stage attack during a set at the Hollywood Bowl in May. 'Today the left has gone so f*****g far left, so radical that the right are the ones celebrating comedians, celebrating Chappelle,' Rogan said. Rogan then voiced irony that it was Fox News that had his back when he was under attack earlier this year. 'Would you ever think that they'd [Fox] be the ones to cape for you?' Anwar asked Rogan. 'I'm so liberal, I talk about it all the time. I'm not a conservative, I'm not conservative.' Rogan said. Rogan insisted that he is a liberal on Tuesday's episode, while commenting on the irony that Fox News sprang to his defense when he was under attack earlier this year In January, rock legend Neil Young sent a letter to his label saying that he wanted all of his music removed from Spotify, accusing the platform of spreading vaccine misinformation. 'I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform,' Young wrote in a the letter, 'I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them.' 'They can have Neil Young or Rogan. Not Both.' Young added. The rocker was soon joined by others, including Joni Mitchell, Nils Lofgren, Graham Nash, David Crosby and Stephen Stills. As of today Rogan remains on Spotify, and Young remains off. Anthony Albanese has raised eyebrows by appointing an 'assistant minister for the republic', raising the prospect of Australia ditching the Queen as head of state. The newly-elected prime minister chose senior Labor figure Matt Thistlethwaite, 51, to take control of the unusual portfolio but details about what the Sydney MP will actually do in the role remain unclear. Mr Albanese has previously described Australia becoming a republic as 'inevitable' but did not mention the issue during his six-week election campaign. The shock move just two days before her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee celebration, was welcomed by the Australian Republic Movement, which campaigns for an Australian head of state. But others called the decision 'sad and reckless'. Anthony Albanese (pictured) has raised eyebrows by appointing an 'assistant minister for the republic', raising the prospect of Australia ditching the Queen (pictured) as head of state Mr Albanese has previously described Australia becoming a republic as 'inevitable' but did not mention the issue during his six-week election campaign Poll SHOULD AUSTRALIA DITCH THE QUEEN? YES NO SHOULD AUSTRALIA DITCH THE QUEEN? YES 440 votes NO 1338 votes Now share your opinion 'WE ARE ON OUR WAY!' tweeted prominent republican and author Peter FitzSimons. 'Let the record show, for the first time in the history of the Commonwealth, Australia has a member of the Govt singularly devoted to removing the Crown, and helping Australia become a Republic,' he added. FitzSimons said the revelation is the 'best news' for the ARM a quarter-century. 'Australia's Head of State should live here, be a proud Australian and be able to unify our nation in times of celebration or crisis - something the King or Queen of the United Kingdom could never do or be - and this appointment will help make this a reality,' he said. Over the years, the both Labor and Liberal politicians have at times lent their support to Australia becoming a republic. Australians were given the choice on whether to break away from the Commonwealth in 1999, but 55 per cent voted down the referendum. But the ARM believes support has increased since then and that 73 per cent of the population are now in favour of the change. Staunch monarchists have slammed the timing of the Mr Albanese's appointment. Queen Elizabeth II is pictured being greeted by adoring subjects while visiting Australia in 1981 Senior Labor figure Matt Thistlethwaite, 51 (pictured centre), will take control of the unusual portfolio Nile Gardiner, a former aide to Margaret Thatcher tweeted: 'A sad and reckless move by Australia's new left-wing Govt. Sends completely the wrong message.' Jack Barton, from the University of Queensland Monarchists League called it a slap in the face to those Down Under loyal to Queen Elizabeth. 'I think it's absolutely ridiculous, it's come at the worst possible time with an utter show of disrespect to the Queen and the Crown. 'Labor has a disregard for any of the people in Australia who want to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee.' In another shake-up, Mr Albanese has promised a referendum on giving Aboriginal Australians an institutional role in policymaking that would be amended into the constitution. Comedian and actor Andy Dick - facing a jury trial for allegedly groping a Lyft driver - Tuesday fought in court to prevent prosecutors from using evidence against him from another case where he was convicted of grabbing a womans butt. The Los Angeles District Attorney's office is asking Judge Emily Garcia Uhrig to allow testimony from the News Radio stars victim in the butt-grabbing incident which happened in April 2018, just a week before the Lyft episode. In the earlier incident, Dick grabbed the buttocks of a woman identified only as Christina S, and made sexual references, calling her hot, Deputy DA Rachel Brauer told a pre-trial hearing at LAs Airport courthouse Tuesday. Dick, 56, was charged with misdemeanor sexual battery for the butt grabbing incident - but that charge was dismissed after he agreed to a deal in which he pleaded no contest to simple battery and a second charge of lewd conduct. He served probation and community service as a result. In his current legal crisis, the comedian - who showed up in court Tuesday in a black sweater and stained black pants - is again charged with misdemeanor sexual battery stemming from a Lyft drivers claim that Dick grabbed his genitals during a car ride, also in April 2018. He faces up to 180 days in jail if the jury convicts him, but Dick has pleaded not guilty, telling DailyMail.com, It did not happen. Comedian and actor Andy Dick, 56, is facing 180 days in jail on misdemeanor sexual battery charges stemming from a Lyft drivers claim that Dick grabbed his genitals during a car ride in April 2018. He is pictured her leaving the Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday Dick's lawyer, Daniel Kapelovitz, right, opposed the idea saying it would confuse the jury, while his co-counsel Lauren Horner, center, downplayed Dicks intentions when he grabbed Christina Ss butt in April 2018 Prosecutors in his case petitioned Judge Emily Garcia Uhrig on Tuesday to allow testimony from the Dick's victim in a butt-grabbing incident which happened just one week before the Lyft episode. He was charged with misdemeanor sexual battery at the time, but the charges were later dismissed. But this time, unable to get Dick to agree to a plea deal, prosecutors are pursuing the sexual battery charge and intend to bring his butt-grabbing victim Christina S into court to testify against him to show that the Lyft driver episode was not isolated, but part of a pattern of behavior. His attorney, Daniel Kapelovitz, vehemently opposed the prosecutions tactics, arguing Tuesday that dragging up the previous case, is going to confuse the issues, confuse the jury. The main issue is that its too prejudicial. I believe the other case [the butt grabbing] is much stronger and I believe [prosecutors] are trying to use that to bolster this case [the Lyft incident] which is very weak. He added that the Lyft driver alleged victim is trying to seek a lot of money from Mr. Dick. Kapelovitz co-counsel, Lauren Horner, also argued against the judge allowing evidence from the other case, downplaying Dicks intentions when he grabbed Christina Ss butt. You can grab someones butt without intending to sexually arouse, Horner told the court. He was hitting on that woman, he was not intending to humiliate her. No, he was intending to go home with her. It was not sexual battery - which is why he pleaded (no contest) to simple battery (and lewd conduct). Judge Uhrig pointed out that under California law, evidence from the butt-grabbing case could be used in the upcoming trial if it demonstrated that Mr Dick showed a propensity to act in a particular way. The judge will rule on the issue Wednesday before jury selection begins. Police from the Orange County Sheriff's Department swarmed his modest trailer parked at California's O'Neill Regional Park earlier this month after a man claimed the comedian had sexually assaulted him Officers are seen here handcuffing Dick before placing him in the patrol car The moment was broadcast on Captain Content's RV livestream The trial start comes three weeks after Dick was arrested at an Orange County trailer park on suspicion of felony sexual battery after a man claimed the comedian had sexually assaulted him. The 56-year-old actor was accused of a felony of sexual assault at a trailer park in Irvine California on May 11 when police in Orange County, California arrested him. A live-streamed video caught the moment he was arrested from his California trail park earlier this month, but the Orange County District Attorney's office found there was not 'sufficient evidence,' to charge the actor and sent the case back to the sheriff for 'further investigation.' Orange County Sheriff's Sgt. Scott Steinle told DailyMail.com afterwards that 'after re-interviewing the alleged victim, OC Sheriff's Department decided to drop the case .' 'The victim did not want to participate in our investigation,' Steinle said. 'Since the victim does not want to co-operate any more, the investigation will go no further.' Steinle said if the victim decides in the future that he does want to participate then the case could be re-opened. Over the decades, Dick has been open about his alcohol and drug abuse, and has had a string of arrests that have made news headlines A mugshot of comedian Andy Dick taken in 2011 Over the decades, Dick has been transparent about his alcohol and drug abuse, and has had a string of arrests that have made news headlines. In November 2021, Dick was arrested for felony domestic battery after he allegedly hit his boyfriend in the head with a liquor bottle. According to police, Dick and his boyfriend had been at his home when they got into a heated argument that quickly turned physical. When police were called, they determined there was enough evidence to arrest the comedian, as his boyfriend was allegedly bleeding from a sizable wound on his head. Dick was released after he posted $50,000 bond. In October 2021, Dick was arrested for allegedly hitting his boyfriend in the face with a frying pan. In June 2021, the actor was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly attacking a male partner with a metal chair. Dick also made his $50,000 bail after that altercation. In 2019, the actor was sentenced to 14 days in jail after being convicted of battery for allegedly squeezing a woman's rear end. He was released after a single night due to jail overcrowding. The same year, he was seen on video being slammed to the ground after he got into a fight with an Uber Eats driver while seemingly intoxicated. Dick's estranged wife Lena Sved also received a domestic violence restraining order against him in 2018, which required him to move out of their home and remain 100 yards away from her and their adult children: Lucas, 33, Jacob, 27, and Meg, 24. In 2012, he was arrested for allegedly grabbing a 17-year-old girl's top and pulling it down to expose her breasts. He was later found with marijuana and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor drug and battery charges, for which he was sentenced to three years of probation. In 2010, he was arrested for allegedly grabbing a man's genitals while intoxicated at a West Virginia bar. In 2007, Dick groped Ivanka Trump during an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live and was pulled off stage by Kimmel's security staff. A $1million reward has been announced by police for information about the identity of the suspect in a one punch attack in 2007 that lead to a young man's death. Shannon McCormack was with friends outside the Queensbridge Hotel Nightclub in Southbank on Sunday, May 27 when a fight erupted between his group and three men around 4am. The 22-year-old reportedly tried to break up the brawl before one man hit him in the back of the head. A $1million reward has been announced by police for information about the identity of the suspect in a one punch attack in 2007 that lead to the death of Shannon McCormack (pictured) Mr McCormack was knocked unconscious, falling to the ground and striking his head on the pavement. His friends and nightclub staff administered first-aid, before taking him to his Eltham home. The young man's condition grew worse and he was rushed to Austin hospital by his parents. Despite a number of operations being performed to try and save Mr McCormack, he died a week later, on June 3. The initial investigation failed to identify the suspect in the one punch attack and a number of 'public appeals' have been conducted during the 15 years since. In a statement on Wednesday, Victoria Police said it was renewing its search for the man, offering a $1million reward for anyone with information. Mr McCormack was outside the Queensbridge Hotel Nightclub in Southbank on May 27, 2007 when a fight erupted between his friends and three men around 4am. The 22-year-old reportedly tried to break up the brawl before one man hit him in the back of the head Police have re-released CCTV footage outside the Queensbridge Hotel Nightclub on the night of the attack 'in an effort to locate the person responsible for the assault'. The suspect can be seen walking in the picture on the left CCTV footage has also been re-released of the outside of Queensbridge Hotel Nightclub 'in an effort to locate the person responsible for the assault'. The footage was initially released as part of a public appeal back in 2013. The suspect who attacked Mr McCormack has been described as being 165cm to 175cm tall - or between 5'5 and 5'9 - with a thin to medium build and light brown or blond spiky hair. He was wearing a light purple or blue t-shirt and light blue jeans. Police believe there are people out there with knowledge of the identity of the suspect and the men involved in the attack. A $100,000 reward was previously offered by police for information back in 2009. Shannon's parents Cheryl and Bill McCormack (pictured) attended a press conference on Wednesday in conjunction with the renewed police efforts and reward Detective Inspector Tony Combridge (pictured) said at the conference that 'all we (police) need is a name and we still believe this case can be solved' Shannon's parents Cheryl and Bill McCormack attended a press conference on Wednesday with Detective Inspector Tony Combridge in conjunction with the renewed police efforts and reward. 'It's fifteen years but for us it's like fifteen seconds,' Mr McCormack said. 'It's like we've been in a bubble, nothing changes time stands still.' Detective Inspector Combridge said Shannon's one-punch death shocked the state. 'Shannon's tragic and unnecessary death is an incident which is lodged in the memory of many Victorians,' he said. 'It was one of the first one punch deaths which sadly became all too common in the years following, and I know his family have campaigned tirelessly for greater awareness around this issue. 'The McCormack family remain desperate for answers and to see those responsible held to account. 'All we need is a name and we still believe this case can be solved.' A heartless owner has left their 10-day-old puppy for dead on what was the coldest morning of the year, with the RSPCA taking a heartbreaking photo to show the tiny animal lying freezing in a dirty esky. The photo showed the 10-day-old puppy lying in an esky, that was found on the front lawn of a vacant property in western Sydney on Wednesday morning. The puppy was reportedly dumped as part of a council clean-up in Carpenter St in Penrith. 'Neonatal puppies are unable to thermoregulate, and exposure to these harsh weather conditions would have severely impacted the puppys welfare,' RSPCA NSW said. It was around 8C in Penrith this morning, with a 1C windchill. NSW Police is looking into the incident, helped by RSPCA inspectors. The puppy was found lying limp in a discarded esky on a vacant property in western Sydney RSPCA NSW Inspectors have since issued an urgent appeal to locate the two members of the public who discovered the puppy between 8.20am and 8.50am on Wednesday morning. One person is described as being a tall, caucasian man of a strong build, approximately 70-80 years of age and wearing a jacket and hat. The second is a tanned man of a regular build, who was accompanied by a yellow labrador with a harness and coat. RSPCA NSW urged anyone who had details about the two men to contact them. The RSPCA also hopes other items found in the esky may lead to clues about who owned the puppy. Inside the esky was a red Puma branded t-shirt, a green childrens singlet with a pineapple print, and a padded item that appeared to be part of a babys car seat. The puppy was transported to RSPCA Yagoona for emergency veterinary treatment. The puppy was transported to RSPCA Yagoona for emergency veterinary treatment (pictured, item found inside the esky) A Melbourne school principal has been accused of giving speeches endorsing Nazis, calling Jewish people subhuman and failing to protect his students from racial discrimination. Five former Brighton Secondary College students are suing the school, alleging they were subjected to years of anti-Semitic bullying, discrimination and negligence. The students, who cannot be named, allege they experienced physical and verbal bullying by students and teachers between 2013 and 2020. The Brighton Secondary College (pictured in Melbourne) is being sued by five former students Principal Richard Minack and two teachers are also named in the suit. The school was 'littered' with swastika graffiti, drawn on students hands and desks, the students' barrister Adam Butt told the Federal Court on Wednesday. Students were subjected to Nazi salutes, he said. Mr Minack allegedly gave multiple speeches endorsing his father and grandfather, who had connections to the German army during World War II, the court heard. 'He endorsed his Nazi father as a good man and at least once referred to Jews as subhuman, evil, the N-word,' Mr Butt said. Two students allege they were held at knifepoint or assaulted by fellow students from the school (pictured) who were not punished The state of Victoria is also being sued, accused of having condoned the behaviour. Two students allege they were held at knifepoint or assaulted by fellow students who were not punished. One says a teacher wouldn't allow him to wear a kippah or yarmulke, and another says he was told to remove his Star of David necklace. Another said they were not allowed to complete a project on Israel's former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 'Four out of five of my clients had to leave Brighton part way through a school year because the hostile school environment was intolerable,' Mr Butt said. 'We're talking here about a normalised culture of anti-Semitism.' He said the school's failure to protect the students had contravened the Religious Discrimination Act and violated the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Children. 'They didn't feel like they could be openly Jewish at the school,' he said. Defence lawyers will open their case in a trial before Justice Debbie Mortimer later on Wednesday. The school was contacted for comment by the Daily Mail. Chinese Defense Minister to attend Shangri-La Dialogue; throws possibility of a meeting with US defense chief into spotlight By Guo Yuandan and Liu Xuanzun (Global Times) 09:13, June 01, 2022 Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe will attend the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in early June, the ministry announced Tuesday. With speculation rising over the possibility of a first in-person meeting between Wei and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the event amid tensions across the Taiwan Straits, Chinese experts said on Tuesday that both sides should keep communicating, despite low expectations for a tangible result. By invitation, Wei will attend the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue and visit Singapore from June 8 to 12, China's Ministry of National Defense announced in a press release on Tuesday. Wei will speak on "China's vision on regional order," in which he will discuss China's policies, ideas and concrete actions in practicing true multilateralism, safeguarding regional peace and stability, and promoting the development of a community of a shared future for mankind, according to the press release. Wei will meet with leaders of delegations from other countries to exchange views on topics like international and regional affairs as well as bilateral defense and security cooperation. Wei will also hold talks with leaders from the Singaporean government, including its defense ministry, the press release said. The annual Shangri-La Dialogue is one of Asia's biggest security summits and will take place in Singapore from June 10 to 12 this year. The event did not take place in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that China and the US are working to finalize what would be the first face-to-face meeting between their top defense officials on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, saying such a meeting would take on extra significance because of increased tensions between China and the US over the island of Taiwan. Wei and Austin in April had their first phone call since the latter became US Defense Secretary in January 2021, during which Wei stressing the importance of the Taiwan question, while demanding the US to stop its military provocations at sea, and not to throw mud or threaten China with the Ukraine issue. Observers hoped it could provide stability to the two countries' military-to-military ties and avoid and reduce misjudgments by letting the US better understand China's bottom line. However, US President Joe Biden said during his recent visit to Japan in May that the US would intervene militarily if the Chinese mainland were to reunify with the island of Taiwan by force. A series of actions taken by the US recently are not beneficial to the atmosphere of a meeting between Chinese and US defense ministers, Zhuo Hua, an international affairs expert at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy of Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Tuesday. The Shangri-La Dialogue is a conference manipulated by Western countries and a platform for attacking China. Even if Wei and Austin meet, any substantial talks could be challenging given that the recent US moves have seriously harmed the basis of mutual trust, Zhuo said. A military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Tuesday that while it remains unknown if Wei and Austin will meet in Singapore, such a meeting in person is needed, because both sides have too many problems that should be discussed. China must stress that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, which is a fact no one can change. The US, on the other hand, will likely accuse China, the expert predicted. Even so, Wei and Austin should talk face to face, because it is just different in person than on the phone, the expert said. "If Chinese and US defense ministers attend the Shangri-La Dialogue but do not meet, it would be big news, since this will be a key indicator for the world to observe where China-US relations are headed," the expert said. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Netflix's recent password-sharing experiment in South America seems to have gone confusingly wrong. Peruvian Netflix subscribers were found to be confused about Netflix's password-sharing restrictions and the lack of clarity around the differing charges imposed on them, per Rest of World. Rest of World is an international nonprofit journalism organization focused on covering places typically overlooked and underestimated when technology, culture, and the "human experience" collide, per the company's About Us page. Rest Of World Report - Netflix's Inconsistencies Rest of World report revealed that most Peruvian Netflix subscribers were not formally made aware of the streaming giant's experiment through an email or in-app notification since the experiment was announced nearly two months ago. You may remember that Netflix launched a new feature that charges subscribers an extra $2.99 in Chile, Peru, and Costa Rica for sharing their accounts with others. However, some users have even reported that Netflix's enforcement of its password-sharing charges differs from subscriber to subscriber, with some subscribers on shared accounts reporting that they ignored validation prompts from Netflix without repercussions of any kind on the account owner. One subscriber even mentioned that they were never aware of the new policy and continued to share their account without issue. Read More: Lava Lamps: How They Work and How You Can Make One at Home Additionally, Rest of World discovered that Peruvians are confused with Netflix's vague definition of a "household," as many consider that their immediate family members are part of the household. This vagueness was later confirmed by an unnamed Netflix customer service representative in Peru, who mentioned to Rest of World that she is just as confused as Netflix's subscribers on what the definition of "household" is. The customer service representative also added that she was instructed by her superiors that if a subscriber argues that a family member is using their account from another location, she should inquire further and tell the subscriber their family member could use their account without extra charge via a verification code. The customer service representative is also sharing their account with friends outside her household themselves and has yet to be notified of any extra charges. Netflix's Potential Troubles The confusion, ambiguity, and inconsistent policy enforcement Netflix is doing in Peru have raised red flags among consumer protection agencies in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, with them sending representatives to meet with Netflix to discuss them. Peru's national consumer agency recommended in a press release that Netflix set clear channels of communication about its revised policy with customers. Should it fail to do so, the agency speculated that the change would lead to "a host of consumer complaints" if Netflix does not give a clearer definition of "household." The agency also sent a written statement to Rest of World, saying that the National Institute for the Defense of Free Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property could consider the differing charges as a way of discriminating against subscribers arbitrarily. Whether the policy is arbitrarily enforced or not would be determined in an investigation. However, the Insitute did not mention it is considering one at the time of the statement's submission. Related Article: Netflix Issues Extra Charges for Password Sharing Beyond Household The head of Uvalde's school district police force has been sworn in as a member of the city council by the mayor - despite accusations that he has stopped cooperating with a state investigation into last week's school shooting. Pete Arredondo, 50, has been under intense scrutiny for his handling of the May 24 police response to the Robb Elementary massacre. On Monday, the mayor of Uvalde, Don McLaughlin, said that the ceremony marking the swearing in of new city council members had been postponed out of respect to the 21 victims. Yet on Tuesday, he announced that the swearing in had gone ahead, in private - news that angered many, given the cloud over Arredondo's head. Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Chief Pete Arredondo (left) was in charge of the police response, and has been criticized for his actions. On Tuesday the mayor of Uvalde, Don McLaughlin (right) swore Arredondo in as a member of the city council 'Uvalde City Council members were sworn in today as per the City Charter,' McLaughlin announced. 'Out of respect for the families who buried their children today, and who are planning to bury their children in the next few days, no ceremony was held.' McLaughlin, conscious of the anger directed at Arredondo, said on Monday the ceremony would not be held. 'Our focus on Tuesday is on our families who lost loved ones,' he said. 'We begin burying our children tomorrow, the innocent victims of last week's murders at Robb Elementary School. The special City Council meeting will not take place as scheduled.' He also defended Arredondo's place on the council, despite inquiries into his handling of the massacre being launched by both the Texas department of public safety and, in an unusual move, the Department of Justice. 'There is nothing in the City Charter, Election Code, or Texas Constitution that prohibits him from taking the oath of office,' McLaughlin said. 'To our knowledge, we are currently not aware of any investigation of Mr Arredondo.' McLaughlin is seen on the day after the shooting in his city, visiting the school where it happened A man and a boy visit a memorial at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on Sunday to pay their respects for the victims killed in a school shooting Arredondo believed that the 18-year-old gunman, Salvador Ramos, was barricaded alone inside the building, and waited over an hour before breaching the classrooms - by which time 19 children and two teachers had been killed. On Tuesday, Travis Considine, a spokesman for the Texas DPS, said Arredondo had stopped assisting their inquiries. 'Uvalde and Uvalde CISD departments have been cooperating with investigators,' he told DailyMail.com. 'The chief of the CISD did an initial interview but has not responded to a request for a followup interview that was made two days ago.' Fifteen minutes later, Considine contradicted himself, and told Dallas News: 'Uvalde PD and Uvalde ISD are cooperating. 'Plenty of their personnel have done interviews and given statements to investigators, so it's absolutely wrong to characterize both those departments as not being cooperative.' He did not explain why he previously said Arredondo was ignoring their request. The investigators are trying to determine the facts surrounding last week's murder in Uvalde, amid widespread anger at a confusing and contradictory explanation of what happened. In particular, people have questioned why it took so long to end Ramos's rampage. The Texas force opened an investigation as a matter of routine. In addition, on Sunday the federal Department of Justice announced they too were launching an inquiry. Multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News that both the Uvalde forces had stopped assisting the state investigation. US Customs and Border Protection agents (left) are seen alongside local police (center) and sheriff's deputies (right) working to rescue kids from Robb Elementary on Tuesday On Tuesday it emerged that Arredondo, who led the botched response to last week's deadly school shooting, had recently completed active shooting training courses. Arredondo was the on-scene incident commander at the May 24 massacre at Robb Elementary School, and apparently ordered officers to wait roughly an hour before engaging the barricaded shooter. Federal forces, with the border patrol, arrived on the scene and respected his orders for the first half an hour, but then decided unilaterally to storm the building and shoot the gunman dead. It now emerged that in December 2021 Arredondo completed an eight-hour school-based law enforcement training on active shooter situations at Southwest Texas Junior College, according to records reported by CBS News. Arredondo completed the same course on August 25, 2020 and 16 hours of a 'Terrorism Response Tactics - Active Shooter' course on June 10, 2019, the records show. Despite his training, Arredondo has been accused of failing to follow standard operating procedure for school shootings, which calls for the first police on the scene to engage the shooter. Instead, it emerged last week that Arredondo ordered 19 officers to wait in a hallway outside the classroom where the shooter was barricaded for about an hour, believing that any potential victims inside were already dead. Police are seen staging outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24 Police run near Robb Elementary School following the shooting on May 24 The 50-year-old Arredondo has spent much of a nearly 30-year career in law enforcement in Uvalde, returning in 2020 to take the head police job at the school district. Now, blame for an excruciating delay in killing the gunman is increasingly centering on Arredondo. It's left residents in the small city of Uvalde struggling to reconcile what they know of the well-liked local lawman after the director of state police said that the commander at the scene - Arredondo - made the 'wrong decision' not to breach the classroom sooner, believing the gunman was barricaded inside and children weren't at risk. Steven McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said at the Friday news conference that after following the gunman into the building, officers waited over an hour to breach the classroom. Arredondo, who grew up in Uvalde and graduated from high school there, was set to be sworn in Tuesday to his new spot on the City Council after being elected earlier this month, but Mayor Don McLaughlin said in a statement Monday that the meeting wouldn't happen. It was not immediately clear whether the swearing-in would happen privately or at a later date. Steven McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said at the Friday news conference that officers waited over an hour to breach the classroom The 50-year-old Arredondo has spent much of a nearly 30-year career in law enforcement in Uvalde, returning in 2020 to take the head police job at the school district A police vehicle is seen parked near of a truck belonging to the suspect of a shooting at Robb Elementary School after a shooting last week 'Pete Arredondo was duly elected to the City Council,' McLaughlin said in the statement. 'There is nothing in the City Charter, Election Code, or Texas Constitution that prohibits him from taking the oath of office.' When Arredondo was a boy, Maria Gonzalez used to drive him and her children to the same school where the shooting happened. 'He was a good boy,' she said. 'He dropped the ball maybe because he did not have enough experience. Who knows? People are very angry.' Another woman in the neighborhood where Arredondo grew up began sobbing when asked about him. The woman, who didn't want to give her name, said one of her granddaughters was at the school during the shooting but wasn't hurt. Juan Torres, a U.S. Army veteran who was visibly upset with reports coming out about the response, said he knew Arredondo from high school. 'You sign up to respond to those kinds of situations,' Torres said. 'If you are scared, then don't be a police officer. Go flip burgers.' After his election to the City Council, Arredondo told the Uvalde Leader-News earlier this month that he was 'ready to hit the ground running.' 'I have plenty of ideas, and I definitely have plenty of drive,' he said, adding he wanted to focus not only on the city being fiscally responsible but also making sure street repairs and beautification projects happen. A woman cries as she leaves the Uvalde Civic Center on May 24 in Uvalde Connie Rubio (below right), grandmother of Alexandria Aniyah Rubio, 10, who died in the mass shooting, mourns with her family during a candlelight vigil to honor and remember the victims At a candidates' forum before his election, Arredondo said: 'I guess to me nothing is complicated. Everything has a solution. That solution starts with communication. Communication is key.' McCraw said on Friday that minutes after the gunman entered the school, city police officers entered through the same door. Over the course of more than an hour, law enforcement from multiple agencies arrived on the scene. Finally, officials said, a U.S. Border Patrol tactical team used a janitor's key to unlock the classroom door and kill the gunman. McCraw said that students and teachers had repeatedly begged 911 operators for help while Arredondo told more than a dozen officers to wait in a hallway. That directive - which goes against established active-shooter protocols - prompted questions about whether more lives were lost because officers didn't act faster. Two law enforcement officials have said that as the gunman fired at students, law enforcement officers from other agencies urged Arredondo to let them move in because children were in danger. McLaughlin, the Uvalde mayor, pushed back on officials' claims - including remarks made over the weekend by Texas' lieutenant governor - that they were not told the truth about the massacre. 'Local law enforcement has not made any public comments about the specifics of the investigation or (misled) anyone,' he said in a Monday statement. Law enforcement personnel stand outside a funeral home during a visitation for Amerie Garza, a 10-year-old victim who was killed in last week's elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas Arredondo started out his career in law enforcement working for the Uvalde Police Department. After spending 16 years there, he went to Laredo, a border city located 130 miles miles to the south, where he worked at the Webb County Sheriff's Office and then for a local school district, according to a 2020 article in the Uvalde Leader-News on his return to his hometown to take the school district police chief job. Ray Garner, the police chief of the district in Laredo where Arredondo worked, told the San Antonio Express-News in a story published after the Uvalde shooting that when Arredondo worked in the Laredo district he was 'easy to talk to' and was concerned about the students. 'He was an excellent officer down here,' Garner told the newspaper. 'Down here, we do a lot of training on active-shooter scenarios, and he was involved in those.' Arredondo, who spoke only briefly at two short news conferences on the day of the shooting, appeared behind state officials speaking at news conferences over the next two days, but was not present at McCraw's Friday news conference. After that news conference, members of the media converged at Arredondo's home and police cruisers took up posts there. At one point, a man answering the door at Arredondo's house told a reporter for The Associated Press that Arredondo was 'indisposed.' 'The truth will come out,' said the man before closing the door. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat whose district includes Uvalde, said on CNNs 'State of the Union' that he's asking a lot of questions after 'so many things went wrong.' He said one family told him that a first responder told them that their child, who was shot in the back, likely bled out. 'So, absolutely, these mistakes may have led to the passing away of these children as well,' Gutierrez said. Gutierrez said while the issue of which law enforcement agency had or should have had operational control is a 'significant' concern of his, he's also 'suggested' to McCraw 'that it's not fair to put it on the local (school district) cop.' 'At the end of the day, everybody failed here,' Gutierrez said. The brother of the man who drove a car through a Times Square crowd in 2017, killing an 18-year-old girl and injuring 22 others, testified about his sibling's long unraveling mental health in court on Tuesday. Wilmer Varas testified that his brother, Richard Rojas, 31, began developing mental health issues at the age of 11, fifteen years before the attack in Times Square at the age of 26. Varas spoke about how Rojas often spoke to himself and talked of hearing voices in his head. Wilmer Varas (above), the brother of Rirchard Rojas, 31, who drove his car through a Times Square crowd in 2017, killing one and injuring 22, at court on Tuesday Varas testified that his brother Richard Rojas (above) began developing mental health issues at the age of 11. Above, Rojas is pictured in court on Tuesday Varas testified that his brother (above) heard voices and talked to himself, and was paranoid that he was being watched and followed Varas also said that his brother developed paranoid thoughts, and became so convinced that people were following him that he would put tape on the cameras of his phone and computer to stop people he thought were spying on him. Varas detailed a day where he and his brother were walking through a park in Manhattan, and Rojas became convinced that unmarked helicopters were following them. After his brother, Rojas' uncle testified through an interpreter that Richard would participate in religious Santeria rituals in their Bronx home, and would speak in 'tongues.' The family testimony supported Rojas' council's defense that the then 26-year-old was out of his mind at the time of the attack. Varas' testimony supported Rojas' council's defense that the then 26-year-old was out of his mind at the time of the attack 'This a case about a 26-year-old who lost his mind,' Rojas defense attorney Enrico DeMarco said during his opening statements in early May Defense attorney Enrico DeMarco said in his opening statements on May 9 that Rojas has a history of mental illness that made him unable to understand the consequences of his actions the day of the attack. 'This a case about a 26-year-old who lost his mind,' DeMarco said. But prosecution insists that there was no way Rojas could not have known what he was doing during the attack. It was 'impossible for him not to know exactly what was happening,' prosecutor Alfred Peterson said in his opening statement, 'But he didn't stop.' A scene from the carnage of Rojas' 2017 attack in Times Square. He drove his car into a crowd, injuring 22 and killing one, before wrecking and running from the car Alyssa Elsman, 18 (front left) pictured with her family in Times Square. Elsman was killed when Rojas ran her over After Rojas crashed his car, his first words to a traffic agent were, 'I wanted to kill them all,' the prosecutor said. Rojas is said to have been high on the drug PCP at the time. Peterson detailed how Rojas barreled into helpless tourists who were visiting the popular destination known as 'the crossroads of the world,' injuring 22 and killing Alyssa Elsman, a tourist visiting from Michigan. Rojas' trial, in state court in Manhattan, is expected to take several months and include testimony from victims who suffered severe injuries from what prosecutors labeled 'a horrific, depraved act.' A breakdown of the Rojas' attack and his victims from the New York City district attorney's office A breakdown of the Rojas' attack and his victims from the New York City district attorney's office. Rojas killed an 18-year-old girl and injured 22 others during the attack Prosecutors say Rojas drove his car from the Bronx, where he lived with his mother, through Times Square on May 18, 2017, then made a U-turn. He then steered his car onto a sidewalk, and roared back up the sidewalk for three blocks before he crashed his car into protective barriers. Photographers snapped pictures of a wild-eyed Rojas after he climbed from the wrecked car and ran through the street waving his arms. At the time, the U.S. Navy veteran told police after his arrest that he had been smoking marijuana laced with the hallucinogenic drug PCP before the incident, authorities said. Officers securing the scene of the attack in Times Square in 2017. Rojas didn't stop driving until he wrecked and couldn't continue Rojas pleaded not guilty at an arraignment in 2017 and has since been jailed at New York City's notorious Rikers Island jail complex Rojas enlisted in the Navy in 2011 and served for part of 2012 aboard the USS Carney, a destroyer. Rojas spent his final months in the Navy at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida. In 2012, he was arrested and accused of beating a cab driver whom he said had disrespected him by trying to charge too much, according to the arrest report. The arresting officer said Rojas screamed, 'My life is over!' as he was being detained. After his arrest, Rojas told the officer he was going to kill all police and military police he might see after his release from jail, the Jacksonville sheriff's office report stated. Alan Ceballos, an attorney who represented Rojas in that case, said the state charges were dropped after the military stepped in to take jurisdiction over the criminal case. Navy records show that in 2013 Rojas spent two months at a naval prison in Charleston, South Carolina. He was discharged in 2014 as the result of a special court martial, a Navy official said. A mother whose daughter died after a body modifier implanted a silicon snowflake into her hand told him she truly believes a monster is off the streets. In November Judge Helen Syme found Brendan Leigh Russell, 41, guilty of manslaughter, having deterred the 30-year-old woman from seeking medical attention after her implant became infected. Her mother in Russell's NSW District Court sentence hearing on Wednesday said she missed her daughter 'with every breath'. 'My daughter is dead, (a child's) mother is dead and yet Brendan Russell still has not shown the slightest remorse any time nor has he accepted any responsibility. 'If (she) was here she would say 'I trusted him'. Brendan Leigh Russell, 41, (pictured last May) was found guilty of manslaughter, having deterred the 30-year-old woman from seeking medical attention for an infected implant The body modifier (pictured) faced his victim's mother in court on Wednesday who said she missed her daughter 'with every breath' 'I can't begin to describe the pain we all feel every day. I don't get to hold my baby, not ever again.' During his trial she gave evidence her daughter considered Russell 'a god'. 'He's the only one I would ever let do this to me,' she told her mother. The body modifier who went by the monikers BSlice and hemostat inserted the snowflake into her hand at his Central Coast parlour on March 20, 2017. On April 10, two days before her death, she complained about pain and possible infection, leading Russell to reopen her wound when blood and pus rushed out. When the woman complained of pain and possible infection the court heard Russell reopened her wound, repositioned the implant and stitched the wound up The body modifier who went by the monikers BSlice and hemostat inserted the snowflake into her hand at his Central Coast parlour (pictured) on March 20, 2017 He then repositioned the implant, stitched the wound back up, advised against seeing a medical practitioner and to take painkillers instead. Two days later she died from sepsis stemming from the infection. 'I was going to say there are no winners here, but there are because I truly believe a monster is being kept off the streets today,' her mother said. He was also found guilty of intentionally causing grievous bodily harm by performing a quasi-medical and 'clearly dangerous' abdominoplasty or 'tummy tuck' on a 38-year-old woman in November 2016. That woman on Wednesday said the public and extremely difficult trial caused a range of emotions - hurt, anger, sadness and disbelief. 'Brendan, you were not qualified to do that procedure on me, you did not provide a duty of care after and did not take responsibility,' she said, adding her scarring was a constant reminder of her trauma. Russell (pictured last May) appeared via video-link at the NSW District Court sentence hearing on Wednesday to hear the woman's mother read her victim impact statement 'You did not care about what could have happened to me. My sons could have lost their mother but you didn't care. 'I wish I could turn back time, I wish our paths never crossed and I did not put my trust in you as a so-called professional and so-called friend.' He will also be sentenced for a third charge of female genital mutilation in Newcastle in January 2015, having used a branding iron in a procedure that left the woman unable to use tampons or wear underwear without discomfort. Defence barrister Mark Tedeschi QC submitted that consent was a highly significant feature for the judge to consider. 'The three victims knew perfectly well what his qualifications and lack thereof were. The fact they might not have been provided a voluminous list of complications doesn't mean they haven't consented.' Russell (pictured at court last May) was also found guilty of intentionally causing grievous bodily harm by performing a quasi-medical 'tummy tuck' on another woman in 2019 He also raised the legislation against female body modification as stamping out the 'revolting and hideous practice done on defenceless children'. 'It was not passed for adult women in full knowledge of their sexuality wishing to change the appearance of their genitals.' The Health Care Complaints Commission had made sure that Russell would never again practice tattooing, piercing, body modification or art, he said. The Crown submitted no other punishment than full time custody was appropriate. Russell awaits his sentence on July 4 from jail after failing to secure bail. Tasmania's Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff has indicated he supports shifting Australia Day from January 26, labelling conversation about the date 'increasingly divisive'. Mr Rockliff also backed constitutionally enshrining a First Nations voice to the Australian parliament, a reform being progressed by the new federal Labor government. Tasmania's Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff (pictured, right) attended a Reconciliation breakfast on Wednesday where he backed shifting Australia Day from January 26 to another date in January 'Australia Day, it is a national conversation of course, and one that I am increasingly concerned ... is becoming increasingly divisive,' he told state parliament on Wednesday. 'By nature I am not a divisive person. 'Bringing people together, Aboriginal people in Tasmania, all Tasmanians, to unite and celebrate Australia Day (on) a day we can all unite is a clear objective of mine.' Mr Rockliff, a long-term deputy who became premier in April when Peter Gutwein unexpectedly quit politics, was responding to a question from Labor MP David O'Byrne about whether he backed moving Australia Day. During his time in the state's top job, Mr Gutwein said he supported a national conversation about changing the day and that reverting to a weekend in January, and not a set date, would be sensible. 'You outlined the previous premier's view on this particular matter and I support that view,' Mr Rockliff said. 'You mentioned the ... last weekend in January the previous premier's view on that, I support. I was deputy when he made that statement.' Mr Rockliff labelling the conversation about the date 'increasingly divisive' and said his objective is to unite all people across the country (pictured, 2022 Australia Day celebrations at Cronulla Beach, Sydney) Mr Rockliff attended a Reconciliation Tasmania breakfast on Wednesday which included a speech from Uluru statement signatory and campaigner Thomas Mayor. Mr Rockliff said he supported Mr Mayor's 'very clear argument' with respect to changes to the constitution to enshrine a First Nations voice. The state government is setting up an Aboriginal-led treaty and truth-telling pathway, something Mr Rockliff said he was deeply committed to. A Catholic school student has claimed a picture taken of her from her high school graduation was photoshopped to remove her cleavage. Olivia Aloisi, 18, who attended Mary MacKillop College in Nundah in Brisbane, was horrified to learn a photo of herself had been edited in the school's yearbook. After confronting the school, the teenager, who graduated last year, said she got told the decision to edit the picture was made for 'marketing' reasons. 'I went to talk to the vice principal at the time and said ''that's just not okay'',, and she basically said, ''well, you're standing front row, and you're in a low plunge dress it's just not appropriate if we want to use that photo as marketing material for the school'',' Ms Aloisi told the Courier Mail. Olivia Aloisi, 18, who attended Mary MacKillop College in Nundah in Brisbane, was horrified to learn a photo of herself had been edited in the school's year book. 'I felt like someone from the school should have spoken to me before releasing the photoshopped and unedited photo to the entire grade everyone could tell, but at least there would have been some sort of warning.' The 18-year-old added she felt 'embarrassed' because the student who pointed out the photoshop to her wasn't a close friend. Brisbane Catholic Education was approached for comment. The school had earlier made headlines after students claimed they were asked to submit photos of their dresses so they could be approved before this year's formal earlier in May. The school also issued a formal booklet stating strict attire rules and had photographic examples of appropriate and inappropriate dresses. Plunging necklines, low backs below the waist and high slits were among the banned outfits. Mary MacKillop College claims there were no processes in place to approve formal dresses A student told the publication many girls had their dresses 'declined' and were forced to buy alternative gowns so they could attend. 'I'm sure many girls have an opinion on the way the school deals with dress codes, we get it thrown in our face that we will 'make the male teachers uncomfortable',' the student said. The college has since claimed 'there was no process in place to approve dresses'. A Brisbane Catholic Education spokesperson described the event as an outstanding success without incident, where Year 12 students were 'both beautifully dressed and beautifully behaved.' 'The evening went without incident. As happens every year, students were provided an information guide to the school formal,' the statement read. A man who crashed a car into a tree at high speed has offered a backhanded thank you to the person who helped him from the destroyed car - by stealing the good samaritan's car to flee the incident. The alleged offender had been travelling along Steve Irwin Way on the Sunshine Coast before he drove into a tree, with concerned drivers flocking to the area to help the occupant. Police said one of those who stopped to assist the crash victim was a man in his 60s, who subsequently fell victim to having his maroon Mazda CX-5 stolen by the driver from the crashed car. The motorist drove a white Jaguar SUV (pictured) into the tree at high speed, with police alleging he lost control on Steve Irwin Way Police said a man stole a Mazda CX-5 (similar to the one pictured) from an elderly man who helped him from his crashed car on Wednesday morning on the Sunshine Coast The motorist then drove off northbound with the Mazda on Steve Irwin Way in Landsborough, 20km inland from Caloundra. The driver who police are on the hunt for is described as a male aged between 18 and 30. He was driving a white Jaguar SUV before crashing it into the tree. Initial investigations indicate the Jaguar, which had been reported stolen from nearby Worongary, lost control just after 9am. It is understood the motorist crashed into the tree, before getting out of the car, grabbing a backpack and speeding off with the other car. Sunshine Coast photographer Cade Mooney told the Courier Mail he heard a loud bang as he was taking photos nearby. Mr Mooney said the Jaguar had smashed into the tree 'without brakes', before he ran over to help drag the driver from the car as smoke was billowing out of it. The stunned bystander said he was checking to see if there were others in the car before he heard an elderly man saying the guy had taken his car. Anyone with information, relevant CCTV or dashcam footage in the area at the time depicting the incident or a white Jaguar and maroon Mazda CX-5 is urged to contact police. The sacking of a university lecturer who swam naked at a beach and consensually kissed a female student has been ruled as 'fair,' an appeal body has found. The associate professor, who worked for the Australian National University (ANU), was terminated from his position following the incident. An initial appeal to the Fair Work Commission found there was no valid reason the man had been dismissed from his job as the act had not violated university policy, The Canberra Times reported. The decision was eventually overturned following an appeal by the university, with the commission ruling the man had indeed violated policy. A university lecturer who was sacked after swimming naked at a beach and kissing a female student has been ruled as 'fair,' an appeal body has found The incident occurred on November 21, 2017, at a retreat the lecturer had organised for students to visit ANU's Kiolia campus on the NSW south coast. One night during the trip, the lecturer walked to a nearby beach to observe bioluminescence in the water with a female student. The Fair Work Commission heard the student had been enrolled in a course at the university the man had taught since June 2017. The professor then stripped off his clothes and walked into the water, with the student stripping down to her underwear and following him shortly afterwards, the submission read. The commission recounted in its earlier ruling that the female student, without being asked or encouraged, wrapped her legs around the man and kissed him. After the incident, the lecturer told the female student that the intimate act between them was 'not a good idea' and his relationship with his wife was more important to him. The student asked the lecturer not to tell anyone about the act, but he did reveal the details to his wife later on. The hearing heard that the student was 'keen' on pursuing a relationship with the lecturer and tried to meet with him multiple times. She called his home phone a month later, where the lecturer told her to speak with his wife. The student allegedly told the man's wife that she had a 'special connection' with him. The lecturer's wife told him not to meet with the student as it was 'only going to make things worse for her' as he did not return the feelings she had for him. He later met the student in January 2018 and recommended they cease further contact. The woman eventually finished her course at the university and filed a complaint against the lecturer in late 2019. One night while on retreat, the lecturer walked to a beach near ANU's Kiolia campus (pictured). He stripped naked and walked into the ocean. A female student followed him into the water and proceeded to kiss the man ANU suspended the lecturer in November 2019 and informed him two months later that he'd be dismissed. An appeal was lodged with the Fair Work Commission, who initially ruled against the dismissal, claiming the relationship with the student was consensual and did not violate university policy. The deputy president said the man's conduct 'demonstrated poor judgement' but said there was 'no prohibition on ANU staff engaging in a consensual relationship with a student'. The deputy president stated it was 'not a valid reason for dismissal'. Following an appeal by the university, the commission overturned its decision and has since ruled the dismissal as 'fair' on the basis that university rules had been broken. In its ruling, the commission said the associate professor's duty was to 'engage in the education of students and to organise the retreat'. 'It was plainly incompatible with this duty to take a young female student down to the beach alone almost immediately after the end of a lecture, to strip naked in front of her and then to engage in sexual intimacy with her'. The panel said the man 'did not conduct himself with care and diligence' and that the 'effect and consequence of (his) conduct was to establish a non-professional, personal relationship with the student'. The panel added that he had failed to disclose the incident to the university. The cost of a new home in Australia has hit a record high as the construction sector remains beset by supply chain issues, staffing shortages, company collapses and failing consumer confidence. In April 2022, it cost $76,715 more to build a new house in Australia than it did a year ago, pushing the average value of a new approved home past $400,000 for the first time ever. Soaring costs for steel and timber are among the material price rises builders are battling with, as new home approvals also begin to fall. The total number of new dwellings approved in April was down 2.4 per cent, with the overall number down 32 per cent in 2022 compared to 2021. Prices of materials have been rising steadily since the start of the Covid pandemic, with home building costs up jumping from $76,000 from a year ago The increases in domestic construction costs are likely to heap pressure on builders already operating on wafer thin margins but must now honour contracts signed before prices surged. The many issues plaguing the industry are also beginning to erode the confidence of significant banks in the vital sector. A leading housing economist predicted home building costs would remain high for the foreseeable future, causing the demise of more medium-sized builders. 'Given the huge backlog of work and strength of global commodity prices, we believe that strong building cost growth will continue into the next financial year,' said Maree Kilroy, BIS Oxford Economics senior economist told the AFR. 'Pressure being faced by home builders is not set to abate in this environment, and we expect more builders to hit the wall, especially less capitalised small- to medium-sized operators.' The trickle-down effect of these surging costs mean Australian workers are forced to cover the difference, with the country on the verge of a major construction crisis At the forefront of the industry's recent dramas are the collapse of one building giant, Probuild, and the severe difficulties of Australia's largest homebuilder, Metricon. Metricon was forced to deny being on the brink of collapse last week and held crisis talks after the sudden death of its founder. Mario Biasin, 71, died on Monday, the company confirmed in a statement and added that he had been 'experiencing mental health issues'. The Melbourne-based company landed a new financing deal that will see new funding from the Commonwealth Bank, including $30 million in cash from its shareholders. Metricon was Australia's largest homebuilder last year, with 6,052 homes under construction in 2020-21. Building giant Probuild collapsed in February, jeopardizing 18 building and civil engineering projects. The demise of several smaller firms followed. A host of construction companies have already gone bust, and tradies say thousands more operators are on the brink of collapse. Queensland-based companies Pivotal Homes and Solido Builders went under last week. In March Gold Coast-based Condev went into liquidation. Its owners Steve and Tracy Marais failed to secure a reported $25 million bailout from developers to deal with rising building costs, Covid delays and extreme weather events impacting multiple sites. One of the big four banks, National Australia Bank, this week told a major national forum that the construction sector was the 'most worrying'. '[Construction] as a sector, [is] the most worrying part of our book when we look across it,' National Australia Bank chief executive Ross McEwan told the AFR Banking Summit on Tuesday. The search for a woman who was last seen leaving her house in the early hours of the morning to go for a walk with her dog is over after she was found. Police launched an appeal to find Cara Morrissey, 30, who took her dog Holly for a walk around 7.30am in the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong North on Tuesday, May 31. In an update this afternoon, Victoria Police confirmed Ms Morrissey and her dog had been found safely. Earlier, police and SES units cordoned off a section of the carpark at Tirhatuan Park on Somerset Drive on Tuesday afternoon, after she was reported missing. Police are appealing for the public's help to find Cara Morrissey (pictured), 30, who took her dog Holly for a walk around 7.30am in Dandenong North on May 31 and has not been seen since Ms Morrissey's family said that she often walks her dog Holly through the Tirhatuan Park area, usually taking around an hour. Police were seen at the park patrolling on foot and horses, searching the undergrowth for clues. People living near the park also showed up to assist in the search. However, one park walker said it would be unlikely she was still in the park. 'There's only so many places and bushland to look through,' the man told The Herald Sun. 'Someone would have seen her by now.' Her parents were alarmed by her failure to arrive home as 'she hates the cold', and raised the alarm (pictured, missing woman Cara Morrissey) Her parents raised the alarm after Ms Morrissey failed to arrive home. 'She hates the cold,' they told the publication. A German rapper who lost half his skull in a drug lab explosion has said he made a 'huge mistake' but is 'grateful for the humility'. Niko Brenner, 37, had been cooking cannabis oil in butane gas when the bottles exploded from a spark produced by his fridge. The resulting blast engulfed his body in flames, while the force blew him off his feet and sent him flying through the window of his basement studio. The incident left the musician critically injured with burns all over his body and caused his brain to swell. Now Brenner - from Cologne, Germany - has told of his plight since the explosion on February 6, 2017. 'Forty percent of the surface of my skin is burned. I've had almost 50 surgeries so far. 'People think that the doctors took away half of my brain, but fortunately that's not the case,' he said with a wry smile. Niko Brenner is pictured posing with a joint in his mouth before the accident in 2017 Brenner, who music is produced and released under the pseudonym Dr. Knarf, had almost half of his skull removed following the brutal explosion in order to relieve the pressure on his brain He also suffered four strokes and has been paralysed on one side - he now relies on a wheelchair and a walking aid Brenner said: 'I made a huge mistake, drove my whole life up against the wall - and I'm paying the price for it' Brenner, who music is produced and released under the pseudonym Dr. Knarf, had almost half of his skull removed following the brutal explosion in order to relieve the pressure on his brain. He also suffered four strokes and has been paralysed on one side - he now relies on a wheelchair and a walking aid. The father of a six-year-old boy said: 'It hurts a lot that I will never be able to climb a tree with my son.' Brenner claimed doctors had told him it is theoretically possible to reconstruct his skull bone with an implant, 'but the problem is that there is not enough scalp due to the burns to reinsert a skull bone replacement'. The musician said doctors initially tried to expand the skin by implanting a balloon filled with saline solution, but the device had to be removed after Brenner began suffering severe pain and inflammation. When he saw himself for the first time after parts of his skull were removed, Brenner said: 'It was an absolute shock. I looked like a monster. My son was one year old at the time. I was terrified that he wouldn't even recognise me.' He said the worst thing after the accident was 'not walking, not being able to move properly anymore. It saddens me not to be able to play the guitar, piano and keyboards anymore.' Brenner produces and releases his music under the pseudonym Dr. Knarf The explosion left him with 40 per cent of his body burned and considerable brain swelling 'Giving up is not an option, you have to keep going somehow,' the rapper said. 'Before, I was very egocentric and selfish. One insight I am grateful for today is a great deal of humility.' 'People think that the doctors took away half of my brain, but fortunately that's not the case,' he said The rapper's ailments are not only physical and psychological but financial too. He said: 'I owe 250,000 euros for hospital costs and had to file for personal bankruptcy.' And he is also threatened with trial for trading in narcotics and negligently causing an explosive blast. Brenner said: 'I made a huge mistake, drove my whole life up against the wall - and I'm paying the price for it.' But these setbacks have not deterred the rapper, who has been archiving files for a historical research office since 2019. He said: 'Giving up is not an option, you have to keep going somehow. Before, I was very egocentric and selfish. 'One insight I am grateful for today is a great deal of humility.' We've collated the most recent Pokemon Go updates, which you can find below. Get your notes ready! Pokemon Go Will Bring Back Multiple Ultra Unlocks According to Gamespot, Niantic is bringing back Ultra Unlocks, a bonus that can be acquired for forthcoming events by completing Global Challenges with other players. The gaming company is introducing several of these Ultra Unlocks for a handful of future events for the first time, with challenges accessible at the four upcoming Pokemon Go Fest events. The first opportunity to earn an Ultra Unlock bonus is during the global Pokemon Go Fest ticketed event this weekend. Players won't know what the Ultra Unlock benefits are until they're really unlocked, with Niantic promising to provide details shortly after each Pokemon Go Fest event concludes. Meanwhile, players do not need to purchase a ticket to participate in the Ultra Unlock effort; the Global Challenge Arena will be open to all players for the remainder of the event on June 5, after which it will be closed to ticket holders. It is also worth noting that an Ultra Unlock event will be added to the next Adventure Week if trainers globally accomplish 20 Global Challenges over the two-day event. Read More: Pokemon Go Updates: Seattle Event Tickets & Dates For Next Community Days Pokemon Go Fest 2022 As previously reported, Niantic has revealed that Pokemon Go Fest 2022 will be held in Seattle, Washington from July 22 to 24. The upcoming event will be held in both Seattle Center Park and the city of Seattle, with each day split into two sessions at each location. Because of the two sites, ticketing is a little more complicated than it is for most Pokemon Go Fest events. Trainers can opt for a morning or afternoon session, in which players spend the first part of the day in the park and the second half in the city. There will also be Pokemon Go Fest in Berlin and Sapporo, with more destinations to be announced soon. New Adventure Week Will Be Introduced A separate Gamespot report mentioned that Adventure Week is back for 2022, with a week of Rock-type and Fossil Pokemon to start off the brand-new Season of Pokemon Go. The event will start on Tuesday, June 7 at 10 a.m. local time and run until Sunday, June 12 at 8 p.m. Tyrunt and Amaura, the two fossil Pokemon debuted in Pokemon X and Y, are two new Rock-type Pokemon released for the first time in Pokemon Go. Trainers can encounter the new Pokemon by undertaking Field Research tasks or hatch them from 7km Eggs received during the event. In addition to the new Pokemon, lucky trainers will be able to catch Shiny Tirtouga and Shiny Archen in Pokemon Go for the first time. Trainers will receive double XP for spinning PokeStops during the length of the event, as well as five times additional XP for spinning a PokeStop for the first time. Related Article: This Week's Update on Pokemon Go: New Social Features, Remote Raid Passes, Goodies for Amazon Prime Members Johnny Depp's lawyers have filed a motion to strike an 'inappropriate argument' made by Amber Heard's attorney in their closing argument which had asked jurors to consider the 'message' that ruling against her would send to other domestic abuse victims. On Tuesday, Depp's team asked Judge Penney Azcarate to instruct the jury, who are currently deliberating the defamation claims made by the feuding ex's, to disregard that portion of the closing argument. In their written argument, Depp's attorney's said Heard's lawyer told the jury that its decision in the case would send a message to 'every victim of domestic abuse everywhere.' They argued that this meant the jury was being asked to focus on a larger social issue rather than the individual case set before them. But Judge Azcarate said she would not entertain the motion because the jury are already deliberating. Johnny Depp's lawyers (pictured leaving the court on Tuesday) have filed a motion to strike an 'inappropriate argument' made by Amber Heard's attorney in their closing argument which had asked jurors to consider the 'message' that ruling against her would send to other domestic abuse victims Actor Johnny Depp at the Royal Albert Hall, London, appearing alongside Jeff Beck on Tuesday night Heard's attorney Benjamin Rottenborn told the jury in his closing argument on Friday that a ruling against the actress 'sends a message that no matter what you do as an abuse victim, you always have to do more.' 'No matter how honest you are about your own imperfections and your own shortcomings in a relationship, you have to be perfect in order for people to believe you. Don't send that message,' Rottenborn said. Depp's attorneys argued that Rottenborn's argument improperly asked the jury to focus on a larger social objective than the case they are being asked to decide. 'Such argument by Ms. Heard's counsel improperly invites the jury to decide the case `based on passion and prejudice' and a specific jury instruction is necessary to cure this impropriety,' Depp's lawyers argued. The judge told Depp's attorneys in court that she would not entertain the motion because the case is in the hands of the jury now. A public relations firm for Heard did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment on the motion. Lawyer for US actor Johnny Depp, Camille Vasquez (2-R) walks to her car following the first full day of jury deliberation in the defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax on Tuesday It comes as the jury finished a second day of deliberations on Tuesday without reaching a verdict in the defamation claims of Depp and Heard. The seven-person civil jury heard closing arguments Friday and deliberated for about two hours before leaving for the long Memorial Day weekend. Jurors then deliberated another seven hours on Tuesday. They are scheduled to resume deliberations Wednesday in Fairfax County Circuit Court. Depp is suing Heard for $50 million, accusing her of libeling him with a 2018 op-ed she wrote describing herself as 'a public figure representing domestic abuse.' Heard filed a $100 million counterclaim against the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star after his lawyer called her allegations a hoax. Each accuses the other of destroying their career. Testimony during the six-week trial featured a litany of lurid details of their short marriage. Heard testified that Depp physically or sexually assaulted her more than a dozen times. During his testimony, Depp testified that he never struck Heard, that she concocted the abuse allegations, and that she was the one who physically attacked him, multiple times. Amber Heard is pictured in the courtroom during closing arguments in Fairfax on Friday During closing arguments, both sides told the jury that a verdict in their favor would give their clients their lives back. Meanwhile, Depp has continued his run of UK shows with rock veteran Jeff Beck. Pictures showed the actor on stage at the Royal Albert Hall in west London on Tuesday night for the second night in a row. Depp appeared with a white guitar, and wearing a peaked cap and multiple scarves. He joined Beck at the venue on Monday and Tuesday night after surprising fans with an appearance at Sheffield City Hall on Sunday. Depp was joined by his ex-girlfriend and British model Kate Moss backstage following his performance with Beck. Moss was joined inside by former TV personality Sharon Osborne, 69, who arrived for an after-party following the end of the concert. Moss - who last week gave evidence to the US court via video link - arrived at the venue early at around 8pm, 90 minutes before Depp was due onstage, clambering out of a blue Mercedes and being escorted by security into the stage door entrance. Centre stage: Depp performed covers of John Lennon , Marvin Gaye and Jimi Hendrix at the venue on Tuesday evening Make way: Kate Moss was alone as she exited London's Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday evening, shortly after reuniting with ex-boyfriend Johnny Depp backstage following his cameo performance with rock legend Jeff Beck Main man: Depp (right) at the Royal Albert Hall, London, appearing alongside Jeff Beck on Tuesday night After Beck's set began at 8.40pm, Depp headed onstage at 9.23pm to perform several songs with a British music legend considered among the greatest guitar players in history. Introducing the 58-year-old - who he told the 5,000-strong crowd had 'been through some s**t - he said: 'I met this bloke in Japan. He knocked on the door and we burst out laughing straight away. You may recognise him. He's been through some s**t.' To calls from fans of 'Johnny' and 'We love you Johnny', Depp took to the stage wearing a waistcoat, white and red checked short-sleeve shirt, patterned cravat, and Peaky Blinders style cap, and immediately grabbed the mic. The actor and Beck played seven songs including Jimi Hendrix's Little Wing, John Lennon's Isolation, and Marvin Gaye's What's Going On before departing the stage at 9.50pm, blowing kisses to the audience. Meanwhile, Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren said on Monday that it was 'great' to work with Heard in Aquaman during an interview with Redline Steel CEO Colin Wayne. 'I had a great experience with her. She was nice to the crew, nice to everybody. Just down to earth,' Lundgren said. What the jury must decide on After a six-week trial, a civil jury in Virginia is deliberating defamation claims by Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard. The trial has featured lurid testimony with explicit details about the movie stars' short and volatile marriage. But what is the case really about? And what will the jury need to decide?: DEPP'S LAWSUIT Depp filed a $50 million defamation suit against Heard, alleging that a 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post damaged his reputation and hurt his career. In the article, Heard described herself as "a public figure representing domestic abuse." Depp is not mentioned by name in the article, but his lawyers argued that it was clear she was referring to Depp, given that she had publicly accused him of domestic violence during their 2016 divorce proceedings. Heard's lawyers said most of the article focuses on public policy on domestic violence and that she had a First Amendment right to weigh in on that subject. They also maintain that Depp did in fact abuse Heard. ABUSE ALLEGATIONS During the trial, Heard has described more than a dozen specific instances when she says Depp abused her, including her allegation that he sexually assaulted her with a liquor bottle in an alcohol-fueled rage. Depp has denied any physical or sexual abuse, and says Heard concocted the claims to destroy his reputation. He's also claimed that she physically attacked him on multiple occasions. THE JURY'S JOB The seven-member jury must decide if two passages and the headline of the article are defamatory. The jury verdict form gives jurors instructions on how to determine that, including by asking them whether the statements were about Depp, were false and had a defamatory implication about him. Because Depp is a public figure, Heard can only be found guilty of libel if the jury decides that she acted with "actual malice," meaning that she either knew what she wrote was false or that she acted with reckless disregard for the truth. Heard's lawyers told the jury Depp's libel claim must fail if Heard suffered even a single incident of abuse. HEARD'S LAWSUIT Heard filed a $100 million counterclaim against Depp after his former lawyer called her allegations a hoax. The counterclaim has received less attention during the trial, but Heard's lawyer told jurors it provides an avenue for the jury to compensate Heard for the abuse Depp inflicted on her by orchestrating a smear campaign after they split up. The jury verdict form asks the jury to decide if Depp's former attorney, acting as an agent for Depp, made or published three statements that were about Heard, were false and were seen by someone other than Heard. The jury must also decide if Depp's attorney made the statements with actual malice. Advertisement REVEALED: Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard jury must answer FORTY-TWO questions - 24 on actor's claims and 18 on ex-wife's - before they reach verdict in $100M fight and decide damages - as case that gripped the world closes By Daniel Bates for DailyMail.com The Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard $100million libel case is so complicated, that the verdict sheet has 42 questions the jury must answer before the deliver a verdict, DailyMail.com can reveal. The document was released by the court in Fairfax, Virginia and shows that there are 24 questions for Depp's claims and 18 for Heard's counterclaim. A verdict form is used to formalize the jury's decision on the case. Spanning eight pages, it means the jury has to decide on dozens of matters before reaching their verdict. There is also a section where they will have to decide on the damages for Depp and Heard - and any punitive damages. The case is now being deliberated by the jury after six weeks of graphic and raw evidence about Depp and Heard's stormy four year relationship and 15 month marriage. Jurors in the Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard $100million libel case are being required to answer 42 questions concerning both actors' claims before being allowed deliver a verdict, documents filed in federal court in Fairfax, Virginia, reveal Depp is seeking $50m from Heard for allegedly defaming him with an op-ed in the Washington Post in 2018 which claimed she was a survivor of domestic abuse. Heard, pictured here with attorney Elaine Bredehoff on Friday, countersued for $100m claiming that Depp's lawyer defamed her by claiming her allegations were an 'abuse hoax' Depp is seeking $50m from Heard for allegedly defaming him with an op-ed in the Washington Post in 2018 which claimed she was a survivor of domestic abuse. According to the Pirates of the Caribbean star, even though it didn't mention him by name it was obviously about him. Heard countersued for $100m claiming that Depp's lawyer Adam Waldman defamed her by claiming her allegations were an 'abuse hoax'. The verdict sheet, called a 'Special Verdict Form' asks the jury eight questions about each of the three statements at issue in Heard's op-ed. They were that Heard 'spoke up against sexual violence - and faced our culture's wrath. That has to change'. The document, filed in federal court last week, contains a section where jurors will have to decide on the damages for Depp One of the statements jurors were asked to discern if inflammatory, made by Heard in a Washington Post piece that alleged she was abused by Depp The second statement is: 'Two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse and I felt the full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out'. The third is: 'I had the rare vantage point of seeing in real time how institutions protect men accused of abuse'. In each case the jury has to 'find that Mr. Depp has proven all the elements of defamation'. If the answer is no, then they can move on to the next statement. But if they answer yes then the jury has to confirm all the necessary elements of defamation: that the statement as published by Heard, it was about Depp, that it was false, has a defamatory implication, that it was 'designed and intended by Heard' and that it 'conveyed a defamatory implication' to someone who saw it other than Depp. It is six years ago to the day that Amber Heard filed a restraining order against Depp, which Vasquez said 'ruined' the actor's life Closing arguments finifshed in the blockbuster defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Friday. The proceedings saw Depp's all-star attorney Camille Vasquez began by labeling Amber Heard an 'abuser' The final question for each statement in the op-ed is whether it was proven by 'clear and convincing evidence' that Heard acted with 'actual malice'. The test is to show that the statements in question were made knowing they were false, the threshold for defamation. For Heard's claims against Depp, the jury has to answer six questions for each of the three statements at issue made by Waldman, Depp's lawyer, to the media in 2020. They were that Heard used 'fake sexual violence allegations as both a sword and a shield,' that the claims were an 'ambush, a hoax' and that Heard and her friends faked a crime scene, and that the allegations were an 'abuse hoax'. In each case the jury has to answer whether Heard has proven all the elements of defamation. If yes then the jury has to go through each of the necessary elements: did Waldman make the statements while acting as an agent for Depp, was the statement about Heard, was it seen by someone other than Head and was it false. 'There is an abuser in this courtroom but it's not Mr. Depp. There's a victim of abuse in this court but it's not Miss Heard,' Vaquez said Friday. 'Miss Heard is in fact the abuser and Mr. Depp is the abused.' Jurors will likely deliver a verdict in the complex libel case this week The jury also has to find that Waldman acted with 'actual malice.' For both Depp and Heard's claims the jury has to enter an amount for damages and punitive damages. Both sides are asking for at least $350,000 in punitive damages, plus legal fees and court costs. While Depp has not disclosed how much he has spent on attorneys, Heard told the court she has blown $6m on legal fees, though that number may have included a previous trial in London in 2020 which covered similar allegations. During closing arguments on Friday Depp's lawyer Camille Vasquez described Heard as a 'deeply troubled person'. She said: 'There is an abuser in this courtroom but it's not Mr. Depp. There's a victim of abuse in this court but it's not Miss Heard. 'Miss Heard is in fact the abuser and Mr Depp is the abused.' Heard's lawyer Benjamin Rottenborn urged the jury not to become an 'accomplice' in sending a message to survivors of abuse that they have to be perfect. He said that abusive texts shown to the jury were a 'window into the soul of America's favorite pirate', referring to Depp's role as Captain Jack Sparrow. Depp was pictured smiling and waving to fans when he left the courthouse while Amber Heard was seen hugging her lawyer as jurors began deliberations Friday. He left and shook hands with police officers before appeasing the large crowd of fans outside who were armed with banners and cameras. Heard's legal team had told the jury in closing arguments to 'think about the message' Johnny Depp and his legal team are sending Heard and 'by extension every victim of domestic violence.' Taking the floor Friday, Heard's lawyer Benjamin Rottenborn said, 'If you didn't take pictures it didn't' happen. If you did take pictures they're fake. If you didn't tell your friends they're lying. If you did tell your friends they're part of the hoax.' 'Failure to seek medical attention meant you were not injured,' Rottenborn said. 'If you do seek medical treatment then you're crazy and if you do everything to help your spouse rid himself of drugs and drink then 'you're a nag.' Rottenborn continued, 'And if you decide enough is enough and you have to leave to save yourself you're a gold digger. That's the message Mr. Depp is asking you to send. He said that in Johnny Depp's 'world' you don't leave him, and if you do 'he will start campaign of global humiliation against you. 'He will do everything he can to destroy your life, to destroy your career. That's what they're trying to get you to be an accomplice to.' 'Mr. Depp cannot and will not take responsibility for his own actions.' Jurors are set to resume deliberations Tuesday, with a verdict in the coming days imminent. Russian propagandists have claimed World War Three has already begun and warned that Britain and the US will be made to 'pay a heavy price' for interfering in the war with Ukraine. In her latest sabre-rattling broadcast, state television channel Russia One's Olga Skabeyeva effectively declared war on the UK, US and NATO and advocated for a fresh Russian military campaign extended beyond Ukraine's borders. 'Perhaps it's time to acknowledge that Russia's special operation in Ukraine has come to an end, in a sense that a real war has started: WWIII,' Skabeyeva said. 'We are forced to conduct the demilitarisation not only of Ukraine, but of the entire NATO alliance.' Her outrageous statement came on the 60 minutes programme, which sees several Russian analysts, commentators and 'political experts' gather to discuss President Vladimir Putin's 'special military operation' in Ukraine. Vladimir Avatkov, from the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then delivered his own warning to Western allies providing support to Kyiv. 'We need to remember the words of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, who said that anyone who tries to interfere in the special military operation will pay a heavy price,' he said solemnly - but the threats quickly began to escalate even further. Russian MP Oleg Matveychev chimed in to declare that 'Poland's current borders will be worthless' if it were to intervene in Ukraine, before the warmongering Skabeyeva cut in: 'I wasn't talking just about Poland, but about Great Britain and the United States... they're all lined up!' The presenter's repeated calls for Russia to take on the West appeared too outlandish for Avatkov, who quietly reminded the panel: 'No need to rush, there is a line... everything will come in time.' But the outright call for war with NATO is just the latest in a string of bombastic Kremlin-controlled propaganda broadcasts designed to inspire patriotism in Russian citizens and turn the narrative against the West. In her latest sabre-rattling broadcast, state television channel Russia One's Olga Skabeyeva effectively declared war on the UK, US and NATO and advocated for a fresh Russian military campaign extended beyond Ukraine's borders Vladimir Avatkov, from the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, went on to warn Western allies providing support to Kyiv. 'We need to remember the words of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, who said that anyone who tries to interfere in the special military operation will pay a heavy price,' he said solemnly A man inspects a shell crater in Siversk, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on May 31, 2022, as Russian attacks continue This photograph taken on May 28, 2022, shows the damaged building of the Faculty of Economics of Karazin National University in Kharkiv, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine Local residents examine a destroyed Russian tank outside Kyiv on May 31, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine Last week, one of Putin's chief propagandists threatened that Moscow will only stop its military push when its forces reach Stonehenge. The laughable comment came during the weekly show of firebrand television anchorman Vladimir Solovyov - a.k.a. 'Putin's Voice' - who has previously threatened to use nuclear Zircon missiles to bomb Britain back to the Stone Age. In a new threat he told a Ukrainian pundit, who asked when Russia will stop its onslaught in the Donbas, that Russia's forces may go as far as the prehistoric monument in Wiltshire because of British foreign secretary Liz Truss' vocal support of Ukraine and her decision to provide Ukraine with weapons. 'Well, when we have to stop, then we will,' he said. 'Where will we stop? As I was saying today, maybe Stonehenge. 'Liz Truss says she's the one fighting the war.' Solovyov's rant at Ukrainian political analyst Vasil Vakarov also saw him label Vakarov and his countrymen 'Nazis'. The Ukrainian told Solovyov that the Russians are poised to take strategic town Severodonetsk - the final Ukrainian held city in the Luhansk region - and will soon control both the Luhansk and Donetsk regions that constitute the Donbas. He challenged the Putin cheerleader: 'Where will you stop When will you stop?' Solovyov ignominiously suggested that Putin should go on and storm 'Kyiv and Lviv', before threatening to invade Britain. Vladimir Solovyov - aka 'Putin's Voice' - who has previously threatened to used nuclear Zircon missiles to bomb Britain back to the Stone Age, suggested that Russia will invade the UK Solovyov's rant at Ukrainian political analyst Vasil Vakarov (pictured) also saw him label Vakarov and his countrymen 'Nazis' For all of the Kremlin's threats and claims of Russian military superiority, Putin's forces are still locked in a painstaking battle of attrition in eastern Ukraine with no end in sight Air strike in Severodonetsk: Russians hit tank with nitric acid at a chemical plant, throwing up a huge mushroom cloud For all of the Kremlin's threats and claims of Russian military superiority, Putin's forces are still locked in a painstaking battle of attrition in eastern Ukraine with no end in sight - though Ukrainian officials this morning reported Russia had managed to consolidate its recent advances. Russian troops this morning had reportedly taken control of much of the industrial centre of Severodonetsk - the last remaining urban centre in the Luhansk region that was still held by Ukrainian forces. If Russia captures the rest of Severodonetsk and its smaller twin Lysychansk on the higher west bank of the Siversky Donets river, it will essentially hold all of Luhansk, which together with the Donetsk region constitutes the Donbas. The city has now been largely reduced to rubble, with nearly all critical infrastructure destroyed and 60 per cent of residential property damaged beyond repair, regional governor Serhiy Haidai said on Tuesday. Russian shelling has made it impossible to deliver aid or evacuate people, he added, before warning residents of the city not to leave bomb shelters due to what he said was a Russian air strike on a nitric acid tank. Britain's Ministry of Defence also said in its latest intelligence bulletin that Russian forces including Chechen fighters now controlled more than half of Severodonetsk after two days of intense street fighting. Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council aid agency which had long operated out of Severodonetsk, said he was 'horrified' by its destruction. Up to 12,000 civilians remain caught in crossfire, without sufficient access to water, food, medicine or electricity, the former UN Humanitarian Affairs chief said. 'The near-constant bombardment is forcing civilians to seek refuge in bomb shelters and basements, with only few precious opportunities for those trying to escape. 'We call on parties to the conflict to immediately allow all humanitarian organisations to access Severodonetsk with lifesaving assistance and to enable safe evacuations of civilians who wish to leave the city.' A smiling Prince Andrew has today been spotted horse riding, amid a furious row over whether he should receive 'forgiveness' for his part in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. The Duke of York, 62, who has largely withdrawn from public life following his out-of-court settlement with his sex assault accuser Virginia Roberts earlier this year, today broke cover to ride around the grounds of Windsor. The royal, who appeared care-free as he rode around the grounds, was also spotted driving a green Range Rover on his way to the stables this morning. It comes as a row rages over whether the Queen's second son - who will not feature on the royal balcony beside his mother during her Platinum Jubilee celebrations this weekend - should be treated with 'forgiveness' following his settlement with Ms Roberts. Prince Andrew repeatedly denied Ms Roberts's allegations that he sexually assaulted her when she was 17 - while she was being trafficked by his friend Epstein. But earlier this year he agreed a 12million out-of-court settlement with Ms Roberts, before the case went to a US civil trial. Yesterday the scandal came to the forefront again when Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby suggested it was a 'good thing' the royal was 'trying to make amends' following the settlement. The church leader, speaking in the spirit of Christian forgiveness, also said society had become 'very unforgiving' and that people needed to take a 'step back' in Prince Andrew's case. But following a backlash - including from TV presenter Piers Morgan - the Archbishop appeared to backtrack, saying he was speaking generally about the topic of forgiveness. The Duke of York, 62, who has largely withdrawn from public life following his out-of-court settlement with his sex assault accuser Virginia Roberts earlier this year, today broke cover to ride around the grounds of Windsor (pictured) The royal - who will not feature on the royal balcony beside his mother, the Queen, as she celebrates her Platinum Jubilee this weekend - was also spotted driving a green Range Rover on his way to the stables today Prince Andrew rides a horse on the Royal Estate, in Windsor, ahead of the start of the Queen's Jubilee celebrations tomorrow Yesterday the scandal hit the headlines again when the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby (pictured), who, in the spirit of Christian forgiveness, suggested the Duke of York was 'trying to make amends' for his role in the Epstein scandal Meanwhile, one top royal expert, responding to Mr Welby's comments, today said she believes the public 'will not forgive' the Duke. Royal journalist and author Ingrid Seward said the Duke of York was now 'very hard to defend' following sexual assault allegations made against him by Virginia Roberts. Speaking to Good Morning Britain, Ms Seward, who has written a number of royal books and is the editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, said: 'I think he (Andrew) is very hard to defend. 'Whenever I've tried to say, well you know as far as we are concerned and probably as far as his mother is concerned he is innocent until proven guilty. 'He's obviously told his friends and his mother and his family that he is innocent. And I personally might believe him, or I might not. But I think the general feeling is people just will not forgive him. 'And this is where I think (Justin) Welby is trying to say is that we've become a society which is incredibly unforgiving and judgmental and it is all about "look at me, look at me" and then "look at them they are disgusting and they behave really badly". 'I think that is what (Justin) Welby was trying to say. But he is canny enough to know that as soon as you mention anything to do with the royal family it is going to be front page news. 'So I think Welby was trying to get his point across by intervening and using Andrew as a sort of magic stick so that people would listen to what he is saying.' Today Ms Seward suggested the public 'will not forgive' Prince Andrew. The experienced journalist and biographer also attempted to clarify the Most Reverend's comments Newsweek's chief royal correspondent, Jack Royston, who also took part in the live debate this morning, struck a less forgiving tone. He accused Prince Andrew of attempting to 'weasel' out of a sex assault lawsuit in the US brought by Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Roberts. Archbishop of Canterbury is forced to BACKTRACK over claims Prince Andrew should be 'forgiven' following his sex attack scandal The Archbishop of Canterbury has been forced to backtrack after he claimed Prince Andrew should be forgiven following his sex scandal. The Most Reverend Justin Welby said that he thinks it's a 'very good thing' that the shamed Royal is trying to make up for his role in the Jeffrey Epstein affair. Speaking on ITV tonight, the Archbishop said he felt people should try to forgive the Duke of York, and that everyone should 'step back a bit'. But the Archbishop was later forced to clarify his remarks after eyebrows were raised at the suggestion, saying he was not specifically referring to Prince Andrew when he said we must become a more forgiving society. Instead, he insisted he was making a 'broader point' about Britain becoming a more forgiving society and denied he was referring specifically to the Duke. The Archbishop's comments came after the Queen's son was implicated in the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal, with claims that twenty years ago he had sex with a 17-year-old girl who had been trafficked by the paedophile billionaire. He eventually paid his accuser, Virginia Roberts Guiffre, 12 million in a settlement that stopped it ending up in court. Archbishop Justin Welby, in an interview with ITV News presenter Tom Bradby, said: 'Forgiveness really does matter. I think we have become a very, very unforgiving society. There's a difference between consequences and forgiveness. 'I think for all of us, one of the ways that we celebrate when we come together is in learning to be a more open and forgiving society. 'Now with Prince Andrew, I think we all have to step back a bit. He's seeking to make amends and I think that's a very good thing. 'But you can't tell people how they're to respond about this. And the issues of the past in the area of abuse are so intensely personal and private for so many people. 'It's not surprising. There's very deep feelings, indeed.' Advertisement Prince Andrew eventually paid his accuser, who now goes by her married name of Virginia Giuffre, 12million in a settlement that stopped it ending up in a civil court trial. Asked by Good Morning Britain host Richard Madeley if Prince Andrew was 'permanently beyond the pale' and if there was 'nothing he could say or do to get rid of this bad smell of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein', Mr Royston said: 'His opportunity was the court case. 'He could have tried to win that court case and prove his innocence. But when he bought himself out of that court case he gave up that opportunity. 'Not only that, but he made it very clear, right from the word go, that he was basically going to weasel his way out of it by making it very difficult for Virginia's team to serve him papers. 'He then tried about four different approaches to try and get the case thrown out - all of which were rejected by a judge. 'The conduct of his lawyers alone is enough that Justin Welby should not in a million years have been making these comments.' Mr Royston also described Mr Welby's comments as 'inappropriate' and said it was 'way too soon' to speak about forgiveness. He said: 'Honestly, I don't think the time will ever come. 'Prince Andrew's approval rating is currently hovering around minus 80, which is extraordinarily low for anybody, particularly a member of the royal family. 'The public will never forgive him and they just simply do not see this issue the way Justin Welby sees it. 'I think it is extraordinarily inappropriate for Justin Welby to be saying this. Prince Andrew has been accused of a very serious crime.' It comes as the Archbishop was yesterday forced to backtrack after he claimed Prince Andrew should be forgiven following his sex scandal. In an interview with ITV, the respected religious leader, who heads the Church of England, said he believed it to be a 'very good thing' that the shamed Royal is trying to make up for his role in the Jeffrey Epstein affair. He said he felt people should try to forgive the Duke of York, and that everyone should 'step back a bit'. But the Archbishop was later forced to clarify his remarks after eyebrows were raised at the suggestion, saying he was not specifically referring to Prince Andrew when he said we must become a more forgiving society. Instead, he insisted he was making a 'broader point' about Britain becoming a more forgiving society and denied he was referring specifically to the Duke. His comments came after Prince Andrew, the Queen's second son was implicated in the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal. Ms Roberts claimed Prince Andrew sexually assaulted her on three occasions 20 years ago, when she was 17 and being trafficked by the late paedophile billionaire Epstein. Prince Andrew denied the allegations - and claimed he did not remember meeting Ms Roberts. But after unsuccessfully attempting to have the US civil case thrown out before a trial, he struck a 12million settlement deal with his accuser. Newsweek's chief royal correspondent, Jack Royston, who also took part in the live debate this morning, struck a less forgiving tone. He accused Prince Andrew of attempting to 'weasel' out of a sex assault lawsuit in the US brought by Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Roberts The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, pictured here shaking hands with Prince Andrew, has suggested the Duke of York be forgiven Prince Andrew had been accused of having sex with a 17-year-old girl who had been trafficked by paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein (pictured) Archbishop Justin Welby, in an interview with ITV News presenter Tom Bradby, said: 'Forgiveness really does matter. I think we have become a very, very unforgiving society. There's a difference between consequences and forgiveness. 'I think for all of us, one of the ways that we celebrate when we come together is in learning to be a more open and forgiving society. 'Now with Prince Andrew, I think we all have to step back a bit. He's seeking to make amends and I think that's a very good thing. 'But you can't tell people how they're to respond about this. And the issues of the past in the area of abuse are so intensely personal and private for so many people. 'It's not surprising. There's very deep feelings, indeed.' Earlier, the Archbishop remarked that he did not do pastoral stuff in public, suggesting the Duke may have consulted him privately. The Archbishop also defended the Queens decision to walk with her second son at Prince Philips memorial service in March, saying she was fully entitled to do so. After the interview aired, the Archbishop was forced to clarify his comments. A spokesman said: 'In his ITV News interview the Archbishop was not referring specifically to Prince Andrew when he said we must become a more forgiving society. He was making a broader point about the kind of society that he hopes the Platinum Jubilee inspires us to be.' The comments by the Archbishop of Canterbury, pictured, came days before the start of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations In a personal statement, the Archbishop added: 'In tonight's interview with ITV News, I was asked a question about forgiveness, and I said that there is a difference between consequences and forgiveness. Both are essential elements of the Christian understanding of justice, mercy and reconciliation. 'I also made the broader point that I hope we can become a more forgiving society. These are complex issues that are difficult to address in a short media interview and I hope they do not distract from this week's joyful celebration of Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee.' In the interview, the Archbishop was also asked about the rift between Prince William and Harry. 'It's sad when families are struggling, but what family isn't?' he said. 'Jesus says, anyone who's never sinned cast the first stone, and they all go away... I think if there's any family where the relationships are perfect, they're entitled to judge, but I'm not going to.' The Archbishop himself, who had been due to preach at the Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral on Friday, has pulled out while he deals with Covid and pneumonia. He was also asked about the rift between brothers the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex. 'Of course, it's sad when families are struggling, but what family, isn't?' he said. 'Jesus says, anyone who's never sinned cast the first stone, and they all go away... I think if there's any family where the relationships are perfect, they're entitled to judge, but I'm not going to.' However the comments were met by anger by some commentators, including Piers Morgan, who said on his TalkTV show: 'Prince Andrew said he would fight to clear his name when Virginia Giuffre accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. 'But at the very last minute, he didn't do that. Instead he wrote a massive cheque to Mr Giuffre settle things. 'I would say forgiveness starts with explaining why he did that. 'All we've seen from Prince Andrew is: "I'm going to clear my name", followed by "I'm writing a big fat cheque for this all go away". 'That's not acceptance or repentance. And I'm sorry but I think the public might find the forgiveness part that the Archbishop is requesting, very hard without that.' The intervention by the Archbishop comes days before the celebrations for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, during which Prince Andrew will not be as visible alongside other senior Royals. Despite this, Andrew took a front and centre role in escorting his mother to Philip's memorial service in March. This was a surprising change to the planned arrangements, as only weeks earlier he had been banished from royal public life and paid to settle his court case. The 62-year-old will also take part in the ceremony at Windsor Castle on June 13 alongside other senior royals for what is one of the most important ceremonies in the Royal calendar. His name will also appear in the next day's Court Circular, and will attend Garter Day ceremonies as a Royal Knight. The annual iconic Garter Day procession, where The Queen and the Knights process in grand velvet robes, glistening insignia and plumed hats, is one of the most traditional ceremonies in the Queen's calendar. The Queen is sovereign of the Order and appoints Knights of the Garter without input from ministers, meaning that Prince Andrew's appointment was considered as private. There are now fears Andrew's attendance at Garter Day celebrations could overshadow the event, especially after he was said to have agreed to step back from public life following the conclusion of the case. Andrew is expected to appear alongside the Queen for Garter Day at Windsor Castle on June 13 despite the fallout of his sex abuse scandal and ties to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein (The Queen and Prince Andrew pictured 2019 at Trooping The Colour) Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Andrew, center right, arrive for a Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey in London, Tuesday, March 29, 2022 It comes after Prince Andrew signed a 12 million settlement ensuring claims by Virginia Giuffre that he had sex with her when she was 17 years old would not go to trial. This settlement was not an admission of liability, Andrew denied these allegations publicly, including taking part in a now-infamous interview with Emily Maitlis during which he claimed to have been at a Pizza Express in Woking on the night in question. It comes after a source revealed last week that the disgraced Prince is working overtime to try and win back the trust of the Queen. Speaking to The Mirror, they said he had been visiting his mother everyday in the build-up to the Jubilee celebrations. They said: 'He wants to make it up to the Queen which is why he is doing all he can to see her as much as possible. 'The rest of the family, apart from Her Majesty, are united in feeling that he should stay out of the limelight and keep quiet having left such a stain on the family.' The Prince has already been stripped of his royal patronages and honorary military titles. The Tories were embroiled in a major row over Boris Johnson's leadership today amid the fallout from Partygate - as the Prime Minister said it would not be 'responsible' to quit now. He spoke out today after almost 50 Conservative backbenchers publicly questioned his behaviour - with more than 30 more believed to have done so privately. Under party rules, 54 have to submit letters of no confidence to trigger a leadership vote. But some of his vocal critics may not have pressed that nuclear button yet - or plan to do so. Equally, it is also possible some of those who are keeping quiet will have submitted their letters. Others are also sounding out colleagues for a potential leadership challenge, either for themselves or for allies. The suspense is adding to a febrile atmosphere in Westminster, with supporters of the PM coming out to defend his record and suggest that all options to replace him would divide the party further. In a bruising interview with Mumsnet, released this lunchtime, Mr Johnson said there was too much going on in the world with the cost-of-living crisis and war in Ukraine for him to resign now. In a defiant jab at his critics he said: 'I'm still here because we've got huge pressures economically, we've got to get on, you know, we've got the biggest war in Europe for 80 years, and we've got a massive agenda to deliver which I was elected to deliver. 'I've thought about all these questions a lot, as you can imagine, and I just cannot see how actually it'd be responsible right now - given everything that is going on simply to abandon ... the project which I embarked on.' In a bruising interview with Mumsnet, released this lunchtime, Mr Johnson said there was too much going on in the world with the cost-of-living crisis and war in Ukraine for him to resign now. 'Why should we believe a habitual liar?': Boris Johnson faces the wrath of Mumsnet Boris Johnson faced the wrath of Mumsnet readers over Partygate today as he was asked why its readers should trust a 'habitual liar'. In a sit-down interview with the parenting website's founder and chief executive Justine Roberts at No10, Mr Johnson admitted that the whole saga had been a 'miserable experience' for the Government. Answering a string of blunt questions submitted by readers the Prime Minister also denied eating any cake at the 'miserable' No10 party to celebrate his 56th birthday in June 2020 - an event that saw him fined by police. In a rare lighter moment the PM also revealed he had become 'very fast' at changing nappies when discussing his life as a parent. He and wife Carrie had a son, Wilfred, who is two, and a younger daughter, Romy. Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab today claimed that Partygate was a row 'whipped up' by the Westminster Bubble. But Ms Roberts said that half of all the questions submitted by Mumsnet readers had been on the subject. She told the PM the first question was 'pretty typical and sums up the mood' of readers, before asking: 'Why should we believe anything you say when it has been proven you're a habitual liar?' Mr Johnson repeated his apology for the events in Downing Street several times, including when told a teacher would have lost their job if they had broken the law and asked why the same did not apply to the Prime Minister. He replied that he had been 'very surprised and taken aback to get a 50 fixed-penalty notice (FPN) from the Metropolitan Police, adding: 'No cake was eaten by me, I can tell you that now.' Advertisement Former Cabinet minister and leadership challenger Dame Andrea Leadsom yesterday joined the trickle of Tories who have broken cover to criticise Mr Johnson over the No10 parties. She plunged the knife in as John Stevenson became the latest Tory MP to write a letter demanding the Prime Minister face a confidence vote. It came as the PM's ethics tsar Lord Geidt said there was a 'legitimate question' about whether his Partygate fine represented a breach of the ministerial code after senior civil servant Sue Gray released a report into her findings. Boris Johnson would probably win a confidence vote but cannot rely on all of his ministers to back him, a Conservative pollster has said. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's World At One programme, former Conservative MP Lord Hayward said: 'My guess is he probably would (win) at this stage, but the Tory party has a history of PMs winning confidence votes but not lasting the due term.' Asked whether Mr Johnson could rely on the 'payroll vote' of around 150 ministers, whips and parliamentary private secretaries to support him in a confidence vote, Lord Hayward said: 'Absolutely not.' He added: 'There is a range of people within the party who are now expressing concern and the Government's ministerial team is a range and therefore the probability is that there is a good range of views. 'Some of those would not support Boris Johnson if it came to a vote of confidence.' But today the PM's allies lashed out. Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, one of the PM's most vocal supporters, said efforts to topple him were being co-ordinated by 'one or two individuals' for reasons of 'personal ambition. She told BBC Radio 4's World At One programme: 'All I would say to my colleagues is the electorate, the public, don't vote for divided parties and I don't think we want to do both Labour and the SNP's work for them. 'The people who most want to get rid of Boris Johnson are Keir Starmer and the SNP and I would just ask my colleagues to reflect on that and do we really want to do the opposition's work and do we really believe the public will vote for a party that they think is divided.' Asked whether Mr Johnson should echo John Major's tactic of telling his party to 'put up or shut up', Ms Dorries described this as an 'indulgence', adding: 'John Major was not dealing with a war in Ukraine, there hadn't been a Covid pandemic, times were not as turbulent as they are right now.' Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, treasurer of the 1922 Committee of backbenchers, told BBC Radio 4's Today those mooted as possible alternatives may not be up to the job. Asked about a leadership election, he added: 'During that time there will be complete stasis of leadership of this country at a time when we are in a really serious situation with the cost-of-living crisis, with potentially rail strikes. Alcohol being delivered to the Cabinet Office in Whitehall today ahead of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee 'And the other problem is, who would you have? There will be at least five or six candidates that would put in for the job. Somebody will emerge, but there'll be a lot of colleagues who haven't voted for that particular candidate. 'That candidate will then have the job of reuniting the party, trying to deal with all the problems that the country faces. And I think at the moment for me, we should leave matters as they are.' And Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has said he does not believe there will be a vote of no confidence against Boris Johnson next week, as predicted. He told Sky News: 'I just don't see that. I think the Westminster bubble and village whips this stuff up. I'm not saying it's not serious and significant. But we dealt with all of those issues, the Prime Minister has dealt with all those issues. Senior backbencher appealed for colleagues to focus on delivering policies rather than regime change. The Transport Select Committee chairman, who in February suggested Mr Johnson needed to improve or leave Downing Street, told Sky News: 'Wrong has occurred, he's apologised, put his hands up, I judge people for what they do to turn things around and I feel he needs to be given that time to do so.' Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, treasurer of the 1922 Committee of backbenchers, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'You've got to actually work out whether that new prime minister is actually going to be a positive asset to the country, compared to what you've got at the moment' How could Boris Johnson be ousted by Tory MPs? What is the mechanism for removing the Tory leader? Tory Party rules allow the MPs to force a vote of no confidence in their leader. How is that triggered? A vote is in the hands of the chairman of the Tory Party's backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady. A vote of no confidence must be held if 15 per cent of Tory MPs write to the chairman. Currently that threshold is 54 MPs. Letters are confidential unless the MP sending it makes it public. This means only Sir Graham knows how many letters there are. What happens when the threshold is reached? A vote is held, with the leader technically only needing to win support from a simple majority of MPs But in reality, a solid victory is essential for them to stay in post. What happens if the leader loses? The leader is sacked if they do not win a majority of votes from MPs, and a leadership contest begins in which they cannot stand. However, they typically stay on as Prime Minister until a replacement is elected. Advertisement Mr Merriman added: 'I have definitely not put a letter in and I will not be putting a letter in because if I do that I'm then responsible for the very policy recommendations I've been making through my committee not being delivered.' Allies of the Prime Minister warned the plotters they could destroy the Conservative Party's best chance of winning the next election. As the mood at Westminster darkened, Mr Johnson's supporters hit back at the 'disgruntled ex-ministers' and nervous backbenchers agitating against him. Since the end of last week a steady stream of MPs - having had a chance to study Ms Gray's report in detail and consult with their constituents - have come forward calling on Mr Johnson to quit. According to The Times, 30 Tory MPs have now called for a confidence vote, while a further 16 have spoken publicly against their embattled party leader. Under party rules, the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee is required to call a vote of confidence in Mr Johnson's leadership if 54 Tory MPs - 15 per cent of the parliamentary party - submit a letter calling for one. There is a growing belief at Westminster that it is only a matter of time before the 54 letters from Conservative MPs needed to trigger a confidence vote are reached. Former Tory leader William Hague said the Prime Minister was in 'real trouble' while another ex-leader, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, appealed to colleagues to halt their plotting until celebrations for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee are over. The celebrations which will take centre stage from Thursday and over the weekend. The Times also reported that rebel MPs have discussed trade minister Penny Mordaunt as a possible successor. Others are said to back former health secretary Jeremy Hunt and Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the foreign affairs select committee. From the current cabinet, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace are also seen as being in the running should Mr Johnson be ousted. Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has said he does not believe there will be a vote of no confidence against Boris Johnson next week, as predicted Former Cabinet minister Dame Andrea Leadsom yesterday joined the trickle of Tories who have broken cover to criticise the Prime Minister over the No10 parties Boris Johnson toasts in 10 Downing Street during gathering on the departure of a special adviser, in London, Britain November 13, 2020 in this picture obtained from civil servant Sue Gray's report published on May 25, 2022 Meanwhile, Mr Johnson's backers accused the agitators of 'doing Labour's bidding'. One Cabinet source said: 'The rebels don't have a plan apart from dripping out the names of people who don't like the PM or who have an axe to grind. It is disgruntled ex-ministers and a couple of frit 2019ers [frightened MPs from the 2019 intake]. None is a surprise.' Downing Street insisted Mr Johnson still represented the best hope of victory for the Tories at the next general election. 'Who is the alternative?' a source asked. It came as: Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner received questionnaires from Durham Constabulary over Beergate; The PM began phoning Conservative MPs to shore up support; Former Tory leader William Hague said Mr Johnson was in 'real trouble'; Sir Iain Duncan Smith, another ex-leader, appealed to colleagues to halt their plotting until celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee are over. No10 last night rejected a suggestion that Mr Johnson could call a vote of confidence himself to end speculation over his leadership. A source said: 'No. We have got to focus on delivering for the public and getting on with things that really make a difference to people's lives rather than talking about ourselves.' No 10 also warned the rebels not to pull the rug from under the PM as he prepares to represent Britain at a series of international gatherings, where leaders will discuss the response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. As pressure grew on Mr Johnson yesterday, Dame Andrea became the latest senior figure to criticise him publicly. The former Cabinet minister, who backed Mr Johnson for the leadership in 2019, said Sue Gray's report into Partygate had exposed 'unacceptable failings of leadership that cannot be tolerated and are the responsibility of the Prime Minister'. A Cabinet source dismissed her remarks, saying: 'She got fired from Cabinet by Boris and wasn't happy, so why is anyone surprised when she comes out [against him]?' But Lord Hague said it was clear that allies of Mr Johnson who believed he had escaped unscathed after the muted initial response to Miss Gray's findings were mistaken. He said the senior civil servant's findings had lit a 'slow fuse' which could lead to a leadership ballot as early as next week. Lord Geidt (pictured) blasted Boris Johnson for having failed to have address allegations he breached the code in any of his recent public statements on Partygate A picture of Mr Johnson at a gathering in the Cabinet Room of No 10 on his birthday, which has been released with the publication of Sue's Gray report into Downing Street parties in Whitehall during Covid Lord Geidt, the independent adviser on the Ministerial Code, also questioned the Prime Minister's willingness to 'take responsibility for his own conduct' in relation to the ministerial rules and delivered a withering assessment of exchanges with Downing Street officials. This included Lord Geidt advising them that Mr Johnson should be 'ready to offer public comment' on his obligations under the code, noting this had 'not been heeded'. Mr Johnson, in a letter released on Tuesday evening, responded by claiming the FPN 'did not breach' the Ministerial Code as there was 'no intent to break the law'. He also insisted he had taken 'full responsibility for everything that took place on my watch' in light of lockdown-busting gatherings in Downing Street and pointed to his House of Commons apology. Amid suggestions Lord Geidt was considering his position over the handling of the issue, the Cabinet Office pushed back and insisted he is not quitting. But Lord Geidt appeared to hint about the prospect when, in his annual report, he noted he had attempted to avoid offering advice to Mr Johnson about his obligations under his own Ministerial Code. He added: 'If a Prime Minister's judgment is that there is nothing to investigate or no case to answer, he would be bound to reject any such advice, thus forcing the resignation of the independent adviser. 'Such a circular process could only risk placing the Ministerial Code in a place of ridicule.' The exchanges were made public after more Tory MPs publicly called for Mr Johnson to quit in the wake of Sue Gray's report on lockdown parties Downing Street. Rebel MPs have discussed trade minister Penny Mordaunt (pictured) as a possible successor to Boris Johnson. Others have touted former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt Last night it was reported that rebel Tories believe Mr Johnson could call a snap general election if he faces a confidence vote and wins by a slim margin. Two MPs told Bloomberg that backbenchers were discussing the possibility the PM could seek a fresh mandate from voters. Defending the PM, science minister George Freeman told BBC Radio 4's The World at One: 'He did not stand as the patron saint of virtue. People knew who they were electing. 'He got a massive majority, got us out of the Brexit deadlock, delivered the vaccine rollout. Before we change prime ministers, we need to make sure we're doing the day job first. We mustn't be driven by short-term speculation.' Johnson loyalist Nadine Dorries added: 'I think everybody should get behind the Prime Minister. People don't vote for divided parties.' Former cabinet minister Dame Andrea Leadsom became the latest senior figure to publicly criticise Mr Johnson, saying Ms Gray's report had exposed 'unacceptable failings of leadership that cannot be tolerated and are the responsibility of the Prime Minister'. In a letter to her constituents shared on social media, she stopped short of calling for him to go but said she and other Tory MPs 'must now decide individually on what is the right course of action that will restore confidence in our Government'. Meanwhile, Carlisle MP John Stevenson became the latest Tory backbencher to announce publicly that he has submitted a letter to the chairman of the 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady calling for a vote of no confidence. Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links, a former leader of the Scottish Tories, predicted there could be more letters submitted in the coming days. She said MPs will have constituents raising their feelings during recess, telling Piers Morgan Uncensored on TalkTV: 'I think that the trickle that you've seen in the last couple of days is part of that and we may see a few more.' Chinese state media has encouraged Anthony Albanese not to repeat Scott Morrison's 'mistakes' and further inflame tensions between Australia and the Communist nation. Beijing mouthpiece the China Daily called for the new Prime Minister to 'review the damage caused by the previous government's blind support of the US' in an editorial published on Wednesday. The piece said Mr Albanese should be looking to 'recalibrate' the relationship between the two countries, with increasing political friction to come 'at the cost of the whole region'. 'Although the election has created the chance for Australia to adjust its China policy, the space is quite limited, as both the ruling and opposition parties blame the souring bilateral ties on China,' the editorial said. 'Nonetheless since they also appear to agree that the relations between the two countries should be restored and productive, there is still an opportunity to review the damage caused by the previous government's blind support of the US' China containment policy, which was the root cause of the souring of relations between Beijing and Canberra. Beijing has always kept the door for dialogue and co-operation with Canberra open.' Chinese state media has encouraged Anthony Albanese not to repeat Scott Morrison's 'mistakes' and further inflame tensions between Australia and the Communist nation The China Daily said Canberra had laid the blueprint for how to negatively deal with the Communist nation and said Mr Albanese should 'give serious thought' to acting as a 'mediator between the US and China'. 'The former means it will turn the country's largest trade partner and major investor into a rival at the cost of the whole region, while the latter would raise Australia's profile on the world stage, turning it from a US lackey to a responsible global stakeholder,' the nation's mouthpiece wrote. It also argued New Zealand had scolded Australia over its relationship with China, despite Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern questioning their recent and controversial security deal with the Solomon Islands. 'Even Australia's neighbour, New Zealand, of which China is also its largest trading partner, has advised the Australian Government to show due respect to China,' the China Daily said. Despite the tensions between the two countries, the China Daily said there are 'no fundamental conflict of interests' or 'major historical feuds' between the nations and that common ground should be found. 'A sound economic and trade relationship with China is one of the most important foundations of Australia's prosperity, and the Indo-Pacific region's peace and stability is also where Australia's lie,' it said. 'Canberra often acts in line with Washington's playbook and assumes Washington's role in how it thinks about its China policy, but in fact Australia's national interests are quite different from those of the US.' Beijing mouthpiece the China Daily called for the new Prime Minister to 'review the damage caused by the previous government's blind support of the US' in an editorial Meanwhile, China's latest attempt to impose itself upon the Pacific has been blocked after 10 nations rejected its trade and security deal - with fears an agreement could spark a 'new Cold War'. Beijing confirmed it had signed the deal with the Solomon Islands in April, sparking fears the Communist nation could build a military base less than 2,000kilometres from Australian shores. However, a group of 10 Pacific Island countries rejected Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during showdown talks in Fiji on Monday, saying they were united in the decision. 'As always, we put consensus first among our countries throughout any discussion on new regional agreements,' Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said in a press conference sitting next to the Chinese diplomat. Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama told China to focus on climate change rather than 'geopolitical point-scoring' after rejecting its security deal 'Fiji will continue to seek fertile ground for our bilateral relationship. The challenges our people face will only intensify until collective solutions rise to meet them. 'And I am grateful to the minister and his team for bringing the spirit of productive cooperation with them to Fiji.' Mr Bainimarama also called on China to display a greater commitment to climate change, saying their attempts to spread their influence around the world would count for nothing if it didn't address its emissions. 'Geopolitical point-scoring means less than little to anyone whose community is slipping beneath the rising seas,' he said. An experienced barrister at a prestigious law firm once worked at by Sir Keir Starmer has been fined 1,500 after she bullied and mocked her junior opponent in court by comparing her to brat Violet Elizabeth Bott from the Just William books. Althea Brown humiliated her rival during a two day employment tribunal by calling the female barrister a liar and mimicking her submissions in 'a noticeably different and disrespectful tone of voice to her usual voice'. A tribunal of the Bar Standards Board heard she spoke to her more junior opponent - referred to only as Ms C - in a 'very patronising manner' and even called her 'intellectually incapable'. Ms Brown, of London-based Doughty Street Chambers, then compared Ms C to notoriously insufferable Just William character Violet Elizabeth Bott by suggesting her submissions were akin to her lisping catchphrase 'I'm going to scream and scream until I'm sick'. Bott was the spoiled daughter of a local nouveau-riche millionaire in Richmal Crompton's classic books about scruffy and loveable 11-year-old William Brown, the first of which was published in 1922. Althea Brown humiliated her rival during a two day employment tribunal by calling the female barrister a liar and mimicking her submissions in 'a noticeably different and disrespectful tone of voice to her usual voice' The judge had to ask Ms Brown, who has been a barrister since 1995, to apologise twice to her opponent but adjourned the hearing after Ms C left due to the 'bullying and insulting behaviour of Ms Brown'. The tribunal found the comparison to Bott unfairly suggested that Ms C was 'behaving in a juvenile and/or petulant manner'. The female judge from the original employment tribunal even ended up abandoning the hearing due to Ms Brown's behaviour, revoking rulings she had made and rescheduled for a fresh hearing instead. In the order following the adjournment, she wrote: 'The hearing was distressing primarily because of the conduct of Ms Brown, she spoke to Ms C in a very patronising manner and at one point called her a liar. 'She periodically spoke over both Ms C and myself. She mimicked the way Ms C was speaking and tried to make a mockery of her name. She also said at one point that Ms C was intellectually incapable of dealing with the issue. 'On each occasion, I asked Ms Brown to apologise and informed her that such behaviour was unprofessional and not permitted in my courtroom. 'Ms Brown apologised on the first day but refused to do so on the second day stating she would 'reflect on it'. 'After an adjournment, she did apologise. This was after, however, Ms C had sent myself a note during the adjournment stating that she was not well due to the bullying and insulting behaviour of Ms Brown.' Ms C told the Bar Standards Board tribunal: 'I felt I could not continue as I had been subjected to so many nasty comments.' His Honour Witold Pawlak, chairman of the tribunal, said: 'We find that in using those words Ms Brown was implying that Ms C was behaving in a childish and petulant way in order to get her own way. 'Counsel on the opposite side to Ms Brown was so distressed by Ms Brown's behaviour that she felt unable to continue with the case on the second day. This was actual harm caused by the misconduct. 'It is noteworthy that Ms Brown's opponent was 22 years her junior in call. In our judgement Ms Brown... adopted an aggressive and disruptive approach to get the result she wanted for her client, an approach which got out of hand. 'It was conduct verging on bullying.' Ms Brown was reprimanded, fined 1,500 and ordered to pay the BSB's costs of 5,820. Bonnie Langford as Violent Elizabeth Bott, the spoiled daughter of a local nouveau-riche millionaire in Richmal Crompton's classic books about scruffy and loveable 11 year old William Brown, the first of which was published in 1922 Doughty Street Chambers is a prestigious law firm based in London's Doughty Street, with offices also in Manchester. International human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, who has represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in his fight against extradition, is based there. She is also the co-founder of the Clooney Foundation for Justice with her husband, Academy Award-winning American actor George Clooney. Sir Kier Starmer was a barrister at the chambers from 1990 onwards, primarily working on human rights issues but also represented Helen Steel and David Morris in the McLibel case in 1997. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2002, aged 39, and in the same year he became joint head of Doughty Street Chambers. The chambers was formed in 1990 and is currently headed by Geoffrey Robertson QC and Edward Fitzgerald QC, the latter whose work against the death penalty led him to represent criminals such as Myra Hindley, Mary Bell, Maxine Carr, various IRA prisoners, and Abu Hamza. A former princess of Qatar who was found dead from a suspected drug overdose in Marbella told of her 'nightmare' life as a royal in an interview just weeks before her death. Princess Kasia Al Thani,, 45, the third wife of billionaire Abdelaziz bin Khalifa Al Thani, 73, described how the transition from growing up in a normal house in the US to joining the royal family had been challenging, adding 'more money, more problems.' She married the prince after he wooed her when she was a 19-year-old student in Paris and despite their 28-year age gap they went on to have three daughters. But their romance turned sour and the pair split in 2007 before divorcing, with the former princess, now known as Kasia Gallanio, having to sell her jewellery to make money. The mother, who mingled with Hollywood stars and had 500,000 Instagram followers, had also been fighting a toxic custody battle over their daughters, in which a court heard one of them had accused their father of touching her 'inappropriately' - a claim he denies. On Sunday, she was discovered dead at her Marbella apartment complex after one of her daughters alerted the Spanish police from Paris that she had been unable to contact her mother for days, El Pais reported. The Spanish newspaper said that several officers were allowed by the doorman to enter Kasia's apartment complex in Marbella at around 8am on Sunday. Weeks earlier, Kasia, who was of Polish origin, spoke out about her turbulent relationship with the former oil and finance minister. She said in an interview on April 17 her current life was like living in a 'golden cage', wanting freedom from her ex-husband who she claimed was refusing to pay child support. The former princess of Qatar who was found dead of a suspected drug overdose in Marbella opened up about her 'nightmare' life as a royal Kasia Gallanio was the third wife of Abdelaziz bin Khalifa Al Thani, the uncle of the current Emir of Qatar, who previously served as an oil and finance minister (pictured around 1980) She told Women's World: 'Money is a curse because it isolates you from a lot of people. It's a different world. 'I grew up in a normal household so it was a completely different world I grew up in the States and coming into the Royal Family as an American was something completely new. 'There's the saying, more money, more problems...' The former princess revealed she even had to sell her own jewellery as a result of their long and bitter divorce, despite living in a luxury Marbella villa. She said: 'I get criticised that I want money but I have to take care of my kids 'Abdelaziz likes to control me through the children which I think is not very polite and only hurts them.' Kasia also discussed how she fell for the prince, despite their 28-year age gap, when she was a student abroad in Paris. The former princess of Qatar (pictured) has been found dead in her Marbella home aged 45 amid an ugly custody battle with her ex-husband She said: 'I went to Paris by accident, it was a break from my university, I was a third wheel of my friend who was dating a French banker. 'He said I have to pass by my client's house to get some paperwork signed, I said OK and we went to this house which was absolutely stunning 'He revealed, this is the prince of Qatar. We got to chatting a bit and we exchanged emails and by the time I got back to Los Angeles, my inbox was full and I had roses and everything. It was a very nice courtship.' But the relationship then soured after she had their three children at a young age. She said: 'There was something that struck me about him. I wanted to take care of him, I wanted to be there for him because he's lonely. It's lonely at the top 'Because there's such an age difference between us and some family members came in between, we just grew apart. Socialite Lady Victoria Hervey (left) lead the tributes to her friend (right) who was found dead aged 45 from a suspected drug overdose in her apartment in Marbella on Sunday Kasia (pictured with Clive Owen), of Polish origin, grew up in Los Angeles and met Abdelaziz when she was 19 years old 'I wanted to live my life, I was still very young and I had my children very young so I wanted to experience life and he had already finished that part. 'The Middle East is still very different, women are treated very different to men.' Abdelaziz has been accused of sexually touching one of their daughters and forcing her to sleep in his bed. The allegations were aired in court in a recent custody hearing in Paris. Kasia said: 'Power, diplomatic immunity and money shouldn't allow you to be able to do things above the law. 'I hope it's not true however when my daughter says it, I do believe my daughter 'It's a horrible story, something that hit me very hard. It's every mother's nightmare.' French media reports have claimed Abdelaziz also made his daughters sleep in the servants quarters of his palatial 50,000-square-foot Parisian home in the eighth arrondissement after they visited their mother until they apologised. He was exiled there following a coup led by his half-brother Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in 1995. Le Parisien reported that on May 19, a Paris court had dismissed Kasia's custody demands. She had recently spent several months in hospital, with the French publication saying she was prone to suffering from nervous breakdowns. As a result, the judge postponed the case until a psychological evaluation could be undertaken to better understand the family's circumstances, Le Parisien said. Socialite Lady Victoria Hervey paid tribute to her friend, telling the Daily Mail: 'Kasia was a fashion icon, elegant, gracious and an incredible mother. She will be greatly missed.' The former couple share two 17-year-old twins (pictured with Galliano) and another daughter aged 15 The former royal couple had been engaged in a bitter legal battle for 15 years over the custody of their children. He accused her of being an alcoholic with mental health issues, while Al Thani was accused of abusing one of the couple's daughters. Kasia, of Polish origin, grew up in Los Angeles and met Abdelaziz when she was 19 years old and they married in 2004. Speaking to Olive Press - a Spanish English-language newspaper for Ex-Pats in the country - a close friend of Kasia described her as a 'good person' who was 'against drugs' and denied that she was an alcoholic. 'I knew her very very well and am devastated at the news,' Louis Spagnuolo told the publication. 'She was a very good person and those who knew her loved her. 'She loved her daughters beyond belief and would never leave them. She was dead against drugs and was never an alcoholic.' Kasia led a lavish lifestyle and was regularly partying with celebrities such as Antonio Banderas (pictured) She claimed the former Qatari oil and finance minister sexually abused one of their three daughters The ex-wife had been increasingly speaking out against the royal in her bid to gain full custody of all her children. She told her 500,000 Instagram followers recently: 'I have been struggling with posting this on my IG but after getting so many messages of support and how so many parents are in the same situation, I decided to share my story. 'First a man should never disrespect the mother of his children and vice versa. 'No matter how mad, upset or jealous or spiteful the father of my kids is, I am doing whatever I can to provide, protect, love, raise, feed and educate the girls like no one else will. I'm not perfect but I try my best. 'Children should NEVER be used as victims or pawns when the parents can't get along. The former royal couple have been engaged in a bitter legal battle for 15 years over the custody of their children (pictured with Channing Tatum) 'The father of my children Prince Abdulaziz Khalifa Al Thani has not paid one cent for child support for a over a year now to help me support and raise our children. 'In my opinion this is outrageous, unfair, embarrassing and a real shame. No matter on what financial level or status you are. It's really immoral because again the kids are the casualty. 'However it's more humiliating when you are a billionaire prince of QATAR.' Despite not being able to see her daughters often, in another post recently she shared a photograph of them together and shared how much she loved them. 'My darlings. Never forget that I love you so much. Life is filled with hard times and good times. If at certain moments you feel overwhelmed ..don't forget who you are..straighten up your crown and be braveLearn from everything you can and be the incredible, inspiring, powerful and compassionate women, I know you can be ~ love mommy,' she wrote. A post mortem will be held to establish the cause of Kasia's death, with initial indications suggesting that she died of a drug overdose. The ex-wife (pictured with rapper Tyga) has been increasingly speaking out against the royal in her bid to gain full custody of all her children A Scottish teacher faces a grilling from a watchdog and could be banned from teaching after allegedly kissing a pupil and dancing with him in a local nightclub. Physics teacher Ashley McConnell is alleged to have danced inappropriately with the male pupil at Skinandi's nightclub in Thurso, Highland, in March 2018. The physics teacher is said to have held the Thurso High School pupil's hand and touched his bottom and groin area. It is claimed she then told another two fellow pupils at the club to 'f*** off' before gesturing two fingers at them. McConnell is alleged to have then said she would 'fight the b***h' in reference to one of the female pupils. Following an investigation by the GTCS, McConnell is said to have contacted a pupil and asked them to write her a character statement about how 'brilliant and helpful' she was as a teacher. She now faces being struck off the teaching register by the General Council for Scotland following an investigation over her alleged behaviour. Physics teacher Ashley McConnell is alleged to have danced inappropriately with the male pupil at Skinandi's nightclub (pictured) in Thurso, Highland, in March 2018 The physics teacher is also said to have held the pupil's hand and touched his bottom and groin area. Pictured: File image of Thurso High School McConnell is accused of kissing the boy, known only as 'Pupil A' at Skinandi's nightclub on the evening of Saturday, March 24. The full charges against her state: 'On or around the evening of Saturday 24 March/morning of Sunday 25 March 2018, whilst in or in the vicinity of a nightclub in Thurso, namely Skinandi's, you, Ashley McConnell, whilst a GTCS registered teacher, did kiss Pupil A, whom you knew to be a pupil at Thurso High School at the time. '[You did] dance in a sexualised and/or flirtatious manner with Pupil A, whom you knew to be a pupil at Thurso High School at the time. 'Hold hands with Pupil A, touch Pupil A [and] touch Pupil A on or around his groin area. '[You did] tell Pupil B and/or Pupil C to "f*** off" or words to that effect, make an offensive finger gesture at Pupil B, say that you would "fight the b**** if I have to" or words to that effect in reference to Pupil B, whilst making a threatening gesture.' McConnell allegedly sent another pupil a message, writing: 'Hi Person A, how are you? 'I need to ask a big favour. If you have time could you write a statement about me as a teacher? How brilliant and helpful I was. 'No I'm kidding but seriously if you could write a little statement it would really help my case with everything that's going on just now. 'I understand if you don't want to or don't have time so don't worry if you can't.' The GTCS state that McConnell's actions could have placed the young person at risk of 'emotional harm'. A six day hearing into the allegations begins next week at the GTCS building in Edinburgh. A trade union is calling for an increase in the number of bank holidays, saying UK workers have fewer than those in other countries. As UK workers prepare for a four-day weekend, starting with public holidays on Thursday and Friday for the Jubilee celebrations, the Trades Unions Congress (TUC) said workers deserve more breaks. England and Wales usually get eight annual bank holidays, while Scotland and Northern Ireland typically get nine or 10 depending on the timing of New Year and their patron saint days. TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: 'It's not fair on UK workers to get so few public holidays. They work just as hard as people in other nations who get a lot more' As UK workers prepare for a four-day weekend, starting with public holidays on Thursday and Friday for the Jubilee celebrations, the Trades Unions Congress (TUC) said workers deserve more breaks The TUC said that by contrast, the average number of public holidays for EU nations is 12.8 days each year. Countries including Japan, Australia, USA and China give their workers several more public holidays than the UK, said the TUC. The union is calling for a minimum of four additional annual bank holidays. TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: 'It's not fair on UK workers to get so few public holidays. 'They work just as hard as people in other nations who get a lot more. 'The Government should put this right by increasing our bank holidays to at least 12 a year. The TUC said that by contrast, the average number of public holidays for EU nations is 12.8 days each year and is calling for four additional bank holidays (Pictured: TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady speaks at the Labour Party Irish Society annual St Patrick's Day celebration) 'New bank holidays must be accounted for with an increase to the paid leave that workers are legally entitled to. 'Otherwise, some workers will miss out, and the Government must toughen up enforcement to stop bosses cheating working people out of their holidays.' 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. A controversial vegan and animal rights activist known for her topless and semi-naked protests has called out trolls who sent death threats and vile messages which left her in fear for her life. Tash Peterson has opened up about the threats and shocking abuse she receives online on a daily basis from not only men but also women as she continues to make headlines over her outrageous stunts, some of which have seen her hauled before the courts and fined. On Wednesday night, the West Australian young vegan shared a series of vile messages she'd recently received from a critic who hoped she would die. Tash Peterson (pictured) has spoken out about the death threats she receives online 'You should try catching a moving bullet you stupid c***,' he wrote. 'Walk out in front of a moving train you ugly piece of s***.' Other messages threatened rape. Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to publish other comments due to their nature. Ms Peterson, 28, said she receives similar messages on a daily basis. 'There have been a few occasions where I've literally feared for my life, terrified to come home because I'd received a message from a man telling me that he was coming to rape and murder me,' she captioned the screenshot. 'Most of these sick messages come from insecure men, but also some women as well. Calling me a s**t, skank, whore, disgusting, etc.' The animal right activist says messages like left her fearing for her life Tash Peterson took to Facebook on Wednesday night to call out shocking online threats Ms Peterson asked how the troll would feel if similar messages were sent to his wife and children. 'Suicide rates are rapidly increasing because of online bullying and it is beyond shameful that the police do nothing to stop it (from my experiences anyway),' she added. Ms Peterson claims she has been to the police station multiple times to report death threats but claimed nothing was done. 'People are going to respond to this saying that I'm getting what I deserve, a taste of my own medicine,' she continued. 'The truth is that I have NEVER called anyone derogatory names, threatened someone or abused someone. I am a non violent activist trying to stop violence, rape, abuse, torture, enslavement and murder of non-human animals in animal agriculture.' Tash Peterson is known for her controversial protests such as donning a blood-soaked apron while screaming at customers Ms Peterson is no stranger to controversy. Her antics have led police and policymakers in WA to describe her as 'Australia's biggest pest'. Ms Peterson has copped several fines for her semi-nude demonstrations which she has executed in designer stores, restaurants and supermarkets. Last August, she marched topless through a Louis Vuitton store in Perth while smeared with her own menstrual blood. which later saw her fined $3,500 by a Perth magistrate. The activist has also dressed up as a cow and demonstrated in the meat section of supermarkets, invaded the pitch at an AFLW match, and donned a blood-soaked apron while screaming at patrons in a KFC and Coles. Tash Petser She also faced trial for a December 2020 protest at the Boatshed Markets in Cottesloe where she also appeared shirtless, with her chest painted in a cow pattern, and yelled at shoppers that cows were being raped for meat and dairy. She and her partner Jack Higgs were also thrown out of an IGA supermarket in southern WA earlier this year for refusing to wear a face mask, calling her treatment an 'injustice' and a breach of her 'human rights'. She told Daily Mail Australia at the time they were 'caught off guard' by Premier Mark McGowan's face mask mandate when they entered the store as they had not seen many people wearing them days earlier and had dined at a cafe where they didn't need them. She most recently led a semi-nude demonstration at Perth's Hay Street Mall, where she refused calls police who ask her to cover up her chest covered only with pink body paint. If you or anyone you know needs support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636. Korea and the United States agreed Wednesday to quickly hold vice-ministerial economic talks to check the implementation of the agreement of their leaders' summit, according to the foreign ministry. The decision was reached in the first videoconference between Second Vice Foreign Minister Lee Do-hoon and Jose W. Fernandez, under secretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, earlier in the day. The ministry did not provide a specific timeframe for the Senior Economic Dialogue, a consultative channel set up with the state department in 2015 and last held in December last year. The upcoming talks are meant to check the progress of implementing deals reached at the summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden, May 21. Lee and Fernandez agreed to work together to produce tangible achievements as they shared the view that a key agenda item at the summit centered on cooperation on economic security, such as supply chains for semiconductors. Lee and Fernandez also said they will seek ways to set new economic rules for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, the ministry said. The IPEF launched by Biden during his trip to Japan last month in an apparent move to counter China's rising clout in the region seeks to improve supply chain resilience and set rules for the digital economy, clean energy and decarbonization, among other things. The IPEF comprises Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam. (Yonhap) Driving tests are being bought and resold by companies using automated software - and they are then charging desperate learners hundreds for earlier exam dates. It was revealed this week that learner drivers face waiting until next year for a driving test because of Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) backlogs caused by Covid lockdowns. Analysis of the DVSA's test booking site found that London didn't have any available test slots for at least 24 weeks as of last Saturday with major cities like Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham and Bristol facing similar issues. Now, it has been revealed that companies are taking advantage of desperate young learners by charging them hundreds of pounds while promising quicker tests. Learner drivers are facing up to a year-long wait for a driving test because of Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) backlogs caused by Covid lockdowns Companies are taking advantage of desperate young learners by charging them hundreds of pounds while promising quicker tests A man named Alex took to Facebook to brag about his 'short-notice driving exam business' Q&A: How are firms able to snap up driving tests and selling them to learners for hundreds? What is happening? Learners are facing delays of up to a year to get a driving test. This has led to a clamour for cancelled tests - with companies snapping them up and selling them to desperate learners at much higher rates. The standard fee for a driving test on a weekday is 62 with the cost of one in the evening, at the weekend or on a bank holiday 75. But learners are paying hundreds for quicker tests. How are they doing it? All driving test bookings are made on the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency booking site. Learners are encouraged to check the site regularly to see if any short-notice bookings are made available because of cancellations. However, companies are using software to automatically refresh and scan the DVSA website for new bookings. The software checks the site every second and so the firms are able to snap up cancellations rapidly. They are also able to block buy test sessions as soon as they are released. They are then able to sell the slots to desperate learners for hundreds. How can the firms buy multiple test slots? Learner drivers cannot amend tests or get new ones without cancelling their booking. However, driving schools are able to access a different part of the DVSA booking website which lets them snap up as many sessions as they need. This is intended to allow them to book tests for several pupils while using the same contact number and email address. But with no official documentation required and a quick sign-up process, it appears to be easy for the system to be abused. You can get alerts for when tests are available and book multiple tests on the driving school account. You can even swap tests between candidates. This would allow instructors to purchase and sell tests - even without the provisional licence holder being aware. What is the DVSA doing about it? The DVSA has urged learners to avoid third-party services and only go through the official website. It has pledged to hire 300 extra examiners and conduct out of hours tests to drive down waiting times for exams. The DVSA has also vowed to crackdown on cancellation-checking services. Advertisement Some firms are using software to quickly snap up any driving tests that are cancelled. Other companies are buying up blocks of tests before reselling them to learners, it has been claimed. The standard fee for a driving test on a weekday is 62 with the cost of one in the evening, at the weekend or on a bank holiday 75. However, one woman told the BBC that she paid 210 for a test in London. Contacted by her driving instructor, the woman was told that there had been a 'cancellation', meaning a slot was now open. Minutes later, having paid the 210 fee, her test was booked. She sent over a picture of her provisional licence number and received a reference number allowing her to edit the test booking with her own details. Other learners are reported to have paid 235 and 186. In January, driving instructor Steve Cogan, who lives in Shepherd's Bush in west London, was revealed to be charging 212 to help learners beat London's six-month waiting times. He repeatedly took to Facebook marketplace claiming to have 30 'February dates' at 10 different driving test centres and boasted he could secure test slots for as soon as three days away, despite the centres being booked up for months on the official system. Similarly, a man named Alex took to Facebook to brag about his 'short-notice driving exam business'. Alex claimed he could guarantee driving test bookings 'within three weeks' and he called for instructors to join his firm, claiming they could make 'upwards of 400-600 a week' reselling the exams to learners. The DVSA, which has condemned third-party cancellation checking services, makes driving tests available through its website and urges learners to check the site regularly for cancellations. However, some firms have set up software that constantly refreshes and monitors the DVSA's booking site for cancellations. The software uses VPNs to avoid being caught and banned and allows the firms to snap up cancelled driving tests far quicker than learners can. It appears that these companies then sell the slots to desperate pupils at a far higher rate. One such firm, contacted by the BBC, said: 'This software [is] like if you're pressing on the search button. It just automates your press, or clicks, on the button.' Facebook and Facebook Marketplace appear to be most popular areas for these companies to sell their services, however other firms have their own websites with bold slogans promising learners they will get their licence 'months earlier'. According to the BBC, learner drivers cannot amend their tests without cancelling their booking. However, driving schools are able to access a different part of the DVSA booking website which lets them snap up as many sessions as they need. This is intended to allow them to book tests for several pupils while using the same contact number and email address. But with no official documentation required and a quick sign-up process, it appears to be easy for the system to be abused. You can get alerts for when tests are available and book multiple tests on the driving school account. You can even swap tests between candidates. This would allow instructors to purchase and sell tests - even without the provisional licence holder being aware. A DVSA spokesperson told MailOnline: 'We urge applicants not to use any third-party cancellation checking services and to always go through the official DVSA website. 'We've already put in place measures to monitor and prevent bots from accessing our systems while also strengthening our firewall to tackle the issue.' The DVSA's business plan, released last week, promised to tackle delays. It said training capacity has already been doubled and the body is 'on track to recruit over 300 additional driving examiners'. The plan also aims to bring average waiting times down to nine weeks by the end of the year. But there are fears that the system could continue to be abused until the waiting times are brought down. An unnamed examiner gave London instructor Cogan the dates and is being investigated by the DVSA. When contacted by undercover reporters, Cogan boasted that he could secure test slots for as soon as three days away, despite the centres being booked up for months on the official system. The father-of-two bragged that he's been selling tests from the 'very handy' mystery examiner for 'a couple of months' and even claimed hopeful learners engaged in a bidding war over one in-demand area of London that saw the test slot go for a staggering 300. Self-confessed 'middle man' Cogan has since told reporters he is 'just trying to do good' but admitted pocketing 10 per booking before handing the remaining profits to the examiner. Driving instructor organisations have united to condemn the unnamed examiner's actions as 'unfair' and called on him to be 'named and shamed'. Steve said: 'It's a six-month waiting list so I was just trying to help some people out. I'm sure there's people that would say it's fair and some people who say it isn't. 'I don't buy [the tests]. I'm just a middle man. If you look at the DVSA and look who has bought them, my name won't be next to it. I go through someone else. 'I've got someone who lets me know they've got these tests, then I pass them out to my students and anyone who needs them. 'I was just trying to help some people, and I only make 10 from each booking and the rest goes to the other party. Steve Cogan, (pictured) who lives in Shepherd's Bush, has been charging learner drivers up to five times the usual price of a test to beat the queue Steve (pictured), who claims to make just 10 from each booking, said he's 'trying to do good' by helping learners in search of last-minute test slots Aleksandrs Krasuckis, 33, is among those who think Steve is right to offer queue-jump tests at various centres (pictured), as his partner has been waiting since 2021 for a slot Steve said everyone who has paid for his fast-track test service (pictured) has been 'very thankful', while comparing himself to an airline offering priority boarding 'It's not a huge amount of money. I thought I was doing people some favours by offering out the contact that I've got. 'The guy's an examiner or an ex-examiner. I didn't think it was dodgy, not really. There's hundreds of apps out there that you can get driving cancellations on. I just assumed it was one of those. 'A student got in contact with him, and then she put me in contact with him. I'm trying to do good. 'Some people will put the time in to press that refresh button and keep clicking, spending 20 hours a day doing it, and some people would rather pay someone else to do it. 'If it's not allowed then I will happily stop right now. I don't want to get in trouble and I don't want to get anyone else in trouble. I don't want to get on the wrong side of anyone, let alone the DVSA.' His Facebook listings included slots at London test centres Southall, Uxbridge, Greenford, Ashford, Mill Hill, Hither Green, Pinner, Yeading, Goodmayes and Isleworth. Driving tests cost 62 to be taken on a weekday and 75 for a weekend, but by paying an extra 150 and providing your provisional driving licence and theory pass numbers Steve says he can help jump the queue. Aleksandrs Krasuckis, 33, who lives in London, revealed his partner Korina Anderson, 29, has had to wait from September until next month to take her test three hours away from home. He believes Cogan was only doing the right thing for himself, and wasn't considering the impact the scheme has on the long waiting times. Steve (pictured) said learners might be more understanding of the price he charges, if they understood the work that goes into finding cancellations A DVSE spokesperson warned any tests booked outside of the official DVSA booking site could be a scam and may result in candidates not having a slot. Pictured: Steve's exchanges with a learner booking a test Aleksandrs said: 'I was surprised and annoyed when I saw it. I thought 'what the hell'. It's just not fair. He's being selfish and taking advantage of desperate learners. 'Who is he doing the right thing for? It must be himself because he's earning money from it. When the price is that high, it's not the right thing for everyone. 'I was just p***** off with this kind of person, keeping the slots for themselves. I understand it's quicker and that's a good thing but it's too high of a price for me. 'The DVSA should be looking into it, and maybe the trainees should book the test themselves and not the driving instructor. It would cut out this kind of thing.' Cogan, whose Facebook claims he's also a mortgage advisor, says he has been called 'kind' for providing the quick-booking tests to learners and even suggests the DVSA should begin to operate it in the same way airlines provide priority boarding. Cogan said: '[The examiner] said he's got a network of instructors and he's contacting everyone saying, "If any of your students aren't ready for their tests, we can give someone the option of taking their space". 'He said the money can go to giving that person some driving lessons until they can get another slot. 'Everyone that has paid the fee has been very thankful, telling me, "It's really kind of you", and they've been over the moon that I've been able to help them'. 'It's only like airlines providing priority boarding. There's an extra cost to that. Maybe the DVSA should do something like that.' Cogan deleted his initial Facebook listing after being informed of the DVSA's investigation into the unnamed examiner. However, he has since uploaded more with a similar offer. Learners have taken to social media complaining that they are unable to find available tests in their area, with one claiming to not have found slots until 2024. Lynne Barrie, chairman of the Approved Driving Instructors National Joint Council (ADINJC), said: 'There is an obvious unfairness to everyone else trying to get cancellations and earlier test slots. 'The average waiting time currently is up to six months due to Covid which is causing all sorts of challenges for candidates and ADIs. 'DVSA are trying to reduce that time but this report seems to show an abuse of the system which needs to give fair access to everyone evenly. 'The current system isn't perfect but no one should be circumventing it for their own gain. I'm sure DVSA will investigate thoroughly.' A spokesperson for the Driving Instructors Association added: 'The Driving Instructors Association (DIA) does not accept this type of behaviour from those who are supposed to be professionals in our industry. 'It brings our industry into disrepute, and undoes all the hard work and trust that the ADIs and PDIs put so much effort into building up in order to gain a working and professional relationship with their clients. 'The driving test booking system was designed for the public and driving instructors alike, to be able to freely book test appointments. These are in short supply currently, and waiting times are the highest they have been in many years. 'It is unacceptable for any individual or mechanical process to be able to buy up individual or tranches of test appointments and retail them for profit. 'The DIA has asked the DVSA to look into this problem and it has now established that there is a problem that could possibly be linked to their own staff. 'This is an investigation and the DIA must not compromise that investigation by commenting further, but it must be resolved and the names of those involved should be made known to the industry to be 'named and shamed'.' Russia's top commander in Ukraine hasn't been seen for two weeks and may no longer be in charge of the invasion, officials have claimed. General Aleksandr Dvornikov, an accused war criminal who helped Assad gas his own people in Syria, was tapped by Vladimir Putin to lead his armies in April, after he was forced to abandon a blundering assault on Kyiv and refocus on Donbas. But American officials say General Dvornikov has not been seen for at least two weeks, leading to rumours that he has been purged by Putin. If confirmed, General Dvornikov will join Admiral Igor Osipov, commander of the Black Sea fleet, and Lieutenant-General Sergei Kisel, leader of the 1st Guards Tank Army, who Western official say have been sacked over battlefield failings. General Valery Gerasimov, chief of Russia's general staff, is also believed to be missing with Ukraine saying he has been suspended while Putin decides his fate. General Aleksandr Dvornikov, tapped by Putin to lead Russian forces in Ukraine in April after the assault on Kyiv collapsed, has not been seen in two weeks, the US says Dvornikov was ordered to 'liberate' the eastern Donbas region and has overseen the capture of Mariupol, but Russian progress has been slow and costly (pictured) It comes on top of the nine generals that Ukraine claims to have killed and dozens of other top brass who have been confirmed dead in a little over three months of war. Dvornikov's disappearance was first reported by the New York Times, after a briefing by American officials on the state of the invasion. They say Russia is repeating the 'same mistakes' in Donbas that saw troops humiliated in a push to take Kyiv, including a lack of coordination between different branches of the military and a 'plodding' pace of advance. Though Russia's Donbas offensive has met with some successes, the officials said units already mauled in the assault on Kyiv are being 'worn down' by the advance. Risk-adverse Russian pilots are still refusing to enter Ukrainian airspace, they said, instead preferring to fire missiles and quickly exit due to fears of being shot down. Lacking control of the skies means Putin's forces on the ground are exposed to attacks by Ukraine's own air force, including home-made drones. Heavy artillery and relatively short supply lines in Donbas have handed Russia the upper hand in some parts of Donbas, the officials said, with troops taking Mariupol and making gains in Severodonetsk. But advanced US rocket artillery - which President Biden announced he would send to Ukraine yesterday - and stretched supply lines as Russia pushes further into Ukraine could see these wiped out. Suspended: General Valery Gerasimov, chief of staff of the Russian armed forces, has been suspended - according to 'preliminary' information put out by one of Zelensky's top advisers, Oleksiy Arestovych Lieutenant General Vladislav Ershov (left) has been fired as 6th army commander, according to information from Ukraine's interior ministry, while Lieutenant General Sergei Kisel (right), commander of the 1st tank army, has been sacked and fired 'Sacked and arrested': Admiral Igor Osipov, commander of Russia's Black Sea fleet, has been removed from his post and arrested, according to information from the interior ministry in Kyiv Major General Arkady Marzoev (left), commander of the 22nd army, has reportedly been sacked, while Vice Admiral Sergei Pinchuk (right), deputy commander of the Black Sea fleet, is allegedly under investigation Coordination between elements of the Russian military did improve somewhat after General Dvornikov was appointed, observers said, but he has been unable to fix 'fundamental flaws' in how the army functions. General Dvornikov has a long, bloody and fearsome reputation as a commander of Russia's armed forces. From 2016, Dvornikov oversaw Russia's intervention in the Syrian civil war - helping president Bashar al-Assad crush his enemies and some of America's former allies. During that time, chemical weapons and indiscriminate air strikes were used - resulting in thousands of civilian casualties. Born in 1961, Dvornikov began his career in Soviet Military School, before going on to join the Soviet Army in 1978. He was educated further at the Moscow High Command Training School, where he graduated in 1982. Since then, he risen the ranks in the Soviet and then Russian army - serving in senior positions in various divisions and graduating from the Military Academy of the General Staff in 2005. In 2008, he took command of the the 5th Red Banner Army, before serving as deputy commander of the Eastern Military District, and then as the the Central Military District's chief of staff. In September 2015, he became the first commander of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria at the start of Moscow's intervention in the country, and took charge of its military operation there in 2016. Vladimir Putin is said to be purging the top ranks of his military as he increasingly tries to take personal control of the war Russia intervened when the Syrian government, led by Assad, requested help from its ally to crush rebel groups in the country - employing a brutal regime of air strikes that helped the government regain significant territory. According to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), by the end of September 2017, Russian airstrikes had killed around 5,703 civilians - around a quarter of them children - along with thousands of fighters. Since taking command in Ukraine, the 60-year-old is thought to have masterminded a missile strike on Kramatorsk railway station in early April that killed 59 people including seven children as they tried to evacuate. Russian troops are currently battling Ukraine for control of Severdonetsk, one of the last remaining strongholds in the Luhansk region - which Putin intends to 'liberate'. The battle has been intensifying this week with heavy casualties on both sides, as dramatic videos showed a plume of orange smoke rising from the city yesterday as a tank of acid at a fertiliser factory was bombed. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of "madness" for striking the chemical plant, saying their commanders do not care about the risk of releasing toxic gases into the air. The situation on the eastern frontline in Donbas has become increasingly desperate, with Ukrainian towns facing near constant shelling from Russian forces. Destroyed Russian tanks are seen outside Kyiv as Putin's army continued to take heavy losses amid fighting in the east A steady flow of vehicles delivered some 1,350 people Monday through an eastern Ukrainian checkpoint towards Red Cross buses, desperate to flee the horrors of life in Russian-controlled territory. The exhausted crowds, including women and children, crossed a dam cutting through a reservoir that serves as the demarcation line between Russian and Ukrainian troops. "I can breathe more easily now," Anna, a teacher who fled with her children aged 13 and 11, told AFP, as she crossed the checkpoint. Tetyana, a 19-year-old student, said she was happy to back in her "native Ukraine" after three months of living in "the Russian world". French journalist Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff was killed while covering civilian evacuations in the Donbas on Monday. And an overnight rocket attack left at least three people dead and six wounded in the city of Sloviansk, Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said Tuesday. "There are no safe places in the Donetsk region, so I call again: evacuate - save your lives," he said. Four more civilians died and seven were injured in Donetsk on Tuesday, he added in a later Telegram post. Ukraine's prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova said authorities had identified a "few thousand" cases of war crimes in the Donbas, including murder, torture and the forced displacement of children. The key Zelensky aide, who met international counterparts in The Hague on Tuesday, said Kyiv was already going to prosecute 80 suspects for alleged war crimes on Ukrainian soil. A Ukrainian court on Tuesday jailed two Russian soldiers for 11 and a half years for shelling two villages in the northeastern Kharkiv region. Earlier this month, another was jailed for life for murdering a civilian. An electrician has been found dead, trapped in an electrical pit in an accident that has left his coworkers devastated. Emergency services rushed to the building site on North East Road, Adelaide just after 9.30 on Wednesday after distraught tradies found the 39-year-old electrician unresponsive in the pit. The Seaford man died at the scene and south bound traffic on the main road was closed briefly while emergency services attended the construction site. 'It was just hands on heads running around trying to figure out what to do' said a construction worker after an electrician on site (pictured) died in an electrical pit Emergency services do not believe the man's death to be a result of foul play. 'There are no suspicious circumstances and police will be preparing a report for the State Coroner,' SA Police said. The South Australian Police, SafeWork SA and the Communications Electrical Plumbing Union have launched their own investigations into the incident. Police don't believe the circumstances surrounding the man's death to be suspicious after detectives spent Wednesday afternoon on the site The 39-year-old electrician was unresponsive when paramedics arrived at the scene on Wednesday The CEPU's John Adley told 7 News he was devastated. 'We've got to remember that these cases are not statistics, these are people with loved ones and those people deserve to come to work and go home safe,' he said. Witnesses told the station everybody on site was distraught. 'It was just hands on heads running around trying to figure out what to do,' a worker told the news station. Detectives spent the afternoon interviewing the 39-year-old's colleagues. A 90-year-old who built the Speaker's Chair in Parliament has revealed he stuffed his signature inside it - written on an old betting slip. Michael Lashford-Spinks was a teenage apprentice when he helped create the iconic seat in the 1940s. The original Speaker's Chair, designed by A.W.N. Pugin in 1849, was destroyed when the House of Commons was bombed in 1941 during the Second World War. But a replica of the gothic creation was created by Michael Lashford-Spinks, then 15, and some fellow craftsman. And because he had no way to claim his work - he wrote his name on part of an old betting slip and wedged it into one of the cracks. The betting slip is still there inside the chair, which is now used in the Commons chamber by current speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle. A 90-year-old who built the Speaker's Chair in Parliament has revealed he stuffed his signature inside it - written on an old betting slip Michael Lashford-Spinks, Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, was a teenage apprentice when he helped create the iconic seat in the 1940s. Above: The craftsman posing with some of his woodwork It is seen during the weekly Prime Minister's Questions and other political debates. Mr Lashford-Spinks is one of just two people still alive who worked on the iconic piece of furniture at the H. H. Martyn and Co. Ltd. factory in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. The chair was made from Blackbean wood from Australia and was based on the chair in Australia's parliament. It was given as a gift to the British Parliament. Mr Lashford-Spinks, from Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, was a woodcarver for the company. He said: 'I went straight from a rough school at 15 with hopes to be a cabinet maker. 'But I was told they had enough of those and asked if I was interested in wood carving. 'I had never heard of it but I came to realise I loved working with wood. 'There were about 16 people who worked on the chair and only two of us are still alive - me and John Shepherd. he original Speaker's Chair, designed by A.W.N. Pugin in 1849, was destroyed when the House of Commons was bombed in 1941 during the Second World War. Above: The chair is seen in 1936 The House of Commons was destroyed by bombs that fell on the nights of May 10 and 11 in 1941. Above: The aftermath of the damage Incendiary bombs which fell on the nights of 10 and 11 May 1941 caused the greatest damage to the Palace of Westminster and the Commons Chamber was entirely destroyed by fire. Above: The then Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill surveying the wreckage 'Most of the markers and carvers at Martyn's had name stamps - like mason marks - where you can claim your work. 'After the chair is made, that's when all of the decorative stuff gets added, and there was a brief moment where the chair had not been glued. 'I was too poor to buy a name stamp - so I wrote my name on a betting slip and put it in one of the cracks of the chair before it was sealed up!' The wood-carver worked on several parts of the Speaker's chair, including the main columns. If it were to be opened up, evidence of his involvement would surface. The craftsman later received a letter from George Thomas, Speaker from 1976 to 1983, who said he was 'tickled' by his creativity. The betting slip is still there inside the chair, which is now used in the Commons chamber by current speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle (pictured) Mr Lashford-Spinks admitted: 'All Mr Thomas knew was that I wrote it on a piece of paper. 'I didn't dare tell him it was actually written on a betting slip - he would not have approved of gambling.' The craftsman had written to Mr Thomas to tell him about his hidden message when he retired as Speaker. A Latin inscription on the chair reads: 'The hand that deals justly is a sweet smelling ointment. A heedful and faithful mind is conscious of righteousness. 'Justice is influenced neither by entreaties nor gifts. Liberty lies in the laws. Envy is the enemy of honour. Praise be to God.' Across the back of the chair the words 'The Gift of Australia' are inscribed. The original Houses of Parliament were established in the 11th-century but were destroyed by fire in 1834. Architect Charles Barry's redesigned Commons, was finished in 1852. The incendiary bombs that destroyed the new chamber fell on the nights of May 10 and 11. They also set fire to the roof of Westminster Hall. The fire that followed the bombs also spread to the Member's Lobby and caused the ceiling to collapse. All that remained of the Commons was a smoking shell and the Lords was also damaged. MPs and Lords initially moved to Westminster's Church House and then from late June 1941 the Commons met in the Lords Chamber. The Lords met in Parliament's Robing Room. The current House of Commons was opened in October 1950. The Daily Mail's news report about the bombing of the Commons chamber made reference to the chair. It read: 'Gone is the high and gloriously carved and canopied Speaker's Chair, to which generations of M.P.s raised their eyes in fear on their introduction to the House.' Mr Lashford-Spinks was an apprentice at the company until 1951, at the start of what turned out to be a 22-year career as a craftsman. The Daily Mail's news report about the bombing of the Commons chamber made reference to the chair. It read: 'Gone is the high and gloriously carved and canopied Speaker's Chair, to which generations of M.P.s raised their eyes in fear on their introduction to the House' Another Daily Mail article, written in May 1950, told of how the re-built Commons chamber was nearing completion. It mentioned the new chair and how it was a gift from Australia, but made in the UK 'It was just a job really, we were even told how long we had to spend on it,' he said. 'You could never hang about to look at your work, you always moved on so quickly and it worried me sometimes. 'I was working straight after school in the evenings and had to cycle to Martyn's everyday and we were still on rations. 'I even remember collapsing one day from what we call hypothermia now'. The experienced craftsman says he was involved in hundreds of projects during his time at Martyn's and in subsequent freelance work. These included items in Buckingham Palace, the glass ceiling of the Royal Palace in Baghdad and pots used in a James Bond film. The father-of-one also worked on Concorde - the famous supersonic jet liner - during a seven-year stint Smiths Aerospace (now GE Aviation Systems). He also worked as a part-time driver. Mr Lashford-Spinks, whose wife, Cynthia, died 18 months ago, also served in the army with the Royal Corps of Signals. He now lives with his daughter, Lorraine, his granddaughter, Isha, and his dog. He said: 'I've crammed a lot into my old life but it's been wonderful - I can say I'm bent like an old man now. 'I really do hope nothing ever happens to that chair because my workshop is now my daughter's bedroom and all my tools have gone.' Hundreds of mourners gave a World War Two hero who had no close family or friends the send off he deserved after an appeal for people to attend his funeral. Maurice Winspear, 98, who served in the Royal Scots Fusiliers, spending four years on the front line in Italy on active service trying to end Mussolini's fascist regime, passed away with no loved ones. The veteran who also fought in Syria, Palestine and Egypt lived out his last 13 years at a care home in Middlesbrough before his death on May 13. Funeral celebrate Sue Dicken who put out the appeal for people to attend his funeral said she was 'completely overwhelmed' by the amount of people that turned up yesterday. And she added it was also a reflection of what the 'brave and unassuming gentleman deserved'. Bikers from the Eight & Aces, bag pipers and military standards lined the road and followed the solemn procession of his hearse as hundreds said their final goodbyes. Hundreds of mourners (seen yesterday) gave a World War Two hero who had no close family or friends the send off he deserved after an appeal for people to attend his funeral Funeral celebrate Sue Dicken who put out the appeal said she was 'completely overwhelmed' by the amount of people who turned up but said it was also a reflection of what the 'brave and unassuming gentleman deserved' World War Two hero Maurice Winspear (left), 98, pictured who was given a huge send off by hundreds of mourners at his funeral yesterday. Flags and motorcycles (right) were seen as the funeral procession went passed Ms Dicken said: 'I was completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people in attendance. 'I would like to take the opportunity to thank each and every person who took the time to pay their respects and be part of Maurice's final goodbye. 'Some might say it was the incredible power of social media. I prefer to believe it's a reflection of true human kindness. For that I'm eternally grateful.' His seaside home town of Whitby, where he was born in 1923, remained his favourite place as he loved the sea. He joined the Army as a teenager and was part of the Sicily landings in 1943, a brutal campaign which earned him three Italian Star campaign medals. He later served in Syria, Palestine and Egypt and when he returned bought a house in Redcar and started working as a fitter for United Bus Company before embarking on a career at British Steel. After losing his sight, he moved to Upsall House Care Home, where he enjoyed listening to his cassettes of Bing Crosby. No longer able to watch matches, the devoted Middlesbrough F.C. fan loved listening to the matches on the radio and as a nod to his love for Boro, one of its chants was played during the service. It's said 'old soldiers never die, they just fade away' but Ms Dicken would not let that happen to Maurice. Pictured: Two bikes parked in front of the hearse as mourners look on including two military men Carers Charlotte Taylor and Bethany Younes, who work at Upsall House, spent a lot of time with Maurice and both were present at the service. Pictured: The funeral procession with hearse Ms Dicken added: 'They say old soldiers never die, they just fade away. I couldn't stand here today and just let Maurice fade away. 'This brave and unassuming gentleman deserved to be recognised and your attendance here has confirmed that.' Carers Charlotte Taylor and Bethany Younes, who work at Upsall House, spent a lot of time with Maurice and both were present at the service. Ms Younes said: 'It's lovely. It's such a beautiful send-off. We were very proud.' Ms Taylor added: 'It was his home and we were his family. He got the send-off he deserved.' Major Pat Ralph, MM, chairman of the Yorkshire Regiment Association, also paid tribute to Maurice. Pictured: Standard bearers are seen as a car passes by Major Pat Ralph, MM, chairman of the Yorkshire Regiment Association, said: 'For me, I came along because of total respect for an individual like Maurice who did everything he could for his family, and his fellow countrymen and defended the country and the faith. 'He was one of the lucky ones who managed to get through and see it through to the end. 'A lot of his colleagues didn't and we remember then on Remembrance Day, as we will remember Maurice this November.' John Main, from Peterlee, who was one of the bikers from the Eight & Aces, said: 'I'm a veteran myself so with Maurice not having any family to give him a send-off we wanted to. 'We felt like it was our duty. I was amazed at the turnout.' The Russian television producer whose live-on-air protest against the war in Ukraine made headlines around the world has told of how her family life was destroyed by her actions. Ukrainian-born Marina Ovsyannikova, 43, had for years been complicit in consolidating the Kremlin's ongoing narrative in Russia on the flagship Channel One, but three weeks into the war decided she was unable to continue. Her protest, in which she interrupted a live broadcast clutching a sign that read: 'No to war, stop this war - propaganda lies to you', marked one of the most high-profile denunciations of Putin's 'special military operation' and landed her a job with prominent German news outlet Die Welt. But Ovsyannikova said her actions have had significant consequences for her family, telling The Telegraph that her husband launched a custody battle for their children. 'My son told me I've destroyed my family life... the consequences of my protest are snowballing every day,' she said, before adding she thinks her husband - also a state television employee - may be acting under pressure from the Kremlin. 'I'm in limbo. I live day by day... I built a wonderful house in Moscow that I was hoping to spend the rest of my life in,' the producer said. 'Now I'm a stranger in a stranger's land.' Even in the face of such difficulties, Ovsyannikova declared she would 'defy Putin again'. 'Your private problems mean nothing compared to the problems people in Ukraine face... we're not doing it for ourselves, we're doing it so that Russia would not plunge into medieval darkness,' she said. But the producer is still deplored in Ukraine after years of pushing Kremlin propaganda. Interfax Ukraine was forced to cancel a press conference with Ovsyannikova scheduled to take place in Kyiv today amid public outcry that a 'Kremlin stooge' would be given such a platform to deliver a speech to the Ukrainian media. Ukrainian-born Marina Ovsyannikova, 43, had for years been complicit in consolidating the Kremlin's ongoing narrative in Russia on the flagship Channel One, but three weeks into the war decided she was unable to continue Her brave protest, in which she interrupted a live broadcast clutching a sign that read: 'No to war, stop this war - propaganda lies to you', marked one of the most high-profile denunciations of Putin's 'special military operation' and landed her a job with prominent German news outlet Die Welt following her immediate sacking at Channel One Ovsyannikova said her family life has been severely damaged by her actions but is resolute in her justification of her protest The former Channel One editor plans to return to Russia in the coming weeks and has been vocal about her desire to live in Moscow. But she has been ostracised by many of her former friends and colleagues and could face persecution at the hands of Putin's regime in the future. The producer escaped prison in the aftermath of her protest and was instead hit with a fine for breaking a new law relating to 'spreading disinformation' about the 'special military operation' in Ukraine before fleeing abroad. Ovsyannikova believes the Russian authorities are trying to make people 'forget about her' because throwing her in jail could generate more protests and dissent - but there is no telling what could become of her in country where independent journalism has been largely shut down. The career journalist and producer was hired on April 10 by German media outlet Die Welt as a 'freelance correspondent' to report for their newspaper and their TV news channel. Welt Group editor-in-chief Ulf Porschardt said that he was excited to be working with Ovsyannikova, adding that her on-air protest 'defended the most important journalistic ethics - despite the threat of state repression.' 'At a crucial moment, Marina Ovsyannikova had the courage to confront Russian viewers with an unembellished view of reality,' he went on to say. But the former Russian state media employee - who this week won the Human Rights Foundation's prestigious Vaclav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent thanks to her protest - has been met with much criticism from independent Russian journalists and Ukraine's media. The dissident was due to deliver a press conference in Kyiv today in association with Interfax Ukraine entitled: 'Expose from Maria Ovsyannikova: How Russian Propaganda Works'. But the event was axed after Interfax received a torrent of messages from enraged Ukrainian viewers. The former Russian state media employee - who this week won the Human Rights Foundation's prestigious Vaclav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent thanks to her protest - has been met with much criticism from independent Russian journalists and Ukraine's media The former Channel One editor plans to return to Russia in the coming weeks and has been vocal about her desire to live in Moscow. But she has been ostracised by many of her former friends and colleagues and could face persecution at the hands of Putin's regime in the future Marina Ovsyannikova, a Channel One employee who staged an on-air protest as she held up a anti-war sign behind a studio presenter, speaks to the media as the leaves the court building in Moscow, Russia March 15, 2022 in this still image taken from a video Interfax Ukraine's director general Alexander Martynenko said: 'The event was canceled because, as it turned out, there was a rather negative public outcry. 'Our society and the media community do not want to see this person in Ukraine, let alone communicate with her.' The director of Ukraine's Institute of Journalism, Vladimir Ruzin, also refused to hold a meeting between Ovsyannikova and his students, while anti corruption activist Daria Kaleniuk tweeted: 'This is kind of propaganda Ovsyannikova was doing for years. Still you are wondering why Ukrainians are frustrated (with her receiving the Havel award).' Other social media users piled in with sarcastic posts ridiculing Ovsyannikova as an 'accomplice of the war' and refusing to allow her to work in Ukraine. 'Now Ovsyannikova will go to conferences for the rest of her life, saying that freedom of speech is being oppressed in our country ''just like in Russia'', read one sarcastic tweet, while another user posted: 'Am I right in understanding that Ovsyannikova was going to Kyiv to speak at the trial and go to jail as an accomplice in a war crime. Or?' Ovsyannikova stands resolute in the face of the criticism and has vowed to continue speaking out against Putin's regime despite becoming a pariah for both sides. 'We all share one plan: stop the war, make sure war criminals face justice, and get Ukraine rebuilt,' she said. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has told executive staff at the company they face being fired unless they work at least 40 hours a week in the office. In a leaked email sent to workers with the miss-spelt subject line 'remote work is no longer acceptble', Musk wrote that any executive staff who wish to work remotely must be in the office for a minimum of 40 hours per week 'or depart Tesla'. He added that the requirement for executive staff to work at least 40 hours in the office is 'less than we ask of factory workers'. Musk continued: 'If there are particularly exceptional contributors for whom this is impossible, I will review and approve those exceptions directly.' Musk went on to write in the email that the office 'must be a main Tesla office, not a remote branch office unrelated to the job duties, for example being responsble for Fremont factory human relations, but having your office in another state'. Responding to a question on Twitter from a follower about whether he has a comment to 'people who think coming into work is an antiquated concept', Musk wrote back: 'They should pretend to work somewhere else.' Tesla CEO Elon Musk has told executive staff at the company they face being fired unless they work at least 40 hours a week in the office In a leaked email sent to workers with the miss-spelt subject line 'remote work is no longer acceptble', Musk wrote that any executive staff who wish to work remotely must be in the office for a minimum of 40 hours per week 'or depart Tesla' Musk has previously hit out against remote working policies and blasted Americans for 'trying to avoid going to work at all' and compared them to staff in China who stay at the factory 'burning the 3am oil'. In April, staff at Tesla's Gigafactory were made to sleep at work when production resumed after a three-week shutdown. The factory started operating as a 'closed loop system to avoid further shutdowns caused by China's strict Zero Covid policy. Workers were given a sleeping back and mattress and part of the factory floor to sleep on. Responding to a question on Twitter from a follower about whether he has a comment to 'people who think coming into work is an antiquated concept', Musk wrote back: 'They should pretend to work somewhere else' Food of around $63 a day was provided to each employee but they were expected to work 12 hours a day, with one day off every six days. Before the temporary measures were imposed, staff reportedly worked eight-hour shifts with four days on and two days off. Before Shanghai's lockdown on March 28, the Gigafactory produced 2,000 cars a day and made half of the vehicles the company delivered worldwide last year. Last month, Musk, who is currently in negotiations with Twitter over buying the social media giant, seemingly took aim at the company's lax remote working policies. He said he asked his Twitter followers if he should transform the company's Silicon Valley headquarters into a homeless shelters 'since no one shows up anyway'. It comes 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. More than a month later, as Silicon Valley's tech workers are starting to filter back to the office as Covid-19 cases plummet, it looks as if the CEO's faith in staffers' desire to return to work in-person was misplaced - something new board member Musk seemed to hone in on with his evidently mocking post. Google, for instance, told employees in April that it would begin requiring employees to return in person at least three days a week. Apples's headquarters in Cupertino, California, are pictured above. The company delayed plans to bring employees back to the office three days per week citing Covid surges Last month, Apple announced it was delaying plans to bring employees back to the office three days a week as Covid cases in its home state of California surged once again. The tech company blamed recent Covid-19 surges in California for the delay of the three day a week requirement. Workers must still come in two days a week, but it remains unclear when the three-day-a-week rule will be enforced. The now-suspended plan required employees to work from the office on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Employees have been going to the Apple office two days a week since April, and there has been no indication that requirement will be changed. Apple blamed surging Covid-19 cases as the reason for the requirement's delay, but the three day per week plan has been controversial among staff since it was announced. The former director of machine learning at Apple, Ian Goodfellow, made headlines in May when he quit his job in protest at the company's three days per week demands. Ian Goodfellow, Apple's director of machine learning, has quit in protest at their policies forcing people back to their offices three days a week In his resignation note, Goodfellow insisted that office flexibility was best for his team. 'I believe strongly that more flexibility would have been the best policy for my team,' he said, according to The Verge. Goodfellow is not the only Apple employee dissatisfied with new office requirements. A survey of workers from April 13-19 found 67 percent saying they were dissatisfied with the return-to-office policy, Fortune reported. Apple's CEO Tim Cook has been adamant about the return to office of his employees, insisting that a hardware-heavy company like Apple needs its employees physically together to design its physical products. In early March, he wrote to staff saying they needed to prepare to return. 'In the coming weeks and months, we have an opportunity to combine the best of what we have learned about working remotely with the irreplaceable benefits of in-person collaboration,' Cook said in the memo, according to Bloomberg Apple CEO Tim Cook insists that a hardware company like Apple needs its employees to be in the office to collaborate on the design of its physical products Many employees however insist that they can do the work just as well remotely, and that they don't want to lose their work-life balance. 'Everything happened with us working from home all day, and now we have to go back to the office, sit in traffic for two hours, and hire people to take care of kids at home,' says a former Apple employee anonymously told Bloomberg in April, 'Working from home has so many perks. Why would we want to go back?' Employees have also been quick to point out that while they spend their days designing products that enable work from home across the world, they are required to return to an office. 'We tell all of our customers how great our products are for remote work, yet, we ourselves, cannot use them to work remotely?' an open letter signed by more than 1,050 Apple employees read. 'How can we expect our customers to take that seriously? How can we understand what problems of remote work need solving in our products if we don't live it?' Twitter, meanwhile, has not issued any in-person requirements for its staffers - a decision Musk seemingly panned in his post. It is not only tech companies that have faced backlash from employees about returning to the office - banks are also struggling to bring staff back into the office. Goldman Sachs, notorious for its long-hours culture, pushed for bringing staff in the office five days a week after only half of the bank's 10,000 person staff reported to headquarters in New York City when the office reopened on Feb. 1 following the Omicron surge. Goldman is one of a handful of financial institutions to get staff back in the office five days a week after CEO David Solomon described working from home a 'temporary aberration'. He said that being in the office is 'critical' to company operations. Solomon has repeatedly argued that remote work 'is not ideal for us, and it's not a new normal.' He has maintained his distaste for remote work throughout the pandemic, arguing that one of Goldman Sachs' strengths is its network of staff collaborating together to serve clients. He believes that working from home inhibits relationship building and growth. Solomon, pictured in 2020, branded working from home 'an abberation,' was spinning at the BottleRock music festival's silent disco in Napa Valley on Sunday 'The secret sauce to our organization is, we attract thousands of really extraordinary young people who come to Goldman Sachs to learn to work, to create a network of other extraordinary people, and work very hard to serve our clients,' he told CNBC in March. 'Part of the secret sauce is that they come together and collaborate and work with people that are much more experienced than they are.' Although he acknowledged that some businesses have made remote successful, he doesn't believe that is the best operating model for his company. 'I do think for a business like ours which is an innovative, collaborative apprenticeship culture, this is not ideal for us and it's not a new normal,' he said. Goldman Sachs reported its best years ever over the past two years, with the company recording a profit of $21.6billion in 2021. Meanwhile, the number of trips Americans are making to their workplace has dropped significantly when compared to pre-pandemic figures, a new report found last month, as the nation gives into 'work from home' culture, and employees begin to refuse to return to work - or stay in positions that require them to go to the office each day. A new study by Work From Home Research, a research group making up economists from the U.S, UK and Mexico that hopes to gauge the feelings of the global workforce coming out of the pandemic, used phone location data to find that American trips to work every day have dropped by 20 percent when compared to pre-pandemic figures. Survey results reported by the researchers also found that the average American employee is now working 1.5 days per week from home. Americans seem to have dug in on what researchers describe as 'work from home culture' as well, with 15 percent saying they would likely look for a new job if they were told they had to return to the office five days a week. The report comes as Americans look towards a new potential workplace landscape heading out of the pandemic. Some companies, like Airbnb and Twitter, have introduced permanent work from home in an effort to entice staff to stay on-board, while others like JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs have brought employees back to the office in recent months. Meanwhile, the continued explosion in the popularity of working from home is directly responsible for a 15.1 per cent of the increase in the average house prices. Analysis found that home work - which became normal for tens of millions during the pandemic - was responsible for the majority of the 23.8 per cent increase in house prices between December 2019 and November 2021. Researchers found that the number of American work trips has dropped 20% from before the pandemic, trailing only the UK in the level of reduction More than one-in-ten U.S. workers say they would leave their job if they were asked to work from the office five days a week, a middling total compared to other peer nations The shift to working remotely during the pandemic is partly responsible for driving house prices in the United States higher as people sought out larger and nicer properties to work from. Statistics provided from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) found that by the end of the period, 42.8% of employees in the US were still working from home part or full time. Advertisement Organisers of the Big Jubilee Lunch today told Brits to keep their garage ready as a backup venue in case Sunday ends up being a washout. Much of the UK is heading for warmer weather as the Queen's Platinum Jubilee approaches, but showers threaten to dampen the festivities in some areas. While Sunday promises to be dry and bright for many of the millions gathering at more than 200,000 special lunches, showers are forecast for London and the south east. Lindsey Brummitt, Programme Director at Eden Project Communities, organisers of The Big Lunch, suggested it was best to prepare for any eventuality. 'While sunshine isn't guaranteed, we know that a bit of rain won't dampen British people's passion for street parties and community get-togethers!' she told MailOnline. 'Luckily, it's not too difficult to weatherproof a street party and adapt to the elements we'd recommend gathering in the garage, bringing out the brollies or even taking the celebrations indoors if needed. Rain or shine, it's set to be a corker!' Gloomy scenes on Tynemouth beach, in North Tyneside, as rain leads to a washout on the first day of meteorological summer this morning Much of the UK is heading for warmer weather as the Queen's Platinum Jubilee approaches, but showers threaten to dampen the festivities in some areas (pictured is Tynemouth beach) Lindsey Brummitt, Programme Director at Eden Project Communities, organisers of The Big Lunch, suggested it was best to prepare for any eventuality (pic: Tynemouth beach today) The four-day bank holiday will start off fine and bright for most, with Thursday, when the official programme kicks off with the Trooping the Colour military spectacle in central London, the best day for people across the country to enjoy street parties, barbecues and other outdoor events. However rain is likely to put some plans in danger in western Scotland and Northern Ireland. A few showers could spread across the south of the UK throughout the day, while some sunshine is expected in other areas. Saturday looks dry, with temperatures in the low 20s and spells of sunshine for much of the country as an area of high pressure moves in. However, there is a risk of some heavy showers to areas south of the M4 in England, Mr Claydon said, threatening the Epsom Derby and later the BBCs Party at the Palace open-air concert. Sunday promises to be dry and bright for many of the millions gathering at more than 200,000 special lunches due to be held that day. There is still a possibility that people might need their umbrellas, with a chance that the warm air edges back into the south east and brings rain to the Jubilee Pageant parade through the streets of London. If you were to look at the northern portion of the UK, its a fairly decent long weekend, but the uncertainty and the chance of heavy showers in the south is still up for grabs, Mr Claydon said. The Met Office urged Britons heading outdoors to pack sunglasses and sun cream, as UV levels will be high when the June sun does appear. For the four days therell be a lot of dry weather around. Yes, still some showers here and there... but many places will see sunny spells and certainly after a cool start this week it is going to be feeling warmer, Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin said. Royal fan John Loughrey standing next to his tent he has put up to camp outside Buckingham Palace, May 31, 2022 Royal fans next to their tents they have set up to camp outside Buckingham Palace, May 31, 2022 A weather map for the UK on Sunday - showing showers across parts of the country with brighter weather in the N It comes as hardcore royal fans who have camped out days ahead of the Platinum Jubilee laughed off torrential downpours which they said were "worth it" to be part of the celebrations. Rain failed to dampen the spirits of those for whom a handful of tents along the side of The Mall in central London will be home this week. The royalists secured their spots early near Buckingham Palace in the hope they will get the best view of the Queen and her family. Pat Hart, 46, and his wife Angie, 51, travelled to the capital on Saturday with their two daughters, from near Toronto in Canada. Mrs Hart is on her third trip for a big royal event, having camped out for the weddings of the Cambridges and the Sussexes. She described camping out as "lots of fun", adding: "Brits know how to do pomp." They will spend their first night camping on Tuesday and stay in position until after Trooping the Colour on Thursday. Speaking after a downpour, Mrs Hart said: "We had some lovely British hail, and wind and rain but it's worth it. By the end of it it's always worth it and I think the harder it is maybe the more rewarding it is." Laughing, she added: "I'll keep telling myself that anyway." A man sells merchandise outside a shop near Windsor Castle ahead of celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee, May 31, 2022 John Loughrey standing next to his tent he has put up to camp outside Buckingham Palace, May 31, 2022 Explaining why she wanted to travel to the UK and camp out to see the royals, she said: "I love the rich history. My grandmother was British and she taught me about England and Britain and the royal family. "I have real respect and love for the Queen who has worked so tirelessly hard her whole life. And it's the jubilee year and, honestly, the British know how to do ceremonial, the pomp and the pageantry, like nobody else. It's pretty special." She described seeing the Queen as "the bucket list", adding: "That's why we're camping out." Mrs Hart said they are "hoping and praying she's up to it physically". The Queen has limited the Platinum Jubilee Trooping the Colour balcony appearance to working members of her family who carry out official public duties. Eighteen royals will appear on Thursday including the monarch, if mobility problems allow, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are returning to the UK for the jubilee but will not be on the balcony on Thursday. Another royal fan and camper, Mary-Jane Willows, said she is hoping to spot Harry at some stage, having "missed him" since his move to the US. The 69-year-old, from Penzance in Cornwall, a retired chief executive of a children's charity, said: "I think we've missed him, personally. I think I'm pleased he did what he did for his own mental health but I'll be thrilled to see him back here." Royal fan Donna Werner poses next to her tent outside Buckingham Palace in London, May 31, 2022 Detectives investigating the brutal murder of a teenager who was knifed to death by a gang of men have released a new image as they continue to appeal for witnesses. Michael Jonas, 17, was chased through Betts Park in southeast London and stabbed by up to six men in a disturbing attack in the capital five years ago. The teenager was 'left to die alone' before finally being discovered hours later on Thursday November 2, 2017. Despite the efforts of paramedics, he would die at the scene. The Metropolitan Police have now released a new CCTV image from the night in question, appearing to show a man with a backpack on they would like to speak to in connection with their enquiries. Michael's murder case remains open after charges were previously dropped in January 2018 owing to a lack of evidence. The teenager's parents have also made a fresh appeal for information with his killers still walking free. His father, Michael Jonas Sr, issued a heartbreaking public appeal: 'We have lost our son. 'Michael's murder - which happened for no apparent reason - left us shattered and it shook the community of Penge. He did not deserve this'. The Metropolitan Police have now released a new CCTV image from the night Michael Jonas, 17, was chased through Betts Park in southeast London and fatally stabbed by up to six men The teenager (pictured left and right) was 'left to die alone' before finally being discovered seven hours later in the early hours of Thursday, 2 November 2017 Michael's father continued: 'We think about Michael every single day and we will not stop until we get justice for him. 'His killers are still out there and we need your help to find them. We are asking - pleading - with you to come forward if you know anything that could help police catch these violent people. 'For as long as they are still roaming the streets, they are a danger to others. Next time, it could be your family member or friend. How would you feel? We must not allow this to happen again. 'I understand it can be difficult for some members of the community to talk to police. I would ask them to please, please put any differences aside and work with police to get people like these off the streets and out of our community. 'Please pass on any crucial information to police. You can even do it anonymously through Crimestoppers. 'You will never be seen to be a "snitch" - please, please give us a helping hand so we can get justice for Michael. Nothing will ever heal the pain of losing him, but knowing his killers are off the streets will bring us some closure.' The new CCTV image released by officers show a man wearing a backpack heading away from the park close to the time of the murder. Officers are keen to identify him and stress they are treating him as a witness at this stage. After more than four years working on Michael's case, the Metropolitan Police also renewed their appeals for witnesses or anyone with information about the murder to come forward. Prior CCTV footage released by the Met showed a group of men riding bicycles in the area minutes before Mr Jonas was attacked. All murder charges were dropped in 2018 over 'insufficient evidence' Detective Chief Inspector Nigel Penney said: 'Michael was a much loved young man with his whole life ahead of him before he was cruelly taken in such a violent way. 'His family and friends miss him every day and we are determined to bring them some sort of closure by catching those responsible for his death. 'Our investigation continues, and we are keen to speak to witnesses or anyone with any information that could lead us to Michael's killers. 'In particular, we are keen to identify the man in this CCTV image seen jogging away from the park at the time of the murder. 'We believe this person could be a key witness to the attack and would urge them to contact us. We would also like to speak to anyone else in the park at that time. At this time in the evening, I am confident plenty of people would've been around. Were you there? 'Did you see or hear anything? Any information, no matter how small or insignificant you may feel it is, could be a missing part of the puzzle and we would really like to hear from you. You can do this via 101 or anonymously via Crimestoppers. Please be assured that the information you give us will be treated with the utmost confidence. 'It's been more than four years since Michael was murdered. His family are still heartbroken. If you know something, please do the right thing and get in touch.' At an inquest a pathologist described how Michael died due to haemorrhaging caused by the stab wounds. One wound pierced his upper right chest and struck his aorta, the main artery leaving the heart, while the other went through his left shoulder and hit the main artery taking blood to his arm. Michael also had cuts to the back of his left hand and arm, mostly likely sustained in the struggle. Detective Sergeant Sarah Fisher, who gave evidence in person at the inquest, said police believed the attack 'was a short event'. Russia has lost another colonel in Ukraine as Vladimir Putin's top brass continues to suffer heavy casualties in his miscalculated invasion. Lieutenant-colonel Zaur Dimayev, deputy commander of the 4th battalion of the Akhmat Kadyrov special forces regiment, was killed Tuesday by an artillery barrage in the Donbas region, Telegram channel Baza reported today. Dimayev was riding in a military SUV through the village of Kamyshevakha, Luhansk province, when it was hit by a Ukrainian shell, according to the site - which is thought to have links to Russian intelligence. It brings the total number of Russian colonels killed fighting to at least 49, though no official tally has been published by either Kyiv or Moscow. Lieutenant-colonel Zaur Dimayev (left), was killed when a Ukrainian shell hit the military SUV he was riding in Luhansk province on Tuesday (pictured right, warlord Ramzan Kadyrov) The commander, a friend of feared Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov, was said to have been killed instantly alongside his driver. Two Chechen police officers were also said to have been killed, with another four wounded. Their conditions are not clear. Chechen special forces - known colloquially as Kadyrovites after their leader - have increasingly been dragged into combat in Ukraine after Russia's military was mauled failing to take Kyiv. Videos show they were heavily involved in fighting in Mariupol, and have also been involved in trench warfare in Donbas - alongside the armed forces of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics. High-ranking commanders have also been dragged into the bloodshed, thought to be because poor organisation has forced them to the front to oversee the fighting. Just last week, Russia confirmed that Lieutenant colonel Alexander Dosyagayev, 34, believed to be one of the country's top paratroopers, had been killed. Dosyagayev was a commander of an airborne assault battalion of the 104th paratrooper regiment, which had been recognised as Russia's most elite. Troops from the 104th were reportedly in Bucha, the scene of alleged rape and torture atrocities committed by Putins forces earlier in the war. Col Vladimir Ivanov, 41, part of the defence ministrys department of Information and Mass Communication, was also confirmed dead. Russia is suffering heavy losses amid Putin's ill-planned invasion of Ukraine, as it battles for control of the eastern Donbas region Russian military vehicles destroyed on a road near the village of Kutuzivka, Kharkiv region, after Ukraine pushed Putin's forces back from the city Ivanov had been killed back in March but his death was only announced recently, thought to be a deliberate tactic by Russia to keep the true toll of its war hidden. Though the exact number of Russian forces killed in the fighting is unclear - perhaps even to Putin's commanders - Western intelligence estimates that more than 15,000 have been killed. Kyiv puts the number significantly higher, at more than 30,000. US officials said Tuesday that some 20 per cent of Russia's combat forces in Ukraine - estimated at 150,000 before the war started - are now out of action. That would mean 30,000 killed or wounded in action. America also believes that Russia has lost more than 1,000 tanks and is struggling to replace them due to sanctions, perhaps explaining why 50-year-old models were recently filmed heading to the front having been taken out of long-term storage. Russia is currently fighting a bloody battle for control of the Donbas region, with both sides thought to be suffering heavy losses on a frontline described as 'hell'. Fighting is currently concentrated around the city of Severodonetsk, one of the last Ukrainian strongholds in Luhansk province, which appears on the verge of falling to Russian forces. Putin's men will then only need to capture the city of Lysychansk - located just a few hundreds yards away across an industrial zone - to claim ownership of Luhansk. Heavy fighting is currently underway in the city of Severodonetsk in Ukraine's east, which is in danger of falling to Russia. But Ukrainian counter-attacks are also underway in the south The cities of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, around 35 miles west of Lysyschansk, will then be the main obstacles to capturing the whole of the Donbas. Ukraine has attempted to play down recent Russian advances, saying they provide propaganda for Putin but little tactical advantage. Kyiv's generals still believe they can ultimately win the war, provided Western allies keep supplying weapons for their troops to push back Russian forces. To that end, Joe Biden on Tuesday announced the US will be sending advanced rocket artillery to the frontlines as part of a new $700million shipment. Though he did not specify the system in question, it is expected he will send M270 MLRS - a Soviet-era artillery system designed specifically to counter Russia. He made the announcement in an op-ed for the New York Times in which he laid out America's ultimate goal in Ukraine: To weaken Russia to the point where Ukraine can negotiate a peace deal it is satisfied with. 'We want to see a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression,' he said. President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks to reporters as he enters his office in Seoul, Monday. The presidential office said Tuesday that it is seeking to set up a better system to prevent and counter corruption involving people close to the president. Yonhap 'It is up to National Assembly to maintain special inspector system' By Jung Min-ho President Yoon Suk-yeol is searching for more effective ways to prevent and counter corruption involving people close to him, but it is up to the National Assembly whether to maintain the current special inspector system, an official said Tuesday. The post of special inspector was established in 2014 to keep the presidential office clean from corruption. Its role is to look into alleged irregularities by the president's family members, including the spouse and close relatives and presidential officials who are either equal to or above a senior presidential secretary in rank. "The presidential office is trying to create a better system to root out corruption, but it doesn't mean that the current system will be abolished, which (as it is the law) requires the approval of the National Assembly," an official at the presidential office told reporters. The comment comes after reports that the office decided not to appoint a special inspector tasked with investigating corruption among the president's family and top-level aides, which would be a breach of his key pledges. Following the reports, Chang Je-won, the ruling People Power Party lawmaker who served as Yoon's chief of staff during the transition period, said the president would not make such decisions without the Assembly's agreement. The issue drew much attention in part because of what was achieved by the previous special inspector, Lee Suk-soo. Lee, who took the post during the Park Geun-hye administration, dug into allegations surrounding her key aides, and his revelations dealt a serious blow to her government. Park was eventually impeached less than a year after Lee's resignation. Apparently aware of the risk and "due to the policy priority" of creating a new anti-corruption investigative body, former President Moon Jae-in kept the position empty throughout his term despite criticism from the opposition. Investigator Cha Jung-hyun served as an acting special inspector between September 2016 and April 2018, without producing any results. Yoon's office recently questioned the effectiveness of the special inspector system as it lacks investigative powers and needs the prosecution's support once any suspicions of wrongdoing are detected. Given that the Yoon administration abolished the position of presidential secretary for civil affairs, which exerted great influence over prosecutors and police, there is now less concern about possible influence-peddling by the president, the official said. However, opposition parties worry that the change means more power for Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, who is seeking to fill the void left by the presidential office. Some have already begun referring to Han, who had a good relationship with Yoon at the prosecution, as "the number two man." "The situation is different now from the time the special inspector system was created," the official said. "I think no one would doubt the president's determination to battle corruption We'd like to reform the system in cooperation with the Assembly." Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, floor leader of the ruling party, said he would work with the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea to search for candidates for the next special inspector after the June 1 local elections. Under the law, the president should appoint one special inspector out of three candidates proposed by the Assembly. A West Australian student posted a video of him holding a handgun and listening to rap music before a classmate made a chilling threat. The boy, who attends Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community High School in the state's Goldfields, posted a series of pictures and video to Snapchat brandishing the weapon last week. The Department of Education and WA Police immediately investigated the incident after the images were shared, with officers attending the school. A West Australian student posted a video of him holding a handgun and listening to rap music to Snapchat in the wake of America's latest mass school shooting A second student from the same school then shared a separate post on social media, 'warning' the boy would bring the handgun to the building for a 'school shoot up'. The video shows the armed boy holding the gun and listening to a hip hop song with a bag around his neck. The West reported he was reloading the gun in the clip. It was posted to Snapchat, which expires videos after a time period. They have since been deleted. A second post was then discovered from a student at the same Goldfields school, warning other students not to attend school because of a potential 'shoot up'. The boy had a bag around his head as he brandished the gun while listening to a hip hop song Police attended the high school, but confirmed there was no 'active shooter threat' and that the gun was never brought on grounds. They say current students aren't at risk but are yet to confirm whether the firearm in the video was real. It's also not known whether the boy had access to weapons, with Police Commissioner Chris Dawson assuring the community they were safe. WA Police immediately sent officers to Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community High School but said there was no 'active shooter threat' and confirmed the gun hadn't entered the grounds Premier Mark McGowan said the threat was another reminder Australia must ensure it keeps its gun laws strict. 'Obviously, there's very heightened concerns about firearms in light of what occurred in America,' he said. 'No matter what happens, we never, never, never want to get down the road that America has now.' A television presenter has candidly opened up on her battle with postnatal depression with her second child and fought back tears she relived the harrowing tipping point. Antoinette Lattouf was one of eight parents from all walks of life who appeared in an emotionally charged episode about the often taboo topic on the ABC's You Can't Ask That. The group opened up on the shame, public and family pressure and personal guilt through a series of confronting questions. While most of the mums on the program had joyful memories of meeting their newborn for the first time, Lattouf didn't feel that with her second child. Antoinette Lattouf (pictured) was one of eight parents from all walks of life who appeared in an emotionally charged episode about the often taboo topic on the ABC's You Can't Ask That 'As soon as she was handed to me, I just passed her over to my husband,' she recalled 'I think I just was feeling complete disconnect, if not repulsion. 'All of a sudden, the room started to close in on me and I felt...I felt incredibly claustrophobic, and all around me is joy. 'And then I feel I can't show how I'm feeling because I'm ashamed, and I should be happy, and I'm not.' Sydney dad Craig Anderson had similar feelings when his son was born. 'When I went to hold him, it didn't look that natural. It certainly didn't feel that natural,' he said. 'I didn't have that fireworks, lightbulb, 'I'm in love,' looking at this, you know, spawn.' Ms Lattouf (pictured) said she felt complete disconnect and repulsion when her second daughter was born Antoinette Lattouf and her husband Danny (both pictured) have two children. She has spoken candidly about her struggles with motherhood Lattouf felt she was failing as a mother and struggled with breastfeeding her daughter. 'I think I was probably six days post-partum, and I was so thin, and I posted something on social media,' she said. And everybody was like, 'Oh, my God!' 'Wow, MILF!' 'Look how skinny you are!' 'You look amazing!' 'You've bounced back!' 'Look how skinny you are!' 'You look amazing!' While many were asking her what her secret was to her stunning figure, the truth was far darker. 'I was like, 'Oh, yeah, anxiety and insomnia will do it for you.' The question of whether they ever thought of hurting their baby was the most confronting, especially for Lattouf, who broke into tears. Melbourne mum Jayde recalled the harrowing moment she considered smothering her son while in the depths of postnatal depression Sydney father Craig Anderson recalled not having an instant connection with his newborn son 'The tipping point for me was when I was at a set of traffic lights and she was crying and I was sad and I didn't know what to do,' she recalled. 'I felt bad that I had failed as a person and didn't see an end in sight. 'I was so damaged and I couldn't be a mother ... I couldn't be a good mother. 'I just though if I drove into oncoming traffic. So I started to and cars were beeping so I swerved and stopped.' She immediately called her mother, telling her she needed her help and then called a mental health helpline. 'I just needed to hear that I didn't deserve it. It wasn't something I'd asked for or something I did.' Brisbane single mum Clary, who split up from her son's father when she was 14 weeks pregnant went through a similar tipping point. Getting help was the best thing that ever happened. Brisbane mum Clary recalled the moment she considered ending both her and her son's life 'The world sucks and I've done a really bad thing to this baby and I've been really selfish bringing him into the world,' Clary recalled. 'Just, like, overwhelming. 'I want to die. I want to die. 'He's going to suffer. He deserves better.' 'If I put both of us in the car and crash the car, that will take him out.' 'I snapped out of it for a moment. I was so disgusted that I thought that.' Melbourne mum Jayde opened up about the horrifying moment she considered smothering her baby. 'I was home alone and Theo just kept screaming,' she said. 'I put my hand over his face and I tried to smother him. And then I went, 'Oh, that's MY hand. That's my baby's face.' 'I ran out. I shut the door and I sat outside and I lit up a cigarette. I called Justin, I'm like, 'You need to come home right now, or you're not coming home to a baby.' As many as 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men experience depression in the year after the birth of their baby. Postnatal depression was not yet widely spoken about when mother-of-three Lorraine had her first child in the 1980s. 'I didn't know the difference between the utter exhaustion of looking after a brand-new baby, with the utter exhaustion that's associated with depression,' she said. Postnatal depression was not widely spoken about when Lorraine had her first child 'I do remember being told I should be grateful I had a healthy baby.' While she never complemented hurting her children, Lorraine ended up being rushed to hospital after an overdose on medication. Lorraine recalled being told by a older family member that she needed a tonic. 'I never did find that tonic. What the f*** is a tonic?' she quipped. While some parents laughed off or threw away the question about popping happy pills, Lattouf admitted she took them. 'It's not just kind of a silver bullet. It doesn't just fix all your problems,' she said. 'I will continue to have to manage anxiety and depression and to live with it.' For confidential support with postnatal depression, please call PANDA on 1300 726 306, Gidget Foundation 1300 851 758 or LifeLine Australia on 13 11 14. A former Scottish laird who was jailed for twice plotting to murder a woman is appealing against the extension of an order which bans him from contacting her and her family. Malcolm Potier, 70, was being held in an Australian detention centre in 2002 for entering the country illegally when he paid a fellow inmate 4,600 to kill the woman - who cannot be named for legal reasons. The would-be assassin Alessandro Basso fled to his native Italy with the money, while Potier was jailed for six years. Potiers sentence was extended by 12 years in 2006 when he plotted against her life again while in prison in Long Bay, New South Wales. The former multi-millionaire, who acquired the title of baron when he bought the Scottish Hebridean island of Gigha in 1989, is forbidden from contacting the woman and her family. She remains in a worldwide witness protection scheme after Potiers conviction for incitement to murder in Australia. Former investor and Scottish laird Malcolm Potier, 70, was jailed for twice plotting to kill a woman in Australia. Now back in the UK, he is appealing against an extension of a violent offender order (VOO) banning contact with the woman and her family Following his release from jail in 2015, he flew to the UK and was made the subject of a violent offender order (VOO) brought forward by the Metropolitan Police. The order, brought under section 100 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, states: [Potiers] persistent and obsessive behaviour, with regards to establishing contact... has left all concerned suffering from severe anxiety and being in constant and grave fear for their safety. An interim order preventing Potier from making contact with the victim and her family was imposed on the day he landed in the UK. The VOO must be renewed every five years. Potier challenged the order when it was up for renewal in May 2021, claiming that some of the seven individuals covered by the order had made false statements to the police to keep the VOO in place. He told Westminster Magistrates Court: Not in any way shape or form do I represent any danger to those persons. If there had been these terrible things which are said to have happened, there would be records, there are none. Malcom Potier pictured in 1989 as the new Laird of Gigha, just off the Mull of Kintyre, which he purchased for 5.4million - beating off Rolling Stone Mick Jagger Despite his protestations, the VOO was renewed. Today, wearing a black suit with a checked shirt, Potier appeared at Southwark Crown Court, representing himself, to discuss arrangements for appealing the renewal. The former laird wanted to cross-examine five individuals included in the VOO at the appeal hearing, scheduled for next month (June). The woman who he was jailed for plotting against was not one of the five individuals he wanted to question. Judge Martin Griffith ruled against calling the witnesses. They should not be brought to court in order to be cross-examined, the judge said. This is a rehashing of the events of 20 years ago rather than what the... appeal is all about, which is whether or not this violent offender order should be renewed. Speaking outside court, Potier called the order a nuisance. I dont particularly like having to walk around subject to onerous orders which should not be there, he said. In 1991, Potiers company crumbled and creditors seized his assets, including the isle of Gigha (pictured) which was taken over by a Swiss bank - but he was never declared bankrupt He also denied being a danger or a risk to anyone. Im absolutely not a risk. Im just pretty boring these days. Originally from Sevenoaks, Kent, Potier trained as a surveyor and made a fortune with his company Tanap Investments. At the height of his companys success in the late 1980s, Potier estimated he was worth 25-30m. It was in 1989, just before he turned 40, that he bought Gigha, celebrating his birthday on the Scottish island. He beat off Rolling Stone Mick Jagger to buy Gigha, just off the Mull of Kintyre for 5.4million in 1989. The intention was that it would be described as nothing trivial. It wasnt trivial, he said of the birthday bash. In 1991, two months from completing a building project in Glasgow, a homeless person walked into the building in the middle of the night and started a fire. Potier's appeal against the extension of the violent offender order (VOO) is due to take place at Southwark Crown Court on June 30 As a result, Potiers company crumbled and creditors seized his assets, including the island - which was taken over by a Swiss bank - but he was never declared bankrupt. I didnt care about anything else, he said, But I did care about the island because it was important to me. Now in his 70s, Potier said he lived quietly. I do a lot of unpaid legal advice. Very amateurish. My life could be better. How, Im not sure,' he said. If you become...bitter and things like that you really dont become able to function effectively. Potier's appeal over the renewal of the violent offender order is scheduled for June 30 at Southwark Crown Court. Campaigners voiced their fury today as it emerged Scotland Yard is prosecuting four people they claim broke Covid lockdown rules at a vigil for Sarah Everard - which was also attended by the Duchess of Cambridge. Hundreds gathered at the event in Clapham Common, in south-west London, last March to pay their respects to 33-year-old Ms Everard, who was killed after disappearing while walking home. The event had originally been organised by Reclaim These Streets, who cancelled it after the Met said it should not go ahead. But people turned up throughout the day, and officers did not intervene for the first six hours while many came to lay flowers, with Kate Middleton also paying her respects. However when crowds refused to leave when asked by police, it led to clashes that saw protesters bundled to the ground and arrested. The Met faced a barrage of criticism, including calls for Commissioner Cressida Dick to resign. Now it has emerged that four people face criminal charges, accused of breaching coronavirus restrictions by being at the vigil. The decision was widely criticised by campaigners on social media today, including Reclaim These Streets co-founder, Jamie Klingler. She wrote: 'Why does the Met Police have a vendetta against women protesting a woman killed by a serving officer? 'Is this payback that we helped get Cressida Dick removed from office? How is wasting more public money prosecuting women that attended the vigil going to rebuild trust?' Hundreds gathered at the event in Clapham Common, in south-west London , last March to pay their respects to 33-year-old Ms Everard, who was killed after disappearing while walking home Ms Everard was kidnapped, raped and murdered by serving officer Wayne Couzens Ruth Davison, CEO of the women's charity Refuge, was also critical, saying: 'We strongly disagree with this decision by the Met. 'After their application to appeal the judgment against them brought by Reclaim These Streets was refused for the second time, they should have sensed the public temperature and ceased any further action. 'With trust in police incredibly low, it is absurd that the force is attempting to prosecute individuals who attended a peaceful gathering for a young woman who was kidnapped and murdered by a serving officer. 'The fact these attendees are facing prosecution for breaking the same Covid rules that Couzens used to kidnap and kill Sarah is something I cannot comprehend. It is a move that will do nothing to rebuild women's trust in the police. 'The Met would be better advised to focus on improving the charging and prosecution rates for perpetrators of abuse and violence against women and girls and getting their own house in order.' Dania Al-Obeid, Kevin Godin-Prior, Vivien Hohmann and Ben Wheeler were all listed to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court today to face a charge of participating in a gathering of more than two people in public outdoor place in a tier 4 area. This refers to the period of lockdown when the country was divided up into 'tiers' depending on how prevalent the virus was. At the time, London was in tier 4, the harshest level of restrictions, which demanded Britons must not meet with another person socially or undertake any activities with someone outside their household. Court listings say the individuals were at Clapham Common Bandstand on Saturday, March 13, 2021 'without reasonable excuse'. Their cases were due to be dealt with at Westminster Magistrates' Court today under the single justice procedure, which cannot be observed by the public. Following the vigil, Ms Al-Obeid told BBC Radio 4's Today programme she was arrested for breaching Covid-19 regulations. 'I understood police on the ground were following orders,' she said. 'When I did get arrested and spoke to them, and when I was handcuffed in the van, they understood our position. They were just following orders. 'I think that's where the frustration was; the bigger picture here was lost. We felt we were silenced and this could have been avoided if there was some understanding and compassion to the trauma that women feel every single day.' Earlier this year, the High Court ruled the Met had breached the rights of organisers at the vigil, but the unrepentant force refused to apologise over its widely-criticised handling, instead insisting it could appeal. An utterly damning judgement said the constabulary 'failed to perform its legal duty' and did not think if the organisers 'might have a reasonable excuse for holding the gathering'. The ruling added the Met did not even 'conduct the fact-specific proportionality assessment required in order to perform that duty'. Yesterday, the force was refused permission to appeal against the ruling for a second time. Couzens was given a whole life sentence, from which he will never be released, at the Old Bailey in September after admitting Ms Everard's murder People turned up throughout the day, and officers did not intervene for the first six hours while many came to lay flowers, with Kate Middleton also paying her respects (pictured) Dismissing the appeal bid, Lord Justice Holroyde said in a court order that, while he recognised the application of principles guiding the right to protest 'may be difficult for the police, and that the difficulty may be increased when considering a prospective event' they were 'clear' and no separate guidance is needed. The judge said he could see 'no arguable basis on which it can be said that the (High) Court's decision was wrong'. Ms Everard was kidnapped, raped and murdered by serving officer Wayne Couzens. He was given a whole life sentence, from which he will never be released, at the Old Bailey in September after admitting Ms Everard's murder. A man dressed as the grim reaper has set himself on fire in front of horrified bystanders in Istanbul. Abdullah Cihat Turan P., 28, posed for pictures with tourists while holding a scythe in front of the Turkish city's medieval Galata Tower yesterday. Then all of a sudden he doused himself in petrol and set himself alight. Some tourists even took selfies alongside him as he burned, with his body completely consumed by fire as he staggered over cobblestones in front of restaurant tables. He raised his arms to the sky and dropped to the ground before two workers from a nearby shop grabbed fire extinguishers to put out the fire. A man dressed as the grim reaper has set himself on fire in front of horrified bystanders in Istanbul Abdullah Cihat Turan P., 28, posed for pictures with tourists while holding a scythe in front of the Turkish city's medieval Galata Tower yesterday Some tourists even took selfies alongside him as he burned, with his body completely consumed by fire The extent of his injuries is not yet know but he is understood to have survived the self-immolation. He was seen talking to authorities and waving his arms after the horrific ordeal. Other footage shows the man screaming after the flames have been put out with skin and charred clothing hanging from his arms. Many have questioned why the onlooking tourists did nothing to intervene and put out the fire. Ragip Soylu, Turkey Bureau Chief for Middle East Eye, said: 'Someone in Istanbul's Galata set himself ablaze. Some tourists continued to take selfies as the guy was burning.' The 28-year-old wore all black and had his hood up as he walked through the streets of the Turkish city Another said: 'It was a tragedy for those who watched and photographed the man who burned himself in Galata yesterday. 'But that man burned himself, the clothes and the fact that there was a woman in a red dress among those who took selfies when he burned himself, when you collect all of these, you need to think more carefully!' Some may have believed it was a performance after the grim reaper had posed with them for photos. The Istanbul Governorship said in a statement yesterday: 'Today, at around 18.30, a person named A.C.T.P., registered to the population of Meram County in Konya, attempted to set himself on fire with a flammable substance he poured on himself near the Galata Tower in our Beyoglu district. 'With the intervention of citizens in the area, the flames were extinguished and our 112 Emergency Health teams transferred him to hospital. 'The hospital treatment of the person continues, and an investigation has been initiated regarding the incident.' Local media said the man suffered second and third-degree burns and remains in hospital in a serious condition. The police also seized the man's tablet and belongings looking for clues as to why he set himself on fire. The investigation continues. Boris Johnson today demanded 'more pragmatism and less theology' from the EU in the dispute over post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland. The Prime Minister blasted 'pretty pointless and bureaucratic checks' being imposed on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. He accused Brussels of failing to implement the Northern Ireland Protocol - which was struck in order to prevent a post-Brexit hard border on the island of Ireland - with 'common sense and pragmatism'. Mr Johnson claimed this was 'inflaming' tensions and despaired at how the Protocol was 'certainly not functioning well'. The PM found an unlikely ally in his call for Brussels to back down in the Protocol dispute from Sir Tony Blair. The former Labour prime minister called on Brussels to show 'maximum flexibility' in seeking a solution to the Northern Ireland Protocol row. He branded the current agreement a 'bad deal' and also expressed fears the current rift over the Protocol could undermine the Good Friday Agreement he struck in 1998. Long-simmering tensions over the Protocol erupted again last month when Mr Johnson outlined plans for the UK Government to take unilateral action to set aside key parts of the agreement, if negotiations with the EU continue to stall. The move sparked fury from Brussels, with EU figures raising the prospect of a bitter trade war with Britain in response. The bloc also maintained its stance that it 'cannot renegotiate' the Protocol and a solution had to be found 'within the limits' of the existing deal. The Protocol row is currently blocking the establishment of a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland, with the DUP refusing to join an administration until the agreement is reformed. The unionist party have also collapsed the new Northern Ireland Assembly, elected at the beginning of last month, by refusing to nominate a Speaker as part of their Protocol protest. Boris Johnson defended his push to rewrite the Northern Ireland Protocol, which came into force in January last year, in an interview with the Mumsnet website Sir Tony Blair called on Brussels to show 'maximum flexibility' in seeking a solution to the Northern Ireland Protocol row The ex-PM suggested Mr Johnson would have to negotiate directly with EU leaders, pictured at a European Council summit, and bypass 'two bureaucratic systems' in Brussels and London The Protocol row is currently blocking the establishment of a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland, with the DUP refusing to join an administration until the agreement is reformed Mr Johnson defended his push to rewrite the Protocol, which came into force in January last year, in an interview with the Mumsnet website. 'All that we're trying to do is to get rid of some pretty pointless and bureaucratic checks on stuff that is going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland,' the PM said. 'These checks, what they're doing is they're undermining the confidence of one community in Northern Ireland - the unionist community - in the arrangements that we have. 'The Good Friday Agreement depends on balance, it depends on both communities, both traditions in Northern Ireland feeling they're being looked after. 'I did the Protocol, I negotiated it. The problem is I thought it would be implemented with common sense and pragmatism. 'The ultimate arbitrer of how to make it work, unfortunately, is the EU. I just think what is needed is more pragmatism and less theology. 'Because at the moment what you've got is one community in Northern Ireland, the unionist/loyalist community, feeling there is a border down the Irish Sea, an East/West border. 'That is inflaming their sentiment - they won't go back into government in Northern Ireland unless we fix it.' In a new report from his thinktank, Sir Tony proposed a series of steps both Britain and the EU could take to resolve the row. The ex-PM described the current Protocol as 'a bad deal' that 'didn't resolve' post-Brexit issues for Northern Ireland, while he accused Mr Johnson's Government of being 'now effectively in disorderly retreat from the agreement it made'. Sir Tony warned that, if left unresolved, 'the issues at the heart of the protocol have the capability of causing an enlarged trade conflict between the UK and the EU, or undermining the Good Friday Agreement and quite possibly both'. In a message to both Number 10 and Brussels, he added that 'in the interests of broader European harmony and trade especially at a time when Europe, including the UK, has come together impressively over Ukraine both the EU and the UK should show maximum flexibility in order to reach an agreement'. Sir Tony also demanded 'significant movement' from the EU's current position in efforts to resolve the dispute. But he suggested that Mr Johnson would have to negotiate directly with EU leaders and bypass 'two bureaucratic systems' in Brussels and London. 'In this paper, we set out a practical way through, one that would obviate the vast majority of checks on goods moving between Britain and Northern Ireland, provide a compromise on the involvement of the Court of Justice of the EU, and give greater opportunities for consultation on draft EU laws affecting Northern Ireland to representatives from all sides of the community,' he added in a foreword to the report. 'It is, at least, a possible landing zone for resolution of the dispute. It could be done within the framework of the Protocol, but would require significant movement from the EU on its stated position around the Protocols interpretation. 'My judgement with long experience of EU negotiations is that things have reached such a state of distrust that the two bureaucratic systems will not settle this; it has to be done at the highest political level because, ultimately, it is not a matter of technical work but political will and leadership.' In the new report from the Tony Blair Foundation, the former Labour premier's thinktank called for the UK and EU to agree a 'Northern Ireland approved' goods designation in order to reduce the checks needed on trade from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. The report also proposed a 'robust surveillance and enforcement system to prevent non-compliance', as well as the creation of a 'governance arrangement to manage future barriers to trade'. It also proposed for both Northern Ireland and the UK Government to have 'greater consultative opportunities on draft EU laws that apply to Northern Ireland'. A teenager has appeared in court accused of planning to carry out an Islamist terror attack against serving police officers or military personnel. Matthew King, 18, allegedly surveyed police stations, railway stations, a magistrates' court and a British Army barracks while he was plotting an attack. King, from Essex, was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command on May 18. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court today, but refused to stand, charged with preparing an act of terrorism between December 22, 2021 and May 17, 2022. Matthew King, 18, from Essex, is accused of preparing a terrorist attack related to his extremist Islamist beliefs but refused to stand at the dock at Westminster Magistrates Court today Stratford Magistrates' Court (pictured) was one of the building that King allegedly surveyed while planning an attack Prosecutors allege the plot was related to extreme Islamist beliefs and that King carried out surveillance at railway stations, police stations, Stratford Magistrates' Court in east London and an Army barracks in East Ham, also east London. Prosecutor Gillian Curl said that although no 'specific act of terrorism' had been identified: 'He was preparing for an act against either serving on-duty police officers or military personnel.' King refused to stand in the dock as Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring remanded him in custody ahead of a hearing at the Old Bailey on June 10. A 17-year-old girl was arrested in connection with the same investigation on May 20 and remains in custody. The Met said that there is not believed to be any imminent threat to the public. A chorus of furious parents rallied at a Virginia school last night in protest over proposed changes to rules that include punishing children for 'maliciously misgendering' their trans classmates if they accidentally refer to them by their old names. The Fairfax County school board is still deliberating whether or not to implement the punishments for kids at Luther Jackson Middle School in Falls Church, Virginia. It would make 'deadnaming' - the act of referring to a trans person with the name they used before they transitioned - a suspendible offense. The board is also deliberating mixing boys and girls in sex education classes. Parents say it is 'too much too young' and that some of the materials they are being shown are 'pornographic'. At a meeting in Virginia last week, the parents held up signs that read 'concerned parents are 'not terrorists' and 'we the parents have had enough'. Parent Thomas Ferguson protesting outside the Luther Jackson Middle School yesterday. 'These are dynamic issues and things that frankly even adults struggle with. It's important to major on the majors - reading, writing and arithmetic,' he said A mother wearing a 'Mama Grizzly' t-shirt protesting the proposed changes 'I asked my son this morning what he was going to learn. He said, math, science, language arts, writing. And he said, oh, science.' That's what we want to hear, right? 'We don't want to hear, "I got punished today because I called somebody by the wrong pronoun. Or what this regulation identifies as ''malicious misgendering"' one parent called Jeff told FOX News. The parents want to be able to opt-in or out of the mixed-gender sex education classes. 'That's absolutely key. Especially when they're expanding upon information that students are hearing here at school, but you would never even dream of mentioning in an adult working environment. 'Some of the things that kids are being told in school or even literature that they're receiving in school, is, if you sold it on the street, or you had it on the street, you'd be criminalized for it,' said parent Elizabeth McCauley. 'It's compelling our kids to a type of behavior and speech and especiallyif you're a conservative family or a Christian family, you have a right to be able to live in reality andaddress someone who is obviously male as a male. This is the Fairfax County Public School Board, which has been dubbed '12-0 woke' by angry parents We don't want to hear, "I got punished today because I called somebody by the wrong pronoun. Or what this regulation identifies as ''malicious misgendering"' one parent called Jeff said last week at the meeting 'I don't think that that speech should be compelled,' said mother Stacy Langton. The Fairfax County School Board has 12 members, ten of which are women. In March, Asian Muslim mother Asra Nomani was marched out of one of the school board's meetings after taking the podium with anti-CRT books. She had brought with her copies of Race to the Bottom: Uncovering the Secret Forces Destroying American Public Education, a book by Daily Wire reporter Luke Rosiak. In an article later, Nomani said she lost her job at the group Parents Defending Education as a result of the incident. 'Over the past two years, I have witnessed a new racism by the 12-0 woke Democrats on the school board, directed against Asian Americans, like me, whose childrens success in K-12 schools belie the notion that systemic racism oppresses all minorities. 'The painful irony of progressive Democrats flashed before me. 'The school board that pontificates so often about white supremacy and creating a caring culture had dispatched white security officials against me, an Asian immigrant Muslim single mom,' she said in a March article for The Federalist. The school board has pushed its vote on punishing kids for deadnaming until June. The Kremlin on Wednesday accused President Joe Biden of adding fuel to the fire in the war between Russia and Ukraine by pledging to send advanced rockets to Kyiv. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he doesn't trust Ukraine not to fire the weapons into Russia even though Biden promised that the systems would not be used to shoot targets at Ukraine's hostile eastern and northern neighbor. 'We believe that the United States is purposefully and diligently adding fuel to the fire,' Peskov told reporters on Wednesday. 'The U.S. is obviously holding the line that it will fight Russia to the last Ukrainian.' When asked how Russia would respond if Ukraine used U.S.-supplied rockets to strike on Russian soil, Peskov said: 'Let's not talk about worst-case scenarios.' Biden agreed as part of a $700 million weapons package to provide Ukraine with advanced rocket systems that can strike with precision at long-range Russian targets, but only after receiving 'assurances' they would not use the missiles to strike inside Russia. The rockets are capable of hitting targets as far as 50 miles. The president said Tuesday night that he would be arming Ukraine with 'more advanced rocket systems and munitions' in a new op-ed for The New York Times outlining, 'What America Will and Will Not Do in Ukraine.' White House officials insist that the use of the medium-range rocket systems will be restricted to defense use only in Ukraine. 'The Ukrainians have given us assurances that they will not use these systems against targets in Russian territory, and so based on those assurances we are very comfortable they will not,' a senior White House official said on a call with reporters. Russia is accusing President Joe Biden of 'purposefully and diligently adding fuel to the fire' by sending advanced rocket systems to Ukraine. White House officials said the weapons are only being sent after receiving 'assurances' Kyiv would not use the missiles to strike inside Russia Biden said in an op-ed published Tuesday night that he would be arming Ukraine with 'more advanced rocket systems and munitions' Additionally, the White House said it would not be providing Ukraine with longer-range systems. Biden's op-ed was published on the eve of the announcement of the 11th package of security assistance for the war in Ukraine. 'We will continue providing Ukraine with advanced weaponry, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, Stinger antiaircraft missiles, powerful artillery and precision rocket systems, radars, unmanned aerial vehicles, Mi-17 helicopters and ammunition,' Biden wrote. That package, worth $700 million, will include HMARS - High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems - and ammunition, counter-fire radars, a number of air surveillance radars, additional Javelins, anti-armor weapons, more artillery rounds, several helicopters, additional tactical vehicles and a spare parts package, a White House official said. Smoke rises in the city of Severodonetsk during heavy fightings between Ukrainian and Russian troops at eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas Administration officials were pressed several times on whether Ukraine's leadership had pledged not to use the new rockets on the border to shoot inside Russia - before saying they had made that agreement. 'We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders,' Biden said in the op-ed. 'We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia,' the president also offered. Ukrainian forces are expected to use the rockets to target Russian forces in the Donbas region. The package will be the first financed by the most recent supplemental appropriations bill passed by Congress, which Biden signed into law during his trip to Asia. State television channel Russia One's host Olga Skabeyeva said World War Three is already underway as she effectively declared war on the United Kingdom, US and NATO and advocated for a fresh Russian military campaign extending beyond Ukraine's borders The Kremlin's attack on Ukraine is going into its fourth month after initially invading on February 24, 2022. Russian propagandists claim that World War Three has already begun and warn that Britain and the U.S. will 'pay a heavy price' for interfering in the war with Ukraine. In her latest broadcast, state television channel Russia One's anchor Olga Skabeyeva effectively declared war on the United Kingdom, U.S. and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and advocated for a fresh Russian military campaign extended beyond Ukraine's borders. 'Perhaps it's time to acknowledge that Russia's special operation in Ukraine has come to an end, in a sense that a real war has started: WWIII,' Skabeyeva said. She added: 'We are forced to conduct the demilitarization not only of Ukraine, but of the entire NATO alliance.' Her statement came on the 60 minutes program, which sees several Moscow analysts, commentators and 'political experts' gather to discuss Russian President Vladimir Putin's 'special military operation' in Ukraine. Vladimir Avatkov, from the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then delivered his own warning to Western allies providing support to Kyiv. 'We need to remember the words of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, who said that anyone who tries to interfere in the special military operation will pay a heavy price,' he said solemnly - but the threats quickly began to escalate even further. The presenter's repeated calls for Russia to take on the West appeared too outlandish for Avatkov, who quietly reminded the panel: 'No need to rush, there is a line... everything will come in time.' But the outright call for war with NATO is just the latest in a string of bombastic Kremlin-controlled propaganda broadcasts designed to inspire patriotism in Russian citizens and turn the narrative against the West. A pensioner today denied causing the death of a baby boy who died when a Renault van mounted the pavement and hit his pram as it was being pushed along by his mother. Shelagh Robertson appeared at Cambridge Crown Court over the death of five-month-old Louis Thorold, in a crash at Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, on January 22 last year. Robertson, 74, pleaded not guilty to the single charge of causing the infant's death by careless driving. Robertson, of Stables Yard, Waterbeach, is said to have been driving a Mazda 2 car on the A10 at the junction with Car Dyke Road. It is then claimed the Mazda collided with a Renault Master van, which then hit Ms Thorold and her son's pram. Shelagh Robertson appeared at Cambridge Crown Court over the death of five-month-old Louis Thorold, in a crash at Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, on January 22 last year Five-month-old Louis (pictured) was described by his parents as 'such a happy little boy' The parents of baby Louis, Chris and Rachael Thorold (right), listened to the hearing from the public gallery Rachael Thorold with son Louis who died in an accident when a van collided with his pram on the A10 on January 22 last year The junction in Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, where five-month-old baby Louis Thorold was killed in a fatal collision last year The parents of baby Louis, Chris and Rachael Thorold, listened to the hearing from the public gallery. Mrs Thorold suffered serious injuries in the crash. Paying tribute to his son, Mr Thorold previously said: 'We will love you always our little Louis. 'You were only with us for a short time, but you made us the happiest people in the world. 'I cannot describe how heartbroken we are that you are gone. You are such a happy little boy and your joyful smile and laughter will never leave us. 'You will always be in our hearts and do not worry, I am taking care of all your animals. 'We love you so much and we know you will now be safe with Granny, Grandad and Great Grandpa in Heaven. 'Take care my little Lou, sweet dreams.' Robertson is due to stand trial from August 8, with Judge Mark Bishop releasing her on bail until then. Gay political candidate Oh Seung-jae campaigns at Dongbu Market in Seoul's northeastern district of Jungnang on May 22. Courtesy of Oh Seung-jae Sexual minority candidates join elections to make Korea more inclusive By Lee Hae-rin Oh Seung-jae, 24, a gay man running for a Seoul City Council seat as a proportional representative for the minor progressive Justice Party, decided to become a politician after watching the televised debate during the 2017 presidential election. Oh said he wanted to give fellow sexual minorities a greater say in the policymaking process. "Former President Moon Jae-in and conservative politician Hong Joon-pyo were participating in the debate and publicly said that they 'opposed' homosexuality," Oh told The Korea Times, Monday. He said that it was at that moment that he realized the world wouldn't change unless politicians change. And thus, he decided to become an agent of change on behalf of the LGBTQ community. Oh took action by protesting in front of the National Assembly the day after the televised debate and joined the Justice Party later that year. He served as the Justice Party's spokesperson from last November to April of this year and is currently the vice chairman of the party's human rights team. Oh said he declared his bid to run in the election in order to give sexual minorities more representation. Ryu Se-a, 31, is another candidate who shares Oh's point of view. As a transgender woman, she has always felt the need to bring sexual minority rights issues to the political table. "By running the campaign, I wanted to show people that people like me exist around them a lot closer than they think," Ryu said. Also a transgender rights activist and the head of the sexual minorities committee at the party's Gyeonggi Province branch, she thought that if somebody had to run, she was ready for it. Ryu chose her campaign slogan as, "Your dignity is always with you." Ryu Se-a, a transgender political candidate running to be a proportional representative in the Gyeonggi Province Assembly on the Justice Party ticket, delivers a speech during a press conference held at the National Assembly in Seoul, May 6. Courtesy of Ryu Se-a According to a report released earlier this month by the domestic LGBTQ advocacy group Dawoom about the lives of sexual minorities in Korea, 97 percent of young LGBTQ people believe that Korea is "not a good country for sexual minorities to live in." If elected, Ryu said she plans to expand the human rights impact assessment which analyzes the impact of government policies and their implementation on human rights as well as carry out gender equality education at government offices and public health facilities to minimize and prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. "There are still widespread misconceptions about sexual minorities in our society. Transgender people are mistakenly perceived as sex workers and some people still think that sexual minorities as a whole are all HIV carriers, and seem to fixate mainly on gay men," Ryu said. Change is desperately needed, especially in the public health sector, where the binary understanding of gender as being only either female or male has long been the norm, and which has created a healthcare blind spot for sexual minorities. The latest report by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea showed that 27 percent of LGBTQ respondents in the past 12 months had given up on going to medical facilities regardless of their health condition because of their gender identity. Regardless of gender identity, LGBTQ rights have been emerging as a political issue for more candidates running in the local elections. Kwak Su-jin, 37, is running in the by-election to become a lawmaker from Seoul's southern Gwanak District. She promises to build a safe community for sexual minorities because she believes that an LGBTQ-friendly space is safer for everyone, including single-person households and senior citizens. She plans to provide financial support for young people and sexual minorities in the district who are estranged from their families. During her campaign, Kwak said that even the most difficult residents of the district, including conservative Christians who have not always welcomed the minorities, are convinced that it is the job of community leaders to protect the weak and vulnerable. Kwak Su-jin, a Justice Party candidate running to represent Seoul's Gwanak District in the National Assembly, is on the campaign trail, May 20. Courtesy of Kwak Su-jin Boris Johnson faced the wrath of Mumsnet readers over Partygate today as he was asked why its readers should trust a 'habitual liar'. In a sit-down interview with the parenting website's founder and chief executive Justine Roberts at No10, Mr Johnson admitted that the whole saga had been a 'miserable experience' for the Government. Answering a string of blunt questions submitted by readers the Prime Minister also denied eating any cake at the 'miserable' No10 party to celebrate his 56th birthday in June 2020 - an event that saw him fined by police. In a rare lighter moment the PM also revealed he had become 'very fast' at changing nappies when discussing his life as a parent. He and wife Carrie had a son, Wilfred, who is two, and a younger daughter, Romy. Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab today claimed that Partygate was a row 'whipped up' by the Westminster Bubble. But Ms Roberts said that half of all the questions submitted by Mumsnet readers had been on the subject. She told the PM the first question was 'pretty typical and sums up the mood' of readers, before asking: 'Why should we believe anything you say when it has been proven you're a habitual liar?' Mr Johnson repeated his apology for the events in Downing Street several times, including when told a teacher would have lost their job if they had broken the law and asked why the same did not apply to the Prime Minister. He replied that he had been 'very surprised and taken aback to get a 50 fixed-penalty notice (FPN) from the Metropolitan Police, adding: 'No cake was eaten by me, I can tell you that now.' In a sit-down interview with the parenting website's founder and chief executive Justine Roberts at No10, Mr Johnson admitted that the whole saga had been a 'miserable experience' for the Government. Answering a string of blunt questions submitted by readers the Prime Minister also denied eating any cake at the 'miserable' No10 party to celebrate his 56th birthday in June 2020 - an event that saw him fined by police. Mr Johnson repeated his apology for the events in Downing Street several times, including when told a teacher would have lost their job if they had broken the law and asked why the same did not apply to the Prime Minister. 'I've changed a lot of nappies - but Carrie does more parenting than me' Boris Johnson has said he is 'very fast' at changing nappies when discussing his life as a parent. The Prime Minister said his wife Carrie 'does far more' than he does when it comes to sharing the workload of parenting their two children. Mr Johnson made the comments while outlining how he balances being a father to a toddler and a baby while being Prime Minister. Carrie gave birth to their first child, a son called Wilfred, in 2020, and a daugher, Romy, last year. Speaking to Justine Roberts, founder and chief executive of Mumsnet, Mr Johnson said: 'I'm doing a lot at the moment Justine, and I'm saying that without any fear of inhibition or fear of contradiction. 'I can tell you I've changed a lot of nappies recently. I'm very fast by the way.' He added that his favourite books to read to his son were Dr Seuss books, and then began quoting The Cat In The Hat Comes Back. 'This was no time for play, this was no time for fun, this was no time for games, there was work to be done, which is our motto in Number 10. There's work to be done,' he said. He addedt: 'I think the more you put in, the more you get out. Carrie obviously does more than I do, I'm not going to conceal that fact from you. She does far, far more than I do. 'But I think if you really sat her down and interrogated her, she would admit I do quite a lot too.' Advertisement The Prime Minister received only one fixed penalty notice (FPN) from police investigating lockdown-busting parties at the heart of Government, for attending his own birthday bash in the Cabinet Room in June 2020, when indoor mixing was banned. Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns famously described the Conservative Party leader as having been 'ambushed with a cake' at the event. The Conservatives were embroiled in a deepening row over Boris Johnson's leadership today as the number of MPs going public with criticism rose. Almost 50 Conservative backbenchers have questioned the PM's behaviour in public over the 'Partygate' scandal, while some have held talks over a possible replacement. Mr Johnson is said to be ringing around wavering backbenchers personally to try to shore up his position. Under party rules, 54 have to submit letters of no confidence in him to trigger a vote on his leadership - though it is not clear if all critics have taken that step. Former Cabinet minister and leadership challenger Dame Andrea Leadsom yesterday joined the trickle of Tories who have broken cover to criticise Mr Johnson over the No10 parties. She plunged the knife in as John Stevenson became the latest Tory MP to write a letter demanding the Prime Minister face a confidence vote. It came as the PM's ethics tsar Lord Geidt said there was a 'legitimate question' about whether his Partygate fine represented a breach of the ministerial code after senior civil servant Sue Gray released a report into her findings. But today the PM's allies lashed out, insisting that his position was safe and questioning whether any of those mooted as possible alternatives were up to the job. Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, treasurer of the 1922 Committee of backbenchers, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that they might not be 'a positive asset to the country, compared to what you've got at the moment'. Asked about a leadership election, he added: 'During that time there will be complete stasis of leadership of this country at a time when we are in a really serious situation with the cost-of-living crisis, with potentially rail strikes. 'And the other problem is, who would you have? There will be at least five or six candidates that would put in for the job. Somebody will emerge, but there'll be a lot of colleagues who haven't voted for that particular candidate. 'That candidate will then have the job of reuniting the party, trying to deal with all the problems that the country faces. And I think at the moment for me, we should leave matters as they are.' Alcohol being delivered to the Cabinet Office in Whitehall today ahead of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Sue Gray released pictures of the party in her report on lawbreaking last week Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has said he does not believe there will be a vote of no confidence against Boris Johnson next week, as predicted. He told Sky News: 'I just don't see that. I think the Westminster bubble and village whips this stuff up. I'm not saying it's not serious and significant. 'But we dealt with all of those issues, the Prime Minister has dealt with all those issues.' Union leaders have demanded face-to-face talks with London Mayor Sadiq Khan in a bid to avert a 24-hour Tube strike. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union are set to walk out on Monday, threatening travel chaos immediately after the Jubilee weekend. The union is protesting over job cuts and a 'looming threat' to pensions. RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said: 'We are demanding a direct face to face meeting with Mayor Sadiq Khan to sort this mess out. 'There's no point in our union continuing to sit opposite management representatives who have neither the inclination nor the authority to negotiate a settlement, when the power lies with the Mayor. 'The Mayor of London has tax-raising powers. Just four banks made a profit of 34bn last year and are set to pay out over 4bn in bonuses to London traders. A windfall tax on those profits would more than adequately fund London's transport network. 'Mayor Khan must choose either the take on the Tory government and demand a just funding deal for Londoners or attack loyal Tube workers who keep the capital moving day in day out.' Members of the RMT union are set to walk out for 24 hours on Monday, June 9. RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch has demanded face-to-face chat with Mayor Sadiq Khan News there could be strikes on the first day of the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday weekend prompted fury Workers will also be taking part in 'action short of a strike' across next month, including Queen's Platinum Jubilee this weekend. The action, over pensions, jobs and conditions, could see station staff refuse to work overtime or rest days from Friday June 3 to Sunday July 10. TfL chiefs have warned some services may be affected by this and say short-notice station closures are possible. Mr Lord, TfL's chief operating officer, says his team is doing its 'utmost' to minimise the impact of the RMT's 'frustrating' strike action. But his work from home comments have sparked a backlash from Tory councillors in the capital, who say 'Londoners deserve better'. GLA Conservatives Transport Spokesman, Nick Rogers AM, said: 'Andy Lord's advice to Londoners underlines Sadiq Khan's failure of leadership on strikes. 'Before the Mayoral election in 2016 Sadiq Khan promised Londoners 'zero days of strikes' should he become Mayor. 'Just over six years later he has presided over more strikes than both his predecessors combined in sixteen years, with no hint of a plan for how he will stand up to militant unions like the RMT. Londoners deserve better.' Commuters wait to get on buses at Liverpool Street during a strike on March 1. A strike by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union is set to bring London to a standstill on Monday, June 6. Pictured: People wait to get on buses at Liverpool Street station in central London during a strike by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union on March 1 It comes after Mr Lord warned of disruption across this weekend and on Monday due to the RMT's action. He said: 'We are doing our utmost to make the Platinum Jubilee weekend one to remember and I can assure our customers we are working hard to minimise the impact of the RMT's frustrating strike action. 'Our advice to Londoners and visitors is to check before they make their journeys in case of any short-notice closures. 'On Monday June 6 we advise anyone who needs to use the Tube to consider whether they are able to work from home and only travel if necessary on this day. 'We are expecting severe disruption, which will continue into the morning of Tuesday June 7 too.' Mr Lord also issued an apology to customers, admitting they 'deserved better'. He urged the union to call off its strike. He said: 'I apologise to customers for this and understand they will be frustrated by this strike action but urge them not to take it out on those who are trying to help. 'We haven't proposed any changes to pensions, and nobody has or will lose their jobs because of the proposals we have set out. 'We know our customers deserve better than this and that is why we're urging the RMT to call off this action and work with us to find a resolution to this dispute, which is threatening London's recovery from the pandemic.' TfL said it expects to run a service during the June 3 to July 10 action, including the Platinum Jubilee weekend, and plans to keep all stations open, but advised customers to check before they travel. The decision to take action across the Jubilee weekend has sparked fury among businesses, including Richard Burge, Chief Executive of London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI). He said: 'We are disappointed to see that the RMT has voted to strike once again, this time at one of the most poignant moments in the history of London and the UK. 'We urge TfL and RMT to resolve the dispute and enable businesses, Londoners and tourists to continue with their plans to celebrate this milestone for the Queen and for London.' The strike action is also likely to cause problems for travellers arriving in the UK via London over the weekend and on Monday - which some experts say will be the busiest day for inbound flights for three years. The warning comes following chaotic scenes at airports in recent days, including pictures showing air passengers sleeping on terminal floors due to long waits. Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, told MailOnline: 'It's for travel firms themselves to get themselves in order. Sadly, I think it will get worse because were reaching its peak in a few days,' Mr Charles said. 'Monday 6 June scheduled to be the busiest day since 2019, with 2,864 departures from the UK, and the same number of inbound flights - it will be the busiest day since before the pandemic.' Meanwhile, TfL warned of severe disruption across the network from the start of service on Monday June 6 to 8am on Tuesday June 7, with many stations - especially those in the centre of the capital - closed. A Paralympian has been left fuming after she missed her Jetstar flight as she was told she couldn't bring her wheelchair on board. Karni Liddell, who won Paralympic Bronze at the 1996 and 2000 Games, was travelling from Brisbane to Proserpine to attend a domestic violence workshop as a keynote speaker recently when she was stopped prior to boarding. The champion swimmer was then told by an airline worker she was unable to get on the plane because of the lithium battery in her wheelchair. 'After an hour she (the crew member) said 'ma'am you can fly but you can't bring your wheelchair',' Ms Liddell told Nine. 'I said 'it'd be like me telling you to fly and just take your legs off' and she said 'stop being rude to me'.' Paralympian Karni Liddell was told she couldn't bring her wheelchair aboard a Jetstar flight - and admitted a series of run-ins with airline staff has her hesitant to fly again The champion swimmer was told by a Jetstar worker she was unable to get on the plane because of the lithium battery in her wheelchair The disability advocate had obtained a dangerous goods certificate issued by Qantas and Jetstar, but was told she needed to give the airline five days notice prior to flying. Ms Liddell was also told there was additional paperwork she needed to fill out. As a result, she missed the seminar in Proserpine. 'As soon as this happened I knew I wasn't going to fly,' she said. The Paralympian said repeated run-ins with airlines has dissuaded her from wanting to fly in the future. 'My friends have heard a hundred stories about me and airlines,' Ms Liddell said. 'I'm very used to this happening to me, so I was already nervous about flying. I have a lot of anxiety around flying.' She also fears having her wheelchair mishandled, which could see her without the vital equipment that costs thousands of dollars. 'I just want to be able to arrive with my son on a holiday and not have my wheelchair broken,' the mother said. The two-time Paralympic bronze medallist was unable to speak at the domestic violence seminar after being denied entry to the plane She said she's developed a fear of flying due to all the issues she faces while attempting air travel with her wheelchair A Jetstar spokesperson said the airline had nresponded personally to Ms Liddell, contacting the Paralympian and issuing a refund and travel voucher. They say the issue arose because she made the booking through a travel company rather than through the airline. 'Unfortunately her booking was made through a travel vendor and did not include the requirement to travel with a 25-kilogram lithium-battery-powered wheelchair,' the spokesperson said. 'Carrying a 25-kilogram lithium battery on our aircraft requires special clearance in advance of the flight's departure.' Ms Liddell said she wants the incident to spark change in policy for airlines and ensure wheelchairbound Australians don't find themselves in similar situations. 'I want them to treat us as people and passengers and customers,' she said. 'I have never been treated like a customer.' The New York Times' United Nations bureau chief is being taken to task for suggesting all of her friends want to raise their children outside America in the wake of the Uvalde mass shooting. Farnaz Fassihi, a former bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal in Baghdad who has covered Iran for the Times in the past, tweeted her reaction to the massacre. 'I'm a child of immigrants,' she wrote. 'When I was a kid, everyone I knew wished they could raise their children in America. Now, everyone I know wishes they could raise their children outside of America.' Fassihi, who was born in the United States and split time growing up in Tehran and Portland, Oregon, expanded on her thoughts but closed off replies to her tweet. 'This is an observation. It's what I'm hearing in reaction to the Texas school shooting, parents terrified of gun violence and the recent shootings in NY subways and elsewhere.' 'As an American who loves this country this observation makes me sad. So does all the hateful attacks,' she added. The New York Times' United Nations bureau chief, Farnaz Fassihi (above) is being taken to task for suggesting all of her friends want to raise their children outside America in the wake of the Uvalde mass shooting Farnaz Fassihi, a former bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal in Baghdad who has covered Iran for the Times in the past, tweeted her reaction to the massacre The reaction on Twitter, particularly from conservatives, criticized Fassihi for living in a liberal bubble. 'This sounds like someone with a rich and diverse social circle who is not in a bubble at all,' wrote Richard Hanania, who is president of The Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology (CSPI). A. G. Hamilton, the pseudonym of a licensed attorney who writes for National Review, tweeted: 'Obviously not even remotely true and posting it is just a silly way to score points with a certain crowd. We know it isn't true because it's actually not that hard for an American to move elsewhere and there are still hundreds of millions of people who come here.' Red State managing editor Kira Davis chimed in: 'We have a door that swings both ways. Please feel free to use it.' New Jersey conservative Matt Rooney wrote: 'What's stopping 'everyone' you know? They're welcome to leave.' One Twitter user even compared Fassihi to the film critic Pauline Kael, who once famously said that she didn't know how Richard Nixon could've won the presidency because no one she knew voted for him. Fassihi has previously courted controversy for posting video of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, shortly after he was killed in a US drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump in January 2020. The video showed Soleimani reciting poetry. Fassihi wrote: 'Rare personal video of Gen. Suleimani reciting poetry shared by a source in #Iran. About friends departing & him being left behind.' Many called that video propaganda and deemed it sympathetic to a man who the Trump administration claimed murdered thousands of people, according to Fox News. She refused to delete that tweet and defended it, saying it wasn't meant to endorse anything Soleimani did in battle. 'Folks attacking me for sharing this video: It's called reporting. It's not an endorsement or sympathy. I share whatever info I get for all to see. That's all,' she wrote. She's also previously been criticized for spreading what many journalists called 'fake news when she shared 'unconfirmed' reports about the Islamic Revolutionary Guard firing missiles at an American base in Iraq. Those reports were later confirmed to be wrong and Fassihi deleted the tweet after receiving confirmation from Iraqi military. Fassihi's latest 'observation' comes after the murder of 21 people, including 19 children, at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Memorials and funeral services have continued for the victims of the massacre this week. Fassihi's latest 'observation' comes after the murder of 21 people, including 19 children, at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas Bison attack and injure visitors at Yellowstone National Park more than other animal. According to a 2018 study, photography was the most common reason for bison charging at people between 2000 and 2015. However, visitors at the park have suffered injuries, and also encountered death in other incidents, including: falling into geysers and being attacked by bears. Wildlife in Yellowstone National Park are wild and can be dangerous when approached. When an animal is near a campsite, trail, boardwalk, parking lot, or in a developed area, it is advised to give it space and to stay at least 25 yards (23 meters) away from the animals. Visitors are also warned of staying away from hot springs, with at least 22 people having died from related incidents in and around Yellowstone since 180, according to the park. 1. MAN FALLS INTO HOT SPRING Colin Scott, 23, and of Portand, Oregon, had been looking for a place to hot pot a term for soaking in the parks natural thermal features in the summer of 2013. His sister Sable Scott said that she and her brother left the boardwalk near Pork Chop Geyser, according to a report on the incident. While she filmed video with her phone, her brother reached down to check the water temperature but accidentally slipped and fell into the scalding pool, she said. Search and rescue rangers spotted his body in the pool on the day of the accident, but a lightning storm prevented their rescue efforts. By the following day, workers were unable to find any remains. Deputies called the area where the accident happened - the Norris Geyser basin very dangerous with boiling acidic waters. Colin and Sable Scott left the boardwalk and walked several hundred feet up a hill. The accident occurred in the hottest, oldest and most volatile area of Yellowstone, where boiling water flows just beneath a think rock crust. Previous geological surveys found the water under the surface to measure more than 400 degrees. Water temperatures there can reach 199 degrees Fahrenheit - the boiling point for water at the park's high elevation. Scott is pictured (center) with family at his recent graduation 2. ELDERLY WOMAN GORED Another woman, from California, was repeatedly gored by a wild bison at Yellowstone National Park in 2020. The 72-year-old - who has not been publicly identified - was attacked at the Bridge Bay Campground campsite after she approached the wild animal to try and snap a photograph. The woman was immediately tended to by park rangers before she was flown to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center via helicopter for further treatment. A press release from the National Park Service stated that the women came within 10 feet of the bison before she was gored. 'To be safe around bison, stay at least 25 yards away, move away if they approach, and run away or find cover if they charge,' the park's Senior Bison Biologist Chris Geremia is quoted as saying in an statement from back then. 3. MAN KILLED BY BEAR A father-of-four was killed in a suspected grizzly bear attack after his remains were discovered by a search party near Yellowstone National Park in Montana in March of this year. The remains of Craig Clouatre, 40, of Livingston, were discovered by Park County Search and Rescue near Yellowstone National Park. Clouatre went missing after hiking in the Six Mile Creek area of Paradise Valley, according to The Living Enterprise. The mountains in the area rise steeply above the Yellowstone River as it passes through the Paradise Valley. Clouatre had gone hiking with a friend but the pair split up, possibly to hunt for antlers. Pictured: Craig Clouatre, 40, of Livingston, reportedly went missing after hiking in the Six Mile Creek area of Paradise Valley on Wednesday Pictured: the location of the deadly grizzly attack that reportedly took Clouatre's life in relation to Yellowstone National Park Since 2010, grizzlies in the Yellowstone region have killed at least eight people. Among them was a backcountry guide killed by a bear last year along Yellowstone's western border. Guide Charles 'Carl' Mock was killed in April after being mauled by a 400-plus pound male grizzly while fishing alone at a favorite spot on Montanas Madison River, where it spills out of the park. Grizzlies are protected under federal law outside Alaska. Elected officials in the Yellowstone region are pushing to lift protections and allow grizzly hunting. The Yellowstone region spanning portions of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming has more than 700 bears. 4. WOMAN JUMPS INTO HOT SPRING TO SAVE PET Laiha Slayton, 20, was horrifically burned after jumping into a 190-degree Yellowstone geyser to try and save her puppy - Shih Tzu - in October 2021. She was initially put in a medically-induced coma at an Idaho hospital right after the October 5 incident. It remains unclear if she still is, as of Wednesday. Laiha and her father, Woodrow, briefly stopped for a visit at Yellowstone National Park and had parked 20-30 yards away from Maidens Grave Spring, next to the Firehole River, according to the vicitm's sister - Kamilla. The family's two Shih Tzus, Rusty and Chevy, had gotten out of the car and were wandering around nearby while Slayton was looking for their leashes in the car. Rusty suddenly got his foot burned by a small leak from the geyser that flows into the river. The dog then panicked and fell in to the spring while Woodrow was trying to gain control of Chevy. Laiha jumped in to the thermal spring - which can reach temperatures of 190-degree Fahrenheit - in a bid to rescue her one-year-old puppy, and then had to be rescued herself by her father. Woodrow, 48, pulled his daughter out of the scalding water after just eight seconds. Woodrow although injured drove Laiha to West Yellowstone, Montana, to seek help, from where she was flown by helicopter to the burn unit at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls. As a result from the fall, Laiha's body is 90 percent covered with severe burns - half of which are third-degree, with the remainder second-degree. Laiha Slayton was scalded in a Yellowstone geyster in October of last year, and has suffered second and third-degree burns to 90 percent of her body Rusty, the Shih Tzu puppy, was taken to a veterinarian but did not survive from its wounds Maiden's Grave Hot Spring flowing into the Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park, where Laiha and her dog reportedly fell into and suffered burns on October 5th The incident happened at Maiden's Grave Spring, north of the famous Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone Park, Wyoming The Michigan GOP is building a vast network aimed at challenging and overturning election results in the battleground state's heavily Democratic areas - using an 'army' of specially-trained poll workers and attorneys, a new report revealed on Wednesday. Michigan Republicans are training right-wing activists to be poll workers via an 'Election Inspector and Poll Challenger Workshop' series, according to Politico. They're also recruiting enough attorneys to set up a 'hotline' for those poll workers to then reach out to on Election Day in an effort to challenge results in areas like Detroit, where the majority of poll workers have traditionally been Democrats as a result of the voter makeup there. While poll workers do generally undergo state-driven training before Election Day, it's not common for political parties to lead lessons themselves. 'It's going to be an army,' the Republican National Committee's election integrity director for Michigan, Matthew Seifried, said of the legal network they hope to build up behind the poll workers. In an October 5, 2021 recording obtained for Wednesday's report, Seifried said during one of their training sessions: 'Were going to have more lawyers than weve ever recruited, because lets be honest, thats where its going to be fought, right?' He described the state party's reasoning for the new strategy in a separate recorded meeting with Republican activists in November. 'Being a poll worker, you just have so many more rights and things you can do to stop something than [as] a poll challenger,' Seifried said. In a slide obtained by Politico, the Michigan Republican Party appears to be recruiting poll workers in 'targeted' locations, which the outlet's report suggests are heavily-Democratic districts like Detroit It also goes through the steps of training GOP activists in what to spot when they are challenging a vote. The last step encourages them to call a 'hotline' comprised of a vast network of lawyers who are sympathetic to their cause Last month the Michigan RNC reportedly submitted a list of nearly 1,000 people to be poll workers to the Detroit clerk's office, who then will likely pick names from that list ahead of Election Day, Wednesday's report suggests. It was described as a plan to 'trap' Democrat clerk Janice Winfrey by Tim Griffin, the legal counsel of an 'election integrity' group that worked with Donald Trump's team to overturn the 2020 presidential election. He reportedly described a plot to corner Winfrey by making her either pick questionable names from the Republican-submitted election worker list or set up the basis for a lawsuit over her rejection of them in a June 2021 recording. The slideshow is reportedly presented to activists hoping to be election workers by Michigan RNC election integrity director Matthew Seifried 'How do we build the proper evidence and how do we build a trap for Janice Winfrey?' Griffin can be heard questioning. He described the list as names 'whom shes not going to hire' but whose rejection would 'up the door for a mandamus lawsuit for them to start following the law.' 'Apparently they think Im stupid,' was Winfrey's response to hearing about the plan. She did add, however, that 'a good number' of those 850 names sent by the state RNC will get the job, provided they attend mandatory classes and are registered to vote themselves. Winfrey said her office always reaches out to both state parties and 'we get what we get.' While Seifried reportedly hold election worker training sessions in Michigan, Griffin has been meeting with Republican activists to help identify district attorneys throughout the country that are sympathetic to their politics and then wade into electoral disputes at a moment's notice. Griffin outlined a goal of a 'nationwide district attorney network' to help challenge election results in a late September meeting, the report claims. Another GOP operative described a plan to 'trap' Detroit clerk Janice Winfrey into selecting Republican-trained poll workers 'Your local district attorney, as we always say, is more powerful than your congressman,' he can be heard saying. 'Theyre the ones that can seat a grand jury. Theyre the ones that can start an investigation, issue subpoenas, make sure that records are retained, etc.' In Sei fried's sessions, meanwhile, potential GOP-recruited poll workers are shown a slideshow - two pages of which were obtained by Politico. One which appears to be the title slide shares the mission statement: 'Our mission is to recruit, train and place Republican election inspectors in every targeted polling location and absentee count board station to make it easy to vote and HARD TO CHEAT.' Another slide is titled 'How to Challenge a Voter.' The first direction states, 'Tell the poll worker, "I would like to challenge this voter".' The Michigan RNC submitted a list of roughly 850 names as potential poll workers 'After the challenge is made and accepted, the challenged person takes the oath,' the second bullet reads. A designated official then questions the voter, with the RNC pointing out that the line of inquiry must be 'confined to the person's qualifications as a voter' including details on citizenship, age and residency, among others. The voter then submits a 'challenged ballot' if they're proved able to vote in the precinct. But the training slide shares with activists specific circumstances to watch for in which the person could be disqualified. A 'complete record of the challenge' is then recorded. The RNC's final step encourages the poll worker to then call the 'hotline' of attorneys ready to dive into an election challenge. 'You have to have good reason to believe that an individual is not a citizen, that an individual is not of legal voting age. If an individual does not live at the location that theyre registered at, or if the person is not registered at all,' Seifried reportedly told trainees. Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Chief Pete Arredondo was in charge and mistakenly thought there were no other kids alive in the room once the shooter had barricaded himself inside The top school cop in Uvalde, Texas who faces stinging criticism over his response to last week's mass shooting has refused to answer a reporter's questions, but disputed claims that he is not cooperating with a state probe. Pete Arredondo, head of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) Police, was confronted by a CNN reporter on Wednesday morning, but brushed aside his questions, saying: 'We're not going to release anything, we have people in our community being buried.' Arredondo has been fiercely criticized by state officials, the media and grieving parents for failing to send his officers into Robb Elementary School immediately when it was attacked last week. Arredondo incorrectly believed that the 18-year-old gunman, Salvador Rolando Ramos, was barricaded alone inside the building, and waited over an hour before breaching the classrooms - where 19 children and two teachers were killed. Asked by CNN reporter Shimon Prokupecz to defend his moves as the incident commander during the massacre, Arredondo declined, saying: 'We're going to be respectful to the families.' 'Just so you know, we're going to do that eventually. Whenever this is done and the families quit grieving, then we'll do that obviously,' added Arredondo, referring to the slew of funerals taking place in Uvalde this week. Arredondo also appeared to dispute claims that he has not been cooperating with an investigation into the shooting and police response by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). 'Just so everybody knows, we've been in contact with DPS every day. I've been on the phone with them every day. Just so you know we've been talking to them every day,' the embattled official said. Pete Arredondo, head of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) Police, was confronted by a CNN reporter on Wednesday morning, but brushed aside his questions US Customs and Border Protection agents (left) are seen alongside local police (center) and sheriff's deputies (right) working to rescue kids from Robb Elementary on May 24 It comes as blame in last week's tragedy increasingly seems to center on Arredondo, with community members expressing their fury at the roughly hour-long delay in confronting the shooter. Uvalde local Juan Torres, a U.S. Army veteran who was visibly upset with reports coming out about the police response, told the AP this week that he knew Arredondo from high school. 'You sign up to respond to those kinds of situations,' said Torres. 'If you are scared, then don't be a police officer. Go flip burgers.' Others took to Facebook to express their frustration. 'What would he do if the call said officers down,' asked Donald Haga. Texas resident Nicole Chris Leal commented in response to an article about Arredondo: 'As a mother I would of ran in to save my kids. I would of gave my life for any Child. Such a sorry excuse for man.' However, others remarked that Arredondo was exercising his right to remain silent, and said that the shooter was ultimately to blame in the tragedy. 'The man made a mistake, a big one. But he was not the evil SOB that went in an unlocked door and murdered those sweet babies. Lay blame at the right feet,' commented Janie Sue Heizer on Facebook. On Tuesday, Travis Considine, a spokesman for the Texas DPS, said Arredondo had stopped assisting their inquiries. 'Uvalde and Uvalde CISD departments have been cooperating with investigators,' he told DailyMail.com. 'The chief of the CISD did an initial interview but has not responded to a request for a followup interview that was made two days ago.' A man and a boy visit a memorial at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on Sunday to pay their respects for the victims killed in a school shooting Fifteen minutes later, Considine clarified that other members of the departments were cooperating with the state probe, and told Dallas News: 'Uvalde PD and Uvalde ISD are cooperating. 'Plenty of their personnel have done interviews and given statements to investigators, so it's absolutely wrong to characterize both those departments as not being cooperative.' The investigators are trying to determine the facts surrounding last week's murder in Uvalde, amid widespread anger at a confusing and contradictory explanation of what happened. In particular, people have questioned why it took so long to end Ramos's rampage. DPS, the Texas state police force, opened an investigation as a matter of routine. In addition, on Sunday the federal Department of Justice announced they too were launching an inquiry. Texas' largest police union, the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, or CLEAT, issued a statement on Tuesday urging its members to 'cooperate fully' with investigations into the police response to the Uvalde massacre. The statement did not mention Arredondo by name. On Tuesday, Arredondo was sworn is as an Uvalde city council member in a private ceremony. Mayor Don McLaughlin is seen on the day after the shooting in his city, visiting the school where it happened 'Uvalde City Council members were sworn in today as per the City Charter,' Mayor Don McLaughlin announced. 'Out of respect for the families who buried their children today, and who are planning to bury their children in the next few days, no ceremony was held.' McLaughlin, conscious of the anger directed at Arredondo, said on Monday the ceremony would not be held. 'Our focus on Tuesday is on our families who lost loved ones,' he said. 'We begin burying our children tomorrow, the innocent victims of last week's murders at Robb Elementary School. The special City Council meeting will not take place as scheduled.' He also defended Arredondo's place on the council, despite inquiries into his handling of the massacre being launched by both the Texas department of public safety and, in an unusual move, the Department of Justice. 'There is nothing in the City Charter, Election Code, or Texas Constitution that prohibits him from taking the oath of office,' McLaughlin said. 'To our knowledge, we are currently not aware of any investigation of Mr Arredondo.' Steven McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said at a Friday news conference that after following the gunman into the building, officers waited over an hour to breach the classroom. Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the shooting. Pallbearers carry the casket of Amerie Jo Garza following funeral services at Sacred Heart Catholic Church Tuesday in Uvalde on Tuesday Garza was one of the students killed in last week's shooting at Robb Elementary School The 50-year-old Arredondo has spent much of a nearly 30-year career in law enforcement in Uvalde, returning in 2020 to take the head police job at the school district. When Arredondo was a boy, Maria Gonzalez used to drive him and her children to the same school where the shooting happened. 'He was a good boy,' she said. 'He dropped the ball maybe because he did not have enough experience. Who knows? People are very angry,' Gonzalez said. Another woman in the neighborhood where Arredondo grew up began sobbing when asked about him. The woman, who didn't want to give her name, said one of her granddaughters was at the school during the shooting but wasn't hurt. After his election to the non-salaried spot on the City Council, Arredondo told the Uvalde Leader-News earlier this month that he was 'ready to hit the ground running.' 'I have plenty of ideas, and I definitely have plenty of drive,' he said, adding he wanted to focus not only on the city being fiscally responsible but also making sure street repairs and beautification projects happen. At a candidates forum before his election, Arredondo said: 'I guess to me nothing is complicated. Everything has a solution. That solution starts with communication. Communication is key.' People grieve and embrace outside of Amerie Jo Garza's, 10, funeral service on Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas. Amerie was of the 19 students killed in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary McCraw said Friday that minutes after the gunman entered the school, city police officers entered through the same door. Over the course of more than an hour, law enforcement from multiple agencies arrived on the scene. Finally, officials said, a U.S. Border Patrol tactical team used a janitors key to unlock the classroom door and kill the gunman. McCraw said that students and teachers had repeatedly begged 911 operators for help while Arredondo told more than a dozen officers to wait in a hallway. That directive - which goes against established active-shooter protocols - prompted questions about whether more lives were lost because officers didn't act faster. 'The truth will come out,' said a man answering the door at Arredondo's home Two law enforcement officials have said that as the gunman fired at students, law enforcement officers from other agencies urged Arredondo to let them move in because children were in danger. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they had not been authorized to talk publicly about the investigation. In his Monday statement, McLaughlin, the Uvalde mayor, pushed back on officials claims, including remarks made over the weekend by Texas lieutenant governor, that they werent told the truth about the massacre. McLaughlin said in that statement that local law enforcement hadn't made any public comments about the investigation's specifics or misled anyone. But in his Tuesday statement, McLaughlin, noting that 'emotions are raw, and hearts are broken,' said he 'misunderstood' statements he thought Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had said. Arredondo started out his career in law enforcement working for the Uvalde Police Department. After spending 16 years there, he went to Laredo, a border city located 130 miles miles to the south, where he worked at the Webb County Sheriff's Office and then for a local school district, according to a 2020 article in the Uvalde Leader-News on his return to his hometown to take the school district police chief job. The school district's board of trustees approved his appointment to the spot. Arredondo, who spoke only briefly at two short news conferences on the day of the shooting, appeared behind state officials speaking at news conferences over the next two days, but was not present at McCraw's Friday news conference According to the Uvalde school district's website, the police force led by Arredondo also has five other officers and a security guard. Ray Garner, the police chief of the district in Laredo where Arredondo worked, told the San Antonio Express-News in a story published after the Uvalde shooting that when Arredondo worked in the Laredo district he was 'easy to talk to' and was concerned about the students. 'He was an excellent officer down here,' Garner told the newspaper . 'Down here, we do a lot of training on active-shooter scenarios, and he was involved in those.' Arredondo, who spoke only briefly at two short news conferences on the day of the shooting, appeared behind state officials speaking at news conferences over the next two days, but was not present at McCraw's Friday news conference. After that news conference, members of the media converged at Arredondo's home and police cruisers took up posts there. Arredondo has not responded to multiple requests for comment from The Associated Press. At one point, a man answering the door at Arredondo's house told a reporter for the AP that Arredondo was 'indisposed.' 'The truth will come out,' said the man before closing the door. On Tuesday, Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Arredondo had not responded to DPS interview requests for two days. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat whose district includes Uvalde, said on CNN's 'State of the Union' on Sunday that he's asking a lot of questions after 'so many things went wrong.' He said one family told him that a first responder told them that their child, who was shot in the back, likely bled out. 'So, absolutely, these mistakes may have led to the passing away of these children as well,' Gutierrez said. Gutierrez said while the issue of which law enforcement agency had or should have had operational control is a 'significant' concern of his, he's also 'suggested' to McCraw 'that its not fair to put it on the local (school district) cop.' 'At the end of the day, everybody failed here,' Gutierrez said. Russia held fresh nuclear drills today as Germany joined America in pledging to send some of its most advanced weapons systems to Ukraine. Video showed Yars launchers - capable of carrying nuclear missiles that can hit almost any country on earth - taking part in exercises in the Ivanovo region, just to the west of Moscow. The drills involved 1,000 troops 'dispersing' the launchers - the first move on the outbreak of a nuclear war - and came just hours after Joe Biden said he will send advanced rocket artillery to Ukraine. Meanwhile Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor who has been criticised for his lackluster support of Kyiv, then pledged to send its most up-to-date IRIS-T anti-aircraft missile systems to help thwart Russia jet and cruise missile attacks. Russia held nuclear drills today (pictured), just hours after Biden announced he is sending advanced rocket artillery to Ukraine Moscow said Yars launchers - capable of firing nuclear missile at virtually any country - practiced 'dispersing', which would be the first move at the outbreak of nuclear war The Russian defence ministry said 1,000 soldiers and 100 pieces of equipment took part in the drill in the Ivanovo region The Russian MoD said the exercises included 'strategic rocket men work[ing] out the issues of bringing missile systems to field positions, making marches up to 62 miles , dispersing units with a change in field positions, their engineering equipment, organising camouflage and combat protection.' It added: 'At the same time, a number of measures are being taken to detect, block and destroy conditional saboteurs, including the use of new Typhoon-M combat anti-sabotage vehicles equipped with unmanned aerial vehicles. 'In addition, during the manoeuvres, the Listva remote demining vehicle was used to escort the Yars mobile ground-based missile system on combat patrol routes. 'According to the legend of the exercise, conditional saboteurs planted remotely controlled explosive devices on the route of the column. The MDR neutralised them on the side of the road. 'One of the highest priority tasks of the exercise was to work out a wide range of issues on the search for and destruction of conditional sabotage and reconnaissance formations in the daytime and at night. 'A commandant's service has been organised along the routes of autonomous launchers, which is engaged in the protection of a convoy with large-sized equipment and monitors its passage through control points. 'The exercise makes it possible to improve the level of training of personnel, the coherence of formations and military units of the Strategic Missile Forces.' The newest German surface-to-air system can range 25 miles and hit targets up to 12 miles in the air, which is much further and higher than current Ukrainian systems. It can be used to shoot down jets and bombers, but also cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and other large-calibre rockets that Russia has used to bombard some of Ukraine's largest cities. Scholz is also said to be in favour of giving Ukraine multiple-launch rocket systems of the kind America will be sending, according to Die Welt. The newspaper said the Chancellery is coordinating the move closely with the USA. It is not clear whether the German rocket systems would be in addition to the ones Biden mentioned, or whether Berlin would send its American-made systems to Ukraine and then back-fill them from US stockpiles. Germany says it will be sending its most-advanced anti-air system - the IRIS-T SLR - to Ukraine to counter Russian jets and missile attacks America is thought to be sending the high mobility artillery rocket system - or HIMARS - to Kyiv to help its troops counter similar Russian systems Annalena Baerbock, the German foreign minister, told parliament on Wednesday that the West must give Ukraine long-term support until it is ready to strike a peace deal with Russia on its own terms. Ms Baerbock said Putin 'fundamentally changed' strategy after failing to take Kyiv quickly, and is now 'counting on' the staying power of Ukraine's allies running out. 'We need staying power in supporting Ukraine,' she said. She also fended off criticism of delays in fulfilling promises to send weapons, telling lawmakers that 'stuff has to arrive and above all the soldiers must be able to use it.' Ukraine has been begging its Western allies to send more-advanced weapon systems to aid in its fight against Russia in the Donbas region, where its forces are believed to be suffering heavy casualties. Kyiv has largely been given old Soviet stocks from neighbouring ex-Soviet nations until now, but these are out-gunned compared to some of the more up-to-date equipment Putin has now committed. There are also concerns that ammunition - which is manufactured by Russia - will soon run out with no way to get more. Biden announced the supply of long-range rocket artillery to Ukraine late Tuesday as part of a new $700million package of equipment due to be unveiled today. 'We have moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table,' Biden wrote in the New York Times. While he did not specify exactly what would be sent, a senior official briefed journalists that Ukraine would be getting the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System or HIMARS. The system is based on the M270 MLRS - a Soviet-era system specifically designed to outgun Russia - but is lighter and easier to manoeuvre, making it ideal for unleashing a barrage and then escaping before the enemy has time to fire back. In addition to the rocket systems it has promised, the U.S. package will include helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, tactical vehicles, spare parts and more, two senior administration officials said Tuesday. Ukraine has been calling for advanced rocket artillery systems for weeks to help thwart Russian attacks in the east, and help them launch counter-attacks Biden said ammunition supplied to Kyiv will not be capable of striking deep into Russia and that he has received guarantees the system will not be used for attacks on Russian soil, amid fears of the conflict escalating into a wider war. Russia, however, warned of an increased risk of direct confrontation with the US and NATO, accusing Washington of 'purposefully adding fuel to the fire.' Moscow views the U.S. plans 'negatively,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday, saying the Kremlin doesn't trust Kyiv's assurances that the rocket systems will not be used to attack Russia. The announcements come as a regional governor said Russian forces now control 70% of Sievierodonetsk, a city that is key to Moscow's efforts to complete their capture of the Donbas, where Ukrainian and Russian-backed separatists have fought for years and where the separatists already held swaths of territory. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said in a post on the Telegram messaging app that some Ukrainian troops have pulled back from the city, though he later told The Associated Press that the troops who remained were battling it out in the streets. The only other city in Luhansk that the Russians have not yet captured, Lysychansk, is still 'fully' under Ukrainian control, he said - but it would likely be next. 'If the Russians manage to take full control over Sievierodonetsk within two to three days, they will start installing artillery and mortars and will shell Lysychansk more intensively,' Haidai said. Zelenskyy, meanwhile. said the country is losing between 60 and 100 soldiers a day in the fighting and that another 500 are wounded. He told the U.S. TV channel Newsmax on Tuesday night that 'the most difficult situation is in the east of Ukraine and southern Donetsk and Luhansk,' two regions that make up the Donbas. In southern Ukraine, a regional governor sounded a more positive note, saying Russian troops are retreating and blowing up bridges to prevent a possible Ukrainian advance. Vitaliy Kim, governor of the Mykolayiv region, said in messages on Telegram on Wednesday that Russia was on the defensive. 'They are afraid of a counterattack by the Ukrainian army,' Kim wrote. He didn't specify where the retreat was happening. The parts of the Mykolayiv region which have been held by Russian forces in recent days are close to the large Russia-held city of Kherson. Zelenskyy said in his nightly address there had been 'some success in the Kherson direction' for Ukraine. Johnny Depp and Amber Heard finally learned their fate Wednesday following a blockbuster defamation case that saw both parties' dirty laundry aired, with bombshell testimony detailing abuse, drug use, and violence, over the course of the six-week trial. After less than three days of deliberations, jurors in the case found in favor of Depp, awarding him a total of $15million in damages. Heard, meanwhile, scored a small victory in her counter-suit, winning $2million in compensatory damages, but $0 in punitive damages. Despite the jury's decision, it's clear that the high-profile trial itself - which captivated viewers and social media users throughout its entirety - will have an undeniable impact on both of the feuding exes' careers regardless of the verdict. The dramatic saga began when Depp, 58, filed a $50million defamation claim over a 2018 op-ed Heard wrote for The Washington Post, in which she appeared to allude to him when she described overcoming domestic abuse and violence. The Pirates of the Caribbean star claimed his ex-wife defamed him in the op-ed which led him to lose movie roles and other Hollywood jobs. Heard in turn, countersued for $100million, claiming she was falsely painted as a liar by Depp's camp. But even before jurors sided with Depp, the Hollywood star had already won in the court of public opinion. The blockbuster defamation trial between feuding exes Johnny Depp and Amber Heard captivated the nation after it kicked off in April Over six weeks at the court in Fairfax, Virginia, Depp called 38 witnesses while Heard called 24. Depp and Heard met on the set of the 2011 movie The Rum Diary, turning up on the red carpet together for its London premiere in 2011 As both parties squared off in court, what resulted was something of a media circus, with Depp's supporters - and what seemed to be the majority of the general public - siding with the actor and turning against Heard. The drama and frenzy surrounding in the trial - which was livestreamed to the public - would eventually spill outside of court, with fans launching social media campaigns, creating memes, and even fueling speculation of a courtroom love affair. The overwhelming support behind Depp also became evident outside the courtroom, where crowds of fans lined up holding placards and cheering for the film star at the start of the trial every day. And on Wednesday, as news of the verdict circulated, fans took to social media once more to celebrate and send messages of support to the star. The trial has managed to successfully clear Depp's name in the eyes of the public, but it may not have had the same effect for his career. As some witnesses, including former agent Tracey Jacobs, testified in the trial, Depp had reportedly become a difficult client to manage over the years because of his 'unprofessional behavior' on set. 'Showing up late to set, consistently, on virtually every movie. I would get yelled at. I never said to him you're a difficult client, but I was very honest with him and said you've got to stop doing this, this is hurting you. And it did,' Jacobs told the court. Crisis public relations expert Juda Engelmayer told Insider ahead of the jury's verdict Wednesday that while the outcome of the trial could potentially revive Depp's career, it could still have an impact on the types of roles he is offered in the future. 'I don't think it'll be family-friendly. I think his role will be different,' he said. 'He'll be cast in independent films or films where he is maybe the bad guy, a criminal, a mobster.' He added that it's possible Depp will now land roles as characters 'who at first is not a likable guy, not a fun guy, but someone who's the bad guy.' The public's support for Depp was evident outside the courtroom, where scores of fans lined up every day to cheer for the star ahead of the trial Earlier this week fans were seen holding up banners in support of Depp as jurors deliberated in the case Crowds lined the sidewalks as they displayed messages of support for the actor As for Heard, however, it is likely she will have a tougher time recovering from the blow to her reputation from the trial, which seems to have had a wider reach beyond her career. The impact of the trial was already seen during proceedings, when Depp supporters launched a petition calling for Warner Bros to drop Heard from the role of Queen Mera in upcoming superhero film Aquaman 2, which topped 4.4 million signatures while the jury deliberated. The petition alleges that Heard has been 'exposed as a domestic abuser by Johnny Depp' during the multimillion-dollar court battle. 'In his lawsuit, Johnny Depp describes many incidents of domestic abuse that he suffered at the hands of his (then) wife Amber Heard, including one incident where she punched him twice in the face and another where she shattered his finger with a vodka bottle, and his finger had to be surgically reattached,' the campaign read. 'He will bear the scar from that for the rest of his life.' In court, the jury also heard testimony from Warner Bros executives who revealed the studio had to 'fabricate' chemistry between Heard and the film's lead star Jason Momoa in postproduction of the first film. Walter Hamada, President of DC-Based Film Production, Warner Bros. Pictures, testified that the actress's role in the second film was not affected in 'any way' by anything Johnny Depp said. He did, however, admit there was a weeks-long delay in confirming that Heard would take part in Aquaman 2 because of 'conversations about recasting' her role. Hamada said that the issues were raised as the filming of the first Aquaman film concluded because of the 'chemistry' between Heard and Momoa. Despite Heard's minor victory in court, it is likely she will have a tougher time recovering from the impact of the trial, which seems to have had a wider reach beyond her career During the trial, fans launched a petition to have the actress removed from upcoming superhero film Aquaman 2 - which topped 4.4 million signatures, which is just short of the target of 4.5 million signatures, this week Amber Heard as Princess Mera in the first Aquaman film in 2018 Outside the courtroom Heard also faced vitriol from viewers and members of the public who launched campaigns against her after watching her case crumble before her during the trial. Heard's credibility suffered a blow and saw viewers turn against her during a dramatic cross-examination during which she finally confirmed she had not donated her $7million divorce settlement to charity in full, as she had been claiming for years. She also drew further scrutiny when she alleged her infamous op-ed was not about Depp - a claim she seemed to contradict multiple times throughout her testimony. On social media, '#JusticeforJohnnyDepp' became a trending hashtag along with '#AmberHeardisapsychopath'. Tony Glen Silard, an associate professor at Luiss Business School in Rome commented on the phenomenon earlier this month, telling Forbes: 'The Depp vs Heard trial is the latest example of how social media has become the new barometer of public opinion that makes or breaks careers.' The case even saw rumors of a budding romance between Depp and his lawyer circulate after a video of the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star helping attorney Camille Vasquez untangle her iPhone charger went viral on TikTok. The 'intense' chemistry and and touchy-feely relationship between Depp and Vasquez in the courtroom continued despite social media speculation., adding a frisson of sexual tension to the bitter trial. Body language experts even weighed in, saying Depp and 37-year-old Vasquez's 'flirtatious' behavior might have just be a tactic to try and boost the actor's case. But contrary to feverish speculation, Vasquez has been in a serious relationship with a British realtor for several months, according to TMZ. Depp's lead attorneys Camille Vasquez and Benjamin Chew are seen outside of the courtroom after Depp's victory Throngs of reporters and fans are seen crowding around Camille Vasquez and Benjamin Chew as they speak outside the courthouse after the verdict The California native remained tight-lipped about her private life away from the courtroom, thought, having revealed nothing to the media and with no social media presence to speak of. As Vasquez was leaving the courthouse earlier this month, a TMZ reporter asked her about the rumored relationship with Depp once and for all. 'The people want to know, are you dating Johnny Depp? It's all over the internet. Can you set the record straight, yes or no?' he said. However, the California litigator declined to answer. Instead, she just laughed, brushed her hair aside and waved to the throngs of fans gathered outside. Fans started to wonder if romantic feelings had developed between Depp and Vasquez in recent weeks, after they noticed a slew of flirty interactions between the two - including whispering in each other's ears, giggling together, and sharing coy smirks with one another. Body language expert Judi James claimed that Depp and his firebrand lawyer Camille Vasquez's 'intense' chemistry in court is all a ploy to 'destroy' Heard's case - comparing their intimate courtroom display to Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet's characters in The Titanic. James said that Vasquez's 'flirtatious' behavior is likely a very conscious tactic to try and boost her client's case, explaining that the romantic gestures between the two are helping Depp to appear more likeable - while comparing their overtly amorous display to the plotline from a Mills & Boon novel. Vasquez and Depp's seemingly close relationship has also sparked feverish speculation online that the two are dating The 'intense' chemistry and and touchy-feely relationship between Johnny Depp and Camille Vasquez added a frisson of sexual tension to the bitter trial Body language experts claimed the pair's' 'flirtatious' behavior might just be a tactic to try and boost the actor's case, but fans speculate a more romantic connection 'When someone is trying to clear their name in court the behavior of their legal teams and the way they interact with them will send out very strongly influential non-verbal messages to a jury and, in a case this size, the rest of the world,' James told DailyMail.com. However, James explained that the amorous moments between them are most likely not due to a secret affair, but instead, are all part of a plan to make Depp seem like a 'romantic hero.' She said that linking Depp to a 'fresh, smart, fragrant, and confident-looking woman' would 'destroy' Heard's recount of their toxic relationship. Throughout the case, jurors listened to recordings of the couple's fights and saw graphic photos of Depp's bloody finger. He said the top of the finger was severed when Heard threw a vodka bottle at him in 2015. Heard denied injuring Depp's finger and said Depp sexually assaulted her that night with a liquor bottle. She said she struck him only to defend herself or her sister. Depp was also 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. Testimony was livestreamed widely on social media, drawing large audiences to hear details about the couple's troubled relationship. Vasquez fiercely cross-examined Heard, 36, earlier this week and in one memorable exchange forced the Aquaman actress to admit she had not donated her $7million divorce settlement to charity as she had pledged Depp pats attorney Camille Vasquez on the back in the courtroom on May 17 The fluent Spanish speaker went to Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles from 2007 to 2010. Above, she is pictured left with her mother and sister Camille Vasquez was born in July 1984 to parents Leonel and Marilia Vasquez (above), who are of Colombian descent Once among Hollywood's biggest stars, Depp said Heard's allegations cost him 'everything.' A new 'Pirates' movie was put on hold and Depp was replaced in the 'Fantastic Beasts' film franchise, a 'Harry Potter' spinoff. Depp lost a libel case less than two years ago against the Sun, a British tabloid that labeled him a 'wife beater.' A London High Court judge ruled that he had repeatedly assaulted Heard. He stated in court that Heard was the one who became violent when their relationship soured, claiming that the couple had frequent arguments that included 'demeaning name calling' and 'bullying' by her, when he took the stand on last month. Vasquez also won a massive online following after 'grilling' Heard during cross-examination where Vasquez got Heard to admit she didn't donate her full $7million divorce settlement to charity. The fluent Spanish speaker went to Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles from 2007 to 2010 and worked at one law firm before joining her current practice, Brown Rudnick LLP, as an associate. She focuses on 'plaintiff-side defamation suits, with additional experience litigating contract disputes, business-related torts, and employment-related claims,' according to her bio on the law firm's website. One legal expert says that Depp's strong fanbase is simply extending to Vasquez as he's 'winning on social media' She's also listed as having 'extensive experience handling parallel reputation management and crisis communications issues arising from these engagements.' She does not have any public social media profiles. Depp has continuously denied Heard's allegations against him, and was seeking at least $50million in compensatory damages and a punitive award of at least $350,000, along with attorneys' fees and court costs. He stated in court that Heard was the one who became violent when their relationship soured, claiming that the couple had frequent arguments that included 'demeaning name calling' and 'bullying' by her, when he took the stand on last month. He also stated 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. 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. The Asian man who was brutally beaten in a New York City subway station Friday said the ultimate indignity came afterward when the attack was depicted as vigilante justice after he was anonymously accused of attempting to molest a girl on the train. 'I'm the victim here!' the Asian man, a 42-year-old married father from Queens who asked not to be identified, told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview Tuesday. 'I fell asleep on the train, and I woke up to a bunch of guys grabbing me and assaulting me. 'I was targeted and held against my will, was put in a full nelson and assaulted by two different guys,' he added. 'I didn't even know what the hell was going on. And there was a crowd watching and nobody was helping.' A disturbing video, shared online over the weekend, shows him being restrained and pummeled by a group of men at the Fulton Street station in Manhattan on Friday afternoon. The Asian man who was brutally beaten in a New York City subway station Friday said he was unjustly attacked . 'I'm the victim here!' the Asian man, a 42-year-old married father from Queens who asked not to be identified, told DailyMail.com Video shows the Asian man being restrained and pummeled by a group of men at the Fulton Street station in Manhattan on Friday afternoon The attack was depicted as vigilante justice after he was anonymously accused of attempting to molest a girl on the train The victim, who does plumbing and air conditioning work for a living, told DailyMail.com that he'd been drinking with a friend before falling asleep sitting up on the train. He said he still has a throbbing headache, bruising to his head and a swollen jaw from the attack. 'I can't even open my mouth properly to eat food. I've got six bumps on my head,' he said. It was presented as a racist attack by some advocacy groups online because the victim is Vietnamese, during a time assaults on Asians have skyrocketed. But the narrative shifted after the person who recorded the viral video described it as vigilante justice. The videographer, who asked to remain anonymous, told the New York Post that he saw the Asian man being restrained and asked, 'Why are you holding that guy?' The holder said he'd pulled the 'victim' off onto the platform because he'd just tried to sexually assault a woman in a subway car. They were waiting for police to come arrest him, but officers didn't arrive for almost 20 minutes, the man told the Post. In video of the incident, a person can be heard shouting at the man: 'You touching girls, you touching girls little sisters and all that, moms and everything. You filthy, son.' 'I got a daughter,' another man could be heard saying before slapping the man. 'If the cops lock me up, I'm paying my own bail.' The man said he never touched anyone and had no idea why he was attacked 'I have family, a daughter in public school and a wife, and I have a mother and father,' he said. 'I don't want people to see me like I'm an animal, like I'm a savage. I'm not' Police have released photos of the alleged attackers and are asking the public's help in locating them. Police have received no reports of an alleged sexual assault, police sources told DailyMail.com Tuesday night. However, the Queens man has seen his own criminal record go public, after the media reported on his extensive criminal history. One outlet reported that he'd been arrested for sexual assault and forcible touching. However, an NYPD source told DailyMail.com that the victim has never been arrested for a sex crime. 'You know, I've been arrested numerous amounts of times for assault, disorderly conduct, drinking in public, but never, ever, ever for forcibly touching a woman,' the man told DailyMail.com. 'I have never, ever forcibly touched any type of female or person or individual in my life. 'I have family, a daughter in public school and a wife, and I have a mother and father,' he continued. 'I don't want people to see me like I'm an animal, like I'm a savage. I'm not. I swear on everything I love that I did not do what people say I did. I didn't touch nobody. I didn't try to assault anybody. 'I mean, what kind of man would do that? And if I did do that, where are the victims, the people I supposedly assaulted? Wouldn't they be in that video too?' 'Where are the victims,' he asked. 'I'm the victim, hello. Why I was targeted, whether they were trying to rob me, whether it's a hate crime, I do not know.' People cast ballots at a polling station in Seoul, June 1, in the local elections to elect mayors, governors, council members and education superintendents nationwide. Yonhap Koreans voted Wednesday to elect mayors, governors, local council members and regional education chiefs in nationwide local elections that could determine whether the newly inaugurated government of President Yoon Suk-yeol can powerfully push its agenda in its first year. Up for grabs in this year's local elections are 17 metropolitan mayoralties and provincial governorships, 226 lower-level administrative leadership positions, as well as 872 seats in provincial and metropolitan councils, and 2,988 in lower-level local councils. Also at stake are seven National Assembly seats, with by-elections taking place in districts in Daegu, Incheon, Seongnam, Wonju, Boryeong, Changwon and Jeju. Voting kicked off at 6:00 a.m. and is to run until 6:00 p.m. at 14,465 polling centers nationwide, according to the National Election Commission (NEC). COVID-19 patients and those in quarantine are allowed to vote between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. There are 44.3 million eligible voters, 9.13 million of whom already cast their ballots during the two-day early voting last week. Turnout of the advance voting came to 20.62 percent, the highest for any local elections, the NEC said. The NEC said the overall turnout as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, including the figure from the advance voting, had reached 45.4 percent, which was 7.8 percentage points lower than the figure logged in the 2018 local elections at the same time. The election watchdog said the final turnout is expected to be lower than the 60.2 percent logged in the 2018 local elections as hourly voter turnout rates have come in lower than expected. People wait in line to cast their ballots at a polling station in Chuncheon, 85 kilometers northeast of Seoul, June 1, in local elections to elect mayors, governors, council members and education superintendents nationwide. Yonhap The elections come less than a month after Yoon took office. Recent surveys have shown the ruling People Power Party (PPP) is expected to win at least nine out of the 17 key races for big city mayoralties and provincial governorships, including Seoul and Incheon, while the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) was expected to win at least four races, including three in the Jeolla provinces, its traditional stronghold. The other four races are considered neck and neck, including the contest for Gyeonggi governor. Uncontested winners: record-high 509 candidates win elections by default Independent candidates fear losing out as voters mark 7 paper ballots Voting for new mayors, governors [PHOTOS] The PPP hopes it can extend the momentum from the March 9 presidential election victory. While looking for a complete sweep on its traditional home ground, the Gyeongsang provinces in the country's southeastern area, the PPP is also hoping to win in key battleground provinces, such as the Chungcheong provinces and Gyeonggi Province. It also aims to win at least four of the seven National Assembly seats in the by-elections. The DPK, which controls a majority in the National Assembly, is looking to recover from the presidential election defeat and expand its power across the nation to keep the Yoon government in check. In addition to its home turf of the Jeolla provinces as well as Jeju, the DPK believes it can turn the tables on the PPP in the Chungcheong provinces, Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province. Of the many battlegrounds, both parties view the capital area as the most important, as half of the country's population resides there. While recent polls showed current Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the PPP leading former DPK Chair Song Young-gil in the Seoul mayoral election, the race for Gyeonggi governor has been a neck-and-neck battle between former lawmaker Kim Eun-hye of the PPP and former Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon of the DPK. When it comes to the Assembly by-elections, all eyes are on former presidential candidates Lee Jae-myung and Ahn Cheol-soo, since victory could help them gain ground in their respective parties and pave the way for another shot at the presidency. A voter casts their ballot in early voting for the June 1 local elections at a polling station in Seoul. Yonhap Ahn, who withdrew from the presidential race to endorse Yoon, is chasing the seat representing the Bundang-A district of Seongnam, just south of Seoul, as the PPP candidate. Lee, who lost to Yoon in the presidential election by a razor-thin 0.73 percentage-point gap, is hoping to win the seat in the Gyeyang-B district in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, as the DPK candidate. In the run-up to Wednesday's elections, the PPP and DPK have been wrangling over various issues, from an extra budget bill to support pandemic-hit small merchants to a proposal transferring air operations at Seoul's Gimpo International Airport to Incheon International Airport. The PPP believes Yoon's summit with U.S. President Joe Biden and recent North Korea provocations have helped make its case to voters, especially those seeking stabilized operations of the Yoon administration. The DPK, which scored a landslide victory in the 2018 local elections, has been contending that most incumbent local government heads are from the party and that they should be allowed to continue their jobs. A Ukrainian LGBTQ couple have told of their decision to volunteer for Ukraine's territorial defence force to 'stop Russia destroying our culture'. Volunteer fighters Oleksandr Zhuhan and Antonina Romanova, both 37, spent two days sheltering as Russian tanks rolled across the border on February 24, before they decided to take action. 'I just remember that at a certain point it became obvious that we only had three options: either hide in a bomb shelter, run away and escape, or join the Territorial Defence (volunteers). We chose the third option,' said Romanova, who was born a biological male but uses she/her pronouns. Like other members of Ukraine's LGBTQ community, the pair have sewn unicorn patches onto the sleeves of their uniforms to denote their status. The practice harks back to the 2014 conflict when Russia invaded Crimea, 'when lots of people said there are no gay people in the army,' Zhuhan said. 'So (the LGBTQ community) chose the unicorn because it is like a fantastic ''non-existent'' creature.' Zhuhan and Romanova have already seen action on the frontlines in Mykolaiv and their exposure to the elements during the conflict in the earlier days of the war left Zhuhan with pneumonia. But after a brief break they headed back to the frontline last week to begin their second three-month combat tour. Territorial Defence members Oleksandr Zhuhan, 37 (R), and partner Antonina Romanova, 37 (L), show a unicorn insignia on their uniforms symbolising the LGBTQ community, on the day of their departure to the frontline, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, at their home in Kyiv, Ukraine May 25, 2022 Zhuhan and Romanova have already seen action on the frontlines in Mykolaiv and their exposure to the elements during the conflict in the earlier days of the war left Zhuhan with pneumonia Like other members of Ukraine's LGBTQ community, the pair have sewn unicorn patches onto the sleeves of their uniforms to denote their status Zhuhan and Romanova mingle with their unit members as they prepare to depart for the frontline Zhuhan and Romanova, who met through their theatre work, moved to the Ukrainian capital in 2014 to escape potential persecution when Putin annexed the peninsula in 2014. Neither was trained in the use of weapons but, after spending a couple of days hiding in their bathroom at the start of the war, decided they had to do more. For Zhuhan and Romanova, their vocation gives them an added sense of responsibility. 'What Russia does is - they don't just take our territories and kill our people. They want to destroy our culture and... we can't allow this to happen,' Zhuhan said. They said their first three-month tour of duty around Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine, about 80 miles from the port city of Odesa, changed their lives. Zhuhan contracted pneumonia and the group experienced frontline combat for the first time, but the couple were happy to find their fellow fighters accepted them without question. 'There was no aggression, no bullying... It was a little unusual for the others,' Romanova said. 'But, over time, people started calling me Antonina - some even used my she pronoun.' There was much back-slapping as they joined their new unit at Kyiv's central station last week in preparation for a second three-month stint on the front lines. The couple knew some of the members of their new team, but said they had not yet the commanders of the unit. The pair are pictured making coffee in their apartment last week before departing for the frontline Territorial Defence members Oleksandr Zhygan, 37, and partner Antonina Romanova,37, board a train to the frontline, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, at a train station in Kyiv, Ukraine May 25, 2022 A couple kisses as territorial Defence members Oleksandr Zhuhan (L) and partner Antonina Romanova (R) prepare to board a train to the frontline 'I'm a little worried about that,' Zhuhan said. 'I know that in some units, the rules are more strict... It wasn't like that in our first unit.' His unease was quickly dispelled when one commander declared he would refuse to tolerate homophobia, while a more senior officer said 'the only important thing on the front line is to be a good fighter'. But one overriding fear, voiced back in their apartment, remains. 'The thing I'm worried about is that in case I get killed during this war, they won't allow Antonina to bury me the way I want to be buried,' Zhuhan said. 'They'd rather let my mum bury me with the priest reading silly prayers... But I am an atheist and I don't want that.' Putin's forces are still locked in a painstaking battle of attrition in eastern Ukraine with no end in sight A man inspects a shell crater in Siversk, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on May 31, 2022, as Russian attacks continue This photograph taken on May 28, 2022, shows the damaged building of the Faculty of Economics of Karazin National University in Kharkiv, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine Putin's forces are still locked in a painstaking battle of attrition in eastern Ukraine with no end in sight - though Ukrainian officials this morning reported Russia had managed to consolidate its recent advances. Russian troops this morning had reportedly taken control of much of the industrial centre of Severodonetsk - the last remaining urban centre in the Luhansk region that was still held by Ukrainian forces. If Russia captures the rest of Severodonetsk and its smaller twin Lysychansk on the higher west bank of the Siversky Donets river, it will essentially hold all of Luhansk, which together with the Donetsk region constitutes the Donbas. The city has now been largely reduced to rubble, with nearly all critical infrastructure destroyed and 60 per cent of residential property damaged beyond repair, regional governor Serhiy Haidai said on Tuesday. Russian shelling has made it impossible to deliver aid or evacuate people, he added, before warning residents of the city not to leave bomb shelters due to what he said was a Russian air strike on a nitric acid tank. Britain's Ministry of Defence also said in its latest intelligence bulletin that Russian forces including Chechen fighters now controlled more than half of Severodonetsk after two days of intense street fighting. Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council aid agency which had long operated out of Severodonetsk, said he was 'horrified' by its destruction. Up to 12,000 civilians remain caught in crossfire, without sufficient access to water, food, medicine or electricity, the former UN Humanitarian Affairs chief said. 'The near-constant bombardment is forcing civilians to seek refuge in bomb shelters and basements, with only few precious opportunities for those trying to escape. 'We call on parties to the conflict to immediately allow all humanitarian organisations to access Severodonetsk with lifesaving assistance and to enable safe evacuations of civilians who wish to leave the city.' President Biden stressed that the U.S. would not work to oust Vladimir Putin and would continue to push for diplomatic ends to the war in Ukraine, even as the U.S. continues to provide weapons to the nation. 'We do not seek a war between NATO and Russia,' Biden wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times published Tuesday night. 'As much as I disagree with Mr. Putin, and find his actions an outrage, the United States will not try to bring about his ouster in Moscow.' The piece was far more toned-down than the president's comments in late March, when he did call for Putin's ouster. 'For god's sake this man cannot remain in power,' he said of Putin in an emotional speech at the time. The Kremlin reacted furiously at the quote and the White House moved quickly to clear it up, saying Biden was not calling for a regime change in Moscow. 'The President's point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin's power in Russia, or regime change,' a White House official said. President Joe Biden said Tuesday night that he would be arming Ukraine with 'more advanced rocket systems and munitions,' in a new op-ed for The New York Times outlining, 'What America Will and Will Not Do in Ukraine' Biden stressed that the U.S. would not work to oust Vladimir Putin and would continue to push for diplomatic ends to the war in Ukraine 'As President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has said, ultimately this war will only definitively end through diplomacy,"' the president wrote for the Times. 'Every negotiation reflects the facts on the ground. We have moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.' Still, he added that he was not encouraging Ukraine in public or in private to concede any territory to Russia. Biden announced that he would be arming Ukraine with 'more advanced rocket systems and munitions,' in the op-ed outlining, 'What America Will and Will Not Do in Ukraine.' The use of the medium-range rocket systems will be restricted to be used only in Ukraine, White House officials said. 'The Ukrainians have given us assurances that they will not use these systems against targets in Russian territory, and so based on those assurances we are very comfortable they will not,' a senior White House official said on a call with reporters. Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines of the fight in the Donbas region. The new weapons could be used to attack Russian forces in this part of Ukraine Additionally, the White House said it would not be providing Ukraine with longer-range systems. Biden stressed that the U.S. was not encouraging Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. 'We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia,' he added. Biden's op-ed was published on the eve of the 11th package of security assistance for the war in Ukraine being announced. 'We will continue providing Ukraine with advanced weaponry, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, Stinger antiaircraft missiles, powerful artillery and precision rocket systems, radars, unmanned aerial vehicles, Mi-17 helicopters and ammunition,' Biden said. That package, worth $700 million, will include HMARS - High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems - and ammunition, counter-fire radars, a number of air surveillance radars, additional Javelins, anti-armor weapons, more artillery rounds, several helicopters, additional tactical vehicles and a spare parts package, a White House official said. Smoke rises in the city of Severodonetsk during heavy fightings between Ukrainian and Russian troops at eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas Administration officials were pressed several times on whether Ukraine's leadership had pledged not to use the new rockets on the border to shoot inside Russia - before saying they had made that agreement. The rockets can travel around 48 miles. Ukrainian forces are expected to use the rockets to target Russian forces in the Donbas region. The package will be the first financed by the most recent supplemental appropriations bill passed by Congress, which Biden signed into law during his trip to Asia. A police and crime commissioner (PCC) has blasted a new recruitment campaign by the Metropolitan Police to recruit experienced officers from other forces by offering a 5,000 bonus as 'selfish' and 'poaching'. Matthew Scott, the PCC for Kent - which borders the London force - has urged the Met to withdraw its generous offer. 'The failure of the Met Police to recruit will now be felt in neighbouring police forces as they selfishly seek to poach our experienced and trained officers to meet their own targets,' he said. 'Policing works best when we work together, but clearly the Met is not co-operating here.' The Met Police is offering experienced officers a one-off bonus of 5,000 if they transfer to the London force. Matthew Scott, the PCC for Kent - which borders the London force - has urged the Met to withdraw its 5,000 recruitment offer for experienced officers Police constabularies in England and Wales are recruiting to meet the Government's target of 20,000 additional police officers by March 2023. But the Kent PCC has called on the Met and the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to stop using bonus payments to try to recruit experienced officers from neighbouring forces. Commissioner Scott along with other PCCs has written to the London Mayor expressing dismay and dissatisfaction at the capital's tactics. The letter says: 'The most disturbing of these proposals is the 5000 payment to incentivise police officers to transfer from their current forces into the Metropolitan Police. 'All forces have their own uplift target to achieve and we are all operating in a competitive employment market within the South-East that presents challenges for us all. Over the past three years, 9,400 people have chosen to become Met police officers, helping the force to reach 33,567 officers in March. Now, the Met plans on recruiting 4,000 new officers by March 2023 'As Police and Crime Commissioners for forces where we all met our uplift target last year, it is notable that the Metropolitan Police failed to hit its recruitment target and yet still received full funding from the Home Office. 'This was a financial option not made available to any other force. Given the imbalance of funding that already exists between the Met and other forces, the use of this additional income to encourage transferees from neighbouring forces is therefore particularly offensive and short-sighted.' Commissioner Scott added: 'I have always argued officers should be better paid, but it must be a level playing field across all forces.' Dame Lynne Owens, former director general at the National Crime Agency, has also hit out at the Met's plans. She tweeted: 'There is a phrase "hitting the target but missing the point." I cannot believe that this offer is a long, or even medium term solution and it surely must come with a package, beyond financial, that looks at retention too. 'UK policing is at its best when its truly collaborative. In my time as director general, I witnessed an increasing slide to competitiveness based on the false geographic boundaries that mark out the policing structure in the UK.' Over the past three years, 9,400 people have chosen to become Met police officers, helping the force to reach 33,567 officers in March - the highest number on record. Now, through the National Police Uplift Programme, the Met plans on recruiting 4,000 new officers by March 2023. The Met insists the London job market is on the rebound after Covid, with more job opportunities and fewer job seekers as well as 'more of our officers choosing to retire'. Clare Davies, director of resources at the Met Police, stated: 'Our growth is helping us achieve positive results in driving down violent crime and bolstering our presence in town centres and in neighbourhoods across London. 'The additional measures we have introduced are all targeted at making the Met competitive in the London job market at a time when all police forces and a number of other sectors are recruiting. 'We will be doing everything we can whilst we have the funding to encourage the best of the best to join us. We will also continue to press hard for a fair pay award for all our officers so that we remain an attractive employer.' Advertisement Shanghai residents have celebrated the end of their crippling lockdown by partying and drinking in the streets as friends and family reunited for the first time in two months. China's largest city controversially forced its 25million people to stay at home for 65 days after the Omicron virus variant fuelled China's worst outbreak in two years, despite most of the world rolling back their pandemic measures. The draconian restrictions have sparked protests after people were seen being dragged from their homes by hazmat-suited government workers, separating parents from their children in distressing scenes. All the draconian restrictions were suddenly lifted at midnight last night, a huge relief for the trapped families and the workers forced to camp out in their offices and factories. Shanghai's Communist Party committee, the city's most powerful political body, issued a letter online proclaiming the lockdown's success and thanking citizens for their 'support and contributions.' Shanghai residents have celebrated the end of their crippling lcokdown by partying and drinking in the streets Peopole drink on the street to celebrate after the removal of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in Shanghai All residents will now be able to leave their compounds freely without using any passes, except those living in medium and high-risk areas Women throw their hats in the air to celebrate the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, in Shanghai 'It feels like we've all been through a lot of trauma, a collective trauma,' Grace Guan told AFP. The 35-year-old Shanghai resident said she went out at midnight when the restrictions eased and saw groups gathered in the street drinking beer, some sitting together on blankets laid out on the pavements. 'Now it feels like the Berlin Wall coming down.' On Wednesday morning, commuters trickled into subway stations and office buildings, scanning QR codes that certify they are virus-free. Residents gathered to chat in parks, queue outside banks and walk by the riverside, with masked customers thronging one of the main shopping streets. 'Everything is getting better, bit by bit. Things are moving forward,' said one relieved office worker, surnamed Li. The famous Bund waterfront was ticking back to life, with visitors snapping pictures of the famous skyline on their phones. Residents cheer as they pose photos as it neared midnight on the eve of the lifting of the lockdown All the draconian restrictions were suddenly lifted at midnight last night, a huge relief for the trapped families Commuters wearing face masks wait for their ride at a subway station, after the lockdown placed to curb the Covid outbreak was lifted in Shanghai A day earlier, many of the bright yellow barriers that had hemmed in buildings and city blocks for weeks were taken down. 'It should have been like this to begin with,' one woman out for a riverside walk told AFP, in echoes of the frustration and anger that has simmered in the city over the strict controls. Deputy Mayor Zong Ming told reporters Tuesday that the easing would impact about 22 million people in the city. Malls, convenience stores, pharmacies and beauty salons would be allowed to operate at 75 percent capacity, while parks and other scenic spots would gradually reopen, she added. But cinemas and gyms remain closed, and schools - shut since mid-March - will slowly reopen on a voluntary basis. Buses, the subway and ferry services would also resume, transport officials said. Residents gathered to chat in parks, queue outside banks and walk by the riverside, with masked customers thronging one of the main shopping streets A day earlier, many of the bright yellow barriers that had hemmed in buildings and city blocks for weeks were taken down A couple drink on the street to celebrate after the removal of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in Shanghai after midnight last night Taxi services and private cars will be allowed in low-risk areas, permitting people to visit friends and family outside their district. 'This is a moment that we have been looking forward to for a long time,' the Shanghai municipal government said in a statement on social media. The stringent curbs in Shanghai - home to the busiest container port in the world - had hammered the economy, starving businesses and snarling supply chains in China and abroad. Signs of resentment and anger among residents emerged throughout the lockdown. The city government has warned that the situation is still not normal, and businesses said there were many uncertainties. 'It remains to (be seen) how this new normal will look,' said Bettina Schoen-Behanzin, chair of the Shanghai chapter at the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. Pedestrians walk in the Huangpu district of Shanghai after being freed from the draconian lockdown measures for two months China has persisted with a zero-Covid strategy, which involves rapid lockdowns, mass testing and long quarantines to try and eliminate infections Residents line up outside a mall for mass COVID-19 testing despite the easing of restrictions in China's biggest city Traffic, pedestrians and joggers reappeared on the streets of Shanghai on Wednesday as China's largest city began returning to normalcy 'If there is a positive case in your office or site, in your compound, what happens?' China has persisted with a zero-Covid strategy, which involves rapid lockdowns, mass testing and long quarantines to try and eliminate infections. But the economic costs have mounted, and the Shanghai government said 'the task of accelerating economic and social recovery is becoming increasingly urgent'. While the easing will allow many factories and businesses to resume operations, there are concerns that the recovery will not be immediate. 'I definitely have some worries, things are beyond your control... You can't tell with a pandemic,' said cafe owner Chen Ribin. The move came amid a steady rollback in compulsory measures that have upended daily life for millions while severely disrupting the economy and global supply chains. Negative Covid PCR tests taken within the previous 48 hours remain standard in Shanghai, Beijing and elsewhere for permission to enter public venues. On Wednesday morning, commuters trickled into subway stations and office buildings, scanning QR codes that certify they are virus-free A Kyowa container ship sails past people spending time at a riverside park in the port city 'With the lockdown lifting, I feel very happy. I feel today how I feel during Chinese New Year - that kind of mood and joy,' said Wang Xiaowei, 34, who moved to Shanghai from the inland province of Guizhou just a week before the lockdown began. Liu Ruilin, 18, said she wasn't sure her building's security guard would let her and others out on Tuesday night. The restriction ended exactly at midnight, she said. 'Then we said, 'Let's go to the Bund to have fun,'' she said in the city's historic riverside district. 'We thought there wouldn't be too many people here, but we were surprised after coming over that a lot of people are here. I feel pretty good - quite excited.' Health authorities on Wednesday reported just 15 new Covid-19 cases in Shanghai, down from a record high of around 20,000 daily cases in April. The lockdown has prompted an exodus of Chinese and foreign residents, with crowds forming outside the city's Hongqiao Railway Station, where only some train services have resumed. Even while the rest of the world has opened up, China has stuck to a 'zero-COVID' strategy that requires lockdowns, mass testing and isolation at centralised facilities for anyone who is infected or has been in contact with someone who has tested positive. Staff members wait at an entrance to enter a shopping mall which is now allowed to operate at 75 percent capacity Cinemas and gyms remain closed, and schools - shut since mid-March - will slowly reopen on a voluntary basis Residents celebrate with a toast as they pose for a selfie after midnight when restrictions were dropped in Shanghai The country's borders also remain largely closed and the government has upped requirements for the issuance of passports and permission to travel abroad. At least half of foreign companies in Shanghai are waiting until next week to reopen while they put in place hygiene measures, said Bettina Schoen-Behanzin, a vice president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. As a precaution, many companies plan to have only half their workforce on site at a time. 'There is still quite some uncertainty and a scare that if there is a positive case in the office building or in your compound, you might be locked down again,' said Schoen-Behanzin, who works in Shanghai. Retail sales fell by a worse-than-forecast 11 per cent in April from a year earlier, government data show. Auto sales fell by almost half from a year earlier, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Private sector forecasters have cut their estimates for this year's economic growth to as low as 2 per cent, well below the ruling Communist Party's target of 5.5 per cent. Some expect output to shrink in the three months ending in June. 'The economy is really in a crisis,' said Schoen-Behanzin. The Port of Shanghai, the world's busiest, appears to be back to 80 per cent to 85 per cent of its normal operating capacity, according to Schoen-Behanzin. She cited data that said the port had a backlog of 260,000 cargo containers in April. 'The rest of the world will feel these delays probably (through) June or July,' she said. The city will likely see a 'mass exodus' of foreign residents this summer, 'especially families with small kids,' Schoen-Behanzin said. She said about half of Shanghais foreign residents had already left over the past two years. 'People are really fed up with these lockdowns,' she said. 'Its not safe, especially if you have small children.' Johnny Depp has left his London hotel after three nights performing with guitarist Jeff Beck in the UK, as some fans complained they 'didn't come to see' the actor perform. Depp was pictured leaving the 100 Queen's Gate Hotel London, where suites cost up to 2,390 a night, on Wednesday as his bags were loaded into a van. One person was seen handing Depp two pirate hats outside the hotel - prompting the actor to smile widely. Depp joined Beck at the Royal Albert Hall in west London on Monday and Tuesday night after surprising fans with an appearance at Sheffield City Hall on Sunday. There are rumors Depp will continue on Beck's UK tour, which includes gigs at Gateshead, Manchester, York and Glasgow - but those reports have not yet been confirmed. This evening he was seen in a Newcastle pub. Depp's appearance comes as the jury in Virginia is deliberating for a third day in the defamation claims of the actor and his ex-wife Heard. It comes as Depp was spotted leaving a hotel in London on Wednesday morning, with a person seen handing him what appeared to be a pirate hat Depp was pictured leaving the 100 Queen's Gate Hotel London, where suites cost up to 2,390 a night, on Wednesday. It is not clear whether Depp is staying there during his visit to London Jeff Beck's fans have spoken of their disappointment that he performed alongside Johnny Depp at the Royal Albert Hall in London, with some complaining he 'took away so much' from the guitarist they had paid to see Meanwhile, some of Beck's fans have spoken of their disappointment that he performed alongside Depp at the Royal Albert Hall in London, complaining he 'took away so much' from the guitarist they had paid to see. Some fans were left disgruntled that the 58-year-old actor had spent so much of the gig performing, with one saying they 'did not come here to see Depp'. Music critic Neil McCormick wrote in the Telegraph: '[Depp] may not be the greatest vocalist but he knows how to deliver a song,' adding that 'Depp's presence added pizzazz and created a space for Beck to shine more brightly'. Austin Delord, a Beck fan, said: 'Too much Johnny Depp, we did not come here to see him. Bit of a publicity stunt, he did not bring much to the party, but he took away so much from Beck.' Francesca Cox, 23, said: 'It was cool, unexpected. I preferred what was before.' Others were left frustrated that Depp was enjoying performing in the UK whilst Heard is 'hiding from death threats' in the US. Dr Charlotte Proudman, a British barrister, tweeted: '[Depp's] on tour, waving to his fans. [Heard's] hiding from death threats. He seems to be doing pretty well out of it all, don't you think?' Another Twitter user tweeted: 'What a narcissistic act on Depp's part and what an insensitive move on Beck's part with reference to abuse survivors in his audience. 'Really rotten to put a guy embroiled in a domestic abuse trial onstage while the jury's still deliberating and say, 'Hey! Here's a guy accused of spousal abuse!'' Some fans were left disgruntled that the 58-year-old actor had spent so much of the gig performing, with one saying they 'did not come here to see Depp' Others were left frustrated that Depp was enjoying performing in the UK whilst Heard is 'hiding from death threats' in the US Whilst there was some criticism of Depp's performance, many were excited about his surprise appearance. The actor waved and blew kisses to the crowd as they gave him a standing ovation and cheered his name after the set on Monday night. One fan, Angela Flannery, 38, from Southend-on-Sea, a city in southeast England, said of Depp's appearance on stage: 'I was pretty shocked. I have always been a massive fan of his. 'My other half took me to this gig just to see Jeff Beck, I had no idea Johnny would be playing. 'It was brilliant, such a fantastic night in general... a special mention to the drummer girl, she was absolutely amazing (and) Johnny Depp smashed it. 'I'll die happy (that) I've been in the same room as him now.' Main man: Depp (right) at the Royal Albert Hall, London, appearing alongside Jeff Beck on Tuesday night Centre stage: Depp performed covers of John Lennon , Marvin Gaye and Jimi Hendrix at the venue on Tuesday evening Make way: Kate Moss was alone as she exited London's Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday evening, shortly after reuniting with ex-boyfriend Johnny Depp backstage following his cameo performance with rock legend Jeff Beck Following his Tuesday night performance with Beck, Depp was joined his ex-girlfriend and British model Kate Moss backstage. Moss was joined inside by former TV personality Sharon Osborne, 69, who arrived for an after-party following the end of the concert. Depp's appearance comes as the jury in Virginia is deliberating for a third day in the defamation claims of the actor and his ex-wife Heard. The seven-person civil jury resumed deliberations Wednesday morning after deliberating for about nine hours over two days. Depp is suing his ex-wife for $50 million, accusing her of libeling him with a 2018 op-ed she wrote describing herself as 'a public figure representing domestic abuse.' Heard filed a $100 million counterclaim against the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star after his lawyer called her allegations a hoax. Each accuses the other of destroying their career. Testimony during the six-week trial has included lurid details of their short and volatile marriage. Heard testified that Depp physically or sexually assaulted her more than a dozen times. Depp said he never struck Heard, that she concocted the abuse allegations, and that she was the one who physically attacked him, multiple times. Jurors must decide both claims based on whether or not the statements were made with 'actual malice,' meaning they knew what they were saying was false, or were acting with a reckless disregard for the truth. During closing arguments, both sides told the jury that a verdict in their favor would give their clients their lives back. The Queen will today receive a cavalry horse named Fabulous as a Platinum Jubilee present from French President Emmanuel Macron. The seven-year-old grey thoroughbred gelding, whose full name is Fabuleux de Maucourt, travelled across the English Channel from Paris, to become the permanent property of Elizabeth II this week. He is expected to be handed over to Her Majesty's Household Cavalry today, during an official ceremony at Windsor Castle. The present to the Queen will also include a saddle and a sabre from the Republican Guard. Fabulous was one of 470 horses serving with the Republican Guard the elite military unit that maintains a 24-hour watch on the French President. The seven-year-old grey thoroughbred gelding, whose full name is Fabuleux de Maucourt, travelled across the English Channel from Paris, to become the permanent property of Elizabeth II this week Mounted Republican Guards escort France's President Emmanuel Macron during the ceremony marking the Allied victory against Nazi Germany and the end of World War II in Europe (VE Day), in Paris, France, May 8, 2022. Fabuleaux de Maucourt is the grey horse second from the right in the leading pack The Queen will today receive a cavalry horse named Fabulous as a Platinum Jubilee present from French President Emmanuel Macron (pictured) The horse will be handed over to Her Majesty's Household Cavalry today, during an official ceremony at Windsor Castle (Queen Elizabeth II is pictured in April at Windsor Castle) 'To celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II, French President Emmanuel Macron has decided to offer Her Majesty one of the horses of the Republican Guard,' a presidential source told Paris Match. This is to mark the Queen's love for France, and 'a passion for horse riding that goes back to early childhood'. The horse in question most recently escorted President Macron along the Champs-Elysees during VE Day commemorations last month. Fabuleux de Maucourt is named after the stud in the Meuse department in northeast France where he was born. Captain Jean-Francois Le Blay rides atop Fabuleu de Maucourt during a presentation ceremony The horse is to mark the Queen's love for France, and 'a passion for horse riding that goes back to early childhood' Republican Guard horses are mostly brown and black, so Fabulous' grey coat marked him out as a standard bearer. 'He is currently the flagship horse of the Cavalry of the Regiment', said General Eric Bio Farina. Colonel Gabriel Cortes said Fabulous was 'a wise horse, representative of the regiment, who will please the Queen. 'I understand that she is very fond of grey horses. I'm sure nothing will make her happier.' Princess Elizabeth stroking one of the prize winning horses during a visit to Richmond Show June 1934 In the show ring with she show chairman the late Mr Romer Williams A presidential source said the gift was to mark the Queen's love for France and 'a passion for horse riding that goes back to early childhood' (Princess Elizabeth rides through Buckingham Palace gates after 1951 Trooping the colour) Pour celebrer le jubile dElizabeth II, Emmanuel Macron a decide d'offrir a sa Majeste l'un des chevaux de la Garde republicaine, baptise Fabuleu de Maucour. #franceinfo canal 27@franceinfoplus @SofiaDolle pic.twitter.com/B7sfeEVpdx France TV Europe (@FranceTVEurope) June 1, 2022 The French Embassy added: 'France wanted to be involved in events taking place in the UK and the Commonwealth states as a way of paying tribute to the Queen, of whom the French are very fond, and celebrating Franco-British friendship.' The Queen speaks good French and has been a frequent visitor to France during her 70-year reign. It is the second time in less than a month she has received a horse as a gift. The monarch was presented with a rare Karabakh horse in the courtyard of Windsor Castle, last month from the President of Azerbaijan, a day before surprising royal watchers with a visit to Paddington Station to open the Elizabeth Line. Holding her walking stick, the Queen waited outside the castle as representatives of the Equestrian Federation of Azerbaijan presented the horse as a gift from President Ilham Aliyev, after his country was invited to perform at the recent Platinum Jubilee celebrations. The Queen said it was a 'very kind, very generous' gesture. The Karabakh horse is native to Azerbaijan and is used for endurance events and races. One recently sold at auction for the equivalent of 14,000. It came days after she cancelled her appearance at the State Opening of Parliament due to 'mobility issues'. The Queen was filmed smiling as she was presented by a Karabakh horse named Glory by the Equestrian Federation of Azerbaijan, a gift from the country's president The monarch, 96, was presented with a rare Karabakh horse in the courtyard of Windsor Castle, a day before surprising royal watchers with a visit to Paddington Station to open the Elizabeth Line The monarch, who famously loves horses, appeared happy as she was presented with the horse Equestrians from Azerbaijan were in Windsor taking part in the recent Windsor Royal Horse Show, which took place from May 12-15. The four-day annual event, which is one of the Queen's favourites, is the UK's largest outdoor horse show, with international competitions in three different equestrian disciplines. On the final day of the event, the horse show staged the Platinum Jubilee celebration event 'A Gallop Through Time', which featured Azerbaijan performers. The lavish event, which was broadcast nationwide, featured a host of well-known faces, including actor Tom Cruise and Helen Mirren, and offered guests numerous musical and acting performances. In addition, horses and riders took to the arena to entertain the crowd, with performers from Azerbaijan among the 1,300 taking part. The country was represented by members of its State Border Guard Service and a dance ensemble, who donned traditional nation costumes while they performed a programme called 'Land of Fire'. Their performance, which was specifically conceived to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, featured Karabakh horses, like the one gifted to her Majesty. A tyrannical grandmother who arranged for her own daughter-in-law to be lured to India and murdered will be free in weeks. Brutal Bachan Kaur Athwal, then 70, was one of the oldest people to be jailed for murder when she was convicted in 2007. Bachan and son Sukhdave Athwal, then 43, were sentenced to life after being found guilty of the honour killing of Surjit Athwal, 27. She disappeared after going with her mother-in-law from the UK to India for a family wedding in December 1998. Her body has never been found. The Parole Board announced today that Bachan. now 85, can now be released on licence. A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: 'We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board has directed the release of Bachan Athwal following an oral hearing. 'Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community. 'A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims. 'Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing. Evidence from witnesses including probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements are then given at the hearing. 'The prisoner and witnesses are then questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more. Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.' In a summary, the Parole Board said that Bachan was in 'very poor health. She suffers from dementia, is physically frail and lacks mental capacity.' Brutal Bachan Kaur Athwal, then 70, was one of the oldest people to be jailed for murder when she was convicted in 2007 Bachan and Sukhdave - both Sikhs - were convicted of murder at the Old Bailey and sentenced to life imprisonment. The case made history as it was the first conviction in a British court of an honour killing committed outside of the UK. Surjit was forcibly wed in 1988 at the age of just 16, and endured ten years of an unhappy and abusive marriage. She lived with her strict husband and his mother in a home they shared in Hayes, West London, Widowed Bachan ran the family home with an iron fist, with Surjit treated like a slave. In Bachan's mind, she posed a threat to the family's good name. Despite beatings from her husband and mother-in-law, Surjit rebelled. She found a job in customs at Heathrow Airport, dressed in Western clothes and wore make-up, and went out with new friends. Bachan was ashamed of Surjit's Western ways and ordered the so-called honour killing to preserve their warped family code. In November 1998, Bachan told family members: 'We have to get rid of her.' After she was lured to India, Bachan's brother Darshan Singh allegedly strangled her. When local police began a probe, bus driver Athwal visited his local Labour MP John McDonnell and persuaded him to write an official letter on House of Commons note paper stating he 'had nothing to do with the disappearance of his wife'. Mr McDonnell's letter also claimed there were 'no grounds' for police to detain members of the Athwal family. He sent it to the Indian High Commissioner in London, asking for Indian jitauthorities 'to ensure Mr Athwal's family does not suffer'. Sukhdave and mum Bachan wove a web of deceit to cover up the murder, even claiming she had run away with another man in India. Surjit's brother Jagdeesh led the campaign to find his sister - which eventually led to Sukhdave and Bachan being charged with murder in August 2006. The key to unlocking the case was the testimony of Surjit's sister-in-law Sarbjit Athwel, who told police Bachan had hatched the plot to kill. Bachan, now 85 and son Sukhdave Athwal were sentenced to life after being found guilty of the honour killing of Surjit Athwal, 27 Sarbjit, who is now divorced, told a newspaper in 2019 of her shock at being told of the plan in November 1998. 'I'll never forget the day I was summoned to tea,' says Sarbjit, who was looking after Surjit's two children while she was at work. Bachan invited her into the front room. 'In the middle of our tea Bachan says, 'Surjit's bringing shame on the family. It's decided. We have to get rid of her.' 'I was shocked, but thought she's just angry. There's no way she would be seriously suggesting murder. I thought, she'll calm down, but Sukhdave Surjit's husband was just sitting there and didn't say anything.' Justice was finally served and Bachan Athwal was sentenced to 20 years and Sukhdave, then 43, to 27 years, but these terms were later reduced at appeal to 15 and 20 years respectively. The grey-haired widow, who has always protested her innocence, wept in the dock with her head bowed as she became one of the oldest women in Britain to be jailed for life in recent times. Bachan shook her head as the judge told them: 'How you could commit this unspeakable act I do not know. There was no motive worthy of the name. You did it because you perceived she had brought shame on the family name. 'In reality you murdered her for no better reason than the existence of matrimonial difficulties and the likely breakdown of the marriage. You decided the so-called honour of your family name was worth more than the life of this young woman.' Bachan took charge of Surjit's young daughter, getting the girl to call her 'mummy', the court heard. Sukhdave took out a 100,000 insurance policy on his wife the day she left for India but it was never paid out. During the three-month trial the court heard the pair almost got away with the murder until they were turned in by Sarbjit. The court was also told that Bachan had bragged to relatives that Surjit had been strangled by a male relative and thrown into the River Ravi in the Punjab. At the conclusion of the trial, Surjit's brother Jagdeesh Dhillon, said the verdict 'brought the struggle and pain of the last nine years to a positive conclusion'. He added: 'This conviction sends out a powerful signal that this kind of cold, calculated, concealed murder will be seized and punished.' As Britain prepares to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee - a landmark never reached before - communities across the UK are celebrating in their own unique ways, some more creative than others. But one jokester in west Wales appears to be trying to scoop the comedy prize. Along the A487 in Ceredigion, approaching Aberystwyth, drivers can encounter a scarecrow of Queen Elizabeth II sitting on a loo, Wales Online reports. Behind the mock doll, a white bedsheet with the words '70 Years on the Throne' hangs between two trees, surrounded on both sides by small Welsh and Union Jack flags. The scene is finished with a stuffed toy of a Corgi at the scarecrow's feet, in homage to the Queen's favourite pet, along with a military figure standing guard. Pictures of the bizarre tribute attracted mirth on social media but Ceredigion Council has branded the display 'distasteful' and vowed to have it removed. Ceredigion Council has branded the Platinum Jubilee display 'distasteful' and vowed to have it removed On Facebook, users reacted to the prank with a mixture of humour and disdain. A woman said: 'Ceredigion, for all your beauty and loveliness, you don't half nauseate me sometimes'. One man said: 'It should be removed. It's totally classless and doesn't belong there.' Another said: 'Brilliant. It's nice to see Ceredigion isn't caving into this nonsense like Cardiff is.' A social media poster said that he 'thought it was Del and Rodney', while yet another added: 'Fantastic - well done Ceredigion.' A spokeswoman for the Ceredigion Council said: 'An unauthorised distasteful tribute display has been arranged on council land in Llanon ahead of the Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday. The display shall be removed.' General Paul Nakasone, who heads U.S. Cyber Command and leads the NSA, said the US had conducted 'offensive' operations in Ukraine amid Russia's invasion. Nakasone made the statement as the U.S. prepares to send military rocket systems to Ukraine, and as President Joe Biden outlined both the purpose and the limits of US military support for Ukraine in an op-ed. 'We've conducted a series of operations across the full spectrum; offensive, defensive, [and] information operations,' Nakasone told Sky News in an interview. He did not further elaborate on the nature of the operation, or whether it had been successful. The U.S. has previously confirmed it was providing intelligence information to Ukraine, although the Pentagon has said it did not provide 'specific targeting information' in the sinking of the Russian battleship Moskva. General Paul Nakasone, Commander United States Cyber Command and Director of the National Security Agency, said the US had conducted offensive cyber operations in Ukraine Nakasone said the activities were lawful and done with civilian oversight. 'My job is to provide a series of options to the secretary of defense and the president, and so that's what I do.' Part of cyber command's mission is to thwart hacking activity against the U.S., and the administration warned early in the conflict of potential threats to US infrastructure and industry. U.S. officials have said Russia was behind cyber attacks on California-based Viasat right before Russia's invasion. It shut down satellite service used in Ukraine. On the risk of Russian cyber attacks on the US, he said: 'We remain vigilant every single day. Every single day. I think about it all the time.' Russian President Vladimir Putin's government has directed cyber attacks on the US for years, according to the government Local residents examine a destroyed Russian tank outside Kyiv on May 31, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine has resisted Russia's invasion with battlefield grit and a variety of outside help Nakasone said the U.S. also helped Ukraine protect against vulnerabilities in the days leading up to Russia's February invasion, as part of 'Hunt Forward' activities 'If you take a look at the destructive attacks and disruptive attacks that they've encountered,' he said of Ukraine, 'this is something that has been ongoing.' The U.S. also helped Ukraine protect against vulnerabilities in the days leading up to Russia's February invasion, as part of 'Hunt Forward' activities. 'We went in December 2021 at the invitation of the Kyiv government to come and hunt with them. We stayed there for a period of almost 90 days,' Nakasone said. Biden wrote in the New York Times about the array of weaponry the U.S. was providing to Ukraine, on top of sanctions and other pressure. But he also spelled otu limitations. 'We do not seek a war between NATO and Russia. As much as I disagree with Mr. Putin, and find his actions an outrage, the United States will not try to bring about his ouster in Moscow. So long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces,' Biden wrote. Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, co-founder of the now-defunct Cali Cartel, died in a United States prison on Tuesday. The 83-year-old, who was battling cancer, sought an early release from a Butner, North Carolina prison in April 2020, but a Florida federal court judge rejected the former drug lord's argument that his health conditions exposed him contracting COVID-19. 'We were very sad to learn about his passing last night. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time,' attorney David O. Markus said Wednesday. 'God has a new chess partner,' the lawyer said, referring to Rodriguez Orejuela's reputation for outsmarting his enemies and rivals, for which he earned the nickname 'the chess player.' Rodriguez Orejuela along with his brother, Miguel, created the transnational drug trafficking organization that rivaled Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel and supplanted it after the drug kingpin's death in 1993. Both organizations used violence and killings extensively for intimidation and enforcement. The Cali Cartel smuggled tons of cocaine from Colombia to the United States in the 1980s and 1990s, establishing a presence in New York and Europe. Colombian drug trafficker Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, who was extradited to the United States in 2004 and sentenced to 30 years in 2006, died in a North Carolina prison on Tuesday Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela is surrounded by Colombian law enforcement agents after his June 1995 arrest The Rodriguez Orejuela brothers were captured in 1995 and imprisoned in Colombia. At that point, Colombian law prohibited the extradition of its nationals. But under pressure from the U.S, Colombia lifted that ban in 1997. The brothers were found to have been continuing to traffic from prison and criminal charges were filed in Miami and New York. Gilberto was extradited to Miami in December 2004 and Miguel was turned over the following year. Under a 2006 plea deal that the brothers reached with federal prosecutors in Miami, more than two dozen family members were removed from a U.S. Treasury Department list designating them as part of the Cali cartel. That spared some of them from prosecution for obstruction of justice or money laundering and also allowed legitimate family businesses in Colombia to continue operating. Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela's prison release date had been scheduled for February 9, 2030. 'The court can only imagine the far-reaching, destructive effects of this much cocaine in the United States,' U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno opined in 2020 after slamming the door on his early release request. 'How many thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of lives were affected?' His younger brother, is serving his sentence at a Pennsylvania prison. Cali Cartel top leader Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela (pictured above on August 1995) after his capture. A judge in Cali sentenced Rodriguez to nine years in prison and his brother Gilberto, to 10 years, and fined them $12 million for drug trafficking Gilberto Rodriguez-Orejuela (pictured above on November 7, 2002) co-founded the now-defunct Cali Cartel which was able to replace Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel after the infamous drug lord was killed in 1993 A police officer in Colombia removes the handcuffs from Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela before his extradition to the United States on December 3, 2004 This photograph taken from a Colombian television broadcast shows a Most Wanted announcement offering $1.5 million each for information leading to the capture of the leaders of the Cali Cartel, Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela (left) and his brother Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela (right). This was the first time photos of the two leaders were shown in public Perhaps the biggest legacy of the Rodriguez Orejuela brothers was their ability to quietly corrupt Colombian politics, delivering shoeboxes of cash to Ernesto Samper's campaign prior to his 1994 election as president and buying off much of Congress. The also revealed that they had contributed money to fund the campaign of Andres Pastrana Arango, who was president from 1998 to 2002. While painted in the popular press as less violent than Pablo Escobar and the Medellin cartel, the Rodriguez Orejuelas brothers were later accused of paying off journalists to suppress news of Cali Cartel-related killings. New ranks of narcos quickly replaced the Cali Cartel leaders after their arrest and extradition. Many of those successors became leaders of far-right military bands that the U.S. placed on its international terror group list in 2001. Yagya Raj Subedi, a naturalized Korean from Nepal who ran for a Gyeonggi Province Assembly seat, speaks in a YouTube video uploaded on May 7. Screenshot from Democratic Party of Korea's Gyeonggi Province branch YouTube channel Naturalized Korean candidates face disadvantages amid prejudice, xenophobia By Lee Hae-rin Aspiring politicians go through a complicated thought process before deciding to run for election. This is because, as someone succinctly put it, elections are an all-or-nothing game for candidates they get everything if they win. But the opposite also holds true; they lose everything when defeated. Elections require candidates to have sufficient financial support to cover their campaigns, enough physical strength to follow a cruelly busy schedule and the resolve to overcome challenges against all odds. For foreign-born candidates, there is one more hurdle they have to overcome in the run to the finish: ethnic nationalism. These candidates may face prejudice and xenophobia from some voters. Kim Man-ui, 47, a naturalized Korean who is originally from China, decided to run in the Ansan mayoral election held on June 1 after gaining experience with a Korean political party. During the March 9 presidential election campaign period, he worked for the external relations team of the minor center-right People's Party. He initially thought his ethnic background would be an asset in the election because Ansan is ethnically diverse and people from China take up the lion's share of foreign-born residents. Running his own business in Paju, a border city in Gyeonggi Province, he became a Korean citizen six years ago. Unlike most Korean-born candidates who visit every corner of their electoral districts to meet voters in person and rally their support to win elections, Kim has focused on campaigning digitally. He presented his visions on his YouTube channel. In the videos he has uploaded, Kim promises to attract global capital, build a mega-tourist attraction like Disneyland and reinvigorate the city by transforming its industrial complex into an entrepreneurship town for young people. Yagya Raj Subedi, 50, is another naturalized Korean candidate from Nepal who declared his bid to run for a seat in the Gyeonggi Province Assembly, via the proportional representation system on the ticket of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). He came to Korea in 1996 initially as a guest worker. He later became a priest after studying theology in Korea, in order to give back to the community, which had helped him a lot. In 2009, he became the first naturalized Korean citizen from Nepal. He was active in the migrant workers' rights movement before joining the DPK's multicultural committee last March. He chose to run in the election to help fellow migrant workers and naturalized citizens make their voices heard in Korea's policymaking. "About 5.3 percent of the population of Gyeonggi Province are foreigners but there are no politicians who can represent them," he said. Based on his extensive experience as a migrant labor activist, he made several policy and budget proposals that could effectively improve migrants' working conditions and labor efficiency. Candidates in general find it tough to follow super-busy schedules and convince voters to pay attention to their campaigns. But for foreign-born candidates, there is another hurdle that makes running even tougher: they often find themselves fighting against Koreans' prejudices. This differs from candidate to candidate. Kim faces anti-China sentiment, which has grown significantly in recent years following China's economic retaliation against Korean companies, following the deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in Korea. According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, over 700,000 Korean Chinese like Kim reside in Korea as of 2019, and some 27,000 live in Ansan. Among the total number of 120,000 foreign-born eligible voters, eight out of 10 are Chinese nationals. Kim has found that his background still sparks anti-China feelings among some Koreans, even though he is a naturalized Korean citizen. Kim Man-ui, a naturalized Korean from China who ran for mayor of Ansan in the June 1 local elections, is seen in a video uploaded to his YouTube channel on April 15. Screenshot from Kim Man-ui's YouTube Tucker Carlson has slammed President Biden for inviting K-Pop group BTS to the White House Tuesday, accusing the politician of using the much publicized photo op as a political tool to gain favor with younger Americans. 'Things have gotten very bad for Joe Biden, both public-facing and internally,' Carlson, 53, told viewers of his eponymous program Tuesday night, before airing a clip of the Korean supergroup's visit the Oval Office earlier that day. 'What are they doing about it?' Carlson asked fans, before offering his take on the appearance - which officials said was part of a campaign to combat Asian hate. 'Well, they broke glass in case of emergency and invited a Korean pop group to speak at the White House.' The longtime Fox personality proceeded to air a clip of the seven-man boy group - whose fanbase is largely mired in the Gen Z demographic - speaking at the White House press podium. The bizarre image of the suited, young men speaking about the country's issues, on its biggest stage, seemed to set Carlson off, with the commentator going on to mock the maneuver. 'Yeah, so we got a Korean pop group to discuss anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States. Okay. Good job, guys,' he sniped. The group's White House appearance similarly set off Arizona congressman Andy Biggs, who Tweeted Tuesday: 'Wonder if they have any ideas on how to secure our border, lower inflation, lower gas prices, and get baby formula back on our shelves.' Scroll down for video: The Fox News host mocked the Biden administration for the maneuver Tuesday, alluding that it was to gain favor with America's younger citizens The group's White House appearance similarly set off Arizona congressman Andy Biggs, who Tweeted Tuesday: 'Wonder if they have any ideas on how to secure our border, lower inflation, lower gas prices, and get baby formula back on our shelves' Things are going so poorly at the White House that even the media can no longer ignore it. pic.twitter.com/wmqZxpi81r Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 1, 2022 The visit saw Biden - who has seen his popularity plummet in recent months amid unprecedented inflation and the baby formula shortage seen during his administration - flash the band's signature 'finger hearts' pose inside the Oval Office, and saw BTS' members address press with White House secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. The meeting also saw the Commander in Chief tell the hitmakers - whom are all aged 29 and below - 'People care a lot about what you say, and what you are doing is good for all people.' The K-Pop band, dressed in matching black suits posed with the president for several photos, in a meeting White House officials asserted covered topics such as diversity, Asian inclusion and other issues amid a recent surge in anti-Asian hate crimes. Commending the group for speaking out against such issues, Biden said: 'Its not just your good talent. Its the message you are communicating. It matters.' The visit saw Biden - who has seen his popularity plummet in recent months amid unprecedented inflation and the baby formula shortage seen during his administration - flash the band's signature 'finger hearts' pose inside the Oval Office The South Korean boy group boasts a fanbase of more than 40 million across the globe - with the lion's share of them being youths under 18. That fact was not lost on Carlson - whose spiel was accompanied by chyrons that read, 'WH invited K-Pop group to bolster street cred,' and, 'The wheels are officially coming off at the WH.' A graphic also accompanied Carlson over his shoulder showing the White House with an accompanying caption labeling it as such - except with word 'White' scrawled out and replaced with 'nut.' The segment saw Carlson point out to viewers that this was not the first time the president tried to use young celebrities to garner favor with Gen-Z, a burgeoning demographic of nearly 68 million in the US, aged nine to 24. He reminded fans of how back in 2021, in a bid to promote Covid-19 vaccines among young people, the White House recruited Gen Z TikTok influencers, including Benito Skinner, a 28-year-old comedian whose TikTok handle is @bennydrama7 and boasts over 1,000,000 followers, Carlson shared a clip of post shared to TikTok by Skinner titled 'A day in my life as a White House intern <3,' which saw the social media star 'work' with then Press Secretary Jen Psaki, answering phones while sporting long nail extensions. Skinner, flashing long white nails and dressed in a multi-patterned suit as he talks on the phone, says at one point, 'One sec, Democracy is calling, see you daddy.' In another moment, he walks down the hallway shouting, 'We did it, Joe,' imitating the viral clip of Vice President Kamala Harris calling President Biden to say the same thing after their White House win. In another, Skinner enters White House press secretary Jen Psaki's office 'Jenny, I booked you a nail appointment love,' he says. 'I didn't tell you to do that,' Psaki says. 'It's called initiative,' Skinner answers. Carlson reminded fans of how back in 2021, in a bid to promote Covid-19 vaccines among young people, the White House recruited Gen Z TikTok influencers, including Benito Skinner, a 28-year-old comedian whose TikTok handle is @bennydrama7 and boasts over 1mill followers The clips also saw Psaki tell Skinner: 'Weve come a long way in our fight against this virus. Weve vaccinated 160 million Americans - are you getting this all down?' In another shot the TikToker asserts, 'We need to get shots in the arms of every single American.' Last year, Biden again deployed TikTokers to blame soaring inflation on Russia's invasion of Ukraine - even though it was a issue for months before the war began. In March, the White House held a zoom briefing with about 30 popular internet figures, who promptly took to their social media accounts to talk about what the White House had briefed them on. Among them was Ellie Zeiler, an 18-year-old who has more than 10 million followers and who later did as she was asked with a pro-Biden clip. She posted a video on her profile entitled: 'Why is gas so expensive?' In March, the White House held a zoom briefing with about 30 popular internet figures, who promptly took to their social accounts to talk about what the White House had briefed them on. Among them was Ellie Zeiler (pictured), an 18-year-old who has more than 10m followers The move from Biden comes as the US experiences record-setting gas prices and inflation President Biden has used popular gen z platforms such as TikTok in the past to enlist stars to push narratives - including ones meant to counter Russian online influence. White House press secretary Jen Psaki reportedly briefed more than 30 social media stars last year 'I had the opportunity to ask the White House why gas down the street is $7 and here's what they said.' 'The first obvious reason is that we're getting out of a two year pandemic. When use goes up, the price goes up.... 'But the call was predominantly about Ukraine and Russia, so how does that relate?' she asked. 'Russia is one of the top three producers of oil and it is actually their No. 1 revenue source,' she explained. 'Now, with Putin starting this horrific fight between Ukraine and Russia, nobody wants to work with him and do international trade.' The White House briefing was led by Matt Miller, a special adviser for communications at the White House National Security Council, and Psaki, who resigned last month. The news comes as the president grows increasingly desperate to shift the blame for the tanking economy, with this November's midterms currently predicted to spell grim news for the Democrat party. White House director of digital strategy, Rob Flaherty, told the TikTokers that he saw their reach and possible influence as 'a critically important avenue' to the American public. During the meeting, Zeiler, in audio sourced by the Post, could be heard asking about inflation and what it meant for the country and young people. Psaki placed the blame on a number of issues including supply chain issues, the pandemic and the cost of energy which had been rising even before the Russian invasion. But speaking about gas prices in particular, she lay the blame squarely with President Putin. 'It's his actions, President Putin, that is prompting the rising gas prices,' Psaki said. 'That is what is happening.' Zeiler later told the Post that she was honored to take on the role of explaining complex situations to young people 'I'm here to relay the information in a more digestible manner to my followers,' she told the Post. 'I would consider myself a White House correspondent for Gen-Z.' Other content on her TikTok page sees her on dancing in her house, sharing makeup tips or on vacation as well as pulling pranks on her family. Gen Z For Change, a nonprofit advocacy group, helped identify the content creators invited to participate. The information was targeted at the younger generation. 'We joined the White House for a briefing on the U.S. strategic goals in Ukraine so we're better able to debunk misinformation. 'As a coalition that reaches half a billion people, we are grateful that the White House chooses to work with us to keep people informed,' the group continued. Gen Z For Change, a nonprofit advocacy group, helped identify the content creators invited to participate in the White House's propaganda plot, started last year Jules Terpak, an influencer who was on the briefing call, tweeted that 'TikTok is the media app that many young people click first after unlocking their phones. Also on the call was Aaron Parnas, who has 1.2 million followers and is the son of Rudy Giuliani's indicted former associate Lev Parnas. 'I just got off of a zoom call with the White House about the situation in Ukraine,' Kahlil Greene, who calls himself a 'Gen Z historian' and has 540,000 followers, posted in a video to his social media accounts. The administration's move comes as it battles a wave of misinformation out of Moscow where Vladimir Putin is justifying the invasion by making false claims about the Ukraine. All the 'digital creators' on the White House briefing game a similar summary: that the administration was emphasizing its work with allies, the assistance it was offering the Ukraine and how it was trying to prevent a bigger war. TikToker Marcus J. DiPaola said of the White House briefing: 'The number one message the White House has is U.S. unity with partners & allies. The number two message is to prevent a more expansive war.' National Security Council staffers and White House press secretary Psaki conducted the briefing, according to the Washington Post. Biden's propagandist methods echo a coordinated campaign to pay Russian TikTok influencers to post videos pushing pro-Kremlin narratives about the war in Ukrainem where popular social media influencers shared Moscow's propaganda even after TikTok banned new uploads from users located inside Russia. At the time, an observer wrote on Twitter: 'Russia is literally paying people to make content on TikTok and elsewhere. Beware of the propaganda out there, and know that Russia is desperate because they are losing this war.' Both sides have used social media to spread their messages, as the war in Ukraine continues to rage. The US Marines decision to mark the first day of 'Pride Month' with the release of a picture of a helmet featuring rainbow bullets, while the Russia-Ukraine conflicts rages on, has not gone well with many of the military's critics. 'Throughout June, the USMC takes #Pride in recognizing and honoring the contributions of our LGBTQ service members,' the U.S. Marines tweeted on Wednesday. 'We remain committed to fostering an environment free from discrimination, and defend the values of treating all equally, with dignity and respect,' the statement further read. The military branch's tweet is accompanied by a picture of a standard Marine helmet adorned with six bullets, each a different color from the rainbow flag. The colors represent LGBTQ pride and social movements. The strap is emblazoned with the words 'Proud to serve.' LGBTQ Month is celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan - a pivotal turning point for the gay liberation movement in the U.S. The U.S. Marines tweeted a picture of a military helmet with six different colored bullets, representing the rainbow flag, and a strap emblazoned with the words 'proud to serve,' in honor of Pride Month, which takes place throughout the entire month of June However, many critics of the armed forces were irked by the accommodating attempt. 'Maybe focus on what's actually important to the nation's defense,' a user called Harri, who has the letters USMC included in his profile's bio, tweeted. 'China and Russia are bolstering up their ranks with masculinity understanding it's necessity, while we seem to be celebrating sexual choices and gender changes in our military.' 'Is this satire?' another user asked. 'Seriously? How does fixating on differences foster cohesion and unity?' Christina Pushaw, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' press secretary, shared on the social media platform. 'What happened to this?' another user sub-tweeted over a 2013 tweet from the official U.S. Marines account that reads: '''Locate, close with and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver and repel the enemy assault by fire and close combat.''' 'Getting killed by a rainbow bullet is so progressive,' a different person shared. Social media critics were quick to slam the military branch's pandering attempt shortly after the U.S. Marines shared the tweet on June 1 Some users noted that the tweet marks a departure from the official U.S. policy on military service by gay men, bisexuals, and lesbians, under the Clinton administration form 1994 until 2011. The policy banned military personnel from discriminating or harassing closeted servicemembers or applicants, while barring openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons from military service. The 20-year policy prohibited people who 'demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts' from serving in the U.S. military, because their presence 'would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability,' according to Title 10 of the U.S. Code. In 2011, the Obama administration put an end to the policy and successfully vouched for the Department of Defense to allocate spousal and family benefits to troops in same-sex marriages on the same terms as it does to those in hetero-sex marriages. Some of the military branch's followers on social media, however, were quick to praise the Marines' decision to promote inclusiveness and diversity. 'From the official USMC account,' former Marine Terry Jaillet posted. 'Being gay and testing positive for marijuana were the most frequent reasons for early discharge when I served... progress,' he added. 'As a former recon #Marine with multiple combact action ribbons and multi Purple Hearts I applaud your attention to diversity. Ooh Rah!' a user from Oregon, who goes by Letzelfarm, and who served between 1966 and 1970 tweeted. Others praised the Marines for promoting inclusivity and diversity within its servicemembers 'If you seved then you served with someone in the LGBTQ community,' Jeremy Anderson shared on Twitter. 'Quit acting like ''that's not my Corps'' bulls***. They have been serving out country since the inception,' he further shared. 'Thank you, whoever made this,' a user who nicknamed himself as 'worst guy you know' wrote in his Twitter post. 'Not sure what everyone is so cranky about...'treating all equally, with dignity and respect' sounds like a good way to go,' Palmer Eldritch commented. 'How does what you do with your junk impact your ability to lug equipment, or weather enemy fire?' she added. The Department of State followed the U.S. Marines in tweeting about Pride Month too, sharing a picture of a 'Progress Flag' flying high and over the federal agency's building in D.C. The Marines' tweet was pushed out on social media on the first day of 'Pride Month' which has been talked about on several occasions by the Biden administration. 'This month, we honor the resilience of LGBTQI+ people, who are fighting to live authentically and freely,' Joe Biden said in a speech on May 31 on LGBTQ month. 'We reaffirm our belief that LGBTQI+ rights are human rights. And we recommit to delivering protections, safety, and equality to LGBTQI+ families so that everyone can realize the full promise of America,' the President added. The Department of State also shared two celebratory pride month-related tweets. In one of them, the 'Progress Flag', which is the Pride Flag, is flying high over the agency's Washington D.C. headquarters. Police have urged the public to be 'extra vigilant' after a manhunt for a convicted serial sex offender who absconded from an open prison entered its second day today. Gary Butcher, who has a number of convictions for sex attacks on women, left HMP North Sea Camp near Boston, Lincolnshire, shortly before 5.30am on Tuesday. Lincolnshire Police said people should not approach the 'dangerous' 55-year-old, who may have travelled to Leicestershire. Gary Butcher, 55, is serving a life sentence for aggravated burglary and absconded from HMP North Sea Camp on May 31 The force said he is serving a life sentence for aggravated burglary. The news comes just over three months after another convicted sex offender, Paul Robson, absconded from the same prison. It took police four days to arrest Robson, who was described as a 'particular danger to women and young children'. Butcher is the second sex offender to escape from HMP North Sea Camp in the last three months After he was rearrested, the Justice Secretary insisted the number of criminals who abscond from prison is 'very low' and confirmed he would be personally reviewing requests to move high-risk offenders to open jails. But Dominic Raab admitted he would only be able to look at the 'top slice' of requests involving the most high-risk criminals, otherwise 'the volume of cases would inundate us'. Following CCTV inquiries, police said that Butcher may be wearing a long-sleeved green jacket, dark blue cargo shorts, and may also be carrying a black No Fear rucksack. He is described as a stocky white male, with brown/grey hair and blue eyes. Police said he has a swallow tattoo on his right arm and 'Phillip-Trina' tattooed on his left arm. Detective Inspector Paul Coleman said: 'We are still appealing for help to find wanted man Gary Butcher, who was reported missing from North Sea Camp in Boston yesterday morning. 'I want to reassure the public that my team and I are working around the clock with other forces and agencies to locate this male. 'Gary Butcher is a dangerous individual who has previously targeted and charmed his way into people's homes to carry out his attacks. 'I would urge the public to be extra vigilant, to be very careful in regard to who they are opening their door to and to make us aware of any information that may help in his capture. 'If you do see Gary Butcher, please do not approach him and instead call us on 101 or 999 if it's an emergency.' Meanwhile Chief Supt Kate Anderson also told the BBC he may attempt to 'charm' his way into people's homes. She added her officers are working with forces across the country to locate him. She said: 'I do believe that he is extremely dangerous. 'He may attempt to charm his way into homes.' Advertisement Britain's monkeypox cases are linked to gay bars, saunas and dating apps, health chiefs revealed as the cumulative number of cases in the UK nears 200. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said more than 60 per cent of domestic infections have been among gay and bisexual men, with more than 86 per cent based in the epicentre London. Only two cases have been women. Most of the country's infections 87 per cent were among people aged 20 to 49. And 111 cases are known to be men who have sex with men. Most of the UK patients caught the virus in the UK rather than abroad, which is significant because previously the tropical disease was confined to a small number of people with travel links to Africa. Officials said that contact tracing teams had linked the outbreak back to 'gay bars, saunas and the use of dating apps in the UK and abroad'. MailOnline revealed last week the world's biggest gay dating app Grindr had alerted to users of monkeypox symptoms. It comes as the UKHSA today confirmed another six infections, bringing the nation's total since the outbreak began on May 6 to 196. Five of the infections were logged in England, while one was spotted in Scotland. In total, there have been 617 confirmed cases of monkeypox across the globe, with 129 more suspected since the first infection was found at the start of May. Behind the UK, Spain (133), Portugal (100) and Germany (38) have logged the next highest number of confirmed cases. People should reduce their number of sexual partners to help fight the spread of monkeypox, the World Health Organization has urged. Pictured: The Gran Canarian pride festival, held between May 5 and 15 and attended by 80,000 people from Britain and across Europe, is being investigated after being linked to numerous monkeypox cases MailOnline revealed that the app issued a warning to its users across Europe last Monday, advising them to contact their sexual health provider if they or any recent sexual partners have unusual sores or rashes. The dating app is the world's largest for men who have sex with men, who have been disproportionately infected in the outbreak. Health chiefs confirmed at least 60 per cent of cases had been spotted in this community Timeline of monkeypox 1958: Monkeypox was first discovered when an outbreak of a pox-like disease occurred in monkeys kept for research. 1970: The first human case was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the infection has been reported in a number of central and western African countries since then. 2003: A Monkeypox outbreak occurred in the US after rodents were imported from Africa. Cases were reported in both humans and pet prairie dogs. All the human infections followed contact with an infected pet and all patients recovered. SEPTEMBER 8, 2018: Monkeypox appeared in the UK for the first time in a Nigerian naval officer who was visiting Cornwall for training. They were treated at the Royal Free Hospital in London. SEPTEMBER 11, 2018: A second UK monkeypox case is confirmed in Blackpool. There is no link with the first case in Cornwall. Instead, the patient is though to have picked up the infection when travelling in Nigeria. They were treated at Blackpool Victoria Hospital and Royal Liverpool University Hospital. SEPTEMBER 26, 2018: A third person is diagnosed with monkeypox. The individual worked at Blackpool Victoria Hospital and treated the second Monkeypox case. They received treatment at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. DECEMBER 3, 2019: A patient was diagnosed with monkeypox in England, marking the fourth ever case. MAY 25, 2021: Two cases of monkeypox were identified in north Wales. Both patients had travel links to Nigeria. A third person living with one of the cases was diagnosed and admitted to hospital, bringing the total number ever to seven. MAY 7, 2022: A person was diagnosed with Monkeypox in England after recently travelling to Nigeria. The person received care at the expert infectious disease unit at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust in London. MAY 14, 2022: Two more cases were confirmed in London. The infected pair lived in the same household but had not been in contact with the case announced one week earlier. One of these individuals received care at the expert infectious disease unit at St Mary's Hospital in London. The other isolated at home and did not need hospital treatment. MAY 16, 2022: Four more cases were announced, bringing the UK total to seven. Three of these cases are in London, while one of their contacts is infected in the north east of England. The spate of cases was described as 'unusual' and 'surprising' as experts warn gay and bisexual men to look out for new rashes. MAY 19, 2022: Two more cases were revealed, with no travel links or connections to other cases. The cases were based in the South East and London. Fears began to grow that infections are going undetected. MAY 20, 2022: Eleven more cases are announced, meaning Britain's monkeypox outbreak have doubled to 20. Minsters discuss the possibility of a public health campaign to warn gay men the disease may be more prevalent for them MAY 23, 2022: Scotland logs its first ever monkeypox case and 36 more infection announced in England. It brings the UK total to 57. MAY 24, 2022: England logs another 14 cases, bringing the UK total to 71. MAY 25, 2022: Another seven infections are spotted in England, meaning 78 cases have been detected in the UK. MAY 26, 2022: Wales and Northern Ireland detect their first monkeypox case in the recent outbreak, while Scotland spots two more cases and England logs eight, bringing UK total to 90. MAY 27, 2022: England detects 16 more cases, meaning 106 people in Britain have confirmed infections. MAY 29, 2022: World Health Organization (WHO) says risk of monkeypox is 'moderate', citing concerns about virus infecting children and immunosuppressed people if it becomes more widespread. MAY 30, 2022: The UK detects another 71 monkeypox cases, bringing the UK total to 179. Cases jumped 70 per cent in just three days. MAY 31, 2022: Eleven infections are spotted across the UK, bringing the infection toll to 190. JUNE 1, 2022: Another five cases are spotted in England and one is detected in Scotland, meaning the UK has now logged 196. Advertisement In a report released on Wednesday night, the UKHSA shared its findings on the outbreak which began on May 6 and marks the first time monkeypox has been passed from person to person in the UK without links to west or central Africa, where the virus is endemic. By May 31, 132 of the 153 cases in England were among London residents. Recent foreign travel to European countries, classed as trips taken in the last three weeks, has been linked with just a fifth of cases, suggesting the vast majority picked up the virus in the UK. The report states: 'Investigations to date have identified links to gay bars, saunas and the use of dating apps in the UK and abroad. 'Investigations continue but currently no single factor or exposure that links the cases has been identified.' MailOnline revealed that Grindr issued a warning to its users across Europe last Monday, advising them to contact their sexual health provider if they or any recent sexual partners have unusual sores or rashes. UKHSA is working with the app as well as the British Association of Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) and the British HIV Association to communicate health risks to gay and bisexual men. The current outbreak has been linked to several super-spreader events, including a gay pride festival in Gran Canaria on May 5-15, a fetish festival in Belgium on May 5-8 and a 'sauna' in Spain. Dr Meera Chand, director of clinical and emerging infections at UKHSA, said: 'We are working to break chains of transmission, including by contact tracing and vaccination. 'We are grateful to everyone who has come forward for testing and it is extremely important that everyone continues to be aware of the symptoms and to seek advice if they have concerns. 'We are reminding people to look out for new spots, ulcers or blisters on any part of their body. If anyone suspects they might have monkeypox, particularly if they have recently had a new sexual partner, they should limit their contact with others and contact NHS 111 or their local sexual health service as soon as possible, though please phone ahead before attending in person.' Teams from the UKHSA are contacting high-risk contacts of confirmed cases and advising them to self-isolate at home for three weeks and avoid contact with children. Both confirmed cases and close contacts are being offered the Imvanex vaccine to form a buffer of immune people around a confirmed case to limit the spread of the disease. The strategy, known as ring vaccination, has been used in previous monkeypox outbreaks and is also being carried out in some EU countries. Professor Kevin Fenton, London regional director for public health said: 'Monkeypox can affect anyone but we know that many of the most recent diagnoses are in gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, many of whom live in, or have links to London. 'We're reminding everyone of the symptoms of monkeypox, and especially gay and bisexual men in particular, to be especially aware and seek advice immediately by calling NHS 111 or their local sexual health clinic if they have concerns. 'As with any new disease outbreak, the risk of stigma and uncertainty is great. 'This is why we're working side by side with the NHS, sexual health, voluntary and community sector organisations in London to share accurate information about monkeypox especially to people and groups at increased risk through representative voices.' Meanwhile, the WHO urged people to reduce their number of sexual partners to help fight the spread of the virus. It comes as the World Health Organization European director Dr Hans Kluge says monkeypox requires 'urgent' action and warned the current outbreak of the tropical disease 'may not be containable'. He said Europe had become the new epicentre of the virus, with the outbreak linked to sexual transmission at raves and festivals on the continent. Dr Kluge insisted the virus 'will not require the same extensive population measures' as Covid but said 'significant and urgent' action was needed to prevent more cases. The WHO stopped short of calling for contacts of known cases to be quarantined but called for 'critical' twice-daily temperature checks and 'close monitoring'. The UN health agency earlier this week upgraded the global threat level to 'moderate', warning that community spread could lead to vulnerable patients or children catching the virus, which also spreads from touch, or interaction with contaminated surfaces or clothes. The UKSA updated its own guidance on Monday night to tell people to wear condoms during sex for eight weeks after clearing the virus. Anyone in Britain who develops a new rash or blister is being urged to quarantine and call 111 and not to leave isolation 'until you've been told what to do'. They are also been ordered to abstain from sex or close contact with others 'until their lesions have healed and the scabs have dried off'. Dr Kluge said in a statement last night: '[Europe] remains at the epicentre of the largest and most geographically widespread monkeypox outbreak ever reported outside of endemic areas in western and central Africa. 'Based on the case reports to date, this outbreak is currently being transmitted through social networks connected largely through sexual activity, primarily involving men who have sex with men. 'Many but not all cases report fleeting and/or multiple sexual partners, sometimes associated with large events or parties.' Health chiefs have warned monkeypox, a virus endemic in parts of Africa and is known for its rare and unusual rashes, bumps and lesions, could also spread to some pets and become endemic in Europe. Undated handout file image issued by the UK Health Security Agency showing Monkeypox rash lesions Dr Kluge said all young people, regardless of gender or sexuality, are at risk of the virus and should be aware of the symptoms. He said gay and bisexual communities have shown 'rapid health-seeking behaviour', adding 'we should applaud them' for coming forward with symptoms early. But he warned festivals and parties planned over the coming months could lead to further outbreaks of the virus. He said: 'The potential for further transmission in Europe and elsewhere over the summer is high. 'Monkeypox has already spread against the backdrop of several mass gatherings in [Europe]. 'Over the coming months, many of the dozens of festivals and large parties planned provide further contexts where amplification may occur.' The WHO said event organisers should share 'accurate, practical and targeted information' with attendees over summer. Meanwhile, the LGB Alliance a trans-exclusionary gay rights group issued a statement calling for gay saunas to be closed taken down. In the statement, the group said: 'Monkeypox is spreading and gay and bisexual men have been affected disproportionately. 'That's why we are calling on all commercial sex venues, such as saunas, leather/fetish bars and clubs with dark rooms to be closed for a month.' Critics accused the group of homophobia, arguing the move would lead to stigmatisation ahead of Pride month. But LGBA insisted the move would have helped 'save Pride' by preventing huge outbreaks just before the main events scheduled over the next four weeks. Malcolm Clark, head of research at LGBA, told the Daily Telegraph: 'We were really lucky this time that it wasn't another Aids, but what would have happened if it was? 'We would have been complaining about stigmatisation and still taking our time. It appears that 30 years after HIV, we haven't learnt anything. 'It's pure luck that this is a disease nobody dies from, but it could have easily been something else, it could have easily been worse. We should thank our lucky stars.' Andy Seale, from the WHO's department for HIV, hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections, on Monday said Pride parades pose little risk of spreading monkeypox. He said most transmission is linked to 'enclosed spaces' such as nightclubs and there is no 'enhanced risk' of transmission at the annual celebrations. The prosecutor worked on House Democrats' first impeachment of Donald Trump is running for Congress, he announced on Wednesday, aiming to clinch an empty seat that's also being eyed-off by former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Attorney Daniel Goldman is joining the race for New York's newly-created 10th Congressional District, adding one more name to what already was a crowded six-way race. It's also de Blasio's second attempt at federal office after his widely unpopular 2020 presidential bid - which he ended in September 2029 just weeks after an event he hosted in Iowa drew just about 15 people. 'I am running for Congress and this new 10th district because I want to get on the front lines, and back in the trenches like I did during the impeachment,' Goldman said on MSNBC's Morning Joe. 'To fight for our democracy, defend our democracy - but also move, bring a new voice, so that we can move some of these issues forward that the Republicans - in particular - are really trying to roll back.' Goldman was House Democrats' lead counsel when they impeached Trump over his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in which he withheld Congressionally-approved military aid while pressuring the Eastern European leader to open an investigation into Trump's then-opponent, President Joe Biden. And it appears that his connection to Trump's trial will be the cornerstone of Goldman's campaign. Daniel Goldman, who was the lead counsel for House Democrats' first impeachment trial of Donald Trump is running for Congress in a district that covers lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn that include the affluence neighborhoods of Park Slope and Dumbo He drilled in the link again in a Twitter post announcing his candidacy, writing after his television interview: 'The existential threats to our democracy and fundamental rights are real & urgent.' 'We need voices in Congress with experience and courage to defend our democracy & rights, as I did leading the impeachment investigation of Trump,' Goldman wrote. He also quickly distanced himself from progressive lawmakers, including ones from the Big Apple, who have pushed to 'defund the police' in the face of a nationwide crime wave that shows no signs of slowing. Goldman said on MSNBC that Democrats 'need to embrace law and order in a compassionate empathetic way' while making no mention of law enforcement funds, and bashed Republicans as being against 'law and order.' The Democrat lawyer previously mounted a campaign for New York state Attorney General but dropped out of that race late last year after incumbent Letitia James announced she was exiting the Democratic gubernatorial primary to run for her current job again. James is also currently investigating the Trump Organization for potential tax fraud in a probe that's been running since 2019. Current House Rep. Mondaire Jones is also vying for the empty Congressional seat in New York's 10th District, along with New York City Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou and Councilwoman Carlina Rivera. Goldman hammered home his experience going after Trump in his candidacy announcement The crowded race for the empty seat in New York's 10th Congressional District includes wildly unpopular former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Rep. Mondaire Jones, who currently represents the nearby 17th District New York City Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou is also considered one of the more formidable contenders in the now-seven-way race The area includes downtown Manhattan as well as the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Dumbo, Red Hook and Park Slope. Jones currently represented the state's 17th Congressional District, which includes parts of Westchester, just above New York City, and the lower Hudson Valley. He's switching to the 10th after the new bounds of his current district would have put him in a highly competitive race against fellow progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman. It's a seat that had been held by House Judiciary Chair and longtime House Rep. Jerry Nadler. But Nadler is vacating it to run for the newly-redrawn 13th District, which includes his home neighborhood of the Upper West Side. By doing so Nadler is pitting himself against House Oversight Chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney in a historic clash between two veteran senior legislators of the same party. And the vacancy has also set up a power vacuum that Goldman, Jones, de Blasio and others are fighting to fill. Jones was so wary of Goldman's candidacy that even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made efforts to dissuade the attorney, the New York Post reported last week. Pelosi told Goldman on at least one occasion that Jones would be 'treated as an incumbent' in the race, sources close to the lawmaker reportedly said. President Joe Biden officially announced a new $700 million security package for the Ukraine on Wednesday amid Russian warnings he was 'adding fuel to the fire' by including medium-range rocket systems. 'This new package will arm them with new capabilities and advanced weaponry, including HIMARS with battlefield munitions, to defend their territory from Russian advances,' Biden said in a statement. The lateset round of military aid comes as the Pentagon snapped back at the flak from the Kremlin, saying Russia didn't get to vote on U.S. assistance and describing Moscow's invasion as 'off plan.' Besides the missile system, the assistance also includes helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, tactical vehicles, and more. Ukraine has promised the United States it will not fire the weapons into Russian territory. But the Kremlin fired back, accusing Washington of provocative behavior. 'We believe that the United States is purposefully and diligently adding fuel to the fire,' spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. When asked how Russia would respond if Ukraine used U.S.-supplied rockets to strike Russian territory, Peskov replied: 'Let's not talk about worst-case scenarios.' He said Moscow didn't trust Ukrainian reassurance the weapons would not reach Russian soil. The United States is sending four HIMARS missile systems to Ukraine in the latest round of military aid Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said Russia is 'far off plan' in its invasion, which began a little more than three months ago Meanwhile, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said Russia is 'far off plan' in its invasion, which began a little more than three months ago. 'The Russians have not done particularly well. They're certainly off plan. They had anticipated, you know taking over the country in a matter of days. At the outset, maybe 30 days. They are far off plan,' he said at Wednesday's press briefing at the Pentagon. Biden said Monday that the U.S. would not send Ukraine 'rocket systems that can strike into Russia.' But the new military package includes medium-range rockets, which can travel about 45 miles. Those, of course, could be fired into Russia if close enough to the border. Kahl said the U.S. was sending four HIMARS to Ukraine and the training would take about three weeks. The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, is mounted on a truck and can carry a container with six rockets. In addition to the medium-range missile, it can fire longer-range rockets, the Army Tactical Missile System, which has a range of about 190 miles. But U.S. officials said that is not part of the plan. Kahl said the Ukrainian government has assured the United States the missiles won't be launched into Russian territory but, instead, be used to combat Russian forces in the Donbas region. 'The formal assurance is that they won't use these systems to target Russian territory,' Kahl said. 'We trust the Ukrainians will live up to those assurances.' 'Ukraine is defending their territory, anything they're doing on the territory of Ukraine is defensive,' he noted. Ukrainian officials have been asking for longer-range missile systems that can fire a barrage of rockets hundreds of miles away, in the hopes of turning the tide of the war. They wanted many more than four. Kahl also brushed off the Russian pushback on the new aid. 'Russia doesn't get a veto over what we send to the Ukrainians,' he said. 'The Ukrainians didn't start this war, the Russians did. The Ukrainians didn't provoke this war, this war was unprovoked. The Russians can end this conflict anytime they want. If they are wary of escalation, all it takes is one man to say stop.' The new assistance comes as Russian troops edged closer to seizing control of the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk. The city is in the Donbas region on Russia's border and capturing it would bring Moscow closure to seizing Ukraines east. And an anchor on Russia state TV said World War III has already begun. 'In the sense that a real war has started, World War Three. We are being forced to demilitarise, not just Ukraine but NATO as a whole,' Russian state TV anchor Olga Skabeyeva said. President Biden has said repeatedly he doesn't want the Ukraine conflict to escalate into a third world war. The United States has pledged $5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration, including approximately $4.5 billion since the Russia invaded on Feb. 24. The U.S. is sending the missiles to Ukraine as Russia is pushing to take control of Dunbas region Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke with Biden about sending some of the UK's advanced missile systems to the Ukraine, Politico reported. Johnson spoke with Biden about the transfer of the U.S.-made M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems on Wednesday morning. Then U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Thursday morning. The U.S. must officially approve the move due to export regulations. The M270 can strike targets roughly 50 miles away. Buffalo shooting suspect Payton Gendron has been indicted on several charges, including one count of an act of domestic terrorism motivated by hate and ten counts of first degree murder. The 25-count indictment brought by a grand jury on Wednesday also contains charges of murder and attempted murder as a hate crime and weapons possession. The 18-year-old is accused of shooting 10 black people and injuring three others at Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo on May 14. Gendron, who has been in custody since the attack, is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Erie County Court. He had previously been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting and pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors told a judge on May 20 that the grand jury had voted to indict Gendron but did not disclose charges, saying proceedings were ongoing. The domestic terrorism charge accuses Gendron of killing 'because of the perceived race and/or color' of his victims. Payton Gendron is led into the courtroom for a hearing at Erie County Court, in Buffalo, N.Y., Thursday, May 19, 2022. Gendron faces charges in the May 14 fatal shooting at a supermarket Payton Gendron, 18, of Conklin, NY, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. He is being held without bail and faces life in prison. Gendron, who has been in custody since the attack, is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Erie County Court Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff visit a memorial near the site of the Buffalo supermarket shooting after attending a memorial service for Ruth Whitfield, one of the victims of the shooting, Saturday, May 28, 2022, in Buffalo Richard Berrios observes a memorial for the shooting victims outside of Tops market on May 20 Among those killed were security guard Aaron Salter, grandmother Ruth Whitfield, civil rights activist Katherine Massey, Pearly Young, breast cancer survivor Celestine Chaney, church deacon Heyward Patterson, mother-of-two Geraldine Talley, Andre Macknie and father-of-three Margus Morrison The charge, Domestic Acts of Terrorism Motivated by Hate in the First Degree, is punishable with a sentence of life imprisonment without parole. LIST OF INDICTMENTS AGAINST GENDRON Domestic Act of Terrorism Motivated by Hate First degree murder, 10 counts Second degree murder as a hate crime, 10 counts Attempted murder as a hate crime, 3 counts Criminal possession of weapon Advertisement New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed the domestic terrorism hate crime law in August 2019, in the wake of a mass shooting targeting Mexicans at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas. The measure, dubbed the 'Josef Neumann Hate Crimes Domestic Terrorism Act' after an attack at a rabbi's home in Munsey, New York, was signed into law on April 3, 2020, and took effect November 1, 2020. Murder charges were filed for each of the victims, who ranged in age from 32 to 86 and included eight shoppers, the store security guard and a church deacon who drove shoppers to and from the store with their groceries. The gunman, carrying an AR-15-style rifle he had recently purchased, opened fire on Saturday afternoon shoppers at the only supermarket in the predominantly Black neighborhood. The shooting, followed 10 days later by a mass shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers inside a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school, has renewed a national debate about gun control and violent extremism. A person visits a makeshift memorial near the scene of Saturday's shooting at a supermarket, in Buffalo on May 19 A mourner embraces Angela Crawley, left, daughter of Ruth Whitfield, a victim of the Buffalo supermarket shooting, before a memorial service at Mt. Olive Baptist Church with Vice President Kamala Harris in attendance on May 28 Michael Jordan and Heather Delorm, friends of Buffalo shooting victim Roberta Drury, visit a memorial for the victims of the Buffalo supermarket shooting outside the Tops Friendly Market on May 21 A group prays at the site of a memorial for the victims of the Buffalo supermarket shooting outside the Tops Friendly Market on May 21, 2022 The shooting, followed 10 days later by a mass shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers inside a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school, has renewed a national debate about gun control and violent extremism. The Buffalo attack also came just a month after a shooting on a Brooklyn subway wounded 10 and just over a year after 10 were killed in a shooting at a Colorado supermarket. Federal authorities also are investigating the possibility of hate crime charges against Gendron, who apparently detailed his plans and his racist motivation in hundreds of pages of writings he posted online shortly before the shooting. The attack was live streamed from a helmet-mounted camera. Gendron drove about three hours from his home in Conklin, New York, intending to kill as many Black people as possible, investigators have said. Gendron was arrested after allegedly killing 10 people at a Tops Market supermarket in Buffalo, Upstate New York. Police say the massacre was motivated by the 18 year-old's hatred for black people Payton traveled from his home in Conklin, New York, to carry out the atrocity. He lived there with his father Paul (pictured unpixellated) and mom Pamela, pictured in red, both of whom are engineers for the New York Department of Transportation His attorney, Brian Parker, said he had not seen the indictment and could not comment, adding that prosecution and defense attorneys have been barred by a judge from discussing the case publicly. Police has said that they believe the attack had been planned for months and added that they are investigating a 180-page manifesto that Gendron reportedly posted before going on his rampage that included a plan to drive several counties away to carry out the shooting at the Tops Friendly Market. Gendron identified himself as a white supremacist in the document as he explained his fears that white people are being replaced by other races, police said. 'The shooter traveled hours from outside this community to perpetrate this crime on the people of Buffalo, a day when people were enjoying the sunshine, enjoying family, enjoying friends,' Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said at a news conference in the aftermath of the attack. 'People in a supermarket, shopping and bullets raining down on them. People's lives being snuffed out in an instant for no reason.' On Thursday, a candlelight prayer vigil is planned for 7:30pm at Heritage Park Two chairs will remain empty during the ceremony to honor the two students On Friday, the students were set to graduate W.B. Ray High School The two students injured were transported to Spohn Hospital Shoreline The victims were identified as Matthew Garcia, 18 and Marcello Saldua, 18 Two 18-year-old Texas students were killed and two others injured in a horrific rollover crash that happened on Tuesday after the students left their high school graduation rehearsal, officials said. The victims were identified as Matthew Garcia, 18 and Marcello Saldua, 18, Nueces County Medical Examiner Chief Investigator, Hugo Stimmler told DailyMail.com. The four students had been traveling back to W.B. Ray High School when the crash occurred, the Corpus Christi Independent School District said. 'Right now we believe that speed and racing are contributing factors to this tragic accident,' Corpus Christi Police Department PIO Senior Officer Travis Pace said in a statement to DailyMail.com. He added: 'This is still an active investigation to include interviewing witnesses, accident reconstruction, data collecting and processing.' Pace said an autopsy is pending. The two other passengers that were in front of the vehicle were transported to Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi Shoreline. Johnny Morgan, 18, one of the students that survived the devastating crash and suffered a concussion, was released from the hospital on Wednesday. His father told KRISTV that his son had been wearing a seatbelt, which saved his life. Since the loss of his friends, he said, in part, his son, is 'taking the news pretty hard,' the news outlet said. The victims were identified as Matthew Garcia, 18 and Marcello Saldua, 18. Two other students injured were transported to Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi Shoreline. The students were only days away from their Friday graduation from W.B. Ray High School It is unclear the condition of the fourth student that was in the vehicle. When DailyMail.com contacted Spohn Hospital Shoreline they did not respond to our request for comment. On June 3, the students were set to graduate W.B. Ray High School. On Tuesday, the students had been at the graduation rehearsal at the American Bank Center in downtown Corpus Christi in preparation for the big day. Garcia and Saldua were among the hundreds of students that were expected to walk the stage in their cap and gown. Instead, two chairs will remain empty during the ceremony to honor the high school seniors, who lost their lives too soon, KIIITV reported. When officers arrived, a two-door 2018 white Chevy Camaro, was found rolled over on its top with four males inside. Two of the males were pronounced deceased at the scene and two other males were transported to a local hospital for treatment of their injuries 'Our Texan community is devastated by this loss of our graduating seniors,' High School Principal Roxanne Cuevas said. 'Our hearts go out to all the loved ones affected by this tragedy.' On Wednesday, Stimmler and investigator Luis Munoz were onsite after the crash to take photos, gather information for the preliminary report, and to transport the deceased. Stimmler told DailyMail.com called it a 'bad situation all around,' and said he to break the gut-wrenching news to the parents of the children killed. 'What makes it worse was thate these two young men were in the prime of their life,' he said. 'Our condolences go out to the family we are always here to help through this time.' A photo of the demolished vehicle being placed on a truck before being transported The outside of W.B. Ray High School located in Corpus Christi Texas On Tuesday, at approximately 11:24 am, officers from Corpus Christi were summoned to 2300 block of Broadway Street and Port Avenue in Corpus Christi, Texas. When fire and rescue responders arrived they pulled the driver of the vehicle and rushed him to the hospital. Medics said he was in critical condition and unresponsive, Corpus Christi Cronica reported. The second victim sustained minor injuries and was able to communicate with police. Officer Travis Pace says the crash is being investigated currently and that speed was a factor. The four Ray High School student had just left from the American Bank Center downtown. They were practicing the graduation ceremony rehearsal. Both students were expected to walk the stage on Friday at 2 pm in their cap and gown as they receive their diploma, school officials said, the news outlet reported. When officers arrived, a two-door 2018 white Chevy Camaro, was found rolled over on its top with four males inside. Two of the males were pronounced deceased at the scene and two males were transported to a local hospital for treatment of their injuries. A witness told the Corpus Christi Chronica that the vehicle was racing with another car when it lost control and struck a wooden power pole. Saldua's family is "devastated by this loss as Marcello was only 18yrs old and about to walk the graduation stage this Friday," says a GoFundMe page for the late student. "Marcello was a cousin, a son, a brother, a nephew and a grandson and his sudden passing has our family completely heartbroken," wrote his cousin Erica Ramirez. The father of one of the injured students, Johnny Morgan, told KRISTV that his son has been released from the hospital and is recovering from a severe concussion. Morgan credited his son's survival to the fact that he was wearing a seatbelt, and said that "unfortunately, he's taking the news about his other friends pretty hard." Salduas cousin Faith Galvan told Corpus Christi Cronica that the had gone to elementary school together and were close friends. Galvan, who described her cousin as 'funny' and someone who 'everyone wanted to be around,' said he 'couldnt believe he was going to graduate and was about to walk the stage.' On Thursday, a candlelight prayer vigil is planned for 7:30pm at Heritage Park. An opinion columnist for the LA Times says that Republicans are trying to use God and religion to distract from gun control in the wake of the Uvalde shooting and says Republicans want a 'return to the kind of faith that allowed brutal enslavement to be the law of the land.' LZ Granderson wrote a piece in the paper criticizing the likes of Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick for their turn to faith in the aftermath of various tragedies. He specifically cited Patrick's statement on the Uvalde shooting that 'You just cannot change character without changing a heart, and you cant do that without turning to God' and said that had a question in response. Granderson asked: 'When exactly did a nation built on stolen land, kidnapping and enslavement turn away from God?' 'With each passing day, it is clear that conservatives want to move the national conversation surrounding these mass shootings away from gun access and toward God,' Granderson added. 'This despite Pew having found the U.S. to already be 'the most devout of all the rich Western democracies.' His premise was that these public leaders were saying 'it's evil that threatens us' rather than lax gun legislation. Granderson, 50, then accused America of being a nation that 'romanticizes, even monetizes, its own evil beginnings' and wonders how they can fight the evil that religious politicians have spoken of. 'This is the country that turned Christopher Columbus from being lost at sea into a folk hero who 'discovered' a land full of people. We are the ones who rebranded slave labor camps as plantations,' he wrote. LZ Granderson wrote a piece in the LA Times whe he claims that Republicans are trying to use God and religion to distract from gun control in the wake of the Uvalde shooting and says Republicans want a 'return to the kind of faith that allowed brutal enslavement to be the law of the land.' Granderson wrote a piece in the paper criticizing the likes of Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (pictured) for their turn to faith in the aftermath of the tragedy His premise was that public leaders like Santorum were saying 'it's evil that threatens us' rather than lax gun legislation Granderson also cited the idea that Americans attend Civil War reenactments and 'root for the bad guy.' He then wholesale rejected the idea that America needed to return to this sort of religious belief. 'We don't need to return the kind of faith that allowed brutal enslavement to be the law of the land for centuries,' he wrote. 'We don't need to return to the kind of faith that allowed Jim Crow laws to follow.' 'They clearly have a period in mind in which they believe God was happier with the direction of the country, but our history makes it impossible to pinpoint a date without looking racist. So they tend to talk in nostalgic Judeo-Christian generalities,' Granderson added. He closed out his column slamming Fox News' Rachel Campos-Duffy, who said that evil has come into our schools because we took God out of it. 'We don't need to return the kind of faith that allowed brutal enslavement to be the law of the land for centuries,' Granderson wrote. 'We don't need to return to the kind of faith that allowed Jim Crow laws to follow' Granderson's take comes after the murder of 21 people, including 19 children, at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas Granderson hammered home again that he believes that this sort of evil permeated America's founding. 'Many of us dont wonder how this evil came in. We wonder why people like you wont admit its been here since the beginning,' he said. Granderson is no stranger to controversial pieces. In 2012, the former CNN columnist opined that 'Ted Nugent should be in jail' for threatening words he'd spoken about then-President Barack Obama. Granderson's take comes after the murder of 21 people, including 19 children, at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Memorials and funeral services have continued for the victims of the massacre this week. Donald Trump is challenging a federal judge's decision to throw out his lawsuit against New York state Attorney General Letitia James, a new court filing stated on Wednesday. The former president is responding to a ruling made less than a week ago on Friday by US District Judge Brenda Sannes, who was appointed to the bench by Barack Obama in 2014. Trump also attacked James on his social media app, Truth Social, writing: 'I believe that racist and corrupt A.G. James is pushing businesses and wealthy people to leave N.Y. for friendly states. Not sustainable by [New York State].' He frequently disparages her investigation as a 'witch hunt.' James was slapped with a lawsuit from Trump in December in a bid to block her three-year civil investigation into his family real estate empire, which the state Attorney General said has uncovered 'substantial' evidence of tax fraud. The ruling was the latest in a string of legal setbacks the former president is facing in his attempts to block New York's investigation. He was also forced to pay $110,000 to James' office last month as one of his requirements to purge a contempt charge that was granted after he failed to hand over personal financial documents that prosecutors were seeking in their probe. And the day before Sannes' decision, a fellow judge of hers on the US District Court for the Northern District of New York sided with James in ruling that Trump and his two eldest children must testify in her investigation. Donald Trump's Wednesday appeal is in response to a Friday court decision that ruled New York State Attorney General Letitia James' investigation could continue Trump claimed James is acting out of political 'animus' because of her many statements pledging to take Trump on in court. He also argued that James' probe violates his Constitutional rights. But in Friday's court decision, Sannes said Trump's legal team had failed to provide any concrete evidence that James was acting in bad faith and their arguments were not 'sufficient' to prove that claim. 'The fact that defendant's public statements reflect personal and/or political animus toward plaintiffs is not, in and of itself, sufficient' enough to prove an investigation itself is biased, her decision read. Earlier this year James said she uncovered proof that the Trump Organization had been using knowingly misleading financial statements to obtain favorable loans and deals for at least a decade. The company would allegedly overstate the value of its properties to appear better to banks and then lower them to reduce tax bills. She celebrated Sannes tossing out Trump's 'frivolous lawsuit' on Twitter Friday. 'In a big victory, a federal court has dismissed Donald Trump's baseless lawsuit to stop my office's investigation into his and the Trump Organization's financial dealings,' James said. 'Frivolous lawsuits won't stop us from completing our lawful, legitimate investigation.' James' office claims to have uncovered 'substantial evidence' that the Trump Organization knowingly used misleading financial statements in its business dealings for at least a decade DailyMail.com sent James' office a request for comment on Trump's latest filing. Andrew Amer, a special litigation counsel in James' office, said her probe was 'nearing the end' during a hearing related to the current case last month. On Thursday last week, judges on the appellate division of New York state's trial court upheld a February 17 ruling by state Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron that said Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump had to testify in front of James' team. Engoron had overruled Trump's concerns that being deposed would violate his constitutional right against self-incrimination. The former president and his two adult children were subpoenaed by James' office late last year. They challenged the order in court, claiming that any information her team gains could be unfairly used in a separate but parallel criminal probe being run by the Manhattan District Attorney's office. But the Thursday court filing claimed 'the existence of a criminal investigation does not preclude civil discovery of related facts, at which a party may exercise the privilege against self-incrimination.' James would be able to bring a civil lawsuit against Trump using the deposition if evidence of wrongdoing was found. She could not file criminal charges due to the nature of her probe. The criminal investigation, which had begun under former District Attorney Cyrus Vance, lost steam in recent months after it was taken over by new DA Alvin Bragg. Bragg said in a statement last month that the investigation is still ongoing, but gave few if any details on its progress. A grand jury impaneled for the probe expired at the end of April without any public attempts to extend it. And Engoron is also the same judge who sided with James in charging Trump with contempt, along with imposing a $10,000 daily fine for every day he did not comply with her subpoena to hand over documents. Trump and his attorney had maintained that he did not have the records James was asking for and that he had handed over everything else, while she contended that his reasons were inadequate. gettyimagesbank By Kang Seung-woo While most candidates who ran in Wednesday's local elections labored to appeal to voters, 509 did not have to because they didn't have any opponents to compete with. According to the National Election Commission, 7,616 candidates registered for the local elections to compete for 4,125 seats that included 17 mayoral and gubernatorial seats as well as education superintendents and posts for numerous local councils, but a record 509 secured wins by running unopposed. Compared with four years ago, the figure amounts to an over-five-fold increase from 89. Taking a closer look, 107 candidates who ran for Seoul's district council, comprised of 373 members, were guaranteed to be elected without a vote, while the race for the Seoul Metropolitan Council also saw two uncontested winners for the first time in eight years. By party, all but one candidate for the Jeju education council belong to the two major parties, with 282 from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and 226 from the ruling People Power Party (PPP). President Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Wednesday to rid northern Syria of so-called terrorists as he announced the targets of Turkey's fourth military incursion into the war-torn country since 2016. His comments, in a speech to lawmakers from his ruling AK Party, came a week after he pledged a new military incursion on Turkey's southern border against the U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia YPG, which Ankara views as a terrorist group. 'We are going into the new phase of our determination to form a 20-mile deep safe zone along our southern border. We will clear Tal Rifaat and Manbij of terrorists, and we will do the same to other regions step-by-step,' he said. 'Let's see who supports these legitimate steps by Turkey and who hinders them,' Erdogan added, in an apparent challenge to critics of Ankara's actions. Ankara has carried out four operations in northern Syria since 2016, seizing hundreds of miles of land and pushing some 20 miles deep into the country, mainly targeting the YPG. President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday Turkey will rid northern Syria's Tal Rifaat and Manbij areas of terrorists, confirming the targets of the new incursion for the first time and saying it will continue into other regions. Pictured: Erdogan addresses his party on Wednesday Ankara has carried out four operations in northern Syria since 2016, seizing hundreds of miles of land and pushing some 20 miles deep into the country, mainly targeting the YPG. Pictured: A map showing the three regions of Syria already under Turkish control While backing opposing sides in Syria's war, Turkey has coordinated with Russia on its military operations. Turkey's cross-border operations have been criticised by its NATO allies, notably the United States and some have imposed a series of arms embargoes on Ankara. Washington expressed concern at any new offensive in northern Syria, saying it would put U.S. troops at risk and undermine regional stability. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday repeated the Biden administration's opposition to the move. 'Any escalation there in northern Syria is something that we would oppose, and we support the maintenance of the current ceasefire lines,' Blinken told a news conference. 'We continue effectively to take the fight through partners to ISIS, within Syria, and we don't want to see anything that jeopardizes the efforts that are made to continue to keep ISIS in the box that we put it in,' he added. Ankara's announcement of a new offensive in Syria coincides with its objections to Finland and Sweden's NATO bids on the grounds that they back Kurdish militants and groups Turkey deems terrorists, and because of arms embargoes imposed by over a 2019 Turkish offensive into northern Syria. Police officers hold back protesters during a pro-Kurdish demonstration against Turkey's military action in northern and eastern Syria, in Berlin, Germany, May 14 (file photo) NATO said on Wednesday it will hold talks involving Turkey, Finland and Sweden in hopes of ending Ankara's opposition to the Nordic nations joining the alliance ahead of a summit this month. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he would convene senior officials from the three nations in Brussels in the coming days 'to ensure that we make progress on the applications of Finland and Sweden to join NATO.' 'My intention is to have this in place before the NATO summit' in Madrid starting on June 28, Stoltenberg said on a visit to Washington. 'Finland and Sweden have made it clear that they are ready to sit down and to address the concerns expressed by Turkey,' Stoltenberg said, alongside Blinken. Sweden and Finland have historically tried to steer clear of angering nearby Russia but shed their reluctance to join NATO after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine - which had unsuccessfully sought to join the alliance. Russian President Vladimir Putin 'wanted less NATO. He is getting more NATO,' Stoltenberg said. But all 30 NATO members need to agree to admit a new member and Turkey has voiced objections, citing the presence in the two Nordic nations of militants from the PKK, the Kurdish separatist group considered terrorists by Ankara. Stoltenberg said that the two nations and NATO took the PKK issue 'very seriously.' U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (pictured right today with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg) on Wednesday repeated the Biden administration's opposition to the move Smoke rises from the Syrian city of Kobani, following an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition, seen from a hilltop outside Suruc, on the Turkey-Syria border in 2014 (file photo) 'We know that no other NATO ally has had suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkey,' Stoltenberg said. Blinken reiterated that he remained 'very confident' that NATO will 'move forward' with the membership of the two nations. He appeared to play down linking the membership to Turkey's desire to buy F-16 fighter jets, as some pundits believe Ankara is holding out for concessions. 'These are separate questions. We have a longstanding and ongoing defense relationship with Turkey as a NATO ally,' Blinken said. 'We'll continue to work through cases as they as they arise with regard to systems that Turkey seeks to acquire,' Blinken said. The United State expelled Turkey in 2019 from development of the state-of-the-art F-35 in retaliation for Ankara's purchase of an advanced air defense system from Russia. But Turkey's image has risen in the United States through its drones that it has sold to Ukraine, even as Ankara avoids sanctions on Russia. SPECIAL VERDICT FORM Mr. Depp's Claim Against Ms. Heard This special verdict form includes each of the statements on which John C. Depp, II, bases his claim of defamation against Amber Heard. Answer the questions in accordance with the Court's instructions. 1. As to this statement appearing in the online op-ed, entitled "Amber Heard: I spoke up against sexual violence and faced our culture's wrath. That has to change" in the Washington Post's online edition: "I spoke up against sexual violence and faced our culture's wrath. That has to change." 1(a). Do you find that Mr. Depp has proven all the elements of defamation? ANSWER YES OR NO: If you answer question 1(a) "NO," please proceed to question 2. If you answered "YES," please answer YES or NO to the following questions: Has Mr. Depp proven by a greater weight of the evidence that: The statement was made or published by Ms. Heard? The statement was about Mr. Depp? The statement was false? The statement has a defamatory implication about Mr. Depp? The defamatory implication was designed and intended by Ms. Heard? Due to circumstances surrounding the publication of the statement, it conveyed a defamatory implication to someone who saw it other than Mr. Depp? 1(b). If you answered "YES" to each subpart of question 1(a), answer the following question: do you find that Mr. Depp has proven by clear and convincing evidence that Ms. Heard acted with actual malice? ANSWER YES OR NO: 2. As to this statement appearing in the op-ed entitled "A Transformative Moment For Women" in the Washington Post's print edition and the online op-ed "Amber Heard. I spoke up against sexual violence--and faced our culture's wrath. That has to change in the Washington Post's online edition: "Then two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out." 2(a). Do you find that Mr. Depp has proven all the elements of defamation? ANSWER YES OR NO: If you answer question 2(a) NO," please proceed to question 3. If you answered "YES," please answer YES or NO to the following questions: Has Mr. Depp proven by a greater weight of the evidence that: The statement was made or published by Ms. Heard? The statement was about Mr. Depp? The statement was false? The statement has a defamatory implication about Mr. Depp? The defamatory implication was designed and intended by Ms. Heard? Due to circumstances surrounding the publication of the statement, it conveyed a defamatory implication to someone who saw it other than Mr. Depp? 2(b). If you answered "YES" to each subpart of question 2(a), answer the following question: do you find that Mr. Depp has proven by clear and convincing evidence that Ms. Heard acted with actual malice? ANSWER YES OR NO: 3. As to this statement appearing in the op-ed entitled "A Transformative Moment For Women" in the Washington Post's print edition and the online op-ed "Amber Heard: I spoke up against sexual violence and faced our culture's wrath. That has to change in the Washington Post's online edition: "I had the rare vantage point of seeing, in real time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse." 3(a). Do you find that Mr. Depp has proven all the elements of defamation? ANSWER YES OR NO: If you answer question 3(a) "NO," please proceed to question 4. If you answered "YES," please answer YES or NO to the following questions: Has Mr. Depp proven by a greater weight of the evidence that: The statement was made or published by Ms. Heard? The statement was about Mr. Depp? The statement was false? The statement has a defamatory implication about Mr. Depp? The defamatory implication was designed and intended by Ms. Heard? Due to circumstances surrounding the publication of the statement, it conveyed a defamatory implication to someone who saw it other than Mr. Depp? 3(b). If you answered "YES" to each subpart of question 3(a), answer the following question: do you find that Mr. Depp has proven by clear and convincing evidence that Ms. Heard acted with actual malice? ANSWER YES OR NO: Complete Questions 4-5 ONLY if you answered YES to all of questions 1, 2, or 3. 4. As against Amber Heard, state the amount of compensatory damages, if any, you believe John C. Depp, II has proven, by a greater weight of the evidence, that he is entitled to recover: We, the Jury, award compensatory damages in the amount of $_______ As against Amber Heard state the amount of punitive damages, if any, to which you find John C. Depp, II is entitled to recover: We, the Jury, award punitive damages in the amount of $________ SPECIAL VERDICT FORM Ms. Heard's Claim Against Mr. Depp This special verdict form includes each of the statements on which Amber Heard bases her claim of defamation against John C. Depp, II. Answer the questions in accordance with the Court's instructions. 1. As to this statement appearing in the April 8, 2020 online edition of The Daily Mail: "Amber Heard and her friends in the media use fake sexual violence allegations as both a sword and shield, depending on their needs. They have selected some of her sexual violence hoax 'facts as the sword, inflicting them on the public and Mr. Depp." 1(a). Do you find that Ms. Heard has proven all the elements of defamation? ANSWER YES OR NO: If you answer question 1(a) "NO," please proceed to question 2. If you answered "YES," please answer YES or NO to the following questions: Has Ms. Heard proven by a greater weight of the evidence that: Mr. Waldman, while acting as an agent for Mr. Depp, made or published the statement? The statement was about Ms. Heard? The statement was seen by someone other than Ms. Heard? The statement was false? 1(b). If you answered "YES" to each subpart of question 1(a), answer the following question: do you find that Ms. Heard has proven by clear and convincing evidence that the statement by Mr. Waldman was made with actual malice? ANSWER YES OR NO: 2. As to this statement appearing in the April 27, 2020 online edition of The Daily Mail: Quite simply this was an ambush, a hoax. They set Mr. Depp up by calling the cops but the first attempt didn't do the trick. The officers came to the penthouses, thoroughly searched and interviewed, and left after seeing no damage to face or property. So Amber and her friends spilled a little wine and roughed the place up, got their stories straight under the direction of a lawyer and publicist, and then placed a second call to 911." 2(a). Do you find that Ms. Heard has proven all the elements of defamation? ANSWER YES OR NO: If you answer question 2(a) "NO," please proceed to question 2. If you answered "YES," please answer YES or NO to the following questions: Has Ms. Heard proven by a greater weight of the evidence that: Mr. Waldman, while acting as an agent for Mr. Depp, made or published the statement? The statement was about Ms. Heard? The statement was seen by someone other than Ms. Heard? The statement was false? 2(b). If you answered "YES" to each subpart of question 2(a), answer the following question: do you find that Ms. Heard has proven by clear and convincing evidence that the statement by Mr. Waldman was made with actual malice? ANSWER YES OR NO: 3. As to this statement appearing in the April 27, 2020 online edition of The Daily Mail: "We have reached the beginning of the end of Ms. Heard's abuse hoax against Johnny Depp." 3(a). Do you find that Ms. Heard has proven all the elements of defamation? ANSWER YES OR NO: If you answer question 3(a) NO," please proceed to question 4. If you answered "YES," please answer YES or NO to the following questions: Has Ms. Heard proven by a greater weight of the evidence that: Mr. Waldman, while acting as an agent for Mr. Depp, made or published the statement? The statement was about Ms. Heard? The statement was seen by someone other than Ms. Heard? The statement was false? 3(b). If you answered "YES" to each subpart of question 3(a), answer the following question: do you find that Ms. Heard has proven by clear and convincing evidence that the statement by Mr. Waldman was made with actual malice? ANSWER YES OR NO: Complete Questions 4-5 ONLY if you answered YES to all of questions 1, 2, or 3. As against John C. Depp, II, state the amount of compensatory damages, if any, you believe Amber Heard has proven, by a greater weight of the evidence, that she is entitled to recover: We, the Jury, award compensatory damages in the amount of $_______ As against John C. Depp, II, state the amount of punitive damages, if any, you to which you find Amber Heard is entitled to recover: We, the Jury, award punitive damages in the amount of $____________ _____________ ____________________________________ DATE SIGNATURE OF FOREPERSON _______________________________________ PRINTED NAME OF FOREPERSON Kamala Harris laughed through her recollection of extreme droughts growing up in California as she presented the White House plan to address global water insecurity and called it one of the biggest 'national security' issues. 'As many of you know, I am a daughter of California. And as a result, many things have probably flowed from that pardon the pun but one of them has been: I have been, my entire life, acutely aware of the reality of water scarcity,' the vice president said through laughs at her own pun. 'I remember I was, I think, 12 in middle school, about that age 13, when we experienced an extreme drought in California,' she continued. 'And I remember watching in the Oakland Hills, northern California, the landscape turning from green to brown.' 'And everyone from my mother, our teachers, the radio DJs KDIA 'Lucky 13',' Harris burst into laughter at this point in reference to a radio DJ she listened to growing up 'saying how important it was to conserve water.' Harris said that as a child she knew everyone 'had a personal responsibility' to take water insecurity and drought seriously, including making 'some sacrifice'. 'I remember how unsettling it was to imagine how our access to a resource so basic and essential as water, how that could become so uncertain and we could not take it for granted,' she said. She did not take any questions at or following her remarks. Vice President Kamala Harris laughed during her remarks Wednesday, June 1, 2022 when recounting the terrible droughts she experienced in California growing up as she talked about the administration's focus on global water security This is not the first time Harris has laughed through remarks in fact she regularly receives criticism for laughing at inappropriate moments or exhibiting awkward timing in jokes or comments. During a speech earlier this year about providing more broadband to rural schools, Harris said 'the importance of the passage of time' four times in the matter of 30 seconds. The vice president invited four women to speak before her remarks Wednesday on the inter-agency effort to address water insecurity leading to global conflict. The guest speakers were Administrator Samantha Power of the U.S. Agency for International Development; Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks from the Department of Defense; Alice Albright, the Chief Executive Officer of Millennium Challenge Corporation; and Sonia Shahrigian, the Country Team Lead for Timor-Leste for the Millennium Challenge Corporation. 'Many of our most fundamental national security interests depend on water security,' Harris insisted. 'And that is why, today, we are releasing our Action Plan on Global Water Security.' The plan commits the U.S. to joining the fight to provide safe water to every country, sharing water data with other countries to preserve resources and providing diplomatic resources from USAID to elevate water security as an international priority. The guest speakers with Harris Wednesday are Administrator Samantha Power of the Agency for International Development; Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks from the Department of Defense; and of Millennium Challenge Corporation, Alice Albright, the Chief Executive Officer, a and Sonia Shahrigian, the Country Team Lead for Timor-Leste 'This action plan will help our country prevent conflict and advance cooperation among nations, increase equity and economic growth, and make our world more inclusive and resilient,' the vice president said. Harris said the issue of water security has been important to her spanning back to her days as a U.S. senator. 'Even when I was in the Senate, you know, we would talk about this issue in some of the committee hearings when we were reviewing nominees, and the connection between this issue and national security,' she said during her remarks on Wednesday. 'And people laughed it off,' she said, claiming many used to question her on whether water security is a 'serious issue' or if there really is a connection between water shortages and national security. Many western and southwestern states in the U.S. experience severe droughts over the summer months. At home, the administration is committed to ridding the U.S. of lead piping in the next decade and preventing droughts in the future, according to Harris. 'Our administration recognizes the urgency of water security, which is why our President, Joe Biden, invested over $63 billion in our nation's water infrastructure through the bipartisan infrastructure law to put us on a path to remove every lead pipe in our country within the next 10 years and to fund water efficiency, water reuse, and groundwater storage projects -- hopefully emphasizing underwater storage projects -- in communities across our nation,' she noted. 'In addition,' Harris said, 'our administration has made drought resilience a priority.' Harris said that water security is one of the biggest issues related to national security. Pictured: A wildfire burns in Cleveland National Forest on Wednesday, March 2, 2022 in Orange County, California 'Today, we are releasing the one-year report of the first ever Drought Resilience Interagency Working Group. It will help chart our nation's path forward to a more sustainable future.' Abroad, the U.S. goal is to provide stable and clean water supplies to African and Middle Eastern nations to prevent conflict that arises from water insecurity. 'Water insecurity makes our world less stable,' Harris said. 'When water is scarce, it becomes more difficult for communities to produce food, as these experts have talked about, more difficult to protect public health and to drive economic growth.' 'This, in turn, as has been discussed, can lead to mass migration, which can put significant pressure on neighboring communities.' Uvalde teacher Irma Garcia and her husband, Joe, were laid to rest on Wednesday in a heartbreaking ceremony as the community continues to mourn to loss of 21 lives. Nineteen children and two teachers - Garcia and her co-teacher, 44-year-old Eva Mireles - were killed when an 18-year-old gunman burst into their classroom last week. Irma, 48, was found inside her fourth-grade classroom clutching children to her body to protect them inside Robb Elementary School. Her husband, Joe, was last seen attending the memorial for the victims of the shooting before collapsing and dying of a heart attack two days after the massacre. He was said to have died from a broken heart. They leave behind four orphaned children. Today, their caskets were adorned with matching white flowers as they were laid to rest, surrounded by their four children and the Uvalde community. Irma, 48, and Joe Garcia were laid to rest on Wednesday, surrounded by their children and the Uvalde community Oldest sibling Christian (pictured in dress blues) was seen paying his last respects to his parents on Wednesday Somber mourners were seen wiping away tears as the caskets were carried into the private ceremony at Sacred Heart Catholic Church Mourners were seen placing flowers on the couples' graves during the ceremony The couple had been married for 24 years and were high school sweethearts Pallbearers and helped carry the caskets from Sacred Heart Catholic Church Hundreds attend the funeral of Irma Garcia and her husband Joe. Irma was a teacher at Robb Elementary School in #Uvalde and was killed by mass shooter. Her husband Joe died of a heart attack, just two days after she was killed. pic.twitter.com/ef3bCU0GKE Oliya Scootercaster (@ScooterCasterNY) June 1, 2022 Somber mourners were seen wiping away tears as the caskets were carried into the private ceremony at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Among the mourners was US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. Children clutched toys as adults held red roses to place over the caskets afterward at the burial service. The large crowd gathered quietly around the gravesites with their heads bowed as they paid their last respects. Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, who presided over the ceremony, honored the educator for protecting her students like she would her own children. He said: 'Because you were there with themYou did what you would have done with your own children. You took care of them until your last breath.' Most of the readings during Wednesday's service and the homily were in English, with Siller offering some words in Spanish. 'We are all hurting,' he said. 'In the midst of so much, please, please people need comfort, people need you...Let us all foster a culture of peace.' On the school's website, Garcia's biography read how 'excited' she was to begin her 23rd year of teaching. She also expressed pride in her children, who she said were gearing up for Marine boot camp, attending Texas State University, and enjoying another year of high or middle school. The teacher also said in her biography that she loved to 'BBQ with my husband, listening to music, and take country cruises to Cancun.' Siller also reportedly mentioned the slain children's name several times during his homily, according to the New York Post. He was also seen hugging and comforting churchgoers as armed police guarded the church doors. Teary-eyed mourners carried roses and stuffed animals as they waited outside the church A larger crowd gathered to honor the fallen fourth-grade teacher and her husband, who is said to have died from a broken heart Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, who presided over the ceremony, was seen comforting mourners outside the church The religious leader was seen surrounded by armed guards at the funeral on Wednesday Their four children were said to not have addressed mourners during the service, the New York Post reported. 'It's a tragedy. It's a tragic tragedy,' Joe's cousin Marina Rodriguez told the Post. 'It's heartbreaking, heart wrenching to lose both of your parents.' The couple's 15-year-old daughter Lyliana had left a heartfelt letter outside the memorial at the school just days after the shooting, writing that she would not let her parents be forgotten. 'Dad, I know this was too much for you. Your heart could not take it,' she penned. 'I will spend the rest of my life fighting for you and mom. Your names will not be forgotten.' The couple have been married for 24 years after meeting in high school, their obituary said. '[Their relationship] flourished into a love that was beautiful and kind,' the obituary read. Irma (right) was gunned down inside her classes at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, alongside her co-teacher Eva Mireles, 44 (left). Both women were found shielding children with their bodies from the gunman In her school biography, Irma expressed how proud she was her children, including her son Jose, who was beginning school at Texas State The four children (pictured: three youngest) attended the funeral but were said to have kept to themselves The litany of visitations, funerals and burials began Monday and will continue into mid-June. On Tuesday afternoon, hundreds turned out to remember Amerie Jo Garza, a smiling fourth-grader whose funeral Mass was the first since the massacre. The funeral for 10-year-old Maite Rodriguez was Tuesday night. At Amerie's funeral, mourner Erika Santiago, her husband and their two children wore purple shirts adorned with images of the victims. She described Amerie as 'a nice little girl who smiled a lot,' and who was 'so humble and charismatic but full of life.' Investigators continue to seek answers about how police responded to the shooting, and the US Department of Justice is reviewing law enforcement actions. Joe Garcia, in the grey t-shirt, is seen visiting the memorial to his wife of 24 years - his childhood sweetheart - on Thursday morning. He died of a heart attack shortly after The Garcia children are seen on Thursday evening being comforted by the priest. Their mother was murdered in her classroom on Tuesday; their father died on Thursday morning from a heart attack The blame for an excruciating delay in killing the gunman - even as parents outside begged police to rush in and panicked children called 911 from inside - was placed on the school district's police chief, Pete Arredondo. The director of state police last week said Arredondo made the 'wrong decision' not to breach the classroom, believing the gunman was barricaded inside and children weren't at risk. On Wednesday, Arredondo told CNN that he's talking regularly with investigators from the Texas Department of Public Safety, contradicting claims from state law enforcement that hes stopped cooperating. Authorities have said the gunman, Salvador Ramos, legally purchased two guns not long before the school attack: an AR-15-style rifle on May 17 and a second rifle on May 20. He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law. Ramos was killed by law enforcement. A fuel tanker has caught fire in Essex sending thick plumes of black smoke into the air and sparking road closures in the surrounding area. The tanker, believed to have been carrying roughly 38,000 litres of aviation fuel, was seen in flames on the A13 near Basildon. Fire crews worked at the scene of the blaze on Canvey Way, working to extinguish the flames. The smoke plume could be seen from miles away with drivers on the A12 spotting the fire. Essex County Council warned of long delays in the area as a result of the fire. The tanker was seen in flames on the A13 near Basildon and social media users said that they were stuck in the traffic for over an hour The smoke plume could be seen from miles away with drivers on the A12 spotting the fire Social media users said that they were stuck in the traffic for over an hour. It is not yet known what sparked the blaze or whether anyone has been injured. Nearby residents have been advised to keep windows and doors closed as smoke billows through their neighbourhoods, Metro reports. The latest travel chaos comes as aviation data firm Cirium said 377 flights from UK airports were cancelled in the seven days up to and including yesterday. Gatwick has been worst hit with 151 cancellations, then Manchester (41), Heathrow (36), Bristol (27) and Edinburgh (19). Some 10,794 flights are scheduled to depart from UK airports between tomorrow and Sunday. One pilot at Manchester Airport was forced to call the police to help hundreds of passengers disembark an 'abandoned' plane after they were left sat on the runway for three hours due to staff shortages. Fire crews worked at the scene of the blaze on Canvey Way, working to extinguish the flames Holidaymakers were left onboard the aircraft on Monday evening, with the Tui flight due to take-off for Tenerife, before officers were called in by the exasperated crew. Families had already been delayed by a few hours in boarding the plane, which was due to depart at 5.50pm, eventually getting into the craft at 7pm. Ground crew took so long to load luggage that the flight was cancelled, before 'abandoning' them. Passengers were then stuck waiting inside the hot plane for three hours before being helped off by police at 10pm. Airlines now fear disruption at UK and European airports will continue for months as passenger numbers further ramp up post-pandemic. According to an internal briefing document, Airlines for Europe the continent's largest airline association expects disruption to drag on 'for a good chunk of the summer season'. Experts say it will only be averted if operators offer higher wages and ministers further speed-up the background checks new staff must go through. A former Qatari princess who was found dead of an 'overdose' in Marbella 'died of grief' weeks after losing a toxic custody battle with her billionaire ex-husband - who she accused of 'inappropriately' touching their daughter. Kasia Gallanio, 45, the third wife of billionaire Abdelaziz bin Khalifa Al Thani, 73, was found dead from a suspected drug overdose in Marbella weeks after describing her royal life as a 'nightmare'. She had also just lost a toxic custody battle over their daughters in the French courts just two weeks earlier - one of whom accused their father of sexual abuse - a claim he denies. Police are now awaiting the results of a post mortem examination, but sources have said there were no signs of violence, The Telegraph reports. Ms Gallanio, who mingled with Hollywood stars and had 500,000 Instagram followers, was discovered dead on Sunday after one of her daughters alerted the Spanish police from Paris that she had been unable to contact her mother for days, El Pais reported. The Spanish newspaper said that several officers were allowed by the doorman to enter Kasia's apartment complex in Marbella at around 8am on Sunday. She married the prince after he wooed her when she was a 19-year-old student in Paris and despite their 28-year age gap they went on to have three daughters. But their romance turned sour and the pair split in 2007 before divorcing, with the former princess, now known as Kasia Gallanio, having to sell her jewellery to make money. The former princess of Qatar who was found dead of a suspected drug overdose in Marbella opened up about her 'nightmare' life as a royal Kasia Gallanio was the third wife of Abdelaziz bin Khalifa Al Thani, the uncle of the current Emir of Qatar, who previously served as an oil and finance minister (pictured around 1980) Their separation also led to a high-profile court battle over the custody of their two twins, 17, and a third 15-year-old daughter. She accused Mr Thani of abusing one of their daughters during proceedings. Mr Thani denies the claim, but the allegation is being probed by French prosecutors. Le Parisien reported that on May 19, a Paris court had dismissed Kasia's custody demands, a decision that left her 'devastated', according to her lawyer. She had recently spent several months in hospital, with the French publication saying she was prone to suffering from nervous breakdowns and had also visited detox clinics in her battle against alcoholism. Weeks before her death, she had also described how the transition from growing up in a normal house in the US to joining the royal family had been challenging, adding 'more money, more problems.' Kasia, who was of Polish origin, also spoke out about her turbulent relationship with the former oil and finance minister. She said in an interview on April 17 her current life was like living in a 'golden cage', wanting freedom from her ex-husband who she claimed was refusing to pay child support. She told Women's World: 'Money is a curse because it isolates you from a lot of people. It's a different world. 'I grew up in a normal household so it was a completely different world I grew up in the States and coming into the Royal Family as an American was something completely new. 'There's the saying, more money, more problems...' The former princess revealed she even had to sell her own jewellery as a result of their long and bitter divorce, despite living in a luxury Marbella villa. She said: 'I get criticised that I want money but I have to take care of my kids 'Abdelaziz likes to control me through the children which I think is not very polite and only hurts them.' Kasia also discussed how she fell for the prince, despite their 28-year age gap, when she was a student abroad in Paris. The former princess of Qatar (pictured) has been found dead in her Marbella home aged 45 amid an ugly custody battle with her ex-husband She said: 'I went to Paris by accident, it was a break from my university, I was a third wheel of my friend who was dating a French banker. 'He said I have to pass by my client's house to get some paperwork signed, I said OK and we went to this house which was absolutely stunning 'He revealed, this is the prince of Qatar. We got to chatting a bit and we exchanged emails and by the time I got back to Los Angeles, my inbox was full and I had roses and everything. It was a very nice courtship.' But the relationship then soured after she had their three children at a young age. She said: 'There was something that struck me about him. I wanted to take care of him, I wanted to be there for him because he's lonely. It's lonely at the top 'Because there's such an age difference between us and some family members came in between, we just grew apart. Socialite Lady Victoria Hervey (left) lead the tributes to her friend (right) who was found dead aged 45 from a suspected drug overdose in her apartment in Marbella on Sunday Kasia (pictured with Clive Owen), of Polish origin, grew up in Los Angeles and met Abdelaziz when she was 19 years old 'I wanted to live my life, I was still very young and I had my children very young so I wanted to experience life and he had already finished that part. 'The Middle East is still very different, women are treated very different to men.' Abdelaziz has been accused of sexually touching one of their daughters and forcing her to sleep in his bed. The allegations were aired in court in a recent custody hearing in Paris. Kasia said: 'Power, diplomatic immunity and money shouldn't allow you to be able to do things above the law. 'I hope it's not true however when my daughter says it, I do believe my daughter 'It's a horrible story, something that hit me very hard. It's every mother's nightmare.' French media reports have claimed Abdelaziz also made his daughters sleep in the servants quarters of his palatial 50,000-square-foot Parisian home in the eighth arrondissement after they visited their mother until they apologised. He was exiled there following a coup led by his half-brother Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in 1995. Le Parisien reported that on May 19, a Paris court had dismissed Kasia's custody demands. She had recently spent several months in hospital, with the French publication saying she was prone to suffering from nervous breakdowns. As a result, the judge postponed the case until a psychological evaluation could be undertaken to better understand the family's circumstances, Le Parisien said. Socialite Lady Victoria Hervey paid tribute to her friend, telling the Daily Mail: 'Kasia was a fashion icon, elegant, gracious and an incredible mother. She will be greatly missed.' The former couple share two 17-year-old twins (pictured with Galliano) and another daughter aged 15 The former royal couple had been engaged in a bitter legal battle for 15 years over the custody of their children. He accused her of being an alcoholic with mental health issues, while Al Thani was accused of abusing one of the couple's daughters. Kasia, of Polish origin, grew up in Los Angeles and met Abdelaziz when she was 19 years old and they married in 2004. Speaking to Olive Press - a Spanish English-language newspaper for Ex-Pats in the country - a close friend of Kasia described her as a 'good person' who was 'against drugs' and denied that she was an alcoholic. 'I knew her very very well and am devastated at the news,' Louis Spagnuolo told the publication. 'She was a very good person and those who knew her loved her. 'She loved her daughters beyond belief and would never leave them. She was dead against drugs and was never an alcoholic.' Kasia led a lavish lifestyle and was regularly partying with celebrities such as Antonio Banderas (pictured) She claimed the former Qatari oil and finance minister sexually abused one of their three daughters The ex-wife had been increasingly speaking out against the royal in her bid to gain full custody of all her children. She told her 500,000 Instagram followers recently: 'I have been struggling with posting this on my IG but after getting so many messages of support and how so many parents are in the same situation, I decided to share my story. 'First a man should never disrespect the mother of his children and vice versa. 'No matter how mad, upset or jealous or spiteful the father of my kids is, I am doing whatever I can to provide, protect, love, raise, feed and educate the girls like no one else will. I'm not perfect but I try my best. 'Children should NEVER be used as victims or pawns when the parents can't get along. The former royal couple have been engaged in a bitter legal battle for 15 years over the custody of their children (pictured with Channing Tatum) 'The father of my children Prince Abdulaziz Khalifa Al Thani has not paid one cent for child support for a over a year now to help me support and raise our children. 'In my opinion this is outrageous, unfair, embarrassing and a real shame. No matter on what financial level or status you are. It's really immoral because again the kids are the casualty. 'However it's more humiliating when you are a billionaire prince of QATAR.' Despite not being able to see her daughters often, in another post recently she shared a photograph of them together and shared how much she loved them. 'My darlings. Never forget that I love you so much. Life is filled with hard times and good times. If at certain moments you feel overwhelmed ..don't forget who you are..straighten up your crown and be braveLearn from everything you can and be the incredible, inspiring, powerful and compassionate women, I know you can be ~ love mommy,' she wrote. A post mortem will be held to establish the cause of Kasia's death, with initial indications suggesting that she died of a drug overdose. The ex-wife (pictured with rapper Tyga) has been increasingly speaking out against the royal in her bid to gain full custody of all her children Amber Heard called the ruling of $15million in damages for ex-husband Johnny Depp in his defamation trial a 'setback for women' and a loss for freedom of speech. Heard, in a statement following the verdict in Virginia Wednesday, expressed disappointment at a number of consequences from the jury's ruling. 'The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I'm heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband,' Heard said in a statement after the ruling Wednesday. She added that this was 'a setback' for women 'to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated.' Heard, 36, then blamed star attorney Camille Vasquez and Depp's other legal experts. 'I believe Johnny's attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the UK.' Heard leaves Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse after the jury announced split verdicts in favor of both her ex-husband Johnny Depp and Heard on their claim and counter-claim Depp was awarded $15million in his legal victory, while Heard could only claim a $2million victory on countersuit Heard left the courtroom with her sister, appearing visibly upset in concert with the tone of her statement 'The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I'm heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband,' Heard said in a statement after the ruling Wednesday Heard blamed star attorney Camille Vasquez (pictured) and Depp's other legal experts. 'I believe Johnny's attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the UK.' Heard listening to the ruling in Fairfax County Court on Wednesday afternoon She ultimately considers the defeat, despite her own ruling for $2million in a countersuit, a loss for her freedom of speech 'I'm sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American - to speak freely and openly' She ultimately considers the defeat, despite her own ruling for $2million in a countersuit, a loss for her freedom of speech. Amber Heard's full statement after verdict 'The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I'm heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband.' 'I'm even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously. 'I believe Johnny's attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the UK. 'I'm sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American to speak freely and openly.' Advertisement 'I'm sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American - to speak freely and openly.' Depp, 58, meanwhile thanked the 'outpouring of love and the colossal support and kindness from around the world' in his own statement, which he said 'overwhelmed' him. 'I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up. I also hope that the position will now return to innocent until proven guilty, both within the courts and in the media.' Heard was awarded $2million in compensatory damages out of the $100million she was seeking in her countersuit against her ex-husband. She was awarded zero dollars in punitive damages. Despite the jury awarding Depp $15million, the judge reduced the punitive damages to the Virginia maximum of $350,000. Johnny will now only receive $8.35million in total after paying Heard $2million. Depp was not present as he was in the UK on tour with guitar legend Jeff Beck - a source claimed it was due to 'previously scheduled work commitments.' Meanwhile, Heard walked into court wearing a black dress and appeared anxious. After the verdict was read out Heard briefly hugged her lawyers then exited the courtroom. 'Six years ago, my life, the life of my children, the lives of those closest to me, and also, the lives of the people who for many, many years have supported and believed in me were forever changed,' Depp said. 'False, very serious and criminal allegations were levied at me via the media, which triggered an endless barrage of hateful content, although no charges were ever brought against me. It had already traveled around the world twice within a nanosecond and it had a seismic impact on my life and my career,' the Pirates of the Caribbean star added. 'I'm sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American - to speak freely and openly,' Heard added Depp, 58, meanwhile thanked the 'outpouring of love and the colossal support and kindness from around the world' in his own statement, which he said 'overwhelmed' him 'I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up. I also hope that the position will now return to innocent until proven guilty, both within the courts and in the media' Over six weeks at the court in Fairfax, Virginia, Depp called 38 witnesses while Heard called 24. Depp and Heard met on the set of the 2011 movie The Rum Diary, turning up on the red carpet together for its London premiere in 2011 He said that because of the ruling, 'six years later, the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled.' Johnny Depp's full statement after defamation win Six years ago, my life, the life of my children, the lives of those closest to me, and also, the lives of the people who for many, many years have supported and believed in me were forever changed. All in the blink of an eye. False, very serious and criminal allegations were levied at me via the media, which triggered an endless barrage of hateful content, although no charges were ever brought against me. It had already traveled around the world twice within a nanosecond and it had a seismic impact on my life and my career. And six years later, the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled. My decision to pursue this case, knowing very well the height of the legal hurdles that I would be facing and the inevitable, worldwide spectacle into my life, was only made after considerable thought. From the very beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome. Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that. I am, and have been, overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and the colossal support and kindness from around the world. I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up. I also hope that the position will now return to innocent until proven guilty, both within the courts and in the media. I wish to acknowledge the noble work of the Judge, the jurors, the court staff and the Sheriffs who have sacrificed their own time to get to this point, and to my diligent and unwavering legal team who did an extraordinary job in helping me to share the truth. The best is yet to come and a new chapter has finally begun. Veritas numquam perit. Truth never perishes. Advertisement He said that he pursued this case after 'considerable thought' and 'knowing very well the height of the legal hurdles that I would be facing and the inevitable, worldwide spectacle into my life.' He credited Judge Penney Azcarate, the jury, the staff of the Virginia court and the local sheriffs who 'sacrificed their own time to get to this point, and to my diligent and unwavering legal team who did an extraordinary job in helping me to share the truth.' The axed Fantastic Beasts star then perhaps gave hope to his legion of fans wishing to see him in blockbuster films again: 'The best is yet to come and a new chapter has finally begun.' Depp finished: 'Veritas numquam perit. Truth never perishes.' The lightning-fast verdict came as the culmination of the six-week trial that was the OJ Simpson case for Generation Z: a spectacle that was chopped up and replayed on TikTok in clips that were viewed tens of millions of times. It was the second time the former husband and wife squared off in court: Depp lost a libel case against a British newspaper at the High Court in London in 2020 where a judge ruled it was 'substantially true' he was a wife beater. In the new case held in Fairfax, Virginia, Depp, 58, sued Heard for $50million claiming that she defamed him with an op-ed piece in the Washington Post in 2018 in which she claimed to be a survivor of domestic abuse. Heard, 35, countersued for $100million claiming that Depp's lawyer Adam Waldman made defamatory statements by calling her claims a 'hoax.' Since the marathon trial started on April 11, Depp has called 38 witnesses while Heard's team called 24. Both Depp and Heard gave evidence for four days each including a forensic cross examination from the opposition lawyers then both returned to the witness stand to testify a second time. The jury saw dozens of texts, photos, videos, medical records and even pages from the former couple's 'Love Journal' they hand wrote to each other. The libel case was so complicated that the verdict sheet had 42 questions the jury had to answer before delivering the verdict: 24 questions for Depp's claims and 18 for Heard's counterclaim. A verdict form is used to formalize the jury's decision on the case. Spanning eight pages, it means the jury had to decide on dozens of matters before reaching their verdict. There is also a section where they had to decide on the damages for Depp and Heard and any punitive damages. The court heard clips of recordings that Depp and Heard made during their arguments, some of their most intimate moments that were played back for the world years later in the most public setting imaginable. THE CASE Despite the torrent of evidence about abuse from both sides, the case was actually about a far narrower issue. For Depp's $50million claim, the jury had to decide whether or not Heard had defamed him with her piece in the Washington Post that said she was a survivor of domestic abuse. The article did not name Depp, but he argued that it was obvious that she was referring to him. Depp sued over three parts of the article, which said: 'I spoke up against sexual violence and faced our culture's wrath'; that Heard was a 'public figure representing domestic abuse' and that she had a 'rare vantage point of seeing how institutions protect men accused of abuse.' As part of this, the jury had to decide whether or not Heard was speaking about a matter of 'public concern.' If so she was protected under the First Amendment. For Heard's counterclaim, which she demanded $100million for, she claimed that Depp's lawyer Adam Waldman defamed her with three statements he made to the media in 2020. They were that Heard 'used fake sexual violence allegations as sword and shield'; 'this was an ambush, a hoaxAmber and her friends spilled a little wine, roughed the place up, got their stories straight under the direction of a lawyer and publicist, and then placed a second call to 911' and another statement calling her claims an 'abuse hoax. In both cases each party had to prove that the statements were made with 'actual malice', meaning they were done knowing they were wrong. After six weeks, the blockbuster defamation trial between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp has ended DEPP'S TESTIMONY Speaking in a halting, rambling voice, Depp portrayed himself as a 'Southern gentleman' who was scarred from his upbringing in Kentucky at the hands of an abusive mother. He said that Heard's claims of abuse were 'heinous and disturbing' and were 'not based in any species of truth.' When Heard filed for a restraining order in 2016 following their divorce, Depp went from 'Cinderella to Quasimodo' in Hollywood, he complained. Like with his mother, Depp would try to walk away from conflict but she never let him. While Depp admitted he did have a 'monster' inside of him that came out when he drank and did drugs, he claimed Heard was the real abuser. Depp said that at the beginning of their relationship Heard felt 'too good to be true' but then she started to 'reveal herself'. She subjected him to an 'endless parade of insults' and uncontrolled rage and, as Depp told the jury: 'I was not allowed to be right. I was not allowed to have a voice. 'It was like you were pinned to a wall and you have to just listen to it and take it.' According to Depp, it felt like he was reliving his relationship with his mother all over again, and Heard had a 'pure hatred' of him. Depp said that Heard had a 'need for conflict' that she enacted upon him. He stayed with her because Heard threatened to kill herself if she left him and, just like his father, he became stoic in the face of a volatile woman. The abuse culminated in the incident in Australia where Depp claimed that Heard became 'possessed' and threw a vodka bottle at him, hitting his hand and severing his fingertip. He told the jury: 'My hand is on the edge of the bar like that, leaning over. 'She threw the large bottle and it made contact and shattered everywhere and I honestly didn't feel the pain at first at all, I felt no pain. 'What I felt was heat and I felt as if something were dripping down my hand and then I looked down and realized that the tip of my finger had been severed. I was looking directly at my bone sticking out.' Then Heard stubbed a cigarette out on Depp's face, he claimed. Under cross examination Depp was interrogated about texts, videos and photos which showed him to be the aggressor. He was confronted with messages he sent to his friend, the British actor Paul Bettany in which Depp wrote: 'Let's Burn Amber.' In another message Depp said: 'I will f**k her burnt corpse afterward to make sure she is dead. Heard's lawyer Benjamin Rottenborn said: 'You wrote that about the woman who would later become your wife.' Depp said: 'Yes.' In a message to another friend, Depp said he wanted to see Heard's 'rotting corpse decomposing in the f**king trunk of a Honda Civic.' To his agent Christian Carino Depp said that Heard will 'hit the wall hard' and he hoped 'karma takes the gift of breath from her.' Depp tried to explain such messages as 'dark humor' that he got from watching the British TV comedy show Monty Python. Then there was the 2014 flight from Boston to Los Angeles where Heard claimed that Depp was drunk and abusive before blacking out. The court heard an audio recording of Depp groaning 'like an animal' after he passed out. Johnny Depp took the stand in his blockbuster $100million defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard Depp detailed the explosive fight he and Amber Heard had in March 2015 in Australia where the top of his finger was severed when Heard allegedly threw a bottle of vodka at him 'She threw the large bottle and it made contact and shattered everywhere and I honestly didn't feel the pain at first at all, I felt no pain,' Depp said While Depp admitted he did have a 'monster' inside of him that came out when he did drink and drugs but claimed Heard was the real abuser Under cross examination Depp was forced to explain horrific texts to the British actor Paul Bettany in which he wrote: 'Let's Burn Amber.' In another message Depp said: 'I will f**k her burnt corpse afterward to make sure she is dead A week after the flight, Depp texted Bettany: 'Ugly mate... A thousand Red Bull and vodkas, pills, two bottles of champers on plane and what do you get? Screaming obscenities and insulting any f**k who got near. I'm done.' The court was also shown a video of Depp smashing up the kitchen of his home in Los Angeles while drinking what was described as a 'mega pint' of wine. Depp says in the film: 'You want to see crazy? I'll give you crazy.' Trying to explain his actions, Depp said: 'I did assault a couple of cabinets but I did not touch Miss Heard.' As the cross examination went on, Depp grew tired of Rottenborn, saying his name out loud with an emphasis on 'rotten.' Depp tried to defuse the tension with humor and, asked if he usually drank whiskey in the mornings, Depp said: 'Isn't it happy hour any time?' The only time Depp truly became emotional was when the jury heard an audio recording of one of his last fights with Heard, after they had divorced and were attempting to reconcile where he repeatedly asked her to cut him with a knife. HEARD'S TESTIMONY Amber Heard told the jury how she went from feeling like the 'luckiest woman in the world' when she and Depp began seeing each other in 2012 to being called a 'c**t' on an almost daily basis. In emotional testimony, she described Depp as a violent and jealous man who would essentially veto films she wanted to do because he didn't want her exposing her body on camera. And she sobbed as she described in graphic detail how Depp sexually assaulted her with a bottle in Australia in March 2015, one of a litany of shocking claims. The incident happened during what Heard called a 'three-day hostage situation' when Depp was out of his mind on ecstasy pills and cocaine and supposed to be filming Pirates of the Caribbean 5. As Heard described it, she felt a pressure against her pubic bone and recalled fearing he was using a broken bottle inside of her. She said: 'I thought he was punching me, I felt this pressure on my pubic bone...I remember looking around the room. I remember looking at all the broken bottles, broken glass, and I remember just not wanting to move because I didn't know if it was broken or if the bottle he had inside of me was broken.' Heard described what was dubbed the 'cavity search' incident. when she testified Depp reached into her vagina searching for cocaine and the time he headbutted her leaving her with a suspected broken nose. Amber Heard told the jury she went from feeling like the 'luckiest woman in the world' when she and Depp began seeing each other in 2012 to being called a 'c**t' on a near daily basis Heard claimed that during the fight in December 2015 Depp headbutted her and beat her so badly she thought she would die. These photos of Heard's bruised face were submitted into evidence Heard was asked how Depp's statements and threats have continued to manifest today. 'In the harassment the humiliation, the campaign against me that's echoed every single day on social media and now in cameras in this room. Every single day I live this trauma' Heard described another sexual assault on Depp's private island in The Bahamas in December 2015 and claimed he was drunk in front of his children. As Heard described it, she tried to get Depp to quit drinking and taking drugs but the 'monster' inside of him kept coming back. She hit out at the online hate mob of trolls who said they wanted to put her baby in the microwave. Heard said: 'It's easy to forget, I'm a person.' Under cross examination Heard admitted that she had not donated her $7million divorce settlement to charity as she repeatedly claimed, including during the libel trial in the UK in 2020. Heard tried to claim that she saw the words 'pledge' and 'donate' as the same and claimed she had spent $6million on legal fees, meaning she was unable to fulfill her promises. She was also forced to explain an audio recording where she admitted to hitting Depp but denied punching him. Her clash with Depp's lawyer Camille Vasquez was lauded by Depp's fans online who dubbed the attorney 'Queen Camille.' KATE MOSS AND ELLEN BARKIN: THE CELEBRITY WITNESSES Kate Moss was called as a surprise last minute witness by Depp's team. Over three minutes of testimony from her home in the English countryside, Moss denied a rumor cited by Heard that Depp once pushed her down the stairs while they were vacationing in Jamaica during the time they dated between 1994-1998. In fact, he came to her aide and helped her get medical attention, Moss said. Moss's evidence was cited by Depp's lawyer Benjamin Chew as proof the case was 'MeToo without MeToo' as not even Moss accused him of abuse. But testifying for Heard, actress Ellen Barkin testified that Depp threw a bottle of wine at her and she called him a 'controlling, jealous man.' She said: 'I had a scratch on my back once that got him very, very angry because he he insisted it came from having sex with a person who wasn't him.' Kate Moss told Johnny Depp 's $100million defamation trial that he never pushed her down the stairs Actress Ellen Barkin told Johnny Depp's defamation trial that he once threw a bottle of wine at her and called him a 'controlling, jealous man' KEY WITNESSES While Depp relied on a number of his employees to make his case, Heard turned to friends and witnesses to argue hers. Depp's 38 witnesses ranged from his sister to his security guards, his chauffeur and a senior Warner Bros executive. Heard's 24 witnesses included her sister Whitney and her former best friend Rocky Pennington who both detailed seeing incidents where Depp was violent and abusive. Both sides called dueling experts on several areas of the case. A photography expert called by Depp's side claimed that the images of Heard's face with injuries could have been faked. Not so, said the equivalent expert from team Heard they were authentic. There were conflicting accounts of how much damage the claims had done to each side's career with Depp's financial damages expert arguing he had lost $40million in acting roles after her op-ed was published. A Hollywood industry expert hired by Heard's lawyers argued she lost as much as $50million from Depp's claims against her. The division even extended to Heard's mental state. Depp called Dr. Sharon Curry (right), a clinical and forensic psychologist, who diagnosed Heard with borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder and said she suffered from violent mood swings. Heard's equivalent expert, Dr. Dawn Hughes (left) rejected this and said that Heard had a clear cut case of PTSD from her years of trauma Walter Hamada, President of DC-Based Film Production, Warner Bros. Pictures, testified via video deposition and denied that Heard's compensation was affected by anything said by Depp or his lawyer Adam Waldman Depp called Dr. Sharon Curry, a clinical and forensic psychologist, who diagnosed Heard with borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder and said she suffered from violent mood swings. Under questioning from one of Depp's lawyers, Hamada denied Heard's claims her character, Mera, saw its role reduced dramatically including having an action scene taken away from her Heard's equivalent expert, Dr. Dawn Hughes, rejected this and said that Heard had a clear cut case of PTSD from her years of trauma. One of the few unbiased observers called to give evidence was Laurel Anderson, a marriage counselor who treated Depp and Heard. She told the court that they engaged in 'mutual abuse' and that Heard 'fought as hard' as Depp did. Dr. Anderson said that Depp was 'triggered' into acting out his abusive upbringing by Heard's violence. Heard would initiate fights with Depp rather than have him walk away because 'abandonment was her worst nightmare Another key witness was Walter Hamada, the President of DC Comics film production for Warner Bros. He denied that the studio was considering paying Heard more for Aquaman 2 because a 'big part of our philosophy' was to hold actors to their original agreements. Heard's legal team claimed she could have renegotiated her fee from $2million for the first Aquaman movie to $6million for the second one. Hamada also denied Heard's claims that her character, Mera's role was being dramatically reduced with an action scene taken away from her. In his evidence the ACLU's general counsel, Terence Dougherty, admitted that the civil rights organization drew up the first draft of Heard's op-ed. Dougherty also admitted that the piece was timed to coincide with the release of Aquaman to leverage publicity for the film to have as much impact as possible. THE POOP INCIDENT After a fight in April 2016, Depp and Heard didn't see each other for a month but Depp claimed that Heard left him a surprise. He told the court he found a poop in the bed of the penthouse they shared in Los Angeles and he thought it was disgusting. Depp's chauffeur Starling Jenkins claimed that Heard once told him it was a 'horrible prank that went wrong.' In her testimony Heard suggested that it was one of their Yorkshire terriers, Boo, that did the dirty deed, telling the court that the animal had 'eaten Johnny's weed as a puppy and had bowel control issues for life.' Heard said that Boo and their other dog, Pistol, would sleep in their bed so Boo wouldn't have to get up in the night and possibly do his business on the floor. Depp told the court he found a poop in the bed of the penthouse the shared in Los Angeles and that he thought it was disgusting when he found it. Heard suggested that it was one of their Yorkshire terriers, Boo, that did it, telling the court that the animal had 'eaten Johnny's weed as a puppy and had bowel control issues for life' Heard said that while packing to go away to the Coachella music festival, she left Boo in the bed, which appears to have been when the feces incident occurred She said that while packing to go away to the Coachella music festival, Heard left Boo in the bed which appears to have been when the poop occurred. Heard's lawyer Elaine Bredehoft asked Heard: 'Did you commit any kind of prank?' Heard said: 'Absolutely not. First of all I don't think that's funny. I don't know what grown woman does. 'I was not in a pranking mood. My life was falling apart. I was at a crossroads in my life and I'd just been attacked on my 30th birthday by my violent husband with whom I was in love. 'I don't think that's funny, period. That's disgusting.' In his testimony, Depp said: 'My initial response to that was, I mean I laughed. It was so outside, it was so bizarre and so grotesque that I could only laugh.' ELON MUSK AND JAMES FRANCO: THE LOVE INTERESTS Both men were on Heard's list of potential witnesses and while neither was called, the trial did get an insight into their relationships with her. The court heard that Depp 'hated' Franco and was jealous of him after he and Heard starred together in the movie 'Pineapple Express.' The jury was shown a video of Franco putting his head on Heard's shoulder the night after her last fight with Depp. Heard testified that she met Musk at the Met Gala in 2016 and thought he was a 'real gentleman.' They dated for a year but when they broke up a friend texted Heard that she never really loved him. Musk donated $500,000 to the ACLU on behalf of Heard which she claimed was not part of the $3.5million she planned to give to the civil rights organization. Depp's jealousy towards Franco was said to be the reason why he flew into a rage on board the Boston to Los Angeles flight when he allegedly kicked Heard in the back. Heard recounted the incident with a sigh and said that Depp's jealousy towards Franco was a 'nightmare.' Depp 'hated, hated' Franco even though she did not have an affair with him, Heard said. On the plane Depp asked his wife: 'Did he slip a tongue in', referring to Franco and asked her 'how much you liked it.' She said: 'He called me a go-getter, he called me a slut - this is happening with security and his assistants on the plane. I struggle to be able to tell you how embarrassed I was.' The text Depp sent to Bettany saying 'let's burn Amber' was because he suspected she was having an affair with Franco, the jury was told. The court heard that Depp 'hated' Franco and was jealous of him after he and Heard starred together in the movie 'Pineapple Express' Heard claimed that Franco's visit on May 22, 2016 - after Depp threw a phone at her face - was because he was a friend and because he lived next door. The footage shows them standing in the elevator together when Franco affectionately puts his head on Heard's shoulder Heard began dating Tesla founder Elon Musk around the time of her split with Depp in May 2016 and by August the following year they had broken up Heard claimed that Franco's visit on May 22, 2016 after Depp threw a phone at her face was because he was a friend and because he lived next door. The footage shows them standing in the elevator together when Franco affectionately puts his head on Heard's shoulder. The trial heard that Depp suspected Heard was seeing Elon Musk before they split up in May 2016, claims that Heard denied she said they got together immediately after the breakup. Depp's friend Isaac Baruch, who lived across the hall from Heard's penthouse in Los Angeles, saw Musk twice at Heard's apartment later in the summer of 2016. One time he was looking out his window when he saw Musk 'going through the balcony door' to Heard's apartment, Baruch told the court. Heard and Musk dated until August the following year when she wrote to a friend that 'yet again a man lets me fall on the spikes by myself.' The friend, talent agent Christian Carino, wrote back: 'You weren't in love with him. You told me 1,000 times you were just feeling space. Heard replied: 'I know but I wanted time to grieve and recover in my own time.' In her testimony, Heard told the court that on May 2, 2016 she went to the Met Gala without Depp. The former couple were invited by the designer Ralph Lauren and Heard 'went by myself' because Depp 'effectively stood me up on the (red) carpet.' Heard said that while waiting to go in she met a man called 'Elon' who she later realized was Elon Musk. The arrivals of both parties became a spectacle as well with Depp rolling up in a large SUV to dozens of female fans screaming 'Johnny!' at the gates of the court Depp's fans swamped social media with #justiceforjohnny trending repeatedly, as did #amberturd Depp often waved and blew kisses to her adoring fans who lined up outside the courthouse as he came and went Onlookers at the courthouse gave a 'thumbs down' and jeered as Amber Heard left the courtroom Spectators who nabbed seats inside the courtroom are seen waving to Depp after closing arguments Friday. He often waved back THE SIDE SHOW Depp's lawyers successfully argued for the trial to be televised, turning it into an international circus. Millions of people tuned in every day on YouTube channels streaming it live and Court TV covered the case from gavel to gavel. A cottage industry of commentators sprung up around the trial with YouTube channels offering legal analysis. The trial went on so long it sank into the public consciousness and was even parodied on Saturday Night Live. The arrivals of both parties became a spectacle as well with Depp rolling up in a large SUV to dozens of female fans screaming 'Johnny!' at the gates of the court. Depp and Heard were under orders from the judge not to sign autographs but Depp waved at crowd, cracking jokes about having bought them all waffles. Depp's music choice in his car as he arrived each day gave an insight into his mindset and a frequently blasting 'War' by Bob Marley. Depp and Heard's fashion choices became a subject of debate as well: he favored tailored three piece suits in gray or blue while she favored muted tones and 1930s style up-do hairstyles 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) Heard was accused of copying Depp's courtroom outfits, with social media users pointing out multiple similarities between their ensembles. On the first day of the trial, on April 11, Depp was seen wearing a Gucci tie, which had a bumblebee on it. And two days later, on April 13, Heard sported a very similar tie, which also had a bee on it. People have also pointed out that Depp donned a gray suit for the first day of the trial, and Heard was then seen wearing a pants and shirt combo of the same color to the courthouse on April 12. Then, on April 18, Depp showed up to court with his long hair pulled back into a ponytail. The next day, on April 19, Heard had her long locks styled in a similar way and many people thought it was not a coincidence. While Heard took notes or remained impassive, Depp was seen eating candy and doodling sketches in a notebook. On the Monday of the last week of the trial a woman was removed from the courtroom after holding up a baby and yelling, 'Johnny I love you, this baby is yours.' The woman shouted: 'Our souls are connected!' Depp waved back at the woman who was escorted out. Depp's fans swamped social media with #justiceforjohnny trending repeatedly, as did #amberturd. Depp's fans were sent into a frenzy over his lawyer Camille Vasquez who became the star of the trial after she cross examined Amber Heard. There was speculation Vasquez and Depp were dating Depp gave his attorney Vasquez a hug after she spoke during rebuttal of closing arguments on Friday Vasquez, 37, from Los Angeles-based Brown Rudnick, is a specialist in litigation and defamation and is one of several lawyers in court For Depp's $50million claim, the jury had to decide whether or not Heard had defamed him with a 2018 op-ed in the Washington Post which said she was a survivor of domestic abuse. The article did not name Depp, but he argued that it was obvious that she was referring to him CAMILLE VASQUEZ Depp's fans were sent into a frenzy over his lawyer who cross examined Amber Heard and was so close to him it sparked speculation they were dating. Camille Vasquez won over Depp's supporters with her brutal interrogation of Heard which became an exercise in snark and sarcasm. Vasquez grilled Heard on each of the incidents she testified that Depp was the aggressor, picking holes in her story aggressively and mercilessly. Why, Vasquez wanted to know, did Heard buy Depp a knife with the inscription 'Until Death' if he was so abusive towards her? Why didn't Heard take any photos of her injuries after the Australia incident, even though she took plenty of pictures of the damage to the house they were renting? At one point Vasquez asked: 'You haven't been able to move on with your life, have you?' While asking why she took photos of Depp passed out, including one where he dropped ice cream on his crotch, Vasquez said: 'You really like taking pictures of Mr. Depp while he's sleeping?' Another time Vasquez needled Heard and told her that 'you wanted to be seen as a noble victim of domestic violence.' Heard became emotional and said that she 'never' wanted to be seen as a victim. During one especially blunt moment, Vasquez said: 'Mr. Depp is your victim isn't he? And once he left you you continued to abuse him by calling him an abuser?' The most intense exchange was over Heard's failure to donate her $7million divorce settlement to charity as she has repeatedly claimed to have done. Vasquez said: 'Sitting here today you have not donated $7million, donated your divorce settlement to charity?' In response Heard said: 'I use pledge and donate synonyms with one another.' In her summing up for the case, Vasquez said: 'There is an abuser in this courtroom but it's not Mr. Depp. There's a victim of abuse in this court but it's not Miss Heard'. If Heard was lying then she was a woman who was prepared to 'say anything,' Vasquez told the jury. Vasquez, 37, from Los Angeles-based Brown Rudnick, is a specialist in litigation and defamation and one of eight lawyers on Depp's team. In court she was seen hugging Depp, who responded by hugging her back, patting her shoulders and at one point patting the back of her head. But according to reports Vasquez had merely grown close to Depp while they have been working on the trial, which is now in its fifth week. She has been seeing a British real estate agent for several months and is not interested in Depp romantically. Concerns are growing over the increasing number of men using Facebook to advertise that they are sperm donors. And a major donor website has now come out to warn women against turning to strangers on social media in their bid to conceive. It comes after James MacDougall was named this week as offering his services to lesbian women despite having a genetic condition which can be inherited. The 37-year-old has fathered 15 children, despite knowing his Fragile X syndrome can lead to learning difficulties, seizures and autistic traits in offspring. Pride Angel which connects couples, lesbians and single women with donors - has had to ban many 'super-sperm donors' who donate multiple times The website Pride Angel which connects couples, lesbians and single women with donors has seen the number of men offering services double in less than five years. And the site has had to ban many 'super-sperm donors' like Mr MacDougall, as well as those who try to donate sperm 'naturally' by offering women sex. Pride Angel founder Erika Tranfield said: 'We know there are Facebook fathers and men who have Excel spreadsheets recording the data on the number of children they have. 'They go from area to area, they have a lot of bravado, and it can become a little bit like an addiction. 'They are happy to be spreading their genes, their seed. 'However these men are in the minority and we do all we can on the website to try and prevent them registering, and we are looking at potentially offering genetic testing for sperm in the future.' Family court judge Mrs Justice Lieven lifted MacDougall's anonymity to deter others from using him as a donor, after he started a legal battle so he could have access to four of the children he fathered. He insists he 'did a good thing' despite failing to tell women he had a genetic condition. Pride Angel is a major donor website and has now warned would-be mothers against turning to social media for sperm donations After the case, Pride Angel revealed it has seen its sperm donor membership leap from just 504 men in 2011 to 4,938 this year. The rapid rise means experts fear a similar surge in men offering their services through social media as Mr MacDougall did for free. They may be making up for a downturn in the number of sperm donors through UK fertility clinics following the pandemic, with just 671 registering in 2020, compared with 776 the previous year. One online sperm donor, Simon Watson, claims to have fathered more than 800 children, including 18 sets of twins. He has even offered to pass his samples over to women in supermarket car parks. While Mr MacDougall fathered 15 children, men who give sperm to licensed clinics can only donate to up to ten families to minimise the number of children they can have. This reduces the risk of two children from the same sperm donor forming a relationship and unwittingly committing incest because they do not know they are related. Clinics are overseen by the fertility regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). It means they are required by law to screen sperm for infections such as HIV and hepatitis, and hereditary illnesses. Experts warn of the risk of sexual assault for women finding donors online, with some men trying to take advantage of women they know are desperate for a child. A spokesman for the HFEA said: 'Although donating sperm outside of a licensed centre is not illegal, our advice is always that it is safer for fertility patients using donor sperm to have treatment at a licensed clinic.' The Biden administration has refused to send warplanes to Ukraine but is now planning to equip Kyiv with some of the most modern and deadly long-range drones, according to people familiar with discussions. The plan would involve selling four MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones - a more powerful version of the unmanned Predator aircraft and capable of carrying eight Hellfire missiles - for battlefield use against Russian forces. The sale of the General Atomics-made drones could still be blocked by Congress, according to sources who said the plan has been discussed at the Pentagon for weeks. Ukraine has made effective use of smaller, shorter range unmanned systems. The Turkish Bayraktar-TB2 in particular has been celebrated for its battlefield success. Details of the latest plan emerged as the White House announced a new $70 million round of military aid for Ukraine, including High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). 'This new package will arm them with new capabilities and advanced weaponry, including HIMARS with battlefield munitions, to defend their territory from Russian advances,' said President Joe Biden in a statement. 'We will continue to lead the world in providing historic assistance to support Ukraine's fight for freedom.' The MQ-1C Gray Eagle drone can fly for 30 hours gathering intelligence or it can carry a payload of as many as eight Hellfire missiles. The Biden administration reportedly wants to sell four to Ukraine as part of the effort to repel the Russian invasion 'We will continue to lead the world in providing historic assistance to support Ukraine's fight for freedom,' said President Joe Biden as the U.S. prepared an 11th round of military aid This week the U.S. said it would be sending four High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems to Ukraine, capable of firing precision-guided rockets a distance of about 48 miles WHAT IS IN THE LATEST $700 MILLION MILITARY AID PACKAGE BEING SENT TO UKRAINE? Pentagon officials on Wednesday revealed details of the latest package of military aid being sent to Ukraine. Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense Todd Breasseale said: 'The United States has now committed approximately $5.3 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration, including approximately $4.6 billion since the beginning of Russia's unprovoked invasion on February 24.' The 11th package includes: High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and ammunition; Five counter-artillery radars; Two air surveillance radars; 1,000 Javelins and 50 Command Launch Units; 6,000 anti-armor weapons; 15,000 155mm artillery rounds; Four Mi-17 helicopters; 15 tactical vehicles; Spare parts and equipment Advertisement The Gray Eagle represents a clear leap in technology being offered to Ukraine. It can fly for up to 30 hours allowing it to gather huge amounts of intelligence as it loiters over targets - or it can reach far into enemy territory with a payload of Hellfire missiles. And some military experts said its ability to see way beyond Russian lines may tie in with the HIMARS system and its ability to strike there. The sale is significant because it puts an advanced reusable U.S. system capable of multiple deep strikes on the battlefield against Russia for the first time. The administration of President Joe Biden intends to notify Congress of the potential sale to Ukraine in the coming days with a public announcement expected after that, a U.S. official said. A White House spokesperson referred inquiries to the Pentagon and a Pentagon spokesperson said there was 'nothing to announce.' Money from the recently passed $40 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative has been set aside to fund both the possible sale and the training needed for the drones, the U.S. official and one of the people familiar said. 'Generally the MQ-1C is a much larger aircraft with a max take-off weight around three times that of the Bayraktar-TB2, with commensurate advantages in payload capacity, range, and endurance,' said drone expert Dan Gettinger with the Vertical Flight Society. The MQ-1C is also compatible with a greater variety of munitions than the Bayraktar-TB2. The Ukrainian Bayraktars are equipped with 22 kg (48 pound) Turkish-made MAM-L missiles, around half the weight of a Hellfire. Training on the UAV system made by General Atomics usually takes months, Gettinger said, but a notional plan to train experienced Ukrainian maintainers and operators in a handful of weeks has been proposed in recent weeks, the sources said. Arming the drones with Hellfire missiles will be done via a future Presidential Drawdown Authority once training on the drones has been completed, the U.S. official and one of the sources said. Until an announcement on Wednesday that Ukraine would get four HIMARS rocket systems, the Pentagon has stressed that smaller systems such as Javelin anti-tank systems and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, which allies are shipping to Ukraine via truck near-daily, are most useful. Officials said Ukraine had promised not to use the M142 HIMARS to strike targets inside Russia - although Moscow immediately accused Washington of 'pouring fuel on the flames' This photograph taken on May 28, 2022, shows the damaged building of the Faculty of Economics of Karazin National University in Kharkiv, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine People clean an area of a building damaged by an overnight missile strike in Sloviansk, Ukraine, Wednesday, June 1 Raytheon Technologies and Lockheed Martin Corp jointly produce Javelins, while Raytheon makes Stingers. The shift to long range weapons reflects a change in the way the war is being fought. After Ukrainian forces repelled Russian invaders advancing on the capital Kyiv, fighting has focused on the eastern Donbas region, where both sides are relying on rockets and artillery in long range exchanges. The U.S. has sent 108 American M777 howitzers. But the HIMARS systems, with a range of about 48 miles, will allow Ukrainian forces to hit Russian targets while staying out of the range of retaliatory fire. A senior administration official said: 'These systems will be used by the Ukrainians to repel Russian advances on Ukrainian territory, but they will not be used against targets in Russian territory.' Throughout the conflict, U.S. officials have taken pains to balance helping Ukrainian forces without giving Moscow grounds to say weapons shipments represent an escalation of Washington's or N.A.T.O.'s involvement. In this case, officials said Ukrainian leaders had promised not use longer range weapons on attacks inside Russia. At the same, Germany announced it will supply Ukraine with up-to-date anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems. Heavy fighting is currently underway in the city of Severodonetsk in Ukraine's east, which is in danger of falling to Russia. But Ukrainian counter-attacks are also underway in the south Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president's office, welcomed the new Western weapons. 'I'm sure that if we receive all the necessary weapons and strengthen the efficient sanctions regime we will win,' he said. Military analysts say Russia is hoping to overrun the Donbas before any weapons that might turn the tide arrive. It will take at least three weeks to get the precision U.S. weapons and trained troops onto the battlefield, the Pentagon said. But Defense Undersecretary Colin Kahl said he believes they will arrive in time to make a difference in the fight. The Kremlin was quick to accuse the U.S. of escalation. Dpokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow did not trust assurances that Ukraine will not fire on Russian territory. 'We believe that the U.S. is deliberately and diligently pouring fuel on the fire,' he said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described Ukraine's push for more weapons as a 'direct provocation intended to draw the West into the fighting.' Not for the first time in the Queens long reign, all eyes will be on the Buckingham Palace balcony at lunchtime today as the Trooping the Colour ceremony makes way for the ear-splitting roar of an RAF flypast. Over the years, this tableau has offered an engrossing glimpse of whos in and whos out, as once-familiar figures were shuffled to the margins of royal life. This time, however, the spectacle is set to be rivalled by another event, with far more riding on the outcome. For it will afford us the fascinating sight of Prince Harry and Meghan publicly reuniting with other members of the Royal Family for the first time since their frosty departure from Britain more than two years ago. It should also offer a view of their children: Archie, three, and daughter Lilibet, one on Saturday, who is set to meet her great-grandmother for the first time. Although her grandson and his children are excluded from the pageantry of the Palace gathering, the Queen has insisted they receive the same courtesies being extended to wider members of the Royal Family. They will join the Duchess of Cambridge and her three children, who are first cousins to Archie and Lilibet, with a grandstand view of Horse Guards Parade, where Trooping takes place. Harry and Meghan, along with her mother Doria Ragland, introduce Archie to the Queen and Prince Philip in May 2019 The first picture of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's daughter (above) released in a Christmas card last year The significance of this olive branch invitation cannot be exaggerated. For it offers the real chance of not just healing the breach between the Sussexes and the royals but also repairing the House of Windsor brand, which, in America at least, has been severely tarnished by the Harry and Meghan falling-out. Whats more, it could ensure that the couple, who cannot be certain of the reaction they will receive from the public during the four days of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, are met with warmth rather than stony indifference. Goodwill is far from guaranteed. The couples latest approval ratings cannot have escaped their attention: according to polling data from YouGov, the duke is viewed positively by only one Briton in three, while more than half see him in a negative light, giving him a net approval rating of minus 26. Meghan fared even worse, with her approval rating going from minus 39 in March to minus 42. So if there is to be a rapprochement, it will take more than just a photo opportunity, however artfully arranged. With their accusations of racism, claims of cold indifference by both family members and staff, and the memory of the Oprah Winfrey interview still strong, trust in the duke and duchess remains in short supply. But the Queen is determined that the Jubilee should be a time to set aside differences and unite both the country and her family hence her offer of ringside seats for Harry and Meghan. Harry and Meghan pictured during their controversial interview with Oprah Winfrey last year Harry and Meghan pictured together at a volleyball event during the Invictus Games at Zuiderpark in April The Sussexes are expected to stay at Frogmore Cottage, where they will hold a small party for Lilibet that may be attended by the Queen Baby Lilibets role may be crucial. When the couple announced they were giving their daughter the name Lilibet, the Queens family nickname, it was seen as a presumptuous choice for a baby who, although eighth in line to the throne, would grow up on the other side of the world, speaking with an American accent. Courtiers saw it as an impertinent, somewhat cynical exercise to secure the Sussexes long-term future as Royal Family members. Some wondered if they had even asked the Queens permission. But time is a great healer and I know the Queen, 96, is anxious to meet her 11th great-grandchild. Although such a meeting could be today, it may be delayed until Lilibets birthday on Saturday. If so, this would almost certainly take place in the Queens private apartments at Windsor Castle. But the timing would depend on whether there is a late change of plan and the Queen goes to the Derby after all, despite reports that she isnt expected to attend. And if it does happen, imagine if a picture was released. A photograph of Lilibet meeting Lilibet would be a more eloquent symbol of family unity and forgiveness than any anonymous briefing. It could also be a powerful metaphor for things to come. Even Prince Philips decision to set aside his animosity towards the Duchess of York and pose beside her for photographs at Princess Eugenies wedding was viewed as a sign of compassion to the wayward Fergie. It can surely be no coincidence that, to mark her great-grandson Archies third birthday last month, the Palace re-issued that memorable picture of Harry and Meghan presenting their newborn son to the Queen and Philip at Windsor Castle, with the duchesss mother Doria looking on. It is one of the Queens favourite pictures from a time when the bitterness of Harry and Meghans departure for California was a long way off and the image of the Royal Family seemed inclusive and diverse. How times have changed. Harry and Meghan landed in a London airport this afternoon, with a small team of staffers, Page Six reported With their TV interviews, the couple have painted the royals as remote, uncaring and out of touch. All the same, other family members, including Prince Charles, support the Queens magnanimous gesture towards the Sussexes although there are nerves among Royal Household figures. These concerns are focused on what is going on with Harrys intimate and heartfelt memoir. It was originally said to be appearing this autumn but there is no sign of it in any list of pre-publication books. Aides dont know if the manuscript has been sent to publishers or is still being worked on by the prince and his ghost-writer. The influential commentator and author Tina Brown has suggested that the Palace take steps to persuade the prince to abandon the book. Somebody needs to go to Harry and try saying, Were going to give you a cheque for whatever fee youve negotiated for the book and, in return, we ask that you dont do it. In view of the fact that Harry reportedly secured a 16 million advance for the book, that might be beyond even deep royal pockets. But at the very least, they might be able to encourage him to soften its content. Aides are also looking into reports that Harry and Meghan may be tempted to return to the royal fold if their media careers turn out to be less enduring than they had hoped. Their deals with under-pressure streaming giant Netflix no longer seem quite so promising, while the arrangement with Spotify is yet to materialise. For now, there is no doubt that the couple are on probation during their four-day stay. What nobody knows is how, whatever the generosity being shown by the Queen, Harry and Meghan will react to their much-reduced walk-on roles in this Jubilee story. Ten years ago at the Diamond Jubilee and 20 years ago at the Golden Jubilee, Harry was a central figure in the celebrations and in every balcony money-shot. Today, how far he has travelled to the edge of royal life will be uncomfortably clear to him. But it is just possible that the daughter he named after his beloved grandmother, and his son, could yet hold a route back to the way it was. A woman prepares to cast her vote for local elections to elect mayors, governors, council members and education superintendents at a polling station in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap By Jung Min-ho It was a party they trusted only four years ago. When the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) won 14 out of 17 metropolitan mayor and governor posts, in the biggest-ever local election victory by any party, some party leaders said that the landslide would be only the beginning of its long reign. But it wasn't. Barring an unprecedented polling error, the liberal DPK is expected to lose at least 10 of the key posts after the June 1 elections. Some people who voted for the party in previous elections told The Korea Times Tuesday that they have lost trust in it largely due to its incompetence and hypocrisy. "I will never vote for the DPK, not just this election but ever again," said Cheong, 31, a Seoul travel company employee who had previously voted only for liberal parties, mostly the DPK. "Housing prices skyrocketed during the Moon Jae-in government. But the DPK, which has control over both executive and legislature branches and even local offices, has failed to provide any effective solution for the problem." Research by the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, a civic group, shows the average price of a 99-square-meter apartment in Seoul nearly doubled from 620 million won to ($500,000) to 1.19 billion won for the first four years of Moon's term, starting back in May of 2017, when he was inaugurated and pledged that he would stabilize rising property prices. Cheong said he and many others in their 20s and 30s will have to live with the consequences, and he and his girlfriend have been left without any choice but to delay their marriage. A woman casts her vote for local elections to elect mayors, governors, council members and education superintendents at a polling station in Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul Jin, 38, a mother of a six-year-old daughter, said she felt betrayed when news broke that Oh Keo-don resigned from the position of Busan mayor disgracefully after sexually assaulting female staffers. It was not the first nor the last such crime committed by local government leaders from the DPK in recent years. Jin, a Seoul resident who had already been dissatisfied with the DPK's anti-Japan campaign, which negatively affected her Japan-related work, gave up hope on the party. "It tries to brand itself as a party for women, but who would believe that? The party likes to use women but does little for them," she said. "Personally, I was deeply offended by the party's irresponsible anti-Japan campaign, which it exploited for its political interests. I'm sure many patriotic people felt the same way after their businesses were damaged by it I also heard from my colleagues when anti-Japan sentiment was running high that Japanese children in certain areas were terrified by protesters on their streets." The Democratic Party of Korea's leaders and other officials watch the exit poll results of the June 1 local elections at the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap Allies of Boris Johnson have accused MPs trying to topple him of being 'self-indulgent, narcissistic and contemptuous' - as Priti Patel led Cabinet ministers in rallying around the PM and told plotters to 'forget it'. Tory rebels think they could get enough support for a confidence vote next week, and the Prime Minister is said to be increasingly frustrated with open rebellion among some Tory politicians. But the Home Secretary has warned MPs that voters will not forgive the party if it descends into civil war instead of tackling issues such as the cost of living crisis. In an interview with the Daily Mail, she denounced those writing no confidence letters as creating a 'sideshow' rather than finding solutions. But the PM believes he will survive a confidence vote, it is understood, and some Cabinet ministers privately want him to 'force the issue' by holding a vote ahead of two by-elections on June 23 to limit the number of rebels. One Cabinet minister told the Times: 'He doesn't care whether he wins by 100 or 10. He will plough on. Colleagues are frothing at the mouth in a way the public is not.' Mr Johnson asked what the 'point' of a vote would be while discussing the issue with colleagues, and one ally said: 'There's no alternative strategy, no alternative plan, no big ideological divide. 'MPs have been telling us for weeks that we need to focus on cost of living pressures. 'Would it not be the most self-indulgent, narcissistic and contemptuous thing to decide that now is the time for another three months of Conservative navel-gazing?' Line of duty: Priti Patel yesterday walking in Pall Mall, central London It comes after Cabinet ministers yesterday dismissed suggestions Mr Johnson could face a confidence vote from Tory MPs next week following the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries warned a challenge would be an 'indulgence' as she accused plotters of doing Labour's work for them. Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said the 'vast majority' of Tories want Mr Johnson to 'get on with the job' as he rejected claims the rebels have the numbers to remove him. And Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Brexit opportunities minister, said the PM should not resign as 'the country is lucky to have him'. Their support came just a day after Dame Andrea Leadsom criticised the PM over Partygate while MP John Stevenson announced he was writing a letter of no confidence. On a visit to The Mall yesterday to see police preparations for the Jubilee, Miss Patel urged her Tory colleagues not to overshadow the celebrations with rows over leadership. 'Events like this are about celebrating our country, our nation, our values, and our monarchy. This is about Her Majesty the Queen I think that's where all the focus should be,' she told the Mail. 'Just coming here, the mood, you can see the heart and soul of the nation will be lifted. This weekend is going to be all about the long-standing dedicated service that Her Majesty the Queen has given that nation. Everyone should rally behind that.' Miss Patel urged Tory rebels and those who see themselves as leadership contenders to stop creating a distraction, adding: 'Our job is to deliver for the people. End of story. 'This isn't about a parade [of leadership candidates] or a contest or letters. We need to concentrate on doing our jobs. Look at what is going on in the world right now, look at the challenges that we face domestically. We can't ignore those. 'Writing letters is a sideshow, quite frankly, rather than focusing on the real challenges that we have to find solutions to.' She urged MPs wanting to get rid of Mr Johnson to 'forget it' as she praised his role on the international stage. 'Look at our standing in the world when it comes to Russia and Ukraine,' she said. 'Look at the leadership that has been provided. 'Our job is to deliver on the people's priorities. They won't thank the Conservative Party for talking about itself at a time when people have anxieties, concerns, apprehensions. Our job is deliver for them.' Miss Patel urged Tory rebels and those who see themselves as leadership contenders to stop creating a distraction. Pictured yesterday in Green Park, London She added: '[Mr Johnson] is the man that won us the election, a man that has worked hard to deliver for us right now. There's no question about that. But on top of that, he's a man that's focused on the people's priorities and this government is focused on the people's priorities.' Under Conservative Party rules, Mr Johnson will face a confidence vote if 54 Tory MPs write to Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 committee, demanding one. Critics would then need more than half of the party's MPs to support removing him. Mr Raab yesterday said he did not believe a vote will be triggered next week as he 'doubts' there are even 40 letters in. He also dismissed suggestions Mr Johnson could call an early election as 'highly unlikely'. Mrs Dorries also claimed efforts to topple Mr Johnson were being co-ordinated by a handful of ambitious individuals. Asked who was behind the campaign, she told BBC Radio 4 she had 'no idea' but said 'the overwhelming number' of Conservative MPs back the PM. ONE of the plotters attempting to topple the PM has called for the UK to rejoin the EU's single market to ease the cost of living crisis. In an article for the Politics Home website, Tobias Ellwood said the Brexit deal had 'strangled' industry. He added that economic challenges 'would disappear' if a softer model was used. Euan Blair, the son of the former prime minister, has been awarded an MBE for services to education. The announcement comes just six months after his father Tony was given a knighthood. Multi-millionaire Euan, 38, founded the apprenticeship company Multiverse. The announcement comes just six months after Euan's father Tony was given a knighthood The firm has got people into thousands of jobs by matching school leavers with more than 300 employers including Google, Facebook and Morgan Stanley. Mr Blair co-founded the firm in 2016 and it is now said to be worth more than 600million. He owns between 25 and 50 per cent of Multiverse shares, according to filings, implying a paper fortune in the tens of millions. Late last year the company raised 95million in a US investor-led funding round. Multiverse has placed more than 5,000 apprentices, and over the past year has doubled its headcount to some 400 staff, as well as launching a New York office. More than half of the companys apprentices are people of colour and 36 per cent are from underprivileged backgrounds. This year Mr Blair said the expansion of British universities a key priority of his father when he was in office has not worked and had failed to create a fairer society. This year Mr Blair said the expansion of British universities a key priority of his father when he was in office has not worked and had failed to create a fairer society At the New Year it was announced that Tony Blair had been granted a knighthood, though a petition to cancel it garnered 1million signatures. Euan caused his father some embarrassment in 2000 when at the age of 16 he was arrested for being drunk and incapable at Leicester Square. Celebrating the end of his GCSE examinations, he was found lying alone on the ground by a patrolling police officer and had been vomiting and ill. He was released without charge. The Daily Mail revealed last week that Euan had bought himself a five-storey west London townhouse costing 22m. Fitted with a reception, an indoor pool and gym, the five-storey building is the latest addition to his property portfolio. Twenty years ago, his mother, Cherie, famously gave him a leg up on to the property ladder when she bought a 265,000 flat, plus a second one to rent out, for him to live in while studying ancient history at Bristol University. His father Sir Tony has an impressive property empire including his Grade I-listed manor house in Buckinghamshire. He was reported to have saved thousands in tax after a controversial change in stamp duty legislation in 2016. When dawn broke on the first day of the Queen's 2002 Golden Jubilee tour of Britain, royal officials were nervous. The previews had not been encouraging. The Times, for example, had warned of a general dearth of public interest, as reflected in the number of applications to hold a street party. Not a patch on the Silver Jubilee of 1977, it noted sniffily. Come that very first official engagement, the initial signs were not promising. I remember it vividly. We had gathered outside the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth, Cornwall, where the Queen would cut a ribbon and the Golden Jubilee bandwagon would start rolling. So where was everyone? A tiny crowd, one-deep, gathered behind a barrier very obviously surplus to requirements. Perhaps the battering which the monarchy had received all through the 1990s had left a deeper mark than we had realised. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh duly did their bit and moved on to their next engagement in the centre of Falmouth. At which point, all became clear. Some of the Queen's most trying years have fallen on the big anniversaries of her reign The town centre was rammed. Everyone had gone there instead. When the Queen moved on to Truro to visit the cathedral, it seemed as if the entire county had turned out. It was the same story in neighbouring Devon. Exeter came to a standstill. Next stop, Somerset. By the time we got to that central Jubilee weekend in June, with Brian May belting out the national anthem on his electric guitar on the Palace roof and Concorde swooping over the Palace flanked by the Red Arrows, no one could be in the slightest doubt about Britain's deep, uncomplicated love for and pride in its monarchy. And I believe history is about to repeat itself. Just three years after those scenes in 2002, Sebastian Coe, the Princess Royal and Tony Blair were making their final pitch to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Singapore, where the IOC was about to choose the venue for the 2012 Olympic Games. The London delegation played their final card. It was a video showing how London could put on a dazzling, exuberant, multicultural world party. They had no need for the sort of computer-generated images which rival bidders, like Paris, had prepared. No, the London team already had their film. They simply cut and pasted shots of the Queen's Golden Jubilee. Moments later, the envelope was opened to reveal the winner . . . We all know the rest. It meant that the London Olympics followed hot on the heels of Her Majesty's 60th anniversary on the throne to produce that stupendous summer of royal and sporting brilliance. The monarchy, still glowing from the wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton, merged seamlessly and brilliantly into that global festival of sport. Many of us may well look back on that Jubilee/Olympic summer as a sunlit idyll before the storm clouds descended; a last hurrah for Britain before those toxic referenda on Scottish independence and Brexit ushered in an era of furious culture wars, cyber lunacy and fresh royal scandals. In many ways, it was the calm before the storm. For all these years, in this country at least, we have taken the Queen for granted in the nicest possible way So can the Platinum Jubilee come close to replicating or even eclipsing the buzz of 2012? I believe it will. The signs are there already. As the Mail has reported, there has been a glorious burst of street party preparations all over the country not to mention countless examples of the new 21st-century off-street version, the Jubilee 'Big Lunch'. Look, too, at the profusion of flags in High Streets and schools around the country. Last week, I found myself at the Oxford Union opposing a motion that the monarchy is now a 'mere celebrity' irrelevance. The motion failed by a margin of ten to one. Perhaps, for a few days at least, we might also leave the ongoing sagas of the Sussexes and the Duke of York where they belong: in the margins. Some of the Queen's most trying years have fallen on the big anniversaries of her reign. Her 30th, in 1982, coincided with the Falklands War, the shock of finding an intruder, Michael Fagan, at the end of her bed and the twin IRA London bombs which slaughtered her Household Cavalry and her Royal Green Jackets. Her annus horribilis the year of marital and financial crises plus the Windsor fire coincided with her 40th anniversary in 1992. A decade on, her Golden Jubilee year had only just started when the Queen lost her sister, Princess Margaret. Two months later, she lost her mother. Yet she refused to cancel a single Jubilee engagement. That summer proved to be the turning point after all the royal turmoil of the 1990s and the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. By the time of the Diamond Jubilee of 2012, royal spirits were back to a Coronation-era high. Indeed, the Queen might have reworded her famous Latin phrase to describe the period from the spring of 2011 to the summer of 2012 as an annus mirabilis. First, she was thrilled to see the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge walk down the aisle at Westminster Abbey. Less than a month later, the Queen was visiting Britain's closest neighbour for the very first time. Her state visit to the Republic of Ireland still stands as the high-water mark of UK-Irish relations. And at the end of May 2011, Barack and Michelle Obama came to stay at Buckingham Palace for one of the most cordial and successful state visits of modern times. By the summer of 2012, however, the gloomsters were at it again, predicting a Diamond Jubilee flop. Once again, it exceeded all expectations. The million-plus crowd who happily turned out in the most appalling weather to watch the great river pageant down the Thames were illustrative of that bedrock of deep royalist sentiment which so perplexes and baffles republicans. The vast majority of people in this country are entirely content to be represented by a benign, unifying institution. It's not something they feel a need to shout (or even think) about every day. But, periodically, when big moments like this come around, they are damned well going to celebrate. Yesterday, I spoke to the man who organised the last Jubilee pageant, as well as the great VE Day party at the Palace in 1995. Queen Elizabeth II poses for a silver jubilee portrait in the Throne Room of Buckingham Palace, 6th February 1977 'There were people worrying about the numbers. Come the day, there were these vast crowds cheering their heads off,' the Marquess of Salisbury told me. 'What you have to remember is that, especially in times of uncertainty, people like continuity and they love something to hang on to.' The Diamond Jubilee celebrations covered every corner of the kingdom, starting in Britain's most diverse city, Leicester, where there were tumultuous scenes. They reached a climax in July as the whole world was glued to the opening ceremony of those London Olympics. The lights dimmed and a video revealed James Bond going into Buckingham Palace. There, he found himself staring at the back of a figure busy at her desk. As the Queen of Denmark told me later, she was transfixed, not quite believing that this might really be Cousin Lilibet herself. 'Could it be? Could it be?' Queen Margrethe said, recounting her mounting excitement. 'And it was!' The sight of Britain's two most famous human institutions climbing into (and jumping out of) a helicopter is still a magical moment. In just a couple of minutes, it managed to encapsulate everything great about modern Britain originality, humour, tradition and a judicious dollop of self-deprecation. As an antidote to the joyless, synchronised triumphalism of the 2008 Beijing Games, it was near perfect. I was sitting amid the world's Press in the stadium that night and the response was one of disbelief and delight. That set the tone for the whole Olympics. So how will the events of the days ahead top all that? The answer is that they will be entirely different. This Jubilee comes not with a giant sporting festival attached. Instead, it comes with a sense of both awe and poignancy. We have never marked 70 years of one monarch before. We are covering entirely new ground. Given Her Majesty's advancing years, we accept that she cannot play the sort of part she did at previous anniversaries. Yet that makes her achievements and sense of duty all the more worthy of celebration. The nation loved Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887. However, the Diamond Jubilee of 1897 was on an altogether different scale with much stronger emotions in play. Victorian Britain was in no doubt that here was a unique moment in our national story and they wanted to honour it. No matter that Victoria was so frail that when she attended her service of thanksgiving at St Paul's she was unable to get out of the carriage. The clergy processed outside and down the steps to her instead. I have every confidence that we will see Her Majesty inside St Paul's tomorrow (after all, she can now arrive through the new step-free entrance and Covid memorial Remember Me portico, supported by generous Mail readers). My only concern is the numbers who will decide, on the spur of the moment, that they want to be part of this show, too. Because this Jubilee is going to be phenomenal. This Jubilee is going to be phenomenal For all these years, in this country at least, we have taken the Queen for granted in the nicest possible way. We have always known that she will be there on time and looking the part be it the Olympic Games or just Dundee on a wet Wednesday; we have always known that the rest of the world is fascinated by her and we don't regard it as odd that we share her with hundreds of millions of people around the globe proud to call her their head of state, too. For years, we have regarded her as a timeless, indestructible part of our national fabric like Big Ben, red telephone boxes, scones and bagpipes. Now, all of a sudden, we are coming to terms with the fact that she cannot keep on in the way we have come to expect. She will always do her best because she took an oath before the Almighty and her people. She will adapt, of course. It would be polite if, rather than always concentrating on the things she can no longer do, we marvelled at all the things she continues to do, long into her tenth decade. The events of the next few days will be our way of acknowledging that we have something very special and very precious, and that we really need to make the most of her. Because, for many years hence, we will, all of us, be able to say: 'We were lucky. We knew one of the greats.' Queen Of Our Times The Life Of Elizabeth II by Robert Hardman is published by Macmillan. Advertisement Former First Lady and ex-presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton stepped out on the town Wednesday for the first time since her campaign attorney was acquitted of lying to the FBI when sending agents dirt on Donald Trump's alleged links to a bank backed by Moscow. Clinton, 74, was seen walking the streets of New York City on Wednesday, wearing a long, colorful striped coat that ran down to her knees, as well as black pants and blue high heels. She was seen wearing a black KN95 facemask as she walked outside, flanked by a Secret Service agent. At one point, Clinton could be seen talking to a young supporter who spotted her as she walked. The outing marks the first time the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate was seen in public since her campaign attorney, Michael Sussman, was found not guilty of lying to the FBI on Tuesday, in the first trial of Special Counsel John Durham's investigation into what sparked the investigation into Trump's campaign. She has not commented publicly on the acquittal, but after the jury forewoman announced the decision, Sussman told reporters: 'I told the truth to the FBI, and the jury clearly recognized that with their unanimous verdict today. I'm grateful to the members of the jury for their careful, thoughtful service.' 'Despite being falsely accused, I'm relieved that justice ultimately prevailed in my case.' He added that the past year had been 'difficult' on him and his family. 'But right now we are just grateful for the love and support of so many during this ordeal and I look forward to getting back to the work I love,' the attorney said. Former First Lady and ex-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was seen walking the streets of New York City on Wednesday wearing a long, colorful coat, with black pants and high heels Clinton, 74, donned a black KN95 facemask as she walked outside, flanked by a Secret Service agent At one point, Clinton stopped to talk to a young supporter who spotted Clinton on her outing The outing came just one day after a federal jury found former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussman, left, not guilty of lying to the FBI when bringing agents dirt on rival Donald Trump's alleged ties to a Russian bank Prosecutors claimed that Sussmann misrepresented himself to former FBI General Counsel Jim Baker when he asked for a meeting in 2016, where he then presented purported evidence connecting the Trump Organization and a top Russian bank. Durham claimed the attorney posed himself as a concerned citizen when in reality he was working on behalf of Hillary Clinton and a tech executive named Rodney Joffe. They showed the jury emails, law firm billing records and even a Staples receipt for thumb drives to tie Sussman to the Clinton campaign. Prosecutors also argued the lie was part of a larger scheme by Clinton's loyalists to use the FBI and news reporters to lunch a damaging last-minute revelation against Trump. 'You can see what the plan was,' Assistant Special Counsel Andrew DeFilippis said, according to the Washington Post. 'It was to create an October surprise by giving information both to the media and to the FBI to get the media to write that there was an FBI investigation.' He further claimed that Sussman lied because if he had told the FBI he was acting on behalf of Clinton, the FBI was less likely to consider his evidence or open an investigation. Baker even told a jury earlier this month that denying acting on behalf of 'any particular client' was 'part of [Sussmann's] introduction to the meeting' He said knowingly meeting with a campaign operative would 'raise very serious questions' in his mind 'about the credibility of the source and the veracity of the info,' according to the New York Post. 'I think I would have said: Meet with case agents associated with the Hillary Clinton email investigation. Meet with the Midyear Exam folks,' Baker said. The special counsel also claimed in an April court filing that Sussmann worked with Joffe and his company and 'numerous cyber researchers, and employees at multiple Internet companies' to access damaging information about Trump. Durham's filing alleges that Sussmann met with 'the author of a now well-known dossier regarding Trump,' believed to be Christopher Steele, at the offices of 'Law Firm-1,' believed to be Perkins Coie, his former employer. Steele's dossier had been seized upon by Democrats as proof that Trump was under the Kremlin's influence but the former British spy's purported evidence has since widely been questioned and discredited. It was also used as the basis for the FBI to launch an investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia, which led to the Mueller probe. That investigation did not find collusion between Trump's team and Moscow but uncovered Russia did make efforts to tip the scales in the ex-president's favor. But Sussmann's lawyers denied that he lied to the FBI, and argue that his alleged misstatement would not have had any bearing on the bureau's actions either way, with attorney Sean Berkowitz saying that the prosecution was trying to turn a 30-minute meeting more than five years ago into a 'giant political conspiracy theory.' He claimed that much of the witness testimony showed the Clinton campaign did not want the Alfa Bank allegations taken to the FBI because the campaign preferred to see a news story about the issue, and feared an investigation might complicate or delay such stories. 'There is a difference between having a client and doing something on their behalf,' he argued. Special Counsel John Durham (pictured) had been appointed by Trump's Attorney General Bill Barr . His team indicted Sussmann in September 2021 Durham had been appointed by Trump's Attorney General Bill Barr. His team indicted Sussmann in September 2021. Barr criticized Mueller's Russia investigation in a recent episode of conservative talk host Glenn Beck's podcast. 'I think whatever you think of Trump, the fact is that the whole Russiagate thing was a grave injustice. It was a it appears to be a dirty political trick that was used first to hobble him and then potentially to drive him from office,' Barr said. Asked by Beck if he believed the probe was 'at least seditious' if not 'treason,' Barr responded: 'I believe it is seditious, yes.' Durham's probe faced a setback late last month when a judge refused to allow Clinton's past tweets accusing Trump of working with Russia to be entered into the record. Judge Christopher Cooper had ruled that the social media posts constituted hearsay and were 'duplicative of other evidence.' The GOP-appointed special counsel had tried to get a pair of tweets dated October 31, 2016 into the record ahead of Sussmann's trial. In one, Clinton linked a Slate article detailing alleged communication between Trump's real estate business and Alfa Bank. 'It's time for Trump to answer serious questions about his ties to Russia,' the Democrat captioned her post. The additional follow-up tweet read: 'Computer scientists have apparently uncovered a covert server linking the Trump Organization to a Russian-based bank.' During his three-year probe, Durham also got an indictment against a Russian national who was residing in the United States. Researcher Igor Danchenko has pleaded not guilty after being accused of giving false information on Trump-Russia links to the FBI. Danchenko was indicted in November 2021 and faces an upcoming trial in October. Ex-FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith pleaded guilty in Durham's probe over charges stemming from deliberately altering an email that was used to obtain a surveillance warrant against former Trump aide Carter Page. Monica Lewinsky, 48, likened the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard trial to 'courtroom porn' in a scathing Vanity Fair op-ed published before the verdict. In the piece, the former White House intern turned television personality said that viewers who tuned in to the blockbuster court-case are 'all guilty' for participating in the 'tawdry' spectacle. 'We have become so attuned to this narrow, cynical cycle of social media encounters that we consider the trial not tragic or pathetic, but as a pure car wreck: accessible, tawdry, and immediately gratifying,' Lewinsky wrote. Monica Lewinsky attending the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in March this year. In a scathing op-ed published in the magazine on Tuesday she called out viewers of the Depp v. Heard trial The header for Lewinsky's Tuesday op-ed in Vanity Fair. Depp and Heard are pictured on the left 'We are drenched in the taint of the dirt and aggression of the social media wars.' Lewinsky is certainly an authority on public scandal, having been the center of a media firestorm when news broke in 1998 about a sexual relationship she had with then-president Bill Clinton while she was serving as a White House intern. Lewinsky and Clinton's affair played a leading role in the president's impeachment that year. She has since become a vocal advocate against cyberbullying. 'Having been on the receiving end of this kind of cruelty, I can tell you the scars never fade,' Lewinsky wrote, arguing that the public's negative attention was largely targeted at the Amber Heard, 'I wasn't surprised that the cruel and vitriolic discourse was predominantly aimed at the woman.' Johnny Depp pumping a defiant fist toward spectators in the courtroom after closing statements in the defamation trial on May 27 Amber Heard awaiting the verdict in her $100million defamation trial on June 1. Soon after, she learned that Depp was awarded $15million in damages, while she won $2million Depp, 58, sued Heard, 36, for $50million claiming that she defamed him with an op-ed piece in the Washington Post in 2018 in which she claimed to be a survivor of domestic abuse at his hands. Heard, 36, countersued for $100million claiming that Depp's lawyer Adam Waldman made defamatory statements by calling her claims a 'hoax.' The trial began in April 2022 and became an international spectacle, with nearly every major news outlet live-streaming the proceedings. Today, the jury awarded Depp $15 million in damages, while Heard was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages. 'The obsessive chatter around the DeppHeard trial is just one small example of the ever-expanding, ever-demanding search for schadenfreude and titillation,' Lewinsky wrote, accusing the public of lapping up the misfortunes of others. 'No matter whom the jury's verdict favors - be it defendant Heard or plaintiff Depp - we are guilty.' Monica Lewinsky (left) alongside Bill Clinton (right) while she served as an intern at the White House. Their sexual scandal would land her at the center of a media firestorm A campaigner who runs a group aimed at combating the current trend to diagnose children as transgender is awarded a British Empire Medal. Stephanie Davies-Arai said she hoped the award indicates a change in opinion about the treatment of children with gender dysphoria and is a recognition of my work, which has been wrongly called transphobic or bigoted. She is the founder and director of Transgender Trend, which calls for evidence-based healthcare for gender dysphoric children and young people. The group has regularly found itself at loggerheads with the likes of Stonewall and the award is likely to be strongly criticised by the pro-trans lobby. Stephanie Davies-Arai, founder of Transgender Trend, has been awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to children in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, at her home in Lewes, East Sussex Yesterday Mrs Davies-Arai said the language around gender in schools has confused children and blurs the boundaries between different sexes. She said: Im really honoured and thrilled to be recognised for my work; it is a huge honour and Im quite knocked out by it and very grateful to everyone who nominated me. She said a one-size-fits-all approach to dealing with [trans] children... risks sending them towards a medical pathway. One of my concerns was the alternative wasnt talked about she said. Ms Davies-Ara's group has found itself at loggerheads with Stonewall and her award is likely to be strongly criticised by pro-trans groups We need to make sure we investigate whats going on before medical intervention and stop treating young people the same way as adults. These children deserve the same standard of care as in any other paediatric service and I could see they were not getting that. She also praised JK Rowling, who has been hounded for her views on transgender people, saying: Shes been very measured in what she is saying but has been vilified - and publicly... She showed great courage. Sir Paul McCartney recounted his first visit to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen ahead of her Platinum Jubilee. Sir Paul, 79, spoke to CBS's Gayle King for 'Her Majesty The Queen: A Gayle King Special' celebrating the Queen's upcoming historic Platinum Jubilee. The special will air as millions across Britain prepare to gather during four days of tributes and street parties to honor the 96-year-old's milestone 70-year reign. In a preview of his interview, Sir Paul recalled his fascination with the Queen as he was growing up. 'We thought she was a good looking woman,' Sir Paul said. Sir Paul, 79, spoke to CBS's Gayle King for 'Her Majesty The Queen: A Gayle King Special' celebrating the Queen's upcoming historic Platinum Jubilee The Queen honored the rock stars at Buckingham Palace in 1965 when all four members of the Beatles were awarded an MBE 'Like a babe?' King asks, to which Sir Paul replies 'Yeah, just like a babe.' Sir Paul says him and his bandmates from the Beatles were just 'preteens, boys in Liverpool and (the Queen) looked like a film star to us.' Sir Paul tells King he never thought it was possible for him to meet the Queen. 'No, you see we were just working class boys and she's the Queen, so there's an ocean or two between us,' he said. 'So I never thought we would until we became The Beatles and we got rather famous.' But after the band's staggering rise to fame the impossible happened and the Queen honored the rock stars at Buckingham Palace in 1965 when all four members of the Beatles were awarded an MBE. Sir Paul recalled his nerve wracking first meeting with the Queen, including the strict protocol he was meant to follow. 'You're told not to shake her hand, you call her "ma'am" not "your majesty" and you know if she stops on the line and talks to you, talk to her, otherwise shut up,' he says laughing. 'We thought she was a good looking woman,' Sir Paul said of the Queen (Sir Paul pictured with the Queen in 1996) But that would not be his last meeting with the Queen, in 1997 Sir Paul was knighted and 21 years later he was made a Companion of Honour (pictured) But that would not be his last meeting with the Queen, in 1997 Sir Paul was knighted and 21 years later he was made a Companion of Honour. The Order of the Companions Honour was founded in 1917, and is awarded for service of conspicuous national importance. The order consists of the Sovereign and a maximum of 65 members. Commonwealth citizens from outside the realm and people from foreign countries may be added as honorary members. Membership comes with no title or precedence, but those inducted into the single-class order are entitled to use the post-nominal letters CH. The Beatles legend could be made a Lord in recognition of his lifetime of musical achievements and service to British culture. The Sun reports that sources are saying the prestigious honor is in the pipeline, 25 years after he was first knighted by The Queen. If he is awarded with the title, he will join a very select group of musicians, including theatre mogul Andrew Lloyd Webber, 73, composer the late Benjamin Britten and late violin virtuoso Yehudi Menuhin. A source told the publication: 'Paul is already in an extraordinarily exclusive set of people at the very top of the honours system. 'There is now quiet talk among officials about how to mark his 80th with something truly special. The idea of offering him the chance to sit as a cross-bencher in the Lords has been mooted. 'He has given incredible service to British culture, so it could be a very fitting tribute and mark of all that he has done for his country.' MailOnline contacted reps for Sir Paul for comment. His knighthood was upgraded in 2018 to admit Sir Paul to the even rarer Order of the Companions of Honour - of which there are only 61 living members. Advertisement Harry and Meghan will join senior royals for the first time in more than two years at todays Trooping the Colour. In what is set to be a gripping and highly public family reunion, they are also expected to bring along three-year-old Archie and Lilibet, nearly one. The children are likely to meet their little cousins Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis at long last. Lilibet has never been introduced to her royal relatives, while Archie has not been in the UK since he was six months old. In what is set to be a gripping and highly public family reunion, they are also expected to bring along three-year-old Archie and Lilibet, nearly one. Pictured, the family in December 2021 Room with a view: Harry and Meghan will watch from the Major Generals Office, circled, overlooking Horse Guards Parade But there is no invitation for the shamed Duke of York even in a private capacity, showing just how far the Queens son has fallen from grace. The Queens Birthday Parade at Horse Guards in London is the first official Platinum Jubilee event of the bank holiday weekend, and the most widely attended by the Windsors. Many had thought Her Majestys appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the traditional post-parade flypast would be the most keenly anticipated moment of the day. But it is likely all eyes will, in fact, be on the family reunion playing out 50 yards down the road instead. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been invited by the Queen to join family members watching the spectacular military event from the Major Generals Office overlooking the Whitehall parade ground. The room once used by the Duke of Wellington spreads out over the entrance to Horse Guards. It is where dignitaries traditionally watch from if they are not involved in the parade proceedings. The group will not include the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge or the Princess Royal. Her Majesty will remain at Buckingham Palace where she will take the returning cavalrys salute from the balcony there. Charles will be taking the salute as the Colour of the 1st Battalion Irish Guards is trooped and inspect the Troops of the Household Division on the monarchs behalf. He will be joined by his elder son and sister, with all three on horseback. Watching from the window: The Sussexes at the 2018 Trooping the Colour parade The Duchess of Cornwall, the Duchess of Cambridge, the Earl and Countess of Wessex and many other royals will travel to Horse Guards Parade from the palace in carriages. They will then disembark and watch the rest of the event from the Major Generals Office alongside Harry and Meghan, who will arrive by car. The large royal party will also include all grandchildren of the Queen and their spouses. As well as the Sussexes there will be Princess Beatrice and her husband Edo, Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack and Annes children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, and their families. Meghan will not have seen any of the family since she and her husband acrimoniously quit as working royals and moved to North America in early 2020, while the prince only saw them very briefly at the Duke of Edinburghs funeral last year. The last public occasion the Sussexes attended together in the UK was the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in March 2020 when the atmosphere could not have been more awkward. William and Kate virtually blanked Harry and Meghan that day, leaving Prince Edward and Sophie to try to keep the peace. Fortunately William, who has been most deeply affected by his brothers actions and has struggled to hide his hurt, will not be forced to greet the couple in public. And Kate proved to be an admirable peacemaker when she made a point of breaking the ice and speaking to Harry after the Duke of Edinburghs funeral. Harry and Meghan are staying with their children at their Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage. They had always been expected to join the congregation for tomorrows service of thanksgiving for the Queens 70-year reign at St Pauls Cathedral, but their participation with Trooping is seen as an additional olive branch from Her Majesty. Pfizer-BioNTech announced on Wednesday it has asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize the use of its COVID-19 vaccine for young children between the ages of just six months and four years. That age group is the only one not yet eligible for the COVID vaccines, and Pfizer is recommending two doses, given three weeks apart for children in that age group. Those shots would be just three micrograms each - one-tenth the dose given to adults. Pfizer's move comes as COVID cases are once again on the rise and follows a similar one from its rival, Moderna, submitted in late April for COVID vaccines for children under the age of six - though COVID cases remain mild in young children. The FDA will now consider both requests, NBC News reports, and will review the applicable data. It could grant the emergency authorization later this month. Its advisory group, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, is already scheduled to meet on June 15 to offer guidance on pediatric doses - and if the group recommends the use of the vaccine on the young children, the FDA could clear the way for doses within a few days. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would still need to sign off on the doses before they could be administered. In a statement to ABC News, FDA officials confirmed they have received Pfizer's request for an Emergency Use Authorization for children under four. 'We recognize parents are anxious to have their young children vaccinated against COVID-19, and while the FDA cannot predict how long its evaluation of the data and information will take, we will review any EUA request we receive as quickly as possible, using a science-based approach,' they said. Pfizer-BioNTech announced on Wednesday it is seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration to administer its COVID-19 vaccine to children between six months and four years old. Jack Wasserman, 6, is seen receiving his Pfizer booster vaccine on May 19 Moderna has also requested authorization for the use of its vaccine for children under the age of six. A girl from Kentucky is seen here getting her COVID jab in November As part of its application, Pfizer submitted clinical trial data that found that three doses of its vaccine (pictured) was safe for young children and generated a strong immune response Pfizer vax is found to be NOT effective at preventing COVID infection in kids Data revealed by New York state officials in April found that Pfizer's shot was only 12 percent effective at preventing COVID infection for children aged five to 11. New York researchers gathered data 852,384 children aged 12 to 17 and 365,502 aged five to 11 for the study. The study, which is pre-print and pending peer-review, gathered data from the Omicron period of the pandemic, from December 2021 and January 2022. As part of the study, participants were followed up with and compared to general figures from unvaccinated populations. One major difference between the study groups is the dosage of the vaccine. While children aged 12 and older receive a 30 microgram shot, it is only ten micrograms for the five to 11 age group. Researchers found that 28 to 34 days after receiving the second dose - about one month - vaccine effectiveness in the younger age group had waned from 67 percent to 11 percent against the variant. This is compared to a much smaller drop from 66 percent to 51 percent in the older age group. There was also a stark difference found between 11 and 12 year olds - the cut off of where the vaccine dosage changes - implying the smaller doses are not as effective. Pfizer has run into a similar issue with its dosage in children aged six months to four years old. For that age group, the jab has been shrunk to three micrograms, though initial trials showed that three and four year olds had little immune response to the smaller jab. Advertisement As part of its application, NBC reports, Pfizer submitted clinical trial data of 1,678 children found last month that three doses of the vaccine for the youngest of children was safe and generated a strong immune response. It showed that antibody levels tested one month after the third dose showed the vaccine produced a similar immune response as the two-dose regimen for those ages 16 to 25. It also found that the vaccine was 80 percent effective against the omicron variant - but the efficacy rate won't be finalized until at least 21 symptomatic cases are found in the vaccine group and then compared to the number of symptomatic cases in the placebo group, CNN reports. The data was released on May 23, but has not been peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal. 'Our COVID-19 vaccine has been studied in thousands of children and adolescents, and we are pleased that our formulation for the youngest children, which we carefully selected to be one-tenth of the dose strength for adults, was well-tolerated and produced a strong immune response,' Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said at the time. This is not the first time Pfizer asked the FDA to authorize a vaccine for the youngest of children, however. In February, the company asked the FDA to authorize a two-dose vaccine, but an advisory committee meeting to review the regimen was postponed after Pfizer admitted that the two doses did not generate enough of an immune response in a trial of children ages two to five. It said at the time it would wait on data for its three-dose regimen before again seeking authorization. The company's main rival, Moderna, meanwhile, submitted its application for a two-dose vaccine regimen for children under 6 at the end of April - though the company said it also expects to seek authorization for a booster dose. Moderna's vaccine would be administered as two 25-microgram doses, four weeks apart. Data from the company showed that its vaccine regimen was 51 percent effective against infection - including asymptomatic and mild infection - among those six months old to under 2 years old, and 37 percent effective for those ages 2 to 5. The advisory committee will now review both applications at its meeting on June 15. Pfizer had previously asked the FDA to authorize a two-dose vaccine for young children, but pulled back after revealing it was not effective Pfizer's vaccine would be given as two doses, administered three weeks apart for children six months to four years. A three-year-old boy, Hudson, is seen participating in a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine trial last year Moderna's vaccine would be administered as two 25-microgram doses, four weeks apart. Ahmed Ali is seen administering a Pfizer dose to 9-year-old Loic Schlagel, while his father Kyle and brother Remi, 6, watched him in November The move to vaccinate young children comes as case figures are increasing around the country - as hospitalizations and deaths remain at the same rates they were in previous periods of the pandemic. COVID cases not as severe in children, studies find Children face little risk from COVID-19, with a ever-growing trove of data showing that they are not nearly as affected by it as adults are. The CDC reports that children only account less than 0.1 percent of COVID deaths in the U.S. since the pandemic first began. And 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 in April also found that the shot was only 12 percent effective at preventing COVID infection for children aged five to 11. Advertisement According to the most recent figures, the nation is averaging 99,748 COVID cases every day, an 8 percent drop over the past week. Deaths have not occurred at the same levels, though, with America recording 611 per day. And at the same time, interest in the vaccines has waned among the public. A recent Gallup poll finds that a third of Americans are no longer worried about the pandemic, one of the lowest figures recorded yet, and national data shows the country's booster fallout fell flat, with demand for the additional shots being much lower than many officials expected. A Kaiser Family Foundation survey from April also found that only 18 percent of parents of children younger than five plan to vaccinate them. Many remain hesitant, with 27 percent saying they will 'definitely not' get their young children vaccinated, and 11 percent reporting that they would only do so if it was required for school. The remaining 38 percent said they want to 'wait and see' before getting their children vaccinated. In Florida, health officials have already recommended against using the COVID vaccine on 'healthy' children, as they face little risk from the virus, with hospitalizations or deaths being especially rare. 'The Florida Department of Health is going to be the first state to officially recommend against the COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children,' Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo announced last month. 'Were kind of scraping at the bottom of the barrel, particularly with healthy kids, in terms of actually being able to quantify with any accuracy and any confidence the even potential of benefit.' He, nor Republican Gov Ron DeSantis, specified what would classify as a 'healthy' child or when the guidance would officially go into effect. A survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that only 18 percent of parents of children under the age of 5 will get them vaccinated, while 27 percent said they will 'definitely not,' and 38 percent said they would 'wait and see' But the announcement came as some health experts expressed their concerns about vaccinating children, and doubting whether they were necessary. Children face little risk from COVID-19, with a ever-growing trove of data showing that they are not nearly as affected by it as adults are. The CDC reports that children only account less than 0.1 percent of COVID deaths in the U.S. since the pandemic first began. And 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. Dr Joseph Ladapo (pictured) said last month that Florida will formally recommend against COVID-19 vaccinations for healthy children Data revealed by New York state officials in April also found that Pfizer's shot was only 12 percent effective at preventing COVID infection for children aged five to 11. New York researchers gathered data 852,384 children aged 12 to 17 and 365,502 aged five to 11 for the study. The study, which is pre-print and pending peer-review, gathered data from the Omicron period of the pandemic, from December 2021 and January 2022. As part of the study, participants were followed up with and compared to general figures from unvaccinated populations. One major difference between the study groups is the dosage of the vaccine. While children aged 12 and older receive a 30 microgram shot, it is only ten micrograms for the five to 11 age group. Researchers found that 28 to 34 days after receiving the second dose - about one month - vaccine effectiveness in the younger age group had waned from 67 percent to 11 percent against the variant. This is compared to a much smaller drop from 66 percent to 51 percent in the older age group. There was also a stark difference found between 11 and 12 year olds - the cut off of where the vaccine dosage changes - implying the smaller doses are not as effective. Pfizer has run into a similar issue with its dosage in children aged six months to four years old. For that age group, the jab has been shrunk to three micrograms, though initial trials showed that three and four year olds had little immune response to the smaller jab. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla (pictured) has been paid $45 million in compensation over the past two years, banking on the successful rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines Meanwhile, it was revealed on Tuesday that Pfizer's vaccine was the best selling pharmaceutical drug in the world in 2021 - nearly doubling the revenue figures of all products across the entire market. A report published by Fierce Pharma finds that the Pfizer vaccine, a joint project with the German company BioNTech that is officially branded under the name Comirnaty, made $36.8 billion worth of sales last year, topping the entire global drug market by a large margin. Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, meanwhile, has been paid over $45 million in compensation over the past two years as well, according to multiple reports. His 'golden parachute', money he will be paid out should he be forced from the company if it is acquired, is believed to be upwards of $100 million as well. When asked for comment, a Pfizer spokesperson explained the company's financial arrangement with BioNTech. 'The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine collaboration is a 50/50 gross profit split; development costs are shared equally. Pfizer and BioNTech each book revenues in the markets where each company controls commercialization,' they said. 'Pfizer books the vast majority of the global collaboration revenue, except for Germany and Turkey where we receive a profit share (50/50 gross split) from BioNTech. We do not participate in the China region.' Advertisement Police have described the scene inside a medical building in Tulsa where a gunman shot dead four people before turning the gun on himself as 'catastrophic'. City Council Jayme Fowler told reporters that the shooter, who has not been identified but is 35 years old, was looking for 'Dr Phillips' when he burst into the Natalie Building at St Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Wednesday. Police confirmed that the gunman, who was armed with both a rifle and a handgun, killed four people before he turned the gun on himself. It is not clear if the doctor the gunman targeted was among the victims. Captain Richard Meulenberg of the Tulsa Police Department told reporters: 'It's a catastrophic scene in there right now.' Authorities were also investigating if the gunman planted a bomb at a residence in Muskogee but said no explosives were found in the house following a search. Scroll Down For Video Captain Richard Meulenberg of the Tulsa Police Department told reporters: 'It's a catastrophic scene in there right now' At least five people, including the gunman by self-inflicted gunshot, were killed in a shooting at Natalie Building at St Francis Hospital in Tulsa Police tape outside of the Natalie Medical Building in Tulsa as police respond to a shooting that killed five people Family members hug as they are reunited at Memorial High School after being evacuated from the scene of a shooting at the Natalie Medical Building The Tulsa Police Department seen outside a Saint Francis medical building in Tulsa responding to a shooting on Wednesday afternoon Large police presence outside of Natalie Building at St Francis Hospital in Tulsa on Wednesday A woman cries while talking on the phone outside at Memorial High School where people were evacuated from the scene Tulsa police responded to the scene of the shooting within minutes and arrived while the shooting was ongoing, Deputy Chief Eric Dalgleish (pictured) said at a press conference Tulsa police responded to the scene of the shooting within minutes and arrived while the shooting was ongoing, Deputy Chief Eric Dalgleish said at a press conference. 'The officers that did arrive were hearing shots in the building, and that's what directed them to the second floor,' he said. St. Francis Health System locked down its campus Wednesday afternoon because of the situation at the Natalie Medical Building, an outpatient surgery center and a breast health center. Once gunfire ceased authorities searched the building 'floor by floor, room by room,' Captain Meulenberg said. Aerial footage from a TV helicopter appeared to show first responders wheeling someone on a stretcher away from the hospital building. Police said they are still working on identifying the the gunman and although they have not elaborated on the gunman's motivation, Captain Richard Meulenberg told reporters: 'It wasn't random' 'This wasn't an individual who just decided he wanted to go find a hospital full of random people. He deliberately made a choice to come here and his actions were deliberate,' he added. 'There will obviously be many questions, and there will be a very bumpy road, I think, ahead of us,' St. Francis Health System CEO Dr. Cliff Robertson said, adding that the shooting was a 'senseless, horrible, incomprehensible act.' President Biden was briefed on the shooting and said the White House was monitoring the situation. 'The White House is closely monitoring the situation and has reached out to state and local officials to offer support,' officials said in a statement. Oklahoma Republican Governor Kevin Stit also released a statement condemning the 'senseless' shooting and said he is offering Mayor G.T. Bynum any state resources that he may need. 'What happened today in Tulsa is a senseless act of violence and hatred. Sarah and I are praying for the families of those who lost their lives and for those who were injured. I am grateful for the quick and brave actions of the Tulsa Police Department and other first responders who did their best to contain a terrible situation,' he said. 'I have offered Mayor G.T. Bynum any state resources that may be needed, and I ask all Oklahomans to come together in support of the Saint Francis Health System community and to grieve with those whose lives have been forever changed,' Stit added. The mass shooting comes just eight days after an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 students and two teachers before authorities shot and killed him The tragic shooting has reignited the conversation around gun control. House Democrats are already planning a vote next week on 'red flag' legislation, which allows a judge to ban dangerous individuals from having a firearm, and the Judiciary committee is holding an emergency session on Thursday to mark up right gun-violence bills, which includes measures to raise the minimum age for buying certain weapons to 21. While Republicans see improving security at schools and tackling mental health problems as a more pressing need than restricting the availability of guns. The Tulsa Police Department arrives at the Saint Francis medical building following reports of the shooting A swamp of police arrive to the scene of a shooting at the Saint Francis hospital campus, Tulsa police asked residents to avoid the area as they responded to calls of an active shooter Pictured: A map showing the states that saw the highest number of gun violence deaths over the weekend, that saw more than 150 people killed in total across the United States Gun violence continues to soar across the country as more than 150 people were killed across America during Memorial Day weekend There were at least 14 'mass shootings' across the US over the weekend, from early Friday morning to late on Monday, according to the Gun Violence Archive, an institute tracking shootings in the country. At least nine people were killed in the mass shootings and more than 60 people were injured, according to the Archive, which defines mass shootings as an incident where at least four people are shot and injured or killed, not including any shooter. Overall, gun violence over the Memorial Day weekend saw 156 people killed and 412 injured. Philadelphia and Chicago saw the worst of the shootings with 20 fatally shot, with 12 killed in Pennsylvania's largest city and 8 killed in the Windy City. In Oklahoma, a 26-year-old man opened fire at a Memorial Day festival in a mass shooting, killing a 39-year-old woman and injuring seven victims. Lee Jun-seok, center in front row, chairman of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), claps as exit poll results appear on TV on Thursday after voting for the local and by-elections ended. Other ranking PPP members, who gathered at the National Assembly, celebrated as the party was predicted to win the elections. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul PPP grabs 12 out of 17 governor, mayoral posts By Ko Dong-hwan The ruling People Power Party (PPP) has scored a landslide victory in Wednesday's local elections, as its candidates defeated their opponents in most key regions. According to votes counted as of 6:50 a.m. Thursday, with more than 99 percent of votes counted nationwide on average, PPP candidates won in 12 out of 17 elections to select metropolitan mayors and provincial governors. The PPP's Seoul mayoral candidate, Oh Se-hoon, defeated DPK candidate Song Young-gil. Oh scored 59 percent, compared to Song's 39 percent. The ruling party's Incheon mayoral candidate, Yoo Jeong-bok won over the DPK's Park Nam-choon by securing more than 51 percent. Park's rate was 44 percent. Kim Eun-hye, the PPP's candidate in the Gyeonggi gubernatorial election, lost by a narrow margin to former Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon of the DPK. The Gyeonggi election had emerged as the battleground later in the election as polls found the two Kims were in a tight race within the margin of error. Some polls found the PPP's Kim was behind the DPK's candidate. But the public's opinion of the two candidates revealed in Election Day voting told a different story. DPK candidates won the key posts in only five regions -- Gyeonggi, North and South Jeolla Provinces, Gwangju and Jeju. The results are slightly different from exit poll results released after voting ended at 7:30 p.m. which projected the DPK winning four out of the 17 elections and the PPP winning 10. The poll forecast three other elections were too close to call to project winners as the candidates of the two parties were neck in neck within the margin of error. The three were Gyeonggi, Sejong and Daejeon. The exit poll was taken by the Korean Broadcasters' Association (KBA) in collaboration with three broadcasters, KBS, SBS and MBC, and the results were made public simultaneously at 7:30 p.m. when voting for COVID-19 patients ended. The exit poll showed the PPP beat the DPK for the mayoral posts in Seoul, Incheon, Busan, Ulsan and Daegu, and for the provincial governor posts in South Gyeongsang, North Gyeongsang, South Chungcheong, North Chungcheong and Gangwon. The PPP's Busan mayoral candidate, Park Hyeong-joon, beat the DPK's Byun Sung-wan 66.9 percent to 32.2 percent. The PPP's Daegu mayoral candidate, Hong Joon-pyo, defeated the DPK's Seo Jae-heon 79.4 percent to 18.4 percent. The DPK beat the PPP for the mayoral posts in Gwangju, and for the provincial governor posts in South Jeolla, North Jeolla and Jeju Special Self-governing Province. The DPK's Gwangju mayoral candidate Kang Ki-jung defeated his PPP rival Joo Gi-hwan 77.4 percent to 15.4 percent, and the DPK's Jeju governor candidate Oh Young-hun defeated the PPP's Huh Hyang-jin 56.5 percent to 39.1 percent. Voter turnout hits lowest since 2002 Ex-supporters explain why they 'walked away' from Democratic Party Voting for new mayors, governors [PHOTOS] The exit poll outcome, tilted heavily towards the PPP, has shown a contrary picture compared to the local elections in 2018 when the DPK candidates took victories in 14 out of 17 governor and mayoral posts in the local elections. The exit poll also showed that two former presidential candidates the DPK's Lee Jae-myung and the PPP's Ahn Cheol-soo - are highly expected to make a political comeback through the by-elections held along with Wednesday's local elections. The DPK's Lee, who lost to President Yoon Suk-yeol in a close margin in the March election this year, beat the PPP's Yoon Hyeong-seon 55.24 percent to 44.75 percent in the by-election for a parliamentary seat representing Gyeyang-B District in Incheon. The PPP's Ahn, who ran for a parliamentary seat representing Bundang-A District in Seongnam, trumped the DPK's Kim Byoung-gwan 64 percent to 36 percent in the by-election. For education chief posts, the exit poll projected liberal candidates will win constituencies in Seoul, Ulsan, Sejong, , Gwangju, South Chungcheong, North Jeolla and South Jeolla, whereas conservative candidates will claim victories in constituencies in Daejeon, Daegu, North Gyeongsang, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, North Chungcheong and Jeju. It was too close to call in Incheon, South Gyeongsang and Busan. From left are Park Ji-hyun, interim co-leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), Lee Jae-myung of the DPK who ran in the by-election in Incheon's Gyeyang-B electoral district, Yun Ho-jung, interim co-leader of the party, and its floor leader Park Hong-keun. They look devastated as exit poll results appear on TV at the National Assembly on Thursday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk The ranking lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party gathered at the National Assembly Library at 7 p.m. on Wednesday to watch the ballot count together. The ruling party politicians jumped and hugged each other as they watched the exit poll outcome. "The exit poll result came out largely as we expected," PPP chairman Lee Jun-seok said. "We, however, found it somewhat disappointing with what our candidates achieved in Gyeyang-B and Jeju." Rep. Yun Ho-jung and Park Ji-hyun, the interim leaders of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), gathered at the National Assembly at 7:30 p.m. to watch together the country's TV broadcasters reporting exit polls followed by a live ballot count. Lee Jae-myung, the party's chief of the election management committee, who also ran for a parliamentary seat in Gyeyang-B District in the Incheon by-election, also joined. The DPK politicians largely appeared in a grief after the exit poll result came out. Rep. Yun, when asked by a reporter at the National Assembly if the exit poll outcome was what he expected, nodded. "I appreciate all who voted," Yun said, adding he will be monitoring the ballot count that is expected to continue until Thursday morning. Park said the exit poll result came out "worse than I expectedIt's kind of a huge blow." If ballot count results come out similar to the exit poll that projected victory for the ruling party in majority of the mayoral and governor posts, it is expected to give a major boost to the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. According to the National Election Commission, voter turnout was tentatively tallied at 50.9 percent as of 7:30 p.m., which translates to over 22.5 million voters. The figure is the lowest since the 2010 elections. About 44.3 million of the nation's people were eligible to vote in the country's eighth local elections and some 127,000 are permanent residents of foreign nationality according to the election watcdog. These voters have earned the right to vote in Korea's local elections due to living here for at least three years, after obtaining permanent resident status. Approximately 79 percent of these 127,000 voters are of Chinese nationality. Foreign national permanent residents fitting the eligibility criteria are allowed to vote in local elections only, not in presidential elections or legislative elections. Voters cast their ballots in over 14,000 polling stations nationwide, from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. Those infected with COVID-19 were allowed to vote from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. This year's local elections were also held to select 226 heads of city districts and local county offices nationwide, 872 seats in city and provincial councils, 2,988 seats in lower-level local councils. By-elections were simultaneously held in seven electoral districts in Daegu, Incheon, Seongnam, Wonju, Changwon, Seocheon County and Jeju City, alongside the local elections. A woman accused of organising a hit against her ex-lover allegedly confessed to organising the murder to a man she tried to get pregnant to just months after her husband died in the bungled assassination. Biannca Edmunds, 35, is accused of ordering Glen Cassidy to murder Michael Caposiena - the estranged father of her toddler son - after he expressed a desire to continue access visits with their child. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Victoria heard claims Edmunds spilled her guts to a man she met on Tinder just weeks after her husband's death. Biannca Edmunds has been accused of directing her husband Glen Cassidy (both pictured) to kill Michael Caposiena Biannca Edmunds leaves the Supreme Court of Victoria last week Glen Cassidy's blood on the porch outside the house where he shot dead Mr Caposiena. He bled to death after attacking Silvana Silva Cassidy had bled to death after shooting Mr Caposiena dead inside his West Meadows home, north of Melbourne, in March 2016. His bloody body was found outside the murder house next to a cap captioned 'Fear The Reaper'. Edmunds has pleaded not guilty to the murder. Todd Bookham - who did almost eight years jail time for cutting his former wife's throat and stabbing her step sister in front of her six-year old son - hooked-up with Edmunds, a mother of three, just weeks after the killings. The jury heard Edmunds had told Bookham, who had been free on parole at the time, that Cassidy had died a year earlier from cancer. Within weeks of meeting, the pair decided to have a baby together. 'We were trying to have a child for a while. Um, she had an ectopic pregnancy, lost the - lost the first child,' Bookham said. The jury heard Edmunds would give birth to her third child with another man in August 2017 after breaking up with Bookham. The court heard Bookham learnt Cassidy had died in the bungled assassination within three to four months after the event. 'I confronted her with what I'd read on the internet. She pretty much said to me that if she had told me that at the start of the relationship, we probably never would have got together and she needed a father figure for her kids to be around,' Bookham told the jury. The jury heard Edmunds rang Bookham one day telling him that detectives had raided his Bendigo home. Upon release from custody, Edmunds allegedly confessed to Bookham that she had planned the execution of her ex-lover. Biannca Edmunds is accused of ordering a brutal hit against her former partner in an effort to keep him out of their child's life By then, Edmunds was certain police knew she had sent the text message from Cassidy's phone in which he supposedly accepted sole responsibility for his actions. Detectives were also sure Edmunds had provided the map of Mr Caposiena's home, which was found in Cassidy's possessions at the crime scene. 'They're trying to get me on a text message ... that I sent to Glen. I got Glen to send to and they're - and they're onto that,' Edmunds allegedly told Bookham. 'And they're going to get me anyway and they even know about the map and they know all this stuff and I'm just going to hand myself in.' Bookham told the jury Edmunds was hysterical when she grabbed a knife and put it to her own throat. 'She just said she's had enough of all this, like police harassing her and stuff like that. And she wanted to go and hand herself in,' he told the jury. Bookham claimed Edmunds admitted Cassidy had died because of her. 'She was going on about how Glen wasn't meant to die and it's all her fault ... she was telling me that they had drawn a map so that if he was to go there and, and kill um, sorry, what's his name?' Bookham said. Edmunds had detailed access points to the house, where the street lights were and where barking dogs were located, Bookham claimed. At 12.45pm on the day of the murder, Edmunds claimed Cassidy had texted her outlining his plans. Fear The Reaper: a cap found at the bloody crime scene The knife used by Mr Caposiena to stab Glen Cassidy seconds before he was shot through the head Michael Caposiena died after he was shot in the head in March 2016 The jury has been shown numerous text messages sent by Cassidy - most of which indicate he could hardly string a word together. Bookham told the jury Edmunds admitted to him that she had written that text message. 'They were on to me about this and I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm going to hand myself in because obviously they know I've written it,' Edmunds allegedly told Bookham. 'She kept telling me just like "I killed him. It's my fault".' Bookham claimed Edmunds had her keys in hand ready to drive back to the police station and surrender before he talked her out of it. He claimed Edmunds had plotted the murder out of fear Mr Caposiena would get custody of their two-year old son. 'She had enough of it and if Glen wasn't going to do something about it, then she was going to leave him,' Bookham said. Under cross examination by Edmunds' barrister John Kelly, SC, on Wednesday it was revealed Bookham later wrote a letter to Edmunds saying he would retract his 11-page police statement if she could prove her third child wasn't his. 'She didn't even reply,' Bookham told the court. The court heard Bookham remained convinced to this day the child was his despite Edmunds providing him with IVF paperwork declaring the child was that of her dead partner Cassidy. It took detectives almost a year to charge Edmunds with the murder following a series of supposed blunders, including confiscating the wrong laptop from her home and failing to adequately analyse Cassidy's mobile phone. The laptop, Bookham claimed, contained security footage on it of Cassidy leaving the house on the day of the murder. Biannca Edmunds (right) remains free on bail. She is pictured leaving the Supreme Court of Victoria on Wednesday Glen Cassidy had left a chicken schnitzel dinner in his car on the night he killed his wife's ex-lover The jury heard last week Edmunds is accused of manipulating Cassidy to do her alleged evil bidding by using a deadly mix of scathing abuse and kinky sex. 'If you were a real man and you had any f**king balls, you'd go and deal with this bloke,' Edmunds allegedly told Cassidy. 'You're a spineless coward. You're not a real man at all.' The jury heard Edmunds also had plans to profit from her ex-partner's demise by making a cruel legal challenge on his estate on behalf of their child. The jury has heard harrowing evidence about the night Mr Caposiena was shot dead in his own home. Silvana Silva and Mr Caposiena had been watching tv when Cassidy knocked on the door armed with a revolver. 'I only had eyes to the gun. I was - I was - I was petrified when I saw the gun, I couldn't move, I couldn't - I couldn't think straight, I couldn't do anything,' Ms Silva said last week. The jury was shown bloody crime scene video and images of the aftermath of the pair's final battle. Ms Silva alleged Cassidy had pushed her partner back and pointed the revolver at his head. While she never saw Mr Caposiena repeatedly plunge the knife into his attacker in his last moments of life, the jury was shown Cassidy's corpse sprawled across the footpath just outside the home. He had succumbed to massive blood loss after attempting to pulverise Ms Silva to death with his empty gun. The trial continues. Nearly half of landlords have offered financial support to cash-strapped tenants, according to new research. The survey of 729 landlords found that 44 per cent have come to some form of financial rescue for their tenants. It suggested that landlords have been able to swallow a 7.6 per cent reduction in rent on average. It equates to around 50 a month for each rental property they own. A total of 44% of landlords have come to the financial rescue of their tenants, according to a new study The survey was carried out by Nationwide Building Society's The Landlord Works - a platform to help landlords manage their portfolios - between March 6 and March 24. It asked landlords what financial support, if any, they had given tenants in the past year, along with how they intended to offer support in the future. While many are able to reduce rents, 45 per cent of landlords confirmed that any reduction would harm them financially. And 38 per cent said they intend to keep rents the same for the next year despite the financial challenges. More than half - at 55 per cent - said they need to increase rents in the next 12 months, with one in four planning to raise rents on all of their properties. Landlords with larger portfolios are more likely to increase rents on at least some of their properties, the survey reveals. Three quarters of those who own more than 10 properties aim to increase their rents over the next 12 months, compared to only 44 per cent of those owning between one and three properties. A total of 46 per cent of those landlords with a small portfolio plan to keep rents the same. Where are people getting more help? There are regional differences, with 68 per cent of landlords in Yorkshire & The Humber most likely to increase rents on some or all of their properties in the next year. It is followed by those in outer London at 65 per cent, the North West at 63 per cent and Wales at 63 per cent. Despite the plan to increase rents, 57 per cent of landlords are concerned about whether tenants can maintain their rental payments, with 13 per cent admitting they are very concerned. It increases to 74 per cent of landlords who let to claimants of Local Housing Allowance and 71 per cent of landlords who let to retired people. Landlords in East Midlands appear to be the most concerned about the ability of their tenants to pay rent, at 74 per cent. It is followed by 70 per cent of landlords in Wales and 62 per cent in Yorkshire and the Humber. Meanwhile, only 32 per cent of landlords in central London are worried about receiving their rent. The survey suggests that landlords have been able to typically reduce rents by around 50 a month In terms of the support offered to tenants by 44 per cent of landlords, temporary reductions and rental payment holidays are the most common options. The survey suggested that 22 per cent provided a temporary rent reduction, 15 per cent offered a payment holiday and 4 per cent offered a permanent reduction in rent. Only 3 per cent of these landlords lent money to support their tenants' day-to-day living costs. Larger reductions in rent Landlords with smaller portfolios were found to be able to reduce rents by a slightly higher amount. Compared to the average of 7.6 per cent for all landlord types, those with one property can reduce by an average of 8.7 per cent, while those this two or three properties are able to reduce rents by 9.3 per cent. Of those who could reduce rents, 47 per cent said they could keep the reduction going for between three and six months. The 60 per cent of landlords making a full-time living from their lettings activity, and the 51 per cent who are retired are more likely to say they could sustain the rent reduction for more than six months. Some landlords - including some of those who are retired - have been able to reduce rents for more than six months Paul Wootton, of The Landlord Works, said: 'Landlords are facing a real dilemma at the moment in dealing with the continued rising cost of living. It's great to see such a high proportion of landlords feel a sense of responsibility towards supporting these tenants during these challenging times 'On the one hand, there is a need to ensure they can cover the increasing costs associated with their properties and ensure they are following the market. However, as our research demonstrates, they are also acutely aware of the financial challenges facing their tenants. 'It's great to see such a high proportion of landlords feel a sense of responsibility towards supporting these tenants during these challenging times. 'And in a lot of cases, this sentiment has been met by financial support for their tenants over the last twelve months. 'While we will see rents rise over the coming months in many cases, we can also expect landlords to offer continued support at what is a tough time for many.' It comes after property website Zoopla highlighted the financial strain that tenants are under. Its research found that there is a significant increase in the proportion of gross income spent on rent. This is particularly the case in London where it has risen to a significant 52 per cent for a single earner, a level not seen since March 2020. It falls to 26 per cent for sharers and means that a new let agreed for an average rent in London will cost more than 20,000 in rent during the next 12 months. Smart home devices from companies such as Amazon and Google can be hacked and used to crash websites, steal data and snoop on users, an investigation reveals. Consumer group Which? has found poor security on eight smart devices, some of which are no longer supported with vital security updates due to their age. Examples include the first generation Amazon Echo smart speaker, released in 2014, and a Virgin Media internet router from 2017. All of the products had vulnerabilities that could leave users exposed to cybercriminals, Which? found. Domestic abuse survivors can also be tracked and controlled by ex-partners who exploit weak security on devices including Wi-Fi routers and security cameras. For its investigation, Which? purchased eight products from different brands and set them all up in a simulated home before inviting 'ethical hackers' to attack them. In total, Which? found 37 vulnerabilities across the eight test devices, including 12 rated as high risk and one rated as critical Smart home devices from companies such as Amazon and Google can be hacked and used to crash websites, steal data and snoop on users, an investigation reveals. The first generation Amazon Echo smart speaker (pictured) was released in 2014 In total, Which? found 37 vulnerabilities across the eight test devices, including 12 rated as high risk and one rated as critical. The London-based consumer champion now says the UK government should set out minimum periods of time smart products must receive vital security support for. THE EIGHT SMART HOME PRODUCTS - Amazon Echo smart speaker (first-gen) - Google Nest Hello video doorbell - Samsung Galaxy S8 Android smartphone - Virgin Media Super Hub 2 - Liv Cam baby monitor - Philips TV - HP Deskjet inkjet printer - Wemo smart plug Advertisement 'Our latest investigation highlights the real-life dangers posed by smart products from some of the biggest tech brands that are no longer adequately protected from cybercriminals,' said Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy. 'These weaknesses can lead to significant economic damage, but it is chilling to think that they can also be exploited by domestic abusers.' For its investigation, Which? purchased eight products from different brands and set them all up in a simulated home before inviting 'ethical hackers' to attack them. Ethical hackers penetrate a computer systems or networks on behalf of its owners, and with their permission, often for the purposes of research. As well as the first generation Amazon Echo and the Google doorbell, the list included the Samsung Galaxy S8 Android smartphone, the Wemo smart plug and the Liv Cam baby monitor. Which? selected these products because they are likely to be sitting in the homes of thousands of consumers, even though they are not newly-released. Some of these products had been abandoned by the manufacturer within five years since their launch. For example, the first generation Amazon Echo smart speaker lost security support in autumn 2021, Which? said. Using a pre-existing vulnerability, researchers were able to exploit a physical attack giving remote control over Amazon's device. In real life, an attacker could steal user data and even stream the device's live microphone, all without the user knowing. In response, an Amazon spokesperson said: 'Privacy and security are foundational to how we design and deliver devices, features, and experiences. 'We released a fix for this issue for 2nd generation Echo devices in 2017, and all newer Echo devices are not impacted by this issue.' The spokesperson also said there are factors that 'decrease the real-world likelihood of this issue impacting customers'. A malicious actor needs to be in possession of a first generation Echo device and have the ability to access the device hardware, as well as the skills to install an external memory reader on the device, for example. Samsung Galaxy S8 Android smartphone (pictured) was easily infected with malware which could lead to data theft, tracking and spam adverts, Which? found Using a Google Nest Hello video doorbell (pictured) hackers were able to spam the device with requests so that it was knocked offline Is Alexa turning into HAL? Amazon says its virtual assistant is becoming more 'proactive' Amazon is working to improve the sophistication of its Alexa virtual assistant so that it can make decisions for itself, the company has revealed. The US tech giant claims the technology will learn about its owner's habits and perform tasks such as switching off lights or turning on the TV without even being asked. Some of the company's new model Echo speaker devices, which have Alexa built into them, include an ultrasound motion detection function to automatically sense when a person enters the room. The company also recently unveiled an Alexa-powered home robot called Astro, which has been designed to be a security device as well as help with caregiving. The proposals evoke echoes of HAL 9000, the sentient artificial intelligence which featured in the sci-fi novel and film 2001: A Space Odyssey. HAL was initially a benign source of information and a caretaker for the systems on the Discovery One spacecraft, but it eventually became autonomous, refusing commands and threatening the crew. Read more Advertisement Meanwhile, on a Google Nest Hello video doorbell, hackers were able to spam the device with requests so that it was knocked offline. An attacker could use this to stop the user's doorbell from recording if they want to approach the owner's home. Google has told MailOnline that this issue with the Google Nest Hello has been resolved. According to Google's website, this device is being supported by security updates until beyond 2023, which is five years after it was released. 'Google Nest connected home devices will receive automatic security updates for at least five years from the date that we start selling them on the US Google Store,' Google says. 'Security updates will address critical issues known to Google Nest that are able to be patched with a remote software update.' Samsung's Galaxy S8 Android smartphone, which stopped being supported with security updates in April 2021, was easily infected with malware, which could lead to data theft, tracking and spam adverts. Researchers infected it with Flubot malware, disguised as a DHL delivery text, that within 10 seconds leads to access to the phone owner's data. This could mean banking and financial information, credit card details and passwords from text messages being sent all over the internet. The attack would have been better blocked or detected by a device that was still receiving security updates, Which? said. Ethical hackers could also compromise the unsupported Virgin Media Super Hub 2 router, already found by Which? to be at risk back in 2017. Gaining control of the device allows criminals to access people's Wi-Fi, monitor what websites they were visiting and mount attacks on other connected devices. Any Virgin customers still using the Super Hub 2 should request a new router for free through Virgin's app or they can contact customer services. The Liv Cam baby monitor stopped being sold by popular baby products brand, Summer Infant, in early 2020 but it can still be found on second-hand online marketplaces. The monitor partners with an app that was last updated in September 2016. Any Virgin customers still using the Super Hub 2 router (pictured) should request an upgrade, according to Which? Which? found minor issues with an HP Deskjet inkjet printer, but much more serious problems with a Wemo smart plug (pictured), both of which are believed to still be receiving updates Which? researchers were able to retrieve the camera's password and access the video and the audio feed. This product uses an open Wi-Fi network, meaning it would be possible for a neighbour to snoop on the baby monitor, or even talk to the child. A Philips TV, which is supposed to still be supported with updates, could be hacked using an easily guessable default password. Anyone within range could connect to the TV to access information on the user or could even put an image on the screen pretending to be from Netflix. This could direct the homeowner to a phishing URL where they are encouraged to re-enter their account or payment details. Which? found minor issues with an HP Deskjet inkjet printer, but much more serious problems with a Wemo smart plug, both of which are believed to still be receiving updates. In response, HP said in a statement: 'We value the work Which? is doing to raise awareness around printer security and industry-wide design challenges. 'To protect against continually evolving security risks, HP recommends customers set strong, unique passwords and use auto firmware updates to best secure their devices. 'HP is committed to advancing our existing and future products to be the most secure in the industry.' Which? has shared its findings with Philips and Wemo, but neither had supplied a comment by the time of publication. The consumer group is hopeful that the governments Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PSTI) Bill, now making its way through parliament, will make firms state clearly hoe long they will support smart products. Which? is calling for assurances that products will be clearly labelled with exactly how long they will last, rather than vague terms like 'up to' five years of support, or 'lifetime updates'. The consumer champion also wants the government to introduce mandatory minimum periods for how long different types of smart products must be supported, which will have to differ depending on the device. As we head into a sunny bank holiday weekend, be sure to check the expiry date of your sun cream. Over one million Brits are slathering on sunblock from a bottle over a decade old - despite the fact that most only remain effective for between six months and two years. A study, conducted by King Edward VII's Hospital in London, found that sunbathers have a rather cavalier attitude towards sun protection in general. In a survey of over 2,000 adults, nine per cent admitted to only wearing sun cream when on holiday abroad, while five per cent wrongly believe they don't need to wear sun protection at all. Over a million Brits are using sun cream over a ten years old, a study has found. Most creams will only remain effective up to between six months and two years old (stock image) SUN SAFETY TIPS FOR THE BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND Use in-date SPF - Check the expiry date on the packaging, or throw out last year's bottles and replace with new ones Cover your whole body - Use sun cream all over your body including eyelids, scalps and feet, and cover up with light clothing, hats and sunglasses to boost your protection when out and about Don't underestimate the British sun - Using sun protection shouldn't just be reserved for holidays and trips abroad; try to use SPF every day, particularly on your neck and face, and even in overcast weather If you do get burnt, cool down your body with a cold compress - A cool shower and/or a wet towel placed on the affected area will pull heat away from the site of the burn and help ease inflammation. Once cooled, you can add a moisturiser, such as Aloe Vera, to soothe the skin Advertisement Dr Catherine Borysiewicz, a dermatology consultant, said: 'Sun protection is vital, whether you're in the UK or abroad, and irrespective of your skin colour. 'Sun creams and sprays provide the necessary protection from skin damage to potentially long-term or even fatal conditions. 'It is also important to purchase new sun protection each year, as creams do expire and will become less effective.' The quest to look social media perfect is a worrying factor, as 17 per cent of study participants admitted to feeling pressure from influencers and celebrities to be tanned. Nearly a quarter also agreed they don't feel good without a sun tan. The search for sun-kissed skin is causing Brits to take dangerous risks, with 29 per cent admitting to using a sun bed in the past. One in ten had tried potentially dangerous tanning products, such as Melanotan-2, to darken their skin, using it either as an injection or nasal spray. These products work by replicating the alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone in your body, and stimulating the production of the pigment melanin in your skin cells. They have been linked to dangerous conditions like renal failure and melanoma. Sadly, 11 per cent of respondents agreed they would be willing to risk skin cancer if it meant having a tan. 'It's extremely concerning to see the lengths people are going to just to achieve a sun tan,' added Dr Borysiewicz. Dr Catherine Borysiewicz (pictured) said that 'it is also important to purchase new sun protection each year, as creams do expire and will become less effective' 'Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer but many patients could have prevented their diagnosis by taking greater care of their skin. 'The rise in popularity of tanning products, like Melanotan-2 that can be taken as nasal spray or injection is very worrying. 'These products are potentially very dangerous and have been linked to cancer. 'Really, the only safe way to achieve an all over, year-round tan, without the health risks is using fake tan.' Stand down, beanstalks and giant vegetables - the world's largest plant has been discovered. An Australian seagrass meadow has been announced as the biggest plant in the world, and is at least as old as Egypt's great pyramids. The aquatic ribbon weed covers about 77 square miles (200 square kilometres) of Shark Bay in Western Australia and has been hiding in plain sight. It was long believed to be a collection of genetically varied individuals, but tests have revealed that, genetically speaking, it is all one entity. The humongous plant, Posidonia australis, began life about 4,500 years ago when the ancient Egyptians were building the pyramids at Giza. There are older seagrasses and terrestrial plants elsewhere in the world, but none are believed to be as large as this. The record-breaking aquatic ribbon weed covers about 77 square miles (200 square kilometres) of Shark Bay in Western Australia Map of Shark Bay, Gathaagudu, Western Australia showing distribution of dense and sparse persistent seagrass cover in 2016 and study sample points (1 - Sandy Point, Dirk Hartog Island; 2 - Middle Bluff; 3 - Fowlers Camp; 4 - Nanga Bay; 5 - White Island; 6 - Herald Bight; 7 - Guischenault Point; 8 - Monkey Mia; 9 - Dubaut Point; 10 - Faure Sill) SHARK BAY SEAGRASS Seagrasses are marine plants that produce roots and flowers like land plants They grow in shallow coastal waters with lots of light and sandy or muddy bottoms Shark Bay is buffered from ocean swells that could break the plant apart, and help it tolerate a wide range of temperatures and salinities The meadows also grow in lines parallel to prevailing currents These growing conditions result in the seagrass producing about eight million tonnes of leaf material each year Twelve of the worlds 60 species of seagrass are found in Shark Bay, with wireweed and ribbonweed being the two most common The seagrass banks at the bay are the biggest in the world Many species depend on seagrass, including a large dugong population that moves between different meadows during the year Source: Sharkbay.org Seagrass supports marine life like dugongs, turtles and dolphins as well as thousands of fish species (stock image) Advertisement Flinders University ecologist Dr Martin Breed co-authored a recently published study on the ribbon weed that explains its extraordinary longevity. 'It's like someone's lawn. It grows through rhizomes, these underground suckers, and then it pops up and green shoots appear,' he said. 'What we've observed in Shark Bay is essentially an extremely large lawn that has expanded and grown across a very large area. 'There are some parts of the lawn that have died but there's lots of parts that are still alive.' The study's senior author, University of Western Australia (UWA) evolutionary biologist Dr Elizabeth Sinclair, said the ribbon weed is a polyploid, meaning it has twice as many chromosomes as its oceanic relatives. And that could explain its durability. 'Polyploid plants often reside in places with extreme environmental conditions, are often sterile, but can continue to grow if left undisturbed, and this giant seagrass has done just that,' she said. 'Even without successful flowering and seed production, it appears to be really resilient, experiencing a wide range of temperatures and salinities plus extreme high light conditions, which together would typically be highly stressful for most plants.' The flowers of Ribbonweed are bisexual and self-pollinating. Floating fruits eventually split open and release seeds which sink and germinate in the sand. UWA student researcher Jane Edgeloe said researchers sampled seagrass shoots from across Shark Bay's variable environments and generated a 'fingerprint' using 18,000 genetic markers. She said they were blown away to realise the huge expanse was just one plant - the largest known to exist on earth. 'The existing 200 square kilometres of ribbon weed meadows appear to have expanded from a single, colonising seedling,' she said. Researchers have now set up a series of experiments in Shark Bay to understand how the plant survives and thrives under such variable conditions. Dr Breed said the plant, which provides vital habitat for dolphins, dugongs and fish, took a big hit in 2010 and 2011 when a marine heatwave struck, pushing water temperatures 39.2F (4C) above average. But it has bounced back, and that is cause for optimism in the face of increasing stresses caused by climate change. The Shark Bay ribbon weed was long believed to be a collection of genetically varied individuals, but tests have revealed today that, genetically speaking, it is all one entity 'It seems to have a way to hunker down and have the genetic toolkit to survive, no matter what conditions have been thrown at it so far,' he said. The research has been published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Extreme weather events caused by climate change are unfortunately threatening the seagrass. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology says the country has warmed on average by 34.5F (1.4C) since 1910 as a result of climate change, increasing the risk of extreme weather events. From 2010 to 2011, Western Australia experienced a marine heatwave that saw temperatures rise by up to 41F (5C) in some coastal waters, according to UWA. In Shark Bay, around 36 per cent of the seagrass was damaged by this heatwave, with the ecosystem still recovering today. Through its destruction it likely released some of its "locked in" carbon, affecting the animals it supports like dugongs, turtles and dolphins as well as thousands of fish species. The UWA research team have been working with the indigenous rangers of Shark Bay, the Malgana, to figure out how best to restore seagrass in the areas that were most affected. A mind-boggling optical illusion can trick the brain into thinking a static black hole is expanding, researchers have shown. This 'expanding hole' illusion, which is new to science, has been created by Professor Akiyoshi Kitaoka, a psychologist at Ritsumeikan University in Kobe, Japan. In tests, 86 per cent of volunteers perceived the central black hole to be expanding, as if moving into a dark environment like a tunnel, or falling into a hole. The image is so good at deceiving our brain that it prompts dilation of the pupils, just as would happen if we were really moving into a dark area. Have a look at this image. Do you perceive that the central black hole is expanding, as if youre moving into a dark environment, or falling into a hole? The 'expanding hole' is an illusion new to science, researchers say HOW DOES THE ILLUSION WORK? The 'expanding hole illusion' shows a central black hole expanding, as if the viewer is moving into a dark environment, or falling into a hole. The circular central black hole evokes an impression of optic flow - experiencing motion through what we see. According to the researchers, as people see the image, the pupil tends to dilate (get bigger) as a way of letting in more light. This happens when we become aware that we're about to enter a dark space, such as when we're in a car that's about to enter a dark tunnel. Advertisement According to the researchers, as people see the image, the pupil tends to dilate (get bigger) as a way of letting in more light. This happens when we become aware that we're about to enter a dark space, such as when we're in a car that's about to enter a dark tunnel. The illusion also occurs regardless of the size of the image, even if it is very small, and also if it is a different colour. 'The "expanding hole" is a highly dynamic illusion,' said Professor Bruno Laeng, who ran the experiments at the University of Oslo's Department of Psychology. 'The circular smear or shadow gradient of the central black hole evokes a marked impression of optic flow, as if the observer were heading forward into a hole or tunnel.' Professor Kitaoka, who created the image, is well known as a creator of optical illusions, including the famous Rotating Snakes illusion and the 'Asahi' brightness illusion. The Asahi illusion has a central region that looks more luminous than its white background, even though it is the same white everywhere. To test the effectiveness of the new image, the researchers recruited 50 people with healthy vision between the ages of 18 and 41 years. Professor Kitaoka is already known as a creator of optical illusions, including the famous Rotating Snakes illusion and the 'Asahi' brightness illusion (pictured). The Asahi illusion has a central region that looks more luminous than its white background, even though it is the same white everywhere All volunteers were shown the image, as well as several variations of the image with different colours, for a few seconds on a computer screen. Professor Akiyoshi Kitaoka, a psychologist at Ritsumeikan University in Kobe, Japan, is a co-author of this new study An infrared eye tracker recorded constrictions and dilations of the eye pupils as the different images were being presented. For each one, participants were asked to rate subjectively how strongly they perceived the illusion. As controls, the participants were also shown 'scrambled' versions of the expanding hole images, with equal luminance and colors, but without any pattern. Researchers found that the illusion was most effective when the hole was black just 14 per cent of participants didn't perceive the illusion in this instance. Meanwhile, a slightly higher percentage didn't see the hole if it was in colour 20 per cent for all colours, on average. The researchers also found that black holes promoted strong reflex dilations of the participants' pupils, while coloured holes prompted their pupils to constrict. Pictured are the different expanding hole images in different colours (left), as well as the 'scrambled' control images (right) For black holes, but not for coloured holes, the stronger individual participants subjectively rated their perception of the illusion, the more their pupil diameter tended to change. Among those who did perceive an expansion, the subjective strength of the illusion differed, although it's uncertain exactly why. It's possible that other vertebrate species, or even nonvertebrate animals with 'camera-type' eyes such as octopuses, might perceive the same illusion. Octopus eyes focus through movement, much like the lens of a camera or telescope, rather than changing shape like the lens in the human eye. The results of the study have been published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. Scientists have plans to ignore Stephen Hawking and broadcast a radio message containing Earth's location deep into space, in the hope it may one day be received and understood by an alien civilisation. The world renowned physicist always warned against this, cautioning that it may attract hostile extraterrestrial life that could wipe out the human race. Now, a Spanish researcher has given a rough estimation of how many 'malicious extraterrestrial civilisations' he thinks are lurking in the Milky Way, suggesting there are four such groups of evil aliens that could target Earth. Although this might sound scary, that is based on estimations that there could be as many as 15,785 civilisations in total in our galaxy. A Spanish researcher has given a rough estimation of how many 'malicious extraterrestrial civilisations' he thinks are lurking in the Milky Way, suggesting there are four such groups SCIENTISTS WILL SEND A MESSAGE TO SPACE REVEALING EARTH'S LOCATION TO ALIENS The question of whether or not we are alone in the universe has preoccupied scientists for decades, but efforts to find life beyond our planet have so far been unfruitful. Now experts are planning to broadcast a radio message containing Earth's location deep into space, in the hope that it may one day be received and understood by an alien civilisation. Called the Beacon in the Galaxy (BITG) message, it is essentially an updated version of the famous Arecibo message, which was first transmitted in 1974 for the same purpose. That was sent in binary code ones and zeroes which, once decoded, formed a visual graphic showing a stick figure of a human, our DNA and a depiction of our solar system. BITG will also include a drawing of DNA, the solar system and a diagram of the male and female form, but it also contains a lot more information about basic mathematics and science than the Arecibo message did. Advertisement The research paper which has not been peer-reviewed was written by Alberto Caballero, a PhD student at the University of Vigo in Spain. He said we could send out 18,000 interstellar messages to different exoplanets in the Milky Way and the likelihood of it leading to our own destruction would still be about the same as Earth being hit by a 'global catastrophe asteroid'. Caballero was also the author of a separate study published in Cambridge Universitys peer-reviewed International Journal of Astrobiology earlier this month. This aimed to analyse the origin of the famous WOW! Signal, which some believe was produced by an intelligent alien civilisation. For Caballero's new thought experiment he said he made some assumptions that make it difficult to know if his calculations are correct, so the study has 'some limitations'. He reached his conclusion after first researching how many times a country had invaded another nation on Earth over the last 50 years. Caballero then applied this data to the number of known and estimated exoplanets, and potentially habitable exoplanets. He based it on an estimate by Italian SETI Institute scientist Claudio Maccone that there could be as many as 15,785 civilisations in the Milky Way. It led Caballero to conclude that the probability of hostile aliens invading Earth was low to very low. 'The probability of extraterrestrial invasion by a civilisation whose planet we message is, therefore, around two orders of magnitude lower than the probability of a planet-killer asteroid collision,' which is already a one-in-100-million-years event, he wrote in the paper. Caballero also said there was likely fewer than one malicious extraterrestrial civilisation in the Milky Way that has also mastered interstellar travel. He added that as society on Earth has become more advanced, there have been fewer invasions, suggesting to him that alien civilisations capable of wiping out our planet would be less interested in doing so as they progress technologically. The source of the notorious 1977 'Wow' signal, believed to come from an intelligent alien civilisation, may have come from a Sun-like star 1,800 light years from Earth The only potential Sun-like star (pictured centre) found in the WOW! Signal region with the available data Source is named 2MASS 19281982-2640123 'I did the paper based only on life as we know it,' he told Motherboard. 'We don't know the mind of extraterrestrials. 'An extraterrestrial civilisation may have a brain with a different chemical composition and they might not have our empathy or they might have more psychopathological behaviors. 'I found this way to do [the study], which has limitations, because we don't know the mind of what aliens would be like.' Caballero added: 'I think unfortunately its still quite a secret topic, no one seems to be willing to talk about it. 'There's this fear of being afraid to send messages out there, but there's very little research on whether it's actually dangerous to do.' World renowned physicist Stephen Hawking always warned against this, cautioning that it may attract hostile extraterrestrial life that could wipe out the human race The PhD student said he hoped that by putting an estimate on the number of hostile alien civilisations in our galaxy, it will add to the debate about whether it is risky to send messages into space or not. He wrote: 'The fact that the estimated probability of extraterrestrial invasion is two orders of magnitude lower than that of a planet-killer asteroid collision should open the door to the next step, which is having an international debate to determine the conditions under which the first serious interstellar radio or laser message will be sent to a nearby potentially habitable exoplanet.' The paper has been published here. It comes two months after scientists unveiled plans to broadcast a radio message containing Earth's location deep into space. Called the Beacon in the Galaxy (BITG) message, it is essentially an updated version of the famous Arecibo message, which was first transmitted in 1974 for the same purpose. BITG will include a drawing of DNA, the solar system and a diagram of the male and female form, but it also contains a lot more information about basic mathematics and science than the Arecibo message did. Elon Musk has revealed plans for an all-night Tesla diner that would include a drive-in cinema and charging station. It will feature two 45-foot LED movie screens, indoor and outdoor seating, and 28 superchargers so visitors can recharge their vehicles while they relax. They will also be able to pay with the cryptocurrency Dogecoin if the proposals for the facility on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood get the green light. Musk previously said that Tesla-branded diners could sprout up around its charging stations, having first tweeted about the idea back in 2018, and last year filed for three trademarks related to possibly joining the restaurant business. Elon Musk has revealed plans for an all-night Tesla diner that would include a drive-in cinema and charging station (pictured) The facility will feature two 45-foot LED movie screens, indoor and outdoor seating, and 28 superchargers so visitors can recharge their vehicles while they relax The plans would involve demolishing a Shakey's Pizza Parlor on the current site and building a new two-storey diner in its place Elon Musk says Tesla staff face being fired unless they work in office Tesla CEO Elon Musk has told executive staff at the company they face being fired unless they work at least 40 hours a week in the office. In a leaked email sent to workers with the miss-spelt subject line 'remote work is no longer acceptble', Musk wrote that any executive staff who wish to work remotely must be in the office for a minimum of 40 hours per week 'or depart Tesla'. He added that the requirement for executive staff to work at least 40 hours in the office is 'less than we ask of factory workers'. Musk continued: 'If there are particularly exceptional contributors for whom this is impossible, I will review and approve those exceptions directly.' Musk went on to write in the email that the office 'must be a main Tesla office, not a remote branch office unrelated to the job duties, for example being responsble for Fremont factory human relations, but having your office in another state'. Advertisement The billionaire founder of Tesla and SpaceX submitted the new proposals to the city of Los Angeles at the end of last month. Tesla originally planned to build the diner in the coastal city of Santa Monica but then moved the plans to Hollywood, on the historic Route 66. They would involve demolishing a Shakey's Pizza Parlor on the current site and building a new two-storey diner in its place. The plan is for the drive-in cinema to show short features, around 30 minutes long, that are meant to last as long as a standard meal or charging session would do. There is already a large car park on the 9,300-square-foot site but it would need remodelling to add 28 supercharger stalls and 34 total spots. The last five will have chargers for lower-speed charging. The ground floor of the diner will include a kitchen, stool seating and booths, and an outdoor bar around the edge of the building, while the top deck will have outdoor rooftop seating and an area for theatre-style seats. There will also be a 'carhop area' downstairs for staff to bring meals out to vehicles in the car park. In total there will be over 200 seats. It is hard to tell from the plans what the decor will look like, but Tesla may be going for more of a futuristic style, despite originally billing the idea as being for an 'old-school' diner. In February, Musk tweeted that a 'futuristic diner / drive-in theater' was being 'planned for Hollywood area!' Four years earlier he wrote on Twitter: 'Gonna put an old school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in LA.' More diners could one day be located at or near the company's Supercharger stations (pictured), of which there are more than 2,500 around the world The billionaire founder of Tesla and SpaceX submitted the new proposals to the city of Los Angeles at the end of last month Tesla originally planned to build the diner in the coastal city of Santa Monica but then moved the plans to Hollywood, on the historic Route 66 He added that it would be near Interstate 405, but did not specify an exact location. Although Tesla wants the Hollywood venue to be operational 24 hours a day, including the restaurant, the theatre may not operate all night. There are no further details on a possible opening date or menus. One of the trademark applications made last year was for 'restaurant services, pop-up restaurant services, self-service restaurant services, take-out restaurant services.' Another was to use a 'stylised "T"' for its logo, perhaps taking a page out of Apple's playbook. Musk, one of the richest men in the world, has publicly talked about expanding Tesla's brand into a number of different ventures, including the restaurant business. Moving into this area would expand on Tesla's ambitions to be a lifestyle brand in the vein of Apple or Peloton. In February, Musk tweeted that a 'futuristic diner / drive-in theater' was being 'planned for Hollywood area!' Four years earlier he wrote on Twitter: 'Gonna put an old school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in LA' Musk, one of the richest men in the world, has publicly talked about expanding Tesla's brand into a number of different ventures, including the restaurant business More diners could one day be located at or near the company's Supercharger stations, of which there are more than 2,500 around the world. The news comes shortly after Musk told executive staff at the company they face being fired unless they work at least 40 hours a week in the office. In a leaked email sent to workers with the miss-spelt subject line 'remote work is no longer acceptble', Musk wrote that any executive staff who wish to work remotely must be in the office for a minimum of 40 hours per week 'or depart Tesla'. He added that the requirement for executive staff to work at least 40 hours in the office is 'less than we ask of factory workers'. Musk continued: 'If there are particularly exceptional contributors for whom this is impossible, I will review and approve those exceptions directly.' Musk went on to write in the email that the office 'must be a main Tesla office, not a remote branch office unrelated to the job duties, for example being responsble for Fremont factory human relations, but having your office in another state'. Advertisement The rudder of warship HMS Invincible has been discovered 200 feet away from the main shipwreck - over 40 years after the wreckage was first located. Its 36-foot-long blade was discovered lying on the bed of the Solent during a routine inspection by marine archaeologists last week. It is due to be covered in sandbags to protect it from further erosion, but it is yet to be decided whether it will be financially viable to bring it ashore. The ship was built by the French in 1744, but was captured by the British during the Battle of Cape Finisterre three years later. It sunk in 1758 when the rudder jammed and it ran aground on a sandbank between Langstone Harbour and the Isle of Wight, before capsizing three days later. The rudder of warship HMS Invincible has been discovered 200ft away from the main shipwreck in the Solent by a team of divers performing a routine inspection Marine archaeologist Dan Pascoe said the discovery of the rudder was 'unique and significant' The 36ft-long blade was the reason for the warships demise, after it struck a sandbank between Langstone Harbour and the Isle of Wight in 1758 and capsized three days later The fascinating history behind HMS Invincible Originally L'Invincible, the 74-gun ship was built in south west France on the banks of the River Charente at Rochefort in 1744 It was designed to fight all around the world, protecting France's overseas empire and merchant fleets The HMS Invincible's service in the French Navy was cut short as it was captured by a superior British Royal Navy fleet commanded by Admiral Anson at Cape Finisterre in 1747 But its career in the British Navy also came to an unexpected end on February 19, 1757 The wreck, which is three nautical miles from Portsmouth, Hampshire, was first discovered by a fisherman in shallow 25ft waters 40 years ago Advertisement There, the wreckage remained for 222 years, until a fisherman brought up some unusual timber after snagging his nets on a sandbank. Divers then went down to explore the site three nautical miles from Portsmouth, Hampshire, and identified the wreck as HMS Invincible. The following year it was designated a Historic Shipwreck under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973, and has been studied ever since. Dan Pascoe, a marine archaeologist from Bournemouth University, said: 'Since 2010 we have conducted several surveys of the seabed, and we noted several anomalies 60 metres off the stern of the boat, which I suspected could have been the rudder. 'Since then, natural erosion of the sand covering it has meant that the object has become more visible. 'In subsequent dives we noticed that it looked more like a rudder in its shape.' On May 24, Heather Anderson, a Maritime Archaeologist and Junior Consultant at the Maritime Archaeology Trust, and Dr Rachel Bynoe, from the University of Southampton, dove down 23 feet (seven metres) to confirm its identity. Dan Pascoe added: 'In terms of next steps, in the short term we are going to bury it in sandbags to protect it from damage, and in the long term our team are looking into the possibility of whether it can be brought to the surface and stored safely.' A new excavation project on the site of the wreckage was initiated by Poole's Maritime Archaeology Sea Trust (MAST) and Bournemouth University in 2017. Marine archeologists conducted several surveys of the seabed since 2010, and noted several anomalies 200 feet off the stern of the boat which they suspected could have been the rudder. Over time, erosion of the sand covering the rudder meant the object became more visible The rudder is due to be protected with sandbags to prevent any further erosion while its submerged, but bringing it to the surface could prove costly This was prompted after changing sea bed levels left it more exposed to the elements, leading to fears the relics could deteriorate It involved 1,458 dives taking place over two years, during which nearly 2,000 artefacts were recovered. The array of new finds, including the ship's enormous cutwater, are now on display at the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth. Other significant artefacts included a gun port lid and a collection of swivel guns, some with their tillers and mounting intact. There were also many other small finds, including cutlery, a bottle of corked rum and regimental buttons. 32 and 24lb gun barrel 'wads' were recovered along with their wooden markers were recovered from HMS Invincible during an excavation project between 2017 and 2019 Several bottles of what appears to be wine or spirits were recovered from the shipwreck during the excavation project between 2017 and 2019, some with corks still intact A 261-year-old mop was also found in the shipwreck of HMS Invincible in an excavation project carried out by maritime archaeologist Dan Pascoe's team Originally L'Invincible, the 74-gun ship was built in south west France on the banks of the River Charente at Rochefort in 1744. It was designed to fight all around the world, protecting France's overseas empire and merchant fleets. The HMS Invincible's service in the French Navy was cut short as it was captured by a superior British Royal Navy fleet commanded by Admiral Anson at Cape Finisterre in 1747. But its career in the British Navy also came to an unexpected end on February 19, 1757. The HMS Invincible was given orders to weigh anchor and begin the voyage to Louisbourg (modern day Nova Scotia) to fight the French. But a series of calamitous events led to her wrecking on a shallow sand bank known as Horse Tail Sand in the Eastern. According to maritime archaeologist Dan Pascoe, the HMS Invincible's revolutionary streamlined design was copied by the British who adopted it on their ships up until the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 What happened in the Battle of Cape Finisterre? On 14 May 1747, during the War of the Austrian Succession, Invincible was escorting a convoy of merchant ships through Cape Finisterre in Spain. The French warship was then spotted by the British channel fleet of 16 ships, who gave chase. Invincible attacked the British ships in order to give its convoy a chance to escape. After engaging six warships alone, most of the crew were left dead or wounded, so the French surrendered. The French Commander, Saint-Georges, handed his sword to Admiral George Anson in defeat. The Royal Navy immediately sailed Invincible to Portsmouth Naval Dockyard, and used its measurements as a blueprint for all future Royal Naval 74 gunships. Advertisement HMS Invincible was discovered 222 years later by local fisherman Arthur Mack in 1979. Realising the significance of his discovery Mr Mack teamed up with Commander John Bingeman, who had previous experience of investigating shipwrecks of the Royal Navy. Due to its importance it was designated as an historic wreck in 1980, under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973. Commander Bingeman and Mr Mack led excavations between 1980 and 1991, discovering the port side was intact with vast quantities of well-preserved artefacts inside. In 2010, Mr Pascoe became the licensee and archaeologist of the site and found the wreck was uncovering due to parts of the ship being exposed by changing seabed levels. This led him to survey the newly exposed areas of the wreck and to monitor the decreasing sediment levels. Consequently the site was placed at High Risk on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register. This work brought the site's attention to Professor Dave Parham of Bournemouth University and Jessica Berry of MAST, as well as the National Museum of the Royal Navy. They, alongside Mr Pascoe, realised the need for an excavation project to rescue and record vulnerable material before its demise. Today, the HMS Invincible represents the most complete and best-preserved remains of a warship from the mid-18th century. Alex Zverev wasted no time in telling Carlos Alcaraz that his time will come after delaying his coronation as the next Spanish king of Roland Garros. The German met him at the net after completing a 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 victory. 'He is an incredible player and I told him that he is going to win this tournament a lot of times. I just hope I can win it before he does,' said Zverev. It is not, in truth, the bravest of predictions because it seems only a matter of when, not if, the teenager becomes a multiple Grand Slam champion. Third seed Alexander Zverev beat Carlos Alcaraz to reach the French Open semi-finals That time is not now, and it was the 25-year-old German left awaiting the winner of the main event between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, which would have been severely delayed if the first French Open quarter final had gone to a fifth set. Such was the excitement of the preceding fourth set tiebreak that there was a danger the main artists might have felt like the headline act who get blown off stage by the support act. Zverev finally clinched it when he rediscovered his serve in the nick of time, with his younger opponent looking poised to take it into a decider. The German, a somewhat salty character with the habit of saying the wrong thing, told the on-court interviewer of how nervous he had been at the end. 'Sh***ing my pants' was the indelicate phrase that he used. The German served strongly and was superb from the back of court on Tuesday night The main reason for that was that the conditions were starting to slow down, favouring the more subtle and varied game of the younger player rather than the power generated by his lanky frame. 'The ball was a lot faster at the start, the match was turning his way,' admitted Zverev. The scary thing about Alcaraz, who has only just turned 19, is that clay is not even his best surface. It is going to be fascinating to see how he goes on grass, and he will play at London's Queen's Club ahead of Wimbledon. This was not one of his best performances of recent months, and it resulted in only his second defeat since the middle of March. This fortnight will nonetheless have been great experience for him, not least in the way of playing under the weight of heavy expectation. His rich variety of skills were ultimately second best to the easy power of Zverev who, it should not be forgotten, is one of the great talents of his generation. Teenager was not at his best as he suffered only his second defeat since the middle of March The German should have closed it out when he served at 5-4 in the fourth set, and escaped a set point against him at 5-6 in the tiebreak. No wonder he was relieved to get off court and leave the stage to the 59th meeting between Nadal and Djokovic. Britain's challenge in the main events came to a disappointing end when there were defeats in the quarter finals of the men's doubles for the country's two leading exponents, Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski. Top seeds Salisbury and partner Rajeev Ram were furious after failing to capitalise on two match points as they were edged out 3-6, 7-6, 7-6 by Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek. Ram angrily smashed his racket into the clay at the end of a match which saw them win nine more points than their opponents and still lose. Skupski and Dutchman Wesley Koolhof were beaten 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 by Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos. The worryingly solitary GB singles challenge in the junior event also finished on Tuesday. Ranah Akua Stoiber, the only GB entrant, was beaten 6-7, 6-2, 6-3 by Canada's Victoria Mboko. Tonga lauds friendly relations with China, vows to stick to one-China policy Xinhua) 09:41, June 01, 2022 Tonga's King Tupou VI (R) meets with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, May 31, 2022. (Xinhua) NUKU'ALOFA, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Tonga's King Tupou VI said on Tuesday that Tonga and China have witnessed vigorous development of their ties since the establishment of diplomatic relations, and vowed to stick to the one-China policy and promote even greater development of bilateral ties. Tupou VI made the remarks at a meeting with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. As facts have proven, Tupou VI said, Chinese friendship has always been based on deeds rather than words. When Tonga was faced with multiple challenges at the time, including volcanic eruption, tsunami, suspension of flights and the COVID-19 pandemic, China came to its assistance without hesitation, winning wide praise and heartfelt gratitude from the Tongan people, Tupou VI said. Tupou VI said he was glad to see the successful holding of the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting and thanked the Chinese delegation for overcoming the difficulties caused by the pandemic to visit South Pacific island countries. Some people have commented on Pacific island countries' cooperation with China. As sovereign states, Pacific island countries have the right to choose how they deal with other countries, Tupou VI said. For his part, Wang said under the guidance of the two heads of the state, China-Tonga relations have maintained a steady and sound momentum of development, noting that after Tonga was hit by a massive volcanic eruption, various departments in China raced against time to deliver relief supplies to Tonga. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, China has provided many batches of emergency supplies to Tonga in a timely manner, which has further enhanced the friendship between the two countries, Wang said. China will, as always, respect Tonga's unique national conditions and governance model, support Tonga in safeguarding its independence, sovereignty and social stability, Wang said, wishing the Tongan people a happy life and better development. Wang said that his visit to Tonga, as part of his tour to South Pacific island countries, aims at putting into practice the diplomatic vision that all countries, big or small, are equal, and taking concrete measures to support Tonga's post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. China will prove with facts that his ongoing trip to the South Pacific region is a trip of friendship and cooperation, he said. Noting that as a developing country itself, China fully understands the legitimate needs and urgent aspirations of other developing countries, especially the small and medium-sized countries, Wang said China is ready to do its utmost to help other developing countries catch up with the trend of the times and speed up development and revitalization. China expects a truly fair world and true equality among all countries, he said. Tupou VI expressed gratitude for China's establishment of an emergency supplies reserve for Pacific island countries and carrying out cooperation on poverty reduction and climate change. Wang said China has made specific efforts to build six new platforms for cooperation with Pacific island countries on poverty reduction, climate change, disaster prevention, agriculture and the Juncao technology. China is willing to share its development experience with Pacific island countries, provide them with personnel, technology and financing support, and help them enhance their capacity for independent development, Wang added. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) Next to empty polling booths, a voter fill in ballots at a polling station in Oksu-dong, Seongdong District, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap By Nam Hyun-woo The total turnout for Wednesday's local elections was tentatively tallied at 50.9 percent, the lowest since the 2002 local elections, the election watchdog said. According to the National Election Commission, a total of 22.57 million out of 44.3 million eligible voters had casted their ballots as of 7:30 p.m., Wednesday. In the early voting period on Friday and Saturday, more than 9.13 million people voted to log a 20.62 percent turnout, which was 0.48 percentage points higher compared to four years earlier. The turnout for Wednesday's local elections was 9.3 percentage points lower compared to the previous 2018 local elections which saw 60.2 percent. The lowest turnout was recorded in 2002 when only 48.9 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots. By region, Gwangju showed the lowest turnout of 37.7 percent in this year's local elections, while South Jeolla Province had the highest of 58.5 percent. Pundits attributed the lower-than-expected turnout to the current political dynamics, young voters' indifference to politics and the timing of the local elections. Advertisement Unplugging yourself from the mayhem of the mainland has never been easier - thanks to Airbnb's handy new 'islands' filter. The rental website's tool reveals a flurry of highly enticing offshore retreats, including a surprisingly affordable Scottish hideaway where guests can spot seals from a hot tub to rentals off the coast of Colombia surrounded by the azure waters of the Caribbean Sea and log cabins located amid the tranquillity of a remote Canadian lake. So pack your trunks and get ready to set sail, here are 10 of Airbnb's most unbelievable private islands.... Paradise Island, Goguac Lake, Michigan, USA 'Take a trip to Paradise Island and feel the fantasy of renting an island right here in Michigan,' says the listing of this four-bedroom abode in the centre of Goguac Lake Described as a 'getaway for the mind, body and soul', Paradise Island hopes to live up to its name with a hot tub, retro games room and a boat to get to and from the mainland 'Take a trip to Paradise Island and feel the fantasy of renting an island right here in Michigan,' says the listing of this four-bed abode in the centre of Goguac Lake. Described as a 'getaway for the mind, body and soul', Paradise Island hopes to live up to its name with a hot tub, retro games room and a boat to get to and from the mainland. Paradise Island sleeps 12 and costs from 3,701 per night with a three-night minimum stay. Kalua, Rosario Islands archipelago, Colombia Atoll-iday of a lifetime: This four-bedroom Airbnb abode is built in a 'tropical style that combines with the beautiful landscape', says the listing The property comes with a hot tub, swimming pool, kayaks, and a bathroom with see-through walls offering sea views The 'oasis' is surrounded on all sides by the Caribbean Sea. For an extra fee staff will cook, clean and maintain the space The retreat, in the Rosario Islands, sleeps 15 and costs from 1,196 per night This four-bedroom home in the Rosario Islands archipelago (also known as Corales Islas del Rosario) in Colombia is built in a 'tropical style that combines with the beautiful landscape', says the listing. The 'oasis' is surrounded on all sides by the Caribbean Sea. It comes with a hot tub, swimming pool, kayaks, and a bathroom with see-through walls offering stunning sea views. The Rosario Islands archipelago consists of 27 small coral islands and is around an hour by boat from Cartagena, which lies 22 miles (35km) to the north-east. Kalua sleeps 15 and costs from 1,196 per night. For an extra fee staff will cook, clean and maintain the space. Otter Cabin, Dry Island, Badachro, Scotland Otter Cabin is located on the historic family-run Dry Island on Scotland's West Coast, by the village of Badachro. The views are 'second to none' The listing explains that 'members of the Mackenzie family have lived, fished and farmed since the 15th century' on Dry Island, which sits in the 'tranquil waters' of Gair Loch ('short loch') Previous guest Alex wrote of the Scottish hideaway: 'The most magical place I have ever visited' Named after the wild critters that are often spotted by its guests, Otter Cabin is located on the historic family-run Dry Island on Scotland's West Coast, by the village of Badachro. The listing explains that 'members of the Mackenzie family have lived, fished and farmed since the 15th century' on Dry Island, which sits in the 'tranquil waters' of Gair Loch ('short loch'). The island's current owner, Ian McWhinney, is a descendent of the Mackenzies and still fishes for shellfish from the island. He is very happy to take visitors out to harvest langoustines, crabs and squat lobsters from his creels, we're told. Previous guest 'Alex' wrote of the Scottish hideaway: 'The most magical place I have ever visited. The cabin is cosy and comfortable and the perfect tranquil getaway. Ian was an extremely friendly host and made us feel welcome on his little island. Watching the seals bobbing past the hot tub was a perfect pastime on an otherwise cold day.' Another reviewer, 'Michael', stressed that the views are 'second to none'. Otter Cabin, a 90-minute drive from Inverness, sleeps two and costs from 113 per night, with a two-night minimum stay. 'Charming House', Ile Saint-Riom, Brittany, France On St. Riom Island (above) in Brittany is a period stone-house rental with a 'large terrace with barbecue', a 'large living room' and a 'fully equipped upscale kitchen' 'This is a very unique place. You are on your own as it is a private island,' writes previous guest 'Hans' of the Charming House (pictured above) 'The island is quite raw, un-groomed and full of natural beauty. The host is great and very present and helpful with your needs during the stay. We loved it!' adds Hans Found in the bay of Saint-Brieuc just off the bustling coastal town of Paimpol on St. Riom Island (Ile Saint-Riom), this period stone house has a 'large terrace with barbecue', a 'large living room' and a 'fully equipped upscale kitchen', says the listing. The rental includes full access to the nine-hectare island's beaches, woods, trails and pastures. 'This is a very unique place. You are on your own as it is a private island,' writes previous guest 'Hans'. He adds: 'The island is quite raw, un-groomed and full of natural beauty. The host is great and very present and helpful with your needs during the stay. We loved it!' Charming House sleeps six and costs from 466 per night with a seven-night minimum stay. Paradise Islands bungalow, Yen Bai, Vietnam Visitors to this island bungalow in Vietnam 'will be immersed in endless nature' The property is located on an island on the 'pristine' Thac Ba hydroelectric lake in Yen Bai province, around 90 miles north-west of Hanoi The property includes a free breakfast, a balcony with a lake view and a private swimming pool Visitors to this island bungalow in Vietnam 'will be immersed in endless nature with... the clear blue of the sky, the pearl blue of the deep water lake and the dark blue of the vast forest', according to the listing. The property is located on an island on the 'pristine' Thac Ba hydroelectric lake in Yen Bai province, around 90 miles north-west of Vietnam's capital, Hanoi. The property includes a free breakfast, a balcony with a lake view and a private swimming pool. Paradise Islands bungalow sleeps three and costs from 43 per night. 'Paradisiac Island', Rosario Islands archipelago, Colombia This stunning cylindrical rental is located in the Rosario Islands archipelago on an islet called Pelican Island The island, explains the listing, has a 'prestigious chef to please its customers with delicious and healthy food' There is an outdoor pool with a deck and barbecue and three bedrooms described as being 'full of beauty and comfort' This stunning cylindrical rental is located in the Rosario Islands archipelago on an islet called Pelican Island. There is an outdoor pool with a deck and barbecue and three bedrooms described as being 'full of beauty and comfort'. Each comes with a private bathroom, hammocks, cable TV and air conditioning. The island, explains the listing, has a 'prestigious chef to please its customers with delicious and healthy food'. Paradisiac Island sleeps six and costs from 961 per night with a three-night minimum stay. 'Chimera Private Island', San Blas, Mexico 'Marvel at its natural environment and wake up every day facing the sea [the Pacific Ocean],' the owners write of this 'incredible' private island near the town of San Blas on Mexico's west coast Kerry stayed at the breathtaking property and wrote: 'Hidden gem! We loved everything about it from the plunge pools to the ocean sounds all night long, and the incredible hospitality from Diego and his wife. They even have breakfast available on site so you dont have to leave the island to eat' The house has a total of four bedrooms, each of which has its own private infinity pool with ocean views, says the listing 'Marvel at its natural environment and wake up every day facing the sea [the Pacific Ocean],' the owners write of this 'incredible' private island near the town of San Blas on Mexico's west coast. The house has a total of four bedrooms one is included as standard on Airbnb and you'll have to request to add more to your stay each of which has its own private infinity pool with ocean views, says the listing. Previous guest 'Kerry' wrote: 'Hidden gem! We loved everything about it from the plunge pools to the ocean sounds all night long, and the incredible hospitality from Diego and his wife. They even have breakfast available on site so you dont have to leave the island to eat.' Chimera Private Island sleeps up to eight and costs from 140 per night for one bedroom. Stenskar island, Stockholm Archipelago, Sweden This incredible Airbnb is on one of Sweden's 267,570 islands, on an islet called Stenskar, within a cluster of 30,000 islands that form the 650-square-mile (1,683-sq-km) Stockholm Archipelago The listing describes it as 'completely secluded' and 'perfect if you like the sea and love the feeling of a small sandy beach of your own' Want to check in? Get ready to disconnect. This rental has no connection to the electricity grid 'It is just a unique place, so beautiful and pure. Thanks a lot Tomas, it was an honour to be there,' wrote 'Julie' of her stay This incredible Airbnb is on one of Sweden's 267,570 islands, on an islet called Stenskar, within a cluster of 30,000 islands that form the 650-square-mile (1,683-sq-km) Stockholm Archipelago. The listing describes it as 'completely secluded' and 'perfect if you like the sea and love the feeling of a small sandy beach of your own'. 'It is just a unique place, so beautiful and pure. Thanks a lot Tomas, it was an honour to be there,' wrote 'Julie' of her stay. Want to check in? Get ready to disconnect. This rental has no connection to the electricity grid, though there is a solar panel on the roof that powers lighting. The water tap in the kitchen and in the toilet run 'brackish sea water', but the landlord ensures there is a week's supply of bottled water on site. Guests have use of a windsurfing board, an SUP board, fishing equipment, a sauna and a wood-fired hot tub for six, plus there is a motorboat for reaching the mainland. Stenskar island - around one hour by car from Stockholm, to the north-east - sleeps eight in four bedrooms and costs from 339 per night, with a two-night minimum stay. 'King Island' in Bigstone Bay, Lake of the Woods, Ontario, Canada This stunning rental comprises two log cabins on an island just south of the small city of Kenora - on the vast Lake of the Woods - with guests offered 'beautiful sunrises and sunsets', as well as 'picturesque views of Bigstone Bay' 'If you love the water, and want a fun, relaxing, quiet getaway, this is perfect,' wrote previous guest 'Donna' of her stay here The 'rustic' set-up comprises a two-bedroom main cabin, a guest cabin with wood-burning stove, a lakeside fire pit and a private dock for sunbathing and fishing This stunning rental comprises two log cabins on an island just south of the small city of Kenora - on the vast Lake of the Woods - with guests offered 'beautiful sunrises and sunsets', as well as 'picturesque views of Bigstone Bay'. The 'rustic' set-up comprises a two-bedroom main cabin, a guest cabin with wood-burning stove, a lakeside fire pit and a private dock for sunbathing and fishing, says the website. In addition, there are two kayaks guests can use for exploration of the idyllic surroundings. 'If you love the water, and want a fun, relaxing, quiet getaway, this is perfect,' wrote previous guest 'Donna' of her stay here. King Island sleeps eight and costs from 249 per night with a seven-night minimum stay. Red Pine Island, Whitefish Bay, Lake of the Woods, Ontario, Canada 'No matter where you are, you are steps away from the crystal-clear waters of Whitefish Bay,' write the owners of this cosy-looking cabin with wrap-around decks on the Lake of the Woods 'Kaela-Mae' stayed at the three-bed waterfront cottage and wrote: 'This place is amazing!' Red Pine Island sleeps six, has a 'well-equipped kitchen' and costs from 401 per night 'No matter where you are, you are steps away from the crystal-clear waters of Whitefish Bay,' write the owners of this cosy-looking cabin with wrap-around decks on the Lake of the Woods, near the small township of Sioux Narrows. 'Kaela-Mae' stayed at the three-bed waterfront cottage and wrote: 'This place is amazing! It is [a] cute private little island, with fun rocks to jump off [and there's a] beautiful sloped swimming area next to a fire pit where we watched the stars every night.' Red Pine Island sleeps six, has a 'well-equipped kitchen' and costs from 401 per night, with a three-night minimum stay. Channel 10 has filmed multiple endings for MasterChef Australia: Fans v Faves. The decision to pre-record winner announcements for both finalists was made after the outcome of last year's season was reportedly leaked, leading to a spike in 'suspicious activity' on betting websites. 'Multiple endings were recorded to ensure results are not spoilt for our audience,' a network spokesman told the Herald Sun on Tuesday. Who will it be? Channel 10 has filmed multiple endings for MasterChef Australia: Fans v Faves. Pictured: Julie Goodwin (left) and Billie McKay (right) Season seven champion Billie McKay is Sportsbet's favourite to win the all-stars season with short odds of $1.37 as of Wednesday morning. Season six contestant Sarah Todd is second favourite at $4, while season one winner Julie Goodwin is third at $6 odds. Channel 10's drastic measures to protect the outcome of MasterChef come a year after the show filmed just one winner announcement in 2021. An on-set 'leak' led to a dramatic shift in odds on betting websites, which all but confirmed the identity of the winner before the finale aired on TV. Plugging leaks: The decision to pre-record winner announcements for both finalists was made after the outcome of last year's season was reportedly leaked, leading to a spike in 'suspicious activity' on betting websites. (Pictured: judges Andy Allen, Jock Zonfrillo and Melissa Leong) Sportsbet abruptly listed Justin Narayan as the most likely winner with odds of $1.28, despite Pete Campbell having previously been the red-hot favourite. Youth pastor Justin was ultimately crowned winner of the cooking show. The sudden spike in bets for Justin, who had not been a favourite to win beforehand, raised suspicions - especially when tattoo artist Pete plummeted to third position. Suspicious activity: Last year, a sudden spike in bets for winner Justin Narayan (pictured), who had not been a favourite beforehand, raised suspicions among viewers Fishy: Betting agency Sportsbet confirmed to The Australian at the time there had been 'a lot of cash coming for Justin' after the finale was filmed in secret The Australian reported that 'within a few hours of the end of the filming' Justin emerged as a favourite to win, leading to rumours of a leak. It also claimed the production was 'attempting to get to the bottom of the unusual betting activity.' A Sportsbet spokesman confirmed there had been 'a lot of cash coming for Justin' after the finale was filmed in secret. Inside track: Sportsbet abruptly listed Justin Narayan as the most likely winner with odds of $1.28, despite Pete Campbell (pictured) having previously been the red-hot favourite Prior to the 2021 season, both chefs competing in the grand finale would be filmed as winners of the competition to prevent the result being compromised. The real winner would not be revealed until it was broadcast on television. However, that reportedly wasn't done last year to avoid torturing the runner-up with hopes they had won. The long-awaited Sex Pistols biopic has been praised by viewers who have hailed the show as 'funny' and 'real'. Based on the memoir of guitarist Steve Jones, Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol, the series explores the rise and fall of the seminal band as they made their lasting mark on music and punk. The show premiered on FX On Hulu on Tuesday and many viewers quickly took to social media to voice their thoughts on its depiction of the band. Reception: The long-awaited Sex Pistols biopic has been praised by viewers who have hailed the show as 'funny' and 'real' (L-R: Louis Partridge as Sid Vicious, Anson Boon as John Lyndon, Toby Wallace as Steve Jones) Giving a positive review, one viewer said: 'Watched the first three episodes of Danny Boyle's new show Pistol there and so far it's pretty good. 'Actors are good, sets are good and it doesn't try to be too much in [manager] Malcolm [McLaren]'s mind.' Another said: 'Just finished Pistol. It was funny, crude and heartbreaking. The whole cast was great. 'Sydney Chandler was absolutely brilliant as Chrissie Hynde. I'm blown away that this is her first major acting role.' Story: Based on the memoir of guitarist Steve Jones, Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol, the series explores the rise and fall of the seminal band as they made their lasting mark on music and punk. Another viewer who has been enjoying the show so far is comedian Jonathan Ross who tweeted: 'I hated the trailers and was fully prepared to squirm through this. But two episodes in I am LOVING'. Another added: 'Emotional, funny, real, couldn't turn it off once I started watching.' One fan added: 'Thoroughly enjoyed opening two episodes of Pistol - great casting for the band.' However, reception wasn't all positive and some viewers were left unimpressed with the show. One viewer said: 'The best way to describe Pistol is corny. It's not the worst thing ever made. It does a job. It's OK, but man alive, it's corny. Positive: One viewer said: 'Just finished Pistol. It was funny, crude and heartbreaking. The whole cast was great' 'Takes the story such as it is and goes full corn ball on it. A corny old vehicle.' Another watcher added: 'Pistol really just isn't very good. How did Danny Boyle make this story so boring?' Another viewer gave an evening more damning review, writing: 'Dear God it's awful. Watched 2 eps of Pistol and I won't be returning to it. It's just so blah which is bad considering the subject matter!' Pistol also received a bout of mixed reviews from TV critics ahead of its release on the streaming service. Negative: One unimpressed viewer said: 'Pistol really just isn't very good. How did Danny Boyle make this story so boring?' The Daily Mail's TV critic Christopher Stevens gave the biopic a respectable four stars, but argued that the series was a 'myth' and 'music history reimagined for the American market'. But while the critic argued the untrue nature of the miniseries, he also assured: 'That doesnt matter, because Pistol isnt aimed at anyone who actually remembers London in the decrepit era of Harold Wilsons government.' Christopher also accused the miniseries of 'packing the story with famous names' and focusing on the romantic aspect of their story. But praising the casting of Anson Boon, who portrays John Lydon (Johnny Vicious), he described the character as 'hypnotic'. Biopic: The show premiered on FX On Hulu on Tuesday and many viewers quickly took to social media to voice their thoughts on its depiction of the band (Jacob Slater as Paul Cook, Anson Boon as John Lyndon, Toby Wallace as Steve Jones and Louis Partridge as Sid Vicious) But IndieWire's Steve Greene sent the biopic down in flames with a C- rating, describing it as 'empty' as he noted the exceptions were 'a few bright sparks'. Touching on the decision to base the biopic off of Steve Jones' memoir, Greene disagreed with the angle, writing: 'This show also has the fundamental problem of perspective, being inherently filtered through the perspective of the bands least compelling member.' 'It feels like even more of a failure to see a show about the Sex Pistols a quintessential fake it til you make it rock story fall back on so many of the story beats reserved for bands with a more conventional origin story,' he continued. Turning things around, Greene did agree that Anson Boon's performance brought the story to life, explaining: 'Where most of the show feels inert as its dragged into mopeyness or frivolousness, Boon finds a way to mine the fertile ground in between.' Not the real thing: The Guardian 's Phil Harrison said that 'the actors simply arent grubby or delinquent enough to pull it off' compared to the band (the Sex Pistols pictured in 2002) The Guardian's Phil Harrison was conflicted over the new release, gushing over the 'new' concept from Boyle, but questioning the script and depiction from the cast. He wrote: 'The angle feels relatively new Joness (Toby Wallace) perspective has been explored less than Sid Viciouss and Johnny Rottens, and his abusive childhood is evoked in all its claustrophobic grimness. 'But theres an earnestness to the script and performances that feels slightly off, undercutting the bands nihilism. The actors simply arent grubby or delinquent enough to pull it off.' It was more positive from Empire's Beth Webb, who awarded four stars to the new release and praised Boyle's directing. Reception: It was more positive from Empire's Beth Webb, who awarded four stars to the new release and praised Boyle's directing She wrote: 'What Boyle manages to capture, through his naturally disorderly directing, is the rage accumulating within this safety-pinned cross-section of British youth, and how Jones was at the forefront of something remarkable.' In a ruthless depiction, The New Statesman's David Hepworth blasted the idea of the biopic, branding it 'peculiar' as he notes the slow-moving nature of the first two episodes - and the ensuing dragging of the next four. 'The subsequent four episodes begin to stretch before you like school work that has to be got through. This surely cant have been the intention,' he wrote. Hepworth also took a jibe at the cast, explaining that Pistol displayed the problem with rock biopics, in that the cast 'can't play rockstars'. Renovations on the Love Island villa in Mallorca are reportedly still not finished, with just a matter of days to go until the new series starts. Work on The Hideaway has only just begun while entire sections of the six-bedroom home remain unfinished, including walls and floors that are still under construction. Executive producer Mike Spencer told The Sun that they are 'working to the wire' to finish the building work before the June 6 launch date. 'We're working to the wire': Renovations on the Love Island villa in Mallorca are reportedly still not finished, with just a matter of days to go until the new series starts He explained that it 'takes time' getting the look of the new villa right, as building work has been underway on the property since March. 'We're working to the wire,' he said. 'Cameras are only just going in now, we've been out here for eight or nine weeks.' Despite the rush to complete construction on the property, Mike insisted that everything is bigger and better at the new villa as he described it as a 'glow up'. He added: 'The challenge is obviously just the pressure of building something everyone is going to like, that caters for everyone, and also feels like the show is back and has everything viewers are hoping for.' It's back! Producer Mike Spencer said they are 'working to the wire' to finish the building work before the June 6 launch date, which will see Michael Owen's daughter Gemma enter the villa New villa: Work on The Hideaway has only just begun while entire sections of the six-bedroom property remain unfinished, with entire walls and floors still under construction It was revealed earlier this year that bosses for the popular ITV2 dating series had started hunting for a new villa in a bid to 'enhance the show', after filming at the same property for five years. And eager fans were given a first look inside the new villa in pictures released on Tuesday, boasting an infinity pool, huge bedrooms, and panoramic views of Mallorca. The new fire pit area, where contestants couple up and are dumped from the villa, has also been extended and a runway has been installed to intensify the drama. A bigger villa means even more security after the show has become a target to intruders over the years. Building: Despite the rush to complete construction on the property, Mike insisted everything is bigger and better at the new villa as he described it as a 'glow up'. Pictured: Outdoor kitchen Producer Mike said: 'There are new security measures. We are very conscious of security and we have got a lot of things in place, plus the villa is bigger in size therefore we have more security.' Season one and two of Love Island was filmed at a property in southern Majorca's Santanyi region before being moved to Sant Llorenc des Cardassar in the north-east. In January 2020, the first winter series of the show was filmed in South Africa, before the show returned to its normal setting of Mallorca for the 2021 Summer series, a year after the 2020 Summer series was cancelled due to the global pandemic. The new villa's exterior look is more rustic in appearance and is spread over two floors, while the land surrounding the building includes a luxurious pool. Incredible: Eager fans were given a first look inside the new villa in pictures released on Tuesday, boasting an infinity pool, huge bedrooms, and panoramic views of Mallorca Kitted out: Islanders this year have been spoilt with an array of beauty products in the bathroom and the girls' dressing room, including makeup It was confirmed earlier this year that the daring series was moving on from the Sant Llorenc des Cardassar villa in the north-east of the island. Managing director of ITV's media and entrainment, Kevin Lygo, said Love Island was moving to a 'marvellous' new mansion in what appeared to be a bid to revitalise the show. 'We didn't own [the last property]. We rented it and we are choosing a new house for this summer so that is all secrecy,' Lygo told PA Media at the time. Ahead of the eighth series, Love Island producers confirmed to MailOnline that while food-eating challenges have been scrapped, sex is still on the menu, and they will assess each moment of pleasure between the Islanders on a case-by-case basis. Amping up the drama: The fire pit area, where contestants couple up and are dumped from the villa, has been extended and a runway has been installed to intensify the drama Asked by MailOnline if the 2022 series will show sex scenes unlike last year, executive producer Mike Spencer admitted there was no black out ban in place. He said: 'We don't decide anything in advance. You just don't know until you see the footage, genuinely, we are so reactive we are cutting around the clock. 'If something happens, we are cutting it overnight so until you see something it is hard to make a judgment and you just have to go with what is right. 'The show does get it right, it's suggestive and funny, music is a massive thing, and we will continue to do that but until we see it it's difficult to tell and it depends on who it is.' Measures: A bigger villa means even more security after the show has become a target to intruders over the years. Pictured: Outdoor seating area at the villa Producers have binned food eating challenges, and their collaborations with fast fashion brands such as Pretty Little Thing, as they strive to become more sustainably aware. Mike added: 'We always try to be better as a conscious, environmentally friendly production and we try our best to do that. 'We shouldn't be wasting food in this day and age. I like the mouth-to-mouth transfer challenges; I still think they're fun, but the viewers think they're gross.' This series' line-up includes Michael Owen's daughter Gemma, who told MailOnline in March that her famous father would be 'unhappy' if she signed up for the dating series. Lavish: The new villa is a lot more rustic in appearance and is spread over two floors, while the land surrounding the building includes a pool Raunchy: Asked by MailOnline if the 2022 series will show sex scenes unlike last year, executive producer Mike Spencer admitted there was no black out ban in place She said: 'I watch Love Island every summer but right now it's not something I would consider doing because I am not looking for love at the moment. 'Some of the challenges on Love Island, they're quite out there. I'm not sure I would be able to kiss 10 boys in a row but I do think it's a great show. 'But boys aren't on the cards right now and my dad wouldn't be very happy at all if I came back and said 'I'm going on Love Island. I would need to wait until I've moved out!' So far, the new cast have won praise, as the inclusion of the show's first ever deaf contestant alongside Islanders from ethnic minorities are hailed by fans as representing 'the most diverse' lineup seen on the ITV2 dating show. Cast: This series' line-up includes Michael Owen's daughter Gemma, who told MailOnline in March that her famous father would be 'unhappy' if she signed up for the dating series LOVE ISLAND 2022: DUTY OF CARE Comprehensive psychological support Training for all Islanders on the impacts of social media and handling potential negativity Training for all Islanders on financial management Detailed conversations with Islanders regarding the impact of participation on the show A proactive aftercare package which extends support to all Islanders following their participation on the show Guidance and advice on taking on management after the show Information courtesy of ITV Advertisement As the first crop of contestants were revealed on Love Island's social media accounts on Monday, fans also applauded the use of unfiltered and unedited photos of the new lineup. A year ago, the line-up came under fire from 'disappointed' fans as they complained about the lack of different ethnic backgrounds, body types and members of the LGBT community represented on the show. This year there was praise from some fans who declared: 'I see they paid some attention.' This year's Love Island contestants will be given inclusivity training, round the clock access to mental health experts and bespoke guidance on how to cope with instant fame as part of an extensive care package implemented ahead of its latest series. Praise: The inclusion of the show's first ever deaf contestant alongside Islanders from ethnic minorities have been hailed by fans as representing 'the most diverse' Love Island lineup ever Ahead of this series, contestants will be offered video training and guidance covering appropriate inclusive language around disability, sexuality, race and ethnicity, as well as general behaviours and micro-aggressions. The inclusion training, which Islanders are offered prior to entering the Villa, consists of conversations chaired by BCOMS (Black Collective of Media in Sport) founder Leon Mann MBE. It also included DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) consultant Hayley Bennett, disability specialist Shani Dhanda and broadcaster Sean Fletcher. The discussions have been devised to tackle topics including inclusive language, behaviour, creating safe spaces and being a good ally. Love Island starts at 9pm Monday 6th June on ITV2 and ITV Hub. Episodes are available the following morning on BritBox. Coco Austin has been on the receiving end of online criticism after she shared photos of herself in a G-string bikini from a family outing in the Bahamas. The beauty has been slammed for wearing the 'inappropriate' swimwear after she posted numerous snaps from her day at Baha Bay Water Park in Baha Mar last week. The model, 43, was at the resort with her daughter Chanel, six, and her husband Ice-T, 64, who took the sizzling snaps, with Coco joking that he turned into a 'paparazzi'. Too much? Coco Austin, 43, has been on the receiving end of online criticism after she shared photos of herself in a G-string bikini from a family outing in the Bahamas In the snaps the social media star can be seen in minuscule thong bottoms which show off her ample assets. As reported by The New York Post, the photos, which also show other children playing in the background 'have angered other parents' who have called Coco's bathing bottoms 'inappropriate.' One of her 3M Instagram followers wrote: 'Your bathing suit is soooo NOT appropriate for a water park.' Wow! The beauty has been slammed for wearing the 'inappropriate' swimwear after she shared numerous snaps from her day at Baha Bay Water Park in Baha Mar last Thursday Another follower added, 'So I gotta ask, don't you ever feel like maybe at a kid-friendly place a G-string is inappropriate? Just curious if you ever feel like that.' The angry comments continued, with another follower writing: 'It's disgusting that's what you think is acceptable to wear around children.' 'Girl put some clothes on when your child is around, smh [shaking my head],' one of Coco's other followers wrote. However, it doesn't appear that the pink-haired bombshell broke the resort's dress code, which states that 'swimsuits, pool attire and similar apparel are all acceptable clothing.' Family outing: The model, 43, was at the resort with her daughter Chanel, six, and her husband Ice-T, 64, who took the sizzling snaps, with Coco joking that he turned into a 'paparazzi' Famous derriere: In the sultry snaps the model can be seen in minuscule thong bottoms which show off her ample assets Many of Coco's fans pointed out that she was enjoying a vacation and should not be judged for wearing a bikini. 'She's in a two-piece, not naked,' one wrote, while another one added, 'She's in a bikini in the Bahamas. Why should she have to adjust her clothing because there are kids?' Austin shared the snaps to her Instagram last Thursday. She matched her dyed pink hair to her skimpy two-piece shimmering pink bathing suit, which featured a tiger stripe pattern and had baby blue trim. Chanel joined in on the matching with her own cute pink swimsuit that was of the same fabric as her mother's. Angry parents: The photos, which also show other children playing in the background 'have angered other parents' who have called Coco's bathing bottoms 'inappropriate' Skimpy: One of her 3M Instagram followers wrote: 'Your bathing suit is soooo NOT appropriate for a water park' The wife of Ice-T blocked out the piercing sun with a cool set of reflective aviator sunglasses, and she highlighted her hot pink hair, which she initially tied up before letting it flow down her back. Coco credited their two-piece suits to Sugar Dollz, a brand both have repped previously in recent days. The motherdaughter duo posed proudly in the waterpark while enjoying their pre-Memorial Day vacation. The actress wrote that she was happy to dress her daughter like herself in her caption. Online backlash: Another follower added, 'So I gotta ask, don't you ever feel like maybe at a kid-friendly place a G-string is inappropriate? Just curious if you ever feel like that' Support: However many of Coco's fans supported her, with one writing, 'She's in a bikini in the Bahamas. Why should she have to adjust her clothing because there are kids?' 'People ask if we'll ever get sick of matching... the answer is no!! We both love it too much been doing since Chanel was born,' she wrote. The two could be seen showing off their bathing suits while standing in front of stairs heading up to a waterslide, before they made their way up to the top. A solo shot featured Coco lying out on a lounge chair and highlighting her pert derriere after she untied her top to tan a bit. She gazed dramatically into the camera in a follow-up closeup selfie in which she showed off her coral-colored nails. Not breaking any laws: It doesn't appear that the bombshell broke the resort's dress code, which states that 'swimsuits, pool attire and similar apparel are all acceptable clothing' Earlier this week, Coco struck back at critics after they blasted her for pushing her six-year-old daughter in a stroller. 'This stroller thing trending right now about me using a stroller to push Chanel around is ridiculous! Isnt there a war & mass shootings going as we speak & you'd rather mess with my mothering? SMH,' she tweeted on Tuesday. Multiple fans rushed to her defense in the comments section and were sympathetic of her decision to use a stroller. 'Why does it matter to them smh. And screw that as long as they can still fit why not? Kids get tired one and two safer in larger crowds!! As long as Chanel is fine and willing and still fits and it works for you and Ice that's all that matters!! It's ridiculous!' one person tweeted. They were band once known for their hedonistic party lifestyle. Yet The Rolling Stones have reportedly swapped boozing for bikram yoga as they plan to focus on their wellness while on their Sixty tour, According to The Sun, Mick Jagger, 78, Ronnie Wood, 75, Keith Richards, 78, will have a yoga, workout and recovery room to make use of along with a special area to ensure they feel ready to go on stage ahead of their show at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Spain on Wednesday. No expense spared: The Rolling Stones are living in luxury while on tour and reportedly have yoga and recovery rooms to help them prepare for their gigs A source told the publication that the group run a 'tight ship' begind the scenes, adding: 'Mick likes to work out with his personal trainer before each show, so they have a fully equipped workout room ready for him. 'And Ronnie and Keith have a special 'tuning room' where they jam and play together and Mick will join them for a warm-up session before they head out on stage. 'This time preparing and getting ready allows them to be at their very best for the crowds.' MailOnline has contacted representatives for The Rolling Stones for comment. Tour: The rockers will perform at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Spain on Wednesday as part of their Sixty tour Steve Jordan is serving as the band's drummer on the tour following the death of Charlie Watts in August last year. The last time the band played in Madrid was at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in 2014 for their 14 on Fire tour. The Sixty Tour will conclude almost two months after June in Stockholm, Sweden. However, on June 25 and July 3 UK fans will be set to fill out Hyde Park. The Sixty Tour show will be the first European tour the Rolling Stones will perform without Charlie. Luxury: Mick Jagger, 78, Ronnie Wood, 75, Keith Richards, 78, will have a workout room to make use of along with a special area to ensure they feel ready to go on stage In 2021 Ronnie also revealed he had secretly battled cancer for the second time during lockdown, admitting he was diagnosed with small cell cancer but had 'come through with the all-clear.' It is the second time Ronnie has beaten cancer, as in 2017 he successfully fought lung cancer after 54 years of smoking 25 to 30 cigarettes a day. And after having part of his lung removed he confirmed he was cancer free in 2018. Passing: The Sixty Tour show will be the first European tour the Rolling Stones will perform without their drummer Charlie Watts following his death in August 2021 Married At First Sight star Hayley Vernon has opened up about her extraordinary journey from struggling ice addict to millionaire porn star. The 34-year-old revealed in a documentary by The Wash that she's made more than $1.3million doing hardcore porn on OnlyFans in just two years. 'Can you imagine that opening my legs has got me this far?' she said. 'Can you imagine that opening my legs has got me this far?' Married At First Sight star Hayley Vernon has opened up about her journey from ice addict to millionaire porn star Before becoming one of the country's most successful adult entertainers, Hayley was hooked on crystal meth and had to steal food from Coles and Woolworths to survive. 'I was an ice addict for the biggest part of my adult life. The way in which my life is today, I could never, ever have imagined,' she said. 'I have to pinch myself some days - most days, actually.' Hayley won Best Newcomer at the The Adult Industry Choice Awards held in Sydney earlier this month. New start: Before becoming one of the country's most successful adult entertainers, Hayley was hooked on meth and had to steal food from Coles and Woolworths to survive She has also put her impressive earnings into property, building her own home on the Gold Coast last year. 'I remember moving into my house on the Gold Coast, waking up and seeing this waterfront view, and I was just like, "Stop it, how did you get here?"' she said. Hayley doesn't hold back on OnlyFans, doing everything from threesomes to X-rated scenes with other women. No limits: Hayley doesn't hold back on OnlyFans, doing everything from threesomes to X-rated scenes with other women 'People can see me do boy-girl content, girl-girl content, male-male-male content there's pretty much nothing that I don't do,' she boasted. Despite finding fame and fortune on the porn circuit, the former tradie has struggled to find love due to her controversial career. 'Dating is non-existent. It's really difficult to find someone who can see through the fact you do porn for work,' she explained. 'I think the people that look at sex work like it's shameful aren't secure in themselves.' Star: Hayley won Best Newcomer at the The Adult Industry Choice Awards earlier this month Glamorous: Hayley is pictured mingling with other porn stars She has now frozen her eggs, explaining to The Wash that 'a huge goal of mine is to become a mother'. Hayley shot to fame on the seventh season of Married At First Sight in 2020. She was paired with farmer David Cannon on the show, but their union ended in disaster when he scrubbed a dirty toilet with her toothbrush after an argument. Erika Jayne appeared to suggest that the 'victims' of her ex husband Tom Girardi's alleged embezzlement scheme could be lying about not receiving their settlement funds. In a preview for Wednesday's episode of the Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills, the 50-year-old reality star reflected on her ongoing legal woes and speculated about the validity of the alleged victims' claims. Last year, Girardi was accused of misappropriating settlement funds intended for the families of victims of the fatal crash of Lion Air Flight 610 in 2018. 189 passengers and crew members were killed. Erika has been accused of aiding her husband's alleged scheme which has resulted in her being named in a number of lawsuits, including a $50million racketeering suit filed in April. Speculation: Erika Jayne appeared to suggest that the 'victims' of her ex husband Tom Girardi's alleged embezzlement scheme could be lying about not receiving their settlement funds. Last year, Girardi was accused of misappropriating settlement funds intended for the families of victims of the fatal crash of Lion Air Flight 610 in 2018. 189 passengers and crew members were killed; Erika pictured In the teaser, Erika and her castmates were hunkered down at Kyle Richards' sprawling Palm Springs home, which is the same place Erika was at when the Los Angeles Times released their bombshell expose regarding her ex husband's alleged crimes in 2021. 'When I was here a year ago, it was so crushing and I'm so glad that we've moved past all our s***,' said Erika, who went on to thank Richards, Lisa Rinna, Dorit Kemsley and Garcelle Beauvais for dealing with her as she felt 'backed into a f***ing corner every day' at that time. Though she expressed relief over being able to 'at least catch my breath now,' Erika - who has maintained her innocence - acknowledged that she's 'far from done' with her legal drama. As Erika lamented about being 'dragged through the mud for something that I didn't do, never happened' for over a year, her co-star Garcelle wondered if the backlash arose because Erika seemingly 'didn't show any compassion' publicly for the alleged victims. Teaser: In a preview for Wednesday's episode of the Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills, the 50-year-old reality star reflected on her ongoing legal woes and speculated about the validity of the alleged victims' claims 'You didn't show like, "Oh my god, I hope it didn't really happen,"' the 55-year-old actress said, with Erika replying that she 'really hoped it didn't' happen but that she was unable to express those feelings publicly because they're in litigation. 'When you're in a legal situation like that, every word counts. We're not even sure that there were people that weren't paid,' she explained. All of Erika's co-stars appeared shocked by the suggestion, with Kyle attempting to get some clarification by asking, 'You're saying that we don't know for a fact that these people weren't paid, these victims?' Dorit added: 'You mean that there's a chance that they can be lying?' Reflecting: In the teaser, Erika and her castmates were hunkered down at Kyle Richards' sprawling Palm Springs home, which is the same place Erika was at when the Los Angeles Times released their bombshell expose regarding her ex husband's alleged crimes in 2021 Thankful: 'When I was here a year ago, it was so crushing and I'm so glad that we've moved past all our s***,' said Erika, who went on to thank Kyle, Lisa Rinna, Dorit Kemsley and Garcelle Beauvais for dealing with her as she felt 'backed into a f***ing corner every day' at that time; Garcelle and Kyle pictured Declaring innocence: As Erika lamented about being 'dragged through the mud for something that I didn't do, never happened' for over a year, her co-star Garcelle wondered if the backlash arose because Erika seemingly 'didn't show any compassion' publicly for the alleged victims 'There's a chance,' Erika replied. 'No way' uttered Garcelle, to which Erika swiftly snapped back: 'Yeah way. We still don't have all the facts, that's why I keep saying this isn't wrapped up. It doesn't matter what someone claims.' In a confessional, Garcelle further doubted Erika's suggestion and seemingly found it hard to believe that 'regular people' would go out of their way to cause all this fuss for funds they'd already received. 'These victims are regular people, why would they be coming after Tom? Why would all these lawsuits come about if they were paid? They would just go live their lives,' she explained to viewers. Lack of compassion? 'You didn't show like, "Oh my god, I hope it didn't really happen,"' the 55-year-old actress said, with Erika replying that she 'really hoped it didn't' happen but that she was unable to express those feelings publicly because they're in litigation 'When you're in a legal situation like that, every word counts. We're not even sure that there were people that weren't paid,' she explained. All of Erika's co-stars appeared shocked by the suggestion, with Kyle attempting to get some clarification by asking, 'You're saying that we don't know for a fact that these people weren't paid, these victims?' The latest teaser comes comes days after Erika was accused of trying to slow down a $5 million fraud lawsuit brought against her by refusing to file her company's taxes. The law firms of Philip R. Sheldon and Robert P. Finn, which are suing Erika, claim she is trying to 'gain an unfair advantage in the litigation,' according to court filings obtained by Page Six. The declaration, which was filed Thursday in the California Superior Court, accuses the reality star of being aware that her company EJ Global was suspended by the California Franchise Tax Board, which they allege has delayed the lawsuit's discovery process. The filing also claims that Erika has been aware of the suspension since at least February 5 of this year. 'Yet, 110 days later, EJ Global has done nothing to get the LLC out of suspended status,' wrote the attorney Ronald Richards, who represents the law firms. According to Richards, his clients aren't able to properly access EJ Global's documents via discovery because of the suspension, and the delay might help Erika's position. The latest teaser comes comes days after Erika was accused of trying to slow down a $5 million fraud lawsuit brought against her by refusing to file her company's taxes. The law firms of Philip R. Sheldon and Robert P. Finn, which are suing Erika, claim she is trying to 'gain an unfair advantage in the litigation,' according to court filings obtained by Page Six; Erika seen with Tom Girardi in 2016 'Plaintiffs cannot wait any longer as now Erika Girardi is using the suspension to gain an unfair advantage in the litigation,' he added. The law firms have filed suit against Erika and Girardi, accusing them of fraud and breach of contract. They claim they went unpaid after they should have received a portion of lawsuit settlements managed by Girardi's law firm Girardi & Keese. They claim that the missing money was transferred to EJ Global, where it allegedly helped pay for Erika's luxurious purchases. Girardi allegedly gave her $25 million over the course of 12 years, but Richards claims his clients deserve $5 million of that sum. The clock is ticking, as a hearing is scheduled for July 21, 2022. In his filing, the attorney urged the court to order Erika to file EJ Global's tax returns, which would be necessary to get it out of the suspension, within 10 days starting on Thursday. But Evan C. Borges, who represents Erika in the ongoing lawsuit, tried to shift the blame for the suspension to her estranged husband Tom Girardi, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease and has been staying at a senior living community that specializes in memory care. 'The EJ Global LLC suspension is part of the mess that Tom Girardi [TG], Girardi &Keese [GK], and their outside accountants dumped on Erika and left her to sort out with no access to records,' Borges claimed in a statement to Page Six from Thursday. He alleged that Girardi, along with Girardi & Keese and its accounts, had 'always managed the finances of EJ Global LLC, not Erika.' No rush: Richards alleges that Jayne knew the LLC was suspended since February, and she would have to file its taxes to end the suspension, which she has not yet done; still from RHOBH That would suggest that the financial records needed to properly file the LLC's taxes were held by the accountants who previously worked for the company. Erika's lawyer added that she was the 'interest holder' of the LLC, but he claimed it was 'virtually impossible' for her to 'figure out how to file tax returns without any financial records.' 'We have not given up trying, but without any of the records, it is an extremely difficult task. The Sheldon plaintiffs and their Twitter attorneys have no case,' he claimed in the statement. 'Their entire case is based on unethical fee splitting agreements with GK, which are unenforceable,' he added. The outlet also reported that Borges previously filed a motion on May 17 requesting that Erika's financial records be kept private. He claimed in the filing that 'information in the Confidential Documents has no bearing on or relevance whatsoever to any of the claims or defenses in this action.' Shifting blame: Jayne's lawyer disputed the allegations and said that Girardi, his law firm and its accounts were responsible for tax filings for Jayne's LLC In a response, Richards accused Borges' motion of being 'meritless,' and he said his clients were 'hamstrung from using the identity [of EJ Global's funding source] to explain why Plaintiffs are investigating where their money went or why they are asking about certain individuals.' Asked about his request to keep Erika's financial details confidential, Borges told Page Six that his motion 'speaks for itself.' He accused the plaintiffs in the lawsuit of trying to 'publicize' how his client 'obtained funds from another citizen to help her pay her bills.' Borges also suggested in his statement that the fact that she received help means she couldn't be hiding a large amount of funds from the plaintiffs. 'The fact that Erika has needed assistance from others to pay her bills shows that there is no hidden treasure she ever took for herself that really belongs to the bankruptcy estates of Girardi or Girardi & Keese.' Turning the tables: Jayne's attorney claimed that the plaintiffs in the suit acted with her ex Girardi to 'violate ethical rules'; still from RHOBH Borges' statement accused the plaintiffs of seemingly wanting to embarrass Jayne, as he claimed the Girardi & Keese trustee had previously received the information due to the plaintiffs' 'threat of pay me money 'or else' I go public.' He concluded by claiming that his client wanted to 'protect EJ Global LLC,' but she wouldn't 'pay its taxes and as a matter of law, cannot shield her LLC from this case while it is suspended.' The lawyer also suggested it was ridiculous that his client, 'as a non-lawyer with a separate career an entertainer, somehow ran the finances of the law firm and somehow participated in the decisions made by TG and GK not to pay an illegal fee-split to the Sheldon plaintiffs.' This is just the latest legal trouble for Erika, who was previously named in a $2.1 million lawsuit in February of last year for allegedly aiding her estranged husband's embezzlement scheme. Her situation got even more dire in April of this year, when she was targeted with a $50 million racketeering lawsuit. Her ex has been accused of embezzling settlement funds intended for the families of victims of Lion Air Flight 610, which crashed into the Java Sea in 2018, killing all 189 passengers and crew aboard it. Karl Stefanovic made fun of a young woman who stripped down to a bikini for an ocean swim on Wednesday - as temperatures plunged across southern and eastern Australia. The Today show host, 47, couldn't help but remark on the woman's skimpy swimwear as she ran into the freezing cold water while rugged-up reporter Christine Ahern delivered a live cross from the beach. After Ms Ahern updated viewers on the polar blast, Stefanovic feigned sadness as he joked that the female swimmer 'couldn't afford' a proper swimming costume. The big freeze: Karl Stefanovic (left) made fun of a young woman who stripped down to a bikini for a swim on Wednesday - as temperatures plunged across southern and eastern Australia 'This poor young lady can't afford one of those full costumes. It's very sad, isn't it?' Stefanovic said. His co-anchor Allison Langdon called him out for making a joke at the woman's expense. 'Oh, ease up!' she said, adding that the woman was 'brave' for jumping into the surf. 'This poor young lady can't afford one of those full costumes': The Today show host, 47, couldn't help but remark on the woman's skimpy swimwear as she ran into the freezing cold water while rugged-up reporter Christine Ahern delivered a live cross from the beach Stefanovic replied: '[She] didn't have enough money to pay for the costume...' Langdon wasn't impressed, telling her co-host his 'dad joke' about the woman's bikini wasn't particularly funny. As they wrapped up the segment, Stefanovic teased he could have made a more 'controversial' joke but chose not to. 'Dad joke': Allison Langdon called out Stefanovic for making a joke at the woman's expense Winter officially began for the country on Wednesday with snow falling near both Sydney and Melbourne. The cold snap saw an icy blast sweep across large swathes of Australia, bringing chilly temperatures, snow and bitter winds. Victoria's alpine region and New South Wales's Central Tablelands to the west of Sydney both copped heavy snow. Cold weather: Winter officially began for the country on Wednesday with snow falling near both Sydney and Melbourne. (Pictured: a woman wrapped up warm in Sydney's CBD) Melbourne, which is forecast to hit a top of 12C on Wednesday, recorded a low of 4.4C at Melbourne Airport just after midnight, while Ferny Creek, in the Dandenong Ranges, plunged to 1.8C. NSW didn't fare much better. Temperatures across the Sydney Basin are set to drop to a low of 6C and top of 15C as winds reach up to 90km/h on Wednesday. Icy conditions are also set for Western Sydney, where Liverpool, Richmond and Campbelltown are all facing tops of 14C. Temperatures dropped three to six degrees below the May average across the nation's south-east on Tuesday as we waved goodbye to Autumn. Windy: Wind warnings are in place across Australia's south-east, with gusts expected to hit 90km/h in some areas However, meteorologist Helen Reid, from the Bureau of Meteorology, says it is normal for temperatures to dive around this time of year. 'We always have some beautiful falls of snow in NSW and Victoria in late May, and then by the time the ski season opens in June all the snows gone again,' she told the Sydney Morning Herald. 'So there are cold periods at the end of May quite regularly.' Heidi Klum's daughter Leni looked incredible as she took to her Instagram Stories on Monday to share a sultry bikini snap. The young model, 18, showed off her ample cleavage and trim waist in a skimpy blue wrap triangle bikini top with orange trim while relaxing by the pool. Choosing to keep her lower half a tad warmer, the rising star paired her laid-back look with grey sweatpants and tan UGG boots. Stunner: Heidi Klum's daughter Leni looked incredible, as she took to her Instagram Stories on Monday to show off her ample cleavage and trim waist in a skimpy blue bikini top Leni wore her long brunette tresses pinned back into a bun, and accentuated her stunning features with a tad of mascara and blush. The beauty also accessorized with a couple of bracelets on her wrist. She wrote 'Nothing but @frankiesbikinis' on the photo, promoting the Francesca Aiello-owned swimwear line. The stunner also posted a new modeling snap to her main page looking absolutely flawless as she promoted Dior's new Diorshow Iconic Overcurl mascara. Budding model: The young model also posted a new snap to her main page looking absolutely flawless as she promoted Dior's new Diorshow Iconic Overcurl mascara In the stunning shot she is seen wearing delicate makeup and sporting gold and pearl Dior earrings. Leni has followed in her mother's footsteps and made her modeling debut on the cover of Vogue Germany's January/February 2021 issue alongside Heidi, 49. The German-born model has been one of her daughter's biggest boosters as she goes on her own modeling journey, and recently celebrated Leni's starring role in a video for a Michael Kors and Ellesse collaboration. Heidi's girl: Leni has followed in her mom's footsteps and made her modeling debut on the cover of Vogue Germany's January 2021 issue alongside Heidi, 49; The duo pictured in 2021 Supportive: Heidi has been a big supporter in Leni's modeling journey, and recently celebrated her starring role in a video for a Michael Kors and Ellesse collaboration Leni made an appearance in a 15-second clip in the MMK X ellesse Logo Stretch Nylon Swimsuit along with shorts and slider sandals. 'Best choice in model @michaelkors,' Heidi captioned her post. In October of 2001, Leni turned heads as she hit the red carpet with her famous step dad Seal, 59, who adopted her shortly after his marriage to Heidi in 2005. She looked gorgeous in a black mini dress, which was cinched at the waist, and featured a tasseled hem. Family: In October of 2001 the star turned heads as she hit the red carpet with her famous step dad Seal, 59, who adopted her shortly after his marriage to Heidi in 2005 The beauty showed off her long legs in a pair of black strappy heels and left her long blonde hair loose. Leni's biological father is Italian multi-millionaire Flavio Briatore but Seal is basically the only father she has ever known. Her mom Heidi shares three biological children with the musician - Lou, 12, Henry, 16, and Johan, 15. She and Seal divorced in 2014 and the TV personality tied the knot with fellow German Tokio Hotel guitarist Tom Kaulitz in 2019. Oh Se-hoon, first row center, incumbent Seoul Mayor and the candidate of the ruling People Power Party for the Seoul mayoral election, raises hands with his campaign team in celebration in Seoul, Wednesday, as he watches TV coverage of an exit poll showing Oh being projected to win the election over Song Young-gil, the candidate of the main opposition Democratic Party. Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geun By Kwon Mee-yoo Incumbent Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) has won another term in the election against Song Young-gil of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). With the victory, he is poised to become a potential candidate for the next presidential election. The Seoul mayoral post has long been considered a springboard for the presidency. Former President Lee Myung-bak was mayor of the city before his landslide victory in the 2007 presidential election. As the vote count wrapped up, Oh secured 59 percent of the votes, whereas his rival Song scored 39.2 percent. The support trend appearing in actual votes counted was in line with the exit poll results that were made public when polling stations closed at 7:30 p.m. when voting for COVID-19 patients and others in self-isolation ended. It projected Oh would comfortably win the election by a double-digit margin. The exit poll was taken by the Korean Broadcasters' Association (KBA) in collaboration with the broadcasters KBS, SBS and MBC. Oh watched the exit poll results on a TV at the Korea Press Center with his campaign workers, and thanked those who supported him. "I am grateful for citizens of Seoul who once again rooted for me. Though I feel a bit relieved, I will follow the vote count as exit polls are just exit polls," Oh said. Oh, a lawyer-turned-politician, began his political career in 2000 when he was elected as a lawmaker of the Grand National Party, a predecessor of the PPP, representing Seoul's Gangnam District B. His career took off when he became mayor of Seoul in July 2006, staying in office for five years. His major policies during his first and second terms include the Design Seoul project and creative governance in city administration. But Oh's second term was cut short in 2011 when he resigned to fulfill his commitment after losing a referendum on free meals for all students. Oh opposed the free lunch program for all students, instead suggesting free meals for children from low-income families only. The heated pros-and-cons debate over the Seoul Metropolitan Council's push for free school meals for all students led to the referendum. But the turnout for the referendum reached only 25.7 percent, failing to meet the quorum. This gave the school meals program the green light to go ahead. Oh stepped down to take responsibility for the failure. After resigning, Oh headed to the U.K. with his family as a fellow at the Graduate School of Social Science and Public Policy at King's College London. He also worked as a civic adviser for the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), sharing his expertise in Kigali, Rwanda, and Lima, Peru. In 2016, Oh ran for a National Assembly seat representing Seoul's Jongno District, a constituency with political significance, but lost to Chung Sye-kyun of the DPK. Oh once again failed his bid to join the National Assembly in 2020 when he lost to Ko Min-jung of the DPK, an announcer-turned-political rookie who also served as a spokesperson for former President Moon Jae-in. After losing to Ko, Oh's political career seemed to go downhill, but he rose up once again when he won the PPP's primary for the Seoul mayoral by-election last year, beating Na Kyung-won. As a unified candidate from the conservative bloc, Oh won the by-election over Park Young-sun of the DPK, returning as Seoul mayor after a decade. According to the Local Autonomy Act, the term of a metropolitan mayor is four years and one can serve only three consecutive terms. Since Oh began his first and second terms in 2006 and 2010, but then handed it over to Park Won-soon of the DPK, he was able to run in the 2021 by-election to finish the rest of Park's term, and then run for re-election again this year. His return once again to Seoul City Hall paves the way to a possible presidential bid in the future. The Bachelor's Snezana Wood went through a traumatic ordeal after giving birth to her daughter Harper Jones prematurely last month. The newborn remained in hospital for 24 days after being rushed into the NICU when both mother and daughter contracted an infection. On Wednesday, Snezana, 41, reflected on her time being pregnant with her little girl. Reflecting: The Bachelor's Snezana Wood shared photos of herself pregnant in a bikini on Wednesday, which she said were taken just two weeks before the traumatic birth of her newborn baby girl Harper Jones She posted photos of herself showing off her baby bump in a bikini as she spent time at the beach in Perth - two weeks before welcoming Harper. 'These pictures of a pregnant me were taken in Perth just a couple of weeks before I had little Harper,' she wrote in the caption. 'I wish I had stopped to enjoy the pregnancy more. Its my one regret.' 'Is there anything you would have done differently or regret not doing when you were pregnant?' she asked. 'These pictures of a pregnant me were taken in Perth just a couple of weeks before I had little Harper,' she wrote in the caption. 'I wish I had stopped to enjoy the pregnancy more. Its my one regret' Over the weekend, Snezana and Sam finally took their Harper home from the hospital. They shared photos to Instagram of baby Harper in their arms after three weeks in hospital and ICU. 'Home time Harper. 24 days and it's finally time to come home,' Sam captioned a series of sweet images of the trio reunited. Ordeal: Harper remained in hospital for 24 days after being rushed into the NICU when both mother and daughter contracted an infection. All pictured On Friday, Snezana had updated her fans on the progress of Harper's recovery in an Instagram post. Alongside photos of Harper being bathed, she explained she was doing better. 'Our precious little Harper. Three weeks - no monitors and no feeding tubes!' the delighted mother wrote. Happy day: On Saturday, The Bachelor stars shared photos to Instagram of baby Harper Jones in their arms after three weeks in hospital and ICU 'Home time Harper. 24 days and it's finally time to come home,' Sam captioned a series of sweet images of the trio reunited Last week, Snezana revealed her devastation at being unable to take little Harper Jones home. The tot, who was born a month premature, remained in hospital after being rushed into the ICU. 'Our little Harper still isn't home with us. It breaks my heart 1000 times a day,' she wrote alongside images of the baby. Recovery: On Friday, Snezana had updated her fans on the progress of Harper's recovery in an Instagram post. 'Our precious little Harper. Three weeks - no monitors and no feeding tubes!' the delighted mother wrote 'But then I remember she's in the best place with incredible doctors and nurses caring for her around the clock. 'She's doing so well now. I know she'll be home soon enough and her three big sisters will finally be able to meet her but till then it's back and forth to the hospital a number of times a day whilst trying to keep it together'. The images showed Harper being cradled by her father, former Bachelor Sam, with a tube in her nose. Hard: The tot, who was born a month premature, remained in hospital after being rushed into the ICU Sam announced the news of the baby's birth earlier this month, uploading a photo gallery of Snezana and himself posing with Harper, as well as a caption detailing his wife's health scare immediately after giving birth. Posting a photo of Snezana lying in the hospital with newborn Harper, Sam, 41, wrote: 'So here's a story from the last five days. On Wednesday May 4th, one month early we welcomed Harper Jones Wood to the world. '30 minutes after this photo was taken. Snez became sick. Really sick and before we knew it Harper was off to the special care unit and Mum was into ICU. Baby love: Sam announced the news of the baby's birth earlier this month, uploading a photo gallery of Snezana a posing with Harper, as well as a caption detailing his wife's health scare immediately after giving birth 'Of course in true Snez mum fashion, her only thoughts were for her little baby and it was breaking her heart that she couldn't hold her,' he said. Sam explained that Snezana and Harper were both struck down by an infection, and were forced to separate for five days. 'After finding an infection that both Snez and Harper had picked up and some incredible care from the nurses and doctors they were reunited yesterday and both doing well. Swipe across to see the video of being reunited. Dad crying, oh it was soooo beautiful,' he wrote. Unwell: Sam explained that Snezana and Harper were both struck down by an infection, and were forced to separate for five days 'Keep swiping to see all of the girls terrorising mum in her hospital room for Mothers Day this morning. 'As a dad I love my girls more than anything in this world but there truly is no bond like that of mother and child.' Sam wrapped up the post, '@snezanawood you really are the strongest and most beautiful person I know and like you, thank god the force is strong in little Harper'. Big brood: Snezana already shares daughters Charlie, two, and Willow, three, with her husband of four years. She is also mother 16-year-old Eve from a previous marriage (all pictured) The accompanying photos showed a tired but happy Snezana finally holding her newborn girl. Snezana already shares daughters Charlie, two, and Willow, three, with her husband of four years. She is also mother 16-year-old Eve from a previous marriage. Snezana met Sam on The Bachelor in 2015, and they announced in November they were expecting another daughter together. Matt Landmark was eliminated from the MasterChef on Tuesday night's episode of the cooking show. The talented chef saw his dream come to an end after failing to produce enough gelato in a pressure test with Donato Toce from Gelato Messina. Matt was tasked with re-creating Messina's famous 'Honey' gelato dessert and was pitted against co-stars Montana, Daniel and Michael. Gone: Matt Landmark was eliminated from the MasterChef on Tuesday night's episode of the cooking show Despite managing to blow out the perfect 'beehive' in the challenge, Matt fell behind when it came to the actual gelato. The judges said the teacher had too much financier (a French cake) in his dessert and not enough gelato. Fatal error: The judges said the teacher had too much financier (a French cake) in his dessert and not enough gelato Donato said it was a fatal error for the enthusiastic cook given the challenge was essentially based on gelato. That said, Matt was complimented on his 'beautiful beehive' and faultless tuile, which were the other elements in the dish. Speaking to Ten Play after his elimination Matt said he accepted the result of the challenge, even thought he was disappointed. Precision: That said, Matt was complimented on his 'beautiful beehive' and faultless tuile 'What Donato said was that, amongst the financier, you just couldn't taste the gelato and, for him, it was a gelato challenge,' Matt said. 'I'll wear that and I'm okay with that. I've made my peace with that I think.' Matt said appearing on the show was a steep learning curve for him - forcing him out of his comfort zone. 'What Donato said was that, amongst the financier, you just couldn't taste the gelato and, for him, it was a gelato challenge,' Matt said. 'I'll wear that and I'm okay with that. I've made my peace with that I think.' Here (from left): Daniel, Michael, Montana, Matt 'Suddenly you're in a kitchen with 23 others and they're all that best cook,' he continued. 'You've got to reevaluate, how can you stand out? How can you improve your food?' MasterChef Australia: Fans & Favourites continues Wednesday, Ten, 7.30pm. Mindy Kaling was active on social media on Tuesday as she shared new images in a yellow coord. The 42-year-old multi-hyphenate showed she was in the spring spirit as she wrote in an Instagram caption: 'Spring is sprangin.' She bared a bit of her midriff in the two-piece number, which had thick white trimming. Pretty: Mindy Kaling was active on social media on Tuesday as she shared new images in a yellow coord Mindy displayed her stellar sense of style in the look from fashion brand Staud, which she tagged in the photos. Additionally, she carried a small, white heart-shaped handbag by Mehry Mu. Continuing the carefully coordinated ensemble she wore a pair of white pumps from YSL. The Cambridge, Massachusetts native styled her dark locks in a wet and wavy style with a subtle side part. Beach waves: The Cambridge, Massachusetts native styled her dark locks in a wet and wavy style with a subtle side part She smiled in each of the photos, posing outdoors in front of a row of small trees planted in an orange structure. The TV writer accessorized with multiple pieces of gold jewelry, including a chainlink bracelet from Jenny Bird. She wore figure eight-shaped drop earrings and a solid bracelet on another wrist. Happy: She smiled in each of the photos, posing outdoors in front of a row of small trees planted in an orange structure The mom-of-one looked fantastic in the content shared with her 6.3 million followers on the popular app. Her face was accentuated with flattering warm tones to bring out her naturally beautiful features. Kaling stunned with brick-colored blush, perfectly shaped brows, and fluttery eyelashes. She rounded out the makeup look with a swipe of plum-hued lipstick. Bejeweled: The TV writer accessorized with multiple pieces of gold jewelry, including a chainlink bracelet from Jenny Bird The actress' most recent public appearance was at the Gold Gala held in Los Angeles earlier this month. Sharing images from the night of the ceremony she wrote in a caption, 'SO excited to go to the Gold Gala and receive the A100 Legend (!!) Award and see my friends and some of my favorite people in Hollywood.' She stunned in a long-sleeved black and white printed dress that was adorned in white sequins. Stunner: Mindy posed in a black and white print dress from her appearance at the Gold Gala Mindy continued, 'Our community is so strong. I'm honored to be part of this great event that shines a light on our fabulous contributions!' She then said, 'See you soon @goldhouseco!' to which the organization replied: 'honored to have you!!' 'OH! And tonight I'm proudly repping some incredible Asian artists,' she added before tagging designers NAEEM KHAN LTD, ISHARYA, and Jimmy Choo. Selma Blair looked to be in good spirits as she took her two dogs out for a walk in Los Angeles on Tuesday. The Hellboy actress, 49, sported a laid-back look for the outing, wearing a black pullover vest over a sleeveless white collar shirt and black pants. She paired the casual outfit with red, black, and white Jordan sneakers, and shielded her eyes from the California sun with a pair of sunglasses. Out with the pups: Selma Blair looked to be in good spirits as she took her two dogs out for a walk in Los Angeles on Tuesday The Cruel Intentions beauty accessorized her look with a crossbody strap that attached to her cellphone. The Michigan-born star wore her short pixie style platinum blonde tresses in a messy 'do as she appeared to battle with some light wind during the outing. She also toted a large black and white canvas bag slung across her shoulder, and kept energized during the day with a large iced coffee in her hand. Causal style: The Hellboy actress, 49, sported a laid-back look for the outing, wearing a black pullover vest over a sleeveless white collar shirt and black pants The Grammy Award nominee - who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in August 2018 - smiled on the walk, despite having had a difficult year. Blair recently obtained a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend Ronald Carlson, 52, who she claims tried to strangle her during an altercation at her home in Los Angeles on February 22. Photos of her taken shortly after the incident showed her seemingly topless with her head thrown back and her neck extended to reveal what appeared to be red marks along the sides of her neck. Relaxed: She paired the casual outfit with red, black, and white Jordan sneakers, and shielded her eyes from the California sun with a pair of sunglasses Accessories: The Cruel Intentions beauty accessorized her look with a crossbody strap that attached to her cellphone She also appeared to have dark bruises on her throat just below her chin, along with some bloodied scratches. The photos were included as part of the documents for the actresses' restraining order request. Blair claimed the incident occurred after they had recently ended their long-term relationship, according to legal documents obtained by TMZ. Keeping up her energy: She also toted a large black and white canvas bag slung across her shoulder, and kept energized on the outing with a large iced coffee in her hand The star claimed that Carlson lunged at her following an argument, then jumped on top of her body and began to strangle her. The report claims that Blair had been medicated at the time of the alleged attack due to her ongoing illness and told Carlson that she had not been feeling well. In his version of events, Carlson claims that he was at her home when she had asked him to sit with her. Blondie: The Michigan-born star wore her short pixie style platinum blonde tresses in a messy 'do Carlson alleges that Blair became 'angry and antagonistic' when he declined to sit with her, and claims she got in his face and said, 'Your daughter is a f***ing loser.' According to the Los Angeles Times, Blair got upset that he wanted to end their relationship. Blair has a 10-year-old son, Arthur, who she shares with with ex Jason Bleick, while Carlson has a 12-year-old daughter from a previous relationship. Carlson denied the claims and filed a petition for his own restraining order against the actress, which was denied. Rough: It's been a tough year for the star, who obtained a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend Ronald Carlson, 52, after claiming that he tried to strangle her during an altercation on February 22; Pictured with Carlson in 2017 Blair has also delved into her alcohol abuse in her recent memoir, Mean Baby, which hit book shelves on May 17. In the book she revealed that she got drunk for the first time when she was just seven years old and became an 'expert alcoholic' even as a child, sharing how she would sip alcohol to quell her anxiety through her school years. She also detailed the sexual abuse she's suffered. In an excerpt of the memoir obtained by People, Blair described how her drinking got worse in college and on more than one occasion, she was too drunk to fight off men who raped her. 'I have been raped, multiple times, because I was too drunk to say the words "Please. Stop,"' she said. Blair has been sober since 2016, and she has worked on her trauma with a therapist. The Nanny is one of the most popular TV sitcoms of all time. And one of the regions where it was most successful was Australia, where it has enjoyed a huge following for decades. The series has now spawned a children's book, N Is for the Nanny, which was penned by Australian author Rebecca Kelly and benefits Fran Dreschers Cancer Schmancer charity. 'The Nanny is wildly popular in Australia!' Fran Drescher has discussed the enduring popularity of The Nanny in Australia Speaking to the Hot Takes and Deep Dives podcast, Fran, 64, explained how the show's popularity Down Under led her to collaborate with Rebecca on the book. 'The Nanny is wildly popular in Australia,' she told host Jess Rothschild. 'I used to go on press tours there because there was such Nanny-mania when the shows were still being produced,' she continued. 'And it continues to be a very beloved series there, for which I'm extremely grateful.' Fran explained that Rebecca Kelly was a huge fan of The Nanny, and came up with the idea to pen a children's book about the sitcom which could raise money for Cancer Schmancer. Read all about it! The sitcom has spawned a children's book, N Is for the Nanny, which was penned by author Rebecca Kelly and benefits Fran Drescher's Cancer Schmancer charity The Nanny follows Fran as a working-class girl from Flushing, Queens, who is hired to look after the children of a dashing and fabulously wealthy Broadway producer. She finds herself in an emotionally repressed household but develops a strong and loving bond with the children - and catches the eye of their widowed father. Rumours of a Nanny reboot have been swirling around for years, with ideas ranging from bringing back the original cast to having rapper Cardi B replace Drescher in the starring role. Last year, Charles Shaughnessy, who played Maxwell Sheffield on the show, revealed a reboot had definitely been discussed. Popular: 'It continues to be a very beloved series there, for which I'm extremely grateful,' Fran shared on the Hot Takes and Deep Dives podcast 'There's a couple of ideas that I've heard floated around, but one of them that [Fran Drescher] has come up with is a little bit of genius,' he said. 'So, if it can be pulled together and there's a lot of different strands involved, I could absolutely see it working.' Charles said the key to making the reboot work would be to follow the characters where they are now in their lives, but to maintain the general essence of the original. 'If you could find a way of bringing those characters, as they were, but now 25 years later, in a similar kind of framework of Ms Fine creating chaos to the long suffering Maxwell, then it can work,' he explained. 'This idea could do that, so I'm holding my breath along with everyone else to see if it works out.' Watch the Iconic Series, The Nanny only on Stan. Married At First Sight star Olivia Frazer has revealed she is 'heartbroken' and 'embarrassed' after her boyfriend Jackson Lonie cheated on her last week. A 'highly inebriated' Jackson, 30, was filmed passionately kissing another woman at a bar in Melbourne on Friday night, leaving Olivia shattered. After initially saying she was 'speechless' over the betrayal, the 28-year-old issued another statement on Wednesday reassuring fans she was doing 'okay' and 'focusing on healing' - but did not specify whether her relationship was still intact. Shattered: Married At First Sight star Olivia Frazer (pictured) has revealed she is 'heartbroken' and 'embarrassed' after her boyfriend Jackson Lonie cheated on her last week 'Hi, everyone. Thank you so much for the love and support during this horrendous time,' she wrote on Instagram Stories. 'I've seen so many beautiful messages and people checking in, and I just wanted to let you know that although I'm so heartbroken and embarrassed, I am okay. 'Your kindness means everything right now. I will be focusing on healing from this privately.' 'Healing from this privately': After initially saying she was 'speechless' over the betrayal, the teaching student, 28, issued another statement on Wednesday thanking fans for their support 'When my man says he's going to f**k me': While she didn't confirm or deny rumours she'd split from Jackson, Olivia hinted they were still sleeping together in a post on OnlyFans on Tuesday While she did not confirm or deny rumours she'd split from Jackson, Olivia hinted they were still sleeping together in a post on OnlyFans on Tuesday. She uploaded a raunchy photo of herself behind a paywall, and her caption alluded to her favourite sexual position with her 'man'. 'When my man says he's going to f**k me in elephant (fav position FYI). Check your inbox to flip me over,' the former teaching assistant wrote. Infidelity: A 'highly inebriated' Jackson, 30, was filmed passionately kissing another woman at a bar in Melbourne on Friday night (pictured), leaving Olivia shattered Olivia and Jackson, the last-couple-standing from this year's season of MAFS, were on holiday in Melbourne on Friday when they decided to hit the town. After spending the earlier portion of the night together, Olivia went home and Jackson continued partying with friends - and eventually ended up in the arms of 20-year-old traffic controller Han Hughes at the Lava Lounge bar. Footage of the kiss spread across the internet like wildfire, and a devastated Olivia later told Daily Mail Australia she was 'speechless'. Before the drama: Olivia and Jackson, the last-couple-standing from this year's season of MAFS, were on holiday in Melbourne when they decided to hit the town on Friday evening How could he? After Olivia went home early, Jackson continued partying with friends - and eventually ended up in the arms of another woman at the Lava Lounge bar Their once-rock-solid relationship is said to be hanging by a thread after Jackson's indiscretion as the pair reevaluate their future. 'We're still together... I have told him to have a big think about what he wants,' Olivia said on Saturday night. 'Liv is broken and torn about the whole incident and doesn't know where she stands with Jack,' a source added. Nothing to see here? Han Hughes, the woman Jackson cheated with, told The Wash: 'Olivia was not there... The kiss was innocent, a two-way street. It wasn't anything more than that' The couple had 'a serious discussion about their future' when Jackson sobered up on Saturday, before Olivia offered him an ultimatum. 'They're going to have a bit of a break and work out what they want to do and how they can move forward,' the insider said. 'Liv just wants him to ditch his partying lifestyle and grow up.' Day job: Han is a traffic controller and rising social media star Meanwhile, the woman Jackson cheated with has broken her silence. 'Olivia was not there. I'm fairly sure she left prior to me arriving,' Han told Instagram gossip account The Wash. 'The kiss was innocent, a two-way street. It wasn't anything more than that. Jackson seems like a nice guy and I have nothing bad to say on his behalf.' Shanna Moakler has parted ways with one of her last connections to her marriage to Travis Barker by selling the diamond engagement ring he gave her. The 47-year-old model auctioned off the ring to the highest bidder via Worthy.com, with the winner clinching the deal for $96,500. Although the sale price was considerably higher than the starting bid of $51,000, it fell far short of her hopes for a sale in the $120,000160,000 range. Making bank: Shanna Moakler sold her diamond engagement ring from her ex-husband Travis Barker in an auction that wrapped up on Tuesday for $96,500; seen in 2019 in LA Shanna sounded conflicted about the auction when speaking with Us Weekly. 'Nobody expects a happy marriage to end and nobody ever hopes to let go of sentimental and valuable things,' she said. 'I wanted to thank Worthy.com for making the most out of a beautiful time in my life. I hope the highest bidder truly loves the piece as much as I did,' she continued. 'It was a smooth and easy process Looking forward to the future!' Shanna was married to Travis, 46, from 2004 to 2008, and they share two children, 18-year-old Landon Barker and 16-year-old Alabama Barker. She also has a daughter Atiana De La Hoya, 23 with boxer Oscar De La Hoya, whom Travis considers one of his own children and has maintained a strong relationship with even after the divorce. Conflicted: 'Nobody expects a happy marriage to end and nobody ever hopes to let go of sentimental and valuable things,' she told Us Weekly At a loss: Shanna, who was married to Travis from 2004 to 2008, originally hoped to sell the ring for $120K, and she said it was worth around $160K; pictured in 2009 in LA Shanna and Travis' tumultuous relationship took a turn when he filed for divorce in 2006, but the couple appeared to have reconciled by the following year, only to finalize their divorce in 2008. The blond beauty previously told Us Weekly that she was hoping for considerably more for the ring, based upon its value. 'Im hoping it sells for $120K,' she said when it first went up on the auction block, adding that it was 'worth about $160K.' She also clarified that the sale wasn't spurred on by Travis recently nuptials in Portofino, Italy, to Kourtney Kardashian (which was their third wedding ceremony). 'Im sure people would assume that [its related to the wedding], but I simply wanted to find a proper seller...' she said. Nothing to see here: She also clarified that the sale wasn't spurred on by Travis recently nuptials in Portofino, Italy, to Kourtney Kardashian (which was their third wedding ceremony) Shanna revealed to the publication earlier in the month that she was 'hoping' to reunite with her ex-boyfriend Matthew Rondeau. In a slur-filled misogynistic rant posted to social media in February, Rondeau accused his ex of cheating on him while claiming he would never get back together with him. The video foreshadowed his February 24 arrest for felony domestic violence, after was was accused of physically abusing the Celebrity Big Brother star. Masters of Sex star Lizzy Caplan appeared passionate while on the New York City set of the forthcoming FX limited series Fleishman Is In Trouble on Tuesday afternoon. The actress, 39, looked animated while speaking with co-star Adam Brody as they sat comfortably in folding chairs. Meanwhile, the duo's castmate Jesse Eisenberg shot several solo scenes in a nearby area in Central Park. Passion project: Masters of Sex star Lizzy Caplan appeared passionate while on the New York City set of the forthcoming FX limited series Fleishman Is In Trouble on Tuesday afternoon Caplan rocked funky patterned top and blue wide-legged trousers as she explained something to Brody, 42. The Mean Girls actress' long brunette hair was styled in ponytail and her overgrown fringe was tucked behind her ears. Caplan's makeup was natural and she walked about comfortably in a pair of Nike kicks. Brody, rocking a pair of black Ray Ban sunglasses, looked casual cool in a blue striped button-up and fitted navy blue slacks. The OC star's curly brunette hair was neatly combed and his face freshly shaven for the shoot. Animated: The actress, 39, looked animated while speaking with co-star Adam Brody as they sat comfortably in folding chairs He completed the look with some dark brown dress shoes and black socks. Caplan made Brody laugh on several occasions as they conversed just feet away from cameras. Eisenberg looked pensive as he performed in front of the cameras. The Social Network actor, 38, donned a grey plaid button-up over a white tee. His costume was completed with a pair of relaxed green trousers and some New Balance sneakers. Eisenberg's head of curly hair was cut short and he had a blue laptop case slung over his shoulder. And action! Meanwhile, the duo's castmate Jesse Eisenberg shot several solo scenes in a nearby area in Central Park After getting in his solo scenes, the Zombieland star shot scenes with Caplan and a body double for Brody. Eisenberg and Caplan were seated on a blanket near a body of water as they sipped on drinks. Brody's body double was positioned with his back to the camera as the trio performed lines. Fleishman Is In Trouble was picked up by FX on Hulu in March 2021, adapted from Taffy Brodesser-Akner's 2019 debut novel. In character: Eisenberg looked pensive as he performed in front of the cameras. The Social Network actor, 38, donned a grey plaid button-up over a white tee All together now: After getting in his solo scenes, the Zombieland star shot scenes with Caplan and a body double for Brody. Eisenberg and Caplan were seated on a blanket near a body of water as they sipped on drinks The nine-episode limited series was created by author Brodesser-Akner, following Eisenberg's character Toby Fleishman, a doctor and recent divorcee who wades into the mysterious world of online dating. While he finds himself having much more success than he imagined, his life is turned upside down when his ex Rachel (played by Claire Danes) disappears and leaves him with the kids. He finds himself juggling his parental responsibilities with a new promotion at the hospital and all of the eligible women Manhattan has to offer... while also finding out what happened to Rachel and their failed marriage. Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly and Susannah Grant are executive producing the forthcoming series with Brodesser-Akner. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Farris (Battle of the Sexes) will direct the pilot episode and also serve as executive producers. Former Married At First Sight star Tash Herz recently tied the knot in Adelaide with Canadian screenwriter Stephanie Fabrizi. And now the happy couple are ready to return to Toronto, where Fabrizi is based, to start their life together as wife and wife. The screenwriter shared a photo of herself and Tash on a beach in Adelaide playing with their dogs, captioning it: 'Little moments from the beach.' Heading home: Former Married At First Sight star Tash Herz and her wife Stephanie Fabrizi (pictured) are heading back to Toronto after getting married in Australia She continued: 'Could not convince Natasha to sit on the wet sand with me. Last night was the last wedding festivity for us. 'We had a COVID delayed party. Toronto, we are excited to come home and start our life!' Tash met Stephanie via Instagram during the Covid pandemic, before relocating to Toronto to live with her. The screenwriter shared a photo of herself and Tash on a beach in Adelaide playing with their dogs, captioning it: 'Little moments from the beach' After getting engaged in December, the happy couple officially married earlier this month in an intimate ceremony at the Chateau Apollo in Adelaide. Tash went for an unconventional bridal look in a loose white mini dress with matching platform cowboy boots. She clutched a bouquet of flowers and styled her hair in effortless waves in stunning photos captured by the Matthew Dwyer Studio. Bliss: After getting engaged in December, the happy couple officially married earlier this month in an intimate ceremony at the Chateau Apollo in Adelaide Stephanie went for a more traditionally masculine look in black trousers with a matching shirt and blazer. Sharing the photos to Instagram at the time, Tash captioned it 'the Fabrizis', indicating that she may have changed her surname to Stephanie's. Canadian-born Stephanie is a screenwriter who is best known for penning the erotic lesbian film Below Her Mouth. Just days after Ray Liotta passed away at just 67 years of age, his co-star in 2001's Heartbreakers - Sigourney Weaver - is honoring the late actor. Liotta was filming the thriller Dangerous Waters with Eric Dane in the Dominican Republic when he passed away in his sleep. Weaver, 72, issued a heartfelt statement to People on Tuesday, calling Liotta, 'A true original and a lovely guy.' Honor: Just days after Ray Liotta passed away at just 67 years of age, his co-star in 2001's Heartbreakers - Sigourney Weaver - is honoring the late actor True original: Weaver, 72, issued a heartfelt statement to People on Tuesday, calling Liotta, 'A true original and a lovely guy' Heartbreakers followed the mother and daughter team of Max (Weaver) and Page Conners (Jennifer Love Hewitt), who seduce and then scam wealthy men out of their fortunes. Liotta played Dean Cumanno, one of the victims of the mother-daughter duo's cons early in the film. 'Ray's lovesick gangster, Dean, is the real heartbreaker in Heartbreakers,' Weaver's statement began. Team: Heartbreakers followed the mother and daughter team of Max (Weaver) and Page Conners (Jennifer Love Hewitt), who seduce and then scam wealthy men out of their fortunes Lovesick: 'Ray's lovesick gangster, Dean, is the real heartbreaker in Heartbreakers,' Weaver's statement began 'Loaded with charm and physical ease, Ray was a natural in comedy and just a doll to work with. We had such a good time,' Weaver added. Liotta was best known for his gritty characters in films like Goodfellas, with Weaver noting he, 'may not be known primarily for his comic chops.' However, she added that Liotta, 'brought impeccable timing and wit to everything he did.' Natural: 'Loaded with charm and physical ease, Ray was a natural in comedy and just a doll to work with. We had such a good time,' Weaver added 'A true original and a lovely guy, gone much too soon,' Weaver concluded. Liotta was with his fiancee Jacy Nittolo when he passed away in the Dominican Republic, with sources claiming no foul play is suspected in his death. Nittolo released a statement on Instagram Friday, along with a number of snaps of her with Liotta during their time together. Lovely: 'A true original and a lovely guy, gone much too soon,' Weaver concluded Fiancee: Liotta was with his fiancee Jacy Nittolo when he passed away in the Dominican Republic, with sources claiming no foul play is suspected in his death 'My life these past couple of years have been nothing but truly magical. Ray and I share a deep love that I will cherish in my heart forever,' Jacy began. 'We laughed daily and we were inseparable. The chemistry was wild in the best way. He was everything in the world to me and we couldnt get enough of each other,' she continued. 'The kind of real love that one dreams of. He was the most beautiful person inside and out that Ive ever knownand even that is an understatement,' she concluded. Members of the ruling People Power Party cheer after watching exit poll results for the 8th local elections at the National Assembly, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul The ruling People Power Party (PPP) was projected to win 10 of the 17 metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial posts, including Seoul mayor, in Wednesday's local elections, according to a joint exit poll by three major TV broadcasters. The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) was expected to grab four posts, including the governorships in the Jeolla provinces, according to the poll conducted by KBS, MBC and SBS. Three races, including the contest for Gyeonggi govenor, were too close to call. In a separate exit poll by broadcaster JTBC, the PPP was projected to win nine metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial posts. Being contested in this year's local elections are 17 metropolitan mayoralties and provincial governorships, 226 lower-level administrative leadership positions, as well as 872 seats in provincial and metropolitan councils, and 2,988 in lower-level local councils. The elections came less than a month after President Yoon Suk-yeol took office. Members of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea watch exit poll results at the National Assembly, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk Tattoos are usually a symbol of rash youth - but it appears at the age of 65, Amanda Burton may be joining Dame Judi Dench and David Dimbleby, who decided to get inked later on in life. The Silent Witness star was spotted leaving the Old Town Tattoo shop in Hastings earlier last month clutching a piece of paper, which could perhaps have been a design for an inking. The actress looked in good spirits as she left the studio with much of her body covered up in a casual outfit, so as not to reveal where she she had her debut inking. Good for you! Tattoos are usually a symbol of rash youth - but it appears at the age of 65, Amanda Burton may be joining Dame Judi Dench and David Dimbleby, who decided to get inked later on in life Amanda donned a blue and white striped shirt beneath a casual navy jacket, which she teamed with brown cropped trousers and black shoes. She swept her blonde locks up into a loose up do, while she highlighted her features with a light palette of make-up. The TV personality seemingly had a busy day running errands around the south coast as she carried a shopping bag out of the tattoo parlour, which was later seen packed with groceries and flowers. Amanda's tattoo follows in the footsteps of another actress who got inked in their later years, with Dame Judi Dench getting her first tattoo for her 81st birthday. New look: The Silent Witness star was spotted leaving the Old Town Tattoo shop in Hastings last month clutching a piece of paper, which could perhaps have been a design for an inking Her unconventional present was given to the star, now 87, in 2015 by daughter Finty, had the words carpe diem inked onto her right wrist. Other veteran TV stars with tattoos include Dame Helen Mirren, aged 76, who has been inked with interlocking Vs on her left hand. While David Dimbleby, now 83, threw caution to the wind at the age of 75 in 2013 by having a scorpion inked onto his shoulder. Inked: Amanda's tattoo follows in the footsteps of another actress who got inked in their later years, with Dame Judi Dench getting her first tattoo for her 81st birthday (pictured in 2018) Tats nice: Other veteran TV stars with tattoos include Dame Helen Mirren, aged 76, who has been inked with interlocking Vs on her left hand Elsewhere, Amanda recently reprised her role as Sam Ryder on the BBC series for its 25th anniversary, saying: 'It took me by surprise.' The show, the longest-running crime drama currently airing anywhere in the world, promised a Covid-inspired storyline to a long-anticipated romance between Nikki Alexander (Emilia Fox) and Jack Hodgson (played by Northern Irish actor David Caves). Burton made her debut as pathologist Sam Ryan in February 1996 - the year of Dolly the Sheep, the Spice Girls' debut and Diana and Charles were about to finalise their divorce - before leaving early in series eight in 2004. She's back! Elsewhere, Amanda recently reprised her role as Sam Ryder on the BBC series for its 25th anniversary, saying: 'It took me by surprise' Dynamic duo: Original Silent Witness star Amanda Burton (left) met her successor Emilia Fox (right) on screen when the hit series returned last month for its 25th series Last month, she returned when her husband Jomo Mashaba (Hugh Quarshie) is shot dead and Dr Nikki is called to help solve the case. Fans last saw the character - who appeared in 54 episodes - leaving to return home to Northern Ireland to be with her family. Speaking on reprising her role, she said: 'I am so excited to be returning to Silent Witness and stepping back into Sam Ryans shoes with a difference. 'Audiences can look forward to plenty of twists and turns as they discover what Sams been doing since leaving the Lyell.' Emilia said: 'It is such a delight and thrill to be working with Amanda. To have Sam Ryan back again at the heart of the show is the greatest way of all to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Silent Witness.' Amanda Holden accused one of Britain's Got Talent semi finalists of 'deceit' during Tuesday's spectacular show. The 51-year-old was left unimpressed by escapologist Andrew Basso, 36, who made his escape from chains whilst submerged in water. When the a crucial part of the stunt was performed in darkness the outspoken judge said it may have been 'less danger and more deceit'. Before the Italian stormed from the stage after being informed he had not made it through to the grand final. 'It's less danger and more deceit': Amanda Holden, 51, accused Britain's Got Talent's escapologist Andrew Basso (pictured) of faking it during the live semi finals before he stormed from the stage The talent show hopeful impressed the panel with his first audition but found himself failing to curry favour on his second attempt. During the second semi-final which saw Impressionist Ben Nickless win the public vote, stunt artist Andrew told viewers he would escape the shark tank but would have to do so in total darkness. The contestant then held his breath as he was lowered into the water and several minutes later managed to freed himself and emerged unharmed. Unimpressed: The talent show hopeful impressed the panel with his first audition but found himself failing to curry favour on his second attempt Big stunt: During the second semi-final which saw Impressionist Ben Nickless win the public vote, stunt artist Andrew told viewers he would escape the shark tank but would have to do so in total darkness However despite the dramatic show Amanda was less than impressed and offered very critical feedback 'Well, there is a lot of work and this is dangerous but I have to say you left me disappointed this evening'. 'I feel that your first audition, we were on the edge of our seats, I felt that it was much more intense'. Unimpressed: However despite the dramatic show Amanda was less than impressed and offered very critical feedback (the set pictured shrouded in darkness) Deceit : she said: 'And I think this evening because of the darkness and because of everything else, we were just sort of left wondering if there was less danger and more deceit going on in that tank' 'And I think this evening because of the darkness and because of everything else, we were just sort of left wondering if there was less danger and more deceit going on in that tank'. While fellow judge Simon Cowell shouted: 'Deceit? Like what?'. Later Andrew suddenly left the stage after being informed he had not made it through to the Grand Final and did not. Despite boos from the crowd viewers were quick to back Amanda as they rushed to Twitter to air their views. Unhappy: Andrew was not impressed with his feedback after his 'dangerous' stunt (pictured with hosts Ant and Dec) Exasperated: Amanda aired her views to boos from the crowd and an unhappy Simon Cowell, 62 (right) As one viewer commented: 'I agree with Amanda about Andrew Basso to be honest I said he could have had a key or something in there with him because nobody could see what he was doing'. While a second added: 'Not convinced that tank was 'full' of water ...why did none spill out when they lowered him in? And a third wrote: 'Doubt public vote will save Andrew Basso'. In agreement: Viewers raced to Twitter to agree with Amanda after she offered her feedback Storming off: Later Andrew suddenly left the stage after being informed he had not made it through to the Grand Final and did not Andrew's first performance, which aired in April saw him 'nearly drown' as he recreated Harry Houdini's famous stunt. The hopeful tried to entertain fans by climbing into a water torture cell which he had to escape by unpicking a lock while handcuffed upside down. Andrew explained to the judges, Simon, Amanda, Alesha Dixon, 43, and David Walliams, 50, that Houdini had described the act, which represented the 'peak of his creation' as the 'most dangerous and difficult'. Scary: Andrew's first performance, which aired in April saw him 'nearly drown' as he recreated Harry Houdini's famous stunt The performer told the judges: 'I will escape in two minutes. Any longer, and I may not come out alive. I'm risking my life.' The clock started counting down and tensions were high as dramatic music played in the background. The audience began to worry when it stopped at 2:36 as the escapologist frantically tried to put the key into the lock to escape. Alesha asked: 'Is this part of the act?' Tense: The audience was silent as Andrew looked around with a stressed look on his face, as the clock hit 3:03 he managed to push throw and escape the box Relieved: All four judges and the audience gave him a standing ovation, while viewers at home were left in shock David replied: 'I don't know.' The audience was silent as Andrew looked around with a stressed look on his face, as the clock hit 3:03 he managed to push throw and escape the box. All four judges and the audience gave him a standing ovation, while viewers at home were left in shock. Emmerdale star Andy Devine, who was born as Peter Devine, died of pneumonia after a fall, a coroner has concluded. The actor - best known for playing Shadrach Dingle in the ITV soap between 2000 and 2010 - passed away in January, aged 79, and it has now been concluded that he died of 'hospital-acquired pneumonia'. Sefton Senior Coroner Julie Goulding said Andy was on the floor for about an hour after he had 'lost his balance resulting in a fall' and was 'unable to get up until his carers arrived.' Tragic: Emmerdale star Andy Devine died at age 79 of 'hospital-acquired pneumonia' after being 'unable to get up from a fall', a coroner has concluded She explained: 'Peter had a significant number of serious underlying clinical co-morbidities and, not withstanding all appropriate care and treatment, [his] condition deteriorated culminating in his death.' His character, Shadrach was very popular during his decade on the Dales before he passed away in an emotional alcohol abuse storyline in 2010. Shadrach died in an emotional July episode which saw him tragically drown in a stream on the Dales, after collapsing from liver pain. Accident: The actor - best known for playing Shadrach Dingle in the ITV soap (Pictured on the show in 2007) was on the floor for about an hour after he had 'lost his balance resulting in a fall' He was the husband of Faith Dingle and father of Chas Dingle and Gennie Walker, and was often involved in near-misses in nearly a decade on the soap. He also appeared in several episodes of Doctor Who story Frontier In Space, playing a Draconian Guard as well as playing Bernard in hot Channel 4 series Queer As Folk. Before starting his acting career, he served in the Royal Navy in the 1960s. He passed away in January, with the cause of death unknown, but the tragic news has only just been made public. Public records confirmed that Andy died on January 27, as reported by The Sun. Twitter tributes poured in on Monday after the news broke, with one fan writing: 'Saddened to learn that Andy Devine (Shadrach Dingle in Emmerdale) has died. What a actor (and character).' On-screen family: He was the husband of Faith Dingle and father of Chas Dingle and Gennie Walker, and was often involved in near-misses in nearly a decade on the soap 'Just heard the sad news that Andy Devine who played Shadrach Dingle in #Emmerdale and Bernard in Queer as Folk passed away in January. Brilliant comic characters that he played so well,' agreed another. One penned: 'Sad to read the news Andy Devine has died. Back in January it seems. 'Best known as #Emmerdale's Shadrach Dingle, he played Betty's wedding photographer in a 1995 episode of Coronation Street, returning in 2000 as a radio DJ.' Another wrote: 'RIP iconic #Emmerdale Actor, Andy Devine. What a talented, charismatic Actor and what a complex, funny, interesting, funny, flamboyant, unpredictable, intriguing character he played as Shadrach Dingle in the show. Thoughts with Andy's loved ones' Dhakota Williams recently hinted that she could soon be making her debut on OnlyFans. And on Wednesday, the 21-year-old daughter of slain gangland figure Carl Williams gave viewers a taste of what's to come by stripping down and posing topless. Uploading a photo to her private Instagram page, Dhakota proudly flaunted her jaw-dropping physique alongside her mother Roberta and a friend. That'll get the likes! Dhakota Williams, 21, (pictured) proudly posed topless in a sultry Instagram photo on Wednesday - after hinting she could soon be joining OnlyFans In the image, the busty brunette can be seen covering her modesty while holding a balloon emblazoned with the words, 'Happy Birthday Princess'. As she gazes at the camera, she happily flashes two peace signs, while her mother drapes her arm lovingly around her. It comes just weeks after Dhakota hinted she could be joining OnlyFans after she posted a string of sultry images kneeling in a plunging dress. In the photos, Dhakota is seen pouting at the camera in the candy pink frock. Gorgeous: In the images, Dhakota pouted at the camera in the candy pink frock She wore her hair in a poker straight style, and sported a flash of makeup to enhance her striking features. 'If u wanna see more of me on my knees, comment for the OF,' she teased in the caption. While it may well have just been a cheeky caption, Dhakota was met with several comments from eager fans who said they would be more than happy to sign up to her page. Tease: 'If u wanna see more of me on my knees, comment for the OF,' she teased in the caption. 'Absolutely gorgeous. Hell yeah OF,' one fan commented, while another wrote: 'I'm here for that!' 'Yesssss for the OF,' another said, while a fourth chimed in: 'Sign me up!' OnlyFans is a subscription-based adult website where content can range from something as innocent as a suggestive selfie, all the way to hardcore pornography. Tease: 'If u wanna see more of me on my knees, comment for the OF,' she wrote All for it! While it may well have just been a cheeky caption, Dhakota was met several comments from eager fans who said they would be more than happy to sign up to her page Dhakota, whose mother is gangland widow Roberta Williams, regularly loves to share sultry images of herself on Instagram and has amassed over 35,000 followers. She was nine years old when her father, drug kingpin Carl Williams, was bludgeoned to death at Barwon Prison by fellow inmate Matthew Charles Johnson in 2010. Williams was a key figure in Melbourne's infamous gangland war, which claimed the lives of 36 criminal figures between 1998 and 2010. He was jailed for 35 years in 2007 for ordering the murders of three rivals, and more time for conspiring to kill a fourth. Notorious: Dhakota was nine years old when her father, drug kingpin Carl Williams, was bludgeoned to death at Barwon Prison by fellow inmate Matthew Charles Johnson in 2010 His death in 2010 followed an investigation revealing Victoria Police was paying $8,000 per year for his daughter's school fees. It was later revealed Carl was an informant and had given information regarding a handful of unsolved murder investigations. Carl wrote several long letters to his wife and others from jail in the months before he was murdered, which have since been made into a book titled Life Sentence. Dhakota spoke fondly about her father on Channel Seven's Sunday Night program in 2016. 'We know our dad as our dad, not what he's described as in the newspapers... so we know him as fun and loving and caring for us, and always made us happy,' she said. 'If you spoke to him and got to know him, you'd think he's not that sort of person, like, and you can tell he did it for his family 'cause he was all for us, all for us family.' 'It was just normal for me, that's all I really knew.' Gemma Collins looked as stylish as ever before as she stepped out in Essex in a very summery ensemble to get her nails done. The former TOWIE star, 40, wore a floral button-up blouse and teamed it with a pair of flowing camel trousers. She toted her essentials in a bright pink handbag which she expertly matched with a pair of hot pink sliders. Talon-ted lady: Gemma Collins looked as stylish as ever before as she stepped out in Essex on Wednesday in a very summery ensemble to get her nails done Making her own style rules: The former TOWIE star, 40, wore a floral button-up blouse and teamed it with a pair of flowing camel trousers Her blonde locks were left to tumble down her shoulders and styled in a quirky half curled and half straight hairstyle. She stopped to chat with a young woman as she walked down her local high street on the way to the salon. It comes after Gemma discussed her plans to one day emulate Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian's lavish Italian nuptials and shared raunchy details of her sex life with beau Rami Hawash. The reality star, who recently denied she was engaged to the Essex businessman, 48, exclusively spoke to MailOnline as she has teamed up with Durex to launch a new range of sex toys. Fancy footwear: She toted her essentials in a bright pink handbag which she expertly matched with a pair of hot pink sliders In the saucy chat she gushed about her partner: 'Rami is just gorgeous full stop, he has beautiful eyes, teeth and hes packing in all the right areas if you know what I mean verging on an anaconda!. However the star said she won't be able to currently enjoy the products following a recent injury that forced her pull out of her role as Mama Morton in the musical Chicago. 'Using them is a bit awkward for me at the minute with my knee, but Im looking forward to taking them on holiday in the summer. Hair today... Her blonde locks were left to tumble down her shoulders and styled in a quirky half curled and half straight hairstyle Chit chat: She stopped to chat with a young woman as she walked down her local high street on the way to the salon Looking good: The former TOWIE star nailed summer chic in the outfit American TV star Kourtney Kardashian, 43, recently married the Blink 182 drummer, 46, in lavish Italian wedding. Held in a medieval castle the multi-million pound nuptials were sponsored by Italian fashion house Dolce and Gabbana. Taking inspiration from the Hollywood stars Gemma revealed her plans for a similar affair, though said she is not in a rush to walk down the aisle. Loved up: Gemma discussed her plans to one day emulate Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian's lavish Italian nuptials and shared raunchy details of her sex life with beau Rami Hawash 'If wanted to get married tomorrow I could, I could do a Travis and Kourtney, Dolce and Gabbana will do my wedding it will be an extravaganza'. But while the American couple share six children between them, Gemma said that intends on becoming a mother herself before the big day. As she plans to start a family with Rami, who is already father to three-year-old son Tristian from a previous relationship, just as soon as she is on the mend. Durex toys will be an integral part of getting pregnant, the minute Im back in action those toys will be used left right and centre. In the exclusive chat Gemma spoke more about the range saying that sex is '5% of a relationship' but '95% of the problem is your not having it'. When asked if she had ever felt unfulfilled in a relationship the star exclaimed: 'Absolutely not honey!'. Big day: American TV star Kourtney Kardashian, 43, recently married the Blink 182 drummer, 46, in lavish Italian wedding (both pictured) 'Id dump them, straight away. Theyd have to go, theyd be dumped on the spot, theyd be banned from my Christmas card list for life'. The star went on to say: I think people need to talk 'have you used your sex toys recently? taboos have held us back for years, We need to discuss sex over our eggs Benedict in the morning!. Adding: 'And they're waterproof which is great because Ive got a hot tub James Argent cut a trim figure on Wednesday as he touched down in London's Heathrow Airport on his return from sunny Barbados. The 34-year-old donned a alabaster hoodie and Rolling Stones shorts as he pulled his suitcase through the busy arrivals hall. The reality star, who recently lost an incredible 14st thanks to weight loss surgery, had been in the Caribbean for pal Mark Wright's cousin George's wedding. Home sweet home: A trim James Argent, 34, cut a casual figure in a hoodie and Rolling Stones shorts as he touched down in Heathrow following his trip to Barbados with pal Mark Wright on Wednesday The former TOWIE star appeared slimmer than ever in the relaxed ensemble with as he layered his plain top over tie-dyed shorts emblazoned with the rock group's famous tongue logo. Slipping his feet into white trainers with a stylish metallic trim, James looked fresh faced after the long flight as he listened to his earphone. The star travelled light with just one black suitcase on wheels as well as a tawny suede tote. James beamed as he was spotted by fans and fellow holidaymakers before making his way out to a waiting car. Slim Jim: The former TOWIE star appeared slimmer than ever in the relaxed ensemble with as he layered his plain top over tie-dyed shorts emblazoned with the rock group's famous tongue logo Fellow co-star Mark who appeared in the ITV reality show together until 2011, recently shared a clip of the duo reuniting as they celebrated his cousin's nuptials. In the short video radio host Mark gave the thumbs up to the camera before turning his phone to show a James who collapsed into fits of giggles. As they enjoyed drinks in the hotel bar, Mark cut a dapper figure in a black T-shirt with his raven hair slicked back from his handsome face. Spotted: James beamed as he was spotted by fans and fellow holidaymakers before making his way out to a waiting car Baggage free : The star travelled light with just one black suitcase on wheels as well as a tawny suede tote While James looked holiday ready in a stylish white silk printed shirt and black shorts. With his hair also slicked back he slipped his feet into sandals as he accessorised with gold jewellery. Later James enjoyed a dance with Mark's mother Carol as they were cheered on by their family and friends. Back together: Fellow co-star Mark, 35, who appeared in the ITV reality show together until 2011, recently shared a clip of the duo reuniting as they celebrated his cousin's nuptials Like old times: James showed off his newly tanned complexion as he touched down in the UK The Wright matriarch looked gorgeous in a stylish figure hugging jumpsuit emblazoned with a polka dot print. As the pair boogied along to the ABBA's Dancing Queen James captioned the fun clip: 'The Dancing Queen herself @Carolwright'. On his first holiday since his impressive weight loss James posted a gushing tribute to his fellow travellers. Pals: In the short clip radio host Mark (left) gave the thumbs up to the camera before turning his phone to show a James (left) who collapsed into fits of giggles Posing on the beach with the large wedding party he wrote: 'I can't remember life with out these people, true family friends and I can't wait for the new arrivals to join us'. Mark seemingly went stag without wife Michelle Keegan, 34, as he shared snaps from his first class as he travelled to the exotic location. Relaxing in the swanky high-backed chair the star shared a smiling selfie writing: 'Off again'. Later James enjoyed a dance with Mark's mother Carol as they were cheered on by their family and friends Sweet: On his first holiday since his impressive weight loss James posted a gushing tribute to his fellow travellers Before offering a glimpse of his first class afternoon tea as he watched Spiderman: No Way Home on his personal television. Mark, who doesn't currently have children, later shared snaps as he kissed his young nephew. He captioned the sweet snaps: 'Can't stop!'. Plush: Relaxing in the swanky first class high-backed chair the star shared a smiling selfie writing: 'Off again'. Before offering a glimpse of his first class afternoon tea as he watched Spiderman: No Way Home on his personal television She always ensures she looks her best as she goes to and from work. And Ashley Roberts did not disappoint as she slipped into another stylish outfit as she departed Heart FM in London on Wednesday. The radio presenter, 40, displayed an androgynous sense of style as she donned an oversized black blazer. Stunning: Ashley Roberts did not disappoint as she slipped into another stylish outfit as she departed Heart FM in London on Wednesday She teamed it with a simple ensemble made up of a pair of baggy blue jeans and white T-shirt. She toted her essentials in a small white handbag and expertly matched her bag to her footwear as she donned white high heels. The Pussycat Doll accessorised with a pearl necklace and shielded her eyes behind a pair of square shaped orange-tinted glasses. Her freshly dyed blonde tresses were swept up in an elegant bun with her fringe framing her face. Stylish: The radio presenter, 40, displayed an androgynous sense of style as she donned an oversized black blazer Fancy footwear: She toted her essentials in a small white handbag and expertly matched her bag to her footwear as she donned white high heels Elegant: Ashley took to her Instagram Stories later to share a much more elegant outfit to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee on Heart Breakfast Ashley took to her Instagram Stories later to share a much more elegant outfit to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee on Heart Breakfast. She slipped into a skintight white dress that clung to her lithe figure with a belt to cinch her in at the waist. It comes after Ashley put on a glamorous display on the BAFTA TV Awards red carpet at the Royal Festival Hall earlier this month. She put on a daring display in a metallic gown by designer Rami Kadi which featured a thigh-grazing slit to allow her to present her toned pins. Incredible: It comes after Ashley exhibited her toned legs in a metallic silver thigh-split gown at this year's BAFTA Television Awards last Sunday afternoon at London's Royal Festival Hall The performer teamed the silver number, which was adorned with colourful feathers at the tail, with strappy heels and posed up a storm for onlookers. Meanwhile, Ashley shared a snap of herself with her beloved parent Peggy to wish her a happy Mother's Day. The television personality could be seen planting a kiss on the cheek of her mother as she paid tribute on the day the US marks the occasion. She captioned the image: 'Happy Mother's Day in [US flag]. Love you Mom!!!!' The pair enjoyed some quality time in December after Peggy jetted over from the US for the first time in two years, appearing on the Heart FM breakfast show. They're three of the stars of the breakout Netflix series Stranger Things. And on Wednesday, actors Sadie Sink, 20, Priah Ferguson, 15 and Gaten Matarazzo, 19, revealed their favourite Australian actors during a promotional visit Down Under. Sadie, who plays Max Mayfield in the spooky supernatural thriller, told The Daily Telegraph Cate Blanchett was her favourite local star. Pint-sized superstars: The cast of Stranger are currently in Australia to promote the highly anticipated fourth season at an exclusive fan event at Sydney's Luna Park. Pictured: Sadie Sink (left), Gaten Matarazzo (centre) and Priah Ferguson (right) Co-star Gaten, whose nerdy character Dustin is a fan favourite on the show, boldly suggested he'd like to work with Hugh Jackman 'at some point' in the future. Meanwhile, Priah, who plays Erica Sinclair, was quick to pick Rebel Wilson. The three stars are currently in Australia to promote the highly anticipated fourth season at an exclusive fan event at Sydney's Luna Park. Divine: Sadie, who plays Max Mayfield in the spooky supernatural thriller, told The Daily Telegraph Cate Blanchett was her favourite local star. Pictured in Los Angeles in 2022 Favourite: Cate Blanchett on the red carpet in New York in April, 2022 Stranger Things follows the residents of a fictional Indiana town in the 1980s where bizarre supernatural events begin to take place, causing a boy to vanish. Season three ended with a fiery battle at the town's food court. The latest season will see the characters attempt to pick up the pieces afterwards. Superstar: Co-star Gaten, whose nerdy character Dustin is a fan favourite on the show, boldly suggested he'd like to work with Hugh Jackman 'at some point' in the future The cast includes Winona Ryder, as well as David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown and Finn Wolfhard, who were all elevated to stardom by the series. Part one dropped on Netflix on May 27. Part two will follow on July 1. The identity of the Darth Vader voice in the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+ has finally been disclosed. Darth Vader can be heard in episode three of the show, which takes place between the events of the Star Wars prequel trilogy and the original trilogy. And now a report from TV Line has confirmed that the voice is that of James Earl Jones, who has performed the role since the original Star Wars film in 1977. Cat's out of the bag: The identity of the Darth Vader voice in the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series has been disclosed; Vader is pictured in a 1977 publicity shot for the original Star Wars Legend: And now a report from TV Line has confirmed that the voice is that of James Earl Jones, who is pictured leaving a cement handprint at a Disney event in 2019 James, who celebrated his 90th birthday last year, continued lending his talents to the part of Darth Vader throughout the original trilogy, which ended in 1983. He briefly returned to the role for the final instalment of the prequel trilogy, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith, released in 2005. James then voiced Darth Vader in the last movie in the new sequel trilogy, the 2019 film Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker. Between trilogies, he could be heard in the role in the critically acclaimed 2016 spin-off film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Throwback: James, who celebrated his 90th birthday last year, is pictured in 1977, the year he first voiced Darth Vader in the original Star Wars film Darth Vader is the corrupted, villainous form of the onetime Jedi war hero previously known as Anakin Skywalker, the 'Chosen One.' Although James did the voice acting for the role, the actor inside the Darth Vader costume doing the physical movements was always someone else. For example David Prowse was inside the iconic black uniform in the original trilogy, while Hayden Christensen - who played Anakin for the second two films in the prequel trilogy - put on the Darth Vader costume in Episode III. Because of James Earl Jones' age and the relatively few acting jobs he takes nowadays, it was not an absolute certainty he would work on the current show. Details: Although James did the voice acting, the actor inside the Darth Vader costume was David Prowse in the original trilogy; its second instalment The Empire Strikes Back is pictured Back to 2005: Meanwhile Hayden Christensen - who played Anakin for the second two films in the prequel trilogy - put on the Darth Vader costume in Episode III (pictured) His casting was also far from a foregone conclusion because other actors, Scott Lawrence and Matt Sloan, have voiced the role in other projects before. Obi-Wan Kenobi is the name of the Jedi who serves as Anakin Skywalker's mentor in the prequel trilogy, only to watch in horror as his apprentice turns to the Dark Side. In Revenge Of The Sith, Anakin and his new evil master Emperor Palpatine assume total control of the galaxy's government and exterminate the Jedi. Obi-Wan winds up one of the only two Jedi to survive, along with Yoda, the wizened old master memorably played by puppeteer Frank Oz. Feted: James, who has enjoyed a distinguished career on the stage and screen for decades, is pictured accepting a lifetime achievement Tony in 2017 The actor: Hayden Christensen played Anakin Skywalker in the prequels and has returned for the Obi-Wan series; seen in May By the time of the original trilogy, Obi-Wan is an old man played by Alec Guinness, living in hiding as 'Ben Kenobi' on the desert planet of Tattooine. Ben has secretly been keeping a watch on Anakin's son Luke Skywalker, whom he eventually mentors into becoming the new hero of the galaxy. Although Ben is struck down in a battle against Darth Vader, his final apprentice Luke eventually turns Vader back to the light and helps topple the Emperor. Obi-Wan was played in the original trilogy by Scots heartthrob Ewan McGregor, who has returned to the part for the new series on Disney+. Smoldering: Obi-Wan was played in the original trilogy by Scots heartthrob Ewan McGregor, who has returned to the part for the new series on Disney+ Lizzie Cundy put on a very leggy display on Wednesday as she decorated her West London home ahead of Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee this weekend. The 54-year-old adorned the exterior with Union Jack bunting and a large flag - two days after the stunner stripped off to pose with the decorations nude. Patriotic Lizzie looked gorgeous in a tie-dyed blue mini dress which hugged her fantastic figure and showed off her gorgeous pins. Gorgeous: Lizzie Cundy, 54, put on a very leggy display in a tie-dyed mini dress as she decorated her West London home ahead of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee The ex WAG layered the look with a cropped cardigan as she slipped her feet into a pair of nude heels. Lizzie sported a glamourous palette of make-up as she let her caramel tresses fall in a natural wave. Shielding her eyes behind a pair of chic oversized sunglasses the star pulled the decorations from her car before decoration her lavish home. Effortlessly chic: The ex WAG layered the look with a cropped cardigan as she slipped her feet into a pair of nude heels Busy: Shielding her eyes behind a pair of chic oversized sunglasses the star pulled the decorations from her car before decoration her lavish home It comes after the beauty left little to the imagination on Monday as she stripped off and wrapped herself in the flag to keep her modesty. She posed up a storm putting on a gorgeous display while sitting on a staircase holding several smaller flags. Lizzie looked ravishing as she styled her luscious locks in loose waves as they cascaded down past her shoulders. Patriotic: It comes after the beauty left little to the imagination on Monday as she stripped off and wrapped herself in the flag to keep her modesty She penned to the stunning snap: 'Lets get this party started! This Elizabeth is obviously starting it early! I have my flags and bunting all out and ready to party!' An estimated 16,000 events celebrating the Queen's 70th year on the throne have been given the green light. Up to 15million people are expected to attend celebrations across the four-day bank holiday weekend. Lizzie recently went public with her new American boyfriend who flew in from Miami to see her. 'Lets get this party started!': She posed up a storm putting on a gorgeous display while sitting on a staircase holding several small flags. The pair enjoyed a night out last month, putting on a loved-up display as they walked side-by-side to the Revelations: A Portrait of Magic exhibition at S&P Gallery. While she has not revealed the name, or details, of her new beau - a source at the time told MailOnline that he is a restaurant director from America. Lizzie was married to Chelsea and Spurs defender Jason Cundy for 16 years, before their split in 2012. Despite the split, she recently showed that they are on good terms, taking to Instagram to praise his bravery during his cancer treatment in the nineties for World Cancer Day. Queen: She posed up a storm putting on a leggy display while sitting on a staircase holding several small flags High spirits: She shared her excitement with fans on Instagram Jason and Lizzie married in 1994 and their first son, Josh, was born two years later -with Jason diagnosed with testicular cancer the following year. Lizzie nursed him and the cancer went into remission, welcoming their second son James was born in 2000, before the cancer returned in 2003. In the post to her ex-husband, Lizzie explained: 'I will always be so proud of how he dealt with all of the treatment'. A voter inserts ballots into a box at a polling station in Hongeun-dong, Seodaemun District, northwestern Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul By Lee Hyo-jin The local elections on June 1 were marked by clear skies and warm weather, which apparently created a perfect environment for many people to bypass the polling stations and head outdoors for picnics instead. In fact, the weather may have been one of the culprits behind the low voter turnout. Voters began to trickle into a polling station in Hongeun-dong, Seodaemun District, northwestern Seoul, at around 10 a.m. But the pace did not pick up as the morning progressed, with only a few voters being seen. And those who showed up in the morning hours to exercise their right were mostly elderly voters. Among the total 270,219 eligible voters in the district, 59,095 or 21.75 percent already voted during the two-day early voting period which took place last weekend, according to the National Election Commission (NEC). "It was a little crowded early in the morning, but compared to the March 9 presidential election, it hasn't been a busy day for us so far," a poll worker said. In the fourth nationwide election held during the COVID-19 pandemic, mask-wearing voters appeared to have become used to standing at marked places, keeping a distance from others. Unlike the presidential election earlier this year, Wednesday's election was held under far more relaxed antivirus measures. Poll workers were not wearing protective gear such as face shields or protective glasses, while plastic gloves and hand sanitizer were no longer mandatory for the voters. The voters were given seven paper ballots each, and the voting procedure was divided into two stages. They first received three ballots for Seoul mayor, Seodaemun District head and Seoul education superintendent. After placing their votes in a ballot box, they each received four more ballots for Seoul Metropolitan Council member and Seodaemun District Council member, along with two proportional representatives for each council. Jasmine Tookes looked stunning when she posed in bright pink lace lingerie from Lounge Underwear this week. The Victoria's Secret vet was seen inside a photo studio with wood paneled walls. This comes after the photogenic wonder looked dazzling in floor length gowns and diamonds as she attended the Cannes Film Festival in the south of France. When in Utah: Jasmine Tookes looked ready for her closeup when she posed in lingerie this week. The Victoria's Secret vet was in a studio The 5ft9in siren did not seem shy as she struck pose after pose in a semi-sheer push-up bra and skimpy undies that went high on her slender hips. In one image the model was looking down as her hair was pulled back. She added gold star shaped earrings and a small band on one of her fingers as well as a white necklace and gold watch. The star was shoe free as she flashed a cute pink pedicure that matched her fingernails for a fresh spring look. Natural beauty: The 5ft9in siren did not seem shy as she struck pose after pose in a semi-sheer push-up bra and skimpy undies Chic: In one image the model put both her hands up to her shoulders The beauty is married to husband Juan David Borrero. At Cannes, she lit up the red carpet. The svelte model looked glamorous last week in the dresses that complemented her frame. At the Top Gun: Maverick premiere she had on a canary yellow gown that had a very long train. One hand on her hip: She knows how to get just the right post in to look her best Fans: Her 5.5million Instagram followers loved the shots and fellow supermodel pal Elsa Hosk hit the like button So much to take in: She has very long and toned legs that make her a perfect lingerie model This is how models model these days: The siren placed the link for the brand on her socials Tookes punctuated the makeup look with a toasty brick red lipstick that added a soft shine to her pout. Her long, dark hair was styled in a center part and worn in a sleek and straight blowout that cascaded over her shoulders. The fashionista added a simple pair of gold and diamond earrings. She showed off her slim figure again at the Armageddon Time premiere in a silver crop top and matching skirt. The catwalk princess added strappy silver heels. Wild in France: At Cannes, she lit up the red carpet. The svelte model looked glamorous last week in the dresses that complemented her slender frame. At the Top Gun: Maverick premiere she had on a canary yellow gown that had a very long train RIP: Police believe that Tytyana Miller, the daughter of rapper Master P, likely died from a drug overdose, according to a new report on Wednesday (Miller pictured in Growing Up Hip Hop) Police believe that Tytyana Miller, the daughter of rapper Master P, likely died from a drug overdose, according to a new report on Wednesday. Evidence found at the scene of the 29-year-old's untimely death, specifically 'drug paraphernalia', suggests Miller suffered from addiction which ultimately killed her, TMZ reported. On Sunday, Master P announced the tragic death of his daughter Tytyana Miller at the age of 29 in a heartbreaking social media post. Police sources told the outlet that there were 'no substances present on the scene' but the paraphernalia is a good indicator that drugs were Tytyana's cause of death. They added the while an autopsy has been completed, no cause of death can be determined until the toxicology report comes in, which typically takes weeks. Fentanyl has been a leading culprit in recent overdoses and police say that if it pops up in Miller's tox report, authorities will 'go into overdrive' to seek out the supplier, TMZ said. Miller had a long battle with substance abuse which was mentioned in the announcement of her death by her father, Master P, and covered extensively on the reality show Growing Up Hip Hop. Master P, 52, whose real name is Percy Robert Miller Sr., penned a sad Instagram post on Sunday announcing the death of his daughter. Tragic loss: Evidence found at the scene of the 29-year-old's untimely death, specifically 'drug paraphernalia', suggests Miller suffered from addiction which ultimately killed her, TMZ reported (Master P in 2021) 'Our family is dealing with an overwhelming grief for the loss of my daughter Tytyana,' he wrote. 'We respectfully request some privacy so that our family can grieve. We appreciate all of the prayers love and support. 'Mental illness & substance abuse is a real issue that we cant be afraid to talk about. With God, we will get through this. #MyAngel' Her brother Romeo Miller, 32, also spoke about the tragic passing on social media, saying, 'Our family is dealing with an overwhelming grief for the loss of my little sister Tytyana. 'We respectfully request some privacy so that our family can grieve,' he said. 'We appreciate all of the prayers, love, and support, and although this is sad times, Im forever grateful for the memories I did have with my amazing sister.' Romeo advised his followers, 'Love on your loved ones, life is short,' adding, 'the silver lining, I know shes in a way better place and finally at peace and free.' Gone too soon: The musical artist, whose real name is Percy Robert Miller Sr., announced the tragic death on his Instagram on Sunday Tytyana had been featured on the WE tv series Growing Up Hip Hop, which documented her battle with addiction and her father and brother Romeo's efforts to help her maintain her sobriety. In a 2016 segment, she discussed, with her brother and father, the prospects of entering a rehab facility. 'I feel like I don't need to go to rehab - I feel like I could actually do good without rehab,' she told her father. The Make 'Em Say Uhh! artist, 'I mean you say that TyTy, but on the serious side, I think we should get some professional help just to make sure you stay on track ... I think you should at least try it, cause I don't want you to go back to this.' Hollywood actress Octavia Spencer is mourning the death of her beloved nephew. The 52-year-old Self Made star shared the heartbreaking news on what she dubbed 'the second-worst day of my life.' The screen icon uploaded a snapshot of a pink floral arrangement in a jar on her Instagram account alongside a caption that read: 'Grief. You wouldn't know it by this picture that today was the second-worst day of my life.' Sad day: Hollywood actress Octavia Spencer is mourning the death of her beloved nephew. The 52-year-old Self Made star shared the heartbreaking news on what she dubbed 'the second-worst day of my life.' Seen in 2020 'My family lost the first of the next generation of us, and we're gutted. Grief is the most terrifying of emotions because I can't laugh my way out of it. 'I have to feel. Right now, I'm feeling for my sister who lost her only son. Her only child. If you're praying people, pray for her and my brother in law.' The Hidden Figures star opted to turn the comments section off in respect to her family as they contend with the devastating loss. The star has six siblings which includes her sisters Rosa and Areka. Sharing the bad news: The screen icon uploaded a snapshot of a pink flower arrangement in a jar on her Instagram alongside a caption that read: 'Grief. You wouldn't know it by this picture that today was the second-worst day of my life' They were born in Montgomery, Alabama to mom Dellsena Spencer (19451988), who worked as a maid. Her father died when she was 13. Octavia - who was born Octavia Lenora Spencer - did not share which sister lost her son, and she did not add the name of her nephew or any additional details about his death. The tragic news comes just days after the Oscar winner celebrated her 52nd birthday last Wednesday. Her bitter sweet post, which showed a picture of three balloons caught in her neighbor's tree, acknowledged the happy birthday comments she received and also touched on the tragedies of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and the supermarket shooting in Buffalo, New York. Pain for the entire family: The star has six siblings which includes her sisters Rosa and Areka. Seen in 2012 The Shape Of Water star showed her support and highlighted the importance of needing gun control legislation in the US. She wrote: 'Thank you all for the outpouring of well wishes and love on my 50th (IMBD age [winky face]) birthday. It's bittersweet. 'This picture was taken on my actual birthday. Some friends stopped by to surprise me with balloons and the wind took them to a neighbor's tree. A recent birthday: The tragic news comes just days after the Oscar winner celebrated her 52nd birthday last Wednesday 'The good Lord knew we needed the laugh considering the terrifying week. 'The tragedies in Buffalo and Uvalde are emblematic of a greater problem in this nation: apathy. We've become desensitized to the evil genie that is gun violence. Clearly, the genie is out of the bottle but it can be stopped. How? 'Well, we have to take its power!! A genie with no magic is just a puff of smoke. Change the damn gun laws. My thoughts and prayers are with those who lost family members this week.' The battle for custody of Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson is over. The 16-year-old reality star was the center of a heated contest between her mother, Mama June Shannon, 42 and the teen's older sister, Lauryn Efird, 22. Lauryn, also known as Pumpkin, was awarded permanent custody of the Here Comes Honey Boo Boo star, according to The Sun which claimed to look at court papers filed in Georgia. Custody battle: The custody battle over Alana 'Honey Boo Boo" Thompson is over. The reality star, 16, will live with her older sister, Lauryn, aka Pumpkin, 22 The final ruling was handed down in April. Testimony from the hearing revealed the former Toddlers And Tiaras cast member had been living with Lauryn and her husband, Josh Efird, 25, since 2019. The Mama June: From Not to Hot star will be allowed visitations, with permission from Lauryn, and must provide $800 a month in child support payments until Alana turns 18. Staying put: Court papers revealed that the Here Comes Honey Boo Boo star had been living with her older sister and her family since 2019. Pictured NY February 2017 Addiction: Mama June Shannon, 42, lost custody of her daughter after being arrested on drug charges in March 2019. The reality star entered rehab and said she has been sober for almost two years. Pictured NY June 2018 June lost custody of the teen in 2019 after she and former boyfriend, Geno Doak, 49, were arrested on drug charges. The former stage mom hit rock bottom and sold her home at a loss in order to get some fast cash. When the money was gone, the beauty pageant veteran claimed she lived in her car before she entered rehab. Pumpkin received temporary custody in August of that year, and the teen has been living with her ever since. Court documents show both sides agreed to the arrangement. The custody decision is not the only change to the Efirds' growing household. Lauryn and Josh are parents to Ella, 4, Bentley 10 months and twins, a boy and a girl, born May 19. Final decree: Honey Boo Boo will continue living with Lauryn, her husband Josh and their four kids, including newborn twins. June will be granted visitation. Pictured with Ella Efird, Atlanta June 2018 This news comes after it was announced that June is a married woman. The star has secretly tied the knot with boyfriend Justin Stroud, 34, in Georgia, after just a few months of dating, it was learned this week. In a selfie posted by the star, Mama June is seen smiling with her other half as she flashes a giant diamond ring. The Shannon family matriarch is said to have wed her younger beau at a Georgia courthouse on March 23, The Sun reported. Mama June is MARRIED! Reality star, 42, secretly ties the knot with boyfriend Justin Stroud, 34, in Georgia (the couple pictured above on Instagram) Although June and her younger beau have only been dating for a few months, they sparked engagement rumors in March this year when they spotted shopping for rings together at a jewelry store in Alabama. The relationship comes after June ended her troubled romance with Doak. In a recent interview with The Sun, June gushed over her man Justin: 'We've known each other going on a year now. We were best friends and we decided to take it to the next step in the last eight months.' Happy: Mama certainly has reason to smile again after finding love with Justin (Pictured above on a recent TikTok post) A walk in the park: Mama and her man Justin are seen having a romantic stroll in LA in January this year It has been reported that Justin was issued with an arrest warrant last October after he violated his probation on drug and burglary charges - and was eventually arrested in Florida. Mama June was previously engaged to partner Sugar Bear - real name Mike Thompson - for 16 months before they eventually separated in September 2014. The pair were not legally married but did have a commitment ceremony together. Sugar Bear went on to marry Jennifer Lamb Thompson. Strictly Come Dancing professional Nikita Kuzmin has revealed he still has family members stuck in war-torn Ukraine. In March, the dancer, 24, was reunited with his grandma in Poland after she walked more than five miles (eight kilometres) in the freezing cold and hadn't slept for two nights to flee the country. Yet during an appearance on Wednesday's Loose Women, Nikita revealed he was yet to reunite with other family members who had been too unwell to make the journey. Upsetting: Strictly Come Dancing professional Nikita Kuzmin revealed on Wednesday's Loose Women that he still has family members stuck in war-torn Ukraine While speaking to hosts Jane Moore, Coleen Nolan, Brenda Edwards and Janet Street Porter, the Ukrainian dancer said: 'It's quite heartbreaking and overwhelming with emotions. I never thought I could feel this way about my country. 'When you have family and friends there and you grew up there and you see the streets one which you've been walking as a kid just bombed, and bombarded, and unfortunately people died. 'My granny was still there, and luckily after a month she managed to get to the border at Poland - I drove the car from Germany overnight to pick her up. My mother flew from Italy. Reunited: In March, the dancer, 24, was reunited with his grandma in Poland after she walked more than five miles in the freezing cold and hadn't slept for two nights to flee the country Nikita shared that while his granny was safe, he still has family in Ukraine, explaining 'We are not able to take them out because of health conditions, so it's constantly on my mind. 'I don't want to make it about myself, it's nothing about me, it's about the heroes who are defending our country. It's all about them, so I'm just praying to god that this is going to end soon.' Nikita was joined on Loose Women by fellow Strictly pro Graziano di Prima, 28, who spoke about his upcoming Italian wedding and revealed former dance partner Judi Love had bagged an invite. Co-stars: Nikita was joined on Loose Women by fellow Strictly pro Graziano di Prima, 28 Back at it: Graziano spoke about his upcoming Italian wedding and revealed former dance partner Judi Love had bagged an invite Coleen, 57, asked about the big day, he said, 'So it's happening soon, finally - but [it's] top secret, apart from Judi's coming!' Brenda, 53, went on to ask about the proposal to Giada, who is also a dancer, and who he was touring with at the time. He replied : 'It was back in 2019 - I wanted to do something really romantic for my fiance Giada. 'We were rehearsing for a show and I said I had to go back home to Sicily to see my family, and she wanted to come with me - I told her to stay. 'So I went to Sicily, got the ring, I saw my family and I came back to England. Before we started the tour I put the ring inside a sock. We live together, so we share everything.' Messing around: Earlier in the day the pair were seen outside the ITV studios where they bumped into comedian Chris Ramsey, 35 Fun: Chris hid beneath a dark base ball cap and kept things casual wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans as he larked around with the dancers Graziano explained that as they were changing city every day, their suitcases were being handled roughly and were thrown about, saying, 'I was like, 'Oh no!' She was like, 'You never cared about the luggage before - why now?' 'Every night when she was sleeping I was going to the bathroom to prepare the speech in English first and then Italian. He then proposed on stage on his birthday. 'I wanted to cry. It's something I'll never forget.' Looking good: Graziano, 28, looked smart in a pair of black trousers which he tucked a pink silk shirt into while, Nikita, 24, cut a dapper figure in a grey blaze Catching up: The pair were engrossed by Graziano's phone as they chatted outside the studio Earlier in the day the pair were seen outside the ITV studios where they bumped into comedian Chris Ramsey, 35. Graziano looked smart in a pair of black trousers which he tucked a pink silk shirt into while, Nikita cut a dapper figure in a grey blazer. Chris hid beneath a dark base ball cap and kept things casual wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans. Keanu Reeves was seen leaving Spago restaurant in Beverly Hills on Tuesday evening. The Matrix actor wore a snazzy blue velvet suit with a white shirt and blue scarf as he added brown leather lace-up boots. But the 57-year-old star did not get into a car. Rather, he zoomed off on his Arch motorcycle while wearing a red, black and gray helmet. Great style: Keanu Reeves, 57, looks classy in a suit as he leaves Spago last night after having dinner with friends The famed actor wore a comfortable suit that looked to be made of a soft, velvet material. A plain white T-shirt was worn under the suit jacket. He wore brown boots that reached the top of his ankles to keep the look simple and casual for a week night out in Beverly Hills. His hair was worn straight down, and the ends skimmed the top of his shoulders. Good times: The actor shares a laugh with his buddies after eating a yummy dinner last night in Beverly Hills Reeves carried an Arch helmet that had a reddish orange color as he walked over to his motorcycle. The John Wick actor rode off in a custom Arch motorcycle. Reeves co-founded Arch Motorcycle in 2011 along with Gard Hollinger. The star is known for having a rather impressive motorcycle collection of his own. In an interview with GQ, Reeves discussed why he has such a strong passion for riding motorcycles. Ride in style: The Matrix actor is spotted on one of his custom Arch motorcycles leaving dinner in Beverly Hills 'It's really a great place to think, to feel, to get away. When I don't ride a motorcycle, I go through withdrawal. It's not good for my health,' the star stated. The actor has been spotted countless times out and about cruising on various different motorcycles. The star is even in possession of one of the bikes that was used in The Matrix Reloaded movie. The motorcycle was a 2004 Ducati 998, which currently is in the lucky hands of Reeves. He loves his bikes: Reeves spotted in Los Angeles about to hop on his Arch bike in March The versatile star has recently been working on his latest film, John Wick: Chapter 4. The much awaited movie is set to be released on March 24, 2023. Reeves discussed whether this will be the last film in the Wick franchise in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. 'We just attack one at a time,' the actor stated. Eric Roberts made rare comments about his relationship with his movie star sister Julia Roberts on Wednesday. In an interview with Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef, the 66-year-old actor dismissed rumors of a feud with the 54-year-old Pretty Woman actress after years of speculation about a rift between the siblings. 'Julia and I have always been fine,' The Dark Knight star told the podcast host, even though they have not been photographed together in decades. Speaking out: Eric Roberts made rare comments about his relationship with his sister Julia Roberts on Wednesday. Seen in 2021 Rumors: In an interview with Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef, the 66-year-old actor dismissed rumors of a feud with the 54-year-old actress after years of speculation about a rift between the siblings. Julia pictured in April 2022 The Best of the Best performer went on to criticize the media scrutiny of his relationship with Julia after she skyrocketed to fame following the release of her hit romantic comedy Pretty Woman in 1990. He said, 'I think years and years ago I was doing a press tour for some movie. I don't even know what movie it was. And it was just when Pretty Woman just got released. 'And so they're asking a bunch of questions about Julia. And I said, "Hey, excuse me. Can we talk about me?" I think I was very funny. And of course, then it's like, "Oh, they have a problem. Oh my God, they have a problem." 'Julia and I have always been fine,' The Dark Knight star told the podcast host. Pictured in 1999 'And suddenly all these problems I keep hearing about I have with my sister that I don't have with my sister. And they're just popping up all the place,' he added. The Mississippi native added, 'And I'm asked about them as if they're real issues. "So what happened? And so and so and so and so. "Oh, I wasn't aware of that." '"And so all so now they're keeping a secret. So Eric won't talk about it." So it blew up and blew up and became all these things it wasn't. 'And we don't agree on a lot of things,' Eric explained. 'My sister and I though, we've always talked, we've always bitched and we've always had fun knowing each other. Simple as that.' Hitting back: The Best of the Best performer went on to criticize the media scrutiny of his relationship with Julia after she skyrocketed to fame following the release of her hit romantic comedy Pretty Woman in 1990. Seen in 1985 David noted that siblings rarely agree on everything to which Eric replied, 'Dont get me wrong. I love knowing my sister. She's, she's a cool chick, my sister.' The Academy Award nominee explained that Julia's life is not easy as she balances raising three teenagers and starring in the Hulu political thriller Gaslit. 'She's got these three adolescent children now. I mean, her life, her life is not a day at the beach, dude,' he said with a laugh. 'You know? And, and she's got a lot of s**t she has to deal with. Famous family: Eric shares daughter Emma, 32, with his ex Kelly Cunningham. Emma seen in 2021 'And shes doing a TV series again now. I mean, shes doing a lot of stuff and you know, so, you know, I don't, I don't ignore it. I just stay out of her hair with the press. And that's all. Simple. And she, and she stays out of mine.' David then asked Eric if he loves being an uncle to his younger sister's children. The Erin Brockovich star shares fraternal twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, 17, and son Henry, 14, with her husband Danny Moder, 53. 'Well, I've got it made,' Eric said. 'I mean, I've got it made. And it's like, it's like being grandparent. I have my granddaughter.' Eric's stepdaughter Morgan has a daughter named Georgia. And Eric shares daughter Emma Roberts, 32, with his ex-partner Kelly Cunningham. Emma is mother to son Rhodes, one, whom she shares with her ex Garrett Hedlund, 37. He added, 'I mean, I'm like, Spider-Man, I'm the ultimate guy. And it's just really cool. And it's the same as being an uncle, you know.' 'What type of mom is Julia to these three kids?' David asked. The Runaway Train actor responded, 'Oh, you know what, if I start doing that, I'm going to get myself in trouble no matter what I say.' Eric: 'And we don't agree on a lot of things. My sister and I though, we've always talked, we've always bitched and we've always had fun knowing each other. Simple as that.' Seen in May 2022 'I do not want to get you in trouble,' the host said. 'Thank you, buddy, ' Eric replied. He added, 'She's a great mom, by the way. She's a cool mom. She's a hip mom. She knows it all.' David said, 'It's not easy being the cool mom. I just think that is a media thing. Forget about you. Let's not get you in trouble. Just anyone you look at. There's a million people that have mother/daughter in the business. He continued, 'It's like, it's, it's something about the business. When there's family members, especially siblings, I think it gets taken, and again, I can name a hundred other people. It gets taken in a strange direction. I do think that.' 'Yeah, I know. I know,' Eric said. 'I've been there.' Over the years, Eric has only once talked openly about his relationship with Julia. In an interview with Vanity Fair in 2018, he admitted that his past struggles with drug addiction and his split with Kelly created a rift between him and Julia. The Academy Award winner sided with Kelly after the separation and helped pay her legal fees during her custody battle with Eric over then two-year-old Emma. Praise: Eric said Julia is a 'hip mom' and added that she 'knows it all'. Seen in May 2022 During the interview, Eric reflected on his complicated relationship with Julia as well as his sister Lisa, 57. He told Vanity Fair. 'I wouldn't characterize it as a falling-out. I was crazy about my sisters. Loved them, adored them. They were precious to me, and we had times of great closeness. 'We all felt very protective of each other, but the hardest person to protect yourself from is yourself.' The actor explained that his decades-long drug abuse caused Julia to distance herself from him. 'I was exhausting to be around: complainy, blamey, unable to enjoy enjoyment,' Eric said. 'Everyone in my world needed a break sometimes, and that must have included Julia.' Complicated: Eric reflected on his complicated relationship with Julia as well as his sister Lisa, 57. Lisa, Eric, Julia and Jon Voight seen in 1985 However, he explained that after years of estrangement, the siblings reunited in 2004 when Julia welcomed Hazel and Phinnaeus. Eric said that he visited the hospital after his younger sister gave birth 'to drop off gifts.' He added, 'Instead I was ushered into their room and was immediately awash in brotherly and uncle-ly love.' The performer went on to say that after that visit, they spent several Thanksgivings together and became 'email buddies.' Eric also took credit for the successful careers of his sister and daughter, telling Vanity Fair, 'If it wasnt for me, there would be no Julia Roberts and no Emma Roberts as celebrities, as actresses, and Im very proud of that. 'When Julia first came to New York, I went into William Morris and I said, "Which one of you is going to sign my sister Julia?"' He added, 'And I am so proud that everybody knows I was first, because I was first by a long shot. I was first to get Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations, so Im proud of that.' The Wright family seemed in high spirits as they enjoyed George's wedding to Sophie Kane on Thursday in the Bahamas. And Natalya Wright treated fans to a glimpse into the lavish romantic occasion on her Instagram Story. The family dressed to impress as they attended the location wedding which included a performance from James Argent. Stunning: The Wright family seemed in high spirits as they enjoyed George's wedding to Sophie Kane on Thursday in the Bahamas Mark, 35, looked dapper in a green blazer and matching suit trousers which he paired with an open collar crisp white shirt. The former TOWIE star took to his own Instagram to share a sweet snap beaming while holding his brother Josh's baby boy. The reality star was standing up at the front as his cousin married in the luxury destination. Wow! The family dressed to impress as they attended the location wedding which included a performance from James Argent Loved up: Mark Wright's younger sister Natalya gave fans a glimpse into the lavish romantic occasion on her Instagram Story as she cozied up to her boyfriend The bride looked sensational in a silver dazzling gown which featured a long white train and stunning veil. Sophie held onto a large bouquet of flowers as her father walked her down the aisle following after several young flower girls and her bridesmaids. The bride and groom couldn't contain their smiles as they exited the venue to have pictures outside along with two beautiful flamingos. High spirits: Mark, 35, looked dapper in a green blazer and matching suit trousers which he paired with an open collar crisp white shirt as he posed with brother Josh's baby boy Bridesmaids: Several young flower girls and bridesmaids skipped down the aisle of white rose petals Glam: The bride looked sensational in a silver dazzling gown which featured a long white train and stunning veil as her father walked her down the aisle The party enjoyed an incredible meal under fairy lights before Natalya captured Mark giving a speech on the big day. Natalya looked stunning in a brown lace corset top dress which flowed down into a full ruffled skirt which was shorter at the front. She opted for a glam palette of makeup and elevated her frame with a pair of gold heels. Romantic: Mark and Josh could be seen standing up at the front as his cousin married in the luxury destination Incredible: The bride and groom couldn't contain their smiles as they exited the venue to have pictures outside along with two beautiful flamingos Stepping up: The party enjoyed an incredible meal under fairy lights before Natalya captured Mark giving a speech on the big day Later in the evening, former TOWIE star James Argent made an appearance as he sang and entertained the guests. He seemed in high spirits in a blue shirt as he took to the stage while the friends and family danced along. The bride seemed to be having the time of her life as her glittering strapless dress dazzled on the dance floor. Mark's mum Carol looked sensational in a flowered pink maxi dress while his dad opted for a beige suit. Despite the family vacation and wedding, Carol's other daughter Jessica Wright was not in attendance after giving birth a few weeks ago. Family snap: Mark's mum Carol looked sensational in a flowered pink maxi dress while his dad opted for a beige suit Sensational: The bride seemed to be having the time of her life as her glittering strapless dress dazzled on the dance floor She's known for showing off her incredible figure on the runway. And Alessandra Ambrosio turned the streets of Madrid into her own personal runway as she headed to the Omega event on Wednesday. Ensuring she'd turn heads on the outing, the 41-year-old model wowed in a skimpy ab and cleavage flashing bralet. Working it: Alessandra Ambrosio turned the streets of Madrid into her own personal runway as she headed to the Omega event on Wednesday She teamed the garment with a pair of billowing black flares while barely-there heels gave her model frame an extra boost. Layering up, the mother-of-two donned an embellished jacket with quirky shoulder pads, while she toted her belongings in a boxy clutch bag. Alessandra completed the look by styling her glossy chestnut locks in a wet slicked back style to highlight her pretty features. Wow: Ensuring she'd turn heads on the outing, the 41-year-old model wowed in a skimpy ab and cleavage flashing bralet Leggy lady! She teamed the garment with a pair of billowing black flares while barely-there heels gave her model frame an extra boost Alessandra recently left the the South of France after attending several red carpet events at Cannes Film Festival. She recently gushed to The Hollywood Reporter about the glamour of Cannes, saying: 'The carpet experience starts before you even arrive at the Palais.' She shared: 'Driving down the Croisette can be a bit hectic, but as soon as you hit the carpet, you get the adrenaline rush, and it feels like you are in a dream.' Brunette beauty: Alessandra completed the look by styling her glossy chestnut locks in a wet slicked back style to highlight her pretty features Striking: Model Lucia Rivera was also in attendance and looked glamorous in a forest green gown paired with lilac heels Pointing out style icons, Alessandra notes stars such as Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor as 'inspirations' when it comes to her style. The Victoria's Secret model continued: 'My main inspirations when thinking of what to wear for the festival are my favourite fashion icons Sophia Loren, Brigitte Bardot, Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor, but I always add my own twist on the look.' She concluded: 'This is the ultimate film festival. I just love how charming the French Riviera is. When you mix that charm with amazing films and people from all over the world, it creates an unforgettable experience.' Jamie Foxx was seen pulling off a cool outfit with a thick beard and afro while on the set of his newest film, Tin Soldier, on Tuesday. The 54-year-old actor wore a light brown, patterned button up with black pants that had the same pattern. Production on the action movie just began and is currently being filmed in Thessaloniki, Greece. In character: Jamie Foxx, 54, showcased a cool and eccentric outfit for his role as The Bokushi for the film Tin Soldier The Django Unchained star walked along the set in a pair of comfortable slippers for the long day of filming. Foxx will play the role of The Bokushi, a preacher with a big following of armed veterans. His character is set to be the antagonist of the film. Other cast members include iconic actor, Robert De Niro, 78, Scott Eastwood, 36, and John Leguizamo, 61. Looking cool: The actor pulled off a pair of large sunglasses and a very thick beard for his character's look on set of Tin Soldier in Greece The actor sported large sunglasses to complete his character's look. Brad Furman will be directing the movie, and expressed his excitement to have the opportunity working on the film and with a talented cast. 'I am honored to be a part of the team behind such an ambitious, important and deeply personal work in Tin Soldier,' Furman stated in an interview with Deadline. Light, Camera, Action! The Spider-Man: No Way Home star is seen on the extravagant set of Tin Soldier in Greece Foxx recently spoke out about the fatal school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The actor was born in Texas, which made the shooting hit close. On Instagram, the star posted a photo of the victims and added a caption expressing his sadness and condolences. In one part of the caption, he stated, 'Little angels my heart goes out to ur families...' Vacation Time: The talented actor was spotted on a yacht in Cannes soaking up the sun before heading to Greece to film Tin Soldier Jamie was also in the spotlight recently for jumping in and saving Dave Chappelle's life after a man tried to attack the comedian on stage. Chappelle was doing a show at The Hollywood Bowl for the Netflix is a Joke festival when a man attempting to attack him with a fake gun. Foxx leaped on stage and assisted to pull the man off of him. 'Whenever you're in trouble, Jamie Foxx will show up in a sheriff's hate,' Dave stated in a video according to EW. Former presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, the candidate of the main opposition Democratic Party for a parliamentary by-election in the Gyeyang-B constituency in Incheon, speaks to reporters at his campaign office in the city's Gyeyang Ward, west of Seo By Nam Hyun-woo Former presidential candidates Lee Jae-myung and Ahn Cheol-soo have renewed their positions in politics as lawmakers. During Wednesday's parliamentary by-elections, which took place in seven constituencies concurrently with local elections, Lee of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and Ahn Cheol-soo of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) won in Incheon's Gyeyang District B and Seongnam's Bundang District A, respectively. Overall, the PPP won in five out of seven constituencies. In Incheon, Lee took a victory over PPP's Yoon Hyeong-seon by 55.24 percent to 44.75 percent. Unlike initial expectations, the former DPK flagbearer staged a tough race against the political rookie to clinch his first term at the National Assembly. Lee's bid to run in the by-election was widely seen as a political gamble, because he was running in another election less than three months after his unsuccessful presidential campaign, rather than taking the responsibility for the defeat. Lee claimed that he returned to the frontlines of politics to spearhead the DPK's campaigns, but at the same time faced criticism for running in the election to gain a "bulletproof vest" from allegations surrounding him and his family members by using a lawmaker's immunity from arrest granted by law. Incheon's Gyeyang District B has been a DPK stronghold, electing liberal candidates in six out of seven recent elections for lawmakers. As a result, Lee was criticized for choosing an easy constituency even though he has no experience related to the region. "I will do my best to restore people's trust in the party and myself, and spare no effort to win people's hearts again," Lee said, referring to his party's crushing defeat in Wednesday's elections. "Though difficulties had been expected for the elections, I will humbly take the people's serious concerns onboard. I will overhaul myself and do my best to meet public expectations." Ahn Cheol-soo in political mainstream People Power Party lawmaker candidate Ahn Cheol-soo celebrates at his election camp in Bundang District, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday, as his victory is anticipated after more than half of the ballots were counted. Joint Press Corps Johnny Depp is planning a double-pronged showbusiness comeback after his stunning court victory. The actor, 58, smiled and shook hands with fans at a pub in Newcastle upon Tyne last night after watching the US jury brand ex-wife Amber Heard a liar. Buoyed by fevered support on social media and in the courtroom, he believes he now has a 'golden opportunity' to press reset on his career. Later this year he plans to release an album with guitar legend Jeff Beck, 77, written by the two men at Beck's home in Sussex where Depp has been spending months at a time. He will also start making art house films. His legal team hailed the verdict, with the British law firm Schillings saying that they 'could not be happier for him.' Johnny Depp plans to release a music album and make art house films now that the latest stage of his court battle with ex-wife Amber Heard is over Mr Depp has performed alongside guitar legend Jeff Beck and plans to release an album with him this year. He has spent months at a time at Beck's house collaborating with the music giant The company said that he is satisfied that he has had the chance to 'expose' the untruths told by Miss Heard. In particular, his lawyers felt it significant that Heard confessed that she had failed to donate $7million (5.6million) to charity from her divorce settlement, as she had claimed in London effectively admitting that she had perjured herself in the High Court in 2020. A spokesman for Schillings, said: 'We are delighted that Johnny got his chance to explain what he went through, as painful as that must have been. 'In the aftermath of the UK judgment, Johnny said that it would not change his fight to tell the truth, that his resolve remained strong and that he intended to prove that the allegations against him were false. 'We believe that he has now finally managed to achieve that, and we could not be happier for him.' Amber Heard said the court verdict was a 'setback for women' after she was found to have defamed her actor ex-husband and was ordered to pay out a $15 million settlement As well as building on his music career Depp also plans to pick up his acting career and do 'exactly what I've wanted to do for years' Depp has stayed largely silent since the verdict in the UK court, but told journalist Jason Solomons: 'This is the golden opportunity to do exactly what I've wanted to do for years, which is make the films or the cinema that I want, to stay away from limitations, not allow for any unintended fingers to get into the pie, which is to say, do films that don't need to be $300million films.' Depp's new career will see him starting from almost zero financially. In court in the UK in 2020, it was revealed that he had earned up to 400million across his career. It was apparently spent on property, drugs, drink and whims such as firing the ashes of his hero, the writer Hunter S Thompson into space, which cost him 4million. Post-disgrace, his bohemian persona he presents himself as a high-living carefree wastrel was unchanged. He now hopes to pick up the threads of his film career, which hit the buffers after he lost his London libel action and agreed to withdraw from the Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. In a wide-ranging interview with film critic Solomons, released on his podcast Seen Any Good Films Lately?, Depp revealed that he expects to return to acting. He draws a distinction between cinema and movies, 'a grand difference I feel'. He explains that cinema gives you 'that sort of freedom to create, show bits of hints of character, to reveal the crack, that's an exploration; whereas other times, where you're making a movie, you get in there, they want the lines said or the jokes spewed and then you get out if you can.' The verdict means that Miss Heard has once been believed by a British High Court judge but disbelieved by a jury in America. British PR expert Mark Borkowski said: 'There is no way back for Heard in Hollywood. If you're sitting there making a movie or thinking about casting it, are you going to hire her? 'Look at the huge outcry about Aquaman 2 [where a petition to have her kicked off the film hit four million signatures last night]. The trial pollutes any marketing or PR to launch a film.' Alicia Witt looked triumphant as she delved into her trying cancer battle on Instagram on Wednesday. The 46-year-old Urban Legend actress shared images of herself celebrating after finishing up a round of 'chemical therapy' before she underwent a unilateral mastectomy. The health scare followed a family tragedy for the actress when both of her parents froze to death in their neglected home in December 2021. Unbelievable strength: Alicia Witt, 46, revealed her celebrations at finishing a round of chemical therapy two months ago while secretly battling cancer, following her parent's tragic deaths in December 2021 In her post, Alicia was bundled up with a thick fleece-lined blanket and wore gloves while she donned a large cold cap a strapped on hat filled with cooling gel that is used by people undergoing chemotherapy to minimize hair loss. In one image, she beamed while holding up a certification of completion for her treatments, which was dated March 23 and signed by several people. 'Just a little over 2 months ago, i had my last round of chemical therapy prior to my mastectomy,' she revealed in her lengthy caption, before adding a shoutout to her doctor Habib Doss, who joined her for the final treatment. She marked the joyous occasion by hitting a tiny golden gong to signal the completion of her treatment. 'Although we didnt yet know for absolute certain until after the mastectomy that the disease was completely healed from my left breast, this marked the end of my carboplatin/taxotere, + herceptin/perjeta,' she wrote, noting that she would still undergo the latter two immunotherapies through the end of the year as a precaution. Light at the end of the tunnel: In one image, she beamed while holding up a certification of completion for her treatments, which was dated March 23 and signed by several people Celebration: She marked the joyous occasion by hitting a tiny golden gong to signal the completion of her treatment Secret fight: 'Just a little over 2 months ago, i had my last round of chemical therapy prior to my mastectomy,' she revealed in her lengthy caption, before adding a shoutout to her doctor Habib Doss, who joined her for the final treatment She thanked the 'tiny crew of human angels' who helped her throughout her six treatment, and noted that she wore the cold caps partly to keep her privacy during the ordeal. 'While keeping hair was obviously the last of my concerns on a larger level, i did deeply wish to keep my diagnosis private until it was 100% healed, god willing,' she explained, adding that she was 'so grateful' to those who kept her cancer battle private. She noted that the cold caps could 'truly play a huge role in allowing a patient to reveal her journey on her own time, when she is ready.' Although she seemed mostly upbeat after seemingly beating cancer, Alicia also noted that the treatments came so soon after her parents' tragic deaths. 'For me, this was such a needed part of my healing particularly given the horribly public tragedy that had happened in our family just as i was beginning my treatments,' she added. Couldn't do it alone: She thanked the 'tiny crew of human angels' who helped her throughout her six treatment, and noted that she wore the cold caps partly to keep her privacy during the ordeal Privacy: 'While keeping hair was obviously the last of my concerns on a larger level, i did deeply wish to keep my diagnosis private until it was 100% healed, god willing,' she explained On her terms: She noted that the cold caps could 'truly play a huge role in allowing a patient to reveal her journey on her own time, when she is ready.' Helping hands: Alicia was joined by friends celebrating her treatment completion Although her latest post was the first glimpse Alicia provided into her cancer treatments, she announced her health struggle a week earlier on the platform. In a sweet selfie snapped in her yard which showed her red hair looking full and healthy she called that past six months both 'the absolute strangest i could ever have imagined' and 'the biggest of blessings.' 'friends, i am healing from a unilateral mastectomy,' she shared. 'All of the tissue removed (as well as my blood) tested *negative* for any trace of remaining disease. the gratitude overrides any and all else.' The Twin Peaks actress said she first got a lump in one of her breasts biopsied back in October, after several doctors, including the one conducting the biopsy, told her it was likely nothing serious. 'november 4, i was heading out the door for my friend cindys birthday gathering when i saw my doctor was calling. "oh good", i thought; "im about to have confirmation that all is well." it wasnt,' she continued. Following the shocking cancer diagnosis, she went through a 'crash course' on treatments to explore, and she began six rounds of chemotherapy starting on December 1. In a follow-up comment, she urged her followers to get yearly mammograms to help detect potential cancer early on. Persevering: Although her latest post was the first glimpse Alicia provided into her cancer treatments, she announced her health struggle a week earlier with a selfie from her yard Good news: 'friends, i am healing from a unilateral mastectomy,' she shared. 'All of the tissue removed (as well as my blood) tested *negative* for any trace of remaining disease' Alicia's timeline indicates that she was diagnosed and had begun treatments even before her parents had died. On December 21, she announced in a Facebook post that her father Robert, 87, and mother Diane, 75, had been found dead in their home in Worcester, Massachusetts. The screen star said she had asked a family member to check in on them after having not heard from them in several days, but after they weren't able to get into the house, police performed a wellness check and discovered their bodies. At the time, there wasn't evidence of foul play or carbon monoxide poisoning, and the Massachusetts state medical examiner determined in February that the elderly couple had frozen to death. Their date of death was listed as December 20, the day the police discovered their bodies. Their deaths appear to have come after a brutal cold snap, as December 19 had the coldest night of the month, with temperatures dipping as low as 15 degrees Fahrenheit. The couple had reportedly not had a working heating system for some time, and a space heater in need of repair was found inside the home. Heartbreak: The Walking Dead actress's timeline indicates she began cancer treatments just weeks before her parents Robert, 87, and Diane, 75, froze to death in their run-down home in Worcester, Massachusetts 'My parents were not penniless,' she wrote on Facebook. 'They were fiercely stubborn, beautifully original souls, and with that, they made choices choices that I couldnt talk them out of. 'I did help them, in all the ways I could in all the ways they would let me. 'I had no idea that their heat had gone out. I will never understand how or why they made the choice not to tell me this, not to let me help them with this. My heart is broken,' she wrote. The actress said she 'struggled' to help them, with little success. 'Short of petitioning the court system for taking control of two otherwise very sharp, very independent, very capable adults. They were a united, intertwined, indivisible force, determined to do things their own way. knowing they had each other battling them the way I would have had to in order to do this truly felt like it would have destroyed them,' she continued. They did not take her help: She also noted that her parents were not 'penniless' and she had tried several times to help them out but they would not let her. And she shared that she had not been in their house for 10 years Alicia explained that she 'begged, cried, tried to reason with them, tried to convince them to let me help them move but every time, they became furious with me, telling me I had no right to tell them how to live their lives and that they had it all under control.' She added that, 'It was not for a lack of trying on my part, or the part of other people who loved them.' The Walking Dead actress noted that she had not been allowed into her parents' house for 'well over 10 years,' and she said she had no idea how far into disrepair it had fallen. Although her parents were believed to have died of hypothermia, they had other preexisting health conditions, as her father was battling cancer and her mother suffered from Parkinson's disease. STOCKHOLM (AP) - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday warned that the Ukraine war is diverting attention away from climate change, while at the same time showcasing the world's "suicidal" dependence on fossil fuels. Speaking ahead of an environmental conference in Stockholm, Guterres said the scale of the conflict has "inevitably" shifted the focus from other issues, including efforts to halt the global temperature rise. "The sense of urgency in the debate on climate has of course suffered with the war in Ukraine," Guterres told reporters at the Swedish prime minister's official residence. "But I think this war has demonstrated one thing: How fragile is the world in its dependence on fossil fuels." He pointed to decisions by the European Union this week to stop most imports of Russian oil as part of sanctions imposed after the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. The conflict has underscored how dependent many European countries are on Russian oil and gas. "So its time to learn the lesson," Guterres said. "If we do not want again to be in the same situation we are today we need to make a clear bet: massive investment in renewable energy and clear understanding that the dependence on fossil fuels is a suicidal one." Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson noted that before the Ukraine war the world was grappling with other crises including the COVID-19 pandemic. Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, right, welcomes UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Stockholm, Sweden on Wednesday June 1, 2022, ahead of their meeting. (Soren Andersson/TT via AP) "We have to be able to handle all these crises at the same time," she said. "When we come together we can achieve fantastic things together." Guterres was in Stockholm to attend a two-day conference starting Thursday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in the same city in 1972. That event was the starting point for U.N. efforts to promote global environmental action and led to the creation of the U.N. Environmental Program. People wait in line for a polling station to open in Seoul's Gangnam District, early in the morning on June 1. The voting started at 6 a.m. at 14,465 polling stations nationwide. Yonhap This is the 11th in the "Letters to President Yoon" series The Korea Times has organized to convey policy recommendations in open letters from politicians, scholars and experts to President Yoon Suk-yeol following his May 10 inauguration. ED. By Maria Castillo Fernandez Dear Mr. President, Warm congratulations on behalf of the European Union on becoming the new president of the Republic of Korea. You have assumed office at a time when the world has entered a period of tectonic changes in the global geopolitical and geo-economic landscape. An uncertain situation that will get worse before it gets better, as humanity is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and is fighting an existential climate crisis. While you have many domestic challenges to tackle, including closing the gaps between the genders and generations, it is of vital importance that Korea also plays a leading role under your leadership in addressing these global challenges. The global order, stability and prosperity as we know it since WWII has been fractured by Russian President Vladimir Putin's unjustified and illegal invasion of Ukraine. This is a defining moment. We, the EU and Korea, need to build on our strong common values and cooperate to safeguard the rules-based order. Russia's flagrant breach of the United Nations Charter has an impact beyond Ukraine and Europe. It is affecting people in all corners of the world, in terms of food and nutrition security, energy, commodity prices and public finances. The EU, Korea and the wider international community must together address and mitigate these impacts of Putin's war of choice. We firmly believe that the use of force and coercion to change borders has no place in the 21st century. We welcome Korea's support and participation in the response of the international community to Russia's actions, including with economic sanctions, to deter armed aggression and secure a peaceful resolution. We call on you, Mr. President, to continue along this path and to support Ukraine even more. The EU warmly welcomes your ambition to make Korea a global pivot state and to take up global responsibility commensurate with Korea's political, economic and cultural clout. We believe that Korea can become a global leader, promoting the values of liberal democracy and human rights as well as contributing to a fair and sustainable future for all. We strongly believe that it is in Korea's interest to diversify its foreign policy and work closely together with the EU, for instance on setting global standards and on convincing third countries to uphold the rules-based system. In 2023, the EU and Korea will celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations. We have a lot to be proud of. Korea was the first country in Asia to sign a political framework agreement, a free trade agreement and a security cooperation framework partnership agreement with the EU. We have more than 40 policy dialogues and a strong political, trade and cultural relationship. The EU is the largest foreign direct investor in Korea and its third-largest trading partner. We believe that now is the time to take our relationship to a new level. The EU adopted its own Indo-Pacific strategy recently. The significance of the Indo-Pacific region for the EU is about more than just geo-economics: it is also geostrategic. Re-engaging with the region, building comprehensive and rules-based partnerships with likeminded countries like yours is a must. As one of our closest partners in the region, it is natural that Korea appears prominently in our Indo-Pacific strategy. We are both committed to sustainable and inclusive prosperity. This commitment means that the EU and Korea could cooperate on economic security, especially on the resilience of supply chains and on measures to increase strategic autonomy in trade and investments. A key element to strengthening our relationship would be to establish a digital partnership. Furthermore, Korea sees green technology as the most promising key sector in the post-pandemic era a view that the EU profoundly shares. There is strong potential for deepening our cooperation on the clean energy transition towards carbon neutrality by 2050 as well as safeguarding biodiversity and the environment. In research and innovation, Korea like other partners sharing common values could become a partner in the Horizon Europe program, which offers the possibility of more joint research and innovation opportunities, of key importance for our green and digital recoveries. In regards to cooperation on security and defense, Korea's cooperation with EUNAVFOR Atlanta arose from its interest in protecting maritime routes. There is space to strengthen our security cooperation, including military-to-military cooperation, as the EU is stepping up its security presence in Asia. The EU also stands ready to support any new diplomatic process aimed at achieving denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula. Mr. President, the EU intends to work hand in hand with your administration to strengthen our bilateral relations and multilateral cooperation. Today, with multiple uncertainties and an economic crisis looming, our strategic partnership is more important than ever and Presidents Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen are keen to meet with you in person to set out the framework for a stronger-than-ever partnership. Sincerely, Maria Castillo Fernandez The writer is EU ambassador to South Korea. Kochi: Malayalam actor-producer Vijay Babu, who has been granted interim pre-arrest bail in a sexual assault case, arrived in Kerala's Kochi from Dubai on Wednesday. The Kerala High Court on Tuesday granted Vijay an interim pre-arrest bail until the next hearing date - June 2. While addressing the media, after his return, Vijay said that the truth will come out. "I was told in court that I will come today. That's how I came to be. I have full faith in the honourable court. I will fully cooperate with the police. The truth will come out. Thanks to all the family and friends who stood with me," he said. Vijay may appear before the police as a part of the interrogation today. There are two cases registered against him. One is the sexual assault case and the other one is for disclosing the identity of the complainant through social media. The complainant alleged that she has been sexually assaulted by Vijay Babu in a flat in Kochi. The offence was repeated by the accused more than once, she said in the complaint. The complaint said Babu committed the offence on the pretext of offering roles in movies to the woman. Following the accusations, Vijay stepped down from the executive committee of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) in May. The actor said that he will stay away from the Executive Committee of the organization till he is proven innocent in the sexual assault case to save the association from 'disgrace'. HYDERABAD: Even as 15 candidates from the city cracked the examinations for the countrys most coveted field civil services ,the list of whom was released by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Monday, their trainer, a woman who is physically challenged, has the last laugh. Balalatha Mallavarapu, who lost her legs when she was 11-month-old, because of polio drops failure, has proved that passion and hard work can take one to greater heights, despite all odds. Balalatha, who herself cracked the civil service exams twice in 2004 and 2016, decided to become a trainer and mentor to civil service aspirants, and till date helped close to hundred aspirants to crack civil services examinations. As a child, due to her disability, and as parents were keen on her treatment, she could not attend school. Her father Mallavarapu Shouraiah, a journalist, gave her home tuition, which helped her to clear her SSC and Intermediate as a private candidate. Later she completed her graduation, through distance education from Osmania University. I was not brilliant in studies, but I used to comprehend the chapters rather than learn by heart, which helped me improve my studies. As soon as I completed my graduation on the first attempt in 2004, I cracked the civil service exams, and got all India rank of 399. I did not want to continue the services, as I wanted to create more civil servants for the society, Balalatha said. She worked as the deputy director for the ministry of defense from 2006 to 2018 and started training civil services aspirants from 2005. Around 30,000 students were trained by her during her visits to various colleges for motivational talks. For the last 20 years, I havent taken even two days of holiday. My mantra is hard work, she said. Students should plan their career early so that they will have a better vision and focus, she suggested. Todays youth are postponing their important work and indulging in various fun activities. Her techie husband killed her with the help of his parents and a friend, put her body in a gunny bag, and dumped it in a tank within Tirupati. Representational image/DC TIRUPATI: Tirupati police have solved the mystery of a woman who had gone missing five months ago. They arrested her husband, a software engineer. He is accused of killing her, packed her body in a gunny bag, and later dumped it in a tank near Tirupati. Disclosing case details to media persons here on Tuesday, East division DSP Murali Krishna explained that M. Padmavathi had got married to K. Venugopal of Satyanarayanapuram in 2019. Their marital life ran into differences right in the beginning, as Venugopal and his parents started harassing her for additional dowry. Though the family members from both sides tried to resolve the issue between the couple several times, their differences deteriorated further. Unable to bear anymore, Padmavathi lodged a complaint against her husband with Disha police station. Following this, the couple underwent several counselling sessions. These did not help as Venugopal did not mend his ways. Instead, he served a legal notice to his wife for divorce, the DSP said. After Venugopal filed the divorce petition, he sent Padmavathi to her parents house and went back to Hyderabad. On January 4, the couple were supposed to appear before the court with regard to their divorce petition. However, Padmavathi refused to respond to divorce notices. Enraged with this, Venugopal and his family members hatched a plan to eliminate her, with the help of his friend Santosh. On January 5, Venugopal reached his in-law's house and after convincing them, he took Padmavathi along with him to his home. With the help of his father, mother and his friend Santosh, he killed his wife by hitting her head with a wooden reaper. They later wrapped her body in a bedsheet, packed it in a gunny bag along with her belongings, and threw it in Venkatapuram tank, DSP Murali disclosed. They informed Padmavathis parents that she had left her in-laws place in a huff. As Padmavathi's father M. Tirumala Swamy could not contact his daughter, he lodged a police complaint on May 27 with Tirupati East police station. During the course of investigation, police found that it had been Venugopal, his parents K. Pandurangachari (60) and K. Rani (52), and his friend Santosh who had killed Padmavathi. Police took three of them into custody, while Santhosh is at large. TIRUPATI: The most-wanted interstate smuggler, involved in more than 15 cases of illegal transportation of red sanders logs from Andhra Pradeshs Seshachalam forests to Tamil Nadu, has been caught. Like Allu Arjuns Pushpa character, M. Perumal (33) used to smuggle red sanders in ambulances and other vehicles. However, the luck that Pushpa had did not last in case of Perumal. Police nabbed him and his accomplice C. Velu (38) and seized 2.5 crore worth red sanders and 50 lakh worth of four-wheelers from them. Disclosing case details to reporters in Chittoor on Wednesday, SP Y. Rishanth Reddy said police had seized 1 crore worth red sanders logs being smuggled in an ambulance and an auto-rickshaw on May 25. While police arrested 15 smugglers in the case, Perumal, the kingpin, and three others managed to escape. Following this, police launched a manhunt to nab Perumal and his accomplices Ajith, Sarath and Vinod. Acting on a tip-off, a team led by CI K. Balaiah and SI V. Rama Krishna organised vehicle checking at Cherlopalli cross on the Tirupati-Bengaluru highway on Wednesday. The accused were moving towards Vellore from Tirupati when they realised vehicles are being checked at Cherlopalli. They tried to turn their vehicles. However, our teams managed to block their vehicles, which were carrying 100 red sanders logs worth 2.5 crore. We also caught Perumal and his accomplice, the Chittoor SP said. Investigations reveal that Perumal hails from Koppam post in Polur taluk of Tiruvannamalai district in Tamil Nadu. He has godowns near Chennai, where he hides the red sander logs smuggled from Seshachalam forests before exporting them to other countries. Police have taken up the process of attaching properties Perumal has acquired by illegally transporting red sanders. Hyderabad: The vacation bench of the Telangana High Court directed the national medical commission (NMC) not to proceed with its decision to cancel 150 fresh MBBS admissions in TRR institute of medical sciences in Sangareddy district till the decision of the statutory appeal filed by the aggrieved college before NMC. The bench, comprising Justice Anninreddy Abhishek Reddy and Justice Mummaneni Sudhir Kumar, was dealing with a petition filed by TRR medical college, challenging the observations of the medical assessment and rating board about the shortcomings in the college infrastructure. It was based on that very report that NMC cancelled new admissions of the college. The petitioner alleged that the board had taken a unilateral decision, which was debatable. It argued that the board, which conducted surprise inspections and cited inadequate infrastructure, was the same one that had granted it permission a few months ago to take admissions. It is double standards, the counsel argued. Gorantla Sriranga Pujitha, counsel for NMC, argued that the board sent its communication based on the ground realities. She refuted allegations levelled by TRR medical college and said that the NMC cannot clear admissions in medical colleges that lacked the required infrastructure. The bench directed NMC to expeditiously decide the appeal and not act on its orders passed against the college. Vijayawada: Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy will leave for Delhi on Thursday and meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. The CM will brief the central leaders on his Davos tour and also discuss matters like release of central funds to the state. The chief minister will depart for Delhi at 11.10am from Gannavaram airport and is likely to return to the state on Friday. The last time the CM had a meeting with the Prime Minister was on April 5. It was a lengthy meeting that lasted over 45 minutes. He discussed various issues of the state. Later, the Centre had raised the states borrowing limit. According to sources, CM Jagan would also discuss with the PM and Shah the presidential and vice-presidential elections and plead for a further easing of the borrowing limit for AP. There is a possibility of the chief minister extending his partys support to the NDA in these elections in July. Apart from issues concerning additional borrowings and the revised expenditure for Polavaram, Jagan might also discuss other issues of importance to the state, the sources said. Jagan is expected to request the Centre to increase the states net borrowing ceiling for the current financial year in the backdrop of the row over the states mounting debt burden and unaccounted loans. The CAG has been asking the AP government to furnish details related to loans raised by public sector undertakings backed by state guarantee. CAG is yet to finalise the states annual accounts for the 2021-22 financial year as the AP government did not furnish details of the liabilities. Consequently, the Centre is yet to fix the fresh borrowing limit, thereby limiting the states scope for raising loans from the open market. Due to various reasons, the Centre has put a squeeze on neighbouring Telanganas borrowings that has vastly hampered its cash flow. A similar situation may arise in AP too in the future. AP finance minister Buggana Rajendranath and top finance officials have been regularly meeting Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman but without much help. CM Jagan will also seek an immediate reimbursement of Rs 13,000 crore for the Polavaram project, for the works that were already done. Schools which have been recognised under the Mana Ooru Mana Badi and Mana Basti Mana Badi programme might also have an inauguration ceremony which will see the presence of education officials, according to sources. Representational image/DC Hyderabad: Thousands of government schools across the state are set to witness a slew of activities with the department of school education issuing guidelines to teachers for implementing the flagship Badi Bata and Mana Ooru Mana Badi programmes from Friday. These programmes are expected to cost nearly Rs 7,289.54 crore to the state government. The objectives of these programmes are to identify all children eligible for enrollment in schools in all habitations and enrol them in the nearest schools, increase the enrollment in government schools and provide quality education, strengthen government schools with the support of community participation, identify five-year-old children from the nearby Anganwadi centers and enrol them in government schools, update village education register (VER), enrol children who completed 5th class in upper primary school/high school and enrol children who completed 7th/8th class in high school, identify schools with low enrollment and prepare a special plan to increase number of students with parental involvement, prepare a plan to identify dropouts and enrol them in the relevant class according to their age and design a plan emphasising the importance of girls education so that all the girls are enrolled in the school. Certain programmes are to be conducted from 7 am to 11 am every day under the Badi Bata programme from June 3 to June 10, except on June 5 which is a Sunday. On day 1, on Friday, Mana Ooru Mana Badi / Mana Basti Mana Badi programmes will be conducted. Schools will be decorated attractively so that the people in the habitats can recognise the importance of Badi Bata. Rallies will be conducted and pamphlets about the same will also be distributed. On June 4, an English Language Enrichment Course (ELEC) programme will be conducted. On June 6, a girl education programme will be conducted. Special facilities provided for girls' education in schools will be explained (martial arts, life skills, for girls with special needs stipend etc.) Girls who have shown special skills or achieved best results will be awarded. On June 7, Samuhika Aksharabhyasam programme will be conducted. Teachers will ensure the attendance of newly enrolled children along with their parents. On June 8, Swachh Pathshala/ Haritha Haram programme will be conducted where all the classrooms will be cleaned by removing the waste material, school premises will be made more attractive, toilets and drinking water facilities will be regulated, brought into use and more. On June 9, school management committees (SMCs) and parent teacher meeting (PTM) will be conducted. Under this, migratory workers and their children will be identified and efforts to enrol them in schools will be made. On the last day, on June 10, enrollment of school dropouts and programmes for children with special needs (CwSN) will be conducted. Efforts will be made for 100 per cent enrollment and retention. Schools which have been recognised under the Mana Ooru Mana Badi and Mana Basti Mana Badi programme might also have an inauguration ceremony which will see the presence of education officials, according to sources. By Martin Schram "Seven Days in May," the epic 1960s novel and a film starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas and Ava Gardner, was a fictional tale about right-wing Pentagon generals who tried to topple the U.S. government. Seven Days in May, 2022, the epic tragedy starring us all, is the reality news that is now dominating news screens everywhere. You and I are feeling like we are trapped into watching a slo-mo version of heart-wrenching, mind-numbing scenes that just keep on looping. We know the whole world is watching us in stunned disbelief. And sometimes it feels like we, too, are outside looking in. We see half of our nation's leaders willfully lying to us and their followers pretend they don't know they are being lied to. We suddenly have enemies whose evil isn't about committing willful action against us, but willful inaction a fear of taking common-sense acts to save us from ourselves. Because their honest action may cost them the power and that is what they crave most of all. Today, our Seven Days in May 2022 tale actually begins with a context-setting preface from 2015: Texas' new governor, Greg Abbott, wanted to assure his supporters he was all about making Texas No. 1. On October 28, 2015, @GregAbbott tweeted: "I'm EMBARRASSED: Texas #2 in nation for new gun purchases, behind CALIFORNIA. Let's pick up the pace Texans. @NRA." Abbott led Texas to enact a series of laws that relaxed gun controls, including permitting Texans to carry firearms without permits or training. And lo, it came to pass: With 1.8 million gun purchases in 2020, Abbott's Texas became America's No. 1 state in gun sales. Seven days in May 2022 takes place in the close-knit community of Uvalde, Texas, just an hour up the road from the Mexican border. May 17: The day after his 18th birthday, Salvador Rolando Ramos entered a gun store in his hometown. Obeying all the relaxed federal, state and local laws that helped make Gov. Abbott's Texas No.1, Ramos legally bought an AR-15-style, military-looking semi-automatic rifle. Even though youths his age were legally three years short of being considered mature enough to legally buy a beer in Abbott's Texas No. 1. May 18: Young Ramos returned to legally buy himself 375 rounds of ammunition for his birthday gun. There were no laws prohibiting this sale, nor even red computer flags questioning it in Abbott's Texas No.1. May 19: Young Ramos returned to his gun store and legally bought another AR-15-style semi-automatic. Again, there were no restrictions or red computer flags questioning this repeat sale in Abbott's Texas No.1. May 24: Seven days after buying his first birthday gun, young Ramos used it to shoot his grandmother in the face. He loaded his birthday guns and ammo into her pickup truck, drove toward Robb Elementary School, but crashed his grandma's truck into a culvert near the school. He reportedly fired shots at people across the street, walked around for 12 minutes yet was able to enter the school without encountering police or even a school security guard. For one hour, he fired shots yet was allowed to remain in a school room with terrified students. By the time lawmen finally burst in and Ramos was killed, 19 children and two teachers were shot dead. Uvalde had become America's second worst school massacre. Abbott later made two main points to reporters: (1) Ramos had no known psychiatric problem that could have prevented him from buying his guns; but (2) the real problem here was Texas's shortage of mental facilities. He never mentioned the failure of the limp gun laws of Abbott's Texas No.1. There was one decade in America when this could not have happened. In 1994, sales of semi-automatics such as the AR-15-style rifle were banned during the Clinton years and numbers of mass murders dropped sharply. But a decade later, President George W. Bush and his Republican allies allowed the ban to expire and mass gun murder numbers increased sharply, ever since. Republicans in Washington and where you live have tried doing nothing except lowering flags and pausing for moments of silence. Our children keep getting massacred. Finally we must return to our one other bold option: We must join the rest of the world's safer democracies by at last enacting rigorous gun control measures. Including reinstalling our ban on assault weapons a control that significantly reduced gun massacres. And that's where you come in. You must vote to oust officeholders who still insist on doing nothing but holding onto their seats while your children keep getting massacred. Martin Schram ( ), an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service, is a veteran Washington journalist, author and TV documentary executive. The BJPs national executive meet in the city, the partys biggest annual event, just one year before the scheduled Assembly elections in Telangana, is expected to exert enormous pressure on the ruling TRS. (AFP file photo) HYDERABAD: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will put an official stamp on its intention to wrest Telangana from the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) with the former set to hold an all-important party national executive meeting in the first week of July in Hyderabad. The last time the BJP held its national executive in the city was in January of 2004, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister of the country. The decision to hold the meeting in Hyderabad was taken on Wednesday, at a meeting of the party leaders including the state party in-charge Tarun Chugh, national general secretary B.L. Santosh and senior state BJP leaders. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, along with a majority of the Union Cabinet, 18 chief ministers from BJP-ruled states, and the BJP national executive attending the proposed meeting, it is expected to generate a lot of political heat in Telangana. The BJPs national executive meet in the city, the partys biggest annual event, just one year before the scheduled Assembly elections in Telangana, is expected to exert enormous pressure on the ruling TRS as selection of Hyderabad as the venue, already under pressure from the BJP on various issues. The TRS will know how it is to bear the full weight of the BJP leaning on it, a party leader who attended Wednesdays meeting told Deccan Chronicle. There can be no greater signal that the BJP now means business in Telangana, the party leader said. Among the reasons that made Hyderabad a quick pick by the BJP for its national executive meet, is the strong feeling in the partys top echelons that the TRS deliberately insulted and snubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 26, when Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao left for Bengaluru the same morning, and returned to the city, soon after Modi left for Chennai after completing his engagements in Hyderabad. There is a feeling in the party leadership that enough is enough and it is time for the BJP to seriously kick start, once and for all, its plan to get the state rid of the TRS, another BJP leader said. Though the TRS had described Chandrashekar Raos absence from the city on May 26 as a result of a previously scheduled appointment in Bengaluru with former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, there are no takers for this explanation in the BJP. The BJP sees the episode as a deliberate snub and breach of protocol during a Prime Ministers visit by the Telangana Chief Minister, who otherwise, would have had to receive Modi at the airport on his arrival. Sources in the BJP here said Modi was, in fact, not scheduled to address any gathering on his May 26 visit, save for his previously scheduled graduation address at the Indian School of Business. But after it became clear that the Chief Minister was leaving town for the day, swift decisions were taken, among which was an early arrival to Hyderabad by Modi. That was one of the primary reasons why the Prime Minister reached the city about 40 minutes ahead of his scheduled arrival. This was to accommodate time for a quick, hard-hitting speech to party leaders and cadres at the Begumpet airport, a senior BJP leader told this newspaper. And in his speech, Modi launched a scathing attack on family rule in the state and left no one in doubt that the BJP was gunning for the TRS. The national executive meeting in the city, meanwhile, will have the state BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar alter his plans for the third leg of the Praja Sangrama Yatra that was previously scheduled from June 23 to July 12. Revised dates for Sanjays walkathon will be announced later. Meanwhile, Dubbak MLA M. Raghunandan Rao, during a brief chat with reporters at the party office, said that some venues were inspected for the national executive meeting. He said the meeting will be held in Bhagyanagar and will have all the top party leaders attending it. In TRS-ruled Telangana, the BJP is trying to emerge as a credible opponent to the K. Chandrasekhar Rao-led party, which will be seeking a third term during the Assembly polls scheduled by the end of next year. The TRS chief is also trying to build a non-BJP non-Congress front for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The meeting is coming at the time when the party is preparing for Assembly polls in states like Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The last executive meeting was held in 2021, ahead of the Assembly polls in UP, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. In a shocking incident, a 22-year-old woman from Bangladesh swam across the border to India to marry her boyfriend. Identified as Krishna Mandal, the woman was later arrested by the Narendrapur Police on Monday for entering the country illegally. Krishna braved the wilderness of the Sundarbans and swam for over an hour across the Matla river that flows in the region. As per a report by Lokmat, Krishnas boyfriend Abhik Mandal was waiting with a car in the Kaikhali village of the South 24 Pargana District in West Bengal. They later drove to a temple in Kolkata where they got married. The couple had met online and their love blossomed on Facebook after which they decided to get married. However, Abhik did not hold a passport which restrained him from entering Bangladesh legally. In such a scenario, Krishna decided to undertake the arduous journey and visit Kolkata to marry her boyfriend. The tales of her bravery soon began doing rounds on social media as more people started talking about it. The news also reached the police which later arrested the 22-year-old for entering the country illegally. Reports by India Today suggest that she might be handed over to the Bangladesh High Commission soon. China on Tuesday insisted that it is still India's biggest trade partner in 2021-22 as per its figures and attributed the "disparity" to different methods of calculating the trade volume by New Delhi and Beijing while referring to reports that the US has unseated it to take the top slot. "According to the statistics of Chinese competent authorities, bilateral trade volume between China and India stood at $125.66 billion in 2021," Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing when asked about reports of the US overtaking China to become the largest trade partner of India in 2021-22. "China remains the largest trade partner of India and for the first time the bilateral trade exceeded $100 billion in 2021," Zhao said. Also Read: 'Extended period of uneasy stalemate likely on India-China LAC' "The disparity in trade figures published by China and India is a result of different statistical measurement scales," he said. China follows the financial year from January to December, while India calculates the same from April to March every year. At the same time, Zhao said, "China does not object to the development of normal trade relations between India and the US, and is not that interested in the changes of the ranking in trade volume", playing down the US, which is fast improving its relations with India with strategic tie-ups like Quad, (US, India, Japan, Australia) alliance unseating it from the top slot. China has remained a dominant trade partner of India for a long despite the widespread concerns over the ballooning trade deficit every year. Zhao declined to go into issues of trade barriers and other constraints being mentioned by Indian businesses, saying the details should be obtained from the Chinese Commerce Ministry. For years India has been insisting that China should open its markets for Indias IT and Pharmaceuticals, the countrys main strengths of exports but Beijing is yet to oblige. The trade deficit with China rose to $72.91 billion in 2021-22 from $44 billion in the previous fiscal year as per Indian figures whereas the US is one of the few countries with which India had a trade surplus amounting to $32.8 billion last year. As per the Indian data, China was India's top trading partner from 2013-14 till 2017-18 and also in 2020-21. Before China, the UAE was the country's largest trading partner. "What we care about is whether the Indian side has the will and takes real actions to create a fair, transparent, sustainable and sound environment for bilateral trade and investment, further expand mutually-beneficial cooperation between the two sides and deliver tangible benefits to the two countries and two peoples," Zhao said. Asked whether the Ladakh standoff which cast a shadow on the bilateral ties for over two years is also impacting the trade ties between the two countries, he said, "At present, the border situation is stable in general. The two sides have been maintaining close communication through diplomatic and military channels." Also Read: Provocative, worrying On Tuesday, senior diplomats of the two countries exchanged views on the current situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector in eastern Ladakh. The two sides also agreed to hold the next (16th) round of the Senior Commanders meeting at an early date to achieve the objective of complete disengagement from all friction points along the LAC in the Western Sector in accordance with the existing bilateral agreements and protocols. Zhao reiterated China's oft-repeated stand that Beijing believes that the boundary issue is not the whole of India-China relations. "China always believes that the boundary question doesnt represent the whole of China-India relations and we should put it in an appropriate position in bilateral relations and under effective control and management. We hope India will work with China to continuously enhance mutual trust, strengthen practical cooperation, and ensure that the bilateral relations will move forward along the right track, deliver more benefits to the two peoples and make greater contributions to the region and beyond," he said. Indian media reports on Sunday said the US surpassed China to become India's top trading partner in 2021-22, reflecting strengthening economic ties between the two countries. According to the data of the Indian commerce ministry, in 2021-22, the bilateral trade between the US and India stood at $119.42 billion as against $80.51 billion in 2020-21. During 2021-22, India's two-way commerce with China aggregated at $115.42 billion as compared to $86.4 billion in 2020-21, the data showed. Trade gap rose to $72.91 billion in 2021-22 from $44 billion in the previous fiscal year. Trade experts believe that the trend of increasing bilateral trade with the US will continue in the coming years also as New Delhi and Washington are engaged in further strengthening the economic ties. To another question about reports of Indian investigations into the alleged violation of rules by Chinese phone makers ZTE and Vivo in addition to Xiaomi, Zhao said, "the Chinese government is closely following the situation." "The Chinese government always asks Chinese companies to abide by laws and regulations when doing business overseas. In the meantime, we firmly support Chinese companies in safeguarding their legal rights and interests," he said. "The Indian side should act in accordance with laws and regulations and provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies operating in India," he said. At least 14 cadres of the United Tribal Liberation Army (James faction), a small militant group in Manipur surrendered before Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Wednesday at Imphal. The cadres, including its chairman, Tongthang Singsit, deposited weapons such as two HK-33 rifles, one AK rifle, one A1 rifle, one A2 rifle, three single barrel rifles and three small arms along with one Chinese hand grenade, 18 gelatin sticks, 18 detonators, and assorted ammunition. Welcoming the militants, Singh appealed to all other rebels to lay down weapons and join the mainstream. The Chief Minister stated that no FIR would be lodged against those coming forward to join the mainstream, except against those committing heinous crimes, as announced by union home minister, Amit Shah, during his recent visit to Manipur. "There will be developed only when there is peace," the Chief Minister said adding that in the last five years, the state witnessed rapid development in various fields due to improvement in law and order. Manipur would be able to cope with other states only when there is inclusive development irrespective of geographical differences, said. Singh said that under the revised scheme for surrendered militants, the 14 rebels will get a one-time financial grant of Rs. four, to be kept in their bank accounts as a fixed deposit for three years, monthly stipends of Rs 6000 and other incentives for surrendered weapons. Surrendered cadres will stay in a rehabilitation camp for a period of three years where they would be given various vocational training. Singh said since 2005, a total of 638 surrendered militants have completed rehabilitation and 43 others are undergoing vocational training for rehabilitation. The militancy problem across the Northeast has reduced in the past few years but the situation in Manipur has remained a concern with several militant groups yet to join peace process. Political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor on Tuesday asserted that he will not associate with the Congress in future. "This is the party responsible for breaking my track record of winning. It is not improving and it may even drown me. Hence, I will never work with the Congress again," Kishor said with folded hands at an interaction with media in Vaishali, where he was to prepare ground for his Jan Suraaj campaign. Also Read The politics of Prashant Kishor: Perplexing or prescient? "In the last 10 years, I was involved in 11 elections and only one I lost in Uttar Pradesh in 2017. At that time, I was associated with the Congress party. It has broken my winning record. "I was associated with the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, then the JD(U) in 2015, 2017 in Punjab, 2019 with Jagan Mohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh, 2020 in Delhi with (Arvind) Kejriwal and 2021 in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu," Kishor said. In reaction, senior state Congress leader Madan Mohan Jha said: "Prashant Kishor was associated with Congress in 2017 and unfortunately lost the Uttar Pradesh election. If that would be the reason of blaming Congress party for breaking his track record than I must ask that why he recently met the top leaders of Congress party in Delhi and gave presentation for 6 to 7 days." After the Congress denied nomination to some hopeful veterans for the Rajya Sabha polls, sources said that Sonia Gandhi has reached out to Ghulam Nabi Azad. The sources said that she spoke to Azad on Sunday evening over the phone. However, the details were not made public. The move indicates that she wants to douse the fire and cull any discontent. Azad was one of the prime movers of the G-23 and one of the vocal voices within the party over reforms. Another veteran hopeful, Anand Sharma has also been denied the Rajya Sabha nomination. Tension simmering in the party units in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan over outsiders being nominated for the Upper House. The party leaders are questioning the move, but the chief ministers have not said anything against the party's choice of candidates. Both states will go to polls next year. Also Read: Congress high command prevails over Karnataka unit in selection of RS polls candidates The names of Congress veteran leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Veerappa Moily did not figure in the Rajya Sabha candidate's list, and the trio were hopeful to be nominated, but it was the loyalists who got the tickets. The loyalists include mostly the GenNext leaders, but Mukul Wasnik and P Chidambaram did find a place. This has led to discontent within the party and even many in the young brigade too are upset. Party spokesperson Pawan Khera, who was hopeful from Rajasthan, tweeted, "There may be shortcomings in my penance." Reacting to his tweet, Nagma, a former actress, who has been in the party since long replied, "my 18 years of work fell short of Imran Bhai." Hinting at her discomfort, Nagma said, "SoniaJi our Congress president had personally committed to accommodating me in RS in 2003/04 whn I joined Congressparty on her behest we weren't in power then.Since then it's been 18Yrs they dint find an opportunity Mr Imran is accommodated in RS frm Maha I ask am I less deserving". Another leader Jitendra Baghel asked how many SC/ST/OBC were nominated. Mukul Wasnik is from the SC community, but the hopes of Kumari Selja and P.L. Punia were also dashed after the list came in public. Union Minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday slammed Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal for giving a "clean chit" to state Health Minister Satyendar Jain, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over corruption charges. Addressing a press conference at BJP headquarters, the senior BJP leader asked for how long Kejriwal will protect "desh ka gaddar (traitor)" Jain. Irani's remarks come a day after Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal backed Jain, saying the case by ED is "completely fake and politically motivated". Kejriwal asserted that his government and the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) are "hardcore honest". Also Read Case against Satyender Jain fake, politically motivated: Kejriwal Irani fired off a number of questions at Kejriwal as she shared details of allegations against Jain to ask the chief minister if they were true or not. Naming four shell companies allegedly owned by the accused and his family members, the minister sought to know whether it is true that Jain is the owner of all the shell companies listed in the case. She asked Kejriwal if it was true that Jain laundered over Rs 16.39 crore with the help of hawala operators. The Income Tax Department had rejected Jain's contention that the money was owned by his associates, and held that it was him to whom the "ill-gotten" belonged, Irani said. A division bench of the Delhi High Court in 2019 had agreed with the I-T Department's findings, she noted. "Is it true Jain has more than 200 bigha of land purchased in the vicinity of unauthorised colonies out of this laundered and unaccounted income of 16.39 crore in the name of shell companies? Is it true that providing a huge return in investment in land in the vicinity of unauthorised colonies is the real reason why the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) regularises these colonies?" she asked. She alleged that the Delhi CM is trying to defend a person who has serious corruption allegations. Satyendra Jain was arrested by the ED on Monday (May 30) based on an FIR filed by CBI against Jain in 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The AAP minister is accused of laundering money through four shell companies that are allegedly linked to him. Satyendar Jain has been remanded to EDs custody till June 9. The Tamil Nadu Government has asked airports in the state to subject to sample testing for monkeypox international travelers with symptoms of fever, headache, muscle ache and exhaustion. They also said any sick traveler from affected countries should be isolated and tested for monkeypox. In a letter to directors of airports at Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli, Salem, and Thoothukudi, Director of Public Health Dr T S Selva Vinayagam said monkeypox begins with fever, headache, muscle ache, and exhaustion and its incubation period is usually 7-14 days but can range from 5 to 21 days. Though monkeypox has not been reported in India, Selva Vinayagam said, with new cases being detected from various countries, chances of this disease occurring in India cannot be ruled out. All suspected cases to be isolated at designated healthcare facilities until all lesions have resolved and a fresh layer of skin has formed or until the treating physician decides to end isolation, he said in a letter to health care officials. The DPH also asked health officials to report such patients to the district Surveillance Officer of the Integrated Diseases Surveillance Programme. In the letter to airport directors, Dr Selva Vinayagam said any sick traveler from the affected countries may be isolated and samples should be sent to the BSL4 facility of ICMR-NIV, Pune through the State Public Health Laboratory. He said samples such as fluid from vesicles, blood and sputum drawn from isolated patients will be sent to the ICMR-NIV for PCR test. The activists of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) laid a siege to the residence of Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh in Tiptur on Wednesday, staging protest against the textbook revision committee. Addressing the protesters, NSUI state president Keerthi Ganesh alleged that the lessons about great personalities had been dropped from the school textbooks and insult has been meted out to Kuvempu and Basavanna. He said that the textbook revision committee had been attempting to propagate the RSS policies among students and demanded scrapping of the committee. The protesters raised slogans against the minister. The police took the protesting students into custody. Some men identified as BJP workers allegedly assaulted the protesters and both the parties dispersed after the cops intervened. Tiptur police have taken 15 people into their custody for questioning over an alleged attempt to set Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh's house in Tiptur on fire. "There was an attempt to torch Education Minister B C Nagesh's house during a protest by the Congress and NSUI workers, opposing textbook revision. No major damage was reported in the incident. But the government has taken this act very seriously. We will not tolerate such hooliganism," the Home minister told reporters. Most of the protesters were outsiders. Police have detained 15 persons, including five from Bengaluru, one each from Bhadravati and Tumakuru, two from Chikkamagaluru and three from Davangere, the minister said. Also, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday condemned the protest and ruckus allegedly by NSUI workers at B C Nagesh's residence in Tiptur. "Such behaviour does not bode well for students. Indiscriminate action will be taken against miscreants who carried out this heinous act," Bommai said in a tweet. Several BJP leaders slammed the Congress and the NSUI. Lift restrictions on enrollment quotas of university chip departments The Yoon Suk-yeol administration is ramping up efforts to maintain the nation's competitive edge in the semiconductor industry, setting its sights particularly on nurturing semiconductor workers. On Monday, Science and ICT Minister Lee Jong-ho met with executives from key chipmakers, including Samsung Electronics, and the presidents of four major science institutes to discuss ways to foster semiconductor professionals. On the same day, Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang held the first meeting of the newly established industrial strategy roundtable and picked semiconductors as its first topic. The two ministers promised to spare no effort to help develop the country's chip industry. They reiterated their age-old promises to expand the enrollment quotas of university semiconductor departments. But if the past is any guide, their promises might turn out to be empty. The National Assembly approved the so-called semiconductor law earlier this year. The Moon Jae-in administration, which had pushed the passage of the law to nurture 30,000 chip specialists over 10 years, vowed to loosen restrictions on the enrollment quotas of semiconductor departments in the Seoul metropolitan area, but to no avail. The relevant clause was omitted from the law at the last minute in the process of parliamentary deliberations due to fears of a population concentration in Seoul and its surrounding area. The shortage of semiconductor experts is no longer news. Semiconductor departments here produce 650 personnel every year. Even considering some 220 chip specialists produced with master's or doctoral degrees every year, the combined figure falls far short of the 1,500 the industry needs. As was exemplified by U.S. President Joe Biden's selection of Samsung's semiconductor plant as his first stop during his recent visit here, semiconductors are second to none when it comes to importance. And underpinning the chip industry is specialized personnel. That's why state support is urgently needed. If the new government is really sincere about nurturing 3,000 specialists over the next five years, it should do more to lift restrictions on enrollment quotas in cooperation with the National Assembly. Foyle Haven Day Centre, Derrys oldest drop in centre, is this week marking its 20th year providing life enhancing supports to the city's most vulnerable communities experiencing addiction, homelessness, poor mental health and social isolation. One of nine services Depaul operate in Northern Ireland, Foyle Haven provides essential harm reduction services, mental and physical well-being interventions, as well as housing and health supports, and the provision of hot meals. The centre was first established in 2001 as a drop-in for street drinkers by Sergeant Paul Sheehy and Sister Catherine Boyle. The needs of service users increased through the years and in 2011 the centre amalgamated with Depaul to ensure its sustainability into the future. Their 20-year-milestone was marked last night (May 31) by a commemoration event at The Guildhall, hosted by the Mayor of Derry City and Strabane Council. The event will reflect on the early days, hearing the experiences of service users who have been supported through Foyle Haven and about the ongoing work Depaul is doing to close the door on social inequalities in Derry and Northern Ireland. Chief Executive of Depaul, David Carroll said: This week we say thank you to those who founded Foyle Haven, for taking a wider role in civil society, celebrating the potential in people and putting their words into action. Social inequalities and homelessness remain a big problem in Derry and I want to commend our staff for their dedication to our service users, especially during the challenges of Covid-19. Over the last number of years, our donors and supporters, both members of the public, and our elected representatives have shown incredible generosity in helping others facing challenges in life. I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the Mayor, Alderman Graham Warke, for hosting the event on behalf of Depaul and for his support of our services through the years. Over the last twenty years, the demographic of the service user has changed and we are sadly seeing an increasing number of females and under 30s accessing supports. We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved through Foyle Haven and we will continue to work to empower our service users through the compassion and expertise of our staff. Derry has the highest rate (per 1000) of people presenting as homeless in the region and Deirdre Canavan, Depauls Senior Services Manager in Northern Ireland, says the service is key to supporting marginalised communities. She said: Last year 2085 people presented in Derry as homeless and mental health issues are particularly prevalent post Covid. Foyle Haven operates a health hub, providing onsite services such as Hepatitis B&C testing, homeless nurse clinics, padetitory, counselling services, holistic therapies, naloxone kits, health & hygiene products, showers and laundry facilities. Foyle Haven seeks to make a positive difference in the lives of margianislied people and its supports are needed now more than ever. SDLP Council Group Leader, Cllr Brian Tierney, has called on disgraced Councillor, Jim McKeever, to resign his seat on Derry City and Strabane District Council. McKeever, who was formerly the Deputy Mayor, was convicted of child sex abuse offences at Belfast Crown Court last week. He was suspended from the SDLP when the allegations emerged and expelled following his conviction. Mr McKeever was found guilty of eight offences spanning a period from August 1981 to December 1988. The victim, who was aged between seven and 14 when the abuse took place, said nothing would erase what McKeever had done. McKeever has been remanded in custody until his sentencing in September. The jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts on six indecent assault charges, and found McKeever, who is from Tamneyreagh Park in Eglinton, not guilty of a seventh charge. He was also convicted on two charges of gross indecency. Cllr Tierney said: Following his conviction for child sexual abuse last week it is time for Jim McKeever to do the right thing and resign his seat on Derry City and Strabane District Council. He has been convicted of some of the most horrendous crimes imaginable and he is unfit to serve or represent the people of our city. It is deeply regrettable that he has not already taken the decision to stand down. I speak for everyone in the SDLP when I offer my support and solidarity to the victim who came forward last week and detailed the ordeal she suffered at the hands of McKeever over a number of years. It was incredibly brave to share her experience and I hope it will give other victims and survivors of abuse the strength to come forward and seek justice for themselves. While I know it can be a very difficult and traumatic experience, particularly for those who suffered abuse as young children, anyone who discloses abuse will be treated with respect and dignity and directed to the proper services to support them. There can be no hiding place for abusers within our society. In an interview with the BBC, the woman, whose identity was withheld at her request, said she had first met him via a family member before the sexual abuse began. She said: Jim McKeever sexually abused me on multiple occasions. From a young age he started to touch me and it was just continuous for years. I was scared, I felt dirty all the time. It was just an awful time in my life. After it all stopped I kind of blocked it from my head but when I started to go out and drink and stuff I would cry a lot. Looking back, when I became an adult, the stuff he did to me was completely wrong." It wasn't until four years ago that she told her family of what McKeever had done to her. She added: In 2018, I decided I couldn't take anymore, and came out and told my mammy. It has been a long process, I am happy I have done it. I am out the other side of it and I am stronger for it. If you have been affected, or know of anyone who anyone who has been affected by the issues discussed above, the Domestic & Sexual Abuse runs a 24-hour helpline service. The helpline is open on every day of the year. You can call them on: 0808 802 1414 or email: help@dsahelpline.org You can also log onto their website at: http://www.dsahelpline.org/ Last Thursday, Derry couple Martin and Pam Mullan, were on board the cruise ship Carnival Freedom, celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. They were embarking on their first ever cruise to mark the special occasion, leaving from Port Canaveral in Orlando and on their way to the first stop at Grand Turk in the Dominican Republic. It was at 6:30 in the morning on the third day of their trip that they heard an emergency siren aboard the ship requesting all crew to report to their sections. The couple, assuming it was only a practice drill, turned around and went back to sleep. It was not long before there was more commotion in the halls and they realised something more sinister was happening. Martin recalled that students were shouting, "Get up, get up, there's a fire, there's a fire." The couple then found out a massive blaze had erupted on one of the ship's funnels and the ship was to be evacuated. With their room situated in the interior room, all they could see was open water and frightened faces when they evacuated their room and congregated at their muster station- the emergency meeting area on board a ship. The couple and other guests had no knowledge that the boat was docked as they had been sound asleep and could only see the ocean from their evacuation point. Pam and Martin said it was then that it hit home, they were wearing a life jacket for a purpose and this was really happening. Martin, known as 'Mr Charity' here in the city, explained: "There were people running around everywhere, people crying and children half asleep in their parents arms. "The crew had practiced drills all the time but no one had ever experienced this happening before; where there was a fire and an evacuation procedure. "The crew were trying to keep everyone calm but you could see they were nervous. "There were a lot of people crying, a lot of the 18 year old graduates were in tears, there were elderly with mobility issues, upset children, a lot of people were extremely unnerved by it all. "We are so lucky, that is the main thing. It was a disaster and usually one of those things you watch on the television and to be part of it was really scary. "It is a miracle that it happened while we were coming into port. They said if it happened, even 15, 20 miles out to sea, it could have been an entirely different situation. "There was also another ship at the port, thankfully, that helped tackle the blaze on ours. They were concerned for their own ship catching fire. "These are massive cruise liners, with thousands of people on board. The ship couldn't even leave the dock again, it was crazy. "We were told to head back down to the state room, but I filmed the blaze and I just remember thinking, 'this is crazy, they've sent us back here and this thing is on fire, this is crazy.' "At this stage they were hosing like mad at the fire and they were using a boat next to us to hose the fire too. The blaze, the cause of which is still unknown, started in one of the ships main funnels "Not only were we lucky to be heading into port, which we didn't know at the time, we were so lucky not to be at sea because we were told the wind would have fuelled the flames and they would have never got it under control. "I must say, we were quite calm considering the situation, Pam was washing her face before we left the room, I couldn't believe what she was doing," Martin laughed. Pam explained: "He was saying to me, 'really, really? You're washing your face when we've been told to get out' but I had to wake myself up, I had to be awake properly to know what I was doing." Once the ship was completely evacuated and all the passengers and crew were safely off the ship, the ship was deemed not seaworthy and was unable to move from port. As a result, all passengers and crew were left stranded on the island for two days awaiting another ship to come and get them. Pam continued: "We tried our best to enjoy the island, the first day was taken up completely with the evacuation but we did our best on the second day to chill and take it all in. "When the other ship came to get us all, it was extremely moving. The captain and all the crew, the chefs and everything, were standing with massive 'Welcome' signs on the side of the ship. It was a very emotional scene." Martin continued: "They were all shouting, 'We are coming to save you.' They were blaring the horns, everyone was shouting and cheering. It was an amazing moment. "Everyone was clapping and cheering when we arrived safely at the port too. It was only when we look back on the situation that we realise how serious it was. It really is just something you think you'll see on the news, not experience it firsthand. "We were all in shock and it was a crazy experience, but everyone is safe and well and that is the main thing. It is definitely a story for the grandchildren," joked Martin. Pam agreed, adding; "It was some 40th anniversary." The couple are currently trying to enjoy the rest of their time away at their home in Orlando and celebrate their 40 years together before returning to Derry. Martin and Pam went on the cruise to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary Derry's Hidden City Cafe has come out on top after scooping the award for Best Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year in the county. The "Hidden" cafe is a gem within the city, serving locally sourced, fresh meals, providing a wide range of vegan and vegetarian dishes. The local cafe also supports a "pay ahead" scheme which allows the public to support free meals for those who may need them. Their well deserved win, voted for by the public, was announced at The Northern Ireland Hospitality Awards 2022 during the ceremony that took place on Tuesday, May 31, at The Europa Hotel in Belfast. Speaking on their win, Hidden City Cafe said: "We at Hidden City Cafe are delighted to have been nominated and to win as the best casual dining establishment in the county. "As always, the public support for what we do speaks volumes about how people genuinely want change not just with the food we make and serve but also for the ethos of want we stand for. "We are also nominated in the 2022 North West Business Awards on the 17th of June which is one for our home city and we are really looking forward to that one. Thank you to everyone who voted." The Northern Ireland Hospitality Awards 2022 is an exclusive celebration of the people and businesses that make the country a great place to visit or call home; from restaurants, bars and hotels to shopping complexes, festivals and cultural venues that enhance the countrys cultural landscape. The winners were voted for by the public and are a true reflection of the success, professionalism and ethos. A Spokesperson for The Northern Ireland Hospitality Awards 2022, said: The Awards have acknowledged some incredible individuals who make a positive difference to the hospitality industry. It was great to meet with inspiring people that work hard and go above and beyond the call of duty to meet their guests needs and improve the countrys cultural scene. We would like to congratulate all finalists and winners for their amazing achievements. Short Order Chef, Comhghall Corr-McNicholl with Owner and Chef Justyn McNicholl receiving the cafe's award Speaking at the 'Emerging from the Shadows' conference on Amyloidosis, co-organiser, Derry's Rosaline Callaghan, whose family was originally from Burt in Inishowen, said the team behind it was ''absolutely thrilled we have pulled off this historic, international event in Donegal.'' Prevalent in south Inishowen, Amyloidosis is the name for the group of rare, serious conditions caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein called amyloid in organs and tissues throughout the body. It is also the condition which caused the death Derry Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness. The hugely successful conference, organised by the All Ireland ATTR Amyloidosis Awareness group and the Irish Heart Foundation, was held in An Chuirt Hotel in Gaoth Dobhair on Saturday. Rosaline added: ''We are overwhelmed by the attendance of high calibre speakers who came from all over the world. It was a fabulous day to show them what Donegal can do. It is certainly a fabulous day for patients with hATTR amyloidosis. ''We are absolutely over the moon [about the roll out of Patisiran]. You heard the speakers in there today. The earlier people can get on this treatment, the less their disease is going to progress. And I have said this a million times, my testimony, I am on this treatment almost two years. I am year five into my condition. I am on my feet. I have an excellent quality of life and that is the wish that we want for every single patient in Ireland.'' Watch: Co-organiser, Rosaline Callaghan, @RosalineAuthor, at 'Emerging from the Shadows' Amyloidosis conference: "We are absolutely over the moon about the roll out of Patisiran in the Republic. The earlier people get treatment, the less the disease is going to progress." pic.twitter.com/9yJkmGN7jt Inish Times / Inish Live (@InishTimes) June 1, 2022 Newtowncunningham's Betty Holmes, who is chairperson of the health advocacy group Donegal Action for Cancer Care, which campaigned successfully, along with many others, for the Amyloidosis treatment, Patisiran, to be made available in the Republic of Ireland, described 'Emerging from the Shadows' as ''amazing''. She added: ''I am so proud to have been invited and I have to give great credit to, in particular, Rosaline [Callaghan] and the whole Donegal team, who organised this. It is a fine example of what we do in Donegal. And to be part of the first conference on Amyloidosis in Ireland is excellent. ''The work that has been done by the team is in a class of its own. It is amazing, absolutely amazing. I was humbled to be invited and the information that has come out of it has just been excellent. We have looked at the treatments and had a range of speakers who are world class experts in this disease. Credit has to go to the Donegal team.'' Watch: Betty Holmes, Chair, Donegal Action for Cancer Care, at 'Emerging from the Shadows' Amyloidosis conference: "The information that has come out has been excellent. We have looked at treatments & had a range of speakers, world class experts in Amyloidosis." pic.twitter.com/OVJSspZSoI Inish Times / Inish Live (@InishTimes) June 1, 2022 Addressing the conference, Professor Julian Gillmore, Head of the National Amyloidosis Centre in London, outlined several new treatments for the disease. Among these was CRISPR/Cas9-base gene editing. Speaking to Inish Times, Professor Gillmore said 'Emerging from the Shadows' had been an absolutely phenomenal day. He added: It was just amazing to see the enthusiasm, the organisation, and what has been achieved by this group of patients who really galvanised the All Ireland support group. The talks were absolutely brilliant and the interaction between the audience and the speakers was great. I thought it was an inspirational day. Recommended Reading Professor Emer Joyce, Consultant Cardiologist at the Mater Hospital in Dublin said the emergence of effective treatments for Transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CA) was expected to translate into improved outcomes and a promising future for amyloid patients. In addition, Professor Sinead Murphy, Consultant Neurologist at Tallaght Hospital in Dublin, gave a powerful presentation on ATTR Amyloidosis and the Autonomic Nervous System. She said the condition was under-recognised; lifestyle measures could help; and it deserves more research. The President of the Amyloidosis Alliance Europe, Jean Christophe Fidalgo, said: ''Ireland was a key pillar for the international Amyloidosis community.'' A former student of St Patrick's College, Maghera has heaped praise on the school's teachers as she prepares to travel home from Dubai to hold an annual performing arts summer camp. Gemma McMeel, from Moneyglass, County Antrim, has been working in both Dubai and London since the arts scene began to re-energise after the Covid-19 pandemic. She will be returning home for the summer to host her Creative Courage Factory summer camp in July, having been working on a similar project in Dubai. I ended up in Dubai as a result of the pandemic. I'd been here previously while I was working in London; I'd been flown out to do a couple of projects, she told the County Derry Post. The arts scene here is definitely growing. I work for private performing arts schools out here and am also working with a lot of schools. They really want to boost the arts because they see what it does to help the students in communication, their confidence, and things like that. It's good that I can do what I was doing at home and also take it to Dubai. The kids all respond to it albeit in different ways and it's very useful for them out here. Gemma (right) at the launch of Arts Ed, Dubai, in 2019. Bringing her project to children in the area where she grew up is hugely important to Gemma, who helped launch Arts Ed in Dubai back in 2019. I saw the benefit of what it was doing for students in Dubai and London and I wanted to bring that same opportunity back home, she said. I'm a very strong believer in the phrase 'without roots, you can't grow'. If I'm going to do anything back home, I'll do it at home home, especially in that area. The kids at home are super talented, but sometimes the arts scene isn't as developed at home and I wanted to give that offering there as well. It is developing life skills, communication, confidence, team working, problem solving, all through performing arts education. With former St Patrick's College students Brooke Scullion and Gemma Bradley both making their way in the arts industry, Gemma says the emerging talent is testament to the work being done at the school. It's lovely when you can rhyme those names off, it's actually really nice. I would say the fundamental aspect of St Pat's is actually the teachers; how much they care, she said. That stability and being able to rely on the fact my teachers believed in me and I could almost do whatever I wanted; it only takes one person to believe in you. If I can create that platform for the kids that I'm coming back to Moneyglass for, that platform was created for me in St Pat's. It gave me confidence to go into auditions and believe I could do it, because I had the support network and the training behind me at that age. The music department at that time went over and above for me and gave me that fundamental root to help me grow. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, Gemma says the need for communication skills has never been sharper. It's important young people today, especially post-Covid, are able to lift their heads off their screens and communicate, talk, she said. The younger generation have maybe missed out on their first years of school and it's important they don't lose the fundamentals they've learned in those first few years in school. Being able to talk in a group, stand up and say their name or a poem, or if they want to sing or like to dance, they need to use their creativity because it's limitless at that age. You have to make up for that time; children need their imaginations to be stretched, and they aren't always stretched on an iPad or a phone. The Creative Courage Factory summer camp will take place from Monday July 4 to Friday July 8, with ages 4-7 at 9.30-11.45am and ages 8-13 at 12.00pm-2.15pm. The camp takes place at Roguery Road, Moneyglass. For more information, contact Gemma on creativecouragefactory@gmail.com or WhatsApp +447923802855. Sri Lankas government is increasing the countrys Telecommunication Levy from 11.25% to 15% as part of a broader spate of tax hikes that will also see VAT rise from 8% to 12%. CommsUpdate reports that the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) has been ordered to implement the Telecommunication Levy increase with immediate effect by the new Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Ranil Wickremesinghe. The tax increase reverses a previous reduction implemented in December 2019 which saw the levy cut from 15% to 11.25%. The government argues that this led to a decrease in revenue by 28% to LKR13.1 billion in 2020 from LKR18.3 billion in 2019. The government is reportedly mulling a wider income tax reform, with the Prime Ministers statement claiming that tax revenue fell by LKR600 billionLKR800 billion annually following the election of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the end of 2019. Rajapaksa implemented a wave of tax cuts that critics claim haemorrhaged government revenue, fomenting Sri Lankas current economic crisis. However, the shortage of government funding has not hampered the ambition of state-backed fixed and mobile operator Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT-Mobitel), which has revealed plans to connect communities across all of the countrys districts with fibre-optic network infrastructure as part of its One Million Fibre Project. STL-Mobitel plans to deploy one million fibre connections within a record period enabling seamless access to transition into an era of digital services. Currently around 500,000 households in Sri Lanka have fibre access, and the operator has set a target of two million fibre connections by the end of 2023. DE-CIX (German Commercial Internet Exchange), a leading operator of internet exchanges, has announced plans to establish interconnection platforms across Africa through the DE-CIX as a Service (DaaS) partner model, and, as an initial step, has announced strategic partnerships in three African markets. DE-CIX has established partnerships to host what is called the Africa Cloud Interconnection Exchange (AF-CIX) at the Rack Centre data centre in Lagos, Nigeria, as well as with the ISP and hosting provider UNITED S.A. in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo in order to establish the Africa Congo Internet Exchange (ACIX). It has also partnered with the Libyan International Telecom Company (LITC) in Tripoli. The aim is that all three new African platforms will be ready for service by the end of 2022, delivering international capabilities and next-generation interconnection services, including cloud connectivity, to their respective markets. The partners will also extend the coverage of their platforms to further territories using their own infrastructure, enabling an initial reach of the platforms to a total of nine African countries. In addition to the three home markets, coverage will also span Cameroon, Congo, the Republic of Central Africa, Chad, Niger, and Sudan. The DE-CIX-as-a-Service programme is described is a fully-fledged turnkey solution for building new ecosystems. It includes a set of services such as installation, maintenance, provisioning, marketing and sales support designed for data centre operators or other third parties to create their own interconnection platform fully operated by DE-CIX. DE-CIX is planning to open more locations in various regions and metro markets on the African continent in 2022 and beyond. Satellite operator and connectivity provider SES has been in the news recently with backhaul deals in Papua New Guinea (PNG), Peru and Chile aimed at supporting remote connectivity. Operator Vodafone PNG, the third-largest and newest mobile operator in PNG, and SES have partnered to provide 4G and 5G high-speed mobile broadband services. The high-speed data service will be delivered via SESs O3b medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite constellation, which will provide Vodafone with high-speed mobile backhaul services for five locations in PNG. SES says that the fibre-like speeds of the O3b system enable the delivery of cloud computing applications and services to bridge the digital divide, while connecting communities and industries regardless of the remoteness of the location. This is important in PNG where over 86% of the population lives in rural areas. Meanwhile, the high throughput satellite SES-14 is enabling Andesat, the leading satellite service provider in the Andean Region, to have more capacity and flexibility to connect remote sites and rural communities in Chile and Peru, supporting enterprise services and universal service obligation (USO) commitments. In Chile, SES-14s mix of wide beams and high throughput spot beams will be used to support a broad range of advanced, traffic-intensive network applications for the agro-fishing and mining industries, even in remote areas of the country. In Peru, as part of its project Te Conectamos Peru, Andesat will boost voice and broadband connectivity access and will be able to offer high-throughput satellite services that are reliable, affordable, and cloud ready using SESs Managed Enterprise Services in 280 remote sites by the end of 2022. Andesat has been awarded a Rural Mobile Infrastructure Operator (OIMR) license by the Peruvian Government. This is a social initiative that aims to extend mobile cellular networks to rural communities with no prior service. Through the Te Conectamos Peru project, Andesat aims to extend mobile LTE coverage to traditionally hard-to-reach places across the Amazon rainforest, the Andean mountains and deserts. Neptune Communications has received authorisation from Jamaicas Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) to launch satellite broadband in the market. The Jamaica Observer quoted Neptunes managing director Brian Bennett-Easy as saying: We received formal final sign-off on 10th May 2022, so we have moved to hit the ground running to roll out our suite of products and services. Julian Jordan, founder and CEO of Neptune Communications, added: We are very happy to be here, we have a great team here, and Jamaica was very obvious in growing our business. As a regional entity you have to come to Jamaica sooner or later. Neptune is based in Barbados, and is due to launch services in its home market this year although it has not disclosed the exact timeline. It received a block of 700MHz spectrum in 2021, with which it aims to launch a voice and data offering. TeleGeography reports that after receiving the spectrum holding in Barbados, Neptune partnered with Parallel Wireless to help it deploy what it claimed would be the first O-RAN compliant 4G LTE solution in the Caribbean. Google under fire for coercing 'in-app billing' policy Global tech giant Google has taken flak for adopting its "in-app billing" policy, designed to force app operators to use its own payment system, so they have to pay up to 30 percent of their entire sales in commissions. Google said it would remove apps from its Play Store that don't comply with the policy. This move is prompting major domestic app developers to raise the charges on their own service users to offset the prospective losses. Google deserves criticism for exercising its dominant status on the app market, making customers bear the brunt as a result. Google now accounts for a 70-percent share of the world's app market. Wary of the adverse impact, the nation's National Assembly passed the Telecommunications Business Act last September, a move acclaimed as the world's first bid to contain the unilateral in-app payment policies of Google and Apple. As a follow-up measure, the Cabinet also endorsed a revised bill in March to prevent app store operators from coercing developers to use their own in-app billing systems. Yet, Google adroitly circumvented such regulations, urging clients to use either its own in-app billing system or an external one via its own system. As the latter option charges a 26 percent commission, it is almost the same as adopting Google's in-app billing system for the app users, as they must pay additional commissions to the external billing agencies. The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) has embarked on investigations into the Google case, determining whether it violates the enforcement decree. "Though Google claims it is offering two options regarding the billing system, it has not provided sufficient choices for the developers," a KCC official said. Rep. Cho Seung-rae of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea criticized Google for "destroying the mobile ecosystem with its excessive greed and challenging Korea's domestic law and order." Korea's major over-the-top media streaming apps such as Wavve and Tving have hiked their prices on Google Play Store to 9,000 won ($7.25) from 7,900 won. According to the office of Rep. Kim Yeung-shik of the ruling People Power Party, the domestic app developers will have to pay 833.1 billion won in commissions per year following Google's move, and domestic consumers will have to pay an additional 230 billion won every year. Worse still, Google's decision will also likely dampen the activities of app developers and creators. Prohibiting in-app billing systems is becoming a global trend, gaining momentum in many countries such as the Netherlands. The European country has been imposing penalties on Apple's in-app payment system since early this year, obtaining concessions from the company. The EU is also seeking to ban the system next year. The KCS should take stricter measures against Google's recent move, which seems to violate domestic laws. Angolan operator Unitel has signed a three year partnership agreement with Chinese vendor Huawei. The companies describe the deal as a complete series solution that will cover Unitels Radio Access Network (RAN) and transmission network, as well as Customer Experience Management (CEM). According to Unitel, the partnership with Huawei will allow it to continuously increase network capacity and coverage, incubate 5G innovation, provide better services and enhance the optimal user experience, while ushering in a new era of green, low-carbon telecommunications. The market leading operators general manager Miguel Geraldes said: Unitel is committed to accelerating the digitisation of industry with leading ICT providers to illuminate Angolas industrial and development. TikTok, one of the most popular short video apps across the world is looking to make a comeback in India, almost 2 years after the Indian government banned it along with 59 other apps. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) initiated a crackdown on apps with connections to the Chinese government. At the time of the ban, TikTok was on a rising tide with over 2 billion downloaded globally and India was one of its biggest markets with over 611 million downloads. As per a report in The Economic Times accessed by Inc42, ByteDance is in talks with leading real estate developer, Hiranandani Group to relaunch TikTok in India. The Hiranandani Group has a diverse portfolio but ByteDance is specifically looking to ink a partnership with Yotta Infrastructure, a subsidiary which runs the worlds second-largest data centre, the Yotta NM1 in Mumbai. With this collaboration, ByteDance will be able to store the data of users locally in India itself, thereby complying with the government regulations. A major ask by the Indian government to companies is that the Indian user's data should be stored locally and if ByteDance is successful in partnering with Yotta Infrastructure, it will have a chance at re-entering India. Is TikTok making an Indian comeback? There have been no formal talks with us yet. But, we have been informed of the plans. As and when they come to us for approvals, we will examine their request, a senior government official told ET. Another official in the know-how of things said, Critical user data should not be stored outside India. All apps and websites have either made provisions to store data locally or are making necessary changes to their data storage and processing policies. If they come back, they will have to follow these norms." It remains to be seen if and when TikTok is able to make its much-awaited comeback but it's going to be an arduous path especially now when homegrown apps like Josh, Moj, Roposo, MX Takatak have captured most of the existing audience to fill the void. Then there are Instagram Reels which has catapulted the short video format to new heights in India. Also read: TikTok banned in India: Here's what TikTokers have to say about the ban Blueline Group Kuzaro Zwaagstra Strittmatter Sasaki Mulheran Ralston Nautsch Blueline recently hired three engineers. Nicole Mulheran has been hired as an engineer to work on public works projects as well as construction inspection. Mulheran is a graduate of Purdue University with a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering and has experience as an engineer intern for NIES Engineering. Kylyn Sasaki has also been hired as an engineer to work on public works projects. Sasaki is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, with a Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Engineering and has experience as a specifications engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu District in Hawaii. Matthew Strittmatter joins the team as an engineer specialized in residential development. Strittmatter is a graduate of Kennesaw State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Engineering and an Associate's in Biology. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, he relocated to Seattle in 2020. Blueline also recently hired Sarah Zwaagstra as the office coordinator. Zwaagstra attended the University of Washington and received her Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Studies. Prior to Blueline, she worked at Nordstrom on the Corporate Social Responsibility team leading on sustainability data analysis and insights. Dene Kuzaro PE has been rehired as a senior project engineer to work on residential and commercial projects. Kuzaro is a graduate of Seattle University with a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering. She has over a decade of experience as an engineer assisting builders with residential and commercial development throughout the Greater Puget Sound Region. Anne Nautsch joins Blueline as a planner. Nautsch is a graduate of the University of Washington with a Master's Degree in Urban Planning. She has experience in federal land use planning, public engagement, and project management. Blueline has also hired Peter Ralston as an engineer to work on commercial projects. Ralston is a graduate of the California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo with a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering. He has experience as a project engineer with BKF Engineers in California. Remembering Gary Swenson Image from Swenson Say Faget Gary Swenson, 83, died on April 22, 2022, at his home in San Diego. Swenson was a founding partner of Swenson Say Faget structural engineers. Gary was born, lived, and worked most of his life in the Puget Sound area. Swenson attended the University of Washington where he earned a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree in 1961. He worked briefly at Boeing and then trained under Harvey Dodd before striking out on his own in 1968. He was a principal structural engineer and owner of several firms during his career, culminating in the formation of Swenson Say Faget in 1995. Gary was more than a structural engineer and managing partner. He was a mentor to partners and staff, and his dedication and vision were a true inspiration for all who worked with him. His vision of creating a workplace encompassing quality work, respect, and creativity was the backbone of SSF. Swensons extensive portfolio included various project types, ranging from single-family residences to multi-million-dollar public projects. He dedicated his career to historic preservation and restoration. The mayor appointed him to serve on the City of Seattles Landmarks Preservation Board. He was involved with historic buildings such as the West Seattle, University, Fremont, and Queen Anne Carnegie Libraries, Parrington Hall at the University of Washington, and many others. Fifty years after graduating from the UW, Swenson retired in 2011. In addition to the Landmarks Board, he also sat on the Seattle Design Commission and the Pioneer Square Preservation Board. He was an active member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Society of Architectural Historians, the International Conference of Building Officials, the Seattle Downtown Association, the Seattle Architectural Foundation, the Structural Engineers Association of Washington, and the Applied Technology Council. He is survived by his wife Becky Robar, their daughter Laura Finn, daughter-in-law Shannon Finn and granddaughters Harlow and Vada, and many nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, and grand-nephews. A memorial service will be held on August 13, 2022. Details will be available in the coming months. Humble street snack rides fresh wave of popularity China Daily) 09:58, June 01, 2022 Editor's note: This series of stories looks at local enterprises in specialized sectors that have a share in global markets. Luosifen, which translates as river snail rice noodles, has risen from its humble roots as a street snack in Southwest China to take the nation's food scene and beyond by storm, with spikes in domestic as well as overseas sales. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the precooked, packaged version of the product has seen record production and sales, according to industry figures. Luosifen, which can be traced to Liuzhou, a city in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, features rice noodles soaked in a spicy broth flavored with river snails and topped with pickled bamboo shoots, which give it a distinctive, tangy aroma. By the end of last year, sales revenue of packaged luosifen hit 15.197 billion yuan ($2.27 billion), an increase of 38.23 percent year-on-year, with the production and sales of many companies in the sector doubling, according to Jia Jiangong, deputy director of Liuzhou's commerce bureau. Major producers such as Guangxi Luobawang Food Technology pointed to the widespread development of the "homebound economy" during the pandemic, by leveraging online sales and logistics channels. This helped fuel spikes in domestic and overseas orders for precooked, packaged versions of the dish. Students visit a company that makes luosifen at an industrial park in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, in April 2021. [LI HANCHI/FOR CHINA DAILY] "Our daily production capacity was only about 80,000 to 100,000 packs two decades ago. By 2021, we reached 500,000 packs a day after a new plant was put into production, with a fourfold increase of overall production capacity compared with Chen Bo, general manager of Guangxi Luobawang Food Technology. Chen Sheng, chairman of Guangxi Shanyuan Food, said, "In April last year, we sold 150,000 to 200,000 packs a day, and now it is stable at about 350,000 packs." Along with technological and production facility upgrades, the company has set up at least nine sales branches across the country, and links have been formed with major supermarket chains. The explosive growth helped the company reap sales of nearly 670 million yuan last year, Chen Sheng said, adding that the enterprise aims to break the 1 billion yuan mark this year. (Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Liang Jun) U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo / AFP-Yonhap U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Tuesday the Biden administration is actively considering adding new Chinese companies to the government's economic blacklist as it investigates what it calls efforts by China to evade U.S. sanctions. The Commerce Department's Entity List restricts access to U.S. exports. Raimondo told reporters the administration was working to "get information around bad actors in China and adding those companies to the Entity List ... We are in the middle of a number of investigations." She added: "I don't see us relaxing sanctions any time soon." China is not standing still, she said. "They are coming up with we know new ways to evade our sanctions, setting up new (companies) and the like. We have a very aggressive and vigilant effort under way." She said when possible she wants to work with U.S. allies to align their trade restrictions with U.S. export controls. The Trump administration aggressively used the Entity List, adding dozens of Chinese companies including Huawei in 2019. It also added chipmaker SMIC and Chinese drone manufacturer DJI in 2020. The Biden administration has extended that policy and in November put a dozen Chinese companies on the Entity List over national security and foreign policy concerns, in some cases citing their help in developing the Chinese military's quantum computing efforts. In December, Commerce added China's Academy of Military Medical Sciences and its 11 research institutes to the Entity List. Raimondo cited a recent report that Apple was considering moving some production out of China. "I've heard that same thing from numerous other American manufacturing companies, many of whom have been manufacturing in China for decades," she said. In February, the Commerce Department added 33 Chinese entities to its "unverified list" which requires U.S. exporters to go through more procedures before shipping goods to the entities. China's embassy in Washington said last year the United States "uses the catch-all concept of national security and abuses state power to suppress and restrict Chinese enterprises in all possible means." (Reuters) The Government is painfully out of touch on the mounting cost-of-living pressures facing families across Ireland, Sinn Fein has claimed. Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty criticised Taoiseach Micheal Martin for failing to bring forward further mitigation measures ahead of the next budget in October. In heated exchanges during leaders question in the Dail, Mr Doherty called for the Government to produce a real and comprehensive plan in a mini budget. On Tuesday, Mr Martin said Ireland was facing a new era of higher fossil fuel prices after EU leaders agreed to ban most Russian oil imports. The Taoiseach said higher prices were the direct consequence of the war in Ukraine. Unbelievable! Workers and families are struggling with the soaring cost of living, and the Government's response is to tell them to tighten their belts because they aren't going to do anything to help until October at the earliest. Out of touch and out of time! @PearseDOherty pic.twitter.com/yIZWvMN9LM Sinn Fein (@sinnfeinireland) June 1, 2022 Addressing Mr Martin in the Dail, Mr Doherty said families were facing soul destroying choices as they struggled to feed their children. As families keep an eye to every euro they spend, yesterday you told them to prepare for a rocky road ahead, to be ready for a new era of high fuel and energy costs, he said. This is astonishing because workers and families have been walking the rocky road of extortionate fuel and energy costs for the best part of a year now. To tell people, as you did, who are already struggling to pay their bills, that they will have to tighten their belts even further, is painfully out of touch, while at the same time ruling out from you, Taoiseach, further government action until October at the very earliest. Taoiseach, does this government understand the pressure that real families and workers are under right across the state? Mr Doherty said families could not hang on for another five months for further support measures. Taoiseach, the Governments approach to this crisis has failed, he added. Its been piecemeal. Its been slow, its been sluggish, and your measures havent made a dent in the cost that people face. So now is the time Taoiseach, now is the time for a real and comprehensive plan of action. We need a mini budget right now aimed at getting costs down right across the board. There is room within the public finances for the Government to act. Mr Martin said his remarks about a future of high fuel prices were honest. It shouldnt be astonishing, as you have said, to tell the truth, he said. And what I said yesterday was telling the truth about a new era of an increase in pricing around fossil fuels. And the reason for that is that this week we will mark the grim milestone of 100 days since Russias unjustified illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine. He added: This war is having a very terrible impact on the world, primarily in terms of the deaths of so many Ukrainians and the terrible trauma that theyre experiencing, but also a huge economic cost and disruption, triggering a massive spike in the cost of energy and with a huge increase in the cost of a vast range of other materials affecting food, agriculture, in terms of fertiliser and so on, which all input into our society and economic system and also, most devastating of all, it is causing and will cause a major food security crisis. Mr Martin denied the Government had been slow to act, highlighting that the steps it has taken to tackle cost-of-living pressures since last October add up to 2.5 billion. He told Mr Doherty not to repeat claims from Russian president Vladimir Putin and Russias ambassador to Ireland, Yuri Filatov, that western governments were to blame for soaring prices. We need to be careful that we dont fall into the Putin trap of laying all the blame domestically, because he wants western states to buckle, to buckle under the pressure that he deliberately and premeditatedly created, he said. Putin wanted to create an energy crisis. He wants to create a food crisis and he wants to create a migration crisis, all part of the one immoral and unjustifiable war. Addressing the Sinn Fein TD, Mr Martin added: Your objective is to lay all of the blame on the Government, just like the Russian ambassador did yesterday, exactly just like the Russian ambassador did yesterday blame the Government or blame the governments of the day. But the key point is this we have taken a lot of measures which you ignore and decide not to acknowledge. As the closing date for entries for the Best Place to Holiday in Ireland 2022 approaches, its emerged that Louth has received 4 nominations so far, the same number as Meath, Cavan, Fermanagh and Tyrone. More than 450 people have entered the competition from every county in Ireland and 80 of them have nominated various locations in County Cork. With the closing date of June 7th fast approaching, Cork leads the way while Monaghan lies in second on 60 and Kerry is third on 49. Waterford, Dublin, Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Clare and Wexford make up the top ten, followed by Down, Sligo and Leitrim in joint 11th. Offaly, Derry and Carlow are 12th with Louth, Meath, Fermanagh, Cavan, and Tyrone joint 13th. The Best Place to Holiday in Ireland initiative was launched by The Irish Times in association with Failte Ireland as the country gears up for what promises to be the first normal summer in three years. Wherever your favourite holiday destination is on the island of Ireland be it a town, village, city, island, or distinct region - it has a chance to secure the coveted title of The Best Place to Holiday in Ireland. To be in with a chance to claim the title all you have to do is write a short submission explaining what makes it a special holiday destination. All the nominated locations will be judged on a range of criteria including natural amenities, built environment, sustainability, tourism services, diversity, the warmth of the welcome, transport links, accommodation supply, cost and of course the X factor. The competition last took place in 2013 with the Loop Head Peninsula in Clare emerging as the eventual winner. The western region was selected not only for its natural beauty and range of amenities, but also for its hard-working hospitality businesses and its vision of a new kind of tourist experience based on community involvement and care for its natural environment. But as the inaugural winner, Loop Head cannot win this time round. Over the last couple of years many of us have been presented with the opportunity to visit and explore places in this country like never before and thats one of the reasons were very excited to be embarking on the search for The Best Place to Holiday in Ireland 2022 commented Irish Times journalist and chair of the judging panel Conor Goodman. Our aim is to discover some great places, explore them, and share them with the world. Our panel of judges and researchers will travel the highways and byways of Ireland looking out for perfect hideaways as well as checking out better-known destinations. We want people in every county on the island including Louth - to help us identify these special locations as soon as possible it doesnt matter whether you live there or are a visitor. Emma Woods, Head of Marketing Communications at Failte Ireland, commented: We are pleased to be sponsoring the Irish Times search for The Best Place to Holiday in Ireland. It provides a perfect opportunity to showcase some of the stunning destinations across Ireland and for people here to share their favourite places to holiday at home, hopefully inspiring others to discover new experiences in the months ahead. The domestic market will be important to the recovery of the Irish tourism sector this year and this partnership is one aspect of how Failte Ireland is focussing on driving demand for short breaks year-round through its Keep Discovering advertising campaign. Anyone can enter by writing a short pitch about their favourite place to holiday in Ireland no longer than 300 words stating why you think it should win. To nominate go to www.irishtimes.com/bestplace Joining Conor Goodman on the judging panel will be Nadia El Ferdaoussi, travel blogger; Cillian Murphy, county councillor from Loop Head, the 2013 winner; Trevor White, director of the Little Museum of Dublin; and Rosita Boland, Irish Times journalist. Over the next three months the judges will shortlist a number of places based on the submissions, visit the frontrunners, before choosing a winner on the August Bank Holiday weekend. But with the closing on Tuesday June 7th, people need to get their entries in fast. 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. Staff at Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) say they were absolutely delighted to welcome Transitional Year (TY) students on campus for an engineering focused event. Organised in conjunction with the Engineers Ireland STEPS Engineer Your Future programme, the Institute accommodated a group of 20 TY students from the region for a week of engineering related activities and an immersion into the third level experience. The participants were a highly motivated group of young people from the region who gained practical exposure to Mechanical, Civil and Electronics related activities. The participant mix reflected DkITs regional base with schools from Louth, Monaghan and Cavan represented. The sessions that were held included Computer Based Manufacturing, robot arm manufacture-assembly, software programming, site surveying and biomedical engineering. The Rediscovery Centre in the Institute provided a session on Sustainability to underpin all of the other activities. The Institutes Careers-Sports & Societies team conducted a dedicated session for TYs on career decisions, personal development and the non-academic aspects of college life. Apart from getting a taste of the technical side of engineering, the participants worked in teams, got a flavour of the campus and bonded as a group. In line with the national focus on Women in STEM, the programme was delighted to host three female participants who they hope to see entering the engineering profession at some future point. Kimmitt Sayers, Department of Electronics & Mechanical Engineering DkIT Said: It was fantastic to have such an energetic and enthusiastic bunch of future engineers on campus. Thanks are due to technical, administration, catering, marketing and lecturing staff who all supported a fantastic mix of application-based sessions. "The success of the programme is entirely due to the efforts that DkIT staff made during the structured activities and behind the scenes. All staff volunteered their time and expertise without needing to be asked twice. The generosity of spirit shown in these circumstances by DkIT staff is tangible and demonstrates the real sense of community that the Institute possesses. The staff at DkIT say, "we look forward to School of Engineering TY Programme 2023!" 3 million package to Kreditimi Rural i Kosoves in Kosovo New financing to support investments by women-led businesses and MSMEs Donor support from Sweden The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is extending 3 million in funding to Kreditimi Rural i Kosoves (KRK), a microfinance institution in Kosovo. The financing, which Sweden is backing with grants and technical assistance, will support investments by women entrepreneurs and small businesses. As part of this funding, a 1 million loan for businesses run or owned by women is being extended under the EBRDs Women in Business programme, which promotes womens entrepreneurship and their participation in business more broadly by providing them with access to finance and know-how. Since its launch in the Western Balkans in 2014, the programme has provided more than 57 million in credit lines, reaching more than 4,800 women-led micro, small and medium-sized enterprises across the region to provide access to finance, advisory services, training, mentoring and network-building activities. Some 2 million will be extended to other small businesses to boost entrepreneurship and competitiveness. It will allow enterprises to access funding to invest in innovation in areas such as strategy, products, processes and marketing. Aleksandra Vukosavljevic, EBRD Director, Financial Institutions, said: We are pleased to extend our cooperation with KRK in Kosovo. Improving access to finance and know-how will help boost the competitiveness of local MSMEs and create more jobs and business opportunities in the country. With the Women in Business programme in particular helping to bridge the gender gap in Kosovo; the EBRD has allocated 12 million to date here under this programme. KRK is the third-largest microfinance institution in Kosovo. Operating since 2000, it has a network of 27 branches across the country and around 250 employees. KRK has a strong shareholder base comprised of the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO, Solidarite Internationale pour le Developpement et lInvestissement (SIDI) and Credit Cooperatif. The EBRD has invested 602 million in 86 projects in Kosovo since it began operating there in 2012. The Banks strategic priorities in the country are to promote the green economy, support the competitive development of the private sector and foster regional integration. EBRD and TSKB finance Panelsan, Turkish manufacturer of insulation products 1.5 million joint loan to finance companys growth strategy in Turkey Energy efficiency-improvement products in high demand The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is facilitating access to finance for insulation panels producer Panelsan in Turkey through a risk-sharing facility with Turkiye Sinai Kalkinma Bankasi (TSKB), the Industrial Development Bank of Turkey. Under the EBRDs Risk Sharing Framework (RSF), TSKB will lend 1.5 million to Panelsan to fund the companys working capital needs in Turkey. The loan will enable Panelsan to maintain production of its insulation panels amid growing demand in the country for products that improve energy efficiency. Founded in 2004, Panelsan is one of Turkeys leading producers of insulation panels. It manufactures sandwich panels of mineral wool and expanded polystyrene and polyurethane, which increase energy efficiency in commercial and residential buildings, as well as roof panels that are required for SPP installation enabling renewable energy production. The firm was recently listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange following a successful initial public offering in February 2022. The loan is part of the partnership between the EBRD and TSKB to improve and simplify access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises across Turkey. Under a risk-sharing agreement, the two lenders provide loans to eligible businesses that they select jointly. Clients can use the loans to finance working capital or capital expenditure. The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Turkey and to date has invested more than 16 billion in the country through 373 projects, with the overwhelming majority of those investments in the private sector. Accelerating Turkeys transition to a green economy is one of the EBRDs key priorities in the country. A young man accused of having a 120,000 stash of cocaine in Cork in April applied to get his passport back from gardai and have his bail conditions relaxed so that he could take a short holiday in Portugal. 21-year-old Mohammed Adeagbo of Highfield, Ballincollig, County Cork, is presently on bail on drugs charges related to the seizure of 120,000 worth of cocaine on April 25 in Ballincollig. The accused came to court applying for a relaxation of bail and the return of his passport so that he could go to Albufeira with his friends for a long weekend in June. Sergeant Pat Lyons said that in the States opinion three days is a very short time frame for a holiday. The applicants solicitor, Frank Buttimer, wondered what Sgt. Lyons knew about mini-breaks. Sgt. Lyons cross-examined the defendant: How do we know you would come back? Mohammed Adeagbo replied, You have my word. Sgt. Lyons said, Respectfully, we would need a little more on this side of the house. Garda Anthony McSweeney said the gardai were concerned about the matter because of the seriousness of the alleged facts of the case. We would have very serious concerns he would be a flight risk. I would have huge concerns about him absconding. Mr Buttimer said the defendant is from Ballincollig where he attended primary and secondary school and his family are based. He said the application would not even be made, but for the fact that the accused had booked the trip to Portugal before the alleged offence occurred in April. Sgt. Lyons commented, Some fellas sunning himself in Portugal when he is on a charge of having 120,000 worth of cocaine is not appropriate. Mr Buttimer submitted that there could be a substantial delay in the prosecution even certifying those drugs forensically and that the accused could be remanded on bail until the end of the year for that to happen. Judge Patricia Cronin said, I have listened very carefully to the application to vary bail for the return of his passport and altering the signing on conditions for two days. This a very serious allegation relating to a large quantity of cocaine allegedly in his possession. He has a presumption of innocence. I am refusing the application on the basis of the seriousness of the alleged offence. The accused was remanded on continuing bail terms until September 7 at Cork District Court. Passengers who arrive too early for their flights at Dublin Airport this weekend will be put in a designated holding area as part of plans to avoid further travel disruption. The airport fell "extremely" short of its obligations to passengers due to a spike in passenger numbers and the absence of 37 staff, the Oireachtas transport committee will be told later today. During busy times, queues will now be triaged so that only passengers with a flight within two and a half hours for short haul or three and a half hours for long haul will be allowed into the departures level. The transport committee will also hear that an anomaly led to 17 new recruits being rostered on security detail last Sunday before they were certified, causing travel chaos at Dublin Airport. Airport officials briefed Government Ministers on Wednesday morning on their plans to avoid a repeat of the delays last weekend. According to the Irish Times, senior executives from airport operator DAA met Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan and Minister for State Hildegarde Naughton and gave them details of the plan for the airport. The Oireachtas transport committee is to be briefed at 1.30pm. The plan is expected to include a new queue management system, more lanes and better use of staffing. Political reaction Reacting to the plan to keep early passengers out of the terminal building, People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said the move was a "catastrophic failure of management but also of Government." Minister of State Sean Fleming told RTE's Today with Claire Byrne that the proposed plan was a stop gap and "not a solution". He said: "It is not acceptable. Senior management have to sort this problem out. It is not a quick fix for the bank holiday weekend. This problem has to be taken off the agenda. We can't have a situation where people have difficulty getting in and out [of the airport]." Earlier, Sinn Fein transport spokesman Darren ORourke TD said passengers who are travelling this weekend need absolute assurance that this system will work. I think there will be concern if it only talks about creating fast queues and slow queues. The question for me really is what additional resources can be brought to bear to ensure that we dont have the scenes we had last weekend, he told RTE's Morning Ireland. Mr ORourke said DAA has had a contingency plan in place since March but this was still not sufficient to prevent what occurred last weekend. And if the plan they come up with this afternoon doesnt bring additional resources then we cant have confidence that what happened last weekend isnt going to happen again. Thats a deep, deep concern. More than 1,000 passengers missed their flights on Sunday due to lengthy delays at check-in and security. Photo: PA "I think what we need before this weekend with the resources of the DAA internally but also with the resources of Government we need a commitment, a cast iron guarantee that the scenes we saw last weekend wont happen during this weekend, or this month, or this summer. "We need a plan for the whole summer to provide the type of assurance that people need because if we dont have assurances from the DAA the natural response from people will be to panic, to be concerned, to arrive earlier and that has a knock on consequence in terms of the flow of passengers through the airport." Mr O'Rourke said the DAA made a management error in letting experienced staff go during the pandemic. He told Newstalk radio: It was a gross misjudgement. Whatever the motivation was I think there has been lots of criticism, and I would share it, in terms of how aggressive they were, their cuts and the amount of experienced staff they lost. "I understand that 80 per cent of experienced members of the unit could have been lost. That makes a difference because it means your organisation capacity is significantly reduced. "The DAA have a responsibility to know their business. During the pandemic there was a huge pent-up demand for recreation, to visit friends and families. "We have some of the most successful airlines on the planet in this country. If ever a country was going to rebound well it was Ireland. Additional reporting: Olivia Kelleher The amount of disposable face masks littered in the environment increased by nearly 9,000 percent from March to October 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. That is the finding of a new study published in Nature Sustainability December 9, which used an app to track the emergence of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) pollution during the first 14 months of the pandemic in 11 countries. We found that littered masks had an exponential increase from March 2020, resulting in a more than 80-fold increase by October 2020, lead researcher Dr. Keiron Roberts, Lecturer in Sustainability and the Built Environment at the University of Portsmouth, said in a press release. There is a clear need to ensure that requiring the use of these items is accompanied with education campaigns to limit their release into the environment. The study is the latest to note the emergence of PPE pollution, particularly face masks, as a new type of litter. A November study, for example, found that there are nearly 29,000 tons of COVID-19 related plastic now floating in the ocean. The new research was unique in that it compared PPE litter with government policies such as mask mandates. What the study found was that the rise in face mask litter followed an increase in national mask mandates and recommendations from the World Health Organization. This might be stating the obvious, but its the first time weve been able to evidence it, Roberts told Australias ABC News. In comparison, litter from gloves and wipes rose from 0.2 percent of litter to 0.4 percent of litter during the beginning of the pandemic, but then declined. Gloves especially decreased with the emergence of mask mandates, the study authors wrote. To draw their conclusions, the researchers used two digital databases: the COVID-19 Government Response Tracker and the app Litterati, which allows users to record the litter they collect. We wondered how we could do a study thats global without actually leaving our bedroom, Roberts told ABC News. Overall, the researchers said there were three main concerns about PPE litter, according to the press release: Short-term concerns that the masks would spread the disease further and cause sewer blockages. Medium-term concerns that the new litter would harm wildlife through entanglement or smothering smaller organisms. Long-term concerns that the litter would attach to other pollutants and help them spread in the environment. Further, any PPE made from plastic could break down into microplastics and work its way up the food chain. The researchers called on governments to announce policies for COVID-19 waste disposal along with mask mandates. Despite millions of people being told to use face masks, little guidance was given on how to dispose of them or recycle them safely, professor Steve Fletcher, director of Revolution Plastics at the University of Portsmouth, but not a study author, said in the press release. Without better disposal practices, an environmental disaster is looming. The majority of masks are manufactured from long-lasting plastic materials, and if discarded can persist in the environment for decades to hundreds of years. This means they can have a number of impacts on the environment and people. In response, the UK government agreed that it was important to find ways to properly dispose of face masks. Our priority is rightly to protect public health during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but this does not dilute our existing commitments to tackling single-use plastics and combating litter, a spokeswoman from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs told BBC News. It is vital we all dispose of our waste including face coverings and other PPE in the correct manner. Face coverings should be disposed of in normal waste bins. Overall, the study authors observed more than two million pieces of PPE litter collected in the 11 countries it studied. We need to avoid this pandemic litter becoming a lasting legacy, Roberts said in the press release. Many countries have embraced a climate target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, but one country is taking it further. Finlands parliament passed a new Climate Change Act last week committing itself to achieving net-zero emissions by 2035 and negative emissions by 2040. While the timeline itself is notable, the act also makes Finland the first country to make a legally-binding climate negativity pledge, Protocol reported. High income countries have to take a progressive and active role when it comes to tackling climate change, Finnish environment minister Emma Kari told Climate Home News. The target was decided based on the work of The Finnish Climate Change Panel, which calculated Finlands fair share of the worlds remaining carbon budget based on its population size, its ability to pay and its historical responsibility for the climate crisis. The results for Finland are clear in all cases. Finland should be GHG (greenhouse gas) neutral during the early 2030s and clearly net negative from 2040 onwards, the study authors wrote. Based on the same criteria, Germany and the EU should also reach net-zero in the early to mid-2030s, the analysis found. In the light of this result, the climate neutrality target for 2050 is highly insufficient and should be brought forward, the report authors wrote. The law also sets new targets for emissions reductions of 60 percent of 1990 levels by 2030 and 80 percent by 2040, according to Protocol. Achieving negative emissions will require Finland to actively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, in addition to merely lowering emissions. Some countries have already managed to achieve carbon negativity. These are mostly smaller countries like Bhutan and Suriname that have lots of forested area and can achieve negative emissions by protecting natural carbon sinks and keeping greenhouse gas emissions low. Finland faces a challenge in this regard because its land use was a source rather than a sink of emissions for the first time in 2021, according to new data from Statistics Finland. The country is three-fourths forest, according to Climate Home News, but deforestation has been increasing in the last decade, and Statistics Finland said that trees were being cleared at a faster rate and replanted at a slower one. University of Eastern Finland international law professor Kati Kulovesi told Protocol that the new act was remarkable but still had room for improvement. There is an important gap between current measures and those required to reach the targets, and now there is a legal obligation to act, Kulovesi said. Om Shanti Om (2007), Bhoothnath (2008), Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010), Dabangg 2 (2012) all these movies in the 21st century have one thing in common and it's a car! Wondering which one? Featured in films and used by Indian government officials as a status symbol, the Indian Ambassador is an icon. But despite its rich legacy, it was discontinued a few years ago. But it looks like this icon isn't done yet because news is that the Ambassador is coming back with a facelift! Lets look at the details in todays #WhatTheFAQ. Is the Ambassador really coming back? Yes, it is, according to an official announcement by the Hindustan Motor Financial Corporation of India (HMFCI). HMFCI had taken over the Chennai manufacturing plant of Hindustan Motors Limited (HM), the original manufacturer of the Hindustan Ambassador, which was once a flagship company of the CK Birla Group. It was declared recently by the company that they will be re-launching the iconic Ambassador in a revamped model in the Indian market. The company had, earlier in 2017, sold the rights to the Ambassador brand to Peugeot, a French automobile manufacturer. The new model to be launched will be a collaboration of HMFCI and its French partner. It has been reported by Reuters that the collaboration will be in a 51:49 ratio, where the controlling stake will be with Hindustan Motors. The revamped model will likely be launched in two years, in 2024. What will the new car be like? The Ambassador 2.0 will be electric! Though the design of the car is yet to be finalised, a spacious interior, a modern dashboard, upholstery and a tech-based cabin with climate control features are likely in it. The car also may have a retro-modern look and sloping roofline, as mentioned in a description by the website BGR.in. So, HMFCI and Ambassador are both to be revived by venturing into the Indian Electronic Vehicle (EV) segment. It has been announced that the car will be manufactured by the companys Chennai plant, run by HMFCI. What are people saying about the re-launch? It is nostalgia working its magic for most people who are happy about the Ambassador coming back. Many, however, think that the re-launch is not a very good idea. They have opined that though re-launching it as an electric vehicle will create a buzz in the EV market, there will be teething issues for the Ambassador. There will be a pricing challenge as well, and the manufacturer has to balance it between the nostalgia factor and new-age technology codes. Also, because the attempted remodelling of the car had failed several times in the past, leading to the Ambassador being discontinued, there are doubts if the current model would survive in the highly competitive Indian market. Why was the Ambassador discontinued? Hindustan Motors has cited worsening conditions at its Uttarpara plant which include very low productivity, growing indiscipline, critical shortage of funds, lack of demand for its core product, the Ambassador, and large accumulation of liabilities as the reasons in a report by Swarajya Magazine. The car ran productions from 1958 to 2014. However, the sales were not smooth. The fuel economy of the Ambassador was low and users experienced various functioning problems as well. This led to declining demands. When the BS-IV emission norms were rolled out in 2011 in India, the Ambassador was banned. However, the last, 7th-generation Ambassador was called the Encore and it complied with the BS-IV engine standards. But production was stopped soon after. Why does the car have such a rich legacy? The Ambassador was based on the Morris Oxford series III car model, which Morris Motors Limited manufactured from 1956 to 1959 at Oxford, UK. Though having British origins, the car was made in India. It was a status symbol in the 60s and 70s and it dominated the Indian roads. This was the longest running car in the Indian markets, spanning almost 55 years. And it was the first diesel car of India and was known as the "King of Indian Roads" for its sturdy build and comfortable ride. The Ambassadors were widely used not only by the Indian government, which purchased 16% of the cars total sales, but also were very much popular as taxis. It was selected as the world's best taxi by global automotive programme Top Gear in 2013. Poultry farms in Malaysia expediting shipments to Singapore before export ban Poultry farms in Malaysia are shipping as many chickens as possible to Singapore before June 1, 2022 ban on poultry exports is enforced, The Straits Times reported. Malaysian operators have increased their work hours and delivery trucks to make the daily road journey across the borders to fulfil growing demand for fresh chickens in the republic, which has emptied several stores there of stock. The newspaper visited a farm in Johor and discovered that the chickens to be exported for the Singapore market were just 33 days old, compared to 40 days prior. An unnamed farmer said the number of lorries shipping chickens to Singapore has climbed from two to six per day, with each lorry carrying 6,000 chicks. Another unnamed farmer said even if the ban is overturned, if Singaporeans find alternatives, they may not buy Malaysian poultry. The farmer also said they will move their entire enterprise to Singapore if they were offered space to farm hens. The same farmer refuted charges that he was stockpiling chickens in order to generate a phoney demand in Malaysia. Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri said chicken exports will be halted from June 1 until prices and supply in the country stabilise. He also stated that the government will look at developing a chicken buffer stock and optimising the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries' cold storage facilities. Other participants in the poultry sector blamed the chicken scarcity on a labour deficit, rising input expenses, animal sickness, and bad weather. The Singapore Food Agency has approved only 115 farms in peninsular Malaysia to sell their chickens there, with 91 of them in Johor state alone. Singapore imported around 34% of its chicken supply from Malaysia last year, or close to 73,000 tonnes. Brazil (48%) and the US (8%) were the island nation's other major sources of poultry in the same year, but these were frozen meat. - The Straits Times Malaysia to assist parties seeking to import chicken and other food supplies Datuk Haslina Abdul Hamid, Malaysia's Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (MAFI) secretary-general, said they will assist parties seeking to import chicken and other food supplies into the nation, especially from legal processing plants, as import permits (AP) were abolished, Bernama reported. She said that the initiative to import hens, as well as the Cabinet instruction to halt poultry exports on June 1, will be able to quickly stabilise the poultry supply. Haslina said that MAFI was committed to boosting the country's self-sufficiency, particularly in meat production, in terms of long-term solutions to the national food supply issue. She mentioned corn as an example, saying that the grain, which was formerly imported and used as animal feed, is now being cultivated on a huge scale in the country in Chuping, Perlis, with the help of government-linked firms. Datuk Azman Mohd Yusof, the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP) secretary-general, said the issue of rising prices and a scarcity of chicken supply is likely to be rectified within a month. He said consumers who find chickens being sold at a high price can file a formal complaint by providing specific details through the numerous avenues provided by KPDNHEP. He also said KPDNHEP will continue to organise various sales programmes from time to time to enable the public acquire vital commodities at affordable prices. - Bernama South African chicken farmers deny they are taking advantage of soaring prices Izaak Breitenbach, the chair of the South African Poultry Association, said the country's chicken farmers are not taking advantage of soaring record poultry prices at the expense of consumers, Business Day reported. Chicken prices in South Africa have gone up 10% per year over the past 10 years and increased 17% in the past year, but are expected to reach record highs due to rising input costs such as livestock feed. This is partly because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as both countries are major grains exporters used as chicken feed. Breitenbach said soaring chicken prices are because of feed prices going up, as 70% of a producer's input costs come from feed. The local poultry industry has struggled to compete against cheaper chicken imports from the US, Europe, and Brazil, with thousands of jobs lost in the sector. The country's Association of Meat Importers and Exporters has urged the government to lift all tariffs and suspend the consumption tax on all poultry to lessen the impact of rising chicken prices on consumers. The association said domestic producers have unfair and excessively high levels of trade protection. To safeguard the sector from unfair competition, the government increased duties on bone-in chicken pieces to 62% in 2020, while tariffs on boneless portions were hiked to 42%. Despite the fact that SA's trading partners account for less than 15% of all chicken consumed in the country, critics contend that raising tariffs will make chicken less cheap since local producers have traditionally priced their products higher. While local producers support the elimination of VAT on some cuts of poultry used by low-income households, they are opposed to the elimination of tariffs, claiming that tariffs were not the reason of the price increase in the first place. Ebrahim Patel, Trade, Industry & Competition Minister is also opposed to tariff suspension, claiming that such a "extreme" action will result in the loss of local employment. Importers are pressing for tariff suspension or elimination to maximise their own profits, not necessarily to safeguard consumers, according to Francois Baird, the founder of FairPlay Movement, an organisation dedicated to combating predatory trade practises and chicken dumping in South Africa. Baird said the cheap prices at which chicken is imported are not passed on to consumers. Baird urged importers to reduce profit margins in order to make chicken more cheap to customers, particularly those on a tight budget. In answer to inquiries from Business Day, Paul Matthew, CEO of the Association of Meat Importers and Exporters, said that instead of banning imports, local producers should focus on alternative strategies to increase growth. He believes that imports, even in small amounts, are critical because they offer the essential competition to keep consumer prices in check. The EU has previously stated that it will purchase South African chicken provided the nation has met the necessary health and safety criteria. - Business Day CTEK, a vehicle charging solution company, is working with Stockholm Parking to install more than 1,000 electric vehicle charging points in a new 18,000 square meter Norra Stationsparken parking garage in Hagastaden, on the outskirts of Stockholm. ') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write(' ') } // --> ') } else if (width >= 425) { console.log ('largescreen'); document.write('') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // --> Norra Stationsparken is Stockholms seventh garage offering 100% of spaces with EV charging and, once completed, will be one of the largest EV installations in any parking facility in the whole of Europe. The new parking garage in Hagastaden, one of Stockholms largest urban development areas, has three underground floors offering parking for residents and visitors, with every one of the parking spaces being equipped with an EV charging point. This has been achieved through the installation of dual socket CTEK Chargestorm Connected 2 EV chargers, mounted back-to-back and neatly fixed to the ceiling on metal frames, so that each set of chargers serves four parking spaces. The installation is supported by CTEKs Nanogrid load balancing solution. Cecilia Routledge, global director energy and facilities for CTEK said: An investment of this size really shows that Stockholm is leading Europes capitals in supporting the switch to fossil-free transport. For CTEK, it is also proof that our multi-year collaboration with Stockholm Parking continues to develop. Business and government need to work closely with each other on mobility issues if we are to be able to achieve our set climate goals. The City of Stockholm is seeing rapidly increasing demand for EV charging stations, and this latest installation is part of the citys work to electrify traffic. By 2026, Stockholm Parking aims to offer EV charging in all its garages, and is targeting more than 100,000 new charging stations for electric cars by 2030. This would equate to one EV charge point for every 16 people living in Stockholm County. If London were to install charge points at the same rate as Stockholm, by 2030 the city would need 575,000 charge points for its 9.2 million residents, which is almost 10 times the 60,000 chargers being targeted by 2030 in the December 2021 London EV infrastructure plan. Hagastaden currently has 6,000 new homes and 50,000 jobs and is located in the area between Stockholm and nearby Solna. By 2030, this area will have been transformed into a completely new district with a mix of apartments, workplaces, cultural attractions, green areas, world-leading research and highly specialized healthcare. As Africans commemorate Africa day on Wednesday, local artists joined climate activists in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo to mark it by holding concerts and actions during the week, to highlight the dangers of the proposed East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). Climate activists who attended the concerts and actions, most of which coincided with the TotalEnergies Annual General Meeting, put the firm on the spot over its involvement in polluting oil and gas projects across the continent, such as EACOP. Activists under the #StopEACOP campaign called on financial institutions not to back the project, which faces sustained opposition not only from community members in Uganda and Tanzania, but also climate justice activists globally. The planned pipeline has displaced thousands, affected livelihoods, threatens sensitive ecosystems, endangers wildlife and the environment. The planned actions included a march, delivery of a petition to Total Energies in Uganda and Tanzania, a concert in Goma, DRC on 25th May, as well as concerts set for the 27th of May in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam. Landry Ninteretse, 350Africa.org Regional Director, said, The various concerts and actions organized this week across the continent demonstrate a popular rejection of fossil fuel projects by Africans. They have sent a clear message to TotalEnergies and its shareholders that the time has come to put an end to the looting, pollution, extractivism and neo-colonialist practices that have for so long harmed millions of Africans. Projects like the East African Crude Oil Pipeline should therefore have no place in our regions energy future as it will cause more harm than good to the communities and the environment. Decisions being made at TotalEnergies AGM must reflect concrete plans to halt any planned fossil fuel projects and chart a path to support a just transition to clean energy to secure the continents energy security, while safeguarding the interests of communities. Rhetoric and greenwashing will lead us down a dark path of dependence on fossil fuels and destruction of our planet. Omar Elmawi, #StopEACOP coordinator said, The fact that numerous financial institutions have in the recent past increasingly committed not to fund EACOP is a testament to the harmful and irresponsible nature of this project, which puts people and the planet at risk. Fossil fuel companies would be incapable of developing such large fossil fuel infrastructure without the support of financial institutions. The call is now on banks to commit to not supporting Total and its partners in their quest to build what is expected to be the longest heated crude oil pipeline in the world. Reports have indicated that as the world transitions from fossil fuels to clean energy, fossil fuel infrastructure will wind up as stranded assets. The economically sound, socially and environmentally responsible move for financial institutions is to instead support the development of sustainable clean energy solutions which are plentiful and cost effective. Edwin Mumbere from CECIC in Uganda said, Partners on the EACOP project have touted it as a project that will benefit the communities in Uganda and Tanzania. The situation cannot be further from the truth, as we have seen displacement of communities, human rights abuses, threats to their livelihoods as well as sensitive ecosystems linked to the pipeline. What is increasingly clear is that the pipeline is bad for the people and the environment. Not only are we calling out TotalEnergies and its partners for carrying on with this project, we are also urging financial institutions not to fuel the climate crisis by supporting this project. Instead of banking on fossil fuels, focus should instead be on investing in renewable energy for the sake of energy security, economic sustainability, the wellbeing of people and the environment. Justin Mutabesha, climate activist based in Goma, DRC said, The recent IPCC report underscored the fact that urgent and deep emissions cuts are required to limit global warming below 1.5 degrees celsius, in order to avert even more catastrophic climate impacts. This is why we are standing in solidarity with our comrades in Uganda and Tanzania to oppose this disastrous project which would produce about 34 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. In the DRC, we opposed Totals plans for oil exploration at Virunga National Park where they ceased operations in 2013. We are calling on the firm and its partners to act responsibly and abandon the EACOP project. We further appeal to our government to stop the issuance of oil exploration licenses in Virunga National Park as well as halt recently announced plans to auction off new oil blocs for exploration, some of which are also located in sensitive ecosystems and threaten communities livelihoods. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has begun accepting claims related to Activision Blizzards $18 million settlement with the agency. Starting today, current and former US employees of the publisher who believe they experienced sexual harassment or gender discrimination while working at its offices from September 1st, 2016 to March 29th, 2022 can file for an award. Those who decide to take part in the claims process can also make specific non-monetary requests of Activision Blizzard and the EEOC. For instance, they can ask that the publisher remove harmful documents such as disciplinary notices from their personnel file. It will be interesting to see how many workers apply for an award. When the settlement was first approved by a federal judge in late March, many current and former Activision Blizzard employees criticized the EEOC for not going nearly far enough to hold the company accountable. The fact claimants wont be able to take part in future litigation against Activision Blizzard, including the ongoing lawsuit from Californias fair employment agency , may also make some workers reluctant to file. Then theres the amount itself. Former employee Jessica Gonzalez is appealing the settlement on the basis that $18 million is insufficient redress for everyone who may come forward with a claim against Activision Blizzard. Elon Musk delivered an ultimatum to Tesla and Space Xs corporate workforces: Spend a minimum of 40 hours a week in the office, or leave the company. Musk today confirmed in a tweet that screenshots of an email sent to workers was real. According to The New York Times, workers at both companies received similar memos from Musk that made clear that all workers must report to a main office for 40 hours a week. Musk also wrote that employees would no longer be allowed to work from remote branch offices not related to their job duties, giving the example of an HR worker for the Fremont factory who works out-of-state. Elon to Tesla team: no more remote work pic.twitter.com/aSmZAAOm7G Whole Mars Catalog (@WholeMarsBlog) June 1, 2022 The more senior you are, the more visible must be your presence, Musk said in a memo to SpaceX employees obtained by NYT. That is why I spent so much time in the factory so that those on the line could see me working alongside them. If I had not done that, SpaceX would long ago have gone bankrupt. Musk taking a hardline stance on remote work is in stark contrast to a number of other major tech companies that have allowed all or most workers to request to work-from-home permanently, including Facebook , Twitter, Salesforce and Slack. Apple recently suspended a requirement that workers return to the office at least three days a week. As Bloomberg reported today, Twitter employees who are likely to be reporting to Musk once his acquisition of the company is complete have internally expressed some concern the SpaceX and Tesla remote work policies (or lack thereof) herald unwelcome changes for their own workplace. Shark Bay, an Australian World Heritage Area, serves as home to various animals that feed on its thriving sea grass. Turns out that sea grass called Poseidon's ribbon weed, or Posidonia australis, is a single ancient plant that's been cloning itself for the past 4,500 years. Researchers from The University of Western Australia and Flinders University studied samples of the organism taken from across the bay and generated a DNA fingerprint with 18,000 genetic markers. What they found was that the sea grass stretching across 180 kilometers (112 miles) the size of Cincinnati, as The New York Times notes of Shark Bay is just a single plant. Senior author Dr. Elizabeth Sinclair said they're often asked how many plants grow in sea grass meadows. For Shark Bay, lead author and UWA student Jane Edgeloe said: "The answer blew us away there was just one! That's it, just one plant has expanded over 180km in Shark Bay, making it the largest known plant on Earth." The Posidonia apparently clones itself by producing new shoots growing out of its root system. It doesn't reproduce sexually, because it's most likely unable to: The organism has a condition called polyploidy, which means it inherited 100 percent of each parent's genome instead of just 50 percent from each. Since polyploidy often results in sterility, cloning might be the only way for the Shark Bay Posidonia to proliferate. Sinclair said its polyploidy might have also made it more resilient than usual, though. It could have given the organism the "ability to cope with a broad range of conditions, which is a great thing in climate change." It remains to be seen whether the Shark Bay Posidonia will continue to thrive in the face of modern climate change, but the researchers may find out soon enough. They've set up a set of experiments to figure out how it survives in environments with variable conditions that include a wide range of temperatures and salinities, as well as extreme brightness and darkness. You can read the group's paper in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Enko Education, a network of African international schools, announces the closing of its $5.8 million Series B round led by Adiwale Partners and followed by the Steyn Capital family office, existing institutional investors Proparco, Investisseurs et Partenaires and Liquid Africa, as well as prominent figures in international education and entrepreneurship in Africa. This Series B round, which closed on April 30, validates Enko Educations innovative educational model. By 2030, 750 million African youth will be of school age. To enable these young people to access the best universities, Enko Education schools offer a quality African international education. Individualized support for university admissions, the International Baccalaureate diploma, and an African focus make the success of the Enko recipe. Enko Education has become the first network of schools offering the International Baccalaureate programme on the African continent explains Eric Pignot, Founder and CEO. Cyrille Nkontchou, Founder and Chairman, adds: This new round of financing will allow us to accelerate our growth through acquisitions and by selling our know-how in managing schools. Since the opening of its first school in 2014 in Yaounde, the Enko Education group has developed a network of 13 African international schools that welcome more than 3,500 students in 9 sub-Saharan African countries (Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa, Zambia). The ambition of this new fundraising is to increase the number of students in the network to reach 10,000 students in 2025. The groups strategic plan is to increase the number of its schools through acquisitions and management contracts. This model allows school owners to entrust the management of their establishment to a group experienced in the operation of international schools on the continent. Jean-Marc Savi de Tove, Managing Partner of Adiwale Partners, said: Enko Education offers thousands of young Africans who will shape the world of tomorrow the opportunity to better prepare themselves to access the best university education through quality primary and secondary education. Adiwale Fund Is investment will allow the Group, as part of its expansion, to invest in its infrastructure, but also to strengthen its human resources and teacher training. The Enko Education operating model or the management of private African schools Enko Education aims to become the leader in international education in Africa. The group has developed strong expertise in the launch and operation of schools on the continent. Today we are able to create, take over and manage schools offering national or international programmes, on behalf of investors as diverse as real-estate developers, NGOs, or individuals explains Eric Pignot. Enko Education schools share the same vision: to unlock learners potential across Africa by increasing access to the worlds best universities. The Enko Education model has already yielded brilliant results as the first graduates are currently studying in prestigious universities around the world, such as Yale College in the United States, Sciences Po or Ecole Polytechnique in France, the University of Toronto in Canada, the African Leadership University in Rwanda or the Capital University of Economics and Business in China. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires Last night, out of the blue, Bo Burnham announced that he'd be releasing some previously unseen footage from his acclaimed Netflix special Inside, to celebrate the anniversary of its premiere on the platform. a year ago today, i released a special called inside. i've spent the last two months editing together material that i shot for the special but didnt end up using. it will be on my youtube channel in one hour. i hope you enjoy it. Bo Burnham (@boburnham) May 31, 2022 This, of course, caused Bo Burnham fans (myself included) to go absolutely wild. Though none of us should really be surprised by this at this point, the hour-long video, titled The Inside Outtakes, stands more like something between a behind-the-scenes video and a sequel, because each and every clip in this carefully-edited reel adds more context and clarity to the themes already so eloquently touched upon by Inside - especially those that were aimed at other artists. 'The Inside Outtakes' is a letter from Bo to his fans, showing his process in a way that highlights all the mistakes and missteps he made, as well as just...all the practice. It feels specifically geared towards other artists: While Inside reads as a very polished, finished piece that only a man of prodigious talent could make, The Inside Outtakes reveals all the weird, awkward steps he had to take to get there. Every time he shows us himself messing up and stopping, or leaving the camera on too long, or laughing inanely to himself in an empty room with no backup music, it's like a reminder: Yes, sometimes making art feels weird and stupid and insane. That doesn't mean you're not doing it right. Keep going. Probably the best example of this are the clips he included of all his practice runs of some of his best songs. For "Problematic," "Shit," and "Welcome to the Internet" we got to see a very cleverly-edited representation of his process: In a tile layout, he plays every single practice video he has of these songs, dropping them off the screen as soon as he messes up and turns off the camera - slowly revealing the finished product behind all the practice ones. Allowing us to see his frustration and his mistakes is a gift - painful as it may be for someone like Bo to pull back the curtain and show us how many times he "got it wrong," in reality what he's doing is showing others like him the tenacity it takes to finally get it right. Of course, this encouragement also comes with his standard warnings, as Bo continues to war with his own psyche (as he has seemed to since that "Left Brain Right Brain" sketch in what. all those years ago,) he also seeks to remind would-be content creators that the internet is an invasive creature - and that fame and attention, while a tempting drug, can also be a soul-sucking one if you're not incredibly careful. There are several more critiques of content creation - the thing that Bo does, and, in a broader sense, the very thing that I'm doing right now by writing this - most of which take place in his bits "The Dump" "Golden Age of Content" and "ICU (Inside Cinematic Universe)." Interestingly, though he's critiquing the literal thing I do for a living ("The Dump" sketch hit EERILY close to home), I didn't feel personally criticized by any of them - moreso, I felt an unsettling sort of agreement. That's because the main thing Bo is trying to warn against are the double-sided risks of even venturing to have a public presence on the internet. On one side of the coin, if you are going to be totally yourself, you should be ready to have your actual personality critiqued by strangers - something most people, especially kids who are as young as Bo was when he started posting, do not fully consider before it's too late. And, on the other, if you are going to put on a persona, you had better be sure you're ready to maintain that persona whenever you're in public for years to come. (And as far as the "or what?" on that statement, we don't need to ask - the answer is the mental breakdown and ensuing five-year hiatus that lead to Burnham making Inside in the first place.) What this all really is is a critique of the commodification of literal personality under late stage capitalism - in other words, content creators (who could be entertainers, journalists, or even just people with a hobby) are now literally expected to sell their own personas as a product for others to consume in order to make money as we continue our "endless and pointless climb towards a terrible and dense nothing" full of content that it somehow seems both everybody and nobody asked for. (Welcome to the internet indeed.) It feels dystopian in a way that it's incredibly difficult to describe verbally - tying your ability to be accepted socially up in your ability to make money off of that acceptance - but the sketches really do the trick. (It's also hilariously ironic that, despite the fact that I know the "ICU" bit was a joke to make fun of Disney and Marvel, I also know that if he followed through and did even one of those things, fans would eat it up. Personally, I'm really pulling for Girl Socko.) Of course, content creation isn't the only thing that The Inside Outtakes touched on - there was also much more to be said for the ongoing theme of the ridiculousness of the everyday that we first saw in Inside. Regular arguments about a couple stealing each other's dumplings; being afraid of spiders; wearing jeans; only Bo could write a sketch about making the saddest peanut butter sandwich in the world and also have it be an obvious commentary on how we're living through a new Gilded Age. (Seriously, all those Incredibly Professional Shots of Bo's Depression Meal are a better metaphor for the second Gilded Age that we're currently living though than almost anything anyone wore at the Met Gala this year. The whole world is serving us that sandwich and trying to tell us it's gorumet with fancy lighting and angles.) But honestly, the best example of this theme of the true depth of the banal and everyday parts of life comes from "The Chicken." This song - especially placed at the end of the special, right after the Kanye-Rant-esque stylings of "All Eyes On Me," the supposed ending - feels like a direct callback to "Are You Happy?" the song at the end of Make Happy in which Burnham waxes poetic about the very nature of happiness. His fans know that song came at the very beginning of the mental decline that eventually led to Inside - so seeing and hearing the parallels in "The Chicken" is especially poignant. OF COURSE Bo Burnham would take the oldest and most famously pointless joke in the world - "Why did the chicken cross the road?" - and actually make it mean something. Of course he would. Because the thing is, on the face of it, the fact that the chicken crossed the road to get to the other side is simple. We know that. On paper, it's very direct. But when Bo zooms in on the chicken, giving her silly problems and silly dreams about walking to Memphis and becoming a dentist, we already have more of an answer than we did before. It's another depression metaphor: The chicken is tired of her life and wants more, and she knows it exists, but she's afraid of risking what she has to get it - afraid of crossing the big road which, as Bo reminds us, is actually very wide, scary, and perilous for a chicken. Pulling yourself out of a bad spot and giving yourself a better life is just...way, way harder than it sounds. (And after quarantine, I think we all know that.) But the most beautiful part of this is, after all these years, after all the pain we can now plainly see that he's gone through...Bo is still optimistic about the fate of that chicken. Even though she got scared and stopped in the middle, even though it seemed like it may be impossible for her, he would still rather believe that she got to the other side. Because - and this is probably one of the biggest pain points in his life - deep down, despite all the doom and gloom he feels about the world, Bo Burnham is still an optimist. If he weren't - if he weren't willing to hope that recklessly - we wouldn't have these specials in the first place. So, from one more-than-slightly-disturbed content creator to another: Thank you AGAIN, Bo. Thank you for being brave enough, not only to continue making brilliant comedy, but also to pull back the curtain and show us your process - even the most difficult, silly, awkward parts. Your brilliantly composed solidary means more than you could ever know. (Also, not to be a rabid consumer here, but I'm gonna need these songs on Spotify ASAP, because "Living In The Future," "Feel Good," and "Little Joke Song" are all absolute bops, and I want to play the Spider song whenever I see a spider in my apartment forever from now on.) In a move that possibly constitutes a death wish, Tucker Carlson slammed K-Pop super group BTS' recent appearance at the White House to discuss anti-Asian hate in America. And as a result, the Fox News personality has awakened the BTS ARMY. In a televised segment, Carlson said: "Things have gotten very bad for Joe Biden, both public-facing and internally. What are they doing about it? Well, they broke glass in case of emergency and invited a Korean pop group to speak at the White House today." He then played a short clip, where BTS' RM introduces BTS, says it's an honor to be invited to the White House, and states that their purpose in coming was to "discuss the important issues of anti-Asian hate crimes, Asian inclusion, and diversity." Carlson's main gripe was to criticize President Biden for inviting a Korean group to discuss hate crimes in the U.S., implying that inviting BTS to the White House was merely a PR move and not a move of any real substance While we at Enstarz also have our own reservations about the White House inviting BTS speak on anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S., Carlson's base message in his criticism seems center, not on the nuances of the Asian vs. Asian American experience, but stems mostly from his distaste towards the White House doing this sort of thing in general. Later in the segment, Carlson brings on the controversial Candace Owens, who then proceeds to pit the Asian/Asian American and Black communities against each other - which seems to entirely undermine any good faith criticism Carlson had towards the BTS-Biden meeting. Unsurprisingly, this negative coverage on BTS' White House visit elicited the wrath of the BTS ARMY. Possibly one of the largest and most fervent fan groups on the internet, the members of BTS' giant fan base are referred to as members of ARMY. Devoted to defending their biases on all corners of the internet, the ARMY has become notorious for rocketing BTS to the top of social engagement awards, and also throwing their weight behind social and political causes. Previously, the ARMY has been mobilized for good when credited in part for drowning out the #WhiteLivesMatter hashtag on Twitter with fancams and memes of their favorite idols, crashing the iWatch app that the Dallas police department was using to solicit tips to arrest Black Lives Matter protesters, and for trolling former President Donald Trump by reserving thousands of tickets to his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma and then never showing up, forcing the former president to speak to a much smaller crowd of around 6,000 attendees than the 1 million he had bragged about on Twitter. #WhiteLivesMatter LMAO I WAS READY TO INSULT THE SHIT OUT OF EVERYONE, THEN I SAW THAT K-POP STANS ARE DESTROYING THE# DAMN NEVER THOUGHT I'D BE THAT HAPPY SEEING K-POP FANCAM pic.twitter.com/lb3Vpob0Wa Benjamin (@jibenmike) June 3, 2020 Now, the BTS ARMY has been mobilized once again - to take down Tucker Carlson. As the rest of us watch with glee, BTS fans have gone after Carlson on social media with memes. It doesn't sound like much now, but as one Twitter user remarked, "he doesn't know the force he just awoke." Another Twitter user mused, "So it will be K-Pop fans who finally bring him down." Yet another Twitter user invoked a The Lord of the Rings meme, where Gimli and Legolas discuss never thinking a dwarf and an elf would end up as allies, except that this time, it's a reference to allying with K-Pop stans. he doesnt know the force he just awoke transgender marx (@JUNlPER) June 1, 2022 So it will be K-Pop fans who finally bring him down. Carl the Recluse, socially distant and awkward (@ButIDigressBlog) June 1, 2022 Only time will tell what damage the BTS ARMY will wreak to Carlson's online presence. In the meantime, grab your popcorn (and stream BTS). Check out BTS' full White House appearance here. For more entertainment news and commentary, please follow Enstarz! We bring you the latest on your favorite celebrities, TV shows, and films. It was called "The Slap Heard Around The World." Forever tainting the clean-cut persona Will Smith had fashioned for himself over his storied career, at the 2022 Oscars, he acted out of rage, slapping comedian Chris Rock over a joke he made about Jada Pinkett-Smith's shaved head during a monologue. Little has been heard other than apologies from the Smith camp until now. On This Wednesday's episode of Jada's Red Table Talk, the actress - who suffers from a condition called alopecia, which causes premature hair loss - discusses the events of that night, how her ailment has affected so many, and how it is time to begin healing. Her hope with the episode is to reflect on the pain of being made fun of, while also bridging the gap between the two actors. In the episode Jada says, "About Oscar night: My deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out and reconcile. With the state of the world today, we need 'em both, and we all actually need one another more than ever." On the show, she shared not only her experiences with alopecia, but how others who have contacted her with their own stories have dealt with it. Since the incident, Smith has apologized for his outburst, admitting that he "reacted emotionally" when he slapped Rock, explaining that the "joke about Jada's condition was too much for me to bear." Trying to find a better way to deal with his anger, he has traveled to India to study meditation and yoga. Many felt the slap and lack of repercussions, which only involved Smith being banned from The Oscars for 10 years, set a bad precedent for audience behavior when it comes to being the target of comedians. These fears became a reality when Dave Chappelle was tackled by an armed spectator during a set at the Hollywood Bowl earlier this month. Jada concluded her show with this sentiment, "And Until then, Will and I are continuing to do what we have done for the last 28 years - and that's [to] keep figuring out this thing called life together. Thank you for listening." That's all well and good, but the question still remains, what happens next? Can fans and Chris Rock move past the events of that evening and what will be the outcome for Smith's career going forward? A solution to export grain stocks out of Ukraine must be found to avoid the catastrophic scenario of shortages and further food price increases, African Union President Macky Sall told European Union leaders at their summit in Brussels yesterday (31 May). We would like to see everything possible done to free up available grain stocks and ensure transportation and market access, he said. This comes as a senior UN official said he had constructive discussions in Moscow on facilitating Russian grain and fertilizer exports to global markets. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for the EU and Africa to step up efforts on food production, including via innovative farming techniques such as precision farming, in light of the war in Ukraine. Speaking during a press conference following a meeting of EU leaders on Tuesday (31 May), der Leyen listed stepping up our own food production as one of the key elements in making up for the deficit in food production left by the Ukraine war. The EU and the African Union (AU) have agreed on a united message on food security which places the blame for disruptions to food supply squarely on Russian President Vladimir Putins shoulders amid warnings of a catastrophic famine. The AU will reportedly also hold a meeting with President Putin in the coming days, meaning that it is particularly important to present a united front. The news comes after Macky Sall, who is also the president of Senegal, addressed EU leaders, where he impressed the gravity of the current situation. Both Russia and Ukraine play a central role in supplying the world with staple grains and oils, together providing more than a third of the worlds wheat and barley, 52% of maize, and over 50% of sunflower oil and seeds. As a direct consequence of Russias invasion, millions of tonnes of food exports are currently stuck in Ukraine. While the crisis holds worldwide impact, many countries in Africa are particularly vulnerable given their reliance on food exports from both countries, combined with an already volatile food security situation. Even before the conflict in Ukraine, data from the UNs Food and Agriculture Organization on the state of food security and nutrition in the world in 2020 indicated that 282 million people, or more than a third of the worlds undernourished people, live in Africa. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic plunged an extra 46 million Africans into risk of hunger and undernourishment. This means that the situation is worrying and that the worst may be yet to come if the current trend continues, the AU chair warned, urging EU leaders to do everything possible to free up available grain stocks and ensure transport and market access to avoid the catastrophic scenario of shortages and widespread price hikes. European Council President Charles Michel subsequently stressed that the war in Ukraine has potentially serious ramifications both for the EU and the African continent. Specifically, Michel proposed that the EU and the African Development Bank (AfDB) examine how French President Emmanuel Macrons FARM (Food & Agriculture Resilience Mission) initiative and the AfDB Emergency Plan could best support massive investment in agriculture. The aim would be to use these tools to modernize and mechanize the sector with the latest innovative techniques to ensure appropriate fertilizer and pesticides use and improve storage capacities. STOCKHOLM and MELAKA, Malaysia, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE: ALV) (SSE: ALIVsdb), the worldwide leader in automotive safety systems, demonstrated the possibilities of powered two-wheeler airbags in a crash test attended by the Minister of Transport of Malaysia on May 23. The test was conducted in relation to the tenth anniversary of the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) laboratory. Road traffic crashes claim 1.3 million lives every year and are the leading cause of death among children and young adults. More than 90 per cent of road traffic fatalities occur in developing countries. The safety of motorcycle riders is a major challenge in Southeast Asia and motorcycle crashes accounted for 66% of all traffic fatalities in Malaysia in 2021. In 2021, Autoliv entered a partnership with MIROS, an organization with a progressive approach to road safety in Malaysia and a particular focus on powered two-wheelers. The collaboration directly supports Autoliv's vision of Saving More Lives and UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number three, which aspires to ensure good health and well-being for all, with one of its targets focused on halving global deaths and injuries from road traffic crashes. "I am very excited and fully support the development of this motorcycle airbag technology. I am sure that MIROS will support and cooperate with Autoliv in the development of this technology and evaluate its potential to save motorcyclists in our country going forward," says Dr. Wee Ka Siong, Minister of Transport in Malaysia. "Autoliv is committed to our vision of Saving More Lives and to providing world class life-saving solutions for mobility and society. Autoliv is prioritizing developing products that specifically protect vulnerable road users. The development of these products is an integral part of our sustainability agenda and an important step towards our goal of saving 100,000 lives annually," says Mikael Bratt, CEO and President, Autoliv. The MIROS collision test laboratory, PC3 Crash Lab, has played an important role in the vehicle safety ecosystem over the past ten years. Industry partners such as Autoliv conduct research and development in collaboration with the test laboratory to improve the level of road and vehicle safety in Southeast Asia and worldwide. "It was a privilege to be a part of the MIROS tenth anniversary event and be asked to conduct a crash test with new technology that brings us one step closer to saving more lives in Southeast Asia. Autoliv has an important role to play in markets like Malaysia, and I am proud to see Autoliv's airbag for powered two-wheelers generating interest in the country," says Cecilia Sunnevang, Vice President Research at Autoliv. Inquiries: Media: Gabriella Ekelund, Tel +46 (70) 612 64 24Investors & Analysts: Anders Trapp, Tel +46 (0)8 587 206 71Investors & Analysts: Henrik Kaar, Tel +46 (0)8 587 206 14 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/autoliv/r/autoliv-and-malaysian-institute-of-road-safety-research-collaborate-to-save-more-lives,c3577145 The following files are available for download: Wednesday, June 1, 2022 The Herman Trend Alert June 1, 2022 Bad Timing: Companies Reducing Mental Health Services Although post-Covid-19, most employers focused on supporting their workers' mental health services, now those same employers are cutting back on those expenditures. We have all heard the expression, "We may be through with Covid, but Covid is not through with us." Sadly, regarding mental health, there is a similar set of circumstances happening. Employees at all levels are still suffering from mental health issues and these reductions are already resulting in some serious unintended consequences, including higher absenteeism and lower productivity. This Alert details the seriousness of this global situation and drives home the need for refocusing on mental health. The Dire Situation A global survey by Headspace Health, a digital mental health platform best known for its meditation app, details the magnitude of this issue. Post-Covid, 71 percent of workers said their companies increased the focus on mental health. However, only 25 percent said their companies have maintained that focus in the last year. The effect that this cut back has had is significant: 83 percent of CEOs and 70 percent of employees reported missing at least one day of work due to stress, burnout, and mental health challenges. To make matters worse, the difficulty that companies are having filling their roles means that getting the job done falls on the plates of those who are left. . . and that is leading to breakdown, absenteeism, and mental health issues. The Disconnect between Perceptions of CEOs and their Employees Sadly, there is a gap between what leaders believe and what is in the hearts and minds of their employees. A whopping 94 percent of CEOs think they are adequately supporting workplace mental health, yet only 67 percent of employees feel the same way. Some Employees Believe Work is Harmful to their Mental Health A study in the British medical journal Lancet estimates that in 2020, the global pandemic led to 53 million additional cases of major depressive disorders and 76 million additional cases of anxiety disorders. The Headspace Report revealed that almost one-third (30 percent) of employees feel work actually hurts their mental health. One Company that Acted Shortly before the pandemic, the toy giant Mattel began working with Headspace to provide relief for their workers. Their annual survey of employees had shown that though (or perhaps because?) the company was in the middle of a turnaround, stress and burnout were appearing as challenges for its employees. They gave their employees new tools for managing stress and the app gave them meditation, sleep, and movement offerings that were easy to use and helped build resilience. Once the lockdown was in place, Mattel began offering live guided meditations---in some cases led by senior leaders. The company also offered webinars for managers aimed at preventing burnout among their staff---including how to recognize warning signs among their workers. Mattel executives knew that if they did not act, they were going to lose people. A Handful of CEOs Really Get It One of the positive points of the survey was the degree to which chief executives recognized the importance of mental health benefits, not only for their workforce but for themselves as well. Of the CEOs surveyed, 60 percent said they personally use their company's mental health benefits regularly. Moreover, almost as many said talking about their mental health issues made them "better leaders." The movement is that now mental health and ensuring employee wellbeing has shifted from being just the responsibility of human resources to being the charge of leaders at all levels. Like Howard Schultz former CEO of Starbucks, Patrick Manzo, CEO of employee experience platform Kazoo, understands the importance of modeling behaviors for his senior leaders. In Manzo's case, he is talking about the ways he addresses wellbeing. He is also open and vulnerable in his willingness to admit mistakes. He's right when he says, "People don't want to be led by robots." Employer Indifference Fueling the Great Resignation Cutting back on mental health or any benefits for that matter right now is very risky. This post-pandemic period is a time when companies should be expanding benefits, not reducing them---that is, if they want to successfully compete for people. With the job hopping that is taking place and the importance of retaining long tenured employees, it would not be wise for companies to be scaling back on support of any kind. The unintended consequences in the form of employee turnover could be devastating to a company's bottom line. Special thanks to Susan Caminiti and CNBC.com for their coverage of this critical topic. Go to https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/companies-are-pulling-back-on-mental-health-offerings-just-when-workers-need-them-most/ar-AAX7v9M to read the entire article. Next Week's Herman Trend Alert: The New Truth Behind Some Supply Chain Issues In my new book Experience Rules, I raved about my local premium supermarket. HEB is a well respected grocery chain in five of the United States and in Mexico. Characterized by low employee turnover, the service levels at this chain are very high. That is why I was so surprised that there have been so many empty shelves when I went to shop recently. I had not seen that level of supply chain issues in months. Last week, I spoke with the manager and what I discovered blew me away! It is not mostly the logistics that had been responsible for the empty shelves. This cause is entirely something else. For the answer, you will have to wait for next week's Alert. ********** INGOMU PODCAST WITH JOYCE GIOIA IS NOW ON ROKU.TV INGOMU's podcast, The Future of Life, Work, and Wellness is now on the Futures Television channel on Roku.tv. Each show closes with a special commentary from our author Joyce about what the interview insights mean for the future. Tune in on Thursdays at 6 pm EDT. ********** SAVE THE DATES: APF'S GLOBAL VIRTUAL CONFERENCE JUNE 14-16 AND 21-23 Sponsored by The Association of Professional Futurists, EXPLORING NEXT: The Futures of Human Experience: People, Places, Systems, and Things will be an important gathering for people interested in the future. With Peter Schwartz of Salesforce delivering the opening keynote live, the conference will feature recognized speakers from around the world, including our own Joyce Gioia whose topic on the 21st is "How Experience will Transform Organizations." More details coming soon. Wednesday, June 1, 2022 Round up the usual suspects a line from Casablanca unfortunately describes the hiring strategy of many manufacturers. Dont be one of them! If youre looking for the same people youve always hired, and through the same sources youve always used, why on earth would you expect better results? How many felons have you interviewed in the last year? Afraid of them? Yes, some may still be dangerous, but many have paid their debt and turned their lives around. Why would you assume they are all dangerous while complaining about lack of workers. How many adults who graduated a few years ago, perhaps wandered a bit, but in the last year have engaged in some form of additional education or training? That would tell you the person wants to learn and do more. Why not talk with them? Do you believe all young adults with autism are capable of no more than returning shopping carts from the parking lot to the inside of the store? That is the limit for some, but not for many. One of my clients now employees about a dozen autistic young adults in their manufacturing operations. One has bought a house and a car and is now running CNC equipment. Yes, that took over a year, but how many of you have wasted a year avoiding candidates outside your typical pool? If you keep looking where youve always looked, look for the same experience levels youve always demanded, and arent willing to invest in training, well then, I cant help you. No one can help you. Perhaps youre counting on a recession to send your pool to your door? Silly. Do you host high school seniors from inner city schools, or college dropouts? Do you have open house visits for the community? Do you work with your peers to hire people they feel forced to release because of a drop in demand? If youre one of the executives saying no one wants to work youre one of the executives digging his own grave. Many want to work. Many want to learn and grow. But many do insist on being treated as a human being and not a cog. Look away from the usual suspects if you truly want to hire some of the best people in your geographic area. The idea of a festival celebrating the life and work of the late San Antonio playwright Sterling Houston has been kicking around for more than a decade. A 2009 attempt had to be scaled back to a handful of productions when the economy took a dive. A second try was delayed by the pandemic. Now the Sterling Houston Festival is finally happening. The three-week event, which starts Saturday, will include three of his plays, a 24-hour playfest inspired by his work, panel discussions and a theater camp for youngsters. A video about Houston produced by the University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections will play at each event. Houston made a name for himself with plays that often put a distinctive spin on historic events. Much of his work focused on San Antonios past, making it a point to put Black and other marginalized voices front and center. The things I write about, there are usually many things written about already, such as the Alamo, such as Womandingo and the antebellum Southern relationship between slaves and masters, Houston said in a 2002 interview with the Express-News. Theres a lot of material on that, but my take is always a twisted take. Its to subvert the conventional history. The festival isnt just about the plays he wrote. It really is about honoring Sterling in his totality not just his work, not just his place in our arts community, but Sterling the man, said Cassandra Parker-Nowicki, executive director of the Carver Community Cultural Center and one of the guiding forces behind the festival. The festival also is designed for those who might be encountering Houstons work for the first time. Its been awhile since his work has been produced in San Antonio, Parker-Nowicki said. Theres a number of people, even in our own arts community, who have never had an opportunity to experience the work, so this is a wonderful opportunity to really put his work back at the forefront Ten organizations organized the festival: the Carver, Jump-Start Performance Co., Urban-15, Gemini Ink, UTSA Libraries Special Collections, Teatro Anansi, Classic Theatre, Magik Theatre, the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center and Creative Circuit Studios. Rather than one organization or person taking the lead, they operated as a collective in honor of Houstons collaborative approach, Parker-Nowicki said. Houstons family also was consulted throughout the planning. GLORIA FERNIZ, STAFF / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS If all goes according to plan, the festival will become an annual or biannual event. Houston, who died in 2006, grew up on the East Side. He left for New York when he was 17, where he launched a career in avant-garde theater. He returned to San Antonio in 1981 with the intent of retiring from theater. Instead, he devoted himself to writing plays, said Steve Bailey, a frequent collaborator. Houston and Bailey ran Jump-Start, the company Bailey co-founded, for more than 20 years. He always wrote, but it wasnt until he moved back to San Antonio that he became a writer, really, Bailey said. And to me, what was really cool was this combination of history, current politics, camp, Blackness, queerness all that stuff came together. Not in every play. But hints of it are in every play. Bailey is taking part in a panel discussion about Houston during Saturdays opening event. And he also is directing a revival of Le Griffon, Houstons adaptation of his 1999 novella inspired by Frankenstein. Bailey directed the plays premiere at Jump-Start in 2000. Back then, company member S.T. Shimi served as assistant director and choreographer. Shimi died in 2020, and Bailey considers this production a tribute to her, as well. He said he believes Houston would have been pleased by the festival. At some point, he said, You know, Steve, from now on, I only want to do shows and I only want to work with people that bring me joy, he said. And I think this festival would bring him joy. In addition to the performances, there will be a playwriting camp for teens, who will create short works drawing on the themes found in and the inspiration behind Houstons work. Magik Theatre is hosting the camp, titled Myth, Magic and Farce: The Vision of Sterling Houston. Some of the young playwrights scripts will be read before performances of Le Griffon. The camp runs June 13-17. Tuition costs $300, and scholarships are available. Visit magiktheatre.org to register. This is what the rest of the festival holds: Black Lily, White Lily: The one-act play set in the 1950s explores the changing dynamics in the relationship between a wealthy white woman and the Black woman who has worked for her for a long time. The play will be followed by a panel discussion about Houston. 7 p.m. Saturday, Little Carver Civic Center, 226 N. Hackberry. Free; register at eventbrite.com. Black and Blue: 400 Years of Struggle and Transcendence: Gemini Ink presents a readers theatre staging of Houstons piece exploring various aspects of the lives of Black people, drawn from dozens of historical and literary voices. It will be followed by a panel discussion of Houstons work. 7 p.m. June 9, Guadalupe Theater, 1301 Guadalupe. Free, geminiink.org. TheatreNOW: Classic Theatre presents a 24-hour play festival in which nearly 40 theater artists will spend 24 hours writing, rehearsing and presenting five 10-minute plays. Each playwright will be given a quote from Houstons work to serve as inspiration 7 p.m. June 11, Performing Arts Theater, Northeast Lakeview College, 1202 Kitty Hawk Road. Free; reserve tickets at classictheatre.org. Le Griffon: Jump-Start Performance Co. presents a revival of Houstons adaptation of his own novella reinterpreting Mary Shelleys Frankenstein. In Houstons version, a white doctor in 19th century New Orleans constructs a man using body parts from enslaved and free men of color. 8 p.m. June 17-18 and 3 p.m. June 19, Little Carver Civic Center, 226 N. Hackberry. Free-$25 (buyers choice), dojour.us. For more information, visit sterlinghoustonfestival.com. dlmartin@express-news.net | Twitter: @DeborahMartinEN BOSTON (AP) An accountant who stole nearly $1 million from multiple Massachusetts towns he worked for has been sentenced to more than three years in jail, prosecutors said Tuesday. Justin Cole, 40, of Uxbridge, pleaded guilty to 18 charges including multiple counts of larceny and was sentenced last week in Worcester Superior Court, the state attorney general's office said in a statement. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The gunman who killed 21 people at a small south Texas school and wounded 17 others used a pricey assault-style rifle manufactured by the Georgia-based arms manufacturer. The Daniel Defense DDM4 V7 rifle, which retails for $1,870, can be sold in Texas gun shops to anyone who is 18 or older and passes a background check. The Houston Chronicle previously reported that the Uvalde gunman, Salvador Ramos, purchased two weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in the days immediately after his 18th birthday, which was on May 16. One weapon was the Daniel Defense rifle; the other was a Smith & Wesson MP 15, which retails for about $1,300. LIVE UPDATES: Follow along for the latest news and analysis on the Uvalde school shooting On its website, Daniel Defense touts the DDM4 V7s 16-inch barrel, an improved flash suppressor, and an ambidextrous charging handle, among many other features. The gunman sent a screenshot of his purchase receipt to an Instagram user showing hed purchased the weapon. Authorities said the gunmans trail of violence began when he shot his grandmother. She survived, and called police. He then drove to Robb Elementary School, crashed into a railing, and then made his way inside, where he barricaded himself in a 4th grade classroom and began shooting students. According to law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation, the shooter left the Smith & Wesson in his car, but headed to the school with the Daniel Defense rifle and at least seven 30-round magazines. By the end of it all, hed killed 19 children and two adults and wounded 17 others, police said. The purchase The rifle produced by the Georgia-based is one of a slew of assault style rifles modeled after the ArmaLite AR-15, which was manufactured in the United States between 1959 and 1964. It weighs about 6 pounds. Many details surrounding this week's massacre remain unclear: among them, how an 18-year-old high school dropout working at a Wendy's was able to afford more than $3,000 of weaponry. To receive the firearm, the teen gunman had to go to a local gun shop to request a transfer and get a criminal background check. Hearst reporters confirmed that he went to Outback Oasis in Uvalde for the rifle. Investigators including agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives visited Oasis Outback to inquire about that purchase and whether he bought anything else. The shops owner said Wednesday that his business is cooperating with the police, but he declined to provide further details, saying he would only provide information to investigators. A sign at the store, which also sells sporting goods and has a restaurant, said the shop charges $30 to transfer one gun from an online vendor and $10 for each additional firearm, with a maximum of five guns per transfer. The phone at Daniel Defense ran unanswered Thursday, and no one responded to an electronic message. But the incident has undoubtedly brought negative attention to the Georgia-based arms manufacturing company that has grown into a firearms manufacturing powerhouse with sales of nearly $100 million, according to Forbes. The company was founded by Marty Daniel in 2001; a year later, he landed a $20 million contract parts for M4 rifles the military counterpart of AR-style civilian rifles to be used by U.S. Special Forces operators in combat. Daniel told Forbes that calls for gun control after the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012 led to a spike in sales. That was a horrible event and we dont use those kinds of terrible things to drive sales, he told the magazine in 2017, but when people see politicians start talking about gun control, they have this fear and they go out and buy guns. The American rifle AR-style rifles have exploded in popularity over the past few decades. Much of the initial interest came from U.S. military veterans, who had come to appreciate the M4 during their time in the armed forces, said Michael Cargill, a US Army veteran who owns the Austin-based Texas Central Gun Works. A lot of people who have been in the military the US Army, the (US) Marine Corps, the Air Force, they all used M4s, he said. That's why its popular. Its almost like the American rifle. The weapons are excellent for hunting targets at long range, he said, noting many hunters enjoy using the weapons while going after hogs, deer or similar prey. And they travel further and do far more damage than what you might see from a handgun, he said, likening it to the difference in damage one might see when a Toyota Prius got into a crash vs. a tractor trailer. The 18 wheeler is going to go further, he said. Its more powerful, designed to go further, and going to take a longer time to stop. Rifle-fired slugs also do far more damage when they hit a human body than many handgun caliber bullets, said one pediatric surgeon who spoke to the Chronicle. There's a really really wide blast effect, said Dr. Bindi Naik-Mathuriat, a pediatric surgeon and firearms violence researcher at the Baylor College of Medicine. The injury is a much wider zone , and the hole is just the tip of the iceberg. In movies, bullets might only leave a small hole, she explained. But a bullet fired from a rifle was likely to leave far more damage; tearing through organs, leaving a cavity in its wake of shredded organs or veins, leading to profuse bleeding and far lower survivability rates. They are much more dangerous, she said. Its much harder for a surgeon to save someone shot with one of those than a handgun. That is why medical staffers took swabs of victims family members Tuesday night. Victims of such weapons are often unrecognizable. This story has been updated to reflect the product descriptions of one of the features on the Daniel Defense DDM4 V7 rifle. FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) A jury sided Wednesday with Johnny Depp in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, awarding the Pirates of the Caribbean actor more than $10 million and vindicating his allegations that Heard lied about Depp abusing her before and during their brief marriage. But in a split decision, the jury also found that Heard was defamed by one of Depp's lawyers, who accused her of creating a detailed hoax that included roughing up the couple's apartment to look worse for police. The jury awarded her $2 million. The verdicts bring an end to a televised trial that Depp had hoped would help restore his reputation, though it turned into a spectacle that offered a window into a vicious marriage. Heard, who was stoic in the courtroom as the verdict was read, said she was heartbroken. Im even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. Its a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously, she said in a statement posted on her Twitter account. Depp, who was not in court Wednesday, said the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 2 1 of 2 Craig Hudson/AP Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Craig Hudson/AP Show More Show Less I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up, he said in a statement posted to Instagram. Depp sued Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse. His lawyers said he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name. The jury found in Depp's favor on all three of his claims relating to specific statements in the 2018 piece. Throughout the proceedings, fans who were overwhelmingly on Depps side lined up overnight for coveted courtroom seats. Spectators who couldnt get in gathered on the street to cheer Depp and jeer Heard whenever they appeared outside. A crowd of about 200 people cheered when Depps lawyers came out after the verdict. Johnny for president! one man yelled repeatedly. Greg McCandless, 51, a retired private detective from Reston, Virginia, stood outside the courthouse wearing a pirate hat and red head scarf, a nod to Depps famous role as Capt. Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. I do believe that there was defamation, and I do believe that it did hurt his career, McCandless said. I think the jury heard the evidence, and the verdict was just. In evaluating Heard's counterclaims, jurors considered three statements by a lawyer for Depp who called her allegations a hoax. They found she was defamed by one of them, in which the lawyer claimed that she and friends spilled a little wine and roughed the place up, got their stories straight, and called police. Sydni Porter, 30, drove an hour from her home in Maryland to show support for Heard. She said the verdict was disappointing, but not surprising, and sends a message to women that as much evidence as you have (of abuse), its never going to be enough. The jury found Depp should receive $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, but the judge said state law caps punitive damages at $350,000, meaning Depp was awarded $10.35 million. While the case was ostensibly about libel, most of the testimony focused on whether Heard had been physically and sexually abused, as she claimed. Heard enumerated more than a dozen alleged assaults, including a fight in Australia where Depp was shooting a Pirates of the Caribbean sequel in which Depp lost the tip of his middle finger and Heard said she was sexually assaulted with a liquor bottle. Depp said he never hit Heard and that she was the abuser, though Heards attorneys highlighted years-old text messages Depp sent apologizing to Heard for his behavior as well as profane texts he sent to a friend in which Depp said he wanted to kill Heard and defile her dead body. In some ways, the trial was a replay of a lawsuit Depp filed in the United Kingdom against a British tabloid after he was described as a wife beater. The judge in that case ruled in the newspapers favor after finding that Heard was telling the truth in her descriptions of abuse. In the Virginia case, Depp had to prove not only that he never assaulted Heard, but that Heards article which focused primarily on public policy related to domestic violence defamed him. He also had to prove that Heard wrote the article with actual malice. And to claim damages, he had to prove that her article caused the damage to his reputation as opposed to any number of articles before and after Heards piece that detailed the allegations against him. The case captivated millions through its gavel-to-gavel television coverage, including impassioned followers on social media who dissected everything from the actors mannerisms to the possible symbolism of what they were wearing. Both performers emerge from the trial with reputations in tatters with unclear prospects for their careers. Eric Rose, a crisis management and communications expert in Los Angeles, called the trial a classic murder-suicide. From a reputation-management perspective, there can be no winners, he said. Theyve bloodied each other up. It becomes more difficult now for studios to hire either actor because youre potentially alienating a large segment of your audience who may not like the fact that you have retained either Johnny or Amber for a specific project because feelings are so strong now. Depp, a three-time best actor Oscar nominee, had until recent years been a bankable star. His turn as Sparrow helped turn the Pirates of the Caribbean into a global franchise, but hes lost that role. He was also replaced in the third Fantastic Beasts spin-off film, The Secrets of Dumbledore. Despite testimony at the trial that he could be violent, abusive and out of control, Depp received a standing ovation Tuesday night in London after performing for about 40 minutes with Jeff Beck at the Royal Albert Hall. Heards acting career has been more modest, and her only two upcoming roles are in a small film and the upcoming Aquaman sequel due out next year. Depps lawyers fought to keep the case in Virginia, in part because state law provided some legal advantages compared with California, where the two reside. A judge ruled that Virginia was an acceptable forum for the case because The Washington Posts printing presses and online servers are in the county. The suspects in the shootings at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school and a Buffalo, New York, supermarket were both just 18, authorities say, when they bought the weapons used in the attacks. They were too young to legally purchase alcohol or cigarettes, but old enough to arm themselves with assault-style weapons. They are just the latest suspected U.S. mass shooters whose ability to obtain guns has raised concerns. Some shooters got guns legally under current firearms laws, or because of background check lapses or law enforcements failure to heed warnings of concerning behavior. Here is how some suspects in shootings where at least 10 people were killed got their guns: UVALDE, TEXAS: MAY 24, 2022. 21 DEAD. Salvador Ramos legally purchased two guns in the days before the attack that killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School an AR-style rifle from a federally licensed gun dealer in the Uvalde area on May 17 and a second rifle on May 20. Ramos made the purchases just days after turning 18, the minimum age under federal law for buying a rifle. He also purchased several hundred rounds of ammunition. At least one of the rifles was modeled after the U.S. militarys M4 carbine rifle, though without the M4's ability to switch to fully automatic or fire a three-round burst. Ramos was killed at the school by a Border Patrol team. ___ BUFFALO, NEW YORK: MAY 14, 2022. 10 DEAD. Payton Gendron legally purchased the Bushmaster XM-15 E2S used in the attack on Tops Friendly Market from a federally licensed gun dealer near his home in Conklin, New York, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Buffalo. In an online diary that surfaced after the attack, Gendron said he bought the AR-15-style weapon in January, bought a shotgun in December and received a rifle as a Christmas present from his dad when he was 16. Last year, Gendron was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation under a state mental health law after writing murder-suicide in response to a teachers question. New York is one of 19 states with red flag laws that allow courts to take guns from people posing immediate danger, but that didn't happen with Gendron, who was 17 at the time. State police described his threat as general in nature." Gendron is charged with murder. ___ BOULDER, COLORADO: MARCH 22, 2021. 10 DEAD. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa bought a Ruger AR-556 pistol, a semi-automatic weapon with a capacity of up to 30 rounds, six days before the shooting at King Soopers grocery store, police said. Alissa was prone to sudden rage and was convicted of misdemeanor assault and sentenced to probation for attacking a high school classmate. Colorado has a universal background check law covering almost all gun sales, but that misdemeanor would not have prevented him from buying a weapon, experts said. Had it been a felony, federal law would've barred his purchase. A judge ruled Alissa is mentally incompetent to stand trial. ___ EL PASO, TEXAS: AUG. 3, 2019. 23 DEAD. Patrick Crusius bought an AK-47-style rifle and 1,000 rounds of hollow-point ammunition online 45 days before he walked into a Walmart store and opened fire, killing 23 people and injuring two dozen others, before confessing that he had been targeting Mexicans, according to prosecutors. A Crusius family lawyer said his mother raised concerns about the purchase in a call to police on June 27. Police said she asked if Crusius, then 21, was old enough to buy a gun. Police said she was assured he was, if he passed a background check, and she'd seen no recent change in his behavior. He's charged with capital murder in Texas and federal hate crimes and firearms offenses. ___ VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA: MAY 31, 2019. 12 DEAD. Former Virginia Beach city employee DeWayne Craddock legally purchased six firearms in the three years before he opened fire on a municipal building, including the two .45-caliber pistols used in the attack. A review of the shooting commissioned by the city found that Craddock displayed no warning signs or prohibited behaviors associated with a pathway to violence, and had no known history of mental health treatment. Craddock was killed by police. ___ THOUSAND OAKS, CALIFORNIA: NOV. 7, 2018. 12 DEAD. Ian David Long, a former Marine machine gunner who served in Afghanistan, used a legally purchased .45-caliber pistol with an extended magazine in the shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill. Months before the shooting, sheriffs deputies called to Longs home found him acting irrationally, but a mental health specialist didnt feel he needed to be involuntarily committed. California has a red flag law, but theres no indication authorities sought a court order to take away Long's guns. Long killed himself. ___ PITTSBURGH: OCT. 27, 2018. 11 DEAD. Robert Gregory Bowers had a carry license and legally owned the Colt AR-15 SP1 and three Glock .357 handguns police said he used to kill worshipers at Tree of Life synagogue. Bowers spent months posting rants against Jews on Gab, a social media site favored by right-wing extremists. He also posted photos of his "glock family. Just before the attack, he posted a screed against a Jewish organization, saying Screw your optics, Im going in. None of the rhetoric appeared to raise red flags. His case is pending. ___ SANTA FE, TEXAS: MAY. 18, 2018. 10 DEAD. Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a 17-year-old student, used a shotgun and a .38-caliber handgun that his father purchased legally and stored in a closet at their home, authorities said. Prior to the attack, Pagourtzis posted a photo on social media of a T-shirt with the phrase Born to Kill and had writings indicating he planned to attack his high school. A judge sent him to a mental health facility after ruling he was incompetent to stand trial. ___ PARKLAND, FLORIDA: FEB. 14, 2018. 17 DEAD. Nikolas Cruz legally purchased a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle in February 2017 from a licensed dealer a few miles from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, authorities said. Hed been treated at a mental health clinic but hadnt been there in more than a year. Federal law prohibits gun purchases if a court declares a person a mental defective or commits that person to an institution, but not if the person seeks treatment voluntarily. Cruz was 19 at the time of the shooting. He pleaded guilty in October. A four-month penalty trial scheduled to begin this summer will determine if he is sentenced to death or life without parole. ___ SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, TEXAS: NOV. 5, 2017. 25 DEAD. Devin Patrick Kelleys history of domestic abuse barred him from buying guns. He was able to because information about his crimes was never entered into a federal database used for background checks. The Air Force failed to follow rules requiring that it inform the FBI about his conduct. Kelley purchased four guns, including an AR-15-style rifle found at First Baptist Church, from licensed Texas and Colorado dealers over a four-year span. Kelley killed himself. ___ LAS VEGAS: OCT. 1, 2017. 58 DEAD. Stephen Paddock purchased 33 of the 49 weapons found in his hotel room and at his homes in the year before he opened fire on a country music festival. Paddock passed all background checks. His gradual accumulation of guns went undetected because federal law doesn't require licensed gun dealers to alert the government about rifle purchases. Paddock killed himself. ___ ORLANDO, FLORIDA: JUNE 12, 2016. 49 DEAD. Omar Mateen purchased an AR-15-style rifle, a Sig Sauer MCX, and a handgun from a licensed dealer on separate days about a week before the Pulse nightclub attack. He passed a background check and had a security license that allowed him to be armed while on duty. The FBI investigated Mateen in 2013 and 2014 over co-workers concerns that hed spoken about ties to terrorist groups. Neither inquiry led to charges. Even if he'd been placed on a terrorism watch list, Congress in 2015 rejected attempts to prevent people on the list from purchasing guns. Mateen was killed by police. ___ SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA: DEC. 2, 2015. 14 DEAD. Syed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, used weapons the FBI said his neighbor, Enrique Marquez, legally purchased from a licensed dealer in 2011 and 2012. Marquez pleaded guilty to charges he conspired to provide support to terrorists and made false statements to acquire a firearm. He told investigators Farook asked him to buy the weapons because he would draw less attention. Farook and Malik were killed by police. ___ ROSEBURG, OREGON: OCT. 1, 2015. 10 DEAD. Christopher Harper-Mercer and his family members legally purchased the handguns and rifle used in the Umpqua Community College shooting from a licensed dealer. Investigators found six guns at the college and eight at an apartment. Neighbors said Harper-Mercer and his mother went target shooting together. Harper-Mercer killed himself after he was wounded by police. ___ WASHINGTON: SEPT. 16, 2013. 12 DEAD. Aaron Alexis, a former reservist turned civilian contractor, passed background checks and legally purchased the shotgun used in the Washington Navy Yard shooting despite recent mental health treatment and a history of violent outbursts. He previously fired a gun in anger twice but wasnt prosecuted in either case. Alexis was killed by police. ___ NEWTOWN, CONNECTICUT: DEC. 14, 2012. 26 DEAD. Adam Lanza used his mothers weapons, including a .223-caliber semi-automatic rifle, in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Lanzas mother, whom he fatally shot before going to the school, also purchased the ammunition. Lanza killed himself. ___ AURORA, COLORADO: JULY 20, 2012. 12 DEAD. James Holmes was receiving psychiatric treatment when he passed required federal background checks and legally purchased the weapons he used in his movie theater assault. As in the Parkland and Navy Yard cases, treatment alone did not prevent him from buying guns. He was convicted and sentenced to 12 life terms and thousands of years in prison. Uvalde police officers, Texas state troopers and members of the U.S. Border Patrols elite BORTAC squad all responded to the massacre at Robb Elementary a week ago. All were apparently brought to a standstill under the command of Uvalde CISD Police Chief Pete Arredondo, who officials say believed the shooter was no longer a risk to people in the school. But why was the school police chief, who oversaw, by far, the smallest law-enforcement agency that responded, in charge of the situation response in the first place? When it comes to whos in charge, a departments size doesnt matter. In mass casualty events in which multiple agencies respond, the highest ranking officer from the agency that has jurisdiction over an emergency usually assumes control. People watch too much TV. They think whenever the FBI walks in, they take over, said Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset, whose department responded to the Santa Fe massacre four years ago. You have the jurisdiction. Because the shooting occurred on school property, Arrendondo the top officer at the schools small police department would have been in charge of coordinating the response, handling communications and making decisions about how to stop the shooter. Law enforcements nearly hour-long delay in entering the joined fourth-grade classrooms and confronting the 18-year-old shooter who murdered 19 children and two teachers has been widely criticized. The days following the disaster have only added to the confusion, with reports that Border Patrol agents who arrived at the scene challenged the decision to wait; ultimately they entered the classroom and shot the gunman, killing him. Most of the updates about the case, meanwhile, have come from the Department of Public Safety. Last week, for example, DPS Commander Steven McCraw explained that officers waited for more heavily armed reinforcements from the BORTAC squad before they finally confronted the gunman. The delay was based on the erroneous assumption that the situation had turned from an active shooting to a barricaded suspect. On ExpressNews.com: Interactive timeline of Uvalde massacre Public safety agencies across the United States use the National Incident Command System to respond to emergencies, said Harris County Fire Marshal Laurie Christensen. The federal government created the system after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, when police, fire, and EMS agencies struggled to work together to respond to the disaster. The goal, she said, was to create a nationwide systematic approach, a national standard a set of principles meant for all threats, hazards and events. It was scaleable, flexible, and adaptable, she said, meaning police or fire departments could use it for everything from a car fire on a city street to a mass casualty event such as a mass shooting. In particularly challenging situations, its not uncommon for agencies to create a unified command, in which authority over the incident is shared by leaders of multiple agencies. There is protocol for a transfer of command from the local commander to someone on scene with more experience or resources who was better equipped to handle the situation, law enforcement officials said. During the 2017 Santa Fe massacre, officers from the small Santa Fe ISD Police Department found themselves under fire. The gunman shot former officer John Barnes in the elbow, causing hemorrhaging that nearly killed him. Former Assistant Chief Gary Forward recalled feverishly working to staunch Barnes bleeding. Then-Chief Walter Braun oversaw the operation initially, he recalled, but soon, it really became a joint thing, with the chief and the FBI, the Galveston County Sheriffs office, and DPS it was a joint operation to manage the whole scene. After the thing started to mushroom, and the kid (accused in the shooting) was taken into custody, that whole incident command structure broadened exponentially, he continued. Arredondo apparently chose to maintain command as the minutes ticked by and pressure mounted. He was incident commander in charge, said Charles McClelland, former Houston police chief. It doesnt mean it was wrong he was in charge he just made a bad decision. It wouldnt be unusual for a school district police force to retain command and request additional resources, experts said. The local officers would live close by, would know the area. UCISD On the other hand, the local chief doesnt have to retain command. He or she can turn it over to another agency with more expertise or create a unified command, with agencies coordinating with each other directly. Arredondo could have given control to the Uvalde Police Department the school lay in their jurisdiction. Or he could have turned it over to DPS, which has law enforcement authority across the entire state. Or even to BORTAC operators, who are the Border Patrols most highly trained agents. On ExpressNews.com: Uvalde schools police chief had extensive active-shooter training The key, experts explained, is that the best qualified person should be in command. That might not be the highest ranking person. It could be a deputy chief who has expertise needed for the incident. One thing interesting about incident command one thing thats taught, understood, is that youre very likely to have your boss reporting to you, one former emergency operations manager told the Chronicle. Some who have been involved in such incidents said it was thus surprising that the school chief didnt pass the command to people with more expertise and training. McClelland said that while it made sense for the local school chief to be commander initially his people were first on scene, it was on the school campus he said that in complex and rapidly evolving scenes it sometimes makes sense for a commander with more experience to assume command. He recalled a shooting on the campus of Texas Southern University in 2015. His officers told him TSU officials said they were capable of handling it, a claim he shot down. His officers would handle the investigation, he said. It was a murder, at a location well within his jurisdiction. And he believed his officers were better equipped to handle it. st.john.smith@houstonchronicle.com A Texas artist wants the victims of last week's Uvalde school shooting to be laid to rest by highlighting their uniqueness and individuality through customized caskets. Trey Ganem, the 50-year-old owner of the custom casket company SoulShine Industries, offered to create personalized caskets for each of the victims killed at Robb Elementary School. The Edna, Texas, artist designs custom caskets and has designed caskets for victims of previous mass shootings like the Sutherland Springs church shooting and the 2017 shooting in Las Vegas, according to NewsNation. On ExpressNews.com: Gov. Abbott calls for legislative committees to review school safety after Uvalde mass shooting If the family doesn't have a specific request, Ganem spends time with the families, listening to their stories and memories of their loved ones so that he can design a unique casket for the victim. He has told the media that the emotional assignment has taken a toll on him physically and mentally. Were creating the last thing that the parents can ever do for their child. And were making it with passion and purpose. We put all of our heart and soul into this thing, Ganem said to NewsNation. A casket for 10-year-old Eliahna Torres represented her love for TikTok, slime videos and llamas. "She would tell me that she needed glue for school because she had a big ole project to do, and the glue would be to make slime," her mother Sandra Torres told Buzzfeed. "She drove us crazy with the TikTok." Ganem, whose designs can cost up to $3,800 per casket, created the caskets for free. In just three days and with the help of others, he prepared caskets for 18 of the 19 children and one of the teachers killed, according to media reports. Because child-sized caskets aren't stocked in bulk, a manufacturer in Georgia stepped in to build 19 caskets in 20 hours to make sure they were shipped on time, media reports said. Then, Ganem's close friend Bubba Hoffman hired a Texas trucking company, which made the 26-hour round trip to get the caskets back to the Edna workshop, according to Buzzfeed. Once in Texas, Ganem and his 25-year-old son Billy immediately started working on the caskets. Volunteers from all over Texas, some from as far as Corpus Christi, came to help paint, sand and apply vinyl to the caskets, media reports said. Were here to try to make a hard time a little easier, Ganem told BuzzFeed News. Theres nothing we can really ever do to make it easier, but thats our goal: to help the families ... start their grieving and their healing and just try to make something special for them. taylor.pettaway@express-news.net The release last week of a secret list of more than 700 church leaders and volunteers accused of sexual abuse was a groundbreaking moment in the history of the Southern Baptist Convention. It just made David Pittman mad as hell. Leaders were documenting abuse all along while lying to us, he said. Pittman, 52 and now living in south Florida, spent years tracking Franklin Wiley, the minister he says abused him at a Georgia church decades ago. Pittman spent much of his early adulthood using drugs and alcohol to drown out the trauma, and by the time he and others came forward, it was too late to press criminal charges. Multiple pastors have since said Wiley confessed to misconduct to them, including his current pastor. Pittmans repeated warnings were largely ignored. Wiley was not included on the list made public last week, which Pittman said shows the shortcomings of relying on news reports about arrests to track credibly-accused predators while ignoring complaints from survivors. Related: Georgia minister dismissed over abuse, but victim sees SBC backtracking Survivors and advocates had for years recommended a database of accused ministers to help churches vet applicants and weed out offenders in the SBC, a collective of 47,000 self-governing churches that has no uniform ordination standards or central records to track ministers. That system has made the SBC a prime target for predators, activists warned for years. Its a perfect profession for a con artist, because all he has to do is talk a good talk and convince people that hes been called by God, and bingo, he gets to be a Southern Baptist minister, Christa Brown, a longtime activist, once said. Then he can infiltrate the entirety of the SBC, move from church to church, from state to state, go to bigger churches and more prominent churches where he has more influence and power, and it all starts in some small church. More: Bombshell 400-page report finds Southern Baptist leaders routinely silenced sexual abuse survivors Brown was one of the most vocal advocates for such a database. A trained lawyer, she and others repeatedly spelled out how the idea could help deter predators without sacrificing the local church autonomy that leaders said for decades prevented them from forcing churches to do almost anything. It turns out a handful of insiders had kept such a list that, since 2007, had grown to more than 700 names, most of them confirmed as Southern Baptist-affiliated. It was released last week amid fallout from a report by Guidepost Solutions, a third-party firm that was hired by the SBC to investigate its top leadership body last year. ABUSE OF FAITH: Offend, then repeat: Southern Baptist churches hired dozens of leaders accused of sex offenses Its really typical for entities to keep a secret list, said Rachael Denhollander, a prominent attorney and survivor who was the first person to publicly accuse ex-USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. The Catholic Church had one. Michigan State University had multiple reports against Larry (Nassar). Included on the list was Tommy Gilmore, the man Brown has for years said abused her as a child before moving from Texas to a new church in Orlando, Fla. Gilmore was among the at least 75 accused sexual abusers on the list who had worked or volunteered at Southern Baptist churches in Texas, an SBC stronghold. Thats more than twice as many as the next highest state Florida. A dozen individuals were accused of sexual abuse in multiple states, including in Texas. Ambiguous method Compiled at the behest of former SBC general counsel August Augie Boto, the list relies heavily on news articles about criminal convictions. It includes roughly 260 cases published in an online database by the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News as part of Abuse of Faith, a 2019 investigation into the SBCs mishandling of sexual abuse complaints. The Guidepost report notes that abuse survivors were also contacting Boto and other SBC officials over the years to raise concerns about incidents at Southern Baptist churches that hadnt reached the court system. In response to the report, SBC leaders quickly moved forward to publish the 203-page list, though with some redactions of sensitive information. Leaders also said they hope to strip retirement benefits from Boto as a result of the reports findings. From 2019: 20 years, 700 victims: Southern Baptist abuse spreads as leaders resist reforms We need to be very mindful that the world is watching, SBC president Ed Litton said last week during a discussion on the report, including a debate about how to best release Botos list. They dont need to see business as usual. One lawyer who has sued the SBC wondered how many complaints from survivors made it on the list, or whether links to news stories were later added to make it appear as if the SBC learned about some cases through the media not through earlier warnings from the public. I could go on the internet right now and make a database of everyone whos ever been convicted of a crime related to the Southern Baptist Convention based on news reports, but thats not what the Guidepost report is about, said Kevin Biniazan, a lawyer who filed a lawsuit on behalf of numerous boys who say they were molested or raped by youth minister Jeffrey Dale Clark at a Southern Baptist church in Virginia. Read more: We made a database of hundreds of accused SBC church leaders and volunteers. The Guidepost report is about complaints that were made directly to the executive committee that they didnt share with anyone, Biniazan said. Biniazan noticed that Clarks name and his conviction was on the list of accused abusers, but theres no indication when details about that case was added to the SBCs list or how it was revised. How long had SBC officials known that Clark and others were abusing children? Its completely ambiguous, Biniazan said. They want all of us to believe that the only time that they knew about (a case) was after their conviction. But Im willing to bet that some of those people they knew about beforehand. Many of those who contacted the SBC did so because they said they were too traumatized to come to terms with their abuses until the statute of limitations, their window for filing criminal charges, had passed. That includes Pittman, who raised concerns for years, both to SBC leaders and to churches where Wiley ministered throughout Georgia, Guidepost found. Read more: She spent decades warning Southern Baptists about abuse. This week's revelations brought no joy. In the wake of the 2019 Abuse of Faith investigation, Wileys current employer, Trinity Baptist Church in Ashburn, Georgia, was among 10 churches that then-SBC President J.D. Greear said should face scrutiny for their alleged mishandling of abuses. Behind the scenes, Boto apologized to Trinitys pastor Rodney Brown, Brown said at the time. Not long after, Brown said that Wiley had confessed to misconduct years earlier, but said he was repentant. Wiley resigned, but had returned to the church as recently as this year, according to news reports. The church has also since changed its name. Last year, another one of Wiley's former churches conducted its own review and found 10 victims. Pittman said he cant help but wonder how many names on the SBCs internal list have victims that will never be known about, or who could have been spared had the SBC acted on survivors requests more than a decade ago. How many other boys and girls were harmed by the ones on this list and others well never know of because of (leaders) efforts to block advocacy? he wondered. It is vile. It is evil. It is anything but Christian. robert.downen@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Southern Baptist leaders released a confidential list of hundreds of accused sexual abusers Thursday evening that tracked names, dates and details about a burgeoning abuse crisis but was kept secret for more than a decade. Dating to 2007, the list includes many individuals that overlap with a database of 263 convicted Southern Baptist abusers that was published in 2019 as part of Abuse of Faith, an investigation by the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News that revealed how the faith group failed to protect church members. Among the offenders: Charles Adcock, who was charged in 2015 with 29 counts of rape and sodomy involving a 14-year-old girl he met at the SBC-affiliated Woodward Avenue Baptist Church in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Adcock moved to Texas after the criminal charges were filed and volunteered at First Baptist Church in Bedford. A pastor was aware of the charges, but the secret SBC list with Adcocks case and other offenders wasnt available to the rest of the congregation in Bedford despite calls from survivor advocates for the SBC to publish a database of sexual abusers to help churches vet employees and volunteers. Without admitting any guilt, Adcock pleaded to a single charge of second-degree sodomy in January 2016, served 15 months in jail and was required to register as a sex offender. Commissioned by the Southern Baptist Conventions former general counsel, August Augie Boto, the list of offenders was withheld from the public and even many top church leaders until a groundbreaking investigation published Sunday revealed its existence and shocked members of the nations largest coalition of Baptist churches. The path that led us to this moment was ugly, said Gene Besen, a lawyer who represents the SBCs 86-member executive committee, the faith groups highest governing body. Most of the committees members were unaware the list even existed. A blistering, 400-page report by Guidepost Solutions found that Boto, who resigned in 2019, asked an SBC employee to compile a list of accused Baptist offenders that ultimately reached more than 700 names since 2007, with 409 of them believed to be affiliated with Southern Baptist churches. Guidepost investigators found that nine of the suspected abusers were still in ministry, with two of them at SBC churches. Most of the cases in the list offer details about accused sexual abusers who were arrested or convicted of crimes. Since most sexual abuse cases go unreported to police and never reach the court system, experts say the true number of cases in the SBCs network of 47,000 churches is likely far higher. Roger Sing Oldham, a former vice president for SBC relations, said he supplied some of the material for Botos list, but insisted he had no idea what it was used for or that it even existed. I dont know if it was ever used, Oldham told the Houston Chronicle in an interview this week. If it was used, I dont know what it was used for. Oldham said he had set up a Google Alert to find new webpages that included the terms Baptist and arrested. Over the years, Google automatically emailed Oldham links to news stories about cases of sexual abuse, which he forwarded to Boto to keep him informed. The Guidepost investigation found there is no indication that Dr. Oldham, Mr. Boto, or anyone else, took any action to ensure that the accused ministers were no longer in positions of power at SBC churches. Oldham said he never checked the status of the ministers because the news articles made it clear that law enforcement officials had intervened and the accused abuser had resigned or been fired. The 409 Southern Baptist abuse cases in Botos list exceeds a tally of 263 convicted offenders documented in Abuse of Faith, which examined cases from a longer, 20-year time frame beginning in 1998. The newspapers database of offenders was posted online as a resource for the public and had a narrower focus than Botos list: confirmed cases that resulted in criminal convictions. The newspapers also found scores of additional pastors, employees and volunteers at Southern Baptist churches whose cases hadnt yet been adjudicated. China deplores US senator's visit to Taiwan (People's Daily App) 10:26, June 01, 2022 China deplores US recent contacts with Taiwan and has lodged solemn representations with the US, China said on Tuesday. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a routine press briefing in Beijing in response to US Senator Tammy Duckworth's visit to Taiwan. The congresswoman's visit to Taiwan "seriously violates the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-US joint communiques," Zhao said. "Taiwan is a province of China, what president does it have to speak of?" China urged "relevant US politicians to earnestly abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques," Zhao said, "and immediately stop official exchanges with Taiwan in any form and refrain from sending any wrong signals to the Taiwan independence separatist forces." (Subtitles by Zhang Jian; Story compiled by Meng Gaohan) (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) The Southern Baptist Convention released a list of hundreds of ministers, pastors and church-affiliated employees who were accused of sexual abuse. Included are the names of six ministers, pastors and employees who worked in Southern Baptist churches or institutions throughout the San Antonio area and South Texas. The full list, which SBC released last week, comprises more than 700 entries from cases nationwide that span from 2000 to 2019. That release came days after a report from an independent investigation firm found that for at least 20 years, SBC leaders ignored calls for policies to stop sexual predators, silenced and disparaged sexual abuse survivors and dismissed reforms that they said could protect children but might cost the SBC money if abuse victims later sued. The investigative report also found SBC leaders kept a private list of abusive pastors and ministers that had been compiled since 2007. That list contained the names of 703 sex offenders, most with an SBC connection. A few of these offenders still work at churches in the SBC or other denominations. The following are the names of the six church-affiliated ministers, pastors and employees accused of sexual abuse with area connections: Bradley Wayne Dixon was a dormitory director at San Marcos Baptist Academy, a private coeducational boarding school for students in grades six through 12 outside San Marcos. In 2001, Dixon was convicted by a jury of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, four counts of indecency with a child by contact, one count of sexual performance by a child and two counts of assault. Court records show his offenses involved three male victims. He was sentenced to 75 years for his crimes and additional time for other charges. Tonja Stovall Fischer was a teacher in Nueces County who was convicted for the sexual assault of a 16-year-old male student in 2002. She was given a 10-year probation and community supervision. She is registered as a sex offender living in San Antonio, according to the Texas Public Sex Offender Registry. Steven Livingston was a youth minister at First Baptist Church in Sinton, Texas. He was convicted in 2008 of sexual assault of a child and four counts of indecent behavior with a child and was given a maximum sentence of 37 years. John McKay Jr. was a pastor at both First Baptist Church in Hondo and Highland Hills Baptist Church in San Antonio. In 2006, he was convicted in the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. McKay was a registered sex offender in Texas until he died in 2018. Santiago Jimmy Morales Jr. was a student activities/recreation and dormitory residential assistant at San Marcos Baptist Academy. He pleaded guilty on a charge of an improper relationship between an educator and child. As part of the plea, Morales was given deferred adjudication and 10 years of community supervision, which ended in 2018. Erbey Valdez was a pastor at New Spirit Baptist Church in San Antonio. He was arrested in 2009 on a charge of improper relationship between an educator and student when he was a middle school principal, with a second charge of sexual performance by a child added by a grand jury in 2010, according to media reports. He pleaded guilty to both charges and was sentenced to 10 years probation for each count, which was to be served concurrently. Valdez is registered as a sex offender, according to the Texas Public Sex Offender Registry. DDeKunder@express-news.net Uvaldes school district police chief, under fire for his handling of last weeks school shooting in which 19 children and two teachers died, was sworn in as a Uvalde city councilman on Tuesday. Pedro Pete Arredondo, police chief for Uvaldes Consolidated Independent School District, was elected to councils District 3 seat on May 7, more than two weeks before the massacre at Robb Elementary School. The swearing in had been on hold, but according to a Tuesday night news release, new council members were sworn in per the city charter. "Out of respect for the families who buried their children today, and who are planning to bury their children in the next few days, no ceremony was held," Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin Jr. said in a statement. The special council meeting was scheduled for 6 p.m. at City Hall. The only agenda item was the swearing in of Arredondo and two other newly elected council members. Earlier Monday, McLaughlin said in a statement the meeting will not take place as scheduled. Our focus on Tuesday is on our families who lost loved ones, he said. We begin burying our children tomorrow, the innocent victims of last weeks murders at Robb Elementary School. The mayor went on to say that since Arredondo was duly elected, nothing in the city charter, state election code or Texas Constitution would prevent him from taking his seat on the council. McLaughlin added that he was not aware of any investigation of Arredondo. As police chief for Uvalde CISD, Arredondo, 50, was the on-scene incident commander at Robb Elementary last Tuesday after 18-year-old Salvador Ramos entered the school, locked himself in two adjoining classrooms filled with students and two teachers, and sprayed the rooms with gunfire from an assault-style rifle. Police officers, sheriffs deputies and other law enforcement officers gathered in a hallway inside the school and on the grounds outside, but Arredondo ordered them to stand by and not try to breach the classroom. More than an hour passed before members of a Border Patrol special tactical unit went into the classroom and shot Ramos dead. By then, Ramos had killed 19 children and two teachers. At a news briefing Friday, Col. Steven C. McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Arredondo had determined that he was dealing with a barricaded subject who did not pose a threat to the children and teachers. He said Arredondo wanted to await the arrival of Border Patrol officers with bulletproof shields and other specialized equipment. McCraw was unsparing in his assessment of Arredondos judgment: It was the wrong decision, period, he said, adding: Theres no excuse for that. From what we know, we believe there should have been an entry as soon as you can. McCraw said that when lives are at risk in an active-shooter situation, every officer lines up, stacks up, goes and finds where those rounds are being fired and keeps shooting until the subject is dead. Period. Arredondo was not at the briefing and has made no public comment on the tragedy. Before becoming police chief at Uvalde CISD in early 2020, he was a police captain with Laredos United Independent School District for three years. Arredondo is a native of Uvalde and graduated from Uvalde High School in 1990. Staff Writer Guillermo Contreras contributed to this report. Uvalde school district police chief Pedro Pete Arredondo, under intense scrutiny for his handling of the police response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School, said Wednesday he is cooperating with state officials investigating the massacre. Weve been on the phone with them everyday, Arredondo told CNN, referring to the Texas Department of Public Safety. He declined to answer further questions, saying he wanted to respect the families of those killed. On ExpressNews.com: Lawyer says Uvalde teacher did not leave schoolhouse door open Were not going to release anything, he said. We have people in our community that are being buried. Were going to be respectful to the families. Arredondo was pushing back against news reports suggesting he was not cooperating with the investigation, which is being led by the Texas Rangers. On Tuesday, ABC News reported that members of the Uvalde Police Department and the separate, six-member school police force were refusing to cooperate with state officials. On Tuesday night, DPS said that Uvalde police and school officers in fact were cooperating and that Arredondo had been interviewed but that Arredondo had not responded to requests for a followup interview. Uvalde PD and Uvalde CISD are still cooperating; however, the Chief of Police for CISD has yet to respond to the Rangers request for a follow up interview that was made a couple of days ago, a DPS spokesperson said. Arredondo, 50, was the incident commander at Robb Elementary on the day of the shooting. He has been under fire since DPS director Steven McCraw, at a nationally televised news briefing Friday, said Arredondo had waited more than an hour to send officers into the classroom to confront the gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos. On ExpressNews.com: Interactive timeline of Uvalde massacre McCraw said Arredondo decided that the crisis had shifted from an active shooter situation to a barricaded subject situation, that children and teachers were no longer at risk, and that there was time to await the arrival of more officers with specialized equipment. Of course, it was not the right decision, McCraw said. It was the wrong decision. Period. Theres no excuse for that. ... From what we know, we believe there should have been an entry as soon as you can. By the time members of a Border Patrol tactical unit stormed the classroom, Ramos had killed 19 children and two teachers. A Border Patrol officer shot and killed Ramos. Arredondo was born in Uvalde and graduated from Uvalde High School. He spent 16 years with the Uvalde Police Department, serving as a 911 dispatcher, a patrolman and a detective, among other roles. Later, he worked for the Webb County Sheriffs Office and as a police captain at Laredos United Independent School District. He returned to Uvalde in 2020 to lead the school district police there. On ExpressNews.com: Transcript of Texas law enforcement leaders briefing on Uvalde school massacre In early May, he was elected to the Uvalde City Council. A special council meeting had been scheduled for Tuesday, at which he and other council members were to be sworn in. The day before, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin Jr. canceled the meeting, apparently out of concern that Arredondos appearance could create a furor. Last night, McLaughlin disclosed that the swearing-in had been held in private. Staff Writer Jeremy Wallace contributed to this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate UVALDE People packed the sanctuary of Sacred Heart Catholic Church for the funeral Wednesday of Irma Linda Garcia, a beloved teacher killed in the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School, and her husband, Jose Antonio Joe Garcia, who died two days later of an apparent heart attack. Many emerged from the church wiping away tears and embracing one another for comfort. An outdoor shrine a few hundred feet away, with photos of all 21 victims, continued to accumulate flowers, toys and stuffed animals. The funeral services will continue for at least two more weeks as Uvalde remains possibly the saddest place on earth, a town shaken by a tragedy that still has many unanswered questions. The oldest of the Garcias four children, Marine Pfc. Christian Garcia, is attached to the 4th Reconnaissance Battalion in San Antonio, and some in attendance Wednesday were Marines in dress uniform. On ExpressNews.com: Uvalde funeral services, GoFundMe pages: how to support the families Also paying their respects were U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales. Gonzales said he was there to represent the Bexar County community and that he was deeply moved by Irma and Joe Garcias legacy of love. It was something Irma Garcia extended to her students, and the fact that her husband died of a broken heart speaks to the kind of devotion and the love that he had for his wife, Gonzales said. I thought about my wife and my daughter throughout the entire ceremony, how I would deal with this tragedy. It did hit home. My heart goes out to them, Gonzales said. This is something that will be with this family and this community for many years to come. As mourners left the funeral Mass, some were still in prayer. Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, who officiated, embraced several, his head bowed. The suffering increases in Uvalde. Garcia-Siller said in a tweet shortly after. Prayers & affection to the families of our little ones and teachers, the Garcias family, the loss of (their) parents, principal and teachers in a very dark moment. Our first responders in pain. This little City needs healing. Let us pray for peace! It was a scene repeated at Sacred Heart later in the afternoon, with a Mass for Jose Manuel Flores Jr., 10, who left behind two sisters and three brothers. As with other victims, online prayers arrived from all over the country on a funeral homes tribute page, including one from a woman in San Francisco who said she was wearing dark blue because she had read that it was his favorite color. Many of the mourners wore white shirts and blue jeans. One paused as he left to say his heart was full of grief, and that he had a lot of sympathy for the family. Others, including parents and their children, departed in silence. There will be a point after the mourning and the 17 funerals yet to come when the public needs to talk about how we can do better, but not just talk but to act, Gonzales said. To work on solutions to reduce the proliferation of assault weapons. Cardona wasnt waiting. He had arrived in Uvalde on Tuesday, as the town began to bury its 21 victims amid a national outpouring of grief and outrage that was still unabated. He spoke of an aching heart in a statement that offered federal support to families and school employees and expressed anger at the lack of will by many to pass legislation that can protect our children. How many more lives must be lost before we realize that we, the people, and those we elect, have the power and the opportunity to ensure this never happens again? he asked. We must unite as a country against this senseless cycle of violence, act immediately to protect our children, and make sure that every child and every educator feels safe in our schools. I spent the formative part of my career in a Connecticut elementary school, he said. I will never forget the ripple effect of fear and heartbreak that spread among students and teachers in the aftermath of the horrific Sandy Hook shooting. Irma Garcia, 48, was a teacher for nearly 23 years and married to her husband for 24 years. Her body was found embracing children in the class, trying to protect them during the midday massacre. A family member said Joe Garcia had left flowers at a memorial two days after the shooting, and fell unconscious a few minutes after coming home. Relatives were unable to revive him. Visitation services also were scheduled Wednesday for Jailah Nicole Silguero, 11, who didnt want to go to school the day he was killed and seemed to sense something bad would happen and for Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, Silgueros 10-year-old cousin who often would bring friends over to play at his home a block from the school. And for Eliahna Elijah Cruz Torres, 10, who was looking forward to the joys of playing softball and excelling in her sport. shuddleston@express-news.net jbeltran@express-news.net I find that the gun safety debate lacks candor. People believe it is savier to tell only part of the truth, to soft-pedal the sell in an effort to get something anything done. But lying will always lead to a trap. Let me explain: The truth that no one wants to tell the one that opponents of gun safety laws understand and the reason so many resist new laws is that no one law or single package of laws will be enough to solve Americas gun violence problem. The solution will have to be a nonstop parade of laws, with new ones passed as they are deemed necessary, ad infinitum. In the same way that Republicans have been promoting gun proliferation and loosening gun laws for decades, gun safety advocates will have to do the opposite, also for decades. Individual laws, like federal universal background checks and bans on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, will most likely make a dent, but they cannot end gun violence. Invariably, more mass shootings will occur that none of those laws would have prevented. Opponents of gun safety will inevitably use those shootings to argue that the liberal efforts to prevent gun violence were ineffective: They told us that all we needed to do was to pass these laws and the massacres would stop. They havent. That said, I understand the by-any-means-necessary approach that gun safety advocates are taking. They would do anything to make progress on this issue, to save even one life, one group of shoppers in a grocery store, one classroom full of children. I share their exasperation. This past week I found myself thinking that I was happy my children are no longer of school age. The idea that a parent would have to worry about their children being shot down at school is unimaginable and unconscionable. The fact that children now have active shooter drills and bulletproof backpacks is obscene. I know the numbing feeling of seeing no progress as the slaughter spreads. It can breed in us a perpetual despair and desperation. But I chose to view this issue soberly, with clear eyes, understanding the hurdle to getting anything done but also not lying to myself about just how much would need to be done for more Americans to feel truly safe. I understand Republicans are the opposition, that they have come to accept staggering levels of death as the price they must pay to advance their political agenda on everything from COVID-19 to guns. But I am on the same page as they are on one point. They see the passage of gun safety laws as a slippery slope that could lead to more sweeping laws and even, one day, national gun registries, insurance requirements and bans. I see the same, and I actively hope for it. When I hear Democratic politicians contorting their statements so it sounds like theyre promoting gun ownership while also promoting gun safety, Im not only mystified, Im miffed. Why cant everyone just be upfront? We have too many guns. We need to get some of them out of circulation. That may include gun buybacks, but it must include no longer selling weapons of war to civilians. I grew up in a gun culture. If there was a family in my hometown that didnt have guns, I didnt know them. One of the required projects in shop class was the making of a gun rack. My home was filled with guns, and at one point we even had a gun case with a carousel for the long guns in the living room. Almost no one in my town needed those guns. We werent active hunters. Crime wasnt raging. We were probably safer without them than with them. Furthermore, people rarely, if ever, practiced shooting. Some guns were owned without ever being fired. Gun culture is a canard and a corruption. It makes people fearful and convinces them that guns provide security. More guns equate to even more security. But in fact, the escalation of gun ownership makes society less safe. In our gun culture, 99 percent of gun owners can be responsible and law-abiding, but if even 1 percent of a society with more guns than people is not, it is enough to wreak absolute havoc. When guns are easy for good people to get, they are also easy for bad people to get. We have to stop all the lies. We have to stop the lie that fewer gun restrictions make us safer. And we have to stop the lie that gun safety can be accomplished by one law or a few of them rather than an evolving slate of them. To be Latino is to be left out. For generations, Latinos have been elbowed out of politics, media, academia, entertainment and the financial industry. White people keep the best jobs for themselves. Yet Latinos still over-index when it comes to tragedy. Just recently, Latinos got top billing in just about every aspect of the ghastly massacre in Uvalde. Thats where 19 children second, third and fourth graders at Robb Elementary School were cut to ribbons by a military-style rifle that, while fine for Navy SEALs, should not be sold to civilians. The 18-year-old gunman who was not old enough to gamble in a casino, enter a bar or even rent a car was able to purchase two military-style, high-impact AR-15 assault rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Since Uvalde, all 16,000 people of it, is a Mexican American enclave, its no surprise that this subset of Latinos was front and center in this traumatic event. The citys chief of police and the county sheriff are both Mexican American. Almost all of the 19 children who died at Robb Elementary School were Mexican American, and so were teachers Eva Mireles and Irma Garcia, who died heroes trying to shield their students from harm. Mexican Americans are all over this miserable, God-forsaken incident. In Spanish, we have a word: desmadre. Loosely translated, its a chaotic mess, a motherless disaster. What happened in Uvalde was a desmadre. Even so, those who might go looking for a racial dimension dont have to look very hard. The two most reviled people in Uvalde are Mexican American: the deceased assailant, Salvador Ramos, and the chief of police of the Uvalde Unified School District, Peter Arredondo, who seems like a good candidate for the Federal Witness Protection Program. Arredondo, who is reportedly getting death threats, has been hung out to dry by Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. The same officials who rushed to get in front of television cameras when it looked like the cops had performed effectively are now slithering away from what is a cataclysmic failure. In an op-ed for the Washington Post, Neil Meyer, a retired lawyer who was born and raised in Uvalde, wrote: I wasnt surprised to see the Republican panel of politicians at a news conference the day after the shooting, almost all White and in top positions of power in the community and the state, taking the lead. In Uvalde, the custodians of order the chief of police, the sheriff, the head of the school district police are Hispanic, but here they were largely silent. Unsurprisingly, they now bear the primary blame for the disastrous response at the school. According to McCraw, Arredondo was the incident commander who decided that officers ought not breach the classroom even though Ramos was still firing off rounds. Maybe Arredondo was in over his head. Or maybe, as McCraw claims, Arredondo was just following the procedure for what he wrongly believed was a barricaded subject rather than an active shooter. But I lived in Dallas for five years, and I covered police, politicians and public officials in every jurisdiction. I dont believe for one minute that the police chief of the school district what my dad, a retired cop, would derisively call the kiddie cops was in charge of much of anything besides his own officers. In fact, it was a Border Patrol agent who nearly an hour into the crisis entered the classroom and killed Ramos. So, if Arredondo was in charge, it was only because the officers from higher up the food chain let him think he was until they no longer did. In fact, judging from the videos of parents pleading with officers to rescue their kids, it was sheriffs deputies who held back the parents, even reportedly putting one mother in handcuffs for interfering with law enforcement. Meanwhile, as Uvalde residents bury the victims, Latinos are asking thorny questions: Was race a factor in the slow police response, or in the fact that parents were ignored, scolded and manhandled? What if this had been a mostly white school in a wealthy suburb? Do you suppose white parents would have been handcuffed for trying to save their children? Some will insist that the response to the crisis was colorblind. But as they say in the Lone Star State, while I may have been born at night, I wasnt born last night. As a University of Texas at Austin communication scholar, I spent my professional career (1974-2019) teaching a course in argumentation and advocacy, and studying the role of argument in public discourse. My teaching and research emphasized the importance and necessity of rational and logical reasoning, as well as a willingness by arguers to engage in self-risk by standing in the shoes of others and thus being open to persuasion rather than becoming dogmatic and recalcitrant. Moreover, I assumed people are capable of detecting, exposing and not being taken in by fallacious reasoning. As I taught my students, spurious and nonrational discourse is practiced by people of all political and ideological stripes unsound and invalid reasoning is an equal opportunity problem. Watching the political events of the past few years makes me wonder whether we now live in a world where the traditional principles of argumentation dating back to the work of rhetoricians in ancient Greece and Rome actually guide and govern our rhetorical behavior in the public square. RELATED: Commentary: After Uvalde, support children, then take action One need only observe recent volatile political events to understand the severity of my concern. Consider a few examples: The politicization of the school shooting in Uvalde. Heated debates about abortion in the wake of the Supreme Courts forthcoming decision on Roe v. Wade. The large number of citizens who accept the Big Lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. The popularity of conspiracy theories. Many Americans unwillingness to accept science on issues such as COVID and climate change. The prevalence of extreme hatred and racism. The increasing polarization of beliefs and resulting incivility of our interactions with others. The erosion of accepted standards of truth in speech and writing. Obviously, I hope I am wrong. However, if my suspicion is correct, it is not an exaggeration to say that the end of democracy is a real possibility. After all, rational deliberation has always sustained, perpetuated and nurtured democracy. This has been the case historically despite sharp political differences. MORE LIKE THIS: Commentary: Real leaders dont act like ORourke We must always remember it is entirely possible for a democracy to vote itself out of existence, deliberately or even unintentionally. It is inherent in the concept of the will of the people. Argumentation and its reliance on reasoning and evidence is the key to maintaining the rational discourse necessary to preserve democracy. As often is said, we are at an inflection point in American history. This demands us to think deeply about how we argue and how our political discourse whether that of Democrats, Republicans, conservatives or liberals must be changed to guarantee the survival of this great experiment we call the United States. Put simply, failure to change our rhetoric almost certainly will result in the unraveling of Americas democratic republic. Richard Cherwitz is the Ernest A. Sharpe Centennial professor emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin. Gov. Greg Abbott called repeated special sessions earlier this year to make it harder for Texans to vote and to ban transgender student-athletes from playing on teams in accordance with their gender identity. In 2017, he included the infamous bathroom bill in a special session that also included much-needed school finance reform. He viewed these topics worthy of special sessions, but that has not been the case for considering and passing gun safety measures even as mass shootings ravage our state. In 2019, after a gunman killed 23 people in El Paso, we and many others implored Abbott to call a special session. Abbott refused, opting instead for a series of town halls reminiscent of the response to a mass shooting at Santa Fe High School that killed 10 people in 2018. RELATED: Lingle: For NRA conventioneers, Uvalde a world away We are not hesitating whatsoever, Abbott said at the time. It doesnt require a special session for Texas to act. Texas lawmakers never acted to pass gun safety measures after El Paso. To the contrary, they opted to loosen gun laws, passing permitless carry in 2021. Now, in the long, dark aftermath of Uvalde and the murders of 19 children and two teachers, calls have again emerged for a special session to prevent gun violence. And, again, we join that chorus, urging the governor to set aside politics and give gun safety measures the serious consideration they deserve. We have no faith Abbott is capable of doing so, especially given his dueling remarks Friday. In Uvalde, Abbott said all options are on the table for a special session and promised new laws to make schools safer. Do we expect laws to come out of this devastating crime? he said. The answer is absolutely yes. And there will be laws in multiple different subject areas. But he never embraced gun safety as one of those options. MORE LIKE THIS: Commentary: After Uvalde, support children, then take action In videotaped comments aired around the same time at the recent National Rifle Association convention in Houston, Abbott said of gun laws, There are thousands of laws on the books across the country that limit the owning or using a firearm, laws that have not stopped madmen from carrying out evil acts on innocent people and peaceful communities. Any honest and full discussion about preventing gun violence should include topics such as improving mental health care, security and school safety, but it has to include guns. It is impossible to meaningfully address gun violence without acknowledging the role of guns and on this point, Abbott has definitively failed. We strongly agree with Texas Senate Democrats, who called for a special session in an op-ed in these pages, urging Abbott to consider a host of noncontroversial measures: raising the age to purchase firearms to 21, universal background checks, red flag laws, cooling off periods and regulation of high capacity magazines. Some, like state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, have said lawmakers need to slow down, citing the shifting narrative around Uvalde. We have major concerns about that shifting narrative, but, clearly, enough is known to call a special session: 19 children and two teachers were murdered by an 18-year-old gunman who purchased assault weapons. RELATED: Editorial: Uvalde suffers, yet the political charade goes on If this isnt the catalyst for the Legislature to do something, I dont think anything will happen, state Rep. Lyle Larson, a San Antonio Republican, said. Every day that passes, it will be like Santa Fe and El Paso there will be less energy in trying to fix this, and well start going back, complacency will set in and we wont meaningfully address this. We commend state Rep. Steve Allison, a San Antonio Republican, for being open to gun safety measures, including banning or raising the age to purchase assault weapons. No law would have prevented what happened in Uvalde, but I think we can put the guardrails around it to make it very, very difficult for it to happen again, he said. We just owe it to the children. Call the special session, governor, and include gun safety. Early voting begins today in the special election for Texas 34th Congressional District, where Republican Mayra Flores is getting an early shot to flip a blue seat in South Texas. The seat is up for grabs after U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, a Brownsville Democrat, resigned in late March to join a lobbying firm. The winner of the special will finish his term, which expires in January. Early voting will take place until June 10, and Election Day is June 14. Find your polling place here. As it stands now, the district stretches from Cameron County at the Texas border all the way up to Gonzales County east of San Antonio. The district elected President Joe Biden, a Democrat, by just 4 points in 2020. Its a coveted opportunity for Flores, who will run again to serve a full term this November. Then, the terrain will be more difficult for Republicans. IN-DEPTH: Texas Republican Mayra Flores gets a boost in quest to be first U.S. congresswoman born in Mexico First, redistricting made the seat bluer. Under the new lines, which cap the district at Kleberg County just south of Corpus Christi, voters elected Biden in 2020 by 15.5 points. Also in November, Flores will run against sitting U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, a McAllen Democrat who currently represents the neighboring 15th district. courtesy photo But in the meantime, a low-turnout special election and national interest in her campaign could help Flores secure a few months in Congress. Gonzalez declined to step down from his seat to run in the special, so her opponents include lesser-funded and less well-known candidates. In a special election, all candidates are listed on the ballot at once, and the race will head to a runoff if no person earns more than 50 percent of the vote. Flores, a respiratory care practitioner, will run against fellow Republican Juana Janie Cantu-Cabrera, a nurse practitioner, as well as Democrats Dan Sanchez, an attorney, and Rene Coronado, a city civil service director. If she wins, Flores would be the first congresswoman born in Mexico. She would also be the first Republican elected to represent that area of the Rio Grande Valley since 1870. cayla.harris@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Gov. Greg Abbott is asking the leaders of the state Legislature to form special committees to evaluate school and firearm safety after last weeks mass shooting at a school in Uvalde left 21 dead. It was a familiar move for the governor, who similarly relied on legislative committees to shape the states reponse to a mass shooting at Santa Fe High School in 2018. In doing so, Abbott evades the growing calls mostly from Democrats for a special legislative session, which would immediately bring state lawmakers back to Austin to discuss gun violence prevention measures. As leaders, we must come together at this time to provide solutions to protect all Texans, Abbott said. UVALDE MASSACRE: Why was the head of a six-person force for Uvalde CISD in charge of the mass shooting response? Abbotts request came in a Wednesday letter to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate, and House Speaker Dade Phelan. The governor said the state must reassess the twin issues of school safety and mass violence, and the committees should review the Legislatures previous action on school safety and recommend legislative solutions. Democrats and the states largest teachers union were quick to object. Its not the governors job to call for special committees, said state Rep. Rafael Anchia, a Dallas Democrat. It is the governors exclusive responsibility to call a special session. We have committees in the Legislature that deal with these issues all the time. In fact, once the governor calls a special session, those various committees will get to work but we cant start the process without him. EDITORIAL BOARD: Abbott must call a special session to address gun violence Just hours after he sent that letter, Abbott sent a second to the Texas School Safety Center, tasking the organization with an immediate review of school safety plans across the state. He also said the center should develop a plan to conduct random intruder checks at Texas schools, sending employees to approach campuses unannounced and find weak points. Both requests come days after Abbott wrote off firearm restrictions as a potential solution to mass shootings. He instead suggested expanded mental health resources in rural areas, which Phelan endorsed. Patrick has proposed further fortifying schools, while other Texas Republicans have called for more armed teachers. Over the past week, Democrats have been urging Abbott to call them back to Austin for a special session on gun violence, but he has so far rejected those pleas. On Wednesday, they criticized his decision to only form committees, as had been done in 2018. That year, the Texas Senate created a new committee on school violence and security, which held hearings and issued recommendations alongside the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence. When lawmakers returned to Austin the following January, they passed a slew of new school safety policies, which extended mental health resources, established threat assessment teams to identify potentially dangerous students and expanded the number of school employees who could carry guns on campus. Schools were also required to train students to use bleeding control stations during emergencies. None of the proposals restricted gun access. To create committees again feels like a repeat of that pointless exercise, Anchia said. At a press conference last week, Abbott said he expects the Legislature to review each one of the laws passed after Santa Fe. But the body is not scheduled to reconvene until January, and calling a special session now would allow Democrats to amplify their calls for gun control. In a statement, Phelan said the House is already discussing the issues included in Abbotts letter. School safety will be a top priority both this summer and in the lead-up to the next legislative session, he said. Our chamber will get to work immediately, taking a well-informed and comprehensive approach to crafting the Houses response to this horrific tragedy, as we await the results of these investigations to help inform the work we have been called to conduct, Phelan said. He did not say whether the House will create a new committee, but a spokeswoman said additional details are forthcoming. Patrick announced late Wednesday that he would create the Special Committee to Protect All Texans, and he appointed state Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, as chair. The committee, comprised of eight Republicans and three Democrats, will hold its first hearing on June 23 or shortly after, Patrick said. All of us working together is the answer, Patrick said. Now is not the time for politics. It is all about doing all we can so that we never see another tragedy like this happen again in Texas." cayla.harris@express-news.net. Back in the mid-80s when I was a young professor, I had a relatively straightforward understanding of my role. There were universal human questions What is justice? What is the good life? and my task was to investigate the plausible answers to these questions with my students. There were challenges described well by Allan Bloom in The Closing of the American Mind but, having experienced them myself as a young student, I was confident perhaps overconfident about my ability to address them. I could appeal to a universal sentiment like righteous indignation to show my students the incoherence of the value relativism most of them thought they espoused. Fast forward to 2022. Most of whats left of my hair has gone gray. And Im listening to administrators, colleagues, and students insist upon particularity and intersectionality. Everyones story is different, depending upon their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity. (I had been accustomed to hearing talk about class, but that seems to have diminished in salience for those with whom I interact.) For the courses to be relatable and relevant, Ive been told that students have to see themselves in the authors and texts I assign. Taken seriously, this argument leads us into a cul-de-sac. Students can learn only from people like themselves, which means that none of us can learn about, let alone teach about, difference. We could, I suppose, call this a kind of civic education, an introduction into the story of my people defined in terms of the particular characteristics noted above. Recalling the familiar image from Platos Republic, each of us inhabits a cave defined by those characteristics and their intersections. But in contrast with the cave image, none of us can liberate ourselves or be liberated from our bondage. In the first instance, theres a grave practical problem with this view. Regardless of what we imagine about the intersections we inhabit, we in fact share space with others who have different identities. Our circumstances demand that we be able to communicate and hence share understandings with one another. We cant just rely on a multiplicity of my stories; there also has to be our story. Were it not for the efforts of the 1619 Project, something like Abraham Lincolns mystic chords [sic] of memory, stretching from every patriot grave to every heart and hearthstone might serve us well. But taking a cue from W.E.B. DuBois, theres another route we might take. I have long appreciated the powerful defense of traditional liberal education he offers in The Souls of Black Folk. There he shows how an encounter with the great minds of the past could take us beyond the color line. Some three decades later, in The Field and Function of the Negro College, he takes a slightly different path. Sounding a lot like many of my colleagues, he affirms that the university education of black men in the United States must be grounded in the condition and work of those black men! This isnt, however, his final word on the subject. Every education begins with the circumstances of those for whom it is intended. A Russian university will have a different point of departure from its English counterpart, which will deal with different cultural beginnings than those located in Germany. Where the Russians might regard Tolstoy as indispensable, the English might look to Shakespeare and the Germans to Goethe. But that, says DuBois, is only the beginning: It is the matter of beginnings and integrations of one group which sweep instinctive knowledge and inheritance and current reactions into a universal world of science, sociology, and art. Taking a cue from DuBois, we start where students are to bring them into full universal humanity. We honor and treasure the stories of our ancestors because they are ours. Theyre both particular to us and part of the variegated human panoply. But that panoply is human, with its particular embodiments pointing to a nature that we share. Were not left with a multiplicity of stories necessarily at odds with one another, with no possibility of community or common understanding. Rather, our task as educators is to find the way from those beginnings to the larger whole that they help constitute and comprise. The great conversation should have many voices. But to be a conversation, it cant be a series of monologues, intelligible only to the speakers and those like them. This is, and indeed always has been, our task as teachers. Joseph M. Knippenberg is Professor of Politics at Oglethorpe University in Brookhaven, GA and a Jack Miller Center faculty partner. A joint initiative to tackle hare coursing across the East of England has led to the first person to be fined for breaching a Community Protection Notice (CPN) served under the scheme. Sydney Samuels, 33, of Maidstone, was handed a 400 fine when he appeared at Medway Magistrates Court last month. He is the first person to have been taken to court for breaching his CPN which was served to him as part of Operation Galileo, which primarily aims to combat hare coursing. In order to support the national initiative, Kent Police and six other forces started to work collaboratively in August 2021. Officers first warned Mr Samuels in August 2021 following seven reports of suspected poaching taking place at Neats Court in Queenborough. In November 2021, he was issued with a CPN after being stopped while in a vehicle in Eastwood Road. The car was searched under the Poaching Prevention Act 1862 and inside officers found dogs and deceased rabbits. The CPN contained several conditions, including not being allowed to be on private land without the owners written permission, not being allowed to have dogs off-lead and not being allowed to be in possession of a catapult or air weapon. In January 2022, officers were told of two men being seen with dogs on private land near Old Ferry Road, Iwade. They attended and searched the area and found a flatbed truck where a deceased rabbit was found. The police officers stopped two men, one of whom was Mr Samuels, and he was arrested for again breaching the CPN. Following Mr Samuels recent court appearance, he was also issued with a three-year Criminal Behaviour Order, which contained conditions to prohibit poaching. If this is breached this can result in a custodial sentence. The agreement, which has been completed with the support of the Crown Prosecution Service, has allowed the seven forces to work as one when exercising certain powers. This includes sharing interactions and movements, the use of automatic number plate recognition and seizing dogs. Sergeant Darren Walshaw, of Kent Polices Rural Task Force said: "This latest court action shows how the use of the anti-social behaviour legislation can help to bring repeat offenders to justice. "The latest order will help to restrict the suspects ability to commit these types of offences in the future and will lead to a custodial sentence if he ignores it. "The initiative has allowed us to use anti-social behaviour legislation across the counties which means that someone who is found to be committing hare coursing offences across several borders will be dealt with." Exports of British food to major non-EU markets have soared above pre-pandemic levels for the first time, new figures show. Overall, exports of UK food and drink products globally were worth 5.3 billion in Q1, a rise of nearly 31 percent compared to Q1 2021. Exports of UK food and drink to the European Union also increased in the first quarter of this year, by 45 percent, worth 3 billion. Shipments to major non-EU markets such as the US, Australia, Canada and Japan rose by 16.2%, worth 2.3 billion, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. It follows a turbulent two years for food exports due to the impacts caused by both Brexit and Covid-19, with 2021 sales down 13% on 2019 and 4% on 2020. But the Q1 2022 figures, published in a new Food and Drink Federation's (FDF) report released today (1 June), has shown a strong rebound. Canada is a key source of ingredients used by UK manufacturers and imports rose 5% while exports saw particularly strong growth, up 26% on pre-pandemic levels. The FDF says it should be a priority of the government to secure improved market access for UK exporters of cheese to Canada. Exports to India are up more than 25% compared to pre-pandemic levels, and they remain a large import partner - particularly for agricultural goods - accounting for 172.5m. Indias rapidly growing middle class presents major opportunities for UK exporters, the FDF says, as demand is booming in the health, organic, fortified and ready-to-eat packaged food sector. With the UK-Japan trade agreement coming into force in 2021, and others on the horizon including Australia and New Zealand, the FDF says it expects further growth in food and drink exports. However, a key priority for the sector remains improving the implementation of the UK-EU trade agreement, the report says. And one unknown remains the impact of the Ukraine war, which has caused a rise in energy prices as well as a restriction in supplies of key ingredients including vegetable oils and cereals. The FDF's head of international trade, Dominic Goudie welcomed the new figures, particularly at a time of surging costs for businesses and consumers. Trade plays a key role in boosting the UK economy, with high exports ensuring food and drink companies can thrive and imports offering shoppers in the UK a wide range of quality products at prices they can afford. This is particularly important now, at a time of soaring costs to businesses and consumers, that the UK utilises trade as deflationary weapon. Paris, 17 May 2022 - France has a robust and sophisticated framework to fight money laundering and terrorist financing that is effective in many respects, notably in law enforcement, confiscation areas and international cooperation but needs to do more in areas such as the supervision of professionals involved in the activities of legal persons and the real estate sector. France faces a substantial range of money laundering threats that include tax fraud and drug trafficking. The country also faces a high-level threat of terrorism and terrorist financing since the 2015 terrorist attacks. But France has successfully identified and understood these risks, and adapted its legal framework to mitigate them, including through thematic national policies. The understanding of money laundering and terrorist financing risks by the financial sector and their supervisors is generally good, supervision of the virtual asset sector is also under development. However, risk-based supervision of designated non-financial businesses and professions is insufficient in some areas, in particular real estate agents and notaries that are involved in a real estate sector. The non-financial compliance with its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorist financing (CFT) obligations has generally improved but remains limited for real estate agents and business service providers. Some sectors are not sufficiently aware of their obligations, especially in relation to beneficial ownership, politically exposed persons and suspicious transactions reporting. France is achieving particularly good results in the use of financial intelligence, money laundering investigations and prosecutions, with competent authorities prioritising the prosecution of high-end money laundering cases. However, despite an increase in staff, a lack of specialised investigative resources impacts the duration of investigations, especially in complex money laundering cases. France has made it a policy priority to confiscate criminal assets and has been obtaining very good results, with criminals being deprived of proceeds, property or other assets of a value equivalent to EUR 4.7 billion every year. French authorities also have a well-established practice of international cooperation with their foreign counterparts, including by providing good quality and effective mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and making extensive use of informal cooperation. France has made the fight against terrorism and its financing one of its top priorities and has obtained very good results. Prosecution, investigative and intelligence authorities collaborate effectively and in a structured manner, including for the purpose of exchanging information. Terrorism investigations systematically include a terrorist financing component. The legal and operational framework, as well as the staffing in place, enable French authorities to fight effectively and in a coordinated manner against the risk of terrorism and its financing, resulting in a 93% conviction rate for terrorist financing prosecutions. France plays an active role in proposing terrorist financing individuals or entities designations to the European Union, United Nations and national sanctions lists. Recent reforms allow targeted financial sanctions to be implemented without delay. France needs to follow-up on this reform to ensure its proper implementation. France is depriving terrorists, terrorist organisations and terrorist financiers of assets related to terrorist financing activities to a large extent and in line with its overall TF risk profile. However, France needs to improve the monitoring of the non-profit sector to prevent its potential misuse for terrorist financing, including through a more in-depth terrorist financing risk assessment through this sector. The FATF adopted this report at its March 2022 Plenary meeting. Download the report: Mutual Evaluation France-2022 Executive Summary Mutual Evaluation France-2022 More information: FATF Recommendations Methodology for assessing technical compliance with the FATF Recommendations and the Effectiveness of AML/CFT Systems Warrenton, VA (20186) Today Cloudy early with some clearing expected late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 61F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Cloudy early with some clearing expected late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category Cannes 2022 was a trending topic of discussion for more reasons than one. With Bollywood A-listers heading to the French Riviera, there was a lot more to discuss than just the glamorous looks served on the red carpet.Deepika Padukone had a tad bit more special reason to be ecstatic about Cannes this year. Not only did she represent India, but she attended the most prestigious film festival in the world as a coveted jury member.Social media has been abuzz with her stunning red carpet looks and other casual and chic attires she sported throughout her stay at Cannes.Recently she shared a joyous BTS snap of herself and her team where they are all seen posing happily. Deepika is seen sporting one of her looks where she was styled in a comfy green and white polka dot co-ords set. She captioned the picture with, "A Team! We missed you Mommy!You know who you are!"Seeing all the happy faces, it goes without saying that all the hard work has paid off and Deepika Padukone served some of the most eclectic fashion statements in recent times. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 31, 2022) - Getchell Gold Corp. (CSE: GTCH) (OTCQB: GGLDF) ("Getchell" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has closed a non-brokered private placement. The Company issued 4,382,000 units (each a "Unit") at a price of $0.40 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $1,752,800 (the "Private Placement"). Each Unit consists of one common share and one-half of one warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant") of the Company. Each Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one additional common share at a price of $0.60 per share for a period of two years from the date of closing. The proceeds from the Private Placement will be used for exploration and development of the Company's properties and general working capital. In connection with the Private Placement, the Company has agreed to pay finder's fees consisting of an aggregate of $91,200 in cash and 228,000 non-transferable finder's warrants (the "Finder's Warrants"). Each Finder's Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one common share at a price of $0.45 per share for a period of two years from the date of closing. The securities issued in connection with the Private Placement are subject to a statutory four month hold period expiring on October 1, 2022, in accordance with applicable securities laws. The securities offered have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or applicable exemption from the registration requirements. About Getchell Gold Corp. The Company is a Nevada focused gold and copper exploration company trading on the (CSE: GTCH) and (OTCQB: GGLDF). Getchell Gold is primarily directing its efforts on its most advanced stage asset, Fondaway Canyon, a past gold producer with a significant in-the-ground historic resource estimate. Complementing Getchell's asset portfolio is Dixie Comstock, a past gold producer with a historic resource and two earlier stage exploration projects, Star (Cu-Au-Ag) and Hot Springs Peak (Au). Getchell has the option to acquire 100% of the Fondaway Canyon and Dixie Comstock properties, Churchill County, Nevada. The Company reiterates that its near-term strategy to advance its assets is not impacted by the COVID-19 Corona virus. The Company continues to monitor the situation and is in compliance with all government guidelines. For further information please visit the Company's website at www.getchellgold.com or contact the Company at info@getchellgold.com. Mr. William Wagener, Chairman & CEO Getchell Gold Corp. +1 647 249 4798 info@getchellgold.com The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the use of proceeds. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "will" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, including: use of proceeds from the financing Although management of Getchell have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. The Company will not update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that are incorporated by reference herein, except as required by applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/126050 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 31, 2022) - Los Andes Copper Ltd. (TSXV: LA) (OTCQX: LSANF) ("Los Andes" or the "Company") announces that in accordance with the terms of the US$5,000,000 eight per cent convertible debenture issued to Queen's Road Capital Investment Ltd. ("Queen's Road Capital") on June 2, 2021 (the "Convertible Debenture") and the terms of a trust indenture entered into between the Company and Computershare Trust Company of Canada dated June 2, 2021 (the "Trust Indenture"), the Company has elected to issue 3,260 common shares in the capital of the Company ("Common Shares") at a deemed price of US$11.50 (C$14.77) to Queen's Road Capital as payment for US$37,490 (C$48,161) in interest owing on the Convertible Debenture. Under the terms of the Trust Indenture, interest on the Convertible Debenture is payable quarterly, five per cent in cash and three per cent in shares, at the greater of: (i) the 20-day volume weighted average price prior to the interest payment date; or (ii) the Discounted Market Price (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V")). The issuance of the Common Shares as payment for interest owing on the Convertible Debenture is subject to the terms and conditions of the Trust Indenture as well as the receipt of all requisite approvals, including, without limitation, the approval of the TSX-V. About Queen's Road Capital Investment Ltd. Queen's Road Capital Investment Ltd. is a leading financier to the global resource sector. The company is a resource focused investment company, making investments in privately held and publicly traded resource companies. It is intended that the company will acquire and hold securities for both long-term capital appreciation and short-term gains, with a focus on convertible debt securities and resource projects in advanced development or production located in safe jurisdictions. Queen's Road Capital Investment Ltd. is listed on the TSX-V under the ticker: QRC. About Los Andes Copper Ltd. Los Andes Copper Ltd. is an exploration and development company with an 100% interest in the Vizcachitas Project in Chile. The Company is focused on progressing the Project, which is located along Chile's most prolific copper belt, into production. Vizcachitas is one of the largest copper deposits in the Americas not controlled by the majors and the Company believes it will be Chile's next major copper mine. The Project is a copper-molybdenum porphyry deposit, located 120 kilometres north of Santiago, in an area of very good infrastructure. The Company's Preliminary Economic Assessment (the "PEA"), delivered in June 2019, highlights that the Project has a post tax NPV of $2.7 billion and an IRR of 26.7%, based on a $3.50 per pound copper price. It also has a Measured Resources of 254.4 million tonnes having a grade of 0.439% copper and Indicated Resource of approximately 1.03 billion tonnes having a grade of 0.385% copper. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Please refer to the technical report dated June 13, 2019, with an effective date of May 10, 2019 and titled "Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Vizcachitas Project", prepared by Tetra Tech. The PEA is preliminary in nature, it includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Los Andes Copper Ltd. is listed on the TSX-V under the ticker: LA. Qualified Persons Antony Amberg CGeol FGS, the Company's Chief Geologist, is the qualified person who has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release. The QP has validated the data by, supervising the sample collection process, through chain of custody records and inspecting the detailed technical data and quality control and assurance information. For more information please contact: R. Michael Jones , P.Eng CEO rmj@losandescopper.com +44 203 4407982 Blytheweigh, Financial PR Megan Ray Rachael Brooks Tel: +44 207 138 3203 E-Mail: info@losandescopper.com or visit our website at: www.losandescopper.com Follow us on twitter @LosAndesCopper Follow us on LinkedIn Los Andes Copper Ltd Certain of the information and statements contained herein that are not historical facts, constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of the Securities Act (British Columbia), Securities Act (Ontario) and the Securities Act (Alberta) ("Forward-Looking Information"). Forward-Looking Information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect" and "intend"; statements that an event or result is "due" on or "may", "will", "should", "could", or might" occur or be achieved; and, other similar expressions. More specifically, Forward-Looking Information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such Forward-Looking Information. Such Forward Looking Information includes, without limitation, the timing of and ability to obtain TSX-V and other regulatory approvals and the prospects, details related to and timing of the Vizcachitas Project. Such Forward-Looking Information is based upon the Company's assumptions regarding global and Chilean economic, political and market conditions and the price of metals and energy and the Company's production. Among the factors that have a direct bearing on the Company's future results of operations and financial conditions are changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, a change in government policies, competition, currency fluctuations and restrictions and technological changes, among other things. Should one or more of any of the aforementioned risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from any conclusions, forecasts or projections described in the Forward-Looking Information. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on Forward-Looking Information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise Forward-Looking Information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/126058 Ottawa, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 31, 2022) - C-COM Satellite Systems Inc., (TSXV: CMI) (OTCQB: CYSNF) a leading global provider of commercial grade mobile auto-deploying satellite antenna systems, announced today, that, pursuant to the requirements of the TSX Venture Exchange, it has granted options to purchase 150,000 common shares of C-COM to a director and officer of C-COM. The stock options were granted pursuant to the terms of C-COM's stock option plan and are exercisable at $1.47 per share. These grants form part of the overall annual remuneration package. Stock option grants are subject to necessary regulatory approvals. About C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. C-COM Logo To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5445/126071_17e7bb5ed4f5d83d_005full.jpg C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. is a pioneer and world leader in the design, development, and manufacture of transportable and mobile satellite-based antenna systems. The Company has developed proprietary, auto-acquisition controller technology for rapid antenna pointing to a satellite with just the press of a button, enabling Broadband Internet via Satellite across a wide range of market applications worldwide, including regions unserved or underserved by terrestrial access technologies. C-COM has sold more than 10,000 antenna systems, in over 100 countries, through a dedicated dealer network that provides service to a wide range of vertical markets such as Oil & Gas Exploration, Military Communications, Disaster Management, SNG, Emergency Communications, Cellular Backhaul, Telemedicine, Mobile Education, Government Services, Mobile Banking, and others. The Company's iNetVu brand is synonymous with high quality, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. C-COM is in late-stage development of a revolutionary Ka-band, electronically steerable, flat panel phased array antenna system, in cooperation with the University of Waterloo, with the intent of providing low-cost, high-throughput mobility applications over satellite for land, airborne and maritime applications. For additional information please visit www.c-comsat.com iNetVu is a registered trademark of C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. The Company is publicly traded on the Canadian Venture Exchange (TSXV: CMI) and on the US OTC Exchange (OTCQB: CYSNF). # # # 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. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Statements about C-COM's expectations as to its ability to weather the challenges it faces, future prospects, growth and revenue, and statements about its electronically steered phased array antenna, including the potential for it become a commercially available product are all forward-looking information. Several factors could cause actual events, performance or results to differ materially from the events, performance and results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Anticipated benefits of the new technology may not be realized within the time frames anticipated or at all, and new products and services may not be released or, if released may not gain market acceptance. Any of those events and others could influence future performance and C-COM Satellite Systems Inc.'s ability to achieve the results mentioned above. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Readers are directed to the risk factors associated with the business of C-COM Satellite Systems in the company's most recent MD&A available at www.SEDAR.com. INVESTOR RELATIONS C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. Tel: (613) 745-4110 ext. 4950 Fax: (613) 745-7144 lklein@c-comsat.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/126071 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 31, 2022 / Naturally Splendid Enterprises Ltd. ("Naturally Splendid" or "NSE" or the "Company" ) (FRANKFURT:50N) (TSXV:NSP) (OTC PINK:NSPDF) today is providing a status update in accordance with its obligations under the alternative information guidelines set out in National Policy 12-203 - Management Cease Trade Orders ("NP 12-203"), which require the Company to provide bi-weekly updates until such time as the Company is current with its filing obligations under Canadian securities laws. As previously announced, the Company is subject to a management cease trade order ("MCTO") issued by the British Columbia Securities Commission. The MCTO prohibits the directors and executive officers of the Company from trading in or acquiring securities of the Company until two full business days after the Company files its audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the related management's discussion and analysis and certifications. The MCTO does not affect the ability of investors who are not insiders to trade in the securities of the Company. The Company advises that aside from the British Columbia Securities Commission granting the MCTO: (i) there have been no material changes to the information contained in the Company's April 14, 2022 news release; (ii) it intends to continue to comply with the alternative information guidelines of NP 12-203; and (iii) except as previously disclosed, there are no subsequent specified defaults (actual or anticipated) within the meaning of NP 12-203. The Company continues to work towards completing the filing on or before the June 30, 2022, deadline and will continue to update its shareholders of the status of the Audited financials periodically. About Naturally Splendid Enterprises Ltd. Naturally Splendid is a plant-based food manufacturing and technology company that produces and distributes nutritious and delicious plant-based commodity products. Founded in 2010, the Company operates a Safe Quality Food Level 2 certified food manufacturing facility located just outside Vancouver, BC in Canada, focusing on producing an extensive range of plant-based entrees. Naturally Splendid has an exclusive 10-year manufacturing and distribution agreement for Canada with a division of Australia's largest plant-based food manufacturer, Flexitarian Foods Pty. Ltd. In addition to producing the Company's own branded products, Naturally Splendid provides contract manufacturing services and private labeling for a variety of nutritional plant-based food products destined for multiple distribution channels. The Company has established healthy, functional foods under brands such as Natera Sport, Natera Hemp Foods, CHII, Elevate Me and Woods Wild Bar. The Company launched Natera Plant Based Foods, a line of delicious plant-based meat alternatives for the rapidly growing plant-based market segment. Naturally Splendid maintains a relationship Plasm Pharmaceutical, a company that has been approved for conducting a phase 2 clinical trial approved by Health Canada for the treatment of COVID-19. NSE has also developed proprietary technologies for the extraction of healthy omega 3 and 6 oils, as well as a protein concentrate from hemp. On Behalf of the Board of Directors Mr. J. Craig Goodwin President, Director Contact Information Naturally Splendid Enterprises Ltd. (NSP - TSX Venture; NSPDF - OTCQB; 50N Frankfurt) #108-19100 Airport Way Pitt Meadows, BC, V3Y 0E2 Office: (604) 465-0548 Fax: (604) 465-1128 E-mail: info@naturallysplendid.com Website: www.naturallysplendid.com Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. Naturally Splendid cautions that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond Naturally Splendid's control including, Naturally Splendid's ability to compete with large food and beverage companies; sales of any potential products developed will be profitable; sales of shelled hemp seed will continue at existing rates or increase; customers will complete on sales contracts; and the risk that any of the potential applications may not receive all required regulatory or legal approval. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Naturally Splendid undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. SOURCE: Naturally Splendid Enterprises Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/703492/Naturally-Splendid-Provides-Default-Status-Report GUANGZHOU, China, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Smart and High-tech Full-size SUV model-All New GS8, an upgraded 7-seater, saw its Middle Eastern debut in Bahrain on May 26. Fans of GAC MOTOR in the Middle East can finally meet one of the most brand successful cars. Saudi Arabia will follow closely behind and welcome the All New GS8 on June 6. A New Level of Excellence The All New GS8 underwent comprehensive upgrades compared to the previous generation to bring prestige to premium buyers. The model's signature four-bulb metric headlights come perfectly together with a powerful V-shaped chrome grille arranged in a symmetrical layout for an aggressive and bold stance. Inside, a smart interactive cabin fits 8-way adjustable seats wrapped in finely crafted leather for the ultimate luxury experience. The model is equipped with the GAC MOTOR's latest cutting-edge technology, including a wide array of driving assistance capabilities and an AVDC Shadow Driver system to guarantee the most suitable driving mode in any road conditions. Expanding Brand Influence with Cross-Industry Collaborations The Middle East region has developed into one of the key markets for GAC MOTOR in recent years. The brand prepared a series of festive initiatives for Ramadan, the market's most important shopping season, to join the locals in celebration. In March, GAC MOTOR began a partnership with MBC and Citruss TV, two of the Middle East's most significant media networks. The partnership brought considerable exposure to GAC MOTOR's car raffle campaign. Also catching the eye of locals were attractive deals, zero-deposit options, and cash discounts offered by GAC MOTOR during the Ramadan sales period. Expanding Network Fuels Success in the Middle East After years of being established in the Middle East, GAC MOTOR is now enjoying success in the market. Demand for signature models, including the All New GS4, remains high in the region. The All New GS8 will be launched in late June in the upgraded flagship store in Kuwait. And GAC MOTOR will open a new showroom in ABU DHABI in July. In addition to the All New GS8, Middle Eastern customers can look forward to more quality cars from GAC MOTOR in 2022. With healthy market development, strong products, and a robust service network GAC MOTOR will continue to achieve outstanding performance in the Middle East. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1829252/GS8_KV.jpg Singapore, June 1, 2022 - (ACN Newswire) - Corinium's Chief Data & Analytics Officer (CDAO) Singapore gathers the region's leading data and analytics executives to share their insights on developing the infrastructure, ecosystem, buy-in, culture and strategies to effectively harness data and AI as a strategic asset. It's going to be a fantastic few days addressing the top challenges facing senior leaders, coming together as a data analytics community and driving the narrative on data progress and innovation.For 2022 we are celebrating our sixth annual event by revealing the progress being made, offering insights and effective strategies to the challenges that remain.CDAO Singapore 2022 will answer the critical question on how to operationalize gains already made and how to deliver tangible value to the business at scale.Join us, 12-13 April, for two days of engaging discussions on how to effectively protect your organisation's most valuable digital assets by adopting a practical Zero Trust approach, advancing your strategy through risk intelligence, strengthening your Data Privacy and Security framework, and scaling business.2022 Key ThemesFuture of Data: Governance, Privacy and Ethics:Operationalising data governance to ensure security, privacy and the ethical use of data and AI.Fuelling Data Innovation:Being first-to-market with the right innovation approach - Building capability to respond to competitors, regulators and deliver for customers as an AI-powered and innovative organisation.Shaping a Data-Informed Organisation:Upskilling, adapting and evolving are key components of a resilient and progressive business strategy. Learn how organisations are enabling change through cross-functional, diverse, agile teams who excel in consulting and communication skills to grow effective decision makers, smart adopters and end-users of data.Register Today!Australia's senior executives responsible for championing the data agenda will gather at CDAO Singapore 2022 to share insights on transformative leadership, data driven culture, developing high performing analytics teams, data literacy and effective governance of data and AI.Focusing on the biggest challenges faced today to effectively harness data as a strategic asset, drive change and shape organisations to become analytically mature, business-driven enterprises that outperform their competitors.For Further details regarding this event, visit our website: https://cdao-sg.coriniumintelligence.com/You can contact us at: info@coriniumintel.com.Source: CoriniumCopyright 2022 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. 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. OXFORD, England, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Theolytics is a biotechnology company harnessing viruses to combat disease. The company has been awarded a Biomedical catalyst grant by Innovate UK to progress a novel therapy for multiple myeloma patients. Multiple myeloma is an incurable blood cancer, for which cancer-killing ('oncolytic') viruses are an emerging therapy offering hope. The therapy selectively infects and kills cancer cells - targeting heterogeneous, systemic cancers based on their phenotype rather than molecular targets, providing the promise of durable remission and curative potential. This grant will focus on translating Theolytics' lead candidate to clinic-readiness. The work includes partnering with the University of Sheffield to investigate the efficacy of Theolytics' lead candidate in clinically representative, drug-resistant models of multiple myeloma. This project will further validate this novel therapy, positioning the lead oncolytic virus candidate for testing in Phase I clinical trials. Margaret Duffy, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder said: "The myeloma treatment landscape has changed considerably in recent years; despite some promising clinical results with BCMA targeted therapies, lasting remissions remain a challenge for many myeloma patients. Due to the unique mechanism of this oncolytic virus candidate, we wish to offer hope to those with advanced, refractory disease. This grant provides the opportunity to advance our candidate to the clinics and we are grateful to Innovate UK for their continued support of Theolytics' work." Michelle Lawson, Academic Collaborator, University of Sheffield said: "I am absolutely thrilled to be working in collaboration with Theolytics on this exciting project to further demonstrate the efficacy of their lead candidate in our preclinical models of myeloma, as subsequent in-patient use could ultimately lead to much-needed improvements in outcomes for myeloma patients with advanced disease." About Theolytics Everyone should have access to innovative therapies that represent the promise of lasting cures. At Theolytics we are working to transform patients' lives, through world leading science, with a great team. Our platforms harness viruses to combat disease, leveraging systematic phenotypic screening technologies to power the discovery of therapies optimised for a chosen patient population. Theolytics is headquartered in Oxford, UK, backed by Oxford Science Enterprises and international life sciences investors Epidarex Capital, Taiho Ventures, and M Ventures. Media contact: enquiries@theolytics.com Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Regulatory News: NAVYA (FR0013018041- Navya), an autonomous mobility systems leader, is one of a consortium of foremost companies selected to make up the ULTIMO project, which is financed by the European Commission and the Federal Government of Switzerland within the framework of the Horizon Europe research and innovation program. ULTIMO is the successor to the AVENUE project, which was launched in May 2018 with the aim of speeding up the development of transportation by autonomous vehicles across the cities of Europe. Within the project, thirteen NAVYA shuttles underwent trials in six European cities: Lyon, Luxembourg, Geneva, Copenhagen, Esch-sur-Alzette and Sion. The AVENUE trials were carried out by a consortium of partner companies, each one chosen for its high level of commitment to the development of new types of mobility. Together they demonstrated how self-driving shuttles could be integrated in a city's existing public transport system and offer users an ever more innovative experience, including transportation on demand. NAVYA's shuttles offered the citizens of each urban area specific use cases: within the confines of a stadium in Lyon, throughout the grounds of a hospital in Geneva and Copenhagen, over a business park in Luxembourg and as links to the city centers of Esch-sur-Alzette in Luxembourg and of Sion in Switzerland. ULTIMO promotes user-centric sustainable mobility through the large-scale deployment of autonomous vehicles The success of the trials prompted the AVENUE team to step up their ambitions, which resulted in a widening of their operations with a view to bringing them to market. They brought together experts in the field of autonomous mobility, connectivity and related services to participate in the ULTIMO project to: deploy self-driving shuttles on a large scale, with transportation on demand managed by a mobile phone application, conduct trials of a multi fleet and multi OEM management system, analyze the key innovation fields in order to standardize the connectivity processes. ULTIMO represents NAVYA's largest self-driving shuttle deployment in Europe This multi-vendor project has 2 priority partners for the supply of shuttles, including Navya, with a total potential for deployment of up to 45 vehicles in three European cities over the next four years. The official announcement will take place during the summer of 2022 and the launch in October of the same year, once all the partner companies of the consortium have confirmed their participation and completed the necessary formalities. "ULTIMO builds on the experience and success of the AVENUE project and backs up the dominant role self-driving shuttles will play in the public transportation offer. Our shuttles will be deployed in urban environments in user-centric conditions based on operational models that are both commercially viable and sustainable. This is a crucial step that marks the transition from experimentation to the deployment of our shuttles on a large scale. Furthermore, it is the first time that an autonomous mobility deployment project brings together autonomous solution providers and large fleet managers to work together and offer common solutions and interfaces for operators of public transportation. Our team will play its part in making ULTIMO a success for NAVYA and for the development of sustainable autonomous mobility." Sophie Desormiere, CEO of Navya The ULTIMO project is backed by the EU-funded Horizon Europe research and innovation program. About NAVYA NAVYA is a leading French company that specializes in the supply of autonomous mobility systems and related services. It was founded in 2014 and has a total of 280 employees in France (Paris and Lyon), in the United States (Michigan) and in Singapore. NAVYA's aim is to become the benchmark provider of level 4 autonomous mobility systems for the transportation of people and goods. The company achieved a world first when it launched its Autonom Shuttle for passengers in 2015. Since that year and up until 31 December 2021, more than 200 vehicles were sold in 25 countries. In 2021 Navya launched its industry equivalent, the Autonom Tract, a tractor for the transportation of goods. The company is firmly and actively committed to CSR, and it was awarded the ISO 9001 certification in September 2021. The Valeo and Keolis groups count among Navya's historical shareholders. NAVYA is listed on the Euronext regulated market in Paris (ISIN code: FR0013018041- Navya). For further information, visit our website: www.navya.tech View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220531005791/en/ Contacts: NAVYA CSR, Marketing Communication Manager Nathalie Marcy nathalie.marcy@navya.tech +33 (0)7 63 20 00 52 Chief Financial Officer Benoit Jacheet finance@navya.tech NewCap Investor Relations Thomas Grojean Nicolas Fossiez navya@newcap.eu +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94 NewCap Media Relations Nicolas Merigeau navya@newcap.eu +33 (0)1 44 71 94 98 The new LNG import terminal will help safeguard Italy's energy security and diversification San Donato Milanese (Milan), Bermuda, June 1st 2022 - Snam and Golar LNG Limited ("Golar") have signed an agreement for the Snam Group to acquire 100% of the share capital of Golar LNG NB 13 Corporation, whose sole asset is a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), named "Golar Tundra", for US$350 million (about 330 million). The transaction was approved by the Golar Board of Directors on May 30th. The Golar Tundra can operate both as an LNG carrier and as an FSRU. The vessel, built in 2015, has a storage capacity of around 170,000 cubic metres of LNG and a continuous regasification capacity of 5 billion cubic meters per year. In order to maximise its regasification capacity, the vessel will be located in central-northern Italy, close to the areas with greatest gas consumption. The Golar Tundra is expected to start operations as an FSRU during the spring of 2023, subject to completion of authorisation, regulatory processes and the construction of the necessary infrastructure connecting the terminal to the existing gas transport network. Snam CEO Stefano Venier commented: "With the purchase of the Golar Tundra, Snam is taking a decisive step to enhance the security and diversification of Italy's energy supplies, in line with its mission. The role of the new FSRU for the benefit of our country will be essential: alone it will contribute to about 6.5% of domestic needs thus bringing the country's regasification capacity to over 25% of the demand. Snam completed the transaction quickly and effectively in a highly competitive market due to the scarcity of supply and is continuing its efforts to acquire a second FSRU of a similar size, for which exclusive negotiations are currently under way and expected to be finalised by end of June". Golar CEO Karl Fredrik Staubo commented: "We are pleased to have reached an agreement for Golar Tundra with Europe's largest natural gas infrastructure owner. Today's announced sale marks the second transaction between Golar and Snam for two independent FSRU projects in Italy in a short period of time. We are pleased to work with Snam for the successful start-up of the LNG terminals, and to contribute to Europe's drive towards energy security. With the sale of Golar Tundra, Golar reinforces its focus on FLNG, enabling efficient production of proven gas reserves allowing customers to further diversify gas supply." As part of the transaction, which followed a due diligence assessment of the acquired company and the FSRU itself, Golar will lease Golar Tundra from Snam as an LNG carrier for a limited period of time after closing, and assist Snam in the preparatory work for the installation of the vessel in the selected port. The completion of the transaction occurred simultaneously with the signing of the contracts and will be financed by Snam out of its own resources. In the coming months Snam will begin activities to contract LNG regasification capacity, which will gradually become available from start-up of Golar Tundra as an FSRU expected during the spring of 2023. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements (as defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended). All statements, other than statements of historical facts, that address activities and events that will, should, could or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Words such as "may," "could," "should," "would," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "intend," "forecast," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "propose," "potential," "continue," or the negative of these terms and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Golar LNG Limited undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable law. Enquiries: Golar LNG Limited Stuart.buchanan@golar.com +44 207 063 7900 Snam Ufficio.stampa@snam.it +39 02 37037273 This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act Phase 2a safety and efficacy study results of obefazimod (ABX464) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) published in the renowned and peer-reviewed journal "Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (ARD)" and accepted for presentation at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology, EULAR 2022 Presentation at EULAR is scheduled for June 1, 2022, at 8:40 p.m. CEST (2:40 p.m. EST) and will be given by principal investigator Claire Daien, M.D., Ph.D. (registered participants only) "Obefazimod" registered as an international nonproprietary name (INN) for ABX464 at WHO and USAN PARIS, FRANCE / ACCESSWIRE / June 1, 2022 / Abivax SA (Euronext Paris: FR0012333284 - ABVX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel therapies that modulate the immune system to treat chronic inflammatory diseases, viral infections, and cancer, announces today that a scientific article on its phase 2a clinical study results for the treatment of moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with obefazimod (ABX464) has been published in the renowned peer-reviewed journal "Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (ARD)"[1]. Further, the abstract on these phase 2a data has been selected for a poster presentation at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology, EULAR 2022. The presentation will be given by principal investigator Claire Daien, M.D., Ph.D., on Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at 8:40 p.m. CEST (2:40 p.m. EST - accessible for registered EULAR participants only). Prof. Claire Daien, M.D., Ph.D., rheumatologist at the University Hospital at Montpellier and principal investigator of the study, said: "I am very excited that our phase 2a clinical data with ABX464, now obefazimod, in patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis have been published in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal ARD and have further been selected for a poster presentation at EULAR 2022. I am looking forward to presenting obefazimod and its promising results to the international expert community, also taking into account the recently published very encouraging phase 2a one-year maintenance results in RA. There is still a high unmet medical need for safe and durably efficient therapies for rheumatoid arthritis patients. Therefore, alternative treatment options based on a novel mechanism of action, such as obefazimod, are needed." Prof. Paul Emery, M.D., FMedSci, Versus Arthritis Professor of Rheumatology, Director of the Leeds Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Centre, Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine, UK, commented: "Beyond the promising data of the phase 2a induction study presented at EULAR, the high levels of maintained response rates of the phase 2a maintenance trial with obefazimod in rheumatoid arthritis patients, especially when it comes to ACR50 and ACR70 responses, look also very encouraging. The molecule also demonstrated a good safety profile, and no serious infections were observed. Along with its very different mode of action and clinical profile, obefazimod has the potential to play an important role in the future management of rheumatoid arthritis patients." Prof. Hartmut J. Ehrlich, M.D., CEO of Abivax, added: "We are very pleased that the results of the phase 2a study in RA clearly confirm the excellent anti-inflammatory effects and favorable safety of obefazimod that have already been demonstrated in phase 2a and 2b trials in ulcerative colitis. The publication of our RA phase 2a induction data in the journal ARD and the selection for a presentation at EULAR are very important for Abivax, as they scientifically validate the capacity of our drug candidate to address RA, in addition to ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, and therefore a broad range of chronic inflammatory diseases. Importantly, obefazimod did not only show a potent and rapid onset of action during the induction studies but, in both our RA and UC maintenance trials, demonstrated a durable efficacy over time. Millions of patients suffering from these chronic and very debilitating diseases are in need of new, safe drugs with long lasting efficacy. The Abivax team is therefore committed to making obefazimod available to these patients as quickly as possible." The clinical phase 2a induction study was designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of two oral dose levels of obefazimod administered once daily, in combination with methotrexate (MTX). 60 patients who had an inadequate response to MTX and/or to one or more anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) biological therapeutics participated in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Patients received obefazimod (50mg or 100mg) or placebo during the 12-week induction treatment phase. The study was conducted in 21 study centers across four European countries (France, Belgium, Poland and Hungary). The treatment groups were well balanced in terms of disease severity as well as patient demographics. In June 2021, Abivax communicated the results of the induction phase of its phase 2a clinical study. The primary endpoint of this study, safety and tolerability, was met with 50mg obefazimod once daily, demonstrating good safety and tolerability profile in the overall patient population during the 12-week induction phase. 67% (40/60) of the patients who completed the induction study enrolled in the open-label extension maintenance study to receive 50mg obefazimod orally once a day for an additional year. In March this year, Abivax reported exciting results from the phase 2a maintenance trial in RA. 58% of the patients (23/40) suffering from moderate to severe active RA completed 52 weeks of chronic treatment with obefazimod. Efficacy of 50mg once daily obefazimod was assessed by the DAS28-CRP remission (DAS28-CRP < 2.6[2]) and the ACR20/50/70[3] rates. 57% of the patients (13/23) were in remission at week 52, assessed by the DAS28-CRP (< 2.6), corresponding to 33% (13/40) using the full analysis set (FAS). All 23 patients (100%) who completed 52 weeks of treatment achieved at least an ACR20 response, which translates into 58% (23/40) in the FAS. It is remarkable, that according to the observed cases population, 83% (19/23) and 52% (12/23) achieved even an ACR50 and ACR70 response respectively, corresponding to 48% (19/40) and 30% (12/40) according to the FAS. 20/23 patients were eligible to continue their treatment after week 52 and are at present in their second year of continued daily oral treatment with 50mg obefazimod. Obefazimod was safe and the nature of the adverse events is consistent with what has been observed in more than 1,000 subjects who have so far been treated in other clinical trials with obefazimod across different indications. Abivax currently focuses on the development of obefazimod for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and recently reported excellent phase 2b one-year maintenance data in this indication. A phase 3 clinical program in ulcerative colitis is under finalization and the first patient is planned to be included in Q3 2022. The outcome of the clinical studies conducted in UC, along with the promising results of the obefazimod phase 2a induction as well as the maintenance study after one year of continued treatment in RA patients, underpin the potential of obefazimod to treat a broad range of chronic inflammatory diseases. "Obefazimod" registered as INN for ABX464 Abivax further announces today that "obefazimod" has been confirmed as international nonproprietary name (INN) for drug-candidate ABX464. Obefazimod has officially been registered and published at the WHO as well as the USAN (United States Adopted Names). ***** About Abivax (www.abivax.com) Abivax, a clinical stage biotechnology company, is developing novel therapies that modulate the body's natural immune machinery to treat patients with chronic inflammatory diseases, viral infections, and cancer. Abivax is listed on Euronext compartment B (ISIN: FR0012333284 - Mnemo: ABVX). Based in Paris and Montpellier, Abivax has two drug candidates in clinical development, obefazimod (ABX464) to treat severe inflammatory diseases, and ABX196 to treat hepatocellular carcinoma. More information on the company is available at www.abivax.com. Follow us on Twitter @ABIVAX_. Contacts Abivax Communications Regina Jehle regina.jehle@abivax.com +33 6 24 50 69 63 Investors LifeSci Advisors Ligia Vela-Reid lvela-reid@lifesciadvisors.com +44 7413 825310 Press Relations & Investors Europe MC Services AG Anne Hennecke anne.hennecke@mc-services.eu +49 211 529 252 22 Public Relations France Actifin Ghislaine Gasparetto ggasparetto@actifin.fr +33 6 21 10 49 24 Public Relations France Primatice Thomas Roborel de Climens thomasdeclimens@primatice.com +33 6 78 12 97 95 Public Relations USA Rooney Partners LLC Jeanene Timberlake jtimberlake@rooneypartners.com +1 646 770 8858 DISCLAIMER This press release contains forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates (including patient recruitment) with respect to certain of the Company's programs. Although the Company believes that its forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates are based on assumptions and assessments of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that have been deemed reasonable, such forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates. A description of these risks, contingencies and uncertainties can be found in the documents filed by the Company with the French Autorite des Marches Financiers pursuant to its legal obligations including its registration document (Document d'Enregistrement Universel). Special consideration should be given to the potential hurtles of clinical and pharmaceutical development including further assessment by the company and regulatory agencies and ethics committees of preclinical, pharmacokinetic, carcinogenicity, toxicity, CMC, clinical data, Furthermore, these forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates are only as of the date of this press release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Abivax disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, forecasts or estimates to reflect any subsequent changes that the Company becomes aware of, except as required by law. This press release is for information purposes only, and the information contained herein does not constitute either an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe securities of the Company in any jurisdiction, in particular in France. Similarly, it does not give and should not be treated as giving investment advice. It has no connection with the investment objectives, financial situation or specific needs of any recipient. It should not be regarded by recipients as a substitute for exercise of their own judgement. All opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. The distribution of this document may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this document comes are required to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions. [1] Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases: "Safety and efficacy of the miR-124 upregulator ABX464 (obefazimod, 50 and 100 mg per day) in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis and inadequate response to methotrexate and/or anti-TNF therapy: a placebo-controlled phase II study", ARD, 2022. [2] DAS28-CRP-Disease Activity Score for 28 joints - C reactive Protein [3] The American College of Rheumatology ACR score measures the efficacy of treatments for rheumatoid arthritis patients. The ACR20/50/70 measures a 20/50/70% improvement in the tenderness and swelling in designated joints and a 20/50/70% improvement in at least 3 of the 5 following measures: investigator's and patient's reported global assessment of disease scales, patient's reported pain scale, CRP level, healthy assessment questionnaire. SOURCE: ABIVAX View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/703500/Abivax-Phase-2a-Study-Results-of-Obefazimod-ABX464-in-Rheumatoid-Arthritis-Published-in-the-Journal-Annals-of-the-Rheumatic-Diseases-and-Selected-for-Presentation-at-EULAR-2022 TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / June 1, 2022 / Shopping for a new Samsung S22 wallet case , S22 Plus case, or S22 Ultra case? Here's some great news: Caseco, a leader in innovative and trendy accessories for modern smartphones, has recently released its latest and much-anticipated phone case line: the 5th Avenue Detachable Phone Wallet Case for the Samsung S22 Series. Meet Caseco: An Environmentally and Socially Responsible Company One of the first things that impressed me upon learning about Caseco is how they do their part for the environment. From using recyclable materials to printing their boxes with plant-based dyes, you are assured of a company that cares about the world we live in. Even better, they work against single-use plastics that end up in the ocean and harm fish and animals. As if that's not cool enough, they also support environmental non-profit groups such as 1% For the Planet and Plastic Oceans. Caseco is also socially responsible, ensuring its supply lines are free of child labor. And it's quite amazing that they show care for their employees by hiring people who face employment barriers like education or language. Introducing the 5th Ave Samsung S22 Wallet Case Learning about the good things that Caseco does and stands for, I went on to know more about their latest exciting offering: the 5th Ave Samsung S22 Wallet Case . 5 Card Slots + Cash Pocket. One of the first things that impressed me is the five-card slots. This means I can store all my important cards like ATMs and IDs. Another perk is I can bring cash and store it in the case's cash pocket. I feel like having one storage place for my Samsung S22 Plus, cards, and cash saves me time especially when I'm on the go or traveling. Now I won't have to worry about forgetting any of my essentials at home or elsewhere. Vegan Leather. Another perk of the 5th Ave Samsung S22 Wallet Case is that it's made of 100% cruelty-free vegan leather. This means it gives a stunning PU leather look without harming the planet because it is non-toxic, pollution-free, and made without harmful chemicals. Total Protection. Protecting your Samsung S22 like your Samsung S22 Ultra as well as your cards is definitely one of the top features of the 5th Ave Samsung S22 Wallet Case. Each case is built with RFID and EMF radiation shielding material to protect your card's information and deflect radiation while still allowing signals to enter and exit the phone. Now, I am someone who can be really clumsy, that's why I drop my phone at times. I am glad the 5th Ave Wallet Case for the Samsung S22 Series is made from durable, long-lasting material with raised edges to protect my phone from sudden drops and scratches. More Perks from Caseco I learned that when I shop for any Caseco product, I can return it in 30 days if ever there will be a problem because of their 30-day policy. They also offer free shipping for orders over $50. And if I'd like to earn commissions and receive giveaways, I can sign up to be a Brand Ambassador. Caseco listens to and involves its customers. Through its audience's feedback, Caseco continuously develops and innovates its products under these brands - Caseco , Mighty Mount , Screen Patrol , and Rockstone Audio . Follow Caseco on Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube , and Pinterest . PR Contact: jay@casecoinc.com Contact Number: +14163020044 SOURCE: Caseco View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/703240/Caseco-Launches-5th-Ave-Wallet-Case-for-Samsung-S22-Series News summary: Vulnerabilities of satellite-based and in-network timing put critical network infrastructure at serious risk ADVA aPNT+ platform empowers service providers to deliver differentiated timing services with alternative PNT sources platform empowers service providers to deliver differentiated timing services with alternative PNT sources Offerings with integrated GNSS backup enable utilities, finance, telecom customers and more to meet new guidelines and standards ADVA (FSE: ADV) today announced that it's enabling service provider customers to offer GPS/GNSS-backup-as-a-service (GBaaS). A wide range of industries are increasingly reliant on satellite-delivered timing, but with threats including jamming and spoofing cyberattacks on the rise, operators need to find ways to safeguard services that rely on positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) information. In-network timing based on NTP and PTP is also increasingly vulnerable to cyber threats. As a response, ADVA is now empowering service providers to offer GBaaS and enable end users to address new guidelines and standards for redundant PNT architectures. GBaaS meets the latest recommendations for PNT homeland security like US Executive Order 13905. Leveraging ADVA's aPNT+ technology, it eliminates the risks and costs associated with GNSS dependence. "Threats to hamper PNT capabilities are growing, and much of the world's critical infrastructure is still without adequate protection from GNSS vulnerabilities. All of that can change when service providers are able to offer GBaaS. It's based on our aPNT+ platform, which leverages a suite of technologies, including multi-band GNSS receivers and AI- and ML-based management software. As well as making networks more resilient against cyberattacks, our aPNT+ platform also delivers highly accurate backup when GNSS fails," said Gil Biran, GM of Oscilloquartz, ADVA. "Now service providers can offer ADVA's aPNT+protection as a subscription-based service as part of their SLAs. This will enable many more timing networks to achieve very high levels of resilience and assurance. Across a wide range of industries, this will be the easiest and most flexible way to guarantee robust PNT services." ADVA's GBaaS solution employs a combination of multi-layer detection, multi-source backup and fault-tolerant mitigation to render timing networks more secure. Embedded in all timing devices, ADVA's Syncjack technology provides comprehensive and precise synchronization performance monitoring and analytics, enabling the Ensemble Sync Director network management suite to intelligently operate and prioritize multi-source timing feeds across the network. Onboard multi-band GNSS receivers boost timing accuracy and also protect against attacks like jamming and spoofing. But for those times when GNSS is either unavailable or compromised, a dispersed network of autonomous cesium atomic clocks and network backup timing feeds is always sitting on standby, ready to deliver highly accurate network timing over long periods of GNSS unavailability. "GBaaS is a completely new way for service providers to sell critical PNT infrastructure as a service without the burden of investment and maintenance. For the first time, they can offer their customers SLAs at a range of levels that ensure the resilient and assured timing needed across time-sensitive networks and applications," commented Nino De Falcis, senior director of business development at Oscilloquartz, ADVA. "The flexibility and protection that GBaaS affords is bad news for any malicious actors looking to attack PNT services. Service providers can now offer their customers a guarantee: When GNSS is compromised or goes offline, ADVA's robust network of defense-in-depth PTP timing devices will be there to provide the accuracy and backup they urgently need." Further information on ADVA's GBaaS solution is available in these slides: https://adva.li/gbaas-slides. About ADVA ADVA is a company founded on innovation and focused on helping our customers succeed. Our technology forms the building blocks of a shared digital future and empowers networks across the globe. We're continually developing breakthrough hardware and software that leads the networking industry and creates new business opportunities. It's these open connectivity solutions that enable our customers to deliver the cloud and mobile services that are vital to today's society and for imagining new tomorrows. Together, we're building a truly connected and sustainable future. For more information on how we can help you, please visit us at www.adva.com. About Oscilloquartz Oscilloquartz is a pioneer in time and frequency synchronization. We design, manufacture and deploy end-to-end synchronization systems that ensure the delivery and assurance of highly precise timing information over next-generation packet and legacy networks. As an ADVA company, we're creating new opportunities for tomorrow's networks. For more information, please visit us at www.oscilloquartz.com. Published by: ADVA Optical Networking SE, Munich, Germany www.adva.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220531005526/en/ Contacts: For press: Gareth Spence t +44 1904 699 358 public-relations@adva.com For investors: Stephan Rettenberger t +49 89 890 665 854 investor-relations@adva.com Arteria AI, an award-winning global leader in enterprise digital documentation, today announced it has received strategic investments from Citi SPRINT (Spread Products Investment Technologies), the strategic investing arm of the bank's industry-leading Global Spread Products division, and BDC Capital. Arteria's software has been deployed at numerous top-tier global financial institutions to deliver fast and accurate documentation experiences to clients, while lowering the cost and risk of doing business. Arteria uses artificial intelligence and a data-first approach on its mission to make documentation processes frictionless. Arteria includes a series of product modules that can be used to help draft, negotiate and analyze documentation and contracts. Unlike standard digital document platforms (also referred to as Contract Lifecycle Management or CLM), Arteria was built to the specific requirements of the institutional banking and trading sector. It delivers efficiencies to document and data management processes from the simplest to the most complex segments within finance, from primary and secondary capital markets, to lending, prime brokerage, structured finance, transaction banking and private equity. "Arteria is approaching the complex document data challenges of financial institutions with a forward-thinking approach, reflecting their deep understanding of financial documents," said Christina Wojcik, Director, Legal Innovation at Citi Katya Chupryna, Head of SPRINT at Citi said, "Our investment in Arteria AI aligns with our strategy, as the company's differentiated technology is both widely applicable to multiple Citi businesses including new issuance for structured credit and accretive to our broader ecosystem of portfolio companies. The company has already accumulated significant traction with established financial institutions, demonstrating the immense utility of their technology. A strategic investment into Arteria also represents a great opportunity to support a female-founded and led enterprise FinTech company." This investment co-led by BDC Capital, which helps develop high-growth businesses in Canada, also signals the launch of Arteria AI's new regional bank offering. Mark Trevitt, Partner at BDC Capital said, "We are delighted to strategically partner with Arteria AI to improve the efficiency of lending processes within financial services. Working with Shelby Austin and her team also furthers our mission to support the development of iconic Canadian entrepreneurs and companies." Citi and BDC Capital join prominent FinTech investors Information Venture Partners and Illuminate Financial, along with StandUp Ventures and Golden Ventures. The capital will accelerate Arteria's global growth and adoption of its differentiated low-code, data-centric approach to documentation. The amount and terms of the investment are undisclosed. The strategic investment round follows Arteria AI's Series A in April 2021, where it raised US$11 million just five months after the company's inception. Shelby Austin, CEO of Arteria AI, said, "This investment is a strong signal that Arteria uniquely addresses the documentation challenges faced within institutional finance. We are so pleased that Citi and BDC Capital recognize that our technology, and the specialized nature of our multidisciplinary team, are highly differentiated." About Arteria AI Powered by data, Arteria AI is trusted by the world's largest banks to transform client document processes at enterprise scale working smarter and faster to maximize revenue and save time and cost. Arteria AI's client documentation solution removes the need for legacy manual processes by structuring data during the documentation lifecycle to speed up decision-making processes for all stakeholders with a highly intuitive front-end. Built by subject matter experts, data scientists and technologists, Arteria AI's solution unleashes the power of data to help global, regulated financial institutions solve client document complexity at scale. Adopting an innovative data-first approach, our AI-powered enterprise-ready solution takes the friction out of the paper trail. About BDC Capital BDC Capital is the investment arm of BDC, the bank for Canadian entrepreneurs. BDC Capital serves as a strategic partner to the country's most innovative firms. It offers businesses a full spectrum of capital, from seed investments to growth equity, supporting Canadian entrepreneurs who have the ambition to stand out on the world stage. Visit bdc.ca/capital. About Citi Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220531005966/en/ Contacts: Sarah Finney, Streets Consulting e: sarah.finney@streetsconsulting.com m: +44 (0)7772 099828 Carmen Rey, Streets Consulting e: carmen.rey@streetsconsulting.com m: +44 (0)7935 717777 Patricia Tuma, Citi e: patricia.tuma@citi.com Rekha Jogia-Soni, Citi e: rekha.jogiasoni@citi.com P: +44 (0) 207 500 2843 Appointment: eXo Platform announced the appointment of Mrs Mazour-Mestrallet as Chief Executive Officer. She is expected to begin her role in June 2022. eXo Platform, the leading open-source provider of intranet and digital workplace solutions, announces the appointment of New CEO, Veronika Mazour-Mestrallet. About her appointment, Veronika Mazour-Mestrallet declared: "I thank the members of the Board for their trust. In my previous roles as CFO and then COO of eXo Platform, I have successfully led eXo's business operations and development, focusing on our customers needs of security, employee engagement and productivity. Today, eXos ambition is to provide a credible open-source alternative to Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, and enable our customers to transition to a fully independent digital workplace or to function in a hybrid mode. The latest version of our solution focuses on the quality of the employee experience, unifying their access to different tools and information. This new version should boost our growth, in particular on the European markets." Co-founder of eXo Platform with Benjamin Mestrallet, Veronika successively held the position of CFO from 2009 to 2014 and then COO to date. Upon her graduation from top French schools (Ecole Polytechnique, Ecole des Mines, Sciences Po Paris), Veronika started her career at Goldman Sachs as a Private Equity analyst. Then she joined the general inspection of BNP Paribas and the BCG (The Boston Consulting Group) office in Paris. In 2009, she joined eXo Platform full-time as CFO and acted as part-time CFO for its spin-off Codenvy from 2012 to 2015. Benjamin Mestrallet, eXo's co-founder, leaves his CEO position to start a new adventure in the web 3. Benjamin Mestrallet will continue to engage with eXo as Chairman of the Board of Directors. About eXo Platform eXo Platform is the leading open-source provider of digital workplace and intranet solutions. eXo helps its customers build their digital workplaces by providing a secure, fully-featured and employee-centred platform. eXo Platform serves more than a million users and is successfully deployed at many public and private organizations worldwide, including the French Army, the US Department of Defense and NATO. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220601005245/en/ Contacts: Anne-Sophie Duport asduport@exoplatform.com Liquid-cooled GPUs provide improved performance, efficiency, and environmental sustainability Inspur Information, a leading IT infrastructure solutions provider, announced at ISC 2022 that it will be among the first to support the recently announced liquid-cooled NVIDIA A100 and H100 PCle Tensor Core GPUs. As digital transformation and environmental sustainability become increasingly intertwined, Inspur is pioneering greener and more powerful liquid-cooled computing systems for enterprises and industries. Inspur AI servers, including NF5468M6 and NF5468A5, support up to eight liquid-cooled NVIDIA PCIe GPUs. Inspur was the first server vendor to offer eight liquid-cooled 500W HGX A100 GPUs in its NF5488LA5 and NF5688LA5 servers, and now Inspur is also among the first to support liquid-cooled PCIe GPUs in its product portfolio. Inspur AI liquid-cooled servers have strong AI computing and general computing capabilities, and can be flexibly configured according to user needs. They provide strong computing for AI and HPC applications including image recognition, speech recognition, natural language processing, scientific research and engineering simulation. The cold plates cover high power components like the GPUs and CPUs, and the server adopts warm water cooling technologies, allowing the power usage effectiveness (PUE) of Inspur servers to be as low as 1.1. This results in a substantial reduction in operating costs for cooling equipment. "The rapid growth of data center computing power and power consumption highlights the importance of liquid cooling," said Liu Jun, Vice President of Inspur Information and General Manager of AI and HPC. "Our liquid-cooled AI servers offer powerful and green solutions that make it easier to build next-generation intelligent data centers and hyperscale with tremendous density and performance, while reducing energy costs and being more environmentally sustainable." "The growing demand for mainstream systems that can effectively run AI applications such as training and inference require powerful GPUs," said Paresh Kharya, Senior Director of Product Management for Accelerated Computing at NVIDIA. "Inspur's systems powered by liquid-cooled NVIDIA A100 and H100 PCIe GPUs will enable customers to achieve higher performance on these workloads, while improving energy efficiency in the data center." Inspur Information is a leading AI server provider, with a rich portfolio of AI computing products, and works closely with its AI customers to help them achieve incredible performance improvements in AI applications including voice, semantics, image, video, and search processing. About Inspur Information Inspur Information is a leading provider of data center infrastructure, cloud computing, and AI solutions. It is the world's 2nd largest server manufacturer. Through engineering and innovation, Inspur Information delivers cutting-edge computing hardware design and extensive product offerings to address important technology sectors such as open computing, cloud data center, and AI. Performance-optimized and purpose-built, our world-class solutions empower customers to tackle specific workloads and real-world challenges. To learn more, visit https://www.inspursystems.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220601005563/en/ Contacts: Fiona Liu PR Manager Inspur Information liuxuan01@inspur.com Vivian Kelly Interprose for Inspur Information +1 703.509.5412 viviankelly@interprosepr.com AEF0117 is the most advanced drug candidate of the new pharmacological class, the CB 1 -SSi, developed by Aelis Farma. AEF0117 aims to treat disorders related to excessive cannabis use (addiction and psychosis), which are increasing significantly worldwide. The phase 2b study will investigate the efficacy of AEF0117 for the treatment of cannabis use disorders (CUD), the current medical definition of cannabis addiction. The study will be coordinated by Columbia University and conducted at 9 clinical centers in the United States. It is expected to include approximately 330 patients and provide results in 2024. Regulatory News: Aelis Farma (ISIN: FR0014007ZB4 Mnemonic: AELIS) (Paris:AELIS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of treatment for brain diseases, announces the enrollment of the 1st patient in the phase 2b study of AEF0117 for the treatment of cannabis use disorder (CUD), the current medical definition of cannabis addiction. AEF0117 is the first drug candidate of a proprietary new class of drugs developed by Aelis Farma, the Signaling Specific inhibitors of the CB1 receptor, the "CB1-SSi". The CB1 is the principal receptor of the endocannabinoid system and one of the most expressed neurotransmitter receptors of the brain. This receptor is involved in the regulation of several brain functions, and it is also the main target of the active ingredient of cannabis, THC. CB1-SSi, by mimicking a recently discovered natural defense mechanism of the brain1 has the potential to treat various brain pathologies without disrupting normal brain functions and behavior. Dr Frances Levin, principal investigator of the study and Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, said: "We are delighted to initiate this phase 2b trial of AEF0117. Disorders linked to excessive cannabis use are a growing health and societal problem in Western countries. In the United States alone almost 50 million people used cannabis in 20202, of whom 14.2 million have been diagnosed with CUD. Often the negative impact of cannabis use is underappreciated. Excessive cannabis use may cause various behavioral disorders such as psychosis, cognitive impairment with a loss of up to 8 IQ points3 and worsen other psychiatric disorders such as depression. AEF0117, developed by Aelis Farma, has shown positive results in a phase 2a study and we look forward to continuing its evaluation in a larger population in this new study." The phase 2b clinical trial aims to demonstrate the efficacy of AEF0117 for the treatment of cannabis use disorder. The study is expected to include approximately 330 patients at 9 participating clinical centers in the United States. This double-blind, placebo-controlled study will include four separate patient arms, which will be administered either a placebo or one of the three test doses of AEF0117 (0.1 mg, 0.3 mg and 1 mg) once daily for 3 months. The primary objective of the study is to demonstrate if AEF0117 reduces cannabis use, as measured by the increase in the proportion of subjects with a response of =1 day of cannabis use per week compared to placebo. The proportion of patients reaching other levels of reduction of use and the potential improvement of their quality of life will also be investigated. The results of the study are expected in 2024. Dr. Pier Vincenzo Piazza, Co-founder and CEO of Aelis Farma, commented: "The inclusion of the 1st patient in AEF0117's phase 2b study is a key event for Aelis Farma, which, once completed, would enable AEF0117 to enter into confirmatory Phase 3 trials. This achievement is the result of several months of effort from the team dedicated to this project. I would like to thank all of them, our employees, and the investigators at the clinical centers, who have enabled us to achieve this milestone well within the time frame announced to the market. This study is of major importance for several reasons. It represents real hope for the growing number of people suffering from the pathological consequences of excessive cannabis use. These pathologies, for which there is no available effective and safe pharmacological treatment, have a serious societal impact and are increasing significantly in parallel with the wave of cannabis legalization observed in many Western countries, and could become the next drug epidemic. This study also represents the cornerstone of our cooperation with Indivior which, if AEF0117 proves to be efficacious, will accelerate the development and market access of this promising new treatment." This phase 2b study is part of the clinical development program of AEF0117 that has received a total of $7.8 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of which $4.5 million was allocated at the end of 2021 for this new phase of development. A previous phase 2a study in subjects with cannabis use disorder, performed at Columbia University (NY) by Dr. Margaret Haney, provided preliminary evidence of the efficacy of AEF0117 with a good safety profile. Based on encouraging phase 2a results, in June 2021, Aelis Farma entered in an exclusive option and license agreement with Indivior PLC, an international leader in addiction medicine, for the development and commercialization of AEF0117 as a treatment for disorders linked to excessive cannabis use. As part of this collaboration, Aelis Farma received $30 million (option payment). If Indivior exercises the license option at the end of the phase 2b study, Indivior will pay Aelis Farma $100 million to acquire the license (potentially in 2024) and up to an additional $340 million if development, regulatory and commercial milestones are achieved, as well as royalties on net sales of AEF0117 of between 12% and 20%. Following the exercise of the option, all development, registration, and commercialization costs of AEF0117 will be borne by Indivior. About AELIS FARMA Founded in 2013, Aelis Farma is a biopharmaceutical company that has developed a new class of drugs, the Signaling Specific inhibitors of the CB1 receptor of the endocannabinoid system (CB1-SSi). These new molecules hold great potential in the treatment of many brain diseases. CB1-SSi were developed by Aelis Farma on the basis of the discovery of a new natural defense mechanism of the brain made by the team of Dr. Pier Vincenzo Piazza, CEO of the Company, when he was Director of the Inserm Magendie Neurocenter in Bordeaux. For these discoveries, Dr. Piazza was awarded the Inserm Grand Prix and the Grand Prix of Neurology of the French Academy of Sciences, which are among the most prestigious French awards in medicine and neurology. Aelis Farma is developing two first-in-class drug candidates that are at the clinical stage, AEF0117 and AEF0217, and has a portfolio of innovative CB1-SSi for the treatment of other diseases associated with dysregulation of CB1 receptor activity. AEF0117, which targets disorders linked to excessive cannabis use (addiction and psychosis), has completed a phase 2a trial that showed positive signs of efficacy and is undergoing a phase 2b trial in the United States. Aelis Farma has entered an exclusive option and license agreement with Indivior PLC, a leading pharmaceutical group in the treatment of addiction, for the development and commercialization of AEF0117 for disorders linked to excessive cannabis use. As part of this collaboration, Aelis Farma received $30 million (option payment). If Indivior exercises the license option at the end of the phase 2b study, Aelis Farma will receive a $100 million license fee (potentially in 2024) and up to $340 million in additional payments contingent upon the achievement of development, regulatory and commercial milestones, as well as royalties on net sales of AEF0117 ranging from 12% to 20%. AEF0217, which targets various cognitive disorders including those associated with Down syndrome, is progressing successfully in its phase 1/2 program and could provide the first evidence of efficacy in early 2023. This compound has been the subject of extensive preclinical proof-of-concept studies using highly innovative and highly predictive tests to assess cognitive functions. In this context, AEF0217 has demonstrated its ability to completely reverse deficits in several models of cognitive disorders such as Down's syndrome and Fragile X syndrome, as well as in certain cognitive deficits associated with aging. Based in Bordeaux, within the Magendie Neurocenter, Aelis Farma has a team of 24 highly qualified employees and has benefited from investments from the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region, Inserm Transfert Initiative, Bpifrance, regional funds ACI, NACO and Aqui-invest and IRDI Capital Investissement. For more information: www.aelisfarma.com ISIN: FR0014007ZB4 Mnemonic: AELIS Compartment B of Euronext Paris Warning This press release contains statements that are not factual, including, but not limited to, certain statements regarding future results and other future events. These statements are based on the current views and assumptions of the Company's management. They involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, profitability and events to differ materially. In addition, Aelis Farma, its shareholders and its respective affiliates, directors, executives, consultants and employees have not verified the accuracy of, and make no representations or warranties with respect to, any statistical information or forward-looking information contained in this press release that is derived from third-party sources or industry publications. Such statistical data and forward-looking information are used in this release for informational purposes only. 1 "Pregnenolone can protect the brain from cannabis intoxication." (Science, January 3, 2014) 2 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2021). Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (HHS Publication No. PEP21-07-01-003, NSDUH Series H-56). Rockville, MD: Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/data/. 3 Grant et al. 2012; Meier et al. 2012 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220601005655/en/ Contacts: AELIS FARMA Pier Vincenzo Piazza Co-founder and CEO contact@aelisfarma.com NewCap Dusan Oresansky/Marine de Fages Investor Relations aelis@newcap.eu +33 1 44 71 94 92 NewCap Nicolas Merigeau Media Relations nmerigeau@newcap.fr +33 1 44 71 94 98 COMMERZBANK AG (London Branch) - Pre Stabilisation Federal Republic of Germany EUR4bn Pre-Stabilisation Notice 01 June 2022 Not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or any jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful. Federal Republic of Germany EUR 4,000,000,000 increase of the outstanding EUR 6,000,000,000 0.00% Green Bonds due 15 August 2050 Standalone documentation. Commerzbank AG (contact: Ian Turner; telephone: +44 207 475 1817) hereby announces, as Stabilisation Coordinator, that the Stabilising Managers named below may stabilise the offer of the following securities in accordance with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU Regulation 596/2014). The security to be stabilised: Issuer: Federal Republic of Germany Guarantor (if any): n/a Aggregate nominal amount: EUR 4,000,000,000 Description: EUR 4,000,000,000 increase of the outstanding EUR 6,000,000,000 0.00% Green Bonds due 15 August 2050 Offer price: tbc Other offer terms: Payment date 08 June 2022, denoms EUR0.01, listing All domestic exchanges, Expected Rating Aaa (Moody's) / AAA (S&P) Stabilisation: Stabilisation coordinator: Stabilising Managers: Commerzbank AG Barclays Bank Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank HSBC Bank Morgan Stanley Nomura Stabilisation period expected to start on: 01 June 2022 Stabilisation period expected to end on: no later than 30 days after the proposed issue date of the securities Existence, maximum size and conditions of use of over-allotment facility. The Stabilising Managers may over-allot the securities to the extent permitted in accordance with applicable law. Stabilisation trading venue: All domestic exchanges In connection with the offer of the above securities, the Stabilising Manager(s) may over-allot the securities or effect transactions with a view to supporting the market price of the securities during the stabilisation period at a level higher than that which might otherwise prevail. However, stabilisation may not necessarily occur and any stabilisation action, if begun, may cease at any time Any stabilisation action or over-allotment shall be conducted in accordance with all applicable laws and rules. This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an invitation or offer to underwrite, subscribe for or otherwise acquire or dispose of any securities of the Issuer in any jurisdiction. This announcement is not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or any other jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful. END Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has agreed to acquire Allgemeines Rechenzentrum GmbH (ARZ), a technology service provider focused on the banking sector in Austria. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220601005425/en/ Accenture Agrees to Acquire ARZ in Austria to Expand Banking Platform-as-a-Service Capabilities Across Europe (Photo: Business Wire) The acquisition will expand Accenture's cloud-based banking platform-as-a-service offerings, ranging from core banking services to online banking as well as regulatory services for banking clients across Europe. ARZ is majority-owned by Volksbanken Group and Hypobanken Group as well as other private banks. With locations in Vienna and Innsbruck, ARZ operates a technology competence center for innovation and technology services in the banking sector in Austria. ARZ's approximately 600 employees will join Accenture and will continue to work in their existing locations in Vienna and Innsbruck. "Our vision is to develop an innovative cloud-based banking platform-as-a-service offering for new and existing clients across Europe," said Roland Smertnig, senior managing director in Accenture's financial services practice in Europe. "By acquiring ARZ, we are expanding our digital transformation capabilities to help banks of the future as they look to move more of their core functions to the cloud, enable new business models, and reinvent the services and experiences they provide to customers." Michael Zettel, Accenture's country managing director in Austria added, "With this acquisition, we are expanding our team in Austria and will develop a comprehensive center of excellence at the Innsbruck location to serve our clients in Austria and across Europe. The ARZ team has the experience and talent to help us grow and meet our banking clients' needs now and, in the future, and we look forward to welcoming them to Accenture." Gerald Fleischmann, CEO of Volksbank Wien said, "The move to Accenture is a strategically smart development. Volksbanken and their customers will benefit from the combined expertise, the innovative services and collaboration between ARZ and Accenture." Johannes Haid, a board member of Hypo Tirol added, "Joining forces with Accenture will open up exciting technology training and career opportunities for our employees in Innsbruck and Vienna." ARZ is the latest acquisition Accenture has made in the banking industry. Last year Accenture acquired Exton Consulting, a French consulting firm providing banking strategy support to financial services clients across Europe. Accenture also made a strategic investment, through Accenture Ventures, in Imburse, a cloud-based, payments-as-a-service enterprise platform that simplifies the way businesses around the world access the global payments ecosystem. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Completion of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions. About Accenture Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Technology and Operations services and Accenture Song all powered by the world's largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. Our 699,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace the power of change to create value and shared success for our clients, people, shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at accenture.com. Accenture's Banking industry group helps retail and commercial banks and payments providers boost innovation; address business, technology and regulatory challenges; and improve operational performance to build trust and engagement with customers and grow more profitably and securely. To learn more, visit https://www.accenture.com/us-en/industries/banking-index. Forward-Looking Statements Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "may," "will," "should," "likely," "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "projects," "believes," "estimates," "positioned," "outlook" and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Many of the following risks, uncertainties and other factors identified below may be amplified by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the sanctions (including their duration), and other measures being imposed in response to this conflict, as well as any escalation or expansion of economic disruption or the conflict's current scope. These risks include, without limitation, risks that: Accenture and Avieco will not be able to close the transaction in the time period anticipated, or at all, which is dependent on the parties' ability to satisfy certain closing conditions; the transaction might not achieve the anticipated benefits for Accenture; Accenture's results of operations have been, and may in the future be, adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic and political conditions and the effects of these conditions on the company's clients' businesses and levels of business activity; Accenture faces legal, reputational and financial risks from any failure to protect client and/or company data from security incidents or cyberattacks; Accenture's business depends on generating and maintaining ongoing, profitable client demand for the company's services and solutions including through the adaptation and expansion of its services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings, and a significant reduction in such demand or an inability to respond to the evolving technological environment could materially affect the company's results of operations; if Accenture is unable to match people and skills with client demand around the world and attract and retain professionals with strong leadership skills, the company's business, the utilization rate of the company's professionals and the company's results of operations may be materially adversely affected; the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Accenture's business and operations, and the extent to which it will continue to do so and its impact on the company's future financial results are uncertain; the markets in which Accenture operates are highly competitive, and Accenture might not be able to compete effectively; Accenture's ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; if Accenture does not successfully manage and develop its relationships with key alliance partners or fails to anticipate and establish new alliances in new technologies, the company's results of operations could be adversely affected; Accenture's profitability could materially suffer if the company is unable to obtain favorable pricing for its services and solutions, if the company is unable to remain competitive, if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful or if it experiences delivery inefficiencies or fail to satisfy certain agreed-upon targets or specific service levels; changes in Accenture's level of taxes, as well as audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in tax laws or in their interpretation or enforcement, could have a material adverse effect on the company's effective tax rate, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition; Accenture's results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; changes to accounting standards or in the estimates and assumptions Accenture makes in connection with the preparation of its consolidated financial statements could adversely affect its financial results; Accenture might be unable to access additional capital on favorable terms or at all and if the company raises equity capital, it may dilute its shareholders' ownership interest in the company; as a result of Accenture's geographically diverse operations and its growth strategy to continue to expand in its key markets around the world, the company is more susceptible to certain risks; if Accenture is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; Accenture might not be successful at acquiring, investing in or integrating businesses, entering into joint ventures or divesting businesses; Accenture's business could be materially adversely affected if the company incurs legal liability; Accenture's global operations expose the company to numerous and sometimes conflicting legal and regulatory requirements; Accenture's work with government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment; if Accenture is unable to protect or enforce its intellectual property rights or if Accenture's services or solutions infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or the company loses its ability to utilize the intellectual property of others, its business could be adversely affected; Accenture's results of operations and share price could be adversely affected if it is unable to maintain effective internal controls; Accenture may be subject to criticism and negative publicity related to its incorporation in Ireland; as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the "Risk Factors" heading in Accenture plc's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Accenture's expectations. Copyright 2022 Accenture. All rights reserved. Accenture and its logo are registered trademarks of Accenture. This content is provided for general information purposes and is not intended to be used in place of consultation with our professional advisors. This document refers to marks owned by third parties. All such third-party marks are the property of their respective owners. No sponsorship, endorsement or approval of this content by the owners of such marks is intended, expressed or implied. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220601005425/en/ Contacts: Peter Auer Accenture Austria +43 676872033142 peter.auer@accenture.com 1 June 2022 ANANDA DEVELOPMENTS PLC ("Ananda" or the "Company") TOTAL VOTING RIGHTS In accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules, Ananda announces that the Company has 806,511,040 ordinary shares of 0.2p each in issue ("Ordinary Shares"), each share carrying the right to one vote. This figure of 806,511,040 Ordinary Shares may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. -Ends- The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement. ANANDA DEVELOPMENTS PLC Chief Executive Officer Melissa Sturgess Investor Relations Jeremy Sturgess-Smith +44 (0) 7463 686 497 ir@anandadevelopments.com PETERHOUSE CAPITAL LIMITED Corporate Finance Mark Anwyl Corporate Broking Lucy Williams Duncan Vasey +44 (0)20 7469 0930 Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information. Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain. About Ananda Developments Ananda is an AQSE-listed medical cannabis company creating UK-based operations to grow and provide carbon zero, consistent, medical cannabis for the UK and international markets. The UK medical cannabis market is predicted to be worth 450m by 2025 and the European market is predicted to be worth USD4.2bn by 2027. Ananda, through its 50% owned subsidiary, DJT Plants Limited, was granted a Home Office licence in May 2021 to grow >0.2% THC cannabis in a new research facility to breed and stabilise 65 strains. For more information, please visit: https://anandadevelopments.com/ Deal financing led by existing investor, Archangels, with participation from Scottish Enterprise, Cancer Research Horizons and new investor Old College Capital, the University of Edinburgh's in-house venture investment fund Proceeds to be used to fund the first in human trials with the BIOCAPTIS and prepare for regulatory trials in 2023 BIOCAPTIVA's BioCaptis is a cell-free DNA (cfDNA) capture device which has the potential to transform liquid biopsy testing for cancer management. EDINBURGH, Scotland, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BIOCAPTIVA Ltd ("BIOCAPTIVA"), a company developing the BioCaptis - a revolutionary cell-free DNA (cfDNA) capture device designed to transform liquid biopsy testing for cancer management - announces an oversubscribed 2.1 million additional seed funding round. The financing was led by existing investor Archangels, a leading business angel syndicate, with a long track record of successfully investing in early-stage Scottish life sciences and technology companies. It was joined by Scottish Enterprise and Cancer Research Horizon, the new innovation engine of Cancer Research UK, and new investor Old College Capital, the University of Edinburgh's in-house venture investment fund. The investment will be used to fund the company through the first in human trials with the BioCaptis, expected to generate its first data before the end of 2022, and to prepare for regulatory trials which are planned to start in 2023. BIOCAPTIVA's BioCaptis can capture up to 100x more cfDNA than a conventional blood draw, increasing the quality and quantity of cfDNA available for liquid biopsy testing. This technology, by providing higher quantities of cfDNA, increases the types and stages of cancers amenable to liquid biopsy testing thereby greatly expanding the number of patients who could benefit from this approach to cancer management. Jeremy Wheeler, CEO of BIOCAPTIVA, said, "BIOCAPTIVA is at the forefront of developing technology to transform liquid biopsy testing in cancer management. We are pleased to have raised these additional funds as the company enters its next stage of development, with the BioCaptis beginning its first in human trials. These trials will allow us to generate important data before the end of 2022. This will be a key step before starting regulatory trials in 2023 as we move towards our goal of unleashing the full potential of liquid biopsy in cancer management to improve patient outcomes." Sarah Hardy, Director and Head of New Investments at Archangels, added: "In 2021, Archangels supported the spin-out of BIOCAPTIVA from the University of Edinburgh based on the technology developed from Professor Tim Aitman and Professor Mark Bradley's research. Since then, the company has made remarkable progress and is poised to begin the first in-human trials with BioCaptis just over a year after its formation. We are pleased to lead this financing to support the company in generating its first in human data, and towards its ambition of ensuring that the BioCaptis device can play a key role in realizing the full potential of liquid biopsy testing for cancer management." Andrea Young, Fund Manager at Old College Capital, said, "Old College Capital is delighted to support BIOCAPTIVA by joining this additional seed financing. The company's technology is the result of collaborative research by two world-leading University of Edinburgh academics and its goals are perfectly aligned to the Old College Capital mandate. We look forward to working with BIOCAPTIVA and a strong syndicate of investors led by Archangels to make the BioCaptis device a success." Kerry Sharp, Director of Entrepreneurship and Investment at Scottish Enterprise, added: "BIOCAPTIVA is an innovative and exciting company with strong growth prospects. Its BioCaptis device has the potential to really transform the way cancer is diagnosed, monitored and managed. We look forward to seeing how its first in human trials progress, followed by regulatory trials, so that one day soon this exciting new technology can be put to work for the benefit of patients." About BIOCAPTIVA BIOCAPTIVA is developing the BioCaptis, a revolutionary medical device which has the potential to transform liquid biopsy testing for cancer management, by improving early diagnosis and monitoring of disease and enhancing clinical trial data of cancer patients. The BioCaptis captures up to 100x more cell free DNA (cfDNA) than a venous blood draw, yielding cfDNA in high quality and quantity for testing, addressing the major challenge of liquid biopsy in cancer management. This will potentially allow the testing of a far greater number of cancer types and stages in a much wider range of patients. BIOCAPTIVA was founded in 2021 when it spun out from the University of Edinburgh. BIOCAPTIVA is based in Edinburgh and backed by Archangels Scottish Enterprise, Cancer Research Horizons, the new innovation engine of Cancer Research UK and Old College Capital, the University of Edinburgh's in-house venture investment fund. For more information, please visit www.biocaptiva.com and follow us on LinkedIn About Archangels Archangels is a prominent business angel syndicate which has been at the forefront of early stage investing in Scotland for more than a quarter of a century. Originally formed in 1992 and based in Edinburgh, the syndicate now comprises around 120 investor members and leads investment of around 20m per year in early stage Scottish companies. About Scottish Enterprise? Scottish Enterprise?is Scotland's national economic development agency. We're committed to growing the Scottish economy for the benefit of all, helping create more quality jobs and a brighter future for every region. Follow us on Twitter @scotent and @scotentnews and on LinkedIn About Cancer Research Horizons Cancer Research Horizons - Cancer Research UK About Old College Capital Old College Capital is the University of Edinburgh's in-house venture investment fund. It aims to support the University's research, staff and students by investing in high-growth, early stage businesses associated with the University. Contacts Jeremy Wheeler Chief Executive Officer info@biocaptiva.com www.biocaptiva.com Media Relations for BIOCAPTIVA Ltd David Dible, Eleanor Perkin, Frazer Hall - MEDiSTRAVA Consulting +44 (0)20 3928 6900 biocaptiva@medistrava.com Archangels Paddy.Baxter@framecreates.co.uk 07387 090 070 Katie.Kelly@framecreates.co.uk 07703 987 098 Swiss Re Ltd / Key word(s): Research Update Pandemic takes toll on mental and physical wellbeing, resulting in more online insurance, Swiss Re global consumer survey finds 01.06.2022 / 10:02 Over half (60%) of respondents in emerging markets are increasingly concerned with their health as a result of the pandemic - almost 20 percentage points more than in advanced markets In advanced markets, one third of the population surveyed reported a deterioration in their mental health during the prior year Globally, 40% of respondents are concerned about the adequacy of their existing level insurance coverage Among the under-40s, 54% have researched new or additional policies in the six months preceding the survey Zurich, 1 June 2022 - Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, a Swiss Re Institute survey among 11,000 consumers worldwide shows that the pandemic has led to a greater focus on health and financial security. This has resulted in more online insurance purchases and a greater willingness to share personal health data, especially among the younger generation. "The sudden shock to healthcare systems and accelerated digital adoption, among other behavioural changes, has had a profound impact on people's livelihoods. As a result of this, many consumers continue to express concern regarding their health resilience and how well they are insured for potential health shocks in the future," said Jerome Jean Haegeli, Swiss Re's Group Chief Economist. This is the third edition of the Swiss Re Institute survey and an extension of the 2021 and 2020 Asia-Pacific focused studies1. The ensuing report, Digital touchpoints build physical and mental health resilience, reveals that changes in consumer health concerns and financial security have led to a reprioritisation of policy importance, triggering a further shift to more online insurance purchases. "Consumers continue to prioritise their wellbeing two years into the pandemic. The re/insurance industry has an opportunity to help strengthen this resilience in the post-pandemic world," said Paul Murray, CEO Reinsurance Asia at Swiss Re. "The good news is that more and more consumers are putting their faith in the industry and to make the most of this, we must collectively respond to their changing preferences by meeting their expectations of us - multiple digital touchpoints, new products for the new normal, and more efficient underwriting." Digital touchpoints for health and insurance management have gained traction, particularly among younger cohorts. In the advanced markets, respondents looking to purchase insurance pay close attention to affordability and the convenience of online processing, while in the emerging markets, priority is on price, online processing and the flexibility to mix and match coverage plans. Changing consumer attitudes towards healthcare This year's report shows that while the pandemic has shifted consumer behaviour in emerging markets to preventative care and disease prevention, COVID-19 has become a catalyst for more regular health checks across the globe. Findings reveal that 46% of respondents in emerging markets plan to attend health check-ups more frequently, versus 16% in advanced markets. This is particularly true for India and China, whereas the US saw the highest impact on check-ups (21%), while Japan the least (7%). Respondents also expressed rising concerns over the adequacy of their existing level of insurance coverage. Of those surveyed and under 40, 54% declared having researched new or additional policies in the six months preceding the survey. Among the advanced markets, respondents in Japan (55%) and the UK (49%) expressed the greatest level of insecurity. Insurance searches and purchases were notably the highest in China and India, with an average, 40% of respondents purchasing new coverage. In the past six months, the under-40s in emerging markets were the most active in exploring new or additional coverage and constitute the fastest growing target group for insurers. Mental health also remains a priority, with the results showing that one third of the population surveyed in advanced markets reported a deterioration in their mental health status over the past 12 months. This was most prominent in the UK (28%) and Australia (26%), while in Germany (26%), sentiment around overall health declined the most. Rising health awareness, digital acceptance This year's report reveals increasing popularity towards using digital channels for health management. The uptick in telehealth and virtual healthcare continues to grow in use across advanced markets. One in three respondents globally also stated their interest in using health and wellness apps, particularly within the 18 to 39-years category, to help build their mental strength. Respondents continue to prioritise their mental health, sleep management and nutritional habits. This year's results again demonstrate that the ongoing global pandemic is an opportunity for insurers to narrow the protection gap in life and health insurance. With a better understanding of consumer perceptions on overall health and financial security, attitudes towards digital applications, and factors that influence insurance purchasing decisions, re/insurers can work with governments and consumers to strengthen physical and mental wellbeing. Download the report here. 1 2022 markets surveyed include the US, UK, France, Germany, South Africa, Brazil, Poland, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Mainland China For further information please contact Swiss Re Media Relations: + 41 (0)43 285 7171 or Media_Relations@Swissre.com. Please use this link to access the Swiss Re website. Swiss Re The Swiss Re Group is one of the world's leading providers of reinsurance, insurance and other forms of insurance-based risk transfer, working to make the world more resilient. It anticipates and manages risk - from natural catastrophes to climate change, from ageing populations to cyber crime. The aim of the Swiss Re Group is to enable society to thrive and progress, creating new opportunities and solutions for its clients. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1863, the Swiss Re Group operates through a network of around 80 offices globally. Cautionary note on forward-looking statements Certain statements and illustrations contained herein are forward-looking. These statements (including as to plans, objectives, targets, and trends) and illustrations provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to a historical fact or current fact. Further information on forward looking statements can be found in the Legal Notice section of Swiss Re's website. End of Media Release Press Release - June 1, 2022 EDHECinfra Answers Stuart Kirk: Climate Risk Matters for Long-Term Investors EDHECinfra reacts to Stuart Kirk's remarks on climate change In an open letter to Stuart Kirk, the now-suspended head of responsible investing at HSBC Asset Management, Noel Amenc, associate professor at EDHEC Business School and Frederic Blanc-Brude, director of the EDHEC Infrastructure Institute, express their dismay at the lack of science behind Mr Kirk's recent very public claim that "investors need not worry about climate change." Telling hard truth to a difficult audience is one thing but spreading fake truths to sound clever is all hubris and no brain. Not only did Mr Kirk rely on dubious statistical methods to make his point that the stock market keeps rising as bad climate news becomes more frequent, but he also shows a remarkable absence of understanding of finance and how markets work. Markets do not process information that they do not have, and climate models and scenarios are not yet telling us what we need to know to understand the impact of climate risk on asset prices. This is why investors are increasingly demanding access to non-financial data about climate risks. Mr Kirk considered that climate risks will be realised in the long term and probably with a fairly limited average aggregate loss given the offsetting of climate gains and losses. So, for a bank like HSBC that has a short-term and well-diversified balance sheet, there is not real point in him spending time on a subject that has no large impact on this balance sheet. This analysis shows unfortunately that Mr Kirk has not understood the very essence of his mission . As the head of responsible investing at a preeminent asset management firm, Mr Kirk is in charge not of his own risks or of the bank's risks, but of the risks of his clients. HSBC AM's clients are longer-term investors than HSBC, because they have long-term liabilities like pensions and life insurance. For them, robust liability-hedging is at the core of what asset management should be all about. This liability-hedging objective results notably in investments in real assets that are not easy to diversify and are therefore very strongly exposed to climate risk. Meanwhile he proposes without due care that the consequences of climate change can be summarised in an aggregate and limited loss of GDP, thereby presenting a morally dubious equivalence between the enormous cost that is likely to be borne by some people and nations, and the benefits of winners, who in principle could adapt to the irreversible and chaotic disruption of the planet's climatic system. Maybe he does not care that Africa, Asia, and Latin America will take a beating and lose many of the development gains they achieved in the past century. For Mr Kirk, 2050 could be the new 1850. Responsible investors, beyond the losses incurred in their portfolio due to climate risk, also worry about the impact of their investments on the climate and their capacity to participate in an undisputed goal of limiting global warming, which is threatening our civilisation. They care not only about Miami, but also about Mexico, Bangladesh or Venice being under water. Many journalists and even politicians have expressed concern about Mr Kirk's suspension by HSBC AM, arguing that free speech is important in the public debate. We sincerely believe that they are missing the point. Mr Kirk did not enter the debate as a journalist -- who should be free to make any kind of comments as long as they have solid sources -- but as a high-level representative of a company that, through him, wishes to take its share in serving investors who are concerned about investing responsibly. What could be more normal than suspending him from a function that he does not really wish to perform? Consult a copy of the open letter to Stuart Kirk. 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. Contact: Oak Fund Services (Guernsey) Limited Company Administrator Attn: Tracy Lewis Tel: +44 1481 723450 EurocastleFirst Quarter Interim Management Statement Release Delay Guernsey, 1 June 2022 - Eurocastle Investment Limitedannounces that its first quarter interim management statement, including the conclusion of the strategic review, is expected to be released later this month. The Company will make a separate announcement once the date of the release is confirmed. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION For investment portfolio information, please refer to the Company's most recent Financial Report, which is available on the Company's website). ABOUT EUROCASTLE Eurocastle Investment Limited ("Eurocastle" or the "Company") is a publicly traded closed-ended investment company, focused on Italian performing and non-performing loans, Italian loan servicing platforms and other real estate related assets in Italy. On 18 November 2019, the Company announced a plan to realise the majority of its assets with the aim of accelerating the return of value to shareholders. The Company will not currently seek material new investments from the proceeds of the realisation but will continue to support its existing investments to the extent required in order to optimise returns and distribute cash to shareholders when available (the "Realisation Plan"). For more information regarding Eurocastle Investment Limited and to be added to our email distribution list, please visit www.eurocastleinv.com. EDINBURGH (dpa-AFX) - Tullow Oil plc (TLW.L) announced Wednesday that it has reached agreement on the terms of a recommended all-share merger of equals with Capricorn Energy PLC (CNE.L). Under the deal terms, each Capricorn Shareholder will be entitled to receive 3.8068 New Tullow Shares for each Capricorn Share. It is intended that the combination will be implemented by means of a Court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement, where Tullow will acquire all of the issued and to be issued Capricorn Shares. On completion of the combination, Capricorn Shareholders will hold around 47 percent of the Combined Group and Tullow Shareholders will hold approximately 53 percent. The board of directors and management of the Combined Group will comprise individuals from both Tullow and Capricorn. Phuthuma Nhleko, currently Chair of Tullow, will become Chair of the board of the Combined Group, and Rahul Dhir, CEO of Tullow, will become the combined firm's CEO. James Smith, CFO of Capricorn, will become CFO of the Combined Group. After almost 11 years as CEO of Capricorn, Simon Thomson will step down as CEO on Completion and will become Chair of the Integration Steering Committee to help with the integration of the two companies. Following the deal, Tullow's shares will continue to trade on the London Stock Exchange's main market and on the Ghana Stock Exchange. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX CAPRICORN ENERGY-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de NEW YORK, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- To meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, an enormous boost in innovation capacity is required. Even as assets under management (AUM) of impact-focused investors have increased from 500 to 700 billion US$ in the last 2 years, the supporting infrastructure for investable solutions has lagged. Innovation programs that provide structured training and plans are a valuable way to ignite and nurture impact enterprises that can grow to scale. However, many of these lack deep business advisory support that can help enterprises navigate the complexity of social challenges. To help bridge these needs, Dalberg , a leading social impact advisory group has acquired Ravel Innovation , a Singapore-based company which designs, builds, and runs an ecosystem of innovation communities and corporate innovation programs, to help clients broaden and deepen their impact globally. This new offering will combine the expertise of both organizations and strengthen Dalberg's capabilities to help governments, NGOs, progressive corporations, and funders drive innovation towards meeting the SDGs. As a result of this acquisition of Ravel, the teams will be able to help clients across the innovation spectrum, including building and running in-house incubators/accelerators; running innovation processes for specific problem statements; supporting young social enterprises to effectively scale; building innovation platforms and, more broadly, helping investments in innovation be more socially impactful. "We see tremendous value in bringing Ravel's expertise to our clients who are seeking to unearth and scale innovative ideas for addressing the most pressing development challenges. The acquisition allows us to meaningfully engage with risk-takers looking to make a real dent in the challenges of today and the future. Importantly, the two organisations share a common ethos of keeping social impact at the centre of the problem statements we take on," said Gaurav Gupta, Partner and Regional Director for Asia, Dalberg Advisors. "Over the past 10 years, since I started Impact Hub Singapore back in 2012, I have seen how social and environmental citizenship has evolved amongst our corporate and governmental clients - from an afterthought to a core belief, from maximising shareholder value at all costs to optimising for total stakeholder responsibility. As the first Google for Startups partner in Southeast Asia, our community has grown to over 28,000 innovators. I am beyond thrilled for Ravel to join the Dalberg global family and be able to extend our services and impact to an even wider audience," said Grace Sai, Founder and Director, Ravel Innovation. With this acquisition, Dalberg aims to incorporate Ravel's innovation capabilities and networks into its global advisory, sector, and regional expertise. Ravel became part of Dalberg in May 2022 and their services will be offered to Dalberg's clients through Dalberg offices worldwide. About Dalberg Dalberg is a leading social impact advisory group that brings together strategy consulting, design thinking, big data analytics, and research to address complex social and environmental challenges. It works collaboratively with communities, institutions, governments, and corporations to develop solutions that create impact at scale. About Ravel Founded in 2012, Ravel Innovation builds, designs and runs an ever-growing ecosystem of spaces, communities and corporate innovation programs. Having worked with more than 100 organizations, it combines organisational psychology, startup-driven methodologies and an unparalleled network of global talent, technologies and experts to create real impact for their clients, who in turn, go on to change the world. It was also Google for Startup's first partner in Southeast Asia. Media Contact Karishma Kram Director of Strategic Communications E: karishma.kram@dalberg.com Shweta Ramesh Brand Communications Associate E: shweta.ramesh@dalberg.com Photo 1: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1829493/Gaurav_Gupta.jpg Photo 2: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1829494/Grace_Sai.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1829492/Dalberg_Logo.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1829495/Ravel_Innovation_Logo.jpg DUBLIN (dpa-AFX) - Accenture Plc (ACN), an IT and consulting firm, Wednesday said it has agreed to acquire Allgemeines Rechenzentrum GmbH or ARZ, an Austrian technology service provider focused on the banking sector. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Completion of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions. The acquisition will expand Accenture's cloud-based banking platform-as-a-service offerings, ranging from core banking services to online banking as well as regulatory services for banking clients across Europe. ARZ is majority-owned by Volksbanken Group and Hypobanken Group as well as other private banks. Following the deal, ARZ's around 600 employees will join Accenture and will continue to work in their existing locations in Vienna and Innsbruck. 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. Moderated by Feedzai's CEO, Nuno Sebastiao, it will address how managing risks in remarkable situations can translate to business LONDON, June 01, 2022, the world's first RiskOps platform for financial risk management, announced it will host two unique panel discussions at this year's Money 20/20 Europe event in Amsterdam. The main stage panel on the 7th of June entitled 'Faster, Higher and Into Orbit' will bring together some of the world's most remarkable people - including astronaut Tim Peake, racing driver Susie Wolff and free climber Alain Robert - to discuss the risks they've taken in their careers and how lessons they've learned can be applied in the context of financial management. Hosting the panel will be Feedzai's CEO, Nuno Sebastiao. The discussion will take place at 12:05 pm and dissect how the panelists manage risk in their own lives and became pioneers in their fields while drawing important lessons to translate these into business terms. Whether driving a Formula One car, free climbing the world's highest buildings, or spending time in the International Space station, these individuals have dealt with risk in a calculated way, much like how Feedzai's groundbreaking technologies do for Financial Institutions, acquirers, and fintechs around the world. The speakers will shine a light on valuable takeaways that organisations can use to help them manage risk as well as create a solid plan to discover and overcome business risks. "Feedzai is proud and excited to bring together a group of incredible and influential people to discuss such an important topic," said Nuno Sebastiao, CEO at Feedzai. "We believe it is crucial to facilitate discussion on how to deal with risk on a personal and a business level, particularly in a way that is universally understood. By giving people like Tim Peake, Susie Wolff and Alain Robert the opportunity to share their experiences, we hope to create parallels to the business world and demonstrate the various ways in which you can deal with risk. In doing so, we aim to highlight the importance of both being prepared and having a plan in place to prevent incidents that can cause immense damage to an organisation." In addition, Feedzai will also be hosting a talk on the Exchange Stage on Wednesday the 8th of June at 14:40 PM, looking to highlight the 'backstage players' protecting the payments ecosystem. Hosted by Richard Harris, EVP Head of Strategy and Advisory at Feedzai, Graham Barrow from Dark Money Files, joined by Silvia Mensdorff-Pouilly, SVP & Head of Banking and Payments, Europe of FIS, and Jethro Cornelissen, Business Line Anti-Fraud Officer C&G ING at ING, the panel will underline the reality of protecting the Fintech sector from threat actors. The trio will tackle topics like international drug money and corruption, weaknesses in the payment ecosystem, and various technologies that can prove helpful. Feedzai will be located in Hall A, stand #60 at the Money20/20 Europe event taking place at the Rai Amsterdam 7th-9th June 2022. About Feedzai: Feedzai is the world's first RiskOps platform for financial risk management, and the market leader in safeguarding global commerce with today's most advanced cloud-based risk management platform, powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence. Feedzai is securing the transition to a cashless world while enabling digital trust in every transaction and payment type. The world's largest banks, processors, and retailers trust Feedzai to protect trillions of dollars and manage risk while improving the customer experience for everyday users, without compromising privacy. Feedzai is a Series D company and has raised $282M to date with a current valuation of $1.5B. Its technology protects 900 million people in 190 countries. For more information, visit feedzai.com BLACKROCK LATIN AMERICAN INVESTMENT TRUST PLC (the "Company") LEI: UK9OG5Q0CYUDFGRX4151 Voting Rights and Capital (Article 15 Transparency Directive, DTR 5.6) In conformity with the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rule 5.6.1R, the Company would like to notify the market of the following: As at 31 May 2022, BlackRock Latin American Investment Trust plc's capital consists of 29,448,641 Ordinary Shares of 10 cents each, carrying one vote each, excluding 2,181,662 ordinary shares held in treasury. As at 31 May 2022, the total number of voting rights for Ordinary shareholders in BlackRock Latin American Investment Trust plc is 29,448,641. Shareholders should use 29,448,641 as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company. All enquiries: Sarah Beynsberger BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited, Company Secretary Tel: 0207 743 2639 1 June 2022 Amatheon Agri Zambia has begun procuring soya beans in Zambia to increase its marketable volumes and simultaneously strengthen its trading relationships with small producers in the area. The company has already purchased 300 metric tonnes (MT) from neighbouring smallholder farmers in rural Mumbwa District and aims to increase purchases to 1,500 MT over the coming weeks. The regional market for raw materials, protein-rich products and oils - including soya beans - continues to increase and Amatheon Agri Zambia is bringing its neighbouring farmers into the wider supply chain, enabling them to benefit from the higher prices. Simultaneously, Amatheon Agri Zambia is midway through its commercial soya harvest and expects a yield of around 6,000 MT this season. BERLIN, GERMANY / ACCESSWIRE / June 1, 2022 / Amatheon Agri Holding N.V., the Euronext listed agribusiness and farming group (ISIN NL0010273694, Symbol MLAAH), shares an operational update from its 100% subsidiary company in Zambia, Amatheon Agri Zambia Limited (AAZ). Soya purchases from small-scale farmers underway Amatheon Agri Zambia has begun buying soya from smallholder farmers with the aim of selling an additional amount of quality-controlled soya with an attractive contribution margin. The company has already purchased 300 MT of soya beans and plans to procure up to 1,500 MT in June. Up to 3,000 farmers could benefit from the procurement activity. Soya prices are currently high in Zambia as the region - and world at large - struggles to manage the combination of global freight delays, ongoing war in the Ukraine and the COVID19 pandemic. Commercial harvest upside The company is almost halfway through its commercial soya harvest and has offtake agreements in place. In addition, Amatheon Agri Zambia has recently been certified as a soya seed multiplyer, and as a result has been able to enter the lucrative soya seed business. This additional upside is on top of the currently high prices. Widening crop portfolio Amatheon Agri Zambia's Outgrower Programme is primarily focused on the cultivation of high-value products such as chillies and organically-certified grains. It is managed through a contract-farming arrangement, whereby the farmer is provided with inputs, agricultural support and fixed offtake prices for better planning and production. The company has decided to capitalise on the current soya market and widen its buying basket to include it. This step not only increases the overall trading volume for Amatheon in the region but also allows smallholder farmers to benefit from the favourable market conditions. "These opportunities are truly win-win scenarios for local farmers and Amatheon, as both can increase their margins and benefit from our infrastructure, which enables this kind of relationship," says Amatheon Agri Holding N.V.'s CEO and Founder, Carl Heinrich Bruhn. The sourcing is arranged through two buying points on Amatheon Agri Zambia's farm with officially calibrated weighbridges - so sellers can observe correct weighing of the soya. Flyers are printed and distributed in nearby villages. For farmers who are unable to deliver to the company's farm, in-village aggregation and collection is also possible, with scales being calibrated so both buyer and seller can confirm the weight. New development project for smallholder farmers Earlier this year, Amatheon Agri Zambia joined the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), private partners, Zambian government officials and local leaders to officially launch the Eastern Kafue Nature Alliance, a new development assistance project. The project is designed to empower local communities for conservation and sustainable management and strengthen relationships among communities and the private sector. Amatheon Agri Zambia was selected to play the key role in this five-year project for further increasing sustainable agricultural production of high-value crops within the local communities of Mumbwa District. The Management Board Berlin, Germany, 1 June 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 (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/703508/Soya-Market-Booms-Amatheon-Agri-Begins-Trading-with-Smallholder-Farmers-as-Commercial-Soya-Harvest-Ramps-Up Turo announces expansion to France, fueled by the acquisition of OuiCar, a leading French peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace, as well as New York state this summer Turo, the world's largest peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace, announced today that it has acquired OuiCar, an established leader in the car sharing industry in France. This integration will leverage OuiCar's strong presence in France to support broader expansion plans in Europe and complements Turo's existing offering across the US, UK, and Canada. "We're extremely excited to welcome OuiCar to the Turo family," said Turo CEO Andre Haddad. "Turo and OuiCar have a shared vision for the future of peer-to-peer car sharing, and we're thrilled to join forces to put France's 38 million cars to better use. Today, we're one step closer in fulfilling our mission." Turo and OuiCar will help to meet the increasing demand from both local residents and visitors to France, one of the top travel destinations globally with over 90 million international tourists. The companies are also strategically aligned on helping local hosts build small businesses to supplement their income while building on the large community of guests and wide network of cars available across all regions in France. "It's a huge opportunity with great synergy for the car sharing industry," said OuiCar CEO Benoit Sineau. "We are pleased to join forces, so French hosts and guests, and those traveling to France, will benefit tremendously from our joint network, extraordinary selection of vehicles, and excellent quality of service." While OuiCar has become a part of the Turo family, the company will continue to operate under the OuiCar brand for the time being, with plans to migrate to the Turo brand over time. In addition, Turo will soon launch in New York state, after a new law that was passed by members of the New York legislature and signed by Governor Hochul takes effect. Prospective hosts can now begin listing cars and guests traveling in New York will be able to book starting June 27, 2022. The launch makes Turo the first and only peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace available in all 50 states. Turo has grown rapidly over the last 10 years, making major investments in hiring personnel and expanding into international markets. Adding the Empire State and France to its unrivaled network will help Turo continue to be a leader in car sharing both in the US and around the world. About Turo Turo is the world's largest car sharing marketplace where guests can book any car they want, wherever they want it, from a vibrant community of trusted hosts. Whether they're flying in from afar or looking for a car down the street, searching for a rugged truck or something smooth and swanky for a once-in-a-lifetime event, guests can take the wheel of the perfect car for any occasion, while hosts can take the wheel of their futures by sharing their underutilized personal vehicles or building an accessible, flexible, and scalable car sharing business from the ground up. Turo is home to a supportive and collaborative community that shares thousands of vehicles across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and France. To learn more about Turo, please visit www.turo.com. About OuiCar OuiCar is a leader of car sharing in France, with 2.6 million signed up users and approximately 30,000 vehicles on the platform. Hosts can easily share their cars and generate revenue, while guests enjoy OuiCar's accessibility, flexibility and competitive prices throughout France. OuiCar's fast-growing host and guest communities are reinventing the way people think about cars, transitioning from car ownership to cars-as-a-service to put the 38 million cars in France to better use. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220601005548/en/ Contacts: Steve Webb steve@turo.com press@turo.com DALLAS (dpa-AFX) - International Business Machines Corp. has been ordered to pay $1.6 billion to BMC Software Inc. for fraud and contract violations in connection with mutual client AT&T Inc. U.S. District Judge Gray Miller made the final ruling in the case, which began five years ago in the US District Court, Southern District of Texas (Houston). The judgement followed a seven-day trial from March 14 to March 24. For long, both IBM and IT firm BMC had operated under a deal that disallowed IBM from moving mutual clients over to its own software product line. IBM had serviced AT&T's mainframe computers for years, but the telecom major relied on BMC software since 2007. Later, AT&T conducted an internal initiative to migrate to IBM software from BMC software. Following this, in 2017, BMC sued IBM accusing it for poaching AT&T's software business when both companies renewed their power-sharing deal. BMC had asked the court to award $791 million for IBM's breach of their agreement and $104 million for lost profits on the AT&T contract. Meanwhile, IBM's response was that it was AT&T which declined BMC's products and turned to IBM for its own reasons. IBM claimed it to be fair game under its agreement with BMC. The judge rejected IBM's claim that it acquired the mainframe software account of AT&T, one of BMC's core customers, in a fare deal. According to the Judge, IBM fraudulently induced BMC to sign the 2015 power-sharing deal barring IBM from poaching mutual clients. The judge said, 'The court has determined that the theory asserted by BMC, and found meritorious by the court, which affords BMC the greatest recovery is its claim against IBM for fraudulent inducement. Accordingly, BMC shall recover direct and punitive damages from IBM on its fraudulent inducement claim, plus prejudgment interest in the amount of 5% and postjudgment interest.' In the ruling, Miller awarded $717.74 million in actual contractual damages, $168.23 million in prejudgment interest and an additional $717.74 million in punitive damages based on fraud by clear and convincing evidence. BMC is also entitled to recover from IBM post-judgment interest from the date of the entry of judgment until satisfaction or payment at the rate of 2.06% per annum. The combined amount of actual damages, exemplary damages, and pre-judgment interest on actual damages awarded to BMC in the amounts to about $1.60 billion. Meanwhile, Miller dismissed several BMC contract and trade secret claims against IBM. Responding to the judgement, IBM said it had acted in good faith in every respect, and would appeal the verdict. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX IBM-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de Following the merger with ARIADNEXT, the joint group reports a successful first quarter MUNICH, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- IDnow group, a leading European provider of identity proofing and document signing, reports a rising demand for the joint portfolio in in the first quarter of 2022. The company has confirmed an increase in order intake by 95%. By offering the broadest portfolio in Europe via a single platform, the IDnow group is at the forefront of current market trends: the acceleration of advanced digital business models has led to a shift in demand, from single-product identity verification towards more comprehensive identity proofing and document signing platforms such as IDnow's. Andreas Bodczek, CEO at IDnow, comments: "By combining IDnow, ARIADNEXT and IdentityTM, the IDnow group has emerged as one of the strongest players in Europe as we offer business customers a range of solutions for various use cases and jurisdictions, all from a single source. This is reflected in both our financial performance as well as in our order book. Following a string of M&A transactions over the last 18 months, I am excited to see the company off to a flying start into its first year as a consolidated group and am looking forward to continued joint success." The group's automated identity verification solution has also had a strong first quarter, with an increase in revenue of 134%. Automated identity verification has been a key trend in Europe for some time and it is receiving regulatory approval for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) use cases in an increasing number of European countries. The revenue growth for IDnow's automated solution is expected to continue, as the group forecasts an 80% increase of order intake. IDnow group has made a series of senior hires across Europe to support the company's rapid growth. Mario Fassbender has joined as Vice President Marketing while Stefan Kauhaus has been recruited as Director Product Management Digital Identity. Mike Kiely has also joined IDnow's UK team as Head of Financial Services. For the second half of 2022, IDnow is looking to expand the platform for identity proofing with additional services. The group is anticipating further certifications to be granted in its role as a remote identification service provider. The group's automated and expert-assisted solution in the French market are ready to receive a 'prestataire de verification d'identite a distance' (PVID) certificate. Similarly, the group anticipates entry into the Romanian market with the Authority of Digitization of Romania (ADR) certification. IDnow group's automated solution, coupled with a Qualified Electronic Signature (QES), already offers a global solution for remote onboarding for industries under AML regulation. About IDnow group IDnow group is a leading identity proofing platform provider in Europe with a vision to make the connected world a safer place. The IDnow platform offers a broad range of identity verification and document signing solutions combined with a comprehensive service offering. Ranging from automated to human-assisted, from purely online to point-of-sale, the identity proofing methods are optimised to assure the highest security standards with maximum user conversion. In 2021, IDnow acquired the French market leader for identity verification technology, ARIADNEXT, and the German identity verification provider identity Trust Management AG, enabling IDnow to offer its customers one of the broadest portfolios of identity proofing solutions through a single, integrated platform. The company has offices in Germany, United Kingdom and France and is backed by renowned institutional investors, including Corsair Capital and Seventure Partners. Its portfolio of over 900 international clients, spans a wide range of industries, and includes leading international players such as, Western Union, UBS, Sixt and SNCF, as well as digital champions like N26, Solarisbank, LYDIA and Tier Mobility. Global press contact: Christina Schwinning press@idnow.de +44 (0)7734 237840 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1342896/IDnow_Logo.jpg Global Fund for Children recognizes three organizations challenging systems that exclude children and youth from education. WASHINGTON, DC and LONDON, June 01, 2022today, recognizing the perseverance of three organizations working to challenge systems that exclude children and youth from education. This year's winners are IRODAin Tajikistan, Women Against Violence and Exploitation in Society) in Sierra Leone, and Afghan Institute of Learning) in Afghanistan, which are being honored for their work supporting children and youth who have been excluded from formal schooling. The three winners are committed to defending the rights of young people to access quality education and reach their full potential. IRODA was founded by Dr. Lola Nasriddinova and her husband Fazliddin after their five-year-old son was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), at a time when medical professionals in Tajikistan had limited knowledge of ASD and children with ASD were not accepted into school. Lola and Fazliddin gathered a group of parents experiencing the same situation and established an organization to support children with ASD. IRODA has since pioneered ASD services and support across Tajikistan, training professionals and parents who work with children with ASD; helping children with ASD enroll in formal school and young adults with ASD find employment; and setting up both the first social enterprise cafe and the first early intervention resource center in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. "We have traveled a difficult and thorny path that has led us from being parents who were feeling lost and isolated to becoming activists and professionals working in the field of autism," said Dr. Nasriddinova, the Executive Director of IRODA. "Thank you to all of those who have traveled this path with us, and above all, thank you to our children who have changed our lives and given us courage." WAVES was founded by Hannah Yambasu in 2005. After personally experiencing childhood abuse and fighting to remain free of an arranged marriage, Hannah has dedicated herself to advocating for girls' rights to freedom from violence and access to education. At great personal risk, she has confronted practices such as child marriage and female genital cutting, as well as advocating for policy changes that benefit girls and women. WAVES empowers girls to speak out against sexual and gender-based violence and to advocate for their sexual and reproductive health and rights, while engaging adults in the community to adopt more supportive attitudes and practices. One of the organization's greatest achievements is successfully advocating to overturn a government ban in Sierra Leone that prohibited pregnant girls from attending mainstream schools and sitting for national exams. "We believe the award is recognition of our hard work and commitment to creating a safe and enabling environment for women and girls," said Yambasu, the Executive Director of WAVES. "This award inspires confidence and passion in us to continue to address issues relating to women and adolescents, especially girls, and to do more to build the agency of young people to speak out against sexual and gender-based violence, advocate for sexual and reproductive rights, and become agents of change in their communities." Dr. Sakena Yacoobi founded AIL after witnessing as a child the struggles women and children faced accessing health care and education. Since its inception in 1995, AIL has significantly increased access to education for girls and women by providing them with private schools and learning centers and by fostering literacy. AIL delivers leadership and human rights workshops, including a two-year leadership program for high school students and a women's empowerment program for 70 female leaders in Herat, Afghanistan. The organization also set up a legal clinic to enable women to understand their rights and access free legal assistance. With growing concerns about girls' access to schools and education again, AIL is exploring safe ways to bring education to girls and women, including a partnership with TV Meraj for a televised education program that would reach children without access to school. "It means the world to me to receive this award because children are the hope for a peaceful future - we must nurture and put them above all," said Dr. Yacoobi, AIL's Executive Director. "I am a voice for millions of Afghan children suffering through such crises who are not being heard. I know how much it meant to Juliette to see children happy, given opportunities, and succeed in all parts of the world." Global Fund for Children gives the annual Courage Awards through the Juliette Gimon Fund for Courageous Leadership- a more than $1 million endowment made possible by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and other donors - in honor of Juliette Gimon, who passed away in 2018. A former GFC Board Chair, Gimon helped shape GFC through her wisdom, insights, and profound concern for children, changing hundreds of thousands of young lives across the globe. "We're delighted to recognize IRODA, WAVES, and AIL for their dedication to challenging systems that are excluding young people from education and for helping children to access essential needs and become agents of change in their own communities," said John Hecklinger, President and CEO of Global Fund for Children. "Like Juliette, the leaders of the winning organizations are brave women who are passionate about supporting children and youth." This year, the Courage Award Selection Committee has designated a new category of award recognition, honorees, to celebrate more community-based organizations positively impacting children in challenging circumstances. Along with the 2022 award winners, the 2022 honorees have demonstrated incredible courage in service of social change. In Peru, 2022 honoree Yanapanakusunprovides housing, access to education, and other support to child and adolescent laborers, migrants, and trafficking survivors, as well as to other young people in vulnerable circumstances. In Honduras, 2022 honoree Warriors Zulu Nation Hondurasempowers youth in neighborhoods with a significant gang presence to practice different art forms while exploring social issues that impact their communities. The 2022 Courage Award winners were selected from among 14 finalists that have empowered children and youth to overcome tremendous obstacles, including inequality, exploitation, and a lack of access to quality education. Join Global Fund for Children on June 16 to celebrate 2022 Courage Award winners and to meet their inspirational founders. Register for the online event today. ABOUT GLOBAL FUND FOR CHILDREN Global Fund for Children partners to build a world where all children and youth enjoy equal resources and opportunities in society and live free from violence, discrimination, and exploitation. To that end, GFC invests in innovative local organizations, helping them deepen their impact and develop their capacity for social change. Together, GFC and its partners advance the rights of children and youth facing poverty and injustice and equip them with the tools and skills to reach their full potential. Since 1997, Global Fund for Children has invested $51 million in more than 900 organizations, reaching more than 11 million children and youth worldwide. For more information, visit www.globalfundforchildren.org. ABOUT THE JULIETTE GIMON COURAGE AWARDS Juliette Gimon, a former Board Chair of Global Fund for Children, passed away on February 24, 2018. GFC established the Juliette Gimon Fund for Courageous Leadership, a more than $1 million endowment made possible by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and other generous donors. Annual awards from the fund - the Juliette Gimon Courage Awards - recognize innovative grassroots organizations around the world that are positively impacting children in especially challenging circumstances. Some recipients have overcome considerable obstacles to pioneer an innovation that transforms circumstances for children and youth. Others demonstrate the courage of resilience, thriving amid unusual contextual challenges; still others have leaders who have navigated personal hardship and channeled adversity into their organization's cause. For more information, visit www.globalfundforchildren.org/courage-awards. ABOUT IRODA Dushanbe, Tajikistan IRODA provides access to quality services appropriate for the unique needs of children and youth with autism spectrum disorder. ABOUT WOMEN AGAINST VIOLENCE AND EXPLOITATION IN SOCIETY (WAVES) Bo, Sierra Leone WAVES develops the capacity of girls in Bo, Sierra Leone, both in and out of school, to speak out against sexual and gender-based violence, advocate for sexual and reproductive rights, and become agents of change in their communities. The organization also conducts extensive community outreach and advocates for policy changes to benefit girls and women. WAVES stands with girls and women who are experiencing challenging social norms, such as child marriage, and advocates for their rights to education, employment, political participation, and social justice. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/WavesWomenRightsSL/. ABOUT AFGHAN INSTITUTE OF LEARNING (AIL) Kabul, Afghanistan The Afghan Institute of Learning. Attachments Iconic, Sport-Inspired Brand Celebrates Summer with Vibrant Prints and Neon Accents WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., June 01, 2022., the official brand of the United States Polo Association, has launched its iconic, sport-inspired Summer Collection for 2022. The brand's global photo shoot, which is shared with U.S. Polo Assn. partners around the world, took place in South Florida's iconic Miami Beach. Visitors flock from around the world to bask in the tropical Miami Beach atmosphere, where the sun meets sand and sea. Sun, sand, and saltwater along the shores of trendy Miami Beach create the perfect backdrop for U.S. Polo Assn.'s Summer 2022 Collection. This season's global photo shoot showcases beachside models lounging beside breezy palms and vibrant lifeguard towers, wearing pops of neon and bold tropical prints. The collection also brings colorful polo shirts, shorts, and graphic t-shirts alongside swimwear and essential summer accessories, including bucket hats and trendy handbags. Consumers in-store and online around the world can look for color blocked brights and timeless resort stripes inspired by the sunlit Miami horizon. U.S. Polo Assn. has given summer style a refresh with an emphasis on breathable, lightweight fabrics to make fun in the sun easy and breezy. Fans of the brand can bask in soft knit tank dresses and preppy cotton shirts to make the most of a sun-kissed summer with U.S. Polo Assn. "The inspiration for our Summer 2022 Collection comes from the bold color palette of the sunset and sea. Rich colors bring rejuvenating energy to our classic style that's in step with today's current trends," says Brian Kaminer, SVP of Brand and Product Development for the U.S. Polo Assn. brand. "Innovating new fabrics with textural details make our timeless trends fresh for customers to approach the summer in style." U.S. Polo Assn. is known for its sport-inspired, classic American style. The brand's signature red, white, and blue stripe is used in a variety of ways to add an element of surprise to each garment. Each U.S. Polo Assn. collection takes classic designs to a new level with unique styling, high-quality fabrics, and seasonal comfort. The Summer 2022 Collection follows suit with bold and fresh assortments that offer a wide array of options, including USPA Life apparel with sustainable aspects. "These are exciting times for the U.S. Polo Assn. brand, with new stores opening around the world, and now the launch of our amazing Summer 2022 Collection," says J. Michael Prince, President and CEO of USPA Global Licensing, which manages the global, multi-billion-dollar U.S. Polo Assn. brand. "Every season the U.S. Polo Assn. Team works to share our authentic connection to the sport of polo with our customers anywhere, anytime they want to shop, while offering an authentic and service-oriented experience." About U.S. Polo Assn. and USPA Global Licensing Inc. (USPAGL) U.S. Polo Assn.is the official brand of the United States Polo Association. USPA Global Licensing Inc.. ### Press Release Contact: Stacey Kovalsky - Senior Director, Global Communications Phone +001.561.790.8036 - Email: skovalsky@uspagl.com Kaela Drake - PR & Communications CoordinatorPhone +001.561.461.8596 - Email: kdrake@uspagl.com Related Images Image 1: U.S. Polo Assn. U.S. Polo Assn. This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment LONDON and NEW YORK, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pharma Intelligence, a leading provider of specialist intelligence, data, and software for clinical trials, drug development, and regulatory compliance, announces that Warburg Pincus, a leading global growth investor, has completed its acquisition of the business from Informa PLC (LSE:INF.L), the international Academic Markets, B2B Markets and Digital Services Group. The acquisition includes Informa's full portfolio of specialist brands which includes the Citeline suite of products (Trialtrove, Sitetrove, Pharmaprojects) as well as Biomedtracker, Clinerion, Datamonitor Healthcare, Pink Sheet, Scrip, Skipta, and TrialScope. Pharma Intelligence will now enter its next phase of growth under new ownership. As announced on February 10, Mubadala Investment Company, the Abu Dhabi based investment company, joins Warburg Pincus in the investment. Informa retains a 15% equity interest in the business. The investors plan to extend the company's leading position in the $22 billion pharmaceutical data and analytics market by increasing focus and investment in innovation and product development to improve efficiency in the drug development life cycle. The company holds the leading position in the clinical trial intelligence space, providing insights on patient enrollment and demographics, trial progress, individual trial sites and investigators for more than 375,000 clinical trials across 180 countries. The company's solutions are used by 3,000 pharmaceutical companies and CROs in their clinical trial design, commercial strategy, and regulatory compliance processes to maximize the likelihood of success of introducing products to market. Appointment of Executive Chair Pharma Intelligence is also delighted to announce the appointment of Jay Nadler as Executive Chair, effective immediately. Jay has led and advised leading companies providing data and analytics, software, and technology-enabled services to a number of industry sectors including life sciences for more than 30 years. He is the current Executive Chair of Sagent Lending Technologies, former CEO of Clarivate, former COO of Interactive Data Corporation, and the former President of Information Holdings' Pharma Business. He has worked closely with Warburg Pincus for more than 20 years as a portfolio company executive, advisor, and Board member, and has also been an advisor to the firm. Jay Nadler, Executive Chair, Pharma Intelligence, said, "I am honored to join the Board of Pharma Intelligence and look forward to partnering with Ramsey Hashem, the rest of the management team, employees, and customers, as we work together to introduce more efficiency into the drug development lifecycle. As an independent company, with additional focus and investment, Pharma Intelligence will deliver additional value to all industry stakeholders. I am particularly excited about introducing innovative products to the market, such as Citeline Predict, that leverage the company's unique data sets, deep understanding of customer challenges, and the latest advancements in data science." Ramsey Hashem, CEO, Pharma Intelligence, said, "As we join the Warburg Pincus group of companies, our commitment and vision for the future remain steadfast. With Jay Nadler on board as Executive Chair, we will be able to accelerate growth and take advantage of market opportunities and investments like never before. We look forward to working closely with the team at Warburg Pincus and continuing to deliver our world class suite of products and services to our customers that rely on our insights to make strategic business decisions every day." Adarsh Sarma, co-head of Europe at Warburg Pincus and Chandler Reedy, Head of Strategic Investments at Warburg Pincus said, "We are delighted that the acquisition is complete, and we can focus our efforts entirely on the next phase of growth. Working closely with Jay Nadler and the management team, we will build on the excellent work already undertaken and use our industry expertise and experience successfully scaling pharma, health tech and B2B information services businesses, to help the company achieve its growth potential." David Reis and Amr Kronfol, Managing Directors at Warburg Pincus, said, "This is an exciting time for the business, its employees, and customers, as Pharma Intelligence becomes an independent company able to achieve its full growth potential. We believe Pharma Intelligence is a high-quality, fast-growing company and that with its outstanding people, products and services and our investment, it will play an increasingly important role within the global pharma and healthcare industry." About Pharma Intelligence Pharma Intelligence powers a full suite of analysis products - Datamonitor Healthcare, Sitetrove, Trialtrove, Pharmaprojects, Biomedtracker, Scrip, Pink Sheet and In Vivo - to deliver the data needed by the pharmaceutical and biomedical industry to make decisions and create real-world opportunities for growth. With more than 400 analysts keeping their fingers on the pulse of the industry, no key disease, clinical trial, drug approval or R&D project isn't covered through the breadth and depth of data available to customers. For more information, visit pharmaintelligence.informa.com. About Warburg Pincus Warburg Pincus LLC is a leading global growth investor. The firm has more than $80 billion in assets under management. The firm's active portfolio of more than 245 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector, and geography. Warburg Pincus is an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value. Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 21 private equity and 2 real estate funds, which have invested more than $103 billion in over 1,025 companies in more than 40 countries. The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. For more information, please visit www.warburgpincus.com. Follow us on LinkedIn. About Mubadala Investment Company Mubadala Investment Company is a sovereign investor managing a global portfolio, aimed at generating sustainable financial returns for the Government of Abu Dhabi. Mubadala's $284 billion portfolio spans six continents with interests in multiple sectors and asset classes. It leverages its deep sectoral expertise and long-standing partnerships to drive sustainable growth and profit, while supporting the continued diversification and global integration of the economy of the United Arab Emirates. For more information about Mubadala Investment Company, please visit: www.mubadala.com Media Contacts Pharma Intelligence Blair Dawson | Vice President, Commercial Development & Launch 919-413-4616 / blair.dawson@informa.com Warburg Pincus Jenna Ward | Europe Communications Director +44 7570844338 / jenna.ward@warburgpincus.com Combined company creates world-class security operations platform to offer customers unmatched visibility and detection to defend against threats TAMPA, Fla., June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ReliaQuest, a force multiplier of security operations, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Digital Shadows, a company that delivers threat intelligence for security teams, for $160 million. The acquisition combines ReliaQuest's ability to extend detection and response across cloud, network, and endpoint environments with Digital Shadows' digital risk and threat intelligence technology. This gives security operations teams the ability to detect and respond to threats with real-time internal and external visibility. "Combining the internal visibility provided by ReliaQuest with the external threat intelligence and digital risk monitoring brought by Digital Shadows creates an end-to-end picture for enterprises around the world," said Alastair Paterson, co-founder and CEO at Digital Shadows. "The complementary technical capability, shared cultural values, and geographic synergies offered by the combined companies make this a great opportunity for our customers and our partners." Security teams are stretched between investigating and responding to threats they can see while working to increase visibility across both security and business applications where they have limited visibility to detect and respond. The ability to extend and automate detection and response across both security and business applications is critical to a successful security program. ReliaQuest and Digital Shadows will make security operations more effective by integrating the digital risk and threat intelligence that security leaders care about into a security operations platform that increases visibility, reduces complexity, and manages risk. The new offerings will drive down response time, provide context around threats and allow for an end-to-end view, all while decreasing the cost of visibility. Security operation teams can leverage automation with confidence to free up time to focus on the specific areas that matter the most. "Alastair Paterson and James Chappell built a world-class team, technology, and culture in Digital Shadows and I am looking forward to our organizations working together to make security possible for organizations all over the world," said Brian Murphy, founder and CEO at ReliaQuest. "The combination of ReliaQuest and Digital Shadows makes a lot of sense for our customers, our partners, and both of our teams. We have a responsibility and opportunity to leverage our collective expertise to continue to tackle what I believe to be the largest technical challenge of our generation, cybersecurity." ReliaQuest's GreyMatter is a cloud native platform built on an Open XDR architecture, and delivered as a service, extending detection and response across a customer's network, cloud, and endpoint for both security and business applications. Digital Shadows' platform was built with today's overloaded security analyst at heart, who demanded a more relevant and actionable approach to threat intelligence. The addition of Digital Shadows to ReliaQuest's GreyMatter platform provides an important outside-in perspective to ReliaQuest's already robust detection and response capability. The transaction has received the approval of both companies' Board of Directors and is subject only to customary closing requirements and regulatory approvals. For more information about ReliaQuest, please visit our website . About ReliaQuest ReliaQuest, the force multiplier of security operations, increases visibility, reduces complexity, and manages risk with its cloud native security operations platform, GreyMatter. ReliaQuest GreyMatter is built on an XDR architecture and delivered as a service anywhere in the world, any time of the day, by bringing together telemetry from tools and applications across cloud, on-premises and hybrid cloud architectures. Hundreds of Fortune 1000 organizations trust ReliaQuest to operationalize security investments, ensuring teams focus on the right problems while closing visibility and capability gaps to proactively manage risk and accelerate initiatives for the business. ReliaQuest is a private company headquartered in Tampa, Fla., with multiple global locations. For more information, visit www.reliaquest.com . About Digital Shadows Digital Shadows provides threat intelligence that delivers for every security team. Our platform was built with today's overloaded security analyst at heart, who demanded a more relevant and actionable approach to threat intelligence. SearchLight focuses on digital risks that organizations care about, using a proven threat model that adapts to the organization risk profile and appetite. This approach delivers a low noise solution, allowing security teams to work faster and with less resources than ever before. To sign up for our free weekly threat intel digest or learn more about our platform, visit www.digitalshadows.com . VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 1, 2022 / Faraday Copper Corp. ("Faraday" or the "Company") (CSE:FDY) is pleased to announce the selection of the independent consultants that will deliver an updated Mineral Resource estimate ("MRE") and a mine-to-mill assessment for the Copper Creek project, located in Arizona, U.S. ("Copper Creek"). "The initial geological model for Copper Creek, delivered in May 2022, serves as the foundation for the upcoming MRE for a combined open pit and underground mineral inventory. Having access to over US$80 million of historical data, including 200,000 metres ("m") of diamond drill core, puts us in a unique position to confidently advance a mine-to-mill assessment, with a bespoke team of subject matter experts to inform our base case scenario for the Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA")," commented Zach Allwright, VP Projects and Evaluations. Project Update and Milestones Delivered geological model in May 2022; Selected SRK Consulting, Ausenco Engineering, and Call & Nicholas ("CNI") to deliver an updated MRE and mine-to-mill assessment by the end of Q3 2022; Expanded Phase 1 diamond drill program to 9 drill holes (6,000 m), with 7 drill holes (5,100 m) completed to date; assay results remain pending; Initiated a generative study to define and prioritize a portfolio of exploration targets for future testing in an under-explored district; Planned Phase 2 drill program to commence in Q4 2022, focused on increasing drill coverage in areas with limited drill data within the mineral resource area; and PEA expected to be delivered by the end of Q2 2023. External Consultants The selection of the independent consultants was based on their individual capabilities to deliver practical outcomes, expertise in similar mineral deposits to Copper Creek, regional experience in Arizona, specialization in mass mining and a proven track record of considering environmental, social and governance ("ESG") best practices. Table 1. Summary of Selected External Consultants and Related Scope Deliverable Consultant Location Scope Mineral Resource Estimate SRK Denver Delivery and provision of a qualified person ("QP") signoff as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") Mine-to-Mill Assessment Ausenco Tucson Technical Lead for the optimization of processing plant, impoundment facilities and associated infrastructure design, including economic modelling and the delivery of a metallurgical review SRK Vancouver Mining assessment for open pit and underground mining, including estimation of mine capital and operating cost estimates Call & Nicholas Tucson Delivery of geotechnical analysis and design parameters, for open pit and underground mining areas The PEA is expected to be completed by the end of Q2 2023. The Company intends to maintain the selected team of subject matter experts across future scopes of work to ensure continuity of the knowledge base. Mineral Resource Estimate The Company provided results from the first geological model for the Copper Creek project in a news release dated May 12, 2022. The completion of the geological model delivered a key milestone for the project as it represents the foundation of the updated MRE. The MRE is expected to be delivered by the end of Q3 2022. The upcoming MRE is mainly based on geochemical data from historical drilling, while it differs from the two historical 2012 MREs in a number of key points: It will target a combined open pit (primarily breccia mineralization) and undeground (early halo style porphyry mineralization) MRE; It will incorporate observations from the relogging of 15,000 m of historical core; It will leverage the geological model delivered in May 2022, taking geological boundaries, structural information, and overall distribution of rock-types into account; and It will incorporate new geochemical data from approximately 400 m of previously unsampled historical core. Specific gravity data was collected systematically during the relogging program, allowing the Company to analyze and consider the density differences between breccias and porphyry style domains. Results from the Company's current diamond drill program will not be available for this MRE and will be incorporated in subsequent MRE updates. Thomas Bissig, VP Exploration, commented "The SRK team has been selected as our resource modelling technical consultant for the delivery of our updated resource estimate due to their expertise in breccia and early halo porphyry systems. Their approach to data QA/QC and capability to imbed subject matter experts within our team provides assurance that the MRE will be based on a solid geological understanding." Mine-to-Mill Assessment As a precursor to the PEA, the Company and its technical consultants will complete a mine-to-mill assessment with the objective of delivering qualitative and quantitative selection basis and definition of the base case scenario of the PEA. This assessment will be based on empirical data to drive sound technical decisions and inform the key value drivers for the optimization of the Copper Creek project. This assessment will consider the following fundamental elements: Validation of existing metallurgical testwork, including the identification of additional testwork requirements (if any); Trade-off and identification of mining method(s) and confirmation of integrated mining strategy; Generation of conceptual mine plan scenarios, including open pit and underground mass mining, with consideration of updated geotechnical parameters; Production capacity evaluation to ensure optimal pairing of production to infrastructure sizing and staging over the life of mine; Conceptualize location(s) for primary infrastructure to satisfy both engineering requirements and alignment with ESG principles; and Definition of a base case scenario for the PEA. The outcomes of the assessment are expected to be delivered in Q3 2022, thereby providing the opportunity for a seamless transition into the PEA using the updated open pit and underground MRE. Project Overview The Copper Creek project is a 100% owned, large copper deposit, located ~120 road kilometres ("km") northeast of Tucson, Arizona, U.S. and ~24 km northeast of the town of San Manuel, Arizona. The current resource area is ~4 km in length and open in all directions. The property consists of ~41 square kilometres of contiguous patented and un-patented mining claims and state prospecting permits. The area is in a mining friendly and politically secure location with excellent infrastructure including power, rail, water, roads, and access to skilled personnel. The property is in the prolific southwest porphyry copper belt at the projected intersection of a major northwest belt of porphyry copper deposits (Ray, Miami/Globe, Superior/Resolution, Johnson Camp) and a major east-northeast belt of porphyry deposits (San Manuel/Kalamazoo, Silver Bell, Lakeshore, Safford, Morenci). The project hosts an "Early Halo-type" porphyry copper deposit with high-grade near-surface breccia-hosted mineralization. Despite extensive historical exploration, with over 200,000 m of drilling and modest past production, the Company believes significant exploration upside remains. There are over 400 known breccia pipes mapped, of which only approximately 35 were drilled and 8 are included in the 2012 MRE. Qualified Persons The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Faraday's Vice President of Exploration, Dr. Thomas Bissig, P.Geo. and Vice President of Projects and Evaluations, Zach Allwright, P.Eng., each of whom are deemed a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. About Faraday Copper Faraday Copper is a Canadian exploration company focused on advancing two copper projects in The United States of America. The Copper Creek project, located in Arizona, U.S., is one of the largest undeveloped copper projects in North America with open pit and bulk underground mining potential. The Contact Copper project, located in Nevada, U.S., provides potential for a low-cost open pit, heap leach, oxide project. The Company is well-funded to deliver on its key milestones over the next 18 months and benefits from a management team and board of directors with senior mining company expertise. Faraday Copper trades on the CSE under the symbol "FDY". About SRK Consulting SRK Consulting is an independent international mining consultancy firm, which provides focused advice and solutions to clients in the earth and water resource industries. The company has contributed to its clients' success for over 45 years in over 20,000 projects globally. It is based across 45 offices worldwide with leading mining specialists in fields such as due diligence, technical studies, mine waste and water management, permitting, and mine rehabilitation. About Ausenco Engineering Ausenco is a global company 'redefining what's possible'. Its team is based across 26 offices in 14 countries, with projects in over 80 locations worldwide. Combining their deep technical expertise with a 30-year track record, Ausenco provides innovative, value-add consulting and engineering studies and project delivery, asset operations and maintenance solutions to the mining & metals, oil & gas and industrial sectors. About Call & Nicholas Call & Nicholas is an international mining consulting firm that specializes in geological engineering, geotechnical engineering, and hydrogeology. The company has been providing a wide range of engineering services to the mining industry for 42 years. For additional information please contact: Stacey Pavlova, CFA Vice President, Investor Relations & Communications E-mail: info@faradaycopper.com Website: www.faradaycopper.com Cautionary Note on Forward Looking Statements Some of the statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking statements" and are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Faraday to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements and forward-looking information specifically include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the expected timing for the PEA, the proposed list of consultants to be used for the PEA, the expected timing and proposed content of the MRE, development and future drilling of the Copper Creek property, the extent of future drilling at the Copper Creek property, the intended areas for future drilling, and exploration potential of the Copper Creek property. Although Faraday believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements should not be in any way construed as guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include without limitation: market prices for metals; the conclusions of detailed feasibility and technical analyses; lower than expected grades and quantities of resources; receipt of regulatory approval; receipt of shareholder approval; mining rates and recovery rates; significant capital requirements; price volatility in the spot and forward markets for commodities; fluctuations in rates of exchange; taxation; controls, regulations and political or economic developments in the countries in which Faraday does or may carry on business; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, competition; loss of key employees; rising costs of labour, supplies, fuel and equipment; actual results of current exploration or reclamation activities; accidents; labour disputes; defective title to mineral claims or property or contests over claims to mineral properties; unexpected delays and costs inherent to consulting and accommodating rights of Indigenous peoples and other groups; risks, uncertainties and unanticipated delays associated with obtaining and maintaining necessary licenses, permits and authorizations and complying with permitting requirements, including those associated with the Copper Creek property; and uncertainties with respect to any future acquisitions by Faraday. In addition, there are risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining, including environmental events and hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins, flooding and the risk of inadequate insurance or inability to obtain insurance to cover these risks as well as "Risk Factors" included in Faraday's disclosure documents filed on and available at www.sedar.com. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation in such jurisdiction. This press release is not, and under no circumstances is to be construed as, a prospectus, an offering memorandum, an advertisement or a public offering of securities in Faraday in Canada, the United States or any other jurisdiction. No securities commission or similar authority in Canada or in the United States has reviewed or in any way passed upon this press release, and any representation to the contrary is an offence. All of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. Faraday does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as required under applicable securities legislation. For more information on the Faraday, readers should refer to www.sedar.com for the Faraday's filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities. SOURCE: Faraday Copper Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/703441/Faraday-Copper-Selects-Independent-Consultants-for-the-Copper-Creek-Project-Mineral-Resource-Estimate-Update-and-Mine-to-Mill-Assessment - Liquid staking tokens available on a single chain, Polygon - Commitment from financial institutions, including new crypto fund MetaLink Capital BERLIN, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Berlin-based Swarm, the regulated multi-asset DeFi platform, today announces the launch of institutional-grade liquid staking tokens that can integrate into DeFi automated market maker (AMM) pools, to generate additional yield in a protected environment. Liquid staking tokens for Solana Network's native token SOL are the first to be made available, with Eth 2.0, DOT and AVAX to follow. In the past 12 months, annualized staking rewards have grown to $15 billion, according to Staked's State of Staking Q1 2022 report . The industry is fast becoming a source of passive income with average staking yields at 15.4% in Q1 2022, up 11% compared to Q4 2021. By using the liquid staking token structure on Swarm, an investor is exposed to the value of the underlying asset, can earn yield from validator fees and trade in and out of their position at any time, instead of having assets idling. The tokens can then earn additional yield by staking them in compliant DeFi pools on Swarm Markets, where liquidity providers receive trading fees proportional to their share of the pool. Additional loyalty rewards are available by holding Swarm's native payment token, SMT. Phlipp Pieper, co-founder of Swarm, said: "Staking is the new mining as ESG is stimulating investor interest in proof-of-stake networks. We're making it easier for people to have a tradable position on their staked assets, giving institutions an entry point in the price discovery process for proof-of-stake networks." Private investors and funds managing more than $100 million in AUM have made a commitment to support the new tokens, including new crypto fund MetaLink Capital that aims to help people access cross chain liquidity. Toby Lewis, Director at MetaLink, said: "We are interested in liquid staking because we can take a position across a variety of Layer 1 Blockchains with 24/7 risk management, giving us the ability to react instantly to market moves. Due to the self-custody nature of DeFi, we will have complete control over our positions and assets at all times. We are keen to use Swarm's infrastructure to get access to more complex strategies on emerging different layer 1s like Solana." Liquid staking tokens are issued on a single chain, starting with Polygon, making it simple to invest across a variety of layer 1 networks using just USDC, removing operational complexity. All users on Swarm must undergo institutional-grade know your business (KYB), know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) checks, removing counterparty risk. In time, multiple tokens can be packaged together to produce a staking index product with an ISIN number. Timo Lehes, co-founder of Swarm, said: "Our infrastructure hacks trustlessness. By removing counterparty risk, institutional capital can finally move into these products to earn high yield and loyalty rewards in a low-yield paradigm." One of the first liquidity pools available on Swarm will comprise liquid SOL and DAI, the stablecoin generated by the Maker Protocol, which is the largest DeFi protocol by total value locked (TVL). Swarm is partnering with custodians of staked assets. Swarm will add more PoS networks in the near future. Notes to editors Staking is a way of committing your assets to secure and improve the efficiency of a decentralized network and earn a fee for doing so. Proof-of-stake blockchains require transactions to be validated. A node operator receives a fee for validating transactions. Liquid staking tokenizes delegated assets in a validator node. On Swarm you will have an institutional-grade token, enabling you to trade in and out of your position. For more information, visit our website: https://swarm.com/products/liquid-staking/ The Swarm platform located in Germany allows trading of crypto currencies, security tokens and utility tokens. Read more about our licenses and regulatory status here . About Swarm Berlin-based Swarm is a compliant multi-asset DeFi infrastructure provider for both institutional and retail investors. For the first time, financial products like stocks can be digitized and traded alongside crypto on one unified platform, connecting TradFi with DeFi. Its co-founders have been engaged in crypto since 2016 and initiated the non-profit DAO Swarm Network. Crypto traders can transact with verified counterparties, earn rewards by providing liquidity and find liquidity for trading tokenized assets in one regulated environment. For more information, visit the website and Medium page. About Metalink MetaLink Capital is a premier digital assets investment firm, recently launched in Gibraltar. Set up by the team that created respected UK analytics group, Novum Insights, the fund leverages Novum research to provide its clients with a risk-balanced exposure to the $3 trillion digital asset industry, with a particular focus on decentralised finance and emerging protocols. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1829448/Swarm_tokens.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1829455/Swarm_Logo.jpg VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 1, 2022 / Fabled Copper Corp. ("Fabled Copper" or the "Company") (CSE:FABL); (FSE:XZ7) announces the results of 2021 surface field work on its Muskwa Copper Project. See Figure 1 below. Figure 1 - General Property Location The Project is comprised of the Neil Property, the Toro Property and the Bronson property located in northern British Columbia. See Figure 2 below. Figure 2 - Location Map Peter Hawley, President, CEO reports; "A total of 19 specific areas were mapped and prospected during the 2021 field season and we started the New Year by reporting our findings on the Lady Luck occurrence in the south end of the Neil Property, followed by the Mac; the 8A, Harris, the 2a and 2b, the Creek, Keays south, Belcher Creek, the Magnum Mine UAV Done Mission, the Magnum, the Neil UAV Drone Mission, the Neil, EM-1, Ram Creek, Davis Keays Eagle UAV Drone Mission, sampling, surface geophysics, the underground inspection of the 6950 level of the Davis Keays Eagle Vein and now the structural interpretation of the Davis Keays area." See Figure 3 below. Figure 3 - Neil Property, Davis Keays Eagle Location Preamble Minor follow-up exploration activity took place during the 1950s and early 1960s, with activity increasing significantly during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The work resulted in recognition of numerous copper occurrences within the Neil Property, the most significant of which are the Magnum Vein (Churchill Copper) and the Eagle Vein (Davis Keays). The Lady vein system at the Lady Luck Occurrence also received minor underground development work from 1969 - 1970. See Photo 1 below Photo 1 - Neil Property, Davis Keays Eagle Mine More details on the past history, 2021 UAV drone mission, sampling and surface geophysics have been made public in the April 27th, May 4th, May 11th and May 25th releases. The purpose of the 2021 structural survey over the Davis Keays area was threefold; i) Present preliminary structural interpretations that integrate field observations with high resolution photogrammetry imagery datasets and elevation models. ii) Review structural data collected at each of the two occurrences iii) Present a generalized structural interpretation that describes key features controlling copper mineralization. All maps and imagery were drafted in the NAD83 (CSRS) datum and projected to UTM zone 10. A Google Earth TM .kmz file also performed which provided geotagged photographs taken at each mapping locality on the Eagle vein(s). Coverage was restricted to the western slopes in the vicinity of the historic switchback road constructed over the vein during historic development and mining. Seventy-one structural measurements of bedding, cleavage, fold axes and veins were taken and 49 station geotagged photographs documented key features at each locality reviewed. All mapping data were plotted on high resolution orthomosaic imagery available for the site. See Figure 4 below. Figure 4 - Orthomosaic Photo with Structural Measurements of Davis Keays Area Digital elevation data were used to create a series of hillshade models generated at different sun azimuth angles. Different sun azimuth angles aid interpreting the location of key structural features including folding, bedding form lines, vein faults and potential thrust faults. See Figure 5 below. Figure 5 - Hill Shade Model with Diabase Dikes and Quartz Veins Plotted The orthomosaic was also reviewed in 3-D to better understand the location of veining and folding present in the Davis-Keays target. Lineament interpretations were carried out to better understand the location of faults within known copper mineralized zones. Stratigraphic contacts were not mapped with enough confidence to be generate a lithological map for the area, however two main stratigraphic units were observed. Numerous discrete quartz - iron mineralization veins were mapped in detail. See Photo 2 below. Photo 2 - Quartz - Iron Mineralized Veins Davis Keays Area In addition to mineralized veining two other types of mineralization were observed; Quartz Sulphide mineralized breccia with a siltstone host and Sulphide vein network within siltstone units, See Photos 3 and 4 below. Photo 3 - Quartz Sulphide Breccia (a) and Breccia Photo 4 - Sulphide Vein Network (b) In addition, mineralized quartz - carbonate veining overprinted by compressive deformation associated with regional thrusting was studied, See Figure 5 below. Photo 5 - Compression Deformation, Davis Keays Area The results of the structural studies clearly defined three preferred structural corridors, one of which corresponds to the underground Davis Keays, Eagle Vein workings. At this time not enough work or observations have to made to determine if there is an association with the mineralized veining and diabase dikes. See Figure 6 below. Figure 6 - Structural Corridors, Davis Keays Area Detailed observation of the high resolution Hillshade photo of the Davis Keays area clearly defines structural liniments which correspond to some of the mineralized features observed in the field. See Figure 7a for hillshade liniments and Figure 7b for liniments outlined in red. Figure 7a - Shade Relief Liniments, Veining? Figure 7b - Red line traces of Liniments This led to close observation of the other side of the mountain where the eagle vein was observed and the same liniments associated with quartz veining was clearly evident as shown by the yellow dashed traces. See Photos 6, 7 below. Photo 6 - Eagle Vein Photo 7 - Other quartz veins near Eagle vein Due to this correlation from both sides of the mountain, further detailed observations were made of the northeast area, See Figure 8 and box outline of detailed study area Figure 8 - Detailed Study Area This magnified observation of the northeast side of the mountain clearly show and defines the locations and strikes of at least 5 vein sets in addition to that of the eagle vein and all having a similar attitude. See Photo 8a for detailed photo of vein sets and Photo 8b of vein sets outlined in red trace. Photo 8a - 5 Clearly Defined Vein Sets Photo 8b - Red Trace Over Vein Sets Looking at the structural kinetics we see both the macro scale slippage between vein sets, see Photo 9A below and the same movement in micro scale in the vein and replacement mineralization, see Photo 9b below. Photo 9a - Macro Scale -Slippage in Vein Sets Photo 9b - Micro Scale - Slippage Going Forwards All the various types of surveys performed on the Davis Keays area come to one general conclusion. The Davis Keays area is composed of numerous mineralized vein sets within a clearly defined structural corridor of which the eagle vein is only one that has seen extensive concentration of work both on surface and underground. The 2022 field exploration program will follow up on this important findings but in addition to this, the Davis Keays area is Fabled Copper's first priority drill target to test the multi vein sets encounter during 2021 exploration program. QA QC Procedure Analytical results of sampling reported by Fabled Copper Corp represent rock samples submitted by Fabled Copper Corp staff directly to ALS Chemex, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. Samples were crushed, split, and pulverized as per ALS Chemex method PREP-31, then analyzed for ME-ICP61 33 element package by four acid digestion with ICP-AES Finish. ME-GRA21 method for Au and Ag by fire assay and gravimetric finish, 30g nominal sample weight. Over Limit Methods For samples triggering precious metal over-limit thresholds of 10 g/t Au or 100 g/t Ag, the following is being used: Au-GRA21 Au by fire assay and gravimetric finish with 30 g sample. Ag-GRA21 Ag by fire assay and gravimetric finish. Fabled Copper Corp. monitors QA/QC using commercially sourced standards and locally sourced blank materials inserted within the sample sequence at regular intervals. About Fabled Copper Corp. Fabled Copper is a junior mining exploration company. Its current focus is to creating value for stakeholders through the exploration and development of its existing copper properties located in northern British Columbia. The Muskwa Project comprises a total of 76 claims in two non-contiguous blocks and totals approximately 8,064.9 hectares, located in the Liard Mining Division in northern British Columbia. Mr. Peter J. Hawley, President and C.E.O. Fabled Copper Corp. Phone: (819) 316-0919 peter@fabledcopper.org For further information please contact: info@fabledcopper.org The technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Peter J. Hawley, P.Geo. President and C.E.O. of Fabled, who is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information is based on plans, expectations and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to certain factors and assumptions, including, that the Company's financial condition and development plans do not change as a result of unforeseen events and that the Company obtains any required regulatory approvals. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: impacts from the coronavirus or other epidemics, general economic conditions in Canada, the United States and globally; industry conditions, including fluctuations in commodity prices; governmental regulation of the mining industry, including environmental regulation; geological, technical and drilling problems; unanticipated operating events; competition for and/or inability to retain drilling rigs and other services; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility; volatility in market prices for commodities; liabilities inherent in mining operations; changes in tax laws and incentive programs relating to the mining industry; as well as the other risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company as set forth in the Company's continuous disclosure filings filed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com . The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, other than as required by applicable law. SOURCE: Fabled Copper Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/703462/Interpretation-of-Davis-Keays-Eagle-Vein-Area-Defines-Three-Structural-Corridors WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) announced that its Board of Directors has named Donald Allan, Jr., currently President and Chief Financial Officer, the Company's next Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2022. Allan will succeed James Loree, who has served as CEO since 2016. Upon assuming his new role, Allan will join the Board of Directors and retain his title as President. Further, the Company has also appointed Corbin Walburger to serve as Interim Chief Financial Officer, effective July 1, 2022. It has engaged Heidrick & Struggles to assist with the search for a permanent CFO. Allan, a 23-year veteran of Stanley Black & Decker, served as CFO since 2008. He was appointed an executive officer of the company in 2006 after serving as VP and Controller since 2000. He was promoted to President in 2021. He joined the company as Director of Financial Planning. Prior to joining The Stanley Works, Allan held financial management positions with Loctite Corp. from 1995 to 1999. He also spent nine years at Ernst & Young. Looking ahead to fiscal 2022, the company also reaffirmed its guidance for earnings in a range of $7.20 to $8.30 per share and adjusted earnings in a range of $9.50 to $10.50 per share. On average, 18 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $9.86 per share for the year. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX STANLEY BLACK & DECKER-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de Digital Diabetes Management Industry is anticipated to register 20.6% CAGR between 2022 and 2030 due to expanding base of diabetic population coupled with higher adoption of smart devices. SELBYVILLE, Del., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The digital diabetes management market value is projected to reach USD 86.4 Billion by 2030, according to a new research report by Global Market Insights Inc. Increasing prevalence of diabetes coupled with growing awareness regarding preventive care is anticipated to fuel the market expansion. Increasing number of diabetes patients, globally, is driving the adoption of digital diabetes management products. High disease prevalence is primarily due to increasing incidence of obesity and adoption of sedentary lifestyle. Further, the pervasiveness of diabetes is highest in geriatric population, thus, the expanding elderly pool will ultimately contribute to the overall burden of diabetes worldwide. Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/4903 Development of connected technologies by the industry players with strategic collaborations is significantly contributing to the digital diabetes management market demand. Market players operating in the industry are continuously integrating diabetes management devices with smart phone apps. For instance, the integration of CGM technology with insulin pen assist in providing personalized recommendation and health alerts. The advent of such connected technologies in diabetes management are helping patients in dosage recommendation, predictive glucose alert, insulin temperature and expiration alert. The integration of connected technologies with smart devices is transforming the diabetes care and enhancing the clinical outcomes. Some major findings of the digital diabetes management market report include: Developments in existing product technologies to offer advanced diabetes management products will impel the market statistics. Rising prevalence of diabetes across the developed as well as developing nations with significant healthcare spending will propel the market trends. Introduction of wearable technology in diabetes management will stimulate the business landscape. Increasing preference and use of connected digital diabetes management devices in home settings will augment the market outlook. The COVID-19 pandemic has positively impacted the sales of digital diabetes management devices. The demand for home care during the strict lockdowns and movement restrictions has shifted patient preference toward digital diabetes management. Browse key industry insights spread across 213 pages with 344 market data tables & 15 figures & charts from the report, "Digital Diabetes Management Market Analysis By Product Type ({Devices [Smart Blood Glucose Meters, Smart CGM, Smart Insulin Pumps & Patches, Smart Insulin Pens], Device Type [Wearable, Handheld]}, Services {Diabetes Apps, Software}), Patient Type (Type 1, Type 2), End-Use (Hospitals, Home settings, Diagnostic Centers), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook, Growth Potential, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2022 - 2030" in detail along with the table of contents: https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/digital-diabetes-management-market Digital diabetes management market from insulin pen segment is projected to progress at 23.4% CAGR between 2022 and 2030. This is due to several ongoing development activities that will lead to product launches in the future. The manufacturing companies are highly focused on development of user-friendly interface for diabetes patients. These devices are able to record the quantity of each insulin dose and can transmit the data via connected devices. Thus, with product innovations, the segment is estimated to experience robust development. Home settings segment exceeded USD 5 billion in 2021. Digital technologies enable efficient patient monitoring in home settings with the use of connected devices and software. It allows healthcare professionals to access real time health data of patient without frequent facility visits. Additionally, growing geriatric population contributed to the high demand for home care enabling convenience in disease management. Thus, the aforementioned factors will benefit the segment revenue. Asia Pacific digital diabetes management market is expected to grow at 22.4% CAGR during the forecast timeframe. This is owing to considerable increase in the patient population, rising disposable income and awareness regarding digital technologies in disease management. Additionally, several leading players in the industry are expanding their business in the Asia Pacific owing to the huge diabetes population and rising healthcare expenditure to diabetes across the developing countries. Request for customization of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/roc/4903 Major players operating in the digital diabetes management industry include Abbott, Medtronic Plc, Abbott Laboratories, F.Hoffmann-LA Roche Ltd, Dexcom, Inc, Senseonics, Insulet Corporation, Tandem Diabetes, Ypsomed, Ascensia Diabetes Care Holdings Ag, Tidepool, Glooko, Inc., DarioHealth Corporation, Novo Nordisk, Pendiq and Emperra GmbH E-Health Technologies. These industry players are adopting various business strategies such as merger & acquisitions, product innovations, and strategic collaborations to foster their business growth. About Global Market Insights Global Market Insights Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider, offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy, and biotechnology. Contact Us: Arun Hegde Corporate Sales, USA Global Market Insights Inc. Phone: 1-302-846-7766 Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688 Email: sales@gminsights.com Image: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1830493/Digital_Diabetes.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/661916/GMI.jpg Brighton, Victoria, Australia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 1, 2022) - Intrepid Geophysics invites you to visit them at Booth #418 (in the Australia Pavilion) at The Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada Convention (PDAC) at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) on Monday June 13 to Wednesday June 15, 2022. About Intrepid Geophysics Intrepid Geophysics bridges the gap between innovative science and turning ideas into practical products and valuable services. Intrepid Geophysics has provided software and services for potential field geophysics and integrated geology for more than 35 years. About PDAC The World's Premier Mineral Exploration & Mining Convention is the leading convention for people, governments, companies and organizations connected to mineral exploration. In addition to meeting more than 1,100 exhibitors, 2,500 investors and 23,000 attendees in person in 2020, participants could also attend programming, courses and networking events. The annual convention is held in Toronto, Canada. It has grown in size, stature and influence since it began in 1932 and today is the event of choice for the world's mineral industry. From 2021 it is also offered as an online event. For more information and/or to register for the conference please visit: https://www.pdac.ca/convention/registration. We look forward to seeing you there. For further information: Intrepid Geophysics Dr. Jeff Keetley +61 3 9593 1077 info@intrepid-geophysics.com www.intrepid-geophysics.com Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 1, 2022) - Galleon Gold Corp. (TSXV: GGO) (the "Company" or "Galleon Gold") is pleased to announce that it has sold its 100% interest in the William Lake Property ("William Lake") to Leeuwin Metals PTY Ltd. ("Leeuwin"). Pursuant to the terms of the Sale Agreement, the Company has received the following consideration: CAD$1,000,000 in Cash 2,500,000 Common Shares (the "Shares") of Leeuwin 2,500,000 Consideration Options (the "Options") with each Option entitling the Company to acquire one Share of Leeuwin at a price of AUD$0.50 for a period of (5) five years. Leeuwin is a private Australian company focused on listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (the "ASX"). Leeuwin's management team has a proven track record of success in the resource sector and have completed five successful ASX listings in the past four years. Combined, they have been involved in the discovery of more than 10 million ounces of gold and 810,000 tonnes of nickel, raised over US$200 million in capital and been party to M&A transactions exceeding US$7.5 billion. Leeuwin has acquired several lithium projects in Australia and Canada, and with the William Lake Property as its cornerstone project, they are poised to develop an impressive battery metals exploration company. Comments from the CEO R. David Russell, President and CEO of Galleon Gold commented, "We are very pleased to see the William Lake nickel project in the hands of an experienced and motivated team. We have always ascribed substantial value to this nickel asset, and have been very selective with regards to the terms of any sale agreement. Leeuwin's plans fit well with how we envisioned advancing the project, while driving shareholder value. We look forward to becoming significant shareholders of Leeuwin and participating in the exploration success of the project through the public entity upon its listing on the ASX." Comments from Leeuwin Chris Piggott, Managing Director of Leeuwin Metals "Leeuwin is pleased to work with Galleon Gold on such a globally significant nickel project. We have identified the world needs more high-quality nickel mines and we are keen to begin work to realise the potential of William Lake. Leeuwin is committed to advance the William Lake nickel project in a sustainable and responsible manner to ensure win-win outcomes for all stakeholders. We see the opportunity for a zero-carbon nickel project at William Lake, with excellent infrastructure within the region. Leeuwin is currently on the path to IPO with projects focused on EV metals in tier-1 jurisdictions, with the aim to list by the end of 2022." About the William Lake Project William Lake is an advanced nickel exploration project located in Manitoba, Canada. The project is located in an infrastructure rich region, in the southern portion of the Thompson Nickel Belt. It is well serviced by a provincial highway and the towns of Grand Rapids to the south and Wabowden to the north, a hydropower line transects the project area. The project was previously explored by Falconbridge from the mid 1990's to the early 2000's and Pure Nickel from 2007 to 2013. Galleon Gold PDAC Invitation Galleon Gold will be exhibiting at PDAC 2022 and the Company invites investors and shareholders to visit booth #2904 at the Investor Exchange in the South Building of the Metro Toronto Convention Center from June 13 to 15, 2022. The Company will also be exhibiting at the CME Mining show in Timmins, Ontario from June 8 to 9, 2022 at the McIntyre Community Complex, Arena 1, booth R2-12. 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/126034 MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) - The United States will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield. This was announced by President Joe Biden in an Op-Ed published by the New York Times. The New weaponry, which will include powerful artillery and precision rocket systems, is part of a new $700 million military aid package to support the Ukrainians fight against the Russian invasion, according to President Biden and White House officials. Ukraine will get the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), Javelin anti-tank missiles, Stinger antiaircraft missiles, radars, unmanned aerial vehicles, Mi-17 helicopters and ammunition. 'We have moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table,' Biden wrote in the Op-Ed published online Tuesday evening. It marks a major shift in Biden's stand as he had refused the weapons long requested by Ukraine. After Marine One Arrival on Monday Biden had ruled out reports that his administration is planning to send long-range rocket systems to Ukraine. Ukraine has given assurance that the rockets will be used solely in the country limits, not against targets within Russia, senior administration officials told reporters. 'America's goal is straightforward: We want to see a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression,' Biden wrote. He made it clear that Washington does not seek a war between NATO and Russia. While noting that currently there are no indications that Russia has intent to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Biden warned that any use of nuclear weapons in this conflict would entail severe consequences. Biden added that the United States will not try to bring about Russian leader Vladimir Putin's ouster in Moscow. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 1, 2022) - Sun Summit Minerals Corp. (TSXV: SMN) (OTCQB: SMREF) is pleased to report the final drill results from its winter 2022 exploration drill program on its Buck Property, central B.C. Highlights: Intersected multiple zones of high-grade and bulk-tonnage style mineralization near the centre of Buck Main: BK22-069: 29.17 grams per tonne (g/t) gold equivalent (AuEq) over 1.0 metre within 3.11 g/t AuEq over 13.2 metres , within broader zone of 0.91 g/t AuEq over 69.8 metres. Mineralization open in all directions: The broad zone of vein-hosted, high-grade intercepts, central to Buck Main, is unconstrained both laterally and at depth and open for expansion in all directions. Multiple broad intervals of near-surface, bulk-tonnage style mineralization identified on the eastern side of Buck Main: New drilling demonstrates strong grade continuity. BK22-067: 2.68 g/t AuEq over 11.3 metres within a broad zone of 0.98 g/t AuEq over 67.6 metres BK22-075: 2.22 g/t AuEq over 6.0 metres within a broad zone of 1.08 g/t AuEq over 63.5 metres New drilling demonstrates strong grade continuity. Notes: 1. Intervals are downhole core lengths. True widths are unknown. 2. Calculations are uncut and length-weighted using a 0.10 g/t gold cut-off. 3. AuEq assumes metal prices of $1700/oz Au, $22/oz Ag and $1.60/lbs Zn using the equation: AuEq(g/t) = ((Au(g/t)*$Au/oz*0.032151)+(Ag(g/t)*$Ag/oz*0.032151)+(Zn%*$Zn/lbs*22.0462))/($Au/oz*0.032151). 4. Assay results for individual metals for each AuEq calculation are reported in Table 1. Sharyn Alexander, Sun Summit's President, stated: "The high-grade intersections in drill holes BK22-068 and -069 supports our strong view that the Buck Main system has significant high-grade gold potential. These holes were designed to target high-grade gold-silver-zinc mineralization central to the system as outlined in previous programs - highlighted by discovery hole BK20-012. The remaining holes targeted bulk-tonnage style mineralization on the eastern side of Buck Main and were successful in identifying broad zones of disseminated mineralization in previously untested areas, outlining considerable exploration potential. Planning for the summer exploration season is ongoing and we look forward to additional step-out drilling at Buck Main as well as following up on exploration targets throughout our large property package." The nature of the high-grade mineralization at Buck Main is complex, hosted in discreet veins and veinlets with numerous orientations all within broad zones of structural complexity. Based on new observations and assay results, together with results from the previous grid-based program, the comprehensive structural model is being refined to better inform the system-scale orientations of preferential grade-controlling structures. In addition to the considerable exploration potential west of Buck Main discovered in three step-out holes (see news release dated May 3rd, 2022), the extent of near-surface bulk-tonnage style mineralization on the eastern-side of Buck Main represents an important target. All holes drilled in this area, as well as holes north of Bob Creek in the same host rocks, have so far intersected significant zones of disseminated and local breccia-hosted mineralization. Continued efforts will be focused on investigating the limits of this significant footprint of widespread mineralization. Table 1. Assay Results Hole ID From (m) To (m) Int (m) AuEq (g/t) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Zn (%) BK22-067 10.8 19.4 8.7 0.57 0.34 5.28 0.24 and 87.0 102.9 15.9 0.56 0.31 2.51 0.33 and 141.0 145.0 4.0 2.10 1.26 3.36 1.23 and 155.5 291.5 136.0 0.72 0.50 3.01 0.28 inc 165.4 233.0 67.6 0.98 0.77 2.56 0.27 inc 183.0 194.3 11.3 2.68 2.49 5.63 0.18 and 318.0 327.0 9.0 0.29 0.24 0.52 0.07 BK22-068 8.3 18.0 9.7 0.57 0.37 4.02 0.23 and 50.0 53.0 3.0 1.10 0.87 4.45 0.27 and 60.0 72.9 12.9 0.32 0.24 3.29 0.07 and 115.2 128.8 13.6 1.16 0.99 2.47 0.21 and 155.0 232.5 77.5 0.57 0.48 2.14 0.09 inc 204.6 232.5 27.9 1.02 0.91 1.56 0.13 inc 231.0 232.5 1.5 7.09 7.00 1.40 0.11 and 245.7 256.5 10.8 0.22 0.19 1.19 0.04 and 284.5 290.0 5.5 0.36 0.33 1.14 0.02 and 331.1 338.5 7.4 0.38 0.17 5.55 0.21 and 375.0 423.3 48.3 0.30 0.21 1.76 0.11 inc 416.0 423.3 7.3 0.75 0.72 0.89 0.03 BK22-069 4.0 8.3 4.3 1.24 1.10 4.68 0.12 and 34.0 36.5 2.5 2.27 1.55 8.50 0.94 and 159.9 163.8 3.9 0.23 0.19 2.69 0.01 and 188.5 257.7 69.2 0.27 0.17 1.49 0.12 and 309.2 379.0 69.8 0.91 0.76 6.93 0.09 inc 331.7 358.5 26.8 1.89 1.61 14.36 0.16 inc 331.7 344.9 13.2 3.11 2.75 22.99 0.09 inc 331.7 332.8 1.0 29.17 26.50 199.00 0.14 BK22-073 79.3 90.2 10.9 0.53 0.28 1.96 0.35 and 105.2 125.5 20.3 0.43 0.23 2.05 0.27 and 148.0 155.5 7.5 0.19 0.13 1.04 0.07 and 163.0 178.0 15.0 0.18 0.10 0.71 0.10 and 188.2 206.0 17.8 0.27 0.20 1.84 0.07 and 219.5 237.4 17.9 0.18 0.11 0.78 0.09 and 252.6 355.5 103.0 0.31 0.19 1.56 0.16 inc 318.2 330.8 12.6 0.56 0.49 2.14 0.05 and 384.0 387.0 3.0 0.28 0.17 3.25 0.11 BK22-074 44.0 274.2 230.2 0.50 0.35 2.02 0.18 inc 134.8 174.8 40.0 0.90 0.74 2.90 0.19 inc 153.0 174.8 21.8 1.12 0.97 3.71 0.16 and 290.7 308.0 17.3 0.41 0.35 2.30 0.05 BK22-075 10.0 38.0 28.0 0.23 0.13 1.15 0.12 and 58.0 449.0 391.0 0.56 0.26 3.53 0.39 inc 323.0 386.5 63.5 1.08 0.52 7.53 0.72 inc 323.0 329.0 6.0 2.22 1.37 11.15 1.09 inc 376.8 386.5 9.7 1.62 1.10 16.92 0.47 1. Intervals are downhole core lengths. True widths are unknown. Calculations are uncut and length-weighted using a 0.10 g/t gold cut-off. 2. AuEq assumes metal prices of $1700/oz Au, $22/oz Ag and $1.60/lbs Zn using the equation: AuEq(g/t) = ((Au(g/t)*$Au/oz*0.032151) + (Ag(g/t)*$Ag/oz*0.032151) + (Zn%*$Zn/lbs*22.0462)) / ($Au/oz*0.032151) Drill Program Holes BK22-068 and -069 targeted high-grade, structurally controlled mineralization as well as broad zones of disseminated gold-silver-zinc mineralization near the centre of the Buck Main epithermal-related system (Figure 1). The holes were designed to investigate the extent and continuity of high-grade gold-silver-zinc mineralization intersected in previous programs (e.g., BK20-012: 5.89 g/t AuEq over 17.0 metres including 23.10 g/t AuEq over 3.0 metres, and BK21-020: 31.75 g/t AuEq over 4.0 metres including 247 g/t AuEq over 0.5 metres; see news releases dated January 5th, 2021, and May 11th, 2021). The holes tested a broad gap in drilling above and below BK20-012 (Figure 2). Based on updated geological modelling, prior to this program, a westerly azimuth was chosen for these holes. Figure 1. Map showing drill collar locations with selected highlights To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6142/126079_d43d5a4954771913_001full.jpg Figure 2. EW cross section showing selected highlights To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6142/126079_d43d5a4954771913_002full.jpg BK22-068, drilled towards the west (Figure 2), intersected multiple zones of strong gold-silver-zinc mineralization starting at the collar and throughout the entire hole highlighted by 1.16 g/t AuEq over 13.6 metres and 1.02 g/t AuEq over 27.9 metres, including 7.09 g/t AuEq over 1.5 metres, and bottomed in 0.75 g/t AuEq over 7.3 metres (Table 1). BK22-069 was collared 45 metres west of BK22-068 and was drilled at a similar azimuth and dip. The hole collared in mineralization and intersected numerous broad zones of gold-silver-zinc mineralization highlighted by 3.11 g/t AuEq over 13.2 metres within broad zone of 0.91 g/t AuEq over 69.8 metres. This broad interval included a high-grade intercept of 29.17 g/t AuEq over 1.0 metre associated with vein-hosted quartz-carbonate-sulfide mineralization. Mineralization in both holes is hosted in a sequence of andesites and sedimentary rocks cut by northwest-trending quartz-feldspar porphyritic dykes. Higher-grade intervals (Table 1) are hosted in local quartz + carbonate + sulfide veins associated with broad zones of quartz + sericite + pyrite alteration. Holes BK22-068 and 069 were drilled at different azimuths compared to the previous grid-based drilling completed in late 2021 (see news releases dated January 5th, 2022 and February 22nd, 2022). The aim was to investigate the potential of oblique and/or conjugate structures within the wider east-west trending Buck structural corridor. Veins along these orientations would have been missed during the previous grid-based program, which was drilled with northeast orientations. New insights into this structurally complex zone are being incorporated into the model to inform the next round of drilling, both within and peripheral to the Buck Main system. Holes BK22-067, 073, 074 and 075 targeted bulk-tonnage style mineralization on the eastern side of Buck Main where previous drilling intersected broad zones of near-surface, strong gold-silver-zinc mineralization hosted in dacitic volcaniclastic rocks (e.g., BK21-017: 1.25 g/t AuEq over 241 metres including 2.36 g/t AuEq over 45 metres, and BK21-032: 1.03 g/t AuEq over 187 metres including 4.38 g/t AuEq over 12.3 metres; see news release dated February 22nd, 2022). Hole BK22-067 was drilled to the east and tested for mineralization continuity below previous drilling and intersected 0.98 g/t AuEq over 67.6 metres including 2.68 g/t AuEq over 11.3 metres associated with disseminated and clotted sphalerite and pyrite. Similarly, hole BK22-075 tested for mineralization continuity above previous drilling and intersected 1.08 g/t AuEq over 63.5 metres including 2.22 g/t AuEq over 6.0 metres. Hole BK22-073 was a step-out hole collared 130 metres southeast of BK20-010 and intersected numerous zones of disseminated gold-silver-zinc mineralization (Table 1) in a previously untested area. Additional drilling to the south and east is warranted. Table 2. Drill Collar Locations Hole Easting Northing Elevation (m) Azimuth Dip Length (m) BK22-067 654545 6019702 921 98.86 -61.62 327 BK22-068 654547 6019705 920.2 269.33 -63.45 426 BK22-069 654505 6019715 922.7 269.88 -55.45 390 BK22-073 654735 6019454 912.8 357.31 -60.45 413 BK22-074 654654 6019607 902.7 8.69 -63.95 311 BK22-075 654586 6019688 915 78.5 -45.52 449 Coordinates are in UTM NAD83 Zone 9N Quality Assurance and Quality Control All sample assay results have been monitored through the Company's quality assurance / quality control (QA / QC) program. Drill core was sawn in half at Sun Summit's core logging and processing facility in Houston, B.C. Half of the core was sampled and shipped in sealed and secure bags to the ALS Global preparation facilities in Kamloops, Langley or North Vancouver, B.C. Samples were prepared using standard preparation procedures. Following sample preparation, the pulps were sent to the ALS Global analytical laboratory in North Vancouver, B.C. for analysis. ALS Global is registered to ISO / IEC 17025:2017 accreditations for laboratory procedures. Core samples were analyzed for 48 elements by ICP-MS on a 0.25 gram sample using a four acid digestion (method ME-MS61L). Gold was analyzed by fire assay on a 30 gram sample with an AAS finish (method Au-AA23). Samples with >10 parts per million (ppm) gold were re-analyzed by fire assay using a gravimetric finish on a 30 gram sample. Samples with >100 ppm silver were re-analyzed using a four acid digestion and ICP-AES finish. Samples with >10,000 ppm zinc were re-analysed using a four acid digestion and ICP-AES finish. In addition to ALS Global laboratory QA / QC protocols, Sun Summit implements an internal QA / QC program that includes the insertion of duplicates, standards and blanks into the sample stream. AuEq incorporates metal prices of $1700/oz Au, $22/oz Ag and $1.60/lbs Zn using the equation: AuEq (AgZn) (g/t) = ((Au(g/t)*$Au/oz*0.032151) + (Ag(g/t)*$Ag/oz*0.032151) + (Zn%*$Zn/lbs*22.0462)) / ($Au/oz*0.032151) National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure This news release has been approved by Sun Summit's CEO, Robert D. Willis, P. Eng., a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators. He has also verified the data disclosed, including sampling, analytical and test data, underlying the technical information in this news release. Community Engagement Sun Summit is engaging with First Nations on whose territory the Buck Property is located and is discussing their interests and identifying contract and work opportunities, as well as opportunities to support community initiatives. The Company looks forward to continuing to work with local and regional First Nations as the project continues. Corporate Communications Contract Terminated Sun Summit also advises that it and Jasper Gatrill and have mutually agreed to terminate his corporate communications services contract announced April 14, 2022. About Sun Summit Sun Summit Minerals is an exploration company focused on expanding its epithermal gold, silver, and zinc discovery at its flagship 100% controlled Buck Project located in north-central British Columbia near the town of Houston in central B.C. The Company is exploring multiple high priority targets through systematic exploration campaigns with excellent developed infrastructure and year-round drilling access. The Buck Project has high-grade and bulk-tonnage gold, silver, and zinc potential and is located in an established mining region that includes many former operating mines and current exploration projects. Sun Summit is committed to environmental and social responsibility with a focus on responsible development to generate positive outcomes for all stakeholders. Further details are available at www.sunsummitminerals.com. Link to Figures Figure 1: https://sunsummitminerals.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/SunSummit_BuckMainPlanMap_Updated-scaled.jpg Figure 2: https://sunsummitminerals.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/SunSummit_BuckMainCrossSectionMap_Updated.jpg For further information, contact: Sharyn Alexander President info@sunsummitminerals.com Tel. 778-588-9606 Forward-Looking Information Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements, which involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences, without limiting the generality of the following, include: risks inherent in exploration activities; volatility and sensitivity to market prices; volatility and sensitivity to capital market fluctuations; the impact of exploration competition; the ability to raise funds through private or public equity financings; environmental and safety risks including increased regulatory burdens; unexpected geological or hydrological conditions; changes in government regulations and policies, including trade laws and policies; failure to obtain necessary permits and approvals from government authorities; weather and other natural phenomena; and other exploration, development, operating, financial market and regulatory risks. Except as required by applicable securities laws and regulation, Sun Summit disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada 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/126079 TORONTO, ON and NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / June 1, 2022 / Sekur Private Data Ltd. (OTCQX:SWISF) (CSE:SKUR) (FRA:GDT0) ("Sekur" or the "Company"), the leader in Swiss hosted secure communications and secure data management, is pleased announce that, as part of its US mass marketing strategy to bring awareness to Sekur Private Data's Sekur solution, it has signed a contract with The Epoch Times to become the exclusive sponsor of Roman Balmakov's episodes on EpochTV for all of his shows every Wednesday and every Friday for the remainder of 2022 and all of 2023. The total amount of sponsored episodes amounts to 158 episodes starting June 29th 2022 and ending December 31 2023. These episodes are in addition to the YouTube episodes already being sponsored by the Company at a rate of 12 episodes a month on average for Roman Balmakov. The sponsored ads will describe Sekur 's attributes as the leading Swiss hosted Privacy and Security communications application, such as encrypted email and secure messaging, without any data mining, including Sekur 's unique proprietary feature called Chats-by-invites, letting a Sekur user message a non-Sekur user, without the recipient having to download Sekur, and its proprietary SekurSend feature letting a user send a private email to anyone in the globe without the recipient's ISP being able to read the content or do any data mining on it. EpochTV is only viewable by The Epoch Times' 1.5 million paying members and offers exclusive programs and episodes which are different than the episodes aired on YouTube. The sponsored program will be Facts Matter with Roman Balmakov. Additionally, followers will benefit from a 25% discount Promo code for the first 5 years of subscription to Sekur at the time of signup. The average Facts Matter episode on EpochTV gets well over 150,000 views, with some reaching 250,000 views. About Facts Matter: Facts Matter with Roman Balmakov As America moves into uncharted waters, it's incredibly important for people to have an honest source of news because right now, what this republic needs more than anything else, are informed citizens who are grounded in facts. Facts Matter investigates complex issues, and then presents the findings in a way that is easy to understand. Facts Matter is free from the influence of any government, corporation, or political party. Its goal is to bring you accurate information so that you can form your own opinion, stay informed, and stay free. Facts Matter has over 776,000 subscribers and is growing fast, and has gained well over 27 million video views since the channel being established on YouTube Nov 2020. According to The Epoch Times , The Epoch Times has received numerous awards for it reporting and design, including from the New York Press Association, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Society for News Design. The Epoch Times national print readership is over 1 million, and theepochtimes.com website monthly pageviews is 110 million. The Epoch Times' media network currently covers 21 languages and 33 countries. Alain Ghiai, CEO of Sekur Private Data said: "We are thrilled and honored to have been selected as the very first company able to sponsor EpochTV programs. Roman is a tremendously talented investigative reporter and goes right to the heart of the matter of things. We have many shareholders who watch Roman regularly and are big fans. We look forward to our partnership and we are excited to tell our story to the 1.5 million, and growing, paying members of The Epoch Times. The Epoch Times' EpochTV audience will come to know the many unique and critical features provided by Sekur , such as, Swiss hosted data privacy and security, and the right for consumers and businesses not to have their data mined by third party service providers or Big Tech companies. As we are not connected to AWS, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud platforms, commonly referred to as "BigTech", we can offer a truly independent, private and secure means of communications such as secure and private emails and instant messaging. We are looking forward to offer true data privacy and no data mining to all Americans and we look forward to tell our story on The Epoch Times network" Sekur, which includes SekurMessenger and SekurMail, is part of a bundle of email, messaging and file transfer into one application, includes the Company's latest SekurMail technology, which includes proprietary anti-phishing and privacy feature called SekurSend. SekurSend lets a user send an email to any other recipient, whether they have Sekur or not, in full privacy and security as the email never leaves Sekur 's encrypted email servers based in Switzerland. The recipient can then click on the notification and reply in the same manner using SekurReply, without the recipient having to register for a Sekur account. The sender can also decide to protect any email sent by adding a password to open it, a read-limit and a self-destruct timer as well. Sending an email with the SekurSend feature allows the senders and recipients to add limitless size attachments to the emails without crowding the recipients' email box. This also eliminates BEC attacks for businesses and email phishing attacks. Additionally, SekurMail includes full control of email delivery, automatic data export for large Enterprises and an automatic Data Loss Prevention technology ("DLP") with real time continuous archiving. Recent data breaches in messaging applications have created a certain urgency for businesses and data privacy advocates to protect their communications form cyber-attacks and identity theft via mobile and desktop devices. SekurMessenger eliminates many of the privacy and security risks by not only not requiring a phone number, which would divulge a user's phone device ID, but also by not social engineering a user's phone or computer contact list and infecting the contacts by default as well, eliminating a huge loophole in security and privacy. SekurMessenger issues each user a username and a Sekur number. The Sekur number is the contact ID a user would disclose in order for other Sekur users to be added. The service comes with a self-destruct timer and other features as well, including GlobeX's proprietary VirtualVaults and HeliX technologies with all data stored in Swiss hosted encrypted servers. Additionally, SekurMessenger now comes with a proprietary feature and technology called Chat by Invites. This feature allows a SekurMessenger user ("SM user") invite a non-SM user, or a group of non-SM users, to chat in a fully private and secure way, without the recipient ever having to register to SekurMessenger or download the app. At the end of the chat, the initiator of the conversation can remotely terminate the conversation and all traces of the conversation are deleted from all users, including the recipient. This unique feature is now fully deployed and functional on all iOS and Android devices and web platforms. The target sectors are numerous, including but not limited to real estate, legal, financial, government, energy, mining, manufacturing, trade and medical sectors. Sekur's Data privacy solutions are all hosted in Switzerland, protecting users' data from any outside data intrusion requests. In Switzerland, the right to privacy is guaranteed in article 13 of the Swiss Federal Constitution. The Federal Act on Data Protection ("FADP") of 19 June 1992 (in force since 1993) has set up a strict protection of privacy by prohibiting virtually any processing of personal data which is not expressly authorized by the data subjects. The protection is subject to the authority of the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner. Under Swiss federal law, it is a crime to publish information based on leaked "secret official discussions." In 2010 the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland found that IP addresses are personal information and that under Swiss privacy laws they may not be used to track Internet usage without the knowledge of the individuals involved. About Sekur Private Data Ltd. Sekur Private Data Ltd. is a Cybersecurity and Internet Privacy provider of Swiss hosted solutions for secure communications and secure data management. The Company distributes a suite of encrypted e-mails, secure messaging and secure communication, and a suite of cloud-based storage, disaster recovery and document management, tools. Sekur Private Data Ltd. sells its solutions through its websites sekur.com and sekursuite.com, and through its approved distributors, and telecommunications companies worldwide. Sekur Private Data Ltd. serves consumers, businesses and governments worldwide. On behalf of Management SEKUR PRIVATE DATA LTD. Alain Ghiai President and Chief Executive Officer +1.416.644.8690 corporate@sekurprivatedata.com For more information, please contact Sekur Private Data at corporate@sekurprivatedata.com or visit us at https://www.sekurprivatedata.com For more information on Sekur visit us at: https://www.sekur.com . Forward-Looking Information This news release contains certain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). All statements other than statements of present or historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "achieve", "could", "believe", "plan", "intend", "objective", "continuous", "ongoing", "estimate", "outlook", "expect", "project" and similar words, including negatives thereof, suggesting future outcomes or that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guaranteeing future performance. Sekur cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond Sekur's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to the future of the Company's business; the success of marketing and sales efforts of the Company; the projections prepared in house and projections delivered by channel partners; the Company's ability to complete the necessary software updates; increases in sales as a result of investments software development technology; consumer interest in the Products; future sales plans and strategies; reliance on large channel partners and expectations of renewals to ongoing agreements with these partners; anticipated events and trends; the economy and other future conditions; and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in Sekur's prospectus dated May 8, 2019 filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available on www.sedar.com . Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Sekur undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. SOURCE: Sekur Private Data Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/703495/Sekur-Private-Data-to-Sponsor-Exclusively-All-of-Roman-Balmakovs-Episodes-on-EpochTV-for-2022-and-2023--Reaching-Epoch-Times-Over-15-million-Paying-Members LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 1, 2022 / Marijuana Company of America, Inc. (OTC PINK:MCOA) ("the Company"), operates, invests, and acquires companies exclusively in the cannabis sector, today announced it will be presenting at the 12th annual Invitational hosted by LD Micro at the Four Seasons Westlake Village, on Wednesday, June 8th at 5:00 pm Pacific time. Mr. Jesus Quintero, Chief Executive Officer, will conduct one-on-one meetings during the conference and deliver the Company's in-person presentation which can be viewed live and via replay at the webcast link below. Event: LD Micro Invitational XII Event Date: June 7 - 9, 2022 Location: Westlake Village, CA MCOA Presentation Time: June 8, 2022, at 5:00 pm Pacific time in Track Four Webcast: ldinv12.mysequire.com Note: Interested parties who want to watch virtually must register on the platform. If you do not want to participate, please send an email to registration@ldmicro.com and let us know ahead of time. Jesus Quintero, CEO will provide updates on all MCOA initiatives, including its recent second consecutive quarter with record revenue growth. The Company expects its growth to continue to accelerate into the next quarter as MCOA continues to grow its business. Mr. Quintero will also discuss the Company's activity in strategic acquisitions that fall into diversified cannabis categories as it continues to pursue deals to build scale in its existing markets. The Company also continues to look at opportunities that will grow its national footprint in the U.S., as well as in emerging markets such as Brazil and Uruguay. 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. Summary of LD Micro Invitational (XII) The 2022 LD Micro Invitational will be held at the Four Seasons Westlake Village from June 7th to the 9th. This three-day, investor conference is expected to feature around 200+ companies, presenting in half-hour increments, as well as private meetings. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements," which are not purely historical and may include statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, the development, costs, and results of new business opportunities and words such as "anticipate," "seek," "intend," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "project," "plan," or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with new projects, the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's" reliance on existing regulations regarding the use and development of cannabis-based products. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that any beliefs, plans, expectations, and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and other periodic reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For more information, please visit www.marijuanacompanyofamerica.com or visit www.sec.gov. CONTACT: info@marijuanacompanyofamerica.com info@mcoainvestments.com 888-777-4362 SOURCE: Marijuana Company of America Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/703486/Marijuana-Company-of-America-Inc-to-Present-at-LD-Micro-Invitational-XII-Conference-on-June-8-2022 POMPANO BEACH, FL / ACCESSWIRE / June 1, 2022 / Basanite Inc. (OTCQB:BASA) ("Basanite" or "the Company"), a manufacturer of environmentally friendly, high-performance composite construction materials made from basalt fiber and basalt fiber-reinforced polymer, announced that it has retained construction engineering expert Fred Tingberg Jr. as Chief Technology Officer. Leveraging over 25 years of experience in the construction industry, Mr. Tingberg will take a leading role in advancing the Company's product development, sales, facility and product certification programs, as well as ensuring the Company's adherence to various government building codes and construction regulations. Mr. Tingberg joined Basanite in December 2021 as a member of the Company's Board of Directors and soon thereafter began taking an active role in assisting Basanite. To date, his efforts have facilitated Basanite's securing of contracts and specifications such as Bahamian government approval of the Company's basalt fiber-reinforced polymer in structural and seawall applications, and Broward County's Utility Technical Review Committee approval for the use of Basanite products in local infrastructure reinforcement projects. Mr. Tingberg will also continue in his role as board member. "From every aspect of our basalt manufacturing process, to advancements in construction and concrete composition, technology is a huge component of our business," Basanite President and CEO Simon Kay said. "Fred's high-level understanding of just how much manufacturing and engineering have changed in recent years makes him a trusted asset in consulting with our clients on how to best get their own jobs done. We are very grateful for his efforts to date and are excited to see him in action in this new role." Mr. Tingberg, a materials engineer, has over 25 years of experience leading construction operations, capital planning, development and engineering management. A published technical author, he has developed and patented multiple construction-related products. He also holds construction-related licenses in Florida, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, and South Carolina, and is a member of the North American Society for Trenchless Technology, American Water Works Association, American Public Works Association, Underground Construction Technology International and the National Association of Sewer Service Companies. Mr. Tingberg earned his Bachelor of Science degree in materials engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Mr. Tingberg will provide services to Basanite in a consulting capacity. Additional details regarding this arrangement will be made available in a Form 8-K to be filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. About Basanite Basanite, Inc. (OTCQB:BASA), through its wholly owned subsidiary Basanite Industries, LLC, is a manufacturer and developer of a range of environmentally friendly, high-performance basalt fiber composite products used by the construction industry. Superior to traditional steel elements, Basanite's sustainable products are non-corrosive, lighter, stronger and longer lasting. For more information, please visit www.BasaniteIndustries.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This release contains "forward-looking statements," which are based on Company management's current expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release regarding the Company's business and performance, its prospects, current factors, the economy, and other future conditions and forecasts of future events, circumstances, and results, and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "believe," "goal," "feel," "may," "plan," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "potential" and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this press release reflect Basanite's current analysis of existing trends and information and represent Basanite's judgment only as of the date of this press release. Actual results (including, without limitation, the actual results of Mr. Tingberg' association with the Company) may differ materially from current expectations based on a number of factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of the Company (including the risk of the Company continuing as a going concern), please see the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, including but not limited to the discussion under "Risk Factors" therein, which was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 15, 2022, as well as the Company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, all of which may be viewed at http://www.sec.gov . Investor Contact Mark Komonoski Integrous Communications Phone: 1-877-255-8483 Email: mkomonoski@integcom.us SOURCE: Basanite Industries View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/703482/Basanite-Retains-Construction-Engineering-Expert-Fred-Tingberg-Jr-as-Chief-Technology-Officer OTCQX: SHWZ NEO: SHWZ DENVER, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Schwazze, (OTCQX: SHWZ) (NEO: SHWZ) ("Schwazze" or the "Company"), announced today that it closed the transaction to acquire substantially all the assets of Urban Health & Wellness, Inc. ("Urban"). The transaction includes the adult use Urban Dispensary, located at West 38th Avenue and Clay Street, in Denver's vibrant Highlands neighborhood as well as a 7,200 square foot indoor cultivation facility (2,700 square feet of canopy) located in Denver, Colorado. This purchase continues Schwazze's aggressive expansion in Colorado and brings the Company's total number of Colorado dispensaries to 23 and grow facilities to four. The acquired assets included state and local retail marijuana and marijuana cultivation licenses supporting the adult use dispensary and indoor cultivation facility acquired in the transaction. "Urban's strategically located dispensary and grow facility will be excellent additions to our expanding portfolio of assets in Colorado. Delivering our brands and our excellent customer service into new neighborhoods is a Schwazze hallmark as we continue to go deep in Colorado and New Mexico." said Nirup Krishnamurthy, Schwazze's COO. The consideration for the acquisition was US$3.2 million, which was paid $1.3M in cash and $1.9M in Company common stock upon closing, of which $288,000 of this common stock consideration was held back by the Company for indemnification claims. The common stock consideration was split 65% to 35% between the two equityholders of Urban. At closing, each equityholder that received common stock consideration was required to execute a standard lock-up agreement providing for limitations on resale of the stock consideration received. There were no finder's fees or similar arrangements in connection with the transaction. Since April 2020, Schwazze has acquired or announced the planned acquisition of 33 cannabis dispensaries as well as seven cultivation facilities and two manufacturing assets in Colorado and New Mexico. In May 2021, Schwazze announced its BioSciences division and in August 2021, it commenced home delivery services in Colorado. About Schwazze Schwazze (OTCQX:SHWZ, NEO:SHWZ) is building a premier vertically integrated regional cannabis company with assets in Colorado and New Mexico and will continue to take its operating system to other states where it can develop a differentiated regional leadership position. Schwazze is the parent company of a portfolio of leading cannabis businesses and brands spanning seed to sale. The Company is committed to unlocking the full potential of the cannabis plant to improve the human condition. Schwazze is anchored by a high-performance culture that combines customer-centric thinking and data science to test, measure, and drive decisions and outcomes. The Company's leadership team has deep expertise in retailing, wholesaling, and building consumer brands at Fortune 500 companies as well as in the cannabis sector. Schwazze is passionate about making a difference in our communities, promoting diversity and inclusion, and doing our part to incorporate climate-conscious best practices. Medicine Man Technologies, Inc. was Schwazze's former operating trade name. The corporate entity continues to be named Medicine Man Technologies, Inc. Schwazze derives its name from the pruning technique of a cannabis plant to enhance plant structure and promote healthy growth. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements." Such statements may be preceded by the words "plan," "will," "may,", "predicts," or similar words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future events or performance, are based on certain assumptions, and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control and cannot be predicted or quantified. Consequently, actual events and results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with (i) our inability to manufacture our products and product candidates on a commercial scale on our own or in collaboration with third parties; (ii) difficulties in obtaining financing on commercially reasonable terms; (iii) changes in the size and nature of our competition; (iv) loss of one or more key executives or scientists; (v) difficulties in securing regulatory approval to market our products and product candidates; (vi) our ability to successfully execute our growth strategy in Colorado and outside the state, (vii) our ability to consummate the acquisition described in this press release or to identify and consummate future acquisitions that meet our criteria, (viii) our ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses and realize synergies therefrom, (ix) the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, (x) the timing and extent of governmental stimulus programs, (xi) the uncertainty in the application of federal, state and local laws to our business, and any changes in such laws, and (x) out ability to satisfy the closing conditions for the private finding described in this press release. More detailed information about the Company and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements is set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Investors and security holders are urged to read these documents free of charge on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by law. Investors, Joanne Jobin, Investor Relations, Joanne.jobin@schwazze.com, 647 964 0292; Investors, Nancy Huber, Chief Financial Officer, Nancy@schwazze.com, 303 371 0387; Media, Julie Suntrup, Schwazze, Vice President, Marketing & Merchandising, julie.suntrup@schwazze.com, 303 371 0387 Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - June 1, 2022) - PBA ("PBA" or "Paul Benwell & Associates"), in association with the Howard Group, is pleased to announce that it is hosting the Montreal F1 Investor Networking Event Thursday, June 16th, from 5 pm to 7 pm. PBA welcomes back the Montreal investment community to its premier penthouse event. This by invitation-only event will highlight promising companies in the mining sector. Presenting companies will include returning presenters Thesis Gold (TSXV: TAU), Benchmark Metals (TSXV: BNCH), QC Copper & Gold (TSXV: QCCU) and Baselode Energy Corp. (TSXV: FIND). Thesis Gold (TSXV: TAU) is focused in the prolific Golden Horseshoe of British Columbia, where it is defining and developing the substantial resource potential of the Ranch Gold and Copper project. Benchmark Metals Inc. (TSXV: BNCH) is a mineral exploration company focused on proving and developing the substantial resource potential of the Lawyer's Gold and Silver project, located in the prolific Golden Horseshoe of northern British Columbia, Canada. QC Copper & Gold (TSXV: QCCU) is a Copper and Gold exploration company focused on its Opemiska Copper project within the Chibougamau district of Quebec. Baselode Energy Corp. (TSXV: FIND) is a fully-funded Uranium exploration company looking for the next world-class deposit in the Athabasca Basin area of northern Saskatchewan, Canada. Sophy Cesar Managing Partner, PBA scesar@paulbenwell.com (514) 641-6897 ABOUT PBA PBA is a market awareness company founded by Paul Benwell, offering a full range of capital market services to micro and small-cap companies building custom-tailored solutions to meet the unique needs of their clients. PBA has hosted popular monthly investor 5a7 presentations in Montreal since 2011. In March 2020, PBA took its events online, drawing an international audience. ABOUT THE HOWARD GROUP The Howard Group is a boutique capital markets communications firm, which for more than three decades has partnered with a myriad of industry diverse companies. We tailor a wide array of services to optimize investor engagement for publicly traded and private companies. Our talented team of in-house professionals have sat on both sides of the boardroom table and have extensive experience in all aspects of financial marketing: capital raising, investor relations, branding, copywriting, digital marketing, graphic & web design, video & photography production, and more. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/126064 PALM BEACH, Fla., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- FinancialNewsMedia.com News Commentary - Experts see uranium prices continuing to rise for the next several years as it has done in the past. In 2021, the price of Uranium reached the highest levels since 2014, driven by numerous external factors. As a key component of nuclear energy, investors continue to bet on increasing demand for uranium as the world looks towards alternative energies. Throughout the year, the uranium spot price rose from around $30 to $42.05 a pound, an increase just shy of 40%. Data supplied by the World Nuclear Association shows that Kazakhstan is by far the largest producer of uranium. Kazakhstan's mines are responsible for 41% of world supply in 2020. Other major producers include Australia, Namibia, Canada and Uzbekistan. The largest uranium mine is the Cigar Lake Mine, located in the Saskatchewan province of Canada. However, mining practices are steadily being overtaken by "in situ leeching", which replaces underground mining with above-ground bore drills. A recent forecast report in Currency.co said that: "The volatile geopolitical environment in the opening stages of 2022 was the basis for continued price surges. Protests in Kazakhstan against rising energy prices turned into large-scale unrest, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of protestors. Meanwhile, Russian aggression against Ukraine steadily escalated, resulting in global sanctions against the Putin regime, causing further supply-chain anxieties Put together, these factors contributed to a strong headwinds and a rally between 1 January and 31 March, as the price of uranium nearly doubled from $30.20 to $58.20 a pound, according to data from Cameco. As of 5 April, Uranium was trading at $56.70 a pound, a value increase of approximately 83% year on year." Active mining companies in the markets this week include Traction Uranium Corp. (OTCQB: TRCTF) (CSE: TRAC), Uranium Energy Corp (NYSE: UEC), Ur-Energy Inc. (NYSE American: URG) (TSX: URE), Denison Mines Corp (NYSE: DNN) (TSX: DML), Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE: UUUU) (TSX: EFR). One analyst commenting on the uranium price forecast for 2022 suggested that the ore's price could head up to as high as $200, before a 50% retraction to the $100 mark. Another analyst has a more conservative estimate of $70 per pound. The 12-month uranium price forecast at Trading Economics is estimated to reach a value of $66.17. Uranium could continue its bullish run, according to Mining.com, partially due to an aggressive buying spree by the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust, which increased its holdings by 10% throughout February 2022 alone. Meanwhile, The Conversation recommends caution over "speculative interest and irrational exuberance". The publication added: "We could therefore see a bubble in the uranium market, and don't be surprised if it is followed by an over-correction to the downside." Traction Uranium Corp. (OTCQB: TRCTF) (CSE: TRAC) BREAKING NEWS: Traction Uranium and Fission 3.0 Drilling Intersects Anomalous Radioactivity at Lazy Edward Bay - Traction Uranium Corp. (the "Company" or "Traction") and Fission 3.0 Corp. ("Fission 3") are pleased to provide an update of the drilling at the Lazy Edward Bay project in the SE Athabasca Basin region which commenced on May 17, 2022. Drilling on the Horse West conductor has encountered anomalous radioactivity in drill hole LEB22-004 near the sandstone-basement unconformity at 164.6 m associated with a reverse fault. Hole LEB22-004 is the fourth hole to be completed during the ongoing summer drilling program and intersected elevated radioactivity associated with a reverse fault at the unconformity from 163.50 to 164.0 m with a maximum of 430 cps, measured on the drill core with a handheld Radiation Solutions RS-125 scintillometer. This corresponds with a peak of 1320 cps on the borehole gamma probe within a 1.6m interval from 162.56 m to 164.16 m greater than 500 cps. These results confirm what has been reported by Uranerz Exploration and Mining Limited in historic drill hole LE-73 drilled in 1989. Geochemical analyses by Uranerz showed that the radiometric anomalies encountered in LE-73 near the unconformity were predominantly caused by high thorium contents, but they were also accompanied with elevated uranium values (170.4 m to 170.6 m of 40 ppm U and 733 ppm Th). Follow up hole LEB-005 down dip of this intersection is in progress to test the footwall where the reverse fault intersects the basement, which is a similar setting to the occurrence of the McArthur River uranium mine. Natural gamma radiation in the drill core that is reported in this news release was measured in counts per second (cps) using a handheld Radiation Solutions RS-125 scintillometer. Natural gamma radiation in the drill hole surveys that are reported in this news release was measured in counts per second (cps) using a Mount Sopris Instruments QL40-GRA borehole gamma probe. The reader is cautioned that scintillometer readings are not directly or uniformly related to uranium grades of the rock sample measured and should be used only as a preliminary indication of the presence of radioactive materials. All intersections are down-hole. All depths reported of core interval measurements of radioactivity are not always representative of true thickness.CONTINUEDRead this full press release and more news for Traction Uranium at: https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-trac/ Other recent developments in the mining industry of note include: Ur-Energy Inc. (NYSE American:URG) (TSX:URE) has recently filed the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtmland with Canadian securities authorities at www.sedar.com. Ur-Energy CEO, John Cash said, "The first quarter of 2022 has been an exciting time for our industry with the long-term and spot uranium prices climbing dramatically in response to a growing recognition of nuclear energy's role in decarbonization, as evidenced by an increasing presence in the industry by financial players. Additionally, threats to the supply of uranium due to geopolitical uncertainty are beginning to overshadow the market. In response to rising uranium prices, and possible supply chain disruptions, we have continued and expanded our drilling and construction program to better position us to quickly ramp up low-cost production from our fully permitted Lost Creek Project when the market improves. Denison Mines Corp (NYSE: DNN) (TSX: DML) recently filed its Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and Management's Discussion & Analysis ('MD&A') for the quarter ended March 31, 2022. Both documents will be available on the Company's website at www.denisonmines.com or on SEDAR (at www.sedar.com ) and EDGAR (at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml ). The highlights provided below are derived from these documents and should be read in conjunction with them. The Company's results reflect earnings attributable to Denison shareholders of $0.05 per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 - including mark-to-market gains of $47.8 million on the Company's investment in 2.5 million pounds U3O8 of physical uranium holdings. All amounts in this release are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. View PDF David Cates, President and CEO of Denison commented, "Our results from the first quarter of 2022 reflect further improvements in the uranium market, as well as an active start to the year for the Company's Wheeler River and McClean Lake projects. Uranium Energy Corp (NYSE American: UEC) recently announced that it has filed a Technical Report Summary ("TRS") on EDGAR, disclosing mineral resources for the Company's Wyoming ISR Hub and Spoke Project (the "Project"). Background: As a U.S. domestic and domiciled company, UEC is now reporting all mineral resources in accordance with Item 1302 of Regulation S-K ("S-K 1300"); S-K 1300 was adopted by the SEC to modernize mineral property disclosure requirements for mining registrants and to align U.S. disclosure requirements more closely for mineral properties with current industry and global regulatory standards; and The mineral resource estimates set forth in this TRS have not previously been reported under the S-K 1300 format, except for the Reno Creek Project (See Company release dated February 9, 2022). The TRS was prepared under S-K 1300 and was filed on April 4, 2022 with the SEC through EDGAR on Form 8-K and is also available on SEDAR as a "Material Document" filed on April 4, 2022. The TRS was prepared on behalf of the Company by WWC Engineering, of Sheridan, Wyoming. Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) recently reported its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2022. The Company's annual report on Form 10-K has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and may be viewed on the Electronic Document Gathering and Retrieval System ("EDGAR") at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml , on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval ("SEDAR") at www.sedar.com , and on the Company's website at www.energyfuels.com . Unless noted otherwise, all dollar amounts are in U.S. dollars. "Energy Fuels continues to benefit from increases in the prices for all of the critical elements and materials we produce. Though volatile, uranium prices have continued to exhibit strength and resilience, which we expect to continue as Russia's invasion in Ukraine continues. As a result of Russia'saggression, we believe domestic and global nuclear utilities are reducing ties with the Russian state-owned nuclear company. We also believe U.S. uranium and nuclear fuel suppliers may be seeing increased interest from U.S. utilities as a result of the $6 billioncivil nuclear credit program, which prioritizes reactors that purchase nuclear fuel and uranium from U.S. suppliers, which would include Energy Fuels. DISCLAIMER: FN Media Group LLC (FNM), which owns and operates FinancialNewsMedia.com and MarketNewsUpdates.com, is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein. FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. FNM's market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material. All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consult a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks. All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release. FNM is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks. For current services performed FNM expects to be compensated forty five hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press releases issued by Traction Uranium Corp. by a non-affiliated third party. FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE. This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". 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Contact Information: Media Contact email: editor@financialnewsmedia.com +1(561)325-8757 Presentation on Wednesday, June 8th at 11:30 AM PT - Track #2 LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / June 1, 2022 / Cytta Corp (OTCQB:CYCA, the "Company") is pleased to announce that our CEO, Gary Campbell will be presenting at the 12th annual Invitational on Wednesday, June 8th at 10:30 AM PT at the Four Seasons Westlake Village. "We are proud to be hosting our 12th annual installment of the Invitational at a new and fantastic venue no less. I want to build on the incredible momentum generated from last October and look forward to hosting the patrons and execs who have supported us through thick and thin. I can not wait to welcome Gary to the Invitational, and as a Silver sponsor, welcome the company to showcase it's novel technology," stated Chris Lahiji, Founder of LD Micro. Event: LD Micro Invitational Date: Wednesday, June 8th Time: 10:30 AM PT - Track #1 Register to watch the virtual presentation here. "We are pleased to present in person at the LD Micro Invitational and excited to share Cytta's progress and upcoming plans to our expanding investor community," said Gary Campbell, Cytta's Chairman and CEO of Cytta. "We expect that the conference will serve as an amazing opportunity to connect with industry professionals and investors with whom we can showcase our paradigm shifting technology and share Cytta's recent developments and success." LD Micro Invitational (XII) The 2022 LD Micro Invitational will be held at the Four Seasons Westlake Village from June 7th to the 9th. This three-day, investor conference is expected to feature around 200+ companies, presenting in half-hour increments, as well as private meetings. For more info, please contact Mr. Dean "The Dream" Summers at Dean@ldmicro.com . About Cytta Corp Cytta Corp (OTCQB:CYCA) develops and distributes proprietary software technology that is designed to shift how video/audio data is integrated, streamed, consumed, transferred, and stored. Cytta's proprietary IGAN Incident Command System (ICS) system integrates in real-time any and all available video and audio streams during emergencies, enabling improved virtual policing. The IGAN ICS introduces real-time video and audio situational awareness, which Cytta believes is useful and valuable for police, firefighters, first responders, emergency medical workers, industry, environmental and emergencies, security, military, and their command centers in an emergency. Cytta's proprietary SUPR ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) system delivers realtime compression of video streams for surface, airborne and underwater ISR applications including environments, where video streams are transmitted beyond line-of-sight. By utilizing a SUPR-enabled encoder onboard an unmanned system, video can be securely streamed in high definition through an extremely low bandwidth LEO satellite uplink (<22 kbps) with ultra-low latency. Our proprietary Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) technology is built around SUPR, a potent software codec, which is the technology at the core of our realtime video compression products. SUPR is explicitly designed for streaming HD, 4K, and higher resolution video, in bandwidth constrained environments, while reducing required technical resources. Cytta has created video/audio integration software advanced, video compression, and portable/SaaS hardware/software systems that solve real world problems in large markets. Cytta wants its products to enable and empower the world to consume higher quality video anywhere, anytime. Cytta's ultimate goal is to deliver such high-quality video that is not discernible from reality with the naked eye, creating 'Reality Delivered.' For more information, please visit Cytta.com and the Cytta Video Channel on YouTube to view Cytta's vision, products, competitive advantages, marketplace, new product utilization, and markets. About LD Micro LD Micro aims to be the most crucial resource in the micro-cap world. Whether it is the index, comprehensive data, or hosting the most significant events on an annual basis, LD's sole mission is to serve as an invaluable asset for all those interested in finding the next generation of great companies. http://www.ldmicro.com For further information: Cytta Corp http://www.cytta.com info@cytta.com Gary Campbell, CEO Direct (702) 900-7022 Gary@cytta.com Michael Chermak, Chief Administrative Officer Cell: (619) 977-7203 Chermak@Cytta.com SOURCE: Cytta Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/703456/Cytta-Corp-to-Present-at-the-LD-Micro-Invitational PayQuicker customers will be able to launch branded cards across the globe, expanding current product offerings and enhancing user experience NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / June 1, 2022 / PayQuicker , an innovative financial technology leader in the global payouts market, today announced it is partnering with Mastercard to deliver client branded virtual and physical cards including secured bank accounts and mobile wallet functionality, all through a single point of integration. PayQuicker is on a mission to play an integral role in financial inclusivity, and to ultimately bring compliant, speedy, and hassle-free banking to independent contractors, gig workers, and the employees of businesses ranging from startups to large enterprises on a global scale. Through its strategic partnership with Mastercard, PayQuicker's offerings will: Be available in more than 150 countries with local currency cards in over 30 countries Provide clients with the ability to customize their own card program based on their unique needs Bring instant payment power to their own brand experience Allow users to leverage their Mastercard prepaid debit and virtual cards on leading mobile wallets "PayQuicker has been issuing prepaid cards with secured bank accounts for people around the globe for more than 15 years," said Paul Beldham , CEO of PayQuicker. "By leveraging all of the tremendous assets from Mastercard, we'll have an opportunity to expand our product offerings, including our launch of an industry-differentiating Payment Orchestration for Payouts platform. We're pleased to be partnering with a long-time, global leader in the space in Mastercard." "People today require easy-to-access, always-on payments solutions that are relevant to the needs of their businesses and daily lives," said Sherri Haymond , Executive Vice President, Digital Partnerships at Mastercard. "As our economy becomes more and more digital, we look forward to working closely with PayQuicker to bring greater access to everyone and ensure that we're not only meeting, but exceeding those financial needs." The PayQuicker platform provides users instant access to payments via their insured PayQuicker-issued bank accounts. As soon as a payment is made, the funds are available in the insured account and available to spend instantly online through a virtual card, physically with a plastic prepaid debit card, or by loading the card into a mobile wallet. PayQuicker serves multiple markets through its new Payment Orchestration for Payouts solution, including Direct Selling, Clinical Trials, Consumer, and e-Wallet programs. About PayQuicker PayQuicker is an innovative global financial technology company that provides its clients with a robust payments and treasury platform. Since 2007, we have been revolutionizing payouts, allowing businesses of any size to offer instant global payouts in local currencies via secured bank accounts with prepaid debit cards, virtual cards, and mobile wallets. Our cloud-based and regulatory-compliant software stack enables clients to white-label our products, empowering fast and flexible spending options under their own branded experience. Our mission is to enable clients with superior payment and purchasing power that immediately drives business growth with every login, payout, purchase, or swipe. To learn more, visit: https://payquicker.com/ . PayQuicker Contact: Karen Lee Caliber Corporate Advisers karen@calibercorporate.com 949-269-4436 SOURCE: PayQuicker View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/703513/PayQuicker-Partners-with-Mastercard-to-Expand-Access-to-Digital-Payments-for-their-Global-Payouts-Clients Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 1, 2022) - Nicola Mining Inc. (TSXV: NIM) (FSE: HLI), (the "Company" or "Nicola") is pleased to announce that it has recommenced operations at its gravel pit (Permit G-15-019) with its partner Lower Nicola Site Services Ltd. ("LNSS") an indirectly majority-owned company which is a partnership between the Lower Nicola Indian Band Development Corporation and Infracon Construction Inc. The gravel pit is located at the Company's Craigmont Mine Site, located approximately 14 kilometers from Merritt, British Columbia ("BC"). Nicola and LNSS have commenced supplying much needed sand and gravel to local communities for construction and infrastructure repairs. The gravel pit compliments the recently received Notice of Departure ("NoD") at the New Craigmont Project from the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation ("EMLI"). The Company's M-68 announced in its May 2, 2022 news release that it received permitting for extraction of up to 3.0 million tonnes ("Mt") of inert available rock material (riprap ) that may be used for the infrastructure reconstruction efforts at a production rate of approximately 1500 tonnes per day. The Company receives a royalty for all riprap, sand, and gravel transported from its site. The Company is equally pleased to announce that it has commenced its 998-line kilometer Z-Tipper Axis Electromagnetic survey ("ZTEM Survey") across the entirety of New Craigmont. This is the largest full-site survey ever conducted on the historic Craigmont Copper Mine site, for which the Company holds Mine Permit M-68. ZTEM Surveys can be a very effective tool in finding porphyry systems, especially in places that have a secondary volcanic covering. To further augment the Company's understanding of Craigmont's copper mineralization, which includes both porphyry and skarn, the Company is currently generating a robust database and model of over 4100 historic drill holes. To date, over 30% of assay and lithology data have been entered, providing vectors for mineralization, grade, and structural controls. The database and model provide insight and will improve the understanding of mineralized zones that are known to remain in-situ, including Mineralized Zone 3. As historic mining included underground operations, the Company is also digitizing the historic underground workings, which can be superimposed with the drilling database and model to better understand potential residual copper remaining as part of the historic operations. Peter Espig, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We continue to work creatively to maximize both cash flow and exploration opportunities at the Craigmont Site and are very excited about the prospect of combining current ZTEM survey, modeling and interpretating lithologies from historic drillholes, and analyzing historic underground mining operations. In addition, the increased interested in our NI 43-101 for the historic mine terraces and expected receipt of a multi-year exploration permit over the entire Craigmont Copper Project could provide very exciting near term exploration opportunities." Qualified Person Kevin Wells, P.Geo, a consulting geologist to the Company, is the independent qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects for the technical disclosure contained in this news release. About Nicola Mining Nicola Mining Inc. is a junior mining company listed on the TSX Venture and Frankfurt Exchanges that maintains a 100% owned mill and tailings facility, located near Merritt, British Columbia. It has signed Mining and Milling Profit Share Agreements with high grade gold projects. Nicola's fully-permitted mill can process both gold and silver mill feed via gravity and flotation processes. The Company owns 100% of the New Craigmont Project, a high-grade copper property, which covers an area of 10,913 hectares along the southern end of the Guichon Batholith and is adjacent to Teck Resources Ltd.'s Highland Valley Copper, Canada's largest copper mine. The Company also owns 100% of the Treasure Mountain Property, consisting of 30 mineral tenures covering 513 hectares (ha) and a mining lease covering 335 ha. On behalf of the Board of Directors "Peter Espig" Peter Espig CEO & Director For additional information Contact: Peter Espig Phone: (778) 385-1213 Email: info@nicolamining.com Forward-Looking Information Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which reflect the expectations of management regarding the Company. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future, including but not limited to, statements regarding the allocation of revenues and royalties under the Agreement towards Nicola's site maintenance, including annual reports and reclamation obligations and that Nicola will continue to work closely with previously engaged consultants and service providers. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements, including risks related to factors beyond the control of the Company. These risks include, but are not limited to, changes in Nicola's business relationships and plans, changes in the anticipated uses of revenues and royalties under the Agreement, the failure of Nicola to receive the necessary approvals for the NoD from the EMLI, as well as other general business, economic, or market related risks beyond the director control of the Company and which may affect the Company's business and operations. The novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, also continues to pose risks that are currently indescribable and immeasurable. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. 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. 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/126054 NUREMBERG, Germany, May 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Roboyo, the world's largest Intelligent Automation professional services provider today announced their move into Denmark as part of the company's expansion into Northern Europe. Headquartered in Copenhagen, the Denmark office joins Sweden in offering Nordic clients the latest and best in Intelligent Automation technologies and solutions. Led by experienced Senior Consulting Manager Sofia Rsand and Nordics Chief Business Officer, Henric Skogsberg, Roboyo will help Danish companies capture the exponential power of automation to elevate performance gains from increments to multiples. The launch into Denmark provides Roboyo's new and existing clients the opportunity to engage with local experts within the Intelligent Automation field, and to share its global expertise in driving large-scale transformation programs within Business Automation. Many Danish companies have come far in their automation journey, and Roboyo will bring the additional value and experience needed to take them to the next level of business impact. With a holistic approach to intelligent business process automation, Roboyo's expertise will be fundamental in creating hybrid, human and digital workforces that reduce cost, eliminate errors, and enhance the employee and customer experience. "I'm thrilled to be able to offer the Danish market Roboyo's Intelligent Automation solutions. Denmark is a mature market within this field where many companies are looking to scale. Being a global pure player, now with local presence, we look forward to supporting clients through an end-to-end journey, from building strategic programs to securing optimal managed services, focusing on transforming the way we work." Sofia Rsand, Regional Lead Denmark, Senior Consulting Manager, Roboyo Roboyo's experience and expertise continue to engineer business outcomes for the world's largest and most dynamic companies and Denmark is no exception. "We are glad to officially open Roboyo Denmark. As part of our plan to expand broader into the Nordics and the knowledge that Danish companies are at the forefront of technology adoption, the country perfectly fits our Roboyo capabilities. We are keen to add a huge amount of value to our existing and new client base in this region." Dominique Grueger, CEO Europe & India, Roboyo About Roboyo Roboyo is the world's largest Intelligent Automation professional services company and helps clients to operationalize a full spectrum of AI-powered automation technologies, empowering companies to adapt to a rapidly changing operating environment and deliver Next Level business performance. Roboyo.global https://www.linkedin.com/company/roboyo/ https://twitter.com/Roboyo_tweets https://www.facebook.com/roboyoofficial https://www.instagram.com/roboyo_official/ VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 1, 2022 / St. Anthony Gold Corp. (CSE:STAG) ("St. Anthony" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has signed a Purchase and Sale Agreement (the "Purchase Agreement") to sell all of its rights and title to the Panama Lake Property (the "Property") held to Trillium Gold Mines Inc.("Trillium"). Pursuant to an assignment and assumption agreement to be entered into on the closing of the transactions contemplated by the Purchase Agreement (the "Assignment Agreement" together with the Original Option Agreement, the "Option Agreement"), among Trillium and St. Anthony, St. Anthony will assign all of its rights and obligations under the Original Option Agreement to Trillium. In addition, pursuant to the Assignment Agreement, Benton Resources Inc. ("Benton Resources") will agree to consent to the assignment and will agree to register 100% of the Property's title to Trillium while retaining its 50% ownership interest in the Property until such time as Trillium fulfils its option to earn 100% interest. Terms of the Agreement Pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement, at closing, Trillium will pay St. Anthony, Cdn $500,000 in cash and issue 1,000,000 common shares in the capital of Trillium (the "Common Shares"). In the event Trillium acquires a 100% interest in the Property, St. Anthony may cause Trillium to exercise its Buy-Back Right under the Option Agreement to repurchase from Benton Resources one-half of the 2% Net Smelter Royalty on the Property and convey such repurchased 1% Net Smelter Royalty to St. Anthony in exchange for a cash payment by St. Anthony to Trillium of $1,000,000. The Common Shares of Trillium Gold issued under the Purchase Agreement will be subject to a four-month holding period from the closing date. The Purchase Agreement is subject to the approval of the TSXV and other applicable regulatory authorities. Board of Directors Update The Company also announces that Santhokh Sahota has resigned from the board. The Company thanks Mr. Sahota for his service. Mr. Mario Drolet, of Montreal, has been appointed to the board vacancy. Mario has more than 25 years of experience in financial markets and has worked on the floor of the Montreal Exchange on his way up from apprentice to chief trader in derivatives for a large Canadian institution - CIBC Wood Gundy. He also ran a private trading school (MADA Trading) for numerous years on the floor of the Exchange to serve the institutional derivatives clientele, university students and new traders.. Since 2007, he is the founder of MI3 Communications Financieres which is a Montreal-based new-age financial communications company geared for today's fast-paced global economy. MI3's services were developed to leverage trading and market experience to provide Investor & public relations, market-making activities and market Intelligence to Canadian public companies. Mario has worked with over 250 small, mid and large cap public companies on different levels. He is hosting a monthly videoconference ' lets talk mining ' with mining expert Terence S. Ortslan & Eric Lemieux sponsored by CIM presenting mining companies and discussing with management and expert latest development on engineering, geology, ESG, market and finance. Over the last six years, Mario has produced the Dinner-Series in fifteen cities every month across Quebec and Ontario generating over 300 events for small and mid cap companies looking to meet HNW investors and expand their shareholder base in Quebec.. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SEE THE COMPANY'S WEB SITE AT https://stanthonygoldcorp.com Email to info@stanthonygoldcorp.com Contact: Peter Wilson CEO - 604-649-0945 SOURCE: St. Anthony Gold Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/703496/St-Anthony-Gold-Signs-Agreement-to-Sell-Panama-Lake-Gold-Project The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters today announced the 2022 Kavli Prize Laureates in the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience, and neuroscience. Eleven scientists from six countries are honored for their research that has transformed our understanding of the big, the small and the complex. The laureates in each field will share $1 million USD. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220531005908/en/ Huda Zoghbi, 2022 Kavli Prize Laureate in Neuroscience. Photo courtesy of The Kavli Prize. (Photo: Business Wire) The 2022 Kavli Prizes recognizepioneering science in the development of helioseismology and asteroseismology; development of self-assembled monolayers on solid substrates and molecular-scale coatings to control surface properties; and the discovery of genes underlying a range of serious brain disorders. This year's Kavli Prize Laureates are: Kavli Prize in Astrophysics: Conny Aerts (Belgium), Jrgen Christensen-Dalsgaard (Denmark), and Roger Ulrich (USA). Conny Aerts (Belgium), Jrgen Christensen-Dalsgaard (Denmark), and Roger Ulrich (USA). Kavli Prize in Nanoscience: David L. Allara (USA), Ralph G. Nuzzo (USA), Jacob Sagiv (Israel) and George Whitesides (USA). David L. Allara (USA), Ralph G. Nuzzo (USA), Jacob Sagiv (Israel) and George Whitesides (USA). Kavli Prize in Neuroscience: Jean-Louis Mandel (France), Harry T. Orr (USA), Christopher A. Walsh (USA), and Huda Y. Zoghbi (Lebanon/USA). "We honor the 2022 Kavli Prize Laureates for their transformative contributions to science and society. Their discoveries created entirely new fields, opened up new realms of scientific research and advanced science for the benefit of humankind," says Lise vreas, president of The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Astrophysics Three scientists share The Kavli Prize in Astrophysics for their pioneering work in developing the fields of helioseismology and asteroseismology, and for breakthrough research that laid the foundations of solar and stellar structure theory and revolutionized our understanding of the interiors of stars. Pairing the study of oscillations on the sun's and other stellar surfaces with mathematical modeling, the laureates combined data-analysis methods (such as time series analysis, pattern recognition, and statistical modeling) with the physics and chemistry of thermodynamics, nuclear and atomic physics, and quantum mechanics. The bridging of these scientific fields allows the extraordinarily precise determination of the physical properties of stellar interiors. "These three scientists are the pioneers of helioseismology and asteroseismology and span the development of these fields," pointed out Chair of the Astrophysics Committee, Viggo Hansteen. "All three figured out a way to look at the inside of different types of stars and developed tools to study them precisely." Roger Ulrich was the first to show that the oscillations observed on the solar surface can be used to make precise measurements of the characteristics of the interior of the sun and developed a mathematical model, giving the field of helioseismology a theoretical foundation. He demonstrated that the sun behaves like a musical instrument, ringing with large numbers of acoustic waves, each having a resonant frequency just like an organ pipe or a plucked violin string. His demonstration of the agreement between solar calculations and observations was a key ingredient in convincing physicists that the solar neutrino problem could only be solved by revising standard electroweak theory. Jrgen Christensen-Dalsgaard furtherdeveloped the topic of helioseismology and played a major role in the development of asteroseismology, studying low-mass cool stars and the sun. He determined the sound speed profile throughout the sun, its two-dimensional rotation map, its helium content, and the level of helium settling at the base of its convection zone. With this, he saw the great potential of applying this science to other stars in the Milky Way, fully realized with the launch of the CoRoT, Kepler, and TESS planet finding missions. Conny Aerts is a leading figure of asteroseismology and is widely known for her work on massive hot stars. She extended the research to stars of all masses in various evolutionary stages, using both ground- and space-based observations and developed clever methods to identify pulsation modes in massive stars, opening the doors to the modeling of their interiors. Aerts also pioneered a rigorous methodology to identify and model gravito-inertial modes in rapidly rotating stars, and the first quantitative estimates of certain stellar cores and interactions, leading to significant improvements in stellar evolution theory. Nanoscience Interaction with materials occurs through their surfaces. The 2022 Kavli Prize in Nanoscience honors four pioneers whose work transformed surface science and has led to applications shaping our daily lives in areas from medical diagnostics to semiconductor devices. These scientists created molecular-scale coatings for surfaces which enable unprecedented control and engineering of surface properties. Theirs was a shared vision, inspired by the concept of organized monolayer films introduced in the 1930s by American physicists and chemists, Katherine Blodgett and Irving Langmuir. "Self-assembled monolayers are extremely important in many phenomena at the nanoscale," stated Chair of the Nanoscience Committee, Bodil Holst. "Sagiv, Nuzzo, Allara and Whitesides opened up a whole new world with their discoveries. This is documented through scientific insights and the enormous amount of applications utilizing self-assembled monolayers." Jacob Sagiv provided the first demonstrations of the possibility of creating films of molecules adsorbed on glass and metal surfaces. The concept worked for molecules with different functional groups and could in principle be useful in myriad applications. Ralph Nuzzo and David Allara showed the first self-assembled monolayers strongly bond to bare metal surfaces. They established that self-assembled monolayers can be characterized by infrared and other optical spectroscopies. Also, they deduced the packing and orientation of the constituent molecules including their functional groups. This generated a deep scientific understanding which enabled the rational design of self-assembled monolayers with specific functionalities. George Whitesides and his team at Harvard were responsible for many innovations which consolidated self-assembled monolayers as a field of nanoscience and engineering. Whitesides' work demonstrated that it was possible to use self-assembled monolayers to create countless patterns on the micrometer scale. Self-assembled monolayers have since enabled a large number of commercial applications and multi-billion-dollar commercial markets, and are used extensively in medical diagnostics, pharmacology, biosensors, chemical sensors, printers, electronics manufacturing, paints, solar cells, and batteries. Neuroscience Before scientists mapped the human genome in the early 2000s, the quest for genes was a laborious process. Four persistent neuroscientists are recognized for pioneering the discovery of genes underlying a range of serious brain disorders and establishing a blueprint for neuroscience research, diagnosis, and treatment for fragile X syndrome, spinocerebeller ataxia, Rett syndrome, and rare forms of epilepsy and autism spectrum disorder. "These scientists discovered the genetic basis of multiple brain disorders, and elucidated the pathways by which these genes work," says Chair of the Neuroscience Committee, Kristine B. Walhovd. Jean-Louis Mandel discovered an unusual mutation in a gene on the X chromosome that causes fragile X syndrome, an inherited form of intellectual disability, including autism and most commonly presents in males. He showed that the mutation was a string of triple-letter repeats that disrupted the FMR1 gene. Such repeats disrupt the transcription of the FMRP protein, which is vital for brain function. Today, "unstable repeat expansions" are recognized as a common disease mechanism responsible for more than 50 genetic disorders. A familiar pattern has also emerged: as the number of repeats increases with each generation, symptoms arise earlier and are more severe. Understanding these unstable repeat expansions provides a model for numerous neurological diseases. Mandel's work led to improved diagnostic tools for fragile X. Together Harry T. Orr and Huda Y. Zoghbi discovered ATAXN1, the gene responsible for spinocerebellar ataxia 1 (SCA1), a disease in which neurons in the cerebellum degenerate and cause the loss of balance and coordination; it is progressive, permanent, and often fatal. Working together, Orr and Zoghbi discovered that a similar repeat expansion causes SCA1 and discovered that the mutation caused proteins to misfold and clump together in cerebellar neurons, eventually leading to death. Additionally, Orr's work showed the disease could be treated and his methodology is one of the main models being used for studying neurodegenerative diseases today. Zoghbi also uncovered the gene MECP2, which causes Rett syndrome, a rare genetic neurological disorder that primarily presents in young girls, often with autism-like symptoms, and results in devastating motor and cognitive symptoms. Zoghbi discovered that changes in the level of MECP2, a repressor of gene expression is essential for the normal function of many types of neurons in the brain. MECP2 is one of the first identified epigenetic causes for a brain disorder. Her research found that MECP2 affects hundreds of neurons and genes and that normalizing MECP2 levels through oligonucleotide therapy reverses the gene's effects. Christopher A. Walsh discovered more than three dozen neurological disease genes, such as the "double cortex" syndrome, a rare neuronal migration disorder that presents with seizures and intellectual impairment and is seen almost exclusively in females. His research identified genetic mutations that underlie disorders affecting the cerebral cortex and can cause structural malformations that range from subtle to profound, including some forms of epilepsy and autism spectrum disorders. Many of these discoveries came from one of Walsh's key innovations to study recessive mutations in geographically isolated families. In some of those children, Walsh made an intriguing discovery mutations that were present in some but not all the cells of the body. They are called somatic mutations and can accumulate slowly during brain development. All 2022 Kavli Prize Laureates Kavli Prize in Astrophysics: Conny Aerts (Belgium), KU Leuven. Jrgen Christensen-Dalsgaard (Denmark), Aarhus University. Roger Ulrich (USA), University of California, Los Angeles. Kavli Prize in Nanoscience: David Allara (USA), Pennsylvania State University. Ralph Nuzzo (USA), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Jacob Sagiv (Israel), Weizmann Institute of Science. George Whitesides (USA), Harvard University. Kavli Prize in Neuroscience: Jean-Louis Mandel (France), University of Strasbourg. Harry T. Orr (USA), University of Minnesota Medical School. Christopher A. Walsh (USA), Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Harvard Medical School; Boston Children's Hospital. Huda Y. Zoghbi (Lebanon/USA), Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Baylor College of Medicine; Texas Children's Hospital. About The Kavli Prize The Kavli Prize is a partnership among The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, and The Kavli Foundation (USA). The Kavli Prize honors scientists for breakthroughs in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience that transform our understanding of the big, the small and the complex. Three million-dollar prizes are awarded every other year in each of the three fields. The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters selects the laureates based on recommendations from three independent prize committees whose members are nominated by The Chinese Academy of Sciences, The French Academy of Sciences, The Max Planck Society of Germany, The U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and The Royal Society, UK. Kavli Prize Committees Astrophysics Viggo Hansteen (Chair), University of Oslo, Norway Alessandra Buonanno, Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, Germany Francoise Combes, Observatoire de Paris, France Andrea Ghez, University of California Los Angeles, USA Max Pettini, University of Cambridge, UK Nanoscience Bodil Holst (Chair), University of Bergen, Norway Gabriel Aeppli, Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland Naomi Halas, Rice University, USA Joachim Spatz, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Germany Li-Jun Wan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Neuroscience Kristine B. Walhovd (Chair), University of Oslo, Norway Angela Friederici, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Germany Mary E. Hatten, The Rockefeller University, USA John O'Keefe, University College London, UK Antoine Triller, Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Superieure, France View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220531005908/en/ Contacts: For more information, please contact: Marina Tofting (Norway) The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters + 47 938 66 312 marina.tofting@dnva.no Stacey Bailey (United States) The Kavli Foundation + 310 739 2859 sbailey@kavlifoundation.org Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 1, 2022) - Hank Payments Corp. (TSXV: HANK) ("Hank" or the "Company"), a North American leader in consumer Fintech Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) that supports consumer budgeting and cash management automation now offered through distributers and community banks nationwide, is pleased to announce it has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with Fair Fintech Inc. (Fair), a leading consumer-first, ethical financial services company wealth building digital platform based in Houston, Texas. Under the strategic partnership, Hank and Fair will offer the Fair banking products to Hank consumers, including a 4% Wealth Building Account. Hank will earn set-up fees for every new account opened, as well as recurring revenues based on Assets Under Management with Fair. Additionally, and as part of the agreement, Fair will expend significant amounts to fund various market development and general marketing efforts to accelerate customer adoption. As adoption grows, each of Hank and Fair expect to offer a fully integrated solution for consumers on both Hank and Fair's respective platforms, allowing consumers to take full advantage of best-in-class technology and services. Michael Hilmer, Chairperson and CEO of Hank commented, "It is important for us to continue to build value for our platform users. As we identify cash flow savings for our consumers using Hank's best-in-class cash management platform, Hank's goal is to assist them to start developing healthy savings habits for those unpredictable life events (rainy day funds) and to start growing their savings over time. Fair is on a mission to expand its multilingual digital bank offerings across the country, and we are excited to be partnering with them as they offer among the highest income earnings opportunities on deposits in the marketplace." Khalid Parekh, Founder & CEO of Fair and AMSYS Group, stated, "I am truly excited about working with Hank and am a strong believer that when cutting edge fintech leaders work together, they can bring great benefits to their respective customers - and there's no doubt in my mind that this will be the case with Fair and Hank!" About Hank Payments Corp. Hank is a SaaS based consumer Fintech company. An important vertical market of the industry leading Hank cloud-based software platform (the "Hank Platform") is to address consumer's financial budget manager using powerful technology to automate a consumer's personal cash flow and payments. Through its FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) insured bank partners in the U.S., Hank helps consumers in all 50 States find funds in their existing cash flow and speed up the retirement of liabilities. The Hank Platform instructs its banking partners to debit consumers when they have cash, store the money in FDIC insured accounts, then automatically pay bills and loans as they come due; often sooner than required. Approximately half of Hank's customers are financially sound and use the Hank Platform for convenience, while the other half are looking to improve their on-time payment performance through the Hank Platform. Hank's customers pay setup and ongoing monthly processing fees while remaining on the Hank Platform for an average of six years. Hank continues to innovate and anticipates launching more expansive state of the art features to its expected growing customer base to provide greater visibility into their cash flow, credit performance, and viability to borrow or refinance at lower rates, including introducing Hank customers to interested lenders. About Fair Fintech Inc. Dedicated to values that place people over profit, Fair practices socially responsible investing (SRI), environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investing. Fair donates 2.5% of its profits to global refugee causes and racial economic empowerment initiatives. Fair banking services are provided by Coastal Community Bank, member FDIC. Investment and retirement services will be provided by Fair Invest, LLC. Fair membership enrollment is available at bankwithfair.com, and the Fair mobile app can be downloaded in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Fair membership can be completed with a social security number or a government-issued ID, such as a valid passport or driver's license. Terms and conditions apply and can be found at bankwithfair.com. Connect with @bankwithfair on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Disclaimers: Investment and lending products are provided by Fair Invest, LLC, a registered investment advisory firm with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Custodial and brokerage services are provided by Apex Clearing Corporation, a member of the New York Stock Exchange (https://www.nyse.com/), FINRA (https://www.finra.org/), and SIPC (http://www.sipc.org/). Please note that these products are protected by SIPC insurance for Fair Invest, LLC accounts on APEX Platform, not insured by FDIC insurance. SIPC insurance covers customer claims up to $500,000, with a maximum of $250,000 for cash claims. For details, see http://www.sipc.org. Not a deposit or other obligation of, or guaranteed by Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC, or any bank affiliate. Subject to risk including possible loss of invested principal. This risk is assumed by Fair Invest, LLC so member's invested principal will not be impacted by such losses. For details, please see https://bankwithfair.com/terms-conditions. Fair is a subsidiary of AMSYS Group (https://amsysgroup.com/), a leading global investment firm with expertise across multiple business sectors, including energy, technology, finance, logistics, engineering and healthcare. For more information regarding Fair, please visit the Company's website at https://www.bankwithfair.com/ Forward-Looking Statements This news release may contain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of applicable securities laws) which reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as "believe", "anticipate", "project", "expect", "intend", "plan", "will", "may", "estimate" and other similar expressions. These statements are based on the Company's expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections and include, without limitation, statements regarding the future success of the Company's business. Financial performance figures in Canadian Dollars unless otherwise indicated by "U" representing United States Dollars. The forward-looking statements in this news release are based on certain assumptions, including without limitation the Shares beginning trading on the TSXV. The forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, these forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, except as expressly required by applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: For more information regarding Hank Payments Corp., please contact: Jason Ewart, EVP Capital Markets, at 1-833-HANKPAY. For Investor Relations please contact ir@hankpayments.com and visit the Company's website at www.hankpayments.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. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/126128 Pricing expert at Pricefx says the war and economic sanctions are disrupting the way the world prices and purchases nearly everything as product supply chains tighten The global economy, and Europe in particular, is feeling the impact of product shortages due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Key chemicals that permeate the global product supply chain are sourced in these two countries. Pricefx, the global leader in cloud-native pricing software, urges businesses to consider advanced pricing strategies to sustain good customer relationships, respond to increasing cost pressures, and maintain margins during this time of extreme volatility. Chemical and product shortages are impacting everyday items such as tires, catalytic converters and breakfast cereal. Here are some specific examples of chemical shortages the world is currently facing: Carbon black Carbon black is used in batteries, wires and cables, toner and printing inks, rubber goods, and especially in automotive tires. It improves the strength, performance, and ultimately the durability and safety of tires. Approximately 30% of European carbon black comes from Russia and Belarus or Ukraine. Currently, these sources are largely off limits. Alternative sources in India are sold out and the cost of sourcing from China is double that of Russia given the transportation cost increase. Consumers can expect to see higher prices for tires due to these increased costs, as well as difficulty purchasing specific types of tires as they will be in short supply. Tire manufacturers should review their supply chain and contracts to understand their risk exposure, the value of supply certainty and how much they are willing to pay for this value attribute. Platinum, Rhodium, and Palladium These three commodities are utilized in a large variety of industrial applications, but are critical to the automotive industry. All three metals are utilized to manufacture catalytic converters, which help to reduce the toxic emissions created by gas powered automobiles. Approximately 40% of the world's palladium comes from Russia. As sanctions and boycotts have expanded, prices have risen to all-time highs. The scrap value or resale value of a catalytic converter has increased such that individual cars, trucks, and buses are now targeted by organized crime organizations. Businesses need to be aware of gray market pricing, where products are legally or illegally procured in one country or region and sold in another. This practice allows companies to utilize a kind of arbitrage on cost and price that negatively impacts the manufacturer. Manufacturers need to have systems to detect and address gray market pricing that occurs because of large differences between regional pricing which is further amplified by commodity shortages and price spikes. It is also important to consider price ladders to maintain proper relationships between new and remanufactured or other similar product hierarchies. These relationships, if not managed in lock-step, can create margin compression where relationships are not well maintained. Natural Gas and Ammonia Fertilizer is required for crops around the world. The ammonia in fertilizer is most commonly made by combining nitrogen in the air and hydrogen from natural gas. About 40% of the natural gas and 25% nitrogen, potash, and phosphates in Europe comes from Russia; nearly half of global ammonium nitrate comes from Russia. To make matters worse, China has limited exports, including fertilizer, in favor of addressing domestic demand. Farmers are considering rotating to crops that require less fertilizer, however grain shortages are driving up the cost of basic foods. Russia and Ukraine together make up about 25% of global wheat production. Ukraine is a major producer of sunflower seed oil, cereals, and is the fifth largest global grain producer. The combined impact of fertilizer product, grain and seed oil production is significant to the global economy. Due to quickly rising costs, consumers can expect to see higher food prices. Food manufacturers will often employ "shrinkflation" to combat rising costs by reducing the quantity of product in a package. This can commonly be seen in breakfast cereal, where a 700g box is now a 650g box. "After the global pandemic began in 2020, businesses learned that they needed to prepare for supply chain shortages but were likely caught off guard by the unexpected disruption caused by the Russia-Ukraine war," said Garth Hoff, chemical industry pricing expert at Pricefx. "These 'black swan' events are occurring with increasing regularity and impacting consumers in ways they aren't expecting like the size of their cereal box. Businesses, particularly mult-national companies, are being forced to once again adapt to massive disruption and need to reexamine their data, shift pricing algorithms, and look for ways to survive and thrive in 2022's already challenging environment." Follow Pricefx LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/price-f-x-/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/price_fx About Pricefx Pricefx is the global leader in SaaS pricing software, offering a comprehensive suite of solutions that are fast to implement, flexible to configure and customize, and friendly to learn and use. Based on cloud-native architecture, Pricefx delivers a complete price optimization and management platform that provides the industry's fastest time-to-value and lowest total cost of ownership. Its innovative solution works for B2B and B2C enterprises of any size, in any industry, in any part of the world. Pricefx's business model is entirely based on the satisfaction and loyalty of its customers. For enterprises facing pricing challenges, Pricefx is the cloud pricing optimization, management, and CPQ platform to dynamically Plan, Price and Profit. For more information, please visit www.pricefx.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220601005208/en/ Contacts: Media: Cathy Summers Summers PR for Pricefx cathy@summers-pr.com +1 (415) 483-0480 BANGALORE, India, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Farm management software market is segmented by Type - Local/Web Based Farm Management Software, Cloud Based Farm Management Software, by Application - Precision Farming, Livestock Monitoring, Fish Farming, Smart Greenhouse Farming. It is published in Valuates Reports under the Management Category. The global farm management software market size is projected to reach USD 1982.8 million by 2028, from USD 921.4 million in 2021, at a CAGR of 11.4% during 2022-2028. Major Factors Driving The Growth Of The Global Farm Management Software Market The growth of the farm management software market is driven by factors such as growing awareness and increasing implementation of cloud computing in real-time farm data management, growing population, and subsequent rise in demand for food worldwide will boost the growth of the market. Government support to encourage the adoption of modern agricultural techniques and focus on monitoring livestock performance, precision farming, fish farming, smart greenhouse, etc to increase farm efficiency are also driving the growth of the farm management software market. Browse The Table of Contents And List of Figures At https://reports.valuates.com/reports/QYRE-Auto-7E4329/global-farm-management-software TRENDS INFLUENCING THE GROWTH OF THE GLOBAL FARM MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE MARKET Global food demand is escalating at a rapid pace. The use of cloud computing and web-based farm management software is rising as farmers become aware of the benefits. Precision farming is gaining prominence as it boosts crop yield and avoids wastage of crucial resources. The software helps in comparing and mapping out the seed varieties, giving real-time insights on specific locations for yield. It can monitor labor productivity, track the flow of goods from manufacturers to warehouses and help in storing the farm produce. GPS enabled weather updates, soil analysis, and built-in accounting helps to keep records of the entire revenue and profitability. These factors will drive the growth of the farm management software market in the coming years. Favorable government support and technological advances will boost the global farm management software market. The software is being adopted extensively for keeping a detailed track of the livestock's ID, breeding, and pedigree. It provides important data on sales, location, health, performance, weight, and other details of the animal husbandry. Dairy farm activities become trackable and remote access allows for monitoring when you are away from home. Farmers are able to sell online without the interference of any middlemen. Moreover, in case of any emergencies, e-consultation offers universal access to experts. Fish farming is spreading globally as worldwide commercial fish consumption increases. Inventory tracking, water quality assessment, feeding levels, and determining optimal harvests are done through the software. Inbuilt tracking systems provide farmers with information on individual fish data, overall population statistics, and the latest trends in breeding. Cost of goods sold and expense monitoring become easy and the actual investment into producing an entire fish population is provided in visual aids with clear dashboards. Historical data on the aquaculture facility help in preparing farmers for better management and meeting production needs. Such factors will bolster the growth of the farm management software market. The advent of IoT sensors and predictive analytics will fuel the growth prospects of the global farm management software market. Huge volumes of data are fed into an IoT integrated platform for providing on-demand information on crops and surroundings 24/7. The algorithms offer accurate analysis of the HVAC, lighting systems, temperature, humidity, irrigation, and spraying facilities. This enables growers to improve the efficiency in labor, and chemical use for improving yield rates. Get Your Sample Today: https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/QYRE-Auto-7E4329/Global_Farm_Management_Software_Market FARM MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS Based on type, the location/web-based segment is expected to maintain dominance in the farm management software market share as the interface is easy to use, secure, and readily available in smartphones, desktops, tablets, etc. Based on application, precision farming will witness considerable growth due to the rising need for optimum crop yield and higher profitability. Based on region, North America is expected to see the highest growth in the farm management software market share due to rising awareness levels amongst farmers, booming internet usage, and the presence of key farm management software service providers. On the other hand, Asia-pacific will grow the fastest due to its huge population base, and increasing demand for advanced agricultural products. Inquire For Customization: https://reports.valuates.com/request/customisation/QYRE-Auto-7E4329/Global_Farm_Management_Software_Market Market By Region North America Europe Asia-Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa Inquire For Regional Report: https://reports.valuates.com/request/regional/QYRE-Auto-7E4329/Global_Farm_Management_Software_Market Key players Deere & Company Trimble, Inc. Agjunction, Inc. Raven Industries, Inc. Iteris, Inc. AG Leader Technology Dickey-John Corporation Sst Development Group, Inc. Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc The Climate Corporation Conservis Corporation Farmers Edge Inc. 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SIMILAR REPORTS - The global Precision Farming market size is projected to reach USD 9284.1 million by 2028, from USD 4415.8 million in 2021, at a CAGR of 10.7% during 2022-2028. - The global Livestock Monitoring market size is estimated to be worth USD 562.1 Million in 2022 and is forecast to a readjusted size of USD 1006.7 Million by 2028 with a CAGR of 10.2% during the review period. - The global smart agriculture market size was valued at USD 16,746.7 million in 2019, and is estimated to reach USD 29,234.6 million by 2027 with a CAGR of 9.7% from 2021 to 2027. - The global Biostimulants market size is estimated to be worth USD 147.2 Million in 2022 and is forecast to a readjusted size of USD 203 Million by 2028 with a CAGR of 5.5% during the review period. - The global Crop Protection Chemicals market size is projected to reach USD 64520 million by 2027, from USD 52630 million in 2020, at a CAGR of 2.9% during 2021-2027. - The global Stevia market size is estimated to be valued at USD 647.7 million in 2022 and is forecast to be a readjusted size of USD 1016.5 million by 2028 with a CAGR of 7.8% during the review period. - The global Farm Management Systems market size is projected to reach USD 2801.8 million by 2028, from USD 1265.4 million in 2021, at a CAGR of 11.8% during 2022-2028. - The global herbicide market size is expected to reach an overall market revenue of USD 7,998.9 Million by 2025, by growing at a CAGR of 4.8% during the forecast period. - The global Agricultural Robots market size is estimated to be worth USD 5820.3 million in 2022 and is forecast to be a readjusted size of USD 16120 million by 2028 with a CAGR of 18.5% during the review period. - The global Agrochemicals market size is estimated to be worth USD 95700 million in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 115610 million by 2028 with a CAGR of 3.2% during the review period. - In 2020, the global Formic Acid Market size was USD 241 million and it is expected to reach USD 317.8 million by the end of 2027, with a CAGR of 4.5% during 2021-2027. - The global ammonia market size is estimated to be worth USD 75390 million in 2022 and is projected to a readjusted size of USD 80500 million by 2028 with a CAGR of 1.1% during the forecast period. - The global Sulfur Dioxide market size is estimated to be worth USD 9699.8 million in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 12560 million by 2028 with a CAGR of 4.4% during the review period. - The global Amines market size is estimated to be worth USD 16220 million in 2022 and is forecast to be a readjusted size of USD 21370 million by 2028 with a CAGR of 4.7% during the review period. - Global Dairy Farm Management Software Market Insights, Forecast to 2028 - Global Farm Software Management Solution Market Insights, Forecast to 2028 - Global Digital Farming Software Market Research Report 2022 Click Here To See Related Reports on Farm Management Software Market About Us: Valuates offers in-depth market insights into various industries. Our extensive report repository is constantly updated to meet your changing industry analysis needs. Our team of market analysts can help you select the best report covering your industry. We understand your niche region-specific requirements and that's why we offer customization of reports. With our customization in place, you can request for any particular information from a report that meets your market analysis needs. To achieve a consistent view of the market, data is gathered from various primary and secondary sources, at each step, data triangulation methodologies are applied to reduce deviance and find a consistent view of the market. Each sample we share contains a detailed research methodology employed to generate the report. Please also reach our sales team to get the complete list of our data sources. Contact Us: Valuates Reports sales@valuates.com For U.S. Toll-Free Call 1-(315)-215-3225 For IST Call +91-8040957137 WhatsApp: +91-9945648335 Website: https://reports.valuates.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/valuatesreports Karelian Diamond Resources plc ("Karelian Diamonds" or "the Company") 1 June 2022 LAHTOJOKI DIAMOND MINE DEVELOPMENT UPDATE Land Survey final meeting rescheduled to end of summer / beginning of autumn Delay due to Covid-19 and workload on National Survey of Finland Karelian Diamond Resources plc (AIM: KDR) has been informed by the National Land Survey of Finland that the final meeting in relation to the Company's diamond mine development at Lahtojoki has been delayed and it is not now likely to be held until the end of summer or the beginning of autumn 2022. The National Land Survey has stated that the delay in holding the final meeting and the processing of the proceedings is caused by the impact of the Covid-19 situation in previous years and also the workload of the National Land Survey. The delay is not in any way due to Karelian Diamonds and the Land Survey has stated that it will be in contact with the Company when the date for the final meeting is confirmed. A Mining Concession over the Lahtojoki diamond deposit has already been approved by TUKES (The Finnish Mining Authority). The Company will provide a further update when further information becomes available. In the meantime the Company's diamond exploration programme in Finland continues. Professor Richard Conroy, Chairman of Karelian Diamond Resources plc, commented: "Clearly we would like to have news of the meeting date as soon as possible, so that the Company can progress with the development of the Lahtojoki Diamond Deposit, particularly in view of the increasing demand for coloured stones such as those present in the deposit. Elsewhere in Finland the Company's exploration programme is increasingly encouraging." Further Information: Karelian Diamond Resources plc Professor Richard Conroy, Chairman +353-1-479-6180 Allenby Capital Limited (Nomad) Nick Athanas / Nick Harriss +44-20-3328-5656 First Equity Limited (Broker) Jason Robertson +44-20-7330-1883 Lothbury Financial Services Michael Padley +44-20-3290-0707 Hall Communications Don Hall +353-1-660-9377 http://www.kareliandiamondresources.com DGAP Post-admission Duties announcement: Haier Smart Home Co.,Ltd. / Third country release according to Article 50 Para. 1, No. 2 of the WpHG [the German Securities Trading Act] Haier Smart Home Co.,Ltd.: Announcement on the Progress of the Core Employee Stock Ownership Plan 01.06.2022 / 16:11 Dissemination of a Post-admission Duties announcement according to Article 50 Para. 1, No. 2 WpHG transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Third country release according to Article 50 Para. 1, No. 2 of the WpHG Announcement on the Progress of the Core Employee Stock Ownership Plan Qingdao / Shanghai / Frankfurt / Hongkong, 1 June 2022 - Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. (the "Company" or "Haier Smart Home", D-share 690D.DE, A-share 600690.SH, H-share 06690.HK) yesterday published a mandatory announcement in accordance with applicable trading rules of the Shanghai Stock Exchange and applicable PRC laws in relation to the progress of the core employee stock ownership plan. The announcement is fully available at: https://imagesmart-home.haier.com/en/dggg/P020220601727600050193.pdf?appdesc=Announcement%20on%20the%20Progress%20of%20the%20Core%20Employee%20Stock%20Ownership%20Plan IR Contact: Haier Smart Home Hong Kong T: +852 2169 0000 Email: ir@haier.hk Press Contact: CROSS ALLIANCE communication GmbH Sara Pinto pi@crossalliance.de T: +49 (0) 89 1250903 35 About Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd.: Haier is one of the world's leading manufacturers of household appliances with a focus on smart home solutions and customized production. Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. develops, produces and distributes a wide range of household appliances. These include refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, air conditioners, water heaters, kitchen appliances as well as small household appliances and an extensive range of intelligent household appliances. The Company distributes its products through leading household brands such as Haier, Casarte, Leader, Candy, GE Appliances, AQUA and Fisher & Paykel. Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. has launched Smart Home Experiential Cloud, which connects homes, users, enterprises and ecosystem partners, and facilitates the integration of Haier's online, offline and micro-store businesses and supports user interaction to further optimize the user experience. 01.06.2022 The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.dgap.de DGAP Post-admission Duties announcement: Haier Smart Home Co.,Ltd. / Third country release according to Article 50 Para. 1, No. 2 of the WpHG [the German Securities Trading Act] Haier Smart Home Co.,Ltd.: Announcement on the Resolutions of the First Holders' Meeting of the 2022 Core Employee Stock Ownership Plan 01.06.2022 / 16:13 Dissemination of a Post-admission Duties announcement according to Article 50 Para. 1, No. 2 WpHG transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Third country release according to Article 50 Para. 1, No. 2 of the WpHG Announcement on the Resolutions of the First Holders' Meeting of the 2022 Core Employee Stock Ownership Plan Qingdao / Shanghai / Frankfurt / Hongkong, 1 June 2022 - Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. (the "Company" or "Haier Smart Home", D-share 690D.DE, A-share 600690.SH, H-share 06690.HK) yesterday published a mandatory announcement in accordance with applicable trading rules of the Shanghai Stock Exchange and applicable PRC laws in relation to the resolutions of the first holders' meeting of the 2022 core employee stock ownership plan. The announcement is fully available at: https://imagesmart-home.haier.com/en/dggg/P020220601725734910963.pdf?appdesc=Announcement%20on%20Resolutions%20of%20the%20First%20Holders%E2%80%99%20Meeting%20of%20the%202022%20Core%20Employee%20Stock%20Ownership%20Plan IR Contact: Haier Smart Home Hong Kong T: +852 2169 0000 Email: ir@haier.hk Press Contact: CROSS ALLIANCE communication GmbH Sara Pinto pi@crossalliance.de T: +49 (0) 89 1250903 35 About Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd.: Haier is one of the world's leading manufacturers of household appliances with a focus on smart home solutions and customized production. Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. develops, produces and distributes a wide range of household appliances. These include refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, air conditioners, water heaters, kitchen appliances as well as small household appliances and an extensive range of intelligent household appliances. The Company distributes its products through leading household brands such as Haier, Casarte, Leader, Candy, GE Appliances, AQUA and Fisher & Paykel. Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. has launched Smart Home Experiential Cloud, which connects homes, users, enterprises and ecosystem partners, and facilitates the integration of Haier's online, offline and micro-store businesses and supports user interaction to further optimize the user experience. 01.06.2022 The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.dgap.de LISBON (dpa-AFX) - Portugal's industrial production declined in April after rising in the previous month, figures from Statistics Portugal showed on Wednesday. Industrial production fell 1.8 percent year-over-year in April, reversing a 0.7 percent rise in March, which was the first increase in three months. Excluding energy, output contracted 1.1 percent compared to last year, in contrast to a 2.0 percent gain in the prior month. Among sectors, manufacturing production declined 1.5 percent and output in the utility sector showed a fall of 4.0 percent. On a monthly basis, industrial production decreased 2.0 percent in April versus 4.6 percent growth in March. 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. MoEngage's insights-led customer engagement platform has registered a x2 growth in business, doubling its global headcount in 2021 LONDON, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MoEngage , the insights-led customer engagement platform, today announced that it has raised USD $77M in Series E funding. This round was led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management and B Capital, with participation from the company's existing investors; Steadview Capital, Multiples Alternate Asset Management, Eight Roads Ventures, and Matrix Partners India. This is the third fundraising undertaken by MoEngage in the last 12 months, having raised $32.5M in July and $30M in Dec 2021, taking its total investment to $178m within 8 years. MoEngage helps consumer brands and online retailers adopt a more customer-centric approach through data-driven, insights-led customer engagement, as Raviteja Dodda, Co-Founder and CEO of MoEngage, explained: "The current tech landscape forces marketers to be campaign-centric. Multi-channel marketing tools available today are built to deliver campaign analytics and manage workflow automation. What's missing are insights into customers' channel preferences, the best time to communicate, their likes and dislikes, the ideal omnichannel journeys, their lifestyle choices, their level of engagement with your brand, their likelihood to convert or churn, and more. We not only deliver these insights using our AI-engine, but also provide marketers and ecommerce teams the ability to instantly act on these insights and engage customers through personalised multi-channel lifecycle campaigns." "Earlier our engagement approach was very traditional, but with digitalisation, we were able to explore new avenues and observed that even our customers are excited to be more digital. With MoEngage's insights-led engagement platform, we created a seamless digitalised customer engagement where we were engaging our customers using personalised communication." said Kirsten Theiner, Product Owner at Magenta Telekom. "Connecting with our customers in a meaningful way is a key part of our success as a business. MoEngage helps us gain actionable insights at our fingertips so we can create the most relevant experiences for our customers and scale our personalised outreach across channels," said Deepak Thakral, Vice President of Consumer Commerce at McAfee. Rajat Sood, a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said: "We anticipate the continued expansion of the marketing automation and analytics industry. As companies seek to better engage customers across digital channels, MoEngage's leading technology platform provides marketers with insightful, real-time data, enabling them to orchestrate and run effective campaigns to build and retain customer relationships to enhance customer lifetime value. We look forward to leveraging our global resources and network to support the ambitions and continued growth of the company." In the last 12 months, MoEngage has grown annual recurring revenue (ARR) by 105%, added 500 new customers to its roster of international brands and retailers it supports, and doubled its headcount to more than 650 globally. The company has a very healthy annual net revenue retention of over 135% and has been named as a "Strong Performer" in the Q3 2021 Forrester Wave report on Cross-Channel Campaign tools. Dodda added: "We ramped up our investments in local sales, support, and partnership functions in the last 24 months and have seen rapid growth in the UK and Europe as a result. We now have over 60 customers, including Travelodge, Deutsche Telekom, and Nestle, that are supported locally from our offices in London and Berlin. We have a robust network of 15+ partners who offer consulting services and help in extending our platform capabilities within Europe. The additional capital will enable us to expand our team, our partnership network, and strengthen our AI product capabilities in the region. We will also explore strategic acquisitions that can help extend our platform capabilities and provide more value to our customers." About MoEngage MoEngage is an insights-led customer engagement platform, trusted by more than 1200 global consumer brands such as Ally Financial, McAfee, Flipkart, Domino's, Nestle, Deutsche Telekom, Travelodge, and more. MoEngage empowers marketers and product owners with insights into customer behaviour and the ability to act on those insights to engage customers across the web, mobile, email, social, and messaging channels. Consumer brands across 35 countries use MoEngage to power digital experiences for over 1 billion customers every month. With offices in ten countries, MoEngage is backed by Goldman Sachs, B Capital, Steadview Capital, Multiples Private Equity, Eight Roads, F-Prime Capital, Matrix Partners, Ventureast, and Helion Ventures. MoEngage has been named as a "Strong Performer" in the Q3 2021 Forrester Wave report for Cross-Channel Campaign Management and as a "Leader" in the 2020 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Mobile Marketing Platforms. It was listed as one of the Top 25 Highest Rated Private Cloud Computing Companies To Work For by Battery Ventures in 2021. To learn more, visit www.moengage.com About Goldman Sachs Asset Management Growth Equity Bringing together traditional and alternative investments, Goldman Sachs Asset Management provides clients around the world with a dedicated partnership and focus on long-term performance. As the primary investing area within Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), we deliver investment and advisory services for the world's leading institutions, financial advisors and individuals, drawing from our deeply connected global network and tailored expert insights, across every region and market-overseeing more than $2 trillion in assets under supervision worldwide as of March 31, 2022. Goldman Sachs Asset Management invests in the full spectrum of alternatives, including private equity, growth equity, private credit, real estate and infrastructure. Since 2003 the Growth Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management comprising more than 75 individuals has invested over $13 billion in companies led by visionary founders and CEOs. We focus exclusively on investments in growth stage and technology-driven companies spanning multiple industries, including enterprise technology, financial technology, consumer and healthcare. Follow us on LinkedIn About B Capital B Capital is a multi-stage global investment firm that partners with extraordinary entrepreneurs to shape the future through technology. With over $3.5 billion in assets under management across multiple funds, we focus on seed to late-stage growth investments, primarily in the enterprise, financial technology and healthcare sectors. Founded in 2015, B Capital leverages an integrated team across eight locations in the US and Asia, as well as a strategic partnership with BCG, to provide the value-added support entrepreneurs need to scale fast and efficiently, expand into new markets and build exceptional companies. For more information, click here . Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1742120/image_5013157_21016134_Logo.jpg LONDON (dpa-AFX) - The exemption of Trump-era tariffs on UK steel imports to the United States has come into force on Wednesday. The UK-US tariff dispute was resolved in March after the United States announced that it will replace Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act on steel and aluminum from the United Kingdom with tariff-rate quotas. It will allow UK manufacturers to export upto 500000 million metric tons of steel and 21600 metric tons of aluminum to the United States free of Section 232 tariffs each year. The lifting of tariffs has been hailed as a huge win by UK steelmakers and will bring new business opportunities for companies across the supply chain which employs 80,000 people. In return for U.S. concessions, the UK will end extra taxes levied on US products including whiskey, Levi's jeans and Harley Davidson's motorcycles. The UK Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan said, 'From today, our UK steel and aluminium exporters can also get back to exporting across the Atlantic to our largest trading partner'. Lifting the tariffs also means imports of US products to the UK will become cheaper. Commenting on the implementation of the UK-US Section 232 deal, UK Steel Director General Gareth Stace said, 'This is a significant day for the UK steel companies and their customers in the US. The implementation of this hard-fought deal marks a major improvement in the trading environment for UK sector and our thanks go to the Secretary of State and her team for getting this deal over the line and into effect'. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Sao Paulo, Brazil--(Newsfile Corp. - June 1, 2022) - The Pacoca team has successfully launched its newest DeFi portfolio manager, Pacoca. This new launch is a portfolio tracker in which users can track their DeFi assets, invest in smart vaults with compounding yields, and use the decentralized exchange aggregator to trade tokens. Pacoca is a powerful portfolio manager, convenient to all DeFi users, and free to use; users can see DeFi investments from multiple chains on a single page. The platform aims to mend the gap between the variety of services offered by DeFi platforms and their unavailability in one place, by being a one-stop DeFi hub that is a multichain portfolio manager, an automated yield farming, and a DEX aggregator. Introducing Pacoca: The One-Stop DeFi Portfolio Manager To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8475/126092_2bfb00bf04463990_001full.jpg Pacoca aims to provide a broad and consolidated view of the assets invested in different DeFi projects in EVM-based blockchains like BNB Chain, Fantom, Polygon, and/or Ethereum in order to improve the experience of DeFi users. The platform emphasizes simplicity and is ideal for individuals seeking an simple but powerful DeFi hub with a real-time portfolio tracker across multiple chains. The Pacoca Dashboard Within a single Dashboard page, users can check all their DeFi staking, borrowing, lending, rewards to harvest, tokens, NFT, and asset allocation. The Dashboard also shows more details on LP farming, and it can show the amount and value of tokens inside of the LP. Additionally, Pacoca has a "Convert your balances into PACOCA" feature through which users can gather tokens that have small amounts together, and swap them into $PACOCA within one transaction. This feature currently works on the BNB Chain. Users can also check their DeFi portfolio in real-time simply on their phone screen by using the Pacoca app and it is not necessary to get access to wallet apps. Click here to see how to add Pacoca to the home screen. Pacoca's exchange is powered by 1inch. Pacoca is audited by Inspex, and Certix with Skynet, where the smart contracts are monitored 24 hours a day. The Future Pacoca aims to become the most preferred one-stop DeFi service provider. The platform commemorated its first birthday on March 13 by launching its very first NFT birthday collection as well as the 2022 roadmap for the first and second quarters. The best is yet to come, as new and exciting features will be added down the line, such as the ZAP feature, DAO, Portfolio surprise feature, PFP NFT collection, Cross-chain Tokens, and Sweet vaults, among others. Contact Details Company Name: Pacoca Email: salt@pacoca.io Global Community: https://t.me/pacoca_io Announcements Channel: https://t.me/Pacoca_Announcements Website: https://pacoca.io/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/pacoca_io Medium: https://pacoca.medium.com/ To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/126092 CHICAGO, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Pharmacy Automation Market by Product (Automated Medication Dispensing & Storage Systems, Table-Top Counters, Retrieval Systems, Medication Compounding), End User (Inpatient, Outpatient (Fast-Track Clinics), Retail Pharmacies) - Global Forecast to 2027", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Pharmacy Automation Market is projected to reach USD 8.2 billion by 2027 from USD 5.6 billion in 2022, at a CAGR of 7.9% during the forecast period. Browse in-depth TOC on "Pharmacy Automation Market" 218 - Tables 43 - Figures 247 - Pages Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=71522890 Growth in the market is mainly driven by the growing need to minimize medication errors, the rapid decentralization of pharmacies, and the rising geriatric population leading to increased adoption of automated dispensing systems. The automated medication dispensing and storage system segment accounted for the largest share in 2021 Based on products, the pharmacy automation market is segmented into automated medication dispensing and storage systems, automated packaging and labeling systems, automated tabletop counters, automated medication compounding systems, and other pharmacy automation systems. In 2021, the automated medication dispensing and storage systems segment accounted for the largest share of this market, primarily due to the growing need to manage increasing workloads and reduce medication errors. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=71522890 The inpatient pharmacies segment accounted for the largest share of the pharmacy automation market Based on end users, the pharmacy automation market is segmented into inpatient pharmacies, outpatient pharmacies, retail pharmacies, and pharmacy benefit management organizations and mail-order pharmacies. In 2021, inpatient pharmacies accounted for the largest share of this market. This is due to the increasing use of pharmacy automation dispensing and storage systems, such as automated dispensing cabinets, across inpatient healthcare facilities. As pharmacy automation systems and solutions help ward nurses and other hospital staff dispense medication faster and more accurately than manual methods. North America holds the largest share of the pharmacy automation market North America accounted for the largest share of the pharmacy automation market in 2021. Factors such as technological advancements in pharmacy automation systems, growth in the healthcare sector, and the presence of top pharmacy automation system manufacturers in the US are expected to contribute to the growth of the pharmacy automation market in North America. Speak to Analyst: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalystNew.asp?id=71522890 The prominent players in the pharmacy automation market are Becton, Dickinson and Company (US), Omnicell, Inc. (US), KUKA AG (Swisslog Healthcare) (Germany), Baxter International Inc. (US), Capsa Healthcare (US), Cerner Corporation (US), Yuyama Co., Ltd. (Japan), ARxIUM Inc. (US), Parata Systems, LLC (US), RxSafe, LLC (US), and ScriptPro LLC (US). Browse Adjacent Markets: Medical Devices Market Research Reports & Consulting Browse Related Reports: Pharmaceutical Packaging Equipment Market by Product (Aseptic Packaging, Blister, Strip, Bottle, Tube, Carton, Case Packer, Wrapping Machine, Palletizing, Labeling & Serialization), Type (Tablet, Powder, Cream, Syrup, Aerosol) - Global Forecast to 2027 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/pharmaceutical-packaging-equipment-market-19845828.html Central Fill Pharmacy Automation Market by Product (Equipment (Medication Dispensing System, Automated Medication Compounding Systems, Workflow Management), Service (Process Optimization, Facility Design), Software), Vendor - Global Forecast to 2024 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/central-fill-pharmacy-automation-market-87188549.html 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/pharmacy-automation-systems-market.asp Visit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/pharmacy-automation-systems.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg STOCKHOLM, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The resolutions passed at EQT AB's Annual Shareholders' Meeting (the "Meeting") on 1 June 2022, included the following: Approval of the income statements and the balance sheets The Meeting approved the income statements and the balance sheets for EQT AB and the group, respectively, for the fiscal year 2021. Dividend The Meeting resolved, in accordance with the Boards' proposal, on a dividend to the shareholders of SEK 2.80 per share to be paid in two installments. At the first installment SEK 1.40 per share is paid with the record date 3 June 2022. At the second installment SEK 1.40 per share is paid with the record date 1 December 2022. The dividend is expected to be distributed through Euroclear on 9 June 2022 and on 6 December 2022, respectively. Board The Meeting discharged the Board members, the CEO and the deputy CEO from liability for the fiscal year 2021, in accordance with the auditor's endorsement. In accordance with the nomination committee's proposal, Conni Jonsson, Margo Cook, Johan Forssell, Nicola Kimm, Diony Lebot, Gordon Orr and Marcus Wallenberg were re-elected as Board members, Brooks Entwistle was elected as new Board member (conditional upon that necessary regulatory approvals are obtained) and Conni Jonsson was re-elected as Chairperson of the Board. Compensation to the Board The Meeting resolved, in accordance with the nomination committee's proposal, on compensation to the Board of in total EUR 1,474,000, to be allocated as follows: EUR 1,214,000, whereof EUR 290,000 to the Chairperson and EUR 132,000 to each of the other Board members who are not employed by the company, and EUR 260,000 as compensation for work in the committees of the Board, to be allocated as follows: EUR 40,000 to the Chairperson of the audit committee, and EUR 20,000 to each of the other members, EUR 40,000 to the Chairperson of the remuneration committee and EUR 20,000 to each of the other members, and EUR 40,000 to the Chairperson of the sustainability committee and EUR 20,000 to each of the other members. Should the necessary regulatory approvals not be obtained for the new election of Brooks Entwistle, the total cash compensation to the Board will instead amount to EUR 1,342,000. Auditor In accordance with the nomination committee's proposal, the Meeting re-elected KPMG AB as auditor of EQT AB. The authorized public accountant Hakan Reising will continue to be the auditor in charge for the audit. Principles for appointment of the nomination committee In accordance with the nomination committee's proposal, the Meeting adopted principles for appointment of the nomination committee. Remuneration report The Meeting approved the remuneration report presented by the Board. Guidelines for remuneration to executive management The Meeting approved the Boards' proposal on guidelines for executive remuneration. No material changes have been made compared to the guidelines previously approved. Authorization to issue shares and warrants The Meeting resolved, in accordance with the Boards' proposal, to authorize the Board to, during the period until the Annual Shareholders' Meeting 2023, on one or more occasions, resolve upon issuances of new shares and/or warrants to be paid by way of set-off and/or in kind. Shares and/or warrants may be issued without preferential rights for the shareholders of EQT AB. The number of shares and/or warrants issued may not correspond to a dilution of more than 10 per cent of the total number of shares outstanding at the Meeting's resolution on the authorization, after full exercise of the authorization. The purpose of the authorization is to provide flexibility for acquisitions of companies, businesses or parts thereof, as well as to increase financial flexibility for EQT and broaden the shareholder base. Any issue of new shares resolved upon pursuant to this authorization shall be made at market terms and conditions, taking into account the transaction as a whole. Warrants may be issued free of charge. Authorization to issue shares as part of the consideration for the acquisition of BPEA The Meeting resolved, in accordance with the Boards' proposal, to authorize the Board to, during the period until the next Annual Shareholders' Meeting, on one or several occasions, resolve upon issuances of new ordinary shares to be paid in kind. The shares may be issued without preferential rights for the shareholders of EQT AB. The number of ordinary shares issued may not exceed 191,200,000 shares, corresponding to a dilution of approximately 16 percent of the total number of shares outstanding. The purpose of the authorization is to enable partial payment of the acquisition of BPEA. Contact Olof Svensson, Head of Shareholder Relations, +46 72 989 09 15 Rickard Buch, Managing Director, Communications, +46 72-989 09 11 EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/eqt/r/bulletin-from-eqt-ab-s-annual-shareholders--meeting-2022,c3578133 The following files are available for download: AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a-" (Excellent) of Al Ahleia Insurance Company S.A.K.P. (Al Ahleia) (Kuwait). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. The ratings reflect Al Ahleia's balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). Al Ahleia's balance sheet strength is underpinned by its consolidated risk-adjusted capitalisation at the strongest level, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). Al Ahleia's unleveraged balance sheet and financial flexibility secured through access to capital markets, support the current balance sheet assessment. However, the company's holdings in private equity and real estate funds are viewed as an offsetting factor, increasing asset risk and exposing its capital base to potential volatility. In addition, a further offsetting factor is Al Ahleia's elevated debtor balances and slow collection periods, which creates uncertainties over the company's ability to recover its receivables. Al Ahleia's operating performance track record remains commensurate with a strong performance assessment. The company has reported improving pre-tax profits in each of the past five years, which reached KWD 15.0 million in 2021. Over this period, Al Ahleia generated a five-year (2017-2021) weighted average return-on-equity of 9.6%, as calculated by AM Best. Profitability has been underpinned by technical results, and Al Ahleia achieved a five-year (2017-2021) weighted average consolidated combined ratio of 91.8%. Al Ahleia's underwriting performance has benefited from its strong direct underwriting results in Kuwait; that counterbalanced the higher combined ratios reported by its subsidiary, Kuwait Reinsurance Company SAKP (Kuwait Re), which reported a five-year (2017-2022) weighted average combined ratio of 95.9%. Al Ahleia's business profile reflects its established position as a top four insurer in Kuwait's direct market, where it has a leading market share in the commercial insurance segment. The group achieves geographical diversification through its reinsurance operation, Kuwait Re, which provides proportional and non-proportional cover to cedants in the Middle East and North Africa, Asia-Pacific and Central and Eastern Europe. On a consolidated basis, Al Ahleia generated gross written premium of KWD 113.9 million in 2021, with Kuwait Re contributing KWD 69.0 million. Al Ahleia and Kuwait Re's risk management frameworks are considered appropriate for their individual risk profiles. As the group's risk profile continues to develop, it will become increasingly important for Al Ahleia to enhance its ERM capabilities at a group level, particularly in areas such as capital management and market risk. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best's Credit Ratings, Best's Performance Assessments, Best's Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best's Ratings Assessments. AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright 2022 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220601006029/en/ Contacts: Emily Thompson Financial Analyst +44 20 7397 0291 emily.thompson@ambest.com Christopher Sharkey Manager, Public Relations +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159 christopher.sharkey@ambest.com Alex Rafferty, ACA Associate Director, Analytics +44 20 7397 0312 alex.rafferty@ambest.com Jeff Mango Managing Director, Strategy Communications +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5204 jeffrey.mango@ambest.com HBM Healthcare Investments AG / Key word(s): Monthly Figures Key Figures 31.05.2022 01.06.2022 / 17:46 in CHF Performance in % 31.05.2022 MTD FYTD CYTD NAV 271.99 -2.2 -4.7 -19.1 Share Price 273.00 16.2 -1.1 -19.5 Total Net Assets (in million) 1'892 HBM Healthcare Investments AG Bundesplatz 1 CH-6300 Zug - Switzerland Tel. +41 41 710 75 77 Fax +41 41 710 75 78 E-Mail: hbm@hbmhealthcare.com Web: www.hbmhealthcare.com Wenn Sie keine Mitteilungen von HBM Healthcare Investments mehr wunschen, konnen Sie diese hier abbestellen. Should you wish to unsubscribe from all HBM Healthcare Investments news, please unsubscribe here. Disclaimer: This message may contain confidential or privileged Information and is intended only for the use of the addressee named above. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you are hereby notified that you must not use, copy, disclose or take any action based on this message or information herein. If you have received this message by error, please advise the sender immediately and delete this message. The publication is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy or subscribe for securities. Past performance is not a reliable indicator or guarantee of future results, prices of shares and the income from them may fall as well as rise and investors may not get back the amount originally invested. The investor must be aware of the investment risk and personal risk ability. Some information quoted was obtained from external sources HBM considers to be reliable. HBM cannot guarantee the adequacy, accuracy, timeliness or completeness of or be held responsible or liable for errors of fact regarding such data and information obtained from third parties, and this data may change with market conditions. If the email looks unformatted, please use this alternative link. End of Media Release A HIGH GROWTH SAAS BUSINESS, STRONG RECURRING REVENUES OPENS UP NEW GROWTH MARKETS IN EUROPE Further to the announcement of 10 May 2022, MotorK Plc (AMS: MTRK) ("MotorK" or the "Group") announces the completion of the acquisition of Carflow ("the Company"), a European automotive retail solutions provider that serves approx. 400 car dealers and major automotive OEMs, including Jaguar, Land Rover, Opel, Stellantis and Subaru. Founded in 2009, Carflow is an established automotive software as a service ("SaaS") player in the Belgian, Dutch and French digital automotive retail markets, expanding MotorK's European presence into these growing markets. The Company provides car dealers and manufacturers with a suite of digital solutions focused on three areas: 1) automated online sales and conversion processes; 2) lead generation and follow-up; and 3) omnichannel digital showroom capability. Carflow is also partnering with Carconnex, one of the leading car trading player in Belgium, to propose a virtual inventory platform to its clients. In 2021, the Company reported revenues of c. 3.0 million, achieving double-digit growth on the previous year. Recurring revenues represented c. 75% of this total. Forward-looking information disclaimer This press release may include forward-looking statements. Other than reported financial results and historical information, all statements included in this press release, including, without limitation, those regarding our financial position, business strategy and management plans and objectives for future operations, may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limitation, any statements preceded or followed by or that include the words "targets", "plans", "believes", "expects", "aims", "intends", "anticipates", "estimates", "projects", "will", "may", "would", "could" or "should", or words or terms of similar substance or the negative thereof, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, projections and key assumptions about future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond MotorK's ability to control or estimate precisely, such as future market conditions, the behavior of other market participants and the actions of governmental regulators. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release and are subject to change without notice. Other than as required by applicable law or the applicable rules of any exchange on which our securities may be traded, we expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Important information This press release contains information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014). ABOUT MOTORK PLC MotorK (AMS: MTRK) is a leading software as a service ("SaaS") provider for the automotive retail industry in the EMEA region, with over 400 employees and eleven offices in eight countries (Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Portugal, the UK, Israel and Belgium). MotorK empowers car manufacturers and dealers to improve their customer experience through a broad suite of fully integrated digital products and services. MotorK provides its customers with an innovative combination of digital solutions, SaaS cloud products and the largest R&D department in the automotive digital sales and marketing industry in Europe. MotorK is a company registered in England and Wales. Registered office: 124 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX Company Registration: 9259000. For more information: www.motork.io or www.investors.motork.io. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220601005763/en/ Contacts: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MotorK Investor Relations Etienne Jacquet etienne.jacquet@motork.io +33 6 22 18 39 09 MotorK Corporate Communications press@motork.io Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Plc - Transaction in Own Shares For immediate release 1 June 2022 FINSBURY GROWTH & INCOME TRUST PLC (the "Company") MARKET PURCHASE OF COMPANY'S OWN SHARES The Company announces that it has today purchased 70,000 of its own shares ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 787.57p per Ordinary Share. Such shares will be held in treasury by the Company. The transaction was made pursuant to the authority granted at the Annual General Meeting of the Company held on 9 February 2022. Following this transaction, the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury is 3,309,223; the total number of Ordinary Shares that the Company has in issue, less the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury following such purchase, and therefore, the total number of voting rights in the Company is 221,682,080. The figure of 221,682,080 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for calculations of interests in the Company's voting rights in accordance with the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules. For and on behalf of Frostrow Capital LLP Company Secretary For further information, please contact: Victoria Hale Frostrow Capital LLP Tel: 020 3 170 8732 Utimaco is a leading global provider of high-security technology for cybersecurity and compliance solutions Due to its strong market position and the increasing digitalization of economies and societies worldwide, Utimaco has excellent growth prospects SGT Capital's collaborative approach is complemented by the continued (minority) stake of Utimaco management, employees and EQT; alongside Bain Capital Credit and Tyrus Capital, as well as other institutional investors including Capital Dynamics, Commonfund, Flandrin Capital, University of Wisconsin Foundation, and UBS Global Wealth Management Foundation, and UBS Global Wealth Management Utimaco's recent acquisition of Celltick, a leader in public-warning and mass notification systems, already demonstrates SGT Capital's support of Utimaco's growth strategy SGT Capital received necessary clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) in late 2021; as well as approvals from the United Kingdom's Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy in February 2022 ; and Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection in early May 2022 FRANKFURT, Germany, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SGT Capital is pleased to announce that it has completed its acquisition of Utimaco Verwaltungs GmbH ("Utimaco" or the "Company") from the EQT Mid Market Europe fund ("EQT Private Equity"). Headquartered in Aachen, Germany, and Campbell, California, United States, Utimaco is a leading platform provider of high-security technologies for cybersecurity and compliance solutions. The Company provides on-premises and cloud-based hardware security modules and solutions for key and identity management, data protection, and data intelligence, for regulated critical infrastructures. In addition to receiving clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) in November 2021, SGT Capital's ownership of Utimaco has received approval from the United Kingdom's Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, and clearance from Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection. Since announcing its acquisition by SGT Capital, in April 2022 Utimaco acquired Celltick, a global leader of Public Warning Systems and the world's largest cell broadcast-based products provider, in terms of deployments and audience reach. Utimaco's acquisition of Celltick demonstrates already SGT Capital's support of Utimaco's growth strategy. Joseph Pacini, Co-Managing Partner of SGT Capital, said: "With an increasingly connected world comes the continued increase of cybersecurity risks. As a market leader, Utimaco is best poised to address these risks and protect its clients as it further accelerates its global growth. There are excellent global growth opportunities for Utimaco, and we are excited to collaborate with CEO Stefan Auerbach and the entire Utimaco team, as well as EQT Private Equity, Bain Capital Credit and the Utimaco Advisory Board to achieve Utimaco's growth potential." Stefan Auerbach, CEO of Utimaco, said: "We are moving at pace into Utimaco's next phase of growth, and SGT Capital's ownership and support is key to sustaining our performance and momentum. Technical innovation and international growth remain keys to our success, and we are grateful to our clients, colleagues and partners for their support and commitment." Carsten Geyer, Co-Managing Partner of SGT Capital, said: "As a market-leading business that comprises talented employees around the world, Utimaco is poised for enduring success, as its technology helps make the digitization of business and society more secure. The Utimaco transaction demonstrates SGT Capital's unique capability to identify and invest in market leading businesses and enhance their value through global growth initiatives." SGT Capital was advised by EY, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, and Raymond James (Private Capital Advisory). About SGT SGT Capital is a global alternative investments firm with offices in Germany and Singapore that seeks superior returns by driving the internationalisation of mid-market businesses in combination with more traditional private equity value creation strategies. SGT Capital is led by Joseph Pacini, Carsten Geyer, Christoph Gerlinger, Dr Marcel Normann, Marianne Rajic and Jens Dino Steinborn. The principals of SGT Capital are seasoned professionals from market leading private equity, asset management, investment banking, and consulting firms, bringing over 100 years of investment experience and experience in managing more than US$40 billion to our investors. Together, they have an outstanding track record globally, most of them having jointly worked on major transactions in key jurisdictions in the last five years. More info: www.sgt-capital.com About Utimaco UTIMACO is a global platform provider of trusted Cybersecurity and Compliance solutions and services with headquarters in Aachen (Germany) and Campbell, CA (USA). UTIMACO develops on-premises and cloud-based hardware security modules and key management solutions as well as data intelligence solutions for regulated critical infrastructures. UTIMACO is one of the world's leading manufacturers in both of these market segments. With more than 470 employees around the globe, UTIMACO creates innovative solutions and services to protect data, identities and communication networks with responsibility for global customers and citizens. Customers and partners in many different industries value the reliability and long-term investment security of UTIMACO's high-security products and solutions. More info: https://www.utimaco.com/ BFYW Closes First of Many Anticipated M&A Transactions, Deepening Commitment to its Dual Buy-and-Build Strategy Columbus, Ohio--(Newsfile Corp. - June 1, 2022) - Better For You Wellness, Inc. (OTCQB: BFYW) ("Better For You Wellness" or the "Company"), an Ohio-based company focused on the rapidly-growing $1.5T wellness industry, has closed the acquisition of Mango Moi, LLC (the "Transaction") pursuant to the binding Membership Interest Purchase Agreement (the "MIPA") with Amanda Cayemitte and Yapo M'be (the "Sellers") to acquire the right, title, and interest in, including all of the outstanding membership interests of Mango Moi, LLC ("Mango Moi") located in Chicago, Illinois, for the consideration and on the terms set forth in the MIPA as announced and filed on May 2, 2022. Founded by Haitian-American and proud Chicago native Amanda Cayemitte, Mango Moi offers effective vegan, all-natural, non-toxic hair and body care products with a focus on skin and body positivity. Mango Moi's goal is to make people feel included, represented, confident, and pampered, especially for those who may feel insecure about themselves due to unrealistic beauty industry standards. Mango Moi products are produced using the highest quality ingredients, including mango butter, baobab oil, kukui nut oil, and murumuru butter. Mango Moi currently sells its products direct-to-consumer via its website (https://www.mangomoi.com) and has been featured on Beauty Independent, BucketListers, Do312, NBC Chicago, Yahoo, and more. "As the Company assembles its vertical of leading skincare companies, the closing of the Mango Moi acquisition further propels our growth trajectory," said Ian James, Chief Executive Officer of Better For You Wellness, Inc. "As Better For You Wellness continues to deepen and expand its efforts in the natural beauty sector, the acquisition of Mango Moi adds an established brand with mainstream potential to our portfolio, as well as promising product formulae that utilize unique and efficacious ingredients." For further information, investors should refer to the Company's reports filed with SEC (https://www.sec.gov/). About Better For You Wellness, Inc. Better For You Wellness, Inc. (OTCQB: BFYW) is a Columbus, Ohio-based Company pursuing a dual buy-and-build model within the wellness industry. Better For You Wellness, Inc., through its wholly-owned subsidiary, builds and operates digitally-native, mission-driven brands within the clean beauty sector, including Better Suds. Better For You Wellness, Inc. is also under LOI to acquire multiple companies within the clean and natural beauty category. Learn more at https://BFYW.com. Contact: Better For You Wellness, Inc. Ian James, CEO investors@bfyw.com Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology including "could," "may," "will," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential" and the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. While these forward-looking statements, and any assumptions upon which they are based, are made in good faith and reflect our current judgment regarding the direction of our business, actual results will almost always vary, sometimes materially, from any estimates, predictions, projections, assumptions or other future performance suggested in this report. Except as required by applicable law, we do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements so as to conform these statements to actual results. Investors should refer to the risks disclosed in the Company's reports filed with SEC (https://www.sec.gov/). To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/126165 His fond memories of his U.S. homestay CGTN) 10:59, June 01, 2022 Back in 1985, a visiting Chinese official stayed with a local family in Iowa, the U.S. The family were the Dvorchaks, and little did they know that their amiable young guest would, less than 30 years later, become the President of China. Xi Jinping has never forgotten his American hosts, and has made a point of meeting them from time to time over the years. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) : fdfdfe (), : OperaHouse : The Japanese lift a stone and hit themselves in the foot : BBS (Wed Jun 1 02:23:49 2022, ) The Ministry of Defense of Japan plans to deploy missile units of the Ground Self-Defense Force on Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture before the end of 2022.The scale is about 500 to 600 people. Guides have been deployed in Amami Oshima, Okinawa Main Island, and Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture. The bomb troops, plus the troops on Ishigaki Island, will form a pattern of 4 strongholds. Japan deploys missile department on Ishigaki Island The team is essentially a traditional island chain containment method, which will not pose any threat to the Chinese military. Now this year Today, if a military conflict breaks out across the Taiwan Strait, Ishigaki Island will be the first target to be hit. Japan's missile force It is "vulnerable" to the Chinese army. The Taiwan issue involves China's core interests, and there is no possibility of concession in the slightest.When it is necessary to break through the "first island chain", China's various military services will advance together and collectively play a role. With the power transfer and in-depth development of the powers of East Asia, the Sino-U.S. bipolar confrontation pattern has become increasingly finalized. The U.S. and Japan are now Intervention in Taiwan Strait affairs has been regarded as the key to contain Chinas rise and hinder the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.Edge strategic grasper. The two sides borrowed weight from each other and asked for something, and it hit it off. From the beginning of this year until now, the U.S. and Japan Focusing on the situation in the Taiwan Strait, the alliance mainly carried out the following cooperative actions. First, the leaders of the two countries, government department leaders, and affairs-level officials have repeatedly emphasized the importance of maintaining "peace and stability" across the Taiwan Strait through various diplomatic channels, and reiterated that they will strengthen joint military deterrence and crisis management capabilities. At the same time, it should be noted that Japans external propaganda intentionally links the tension in the Taiwan Strait with the confrontation between China and Japan on the Diaoyu Islands (including Japans distorted reports on Chinas Maritime Police Law), the safety of the Southwestern islands and even the situation in the South China Sea, by creating peripheral wars. The crisis atmosphere has achieved the goal of drawing the United States to reiterate its defense obligations against Japan, continue to strengthen its own military power ( such as acquiescing in defense costs to exceed the traditional upper limit of 1% of GDP), and it is controversial and controversial for procurement. Sensitive high-end weapons and equipment give legitimacy. Second, the two countries have significantly increased the number and frequency of reconnaissance surveillance, intelligence collection, and joint training in the Taiwan Strait and its surrounding Diaoyu Islands and the East China Sea to deter mainland China with a high-pressure military posture . For example, data shows that since May 2021, the focus area of 8203;the US military's reconnaissance aircraft has slowly shifted from the South China Sea to the East China Sea. At the same time, from January to May 2021, the number of joint maritime power trainings between the United States and Japan greatly exceeded the same period in the previous two years, and most of the exercise locations were near the East China Sea, the Okinawa Islands, and the Philippine Sea not far from Taiwan. Third, the two countries actively organize other countries to issue joint Taiwan-related statements, and encourage the inviting of foreign powers such as India, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany to send warships and aircraft to Chinas coastal waters and conduct multinational joint training. At present, through a flexible and easy security cooperation mechanism such as the "U.S.-Japan Alliance+", Washington and Tokyo are pinning their hopes on creating a "quasi-alliance" for Indian maritime security in the coastal waters of China to enhance conventional deterrence, and using "great forces to suppress the border." Use momentum to disperse mainland Chinas strategic energy and military resources in the direction of the Taiwan Strait. Fourth, the two countries have begun to focus on the military conflict in Taiwan to conduct table-top weapon exercises and actual combat-oriented military exercises. Its geographic scope covers the entire "offshore" of China. In the future, it is possible to further strengthen the military intelligence sharing and defense cooperation involving China on the "U.S., Japan, and Taiwan" trilateral. Fifth, the two countries have also built forward military bases for interfering operations against Taiwan and naval blockade against China with the Southwest Islands of Japan as the core, preparing to introduce new weapons, organize new troops, and create a new combat system. Among them, in Amami Oshima, Okinawa Main Island, Miyakojima, and Ishigaki Island, the Japanese side is accelerating the improvement of anti-ship missile and air defense missile forces as the core, and electronic warfare forces as the core, and the electronic warfare forces as the core of the cross-domain " refusal" operations against China. Force deployment. The U.S. seeks to dispatch a new type of littoral operation force capable of performing " island hopping" to the southwestern islands under the guidance of the Marine Corps' "Expeditionary Advance Base" operational concept, introduce new types of medium- and long-range land-based missiles and more long-range missiles. It is also proposed to establish a joint combat command with the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. In short, on the one hand, the United States and Japan are fanning the situation in the Taiwan Strait and calling out thieves to be thieves. On the other hand, they use this as a cover to accelerate the comprehensive construction of a frontier deterrence system against China in an attempt to control and constrain Chinas coastal communications, threaten the economic heart of the mainlands coastal areas, and regain control. The initiative in military competition with China in the West Pacific. -- :WWW mitbbs.com [FROM: 173.] Mobile prostate cancer screening buses are being launched by the Foundation to help tackle Nigeria's leading cause of cancer death through early detection LAGOS, Nigeria, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- This Saturday (June 4 2022) will see the official launch of the Dozy Mmobuosi Foundation's Mobile Prostate Cancer Screening Service which will see several buses with advanced screening capabilities provided by the Foundation to be rolled out in Nigeria, the Foundation will continue to add to the fleet in the coming months with the aim of providing the entire country with access to vital screening services. Starting this Saturday in Lagos at the Ikeja Mall, a flagship screening bus will travel around each and every day, enabling citizens to get checked for prostate cancer, free of charge, in an efficient manner ahead of a wider rollout. The $10 million project is designed to help tackle Nigeria's leading cause of cancer deaths for men which will see 1 in 6 diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. The project has over 100 medical practitioners lined up currently, with an expected 4,000 medical professional volunteers set to join. Speaking about the project rollout, Dozy Mmobuosi, the Foundation's Founder said: 'Early detection is one of the best tools we have to prevent prostate cancer. Through the roll out of these buses I hope to see prostate cancer rates in men decrease across the board, and I urge all men, specifically those aged 45 and over, to go for a free prostate cancer screening on these state-of-the-art buses'. The mobile project is designed specifically to reach as many people as possible across the country regardless of their geography. From cities to rural villages, the programme aims to encourage as many men as possible step forward and test for the disease, turning the tide on decades of premature deaths. Further commenting on the initiative, Mmobuosi asserted: 'Research shows that one-third of prostate cancer cases can be prevented and another third cured altogether if detected through early screening practices like we are offering free of charge. Embarking on such a mission like this is essential in our fight against the awful disease'. Men with a history of the illness may be twice as likely to develop prostate cancer. With early screening therefore vitally important in the ongoing fight against it. The official launch on Saturday June 4, 2022, will see distinguished guests in attendance including leading Nigerian politicians and Nollywood celebrities, with the initiative actively endorsed by the Nigerian Medical Association. For media enquiries: ebuwamartins@gmail.com (Chief Operating Officer) For more information: https://dozymmobuosifoundation.com/ Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1830909/The_Dozy_Mmobuosi_Foundation_Logo.jpg Image - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1830910/The_Dozy_Mmobuosi_Foundation__Bus.jpg EDMONTON, AB / ACCESSWIRE / June 1, 2022 / With receipt of today's positive ruling from the Canadian Transportation Agency, Flair Airlines is proud to be officially recognized as a fully Canadian airline and look forward to continuing to offer Canadians an affordable, sustainable alternative to Canada's 'Big Air Carriers' for many years to come. "With today's decision in hand, I know that myself and the hundreds of hard-working Flair employees across this country are even more committed to our mission of making air travel more affordable and more accessible for Canadians," said Flair Airlines CEO, Stephen Jones. "We're so proud that, at a time when everything is getting more expensive, Flair will be there to offer regular, working folks and their families, the opportunity to book a well-earned holiday and to see more of this wonderful country because, finally, they can afford it". Because of the stranglehold that two legacy carriers, operating 80.2% of domestic seats, have had on the Canadian airline industry, domestic leisure travel in Canada has been out of reach for far too many people for far too long. A recent Earnscliffe Strategies poll conducted for Flair Airlines in May of this year shows that of Canadians who feel there are barriers to flying, 73% say cost is the main barrier. This 'Big Air' status quo has led to Canada ranking 100th out of 140 countries in airfare cost competitiveness and is why Canadians pay more than twice the price Americans do for similar-distance domestic flights. "Flair is challenging a 'Big Air' status quo in Canada that has made it cheaper to fly to Europe than it is to Halifax. And while I have no doubt that the 'Big Air' carriers won't be happy to hear today's news, no matter what they might throw at us, we're here to stay for Canadians and their pocketbooks while creating thousands of good, well-paying jobs from coast to coast," continued Jones. In 2022 alone, Flair will provide nearly 4 million affordable flights to Canadians from all walks of life, saving them well in excess of $200 million. Along with saving Canadian's millions, Flair is investing in the communities in which we fly, employing 800 people directly today and more than 1,300 indirectly at airports and maintenance bases around Canada. "First, I want to thank all the amazing Flair Airlines staff, pilots, Flight Attendants, and support staff across this country for their hard work and dedication -- we couldn't do what we do, without you. I also want to thank the Canadian Transportation Agency. A well-regulated, competitive, airline industry is key to the health of our economy. Thank you for working collaboratively with us over the last few months so we could be here today, confident in our future. Finally, I want to thank the Government of Canada and Minister Alghabra. Thank you for believing in our mission to bring affordable air travel to all Canadians. We know that this government understands the importance of supporting a competitive airline industry, spurring tourism in more areas of the country, and protecting low-cost travel options for Canadians". About Flair Airlines: Flair Airlines is Canada's leading low-fare airline on a mission to provide Canadians with affordable air travel that connects them to the people and experiences they love. With an expanding fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft, Flair is growing to serve over 30 cities across Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. For more information, please visit www.flyflair.com. Media inquiries, please contact: Flair Airlines Jamina Kotak 780.887.9209 Jamina.kotak@flyflair.com SOURCE: Flair Airlines View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/703579/Flair-Airlines-Is-Proudly-Canadian-And-Were-Here-To-Stay DGAP Voting Rights Announcement: QIAGEN N.V. QIAGEN N.V.: Release according to Article 40, Section 1 of the WpHG [the German Securities Trading Act] with the objective of Europe-wide distribution 01.06.2022 / 22:04 Dissemination of a Voting Rights Announcement transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The AFM (the Netherlands Authority For the Financial Markets has informed us on May 28, 2022 that a notification related to our institution has been released by the AFM. The following notification has been disclosed in the relevant register on the AFM website: Date of transaction: 23 may 2022 Person obliged to notify: Goldman Sachs Group Inc., The Issuing institution: Qiagen N.V. Registration Chamber of Commerce: 12036979 Place of residence: VENLO Distribution in numbers Type of share Number of shares Number of voting rights Capital interest Voting rights Manner of disposal Settlement Ordinary share 1.114.097,00 1.114.097,00 Potential Potential Indirectly - Goldman Sachs International Physical Delivery Convertible bond 323.592,00 323.592,00 Potential Potential Indirectly - Goldman Sachs International Physical Delivery Ordinary share 690.457,00 690.457,00 Potential Potential Indirectly - Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Physical Delivery Option 3.863.782,00 3.863.782,00 Potential Potential Indirectly - Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Physical Delivery Swap 17.617,00 17.617,00 Potential Potential Indirectly - Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC In cash Ordinary share 5.177,00 5.177,00 Real Real Indirectly - United Capital Financial Advisers, LLC Physical Delivery Ordinary share 42,00 42,00 Real Real Indirectly - Folio Investments Inc. Physical Delivery Swap 167.885,00 167.885,00 Potential Potential Indirectly - Goldman Sachs International In cash Ordinary share 65.858,00 65.858,00 Potential Potential Indirectly - Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE Physical Delivery Warrant 39.840,00 39.840,00 Potential Potential Indirectly - Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE In cash Ordinary share 17.146,00 17.146,00 Real Real Indirectly - The Goldman Sachs Trust Company of Delaware Physical Delivery Ordinary share 3.924,00 3.924,00 Real Real Indirectly - Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE Physical Delivery Call-option 6.200,00 6.200,00 Potential Potential Indirectly - Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Physical Delivery Ordinary share 26.853,00 26.853,00 Real Real Indirectly - NN Investment Partners Holdings N.V. Physical Delivery Convertible bond 520.202,00 520.202,00 Potential Potential Indirectly - NN Investment Partners Holdings N.V. Physical Delivery Ordinary share 217.580,00 217.580,00 Real Real Indirectly - Goldman Sachs International Physical Delivery Distribution in percentages Type Total holding Directly real Directly potential Indirectly real Indirectly potential Capital interest 3,07 % 0,00% 0,00% 0,12% 2,95% Voting rights 3,07 % 0,00% 0,00% 0,12% 2,95% QIAGEN N.V. is not responsible for the accuracy and correctness of the notification above. The content has been taken from the relevant register of the AFM: https://www.afm.nl/en/professionals/registers/meldingenregisters/substantiele-deelnemingen/details?id=125105 01.06.2022 The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.dgap.de U.S. public health agency validated digital PCR technologies including QIAcuity as the way to reliably detect multiple disease targets in wastewater samples QIAcuity previously awarded U.S. contract for public health labs utilization in 70% of all U.S. states QIAGEN offers broad portfolio to address demands for testing beyond pandemic QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today announced that it welcomed an endorsement from the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and their validation and approval for the use of two digital PCR systems including the QIAcuity digital PCR system for wastewater surveillance of 30 pathogens, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The decision of the U.S. national public health agency marks a step away from the traditional quantitative PCR (qPCR) approach to the novel digital PCR technology as a more reliable detection method. Digital PCR (dPCR) can quantify the tiniest traces of DNA and RNA and recently also the proteins encoded by these genetic materials to test for infectious diseases caused by viruses and bacteria, and other disorders like cancer mutations. The CDC will now develop the wastewater pathogen assays and provide them to public health labs to run on either system, thereby converting their current qPCR assays to dPCR testing. The decision by the NWSS also means that the CDC will only accept wastewater surveillance data collected with QIAcuity or the other approved digital PCR instrument, and that related public funding through the CDC's Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases (ELC) Cooperative Agreement will be limited to the use of one of these two platforms. The ELC supports state, local, and regional health departments in the detection, prevention, and response to emerging infectious diseases. The approval comes after QIAGEN previously completed a U.S. government contract to equip public health laboratories across the country with QIAcuity dPCR devices, initially to monitor the spread of COVID-19 by testing wastewater. More than 70% of U.S. states now have at least one public or privately-owned laboratory that can monitor wastewater with QIAcuity, a system that has set new standards by delivering results in two hours. Wastewater surveillance has a broad range of applications beyond COVID-19 testing and can be used to protect communities from a variety of infectious diseases, such as the detection of antimicrobial resistant "superbugs" and food-borne diseases such as E. coli or Listeria. "The CDC's decision is a testament to the quality and robustness of our QIAcuity dPCR system and is further proof of the reputation it is gaining among public health experts in- and outside the United States," said Thomas Schweins, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Life Science Business Area at QIAGEN. "The CDC protocol covers a multitude of targets beyond COVID-19, which shows that our portfolio including QIAcuity as one of our five growth pillars has a huge relevance for many other infectious diseases." QIAGEN is currently expanding the QIAcuity menu into new research applications, such as proteomics, and also expansion into clinical healthcare. The analysis of the interactions between different proteins and between proteins and genetic material is meant to complement genomic analysis and give more comprehensive pictures of diseases. Digital PCR is more accurate and sensitive than traditional qPCR as it more precisely quantifies nucleic acids and target sequences of DNA and RNA. The technology's success in wastewater testing shows its potential in disease surveillance more generally. Surveillance allows public authorities to collect data from broad sweeps of the population and give early warnings about outbreaks of infectious diseases. More information about QIAGEN solutions for wastewater testing can be found here. About QIAGEN QIAGEN N.V., a Netherlands-based holding company, is the leading global provider of Sample to Insight solutions that enable customers to gain valuable molecular insights from samples containing the building blocks of life. Our sample technologies isolate and process DNA, RNA and proteins from blood, tissue and other materials. Assay technologies make these biomolecules visible and ready for analysis. Bioinformatics software and knowledge bases interpret data to report relevant, actionable insights. Automation solutions tie these together in seamless and cost-effective workflows. QIAGEN provides solutions to more than 500,000 customers around the world in Molecular Diagnostics (human healthcare), Applied Testing (primarily forensics), Pharma (pharma and biotech companies) and Academia (life sciences research). As of March 31, 2022, QIAGEN employed more than 6,000 people in over 35 locations worldwide. Further information can be found at http://www.qiagen.com. Forward-Looking Statement Certain statements contained in this press release may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. To the extent that any of the statements contained herein relating to QIAGEN's products, collaborations markets, strategy or operating results, including without limitation its expected adjusted net sales and adjusted diluted earnings results, are forward-looking, such statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that involve a number of uncertainties and risks. Such uncertainties and risks include, but are not limited to, risks associated with management of growth and international operations (including the effects of currency fluctuations, regulatory processes and dependence on logistics), variability of operating results and allocations between customer classes, the commercial development of markets for our products to customers in academia, pharma, applied testing and molecular diagnostics; changing relationships with customers, suppliers and strategic partners; competition; rapid or unexpected changes in technologies; fluctuations in demand for QIAGEN's products (including fluctuations due to general economic conditions, the level and timing of customers' funding, budgets and other factors); our ability to obtain regulatory approval of our products; difficulties in successfully adapting QIAGEN's products to integrated solutions and producing such products; the ability of QIAGEN to identify and develop new products and to differentiate and protect our products from competitors' products; market acceptance of QIAGEN's new products and the integration of acquired technologies and businesses. For further information, please refer to the discussions in reports that QIAGEN has filed with, or furnished to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Source: QIAGEN N.V. Category: Corporate View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220601006158/en/ Contacts: QIAGEN: Investor Relations John Gilardi +49 2103 29 11711 Phoebe Loh +49 2103 29 11457 e-mail: ir@QIAGEN.com Public Relations Thomas Theuringer +49 2103 29 11826 e-mail: pr@QIAGEN.com CALGARY, AB, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited ("De Havilland Canada") is pleased to announce the successful first flight of the Avionics Upgrade Program for CL-215T, CL-415 and CL-415 EAF aircraft occurred on May 30, 2022, in Abbotsford, British Columbia. The new avionics package integrates a state-of-the-art Collins Aerospace Pro Line Fusion flight deck that is proven and in use by civilian and special mission aircraft around the world. "We are extremely excited about the successful test flight of the Collins Pro Line Fusion flight deck in a CL-415 aircraft," said Jean-Philippe Cote, Vice-President Programs, De Havilland Canada. "We are looking forward to Transport Canada certification in the coming months and beginning the installation of new avionics suites on the CL-215T, CL-415 and CL-415 EAF flight decks shortly thereafter." "Collins Aerospace is proud to collaborate with De Havilland Canada on this critical initiative," said Chris Conway, Business Development Director for Collins Aerospace. "Our Pro Line Fusion integrated avionics system provides advanced situational awareness that enhances the safety, efficiency and predictability essential to every mission, especially fire suppression." "Cascade Aerospace was very pleased to commence the De Havilland Canada CL-415 AUP flight testing this week," said Kevin Lemke, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Cascade Aerospace. "This is a major milestone in the program to upgrade the CL-415 and CL-215T aircraft with an operational enhancement solution that is absolutely state of the art and will keep those fleets effective for decades. I am very proud of the work completed over the past two years by the Integrated Product Team of De Havilland Canada as the OEM, Cascade as the Integrator and Collins Aerospace as the Avionics Suite provider. This successful start to flight test now moves us forward into the final program phase of test and certification." This new avionics suite has been purposely designed and customized for the aerial firefighting missions. It will also be installed in the recently launched DHC-515 Firefighter aircraft. With Collins Pro Line Fusion flight decks installed in CL-215T, CL-415, the CL-415 EAF and DHC-515 Firefighters, customers will be able to have crews move seamlessly between aircraft as they will have a common cockpit experience across their fleet. "We believe that the ability to operate with common flight decks across our family of aircraft is a significant benefit for our customers," said Cote. "Training and spare parts management will be improved for customers that choose to install the Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics suite across their entire fleet." De Havilland Canada is currently exhibiting at the 2022 CANSEC Trade Show in Ottawa, Canada and would be pleased to introduce new or existing customers to the Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics suite. About De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited With more than 5,000 aircraft delivered, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited (De Havilland Canada) is well established across the globe and our talented team of aviation professionals is dedicated to advancing our near-100-year reputation for excellence in innovation, production and customer support. Our aircraft operate reliably in some of the world's harshest climates and provide vital connections between rural communities and urban centres - transporting essential cargo and millions of passengers annually. Our aircraft also support a wide variety of special mission operations including aerial firefighting, search and rescue, medical evacuation, reconnaissance and coastal surveillance. In February 2022, De Havilland Canada became the operating brand for the companies that previously operated as Longview Aviation, Viking Air Ltd, Pacific Sky Training and De Havilland Canada. https://dehavilland.com De Havilland Canada, CL-215T, CL-415, CL-415 EAF and DHC-515 Firefighter are trademarks of De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited or its affiliates. For further information: John Paul Fraser, jfraser@westerkirk.ca Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1831045/De_Havilland_Aircraft_of_Canada_De_Havilland_Canada_Announces_Su.jpg WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The US Food and Drug Administration or FDA said on Wednesday that packages of certain brands of strawberries are most likely linked to more than a dozen recent hepatitis A cases in California. The FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with the Public Health Agency of Canada, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and state and local partners, are looking into a multi-state outbreak of hepatitis A infections in the U.S. and Canada. This outbreak is mostly linked to fresh, organic strawberries with the FreshKampo or HEB labels and purchased between March 5 and April 25 this year. The FDA said in a statement on the issue, 'If you are unsure of what brand you purchased, when you purchased your strawberries or where you purchased them from prior to freezing them, the strawberries should be thrown away.' The strawberries were also sold at stores like HEB, Kroger, Safeway, Sprouts Farmers, Trader Joe's, Weis Markets and WinCo Foods, regulators said. The FDA has received reports of 17 hepatitis A cases in the US since the strawberries hit stored, and a dozen people have been hospitalized. Most of the cases have been in California, but one case has been reported in both Minnesota and North Dakota. In Canada, 10 cases of hepatitis A and four hospitalizations have been reported tied to the strawberries, as per reports. The FDA said in its statement, 'No deaths have been reported, but anyone who consumes the potentially harmful strawberries should immediately see a doctor and ask about a hepatitis vaccine.' Hepatitis A is a contagious yet treatable virus that infects the liver, causing it to swell and malfunction. Most people catch the virus from contaminated food or water. HEB said it has not received or sold the strawberries under investigation since April 16. The Texas-based grocer maintained that its strawberries are safe, but said customers should throw away any organic strawberries purchased between March 5 and April 25. FreshKampo, a Mexico-based grower and distributor of fruits and vegetables, said it has stopped distributing the strawberries that are under investigation. None of the company's other products have been added to the FDA's probe. The U.S. faced a similar food-related hepatitis A outbreak in the year 2016 when Hawaii health officials closed two sushi restaurants were serving raw scallops, which came from the Philippines. The state had reported around 290 confirmed cases of hepatitis A resulting in 74 hospitalizations. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de London, United Kingdom and Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 1, 2022) - GlobalBlock Digital Asset Trading Limited (TSXV: BLOK) (OTC Pink: BLVDF) (FSE: BD4) (the "Company" or "GlobalBlock") announces that in connection with the filing of the Company audited annual financial statements on May 30, 2022, the British Columbia Securities Commission has revoked the management cease trade order (MCTO) issued on May 3, 2022. In addition, the Company's unaudited interim financial statements, management's discussion and analysis and related certifications for the three-month period ended March 31, 2022 have been filed and are now available for viewing on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at https://www.sedar.com/. ABOUT THE COMPANY GlobalBlock Digital Asset Trading Limited is a publicly traded holding company (TSXV: BLOK) whose subsidiary, GlobalBlock Europe, UAB (https://www.globalblock.eu), is a European Union based digital asset broker that provides a personalised telephone brokerage service, trading platform and mobile app. Established by an experienced team of financial services professionals, GlobalBlock Europe, UAB acts as a trusted agent serving the digital asset needs of individuals, corporations, institutional financial firms and intermediaries, providing best execution trading and safe custody of digital assets. At this time, clients or customers based in Lithuania and the UK can be onboarded to its digital asset broker and trading services. For further information please contact the Company at: Rufus Round, CEO c/o 65 Curzon Street, London, W1J 8PE, United Kingdom Tel. +44 20 3307 3795 info@globalblockdigital.com https://globalblock.eu/ and http://www.globalblockdigital.com/ https://twitter.com/Globalblocknews https://www.linkedin.com/company/globalblock/ Media Contact Angus Campbell Citigate Dewe Rogerson Angus.Campbell@citigatedewerogerson.com CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain information set out in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements or information. Forward looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements in respect of among other things: the continued and successful development of the businesses and technologies of each of the Company and its subsidiaries, the ability of the Company and its subsidiaries to obtain the applicable regulatory approvals to continue to conduct its business and other information concerning the intentions, plans, future action and future successes of the Company, and its businesses, technologies and products described herein. Forward-looking statements are based upon the opinions and expectations of management of the Company as at the effective date of such statements and, in certain cases, information provided or disseminated by third parties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, and that information obtained from third party sources is reliable, they can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements included in this document, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which the forward-looking statements are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not occur, which may cause actual results in future periods to differ materially from any estimates or projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, risk factors set forth in the Company's most recent management's discussion and analysis, a copy of which is filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and readers are cautioned that the risk factors disclosed therein should not be construed as exhaustive. These statements are made as at the date hereof and unless otherwise required by law, the Company does not intend, or assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/126209 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 1, 2022) - 3iQ Corp. ("3iQ") announced today that, as of May 31, 2022, being the cut-off date relating to both the annual redemption feature of The Bitcoin Fund (the "Fund") as well as the voluntary conversion option to the 3iQ CoinShares Bitcoin ETF (the "ETF"): 33,684 units of the Fund (each, a "Unit"), representing 0.29% of the outstanding Units, were surrendered for cash redemption on June 16, 2022 (the "Annual Redemption Date"), and 3,591,213 Units (the "Conversion Units"), representing 31.13% of the outstanding Units, were surrendered for conversion to units of the ETF ("ETF Units"). The Conversion Units will be converted to 23,462,037 ETF Units on June 1, 2022, on a relative net asset value basis (NAV-for-NAV), resulting in a new total of 143,712,977 outstanding ETF Units and assets under management in the 3iQ CoinShares Bitcoin ETF of C$957,933,219. Under the terms of the annual redemption of the Fund, the redemption price per Unit will be determined by 3iQ on the Annual Redemption Date and Unitholders who have redeemed Units can expect to receive payment of the redemption price per Unit on or before July 8, 2022. Further details will be announced on June 17, 2022 following the Annual Redemption Date. About 3iQ Corp. Founded in 2012, 3iQ Corp. (3iQ) is Canada's largest digital asset investment fund manager with more than C$1.8 billion in assets under management . 3iQ was the first Canadian investment fund manager to offer a public bitcoin investment fund, The Bitcoin Fund (TSX: QBTC) (TSX: QBTC.U), and a public ether investment fund, The Ether Fund (TSX: QETH.UN)(TSX: QETH.U). More recently, 3iQ launched the 3iQ CoinShares Bitcoin ETF (TSX: BTCQ) (TSX: BTCQ.U) and the 3iQ CoinShares Ether ETF (TSX: ETHQ) (TSX: ETHQ.U). 3iQ offers investors convenient and familiar investment products to gain exposure to digital assets. For more information about 3iQ: Visit us at 3iQ.ca Twitter: @3iQ_corp Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/3iq-corp/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/3iQDigitalAssetManagement Voxels HQ: https://www.cryptovoxels.com/play?coords=S@203W,469N Press Contact: Tara Christie E: tarac@3iQ.ca P: +1 (416) 639-2130 Please read the prospectus before investing. Important information about The Bitcoin Fund and the 3iQ CoinShares Bitcoin ETF (together, the "Funds") is contained in the prospectus. Copies of the prospectus may be obtained from 3iQ Corp. or at www.sedar.com. You will usually pay brokerage fees to your dealer if you purchase or sell units of the Funds on a stock exchange or other alternative Canadian trading system (an "exchange"). If units of the Funds are purchased or sold on an exchange, investors may pay more than the current net asset value when buying units of the Funds and may receive less than the current net asset value when selling them. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated. IMPORTANT NOTICES THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN, IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR PUBLICATION, RELEASE OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES OR ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE SAME WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. This announcement should not be distributed, forwarded, transmitted or otherwise disseminated in or into the United States. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or issue or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction. The Funds' securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or under the applicable securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States, and may not be offered, sold, resold, transferred or delivered, directly or indirectly within, into or in the United States, absent registration or an applicable exemption from, or except in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and in compliance with the securities laws of any relevant state or other jurisdiction of the United States. Neither this announcement, nor the fact that it has been disseminated, shall form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any future information that we distribute. This announcement and the information contained herein is restricted and is not for release, publication, or distribution, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly in, or into or from the United States or any other jurisdiction in which the same would be unlawful. Further, this announcement is for information purposes only and shall not constitute an offer to sell or issue or the solicitation to buy, subscribe for or otherwise acquire any securities of The Bitcoin Fund or the 3iQ CoinShares Bitcoin ETF in any jurisdiction in which any such offer or solicitation would be unlawful. Not for distribution to U.S. newswire services or for dissemination in the United States. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/126211 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 1, 2022) - Keon Capital Inc. (TSXV: KEON.H) (the "Company") confirms that it is continuing its efforts to complete a private placement financing of up to 2,000,000 Common shares at $0.25 per share for gross proceeds of $500,000 (the "Private Placement"), and the proposed issuance of an additional 946,544 Common shares at $0.25 per share to settle Company debts of $236,636, including certain amounts owing to Company insiders (the "Debt Settlement"), both as first announced in the Company's press release dated April 18, 2022. The contemplated issue price of $0.25 per share represents an approximate discount of 25% to the Company's last closing share price of $0.33. The Private Placement and the Debt Settlement have been conditionally accepted by the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV"), but remain subject to customary conditions, including the final acceptance of the TSXV. The Company shares issued upon closing of the Private Placement and the Debt Settlement will be subject to a statutory 4-month hold period. There are no finder's fees or commissions payable in connection with these transactions. On behalf of the Board of Directors "William Murray" President, CEO and Director Tel: (604) 288 2553 Email: willi.murray@outlook.com Forward-Looking Statement Cautions: This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, relating to, among other things, the proposed completion of the Private Placement and the Debt Settlement transactions, the intended use of proceeds of the Private Placement, and an anticipated changes to the Company's board of directors. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. The Company cautions that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made, and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Readers are urged to refer to the Company's public disclosure record available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects. 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/126216 Coralogix, a San Francisco, CA-based company using streaming analytics to rebuild the path to observability, raised $142M in Series D funding. The round, which brought total amount raised to date to $238m, was led by Advent International and Brighton Park Capital with participation from Revaia Ventures, Greenfield Partners, Red Dot Capital Partners, Eyal Ofers O.G. Tech, StageOne Ventures, Joule Capital Partners, and Maor Investments. In connection with the funding round, Alek Ferro of Advent and Mike Gregoire of Brighton Park joined the Coralogix board of directors. The company intends to use the funds to grow its go-to-market, product, and R&D teams within the Americas, EMEA, UK, and APAC. Led by CEO Ariel Assaraf, Coralogix provides an an in-stream observability platform, using proprietary technology to provide modern engineering teams with real-time insights and trend analysis for their data with no reliance on storage or indexing. In addition, the company is announcing a new distributed query engine enabling fast queries on dynamically mapped data from the customers remote storage. This enables customers to analyze data in-stream and then query it from their own archive. In the past year, Coralogix has signed some enterprise customers in the US, Israel, India, and EMEA and expanded into the security market with the launch of Snowbit, a cybersecurity venture focused on helping cloud-native companies comprehensively manage the security of their environments. Today, over 10,000 DevOps and Security engineers around the world use Coralogix daily to monitor their stacks and fix production problems. FinSMEs 01/06/2022 Liminal, a Singapore-based wallet operations infrastructure that secures digital assets, raised $4.7m in seed funding. The round led by Elevation Capital with participation from LD Capital, Woodstock, Nexus Ventures, CoinDCX, Hashed, Cadenza Ventures, Vauld, Better Capital, Sparrow Capital, and angel investors Andreas Antonopoulos, Balaji Srinivasan, Sandeep Nailwal, Jaynti Kanani, Ajeet Khurana, amongst others. The company intends to use the funds to expand its hiring and product development efforts. Founded in 2021 by Mahin Gupta, Liminal is a wallet architecture that provides the MPC and MultiSig to secure digital assets across different blockchains. The automated wallet solution makes it easier for crypto-native businesses, SMEs, and Web3 startups to manage their workflows across different blockchain protocols, saving them significant development cost overhead. It provides services to clients such as exchanges, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to help them securely scale their digital asset operations. Liminal has, in one year of operations, processed transactions over $2.5 billion, automated transactions worth $400 million, and has around $50 million in assets under protection. At its core, the company provides asset security and ease of transacting. The company counts ZebPay, DIFX, and Flitpay as clients, and is currently focused on expansion in the APAC and MENA region FinSMEs 01/06/2022 Sugar Cosmetics, a Mumbai, India-based omnichannel beauty company, raised $50M in Series D funding. The round was led by Asia fund of L Catterton, with participation from A91 Partners, Elevation Capital, and India Quotient. In conjunction with the funding, Anjana Sasidharan, L Catterton Asia Managing Director, will be joining the companys board. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate growth in the beauty and personal care markets across the Americas, Europe, and Asia, and expand operations. Led by CEO Vineeta Singh , Sugar Cosmetics is a beauty brand featuring persona, signature low-poly packaging and chart-topping products. Crafted in facilities across Germany, Italy, India, USA and Korea, the brand ships its products in Lips, Eyes, Face, Nails & Skin categories across the world. The company is scaling its physical presence with 40,000+ retail outlets across 550+ cities. FinSMEs 31/05/2022 On May 18, 2022, President Xi Jinping exchanged congratulatory messages with Dutch King Willem-Alexander to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the Netherlands. Xi Jinping pointed out, since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the Netherlands, thanks to the joint efforts of both sides, bilateral relations have been developing continuously with cooperation in various fields yielding fruitful results. In 2014, I worked with King Willem-Alexander to elevate China-Netherlands relations to an open and pragmatic partnership for comprehensive cooperation. The Netherlands has played a more prominent role as a gateway to China-European Union cooperation. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, China and the Netherlands have supported each other, demonstrating the profound friendship between the two peoples. I attach great importance to the development of China-Netherlands relations and am ready to make joint efforts with King Willem-Alexander to promote the sustained, sound and stable development of China-Netherlands relations for the benefit of the two countries and two peoples. Willem-Alexander said, over the past 50 years, bilateral relations have developed vigorously with active exchanges in fields such as economy and trade, and people-to-people and cultural affairs. The Netherlands believes that with the joint efforts of both sides, the outstanding and fruitful relations between the Netherlands and China will be further consolidated and developed. On the same day, Premier Li Keqiang and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte exchanged congratulatory messages. Li Keqiang said, the Chinese side is ready to work with the Dutch side to take the opportunity of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries to further strengthen exchanges in various fields, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and constantly elevate China-Netherlands relations to new heights. Rutte said, since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the Netherlands and China, bilateral relations have made great progress. He hopes that the two sides will deepen cooperation, and join hands to promote economic recovery and tackle climate change. On January 5, 2022 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Eritrea Osman Saleh Mohammed in Asmara. Wang Yi said, it has been 32 years in a row for Chinese foreign ministers to visit Africa at the beginning of the year. This demonstrates the solidarity and cooperation between China and Africa, and also shows that China's diplomacy always stands on the side of developing countries. Eritrea is the first country on this tour to Africa. China cherishes its traditional friendship with Eritrea and is willing to open up new prospects for the development of bilateral relations. The greatest outcome of this visit is that the two sides reached a consensus and the two heads of state have made major political decisions to elevate China-Eritrea relations to the strategic partnership, which serves the fundamental and long-term interests of the two countries and two peoples. China would like to take this opportunity to advance bilateral all-around mutually beneficial cooperation, open a new chapter in bilateral relations and bring more benefits to the two peoples. The two sides should strengthen the synergy of the "nine programs" put forward at the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation to inject strong impetus into future cooperation. Wang Yi said, as strategic partners, China and Eritrea should more firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns. We should strengthen coordination and cooperation in international and multilateral affairs, hold high the banner of multilateralism, and oppose hegemony and power politics. We stay committed to promoting democracy in international relations and safeguarding international fairness and justice. China will always stand by our African brothers, and China's vote in the United Nations always belongs to developing countries. Osman said, the establishment of the strategic partnership between Eritrea and China will push bilateral relations to a new height. Eritrea fully agrees with the "nine programs" initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping, and is ready to work with China to align and implement the cooperation framework plan, strengthen cooperation in infrastructure, ports, industrial parks and other fields, and translate the willingness of cooperation into tangible results. Eritrea and China share common ideas on issues such as peace and stability, sovereignty and independence, mutually beneficial development, and equity and justice. Eritrea firmly pursues the one-China policy and supports China's just position on issues related to China's Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and the South China Sea. It is Eritrea's long-standing tradition to stand with China. Eritrea is ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China to jointly safeguard the legitimate interests of developing countries. Following the talks, the two sides signed the Joint Statement by Foreign Ministers of China and Eritrea. A Blodgett man is suspected of trying to light the Benton County Courthouse on fire, according to the Benton County Sheriffs Office. Deputies have arrested Jacob Lee Lundahl, 35, on suspicion of arson, reckless burning, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. According to court documents, on Friday, May 27, Lundahl allegedly intentionally damaged the Benton County Courthouse by starting a fire. Documents also allege Lundahl put inmates in custody and/or jail deputies in danger of physical injury. According to a probable cause affidavit for the case, dispatchers observed Lundahl on live video igniting a newspaper near the front, wooden doors of the courthouse. Lundahl reportedly resisted arrest after a deputy contacted him. When asked why he was allegedly lighting things on fire in front of the courthouse, Lundahl said, "It's my right," according to the affidavit. Lundahl also allegedly told the deputy he didn't think the courthouse would burn down. Jail deputies extinguished the fire using a fire extinguisher, according to the affidavit. The building sustained only minor damage. Corvallis Fire Department responded to ensure there were no additional fires, and the initial fire was completely out. 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 courthouse is connected to the Benton County Jail. The affidavit said there were 34 people inside the jail: 31 adults in custody and three jail deputies. All of these individuals were put at risk by the fire, according to the affidavit. Lundahl was arraigned in Benton County Circuit Court that same day on two counts of first-degree arson, one count of reckless burning and one count of second-degree disorderly conduct. According to Oregons online court database, Judge Locke Williams appointed Mike Flinn as Lundahls defense attorney and set the defendants security at $20,000. The next court hearing in the matter is scheduled for June 16. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 0 I've always wondered how vigorously gun-loving Americans would defend assault rifles if they were forced to see up close the damage the weapons inflict on human bodies. In the aftermath of school shootings, we've become accustomed to certain images: distraught parents clutching terrified children, police officers swarming, photo collages of smiling young faces frozen forever as first-graders or fourth-graders or teenagers. But what if we had to actually confront the carnage? It would be unbearable. Did you know, for example, that rounds fired from assault rifles travel at such a high speed they cause a shock wave while passing through a human body? These waves, experts say, result in catastrophic injuries "even in areas remote to the direct bullet wound." Imagine what Nicole Hockley's first-grader Dylan must have looked like after five bullets tore through his little body at Sandy Hook Elementary School before Christmas in 2012. And what about the 19 fourth-graders in Uvalde, Texas? Did you wonder why their relatives had to provide DNA samples? The Wall Street Journal reported that their bodies lay in multiple piles in their classroom. Imagine a bloody pile of dead children, with two lifeless teachers slumped over them. Maybe the national ardor for assault weapons would start to cool if we could actually see the havoc they are wreaking. Maybe the politicians who pretend they are powerless to prevent the bloodshed would be shamed into action if they had to face the graphic result of their refusal to act. Maybe Texas Gov. Greg Abbott would not have tweeted three years after 20 schoolchildren in Newtown, Connecticut, were slaughtered that he was "embarrassed" to see Texas behind California in new gun sales. "Let's pick up the pace Texans," he wrote. We don't have to live like this. Our children don't have to die like this. There is so much we can do. We must ban assault weapons, or at the very least raise the minimum age to purchase them. We must pass and enforce "red flag laws" to prevent emotionally unstable people from keeping their guns. We must widen background checks. We must push senators to end the filibuster, which has made any sort of gun law reform unlikely. The moral bankruptcy of politicians on this issue is perfectly symbolized by Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., who said he would do "anything I can" to pass new gun legislation, except the one thing he really can do vote to end the filibuster. Lately, I've tried to tune out the gun debate because it's just so sickening to live in a country that fetishizes instruments of death. But this week, in the aftermath of Uvalde, I forced myself to read up on guns because I can no longer look away. Did you know that workplace shootings are considered rare? According to a National Review article, this "may well indicate that the background-check system is working" because the vast majority of workplace employees are adults, "and if an adult accumulates a criminal record or has a restraining order filed against him, he is barred from purchasing a firearm." The 18-year-old arrested in the Buffalo mass shooting and the 18-year-old responsible for the deaths in Uvalde weren't old enough to accrue criminal records. But they were able to buy assault rifles the day they turned 18. A federal assault weapons ban would have prevented the deaths of 31 people. Did you know that a 2019 study found that between 1981 and 2017, mass shooting deaths were 70% less likely to occur while the country's decade-long assault ban was in effect? How many children would still be alive today if the Senate had not refused to ban the sale of assault weapons in 2013? Did you know that nearly half of mass shooters leak their plans in advance? Did you know that one- third of American adults say that fear of mass shootings has led them to avoid certain places and events? When news broke about the Uvalde shooting, filmmaker Kim Snyder was on her way to Kenya to screen "Us Kids," her documentary about the March for Our Lives movement founded by the student survivors of the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. She also made "Newtown," an award-winning 2016 documentary about the aftermath of the mass shooting that took the lives of 20 first-graders and six adults. When I reached her by phone, she told me she'd been crying a lot. "I'm sitting here in Africa at a dinner party where these Kenyans are politely just so not understanding it," she said. "I have never been more ashamed. This is a human rights issue for the children of America." When I asked her what she thought about publishing photos of children killed in mass shootings, she reminded me that some of the Sandy Hook parents went to court to stop images of their children from being disseminated online. She supported them. "I know there is this idea of the 'greater good,' " she said, "but we have to protect first and foremost the parents." In 1955, after 14-year-old Emmett Till was tortured and lynched by white men in Mississippi, his mother insisted on an open casket at his public funeral in Chicago. Mamie Till-Mobley wanted the world to see the horror that had been inflicted on her child. She invited news photographers to take pictures. Fifty-thousand people saw Emmett's mutilated body in person. Some went weak, some fainted, some threw up. But the mother's brave act, awful as it was, helped galvanize the civil rights movement and change the course of history. Robin Abcarian is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 HANOI, Vietnam, May 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Prospects for the worlds textile and garment industry are expected to be brighter in 2022 and Vietnam continues to maintain its position as a leading textile and garment exporter in US and EU markets. Figures from the General Department of Customs showed that in the first quarter of 2022, the countrys export value of textiles and garments reached $8.68 billion, up 20.3% year-on-year, marking the highest increase in the past 10 years. The US continues to be the largest textile and garment import market from Vietnam with a value of US$4.3 billion, followed by the EU with US$896 million, and Korea with US$754 million. The positive signal of the market and the initial control of the COVID-19 pandemic will help Vietnam's textile and garment industry fulfill its set export target of over US$43 billion by 2022, according to Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association. Besides, Vietnam will also have opportunities to catch up from the trend of shifting the worlds textile and garment supply out of China and Vietnam is one of the most potential and favorable destinations for manufacturers, import and export distributors, wholesalers and retailers worldwide. To maintain the leading position and tap up opportunities post COVID-19, textile enterprises are accelerating to upgrade technology in production chains as well as increase labour productivity. Take Hung Yen Garment Corporation (Hugaco) for instance, the company has focused on investing in equipment, modern technology and digital transformation, helping to increase productivity by about 20%. However, in order to create a synergy to maintain the leading position, it is not only the efforts of textile enterprises themselves, but also the contributions of industrial real estate developers to the textile industry. Located in the northern Nam Dinh province, the cradle of the Vietnams textile industry, Aurora is one of the very few IPs in Vietnam that meets the legal and utility infrastructure requirements qualified to accommodate fabric-dyeing establishments. Developed by Cat Tuong Real Estate Group, one of the countrys leading real estate developer, Auroras infrastructure is synchronously designed with the countrys largest capacity of water supply and wastewater treatment system as well as the development of complex social infrastructure. In 2020, even though the world was undergoing many challenges and difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and other complexities, Aurora IP still proves its attractiveness and unique value as a well-invested industrial park by closing two deals with a total investment surpassing $200 million for land lease contracts with two FDI investors to develop high-tech textile and dyeing projects. With the EVFTA coming into effect, duty was lifted from 65% of EU exports to Vietnam and 71% of Vietnamese exports to the EU. Therefore, it is expected that Vietnamese exports to the EU by 2025 will see a 42.7% increase by 2025, according to Vietnams Ministry of Planning and Investment. Aurora IP is pleased to be an important part of Vietnam's leading position in the world's textile market. Aurora IP understands that attracting foreign investment along with the participation of domestic textile and garment enterprises plays an important role in the sustainable development of the industrial park and the textile industry of the country, said Mr. Tran Quoc Viet - Chairman & CEO of Cat Tuong Group. Website: https://auroraip.vn/ Email: sales@auroraip.vn Phone: +84 228 885 6886 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1f25cc20-53bc-4496-9598-089032ae6148 Cupertino, CA, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sibedge, a globally distributed software engineering company, is introducing a way to accelerate product development service with DataWare House, a big data integration solution designed to store and process the data with maximum flexibility. Now, organizations can empower their data teams across data analytics to work on a single source of truth for data and complement their digital transformation projects with additional custom modules to create a next-level data management and integration experience. Over the past few years, Sibedge has been witnessing increased demand in big data processing acceleration. Customers wish to make it a seamless process. The fact that the data can be drawn into the storage from different sources poses an issue at the moment. On top of that, if a company aims at making its analytics smarter, it calls for time and hiring data analysts investments. For the companies pursuing smarter data management, Sibedge offers custom Squads development service empowered with the customizable solution. Squads service encompasses autonomous self-managed, cross-functional teams able to provide a state-of-the-art product design and development experience quickly and efficiently. Now, Squads service with a smart DataWare House solution is able to aggregate data from various sources and then provide a quick integration with a BI system or other analytical tools. With DataWare House, Sibedge is now able to create a customized data storage to help businesses like ecommerce, telecommunication or any other organizations deal with big data and its analysis remove collection, storing and data processing challenges. It stands out from the other tools available on the market with its speedy data processing, error fixing expert help and wide integration possibilities. The solution also boosts the company's cost-efficiency allowing it to save on hiring in-house DevOps and data engineering teams. Sibedge DataWare House is instrumental in situations when the amount of data exceeds a threshold that the currently used storage engine can handle or when the number of data sources exceeds the client's ability to manage this data. The solution can also be helpful for AB tests integration as it requires a big amount of high-quality data. With the help of DataWare House, customers can also build streaming analytics. It supports integration with the majority of the database systems like Oracle, MySQL, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Vertica, ClickHouse etc. After a certain stage of product development, there comes a point when new features do not fuel further growth of key metrics. Here comes a need for a strong analytical team that will help the business correctly interpret the collected data. Sibedge is the company that provides assistance to analysts by customizing DataWare House for their needs. Sergey Khakhulin, Senior Software Engineer DataWare House is a practical way to accelerate product development with faster big data processing. It is an example of the incremental amplification of the services. To meet the market needs, companies like Sibedge go for one-stop offers that combine services and products. This is a manifestation of the service as the product approach Sibedge abides by. We are proud to claim that with its help, a company can speed up a digital transformation process of any organization. Seva Morotskiy, Chief Technology Officer at Sibedge ABOUT Sibedge is a globally distributed software engineering company that puts people first. For over 15 years, we have successfully implemented over 350 projects across more than 27 countries. With headquarters in Australia and teams of highly-trained engineers around the world, Sibedge delivers high-value services to empower clients digital transformation and strengthen clients' software solutions. Sibedge service architecture combines both product- and project-minded development disciplines. The service architecture offers five services that have an agile partnership at their core. Sibedge brings together expertise of over 200+ professionals in 6+ locations in the Australia, USA, Armenia, Turkey and other Eastern European locations. Media Contact: Company: Sibedge Contact Person: Natalia Hajdu Email: khayduni@sibedge.com Website: https://sibedge.com/ Disclaimer: There is no offer to sell, no solicitation of an offer to buy, and no recommendation of any security or any other product or service in this article. Moreover, nothing contained in this PR should be construed as a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any investment or security, or to engage in any investment strategy or transaction. It is your responsibility to determine whether any investment, investment strategy, security, or related transaction is appropriate for you based on your investment objectives, financial circumstances, and risk tolerance. Consult your business advisor, attorney, or tax advisor regarding your specific business, legal, or tax situation. For more info, please contact brandnewsproject@gmail.com. LOS ANGELES, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eyenuk, Inc., a global artificial intelligence (AI) medical technology and services company and the leader in real-world applications for AI Eye Screening and AI Predictive Biomarkers, announced today that its EyeArt system has been confirmed to have sufficient high quality evidence as safe and cost-effective, and is the only diabetic eye screening AI technology ready for live clinical implementation in the United Kingdom, according to the report, Automated grading in the Diabetic Eye Screening Programme- External review against programme appraisal criteria for the UK National Screening Committee. The comprehensive review of 10 AI algorithms performance, reported in peer-reviewed publications, was conducted for the UK National Screening Committee (NSC), which provides advice about all aspects of population screening to the National Health Service (NHS) and the ministers of the four UK countries (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland). The 169-page NSC report identified the EyeArt v2.1 algorithm for autonomous diabetic retinopathy screening as the only AI technology ready for live clinical implementation in the UK. Study authors concluded that there is sufficient high-quality evidence from the EDESP (English Diabetic Eye Screening Program) that EyeArt v2.1 may be safe and cost-effective either using it for level 1 grading or as a filter prior to manual grading. The EyeArt system is now being planned for live clinical use within the North East London NHS Diabetes Eye Screening Programme as part of a project led by the Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and supported jointly by the NHSX AI Lab and the UK Health Foundation. The funded program will implement the live clinical use of artificial intelligence and assess its effectiveness in addressing racial and ethical health inequalities, and its acceptability by healthcare providers and people with diabetes. We are gratified by the NSCs confirmation that the EyeArt system stands out from other solutions for its safety and cost-effectiveness and would like to thank our clinical collaborators within various diabetes eye screening programs (DESP) throughout the National Health Service, said Kaushal Solanki, PhD, founder and CEO of Eyenuk. We look forward to working with the Moorfields Eye Hospital and the North East London NHS DESP to deploy the EyeArt system for live clinical use. The UK has been leading the world in diabetic retinopathy screening, achieving patient uptake rates of over 80% (screening nearly 2.5 million diabetes patients annually). In most countries, fewer than half of diabetes patients receive annual eye screening. Thanks to the UKs comprehensive screening program, it is the only country where diabetic retinopathy is no longer the leading cause of blindness in the working-age adults. Eyenuk will showcase the EyeArt AI System during the American Diabetes Associations 82nd Scientific Sessions in New Orleans, June 3-7. Attendees can visit booth #1709 to learn how the EyeArt system can help their organizations improve diabetes management and population health. About Eyenuk, Inc. Eyenuk, Inc. is a global artificial intelligence (AI) medical technology and services company and the leader in real-world AI Eye Screening for autonomous disease detection and AI Predictive Biomarkers for risk assessment and disease surveillance. Eyenuk is on a mission to screen every eye in the world to ensure timely diagnosis of life- and vision-threatening diseases, including diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, stroke risk, cardiovascular risk, and Alzheimers disease. Find Eyenuk online on its website, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. About the EyeArt AI System The EyeArt AI System provides fully autonomous diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening, including retinal imaging, DR detection based on international clinical standards and immediate reporting, in a single office visit during a diabetic patients regular exam. Once the patients fundus images have been captured and submitted to the EyeArt AI System, the DR detection results are available in a PDF report in less than 30 seconds. The EyeArt AI System was developed with funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and is validated by the U.K. National Health Service (NHS). In addition to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) clearance, the EyeArt AI System has CE marking as a class 2a medical device in the European Union and a Health Canada license. It is the most extensively validated AI technology for autonomous DR detection, tested on over 500,000 patients globally with 2 million images collected in clinical environments. It is designed to be General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) compliant. The EyeArt AI System is reimbursable by government and private payors in the U.S. under the newly created Category 1 Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code 92229. VIDEO: Learn more about the EyeArt AI System for Autonomous Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy Media Contact Todd Stein +1 510 417 0612 todd@toddsteincommunications.com Eyenuk, Inc. Contact Frank Cheng, President & CCO +1 818 835 3585 frank.cheng@eyenuk.com Dublin, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Pediatric Interventional Cardiology Market, Size, Forecast 2022-2027, Industry Trends, Share, Growth, Impact of COVID-19, Company Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Global Pediatric Interventional Cardiology Market is estimated to reach US$ 2,190.1 Million by 2027, from US$ 1,510.3 Million in 2021. Pediatric interventional cardiology is a sub-specialty of cardiology that focuses on using particular catheter-based procedures to treat cardiac problems in newborns, children, and adolescents up to the age of 18. Balloon angioplasty, coil occlusion, stent implantation, and aortic valve stenosis are some of the procedures available. In addition, as compared to traditional cardiology procedures, pediatric interventional cardiology is less invasive, resulting in fewer post-surgery problems. Hence, they are widely utilized to perform angioplasty, valvuloplasty, coronary thrombectomy, and congenital heart defect corrective treatments. Global Pediatric Interventional Cardiology Industry is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 6.39% during 2021-2027: The global Pediatric Interventional Cardiology Market Size is expanding rapidly, owing to a growth in the number of children with cardiac disorders and technical breakthroughs in the area. The worldwide pediatric interventional cardiology devices demand is also being driven by the increased incidence of congenital cardiac diseases and government initiatives in this field. In addition, the worldwide pediatric interventional cardiology devices market is benefiting from rising awareness and popularity of more minor invasive procedures. Congenital Heart Defect Closure Devices and Transcatheter Heart Valves are significant segments: By Device Type, the dominance of congenital heart defect closure devices in the pediatric interventional cardiology market is due to an increase in the number of cases of congenital disabilities and increased awareness of the necessity for pediatric interventional cardiology devices. Furthermore, because cardiac procedures involving transcatheter heart valves are more effective, the market for transcatheter heart valves is predicted to develop at a constant rate throughout the forecast period. The Hospitals Segment Dominates the Market for Global Pediatric Interventional Cardiology Devices: The hospital segment will lead the Paediatric Interventional Cardiology Devices market in 2021 and beyond. The domination of hospitals can be attributed to well-equipped infrastructure, the availability of technical equipment, an increase in the number of practitioners and patients, and an increase in collaborations to help alleviate the load of diagnosis and treatment around the world. In addition, the availability of sophisticated technology to monitor pediatric cardiac abnormalities and a change in attention toward ambulatory centers for treatment has increased the number of patients choosing mobile facilities for diagnosis. As a result, there is an association between ambulatory center expansion and ambulatory center growth. North America Dominates the Global Paediatric Interventional Cardiology Devices Industry: North America dominates the global pediatric interventional cardiology devices market, owing to the rising frequency of cardiac illnesses among children and the region's technical improvement. In the next few years, the pediatric interventional cardiology devices market in Asia-Pacific is predicted to rise rapidly. In the Asian region, China and India are expected to be the fastest expanding markets for pediatric interventional cardiology devices. This is due to massive investments in these countries by various multinational corporations. Large patient pools, increased government funding, and improved healthcare facilities are the primary driving forces for emerging countries' pediatric interventional cardiology devices market. Key Players: The international market for pediatric interventional cardiology is highly consolidated, oligopolistic, and competitive. Furthermore, the market is capital-intensive, necessitating significant investments in R&D initiatives. The global pediatric interventional cardiology market is monopolized by Cardinal Health Inc., Medtronic Inc., Abbott Laboratories, Boston Scientific Corporation, General Electric, Siemens AG, and Koninklijke Philips N.V. Furthermore, these market participants in the Global Pediatric Interventional Cardiology Industry are focusing on expanding their product portfolios through inorganic growth strategies including acquisitions, mergers, and collaborations. How COVID-19 Turned Down the Global Paediatric Interventional Cardiology Market: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted pediatric cardiac care worldwide, resulting in fewer hospitalizations and cardiac operations. Thus, in a resource-constrained setting, such a considerable reduction in the number of procedures had a significant impact. However, the recovery and vaccine data have shown to be valuable in establishing a strategy to manage the COVID-19 pandemic's future effects. Companies Covered: Cardinal Health Inc. Medtronic, Inc. Abbott Laboratories Boston Scientific Corporation General Electric Siemens AG Koninklijke Philips N.V Key Topics Covered: 1. Introduction 2. Research & Methodology 3. Executive Summary 4. Market Dynamics 4.1 Growth Drivers 4.2 Challenges 5. Global Pediatric Interventional Cardiology Market 6. Market Share - Global Pediatric Interventional Cardiology Market 6.1 By Device Type 6.2 By End Use 6.3 By Region 7. Device Type - Global Pediatric Interventional Cardiology Market 7.1 Congenital Heart Defect Closure Devices 7.2 Transcatheter Heart Valves 8. End Use - Global Pediatric Interventional Cardiology Market 8.1 Hospitals 8.2 Ambulatory Surgical Centers 8.3 Specialty Clinic 9. Region - Global Pediatric Interventional Cardiology Market 9.1 North America 9.2 Europe 9.3 Asia Pacific 9.4 Middle East & Africa 10. Porters Five Forces 10.1 Bargaining Power of Buyers 10.2 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 10.3 Degree of Competition 10.4 Threat of New Entrants 10.5 Threat of Substitutes 11. Company Analysis 11.1 Overview 11.2 Recent Development 11.3 Financial Insights For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/f74fh6 Attachment Dublin, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "U.A.E. Packaged Drinking Water Market Report: By Distribution Channel, End Use - Latest Trends, and Demand Insights, 2022-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. From an estimated $625.4 million in 2021, the U.A.E. packaged drinking water market revenue will increase to $948.2 million by 2030, at a 4.7% CAGR. This will open up numerous growth opportunities for companies producing and supplying the product, including Agthia Group PJSC, Mai Dubai LLC, Danone S.A., Masafi Co LLC, Nestle Waters Factory H&O LLC, National Food Product Company, AL Ghadeer Drinking Water LLC, Awafi Mineral Water CO. LLC, and AL Furat Drinking Water LLC. This is why many of them are launching this product in newer packaging and using innovative strategies to market them. For instance, Masafi Co LLC introduced SOURCE, a sustainable bottled drinking water brand, in the U.A.E. in October 2021. It is targeted at those who focus strongly on health, sustainability, wellbeing, and community. Similarly, Agthia Group PJSC launched a plant-based plastic bottle in the country in February 2020. Key Findings of U.A.E. Packaged Drinking Water Market Report The key factor that drives the demand for bulk packaged water is the convenience such packaging offers by allowing people to eliminate the usage of hundreds of smaller bottles each day. Moreover, the U.A.E. packaged drinking water market is driven by the public health benefits associated with it. Loose water is often contaminated, thereby causing diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis, and typhoid. B2B is the larger distribution channel for this product in the country, primarily because water in bulk is usually purchased by entities that need to quench the thirst of a large number of people at once, such as corporate offices, hospitals, hotels, and educational institutions. This is consistent with the fact that the highest volume of bulk water in the U.A.E. is procured by workplaces. This is attributed to the rapid corporatization of the country's work culture, combined with its perpetually hot weather. As a result, COVID-19 impacted the U.A.E. packaged drinking water market negatively. The lockdowns imposed by the Emirati government to control the disease spread led to the closure of the corporate, educational, and hospitality sectors, thereby driving down the need for bulk potable water. Moreover, due to the shift in the buying behavior brought about by the pandemic, most B2B customers are expected to procure the product via the mobile apps and websites of manufacturers and distributors in the years to come. Additionally, the massive increase in the awareness on health and hygiene during the pandemic may provide opportunities for bulk water suppliers and producers to target residential users as well. It is now well known that immunity plays a key role on how an infection affects someone, and immunity itself can be strengthened by an adequate intake of minerals and vitamins. Thus, the rise in people's concerns for their health could push up the demand for packaged fortified water in the residential sector of the U.A.E. Moreover, a key opportunity for U.A.E. packaged drinking water market players, as before the pandemic, would be its growing hospitality sector. The country is not only a major tourist hub, but also a rapidly emerging business destination for people around the world. This brings in hordes to the country each year, which has been helping its hospitality sector grow. Hence, with more people coming in and hotels being constructed, the demand for packaged drinking water will rise. Key Topics Covered: Chapter 1. Research Background Chapter 2. Research Methodology Chapter 3. Executive Summary Chapter 4. Voice of Industry Experts/Kols Chapter 5. Market Indicators 5.1 Growing Hospitality Industry Chapter 6. Definition of Market Segments 6.1 By Distribution Channel 6.1.1 B2B 6.1.1.1 Distribution Sub-Channel 6.1.1.1.1 Retail 6.1.1.1.1.1 By Mode of Purchase 6.1.1.1.1.1.1 Traditional In-Store Shopping 6.1.1.1.1.1.2 Phone 6.1.1.1.1.1.3 In-App/Online 6.1.1.1.1.1.4 Subscription 6.1.1.1.1.1.5 Contracting 6.1.1.1.2 Direct Selling 6.1.2 B2C 6.2 by Retail Sub-Channel 6.2.1 Convenience Stores 6.2.2 Discounters 6.2.2.1 Municipality Stores 6.2.2.2 Others 6.2.3 Food/Drink/Tobacco Specialists 6.2.4 Forecourt Retailers 6.2.5 Hypermarkets 6.2.6 Independent Small Grocers 6.2.7 Omni Channel/Brick & Click Stores 6.2.8 Pure Play Retailers 6.2.9 Other Grocery Retailers 6.2.10 Supermarkets 6.2.11 Vending Machines 6.2.12 Mixed Retailers 6.2.13 Non-Grocery Specialists 6.3 by Direct Selling by Mode 6.3.1 Online 6.3.2 Offline 6.4 by End Use 6.4.1 Accommodation 6.4.2 Complementary Services 6.4.3 Education 6.4.4 Healthcare 6.4.5 Leisure 6.4.6 Military & Civil Defence 6.4.7 Pub, Club & Bar 6.4.8 Restaurant 6.4.9 Retail 6.4.10 Travel 6.4.11 Welfare & Services 6.4.12 Workplace 6.4.13 Catering 6.4.14 Others Chapter 7. Industry Outlook 7.1 Market Dynamics 7.1.1 Trends 7.1.1.1 Surging Demand for Functional and Fortified Bottled Water 7.1.1.2 Online is Increasingly Shifting Traditional Retail 7.1.2 Drivers 7.1.2.1 Bulk Water Bottles Are Convenient and Have a Long Storage Lifespan 7.1.2.2 Increasing Awareness About Safe Drinking Water 7.1.2.3 Surging Population and Rapid Urbanization 7.1.3 Impact Analysis of Drivers on Market Forecast 7.1.4 Restraints 7.1.4.1 High Expense Required for Installing a Water Treatment Plant 7.1.5 Impact Analysis of Restraints on Market Forecast 7.2 Impact of Covid-19 7.3 Value Chain Analysis 7.4 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 7.4.1 Bargaining Power of Buyers 7.4.2 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 7.4.3 Intensity of Rivalry 7.4.4 Threat of New Entrants 7.4.5 Threat of Substitutes Chapter 8. Market Size and Forecast 8.1 Overview 8.2 Market Volume, by Distribution Channel (2017-2030) 8.2.1 B2B Market Volume, by Distribution Sub-Channel (2017-2030) 8.2.1.1 B2B Retail Market Volume, by Mode of Purchase (2017-2030) 8.2.1.2 B2B Direct Selling Market Volume, by Mode of Purchase (2017-2030) 8.2.2 B2C Market Volume, by Distribution Sub-Channel (2017-2030) 8.2.2.1 B2C Retail Market Volume, by Mode of Purchase (2017-2030) 8.2.2.2 B2C Direct Selling Market Volume, by Mode of Purchase (2017-2030) 8.3 Market Revenue, by Distribution Channel (2017-2030) 8.3.1 B2B Market Revenue, by Distribution Sub-Channel (2017-2030) 8.3.1.1 B2B Retail Market Revenue, by Mode of Purchase (2017-2030) 8.3.1.2 B2B Direct Selling Market Revenue, by Mode of Purchase (2017-2030) 8.3.2 B2C Market Revenue, by Distribution Sub-Channel (2017-2030) 8.3.2.1 B2C Retail Market Revenue, by Mode of Purchase (2017-2030) 8.3.2.2 B2C Direct Selling Market Revenue, by Mode of Purchase (2017-2030) 8.4 Market Volume, by Retail Sub-Channel (2017-2030) 8.4.1 Market Volume, by Discounters (2017-2030) 8.5 Market Revenue, by Retail Sub-Channel (2017-2030) 8.5.1 Market Revenue, by Discounters (2017-2030) 8.6 Market Volume, by Direct Selling by Mode (2017-2030) 8.7 Market Revenue, by Direct Selling by Mode (2017-2030) 8.8 Market Volume, by End Use (2017-2030) 8.9 Market Revenue, by End Use (2017-2030) Chapter 9. Competitive Landscape 9.1 Market Share Analysis of Key Players 9.2 Competitive Analysis of Key Players Chapter 10. Company Profiles 10.1 Agthia Group Pjsc 10.1.1 Business Overview 10.1.2 Product and Service Offerings 10.1.3 Key Financial Summary 10.2 Danone S.A. 10.2.1 Business Overview 10.2.2 Product and Service Offerings 10.2.3 Key Financial Summary 10.3 Mai Dubai LLC 10.3.1 Business Overview 10.3.2 Product and Service Offerings 10.4 Masafi Co LLC 10.4.1 Business Overview 10.4.2 Product and Service Offerings 10.5 National Food Product Company 10.5.1 Business Overview 10.5.2 Product and Service Offerings 10.6 Nestle Waters Factory H&O LLC 10.6.1 Business Overview 10.6.2 Product and Service Offerings 10.7 Al Ghadeer Drinking Water LLC 10.7.1 Business Overview 10.7.2 Product and Service Offerings 10.8 Al Furat Drinking Water LLC 10.8.1 Business Overview 10.8.2 Product and Service Offerings 10.9 Awafi Mineral Water Co. LLC 10.9.1 Business Overview 10.9.2 Product and Service Offerings Chapter 11. Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/93bju2 Attachment Dublin, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Biosimilar Monoclonal Antibodies Global Market Report 2022: By Type, By Application, By Compound" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global biosimilar monoclonal antibodies market is expected to grow from $4.51 billion in 2021 to $5.47 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.3%. The market is expected to reach $10.64 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 18.1%. Biosimilar Monoclonal Antibodies Global Market Report 2022 provides the strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the global biosimilar monoclonal antibodies market. Major players in the biosimilar monoclonal antibodies market are Pfizer, Novartis, Allergan, Coherus BioSciences, Biocon, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celltrion, BioXpress Therapeutics and Intas Pharmaceuticals Limited. The biosimilar monoclonal antibodies market consists of sales of biosimilar monoclonal antibodies and related services by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that produce biosimilar monoclonal antibodies, which are used to treat patients with chronic diseases such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and autoimmune disease. Biosimilar monoclonal antibodies are highly similar to actual monoclonal antibodies in terms of pharmaceutical quality, safety, and efficacy, and are used to boost immunity by identifying and neutralizing foreign bodies. The market consists of revenue generated by the biosimilar monoclonal antibodies companies by the sales of these products. The main types of biosimilar monoclonal antibodies are synthetic chemicals, biopharmaceuticals and others. Any pharmaceutical drug product made in, derived from, or semi-synthesized from biological sources is known as a biopharmaceutical, sometimes known as a biologic medical product, or biologic. The different compounds include infliximab, rituximab, abciximab, trastuzumab, adalimumab, bevacizumab and is used in various applications such as chronic and autoimmune diseases, oncology, others. The prevalence of chronic diseases is expected to drive the biosimilar monoclonal antibodies market. Biosimilar monoclonal antibodies are used to treat chronic diseases such as cancer, autoimmune disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. In cancer treatment, biosimilars of monoclonal antibodies such as trastuzumab, bevacizumab, and rituximab are used. Moreover, the incidence of cancer is increasing year by year. According to the American cancer society (ACS), in 2020, about 1.8 million new cancer cases are expected in the United States. Therefore, the prevalence of chronic diseases including cancer is expected to drive the biosimilar monoclonal antibodies market. Stringent regulations imposed on approvals of biosimilars is anticipated to hinder the growth of the biosimilar monoclonal antibodies market. The governments of different regions impose different rules regarding the production and use of biosimilars. Further, issues such as patent infringement or agreement issues restrict the manufacturers of biosimilars from commercializing the government-approved biosimilars. The US Food and Drug Administration requires a double regulatory approval for biosimilars, restricting the use of biosimilars as an interchangeable drug to biologics, whereas, in Europe, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approves biosimilars as interchangeable products for biologics. The strict government policies for approval of these drugs negatively impact manufacturers in the biosimilar monoclonal antibodies market. The focus areas for many companies in the biosimilar monoclonal antibodies market has shifted to mergers and acquisitions to acquire more production capabilities. Large prime manufactures are forming joint ventures or buying small or midsized companies to acquire new capabilities, or to gain access to new markets. For instance, Aurobindo Pharma Limited acquired four cell culture-derived biosimilar products from TL Biopharmaceutical AG of Switzerland. As part of the agreement, TL will supply all the developmental data for four molecules and Aurobindo and/or its affiliates will develop, commercialize and market these products globally. Out of the four biosimilars acquired, three of them are monoclonal antibodies in oncology. In another instance, in May 2020, AbbVie, a US-based biopharmaceutical company, announced its decision to acquire Allergan for an amount of $63 million. This transaction expands and diversifies AbbVie's revenue base and supports in maintaining its leadership positions in biosimilar monoclonal antibodies Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary 2. Biosimilar Monoclonal Antibodies Market Characteristics 3. Biosimilar Monoclonal Antibodies Market Trends And Strategies 4. Impact Of COVID-19 On Biosimilar Monoclonal Antibodies 5. Biosimilar Monoclonal Antibodies Market Size And Growth 5.1. Global Biosimilar Monoclonal Antibodies Historic Market, 2016-2021, $ Billion 5.1.1. Drivers Of The Market 5.1.2. Restraints On The Market 5.2. Global Biosimilar Monoclonal Antibodies Forecast Market, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion 5.2.1. Drivers Of The Market 5.2.2. Restraints On the Market 6. Biosimilar Monoclonal Antibodies Market Segmentation 6.1. Global Biosimilar Monoclonal Antibodies Market, Segmentation By Type, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion Synthetic Chemicals Biopharmaceuticals Others 6.2. Global Biosimilar Monoclonal Antibodies Market, Segmentation By Application, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion Chronic & Autoimmune Diseases Oncology Others 6.3. Global Biosimilar Monoclonal Antibodies Market, Segmentation By Compound, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion Infliximab Rituximab Abciximab Trastuzumab Adalimumab Bevacizumab 7. Biosimilar Monoclonal Antibodies Market Regional And Country Analysis 7.1. Global Biosimilar Monoclonal Antibodies Market, Split By Region, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion 7.2. Global Biosimilar Monoclonal Antibodies Market, Split By Country, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion Companies Mentioned Pfizer Novartis Allergan Coherus BioSciences Biocon Amgen Boehringer Ingelheim Celltrion BioXpress Therapeutics Intas Pharmaceuticals Limited Genor BioPharma Co. Ltd. BIOCAD Dr. Reddys Laboratories Ltd. 3SBio Reliance Life Sciences Hisun Pharma Celgen Biopharma Torrent Pharmaceuticals Cadila Healthcare For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/t5f96w Attachment Dublin, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Pharmaceutical Excipients Global Market Report 2022: By Functionality, By Type, By Product" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Major players in the pharmaceutical excipients market are, Archer Daniels Midland Co., Associated British Foods, Dow Chemical Company, Evonik, Croda International Plc, Ashland, BASF SE, The Lubrizol Corporation and Roquette Freres. The global pharmaceutical excipients market is expected to grow from $8.13 billion in 2021 to $8.60 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9%. The market is expected to reach $10.88 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 6.0%. The pharmaceutical excipients market consists of sales of pharmaceutical excipients and related services. The excipient is a substance, not an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) that has been evaluated for safety, and intentionally added in a drug delivery system. Excipient's major roles are to protect, support, enhance stability, bioavailability, patient acceptability, and assist in the effectiveness. The market consists of revenue generated by the company's manufacturing the pharmaceutical excipients by the sales of these excipients The main types of products in pharmaceutical excipients are inorganic chemicals and organic chemicals. Pharmaceutical inorganic chemical is concerned with the manufacture, physical or chemical characteristics of substances, assay techniques, and applications of inorganic substances used as pharmaceutical aids, treatments, and diagnostics. The different functionalities include fillers and diluents, suspending and viscosity agents, coating agents, binders, flavouring agents and sweetners, disintegrants, colorants, lubricants and glidants, others and involves various formulations such as oral fromulation, topical formulation, parental formulation. North America is the largest region in the pharmaceutical excipients market in 2021. Middle East is expected to be the fastest growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in this report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa. The global surge in the sale of generic drugs contributed to the growth of the pharmaceutical excipients market. Generic drugs are alternatives to the marketed brand name drug in the same dosage form, safety, strength, and route of administration and quality. According to India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), India is the largest provider of generic medicines, the country's generic drugs account for 20% of the global generic drug exports. Indian pharmaceutical companies received 300 generic drug approvals in the USA. The surge in the demand for generic drugs drives the pharmaceutical excipients market. Concerns related to safety and quality are expected to limit the growth of the pharmaceutical excipients market. According to the Pharmaceutical Journal, there are certain complications in children with the use of pharmaceutical drugs with excipients. For instance, the colorants used in medicine as a coloring agent may lead to sensitivity reactions and hyperactive behaviour in children. Ethanol is another solvent that is widely used in an oral liquid formulation, the use of ethanol mixed medicine for children may have a risk of acute intoxication when overdose, and it may lead chronic toxicity with long term use. Concerns related to safety and quality are expected to limit the growth of the pharmaceutical excipients market. The increase in research and development in the pharmaceutical formulation to enhance the production process and product quality by using multi-functional excipients is a trend shaping the market. Excipients play a significant role in helping pharmaceutical manufacturers better support patients by increasing compliance and treatment effectiveness. For instance, Evonik's newly launched EUDRAGIT FS 100 is a solid version of the existing EUDRAGIT FS 30 D. This new multi-functional version allows pharmaceutical companies to use the polymer in many new applications, such as hot-melt extrusion, solvent spray-drying, and solvent coating, which was impossible to achieve in past decades where only the aqueous version was available. In July 2021, Philip Morris International, a US based cigarette and tobacco manufacturing company acquired Fertin Pharma for $820m. Through this acquisition PMI will gain significant ability in developing, formulating, and marketing existing as well as new smoke-free platforms. Fertin Pharma is a Denmark based company that manufactures pharmaceutical excipients. Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary 2. Pharmaceutical Excipients Market Characteristics 3. Pharmaceutical Excipients Market Trends And Strategies 4. Impact Of COVID-19 On Pharmaceutical Excipients 5. Pharmaceutical Excipients Market Size And Growth 5.1. Global Pharmaceutical Excipients Historic Market, 2016-2021, $ Billion 5.1.1. Drivers Of The Market 5.1.2. Restraints On The Market 5.2. Global Pharmaceutical Excipients Forecast Market, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion 5.2.1. Drivers Of The Market 5.2.2. Restraints On the Market 6. Pharmaceutical Excipients Market Segmentation 6.1. Global Pharmaceutical Excipients Market, Segmentation By Functionality, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion Fillers and Diluents Suspending and Viscosity Agents Coating Agents Binders Flavouring Agents and Sweetners Disintegrants Colorants Lubricants and Glidants Others 6.2. Global Pharmaceutical Excipients Market, Segmentation By Type of Formulation, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion Oral Fromulation Topical Formulation Parental Formulation 6.3. Global Pharmaceutical Excipients Market, Segmentation By Product, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion Inorganic Chemicals Organic Chemicals 7. Pharmaceutical Excipients Market Regional And Country Analysis 7.1. Global Pharmaceutical Excipients Market, Split By Region, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion 7.2. Global Pharmaceutical Excipients Market, Split By Country, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion Companies Mentioned Archer Daniels Midland Co. Associated British Foods Dow Chemical Company Evonik Croda International plc. Ashland BASF SE The Lubrizol Corporation Roquette Freres FMC Corporation Kerry Group plc. Wacker Chemie Avantor Performance Materials Colorcon Merck & Co. DFE Pharma Innophous Holdings Signet Eastman Chemical Corporation P&G Chemicals Huntsman Corporation Valeant JRS Pharma Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Finar Limited Pfanstiehl BENEO Chemische Fabrik Budenheim Air Liquide Peter Greven GmbH & Co. KG For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/11eqdv Attachment TALLINN, Estonia, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- One of the biggest names in African hip hop, Cassper Nyovest, has joined as the latest superstar ambassador at the world's favorite crypto casino, Bitcasino. Bitcasino Ambassadorship Cassper Nyovest will rep Bitcasino for an initial two years as a Global Ambassador, having made a name for himself not only as a rapper but also as an entrepreneur, record producer, and even part-time boxer. Cassper Nyovest, Global Ambassador for Bitcasino, said: "I've got to where I am today by hustling and making smart decisions, and that's why I play at Bitcasino. These guys know how to treat their players, and are setting the standard for crypto gaming. It's the only choice for me." Cassper will be showing fans across the world how to join the crypto revolution with Bitcasino, where players can enjoy thousands of exciting casino games with a range of cryptocurrencies, including heavyweights like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Tauri Tiitsaar, Director of Casino at Yolo Group, said: "Like Cassper Nyovest, Bitcasino players enjoy the finer things in life, and that's why we work so hard to offer the best rewards and promotions to our players. By choosing crypto and Bitcasino alongside Cassper, you'll have access to more games and more chances to win than ever before." Cassper Nyovest is the latest big-name ambassador to join Team Bitcasino, following the signings of King Kaka and Tekno Miles earlier this year. About Bitcasino Founded in 2014, as part of the Yolo Group, Bitcasino is a leading bitcoin-led casino operator. Bitcasino has an expansive, quality casino product featuring more than 2,800 games, including slots, table games, and live dealer casinos from some of the industry's leading suppliers. Their innovative platform, new features, and rewards are all developed in-house using player feedback to directly shape and create the ultimate user experience. Pioneering the way for original, fair rewards, Bitcasino is the first crypto casino to withdraw its welcome offer in favor of the unique, custom-built Loyalty Club allowing players greater control over their gaming. Bitcasino prides itself on its enjoyable and trustworthy casino and gaming service, with withdrawal times of around 1.5 minutes among the fastest in the industry and cutting-edge security measures in place. For more information, please visit https://bitcasino.io. Bitcasino Links Telegram | Twitter | Instagram Media Contact Details Contact Name: Claudia Contact Email: press@yolo.group Bitcasino is the source of this content. This Press Release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. Related Images Image 1 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment Dublin, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Disposable Medical Gloves Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Material (Natural Rubber, Nitrile), by Application (Examination, Surgical), by End Use (Hospital, Home Healthcare), and Segment Forecasts, 2022-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global disposable medical gloves market size is anticipated to reach USD 11.61 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 5.3% over the forecast period. The global market is primarily driven by the increasing prevalence of infectious diseases and viral outbreaks coupled with increasing rising expenditure. Factors, such as growing investments in both public & private sectors, an increasing geriatric population, and a high influx of migrants coupled with the increasing healthcare expenditure are expected to boost the healthcare industry growth, which, in turn, will boost the product demand. The adoption of novel practices in the healthcare & medical settings and the development of better medical care products & technologies are projected to drive the demand for healthcare services and the need for modern medical infrastructure. This, in turn, will drive the market over the years to come. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many players adopted automation. The use of robotics in the manufacturing of gloves and other processes, such as packaging and counting, are emerging in the market. For instance, Doka Industrial Automation designed a machine to automate the process from manufacturing to the packaging of gloves. The resurgence of the COVID-19 is expected to increase hospital visits and boost the product demand. Companies are undertaking strategic investments to strengthen their product portfolio. For instance, in March 2021, Hartalega Holdings Berhad bought land in Kedah from Northern Gateway Free Zone Sdn Bhd of 250 acres for USD 55.4 million to expand its manufacturing operations of gloves. Disposable Medical Gloves Market Report Highlights The natural rubber material segment contributed to the maximum revenue share in 2021. These materials are flexible and easy to wear & use, which makes them ideal for use in handling water-based or biological materials. The demand for surgical disposable medical gloves is expected to witness significant growth from 2022 to 2030 on account of precise sizing and design that offers high accuracy and tactile sensitivity as required by healthcare workers. The hospital end-use segment accounted for the largest revenue share in 2021 owing to the high prevalence of chronic diseases, which increased the number of hospital visits and re-admissions. The Asia Pacific regional market is expected to register the fastest CAGR over the forecast period owing to the rapidly growing healthcare infrastructure including hospitals and clinics coupled with rising medical tourism. In December 2021, Supermax Corp. Berhad incorporated Maxter Healthcare Inc., a new wholly-owned subsidiary in the U.S. to produce Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and medical gloves. Key Topics Covered: Chapter 1. Methodology and Scope Chapter 2. Executive Summary Chapter 3. Disposable Medical Gloves Market Variables, Trends & Scope 3.1. Market Segmentation & Scope 3.2. Penetration and Growth Prospect Mapping 3.3. Industry Value Chain Analysis 3.4. Technology Overview 3.5. Regulatory Framework 3.6. Market Dynamics 3.6.1. Market Driver Analysis 3.6.2. Market Restraint Analysis 3.6.3. Industry Challenges 3.7. Business Environment Analysis 3.7.1. Industry Analysis-Porter's 3.7.2. PESTEL Analysis 3.8. COVID-19 Impact Analysis Chapter 4. Disposable Medical Gloves Market-Material Estimates & Trend Analysis 4.1. Material Movement Analysis & Market Share, 2021 & 2030 4.2. Market Size & Forecasts and Trend Analysis, 2017 to 2030 for the following: 4.2.1. Natural Rubber 4.2.1.1. Market Estimates & Forecasts, 2017-2030 (USD Million) 4.2.2. Nitrile 4.2.2.1. Market Estimates & Forecasts, 2017-2030 (USD Million) 4.2.3. Vinyl 4.2.3.1. Market Estimates & Forecasts, 2017-2030 (USD Million) 4.2.4. Neoprene 4.2.4.1. Market Estimates & Forecasts, 2017-2030 (USD Million) 4.2.5. Polyethylene 4.2.5.1. Market Estimates & Forecasts, 2017-2030 (USD Million) 4.2.6. Others 4.2.6.1. Market Estimates & Forecasts, 2017-2030 (USD Million) Chapter 5. Disposable Medical Gloves Market-Application Estimates & Trend Analysis 5.1. Application Movement Analysis & Market Share, 2021 & 2030 5.2. Market Size & Forecasts and Trend Analysis, 2017 to 2030 for the following: 5.2.1. Examination 5.2.1.1. Market Estimates & Forecasts, 2017-2030 (USD Million) 5.2.2. Surgical 5.2.2.1. Market Estimates & Forecasts, 2017-2030 (USD Million) Chapter 6. Disposable Medical Gloves Market-End-use Estimates & Trend Analysis 6.1. End-use Movement Analysis & Market Share, 2021 & 2030 6.2. Market Size & Forecasts and Trend Analysis, 2017 to 2030 for the following: 6.2.1. Hospitals 6.2.1.1. Market Estimates & Forecasts, 2017-2030 (USD Million) 6.2.2. Home Healthcare 6.2.2.1. Market Estimates & Forecasts, 2017-2030 (USD Million) 6.2.3. Outpatient/Primary Care Facilities 6.2.3.1. Market Estimates & Forecasts, 2017-2030 (USD Million) 6.2.4. Others 6.2.4.1. Market Estimates & Forecasts, 2017-2030 (USD Million) Chapter 7. Disposable Medical Gloves Market-Regional Estimates & Trend Analysis 7.1. Disposable Medical Gloves Market: Regional Movement Analysis, 2021 & 2030 7.2. North America 7.2.1. U.S. 7.2.2. Canada 7.2.3. Mexico 7.3. Europe 7.3.1. Germany 7.3.2. France 7.3.3. Italy 7.3.4. Spain 7.3.5. U.K. 7.3.6. Russia 7.4. Asia Pacific 7.4.1. China 7.4.2. India 7.4.3. Japan 7.4.4. South Korea 7.4.5. Indonesia 7.4.6. Australia 7.5. Central & South America 7.5.1. Brazil 7.5.2. Argentina 7.6. Middle East & Africa 7.6.1. United Arab Emirates 7.6.2. Saudi Arabia 7.6.3. South Africa Chapter 8. Competitive Analysis 8.1. Key Global Players & Recent Developments & Their Impact On The Industry 8.2. Strategies Adopted by Major Players during COVID-19 pandemic 8.3. Vendor Landscape 8.4. Competitive Dashboard Analysis 8.5. Strategy Framework 8.6. Public Companies 8.6.1. Company Market Position analysis 8.7. Private Companies 8.7.1. List Of Key Emerging Companies and Their Geographical Presence Chapter 9. Company Profiles 9.1. Ansell Limited 9.1.1. Company Overview 9.1.2. Financial Performance 9.1.3. Product Benchmarking 9.1.4. Strategic Initiatives 9.2. Top Glove Corporation Bhd 9.2.1. Company Overview 9.2.2. Financial Performance 9.2.3. Product Benchmarking 9.2.4. Strategic Initiatives 9.3. Supermax Corporation Berhad 9.3.1. Company Overview 9.3.2. Financial Performance 9.3.3. Product Benchmarking 9.3.4. Strategic Initiatives 9.4. Semperit AG Holding 9.4.1. Company Overview 9.4.2. Financial Performance 9.4.3. Product Benchmarking 9.4.4. Strategic Initiatives 9.5. Hartalega Holdings Berhad 9.5.1. Company Overview 9.5.2. Financial Performance 9.5.3. Product Benchmarking 9.5.4. Strategic Initiatives 9.6. Dynarex Corporation 9.6.1. Company Overview 9.6.2. Financial Performance 9.6.3. Product Benchmarking 9.6.4. Strategic Initiatives 9.7. Cardinal Health 9.7.1. Company Overview 9.7.2. Financial Performance 9.7.3. Product Benchmarking 9.7.4. Strategic Initiatives 9.8. Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd 9.8.1. Company Overview 9.8.2. Financial Performance 9.8.3. Product Benchmarking 9.8.4. Strategic Initiatives 9.9. B. Braun Melsungen AG 9.9.1. Company Overview 9.9.2. Financial Performance 9.9.3. Product Benchmarking 9.9.4. Strategic Initiatives 9.10. Rubberex 9.10.1. Company Overview 9.10.2. Financial Performance 9.10.3. Product Benchmarking 9.10.4. Strategic Initiatives 9.11. Kimberly-Clark Corporation 9.11.1. Company Overview 9.11.2. Financial Performance 9.11.3. Product Benchmarking 9.11.4. Strategic Initiatives 9.12. Unigloves (UK) Limited 9.12.1. Company Overview 9.12.2. Financial Performance 9.12.3. Product Benchmarking 9.12.4. Strategic Initiatives 9.13. Superior Gloves 9.13.1. Company Overview 9.13.2. Financial Performance 9.13.3. Product Benchmarking 9.13.4. Strategic Initiatives 9.14. Adenna LLC 9.14.1. Company Overview 9.14.2. Financial Performance 9.14.3. Product Benchmarking 9.14.4. Strategic Initiatives 9.15. MCR Safety 9.15.1. Company Overview 9.15.2. Financial Performance 9.15.3. Product Benchmarking 9.15.4. Strategic Initiatives For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/sofpvn Attachment Company announcement no. 19/2022 Columbus A/S has today agreed with Hans Henrik Thrane that he will step down from his position as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) as of 31 August 2022. Hans Henrik Thrane has been the CFO of Columbus A/S since 2010. With Columbus continued strategy of becoming a global consultancy, the Board of Directors and Hans Henrik Thrane have decided that Columbus requires a new CFO. Consequently, the Board of Directors in Columbus has decided that this is the right time for Hans Henrik Thrane to leave his position as CFO in Columbus. I would like to thank Hans Henrik Thrane for his 12 years as CFO in Columbus. During these 12 years, Hans Henrik Thrane has played a central role in Columbus transformation from a smaller IT company to a large, leading company within IT consultancy. I believe that the timing for change is right for both parties, and I am pleased that we can continue to draw on Hans Henriks insight until 31 August 2022. I wish Hans Henrik the best of luck with his continued career, says Ib Kune, Chairman of the Board. It has been a pleasure to be a part of the exciting journey that Columbus has been on since I joined the company 12 years ago. I would like to thank my colleagues and the Board of Directors for good cooperation over the years. I look forward to following Columbus from the sidelines in the future, says Hans Henrik Thrane. During the next three months, Hans Henrik Thrane will hand over his responsibilities. Columbus has initiated a search for a new CFO. Ib Kune Sren Krogh Knudsen Chairman of the Board CEO & President For further information, please contact: CEO & President, Sren Krogh Knudsen, +45 70 20 50 00 Attachment Dublin, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Mid-infrared Lasers Market (2022-2027) by Type, Applications, End-Use Industry, Competitive Analysis and the Impact of Covid-19 with Ansoff Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Global Mid-infrared Lasers Market is estimated to be USD 978.9 Mn in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 1764.01 Mn by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 12.5%. Market dynamics are forces that impact the prices and behaviors of the Global Mid-infrared Lasers Market stakeholders. These forces create pricing signals which result from the changes in the supply and demand curves for a given product or service. Forces of Market Dynamics may be related to macro-economic and micro-economic factors. There are dynamic market forces other than price, demand, and supply. Human emotions can also drive decisions, influence the market, and create price signals. As the market dynamics impact the supply and demand curves, decision-makers aim to determine the best way to use various financial tools to stem various strategies for speeding the growth and reducing the risks. Company Profiles The report provides a detailed analysis of the competitors in the market. It covers the financial performance analysis for the publicly listed companies in the market. The report also offers detailed information on the companies' recent development and competitive scenario. Some of the companies covered in this report are Hamamatsu Photonics, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Boston Electronics, Genia Photonics, IMRA America, IPG Photonics, Photonics Industries International, Alpes Lasers, AMS Technologies, Menlo Systems, etc. Countries Studied America (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, United States, Rest of Americas) Europe (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Rest of Europe) Middle-East and Africa (Egypt, Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Rest of MEA) Asia-Pacific (Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Taiwan, Rest of Asia-Pacific) Competitive Quadrant The report includes Competitive Quadrant, a proprietary tool to analyze and evaluate the position of companies based on their Industry Position score and Market Performance score. The tool uses various factors for categorizing the players into four categories. Some of these factors considered for analysis are financial performance over the last 3 years, growth strategies, innovation score, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc. Ansoff Analysis The report presents a detailed Ansoff matrix analysis for the Global Mid-infrared Lasers Market. Ansoff Matrix, also known as Product/Market Expansion Grid, is a strategic tool used to design strategies for the growth of the company. The matrix can be used to evaluate approaches in four strategies viz. Market Development, Market Penetration, Product Development and Diversification. The matrix is also used for risk analysis to understand the risk involved with each approach. The analyst analyses the Global Mid-infrared Lasers Market using the Ansoff Matrix to provide the best approaches a company can take to improve its market position. Based on the SWOT analysis conducted on the industry and industry players, The analyst has devised suitable strategies for market growth. Why buy this report? The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Global Mid-infrared Lasers Market. The report includes in-depth qualitative analysis, verifiable data from authentic sources, and projections about market size. The projections are calculated using proven research methodologies. The report has been compiled through extensive primary and secondary research. The primary research is done through interviews, surveys, and observation of renowned personnel in the industry. The report includes an in-depth market analysis using Porter's 5 forces model and the Ansoff Matrix. In addition, the impact of Covid-19 on the market is also featured in the report. The report also includes the regulatory scenario in the industry, which will help you make a well-informed decision. The report discusses major regulatory bodies and major rules and regulations imposed on this sector across various geographies. The report also contains the competitive analysis using Positioning Quadrants, the analyst's Proprietary competitive positioning tool. Key Topics Covered: 1 Report Description 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Market Dynamics 4.1 Drivers 4.1.1 Rising Demand from Healthcare, Environment Monitoring, Communication Sectors 4.1.2 Innovations in the Laser Technology Sector 4.2 Restraints 4.2.1 Use of Cryogenics in their Cooling Operations can be Risky 4.3 Opportunities 4.3.1 Increasing Demand for Mid-Infrared Lasers in Aerospace & Defense Industry 4.4 Challenges 4.4.1 Heavy Weight of IR Lasers 5 Market Analysis 5.1 Regulatory Scenario 5.2 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Ansoff Matrix Analysis 6 Global Mid-infrared Lasers Market, By Type 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Non-Linear Lasers 6.3 Free-Election Lasers 6.4 Solid-State Lasers 6.5 Semiconductor Lasers 6.6 Co2 Lasers 7 Global Mid-infrared Lasers Market, By Applications 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Noninvasive Medical Diagnostics 7.3 Free Space Communication 7.4 Laser Scalpel 7.5 Spectroscopy 7.6 Remote Sensing 8 Global Mid-infrared Lasers Market, By End-Use Industry 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Aerospace & Defense 8.3 Healthcare 8.4 Chemical 8.5 Research 8.6 Others 9 Americas' Global Mid-infrared Lasers Market 10 Europe's Global Mid-infrared Lasers Market 11 Middle East and Africa's Global Mid-infrared Lasers Market 12 APAC's Global Mid-infrared Lasers Market 13 Competitive Landscape 13.1 Competitive Quadrant 13.2 Market Share Analysis 13.3 Strategic Initiatives 13.3.1 M&A and Investments 13.3.2 Partnerships and Collaborations 13.3.3 Product Developments and Improvements 14 Company Profiles 14.1 Hamamatsu Photonics 14.2 Thermo Fisher Scientific 14.3 Boston Electronics 14.4 Genia Photonics 14.5 IMRA America 14.6 IPG Photonics 14.7 Photonics Industries International 14.8 Alpes Lasers 14.9 AMS Technologies 14.10 Menlo Systems 14.11 Sacher Lasertechnik 14.12 Soliton Laser- und Messtechnik 15 Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/pac2po Attachment Dublin, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Automotive Testing Inspection And Certification Market - Forecasts from 2022 to 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The automotive testing inspection and certification market was valued at US$22.881 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.72% over the forecast period to reach a total market size of US$31.600 billion by 2027. The automotive testing, inspection, and certification (TIC) services are used to provide services to automotive TIC producers in order to improve efficiency, productivity, and the production process in order to achieve the necessary requirements. Furthermore, the use of smart sensors in vehicles, such as radar, light detection and ranging, and others, has enabled remote monitoring and prediction of maintenance capabilities, reducing the need for on-site inspection. As a result, technological developments in TIC like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) will aid in the replacement of physical vehicle inspection with digital inspection. Hence, in the near future, the replacement of physical inspection with digital inspection and predictive maintenance is projected to fuel the growth of the worldwide automotive testing, inspection, and certification market. The rise in automobile manufacturing in emerging nations, as well as the quick shift in attitude toward outsourcing TIC services, are significantly affecting the growth of the automotive testing, inspection, and certification market. The increasing disposable incomes in emerging nations, as well as the increased focus of governments on imposing rigorous regulatory requirements on the automobile sector, are expected to fuel the expansion of the automotive testing, inspection, and certification market. Furthermore, the use of automotive electronics to ensure passenger and vehicle safety is projected to drive the growth of the automotive testing, inspection, and certification market during the forecast period. However, the automotive testing, inspection, and certification market have certain limitations that are expected to obstruct the market's potential growth, such as varying regulations or standards across regions and declining global vehicle sales, while the long lead time required for overseas qualification tests can challenge the market's growth. The Asia Pacific holds the majority of the global market and is expected to maintain its dominance during the projected period. The developing economies in this region, rising per capita income, rising demand, and more investment possibilities due to favorable favorable government policies are attracting the attention of automobile manufacturers, who are looking to expand their production capacity in this region. This, in turn, leverages the technological revolution of the automobile production and service industries, resulting in the region's strong market growth. Furthermore, rising auto sales and production, rising demand for premium and autonomous vehicles, rising inclination toward electric cars, stringent government policies for vehicle safety and quality, and technological advancement in the automotive industry are encouraging automakers to expand in the market, thereby boosting automaker growth. Growth Factors: There is increasing demand for automobile safety and quality: The global automobile industry is supervised by a variety of government rules regulating passenger safety as well as environmental issues (emission levels, fuel economy, noise, and pollution). These regulations/standards have a direct impact on and affect the design of automotive parts. Strict government regulations require automakers to include safety equipment like seatbelts, airbags, and crumple zones in their vehicles. Major regulatory organizations impose tariffs and other trade obstacles to penalize and deter producers from violating pollution and safety standards, such as the continuous use of faulty equipment Tariffs and other trade obstacles are imposed by major regulatory organizations to penalize and deter producers from violating pollution and safety standards, such as the continuous use of faulty equipment. This compels automakers to create fuel-efficient vehicles with significantly lower emissions, as well as add safety features such as anti-skid braking systems (ABS), electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), airbags, and emission control systems such as catalytic converters with turbochargers and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) systems. Restraints: Regulations and/standards differ across regions: With the globalisation of trades and companies, specific regional regulations and standards are likely to create hurdles to product adoption on a global scale. This leads to disputes between local and international standards, impeding market expansion. Variations in regulatory requirements across different regions result in disparities in tax rates, incurring additional expenditures for businesses (hiring local staff to handle tax-related issues, etc.). Local regulations apply to TIC businesses, and they are required to obey the laws and norms of the countries in which they operate, which might limit their efficiency. The impact of COVID-19 on the Automotive Testing Inspection And Certification Market The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the automobile industry as a whole. Production halts and lockdowns have severely affected both supply and demand for OEMs and auto component suppliers. Manufacturers of automotive testing, inspection, and certification systems are experiencing manpower shortages and plant shutdowns, resulting in a significant drop in customer demand for automobile testing, inspection, and certification. The automotive testing, inspection, and certification sectors have seen a huge reduction in market capitalization due to the pandemic, which has caused produced a disruption in the demand and supply networks of the testing, inspection, and certification system manufacturers. Key Topics Covered: 1. Introduction 2. Research Methodology 3. Executive Summary 4. Market Dynamics 4.1. Market Drivers 4.2. Market Restraints 4.3. Porters Five Forces Analysis 4.3.1. Bargaining Power of Suppliers 4.3.2. Bargaining Power of Buyers 4.3.3. The threat of New Entrants 4.3.4. Threat of Substitutes 4.3.5. Competitive Rivalry in the Industry 4.4. Industry Value Chain Analysis 5. Automotive Testing Inspection & Certification Market Analysis, By Service 5.1. Introduction 5.2. Testing 5.3. Inspection 5.4. Certification 6. Automotive Testing Inspection & Certification Market Analysis, By Sourcing 6.1. Introduction 6.2. Outsourced 6.3. In-house 7. Automotive Testing Inspection & Certification Market Analysis, By Application 7.1. Introduction 7.2. Telematics 7.3. Electrical Systems & Components 7.4. Interior & Exterior Material 7.5. Homologation Testing 7.6. Others 8. Automotive Testing Inspection & Certification Market Analysis, By Geography 9. Competitive Environment and Analysis 9.1. Major Players and Strategy Analysis 9.2. Emerging Players and Market Lucrativeness 9.3. Mergers, Acquisitions, Agreements, and Collaborations 9.4. Vendor Competitiveness Matrix 10. Company Profiles 10.1. Bureau Veritas S.A. 10.2. SGS SA 10.3. Dekra Group 10.4. Intertek Group Plc 10.5. TUV SUD 10.6. BSI Group 10.7. TUV Nord Group 10.8. ATIC 10.9. Applus+ 10.10. NTS For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/fdi7fm Attachment VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Lithium Corp. (American Lithium or the Company) (TSX-V: LI, OTCQB: LIACF, Frankfurt: 5LA1) is pleased to confirm that it has signed an agreement to acquire additional concessions in Southern Peru. In addition, it has entered into agreements relating to public relations and marketing activities. Acquisition of Concessions in Southern Peru The Company, through its Peruvian subsidiary, Macusani Yellowcake S.A.C., has entered into a mining rights transfer agreement (the Transfer Agreement) with an arms-length third-party, pursuant to which it will acquire the rights to a series of mining concessions (the Concessions) covering approximately 14,243 hectares in Southern Peru. The Concessions are highly prospective and will further broaden the Companys existing asset base and operations in Peru. In consideration for the Concessions, the Company has agreed to pay US$400,000 and to issue 2,250,000 common shares (the Consideration Shares) to the vendor. Completion of the transaction contemplated by the Transfer Agreement remains subject to completion of applicable transfer registrations in Peru and the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. All Consideration Shares issued to the vendor will be subject to restrictions on resale for a period of four-months-and-one-day in accordance with applicable securities laws. Simon Clarke, CEO of American Lithium, stated, We are very pleased to be able to add these large, highly prospective concessions, close to the areas where we have generated some of the best exploration results to date. Public Relations Update The Company has retained the services of New York-based Vorticom Inc. (Vorticom) to perform high-impact Public Relations services in the United States. Vorticom is a New York-based, award-winning public relations firm that specializes in generating strategic media placements for its corporate clients. The agreement entered into with Vorticom is effective as of June 01, 2022, (the Vorticom Agreement) and Vorticom will receive consideration of US$10,000 per month for a 12-month term. The Company has also agreed to grant 100,000 incentive stock options (the Options) to Vorticom, which have a term of 5 years and are exercisable at a price of $2.74 per common share. The Options will vest over a period of 12 months, with 25% of such Options vesting every quarter following their issuance, beginning three months from the date hereof. The Vorticom Agreement is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Marketing Update American Lithium has also engaged Ptolemy Capital Limited (Ptolemy), trading as Crux Investor (Crux), to provide content creation, distribution and dissemination services to the Company, as defined in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture exchange and applicable securities laws. Pursuant to the agreement entered into with Crux, which is effective as of June 01, 2022 (the Crux Agreement), Crux will receive consideration of US$3,650/month, payable quarterly in advance, for an initial 3-month term which may be extended for additional 3-month periods. Crux, a company based in London, United Kingdom, provides content distribution via videos, podcasts, social media and written articles. This includes dissemination and syndication across private and public investor platforms and services. To the best of American Lithiums knowledge, neither Ptolemy, Crux, nor any of its principals hold any securities of American Lithium. The Crux Agreement is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. About American Lithium American Lithium, a member of the TSX Venture 50, is actively engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of lithium projects within mining-friendly jurisdictions throughout the Americas. The Company is currently focused on enabling the shift to the new energy paradigm through the continued exploration and development of its strategically located TLC lithium claystone project in the richly mineralized Esmeralda lithium district in Nevada, as well as continuing to advance its Falchani lithium and Macusani uranium development projects in southeastern Peru. Both Falchani and Macusani have been through robust preliminary economic assessments, exhibit strong additional exploration potential and are situated near significant infrastructure. On behalf of the Board of Directors of American Lithium Corp. Simon Clarke CEO & Director Tel: 604 428 6128 For further information, please contact: American Lithium Corp. Email: info@americanlithiumcorp.com Website: www.americanlithiumcorp.com Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively forward-looking statements) within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the planned acquisition of additional water rights and future operations at TLC, and any other statements regarding the business plans, expectations and objectives of American Lithium. Forward-looking statements are frequently identified by such words as may, will, plan, expect, anticipate, estimate, intend, indicate, scheduled, target, goal, potential, subject, efforts, option and similar words, or the negative connotations thereof, referring to future events and results. Forward-looking statements are based on the current opinions and expectations of management are not, and cannot be, a guarantee of future results or events. Although American Lithium believes that the current opinions and expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable based on information available at the time, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements since American Lithium can provide no assurance that such opinions and expectations will prove to be correct. All forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including risks, uncertainties and assumptions related to: American Lithiums ability to achieve its stated goals; risks and uncertainties relating to the COVID-19 pandemic and the extent and manner to which measures taken by governments and their agencies, American Lithium or others to attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19 could affect American Lithium, which could have a material adverse impact on many aspects of American Lithiums businesses including but not limited to: the ability to access mineral properties for indeterminate amounts of time, the health of the employees or consultants resulting in delays or diminished capacity, social or political instability in Peru which in turn could impact American Lithiums ability to maintain the continuity of its business operating requirements, may result in the reduced availability or failures of various local administration and critical infrastructure, reduced demand for the American Lithiums potential products, availability of materials, global travel restrictions, and the availability of insurance and the associated costs; the judicial appeal process in Peru, and any and all future remedies pursued by American Lithium and its subsidiary Macusani to resolve the title for 32 of its concessions; risks regarding the ongoing Ontario Securities Commission regulatory proceedings; the ongoing ability to work cooperatively with stakeholders, including but not limited to local communities and all levels of government; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the possibility that any future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with our expectations; risks that permits will not be obtained as planned or delays in obtaining permits; mining and development risks, including risks related to accidents, equipment breakdowns, labour disputes (including work stoppages, strikes and loss of personnel) or other unanticipated difficulties with or interruptions in exploration and development; risks related to commodity price and foreign exchange rate fluctuations; risks related to foreign operations; the cyclical nature of the industry in which American Lithium operates; risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms or delays in obtaining governmental approvals; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the uncertain global economic environment and the effects upon the global market generally, and due to the COVID-19 pandemic measures taken to reduce the spread of COVID-19, any of which could continue to negatively affect global financial markets, including the trading price of American Lithiums shares and could negatively affect American Lithiums ability to raise capital and may also result in additional and unknown risks or liabilities to American Lithium. Other risks and uncertainties related to prospects, properties and business strategy of American Lithium are identified in the Risks Factors section of American Lithiums Annual Information Form for the financial year ended February 28, 2021, and in recent securities filings available at www.sedar.com. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. American Lithium undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Cautionary Note Regarding Macusani Concessions Thirty-two of the 151 concessions held by American Lithiums subsidiary Macusani, are currently subject to Administrative and Judicial processes (together, the Processes) in Peru to overturn resolutions issued by INGEMMET and the Mining Council of MINEM in February 2019 and July 2019, respectively, which declared Macusanis title to 32 of the concessions invalid due to late receipt of the annual validity payments. In November 2019, Macusani applied for injunctive relief on 32 concessions in a Court in Lima, Peru and was successful in obtaining such an injunction on 17 of the concessions including three of the four concessions included in the Macusani Uranium Project PEA. The grant of the Precautionary Measure (Medida Cautelar) has restored the title, rights and validity of those 17 concessions to Macusani until a final decision is obtained at the last stage of the judicial process. A Precautionary Measure application was made at the same time for the remaining 15 concessions and was ultimately granted by a Court in Lima, Peru on March 2, 2021 which has also restored the title, rights and validity of those 15 remaining concessions to Macusani, with the result being that all 32 concessions are now protected by Precautionary Measure (Medida Cautelar) until a final decision on this matter is obtained at the last stage of the judicial process. The favourable judges ruling confirming Macusanis title to all 32 concessions from November 3, 2021 represents the final stage of the current judicial process. However, this ruling has been appealed by MINEM and INGEMMET. American Lithium has no assurance that the outcome of these appeals will be in the Companys favour. Portland, OR, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to the report published by Allied Market Research, the global PVDF resin market generated $1.0 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $2.6 billion by 2030, witnessing a CAGR of 8.2% from 2021 to 2030. The report provides a detailed analysis of changing market dynamics, top segments, value chain, key investment pockets, regional scenario, and competitive landscape. Key strategic developments, rise in demand from end users, and high performance properties coupled with rise in acceptance drive the growth of the global PVDF resin market. However, environmental & health concerns and high threat of substitutes restrain the market to some extent. On the other hand, government initiatives and investments in the renewable energy sector present new opportunities in the upcoming years. Download Sample PDF (374 Pages PDF with Insights): https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/1740 COVID-19 scenario: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic led to have a negative impact on the growth of the global PVDF resin market, owing to a sharp decline in demand for PVDF resins from end user industry, including automobile, electrical & electronics, and defense industries. Furthermore, the disruptions in the supply chain resulted in a lack of raw materials, limiting the expansion of the worldwide PVDF resin market. Nonetheless, the industry is expected to rebound quickly, as several government authorities in different locations have given relaxations, allowing businesses to resume operations. The report offers detailed segmentation of the global PVDF resin market based on type, application, end user industry, and region. Based on type, the alpha segment held the highest market share in 2020, holding more than three-fifths of the total market share, and is expected to continue its leadership status during the forecast period. However, the beta segment is estimated to register the highest CAGR of 8.6% from 2021 to 2030. Request the Covid19 Impact Analysis @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/1740?reqfor=covid Based on application, the Li-ion batteries segment held the largest market share in 2020, holding around two-fifths of the total market share, and is expected to continue its leadership status during the forecast period. Moreover, the same segment is projected to register the highest CAGR of 8.5% from 2021 to 2030. Based on region, Asia-Pacific contributed to the highest share in terms of revenue in 2020, holding more than half of the total market share, and is estimated to continue its dominant share by 2030. However, North America is projected to manifest the fastest CAGR of 8.3% during the forecast period. Leading players of the global PVDF resin market analyzed in the research include Arkema S.A., Daikin Industries, Ltd., Kureha Corporation, RTP Company, Inc., Shanghai Huayi 3F New Materials Co., Ltd., Shanghai Ofluorine Co., Limited, Solvay SA, 3M, Zhejiang Fotech International Co., Ltd., and Zhuzhou Hongda Polymer Materials Co., Ltd. Interested in Procuring this Report? Visit Here: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/polyvinylidene-fluoride-market/purchase-options Avenue Basic Plan | Library Access | 1 Year Subscription | Sign up for Avenue subscription to access more than 12,000+ company profiles and 2,000+ niche industry market research reports at $699 per month, per seat. For a year, the client needs to purchase minimum 2 seat plan. Avenue Library Subscription | Request for 14 days free trial of before buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/avenueTrial Get more information: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. Portland, OR, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to the report published by Allied Market Research, the global solar encapsulation market generated $2.6 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $6.1 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 8.7% from 2020 to 2030.The report provides an in-depth analysis of the top investment pockets, top winning strategies, drivers & opportunities, market size & estimations, competitive scenario, and wavering market trends. Significant surge in demand for solar lights for road divider and streets, remarkable perks of encapsulation of solar cells such as enhanced attack strength, increased longevity of solar cell, enhanced efficiencies of encapsulants in module manufacturing processes, and rapid urbanization across the globe are predicted to drive the growth of the global solar encapsulation market. On the other hand, degradation issues of solar encapsulating material hinder the growth of the market to some extent. However, increasing adoption of solar as a viable and inexhaustible source of energy and growing awareness toward renewable sources of energy among people are expected to create tremendous opportunities for the growth of the industry. Download Report Sample (392 Pages PDF with Insights) @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/422 COVID-19 Scenario The outbreak of COVID-19 has had a negative impact on the growth of the global solar encapsulation market, owing to the presence of lockdowns in various countries across the globe. Lockdowns resulted in the closure of all manufacturing facilities of solar encapsulation. This was done to curb the spread of the virus during the pandemic. As a result of this, sales of the solar encapsulation during the pandemic. However, the market is expected to recoup soon. The report offers a detailed segmentation of the global solar encapsulation market based on material, technology, application and region. Get detailed COVID-19 impact analysis on the Solar Encapsulation Market Request Here Based on material, the ethylene vinyl acetate segment held the largest market share in 2020, garnering more than two-thirds of the total market. The UV curable resin segment, on the other hand, is expected to cite the fastest CAGR of 9.1% during the forecast period. Based on application, the construction segment held the majority share in 2020, holding more than two-fifths of the total market. The electronics segment, on the other hand, is expected to exhibit the fastest CAGR of 9.2% during the forecast period. Schedule a FREE Consultation Call with Our Analysts/Industry Experts to Find Solution for Your Business @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/connect-to-analyst/422 Based on region, the market across North America held the lions share in 2020, garnering nearly one-fifths of the total market. The Asia-Pacific region, on the other hand, is expected to cite the fastest CAGR of 9.1% during the forecast period. The key players of the market analyzed in the global solar encapsulation report include 3M Company, AKCOME, STR Holding Inc., Bridgestone Corporation, DNP solar, Dow Inc., Dupont De Nemours Inc, First Solar, Hangzhou First PV Material Co. Ltd., and JGP Energy. Avenue Library Subscription | Request for 14 days free trial of before buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/avenueTrial Get more information: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access Similar Reports: (Pre-Book Now with 10% Discount) Concentrated Photovoltaic System Market: Global Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212029 Alternative Solar Photovoltaic Technologies Market: Global Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212029 Thin Film Photovoltaic Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212029 Amorphous Silicon Thin Film Solar Cell Market: Global Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212030 Ultra Efficient Solar Power Market - Global Opportunities and Forecasts, 2022-2029 Solar Cell Films Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2029 Next-generation Organic Solar Cell Market: Global Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20222029 Solar Cell Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast 2022-2029 Photovoltaic Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast 2019-2026 About us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact us: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States Toll Free: 1-800-792-5285 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1-855-550-5975 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Follow us on | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn Dublin, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Autonomous Vehicles Market Size, Share, & Trends Analysis Report by Application (Transportation, Defense), by Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, MEA) and Segment Forecasts, 2022-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global autonomous vehicles market demand is expected to reach 3,195.5 thousand units by 2030. The market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 53.6% from 2022 to 2030. An autonomous vehicle is a combination of various networking systems and sensors that assist the computer in driving the vehicle. The significant advancements in technology, such as sensor processing, adaptive algorithms, high processing maps, and enhanced AI, have contributed to companies increasing their production capacity and taking the autonomous vehicle market to the next level. Several technology providers such as Google LLC and Tesla Motors have also entered the market and have contributed toward the research and development of autonomous vehicles. The automobile industry is dynamic and changes with advancements in technologies. Several major players in the industry, such as General Motors Company, Volkswagen AG, Mercedes-Benz, BMW AG, and others, invest a significant part of their revenue toward researching and developing technologies. Currently, there is a growing trend of autonomous vehicles in the automotive industry, thus attracting larger investments in developing these vehicles. Also, governments in the U.K have granted permission to test autonomous cars on public roads. Furthermore, Switzerland's Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy, and Communications has permitted driverless testing on Zurich streets. Governments of different nations have taken the initiative to promote autonomous vehicles. For instance, in January 2021, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) released its comprehensive plan for automated vehicles. This is initiated to advance the department's work, prioritizing safety and preparing for a smooth transportation system for autonomous vehicles. The initiative also promotes collaboration and transparency in the Automated Driving Systems (ADS). The market has been segmented, based on application, into transportation and defense. The transportation segment is expected to have a higher market share; however, the defense segment is expected to portray the highest growth during the projection period. The North American region accounted for the largest share of the market in 2021. The demand for autonomous vehicles is expected to increase during the forecast period, in line with rising government regulations and increased acceptance of self-driving vehicles in the U.S. Autonomous Vehicles Market Report Highlights The demand for autonomous vehicles is expected to grow owing to the rising number of regulations laid down by the governments of various developed and developing nations. The market size of the transportation sub-segment is expected to grow at a significant CAGR of 50.4% during the forecast period. The markets in the U.S., China, and Japan are expected to witness significant growth from 2022 to 2030, owing to the large-scale testing and adoption of autonomous vehicles in the transportation sector. Leading players in the autonomous vehicles industry stay ahead of the competition through collaborations and the development of innovative solutions. Market Dynamics Driver Analysis Rising need for road safety Growing R&D spending in autonomous vehicle development Environmental impact due to traditional vehicles Increased energy savings by autonomous vehicles Market Restraint Analysis Vehicle safety and cybersecurity concerns Non-availability of infrastructure in developing countries Market Opportunity Analysis Increased technological advancements by OEMs for the development of autonomous vehicles New business model for insurance companies Market Challenge Analysis System reliability and uncertainty in user acceptance Companies Mentioned Audi AG BMW AG Daimler AG (Mercedes Benz) Ford Motor Company General Motors Google LLC Honda Motor Corporation Nissan Motor Company Tesla, Inc. Toyota Motor Corporation Uber Technologies, Inc. Volvo Car Corporation Volkswagen Ag For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/8mc0it Attachment BRIDGEPORT, Conn., June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After Bridgeport Superior Court concludes the sentencing hearing at 2 p.m. ET tomorrow in the State of Connecticut vs. Dean Robert case, Cindy Iodice, founder of FlagmanTM, will hold a press conference on the courthouse steps at approximately 3:30 p.m. about the sentencing of the drunk driver who killed her brother Corey J. Iodice on April 22, 2020. The sentencing is a historic and landmark case in Connecticut, which will be the very first time that Connecticut courts apply the language of the SLOW DOWN MOVE OVER (SDMO) law, enacted in 2009. U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) will join the press conference to discuss Congressional efforts to raise awareness of Slow Down, Move Over (SDMO) laws to promote road safety. Tow truck driver Corey John Iodice, 58, of Seffner, Florida, was killed in the line of duty on April 22, 2020. Born Aug. 31, 1961, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Corey was a lifelong towing and recovery specialist who was well-respected for his abilities to execute any recovery. An anomaly in the towing industry and a consummate professional, Corey was also known as the guy who made safety his priority. Corey took pride in working with his brother Chris and father Russ during countless emergencies for the Fairfield Police and Fire Services. In 1991, Corey, Chris and their father were awarded a Civilian Service Medal from Fairfield for saving the life of a victim of a horrific crash on Interstate 95. Corey loved his family, his dog Dude, and spending his free time camping, hiking, and biking. Due to this tragedy, Cindy Iodice, Corey's sister, founded Flagman TM, the new national non-profit to help save lives. Flagman's TM mission is to champion a national public awareness/educational outreach program to reduce struck-by-vehicle injuries and fatalities nationwide. "I believe the solution to this problem is educating our children and the driving public of the dangers our first responders and highway workers face daily. When my brother Corey was killed, FlagmanTM for SDMO was born." FlagmanTM is bringing national awareness to the public about SDMO with the recent mention of Corey's death by Senator Richard Blumenthal to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg in a committee hearing on May 3, 2022, in D.C. Since its inception earlier this year, FlagmanTM has received overwhelming support from all facets of transportation, emergency services, police, fire, and major media. The national organizations that have stepped up to support FlagmanTM include MADD, AAA, and Department of Transportation. Connecticut partners and advocates include AAA New England, AMR, CRCOG, CT Fire Police, CT State Police, Fairfield CT Fire Dept., and Fairfield CT Police Dept., Fire Fighter Union CT, HASS Alert, Intl. Assoc. of Firefighters, TRPC, Iodice Family Transport, Mickey's Towing, Strollo Bros. Towing, Chippy's Service Station, Farmington Motors, Westport Fire and Police Department. In neighboring states, FlagmanTM supporters include ERSCA, International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame, Wall of the Fallen, Survivors Fund, Miller Industries, Tow Times, MA Fire Fighters Union, and RI Fire Fighters Union. On average, an Emergency First Responder is struck and killed every 4.65 days working on America's roadways, with 65 deaths in 2021. MEDIA Contact: Janet M. Kelley FlagmanTM Communications Director/Mana Means Communications Direct 808-285-7712 Email janet@manameans.com FLAGMAN PSA VIDEO LINK HERE www.flagmansafety.com Attachments include Media Release and Partnership 1-Sheet Related Images Image 1: Flagman Logo Flagman Logo This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment Dublin, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Account Reconciliation Software Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global account reconciliation software market reached a value of US$ 2.45 Billion in 2021. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to reach a value of US$ 5.8 Billion by 2027 exhibiting a CAGR of 14.80% during 2022-2027. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, we are continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor. Account reconciliation software refers to an advanced tool used to standardize and automate the settlement process to generate clear and precise financial statements. It is an easy to set up and user-friendly tool with various functionalities and features, such as transaction matching, reporting, issue management, and classification. It is designed to maximize productivity, improve efficiency and save time by eliminating the need for manual calculations and data manipulation. It provides accountants with a streamlined method to ensure the accuracy of their balance sheets and allow them to compare data, analyze discrepancies, attach supporting documents and take the required actions quickly. As a result, account reconciliation software is rapidly gaining traction across numerous industries, including banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), retail, e-commerce, healthcare, government and public, information technology (IT) and telecom. Account Reconciliation Software Market Trends: Account reconciliation software is widely utilized to minimize accounting errors, track interest charges, reduce the risk of frauds, and monitor data, such as trial balance and cash flows. Besides this, the growing need for standardized activities in banks and the widespread adoption of customer-centric banking solutions represent the primary factors driving the market. Additionally, the escalating demand for automated banking solutions and error detection software to enhance operational efficiency and reduce overall costs is accelerating product adoption rates. Furthermore, the leading players are introducing innovative account reconciliation software integrated with advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), to improve the cash flow management and reconciliation process. This, in confluence with the rising popularity of cloud solutions, is propelling the market growth. Other factors, including the growing need for generating electronic bills, increasing number of online transactions and credit card payments, technological advancements, and favorable government policies, are also creating a positive outlook for the market. Key Market Segmentation: The publisher provides an analysis of the key trends in each sub-segment of the global account reconciliation software market, along with forecasts at the global, regional and country level from 2022-2027. Our report has categorized the market based on component, deployment mode, organization size and end user. Breakup by Component: Software Services Breakup by Deployment Mode: On-premises Cloud-based Breakup by Organization Size: Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Large Enterprises Breakup by End User: BFSI Manufacturing Retail and E-Commerce Healthcare IT and Telecom Energy and Utilities Government and Public Sector Others Breakup by Region: North America United States Canada Asia-Pacific China Japan India South Korea Australia Indonesia Others Europe Germany France United Kingdom Italy Spain Russia Others Latin America Brazil Mexico Others Middle East and Africa Competitive Landscape: The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players being API Software Limited, BlackLine Inc., Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc., Fiserv Inc., Intuit Inc., Oracle Corporation, ReconArt Inc., Sage Group plc, SmartStream Technologies ltd., Trintech Inc. and Xero Limited. Key Questions Answered in this Report: How has the global account reconciliation software market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years? What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global account reconciliation software market? What are the key regional markets? What is the breakup of the market based on the component? What is the breakup of the market based on the deployment mode? What is the breakup of the market based on the organization size? What is the breakup of the market based on the end user? What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry? What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry? What is the structure of the global account reconciliation software market and who are the key players? What is the degree of competition in the industry? Key Topics Covered: 1 Preface 2 Scope and Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Introduction 4.1 Overview 4.2 Key Industry Trends 5 Global Account Reconciliation Software Market 5.1 Market Overview 5.2 Market Performance 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Market Forecast 6 Market Breakup by Component 6.1 Software 6.1.1 Market Trends 6.1.2 Market Forecast 6.2 Services 6.2.1 Market Trends 6.2.2 Market Forecast 7 Market Breakup by Deployment Mode 7.1 On-premises 7.1.1 Market Trends 7.1.2 Market Forecast 7.2 Cloud-based 7.2.1 Market Trends 7.2.2 Market Forecast 8 Market Breakup by Organization Size 8.1 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises 8.1.1 Market Trends 8.1.2 Market Forecast 8.2 Large Enterprises 8.2.1 Market Trends 8.2.2 Market Forecast 9 Market Breakup by End User 9.1 BFSI 9.1.1 Market Trends 9.1.2 Market Forecast 9.2 Manufacturing 9.2.1 Market Trends 9.2.2 Market Forecast 9.3 Retail and E-Commerce 9.3.1 Market Trends 9.3.2 Market Forecast 9.4 Healthcare 9.4.1 Market Trends 9.4.2 Market Forecast 9.5 IT and Telecom 9.5.1 Market Trends 9.5.2 Market Forecast 9.6 Energy and Utilities 9.6.1 Market Trends 9.6.2 Market Forecast 9.7 Government and Public Sector 9.7.1 Market Trends 9.7.2 Market Forecast 9.8 Others 9.8.1 Market Trends 9.8.2 Market Forecast 10 Market Breakup by Region 11 SWOT Analysis 12 Value Chain Analysis 13 Porters Five Forces Analysis 14 Price Analysis 15 Competitive Landscape 15.1 Market Structure 15.2 Key Players 15.3 Profiles of Key Players 15.3.1 API Software Limited 15.3.1.1 Company Overview 15.3.1.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.2 BlackLine Inc. 15.3.2.1 Company Overview 15.3.2.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.2.3 Financials 15.3.3 Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc. 15.3.3.1 Company Overview 15.3.3.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.3.3 Financials 15.3.3.4 SWOT Analysis 15.3.4 Fiserv Inc. 15.3.4.1 Company Overview 15.3.4.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.4.3 Financials 15.3.4.4 SWOT Analysis 15.3.5 Intuit Inc. 15.3.5.1 Company Overview 15.3.5.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.5.3 Financials 15.3.5.4 SWOT Analysis 15.3.6 Oracle Corporation 15.3.6.1 Company Overview 15.3.6.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.6.3 Financials 15.3.6.4 SWOT Analysis 15.3.7 ReconArt Inc. 15.3.7.1 Company Overview 15.3.7.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.8 Sage Group plc 15.3.8.1 Company Overview 15.3.8.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.8.3 Financials 15.3.8.4 SWOT Analysis 15.3.9 SmartStream Technologies ltd. 15.3.9.1 Company Overview 15.3.9.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.10 Trintech Inc. 15.3.10.1 Company Overview 15.3.10.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.11 Xero Limited 15.3.11.1 Company Overview 15.3.11.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.11.3 Financials 15.3.11.4 SWOT Analysis For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/40omso Attachment Dublin, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Transaction Monitoring Software Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global transaction monitoring software market reached a value of US$ 12.67 billion in 2021. Looking forward, the market is projected to reach a value of US$ 29.53 billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 14.60% during 2022-2027. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, the analyst is continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic on different End-use industries. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor. Transaction monitoring software helps in the real-time and regular monitoring of activities of financial institutions. It analyzes the historical information and account profile of consumers to take measures and mitigate money laundering risks by determining risks at the customer level. A transaction monitoring software provides alerts when a transaction is made against a customer profile and violates a rule. These solutions offer various benefits, which include expansion of transaction circle, detecting of financial crimes, easy access to necessary information, compliance with changing regulations and prevention of financial sanctions and risks. At present, transaction monitoring solutions are extensively used in the government and defense, retail and eCommerce, information technology (IT), telecom, healthcare, energy and utilities, manufacturing, and banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) industries. Transaction Monitoring Software Market Trends A rapid rise in the digital payments and increasing instances of money laundering are some of the primary factors driving the growth of the global transactional monitoring software market. Additionally, the emerging need for effectively managing know you customer (KYC) compliance and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) activities are further fueling the market growth. In line with this, organizations have started using advance analytics to identify high risk activities, which is contributing to the growth of the market. Other than this, the rapidly evolving regulatory framework to eliminate financial threats has led market players to adopt high-technology transactional monitoring software, which is positively influencing the market growth. Moreover, governments of various nations have been undertaking several initiatives to spread awareness regarding the benefits of these systems across different industries. This, in turn, is creating a positive outlook for the market. Key Market Segmentation This report provides an analysis of the key trends in each sub-segment of the global transaction monitoring software market, along with forecasts at the global, regional and country level from 2022-2027. The report has categorized the market based on component, deployment mode, enterprise size, application and End-use industry. Breakup by Component: Solution Services Breakup by Deployment Mode: On-premises Cloud-based Breakup by Enterprise Size: Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Large Enterprises Breakup by Application: Anti-Money Laundering Customer Identity Management Fraud Detection and Prevention Compliance Management Breakup by End-use Industry: BFSI Government and Defense IT and Telecom Retail Healthcare Energy and Utilities Manufacturing Others Breakup by Region: North America United States Canada Asia-Pacific China Japan India South Korea Australia Indonesia Others Europe Germany France United Kingdom Italy Spain Russia Others Latin America Brazil Mexico Others Middle East and Africa Competitive Landscape The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players being ACI Worldwide Inc., BAE Systems plc, ComplyAdvantage, Experian plc, Fair Isaac Corporation, FIS, Fiserv Inc., NICE Ltd., Oracle Corporation, SAS Institute Inc., Software AG and Thomson Reuters Corporation. Key Questions Answered in This Report How has the global transaction monitoring software market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years? What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global transaction monitoring software market? What are the key regional markets? What is the breakup of the market based on the component? What is the breakup of the market based on the deployment mode? What is the breakup of the market based on the enterprise size? What is the breakup of the market based on the application? What is the breakup of the market based on the End-use industry? What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry? What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry? What is the structure of the global transaction monitoring software market and who are the key players? What is the degree of competition in the industry? Key Topics Covered: 1 Preface 2 Scope and Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Introduction 4.1 Overview 4.2 Key Industry Trends 5 Global Transaction Monitoring Software Market 5.1 Market Overview 5.2 Market Performance 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Market Forecast 6 Market Breakup by Component 6.1 Solution 6.1.1 Market Trends 6.1.2 Market Forecast 6.2 Services 6.2.1 Market Trends 6.2.2 Market Forecast 7 Market Breakup by Deployment Mode 7.1 On-premises 7.1.1 Market Trends 7.1.2 Market Forecast 7.2 Cloud-based 7.2.1 Market Trends 7.2.2 Market Forecast 8 Market Breakup by Enterprise Size 8.1 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises 8.1.1 Market Trends 8.1.2 Market Forecast 8.2 Large Enterprises 8.2.1 Market Trends 8.2.2 Market Forecast 9 Market Breakup by Application 9.1 Anti-Money Laundering 9.1.1 Market Trends 9.1.2 Market Forecast 9.2 Customer Identity Management 9.2.1 Market Trends 9.2.2 Market Forecast 9.3 Fraud Detection and Prevention 9.3.1 Market Trends 9.3.2 Market Forecast 9.4 Compliance Management 9.4.1 Market Trends 9.4.2 Market Forecast 10 Market Breakup by End Use Industry 10.1 BFSI 10.1.1 Market Trends 10.1.2 Market Forecast 10.2 Government and Defense 10.2.1 Market Trends 10.2.2 Market Forecast 10.3 IT and Telecom 10.3.1 Market Trends 10.3.2 Market Forecast 10.4 Retail 10.4.1 Market Trends 10.4.2 Market Forecast 10.5 Healthcare 10.5.1 Market Trends 10.5.2 Market Forecast 10.6 Energy and Utilities 10.6.1 Market Trends 10.6.2 Market Forecast 10.7 Manufacturing 10.7.1 Market Trends 10.7.2 Market Forecast 10.8 Others 10.8.1 Market Trends 10.8.2 Market Forecast 11 Market Breakup by Region 12 SWOT Analysis 13 Value Chain Analysis 14 Porters Five Forces Analysis 15 Price Analysis 16 Competitive Landscape 16.1 Market Structure 16.2 Key Players 16.3 Profiles of Key Players 16.3.1 ACI Worldwide Inc. 16.3.1.1 Company Overview 16.3.1.2 Product Portfolio 16.3.1.3 Financials 16.3.1.4 SWOT Analysis 16.3.2 BAE Systems plc 16.3.2.1 Company Overview 16.3.2.2 Product Portfolio 16.3.2.3 Financials 16.3.2.4 SWOT Analysis 16.3.3 ComplyAdvantage 16.3.3.1 Company Overview 16.3.3.2 Product Portfolio 16.3.4 Experian plc 16.3.4.1 Company Overview 16.3.4.2 Product Portfolio 16.3.4.3 Financials 16.3.5 Fair Isaac Corporation 16.3.5.1 Company Overview 16.3.5.2 Product Portfolio 16.3.5.3 Financials 16.3.5.4 SWOT Analysis 16.3.6 FIS 16.3.6.1 Company Overview 16.3.6.2 Product Portfolio 16.3.6.3 Financials 16.3.6.4 SWOT Analysis 16.3.7 Fiserv Inc. 16.3.7.1 Company Overview 16.3.7.2 Product Portfolio 16.3.7.3 Financials 16.3.7.4 SWOT Analysis 16.3.8 NICE Ltd. 16.3.8.1 Company Overview 16.3.8.2 Product Portfolio 16.3.8.3 Financials 16.3.8.4 SWOT Analysis 16.3.9 Oracle Corporation 16.3.9.1 Company Overview 16.3.9.2 Product Portfolio 16.3.9.3 Financials 16.3.9.4 SWOT Analysis 16.3.10 SAS Institute Inc. 16.3.10.1 Company Overview 16.3.10.2 Product Portfolio 16.3.10.3 SWOT Analysis 16.3.11 Software AG 16.3.11.1 Company Overview 16.3.11.2 Product Portfolio 16.3.11.3 Financials 16.3.12 Thomson Reuters Corporation 16.3.12.1 Company Overview 16.3.12.2 Product Portfolio 16.3.12.3 Financials 16.3.12.4 SWOT Analysis For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/cjkzk4 Attachment OTTAWA, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cornerstone Capital Resources Inc. (Cornerstone or the Company) (TSXV:CGP; OTC:CTNXF; FWB:GWN1) is pleased to provide an update on its Bramaderos gold and copper joint venture in southern Ecuador (see Figures 1 and 2) in which it has a 12.5% interest carried by JV partner and project operator Sunstone Metals Ltd. (ASX: STM) through to the start of commercial production (see About Bramaderos, below). Figures related to this news release can be seen in PDF format by accessing the version of this release on the Companys website (www.cornerstoneresources.com) or by clicking on the link below: https://cornerstoneresources.com/site/assets/files/5855/nr22-13figures.pdf. HIGHLIGHTS: Strong assay results received from Brama for holes BMDD0014, 015, 016, 017, and 018: 221.6m at 0.43g/t gold, 0.11% copper, from surface in BMDD014 93.3m at 0.55g/t gold and 0.08% copper from surface in BMDD015, including 24m at 0.86g/t gold, 0.10% copper, from surface 84m at 0.5g/t gold, 0.16% copper from surface in BMDD017 57m at 0.74g/t gold, 0.23% copper from 30m in BMDD018 These results extend the Brama-Alba system to at least 1.1km long and it remains open to the east and west The latest assays also identify significant near-surface higher-grade zones Ongoing drilling is aimed at continuing to extend the deposit to the east beyond BMDD017 Strong potential for the Brama-Alba deposit to extend significantly to adjacent targets Melonal and Playas Metallurgical test work is underway on samples from Brama-Alba Three drill rigs active at Bramaderos Initial Mineral Resource Estimate set for later this year Cornerstone VP Exploration, Yvan Crepeau, said: We are pleased with the latest round of results from Brama-Alba. These strengthen the potential and increase the scale of the Brama porphyry system. As we have seen in previous assay results from Brama we continue to see very good gold-copper grades from surface. These results will be incorporated into an initial Mineral Resource Estimate for the Brama-Alba deposits expected in late 2022. Further holes will now be drilled on the eastern end of Brama to potentially enlarge the gold-copper system in this direction. Ongoing drilling at Alba is progressing well and the market will be updated as more assay results are returned. * The reader is cautioned that there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource at Bramaderos and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource. FURTHER INFORMATION: The results from holes BMDD014 through 018 clearly show that higher grade mineralization occurs in sub-domains within the larger 1.1km long Brama-Alba system (Figures 1 & 2), and that these higher-grade domains extend to surface (Figure 4). The potential for Brama to host a substantial gold-copper porphyry system (Figures 3 & 4) is being reinforced with ongoing drilling. There is also potential for this system to extend significantly to adjacent targets Melonal and Playas (Figure 5). These areas are expected to be drill tested in Q3 and Q4 2022 respectively. Assay results for drill holes BMDD014 through 018, and 26 are provided in Table 1 and shown in Figures 3 and 4. Drill holes BMDD014, 15 and 16 were drilled from the collar of hole BMDD008, towards the east, southeast, and south-southwest respectively. BMDD014 and 15 were drilled to test higher grade intrusive breccias previously drilled in hole BMDD008 and 008W1, which intersected 505.1m at 0.43g/t gold, 0.1% copper from surface, including 84.3m at 0.80g/t gold, 0.11% copper from 179.7m. Most of the mineralization in drill hole BMDD016 is also hosted in syn-mineral intrusion breccias. Drill hole BMDD017 was drilled at the eastern end of the Brama porphyry system and drilled towards the southeast. It intersected a sequence of alternating syn-mineral diorite, late hornblende-quartz diorite, and minor intrusive breccia, with the upper 84m being well mineralized. The bottom 200m drilled mainly syn-mineral diorite with disseminated and vein hosted chalcopyrite, bornite and trace covellite and chalcocite. The bottom 5.6m of hole 17 is well mineralized and it is planned to re-enter this hole and deepen it to test the possible extension of the deep mineralized zone. Four drill holes have been planned to test eastern extensions of the deposit and to test an undrilled magnetic target at depth just east of Brama. Drill hole BMDD018 was drilled between holes BMDD004 and BMDD017, at a shallow angle, and tested an interpreted domain of higher-grade mineralized porphyry near surface. This zone was intersected in the upper 84m of the drill hole and was then disrupted by post-mineral dykes, and then passed into early host quartz diorite towards the southwest, consistent with other drill holes. The vertical extent of the higher-grade zone remains poorly tested and will be followed-up. Drill hole BMDD026 was drilled from the collar of hole BMDD008, towards the west to test an area of magnetic targets that are located between Brama and Alba. Drill Hole From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Au (g/t) Cu (%) Mo (ppm) Ag (g/t) BMDD014 0.40 430 429.60 0.36 0.10 6.41 1.52 including 0.40 222.00 221.60 0.43 0.11 6.7 1.8 including 0.40 7.60 7.20 1.09 0.15 8.3 2.8 including 91.65 137.45 45.80 0.61 0.14 10.3 2.1 including 142.10 203.15 61.05 0.49 0.15 2.8 2.1 BMDD015 5.00 98.30 93.30 0.55 0.08 10.7 1.4 including 5.00 29.00 24.00 0.86 0.10 12.1 2.0 106.00 217.70 111.70 0.29 0.09 5.2 1.2 including 153.60 158.00 4.40 0.76 0.11 8.6 1.6 271.50 309.65 38.15 0.42 0.17 2.5 1.7 including 283.95 309.65 25.70 0.51 0.20 2.4 2.0 317.85 405.75 87.90 0.23 0.11 1.8 1.3 BMDD016 0.00 552.30 552.30 0.31 0.10 10.2 1.2 including 0.00 97.70 97.70 0.42 0.07 7.9 1.4 and 114.95 208.00 93.05 0.34 0.08 28.8 1.2 and 256.00 343.25 87.25 0.47 0.12 7.1 1.4 and 308.00 336.00 28.00 0.55 0.14 6.3 1.5 and 354.00 396.00 42.00 0.42 0.17 8.0 1.5 BMDD017 0.00 308.00 308.00 0.27 0.12 3.8 1.5 including 0.00 84.00 84.00 0.50 0.16 4.3 2.2 including 10.50 48.00 37.50 0.65 0.18 4.5 2.2 including 100.50 144.00 43.50 0.30 0.14 4.7 1.7 378.00 383.60 5.60 0.28 0.12 8.2 1.7 BMDD018 30.00 87.00 57.00 0.74 0.23 3.1 3.5 including 30.00 76.50 46.50 0.84 0.24 3.1 3.8 including 30.00 60.00 30.00 1.10 0.26 3.1 3.7 BMDD026 0.00 93.30 93.30 0.41 0.06 37.0 1.1 104.35 253.00 148.65 0.28 0.08 23.8 1.3 232.85 253.00 20.15 0.18 0.14 1.1 2.1 Table 1: Summary of mineralized intersections in Brama drill holes BMDD014 - 018, and 026. Exploration Program at Brama and Alba for the Remainder of 2022 Drilling at the Bramaderos project will continue throughout 2022 and be spread across several target areas. At Brama it is expected that 1 drill rig will continue drilling at least 5 holes for a total of ~2,000m. At Alba, at least 6 holes are planned for a total of ~2,400m. Drilling will also be undertaken at Limon (commencing early June) and complete at least 6 holes for ~3,500m. Planning for drilling is also underway at Melonal (located southwest of Alba) where at least one hole for ~500m is expected. The drilling programs at Brama and Alba will form the basis for an initial Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE). The goal of this MRE is to establish an initial resource estimate that can then be expanded as exploration continues at Brama-Alba and the other nearby targets such as Limon, Playas, and Melonal. The Brama-Alba system is currently at least 1,100m x 400m lateral dimension and has a vertical extent of at least 400m. Mineralization grade is variable within this envelope, as evidenced by todays announcement where discrete higher-grade sub-vertical cylinders are enclosed within broader mineralized diorite. Drilling at Limon is targeting chargeability and conductivity anomalies defined in the recently completed Spartan MT and Orion DCIP surveys, and geological follow-up to previously drilled high-sulphidation mineralization which returned 59.6m at 0.16% copper, including 13.3m at 0.43% copper and 0.11g/t gold (see news release dated October 15, 2019), and stockwork veining in surface trenches which returned 97.6m at 0.71g/t gold and 0.23% copper (see news release dated May 29, 2018). About Bramaderos Measuring 4,948 hectares, the Bramaderos project is ideally located immediately adjacent to the Pan American highway, and within reasonable distance of available hydropower, supporting the economics of potential development opportunities. The project is supported by nearby commercial airports and significant cities (Loja) and enjoys strong community support. The Bramaderos concession is owned by La Plata Minerales S.A. (PLAMIN), which in turn is owned 87.5% by Sunstone (the project operator) and 12.5% by Cornerstone. Cornerstones 12.5% interest is carried by Sunstone through to the start of commercial production and repayable at Libor plus 2% out of 90% of Cornerstones share of earnings or dividends from the Bramaderos project (see news release 20-01 dated January 7, 2020). More information about the property can be found at www.cornerstoneresources.com. Qualified Person Yvan Crepeau, MBA, P.Geo., Cornerstones Vice President, Exploration and a qualified person in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, is responsible for supervising the exploration program at the Bramaderos project for Cornerstone and has reviewed and approved the information contained in this news release. Sampling and Assaying Surface and drill core samples from Brama were sent to the LAC y Asociados Cia. Ltda. Sample Preparation Facility in Cuenca, Ecuador for sample preparation. The standard sample preparation for drill core samples (Code PRP-910) is: Drying the sample, crushing to size fraction 70% <2mm and splitting the sample to a 1000g portion by riffle or Boyd rotary splitter. The 1000g sample is then pulverised to >85% passing 75 microns and then sent to the MSALABS in Langley, BC, Canada for gold and base metal analysis. PLAMIN uses a fire assay gold technique for Au assays (FAS-111) and a four acid multi element technique (IMS-230) for a suite of 48 elements. FAS-111 involves Au by Fire Assay on a 30-gram aliquot, fusion and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) at trace levels. IMS-230 is considered a near total 4 acid technique using a 0.25g aliquot followed by multi-element analysis by ICP-AES/MS at ultra-trace levels. This analysis technique is considered suitable for this style of mineralization. Standards, blanks and duplicates are inserted ~1/28 samples. The values of the standards range from low to high grade and are considered appropriate to monitor performance of values near cut-off and near the mean grade of the deposit. The check sampling results are monitored and performance issues are communicated to the laboratory if necessary. Sample security was managed through sealed individual samples and sealed bags of multiple samples for secure delivery to the laboratory by permanent staff of the joint venture. MSALABS is an internationally accredited laboratory that has all its internal procedures heavily scrutinized in order to maintain their accreditation. MSALABS is accredited to ISO/IEC 17025-2017 Accredited Methods and certified to ISO 9001-2015. PLAMINs sampling techniques and data have been audited multiple times by independent mining consultants during various project assessments. These audits have concluded that the sampling techniques and data management are to industry standards. All historical data has been validated to the best degree possible and migrated into a database. Rock samples are collected by PLAMINs personnel, placed in plastic bags, labeled and sealed, and stored in a secure place until delivery by PLAMIN employees to the LAC y Asociados ISO 9001-2015 certified sample preparation facility in Cuenca, Ecuador. Rock samples are prepared crushing to 70% passing 2 mm (10 mesh), splitting 250 g and pulverizing to 85% passing 75 microns (200 mesh) (MSA code PRP-910). Prepared samples are then shipped to MSALABS, an ISO/IEC 17025-2017 Accredited Method company and ISO 9001-2015 laboratory in Langley, BC, Canada, where samples are assayed for a multi-element suite (MSA code IMS-136, 15.0 g split, Aqua Regia digestion, ICP-AES/MS finish) and gold by Fire Assay (MSA code FAS-111, 30 g fusion, AAS finish). Over limit results for Cu (>1%) are systematically re-assayed (MSA code ICF-6Cu, 0.2 g, 4-acid digestion, ICP-AES finish). Gold is assayed using a 30 g split, Fire Assay (FA) and AAS finish (MSA code FAS 111). Over limit results for Au (>10 g/t) are systematically re-assayed (MSA code FAS-415, FA, 30g., gravimetric finish). Soil samples are dried at low temperature, screened to 80 mesh (MSA code PRP-757); a 15 grams portion is then assayed for a multi-elements suite (MSA code IMS-136, Aqua Regia digestion, ICP-AES/MS finish). Quality Assurance / Quality Control (QA/QC) MSALABS is a qualified assayer that performs and makes available internal assaying controls. Duplicates, certified blanks and standards are systematically used (1 control sample every 20-25 samples) as part of PLAMINs QA/QC program. Rejects, a 100 g pulp for each rock sample, are stored for future use and controls. About Cornerstone Cornerstone Capital Resources Inc. is a mineral exploration company with a diversified portfolio of projects in Ecuador and Chile, including the Cascabel gold-enriched copper porphyry joint venture in northwest Ecuador. Cornerstone has a 20.8% direct and indirect interest in Cascabel comprised of (i) a direct 15% interest in the project financed through to completion of a feasibility study and repayable at Libor plus 2% out of 90% of its share of the earnings or dividends from an operation at Cascabel, plus (ii) an indirect interest comprised of 6.85% of the shares of joint venture partner and project operator SolGold Plc. Exploraciones Novomining S.A. (ENSA), an Ecuadoran company owned by SolGold and Cornerstone, holds 100% of the Cascabel concession. Subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including SolGolds fully funding the project through to feasibility, SolGold Plc will own 85% of the equity of ENSA and Cornerstone will own the remaining 15% of ENSA. Further information is available on Cornerstones website: www.cornerstoneresources.com and on Twitter. For investor, corporate or media inquiries, please contact: Investor Relations: Mario Drolet; Email: Mario@mi3.ca; Tel. (514) 904-1333 Due to anti-spam laws, many shareholders and others who were previously signed up to receive email updates and who are no longer receiving them may need to re-subscribe at http://www.cornerstoneresources.com/s/InformationRequest.asp Cautionary Notice: This news release may contain Forward-Looking Statements that involve risks and uncertainties, such as statements of Cornerstones beliefs, plans, objectives, strategies, intentions and expectations. The words potential, anticipate, forecast, believe, estimate, intend, trends, indicate, expect, may, should, could, project, plan, or the negative or other variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to be among the statements that identify Forward-Looking Statements. Although Cornerstone believes that its expectations reflected in these Forward-Looking Statements are reasonable, such statements may involve unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors disclosed in our regulatory filings, viewed on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. For us, uncertainties arise from the behaviour of financial and metals markets, predicting natural geological phenomena and from numerous other matters of national, regional, and global scale, including those of anti-mining sentiment in certain regions of Ecuador, or of an environmental, climatic, natural, political, economic, business, competitive, or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our Forward-Looking Statements. Although Cornerstone believes the facts and information contained in this news release to be as correct and current as possible, Cornerstone does not warrant or make any representation as to the accuracy, validity or completeness of any facts or information contained herein and these statements should not be relied upon as representing its views after the date of this news release. While Cornerstone anticipates that subsequent events may cause its views to change, it expressly disclaims any obligation to update the Forward-Looking Statements contained herein except where outcomes have varied materially from the original statements. On Behalf of the Board, Brooke Macdonald President and CEO 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. Pune, India, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global Automotive Aftermarket Industry size is set to touch USD 529.88 billion by 2028, exhibiting a CAGR of 3.8% during the forecast period. Growing focus on digitization of aftersales services in the automotive industry will aid the growth of this market, states Fortune Business Insights in its report, titled Automotive Aftermarket Industry Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Replacement Part Type (Battery, Brake Pads, Filters, Gaskets & Seals, Lighting Components, Body Parts, Wheels, Others), By Vehicle Type (Passenger Cars, Commercial Vehicles), and Regional Forecast, 2021-2028. The report further states that the value of this market stood at USD 392.35 billion in 2020. Automakers, components suppliers and distributors, and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are intensely focused on utilizing digital means to optimize value chain processes. Digitization of channels and services will also enable consumers to deepen their research before purchasing or repairing their vehicle as well as provide them with necessary information about workshop quality, location, and availability of services. Many suppliers are already taking steps toward digitization, which are driving the Automotive Aftermarket Industry trends. For instance, in 2018, Hella KGaA Hueck & Co., the German automotive parts supplier, established a Mobility Solutions unit to promote digital business models in the aftermarket domain. Request a Sample Copy of the Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/automotive-after-market-102613 Report Highlights: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2021-2028 Forecast Period 2021 to 2028 CAGR 3.8% 2028 Value Projection USD 529.88 billion Base Year 2020 Market Size in 2020 USD 392.35 billion Historical Data for 2017-2019 No. of Pages 200 Segments covered Battery, Brake Pads, Filters, Gaskets & Seals, Lighting Components, Body Parts, Wheels and Tires, Others Growth Drivers Strategic Expansion of Aftermarket Operations by OEMs to Fuel Growth Escalating Sales of Vehicles to Bolster the Market in Asia-Pacific Market Driver Strategic Expansion of Aftermarket Operations by OEMs to Fuel Growth OEMs are aggressively widening their operations in the aftermarket domain with a view to enhance the Automotive Aftermarket Industry value chain and provide high-quality services to customers. Many companies are putting in place various strategies to maintain their lead in this niche space. For example, the French automobile and motorcycle manufacturer Groupe PSA unveiled its Push to Pass five-year (2016-2021) strategy with the aim of cementing its position as an aftermarket specialist. The companys objective is to cater to all customers across the globe, irrespective of their vehicles age, brand, or budget. Furthermore, the company has specialized divisions for meeting different aftersales requirements. For instance, PSAs multi-brand spare parts distribution is handled by Distrigo, the companys distribution brand. Thus, carmakers are shifting their focus toward elevating the quality of aftersales services, thereby augmenting the Automotive Aftermarket Industry growth. Click here to get the short-term and long-term impacts of COVID-19 on this Market. Please visit: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/automotive-after-market-102613 Regional Analysis Escalating Sales of Vehicles to Bolster the Market in Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific, with a market size of USD 101.52 billion in 2018, is anticipated to dominate the Automotive Aftermarket Industry share during the forecast period owing to rapidly rising sales of passenger and commercial vehicles in the region. In Europe, the main growth driver is expected to be the high adoption rate of advanced technologies in fabrication of auto parts. This, coupled with increasing digitization of components sales, will ensure Europe retains its runner-up position in this market in the coming years. In North America, on the other hand, strong presence of leading auto manufacturers will be the central factor propelling the growth of the market in the region. Quick Buy - Automotive Aftermarket Industry Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/102613 The other highlights of the report include: In-depth analysis of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry trends; Comprehensive study of the market drivers and constraints; Thorough research into the different market segments; and Exhaustive evaluation of the regional and competitive dynamics shaping the market. Competitive Landscape Digital Innovation to be the Key Highlight of Market Competition According to the Automotive Aftermarket Industry report, the standout feature of the competition in this market is the adoption of digitalization measures by key players. Innovation in this market, thus, is finding firm footing in the digital platforms that are being established by companies to cater to the high aftermarket demand in the automotive industry. Industry Developments: January 2020: Continental AG, the German automotive part manufacturer, introduced a specialized web portal to enable swift access to all information related to the Automotive Aftermarket Industry. Available in 7 languages, the portal also features a catalogue containing a substantial bundle of information on spare parts, helping consumers find the right spare parts for their vehicles. October 2019: The Canadian automotive parts maker Magna International received its largest order till date for the production of transmission technologies from the German automotive behemoth, the BMW Group. The order is in the form of a multi-year contract that includes manufacturing and delivery of front wheel dual-clutch transmissions for regular as well as hybrid vehicles. Have Any Query? Ask Our Experts: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/automotive-after-market-102613 List of Companies Profiled in the Report: 3M Company Delphi Automotive PLC Tenneco Inc. Valeo SA Hyundai Mobis ZF Friedrichshafen AG Magna International Inc. Robert Bosch GmbH Akebono Brake Corporation Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Faurecia Lear Corporation Aisin Seiki Co. Continental AG Denso Corporation Table of Content: Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions Executive Summary Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Key Insights Key Industry Developments - Merger, Acquisitions, and Partnerships Porters Five Forces Analysis SWOT Analysis Technological Developments Value Chain Analysis Impact of COVID-19 on Automotive Aftermarket Market Global Automotive Aftermarket Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2017-2028 Key Findings / Summary Continued Get your Customized Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/customization/automotive-after-market-102613 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 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 Pvt. Ltd. US: +1 424 253 0390 UK: +44 2071 939123 APAC: +91 744 740 1245 Email: sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com Attachment SAN FRANCISCO, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Holberton School , a project-based college alternative educating the next generation of software engineers, today announced the opening, in January 2023, of a new campus in Africa, based in Tripoli, Libya. With the opening of its fourth campus in Africa, Holberton aims to advance its mission of reducing the IT talent gap in Africa by training 1.5 million new African students in computer science and software engineering by 2030. The school campus will be located in downtown Tripoli from January 2023 and will feature open spaces and working areas that can accommodate 250 students at the same time. Therefore, Holberton School Libya will make education accessible to a broader section of the Libyan population through its 12- and 18-month computer science programs. According to Faruq Khalifa, the founder of both Holberton School Libya and Change Initiative 90, Holberton School Libya will not be just another IT School. It is part of the Change 90 initiative to empower youth and women to build a better future by building technology-based startups. Today, no intensive program to obtain internationally recognized IT education exists in Libya. Thus, by bringing Silicon Valley-caliber software engineering education to Libya, Holberton School aims to use its Tripoli campus to train 500 students during its first five years of operation in Libya. About Change 90 Initiative The Change 90 Initiative provides unique entrepreneurship programs and services to an underserved population at the very early stages of developing their businesses. For example, support is given before business incubation and accelerator involvement through the 3-Day & 90-Day Challenge through advising, financing, mentoring, and network development. About Holberton School Holberton School was founded in Silicon Valley by Julien Barbier , with campuses worldwide. The school is premised on the belief that a world-class education should be available to everyone regardless of background, gender, or ethnicity. Thats why Holbertons college-alternative program offers students a new type of education that is globally relevant. Accordingly, its graduates have gone on to work as software engineers at top international employers, including Apple, MercadoLibre, Pinterest, Google, Rappi, and LinkedIn. In addition, Holberton School uses project-based and peer learning to expose software engineers to practical instruction and theoretical principles. Go to www.holbertonschool.com to learn more. WASHINGTON, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) launched its inaugural Digital Quality Solutions pilot, a software product development project with six trailblazing health plans, delivery systems and health information technology firms. Pilot organizations will give vital feedback on the usefulness, feasibility and value of NCQA software and next-generation measure prototypes intended to align quality measurement across the healthcare system. As part of the pilot program, organizations will assess the software's usability, test product features, and provide feedback on implications to HEDIS measure reporting and value-add to quality improvement and care management efforts. "The health care industry needs to accelerate the move to digital equality, and there's a tremendous opportunity for digital measurement solutions that are more powerful, configurable and dynamic than anything available now," said NCQA Chief Product Officer Dr. Brad Ryan. "We are excited about this pilot as a meaningful step toward improving health care in real time. This is an opportunity to build on HEDIS by moving to a more connected, consistent framework for the digital quality measurement that underlies value-based contracting." "For more than 30 years, NCQA has led the health care quality movement. In today's digital age and with more data available, there's an opportunity to ensure that measurement is more accessible, actionable and closer to the point of care to manage population health, create more equitable care and drive better outcomes," said NCQA President Margaret E. O'Kane. "By working with digital quality trailblazers, we will evolve measures from paper-based to fully executable, improve configurability to support various use cases and give measures the flexibility to add value and insight at different levels of the health care system." The pilot will last approximately six months and include workshops and feedback sessions with the participating organizations: 1UpHealth Aetna, a CVS Health Company ApolloMed Change Healthcare Centauri Health Solutions Health Care Service Corporation The Digital Quality Solutions pilot is the first of its kind for NCQA, in two ways. First, it uses "agile" software development techniques that emphasize frequent iteration and steady input from users. Second, the project involves a range of organization typeshelping diversify NCQA beyond its roots as a quality evaluator of health plans and physician practices. For more information about NCQA's digital quality efforts, visit: https://www.ncqa.org/digital/. About NCQA NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA Accredits and Certifies a wide range of health care organizations. It also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA's Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. NCQA's website (ncqa.org) contains information to help consumers, employers and others make informed health care choices. NCQA can also be found at Twitter @ncqa, on Facebook at facebook.com/NCQA.org/ and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/ncqa. Media Contact Theresa Masnik SHIFT Communications NCQA@shiftcomm.com Related Images Image 1: logo This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment We're sorry, you encountered a page that doesn't exist. Washington, DC, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced its intention to invest $300 million into a new Organic Transition Initiative program as part of the USDA Food System Transformation Framework. According to USDA: Organic has grown from a niche industry to a $63 billion plus market but for the industry to continue meeting demand and providing economic opportunity to U.S. farmers, production must be scaled up, says Organic Trade Association CEO and Executive Director Tom Chapman. USDA's new Organic Transition Initiative will jumpstart that growth by making the organic transition process more accessible and impactful; particularly for beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, who experience unique challenges to accessing resources and support programs. This historic investment in food production, which increases options for American farmers to adopt practices that are both good for their businesses and the climate, is a significant win for our industry. In response, the Organic Trade Association issued the following statement. Organic has grown from a niche industry to a $63 billion plus market but for the industry to continue meeting demand and providing economic opportunity to U.S. farmers, production must be scaled up, says Organic Trade Association CEO and Executive Director Tom Chapman. USDA's new Organic Transition Initiative will jumpstart that growth by making the organic transition process more accessible and impactful. This historic investment in food production, which increases options for American farmers to adopt practices that are both good for their businesses and the climate, is a win for our entire industry. The new Organic Transition Initiative will help make organic production more accessible to more producers, particularly beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers who experience unique challenges to accessing resources and support programs. The new transition program will include core components for which OTA has consistently advocated: organic-specific technical assistance, market development, and updates to USDA farm programs for conservation, crop insurance, and certification cost-share programs. Trade association members emphasized the importance of these critical components in listening sessions and working groups that took place over the course of the last year, culminating in an in-person transition listening session with USDA at Organic Week 2022. # About the Organic Trade Association The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is the membership-based business association for organic agriculture and products in North America. OTA is the leading voice for the organic trade in the United States, representing over 9,500 organic businesses across 50 states. Its members include growers, shippers, processors, certifiers, farmers' associations, distributors, importers, exporters, consultants, retailers and others. OTA's Board of Directors is democratically elected by its members. OTA's mission is to promote and protect ORGANIC with a unifying voice that serves and engages its diverse members from farm to marketplace. Online versions of OTA news and press releases can be found at: ota.com/news-center DAVENPORT, Iowa, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Minuteman Press in Davenport, Iowa first opened in January 1992. Owner and military Veteran Morris H. Merle, Jr., who served in the US Army, Army Reserves, and Ohio/Iowa Army National Guard, shares the following insights and advice as he reflects on over 30 years in business. Morris says, Being in business for 30 years means we are doing many correct things in Davenport, Iowa. I think there are three key things we do here Minuteman Press in Davenport: 1. We produce a quality product; 2. We provide outstanding customer service; and 3. We love what we do! Building a Community Business Minuteman Press in Davenport is proud to be a family owned business in the Quad Cities area for 30 years. Morris explains, Our community is known as the Quad Cities USA; in this bi-state area there are about a quarter of million people divided by the Mississippi River. With the Google searches, we get many contacts from both sides of the river. There is a lot of growth going on throughout the Quad Cities so growth is happening both in the community and in the local business area. He continues, The Minuteman Press Marketing Program was one of the biggest keys to our success, especially over the first 10 years. At the Regional Meetings and World Expo, I have always been strongly in favor of the move towards the internet and technology, even though I didnt always understand it. The new software and marketing programs seem to bear that out. Were finally using these technology resources more and getting more business. Over the years, we have also been members of community organizations and leveraged those connections to grow. We are proud to have recently won the Locals Love Us 2022 Award for Best Printing, Sign & Promotions for the Quad Cities area! -Morris Merle, owner, Minuteman Press, Davenport, Iowa Growth and Evolution of Printing The printing industry has certainly evolved since Minuteman Press in Davenport first opened their doors in 1992. Morris shares, Full-color digital printing has been our biggest growth area. Our first venture into color was using the Kodak machines and following the Minuteman Press outline for Free Color Days and Combo Color Days later on. We had been printing 1 and then the 2 free colors and were so very nervous of the new expense. It was a wonderful machine and really grew our business. He continues, Today, I cant imagine our shop without our wonderful Canon digital presses. We have also embraced promotional items as we leverage all of the vendors Minuteman Press has built relationships with on our behalf as franchisees. How many times have you heard that society was going paperless? Well, the use of paper is up and its not blank, so it obviously has something printed on it. You keep the coupon, the story, the form for as long as you need it. We do a great deal of digital printing and still do some offset printing. Print is here to stay because there are so many ways to promote your business through printing. -Morris Merle Journey to Minuteman Press Morris Merle is a proud Veteran who served in the US Army, the US Army Reserves, and the Ohio and Iowa Army National Guard. He reflects, I graduated from high school and wasnt successful in college. I enlisted in the Army at 18 for three years and spent two years in France. I met my wife there (she was also American) and we came back to Ohio, where we got married and started our family. Morris continues, I worked many jobs and money was short so I joined the US Army Reserves and kept working many different jobs. I got a job with the Ohio Army National Guard and then Junior Achievement, which took our family to Dubuque, Iowa where I joined the Iowa Army National Guard. He adds, I was working days at JA office and nights with the JA kids, which was just too many hours away from my family. I went to John Deere Dubuque Works and worked for nine years, and was then laid off for 5 1/2 years before being recalled to the Quad Cities in 1987. About this time, I switched to the US Army Reserves and was told I would be asked to retire in 1990. I knew John Deere was going to lay me off again before I retired and I didnt have a second job (which had made the first layoff much easier). As a result, I attended an Entrepreneurial Show in Davenport in 1990 and someone asked me if I had heard of Minuteman Press. I answered no, he said, Would you like to? I said yes... and thats how it all began 30+ years ago! -Morris Merle Support and Reflections Looking back on 30 years in business, Morris sums up his experience as a Minuteman Press franchise owner. He shares, We would not have been successful without the support of Minuteman Press International. They are as close as the phone, or as close as a regional rep if you cant get it done by phone. Minuteman Press will have somebody in your shop the next day to advise, work, train, or do whatever you need! We participate in as many vendor programs as we can for our little shop. MPIHQ is there to help grow you and your business! He continues, The best part of owning our own business is all the wonderful friends and customers weve made over the years. Getting to help our customers do the projects they want to do, with good advice, a great looking product with reasonable price and timely delivery. Morris concludes with advice for other aspiring entrepreneurs, saying, If you have the desire to own a business, then make the commitment, work hard, and be ready. When things come up, keep smiling and work through it! Minuteman Press in Davenport is located at 3523 Eastern Avenue, Suite 4, Davenport, IA 52807. For more information, visit their website: https://minuteman.com/us/locations/ia/davenport/ Learn more about #1 rated Minuteman Press franchise opportunities at https://minutemanpressfranchise.com. Media Contact: Minuteman Press International Chris Biscuiti, 631-249-1370 cbiscuiti@mpihq.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d005efad-da2a-48a1-92dc-b8d5a7c45248 New Human Resource Standards InstituteSM is Taking an Initial Program Focus on Diversity & Inclusion at Launch ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The newly formed Human Resource Standards InstituteSM (HRSISM), a subsidiary of HRCI, has appointed Denise Caleb, Ed.D., M.Ed., CME, PHR, as its first president. Dr. Caleb provides the strategic vision for the company, which offers organizational certifications built on International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards for human resource management (HRM). Dr. Caleb will leverage her deep business and HR experience and network to evolve the organization and create its roadmap for strategic expansion and progressive growth in both the private and public business sectors. Dr. Caleb is one of the most thoughtful and visionary HR leaders I have met, and I am thrilled that she has agreed to lead the new Human Resource Standards Institute, said HRCI CEO Amy Schabacker Dufrane, Ed.D., SPHR, CAE. She has been an integral part in the creation of this organization and its mission and is the perfect person to help HRCI move HR into our next chapter of HR leadership by expanding the opportunity to prove expertise in HRM at an organizational level. Dr. Calebs background includes more than 25 years of executive-level C-suite strategy, partnership and business development, HR, diversity and sales and marketing leadership. At HRSI, she will drive the impact on the future of work for HR and diversity and inclusion (D&I) professionals with the organizations first available certification, which focuses on D&I and is in line with ISO standard 30415:2021 HRM D&I. I am honored to have the opportunity to bring my D&I experience to the fore in my new role at the Human Resource Standards Institute, Dr. Caleb said. Job seekers, clients, investors and governmental agencies are increasingly demanding that business practices are informed by D&I principles. Many will not conduct business with an organization that is not diverse and inclusive. Our D&I Organizational Certification leverages ISO D&I guidance and allows for comparisons of practices on objective bases with other organizations across national boundaries and industry sectors. It is a game-changer for organizations that really want to commit to D&I. Dr. Caleb recently completed the Harvard Business School (HBS) Global Executive education program. She holds a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification from HRCI and earned a Lean & Six Sigma Green Belt Certification from Colorado State University and a D&I Certificate from Cornell University. She is a life-long member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, a 25-year military spouse and a lifetime advocate of the autism community. To learn more about HRSI and the path to certification, visit https://www.hrsi.org. About HRSISM HRSISM develops and offers organizational certifications that are based on International Organization for Standardization (ISO) human resources management (HRM) standards. It is a subsidiary of HRCI and leverages HRCIs expertise in credentialing and learning for the human resources profession. Through HRSI certification, organizations discover globally accepted HRM best practices and utilize that knowledge in the development of HR processes that adhere to those standards. Learn more at www.hrsi.org. About HRCI HRCI, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is the premier credentialing and learning organization for the human resources profession. For over 45 years, we have set the global standard for HR expertise and excellence through our commitment to the development and advancement of businesspeople in the people business. HRCI develops and offers world-class learning, as well as the administration of eight global certifications, and is dedicated to helping professionals achieve new competencies that drive business results. Learn more at www.hrci.org. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1a9bc73d-3bda-4fa2-9c34-e6d77ada80e4 SALISBURY, N.C., June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nearly 22 million children count on school-provided meals but less than 17% have access to summer meal programs. Food Lion Feeds third annual Summers Without Hunger campaign aims to address the need by helping to provide 20 million meals* to fight child hunger this summer. Through the campaign, which runs June 128, neighbors have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children and their families in their local community by donating $5 at checkout or online through Food Lion To Go. All donations benefit Feeding America, the nations largest domestic hunger-relief organization, and 33 local Feeding America member food banks across Food Lions 10-state operating area. All customer donations will be generously matched by 10 Food Lion suppliers: Campbell's, Coca Cola, Frito Lay, Gatorade, General Mills, Kellogg's, Kraft Heinz, Mondelez, Pepsi Beverages and Unilever. No child should have to wonder where their next meal is coming from, and yet one in six children face hunger, said Kevin Durkee, Manager, Food Lion Feeds. In partnership with our customers and suppliers, were hoping this is our most impactful Summers Without Hunger campaign yet. Were grateful for this years participating supplier partners and our customers for coming together to support this important cause. Our goal with this campaign is to help eliminate some of the difficult choices our neighbors are forced to make while school is out for the summer. In addition to customers, suppliers and Food Lion donations, Food Lion associates will also volunteer throughout the month at many of the participating local Feeding America member food banks to help distribute food to neighbors in need. For kids who count on school meal programs during the school year, summer break could mean three months of worry and hunger, said Lauren Biedron, vice president of corporate partnerships at Feeding America. Feeding America is grateful to Food Lion, suppliers, associates and customers for their continued commitment to provide meals to children and their families through Summers Without Hunger. This campaign is part of Food Lion Feeds overall commitment to help provide 1.5 billion meals to individuals and families in need by 2025. Since 2014, Food Lion Feeds, Food Lions hunger relief platform, has provided more than 900 million meals** to neighbors in need. For more information on how Food Lion is fighting to end hunger in the towns and cities it serves through Food Lion Feeds, visit here. *$1 helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of local member food banks. Through the Summers Without Hunger campaign, Food Lion guarantees a minimum donation of $100,000 (monetary equivalent of 1 million meals.) from June 1 - 28, 2022. **These meals were provided through a combination of product, financial and equipment donations; disaster relief and recovery efforts; capital campaign support for feeding agencies; and volunteer hours by associates, based on various meal equivalent formulas. About Food Lion Food Lion, based in Salisbury, N.C., since 1957, has more than 1,100 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states and employs more than 82,000 associates. By leveraging its longstanding heritage of low prices and convenient locations, Food Lion is working to own the easiest full shop grocery experience in the Southeast, anchored by a strong commitment to affordability, freshness and the communities it serves. Through Food Lion Feeds, the company has donated more than 900 million meals to individuals and families since 2014 and has committed to donate 1.5 billion meals by 2025. Food Lion is a company of Ahold Delhaize USA, the U.S. division of Zaandam-based Ahold Delhaize. For more information, visit www.foodlion.com or job applicants may visit www.foodlion.com/careers. Contact: foodlion@matternow.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6eaffc18-9726-4e31-a729-49c4d2d99dc8 Aurora, Colo., June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Colorado State University Global (CSU Global) today announced its new Master of Business Administration (MBA) program, featuring a series of applied industry-relevant courses and the opportunity for students to customize their pathway with one of over a dozen different graduate specialization options. Tailored to meet the flexible needs of busy adults, this fully online, asynchronous program can be completed for less than $17,000. With a curriculum designed by industry experts, the 30-credit program will develop students abilities in the areas of leadership, strategy, innovation, globalization, systems thinking, decision-making, and ethics. Further, for a smooth enrollment process, CSU Global does not require a Graduate Record Examinations General Test (GRE) or a Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). Recognizing that an MBA is one of the most sought-after credentials for executive-level positions, our goal is to provide a high-quality and customizable online option for learners at all stages of their professional lives, said Dr. Deb Sepich, MBA Program Director at CSU Global. This degree is ideal for students looking to hone their business skills and advance their careers. In designing the program, it was critical for us to focus on problem-based learning, such as applied simulations and case studies, to give students hands-on experiences. To tailor their program for added value and targeted expertise, students can specialize in a specific area that aligns with their professional goals and personal interests. Current specialization areas include Organizational Leadership, Project Management, Healthcare Administration, Accounting, Finance, Cyber Security, and Information Technology. Graduates of the program will be able to coordinate strategic goals, steward resources, apply analytical skills, solve organizational challenges, assess financial performance and business scenarios, use quantitative and qualitative analysis tools, formulate actionable business plans, and navigate cultural complexities. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is estimated that business and financial occupations will grow by 8% from 2020 to 2030, resulting in approximately 750,800 new jobs. Recognizing the need for a flexible online MBA program to meet workplace needs, CSU Global provides asynchronous courses that allow students to earn their degrees in a format that is adaptable to their schedules and life responsibilities. In addition, CSU Global students have access to 24/7 live online tutoring, online library access, a writing center, technical support, career services, and disability services to enable their success. Enrollment for the MBA program is now open, with classes beginning in July 2022. Please visit CSUGlobal.edu/MBA to register. ### About Colorado State University Global Colorado State University Global (CSU Global) offers career-relevant bachelors and masters degree programs for working adults and nontraditional learners. As the first 100% online, fully accredited public university in the United States, CSU Global is focused on student success as its number one priority. Embracing the land grant heritage as part of the Colorado State University System, CSU Global sets the standard for quality and innovation in higher education through its expert faculty who are recognized as industry leaders and trained in working with adults in an online learning environment. CSU Global offers accelerated eight-week courses that start every four weeks. Visit CSUGlobal.edu to learn more. Palestinian president asks U.S. to turn words into deeds Xinhua) 11:09, June 01, 2022 RAMALLAH, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday that the U.S. side has to turn its words regarding the Mideast conflict into deeds, the Palestinian news agency (WAFA) reported. "The U.S. has to turn its words into deeds instead of adopting the policy of silence and condemnation for the unilateral Israeli measures because the situation on the ground is no longer acceptable at all," said Abbas during a telephone conversation with Blinken. "The current situation cannot be tolerated amid the absence of a political horizon and an international protection of our people," Abbas was quoted by the WAFA as saying. Abbas asked the U.S. side to remove the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from the U.S. list of terrorist organizations, reopen the PLO office in Washington and reopen the U.S. consulate in East Jerusalem, the WAFA reported. Blinken told Abbas that the current U.S. administration "is committed to the two-state solution, stopping settlement expansion, and preventing the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes in Jerusalem." "The U.S. is committed to reopening its consulate in Jerusalem," Blinken said, adding that Washington will send a high-ranking delegation to the region to prepare for U.S. President Joe Biden's upcoming visit at the end of June. Blinken said that Washington is keen to investigate the killing of Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to prosecute and hold the killers accountable. On May 11, Abu Akleh, 51, was killed after being shot in the head while covering an Israeli military raid on the Palestinian refugee camp of Jenin in the northern West Bank. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) WESTPORT, Conn., June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HMG Strategy, the Worlds #1 digital platform for enabling technology executives to reimagine the enterprise and reshape the business world and recently recognized as a Top 10 Producer of Tech Events by Business Chief, is excited to be hosting its 2022 Financial Services CIO Executive Leadership Summit on June 9 at The Harvard Club in New York. HMG Strategys highly interactive events bring together the worlds most distinguished and innovative business technology and security leaders to discuss the most pressing leadership, innovation, strategic, cultural, technology and career challenges and opportunities that they face today and into the future. This industry-focused in-person event will bring together the top global technology executives and industry experts from the financial services industry who will share recommendations for leveraging their leadership strengths to help retain and attract the talent thats needed to enable the business to meet its strategic objectives and win in the market. Our research reveals that the global shortage for technology talent continues to become more severe, said Hunter Muller, President and CEO of HMG Strategy. But we also know through the experiences shared by members of our global community that savvy financial services CIOs and technology executives who sharpen their leadership capabilities and take the steps needed to strengthen their personal brands can act as a magnet to retain and attract the talent thats needed to reimagine the business and move the enterprise forward. World-class technology leaders and industry experts speaking at the 2022 Financial Services CIO Executive Leadership Summit will include: Marianne Bachynski , CIO Investments, AIG , CIO Investments, AIG Vlad Brodsky , CISO and SVP, IT Operations, Infrastructure, OTC Markets Group Inc. , CISO and SVP, IT Operations, Infrastructure, OTC Markets Group Inc. Susan Certoma , Board Director/Executive Leader/Strategic Advisor, Point2Point , Board Director/Executive Leader/Strategic Advisor, Point2Point Stephen M.R. Covey , Global authority on trust, leadership and culture, The FranklinCovey Global Speed of Trust Practice , Global authority on trust, leadership and culture, The FranklinCovey Global Speed of Trust Practice Chuck DAntonio , Senior Manager, Solutions Architect, OutSystems , Senior Manager, Solutions Architect, OutSystems Cindy Finkelman , Strategic Advisor, Mantissa Group LLC , Strategic Advisor, Mantissa Group LLC Hugo Fueglein , Managing Director, CIO/IT Practice, Diversified Search , Managing Director, CIO/IT Practice, Diversified Search Girish Jain , VP of Enterprise QA and Architecture, Cenlar FSB , VP of Enterprise QA and Architecture, Cenlar FSB Herb Hoffman , VP IT, Loews Corp. , VP IT, Loews Corp. Daniel Johnson , SVP, CTO & Head of Innovation, Guardian Life , SVP, CTO & Head of Innovation, Guardian Life Ondrej Krehel , CEO, LIFARS, LLC , CEO, LIFARS, LLC Dilip Krishna , Managing Director, Deloitte & Touche LLP , Managing Director, Deloitte & Touche LLP Ajoy Kumar , Executive Director Head of Technology IT Risk Assessments & Application Security, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation , Executive Director Head of Technology IT Risk Assessments & Application Security, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation Sandeep Mangaraj , Banking Industry Executive, Digital Transformation, Microsoft , Banking Industry Executive, Digital Transformation, Microsoft Natalie Myshkina , Head of Financial Services Industry, Adobe , Head of Financial Services Industry, Adobe Kendra Parlock , Vice President of Partnership Development, NPower , Vice President of Partnership Development, NPower Stephen Spagnuolo , VP Digital Security & Risk, Mercuri Urval , VP Digital Security & Risk, Mercuri Urval Michael Zanga, Managing Director, Global Head of Technology, Cyber, Data and Change Risk, Barclays Valued Partners for the 2022 Financial Services CIO Executive Leadership Summit include 8x8, Adobe, Akamai, BetterCloud, Darktrace, Fortinet, Genesys Works, Globant, NPower, Nutanix, OutSystems, Palo Alto Networks, RingCentral, SafeGuard Cyber, Spectrum Enterprise, Tonkean, Upwork, Zoom, and Zscaler. To learn more about the 2022 Financial Services CIO Executive Leadership Summit and to register for the event, click here. HMG Strategy will also be hosting its 2022 Silicon Valley CISO Executive Leadership Summit on June 14th at the El Prado Hotel in Palo Alto, CA. At this popular event, global security leaders and industry experts will share how the role of the CISO is evolving along with the increased responsibilities security leaders have taken on with enterprise risk. The 2022 Silicon Valley CISO Executive Leadership Summit will also feature an Executive Fireside Chat with Michael Piacente, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Hitch Partners, who will share highlights from the companys recent CISO Compensation and Reporting Structure Survey Results. Top-tier security leaders and industry executives speaking at the 2022 Silicon Valley CISO Executive Leadership Summit will include: Yassir Abousselham , CISO, UiPath , CISO, UiPath Damian Chung , Business Information Security Officer, Netskope , Business Information Security Officer, Netskope Michael Dickman , Chief Product Officer, Gigamon , Chief Product Officer, Gigamon Patty Hatter , Chief Customer Officer, Palo Alto Networks , Chief Customer Officer, Palo Alto Networks Emily Heath , Board of Directors, Chair of Technology & Cyber Security Committee, Member of Audit Committee, Norton LifeLock , Board of Directors, Chair of Technology & Cyber Security Committee, Member of Audit Committee, Norton LifeLock Monti Knode , Director of Customer Success and Partner, Horizon3.ai , Director of Customer Success and Partner, Horizon3.ai Michael Piacente , Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Hitch Partners , Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Hitch Partners Matthew Rosenquist , CISO, Eclipz.io Inc. , CISO, Eclipz.io Inc. Rand Shamas , IT Infrastructure & Security, e.l.f. Beauty , IT Infrastructure & Security, e.l.f. Beauty Piyoush Sharma , Co-Author, The Purple Book of Software Security, Head of Enterprise Security & Technology Operations, Zuora , Co-Author, The Purple Book of Software Security, Head of Enterprise Security & Technology Operations, Zuora Kathryn Ullrich , Managing Partner Technology, Private Equity and Diversity, DHR Global , Managing Partner Technology, Private Equity and Diversity, DHR Global Steve Winterfeld, Advisory CISO, Akamai Valued Partners for the 2022 Silicon Valley CISO Executive Leadership Summit include 8x8, Akamai, BetterCloud, Darktrace, Fortinet, Gigamon, Globant, Imperva, LastPass, Netskope, Nutanix, OutSystems, Palo Alto Networks, ReliaQuest, RingCentral, SafeGuard Cyber, SentinelOne, SIM San Francisco Bay Area, Tonkean, Upwork, Zoom, and Zscaler. To learn more about the 2022 Silicon Valley CISO Executive Leadership Summit and to register for the event, click here. To learn more about HMG Strategys upcoming CIO and CISO Summits, click here. About HMG Strategy HMG Strategy is the world's leading digital platform for connecting technology executives to reimagine the enterprise and reshape the business world. The HMG Strategy global network consists of more than 400,000 CIOs, CTOs, CISOs, CDOs, senior business technology executives, search industry executives, venture capitalists, industry experts and world-class thought leaders. HMG Strategys global media model generates more than one million impressions per week, providing vast opportunities for business technology leaders and sponsor partners to promote themselves and their brands. HMG Strategy was founded in 2008 by Hunter Muller, a leadership expert who has worked side-by-side with Fortune 2000 executives with strategic planning and career ascent for the past 30+ years. HMG Strategys regional and virtual CIO and CISO Executive Leadership Series, authored books and Digital Resource Center deliver unique, peer-driven guidance from CIOs, CISOs, CTOs, CDOs and technology executives on leadership, innovation, transformation and career ascent. HMG Strategy offers a range of peer-led research services such as its CIO & CISO Executive Leadership Alliance (CELA) program which bring together the worlds top CIOs, CISOs and technology executives to brainstorm on the top opportunities and challenges facing them in their roles. HMG Strategys Global Peer Actionable Insights Services Stack is a unique set of research services that are designed to keep business technology executives up to speed on the latest leadership, business, technology and global geo-economic trends that are impacting businesses and industries. HMG Ventures is a venture capital unit thats designed to connect CIOs, CTOs, CISOs and other technology executives with innovative early-stage technology companies from Silicon Valley to Tel Aviv. HMG Ventures provides technology executives with a window into hot emerging technology companies that can help move the needle for their businesses while also offering these executives unparalleled personal investment opportunities. One early-stage investment in an enterprise-level AI-powered service management provider has generated a 100X return. HMG Strategy also produces the HMG Security Innovation Accelerator Panel, a new webinar series thats designed to connect enterprise technology and security leaders with the most innovative technology and cybersecurity companies from across the world. To learn more about the 7 Pillars of Trust for HMG Strategy's unique business model, click here . A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c62b6efb-9d56-44a4-8857-491d7a7c0adf FAIR LAWN, N.J., June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Micron Systems, the maker of CE Manager, the most widely used CLE tracking system, and Practising Law Institute (PLI), the leader in continuing legal education, have expanded their longstanding partnership benefiting the legal industry. When an attorney attends a PLI program, the CLE credits earned are automatically sent to CE Manager to post on the attorney's CLE compliance report. This integration has now been enhanced so that the actual CLE Certificate of Attendance will also be sent automatically from PLI and become available in CE Manager. "We always want the best efficiencies for our law firm administrators and their attorneys in our software. Now an attorney can easily find their PLI CLE certificates in their CE Manager portal alongside the firm's own programs," said Adam Stein, EVP of Sales & Marketing at Micron Systems. "This integration makes CLE compliance that much easier." PLI has been educating lawyers since 1933, offering a robust catalog of programs created by experienced attorneys working with prominent lawyers, judges, regulators, professors, and other legal experts. PLI offers credit for all programs in all formats in all MCLE jurisdictions. CE Manager is programmed with the CLE requirements for all U.S. jurisdictions, and accurately tracks and calculates the CLE compliance of attorneys firm-wide, while keeping them informed on their CLE status with automated email reminders and compliance reports. "Our Members have asked us for ways to manage their CLE certificates more seamlessly, and this integration with Micron delivers," said Craig Miller, Senior Vice President, Membership & Accreditation at PLI. "We're pleased to offer this enhancement, which allows attorneys to focus on the most important aspect of CLE - building their skills and knowledge." With this latest integration update, CE Manager and PLI are pleased to continue serving the top firms in the AM Law 100 and NLJ 500 in unique ways that contribute to their success. For more information, please view this short video or visit www.micronsystems.com or www.pli.edu Micron Systems Media Contact Derek Weihs | info@micronsystems.com PLI Media Contact James Scafidi| jscafidi@pli.edu Related Images Image 1: CE Manager and PLI Deliver Your CLE Certificates Micron Systems, the maker of CE Manager, the most widely used CLE tracking system, and Practising Law Institute (PLI), the leader in continuing legal education, have expanded their integration to include CLE Certificates of Attendance. This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment NEW YORK, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Vilcek Foundation and The Arnold P. Gold Foundation are pleased to announce that the 2022 Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism in Healthcare will be presented to Dr. Mona Fouad, MD, MPH. The Vilcek-Gold Award is a shared initiative of the Vilcek Foundation and the Gold Foundation that embodies the missions of both organizations. The award is given annually to outstanding immigrant healthcare professionals in the United States and honors the positive impact that accessible, humanistic, and compassionate care has on public health. Dr. Fouad has been selected for the 2022 Vilcek-Gold Award for her leadership in health disparities research and for her career-long commitment to equity in healthcare. Dr. Fouad is the founding director of the University of Alabama, Birmingham (UAB) Minority Health and Health Disparity Research Center; senior associate dean for diversity and inclusion in the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine; and professor and director of the UAB Division of Preventive Medicine. Her work has been foundational to the development of rigorous research and interventions to make healthcare more accessible and equitable to historically underserved populations in the United States. Dr. Fouad was born in Cairo, Egypt. She studied medicine at Alexandria University Medical School and subsequently completed an internship with the university hospital before practicing medicine in rural communities in Egypt for a year. Her experiences at the university hospital and in caring for underserved communities brought new insight into how socioeconomic factors influence access to healthcare and health outcomes. In 1980, Dr. Fouad and her husband moved to the United States, first settling in College Station, Texas. In 1984, the couple moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where Dr. Fouad completed her Master of Public Health degree at the UAB. She then took a research assistant position in the Division of Preventive Medicine at UAB, assessing heart disease risk factors among city employees. Similar to her experiences in rural Egypt, Dr. Fouad saw in Birmingham how deeply socioeconomic status, race, and ethnicity were tied to healthcare access and outcomes. Dr. Fouad recognized that concrete scientific evidence of social determinants of health would be an essential foundation for the future development of interventions to support equitable health outcomes. With this goal in mind, she founded the Minority Health and Health Disparity Research Center at the UAB in 2002. Since its establishment, the center has grown from a few researchers to more than 200 members across a range of disciplines and specialties. "Throughout her career, Dr. Mona Fouad has been so attuned to the importance of accessible health education and preventative care, and she has built groundbreaking systems to expand such care and galvanize more partners in her work," said Dr. Jan Vilcek, chairman and CEO of the Vilcek Foundation. "As a public health advocate in the southern United States, she has mobilized both her medical training and understanding of the human condition to improve the lives of the patients and communities she serves." Said Dr. Richard I. Levin, president and CEO of the Gold Foundation, "For humanism in healthcare to thrive, it must be nurtured on both the individual level of compassionate connection and the far-reaching, system level. Dr. Mona Fouad has made exceptional contributions to both. Her creation of the UAB Minority Health and Health Disparity Research Center is just one example of how her vision, steeped in experiences from both Egypt and America, is transforming U.S. healthcare. We congratulate Dr. Fouad on her 2022 Vilcek-Gold Award, and we thank her for her great leadership in humanism in healthcare." Said Dr. Selwyn Vickers, senior vice president and dean of the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, "From her first work as an MD in Egypt to her latest work, she has modeled the attributes of compassion, collaboration, and scientific excellence and created lasting change in the lived experiences of countless residents of Alabama and beyond. Her respect and empathy toward people living in underserved communities, and her dedication to creating lasting change to benefit is a defining feature of her professional career." In addition to her work with UAB, Dr. Fouad served as a member of the National Institutes of Minority Health and Health Disparities Advisory Council and as principal investigator for several NIH and CDC health disparities projects such as the CDC-funded Racial and Ethnic Approaches across the U.S. (REACH US) Center and the Mid-South Center of Excellence in the Elimination of Disparities (CEED), which implemented, evaluated, and disseminated evidence-based interventions to reduce breast and cervical cancer disparities between African American and white patients. In recognition of her outstanding work in medicine and public health, Dr. Fouad was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2017. The Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism in Healthcare includes an unrestricted cash prize of $10,000 and a commemorative heart-shaped trophy. The 2022 award will be presented to Dr. Fouad at the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) annual meeting in November 2022. Read more about the Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism in Healthcare at the Vilcek Foundation: Dr. Mona Fouad receives 2022 Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism in Healthcare The Vilcek Foundation The Vilcek Foundation raises awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States and fosters appreciation for the arts and sciences. The foundation was established in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia. The mission of the foundation was inspired by the couple's respective careers in biomedical science and art history. Since 2000, the foundation has awarded over $6.4 million in prizes to foreign-born individuals and has supported organizations with over $5.6 million in grants. The Vilcek Foundation is a private operating foundation, a federally tax-exempt nonprofit organization under IRS Section 501(c)(3). To learn more, please visit vilcek.org. The Arnold P. Gold Foundation The Arnold P. Gold Foundation was founded in 1988 with the vision that healthcare will be dramatically improved by placing the interests, values, and dignity of all people at the core of teaching and practice. The Gold Foundation champions humanism in healthcare, which the foundation defines as compassionate, collaborative, and scientifically excellent care; the foundation embraces all, and targets any barriers that prevent individuals or groups from accessing this standard of care. The Gold Foundation empowers experts, learners, and leaders to create systems and cultures that support humanistic care for all. The Arnold P. Gold Foundation is a public not-for-profit organization, a federally tax-exempt organization under IRS Section 501(c)(3). Contact: Elizabeth Boylan Communication Manager The Vilcek Foundation (212) 472-2500 elizabeth.boylan@vilcek.org Related Images Image 1: Dr. Mona Fouad Receives the 2022 Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism in Healthcare Graphic announcement showing Dr. Mona Fouad, recipient of the 2022 Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism in Healthcare Image 2: Dr. Mona Fouad, MD, MPH A photograph of Dr. Mona Fouad at the University of Alabama, Birmingham Image 3: Vilcek Foundation Vilcek Foundation This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment LONDON, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The spirits market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 6% during the forecast period. Rising disposable income coupled with decreasing unemployment rates is driving the demand for spirits globally. Also, more consumers are now concerned about immunity and overall wellbeing, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, they are actively moderating their intake of alcohol to maintain their health, which is driving the demand for low alcohol by volume (ABV), low-calorie, or low-sugar spirits. This is creating more opportunities for spirits drinks with health claims. The Global Spirits Market Research Report offered by GlobalData Plc brings together multiple data sources to provide a comprehensive overview of the market environment, high-potential countries analysis, country deep dive, success stories, competitive environment, distribution analysis, packaging analysis, and challenges and future outlook. For more insights on the global spirits market forecast, download a free sample Global Spirits Market Trends Developments in the organic and natural spirits sector will lead to brands adopting localized flavors by infusing locally foraged botanicals. Moreover, consumers generally perceive organic and local ingredients to be of high quality and healthier. Considering this, Suncliffe, LLC announced the launch of a botanical spirit, in Arizona, highlighting the usage of local plant species. As a result, brands with local organic ingredients are expected to gain traction. Spirits Market Segmentation by Region Asia-Pacific Middle East & Africa Americas Western Europe Eastern Europe Spirits Market Analysis, by Regions For more regional insights, download a free sample Spirits Market Segmentation by Category Brandy Flavored alcoholic beverages Gin & genever Liqueurs Rum Specialty spirits Tequila & mezcal Vodka Whiskey Spirits Market Analysis, by Categories For more category insights, download a free sample Spirits Market Segmentation by Distribution Channel Of-trade Hypermarkets & supermarkets Convenience stores E-retailers Food & drinks specialists Others On-trade Global Spirits Market Analysis, by Distribution Channels For more distribution channel insights, download a free sample Leading Companies in the Global Spirits Market Diageo plc Suntory Holdings Ltd Pernod Ricard Mark Anthony Brands International Unlimited Company Hite Jinro Co. Ltd. Spirits Market Analysis, by Companies To know more about leading spirits companies, download a free sample Global Spirits Market Overview Market size 2021 $783.5 billion CAGR >6% Forecast Period 2021-2026 Key Categories Brandy, Flavored Alcoholic Beverages, Gin & Genever, Liqueurs, Rum, Specialty Spirits, Tequila & Mezcal, Vodka, and Whiskey Key Regions Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa, Americas, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe Key Distribution Channel Off-trade and On-trade Leading Companies Diageo plc, Suntory Holdings Ltd, Pernod Ricard, Mark Anthony Brands International Unlimited Company, and Hite Jinro Co. Ltd Global Spirits Market Report Scope Provides an overview of the current industry scenario regarding the future outlook in terms of ingredients, product claims, labeling, and packaging. The analysis also covers regional overview across five regions Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa, Americas, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe highlighting industry size, growth drivers, latest developments, and future inhibitors for the regions. Reasons to Buy Manufacturing and retailers seek the latest information on how the market is evolving to formulate their sales and marketing strategies. There is also demand for authentic market data with a high level of detail. This report has been created to provide its readers with up-to-date information and analysis to uncover emerging opportunities for growth within the sector in the region The report provides a detailed analysis of the countries in the region, covering the key challenges, competitive landscape, and demographic analysis, that can help companies gain insight into the country-specific nuances The analysts have also placed a significant emphasis on the key trends that drive consumer choice and the future opportunities that can be explored in the region and can help companies in revenue expansion To gain competitive intelligence about leading brands in the spirits sector in the region with information about their market share and growth rates FAQs What was the global spirits market size in the year 2021? The global spirits market size was valued at $783.5 billion in 2021. What is the global spirits market growth rate? The global spirits market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 6% during the forecast period. Which are the key regions in the global spirits market? The key regions in the global spirits market are Asia- Pacific, Middle East & Africa, Americas, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe. Asia-Pacific represented the largest region for the global spirits sector in 2021. Which are the key categories in the global spirits market? The key categories in the global spirits market are brandy, flavored alcoholic beverages, gin & genever, liqueurs, rum, specialty spirits, tequila & mezcal, vodka, and whiskey. In the year 2021 specialty spirits had the highest market value. Which are the key distribution channels in the global spirits market? The key distribution channels in the global spirits market are off-trade and on-trade. Which are the leading companies in the global spirits market? Some of the leading spirits companies are Diageo plc, Suntory Holdings Ltd, Pernod Ricard, Mark Anthony Brands International Unlimited Company, and Hite Jinro Co. Ltd. Related Reports Opportunities in the Eastern Europe Spirits Sector Click here Opportunities in the Americas Spirits Sector Click here Opportunities in the Asia-Pacific Spirits Sector Click here Opportunities in the Western European Spirits Sector Click here Argentina Vodka (Spirits) Market Size, Growth and Forecast Analytics to 2025 Click here About us GlobalData is a leading provider of data, analytics, and insights on the world's largest industries. In an increasingly fast-moving, complex, and uncertain world, it has never been harder for organizations and decision makers to predict and navigate the future. This is why GlobalData's mission is to help our clients to decode the future and profit from faster, more informed decisions. As a leading information services company, thousands of clients rely on GlobalData for trusted, timely, and actionable intelligence. Our solutions are designed to provide a daily edge to professionals within corporations, financial institutions, professional services, and government agencies. Media Contacts GlobalData Mark Jephcott Head of PR EMEA mark.jephcott@globaldata.com cc: pr@globaldata.com +44 (0)207 936 6400 Los Angeles, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is partnering with the largest Latinx leadership organization in the country to promote investments in mental health solutions for underserved communities. During the last month, about 50 staff and members of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Education Fund have participated in mental wellness programs led by Dr. Lance Garrison, dean of the Dallas campus of The Chicago School. He collaborated with Taylor Barrocas, a third-year psychology doctoral candidate, to help craft a curriculum about the importance of mental health. We are grateful to The Chicago School for hosting the mental wellness webinars for our staff and members, said Arturo Vargas, CEO of NALEO. The information was extremely valuable in advancing the ability of our team members to support their self-care, especially in light of the tragedy in Uvalde. As we continue to emerge from the pandemic, the work of The Chicago School in preparing the next generation of mental health professionals is more critical than ever. The 7,000-member organization is putting mental health front and center at its upcoming 2022 NALEOnd depression being experienced both personally and collectively as a result of the pandemic, violence and racial reckoning of the last two years. The pandemic exacerbated the existing shortage of qualified mental health practitioners who are available to serve people of color, LGBTQIA and rural communities, said Dr. Michele Nealon, President of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. NALEO will put mental health front and center at its upcoming national conference in Chicago, the first in-person gathering in three years. More than 800 elected and appointed leaders are expected to participate in the June 23-25 event, which will feature two presentations on mental health by The Chicago School faculty. The workshops will focus on the increased trauma, anxiety and depression of many underserved communities following two years of pandemic isolation, racial reckoning and violence. Two out of three of The Chicago Schools 6,000 students nationwide are individuals of color. We are proud to be on the leading edge of training culturally competent mental health providers who want to work in underserved communities, said Dr. Nealon. We are also proud to be chosen by NALEO to help educate its staff and members about ways to reduce barriers to mental health wellness. Ab out The Chicago School of Professional Psychology Integrating theory with hands-on experience, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology provides education rooted in a commitment to innovation, service, and community for thousands of diverse students across the United States and globally. Founded in 1979, the nonprofit, regionally accredited university now features campuses in iconic locations across the country (Chicago, Southern California, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, Dallas) and online. To spark positive change in the world where it matters most, The Chicago School has continued to expand its educational offerings beyond the field of psychology to offer more than 30 degrees and certificates in the professional fields of health services, nursing, education, counseling, business, and more. Through its engaged professional model of education, commitment to diversity and inclusion, and an extensive network of domestic and international professional partnerships, The Chicago Schools students receive real-world training opportunities that reflect their future careers. The Chicago School is also a proud affiliate of TCS, a nonprofit system of colleges advancing student success and community impact. To learn more, visit www.thechicagoschool.edu. English French GAZTRANSPORT & TECHNIGAZ Societe anonyme with a share capital of 370,783.57 Registered office: 1 route de Versailles 78470 Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse, France 662 001 403 R.C.S. Versailles Main terms and conditions of the share buy-back programme in accordance with the conditions and obligations set by Articles 241-1 and seq. of the General Regulations of the Autorite des marches financiers (AMF) Implementation of the share buy-back programme authorised by the Combined Shareholders meeting on May 31, 2022 Issuer: GTT / ISIN code: FR 0011726835 (compartment A) Stock concerned : Ordinary shares Implementation authorized by:Combined Shareholders meeting on May 31, 2022 Implementation decision date:May 31, 2022 Maximum proportion of the share capital that may be acquired pursuant to the Shareholders authorization: 10% of the number of ordinary shares composing GTTs share capital, or, for indicative purposes 3,707,835 shares on the basis of the capital as at December 31, 2021. It is specified that: (i) the number of shares acquired for retention and their subsequent presentation in a merger, split or contribution transaction cannot exceed 5% of its share capital; (ii) when the shares are bought back to improve liquidity under the conditions defined by the general regulations of the Autorite des Marches Financiers, the number of shares used for calculating the above-specified 10% limit corresponds to the number of shares bought, less the number of shares sold during the period of the authorisation; (iii) the Company may not directly or indirectly own more than 10% of its capital. Maximum purchase price: 180 per share (fees not included). Maximum amount of purchases authorized by the programme: 667,410,300. Objectives of the programme: the implementation of any share purchase option plan of the Company under the provisions of Articles L. 225-177 et seq. of the French Commercial Code, or any similar plan; the allocation or sale of shares to employees or corporate officers of the Company or of Group companies under the conditions and in accordance with the procedures allowed by law, notably with respect to Company profit-sharing; or the implementation of any employee savings scheme under the conditions provided for by law, specifically Articles L. 3332-1 et seq. of the French Labour Code, the sale of shares previously acquired by the Company pursuant to this resolution or providing for the free allocation of these shares in the form of a top-up of Company securities and/or to replace the discount; the delivery of shares upon the exercise of rights attached to securities giving right to repayment, conversion, exchange, presentation of a warrant, or any other means of allocating shares of the Company; more generally, to honour the obligations linked to share option programs or other plans for allocation of shares to employees or corporate officers of the Company or those of an associated company; the retaining and later delivery of shares (in exchange, payment or other) as part of an acquisition transaction, limited to 5% of the number of shares comprising the share capital; the cancellation of all or part of the shares bought back under a resolution of a Shareholders Meeting in force; and the stimulation of the secondary market or the liquidity of the shares by an investment services provider acting under a liquidity contract in compliance with the market practice recognised by the Autorite des Marches Financiers. This share buyback program would also be intended to allow the Company to operate for any other authorised purpose or purpose that would be authorised by any applicable laws or regulations in force and to implement any practice that would be allowed by the Autorite des Marches Financiers. In such event, the Company would inform its shareholders through a press release. The acquisition, sale or transfer of shares may be carried out, on one or more occasions, by any means authorised by the legal and regulatory provisions in force, on regulated markets, multilateral trading facilities, systematic internalisers or over-the-counter, including by acquisition or sale of blocks of shares (without limiting the portion of the buyback program that may be carried out by this means), by tender offer or exchange offer, or by use of options or other forward financial instruments or by delivery of shares following the issue of securities giving access to the Companys capital by conversion, exchange, redemption, exercise of a warrant or in any other manner, either directly or indirectly through an investment services provider. The Board of Directors may use this authorisation at any time, within the limits authorised by legal and regulatory provisions and those provided for in this resolution (except during a period of tender offer for the Companys shares). Programme duration: from the release of this description of the programme and until November 30, 2022, i.e. a period of 18 months as from the date of the Combined Shareholders meeting dated May 31, 2022. Breakdown of the treasury shares held: At May 31, 2022, the Company did not hold any share in the frame of its liquidity agreement signed with Rothschild Martin Maurel to make a market in GTT shares, and compliant with the AMAFI ethical charter recognised by the AMF, and held 190,636 shares, representing 0.51% of the share capital pursuant to a share buy-back agreement and the share buy-back through Engie's accelerated book building process dated May 26, 2021. This document is published, in accordance with the AMF General Regulations, on June 1, 2022 prior to the implementation of the programme. Attachment MONTREAL, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Laurentian Bank of Canada (TSX: LB) announced today a correction to its press release issued June 1, 2022, announcing an increased common share dividend. In the press release, the date on which the quarterly dividend amount per common share is payable and the record date were misstated. The complete and corrected release follows. At its meeting held on May 31, 2022, the Board of Directors of the Laurentian Bank of Canada (TSX: LB) (the Bank) has approved an increase of $0.01 on its common shares and declared a regular quarterly dividend of 45 cents per share on the common shares payable on August 1, 2022 to the holders of record at the close of business on July 4, 2022. The above-mentioned dividends are designated as eligible dividends for the purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and any similar provincial and territorial legislation. The Banks common shares are eligible shares under the Banks Shareholder Dividend Reinvestment and Share Purchase Plan (the Plan). Consequently, the holders of such shares may elect to reinvest their dividends in newly issued common shares of the Bank. Under the Plan, the Bank has the discretion to either purchase the additional common shares in the open market or issue them from treasury. If issued from treasury, the Bank may decide to apply a discount of up to 5% to the Investment Price (as defined in the Plan) of the additional shares. For the May 31, 2022 dividend, the Bank will issue the additional shares from treasury, with no discount. In addition, holders of such shares are entitled to make monthly optional cash payments to purchase additional common shares in accordance with the terms of the Plan. For more information, please contact Computershare Trust Company of Canada by phone at 1-800-564-6253 or by e-mail at service@computershare.com, or by mail 1,500 Robert-Bourassa Blvd, Montreal, QC H3A 3S8. Beneficial or non-registered owners of common and preferred shares must contact their financial institution or broker for instructions on how to participate in the Plan. Registered holders who participate in the Plan who wish to terminate that participation so that cash dividends to which they are entitled to be paid on and after August 1, 2022 are not reinvested in common shares under the Plan must deliver written to Computershare Trust of Canada at the above address by no later then July 4, 2022. Beneficial or non-registered holder who participate in the Plan and who wish to terminate that participation so that cash dividends to which they are entitled to be paid on and after August 1, 2022 are not reinvested in common shares under the Plan must contact their financial institution or broker for instructions on how to terminate participation in the Plan in advance of July 4, 2022. About Laurentian Bank of Canada At Laurentian Bank, we believe we can change banking for the better. By seeing beyond numbers. Founded in Montreal in 1846, Laurentian Bank helps families, businesses and communities thrive. Today, we have more than 2,900 employees working together as one team, to provide a broad range of financial services and advice-based solutions for customers across Canada and the United States. We protect, manage and grow $48.3 billion in balance sheet assets and $28.7 billion in assets under administration. We drive results by placing our customers first, making the better choice, acting courageously, and believing everyone belongs. Information: Mead, Colo., June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Whether you are on your way to an outdoor concert, sitting poolside or taking a road trip with the family, Ziggi's is here to help you make the most out of your summer. They have a variety of NEW flavors included in their lineup below. From refreshing drinks to tasty treats, Ziggis is the perfect place to gather in community under the sun. Riptide Red Bull Infusion Ride the wave with Ziggis limited-time Riptide Red Bull Infusion. This energizing beverage features Red Bull Summer Edition, including the delightful flavors of strawberry and apricot. Infused with orange, pineapple and white chocolate flavors, this Red Bull Infusion provides a radical experience with every sip. Hurry in, Ziggis is giving away FREE, limited-edition stickers* with every Riptide purchase, while supplies last. Firecracker Blender Save the date -- Ziggis beloved Firecracker Blender returns from July 2nd - July 4th. This festive treat features a vanilla blender combined with white chocolate and strawberry flavors, topped with whipped cream and popping candy. Grab the whole family and swing by Ziggis to enjoy the Firecracker Blender over the 4th of July weekend only and receive a FREE, limited-edition sticker** with any purchase, while supplies last. Fresherz Just in time for summer, Ziggi's has added something refreshing and delicious to their menu for customers to enjoy. Their new line of Fresherz features: Melon Berry Tide- Juicy watermelon, crisp cucumber, a hint of mint & real strawberry slices Citrus Sunburst- Citrus, ginger, tropical coconut & real orange slices Dragon Fruit Splash- Vibrant dragon fruit, sweet lychee & real dragon fruit pieces The ability to replace the Fresherz base with tea, lemonade, club soda, Red Bull or coconut milk, makes this the perfect treat to enjoy at any time of day. With the inclusion of green coffee extract, Fresherz gives you natural energy that you can feel good about. Discover the full list of summer flavors available at every Ziggis location through their mobile app and enjoy the order ahead function, special offers and digital loyalty program. *Limit one sticker per Riptide purchase while supplies last. Valid through in-store and Ziggis Mobile App purchases only. **Limit one sticker per purchase. Available 7/2/22-7/4/22 while supplies last. Valid through in-store and Ziggis Mobile App purchases only. About Ziggis Coffee Ziggis Coffee, recently ranked on the 2022 Entrepreneur Magazine Franchise 500, is a leading specialty coffee shop and drive-thru franchise dedicated to serving only the finest roasted coffee, uniquely handcrafted drinks, and amazing, locally-made breakfast, lunch and snack options. Founded in 2004, the Colorado-based company is on a mission to elevate the standard of service within the coffee shop industry. From specializing in a variety of great-tasting menu items to providing fast and friendly service, the Ziggis Coffee brand is focused on creating a positive experience that is faster, more authentic, and convenient for the demand of consumers seeking higher-quality coffee and food options on the go. In addition to its distinctive menu and superior service, Ziggis Coffee is also committed to making a positive difference in the local communities it serves. With 50 locations nationwide and over 100 additional units in development, Ziggis Coffee is positioned to quickly grow its presence in a variety of communities across the U.S. To learn more about Ziggis Coffee and its franchising opportunities, visit ziggiscoffee.com/franchise/ or follow Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. ### Attachment WESTCHESTER, Ill., June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE: INGR), a leading global provider of ingredient solutions to the food manufacturing industry, today announced that it will host its 2022 Investor Day on Thursday, June 2, 2022, from its Ingredion Idea Labs innovation center in New Jersey. The presentation will begin at 9 a.m. (ET) and is expected to end at approximately 10:30 a.m. (ET). The event will be hosted by James Zallie, president and chief executive officer, and James Gray, executive vice president and chief financial officer, and include presentations from other members of the Companys executive leadership team followed by a Q&A discussion. A live webcast of the presentation will be available at https://ir.ingredionincorporated.com/, in the News and Events section, under Events and Presentations. Participants are encouraged to preregister on the Companys newsroom and log on to the webcast approximately 10 minutes before the start of the presentation. A replay of the presentation will be available on the Companys website shortly after the event and will be archived for one year. ABOUT INGREDION Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE: INGR) headquartered in the suburbs of Chicago, is a leading global ingredient solutions provider serving customers in more than 120 countries. With 2021 annual net sales of nearly $7 billion, the company turns grains, fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based materials into value-added ingredient solutions for the food, beverage, animal nutrition, brewing and industrial markets. With Ingredion Idea Labs innovation centers located around the world and more than 12,000 employees, the Company co-creates with customers and fulfills its purpose of bringing the potential of people, nature, and technology together to make life better. Visit ingredion.com for more information and the latest Company news. CONTACT: Investors: Jason Payant, 708-551-2584 Media: Becca Hary, 708-551-2602 Waterloo, Canada, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Maplesoft today announced a new release of MapleSim that makes it even easier for engineers to improve the design of machines that incorporate elements from multiple engineering domains. MapleSim is an advanced modeling and simulation tool that helps machine designers reduce development time, lower costs, and diagnose real-world performance issues, with its flexible modeling environment, built-in analysis tools, and connectivity to automation systems. The new MapleSim release adds to the range of components, apps and settings to expand the modeling scope, and makes it faster for engineers to build models and explore designs, reducing the effort required to produce more effective machines. When designing complex machines, there are many interactions between different engineering domains that must be considered. If these interactions are not accurately identified at the design stage, the final machine can respond in unwanted ways, and may even require expensive retrofitting. MapleSim is designed to support engineers in evaluating design concepts and identifying and solving performance issues in advance, by managing the entire, system-level model in a single platform. This makes it suitable for a broad range of industrial applications, including simulation of manufacturing and packaging systems, model development for hardware-in-the-loop and virtual commissioning, and more. MapleSim 2022 offers additional features that make it even faster to produce high-fidelity models that incorporate elements from a wide variety of specialized domains. These include a new app for creating custom configurations for directional control valves that allows more design flexibility. Updates to several add-on libraries also provide additional modeling support, including new components for modeling flow through air orifices and for heat-related flow changes in air and water, and the ability to model laminating in web handling systems. The new MapleSim release also offers simpler, more efficient options when working with models of complex machines and systems. With new stream-lined settings for signal connectors, the model diagrams are less cluttered and easier for technical reviews. In addition, an update to the add-on MapleSim CAD Toolbox extends connectivity to recent releases of popular CAD tools. With this toolbox, engineers can easily import their 2-D and 3-D diagrams into MapleSim, to see how their mechanical CAD models will behave as part of a larger, multidomain system and make improvements to their designs. The digital models created in MapleSim are truly amazing for shaping the design of machines that combine elements from multiple engineering domains, says Chris Harduwar, Vice President of Business Development at Maplesoft. The new release of MapleSim expands the modeling scope with new features and components, and it is now even simpler to use for modeling complex machines. Designers save time by using MapleSim models to explore the designs and test product features before applying hardware changes, reducing the time and money spent in prototyping and development. The MapleSim family of products includes MapleSim Insight, which gives machine builders powerful, simulation-based debugging and 3-D visualization capabilities by connecting directly to existing automation tools, and enables MapleSim models to be shared with teams who arent already familiar with modeling. In the latest update, MapleSim Insight now supports saving and managing sets of simulation results in order to quickly compare outcomes across multiple runs. It also has a new Tutorial Mode to allow less-technical teams to quickly leverage the more advanced visualization features. For more information about MapleSim, visit www.maplesim.com. About Maplesoft Maplesoft is the leading provider of high-performance software tools for engineering, science, and mathematics. Maplesoft Engineering Solutions provide advanced tools and services for system simulation, calculation management, and systems engineering, helping organizations maximize the power of their engineering knowledge so they can complete their projects quickly and successfully. The Maplesoft product suite includes Maple, the worlds most powerful math engine; Maple Flow, math software for engineering calculations; MapleSim, the advanced system-level modeling and simulation tool; and MapleMBSE, for rapid, error-free integration of engineering tasks into the systems-engineering process. Maplesoft products and services are used in machine design, robotics, aerospace, automotive, industrial automation, and many other fields where engineers face complex challenges. Customers include Boeing, FLSmidth, Ford, Google, Intel, NASA, and Samsung. Attachment OLNEY, Md., June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sandy Spring Bank announced today that Aaron Kaslow has been promoted to Chief Administrative Officer. Kaslow will continue to serve as General Counsel, and he will have expanded new duties that include Human Resources, Operations and Information Services. We must always look for ways to align our organization and leverage our people, including our executives, said Daniel J. Schrider, President and CEO of Sandy Spring Bank. Aarons leadership will provide significant value to these new areas of responsibility, and his expertise will help us as we continue to grow into a larger, more complex organization serving the Greater Washington region. Kaslow joined Sandy Spring Bank in September 2019. Leveraging his extensive merger and acquisition (M&A) experience, he was instrumental in guiding the bank through the successful acquisitions of Rembert Pendleton Jackson and Revere Bank in early 2020. Kaslow also led the development the companys inaugural Corporate Responsibility Report, which publishes annually. It has been my honor to be part of the talented leadership team at Sandy Spring Bank, said Kaslow. As a high-performing, local company, we have much to offer our clients and the communities we serve. We are on a sustained growth trajectory, and I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to provide the best possible client and employee experiences. Prior to joining the company, Kaslow was the Team Leader of Kilpatrick Townsends Financial Institution practice where he focused on M&A, corporate and securities matters, and regulatory matters for financial institutions. He has extensive experience in a wide variety of business combinations and has advised boards of directors on banking regulatory issues, public disclosure obligations and governance matters. Kaslow earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, and received his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School. He was recognized as a 2018 Washington D.C. Super Lawyer in the area of Securities & Corporate Finance by Super Lawyers magazine. He is listed in the 2018 and 2019 editions of Chambers USA: Americas Leading Lawyers for Business, and is ranked nationally as a Recognized Practitioner in the 2018 and 2019 editions. About Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc., headquartered in Olney, Maryland, is the holding company for Sandy Spring Bank, a premier community bank in the Greater Washington, D.C. region. With over 50 locations, the bank offers a broad range of commercial and retail banking, mortgage, private banking and trust services throughout Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Through its subsidiaries, Rembert Pendleton Jackson and West Financial Services, Inc., Sandy Spring Bank also offers a comprehensive menu of wealth management services. For more information, contact Sam Price at sprice@sandyspringbank.com or 301-260-3614. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ce1e76a5-766e-4d53-b552-cee3de136341 Southfield, MI, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sun Communities, Inc. (NYSE: SUI) (the Company), a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates, or has an interest in, manufactured housing (MH) communities, recreational vehicle (RV) resorts and marinas, today announced the dates for its second quarter 2022 earnings release and conference call. The Company will release its second quarter operating results on Monday, July 25, 2022, after markets close. A conference call to discuss these results will be held on Tuesday, July 26, 2022, at 11:00 A.M. ET. To Participate in the Conference Call: Dial in at least 5 minutes prior to start time. U.S. and Canada: (877) 407-9039 International: (201) 689-8470 The conference call will also be available live on Sun Communities website www.suncommunities.com. Conference Call Replay: U.S. and Canada: (844) 512-2921 or (412) 317-6671 Passcode: 13730379 The replay will be accessible through August 9, 2022. About Sun Communities, Inc. Sun Communities, Inc. is a REIT that, as of March 31, 2022, owned, operated, or had an interest in a portfolio of 603 developed MH, RV and marina properties comprising nearly 159,300 developed sites and over 45,700 wet slips and dry storage spaces in 39 states, Canada, Puerto Rico and the UK. For Further Information at the Company: Fernando Castro-Caratini Chief Financial Officer (248) 208-2500 www.suncommunities.com Houston, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright today announced the launch of LX Studio, an innovation-focused US subsidiary which will advance the firms digitally-driven service strategies to benefit clients beyond traditional legal advice. LX Studio will collaborate with established and emerging legal technology companies as well as alternative legal services providers to develop products and services for use by Norton Rose Fulbrights lawyers and clients. The business will include legal operations solutions for corporate legal departments. Additionally, LX Studio may partner with or invest in novel technologies and alternative legal services offerings to extend the firms existing platform. Norton Rose Fulbright has a culture of driving innovation and effecting change in the legal space with its global innovation and service delivery program, NRF Transform. LX Studio will be part of the global program and become home to some of the firms existing technology products, including the award-winning privacy compliance tool suite NT Analyzer. Jeff Cody, Norton Rose Fulbrights US Managing Partner, said: LX Studios focus is to provide innovative solutions that enable our clients to achieve their legal and business objectives in the most efficient way possible. We want to identify, develop and invest in the very best technology and help our clients put it to use quickly, effectively and comprehensively. Our clients want not only our legal advice but also our problem-solving capabilities. Were building this entire business around the idea of giving them more. Gina Shishima, Norton Rose Fulbrights Chief Strategy and Operations Partner, said: With the unending evolution of the business and practice of law, LX Studio allows us to capitalize on our tremendous resources and innovative focus. This initiative will bring new opportunities so that we can offer new and different services to support our clients. Christy Bentz, Norton Rose Fulbrights Chief Client Value & Innovation Officer, said: We want to meet our clients where they are. Legal advice is the core of the what we deliver, and LX Studio provides the platform to more intentionally collaborate with our clients on the how. Legal service delivery expectations continue to evolve, and LX Studio further positions us to build, codevelop and partner with our clients on personalized service solutions. The launch of LX Studio follows Norton Rose Fulbrights recent entrance into Chicago with a first-of-its-kind office in the citys startup-centric Fulton Market District. Partner Daniel Farris and a diverse team of tech-focused professionals opened this office with leading lawyers in a range of practices. Farris, who was named to the Fastcase 50 list of legal innovators, said: In my practice, Ive long been fortunate to work with clients who are disruptors by nature and energized by the challenges of digital and business transformation. In joining Norton Rose Fulbright and working to launch LX Studio, I am thrilled to be able to engage with those clients as a part of an enterprise that is equally eager to embrace new technology and new ways of working. For further information, please contact: Dan McKenna, US Director and Global Head of PR and Communications Tel: +1 713 651 3576 dan.mckenna@nortonrosefulbright.com Notes for editors: Norton Rose Fulbright Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright provides the worlds preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service. With more than 4,000 lawyers and other legal staff based in Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa and the Middle East, Norton Rose Fulbright has offices in more than 50 cities worldwide, including London, Houston, New York, Toronto, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Sydney and Johannesburg. Norton Rose Fulbright is recognized for its industry focus across all of the key sectors: financial institutions; energy, infrastructure and resources; transport; technology; life sciences and healthcare; and consumer markets. Through its global risk advisory group, the firm leverages its industry experience with its knowledge of legal, regulatory, compliance and governance issues to provide clients with practical solutions to the legal and regulatory risks facing their businesses. Operating in accordance with its global business principles of quality, unity and integrity, Norton Rose Fulbright aims to provide the highest possible standard of legal service in each of its offices and to maintain that level of quality at every point of contact. Norton Rose Fulbright Verein, a Swiss verein, helps coordinate the activities of Norton Rose Fulbright members but does not itself provide legal services to clients. For more information, see nortonrosefulbright.com/legal-notices. Law around the world nortonrosefulbright.com Attachment KANSAS CITY, Missouri, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vytelle announces the release of the Top 150 Proven Bulls. Together, with more than 30 of their network partners, Vytelle is sharing high accuracy bulls that have risen to the top of more than 94,000 animals of 25 different breeds and more than 289,000 RFI EPDs. Cattle producers need to be able to replicate the right genetics now, said Kerryann Kocher, Chief Executive Officer for Vytelle. Through Vytelles integrated technology platform, the reality of making reliable data-driven decisions is now. Vytelle and our network partners, are publishing this list of feed efficient bulls to assist cattle producers globally in driving a more accurate mating selection decision. Bulls appearing within the pages of the Top 150 Proven Bulls list must meet the following criteria: A minimum of a three-generation pedigree Residual Feed Intake (RFI) EPD accuracy of 0.6 or higher Animal or progeny were tested on a Vytelle SENSE system Vytelle curates the worlds largest multi-breed database. Each phenotyped animal strengthens the database providing producers insight to make profit-bearing decisions regarding selection for feed efficiency and performance. The selection possibilities for breeders across the globe are endless, commented Lisa Rumsfeld, Vice President of International Commercial Operation for Vytelle. As part of a balanced program, selecting cattle for feed efficiency using residual feed intake, can directly impact the bottom line as 70 percent of a beef producers total cost is feed. Our partners are enjoying a growing interest in their programs, identifying marketing premiums associated with feed efficiency and methane emissions reduction claims. Phenotypic data captured through the Vytelle SENSE system measures both individual animal feed intake and weight in parallel while cattle remain in their pens. The Feed Intake Nodes measure feed disappearance every second an animal is feeding, each time an animal feeds, to a 10-gram resolution. The In-Pen Weighing Positions measure individual animal partial body weight and growth. It weighs every second an animal is standing at the water trough, which can equate up to 450 weights a day. To find the full listing of the 2022 Top 150 Proven Bulls, visit https://vytelle.com/breeding-values/. ### About Vytelle Vytelle is a precision livestock company reshaping how cattle producers worldwide optimize their herds. Through Vytelles integrated technology platform, generations of genetic gains can be made in just a few years. This allows producers to sustainably deliver more protein with fewer inputs, helping to ensure meat and milk are viable, competitive food choices for future generations. Attachment TORONTO, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ceres Acquisition Corp. (NEO: CERE.U, CERE.WT; OTCQX: CERAF) (Ceres or the Corporation) announced today that it is seeking an extension to its permitted timeline, from June 30, 2022 to December 16, 2022, to extend the date by which Ceres has to consummate a qualifying transaction (the Proposed Extension). A special meeting (the Meeting) of the holders (the Class A Restricted Voting Shareholders) of Class A Restricted Voting Shares of Ceres (the Class A Restricted Voting Shares) is scheduled to be held at 1:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on June 22, 2022 at Stikeman Elliott LLPs offices at 199 Bay Street, Suite 5300, Toronto, Ontario, M5L 1B9. In connection with the Meeting, the Class A Restricted Voting Shareholders are being provided with the opportunity to deposit for redemption all or a portion of their Class A Restricted Voting Shares, irrespective of whether such holders vote for or against, or do not vote on, the Extension Resolution (as defined below), provided that they deposit (and do not subsequently validly withdraw) their Class A Restricted Voting Shares for redemption prior to 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on June 20, 2022. At the Meeting, Class A Restricted Voting Shareholders will be asked: To consider, and if deemed advisable, to approve, with or without variation, an ordinary resolution (the Extension Resolution), the full text of which is set forth in Appendix A of Ceres management information circular dated June 1, 2022 (the Circular), the Proposed Extension; and To transact such other business as may properly come before the Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof. All voting at the Meeting will be by a show of hands, unless a ballot is required or demanded. In case of a vote by a show of hands, each Class A Restricted Voting Shareholder present in person or by proxy is entitled to one vote. If a ballot is taken, each Class A Restricted Voting Shareholder present in person or by proxy is entitled to the number of votes that are attached to the Class A Restricted Voting Shares which such person is entitled to vote at the Meeting. In order to attend the Meeting in person, each attendee will have to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and must have not have: had recent symptoms of COVID-19; had a recent positive test for COVID-19; been recently identified as a close contact of someone with COVID-19 or with symptoms of COVID-19; or been told by health or government personnel to isolate or to stay in quarantine. As the COVID-19 pandemic is continually evolving, additional requirements or questions may apply at the date of the Meeting, and attendees should be prepared to show their proof of vaccination and will be required to certify that they satisfy the applicable conditions. Ceres has established certain investment criteria and guidelines as part of its process of evaluating potential targets for its qualifying transaction. Ceres believes that it has identified a number of promising targets and is currently evaluating the business of these prospective targets and engaging in active discussions with an aim towards announcing an exciting qualifying transaction for Ceres securityholders in the near future. If the Extension Resolution is approved and the Proposed Extension is made effective by Ceres board of directors (which effectiveness would be announced by Ceres at that time), Ceres will be required to redeem such Class A Restricted Voting Shares so deposited for redemption at an amount per share, payable in cash, equal to the pro-rata portion of: (a) the escrowed funds available in Ceres escrow account at the time of the Meeting, including any interest and other amounts earned thereon, less (b) an amount equal to the total of (i) any applicable taxes payable by Ceres on such interest and other amounts earned in the escrow account, (ii) any taxes of Ceres arising in connection with the redemption of the Class A Restricted Voting Shares, and (iii) actual and expected expenses directly related to the redemption. For illustrative purposes, as of the date hereof, the estimated redemption price is between US$10.00 and US$10.01 per Class A Restricted Voting Share. The remainder of the escrow funds shall remain in the escrow account and be available for use by Ceres to complete the consummation of a qualifying acquisition. Holders of Class A Restricted Voting Shares who do not redeem their Class A Restricted Voting Shares will retain their redemption rights and their ability to vote on any proposed qualifying transaction. The record date for the determination of registered holders of Class A Restricted Voting Shares of Ceres entitled to receive notice of, and to vote at, the Meeting is the close of business on May 20, 2022 (the Record Date). The Circular being sent to Class A Restricted Voting Shareholders contains a detailed description of the Proposed Extension, the Extension Resolution and other information relating to Ceres. Ceres urges Class A Restricted Voting Shareholders to consider carefully all of the information in the Circular. Class A Restricted Voting Shareholders who have any questions or need additional information with respect to the voting of their Class A Restricted Voting Shares should consult their financial, legal, tax or other professional advisors. About Ceres Acquisition Corp. Ceres is a special purpose acquisition corporation incorporated under the laws of the Province of British Columbia for the purpose of effecting an acquisition of one or more businesses or assets, by way of a merger, amalgamation, arrangement, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization, or any other similar business combination involving the Corporation. Ceres is continuing to explore potential targets for a qualifying transaction. Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forwardlooking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation and includes statements which reflect Ceres current expectations regarding future events. Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Ceres control, that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forwardlooking information. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk that a qualifying transaction may not be completed by Ceres' qualifying transaction deadline and the potential failure to obtain Class A Restricted Voting Shareholder approval for the Proposed Extension, the failure to satisfy the conditions to the consummation of any proposed qualifying transaction, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and any actions taken by other countries in response thereto, such as sanctions or export controls and the factors discussed under Risk Factors in the Corporations final prospectus dated February 25, 2020. Ceres undertakes no obligation to update such forwardlooking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Joe Crouthers Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Director Ceres Acquisition Corp. Chief Executive Officer, Ceres Group Holdings, LLC (424) 226-7864 or info@ceresgh.com Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or for dissemination in the United States TORONTO-Ontario, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avante Logixx Inc. (TSX.V: XX) (OTC: ALXXF) (Avante or the Company) is pleased to announce that, following the approval by shareholders at the meeting held on May 30, 2022, it has completed the sale of its subsidiary Logixx Security Inc. (Logixx) to SSC Security Services Corp. (TSXV: SECU, SSC) effective June 1, 2022 as previously announced in the Companys March 30, 2022 press release and its Management Information Circular dated April 28, 2022. Going forward, the Company intends to focus on in-lane acquisitions to support organic growth, expansion of international service offerings and the development and deployment of new technologies in Cyber Security, Health, and Advanced AI technologies to capture data around the world which can be used for predictive disaster mitigation for its clients and their assets. Since March 30, 2022, the Company has implemented operating expense cost savings of $1.6 million, on an annualized basis, the closing of its standalone corporate office and reductions of staff and vehicle leases. Management will continue efforts towards identifying further expense and lease obligation savings. After receipt of proceeds from the sale of Logixx, and full repayment of bank debt, strategic review transaction costs and recent severance arrangements, the Company will have zero debt and expects to have cash balances of $10 million, which is equivalent to approximately $0.38 per share. The Company also expects to have positive run rate Adjusted EBITDA as of the second quarter of its fiscal year ending March 31, 2023. Upon completion of the sale of Logixx, the Company amended and restated the credit facilities with its bank to provide for a demand-based revolving credit facility of $2 million (currently undrawn) plus arrangements for corporate visa and cash management requirements. I am pleased with the progress we have made towards transforming our business over a short period of time and we expect to make further announcements over the coming months said Manny Mounouchos, CEO and Board Chair of Avante. About Avante Logixx Inc. Avante Logixx Inc. (TSXV: XX), provides high-end security services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Avante Security Inc., serving residential customers located in Toronto and Muskoka regions of Ontario, Canada. With an experienced team, a focus on customer service excellence and development of innovative solutions, we remain committed to providing our shareholders with exceptional returns. Please visit our website at www.avantelogixx.com. Avante Logixx Inc. Emmanuel Mounouchos CEO 416 923 6984 manny@avantesecurity.com Forward-Looking Information and Cautionary Language This news release may contain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of applicable securities laws) relating to the business of the Company and the environment in which it operates. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as believe, anticipate, project, expect, intend, plan, will, may estimate, pro-forma and other similar expressions. These statements are based on the Companys expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections. The forward-looking statements in this news release are based on certain assumptions. They are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the Companys ability to achieve the benefits expected as a result of the sale of Logixx Security Inc., anticipated growth from acquisitions, new service offerings and from development and deployment of new technologies and the list of risk factors identified in the Companys Management Discussion & Analysis (MD&A), Annual Information Form (AIF) and other continuous disclosure documents available at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate as actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, these forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, except as expressly required by applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update any such statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Non-IFRS Financial Measures This press release includes certain measures which have not been prepared in accordance with IFRS such as EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA. These non-IFRS measures are not recognized under IFRS and, accordingly, users are cautioned that these measures should not be construed as alternatives to net income determined in accordance with IFRS. The non-IFRS measures presented are unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. References to EBITDA are to net income before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. References to Adjusted EBITDA are to net income before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization of intangibles & capitalized commissions, share-based payments, acquisition, integration and / or reorganization costs and deferred financing costs. Neither EBITDA nor Adjusted EBITDA is an earnings measure recognized by International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. Management believes that Adjusted EBITDA is an appropriate measure in evaluating Avantes performance. Readers are cautioned that neither EBITDA nor Adjusted EBITDA should be construed as an alternative to net income (as determined under IFRS), as an indicator of financial performance or to cash flow from operating activities (as determined under IFRS) or as a measure of liquidity and cash flow. Avantes method of calculating Adjusted EBITDA may differ from methods used by other issuers and, accordingly, Avantes Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similar measures used by other issuers. 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. RAPID CITY, S.D., June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) today announced that its Wyoming electric utility, Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power Company, doing business as Black Hills Energy, filed a rate review application with the Wyoming Public Service Commission requesting $15.4 million in new annual revenue. Since the companys last general rate filing in 2013, Black Hills Energy has invested approximately $250 million in safety, reliability and system integrity for more than 1,330 miles of electric distribution and 59 miles of electric transmission lines, which serve approximately 44,000 electric customers in Cheyenne. This rate review request reflects our long-standing commitment to our customers and to the greater Cheyenne community to deliver safe and reliable service, said Linn Evans, president and CEO of Black Hills Corp. This investment in our system, combined with excellent operational execution by our team, supports our ability to deliver top-quartile reliability to our Cheyenne customers. This investment is also essential to our ability to meet our customers demands for energy, while also preparing to meet steady economic growth in Cheyenne. As proposed, the rate review requests a capital structure of 54% equity, 46% debt and a return on equity of 10.3% for investments the company has made in its electric system in Cheyenne. Black Hills Energy is seeking to implement new rates in the first quarter of 2023. Black Hills Corporation Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) is a customer focused, growth-oriented utility company with a tradition of improving life with energy and a vision to be the energy partner of choice. Based in Rapid City, South Dakota, the company serves 1.3 million natural gas and electric utility customers in eight states: Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. More information is available at www.blackhillscorp.com and www.blackhillsenergy.com. Investor Relations Jerome E. Nichols 605-721-1171 jerome.nichols@blackhillscorp.com 24-hour Media Assistance 888-242-3969 Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statement This news release includes forward-looking statements as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. We make these forward-looking statements in reliance on the safe harbor protections provided under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this news release that address activities, events or developments that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward looking statements, including anticipated revenues from the new rate increase. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions which we believe are reasonable based on current expectations and projections about future events and industry conditions and trends affecting our business. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to our expectations and predictions is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that, among other things, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, the risk factors described in Item 1A of Part I of our 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC, and other reports that we file with the SEC from time to time. New factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward looking statements emerge from time-to-time, and it is not possible for us to predict all such factors, or the extent to which any such factor or combination of factors may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking statement. We assume no obligation to update publicly any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. TORONTO, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cerro Grande Mining Corporation (the Company or CEG) (CSE:CEG) announces that it has made the second instalment payment to Minera Tamidak Limitada (Tamidak) under the Asset Purchase and Contracts Assignment Agreement (the APA) dated December 1, 2020 entered into between Tamidak and the Companys wholly-owned subsidiary Minera Til Til SpA (Til Til) pursuant to which Til Til acquired from Tamidak the mining concessions and other assets covering the Pimenton Copper Gold Mining Project as originally reported in the Companys news release dated December 1, 2020. Pursuant to the APA, CEG has paid, on behalf of Til Til, the second installment in the amount of $1,300,000,000 Chilean Pesos (CDN$1,991,696.16 based on the nominal exchange rate of the Chilean peso to the Canadian dollar determined on May 31, 2022 as published by the Central Bank of Chile) of the total purchase price (the Purchase Price) payable thereunder ($3,900,000,000 Chilean Pesos) by issuing 39,833,923 common shares of the Company to Tamidak at a deemed issuance price of CDN$0.05 per share. Such shares are subject to a hold period expiring on October 2, 2022. Pursuant to the APA, the third and final installment of the purchase price, in the amount of $1,300,000,000 Chilean Pesos, is due no later than December 1, 2023 and is payable in cash or its equivalent in common shares of the Company, as Tamidak may elect in its sole and absolute discretion, at a price per share equal to the greater of (A) the simple average of the closing price per CEG common share on the CSE for the 10 consecutive trading days ending on the date immediately prior to such payment being made; and (B) CDN$0.05 per share (or such other minimum price per share as may be in effect pursuant to the policies and rules of the CSE at the relevant time). In case of payments to be made in common shares of the Company as aforementioned, the number of CEG common shares issuable shall be determined based on the nominal exchange rate of the Chilean peso to the Canadian dollar determined on the day before the applicable payment as published by the Central Bank of Chile. If the remaining Purchase Price installment indicated above is not timely and fully paid to Tamidak, the APA will be automatically terminated and CEG shall be required to return all the acquired assets to Tamidak. Further details relating to the APA is set out in the news release of the Company dated December 1, 2020 available at www.sedar.com under the Companys profile. This news release was prepared by management of CEG which takes full responsibility for its contents. Cerro Grande Mining Corporation is an exploration and development company with properties and activities currently focused in Chile. Cautionary Statement on Forward-looking Information: This press release contains certain forward-looking information. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, information relating to the payment of the future purchase price installments) constitute forward-looking information. This forward-looking information reflects the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company as well as certain assumptions including, the ability of the Company to make the last installment payment in a timely manner. Forward- looking information is subject to a number of significant risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations, include, but are not limited to, the inability of the Company to make the required instalment payment or the failure to achieve the expected benefits from the APA and the Pimenton Copper Gold Mining Project. Any forward-looking information 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 information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein. For further information, contact: Peter Hogg, CFO and interim CEO James Mac Auliffe E-Mail: ceg@cegmining.com Telephone: +56 9 9837 4476 Website: www.cegmining.com WETHERSFIELD Standing outside the Department of Motor Vehicles, Deputy Commissioner Tony Guerrera spread his arms, indicating the empty sidewalk outside the office. Take a quick second and take a look at this. The day after Memorial Day three years ago, the commissioner and I were in that office, staring at a line of people down to the parking lot. That has not happened today, Guerrera said Tuesday afternoon. We have a governor that gave us the resources and the tools to make sure the quality of life for every Connecticut resident or people that want to come into our state as easy as possible. Guerrera, along with Gov. Ned Lamont, DMV Commissioner Sibongile Bongi Magubane and state Sen. Will Haskell, chair of the legislatures Transportation Committee, discussed ways that the DMV has streamlined its services and the changes it will make in the future. When businesses and state agencies were forced to shut down in-person services at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the DMV, like other state departments, had to improvise, Guerrera said. The governor put all the forces out there to make sure we did what we had to do. The DMV didnt shut its doors, we made sure we made our employees safe, our customers safe, he said. We had to get people out of line, but make sure that we get them an appointment system and thats what we did. That appointment system is going to stay with us today, tomorrow and for the future of the DMV. The appointment system allowed nearly 750,000 Connecticut residents since January 2021 to conduct transactions online with the DMV, Magubane said. Alongside the online appointment system, the DMV is conducting a total restructuring of its website, she said. When citizens of Connecticut came to the DMV, it was really luck of the draw if they were able to get through with their transactions because they were not always clear on what they needed to bring in order to be successful, Magubane said. We are looking at overhauling our website because the website is key to ensuring that everyone understands what to expect when they arrive at the DMV, how long its going to take and also what they need to complete their transaction. The appointment system will also receive an upgrade, Magubane said. Previously, a separate appointment was made for each transaction someone was looking to complete at the DMV, a system that will be modified to allow multiple transactions at a time. In the past, most of our transactions were done in person and then we introduced an appointment systems, but its not integrated, Magubane said. In the future, when you want to establish an appointment at the DMV, you will be able to look at multiple transactions. You will know exactly how long its going to take in todays world you can only do one transaction and if you have another appointment, you come back. In the future youll be able to stack up your transactions, come in one and done and we will know what youre coming to do, she said. When he took office, Haskell said that many of the first emails he received from constituents were about the DMV, with complaints about the inability to schedule an appointment or about the DMVs confusing requirements. With the improvements to the DMVs website, appointment platform and ability to conduct some tasks online, such as license renewal, Haskell, D-Westport, said he no longer receives emails about the DMV. The processes were too cumbersome, and they required taking time out of their day. They required single, working parents, in between showing up to their job, getting kids to school and cooking dinner, it required them to also find an hour or two or three to go to their local DMV branch to try and complete those transactions, he said. In the pandemic, if theres a silver lining, its accelerated the progress this agency was making, Haskell said. The technological improvements made at the DMV will be mirrored at the Department of Labor come July 5, when unemployment compensation claims will be moved to an online system as well, Lamont said. It was very manual, very labor-intensive, very people-intensive. We werent able to keep up with the load of unemployment claims the likes of which we hadnt seen since the Great Depression, he said. Now we will be much better able to do that. Much of that is done electronically. abigail.brone@hearstmediact.com OSUN, Nigeria (AP) As health authorities in Europe and elsewhere roll out vaccines and drugs to stamp out the biggest monkeypox outbreak beyond Africa, some doctors acknowledge an ugly reality: The resources to slow the disease's spread have long been available, just not to the Africans who have dealt with it for decades. Countries including Britain, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, the United States, Israel and Australia have reported more than 500 monkeypox cases, many apparently tied to sexual activity at two recent raves in Europe. No deaths have been reported. Authorities in numerous European countries and the U.S. are offering to immunize people and considering the use of antivirals. On Thursday, the World Health Organization will convene a special meeting to discuss monkeypox research priorities and related issues. Meanwhile, the African continent has reported about three times as many cases this year. There have been more than 1,400 monkeypox cases and 63 deaths in four countries where the disease is endemic Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo and Nigeria according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So far, sequencing has not yet shown any direct link to the outbreak outside Africa, health officials say. Monkeypox is in the same family of viruses as smallpox, and smallpox vaccines are estimated to be about 85% effective against monkeypox, according to WHO. Since identifying cases earlier this month, Britain has vaccinated more than 1,000 people at risk of contracting the virus and bought 20,000 more doses. European Union officials are in talks to buy more smallpox vaccine from Bavarian Nordic, the maker of the only such vaccine licensed in Europe. U.S. government officials have released about 700 doses of vaccine to states where cases were reported. Such measures aren't routinely employed in Africa. Dr. Adesola Yinka-Ogunleye, who leads Nigerias monkeypox working group, said there are currently no vaccines or antivirals being used against monkeypox in her country. People suspected of having monkeypox are isolated and treated conservatively, while their contacts are monitored, she said. Generally, Africa has only had small stockpiles of smallpox vaccine to offer health workers when monkeypox outbreaks happen, said Ahmed Ogwell, acting director of the Africa CDC. Limited vaccine supply and competing health priorities have meant that immunization against monkeypox hasnt been widely pursued in Africa, said Dr. Jimmy Whitworth, a professor of international public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Its a bit uncomfortable that we have a different attitude to the kinds of resources we deploy depending on where cases are, he said. It exposes a moral failing when those interventions arent available for the millions of people in Africa who need them. WHO has 31 million doses of smallpox vaccines, mostly kept in donor countries and intended as a rapid response to any re-emergence of the disease, which was declared eradicated in 1980. Doses from the U.N. health agencys stockpile have never been released for any monkeypox outbreaks in central or western Africa. Dr. Mike Ryan, WHOs emergencies chief, said the agency was considering allowing rich countries to use the smallpox vaccines to try to limit the spread of monkeypox. WHO manages similar mechanisms to help poor countries get vaccines for diseases like yellow fever and meningitis, but such efforts have not been previously used for countries that can otherwise afford shots. Oyewale Tomori, a Nigerian virologist who sits on several WHO advisory boards, said releasing smallpox vaccines from the agency's stockpile to stop monkeypox from becoming endemic in richer countries might be warranted, but he noted a discrepancy in WHO's strategy. A similar approach should have been adopted a long time ago to deal with the situation in Africa, he said. This is another example of where some countries are more equal than others. Some doctors pointed out that stalled efforts to understand monkeypox were now complicating efforts to treat patients. Most people experience symptoms including fever, chills and fatigue. But those with more serious disease often develop a rash on their face or hands that spreads elsewhere. Dr. Hugh Adler and colleagues recently published a paper suggesting the antiviral drug tecovirimat could help fight monkeypox. The drug, approved in the U.S. to treat smallpox, was used in seven people infected with monkeypox in the U.K. from 2018 to 2021, but more details are needed for regulatory approval. If we had thought about getting this data before, we wouldnt be in this situation now where we have a potential treatment without enough evidence, said Adler, a research fellow at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Many diseases only attracted significant money after infecting people from rich countries, he noted. For example, it was only after the catastrophic Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014-2016 when several Americans were sickened by the disease among the more than 28,000 cases in Africa that authorities finally sped up the research and protocols to license an Ebola vaccine, capping a decades-long effort. At a press briefing on Wednesday, WHO's Ryan said the agency was worried about the continued spread of monkeypox in rich countries and was evaluating how it could help stem the disease's transmission there. I certainly didnt hear that same level of concern over the last five or ten years, he said, referring to the repeated epidemics of monkeypox in Africa, when thousands of people in the continent's central and western parts were sickened by the disease. Jay Chudi, a development expert who lives in the Nigerian state of Enugu, which has reported monkeypox cases since 2017, hopes the increased attention might finally help address the problem. But he nevertheless lamented that it took infections in rich countries for it to seem possible. You would think the new cases are deadlier and more dangerous than what we have in Africa, he said. We are now seeing it can end once and for all, but because it is no longer just in Africa. Its now everybody is worried. _____ Cheng reported from London. Cara Anna in Nairobi and Mike Stobbe in New York contributed to this report. Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media NEW HAVEN The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 across Connecticut decreased by dozens over the past week, Gov. Ned Lamonts administration announced Tuesday. As of Tuesday, there were 321 people hospitalized across the state with the coronavirus, officials said, citing data from the Connecticut Department of Public Health. Of that group, 96, or 29.91 percent, are not fully vaccinated. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LVIV, Ukraine A Russian missile hit rail lines in the western Lviv region, a key conduit for supplies of Western weapons and other supplies, officials said. Lviv region Gov. Maksym Kozytskyy said five people were wounded in the strike, adding that more information would be available Thursday. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the countrys interior minister, said the Russians hit the Beskidy railway tunnel in the Carpathian Mountains in an apparent effort to cut a key railway link and disrupt shipments of weapons and fuel. However, the head of Ukrainian railways said the damage to the railroad was still being assessed but the tunnel was spared. The strike reportedly delayed three passenger trains, but all later resumed their journeys. ___ KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: Report: China bars Russian airlines with foreign planes US sending medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine Italy imports more Russian oil despite impending embargo High prices, Asian markets could blunt EU ban on Russian oil Sanctioned Russian oligarchs megayacht hides in a UAE creek ___ Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine ___ OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: KYIV, Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that 200,000 children are among the Ukrainians who have been forcefully taken to Russia and dispersed across the vast country. They include children from orphanages, children taken with their parents and those separated from their families. The purpose of this criminal policy is not just to steal people but to make those who are deported forget about Ukraine and unable to return, Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to the nation on Wednesday, which was International Childrens Day. Zelenskyy said Ukraine would punish those responsible but first it would show Russia on the battlefield that Ukraine cannot be conquered, that our people will not surrender and our children will not become the property of the occupiers. Zelenskyy said 243 children have been killed so far in the war, 446 have been wounded and 139 are missing, adding that it could be more as his government doesnt have a full picture of the situation in areas occupied by Russian troops. He then described the deaths of 11 children, calling them by their first names and saying how they were killed. _ LVIV, Ukraine A regional governor in western Ukraine said a Russian airstrike on transport infrastructure wounded two people Wednesday. Lviv region Gov. Maksym Kozytskyy didnt name the target of the Russian strike near the city of Lviv. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the countrys interior minister, said the Russians hit the Beskidy railway tunnel in the Carpathian Mountains in an apparent effort to cut a key railway link and disrupt shipments of weapons and fuel. The Lviv region has served as a key conduit for supplies of Western weapons and other supplies. _ KYIV, Ukraine The Ukrainian Orthodox Church on Wednesday said two monks and a nun have been killed in the shelling of a historic monastery in eastern Ukraine. The church said in a statement that three monks were also wounded by Mondays shelling, which heavily damaged the Sviatohirsk monastery in the Donetsk region. It didnt give further details. The monastery, located on the steep right bank of the Seversky Donets River, is one of the most important historic Orthodox monasteries in Ukraine. The monastery provided shelter to civilians fleeing the fighting and had previously been hit by Russian shelling as the Russian troops were pressing their offensive in Donbas. ___ KYIV, Ukraine A regional Ukrainian governor on Wednesday said Russian troops have taken control of about 80 percent of the key city of Sievierodonetsk. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said Russian troops were advancing amid fierce street battles with Ukrainian defenders of the city. He noted that in some districts the Ukrainian troops managed to push the Russians back. Sievierodonetsk, the administrative center of the Luhansk region, has been the focus of Russias offensive in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland of Donbas. It has come under relentless Russian bombardment, and Haidai said Tuesday that Russian air strike hit a tank with nitric acid at a chemical factory, releasing toxic fumes. ___ COPENHAGEN, Denmark Two exit polls by Danish broadcasters show that around two thirds of voters in Wednesdays referendum backed abandoning Denmarks 30-year-old opt-out from the European Unions common defense policy. TV2 broadcaster said that 66.6% voted in favor of ending the opt-out which would have limited practical effect for either Denmark or the EU and 33.4% against. Public broadcaster DR had the figures at 69% for and 30.9% against. The polls were published just after voting ended. The referendum was the latest example of European countries seeking closer defense links with allies in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine. The main effect of abandoning the opt-out will be that Danish officials could stay in the room when EU colleagues discuss defense topics and Danish forces can take part in EU military operations. ___ PARIS The head of Interpol on Wednesday raised alarms about a possible uptick in weapons trafficking once the war in Ukraine ends. Interpol Secretary-General Jurgen Stock told the Anglo-American Press Association that he has no doubt illegal arms trafficking will increase. We have seen that in the Balkans region, Stock said. We have seen that in theaters in Africa that, of course, organized crime groups try to exploit this chaotic situation, availability of weapons and even weapons that are used by the military. Small weapons are the main concern, he said. Stock encouraged Interpols 195-member countries to intensively use available databases that can help trace and track weapons, for instance those stolen in another country. No country in our region can deal with it in isolation because the criminals Im talking about are operating globally, Stock said. Interpol, based in Lyon, France, does not carry out investigations but provides training for police and customs officers to, for instance, identify trafficking routes, Stock said. ___ KYIV, Ukraine Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday thanked Poland for its military support. Speaking at a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Zelenskyy hailed what he described as unprecedented defense support from Warsaw. He also voiced gratitude to Poland for hosting Ukrainians who were forced to leave the country during the war, praising its warm and humane attitude to our people. Our relations have progressed through the war of Russia against Ukraine from warm and good-neighborly relations to another stage of strong and historic ties, Zelenskyy said. ___ WASHINGTON NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday said hes convening a meeting of senior officials from Finland, Sweden and Turkey to try to overcome Ankaras objections to the two Nordic countries joining the alliance. Stoltenberg told reporters that the talks will be held in Brussels in a few days with senior officials, but provided no further details. Im confident that we will find a way forward, he said. Roused by security concerns over Russias war on Ukraine, Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO last month. But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is blocking their path. He has said theyre not doing enough to fight Kurdish extremism. Asked how long it might take to end the standoff, Stoltenberg said his goal is before the NATO summit. U.S. President Joe Biden, Erdogan and their NATO counterparts are meeting in Madrid from June 28-30. We want to make sure that all allies have their security concerns taken into account, and that includes Turkey, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. ___ THE HAGUE, Netherlands The Dutch government on Wednesday announced what it is calling the biggest boost in its military spending since the end of the Cold War as war rages in Ukraine. Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said threats in the world and the war in Ukraine show that peace and security cannot be taken for granted. Ollongren unveiled 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) a year in increased military spending. The extra money will fund military hardware purchases in coming years including six new F-35 fighter jets and a doubling of the militarys fleet of MQ-9 Reaper drones from four to eight. The Defense Ministry said the investment means the Netherlands will meet the NATO agreed defense spending of 2% of its gross domestic product in 2024 and 2025. It also aims to ease shortages in military supplies and equipment. That will enable military personnel to work with the best equipment and train a lot without constant shortages of spare parts, transport and ammunition, the ministry said. ___ RIYADH, Saudi Arabia Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday said international sanctions are affecting Russias ability to export its own grain amid fears of a global food shortage. Speaking during a visit to Saudi Arabia, Lavrov said Russian grain exports may not be directly under sanctions, but the ships carrying the grain face extra hurdles. Although the West very loudly reminds that grain was not subject to sanctions, for some reason they shyly keep silent that ships that carry Russian grain did fall under the sanctions, he said. They are not accepted in foreign ports, in European ports, and they are not insured. And, in principle, all the logistical and financial chains related to the supply of grain to world markets, they were under the sanctions of our Western colleagues. Russia has also been accused of preventing Ukraine from exporting its grain harvest and of looting Ukrainian grain supplies for Russian use. ___ BERLIN Germanys foreign minister says the West must give Ukraine long-term support, and is defending the time its taking to deliver weapons systems to Kyiv. Annalena Baerbock told the German parliament that Russian President Vladimir Putin has fundamentally changed his strategy after failing to take Ukraine quickly. She said that he is now counting on having more staying power than we who support Ukraine. Baerbock said Wednesday that we need staying power in supporting Ukraine. The minister fended off criticism of perceived delays in fulfilling promises to send weapons, telling lawmakers that the stuff has to arrive and above all the soldiers must be able to use it. Her comments came hours after Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany will send modern air-defense missiles. Baerbock said those were originally supposed to go to another country, which she didnt identify. She said that we need these medium- and long-term signals that we havent given up on Ukraine in three months, but that we are defending it durably as we can without participating in this war ourselves. ___ STOCKHOLM United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says there is progress in talks to allow the export of grain stored in Ukrainian ports and ensure Russian food and fertilizer have unrestricted access to global markets. I think that there is progress, but we are not yet there, Guterres said Wednesday, adding these are very complex things, because everything is interlinked. Russias war on Ukraine has closed the countrys Black Sea ports, halting food exports to many developing countries. Guterres reiterated that the world should have access to the Russian production of fertilizers and foods that is also essential for global markets in the present situation. Guterres spoke in Stockholm where he met with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson ahead of a climate and environment conference Thursday and Friday. ___ MOSCOW A leading Russian scientist has urged Moscow not to shut itself off from scientific cooperation with unfriendly countries such as the United States. Alexander Sergeev, president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a state-backed body linking research institutes and labs across the country, said ties between scientists in Russia and abroad certainly must continue, in comments reported by the Interfax news agency Wednesday. The Russian government has drawn up an official list of unfriendly countries, including those which have issued sanctions against Russia such as the U.S., Britain, Japan and European Union members like France and Germany. We should not in any case, on our own initiative, perhaps following the slogans of various hotheads, break off relationships with our colleagues in unfriendly countries, Sergeev said. ___ MOSCOW A Kremlin spokesman says Moscow negatively views U.S. plans to supply more weapons to Ukraine. The Biden administration announced on Tuesday that it will send Ukraine a small number of high-tech, medium-range rocket systems. Ukrainian leaders have begged for rocket launchers as they struggle to stall Russian progress in the Donbas region. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during his daily conference calls with journalists on Wednesday that Moscow doesnt trust Kyivs assurances that the multiple-launch rocket systems supplied by the U.S. will not be used to attack Russia. U.S. officials say the aid package expected to be unveiled Wednesday tries to strike a balance between the desire to help Ukraine battle ferocious Russian artillery barrages while not providing arms that could allow Ukraine to hit targets deep inside Russia and trigger an escalation in the war. Peskov nonetheless accused the U.S. of deliberately and diligently pouring fuel into the fire. The U.S. sticks to the line of fighting with Russia until the last Ukrainian (left standing), he said. ___ WARSAW, Poland Polands prime minister says the European Union member country will serve as an economic hub for neighboring Ukraine, helping it export grain and other products while Russia blocks Ukraines export routes, chiefly its ports. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki spoke Wednesday in the Ukrainian town of Borodyanka, near Kyiv. Morawiecki was in the heavily damaged settlement to inaugurate a series of container houses for homeless residents that was funded by Poland. Morawiecki said Poland is working on expanding its infrastructure and capacity to facilitate the export of millions of tons of Ukrainian grain and other agriculture products. Poland is receiving EU funds for the purpose, Morawiecki said. He stressed that North Africas countries rely heavily on Ukraine grain and could face problems feeding their populations without it. ___ LISBON, Portugal Portugal has sent 146 Marines to join a NATO force stationed in Lithuania as part of efforts to bolster the alliances eastern flank in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine. The deployment includes divers specializing in deactivating mines and other explosive devices. Portugals defense ministry said the aim of the mission is to support high levels of readiness and discourage direct or indirect threats against NATO members, especially in the Baltic Sea region. The detachment which departed Wednesday is to remain in Lithuania for three months. ___ COPENHAGEN, Denmark Polling stations are open in Denmark for voters to decide whether to abandon their countrys 30-year-old opt-out from the European Unions common defense policy. The referendum on Wednesday is the latest example of European countries seeking closer defense links with allies in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine. It follows Sweden and Finlands historic bids to join NATO. Some 4.2 million Danish voters are eligible to cast ballots in the referendum. The yes side - in favor of getting rid of the 1992 opt-out - has been ahead in recent months. Polls showed it with around 40% support and the no side with 30%. ___ KYIV, Ukraine A regional governor in southern Ukraine says Russian troops are retreating and blowing up bridges to obstruct a possible Ukrainian advance. Mykolayiv region governor Vitaliy Kim claimed Wednesday on the Telegram messaging app that Russia was on the defensive. They are afraid of a breakthrough by the (Ukrainian Armed Forces), but we are not afraid and we support our troops, he wrote. Kim didnt specify exactly where the retreat he described was happening. The parts of the Mykolayiv region which have been held by Russian forces in recent days are close to the large Russia-occupied city of Kherson. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Tuesday that Ukrainian fighters had seen some success in the Kherson direction. Russia is concentrating most of its military power on trying to capture all of eastern Ukraines Donbas region. ___ BRUSSELS The European Unions asylum agency says the number of people from former Soviet countries seeking international protection in Europe has skyrocketed since Russia launched its war in Ukraine. The agency said Wednesday that about 14,000 Ukrainians sought asylum in March, a figure some 30 times higher than before the war that started Feb. 24. The number is on top of the estimated 3 million Ukrainians who have applied for emergency protection under an EU program that provides shelter, access to jobs, medical treatment and education to war refugees. The biggest increases in asylum-seekers were recorded among citizens from Belarus, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. But the EU agency says its not clear whether these people came from their home countries or were living in Ukraine when the war started. The number of Russians seeking asylum in the EU also rose to 1,400 in March, the highest level since 2018. Asylum is usually granted to people in danger of suffering serious harm due to their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership of a social group, and to those fleeing war, torture and degrading treatment. ___ BERLIN German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says his country will supply Ukraine with modern anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems, stepping up arms deliveries amid criticism that Germany isnt doing enough to help Kyiv. Scholz told German lawmakers on Wednesday that the government has decided to provide Ukraine with IRIS-T missiles developed by Germany together with other NATO nations. He said Germany will also supply Ukraine with radar systems to help locate enemy artillery. The announcements come amid claims at home and abroad that Germany has been slow to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs to defend itself against Russia. GREENWICH After a surge in new cases of COVID-19 this spring, the Greenwich Public Schools said 686 total cases have been reported in May among students and staff, making it the second biggest total for one month this school year, according to the districts online tracker. In the latest update of the districts tracker on Tuesday, Greenwich schools reported 47 new cases of COVID-19. The report came in the first day back after classes were closed for the three-day Memorial Day holiday weekend. The 47 new cases was a slight uptick from the 44 new cases reported last Friday. But the number of COVID-19 cases in the twice-a-week updates in the school district has fluctuated widely in recent weeks. Since the Spring Recess in April, the breakdown has been 63 cases reported on April 26; 44 cases on April 29; 55 cases on May 3; 81 cases on May 6; 113 cases on May 10; 112 cases on May 13; 95 cases on May 17; 65 cases on May 20; 74 cases on May 24; and 44 cases on Friday. The total number of COVID-19 cases reported since students returned to classrooms on April 24 after a weeklong Spring Recess totals 793, according to the tracker. The Greenwich Public Schools has reported more cases of COVID-19 since Spring Recess than it reported in the entire 2020-21 school year, when it reported 700 cases. In January, the omicron variant hit the state hard and the district reported 1,422 cases of COVID-19 for the whole month. A total of 3,295 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the school district since classes began Sept. 1. That is more than quadruple the number of cases reported in the 2020-21 school year. Active cases The number of active cases of COVID-19 saw a big drop as students returned from the three-day weekend. As of Tuesday, the Greenwich Public Schools was reporting 40 active cases of COVID-19, down from 51 active cases on Friday; 67 active cases on May 24; 68 active cases May 20; 93 active cases on May 17; and 119 active cases on May 13, according to the tracker. Active cases were reported in 12 of the school buildings, with the most 11 active cases reported at Greenwich High, the largest school in the district. Since the start of the school year, GHS has reported 880 cases of COVID more cases than were reported in the entire district in the 2020-21 school year. The rest of the schools reported COVID-19 numbers in single digits, with six active cases at Old Greenwich; five active cases at Eastern Middle; four active cases at Central, North Mianus and Riverside; and one active case at at Cos Cob, Hamilton Avenue, International School at Dundee, New Lebanon, North Street and Western Middle. There are no active cases reported at Glenville, Julian Curtiss or Parkway. Of the 40 active cases, 31 were reported among students; four among teachers; two each among nonteaching staff members and service providers; and one administrator, according to the district. A number of families in the Greenwich Public Schools have been hit hard by COVID-19 this school year, with 507 families reporting 1,092 cases. More numbers Since March 1, when the Greenwich school district moved to a mask-optional policy, a total of 1,304 cases of COVID-19 have been reported among students and staff, nearly twice the number of cases that were reported in the entire 2020-21 school year. The monthly totals for new cases of COVID-19 reported in the Greenwich school district have varied widely, with 686 cases in May, 339 cases in April, 167 cases in March, 137 cases in February, 1,422 cases in January, 392 cases in December, 65 cases in November, 29 cases in October and 58 cases in September, according to the tracker. The school district updates its online tracker twice each week to keep the community informed on the COVID-19 pandemic. It's been quite a while since Google last revamped its messaging apps, and we almost thought the search giant was finally over constantly tinkering with its messaging apps and services. Well, not so. Today the company announced that it's merging Meet with Duo. So far the former was aimed at business users primarily, while the latter was intended as everyone's video messaging app to rival Apple's FaceTime. Starting "in the coming weeks", Google will add all of the Meet features into the Duo app. Then, "later this year", the Duo app will be renamed to Google Meet, at which point Meet will be the company's single video communications service. At least until Google changes its mind again, that is. And this being Google, and the topic being messaging apps, it's pretty much a given that it will. Google's constant launching, shelving, re-launching, re-branding, re-shelving, re-resurrecting, and merging of its various messaging-related apps has gotten so notorious over the years that it's practically a meme at this point. Anyway, back to the merging at hand - Duo will keep all of its existing video calling features even under the new name, and if you're a Duo user your conversation history, contacts, and messages are safe as there won't be another app to download. You'll just wake up one day and find that Duo has a new name: Meet, and all of the additional features on top of what you're used to. These new features include customizable virtual backgrounds in calls and meetings, scheduling of meetings, in-meeting chat, live sharing of content, real-time closed captions, video calls with up to 100 participants, "enhanced video and audio experiences with noise cancellation", and integration with other Google tools like Gmail, Calendar, Assistant, and Messages. If you are using Duo or Meet at no cost today, you won't have to pay anything for "the new experience". If you're currently using the Meet app, once Duo is renamed to Meet you'll be offered the option to install that app when you open the old Meet app. Until then, the original Meet app will continue to work, and Meet in Gmail won't be affected at all by the app shenanigans. Source We are still at least a couple of months away from the official unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4, but we already know what the smartphone will look like, thanks to the renders that leaked last month. A few specs of the Galaxy Z Flip4 have also leaked already, and now a complete list of the Galaxy Z Flip4's specs has surfaced, painting a clearer picture of Samsung's 2022 foldable smartphone. The source claims that the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 will run Android 12-based One UI 4 out of the box and have the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC under the hood with 8GB RAM and two storage options - 128GB and 256GB. This is in line with the Geekbench listing where the smartphone was spotted with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, 8GB RAM, and Android 12. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4's leaked render (Source: OnLeaks and 91mobiles) However, while previous leaks claimed the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 would come with a 3,400 mAh battery, the source of today's leak says the smartphone will pack a 3,700 mAh battery with 25W wired and 10W wireless charging support (Flip3 came with 15W wired charging). The Galaxy Z Flip4 will sport a 6.7" FullHD+ 120Hz AMOLED screen with a punch hole in the center for the 10MP selfie camera. The outer AMOLED screen, which is bigger than Flip3's (2.1" vs. 1.9"), will be joined by 12MP primary and 12MP ultrawide cameras. Source Putting her Guam roots front and center, Kylie Taitano has spent the last five months knocking on thousands of doors, making hundreds of fundraising calls, and reaching out to over 100,000 people through text and social media ads in her grassroots campaign as a Democratic candidate in San Diegos 50th Congressional District to bring inafamaolek to the nations capital. I always start off every single conversation I have with a voter telling them Im CHamoru, Im Filipina, Im from Guam and how inafamaolek has shaped my political identity, says the 30-year-old former Latte Heights resident. People think that its pie in the sky, or its impossible, and yeah, maybe I might be naive. But inafamaolek is what has kept me grounded and is a vision for what America should be like that I feel like I can bring to Washington. And the people out here love that. They love it when I talk about inafamaolek because its new to them. But its not new to us, its our way of life, ever since we were born. Taitano is one of five candidates on the June 7 ballot vying to represent coastal and north inland San Diego County, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the Nov. 8 general election. So honestly, right now, its a toss-up and were finding out at the doors we knocked on that people are starting to recognize the campaign and my name, Taitano said. San Diegos a safe blue Democratic seat. So if we make it through the primary to the general, its going to be a real interesting discussion on what our chances are, because I do believe the district Im running in, aligns very closely with my politics as a whole. CHamoru roots Taitano is the oldest daughter of four children to Louvie Benitez-Taitano of Machanao, Dededo, and Ed Taitano, familian Queto, of Yigo. Growing up on island, she remembers spending time with her CHamoru grandparents, John Lloyd Salas Taitano and Taffy Quintanilla Taitano. My core childhood memory was going to visit nana and papa in Yigo, hanging out with my cousins and eating nanas food and hearing papa play on the piano, she said. After she graduated from Wettengel Elementary School in 2003, the family, including her grandparents, moved to Murrieta, California. It felt like a new adventure and I dont remember feeling sad that I was leaving Guam, because we were still able to preserve a little bit of the island culture here. My dads eldest brother was here with my cousin. My nana and papa moved out, actually around the same time since they wanted to be with their grandkids. So it didnt feel like too much of a change. She graduated with a computer science degree from the University of California, San Diego, in 2014 and got a job at Intuit as a software engineer. My plan for 2022 was originally to become a software engineering manager since Ive been in the tech field for eight years now, after graduating from UCSD, she said. She quickly switched gears, though, after being approached by community leaders to run for Congress. Recruited to run Through all of the community work that Ive done with my nonprofit CODE with Her and the work that I did with Bernie (Sanders, the 2020 presidential candidate), we knocked on thousands and thousands of doors, back in 2020. I guess I was noticed and was asked if I would consider running, Kylie Taitano said. It would be the ultimate form of community service to do this, so I was like, let me take a risk. Ive always been a by the book person, she said. You know, I attribute that to my mom raising me to put education and career first. And so this is truly the first time in my life when I decided to jump into something that I didnt know. When I told my friends and family, nobody was surprised at all, she added. I remember my mom saying years ago, youre probably gonna, run for mayor or something, and I am like, Oh mom thats just a pipe dream. So in January she got a leave from Intuit to pursue her pipe dream. Theyre holding my job until after the primary and then were going to kind of talk from there if we make it through to the general, she said. With the primary days just away, she reflects on the last five months. The days are long, but the months are short. Some days I was like, Oh my gosh, can this day just be over? Because I would be pulled in a million different directions, doing fundraising calls, door knocking, organizing and managing my team, and having to deal with the things that you deal with in politics. But it just went by really, really, really fast. Most days she is on the phone for up to six hours talking to voters and donors. Telling them about who I am, why Im running, what my background is, and my qualifications and then asking them to donate, you know, whatever amount they can to help out our campaign, she said of her grassroots campaign where she doesnt accept corporate donations. And youd be surprised; Ive met a lot of people who are very generous in a 10-minute conversation where theyre willing to donate, like 100 bucks to someone that they just met on the phone without even having met in person. Probably the hardest one out of all is asking your friends and family for money, thats the one that I struggle with the most, she said. I have so much mamahlao asking for money. The biggest contributor to having mamahlao about it is the relationship, she added. You care and you love these people, and they love you, and they care about you. And you feel like by asking them for help, that youre disturbing them in some way, and that youre bothering them, and you want to preserve the relationship that you have. And hope that it doesnt get messed up by asking for money. Its very, very personal. She heeded some sage advice that when it comes to politics and family and friends, one shouldnt feel that they are obligated to support you. Thankfully I have had no friendships ruined because of it because I respect where theyre coming from, but it doesnt mean it doesnt hurt. Climate change On the campaign trail, she is passionate about climate change policies and legislation, living through Guam typhoons and Southern California wildfires. During Typhoon Pongsona (in 2002), I remember my mom putting out water in the tub outside all day so we have a hot bath and shell heat up like cans of Chef Boyardee by candlelight, so that we could have a hot meal since we didnt have power, she said. She also remembers the typhoon destroying the backyard extension of her maternal grandparents Latte Heights home. My uncle, my auntie and my cousin were living there. That entire part of my grandparents house got destroyed by Typhoon Pongsona. More recently she endured devastating wildfires in San Diego County. The fires were so bad down here, causing a blood orange sky and I remember it was really hard to breathe, she said. So thats why climate is so important to me, because of all these lived experiences. And I feel like its not a matter of if, its a matter of when its going to happen again. On Election Day shell be up early and stay up late. Were gonna be out knocking on doors, all day, from 9 a.m. until the polls close at 8, Kylie Taitano said. A positive campaign Ive actually chosen a really casual bar downtown to hang out in to see results come in. Were just going to hang out and celebrate the campaign and all the hard work that everybody has done. She is all too aware of the importance and significance of her stateside candidacy. We are the same people, same blood, born on the same island, in the same hospital, probably went to the same schools, and yet, one of us has voting power in Congress and the other doesnt, she said. Its literally just location-based, and when people see the disparity, they really buy into the fact of how important this is. It fuels me to make sure that Ive run a positive campaign because I represent our people. And you know, no matter what happens on election night, the legacy that I want to leave is people understanding who the people of Guam are. Dededo resident Rita Wojciechowski shows an image of a table she fabricated from repurposed vehicle tires during a Guam Unique Merchandise and Art training course at the Dededo Senior Citizens Center Jan. 15, 2022. Former Gov. Carl Gutierrez, former Lt. Gov. Kaleo Moylan, former Supreme Court of Guam Chief Justice Benjamin Cruz, Guam Del. Mike San Nicolas, Vice Speaker Tina Muna Barnes and a descendant of former slave Dred Scott are among those who filed briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court during the past week, asking justices to hear a case related to U.S. citizenship and territorial rights. The case could give justices an opportunity to address and possibly overrule the Insular Cases, which are a series of race-based U.S. Supreme Court decisions from the early 1900s that have been used to deny equal rights to residents of the territories, including Guam. U.S. citizens who live in Guam are not allowed to vote for U.S. president and have limited or no access to some federal programs that are available to citizens in the rest of the nation. The briefs filed with the Supreme Court are in connection with a 2018 lawsuit by Utah resident John Fitisemanu, who was born in American Samoa. He sued to be recognized as a U.S. citizen, citing the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. Unlike residents of other U.S. territories, those born in American Samoa are considered U.S. nationals instead of U.S. citizens because Congress never authorized birthright citizenship for American Samoa. The American Samoa government opposes birthright U.S. citizenship, citing concerns related to cultural preservation and self-determination. Fitisemanu won his case in the Utah district court, but lost in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which in June 2021 ruled that it is up to Congress to decide whether to grant birthright citizenship to American Samoa. Fitisemanu in April petitioned the Supreme Court to hear his case. The court, which rejects about 97% of the petitions it receives each year, is expected to announce later this year if it will grant the Fitisemanu petition. Eight different briefs have been filed since May 26, urging the Supreme Court to grant the petition and hear the Fitisemanu case. The most recent brief was filed May 31, on behalf of former elected officials of the U.S. territories of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This case ... provides a rare chance to both correct one of the most grievous errors in this courts history and to finally provide certainty that the citizenship of people born in Guam, the CNMI, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands has equal stature to the citizenship of people born in the 50 states, their brief states. Jackson Lynne Jackson, a great-great-grandaughter of Dred Scott, filed a brief May 27, asking justices to accept the Fitisemanu petition and overturn the lower courts ruling in the case. Scott, an enslaved Black man, in 1847 tried to sue for his freedom, claiming it was his right to sue as a U.S. citizen, but the Supreme Court in 1857 rejected his claim, ruling that no person of African descent was or could become a U.S. citizen. The Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment, passed in 1866 at the end of the Civil War, overturned the Dred Scott decision, stating All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. In denying American Samoans the protections of the Citizenship Clause, the decision below echoes the tragic mistakes of Dred Scott, Jacksons brief states. It states the lower court ruling in Fitisemanu, defies the clear purpose of the Fourteenth Amendment: to remove the question of citizenship from the political branches. For many in power at the time, the prospect of bringing the territories racially inferior people into the American polity was almost an unacceptable proposition, Jacksons brief states, adding that theories were concocted to limit the Constitutions effect outside the nations contiguous borders. These supposedly sophisticated legal theories reflected the social Darwinism of the day, a fear of unfit and savage alien races, Jacksons brief states. Legislation to give the Guam Election Commission extra funding to conduct early voting and the Primary Election died on the session floor Tuesday due to a disagreement between senators over where the funds would come from. With early voting set to begin on July 28, the Commission requested the funding in part to pay for a facility to host early voting. The Westin was awarded the project, which will cost about $15,000 a month in rental over five months. According to GEC Director Maria Pangelinan, the Commission needs to sign off on the project by July 1. GEC should have the money to cover the contract, but will still need extra funding to pay staff to run the voting center, Pangelinan said. Well see what we can do. The show must go on. Sen. Joe San Agustins Bill 281 set aside $609,000 for GEC to host the primary and early voting. Of that $276,000 needs to go for the early voting center, which besides rent will require 20 staff hires and supplies costs. San Agustins bill would take the money from excess General Fund revenue thats collected this fiscal year. Bureau of Budget and Research Management Director Lester Carlson told lawmakers Tuesday that GovGuam is on track to collect an excess of $87 million in revenue for the fund so far, and roughly $56.1 million of that amount is still available after taking other budget items into account. But Speaker Therese Terlaje attempted to amend the bill to use whatever money was left over from fiscal 2021, in order to free up fiscal 2022 revenue for other purposes, including a cut to gas taxes that she has proposed. According to our calculations, so far, at least a million dollars in additional excess revenues remain for FY 21, she said, admitting that a final audit on the money remaining was not yet complete. But I think its safe to say that there might even be more. San Agustin objected to the amendment. Number one the audit? Its not been completed yet, he said. That was stated even during the public hearing. If that funding was available, as my colleague mentioned, I wouldnt have any problem with identifying it, upfront, to come from (fiscal 2021). But we werent even sure yet on the amount, if it was a big one. Lawmakers were split over where the money should come from, but Terlajes amendment ultimately failed. San Agustin moved to place Bill 281 into the voting file. But Sen. Telo Taitague, who was in support of Terlajes amendment objected, and the measure failed to get enough votes to move to the voting file. Pangelinan said San Agustin called me right away and told me he will try for the next session. The Primary Election is on Aug. 27. The best float for this years 78th Liberation Day parade will be determined by the people of Guam. During the Mayors Council of Guam meeting on Wednesday, Piti Mayor and council President Jesse Alig announced more details regarding the village floats. One of which is that voting for the best float will be through social media platforms since many in the community, including manamko, have accounts. He said that the details of how voting online are still being determined, but that there will not be a cash prize this year. Presentation Alig went on to say that each village float will have the same size flatbed trailer so that all mayors offices can participate financially and physically. Do what you can do for your village. However you want to do your float, prepare it, and lets show it off, Alig said. Since there hasnt been a theme announced for the parade, Alig added that the floats could showcase anything from dancers to banners. A theme for the parade will be announced by the Mayors Council of Guam and Guam Visitors Bureau, who will be financing this years Liberation Day activities. The parade will be on July 21 and is part of the celebration of the island's recapture by Japanese forces during World War II. Fireworks are planned on the night of Liberation Day as well as a drone show for the following night. The last time the parade was held was before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 for the 75th anniversary. Clayton Charles Smith pleaded not guilty to new charges connected to the bruising of a 6-week-old infant. Smith appeared in the Superior Court of Guam Wednesday morning to plead not guilty to charges of child abuse and family violence as third-degree felonies after he was accused of bruising a 6-week-old infant in April. Smith was initially charged with child abuse and family violence as misdemeanors. The case was brought before a grand jury and he was later charged with felonies. A woman told officers she was asleep when Smith took his turn watching the infant, and she woke up to the baby crying. She said she saw bruises on the infants stomach and told Smith to leave, according to a magistrates complaint. The woman took the infant to Guam Memorial Hospital after noticing the bruises turning darker, and a nurse told police the infant had hand-shaped bruises on the chest, abdomen and right lower leg, the complaint stated. Police later found Smith in his room refusing to cooperate. Travel In addition to pleading not guilty to the charges, Smith and his attorney Joseph McDonald asked the court if hed be able to leave island for a new job in the states. Smith was previously ordered by the court to not leave island. Mr. Smith has actually just recently passed his engineering exam and has accepted prior to his coming to Guam and unfortunately being arrested, McDonald said to Magistrate Judge Jonathan R. Quan. McDonald argued Smiths good behavior on pretrial release for previous cases that have now been closed set a good precedent, and he will show up to court in the future. There is no reason for him not to attend to any of his legal business here in Guam, and he does promise to produce himself in time for trial, McDonald added. Quan allowed Smith to travel for work, but warned him of the possibility of being extradited to Guam if he doesnt follow the courts orders. Three men were arrested under suspicion of wielding a machete and damaging cars at the Paseo parking lot last week. On Tuesday, investigators from Guam Police Department's Community Crimes Task Force and officers from the Central Precinct located individuals who allegedly were wielding machetes and damaging cars parked in Paseo on Friday, according to a news release sent by GPD acting spokesman Sgt. Paul Tapao. The three men, found in Agana Heights, were Marson Kintin, 23, Narson Marsian, 23, and Handarson Sony, 28. They were arrested in connection with rioting, public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. Kintin and Marsian also were arrested on suspicion of terrorizing, aggravated assault, assault and reckless conduct. Marsian also is accused of criminal mischief to a motor vehicle. There were three warrants for his arrest, according to Tapao. All three men were booked and confined at the Department of Corrections. The case has been forwarded to the Office of the Attorney General for prosecution. The investigation remains open and ongoing. Throughout the course of the investigation, officers learned a fight occurred involving several individuals at Paseo. Gunshots were heard but no one was injured, Tapao added. Two men, Evin Babauta Pangelinan, 21, and Kyle Joaquin Topasna, 20, surrendered and were charged in connection to firing a gun the night of the incident. Marsian According to PDN files, Marsian was charged with criminal mischief as a misdemeanor in March 2020 after being accused of damaging a neighbor's truck with a machete. He also was charged in 2015, when he was 16, with burglary as a second-degree felony, theft of a motor vehicle as a second-degree felony and underage consumption of alcohol, PDN files state. The 90-day window for the Guam Legislature to address proposed rules and regulations for a cannabis industry passed with no action from senators. That means the rules will be approved by default, despite disagreements expressed by constituents and some senators on the way the rules would govern the cannabis industry. Recreational cannabis has been legal on Guam since 2019, but selling or trading marijuana has remained illegal with no rules in place for the licensure of growers, manufacturers and retailers of the plant. Attorney Vanessa Williams, who chairs the Cannabis Control Board, said she is awaiting final confirmation from the Compiler of Laws and the legislative secretary on the adoption of the rules. The board aims to work out when the Department of Revenue and Taxation can begin accepting applications by the next meeting, set for Monday, she said. Hopefully, we can actually clear that first date where we can actually start to see a commercial cannabis industry launch. Theyve already prepared application forms in anticipation of the rules passing, she said. No action Following a review by the Office of the Attorney General, the Legislature received the proposed cannabis rules March 1. The time frame for lawmakers to either adopt, reject or modify them expired May 29. In consideration of the deadline, Speaker Therese Terlaje said she had placed the rules as a potential item for lawmakers to address during their May session. But lawmakers ultimately didnt take any action before debate concluded Tuesday afternoon. According to Terlaje, a committee report detailing public input and information on the rules, which is required for senators to address the rules during session, hadnt been prepared as of Wednesday. Senators could have amended the rules by passing another bill prior to the May 29 deadline, but no bill was introduced. A bill will need to be introduced by the (oversight) chair or other senator, or the rules will need to be updated by the Cannabis Control Board to address any concerns brought up during the hearing by stakeholders, Terlaje said. Sen. Clynt Ridgell, whose Committee on Economic Development and Agriculture has oversight of the proposed cannabis rules, appeared to be absent from the May session. Ridgell posted on social media last week about the death of his father, Reilly Albert Ridgell, who died May 23. Ridgell, who according to his office was occupied with funeral preparations, couldnt be reached for comment Wednesday. Williams said the board anticipates that the rules will have to be revised as the cannabis industry on Guam evolves. One of the things that we discussed at the last board meeting and we have on the agenda for Monday is that, with the iteration of the rules that we have now, what are we already looking to revise? she said. Haiti - FLASH : A suspected case of monkeypox discovered in the Artibonite Tuesday May 31, 2022, Dr. Laure Adrien, Director General of the Ministry of Public Health announced that a suspected case of the so-called monkey pox had been discovered on May 27 in Saint-Marc in the Artibonite. Dr Samson Marseille Director of the Department of Epidemiology, Laboratories and Research specifies for the moment that this is a suspected case "For the moment, we cannot advance a date for the results , the samples were sent to the United States because the National Laboratory is not able to carry out this analysis, stressing that it is possible that this is not the first suspected case in Haiti specifying "It is about a disease with a low mortality rate but which is highly contagious..." For his part, Dr. Laure Adrien revealed that no special health protocol will be implemented given the nature of the disease, recalling that there is no specific treatment or vaccine available against monkeypox. Healing is spontaneous in 2 to 3 weeks. In the past two weeks, cases of so-called monkeypox have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) nearly 400 cases in several non-endemic countries but WHO rules out the risk of a pandemic. What you need to know about monkeypox : "The so-called monkeypox (simian orthopoxvirus) is a virus transmitted to humans by animals that is mainly observed in isolated areas of central and western Africa. The first human case was detected in 1970, in the Democratic Republic of Congo in a child Monkeypox virus clinically resembles smallpox, but monkeypox is milder and scarring is less severe. Monkey pox symptoms : In the first 5 days, the infection causes several symptoms: - fever - headache - swollen lymph nodes - back pain - exhaustion Within 1-3 days (sometimes longer) of the onset of fever, the patient develops symptoms of a rash that often begins on the face and then spreads to other parts of the body, including the palms of the hands, the soles of the feet and the mucous membranes (mouth and genital area). Skin involvement occurs in a single push. Itching is common. The lesions pass through different successive stages that may suggest chicken pox First vesicles (pimples with liquid inside) then pustules and finally scabs. When the scabs fall off, people are no longer contagious. The incubation of the disease can range from 5 to 21 days. The fever phase lasts about 1 to 3 days. The disease, generally benign, most often heals spontaneously, after 2 to 3 weeks. Precautions : In the event of the appearance of symptoms (fever and rash with blisters), it is recommended to isolate oneself while awaiting medical advice and to avoid contact with other people. Transmission of monkeypox between humans : Transmission in humans occurs primarily through respiratory droplet particles. Other modes of transmission include direct skin contact with body fluids or the lesion, and indirect contact with the lesion, such as through contaminated clothing, linens, or dishes. It is important that the patients respect isolation for the duration of the disease (until the disappearance of the last scabs, most often 3 weeks). SL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - News : Zapping... The #2 of the "5 Secondes" gang killed Tuesday, May 31 in the Commune of Fond-des-Negres, Elvain Saint Jacques, alias "Zo pwason" was killed. According to Me Jean Ernst Muscadin, the Government Commissioner of Miragoane, "Zo pwason" was the right arm (#2) of Izo, leader of the "5 Secondes" gang, operating south of Port-au-Prince. A policeman killed in Pernier Tuesday, May 31, in Pernier (area controlled by the Vitelhomme gang) the police officer Luckson Misere was killed during an armed attack against his patrol by armed individuals while he was trying to thwart a kidnapping, several other police officers could have were injured in this intervention Deputy Director of Customs Kidnapped Monday, May 30 in the evening, unidentified heavily armed individuals kidnapped under threat from rue Catalpa (Delmas 75) Roosevelt Rejouis, Deputy Director of the General Administration of Customs (AGD). In response, the Association of Customs Haitians asks all customs officers to observe a work stoppage from June 1st, 2022 in order to demand his unconditional release as soon as possible. A dangerous bandit killed by the PNH "Ti Macelyn" thus known as a dangerous bandit by the National Police of Haiti in the North, actively sought, was mortally wounded in exchanges of fire with the police during an operation carried out in the alley Nazon (Cap-Haitien) by agents of the Departmental Unit for Maintaining Order (UDMO), and those of the Departmental Service of the Judicial Police of the North. Jacmel : Contract workers on strike at Saint Michel Hospital Contract workers, including security guards from the Saint Michel hospital in Jacmel, have been observing an unlimited work stoppage since Monday May 30, 2022. They demand the payment of 27 months of salary arrears and better working conditions. The Dominican FNP advocates the mass deportation of illegal Haitians Pelegrin Castillo, the Vice-President of the National Progressive Force (FNP) nationalist opposition of the Dominican radical right, calls for a debate on the mass deportation of illegal Haitians in Dominican territory specifying "Now, we have in neighborhoods of Santo Domingo and of the National District, on the outskirts, of ghettos of Haitians who do not even know how to speak Spanish and who are illegal" remarks which abound in the same direction as those of Elias Wessin Chavez, President of the Christian-Democratic Party Quisqueyano (PQDC) who declared speaking of the Haitian problem "We must take heroic measures, we cannot let ourselves be carried away by globalist currents which do not want borders." HL/ HaitiLibre Published on 2022/05/31 | Source Major cast members of the Netflix series "D.P - Season 2" have been confirmed. Actors Koo Kyo-hwan and Jung Hae-in, who starred in the previous season, will appear as they are, while Kim Sung-kyun and Son Sukku will also appear in Season 2 following "D.P". Actors Ji Jin-hee and Kim Ji-hyun-II joined the group as well. Advertisement Netflix said, "Ji Jin-hee and Kim Ji-hyun-II will join the drama with Koo Kyo-hwan as Han Ho-yeol, Jung Hae-in as Ahn Joon-ho, Kim Sung-kyun as Sergeant Park Beom-goo, and Son Sukku as Captain Im Ji-seop. Ji Jin-hee will be in charge of Goo Ja-woon, the chief justice of the Army headquarters, and Kim Ji-hyun-II will be in charge of Seo-eun, the head of the Ministry of National Defense's prosecution team. Ji Jin-hee said, "Ja-woon is unfamiliar to me because I've never played such a character before, but I have high expectations". Kim Ji-hyun-II said, "I will work hard and think happily so that I can add strength to my wonderful work". Kim Ji-hyun-II recently starred in the dramas "Thirty Nine" and "Artificial City". "D.P - Season 2" is scheduled to start filming sometime this year, and will be released late this year or early next year. Published on 2022/05/31 | Source "Bloodhounds" said the filming of actress Kim Sae-ron, who was embroiled in a controversy over drunk driving, has been suspended. Advertisement Netflix's "Bloodhounds" said on the 23rd, "After discussions with the production team and the actors, Netflix decided not to participate actress Kim Sae-ron as she was initially supposed to. It added, "Most of the actors' filming has been completed, and the editing of the existing filming is currently under discussion with the production team". It also said, "As the overall production of the work is still in full swing, the release date will quickly be announced when it is confirmed later". Earlier, Kim Sae-ron fled after crashing into a structure near Hakdong Intersection in Gangnam-gu, Seoul at 8 AM on the 18th. The Gangnam Police Station in Seoul investigated Kim Sae-ron on charges of violating the Road Traffic Law (drinking driving). At that time, Kim Sae-ron was returned home after a blood collection test. Kim Sae-ron also apologized, saying, "I will faithfully cooperate with the police and take responsibility for compensation". South Africa: Mashinini recommended for Electoral Commission vacancy The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs has recommend Vuma Glen Mashinini to fill a vacancy within the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Committee chairperson, Mosa Chabane, said the committee considered a report sent to the National Assembly Speaker by a panel led by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, and is of the view that Mashinini is the best candidate for the post, especially at this point in the life of the IEC, with the imminent changes to the electoral process. The Chief Justices report indicated that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Electoral Commission Act, 1996 (Act 51 of 1996), an invitation for candidates to submit applications was advertised and 48 applications were received. The panel shortlisted 12 candidates, of which three withdrew their applications and they interviewed nine candidates, Chabane said. Chabane said the committee appreciated the quality of candidates provided by the panel led by the Chief Justice, and is of the view that it presented credible and able South Africans, who would provide quality leadership at the institution. The calibre of candidate was impressive and any one of the submitted names could have added valuable input to the work of the commission. But the committee underscored the view that Mr Mashininis educational background and experience, especially the recent experience of guiding the process of the local government elections during a challenging period, stood him above the shoulders of other candidates, Chabane said. Chabane said the committee will recommend to the National Assembly to adopt the name of Mashinini for endorsement and appointment by the President. Motion of Desirability on the Electoral Amendment Bill approved Meanwhile, the committee has adopted the Motion of Desirability on the Electoral Amendment Bill and views the Bill as adequate to amend the Electoral Act 73 of 1998, in line with the June 2020 Constitutional Court on the New Nation Movement NPC and Others vs President of the Republic of South Africa and Others case. Chabane said the reports adoption will now enable the committee to consider and deliberate on the Bill. He said the committee has since the judgment highlighted its intention to ensure that Bills amendment is done in a thorough and meticulous way that also ensures extensive public consultation, primarily because the amendment of this Act has a direct bearing on the credibility of South Africas democracy. However, Chabane said the committee is disappointed by a media report over the weekend that sought to undermine the process by spreading various inaccuracies. The committee and by extension Parliament has at no stage sought to delay the amendment and has emphasised that the inclusion of independent candidates will strengthen South Africas democracy. It is on this basis that the committee had to make time for an extensive and meaningful public consultation process. Also, the process has been inclusive of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), which assured the committee that the commission will still have time to implement the electoral changes before the 2024 provincial and national elections, the chairperson explained. He said the committee will continue to process the Bill and will await further guidance from the Constitutional Court on the application that has been filed requesting an extension. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2022-06-01. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Data shows Trump trade war hurts American farmers 13:11, June 01, 2022 By Peter Mertz ( Xinhua DENVER, the United States, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Conservative American economists told Xinhua three years ago that the trade war started by former U.S. President Donald Trump would not work. They were right. "At the time, it was obvious that the Trump trade war strategy of unilaterally imposing tariffs on imports from China and other countries would blow up in that administration's face," said Vincent Smith, a highly regarded conservative agroeconomist at the University of Montana. Smith, renowned in his field and a non-resident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC, told Xinhua Friday that true to most economic predictions, the Trump trade war with China was an economic disaster. Trump's approach toward correcting the trade imbalance between the United States and China was "another of several major economic follies pursued by the Trump Administration because of woeful and inexcusable ignorance about how the real world works on the part of the then president and some of his key advisors." Data supports Smith's words. "While the U.S. tariffs were intended to protect American industries, they have largely hurt the U.S. economy," a recent report from the non-partisan Tax Foundation said. "And they incentivized foreign countries to retaliate with their own tariffs, which have damaged the economy even more," it added. DAMAGE DONE In a report released earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) detailed the impact of retaliatory tariffs on farmers, state-by-state, "by estimating the direct export losses associated with the trade conflict." "In 2018, the United States imposed Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from major trading partners and separately Section 301 tariffs on a broad range of imports from China," the January 2022 study recapped. "In response to these actions, six trading partners - Canada, China, the European Union, India, Mexico, and Turkey - responded with retaliatory tariffs on a range of U.S. exports, including agricultural and food products. The agricultural products targeted for retaliation were valued at 30.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, with individual product lines experiencing tariff increases ranging from 2 to 140 percent," USDA research showed. The USDA estimated that between 2018-2019, the "retaliatory tariffs caused a reduction of more than 27 billion U.S. dollars (or annualized losses of 13.2 billion dollars) in U.S. agricultural exports," and that the largest export losses occurred with diminished exports to China. USDA data showed that Illinois and Iowa soybean farmers got hammered most with more than 1 billion U.S. dollars in losses each, while Kansas got crushed in sorghum sales with 478 million dollars in losses each year. Runner-up in sorghum losses was the Centennial State of Colorado. The bulk of Colorado's sorghum yield comes from the eastern counties of Baca, Prowers, Kiowa, and Cheyenne on its eastern border with Kansas, where Trump received between an overwhelming 81-88 percent of the popular vote, according to Politico. "It's ironic that Trump's diehard, rural base got spanked worse by the tariffs than most Americans -- they paid dearly for their loyalty to him," said former Washington policy advisor David Richardson. Nine of the top 11 states hit hardest by tariff losses went to Trump in the 2020 presidential election, and the other two (Illinois and Minnesota) that went to U.S. President Joe Biden saw their rural, conservative farmers in red counties hit hard by the tariffs. U.S. states won by Trump in 2020 -- Missouri, Indiana, Nebraska, and North and South Dakota -- suffered agricultural losses of more than 500 million dollars, while Texas and Arkansas lost more than 400 million dollars, according to the USDA. The biggest losers "were largely concentrated in the Midwest with Iowa (1.46 billion dollars in annualized losses), Illinois (1.41 billion dollars in annualized losses), and Kansas (955 million dollars in annualized losses)" leading the field. Trump won Iowa in 2020 by a 53-45 percent margin and Kansas by almost 15 points: 56-41.5 percent. Although Illinois, the second state most impacted by the tariffs went to Biden, the Prairie State's southern two-thirds -- rural and heavily agricultural in nature -- voted decisively for Trump, according to Associated Press exit polls. "At the commodity level, soybeans accounted for the predominant share of total trade loss, making up nearly 71 percent (9.4 billion dollars of annualized losses) of the total, followed by sorghum (over 6 percent or 854 million dollars in annualized losses), and pork (nearly 5 percent or 646 million dollars in annualized losses)." The soybean losses hit Illinois and Iowa, the top two soybean producing states in America, the most. Meanwhile, Brazil's farmers were rejoicing as their sales and profits skyrocketed. "Countervailing tariffs imposed on key U.S. exports (most obviously soybeans) by those countries did the U.S. economy real harm and undercut the long-run credibility of the United States," Smith added. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) News Release June 1, 2022 Contact information State confirms illness associated with multi-state hepatitis A outbreak linked to strawberries Fresh strawberries linked to hepatitis A outbreak that sickened 17 nationwide Minnesota officials are warning consumers to avoid eating fresh, organic strawberries from the FreshKampo or HEB brands after linking hepatitis A illnesses to these strawberries. The Minnesota Department of Health, the California Department of Public Health, and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture are working with federal officials and public health agencies in other states and Canada to investigate hepatitis A illnesses associated with eating strawberries labeled under the FreshKampo and HEB names and purchased between March 5, 2022, and April 25, 2022. One case of hepatitis A associated with this outbreak was identified in Minnesota. The person was not hospitalized and has since recovered. The person became ill after eating strawberries purchased from Mississippi Market on March 21, 2022. The strawberries were labeled under the FreshKampo name. Contact your health care provider if you think you may have become ill from eating these strawberries. Symptoms of hepatitis A include vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice), as well as dark urine and clay-colored stools. Symptoms usually occur 15 to 50 days after eating or drinking contaminated food or water. While the fresh strawberries in focus are no longer in stores, it is possible that consumers have frozen their strawberries and may have this product stored in freezers. With that in mind, officials are urging consumers to check their freezers and discard strawberries from these brands. Consumers can ask their local markets if they carried this specific brand of strawberries. To prevent hepatitis A contamination or transmission, consumers should always practice safe food handling and preparation measures. Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent hepatitis A. Vaccination is recommended for all children starting at age 1 year, for travelers to certain countries and for people at high risk for infection. While hepatitis A vaccination has been recommended for children since 2006, many adults have not been vaccinated for hepatitis A. Anyone who wants to be protected against hepatitis A can talk to their health care provider about getting vaccinated. -MDH- Michael Schommer MDH Communications 651-373-8271 michael.schommer@state.mn.us Allen Sommerfeld MDA Communications 651-387-6599 Allen.sommerfeld@state.mn.us IHG Hotels & Resorts announces the opening of Crowne Plaza Kearney, conveniently attached to the Younes Conference Center and close to many of Nebraska's top attractions. The hotel is centrally located between Omaha and Denver and is the first new-build convention hotel from Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts in the U.S. since 2020. The opening signals excitement for the return of business travel and in-person events to facilitate meaningful connections. Ideally suited for the growing 'bleisure' travel segment, this new hotel features Crowne Plaza's modern, purposeful style designed around connection. Throughout the main areas, the spaces are flexible with a mix of private and social gathering spaces that help guests to feel productive and comfortable. Each of the 172 modern guest rooms are designed using Crowne Plaza's signature zoning concept to create spaces where guests can move easily through their day. Crowne Plaza Kearney gives guests more options to work and socialize. With the 70,000-square-feet of dedicated space for meetings and events at the Younes Conference Center, and the brand's signature Plaza Workspace areas, Crowne Plaza Kearney is the perfect setting for large scale events, weddings, as well as informal meetings and meals. While the meetings and events industry experienced the most uncertainty throughout 2021, there are encouraging signs from planners this year with forecasts showing 58.3 percent of meetings volume will return by the end of 2022. IHG's award-winning Meet with Confidence program was created in 2020 to support the changing needs of meeting planners. A Crowne Plaza Meeting Director is on hand to ensure that any gathering planned at the hotel is seamless from start to finish. On-site amenities also include a premium coffee shop and an indoor waterpark. The hotel's restaurant and bar, Fyre Grill & Spirits, provides flexible all-day dining with a menu reflecting the flavors of the Midwest, while global favorites are available via room service. Guests can easily walk to six restaurants, shops, and a spa located on the convention center campus, and the hotel provides free parking and a complimentary shuttle service to the Kearney Regional Airport. The Great Platte River Road Archway, the Classic Car Collection, and the University of Nebraska Kearney are all a short drive away. Ginger Taggart, vice president, Global Brand Management, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts said: "The new Crowne Plaza Kearney is a wonderful example of how Crowne Plaza is delivering service and spaces which exceed the needs of today's traveler and their blended work and leisure needs. The premium dining options, prime location and people-focused service make this the ideal place to stay, connect and experience the Midwest. As business travel continues to return, we are excited to see this property become a sought-after destination." Paul Younes, President of Younes Hospitality commented: "We're excited to add Crowne Plaza Kearney to our growing portfolio of brands on the Younes Campus. This addition brings a new level of upscale accommodations for our leisure and business guests. Hospitality is in our name, and we continue our commitment to providing an exceptional guest experience for both our business and leisure travelers who are here for an event and also want to explore all that Kearney has to offer. " Crowne Plaza continues its growth across the U.S., with two multi-million-dollar renovations set to open later this year in Indiana and Florida. The brand currently has over 400 hotels located in major urban centers, gateway cities and resort destinations in more than 60 countries, with 15 more due to open in 2022. To learn more about Crowne Plaza Kearney and book your stay, click here. Hotel website Sofitel Legend, the modern French luxury brand with iconic properties around the world, will unveil its first hotel in North & Central America, bringing its quintessential art de vivre to the historic city of Casco Viejo, Panama, A UNESCO World Heritage Site. World leading hospitality group Accor announces the upcoming reveal of the first Sofitel Legend, the Group's internationally renowned French luxury heritage brand, in North and Central America - with the debut of Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo Panama in fall 2022. Uniquely located on a waterfront enclave, once the site of the former Club Union of Panama and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, the hotel will stand apart, bringing undeniable French savoir-faire to one of the world's most sought-after destinations. Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo Panama will be the sixth legendary address in the prestigious Sofitel Legend brand, with hotels set in iconic cities around the world, each renowned for its stunning architecture, historic location and colorful past. Destined to become one of the most enchanting locales in Panama City, the hotel will embrace local culture and artfully blend the heart of the destination with the brand's art-de-vivre spirit, offering the finest in French hospitality. Overlooking the Pacific Ocean with sweeping vistas of the Panama City skyline, the hotel is situated in the heart of Casco Viejo, on the former site of the iconic and revered Club Union of Panama. Established at the beginning of the 20th century, for decades Club Union was the most exclusive and elegant social club in Panama City, frequented by several legendary personalities throughout history, including Albert Einstein, Queen Elizabeth II, and Helen Keller, to name a few. Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo Panama will continue the glamourous legacy of days gone by, honoring the historical and cultural importance of Club Union while embracing modern times - a stunning, soon-to-be revealed destination where heritage meets modernity. Behind its restored colonial facade complemented by new, state-of-the-art construction, this exclusive locale merges legendary history with contemporary splendor, providing a singular experience from the moment guests arrive, in one of the most desirable locations within the Casco Viejo district. Directly built out into the water, with unobstructed and impressive views of the Pacific Ocean and Panama city skyline, the hotel will feature a superior mix of facilities and amenities, including 159 beautifully appointed rooms and suites, the vast majority with enviable seascapes; five spectacular food and beverage venues, including a Skybar and lounge; an oceanfront pool; and approximately 9,880 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor function space offering unique and innovative concepts in the market. Signature brand offerings will include Majordome butler service as well as access to a full-service Sofitel Spa and Sofitel Fitness exercise studio overlooking the ocean. Sofitel Spa will unveil an urban retreat for pampering and relaxation. The spa will offer an array of services with treatments inspired by local Panamanian culture, luxurious amenities including a spacious tea room, and serene relaxation rooms for in-between treatments. Manuel Choy of Architect S.A. of Panama, one of the most prominent Panamanian architects specializing in building restoration in Casco Viejo, was appointed to lead the project alongside Accor North & Central America's design and technical services team. The hotel's impressive exterior will be reminiscent of the allure and history of Casco Viejo and the iconic Club Union, having retained vestiges of the building's original French colonial architecture. The French stylings of the building's architecture are carried through into the interior by incorporating luxurious finishes such as the ballroom's marble checkerboard floors, wrought iron balcony detailing and brass touches, and contrasted by the use of contemporary Panamanian design elements, including local artwork, handmade encaustic tiles, and colorful furnishings inspired by the diverse flora and fauna found throughout the country. Upon entering the hotel, the lobby's dramatic decor immediately engages guests, visually depicting the country's important story of the remarkable architectural wonder that is the Panama Canal and is adorned with nautical design elements including custom-made sculptures, striking artwork, historic photographs on display, and maritime navigational instruments. The hotel's masterful culinary program, led by an award-winning Michelin-Star Chef, will include a varied collection of food and beverage offerings. Overlooking the waterfront, Ammi SkyBar, will feature indoor and outdoor dining with 180-degree views of the ocean and city skyline, and will transform into an exclusive lounge at night. Caleta, the hotel's bi-level Mediterranean brasserie will feature a flavor-driven menu with a seafood focus, using fresh local seasonal ingredients. Mayda Lobby Bar & Plaza will offer classic cocktails and small plates, and will take guests on a journey back in time with a unique culinary experience inspired by Panama's history and culture. Guests can either sip and savor in the lobby area or at The Plaza, in a picturesque courtyard setting. The hotel will also include a grab-and-go venue, Vera Gourmet Cafe, a patisserie offering freshly baked French pastries and exclusively blended Panamanian coffee. Lastly, the hotel's Pool Bar will feature freshly prepared juices, handcrafted cocktails and healthy fare. Once open, Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo Panama will become a part of one of the most attractive and powerful loyalty programs in the world, ALL - Accor Live Limitless. Hotel website Located in the heart of the city, the full-service lifestyle property will mark the first Hyatt hotel in Scotland and second Hyatt Centric hotel in the United Kingdom. Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced today that a Hyatt affiliate has entered into a franchise agreement with Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) for Hyatt Centric Edinburgh Haymarket. Slated to open in mid-2025, the 349-room property will mark the first Hyatt hotel in Scotland, signifying a key milestone for Hyatt's strategic brand growth in the U.K. Located less than 1,000 feet (300 meters) from the EICC, Hyatt Centric Edinburgh Haymarket will be a part of the Haymarket Edinburgh development, which will encompass office blocks and retail units. In collaboration with Edinburgh College, the EICC development will also include a world-class hospitality training academy for students and trainees focused on a career path in Scotland's leisure, hospitality, and tourism industry. The new Hyatt Centric hotel will be a highly attractive option for national and international leisure and business travelers, and hospitality training academy students, and will serve as a launchpad for discovering the city's rich history and culture. The hotel will be situated near some of Edinburgh's most famous landmarks, including the iconic Edinburgh Castle, National Museum of Scotland, and the Old Town. Those looking to experience the city like a local will be drawn to the St James' Quarter, New Town, and George Street shopping and cultural districts, all of which will be walking distance from the hotel. The property will also be conveniently located just six miles (10 kilometers) away from Edinburgh International Airport, which connects travelers directly to more than 150 destinations worldwide. The full-service lifestyle hotel will offer 349 guestrooms, a gym, and four meeting rooms, as well as creative dining experiences that will appeal to guests and locals alike. Visitors will enjoy six different rotating street food brands through its fresh and exciting dining concept, changing regularly to reflect the spirit of Edinburgh's thriving local culinary scene. The hotel is being designed as a sustainable and upscale property by Foster + Partners, a world-famous architectural firm founded by Norman Foster, renowned for its holistic approach to sustainability and responsible design. Interiors are being designed by international architecture and design firm Ica, one of the world's leading, expert-led hotel interior design consultancies, headquartered in Glasgow. Hotel website Christopher Lund has been named executive director - head of hotels MENA region within Colliers International. Lund was previously director - head of hotels for nearly four years but since that time, the department has doubled in size. In the new role, Lund will continue to provide advice to hotel developers, governments, financial institutions and investors while working with operators, law firms and designers to deliver optimal strategies and projects. Working throughout the region and closely with the global Colliers offices, he makes sure to stay connected with cutting-edge trends and intelligence from around the world for local projects. Lund and his team will continue to focus on advisory, asset management, valuations and transactions - covering core and non-core hospitality sector assets from hotels and branded residences to theme parks and marinas. Lund has worked with Colliers for a decade, starting as a consultant for hospitality real estate in 2012. From there, he moved up to senior consultant, associate manager, manager, senior manager, and finally associate director within hospitality real state. Steeping into a more overseeing role in 2018, he became director-head of hotels, leading a team of 13 experts across MENA. Before Colliers, he worked with Jumeirah Creekside Hotel as a financial analyst, responsible for budgeting processes, cost optimisation, budgets and forecasting. Lund and his team regularly contribute reports on the hospitality industry featured on Hotelier Middle East. Lund himself last month took part in a panel discussion moderated by Hotelier and Caterer Middle East group editor Paul Clifford. Commonwealth Hotels announced today that Isaiah Lewis has been appointed the general manager of the Hampton Inn by Hilton Louisville Airport. Mr. Lewis brings over 6 years of hospitality experience to his new role as general manager having previously served as the general manager for Malcolm Bryant Corporation at the Hampton Inn Louisville Northeast. Prior to joining The Hampton Inn Louisville Airport, Lewis served in multiple leadership roles with White Lodging Services and the Malcolm Bryant Corporation, LLC. Starting as a front desk clerk at the Louisville Marriott Downtown in 2016, Lewis worked his way up the hospitality ladder until becoming general manager of several Hampton Inns. Lewis holds several bachelor's degrees in English, Political Science, and Spanish from the University of Louisville. Lewis resides in Louisville, Kentucky where he enjoys traveling and spending time with his family and friends. L'Auberge de Sedona has announced the appointment of Victoria Bernardo as Leisure Sales Manager. In this position, she will play a pivotal role in the resort's achievement of its annual multi-million-dollar leisure sales budget. Additionally, Victoria will be responsible for building and maintaining relationships with top travel agencies and travel partners around the world. Victoria has 12 years of hospitality and travel industry sales experience. She joined L'Auberge de Sedona in the spring of 2021 as a Catering Sales and Event Manager. In this role, she was a critical contributor to the resort's banquet enhancement project, implementation of standardized sales and service operating procedures, and more. Prior to joining the resort, she held various positions at Four Seasons Resort Hualalai and Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, gaining well-rounded luxury sales experience. Victoria graduated from The Art Institute of Los Angeles where she completed courses in management and supervision, food and beverage operation, and management by menu. She is fluent in Tagalog and holds an A.S. in science and culinary. Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire announces the appointment of Talha Barkin as Executive Chef. Talha Barkin joins Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire with a wealth of experience having worked in a collection of the world's best kitchens and luxury five-star hotels. He joins from Four Seasons Hotel Baku where he held his position of Executive Chef for more than five years. Prior to Four Seasons Hotel Baku, Talha was executive chef at The Fairmont Baku Flame Towers. Other positions include working with the Hilton Group as executive chef at their Chongqing, Jakarta and Maldives resorts; chef de cuisine at The Shangri-La Hotels Chiang Mai and Hangzhou; junior sous chef at the Madinat Jumeriah Dubai and working at a selection of esteemed hotels in Turkey, where he gained his initial exposure to western cuisine under the guidance of mentors at the Swissotel and the Ritz Carlton. Talha grew up in Koycegiz, Mugla, a lakeside town in Mediterranean Turkey where fresh homegrown ingredients and in season produce were a way of life. His zest for cooking was cultivated early as a young child, from watching his grandmother lovingly prepare family meals, to helping at his uncle's beach restaurant. Talha will draw on his extensive global experience to ensure the kitchen is run to the highest standard at Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire, while working with the finest local Hampshire produce to create exceptional dishes using techniques he has learned throughout his travels. A master at his craft, Talha's menu of seasonal and local produce will be served at Wild Carrot restaurant and on the Wild Carrot Terrace. SAN DIEGO RMS North America today introduces Solonis, a modern, cloud-based property management system built for the hotel industry. The first brand expansion of RMS, Solonis was crafted by a team of hospitality and business intelligence professionals with more than 35 years in the industry and helps property owners increase occupancy, enhance guest experience, and optimize revenue. The hospitality industry has been burdened by outdated, overly complicated systems for too long thats why we created a PMS that works for properties today and readies them for whatever the future holds, said Reza Paydar, CEO, Solonis. At Solonis, were uniquely positioned to solve these industry challenges because we balance innovative solutions with human connection, the cornerstone of hospitality. The result is smarter property management thats seamless and intuitive. Powered by business intelligence, Solonis addresses every aspect of property management within one single solution. Property managers and staff benefit from Solonis core functionality, including: An internet booking engine integrated with property management features Guest empowerment tools to manage payment, communication, and check-in/check-out Customizable BI-propelled dashboard with real-time operations data Dynamic pricing functionality to maximize profit and occupancy Revenue and expense flow systems for complex property management Guest marketing and communication features like text and chat Solonis will empower properties to adapt to changing guest behavior and expectations, position themselves for success in a technology-driven era of travel, and support revenue operations as the industry continues to recover, continued Paydar. We believe Solonis supports these goals in a way that no other vendor has before, and were eager to make these lasting improvements across the hospitality ecosystem. The Solonis team will exhibit the new solution June 27-30 at HITEC Orlando (Booth 215). Attendees interested in learning about the property management systems channel management, business intelligence, booking engine, and mobile-first capabilities can schedule an on-site demo here. For more information, visit solonis.com. Lauren Watt Trevelino/Keller (PR Agency) 4042140722x116 View source San Francisco RobertDouglas advised Chartres Lodging Group in successfully refinancing its existing loan for the recently renovated, 50-key room Dr. Wilkinsons Backyard Resort & Mineral Springs in Calistoga, California with a best-in-class institutional balance sheet lender. The Property is located in the heart of Napa Valley wine country, just steps away from boutique shops, art galleries, exceptional fine dining and eateries, and an abundance of winery tasting rooms in Downtown Calistoga. Chartres acquired the Property in 2019 and subsequently completed a transformational renovation positioning the Resort to a Marriott-affiliated high-end boutique. The re-imagined Resort includes a new restaurant and bar, House of Better, and a full-service spa featuring mud baths, mineral hydro tubs, steam room, and massage treatment rooms, as well as multiple outdoor and indoor mineral pools. The Hotels superior location, newly renovated and re-positioned product, and affiliation with the hotel industrys dominant branded distribution network, Marriott, enabled us to deliver a lender with strong pricing and flexibility, commented Annie Ferguson, Vice President with RobertDouglas. About RobertDouglas RobertDouglas is a real estate investment banking firm with offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Nashville that specializes in the sale, financing and equity capitalization of hotel, resort and gaming properties throughout North America. Founded in January 2013 and currently led by its four partners, Rob Stiles, Doug Hercher, Stephen O'Connor and Evan Hurd, RobertDouglas offers access to exceptional domestic and international institutional investor and lender relationships as it combines the capital markets sophistication of top-tier investment banks with diligent hotel underwriting and proven asset management experience. For more information, contact [email protected]douglas.com or go to www.robert-douglas.com. Paul Kesman +1 248 321 2035 When you travel a lot, as I am privileged to do, it does not take a quality background to be quite disappointed about the way service is approached in too many of the worlds top hotels. To clarify, service is part of the human interaction, in this case between guest and employee, along with the at-least-equally-important emotional intelligence, or guest engagement. Facilities do matter too, especially for the end-consumer, but less so in B2B assessments. Over the past 21 months, I have visited about 400 of Europes best hotels and stayed at nearly 100 of them for up to three nights. My travels took me to Paris, Mallorca, Bodrum, Rome, Munich, Hamburg, London, Amsterdam, St. Petersburg, Riga, Zurich, Basel, Lake Garda, Venice, Amalfi, Capri, Tuscany, Florence, Portofino, Milan, Lake Como, Lake Maggiore, Porto, Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla, Marbella, St. Tropez, Cannes, Nice, Monaco, Ibiza, Sicilia, Puglia, Budapest, Paris, Madrid, Sicilia, Athens, Mykonos and Santorini. In addition, I counted four trips in the Alps covering the worlds top mountain lodges across Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and parts of Franceas well as Marrakech, my only trip outside Europe. My approach is more of a subtly intellectual academic and practical one rather than basking or indulging in luxury. I dont brag about my stays on social media but prefer to stay behind the scenes. If I understand it correctly, a true luxury hotels paramount objective is to deliver a one-of-a-kind experience to its demanding clientele. Providing a home-away-from-home experience that makes guests feel comfortable, at ease, and appreciated. Happy guests become repeat guests and, ideally, those who spread the wordwhich can be compared favourably to any (costly) image campaign. Knowing the above, and being aware of the acquisition cost of such luxury guests, why wouldnt quality be the number one priority for all hotels, or at least those that aspire to exceed? My sense from my recent travels is hoteliers current priority is sales at the expense of quality. The trouble spot for hoteliers is...breakfast. Delivering a breakfast experience as opposed to just delivering breakfast. For the guest, breakfast is the start of a new day that sets the pace for that day and is frequented by most as it is typically included in the room rate or package. During my hotel stays since August 2019 I have had two (good) breakfast experiences, at the Goring in London in January 2020, and at the Hotel de Crillon (Rosewood) in Paris in February 2022. To me, breakfast is the litmus test, a true reflection of a hotels general ability and willingness to deliver. Many hoteliers accuse me of being very critical in my assessments. I frequently hear that the inspector of one large provider of traditional quality assurance found no fault in the way breakfast was served, while I came to very different conclusions. I have come to believe that too many hoteliers appear to live in a social-media fantasy world, becoming complacent with pandering mainly to influencers and bloggers, so constructive criticism is something an increasing number of hoteliers are no longer used to. Any recurring service can be standardized, no doubt. While I am not a huge proponent of standardization as it fundamentally contradicts individualization and personalization, hotels are typically assessed by standardizing, well, just about everything. Despite this high degree of standardization, why is my breakfast experience still so flawed? Even if standardization were designed to cover the basics, why are even they missing all too often? Upon check-out, my 100-dollar question to hoteliers typically is, would your employees still make (many) mistakes even if they were made aware that someone is coming to critique their performance? In other words, an overt instead of a mystery shopper? Their unanimous answer is: Yes! Isnt that interesting, and very telling? Doesnt it mean that they make mistakes anyway, no matter what, because they dont recognize them as mistakes? In fact, they might be thinking they are doing the right thing. Oops! Is this an employee shortcoming or a management failure, such as the absence of the General Manager in the lobby and during breakfast? Or too many hotel openings too fast? Or Covid? To sum it all up, at breakfast, I experience more or less the same shortcomings wherever I stay. Very predictable. Very mediocre. Hoteliers typically are not aware of this level of mediocrity. They have become more used to being praised and accepting accolades. They dont mind improving their offering but are not in favor of changing their approach. Of course, as always, exceptions prove the rule. However, the other day in Paris, following breakfast, I had a great talk with one of the most seasoned hoteliers on the planet, telling me that it was easy to score high with a well-known rating agency, but unfortunately, it would by no means reflect reality. Oops. I guess we live in a I dont wanna know world! I am only a frequent traveler and observer who has detected certain patterns from which I draw my conclusions. My wish is that hoteliers start to replace their sales priority with their quality hat, at least from time to time, and that there would be ambitious hoteliers that truly want to break out of the mediocre uniformity to which they all seem to have become accustomed. Jochen Ehrhardt International Institute Of Modern Butlers A Houston federal judge on Monday awarded Houston-based tech company $1.6 billion in damages after finding that computer giant IBM committed fraud by removing BMC Softwares products from the computer systems of a mutual client. U.S. District Judge Gray Miller ruled that during contract negotiations with BMC, IBM made a material misrepresentation that it would not displace BMCs products from AT&Ts mainframe systems but did so anyway. As a result, BMC is entitled to $1.6 billion in damages for fraudulent inducement claims, Miller ruled, because IBMs business practices including the routine eschewal of rules merit a proportional punitive damages award. IBM is one of the largest technology companies in the world and it exploited BMCs justifiable reliance for its own gain, cementing its abdication of good faith and fair dealing in the service of its own self-reliance, Judge Miller wrote. IBMs conduct vis-a-vis BMC offends the sense of justice and propriety that the public expects from American businesses. In a statement, BMC's lead lawyer, Sean Gorman, said BMC was pleased with the outcome. After five years of hard-fought litigation, we were grateful for the opportunity to have our day in court in this important case, said Gorman, a partner in Houston at Bracewell. On HoustonChronicle.com: BMC closes deal to acquire former rival Compuware IBM in a statement said in a statement that it would appeal the ruling. The verdict is entirely unsupported by the fact and law, and IBM intends to pursue complete reversal on appeal, IBMs statement said. IBM acted in good faith in every respect in this engagement. The decision to remove BMC Software technology from its mainframes rested solely with AT&T, as was recognized by the court and confirmed in testimony from AT&T representatives admitted at trial. Millers 106-page findings of fact and conclusions of law follows an eight-day bench trial in March, when IBM and BMC duked it out. At issue during trial was whether IBM committed fraud, breached certain provisions of its outsourcing agreement with BMC and misappropriated trade secrets and, if so, whether BMC was entitled to any lost profits in addition to any damages awarded in BMCs favor. BMC and IBM both provide mainframe software to customers, but only IBM offers outsourcing services. This means that in some contexts IBM and BMC are in a customer-vendor dynamic, while in others they are competitors. To add to the complexity, hundreds of customers that use BMCs software also use IBM as an outsourcer. Until IBM performed an outsourcing project for AT&T in 2015 nicknamed Project Swallowtail that replaced a majority of BMCs mainframe software with IBMs own, AT&T was BMCs largest and one of its oldest clients. In his ruling, Miller said IBM fraudulently induced BMC into signing a 2015 revision of their outsourcing agreement, specifically section 5.4, which laid out a list of mutual customers for whom IBM was banned from replacing BMC products unless it paid additional licensing fees. AT&T was one of those customers. The agreement allowed IBM to access and use BMCs products on AT&Ts mainframe systems for the sole purpose of supporting the client. By going beyond that paramater, Judge Miller ruled, IBM breached section 5.4. Miller said there is clear and convincing evidence that IBM induced BMC into entering the 2015 agreement so that it could exercise rights without paying for them, secure other contractual benefits and ultimately acquire one of BMCs core customers. Because BMC entered the 2015 OA with IBM, IBM was able to access and use BMCs software at AT&T for no fee while blatantly violating the non-displacement provision, Miller wrote. IBMs violation of the contract resulted in direct damages namely, the lost license fees which BMC may recover. Thus, BMCs reliance caused its injury. In a final judgment, also issued Monday, Miller dismissed with prejudice most of BMCs remaining breach of contract claims (some were resolved at summary judgment) as well as BMCs trade secrets and lost-profits claims. Miller noted that his finding in BMCs favor on its fraudulent inducement theory affords BMC the greatest recovery out of the multiple damages models BMC presented at trial. The $1.6 billion award includes $717.74 million in actual contractual damages, $168.23 million in prejudgment interest, $717.74 million in punitive damages as well as post-judgment interest at the federally mandated two percent rate. For a longer version. of this article, visit TexasLawbook.net. Houston has some of the poorest medical outcomes for women in the country, a sign of an unequal health care system that has implications for both the local economy and workforce, according to a new study. The study, by the Center for Houstons Future, a local think tank, found that Houston fares poorly in nearly all aspects of maternal health. The maternal mortality rate was about 19 percent per 100,000 live births in Texas, compared to 17 percent nationally in 2018, according to the most recently available Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. About 12 percent of births in Houston were premature, compared to about 10 percent nationally. Houston received an F on the March of Dimes Maternal Health report card in 2021, compared to a D for Texas and C minus for the nation as whole. The poor outcomes reflect the uneven access to health care in a region that boasts some of the finest medical and research institutions in the world, the report said. They also provide challenge, if not a threat, to an economy that relies heavily on women, particularly mothers for its workforce. Sixty-three percent of Texas mothers, or 2.5 million, are working. More than one-third of Texas families rely on womens earnings to pay their bills, according to the report. On HoustonChronicle.com: It won't be easy for women to reenter the workforce after the pandemic. Here's why. As a result, the report said, employers across Houston should improve benefits for parents. Specifically, the report recommended company-paid health care coverage, paid time-off for maternal medical care, parental leave, child-care assistance, and remote work options. We're in an employment environment right now where employers are going to have to increasingly improve not only salaries, but also benefits, said Brett Perlman, CEO of the Center for Houstons Future. Were in a tight labor market. This is the time for employers to be stepping up to the plate. The report by the Center for Houstons Future is based on over 30 expert interviews, an extensive literature review and a roundtable meeting of health experts. It found that much of the health problems for women and mothers can be attributed to the lack of basic necessities, such as food and shelter. In 2019, about one in four children in Harris County did not have nutritious food or an adequate amount of food in their homes. One in five households reported housing problems, such as overcrowding and the lack of a kitchen. About 30 percent of Hispanic adults had not seen a doctor when needed because they couldnt afford it, according to the Houston Health Department. On HoustonChronicle.com: Workforce is losing women, especially Black mothers The report recommended that if employers do not provide health insurance benefits, they should provide information on health services, such as Federally Qualified Health Clinics, which are funded through federal dollars and donations and provide free or low-cost care for the uninsured and underinsured. It also recommended that businesses invest in community health programs where employees live, such as the Pathways Community HUB Institute (PCHI), a national nonprofit that works with communities and businesses to address health disparities. We think this combination of programs can really move the needle based on the data were seeing, Perlman said. The report is a follow-up to a 2020 study about how the social determinants, including access to food, a safe place to live and medical care -- widen disparities in health care and outcomes. Were in a community that has lots of health resources, but poor health outcomes, Houston Future CEO Brett Perlman said. Its what we call a paradox of plenty. becca.carballo@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The Port of Houston on Wednesday launched the long-awaited and sorely needed $1 billion expansion of the Houston Ship Channel, which officials say will relieve congestion in one the worlds busiest waterways, raise the regions standing as a center of international trade and boost the local economy. The expansion, dubbed Project 11 marks the 11th time the port has made major improvements to the 52-mile waterway since it was carved out of Buffalo Bayou more than a century ago. The Ship Channel, opened in 1914, brought ocean-going ships and international commerce to Houston as it established itself as the capital of a new oil industry, just 13 years after the Spindletop gusher. Today, the sprawling port complex Port Houston, the Ship Channel and roughly 200 companies is the seventh-largest in the world, according to port officials, and the largest in the nation in terms of the tonnage of waterborne cargo it handles. The value of trade through the port imports and exports jumped 36 percent last year to more than $170 billion, according to the Commerce Department. Our entire nation relies on the Houston Ship Channel, Roger Guenther, executive director of Port Houston said at an event in Galveston to launch the expansion. Container traffic at the port has more than tripled over the past 20 years, said Patrick Jankowski, senior vice president of research at the Greater Houston Partnership, a business-financed economic development group. Meanwhile, the port complex has added more than 100 million square feet of warehouse space as Houston has emerged as a global distribution center. That wouldnt have happened without the port, said Jankowski. If were to continue to grow as a distribution center, and diversify our economy in the process, we have to invest in deepening and widening the ship channel. On HoustonChronicle.com: Panama president's visit marks how Panama Canal expansion cemented Port Houston's global status The expansion, a partnership between Port Houston and the Army Corps of Engineers, has been in the works since 2010, and the need for deeper and wider channel has only increased. Several factors have fueled the growth of the port and ship traffic over the past year. The Houston area itself has grown, importing more for its increasing population and exporting more from its thriving businesses. In 2015, Congress lifted a 40-year ban on exporting domestic oil as record amounts of oil flowed from Texas shale fields, sending fleets of tankers carrying American oil from the Ship Channel to global markets. Less than a year later, the Panama Canal completed an expansion that allows larger ships to move between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, spurring new trade with fast-growing Asian economies. Exports to east Asia, for example, have roughly doubled since the expansion was completed in 2016. Meanwhile, ships have become wider and longer, stretching the ship channels capacity to handle them. For safety reasons, traffic has had to be restricted to one-way when the biggest container ships enter the Ship Channel, stacking up ships waiting to get in and out of port. Congestion has led pilots to employ tricky and occasionally dangerous maneuvering known as Texas Chicken. Safety is the main justification for this project, said Capt. Jason Smith, commander of the Coast Guards Houston-Galveston Sector. When we look at the volume of activity on the Houston Ship Channel over 154,000 transits a year, with a variety of critically important yet often dangerous cargoes all of this brings a certain degree of risk, Smith said. The port will pay for about half of the project, with the rest of the the funding coming from the federal government, including $142 million authorized under the bipartisan infrastructure spending bill enacted last year. The project calls for the channel to be widened by 170 feet from 530 feet to 700 feet along its Galveston Bay reach. Upstream segments will be deepened; the stretch between Boggy Bayou and Hunting Bayou, for example, will be deepened to 46.5 feet from the existing 41. The sand and other materials dredged up will be used to construct several new bird islands and marshes. The expansion is expected to be completed in 2025. Environmental advocates had raised concerns about the impact on Texans who live along the ship channel, particularly in communities such as Galena Park, Pasadena, and Channelview. The area, where refineries, chemical plants and other industrial operations are concentrated, has long suffered from pollution, and advocates fear that diesel-powered dredges that emit pollutants on a similar scale to a refinery will further deteriorate air quality. Too often, these big expansion projects happen, and the communities directly impacted by the project dont receive much economic benefit despite the port being such a huge economic impact for the region, said Stephanie Thomas of Public Citizen, a nonprofit organization that founded the Healthy Port Communities Coalition to track and prevent pollution. The Port Houston Authority in October agreed to used dredging equipment that employs technology to reduce emissions. The Army Corps of Engineers has not made the same commitment, Thomas said. From our perspective, ensuring that community impact remains a primary consideration is critical as they continue, Thomas said. Growth at Port Houston is expected to continue as manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers struggle to restock shelves and warehouses in the face of strong customer demand and, in some cases, because the pandemic revealed the value of having a cushion built into their inventory. On HoustonChronicle.com: 'Truck after truck after truck': Port Houston supply chain struggling to meet demand Beyond that, Jankowski noted, Houstons exports are likely to grow as the economies of the regions top export destinations Mexico, Brazil, the Netherlands, China, South Korea and India top the list expand. That growth may be a bit slower, Jankowski said. But as long as economies of our major trading partners continue to grow, Houston will see strong demand for our exports. The successful partnership between the Port of Houston and the Army Corps of Engineers may augur well for future projects, including the $31 billion proposal, known as the Ike Dike to protect the region and Ship Channel from major hurricanes, severe storm surges and catastrophic flooding. We need to protect the investments being made today and in the future here, said Michael Connor, assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Work. erica.grieder@chron.com Its no secret that pitmaster Greg Gatlin has been dreaming up a new restaurant concept specializing in chicken. But few details of the project, a sister restaurant to his wildly popular Gatlins BBQ, have been floated until now. Gatlin announced Tuesday that the restaurant, Gatlins Fins & Feathers, will open late June at 302 W. Crosstimbers in the Independence Heights neighborhood where he grew up. Described as a paean to beloved Gulf Coast comfort cuisine, Fins & Feathers will serve fried chicken and Gulf seafood dishes including gumbo and oysters. WASHINGTON (AP) Kathleen Buhle, the ex-wife of President Joe Biden's son Hunter, says she has total control over my life now," five years after her divorce, as she opens up about her marriage in a new memoir. Buhle describes her ex-husband's drug addiction, her response to his infidelity including an affair with her widowed sister-in-law and her challenges integrating into the Biden family. Excerpts of If We Break were published Wednesday by People magazine. In the book, Buhle describes the pain she felt watching Hunter spiral into addiction, even as he denied it, and how it became my own addiction" to document it. She writes that the couple separated not long after Beau Biden's 2015 death from brain cancer, when Buhle found a crack pipe in their ashtray. Buhle said she found out about Hunter Biden's affair with Hallie Biden, Beau's widow, in Nov. 2016, after her daughters asked the family's therapist to tell her. I was shocked, but not heartbroken. Heartbreak has already flatted my self-esteem that past year, she writes. She says her daughters discovered the relationship when searching through texts on Hunter's phone. Buhle told People that she and Hunter come together in our shared love for our daughters, as they prepare for their eldest daughter Naomi's wedding at the White House this November. While Hunter's finances are under investigation by the Justice Department, Buhle told People that I couldn't be of any help," adding, I kept my head so deeply buried in the sand on our finances." After Biden became President Barack Obama's vice president in 2008, Buhle writes experiencing one frequent reminder I wasn't a true Biden, when a Secret Service agent informed the family that her then-husband and daughters would receive round-the-clock protection, but not her. Buhle, in 2019, legally reclaimed her maiden name, which she said once felt like a crown and shield to me. I was no longer a Biden, she writes. "I'd handed in my crown and shield because I no longer needed them. Maybe I never had. NORWALK The Norwalk Conservatory of the Arts set out to find the most talented high school sophomores and juniors across the country for their intensive pre-college program. And their search lead back to the city. When freshman Gabrielle Tapper from Norwalk High School inquired about a spot, the conservatory almost passed on an interview. What freshman knows what they want to do at 13 or 14, said Julia Orosz, director of operations for The Norwalk Conservatory of the Arts. Our last audition was Gabby she was the most talented student we auditioned out of thousands. Tapper will be one of 48 high school students from across the United States to take part in the conservatorys two-week training program this summer and the only student from Norwalk or Fairfield County. She will train with professionals in the television and film industry, and meet other students pursuing their dreams of musical theater and musical theater dance. As soon as Orosz finished the audition with Tapper, she immediately got a call from the president of The Norwalk Conservatory of the Arts, Danny Loftus George, and they agreed that Tapper deserved a full scholarship. Orosz knew exactly who to approach for help, recently speaking with the Rotary Club of Norwalk and its vice president, Tony Lopez. Rotary is here to support the community and this we thought was very unique, said Lopez. The Rotary board agreed to give Tapper a $2,500 scholarship. Lopez presented her with the check earlier in May at the Norwalk Inn alongside Orosz, George, Norwalk High School Principal Reginald Roberts and Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling. Although Tapper has dreamed of becoming an actor since she was little while watching the Disney Channel, she had a more practical outlook for her future. Before she accepted the offer from the conservatory, Tapper was looking for summer internships in the biology field. Her plans changed when George came to the Norwalk High School to talk about the conservatory with the drama club earlier this year. She emailed Orosz to ask for an audition and two days later, she jumped on a Zoom call to read two monologues. Prior to the audition, Tapper had zero experience in acting or singing. I felt like this was really my chance. This was a sign from the universe that this is what I have to do, Tapper said. It was a big deal for me to be recognized Being an actor felt like a once in a lifetime thing for me. When I got this, it really made me think, Oh wow, this is something I can actually do. The Norwalk Conservatory of the Arts will welcome the first class of the two-year conservancy in fall 2023. They are partnering with local performing arts organizations including the Wall Street Theater, Juice Media, Factory Underground, and Gymnastics and Cheerleading Academy. The conservatory was founded in 2018 by industry creatives with the goal of creating a college that was equal parts training and opportunity, according to its website. The faculty is comprised of artists currently working in theatre and television. The conservatory built The LINK Program which has developed into the two-year college program. Correction: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Gabrielle Tappers name. emily.morgan@hearstmediact.com This column was originally published in the Houston Chronicle on June 1, 1958. *** Do you sometimes wonder whether there are any more honest people in the world? Besides you? Cast doubt aside, friend. This country, at least, is full of honest folks who were once petty crooks and lived to repent. For that you have the word of the Southern Pacific railroad people, and they can prove it with a correspondence file and a fund of hard cash. The S.P. calls it the conscience file and fund. The file is a quarter of a century old, and it's filled with letters from individuals who have sent the railroad money they felt they owed as a result of their own previous dishonesty and subsequent repentance. *** The total amount of the fund wouldn't be terrific, admits J.P. Echols, the S.P. treasurer. "But on the other hand," he adds, "it sure helps restore your confidence in human nature when somebody finally decides to pay you for a sack of coal that he stole 30 years ago." Do such repentant individuals sign their right names? "Most often not," says Echols. But he has one letter boldly signed with the full name of the conscience-stricken writer, who explains: "God knows who I am; so you might as well know." *** The letters come from all over the United States. Most are from persons who stole train rides. And quite often on freight trains! In such cases they normally estimate the passenger fare -- and usually come pretty close to the correct tariff. *** Amounts vary from $1 to $10 and $15 or more. One letter is from a California man who sent his personal check for $28.50. He said he had ridden on a passenger train from El Paso to Jacksonville, Fla., without paying -- 28 years ago, when he was a child and was entitled to half fare! An anonymous note says: "Enclosed fine $13 witch I owe yore railrode." Another: "Here is $1 for one fare with interest to date." Another: "Am sending $1 for something I took. This is all it was worth, as it was old." No letter at all came with the four crisp $10 bills. So Echols has no idea what the $40 pays for. He just entered it in the old conscience fund. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate In late April, Elizabeth and James Weller stuck the week 17 ultrasound photo to their fridge, inside the four-bedroom Kingwood home they planned to fill. The young couple had already bought Houston Astros onesies and dark blue paint for the space-themed nursery, eagerly awaiting Theodora Rosario Wellers due date in October. But on May 10, at 18 weeks pregnant, the 26-year-old Elizabeth returned from a jog and saw blood leaking out of her vagina. Then her water broke. Later, in the Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital emergency room, she learned she had lost a dangerous amount of amniotic fluid, which is essential for fetal development. She faced an increased risk of infection and other life-threatening complications. Doctors presented her with two devastating options: Wait until Theodora becomes viable around 24 weeks and deliver her, only to watch her die or live with a severe disability, or induce labor now and effectively terminate the pregnancy. In my mind, the only rational thing to do, on top of the only emotionally merciful thing to do, would be to choose (termination), to save her from going through this type of suffering, said Elizabeth, a political science graduate student at the University of Houston. I couldnt justify putting her through that. Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Elizabeth agonized over her choice. Then she realized she didnt have one. The hospital did not approve her for immediate induction, a Houston Methodist spokesperson said, because she did not meet the standards set forth in the states highly restrictive abortion laws, which create civil penalties for terminating a pregnancy when there is a detectable fetal heartbeat. The newly amended Texas Health and Safety Code only allows a termination when the pregnant woman is in danger of death or a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function vague terminology that is open to a range of interpretations. A violation opens providers up to lawsuits, fines and, if Roe v. Wade is overturned, a felony charge. Elizabeths story illustrates the collision between medical ethics and legal ramifications that healthcare professionals and institutions face when termination is a medically appropriate option. Now dealing with a high-risk pregnancy, she and James processed their tragedy in a state of limbo, from which their only escape was a flight out of Texas or signs of an infection. Theres never been a hell worse than hoping my wife gets sick, for the sake of our grief and for us to move on, said James Weller, an 8th grade math teacher. Its just terrible. Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer A grim outlook At first, Elizabeth questioned whether termination would be the right choice if the baby had a chance to survive. She has Erbs palsy weakness in one arm and would not end her pregnancy based on disability alone. At the hospital, Elizabeth was officially diagnosed with PPROM, or preterm premature rupture of membranes, which affects about 1 percent of women before the fetus reaches viability. Her prognosis was grim, and solutions were complicated. She could try to wait about six weeks to deliver the child, but she risked developing a severe infection or heavy bleeding. Both scenarios would force doctors to induce labor to save her life. Even if she made it to a live birth, only about 26 percent of babies like Theodora survive the hospital, according to the Society of Maternal Fetal Medicine. Surviving babies can develop clubbed feet and other severe limb deformities. But more commonly, the baby dies from extreme prematurity or pulmonary hypoplasia, in which underdeveloped lungs impede heart function and overall development. When they considered this reality, James cried over Elizabeths belly as they began to say goodbye to Theodora. Elizabeth stayed at Methodist overnight and told her OBGYN, Dr. Erica Chapman, about her decision the following day. Chapman strongly advocated for her induction, Elizabeth said, but the hospital had their hands tied behind their backs. Elizabeth wasnt yet experiencing severe symptoms or showing any signs of an infection, and her babys heartbeat was strong. Chapman, who is affiliated with Houston Methodist The Woodlands and Kelsey-Seybold, declined an interview for this story. Doctors put Elizabeth on a management plan to monitor her symptoms. Chapman advised her that the best thing for me was to get discharged, otherwise I would be running up a bill, she said. Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Waiting Back home in Kingwood, temperature checks became an obsession for Elizabeth and James. They hoped to see a number at or above 100.4 on the thermometer dial, or for yellow and foul-smelling vaginal discharge that signaled a worsening condition. Elizabeth had seen only a faint yellow discharge without a strong smell. While she waited for her body to break down, she became depressed. She woke up on Thursday, May 12, with the song You Are My Sunshine stuck in her head. She felt the urge to look up the full lyrics and sobbed at the first verse. The other night dear, as I lay sleeping I dreamed I held you in my arms But when I awoke, dear, I was mistaken So I hung my head and I cried All I wanted was for (Theodora) and Im so ashamed to say this but all I wanted was for her to just leave because it was so nightmarish for me, she said. It was Friday, May 13, when the couple visited Kelsey-Seybold to check the babys heart. It was still beating, and Elizabeth asked not to hear it. Chapman told the couple she tried calling other Texas Medical Center hospitals, looking for a doctor who could induce her, but no one took up her plea. Elizabeth and James began discussing flights to Colorado, where abortion is legal in all stages of pregnancy. When they returned home later that day, Elizabeths vaginal discharge had turned to a vibrant yellow color. She retched at the smell and asked herself, is this the sign she needed? Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Ethical challenges As they hoped for a conclusion, James and Elizabeth also felt angry at politicians who created laws that compounded their grief. You expect a greater understanding of what's going on inside of a woman's body, Elizabeth said. The ambiguity of both Senate Bill 8 and Senate Bill 4 the two pieces of legislation that frame the states abortion laws creates an ethical dilemma for providers that could lead to devastating consequences for others in Elizabeths position, said Dr. Bryn Esplin, a bioethicist and assistant professor of medical education at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth. There are notable examples of women who died from pregnancy complications after initially being denied an abortion on legal grounds. You would hope the law would be such that it supports a provider making an assessment in the patients best interest, versus putting them at risk for liability, Esplin said. Texas Right to Life Legislative Director John Seago pushed back on the assertion that the law is ambiguous. For him, the language is clear: any elective abortion is an injustice. When we look at fetal abnormalities and these kinds of tragic situations, it is still unethical to go and to cause the death of the child, he said. There are other positive life-affirming responses to give the child the best perinatal outcomes. Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Relief There was no positive outlook for James and Elizabeth. On Friday, she wiped her yellow discharge with toilet paper, placed it in a Ziploc bag and again set out for the Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital emergency room, hoping the evidence was enough to encourage the hospital to act. When she and James arrived, she reported worsening abdominal pain, in addition to her discharge. The couple also learned that an ethics committee had taken up her case, and on Friday night, Chapman called to tell them the good news: The ethics committee had approved her for induction. It was a moment of just sheer happiness, Elizabeth said. But in retrospect, it's horrible. At no point did I want this to happen for my baby But to have some definitive answer that there was a clear path ahead of me was comfort in its own right. She delivered Theodora in the early-morning hours of Saturday and let the lifeless, bright red baby barely bigger than her hand lie on her chest as long as she could bear. The whole event remains fresh for the couple. Its hard to look at the baby clothes, the nursery, the ultrasound photos. But they talk openly about their trauma, hoping that their experience will spark conversation among lawmakers and create positive changes for other parents in their situation. That's really all a parent can want for their kid, right? That they do something great. They create a change Elizabeth said through tears. And I know some people might think, you know, You're not a mom. But she did everything for me to make me feel like one. julian.gill@chron.com Houston City Council members have offered up budget amendments to give every firefighter a $3,000 hazard pay bonus, implement a garbage fee to bolster the citys trash and recycling collections, and buy new chairs for City Halls chambers. In all, council members have proposed 91 ways to alter Mayor Sylvester Turners $5.7 billion budget, and they will try to tack their projects to the proposed spending plan during a marathon session Wednesday that typically makes for their longest meeting of the year. Residents will have time to speak in the morning to advocate their priorities, as well. Turners proposed budget includes previously announced pay raises for all city employees, tax relief for seniors and disabled residents, and would sock away the healthiest reserves in recent history. It does not include a call for a property tax increase. Much of the additional spending is made possible by federal COVID-19 relief money. The city has received more than $600 million over the last two years, and Turner has proposed using $130 million for this years budget. That money must be allocated by 2024. Budget amendments, although rarely adopted, represent one of council members few opportunities to put relatively substantive recommendations up for a vote by their colleagues in Houstons strong-mayor form of government, in which the mayor controls what gets on the weekly agenda. Members take different approaches and strategies. Six of the 16 council members Abbie Kamin, Dave Martin, Tiffany Thomas, Mike Knox, Michael Kubosh and David Robinson proposed no amendments. Meanwhile, District A Councilmember Amy Peck accounted for 42 of the 91 amendments offered. They run the gamut, including installing turf at libraries and community centers to save money on lawn maintenance, neighborhood infrastructure projects, and using retired firefighters for building inspections. Its our only opportunity to put items on the agenda, and at the same time its a huge budget, Peck said. So, theres definitely items that I would change in such a big budget. The amendments vary greatly in size and scope. Among Pecks recommendations is $55 million for two major neighborhood drainage projects where homes often flood. Another idea from District J Councilmember Ed Pollard would allow council offices with spare operating funds to buy new chairs for the chambers where they meet. Still, most amendments historically fail to win approval, and Turner has deployed a new strategy this year to keep the discussion limited to the operating budget: He is ruling everything else out of order. The mayor has proposed tossing out 40 of the amendments for that purpose, according to a spreadsheet of his administrations responses to the proposals. In the past, council members have had more leeway in their suggestions. In a memo last month, Turner warned council members last month to keep their eyes on the budget alone. He said doing so would make the discussion more productive. Policy amendments should not be submitted and will be ruled out of order, Turner wrote. Policy amendments include those that will modify existing laws or city charter via ordinance compared to budget amendments that revise the proposed budget. The city uses Roberts Rules of Order to govern its procedures, which says an amendment must be germane to the main motion on which council is voting, according to City Attorney Arturo Michel. Although conceptually any amendment could be found to have a fiscal impact, the city has discretion in setting the level of fiscal connection through the rulings of the mayor, Michel said. Some council members, though, argue Turner has dismissed suggestions that have explicit budgetary implications. At-Large Councilmember Letitia Plummer, for example, pitched several amendments geared toward overhauling apartment inspections, a policy she has pursued since last budget season. Each of her proposals had a dedicated price tag meant to come from the citys unspent reserves, and all but one were ruled out of order. Were voted in by the people, and what you see all the members putting forward is what people have asked for, Plummer said. Its only fair to allow us this one day to make the ask. Many of the proposed amendments target the $311 million Turner wants to leave unspent for the future. Councilmember Tarsha Jackson proposed using $12.3 million for local street projects in her District B, and another $5 million to rebuild the Tidwell Park pool. District D Councilmember Carolyn Evans-Shabazz wants to use $5 million to boost the amount given to each council district for projects in their neighborhoods. And At-Large Councilmember Sallie Alcorn is asking to use $5 million for more street and drainage projects across the city, which she said reflects the demand from residents at recent community meetings. Everybody wants drainage projects, so since we do have the luxury of a bigger fund balance, its just an amount I felt could be transferred over for more street and drainage projects, Alcorn said. Alcorn and Councilmember Robert Gallegos also are pitching an amendment to impose a garbage collection fee on residents. Every other major Texas city has one, using the revenue to support their operations. Houstons Solid Waste Department charges no such fee and its leaders long have complained about shoe-string budgets. On that proposal, Turners office said Administration does not support at this time, the only pitch to get that qualifying description at the end. Turner has suggested he will leave the decision to his successor, but he has not closed the door on taking it up in the 1.5 years he has left in office. Gallegos proposed other revenue generators for the department, as well, including a one-time $25 fee on new residential developments that still use city collection services. That was ruled out of order by Turner. dylan.mcguinness@chron.com This year's homicide rate has now fallen below what it was in 2021 for the first time in 2022 , Mayor Sylvester Turner announced Tuesday at a press conference alongside Houston police leaders. Homicides, Turner said, is just one category of violent crime which his "One Safe Houston" initiative has impacted since it's implementation in early February after a turbulent start to the year. "Last year, at this time, we had 192 murders in our city. As of this morning, that number is 187. So we are 3 percent below where we were last year," Turner said. "Those numbers have been trending in the right direction." Turners initiative is designed to combat a spike in crime, including homicides. In 2020, Houston recorded 400 homicides which then increased the next year by 15 percent to 469, according to crime statistics. The local increase in homicides during and immediately following the pandemic echoed a national trend, according to statistics from the FBI. In 2020, homicides were up nationally by 30 percent compared to 2019. The other categories in the local initiative rape, robbery and aggravated assault have also shown decreasing numbers, according to HPD violent crime statistics. So far in 2022 the city has registered a 33 percent drop in rapes reported compared to this time last year, a 14.1 percent drop in robberies and a 9.5 percent drop in aggravated assaults. Turner sought to assure Houstonians the $44 million, federally-funded initiative has been working to address the public's safety concerns around the city. "When you look at where we are today with the steps that we have put in place, from all indications the 'One Safe Houston' initiative is working and the numbers are speaking for themselves," he added, citing the homicide clearance rates currently sit at 80 percent higher than both 2020 and 2021. The $44 million in federal dollars toward the initiative, the mayor announced in February, would be allotted for different categories: $10 million for violence reduction and crime prevention including $5.7 million in overtime for Houston Police Department patrols with 125 additional officers per day and about $34 million more for crisis intervention, response and recovery, which aims to expand existing mental health programs. Houston Executive Chief Matt Slinkard who attended the press conference for Chief Troy Finner commended the mayors extensive effort to address crime. Even in a very tough, constrained fiscal environment, you have given us the resources that we need to try to be as responsive as possible to the citizens of this great city, Slinkard said. It speaks to the more holistic endeavors that must take place for us to address violent crime in one of America's major cities. Although progress has been seen, Slinkard said, the department is continuing to address issues such reviewing officer response times and incoming cadet classes to replenish the departments ranks. Attrition is something that we deal with on a yearly basis. Some years attrition will trend higher and retirements will trend higher than in other years, he said. Hopefully by the time we get through the end of this year, we have a net positive gain of officers after we've factored in attrition. Looking toward the summer, Turner said the city would be additionally supporting the initiative with a gun buy back program slated for July, the reentry program aimed to provide employment and housing to formerly incarcerated people. So it's not one single piece but all of these pieces working together. Again, we're not where we want to be but we're certainly trending in the right direction. Attempts to reach the Houston Police Officers Union for comment Thursday afternoon were unsuccessful. joel.umanzor@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Christina Micu sat on the witness stand and tearfully explained how shed made a list of everything she lost when Hurricane Harvey flooded her four-bedroom home. Her sons toys. Her kitchen stove. A rocking chair her mom had given her. She threw it all away and wants to be paid back for it. A lot of things were taken from me when we were flooded, Micu said. A lot of them are irreplaceable. Ill never have them back, from heirloom items to baby pictures. Micu gave her testimony in Houston Tuesday as the long-awaited trial kicked off before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to determine what the government owes her and her neighbors for flooding their homes. Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Senior Judge Charles F. Lettow, who is presiding at this weeks hearing, found the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers liable following a previous proceeding three years ago. The Corps held water behind two dams west of town to lessen flooding in central Houston when days of rain drenched the region in 2017. The vast majority of residents behind these massive earthen dams did not know they did not know they lived in the reservoirs. After delays caused by the pandemic, the judge will consider what is owed to Harvey victims by examining a handful of individual flooding cases as examples. The outcomes will set criteria for what happens for thousands of others. On HoustonChronicle.com: In victory for Harvey victims, Army Corps found liable for flooding damage upstream of Addicks, Barker reservoirs Plaintiffs suffered at the hands of the government in order to save downtown Houston, said attorney Daniel Charest, as photos of the flooding flashed on computer screens. They only want to be made whole. Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer This was the residents only chance to be paid back for their lost private property rights, Charest argued. And not only had they lost property, the value of the homes would drop as a result of the flooding the government inflicted, he said. Representing the U.S. government, attorney Laura Duncan said the neighborhoods where homes flooded are still desirable. The real estate market wasnt impacted, she argued. The detailed, technical trial is expected to last into next week. Other flooded homeowners listened intently in the courtroom gallery. For five-and-a-half years, Micu lived in that house on Canyon Park Drive. She was pregnant when she and her husband moved there in 2012. She wanted their kids to be in the highly-regarded Katy ISD school district. She assumed the home value would increase, she said. Then Hurricane Harvey in 2017 dumped an historic amount of rain on the region. Members of the Corps shut the gates on the normally-dry Addicks and Barker reservoirs. As the reservoirs filled, so did homes. Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Micu, like her neighbors, came home a week or two later to warped wooden floors covered in mud. Mold grew up the walls. The house smelled horrible, she said. The family moved out temporarily and began a long and costly process of cleaning up and building back. The mother tried to make a pile of things she thought she might save, she said. But at some point Micu gave up, feeling overwhelmed and doubtful she could actually save the items. So she tossed them, not looking in drawers or containers so she wouldnt know what she was losing. There were her scarves, gone because of Harvey. Her nursing bras, gone because of Harvey. Her steamer, gone because of Harvey. She hadnt remembered to put any of this on her list of items lost, but discovered them gone when she looked for them later. So when an attorney asked why she hadnt provided a brand name for an item, she seemed testy, as if the attorney just didnt understand the emotional scope. I did not provide it, no, she said. How could I? emily.foxhall@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Uvalde police officers, Texas state troopers and members of the U.S. Border Patrols elite BORTAC squad all responded to the massacre at Robb Elementary a week ago. All were apparently brought to a standstill under the command of Uvalde CISD Police Chief Pete Arredondo, who officials say believed the shooter was no longer a risk to people in the school. But why was the school police chief, who oversaw, by far, the smallest law-enforcement agency that responded, in charge of the situation response in the first place? When it comes to whos in charge, a departments size doesnt matter. In mass casualty events in which multiple agencies respond, the highest ranking officer from the agency that has jurisdiction over an emergency usually assumes control. A CLOSER LOOK: Inside the delays and discrepancies of the Uvalde shooting police response People watch too much TV. They think whenever the FBI walks in, they take over, said Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset, whose department responded to the Santa Fe massacre four years ago. You have the jurisdiction. Because the shooting occurred on school property, Arrendondo the top officer at the schools small police department would have been in charge of coordinating the response, handling communications and making decisions about how to stop the shooter. Law enforcements nearly hour-long delay in entering the joined fourth-grade classrooms and confronting the 18-year-old shooter who murdered 19 children and two teachers has been widely criticized. The days following the disaster have only added to the confusion, with reports that Border Patrol agents who arrived at the scene challenged the decision to wait; ultimately they entered the classroom and shot the gunman, killing him. Most of the updates about the case, meanwhile, have come from the Department of Public Safety. MORE: Dan Patrick backpedals comment, says police inaction 'may have' cost lives Last week, for example, DPS Commander Steven McCraw explained that officers waited for more heavily armed reinforcements from the BORTAC squad before they finally confronted the gunman. The delay was based on the erroneous assumption that the situation had turned from an active shooting to a barricaded suspect. Public safety agencies across the United States use the National Incident Command System to respond to emergencies, said Harris County Fire Marshal Laurie Christensen. The federal government created the system after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, when police, fire, and EMS agencies struggled to work together to respond to the disaster. The goal, she said, was to create a nationwide systematic approach, a national standard a set of principles meant for all threats, hazards and events. EDITORIAL BOARD: Where were the heroes? Police stood by as Uvalde students died, begged for help It was scaleable, flexible, and adaptable, she said, meaning police or fire departments could use it for everything from a car fire on a city street to a mass casualty event such as a mass shooting. In particularly challenging situations, its not uncommon for agencies to create a unified command, in which authority over the incident is shared by leaders of multiple agencies. There is protocol for a transfer of command from the local commander to someone on scene with more experience or resources who was better equipped to handle the situation, law enforcement officials said. During the 2017 Santa Fe massacre, officers from the small Santa Fe ISD Police Department found themselves under fire. The gunman shot former officer John Barnes in the elbow, causing hemorrhaging that nearly killed him. Former Assistant Chief Gary Forward recalled feverishly working to staunch Barnes bleeding. Then-Chief Walter Braun oversaw the operation initially, he recalled, but soon, it really became a joint thing, with the chief and the FBI, the Galveston County Sheriffs office, and DPS it was a joint operation to manage the whole scene. RELATED: Uvalde schools police chief had extensive 'active-shooter' training After the thing started to mushroom, and the kid (accused in the shooting) was taken into custody, that whole incident command structure broadened exponentially, he continued. Arredondo apparently chose to maintain command as the minutes ticked by and pressure mounted. He was incident commander in charge, said Charles McClelland, former Houston police chief. It doesnt mean it was wrong he was in charge he just made a bad decision. It wouldnt be unusual for a school district police force to retain command and request additional resources, experts said. The local officers would live close by, would know the area. On the other hand, the local chief doesnt have to retain command. He or she can turn it over to another agency with more expertise or create a unified command, with agencies coordinating with each other directly. Arredondo could have given control to the Uvalde Police Department the school lay in their jurisdiction. Or he could have turned it over to DPS, which has law enforcement authority across the entire state. Or even to BORTAC operators, who are the Border Patrols most highly trained agents. THE LATEST: Police union calls for Uvalde authorities to cooperate with inquiries The key, experts explained, is that the best qualified person should be in command. That might not be the highest ranking person. It could be a deputy chief who has expertise needed for the incident. One thing interesting about incident command one thing thats taught, understood, is that youre very likely to have your boss reporting to you, one former emergency operations manager told the Chronicle. Some who have been involved in such incidents said it was thus surprising that the school chief didnt pass the command to people with more expertise and training. McClelland said that while it made sense for the local school chief to be commander initially his people were first on scene, it was on the school campus he said that in complex and rapidly evolving scenes it sometimes makes sense for a commander with more experience to assume command. He recalled a shooting on the campus of Texas Southern University in 2015. His officers told him TSU officials said they were capable of handling it, a claim he shot down. His officers would handle the investigation, he said. It was a murder, at a location well within his jurisdiction. And he believed his officers were better equipped to handle it. st.john.smith@houstonchronicle.com twitter.com/stjbs Last week's mass shooting in Uvalde set off a heated debate about gun control in America. Many Republicans have zeroed in on the mental health crisis in the U.S., while Democrats have said it is too easy for people like the Robb Elementary shooter, Salvador Ramos, to purchase or get a hold of high-powered weapons. In fact, Ramos was too young to purchase alcohol but old enough to buy an assault-style rifle. As is usually the case, the gun control debate found its way onto social media. On Reddit, for example, one thread in particular is starting to gain traction after the person who started the thread said it was harder to buy a motorcycle in Texas than a gun. On HoustonChronicle.com: Lawyer says teacher did not leave door open for gunman in Uvalde The person said they couldn't buy a motorcycle without a specialized license that could only be obtained with a half-day motorcycle safety class, a certificate of completion and proof of insurance. "Seems like a reasonable process since motorcycles are risky and require extra training. Also seems reasonable to have a similar process for gun ownership," the post reads. Soon after, others began pointing out things they said were harder to purchase, obtain or receive in Texas. Many of the examples touch on the recent controversies in the state. The Express-News could not independently verify if any of the items people posted are tougher to get in Texas. Below are some of the responses to the prompt in the Reddit thread, "It's harder to get ___ than a gun in Texas": Alcohol on Sunday Electricity (During the 2021 deadly winter storm) An abortion Baby formula Marijuana An absentee voting ballot Doctor's appointment Affordable rent Unemployment benefits Mental health care Pet adoption Therapy for transgender children Taylor.pettaway@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate UVALDE David Graham is a long way from Ohio, but that didnt stop him from packing up his pickup for a trip to Texas that was born of pure love from a broken heart. He does not know any of the 19 children and two teachers killed in the May 24 massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. But you never would have known that by the red heart he spray-painted on the grass Tuesday on a corner of Grove Street where he could see hearses pass on their way to Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Graham wept as he removed his cowboy hat and held it to his heart Tuesday when a funeral procession passed in the middle of the morning though it was not a victim of the shooting. Hours later, he would see the procession for Amerie Jo Garza, the 10-year-old girl described in her familys obituary as a kind, caring, blunt, loving, sweet, sassy and of course funny little diva with a heart of gold who wanted to be an art teacher. She would be the first of the victims to be buried. Graham, 63, drove here from Bellville, Ohio, near Columbus, Ohio, where he is a semi-retired farmer. I came here because I have a heart to lend to people, Graham said, holding back tears. I just want to try and leave a drop of love. For Uvalde native Hector Gomez, that gesture from a stranger who fast became a brother is just what his aching community of 16,000 needs. It affects me a lot, said Gomez, 64, who attended Robb Elementary as a child. You see the innocent children and teachers (gone). But the community has been so beautiful People have come from all parts of the country. Belinda Garcia of San Antonio was shaking and in tears as she left Hillcrest Memorial Funeral Home. Her family came to Uvalde to drop off hand-made rosaries to each of the families. Something to comfort them, she said through tears. She had made a special one for Maite Rodriguez, 10. It is blue and adorned with turtles. Garcia read that Maite wanted to be a marine biologist when she grew up. There was a heavy police presence at the funeral home, which is directly across the street from the school. Visitation for two victims, Nevaeh Alyssa Bravo and Jose Manuel Flores Jr., both 10, was scheduled to last into the night. Visitors were forced to drive past the very spot where the gunman a week earlier had crashed through metal barriers at a drainage ditch before abandoning his vehicle and assaulting the school. Several quietly walked across the street from the funeral home to look at the school, standing briefly at the yellow crime scene tape that still surrounds it. On ExpressNews.com: Five victims of Uvalde shooting remain in San Antonio hospitals Rachel Rangel, of Uvalde, tried to get to the funeral home in time to pay her respects to Amerie Jo, but there was a line. She said she couldnt imagine how people will get through the upcoming days of funerals and vigils. Its very hard, she said. There were innocent kids who didnt have a chance in life. Her grandson is a second grader at Robb Elementary. After an awards ceremony on campus the morning of May 24, Rangel said, something told her to sign him out to leave as soon as it was over. Sara Guerrero and her sister drove from Del Rio and said they were filled with grief as they paid their respects at the school. A fifth grade teacher herself at Bible Way Christian Academy, Guerrero noted a silence hanging over Robb. You feel it in your chest, she said. Walking over here, my chest is so heavy. Guerrero said she couldnt imagine being in a situation in which she could not protect her students. The love and care coming from other towns gave her a sense of uplift, knowing Uvalde is not alone, she said. Dora Valdez, 58, had just opened her shop, Dorys Beauty Salon, as people were arriving for Ameries service at nearby Sacred Heart Church. Valdez has cut hair in Uvalde for years and many of her customers had lost loved ones in the shooting. Pallbearers wore white shirts with the girls name emblazoned on the sleeves. One of them was wearing an empty holster. A grandmother, Valdez said in Spanish that the grief was hers, too. It was everyones Se siente en el ambiente, Valdez said, you feel it around you, in the air, in the environment. ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863 Many Texans likely already know the significance of Juneteenth and what it represents to our home state, but if you need a reminder, we've got you covered. Although it's not a new holiday, it became part of the national conversation during a period of racial reckoning after the murder of George Floyd and the impassioned outrage it sparked. Protests over police brutality in the deaths of other Black Americans, including Breonna Taylor, also fueled continued interest in the holiday. Here are answers to your commonly asked questions about Juneteenth, based on Google search queries. What is Juneteenth and why is it celebrated? Juneteenth is the oldest celebration commemorating June 19, 1865, the day Union soldiers arrived in Galveston to bring the news of freedom to the last 250,000 enslaved Black people in Texas. It was more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Also known as Jubilee Day, Freedom Day and African American Independence Day, Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19 each year. Is Juneteenth a national holiday? The day was made a federal holiday last year, on June 17, 2021. Does Texas recognize Juneteenth? Do all states? Texas was the first state to officially recognize Juneteenth, although it wasn't until 1979. Before President Biden deemed it a national holiday last year, just three states North Dakota, South Dakota and Hawaii did not formally recognize it. How should we celebrate Juneteenth? While there's no right or wrong way to celebrate, many common ways today include attending parades and festivals, supporting Black-owned businesses and vendors at festivals, or attending celebration concerts and galas. Here's a list of more than 20 different ways that Houston celebrated last year. What is the Juneteenth flag and why are the colors red, black and green? The Juneteenth Flag is not an actual flag of Africa but an American creation in the colors red, black, and green, according to the Austin-American Statesman. Red represents the blood that was shed, black is for the color of the skin, and green is for the ground upon which Blacks proudly stand free. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A teacher at Robb Elementary School had propped open a door to carry food from a car to a classroom last Tuesday, but she closed it after realizing that a gunman was loose and heading toward the school, her San Antonio lawyer said. Don Flanary said the teacher, who is not being identified out of safety concerns, called 911 to report an accident near the school involving a black truck, which turned out to be driven by gunman Salvador Ramos, 18. Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Friday that Ramos, a Uvalde High School dropout, fired at nearby funeral home employees after he had crashed the pickup. McCraw said Ramos then walked over to the campus, fired shots from an assault-style rifle at several windows and entered the building through the open door. Ramos killed 19 students and two teachers and injured 17 more people in two adjoining classrooms, making it one of the worst mass shootings ever in a school. He was in the rooms for more than an hour before Border Patrol tactical officers broke in and killed him. McCraw told reporters Friday that the teacher propped open the door about the time Ramos crashed the truck and that the teacher called 911. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Law enforcement officials prepare for the arrival of President Joe Biden's attendance of a Mass the Sunday following the Uvalde school shooting. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) Law enforcement officials prepare for the arrival of President Joe Biden's attendance of a Mass the Sunday following the Uvalde school shooting. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) McCraw said the door wasnt supposed to be propped open, it was supposed to be locked. And certainly the teacher that went back for her cellphone propped it open again. So that was an access point that the subject used. Flanary said the story he got from his client mostly matches the timeline McCraw gave at a Friday news conference, but the lawyer wants to make clear that the teacher did not leave the door open. She saw the wreck, Flanary said. She ran back inside to get her phone to report the accident. She came back out while on the phone with 911. The men at the funeral home yelled, He has a gun! She saw him jump the fence, and he had a gun, so she ran back inside. She kicked the rock away when she went back in. She remembers pulling the door closed while telling 911 that he was shooting. She thought the door would lock because that door is always supposed to be locked. Flanary added that the teacher even remembers pulling and holding onto the door which has a horizontal push bar while on the phone with 911. At one point as she headed back to her classroom, the 911 call dropped and she texted family that the gunman was inside the building and then that she could hear police. Late Tuesday, DPS spokesman Travis Considine confirmed part of Flanarys account. We did verify she closed the door, Considine said. The door did not lock. We know that much, and now investigators are looking into why it did not lock. A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation said surveillance video and audio verifies that the teacher removed the rock keeping the door open, then closed it. She slammed it shut, said the source, who requested anonymity because the source does not have authority to speak with the media. Flanary and the source said a person exiting through the door might not be able to tell if it was locked. The source said investigators are trying to determine if the door was unlocked earlier or if its lock was not working because the gunman used the same door to get into the school, go down the hallways and into adjoining rooms 111 and 112. In the rooms, full of fourth-graders, he took advantage of a delayed police response and shot and killed his victims. The source said at least one other school employee has reported to federal agents and DPS that at least one other door in the building did not lock, and investigators are looking into that report. Investigators also have received reports that another entry/exit door into the building was open during school hours, the source said. Flanary said that when the teacher saw the gunman, he threw a bag over the fence and he had a rifle slung over his body. As she retreated and closed the door and headed back to her classroom, she had 911 on the phone. At some point, the 911 call dropped, and dispatchers did not call her back, Flanary said. The teacher even tried to use the intercom to reach others in the school office, but she got nothing. Silence. No one answered, Flanary said. The lawyer said the teacher hid and didnt call 911 back because she wanted to keep quiet so the gunman would not find her. She had turned off her phones ringer. She was very scared, Flanary said. Immediately when she got in, she heard the popping of gunshots. Then, there was a change in the popping sounds, like shooting inside (the building). All she could do was hide under a counter, Flanary said. She thought it was a matter of time before he came and got her. He would have seen her if hed come in. Flanary said the teacher told him that her wing of the L-shaped building had just dismissed students for lunch before she went to the parking lot; otherwise, there might have been more victims because the gunman fired at the building from outside before going in. Flanary added that the teacher could hear police inside the building about 11:40 a.m. and that texts he reviewed from her phone confirm that. She couldnt hear what they were saying, but she could tell they were voices of police, Flanary said. She was still hunkered down. She did not leave her classroom until police came for her about 12:10 p.m., Flanary said. The lawyer and the source said the woman had to go to the hospital because of anxiety. She said they dont have a resource officer, Flanary said, using the term for school police officers. She doesnt know if they have one assigned to (multiple) schools, but there certainly was not one there that day. Parents of students were at the school earlier that Tuesday to attend award ceremonies, two days before the school year was to end. guillermo.contreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland Gov. Greg Abbott is urging leaders of the Legislature to name committees to study gun safety, mental health, social media, school safety and more in the wake of last weeks heartrending massacre at Robb Elementary School. What a sham. The governor alone has the authority to convene a session of the Legislature, and thats precisely what he should do, as we argued in an editorial published Tuesday evening. All 13 Senate Democrats have joined that call as well, as have Republican Sens. Jeff Leach of Plano and Kel Seliger of Amarillo. Instead, hes shirking his responsibility and asking Speaker of the House Dade Phelan and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who runs the Texas Senate, to name committees to look into what changes might be helpful. Heres a news flash for the governor, as if he didnt already know: Thats been tried before and the result was zilch. Three years ago, Abbott punted in exactly the same way after 31 people were killed in shootings in El Paso and Odessa. The Legislature named committees. Hearings were held. Proposals debated and all but ignored. When lawmakers returned to Austin in 2021, priorities had shifted and attention had waned. Could Abbott and others desperate to talk about anything other than gun safety the 800-pound gorilla in every discussion of why mass shootings keep happening over and over be counting on the same limited attention span this time, too? Sure looks like it. Its a screwed up mess and it starts with leadership at the top, Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, told us Wednesday. What if Abbott said, Im gonna call a special session and youre not gonna leave until something gets done. He did it on voter suppression Youre not gonna leave until you pass these items? Does that jeopardize his reelection? I don't think so. Does it jeopardize his running for president? I don't think he ought to be worried about that. A special session is needed because reforms should be debated and voted on. Now. This summer. Before attention to the crisis fades. Texas stands nearly alone in its jaw-dropping capacity to ignore calls for change after each massacre. After the Dec. 12 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut in 2012, the legislature gathered within weeks to begin debating gun reforms and passed them by large margins. After students were murdered by a lone gunman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, Floridas GOP-led legislature was already in session and it quickly took up some of the same gun reform measures Texas should enact, but so far has steadfastly refused to even consider. Florida quickly adopted and Republican Gov. Rick Scott quickly signed a red flag law, which has been used to temporarily remove thousands of guns, news reports last week verified. It also raised the minimum age to buy rifles to 21 sensibly matching the same restrictions already imposed by federal law on purchasing handguns. The 13 Texas Senate Democrats who wrote Abbott to demand a special session say raising the age for some rifles to 21 is the least Texas could do. They also want universal background checks, a policy that would eliminate a loophole for private-party sales a change Patrick once supported. Instead, Abbott is muddying the water with ridiculous talking points about Texas history. Ever since Texas has been a state, an 18-year-old has been able to buy a long gun. Its only in the last decade or two when we had school shootings. ... So for a century and a half, 18-year-olds could buy rifles and we didnt have school shootings, but we do now. Maybe were focusing our attention on the wrong thing. Does he even believe what he says? A century ago, long rifles meant hunting for rabbit and deer, or shotguns for sport. The AR-15 style rifle used in Uvalde along with similar assault-style rifles used at Sandy Hook, at Parkland, in El Paso, in Odessa, in Sutherland Springs, in Las Vegas and in scores of scenes of slaughter look and perform nothing like a long rifle of old. The rifles the Uvalde shooter purchased in the days before his attack are anything but Davy Crocketts trusty musket. They are capable of emptying a 30-round magazine in well under a minute. The Uvalde shooter carried a bag full of magazines with hundreds of rounds into the school. Those kinds of weapons were banned for 10 years in 1994 and despite loopholes in that law, mass shootings fell slightly during that decade, and tripled in the years after the ban expired. Abbotts poor attempt to link the refusal to even raise the minimum age to buy such weapons, never mind ban them, to a starry-eyed view of Texas history is gross. The remedy to all this begins with leadership. Abbott should call the Legislature back and demand a debate and ultimately a vote on these and other needed reforms. Or he can do what he did last time and let the reforms fizzle before they even get to the floor. And wait until another classroom of tears comes our way. He was warned before. Last year, as the Legislature was prepared to vote for an expansion of gun rights, after having ignored gun safety reforms, Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, addressed his colleagues. He recalled the pain of that day in 2019 when the El Paso Walmart turned into a scene of slaughter. I was in church when I heard, he began. One day the tragedy will come to your community. ... I pray that it doesn't, but it is. I wish it wasn't, but it will. A year later, almost to the day, another shooter armed with another AR-15 rifle fulfilled that prophecy. How many more must be made to come true before Abbott and lawmakers come together to write a new future for our schools, our children, for our nation? There was a brief moment three years ago in Texas when leaders in both parties were so sickened by the deadly toll mass shootings were taking here that they appeared willing to finally do something to slow the awful parade of death. After two shootings in the late summer of 2019 took 31 lives in El Paso and in and around Odessa, even gun rights diehards Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick were discussing modest gun reform. After it was reported that the shooter in Odessa had purchased his rifle through a private-party to circumvent a background check, Abbott urged lawmakers to make it easier for private sellers to voluntarily run such checks. Patrick went farther, saying he was willing to take an arrow from the gun lobby to pursue legislation making the checks mandatory for private-party sales. Alas, we know the ending to that infuriating saga. Neither those changes, nor any of the many other calls for sensible gun reform, were made. And unless Abbott changes course now and does what he refused to do in 2019 none of the changes demanded in the wake of last weeks terrible murders in Uvalde will happen, either. Abbott must order a special session of the Legislature this summer. Once gathered, lawmakers can debate a wide range of fixes that might help prevent another school shooting. Waiting till 2023 should simply be out of the question. Waiting is what happened last time. After the shootings in 2019, Abbott rebuffed lawmakers call for a special session. Instead, he created a bipartisan commission charged with exploring every aspect of how to make Texas safer from mass shooters. The House and Senate named interim committees to hold hearings across Texas, too. But by the time lawmakers got to Austin in 2021, Texas was facing another crisis COVID-19 and the reforms went nowhere. Still reeling from the carnage in El Paso, the delegation from far West Texas introduced no fewer than 20 bills. They were ignored, too. Instead, what the session passed and what Abbott proudly signed was the permitless carry bill allowing anyone who can legally own a firearm to tote it virtually anywhere. It was a staggering feat of cognitive dissonance: Rather than enact a single law to prevent dangerous people from purchasing a gun, Abbott, Patrick, and the Legislature backslid toward extremism, empowering an armed citizenry without any safety or proficiency training. With burials already underway in Uvalde, its time to put an end to this madness. Yes, there are still answers to be had especially about what exactly happened at the school last week when law enforcement officers appeared to be idled for more than an hour, with the children left helpless in the school. Abbott has pledged to see that those answers are found and shared. Thats a good start. So is word from the U.S. Department of Justice that it is also investigating. But basic accountability is no substitute for legislative action. Texans are fed up with hollow promises, feckless commissions, splashy roundtables and toothless reports. They want to send their children to school without the bone-chilling fear they will be killed. . They want to know: How many mass shootings will it take for the Legislature to enact meaningful change to our gun laws? Every gun owner that I know tells me it is crazy to have those types of weapons in the hands of an 18-year-old, including Republican constituents, state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat who represents Uvalde, told the editorial board. Abbott could go fix it with his signature and change the age from 18 to 21. That may be overstating the matter a bit it will take lawmakers in both chambers to support legislation, before the governor can sign it but Gutierrez is right that Abbott alone has the power to bring lawmakers together now to make that change. Republicans should remember Patricks brief openness three years ago to expanded background checks and go to Austin with open minds. If they want ideas of where to start, Gutierrez and other Democrats are ready to help start the debate over what needs to change in Uvaldes wake. They want to raise the minimum age to buy firearms to 21. They want a 10-day waiting period for gun purchases. And they want Texas to adopt red flag laws that allow temporary removal of firearms from those who are an imminent danger to themselves or others. Thats something even Abbott wanted to consider after the Santa Fe High School shooting in 2018. The details of how to apply minimum-age standards to all guns or just certain kinds, for instance are worth debating. Think the 10-day waiting period is too long, or not long enough? That ought to be considered, too. Are there other ideas that might make our children safer from shooters that dont involve guns? Lets talk about that. Or more importantly, lets give lawmakers a forum to talk about it and then to act on their findings. Thats why Abbott must call the special session. The next school year starts in 75 days, which means we are mere months away from another potential mass shooting on a school campus. Weve heard too many thoughts and prayers after mass shootings to take any comfort in mere statements of grief. Its time for Abbott to call lawmakers back to Austin to do their jobs. I write this with tears in my eyes and on bended knee to our elected officials, begging them to do what we elected them to do their job and stop senseless mass shootings. If you dont know how, I can give you a blueprint. For 26 years I had the great privilege of working for the 41st president of the United States, George H. W. Bush. From him I learned too much to discuss in this op-ed Ive been given a word count but among his many life lessons: Be bold, be truthful, be courageous and dont be afraid to say you were wrong. More than anything he taught us by example. In 1968, as Congressman George Bush from Houstons 7th Congressional District, he voted for the Fair Housing Act, a civil rights bill banning discrimination in housing, knowing it would not be a popular vote back home. And he was right. Hate mail filled his inbox and when he faced his constituents during a town hall in Houstons Memorial High School soon after the bill was signed, he was greeted with boos and catcalls. But he persisted. I voted...not out of intimidation or fear, not stampeded by riots but because of a feeling deep down in my heart that this was the right thing for me to do. That this was the right thing for America, he said. He received a standing ovation at the end. In 1990, as President George Bush, he negotiated a budget deal with the Democratic-controlled Congress by backing off his no new taxes campaign pledge. He confided to friends he feared he had just made himself a one-term president and he was right. But he knew it was the right thing to do for the country. A few years later, he wrote in his book of letters All The Best, George Bush: My Life in Letters and Other Writings: I will confess to feeling a little vindicated in 1998 when the federal budget deficit was finally erased and a number of economists, journalists, and government officials cited Bushs 1990 budget compromise as the beginning of the end of our deficit problem. He made a tough decision but for the right reason: It was best for the country. In 1995, as private citizen George Bush, he very publicly resigned from the National Rifle Association after receiving what he felt was an offensive fundraising letter. The letter claimed that the government gave the go-ahead to federal agents to harass, intimidate, even murder law-abiding citizens. The citizens in question had used firearms during an anti-government protest. Bush wrote to the NRA president, Tom Washington: Your broadside against Federal agents deeply offends my own sense of decency and honor; and it offends my concept of service to country. How did his story end? When Bush died in 2018 at age 94, he was one of most revered people in this country and the world. As more than one commentator said, he may have lost a few battles along the way, but he won the war. His decency, courage and actions made him a hero. Presidential historian and author Jon Meacham, as one of his eulogists, perhaps put it the most eloquently: He was always extending a hand, always opening that big, vibrant, inclusive, all-enveloping heart. And if we listen closely enough, we can hear that heart beating even now, for it is the heartbeat of a lion a lion who not only led us, but who loved us. Now it is our elected officials turn. For once, do not worry about your base. Do not worry about your next election. Do not worry how you look on television. Do the right thing. Quit giving press conferences. Quit tweeting sound bites. Quit blaming the other guy. Search your heart and soul. Stop the madness of gun violence in this country with immediate action. To do so, you will have to talk to each other, not at each other. You might have to compromise. You might even have to admit you were wrong. Thats called doing your job. If following President Bushs blueprint is too complicated for you, then heres another idea: Call Canada, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. They all took action and passed gun control legislation after a mass shooting. Now they each have significantly lower gun-related violence. Be a leader. Be a hero. We desperately need both. Jean Becker was chief of staff to George H.W. Bush from 1994 to 2018. Her book about those years, The Man I Knew, was a New York Times bestseller. The largest police labor organization in Texas is warning Uvalde police and the Uvalde ISD police to cooperate with state officials amid reports that the two agencies have stopped working with the Texas Department of Public Safetys investigation into the massacre at Robb Elementary School. At this time, The Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, or CLEAT, is advising our members to cooperate fully with all official governmental investigations into actions relating to the law enforcement response to the Uvalde mass shooting, said a statement issued late Tuesday by the group. That unions unusual warning was released a short time after ABC News reported that the Uvalde Police Department and the Uvalde Independent School District police force had ceased cooperating with state investigators. The resistance began shortly after Col. Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, faulted the school police chief for deciding to delay sending officers into the classroom where the gunman hid last Tuesday, calling it the wrong decision and not the proper protocol in an active shooter situation. The shooter was in two adjoining classrooms for more than an hour while local police stood by, until Border Patrol tactical officers broke in and killed him. TIMELINE: How the Uvalde shooting unfolded DPS officials provided a statement to ABC News that indicates that the chief of police for the school district has not responded to requests for a second interview. Uvalde PD and Uvalde CISD are still cooperating; however, the Chief of Police for CISD has yet to respond to the Rangers request for a follow up interview that was made a couple of days ago, a DPS spokesperson told Hearst Newspapers on Tuesday night. Neither the Uvalde police nor the school police department has responded to a request for comment. State officials, including Gov. Greg Abbott, have expressed frustration at the shifting story of how police handled the attack on Tuesday, in which an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two teachers. Abbott said he was originally told a school resource officer engaged the gunman before he entered Robb Elementary School and that police went into the school and killed the gunman soon after. But the public later learned that there was no school resource officer on duty at the time and police who arrived at the school waited more than an hour before entering the classroom Abbott said he wrote down every detail he was told by law enforcement and others and had no reason to think he was being given misleading information on Wednesday. Yes, I was misled. I am livid about what happened, Abbott said on Friday when asked about the changing story. The information that I was given turned out in part to be inaccurate. CLEAT officials on Tuesday joined critics of the Uvalde law enforcements response, saying there has been a great deal of false and misleading information about what happened. Some of the information came from the very highest levels of government and law enforcement, the statement said. Sources that Texans once saw as iron-clad and completely reliable have now been proven false. This false information has exacerbated ill-informed speculation which has, in turn, created a hotbed of unreliability when it comes to finding the truth. CLEAT is the states largest police labor organization in the state, with more than 27,000 members and more than 100 local affiliates. Already, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin has called on the U.S. Department of Justice to provide the community with a fair independent review of what happened. On Sunday the Justice Department announced it would investigate the police response. CLEAT officials also on Tuesday publicly backed the Justice Department inquiry, saying the truth will be revealed. The goal of the review is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day, and to identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events, DOJ spokesman Anthony Coley said on Sunday in announcing the review. jeremy.wallace@chron.com The Texas Supreme Court has declined to consider a challenge aimed at preventing the city of Houston from offering benefits to employees same-sex spouses. The ruling is the latest blow to two Houston residents prolonged fight against a policy they consider an illegal use of taxpayer dollars. Plaintiffs Jack Pidgeon and Larry Hicks have waged a legal battle against the policy since 2013, when the city, then led by former Mayor Annise Parker, granted government benefits to municipal employees same-sex spouses. Parker was the citys first openly gay mayor. On Friday, the state Supreme Court declined to review the pairs case against the city, which originated nine years ago and has failed to find footing even in the conservative-leaning Texas judiciary. CITY HALL: Houstons City Council unanimously approves paid parental leave for employees Neither Pidgeon, Hicks or their attorney Jared Woodfill could be reached for comment Tuesday. The pair have a long history of opposing the policy. NEWSLETTERS Join the conversation with HouWeAre We want to foster conversation and highlight the intersection of race, identity and culture in one of America's most diverse cities. Sign up for the HouWeAre newsletter here. Pidgeon and Hicks sued the city shortly after it granted same-sex couples benefits in 2013, a lawsuit that continued even after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage in 2015. The court previously declined to hear the case in 2016, on the grounds the landmark 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, did not explicitly say whether same-sex couples are entitled to spousal benefits. It later agreed to hear the case under pressure from the governor, lieutenant governor and Republican lawmakers. On HoustonChronicle.com: Riverside Terrace historic district has residents fighting for their neighborhood The case then bounced back to Harris County, where Family District Court Judge Sonya L. Heath in early 2019 ruled in favor of the city. Later that year, the plaintiffs appealed Heaths decision to throw out the case. Of the pairs decade-long campaign to overturn her administrations policy, Parker said Tuesday she hoped the courts decision would quash future challenges. I didnt do it to make a point, Parker said of the policy. I did it to be fair to all married city employees. Marriage should be marriage. Equal should be equal. nora.mishanec@chron.com The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked a new Texas law barring large social media companies from blocking users based on their viewpoint, putting the measure back on hold as a legal challenge to it moves through the federal courts. In a 5-4 ruling, the high court reinstated a lower courts order temporarily blocking the law. Earlier this month, two tech trade groups challenging the law had asked the Supreme Court to step in after a panel of judges on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals one of the most conservative courts in the nation revived the law with a one-sentence order. The law enables Texas residents and Attorney General Ken Paxtons office to sue large social media companies that remove posts or block users based on the viewpoint of the user or another person. The law applies to platforms with more than 50 million monthly active users. Additionally, the measure requires companies to publicly disclose their content moderation policies. Critics of the legislation, including Texas Democratic lawmakers, argue that it would prevent social media companies from removing content they deem harmful, including hate speech and perhaps even violence. The laws Republican supporters counter that it makes exceptions by allowing platforms to remove content that directly incites criminal activity or consists of specific threats of violence targeting a person or group based on several characteristics, including race. GOP lawmakers have argued that the law is necessary to clamp down on efforts by Facebook, Twitter and other platforms to censor or silence conservatives, including former President Donald Trump. IN-DEPTH: Foes of new Texas social media law say video of Buffalo mass shooting exposes its blind spot The majority in Tuesdays ruling included an unusual mix of conservative and liberal justices, with Amy Coney Barrett, Stephen Breyer, Brett Kavanaugh, John Roberts and Sonia Sotomayor voting to block the law without detailing their reasoning. The decision, which did not rule on the merits of the social media law, ensures the measure will remain on pause as the 5th Circuit considers its constitutionality. The law is widely expected to return to the Supreme Court, with either side likely to appeal the 5th Circuits ruling. Conservative justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas dissented, while Justice Elena Kagan one of the courts three liberal members said she would have kept the law in place, though she did not sign onto the dissenting opinion penned by Alito. Alito said in the opinion that he had not formed a definitive view on the novel legal questions that arise from the court challenge to the law, known as House Bill 20. But precisely because of that, I am not comfortable intervening at this point in the proceedings, Alito wrote, arguing the the district courts move to temporarily block the law was a significant intrusion on state sovereignty that essentially forced Texas to seek preclearance from the federal courts before its laws go into effect. The law has been under legal challenge since September, when two trade associations NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association filed a federal lawsuit shortly after Gov. Greg Abbott signed the legislation into law. A district court judge temporarily blocked the law in early December, hours before it was set to take effect. In a 30-page opinion, Judge Robert Pitman wrote that the measure violates social media platforms constitutional right to engage in expression when they disagree with or object to content and chills their free speech rights. BILL CLEARS LEGISLATURE: Texas Republicans pass bill to strike back at social media censorship Texas social media law is the second such measure to be struck down in court, after a federal judge last year blocked a similar law in Florida, calling it riddled with imprecision and ambiguity. Earlier this week, a federal appeals court panel struck down major provisions of the Florida law, ruling that the First Amendment protects social media companies content moderation decisions from government regulation. Attorneys with Paxtons office have argued that HB20 does not run afoul of the First Amendment because requiring tech companies to host a users speech is a form of conduct, not speech. In legal filings, the attorney generals office has likened the case to a 1980 Supreme Court decision in which the court ruled that states could require property owners to allow people to circulate petitions or otherwise exercise free speech on their premises. Alito cited the ruling in his dissenting opinion. Scott Wilkens, senior staff attorney with the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which filed a legal brief backing the challenge to HB20, said the organization was pleased with the Supreme Courts order Tuesday. As we said in a brief filed with the 5th Circuit a few weeks ago, Texas law violates the First Amendment because it compels social media companies to publish speech they dont want to publish and because it prevents them from responding to speech they disagree with, Wilkens said, calling the law plainly unconstitutional. A Paxton spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. jasper.scherer@chron.com U.S. to send medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine Xinhua) 13:15, June 01, 2022 WASHINGTON, May 31 (Xinhua) -- The United States will send medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine in a new security assistance package, senior administration officials said Tuesday. A 700-million-U.S.-dollar weapon package will be formally unveiled Wednesday, including High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), which are to enable Ukraine to fire more precisely at targets in its eastern part, the officials said. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Ukrainian officials had offered assurances that the HIMARS would not be used to strike targets inside the Russian territory. The announcement came amid reports that the United States was preparing to aid Ukraine with advanced long-range rocket systems, something Kiev is craving in its fights against Russia in the eastern Donbass region. Instead of those long-range rocket systems that can travel as far as 186 miles (300 km), the United States is sending what it considers medium-range rockets to Ukraine, ones that can travel about 50 miles (80 km), according to the officials. Also on Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden wrote in a guest essay carried by The New York Times that his administration will continue to "provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine." The United States does not seek "a war" between NATO and Russia, Biden said. On Monday, he ruled out the possibility of Washington sending to Ukraine "rocket systems that can strike into Russia." (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) 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. Pittsfield City Council Gives Preliminary OK to 9 Department Budgets PITTSFIELD, Mass. On the second day of the fiscal 2023 budget hearings last week, the City Council preliminary passed nine departmental budgets in an hour with just one suggested amendment. The councilors recommended that $1,000 be added to the Retired Senior Volunteer Program's $106,000 budget for volunteer recognition night, a motion that was made by Ward 2 Councilor Charles Kronick. The proposed municipal operating budget is $99,900,752 and the proposed public school budget is $72,398,262, totaling a municipal operating budget of $172,299,014. With the water and sewer enterprise line, the total budget is $188,589,144, which Tyer requested to raise and appropriate at the City Council meeting earlier this month. The city's excess levy capacity is $2,536,049. Mayor Linda Tyer's order to appropriate $750,000 from certified free cash to reduce the tax rate was not supported, as the council recommended that $1 million be used. The motion was made by Ward 7 Councilor Anthony Maffuccio and passed 6-4 with President Peter Marchetti, Councilors at Large Earl Persip III and Peter White, and Ward 6 Councilor Dina Guiel Lampiasi in opposition. Ward 3 Councilor Kevin Sherman was absent. "I was hoping that we would curtail off of last year and see at least a million dollars put forth this year once again with all the increases that gave gone up through the years," Maffuccio said. Veteran Services The budget of $915,458 was passed as presented. It is $92,346, or 9.16 percent less than the previous year. Persip queried Director John Herrera about the line item for flags and grave markers, which is $2,400 more than the previous year. He observed that there is about $12,000 left in that budget and that Herrera revised it from $8,000 to $18,000 at some point, asking why there was such a big jump. Herrera explained that he made a $10,000 request for a GIS-type unit to identify veterans' graves in the city's cemeteries. "We are going to go through there and start mapping and plotting our cemeteries, number one to identify all the veterans' cemeteries, which will make it easier to find leading up to Memorial Day to plan for markers and the flags there," he explained. "But also to work with the cemeteries so they can update their websites so a person can go to the website for St. Joseph, for example, type in a deceased loved one's name and find him or her in a heartbeat." Account Name 2019 Approval 2020 Approval 2021 Approval 2022 Approval 2023 Approval Veterans Agent $52,061 $51,102 $53,657 $55,312 $59,460 Administrative Assistant $27,112 $28,165 $33,243 $33,742 $34,248 Equipment Maintenance $0 $0 $842 $1,400 $1,500 Rental Expense $5,900 $6,500 $6,500 $6,500 $6,500 Flags $1,500 $2,000 $8,600 $8,600 $11,000 Supplies $2,000 $2,000 $3,000 $2,000 $2,500 Program Expense $962,250 $982,457 $900,000 $900,000 $800,000 Award and Declarations $250 $250 $300 $250 $250 Total $ 1,051,073 $ 1,072,474 $1,005,650 $1,007,804 $915,458 RSVP The budget of $106,142 was passed with a recommendation that the $2,202 line item for volunteer recognition is increased by $1,000. It is $9,718, or a 10.08 percent increase from the previous year. Kronick said Director Lisa Torey told him that the department could use more funds for recognition night. She said the additional monies could be used to host more recognition events in the RSVP office and for the department to buy more items to thank volunteers such as T-shirts, water bottles, and pens. The event is scheduled for October of this year and there are currently 280 active volunteers. Account Name 2019 Approval 2020 Approval 2021 Approval 2022 Approval 2023 Approval Director of RSVP $36,486 $36,678 $37,944 $40,235 $44,290 Volunteer Coordinator $14,685 $21,915 $22,346 $24,974 $27,491 Administrative Assistant $19,703 $23,187 $23,740 $25,500 $28,070 Membership and Dues $400 $400 $0 $50 $55 Postage $500 $600 $750 $750 $826 Staff Training $300 $300 $0 $250 $275 Telephone $6 $6 $0 $0 $0 Supplies $1,500 $1,400 $0 $1,000 $1,101 Staff Travel $1,000 $1,000 $0 $0 $0 Volunteer Recognition $2,500 $2,500 $0 $2,000 $2,202 Equipment and Copier Lease $1,981 $1,981 $1,665 $1,665 $1,833 Total $79,061 $89,967 $86,445 $96,424 $106,142 Fire Department The budget of $9,138,800 was passed as presented. It is a $357,366, or 4.07 percent, increase from the previous year. Account Name 2019 Approval 2020 Approval 2021 Approval 2022 Approval 2023 Approval Fire Chief $103,371 $98,500 $114,800 $121,824 $130,961 Deputy Fire Chiefs $396,000 $405,279 $424,663 $435,280 $455,000 Fire Captains $897,000 $1,134,882 $1,134,882 $1,163,254 $1,193,519 Fire Lieutenants $1,088,855 $1,266,635 $1,266,635 $1,298,300 $1,329,266 Firefighters $3,716,000 $4,298,751 $4,298,751 $ 4,494,219 $4,716,103 Head Clerk $33,340 $35,288 $ 35,288 $ 37,465 $34,297 Master Mechanic $72,975 $73,876 $ 75,254 $ 76,759 $80,497 Principal Clerk $32,846 $28,821 $ 28,821 $ 30,355 $32,654 Office Manager $42,000 $43,864 $ 43,864 $44,978 $59,533 Emergency Apparatus Staffing $30,000 $35,000 $ 30,000 $ 30,000 $30,000 Emergency Manning $400,000 $375,000 $ 375,000 $ 450,000 $450,000 Assuming Additional Response $25,000 $20,000 $ 20,000 $ 20,000 $20,000 Uniforms $120,000 $122,000 $ 122,000 $ 122,000 $125,000 Maintenance General $13,000 $15,000 $ 15,000 $ 15,000 $15,000 Vehicle Maintenance $200,000 $225,000 $ 225,000 $ 225,000 $230,000 Medical Maintenance $13,000 $15,000 $ 15,000 $ 15,000 $17,000 Education and Training $20,000 $22,000 $ 22,000 $ 22,000 $25,000 Special Opts Training $ 35,000 $ 35,000 $40,000 Arson Investigation $10,000 $0 $0 $0 $0 Supplies $8,000 $10,000 $ 10,000 $ 10,000 $10,000 Equipment $30,000 $40,000 $ 40,000 $ 40,000 $45,000 Equipment Replacement $35,000 $45,000 $ 45,000 $ 45,000 $45,000 CAD License/Maint/Admin Fees $53,000 $50,000 $ 50,000 $ 50,000 $55,000 Total $7,339,387 $8,389,896 $ 8,426,958 $ 8,781,434 $9,138,800 Emergency Management The $26,600 budget was approved with no discussion. It is a mere $200 or 0.76 percent increase from the previous year due to the annual cost of the city's emergency notification system Code Red increasing. Account Name 2019 Approval 2020 Approval 2021 Approval 2022 Approval 2023 Approval Education and Training $500 $500 $500 $500 $500 Code Red $23,000 $23,000 $23,000 $23,000 $23,200 Supplies $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 Emergency Operating Center $2,800 $2,800 $2,800 $2,800 $2,800 Total $26,400 $26,400 $26,400 $26,400 $26,600 Worker's Compensation The budget of $650,000 was passed with little discussion. It has experienced no change from the previous year. Account Name 2019 Approval 2020 Approval 2021 Approval 2022 Approval 2023 Approval Compensation Payments $300,000 $275,000 $275,000 $275,000 $275,000 Medical Payments $225,000 $225,000 $225,000 $225,000 $225,000 Injured on Duty - Police and Fire $150,000 $150,000 $150,000 $150,000 $150,000 Total $ 675,000 $ 650,000 $ 650,000 $ 650,000 $650,000 Finance and Administration The budget of $1,345,333 was passed as presented with little discussion. It is a $97,112, or a 7.78 increase from the previous year. Account Name 2019 Approval 2020 Approval 2021 Approval 2022 Approval 2023 Approval City Accountant $62,999 $67,575 $69,264 $73,143 $78,628 Administrative Assistant $33,055 $33,538 $17,720 $33,741 $35,189 Chief Assessor $80,185 $89,252 Assessors $193,213 $197,587 $203,815 $71,050 $76,379 Treasurer $88,095 $91,295 $93,577 $98,818 $106,229 Tax Collector $64,574 $66,919 $68,592 $72,078 $77,484 Assistant Treasurer $43,255 $46,246 $47,909 $49,965 $52,109 Assistant Tax Collector $45,104 $47,399 $25,274 $43,627 $45,499 Purchasing Agent $66,188 $68,592 $69,963 $73,518 $79,032 Deputy Purchasing Agent $35,580 $38,231 $39,004 $44,579 $47,922 Head Clerk $33,010 $34,035 $35,096 $36,602 $33,331 Account Clerk-Assessor $33,055 $33,538 $34,383 $43,627 $45,499 Buyer $0 $30,157 $30,551 $36,833 $39,595 Payroll Specialist $35,925 $38,701 $39,910 $41,622 $43,408 Junior Accountant $46,230 $48,351 $50,580 $51,339 $52,109 Benefits Analyst $42,611 $43,367 $44,484 $45,151 $52,109 Principal Clerk Cashiers $59,842 $59,233 $61,004 $64,556 $68,177 Senior Account Clerks - Treasurer - $28,495 $29,219 $30,472 $36,157 Senior Account Clerks $98,859 $63,462 $65,231 $59,315 $78,475 Tax Collection Services $60,000 $65,000 $65,000 $65,000 $65,000 Equipment Maintenance $15,000 $15,000 $20,000 $20,000 $20,000 Revaluation $76,000 $79,000 $85,000 $85,000 $212,624 Legal Ads and Subscription $10,000 $8,000 $8,000 $8,000 $8,000 Supplies $26,000 $20,000 $20,000 $20,000 $20,000 Total $1,168,595 $1,223,721 $1,223,576 $1,248,221 $1,462,207 The Finance & Admin budget had an error in the revaluation line that was brought to the council's attention during the third day of review and which has been updated here. Information Technology The budget of $958,501 was passed as presented. It is a $143,955, or 17.67 percent increase from the previous year. Persip queried Director Michael Steben on the computing licensing support line item that has increased by more than $122,000. Steben attributed the increase to the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the department to adapt to remote working and the need for cyber security. After doing some research, he reported that cyber attacks on average went up 50 percent from 2020 to 2021, and the most attacked markets are education and research followed by government. Ransomware attacks are also a threat, which is where data is encrypted and the computer is made accessible and cannot be accessed by its owners until a ransom is paid. The average cost of such attacks has reportedly increased by up to $2 million dollars. "Attacks against government went up 1,885 percent between 2020 and 2021," Steben said. "That's breathtaking and like any other organization with an IT presence we need to respond to what I would phrase as being nothing short of cyber terrorism, we are being attacked by hostile foreign governments, make no mistake, and we need to respond to that." Account Name 2019 Approval 2020 Approval 2021 Approval 2022 Approval 2023 Approval IT Manager $67,606 $72,518 $78,815 $78,875 $84,790 IT Support Specialists II - $0 $0 $71,000 $75,478 Info Systems Specialists $115,598 $124,738 $129,245 $133,474 $136,000 Network Administrator $125,005 $125,287 $129,002 $126,611 $130,000 Computer Upgrade and Repair $46,500 $46,500 $23,975 $27,500 $33,000 Computer License/Support $232,000 $255,000 $266,000 $376,086 $498,233 Supplies $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 Total $587,709 $625,043 $625,037 $814,546 $958,501 Unclassifed The $56,686,954 budget was passed as presented with Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren voting in opposition. It is a $2,849,829, or a 5.29 percent increase from the previous year. Warren raised questions about the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) administrative assistant that was recently added to the department. He queried the city's authority to give an employee that is not on the compensation plan benefits and if the city could add other positions without the council's approval. "I can add them but you'd have to fund them, the reason you didn't have to fund for this is because it's paid for by the grant," Tyer explained, adding that any other departmental administrative assistants would be included in the budget presentation. Account Name 2019 Approval 2020 Approval 2021 Approval 2022 Approval 2023 Approval 40U Hearings Officer $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 40U Clerk $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 Crossing Guards $25,375 $25,375 $27,000 $27,000 $27,000 Scheduled Overtime $15,000 $20,000 $20,000 $30,000 $30,000 Insurance Medicare Coverage $1,156,751 $1,156,751 $1,200,000 $1,200,000 $1,200,000 Insurance Health $25,025,000 $26,425,000 $26,750,000 $25,300,000 $27,500,000 Insurance General $1,293,740 $1,425,000 $1,600,000 $1,837,869 $1,970,000 Insurance Group Life $85,000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $110,000 Insurance Unemployment $250,000 $150,000 $150,000 $150,000 $150,000 Retirement Contribution $13,318,798 $13,519,322 $14,178,149 $14,915,413 $15,695,905 Benefits Conversion $400,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 Stipends $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 Animal Shelter Management Fee $52,360 $52,360 $52,000 $52,000 $53,560 Telephone and Internet $125,000 $100,000 $100,000 $95,000 $95,000 City Audit $95,000 $85,000 $85,000 $85,000 $85,000 Contractual Services $133,350 $133,350 $133,350 $133,350 $165,000 Medicaid Services $60,000 $60,000 $45,000 $45,000 $45,000 Seminars/Travel/Dues $27,000 $20,000 $10,000 $10,000 $20,000 Postage $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 Bank Service Charges $15,000 $10,000 $10,000 $7,500 $15,000 Contingency $245,000 $235,000 $200,000 $200,000 $200,000 Capital Expenditures $375,000 $550,000 $100,000 $500,000 $500,000 Long-term Debt Principal $7,889,695 $5,590,000 $5,924,120 $5,960,573 $5,960,573 Long-term Debt Interest $3,385,196 $3,900,000 $3,781,508 $3,651,203 $3,651,203 Short-term Debt Interest $175,000 $175,000 $175,000 $175,000 $175,000 Debt Issuance Costs $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 Allocation from Water ($920,004) ($920,004) ($930,441) ($845,253) ($659,578) Allocation from Sewer ($963,322) ($963,322) ($1,009,310) ($997,530) ($906,709) Total $52,367,939 $52,453,832 $53,306,376 $53,237,125 $56,686,954 Council on Aging The budget of $371,055 was passed with little conversation. It is a $29,855, or 8.75 percent increase from the previous year. Fairview Hospital Named Among Top 20 Critical Access Hospitals in the U.S. GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. Fairview Hospital, an affiliate of Berkshire Health Systems (BHS) in Great Barrington, has been named one of the 20 highest-ranked critical access hospitals (CAHs) in the country as determined by the Chartis Center for Rural Health and announced by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA). Fairview achieved two Top 20 recognition awards, the first for Overall Hospital Performance based on the results of the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX and its eight indices: inpatient market share, outpatient market share, quality outcomes, patient perspective, cost, charge, and finance. The second award was for Best Practice Achievement for Patient Perspective: a rating of hospital performance based on percentile rank across all 10 HCAHPS domains. The president and CEO of Berkshire Health Systems, said , "We are incredibly proud of all of our staff at Fairview Hospital," said Darlene Rodowicz, president and CEO of Berkshire Health Systems. "Thanks to their hard work and dedication, BHS is able to provide the highest quality patient care and the best possible patient experience for everyone in our community, especially those in the most rural parts of our region." "Every person on our team plays an important role in Fairview's performance by providing our patients excellent care," said Anthony Rinaldi, Jr., executive vice president of Fairview. "We are thrilled to receive this national recognition which is a result of the commitment that every individual brings to their work each day to exceed our patients' expectations." The hospital has been invited to an awards ceremony that will be held during NRHA's Critical Access Hospital Conference in September in Kansas City, Mo. "Despite unprecedented adversity, rural providers continue to display resiliency and a steadfast commitment to their communities," said Michael Topchik, the Chartis Center for Rural Health's National Leader. "We are delighted to recognize the exceptional performance and innovation of this year's recipients, in light of the extraordinary challenges facing America's rural health safety net." With over 100 rural hospitals closing in the United States between 2013 and 2021, according to the Government Accountability Office, the Hospital Strength Index considers the strength and sustainability of rural healthcare by focusing on the patient experience, quality of care, affordability, and financial sustainability. Over the course of the last 12 years, the INDEX has established itself as the industry's most comprehensive and objective assessment of rural hospital performance. Leveraging publicly available data, the INDEX is trusted by rural hospitals, health systems with rural footprints, hospital associations and state offices of rural health across the country to measure and monitor performance across a variety of areas impacting hospital operations and finance. Medical Matters Weekly Welcomes the Red Cross's Vermont Leader BENNINGTON, Vt. Kevin Mazuzan, executive director of the American Red Cross in Vermont, will be the next guest on Medical Matters Weekly at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, June 8. The show will address the broad spectrum of work the American Red Cross does in Vermont communities. The show is produced by Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) with cooperation from Catamount Access Television (CAT-TV). Viewers can see Medical Matters Weekly on facebook.com/svmedicalcenter and facebook.com/CATTVBennington . The show is also available to view or download as a podcast on svhealthcare.org/medicalmatters Mazuzan joined the American Red Cross in August 2015 as the disaster workforce engagement manager for the New Hampshire-Vermont Region. He was named executive director of the Vermont Chapter in March 2016. In that role, his key responsibilities include: ensuring the delivery of program excellence; initiating and fostering an environment of collaboration and partnership with government entities, community-based groups, and private sector agencies; and supporting the development of revenue-generating strategies. Mazusan served in the Fire Department of New York as a paramedic for 11 years and then as an officer, earning the rank of captain in 2014. Medical Matters Weekly features the innovative personalities who drive positive change within health care and related professions. The show addresses all aspects of creating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle for all, including food and nutrition, housing, diversity and inclusion, groundbreaking medical care, exercise, mental health, the environment, research, and government. The show is broadcast on Facebook Live, YouTube, and all podcast platforms. After the program, the video is available on area public access television stations CAT-TV (Comcast channel 1075) and GNAT-TV's (Comcast channel 1074), as well as on public access stations throughout the United States. Name: Kim Anstett Company: Iron Mountain Job title: EVP and CTO Date started current role: April 2020 Location: Boston, Massachusetts, United States Kim Anstett is the Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Iron Mountain, where she leads teams driving digital-first innovations and new product development. With 25 years of experience as a technology leader, she excels in creating a vision, building world class teams and executing technology programs for large, global businesses, while being committed to diversity, inclusion and leadership development. Prior to joining Iron Mountain in 2019 as CIO, Anstett was the CIO for Nielsen where she was focused on technology transformation to increase customer engagement, expand margins and enhance security through cloud-architected, data analytics platforms across AWS, Azure and GCP. In 2016, Anstett was recognised by Tech Diversity Magazine as a Distinguished Chief Information Officer. That same year, Tampa Bay Business Journal named her CIO of the year for public companies and the Tampa Bay Technology Forum recognised her as CIO of the year. What was your first job? I started my career working in tech over 25 years ago. My first job was at a telecommunications company that has since become Verizon. I took part in one of its early career programs, training in tech and then joined a group responsible for the telecommunications plant design. Did you always want to work in IT? I have always wanted to work in engineering, as most of my family works in that field. My studies also heavily influenced my decision and path, as my schooling tended to be mainly hardware focused rather than software focused which built a solid base for my career. It was a blessing that, through family and education, I found a passion for business technology solutions that propelled my IT career. What was your education? Do you hold any certifications? What are they? I have a degree in Electrical Engineering. I have also received certifications in several other areas throughout my career, including software development, database design, and UI design. Explain your career path. Did you take any detours? If so, discuss. The first 12-13 years of my career were focused on product engineering, developing solutions for businesses that were closely aligned to customers. After that, I had an opportunity to work on rebuilding a data centre, which was my first exposure to infrastructure and the enterprise IT aspects versus the applications and customer facing solutions. Rebuilding the data centre was truly eye opening and sparked a passion in me to explore an area where I was more focused on the enterprise ERP systems and infrastructure. This enabled me to better understand how we run an operation in the business and eventually brought me into a CIO role at my previous company. It was also fulfilling being on the other side of the implementation and I believe that was a tremendous career opportunity. It helped me to understand all aspects of operations from our internal business to creating a solution for our customers. I can relate to customer needs but also understand and appreciate the complexity of operating our own business. What type of CTO are you? I think of myself as a technology leader that is very much focused on enabling business transformation. The world we live in today is changing rapidly and is more dynamic than ever before. This was especially apparent in what weve experienced with the global pandemic. I am extremely passionate about helping people less familiar with technology obtain the benefits of technology solutions and realise their vision of how best to serve our customers and markets. Enabling that through and with technology is very fulfilling. Which emerging technology are you most excited about the prospect of? The two areas that are most impactful and interesting to me are cloud and cybersecurity. The power of the public cloud is tremendous. It allows for speed and innovation due to rapid onboarding. In contrast to the past, where companies had to acquire their own infrastructure buildout capability, which was time-consuming and came with significant investment. I see the cloud as an enabler for innovation and, in my opinion, it is the foundation for so many of the technologies that are changing the world. Similar to cloud, cybersecurity is exciting as it plays a vital role in the protection of assets and the ability to maintain the integrity of services we provide for customers. Data privacy is extremely relevant in real time situations that everybody is dealing with - whether they are businesses or consumer. As a technologist, I have to be very focused on the latest trends in cybersecurity and make it a priority in everything we do, whether it's our internal business operations or customer solutions. We have to design for security (security by design) rather than reacting to an incident. Are there any technologies which you think are overhyped? Why? I struggle with anything being overhyped because I think we should always be open to what we can learn from technology. Its important to continue innovating and stay in touch with new developments, but we should avoid going down a path because of a trend that isnt necessarily tied to the overall business need or our technology strategy. We make careful choices about which technological advancements we want to incorporate into our business. What is one unique initiative that youve employed over the last 12 months that youre really proud of? One initiative that we rolled out last year was bringing 25,000 Iron Mountain employees onto Google workspace as our new office collaboration suite. I'm really proud of what we accomplished because we managed to do this move in six months, which is pretty significant for a company that was relying on other office-based productivity tools. We made it happen with an agile implementation where we had employees on the new productivity platform within the first two months and then gradually rolled it out to additional geographies and functions. The reason Im so proud of it is that it was such a collaborative effort and a real culture movement for our company. Starting from February 2020, employees were able to use Google Workspace tools for real-time collaboration, and reliable and high-quality video conferencing. It was just an amazing way to stay connected in a time when people felt isolated because of remote working. Are you leading a digital transformation? If so, does it emphasise customer experience and revenue growth or operational efficiency? If both, how do you balance the two? I believe that to better serve your customers, you need to give attention to both customer experience and operational efficiency. Our customer experience is at the heart of all of the products and services we develop and provide. From an operational perspective, leveraging new technological advancements and data will not only help us achieve further automation but also make faster decisions. From an external perspective Iron Mountain is fully committed to helping accelerate customer digital transformation. Many of our customers have been relying on physical and paper-based solutions, but since the pandemic theyve required a hybrid solution. As they migrate to digital, Iron Mountain is excited to partner with them on that journey. To balance that customer experience with operational efficiency, we make sure to advise our own data scientists or cloud engineers. As they have clearer insight into our customers needs from the data they receive, they are also able to guide us. That really prepares us well and creates a culture of being customer focused. As a result, it makes it easier for us to build the right product that meets the needs of their own digital transformation. Therefore, I find that focusing on both makes both sides benefit faster. What is the biggest issue that youre helping customers with at the moment? Operational efficiency is an area that our customers need our help with as they need products and services that provide faster and more reliable solutions. Iron Mountain is focused on bringing AI and ML capabilities to assess the data companies use for their operations and determine how they can streamline processes and remove unnecessary steps. Our software helps make their operations and workflows be as efficient and effective as possible. How do you align your technology use to meet business goals? We have a really strong process of connecting with business leaders across Iron Mountain. One instance is our multi-year planning process. This is where we look at each area of our business to discuss growth goals and aspirations and what opportunities we have with technology. Its a great way to ensure that we stay strategically aligned and prepared with solutions and opportunities rather than waiting for a problem to come to us. Do you have any trouble matching product/service strategy with tech strategy? I am fortunate that, in my role as CTO, my primary business partner is our Chief Commercial Officer, Greg McIntosh. Greg is responsible for the product management as well as our global strategic accounts and sales enablement. As partners, Greg and I work closely with each other, helping us stay on top of business needs and understand the most critical areas of our work, aligning technology to support that. Many organisations may have similar partnerships, but I highly recommend connecting the technology leaders directly to the commercial leader to optimise workflow and product strategy and development. What makes an effective tech strategy? A technology strategy is incredibly important as it sets the tone and creates clarity for the employees working within the department. The technology strategy should be our anchor in how we make decisions. For example, one of the key elements of Iron Mountains technology strategy is cloud architecture. Cloud architecture helps us evaluate which technologies to use for a particular programme or product. Its not to say that everything we would do can follow that one principle, but it guides us in how we evaluate options knowing that cloud architecture is a primary pillar of our tech strategy. Another element of our technology strategy is data as an enterprise asset, like cloud it serves as a guide for our decisions. When we evaluate a business initiative or a product, we think about how we can decide on solutions that will maintain and elevate data as an enterprise asset guaranteeing we can provide enterprise value, integrity and trust for the brand. As a result, in building our systems and integrating across platforms, we can make better decisions knowing that data as an enterprise asset is a fundamental component of our technology strategy. Following these key pillars helps us stay aligned, focused and reach goals, making our tech strategy effective. What predictions do you have for the role of the CTO in the future? Over the last few years, Ive seen such an evolution of whats available. Therefore, my hopes and aspirations as a technology leader is to raise the bar on the expectation of technology. I would like all of our employees and customers to expect innovations and capabilities that they may not originally have thought possible. The CTO role will continue to evolve and influence every aspect of a business as I already see that theres a need for more applications that provide flexibility and security. What has been your greatest career achievement? I would say that my most significant achievement, or what I'm most proud of, is seeing so many employees flourish in their technology careers. I find my position to be critical in being able to focus on talent and building people up in their engineering role. My job is also to provide them with really impactful, interesting work, projects and programmes that enable growth and learning. When we marry up talented individuals with impactful work and a sense of purpose, we see careers grow and our business succeed. My most proud moments are seeing individuals progress through their careers and taking on bigger and bolder assignments as they grow. Looking back with 20:20 hindsight, what would you have done differently? I would say that while Im thrilled, we had the Google solution in place, I would be even bolder with tools and resources around collaboration for every part of our business. We have a significant workforce that, even through the pandemic, were working in our record centres, additional scanning centres, or making deliveries and servicing customers. I believe that there are opportunities to make their lives easier and provide even more capability especially given the circumstances where maintaining social distancing requirements posed a challenge. I would build out our tools and make sure we think of user experience first as well as our employees having the best solutions at their fingertips. By Zuliana Lainez Mr. Mohamed Al-Araimi, President of the Oman Journalists Association (OJA), Mr. President of the Arab Federation of Journalists (AFJ), Moaied Allami, My dear friends from the IFJ unions, My dear colleagues from all over the world, First of all, I send you the apologies of our President, Younes Mjahed, who is ill. He is in quarantine in Paris, after being infected with Covid-19, which prevents him from being with us tonight. In these first words I would like to express our affection for Younes, our gratitude for his work these three years at the head of the IFJ and our wishes for a speedy and good recovery. On behalf of the IFJ, as Senior Vice-President, as the 31st World Congress opens today in Muscat, I would like to begin by giving my sincere thanks to our Omani affiliate, the Oman Journalists Association, which has worked hard for almost a year to host our World Congress. Organising an IFJ congress is no easy task: we have delegates travelling from all over the world and, despite the difficulties, I am glad to see that they have all arrived. We can only have words of thanks for our colleagues in Oman, for the work done in advance, for the welcome, for making us feel at home no matter how far or how close we are to home. Thank you very much for everything. This first congress in the Middle East in the history of the IFJ is already making history. History that should also remember the more than 50 activists who are here to help us and facilitate our work. I cannot open this ceremony without thinking of all the journalists and media workers who have been killed in the last three years, since our last congress in Tunis in 2019. For all those men and women journalists killed in pandemics. For the former, our commitment to ensure that these crimes do not go unpunished. For the latter, our permanent homage. I am also thinking of all the families of these victims who are grieving today and will probably always be grieving. Finally, a thought for all the journalists and trade unionists who are in prison for the sole "crime" of being journalists. I would like us to stand and observe a minute's silence in their memory. Thank you. I also want to dedicate a special thought to all the women journalists who have been targeted for doing their job, like Shireen a few days ago in Palestine, for all the women media workers who are harassed, threatened, and killed because they are journalists, of course, but also because they are women. Our world still has a long way to go to make gender equality a reality everywhere, in all our countries, in our unions and even in our global federation. There can be no hope for a better world if equality between women and men is denied, if gender equality is ignored, if equality between peoples, cultures and languages is not respected. There can be no freedom of the press without freedom. Friends, colleagues for almost 100 years the IFJ has been a global voice of journalists. An indispensable voice. We are all media workers here, whatever region we come from, whatever language we speak. The citizens of our countries, the members of our unions, need more than ever an International Federation, plural, diverse, strong, rooted in the field with all its 600,000 members. As an elected member of the Administrative Committee, I must tell you that the term of office that ends tonight has been particularly difficult and challenging. Like all of you, we have been particularly affected by the Covid-19 crisis, which has also torn apart the families of our trade unions, which has paralysed the entire planet and which, unfortunately, has allowed certain politicians to considerably reduce freedoms and unscrupulous employers to sack journalists. Fewer journalists means fewer freedoms for citizens. But these have also been three years in which our organisations have become resilient, where for many they have been the only refuge from the voracity of business and the indifference of many governments. Fortunately, in the early days of the world crisis - the whole trade union world stood up; - The IFJ stood up and proposed the Global Platform for Quality Journalism; - Our unions stood up and collectively achieved excellent results in negotiations with governments to ensure that quality journalism survives the crisis; - This is also due to the unfailing support of our General Secretariat and all staff in Brussels, but also our staff in the regional offices. It has been complicated also for them and I must tell you that they have always been there for us as members of the IFJ Administrative and Executive Committees, but also for our unions in the regions. Thank you to them who are here with us today. Comrades, the pandemic has reaffirmed that the union is the best instrument we have to fight for better living and working conditions. The Muscat Congress will go down in history as the one that precedes our centenary. The Muscat Congress has a very full programme, with many guests, many debates and each of us will return home with more strength, more ideas and the desire to continue with the tasks we have as leaders of our national unions. I am sure that during this week in Oman, we will be able to live up to the missions entrusted to us by our members. I would especially like to address the families of journalists killed in France, Peru, Palestine and Sri Lanka, who are with us: The fight against impunity is at the heart of the IFJ. At the heart and in action. These deaths pain us, so be convinced of our unflagging commitment to stand with you to see that justice is done. Mr President of the Oman Journalists Association, Mr. President of the Arab Federation of Journalists, My dear friends and comrades, I declare the 31st IFJ Congress officially opened in Muscat and I will now hand over the IFJ leadership to the General Secretary and the Presidium, which will be installed tomorrow morning. I wish all of you, colleagues, friends of the IFJ, colleagues of the Oman Association, President Dr Mohammed Al-Araimi, a good evening, fruitful discussions, and an excellent Congress. The collective struggle, comrades, is more alive than ever. It is more necessary than ever. Thank you and long live our International Federation of Journalists! Zuliana Lainez IFJ Senior Vice-President PUBG MOBILE, one of the worlds most popular mobile games, has unveiled thrilling content for fans of epic skins and mythology, focusing on the Philippines and its culture. With the country being one of PUBG MOBILEs Southeast Asian markets with the highest number of players, Tencent has decided to follow up the Tagalog Voice Pack with yet another Filipino-themed offering. Soaring down from the skies and into PUBG MOBILE is the brand new legendary Phoenix Adarna set, exclusive to SEA. The battle royale game adds in its unique IPs distinctly Filipino in-game items derived from the mythical bird of the same name from Philippine literature. Tencent aims to bring Adarna to the forefront alongside other mythological birds of the world like the Phoenix, the Griffin, and the Roman Caladrius. The Philippines Ibong Adarna will get its time in the gaming spotlight thanks to PUBG MOBILE. Here are the events SEA PUBG MOBILE players have to look out for to collect the limited edition Phoenix Adarna set: Event: Rise from the Ashes (May 30 - June 19) Complete staged missions within a limited time to unlock different rewards Rewards: Agent Phoenix St Permanent - Finish Top 4 10 times Agent phoenix Cover Permanent - Login 14 days out of 21 days Hairy Metal Set 7d) - Survive for 180 mins & Team up 10 times Indigo Flames - S1897 (5d) Defeat 20 enemies and team up 10 times Mecha Ant Backpack (5d) - Stay online for 180 minutes and team up 5 times Event: Pandora: [Phoenix Adarna Arrival (June 1 - June 14) Missions Daily login (5 points) Complete one match in Classic Mode (10 points) Finish in Top 10 once (15 points) Survive 40 mins (15 points) Reward: Phoenix Adarna Avatar Frame / Radiant Phoenix Adarna Parachute For players with extra UCs to spare, spend 15 UC per draw for in-game items featuring the Fiery Wings Backpack and Radiant Phoenix Adarna Buggy up for grabs. You can also take the chance for a lucky spin and pull the Phoenix Adarna Set, Phoenix Adarna Cover, and Radiant Phoenix Adarna - DP28. PUBG MOBILE is available for free on the App Store and Google Play Store. Social media companies can continue to censor posts. That's the upshot of this week's Supreme Court ruling, blocking a controversial Texas law that bars large social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter from removing posts based on the viewpoints expressed by individuals and organizations. The justices were largely divided with a 5-4 decision in an ideologically scrambled vote, with three of the courts conservatives and two liberals putting the law on hold. The majority did not explain the reasoning behind its brief order but Justice Samuel Alito, in his dissent, notes the importance of social media platforms as a means for public discourse. "This application concerns issues of great importance that will plainly merit this court's review," wrote Justice Alito. "Social media platforms have transformed the way people communicate with each other and obtain news. At issue is a groundbreaking Texas law that addresses the power of dominant social media corporations to shape public discussion of the important issues of the day." The Texas law would prohibit social media platforms with at least 50 million active users from blocking, removing, or "demonetizing" content based on the users' views. It would essentially disallow any kind of editorial discretion on the platforms. When Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the law last September, he noted that these companies are attempting to "silence conservative viewpoints and ideas." A similar law in Florida was also blocked by the federal appeals court on May 24, 2022. Tech companies challenged the law, saying it violates their First Amendment right to control what speech appears on their platforms. They also said the law would prevent them from removing hate speech, political disinformation, violent videos, and other harmful content, regardless of political views. While the law is mostly geared towards major platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, it may also effect other companies with large, or growing online communities. "This can't be true." That was Bite Founder Lindsay McCormick's first thought when in 2019 she received feedback from a customer who challenged the zero-waste company's usage of eco-certified palm oil in its toothpaste bits. McCormick, 37, was aware of the ethical issues associated with using palm oil at the time, but thought that eco-certified palm oil would pass muster and that she could use the ingredient at her Los-Angeles based company. But after hearing from at least three other customers who wrote in expressing similar concerns, the Bite founder knew she needed to re-examine her company's product. "The thing about mistakes is that you don't know you're making them until you do," she says. "And then it's up to you to fix it and fix it fast." Like many mission-driven businesses before Bite, the company faced a perennial question: retool and sacrifice sales or uphold your policies and risk long-term still unknown consequences. McCormick hit the books for two weeks to conduct research and look into the issue brought up by her customers. She explains that in 2019, palm oil was rather controversial while eco-certified palm oil was more accepted as a sustainable alternative. But after she dug into the research, she learned that there are transparency issues--and other problems as well--that are associated with eco-certified versions. For example, palm oil harvesting, of any kind, contributes to forest destruction and negatively affects the habitats for wildfire. "When you start the research gathering phase, it's important to understand what assumptions you are going in to begin with because with so much information at our fingertips, it's easy to find data to back up your point," she explains. McCormick admits that it was tough to wrap her head around reworking her product's formula, but now says that there wasn't much of a decision to make--there was only one clear answer: reformulate. It was helpful, McCormick says, that she outlined her company's sustainable values back in 2016 when she started the company out of her living room, where she pressed toothpaste tablets and hand-filled them in glass jars and compostable refill pouches. The company's tablets are created in the U.S. It was also a tough ask, though, as Bite doesn't have the R&D budgets of Unilever or Procter & Gamble. McCormick worked with a small team of four people at the time. Plus, the palm oil-free options were scarce. "The ones that were available were extremely expensive, hard to get a hold of and were only sold in high volumes," she says. "They also didn't work well with other ingredients in our formula which meant the entire tablet formula would need to be re-worked." But McCormick had experience in tight spots before. The founder had previously turned down two investment offers: one from Mark Cuban and the other from Kevin O'Leary. The founder walked away from $650,000 when she was on Shark Tank in March 2020. McCormick declined to provide revenue specifics with Inc. beyond saying that her company generates 10 figures. But with a lot of hard work, McCormick and her team redesigned the formula after spending weeks in a lab to test new ratios and ingredients, all while fulfilling current orders and creating new products. Eventually, the company created a new product that's 100 percent free of palm oil. And within five months, Bite had a new product ready to ship out. "It's really impressive what you can do as a small team when everyone understands the mission and is rowing in the same direction," McCormick says. While the reformulation process isn't cheap--and indeed cost more than $80,000 to expedite as opposed to $45,000 to $50,000--McCormick has no regrets. The US surpassed China to become Indias top trading partner in FY 2021-22, reflecting stronger economic ties between the two countries. Bilateral trade between India and the US stood at US$119.42 billion, or 11.5 percent of Indias total trade. Among Indias top 10 trading partners, the US is the only country with which India has a positive trade balance. The latest trade figures for the financial year 2021-22 (FY 2022) suggest that the US has surpassed China to become Indias top trading partner, reflecting strengthening economic ties between the two countries. It also hints at Indias warming relations with the US. India recently became a member of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and the US- and WEF-led First Movers Coalition. Previously, China was Indias top trade partner from FY 2014 to FY 2018 and again in FY 2021 while the UAE was Indias largest trading partner in the intervening years. India-US bilateral trade data for FY 2021-22 As per data released by the Ministry of Commerce, bilateral trade between India and the US in FY 2022 stood at US$119.42 billion, accounting for 11.5 percent of Indias total trade, which stood at US$1.03 trillion. India-US bilateral trade has witnessed considerable upsurge compared to the US$80.51 billion recorded just the previous year. Indias exports to the US increased to US$76.11 billion in FY 2022, compared to US$51.62 billion in FY 2021, while imports increased to US$43.31 billion compared to US$29 billion in the previous fiscal. India maintained a positive trade balance with the US, recording a surplus trade of US$32.79 billion. In fact, as per the statistics, among Indias top 10 trading partners, the US is the only country with which India has a positive trade balance. The other top trading partners include UAE (US$72.9 billion), Saudi Arab (US$42.85 billion), Iraq (US$34.33 billion0, Singapore (US$30.10 billion), Hong Kong (US$30.08 billion), etc. India-US Trade Statistics (2017-2022) (in US$ Billion) 2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020 2020-2021 2021-2022 India exports to US US$47.87 US$52.40 US$53.08 US$51.62 US$76.11 Growth (in percent) NA 9.46 % 1.30 % -2.76 % 47.44 % Share in Indias total exports (in percent) 15.77 % 15.88 % 16.94 % 17.69 % 18.04 % India imports from US US$26.61 US$35.54 US$35.82 US$28.88 US$43.31 Growth (in percent) NA 33.59 % 0.76 % -19.35 % 49.94 % Share in Indias total trade (in percent) 5.72 % 6.92 % 7.55 % 7.32 % 7.07 % Total trade between India and US US$74.48 US$87.95 US$88.90 US$80.51 US$119.42 Growth (in percent) NA 18.08 % 1.08 % -9.44 % 48.33 % Share in Indias total exports (in percent) 9.69 % 10.42 % 11.28 % 11.73 % 11.54 % India-US trade balance US$21.26 US$16.85 US$17.26 US$22.73 US$32.79 Major commodities traded between India and US Principle commodities exported by India to the US are precious and semi-precious stones, drugs and pharmaceuticals, petroleum products, cotton fabrics, garments, marine products, iron and steel products, electrical equipment and auto components. Several factors like a high consumption-driven growth in US, pent-up demand for items such as jewellery and electronics, diversification of supply chains by companies, etc. have contributed to this accelerated trend. Electronic component companies, too, have moved production to India. For example, Apple now exports a million smart phones from India to the US every month. Indias import basket from the US primarily comprised of crude oil, which seized the largest share, along with other items like pearls, precious and semi-precious stones, petroleum products, coal, coke, organic chemicals, gold, paper and paper board. US surpasses China as Indias largest trade partner According to the data, China emerged as Indias second largest trading partner in FY 2022, registering 11.12 percent of Indias total trade. Indias bilateral trade with China amounted to US$115.42 billion as compared to US$86.4 billion in the previous fiscal (FY 2021), when China was Indias largest trading partner. During FY 2022, exports to China rose to US$21.25 billion, marking a slight increase from US$21.18 billion in FY 2021. Simultaneously, imports too registered a considerable increase, soaring to US$94.16 billion from about US$65.21 billion in FY 2021. According to the data, the trade gap between India and China in FY 2022 rose to US$72.91 billion from US$44 billion in FY 2021. Indias Top Trading Partners FY 2021-22 (US$ Billion) Trading partner Export Import Total trade US US$76.1 US$43.31 US$119.4 China US$21.25 US$94.16 US$115.41 UAE US$28.04 US$44.83 US$72.87 Saudi Arabia US$8.75 US$34.10 US$42.85 Iraq US$2.40 US$31.92 US$34.33 Singapore US$11.15 US$18.95 US$30.10 Hong Kong US$10.98 US$19.09 US$30.08 Indonesia US$8.47 US$17.70 US$26.17 Korea US$8.08 US$17.45 US$25.54 Australia US$8.28 US$16.75 US$25.04 Germany US$9.88 US$14.96 US$24.84 Switzerland US$1.34 US$23.39 US$24.74 Japan US$6.17 US$14.39 US$20.57 Belgium US$10.08 US$9.95 US$20.03 Malaysia US$6.99 US$12.42 US$19.41 Bangladesh US$16.12 US$1.97 US$18.10 UK US$10.46 US$7.01 US$17.47 South Africa US$6.08 US$10.96 US$17.05 Netherland US$12.54 US$4.47 US$17.02 Thailand US$5.75 US$9.33 US$15.08 Qatar US$1.83 US$13.19 US$15.03 Nigeria US$4.66 US$10.29 US$14.95 Vietnam US$6.70 US$7.43 US$14.13 Italy US$8.18 US$5.04 US$13.22 Russia US$3.25 US$9.86 US$13.12 Trade experts forecast a positive outlook for India-US economic ties Khalid Khan, vice president of the Federation of Indian Export Organization (FIEO) believes that India-US trade will bolster in coming times, given both countries have increased engagement at various platforms, including at the recent IPEF. India has started to emerge as a trusted partner as global firms are looking to diversify their supply chains and reduce their dependence on China. Associated Links This article was first published on June 1, 2022 and last updated on June 6, 2022. The Allahabad High Court has granted anticipatory bail to a man accused of raping his daughter-in-law, along with another person saying that it is "quite unnatural" in the Indian culture that a father-in-law commits such a crime. The court made the comments on May 18 while hearing a plea filed by one Babu Khan, who was booked under Sections 376 (rape), 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or another imprisonment), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Allahabad High Court Woman accuses father-in-law of rape According to the complaint filed by Khan's daughter-in-law, on March 1, 2018 the accused along with another person came to the house of the victim's brother when she was alone and asked the whereabouts of her brother. When the woman said that her brother is not at home, Khan started sexually abusing her. According to the FIR registered in the Saharanpur police station, the woman tried to stop him but she was raped by the two men. Khan moved the court seeking anticipatory bail stating that his co-accused has already been granted the same. On May 18, the Allahabad HC bench of Justice Ajit Singh granted anticipatory bail to the accused. BCCL Unnatural in Indian culture "It is quite unnatural that a father-in-law shall commit rape of his daughter-in-law along with other person in our Indian culture," observed the Allahabad High Court while granting the anticipatory bail. "In the event of the arrest of the applicant, he shall be released on anticipatory bail on his fulfilling certain conditions," the court added. Most rape reported in India are by people known to the victim The court's observation that "it is unnatural in Indian culture" contradicts the data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). As many as 26,727 rape cases were reported in the year 2020 from across the country. In which, only 1,185 were committed by persons who were unknown to the rape victims. In the remaining cases, offenders were close to the victims family or the victims. BCCL/ FILE A total of 2,364 rapes were committed by family members and 10,189 were committed by friends/online friends or live-in partners on the pretext of marriage or separated husband. Whereas, 12,989 offences were committed by family friends, neighbours, employer or other known persons. While these are the number of reported cases, many such crimes go unreported due to pressure on the victim by the family. For more on news, sports and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. In a shocking incident, a 25-year-old Pakistani woman was gang-raped inside a train heading from Multan to Karachi by three staff members. The incident happened onboard the Bahauddin Zakaria Express on May 27. Pakistan Train Info Raped in the pretext of helping the victim The woman, a divorcee, had come to Muzaffargarh district of Punjab, to meet her two minor children. However, the meeting was denied by her husband and in-laws. Under this stress she left for her hometown Karachi by train. Since she was alone, the suspects took advantage of her and gang raped her," the IG railways said. She reportedly boarded the train without a ticket and was traveling on the economy class when the ticket-checker offered her a seat in the air-conditioned compartment. The checker then took her to the other compartment where some staff members took turns to sexually assault the woman and threatened her with dire consequences when she tried to escape. AFP/ File "The woman boarded the train without a ticket. Ticket Checker Zahid told her that he could arrange a berth for her in an AC compartment. On the pretext of helping her, Zahid took her to an AC compartment and along with two others, gang raped her," the FIR stated. The victim later reported her ordeal to the railways police, who registered a case and constituted teams to arrest the suspects. All three accused arrested "The FIR has been registered under Section 377s (punishment for rape) and 34 (common intent) of the Pakistan Penal Code," said the police. Based on the woman's complaint the police have arrested all the three suspects in the case. The arrested have been identified as Zahid and Zohaib (ticket checkers) and Aqib (in-charge of ticket checkers). A medical check-up of the victim confirmed rape. "The victim's clothes have been taken into custody, while swab samples have been taken for semen serology, DNA profiling and cross-matching," said Summaiya Syed, additional police surgeon at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre in Karachi. AFP/ File Train operated by private firm According to Inspector General Pakistan Railways Faisal Shahkaar, all the three arrested men were employees of a private firm that operated the train. Reportedly, there was no deployment of the railways police personnel in the train for safety and security of passengers. Shahkaar said the train was operated by a private firm and deployment of security guards was its duty which it did not fulfill. For this reason the firm's chief executive officer has also been taken into custody, he said. (With agency inputs) For more on news, sports and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. (Trigger Warning: The story contains details of child abuse and rape, which could be triggering for some readers.) A four-year-old girl was kidnapped, raped, and dumped in a garbage heap at the Hindaun City police station area in Karauli on Friday. A PTI report claimed that the girl was kidnapped, brutally beaten, and raped. She even had 'bite' marks. The girl's father who noticed her missing approached the police station at 3 am on Saturday, but the cops did not register a complaint. Rape Shailendra Singh Indoliya, the superintendent of police, Karauli, said, Action would be taken against anyone found guilty of laxity in his work." According to reports, the 4-year-old was fast asleep when the accused allegedly kidnapped and raped her. The girl was medically examined and sent to Jaipur for better treatment. File Photo While the girl is still undergoing treatment, the accused has been nabbed by the police. Police have arrested a 34-year-old drug addict for kidnapping and raping the girl. File Photo TOI report quotes the police officer involved in the case as saying, File Photo It was alleged that the accused came to the spot and kidnapped the girl. The girl became unconscious, and the accused dumped her in the garbage and fled. Representational Image He added, We have arrested the accused identified as Ajeet Jogi (34) in this case. It was found that he is a conductor in a bus and is also a drug addict. Ajeet Jogi, the man arrested by the police, has a criminal record, including an accusation of rape. According to a report in Newstracklive, the FIR indicates that the 4-year-old girl had deep bite marks on her cheek, chest, and arms and severe injuries on her torso. For more trending stories, follow us on Telegram. In a new initiative, Saudi Arabia has revealed its plan to build the world's largest buildings in a mostly unpopulated part of the country as part of an entirely new $500 billion development called NEOM. According to a report by Bloomberg, NEOM is the brainchild of Saudi Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman who is aiming to build twin skyscrapers about 500 meters (1,640 feet) tall that stretch horizontally for dozens of miles, said people close to the project. Middle East Eye (Mohammed bin Salman) The report adds that skyscrapers would house a mix of residential, retail and office space running from the Red Sea coast into the desert. The plan is a shift from the concept announced last year of building a string of developments linked by underground hyper-speed rail, into a long continuous structure, the people said. The report mentions that designers were instructed to work on a half-mile-long prototype, current and former NEOM employees said. If it goes forward in full, each structure would be larger than the world's current biggest buildings, most of which are factories or malls rather than residential communities. Announced in 2017, NEOM is Prince Mohammed's plan to turn a remote region of the country into a high-tech semi-autonomous state that re-imagines urban life. It's part of his plans to attract foreign investment and help diversify the Saudi economy away from a reliance on oil sales. The Line, as the car-free linear city that will form the backbone of NEOM is known, could cost up to $200 billion to build, the prince said last year, though that was before the plan changed to include gigantic horizontal buildings. "The Line is an out of the box idea," NEOM chief executive office Nadhmi Al-Nasr said in an interview, declining to comment on the specifics of the plan. "What we will present when we are ready to will be very well received, and will be viewed as revolutionary." Bloomberg (Nadhmi Al-Nasr, chief executive officer of NEOM) According to current and former employees at the Saudi project, to plan The Line, NEOM worked with a California-based architecture firm called Morphosis. Morphosis -- founded by Thom Mayne, once dubbed "the bad boy" of American architecture -- didn't respond to requests for comment, said the report. The buildings would be "different heights as you go," adapting to the landscape, with their final size determined by engineering considerations and the terrain, Al-Nasr said. The Middle East is already home to the world's tallest building, Dubai's Burj Khalifa. Before the rise of Prince Mohammed, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal had announced plans to build the world's tallest building near Jeddah. The skyscraper remains only partially completed. Izkiz (Burj Khalifa) For more trending stories, follow us on Telegram. New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles! Gov. Charlie Baker vetoed a bill Friday that would allow immigrants in the country illegally to obtain state drivers licenses in Massachusetts. The veto came just a day after the Massachusetts House and Senate gave final approval to the measure, sending it to Bakers desk. Baker said he could not sign the legislation because it requires the Registry of Motor Vehicles to issue state credentials to people without the ability to verify their identity. Consequently, a standard Massachusetts drivers license will no longer confirm that a person is who they say they are, he added in a letter to lawmakers. Both chambers, dominated by Democratic lawmakers, passed the measure by margins wide enough to override a Baker veto. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia already have similar laws. Under the proposal, those in the country illegally could apply for a drivers license if they can provide the Registry of Motor Vehicles with a foreign passport or consular identification document. The people would also have to provide one of five additional documents: a drivers license from another U.S. state or territory; a birth certificate; a foreign national identification card; a foreign drivers license; or a marriage certificate or divorce decree from any U.S. state or territory. Supporters say the measure would make driving safer in Massachusetts by requiring immigrants show they can properly operate a car and that they have obtained the needed insurance in the event of an accident. Baker said the bill also restricts the registrys ability to share citizenship information with entities responsible for ensuring that only citizens register for and vote in elections. This bill significantly increases the risk that noncitizens will be registered to vote, he added. If lawmakers vote to override Bakers veto, the proposal would take effect July 1, 2023. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Massachusetts Personal Auto New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles! Glock Inc. and its parent company were sued by a New York City woman who was seriously injured when she was seriously wounded by a gunman who opened fire aboard a crowded morning rush-hour subway train in Brooklyn last month. Ilene Steur, 49, was one of 10 people shot with a Glock pistol on the crowded northbound subway car on April 12 in Brooklyns Sunset Park section, suffered a severe wound in her buttocks, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court. The gun maker is aware that its product design promotes concealment and allows a user to inflict unparalleled civilian carnage, the suit alleges. Frank James, 62, is being held on federal terrorism and gun charges in the subway shooting. Prosecutors say he set off smoke cannisters and then fired a 9-millimeter Glock handgun at least 33 times inside the crowded subway car. While there were no fatalities, 10 people were shot and 13 others were injured in the ensuing panic. The attack is one of several recent US mass shootings. Last week, a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at a school in Uvalde, Texas. On May 14, 10 were killed at a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Buffalo, New York. And earlier this month, one person was killed and five injured in a Laguna Woods, California, church. Brandie Collins, a spokeswoman for Glock, didnt immediately respond to a voice mail or email seeking comment on the lawsuit. Steur argued in her lawsuit that the gun maker chose to disregard the unreasonable risk of the Glock firearm in its marketing strategies. The company also fails to terminate contracts with gun distributors who sell a high volume of guns traced to crimes, according to her complaint. James, who has a history of 12 previous arrests, purchased his Glock 17 handgun in 2011 from a Columbus, Ohio, pawn shop, according to Steur. Glock has also manufactured the high-capacity pistol to provide enhanced pointability that makes it user-friendly and more accurate, Steur alleges. The gun is used by the military in the UK, Sweden, India, Israel and Yemen and police forces worldwide, she said. While firearms manufacturers and dealers are shielded in part under the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which limits liability when their products are used in crimes, New York state passed a law last year designed to allow civil suits to be brought against the gun manufacturers. The case is Ilene Steur v. Glock, 22-CV-3192, US District Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn) Photo: Officers at the scene of a shooting at the 36th Street subway station in Brooklyn. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics Lawsuits New York Irans seizure of two Greek oil tankers in the Persian Gulf raises the risk of further interruptions to shipments from a region thats a vital source of global energy supplies. On Friday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps diverted two Greek tankers, each loaded with about 1 million barrels of oil, into Iranian territorial waters an apparent tit-for-tat for a vessel that the European country seized. Greece is the worlds largest oil tanker-owning nation, making any spat with Iran potentially serious for the global market. Likewise, about one fifth of daily crude supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway separating the Persian Gulf from the Indian Ocean and crude buyers all over the world. U.S. Seizes Iranian Oil Cargo From Russian-Operated Ship Near Greece: Sources Shippers will need to be more vigilant, said Matt Stanley, a trader and broker with Starfuels in Dubai. Iran will be extremely protective of any and all assets. Greece alerted all vessels from the country to adapt to the unacceptable situation when sailing in the Persian Gulf. About 27% of the global fleet of oil tankers is Greek owned, according to data from Clarkson Research Services Ltd., a unit of the worlds largest shipbroker. Brent crude rose 0.5% to about $120 a barrel on Monday having gained 1.7% on Friday, according to ICE Futures Europe data. Greek Move The seized tankers, Prudent Warrior and Delta Poseidon, were taken by Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf on Friday, according to the US 5th Fleet in Bahrain. Both are Greek-owned and flagged, and had loaded cargoes in Iraq, according to tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The seizure of the vessels came not long after Greek authorities stopped an Iranian-flagged tanker and, in coordination with US authorities seeking to enforce sanctions on the Islamic republic, confiscated its cargo. The Trump administration reimposed wide-ranging sanctions on Irans economy and energy industry after exiting the 2015 nuclear deal as part of a broader strategy to destabilize and weaken the countrys leadership. The Prudent Warrior has since been taken to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas with all crew and cargo still on board, George Vakirtzis, managing director of the vessels owner Polembros Shipping Ltd., said by phone. Previous Incidents The Persian Gulf nation held a British tanker for more than two months in 2019 after an Iranian oil tanker was blocked in Gibraltar. Both vessels were eventually released. Other British, Saudi and UAE-owned tankers have been accosted in and around Hormuz in the past several years, while Iranian vessels have been hit in the Red Sea. We knew the Iranians would retaliate, we saw that two years ago with the Stena vessel, Vakirtzis said. A lot of Greek vessels go up and down the Gulf right in front of their door. There was little the captain of a laden oil tanker could do to avoid a helicopter-borne boarding party like the one that captured the Prudent Warrior, Vakirtzis added. The IRGC said it was responsible for the seizures and warned other Greek vessels in the area, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. The IRGC indicated that 17 other Greek vessels in the Gulf could also be seized, said Tasnim, which is closely aligned to the Iranian military organization. With assistance from Serene Cheong, Prejula Prem, Verity Ratcliffe, Golnar Motevalli, Paul Tugwell, Sotiris Nikas and Arsalan Shahla. Photograph: The Iranian flag is arranged for a photograph in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014. Photo credit: Scott Eells/Bloomberg Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics Energy Oil Gas Lloyds of London, the worlds oldest insurance market, said on Wednesday that it was working closely with British and international governments and regulators to implement global sanctions against Russia. Lloyds supports and remains focused on the delivery of a global sanctions regime against the Russian state, Lloyds said. The Financial Times reported late on Tuesday that Britain and the European Union had agreed a coordinated ban on insuring ships carrying Russian oil to shut Moscow out of the Lloyds insurance market. (Reporting by Muvija M; editing by Michael Holden) Photograph: Arctic shuttle tanker Shturman Albanov. Photo credit: Sovcomflot Topics Excess Surplus Russia Lloyd's Thousands of people in Minnesota and South Dakota were without electrical power Tuesday as the region recovered from storms and tornadoes that left damaged buildings, trees and roadways. The National Weather Service said in a preliminary report there were four tornadoes on Monday in western Minnesota, along with wind gusts and large hail. More than 37,000 people were reported to be without power early Tuesday. Cities across the region reported extensive damage to buildings. Its tragic as far as physical damage, Forada Mayor David Reller told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. We got hit hard, but well come back strong. No fatalities from the storms had been reported early Tuesday. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Windstorm Minnesota Two people were killed and 20 others were injured after a crash that sent two cars careening into a crowd of bystanders at an annual Memorial Day weekend cruise night in Nebraskas capital, police said Monday. Two women, ages 20 and 22, had been inside one of the cars and died in the Sunday night crash on O Street in Lincoln. One person was listed in critical condition and the others were treated at hospitals for injuries not believed to be life-threatening, Lincoln Police Capt. Max Hubka said. We do not believe nor is there any evidence this was an intentional act, Lincoln police said in a statement. A witness told the Lincoln Journal Star that a speeding car crashed into another vehicle attempting a turn at an intersection. Hubka said both vehicles jumped the curb and struck several people standing between the street and a parking lot. Police scheduled a 3 p.m. news conference to discuss the investigation. Details of the event are not clear. O Street has been a popular spot for cruisers over the Memorial Day weekend and spectators typically gather to watch from business parking lots. Authorities said that some drivers have attempted dangerous maneuvers to excite the crowd, such as burnouts and speeding. Law enforcement promised to have an increased presence this year. Hubka said none of the officers assigned to monitor the event witnessed the crash, but police reached the scene within a minute. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Auto Nebraska New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles! Acrisure said on Tuesday it had raised $725 million in a fresh funding round led by a wholly owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, valuing the insurance brokerage at $23 billion. The company has benefited from a jump in global commercial insurance premiums that rose 11% on average in the first quarter, according to broker Marsh, with the war in Ukraine worsening pressure on rates. The Michigan-based company, which offers financial, cyber as well as asset and wealth management services to its customers in insurance, reinsurance and real estate services, has grown its revenue from $38 million to $3.5 billion in the last eight years. Acrisure plans to use the latest funding, supported by certain clients of Guggenheim Investments and Oak Hill Advisors, to increase brand awareness and invest in human and technological infrastructure, according to a statement. Founded in 2005, the company was valued at $17.5 billion, including debt, in March this year when it raised $3 billion. Chief Executive Officer Greg Williams with a consortium of minority investors bought Acrisure in a $2.9 billion deal from private equity firm Genstart Capital in November 2016. Related: Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Agencies New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles! June 1 marks the beginning of the Atlantic hurricane season one that is expected to be above average in terms of named storms and hurricanes. Insurance Journal used the occasion to speak with Karen Clark, founder of catastrophe modeling firm Karen Clark & Company (KCC). August 24, 2022 is the 30th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew a storm that validated the industry she created. Shortly after Hurricane Andrew barreled to shore just south of Miami with winds of 165mph on the morning of Aug. 24, 1992, the catastrophe modeling company Karen Clark had established Applied Insurance Research, later AIR Worldwide ran the data through the model. With a loss estimate in hand, she headed to the fax machine to send clients the news. I remember the day like it was yesterday, Clark told Insurance Journal. Our clients couldnt believe it. The phones started ringing right away. Of the 30 or so mostly London-based reinsurance-company clients AIR had, Clark recalled one betting her 5 quid Andrew wouldnt cost the insurance industry more than $6 billion. AIRs model projected Andrew could cost more than twice that $13 billion. The model she built to start the catastrophe modeling industry in 1987 with AIR, was right. The skepticism as those faxes were received may have been somewhat warranted. Prior to Andrew, the largest hurricane loss was $4 billion in 1989 from Hurricane Hugo, which struck South Carolina. People werent tabulating property values, Clark said. There hadnt been a hurricane like Andrew in such a populated area. Even though it missed Miami, the property values were still much more than South Carolina. In fact, Andrew could have been much worse. If the storm struck Florida 50 miles or so north, Miami would have been impacted and insured losses would have been $60 billion, Clark added. Still, Clark admitted that as the numbers toned and the papers were scanned on the fax machine 30 years ago, We were not 100% confident. We were questioning ourselves. But its what the model told us, and we did the work to make it as accurate as possible. We felt like we needed to give it to clients. The industry realized the model was a tool it could use to better estimate loss potential and price insurance products. Following Andrew and the models validation, the first class of Bermuda reinsurers was spawned in 1993, then catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities followed to supply capacity. Today, catastrophe models like the ones from Clarks KCC (she sold AIR to Insurance Services Office in 2002), are the global standard technology for risk assessment. Interestingly, the industrys reliance and/or confidence in catastrophe models ebbs and flows. Over the last several years, reinsurers, in particular, have become more skeptical after years of arguably leaning on the models too much. Recent cynicism has led to the application of adjustment factors crude multiples on top of the traditional model loss estimates. We noticed and asked ourselves how we can make the models better, Clark said. One way is to put our models out there when theres an actual eventWe always have. Clients can see and run their own estimates. When their actual claims start coming in, they share the data with us. This creates an ecosystem that allows us to continually refine the KCC models. Clark described the model as an infrastructure, such as a highway system, that can be customized for clients vehicles and traffic, metaphorically speaking, to be more reflective of specific policyholder and claims data. With the rapid evolution of technology, data from satellite images, aerial photography, and machine learning can be imported into the model to improve it. The goal is always to enhance accuracy and therefore the level of confidence in models, Clark said. Theres always work to be done. The value is the infrastructure and transparency. You can apply modeled events to your own book of business and drill down. Looking ahead, Clark said her company developed a catalogue of scenarios to give views 5, 10 and even 25 years in the future of how storms might evolve and cause damage, considering the scientific community has predicted an increase in the severity of hurricanes due to changes in climate. There are some uncertainties, such as with efforts to curtail greenhouse gases, but now clients can confidently tell investors and regulators that they are on top of climate change, Clark said. Top photo: In this Aug. 25, 1992 file photo, Hurricane Andrew-damaged houses sit between Homestead and Florida City, Florida. (AP Photo/Mark Foley, File) Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Hurricane With racial tensions still simmering over the killing of George Floyd, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and his top lawyers gathered in a state police conference room in October 2020 to prepare for the fallout from a troubling case closer to home: troopers deadly arrest of Ronald Greene. There, they privately watched a crucial body-camera video of the Black motorists violent arrest that showed a bruised and bloody Greene going limp and drawing his final breaths _ footage that prosecutors, detectives and medical examiners wouldnt even know existed for another six months. While the Democratic governor has distanced himself from allegations of a cover-up in the explosive case by contending evidence was promptly turned over to authorities, an Associated Press investigation based on interviews and records found that wasnt the case with the 30-minute video he watched. Neither Edwards, his staff nor the state police he oversees acted urgently to get the crucial footage into the hands of those with the power to charge the white troopers seen stunning, punching and dragging Greene. That video, which showed critical moments and audio absent from other footage that was turned over, wouldnt reach prosecutors until nearly two years after Greenes May 10, 2019, death on a rural roadside near Monroe. Now three years have passed, and after lengthy, ongoing federal and state probes, still no one has been criminally charged. The optics are horrible for the governor. It makes him culpable in this, in delaying justice, said Rafael Goyeneche, a former prosecutor who is president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission, a New Orleans-based watchdog group. All it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing, Goyeneche added. And thats what the governor did, nothing. What the governor knew, when he knew it and what he did about an in-custody death that troopers initially blamed on a car crash have become questions that have dogged his administration for months. Edwards and his staff are expected to be called within weeks to testify under oath before a bipartisan legislative committee probing the case and a possible cover-up. Edwards attorneys say there was no way for the governor to have known at the time that the video he watched had not already been turned over to prosecutors, and there was no effort to by the governor or his staff to withhold evidence. Regardless, the governors attorneys didnt mention seeing the video in a meeting just days later with state prosecutors, who wouldnt receive the footage until a detective discovered it almost by accident six months later. While U.S. Justice Department officials refused to comment, the head of the state police, Col. Lamar Davis, told the AP that his records show that the video was turned over to federal authorities about the same time, mid-April 2021. Edwards, a lawyer from a long line of Louisiana sheriffs, did not make himself available for an interview. But his chief counsel, Matthew Block, acknowledged to the AP that it was not acceptable for evidence to be available to the governor and not the officials investigating the case. The governors staff also stressed that state police, not Edwards office, actually possessed the video. I cant go back and fix what was done, Block said. Everybody would agree that if there would have been some understanding that the district attorney did not have a piece of evidence, whether it was a video or whatever it might be, then, of course, the district attorney should have all the evidence in the case. Of course. At issue is the 30-minute body-camera footage from Lt. John Clary, the highest-ranking trooper to respond to Greenes arrest. It is one of two videos of the incident, and captured events not seen on the 46-minute clip from Trooper Dakota DeMoss that shows troopers swarming Greenes car after a high-speed chase, repeatedly jolting him with stun guns, beating him in the head and dragging him by his ankle shackles. Throughout the frantic scene, Greene is barely resisting, pleading for mercy and wailing, Im your brother! Im scared! Im scared! But Clarys video is perhaps even more significant to the investigations because it is the only footage that shows the moment a handcuffed, bloody Greene moans under the weight of two troopers, twitches and then goes still. It also shows troopers ordering the heavyset, 49-year-old to remain face down on the ground with his hands and feet restrained for more than nine minutes _ a tactic use-of-force experts criticized as dangerous and likely to have restricted his breathing. And unlike the DeMoss video, which goes silent halfway through when the microphone is turned off, Clarys video has sound throughout, picking up a trooper ordering Greene to lay on your f belly like I told you to! and a sheriffs deputy taunting, Yeah, yeah, that s hurts, doesnt it? The state polices own use-of-force expert highlighted the importance of the Clary footage during testimony in which he characterized the troopers actions as torture and murder. Theyre pressing on his back at one point and Ronald Greenes foot starts kicking up, Sgt. Scott Davis told lawmakers in March. The same thing happened in the George Floyd trial. There was a pulmonologist who said thats the moment of his death. The same thing happened with Ronald Greene. Clarys video reached state police internal affairs officers more than a year after Greenes death when they opened a probe and later showed it to the governor. But it was long unknown to detectives working the criminal case and missing from the initial investigative case file they turned over to prosecutors in August 2019. Its absence has become a focal point in the federal probe, which is looking not only at the actions of the troopers but whether state police brass obstructed justice to protect them. Detectives say Clary falsely claimed he didnt have any body-camera footage of his own from Greenes arrest and instead gave investigators a thumb drive of other troopers videos. State police say Clary properly uploaded his body-camera footage to an online evidence storage system and the then-head of the agency, Col. Kevin Reeves, defended his administrations handling of the Greene case. I dont think that there was any cover-up by state police of this matter, Reeves, who has described Greenes death as awful but lawful, said in recent legislative testimony. But the detectives investigating Greenes death say they were locked out of the video storage system at the time and had to rely on Clary to provide the footage. Albert Paxton, the now-retired lead detective on the Greene case, said he didnt learn the video existed until April 2021 when Davis, who had broad access to body-camera video as the agencys use-of-force expert, made a passing reference to it in a conversation. An internal affairs investigation into whether Clary purposely withheld the footage was inconclusive and details of the probe remain secret. Clary, who didnt respond to requests for comment, avoided discipline and remains in the state police. In early October 2020, days after AP published audio of Trooper Chris Hollingsworth bragging that he had beat the ever-living f out of Greene, Edwards and his top attorneys Block and Tina Vanichchagorn went to a state police building in Baton Rouge and watched videos of the arrest, including the Clary video, the governors office said. Days later, the governors lawyers flew with Reeves and other police brass 200 miles north to Ruston to discuss the videos with John Belton, the Union Parish district attorney leading the state investigation. The Oct. 13 meeting was intended to plan a closed-door event the next day in which Greenes family would meet the governor and view footage of the arrest. Although the meeting was about showing video of the arrest, it never emerged that the governors lawyers and police commanders were all aware of the Clary footage while prosecutors were in the dark. It didnt come up at all, Belton said, adding he only knew at the time of the DeMoss video. Block agreed, saying, We didnt go through what happened on the videos. That agreement falls apart over what happened the next day. Greenes family says it was not shown the Clary video after meeting Edwards on Oct. 14, a claim Belton and several others who attended the viewing in Baton Rouge affirmed. State police and the governors office, however, disputed that, saying the Clary video was in fact shown. But state police spokesman Capt. Nick Manale acknowledged, The department has no proof of what was shown to the family that day. Lee Merritt, an attorney for the Greene family, recalled the response he received when they asked if there was a Clary video: We were told it was of no evidentiary value. The fact is we never saw it, added Mona Hardin, Greenes mother. Theyve tried to have total control of the narrative. Throughout this process, Edwards had considered making the Greene arrest videos public, records show, but decided against it at the request of federal prosecutors. After they were withheld from the public more than two years, the AP obtained and published both the DeMoss and Clary videos in May 2021. An AP investigation that followed found Greenes was among at least a dozen cases over the past decade in which state police troopers or their bosses ignored or concealed evidence of beatings, deflected blame and impeded efforts to root out misconduct. Dozens of current and former troopers said the beatings were countenanced by a culture of impunity, nepotism and, in some cases, outright racism. Edwards was informed of Greenes deadly arrest within hours, when he received a text message from Reeves telling him that troopers engaged in a violent, lengthy struggle with a Black motorist, ending in his death. But the governor, who was in the midst of a tight reelection race at the time, kept quiet about the case publicly for two years as police continued to push the narrative that Greene died in a crash. Edwards has said he first learned of the serious allegations surrounding Greenes death in September 2020, months after Greenes family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit and the FBI sent a sweeping subpoena for evidence to state police. After the videos were published, the governor broke his silence and called the troopers actions criminal. In recent months, as his role in the Greene case has come under scrutiny, Edwards has gone further to describe them as racist while denying hes interfered with or delayed investigations. The governors lawyers now acknowledge prosecutors did not have the Clary video until spring of 2021. But Edwards insisted as recently as February that evidence turned over to prosecutors prior to his November 2019 re-election was proof there was no cover-up. The facts are clear that the evidence of what happened that night was presented to prosecutors well before my election, state and federal prosecutors, Edwards said in a news conference. So obviously that is not part of a cover-up. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Louisiana New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles! A group of contractors wasted little time in challenging the constitutionality of a law approved at the Florida Legislatures special session last week, one the restoration companies argue singles them out and deprives them of attorney fees in assignment-of-benefits claims. The inability to recover prevailing party attorneys fees will effectively shut the courthouse door to plaintiffs because it will be cost-prohibitive to pay an attorney for these types of of small claims, reads the complaint, filed in Leon County Circuit Court by Restoration Association of Florida and Air Quality Assessors. Senate Bill 2D, passed largely along party lines, bars assignees of benefits from collecting attorney fees, even if they prevail in court. Insurers have long complained that the fees, coupled with Floridas fee multiplier, is encouraging unnecessary claims litigation and is costing the industry huge sums every year. The lawsuit argues that deprivation of this right is significant because SB 2D wrongfully treats contractors, as assignees, disparately from homeowners and insurers. Some lawmakers and insurance industry advocates at the special session predicted the bill would be challenged by contractors, just as 2021s Senate Bill 76 was challenged, then was temporarily suspended by a court. SB 76 sought to bar roofing contractors from soliciting homeowners and encouraging them to file insurance claims on roof damage. A federal judge has said the law may violate contractors constitutional rights to free speech. Restoration Association did not bring that challenge, but it is no stranger to Florida insurers. The associations president is Richie Kidwell, who also owns Air Quality Assessors, a mold-remediation firm. He spoke forcefully against SB 2D at the May 23-25 special session. Kidwell and his group also recently filed suit against the Florida insurance commissioner and two carriers over their policy endorsements. One endorsement, by American Integrity Insurance, offers premium discounts for policyholders who agree to binding arbitration in claims disputes. Another, by Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance, states that the insurer wont pay contractors, but will only reimburse the insured for restoration work, effectively barring AOB claims. That suit and the May 31 challenge to SB 2D were filed by Boca Raton attorney Joshua Alper and the Center for Constitutional Litigation. A Florida law professor said neither suit stands much chance of succeeding. In a word, this lawsuit isnt going anywhere, Robert Jarvis, a professor at Nova Southeastern School of Law, said about the challenge to SB 2D. He explained that its very difficult to win a lawsuit based on the Florida Constitutions equal protection clause, Article I, Section 2. Thats because the clause only protects plaintiffs who are similarly situated to people or groups that arent impacted by the law the plaintiffs are challenging, Jarvis said. But theres almost always some difference between the plaintiffs and non-plaintiffs. Jarvis said that in weighing the validity of an economics-regulation law, the courts use a rational basis test. The defendants, in this case the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, need only show that some rational basis exists for distinguishing the targets of the law the assignees of benefits. This is a very easy standard to meettheres almost always some rational basis that supports the law and the distinctions it draws, said Jarvis, who studies and teaches constitutional law and contract law. In passing laws, the Florida Legislature is not required to address every ill. Thus, singling out just AOB contractors is a perfectly legitimate exercise of the Legislatures powers. The plaintiffs must also show that the law is clearly unconstitutional, but courts have generally found that, while they may disagree with a piece of legislation, they wont usually nullify it. Judges often opine that there was a better solution that the Legislature could and should have selected, but they wont strike down a law simply because its not the best solution, Jarvis explained in an email. They leave that to the Legislature (which can always see the error of its ways and enact a new law) and the people (who can always set things right by electing new legislators). Topics Lawsuits Florida Contractors An Arizona man was facing multiple theft charges last week after detectives found more than 1,200 catalytic converters packed into a storage unit, a case that highlights a national surge in thefts of the pricy auto parts that play a critical role in reducing vehicle emissions. The discovery followed a months-long investigation that began with a January tip that someone was storing stolen catalytic converters in an industrial area near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. We were very surprised at the amount in there, Phoenix police Det. Adam Popelier said in a police video taken Thursday as officers were pulling converters from the jam-packed storage locker. The 48-year-old man who police say was buying and selling the convertors was charged with 40 counts of theft and may face additional charges. The huge rise in catalytic converters thefts across the nation has hit tens of thousands of car and truck owners in the pocketbook and frustrated police, who are faced with a crime that takes just minutes to commit and is difficult to solve even if they find the stolen parts. Catalytic converters are not imprinted at the factory with serial numbers and stolen converters end up on a black market where they are chopped open for the valuable metals they contain. Replacing one can cost a motorist from $1,000 to $3,000, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, an insurance industry group that works to combat insurance fraud and crime. Police say thieves can get from $100 to $150 for each converter. The insurance group counted just 3,969 reports of stolen catalytic converters in 2019, more than 17,000 in 2020 and more than 52,000 last year. Lawmakers across the nation have taken notice, introducing legislation designed to make it harder for criminals to unload their loot. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, 150 bills have been introduced this year in 36 states and enacted in 16 states. That includes Arizona, where Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill this month that makes possession of a catalytic converter in many instances a crime and adds detailed reporting requirements for scrap dealers that buy legitimate used devices. They must mark the item with the donor vehicles serial number and retain it for at least a week in original condition. Scrap dealers caught with unregistered or stolen converters face a $500 fine for the first offense, a $2,000 fine for a second and at least double that for each additional time they are caught. Those possessing or trying to sell a used catalytic converter that dont meet new requirements could face a six-month jail sentence. Federal legislation is also in the works. Indiana Rep. Jim Baird is sponsoring a bill backed by the National Insurance Crime Bureau that would require serial numbers on new devices, offer grants for programs to stamp numbers on existing cars and trucks and make it easier to prosecute thefts. The insurance groups President and CEO David Glawe called it a critical step in helping bring relief to people directly impacted by the thefts. Insurance often does not cover a car owners losses. Someone carrying just liability coverage or liability and collision is on the hook for the full bill. Even with comprehensive coverage, there is a deductible that may be high enough that it is not worth filing a claim. Lastly, some victims even with coverage may treat the problem as a mechanical issue and just pay for it themselves and never notify their insurer, insurance crime bureau spokesperson Tully Lehman said. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Fraud Law Enforcement Arizona Top DE&I voices to lead sessions advancing inclusion in the industry while giving back to those in need Los Angeles, CA. June 01, 2022 The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping communities and enriching lives, will host the IICF Inclusion in Insurance Regional Forums, a series of events across the US and in the UK dedicated to advancing ideas into action around diversity, inclusion and innovation while benefitting charitable causes. The events will take place in New York on June 9, Los Angeles on June 16, Chicago on June 20, Dallas on June 22 and London on September 28. These leadership events bring top voices in industry DE&I together to discuss opportunities, challenges, and successful initiatives, identify positive plans of action and more to create a fully inclusive industry of the future. This years Regional Forums cover a wide range of critical industry topics, including diversity, equity and inclusion, ESG and the future of work. Forum themes, speakers and panels include: New York: Creating a Better Future Together Building a Life of Passion and Purpose, with Gayle King, co-host of CBS Mornings, editor at large, Oprah Daily, and Nelba Marquez-Greene, a licensed marriage and family therapist Creating a Better Future Together Los Angeles: Action & Accountability in the Evolving Workforce of the Future Leadership Looks Like Me: Recruiting and Advancing POC in the Workplace, with Deepa Purushothaman, author, speaker, and co-founder of nFormation Action & Accountability in the Evolving Workforce of the Future Chicago: Practical Strategies to Be More Inclusive in Personal and Professional Relationships Inclusion and the Future of Talent, featuring Nzinga Shaw, president & global head of ESG & DEI practice at ZRG Partners Practical Strategies to Be More Inclusive in Personal and Professional Relationships Dallas: Advancing Ideas into Action: Intentional Change for an Inclusive Future The Story is Hiding in Your Data, featuring Margaret Spence, founder of The Inclusion Learning Lab and The Employee to CEO Project Advancing Ideas into Action: Intentional Change for an Inclusive Future London: Social Purpose & Inclusion in Insurance The Business Case for DEI, featuring Seema Bains, partner with DWF Social Purpose & Inclusion in Insurance In 2013, we launched our first women in insurance leadership event to address gender role disparities in the industry. Now, nearly a decade later, we are proud to host the only industry events providing actionable DE&I insight encompassing all aspects of diverse leadership while benefitting charitable causes throughout the US and UK, said Elizabeth Myatt, VP, Chief Program Officer of IICF. This years Forums boast renowned, impactful speakers from across the business world and we are thrilled to have another important opportunity to address major industry issues today and empower our colleagues to continue progressing towards a fully inclusive industry. IICFs Inclusion in Insurance leadership events were established as the Women in Insurance Conference Series and are the only such events to benefit nonprofit and charitable organizations through IICFs Community Grants Program. Grants awarded through the IICFs Community Grants Program provide direct support in addressing food insecurity, homelessness, educational disparities, disaster relief and preparedness, and helping children at risk, veterans and more. IICF has contributed more than $42 million to communities throughout the US and UK and provided more than 2.6 million meals to vulnerable children since the start of the pandemic. This years events are supported by the leading insurance businesses in the world, with presenting sponsors including Amwins, CNA, EY, Markel, USAA and more than 40 additional insurance businesses. To read more about the speakers, view the agenda, learn more about sponsorship opportunities and register, please visit https://inclusion.iicf.org/. About the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) is a unique nonprofit that unites the collective strengths of the insurance industry to help communities and enrich lives through grants, volunteer service and leadership. Established in 1994, IICF has served as the philanthropic foundation of the insurance industry for more than twenty-five years, contributing $42 million in community grants along with 310,000 volunteer hours by more than 110,000 industry professionals. IICF reinvests locally where funds are raised, serving hundreds of charities and nonprofit organizations, for maximum community impact. IICF is a registered nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code. Learn more at www.iicf.org or follow us on social media: @doubleicf. Media Contact: Alisa Breese IICF Communications abreese@iicf.com (949) 412-2143 The 400kg store bullock has always been the ideal candidate. For the seller, getting a bullock to this weight ensures that you are bringing something of substance to the mart. Equally for the buyer, when throwing a bid on a bullock over 400kg you know full well the finish line is not a million miles away. And at the marts this week, while the golden age in cattle prices continues, I have noticed the bullock over 400kg is commanding the most interest. Or put another way, over the past two weeks I have spotted a little slippage in demand for the lighter store. Admittedly there are fewer, younger lighter cattle on the ground at present, but I wasnt blown away by the prices they were making. And I felt I should have been considering the prices being paid out for the larger animal. An Angus cross bullock born August '20 weighing 620 kilos sold for 1,890 at a sale in Kilmallock Mart. Photo O'Gorman Photography. And staying with the larger animal and being blown away with prices, we will begin with Skibbereen. In Skibbereen on Friday the highlight of the day was the sale of a Belgian Blue cow that sauntered into the ring weighing 890kg and sauntered out again having made a whooping 3,200. Thats 2,310 with the kilo. Continental bullocks in Skibbereen sold from 400 to 1,315 with the kilo. Hereford and Aberdeen Angus bullocks sold from 360 to 1,428 with the kilo. Heifers in Skibbereen made from 240 to 1,085 with their weight. Skibbereen Friday No Breed Sex Weight 1 AA steer 672kg 2100 6 AA steers 327kg 890 2 Ch heifers 442kg 1090 1 Lm heifer 320kg 810 1 Fr cow 615kg 1450 1 BB cow 890kg 3200 A nice round number of 1000 cattle and calves went through the rings at Kilmallock mart this week. And it wasnt the only nice number. Vendors continue to enjoy great prices as the trade powers on, the mart reported. Bullocks here sold for up to 2,280 a head or 3.33 per kg. Dry cows sold for up to 2,000 a head or 2.76 per kg. Heifers made up to 1,810 a head or 3.10 per kg. Four Angus cross bullocks born March '21 average weight 476 kilos sold for 1,450 each at a sale in Kilmallock Mart. Photo O'Gorman Photography. Up to 1,760 was paid for dairy stock (paid for a 4-year-old calved cow). Strong calves sold for up to 585 a head. On this coming Monday, June 6th, the mart will have an entry of 6 Pedigree Aberdeen Angus yearling heifers and 3 cows with calves at foot, for Brendan Cronin, Dromahane, Mallow Co Cork. Kilmallock Monday No Breed Sex Weight 1 AA steer 480kg 1270 12 Fr steers 545kg 1200 2 BB steers 653kg 1720 1 Lm heifer 325kg 740 5 Hr heifers 325kg 700 1 Fr cow 465kg 1140 In Macroom mart on Saturday Friesian bullocks made from 2/kg to 2.50 per kilo. Aberdeen Angus and Hereford bullocks are still flying high in Macroom and making from 2.40/kg to 3.10 per kilo. Continental bullocks sold from 2.70/kg to 3.25 per kilo. Heifers sold well, selling from 2.50/kg up to 3.20 per kilo. Shipping calves in Macroom (Friesian bulls) made from 80 to 165 per head. Farmer buyers paid up to 200 a head for stronger calves. Macroom Saturday No Breed Sex Weight 2 Fr steers 375kg 880 2 Hr steers 545kg 1600 7 Hr steers 387kg 1070 5 AA steers 379kg 1020 1 Lm heifer 630kg 2000 2 AA heifers 427kg 1150 Bandon mart on Monday had over 700 calves on offer with mart manager, Sean Dennehy, reporting A flying trade for calves and a strong demand for all types of cattle. Here, Friesian bull calves sold from 85 to 155 a head. Friesian bullocks in Bandon ranged in price from 1.70/kg to 2.32/kg. Continental bullocks sold from 2.41/kg to 2.76/kg. A Charolais bullock born February '20 weighing 565 kilos sold for 1,300 at a sale in Kilmallock Mart. Photo O'Gorman Photography. Dry cows in Bandon sold from 1.15/kg to 2.54/kg. Aberdeen Angus and Hereford bullocks sold from 2.69/kg to 2.89/kg. Heifers in Bandon made from 2.30/kg to 3.70/kg. Bandon Monday No Breed Sex Weight 4 AA steers 315kg 930 1 Hr steer 435kg 1020 1 Ch steer 720kg 1970 3 Ch heifers 520kg 1650 1 Fr cow 565kg 860 1 Sim cow 695kg 1750 Ennis Mart next and a report from Tuesdays sale of calves, weanlings and suckler stock. Geraldine Walsh of Clare Co-op marts gave us the latest news. We had a smaller sale on Tuesday with just over 450 head on offer. The trade was strong all round in all rings. A lot of autumn born weanlings appearing and these are meeting a great trade. Bulls made to 3.91/kg and heifers made to 3.94/kg with a top price of 5.48/kg achieved for a Belgian Blue heifer. Calf numbers are beginning to drop off with just 75 on offer, these are still meeting a good demand from both farmers and shippers. A special entry of in-calf pedigree Limousins made up to 3,060. Suckler pairs made to 2,120. Ennis Tuesday No Breed Sex Weight 1 BB bull 415kg 1380 1 BB heifer 330kg 1810 1 Ch heifer 325kg 1150 1 Hr heifer 495kg 1310 1 Ch heifer 290kg 960 2 Lm heifers 242kg 960 George Candler, Kilkenny mart manager, gave us the following report after the sale of cattle at the Kilkenny mart on Thursday. "We had another good yard of cattle with beef bullocks and heifers still in demand. "Bullocks peaked at 2700 a head with heifers to 2660, and cull cows to 2780 a head. "Plainer cattle were a bit more difficult to sell. "Total sales on the day exceeded 1 million which has happened on 13 occasions in 2022." In Kilkenny mart on Thursday bullocks sold from 1.80 /kg to 3.57/kg. Heifers made from 2.50 to 3.53 per kilo. Continental cull cows in Kilkenny sold from 1.80 to 3.25 per kilo. Friesian cull cows made from 1.30 to 2.50 per kilo. The mart had 900 cattle on offer. The Criminal Assets Bureau has trained almost 600 local 'asset profilers' to monitor the unexplained wealth of 1,800 crime bosses and lieutenants around the country, including nearly 150 in Limerick, 60 in Cork and more than 40 in Kerry. Unsurprisingly, Dublin accounts for the greatest number of cases, with more than 750 gangland figures being targeted. CAB figures also show that a further 215 criminals are before the courts in cases taken by the bureau bringing the total number of individuals hit to over 2,000. The Limerick division has the third-highest number of gang associates being targeted by CAB, with the Dublin West division accounting for the highest, followed by Dublin South. Figures provided to the Irish Examiner show: A total of 1,770 persons and organisations are being investigated by CAB (by close of 2021) Dublin West has by far the highest number of targets (293), followed by Dublin South (188) Limerick has the third highest (147) Clare/Tipperary Division has 75 targets Cork City Division has 32 targets, Cork West has 14 and Cork North has 13 Kerry has 42 targets Waterford has 28 targets A breakdown by garda division of the number of individuals being monitored by CAB Some divisions have a relatively high number of cases. For example, Roscommon/Longford has 82, which could reflect a gang feud in Longford. In July 2021, CAB conducted 12 searches across the county, in an operation targeting a crime gang which seized cars, cash, and jewellery. Louth, which has been badly hit by a particularly violent gangland feud centred in Drogheda, has 54 targets. Two other divisions with relatively high numbers are Laois/Offaly and Wexford, both with 50 suspects being investigated. Mayo has the least number of suspects (6). Of the 1,770 targets, 27 are based abroad, including senior members of the Kinahan cartel, located in the United Arab Emirates. Garda detection Some 220 of the targets around one in eight of the total were identified by local asset profilers. These gardai typically from the divisional detective unit or the divisional drug unit are trained by CAB officers on how to identify and evaluate assets. The number of divisional asset profilers has grown considerably over the last six years from 208 in 2016 to 473 in 2019 and to 552 at the end of last year. Since then, that number has further increased to 585 by April of this year. Local detectives and gardai attached to drug units are trained by the Criminal Assets Bureau to be their eyes and ears on the ground. The Criminal Assets Bureau have seized luxury watches and an assortment of designer handbags in recent operations. They identify gangland suspects and gather intelligence on their wealth, whether it is properties being extensively refurbished, and often repeatedly refurbished, new or luxury cars, top-of-the-range clothes, and jewellery, or regular foreign travel. CAB says the work of these divisional profilers has increased its successes as it proactively continues to deny and deprive criminals of their wealth. Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, the Criminal Assets Bureau can freeze and seize assets which it shows to the High Court are the proceeds of criminal conduct. Raids The bureau has carried out a number of successful raids in the last 12 months seizing hundreds thousands of euro worth of goods as well as cash. At the end of April four businesses were raided a pub, gym tanning shop and a nail bar along with four homes which either belonged to or were connected to a target linked to a major Dublin drug gang. Those raids netted 22,000 in cash, three luxury watches and an assortment of designer handbags and clothing. In September 2021, a raid targeting Limerick city's notorious Keane/Collopy gang seized 145,000 in cash and 421,000 in eight accounts as well as five designer watches, three luxury vehicles and ten horses including a stallion worth over 50,000. Taoiseach Micheal Martin has severely criticised the Dublin Airport Authority (daa) at a private meeting of his party for changing their story in the past few weeks. Early exchanges at the Fianna Fail parliamentary party were dominated by the chaos and delays at Dublin Airport, with sources saying the Taoiseach is very annoyed. Airport bosses today issued a plan to minimise disruption to passengers over the June bank holiday weekend, but Fianna Fail members remain angry at recent delays that left hundreds of people missing out on flights. One source told the Irish Examiner: The Taoiseach is not happy re: Daa, he says theyve changed their stories in the past few weeks. Mr Martin said Cork Airport should be used more in light of the pressures on Dublin during the peak summer period. At the meeting, there were also calls for Dublin Airport Authority boss Dalton Philips to be fired. Kilkenny TD John McGuinness said Mr Dalton should be sacked" following a disastrous situation which led to over 1,000 passengers missing flights last weekend due to long queues for check-in and security at the airport. Mr McGuinness, who is chair of the Oireachtas Finance Committee, also said the issue of delays in getting passports is a failure of the government for which Fianna Fail is being blamed. Politicians should take control and manage these issues, he told the meeting. Mr McGuinness asked Taoiseach Micheal Martin if there will be a review of the government's overall performance before they are asked to vote for Leo Varadkar to become Taoiseach in December. Dublin Airport chief used private check-in service The CEO of Daa used the airports private check-in service when flying to Saudi Arabia last weekend, but denied it was a move to avoid massive queues at Dublin Airport. Dalton Phillips told the Oireachtas Transport Committee he had used the 295 Platinum Services facility which was charged to his travel budget as CEO. He told the committee that his journey had taken an hour and he had used the chauffeur service to get to his flight. It had emerged that Mr Philips flew out of Dublin Airport over the weekend as thousands of passengers faced queuing chaos. Mr Philips flew out of the airport on Saturday night as part of a Daa team to attend meetings in Saudi Arabia. Sinn Fein senator Lynn Boylan pressed Mr Phillips on whether he had used Platinum Services to avoid the queues which led to 1,000 people missing their flights. "Categorically not," he said. "I certainly wouldn't have gone to the Middle East if I'd known this was happening." Mr Phillips said that he had flown to Saudi Arabia as Daa runs the airport at Jeddah but had turned around as soon as he heard of problems at Dublin. He said he could have avoided hassle had he not flown to Saudi Arabia. Senior management at the Daa, including Dalton Philips, have been called before the Oireachtas Transport Committee today to explain what went wrong last Sunday when 1,400 passengers missed their flights. Earlier, a spokesperson for the Daa told the Irish Daily Mail that Mr Philips was "en route to scheduled meetings with our Daa international customers in Saudi on Sunday when he turned back when events at Dublin Airport became apparent". While the chaos at the airport came to a head on Sunday, passengers were already reporting long delays on Saturday. It is not clear at what stage over the weekend Mr Philips arrived back in Dublin. Senior management at the Daa, including Mr Philips, have been called before the Oireachtas Transport Committee today to explain what went wrong last Sunday when 1,400 passengers missed their flights. Staffing shortages have been blamed for the chaotic scenes and long queues experienced last weekend. Committee Chair, Kieran O'Donnell, says they will be seeking complete assurance that this bank holiday weekend and the summer season will be different. "We will be seeking guarantees, we will be asking the direct question of Dalton Philips and his management colleagues as to precisely what measures they are putting in place," said Mr O'Donnell. "In simple layman's terms, what happened over the weekend was they didn't have enough lanes open in either of the two terminals and not enough staff on duty to deal with the volume of passengers which they should have known." Independent Senator and committee member, Gerard Craughwell, said a review of the airport's terms of employment is needed. He has called for a 'root and branch' review of the terms and conditions of employment that are being offered to workers as he said they are "clearly not good enough" to attract people. Mr Craughwell said: During the Covid crisis, Dublin Airport Authority, I believe, laid off people rather than keeping them on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment. "Clearly they did not think a lot of maintaining their security people." The situation at the airport is a mess, said Mr Craughwell, adding that it is unbelievable that guarantees that the upcoming bank holiday weekend will not be a disaster cannot be given. "We are coming into the biggest bank holiday of the year and we cannot be sure that we will get people out of the airport on time. "Already we have 1,000 people who will be making a claim against the Daa for loss of flights, loss of hotel accommodation, loss of theatre tickets and god knows what else." A young man accused of having a 120,000 stash of cocaine in Cork in April applied to get his passport back from gardai and have his bail conditions relaxed so that he could take a short holiday in Portugal. Mohammed Adeagbo of Highfield, Ballincollig, County Cork, is presently on bail on drugs charges related to the seizure of 120,000 worth of cocaine on April 25 in Ballincollig. The 21-year-old accused came to court applying for a relaxation of bail and the return of his passport so that he could go to Albufeira with his friends for a long weekend in June. Sergeant Pat Lyons said that in the States opinion three days is a very short time frame for a holiday and sounded more like a business trip. The applicants solicitor, Frank Buttimer, wondered what Sgt Lyons knew about mini-breaks. Sgt Lyons cross-examined the defendant: How do we know you would come back? Mohammed Adeagbo replied: You have my word. Sgt Lyons said: Respectfully, we would need a little more on this side of the house. Flight risk Garda Anthony McSweeney said the gardai were concerned about the matter because of the seriousness of the alleged facts of the case. We would have very serious concerns he would be a flight risk. I would have huge concerns about him absconding. Mr Buttimer said the defendant is from Ballincollig where he attended primary and secondary school and his family is based there. He said the application would not even be made, but for the fact that the accused had booked the trip to Portugal before the alleged offence occurred in April. Sgt Lyons commented: Some fellas sunning himself in Portugal when he is on a charge of having 120,000 worth of cocaine is not appropriate. Mr Buttimer submitted that there could be a substantial delay in the prosecution even certifying those drugs forensically and that the accused could be remanded on bail until the end of the year for that to happen. Judge Patricia Cronin said: I have listened very carefully to the application to vary bail for the return of his passport and altering the signing on conditions for two days. This a very serious allegation relating to a large quantity of cocaine allegedly in his possession. He has a presumption of innocence. I am refusing the application on the basis of the seriousness of the alleged offence. The accused was remanded on continuing bail terms until September 7 at Cork District Court. As an ambassador of a country on the western fringe of Europe, Vincent Guerend says distance from the war in Ukraine does not protect France or any other Western European country, such as Ireland from threats in Eastern Europe or elsewhere in the world. I would say that now, in this globalised world with so much interdependencies, distance is no longer relevant," he said. "We've seen this there's now shortage on microchips, and they're produced in Taiwan or in China, and it has a direct effect on the availability of cars or materials using microchips in Western Europe. He pointed to the huge imbalances in commodity and food markets, creating major price rises on items such as sunflower oil, because of the war in Ukraine. We have all this massive influx of refugees coming from Ukraine, which is 3,000km away, coming as far as to Ireland," he said. So, distance is no longer either an obstacle or protection against threats. The French ambassador to Ireland said rogue states such as North Korea are developing rockets which could travel as far as 6,000km. I am not saying it will reach Ireland the next day, but I mean distance is shrinking massively. And so, the geographic location of Ireland is certainly no longer a protection. In an interview at his plush residence, he laid out the main threats that Europe, including Ireland, now faces. He said the actions of Russia in Ukraine posed a major threat to the EU as there are no limits to its breaches of international law. Thats an existential threat to the EU and certainly for some EU member states who are directly neighbouring Russia, but even beyond," he said. "This is something that was looming and is now a reality. Added to Russia are threats from China, climate change, migrant crises, cyber threats, as well as disinformation. These were outlined in detail in the latest security blueprint agreed by EU states last March in the Strategic Compass for Security and Defence. Greater co-operation It mapped out far greater co-operation between member states in defence and security strategy, major increases in defence spending and stronger EU military task forces. However, Mr Guerend stressed the document places no additional obligations on Ireland and that Irelands legal position on not joining an EU defence alliance remains unchanged. But the EU, and Ireland, are seeing how far the boundaries of cooperation can be explored, even pushed. This document doesnt corner member states in the EU that are neutral," the ambassador said. "It does, and agreed by all, oblige them to cooperate and raise their guard." He said France respects Irelands foreign policy and its neutrality. But it doesnt mean that this policy cannot evolve [or] this policy cannot or should not be adapted to a new environment, he said. Ireland's foreign policy has to be adapted to a new environment in which Russia or China may not respect neutrality, said the French ambassador. Picture: Emilio Morenatti/AP He said his understanding is that the policy has evolved between independence and today. We completely respect Irish neutrality, he said. At the same time, we consider that it has also to be adapted to the new environment and that it is for the Irish people and the Irish Government to see how this adaptation is to take place, at what pace, and with which objective and goal, but, like everything, it has adapt. Commenting on Irelands agreement with the British military to allow the RAF to operate over Irish airspace in the event of a hostile plane entering it, he said: It means that co-operation is always better than non-co-operation and neutrality doesnt mean you dont cooperate with neighbours. On the back of the recent Russian State TV simulation of a nuclear attack obliterating its target, Britain, and Ireland along with it, the ambassador was asked whether Russia, or China, respect neutrality in the way Ireland would hope and expect it would be? No. The answer is no, Mr Guerend said. He said this was true in the First World War and again in the Second World War, when the neutrality of some states was ignored by aggressors. It was not the case 100 years ago and it will certainly not be the case this time, he said. "Theres so many breaches of international law by Russia, that something like neutrality would not withstand one second if the intention is to harm a neutral country. Did that mean Ireland should follow other neutral or non-aligned countries, such as Finland and Sweden, and join Nato? We believe that thats really for each and every member state to decide based on a sovereign decision, like now Sweden and Finland are doing. Thats not at all for any of us and certainly not for France to decide or encourage or discourage. He said that, within the EU, the focus is on the Strategic Compass. What [the compass says] is that Europe member states should raise standards and raise their level of awareness and a level of capacity to defend [EU] values and interest, but it's for each and every country to decide which way is the best to achieve this," he said. Transatlantic cables On the threat to Europe posed by any interference with undersea transatlantic cables, many of which pass through or near Irish-controlled waters, Mr Guerend said there were countries and actors able to cut or damage, or indeed tap, the cables. Its critical for us on this side of the Atlantic and certainly on the other side of the Atlantic to make sure the integrity of these cables are maintained its absolutely crucial," he said. Burma Amid Tension with Local Armed Group, Myanmar Military Submarine Moves to Naval Base in Rakhine The submarine is seen in the Than Zit River in Kyaukphyu on May 31, 2022. / Tun Tun Naing A Myanmar military submarine arrived at a deep-sea port that is being built by Aung Pyae Sone, the son of junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, at Ohn Kyuein Island in Rakhine States Kyaukphyu Township on Tuesday morning, according to residents. Kyaukphyu residents said they saw the submarine in the Than Zit River in eastern Kyaukphyu, heading in the direction of Ohn Kyuein Island, at around 8 a.m. on Tuesday. I saw the submarine between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. on Tuesday. It was half-submerged and was escorted by a Navy vessel, a Kyaukphyu resident told The Irrawaddy. A company owned by Aung Pyae Sone in partnership with foreign companies is building a submarine port at the Danyawaddy Naval Base located between Kyaukphyu and Madae Island, said residents. Aung Pyae Sones company, a Kokang company and a Vietnamese company have been building the port since early 2021, shortly after the military coup, according to residents. Aung Pyae Sone arrived in Kyaukphyu by air on March 19. Heavily armed junta soldiers provided security in the township and along the coast that day. The regime has barred local vessels and fishing trawlers from trespassing into the port project area. The arrival of one of the regimes two submarines in Rakhine has attracted interest as military tensions are again running high between the regime and the Arakan Army after a more than one-year unofficial ceasefire, which took hold in November 2020. You may also like these stories: Regime Airstrike Destroys Hospital in Lower Myanmar Junta Chief to Preside Over Myanmars First Grand Military Review in Seven Years Resistance Fighters and KIA Clash With Junta Forces in Northern Myanmar Burma Clashes Expected in Chin State as Junta Deploys More Troops to Western Myanmar Military convoy passing through Pale Township. / People Revolution Army Myanmars military is deploying more troops to Chin State and neighboring Magwe Region by air and land, according to local resistance groups, raising fears of further clashes in western Myanmar, a stronghold of the anti-regime resistance movement. On Monday, a Myanmar Air Force plane carrying nearly 300 soldiers, as well as drones, landed at Kyaukhtu Airport on the border of Chin State and Magwe Region, said a member of the Chin Defense Force Mindat (CDF-Mindat). Kyaukhtu is a gateway to Mindat Township. The CDF-Mindat fighter warned civilians to prepare bomb shelters as soon as possible as junta forces are likely to attack with drones. He also alerted other resistance groups in Chins Mindat and Kanpetlet townships, as well as groups in Magwes Saw Township, to be ready for clashes with the regime reinforcements. On Friday, a convoy of nearly 120 military vehicles, including armored vehicles and fuel transporters, headed to Chin State via the Pale-Gangaw Highway from the militarys Northwestern Command Headquarters in Monywa in Sagaing Region, according to local resistance forces. The convoy was attacked with landmines on Sunday after it left Pale Township. The Black Peacock resistance group said their ambush damaged four vehicles. Junta troops responded with random artillery strikes and one Black Peacock fighter was killed. Despite the attack, the convoy continued to Gangaw in Magwe Region. The Yaw Defense Force said the convoy arrived at Kyaw, a small town in Gangaw Township, on Tuesday. Yaw Defense Force is active in Gangaw, Kyaw, Tilin and Saw townships, collectively known as Yaw Region, near the border with Chin State. The chief of Yaw Defense Force said: Around 120 vehicles is not a small force. If they enter our area, there will definitely be clashes. Military tensions are increasing in Chin State, said the CDF-Mindat spokesperson. It is true that the soldiers are travelling in large numbers. A group of another 100 soldiers also entered Chin State from Kyaukhtu on Wednesday. They [junta forces] have started an offensive, he said. During the second week of May, CDF-Mindat repeatedly ambushed a regime convoy comprising over 70 vehicles on the Matupi -Mindat Road, inflicting heavy casualties with landmines. Normally, it takes less than day to travel between Mindat and Matupi, but the ambushes ensured that the convoy took over ten days to make the journey. Clashes between resistance fighters and regime forces have been reported in Chin State since May 2021. Burma Key Myanmar Junta Witness Denies Paying Suu Kyi Bribe: Court Source Sae Paing Construction Co. owner Maung Weik. / The Irrawaddy Maung Weik, a leading businessman and the key witness in a corruption case against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, on Tuesday testified that an alleged bribe paid to her was really a donation to her charity, a court source told The Irrawaddy. Maung Weik said he donated cash to the Daw Khin Kyi Foundation. He said he made a donation, not a bribe, the source said. An officer from the juntas Anti-Corruption Commission filed a complaint against the detained state counselor in early May, alleging that the property developer had given her about US$550,000 in illegal payments between 2018 and 2020 to protect his businesses. The charge is based on Maung Weiks comments, made during a regime press conference in March last year. The owner of Sae Paing Construction Co. said he had given four payments, $100,00 in 2018, $150,000 in 2019 and $50,000 in February 2020 and $250,000 in April 2020. The regime opened a case under Article 55 of the Anti-Corruption Law, alleging that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi accepted the bribe from Maung Weik on the pretext that the money was intended for her charity. In the aftermath of the coup, the regime raided the Daw Khin Kyi Foundation offices and seized cash and equipment. Founded in 2012, the not-for-profit foundation provided free vocational training and carried out humanitarian work. It was financed by donors from around the world. The regime has also opened a corruption case against ousted Mandalay Region chief minister Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, who is being held in a Mandalay prison in connection with payments from Maung Weik. Maung Weik testified that he only contributed cash for Dr. Zaw Myint Maungs medical treatment. He is suffering from leukemia and was then receiving treatment in Bangkok. After the court hearing, Maung Weik bowed before Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, which was seen as evidence of his guilty conscience. Maung Weik was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2008 under the previous military regime for drug trafficking. He was released in 2014 under U Thein Seins quasi-civilian government. In late April, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was given five years in prison for accepting bribes from her Yangon Region chief minister U Phyo Min Thein, who testified in October last year that he gave her seven viss (around 11.4kg) of gold and $600,000 in 2017 and 2018. U Phyo Min Thein is the only senior National League for Democracy figure spared from prosecution and there is no evidence of gold or dollars. At the court hearing on Tuesday, the court also heard U Ye Htet from the Anti-Corruption Commission, who is the complainant in another corruption case against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, over the acquisition of land for her foundation in Naypyitaw. Burma Myanmar Junta Troops Fire on Rakhine Displacement Camps Maha Muni camp after the May 9 fire. / Kyaw Hla Myint / Facebook Amid growing tensions between Myanmars regime and the Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine State, junta troops in Kyauktaw Township fired mortar shells at two displacement camps on Monday evening, according to witnesses. Division 55, which is stationed at Maha Muni Pagoda, fired mortars and bullets at Maha Muni and Nyaung Chaung camps. We heard a mortar first, followed by continuous gunfire. They fired around 500 shots as if there was a battle. Some people fled into the village and others hid in the camp. They dared not sleep that night, a witness told The Irrawaddy. Maha Muni camp is near Maha Muni Pagoda by the Yangon-Sittwe road, sheltering more than 1,000 people. Some 200 homes were razed in a fire on May 9. Junta troops also fired on Nyaung Chaung camp near the pagoda where more than 3,000 people are sheltering, said a camp resident. Our camp is less than a mile to the north of the pagoda. Bullets flew over the camp. We dont know why they fired. Only they will know, he said. No injuries were reported. Junta troops recently reportedly checked if new arrivals were at the camps. Ko Zaw Win from a humanitarian group in Kyauktaw said: They fired hundreds of shots while there was no fighting. So it is reasonable to assume that they dont want the camps near them and want to frighten people away. Since the 2020 ceasefire, the United League of Arakan, the political wing of the AA, has expanded its parallel administration, including judiciary, revenue and public security offices. Regime troops have been searching villages for AA affiliates and telling villagers to stay clear of the armed group. The regime has also tightened security checks, including on the Yangon-Sittwe road, the states major supply route. It has restricted supplies of food and commodities to parts of Rakhine and Paletwa Township in Chin State, which borders Rakhine State. Paletwa saw two clashes between junta troops and the AA in May. The AA has warned about the possibility of fresh fighting in Rakhine, urging residents to stay clear of junta outposts and supply routes. Burma Myanmars NUG, Allied EAOs Urge ASEAN, UN Not to Work With Junta on Aid Karen people displaced by the junta's offensives wait on the bank of the Moei River to flee to Thailand in March 2021. / The Irrawaddy Myanmars parallel National Unity Government (NUG) and three allied organizations have objected to ASEANs decision to provide humanitarian aid to post-coup, conflict-torn Myanmar through the countrys military regime, reasoning that the junta will weaponize the aid and allow international whitewashing of the regimes ongoing atrocities against civilians. In a statement issued Monday, the NUGs Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management (MoHADM) along with the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), Karen National Union (KNU) and Chin National Front (CNF) called on the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to negotiate with ASEAN and Myanmars neighbors India and Thailand to allow cross-border aid to reach those in need. The request came before an expected visit by Noleen Heyzer, the UN Special Envoy for Myanmar, to the country, as delivery of aid to those in need in Myanmar is expected to be one of the issues she will focus on during her visit. The statement said the regional blocs aid would be used by the regime and, instead of being delivered to the most needy communitiesthe very ones it is attackingdelivered to military outposts in the agreed areas, which the military itself strategically selected. During an online meeting last month, regime leader Min Aung Hlaing told Hun Sen, the prime minister of Cambodia, which currently holds ASEANs rotating chair, that he was ready to facilitate aid distribution, initially in two pilot areas before expanding to five regions and states that have been identified as priority areas. The NUG and its allied organizations said the approach would cause real harm on the ground because the communities that most need humanitarian assistance were the ones being bombed by the regime and were excluded from the list. We welcome all assistance that will genuinely relieve the people at this time when they most need life-saving aid. Still, we must object to this initiative that will only embolden the SAC to further commit atrocity crimes, the statement said, referring the State Administration Council, the regimes governing organ. The regime has been launching airstrikes and artillery attacks in anti-regime strongholds in Sagaing and Magwe regions and Chin State in the countrys northwest as well as Kayah and Karen states in the south. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as of April 11, 346,000 of the 566,100 people internally displaced since the military takeover were from Chin State and Sagaing and Magwe regions. Amnesty International said the regimes air strikes in Karen and Kayah states killed nine civilians and wounded at least nine others from December to March this year. The armed wings of the NUG, KNPP, KNU and CNF are actively fighting the regime in the five states and regions. The NUG and its allied organizations said they were troubled by the inclusion of the junta-controlled Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) in the plan to deliver aid, while the ICRC is excluded. ASEAN and the UN cannot claim to comply with humanitarian principles if they work through organizations such as the MRCS and SAC in this manner, it said. They also warned ASEAN that it was wrong to focus solely on humanitarian aid for Myanmar, saying it should be viewed in context as one of the points in the blocs peace plan for Myanmar, known as the Five-Point Consensus. It would irretrievably undermine the entire Consensus through a process that emboldens the party committing ongoing atrocity crimes and undermines the first two points of constructive dialogue among all parties concerned and the immediate cessation of violence, they said. Regime leader Min Aung Hlaing agreed to the consensus in April last year but has so far failed to honor most of his commitments. Since the coup, his soldiers have killed more than 1,800 people for their anti-regime activism. Padoh Saw Taw Nee, the head of the KNUs Foreign Affairs Department, told The Irrawaddy an emergency humanitarian dialogue should be established between the resistance forces, the SAC and the neighboring countries who had to receive the internally displaced people (IDPs). A nonpolitical emergency humanitarian dialogue should be set up. There is daily fighting in my region and over 400 clashes every month. Without a humanitarian ceasefire, it cannot work, Padoh Saw Taw Nee said. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Junta Expands its Intelligence Operation Military Junta Administrators Quit After Armed Groups Death Threats Cambodia Forced to Put Off ASEAN Meeting as Foreign Ministers Pull Out Burma Thirty Myanmar Junta Troops Reportedly Killed in Sagaing PDF fighters during a clash with regime soldiers in Yinmabin Township, Sagaing Region in May. / DBTF Around 30 Myanmar junta soldiers were reportedly killed on Tuesday in fierce fighting with a combined group of Peoples Defense Forces (PDF) in Kani Township, Sagaing Region. Civilian resistance fighters from seven PDFs in Kani and Yinmabin townships ambushed a detachment of 86 regime troops on Tuesday morning near a village around four kilometers east of Kani Town. The detachment was traveling along the banks of the Chindwin River as part of a force protecting military regime ships transporting jade south from Kachin State. During the seven-hour firefight 30 junta soldiers including a captain were killed and many others were injured, claimed Kyauklonegyi PDF, who coordinated the ambush. The Irrawaddy was unable to confirm junta casualties independently. Kyauklonegyi PDF said four resistance fighters were injured in a regime drone bombing attack. The spokesperson for Kyauklonegyi PDF told The Irrawaddy that they witnessed many injured and dead soldiers being taken to a nearby village during the firefight. However, the PDF force was unable to seize the weapons and equipment left behind by the retreating soldiers due to an attack by a Myanmar military MI 35 helicopter gunship. Junta reinforcements subsequently detained seven displaced villagers and used them as human shields while occupying the nearby village, forcing the PDFs to retreat. We also canceled our plans for mine attacks against the junta reinforcements after they detained civilians and used them as human shields, said the Kyauklonegyi PDF spokesperson. Kani Township is a stronghold of armed resistance against the regime, with attacks targeting junta forces taking place from 2 April 2021. Currently, the regime is facing daily attacks nationwide from PDFs and ethnic armed organizations. Australia has a new Federal Minister for Communications in Michelle Rowland, the ALP member for Greenway in Sydney's northwest. Rowland has held the seat since 2010 and while she has never held a Federal ministry position previously, she comes to the role with prior experience as Shadow Minister for Communications, and with pre-political experience as a senior telecommunications lawyer with the law firm Gilbert + Tobin. Rowland has also served as a local councillor and deputy Mayor of Blacktown, and a Director of the Western Sydney Area Health Service. Rowland was sworn into the job on Wednesday morning before attending the first full Albanese ministry meeting on Wednesday afternoon. Rowland now has the task of implementing the Labor party's NBN commitments which include upgrades to see 90% of Australians in the fixed-line footprint able to order gigabit speeds by 2025. IT services provider Canary Technology Solutions has appointed Jarrod Bloomfield to lead its new Melbourne office, while also expanding its presence in other states and territories. "We are pleased to welcome Jarrod onboard to lead our expansion into the key Melbourne market. Jarrod's calibre as an entrepreneur and client engagement specialist, combined with his knowledge of the Melbourne market and proven ability to grow a managed services business makes him an ideal fit for Canary, which has aggressive growth and expansion ambitions of its own," said Canary Technology Solutions CEO Steve Parsonage. Bloomfield joins the company from Cube Networks where he served as director of client engagement. He previously worked as an enterprise account executive at Aruba, state manager at Cirrus Networks, and in various sales roles at Southern Cross Computer Systems, as well as co-founding NGage Technology Group, which was acquired by Cirrus Networks. Bloomfield is also founder and CEO of The Closing Club. "I am excited by the opportunity to join Canary and play a key role in driving its growth strategy and objectives in Melbourne. The company has strong foundations, and its commitment to creating long-lasting relationships with customers on their digital journeys is a foundation we can build upon and turn Canary into the next Australian IT services success story," said Bloomfield. In related news, Canary has hired Erin Fitzpatrick as its new chief marketing officer as well as two new consultants in Perth, opened a Brisbane office, and moved into state-of-the-art offices in Sydney. As most employees return to work after lockdown, the conflict about the offices role between business leaders and employees is generating tension in what an RMIT Online report calls The Office Clash. The Office Clash: How back to work policies are dividing management and workers reveals company's management and employees have different views on how work should be done and the future of the office. The study shows that most workers (89%) say organisations want employees back in the office as much as possible, while 91% of non-managers believe employees wish for much more flexibility. It also identifies that almost half (44%) of those interviewed went back to the office full time, although 71% of these workers would prefer to spend at least one day at home and 56% two days or more. "This survey reveals significant frictions between the top leadership and employees who don't have managerial responsibilities. There is a clear disagreement about hybrid work, the flexibility companies are willing to implement, and what workers want, comments RMIT Online interim CEO Claire Hopkins. Age, commuting length, and current working model are factors that may cause tension between companies and employees, the survey suggests. But the most significant differences are influenced by the position in the company. Only 21% of those interviewed believe management and teams agree on the best working model. Managers and non-managers have different views about productivity, why people want a hybrid model, and companies want them in the office. Most managers (58%) agree workers can be equally productive at home or in the office, but one in four (24%) say workers are more effective in the company. Only 12% of employees believe this to be true. Although managers and non-managers agree that spending time with families is the main reason for hybrid work, there is an almost 20 percentage points difference between the two groups. While 53% of managers think family time is the main reason for working at home, 70% of non-managers say this is the biggest motivation. The survey warns this clash is severe for businesses. A large majority of workers (93%) state that flexibility is essential when deciding to accept a new job or stay in their current role. Companies that are not understanding how vital flexibility has become are losing staff. Approximately one in three managers have lost or risk losing team members over their flexibility policies. Businesses with rigid working models concentrated 75% of these losses. Almost a third of employees (27%) think companies don't know why the office is essential. Employees believe that going back to the office is a physical representation of their success. Almost half of those surveyed (46%) believe the hybrid model will continue to be a central part of work for the foreseeable future and close to one-third (31%) believe the office will be fragmented or decentralised and moved closer to where people live. Other report findings include: Over half (51%) of organisations have a hybrid working model. Two-thirds of these organisations offer employees some level of flexibility to choose the days they are in the office. For 74%, the ideal hybrid model allows them to control the level of flexibility they want. Only 5% of the companies work entirely remotely. Saving money is the second most important reason for hybrid work, according to 60% of employees. Close to half of the respondents (47%) said companies need to identify the reasons for going back to the office and be transparent about it. The same number agrees that businesses must listen more to employees and allow individual solutions. Four out of ten managers (41%) believe that it is essential for teams to be in the office to build a strong culture and have quicker communication. Around a third of managers believe team performance is better in the office, and physical presence allows them to visualise the work and the team's abilities better. The majority (57%) also say management like the office because it is easier to control what employers are doing. After a period of profound disruption, its only natural companies are still trying to figure out what to do. While it may feel that our lives are returning to normal, this seismic shift in ways of working means we all have to create a new normal. And employees will vote with their feet if theyre not given the opportunity to co-design this with their employer. The challenge for leaders is understanding what activities deliver better quality when done in person versus those that are best done remotely or asynchronously. Before the pandemic, it was assumed offices increased collaboration, helped sustain the company's culture and were a place where junior staff learned from experienced colleagues just by observing them, comments Hopkins. Its now time to stop and think about the role of the office. The only thing we can be certain about is that this will continue to evolve and the companies that take a test-and-learn approach with their team will win in terms of attracting and retaining great people. This Week in Review A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more. Buffalo mass shooting exposes systemic, generational racism in society: U.S. media Xinhua) 14:40, June 01, 2022 NEW YORK, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The horrific mass shooting that happened just two weeks ago in Buffalo, New York State, has awakened locals to the harsh reality that racism has never been new to the city, local media reported recently. Though Buffalo leaders took pains to point out the suspected gunman came from hundreds of miles away to carry out the attack, pretending that the horrendous attack was something new, locals know clearly that racism is something that has been going on for their entire lifetime, local newspaper The Buffalo News said in an online article published Monday. Last month, a heavily armed 18-year-old white man shot and killed 10 people and injured three others at a local supermarket, 11 of them African Americans, according to local enforcement officials. Behind this hate crime lie decades of racist policies, incidents and "sometimes outright violence that, according to some in the African American community, have marked life for some Blacks here," the article said. "State and federal authorities say dozens of hate crimes have been reported in this area in recent years, though researchers caution that such incidents are widely underreported," it added. As Buffalo seeks to heal from this heart-wrenching wound, "the city must reckon with its own legacy of racism," it warned. "This is a systemic and generational problem that we have in Western New York," the article quoted India Walton, a community activist and former Buffalo mayoral candidate, as saying. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) Energy experts say the European Unions decision to ban nearly all oil from Russia to punish the country for its invasion of Ukraine may be blunted by rising energy prices and other countries willing to buy some of the excess petroleum The blame for an excruciating delay in killing the gunman at a Texas elementary school even as parents outside begged police to rush in and panicked children called 911 from inside has been placed with the school districts homegrown police chief FILE - In this May 23, 2011, file photo a launch truck fires the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) produced by Lockheed Martin during combat training in the high desert of the Yakima Training Center, Wash. The Biden administration is expected to announce it will send Ukraine a small number of high-tech, medium range rocket systems, U.S. officials said Tuesday. One official said the plan is to send Ukraine the HIMARS. Staff Writer Jonathan Roberts is a reporter and photographer for the Johnson City Press covering Health Care, Johnson City and Jonesborough. He is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and has been with the Press since 2019. Johnson City, TN (37604) Today Cloudy skies early with scattered thunderstorms developing late. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Cloudy skies early with scattered thunderstorms developing late. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. The Kremlin said Wednesday it doesnt have information on the death of a French journalist in Ukraine Russia, reportedly killed during a bombardment by Russian forces. To draw conclusions, you need detailed information about where it took place, under what circumstances, what is the truth, what is not. We dont have such information, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff was killed Monday during a Russian bombardment that struck a vehicle evacuating civilians from eastern Ukraine, according to French and Ukrainian officials. French President Emmanuel Macron said Leclerc-Imhoff had been onboard a humanitarian bus with civilians fleeing Russian bombings when he was fatally wounded. Peskovs comment was the first by a Russian official since Leclerc-Imhoff, who was working for the French BFMTV channel, was killed by shrapnel. Frances anti-terrorist prosecutor has opened a war crimes inquiry into his death. Hungary was holding up Wednesday the approval of a new round of EU sanctions on Russia, including a ban on most oil imports, over opposition to blacklisting the Russian patriarch, diplomats said. EU leaders on Monday thrashed out an agreement to halt the majority of Russian oil deliveries by exempting supplies that arrive via pipeline, after weeks of stubborn resistance by Budapest. Ambassadors from the 27-nation bloc met Wednesday to hammer out the legal details of the move and the rest of the package of sanctions, the sixth wave to target Moscow over the war in Ukraine. European diplomats said Hungary was refusing to give the green light as it rejected putting the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill on the assets freeze and visa ban blacklist. Kirill, 75, is a fervent support of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has backed his military campaign in Ukraine. Most EU governments support adding his name to the sanctions list. Ambassadors were set to hold a fresh round of talks later Wednesday to try to hammer out the differences, diplomats said. EU officials say the sanctions being drawn up will see some 90 percent of Russian oil exports to the EU halted by the end of the year as the bloc tries to halt funds flowing to Moscows coffers. Hungarys leader Viktor Orban, which is reliant on Russian oil, won a carve-out for pipeline deliveries after arguing a ban would devastate his countrys economy. The text under consideration also includes disconnecting Russias largest bank Sberbank from the global SWIFT payment system and a ban on insurance for shipping Russian oil to third countries. The other proposed additions to the blacklist also include Putins alleged girlfriend, former gymnast Alina Kabaeva, and military personnel suspected of war crimes in the Ukrainian. The weeks-long hold-up over the sixth package of sanctions has rocked EU unity over the Kremlins war in Ukraine after the bloc slapped five waves of unprecedented economic punishment on Moscow. del/dc/har SBERBANK Police have revealed the blood alcohol content test results of Kim Sae Ron following the DUI (drunk driving under the influence) incident. The actress was caught drunk driving on May 18 after Seoul Gangnam Police Station received calls regarding an accident. The incident caused major traffic and inconvenience after the SUV hit a street tree and an electrical transformer box. At the time, the "The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim" star requested to have her blood test taken to check her alcohol concentration. Authorities released the results two weeks after Kim Sae Ron's car accident. Kim Sae Ron's Blood Test Shows High Level of Alcohol Concentration IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Kim Sae Ron's Agency Responds Following Investigation for DUI As obtained by a media outlet, TV Chosun reports that Gangnam Police Station in Seoul was notified by the National Institute of Forensic Sciences regarding the actress' blood test result, which contains a high alcohol level. Based on the result, it was so high that Kim Sae Ron's driver's license would be revoked. Due to this, authorities will be conducting further investigations into Kim Sae Ron's DUI incident. Kim Sae Ron Pays Hefty Amount to Replace Damages Due to the Accident Following the incident, the 21-year-old star took the responsibility and paid to replace the electric transformer box. As reported, replacing the public property caused the celebrity a whopping 20 million KRW or about USD 15,817. The news was confirmed by a representative of Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco), noting that the actress was the first to reach out to reimburse the damage. At the time, the vicinity had a power outage for 4 hours before Kepco replaced the electric transformer box, causing major inconvenience to the neighborhood. What's Next for Kim Sae Ron? Kim Sae Ron took to social media and apologized following the incident. On May 19, the actress shared on her Instagram a handwritten letter expressing her deep regret. She acknowledged her faults, calling it a "big mistake in a drunken state at the time." In addition, she also pointed out that her "wrong judgment and behavior have caused an inconvenience to so many people, including merchants in nearby shops, citizens, and those who work to restore [the damage]." Due to this, she "feels so ashamed and disappointed" in herself because of the mistake that she made. Moreover, Kim Sae Ron promised to "deeply reflect and reflect again to ensure that something like this never happens again" and will do her best "to communicate and resolve this until the end actively." Unfortunately, the DUI charges affected Kim Sae Ron's career. She stepped down from her upcoming dramas. The SBS' mystery drama "Trolley" with Kim Hyun Joo and Park Hee Soon, as well as Netflix's "Bloodhounds," also known as "Hunting Dogs" with Woo Do Hwan. KDramastars owns this article Written by Geca Wills Kim Sae Ron's agency released a statement following the result of blood alcohol level test amid the actress' DUI (driving under the influence) incident. Two weeks after the car accident, the authorities confirmed that the "The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim" star was intoxicated at the time that she was driving her SUV. Here's What the Agency Had to Say on Kim Sae Ron's Possible Driver's License Revocation According to a local outlet, Gold Medalist, the label that manages the actress, again expressed an apology due to the inconvenience brought by accident. Kim Sae Ron's agency tells Dong-a.com, "First of all, we apologize for causing concern with an unfortunate incident related to Kim Sae Ron." As for the blood test, Kim Sae Ron's agency shared that they have not yet received the result but noted that they would fully cooperate with the investigation. "We have not received it from the police. We will faithfully receive the investigation schedule based on the test results," the agency said. Based on the test, her result showed that her blood alcohol concentration was more than 0.08 percent which means that Kim Sae Ron's driver's license is subject to revocation. As obtained by a media outlet, TV Chosun reports that the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul has been notified regarding the result from the National Institute of Forensic Sciences. It says that the alcohol level found in her blood was high enough for her license to be revoked. In addition, the authorities will have further investigation relating to her case. The 21-year-old star was accused of DUI after ramming her SUV on public property in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on May 18. The incident caused major inconvenience after Kim Sae Ron's car hit a street tree and electrical transformer box, affecting the power supply around the area. Reports also state that the actress tried to flee from the scene but was only caught by the authorities. The former child star refused a breathalyzer calibration test during the initial investigation and requested a blood test instead. Kim Sae Ron Drops Out from SBS' 'Trolley' and Netflix' Bloodhounds' At the height of the controversy, Kim Sae Ron withdrew from her two upcoming K-dramas. The 21-year-old actress dropped out from the mystery melodrama "Trolley," which stars Kim Hyun Joo, Park Hee Joon, and more. In addition, Kim Sae Ron will no longer appear in Netflix's "Bloodhounds," also known as "Hunting Dogs." The upcoming K-drama is Woo Do Hwan's comeback series after his military discharge. Aside from the "Save Me" actor, Kim Sae Ron is supposed to headline the series together with Lee Sang Yi, Park Sung Woong, and "Escape from Mogadishu" star Heo Joon Ho. Kim Sae Ron Pens Handwritten Apology The actress also expressed deep regret due to the incident. A handwritten apology letter was posted on Kim Sae Ron's Instagram, saying that she "made a big mistake in a drunken state at the time." The actress also "sincerely apologizes" for causing inconvenience not only to the neighborhood but also to the team behind her upcoming projects. Song Kang Ho revealed his initial reaction after being hailed as the Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival 2022. The veteran actor made history as the first male Korean actor to ever win at Cannes. To recall, Jeon Do Yeon also bagged the Best Actress award for her 2007 film "Secret Sunshine." The 55-year-old actor took home the award for his stellar performance in "Broker," directed by Japanese filmmaker Koreeda Hirokazu. At the ceremony, Song Kang Ho was joined by the director and co-stars IU, Kang Dong Won, and Lee Joo Young. Bae Doona was also among the lead stars but failed to join the team due to schedule conflict. During their arrival in South Korea, the "Broker" team held a press conference at the CGV Yongsan to celebrate major achievements. Song Kang Ho Says He Experienced 'Bizarre Feeling' After Winning the Best Actor Award As noted by Korea Herald, Song Kang Ho recalled when his name was called for the Best Actor category. He said he felt "happy" and felt like he was in a "state of dreaming." In addition, he gets honest and reveals that he slightly "panicked" as soon as his name got called. "It is hard to recall the exact moment when my name was announced. I think I panicked and had a bizarre feeling and also was very happy," he said. The veteran actor also shared that he had mixed emotions the night before the awarding ceremony. He revealed feeling "really nervous," considering that 7 out of 21 films competing at the festival get to take home awards. Song Kang Ho Received Congratulatory Message from 'Parasite' Director During the press conference, the 55-year-old star said that he received a message from Bong Joon Ho, who is in London, and from director Kim Ji Hoon in Korea. He shared they streamed the ceremony on YouTube. Song Kang Ho revealed he got a lot of praises and congratulatory messages from them. Interestingly, it was the first text he received after winning Cannes Film Festival 2022 Best Actor. "Broker" was invited to compete at the festival's coveted Palme D'or category alongside fellow South Korean movie "Decision to Leave" by director Park Chan Wook who won the Best Director award at the 75th Cannes Film Festival. Following the movie's debut, the Koreeda Hirokazu film received a 12-minute long-standing ovation from the crowd. There's no doubt why the film bagged a major award at the festival. While "Broker" successfully premiered at Cannes, Song Kang Ho and IU's new movie will be released in theaters on June 8. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 'Broker' Cast Returns to Korea After Glorious Experience at Cannes Film Festival 2022 KDramastars owns this article Written by Geca Wills Former April member and actress Lee Na Eun is rumored to make her acting comeback. The celebrity is also in talks to join a new label. Keep on reading to know more. Will Lee Na Eun Finally Return To Acting? On May 31, Lee Na Eun's name once again appeared on various media outlets and online communities after Namoo Actors CEO Kim Jong Do followed the idol-actress on Instagram. Due to this, people are speculating she will make her acting comeback, and that she is to sign with the agency Namoo Actors. K-drama stars who are signed under Namoo Actors are Lee Joon Gi, Kim Jae Kyung, Song Kang, Park Eun Bin, SNSD's Seohyun, and more. According to the report, the female star previously contacted the agency after her group April disbanded. Meanwhile, during that time, a representative from Namoo Actors confirmed that they had a meeting with Lee Na Eun, but nothing has been decided yet regarding the exclusive contract. Namoo Actors CEO Follows Lee Na Eun on Instagram CEO Kim Jong Do is only following 78 people on SNS and one of them is Na Eun, which intrigues many. The 23-year-old artist has more than 1.7 million followers on Instagram and had her latest post on February 26, 2021. It's been almost a year since she made screen appearances. She made her debut as a member of the K-Pop girl group APRIL in 2015. Lee Na Eun then explored acting and starred in her first-ever web series "A-TEEN" and in the hit MBC drama "Extraordinary You." However, she halted all her activities after she was caught up in bullying allegations in 2021. Lee Na Eun's School Violence Allegations Are Fabricated In January of this year, DSP Media (APRIL's former agency) told the media that the actress accepted the apology letter sent by the accuser. The accuser apologized and stated that the school violence allegations were just fabricated. Furthermore, even though there is no confirmed statement yet whether Lee Na Eun will sign an exclusive contract with Namoo, fans are already looking forward for her return. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 Most Controversial Korean Celebrities in the First Half of 2022: Seo Ye Ji, Kim Sae Ron, More What are your thoughts about Lee Naeun's possible return to the acting field? Tell us in the comments! For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, follow and subscribe to KDramastars. KDramastars owns this article. Shai Collins wrote this. A dog that was shot east of Kelowna has required extensive surgery. The SPCA is appealing for donations to help pay for her recovery. Federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health Carolyn Bennett, back left, speaks as B.C. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson listens during a news conference after British Columbia was granted an exemption to decriminalize possession of some illegal drugs for personal use, in Vancouver, on Tuesday, May 31, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck The Kenosha man who posed as a teenager online to convince a 16-year-old Illinois girl to send him explicit photos was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday. Howard Hickey, 58, a former committee chairman for a Kenosha Boy Scout troop, pleaded guilty earlier this year on felony charges of possession of child pornography and stalking in Kenosha County Circuit Court. On Tuesday, Judge Rossell sentenced Hickey to four years in state prison for the child pornography charge and one year for the stalking charge. Hickey will also be added the the sex offender registry. According to the criminal complaint, the investigation that led to Hickey began in September 2019 when the now 21-year-old woman went to the Lake County Sheriffs Department with a revenge porn complaint. The woman told detective that a person she had met online in fall 2016 when she was 16 was harassing her online. She believed at that time that the person sending the messages was named Ryan, who was her age. She told the officers that she had met Ryan, who said he was 16 through the messaging app Kik, and that they communicated through the app and Snapchat. She also told police that she spoke to Ryan nearly every day for several months. He told her he was from Kenosha, but made excuses when she tried to arrange meeting him in person. In late 2016, according to the report, she shared sexually explicit photos and video with Ryan. By August 2017, she said she became alarmed by Ryans behavior, suspected that he might be an older person, and stopped responding to his messages. After she cut off communication, she started getting threatening text messages to her phone from random numbers that included her photos, and threats to send the photos to other people. According to the criminal complaint, between Sept. 13, 2019, and Sept. 27, 2019, the woman received 140 text messages from unknown phone numbers that were derogatory or included her nude photos with threats they would be distributed to her family and others, all of which she believed were from Ryan. A month later, the woman returned to police. She was continuing to get threatening messages from a total of 11 phone numbers, including one threatening her with consequences for ignoring him. The woman then began receiving messages from people referencing a website used for prostitution ads. The woman turned her phone over to the Lake County detectives, who monitored the activity and were able to check the phone against ads on prostitution sites. According to the complaint, they discovered that between Dec. 14, 2019, and Jan. 6, 2020, 158 ads were posted to a single prostitution site with the womans phone number. Another 60 ads were posted between Jan. 15 and Jan 25, 2020. The ads included the sexually explicit photos and video the woman shared when she was 16 years old. According to the complaint, the womans phone while it was in possession of police received 200 phone calls, 1,400 text messages and 50 voicemails from people responding to the prostitution ads over an 18-day period. Investigators traced the IP addresses for the advertisements to Hickey. Kenosha Police served a warrant on Hickeys home at 7 a.m. July 2. According to the complaint, when police were in his home Hickey is alleged to have grabbed an iPad from an investigators hand and smashed it against the banister of the stairwell. According to the complaint, in an interview with a detective, Hickey admitted to being the person who was pretending to be 16 years of age and communicating (with the girl) in late 2016. He also admitted to placing the prostitution ads using edited photos of the girl taken when she was 16 years old, saying he had the photos on his iPad. Hickey had been free on a $20,000 bond for the last two years. Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley said this case shows how dangerous the internet can be. Clearly, a phenomenon thats going on right now that the criminal justice system is concerned about is any kind of revenge porn. That was a part of the case and thats the context of the stalking in this case, Graveley said. The victim in this case was an individual who was convinced that she was communication with a teenager and instead it was an adult in his early 50s who prayed upon her first for pictures and then was engaged in revenge porn as the last part of this outcome. Graveley said the cautionary tale here is that parents and young people themselves just need to be quite cautious and be absolutely sure of who you are speaking to before you do anything personal. 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. Wisconsins Republican Party held its annual convention in Middleton last month putting forth its platform with nearly four dozen proposals. The party rejected calls to rescind the states Electoral College votes cast for President Joe Biden in the 2020 election although it got support from 40% of the delegates. And it turned down a resolution to remove Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, from his post, with 36% of delegates advocating his ouster. Some of the resolutions that passed reflect the lingering discontent over the presidential election and voting procedures in the state including one to require every ballot in the state to be cast on paper and hand counted on Election Day. Thats a bad idea for several million reasons. Republicans are pushing the effort for hand counting ballots in at least six states pushing that narrative that voting machines are easily hacked and cant be trusted. But, far from bolstering the integrity of the vote, this notion would increase the probability of error in vote counting and cast suspicion on the vote itself by delaying the reporting of the vote count most likely for days. Consider that in the 2020 presidential election, Wisconsin voters cast 1,630,866 votes for President Biden and 1,610, 184 for ex-president Donald Trump. Together with minor party candidates the number of votes cast for president in Wisconsin was 3,297,352. Just how many days would it take to hand count those ballots? For a clue we can look to another hotly contested state Georgia which Trump narrowly lost. Georgia ordered an audit, which turned into a hand recount audit of nearly every one of its 5 million ballots. That took five days and affirmed Trumps loss. In one county, Cobb County, Georgia, that effort took hundreds of people to do the hand count over the five days. And that was just the presidential contest. Cobb County elections director Janine Eveler estimated it would have taken 100 days to count every race on each ballot using the same procedures. In New Hampshire, where a similar hand-count measure was proposed in the legislature, one of the opponents was a town clerk representing the New Hampshire City and Town Clerks Association. Joan Dargie testified that her town, Milford, would have to increase its number of election workers from 200 to 350 and that many of her fellow clerks said they will quit if they have to tabulate every ballot by hand, according to an Associated Press report. People who are asking to get rid of machines obviously havent worked in an election, she said. Counting by machine isnt just faster, its more accurate. Charles Stewart, professor of political science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology put it this way: Counting votes is very tedious. Human beings are bad doing tedious things, and computers are very good at doing tedious things. Stewart says the first research comparing recounts of New Hampshire votes comparing hand counts to machine counts two decades ago and in every study since machines won. The error rate for hand counts is as much as 2% higher, according to other news reports. Less accurate, more costly and less timely. Thats what this GOP proposal for hand counting ballots would give our elections. Thats hardly a plank worth standing on and we hope Republicans in the state Assembly and Senate give it the back of their hand if such legislation comes before them. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 6 Shares Share I am truly disheartened and frustrated that politics are criminalizing evidence-based medical care for transgender youth. At least seven states proposed anti-trans bills in the first week of 2022, and due to political pressure, some hospitals are closing their doors to new patients. I worry about not being able to see my patients and about their treatment being disrupted. Transgender youth could lose access to the care they need because their health is up for political debate. Due to restrictions in some states, transgender youth may need to travel long distances to receive care. This is not a feasible option for everyone. Last summer, I was surprised to meet a mother and her child who traveled from Florida to New York to seek help and counseling. Almost 2 percent of high school students identify as transgender, and these numbers are rising. These students experience bullying and feel unsafe at school, and 35 percent attempt suicide. Anti-transgender legislation legitimizes violence against transgender people. Suicide is a result of living in a transphobic society. When transgender teens are denied care, their rates of suicide are much higher. Research shows having access to gender-affirming care and hormone therapy could reduce the risk of suicidal thoughts in transgender youth. The government, public and, unfortunately, some health care professionals have misconceptions about gender-affirming care. They question whether the mental health evaluations are sufficient and if puberty-delaying medications are safe. There are also misconceptions that surgery is the first line of therapy for transgender children. We prescribe puberty-delaying medication to give our patients time to explore their gender identity and avoid the distress of going through puberty in the wrong gender. Prescribing puberty-delaying medications is the most conservative approach to managing gender dysphoria in transgender youth. These medications are reversible and are only recommended if the patient meets the diagnostic and treatment criteria of the Endocrine Society Clinical Practice guidelines. Puberty-delaying medications have been used for decades to treat children with early-onset puberty. These medications safety is only being questioned now that they are being used as part of gender-affirming treatment for teens with gender dysphoria. When transgender children and adolescents do not have access to regulated gender-affirming care, they will seek unregulated gender-affirming care. This has actually come up in my practice when adolescents were cut off from their medical providers. When people do not have safe access to care, they will be forced to make unsafe choices. Gender-affirming care improves the mental health and wellbeing of transgender youth, however, politicians continue to propose policies that block access to care and disregard widely accepted medical evidence and Clinical Practice Guidelines. The Endocrine Societys guideline and position statement reflect the consensus of more than 18,000 endocrinologists worldwide and a thorough review of the scientific evidence behind transgender health. We are in alignment with major international medical and scientific organizations such as the American Medical Association, the Pediatric Endocrine Society, the American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics on gender-affirming care. Many other organizations have strongly opposed discriminatory policies against transgender youth, including the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, the American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology, the American Osteopathic Association, and GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality. Politicians are ignoring the medical evidence and keeping physicians from providing the best care possible to our transgender patients. I feel uneasy about the future of my patients care and saddened that they face several obstacles and discrimination from the political system. We need to stand together to fight efforts that block gender-affirming care for trans youth. The Endocrine Society has developed resources to advocate for transgender policy changes in your state. Siham Accacha is a pediatric endocrinologist. Image credit: Shutterstock.com 23 Shares Share In 2021, among the 37 individuals named to Forbes 30 Under 30 list for health care, 24 were identified as co-founder or founder (64%), while only ten individuals were MDs or MD Candidates (27%), and only 4 were both MDs and Co-founder/founders (11%). These metrics demonstrate that of people under the age of 30, the majority of those who were most recognized were not medical students, residents, or physicians, but rather non-physicians using multidisciplinary entrepreneurial skills to launch to-scale businesses that make palpable impacts on the health care sector. Physicians are tasked with thinking about the social, political, and financial framework within which their patients and hospitals exist. Often, physicians go further and want to address issues that they see locally, nationally, and globally. They are entrusted to find solutions to questions and problems that go beyond what science or medicine can offer. They leverage resources, consider organizational expansions, and even start entire organizations looking to address dire needs in communities. Additionally, within the first few years of training, resident physicians are often tasked with leading teams of care personnel and junior residents, often with no formal training on how to take on this role. Clearly, physicians already engage with and demonstrate both management and entrepreneurial skill sets. Yet, according to Harvard Business Review, when senior physicians are promoted to management positions, they often have received little to no training on how to allocate short- and long-term resources, how to provide developmental feedback, or how to effectively handle conflict, each of which is vital for the effective operation of a health care facility. Management skills and entrepreneurial training are clearly both a natural and necessary supplement to physicians skills to be successful in the current medical industry and should therefore be incorporated into the medical curriculum. As the American Academy of Family Physicians notes, physicians and entrepreneurs share a central tenet of their being: problem-solving. Physicians already are trained in key entrepreneurial traits, such as the capacity to learn, the confidence to operate with uncertainty, and domain expertise in an area of health care. The medical expertise physicians have them in a unique place to move forward health care innovation, but to be able to do this successfully, they need to have a business and entrepreneurial background. A formalized entrepreneurial and management curriculum would empower physicians to solve tensions in their communities and spheres of influence by improving skills such as creative problem-solving, risk-taking, and technical and business literacy. Physicians would learn how to take novel ideas and innovations and transform them into commercial and scalable solutions. This training would allow physicians to begin their own initiatives or take on positions that allow them to find authority in spaces outside of the clinic, which would allow physicians to have more control over their career and feel empowered to improve the systems that they are a part of. This is increasingly relevant given physician rates of burnout are at an all-time high and that many are leaving the field of health care altogether. Empowering physicians with independence and control in their career choices through leadership training could potentially offset burnout while allowing highly gifted, passionate, and experienced health care professionals to stay in health care spaces. Management and entrepreneurship frameworks would allow physicians to consider ways to contribute to the health care sector without being on the front lines of providing clinical care. This could also serve to combat rates of burnout and retain experienced physicians within medical spaces. Building an entrepreneurial framework through formal coursework benefits medical students themselves and health care systems they aspire to serve. Health care systems with business-savvy physicians could provide more effective, value-based health care, leading to better patient outcomes. Given the rise of technology, electronic health record systems, new innovations, and rising pressure to provide high-quality health care at the lowest financial cost, the leadership of physicians and their ability to communicate and run teams are more important now than ever. This becomes even more critical when we consider that one in four Americans has multiple chronic conditions, which can often require physicians to be on large, integrative teams to manage care. Management skills would provide physicians with a more multidisciplinary business framework to consider all these moving pieces, which would lead to smoother operational flow and a more streamlined approach to patient outcomes. Some may argue that there is no time to teach these skills in medical school and residency or that they should not be a priority. Yet, medical students and residents are already engaging in tasks that build and require leadership behaviors. By formalizing this aspect of their education, aspiring physicians set themselves up for improved self-awareness of their leadership capacity and critical thinking skills to address the novel issues they confront in clinical practice every day. This also sets up physicians to consider larger scale-solutions to many of the tensions that they witness in the health care space today. Teaching medical students entrepreneurial and business skills is invaluable as the need for leadership in medicine grows in every single sector. Many physicians already engage in managerial and entrepreneurial-like practices without labeling these skills. By formalizing these skills into medical education, physicians will be able to take their ambitions and ideas about how to best run existing health care institutions and translate them into innovations for the future of the field. Sofia Yunez is a medical student. Image credit: Shutterstock.com The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD, and the Minister of State with responsibility for Postal Matters, Hildegarde Naughton TD, today announced a funding package of 30 million over a three-year fixed period to support a sustainable, nationwide post office network. Welcoming the announcement, Minister Malcolm Noonan said: The post office is at the heart of Irish society, providing vital services to rural and urban communities. Its so important that we invest in it. Im delighted that todays announcement of 10m a year from 2023 to 2025 will ensure that An Post remains accessible and sustainable, now and into the future. Deputy John Paul Phelan said: This funding announcement marks the first time in the history of Government where we are providing direct financial support to post masters. It will give them certainty and stability, allowing them to plan and develop their services. Government is encouraging the Post Office network to deliver an increased range of community banking and e-commerce services to the public and businesses. A report from the Inter-Departmental Group, which was established to examine the feasibility of additional Government services being provided through An Post and the Post Office network, will be published shortly. The funding will also help safeguard the future of more vulnerable post offices in our communities. It is so important that people have access to the quality services offered by the Post Office network, whether they are living in urban or rural Ireland. This funding will help to ensure that access for everyone, wherever they live in Kilkenny. Ministers Ryan and Naughton brought a memo outlining the funding package to Cabinet this afternoon. Through this measure, the Government recognises the importance of a high-value and high-quality Post Office network to citizens right across the country, as well as the central and trusted role of postmasters in our communities. An Post provides important services to its customers and key Government services to citizens. The Government is committed to working with An Post and postmasters to ensure that the network continues to play a strong role in delivering State services. The measure announced today will support the existing network of approximately 900 post offices. In particular, the aim is to safeguard the most vulnerable post offices to protect access to services across the country. Funding will be disbursed, to ensure a balance between providing vital financial support and certainty, while at the same time maintaining a commercial focus. Monies will be distributed between a fixed/guaranteed element and a variable, performance-based element, which will be determined following consultation between An Post and the IPU (Irish Postmasters Union) and approved by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Exact details relating to the disbursal of funds will be released in due course, subsequent to these consultations. How can a local community really contribute toward a better environment? And can a real value be place on environmental projects? These and other questions will form the basis of the latest of Smart Villages: Nature & Nurture, from 2pm tomorrow, Thursday, the 2nd of June, at the beautiful venue of the Outdoor Activity Hub beside the River Barrow in Graignamanagh. Eanna Ni Lamha, the well-known environmentalist and media presenter, will be the chairperson and MC of the event. Nature & Nurture is open free of charge to all community people and small businesses in Kilkenny. Rosie Lynch of the Workhouse Union organisation based in Callan, is the event organiser. If your community wants to make a contribution towards biodiversity, or more general protection of nature while providing an amenity such as a walk or make best use of a waterway, but youre not sure whats the best approach, this event will hopefully both inform and inspire you to grasp that opportunity. Kilkenny LEADER Partnership (KLP) are funding the event, the third in a series of four to highlight how local communities can confidently become participants in securing a sustainable environmental future, while helping their community to be a better - and smarter place in which to live. At next Thursdays Nature & Nurture event, KLP propose to introduce a concept for placing tested financial as well intrinsic values on projects, (such as environmental initiatives), that have proven difficult to properly calculate. Fergus Horgan of KLP explains the objective, Of course, not every project needs to provide a financial return on investment, there can be really valuable basic environmental, cultural and social benefits. But we do know many such projects actually also do give a financial return, and we should reflect that in evaluating them; the problem is measuring it. That why we are interested in the Social & Economic Return on Investment (SEROI) model, which makes it possible to set a real financial return, and thus increase the regard of funders to projects often seen only in general qualitative benefit terms. SEROI will make its first appearance in Ireland when Prescience Consulting present and explain how the concept can be used by communities in their planning and project applications. The Graignamanagh event is the latest in the very popular series of workshop events on various the Smart Village themes, run by KLP over the last three years. Declan Rice of KLP stated, We ran the first event in Ballykeeffe Amphitheatre in the summer of 2020, during one of the periods of easing of Covid restrictions, and we had a phenomenal turnout of 200 people, the KLP CEO recounted. The choice of an outdoor venue for that first Smart Village event was initially a result of trying to be as safe as possible in terms of Covid. And with good weather, fascinating contributions from the speakers and the communities, and some food and refreshments provided, it was both a fun and informative afternoon, with an atmosphere somewhere between a training event, concert and a large family picnic, he explained. So, we and Workhouse Union, the very talented event organisers, decided to stick to that semi-outdoor relaxed approach for subsequent events. The summer of 2021s event was in the Mountain View farmer market venue outside Ballyhale, which was also very well attended with beautiful weather. We are hoping that we again get the sun next Thursday afternoon to show off the magnificent Outdoor Hub site on the river in Graigue. Registration to attend is by the Eventbrite website under Nature and Nurture- or by contacting the KLP office on 056-7752111. Vivid Sydney 2022 returns after three-year pandemic hiatus 15:22, June 01, 2022 By Xueyi Zhao, Jiayi Wang ( People's Daily Online Vivid Sydney Logo at Sydney Circular Quay. (Photo/Xueyi Zhao) Sydney, May 31 (Peoples Daily Online) The Sydney light and music festival Vivid Sydney is finally back after two years and will be open to public audiences in Sydney, Australia from May 27 to June 18, 2022. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vivid Sydney was suspended for two years in a row, but is now making a strong comeback. With the theme of light, music and art, this lively festival makes use of innovative large-scale lighting, laser light shows, and 3D mapping projection technology to connect the city together and showcase its lighting experts, music producers, outstanding thinkers, and creative artists. This year's festival of lights has deployed 600 drones to top off this amazing light show. In addition, the event features its longest-ever lighted walkway compared with any previous years. The light show also features 50 light installations, 3D projected artwork, 111 music events, and 87 creative talks and workshops. Over the course of the events 23 days, many Sydney landmarks, including the Sydney Opera House, Darling Harbour, and The Harbour Bridge, will be lit up with brilliant light displays. At the same time, an outstanding lineup of international and local Australian musicians will also bring colorful music and creative performances to the audience. This event also attracts tourists from all over the world to participate in the festivities. One tourist stated that he booked his visit to Vivid Sydney after hearing about it from his home back in Brazil. Upon arrival, he became even more excited than he imagined when visiting the scene. Vivid Sydney was launched in 2009 by Tourism New South Wales. It is the most significant light, music, and creative festival in the southern hemisphere, attracting a large number of tourists from all over the world every year. (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today Thunderstorms early, mainly cloudy late with a few lingering showers. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 59F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near an inch.. Tonight Thunderstorms early, mainly cloudy late with a few lingering showers. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 59F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near an inch. Aanya Shetty, a rising seventh grader at John Warner Middle School, competes at the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee Preliminaries on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Shetty spelled isentrope correctly to advance to the next round. Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - Mauritian health authorities on Tuesday said nine new positive cases of COVID-19 were detected in the last 24 hours on the island, bringing the number of positive cases to 38,060 since March 2021, the time of the third wave Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations / AP-Yonhap The United States will push for additional U.N. sanctions on North Korea should the recalcitrant state go ahead with its feared nuclear test, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Tuesday. The remarks come after the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) failed to pass a U.S.-proposed sanctions resolution on North Korea last week due to opposition from China and Russia. "First of all, we need to enforce the sanctions that we have already authority to enforce," the U.S. diplomat told reporters in New York, according to AFP. "And we certainly, as we attempted in this last resolution, will push for additional sanctions," she added when asked if the U.S. would push for a new sanctions resolution if Pyongyang goes ahead with a nuclear weapon test. U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had repeatedly warned that a North Korean nuclear test may be in the offing, possibly during President Joe Biden's recently concluded trip to South Korea and Japan. Pyongyang fired three ballistic missiles on the heels of Biden's first visit to Asia last week, marking its 17th show of force this year. Officials in Seoul and Washington have noted that Pyongyang may have already completed "all preparations" for a nuclear weapon test. The country conducted its last and sixth such test in September 2017. Shortly after the U.S.-proposed sanctions resolution was vetoed Friday by China and Russia, both permanent members of the UNSC and close allies of North Korea, Thomas-Greenfield said the U.S. will continue to hold the North accountable for the threat it poses to the region and the rest of the world. "I am beyond disappointed that the Council has not been able to unify in opposition (to) the DPRK's unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs. And that failure rests on China and Russia alone," she has said in a released statement, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "The United States will not stand down as long as Kim Jung-un continues his unlawful WMD and ballistic missile program and seeks to threaten regional and global security with more destabilizing ballistic missile launches," she added. (Yonhap) By Doyle McManus Last week, in an unscripted moment, President Joe Biden warned bluntly that if China invades Taiwan, the United States will come to the island's defense. "We've made a commitment," Biden told reporters at a news conference in Tokyo. Including military action? "Yes," he replied. That isn't what U.S. policy on Taiwan says not officially, at least. The White House and State Department hurriedly tried to walk back the president's words. "Our policy has not changed," they insisted. Biden critics called it a gaffe, but the statement wasn't a slip of the tongue. Biden has used the same language about Taiwan three times in nine months. When a president offers his personal version of policy three times in a row that pretty much makes it official even if it wasn't issued in a formal communique. What Biden did was to say openly what has been implicit for several years: The United States is willing to threaten force to deter China from invading Taiwan. Until now, those hints were couched in a policy known as "strategic ambiguity." The president made it less ambiguous. China hawks hailed the rhetorical shift as a welcome burst of clarity. Others worried that it might provoke China toward reckless action. The Chinese reaction was anger. "If the U.S. continues to go down the wrong path, there will be irretrievable consequences and the U.S. will have to bear an unbearable price," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin warned. Why such a storm over the word "commitment"? A bit of history may help. China considers Taiwan to be part of its national territory, and so, for many years, did the rulers of Taiwan, the U.S.-backed losers of China's civil war who fled to the island when the Communists took power in 1949. In 1979, when President Jimmy Carter recognized Beijing as the sole legitimate government of China, Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act. It committed the United States to supply weapons to the island's government. However, it did not commit the United States to intervene militarily against a Chinese invasion; that was left ambiguous. The idea was to deter China without directly opposing its aspiration to reabsorb Taiwan. That balance was relatively easy to maintain when China was weaker. But over the last two decades, China has strengthened and become an assertive regional power: building military bases in the South China Sea, bullying weaker neighbors like the Philippines and harassing Taiwan's armed forces with air and naval incursions. Chinese officials have derided the United States as a declining power. After the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan last year, one of Beijing's official newspapers said the lesson for Taiwan was that if war broke out, "the U.S. military won't come to help." That's when Biden first said publicly that the United States had a commitment to defend Taiwan, much like the U.S. obligation to its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. His intention, then and now, was clear: to make China's President Xi Jinping think long and hard before considering an invasion. But by announcing the commitment the way he did, he created consternation in his own foreign policy bureaucracy. "I don't think the confusion is helpful," said Bonnie S. Glaser, director of the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund. Glaser supports the goal of deterring China from invading Taiwan but said it isn't clear that Biden's warnings will do that. "What will deter China, and what will provoke China? It's not clear that we know," she said. "The Chinese believe we are testing their bottom line, seeing if they will respond if we touch on one of their core interests like Taiwan. If they think we are encouraging [Taiwan to declare] independence, they could well be tempted to use force." It's also not clear whether the United States could defeat a Chinese invasion. China's navy is the largest in the world, although its ships are smaller and less sophisticated than those of the U.S. and its allies. A 2018 study commissioned by Congress warned that the United States "might struggle to win, or perhaps lose, a war against China." So to make his commitment to Taiwan stick, Biden has work to do. He has already marshaled support from Japan, Australia and other allies. His administration has been prodding Taiwan to upgrade its defenses, taking lessons from Ukraine's success in fending off a larger invader. And Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III is expected to seek more forces in the Pacific. Paradoxically, though, even as he strengthens deterrence, Biden needs to reassure China that the United States is not covertly encouraging Taiwan to declare independence. That means reaffirming the "One China" policy he mentioned only briefly in his remarks last week and assuring Xi that he means it when he says he doesn't want to change the status quo. If he can do all that, last week's unscripted statement might one day be remembered as a step toward deterring war in Asia not the moment when Biden inadvertently provoked one. Doyle McManus ( doyle.mcmanus@latimes.com ) is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times. This article was distributed by Tribune Content Agency. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form No Yes, a light case Yes, two or more light cases One serious case Two or more serious bouts Vote View Results Conakry, Guinea (PANA) - Guinea's ruling junta has decided to maintain the ban on rallies in the country until the end of the 36-month transition period, rejecting a call by the United Nations to lift it The Shimmertones, made up of Carol Cole, Patty Floehr, Carolyn Macomber and Deborah Sills (not in order), perform some barbershop versions of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and Lean on Me as part of the 44th Music Americana performance July 3, 2021 at the T. Furth Center for Performing Arts. People who want to share their talent in this years program are still encouraged to sign up (read details in accompanying story). The groundbreaking ceremony for the newest monument on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. a commemoration made possible, in part, thanks to the work of a former Indiana senator is scheduled for mid-summer. Veterans and other dignitaries are set to convene at 9 a.m. Region time July 14 to turn the first spades of dirt at what will become the National Desert Storm and Desert Shield Memorial. The memorial will recognize the historical significance of the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War and honor the service and sacrifice of the U.S. military personnel, including some 60,000 Hoosiers, who led the effort to liberate Kuwait from Saddam Hussein's Iraqi invaders while defending Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula. The final design of the memorial still is in the process of being finalized. Nevertheless, the National Park Service has granted the National Desert Storm Memorial Association permission to break ground at the memorial site on the southwest corner of Constitution Avenue and 23rd Street NW, just north of the Lincoln Memorial and west of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The federal law authorizing a Desert Shield/Desert Storm memorial was enacted in December 2014 by Democratic President Barack Obama. It was sponsored by U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind, now U.S. ambassador to the Holy See. In 2017, Republican President Donald Trump approved another Donnelly-sponsored measure granting permission to place the memorial on the National Mall. Donnelly said at the time: "Our nation's monuments share the story of our country. It can't fully be told without a National Desert Storm War Memorial." "Perhaps more importantly, the nearly 400 fallen service members of this war deserve a memorial for their sacrifice, and those who fought alongside them deserve a place of remembrance and healing," Donnelly said. No federal funds are being spent to build the estimated $40 million memorial that's due to be completed in 2023. Donations to help fund construction can be made to the National Desert Storm War Memorial Association online at ndswm.org. All that is wild is ready to go about their summer business Today, May 31, is Yoon Mirae's 41st birthday! Let us look at some fun facts about the iconic rapper to celebrate her special day! 1. She debuted four times Yoon Mirae first debuted in the group Uptown in 1997 when she was 16. She was cast to join the group in 1996 after a World Records representative heard her singing outside an audition room. Surprisingly, Yoon Mirae never planned to audition and simply joined her friend. In 1999, Yoon Mirae formed and debuted in the hip-hop and R&B duo Tashanni with rapper Lee Soo A. She used the stage name Tasha with the team, a shortened version of her birth name Natasha. Yoon Mirae debuted as a soloist in 2001 following Uptown's disbandment in 2000. She has actively promoted as a soloist since then. Her fourth and final debut was in the hip-hop trio MFBTY (My Fans Better Than Yours) in 2013. The group was composed of Yoon Mirae, husband Tiger JK, and rapper Bizzy. 2. She advocates against child abuse Yoon Mirae and her husband, Tiger JK, are huge advocates against child abuse. In 2011, the couple appeared in a Vogue Korea photoshoot with their son, Jordan Seo, for the "Stop Child Abuse & Love Children" campaign. That same year, they filmed a public service announcement for World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse. They also performed at the 2011 Child Abuse Awareness Concert. In 2012, Yoon Mirae and Tiger JK were commended by South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare for their efforts in promoting child abuse prevention. 3. She is mixed-race Yoon Mirae was born to a Korean mother and an African-American mother in Fort Hood, Texas. Her father used to be a radio DJ while serving with the U.S. military in South Korea. Her father's musical influence and record collection are considered significant influences in Yoon Mirae's choice to pursue a music career. Though born in Texas, Yoon Mirae moved to South Korea as a child. Due to her mixed heritage, she often faced discrimination from her peers. Yoon Mirae dropped out of school at 15 years old but later took a high school equivalence exam. 4. She was supposed to debut with Lee Hyori During a 2018 episode of "Happy Together 3," it was revealed that she could have debuted in a hip-hop group with Lee Hyori. While under World Music Agency, there were plans on debuting a group called Uptown Girl. The group's debut was canceled when Lee Hyori transferred to DSP Media shortly before the group's debut. Lee Hyori ultimately debuted with Fin.K.L. Yoo Mirae talked about how surprised she was that Lee Hyori debuted as the leader of Fin.K.L. However, there is no bad blood between the two. 5. Her marriage with Tiger JK It is common knowledge that Yoon Mirae and Tiger JK are married. However, what might surprise people is learning that the two had dated in secret for a whopping seven years before tying the knot! Tiger JK was introduced to Yoon Mirae by his father in a convenience store. His dad saw someone he thought his son would be interested in and praised Tiger JK to the girl, who turned out to be Yoon Mirae. They did not end up dating at the time. However, fate brought them together when they met at a recording studio. They wed in June 2007 in a private ceremony in a Buddhist temple. They had their son, Jordan Seo, in March 2008. Happy birthday, Yoon Mirae! For more K-Pop news, follow and subscribe to KpopStarz. KpopStarz owns this article. Written by Alexa Lewis During their visit to The White House press briefing, BTS revealed their true feelings concerning hate crimes against Asians in the United States. Keep on reading for all the details. BTS Speaks at the White House Press Briefing Before their momentous meeting with US President Joe Biden, BTS made a special appearance at the White House press briefing. ALSO READ: US Senators Argue Over Who Gets to See BTS at the White House On May 31, local time, BTS will meet with President Joe Biden. The President invited the K-pop superstars to discuss anti-Asian hate crimes, Asian representation & inclusion, and discrimination and to celebrate the end of AANHPI Heritage Month. As youth ambassadors who spread a message of hope and positivity to many worldwide, BTS was invited to sit with the President and discuss the importance of inclusion and diversity. During the press briefing, press secretary Karina Jean-Pierre introduced BTS as "pop phenoms" and "Grammy-nominated icons who play an essential role as youth ambassadors in promoting a message of positivity and respect." BTS Reveals Feelings About Hate Crimes Against Asians in the US Following their introduction, each member of BTS gave brief remarks, with RM starting in English and the other members speaking in Korean. RM was the first to go, thanking press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and introducing BTS. He then says, "It is a great honor to be invited to the White House to discuss the important topics of anti-Asian hate crimes, Asian inclusion, and diversity." Next was Jin, who said, "It is the last day of AANHPI Heritage Month. We have gathered at the White House today to show our support for the AANHPI community and mark the occasion." ALSO READ: BTS V Draws Attention for Wearing Identical Earrings as BLACKPINK Jennie Jimin continued, saying, "The recent surge in hate crimes against Asians has us shocked and devastated. We would like to use this opportunity to speak up in the hopes of helping to put a stop to these types of crimes." J-Hope thanked the ARMYs, saying, "We feel the only reason we are here today is because of the fans who love our music, ARMY, who represent diverse ethnicities, cultures, and languages. We are grateful beyond words." Next was Jungkook, who stated, "I continue to be amazed at how Korean musicians' music can transcend culture and language to reach so many people worldwide. I believe music is an excellent vehicle for bringing people together." Suga spoke after, adding, "Just because something is not like me does not mean that is wrong. I believe that embracing our differences rather than thinking of them in terms of right and wrong is the first step toward equality." V then spoke after, saying, "Each of us has a unique history. I hope that today can be another step toward mutual respect and recognition that every one of us is a valuable person." Leader RM concluded their brief speech in English, "Finally, we want to express our gratitude to President Biden and the White House for allowing us with this valuable opportunity to speak about critical issues and remind ourselves of what we can accomplish as artists. Thank you so much once more." Check out BTS's appearance at the press briefing here: What do you think of the situation? Tell us in the comments below! For more K-Pop news, follow and subscribe to KpopStarz. KpopStarz owns this article. Reported by Alexa Lewis Are fourth-gen girl groups more popular than male acts? A South Korean media outlet highlighted why the latter has less recognition in the K-pop scene. Outlet Claims Girls Groups Are More Popular Than Male Acts + Explains Key to Popularity On May 31, the South Korean media outlet Hankook Ilbo claimed in an article that fourth-gen girls groups have more solid popularity than male groups. The outlet stated: "In terms of performance, it can be said that the fourth-generation groups have already achieved a perfect K-pop generation change. [...] But the task left for the fourth-generation idol group is to secure the popularity of the boy group. This is because their popularity is relatively low compared to girl groups." The outlet defended this claim by referencing that most of the 2022 hits are released by girl groups, such as aespa's "Next Level," IVE's "LOVE DIVE," "STAYC's "STEREOTYPE," and more. The article then emphasized that the fundamental difference in their popularity level was due to their target markets. Unlike boy groups, fourth-gen female groups target is the PUBLIC. Securing their impact on the general K-pop fans outside their fandom is more significant. This explains why the members and their songs are also popular even among non-K-pop fans and mainstream fans. Why 4th Generation Boy Group Are Less Popular Although there are boy groups like Stray Kids, ENHYPEN, TXT, etc. whose fame goes beyond Korea, the reason they are less popular, according to Hankook, was not because of their lack of song quality but because their main target is the FANDOM. Rather than the public, most boy groups strengthen their fandom by catering to their fans' wants and need to secure strong firepower that was enough to offset the risks of rather low popularity. Due to this, even if a lot of boy groups from 4th-gen K-pop are already million-sellers they have lower entry rates on music charts. It is true that since fourth-gen groups debuted in late 2010, they have grown rapidly in the domestic and foreign music markets, signaling the full-fledged change of generations in the K-pop idol market. They used interactive communication to lead the rapid growth in the K-pop scene by introducing worldviews, solid music with sense and active SNS. However, K-media expressed that both groups should have both public and fandom popularity to obtain what BIGBANG, BLACKPINK, BTS and groups from past generations did. The outlet concluded: "Nevertheless, the reason why the fourth-generation boy group wants to resolve its regret over popularity is the desire for a broader 'generation change.' If they successfully complete their homework of securing popularity following their targeting of fandom, the "fourth generation era" will unfold along with the expansion of the K-pop spectrum in the true sense." For more K-Pop news, follow and subscribe to KpopStarz. KpopStarz owns this article. Eunice Dawson wrote this. In a move that possibly constitutes a death wish, Tucker Carlson slammed K-Pop super group BTS' recent appearance at the White House to discuss anti-Asian hate in America. And as a result, the Fox News personality has awakened the BTS ARMY. In a televised segment, Carlson said: "Things have gotten very bad for Joe Biden, both public-facing and internally. What are they doing about it? Well, they broke glass in case of emergency and invited a Korean pop group to speak at the White House today." He then played a short clip, where BTS' RM introduces BTS, says it's an honor to be invited to the White House, and states that their purpose in coming was to "discuss the important issues of anti-Asian hate crimes, Asian inclusion, and diversity." Carlson's main gripe was to criticize President Biden for inviting a Korean group to discuss hate crimes in the U.S., implying that inviting BTS to the White House was merely a PR move and not a move of any real substance While we at Kpopstarz also have our own reservations about the White House inviting BTS speak on anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S., Carlson's base message in his criticism seems center, not on the nuances of the Asian vs. Asian American experience, but stems mostly from his distaste towards the White House doing this sort of thing in general. Later in the segment, Carlson brings on the controversial Candace Owens, who then proceeds to pit the Asian/Asian American and Black communities against each other - which seems to entirely undermine any good faith criticism Carlson had towards the BTS-Biden meeting. Unsurprisingly, this negative coverage on BTS' White House visit elicited the wrath of the BTS ARMY. Possibly one of the largest and most fervent fan groups on the internet, the members of BTS' giant fan base are referred to as members of ARMY. Devoted to defending their biases on all corners of the internet, the ARMY has become notorious for rocketing BTS to the top of social engagement awards, and also throwing their weight behind social and political causes. Previously, the ARMY has been mobilized for good when credited in part for drowning out the #WhiteLivesMatter hashtag on Twitter with fancams and memes of their favorite idols, crashing the iWatch app that the Dallas police department was using to solicit tips to arrest Black Lives Matter protesters, and for trolling former President Donald Trump by reserving thousands of tickets to his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma and then never showing up, forcing the former president to speak to a much smaller crowd of around 6,000 attendees than the 1 million he had bragged about on Twitter. Now, the BTS ARMY has been mobilized once again - to take down Tucker Carlson. As the rest of us watch with glee, BTS fans have gone after Carlson on social media with memes. It doesn't sound like much now, but as one Twitter user remarked, "he doesn't know the force he just awoke." Another Twitter user mused, "So it will be K-Pop fans who finally bring him down." Yet another Twitter user invoked a The Lord of the Rings meme, where Gimli and Legolas discuss never thinking a dwarf and an elf would end up as allies, except that this time, it's a reference to allying with K-Pop stans. Only time will tell what damage the BTS ARMY will wreak to Carlson's online presence. In the meantime, grab your popcorn (and stream BTS). Check out BTS' full White House appearance here. Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - A Somali smuggler and five others are facing trial for committing crimes against migrants, smuggling them by land and sea and trafficking them, the Libyan prosecution announced here An 18-year-old who was pulled unconscious from Lake Como over Memorial Day weekend has died, the Town of Geneva Police Department announced in a press release on Wednesday, June 1. The town police department was dispatched on Sunday, May 29, at approximately 7:57 p.m. to a residence off South Shore Drive for a man with no pulse who was pulled from the water. Life-saving efforts were administered and the teen was transported to Mercy Medical Center, then to the University of Madison hospital. However, due to the injuries sustained the teen died on Monday, May 30. The man has been identified as Adam Jablonski, 18, from Vernon Hills, Illinois. The Town of Geneva Police Department was assisted by Lake Geneva Fire and Rescue Departments, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Walworth County Sheriffs Department and the Walworth County Medical Examiners Office. The investigation is currently ongoing. No additional information was release about what the teen was doing before he was pulled from the water. Dane County Circuit Judge Everett Mitchell announced Wednesday his plans to run next April for the Wisconsin Supreme Court seat currently held by a departing conservative justice. Mitchell joins Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz in the upcoming election to fill the seat currently held by conservative Justice Patience Roggensack, who is not seeking another 10-year term on the states seven-member high court. With conservatives holding a narrow 4-3 majority, the April election could shift the courts power dynamic. Mitchell, who is Black, said in a statement he is running because preserving the integrity and independence of the court has never been more important. A former prosecutor, Mitchell serves as the presiding judge of Dane Countys juvenile division and oversees cases involving child welfare, juvenile delinquency, family and civil law and criminal proceedings. Our state Justices have a tremendous responsibility, and the decisions handed down by the court directly impact the lives of the people in our state, he said. Wisconsinites deserve a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice that reflects the growing diversity of ideas and communities within our state. He added that the court needs to be an instrument of balance and justice rather than partisan divide. Mitchell also presides over Dane Countys High Risk Drug Court program, which provides support to adults with drug addictions and criminal cases through connections to treatment and mental health services. Mitchell said he plans to bring his life experiences and a focus on ethics to the states high court. He was the first in his family to attend college and experienced homelessness as a single father. Mitchell graduated from Morehouse College in 2000, earned a masters degree in divinity in 2003 and a masters degree in theology in 2004 from Princeton Theological Seminary, and received a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2010. Protasiewicz has served as a circuit court judge since 2014 and currently presides in the family court. She previously worked 26 years as an assistant Milwaukee County district attorney. Protasiewicz announced this week she had received endorsements from more than 170 Wisconsin leaders, including current Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Dallet, Municipal Court Judge Derek Mosley and Ed Fallone, associate professor of law at Marquette Law School, who placed third in the 2020 Supreme Court primary with 13% of the vote. Former conservative state Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly is also considering a run next year. Kelly was appointed to the court by former Gov. Scott Walker in 2016. He faced his first election bid in April 2020, losing to former Dane County judge and current state Supreme Court Justice Jill Karofsky. Gurugram (Haryana) [India], June 1 (ANI/PNN): RSPL group, one of the known FMCG conglomerates, has launched a new brand Baker By Chance. The brand strives to provide bakery products to cater to the need of the evolving consumers. The USP of Baker By Chance is that it delivers Bakery products made out of fresh and quality ingredients. Firmly abiding by the philosophy of "Baking Quality with Passion", the bakery offers a luxurious taste to satiate the carvings with their delectable goodness. Baker By Chance's core values revolve around consumer centricity and Integrity to deliver nothing less than the best to the valued consumers. The company firmly believes that planning and execution play a crucial role in developing the final product. Keeping in line with providing the best quality products, it offers quality-driven authentic family recipes that are unique in flavours and taste. The company has plans to make its presence felt more intensively by coming up with multiple retail outlets in Gurugram. Also Read | The Relationship Between India & Bangladesh is Based Upon Our Shared Heritage,our Latest Tweet by ANI. Speaking on occasion, Rajni Gyanchandani, Managing Director, said, "We want to cater to the taste buds of customers with our services by adding value to their cravings with our rich and pure products. From ingredients to kitchen operations and guest services, Baker By Chance always ensures that everything is at its best. By maintaining a clean environment for both the consumers and team members, the bakery ensures that only the best authentic recipes are served to the consumers. Currently being operational from Gurugram, the company takes orders via digital platforms (from the website, Google, and brand social handles) along with food delivery platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato. Also Read | Hardik Pandyas Captaincy, Mohsin Khans Emergence and Other Takeaways from IPL 2022. Baker By Chance from the house of RSPL Group is a bakery based out of Gurugram, born out of a sheer passion for baking. Coming with delectable goodness, its bakery products satiate the carvings with the pure products oozing with the taste of luxury. RSPL Group comes with over three decades of experience in Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) committed to delivering value for money propositions and credited with several innovations. It is a diversified conglomerate that weaves its business around consumer needs with the help of distinct values and identities. This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 1 (ANI/BusinessWire India): The 75th Edition of the Cannes Film Festival witnessed once again the magic of Sanjukta Dutta's creative prowess with Top UK Model Ingrida Ilgine, walking the red carpet and looking breathtakingly beautiful in a red mulberry silk handcrafted gown designed by Sanjukta. Sanjukta Dutta has left no stone unturned in empowering the rural artisans of India and in bringing the age-old art of Assamese handlooms to the global stage. Her recent show at the New York Fashion Week was lauded by many eminent Indian Dignitaries including Randhir Jaiswal- Consul General of India, Dr Varun Jeph- Deputy Consul General of India, Senthur Kumaran- Director, India Tourism Office and many more who attended the event. The couture celebrated Indian handloom and ensured contemporary ethnic ensembles for women from all walks of life. Also Read | IPL Winners' List From 2008 to 2022: Which Team Has Won the Most Number of IPL Trophies?. Bollywood celebrities such as Dia Mirza, Tabu, Hema Malini, Esha Deol, Sharmila Tagore, Bipasha Basu and more have walked the ramp for Sanjukta Dutta at the Lakme Fashion Week. She is also a recipient of the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Excellence Awards 2018 in the category of "Best Fashion Designer". Sanjukta Dutta, has taken the fashion world by storm and wowed celebrities in India and abroad with her handcrafted apparel in Assam silk. This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India) Also Read | Goa Shocker: 50-Year-Old Occultist Arrested for Raping Minor Girl, Victim's Mother Booked for Collusion. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Pune, June 1: The performance of students in Class 12 and the Common Entrance Test (CET) in Maharashtra will be considered equally while declaring the merit list for undergraduate professional and technical courses from the next academic year, state Higher and Technical Education Minister Uday Samant has said. Talking to reporters on Tuesday in Pune, where he held meetings with officials of various educational institutes, the minister said the new system will be introduced from the next academic year, which is 2023-24, and not this year. Currently, admissions to courses like engineering, law and others are based on the CET marks. Also Read | Rajasthan Board 2022 Result Live Updates: RBSE 12th Science, Commerce Results To Be Declared Today; Know How To Check and Other Details Here. Samant said under the new system, only CET marks will be not be considered for admissions to professional courses. "Under the present system, students are focusing only on the CET. But, after a discussion with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, it has been decided that now equal weightage will be given to the CET marks and Class 12 marks. This will help students in building a good base with Class 12 studies," Samant said. Samant also said that like the JEE system, there will an option of a second CET for students to score better, if they are not satisfied with their performance in the first CET. "The exam (second test) may be held soon after the first CET's results," 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) Patna, Jun 1 (PTI) The state-owned NTPC Ltd on Wednesday started commercial operation from the third and final 660 megawatt (MW) unit of its subsidiary Nabinagar Power Generating Company in Bihar's Aurangabad district. Bihar is now getting an additional 559 MW of power generated from the Nabinagar plant, and the rest has been allocated to Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Sikkim, it said. Also Read | KK Death Impact: College Fests Might Be Banned at Nazrul Mancha in South Kolkata After Controversy Over Concert Arrangements. The trial operation of the unit was successfully done in March this year. The unit is now part of NPGC generation fleet, contributing up to 660 MW to the beneficiaries, the power producer said in a statement. Also Read | Bihar CM Nitish Kumar Announces Caste Based Census. "The beginning of commercial operation from the third unit of NPGC is a final move for the completion of the project. Now, it becomes a power station which has started supplying energy to these states, NPGC chief executive officer RK Pandey said. The commercial operation from the first and second unit of the plant started on September 6, 2019, and July 22, 2021 respectively. With this, the total generation capacity of NPGC is now 1,980 MW, out of which Bihar is getting 1,677 MW, NTPC spokesperson Vishwanath Chandan said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi [India], June 1 (ANI): Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Jugal Thakor Lokhandwala on Wednesday said that Population Control Bill should be discussed in the upcoming Monsoon Session of the Parliament to curb the increasing population of the country. Speaking to ANI Jugal Thakor said, "If we do not control the increasing population then people will not get the place and the facilities which they should get. So, I would also like to have the Population Control Bill to come up in both the Houses of the Parliament in the coming session." Also Read | Gujarat Shocker: 52-Year-Old Woman Shot at by Two Bike-Borne Miscreants Over Property Dispute in Ahmedabad. BJP Upper House MP Thakor further said, "We are seeing in the country that we have reached a population of more than 135 crores and because of this, we are not able to provide the kind of facilities that we should be providing and the only reason behind it is the population of the country, which is huge and we have fewer resources. Due to this, people are also not getting uplifted." Amid growing calls for action and state-level initiatives, India may soon get a law for population control. Also Read | Apple To Shift iPad Production to Vietnam Amid China Lockdowns: Report. Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel on Tuesday assured that such a law would "soon" be brought in, thus echoing comments made by several leaders in recent years. India presently has a population of around 1.4 billion close to China which has the highest. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) 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 Lakhimpur Kheri (UP), Jun 1 (PTI) BKU leader Dilbag Singh, a witness in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, was allegedly attacked by two unidentified men here, police said on Wednesday. The attack took place Tuesday night when the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Tikait) district president was returning home from Aliganj- Muda road in Gola kotwali area in his SUV when the bike-borne miscreants opened fire on him. Also Read | Moto G82 5G India Launch Likely To Take Place on June 9, 2022: Report. Singh, however, sustained no injuries in the attack. Singh is among the witnesses in Tikunia violence of October 3, 2021 in which eight people, including four farmers and a journalist, died. Union minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra was arrested in connection with the incident. Also Read | Rajasthan Board 2022 Result Live Updates: RBSE 12th Science, Commerce Results To Be Declared Today; Know How To Check and Other Details Here. Talking to PTI over phone, the BKU leader said the miscreants punctured a tyre of his SUV owing to which he had to stop the vehicle. "The assailants attempted to open the gates and windows of the SUV. When failed, they fired two shots at the window pane of the driver side," he said. Singh said he was driving the SUV and was alone. He said sensing the intentions of the attackers, he folded the driver seat and bent down towards the floor. As the vehicle windows were covered with dark film, the attackers could not decide the BKU leader's status in the SUV and fled away on their bikes. Singh said he had sent his official gunman (provided to him by the district administration) on leave owing to his son's sudden sickness on the day. He lodged a complaint with Gola kotwali police soon after the attack. He added that he had also informed BKU-Tikait spokesperson Rakesh Tikait about the incident. Meanwhile, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Arun Kumar Singh told PTI that on the complaint of Dilbag Singh, an FIR under appropriate sections of IPC had been lodged. He said forensic teams had been sent to the spot to examine the vehicle and the crime scene and collect evidences. He further said police were investigating the case and efforts were on to identify the attackers. The ASP added that the BKU-Tikait district president sent his gunman on leave on his own without intimating the senior police authorities. "If the matter of leave to his gunman had been intimated to us, we would have provided him another gunman as an alternative arrangement," he said. PTI CORR/ABN (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], June 1 (ANI): Reacting to Congress' allegation over the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoning Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and MP Rahul Gandhi over the National Herald case on the behest of the Modi government, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president JP Nadda on Wednesday said that a criminal never accepts his crime. "Have you ever heard of a criminal accepting that he is a criminal or a dishonest person," said Nadda after Congress said that the Modi government is using the central agency to suppress them. Also Read | KK Death Impact: College Fests Might Be Banned at Nazrul Mancha in South Kolkata After Controversy Over Concert Arrangements. ED on Wednesday summoned Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over the National Herald case, which was closed by the investigating agency in 2015. Briefing reporters, Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala said, "Started the National Herald newspaper in 1942, at that time the British tried to suppress it, today Modi govt is also doing the same and ED is being used for this. ED has given notice to our president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi." Also Read | Bihar CM Nitish Kumar Announces Caste Based Census. Nadda further said, "A man who is on the dock and on bail, why doesn't he go to the court and talk? This is exactly like your face is messed up but you are cleaning the mirror." "Look, there is corruption and the court is looking into it. All I have to say is that if there is a charge sheet against you, then go to the court and face it. The one who is not honest looks out for bail", he added. Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, "Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi will go to ED office on June 8." The federal agency's move followed the questioning of senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress Treasurer Pawan Bansal in April this year in New Delhi in connection with its money laundering probe into the National Herald case. The ED is currently investigating the shareholding pattern and financial transactions as well as the role of party functionaries in the functioning of Associated Journals Limited (AJL) owned by Young Indian Private Limited (YIL). The YIL promoters include Congress President Sonia Gandhi and MP Rahul Gandhi. (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, Jun 1 (PTI) After the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued summonses to Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for questioning in a money-laundering case, Union minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday said government agencies do their job. Responding to a question on allegations by the Congress that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is using agencies to target political opponents, Thakur said, "Government agencies do their job." Also Read | PM Narendra Modi Led-Cabinet Allows Procurement by 'Cooperatives' As Buyers on Government E-Marketplace. Addressing a cabinet briefing, the minister said the issue has nothing to do with cabinet decisions. The ED summoned Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her MP son Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday for questioning in a money-laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper, officials said. Also Read | EGO.COM An Iconic Cardano NFT Project is Gaining Momentum. While Sonia Gandhi (75) has been asked to depose before the federal agency at its headquarters in central Delhi on June 8, Rahul Gandhi has been asked to appear on Thursday (June 2). Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi told at a press conference here that Sonia Gandhi will comply with the summons. Rahul Gandhi (51) has written to the probe agency to postpone the date to after June 5 as he is not in the country, Singhvi and another Congress leader Randeep Surjewala told reporters. (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], June 1 (ANI): With an aim to ramp up vaccination in all the states and union territories (UTs) of the country and spread awareness about the beneficiaries, a campaign titled ' Har Ghar Dasak Campaign 2.0' was flagged off on Wednesday, informed the Union Health Ministry officials. The campaign will continue till July 31, this year. Also Read | Maharashtra: 2 Abducted Women, Minor Girl Rescued by Anti-Human Trafficking Police. According to the Union Health Ministry, Covid19 vaccination of all those beneficiaries whose second dose is due and who are eligible for precaution dose would be emphasized through a door to door vaccination drive. Vaccination coverage for children aged between 12 and 18 years will also be covered through school-based campaigns. Also Read | Apple iOS 16 Likely To Come With Revamped Lockscreen With Widgets, Updated Messages & More. Recently, the Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan communicated to all States and UTs in a video conference on May 20 regarding the considerably slow pace of Covid19 vaccination and urged significantly to expedite the pace towards full vaccination coverage by saturating all eligible beneficiaries. During a video conference Union Health Secretary advised States and UTs to plan for a two month long "Har Ghar Dastak" campaign 2.0 and focus on door-to-door campaigns, with campaigns for old age homes, schools/colleges including the out-of-school children (for focussed coverage of children aged 12-18 years population), prisons, brick kilns, etc. The Centre's first 'Har Ghar Dastak' campaign continued till December 31 with a focus on 100 per cent first dose COVID-19 vaccination and completing the backlog of second dose vaccination The nationwide COVID-19 vaccination program was started by the Central government on January 16, 2021, and the new phase of universalization of COVID-19 vaccination commenced on June 21, 2021. As a part of the nationwide vaccination drive, the Government of India has been supporting the States and UTs by providing them with the COVID vaccines free of cost. (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, June 1: In an impressive ceremony held at INS Utkrosh, Port Blair on Tuesday, Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 325 was commissioned into the Indian Navy, informed the officials on Wednesday. The INAS 325 was commissioned by Lieutenant General Ajai Singh, AVSM, Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar. The newly inducted aircraft flew for the first time over the Andaman Islands earlier this year and were officially inducted on January 28 this year. Addressing the gathering, Lieutenant General Ajai Singh congratulated the INS Utkrosh on this momentous occasion. He emphasized the role of the Indian Armed forces during the recent national crisis and highlighted the yeomen service that the ALH has rendered in recent years. Rajnath Singh Launches Indian Navy Warship INS Surat, INS Udaygiri in Mumbai. The state-of-the-art multi-role helicopter has been developed and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL), Bangalore which embodies the mission of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and helps protect maritime interests in the region to boost India's strategic presence. The Squadron derives its name from the nocturnal bird of prey, the 'Eagle Owl'. The keen sense of observation and tracking of the eagle exemplifies the Sensors and advanced avionics of the helicopter akin to the nocturnal prowess of the owl, personifying the night vision capabilities of the aircraft. Indian Navy Successfully Tests Surface to Air Missile System from Warship (Watch Video). "These helicopters come with the latest-generation avionics and role equipment. They are primarily meant for use in long-range SAR and Maritime recce role. They can also be used for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief in the Islands. The helicopter has surveillance radar, EO/FLIR, homer, high-intensity searchlight and a removable Medical Intensive Care Unit for the Air Ambulance role," stated an official release. The squadron is commanded by Commander (Cdr) Avinash Kumar Sharma, who is a highly proficient and experienced pilot qualified on Chetak, UH-3H and ALH helicopters with more than 2300 hrs of flying and over 17 years of distinguished service. The commissioning of the ALH Squadron is a big step in enhancing capabilities to also support Islanders and administration in remote areas of the large archipelago of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This multi-utility aircraft will serve to majorly boost the military might of the Indian Armed Forces in this region. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Palghar, Jun 1 (PTI) A murder case accused has escaped from police custody in Maharashtra's Palghar district, an official said on Wednesday. Also Read | Sidhu Moosewala's Murder: Neeraj Bawana Gang Vows of Revenge in 2 Days. The police had arrested the accused, Vijay Choudhary (29), in connection with a murder case on May 25, the official from Mokhada police station said. Also Read | Amazon No Longer Offers In-App Kindle Book Purchases on Android: Report. On Monday, he was taken to Nashik for interrogation. While he was being brought back to Mokhada taluka here, the police van developed a snag enroute following which the security personnel and the accused got down from the vehicle. The accused then gave police the slip, the official said. The police have registered an offence against the accused and efforts are on to trace him, 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) Jammu, Jun 1 (PTI) A senior official of Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday called for the highest level of alertness and sharing of intelligence on the upcoming Amarnath Yatra to foil "nefarious designs" of anti-national elements and their masters from across the border. Additional Director General of Police Mukesh Singh also directed officials to conduct joint patrolling on all possible infiltration routes, drone dropping sites and ensure adequate deployment of personnel on national highways. Also Read | WhatsApp Bans Over 16.6 Lakh Bad Accounts in India in April. The 43-day-long Amarnath yatra is scheduled to start on June 30 from the twin routes -- traditional 48-km Nunwan in south Kashmir's Pahalgam and 14-km shorter Baltal in central Kashmir's Ganderbal -- after a hiatus of two years owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ADGP was speaking at a joint meeting of various security agencies which was convened to discuss and review the deployment and other security related issues for the pilgrimage. Also Read | KK Death Impact: College Fests Might Be Banned at Nazrul Mancha in South Kolkata After Controversy Over Concert Arrangements. Inspector General of CRPF, Jammu sector, P S Ranpise, deputy director Intelligence Bureau (Jammu), Parthipal Singh and other senior police and intelligence officers attended the meeting, a police spokesperson said. During the meeting, a powerpoint presentation was given by concerned district Senior Superintendents of Police with regard to security arrangements planned for the peaceful conclusion of the yatra, the spokesperson said. He said threadbare discussion was held on the various security related issues and for ensuring enhanced security measures on the highways and infiltration routes on International Border and Line of Control. Addressing the meeting, the ADGP directed all the officers to maintain the highest level of alertness and synergy among themselves and also share the intelligence having direct bearing on the yatra in real time basis to foil the nefarious designs of Anti-National Elements and their mentors across the border. Referring to the attempts being made by Pakistan to push terrorists into India, the ADGP stressed upon officers to organise night patrolling on the highways and infiltration routes regularly. Singh also stressed upon all the officers that proper briefing be given to the forces being deployed for Road Opening Party duty to maintain utmost alertness so that smooth passage is given to all the vehicles going for the yatra. The officers were directed to ensure adequate deployment in their respective districts particularly at base camps at Bhagwati Nagar (Jammu), Chanderkote (Ramban) and reception centres during the yatra. On the border management front, the ADGP stressed upon the district SSPs of Jammu, Samba and Kathua to lay Joint checkpoints and ensure patrolling on all the probable infiltration routes and adequate deployed on all the drone dropping points as well as on terrorists pick points identified as these three districts are more vulnerable to cross-border infiltration. He also directed that all Border Police Stations and Posts strengthen the checkpoints and ensure proper briefing be given to men by supervisory officers regularly regarding the nature of duties to be performed by them. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 1 (ANI): Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police on Wednesday registered a case of fraud against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mohit Kamboj following a complaint by the manager of Indian Overseas Bank. As per the Mumbai police, the manager alleged that Kamboj was one of the three directors of a company that took a loan of Rs 52 crores and used it for a purpose other than the intended purpose. Also Read | Apple iOS 16 Likely To Come With Revamped Lockscreen With Widgets, Updated Messages & More. A case has been registered under sections 409 (Criminal breach of trust by a public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent) and 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Kamboj and the other two directors, Mumbai Police said. Further details are awaited. Also Read | Indian Navy Commissions ALH MK III Aircraft Built by INAS 325. In April this year, the BJP leader had alleged that an attempt to "kill" him was made by Shiv Sena workers and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. However, he said that no one was injured in the incident. Following the incident, the Mumbai police had received complaints from both sides. Kamboj lodged a complaint alleging that a mob of Shiv Sena workers attacked his car at Kalanagar junction on Friday. It is the place where Matoshree - the private home of Uddhav Thackeray - is located. While the Shiv Sena, in its complaint, alleged that Kamboj was doing a recce of the Chief Minister's residence and had weapons in his car. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 1 (ANI): Stating that he is taking a break from politics, Brijesh Kalappa, the former Congress leader and Supreme Court advocate who resigned from the party earlier on Wednesday, asserted that 'politics without passion' leads one to nowhere. "Politics without passion will not take you anywhere...I was not happy with what I was doing, hence taking a break," he told ANI. Also Read | Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 Key Specifications Tipped Online: Report. He also added that various other parties including Aam Aadmi Party are reaching out to him but he has not taken any decision on the same. "AAP is certainly reaching out to me like other parties, but I have not made a decision," he added. Also Read | Share Market Highlights: Sensex Ends 185 Points Lower, Nifty Below 16,600; Nifty IT, Pharma, Realty Top Losers. Earlier in the morning, Kalappa announced his resignation in a facebook post citing his "lack of energy and enthusiasm" towards the party. Apart from his reason to part ways from the party, Kalappa had noted down several things including his gratitude and loyalty towards the party. He had highlighted how he always performed best to his satisfaction and "never felt enervated and lacking in energy and enthusiasm, even at the worst times for the party in the aftermath of 2014 and 2019 debacles". "I have been representing the Party on Hindi, English and Kannada channels since the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) years in 2013- for almost a decade and have clocked 6,497 debates. Besides, the Party has been regularly assigning Political work to me which I have performed to the best of my satisfaction. Regarding TV debates, I have done my very best at all times and have never ever appeared without adequate preparation for any debate," he added. It further read, "But, in the recent past, I have been finding myself lacking in passion, while my own performance has been listless and perfunctory. It is under these circumstances that I am left with little option but to resign from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress and to end an association that began in 1997." Earlier on May 27, Kalappa raked up a controversy by commenting on Bharatiya Janata Party leader KS Eshwarappa's "bring back Temples" comment. Kalappa had slammed Eshwarappa for his comment "all 36,000 temples will be brought back to the Hindus." (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Srinagar, Jun 1 (PTI) Terrorists opened fire at a civilian near his residence in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir Wednesday, leaving him injured, police said. A police official said the incident happened around 8:45 pm near Farooq Ahmed Sheikh's residence at Rakh Chidren Keegam. Also Read | WhatsApp Bans Over 16.6 Lakh Bad Accounts in India in April. He said the injured was moved to the nearby Pulwama hospital where his condition is stated to be stable. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Gurugram (Hr), Jun 1 (PTI) Two labourers from Bihar were killed when a mud wall in a basement collapsed on them at a construction site in Sector-57 in Gurugram on Wednesday, police said. The deceased were identified as Mohammad Nihal (22) and Hasim (28), residents of Araria district of Bihar. Also Read | WhatsApp Bans Over 16.6 Lakh Bad Accounts in India in April. According to the police, the incident occurred at around 5 pm when six labourers were working at the plot in Sector-57. Suddenly a mud wall in the basement collapsed and the two labourers were buried. After others raised an alarm, people gathered and pulled them out in half an hour, they said. Also Read | KK Death Impact: College Fests Might Be Banned at Nazrul Mancha in South Kolkata After Controversy Over Concert Arrangements. The workers were unconscious and were rushed to a nearby private hospital where doctors declared them brought dead, said the police. We have not received any complaint yet. Families of the duo have been informed and bodies kept in mortuary, said Aman Yadav, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Sadar. PTO CORR (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, Jun 1 (PTI) GreenZo Energy on Wednesday said it is planning to invest up to Rs 400 crore to set up a 250 MW electrolyser factory. The company will also spend Rs 70 crore on the R&D (Research & Development) for the production of the green hydrogen electrolyzer in 2022-23, the company said. Also Read | EGO.COM An Iconic Cardano NFT Project is Gaining Momentum. In a statement, the company said, "It plans to set up a 250 MW electrolyser factory, which would consume an investment of Rs 3-4 billion by the end of 2025. This will ensure the availability of end-to-end solutions within the country and cut down dependence on imports for this key equipment. Local production of electrolysers is crucial to bringing the cost of green hydrogen to USD 1-2 per kilogram by 2030". Sandeep Agarwal, founder and Chairman of GreenZo Energy, said the company will invest over Rs 70 million on the R&D department on technology for production of the green hydrogen electrolyzer in 2022-23. Also Read | Realme Pad X Likely To Debut in India on June 15, 2022. The statement did not provide any further information related to the location of the plant. (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, Jun 1 (PTI) Capital markets regulator Sebi has imposed penalties totalling Rs 57 lakh on 6 entities for indulging in front-running in the trades of Sterling Group. In two separate orders, Sebi penalised -- Manish Chaturvedi, Laxmi Chaturvedi, Manohar Chaturvedi, Madhu Chanda, Anandilal Chanda and Anandilal Chanda HUF. Also Read | Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 Key Specifications Tipped Online: Report. The order came after Sebi conducted an investigation after receiving multiple reports from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of alleged front-running trading activities by certain entities in the shares of Sterling group for the period -- March 2009 to March 2011. Front-running, which involves dealing in stocks based on insider knowledge of a future transaction, is considered one of the most serious offences by the Sebi. Also Read | Sensex Slumps for 2nd Day; Closes 185 Points Down at 55,381.17 in Volatile Session. The regulator observed that the entities -- Laxmi Chaturvedi, Anandilal Chanda and Anandilal Chanda HUF -- were front running the trades of the Sterling Group and its clients, while Manish Chaturvedi, Madhu Chanda and Manohar Chaturvedi had aided in the front running activities of the entities during the period of investigation. Through such acts, they flouted the PFUTP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) regulations. Meanwhile, in another order, the regulator slapped penalties of Rs 36 lakh on 8 entities for violating the provisions of PFUTP norms and disclosure lapses. The order came after Sebi conducted an investigation in the scrip of Camson Bio Technologies Ltd in connection with the alleged funding activities carried out by the company and its promoters for conversion of warrants to shares for the period January-June 2009. The regulator found that the company, its directors and the preferential allottees had colluded with each other and had adopted a fraudulent device to defraud other shareholders of the firm by their involvement in the act of round-tripping of funds towards payment of consideration for the shares allotted on January 2009. Separately, in another order, the regulator slapped a fine of Rs 5 lakh on Anil Kumar Gadodia HUF for indulging in non-genuine trades in illiquid stock options at BSE. (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, Jun 1 (PTI) Fintech unicorn Slice has raised USD 50 million (about Rs 387 crore) as part of its series C round funding led by Tiger Global, the company said on Wednesday. Existing investors Moore Strategic Ventures and Insight Partners, and a new investor GMO VenturePartners also participated in the round, which enhanced the firm's valuation to over USD 1.5 billion. Also Read | EGO.COM An Iconic Cardano NFT Project is Gaining Momentum. "With its core credit product set to achieve profitability in the coming months, slice will be utilising this new capital for shoring up the balance sheet to support the expansion of its new UPI product," the company said in a statement. In November 2021, Slice entered the unicorn club after raising USD 220 million in its Series-B fundraise co-led by Tiger Global and Insight Partners. Also Read | Realme Pad X Likely To Debut in India on June 15, 2022. "With the significant growth in wallet share of Slice card, it became increasingly clear that our customers would love to use Slice for all their payment needs. Driving on that, we made our next important product launch with UPI, which has been gaining strong early traction. We are excited about the long journey that lies ahead of us," Slice founder and CEO Rajan Bajaj said in the statement. The company claims to have over 12 million registered users currently. "Slice is leading the way for innovation, customer experience, and growth in India's rapidly developing payments market. We are delighted to continue our partnership with Rajan and his team as they improve and expand payment products with the goal of making money more relatable for the consumer," Tiger Global partner Alex Cook said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, Jun 1 (PTI) India-born investment banker-turned oil executive Rahul Dhir will be at the helm of the group with which he started his oil and gas sector journey after UK-based Tullow Oil and Capricorn Energy agreed to merge into a single London-listed African powerhouse. Dhir, 56, who helped Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy plc list its Indian arm in 2016, will be the chief executive officer (CEO) of the entity that will result from the merger, the two firms said on Wednesday. Also Read | Realme Pad X Likely To Debut in India on June 15, 2022. Cairn Energy is now known as Capricorn Energy. Under the deal, Capricorn shareholders would receive 3.81 Tullow shares for each of their shares, the two firms said. Capricorn shareholders will own 47 per cent of the combined company and Tullow shareholders 53 per cent. Also Read | Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 Key Specifications Tipped Online: Report. Tullow's chair Phuthuma Nhleko would head the combined group, while Tullow CEO Dhir would be CEO. Capricorn chair Nicoletta Giadrossi would be the senior independent director and CFO James Smith would be the CFO of the combined entity. Capricorn CEO Simon Thomson will step down and chair the committee overseeing the integration of the two companies. The board would have five non-executive directors, made up of two Tullow directors and three from Capricorn, they said. Educated at IIT Delhi (BTech), University of Texas (MSc) and the Wharton School (MBA), Dhir started his career as a petroleum engineer before moving into investment banking where he led teams at Morgan Stanley and Merril Lynch. On March 15, 2006, he was making one of his regular presentations as a top-notch investment banker at Merrill Lynch to his client, Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy Plc. At the end of the presentation that made a strong case for an initial public offer (IPO) of the India unit of Cairn, which had discovered the country's biggest onland oilfield in Rajasthan, the company's then chief executive Bill Gammel took him aside and asked if he would like to put his words into action and take charge of the destiny of Cairn India. On April 20, 2006, Cairn Energy announced his appointment as CEO of the new Indian business, which was aiming to list through an IPO in the last quarter of 2006 or early 2007. Under his leadership, Cairn India successfully completed a USD 2 billion IPO and grew to a market value of nearly USD 13 billion. Rajasthan fields started production, reaching over 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, according to his bio on the Tullow website. Cairn Energy sold its majority stake in Cairn India to mining mogul Anil Agarwal's Vedanta. He oversaw the handover and quit in 2012 to set up Delonex Energy, an Africa-focused oil and gas company. However, his entrepreneurial venture was not as successful as Cairn India and he joined Tullow Oil plc in April 2020 as CEO. The Tullow-Capricorn merger will bring Dhir back to work with people he was associated with more than a decade back. Thomson, for instance, was Cairn Energy's representative on IPO roadshows that Dhir led in 2006. Officials said Capricorn and Tullow have a lot of executives with a common pedigree. For instance, Mike Walsh, the general counsel at Tullow Oil, was legal head at Cairn India Ltd between June 2007 and October 2013. The merger will create an Africa-focused but London-listed oil and gas specialist with a market value of more than 1.4 billion pounds. The two companies said they believed the deal would create a "stronger, more resilient" African energy company that would be able to deliver sustainable shareholder returns. The combined entity will have 1 billion barrels of resources spread across countries including Ghana, Egypt and Gabon. Production in 2021 of 96,000 barrels of oil and oil equivalent gas per day would make it one of the largest listed African exploration and production companies. The aim would be to reach 120,000 boepd by 2025. The deal is subject to shareholder approval. Currently, the companies exist in a capital-constrained world, Dhir said on a conference call. The combination would open up new opportunities, he added. "The Boards of Tullow and Capricorn believe the combination has a compelling strategic, operational and financial rationale, with the ability to deliver substantial benefits to shareholders, host nations and other stakeholders," they said in a statement. "The combination represents a unique opportunity to create a leading African energy company, listed in London, with the financial flexibility and human resource capability to access and accelerate near-term organic growth, add new reserves and resources cost-effectively, generate significant future returns for shareholders, and pursue further consolidation." (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], June 1 (ANI): US President Joe Biden on Tuesday (local time) sought advice from New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern over tackling violence in the United States as shooting incidents in America have been increasing in recent days. Biden referred to the 2019 Christchurch slaying of 51 people in mass shootings targeting Muslims. The incident prompted New Zealand to ban military-style rifles. A gun buy-back was also instituted. Also Read | Pakistan Shocker: 25-Year-Old Woman Gang-Raped Inside Moving Train; 3 Arrested. "We need your guidance," Biden said during the meeting with Arden in the Oval Office. "Your leadership has taken on a critical role in this global stage -- and it really has -- galvanizing action on climate change; the global effort to curb violence, extremism, and online, like happened in Christchurch," he added. Biden further said: "I want to work with you on that effort. And I want to talk to you about what those conversations were like, if you're willing." Also Read | Working in Different Countries Is Always a New Experience Colston Julian. The shootout incidents in the US have been increasing. An elderly woman was killed and two other persons were injured when gunfire erupted at a high school graduation ceremony in New Orleans on Tuesday (local time). Last week, a mass shooting incident took place at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde in Texas in which several people including 19 children were killed. (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], June 1 (ANI): At a special screening of the film 'Samrat Prithviraj' in New Delhi this evening, Home Minister Amit Shah heaped lavish praise on the cast and crew of the period drama. He said that as a student of history, he not only enjoyed watching the film which depicted India's cultural wars but also got seeped in its significance on Indians. Amit Shah said that it was after 13 years that he was watching a film in the theatre with his family. There was an appreciable round of applause for his reference to his family which was seated in the last row with the cast and crew of the film. Also Read | Sri Lanka Relaxes Import Restrictions Amid Economic Crisis. Amit Shah said that the film truly depicted the Indian culture of respecting women and empowering them. The film made a very strong statement about the political power and freedom of choice that women enjoyed in the medieval ages. At the end of his speech, Amit Shah began walking towards the exit but his wife Sonal remained standing where she was, unsure of where she was supposed to go. And then, in his characteristic booming voice, he said, "Chaliye Hukum", similar to how the characters in the film addressed each other. Sonal blushed a deep pink when there was a roar of laughter in the audience. Son Jay Shah escorted her to Amit Shah and they left the Chanakya film hall, after probably their first film as a family in the capital. (ANI) Also Read | Russia Warns of Risk of Direct Conflict With United States. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Beijing [China], June 1 (ANI): The deep recession in China's real estate companies is becoming a major problem for the country as well as for the world's economy. The property market was one of the few cherished destinations for household savings. The developers and homebuyers were also willing to take the loans from the banks but these good days for China ended last year. The household debt touched over USD 10 trillion. And around 27 per cent of bank loans in China are tied to real estate, reported a think tank, Policy Research Group (POREG). Also Read | Pakistan Dispatches Consignment of 7.5 Tons As Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine. This industry was known to be the biggest job creator in China but now it is termed as "Lehman moment", in comparison to the 2008 bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, which was a trigger for the global financial crisis. More so, when the number of empty homes has crossed the 65 million mark (90 million according to some estimates) - enough to house the population of France, and raised the spectre of a global economy on crutches. The housing market in China is now seen as 'a national threat' as prices rise sky-high, just like the buildings, according to Think Tank citing New York Times. Also Read | US President Joe Biden Says 'America Sending Medium-Range Rocket Systems to Ukraine'. Developers borrowed money in the form of onshore and offshore bonds, trust loans, and wealth management products, in addition to bank loans. Thus, lenders span from institutions to the general people both at home and overseas. Interestingly, Beijing's assault on property debt is part of the country's battle to control corporate debt. Much of the corporate is held by the state-owned firms (SOEs). In SEOs, over-indebtedness is the root of the problem with one difference. For SOEs, the debt is laced with government guarantees, and hence there is no imminent threat of liquidation. China has a debt to pay to the global market. It has benefitted from the globalization of the market; its companies though anchored behind the Bamboo curtain have spread to all corners of the world with their unadulterated motto that money has no colour. A crash in China could bleed into other countries and lead to deflation as also unemployment, according to Think Tank citing CNBC analysis. Over China's failing economy, US Federal Reserve also felt worried that it could harm the global economy. "Stresses in China's real estate sector could strain the Chinese financial system, with possible spillovers to the United States," the Federal Reserve said in its recent financial stability report. According to the Think Tank, if the Chinese government allows a drop in property prices, lowering reliance on property building as a source of GDP, and developing other investment channels will help to curb speculative activity in the housing market. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Dhaka, June 1: The Chinese companies suffered from a poor image after the media reported about their tax evasion case in Bangladesh, but seems to have failed to deter them. Last year, in December, Bangladesh authorities discovered that China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), was involved in the tax evasion while importing the construction material for government projects, Bangladesh Live News reported. China Concerned Over Indias Business Environment Amid Tax Probes on Chinese Firms Like Oppo, Xiaomi and OnePlus. After the case of embezzlement of funds in megaprojects came under the spotlight, the Bangladesh authorities forced the Chinese government to withdraw from financing three infrastructure projects. But it seems that these media reports don't stop Chinese companies from hiring the sub-contractors from Beijing and also show them as a part of the main company to avoid paying the taxes to the Bangladesh government, Bangladesh Live News reported citing some unconfirmed reports. Chinese companies reportedly hired Chinese sub-contractors and showed them as a part of the main company in Dhaka-Chittagong Railway Line. A Chinese company working on this project has hired 16 Chinese sub-contractors and shown them as a part of the main company. Another project helmed by the Chinese company Tebian Electric Apparatus (TBEA) working with Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) has hired four Chinese sub-contractors. A Chinese company has even taken a six-storey building on lease in Narayanganj in which employees working on the projects are kept. Besides, coal plant and infrastructure projects in Bangladesh are causing widespread displacement of highly populated rural areas and endangering their ecosystem, reported Bangladesh Live News. It seems Beijing has failed to act against the corruption and malpractices of Chinese government-affiliated companies. Corruption is often a key element of Chinese economic engagement in the South Asian region. Estimates suggest that Beijing was responsible for the largest Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) related to corrupt business practices, by value globally, particularly in developing countries. Meanwhile, in May, another case of tax evasion against the Chinese company, Sino-Kemmed Trading Co. unearthed by the Bangladesh authorities. Sino-Kemmed Trading company, a subsidiary of Global Pet Products Co Ltd. located in Shenzhen, has declared to send a consignment of coated calcium carbonate to one of its Dhaka-based associates namely 'NB Trading House'. However, on physical examination, the Bangladesh officials recovered 120 tonnes of high-value Dextrose Monohydrate. The Dextrose was concealed as the label was that of coated calcium carbonate inside, Bangladesh Live News reported. According to the media report, the consignment arrived at Chittagong port and was carried in five containers under Vashi Shipping Pvt Ltd. If the authorities had not detected it at right time then it would have resulted in the loss of Bangladeshi Taka (TK) 42 Lakhs 13 thousand to the exchequer. Some media reports suggest that the port authorities/ customs were under tremendous pressure from senior levels not to disclose the name and real identities of Chinese companies. Though Beijing projects itself as a reliable economic partner, its economic partnership seems to be turning out as an albatross for the recipient countries. (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], June 1 (ANI): Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met the High Commissioner of Singapore to India, Simon Wong on Wednesday and discussed the urban management collaboration on water, public housing and as well as on waste management. "Happy to make an introductory call on Delhi CM @ArvindKejriwal today. We discussed urban management collabs including on water, public housing, as well as waste management. These issues are import to all urban centres, and very relevant to Singapore and Delhi," the Higher Commissioner of Singapore to India tweeted. Also Read | Chinese Companies Evade Taxes in Bangladesh. Meanwhile, on Monday, Simon Wong thanked the Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, Meenakshi Lekhi for hosting the Deputy High Commissioner of Singapore to India, Alice Cheng. "Thank you Minister @M_Lekhi for hosting our very own DHC Alice Cheng and the others! We thoroughly enjoyed the interaction and exchange of views," Wong Tweeted. Also Read | New York: Gun Detectors To Be Deployed in Subways After Mass Shooting Incident. Deputy High Commissioner of Suriname Ria A Sital organised the get-together of female Deputy Chief of Missions posted in Delhi. "Happy to attend the get-together of female Deputy Chief of Missions posted in Delhi. Thanked Cd'A of Suriname Ms. Ria A. Sital for organizing this gathering. It provided a good opportunity to exchange views on different subjects from women empowerment to culture," the Union Minister tweeted. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Tellus Equipment, a family-owned company, is one of the largest authorized John Deere agriculture, turf, and compact construction dealers in North America. Performance Brokerage Services, North Americas highest volume dealership brokerage firm, is pleased to announce the sale of Clark Tractor and Supply in Comanche and De Leon, Texas from the Clark Family to Tellus Equipment. Clark Tractor and Supply has been family-owned and operated for nearly 60 years. In 1963, Jerry and Sharon Clark acquired their first location in De Leon and in 1972, opened their second location in Comanche. Clark Tractor offers a full line of John Deere agricultural and consumer equipment as well as compact construction equipment. Over the last 5 years, Performance Brokerage Services has advised on the sale of over 250 dealerships, making it the highest volume dealership brokerage firm in North America. In 2021, the company consummated 72 transactions, marking a record-breaking year. Patrick Albero, the exclusive agent for this transaction and head of the Equipment Division for Performance Brokerage Services commented, It was an honor to work with the Clark family on the sale of Clark Tractor. After my Partner, Dan Argiro, and I visited the family in Texas, we made it our mission to find a John Deere qualified buyer that could carry on the Clark family legacy. Within 45 days, we identified Jeff Donaldson of Tellus. Throughout the process, Jeff proved to be a fair and honorable buyer. Jeff has an unwavering passion for John Deere, and Tellus plans to remain a staple in the De Leon and Comanche communities for years to come. I would like to personally thank the Clark Family for entrusting us to sell their family-owned dealership after 59 years in business. Tellus Equipment, a family-owned company, is one of the largest authorized John Deere agriculture, turf, and compact construction dealers in North America. Headquartered in Katy, Texas, Tellus operates 24 full-service dealerships throughout Texas, with more than 400 employees. Jeff Donaldson, CEO of Tellus Equipment, commented, Pat Albero of Performance Brokerage Services reached out with an opportunity to expand our John Deere dealership business. From day one, Pat was fantastic to work with and very attentive. I certainly would not hesitate to do business with Performance Brokerage Services again in the future. I would highly recommend Pat Albero, Dan Argiro, and the team at Performance Brokerage Services. The acquisition expands Tellus Equipments footprint, while advancing the companys growth plans in Texas. Donaldson continued, We are honored to be able to bring the Clark employees, customers, and locations into the Tellus family of dealerships. With a rich history of providing excellent support to their customers and being an integral part of the communities, we are excited to carry on that tradition. The dealerships will remain at their current locations at 11150 Highway 36 in Comanche and 509 West Navarro in De Leon, Texas. About Performance Brokerage Services Performance Brokerage Services, Inc. is North Americas highest volume dealership brokerage firm, specializing in buy-sell activity for automotive, RV, commercial truck, powersports, and equipment dealerships. With over 25 years of experience, 700 dealerships sold, and a 90% closing rate, the companys reputation is unmatched and governed by the utmost ethical conduct and integrity. The company offers a unique approach by providing complimentary estimates of value with no upfront fees or retainer, no reimbursement of costs, and paid a success fee only after the transaction closes. Headquartered in Irvine, California, and supported by 7 regional offices in Utah, Texas, Florida, Virginia, Ohio, New Jersey, and Canada, clients benefit from national exposure with local representation. As trusted and respected experts in the field, the company utilizes an extensive network of industry related attorneys, accountants, hundreds of registered buyers, and longstanding relationships with various vehicle manufacturers. For more information about the services offered by Performance Brokerage Services, visit https://performancebrokerageservices.com. Beirut, Jun 1 (AP) A rocket struck a residential area in a northern Syrian town controlled by Turkey-backed opposition fighters on Wednesday, killing at least three people and wounding others, opposition activist said. Some activists said that the rocket was fired on Tel Abyad by the U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, a claim that the group denied. Also Read | Sri Lanka Relaxes Import Restrictions Amid Economic Crisis. The attack came hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Turkish army will soon clear the northern Syrian towns of Manbij and Tel Rifaat of terrorists, referring to Syria's main Kurdish militia known as the People's Protection Units, or YPG. Erdogan has been speaking about a new incursion for weeks without saying when such an offensive would start. Turkey has launched four major operations in Syria since 2016, mainly targeting the YPG. Ankara claims its own outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, inside Turkey and the YPG in Syria are one and the same. Also Read | Russia Warns of Risk of Direct Conflict With United States. The PKK is considered a terrorist organization in Turkey, Europe and the United States. It has led an armed insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, and the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people. Baladi news, an activist collective, reported that three people were killed and 10 were wounded in Tel Abyad, while the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said four were killed and several others were wounded in the attack. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces issued a statement denying its fighters had fired any rocket toward Tel Abyad, which has been under control of Turkey-backed fighters since 2019, and said that an unknown drone fired the rocket. (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 Orleans [US], June 1 (ANI) An elderly woman was killed and two other persons were injured when gunfire erupted at a high school graduation ceremony in New Orleans on Tuesday (local time). The shooting occurred outside the Convocation Center on the campus of Xavier University where graduates of Morris Jeff High School were gathered, NBC news reported citing New Orleans police. Also Read | Pakistan Shocker: 25-Year-Old Woman Gang-Raped Inside Moving Train; 3 Arrested. According to the US media outlet, all three victims were there for graduation ceremonies before they were shot outside, New Orleans police spokesperson Gary Sheets said. Notably, a mass shooting incident took place last Tuesday (local time) at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde in Texas in which several people including 19 children were killed. (ANI) Also Read | Working in Different Countries Is Always a New Experience Colston Julian. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Nagpur, June 1: The Washim police's anti-human trafficking unit has rescued two women and a minor girl, who were allegedly abducted some years back, a senior official said on Wednesday. The cases of abduction of these three victims were registered in 2018, 2019 and 2020, Washim Superintendent of Police Bachchan Singh said. Later, the cases were transferred to the anti-human trafficking unit here which last week traced the three victims to Akot (in Akola district), Indapur and Bhugaon (Pune), he said. Gurugram Shocker: Police Rescues 4-Year-Old Child Within Four Hours of Being Kidnapped, Woman Held. The victims were rescued and handed over to their families, he said, adding that three persons were also arrested under various charges. The official said their unit was also conducting a probe into some other undetected cases of abduction. The US Supreme Court has blocked a Texas law that would ban large social media companies from removing posts based on the views they express. According to the New York Times, the court's brief order was unsigned and gave no reasons, which is typical when the justices act on emergency applications. At least one person was killed with nine others injured in a bomb blast in #Myanmar's largest city of #Yangon. It said the attack in the center of downtown Yangon was made with a handmade bomb. pic.twitter.com/b1lPMOnXUD IANS (@ians_india) June 1, 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.) The #Karnataka textbook row has taken a new turn after a social worker lodged police complaint against Chairman of the Textbook Revision Committee, #RohithChakrathirtha. Photo: IANS (Representational image) pic.twitter.com/7LV2uzbk3Z IANS (@ians_india) June 1, 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.) Texas Homeland Security, along with several other agencies in the state, busted a human trafficking scheme when they found 70 missing children in recent weeks. USA Today News reported that the multi-agency operation was led by Homeland Security Investigations in El Paso and the Texas Department of Public Safety. The operation was called Operation Lost Souls. It was done over three weeks, from the end of April through mid-May. The recovered children through the operation were ages 10 to 17, with the majority of them being runaways. READ NEXT: Disney World Urged to Move to Texas by a Texas Judge After Gov. Ron DeSantis Repealed Amusement Park's Self-Governing Status Operation Lost Souls in Texas El Paso Deputy Special Agent in Charge Taekuk Cho said in a statement that the operation shows the department's commitment to protecting the public from crimes of victimization. Cho added that HSI is committed to continuing working with law enforcement partners to locate, recover, and help missing children heal while also holding perpetrators accountable for their crimes. UPI News noted that most of the children were recovered from west Texas. Others were found in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Colorado, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. HSI is also providing victim services and counseling. Meanwhile, no arrests have been announced. Authorities said HIS is looking for additional information and leads. Officials held a press conference to discuss the results of the operation on May 25, which coincided with National Missing Children's Day. People with information about a human trafficking victim or about that type of criminal activity are asked to call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888. Human Trafficking in Texas The Fort Worth Police Department Human Trafficking Unit noted that its department has received four cases of human trafficking this year, according to a Star-Telegram report. The unit has also received 46 tips and made 10 arrests. Last year, there were 15 trafficking cases. The University of Texas-Austin conducted a study in 2019 and found that child victims of sex trafficking spend about 35 percent of their lives in "circumstances of exploitation" after their first incident. The report stated that the lack of healthy, trusted relationships in participants' lives and their economic instability make way for ideal conditions of exploitation. In April, eight people were arrested in Oklahoma City with several charges of human trafficking after a North Texas teenager went missing from a Dallas Mavericks game. WFAA noted that the North Texas teenager was found more than a week later in Oklahoma. The 15-year-old girl was at the American Airlines Center for an April 8 game when she went to a restroom but never returned to her seat, according to North Richland Hills police. Police said that the teenager was seen leaving the arena with an unidentified male. Authorities did not release further details on her disappearance but posted on social media that she was a "missing endangered juvenile." Sgt. Dillon Quirk, with Oklahoma City Police Department, said that whenever they are given tips or information that there is someone they believe to be in danger in the area, they do not take it lightly. Quirk said that it was fortunate that it worked out in the end to find the teenager safely. READ MORE: Disney Stocks Falls by 33% After Governor Ron DeSantis Revokes Special Status This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: How the fight against Texas sex trafficking will reach a new level come September - from KENS 5: Your San Antonio News Source The Texas school shooting probe by the Texas Department of Public Safety took another turn when it was reported that Uvalde police and the school district have stopped cooperating with the investigation. Forbes reported that law enforcement sources cited that both Uvalde Police Department and the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Department are not cooperating with the probe. The two separate agencies decided to stop cooperation after a Friday press conference, wherein Texas DPS head Steve McCraw called out the school district police department for waiting an hour amid the Texas school shooting before breaching the classroom. Meanwhile, the federal Department of Justice is also doing its own after-action review of the Texas school shooting following a request from Uvalde officials. READ NEXT: Texas School Shooter Sends Warning on Facebook Before Horrific Act: "I'm Going To Shoot An Elementary School" Texas School Shooting Probe A spokesperson for Texas DPS said that the Uvalde police and Uvalde school district police have been cooperating with investigators. ABC News noted that the chief of Uvalde CISD Police has provided an initial interview but has not responded to a request for a follow-up interview with the Texas Rangers that was made two days ago. Meanwhile, the Uvalde police chief and spokesperson for the Uvalde Independent School District did not immediately respond to requests for comment. McCraw called the delayed police entry into the classroom "the wrong decision," where 19 children and two teachers were shot to death. He also said that the officers' decision during the shooting was contrary to both protocol and initial accounts from local authorities, according to an ABC 30 News report. Texas DPS has also been correcting initial comments that a teacher left a door propped open, which the gunman used to enter the school before the shooting. The agency's press secretary Ericka Miller noted that investigators have now determined that the teacher closed the door, but it did not lock. Authorities are now looking into why the door did not lock. The Uvalde elementary school shooting is considered one of the deadliest in U.S. history. Uvalde Elementary School Shooting Salvador Ramos was identified as the 18-year-old gunman who also shot his grandmother in the face. A neighbor heard a shot as he was in the yard and saw Ramos speeding away in a pickup truck, with the shot elderly coming toward him asking for help. Around 11:28 a.m., two men saw Ramos at a nearby funeral home, heard the crash, and ran out to see what happened. The witnesses reported that they saw Ramos jump out of the passenger side carrying an AR-15-style rifle and a bag full of ammunition, as reported by Associated Press News. The men ran, and Ramos fired at them but did not hit them. McCraw said that Ramos entered the school and began shooting into two adjoining classrooms 111 and 112, wherein he fired more than 100 rounds. Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the Texas school shooting. Ramos was also killed when law enforcement entered the room. READ MORE: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Ignores U.S. Pres. Joe Biden's Request for National Guard Troops at State of the Union This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Funerals begin for Texas school shooting victims - from CBS Evening News President Joe Biden is set to travel to Los Angeles for the Summit of the Americas that is held every few years. The White House confirmed that the president will be joined by Vice President Kamala Harris, First Lade Jill Biden, and First Gentleman Doug Emhoff, according to The Hill. The Summit of the Americas will take place in the United States for the first time since the first gathering in 1994, which took place in Mami, Florida, per Al Jazeera. Biden and other leaders from Latin America are expected to arrive in Los Angeles on June 8. According to the White House, the Summit of the Americas aims to bring together governments from across the hemisphere to focus on pressing challenges. These challenges include migration, the COVID-19 pandemic, and climate change. Reports also noted that Biden will seek regional consensus during the meeting on a new economic agenda to build on existing trade agreements within Latin America. President Joe Biden is also expected to present a plan to address the ongoing and increasing migration. READ NEXT: Mexico Pres. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Will Boycott Americas Summit if Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Will Not Be Invited Will Mexico Pres. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Attend the Summit of the Americas? The Biden administration has yet to announce a formal guest list for the Summit of the Americas next week. However, Latin American leaders have asked for the head of every government in the western hemisphere to be in Los Angeles for the event. Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) has not yet confirmed whether he will attend the event. However, he previously expressed that all leaders of the nations in the western hemisphere should be invited. "If all countries are invited, I am going to attend the summit... If not all countries are invited, the government representative Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard is going to attend," Lopez Obrador underscored. Lopez Obrador also tackled the issue on Friday, asking whether the event that will be held in Los Angeles would be the Summit of the Americas or the friends of America summit. It can be recalled that Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela were not properly invited by the United States to the said summit. Top U.S. Official for Latin America Brian Nichols earlier said that he did not expect that the three countries will be invited to the event because they did not "respect" the 2001 Inter-American Democratic Charter. However, an administration official last week underscored that they evaluated options on how to "best incorporate" the voices of the people of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua into the summit process. Cuba President Will Not Attend the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles Cuba President Miguel Diaz-Canel has announced that his country will not attend the Summit of the Americas. "I can assure you that, under no circumstances, will I attend. As it has happened often times in the past, the voice of #Cuba will be heard at the Ninth Summit of the Americas," Diaz-Canel tweeted last week. Meanwhile, far-right Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, confirmed last week that he will attend the summit despite chilly relations with the United States. Reports claimed that Bolsonaro will have a one-on-one meeting with President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the summit. The Summit of the Americas is expected to take place in Los Angeles from June 6 to 10. READ NEXT: Florida Sheriff Responds to Shock Arrest of 10-Year-Old Boy Over School Shooting Threat: "Our Policy Is Zero Tolerance" This article is owned by Latin Post. Written By: Joshua Summers WATCH: What Is the Summit of the Americas? - From U.S. Department of State Mexico's Maya train project has another legal challenge underway, with a Mexican judge ordering the suspension of construction work on a stretch that would connect archeological sites with Mexico's beach towns. The Mexican judge ordered the suspension be extended until the project's environmental impact is determined, according to a BBC News report. The recent order is considered a victory for a group of cave divers who fear that the works will threaten underground caverns. The Maya train is seen as one of Mexico's most ambitious infrastructure projects. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador claimed that it will provide an "environmentally friendly" mode of transport for locals and tourists alike. Lopez Obrador also argued that it will boost development and employment in the underdeveloped region. However, critics argue that megaproject has been rushed, and environmental concerns have been overridden. READ NEXT: Mexico: 400 Missing Persons Found Dead in Guanajuato State Plagued by Mexican Drug Cartels Mexico's Maya Train Project Aljazeera News reported that the project was announced in 2018 by Lopez Obrador, with the construction starting in 2020. The railway is aimed to connect Caribbean beach resorts with Mayan archaeological ruins, with officials set to complete the project by the end of 2023. The Maya train project is estimated to cost about $16 billion. The railway project has divided communities across the region. Some are welcoming the economic development and connectivity it promises. Meanwhile, some local Indigenous communities have challenged the project, saying that it could disrupt the migratory routes of endangered species such as jaguars, tapirs, and ocelots and possibly damage centuries-old Mayan archaeological sites. The overseeing government agency for the project, the National Fund for the Promotion of Tourism, said that it expects to overcome the latest legal hurdle and that work should continue after an environmental impact statement is made. The Environment Ministry is currently reviewing the environmental application for the project. Maya Train Project Legal Battle The Mexican judge said in his ruling that society is also interested in its development without affecting the environment and based on the regulations that are established in Mexican law, as reported by BNAmericas. The order ratifies the temporary suspension ordered by the same judge in April. It can still be appealed to by the federal government. Works on the southern part of the fifth section have remained halted since the order. The full section runs 121 kilometers from Cancun to Tulum, but only the southern stretch is affected by the order. The federal judge also cited "imminent danger" of causing "irreversible damage" to ecosystems, according to one of the plaintiffs. Non-government group Defending the Right to a Healthy Environment said in a statement that authorities had failed to carry out the needed environmental impact studies before starting the construction of the section. The original plan for the disputed section was for an overpass over a highway. However, the route was modified early this year to go through the jungle at ground level. Activists clamored that the train would adversely impact the area's wildlife, including its caves and water-filled sinkholes known as cenotes. READ MORE: Mexico: 9th Mexican Journalist Killed This Year Found Wrapped in Black Bag on Sinaloa Road This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: 'Ecocidal': Mexico's 'Maya Train' divides communities - from FRANCE 24 English Aerial photo taken on May 5, 2022 shows the construction site of Gaolan Harbor Interchange of Hezhou-Gaolan Port Highway Phase II Project in south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhua) -- China's State Council issued a circular on Tuesday, urging the implementation of a package of detailed policy measures to further stabilize the economy. The package, which was announced at a State Council executive meeting last week, includes 33 measures covering fiscal and financial policies as well as policies on investment, consumption, food and energy security, industrial and supply chains, as well as people's livelihoods. China will enhance measures on value-added tax credit refunds, quicken fiscal spending and accelerate the issuance of local government special bonds, according to the circular. In terms of monetary and financial policies, the country will reduce real borrowing costs, boost financing efficiency via capital markets, and strengthen financial support for infrastructure and major projects. On investment and consumption, China will boost investment in transport infrastructure, promote the healthy development of platform economy and stimulate purchases of cars and home appliances, the document said. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: As he awaits the verdict in his defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard, Johnny Depp spent his free time performing at concerts in England, and Kate Moss was invited to one of them. Depp's third performance alongside legendary guitarist Jeff Beck was extra special because his former flame, Moss, was among the attendee. A source told Fox News that Depp invited the British supermodel as his guest. According to Daily Mail, Moss arrived at London's prestigious Royal Albert Hall Venue at around 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Moss was seen getting out of a blue Mercedes and escorted by security into the stage door entrance. Beck's set began at 8:40 p.m. The "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor headed onstage at around 9:23 p.m. to perform seven songs, such as covers of Marvin Gaye, John Lennon, and Jimi Hendrix, alongside Beck. Photos posted online show Depp was rocking on stage - a day after receiving a standing ovation in the same venue. His fans were shouting "We love you Johnny" in support of the actor. READ NEXT: Johnny Depp: Here's What He's Been up to as He Awaits Verdict in Amber Heard Defamation Trial Kate Moss Partied With Johnny Depp After London Concert Reports claimed that Kate Moss did not only watch her ex-boyfriend perform at the Royal Albert Hall. The British supermodel reportedly partied backstage with Johnny Depp following his performance. Former TV personality Sharon Osbourne, who arrived for an after-party following the concert, has joined Moss. Several fans shared their thoughts about Moss' appearance in Depp's rock concert amid the actor's legal battle with his ex-wife, Amber Heard. A fan asked if this was Depp's reason for going to London, adding that Heard's mentioning Moss in the trial was the best thing she has ever done since it brought the supermodel back to the actor's life, Daily Mail reported. Another Twitter user said their wish came true after Kate Moss joined Johnny Depp backstage during his performance. "Not in a romantic sense but Kate & Johnny reunited and her continuing to show him her support! Amber is gonna hate this!" the user added. OMG, I . @peachesnana we have our wish! Kate Moss & Sharon Osbourne apparently backstage at the Jeff Beck concert tonight. Not in a romantic sense but Kate & Johnny reunited and her continuing to show him her support! Amber is gonna hate this!https://t.co/1RfoxphN5U Kiya Cooper (@NatzKiya) May 31, 2022 This was Depp's second consecutive night jamming with Beck at the Royal Albert Hall. He had earlier performed with the legendary guitar player at Sheffield City Hall on Sunday. Johnny Heard and Amber Heard Defamation Trial 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. Last week, Kate Moss, who dated Depp in the 1990s, testified via video on his behalf after Heard mentioned her name on the stand. Moss refuted a rumor that Depp had pushed her down a flight of stairs. She added that the actor was never violent with her. For six weeks, a court in Fairfax, Virginia heard over 100 hours of testimonies from different individuals who took the stand in the case. On Friday, both sides gave their closing statements and urged jurors to consider other victims of domestic abuse. The jury continued to deliberate on the case Tuesday at Fairfax County Circuit Court. But there was no verdict reached. Deliberations will reportedly resume Wednesday morning. The jury will have to decide whether Heard's article insinuates or implies anything about her ex-husband or whether the story was false or written with the intention of malice. Most of the public discussion about Depp and Heard's legal battles revolved around whether the actress was lying about her claims of physical abuse and assault. On the other hand, Depp's camp has claimed that Heard was lying and claimed that her testimony had too many holes to be believable. Johnny Depp also alleged that Amber Heard was the actual "perpetrator" of the violent encounters that damaged their relationship. He is asking for $50 million in damages. The "Aquaman" actress has filed a $100 million counterclaim against the actor, who she divorced in 2017, for nuisance. Judge Penney Azcarate is expected to read the verdict when it is reached. READ MORE: Pres. Joe Biden Will Travel to Los Angeles for the Summit of the Americas; Mexico Pres. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's Attendance Still Unclear This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Joshua Summers WATCH: Inside Johnny Depp & Kate Moss' Past Relationship Amid Amber Heard Trial - From Access A high-ranking leader of the Sinaloa Cartel known as "El Bob Esponja" was reportedly shot to death in Mexico's state of Sonora last week. According to Borderland Beat, the white Volkswagen Vento sedan of Armando Russell Garcia, alias "El Bob Esponja," was being chased by an SUV through the streets of the Ejido Cuauhtemoc neighborhood in Obregon city in the municipality of Cajeme at around 7:30 pm on May 25. When the two vehicles sped down along Quintana Roo street, the sedan reportedly crashed with another car, making the SUV catch up with the sedan. The armed men inside the SUV had then started to open fire on those inside the sedan. El Bob Esponja and three other men, who were inside the sedan, tried to return fire. However, El Bob Esponja and the three other men sustained multiple gunshot injuries. The gunmen inside the SUV immediately sped away from the scene after shooting the four men numerous times. In a Facebook post, the Sonora Informativo confirmed the death of El Bob Esponja, or "The Spongebob," who was the Sinaloa Cartel plaza boss of Escuinapa in Sinaloa. The other two deceased men were Rafael B. R., a resident of Cajeme, Sonora, and Josue Alonso C. R. or Juan Carlos Camacho Russell, a resident of Navolato, Sinaloa. The fourth man, Juan Carlos S. B., was brought to a hospital and was reportedly in stable condition. Before becoming an operator of the Sinaloa Cartel, El Bob Esponja was a former soldier in the 39th Military Zone in Chiapas. He joined the Army in August 1995, and his contract ended in March 2001. He then joined the municipal police in Culiacan and worked as an officer from January 2005 to August 2007. El Bob Esponja reportedly became a member of the Sinaloa Cartel during his time as a police officer and rose through the cartel ranks while continuing his job in law enforcement. He was identified as the head of Plaza Escuinapa in southern Sinaloa, controlling the operations of the Sinaloa cartel in that municipality, as well as El Rosario and some areas of Mazatlan, in 2007. The Navy arrested the Sinaloa Cartel official in February 2015. However, it was unknown when and why he was released. READ NEXT: U.S.-Mexico Border: Authorities Find 3 Dead Migrants in Rio Grande River; 3 Others Rescued The Sinaloa Cartel and Los Salazar in Mexico's Sonora State The Los Salazar has been leading the drug trafficking operations in Mexico's Sonora state since the 1990s. According to Borderland Beat, the criminal group originated from Chinipas, Chihuahua. Mexican and U.S. authorities recognize the Los Salazar as the leading operator of the Sinaloa Cartel in Sonora. The group operates in the strip of borders of Sonora and Chihuahua states, and the international border of Sonora with the U.S. Its best-known home bases of operations are in Navojoa, Sonora, and Chinipas, Chihuahua. Don Adan Salazar Zamorano was the founder and leader of Los Salazar. After the escape of Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera in 2001, Don Adan had an alliance with the Beltran Leyva brothers who were El Chapo's associates. They played a significant role in the restructure generated by the war after the split of the Sinaloa Cartel with the Beltran Leyva brothers. The Los Salazar took El Chapo's side. The Los Salazar has aligned themselves as the armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel and became part of the group Gente Nueva founded in Chihuahua by El Chapo's lieutenant named El Flaco Salgueiro. The Los Salazar is still operating in Sonora in alliance with the Sinaloa Cartel led by El Chapo's four sons, known as "Los Chapitos." The battles for the plazas in the name of Los Chapitos make the Los Salazar a fearsome and powerful group in Sonora. The Sinaloa Cartel Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and El Chapo were among the people who established the Sinaloa Cartel from the remnants of the Guadalajara Cartel after its leader Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo was arrested in 1989. The U.S. State Department has increased its offer from $5 million to $15 million for information that will result in the arrest of El Mayo. On the other hand, El Chapo was sentenced to spend the rest of his days in the ADX Florence, the most secure federal prison in the U.S. He is serving a life sentence in prison after being found guilty in 2019 of all 10 federal charges he faced. The Sinaloa Cartel is one of Mexico's largest and most powerful drug trafficking organizations. The Mexican drug cartel has been known to carry out assassinations, murders, and torture to protect its turf. READ MORE: El Chapo Trial: Sinaloa Cartel Boss to Ask Supreme Court to Review His Case to Overturn Drug Trafficking Conviction This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Joshua Summers WATCH: Top 10 Craziest Things El Chapo Has Done - From WatchMojo.com The hunt is on to find the best independent takeaways in Laois for a new series by the makers of Irelands Fittest Family. Animo TV, the makers of Irelands Fittest Family and The Great House Revival, are making the brand new competition series for RTE Two which celebrates Irelands love of the Takeaway. The production company is billing their new series as the battle of Ireland's much loved takeaways. Whether its a Chipper, Chinese or a Burger Joint, they are eager to find the best in the country and are looking for entrants from Laois. They are looking up and down the country for amazing independent takeaways to showcase their cookery skills and compete to be crowned winners at the end of the series. These are the requirements: -All participants must be over 18. -You must own an independent takeaway or food van. -At least two members of staff must be interested in participating. - Must be available for filming through July and August 2022. -Animo cannot accept applications from sit-in restaurants. To apply, please email takeaway@animotv.ie with your name, number and the name of your takeaway. A member of the Animo team will be in touch. A very popular walking route thats designed to enhance public health needs measures to make it safer for walkers, according to a Laois County Councillor. Cllr Conor Bergin, Fine Gael, raised the issue with Laois County Council officials. He tabled a motion calling on Laois County Council to provide a new footpath between St Marks Church, Borris-In-Ossory and the Shanboe roundabout, along with infill lighting to enhance safety for walkers on the Irish Heart Foundation Sli na Slainte walking route. Cllr Bergin said he lives along the route and knows how popular it is. I can see every day the amount of people walking on it from dawn to dusk, he said. He said the stretch he is concerned about is a fairly dangerous stretch. While some local work has been carried out, he called for more permanent work. Mr. Edmond Kenny, District Engineer, replied in writing. There is a portion of footpath that is not complete between the entrance to St Canices Terrace to the southern side of the railway line. Consultation with Irish Rail will be necessary to further this scheme, he said. He added that Cllr Bergin will be kept informed of the progress of this scheme. A Laois secondary school has been awarded by Trinity College Dublin for its work to promote third level education to its students. Mountmellick Community School has won the Trinity Access: Schools of Distinction, Community Award. The Schools of Distinction Award, conferred by Trinity Access, Trinity College Dublin, recognises and showcases the efforts of schools nationwide to transform their school culture and to develop innovative approaches to teaching and learning. This award scheme aims to support the development of college-going practices and a student-centred, innovative learning environment across schools nationwide. Mountmellick Community School was particularly successful in the variety of initiatives organised such as College Awareness Week, guest speakers, college taster programmes, facilitating mentoring and promoting leadership in learning. Joanne Teehan is the school's Guidance Counsellor. We are delighted to be part of a nationwide movement to promote the importance of post-secondary education. Winning the School of Distinction: Community award recognises the ongoing work of our staff and students, she said. Lisa Keane is Director of Trinity Access. We are delighted to recognise the innovative, leadership and community focused work that these schools have achieved in an extraordinary year. We hope to share the learning from these beacons of creativity with all our other school partners. A warm congratulations from all in Trinity Access for your courageous and creative leadership. The award recognises that often extraordinary work is being successfully undertaken by schools in challenging conditions. Participants draw on their own school and community resources and the resources of the Trinity Access project to support educational innovation and change. This School of Distinction: Community Award, recognises the achievement of schools who evaluate and identify the needs of their students and teachers through its School Survey. Community Award winners like Mountmellick CS then set relevant targets to address these needs and action student centred programmes. Winning schools have begun the process of engaging their students in three core practices of Pathways to College, Mentoring and Leadership in Learning and have plans to expand these innovative programmes. A school in Kildare has won the prestigious Trinity College School of Distinction Award. Athy College has been recognised by Trinity Access, Trinity College Dublin (TCD), for their ongoing work in creating a college-going culture in their school. The Schools of Distinction Award recognises and showcases the efforts of schools nationwide to transform their school culture and to develop innovative approaches to teaching and learning. The scheme recognises the often-extraordinary work being successfully undertaken by schools in challenging conditions, and with limited resources. It encourages participants to draw on their own school and community resources and the resources of the Trinity Access project in TCD to support educational innovation and change. Commenting on the achievement, Athy College Principal Richard Daly said: "We are delighted to be part of a nationwide movement to promote the importance of post-secondary education. "Winning the School of Distinction: Innovation award recognises the ongoing work of our staff and students." Also commenting on the news was Lisa Keane, Director of Trinity Access, who added, "We are delighted to recognise the innovative, leadership and community focused work that these schools have achieved in an extraordinary year. "We hope to share the learning from these beacons of creativity with all our other school partners. "A warm congratulations from all in Trinity Access for your courageous and creative leadership," she added. FURTHER DETAILS The School of Distinction: Innovation Award, recognises the creative and innovative ways that schools are embedding a college-going culture. They have active, student-centred programmes that support the three core practices of Pathways to College, Mentoring and Leadership in Learning in their school. Innovation Award winners support and encourage their teachers to explore innovative teaching methodologies, engage with other excellent teachers through the Trinity Access Community of Practice and establish Community of Practices within their own schools This award scheme aims to support the development of college-going practices and a student-centred, innovative learning environment across schools nationwide. For further information visit https://www.tcd.ie/trinityaccess/teachers/unlinked/. Up to 115 children who fled the war in Ukraine with their families are currently enrolled in schools across County Kildare, according to the KWETB. The KWETB said in a statement that up to May 24, there were 86 students enrolled in primary schools and 29 enrolled in secondary. The equivalent number for County Wicklow is 153 in primary and 29 in secondary. The KWETB also said that under the direction of the Minister of Education, it is coordinating the education and language needs of the Ukrainian refugees in the Kildare and Wicklow region. It added that the two main strands of focus are Adult Education and Further Education and Training and Primary/Post Primary. Once a family has been granted Temporary Protection under the EU Directive, children aged between 4 and 18 will be supported to access public primary or post-primary education provided by the State as appropriate. A statement from the KWETB added: "In addition, the ETB are actively involved in supporting Ukrainian children in access school places for all primary and post primary schools in the counties and also supporting access to language support and in some instances access to their own Ukrainian curriculum. "Regional Education and Language Teams (REALTS) have been established in each ETB region throughout the country. "These teams include representatives from a range of statutory education and support agencies. "The main issue over the coming months is for schools to deal with on going enrolments, to establish summer activities and spaces in camps etc. Summer camps are a preferred choice for families rather than formal English classes for that time period for young people." Every year Intel Ireland recognises and acknowledges the women in their workforce through the presentation of the Womens Achievement Awards. This year four of the 11 award recipients were from Kildare. The recipients of the awards each year come from all areas of Intels business operations in Ireland. The awardees are nominated by their organisations for having delivered a significant and measurable impact to Intels business and reputation. Sandra Murphy Fab 24 Production department Sandra Murphy, from Newbridge, Co. Kildare, was recognised for her sustaining commitment to line management operational excellence. Sandra plays a key role as a system owner for the Remote Operations Centre, a line coordinator and trainer for new employees, an ergonomic assessor and an operational expert who consistently documents best practise and operational improvements to support her wider team. Sandra is one of the most sought-after production employees in response to any new challenge as they arise. Amanda Thompson Manufacturing & Product Engineering (MPE) As Operations Manager in MPE Ireland, Amanda, who lives in Celbridge, Co. Kildare, is involved in every aspect of running the business. Amanda led a massive hiring drive - from diverse sourcing, interviewing, hiring, to onboarding, to leading activities to enable MPE Ireland become a Great Place to Work. She role models safety, inclusion, personal development and sets an example for all to see and admire. In her operations role - driving disciplined execution into all aspects of the teams product resourcing, product development, finance, operations - Amandas leadership, drive and energy is world class. In leading quality initiatives across the MPE organisation, Amanda has stretched and extended her role to enable her development and impact on a global scale. Sarah Baxter Dry Etch High Precision Maintenance Sarah, who lives in Clane, Co. Kildare, demonstrates leadership, collaboration, and knowledge sharing with the Dry Etch High Precision Maintenance team enabling many significant wins for Fab 24. Sarah educates stakeholders on supporting equipment developments and innovations to enable better quality maintenance and equipment availability. Sarah has made significant contributions to shaping processes that can be shared with other Intel sites and new fab developments. Becky Tyrrell Fab Construction Enterprise (FCE) Becky, who is from Rathangan Co. Kildare, was recognised for her expertise and strong leadership in providing very unique construction support to a fully loaded, live manufacturing site. Becky brings recognition of the FCE Construction organisation and its capabilities not just to new Fab builds but to our existing facilities. Becky demonstrates the value of One Intel every day with her unique practical experience on projects of all sizes and value in a very challenging environment. By Isabel Hayes The jury in the multi million euro theft trial of former solicitor Michael Lynn has been discharged after it failed to reach an agreement. The jury was unable to reach a majority verdict after just over 12 hours of deliberations in the wake of the three-and-a-half month trial, the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was told today/yesterday (WEDS). Judge Martin Nolan asked the jury if it could possibly reach a verdict if it was given more time. The jurors replied that they could not. Judge Nolan then said he had no other option but to discharge it and he thanked for their service. Lynn made no reaction when the jury said it was unable to reach a verdict. Mr Lynn (53) of Millbrook Court, Red Cross, Co Wicklow had pleaded not guilty to 21 counts of theft in Dublin between October 23, 2006 and April 20, 2007, when he was working as a solicitor and property developer. It was the prosecution case that Mr Lynn obtained multiple mortgages on the same properties in a situation where banks were unaware that other institutions were also providing finance. These properties included 'Glenlion' - Mr Lynn's 5.5 million home in Howth - and multiple investment properties. The financial institutions involved were Bank of Ireland, National Irish Bank (later known as Danske Bank), Irish Life and Permanent, Ulster Bank, ACC Bank, Bank of Scotland Ireland Ltd and Irish Nationwide Building Society. Mr Lynn took the stand for nine days and told his trial that the banks were aware he had multiple loans on the same properties and that this was custom and practice among bankers in Celtic Tiger Ireland. He said he had secret deals with a number of bankers, who gave him permission to use the loan money for his property developments abroad. He told the court he and former Irish Nationwide chief executive Michael Fingleton were involved in a secret profit share agreement in relation to a property development in Portugal. Prosecution counsel asked for a mention date in the next court term in order to get directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions. Judge Nolan adjourned the matter until June 20 and remanded Mr Lynn on continuing bail until then. If you are heading across Europe on your holidays this summer, you might want to brush up on the local road traffic laws if you're thinking of renting a car. Chill has put together a guide for those who may not be aware of some of the most unusual driving laws across the continent. Heres a round-up of five unusual driving laws across Europe. Of course, each country has its own rules and regulations so make sure you do your own research before getting behind the wheel. You must have your headlights on at all times (Italy and Spain) Drivers in Italy and Spain are required to have their dipped headlights on at all times (and full beam in the dark). Regardless of how bright and sunny it may be, you will need your lights on. No driving in flip-flops (Spain) Best to keep a spare pair of footwear whilst driving in Spain. You could land yourself a fine of up to 200 if they are deemed to impact your grip on the pedals by the Civil Guard. No kids in the front (France) Family road trips can result in one less argument as children under the age of ten are not allowed to sit in the front passenger seat in France. Regardless of height, any child aged 9 or below must sit in the back of the vehicle. No running out of gas on the Autobahn (Germany) In Germany, the famous Autobahn has very high speed limits, therefore it is illegal to run out of gas on this highway for safety reasons as you are not allowed to stop for any reason other than an emergency. So, make sure you have plenty in the tank to get you to your destination. Shirts must be worn (Spain) The temperatures might get hot, but youll just have to turn on the A/C as motorists are not allowed to drive without a shirt in Spain. This is due to injuries that may occur to the driver if the seatbelt is needed in an emergency or if you burn, impacting the ability to drive safely. So, drivers in Spain must be fully dressed or you can face a fine of up to 100. The launch of the 14th annual Sean Mac Diarmada Summer School took place in the Heritage Centre, Kiltyclogher, on Monday, May 23. The launch was attended by a number of representatives from Leitrim County Council, namely Lar Power (CEO, LCC) Joseph Gilhooly (Director of Services, LCC), and Council Cathaoirleach, Cllr Paddy ORourke who officially launched the 2022 event. Regina Fahey (event director) thanked Leitrim County Council, Leitrim Tourism and the Decade of Centenaries committee for their valued support of the event. Regina Fahey, Event Director The event theme for June 2022 is Reflections on the Irish Civil War. Having reached seminal milestones in Irish history, (the 1916 Rising and the War of Independence), the event now finds itself in year seven in the decade of centenaries. Now it will examine perhaps the most significant and divisive episode in our history - the Irish Civil War of June 1922 - May 1923; a twelve months war that would impact on Irish life for the next 100 years to date. The opening of the summer school will take place on Friday, June 17 with the customary event at the Mac Diarmada homestead in Corranmore. Direct descendants of Sean Mac Diarmada - Padraig McDermott, Maura Mylonas and Patricia Walsh, will perform the opening ceremony on the doorstep of their grand-uncles ancestral home. The opening lecture of the weekend, the Orla Parkinson Memorial Lecture will be delivered by Dr. Jackie Ui Chionna (NUIG), her presentation title being, Miss Ryan, she who in all probability, had I lived, would have been my wife: Min Ryan, Love and Loss in the Revolutionary Period. Prin Duignan, a former director of the summer school, will offer a presentation on a specific Leitrim event in the Irish Civil War - The Dennison Murders, Drumkeerin; A North Leitrim Episode in the Irish Civil War. The final presentation on Friday, June 17 will be given by Irish Times journalist, Ronan McGreevy, with Irelands Sarajevo: The Assassination of Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson MP, started the Irish Civil War and changed the course of Irish history. Why was he shot and what role did Michael Collins play in this event? Cllr Paddy O'Rourke, Cathaoirleach, Leitrim County Council Saturday, June 18 sees a five speaker line-up beginning with Danny Morrison (former national director of Sinn Fein) analysing The Consequences of Signing. Tom Elliott (former leader of the UUP) will consider The disastrous impact of the Irish Civil War on Unionists and Protestants of the Irish Free State. Cathaoirleach of Seanad Eireann, Senator Mark Daly, will focus on the Seanad with his presentation entitled, The Centenary of Seanad Eireann - Minority Voices, Major Change - Past, Present and Future. An analysis of how we as a nation have commemorated our significant historical centenaries, will be offered by Catriona Crowe (former lead archivist at the National Archives of Ireland) in her presentation Civil War: how are we doing at the end of the decade of centenaries? Finally, Tommie Gorman (former RTE Northern Editor) will assess the political landscape, North and South, following the recently held Northern Ireland Assembly elections in his presentation entitled: Now that Northern Irelands Assembly elections are over, what next? June 2022 sees a return to a real event in Kiltycloghers Holiday Centre after two years of live streaming of the event due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The ability to live stream ensured the continuity of the event and brought it to many in a global context; people who could not otherwise have accessed the event due to lack of geographical proximity. Live streaming will take place again this year in conjunction with the actual event taking place in the Holiday Centre. This will be a feature of the summer school going forward and was one very positive outcome for the event after two long and twilight years of lockdown and semi-lockdown during the pandemic. Details of the event may be found on www.seanmacdiarmada.ie or alternatively through calls to 083 184 7432 and texts to 085 - 160 5327. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Disability Matters convened in Leinster House to discuss matters regarding the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities on May 12. And in a major achievement for Glenfarne man, James McManus, he was also one of three involved in the Social Farming programme to address the committee on his experiences. The Committee considers all disability matters including monitoring the implementation (by Ireland) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, which Ireland has yet to formally ratify. The committee hearing was attended by Brian Smyth and Helen Doherty from Social Farming Ireland based in Leitrim Development Company (who run the programme across the country), and Glenfarne man James McManus who was invited to provide a statement to the committee. In his statement, James outlined his experience of the Social Farming programme and how it had been a great benefit to him. During his time on the social farming placements, James had identified a desire to get a job on a farm and through a number of placements supported by his social worker Niall Cahill, his skills and confidence grew and his personal capacity and independence also grew. Leitrim Development Company were in a position to support him further and at the start of 2022 James joined a new Individual Placement Support (IPS) programme for people with disabilities. Through the IPS programme he began his job search which resulted in him securing employment at Manorhamilton Livestock Mart under the guidance of Sean Glackin and Ivan Moffitt. The social farming placement helped James to this point in his life, supporting independent living skills and building his confidence and self-esteem. James loves his new role in the mart and is very proud of his achievements to date. Also testifying to the Committee, Helen Doherty, National Social Farming Co-ordinator explained Social Farming is a simple but powerful concept giving people who have challenges in their life an opportunity to spend time engaging in activities on ordinary Irish family farms. The support is based on the relationship that develops between people and farmers, their families and wider communities. There are now 120 farmers who are trained and meet rigorous standards for practice and are supported by our regional development officers based in four hubs covering all areas of Ireland. All this has been made possible through the support of the Department of Agriculture since 2016. If you want to find out more see www.socialfarmingireland.ie or call 071 9641772. A MAN who recklessly discharged at least four shots at a house where infant twins were sleeping, has been jailed for 12 years. Larry OConnor, aged 33, who has an address at The Lodges, Ballykisteen, County Tipperary was convicted, earlier this year, of several charges arising from an incident at Deelside, The Quay, Askeaton in the early hours of July 13, 2019. During a sentencing hearing this Tuesday, Judge Patrick Meghen was told Mr OConnor maintains he was not involved and should not have been found guilty. He wishes to assert his innocence, the jury got it wrong, said Anthony Sammon SC who added it is his clients position that he wasnt there and that he didnt fire any shots. Earlier, Lily Buckley BL, instructed by State Solicitor Aidan Judge, said Mr OConnor was convicted by a jury, on March 1, of six charges, including reckless discharge of a firearm. His brother Daniel OConnor, aged 42, who has an address at Hassett's Villas, Thomondgate, Limerick pleaded guilty to a burglary charge on the second day of the trial. Detective Sergeant Michael Reidy said Daniel OConnor was the driver of a high-powered getaway car and that the offence was a case of joint enterprise and common design. He said a cousin of the defendants lives at the house in Askeaton with his partner and twins who were 10 months old at the time. Det Sgt Reidy told the court there are hostilities in the background and that there had been a number of incidents involving family members in the months before the shooting. During the lengthy sentencing hearing, Judge Meghen was told the alarm was raised shortly after 3.20am when a number of 999 calls were made to the emergency services. The recordings of three separate calls, including two made by the occupants of the house, were played to the court and the judge commented that one "could only imagine the terror" as events unfolded. CCTV footage played in court showed a black Seat Leon car passing the house at Deelside on several occasions around the time of the shooting. Giving commentary on the CCTV, Garda Cathal Benson said the lights of the car were turned off and that stopped outside the house four times over a 25 minutes period. Footage from a traffic camera in the town shows what appears to be a 'pipe-like' object being pointed out the front passenger window of the car, which was located in the Midlands a number of weeks after the shooting. Ms Buckley said it is the States case that Larry OConnor was the gunman and that he discharged a number of shots from a pump-action shotgun at the front of the house - damaging the fascia and soffit. Det Sgt Reidy said he (Larry O'Connor) got out of the car and fired "at least" two more shots inside the house damaging a cooker, a back window and the ceiling above the stairwell. It was clearly a pre-meditated attack, commented Judge Meghen who added that the presence of two young babies in the house at the time was an aggravating factor. The judge said he agreed with the DPP's assessment that the offence was within the "higher range" of the scale and he said, in the case, of Larry O'Connor there was no mitigation before the court to allow him reduce his sentence. In the case of Daniel O'Connor, the judge accepted he had played a lesser role than his brother and he said his apology and expression of remorse were helpful as was his guilty plea. Larry OConnor, who has 79 previous convictions, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment while Daniel OConnor, who has 38 previous convictions, was sentenced to seven years with the final year suspended. The judge directed that both men get credit for any time served on remand. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Home Regional News East LIMERICK City and County Council will hold a special meeting on Friday to remember former Cathaoirleach Mary Jackman who has passed away. Ms Jackman passed away on Monday at the age of 79 at Milford Care Centre. Ms Jackman was first elected to the then Limerick County Council in 1985 from the Castleconnell Local Electoral Area and was subsequently re-elected in every local election since until her retirement from politics in 2014. She was the first ever woman to be elected as Cathaoirleach of Limerick County Council in 1998 and was a senator for two periods (1989 to 1993 and 1997 to 2002). She is survived by her husband Nicholas, daughter Nicola, sister Ursula and extended family. The meeting will take place on Friday, June 3 at 9am at the council chamber in Dooradoyle as well as online. Ms Jackman's funeral mass will take place on Friday in Mary Magdalene Church, Monaleen at 11am. As a mark of respect, the Irish flag will fly at half-mast at the council chambers until after her funeral mass. Commenting on her passing, Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Cllr Daniel Butler said: "Mary was an absolute lady. She was always full of energy, positivity and warmth. I spent many a time canvassing for her and with her. "When I was young she was always so encouraging and again later in life when I entered politics. She will be sorely missed. On behalf of the people of Limerick I would like to extend my sympathies to her husband Nick, daughter Nicola and extended family." THE SHANNON-based Coast Guard helicopter has been deployed to a major rescue operation off the south west coast. Valentia Coast Guard are coordinating assistance to a fishing vessel reportedly in difficulty approximately 60 miles south west of Mizen Head, Cork. The UK registered vessel PIEDRAS, which has a crew of eleven, is reported to be taking on water and has lost propulsion. Shortly after raising the alarm, the crew decided to abandon the vessel and transferred to another fishing vessel FV ARMAVEN. No injuries were reported and the casualty vessel is reported to be on fire wit the situation being monitored by R115. The Shannon based Coast Guard Helicopter R115 is on scene and R116 is on standby in Cork Airport. The crew of 11 have abandoned the vessel and are safely onboard another FV. The casualty vessel is on fire. R115 and Air Corps Casa on scene. Valentia CG coordinating #IRCG Irish Coast Guard (@IrishCoastGuard) June 1, 2022 The Naval ship LE SAMUEL BECKETT and an Air Corps CASA are also proceeding towards the vessel. Weather conditions on scene are favourable and another fishing vessel is also on scene preparing to assist as necessary. A NEW Irish psychological thriller featuring actresses from Star Wars and Shameless has wrapped filming across Limerick and Clare. Shooting has wrapped on Woken, starring Erin Kellyman from Solo: A Star Wars Story as well as The Green Knight and Maxine Peake from Shameless UK and The Theory of Everything. Filmed over five weeks on location in Limerick and West Clare the film is funded by Screen Ireland and produced by Fantastic Films. John McDonnell, Producer at Fantastic Films said the crew had a great experience filming in Limerick and Clare. The stunning locations we were able to access, the local crew we recruited and the support from Film in Limerick and from the University of Limerick (UL) were all top class and we look forward to showing off the results of everyone's hard work very soon, he added. Woken tells the story of a young woman who wakes up on a remote island without any memory and is forced to re-learn everything about herself, including her husband and the baby she is carrying. When two disfigured men arrive on the island, she comes to learn another terrifying truth. The production was supported by Innovate Limerick through Film in Limerick, who have a regional remit for developing the sector in the Mid-West. Film in Limerick worked closely with the producers to bring the production to the region and assisted with locations, crewing and local permissions. Paul C. Ryan, Regional Film Manager at Film in Limerick said it was brilliant to see so many independent features choosing the Mid-West as their filming location. The impact of such productions for the filming locations and the region in general is massive, with job creation, local spend and future tourism potential, he said. He also thanked UL, who have facilitated the filming of two feature films on campus in recent weeks. Kerstin Mey, President of UL, said: It was fascinating to visit the set to meet some of the cast and crew and particularly to see how the set had been created. Woken will premiere later in 2022. The Irish Postmasters Union has welcomed the announcement of a 30 million government plan to secure the Post Office Network, which will help to keep Post Offices open and government services accessible in local communities. The Irish Postmasters Union (IPU) said that in making available a funding package of 30 million over a three-year fixed period, the government, like many countries across Europe, was recognising the social value of post offices. Welcoming the announcement, Sean Martin, President of the Irish Postmasters Union said: The Post Office Network is the lifeblood of our towns and villages and a much-trusted focal point of our communities. The Network continues to be Irelands largest retail and face-to-face service network at the heart of over 900 communities serving approximately 1.3 million customers each week. Our role in supporting communities was never more evident than during the recent pandemic when we were one of the few government services to remain open throughout. I want to thank the Government for making this funding available in order to protect and strengthen this vital infrastructure for the publics benefit. The Post Office network is a highly trusted service and a national asset which Postmasters want to grow and develop. We have always been willing to work with new services and we have demonstrated our flexibility time and again in responding to new challenges. We believe the network can be leveraged to greatly benefit both the citizen and Government, strengthening our shared civic and social connectivity, and developing the Network will also have a positive multiplier effect for all other local businesses. We thank Minister Ryan, Minister Naughton, Minister Humphries and Minister McGrath and the many TDs and Senators who recognised the invaluable service provided by postmasters and the need for a strong and viable network. Irish Postmasters Union (IPU) General Secretary Ned OHara said: Postmasters will now focus on working to ensure the equitable distribution of this funding and we look forward to discussing the matter further with An Post. The IPU is committed to working to develop the Network and keep as many Post Offices as possible serving communities across the country. MUMBAI : ByteDance has become the latest Chinese investor to exit an Indian startup, selling its entire stake in VerSe Innovation Pvt. Ltd, which operates news aggregator Dailyhunt. According to two people familiar with the development, last month, the Chinese company sold its stake to Canadian investors during VerSes $805 million fundraising, which valued the company at $5 billion. The shares were bought by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board (OTPP), the people cited above said on condition of anonymity. In April 2020, India tightened rules on foreign direct investment, mandating prior government approval for investments from bordering countries in an attempt to prevent opportunistic takeovers of Indian companies. The press note was silent on existing investments; however, the India-China border clashes that broke out in June, and the ensuing crackdown on hundreds of Chinese apps, including ByteDances TikTok, made many Chinese investors wary. We at VerSe Innovation confirm that ByteDance has fully exited our cap table. We are probably amongst the few unicorns in the country with 0% Chinese shareholding on our cap table," a spokesperson for VerSe Innovation said. ByteDance and OTPP did not respond to requests for comments. CPPIB declined to comment. ByteDance first invested in VerSe in 2016 and followed it up with multiple investments in subsequent years. Prior to its exit, it had a 9.8% stake in VerSe. VerSe reported consolidated net sales of 666.1 crore ($85.9 million) on a loss of 807.9 crore in FY21. Its FY22 financials could not be ascertained, but the company said in April that its revenue for FY22 stood at $125 million. Dailyhunt was launched as Newshunt by former Nokia executives Umesh Kulkarni and Chandrashekhar Sohoni in 2009 and sold to VerSe in 2012. In 2020, the company entered the unicorn club after raising over $100 million from investors such as Falcon Edge Capital-managed Alpha Wave, Google and Microsoft. Its other investors include Matrix Partners India, Sequoia Capital, Falcon Edge Capital, Goldman Sachs and Sofina Group. ByteDances exit from VerSe comes at a time Indias stance on Chinese investments is not fully clear. On 11 January, Bloomberg reported that the government is considering easing restrictions on Chinese investors. On Tuesday, The Economic Times reported that ByteDance was planning a partnership for data centres in India with the Hiranandani Group. In the wake of the rising heat on Chinese investments in India, ByteDance laid off over 2,000 Indian employees in 2021. Mint reported on 19 May that Chinese billionaire Jack Ma had exited Paytm Mall for 42 crore. Tencent stays invested in several Indian startups including Cars24, Swiggy and ShareChat. MUMBAI : Yes Bank Ltd has chosen JC Flowers Asset Reconstruction Co. as its joint venture partner to offload 49,000 crore of bad loans as the private lender seeks to clean up its books and raise capital to fund credit growth. JC Flowers has offered 12,107 crore against the bad loan book, ensuring a 25% recovery, two people familiar with the development said. Yes Bank had set Wednesday as the deadline for choosing its joint venture partner. Cerberus Assets management, which came a close second, bid a similar amount, but JC Flowers had the advantage of already owning an asset reconstruction company (ARC) in India, the people said on condition of anonymity. Cerberus would have taken six months to get RBI approval for acquiring a new ARC, whereas JC Flowers already had an existing ARC structure in place," said one of the people cited above. Yes Bank will need to invest 400 crore in the JC Flowers ARC to pick up a 20% stake in the company. Payments by the joint venture company for the bad loan book will be made under the 15:85 structure, with 1,800 crore, or 15% of the agreed amount, to be paid upfront in cash to Yes Bank. The rest will be paid in security receipts to be redeemed as the ARC recovers money from defaulters. The bad loan book of 49,000 crore includes so-called technical write-offs worth 17,000 crore and soured investments. Technical write-offs involve moving a fully provided bad loan account off the balance sheet even as recovery efforts continue. The deal with JC Flowers clears the way for Yes Bank to raise 10,000 crore of equity capital, which had been delayed due to the sizable amount of soured assets on its books. According to media reports, the bank is in talks with Advent International and Carlyle to raise equity. In August, Yes Bank invited expressions of interest to set up the ARC, in which it proposed to own a 20% stake. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had earlier rejected Yes Banks application to start an ARC, citing a conflict of interest. Following this, the bank tweaked the structure of the proposed ARC, offering to hold a minority stake and find more shareholders to overcome the regulatory hurdle. In February, Mint reported that Cerberus, one of the worlds largest assets investors, was looking to acquire a controlling stake in Blackstones International Asset Reconstruction Co. (IARC), which will be the investment vehicle for the transaction with Yes Bank. Cerberus shelved the plan to buy a new ARC licence from RBI as it was a time-consuming process and instead decided to bid for an existing ARC. In comparison, JC Flowers has a presence in India with its JC Flowers ARC, a joint venture (JV) with Indian distressed investor Eight Capital and London-based Emso Asset Management. In February, Mint reported that Eight Capital had quit the JV because of differences in opinion over the proposed Yes Bank deal. While Eight capital wanted to make concentrated investments, one at a time, JC Flowers wanted to invest in a wide range of distressed deals to start with, the report added. A spokesperson for JC Flowers declined to comment. A Yes Bank spokesperson didnt respond to an email query seeking comment. Some OPEC members are exploring the idea of suspending Russias participation in an oil-production deal as Western sanctions and a partial European ban begin to undercut Moscows ability to pump more, OPEC delegates said. A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. Click here to read the full article. Danny Masterson won a six-week delay of his upcoming serial rape trial after shaking up his legal team at a court hearing Tuesday, but the actor and prominent Scientologist failed in his last-minute bid to sever one of his three accusers into a separate trial. Best known for playing Steven Hyde on Foxs That 70s Show from 1998 to 2006, the former sitcom star appeared in person at the morning hearing in downtown Los Angeles and told Judge Charlaine Olmedo he wanted high-powered lawyers Shawn Holley and Philip Cohen to become his new lead trial attorneys, replacing famed former Michael Jackson defense lawyer Tom Mesereau and his co-counsel Sharon Appelbaum. When the court granted the switch, and the new lawyers asked for more time to prepare, Judge Olmedo agreed to delay the start of Mastersons trial from late August to Oct. 11. Masterson, 46, has pleaded not guilty to charges he forcibly raped three women on separate occasions at his Hollywood, California, home between 2001 and 2003. If convicted as charged, he faces a maximum of 45 years to life in prison. In lengthy arguments Tuesday, Cohen tried but failed to convince the court that Jane Doe 2s claim she was raped by Masterson at his home in late 2003 should be severed from the felony counts related to Jane Does 1 and 3 because lumping her in with the other accusers who claim choking, slapping and other physical violence violated Mastersons right to a fair trial. Cohen further claimed Jane Doe 2s allegation was the weakest of the three and was tossed in to emotionally inflame jurors and make them dislike his client. At a preliminary hearing last year, Jane Doe 2 testified that Masterson invited her over to his house toward the end of 2003 after they met through Scientology and Masterson asked for her phone number one night following a gathering with friends at a local bar. The woman testified that while she was interested in possibly dating Masterson at the time, she was trying to keep certain boundaries and wasnt open to casual sex. I said I would absolutely not be getting in any water or jacuzzi or pool or bringing a bathing suit, she testified. And I didnt want to drink. I said maybe one glass of wine. We can talk and then Im leaving. During her time on the witness stand in May 2021, Jane Doe 2 said Masterson immediately handed her a glass of wine upon her arrival and became very serious and commanding, ordering her to strip and get in his jacuzzi. Take off your clothes right now, he demanded, according to her testimony. If you dont do it, Im gonna do it. She claimed Masterson was ordering her around like a drill sergeant, using a domineering voice known in Scientology as tone 40. She said he raped her in his upstairs bathroom and bedroom as she was pleading with him to stop. I felt like limp, and a rag doll, she testified. I was not in control of my faculties. I was just sort of spent. Jane Doe 2 said she didnt immediately report the attack to police because she feared being declared a suppressive person by the church, a label she described as being an excommunicated outcast. You lose everything, your good standing with society. They put you on blast that you are a suppressive person, she testified. (She reported the alleged rape to police in 2016.) Cohen argued Tuesday that Jane Doe 2, as far as the defense is concerned, is a scorned ex-lover who was initially enamored with Masterson and thrilled by his attention before being cast aside after their allegedly consensual sex. Jane Doe 2 was thinking this was someone shes going to date, someone she wants to have a relationship with, and Masterson doesnt give her the time of day. None of that is good, if true, but it paints a very different picture than that laid out by Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2, Cohen argued. The picture painted is this guys an ass. This guy is playing with her emotions. This guy is using his status as an actor to procure something from this woman, then he throws her aside. Cohen said Jane Doe 2s account didnt even amount to a forcible rape, despite the charge, and, if allowed to be heard alongside the rape claims of Jane Does 1 and 3, could trigger improper bias. Judge Olmedo disagreed, ruling at the end of the three-hour hearing that all three counts related to the three accusers were properly joined. She said all involve the same alleged crime, relate to actions close in time and purportedly took place at the same location. No one count is substantially stronger or weaker than the other, she ruled from the bench. There is cross-admissibility of evidence. She said each Jane Doe made allegations of Masterson providing a drink that impacted them more than usual, initiating sexual contact and not taking No for an answer. Judge Olmedo also heard arguments on Mastersons still-pending motion to dismiss the forcible rape count related to Jane Doe 1 on the grounds that prosecutors waited 16 years to file. The judge gave both sides more time to file additional briefs and set a follow-up hearing for June 30. Jane Doe No. 1 testified at the probable cause hearing in May 2021 that she felt drugged after consuming half of a red fruity vodka drink during a gathering at Mastersons Hollywood home in April 2003. She said the actor commanded her to remove her clothes and get in his Jacuzzi, where she feared she might slip under the surface and drown. The woman said Masterson later carried her upstairs and raped her vaginally and anally as she drifted in and out of consciousness. At one point, Masterson pulled a handgun out of his nightstand and threatened, Dont fucking move, she testified. Describing herself as a second-generation Scientologist, Jane Doe 1 said a fellow church member refused to speak with her as she left Mastersons house and that a church ethics officer warned her not to even utter the word rape. She reported the alleged rape to police a year later, in 2004, after hearing that Masterson had allegedly assaulted another victim, she testified. Chrissie Carnell Bixler has publicly identified herself as Jane Doe 3 through public statements on social media, in media interviews and in a civil lawsuit filed against the actor. She testified at the preliminary hearing that she was raped by Masterson twice at the end of 2001, when they were involved in a domestic relationship. Carnell Bixler said the first assault involved the actor initiating penetrative sex with her while she was sleeping and refusing to stop when she woke up. She claimed Masterson pinned her down with all of his weight, struck her in the face, spit on her, and called her white trash when she pulled his hair to defend herself. She claimed the second attack followed about a month later, with Masterson allegedly drugging her wine at a restaurant and penetrating her anally while she was passed out. She testified that when she tried to report her experience to church officials, an ethics officer told her she must have done something to deserve what happened. She testified that the officer also showed her church doctrine stating it was a high crime to report a fellow Scientologist to law enforcement. Carnell Bixler said the threat of being declared suppressive left her in a state of terror. The Los Angeles District Attorney filed the criminal complaint against Masterson on June 16, 2020. For his part, Masterson has called the allegations outrageous and ridiculous. Click here to read the full article. Memento International is rolling off a banner Cannes, having widely sold Tarik Salehs Boy From Heaven, which competed and won best screenplay, and Kristoffer Borglis Un Certain Regard film Sick of Myself. One of the most political films of this years Cannes Film Festival competition, Boy From Heaven sold to Latin America (Impacto), Germany and Austria (X Verleih), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Poland (M2 Films), Israel (New Cinema), Ex-Yugoslavia (Blitz), Czech Republic, Slovakia (FilmEurope), Baltics (A-One), Romania (Bad Unicorn), Bulgaria (Beta), Portugal (Leopardo Filmes) and Turkey (Bir Films). The movie was also acquired by U.K. distributor Picturehouse at Cannes and is being circled by several U.S. buyers. Salehs follow-up to The Nile Hilton Incident, Boy From Heaven was produced by the Stockholm-based outfit Atmo and Productions Alexandre Mallet-Guy. A religious and political thriller, Boy From Heaven is set in Cairo at a Koranic school following the collapse of a grand imam, which marks the start of a ruthless battle for influence. The movie is headlined by Tawfeek Barhom and Fares Fares, who previously starred in The Nile Hilton Incident. Sick of Myself is a Norwegian drama comedy starring Kristine Kujath Thorp (Ninjababy, The Burning Sea) and Eirik Sther, a contemporary artist who is making his acting debut. The film revolves around Signe and Thomas, whose dysfunctional relationship takes a vicious turn when Thomas suddenly breaks through as a contemporary artist. Signe embarks on a desperate quest to regain her status and attract attention by creating a new persona at all costs. The movie was acquired for France (Tandem), Benelux (Cherry Pickers), Japan (The Klockworx Co., Ltd), Latin America (Cine Canibal), Hungary (Vertigo), Poland (Aurora), Czech Republic and Slovakia (FilmEurope), Baltics (Estin Films) and Taiwan (Hooray Films). Memento International is also fielding offers from U.S. and U.K. buyers. Borgli previously directed the short films Former Cult Member Hears Music for the First Time and Eer, which played at Sundance. Sick of Myself was produced by Andrea Berentsen Ottmar and Dyveke Bjrkly Graver at Oslo Pictures, the banner behind Joachim Triers Oscar-nominated The Worst Person in the World. Sweden-based Garage Film International and Film i Vast co-produced it. Mathieu Delaunay, Memento Internationals head of sales, said It felt good to feel the energy and adrenaline of the market back. Delaunay added that buyers are still drawn to powerful stories and strong cinematic propositions. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Rodeo might have had a clearer (and catchier) title if it had been called Wheelie. Its a drama set among French motocross riders, who are a bit like the outlaw bikers of the 60s except that they wear cropped hair and athletic logo T-shirts instead of hippie manes and satanic leather jackets. And in this movie, at least, they dont rove. Theyre rooted in a desolate suburb of Paris, where they gather to zoom along the road and pop up on one wheel, which the movie describes to us as a feeling of intense liberation. It sure looks that way. But its only in fits and starts, mostly during the first 20 minutes, that Rodeo gets off on those stunts. Julia (Julie Ledru), the feral but untrained biker who joins the gravity-tweaking competitors, is the only female on hand, and she never does learn how to pop a wheelie; she achieves her freedom through stealing. Yet she longs to be accepted into this brotherhood of balls (the word gets used a lot and applied to her as well), who refer to themselves as the B-Mores. They run a chop shop for bikes and see her as an interloper until, after a while, they dont. How much of a rebel misfit is Julia, whose family comes from Guadeloupe? Shes such a misfit that the nickname she chooses for herself is Unknown. The new-to-movies actor Julie Ledru has jutting teeth with a gap in front that suggests a certain daredevil insolence, though when shes in repose, which is nearly always, the look in her eye is deeply and strikingly tragic. She looks like an exotically depressed Geena Davis. We long to know what formed that face, but I was born with a bike between my legs, says Julie, and thats about as close as the film comes to character development. Julie has a crime that she repeats like a ritual, or maybe an addiction. She arrives at the home of a wealthy person in the countryside, who is selling a fancy used motorbike, usually for around 3,000 Euro. They always want her to take a very limited test drive like, to the end of the driveway. She tentatively agrees, then hops on the bike, revs it, and charges off toward the highway, laughing with jubilant FTW liberation, never to be seen by them again. You can understand how someone could get away with this once, but since she seems to do it about every other day, the audience has thoughts like: Dont they have police in France? Lola Quivoron, the director and co-writer of Rodeo, uses Julia as a totem of downtrodden but implacable feminine fighter spirit. And Ledru, a biker who was discovered by Quivoron on Instagram, has such an intriguing presence that we want to know how Julia came to be. What melted her down to the point that she craves nothing but reckless acting out? Early biker cinema like the Hells Angels flicks had a B-movie psychology, but Rodeo, at least on the surface, is more realistic; the movies racing and party scenes suggest someone trying to work in the mode of Andrea Arnoldss American Honey. Its life-is-shallow/life-is-doom existential storytelling. Yet theres nothing to the characters but their indifferent surface and the unruly energy they occasionally reveal beneath. So after a while they start to wear you down. Theres a biker dude named Kais (Yanis Lafki), who in a different-era version of this movie, one where romance existed, would have hooked up with the heroine. You can, at times, feel the ghosts of Belmondo and Seberg in Breathless hovering over their scenes together, but according to the logic of today, love compromises cool. So they simply end up collaborating on a robbery. Julia has spotted a truck, painted electric blue, that contains a shipment of KXF 2020s. Upon hearing this news, Kais says, You know how to talk to a guy. The plan is to steal those bikes, yet this is no heist movie. Theres no elaborate scheme, no run-up to the crime. The movie devotes way more time to Julia getting to know Ophelie (played by the films cowriter, Antonia Buresi), the wife of the gangs imprisoned leader, in scenes that are enervated and go nowhere. How are they going to take those bikes? Theyll do it while the truck is zipping along at night at 50 kilometers per hour; theyll enter from the back. Its like something youd expect to see in a Fast and Furious film, in which case the preposterousness would be part of the fun, but in Rodeo we gawk in befuddlement at a plan thats destined to blow up. (Did I mention that Julias enemy biker chooses the exact moment in which theyre on the truck, risking their livesto sexually attack her?) A lot blows up in Rodeo. Its another portrait of a lady on fire, though in this case you may just want to put out the flames that consume any remnant of what we thought we were invested in. Reviewed online (Cannes Film Festival, Un Certain Regard), May 31, 2022. MPAA Rating: Not rated. Running time: 105 MIN. Production A CG Cinema, Canal+, Cine, Les Films di Losange production. Producer: Charles Gillibert. Crew Director: Lola Quivoron. Screenplay: Lola Quivoron, Antonia Buresi. Camera: Raphael Vandenbussche. Editor: Rafael Torres Calderon. Music: Kelman Duran. With Julia Ledru, Yanis Lafki, Antonia Buresi, Junioor Correia, Ahmed Hamdi, Chris Makodi, Sebastien Schroeder, Cody Schroeder, Bruce Strahli. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a ruling blocking a Texas law aimed at preventing big social media services from censoring users or content based on viewpoint. The court ruled 5-4 to block the law, which is pending a challenge before a federal appeals about whether it is constitutional. The court did not provide a reason for why it upheld a lower courts injunction preventing the Texas law from taking effect pending appeal. The Supreme Court was ruling on an emergency application filed by two tech industry groups, representing companies including Meta, Google, TikTok and , which had claimed that the Texas law would compel platforms to disseminate all sorts of objectionable viewpoints, including neo-Nazi or KKK screeds denying or supporting the Holocaust. The Texas law would make it illegal for large social networks to block, ban, remove, de-platform, demonetize, de-boost, restrict, deny equal access or visibility to, or otherwise discriminate against expression. Known as HB 20, the Texas law applies to social media platforms with more than 50 million active monthly users, a group that includes , Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat. The legislation was passed in September 2021, but a lower court granted a preliminary injunction preventing it from taking effect. In December, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction blocking the law, citing the First Amendment. Social media companies have a First Amendment right to moderate content disseminated on their platforms, Judge Robert Pitman wrote in the decision. In a dissenting opinion on Tuesdays Supreme Court ruling, Justice Samuel Alito Jr. wrote that the preliminary injunction was itself a significant intrusion on state sovereignty and that Texas should not be required to seek preclearance from the federal courts before its laws go into effect. He also wrote that it is not at all obvious how our existing precedents, which predate the age of the internet, should apply to large social media companies. Social media platforms have transformed the way people communicate with each other and obtain news, Justice Alito wrote. At issue is a groundbreaking Texas law that addresses the power of dominant social media corporations to shape public discussion of the important issues of the day. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, writing in response to the emergency application to the Supreme Court, had argued that social media giants are the 21st-century descendants of telegraph and telephone companies: that is, traditional common carriers and as such, the First Amendment doesnt prevent the government from keeping the platforms communications pathways open through common-carriage requirements. Conservatives have long asserted that internet platforms somehow harbor an anti-conservative bias something that Elon Musk, whose $44 billion bid for Twitter is pending, agrees with. One of the key triggers for Texas HB 20 legislation was the ban imposed on Donald Trump by YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and others after he praised the rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Last week, a federal appeals court ruled that a Florida law similar to Texas HB 20 was unconstitutional because social media platforms content-moderation activities constitute speech within the meaning of the First Amendment. The Florida law was designed to prohibit social media companies from banning politicians, political candidates or journalistic enterprises. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. January, Viesturs Kairisss autobiographical film set in the former Soviet Union, has been acquired for world sales by The Yellow Affair. The movie will have its world premiere at Tribeca in the international narrative competition. The coming-of-age film sheds light on the political upheaval in the early 1990s. It follows a Jazis, a 19 year-old aspiring cinematographer who, along with his friends, is trying to pursue his dreams of making movies and enjoy the freedom of young adulthood. His world is thrown into chaos as he is dragged into the peoples peaceful protests against the Soviet Armys attempted takeover of power in his country. Kairiss, who co-wrote January with Andris Feldmanis and Livia Ulman, said it was a highly personal film for him. I was 19 in January 1991, so I am very familiar with the protagonists and events of the film. At that age, I was fighting for my personal freedom while the Latvian nation was fighting for freedom from the crushing totalitarian regime of the USSR, said the filmmaker. The war in Ukraine demonstrates that this fight is not over; the end is yet not in sight. But meanwhile what happened to me, to any of us? January is the first month of the year; in this sense, it is a film about a new beginning, added Kairiss. January is produced by Inese Boka-Grube and Gints Grube for Mistrus Media, a Latvian film production company. The cast includes Karlis Arnolds Avots, Alise Danovska, Baiba Broka, Aleksas Kazanavicius, Juhan Ulfsak and Sandis Runge. We are delighted to see that January this timely and significant drama reflecting recent European history will premiere worldwide at Tribeca as well as work with a world-class film distribution world sales company as The Yellow Affair, said Grube and Boka-Grube. The Yellow Affairs current slate also includes the New Zealand drama Punch directed by Welby Ings and featuring Tim Roth, The Gump: In Search of an Escort by Mika Kaurismaki, Sean Breathnachs Irish film Shelter, and the documentary Just Animals by Saila Kivela and Vesa Kuosmanen which had its North American premiere at Hot Docs. The Yellow Affair also recently boarded Tomas Masins Brothers which goes into production in August. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Courtesy/Google Maps Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Courtesy/Google Maps Show More Show Less 3 of 3 A teenager was hit by a vehicle on Tuesday night in north Laredo, according to the Laredo Fire Department. The incident occurred at around 9:23 p.m. The City of Laredo Health Department has confirmed the first case of Hepatitis A this year. Currently, there are no additional cases epidemiologically linked. This is the first confirmed case of hepatitis in the area since 2015. The individual is now in good condition. The case was first detected at a local hospital on April 27 and reported to the City of Laredo Health Department on Friday, May 27. The list of events is as follows: Began feeling sick (symptoms) Saturday, April 23. Experienced fever and jaundice on April 26 and visited the ER. Labs were collected on April 27. Admitted to the hospital April 27 and discharged May 1. Based on the Texas Department of State Health Services epidemiology case criteria document, the patient is a confirmed case based on laboratory results identifying the reactive immunoglobulin antibody to hepatitis A virus lab results. Due to the laboratory result being reported late, the City of Laredo Healths Epidemiology Division cannot confirm the source of infection. The City of Laredo Health Department reminds the community of the outbreak investigation on Hepatitis A reported by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The outbreak is mainly linked to fresh organic strawberries branded as Freshkampo and H-E-B, purchased between March 5 and April 25, 2022. The Laredo Health Department will work with the Texas Department of State Health Services for further instruction and investigation. The City of Laredo Health Environmental Services Division visited local HEBs, Walmart and local produce distributors to check for the Freshkampo brand of strawberries subject to the recall. None were found. According to H-E-B, no illnesses related to the FDA investigation have been reported in Texas, and no organic strawberries have been received since April 16. At this time, any product purchased between March and April is beyond its shelf life; however, if your household froze the strawberries and did not recall when or where they bought them, it is best to dispose of them. The Laredo Health Department continues to recommend to the public to seek vaccinations. Vaccines against Hepatitis A and B are highly effective in preventing virus infection. Receiving the entire vaccine series (all of the required shots) results in long-term protection. Practicing good hygiene also plays a vital role in preventing the spread of hepatitis. The Laredo Health Department reminds the public that anyone with knowledge of a person with a Texas Notifiable Disease/Condition must be reported to the City of Laredo Health Department within a week of detection at ogarcia2@ci.laredo.tx.us or through fax at 956-795-4953. Hepatitis A must be reported within one working day. We urge the community to report infectious diseases like Hepatitis A within the appropriate time to allow Laredo Healths Epidemiology Division to conduct a thorough and mitigative investigation ensuring infection control and the safety of our community. For more information, you may contact the Laredo Health Department epidemiology division at 956-523-7841 A Lyndon B. Johnson teacher has been arrested for having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student, according to Laredo police. On May 27, the LPD U.S. Marshals Task Force served the arrest warrants on Emmanuel Palacios, 30, charging him with one count of having an improper relationship between educator and student and 13 counts of sexual assault of a child. Webb County Jail records show he remained behind bars as of Tuesday afternoon. Palacios is a former teacher at the LBJ 9th Grade Campus, according to UISD Associate Superintendent for Human Resources David Garcia. He submitted his voluntary resignation on May 9 effective the end of his contract term, which ended on Monday. At the end of this year, he would have completed his seventh year with the district, according to UISD. Prior to his resignation, he was placed on administrative leave with pay given the allegations. Garcia said the district took immediate action upon learning the allegations. These matters, when they surface, we dont take lightly, Garcia said. We initially reported to all necessary agencies including the state, which is part of the protocol that we follow when allegations of misconduct surface. We will follow every possible avenue that we have within our authority as a public school to ensure the safety of our students and to prevent (these matters) from happening as best as we can. The case dates back to April 6, when police officers received a report alleging an improper sexual relationship between a student and a teacher. The teacher was eventually identified as Palacios. An investigation was initiated by the LPD Special Investigations Unit. The girl was taken to the Webb County Childrens Advocacy Center for a forensic interview, where she spoke of the allegations. Authorities determined that the child and Palacios were in a sexual relationship off campus. Investigators presented their findings to the Webb County District Attorneys Office and obtained the warrants to arrest Palacios. The Tecolotes Dos Laredos had a special guest throw the first pitch last Friday at Parque La Junta as they honored an aspiring chef prodigy who is excelling for the world to see. Nuevo Laredo's Carlos Javier Gutierrez Flores, 8, advanced to the final round of MasterChef Junior Mexico 2022 this weekend. The final round will feature him competing with four others for the title on Sunday. Prior to that, however, Carlos was a guest of the Tecos as he took photos with players. And the Tecos general manager told LMT how proud he was that Carlos and the family were able to accept their invitation. We choose Carlos Gutierrez Flores for the first pitch because he is a good referent to the City of Nuevo Laredo and it is such a proud moment to see the people of our city being triumphant at the national level, said Armando Lozano. Also .. he can be a special role model for many children of our city. According to Lozano, once they told Carlos and his family about the pitch, the family was thrilled with the idea. He states Carlos was very excited that he was considered for the honor. Carlos' mother, Irene Flores, said that she and her son were very thrilled for the opportunity, as they felt much love for their continued participation in MasterChef. "It is the first public event to which Carlos was invited, and everything was excellent," Flores said. "The attention of the organizers, the players and the public was excellent. Carlos could feel the support and affection of all his followers." As they head back to Mexico City for the final, Irene Flores states that she will continue to support her son and thanked all of the individuals that have shown support for what he has done and his passion for cooking. Lozano states that they were equally delighted that the family accepted, and he also said he is thrilled at the fact that just like the Tecos -- who are having a superb season sitting in first place in the LMB at 26-7 heading into Tuesday night -- they are also thrilled that Carlos is in the finals. We are extremely proud of that because he has shown how we have aspiring individuals not just here in Nuevo Laredo but rather in our community of the two Laredos, Lozano said. We just hope that just like we are having a perfect season this time around, he can hopefully get to the final and see him as the champion of MasterChef Junior. Lozano hopes that they see through the MasterChef Junior contestant that anyone can accomplish their dreams if they try hard enough. She hopes he provides that inspiration to anybody looking for a way to achieve their dreams. I want all of the children of Nuevo Laredo to know that they can follow their dreams no matter what it is, and all they need is to work hard, prepare for it and provide dedication, as there are many challenges and tests, but you must take them to achieve it, Lozano said. The first step to take in efforts to become something big is to actually dream it first and work hard to make it into a reality. I know that in both cities, there is a lot of people with a lot of talent in many activities. I hope Carlos serves as a role model to some extent. BRUNI, Texas A district school board meeting in the small town of Bruni sent shockwaves across the county on Tuesday evening as Webb Consolidated Independent School District no longer has a superintendent. Webb CISD Superintendent Beto D. Gonzalez submitted his letter of resignation to the school board on Monday night following an incident with a district vehicle from last December that has caused he and the school district to be involved in a million-dollar lawsuit. The school board nearly voted unanimously in favor of his resignation, with only one voting against, during a meeting at the Texas Board Room. Webb CISD board member Robert Marshall said during the meeting that he was notified about the lawsuit just a week ago, and they were notified of Gonzalezs resignation letter on Monday night, which prompted Tuesday's meeting. Marshall was also the lone member to vote against the resignation, stating that he would have preferred to turn Gonzalez into the district attorneys office instead. According to court records, a lawsuit has been filed against Gonzalez and Webb CISD by three plaintiffs who are seeking "over $1,000,000 subject to any statutory caps." The lawsuit states that on Dec. 9, 2021, Gonzalez was driving a district-owned vehicle on FM 681. A car was allegedly stopped to make a left turn in front of him when "Gonzalez failed to control speed" and struck the vehicle. This led to the vehicle moving into the opposite lane of traffic where it struck the plaintiffs' vehicle, which "caused the Plaintiffs serious and incapacitating injuries," the lawsuit states. Gonzalez is being accused by the plaintiffs of driver inattention and failing to keep a proper lookout, control speed, break properly, control vehicle, keep a proper distance away from the vehicle in front of his and use a reasonable degree of care. "Defendant Heriberto D. Gonzalezs acts and omissions constitute negligence, negligence per se, and/or gross negligence which proximately caused the collision and injuries and other losses as specifically set for herein, all of which Plaintiffs suffered and which they will continue to suffer in the future, if not for the remainder of their natural lives," the lawsuit states. According to his bio, Gonzalez has over 25 years of experience including 16 years in administrative leadership. Webb CISD's superintendent also was a former college/university dean at Texas A&M-San Antonio, Dean of Students and Student Services at Bakersfield College and a lecturer and instructor at the Graduate School of Education at Fresno Pacific University. Gonzalez has a bachelor's degree in English and Spanish, and a master's degree in educational administration from California State University at Bakersfield. He has also completed doctoral coursework in educational leadership at the University of California at Los Angeles. With Gonzalez's departure, there will now be an active search for a new leader before the next school year begins. The board announced that more information will be posted on their website pertaining to the requirements for whoever decides to fill in the position. The school board also discussed the possibility of using several local legal firms in efforts to find the best candidates possible. According to one source experienced in these types of situations, however, superintendent searches even when done hastily to fill the position take about three to four months to find a good and qualified candidate. That may mean Webb CISD will have its work cut out for it to get in a quality new candidate prior to the start of the 2022-23 school year. The heroism of Lance Cpl. David Lee Espinoza was honored at a Legislative Tribute on Memorial Day at his family home in Laredos Cielito Lindo. Hosted by his mother, Elizabeth Holguin, the celebration of his legacy memorialized the Texas Legislatures expression of admiration, respect and gratitude for his patriotism and devotion to the country. Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, and State Rep. Tracy O. King, D-Uvalde, presented resolutions adopted unanimously by the Texas Senate and House of Representatives during the Special Legislative Session that was underway when Espinoza lost his life in a terrorist bombing during the evacuation of American troops from Afghanistan in August of 2021. Thirteen U.S. servicemembers and 170 Afghan civilians were killed in the attack. "Only 20 years old, Lance Cpl. Espinoza sacrificed his life helping American citizens and our Afghan allies," Zaffirini said. "He is a true hero." "Memorial Day reminds us to express our gratitude to those who selflessly gave their lives for our opportunity to be free," King added. "I want to thank the Espinoza family for allowing us the opportunity to participate in a ceremony honoring their son." According to Sen. Zaffirini's office, "the resolutions express the legislature's deepest condolences, celebrate Lance Cpl. Espinoza's character and life and signify our enduring gratitude for his service. Every state legislator requested to co-author the resolutions, underscoring their importance." Only 18 when he joined the Marines immediately after his graduation from LBJ High School in Laredo, Espinoza was stationed in Jordan for two years and was transferred to Kabul only a week before he died. He had dreamed of joining the military since childhood. "Lance Cpl. Espinoza's legacy remains alive in all of us who honor his sacrifice," Zaffirini said. "His courageous service will forever be a source of pride not only to those who knew and loved him, but to Americans throughout the country." Zaffirini also presented a flag flown over the Texas State Capitol in his honor on Aug. 28, the day of his vigil; an Ann Hand Veterans Pin; and a coin from Sen. Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury), who served in the U.S. Army for 20 years and in the Pentagon during 9/11. Attendees included Lupita Zepeda, president of the Laredo College Board of Trustees; and Patty Tijerina San Miguel, representing Webb County Commissioner John Galo. Webb County Treasurer Raul Reyes, who organized the special event, presented Holguin with a gift basket. BANGKOK (AP) Myanmars military government and its opponents traded accusations over a bomb that exploded Tuesday in the middle of the countrys largest city, Yangon, killing one and wounding nine others. Photos and videos of Tuesdays bombing that circulated on social media showing the bloodied victims sprawled on the sidewalk were a sharp reminder of the violence that has engulfed the country since the military seized power last year. A story in Wednesdays edition of The Global New Light of Myanmar, a state-run newspaper, blamed the Peoples Defense Forces, the opposition movement's armed wing, but did not supply any evidence linking them to the blast. It said the attack was made with a handmade bomb planted by PDF terrorists at a bus stop roughly one block from the Sule Pagoda, a city landmark. The blast occurred at 3:20 p.m. and a 30-year-old man died of wounds in his chest and abdomen, state media said. A spokesperson for the self-styled National Unity Government, the main opposition body that loosely commands the PDF and its various local units, pinned the blame on the military government. The brutal genocidal military has been carrying out senseless bombings and killings against its own civilian population across Myanmar, said a statement by Sasa, the NUGs Minister of International Cooperation. Myanmar has been in turmoil since last years army takeover seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking widespread nonviolent protests that were quashed with lethal force by the army and police. In turn, opponents of military rule took up arms and are now conducting an active insurgency in many parts of the country. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners says 1,876 civilians, mostly in cities and towns, have been killed by the security forces. Their figures do not generally include casualties of war in the countryside. On Wednesday, the international human rights organization Amnesty International accused Myanmars military of carrying out widespread atrocities in the eastern part of the country that constitute war crimes and probably crimes against humanity. It charges in a report that civilians from the Karen and Karenni ethnic minorities have been the targets of unlawful killing, arbitrary detention and forcible displacement. The worlds attention may have moved away from Myanmar since last years coup, but civilians continue to pay a high price, Rawya Rageh, Amnestys senior crisis adviser, said in a news release. The opposition NUGs Defense Ministry in a Wednesday statement said the ruling military have sought to place blame on ethnic resistance groups and revolutionary forces in similar incidents in the past. Urban guerrillas are part of the resistance movement, carrying out targeted killings of people associated with the military and bombings of establishments with official ties. But PDF-affiliated groups in Yangon posted statements on their Facebook pages denying involvement in Tuesdays blast and accusing the military of staging a provocation. The military government brands its opponents as terrorists in a bid to dent their widespread popularity. Wednesdays newspaper report said the PDF received financial assistance to launch bombing attacks." They also committed bomb attacks using handmade bombs on public roads, streets, bus terminals and bus stops, it added. Another fatal bombing occurred Tuesday at an education office in Naung Cho township in Shan State in eastern Myanmar, for which state media likewise blamed the PDF and the NUG. The Global New Light of Myanmar said a headmistress died and six educational personnel and a civil servant were injured. The blast occurred as state schools were preparing for their seasonal reopening. The school system has been a battleground between the military government and its foes, who generally have pressed for a boycott as a sign of rejection of army rule. The non-governmental organization Save the Children said in a statement issued Wednesday that there were at least 260 attacks on schools between May 2021 and April this year, and that explosions in and around school buildings accounted for almost three-quarters of that total. Attacks on schools, teachers, and students have surged over the past year due to the conflict, leaving many of them scared to return to the classroom and, in some cases, with no schools left to attend, the group said. Gov. Greg Abbott is facing criticism for resisting calls for a special legislative session after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas last week. On Wednesday, the Republican leader instead sent a joint letter to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan Wednesday instead requesting Texas lawmakers form special legislative committees that will be charged with "examining and developing legislative recommendations" on school safety, mental health, social media, police training and firearm safety. In the letter, Abbott asks Patrick and Phelan to begin the process "immediately." In addition, Abbott sent a letter Wednesday to Dr. Kathy Martinez-Prather directing the Texas School Safety Center to immediately begin conducting comprehensive school safety reviews "to ensure all Texas public schools are following the appropriate procedures to maximize school safety." In the letter, Abbott instructs Martinez-Prather to develop and implement a plan to conduct "in-person, unannounced, random intruder detection audits on school districts" and submit recommendations and to improve security. "The State must work beyond writing words on paper and ensuring that the laws are being followed; it must also ensure that a culture of constant vigilance is engrained in every campus and in every school district employee across the state," Abbott wrote in the letter. However, both actions from Abbott are not a formal reconvening of the Texas Legislature, which typically meets once every two years. The next legislative session begins in January. Meanwhile, classes resume for Texas students in August. After the 2021 legislative session, Abbott called three special legislative sessions in order to restrict transgender student athletes participation in sports, pass tighter voting laws, and to further restrict abortion access in the state, among other measures. In response to Wednesday's letter, some Democratic lawmakers are calling for Abbott to do more. "Anyone can call for a committee," wrote Abbott's Democratic opponent Beto O'Rourke. "Only a governor can call a special session. Do your job." "Not enough," wrote state Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin) on Twitter, adding the Texas legislature should be meeting to discuss solutions since no action can be taken if lawmakers are not in session. Rep. Diego Bernal (D-San Antonio) wrote: "FYI By refusing to call a Special Session, @GovAbbott has guaranteed there wont be any new gun safety or mental health lawsor fundingin place by next school year." Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D-Austin) wrote on Twitter: "Why is it so hard to do the right thing? We need to act NOW & that can only happen thru a Special Session.Committee hearings & deliberation are part of the Special Session process. The [Texas Legislature] will do our job please do your job @GovAbbott & call a Special Session." Mike Collier, Patrick's Democratic opponent in the November election, said the Legislature needs to act before Texas students go back to school in the fall. "We don't need more letters, committees, or roundtablesour children need action," Collier said. "Anything less than a special session is an insult to every parent who has lost a child to gun violence." Some Republicans endorsed Abbott's action, including state Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano) who previously called for a special session but only after investigations into the Uvalde school shooting. "This is absolutely the right step," Leach wrote on Twitter. "Legislative committees should be convened to discuss and deliberate on these issues in public and to make recommendations to the entire [legislature]." Abbott has previously created task forces in response to other mass shootings that happened during his term as governor, including the 2018 shootings at Santa Fe High School and the El Paso Walmart in 2019. That year, he signed a measure suggested by a task force to improve mental health resources for students and made it easier for teachers to arms themselves, according to the Texas Tribune. However, lawmakers rejected a suggestion by the task force to allow courts to seize guns from people deemed a risk to themselves or others, known as "red flag" laws. Officials say one woman died while swimming and another woman died in a boating crash in separate incidents on Tennessee lakes during the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency says 19-year-old Madison Taylor entered Watts Bar Lake to swim but did not resurface Monday. Officials also said the body of 23-year-old Samantha Jo Hess was recovered after a crash between a deck boat and a personal watercraft she was riding on South Holston Lake in Sullivan County on Monday. The agency says the deaths increased the total number of fatalities on Tennessee waterways this year to 12. 2022 hurricane season begins as remnants of Hurricane Agatha could become Alex this week If you do not have a current print subscription to the Lodi News-Sentinel, but want to view unlimited articles for the month, please choose this option. Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, and Minister of State with responsibility for Community Development, Joe OBrien TD, have announced an additional 10.5 million in funding to assist the community response to support people arriving from Ukraine. This funding will strengthen the capacity of those already working across the community and voluntary sector to improve the experience and quality of life of people arriving from Ukraine. As new arrivals begin to settle into community life in Ireland, this funding will help ensure that we continue to look after those most in need. Announcing the funding, Minister Humphreys said: Since the start of this terrible war, our communities have played a central role in helping people arriving from Ukraine settle in to their new life in Ireland. The Community and Voluntary Sector, which my Department has responsibility for, has not been found wanting in stepping up to the plate and assisting families arriving here. I am therefore very pleased today to have secured Cabinet approval to provide an additional 10.5 million to continue to support community efforts. Some 5 million in funding will be provided to the Local Development Companies through the SICAP Programme. Also confirmed was funding of 5 million to Community Foundation Ireland (CFI) who will be administering the Ireland for Ukraine Fund. And finally, 500,000 will be used to support our volunteer centres, which have been dealing with a huge demand for services since the start of the war in Ukraine. I am confident that this additional funding will help ensure the integration of the people arriving from Ukraine, as well as assisting both rural and urban communities in continuing their work. Minister OBrien added: Over the past few months, I have seen first-hand the welcome and support being provided across the country to the people arriving from Ukraine. This funding will make a significant difference to these efforts to deliver vital supports and services and continue to assist in the integration of the Ukrainian people into our communities. The funding to the Community Foundation of Ireland will ensure that frontline NGOs and agencies are resourced to deal with the crisis while the additional funds for Volunteer Centres will further support the immense work of volunteers and volunteer managers in working with other stakeholders to support arriving Ukrainians and local communities. I am delighted to secure another increase for the vitally important SICAP programme and its workers who go above and beyond every day on the ground in communities across Ireland. They have been instrumental in helping people arriving from Ukraine adapt and integrate - this additional funding will support and enhance that vital work. Music, Movies & Entertainment, Local News, Business & Finance, Politics By Long Island Published: June 01 2022 Riverhead-based Peconic Growers LLC was awarded one of the few and highly sought-after adult-use conditional cannabis licenses by the Cannabis Control Board of the state of New York Riverhead-based Peconic Growers LLC was awarded one of the few and highly sought-after adult-use conditional cannabis licenses by the Cannabis Control Board of the state of New York. To date, the state has issued only 110 licenses to cultivators across the state. The Peconic Growers team is led by Icilio Bill Bianchi. Mr. Bianchi, 92, a lifelong resident of Suffolk County and former New York State Assemblyman, and his team, have spent over five decades growing wholesale orchids on the east end of Long Island and more recently, began cultivating hemp at his greenhouse in Riverhead. Given the prerequisites set forth by the state, few candidates qualify for, and even fewer have received approval, to cultivate cannabis from the state. Conditional cultivators have the ability to begin growing cannabis for adult-use immediately, with the hopes of ensuring an adequate supply of cannabis when the states adult-use market launches sometime at the end of this year or in early 2023. The Peconic Growers team was counseled by and relied on the expertise of Ruskin Moscou Faltischek P.C.s Cannabis Practice Group, headquartered in Uniondale, including attorneys Arthur Jerry Kremer, Esq., Elizabeth S. Kase, Esq., Stephen E. Fox, Esq. and Alexandra C. Piscitello, Esq. The firms Cannabis Practice Group was formed to assist regional and local businesses navigate the states complex and evolving adult-use legalization opportunities. Local News, Crime, Press Releases By Long Island Published: June 01 2022 AG James Orders 28 Firearms Sellers to Immediately Stop Selling and Advertising Parts Used to Make Homemade, Untraceable Guns On the first day of Gun Violence Awareness Month, New York Attorney General Letitia James today took action to crack down on firearms sellers illegally selling and advertising gun parts that are used to create homemade, untraceable firearms, known as ghost guns. An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that 28 firearms sellers across the state advertised and/or offered to sell one or more unfinished frames, receivers, and/or kits containing both. The OAGs investigation found that a majority of these gun sellers were located in Western New York and on Long Island. New York law prohibits the sale, exchange, or disposal of unfinished frames and receivers. In cease-and-desist letters to all 28 dealers, Attorney General James ordered these businesses to immediately stop advertising and selling the prohibited parts and warned of the legal consequences, including imprisonment, if they do not comply. Ghost guns are fueling the flames of the gun violence epidemic, and we will not sit idly as they proliferate in our streets and devastate communities, said Attorney General James. Across the nation, too many lives are being lost because of these untraceable and unregistered weapons that anyone can get their hands on without a background check. We are not going to wait for another tragedy, my office is taking action to crack down on gun sellers that are illegally advertising ghost guns. If gun sellers do not comply with the law, they will face the full force of my office. The OAGs investigation found that most of these firearms sellers advertised the prohibited unfinished receivers, frames, and kits online or at gun shows. They advertised them on their websites, with some allowing consumers to buy online and others telling consumers to call and ask for the price. Todays enforcement action is the result of the Jose Webster Untraceable Firearms Act and the Scott J. Beigel Unfinished Receiver Act, which recently came into effect and criminalizes the sale of ghost guns and requires gunsmiths to register and serialize all such firearms. Nine of these businesses are in Western New York, six on Long Island, five in Central New York, four in the Hudson Valley, two in the Southern Tier, and one in the Capital Region. Unfinished receivers and frames, also known as 80 percent frames, do not have serial numbers and can easily be used to make untraceable guns, or ghost guns, at home using basic tools. Unfinished receivers hold the upper, lower, and rear portions of a semiautomatic rifle together. Purchasers of unfinished receivers only have to make a few small changes with a common drill press to transform an unfinished receiver into a fully operational one. Once milled, a receiver may be readily turned into a fully-assembled, illegal assault weapon. Similarly, a purchaser of an unfinished frame can use commonly available tools to finish the frame, which may then be readily assembled into an untraceable handgun. Some of the businesses identified by OAG were selling kits that contained unfinished frames and the tools needed to put a finished gun together at home. They advertised blank serialization plates, which makes the firearms untraceable. The OAG identified the following illegal products advertised by these gun dealers. In her cease-and-desist letters, Attorney General James reminds the gun sellers that it is illegal in New York for any person not licensed as a gunsmith or dealer in firearms to knowingly possess an unfinished frame or receiver, and false or misleading advertisements about the legal risks of buying an unfinished frame or receiver could subject them to disgorgement, restitution, and penalties of up to $5,000 for each violation. For too long, ghost guns have been haunting our streets and taking lives. I have been warning about these dangerous gun kits for years, and we must take more aggressive action now to stop them from further proliferating, said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. The new federal rule issued by the Department of Justice earlier this spring will help keep ghost guns off our streets, but there is still more to be done. Thats why Im proud to support Attorney General James in cracking down on New York gun dealers who are illegally selling and advertising ghost gun parts. The time is right now to take action on these ghost guns because they are too easy to build, too hard to trace, and too dangerous to ignore. It is chilling that anyone including convicted felons and domestic abusers can bypass the background check system and purchase individual, untraceable gun parts to build a homemade assault-style weapon, said U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. We have to do more to combat the epidemic of gun violence in New York, and I thank Attorney General James for taking this decisive action to crack down on firearms dealers. Uvalde. Buffalo. Sunset Park. New Yorkers are sick to their stomachs from bearing witness to horrific tragedies because of our federal governments failure to properly regulate guns, said State Senator Brad Hoylman. In the federal void, New York is leading the way. Last year, we made ghost guns illegal. They are dangerous, untraceable firearms bought by people looking to evade New Yorks robust background check requirements. Thanks to the leadership of Attorney General James, now the 28 firearm sellers across the state advertising or offering to sell these ghost gun parts are looking at serious consequences if they do not comply. I am proud of the progress we made and are continuing to make throughout New York state to help prevent further gun violence. We passed the Scott J. Beigel Unfinished Receiver Act last year because too many people were exploiting a loophole in our gun laws and getting their hands on dangerous, untraceable ghost guns without ever going through a background check, said State Senator Anna M. Kaplan. Im proud that the law I sponsored is now being used by Attorney General James to crack down on gun sellers who were selling these dangerous weapons in our community, and I applaud her efforts to hold these individuals accountable and keep our communities safe from the epidemic of gun violence. Gun violence is ravaging communities across our state and country, said Assemblymember Charles D. Lavine. The last thing New Yorkers need is more untraceable guns flooding our streets and devastating communities. I am proud to have sponsored the Scott J. Beigel Unfinished Receiver Act to protect New Yorkers, and I thank Attorney General James for taking action to enforcing it. No one is above the law. Contrary to the belief of many gun enthusiasts, that extends to firearms sellers now that my law to ban the sale, possession, and exchange of unfinished frames and receivers went into effect, said Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal. In the aftermath of the devastation wrought by guns in Buffalo and Uvalde, we must continue to take every action we can to protect every single New Yorker against preventable gun violence. I applaud Attorney General Letitia James for taking swift and aggressive action to crack down on firearm sellers and get ghost guns off the street. I look forward to continuing to provide her office, and law enforcement across the state with powerful tools to get guns and the dangerous criminals who use them off the street. Gun manufacturers and shops that flout the law by selling untraceable ghost guns are a central cog in the gun violence epidemic, said Zeenat Yahya, policy director, March For Our Lives. While gun shops and producers chase profits at any cost, children suffer the consequences. This last year guns became the leading cause of death for children in America, for the first time outpacing motor vehicle deaths. That horrifies us and scares us. Were pleased that Attorney General Letitia James is taking this important step to ensure that our laws arent just paper tigers, and that they actually serve to protect young people and our communities. When gun manufacturers and dealers break the law and flood our communities with illegal ghost guns, New Yorkers pay the price with our lives, said Nick Suplina, senior vice president for law and policy, Everytown for Gun Safety. Were grateful that Attorney General James is taking these lawbreaking members of the gun industry to task for their role in facilitating our gun violence epidemic. Theres no reason why anyone should have access to untraceable, unserialized ghost guns and when companies illegally sell those ghost guns, theyre putting our lives in danger, said Nathalie Arzu, volunteer, New York chapter of Moms Demand Action, and a member of the Everytown Survivor Network whose 16-year-old brother, Jose Webster, was shot and killed in the Bronx in 2011. Attorney General James has been a leader in getting ghost guns off our streets and going after those who put them on our streets in the first place, and New Yorkers are safer as a result of her decisive action. Todays action is the latest example of Attorney General James commitment to cracking down on ghost guns and combatting gun violence in New York. In April 2021, Attorney General James sent a letter to U.S. DOJ urging them to strengthen federal regulations on ghost guns. In February 2021, Attorney General James led a coalition of 21 attorneys general from around the nation in filing an amicus brief in the case Grewal v. Defense Distributed before the U.S. Supreme Court, where the coalition fought a lawsuit that seeks to stop states from enforcing their laws against a company disseminating dangerous 3D-printed gun files on the internet. In September 2019, Attorney General James sent cease and desist letters to the companies behind a number of websites selling incomplete weaponry pieces to New Yorkers that could be easily assembled into illegal assault weapons. In July 2020, Attorney General James announced that all the companies behind the sale of these firearms or firearms components had complied with her cease and desist letters and ended the sale of these weapons to New Yorkers. A wide assortment of property-tax-saving exemptions for the 2021 tax year will help, and are now available online in a new, streamlined application. 30-May-22 Imagine the current property tax fright of a senior citizen who has owned and resided in his North Side three-flat for decades. In March 2022, the owner paid a first-installment bill of $13,932. That represents 55 percent of the propertys $25,331 total 2020 real estate tax. Ironically, the elderly owners tax bill is almost as much as his total 2021 Social Security earnings of $27,576. And the tax bite has grown steadily over past decades. In 2010, the owner paid a tax bill of $17,657, up from $12,059 in 2001. Whats worse, the second installment of the owners 2021 tax bill, due around August 1, is expected to be much higher following last years 38 percent reassessment increase. How is the owner with a total net household income of $40,636 expected to pay a whopping tax increase? Taxes currently are 60 percent of his net income. A study by the Illinois Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization, found that Chicago property taxes rose on average 92.3 percent between 2010 and 2020. Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi estimated that the fair market value on the senior owners three-flat rose 38 percent to $1,570,000 from $1,137,100 in 2020. The assessed value jumped to $157,001 from $113,710. Two years ago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot oversaw passage of a new city ordinance that promises beleaguered property owners a ticking time bomb guaranteed annual real estate tax increases of up to five percent. One of several Chicago and Cook County tax lifesavers available to the elderly owner is the Long-Time Homeowner Exemption. However, only two percent of homeowners about 11,000 of more than 1.5 million owners in Cook County qualify for this exemption. The Long-Time exemption provides homeowners with an expanded Homeowner Exemption with no maximum exemption amount. In addition to meeting income and residency requirements, applicants for the Long-Time must also have a significant assessment increase that exceeds the maximum amounts set by the state legislature. Applications for this exemption must be filed annually. This writer respectfully suggests that Assessor Kaegi consider expanding this Long-Time exemption to retired, low-income, ma-and-pa small apartment owners. For example, to qualify for this writers proposed Longtime Small Apartment Exemption, an owner of a two-flat, three-flat, or four-flat must have resided in the property as a primary residence for 20 years or more and have an annual income of $50,000 or less. The owner also must have experienced an excessive double-digit assessment increase in the recent reassessment to qualify for the proposed new exemption. This proposed exemption also should be coupled with the Senior Citizen Exemption and the Senior Tax Freeze. It is likely these exemptions would prevent hundreds of longtime ma-and-pa apartment building owners from being displaced from gentrifying neighborhoods where they have resided for most of their lives. Assessor Kaegi, who is up for reelection, has been targeted and criticized by big commercial property owners and apartment developers for refocusing assessment efforts on them and away from homeowners, who have been carrying the majority of the tax burden for decades. Kaegis creative TV ads show his face covered with darts on a target board (right). Its a face corporate landlords love to hate, Kaegi said. The Assessor recently announced that a wide assortment of property-tax-saving exemptions for the 2021 tax year are now available online in a new, streamlined application. Exemptions are savings that contribute to lowering a homeowners property tax bill. The most common is the Homeowner Exemption, which saves a Cook County property owner an average of $973 each year. Many exemptions automatically renew this year due to COVID-19. Homeowners can check the Cook County Property Tax Portal website, then review the Exemption History and Status section to determine which exemptions they received last year and if they will auto-renew this year. New homeowners and those that need to reapply can do so by completing the online application. Exemption deductions only appear on the second installment property tax bill which is issued later this year. More information about each exemption follows: Homeowner Exemption. Most homeowners are eligible for this exemption if they own and occupy the property as their principal place of residence. Once this exemption is applied, the Assessors Office auto-renews it for you each year. This exemption provides savings by reducing the equalized assessed value of an eligible property. Senior Exemption. Most senior homeowners are eligible for this exemption if they are 65 years of age or older and own and occupy their property as their principal place of residence. Once this exemption is applied, the Assessors Office automatically renews it for you each year. A Senior Exemption provides property tax savings by reducing the equalized assessed value of an eligible property. Senior Freeze Exemption. Most homeowners are eligible for this exemption if they meet the requirements for the Senior Exemption and had a total household annual income of $65,000 or less in the calendar year 2020. This exemption provides significant savings by freezing the equalized assessed value (EAV) of an eligible property. This exemption will automatically renew for the 2021 tax year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Persons with Disabilities Exemption. This exemption provides disabled homeowners with an annual $2,000 reduction in the EAV of the property. It will also automatically renew due to COVID-19. Returning Veterans Exemption. This exemption gives military veterans returning from active duty in armed conflict a $5,000 reduction in the EAV of their property but only for the taxable year in which they return. Disabled Veterans Standard Homeowner Exemption. Veterans with a service-connected disability, as certified by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, are provided with a reduction in the EAV of their property. The amount of the reduction depends on the level of disability. Home Improvement Exemption. This exemption allows homeowners to add improvements to their home that add to its value, without being taxed, on up to $75,000 of the added value for up to four years. For example, a homeowner can increase the buildings square footage or make repairs after structural flood damage without increasing the homes assessed value. Due to the high volume of exemption applications, the processing time is approximately eight weeks, according to the Assessor. Once a homeowners exemption application is processed the property owner will receive an email stating whether the application is completed or declined. LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices were up this week on continued demand growth from Japan, Korea and India as large utilities sought to replenish stocks. The increased competition has accordingly narrowed the spread with European gas prices on the Dutch TTF hub, where prices went down after concerns over further Russian gas cuts eased. The average LNG price for July delivery into north-east Asia was estimated at $24.75 per metric million British thermal units (mmBtu), up $1.35 or 5.8% from the previous week, industry sources said. "The market has been a little more stable recently compared with the volatility of earlier months, although still at high prices," said Alex Froley, LNG analyst at data intelligence firm ICIS. "It looks set to continue in this mood in the near term, with Continental European prices strongest as storage injections continue, Asia a little lower as COVID lockdowns dent Chinese demand, and the UK lower again as it has constraints on its demand due to lack of storage capacity," he said. In China, market players are waiting to see if COVID lockdown easing will help demand. China's LNG imports until end-May were down by 6.5 million tonnes, or 20% from the previous year, equalling some 9 billion cubic metres of pipeline gas, Froley said. In Europe, S&P Global Commodity Insights assessed LNG prices for a delivered ex-ship (DES) basis into Northwest Europe at $24.375 per mmBtu on May 31, at a discount of $4.90/mmBtu to the July price on the Dutch gas TTF hub. "Discounts to the main European gas hub continued to narrow for spot LNG cargoes as increased competition from North Asia hiked up prices for LNG cargoes into Europe," said Ciaran Roe, global director of LNG at S&P Global Commodity insights. "Major purchases by large Korean and Japanese utilities have occurred in the meantime, while within Europe discounts remain between hubs with high regasification capacity and those that are logistically constrained in terms of LNG imports relative to their gas demand." Russia's Gazprom on Wednesday cut off gas supplies to Denmark's Orsted, and to Shell Energy for its contract to supply gas to Germany, citing the companies' failure to make payments in roubles. It has already halted supplies to Dutch gas trader GasTerra, as well as to Bulgaria, Poland and Finland. However, all these clients said they can replace the gas cuts from elsewhere. LNG freight spot rates continued to rise as vessel availability tightens, with Pacific rates estimated at $85,000 per day and the Atlantic rates at $96,500 per day, according to Spark Commodities. (Reporting by Marwa Rashad; Editing by Jan Harvey) (Alliance News) - Russia's state-owned energy giant PJSC Gazprom says it has halted the supply of gas to Danish utility Orsted AS and Shell Energy Europe, as expected. Gazprom confirmed the supply stop in a statement on its website. The move comes a day after Gazprom said Orsted and Shell had refused to pay their invoices in roubles as demanded by Moscow. Gazprom made reference to the decree by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had said all countries the Kremlin deemed "unfriendly" had to pay for energy in the Russian currency as of April, as a way to help prop up the rouble. Otherwise, deliveries would stop. The step comes in response to tough sanctions imposed by the EU due to the war in Ukraine, launched on February 24. Gazprom emphasized that it had informed the companies affected of its plans in a timely manner. Last year, Gazprom delivered 1.97 billion cubic metres of gas to Orsted, making up some two-thirds of Denmark's gas consumption. However, Copenhagen said there would be no supply bottlenecks. The step also affects Germany but to a far lesser extent. The contract with Shell Energy Europe provides for the delivery of up to 1.2 billion cubic metres annually to Germany, but this is just a fraction of the total amount of gas consumed in the country. Russia's step follows a halt of gas deliveries to Bulgaria, Poland, Finland and, most recently, the Netherlands, after suppliers in those countries also refused to make the payments in roubles. As Moscow's war continues, countries in Europe are hastening to reduce their dependence on Russian energy supplies. Shell PLC shares were 0.1% lower at 2,375.00 pence each in London on Wednesday morning. source: dpa Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Castillo Copper Ltd - Perth, Australia-based exploration company focused on copper across Australia and Zambia - Receives encouraging results from maiden mineral resource estimate for east zone of Broken Hill cobalt project in New South Wales, Australia. Estimate at 64 million tonnes at 318 parts per million in cobalt for 21,556 tonnes. Plans to extend known cobalt mineralisation with primary targets already factored into a drilling campaign. Intends to open discussions with potential off-take partners keen to lock in future cobalt supply chains. "There is considerable potential to extend known mineralisation with targeted drilling campaigns. With strong global demand for cobalt clearly apparent, the board intends to meet with prospective off-take partners eager to secure supply chains. In addition, Castillo plans to actively participate in the [New South Wales] government's critical minerals initiative," Managing Director Dennis Jensen says. Current stock price: 1.03 pence, up 8.8% on Wednesday 12-month change: down 60% By Abby Amoakuh; abbyamoakuh@alliancenews.com Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Dewhurst PLC - London-based electrical components for lifts and keypads - Following a cyber-security incident on May 23, says administrative systems are not currently fully operational. Notes manufacturing facilities remain operation and "continue to service the demands of its customers at most sites". Says remediation process is underway, with individual sites likely to come back "gradually". The cost of remediation will drag profit to be "materially below expectations" in the full year, the firm says. "Following the cyber incident, the company immediately engaged external specialists and has taken precautionary measures with its IT infrastructure whilst it continues to investigate the nature and extent of the incident and implement its systems recovery plan. As a precaution the company has informed the data regulators in all required jurisdictions," the firm says. Current stock price: 1,280.00 pence, down 7.9% on Wednesday 12-month change: down 39% By Elizabeth Winter; elizabethwinter@alliancenews.com Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Whats wrong today with Russias current army, once the terror of Europe? First, its too small. by Eric S. Margolis A blitzkrieg Russian invasion of Ukraine it was not. Marshall Zhukov, the Soviet Unions famed tank general, must be rolling in his grave. Had Stalin still been in the Kremlin, Russias generals and defense minister would have by now been shot. At that time, the Red Army and its 50,000 tanks were believed able to burst through Germanys Fulda Gap and central Austria and reach the key US supply base at Rotterdam in a week. After three months of desultory fighting, the Russian army has managed to occupy some border areas in Ukraine and the key communications hub of Mariupol, cutting off Ukraine from its access to the Black Sea. Ukraines very important exports of grains have been blocked, undermining its economy but not proving a decisive move to end the war between self-proclaimed independent Ukraine and its western allies on one side and Russia and neighboring Belarus on the other. The proposed joining of Finland and Sweden to NATO is a political backfire for the Kremlin, but means little from a military viewpoint since both nations have long been covert NATO allies. Neutral Switzerland has also been another not-so-secret member of the alliance. But in fact, the US and its NATO allies have been locked in a nasty, covert war against Russia that threatens to erupt at any time into a conventional, then nuclear conflict. This quasi-war is the result of the refusal by the US and NATO to exclude their alliance from formerly Soviet-ruled Eastern Europe and pushing it to Russias very borders. The conflict has re-awakened dangerous problems that date back to the end of World War I when the victorious British and French, along with the credulous Americans, sought to alter Europes map. Vast swathes of territory were torn away from Germany, Austro-Hungary and Russia leaving dangerous disputes active to this day. Whats wrong today with Russias current army, once the terror of Europe? First, its too small. Early on, President Vlad Putin ordered serious reductions in the size of Russias then huge armed forces. China did the same. That was fine for peace-time, but not for waging war. Russia sent only 100,000 men to occupy and subjugate Ukraine, a vast territory the size of Western Europe. I suspect that Putins goal was to annex key border regions, then leave independence-minded Ukraine isolated and in grave economic distress. The expected western economic war against Russia would be partially mitigated by the economic/financial distress caused to the west and its vassal states like Egypt. A Russian airborne attack on capital Kiev failed miserably due to Western special forces and a new supply of top-attack anti-tank weapons. Usually reliable Russian military intelligence was ignored. Civilian intelligence was allowed to design the military campaign which as we have seen turned into a stalemate. It is no coincidence that Putin was a civilian KGB intelligence officer and his powerful defense minister Sergei Shoigu was never a military officer. Russias forces also suffered from logistical problems. This was surprising since during WWII Soviet forces became masters of fast-moving supply support. This was a fascinating subject that I studied in depth while serving in the US Army - where I also taught military strategy and history. War is too important to be left to civilians. What about air power, vaunted as the Queen of Battle? Its not been much in evidence in Ukraine. NATO dares not openly intervene in Ukraine for the very good reason that Russia will likely riposte with tactical missiles against NATO air bases and major arms depots. Welcome WWIII. Convoys of tanks, armored vehicles, supply trucks, fuel and soldiers are legitimate targets for Russias tactical missiles, notably the accurate Iskander missiles. Cash-strapped Russia has kept its air strikes to a modest level for fear of losing valuable warplanes that it cannot afford to replace, a problem I also witnessed in Afghanistan where the deadly US Stinger missile held the Red Air Force at bay. We have so far been very lucky that a full-scale clash has not yet occurred between the US and Russia over Ukraine, a land of no importance at all to the United States but of fundamental importance to Russia. Amid the blizzard of anti-Russian propaganda, its easy to forget that in 1990 Ukraine was still an integral part of the Soviet Union. Or that the US staged a coup detat in Ukraine that brought a pro-US regime to power that shakes its fist today at Moscow. But US intelligence agencies and NATO had moved uncommonly fast to arm Ukraine with state the art anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons as well as huge amounts of ammunition. US military and economic aid to Ukraine alone exceeded $40 billion. Theres no doubt that Russia has lost the information war in Ukraine. The massed western media has been acting as an amen chorus for the Kiev regime. Ukraine has become another brave, little Belgium of World War I renown. Biden just ordered $40 billion more US military and economic aid on top of the $25 billion or so spent by Washington to prop up the government in Kiev. Billions more will without doubt be needed. Meanwhile, US, British and Canadian TV are accusing Russia of massive war crimes in Ukraine. There was little such reporting when the US invaded and destroyed important parts of Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen or Somalia. Afghanistan was ravaged for nearly 20 years, with B-52 heavy bombers used to raze villages and towns. All wars are a crime against mankind. There are no good wars. Copyright Eric S. Margolis 2022 (Alliance News) - Comair, the South African operator of British Airways flights, has grounded all of its planes after running out of cash, the company said. London-listed International Consolidated Airlines Group SA owns British Airways. The carrier, which is under administration, also operates budget airline Kulula. Those planes are also grounded, with tickets sales for both airlines suspended. Comair's administrators "have advised that the process to raise the necessary capital is in progress and that there is reason to believe such funding may be secured," the company said in the statement late Tuesday. "Once received, the airline will be able to recommence operations, but regrettably under these circumstances, the practitioners have no choice but to voluntarily suspend all scheduled flights until the funding is confirmed," it added. In May 2020, at the height of pandemic lockdowns, Comair filed for voluntary business rescue a procedure similar to bankruptcy protection in order to restructure the company. By February this year, the company had regained a 40% market share and resumed most flights. South African aviation officials had suspended Comair's flights for five days in March over safety concerns, dealing a new blow to the company. The South African regulator suspended the airline after an investigation uncovered issues posing "an immediate risk to safety and security". Comair flights experienced a spate of issues over the month of March, according to the SACAA, including engine trouble and landing gear malfunctions. source: AFP Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - GSK PLC on Wednesday said it has submitted to the UK Financial Conduct Authority its plan for the demerger of its consumer healthcare arm and its listing in London and New York as Haleon. The separation will take the form of a demerger of at least 80% of GSK's current 68% share of the consumer business to GSK shareholders. The remaining 32% of Consumer Healthcare currently is held by US peer Pfizer Inc. Haleon will be listed as ordinary shares in London and as American depositary shares on the New York Stock Exchange. Haleon will provide consumer healthcare products in five categories: Oral Health, Pain Relief, VMS, Respiratory Health, Digestive Health and Other. Oral Health will be its largest component, having contributed 29% of revenue in 2021. GSK will be a pure biopharmaceutical firm, focused on vaccines and specialty medicines. On Tuesday, GSK said it has agreed to pay USD2.1 billion upfront, with potentially a further USD1.2 billion coming, to acquire Boston, Massachusetts-based Affinivax. Affinivax is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a novel class of pneumococcal vaccines. GSK on Wednesday said it will carry out a share consolidation following the demerger in order to keep its share price and earnings per share comparable to earlier periods. The company called a general meeting for July 6 at the to approve the plan. The meeting will be held at the Sofitel London Heathrow, Terminal 5 hotel. "The proposed demerger is the most significant corporate change for GSK in the last 20 years, creating two new leading companies, each with clear targets for growth and the ability to positively impact the health and lives of billions of people," GSK said. GSK shares were up 0.2% at 1,736.20 pence early Wednesday in London. By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - John Wood Group PLC on Wednesday announced it is selling its Built Environment Consulting business to WSP Global Inc for about USD1.9 billion gross. John Wood said it will use the proceeds from the sale to reduce its debt and strengthen its balance sheet. The firm ended 2021 with net debt of about USD1.4 billion and anticipates a higher net debt at June 30 due to its typical working capital outflow. "Excluding the proceeds from the sale of our Built Environment business, we expect no improvement in net debt in 2022 compared to 2021," it explained. It expects to be in a net cash position with the sale proceeds. John Wood said its outlook for 2022 remains unchanged. It will publish a trading update for the half year ending June 30 on July 7. "We are very pleased to have agreed this sale with WSP. This transaction will deliver significant value for our shareholders and marks a new chapter for Wood. It enables us to move onto our next strategic phase with the financial flexibility to accelerate our strategy to capture the growth opportunities ahead across both energy security and sustainability," said Chief Executive Officer Robin Watson. The sale is expected to complete in the second half of 2022. John Wood Group shares were 2.2% lower at 233.40 pence each in London on Wednesday morning. By Tom Budszus; tombudszus@alliancenews.com Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Almost ten times as many tourists visited Spain in April compared to the same month last year, spending close to the amount that foreign visitors did before COVID-19, National Statistics Institute data showed today. Spain's tourism sector accounted for 12% of its economy before the pandemic but ground to a halt along with international travel in mid-2020. It embarked on a bumpy road to recovery in 2021 as those curbs gradually eased. In April 6.1 million tourists visited, up from 629,000 a year earlier, spending 6.9 billion euros, also around ten times more than the previous year and just shy of the 7.1 bln euros spent in April 2019. Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said visitors had on average spent more and stayed longer than before the pandemic. "We are moving towards a higher-quality and more profitable tourism model," she told an event in Madrid. Maroto said she hoped that spending would reach pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2022. "Our outlook for the coming year is very positive. The war (in Ukraine) and its economic consequences are not affecting the tourism recovery, but we have to be vigilant." 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. Those planning to spend time in the great outdoors this summer would be wise to take measures to keep safe from a disease-carrying arachnids gaining territory in Michigan. Both the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Benzie-Leelnau District Health Department are warning visitors and residents to beware of ticks and the diseases they carry, which can be transmitted to humans though a bite. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is encouraging Michigan residents to take steps to avoid tick bites while enjoying the outdoors this summer, reads a press release from the MDHHS. Tick-borne diseases, particularly Lyme disease and anaplasmosis, are increasing across the state. Jennifer Morse, medical director for Health Department District 10, said the black-legged tick, also known as the deer tick, can carry Lyme disease and anaplasmosis. Colin Merry/Record Patriot Statewide, we saw about 450 cases of Lyme disease in the state of Michigan in 2020 and about 100 cases of anaplasmosis, Morse said. Thats only single digits for both diseases in Manistee County, but weve gone from very few cases to a few more this year. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services disease mapper shows Manistee had five reported cases of Lyme in 2020, and Benzie County had seven cases of Lyme disease reported in 2020. While the 2021 Lyme disease numbers werent yet available on the MDHHS website, Dr. Josh Meyerson, Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department medical director, said there were over 870 cases reported double that of 2020. Anaplasmosis is also becoming more common now, Meyerson said. There were four reported in Benzie County in 2021. There were no reported anaplasmosis cases in Benzie County in 2020, according to the MDHHS Michigan Trends in Tick Borne Illness report from 2016 to 2020. Morse said anaplasmosis is transmitted to humans when a tick bites a human and transfers the bacteria that causes the disease while feeding on blood. It causes damage to the white blood cells, she said. For most people, it causes mild illness like fatigue, fever and headache. However, it can get more serious and cause neurological symptoms. Morse said in 1% of cases, it can cause death. Lyme disease can also cause fever, chills, headache and fatigue, as well as muscle and joint aches, according to the MDHHS. If not treated, it can cause severe headaches; facial palsy; arthritis; tendon, bone, muscle and joint pain; irregular heartbeat; shortness of breath; nerve pain and numbness or tingling in the hands and feet. In 79-80% of cases, an infection is identified by a bullseye rash pattern radiating from the bite, according to the MDHHS. However, a person can be infected and never experience a rash. While there are several species of ticks in Michigan, both Meyerson and Morse said the black-legged tick is the biggest carrier. They started entering the sate from the far western part of the Upper Peninsula and the southwestern corner of the Lower Peninsula, he said. Theyre found in counties along the Lake Michigan coast, but they can be found inland as well. Courtesy photo/Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Meyerson said the ticks favor the grassland and woodland habitat on the coast. Morse said more and more people have been spending more time outdoors along the Lake Michigan coast, which brings them into contact with the ticks, and causes an increase in infections. Climate change seems to be a factor in these tick species migrating into Michigan, she said. The lone star tick, which can cause Rocky Mountain fever, has also been creeping into Michigan, according to Morse. Other ticks, such as the American dog tick, aren't know for carrying diseases as well as other ticks, Meyerson said. Courtesy photo/Centers for Disease Control Preventing a bite Preventing a tick bite is the best method of avoiding diseases such as Lyme and anaplasmosis, according to Morse and Meyerson. They dont jump or fly; they wait for people to brush against them, Meyerson said. Try sticking to trails where you arent brushing up against plants as often. He also suggested wearing long pants and tucking socks and shirts in. After each hike, check each other for ticks, or take a shower and check yourself, Meyerson said. They like to hide in areas like the back of the knees, the groin and belt line. Morse suggested using insect repellant that contains DEET. Its safe and effective, she said. There are also sprays you can use to keep ticks out of your yard. Both Morse and Meyerson also said another option was impregnating clothing with insect repellant. Im an advocate of permethrin, Morse said. You can buy clothing pre-treated, and it lasts about six washes. You can also treat clothing yourself. You can find it in the camping sections of retailers What to do if bitten What to know about Lyme disease and ticks Prevent tick bites According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, there are ways to prevent tick bites, such as: Use repellent that contains 20% or more DEET, picaridin, or IR3535 on exposed skin for protection that lasts several hours; Wear clothing that has been treated with permethrin; Take a shower as soon as you can after coming indoors; Look for ticks on your body; and Put your clothes in the dryer on high heat for 60 minutes to kill any remaining ticks. How to remove ticks The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services suggests: Use clean, fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin's surface as possible; Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don't twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers. If you cannot remove the mouth easily with tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal; After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water; and Never crush a tick with your fingers. Dispose of a live tick by putting it in alcohol, placing it in a sealed bag, wrap tightly in tape or flush the tick down the toilet. Signs of Lyme disease According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services: Fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches and swollen lymph nodes may occur in the absence of rash; Erythema migrans, a rash radiating from the bight after bout three to 30 days that expands over several days; Later symptoms may include severe headache and neck stiffness, additional rashes, facial palsy, arthritis with pain and swelling, pain in tendons, muscles, joints and bones, heart palpitations, dizziness, inflammation of brain an spinal cord, nerve pain and shooting paints, numbness and tingling in the hands or feet; and If you experience these symptoms after a tick bite, visit your physician. See More Collapse In the event of a tick bite, Meyerson said to ignore much of the advice on twisting, burning or attempting to suffocate a tick to remove it. Using fine tweezers, grab the tick by the head as close to the skin as you can and pull steadily out, he said. Meyerson said a tick must be attached for at least 24 hours to transmit a disease, but because of their small size, they often arent detected unless a person specifically looks for them after spending time outdoors. The MDHHS website on Lyme disease recommends a person who has bitten to monitor for signs of the disease, such as the bullseye rash and to visit a doctor if they have any symptoms. It can be cleared up with some antibiotics, Meyerson said. A full-state new-configuration model of China's AG600 large amphibious aircraft conducts the maiden flight in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province, on May 31, 2022. (Xinhua) BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhua) -- A full-state new-configuration model of China's AG600 large amphibious aircraft conducted a successful maiden flight on Tuesday, according to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). This new-configuration AG600 amphibious aircraft took off from the Zhuhai Jinwan Airport in south China's Guangdong Province at 10:55 a.m., and then safely landed at the airport after a 20-minute flight, said the AVIC, the country's leading plane-maker. During the maiden flight, it also conducted multiple flight test missions, including constant speed climbing, reducing speed in level flight and a simulated go-around. AG600 aircraft remained in good condition throughout the flight, with the control system operating well and all systems working stably, said the developer. The successful maiden flight of the full-state new-configuration model marked a new phase for the AG600 project and a major breakthrough in developing the firefighting functional model of the large amphibious aircraft, said the AVIC. This new configuration AG600 aircraft is specially developed to serve firefighting missions, with a maximum take-off weight of 60 tonnes and maximum water-storage capacity of up to 12 tonnes. It fills China's need for a large firefighting aircraft, the AVIC added. It is installed with a pressure cabin, fly-by-wire flight control system, integrated avionics system, and systems for its future firefighting missions. Compared with the previous model of AG600, the new firefighting-configuration AG600 aircraft boasts higher performance, larger water-dropping capacity and longer range, said the developer. A full-state new-configuration model of China's AG600 large amphibious aircraft lands at the airport after conducting the maiden flight in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province, on May 31, 2022. (Xinhua) SLPA has introduced an easy-to-report complaint mechanism against fraud and corruption, intending to enhance the quality of port operations and services. The operations and services of the Port of Colombo continue uninterrupted, but, regrettably, false news is being spread by various media outlets, the Sri Lanka Port Authority said at a media briefing held yesterday (31) with the participation of the main stakeholders in the operations of the Port of Colombo. Managing Director of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Upul Jayatissa, CEO-South Asia Gateway Terminal Romesh David, CEO Colombo International Container Terminal Jack Huang and Ceylon Association of Shipping Agents (CASA) Chairperson Ms. Shehara de Silva were also present at the media briefing which was presided over by the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Dr. Prasantha Jayamanna. During the media briefing, they briefed local and foreign journalists on the Port of Colombos current operations and service status and ongoing development projects. The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) has also introduced an easy-to-report complaint mechanism against fraud and corruption, intending to enhance the quality of port operations and services. Accordingly, anyone using the port can use the telephone number +94716413332 to lodge an authentic complaint through WhatsApp in case of any fraudulence in operations and services in ports in Sri Lanka. The privacy of the nominal plaintiff is fully protected. However, if the complainant wishes, he or she can file his or her grievances anonymously. All complaints received will be given due attention. SLPA Chairman Jayamanna said the main objective of this initiative is to further strengthen the efficiency and reliability of the port operations and services. Meanwhile, the Ceylon Association of Shipping Agents (CASA) today donated 100 bicycles to the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) for the use of port users to achieve the goal of turning the Port of Colombo into a green port. Ms. Shehara de Silva, Chairperson of the CASA, presented the 100 bicycles to the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Dr. Prashantha Jayamanna this morning. The event was attended by officials from the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, South Asia Gateway Terminal, Colombo International Container Terminal, and Ceylon Shipping Agents Association. Paul Pogba to leave Man United as a free agent at the end of the month Paul Pogba to leave Man United as a free agent at the end of the month It was an open secret, but now it is official. Manchester United have announced that Paul Pogba will leave the club for a second time. After re-signing for a fee of 90 million euros in 2016, Pogba will once again be on the Bosman market. "The club can announce that Paul Pogba will leave Manchester United at the end of June, upon the expiry of his contract," a statement from the club read. Pogba's Manchester United career The Frenchman is ending his second spell with the Red Devils. After his first move to Juventus in 2012, he returned in 2016 and has remained at the club until now, when he'll leave Old Trafford once again in 2022. This past season has been marred by physical problems, with the 29-year-old making just 27 appearances. "Everyone at the club would like to congratulate Paul on his successful career and thank him for his contributions to Manchester United," the statement continued. "We wish him all the best for the next steps on a remarkable journey." Pogba's future Pogba will now move on in the summer transfer window. If all goes according to plan, Juventus will be the midfielder's destination. Contacts between the player and the Italian club have already started some time ago. According to media reports, his move towards the Juventus Stadium is already at an advanced stage. A week after the massacre at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24, it has been revealed that the parents and grandmother of the shooter, Salvador Ramos, have all had criminal records. Ramos killed 19 school students, as well as two teachers, in what it considered as the deadliest school shooting in the United States over the last decade. According to the New York Post, Uvalde County Court records show that his grandmother Celia "Sally" Martinez Gonzales was charged with a misdemeanour in 1993. Martinez was shot in the face by Ramos before he carried out the shooting at the elementary school. Meanwhile, his mother Adriana Martinez was reportedly earning 500 dollars a month from her job at a restaurant, yet she was charged with writing a bad check in 2003. She pleaded guilty in 2005 to committing fraud and was placed on probation, also receiving a fine of 250 dollars. A couple of years later, she was charged for assaulting a family member. As for Ramos' father, also called Salvador, he reportedly resisted arrest back in 2000. After being sentenced to six months in county jail, he was charged for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in 2011. He was sentenced to one month in jail, with the judge agreeing to allow him do his time on weekends in that case. Ramos' father regrets his son's actions Salvador Ramos Sr has reflected on his son's actions and the problematic family dynamic. "[I'm] sorry [for] what my son did," Ramos' father told the Daily Beast after the shooting last week. "I never expected my son to do something like that. "He should've just killed me, you know, instead of doing something like that to someone. "He was a quiet person, stuck to himself. He didn't bother nobody. People were always bothering him." In Cuba, nonalignment has never meant being neutral, and has always meant being opposed to attempts to divide humanity. by Manolo De Los Santos Though Bandung in Indonesia and Havana in Cuba couldnt be farther apart geographicallywith each city located on two distant islands in their respective countries and separated by more than 17,000 kmthey have been ideologically close in the imaginations of many people across the Global South. The Third World Project, born out of the continuous collaboration between the newly independent states and their struggles for national liberation, has defined and continues to define the history of the movements for peace and nonalignment even today. When the Bandung Conference began on April 18, 1955, Fidel Castro was still a political prisoner on what was then called the Isle of Pines, just south of Havana. He was serving a 15-year sentence for having organized a failed attack on the Moncada Barracks just two years before. In those prison years, during which a young Fidel read voraciously, he began to solidify his ideas on the concepts of sovereignty and independence and how they had to be redefined during the Cold War, when imperialism was developing new approaches about how to continue with the subjugation of whole continents. As Fidel and his comrades in prison charted a new path for Cuba, it was clear that their cause for national liberation had to be closely connected to a broader project of ensuring development and work toward active nonalignment for the people of the Third World. From the round table of Bandung in Indonesia, the leaders of the Third World unleashed a global struggle to restructure the prevailing world system of that time. The conference witnessed the convergence of socialist countries and the Third World and saw a growing unity among these nations in the struggles to deepen the process of decolonization. While at the Bandung Conference, the independent governments of Asia and Africa raised the urgency of reviving the anti-imperialist and anti-colonial struggle and the need to increasingly unite and solidify the interests and aspirations of their people. The vast majority of the governments of Latin America, meanwhile, went against the common interests and aspirations of their people, and further submitted to U.S. imperialism under the guise of the Organization of American States (OAS), already functioning as the Ministry of Colonies of the U.S. Department of State, as Fidel would later call it. In 1959, the Cuban Revolution triumphed. It marked a transformative point of no return for Latin America and its relations with the United States. The U.S. government would later decide not to recognize the revolutionary process on the island. By 1961, Cuba became the focal point of U.S. aggression in the region, leading to a blockade that is now six decades old. For the first time in history, a guerrilla movement had carried out a revolution and confronted U.S. imperialism right under its nose, unleashing far-reaching transformations in its socioeconomic structure, which were opposed to the neocolonial interests of U.S. domination. Soon after, Cuba became the only country in Latin America to join the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), created in Yugoslavia in 1961. Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution would begin to play a strategic role in internationalist solidarity with the anti-imperialist and anti-colonial liberation struggles of the people of the Third World. The Cuban Revolution was fully aware that its destiny was at one with that of the people of Latin America, Asia, and Africa. As Fidel said in 1962, What is the history of Cuba if not the history of Latin America? And what is the history of Latin America if not the history of Asia, Africa, and Oceania? And what is the history of all these people if not the history of the most ruthless and cruel exploitation of imperialism in the entire world? When Cuba joined the NAM in 1961, its foreign policy was at a stage of strategic definition. Cubas commitment to the Third World became a pillar of its internationalist strategy, whether through the Non-Aligned Movement or the Tricontinental Conference, or the subsequent Organization of Solidarity of the People of Asia, Africa, and Latin America (OSPAAAL). In the coming decades, many of the national liberation movements that met in Havana in January 1966, during the first conference of OSPAAAL, would be among the new states that began to participate in the Non-Aligned Movement, becoming the new Third World paradigm. Committed to Our Own Principles of Nonalignment At the founding meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in socialist Belgrade (then the capital of Yugoslavia) in 1961, Osvaldo Dorticos Torrado, Cubas president at the time, stated that nonalignment didnt mean that we are not committed countries. We are committed to our own principles. And those of us who are peace-loving people, who struggle to assert their sovereignty, and to achieve the fullness of national development, are, finally, committed to responding to those transcendent aspirations and not betraying those principles. At a time when many criticized Cubas apparent alignment with the Soviet Union and attacked the premise of national liberation being tied to a socialist project, Dorticos in his opening speech, during the founding NAM meeting, sought to further define nonalignment, stating that the moment required more than general formulations, [and that] concrete problems must be considered. This active definition of nonalignment has been important for Cubas foreign policy in its relationship with the most progressive forces of the Third World. The thinking of the Non-Aligned Movement, starting from 1973, seems to have abandoned the ideas about neutrality that had permeated the movement since its creation and has expanded its activities to international economic relations with much more force than in its previous period, in defense of the need for a new international economic order. Since the fall of the USSR, and the rise of the United States to a position of near primacy, the NAM struggled to adapt to the new realities and became adrift. In recent years, however, with the revival of regionalism in Latin America, and with the emergence of Eurasian integration, the importance of nonalignment and the NAM are being gradually considered once again. People around the world are resistant to the coercion tactics adopted by the United States, which has been trying to isolate countries that do not submit to the will of Washington. This has especially become clear with the June 2022 Organization of American States Summit of the Americas, where countries such as Bolivia and Mexico have threatened to boycott the summit in Los Angeles if Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela are banned from attending it. As an alternative, the Peoples Summit for Democracy carries forth the legacy of Bandung and Havana, bringing together the voices of the excluded. This article was produced by the Morning Star and Globetrotter. Manolo De Los Santos is the co-executive director of the Peoples Forum and is a researcher at Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. He co-edited, most recently, Viviremos: Venezuela vs. Hybrid War (LeftWord Books/1804 Books, 2020) and Comrade of the Revolution: Selected Speeches of Fidel Castro (LeftWord Books/1804 Books, 2021). He is a co-coordinator of the Peoples Summit for Democracy. The history of Pride has been forged by the trials and tribulations faced by the LGBTQIA+ community as well as the resilience displayed by pathbreaking individuals from the community, bravely fighting for equality to this day. Pride is a celebration of self-worth and dignity as well as a jubilant proclamation of one's identity. 1. Remembering The Stonewall Riots The Stonewall riots refer to the uprising that took place at Stonewall Inn in June 1969. This uprising was a watershed moment in LGBTQIA+ History. This incident catalyzed the socio-political narrative around the community from one of disenfranchisement to that of empowerment. From the first time these celebrations occurred in 1970 to the 53rd time in 2022, Pride Month forever honors the struggles and resistance showcased by members of the LGBTQIA+ community on that fateful day at Stonewall Inn. 2. Expressing Allyship To LGBTQIA+ Communities Allyship shouldnt be superficial and restricted exclusively to the month of Pride. For as long as contemporary history is to be remembered, the LGBTQIA+ community has been victims of pain and suffering at the hands of cishet society at large. By creating safe spaces, raising awareness, and educating ourselves on the plight of the community, allies can play a crucial role in creating a safe and nurturing environment for the LGBTQIA+. Siddharth Bali 3. Loving Others And Yourself Authentically Pride Month banishes shame, secrecy, and other boundaries enforced upon the LGBTQIA+ community by cishet society at large. It propagates change, hope, and pride in ones identity. It inspires people to love others and themselves, proudly and passionately. Dhruv Kapur 4. Believing In The Power Of Diversity The LGBTQIA+ community is a constantly evolving space, where diversity is not just accepted but empowered. Whether youre Lesbian, Bi-sexual, Gay, Transgender, Intersex, Asexual, Non-Binary, Gender non-conforming, or even an ally, Pride Month welcomes all with open arms and abundant love. Saim 5. Self-Acceptance Not everyones journey towards self-acceptance looks identical; its a spectrum where some people are out and proud of their identities, while others still struggle with theirs. Accepting and loving ones identity regardless of where they are on their personal journey is one of the most important messages of Pride. Its an essential and positive stance against discrimination toward the LGBTQIA+ community. 6. Honouring LGBTQIA+ Activists Fight For Equality American gay liberation activist and self-identified drag queen, Marsha P. Johnson is fondly remembered as having birthed Pride at Stonewall with her resistance along with other prominent activists. Harvey Milk, Alice Nkom, Arsham Parsi, and Ashish Row Kavi are some other inspirational activists from the LGBTQIA+ community who braved rebuke, oppression, and often death in their fight for equality. Empowered by the spirit of resistance since its inception, Pride Month has proudly amplified and honored the works of LGBTQIA+ activists past and present. 7. Different But Same Traditionally cishet society has looked at differences as an innate flaw in human nature. It does so in order to avoid any symptoms of diversity. However, Pride month believes in embracing these differences to be truly human. As a proponent of intersectionality, it encourages individuals to find strength in their differences, transforming into a collective for the good of all, not islands of disconnect. 8. Raising Awareness And Education About LGBTQIA+ Topics The issues that concern the LGBTQIA+ community can range from LGBTQIA+ representation and equality, Access to affordable and quality health care, employment, and housing discrimination among several others. Pride Month passionately raises awareness and education around these topics, ensuring the communitys problems dont go unheard by society at large. 9. A Celebration Of Love And Individuality An individuals identity is undoubtedly unique due to the varying experiences associated with our nature and nurture. No two individuals go through life in an identical fashion. However, cishet culture insists on dissecting different parts of our identity to fit the archaic mold it deems best. Pride Month aims at shattering such outdated ideals, celebrating love as well as the individuality of our identities. Its well established that gender is a spectrum. People should be free to identify as whoever they feel at different points on this spectrum. Come as you are, for pride welcomes you with open arms. Tejeshwar Sandhoo Thank you for subscribing! By signing up to this free newsletter you agree to receive occasional emails from us informing you about our products and services. You can opt out of these emails at any time. MANISTEE Local emergency responders found a 20-year-old drowning victim in Bear Lake at about 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday, according to a news release from the Manistee Coutny Sheriff's Office on Wednesday afternoon. Crews searched for the man from Sunday through Wednesday after he had not resurfaced while swimming in Bear Lake on Sunday. "The victim in this incident is 20-year-old Justin Zielinski, of Manistee," reads part of the release. "This case is still under investigation by Manistee County detectives and additional information is pending examination by the Manistee County medical examiner." Zielinski was diving and swimming off of a boat on Bear Lake at about 5:02 p.m. on Sunday when he began to struggle and couldn't resurface, according to a news release from the Manistee County Sheriffs Office. The Manistee County Sheriffs Office was the first to respond to the scene. The Manistee County Dive Team also responded and conducted a search with the assistance of the Bear Lake Fire Department and the U.S. Coast Guard, according to previous police reports. Deputies on scene were also assisted by local boaters in search efforts on Sunday. Mobile Medical Response also responded. The Manistee County Sheriffs Office was assisted by the Bear Lake Township Fire Department, Manistee County CERT, Arcadia Fire Department, Bear Lake Township Fire Department, Mobile Medical Response EMS, Manistee City Police, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Public Safety Department, Michigan State Police, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Clare County Sheriff's Office, Roscommon County Sheriff's Office, Arenac County Sheriffs Office, Alpena County Sheriffs Office, Benzie County Sheriffs Office, Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Office, Leelanau County Sheriffs Office, Mason County Sheriffs Office and Manistee County Central Dispatch. Further details of the incident were not available by press time Wednesday. SIMSBURY, Conn. (AP) Investigators are looking into why a small plane crashed in a farm near a small Connecticut airport, where authorities found the wreckage empty. It turned out that the uninjured pilot had gotten a ride home in another aircraft. The single-engine Piper PA-28 apparently overshot a runway sometime Tuesday evening at the Simsbury Airport, near Hartford. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) North Carolina Parents' Bill of Rights" legislation that in part would prohibit instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in K-3 public school curriculum was approved Wednesday by the state Senate. The near party-line vote suggests a likely veto by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper if the bill reaches his desk could doom the Republican measure. The bill's authors said the legislation is needed to give parents more ability to oversee their children's' education and health by laying out specific rights and avenues to access information, and to opt out of certain programs. Republicans said it addresses the frustrations of parents who complain that administrators arent listening to them. This bill is critical. It is common sense and it is a safeguard for all of our students, said Sen. Deanna Ballard, a Watauga County Republican shepherding the measure, which she said will empower parents. But LGBTQ activists and other critics have blasted the measure as an election-year attempt at censorship that would harm young people, labeling it a Don't Say Gay" bill similar to one approved in Florida earlier this year amid controversy. This bill is about partisan gain, political mandates and flat out prejudice, said Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, a Wake County Democrat, adding that it would target our most vulnerable students. Opponents also cite provisions directing schools to notify parents about changes to their childs health and services that they are receiving or before they could change a childs name or pronouns in records. They say such requirements could force children of any grade to reveal their sexual identity changes before they are ready, opening up to parental abuse or bullying by classmates. All Republican senators present and Democratic Sen. Ben Clark of Hoke County who is running for Congress in the fall voted for the measure, which passed 28-18. The bill now heads to the House, where a veto ultimately couldnt be blocked unless a handful of Democrats join with Republicans. Cooper already has signaled his opposition to the measure, saying last week that Republicans should keep the Dont Say Gay culture wars out of North Carolina classrooms. He mentioned the 2016 bathroom bill involving transgender people and signed by GOP Gov. Pat McCrory. The law, also known as House Bill 2, cost the state billions of dollars in lost business, including canceled sporting events and job expansion. Everyone agrees that parents should be involved in their childrens education, Sen. Michael Garrett, a Guilford County Democrat, said during the debate. But this measure, he added, is nothing but HB2, classroom edition." Republicans have said repeatedly that the measure is different from the Florida law, particularly that North Carolina teachers and students could still mention their same-sex family members or spouses, for example. But it's inappropriate to insert LGBTQ topics into curriculum in these early grades, said Sen. Michael Lee, a New Hanover County Republican. Bills have been introduced or considered in at least 32 states this year that would prohibit educators teaching about LGBTQ issues or talking about them, according to to Movement Advancement Project, a think tank emphasizing LGBTQ research. Florida is one of six states that suppresses discussion of LGBTQ people or issues in schools, the group says. The measure would broaden the rights parents already have in state and federal laws. Parents would be provided a guide to student achievement at the start of each school year and notice of how they can obtain information. School districts would be required to create complaint and appeal processes for parents, leading in some cases to litigation. Republicans say schools already are required to report apparent abuse and neglect to social service workers and they shouldnt be keeping information about children from their parents. It is not my right to be involved in the care of my child, said Sen. Ralph Hise, a Mitchell County Republican. It is my responsibility for the care of my child. On broader health matters, the bill says physicians and nurses could be subject to disciplinary action by licensing boards and fines should they fail to obtain parental consent before completing non-urgent medical treatments for a child that aren't otherwise exempt. After the final Senate vote, a couple of people in the gallery opposed to the legislation began chanting, causing General Assembly police to intervene and Senate leader Phil Berger to stop the floor session for about 10 minutes. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Sheryl Sandberg, the No. 2 executive at Facebook owner Meta, who helped turn its business from startup to digital advertising empire while also taking blame for some of its biggest missteps, is stepping down. Sandberg has served as chief operating officer at the social media giant for 14 years. She joined from Google in 2008, four years before Facebook went public. When I took this job in 2008, I hoped I would be in this role for five years. Fourteen years later, it is time for me to write the next chapter of my life, Sandberg wrote on her Facebook page Wednesday. Sandberg has led Facebook now Metas advertising business and was responsible for nurturing it from its infancy into an over $100 billion-a-year powerhouse. As the company's second most-recognized face after CEO Mark Zuckerberg Sandberg has also become a polarizing figure amid revelations of how some of her business decisions for Facebook helped propagate misinformation and hate speech. As one of the most prominent female executives in the tech industry, she was also often criticized for not doing enough both for women and for others harmed by Facebook's products. Her public-speaking expertise, her seemingly effortless ability to bridge the worlds of tech, business and politics served as a sharp contrast to Zuckerberg, especially in Facebook's early years. But Zuckerberg has since been catching up, trained in part for the several congressional hearings he's been called to testify in to defend Facebook's practices. Neither Sandberg nor Zuckerberg gave any indication that Sandberg's resignation wasn't her decision. But she's also appeared somewhat sidelined in recent years, with other executives close to Zuckerberg, such as Chris Cox who returned in 2020 as chief product officer after a yearlong break from the company becoming more prominent. Sheryl Sandberg had an enormous impact on Facebook, Meta, and the broader business world. She helped Facebook build a world-class ad-buying platform and develop groundbreaking ad formats," said Debra Aho Williamson, an analyst at Insider Intelligence. But she added that Facebook faced huge scandals under Sandberg's watch including the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the Cambridge Analytica privacy debacle in 2018, and the 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. And now, Meta is facing a slowdown in user growth and ad revenue that is now testing the business foundation that the company was built on, she said. "The company needs to find a new way forward, and perhaps this was the best time for Sandberg to depart. Sandberg is leaving Meta in the fall and will continue to serve on the companys board. Zuckerberg said in his own Facebook post that Javier Olivan, who currently oversees key functions at Meta's four main apps Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger will serve as Metas new COO. But it will be a different job than the one Sandberg held for the past 14 years. It will be a more traditional COO role where Javi will be focused internally and operationally, building on his strong track record of making our execution more efficient and rigorous, Zuckerberg wrote. While Sandberg has long been Zuckerbergs No. 2, even sitting next to him pre-pandemic, at least in the companys Menlo Park, California, headquarters, she also had a very public-facing job, meeting with lawmakers, holding focus groups and speaking out on issues such as women in the workplace and, most recently, abortion. I think Meta has reached the point where it makes sense for our product and business groups to be more closely integrated, rather than having all the business and operations functions organized separately from our products, Zuckerberg wrote. Sandberg, who lost her husband Dave Goldberg suddenly in 2015, said she is not entirely sure what the future will bring. But I know it will include focusing more on my foundation and philanthropic work, which is more important to me than ever given how critical this moment is for women, she wrote, adding that she is also getting married this summer and that parenting their expanded family of five children will also be a part of this future. THE ADULT IN THE ROOM Sandberg, now 52, first helped Google build what quickly became the internets biggest -- and most lucrative -- advertising network. But she left that post to take on the challenge of transforming Facebooks freewheeling social network into a money-making business while also helping to mentor Zuckerberg, who was then 23 to her 38. She proved to be exactly what the then-immature Zuckerberg and the company needed at the right time, helping to pave the way to Facebooks highly anticipated initial public offering of stock a decade ago. While Zuckerberg remained Facebooks visionary and controlling shareholder, Sandberg became engine of a business fueled by a rapidly growing digital ad business that has become nearly as successful as the one that she helped cobbled together around Googles dominant search engine. Just like Googles ad empire, Facebooks business thrived on its ability to keep its users coming back for more of its free services while leveraging its social networking technology to learn more about peoples interests, habits, and whereabouts -- a nosy model that has repeatedly entangled the company in debates about whether a right to personal privacy still exists in an increasingly digital age. As one of the top female executives in technology, Sandberg has at times has been held up as an inspiration for working women -- a role she seemed to embrace with a best-selling 2013 book titled Lean In: Women, Work and the Will To Lead. But Lean In received immediate criticism. New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd called Sandberg a PowerPoint Pied Piper in Prada ankle boots, and critics suggested she is the wrong person to lead a womens movement. She addressed some of that criticism in a subsequent book that addressed the death of her husband, Dave Goldberg. In 2015 she became a symbol of heartbreaking grief when Goldberg died in an accident while working out on vacation, widowing her with two children as she continued to help run one of the worlds best-known companies. CRACKS IN THE FACADE In more recent years, Sandberg grew into a polarizing figure amid revelations of how some of her business decisions for Facebook helped propagate misinformation and hate speech. Critics and a company whistleblower contend that the consequences have undermined democracy and caused severe emotional problems for teens, particularly girls. The author of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Shoshana Zuboff, said Sandberg is as responsible as anyone for what Zuboff considers one of Big Techs most insidious invention: the collection and organization of data on social media users behavior and preferences. For years Facebook shared user data not just with advertisers but also with business partners. Sandberg did this, wrote Zuboff, through the artful manipulation of Facebooks culture of intimacy and sharing. Zuboff calls Sandberg the Typhoid Mary of surveillance capitalism, the term for profiting off the collection of data from social media users online behavior, preferences, shared data and relationships. "Sheryl Sandberg may fancy herself a feminist, but her decisions at Meta made social media platforms less safe for women, people of color, and even threatened the American electoral system. Sandberg had the power to take action for fourteen years, yet consistently chose not to," said Shaunna Thomas, co-founder of UltraViolet, a gender justice advocacy organization, which has been calling for Sandberg's resignation, in an emailed comment Wednesday. Sandberg has had some public missteps at the company, including her attempt to deflect blame from Facebook for the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. In an interview later that month that was streamed by Reuters, she said she thought the events of the day were largely organized on platforms that dont have our abilities to stop hate, dont have our standards and dont have our transparency. Internal documents revealed by whistleblower Frances Haugen later that year, however, showed that Facebooks own employees were concerned about the companys halting and often reversed response to rising extremism in the U.S. that culminated in the events of Jan. 6. Havent we had enough time to figure out how to manage discourse without enabling violence? one employee wrote on an internal message board at the height of the Jan. 6 turmoil. Weve been fueling this fire for a long time and we shouldnt be surprised its now out of control. __ AP Technology Writer Frank Bajak in Boston contributed to this story. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) The gunmen in two of the nation's most recent mass shootings legally bought the semi-automatic rifles they used in their massacres after they turned 18. That's prompting Congress and some governors and state lawmakers to revisit the question of whether to raise the minimum age for purchasing such high-powered weapons. Only six states require someone to be at least 21 years old to buy rifles and shotguns. Advocates argue that such a limit might have prevented the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two teachers dead and the racially motivated supermarket attack in Buffalo, New York, that killed 10. Lawmakers in New York and Utah have proposed legislation that would raise the minimum age to buy AR-15 style rifles to 21. A similar restriction is expected to move as soon as next week in the U.S. House, where it has some bipartisan support, but the legislation faces uncertainty in the closely divided Senate. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican who chairs the National Governors Association, said the idea should be up for discussion. I think you've got to be able to talk about the AR-15 style weapons, and whether that's an 18 or 21 age," Hutchinson told CNN this week. You have to at least have a conversation about that." But Hutchinson, who leaves office in January, isn't pushing for the limit in his own state. Any proposed gun restrictions there are unlikely to find support among Republicans who control the Legislature. Arkansas Republicans are echoing their party's calls at the national level to focus instead on beefing up school security or addressing mental health. If we move to 21 and the shooter is 21, then they'll want to move to 25," said Republican state Sen. Bart Hester, who will serve as Senate president next year. We have established that 18 in our society is an adult who can make adult decisions, and I'm good with that." A recent survey of governors by The Associated Press highlighted the partisan split over whether the minimum age should be higher. Many Democratic governors who responded supported restrictions such as increasing the age to buy semi-automatic weapons. But only one Republican Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, whose state already has a minimum age of 21 to buy guns, with some exceptions supported such a move. Gun control advocates say raising the age offers one of the clearest steps that could have stopped or prevented the most recent mass shootings. The Uvalde attacker, Salvador Ramos, bought the AR-15 he used shortly after he turned 18. If Ramos hadn't been able to buy the weapon, maybe he would have gotten the mental health treatment he needed and this never would have happened, or maybe someone would have called some signs out to law enforcement that this person was acting erratically, said Sean Holihan, state legislative director with the gun control advocacy group Giffords. But its clear if there had been a law in place where he would have been 21 years old, he wouldnt have been able to purchase that gun. Federal law already prohibits federally licensed dealers from selling handguns to anyone under age 21, but people age 18 to 20 can still buy handguns from unlicensed dealers in their state unless state law sets a higher age limit or other restrictions. Florida is a rare example of a Republican-led state that took swift action on gun restrictions after a mass shooting. In 2018, weeks after the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, then-Gov. Rick Scott signed legislation raising the minimum age to buy rifles from 18 to 21, along with a host of other school safety and gun control measures. Scott, a Republican, said at the time that the law balanced our individual rights with the need for public safety. Only months after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, state lawmakers and the governor approved sweeping new restrictions that won support from many Republicans in the Democratic-controlled Legislature. They included a ban on retail sales of semiautomatic rifles that accept magazines holding more than five rounds of ammunition to anyone under 21. We saw what transpired at Sandy Hook and what could be done in a very short period of time with that type of firearm and the magazine capacity, said state Senate Republican Leader Kevin Kelly. I think a response was necessary, and something had to be done." The Buffalo and Uvalde attacks are similarly prompting New York lawmakers this week to consider an age limit increase for buying semiautomatic rifles as part of a package of gun safety bills. Under the proposal, those age 21 and older who want to buy or possess a new semiautomatic rifle would have to obtain a license. New Yorkers deserve to feel safe in schools, in grocery stores, in movie theaters, in shopping malls and on our streets -- and we must do everything in our power to protect them," Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul said. A proposal in Utah, which would raise the minimum age to buy any firearm to 21, is more of a longshot in the Republican-controlled Legislature. If you are not able to consume alcohol, why should you be able to buy a gun?" Democratic Sen. Derek Kitchen said of his proposal. The age provision in the bill before the U.S. House has some bipartisan support, but it remains unclear which aspects of the legislation will pass and get taken up in the Senate. Any measure there needs support from at least 10 Republicans to pass. The House bill also would make it a federal offense to import, manufacture or possess large-capacity ammunition magazines and creates a grant program to buy back such magazines. Democratic Rep. Anthony Brown of Maryland is leading efforts to increase the age for buying semi-automatic rifles. He said such guns have no place in our neighborhoods, let alone in the hands of an 18-year-old. Several Republicans have pointed to a ruling by a federal appeals court panel that found California's ban on the sale of semi-automatic weapons to adults under 21 is unconstitutional. Republican governors who decline to pursue the age increase also cite the political reality in their GOP-controlled legislatures. For Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, raising the age limit to buy an AR-15 style rifle to 21 falls into the category of items the Governor feels would not pass or be considered by the Ohio General Assembly, said press secretary Dan Tierney. Eighteen-year-olds already are allowed to do many things in society, including joining the military, said state Sen. Terry Johnson, a southern Ohio Republican who sponsored the states new law that makes concealed weapons permits optional for people legally allowed to carry a firearm. Theyre adults and theyre Americans, and they are protected by the Second Amendment, Johnson said. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice this week said he supports raising the minimum age for buying an AR-15 style rifle to 21, but isn't proposing such a change in his state. First of all, do I really feel like an 18-year-old ought to be able to walk in and buy an assault weapon? I dont, the Republican governor told reporters this week. Yet he appeared pessimistic about that or any other gun control measure gaining traction in his state. I can call 1,000 special sessions," he said. And if all Im doing is calling 1,000 special sessions for people just to come and talk and get up on a soap box and get nothing done, why?" ___ Associated Press writers Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Kevin Freking in Washington, D.C.; Anthony Izaguirre in Tallahassee, Florida; John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia; Marina Villeneuve in Albany, New York; Lindsay Whitehurst in Salt Lake City; and Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report. ___ Follow the AP's coverage of the mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, here: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting https://apnews.com/hub/buffalo-supermarket-shooting This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate UVALDE, Texas (AP) The pallbearers wore white shirts and gloves. The desert-brown church with the tall bell tower was filled to overflowing. The casket held a 10-year-old girl who loved purple. On Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of mourners turned out for the funeral Mass for Amerie Jo Garza, a smiling fourth-grader who was killed a week ago when 18-year-old Salvador Ramos stormed into her Uvalde, Texas elementary school and opened fire on her classroom. Amerie's funeral was the first since the massacre, with Maite Rodriguezs scheduled for later Tuesday at an Uvalde funeral home. Nineteen more funerals are planned for the next two-and-a-half weeks for the 19 children and two teachers who were killed in that classroom on May 24. Mourner Erika Santiago, her husband and their two children wore purple shirts adorned with images of the victims to Ameries funeral. She described Amerie as a nice little girl who smiled a lot, and who was so humble and charismatic but full of life. Santiago said her 10-year-old son, Adriel, watched in horror when news reports first showed images of people killed and he recognized his friends Amerie and Maite. He told me he did not want to go to school fearing that could happen, Santiago said. He told me, 'Mom, I just dont feel safe. Visitation for one of the teachers, 48-year-old Irma Garcia, also was Tuesday, along with visitations for children Nevaeh Bravo and Jose Flores Jr. Vincent Salazars 11-year-old daughter, Layla, has the last of the scheduled services her visitation is June 15 with the funeral the following day. Salazar said the family likely wont see Laylas body until soon before the visitation. I understand there were other children as well, but were just waiting to get her back," Salazar said. "Thats all were focused on. Uvalde County Justice of the Peace Eulalio Lalo Diaz Jr. said the bodies of all 21 victims were first sent to the medical examiners office in San Antonio for autopsies, which he said is standard for a major crime. Then, because there isnt enough space at Uvaldes two funeral homes, many bodies were sent to out-of-town funeral homes until services near. The Uvalde funeral homes are working with the families on when they can see their loved ones, he said. Its mainly because of the number of victims, Diaz said, asking: Where do you store that many people? Diaz said the autopsies are complete. He declined to discuss preliminary results and said final reports will take three to four months. Vincent Salazar said he and his family are going to as many visitations as they can to pay respects to the other victims and their families. Not necessarily going to the funerals because were still taking care of things hour by hour, day by day, here, Salazar said. Weve got so much stuff going on with our own. You have to set everything up obituaries, death certificates, funeral arrangements. Thats all were focused on right now her, getting her back and being able to put her to rest, Salazar said of Layla. Thats it. Investigators continue to seek answers about how police responded to the shooting, and the U.S. Department of Justice is reviewing law enforcement actions. The blame for an excruciating delay in killing the gunman even as parents outside begged police to rush in and panicked children called 911 from inside was placed on the school districts homegrown police chief, Pete Arredondo, after the director of state police said Arredondo made the wrong decision not to breach the classroom, believing the gunman was barricaded inside and children werent at risk. Steven McCraw, head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Friday that after following the gunman into the building, officers waited over an hour to breach the classroom. The revelation raised new questions about whether lives were lost because officers did not act faster to stop the gunman, who was ultimately killed by Border Patrol tactical officers. State police said Tuesday that the teacher who at one point propped open an exterior door to the school had closed it before the gunman used it to get inside. However, the door did not lock, police said. Authorities had originally said Ramos came in through the door she'd propped open. Instead, investigators said the teacher, who has not been identified, closed the propped-open door when she realized there was a shooter on campus and ran to get her phone and call 911, said Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety. Investigators are looking into why the door didn't lock. Jacob Albarado, an off-duty Border Patrol agent who rushed to the school with a shotgun borrowed from his barber, said Tuesday it was chaotic when he arrived in search of his daughter and wife. Both were physically unharmed in the attack, he said. To me, I believe everyone there was doing the best that they could given the circumstances, he told NBCs Today Show." I believe everyone there was doing everything in their power. Authorities have said Ramos legally purchased two guns not long before the school attack: an AR-style rifle on May 17 and a second rifle on May 20. He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law. President Joe Biden's long-planned meeting Tuesday with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern shifted to gun control after what happened in Uvalde and a week earlier in Buffalo, New York, where 10 Black people were killed by a shooter espousing racist replacement theory. Ardern won passage of gun control measures after a white supremacist killed 51 Muslim worshippers at two Christchurch mosques in 2019. Less than a month later all but one of the countrys 120 lawmakers voted in favor of banning military-style semiautomatic weapons. Biden told reporters that he will meet with the Congress on guns, I promise you, but the White House has acknowledged that winning new gun legislation will be an uphill climb in an evenly divided Congress. ___ Salter reported from O'Fallon, Missouri. ___ More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting An Air National Guard F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet skidded off the runway at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport on Tuesday afternoon, just weeks after a similar incident happened to another aircraft at the same airfield. Around 4 p.m. local time, an F-16C with the South Dakota Air National Guard's 114th Fighter Wing "departed the edge" of a runway after returning from a routine training mission, the unit said in a statement. The incident is under investigation. Photos from the local newspaper, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, show the jet with its nose cone dipped into the ground. Emergency crews came to the scene to check on the pilot, and he was released. Read Next: Ramstein Cancels Library's 'Drag Queen Storytime' for Pride Month Following Criticism Tuesday's incident mirrors another landing mishap with the 114th Fighter Wing that occurred just 20 days earlier. On May 11, another F-16 "went off the end of Runway 15 at Joe Foss Field" at the regional airport. Images began circulating online of the fighter jet's nose cone dipping to the ground after it landed during a similar training mission. The pilot and ground crew were safe. "Even though we train to do this every day, there is still risk involved. We are grateful that no one was harmed in this incident," Col. Mark Morrell, the 114th Fighter Wing commander, said in a statement following the May 11 incident. Tuesday's runway mishap is the latest in a string of landing mishaps and crashes seen this year with the Air Force's jets. Notably, there have been long-standing issues specifically with F-16 landing gear. Collapses on F-16Cs have been happening since at least the late 1990s, according to Air Force Magazine. On March 5, 2019, the Air Force issued an order for the "Replacement of Main Landing Gear Downlock Actuators and Support Brackets and Hardware on all USAF F-16C/D Blocks 40/42/50/52 Aircraft," the magazine reported. F-16 units had until March 2, 2022, to comply with the order. It's unclear whether the 114th Fighter Wing has replaced its gear. The Air National Guard unit did not respond to multiple phone calls left with its public affairs office on Wednesday. The Air Force has been flying the earliest versions of the F-16 since the late 1970s and the F-16C/D variant -- which is flown by South Dakota's 114th Fighter Wing -- since the mid-1980s. There were three F-16 mishaps last year, according to the Air Force Safety Center. One of the crashes led to the death of a pilot and the plane being completely destroyed. The same week as another F-16 crash in Louisiana in March of this year, airmen began posting an image of an F-22 Raptor with its nose buried in the ground at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, after the aircraft had an apparent landing gear mishap. An almost identical incident happened with another F-22 at Eglin last year, when a pilot experienced an in-flight emergency and the front landing gear didn't operate properly, causing the nose to dip and impact the runway. Air Force Safety Center data shows that five Raptors had mishaps in 2021, costing taxpayers upward of $600,000 each. Investigations into the two landing mishaps last month at Sioux Falls are ongoing. "The Wing has formed an interim safety board to begin investigating the incident," the 114th Fighter Wing said in a statement. "Follow-up information will be provided as it becomes available." -- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly. Related: T-38 Crash That Killed Student Pilot in Texas Caused by Miscommunication, Leading to Change in Formation Landing Rules Being an actor who signs on to do a movie with Tom Cruise usually means there are going to be some stunts involved. The actors in the new "Top Gun" movie knew they would be going up in naval aircraft. That meant flying in one of the U.S. Navy's premier multirole fighters, the F/A-18 Super Hornet. Along with its successful operational history, it's also the aircraft used by the Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, so there's a lot to celebrate about the aircraft. A new video produced by Paramount Pictures for "Top Gun: Maverick" does just that, highlighting naval aircraft and naval aviation while celebrating the Super Hornet. "I told everyone, 'If you're gonna take this role, part of it is being in an F/A-18," Cruise says in the Paramount trailer. "I don't know how to do it any other way." The video, released May 26, 2022, features the cast of "Top Gun: Maverick" talking about their first impressions of flying in the movie's featured aircraft, the Super Hornet. It also offers cockpit video of the actors in-flight -- and at least one actor, Greg Tarzan Davis as Lt. Javy "Coyote" Machado, passing out. "One of my favorite analogies that some of the TOPGUN pilots have: It's like being strapped onto a dragon," says actor Lewis Pullman, who plays Lt. Robert "Bob" Floyd. The actors did not fly the aircraft but delivered their lines from the cockpits of F/A-18F fighters in flight. Even Cruise, who is famous for doing his own stunts and is a certified pilot, wasn't allowed to actually fly the aircraft. He did get the naval aviators at the controls to do some wild things. The movie's naval aviation technical adviser, Capt. Brian "Ferg" Ferguson, says audiences may find some of the stunts so real that it might be hard to believe actors really did it. "Tom said, 'I need this to happen at 30 feet above the ground,'" says Ferguson, referring to one scene in particular. "He was doing 480 knots, basically a 500-mph race car. I've been doing this in these airplanes for a long time, and I watched that and go, 'Wow, that's fantastic.'" This small vignette displays what the Super Hornet can do for the reel world, but the real-world history of the aircraft is just as impressive. First introduced in 1999, the F/A-18F Super Hornet is a two-seater, twin-engine fighter capable of flying at Mach 1.6. It was also the fighter that replaced the F-14 Tomcat -- the featured aircraft in the original 1986 film, "Top Gun" -- in the Navy's arsenal. Outside of Hollywood, the F/A-18 has seen action in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, anti-piracy operations along the Horn of Africa, and against Islamic State targets in northern Iraq in 2014. In 2017, an American F/A-18 pilot shot down a Syrian Su-22 fighter as it attacked a U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) position in Syria. It was the first air-to-air victory over a manned aircraft by an American fighter since 1999, the first by the Navy since the Gulf War in 1991 and the first aerial victory by a Super Hornet. "I wanted to celebrate the fighter pilot," says Cruise. Even if you're not a naval aviator flying F/A-18s, you can still join the celebration. "Top Gun: Maverick" is in theaters now. -- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook. Want to Learn More About Military Life? Whether you're thinking of joining the military, looking for post-military careers or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to Military.com to have military news, updates and resources delivered directly to your inbox. Actor Tom Skerritt may be remembered as "Viper" from the 1986 film "Top Gun," the guy who got the best of Maverick and Goose in an obsolete A-4A Skyhawk, but there's a real-life "Viper" who's a real-life badass. Rear Adm. Pete Pettigrew, callsign "Viper," not only served as a technical adviser on the film, he can be seen as "Perry," the man who shows up just after "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" and snags Charlie away from her destiny. By the time of the film's release, Kenneth "Pete" Pettigrew was in the Naval Reserve, but had been a naval aviator since 1966. He completed two combat tours aboard the USS Coral Sea during the Vietnam War, flying the F-4 Phantom II. Afterward, he was sent to a fledgling training program, the Navy Fighter Weapons School -- also known as TOPGUN. As a TOPGUN instructor, he taught his would-be Mavericks and Icemans in air-to-air and air-to-ground combat. It was his experience as an instructor between 1969 and 1972, along with his real-world callsign, that would lend itself to the movie's enduring legacy. Having Skerritt portray you on screen doesn't hurt, either. Pettigrew's biggest military moment was yet to come, however. While in the movie, Iceman and Maverick trade barbs about getting close to a MiG, the real-life "Viper" came way too close to one for anyone's comfort. In January 1972, in his first post-TOPGUN assignment, Pettigrew was sent to the USS Kitty Hawk as the Air Wing's landing signal officer. On May 6, 1972, Viper and his wingman, flying F-4J Phantoms, engaged with four North Vietnamese MiG-21 fighters. At the time, the MiG-21 was a match for the Phantom, and Vietnamese pilots were trained in the Soviet Union and China. The reason the Navy started a Fighter Weapons School in the first place was because of unacceptable air-to-air losses over North Vietnam. Rear Adm. (Ret.) Kenneth "Pete" Pettigrew, callsign "Viper." (U.S. Navy) With that in mind, being outnumbered 2-to-1 by the best planes the People's Air Force of North Vietnam could fly didn't bode well for Pettigrew and his wingman. They engaged anyway, and after a 90-second dogfight, Pettigrew boasted one kill and his wingman another before the MiG-21s broke contact and ran. In more than 325 combat missions, Pettigrew is the only former TOPGUN instructor with a confirmed MiG kill. Through the course of his career as a naval aviator, Pettigrew made more than 500 carrier landings and was awarded the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross and three Air Medals. He made his flag rank in 1990 and remained in the Naval Reserve until 1998. -- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook. Want to Learn More About Military Life? Whether you're thinking of joining the military, looking for post-military careers or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to Military.com to have military news, updates and resources delivered directly to your inbox. Popular Ghanaian rapper, C-Real has asked creatives in the industry to improve on themselves as a way to increase their value to investors. In a studio discussion on Hitz FM, the rapper urged creatives to improve their bargaining power so they can be paid what they deserve when they land deals with investors and institutions. He was reacting to rapper Edems claims of not being paid well due to his Ewe lineage. I understand what Edem is saying and the brands are right. Brands calculate their reach, it is a well-known fact that languages are essential even for marketing purposes. Rarely do you hear a radio advertisement in Ewe. "So any brand or corporate entity will do it from that angle. But as a creative, you have to justify why you have to be paid more. You could decide to do it in Akan or Pidgin and you need to be diverse, he said. He added that Edem should be able to look beyond his background and talent. I think Edem is one of the diverse people, so he doesnt have to nail himself as an Ewe artiste. Its about leverage and understanding, and it goes beyond the talent, he added. Ghanaian Urban Gospel sensation, Qwesi Oteng has lauded the ruling NPP for its performance since it assumed office. According to the musician and sympathizer of the ruling party, the party led by President Akufo-Addo has never failed Ghanaians. Speaking this morning on Hitz FMs Daybreak Hitz show with Sammy Forson, the musician stated that President Akufo-Addo and his NPP have the country at heart and doing everything possible to transform the country and lives. He said the NPP has fulfilled every promise it has made to Ghanaians before and during its tenure in office. Qweci Otteng in citing some examples stated that the President promised the nation free education and he fulfilled it upon assuming office. I dont think he has failed. Some of the major promises have been done. Free SHS was the Presidents big conversation and it has been achieved, he said. He added that despite the hardship in the country, he is optimistic that government can make things better and make the country a better place to live. Things can be done better, things can be communicated better, and the peoples views can be respected and heard. The people are not trees to think that they are not feeling what they are saying, he added. Twenty-four civilians have been killed and around 60 wounded in an attack by separatist gunmen in a troubled anglophone region of Cameroon, the local mayor said on Tuesday. The toll is one of the bloodiest in a nearly five-year-old conflict pitching armed militants against government forces in the breakaway region. Separatists on Sunday attacked the village of Obonyi II in the Southwest Region near the border with Nigeria, mayor Ekwalle Martin told AFP. "The separatists wanted the inhabitants to pay them money each month, they refused, and that's why they (the gunmen) attacked," said Martin. "The toll is 24 dead and at least 62 wounded," he said. The attack was confirmed by a local administrative official, speaking on condition of anonymity, who gave a death toll of at least 15 civilians. "After the attack, some people fled into Nigeria and others into the forest," the source said. The village, lying 560 kilometres (350 miles) northwest of the national capital Yaounde, "is hard to get to. Armed groups exploit this isolation in order to hand down the law," the source said. The Southwest Region and neighbouring Northwest Region are home to a large anglophone minority in the majority French-speaking country. In 2017, anglophone resentment at perceived discrimination radicalised, snowballing into a breakaway movement that declared independence for the two regions. The country's veteran president Paul Biya, 89, responded with a crackdown. Clashes between militants and security forces have claimed more than 6,000 lives and displaced around a million people, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG). Cameroon's English-speaking regions and their capitals, Bamenda and Buea. By Valentina BRESCHI (AFP) Separatists have targeted police, soldiers, officials and schools, which they deem to be symbols of the state, often carrying out kidnappings. However, civilians have suffered abuses committed by both sides, according to international NGOs and the United Nations. Earlier Tuesday, the army said it had freed a kidnapped senator from Biya's Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (RDPC) party. Senator Elizabeth Regine Mundi, 79, had been abducted along with her driver on April 30 in Bamenda in the Northwest Region. In an army raid on a "terrorist refuge" in Ashong late on Monday, "several hostages were freed, including the senator," army spokesman Cyrille Atonfack Guemo said in a statement. He did not provide the exact number of people liberated. "A dozen terrorists were neutralised, several others wounded and fled. Three were captured," he said. Mundi, who hails from the Northwest Region, had appeared shortly after her abduction in a video posted on social media, in which she was shown in front of separatist flags. Two rebel groups had claimed responsibility for her kidnapping, one of which demanded a ransom while the other demanded the release of prisoners, a senior source in the security forces said. Colonial-era legacy The presence of the anglophone regions derives from the colonial era. The former German possession of Cameroon was partitioned after World War I between Britain and France. In 1961, part of the British territory, the Southern Cameroons, joined Cameroon after it gained independence from France, becoming the Northwest and Southwest regions. Anglophones have long chafed about perceived inequality, especially in education and law. The separatists' entity, called the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, has no international recognition. Somalia now has a new parliament and a president elected by its 329 lawmakers . This followed more than a year's delay . Somalis are asking whether President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud who previously ruled the country between 2012 and 2017 will in his second stint chart the path to the promised land of reconciliation and development. Many will wonder whether this opportunity will be squandered, as it was during his previous tenure. In my analysis, the outcome will depend on the interplay between the inertia of the profoundly corrupt process that produced parliament and the president, and the will of the new leadership to dare to introduce a transformative agenda. But the president's first step of appointing several sectarian individuals to his office, and to the national security office appear to foreclose his promises of an inclusive political road map. President Hassan has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to set an example by offering a consistent civic voice matched by progressive policies and institutional reform. A flawed electoral process Somalia has arguably one of the most fraudulent political systems in the world. Its people have been denied the vote since 1969. The partnership between a corrupt elite and the terrorist organisation Al Shabaab has created a countrywide open political prison in which the citizens are cowering observers. Al-Shabaab dominates South-Central Somalia and has infiltrated cities. Meanwhile, the political class operates in a few areas, such as Mogadishu, as they hunker in their barricaded villas and circulate in severely restricted spaces in their bullet-proof Land Cruisers. These conditions are the byproducts of past blunders. About two decades ago, warlords and sectarian politicians concocted a vile tribal formula supposedly reflecting people's political identity. This formula balkanised Somalis into tribal political groups denying them the possibility of civic identity as apartheid South Africa did to the African population. Two political changes emerged from this formula. First, the country was divided into tribe-based federal provinces. Second, traditional authorities were granted the right to represent their groups in the political arena. In the process tribal chiefs have become the de facto selectors of parliamentary representatives. Once the tribal provinces had been established, conflict emerged between the governors of those regions and traditional leaders, both angling for power. The governors, who control the provincial administration and security forces, used this leverage to weaken the chiefs' role during the recent election. Consequently, they were able to appoint MPs loyal to them. Meanwhile, the former president and his political allies handpicked and installed loyalist governors in three of the five provinces. Thus, electing new MPs resulted in an epic struggle between the former president and his regional allies, and two opposition governors and other politicians. Such politicking corrupted every government agency. Another major problem was the infusion of corrupt money into the parliamentary and presidential campaigns. The selection of candidates in most provinces did not attract much money as governors singularly controlled the levers of power and selected loyalists. In a few cases where there was real competition between candidates, the payment of bribes was almost the single most important winning factor. These shenanigans delayed the election. Finally, the two houses of parliament selected their officers only two months ago. A week later parliament appointed a joint committee to organise the election of a president in two weeks: May 15 was D-day . Corruption The list of hopeful presidential candidates was very long. In a country where the average person earns less than $2 a day, each of the 39 presidential candidates paid the astonishing sum of $40 000 to register as a presidential candidate. This requirement was determined by the former president and his team. Once registered, candidates lobbied the MPs who would be electing the president. In the absence of political parties or ideologies, the only distinction between candidates was the size of their campaign chests and genealogical identity. Five candidates dominated the money game: two former presidents, the incumbent, a regional governor, and a former prime minister. Courting the MPs intensified the week before the election, but it was the eve of Election Day that MPs went scavenging for the big bribes. Candidates reportedly paid bribes ranging from $30 000 to $90 000 per MP. This culture of corruption permeates all levels of society and everything that comes under the domain of the state. Confronting this demon will require far-sighted and determined leadership, and a revolutionary movement. The hope To earn the confidence of the people, the new president must, at a minimum, take on the following: Endeavour to reverse the tribalisation of political identity. Radically restructure the tribally-based federal system to undo the exclusive tribal fiefdoms. Admit the role of corruption in the election and appoint an independent election commission consisting of the most credible Somalis to lead the country out of the current cul de sac. Craft and apply radical strategies to defeat Al-Shabaab or reconcile with it. The first signal of the president's intention and agenda will be his nomination of the prime minister. If he selects a candidate with integrity, civic capital, and independence that will indicate his commitment to serious reform. But if, as he did during his previous presidency, appoints a client who would be a front for his machination, the charade will lock 15 million desperate citizens into perpetual purgatory. Somali dilemma In a letter from prison in 1929, Antonio Gramsci, the renowned Italian theorist and political activist remarked that he was a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will. After studying Somalia for three decades, I am convinced that the intellect can clearly envision the path to progressive reform. However, what seems lacking is an organised will on the part of those concerned about the fate of the Somali people. A certain degree of fatalism and fear has crippled the civic minded, and it is as if the risk of change is dreaded more than the persistence of despair and slow death. Abdi Ismail Samatar is a senator in the Somali Parliament. He is the author most recently of Framing Somalia: Beyond Africa's merchants of misery (2022) By Abdi Ismail Samatar, Research Fellow, University of Pretoria The Minority in Parliament has insisted there must be a probe of all COVID-19 expenditure. It follows the viral circulation of an audiotape on social media in which a voice believed to be that of the Northern Regional Vice-Chairperson of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Ms Felicia Tetteh, is heard talking about how COVID funds were disbursed to the leadership of the party and some candidates. Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu told journalists at a press conference on Tuesday, 31 May 2022 that their persistent calls for a probe have been vindicated by the leaked audiotape. The Tamale South MP said it makes our call for an investigation of the highly anomalous COVID expenditures to be probed. He said the expenditure must be probed by parliament or by the Auditor-General, or, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, [if he] has any respect for the tenets and values of accountability and transparency, [must] authorise a public enquiry into how the over GHS19 billion was disbursed and utilised. We now understand how a motion to probe COVID by an institution, which should be the most fundamental institution and guardian of the public purse, Parliament, will dismiss the motion even at birth, by actors of the New Patriotic Party political administration. The motion, when it was first submitted, was rejected by First Deputy Speaker Joseph Osei-Owusu. Mr Iddrisu, however, said the minority caucus will refile the motion. Source: Classfmonline.com Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, has charged Africa countries to harness their agricultural potential and become the global food buffer. He said that with the Continent occupying about 20 per cent of Earth's total land area, and 65 per cent of uncultivated arable land, unlocking its potential would make it a solution to global food crisis. Dr Adesina, who is also a former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nigeria, said: Africa must become a solution to global food crisis by unlocking the full potential of agriculture sector. What Africa does in agriculture will determine the future of food in the world, because Africa has 65 per cent of all the arable land in the world that is not yet cultivated, he added. The AfDB President, said this during the closing press conference at the just ended annual meetings of the Bank in Accra, and urged African countries to ensure quality standards of food produce and export to other countries. We had in this meeting from our force of governance that the African Development Bank should do more in other countries, and we will, as you know, 'Feed Africa,' is a big strategy for us, he said. The Feed Africa strategy for Agricultural Transformation in Africa (2016 to 2025), was initiated to make Africa a net food exporter and move the continent to the top of export-orientated global value chains where it has comparative advantage. This is aimed at contributing to eliminating extreme poverty in Africa and ending hunger and malnutrition in Africa by 2025. Dr Adesina said that: We are going to rump-up support to make sure that even as we deal with the current emergency, we'll drive structural transformation of agriculture. So, when we talk about agriculture, we're talking about agriculture to maintain clean wealth for Africa, he emphasised. During his remarks at the opening ceremony of the annual meetings, he underscored that there was no dignity in Africa begging other countries for food. Africa does not need bowls in hand; Africa needs seeds in the ground and mechanical harvesters to harvest bountiful food produced locally. Africa must feed itself with pride. There is no dignity in begging for food. Dr Beth Dunford, Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, also highlighted the importance of the Bank's $1.5 billion Africa Emergency Food Production Facility. During the Bank's presentation on its financial statement on the sidelines of the annual meetings, she indicated that the facility was a bold response by the Bank to revolutionise food production within a brief period and mitigate a looming food crisis due to the Russia-Ukraine war. She said that the Bank has been investing in agriculture, adding, In particular, we've invested in new technologies that help farmers increase their productivity, even in climate change. GNA Nana Antwi Agyei Brempong II, Atwimahene, has appealed to government to engage more youth, including National Service Personnel (NSS) in the implementation of the Green Ghana Project (GGP) and other afforestation-related initiatives. This, he said, would help the youth own such projects to ensure the sustenance of such noble initiatives. According to Atwimahene, programmes concerning the environment ought to be taken seriously given the effect of the ecosystem and biodiversity on humanity. Nana Antwi Brempong, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), at Atwima in the Atwima-Kwanwoma District of the Ashanti Region, described the Green Ghana Project as a step in the right direction as the country sought to improve its forest cover. The Project generally seeks to create a collective action toward the restoration of degraded landscapes in the country, mitigate climate change and inculcate in the youth the values of planting and nurturing trees. It is one of the most significant environmentally related initiatives under the Nana Akufo-Addo-led Administration aimed at improving the ecology. This year, the Project targets to plant at least 20 million trees of varied species across the country. Nana Agyei Brempong hinted that under the River Run Indigenous Tree Planting (RRITP) project, which is his own initiative being implemented by Ashan Tree, a non-profitable organisation, a lot of trees seedlings had already been planted at Atwima. The aim is to enhance vegetation in the area while boosting the scenic beauty of the town. According to him, the RRITP project, which commenced about three years ago was being technically supervised by the Forestry Commission (FC) to help mitigate the effects of the climate change Planting trees is my passion and I hope to extend this to other places soon, he told the GNA. He drew attention to the fact that reforestation was a collective responsibility and all Ghanaians, therefore, must get on board to make the Green Ghana Project a success. The Atwimahene pointed out that he had directed every household within his area to engage in tree planting exercises due to the benefits of such ventures. GNA Professor Kwamena Kwansah-Aidoo, the Rector of Ghana Institute of Journalism, has advised students of the Akosombo International School to be ethically minded and acquire competencies that would make them relevant in the global market spheres. You need to be disciplined to inquire about the world, seek information and build your competencies and be the blazing trail in all your future endeavours, he advised. He charged the students to pursue knowledge with excellence, respect their leaders and colleagues and see every challenge as an opportunity to learn and improve their lives. The Professor said this on Tuesday at the launch of the School's 60th anniversary in Accra on the theme: AIS at 60: Educating Tomorrow's Leaders Today. He said Africa needed a new type of leader whose humility and integrity were unparalleled to advance the course of education. Prof Kwansah-Aidoo advised school management to be assertive and be guided by the tenet of integrity devoid of vices that would derail the mandate of improving quality education in the country and beyond. To succeed in the educational space, it is necessary to acquire new sets of skills that will be relevant to the 21st century, he said. He said COVID-19 had taught the educational sector the need to explore technology and advised educational institutions not to rest on their ores, but to leverage the digital platform for effective teaching and learning. Educators must learn to use basic digital literacy skills in the curriculum to ensure that no students are left behind. This is critical because innovation is vital to the country's socio-economic development, he said. He advised the students to have a disciplined mind and be committed to lifelong learning to improve their career lives for a better future and as well explore other opportunities to transform their growth. Mr Emmanuel Antwi-Darkwa, the Chief Executive, Volta River Authority (VRA), said the School had grown to provide a comprehensive and holistic education for all, doubled its streams at the basic level and six streams at the secondary level with the support of the Authority and management of the School. He said VRA, as the shareholder of the School, was 60 years in 2021 and had nurtured and supported the institution to enhance education including the Energy Conservation Campaign in 2020, which received international recognition. He commended successive management and all stakeholders for supporting the School to grow to that level and urged the management to provide quality, innovative and lifelong educational solutions to the students to be productive in life. Mr Julius Kog-Der, the Headmaster of the School, said the institution since its establishment in 1962, had churned out distinguished personalities like Hajia Samira Bawumia, the Second Lady and Mrs Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He said the school had excelled in many fields of disciplines including music awards, Microsoft awards for teaching and learning, Presidential awards in BECE and best international school games. The Headmaster said the School had lined up activities till October 2022 including a fund-raising ceremony to improve infrastructure to meet the increasing demand of students, calling on old students to support the initiative. GNA UK High Commissioner Harriet Thompson has said her tweet on Oliver Barker-Vormawors last arrest for traffic offence was not intended, in any way to elicit a response from Ghanas Inspector General of Police. Dr George Akuffo Dampare wrote to the British High Commissioner describing her recent Ill be interested to see where this goes comment on the arrest of #FixTheCountry Movement convener, as uninformed, biased, misguided and unwarranted. After Mr Barker-Vormawor was arrested in mid-May this year for the alleged traffic offence, the UK envoy tweeted on 17 May: Oliver Barker Vormawor, the convener of #FixTheCountry Movement, arrested again, I understand, for a motoring offence on his way to court. Ill be interested to see where this goes Ordinarily, the Ghana Police Service would not have responded to comments such as yours, obviously made from either a biased or uninformed position, the police noted. However, it continued, We have learnt from a previous painful experience that it has not been helpful to ignore such misguided, unwarranted, and biased comments intended to tarnish the reputation of the Ghana Police Service and that of our country. The police also accused the UK envoy of interfering in Ghanas internal affairs with her tweet. What is more, we consider your tweet as a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961 which enjoins diplomatic missions not to interfere in the internal affairs of their host country. Responding to the IGPs response, however, Ms Thompson said: It is clear from the response that it has not been received the way it was intended. She told Accra-based GHOne TV that her tweet wasnt after a response from the IGP at all. When I comment on social media, I comment on all sorts of things in which Im interested, I suppose to show people a bit about me, to try to open up about what it means to be a High Commissioner in a country like Ghana; what it is, not just to be me as a High Commissioner but also, me, as a person, so, Ill tweet about the places in Ghana Ive been and found beautiful or interesting, the people Ive met and so on, so, I dont necessarily look for any response, she explained. Source: Classfmonline.com French diplomats are to go on strike this Thursday to highlight a growing "malaise" within the diplomatic service that claims government reforms and job cuts are accentuating the decline of France's influence in the world. The discontent within France's diplomatic circles has reportedly been simmering for months if not years but exploded after the publication of a series of institutional reforms in the Foreign Ministry's official journal in April. As requested by President Emmanuel Macron, the reforms include the creation of a new corps of civil servants and propose that senior officials no longer be attached to a specific administrative department within the ministry, but are instead reshuffled regularly throughout their career. For diplomats some 700 of whom will be directly impacted by the reform this means the amalgamation and gradual "phasing out" of two historical pillars of French diplomacy: plenipotentiary ambassadors and foreign affairs advisers. Many within the corps believe that this would herald "the end of professional French diplomacy", which boasts the third largest international diplomatic network behind the United States and China. Embassy support for diplomats' strike Six unions and a group of 500 young diplomats have called a strike on 2 June to protest the reforms a move that is rare within the Quai d'Orsay, with the first and only such action taken in 2003. Meanwhile dozens of high-ranking diplomats have announced their support for the strike on Twitter in recent days under the hashtag #diplo2metier. "I will be on strike on 2 June to protest against the reform of the diplomatic corps and the continuous reduction of the means of our diplomacy," tweeted the ambassador to Kuwait, Claire Le Flecher. Summing up the state of mind, the ambassador to Azerbaijan, Zacharie Gross, wrote: "French diplomats are devoted body and soul but are overworked, underpaid, under-equipped". Diplomats 'marginalised' by government In addition they believe the reforms will lead to "preferential appointments", the "deconstruction of careers" and a "crisis of vocation". The group of 500 also expressed their concerns in an article published in the French daily Le Monde about what they called a "vertiginous reduction in resources". Fifty percent of diplomatic posts have been cut over the past 30 years following decades of what they perceive as the "marginalisation of the role of the ministry within the state". According to official figures, the Foreign Ministry employs around 13,500 staff. Diplomacy is traditionally the preserve of the president, but Macron has been vociferous in his negative opinion of the diplomatic service, notably by denouncing alleged "deep state" machinations within the corridors of the Quai d'Orsay in 2019. Strong French diplomacy needed in a world in crisis According to one ambassador, who spoke on condition of anonymity: "Diplomats have a bad image, when in reality they are civil servants who are very committed to the running of the French Republic." A solid diplomatic service is an essential mechanism that allows France to hold its rank, the ambassador adds: "But we feel discredited, we don't have the necessary means ... and you can feel it: what are the great successes of French diplomacy since COP21 in 2015? Nothing." Meanwhile newly appointed Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, has reportedly assured that she will engage in "quality social dialogue" with all trade unions representing the diplomats. The industrial action, however, comes against the backdrop of a succession of international crises: Covid-19, the evacuation of Kabul, the war in Ukraine, the expulsion of French diplomats from Russia and the collapse of relations with Mali. The Majority in Parliament has reiterated its position that government is not deliberately frustrating the business of the house through the delay release of monies due it. Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh insists some funds have been made available to the house for parliamentary work. This follows the outburst of the Speaker of the House, Alban Bagbin over what he revealed as governments failure to release monies allocated to Parliament. He indicated that the house received only GH7 million out of GH54 million of its allocation for the first quarter of the year 2022. Sometimes you are compelled to speak to facts and put matters in proper perspective. On the matter of the release of funds to Parliament, we thought that it was a bit far-fetched and with respect, if the Speaker had exercised a bit of restraint, probably he wouldn't have made those comments, Frank Annoh-Dompreh explained on Citi TVs Face to Face show on Tuesday. Alban Bagbin, laments the dire financial constraints Parliament is currently facing, emphasising the fact that, he had stopped approving financial commitments of the house due to the constraints. He specifically, called out the Minister for Finance for starving the House of funds. The Majority maintains that GH25 million had been released to Parliament, with steps being undertaken to clear any further outstanding arrears. The majority leader had made it clear to me that, a day before the Speaker would make those pronouncements, the leader had spoken to the Chief Finance Officer and clerk of Parliament about the ongoing processes. It was a work in progress, so the monies were released that day, it could not have been the case that it followed the complaint made by the Speaker. Had that not been the case, there was no way, the money could have hit the account the same day because the process had kick-started, Frank Annoh-Dompreh disclosed. The Speaker has expressed displeasure with the utterances of some leaders of the majority group in relation to the seeming financial crisis of the house. But Frank Annoh-Dompreh assures that the caucus is still determined to support the Speaker in matters of interest of the house. If the communication had gone well where the Clerk had carried the Speaker along, probably, the Speaker wouldn't have gotten that emotional about it. I am not putting out any hand of defense. This is Parliament, and it's an arm of government. We shouldn't be seen to be supporting acts that undermine the authority and functions of Parliament. We would support the Speaker as long as it's not about drama and politics. citinewsroom French president Emmanuel Macron is coming under increasing pressure to visit Ukraine before France's tenure at the helm of the European presidency comes to an end. The calls come as US president Joe Biden has promised Kyiv advanced rocket systems that analysts say could turn the tide against the Russian assault on Ukraine's Donbas region. Speaking on Tuesday, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on French President Emmanuel Macron to visit his country before the end of France's EU presidency on 30 June. Kuleba told French news channel LCI: "It would be good that Macron came during the French EU presidency, and the best thing would be that he comes with more weapons deliveries for Ukraine." "That's the most precious aid we can receive from France," he added. Macron travelled to Moscow and Kyiv shortly before Russia's invasion on 24 February but has not returned to Ukraine since the outbreak of the war. 'The right conditions' However, visits to Kyiv by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Canadian leader Justin Trudeau and high-ranking European officials since Russia withdrew its forces from the Ukrainian capital, have put Macron's absence under the spotlight. On Tuesday, he repeated his wish to go to Kyiv "in good time, in the right conditions". Speaking on BFMTV this Wednesday morning, former French president Francois Hollande insisted Macron "should go to Kyiv since he is president of the European Union," adding that "France's presence [in Ukraine] is expected, it is even desired." "It is time for him to do it now," Hollande underlined. Newly appointed French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna visited Kyiv on Monday, marking the first such trip by a French official since the start of the war. Macron is one of the few European leaders to maintain a regular dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has warned that humiliating Russia will not bring peace. Biden promises Ukraine 'advanced' rocket system This comes as US President Joe Biden has said the United States will send more advanced rocket systems to Ukraine, as Russian troops press to complete the capture of the key eastern city of Severodonetsk. One of the industrial hubs on Russia's path to taking the eastern Lugansk region, Severodonetsk has become a target of massive Russian firepower since the failed attempt to capture Kyiv. The Russians reportedly control most of the destroyed city. But in a boost for the outgunned Ukrainian military, Biden has confirmed that more US weaponry is on the way. Biden wrote in The New York Times: "We will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine." US insists Ukraine weapons for 'defence only' The weapons reportedly being sent are Himars, or the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, which have precision-guided munitions and a longer range than those currently deployed by Ukraine. The Himars are the centrepiece of a $700 million package being unveiled Wednesday that includes air surveillance radar, more Javelin short-range anti-tank rockets, artillery ammunition, helicopters, vehicles and spare parts, the official said. The US is attempting to help Kyiv's war effort while not being seen as a direct belligerent, and the official stressed that while the weapons would be used to "repel Russian advances on Ukrainian territory", they would not be "used against Russia". While some analysts have suggested the Himars could be a "game-changer", others say they should not be expected to suddenly turn the tables for Ukrainian forces struggling under Russian artillery fire. 01.06.2022 LISTEN Governance and international relations expert, Prof Kwame Agyeinim Boateng of the Faculty of Law, Governance and International Relations at Kings University College, has chastised the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, for his strong-worded letter to British High Commissioner to Ghana, Harriet Thompson, over her tweet on social media in relation to the arrest of #FixTheCountry movement convener Oliver Barker-Vormawor. He said the IGP has no locus in the circles of diplomacy to write to the High Commissioner. In his view, the IGPs long letter to the envoy has rather blown the matter out of proportion, pointing out that it has now become a topic being discussed on the BBC among other international media platforms. Prof Boateng told Odehyeeba Kofi Essuman, sit-in host of Accra100.5Ms morning show, Ghana Yensom, on Wednesday, June 1, 2022, that this was a matter that could have been best handled through the backdoor. He said Ghana, as a nation, could have gone further by reporting the conduct of the envoy to the UK government if the country felt peeved by the High Commissioners behaviour instead of resorting to such a letter by the police chief who has nothing to do with diplomacy. I have not seen this before in the diplomatic circles as an international relations practitioner, he said. Prof Boateng explained that per the United Nations perspective, issues of human rights are everybody's concern, adding that it is in line with this that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo tweeted about the inhumane death of George Floyd in the United States of America. He warned that other diplomats in the country are watching the treatment meted out to UK High Commissioner and that if care was not taken, it can lead to the blocking of some grants and loans by Ghanas development partners. Source: Classfmonline.com The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration must immediately intervene in the ongoing row between the Police and the British High Commissioner, Harriet Thompson, to avert any diplomatic friction between Ghana and the United Kingdom. Dr Yaw Appiah Marfo, a Lecturer in International Relations and Diplomacy at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), urged the Ministry to engage the High Commissioner behind the scenes and explain and clarify the issue to bring finality to the matter. Things can be done behind the scenes of which the Minister could have the opportunity to speak with her (High Commissioner) and probably allay her fears and bring finality to the issue diplomatically, he told the Ghana News Agency. The Ghana Police Service, in a letter dated May 20, 2022, and addressed to Madam Thompson, took issue with the High Commissioner's tweet following the arrest of one of the conveners of the #FixTheCountry movement, Oliver Barker Vormawor, over a traffic offence. Madam Thomson in her tweet wrote: Oliver Barker Vormawor, convener of #FixTheCountry movement, arrested again, I understand for a motoring offence on his way to court. I'll be interested to see where this goes The Police described her comment as misguided, unwarranted, and breach of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961. In a quick response to the Police, Madam Thompson said it was not her intention to breach Ghana's peace, adding that she did not expect such response from the Police. When I comment on social media, I comment on all sorts of things that I am interested, she told an Accra-based TV Station. Dr Appiah-Marfo agreed with the Police that the High Commissioner in her tweet breached the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. He said in accordance with the Convention, the High Commissioner should have channelled her concerns through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and not on social media. Looking at the interpretation of Article 41 (1) of the Vienna Convention, she was more or less meddling in internal affairs of a receiving country. Secondly, Clause 2 of Article 41 says that if she has anything to articulate on the issue, of which she is a global citizen, even though she is a diplomat, she has to pass it through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the receiving country, he said. Dr Appiah-Marfo said though the High Commissioner reserved the right to comment on issues as an individual, she could not separate herself from her position as a diplomat. She cannot separate her position from herself. Any British citizen or individual could make a statement and say whatever they want regarding the issue but not her, because of the position she occupies; which is almost like representing the People of Britain, Dr Appiah-Marfo said. GNA Dr George Akuffo Dampare, Inspector-General of Police (IGP), has asked Madam Harriet Thompson, British High Commissioner to Ghana, to keep within her diplomatic duty limits and not meddle in matters that do not concern her. For the moment, we would recommend a Ghanaian saying that might guide you in your diplomatic engagements. The saying goes: - 'di wo fie asem'- it means learn to keep within the limits of what concerns you, the IGP said. The IGP's reaction follows a tweet made by Madam Thompson three days ago over the arrest of Oliver Barker-Vormawor, Convener of the FixTheCountry Movement. The tweet read, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, convener of #FixTheCountry movement, arrested again, I understand for a motoring offence on his way to court. I'll be interested to see where this goes..." A four-page letter signed by Dr Dampare described the British High Commissioner's comment as obviously being made from either a biased or uninformed position. He said ordinarily, the Ghana Police Service would not have responded to comments such as hers, however, they had learnt from previous, painful experience that it had not been helpful to ignore such misguided, unwarranted, and biased comments intended to tarnish the reputation of the Ghana Police Service and that of our Country. The IGP said they considered her tweet a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961 which enjoined diplomatic missions not to interfere in the internal affairs of their host country. He said by the fact that the British High Commissioner used the phrase 'arrested again', must mean she was making reference to the previous occasions Mr Barker-Vormawor was arrested for threatening the security of the State, and recently for motor traffic offences. Since you may be unaware of the charges against the person of interest in your tweet, we are happy to give you some background, the letter said. He said among other things, in February this year, Mr. Barker-Vormawor threatened the security of the State by categorically stating his intention to stage a coup d'etat and cause instability in the country if the Army, which he referred to as 'useless', was unable to do so. The IGP said these same threats had subsequently been repeated by Mr Barker-Vormawor on his social media handles. He said in line with the laws of the Republic of Ghana, he was arrested and taken through due process and was granted bail by a court of competent jurisdiction, however, the matter was still pending before the law courts. Dr Dampare said on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, Mr Barker-Vormawor was among other drivers who were arrested separately for road traffic offences. They were all arraigned before the courts, where some pleaded guilty, were convicted and paid their fines accordingly. However, this person pleaded not guilty, was granted bail by the Court and was released after fulfilling the bail conditions. Against this backdrop and in view of the fact that he is not the only person who is being taken through due process for committing an offence in this country, it is difficult to understand why he is your only focus. Are we to understand that you are concerned about the law enforcement process in Ghana or only as applied to your person of interest? He said the Service was not oblivious of how, as a country, Britain revered its army and continuously celebrated both serving and retired officers in the British Armed Forces. The letter said Ghana similarly treasured its Police Service, the Armed Forces and all other security agencies and was anxious to build these institutions into strong and revered pillars of society that performed their duties excellently. As our former colonial power and the source of our legal, judicial and criminal justice architecture and indeed, of our Police Service, we continue to look up to Britain among other countries for guidance with regard to how difficult situations are handled, the letter said. Dr Dampare noted that some leaders of faith-based organisations in Britain made pronouncements that were considered as national security threats, they were branded as terrorists, arrested, prosecuted and in some cases were extradited. This, he said Britain did in its quest to safeguard the security of the state and ensure the sustenance of the peace the inhabitants enjoy. Do you not think we the Ghanaian people also deserve a peaceful country? Maybe reflecting on these questions will help you appreciate our position on such matters Are there instances in your country where people are permitted to openly threaten the security of the state with a coup? In instances where individuals have threatened the security of a state, does your criminal justice system celebrate such persons and urge them on to destabilise your country? As a Foreign Service officer, even though you might not have personal experience, you doubtless have access to the records of the periods of unrest and coups in Ghana; are you really wishing on us, a return to those times? Are you able to direct us to instances in your country where citizens are permitted to insult, attack and incite your Army and other security apparatuses to destabilize the Country? Do people get arrested for traffic offences in your country? Is it the case that a person on his/her way to a British court cannot be pulled over for traffic offences or any other offences for that matter? Are you still persuaded, three days after your Tweet, that you were within the bounds of the Vienna Convention which regulates the conduct of diplomats in the countries in which they serve? Should you get involved in the domestic/internal affairs, especially security issues of the sovereign state in which you are serving as a diplomat? Do you know of any instances where Ghanaian diplomats in Britain have involved themselves in your internal affairs? Is there any particular reason why of all the people arrested daily for various offences in Ghana, you are especially interested in this person's case? Is it the case that you don't have confidence in our justice delivery, criminal justice system and our court processes as a whole? Do you know the number of Members of Parliament, Chief Executives and other high-profile Ghanaians who have been arrested and prosecuted for road traffic offences and have submitted themselves to due process? If you care to know, we will be delighted to share the list with you. Have the legally and internationally accepted limits associated with freedom of speech and association been stretched to the point where people can now say and act without regard to the sanctity, security and the very survival of a country? When it comes to such matters, are there any limits in place in your country? Are you interested in the number of lives lost to road accidents and the number of injured persons, as well as families who have become destitute as a result of such accidents, caused by the infractions of people like the person of interest to you? Have you taken note of the innovations being introduced by the Ghana Police Service in recent times to deepen discipline, law and order, as well as protect lives and property in this country? Are you interested that we are doing our best to get it right? The IGP asked. GNA 01.06.2022 LISTEN You know that thing we Africans say about the well, the hand, and the man? Dont throw mud into the well that gave you water, dont bite the hand that feeds you, dont drown the man who taught you to swim, dont tell the man carrying you he stinks These references to food, water, and body odour, in the end, are vivid metaphors saying the same thing. They are morality tales for the receivercautionary tales forewarning the receiver about the bane that is ungratefulness. Finding ourselves in our lifetimes on the receiving end of this equation just as much as we perhaps do, the giving end, our understanding of these idioms must be nuanced. Because the receiving part of us knows that there are times that this ungratefulness to the giver is indeed meritedthat all things being equal, we would choose to burn certain bridges than to keep them in gratitude or in the very factual foresight of needing them for the return. You think youre the only one who has ever faced this dilemma? Hold your horses. Nations have it worse when it comes to fossil fuels An Introduction First things first: an introduction. You might already know Dr. Kweku Ainuson. Being an avid reader of the Business & Financial Times, i.e., being concerned with, well, business and financial matters, you might just be familiar with the nations top business lawyer. But Ill proceed with an introduction still. Dr. Ainuson is a partner at the AB Lexmall Associates law firm, a practice that specialises in Corporate, Commercial, and Natural Resource Law. He is also a Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana Law School with a pool of students spread far and wide, both locally and internationally; students like mewho are a great admirer of his dedication, sheer intelligence, and overall, the enormous respect he commands. He was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Clemson University in South Carolina, USA. He also served as an Assistant Professor at Mississippi State University with joint appointment at the Department of Political Science and the African American Studies program in Starkville Mississippi, USA. He holds a PhD in Public Policy with specialisation in Natural Resource Law and Policy, and two masters degreesa Master of Laws (LL.M.) with specialisation in Maritime Law, and a Master of Public Administration. Dr. Ainuson is the go-to lawyer for businesses, and has helped with the establishment of countless companies (both local and international). He has assisted many businesses both local and international to navigate the business legal and regulatory regime of the country. He serves on a vast number of boards of prominent companies. He is a member of the Ghana Bar Association. He was called to the Georgia State Bar as a Foreign Law Consultant. Today, it is with the great, great Dr. Kweku Ainuson that we are attempting prophecies. Lets proceed Energy Revolution: A Sticky Situation From the wealth of geopolitical examples (many a time, outright gory examples) to choose from, we will go with Germany and its relationship with energy... For years the country has tried positioning itself as an energy pietist of a sort, if you will, making promises to itself and to the world, promising a swift transition from non-renewables like fossil fuels and coal to renewablesperhaps more swiftly than other countries in the EU, the West, and the rest of the world have ever done. But what is interesting is that as Germany champions its Energiewende (energy revolution), it does so with a two-face. Yes, Germany is phasing out non-renewables, yet it is unyielding in its patronage from countries not on a phasing-out, these same fossil fuels they are decrying. The Russian-Ukraine war isnt helping matters. Because what do we see Germany doing? On the one hand, they are pro-Ukraine, yet on a very urgent other hand, they need that Russian oil... Youve heard about that dying man who was lying on the streets one hot afternoon at the mercy of onlookers, right? Oh, that man who fainted from hunger, and was advised by an onlooker to be sent to the hospitalYou remember that when another onlooker advised that he be fed with ice-kenkey, he immediately came to, and advised his Good Samaritans to listen to the ice-kenkey suggestion. There are times that our helpers just get things wrongtake us to the hospital when, really, it is a meal we need. This is precisely the scenario we have ensuing with Germany and the ice-kenkey it has been offering Ukraine for the past gruesome months. Accusations are increasingly mounting on German Chancellor Olaf and co. of being aloof with their supposed ally, Ukraine. As other countries are attempting to strike Russia where they feel would hurt the mostits economy, i.e., by desisting (no matter how temporary) from patronising its oil, Germany is, on one hand, offering Ukraine overt help in the form of certain weaponry, and on the not-so-distant other hand, covertly financing Russiaby purchasing still, Russian oil. This is not an accusation; it is merely a statement of facts. Weeks back, in the articles with Dr. Seth Kofi Debrah (the Atom for Peace articles), we highlighted this same two-facedness We saw how Germany, an opponent of nuclear energy still imports much of its electricity from Francea countrys whose love affair with nuclear power, Germany has for years criticised. This brings to mind the question: what thing is this that it can loom so largebe so powerful that it makes hypocrites of nations that pledge distaste to it? This diplomatic two-facedness countries get forced intotoday, ostracising the supposed devil; yet tomorrow, shaking hands with this same devilthis two-facedness, what thing can be so powerful that it makes nations behave so? What entity can be so vital to nations functioning that such nations cannot even take a stand against it completely and effectively? The answer is, as we know, powerenergy. Energy v. The Environment Dr. Ainuson transports us to 2008 Great-Recession-ridden USA. In 2008, the American was faced with the single greatest economic recession since the Great Depression of 1929, with unemployment rate higher than ever before, stomachs emptier than ever before, housing crisis through the roof, and the energy crisis at its worst. During this period, the question of the environment versus energy, which does the nation prioritise got much more nuanced responses from the American. For the first time in a long time in their history, the American was faced with real and widespread hardship, and was finding scarce the things the average citizen had for years taken for granted, like access to reliable energy and a market fostered by the industry this same energy enables, winters and summers made bearable by the heat and cold these energy sources provides, etc. The American, faced with this rude awakening, began rethinking their stance on the matter of energy v. the environment. This is interesting because years prior, and even nowyears after the Great Recession, a larger chunk of Americans when polled, gave (and give) their votes to prioritising the environment over energyand mostly that means turning to renewables (and at times non-renewable sources like nuclear energy), and discarding infamous non-renewables like fossil fuels. It is interesting, is it not? How circumstances can easily determine certain moral, sociological, economical, etc. positions we take. Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a mans character, give him power. This quote by Abraham Lincoln has a whole different meaning when taken in the context of the energy economy; it goes: nearly all people can stand adversity, but if you really want to test a persons character, take power from themtake away energy and all the perks they come with from them... So, permit us asking: on the matter of energy v. the environment where do you stand? We v. Them Before we can answer this, Dr. Ainuson quickly transports us from the 2008 financial crisis to our present global energy crisis. We need not even bother spelling out word-for-word, in this article, the hardships being faced by us all today. Kindly go ahead and fill out these blanks with complaints of your own hardships Petrol prices are on an all-time, fast-changing high, leading the market to become red-hotby that we mean extremely hot; there is nothing exciting about these times of ours. We are coming right from a pandemic when oil and gas production saw an expected decline due to the reduced demand for energy, and an aftermath which saw an overnight resurgence in demand, with oil producers fumbling to recoup and meet this restored demand with supply. Coming right from this quick shift from low to high demand, the global surge in oil prices was only to be expected. Matters have been made worse since February as we all have been left to play stake-holding witnesses to a war between two oil producing nationsone of them being the second highest producer in the world. One can safely say we have moved right from frying pan to fire And this is where Dr. Ainuson believes a poll similar to the 2008 crisis must be brewingin the minds of nations, at least. It is the question of us versus them which do we prioritise? Subconsciously nations are raising this question in their heads and are clandestinely answering, the former. Dont get this wrong, deep in this intertwined web of globalisation, nations have always put themselves first, but have as a matter of diplomacy played to the fraternity and supposed selflessness that makes for a good united nations. But now, coming right from a pandemic that forced us all to look inwardly, forced us to confinements with selves in our individual homes and in our individual countrieswith borders compulsorily and necessarily closed, with the blurred lines of globalisation temporarily replaced with the sharp edges of nationhood, it must be expected that individualism will be asserted now more earnestly by nations. The Politics of Give and Take Fossil fuel resources are not evenly distributed throughout the world. There are the well-endowed, semi-endowed, and null-endowed nationsif you will. This politics of I have what you need is one key ingredient driving globalisationinternational trade is the key driver of international relations. With the ravages of climate change becoming increasingly resistant to glossing-overs, nations are increasingly becoming incentivised to increase their efforts and pledges towards investing in renewable sources of energy, and pulling back gradually and then completely on fossil fuel dependencies. Add to this is the recent geopolitical sparring we are witnessing in the energy economy. The politics of I have what you earnestly need, and will utilise it as bait for your subservience Dr. Ainuson notes, is on the rise. Energy is being used more poignantly as tool for international politicking. One can only anticipate that efforts towards the transition from non-renewables to renewables would be redoubled by nationsespecially the semi and null-endowed nations. As countries are rethinking more earnestly, fossil fuels, Dr. Ainuson highlights that there seems to be an unfortunate, underlying rethinking of inter-dependency attached to this. Of course, globalisation can never fully be dispensed with. Not even after an ingredient as formidable as fossil fuel leaves the picturefossil fuel that forces so-called ideologically-different nations to put their differences aside and shake hands in oilin trade. Countries like America, Germany, etc. can still engage in all the cold-warring and cold-shouldering they want with Russia, but when the winter sets in, they may just have to find warmth with cold Russia. We can say all we want about fossil fuels, but we cannot deny that this is an interesting dynamic only oil and gas has consistently pulled over the many, many years of statehood and internationalism. As it stands, individualism seems more aligned with renewables than they do, non-renewables. Dr. Ainuson breaks this assertion down: top renewable sources like solar and wind, are still undergoing research to make them exportable produces as non-renewables like fossil fuel and nuclear energy have for years been. But these renewable sources, being more liberally spread worldwide than fossil fuels, it is to be expected, in this much-dreamed about post-fossil-fuel age, a world where nations would look more inwardly than they do outwardly for their energy sources. The Question of Curse or Blessing is a Question of Leadership Since the 18th century when the Industrial Revolution kickstarted in Britain and spread rapidly to the rest of the world, and energy and the need thereof took wings, the global gold rush for energy sources, chief among them, oil and gas, has left many of these host countries becoming targets of constant poking and proddingthings that make for distorted governance and national systems. The world has seen many countries become problem and volatile areas upon the discovery of what was at the time of these discoveries touted as blessings. In this country of ours, this extreme volatility symptomatic of many fossil-fuel-rich nations like those of the Middle East and our own sister country Nigeria, cannot be said to have yet been experienced by usperhaps because we have not had as much oil to deal with as these countries mentioned. But it cannot be denied the fact that we are so natural-resource-rich, but have very little to show foras Dr. Ainuson succinctly puts it. I keep on saying a country like ours and Congo, for instance, have no business being poor. Yet, here we are, to our dismay and the rest of the oftentimes complicit worlds, quite bluntly, poornot doing as well economically as we should be doing. This begs the question, what is the problem? The Magician Dr. Ainuson believes the root-cause to be so leviathan a cause, a cause whose presence is felt everywhere, that it has become some sort of clichethat it is often overlooked when we go in search of reasons why in our pursuit of rectifications. And it is this: the system of governance the nation has within its borders. Developing a nations fossil fuel sector is not only a capital-intensive endeavour, but a time-intensive one tooand we discussed this in the Atom for Peace articles. This is so, especially if a nation intends to build a sector which shall be by its people and for its people. In building an oil and gas economy, a nation may either go for the efficacious long-term approach or the convenient short-term approach. Our four-term system of governance has proven itself at odds with the formernot inherently so, but factually made so. So the Ghanaian oil and gas sector remains steeped in the short-term approach. In the short-term option, the nation calls in foreigners readily rich in resourcesboth financially and in terms of expertise... In this arrangement, these foreigners tend to take the larger chunk of the proceeds, as it is they who invest the larger chunk of the needed resources (money and expertise). This relationship is most often counter-productive to host nationsespecially when these countries fail to put in place, among others, refining infrastructures to cater for the next stages of the oil and gas processes. When this happens, these foreigners take these resources to their home nations in their raw states, do some refining magic to them, and bring them back to us, higher priced. This is the option we tend to go for due to our short-term thinkinglargely enabled by our politics of quick turn-overs. In this politics of quick turn-overs, politicians are magicians, each come with their own plan, each is given yay time-span to do their own contortions, and in so contorting it just so happens that many of them end up with bigger bellies than they came with (but thats beside the point, eh?), and just as quickly as they came, they vanish into thin air, and the next magician is called on. It does not help matters that the nation has a 79% literacy rate, which if we be frank, looks good only on paper, but in actuality comprises a chunk of people who are in fact semi-literatessubpar literates. These people often, through no fault of theirs, lack the sophistication to read between the linesread between the politicking, the contortions, the magic tricks. Because if they looked closely at that magic trick, they would notice that that magician box is in fact not empty, that buried behind it, behind that plank of wood, is the item that has been shown to the public as having purportedly vanished (but again, thats beside the point, no?). So the majority of the populace, they take things at face valueand politicians being performers, they know this. So they play to the crowd; they touch on short-term approaches and solutions having, at best, long-term mediocrities, and, at worst, long-term failures attached to them. The Clown Those sophisticated enough to read between the lines are taking advantage of the vast ignorance and enabling system of theft, and they are perpetuating this system, enabling it in its failure, joining the magician (a.k.a. politicians) in this charade of doing the same thing over and over againyet expecting different results. These magicians and their enablers, some suspect to be clowns. Let us quickly note that this mention of the briefness of our four-year-term politics made by Dr. Ainuson is in no way an advocacy for authoritarian rulehes quick to issue that disclaimer. What is being advocated for is stability. And stability, we knowwith the entire world around us as proofis scarcely ever found in totalitarianism. Autocracy lacks stabilityit has time and perpetuity going for it, but not necessarily stability. What despotism does is to almost always leave a people to fester in endless degradationand that is, of course, not the kind of stableness that makes for a great society. What the four-term issue raised does is show us the root cause of our short-term thinkinga defect that cannot be remedied merely by the increasing of the term of governance from four to whatever higher number agreed upon. But rather, one that can be remedied by having for ourselves, a real devolution of power from the centre, a national agenda, one embodied in the people, one demanding unchanging adherence, perhaps an adherence as staunch as that given the Constitution itself. Sisyphus As they say, resources are limited, but the good ideas are unlimited. Every decision has an opportunity cost. And in the decision between long and short-term approach, the opportunity cost for choosing the former always seem to be real and earnest problemsnational problems such as access to education, healthcare, decent living, unemployment, etc. These problems loom largely and incessantly over us as a nation. These are problems that have lasting remedies in the long-term approach. Yet most often than not, in our case, they are given quick polishing-oversshort-term solutions, solutions that win quick votes, solutions that in the end tend to lend perpetuity to these same problems rather than lend lasting solutions to them, Dr Ainuson notes. So governments after governments come into power to solve the same problems over and over again. And you remember what they say about that man who does the same thing over and over again expecting different results, right? I believe they call them madno, lets go with Sisyphus. Governments they are magicians; they may just be clowning, but most importantly, they are Sisyphus. Politics is a transactional game. It is first, a question of how many people one is able to make promises to; then secondly, an answer of how many people one is able to actually fulfil these promises to. And politicians characteristically are one to zoom in on the first (i.e., the promises), overdo it (it becomes among them, a battle of promises), then following through becomes something of an impossibility (effective, long-term, generational governance becomes an impossibility), so they reach for the low-hanging fruits. A robust, functioning energy sector cannot effectively be built on such a foundation. Dr. Ainuson adds. Crafty Poseidon Dont throw mud into the well that gave you water, dont bite the hand that feeds you, these sayings are, in the end, morality and cautionary tales to politicians and us all citizens deriving life and livelihood from this land called Ghana. All actions that lead to its degradationbe it its physical or fiscal structurewill be born first and only by us. And when it comes to relationships existing between citizenry and nations, there is no real option of burning bridges. You might just be wondering why weve chosen to concern ourselves this Wednesday, with what is inside the land when the very land itself which we see with our own two eyes are purportedly being pulled (stolen) right from under us. Remember magicians feed off diversions. So as all eyes turn on one thing, a sleight of hand is happening elsewhere But we must say, the people of Ghana, we do realise the urgency of the matter of our natural resourcesand in this particular case, our fossil fuel resources. Next week we will join Dr. Ainuson in looking at, among others, one vital strategy adopted by us to ensure optimum transformation of these resources into national development, i.e., local content and local participation laws, and the progress we have made with these laws. [Published in the Business & Financial Times (B&FT) -1st June, 2022] The Ghana Police Service (GPS) has confirmed that it has turned down a request from four individuals and their group seeking to stage an armed demonstration in the country. In a press release from the security agency, it notes that the Accra Regional Police Command on Sunday, May 29, 2022, received a notice of intention to embark on a demonstration from a group of persons including Okatakyie Afrifa Mensah, Captain Godsbrain Smart, Benjamin Darko, and Oliver Barker-Vormawor. Among other things, the notice indicated to the Police that the demonstrators intend to embark on a three-day demonstration, starting on 4th June 2022. The demonstrators according to the organisers intend to contract a private security company to provide protection for the demonstrators armed with weapons to picket at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) and demand to speak directly to the nation on GTV and layout their grievances. Having received the notice and observed the request, the Ghana Police Service has issued a press release explaining that it cannot give the go-ahead because it is against Public Order Act, 1994 (Act 49). We would like to assure the public that the Police Service is ready and willing to provide the necessary protection for any lawful demonstration in the country. However, in this case, the Service is of the view that the nature and character of the demonstration as intended, is inconsistent with the Public Order Act. We are therefore unable to provide security for a demonstration which is in flagrant violation of the Public Order Act, 1994 (Act 49) and has the potential to result in a breach of public order and public safety, parts of a Police press release reads. Find more in a copy of the press release below: POS Foundation has called for Ghana's laws to look at alternatives instead of incarcerating people for substance abuse. This call was made by the Executive Director of POS Foundation, Jonathan Osei Owusu, at a workshop on the Narcotics Control Commission Act 2020 (1019) for Law Enforcement and Police Prosecutors. He believes substance abusers should be helped with rehabilitation whilst traffickers are rather prosecuted. Perhaps, this is amply demonstrated in the Inchaban Community of the Shama District of the Western Region. It is a normal sight to see youngsters, some as young as 13 years smoking weed in the Upper Inchaban Community. They say weed is their life and nothing will stop them from enjoying their past time. They sit in groups and wait for their suppliers who turn up without fail to feed their addiction. To these youth, that is their life line. Upper Inchaban is a peri-urban community filled with a mixture of old and new architectural structures. Unfortunately, it has gained a notorious reputation for substance abuse and trafficking. Many of the youth here, it seems, are into substance abuse and do so boldly and openly. Not even a request by the TV crew for them to turn their backs to the camera to ensure their privacy will deter them. I want people to know who you are talking to, I have nothing to hide. I am not stopping smoking weed any time now. Because weed makes me feel liberated. Bring a GH100 million and more here, even that will not dissuade me from smoking weed, one said. Smoking weed has enlightened me. I have now reached a higher level, another said. I would have stopped if it had not helped me. Even my mom and doctors advise me to stop because I am asthmatic but I tell them it is medication for asthma In all of this, 3news.com wondered if the leaders in the community had made any effort to help them. So contact was made with the Assemblyman for Upper Inchaban, Alhaji Yahaya Hussain, who seemed to have thrown his hands into the air about the whole situation. According to him, he had received little support from the community in dealing with the situation. So he had given up. He revealed that he had tried his best to no avail. The Inchaban police have been here, the Sekondi Police has been here, the Shama Police has been but these people are very recalcitrant and return to their old ways. Interestingly, whenever we try to arrest and deal with them, crimes such as mugging rise in the community. Traders returning home are mugged by these boys on a very popular bridge, Stamford Bridge, that provides a shorter route into the community. But when we leave them, they also leave us in peace, he stated. And that summarizes his attitude towards the whole situation. One thing was clear. These boys are addicted to the weed and need to be helped. Perhaps it is time to heed to the call of POS Foundation for the law to look at rehabilitating substance abusers as incarceration seems to be failing. Jonathan Osei Owusu Executive Director of POS Foundation Jonathan Osei Owusu thinks if care is not taken, poverty will be criminalized. If we continue to push some of our young people into prison for youthful exuberance, when some of them can come out of addiction through our help and support, at the end of the day, look at the conjunction in the prisons, what good will it do for this country? he asks. It is our humble appeal that we should look at other alternatives to incarceration for substance abusers. We have made a call to the president and we will make it again; those who have already been imprisoned for not trafficking drugs but usage, (the law has been assented to by the president,) Can we have some level of pardon to give them a second chance to come back to society to care for their families? He stated that this will be a lesson to them and so we ask that the law be taken back on the calendar of the president to let it affect our brothers who have already been incarcerated. ---3news.com Defense counsel for Dr Frederick Mac Palm says the audio recordings between his client and the operative of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) was manipulated to incriminate his client. Detective Chief Inspector Michael Nkrumah, an investigator with the NIB and the prosecution's witness, said that could not be true. The said recordings were edited just like the videos recorded by Staff Sergeant Sule Awarf, the lawyer stressed but the witness denied it. In a cross-examination of Detective Chief Inspector Nkrumah, the Counsel reminded the witness that in his evidence -in-Chief on May 9, 2022, he testified that the NIB operative, an undercover investigator, posed as a patient to infiltrate Dr Mac Palm's territory and the witness agreed. Defense Counsel said: You will agree with me that just like the video recordings done by Awarf, the recordings of the NIB Operative is prone to the manipulation by either the recorder or his superiors, but the witness in his answer said he did not think so. The prosecution's witness agreed with the counsel that the audio recordings were done in 2019, on four different times at Dr Mac Palm's Citadel Hospital but denied that they were recorded on the days the Operative visited the Hospital as a patient. The defense counsel denied suggestions that his client recruited Colonel Samuel Kojo Gameli in pursuit of the alleged agenda to overthrow of government, saying that Colonel Gameli had been a patient to Dr Mac Palm since 2012 but Mr Nkrumah said per the investigative team's evidence, the doctor/ patient relationship started rather in 2014. The lawyer, in ascertaining whether the prosecution had evidence of the conversation between his client and Colonel Gameli concerning the overthrow, he asked: In the course of your investigation, did the military Intelligence Unit give you any evidence of Mac Palm recruiting Gameli? And had the response, no. Did you for a fact gather any evidence to confirm the assertion that Dr Mac Palm recruited Colonel Gameli? To which the witness said, yes during the interrogation of Gameli, he indicated that Mac Palm informed him of his (Mac Palm's) intention to overthrow the government and when asked why he (Gameli) did not inform the Military High Command, he said he was waiting for the right hour. Asked whether the investigator still stood by the evidence-in-chief that Mac Palm and Gameli met at the Citadel Hospital to discuss the alleged overthrow, the witness answered in the affirmative and said that was recorded, adding that they did it with Mr Johannes Zipki. The Defense Counsel asked how the recordings done by Awarf were handled by the Military Intelligence and how they were extracted from the devices and transferred unto the external drive before handed over to the investigator, questioning their authenticity. The witness said he did not bother to check how they were handled because he knew those who handled them would be in court to testify, however, he said both the audio and video recordings were authentic though some of them were combined. Dr Mac Palm, Colonel Gameli, Zipki, Donya Kafui, Bright Alan Debrah, Warrant Officer Class Two Esther Saan, Corporal Seidu Abubakar, Lance Airforce Corporal Ali Solomon, Corporal Sylvestor Akanpewon and Assistant Commissioner of Police Dr Benjamin Agordzo are in court over high treason. They have denied charges, including conspiracy to commit high treason, possession of firearms without authority and abetment of crime. They have all been granted varied bail sums and conditions. GNA I attended Easter Sunday church service at one of the big interdenominational Churches in the country at Tema; comprising Anglican, Methodist and Presbyterian. I went with my daughter to fellowship there for a reason. To express our heartfelt gratitude to the resident minister for intervening in my daughter's SHS placement saga. Whilst at the Reverend Minister's office, a very fine gentleman came in with his sister and daughter to see the Reverend Minister. Their mission was to be introduced to members of their family who fellowship at the Church. There are a number of kinsmen and women with same surname who fellowship at the Church. Their family name comes across as one of the elite surnames that are products of the colonial legacy - those from Cape Coast or Central Region. My daughter and I were fortunate to have sat in one of the family member's car and driven from Tema back to Accra. On Saturday 28th May, I attended an engagement and wedding ceremony of a maternal family member at Regimanuel Estate on Spintext Road. It was my first time being at the Regimanuel Estate. My attendance at the ceremony was an opportunity for me to meet quite a number of my maternal family members - The Homeys - whom I have not met before. As Grandma Eunice was introducing me to other Homeys at the ceremony, I had a recollection of the incidence at the church in Tema after the Easter Sunday service. As I kept reminiscing on family encounters/reunion, Ngugi Wa' Thiongo's novel The River Between sharply came to mind. I once read about the bond of Kingship in an extract from The River Between. With an ever increasing or growth of families, coupled with migration, we now find ourselves in such instances where we do not know many of our kinsmen and women scattered across different geographical locations. Whist working on my late mother's obituary, I came to the realisation of something. Obituaries are a good record of family tree/history. My mother's paternal late uncle's obituary served as a guide to me in preparing my mother's own. It contained the names of lots of my mothers paternal kinsmen and women. Getting the names of The Homeys became a challenge as I dont know many of them. I had to call on Grandma Eunice to rescue me with The Homeys family tree - some of whom I met at the wedding ceremony for the first time, or the second time for those who were at my mum's funeral. I had wondered why some obituaries contain long list of family members. I was of the opinion that the long list was needless. But in the hereafter, I see such long list as perfect record keeping or documentation of family tree. These days, it's not uncommon to read stories of persons having relationships or children with those they didn't know they're related to. A friend's sister had two children with the cousin. When they became aware of the fact that they're kinsmen, the relationship fell apart. How can we prevent things like these from happening, especially in this age where relationships come about through social media? May I take this opportunity to wish the newlyweds Richmond and Joan Homey congratulations! May your union be a very successful and fruitful one, as the officiating priest admonished? God be at the centre of it all. Maxwell Maundy, Author/Writer. Former Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Bampoe Addo has called on all well-meaning Ghanaians to condemn the flogging of the two lovers in Wa in the Upper West Region by some residents. Scores of residents gathered at the forecourt of the Wa Naa on Tuesday as some leaders of the youth took matters into their hands to give 20 lashes each to two teenager lovers whose sex take has been leaked on social media. Speaking to 3FM in an interview, Nana Oye Bampoe Addo has stressed that what happened was unconstitutional and must be condemned by everyone. People took the law into their hands with impunity. The community and people have taken the law into their own hands. Why wasnt the first reaction to report to the police? I condemned it and all well-meaning Ghanaians should condemn it, the former Gender Minister said. According to Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, the issue threatens national security, and the police should be up and doing to ensure those culpable are arrested and made to face the law. She said the residents should have reported the two lovers to the Police for the security agency to handle any criminality in the matter. I would have expected the police should have issue a statement, some arrest should have been made and I have a concerned that, as a traditional leader, it happened right in front of his Palace. What did the traditional authority do when they saw this happening? This is a symbolism of unconstitutional act occurring in front of the palace of a well-respected traditional leader in Ghana. Why didnt the Palace attendance step in to stop it when they saw this happening? Why didnt they call the police to come and address it? These have implications. What happened was unconstitutional, it is against human dignity, if they had any reason to believe that it was a criminal, they should have handed them over to the police, Nana Oye Bampoe Addo indicated. In the latest development, the Upper West Regional Police Command is working with Wa Naa Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo IV and his chiefs to have persons who flogged the two lovers arrested. The Dean of Academic Affairs at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFSC), Dr. Vladimir Antwi-Danso has jumped to the defence of the Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, who took on the British High Commissioner to Ghana in a strong-worded statement. The British High Commissioner to Ghana, Harriet Thompsons tweet on the arrest of #FixTheCountry movement convener, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, did not sit well with the IGP who rebuked her in a strongly-worded statement. Some civil society organisations and the leadership of the National Democratic Congress had lambasted Dr. Dampare over the content of the letter. But Dr. Antwi-Danso said Dampares action is in order. Harriet Thompson's tweet said: Oliver Barker-Vormawor, convener of #FixTheCountry movement, arrested again, I understand [it's] for a motoring offence [and he's currently] on his way to court. I'll be interested to see where this goes The police said the tweet was a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which enjoins diplomatic missions not to interfere in the internal affairs of their host country, and cautioned the British diplomat to desist from publicly commenting on Ghanas internal issues. Reacting to the development, Dr. Antwi-Danso said, the tweet itself was unwarranted in the sense that if the High Commissioner had a problem with what was happening, all she had to do in the sense of proper diplomacy was to refer everything to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. The response was quite intense, but it was in order. There is so much foreign interference in domestic affairs. He intimated that the IGP's response will in no way affect the relationship between the two countries. Diplomacy is reciprocatory. A tooth for a tooth, and an eye for an eye. For instance, when Britain did not allow Nigerian and Ghanaian aircraft to land at Heathrow. We reciprocated. Nigeria started by directing that all British Airways land in Kano and not Abuja or Lagos. They were forced to retreat. We also directed their airlines to land in Tamale and not Accra. If you don't do this, your country is not respected, he added. Harriet Thompson, on the other hand, feels the polices response is an overreaction. To me, it feels like a stretch Me saying I am interested in something is a long way from people saying we must take to the streets, Harriet Thompson said. Commenting on something that is of great interest to a lot of people in a country is not interfering in the affairs of that country, the High Commissioner added in an interview with GHOne. The comments came after Barker-Vormawor was arrested for careless and inconsiderate driving and non-observance of road markings at the East Legon tunnel in Accra. Mr. Barker-Vormawor pleaded not guilty and was granted bail by the court. He is also facing charges of treason felony after he made comments on social media that were deemed to be a coup threat. ---citinewsroom A top EU court on Wednesday rejected a bid by Kremlin-linked oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, alleged financier of the Wagner mercenary group, to overturn sanctions imposed over the conflict in Libya. Prigozhin had challenged the EU's decision of 15 October 2020 to freeze his assets in the European Union and to place him on a visa blacklist over the deployment of Wagner fighters to the war-torn north African country. According to the ruling, Prigozhin was engaged in, and providing support for Wagner Group's activities in Libya, which involved multiple and repeated breaches of the arms embargo in Libya established in 2011. Wagner participated in multiple military operations against the UN-endorsed Government of National Accord, according to the UN. Prigozhin claimed he had "no knowledge of an entity known as the Wagner Group" and said the EU had failed to justify the move. But the EU's General Court rejected his case and confirmed the sanctions against him, referring to an extensive 548 page report by a Panel of Experts dated 8 March 2021 which mentions an estimated deployment of 800 to 1,200 Wagner operatives during 2019 and 2020 in Libya. The report gives details of extensive contacts between Prigozhin and Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar and publishes pictures where the two are seen together. 'Fuels violence' A year after the it sanctioned Prigozhin, on 13 December 2021, the EU Council added a set of restrictive measures against the Wagner Group, including individuals and three entities connected to it. Brussels accuses the group of training and sending operatives to conflict zones around the world to fuel violence, loot natural resources and intimidate civilians in violation of international law". The individuals include Aleksandr Kuznetsov, a Wagner commander, who was active in Libya in 2019. Dimitriy Utkin is the founder of the Wagner group and responsible for coordinating and planning operations for the deployment of Wagner Group mercenaries in Ukraine". Denis Kharitonov and Sergey Shcherbakov fought in Donbas in the separatist Steppe battalion, where they actively supported actions and implemented policies, which undermine and threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine". Andrey Troshev and Andrey Bogatov were active in Syria where they supported and benefitted the Syrian regime". The three private companies affected by EU sanctions are Velada LLC, Mercury LLC and Evro Polis LLC all active in oil and gas development in Syria. Prigozhin himself, reputedly a top ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was also sanctioned by the EU in April 2022 over the Ukraine invasion and is blacklisted by Washington for meddling in the US elections The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Appiatse Disaster Committee, Thywill Quarshie, has revealed that their accounts are empty and cannot continue to transport affected school children to their various schools again. Speaking in an interview with Nhyiraba Paa Kwesi Simpson, the host of Connect FM's Omanbapa, Mr. Thywill Quarshie indicated that the committee has run out of funds and, as a result, their contract with the Ghana Private Road Transport Union to transport the school children to their various schools has been terminated. We pay GH10,000 every month to the Ghana Private Road Transport Union before these children can be transported to school. The committee doesn't have money again, our accounts are empty and as such, we cannot continue to pay such an amount every month. We have terminated the contract effective 31 May 2022, he indicated. According to the Public Relations Officer, the children will now have no other option than to either use their own money for transport or walk for over three kilometers to either Bogoso or Bepo every day to school Before the disaster, they had means of going to school so now that we have run out of funds, we are cutting down cost and as such, they will have to find a way of going to school. Almost all their expenses in the camp including medical bills are on the committee, and we are using the same funds to take care of them. So now we will not take care of anyone who falls sick at the camp again. We will only take care of people who are ill as a result of the explosion. We are now living by plans, he indicated. A few months ago, the Municipal Chief Executive of Prestea Huni, Isaac Dasmani, complained about the challenge of transporting the school children in the camp. He called on individuals and other philanthropic organizations to assist them by donating a bus to transport the children to school since the monthly payment was not sustainable. ---3news.com BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council on Tuesday voiced China's firm opposition to any form of official interactions or military collusion between the United States and China's Taiwan region. Spokesperson Zhu Fenglian made the remarks in response to the visit to Taiwan by a U.S. lawmaker. Noting some U.S. lawmakers have repeatedly violated the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, Zhu warned it is extremely dangerous to support "Taiwan independence" secessionist activities. Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authority's attempt to seek independence by relying on external anti-China forces is doomed to fail, she said. The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of the Juaben Municipal Assembly in the Ashanti Region, Alexander Kwabena Sarfo-Kantanka has been granted a GHS90,000 bail after pleading not guilty to all 26 counts of corruption charges filed against him. The embattled MCE-nominee has been dragged to Court by the Special Prosecutor after he was heard in a video recording demanding a refund of monies he allegedly paid to delegates as a bribe to vote to confirm him as the MCE. In his first appearance in court on Wednesday, June 1, 2022, Alexander Kwabena Sarfo-Kantanka pleaded not guilty to all 26 counts of corruption charges. The lawyer of the accused, Kwame Adom Appiah, in his application for bail for his client indicated to the court that his client denied every allegation of facts when he appeared before the Special Prosecutor. At the Kumasi High Court presided over by Justice Priscilla Odikro Ofori, she granted the accused person bail and further ruled that the Office of the Special Prosecutor should serve all documents and evidence it intends to rely on for the trial of the accused person by June 22, 2022. The sureties accompanying the bail require that persons that stand in for the accused must be Ghanaians, be credible, and must be holders of a Ghana Card. In addition, the sureties must be justified with landed property. Meanwhile, the case has been adjourned to June 29, 2022, for the parties to hold a case management conference, to set the ground rules for the trial. The Editor-in-Chief of the Voiceless Media, Chief Akilu Sayibu has declared support for Stephen Ayesu Ntim a national chairman aspirant of the NPP. In a statement to the media, he stated categorically that, the Voiceless Media acknowledges the effort and loyalty of Stephen Ntim in NPP matters and will therefore endorse, support and advocate for him free of charge. "After three times of trying to chair our party albeit unsuccessfully, he has never turned his back to the NPP. The Voiceless media sees this as extreme commitment and loyalty to our party and we will endorse, support and advocate for Chairman Stephen Ayesu Ntim free of charge", Chief Akilu explained. Chief Akilu Sayibu who was the NPP Parliamentary Candidate for the Tamale North constituency in 2012, believes Stephen Ntim is the right person for the job. Stephen Ayesu Ntim on Monday, May 30, 2022, began a nationwide campaign tour he dubbed, "Time Aso to Break The 8 Campaign" to convince delegates why he is the best fit to chair the party into the 2024 elections. He began the national campaign tour with a visit to the Western North region, with the Western and Central regions also in tow. Ntim, a former national first vice chairman of the NPP, says the party under his chairmanship would extend its rule beyond the eight years maximum that has become the tradition for any political party in Ghana and hopes delegates would offer him the opportunity. Source: The Voiceless Media There is an Akan proverb which translates as he who has seen it before considers it a taboo; those who have not seen it before crave for it. Some of us have seen coups before, so we consider it taboo! In such a tense economic atmosphere, rants cannot be overlooked by a country that has endured bloody coup detats. It was the rantings of a disgruntled junior ranked officer in the Ghanaian army that led to the June 4th mutiny, later glorified as a revolution! Except for those who benefitted from the June 4th massacre, that day for most Ghanaians is associated with grief. Parents lost their children, wives lost their husbands, children lost their fathers and the sacredness of our women was devilishly desecrated. It was a dark 90 days for Ghanaians. A day enshrined in the collective memories of the victims and Ghanaians as that of the reign of Adolf Hitler to Europeans. You see, history is repetitive. Yes, weve made some good progress from that of 1979 economically but the general sentiments of the modern-day Ghanaian captures similar sentiments that paved the way for Junior Jesus and his blood-thirsty bandwagon to capture power. As it turned out, he was more of a Junior Judas who betrayed his own cause and friends reminding all Ghanaians that populism does not translate to good leadership. Today, Ghanaians are groaning. The economic situation is unbearable to many and it has given rise to impatient young people who believe that the solution to our problems is as simple as their myopic minds tell them. Jerry John Rawlings believed same and yet wasted our time for almost two decades, still ending as a monumental failure! Here comes Osahene Vormawor, the conveyor of the fix the country movement with lofty revolutionary talks. A student who believes he has the solution to Ghanas problems and his first reaction to a proposed tax is to stage a coup! This gentleman presented himself at the initial stages of the #FixTheCountry movement as apolitical. He appealed to many unsuspecting people and sounded true to a cause until it was discovered that he was a product of the babies with sharp teeth movement. He was once a presidential staffer under H.E. John Dramani Mahama. So this whole movement about fixing the country is just some political game aimed at launching himself and his brand into the political scene. Like his mentor Jerry John Rawlings, he wants to make a statement (Jerry made his statement on May 15th 1979 by attempting a coup) like his coup comments, get arrested and then court public sympathy and affection by empty but bold stances. His imprisonment he believes in his sinister mind will cause an uproar and the many unsuspecting masses will rise in support of his ambitions. To an extent, hes gotten some attention. His recalcitrant attitude is gaining him support from those who are not aware of his motives. After being bailed, it was reported again that hes made another threat on his Facebook wall about his intentions to stage a coup. He is reported to have called the army useless.this is a move to incite the army to action. This gentleman is not joking. It is not just some mere post. He is not some obscure joker making funny jokes on social mediahe is an organizer, a PhD student and an affiliate of a political party! He may have links in the army. He wields some influence and should not be taken lightly. Ex President Mahama chose a bulldozer instead of a sledgehammer to deal with Ken Agyapong when he made reckless coup comments, I am surprised that he is not calling his boy to order The security agencies should as a matter of urgency tackle this young man seriously. They should go to any meaningful legal lengths to disarm his intentions because Ghana cannot be made to endure the dark days anymore. Democracy with all her imperfections have worked better for Ghanaians than any military regime. It can and will get better with time. Let me conclude with these thoughts 1. Ghana is not isolated from the global economic hardship. Let us be patient. 2. Though the times are difficult, we should not call upon ourselves more difficulties (with coup will come economic sanctions. The only people who will enjoy will be the coup makers and we the citizens will languish in pain and misery). 3. Let us not give Vormawor the publicity he craves but let us not ignore his rants. He can be dangerous. 4. The all knowing diplomats in Ghana should learn to mind their own business. Their influence in our domestic affairs has only increased our misery (they masterminded almost all the coups in this countrymaybe they are planning to oust the man who is chanting Ghana beyond aid around). 5. Let us preserve our democratic dispensation. Let us unite in this agenda to build and strengthen our democracy. It will yield dividends someday. 6. Let Ghanaian leaders eschew corruption. Let them put on selfless clothes and serve this country with love in their hearts for the nation and integrity as their guiding principle. Corruption can ruin our efforts. Finally, let us pray for our nation. Let us seek Gods intervention in these critical times. He promised in His word to heal our land if we will call into him. Im just being a citizen. Not just some spectatoreven if this statement was plagiarized, it makes a lot of sense. Remain blessed. Breast Care International (BCI) in collaboration with Community Connect Network have organized free breast cancer clinical screening and awareness at Konongo in the Asante Akyem municipal of the Ashanti region. The exercise which was also in collaboration with St Peters Anglican Church at Konongo took place at the assembly hall of Konongo-Odumasi Senior High School (KOSS) on Sunday, May 29, 2022, was attended by the women in the community and student of KOSS. President of BCI, Dr Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai, who led the exercises, took the participants through the causes and prevention of breast cancer, the number killer cancer disease among women. Dr Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai, who is also the CEO of Peace and Love Hospitals, advised women to adopt Self-Breasts Examination (SBE) if they cannot go to the health facilities for screening, to avoid contracting cancer. She said about 80 percent of women who contract breast cancer are not aware and stressed the need for the women to adopt the self-examination. She noted that it will help them to identify any unusual thing in the breasts for them to immediately seek medical attention. I will advise that you examine your breasts by yourselves at least once every three months if you cannot go to the hospital for screening. It will help you to detect anything unusual (lump) in breasts for prompt action to be taken, he said. She added that the disease is preventable, treatable and curable if detected early and asked them to avoid self-medication when they find any changes in the breasts. Parish Priest of St Peter's Anglican Church at Konongo, Rev. Canon Danso Brefo, in appreciating the good and sacrificial works of Dr Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai, entreated the participants, especially the students, to also educate their relatives at home on breast cancer. The Headmaster of Konongo-Odumasi Senior High School (KOSS), Dr Benjamin Kwaku Baah, in his speech appealed to the government to assist BCI in terms of logistics to enable it go to rural areas where the disease is rampant, to save more lives. The program was graced by the MCE for Asante Akyem Central, Hon Yaw Kwakye and the Presiding Member for the Asante Akyem Municipal Assembly, Hon Samuel Ohemeng. Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin will soon commission the first ever Childrens hospital in Gyengyenadzie in the Effutu municipality of the Central Region. This came to light at a short ceremony to hand over the Gyengyenadzie Clinic to the Municipal Health Directorate after a renovation exercise by Rotary Club with the support of the MP who is also the Deputy Majority Leader of Parliament. Effutu Communications Officer of the New Patriotic Party, Otabil Ellis made this disclosure when he represented the lawmaker at the event after testifying about some projects the MP has initiated to improve quality healthcare delivery to the people. He made mention of the Kojo Baidoo electoral area and another at Wonsom as some interventions by the MP which has made health care delivery closer to the people. Mr. Ellis Otabil, however, pledged the MPs unflinching support to the health needs of the people and assured the Health Directorate of many policies in the offing. Meanwhile, a representative of Rotary Club and the Head of the Department of Special Education at the University of Education Winneba, Dr. Yaw Nyadu Offei in his remarks indicated that his out is made up of business people and other professionals who come together to offer assistance to communities. He emphasised that Rotary Club is much interested in health related projects, that is; the provision of potable water, health facilities and hospital equipment and many others. He was grateful to the MP for his involvement in the projects and assured of a better future for the people of Effutu as he sees the MP as an Action man. The leadership of the Health Directorate showed appreciation to Rotary Club management, the MP and all those who facilitated in making the renovation come true and pledged to take good care of it. 01.06.2022 LISTEN The flagbearer of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), Kofi Akpaloo has expressed his sincere appreciation to our farmers and fisherfolk for their hard work and commitment to the cause of building Mother Ghana over the years. According to him, the role of agriculture in transforming any economy and nation is vital. However, the agriculture sector has been largely neglected under the both NPP and NDC governments over the last 24 years. Budgetary allocation to the sector has been reducing consistently. ...I wish to assure our farmers and fisherfolk that the blessing of oil will not distract a Kofi Akpaloo -led LPG government from growing the agricultural sector and making it more modern, more efficient and therefore, more productive. Access to finance, improved training and technology, reducing post-harvest losses, extending feeder roads and farm tracts to as many farm gates as possible, increasing irrigation facilities, and guaranteeing markets for our farm produce are going to be the nucleus of this approach, Kofi Akpaloo told Accra-based Atinka TV. According to him, his government would endeavour to offer the needed support to ensure that the region remained a major player in food production in the country if voted for as President in 2024. Kofi Akpaloo has been calling for more investment in smallholder agriculture as he highlights how climate change impacts smallholder farmers more severely than their colleagues engaged in commercial farming. Minister for Works and Housing has described all the people staying in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) flats in the plush Cantonments of the Accra metropolis as squatters contrary to an earlier submission at the Public Accounts Committee that they are National Security personnel. The Minister for Works and Housing made the revelation that all the occupants of UNDP flats are squatters. This was a response to a question filed by the Member of Parliament for Bole- Bamboi Constituency in the Savannah, Yusif Sulemana, on the status of the occupants of the flat. According to the minister, the ministry is in consultation with relevant institutions and considering an eviction exercise to get all the squatters out of the building to pave way for its rehabilitation. It was, however, brought to fore that the sector minister had previously told the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament that the occupants were National Security operatives. It was up to him to reconcile the two statements on the floor of the house. Meanwhile, the UNDP has denied owning the said flat in the Cantonments area of the Greater Accra Region when news broke that the Invincible Forces, the security wing of the governing New Patriotic Party have invaded the flats Source: Classfmonline.com The ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority (ERCA/ARCC) will actively participate in the fifth meeting of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Committee on Competition Policy, which is taking place from 30th May to 2nd June 2022, at Alisa Hotel, Accra, Ghana. The aim of this meeting is to continue with negotiations between the African Union States Parties on the draft AfCFTA Protocol on Competition. Negotiations commenced in the last quarter of 2021 and will continue till August/September 2022, the deadline set by the African Union Council of Ministers for the negotiators. Led by Dr Simeon Koffi, Executive Director alongside Dr Yaouza OURO-SAMA, Head of Division, Legal, Investigation, Compliance and Enforcement, the ERCA delegation made some proposals to the meeting regarding the scope of application of the draft Protocol, the supranational status, institutional anchoring, competence criteria, mandate, responsibility and powers of the continental competition authority, and mechanisms for appealing decisions of this authority. Ahead of the fifth meeting, ERCA convened a working group from the 19th to the 21st of May in Saly, Senegal, that comprised three Member States and the ERCA team with a view to harmonise the positions of ECOWAS Member States on each provision of the draft Protocol. The working groups deliberations commenced on the 23rd of May and centred on harmonising the positions of ERCA, the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and the Economic Community of Central Africa States (ECCAS). ERCA subsequently convened a virtual meeting on 27 May 2022 in collaboration with the Trade Directorate of the ECOWAS Commissions Department of Trade, Customs and Free Movement of Persons. The purpose of the meeting was to enable Member States to adopt common positions on the draft Protocol, in line with the existing national and regional frameworks in West Africa. The fifth meeting of the committee is ongoing, and the outcome will be made available at the sixth meeting scheduled for July 2022. Source: ECOWAS The Upper West Regional Police Command has arrested three persons in connection with the flogging of two lovers over a leaked sex tape. The three suspects include the person who brought the victims to the police station and two sub-chiefs. Citi News sources at the Upper West Regional Police Command revealed that the suspects are currently under interrogation. Reports indicate that the two were arrested by some young men in the town, who sent them to the Palace. The Wa Naa was absent upon their arrival, compelling the young men to take matters into their own hands and deliver punishment. They were given twenty lashes each. The incident has drawn the ire of Ghanaians, who have called for sanctions against those involved. The Upper West Regional Police Commander, DCOP Peter Ndekugri, had earlier told Citi news that the Palace is cooperating with the Police to bring the perpetrators to book. ---citinewsroom Marginalized groups in Ghana and the rest of Africa have been entreated to seek more legal education about their rights, freedoms and obligations under the law to enable them enjoy their basic human rights provided by the various national constitutions. The Coalition for Sovereignty, Integrity and Justice (CSIJ), and the Rastafari community in Ghana gave the advice in a joint statement to mark the first anniversary of victory in the court case between the two Rastafari youth and Achimota School in Accra, Ghanas capital. It will be recalled that on May 31st 2022, the Human Rights Court in Accra gave two separate judgments which favoured Master Tyrone Marghuy and Master Oheneba Nkrabeah after the Headmistress of the prestigious Achimota School unlawfully withdrew the admission of the academically-brilliant former Junior High School students because of their refusal to cut their dreadlocks. In the statement dated May 31st, 2022, which was released in Accra and signed by Ras Aswad Nkrabeah on behalf of CSIJ and the Rastafari community, under-privileged citizens were advised to insist on enjoying their human rights, and to be law-abiding. Ras Nkrabeah is the father of Master Oheneba Nkrabeah. These two judgments of the Court serve as an excellent example in enforcing the laws of Ghana and has awakened many Africans, especially marginalised groups like the Rastafarian community, about their rights and freedoms enshrined in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. The judgments now also serve as a precedent for educational institutions not to repeat the unfortunate decision of the authorities of Achimota School, the statement noted. We recollect the pain of discrimination and breach of human rights endured by Tyrone and Oheneba when Achimota School denied them admission on the assertion that their dreadlocks violated school rules. The school made this decision although the 1992 Constitution of Ghana abhors all forms of discrimination, in this case their right to education and right to practice their culture and religion, the statement said. Noting that a year since the unfortunate actions happened, the CSIJ and the Rastafari community would not like to hear of any maltreatment or discrimination of Rastafarians or any minority group in Ghana. We are determined to free ourselves from all forms of exploitation and dehumanising conditions. African leaders have a prominent role in ensuring that our youth are given the utmost attention and care to prepare for the future irrespective of their faith or culture. The statement continued: We recognise everybody who helped in this legal case. We would especially like to thank the legal team, the Rastafarian community, Her Ladyship Justice Gifty Adjei Addo for her principled legal position and all the like-minded organisations that mobilised resources to bring the case to Court. We hope that this decade will see a significant reduction in social and economic disparities in access to educational opportunities and wealth-making across the world. It is our aim to assist our youth in being part of the struggle to change the conditions that breed such social and economic imbalances. It said further that education is a fundamental human right and it is expected that all parents and the State would ensure that every school-going aged child would have the opportunity to achieve his or her life dreams through formal education. Although our educational system in Africa is yet to meet the standards of Europe, China and US, we expect that greater investment in education and lifelong learning will enable African Youth to control and manage the continent's resources for the betterment of African people, the statement said. Besides, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana, President Mahama is considered as the quintessential president who has contributed significantly to the development of Ghana. Much as I labour to enumerate his numerous matchless achievements, many more stir at me for attention, and I would like to continue with the catalogue. In his quest to develop Ghana, his administration passed many bills which includes Technical University Act, Act, 2016 (Act 992). This turned polytechnics into Technical Universities. He passed the bill to establish the University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD), the Chartered Institute of Taxation Act, 2016, the National Commission for Tertiary Education Bill, the National Accreditation and Qualification Authority Bills, 2015, the Ghana Book Development Council Bill and the Chartered Institute of Bankers Bill, 2015 amongst others. There are more achievements during his tenure. For example, Ghana was the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to have met the MDGs to cut extreme poverty by half in relation to the Millennium Development Goals initiative, which ended in 2015. Ghana also made substantial progress in reducing the prevalence of HIV, increasing access to primary education for girls and boys equally, and also reducing hunger. These were contained in a release from the Office of the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations. Again, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, in 2012, Ghana was 53rd in the world when it comes to our country's capacity to retain talent; by 2016, Ghana was 48th. People with talents staying in this country at the time meant that the Mahama-led government did some things right, and that our country was a fertile ground for the development of her citizens. What many Ghanaians are yearning for is for him to come to the office for the second time to implement his Economic Transformation and Livelihood Empowerment Programme (ETLEP) which will end the current economic challenge, and create jobs to bring great relief to our people. Bringing my article to an end, something interesting happened few weeks ago which I want to share with you. A lady called my favourite radio programme, and asked the DJ to play the song Haja Skol. The DJ told her the song she is requesting didn't exist, but she persisted and insisted that the song exists and must be played. She was taken off the line. It later occurred to me that she was referring to Steve Wonders I just called." President Mahama if you are reading this article, the people of Ghana have missed you very much, and have asked me to request "Haja Skol" for you. Ghanaian politician and two-time Presidential candidate Jacob Osei Yeboah 01.06.2022 LISTEN Former Ghana Presidential candidate, Jacob Osei Yeboah is calling on Ghana and other African countries to boycott multiparty democracy. He argues that multiparty democracy on the continent has over the years become an oxymoron and proven that it is not the answer to the continents needed growth and development. Speaking at the 18th African Union Day Prayer Conference, he noted that the governing of nations with political philosophies under multiparty democracy that appears innovative and convincing has been tested previously, not once, but many times and uncountable guises, and found to be totally false at great cost. He said the time has come for Ghana to listen to the cries of the forefathers of the African continent to inspire other countries to boycott multiparty democracy. The spirits of our forefathers are calling us once more, and Ghana, as a republic, requires a politician to lead the boycott of the oxymoronic Multiparty Democracy, which cannot work in Africa sustainably and is even declining globally, wreaking havoc on nations' governance because of its manipulative nature, which is being exposed by social media, Jacob Osei Yeboah said in his address. The 2012 and 2016 presidential candidate continued, Ghana should pursue the boycott with zeal for our descendants to hold sacred the stones of POLITICS, ECONOMY, LAW, and AUTHORITY INFRASTRUCTURES embedded in our socio-politico-traditional disposition because our thoughtful hands have touched them for the same purpose in shaping the 21st century. Jacob Osei Yeboah further implored Ghana together with Africa to unfreeze the political and religious dogmas implanted in Africans' minds by the Global Elites, which are mostly oxymoronic from an originality standpoint, and without fail, to kickstart Africa's renaissance, which Creation has been waiting for the revealing of the children of God because creation has been subjected to futility. Read the full speech of Jacob Osei Yeboah at the 18th African Union Day Prayer Conference below: PRAYER ON INFRASTRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT AT 18TH AFRICAN UNION DAY PRAYER CONFERENCE, ACCRA PARLIAMENT HOUSE: BY JACOB OSEI YEBOAH, 2012-2016 NONPARTISAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE. Rt. Hon Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, Founder Mission Africa Incorporated, Dr. Kudjoe Sumney, Distinguished Panel Speakers, Distinguished Chiefs, Hon MPs, Diplomatic Corp, Ladies and Gentlemen, all other protocols duly observed. APPRECIATE SIR SAM JONAR The late Dr. Kofi Annan, Ghana's distinguished son and former UN Secretary General, observed, "To live is to choose. But to choose, you must know (first understand) WHO YOU ARE and what you stand for, where you want to go, and why you want to get there." It is an honour and a tremendous responsibility for me to conduct a prayer on "Infrastructure and Development" alongside my spiritual fathers and mentors at the 18th Africa Union Day Prayer Conference. We must be aware of the Pan African Parliament and the Africa Union (AU), with a concentration on the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA). I am humbled to be on the same platform as my Godfather, Sir Sam Jonah, whose vision, personal dexterity, humility with great heights, strong Christian foundational life, great influence in the business world, has mentored me for half of my 54 years on earth, starting from my working life and still following me with an eagle eye of my Oyoko clan, the man whose life has taught me competence with calmness. Please appreciate him on my behalf. Though he is on the sinking governance ship of Ghana, headed in the wrong direction, until we opt to dump him on the turbulent waves of the sea of foreign democracy to Ghana and Africa, the sea will not calm down. A disciple is not greater than his or her instructor. With your permission, Sir Jonah. THE IMPORTANCE OF 18TH AU DAY TO GHANA AND AFRICA Mr. Speaker, and fellow citizens, the 18th year of such AU Day forums suggests the beginning of political liberation from Machiavellianism. It is also the age at which a young adult learns to lead himself/herself by making critical decisions that form one's life purpose and destiny fulfilment. We couldn't agree more with Dr. Kofi Annan that we must choose our own destiny if we are to live as Ghanaians and Africans. Ghana at this critical but conscious crossroads must undoubtedly decide with Africa at the 18th AU Day Prayer Conference for our self realisation and role in shaping the 21st century world. UNDERSTANDING THE SOURCE, NATURE AND IMPORTANCE OF INFRASTRUCTURE Rt. Hon. Speaker, I don't only want to talk about infrastructure; I want to also emphasise the source and nature of infrastructure (below structure) and why development/structure cannot be achieved without a thorough knowledge of infrastructure's connecting function to development. Development is about building, and as we choose and build, ladies and gentlemen, let us remember what John Ruskin, an art critic, social thinker, poet, and artist, once said: Therefore, when we build, let us think that we build forever, let it not be for the present delight, nor for the present use alone; let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for, and let us think as we lay stone on stone, that a time is to come, when these stones will be held sacred because our hands have touched them. And that man will say as they look upon our labour and wrought substance of them. See! This our fathers did for us. Infrastructures are defined by their unimaginative links (beneath) to the structure, as they act as (unseen) subsystems in relation to other subsystems to provide life with power to sustain Structures/Developments for their effective purpose. Let me explain further: As an example, when God, The Infinite Reality, creates the structure called human being/man, the invisible respiratory system infrastructure delivers life and is the sustaining subsystem for man to function properly for his/her purpose in life. There are other subsystems, such as digestive and neurological systems, that are hidden yet work together to give man life as a structure to fulfil his/her destiny. According to the Holy Bible, "In the beginning, God created Heaven and Earth." The earth was formless and void, and the face of the deep was dark. And the Holy Spirit was hovering over the surface of the seas. And God said, "Let there be light... " Genesis 1:1-2. The Spirit is the invisible infrastructure or subsystem that sustains the Earth, which was created out of formless earth and void (purposeless) since darkness covered the face of the deep (primeval ocean that covered unformed earth). The creation of light from deep darkness began with the spoken Words-let there be light. Darkness conceals, and knowledge or illumination reveals. God's hovering Spirit is the Source and Nature of all infrastructure. Most of us are aware through science, that the earth hangs in the mid air of the Cosmos. Who sees the foundation of the earth yet she is hanging, that is indeed the nature and source of infrastructure we are to pray about today for Ghana with Africa at this 18th year crossroads? Mr. Speaker, Godfathers, distinguished guests, Ghanaians and Africans, we cannot create any structure or development until we have a comprehensive grasp of the invisible infrastructures that will give life to and sustain the effective functioning of the structures known as Ghana and Africa. The lack of growth in Ghana and Africa is due to a lack of clarity in developing the necessary infrastructures for our self-competitive advancement in the comity of nations. That is what the 18th crossroads AU Day Conference is revealing to Ghana and the rest of Africa. What are these necessary infrastructures that we require in order to have the clarity to choose and create for the long term rather than for the sake of immediate gratification? THE TYPES OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND WHY POLITICS INFRASTRUCTURE IS THE ULTIMATE AT THE 18TH AU DAY 2022 These are the strategic infrastructures for our PESTLERA projects in Ghana and Africa. PESTLERA is an acronym that stands for Politics, Economy, Society, Technology, Law, Environment, Regulations, and AUTHORITY . Authority is underlined since it is not mentioned in the text as the most powerful component in strategic risk analysis as well as the fifth factor in economics with factors of production. At this 18th crossroads Conference, which celebrates the beginning of conscious choice making, I'd want to focus on the Politics infrastructure, which has a stronger influence on the others, because decisions are what humans live by. And because we haven't yet built the political infrastructure (may be digitalisation of politics), our technology, vocational education, and critical thinking will be rendered virtually ineffective; our culture and traditions are being eroded; our moral fibre and religions are being endemically corrupted; and our governance is pathetically greedy and lacking in courage. Our common laws are reigning without common reason, our environment is being destroyed at the expense of our own health difficulties, and our economy is creating money for other countries while enslaving the majority of us in our own country. The impact of climate change on our future infrastructures and advances is extremely important, as it is dependent on conscious decisions and actions toward our environment. The time has come to make a conscious decision to create the political infrastructure i.e. Democracy at this 18th year crossroads for Ghana with Africa. Michael Timothy, an Anti Intellectual Ethic, noted how our minds are imprisoned; We are actively discouraged from thinking constructively and questioningly, and once an individual has accepted the numb acquiescence so encouraged, an insidiously vicious circle has successfully been promoted. Another rather convenient result of such a situation is that people who dont think constructively and questioningly dont even realise it. The modern world has accepted the successful promotion of multiparty democracy so encouraged in a gradual, subtle way but with harmful effects without thinking constructively and questioningly and sadly we dont even realise its imprisonment. Let us therefore, think constructively and questioningly about what and how politics, multiparty democracy and nonpartisan democracy at MMDAS level are played so we can free our minds for definite decision and way forward for Ghana with Africa. Let me begin with a simple definition of politics: as the process of influencing decisions that influence humans and their environment. Politics can be defined by the instruments used to influence decisions, such as pure lies, empty promises, propaganda, vigilantism, election rigging, the rented media, phoney alignment to deceive religious members, conspiracies, ethnicity, competent plans for development and freedom, and so on. In a systemic environment or political infrastructure known as democracy, the aforementioned methods are utilized to sway the majority of people to accept a decision that could be for their ultimate good or bad. GHANAS DEMOCRACY AS POLITICS INFRASTRUCTURE Mr. Speaker, Africa or Ghanas Democracy as an infrastructure is what we need to build in order to achieve our self-realization and development goals at this 18th year crossroads. Ghana has been a democratic country for 30 years of multiparty democracy at Parliamentary and Presidential levels whilst nonpartisan democracy at the MMDAS level. Do those who push us to trust in this democracy do what they preach with clarity? Is the majority of Ghanaians benefiting from this democracy that began 30 years ago, or is it generating a wealthy minority or oligarchs who manipulate the majority or, worse, make a fool of many? A democracy without popular government and inclusiveness but winner-take-all governments of political parties in power, demands for deeper contemplation by Ghanaians after 30 years in order to choose a democratic architecture that will serve us well. Is democracy opposed to military leaders, or why can't the military govern if civilian leaders become despots or dictators? At 30 years of democracy, Ghanaians must think on democracy as an example to Africa. I agree with President Nana Addo's call for contemplation, and we must make a decision. Why were 80 percent of Ghanaians opposed to personal wish for MMDCES to be elected through political parties? Have Ghanaians exhibited the type of democracy they believe in but lack the potential to make it a reality due to a few oligarchs or benefactors of this broken multiparty democracy 30 years later? What is the originality and purpose of democracy in light of the above-mentioned nature and source of infrastructure? THE ORIGINALITY OF DEMOCRACY AS NONPARTISAN AND DOGMA OF MULTIPARTY DEMOCRACY Ladies and gentlemen, I define democracy as a war of ideas fought with the weapons of the rule of law. 1) Respect for fundamental human rights; 2) Respect for the rule of law are the two fundamental pillars of democracy. The origins and etymology of democracy can help Ghana and Africa comprehend its concepts and beliefs. By 620BC, the ancient Greeks had carved out Democracy as majoritarian rule with the goal of resolving three core challenges for effective good governance in every nation: 1) oligarchy, a small group of people or a few having control of a nation, 2) barbarism or disrespect to human life and the rule of law, and 3) tribespeople, or partisanship which is an aggregation of people under Philosophers that polarises and creates distrust against national cohesion in nations. These three occurrences are significant impediments to human progress and acceptable freedoms and rights. Ghana and Africa, please hear me out! So, when and how were antagonistic political parties against democracy's originality grafted in since 620BC? America, as the father of contemporary democracy (the incorporation of political parties into democracy), reorganised the originality of democracy differently with Political Parties in the late 18th century or 1792 due to the federalists and anti-federalists dichotomy. The Continental Congress (CC) declared independence for the United States in July 1776 and ruled third teen (13) years as republicans (Good Old Party, GOP) until 1789, when anti-federalists misinterpreted constitutional provisions and formed political parties. Ghanaians remember the 1947 United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) national leaders, known as The Big Six(6), for the enthusiasm that brought them together. But, unlike the insightful aborigines 1923 national leadership of Casley Hayford and co., we must also learn from the Big 6 haughty spirited flaws. Regrettably, the Big 6 boot-licked and expelled our chiefs from the 1948 National Assembly (Parliament), despite the fact that our chiefs had been the principal members from its foundation in 1848, more than a century prior. The 1848 National Assembly or Parliament representation was the true representation of Ghanaians, free of ideological polarization and in accordance with the uniqueness of democracy. The removal of Chiefs from the 1948 Parliament signified the beginning of the Pull Him Down (PHD) mentality rather than competitive meritocracy. As an architecture for our Republican governance systems, Ghana as a republic must adopt a changed chieftaincy institution leadership form based on democratic ideals (respect for human rights and respect for the rule of law). However, unlike the United States, Ghana was divided into the UGCC and the CPP before its independence on March 6, 1957. And that split has polarised Ghana to this day. Misunderstandings in Ghana and the United States have resulted in both countries having unintended political parties or Tribespeople. These political parties support oligarchy and the accompanying acts of national polarization that democracy's originality attempted to overcome. Do not be concerned, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, if you are fiercely opposed to the mentioned historical facts of political parties not being part democratic architecture. For you are merely reinforcing the massive ideology (dogma) instilled in our brains by arms-reached domination of America as the father of managed contemporary democracy, rather than the ancient land marks of democracy. But we want to live, and we must make the 18th year crossroads decision today to build for the future. Mr. Speaker, and Africans, let us explore Paul Johnson's comment, a British Catholic Journalist wrote, "The study of history is a very powerful antidote to contemporary arrogance. It is humbling to discover how many of our glib assumptions, which seem to us novel and plausible, have been tested before, not once but many times and in innumerable guises; and discovered to be, at great cost, wholly false. Multi-partisanship in a democracy is inconsistent. BARACK OBAMA FORETOLD AND ENCODED GHANA OR AFRICA TO SEARCH HER OWN DEMOCRACY TO SHAPE THE 21ST CENTURY When the 44th US President, Barack Obama, addressed Ghana's Parliament in 2009, he was not clueless when he encoded the facts about democracy and Ghana's anticipated role in decoding the message and championing the construction of political infrastructure, i.e. democracy. The paragraphs on democracy and good governance added, The 21st century will be shaped by what happens not just in Rome or Moscow or Washington, but by what happens in Accra, as well. This is the simple truth of a time when the boundaries between people are overwhelmed by our connections. ..And the strength of your democracy can help advance human rights for people everywhere Development depends on good governance That's the change that can unlock Africa's potential. And that is a responsibility that can only be met by Africans. As I said in Cairo, each nation gives life to democracy in its own way, and in line with its own traditions. Now, America will not seek to impose any system of government on any other nation. The essential truth of democracy is that each nation determines its own destiny. Mr. Speaker, what is the strength of Ghana's political infrastructure as an indicator of good governance, which is deteriorating due to a hung Parliament, and how would governance be affected if the opposition gains a majority in Parliament? How can we be proud of MPs using hide-and-seek techniques to make important decisions for Ghanaians, such as the e-levy? How do we paradoxically give life to other nations' democracies in our own unique way that is consistent with our traditions, allowing us to select our own fate? The confusions, ignoble acts in 8th Parliament, distrust ruling by the courts, unbridled corruption, extravagant spending by the executive, frustrated and disrespectful youth energies of Ghana's democracy with hung Parliament are nature's wonderful warning that we need to change and make a decision now to build our politics infrastructure, i.e Ghana's Democracy with Africa. Particularly since, in Obama's speech in Ghana, America assured Africans that it would never impose any system of governance on any nation again. Africans, compatriots, What infrastructure do we need to build to legally support our decisions/policies to develop Ghana and Africa without greed? Yes, our ravenous greed has destroyed the majority of African nations internally in order to pave the way for external forces. The time has long passed for us to begin analysing the four fingers pointing at us as Ghanaians and Africans when we point the accusing forefinger at imperialism and neocolonialism. MULTIPARTY DEMOCRACY IS OXYMORON OR POINTEDLY FOOLISH Furthermore, the origin of democracy, its principles, and why it was created by the ancient Greeks in 620BC show that the term "Multiparty Democracy" is an oxymoron or "pointedly dumb" phenomenon imposed on nations by the Global Elites or Machiavellians of the New World Order. It is humbling that our glib assumptions and arrogance of modern democracy's understanding should yield to ancient ageless truths about nonpartisan democracy at this 18th year crossroads. Mr. Speaker, distinguished MPs, ladies and gentlemen, make no mistake, the originality of nonpartisan democracy is impregnated in our Chiefs' traditional leadership and decision-making processes for growth. The transformed type of traditional leadership, with consultations to the opinions of the various divisions of the kingdom of Ashanti before the King pronounces the collective wisdom and path to a particular development, are timeless democratic processes of making decisions that will make cultural sense to the majority of Ghanaians and Africans. If there was ever a time when Ghana's democracy made a graphic statement, it was the day you presided over Parliament in traditional attire, Mr. Speaker. The source and character of our political infrastructure were heralding today, the 18th crossroads, when Accra will begin shaping the twenty-first century, just as Moscow has begun moulding the world for a multipolar rather than unipolar perspective with Washingtons NATO led and Romes planned mediation. It is now up to Ghana and Africa to define our democracy. We must free our brains from religious and political dogmas by investigating the originality of most current ideas. We must live, and we must choose! PARLIAMENT SHOULD BE NONPARTISAN AS EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS TOWARDS GHANA OR AFRICA DEMOCRACY Distinguished Ghanaians and forerunners of African political freedom, we can begin this evolutionary shift by changing the composition and structure of the decision-making process in Parliament. Is it more important to have political parties or constituents represented in Parliament? The later is not an option but the choice as a matter of facts and principles. To assist Ghana and Africa in making this option, let us investigate why running nations alone necessitates ideological alignment with political parties? We do not identify with these views before managing our families, schools, corporations, or religious worship. Don't we? We don't have any! We dont need parties ideological inclinations to solve problems. Else how can Russia and America have joint space projects? To be a representative of a town or constituency, one does not need to be partisan. Period! The MMDAs can choose up to five of the most qualified candidates in each constituency to serve as MPs. Two years of voluntary service to the individual MMDAs by Aspirants could be a simple qualification criterion. These MPs can argue and battle in Parliament for the distribution of resources to meet the needs of their individual constituencies. This has nothing to do with the intrigues of political parties or NPP-NDC duopoly shenanigans. So, what is the point of political parties if Ghanaians devote so much time, money, people, equipment, and high emotions only to reap enslavement, corruption, polarization, not-for-profit developments, winner-takes-all, creating evil out of good souls of citizens and bad governance? What is the rationale for partisan leaders to kill for power and whilst in governance instead to also use the power for good governance yet that power is used to destroy citizens and businesses? The apparent solution to promoting partisan ideological alignment or multiparty democracy, distinguished compatriots, is simple access to and manipulation of our kidnapped leaders by the Global Elites. Period! Ghanaian elites' insatiable greed, have willingly subjugated us by utilising these political parties as a divide and rule strategy. By establishing the TELM dogmatic system. What exactly is TELM? The Enslaved Leadership Mindset is abbreviated as TELM. A TELM leader is frequently someone who has suffered or experienced some type of subjugation (fear, money incentive, race, tribe, religion, domination, thuggery, etc.) that has rendered his mental abilities subordinated. Because they regard their oppressor(s) as superior, such a person willingly suffers for the sake of their oppressor(s). Individuals, business executives, religious leaders, traditional leaders, pals, side-chicks or boyfriends, professors, political parties, nations, and so on could be oppressors. If anyone disputes any of the enlisted oppressors, consider how side-chicks may destabilise a nation's whole national security apparatus. Mr. Speaker, let the Pan African Parliament takes over through Ghana's Parliament, and let our AU leaders generate the political will to boycott oxymoronic multiparty democracy and pursue our progress from this 18th year crossroads AU Day Prayer Conference in Accra. WEAK AND CORRUPT JUDICIARY ENDANGERS DEMOCRACY; TIME FOR GHANAIANS TO EMBARK ON DEMONSTRATIONS Mr. Speaker, democracy is a stillbirth when its legal processes are broken. Our legal infrastructure is about more than just electronic convenience; it is also about the essential foundations of the spirit of our common laws derived from the knowledge of our socio-traditional disposition. Our Supreme Court Justices, in particular, have been accused of referencing Justices (JSCs) from other Supreme Courts in order to defend their judgements, which immediately become laws (the case of deputy speakers voting, by Justice Abdulai). The JSCs lack confidence in their ability to use the empirical wisdom and traditions of our societies contained in our common laws in their judgements, which become laws automatically. And, more often than not, they betray Ghana's democracy by enacting alien laws that are more appropriate for the commonsensical disposition of those other countries. A strong legal framework is required for a functional democracy. Ladies and gentlemen, Article 125 of the 1992 constitution states unequivocally that Ghanaians, not the Supreme Court or JSCs, are the source of justice. Just as Ghanaians can take to the streets to protest against the executive arm, the Presidency (partisan elections of MMDCES), and the legislative arm, Parliament (new 450 seater chamber), in order to overturn decisions, the same Ghanaians can take to the streets to protest against the Judiciary arm, the Supreme Court, for decisions that do not sit well with the majority. Decisions of the Supreme Court are not inviolable, and it is past time to begin such protests in order to safeguard our 30 year democracy. And to make meaningful the yearly celebration of martyrs to the rule of law. Lets Look no further compatriots, for the growing insecurity, corruption, nation wreckage insensitivity, lawlessness are all mostly due to endemically compromised judiciary arm of government. AUTHORITY IS A POWERFUL TOOL FOR AU AND AFCFTA REALISATIONS Mr. Speaker, time is not on our side to speak on the remaining PESTLERA infrastructures, but for the sake of the Pan African Parliament, AU, and AFCFTA (Africa Continental Free Trade Area), let me highlight Authority as the critical infrastructure that should be created consciously for the successful realization of these continental institutions' visions. The perceived weakness of these regional and continental organizations is a lack of authority as the key superordinate infrastructure for these continental institutions to deliver economic freedom, shared growth, and wealth creation for the world. The Asante Kingdom has built the Gold Stool's mindful Authority infrastructure (Sikadwa). The continental institutions can acquire the craft and skills of Authority infrastructure, as well as how it is employed to promote development and maintain the Kingdom's influence. As stated on page 19 of my book, 'The Next President Of Ghana,' "the modernist's perspective always raises the question 'How will we change?' but rarely asks, 'How will we stay the same?'" HUMAN AND NATURAL RESOURCES ARE REAL ECONOMIC FUNDAMENTALS Mr. Speaker, Economic experts in Ghana and Africa should break the paradigm that has been developed in their minds that macroeconomic indicators are the fundamentals/foundation of our economy. No, macroeconomic indicators are economic symptoms. Natural and human resources are the true economic fundamentals/foundations or infrastructure that any nation has been endowed with. The transformation of these natural and human resources for global consumption is the fundamental definition of industrialisation and the golden key to African wealth generation and economic strength. Allow, other countries are to respect America's intelligence, which has a deep understanding of practical economic principles and has also encouraged the world to make the US Dollar into a trade commodity in high demand. That is why Africa should not postpone the creation of a common currency that will be desired by the rest of the world for trade. The Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) is a groundbreaking semi-achievement that aims to reduce respective countries' reliance on internationally recognised SWIFT currency commodities. The Key is a Pan-African currency. AFCFTA is Africa's most important yet crucial economic infrastructure for creating riches and bringing economic freedom to the continent. URGENCY REQUIRES FOR THE AMENDMENT OF 1992 CONSTITUTION Mr. Speaker, numerous CSOs and other political organizations have addressed to your good offices the necessity to revise the 1992 constitution, which has been overdue since 2012. Mr. Speaker, your determination to commit to this amendment with Hon. MPs herein present at this decision 18th crossroads conference, in particular, will be a significant milestone in deepening Ghana's democracy. Nature understands why you are in the seat, the conditions of your election after an abundance of legislative experiences, but the saints' prayers are with you to keep you in good health. Ghanaians have overwhelmingly stated that they believe in electing their MMDCES without the use of political parties and that the 1992 constitution should be modified. Our 30 years of democracy are being replied as majority decisions or Machiavellianism by oligarchs in political parties, led by their respective elected Presidents on 1992 constitutional amendment (11 years) since 2011 and nonpartisan elections of MMDCES (3 years) since 2019. THE CALL TO BOYCOTT OXYMORON MULTIPARTY DEMOCRACY Ladies and gentlemen, countrymen, the governing of nations with political philosophies under multiparty democracy that appear innovative and convincing to us have been tested previously, not once, but many times and uncountable guises, and found to be totally false at great cost. Ladies and gentlemen, this is indeed false. On January 12, 1948, the chief of Osu, Nii Kwabena Boni, called for Ghanaians to boycott British goods, which sparked the country's independence movement. The spirits of our forefathers are calling us once more, and Ghana, as a republic, requires a politician to lead the boycott of the oxymoronic Multiparty Democracy, which cannot work in Africa sustainably and is even declining globally, wreaking havoc on nations' governance because of its manipulative nature, which is being exposed by social media. Ghana should pursue the boycott with zeal for our descendants to hold sacred the stones of POLITICS, ECONOMY, LAW, and AUTHORITY INFRASTRUCTURES embedded in our socio-politico-traditional disposition because our thoughtful hands have touched them for the same purpose in shaping the 21st century. Therefore Ghana, together with Africa, should unfreeze the political and religious dogmas implanted in Africans' minds by the Global Elites, which are mostly oxymoronic from an originality standpoint, and without fail, to kickstart Africa's renaissance, which Creation has been waiting for the revealing of the children of God because creation has been subjected to futility." This is the truth I Jacob Osei Yeboah stand for and for which I shall die. "Multiparty Democracy is an oxymoron, and Africa should boycott it. This belief is neither for nor against any political party but situated at a highest pinnacle for Africa renaissance without manipulation. Ghanas 30 years of practicing multiparty democracy and nonpartisan democracy makes the later the choice for Africa. Republic of Benin has voted three consecutive times for nonpartisan democratic governments since 2006-2021, a triumph for nonpartisan democracy in Africa. NO SPIRIT FILLED CHRISTIAN CAN PERMANENTLY BELONG TO A POLITICAL PARTY The value system of my great Ancestress Ankyewa Nyame of Oyoko clan, cannot succumbed to the manipulative craft of partisan politics but will respect the voting of Ghanaians and the power of sovereignty in National leadership. The 1992 constitution expressly prohibits chiefs from engaging in partisan politics in order to function as gatekeepers. The Holy Spirit is more powerful than the Constitution of 1992. Because no Christian Leader who is filled with and guided by the Holy Spirit can ever fully identify permanently with a political party as a member. That is not Christ-like. PARTISAN VOTING AND IMPENDING RAMIFICATIONS IN GHANA We cannot continue to vote in the same partisanship pattern every four years and expect different results from gradual but yearly bad governance until the nation fails completely to our destruction. Our collective inaction has instilled in the minds of our dissatisfied and suffering youth the possibility of religious and traditional leaders colluding with politicians. Ghana is unlikely to witness another military coup, as most people believe, but rather a massive implosion by the youth against all forms of leaderships, not just politicians. An unraveling fact, written with blood ink on our walls but with wishful denial. The rampant phenomenon of youth clashes with security forces are great pointers of future events casting their shadows. But nonpartisan democracy can help resolve by fostering meritocracy, respect and wealth for all but not a few. Churches and kingdoms are destroyed in such historical transitions; they say that a stitch in time saves nine. We must choose to live in Ghana and Africa by carving our own nonpartisan democracy. But, in order to pick our own nonpartisan democracy, Ghana and Africa must first understand who we are as multiethnic societies, what we stand for, where Ghana and Africa want to go, and why Ghana and Africa want to get there. Fortunately, our descendants will witness the toil of our path for nonpartisan democracy today at this 18th crossroads AU Day Prayer Conference in Accra. And wrought substance out of them. See! This is what our fathers did for us. Mr. Speaker, eminent citizens, spiritual fathers and mentors. Thank you for your time. June 01, 2022 Ukraine Bits: Casualty Numbers, Kampfgruppen, Territorial Defense Forces Over the last month I had come to the conclusion that the Ukraine is losing about 500 men per day due to intense Russian artillery fire. That number may have been too low. I had mentioned high Ukrainian casualty rates due to Russian artillery fire on April 25: The nearly 1,000 artillery missions in the last 24 hours and on the days before speak of intense preparations for upcoming attacks by Russian mechanized forces. Over all artillery will do the most damage to the Ukrainian troops. In World War II and other modern mechanized wars some 65% of all casualties were caused by artillery strikes. The recent rate on the Ukrainian side will likely be higher. I revisited that on May 5: The Russian military forces are grinding down Ukrainian ground forces by extensive use of heavy artillery. The Ukrainian artillery has been destroyed or lacks ammunition.The Ukrainian forces have orders to stay in their position and to hold the line. That only makes sure that Russian artillery strikes will destroy them. The order was given because the 'west' has pushed the Ukrainian president to not make peace with Russia. The consequence will be the assured destruction of the Ukrainian military. Again on May 14: The Ukraine is losing up to 15,000 men per month to the war. The total Ukrainian casualties, dead and wounded, are likely already at 50,000. The weapons the U.S. and others provide, are not sufficient to sustain the war. The Ukraine has only 3 days reserves of diesel and gasoline left. The main parts of its forces are immobile and are getting surrounded by Russian forces. Their situation is hopeless. On May 20 I wrote: [I]f one trusts the daily 'clobber list' the Russian Ministry of Defense puts out all positions of the Ukrainian army are under heavy artillery fire and it is losing about 500 men per day. There are additional Russian effective strikes on training camps, weapon storage sites and transport hubs all over the country. In a recent interview with Newsmax the Ukrainian comedian and president Volodimir Zelenski mentioned casualty numbers: "The most difficult situation is in the east of Ukraine and southern Donetsk and Luhansk. "The situation is very difficult; we're losing 60-100 soldiers per day as killed in action and something around 500 people as wounded in action. So we are holding our defensive perimeters." That sums up to 600 casualties per day which is about 18,000 per month which is even higher than my earlier estimates. However Zelenski has interest in lowballing the real number. As Ivan Katchanowski from the University of Ottawa points out, the numbers Zelenski gives relate to only one region and only to a specific category of people: Ivan Katchanovski @I_Katchanovski - 4:57 UTC Jun 1, 2022 #Zelenskyy statement about 60-100 soldiers killed & about 500 wounded per day in combat is minimal casualty number. Missing in action, who are killed, are not reported as killed. Casualty numbers also likely exclude territorial defense, police, SBU, etc & non-combat casualties. #Zelenskyy statement about 60-100 #Ukrainian soldiers killed & 500 wounded per day refers to #Donbas. It excludes casualties of #RussiaUkraineWar in #Kharkiv region & Southern #Ukraine & casualties of daily Russian missile attacks in other regions of #Ukraine. #UkraineRussiaWar The real numbers for the dead and wounded on the Ukrainian side may well be double the numbers Zelenski mentioned. There are at least five different groups of security forces in Ukraine. The normal uniformed police and the SBU which is a secret internal police and political enforcer power derived from the former KGB. The regular military forces includes the army, navy and airforce. The National Guard is different in that it was established under the Ministry for the Interior from fascist militant groups like the Azov, Aidar, Dnepr-1 and 2, C-14 and other battalions. These are actively fighting but not soldiers in any real sense. Then there are the really screwed ones, the Territorial Defense Force: It is formed by a core of part-time reservists, usually former combat veterans, and in cases of war can be expanded to local civilian volunteers for local defense, in a case of mass mobilization. That core is expected to lead the mobilized volunteers. The Territorial Defense Forces also contain the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine, formed by foreign volunteers. Other details of interest: On 25 May 2021, President Volodymyr Zelensky introduced a law to the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's national parliament) "on the basis of national resistance" [...] The old Territorial Defence units would be now organized under the new Territorial Defense Forces as a standalone branch of the Armed Forces. Veterans of the Donbas War from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, National Guard of Ukraine and other paramilitary forces involved in the conflict would provide a backbone to train and lead the mobilized volunteers. [...] The creation of the branch coincided with the Russian military build-up which had been ongoing since 2021. On 11 February 2022, the planned number of volunteers was increased to 1.5 to 2 million. ... By 6 March, almost 100,000 people had volunteered for the Territorial Defense Forces. Some units stopped accepting volunteer as they reached their operational limit. There were reports of Ukrainian volunteers paying bribes or using connections to join the Territorial Defense. In February, when the Ukraine government ordered a general mobilization, many people 'voluntarily' entered the Territorial Defense forces to avoid being drafted into the real military. The Territorial Defense battalions were responsible for local defense in their area of the country. People who 'volunteered' for them hoped to stay in their home area instead of being send to the battle front. However in early May the Ukrainian parliament adopted a law "On the Fundamentals of National Resistance" (machine translation): Territorial Defense Forces will be withdrawn from the Armed Forces and receive separate funding. They are given a leading role in the organization and implementation of the tasks of territorial defense of Ukraine. The law defines such concepts as "national resistance", "territorial defense", "resistance movement", "voluntary formation of a territorial community", etc. changed the law on the Territorial Defense Battalions. The Territorial Defense Forces are no longer part of the military. Are their members still 'soldiers' or are they 'volunteers'? It is not clear to me under who's command they now are. One consequence of the law was that the Territorial Defense units were no longer territorial but could be ordered to fight all over the country. As the Washington Post recently reported: Before the invasion, Lapko was a driller of oil and gas wells. Khrus bought and sold power tools. Both lived in the western city of Uzhhorod and joined the territorial defense forces, a civilian militia that sprang up after the invasion. ... They were given orders to head to the western city of Lviv. When they got there, they were ordered to go south and then east into Luhansk province in Donbas, portions of which were already under the control of Moscow-backed separatists and are now occupied by Russian forces. A couple dozen of his men refused to fight, Lapko said, and they were imprisoned. They were put onto the front line as cannon fodder and later deserted. In a regular military there will be one unit (brigade, battalion, company) assigned to a specific length of the frontline. A brigade commander will put his mechanized infantry battalions out on the front next to each other and his artillery battalion further back. He may decide to keep a company or two of tanks in reserve. The officers and NCOs in a brigade will usually know each other as they have trained together while growing through the ranks. Such units can fight and coordinated well because their officers and soldiers have worked and partied together for some time and know each other by heart. Unfortunately for Ukraine it no longer has any complete brigade units. These have fallen apart due to high casualty rates and material losses. This seems to have led to a change of the command structure. During the last years of World War II the German Wehrmacht often used Kampfgruppen (combat groups). These were a mix of remnants of mostly destroyed regular units put together under the command of one officer and often formed for a specific task. The subunits came from different command cultures and localities and would often not know each other. They were not trained to the same level. To coordinate them was difficult. There are signs that the Ukraine is now using such a Kampfgruppen concept. Several recent reports of this or that operation or town lost or gained by Ukrainian forces named three or four involved brigades. However, when one looked at the size of those places or operations there was no way that so many full fledged units were involved. I have come to understand that these were Kampfgruppen like formations under which remnants of the three or four former brigades were subsumed. Now what happens to a Territorial Defense unit that gets assigned to a Kampfgruppe? As it is most likely the weakest and least armed unit it will be put into those places where the highest loses can be expected. The commander of the Kampfgruppe will naturally keep the forces of those remnant mechanized units he knows best close to himself or in reserve while the infantry cannon fodder of the Territorial Defense unit is ordered to man the frontline. These units are likely to have the highest numbers of casualties. It is doubtful that Zelenski's numbers included their dead and wounded. We can therefore somewhat safely assume that the real casualty numbers are now some 200 dead and 800 wounded per day and maybe even above that. How many more will be 'missed in action'? Before the war the public health system in Ukraine was already in a miserable state. Medical personal that had the means will long have left the country. How will it be able to handle such high numbers of casualties? Shrapnel wounds caused by artillery are often nasty and more complicate than simple gun shots. If not cared for immediately they are likely to get infected and tend to not heal well. All this lets me fear that many of the wounded will not receive the necessary care and will not survive the war. Will their death in this or that improvised field hospital be counted as a combat death? High casualty numbers are not good for morale so Kiev will likely try to avoid to include them. There is already trouble in the ranks of Ukrainian army. Several several groups of soldiers have called out publicly to stop the senseless waste of life. At what point will the Ukrainian military or the Territorial Defense units turn against the Zelenski regime? Posted by b on June 1, 2022 at 17:27 UTC | Permalink Comments next page next page This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate STAVANGER, Norway (AP) Europes frantic search for alternatives to Russian energy has dramatically increased the demand and price for Norway's oil and gas. As the money pours in, Europe's second-biggest natural gas supplier is fending off accusations that it's profiting from the war in Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who is looking to the Scandinavian country to replace some of the gas Poland used to get from Russia, said Norway's gigantic oil and gas profits are indirectly preying on the war. He urged Norway to use that windfall to support the hardest-hit countries, mainly Ukraine. The comments last week touched a nerve, even as some Norwegians wonder whether they're doing enough to combat Russias war by increasing economic aid to Ukraine and helping neighboring countries end their dependence on Russian energy to power industry, generate electricity and fuel vehicles. Taxes on the windfall profits of oil and gas companies have been common in Europe to help people cope with soaring energy bills, now exacerbated by the war. Spain and Italy both approved them, while the United Kingdom's government plans to introduce one. Morawiecki is asking Norway to go further by sending oil and profits to other nations. Norway, one of Europe's richest countries, committed 1.09% of its national income to overseas development one of the highest percentages worldwide including more than $200 million in aid to Ukraine. With oil and gas coffers bulging, some would like to see even more money earmarked to ease the effects of the war and not skimmed from the funding for agencies that support people elsewhere. Norway has made dramatic cuts into most of the U.N. institutions and support for human rights projects in order to finance the cost of receiving Ukrainian refugees, said Berit Lindeman, policy director of human rights group the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. She helped organize a protest Wednesday outside Parliament in Oslo, criticizing government priorities and saying the Polish remarks had some merits." It looks really ugly when we know the incomes have skyrocketed this year," Lindeman said. Oil and gas prices were already high amid an energy crunch and have spiked because of the war. Natural gas is trading at three to four times what it was at the same time last year. International benchmark Brent crude oil burst through $100 a barrel after the invasion three months ago and has rarely dipped below since. Norwegian energy giant Equinor, which is majority owned by the state, earned four times more in the first quarter compared with the same period last year. The bounty led the government to revise its forecast of income from petroleum activities to 933 billion Norwegian kroner ($97 billion) this year more than three times what it earned in 2021. The vast bulk will be funneled into Norways massive sovereign wealth fund the worlds largest to support the nation when oil runs dry. The government isn't considering diverting it elsewhere. Norway has contributed substantial support to Ukraine since the first week of the war, and we are preparing to do more," State Secretary Eivind Vad Petersson said by email. He said the country has sent financial support, weapons and over 2 billion kroner in humanitarian aid independently of oil and gas prices. European countries, meanwhile, have helped inflate Norwegian energy prices by scrambling to diversify their supply away from Russia. They have been accused of helping fund the war by continuing to pay for Russian fossil fuels. That energy reliance provides Russia with a tool to intimidate and to use against us, and that has been clearly demonstrated now, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, a former prime minister of Norway, told the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Russia has halted natural gas to Finland, Poland and Bulgaria for refusing a demand to pay in rubles. The 27-nation European Union is aiming to reduce reliance on Russian natural gas by two-thirds by year's end through conservation, renewable development and alternative supplies. Europe is pleading with Norway, along with countries like Qatar and Algeria, for help with the shortfall. Norway delivers 20% to 25% of Europes natural gas, vs. Russia's 40% before the war. It is important for Norway to be a stable, long-term provider of oil and gas to the European markets, Deputy Energy Minister Amund Vik said. But companies are selling on volatile energy markets, and with the high oil and gas prices seen since last fall, the companies have daily produced near maximum of what their fields can deliver, he said. Even so, Oslo has responded to European calls for more gas by providing permits to operators to produce more this year. Tax incentives mean the companies are investing in new offshore projects, with a new pipeline to Poland opening this fall. We are doing whatever we can to be a reliable supplier of gas and energy to Europe in difficult times. It was a tight market last fall and is even more pressing now, said Ola Morten Aanestad, a Equinor spokesman. The situation is a far cry from June 2020, when prices crashed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and Norway's previous government issued tax incentives for oil companies to spur investment and protect jobs. Combined with high energy prices, the incentives that run out at the end of the year have prompted companies in Norway to issue a slew of development plans for new oil and gas projects. Yet those projects will not produce oil and gas until later this decade or even further in the future, when the political situation may be different and many European countries are hoping to have shifted most of their energy use to renewables. By then, Norway is likely to face the more familiar criticism that it is contributing to climate change. ___ AP reporter Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland, contributed. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BEIJING (AP) Chinas support for Russia through oil and gas purchases is irking Washington and raising the risk of U.S. retaliation, foreign observers say, though they see no sign Beijing is helping Moscow evade sanctions over its war on Ukraine. Beijing's importance as a lifeline to Russian President Vladimir Putin rose Monday after the 27-nation European Union, the main market for fossil fuels that supply most of Moscow's foreign income, agreed to stop oil purchases. President Xi Jinpings government declared ahead of Russia's Feb. 24 attack that it had a no limits friendship with Moscow and has kept the West guessing about whether it might bail Putin out. China rejects the sanctions as illegal because the United States, Europe and Japan cut off Russia from their markets and the global banking system without working through the United Nations, where Beijing and Moscow have veto power. The sanctions don't prohibit China, India or other countries from buying Russian oil and gas. But President Joe Biden has warned Xi of unspecified consequences if Beijing helps Moscow evade sanctions. That leaves open the risk Chinese companies might be punished by losing access to valuable Western markets. Beijing appears to be complying. But state-owned companies are buying more Russian oil and gas, which gives the Kremlin export income. They also are potential investors in Russian energy projects as Western companies leave. The Biden administration will likely become increasingly exasperated at Chinas continued support for Russia, Neil Thomas of Eurasia Group said in an email. That increases the likelihood of unilateral moves to punish Beijing and allied coordination on economic security measures aimed at countering China," Thomas said. The conflict adds to tension with Washington over Taiwan, Hong Kong, human rights, trade, technology and Beijing's strategic ambitions. China poses the most serious long-term challenge to the international order," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a May 26 speech. Xis government has tried to distance itself from Putins war by calling for peace talks, but it avoids criticizing Moscow. Other governments must not harm Chinas legitimate interests in any way" in dealing with Ukraine, warned a foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian. Monday's decision by EU leaders will cut imports of Russian oil by 90%, according to the head of its executive branch, Ursula von der Leyen. European customers have been paying Russia as much as $1 billion per day for oil, gas and coal. Mikhail Ulyanov, Russias permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, responded on Twitter: "Russia will find other importers. Moscow is tiny as a trading partner for Beijing but an ally against what both resent as U.S. dominance in global affairs. China sees Russian oil and gas as a way to diversify supplies for its energy-hungry economy. China bought 20% of last year's Russian crude exports, according to the International Energy Agency. The two sides announced a new 30-year gas contract on Feb. 4, three weeks ahead of Moscow's attack on Ukraine, that the state newspaper Global Times said will increase annual supplies to China by about 25%. While the two are friendly, China is taking advantage of the situation to get cheaper energy and favorable business deals, said Maria Shagina of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. They would always capitalize on Russias isolation, said Shagina. But they would be very cautious not to violate sanctions outright. On May 24, while Biden was visiting Tokyo, Russian and Chinese warplanes carried out strategic air patrols above the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and the western Pacific. The Japanese government said bombers flew near Japan. Biden warned Xi during a March 18 video meeting not to give Moscow military or economic aid. Bidens national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said in March that Washington wouldnt tolerate China or any other country helping Moscow work around sanctions. The White House has criticized Beijings rhetorical support for Putin. Washington is monitoring closely Chinese dealings with Moscow, the American Embassy said in a written response to questions. We have not seen the provision of military equipment, it said. Asked about economic sanctions and possible violations, the embassy said it had nothing further. After BP and ExxonMobil announced they were pulling out of Russian oil and gas projects, there are rumors state-owned Chinese companies might step in and acquire stakes, said Shagina. China's imports from Russia rose 56.6% over a year earlier in April to $8.9 billion, according to customs data. That helped Putins government record a current account surplus, the broadest measure of trade, of $96 billion for the four months ending in April. Washington also is frustrated that India, the No. 3 global oil importer, is buying more from Russia to take advantage of low prices. The Biden administration is lobbying Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to stop. In March, the U.S. government told Asian and European allies that American intelligence had determined China indicated to Russia it would be willing to provide military support for the campaign in Ukraine and financial help to limit the impact of sanctions. Russia has been expelled from the global SWIFT network for bank transfers. Chinas credit card processor, UnionPay, refused to work with Russian banks after Visa and MasterCard stopped serving them, the Russian news outlet RBC reported in April. It said UnionPay worried it might be hit by secondary sanctions and cut off from the Western-controlled global financial system. China has blocked Russia's airlines from flying foreign-owned aircraft into Chinese airspace, the Russian news outlet RBK reported. Putin in March threw ownership of the planes into doubt by allowing them to be-registered in Russia to avoid being seized after the European leasing companies were barred from doing business with Russian carriers. The Civil Aviation Administration of China didn't immediately respond to a request for confirmation and details. China gave Moscow an economic lifeline following Western sanctions imposed over its 2014 seizure of Crimea from Ukraine. Beijing agreed to buy Russian gas in a deal estimated to be worth up to $400 billion over three decades. Moscow turned to Chinese state-owned companies to help pay for oil and gas development after Crimea-related sanctions cut off Western financing. The help will never come for free, Shagina said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate KYIV, Ukraine (AP) The U.S. and Germany pledged Wednesday to equip Ukraine with some of the advanced weapons it has long desired for shooting down aircraft and knocking out artillery, as Russian forces closed in on capturing a key city in the east. Germany said it will supply Ukraine with up-to-date anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems, while the U.S. announced it will provide four sophisticated, medium-range rocket systems and ammunition. The U.S. is trying to help Ukraine fend off the Russians without triggering a wider war in Europe. The Pentagon said it received assurances that Ukraine will not fire the new rockets into Russian territory. The Kremlin accused the U.S. of pouring fuel on the fire. Western arms have been critical to Ukraines success in stymieing Russias much larger and better-equipped military, thwarting its effort to storm the capital and forcing Moscow to shift its focus to the industrial Donbas region in the east. But as Russia bombards towns in its inching advance in the east, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly pleaded for more and better weapons and accused the West of moving too slowly. Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian presidents office, hailed the new Western weapons. Im sure that if we receive all the necessary weapons and strengthen the efficient sanctions regime we will win, he said. The new arms could help Ukraine set up and hold new lines of defense in the east by hitting back at Russian artillery pieces that have been battering towns and cities and by limiting Russian airstrikes, said retired French Gen. Dominique Trinquand, a former head of Frances military mission at the United Nations. "The NATO countries the European nations and the Americans have progressively escalated the means that they are putting at Ukraines disposal, and this escalation, in my opinion, has had the aim of testing Russian limits, he said. Each time, they measure the Russian reaction, and since there is no reaction, they keep supplying increasingly effective and sophisticated weaponry. Military analysts say Russia is hoping to overrun the Donbas before any weapons that might turn the tide arrive. It will take at least three weeks to get the precision U.S. weapons and trained troops onto the battlefield, the Pentagon said. But Defense Undersecretary Colin Kahl said he believes they will arrive in time to make a difference in the fight. The rocket systems are part of a new $700 million package of security assistance for Ukraine from the U.S. that also includes helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, radars, tactical vehicles, spare parts and more. The rockets have a range of about 50 miles (80 kilometers) and are highly mobile. Ukraine had pushed unsuccessfully for rockets with a range of up to 186 miles (300 kilometers). Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow does not trust assurances that Ukraine will not fire on Russian territory. We believe that the U.S. is deliberately and diligently pouring fuel on the fire, he said. Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintzev later went further, directly accusing Ukraine of planning to fire U.S.-provided missiles from the northeastern Sumy region at border areas in Russia. The claim, which he said was based on radio intercepts, couldnt be independently confirmed. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Ukraines push for more weapons is a direct provocation intended to draw the West into the fighting. He warned that the multiple rocket launchers would raise the risk of an expanded conflict. Sane Western politicians understand those risks well, he said. As the new weapons shipments were announced, a Russian missile hit rail lines in the western Lviv region, a key conduit for supplies of Western weapons and other supplies, officials said. Regional Gov. Maksym Kozytskyy said five people were wounded in Wednesday's strike, and the head of Ukrainian railways said the damage was still being assessed. Germany's promise of IRIS-T air defense systems would mark the first delivery of long-range air defense weapons to Ukraine since the start of the war. Earlier deliveries of portable, shoulder-fired air defense missiles have bolstered the Ukrainian militarys ability to take down helicopters and other low-flying aircraft but didnt give it enough range to challenge Russias air superiority. Germany has come under particular criticism, both at home and from allies abroad, that it isnt doing enough. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told lawmakers that the IRIS-T's surface-to-air missiles are the most modern air defense system the country has. With this, we will enable Ukraine to defend an entire city from Russian air attacks, he said. The radar systems will also help Ukraine locate enemy artillery. A regional governor said Russian forces now control 80% of Sievierodonetsk, a city that is key to Moscows efforts to complete its capture of the Donbas, where Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists have fought for years and where the separatists held swaths of territory even before the invasion. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said Russian troops were advancing in the city during fierce street battles with Ukrainian forces, though he noted that in some districts the Ukrainian troops managed to push them back. The only other city in Luhansk that the Russians have not yet captured, Lysychansk, is still fully under Ukrainian control, he said, but is likely to be the next target. The two cities are separated by a river. If the Russians manage to take full control over Sievierodonetsk within two to three days, they will start installing artillery and mortars and will shell Lysychansk more intensively, Haidai said. Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said the country is losing between 60 and 100 soldiers a day in the fighting. He turned the focus to children in his nightly video address, saying 243 of them have been killed in the war, 446 have been wounded and 139 are missing. The real numbers could be higher, he added, as his government doesnt have a full picture of areas under Russian occupation. Zelenskyy also said 200,000 children are among the Ukrainians who have been forcefully taken to Russia and dispersed across that vast country: The purpose of this criminal policy is not just to steal people but to make those who are deported forget about Ukraine and unable to return. In southern Ukraine, a regional governor sounded a more positive note, saying Russian troops were retreating and blowing up bridges behind them. They are afraid of a counterattack by the Ukrainian army, Vitaliy Kim, governor of the Mykolayiv region, said on the Telegram messaging app. ___ Jordans reported from Berlin. Associated Press writers Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine, Lolita C. Baldor in Washington and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate With the summer months right around the corner, many travelers are sating their wanderlust by planning and booking upcoming trips. In May, Airbnb released a report highlighting the most "wishlitsed" U.S. stays heading into the summer months and a West Texas desert pad made the cut. The post entitled "Top 10 most wishlisted US stays anticipated for summer 2022" includes Airbnb rentals from across the U.S., including a former fire lookout in Fernwood, Idaho, a swanky A-frame in Rockbridge Ohio, a so-called "Earthship" in El Prado, N. M. as well as a number of treehouses around the country. In the Lone Star State, a property known as "Domeland" in Terlingua, described as an "off-grid Adobe Dome near Big Bend," made the top rankings. "This solar-powered dome, located just outside of Big Bend National Park, offers incredible sights of the night sky along with stunning, unobstructed views of the sunrise and sunset," reads the Airbnb post detailing the property. "Guests can take time to unplug and connect with the desert surroundings from this elegant adobe home." Off-the-grid amenities, pricing and more Domeland can accommodate up to three guests and features one bedroom with one bed, a half-bathroom, a kitchen with a stove oven and refrigerator. The property also has a BBQ grill, 31-Mbps Wi-Fi, an outdoor shower and a composting toilet. The listing states that all power within the home is provided via solar energy and the kitchen sink water is pumped from a rain-collection system. It recommends that guests bring their own drinking water, although bottled water is provided onsite "as a back up at cost." The home is situated on an "isolated but easily accessible off-grid setting" within a Dark Sky reserve offering a "completely unobstructed view of a horizon that delivers truly majestic sunrises and sunsets," according to the listing page. Domeland is within an approximately 25-minute drive from Big Bend National Park and is roughly equidistant from the Terlingua ghost town. While the adobe does have a propane heater to warm the home in the winter months, the property page does not include air conditioning on its full amenities list. The description includes a "summertime disclaimer" for the months of June through September, stating that these months "can get hot here in the desert and while the adobe dome gives a good buffer against the outside elements, there is no AC in the dome, just a fan." Additionally, the disclaimer notes that "there are also perimeter windows to entice a night breeze," adding that "bugs and other desert creatures tend to culminate" during the summer months. The property is available to rent for $131 per night, although there are cleaning and service fees added to the total. As of June 1, most dates in June are booked, although there are openings throughout July and August. WFO MIDLAND/ODESSA Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Tuesday, May 31, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING Severe Weather Statement National Weather Service Midland/Odessa TX 606 PM CDT Tue May 31 2022 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 630 PM CDT FOR CENTRAL PECOS COUNTY... At 605 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 9 miles southwest of Fort Stockton, moving east 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... Fort Stockton and Fort Stockton-Pecos County Airport. This includes Interstate 10 between mile markers 255 and 270. 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 National Weather Service in Amarillo has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Northeastern Wheeler County in the Panhandle of Texas... Southeastern Hemphill County in the Panhandle of Texas... * Until 700 PM CDT. * At 609 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 6 miles south of Allison, or 22 miles west of Cheyenne, moving north at 25 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and half dollar size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Minor damage to roofs, siding, and trees is possible. Hail damage to vehicles is expected. * Locations impacted include... Allison. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather Members of the K-Pop band BTS Kim Taehyung, Kim Seokjin, Jeon Jeongguk, Kim Namjoon, Park Jimin, Jung Hoseok and Min Yoon-gi make statements against anti-Asian hate crimes and for inclusion and representation during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., May 31, 2022. Actor Kevin Spacey walks down Carlo Alberto street as he visits the city, where he is expected to return for a cameo appearance in a low budget Italian film, after largely disappearing from public view, in Turin, Italy, June 1, 2021. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate UVALDE, Texas (AP) Javier Cazares raced to his daughters school when he heard there was a shooting, leaving his truck running with the door open as he ran into the school yard. In his rush, he didn't bring his gun. He spent the next 35 to 45 agonizing minutes scanning the children fleeing Robb Elementary School for his 9-year-old firecracker, Jacklyn. All the while, he yearned to run in himself and grew increasingly agitated, along with other parents, that the police weren't doing more to stop the gunman who holed up in a classroom, killing kids. A lot of us were arguing with the police, You all need to go in there. You all need to do your jobs, said Cazares, an Army veteran. We were ready to go to work and rush in. Nineteen children and two teachers were ultimately shot dead in the roughly 80 minutes the gunman spent inside the school in Uvalde, Texas, a small, predominantly Latino community that sits among vegetable fields halfway between San Antonio and the U.S.-Mexico border. The Justice Department has said it will review the law enforcement response. This account of the deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook is based on law enforcements timeline, records and numerous interviews with Uvalde residents in the hours and days after the massacre. ___ Salvador Ramos was up early on May 24, sending ominous messages. The man authorities have identified as the gunman turned 18 the week before and promptly bought two AR-15-style rifles along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition. In the pre-dawn hours in his grandparents' shaded neighborhood just a half-mile from the site he would turn into a killing ground, Ramos wrote "Im about to to a woman over Instagram and sent someone a private Facebook message saying he was going to shoot his grandmother. Within hours, hed done it. Sometime after 11 a.m., a neighbor who was in his yard heard a shot and looked up to see Ramos run out the front door of his grandparents' home to a pickup truck parked along the narrow street. The 18-year-old seemed panicked and struggled to get the Ford out of park, Gilbert Gallegos, 82, said. Ramos finally drove off, kicking a spray of gravel in the air. Moments later, his grandmother emerged from the single-story home covered in blood. This is what he did, Gallegos recalled her yelling. He shot me. Gallegos wife called 911 while he took the wounded woman into their backyard. As they hid and waited for the police, more gunshots rang out. ___ By 11:28 a.m., Ramos had sped to Robb Elementary and crashed the pickup in a drainage ditch, authorities said. At that moment, video shows a teacher entering the school through a door that she had emerged from and propped open a minute earlier, according to Steven McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety. The teacher grabbed her phone to call 911 and report the crash, but as she came back out while on her phone she realized Ramos had a gun, department spokesman Travis Considine later said. The teacher removed the rock that had propped open the door, which closed behind her. But the door which is usually closed and locked didnt lock. Witnesses said Ramos jumped from the passenger side of the truck with a rifle and a backpack full of ammunition. After shooting at two men who emerged from a nearby funeral home, Ramos hopped a chain-link fence and headed toward the school still shooting as panicked people nearby called the police. Authorities initially said Ramos exchanged fire with a school police officer before entering the building, but they later said the officer was not actually on campus and sped back upon hearing of the shooter. But the officer initially headed for the wrong man, confronting someone who turned out to be a teacher after passing within feet of Ramos, who was crouched behind a vehicle parked outside the school. ___ From his hiding place, Ramos went for the unlocked door, slipped through it and into adjoining fourth-grade classrooms at 11:33 a.m., authorities said. He rapidly fired off more than 100 rounds. In one of those rooms, Miah Cerrillo, 11, covered herself with a friends blood to look dead, she told CNN. After the shooter moved into the adjacent room, she could hear screams, more gunfire and music being blared by the gunman. Two minutes after Ramos entered the school, three police officers followed him through the same door and were quickly joined by four more. Authorities said Ramos exchanged fire from the classroom with the officers in the hallway and two of them suffered grazing wounds. The first police on the scene were outgunned by Ramos' powerful, high-end rifle, according to a man who watched from a nearby home. After he started firing at the cops, the cops stopped shooting, said Juan Carranza, 24. You could tell the firepower that he had was more powerful than the cops weapons. After shots started ringing out, a cafeteria worker who had just finished serving chicken tacos to 75 third-graders said a woman shouted into the lunchroom: Code black. This is not a drill! The employees didnt know what code black meant but closed blinds, locked the doors and escorted students behind a stage, said the worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid publicity. Some staff then took refuge in the kitchen. In the nearly half-hour after the first officers followed Ramos inside, as many as 19 piled into the hallway, authorities said. In the meantime, students and teachers elsewhere in the building were trying to get out, some climbing out of windows with the help of police. Cazares isn't sure exactly when he arrived on the scene, but when he did, he saw about five officers helping people escape. He kept a close watch to see if Jacklyn, who he later said loved gymnastics, singing and dancing, was among them. About 15 to 20 minutes after he got to the school, he said he spotted officers arriving with heavy shields for the first time. In the chaos, he felt that time was both going so fast and it was was going so slow." But he added: From what I saw, things could have been a lot different." Other parents felt the same. One onlooker recalled a woman yelling at officers, "Go in there! Go in there! ___ At 12:03, a student called 911 and whispered that she was inside the classroom with the gunman. Minutes later, the Uvalde school district posted on Facebook that all campuses were going into lockdown but that the students and staff are safe in the buildings. The buildings are secure. The student called 911 again, minutes after her first call, to say there were multiple dead, and then called back soon after that, saying eight or nine students were still alive. Thirty-four minutes passed from the time of that last call to the moment a U.S. Border Patrol tactical team used a school employee's key to unlock the classroom door and kill the gunman. An open door had let him in. A locked door kept him in, and law enforcement out. ___ Police didn't breach the classroom faster because the commander inside the building the school districts police chief, Pete Arredondo believed the situation had morphed from an active shooting to a hostage situation, said McCraw, of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Officers from other agencies urged the school police chief to let them move in because children were in danger, according to two law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they had not been authorized to discuss the investigation publicly. McCraw said gunfire was sporadic for much of the time that officers waited in the hallway and that investigators do not know if children died during that time. It was the wrong decision, McCraw said. Reporters from The Associated Press tried to speak to Arredondo at his home several times; on one visit, someone answered the door and said the police chief wouldnt talk. He also did not reply to a phone message left at the districts police headquarters. ___ The loss of so many young lives and the admission of errors by police have cast doubt, even for some Second Amendment-supporters in the Texas community, on a refrain the states Republican leaders have used after this and other mass shootings: What stops armed bad guys is armed good guys. Cazares, a gun owner and supporter of the Second Amendment, said he shies away from politics but added that he thinks there should be stricter gun laws, including better background checks. He called selling the type of gun the assailant used to an 18-year-old kind of ridiculous. ___ Cazares left school before officers killed Ramos at 12:50 p.m. He rushed to the hospital because his niece said she'd seen Jacklyn in an ambulance. The entire family soon gathered there, pressing hospital staff for information for nearly three hours. Finally, a pastor, police officer and a doctor met with them. My wife asked the question, Is she alive or is she passed? Cazares said. They were like, No, shes gone. When he was finally able to see his daughter's body, Cazares vowed that her death would not be in vain. Later, he fought back tears as he pondered his daughter's last moments. She could be feisty, he said. It kind of comforts our hearts that she would be one of the ones that was brave and tried to help as much as she could. ___ This story was first published on May 30, 2022 and was updated on May 31, 2022. The Associated Press previously reported, citing the head of the state Department of Public Safety, that a teacher who propped open a door at the school left the door ajar. On May 31, the department said investigators determined that the teacher had propped the door open with a rock, but then removed the rock and closed the door when she realized there was a shooter on campus. Investigators said the door did not lock. ___ Bleiberg reported from Dallas. Associated Press journalists Jim Vertuno and Robert Bumsted in Uvalde, Mike Balsamo in Washington and Stephen Groves in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, contributed to this report. ___ More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting State police to enforce roadside checks in Jersey, Macoupin Illinois State Police will be conducting roadside safety checks in Jersey and Macoupin counties. Molina, Waino honored in Budweiser ad And this isn't the first time a commercial featuring two Cardinals legends. Children's yoga camp poised to start next week A Jacksonville yoga studio will be hosting a set of classes next week for children from 3 to 10... This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden on Wednesday said he was not briefed on the prospect of nationwide shortages of infant formula for about two months, and he acknowledged the strain on families as his administration struggles to address the situation. Yet company executives at a meeting Biden hosted from the White House told the president that they knew the substantial impact that the shutdown of a major production plant in February would have on the U.S. supply almost immediately. They did, but I didnt, Biden told reporters later, saying he was not made aware of the severity until early April. The delay, unexplained by Biden or White House aides, undercut the administration's efforts to demonstrate that he has been on top of a problem that has compounded stress and economic difficulties for families with young children at a time when Americans are already struggling with inflation. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted that the administration began working to address the crisis within days of the plant's closure, but could not explain the delay in raising the issue to Biden. She acknowledged that he is frustrated by the situation. We have been doing this whole of government approach since the recall, she said. We have been working on this for months, for months. We have been taking this incredibly seriously. In recent weeks the government has imported foreign supplies and used the Defense Production Act to speed domestic production of infant formula. But those steps did not begin until mid-May, once retailers began rationing supplies and store shelves were emptying. Theres nothing more stressful than feeling you cant get what your child needs, Biden said, adding that as a father and a grandfather, he understands how difficult the shortages have been for parents and their children. Jean-Pierre said Biden was satisfied with how the Food and Drug Administration has handled the response, though the agency itself has promised to conduct and after-action review of what it described as a deficient effort. The agency's response was too slow and there were decisions that were suboptimal along the way, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf told lawmakers last week. Biden hosted the roundtable with leaders of manufacturers ByHeart, Bubs Australia, Reckitt, Perrigo Co. and Gerber. Notably absence was Abbott Nutrition, whose Michigan plant was shut down in February over safety concerns, leading to the domestic shortage. The White House did not explain why Abbott was not included. The meeting Wednesday was a chance to provide an update on what the administration is calling Operation Fly Formula to import formula and to use the Korean War-era production law to require suppliers to prioritize their orders in a bid to ease bottlenecks. The White House announced the third and fourth round of formula shipments from overseas would begin next week, from producer Kendamil in Britain and from Bubs Australia. The shipments would bring Kendamil formula from Heathrow Airport in London to U.S. airports over a three-week period, starting June. 9. The flights will carry about 3.7 million 8-ounce bottle equivalents, shipped free of charge by United Airlines. The first shipments will include Kendamil Classic Stage 1 and Kendamil Organic formulas, which will be available at Target stores across the United States. And Bubs Australia will ship the equivalent of 4.6 million 8-ounce bottles of its infant formula on Defense Department-contracted commercial aircraft from its hub in Melbourne, Australia, to Pennsylvania and California on June 9 and June 11, respectively. The imports will help but will not immediately bring an end to supply shortages that have left people who depend on formula facing empty shelves or limits on purchases. The Food and Drug Administration began focusing on Abbotts plant last fall while tracking several bacterial infections in infants who had consumed formula from the facility. The four cases occurred between September and January, causing hospitalizations and two deaths. After detecting positive samples of rare but dangerous bacteria in multiple parts of the plant, the FDA closed the facility and Abbott announced a massive recall of its formula on Feb. 17. U.S. regulators and Abbott announced an agreement last month that would help pave the way for reopening the plant, though production has not restarted. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Treats tinged with nostalgia and intense flavors loomed large at this year's Sweets & Snacks Expo, which returned to Chicago for the first time in two years. Organizers moved the trade event formerly known as the Candy Show to Indianapolis in 2021, after canceling the show in 2020 because of the pandemic. An estimated 16,000 attendees were expected at the event held at McCormick Place from May 24 to 26, expo spokesperson Lauren Boland said. They took more than roughly 4 acres to showcase candy and snack innovation. "This is where everyone comes to show off their new innovative products and get together in person to do business," Boland said. Well, not quite everyone. Sweets & Snacks Expo is not open to the public. "It's a business-to-business trade show," Boland said. "What's so critically important about the show is it brings together the manufacturers and the retailers. This is where people get to see the products and make decisions about what heads to store shelves." Some manufacturers at the show, however, sell their products only online. An annual Most Innovative New Product awards program kicked off the expo. Tru Fru frozen strawberries, covered in pink ruby chocolate, won the Best in Show award. They're so new that no samples were available. (While the ruby chocolate variety is so new it isn't even mentioned on the company's website yet, other Tru Fru products are available at Walmart and Walgrees in Jacksonville, according to the website.) "Some of the fun, kind of weird products that I would say we saw were carrots flavored like bacon this year," Boland said. In fact, Carrot Bacon won the Small Business Innovator award for what the company calls plant-based jerky, in Carolina Smoke flavor. Samples of the new barbecue and the original applewood flavors revealed they're not really chewy like jerky, but crunchy like kettle potato chips, with a hint of sweetness from the carrots themselves, and from maple syrup. (The business is based in Canada, after all.) What's perhaps most impressive is that they're air-dried, not fried. "In our state of treating report, we found that people are looking to relive favorite tastes and experiences," Boland said. The report was released by the National Confectioners Association, the trade organization behind the expo. "Especially with the more home-centric lifestyle that we were all in." Flavor intensity is a huge trend this year, she added salty, sweet or hot. Two of the best snacks of the show excelled on the hot and salty side of the flavor-intensity trend. Hattie B's hot chicken skin chips by Flock were inspired not only by the legendary Nashville fried chicken restaurant, but also by the snack company founder's years living in Hong Kong, where chicken skin is prized. They're like pork rinds, but they capture the crackling essence with spiced chicken skin instead. Carolina Reaper chile-and-lime-ridged potato chips by Burts held a bright, elusive heat in thick-cut ridges. They're lovely and nuanced, but not too hot, perhaps because the company is British, a culture not known for bringing the heat. "We found that a lot of people are looking for inspiration through social media too," Boland said. One of the most talked about new products at the show wasn't quite a sweet or snack, but threatened a much hotter Carolina Reaper experience instead. A company called Food Fight Co. debuted challenge games that it hopes will go viral on social media: Ant Eater, with a vial of what's listed in the ingredients as culinary-quality edible black ants, and Reaper Roulette, a gummy bear game. "You roll the dice and they tell you which gummy bear to choose," Boland said. "It might be an insanely hot one, so you never know what you might get." No samples of the ants, which can be found among many culture's cuisines, or Carolina Reaper gummies were available to taste. What was available hit on a "new-stalgia" trend. "Everything that you loved as a kid is back," Boland said. Jelly Belly won the Novelty/Licensed award for its Harry Potter Butterbeer chewy candies. For candy that appeals to kids, they're curiously shaped like frothy steins of beer, albeit with a pleasant butterscotch flavor. Packaging, by the way, held its own importance at the show. The Butterbeer award was specifically for its barrel-shaped tin. . Another example is the packaging for Yowie chocolate surprise-inside eggs, the legal sweet similar to the Kinder Surprise, still banned in this country. The Yowie egg has an open seam in its chocolate so the plastic egg inside is visible. It holds a larger toy, tested so it's not a choking hazard. The milk chocolate is better than you might expect for kids, and the adorable wildlife and endangered species toys have become collectibles. "Manufacturers have really worked to make sure they're meeting the customer where they feel most comfortable and where they want to be met," Boland said. "Whether that's through e-commerce or in person." The expo also puts us on the doorstep of National Candy Month, which is June, Boland said. Today's hearing was supposed to determine whether or not Robert "Bobby" J. Tarr was going to have an attorney moving forward. But the fate of the Collinsville man's representation is delayed another three weeks. David Fahrenkamp, Tarr's defense attorney, filed a motion to withdraw last month citing his retainer and Tarr's handwritten letter and motion to the court but left the discussion for the motion to be addressed June 1. Tarr is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of his ex-girlfriend Leslie Reeves and attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of her date, Chris Smith, in Farmersville last November. Read more: Accused killer left home twice the night of Farmersville homicide Fahrenkamp told the court Wednesday that he and his client "made some efforts to resolve their differences," however the Edwardsville attorney referred to them as "unsuccessful." Tarr, who appeared to be visibly thinner and clean-shaven minus a mustache, responded saying, "I think it's going to slow down the process." He added he and Fahrenkamp "didn't narrow down exact details," but would like more time. Montgomery Circuit Judge Jim Roberts almost proceeded to approve Fahrenkamp's withdrawal telling Tarr, "Any delay would be on you. I'm not inclined to bind him to this." That's when Roberts asked Fahrenkamp if his relationship with Tarr could be fixed. "I don't know how," Fahrenkamp said with a tone of uncertainty. "I'm open to it. I have a desire to help him. I can help him. I don't know what to say." Read more: Questions rise in Farmersville murder case After further discussion, Roberts held off on Fahrenkamp's withdrawal again and given his and the court's schedule, the next available time to have another hearing is Wednesday, June 22, at 1 p.m. The judge reminded Tarr of his options should Fahrenkamp depart to either hire a new attorney, have a new attorney appointed by the court through the public defender, or exercise his right to defend himself. Toward the end of the hearing, Tarr asked for his motion to the court regarding his personal property in evidence to be heard, but Roberts said he would not allow him to call motions while still under representation. Fahrenkamp said he does not have a copy nor has he seen the motion. Hearst Midwest obtained those documents and published them May 5. Keeping Jacksonville-area students and staff safe during the school day is a high priority that has been unhindered by a new law guiding the methods Illinois school districts use when conducting emergency drills. A law passed in 2021 as an amendment to the School Safety Drill Act requires Illinois schools to provide parents with five days notice ahead of any drills, notify staff and students about the drills, and let parents decide if they want their children to opt out of the drills. The law applies to how active-shooter drills are conducted. School safety concerns heightened in the wake of last weeks shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two teachers were killed. Schools are constantly evaluating safety procedures, Jacksonville District 117 school Superintendent Steve Ptacek said. Every time there is an event, it makes organizations examine their practices even if the event is a tornado," he said. "Its an ongoing process. Ptacek said the district has a good relationship with the Jacksonville Police Department and Morgan County Sheriffs Department and have worked together to develop active-shooter plans to prepare staff and students for various scenarios. Jacksonville Police Deputy Chief Chad Moore agreed the relationship with the district is good. We have two resource officers one in the middle school and one in the high school who are good advocates for us with staff and students. We have a great relationship with the alternative schools. I think it has gotten stronger, he said. The drills have received good reviews from staff. Ptacek said he received an email from a staff member who said they were satisfied with the drills and felt safe with the training they received. Waverly Superintendent Andrea Guerrero said the district is always on alert and do building walk-throughs. We have a great partnership with local law enforcement; they are not only engaged on the campus, but they frequently patrol the perimeter of the school area. While Ptacek said there was no change in the number of students participating in drills, Guerrero said more students opted out of the drills than before. If the incident ever did occur then we would have several students who would not have been exposed to the drill or process beforehand, Guerrero said. Most of our lockdown drills are pretty standard, Moore said. Its not intense, no simulations and no role playing. Basically, when the alarm goes off, we make sure kids know where to go, the staff knows what to do and the classrooms get locked down. When Jacksonville police are asked to conduct a drill, they are for staff members only. We might add a blank-firing rifle or some medical training how to apply tourniquets and perform triage, Moore said. A little more intense, but minus the students. Guerrero said Waverly has changed the way it conducts active-shooter drills. It is a talk-through drill. It is a teaching lesson rather than a how to drill. Waverly also practices reverse evacuation. Due to our location, Guerrero said, another concern that we are focused on is chemical spills. Much of the emergency planning is not just for a shooter but it is for all aspects of the environment and specific to the daily hazardous exposures in a community. The shooter in Uvalde was apparently able to gain entrance to the school because a door had been propped open. Ptacek said controlling access is vital and that all Jacksonville schools have a buzz entry system. We do a good job of questioning why people are coming to schools, he said. A parent stopped Ptacek recently and said her spouse goes to other districts where they can just walk into a school and the couple felt better about how Jacksonville limits access. I hope the community understands why we limit access to schools and the importance of limiting access to students, he said. Guerrero said that over the past 10 years there has been a general shift on preparedness. I have a law enforcement background, so I think I am probably hyper-vigilant to begin with, and I know how important it is to be proactive by planning and practicing, Guerrero said. We had a meeting in early May with the Morgan County Emergency Management Team and local law enforcement. We had decided we would be working on practicing drills with parents as well. Its not just the schools that are preparing. Moore said Jacksonville officers go through one day of active-shooting training and one day of scenario-based training where they are in simulated situations. They learn how to stop them, disarm them and take care of students. But its just officers. We dont want to tip our hand to the public with how we deal with these situations, Moore said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate JERUSALEM (AP) Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian woman in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday who they said had approached them while carrying a knife. Another Palestinian was killed as the army went to demolish the family home of an attacker. The military released a photo of what it said was the knife she was carrying. It said the soldiers were patrolling a highway near the Al-Aroub refugee camp in the southern West Bank. No soldiers were wounded. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the woman as Ghafran Warasna and said she was shot in the chest. The Palestinian Prisoners' Club said the 31-year-old had been released from Israeli prison in April after serving three months. An Israeli security official said Warasna was jailed from January to March after attempting to stab an Israeli police officer in the West Bank city of Hebron. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said she attempted to stab the soldier on Wednesday at point-blank range. There were no photos or videos immediately available to confirm the account. The Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate said Warasna had worked on and off as a journalist for more than a decade. Dream Radio, a local station in Hebron, said she was on the way to their studio for a broadcast when she was killed. In a separate incident, at least one Palestinian was killed in or near the northern West Bank town of Jenin, according to the Health Ministry, which did not provide further details. Israeli forces were operating in the nearby village of Yaabed in order to demolish the family home of a Palestinian who methodically gunned down five people in Bnei Brak in March. Such operations often ignite gunbattles between Palestinian militants and Israeli troops. The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jenin has been the epicenter of a recent wave of violence. Israel has carried out near-daily arrest raids in the West Bank amid a string of attacks by Palestinians that have killed at least 19 people. Tensions have soared following the killing in the West Bank of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who worked for Al Jazeera, and an Israeli ultranationalist march through a Palestinian neighborhood in east Jerusalem. Recent weeks have seen at least 35 Palestinians killed by Israel. Some were gunmen killed in fighting with Israel, while others were shot while allegedly throwing stones or firebombs at Israeli troops in the West Bank. But an unarmed woman and at least two people who appear to have been bystanders were also among those killed. Abu Akleh died during an Israeli military raid in the West Bank. The Palestinians say Israeli troops killed her, while Israel says she was caught in the crossfire of a battle and it's not clear if soldiers or Palestinian gunmen fired the deadly bullet. Palestinians have carried out dozens of stabbing attacks in recent years, often against Israeli soldiers. But Israel has also faced criticism from rights groups who say security forces sometimes use deadly force rather than arresting suspected attackers or stop them with nondeadly force. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war and the Palestinians want it to be the main part of their future state. Nearly 3 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule in the territory, alongside a growing population of nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers who have Israeli citizenship. The last serious peace talks broke down more than a decade ago. ___ Associated Press writer Josef Federman contributed to this report. The actions of two white Carroll County residents who reportedly spent months intimidating their Black neighbor are at the basis of the state's first-ever hate crime lawsuit. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced June 1 that his office filed a lawsuit in the 15th Judicial Circuit, Carroll County against Chad Hampton, 45, of Victoria and his mother Cheryl Hampton, 67, of Streator. The complaint lodged by Raoul alleges the two committed a hate crime through intimidation and disorderly conduct. The lawsuit seeks civil penalties and equitable relief. According to a press release from Raoul's office, the "Carroll County States Attorneys office has charged Chad Hampton with criminal destruction of property and Cheryl Hampton with criminal harassment of a witness." Our complaint alleges the defendants intentionally used the shameful history of lynching and racism in America to terrorize and instill fear in their next-door neighbor simply because he is Black," Raoul said. "No one should be subjected to this kind of hate. I am committed to continuing to partner with law enforcement agencies across Illinois to prosecute hate crimes and send a message that hate and bigotry of any kind are not welcome and will not be tolerated. The lawsuit alleges both Hamptons engaged in months of racist behavior aimed at their neighbor, Gregory Johnson. "For instance, the defendants displayed the racial slur, n-----, in front of a Confederate flag in a window directly facing the victims home," the release read. "Raoul also alleges Chad Hampton had previously displayed swastikas in direct view of Johnsons home. Attorney General Raoul alleges the escalating harassment came to a head with the Hamptons using a noose to hang a bound and chained effigy of a Black manmade to resemble Johnson from a tree directly in view of Johnsons home." I looked out of my new home at a Black-faced mannequin shackled and lynched on a tree branch, the N-word scrawled upon a window, and swastikas, Gregory Johnson said in the release. Our American flag was replaced with their Confederate flag. Have we not come any farther than this? This lawsuit is about tearing off the shackles that still restrain us to this day. Its about never giving up on the mission of our United States Constitution. We, as a nation, are better than this. Raoul filed the lawsuit following a hate crime investigation by his office's Civil Rights Bureau and the assistance of Carroll County State's Attorney's office, the city of Savanna, and the Savanna Police Department. According to the release, this is the first time Raoul has utilized the expanded authority that was granted to his office under the Illinois Hate Crimes Act amendment in 2018. The amendment allows for civil lawsuits against perpetrators of hate crimes. Joshua Lott/Getty Images With the flow of his signature, Gov. J.B. Pritzker made the Nursing home rate reform bill a reality. The bill made its way through the Illinois senate rather quickly and then the state house in April before eventually making it to the governor's desk. It will take effect July 1 and will bring $700 million to nursing homes across the state to increase funding in regard to staffing levels. Jacksonville Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Calvin Cave, 57, of 921 W. State St. was arrested at 9:17 p.m. Sunday on a child abduction charge. He was accused of taking his non-custodial child without permission, according to police reports. ACCIDENTS Jarvis L. White, 40, of 411 W. Douglas Ave. was arrested at 8 p.m. Monday on charges of driving while license is suspended, leaving the scene of an accident, and improper lane use. He was accused of driving into the side of Dunlap Court Beverages, 233 Dunlap Court, while trying to park and then leaving the scene. The building sustained minor damage, according to police. THEFTS, BURGLARIES Tool were stolen between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday from a residence in the 1100 block of Illinois Avenue. VANDALISM A semi-trailer truck was damaged during the weekend while parked in the 1100 block of East Morton Avenue. OTHER REPORTS A woman said she was hit with a stick at 8:06 p.m. Sunday while walking in the 600 block of North Main Street. Pike County Sheriff ARRESTS, CITATIONS James A. Reid, 58, of Quincy was booked into Pike County Jail at 6:12 p.m. Thursday on a charge of driving while license is revoked or suspended. Anna M. Sutton, 34, of Quincy was booked into Pike County Jail at 7:31 p.m. May 25 on a parole violation. Heather D. Herrin, 32, of Nebo was booked into Pike County Jail at 7:09 a.m. Saturday on charges of burglary and criminal trespass to a residence. Daniel R. Miller, 48, of Barry was booked into Pike County Jail at 1:27 p.m. Thursday on a third petition for revocation or modification of bond. Brianna L. Higgins, 25, of Griggsville was booked into Pike County Jail at 2:57 p.m. May 24 on a petition to revoke probation. Heather D. Herrin, 32, of Nebo was booked into Pike County Jail at 2:42 p.m. May 24 on charges of unlawful use of an account number or code and unlawful possession of a debit or credit card. Mark S. Tischer, 57, of New London, Missouri, was booked into Pike County Jail at 6:27 p.m. May 24 on a charge of possession of methamphetamine. Pittsfield Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Travis W. Hileman, 48, of Pittsfield was booked into Pike County Jail at 1 a.m. Thursday on a violation of an order of protection. Jaden B. Noble, 22, of Pittsfield was booked into Pike County Jail at 11:25 p.m. Thursday on a battery charge. State police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Guillermo R Ornelas-Marin, 26, address unknown, was booked into Pike County Jail at 8:15 p.m. Sunday on an unspecified arrest warrant. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SHANGHAI (AP) Traffic, pedestrians and joggers reappeared on the streets of Shanghai on Wednesday as Chinas largest city began returning to normalcy amid the easing of a strict two-month COVID-19 lockdown that has drawn unusual protests over its heavy-handed implementation. Shanghais Communist Party committee, the citys most powerful political body, issued a letter online proclaiming the lockdown's success and thanking citizens for their support and contributions." The move came amid a steady rollback in compulsory measures that have upended daily life for millions while severely disrupting the economy and global supply chains. While defending President and Communist Party chief Xi Jinpings hardline zero-COVID" policy, the countrys leadership appears to be acknowledging the public backlash against measures seen as trampling already severely limited rights to privacy and participation in the workings of government. In one such step, the Cabinets Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism issued a letter Tuesday laying out rules banning non-standard, simple and rude indoor disinfection by mostly untrained teams in Shanghai and elsewhere that have left homes damaged and led to reports of property theft. Full bus and subway service in Shanghai was being restored from Wednesday, with rail connections to the rest of China to follow. Still, more than half a million people in the city of 25 million remain under lockdown or in designated control zones because virus cases are still being detected. The government says all restrictions will be gradually lifted, but local neighborhood committees still wield considerable power to implement sometimes conflicting and arbitrary policies. Negative PCR tests for the coronavirus taken within the previous 48 to 72 hours also remain standard in Shanghai, Beijing and elsewhere for permission to enter public venues. That measure didnt deter people in Shanghai from gathering outside to eat and drink under the watch of police deployed to discourage large crowds from forming. With the lockdown lifting, I feel very happy. I feel today how I feel during Chinese New Year that kind of mood and joy," said Wang Xiaowei, 34, who moved to Shanghai from the inland province of Guizhou just a week before the lockdown began. Liu Ruilin, 18, said she wasn't sure her building's security guard would let her and others out on Tuesday night. The restriction ended exactly at midnight, she said. Then we said, Lets go to the Bund to have fun,'" she said in the city's historic riverside district. We thought there wouldnt be too many people here, but we were surprised after coming over that a lot of people are here. I feel pretty good quite excited." Schools will partially reopen on a voluntary basis, and shopping malls, supermarkets, convenience stores and drug stores will gradually reopen at no more than 75% of their total capacity. Cinemas and gyms will remain closed. Health authorities on Wednesday reported just 15 new COVID-19 cases in Shanghai, down from a record high of around 20,000 daily cases in April. A few malls and markets have reopened, and some residents have been given passes allowing them out for a few hours at a time. The lockdown has prompted an exodus of Chinese and foreign residents, with crowds forming outside the citys Hongqiao Railway Station, where only some train services have resumed. Even while the rest of the world has opened up, China has stuck to a zero-COVID strategy that requires lockdowns, mass testing and isolation at centralized facilities for anyone who is infected or has been in contact with someone who has tested positive. The countrys borders also remain largely closed and the government has upped requirements for the issuance of passports and permission to travel abroad. At least half of foreign companies in Shanghai are waiting until next week to reopen while they put in place hygiene measures, said Bettina Schoen-Behanzin, a vice president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. As a precaution, many companies plan to have only half their workforce on site at a time. There is still quite some uncertainty and a scare that if there is a positive case in the office building or in your compound, you might be locked down again, said Schoen-Behanzin, who works in Shanghai. The strict restrictions in Shanghai, the countrys commercial capital and home of the worlds busiest port, dragged down Chinese economic activity and disrupted global manufacturing and trade. Retail sales fell by a worse-than-forecast 11% in April from a year earlier, government data show. Auto sales fell by almost half from a year earlier, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Private sector forecasters have cut their estimates for this years economic growth to as low as 2%, well below the ruling Communist Partys target of 5.5%. Some expect output to shrink in the three months ending in June. The economy is really in a crisis, said Schoen-Behanzin. The Port of Shanghai, the worlds busiest, appears to be back to 80% to 85% of its normal operating capacity, according to Schoen-Behanzin. She cited data that said the port had a backlog of 260,000 cargo containers in April. The rest of the world will feel these delays probably (through) June or July, she said. The city will likely see a mass exodus of foreign residents this summer, especially families with small kids, Schoen-Behanzin said. She said about half of Shanghais foreign residents had already left over the past two years. People are really fed up with these lockdowns, she said. Its not safe, especially if you have small children. ___ Associated Press Business Writer Joe McDonald contributed to this report from Beijing. ___ This version has corrected the timing on PCR tests to a range rather than only 48 hours before being permitted to enter a public venue. The Mexican Pizza is back for good, once the company restocks on supplies, according to its Twitter announcement May 31. On the official Taco Bell Twitter page, the company admits the love for the fan-favorite is greater than anticipated. "Turns out we underestimated how many of you love Mexican Pizza," the tweet read. "7x more than we expected, to be exact. We are working as fast as we can to restock Mexican Pizza ingredients. We'll need some time to replenish our supplies, but when it comes back, we promise it's here to stay." Late last week the company announced it was postponing Mexican Pizza: The Musical, which was going to star Dolly Parton, who has a self-professed love for the Mexican Pizza, along with rap artist Doja Cat, who was outspoken in calling for the Mexican Pizza's return. Doja Cat and Parton, were two of many fans calling for the item's return. One "super fan" Krish Jagirdar started an online petition, that garnered more than 170,000 signatures to bring back the pizza. Taco Bell was obviously well aware of the petition because shortly after issuing the press release, it responded to the Change.org post reiterating the return of the Mexican pizza. "Wow. You did it. All 171,735 of you. You saved Mexican pizza," the response read. "So, thank you. Thank you for your signatures and support. Thank you for every comment, tweet, and request. Thank you to Krish Jagirdar for never giving up on Mexican pizza and starting this petition. And to our team members, were sorry for every time youve had to answer "when is Mexican Pizza coming back?"" Taco Bell also said rewards members were promised a "mysterious IOU from back in February during that big-sports-game-were-not-legally-allowed-to-mention" and announced the reward would be a Mexican pizza, which made its scheduled, triumphant return May 19. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate In the hours and days following the fatal shooting of 19 children and their two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, authorities gave shifting and at times contradictory information of what happened and how they responded. The investigation of the massacre is ongoing, but much is already known about the nearly two hours that passed between when authorities say Salvador Ramos shot his grandmother and when police radio traffic indicated that the 18-year-old gunman was dead and the siege was over. TIMELINE Sometime after 11 a.m. Ramos shoots his grandmother in the face, according to Texas Public Safety Director Steve McCraw. Gilbert Gallegos, 82, who lives across the street from Ramos and his grandmother, heard a shot as he was in his yard. He runs to the front and sees Ramos speed away in a pickup truck and Ramos' grandmother coming toward him pleading for help. Covered in blood, She says, Berto, this is what he did. He shot me, according to Gallegos, whose wife calls the police to report the shooting. 11:27 a.m. Video shows a teacher, whom authorities haven't publicly identified, propping open an exterior door of the school, McCraw said. 11:28 a.m. Ramos crashes the pickup into a drainage ditch behind the school, McCraw said. Two men at a nearby funeral home hear the crash and run out to see what happened. They see Ramos jump out of the passenger side carrying an AR-15-style rifle and a bag full of ammunition. The men run and Ramos fires at them but doesn't hit them. One of the men falls but both make it back to the funeral home. The teacher who propped open the door meanwhile runs inside to grab her phone so she can call 911 and report the crash but as she comes back out while on her phone she realizes Ramos has a gun, according to Department of Public Safety spokesman Travis Considine. She removes the rock that had propped open the door and it closes behind her, but the door does not lock, Considine said. 11:30 a.m. 911 receives a call saying there was a crash and a man with a gun at the school, McCraw said. 11:31 a.m. Ramos begins shooting at the school from the school parking lot as police cars begin to arrive at the funeral home, McCraw said. Ramos then makes his way around the school building. The school district police officer who was working that day wasn't on campus around this time, contrary to previous reports, McCraw said May 27. The officer drives to the school immediately after getting the 911 call and approaches someone at the back of the school who he thought was the gunman. As the officer sped toward the man, who turned out to be a teacher, McCraw said the officer drove right by the suspect who was hunkered down behind" a vehicle. 11:32 a.m. Ramos fires multiple shots at the school and then makes his way toward the unlocked door, officials said. 11:33 a.m. Five minutes after crashing the pickup, Ramos enters the school and begins shooting into two adjoining classrooms, 111 and 112, McCraw said. He fires more than 100 rounds. 11:35 a.m. Three city police officers enter the school through the same door that Ramos used and are later followed by four other officers, McCraw said, putting a total of seven inside the building. Two officers receive grazing wounds from Ramos, McCraw said. 11:37 a.m. Gunfire continues, with 16 rounds being shot in total, McCraw said. Its unclear who fired the shots. 11:51 a.m. A police sergeant and other law enforcement begin to arrive, McCraw said. 12:03 p.m. A female (age unknown) calls 911 and whispers that shes in classroom 112, McCraw said. The call lasts 1 minute, 23 seconds. 12:03 p.m. Officers continue to enter the school, with as many as 19 officers in the hallway near the room where Ramos is holed up, McCraw said. 12:06 p.m. Anne Marie Espinoza, a spokeswoman for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, posts on the district's Facebook page: All campuses are under a Lockdown Status. Uvalde CISD Parents: Please know at this time all campuses are under a Lockdown Status due to gunshots in the area. The students and staff are safe in the buildings. The buildings are secure in a Lockdown Status. Your cooperation is needed at this time by not visiting the campus. As soon as the Lockdown Status is lifted you will be notified." "Thank you for your cooperation!" 12:10 p.m. The female (age unknown) who called 911 at 12:03 p.m. calls 911 again and says there are multiple dead, McCraw said. She calls again at 12:13 p.m. and then again at 12:16 p.m., when she says there are eight to nine students alive. 12:10 p.m. The first group of deputy U.S. marshals from Del Rio arrive from nearly 70 miles (113 kilometers) away to assist the various other law enforcement officers already on scene, according to the Marshals Service. 12:15 p.m. U.S. Border Patrol tactical team members arrive with shields, McCraw said. 12:19 p.m. Another girl in room 111 calls 911 and ends the call when a fellow student tells her to hang up, McCraw said. 12:21 p.m. Ramos fires his gun again and officers believe hes at one of the door of one of the adjoining classrooms, McCraw said. Police move down the hallway. 12:21 p.m. Three shots can be heard during a 911 call, McCraw said. Around this time, police are stuck in the hallway because both classroom doors are locked and they must seek keys from a school employee. 12:36 p.m. A child calls 911 for 21 seconds. Around this time, a girl calls 911 and is told to stay on the line and stay very quiet, McCraw said. The girl says, He shot the door. 12:43 p.m. The girl urges the 911 dispatcher to please send the police now. 12:46 p.m. The girl says she can hear the police next door. 12:47 p.m. She again asks 911 to please send the police now. 12:50 p.m. Officers open the doors with keys from a school employee, enter the classroom and kill Ramos, McCraw said. Shots can be heard over the 911 call. 12:51 p.m. Officers can be heard moving children out of the room, McCraw said. 12:58 p.m. Law enforcement radio chatter says Ramos has been killed and the siege is over, said Victor Escalon, regional director for the Texas Department of Public Safety. ___ For more AP coverage of the Uvalde school shooting: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate UVALDE, Texas (AP) The blame for an excruciating delay in killing the gunman at a Texas elementary school even as parents outside begged police to rush in and panicked children called 911 from inside has been placed with the school district's homegrown police chief. It's left residents in the small city of Uvalde struggling to reconcile what they know of the well-liked local lawman after the director of state police said that the commander at the scene Pete Arredondo made the wrong decision last week not to breach a classroom at Robb Elementary School sooner, believing the gunman was barricaded inside and children werent at risk. Steven McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said at the Friday news conference that after following the gunman into the building, officers waited over an hour to breach the classroom. Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the shooting. Arredondo, who grew up in Uvalde and graduated from high school here, was elected earlier this month to the Uvalde City Council. A special City Council meeting for him and two re-elected incumbents to take their oaths of office had been set for Tuesday evening, but Mayor Don McLaughlin said Monday that the meeting wouldn't be held. Then the mayor issued a Tuesday evening statement saying no ceremony had been held, but the members were sworn in Tuesday. The 50-year-old Arredondo has spent much of a nearly 30-year career in law enforcement in Uvalde, returning in 2020 to take the head police job at the school district. When Arredondo was a boy, Maria Gonzalez used to drive him and her children to the same school where the shooting happened. He was a good boy, she said. He dropped the ball maybe because he did not have enough experience. Who knows? People are very angry," Gonzalez said. Another woman in the neighborhood where Arredondo grew up began sobbing when asked about him. The woman, who didn't want to give her name, said one of her granddaughters was at the school during the shooting but wasn't hurt. Juan Torres, a U.S. Army veteran who was visibly upset with reports coming out about the response, said he knew Arredondo from high school. You sign up to respond to those kinds of situations Torres said. If you are scared, then dont be a police officer. Go flip burgers. After his election to the non-salaried spot on the City Council, Arredondo told the Uvalde Leader-News earlier this month that he was ready to hit the ground running. I have plenty of ideas, and I definitely have plenty of drive, he said, adding he wanted to focus not only on the city being fiscally responsible but also making sure street repairs and beautification projects happen. At a candidates forum before his election, Arredondo said: I guess to me nothing is complicated. Everything has a solution. That solution starts with communication. Communication is key. McCraw said Friday that minutes after the gunman entered the school, city police officers entered through the same door. Over the course of more than an hour, law enforcement from multiple agencies arrived on the scene. Finally, officials said, a U.S. Border Patrol tactical team used a janitors key to unlock the classroom door and kill the gunman. McCraw said that students and teachers had repeatedly begged 911 operators for help while Arredondo told more than a dozen officers to wait in a hallway. That directive which goes against established active-shooter protocols prompted questions about whether more lives were lost because officers didnt act faster. Two law enforcement officials have said that as the gunman fired at students, law enforcement officers from other agencies urged Arredondo to let them move in because children were in danger, The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they had not been authorized to talk publicly about the investigation. In his Monday statement, McLaughlin, the Uvalde mayor, pushed back on officials claims, including remarks made over the weekend by Texas lieutenant governor, that they werent told the truth about the massacre. McLaughlin said in that statement that local law enforcement hadn't made any public comments about the investigation's specifics or misled anyone. But in his Tuesday statement, McLaughlin, noting that emotions are raw, and hearts are broken," said he misunderstood" statements he thought Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had said. Arredondo started out his career in law enforcement working for the Uvalde Police Department. After spending 16 years there, he went to Laredo, a border city located 130 miles (209 kilometers) miles to the south, where he worked at the Webb County Sheriff's Office and then for a local school district, according to a 2020 article in the Uvalde Leader-News on his return to his hometown to take the school district police chief job. The school district's board of trustees approved his appointment to the spot. According to the Uvalde school district's website, the police force led by Arredondo also has five other officers and a security guard. Ray Garner, the police chief of the district in Laredo where Arredondo worked, told the San Antonio Express-News in a story published after the Uvalde shooting that when Arredondo worked in the Laredo district he was easy to talk to" and was concerned about the students. "He was an excellent officer down here, Garner told the newspaper . Down here, we do a lot of training on active-shooter scenarios, and he was involved in those. Arredondo, who spoke only briefly at two short news conferences on the day of the shooting, appeared behind state officials speaking at news conferences over the next two days, but was not present at McCraws Friday news conference. After that news conference, members of the media converged at Arredondo's home and police cruisers took up posts there. Arredondo has not responded to multiple requests for comment from The Associated Press. At one point, a man answering the door at Arredondo's house told a reporter for The Associated Press that Arredondo was indisposed. The truth will come out, said the man before closing the door. On Tuesday, Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Arredondo had not responded to DPS interview requests for two days, Considine said. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat whose district includes Uvalde, said on CNNs State of the Union on Sunday that he's asking a lot of questions after so many things went wrong. He said one family told him that a first responder told them that their child, who was shot in the back, likely bled out. So, absolutely, these mistakes may have led to the passing away of these children as well, Gutierrez said. Gutierrez said while the issue of which law enforcement agency had or should have had operational control is a significant concern of his, he's also suggested to McCraw "that its not fair to put it on the local (school district) cop. At the end of the day, everybody failed here," Gutierrez said. ___ Associated Press writer Stengle contributed from Dallas, and also contributing were Curt Anderson in Miami, Jim Vertuno in Austin, Mike Balsamo in Washington and Elliott Spagat in Uvalde. ___ More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/school-shootings Produce and Bakery Giveaway: 9 a.m., noon, Jacksonville Food Center, 316 E. State St. Free | For Morgan County residents. Story Time: 10 a.m., Jacksonville Public Library, 201 W. College Ave. Free | Stories and a craft. For more information, call 217-243-5435 or email clangdon@jaxpl.org. Free Noon Meal: 11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m., The Salvation Army, 331 W. Douglas Ave. | Meals in to-go containers can be picked up at side door. Brown Bag Lunch in the Park: Noon-1 p.m., Art Zeeck Park, Beardstown. Meals $3, includes drink and dessert. | Every Wednesday in June. Music by Robert Sampson. 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. Community Walking Group: 3:30 p.m., Boyd Hospital Wellness Center, Eighth and School streets, Carrollton. Free for wellness center members, $1 for non-members. | For more information and to sign up, all Dawn at 217-942-6946, extension 1352. County Line Dance Club Class: 6:30 p.m., The Hangout Bar & Grill, 901 W. Superior Ave. $5. Bible Talk:7 p.m., Jenkins Education Complex, 409 Hardin Ave. | Sign language interpretation available. For more information, call Dana Jacobsen at 224-422-0217 or Kamela LiaBraaten at 309-415-1933. Thursday Farmers Market: 7 a.m.-noon, Pathway Plaza, 1905 W. Morton Ave. Prices vary. | Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday through Oct. 31. Link cards accepted. Produce and Bakery Giveaway: 9 a.m.-noon, Jacksonville Food Center, 316 E. State St. Free | For Morgan County residents. Blood Drive: 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Jacksonville Police Department, 200 W. Douglas Ave. | To donate, contact Courtney Glass 217-479-4630 or go to bloodcenter.org and use code 60161. Free Noon Meal: 11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m., The Salvation Army, 331 W. Douglas Ave. | Meals in to-go containers can be picked up at side door. Walking for Wellness: 12:30-3 p.m., First Christian Church, 2106 S. Main St. Free | Indoor walking program offered year-round Monday-Thursday. For more information, call 217-243-6445. Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen: 3:30-4 p.m., Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen, 105 E. Dunlap St. Free | Serving meals to go for anyone in need. Central Park Market: 4-8 p.m., south side of square, downtown Jacksonville. Prices vary. | Extended business hours for local businesses. First Thursday of the month through September. If interested in being a vendor, email centralparkjaxil@gmail.com. Poetry Open Mic: 7 p.m., Soap Co. Coffee House, 207 S. Sandy St. Free | Read or listen to poetry. Masks preferred. For more information call 217-742-5777 or email robertseufert@frontier.com. First Thursday of each month. "An Officer and a Gentleman": 7:30 p.m., UIS Performing Arts Center, 1 University Plaza, Springfield. $24-$89 | Based on the Oscar-winning film. For tickets and information, go to uispac.com or call 217-206-6160. In the wake of every mass killing in this country, politicians do what politicians do, which is to circle their respective wagons and offer solutions that fail to get to the heart of the issue. I dont have a dog in the gun control fight. We already have laws on the books that are designed to prevent criminals from possessing firearms. If Congress wants to strengthen those laws and ban so-called assault weapons or high-capacity magazines, fine. But keep in mind there are plenty of firearms already in circulation. To be sure, there are immediate steps we can and should take. Author David French, in his column for the Dispatch, made a case red flag laws, which essentially would allow for, within certain parameters, the seizing of weapons of a person who demonstrates hes a threat to others or himself. It would also prevent the person from buying additional weapons. You would think this is a measure on which everyone could agree. Mass shooters almost always leave a trail. According to police, the Uvalde, Texas, shooter sent a series of messages: "Im going to shoot my grandmother," "Ive shot my grandmother," and then: "Im going to shoot an elementary school," In the aftermath of the shooting, much of the political and media attention was devoted to as it always is the method of killing rather than to the killer himself. It seems, at the least, naive to believe that someone hell bent on mass murder will fail to follow through on his crime if he doesnt have access to a certain type of firearm. Violent criminals tend to be resourceful. The question is, Why do mass killings happen? Looking at how they were carried out or which type of weaponry was used, while not irrelevant, will only get us so far. I just returned from Germany and Poland, where another professor and I took students on what the university calls the Human Dignity tour, in which we examine, among other things, the relationship between the Holocaust as a historical event and modern, contemporary issues related to human life. We toured three concentration camps, Sachsenhausen and Ravensbruck in Germany, and Auschwitz in Poland. Our discussions with students and our guides organically led not so much to how these murders were committed but why. What leads human beings to have such little regard for their fellow human beings that they are willing to participate in their wholesale slaughter? Some 77 years after the Holocaust, this still seems to be the question of the moment. The answer begins with the biblical but counter-cultural assertion that human beings are not inherently good. Anyone who disagrees I would urge to consider the evidence, which can be found in any newspaper. If we begin with the premise that mankind is flawed and in need of salvation, how does such a premise inform our discussion on mass killings, suicides and violence currently playing out major American cities? Study after study indicates that young Americans are lonelier than ever. A U.S. Centers for Disease Control survey during the height of the pandemic in 2020 found that some 63% of young people, ages 18-24, are suffering significant symptoms of anxiety or depression. Between 2007 and 2018, suicide rates among young people ages 10 to 24 increased by 57%, according to a report by the U.S. Surgeon General. We dont know what combination of factors led the Uvalde shooter to commit his terrible crime. We can ban all the weapons we want but unless we commit to making sense of these numbers, and combine that understanding with measures such as red flag laws and enhanced backgrounds checks, well have little chance of intervening before evil and opportunity meet. Judge: No speck of proof in Palins libel case against NYT Judge: No speck of proof in Palins libel case against NYT View Photo NEW YORK (AP) The judge who presided over Sarah Palins libel case against The New York Times denied her request Tuesday for a new trial, saying she failed to introduce even a speck of evidence necessary to prove actual malice by the newspaper. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff made the assertion in a written decision as he rejected post-trial claims from Palins lawyers. Her attorneys had asked the judge to grant a new trial or disqualify himself as biased against her, citing several evidentiary rulings by Rakoff that they said were errors. Those ranged from how the questioning of jurors occurred during jury selection, to how jurors were instructed when they asked questions during deliberations. In actuality, none of these was erroneous, let alone a basis for granting Palin a new trial, the judge said. Rakoff wrote that regardless of her post-trial motions, Palin was required at a trial earlier this year to show that an error in a published editorial was motivated by actual malice a requirement in libel lawsuits involving public figures. And the striking thing about the trial here was that Palin, for all her earlier assertions, could not in the end introduce even a speck of such evidence, he said. Lawyers for Palin declined to comment on Rakoffs ruling. A spokesperson for the Times, Charlie Stadtlander, said in a statement, We are pleased to see the courts decision, and remain confident that the judge and jury decided the case fairly and correctly. The libel lawsuit by Palin, a one-time Republican vice-presidential candidate and former governor of Alaska, centered on the newspapers 2017 editorial falsely linking her campaign rhetoric to a mass shooting, which Palin asserted damaged her reputation and career. The Times acknowledged their editorial was inaccurate, but said it quickly corrected the errors they called an honest mistake never meant to harm Palin. Rakoff announced in February even before a jury completed its deliberations that he intended to dismiss the lawsuit because Palin had failed to show that the Times acted out of malice. Jurors themselves rejected Palins lawsuit the next day. Rakoff said he thought it was fair to all parties not to wait for the jurys verdict because he had already decided as a matter of law that the Palin hadnt proven her case. Her attorneys cited the timing of Rakoffs announcement as one more reason a new trial should be ordered. By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press Biden says US sending medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine View Photo WASHINGTON (AP) The Biden administration announced on Tuesday that it will send Ukraine a small number of high-tech, medium-range rocket systems, a critical weapon that Ukrainian leaders have been begging for as they struggle to stall Russian progress in the Donbas region. The rocket systems are part of a new $700 million tranche of security assistance for Ukraine from the U.S. that will include helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, tactical vehicles, spare parts and more, according to two senior administration officials. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the weapons package that will be formally unveiled on Wednesday. The U.S. decision to provide the advance rocket systems tries to strike a balance between the desire to help Ukraine battle ferocious Russian artillery barrages while not providing arms that could allow Ukraine to hit targets deep inside Russia and trigger an escalation in the war. In a guest essay published Tuesday evening in The New York Times, President Joe Biden confirmed that hes decided to provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine. Biden had said Monday that the U.S. would not send Ukraine rocket systems that can strike into Russia. Any weapons system can shoot into Russia if its close enough to the border. The aid package expected to be unveiled Wednesday would send what the U.S. considers medium-range rockets they generally can travel about 45 miles (70 kilometers), the officials said. The Ukrainians have assured U.S. officials that they will not fire rockets into Russian territory, according to the senior administration officials. One official noted that the advanced rocket systems will give Ukrainian forces greater precision in targeting Russian assets inside Ukraine. The expectation is that Ukraine could use the rockets in the eastern Donbas region, where they could both intercept Russian artillery and take out Russian positions in towns where fighting is intense, such as Sievierodonetsk. Sievierodonetsk is important to Russian efforts to capture the Donbas before more Western arms arrive to bolster Ukraines defense. The city, which is 90 miles (145 kilometers) south of the Russian border, is in an area that is the last pocket under Ukrainian government control in the Luhansk region of the Donbas. Biden in his New York Times essay added: We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia. Its the 11th package approved so far, and will be the first to tap the $40 billion in security and economic assistance recently passed by Congress. The rocket systems would be part of Pentagon drawdown authority, so would involve taking weapons from U.S. inventory and getting them into Ukraine quickly. Ukrainian troops would also need training on the new systems, which could take at least a week or two. Officials said the plan is to send Ukraine the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, which is mounted on a truck and can carry a container with six rockets. The system can launch a medium-range rocket, which is the current plan, but is also capable of firing a longer-range missile, the Army Tactical Missile System, which has a range of about 190 miles (300 kilometers) and is not part of the plan. Since the war began in February, the U.S. and its allies have tried to walk a narrow line: send Ukraine weapons needed to fight off Russia, but stop short of providing aid that will inflame Russian President Vladimir Putin and trigger a broader conflict that could spill over into other parts of Europe. Over time, however, the U.S. and allies have amped up the weaponry going into Ukraine, as the fight has shifted from Russias broader campaign to take the capital, Kyiv, and other areas, to more close-contact skirmishes for small pieces of land in the east and south. To that end, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pleading with the West to send multiple launch rocket systems to Ukraine as soon as possible to help stop Russias destruction of towns in the Donbas. The rockets have a longer range than the howitzer artillery systems that the U.S. has provided Ukraine. They would allow Ukrainian forces to strike Russian troops from a distance outside the range of Russias artillery systems. We are fighting for Ukraine to be provided with all the weapons needed to change the nature of the fighting and start moving faster and more confidently toward the expulsion of the occupiers, Zelenskyy said in a recent address. Ukraine needs multiple launch rocket systems, said Philip Breedlove, a retired U.S. Air Force general who was NATOs top commander from 2013 to 2016. These are very important capabilities that we have not gotten them yet. And they not only need them, but they have been very vociferous in explaining they want them, said Breedlove. We need to get serious about supplying this army so that it can do what the world is asking it to do: fight a world superpower alone on the battlefield. U.S. and White House officials had no public comment on the specifics of the aid package. We continue to consider a range of systems that have the potential to be effective on the battlefield for our Ukrainian partners. But the point the president made is that we wont be sending long-range rockets for use beyond the battlefield in Ukraine, State Department Ned Price said Tuesday. As the battle has shifted its dynamics, we have also shifted the type of security assistance that we are providing to them, in large part because they have asked us for the various systems that are going to be more effective in places like the Donbas. Russia has been making incremental progress in the Donbas, as it tries to take the remaining sections of the region not already controlled by Russian-backed separatists. Putin has repeatedly warned the West against sending greater firepower to Ukraine. The Kremlin said Putin held an 80-minute telephone call Saturday with the leaders of France and Germany in which he warned against the continued transfers of Western weapons. Overall, the United States has committed approximately $5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration, including approximately $4.5 billion since the Russia invaded on Feb. 24. ___ AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee and Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press Report: China bars Russian airlines with foreign planes View Photo BEIJING (AP) China has barred Russias airlines from flying foreign-owned jetliners into its airspace, the Russian news outlet RBK reported, after President Vladimir Putin threw the aircrafts ownership into doubt by allowing them to be re-registered in Russia to avoid seizure under sanctions over Moscows attack on Ukraine. The European Union, home to major aircraft leasing companies, banned the sale or lease of aircraft to Russian carriers in February. Putin responded by approving the re-registration measure in March, which prompted suggestions foreign owners may never recover planes worth billions of dollars. Chinas air regulator asked all foreign carriers last month to update ownership information and other details, RBK said, citing two unidentified sources. It said Russian airlines that couldnt provide documents showing their aircraft were de-registered abroad were barred from Chinese airspace. The Civil Aviation Administration of China didnt immediately respond to a request for confirmation and details of the decision. President Xi Jinpings government said in February it has a no limits friendship with Moscow but has tried to distance itself from Putins war. Beijing has criticized Western sanctions but appears to be avoiding steps that might be seen as helping Moscow for fear of possible penalties against Chinese companies. CAIRO (AP) A pipeline rupture in Libya is spewing thousands of barrels of oil into the desert, as workers scramble to seal off the leak, authorities said Wednesday. The damage to a land pipeline linking the Sarir oil field to the Tobruk terminal on the Mediterranean was the latest blow to Libyas struggling oil industry, as renewed tensions again divide the chaos-stricken country. The Arabian Gulf Oil Company, which operates the pipeline, estimates that some 22,000 barrels a day were being lost from the leak, which started Tuesday. It posted footage of the spill and said efforts to stop it were still underway. The company, which is an affiliate of the state-run National Oil Corporation and based in the eastern city of Benghazi, blamed lack of pipeline maintenance for the leakage. The spill comes as crucial oil facilities including the countrys biggest field were still closed amid a political impasse that threatens a return of violence. Libyas prized light crude has long featured in the North African countrys civil war, with rival militias and foreign powers jostling for control of Africas largest oil reserves. Libya has been wrecked by conflict since the NATO-backed uprising-turned-civil war toppled and later killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. BY SAMY MAGDY Associated Press ISTANBUL (AP) Turkey will no longer hold high-level talks with neighboring Greece, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday amid rising tensions between the traditional rivals. Ankara resumed negotiations with Athens last year following a five-year break to address differences over a range of issues such as mineral exploration in the eastern Mediterranean and rival claims in the Aegean Sea. We broke off our high-level strategy council meetings with Greece, Erdogan told a meeting of his partys lawmakers in Ankara, adding: Dont you learn any lessons from history? Dont try to dance with Turkey. The talks had made little headway, but were a means for the two countries to air out their grievances without resorting to a potential armed standoff as had occurred as recently as two years ago. Erdogans pivot on the talks appeared to have been triggered last week when he signaled his displeasure at comments made by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during a trip to the U.S. Erdogan said Mitsotakis no longer exists for him after accusing the Greek leader of trying to block Turkeys acquisition of F-16 fighter planes. Erdogan also commented on Turkeys objection to Sweden and Finland joining NATO. Ankara has complained the Nordic states harbor terror suspects and arm a group in Syria it accuses of being an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK that has waged a 38-year insurgency inside Turkey. NATO is a security organization, not a support organization for terrorist organizations, he said. The U.S. and EU have categorized the PKK as a terror group. However, its Syrian wing, the Peoples Protection Units, or YPG, has played a leading role in the U.S.-led fight against the Islamic State group. Erdogan said those who tried to legitimize the PKK with letter tricks were deceiving themselves, not us. The president added that Turkey would not change its stance on the Swedish and Finnish NATO application without seeing binding documents demonstrating a hardened approach to those Ankara considers terrorists. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson told a news conference in Stockholm that shes looking forward to further constructive meetings with Turkey to sort out any issues or misunderstandings that there might be. Sweden has a significant Kurdish diaspora and most of Ankaras complaints about support for terrorists seem directed there. Finland, meanwhile, has a Kurdish-speaking population of around 15,000. Regarding a new cross-border military operation in Syria, Erdogan said Turkey was entering a new phase in its goal to create a 30-kilometer (19-mile) buffer zone south of the frontier. The territory is controlled by a Syrian Kurdish administration and Ankara says it has been used to launch attacks on Turkey. Erdogan singled out the towns of Tall Rifat and Manbij as targets Turkey will be clearing of terrorists. Both lie west of the Euphrates river while the main Kurdish-controlled region is to the east. - Karl Ritter in Stockholm, Sweden, contributed to this report. ANDREW WILKS Associated Press Pakistan sends 50-member team to Kabul to discuss cease-fire View Photo ISLAMABAD (AP) Pakistans government on Wednesday sent a 50-member delegation of tribal elders to Kabul to negotiate an extension of a truce with the Pakistani Taliban that expired this week, two security officials said. Talks between the two sides that led to cease-fires in the past have been mediated by the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP are a separate group but allied with the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in their country last August, as the U.S. and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout from Afghanistan. The TTP has been behind numerous attacks in Pakistan over the past 14 years and has long fought for stricter enforcement of Islamic laws in the country, the release of their members who are in government custody and a reduction of Pakistani military presence in the countrys former tribal regions. The development comes after the latest cease-fire expired on Tuesday. A similar truce between the TTP and Pakistan, brokered by the Afghan Taliban last November, lasted a month. However, none of the cease-fires have paved the way for a more permanent peace agreement. Both sides have remained silent about earlier talks in Kabul, the sticking points between them and also about the chances of an extension to the latest cease-fire. Analysts say a more permanent deal could be possible if either side is willing to show flexibility on what is or isnt acceptable to them. Two senior TTP members who are close to the negotiations also confirmed the arrival of the 50-member team in Kabul. They told The Associated Press that a truce extension is linked to a positive response from the Pakistani government. They declined to elaborate and like the two security officials, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media about the negotiations. There was no official comment from the Pakistani government or the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban often use neighboring Afghanistans rugged border regions for hideouts and for staging cross-border attacks into Pakistan. They have been emboldened by the return to power of the Afghan Taliban, who last ruled Afghanistan in the late 1990s when they imposed their harsh edicts and interpretation of Islamic law, severely restricting the rights of women and minorities. In Pakistan, the TTP insurgency has been centered in the remote former tribal region, now province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, bordering Afghanistan. Mahmood Shah, a Pakistani security analyst, said the Islamabad government sent tribal elders to Kabul as intermediaries because under Pakistans constitution, the government cannot negotiate at least not directly with those waging an insurgency against it. Pakistani authorities want an extension of the cease-fire in order to continue the talks, he said. Shah served as a local official in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when the military launched operations there after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, closely liaising between the military and the government side, which allowed for first-hand knowledge of operations against the TTP and other militant groups. The negotiations in Kabul are difficult, he told the AP, because for the military, any government-level talks with TTP are equal to converting the military victory into a defeat. Pakistani officials say the talks with the TTP are being overseen by Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, a former Pakistani spy chief who is now the top commander in the northwest. According to the two TTP members, the group asked Pakistani elders during Wednesdays meeting in Kabul to scrap a 2018 law that did away with the semi-independent status of the former tribal regions that dates back to British colonial rule. Islamabad is unlikely to give in to such a demand as the law paved the way for granting equal rights to millions of residents in the restive areas once they were incorporated into Pakistans authority as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. TTP also wants Pakistani troops to pull out of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, release all the TTP fighters in government custody and revoke all the legal cases against them. Pakistan has demanded the TTP disband, accept Pakistans constitution and sever all its ties with the Islamic State group, another Sunni militant group with a regional affiliate that is active in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. ___ Associated Press writers Rahim Faiez in Islamabad and Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report. By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press Texas police: School door shut but didnt lock before attack View Photo An exterior door at Robb Elementary School did not lock when it was closed by a teacher shortly before a gunman used it to get inside and kill 19 students and two teachers, leaving investigators searching to determine why, state police said Tuesday. State police initially said a teacher had propped the door open shortly before Salvador Ramos, 18, entered the school in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24. They have now determined that the teacher, who has not been identified, propped the door open with a rock, but then removed the rock and closed the door when she realized there was a shooter on campus, said Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety. But, Considine said, the door that was designed to lock when shut did not lock. We did verify she closed the door. The door did not lock. We know that much and now investigators are looking into why it did not lock, Considine said. Investigators confirmed the detail through additional video footage reviewed since Fridays news conference when authorities first said that the door had been left propped open. Authorities did not state at that time what had been used to prop open the door. Considine said the teacher initially propped the door open but ran back inside to get her phone and call 911 when Ramos crashed his truck on campus. She came back out while on her phone, she heard someone yell, He has a gun!, she saw him jump the fence and that he had a gun, so she ran back inside, removing the rock when she did, Considine said. Steve McCraw, the head of DPS, hadnt said why the teacher initially propped open the door when it was first detailed Friday. The first mention of a door left propped open, which officials now say didnt happen, led to questions about the teachers actions and whether she had made a horrific mistake. Since the shooting, law enforcement and state officials have struggled to present an accurate timeline and details of the event and how police responded, sometimes providing conflicting information or withdrawing some statements hours later. State police have said some accounts were preliminary and may change as more witnesses are interviewed. San Antonio attorney Don Flanary told the San Antonio Express-News that the Robb Elementary School employee, whom hes not naming, first propped open the door to carry food from a car to a classroom, and that she immediately moved to close it when she realized the danger. She kicked the rock away when she went back in. She remembers pulling the door closed while telling 911 that he was shooting, Flanary told the newspaper. She thought the door would lock because that door is always supposed to be locked, Flanary said. Flanary did not immediately return telephone messages left at his office from The Associated Press. Investigators are also still trying to interview Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo, who state police have said was the commander of the school shooting scene while it happened. Arredondo has not responded to multiple requests for comment from The Associated Press. McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, has said Arredondo treated the active scene as a hostage situation and as if children were no longer at risk, while 19 police officers waited in the school hallway outside the classroom where Ramos was. McCraw called that the wrong decision, saying the focus of the investigation has shifted to Arredondo and the police response. Other officers in the Uvalde city and schools police departments continue to sit for interviews and provide statements, but Arredondo has not responded to DPS requests for two days, Considine said. Later Tuesday, the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas, which represents police officers, urged its member officers to cooperate with all government investigations into the shooting and police response and endorsed a federal probe already announced by the Justice Department. The organization was also sharply critical of the constantly changing narrative of events that has emerged so far. There has been a great deal of false and misleading information in the aftermath of this tragedy. Some of the information came from the very highest levels of government and law enforcement, CLEAT said. Sources that Texans once saw as iron-clad and completely reliable have now been proven false. ___ More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting By JIM VERTUNO Associated Press BUFFALO, Minn. (AP) A man accused in a shooting attack on a Minnesota medical clinic that killed one staff member and wounded four others last year refused to look at the survivors Tuesday as they described their pain and terror. Gregory Ulrich is being tried on charges of murder, attempted murder and other counts in the Feb. 9, 2021, shooting at the Allina Health Clinic in Buffalo, a small city about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest of Minneapolis. Ulrich sat attentively at the table with his lawyers through the first two weeks of trial. This time he laid his head on a courtroom table and wrapped his arms around it as victims took the stand. He didnt look up through two hours of testimony, the Star Tribune reported. Before the jury was brought in, Ulrich told Wright County District Judge Catherine McPherson that he was in great pain and would prefer to lie down outside the courtroom. Pain is the most powerful drug. I might as well be on heroin. Im all mixed up and I need some pain medication so I can talk and think about it, Ulrich said. McPherson ordered Ulrich to remain in the courtroom, where the first to testify was Jennifer Gibson, a medical assistant at the clinic. She shared an office space with Lindsay Overbay, a medical assistant who died in the attack. Gibson said she heard a loud metallic bang around 10:55 that morning and looked down the hallway to see a man with a gun. She heard more bangs and ran outside, where she lay on the ground, bleeding from a gunshot wound in her thigh, and played dead in temperatures around 5 below zero. Antonya Fransen-Pruden, a registered nurse, walked to the witness stand with a slight limp, a lingering effect of being shot in the back during the attack. She was in the lobby when she and a coworker were shot. As she dragged herself under a desk, she heard the gunman call 911 and tell the dispatcher to send a lot of ambulances. There are a lot of spinal injuries and I have bombs that are about to go off. Fransen-Pruden spent 10 days in the hospital being treated for injuries to her spine, colon, ovaries and Fallopian tubes. She still has a bullet in her pelvis. Prosecutors say Ulrich was angry about his medical treatment at the clinic. Court records allege Ulrich has mental health and substance abuse problems. After the two victims testified, prosecutors played two short videos made by Ulrich in December 2020, about six weeks before the attack. Theyre gonna find out what happens when they mess with a good Christian man, Ulrich said in one of the videos. You picked on the wrong person. Buffalo supermarket gunman indicted on terror, hate charge View Photo BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) The white man accused of killing 10 Black people in a racist attack on a Buffalo supermarket was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday on a state domestic terrorism and hate crime charge that would carry a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Payton Gendron is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday on the new, 25-count indictment, which builds on a previous murder charge hastily prepared in the hours after the May 14 shooting. The 18-year-old has now also been charged with the attempted murders of three people who were shot during the attack, but survived, and with using a weapon while committing a felony. He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors had told a judge May 20 the grand jury had voted to indict Gendron but did not disclose charges, saying proceedings were ongoing. Gendrons attorney, Brian Parker, said he had not seen the indictment and could not comment, adding that prosecution and defense attorneys have been barred by a judge from discussing the case publicly. The horrific nature of the crime and number of victims was likely to already guarantee a life sentence if Gendron is convicted. New York has no death penalty. But adding a state terrorism charge could carry additional emotional resonance and help authorities send a message about violent extremism. The domestic terrorism charge Domestic Acts of Terrorism Motivated by Hate in the First Degree accuses Gendron of killing because of the perceived race and/or color of his victims. This man was motivated by hate against people he never met for no reason other than the color of their skin, said Buffalo lawyer John Elmore, who represents the families of victims Katherine Kat Massey, 72, and Andre Mackniel, 53. Elmore said he hoped for a conviction on every count. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed the domestic terrorism hate crime law in August 2019, in the wake of a mass shooting targeting Mexicans at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas. The measure, dubbed the Josef Neumann Hate Crimes Domestic Terrorism Act after an attack at a rabbis home in Munsey, New York, was signed into law on April 3, 2020, and took effect Nov. 1, 2020. The law expanded on a previous domestic terrorism statute passed after the 9/11 terrorist attack that was largely envisioned as a way to go after international extremism. Prosecutors said Gendron drove about three hours to Buffalo from his home in Conklin, New York, intending to kill as many Black people as possible. Shortly before the attack he posted documents that outlined his white supremacist views and revealed he had been planning the attack for months. The gunman, carrying an AR-15-style rifle he had recently purchased, opened fire on Saturday afternoon shoppers at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo. Murder charges were filed for each of the victims, who ranged in age from 32 to 86 and included eight customers, the store security guard and a church deacon who drove shoppers to and from the store with their groceries. The shooting, followed 10 days later by a mass shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers inside a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school, has renewed a national debate about gun control. Mackniel was in the store to buy a birthday cake for his 3-year-old. Massey was a community activist who had championed gun control and fought against racism, Elmore said. To have her life taken away by a white supremacist extremist at the hands of a weapon of mass destruction is extremely upsetting to me, he said. He is part of a team of attorneys exploring potential legal action against the manufacturers of the weapon and body armor used by the gunman, as well as social media platforms. The attack was livestreamed from a helmet-mounted camera. Somehow were going to find justice for the Massey family, for the Mackniel family and all those others that were affected by this tragedy, Elmore said. Federal authorities also are investigating the possibility of hate crime charges against Gendron, who apparently detailed his plans and his racist motivation in hundreds of pages of writings he posted online shortly before the shooting. Amanda Drury, who lost her 32-year-old sister, Roberta Drury, said she is leaving it to the legal system to say what charges are appropriate in the case. Im going to continue with my trust in the justice system, she said. ___ Associated Press writers Michael Sisak and Jennifer Peltz contributed from New York. By CAROLYN THOMPSON Associated Press FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) Three juveniles are facing charges after authorities linked them to a small brush fire on the west side of Flagstaff, police said. Investigators determined that the discharge of a flare gun started the fire that was extinguished within hours on May 24. People in the community, including classmates and a parent, provided information that led to the identification of the suspects, police told the Arizona Daily Sun. The school district police chief who served as on-site commander during last week's deadly shooting in Uvalde, Texas, said Wednesday that he's talking daily with investigators, contradicting claims from state law enforcement that he has stopped cooperating. In a brief interview, Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo told CNN that he's speaking regularly with Texas Department of Public Safety investigators. "Ive been on the phone with them every day, Arredondo said. The chief has been the focus of ire in the community and beyond over allegations that he delayed sending officers into the school on May 24, believing that the gunman was barricaded inside adjoining classrooms and the shooting had morphed into a hostage situation. Nineteen children and two teachers died in the attack at Robb Elementary School, the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade. Funerals began this week, and U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona attended Wednesday's services for teacher Irma Garcia, who was killed in the attack, and her husband, Joe Garcia, who died of a heart attack two days later. The district announced Wednesday that students and staff would not return to that campus, though plans were still being finalized on where the less than 600 students would attend classes in the fall. Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez said Wednesday that his office is working with state and federal agencies to request upwards of $45 million in federal funding for the school. According to the U.S. Department of Education, its School Emergency Response to Violence, known as Project SERV, funds short-term education-related services to help educational facilities recover from a violent or traumatic event in which the learning environment has been disrupted. Gutierrez said he is unaware of any plans to tear down Robb Elementary but that funds obtained through the program by other schools have traditionally been used to rebuild. State officials have said police waited for more than an hour outside the classroom where Salvador Ramos, 18, opened fire, despite repeated pleas from children calling 911 for help. At one point there were as many as 19 officers in the hallway, Steven McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said. Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin told media outlets in a Wednesday interview that hed arrived at the funeral home across the street from the school about 15 minutes after the first call came that Ramos had crashed his truck nearby. McLaughlin said that while at the funeral home, he was standing near an official he identified only as the negotiator. He said that person unsuccessfully tried to reach the gunman via cellphone. His main goal was to try to get this person on the phone, McLaughlin said in the interview with Telemundo San Antonio and The Washington Post. They tried every number they could find, but the gunman did not pick up the phone. Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Tuesday that Arredondo had not responded to DPS requests for two days, while other officers in the Uvalde city and schools police departments continue to sit for interviews and provide statements. Arredondo has not responded to multiple requests for comment from The Associated Press. Considine told AP Wednesday that Arredondo had not responded to Texas Rangers' requests for follow-up interviews as of Tuesday. The Texas Rangers the investigative arm of the Department of Public Safety that focuses on major crimes have not commented on Arredondos insistence he was in regular touch with DPS. The Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas, which represents police officers, has urged its members to cooperate with all government investigations into the shooting and police response, and endorsed a federal probe by the Justice Department. The confusing and sometimes contradictory information released in the week since the deadly shooting continued Tuesday with the revelation that the exterior door used by the gunman was not left propped open by a teacher, as police previously said. They have now determined that the teacher, who has not been identified, propped the door open with a rock, but then removed the rock and closed the door when she realized there was a shooter on campus, Considine said. But, Considine said, the door that was designed to lock when shut did not lock. Since the shooting, law enforcement and state officials have struggled to present an accurate timeline and details of the event and how police responded, sometimes providing conflicting information or withdrawing statements hours later. State police have said some accounts were preliminary and could change as more witnesses are interviewed. On Wednesday, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the state to conduct in-person school district security audits, including random, unannounced intruder detection visits to campuses to find weak points and how quickly they can penetrate buildings without being stopped. This will improve accountability and ensure school districts are following the plans they create, Abbott said in a letter to the head of the Texas School Safety Center at Texas State University. Texas has more than 1,200 school districts, according to the Texas Education Agency. Abbott also asked top lawmakers to convene a legislative committee to examine and make recommendations on school safety, mental health, social media, police training, firearm safety and more. The next Texas legislative session is scheduled for January 2023, although some lawmakers have urged Abbott to call a special session in response to the shooting. After previous mass shootings at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Santa Fe High School and a Walmart in El Paso, Abbott convened roundtable discussions, sometimes involving survivors and victims families. After the 2018 shooting at Santa Fe High School, lawmakers in 2019 approved $100 million for schools to improve campus safety with metal detectors, vehicle barriers, shooter alarms systems and other safety measures. They also allowed more teachers to carry guns on campus and be trained in campus shooter response. But Abbott and state lawmakers resisted calls for stricter gun ownership measures. In 2021, Abbott signed into law a measure that allows people 21 and older to carry handguns without a license or training. In Uvalde on Wednesday, Ramos mother was denied service at the drive-thru. Adriana Reyes then walked into an adjacent convenience store where the cashier said she would not be served. She declined to speak with an Associated Press reporter on the scene, saying: I dont want to be rude but I dont want to say anything. ___ More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting ___ Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press writers Adriana Gomez Licon in Uvalde; Jake Bleiberg in Dallas; and Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report. May 21 Police responded to the 1000 block of Denver St. on May 21. Upon arrival, officers received a report of two people entering a residence and assaulting someone inside. A theft was reported at the 2200 block of W. 19th St. on May 21. A 26-year-old man was arrested on May 21 at the 1000 block of W. 5th St. during a traffic stop conducted for defective equipment. The odor of marijuana prompted a probable cause search. A firearm was located in plain view. The driver did not have a license to carry and was arrested and charged for unlawfully carrying a weapon. May 22 An assault was reported at the 910 block of W. 28th St. on May 22. A hit-and-run crash was reported at the 1000 block of N. I-27. Vehicle damage was reported. Shoplifting was reported at the 600 block of W. 24th St. on May 22. A burglary was reported on May 22 at the 710 block of Elm St. May 23 A 13-year-old was arrested on May 23 at the 200 block of Beech St. Officers were dispatched to the location in reference to a suspicious person. The teen was found to have a THC vape pen and was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance, which is a felony. Burglary of a vehicle was reported on May 23 at the 2800 block of W. 4th St. Another burglary of a vehicle was reported at the 200 block of S. Floydada. A stolen vehicle was reported at the 1600 block of Galveston St. on May 23. A theft was reported at the 310 block of W. 5th St. on May 23. A suspicious person was reported on May 23 at the 2600 block of Dimmitt Road. Burglary of a vehicle was reported on May 23 at the 220 block of Beech St. A terroristic threat was reported at the 1100 block of Thunderbird St. on May 23. Police arrested 28-year-old Dustin Scott Zambrano on May 23 at the 910 block of S. Columbia. Zambrano was charged with possession of a controlled substance, which is a felony, as well as outstanding warrants including one for criminal trespass, two for theft of property, unauthorized absence from a community correction facility and another for evading arrest/detention with a vehicle, which is also a felony. May 24 A 30-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man were arrested on May 24 at the 400 block of W. 28th St. during a traffic stop. The warrants included two charges for failure to maintain financial responsibility and one for display of an expired license plate/expired registration. A theft was reported at the 400 block of W. 5th St. on May 24. A crash resulting in vehicle damage was reported at the 210 block of N. Broadway on May 24. A hit-and-run resulting in vehicle damage was reported at the 3900 block of Olton Road on May 24. A stolen vehicle was reported on May 24 at the 910 block of W. 28th St. A crash resulting in vehicle damage was reported at the 1800 block of Ennis. Gambling was reported at the 1000 block of W. 5th St. on May 24. The American Legion Unit 260 of Plainview and the city of Plainview hosted a Memorial Day ceremony at the Plainview cemetery Monday morning to recognized fallen veterans. The ceremony included a guest speech by veteran Carl Hartman who spoke of the importance of remembering what the day stands for memorializing those who are no longer here. SHANGHAI, June 1 -- Chinas military health service troops have completed the mission of pandemic prevention and control in Shanghai recently and started to pull back from the city successively. USAA has grown to be one of San Antonio's largest companies since it was first founded in 1922, so much that it is not colloquially known as United Services Automobile Association. From USAA Bank to USAA Life Insurance, the company now offers various insurance and financial services through several companies under the USAA name. As the company celebrates 100 years in operation in San Antonio and across the world, MySA looked to the company's online timeline and Express-News archives to highlight some of its big milestones. Express-News File Photo 1920s United Services Automobile Association is founded in San Antonio in June 1922 when 25 Army officers come together to insure each other's automobiles. William Garrison becomes the first president. Courtesy photo / The History Factory Maj. Walter Moore purchases vehicle insurance and becomes the first member that same year. Courtesy of The History Factor 1930s After USAAs membership doubles to 30,000 in 1931, the then insurance company hires its first woman, Stuart Gwyn, to its management team in 1934. Courtesy/Courtesy photo 1950s In 1952, USAA opens an office in Frankfurt, Germany and starts writing international policies. Consuelo Kerford would then become USAAs first executive officer in 1956. 1960s The growing insurance giant starts offering homeowners insurance in 1962 and then starts offering life insurance with the creation of USAA Life Co. the following year. USAA would also serve its millionth member, Officer Candidate Eugene Butel, in 1969. WILLIAM LUTHER/EN 1970s The 70s were a big era of change for USAA, which opens the decade with the formation of USAA Fund Management Co. in 1970, providing mutual fund services. USAA then opens its current corporate headquarters at 9800 Fredericksburg Road in 1976 and the company reaches $1 billion in assets in 1977. The company also starts toll-free phone service to members in the U.S. Scott Sines/San Antonio Express-News 1980s USAA Federal Savings Bank opens in 1983 and the USAA Volunteer Corps is also created to organize employee volunteer efforts in the community. Staff file art 1990s Eligibility is extended to enlisted service members in 1996 and USAA launches its website in 1999 so members can take care of business online. Kin Man Hui / Staff photographer 2000s USAA is now a giant company that expands to retired military members and their families in 2008. The company then extends that to all men and women currently serving or have served in military as well as their families in 2009. Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer 2010s and today In 2017, USAA serves over 12 million members with a net worth of $31 billion. The company then selected Wayne Peacock as the new CEO in 2020. Peacock becomes the first CEO without a military background. Now the company has expanded to a large office in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2021. The company now employs over 36,000 employees globally. B. Kay Richter If you have dearly missed spending your nights out at La Botanica, the former vegan food and lesbian bar headquarters of the St. Mary's Strip, then you're going to want to keep an open calendar on June 17. The popular venue known for its drag nights, community events, and queer inclusivity is popping up for one night only this Pride Month. Since closing its brick-and-mortar in October 2020, the minds behind La Botanica have hosted several other ephemeral events, including the Cactus Blossom Mission heritage Dinner and "Friyay" in Peacock Alley. After a long hiatus, this months celebratory jaunt, Suenos de la Botanica, will take place at local pop-up haven Brick at Blue Star, from 6 to 11 p.m. DFW Airport Facebook Travelers making their way through Dallas-Fort Worth Airport's Terminal C on Wednesday will be greeted by the sight of a newly opened stretch of gates with modern touches. The outer shell of the large addition was built off-site and delivered via heavy tractor transports in September 2021, according to The Dallas Morning News' Kyle Arnold. The space features raised 16-foot ceilings, arching wooden furniture and fabricated trees dotted with lights. Windows at the gates will be dimmable on hot days with sustained direct sunshinepart of an effort to add comfort to the heavily trafficked terminal, according to DFW Airport Infrastructure and Development EVP Khaled Naja. GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) A man has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to criminal homicide and other charges in a three-day crime spree in western Pennsylvania last year that included the ambush and murder of a couple in the driveway of their home. Victor Steban, 54, of North Huntingdon pleaded guilty Wednesday in Westmoreland County to more than 30 criminal charges in seven separate cases for crimes in May 2021 that included the shooting deaths of Jacob Erdeljac, 40, and Mara Casale, 27, in the driveway of their Penn Township home, the Tribune-Review reported. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Texas Governor Greg Abbott is requesting a special legislative committee to examine and develop solutions on mental health, social media, police training, firearm safety, and more. The call comes after a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24. Abbott announced in a news release on Wednesday, June 1, how he sent a joint letter to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Speaker Dade Phelan. He stated Texas legislative leaders must come together to provide solutions to protect all Texans. At noon on Tuesday, May 31, the Texas branch of the American Federation of Teachers and other organizations gather at the AFL/CIO building on Lavaca Street in downtown Austin. It's hot 90 degrees and rising and the labor organizers, students, and teachers assembled are riled up under the oppressive Texas sun. They are set to march down to the J.J. Pickle Federal Building the site of Senator Ted Cruz's office in protest of his and other Texas politicians' response to the Robb Elementary shooting in Uvalde. On Friday, May 27, Cruz spoke at the NRA convention in Houston, where he exclaimed, "gun bans do not work." Education Austin president Ken Zarifis rails against Cruz and other Texas lawmakers who have pondered putting the responsibility of future school shootings on teachers by arming them in the classroom. He believes that even a few years ago, Texas Governor Greg Abbott was lucid in his thinking about the issue of gun control in the state. "But the gun lobby's pressure kept him from doing what was right," Zarifis says. "I still want to believe that in his heart, Governor Abbott knows what is right. But his political will is not there." Chris O'Connell/MySA As Zarifs finishes his speech, protesters file out of the building. They're holding signs, poignant, funny, and heartbreaking. One man holds a failing report card for Cruz; another a sign that reads: "It's the guns stupid." As they begin walking, they start chanting. "What do we want?" one protestor yells. "Safe classrooms!" the crowd screams back. "When do we want it?" the first protestor continues. "Now!" they shout. Chris O'Connell/MySA The assembled crowd of about 50 marches two blocks east to the steps outside the gate of the Texas State Capitol, where a vestigial portion of last week's vigil remains. Aside rotting flowers, kicked-over candles, and photos of those killed at Robb Elementary, AFT president Zeph Capo speaks. "We've watched time and time again, as Greg Abbott buckles to Dan Patrick," he says, to an audible boo. "And as Dan Patrick buckles to the NRA." Booing in unison. Then it's more call-and-response. "Who will stand up for families in Texas?" Capo asks. "We will!" a few folks exclaim. ''Who will stand up for kids in Texas, who will stand up for every one of us that has the right to live and breathe in this state without the fear of losing your life or going to school?" Capo continues. "We will!" the crowd roars. After a 21-second moment of silence for the 19 children and two teachers killed in Uvalde, the crowd moves together under the oppressive Texas sun to its final destination: Cruz's office. An Austin woman named Melissa Seal tells me that she's originally from Castroville, a small town located between Uvalde and San Antonio. Her mother is a teacher, as are some of her cousins, and they're all some mixture of confused and furious over the notion from lawmakers that they should arm themselves against school shooters. "They feel like they've been left behind, that their government, their representatives have abandoned them," she says. "We're all pissed, and it shouldn't be this way." Chris O'Connell/MySA At the Pickle Building, a "shame on you" chant crescendos as protesters hold their signs high above their heads. The chant gives way to "shame on Cruz!" Capo speaks again, mentioning that most Texans want sensible gun control, which is supported by a June 2021 UT Austin poll that found that 71% of people at least "somewhat support" universal background checks on all gun purchases. Speaking of the teachers he represents, he says, "They do not want to be armed. Add in police duties, add in the consideration that a gun could harm one of their students. That is too much to bear." On weapons like the AR-15-style rifle that the Uvalde shooter used on May 24, Capo is unequivocal. "A weapon that does nothing but kill human beings," he says. "We have to protect our kids and not the rights of the NRA and others who have their vanity weapons and who make the profits off the backs of our children." He implores Cruz and other Texas representatives to get back to Washington, D.C. and figure something, anything out, even if it's a measure not everyone agrees with. A chant of "do your jobs!" breaks out, and gets so loud that security meets Capo at the door. He is told that the protestors cannot all enter the building without a permit, but that he can present the letter at a different entrance. As he disappears to enter the building with some students, a local woman named Emily Timms tells me that she's there in solidarity with the teachers union. The executive director of Workers Defense Project, a statewide organization that advocates on behalf of low-wage workers, she says that she's marching both as a parent and as a labor partner. "This is now a very real job hazard that educators have to face," Timms says. "That's a really terrible reality to face." Chris O'Connell/MySA Timms says that state and federal officials have the power to make these working and learning conditions safer for teachers and students, but that they keep skirting the issue and coming up with other solutions. "Arming teachers is not the answer," she says. "We really need safe schools, and we deserve them." As Capo emerges from the building, he tells me that Cruz's staff met him and a few students in the lobby to accept their letter. He says it was gratifying to have parents want their children to participate in the march and be part of the democratic process of peaceful demonstration. "I'm not quite sure that the staffers in Senator Cruz's office felt the same way," he laughs. "I think that they were just doing a perfunctory job of taking the letter." Capo says that Abbott, Cruz, and other Texas representatives have harkened back to talking points like mental health and arming teachers, while cutting funding for mental health services and schools. "I don't think any of it's legitimate," he says, just after the crowd disperses. "But you know, I wouldn't put it past people like Cruz and others to believe their own bulls**t." Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller appeared on MSNBC Tuesday morning, May 31, saying that the nation is out of touch with reality, making "guns an idol." Garcia-Siller led a memorial mass on Sunday, May 29, that was attended by President Joe Biden during his visit to Uvalde in light of the massacre at Robb Elementary School on May 24. He spoke to Morning Joe co-host Willie Geist about meeting with the families of the 19 kids who were shot and killed by an 18-year-old gunman. Garcia-Siller told Geist that in the end, the continued problem of mass shootings can only be solved by amending gun laws. Arjon Tabatabai, a concert promoter and owner of the long-running Arjon's International Nightclub, died on Saturday, May 28, his family announced on Facebook last weekend. He was 69. His family and friends remember him as a pioneer in concert promotion and a rare individual. For more than 27 years, Tabatabai managed Arjon's International Club. Located on the Northeast Side, the club is known for its original Tex-Mex genre, including multiple styles of Latin music like salsa, merengue, and bachata. Established in 1995, Arjon's International Club became an established venue for top artists. In 1998, the San Antonio Current called Arjon's, "a classy establishment that seamlessly blends an upscale atmosphere with a heavy helping of kitschy funsomewhat of an international music hall of fame." In 2001, Latina magazine named the club one of the Top 10 international music venues in the United States. Arjon's was also nominated in 2013 in the best nightclub category by the San Antonio Nightlife Awards. Additionally, Billboard magazine featured Tabatabai on the front page of its publication for his executive producer work on the benefit CD and concert "Canta a la Vida," which featured an all-star cast of Tex-Mex musicians. For his work on the CD, San Antonio's Univision recognized Tabatabai with a PuraVida Lifetime Achievement award, according to his family. In 2017, the San Antonio Public Library also did a video biography interview on Arjon's International Club for shaping the culture of Texas through food and music. During his time as a club owner and promoter, Tabatabai brought in top-selling and well-known recording artists, such as Nick Cannon, the Coasters, India, Oscar D'Leon, Mazz, and Pedro Fernandez to the club or area concert venues, according to his family. Friends have said Tabatabai has made a lasting impression in his social and professional circles due to his sincerity and kind-heartedness. Arjon's International Club "Arjon is one of those rare individuals that if we are fortunate enough to meet them, our lives are forever the better for it," Chris Morris, President and General Manager for Univision San Antonio, told the family. "Arjon made sure everyone that he came into contact with felt special and appreciated. I am proud to call him a friend, and seek to live my life as he showed me best." Tabatabai, a native of Southwestern Iran, came to the United States in 1966 to join his brothers, who were already living in Dallas. For more than 50 years, Tabatabai and his brothers, Ali and Beajen, have operated award-winning four-star restaurants in Dallas and San Antonio such as Arthur's, PJ's, and Ruffino's. He believed in giving back to the community and produced major fundraising events at the club such as "Canta La Vida," "Healing the Children," and "We Are the Mighty." All benefited the military. Tabatabai is survived by his wife Mahvash, children Arjon Jr., Mahriam Dunlap, and Ryan Tabatabai; grandchildren Reo and Kirea Titus and Eva Dunlap, and brothers Ali, Manoucher, and Beajen Tabatabai. Update: 9:38 a.m., Thursday, June 2: The San Antonio Police Department is still investigating the possible home invasion where a 14-year-old boy was shot and killed on the city's Northside. Officials said the incident occurred just after 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 31 in the 100 block of Agnes Drive. When authorities arrived, they found the teen with an apparent gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead on the scene. Witnesses told police an unknown person entered the residence where the teen was through a rear window. The intruder then shot the boy and fled. However, investigators believe there were discrepancies in statements from the witnesses due to evidence found at the scene. It's unclear what those discrepancies are at this time. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 1 of 5 Ken Branca Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Ken Branca Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Ken Branca Show More Show Less 5 of 5 SAPD has not released the identity of the teenager or any suspects. The investigation remains ongoing. Original story: San Antonio police are investigating a possible home invasion where a 14-year-old was shot and killed on the city's Northside, according to the authorities. The incident occurred just after 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 31 in the 100 block of Agnes Drive, near Olmos Park. According to the authorities, they found the teen inside the home with a critical gunshot wound. Paramedics began life-saving measures but he was pronounced dead on the scene. Officials are still trying to sort out details of what happened inside the home. They believe it might have stemmed from a home invasion. It's unclear if any suspects are detained as of Wednesday morning. Investigators say another juvenile was also in the house when the shooting happened. Police are investigating and are expected to release additional details by Wednesday morning. Check back for more details. On May 16, San Antonio police Chief William McManus responded to a scene where a 15-year-old shot and killed another teenager on the city's West Side. He said an argument led the teen to shoot the other, stressing how people are using guns way too often to resolve altercations. He has said more and more shootings are occurring across the country, tweeting the same day of the incident, "It's happening coast to coast." "Stop settling these arguments with a firearm," McManus said to the media, "I don't understand why it's happening. It's a new way to settle arguments." Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for the city of Uvalde on Tuesday, May 31, to increase access to state resources, a news release from the governor's office announced. The declaration was made one week after a school shooting shattered the small Texas community and left 21 dead, including 19 students and two teachers. The community of Uvalde has been left devastated by last weeks senseless act of violence at Robb Elementary School and should not have to encounter any difficulty in receiving the support needed to heal, Abbott says in the release. This disaster declaration frees up the many resources available through the State of Texas and local jurisdictions to continue providing much needed support to all who were impacted and work in the community unencumbered by regulations unnecessary to respond to this tragedy." Dario Lopez-Mills/AP The Uvalde Police Department and the Uvalde CISD Police Department are reportedly no longer cooperating with the Texas Department of Public Safety's investigation into the mass shooting at Robb Elementary, according to law enforcement sources that told ABC News. A spokesperson with DPS also told KVUE that Uvalde CISD Police Chief Pete Arredondo has not responded to the Texas Rangers in two days for a follow-up interview from his initial statement immediately after the mass shooting. Pedro "Pete" Arredondo, the Uvalde CISD police chief taking flak for his handling of the Robb Elementary School shooting, contradicts reports that he and his department are not cooperating with an investigation being led by state officials. On Tuesday, Arredondo told Shimon Prokupecz, a reporter with CNN, that he is cooperating with DPS officials examining the police response to the shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead. "Just so everybody knows, we've been in contact [with] DPS every day," Arredondo tells Prokupecz. "I have been on the phone with them every day." DPS officials confirmed on Tuesday, May 31, the Uvalde Police Department and the Uvalde CISD Police Department were no longer cooperating with the investigation and that Arredondo stopped responding to Texas Rangers. Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag Prokupecz also asked Arredondo, who oversaw law enforcement at the scene of the shooting, if he would respond to DPS Director Steven C. McCraw's public comments that Arredondo made "the wrong decision" by prematurely telling officers under his command it was no longer an active shooter situation. McCraw told reporters at a May 27 press conference that Arredondo claimed his belief that no more children were at risk, despite repeated 911 calls being received from students locked in the room with the gunman. Prokupecz confronted Arredondo as he was entering UCISD's offices through the back door, pressing the police chief to respond to families. "We're not going to release anything. We have people in our community being buried," Arredondo told Prokupecz. "Whenever this is done when the families quit grieving, then we'll do that." UCISD Superintendent Dr. Hal Harrell told families in a letter Tuesday that students and staff will not return to Robb Elementary School, but did not say where these students will go next school year or what would happen with the building. "We are working through plans on how to serve students on other campuses and will provide that information as soon as it is finalized," Harrell said in the letter. Harrell wrote that the school district is also looking at what improvements can be made to UCISD's other campuses. Yves here. I hate to sound like my usual knee-jerk contrarian self, but my experience is that the ads I get on the Web are wild misfires. So my assumption is that, contrary to this articles assumption that our tech overlords are geniuses at figuring out who we are, maybe even more psychologically than demographically, and then manipulating us, that they are instead at most good at hitting the hot buttons of particular segments that are also big priorities for advertisers, like teenaged boys and girls. While the plural of anecdote is not data, the persistent and wild misfires in my ad offerings say that the algos arent what they are cracked up to be. A list of the ones I get most often: Survivalist food packs. A travel site. An app for better parenting. An app for managing spending. A bedtime drink to treat Type II diabetes (BTW that is making a medical claim.why is that even legal?). How to make six figure a month as a Christian kingdom builder. A home buying site. Mens t-shirts. HIV antivirals. Oh, and a pitch for donating to Ukraine. As you can imagine, none of these have the potential to sway me. So count me as unimpressed with Big Techs influence skills. As for getting girls and women depressed, thats not as hard as you think. Long before the days of the Internet, researchers ascertained that looking at a fashion magazine was a downer for women because they fell short of the glamorous photos. By Lynn Parramore, Senior Research Analyst at the Institute of New Economic Thinking. Originally published at the Institute for New Economic Thinking website Google. Amazon. Facebook. Apple. We live within the digital worlds they have created, and increasingly theres little chance of escape. They know our personalities. They record whether we are impulsive or prone to anxiety. They understand how we respond to sad stories and violent images. And they use this power, which comes from the relentless mining of our personal data all day, every day, to manipulate and addict us. University of Tennessee law professor Maurice Stuckeis part of a progressive, anti-monopoly vanguard of experts looking at privacy, competition, and consumer protection in the digital economy. In his new book, Breaking Away: How to Regain Control Over Our Data, Privacy, and Autonomy, he explains how these tech giants have metastasized into data-opolies, which are far more dangerous than the monopolies of yesterday. Their invasion of privacy is unlike anything the world has ever seen but, as Stucke argues, their potential to manipulate us is even scarier. With these four companies massive and unprecedented power, what tools do we have to effectively challenge them? Stucke explains why current proposals to break them up, regulate their activities, and encourage competition fall short of whats needed to deal with the threat they pose not only to our individual wallets and wellbeing, but to the whole economy and to democracy itself. Lynn Parramore: The big firms that collect and traffic in data data-opolies you call them why do they pose such a danger? Maurice Stucke: People used to say that dominant companies like Google must be benign because their products and services are free (or low-priced, like Amazon) and they invest a lot in R&D and help promote innovation. Legal scholar Robert Bork argued that Google cant be a monopoly because consumers cant be harmed when they dont have to pay. I wrote an articlefor Harvard Business Review revisiting that thinking and asking what harms the data-opolies can pose. I came up with a taxonomy of how they can invade our privacy, hinder innovation, affect our wallets indirectly, and even undermine democracy. In 2018 I spoke to the Canadian legislature about these potential harms and I was expecting a lot of pushback. But one of the legislators immediately said, Ok, so what are we going to do about it? In the last five or six years, weve had a sea change in the view towards the data-opolies. People used to argue that privacy and competition were unrelated. Now theres a concern that not only do these giant tech firms pose a grave risk to our democracy, but the current tools for dealing with them are also insufficient. I did a lot of research and spoke before many competition authorities and heard proposals they were considering. I realized there wasnt a simple solution. This led to the book. I saw that even if all the proposals were enacted, there are still going to be some shortcomings. LP:What makes the data-opolies even more potentially harmful than traditional monopolies? MS: First, they have weapons that earlier monopolies lacked. An earlier monopoly could not necessarily identify all the nascent competitive threats. But data-opolies have what we call a nowcasting radar. This means that through the flow of data they can see how consumers are using new products and how these new products are gaining in scale, and how theyre expanding. For example, Facebook (FB) had, ironically, a privacy app that one of the executives called the gift that kept on giving. Through the data collected through the app, they recognized that WhatsApp was a threat to FB as a social network because it was starting to morph from simply a messaging service. Another advantage is that even though the various data-opolies have slightly different business models and deal with different aspects of the digital economy, they all rely on the same anti-competitive toolkit I call it ACK Acquire, Copy, or Kill. They have greater mechanisms to identify potential threats and acquire them, or, if rebuffed, copy them. Old monopolies could copy the products, but the data-opolies can do it in a way that deprives the rival of scale, which is key. And they have more weapons to kill the nascent competitive threats. The other major difference between the data-opolies today and the monopolies of old is the scope of anti-competitive effects. A past monopoly (other than, lets say, a newspaper company), might just bring less innovation and slightly higher prices. General Motors might give you poorer quality cars or less innovation and you might pay a higher price. In the steel industry, you might get less efficient plants, higher prices, and so on (and remember, we as a society pay for those monopolies). But with the data-opolies, the harm isnt just to our wallets. You can see it with FB. Its not just that they extract more money from behavioral advertising; its the effect their algorithms have on social discourse, democracy, and our whole economy (the Wall Street Journals Facebook Files really brought that to the fore). There are significant harms to our wellbeing. LP: How is behavioral advertising different from regular advertising? An ad for a chocolate bar wants me to change my behavior to buy more chocolate bars, after all. What does it mean for a company like Facebook to sell the ability to modify a teenage girls behavior? MS: Behavioral advertising is often presented as just a way to offer us more relevant ads. Theres a view that people have these preconceived demands and wants and that behavioral advertising is just giving them ads that are more relevant and responsive. But the shift with behavioral advertising is that youre no longer just predicting behavior, youre manipulating it. Lets say a teenager is going to college and needs a new laptop. FB can target her with relevant laptops that would fit her particular needs, lowering her search costs, and making her better off as a result. That would be fine but thats not where we are. Innovations are focused on understanding emotions and manipulating them. A teenage girl might be targeted not just with ads, but with content meant to increase and sustain her attention. She will start to get inundated with images that tend to increase her belief in her inferiority and make her feel less secure. Her well-being is reduced. Shes becoming more likely to be depressed. For some users of Instagram, there are increased thoughts about suicide. And its not just the data-opolies. Gambling apps are geared towards identifying people prone to addiction and manipulating them to gamble. These apps can predict how much money they can make from these individuals and how to entice them back, even when they have financial difficulties. As one lawyer put it, these gambling apps turn addiction into code. This is very concerning, and its going to get even worse. Data-opolies are moving from addressing preconceived demands to driving and creating demands. Theyre asking, what will make you cry? What will make you sad? Microsoft has an innovation whereby you have a camera that will track what particular events cause you to have particular emotions, providing a customized view of stimuli for particular individuals. Its like if I hit your leg here, I can get this reflex. Theres a marketing saying, If you get em to cry, you get em to buy. Or, if youre the type of person who responds to violent images, youll get delivered to a marketplace targeted to your psyche to induce the behavior to shop, lets say, for a gun. The scary thing about this is that these tools arent being quarantined to behavioral advertising; political parties are using similar tools to drive voter behavior. You get a bit of insight into this with Cambridge Analytica. It wasnt just about targeting the individual with a tailored message to get them to vote for a particular candidate; it was about targeting other citizens who were not likely to vote for your candidate to dissuade them from voting. Weve already seen from the FB files that the algorithms created by the data-opolies are also causing political parties to make messaging more negative because thats whats rewarded. LP: How far do you think the manipulation can go? MS: The next frontier is actually reading individuals thoughts. In a forthcoming book with Arial Ezrachi, How Big Tech Barons Smash Innovation and How to Strike Back, we talk about an experiment conducted by the University of California, San Francisco, where for the first time they were able to decode an individuals thoughts. A person suffering from speech paralysis would try to say a sentence, and when the algorithm deciphered the brains signals, the researchers were then able to understand what the person was trying to say. When the researchers asked the person, How are you doing? the algorithm could decipher his response from his brain activity. The algorithm could decode about 18 words per minute with 93 percent accuracy. First, the technology will decipher the words we are trying to say, and identify from our subtle brain patterns a lexicon of words and vocabulary. As the AI improves, it will next decode our thoughts. Turns out that FB was one of the contributors funding the research and we wondered why. Well, thats because theyre preparing these headsets for the metaverse that not only will likely transmit all the violence and strife of social media but can potentially decode the thoughts of an individual and determine how they would like to be perceived and present themselves in the metaverse. Youre going to have a whole different realm of personalization. Were really in an arms race whereby the firms cant unilaterally afford to de-escalate because then they lose a competitive advantage. Its a race to better exploit individuals. As it has been said, data is collected about us, but its not for us. LP: Many people think more competition will help curtail these practices, but your study is quite skeptical that more competition among the big platform companies will cure many of the problems. Can you spell out why you take this view? How is competition itself toxic in this case? MS: The assumption is that if we just rein in the data-opolies and maybe break them up or regulate their behavior, well be better off and our privacy will be enhanced. There was, to a certain extent, greater protection over our privacy while these data-opolies were still in their nascent stages. When MySpace was still a significant factor, FB couldnt afford to be as rapacious in its data collection as it is now. But now you have this whole value chain built on extracting data to manipulate behavior; so even if this became more competitive, theres no assurance then that were going to benefit as a result. Instead of having Meta, we might have FB broken apart from Instagram and WhatsApp. Well, youd still have firms dependent on behavioral advertising revenue competing against each other in order to find better ways to attract us, addict us, and then manipulate behavior. You can see the way this has happened with TikTok. Adding TikTok to the mix didnt improve our privacy. LP: So one more player just adds one more attack on your privacy and wellbeing? MS: Right. Ariel and I wrote a book, Competition Overdose, where we explored situations where competition could be toxic. People tend to assume that if the behavior is pro-competitive its good, and if its anti-competitive, its bad. But competition can be toxic in several ways, like when its a race to the bottom. Sometimes firms cant unilaterally de-escalate, and by just adding more firms to the mix, youre just going to have a quicker race to the bottom. LP: Some analysts have suggested that giving people broader ownership rights to their data would help control the big data companies, but youre skeptical. Can you explain the sources of your doubts? MS: A properly functioning market requires certain conditions to be present. When it comes to personal data, many of those conditions are absent, as the book explores. First, theres the imbalance of knowledge. Markets work well when the contracting parties are fully informed. When you buy a screw in a hardware store, for example, you know the price before purchasing it. But we dont know the price we pay when we turn over our data, because we dont know all the ways our data will be used or the attendant harm to us that may result from that use. Suppose you download an ostensibly free app, but it collects, among other things, your geolocation. No checklist says this geolocation data could potentially be used by stalkers or by the government or to manipulate your children. We just dont know. We go into these transactions blind. When you buy a box of screws, you can quickly assess its value. You just multiply the price of one screw. But you cant do that with data points. A lot of data points can be a whole lot more damaging to your privacy than just the sum of each data point. Its like trying to assess a painting by Georges Seurat by valuing each dot. You need to see the big picture; but when it comes to personal data, the only one who has that larger view is the company that amasses that data, not only across their own websites but in acquiring third-party data as well. So we dont even know the additional harm that each extra data point might be having on our privacy. We cant assess the value of our data, and we dont know the cost of giving up that data. We cant really then say, all right, heres the benefit I receive I get to use FB and I understand the costs to me. Another problem is that normally a property right involves something that is excludable, definable, and easy to assign, like having an ownership interest in a piece of land. You can put a fence around it and exclude others from using it. Its easy to identify whats yours. You can then assign it to others. But with data, thats not always the case. Theres an idea called networked privacy and the concern there is that choices others make in terms of the data they sell or give up can have then a negative effect on your privacy. For example, maybe you decide not to give up your DNA data to 23andMe. Well, if a relative gives up their DNA, thats going to implicate your privacy. The police can look at a DNA match and say, ok, its probably someone within a particular family. The choice by one can impact the privacy of others. Or perhaps someone posts a picture of your child on FB that you didnt want to be posted. Or someone sends you a personal message with Gmail or another service with few privacy protections. So, even if you have a property right to your data, the choices of others can adversely affect your privacy. If we have ownership rights in your data, how does that change things? When Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, he was constantly asked who owns the data. He kept saying the user owns it. It was hard for the senators to fathom because users certainly didnt consent to have their data shared with Cambridge Analytica to help impact a presidential election. FB can tell you that you own the data, but to talk with your friends, you have to be on the same network as your friends, and FB can easily say to you, Ok, you might own the data, but to use FB youre going to have to give us unparalleled access to it. What choice do you have? The digital ecosystem has multiple network effects whereby the big get bigger and it becomes harder to switch. If Im told I own my data, its still going to be really hard for me to avoid the data-opolies. To do a search, Im still going to use Google, because if I go to DuckDuckGo I wont get as good of a result. If I want to see a video, Im going to go to YouTube. If I want to see photos of the school play, its likely to be on FB. So when the inequality in bargaining power is so profound, owning the data doesnt mean much. These data-opolies make billions in revenue from our data. Even if you gave consumers ownership of their data, these powerful firms will still have a strong incentive to continue getting that data. So another area of concern among policymakers today is dark patterns. Thats basically using behavioral economics for bad. Companies manipulate behavior in the way they frame choices, setting up all kinds of procedural hurdles that prevent you from getting information on how your data is being used. They can make it very difficult to opt out of certain uses. They make it so that the desired behavior is frictionless and the undesired behavior has a lot of friction. They wear you down. LP: Youre emphatic about the many good things that can come from sharing data that do not threaten individuals. You rest your case on what economists call the non-rivalrous character of many forms of data that one persons use of data does not necessarily detract at all from other good uses of the data by others. You note how big data firms, though, often strive to keep their data private in ways that prevent society from it for our collective benefit. Can you walk us through your argument? MS: This can happen on several different levels. On one level, imagine all the insights across many different disciplines that could be gleaned from FB data. If the data were shared with multiple universities, researchers could glean many insights into human psychology, political philosophy, health, and so on. Likewise, the data from wearables could also be a game-changer in health, giving us better predictors of disease or better identifiers of things to avoid. Imagine all the medical breakthroughs if researchers had access to this data. On another level, the government can lower the time and cost to access this data. Consider all the data being mined on government websites, like the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It goes back to John Stuart Mills insight that one of the functions of government is to collect data from all different sources, aggregate it, and then allow its dissemination. What he grasped is the non-rivalrous nature of data, and how data can help inform innovation, help inform democracy and provide other beneficial insights. So when a few powerful firms hoard personal data, they capture some of its value. But a lot of potential value is left untapped. This is particularly problematic when innovations in deep learning for AI require large data sets. To develop this deep learning technology, you need to have access to the raw ingredients. But the ones who possess these large data sets give it selectively to institutions for those research purposes that they want. It leads to the creation of data haves and have nots. A data-opoly can also affect the path of innovation. Once you see the data hoarding, you see that a lot of value to society is left on the table. LP: So with data-opolies, the socially useful things that might come from personal data collection are being blocked while the socially harmful things are being pursued? MS: Yes. But the fact that data is non-rivalrous doesnt necessarily mean that we should then give the data to everyone that can extract value from it. As the book discusses, many can derive value from your geolocation data, including stalkers and the government in surveilling its people. The fact that they derive value does not mean society overall derives value from that use. The Supreme Court held in Carpenter v United Statesthat the government needs to get a search warrant supported with probable cause before it can access our geolocation data. But the Trump administration said, wait, why do we need a warrant when we can just buy geolocation data through commercial databases that map every day our movements through our cellphones? So they actually bought geolocation data to identify and locate those people who were in this country illegally. Once the government accesses our geolocation data through commercial sources, they can put it to different uses. Think about how this data could be used in connection with abortion clinics. Roe v. Wadewas built on the idea that the Constitution protects privacy, which came out of Griswald v. Connecticutwhere the Court formulated a right of privacy to enable married couples to use birth control. Now some of the justices believe that the Constitution really says nothing about privacy and that theres no fundamental, inalienable right to it. If thats the case, the concerns are great. LP: Your book is critically appreciative of the recent California and European laws on data privacy. What do you think is good in them and what do you think is not helpful? MS: The California Privacy Right Act of 2020 was definitely an advance over the 2018 statute, but it still doesnt get us all the way there. One problem is that the law allows customers to opt out of whats called cross-context behavioral advertising. You can say, I dont want to have a cookie that then tracks me as I go across websites. But it doesnt prevent the data-opolies or any platform from collecting and using first-party data for behavioral advertising unless its considered sensitive personal information. So FB can continue to collect information about us when were on its social network. And its actually going to tilt the playing field even more to the data-opolies because now the smaller players need to rely on tracking across multiple websites and data brokers in order to collect information because they dont have that much first-party data (data they collect directly). Lets take an example. The New York Times is going to have good data about its readers when theyre reading an article online. But without third-party trackers, theyre not going to have that much data about what the readers are doing after theyve read it. They dont know where the readers wentwhat video they watched, what other websites they went to. As we spend more time within the data-opolies ecosystems, these companies are going to have more information about our behavior. Paradoxically, opting out of cross-context behavioral advertising is going to benefit the more powerful players who collect more first-party data and its not just any first-party data, its the first-party data that can help them better manipulate our behavior. So the case for the book is that if we really want to get things right, if we want to readjust and regain our privacy, our autonomy, and our democracy, then we cant just rely on existing competition policy tools. We cant solely rely on many of the proposals from Europe or other jurisdictions. Theyre necessary but theyre not sufficient. To right the ship, we have to align the privacy, competition, and consumer protection policies. There are going to be times when privacy and competition will conflict. Its unavoidable but we can minimize that potential conflict by first harmonizing the policies. One way to do it is to make sure that the competition we get is a healthy form of competition that benefits us rather than exploits us. In order to do that, its really about going after behavioral advertising. If you want to correct this problem you need to address it. None of the policy proposals to date have really taken on behavioral advertising and the perverse incentives it creates. My Nashville Post role has evolved since 2000 when I joined the now-defunct The City Paper. TCP became a Post sister publication in 2008 (when I began doing some Post work) and folded in 2013. I have been managing editor of the Post since late 2011. Follow William Williams 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 (Natural News) Host Alan Keyes and conservative political consultant Roger Stone talked about the 2020 presidential election in the May 25 episode of Lets Talk America on Brighteon.TV. As you look and survey the landscape in 2020, I think I personally have been thoroughly pivoting several times over that the election in 2020 was a dirty election that had no integrity. Thats actually an overthrow of our form of government, said Keyes. However, Keyes pointed out that the election is always a time to get representation back, and to assess situations in terms of prospects and reactions against a lot of negative trends. For example, the negative trends that have been generated by the Biden administration. (Related: 3 Milwaukee officials named as defendants in 2020 election bribery case.) Stone agreed, saying that like a person who steals cars and gets away with it, the administration will steal another one. This is what happened to the people who hijacked the 2020 election and, with the help of the media, insisted that the fraud allegations were lies despite evidence of anomalies and irregularities. The United States is in a critical position. We live under a system that gives us the opportunity to make changes that can be quite salutary every couple of years, and in the next two election cycles, I think there may be critical things that could happen, Keyes said. Supreme Court rejects cases related to 2020 elections The Supreme Court has rejected a handful of cases related to the 2020 elections. Stone said: I think its pretty clear were now in a situation in America in which the third branch of government, the one thats supposed to be non-political, is thoroughly and completely politicized. He also noted that it was outrageous that no court would want to hear the case in the first place. That the Supreme Court would not even hear out the case is absolutely outrageous, but it could also mean that perhaps Trumps appointees to the court were not the right people. However, some of the Justices had strong feelings about the court preferring not to hear two cases from Pennsylvania that had been contentious, as it is a battleground state. The cases involved an appeal of a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that required election officials to receive and count mailed-in ballots that arrived up to three days after the elections. Three of nine justices said they would have heard the case. (Related: If you thought the 2020 elections were chaotic, just wait.) Justice Clarence Thomas said the case would have been an ideal opportunity to address an important question of whether state lawmakers or state courts get the last word about how federal elections are carried out. He also called it befuddling that his colleagues declined to weigh in on the matter. By doing nothing, we invite further confusion and erosion of voter confidence, he wrote. He also noted that the expansion of mail-in voting is a good reason to take up the case, saying that fraud is more prevalent with mail-in ballots, and Trump did make claims of massive fraud through this system. However, the courts found no evidence to substantiate those claims. Two years after the much-contested elections, at least 15 people who insisted on reviewing the 2020 results are running for Attorney General in 14 states, including four swing states. If they win, they can serve as their states top law enforcement officers and can gain the power to use their office to review the 2020 cases. If Trump runs again in 2024, and the outcome is close in a handful of states, the actions attorneys general could take will include giving Trump the opportunity to claim victory once more. Joanna Lydgate, CEO of States United Action, a nonpartisan group that tracks the election races, said: To the extent that election results are challenged, or that there are attempts to undermine results, it will be the state attorneys general representing the state and the results in court that perhaps matters most to protecting the will of the voters. Visit Rigged.news for more information regarding the 2020 election fraud. Watch the video below for more about the 2020 election fraud. Lets Talk America with Alan Keyes airs every Wednesday at 1-3 p.m. on Brighteon.TV. More related stories: DOJ letter: Democrat whistleblower in Arizona said fellow Dems added 35,000 votes to all party candidates during 2020 election. WE NEED AUDITS: General Michael Flynn talks about why audits are necessary following the questionable 2020 elections Brighteon.TV. Sheriff Richard Mack, Sam Bushman discuss Sheriff Schmalings claim of election fraud in Wisconsin Brighteon.TV. Whistleblower says he was paid $45,000 to stuff ballot boxes during 2020 election in Georgia in illegal ballot harvesting operation. More scientific proof that Google has already stolen U.S. elections and is working hard to steal the 2020 election. Sources include: Brighteon.com APNews.com NBCNews.com (Natural News) Chicken is one of the most ubiquitous proteins people consume around the world. However, its price is set to increase due to several factors which translates to higher prices for food items such as buffalo wings and fried chicken. Here are three reasons why chicken prices will soar. The Russia-Ukraine war The Russia-Ukraine war, which began in February 2022, has had a significant impact on the production of grains such as corn and wheat. The two grains are the main components of chicken feed, and the besieged Ukraine is a major producer of both. With higher grain prices, poultry farmers have had no choice but to pass on the costs of chicken feed to consumers. Co-Op CEO Steve Murrells echoed this sentiment, warning that chicken could become as expensive as beef. Chicken, which was incredibly cheap and great value for money, is rising quicker than any other protein. The chicken industry has particular challenges because of the feed costs, he told the Daily Mirror. Bird flu outbreaks An outbreak of avian influenza that threatened to decimate poultry populations prompted farms to kill off their chickens. According to Strange Sounds, poultry farms in almost 30 states including Iowa, Maine and Utah were forced to cull their chickens as a result of the largest such outbreak in seven years. Iowa-based Rembrandt Enterprises was among the companies forced to kill their chickens to curb the spread of bird flu. Employees at the companys farm in Rembrandt, Iowa culled the chickens and buried them in huge pits. However, about 250 staff members who did the arduous task of hauling and burying the dead poultry were laid off when the job was finished. (Related: Iowa factory culls over 5 million chickens after ONE bird flu case, lays off 250 workers after burying dead birds.) Malaysias impending poultry export ban Making matters worse is an impending ban on poultry exports by the Malaysian government. Under the ban set to take effect on June 1, Kuala Lumpur would ban the export of 3.6 million chickens a month. The country defended its decision to ban chicken exports as necessary to secure local food supplies and curb rising food prices. The governments priority is our own people, said Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob in a statement. He added that authorities in the country will investigate allegations of cartel pricing, promising stern action against those found sabotaging the food supply. Malaysia has not set a date as to when the export ban will be lifted, only saying that it will remain in place until domestic prices and production stabilize. Chicken price hikes impact the food industry worldwide The price hikes of chicken have caused repercussions throughout the global food industry. British retailer Marks & Spencer are selling free-range chicken breasts and beef rump steak both organic at 24.15 ($30.47) a kilogram. Supermarket chain Tesco, meanwhile, sells its corn-fed free-range chickens under the Finest brand at 16.50 ($20.82) a kilogram. While retailers in the United Kingdom passed on higher prices to consumers, those in Malaysia and Singapore took the blow. Malaysian retailers rationed their chicken sales, while some in Singapore revealed plans to close temporarily. Some Singaporean wet market stallholders shared to Channel News Asia (CNA) their plans to temporarily close. They added that Malaysias export ban could result in a further increase in chicken prices thus driving customers away. The city-state located in Southeast Asia imports about 34 percent of chicken from Malaysia. A May 26 follow-up by CNA revealed that chicken sellers were facing a 20 to 70 percent shortage. Some customers have been buying more to stock up, added the news outlet. Consumer Association of Singapore President Melvin Yong said on May 24: The sudden announcement [of the poultry export ban] by Malaysia is likely going to have an adverse impact on the prices of chicken and related products in Singapore. Watch Gabor Gabe Zolna warning about a surge in prices for chicken and other meats below. This video is from the zolnareport.com channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Government says bird flu responsible for rising egg prices. Meat prices will continue to rise for the next two quarters, warns US meatpacker. Beef and chicken set to become luxuries as inflation pushes food prices ever higher. INFLATION: Prices of groceries, gas rise as Bidens money printing machine goes into overdrive. Meat prices rise as food inflation worsens, pushing many Americans to a tipping point of food shortages. Sources include: FinancialPost.com Mirror.co.uk StrangeSounds.org ChannelNewsAsia.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) The Trojan horse delivery system utilized in AstraZenecas Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine appears to be responsible for an increase in rates of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) and other neurological problems, new research has revealed. Scientists from University College London (Londons Global University) says cases of GBS in the first two to four weeks following injection with the AstraZeneca shot are on the rise, a phenomenon that is not necessarily being seen with the jabs from Pfizer and Moderna. While Pfizer and Modernas shots are made with messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, the AstraZeneca shot uses a more traditional viral vector formula containing a weekend chimpanzee virus, the job of which is to deliver the Fauci Flu spike protein into the body. Experts now believe that this chimp component is responsible for causing GBS, a relatively rare condition demarcated by muscle numbness and pain, as well as difficulty swallowing and sometimes even breathing. (Related: The Italian government tried to prosecute AstraZeneca over the harm caused by its covid injections.) The gastroenteritis bug Campylobacter is a common cause of GBS as it has a surface coating that looks slightly human, causing the body to attack its own nerves instead of invading germs. Adenovirus is different in that it usually triggers the common cold. However, scientists now believe that it might mimic human cells in a similar way to Campylobacter, resulting in the same autoimmune response by the body against its own nervous system. At the moment, we dont know why a vaccine may cause these very small rises in GBS, said Prof. Michael Lunn, the studys lead author from the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology. It may be that a non-specific immune activation in susceptible individuals occurs, but if that were the case similar risks might apply to all vaccine types. It is therefore logical to suggest that the simian adenovirus vector, often used to develop vaccines, including AstraZenecas, may account for the increased risk. Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) covid injection also linked to GBS GBS is associated with many other vaccines as well, which makes sense seeing as how adenovirus-based vaccines are commonly administered for diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV and malaria. Every year in the United Kingdom alone, about 1,500 people develop GBS, and 30 to 40 percent of all cases are classified as having no known cause. Researchers are finally starting to admit that perhaps the cause is adenovirus injections. Back in 1976 during the first manufactured swine flu scare, mass vaccination was rolled out as the cure and not long after, many recipients began developing GBS. Ever since then, GBS has been popping up in association with other vaccines. It appears as though the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) jab is also linked to GBS. It turns out that both the Janssen and AstraZeneca jab are made using the same adenovirus technology. We know that Pfizer and Moderna dont cause BDS but Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca do and the only commonality link is an adenovirus vector, Prof. Lunn added. Johnson & Johnson is not the same one because they use a human adenovirus but its similar and the implications are broad because adenoviruses are used in quite a lot of vaccines and genetic therapies. The benefits from these vaccines and drugs are huge and the risk is tiny and there arent that many viral vectors you can use, but its good that the public are aware of the risks. And theoretically, if we know what virus is causing GBS, we can turn it off and we might be able to prevent disease progression. The latest news about covid vaccines can be found at ChemicalViolence.com. Sources for this article include: Telegraph.co.uk NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Steve Gordon thanked Judge Fred Mosley for inspiring the creation of the Center for Jail Transformation (C4JT). I just want to go all the way back to 2013, when you handed me a book called The Introduction to the Laws of Life. It was probably the most impacting devotional Ive ever been through in my years of walking with the Lord. The book and you are my inspiration for creating C4JT, Gordon told Mosely during the May 24 episode of the latters Laws of Life program on Brighteon.TV. C4JT celebrated its first founding anniversary last month. So were just a little over a year old and we were created out of a deep need for jail system reform. The center has been empowering local jails to transform their culture and their atmosphere so that individuals can start changing their lives, he said. According to Gordon, C4JT targets county jails, especially those with 200 beds or less. These jails have a lot of needs underfunded, understaffed and overwhelmed because of drug addiction and other social ills. There are limited activities in jail, so the center provides free programs, curriculum, advice, training, resources and a roadmap to jail transformation. One of the main distinctives that we have is that we dont just talk about ministering to the inmates in the prison, the men and women that are incarcerated there. Were talking about the transformation of the whole facility, which includes the staff and the leadership, Gordon said. He further thanked Mosely because the Laws of Life helped educate everybody involved in the criminal justice system at all levels. The same laws that apply to people whove committed a crime are also applied to the people who are supposed to be watching over them, Gordon said. The co-founder and board chairman of C4JT also shared that they had a hard time coordinating with authorities during the pandemic because some jails were closed. They really werent having volunteers come in and programs were paused, he said. So we pivoted to the local church. We want them to see their local jail as the mission field next door. The reception was good and pastors and church members started working with the center. We offered a free training called the Church Training Course via Zoom as often as needed, even to people overseas like those in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. Total transformation can come about in their lives and the jails switch over from being the worst place in the county to work, so to speak, to be an amazing place of miracles and transformation, Gordon stressed. C4JT building an online school called Laws of Life Institute Elsewhere in the show, Gordon announced that the organization is currently building an online school called the Laws of Life Institute that would offer digital content on resources like the 50 laws of life. The learning website is inspired by the book and series of the same title where Mosely combines his legal experience, study of the scriptures and the guidance of Holy Spirit in providing decisions in certain situations. (Related: Laws of Life: God heals the people who go through brokenness and tragedies Brighteon.TV.) Were under the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. This would be the law, not the concept, not the precept, not the principle, but the law of notice and warning, Mosely emphasized. According to him, believers miss the notices and warnings. We find ourselves and peculiar situations that perhaps we could have avoided if we were aware of the fact that God has committed himself to give us warnings of danger and great bodily harm, he said. Gordon agreed and added: We are blessed to have this opportunity to speak about practical applications of these teachings. We are given a chance to bring the message in a practical way, whether to guards out of jail or people living in a homeless shelter. Watch the full May 24 episode of Laws of Life below. Catch new episodes of the program every Tuesday at 11-11:30 a.m. on Brighteon.TV. More related stories: Judge Fred Mosely talks about the lies and deceptions driving modern science on Laws of Life Brighteon.TV. Why professing Christ is becoming a hate crime in the west. The Ohio Brett Show host: Everybody has a different calling from God Brighteon.TV. Sources include: Brighteon.com LoveYourJail.com LawsofLifeCourtTV.com (Natural News) Canada has intensified airport surveillance through digital identity and facial recognition systems under the leadership of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Public Safety Canada (PSC) touched on these systems through a May 14 statement in the Canada Gazette, noting that these digital travel credentials formed part of the Regulations Amending the Secure Air Travel Regulations (SATR). It mentioned digitized identification documents, digital identity documents and biometric travel documents as examples of these credentials. The statement defined digitized documents as digital copies of physical identification documents that are scanned or updated. Digital travel documents pertain to soft copies of such that are issued by a government authority. Meanwhile, biometric documents refer to electronic identification that uses biometric identifiers such as facial recognition. According to PSC, four unidentified air carriers confirmed their intent to implement innovative identity management solutions in the short to medium term. It added that the department will continue to engage [other] air carriers and keep [itself] informed on how this area evolves. It appears that Ottawas pivot toward digital traveler surveillance aligned with a pilot project under the World Economic Forum (WEF). The WEFs Known Traveler Digital Initiative (KTDI) listed the governments of Canada and the Netherlands as partners, alongside air carriers and airports in both countries. (Related: Airline industry pushing for medical testing, thermal screening, digital IDs and vaccination passports.) The Canadian flag carrier Air Canada, alongside its Dutch counterpart KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, are listed as partners. Airports part of the KTDI include the Schiphol Airport in the Dutch capital Amsterdam, the Montreal-Trudeau International Airport in Quebec and the Toronto Pearson Airport in Ontario. The initiatives website said KTDI enables consortium partners to access verifiable claims of a travelers identity data so they can access their credibility, optimize passenger processing and reduce risk. Meanwhile, individual flyers can manage their own profile and collect digital attestations of their personal data, deciding what data to share and when. The more attestations a traveler accumulates and shares the better consortium partners, governments and other parties can provide a smooth and safe travel experience. Digital system follows tyrannical vaccine mandates on air travelers The move to subject flyers to digital surveillance in airports followed Ottawa mandating that travelers get injected with the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine in order to board aircraft another Orwellian edict. Back in October 2021, Canada ordered that any individual traveling by air, train or ship domestically must be vaccinated against COVID-19. The order took effect in January 2022, with few provisions for exceptions. The COVID-19 vaccine mandate ordered by Trudeau effectively banned unvaccinated people from traveling, in turn infringing on their freedom of movement. At least two lawsuits had been filed to challenge the vaccine mandate for travelers in court. The Justice Center for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) filed one lawsuit in February 2022 on behalf of Maxime Bernier, leader of the Peoples Party of Canada. Bernier, who is unvaccinated, had been unable to travel by air to promote his party due to the vaccine mandate. Land travel is only feasible within a limited distance from his residence in Quebec. The COVID-19 zealots are attempting to gag dissenting voices like mine by any means possible. I have to go and meet people all across Canada to keep my party growing and get the word out. The courts must put an end to this segregation, said Bernier. A month later, the JCCF said it has filed 11 affidavits in the Canadian Federal Court to strike down the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Notably, former Newfoundland Premier Alfred Brian Peckford served as the main applicant in the case. He is the only surviving drafter and signatory to the Canadian Constitution of 1982 and the Canadian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. The vaccinated are allowed to travel by airplane and to see their families, and the unvaccinated are not. This is not the Canada I know and love, and this type of segregation causes me utmost sadness, Peckford noted in his sworn affidavit. Watch InfoWars host David Knight as he talks about digital surveillance technologies at the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. This video is from The David Knight Show channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Canadian government sued over discriminatory air travel vaccine mandate. Canadas Justice Center: Trudeaus travel ban on unvaccinated citizens is egregious. Canada to force covid vaccines on all air, train and marine travelers with overnight accommodations. Sources include: LifeSiteNews.com 1 CanadaGazette.GC.ca KTDI.org LifeSiteNews.com 2 LifeSiteNews.com 3 Brighteon.com (Natural News) There will be no punishment for a Toronto doctor who was caught illegally administering Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines to at least 500 children as young as six months of age. Even though the shots are only legal for children five years of age and older, Dr. Christopher Sun from Weston-Mount Dennis took it upon himself to invent his own science in order to protect children. I put my neck on the line and did what I wanted to get done, which was to protect children, Sun told the Toronto Star in defense of what he did, which could have killed and still could his child patients. (Related: Covid jabs are linked to autoimmune hepatitis in children.) These are worried parents in time of a health crisis and I think its wrong to turn away people who know what they are getting into. Toronto Public Health ordered Sun to stop injecting children under the age of five, and he was reported to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO). Even so, Sun continued to inject children until the month ended, and will now apparently get away with his crimes. At this time, no Covid-19 vaccine is approved in Canada for children under the age of five years old, said Toronto Public Health spokesperson Lenore Bromley, explaining that the Ontario Ministry of Health guidance clearly states that children under five should not get jabbed. The Ontario Ministry of Health guidance does not permit vaccination of children under age five with any publicly funded Covid-19 vaccine. Corrupt doctors illegally drugged children and are not being punished for it wheres the justice? Nobody seems to know exactly how many under-five children in Toronto were injected comforting, eh? though a March report from the government admitted that many unlawfully received the shots. A report was run in March 2022 that showed some incidents of children under the age of five being vaccinated, said spokesperson W.D. Lighthall. In some cases, four-year-olds who were about to turn five were given the shots unlawfully by other doctors within the Toronto Western Hospital systems family health team when the MoH had opened the dates in the system which allowed for the vaccination of children with their fifth year, reads an announcement from the University Health Network. It will take at least until June to officially roll out the injections for children under five, suggesting that all of these babies would have gotten the jab eventually. Regardless, what Sun and other Toronto doctors did was illegal, and they are not being held accountable for it. With Omicron rising, I grew more and more nervous, said Samantha Green, one freaked out mother who simply could not wait to get her preschool-aged son and toddler daughter jabbed before they were legally permitted to do so. I started to really worry for their health and wellbeing. We felt it was the best choice for us. I absolutely dont have any regrets at all. Sun says he was interviewed by CPSO about his actions but that they were dismissed without any corrective action. Among the factors that would be considered are the nature of the concern, the physicians willingness to correct that behaviour, and whether there is reason to believe that further intervention is necessary to ensure that patients are not subjected to unnecessary risk, said CPSO spokesperson Shae Greenfield. Meanwhile, children everywhere who got jabbed are now developing autoimmune hepatitis and other serious health conditions and very little is being said about it by the media, let alone mainstream medicine. To keep up with the latest news about covid injections, be sure to check out Vaccines.news. Sources for this article include: TNC.news NaturalNews.com (Natural News) All across California, residents are being told to scrimp and save water because of historic drought conditions. Meanwhile, state officials are dumping freshwater into the ocean while intentionally depriving rice farmers of the water they need to grow food. Colusa County in Northern California is the top producer of rice in the Sacramento Valley. The area generates more than 150,000 acres of rice in a normal year but as you can probably tell by now, 2022 is anything but a normal year. Officials there say that only a fraction of the usual rice crop will be grown there this year, delivering a massive financial blow to rice farmers, workers and suppliers. In April 2022, the water districts serving Colusa County were given their final allocation for the 2022 growing season 0.4-acre feet per acre, reads a statement from Colusa County officials. This allocation is not enough to support rice production, and estimates show that the Sacramento Valley will fallow 370,000 of 450,000 acres in the Sacramento River Settlement Contractors service area, primarily in Colusa and Glenn Counties. Currently, less than 7,000 acres are estimated to be planted in Colusa County, resulting in a direct financial loss to growers in excess of $270 million. Meanwhile, 50 percent of Californias water flows right out into the Pacific Ocean, a policy that was enacted for environmental purposes to save the Delta smelt, an endangered fish species. Water in California is shared across three main sectors. Statewide, average water use is roughly 50% environmental, 40% agricultural, and 10% urban, revealed the Public Policy Institute of California back in 2019. Is the second phase of the plandemic about ushering in famine and starvation? Colusa County officials are trying to get the attention of the state legislature on this important matter. They recently hosted a legislative tour and informative briefing for Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) to highlight the crisis-level economic impacts resulting from the unprecedented drought and winter freeze. The event concluded with a request for local assistance, the officials revealed. According to Colusa County Administrator Wendy Tyler, the meeting and message was very well received, especially since Aguiar-Curry has an agricultural background herself and understands the issue acutely. Tyler compared the devastation of Colusa Countys agriculture industry to what urban areas felt during the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) lockdowns. What began in the cities, in other words, is now spreading to rural areas. We need a payroll protection plan and rental assistance, Tyler says. We have the third largest farm worker housing in the state. Thousands of people come to Colusa County every season, and work with Colusa Countys own people. Their children go to Colusa schools, so when they arent here it impacts our ADA. Not only will there not be enough rice to supply local, state and export needs, but everyone and everything up and down the supply chain will also suffer. This includes equipment suppliers, farm bag producers, mills, aerial applicators, crop dusters, pesticide and fertilizer dealers and ground applicators, among many others. The economic devastation is unprecedented, Tyler added. People arent dying, but businesses and communities are. People could very soon end up dying, though, once all is said and done with what appears to be an engineered collapse of the global food chain. Piece by piece, the system seems to be in deconstruction mode, which will eventually catch up to grocery stores and peoples dinner plates. The last reservoir built in California was in 1979, wrote someone at Zero Hedge about how California politics have been driving the state on a downward spiral for decades. California is run by corrupt, leftist fools. More related news stories can be found at FoodCollapse.com. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Three Florida residents were sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a $200 million baby formula fraud scheme that began some nine years before the current shortages. Johnny Grobman, 48, Raoul Doekhie, 53, and Sherida Nabi, 57, were each sentenced to 18 years in prison with U.S. Court Judge Roy K. Altman also ordering them to forfeit fraudulently obtained profits, which they used to buy a $9 million mansion, a 48-foot yacht and several properties outside the United States. The federal prosecutors in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida said the trio convinced manufacturers to sell them the products at reduced prices. They even received up to 60 percent discounts in some cases by claiming that they had a government tender to purchase the formula on behalf of the impoverished country of Suriname in South America. However, instead of shipping the formula to the South American nation, the trio sold the baby formula for the full price in the U.S., raking in record profits between 2013 to 2018. It was not until their 13-day trial in February 2020 that the trio was found to have no contact with the Suriname government and the judge found the trio guilty of several crimes such as conspiring to commit wire fraud, money laundering, conspiring to obtain pre-retail medical products worth $5,000 or more by fraud or deception, theft of pre-retail medical products and smuggling goods from the United States. Grobman requested a new trial, which Judge Altman denied. Attorneys for the three have not made any comments about the case, although court records confirmed that all of them are now in custody. However, there was no reason given for why the sentencing took place over two years after the convictions, and at a time when the U.S. is dealing with a nationwide infant formula shortage due to manufacturing issues at Abbott Laboratories Michigan plant. Florida trio used a business practice known as diversion in baby formula scheme Court documents showed that the trio negotiated steep discounts from their victim companies by pledging to redistribute the products in Suriname. This wasnt the case, however, as they actually intended to sell the goods in the U.S. at a substantial markup price. This is a business practice known as diversion. Doekhie and Nabi, a married couple, set up a company called the Tropical Marketing & Distribution N.V., which is based out of Suriname. They then created a website for a fictional entity called the Suriname Tender Office to support their false misrepresentation that they had a government tender for the victim companies products. Grobman, meanwhile, was listed as the manager of Nutrisource I LLC and J Trading LLC. He was also a registered agent of Vejota Holdings LLC, all of which show the same principal address in Aventura, Florida. (Related: Baby formula is loaded with GMOs Avoid these brands.) Court filings show that they were able to conceal their schemes by fabricating purchase orders, covertly shipping the products abroad, then immediately bringing them back, which is a practice commonly known as U-turning or filling dummy cargo containers with sheetrock and falsifying export documents. When the products are returned to the U.S., court records state that Grobman would submit false shipping documents to U.S. Customs agents. A fourth man, Edgar Torres, received a reduced sentence of 25 months for cooperating with the government against Doekhie, Nabi and Grobman. In the scheme, Torres acted as president and registered agent of Le Mare Transport, a freight forwarding company based in Medley, Florida. Torres testified that they would swap out the cargo containers of baby formula with sheetrock that was the same weight as the product they were supposed to be exporting to Suriname. They would then replace the etched cargo seals, which the manufacturers installed to prevent tampering, using a special machine that could carve identical markings to avoid detection by customs officials and the companies. It is through their fictitious companies that Grobman and Torres sell the infant formula to U.S. distributors, then they would split the profits with Doekhie and Nabi. Prosecutors claimed that about 60 companies were defrauded between March 2013 and December 2018. However, the scam began to unravel in 2017 after one of the manufacturers refused to do business with the group after a truck driver alerted them about possible delays with their products. (Related: FDA questioning baby formula industry, contemplates its relevance.) The fraud perpetrated by these defendants is nothing short of egregious. The 18-year prison sentences reflect the seriousness of the defendants crimes, U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez said in a statement. Watch the video below for updates about the current baby formula shortages. This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: As its infant formula sickened babies, Abbott Nutrition issued $5 billion in stock buybacks. The baby formula market is a corrupt, FDA-enforced protection racket designed to feed babies processed JUNK ingredients. After sending Americas baby formula supply to the southern border and creating a shortage, Biden invokes communist takeover of food supply. Biden sends baby formula to illegals at border while grocery stores run dry. I cant feed my son! Baby formula shortage reaches critical stage in US as desperate parents search for rationed supplies. Sources include: FreightWaves.com MarketWatch.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) For Dr. Robert Malone, the monkeypox scare is a classic example of public health fear porn. Malone said its not something that people should worry about. According to the mRNA inventor, media outlets should be reprimanded for broadcasting irresponsible propaganda and spreading misinformation and disinformation under the guise of journalism. Monkeypox, he said, is readily controlled by classical public health measures. More importantly, Malone noted that it does not have a high mortality rate and it has never been considered a high-threat pathogen in the past. Malone asked the media and so-called medical experts to stop the fearmongering, misinformation and disinformation on the matter. Doctors around the world are now telling people to prepare for the worst. Even President Joe Biden joined in the chorus of doomsayers, while the World Health Organization (WHO) also made a lot of noise about monkeypox. The WHO held an emergency meeting to discuss the spread of monkeypox on May 20. Members of the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Infectious Hazards with Pandemic and Epidemic Potential (STAG-IH), which advises the WHO on infection risks that could pose a global health threat, is slated to decide whether or not the outbreak should be declared a public health emergency of international concern. In the recent WHO risk assessment, the organization said the identification of confirmed and suspected cases of monkeypox in people who had no travel history to an endemic area in multiple countries is not normal, which is why there is an urgent need to raise awareness about the disease as people undertake comprehensive case finding and isolation, contact tracing and supportive care to limit more transmissions. Malone noted that members of the organization are now working on new pandemic prevention and preparedness treaty, and that the drafting process will continue for the next few months. WHO official David Heymann, an infectious disease specialist, said an international committee of experts met via video conferencing to look at what needed to be studied about the outbreak and how its going to be communicated to the public. He claimed that the urgency of the situation called for the convention, although the committee is not the same group that would be declaring a public health emergency. There are vaccines available, but the most important message is you can protect yourself, Heymann said. Get ready for draconian changes Reclaim the Net, a website dedicated to defending free speech and calling out bureaucratic overreach, said people should brace themselves for draconian changes. The decision-making body of the WHO has been aiming for a treaty to be adopted under Article 19 of the WHO Constitution that will give the World Health Assembly the power to impose legally-binding conventions or agreements on member states. On August 1, the members will meet to discuss the progress made. If everything goes to plan, the changes will take effect after two years. (Related: As usual, Big Pharma is cashing in on all the monkeypox hysteria.) The WHO has framed it as the international pandemic treaty, but the draft showed that the accord actually covers all manners of health emergencies, which the organization defined as a situation that carries implications for public health beyond the affected states national borders and may require immediate international action. Such an all-encompassing treaty would give the WHO sweeping, legally binding powers to force member states to adopt many of the censorship and surveillance tools that were imposed during the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The WHO is also seeking to normalize the use of digital technology applications for all international travels. This could include contract tracing apps and extensive, self-declaration health forms. Vaccine passports and contact tracing are intimately tied to surveillance more specifically, global surveillance of public health threats. This can only be achieved by member states expanding their surveillance systems and contributing to the WHOs program. (Related: How two corrupt pharma companies are cashing in on monkeypox scare.) Meanwhile, U.K. Health Security Agency Chief Medical Adviser Susan Hopkins noted that the monkeypox outbreak does not resemble the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic because it does not transmit as easily. However, those who suspect that they may have been exposed or who have shown symptoms, including bumpy rash and fever, should avoid close contact with others. Follow Outbreak.news for more information about the monkeypox outbreak. Watch the video below to know more about the spreading monkeypox virus. This video is from the Planet Zedta channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Monkeypox is a coverup (distraction?) for covid vaccine adverse events, including AIDS. Dr. Robert Malone slams Gavi for amplifying fear of monkeypox outbreak. Same Wuhan lab linked to covid recently tampered with monkeypox strains. Monkeypox transmission could accelerate this summer, warns WHO but is it just more fearmongering? Monkeypox detected in at least 11 countries; scientists claim to be puzzled over its spread. Sources include: BlacklistedNews.com WHO.int AlJazeera.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) Only recently did the US fast food chain McDonalds officially announce its complete withdrawal from Russia. In view of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, the company announced that further business activities in Russia could no longer be reconciled with the companys Western values. (Article by Eric Mclean republished from FreeWestMedia.com) The fast-food chain has now made it unmistakably clear which values are involved. Just in time for Pride Month, McDonalds launched a campaign under the motto Different? Lets love!. The company said that this advertising slogan was intended to express its solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. As a result, McDonalds is now serving its customers rainbow fries in addition to the usual potato fries. The Rainbow Sticks stand for diversity. Customers in Western countries can no longer defend themselves against political propaganda dressed as culinary choices without being cancelled by woke mobs. In Russia, all previous McDonalds restaurants there are said to have been taken over by a Russian investor who wants to continue operations albeit without Rainbow Sticks on the menu. Read more at: FreeWestMedia.com (Natural News) The Central Bank of Russia is on track to begin its pilot project using a digital ruble. This project will involve real customers and real transactions. Western sanctions that have escalated since the beginning of Russias invasion of Ukraine have cut the country off from large parts of the global financial system. Since then, the Kremlin has been looking for alternative ways to make key payments both at home and abroad and to maintain their crucial connections with the financial systems of countries that continue to trade with them. (Related: Russia is considering bringing back the GOLD STANDARD to maintain financial sovereignty amid economic sanctions.) The digital ruble project is set to launch its pilot program by 2023, according to Central Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina. The governor further stated in an address to the State Duma, the lower house of Russias federal legislature, that the central bank currently has a prototype of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) that it was testing with other Russian banks. The digital ruble is among the priority projects, said Nabiullina. We have fairly quickly created a prototype. Now we are holding tests with banks and next year we will gradually have pilot transactions. Once Russia fully rolls out the CBDC, Nabiullina noted that the digital currency could be used in some international transactions. The pilot program will involve digital currency transactions with other central banks around the world that are still willing to do business with Russia despite Western sanctions. The central banks broad vision for the digital ruble is that fund transfers between individuals will be done free of charge. Transactions using the CBDC may attract a commission of between 0.4 to 0.7 percent. The complications to the launch of the CBDC are still being worked out. First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of Russia Olga Skorobogatova recently remarked that some Russian banks, including some that have expressed their willingness to participate in the pilot program, are still not ready to join the tests. However, Skorobogatova insisted that these concerns should not affect the timing of the project. Assuming that the first stage of the pilot program for the digital currency succeeds, Skorobogatova noted that in the latter half of 2023 the central bank will proceed with the second phase of its trials. During this phase, the bank will launch operations allowing Russian nationals and entities, including government agencies, to pay for goods and services with digital rubles. Russia to continue building up digital assets In response to Western sanctions, Russia is continuing its push toward broadening the availability of digital financial services. In response to being kicked out of SWIFT, an international monetary messaging platform, payment service providers like VISA and Mastercard have also ended providing services to Russian banks. Russias solution to this is the MIR banking card, an alternative banking card that it is offering to countries that are still willing to trade with Moscow. MIR and UnionPay, a Chinese banking card, are among the few options left for Russian citizens and entities to make international transactions since Russian banks were isolated by sanctions. Much of the international digital assets industry has been implored by Western powers led by the United States to completely cut off Russia and not engage with the countrys financial services industry. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that Russia could use cryptocurrencies like bitcoin to evade sanctions. The U.S. has even expanded the number of Russian entities on its sanctions list to include BitRiver and its subsidiaries. BitRiver is a Russian company that mines new bitcoin blocks. Similarly, the European Unions regulations have forced Binance, the worlds largest digital assets exchange, to announce that it is winding down the services it provides to Russian nationals and entities. These and other efforts by the West to close any loopholes Russia could use to circumvent sanctions will likely fail, especially if Russias forays into creating independent digital assets and financial services platforms succeed. Learn more about the rise of ruble and other currencies at CurrencyReset.news. Watch this video as journalist Rachel Blevins explains how Western sanctions backfired and empowered the ruble. This video is from the Marine1063 channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Russian ruble is years best-performing currency. Russias actions against the dollar could spur economic collapse for America. Russian banking system and ruble are showing signs of strong recovery despite sanctions. U.S., Western sanctions on Russia BACKFIRE: Ruble now backed by gold and gaining strength while the dollars purchasing power evaporates. The DOLLAR will DIE and the Ruble will DOMINATE as commodities-based currencies make paper fiat obsolete. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com CoinGeek.com Reuters.com News.Bitcoin.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) The smallpox outbreak that Bill Gates warned about a few months ago is now here in the form of monkeypox outbreak. Itll take probably about a billion a year for a Pandemic Task Force at the WHO [World Health Organization] level, which is doing the surveillance and actually doing what I call germ games where you practice You say, OK, what if a bioterrorist brought smallpox to 10 airports? You know, how would the world respond to that? Gates said in a Sky News interview in November last year. The Microsoft co-founders extraordinary power of seeing the future with or without a crystal ball is really amazing. The World Socialist Web Site announced that the unprecedented outbreak of monkeypox virus has officially spread to 10 countries outside of Africa with 107 confirmed or suspected cases reported in the United Kingdom (9), Portugal (34), Spain (32), France (1), Belgium (2), Sweden (1), Italy (3), Canada (22), the United States (2) and Australia (1). The cause of the outbreak is still unknown, but it is the most geographically scattered and fast-spreading monkeypox outbreak since the virus was first found in 1958. More data and scientific understanding will come out in the next couple of days and weeks, but there are already serious concerns within the scientific community and the public. And one can wonder if this fast-spreading virus has anything to do with the researchers who may have been altering the gain-of-function of these rare pathogens in order to make them more infectious and more deadly. This monkeypox may possibly be another lab-generated virus that was invented in the 300-or-so Department of Defense-funded secret labs scattered around the globe that are currently leading a vast war on humanity to advance the aspirations of billionaire elites who are dedicated to lowering the world population. Simulation exercise imitating a global monkeypox pandemic happened in March 2021 And there has been a simulation exercise imitating a global pandemic involving a bizarre strain of monkeypox that happened in March 2021. It is surprising how many of these preparatory drills appear to happen just before some horrible events. The worldwide monkeypox outbreak, which occurred on the precise timeline predicted by a biosecurity simulation of a global monkeypox outbreak a year before, bears a remarkable similarity to the outbreak of Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) just months after Event 201, a simulation of a coronavirus pandemic similar to COVID-19. Some people can say that there is zero chance that this new disease occurred naturally and the only reasonable assumption one can make is that monkeypox, just like COVID, is a lab-generated pathogen dispersed by undercover agents that are waging biowarfare on the world population. The World Socialist Web Site also reported that scientists think that the virus, which is endemic in parts of Africa, could have evolved to become more infectious and better suited to human-to-human transmission. It added that nearly all people under 42 years old have not received a smallpox vaccine since it was eliminated in 1980. As a consequence, they have no immunity and younger adults can be infected as easily as children. And epidemiologists have admitted to being baffled by how established the virus already is in communities considering that it is usually extremely rare. This is starting off with much more of a foothold, in a much more distributed way, and we dont understand how it got into those networks, Tom Inglesby, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said in an interview with STAT News. The smallpox vaccine can be employed as post-exposure prophylaxis in a ring vaccination model for monkeypox, but the number of severe side effects of the smallpox vaccine makes its use in a mass vaccination campaign problematic. Still, the government immediately bought 13 million doses of smallpox vaccine to be repurposed as monkeypox vaccine as part of its contingency plan. (Related: Why did the government buy 13 million monkeypox vaccines from a biotech company backed by Fauci?) Follow Infections.news for more news about the spread of monkeypox. Watch the video below to know more about monkeypox from health expert Dr. Peter McCullough. This video is from the the channel The HighWire with Del Bigtree on Brighteon.com. More related stories: RIGGED: Government spends $119 million for monkeypox vaccines following ONE confirmed case in US. Did you know that a 2021 report predicted the Monkeypox outbreak on May 15th 2022? Both companies involved in the report have received millions from the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation. Here we go again: MONKEYPOX is the next scariant being unleashed on the world to demand vaccine compliance. Sources include: GlobalResearch.ca News.Sky.com WSWS.org (Natural News) This is kind of weird The aircraft was in Uvalde for the first time this year during the shooting. The plane landed 3 minutes before the shooter crashed his vehicle. The plane then left 2 minutes before the shooter was killed. (Article republished from StrangeSounds.org) #USArmy MC-12W recon plane (#RONIN34/12-00279) left #FortHood/Killeen at 10:15am CT on 5/24. It approached the #Uvalde area ~ 11:02 and flew over #KUVA; entered a pattern at 11:16, & landed at 11:25. At 12:48pm, the plane took off and returned to Ft Hood. https://t.co/8sYmvfABimpic.twitter.com/PSh7eT6bo8 RadarAtlas (@RadarAtlas) May 26, 2022 Why was this aircraft in Uvalde for the first time in 2022 at the exact moment that one of the deadliest US shootings was unfolding? Again, the plane landed 3 minutes before the shooter crashed his vehicle. The plane then left 2 minutes before the shooter was killed. The plane left Ft. Hood and it went straight to Uvalde. Then straight back. So I doubt it just landed to refuel. My speculation: Its a recon plane, so my assumption is someone was monitoring the shooting and making sure it was going to plan. Or was this just a coincidence? Was it just a flight for the pilots to meet their flight hours numbers in order to keep their licenses? Maybe But Its too obvious Worth investigation for sure Read more at: StrangeSounds.org (Natural News) ThreadFest co-founder Patrick Gunnels criticized the government for gaslighting Americans and forcing them to take the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines. We are the most gaslit people in the world when it comes to vaccines. And I think that the COVID-19 vaccine is killing about one in a thousand. I think many are experiencing significant adverse events, as well. Its really bad, Gunnels told host Dr. Lee Merritt during the May 25 episode of the Merritt Medical Hour show on Brighteon.TV. There might have been a really ugly cost-benefit analysis done and youre looking at protecting the people from the vaccine scenario as opposed to the tried to make the vaccine as not harmful as a possible scenario. God knows exactly what kind of horrifying choices were put before [former] President [Donald] Trump and the military as we fight this ridiculous war. Merritt, a former United States Navy physician and surgeon, agreed that Americans are at war. She said being mandated or coerced into taking the COVID-19 vaccine is totally immoral. (Related: Vaccine mandates, military vaccine injuries continue to threaten national security by killing our soldiers.) The Brighteon.TV host said the government took the blueprint for the COVID-19 vaccine from the Chinese and then coerced military personnel, law enforcement authorities and healthcare workers to get it. It forced people out of the military, the police and the hospitals, she said. People need to undo COVID-19 vaccine damage Gunnels, a professional orator and researcher, said that people are now starting to wake up. Merritt agreed, but added that people now need to find a way to undo some or all of the damages done by the vaccines. The surgeon shared that she finally woke up when she realized that the whole story of treating viruses was being hidden from people. Doctors have known decades ago that viral illnesses can be treated using antimicrobial agents or lysosomotropic agents like hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin, azithromycin and doxycycline. Now, Merritt said, students in medical schools are being taught that these treatments dont work. She added that these are also being taken out of medical school teachings and the printing of research journals. Merritt explained that these antimicrobial drugs work for a lot of different reasons on things that people wouldnt have expected. And as we learned from hydroxychloroquine and probably azithromycin, when it comes to viral diseases, they early on stop the replication of whatever it is now. And then it really gets even deeper about whether or not there are such things, Merritt said. The big lie that we really have to take down is the idea of airborne transmission. Airborne transmission of diseases that comes out of the mouth and goes to you and makes you sick. That is what has allowed this whole takedown. Elsewhere in the show, Gunnels talked about ThreadFest a popular conservative patriotic event. ThreadFest commingles the so-called influencers with the audience members. The Nashville edition of the event was a smashing success, and Gunnel expects the same in the events Southlake, Texas edition. Follow VaccineWars.com for more news about COVID vaccines and mandates. Watch the full May 25 episode of the Merritt Medical Hour below. The Merritt Medical Hour airs every Wednesday from 7-8 p.m. on Brighteon.TV. More related stories: Former Pfizer executive calls forced covid vaccination crime against humanity. The real reasons why millions of Americans will defy COVID mandates and vaccines. Vaccine expert warns DELUGE of COVID-19 vaccine complications will soon COLLAPSE the healthcare system. 7 lawsuits challenging COVID vaccine mandates for U.S. military members. Dr. Lee Merritt tells Dr. Alan Keyes: Effective COVID treatments are suppressed to continue push for vaccines Brighteon.TV. Sources include: Brighteon.com DrLeeMerritt.com ThreadFest.show (Natural News) Californias justice system is seriously tarnished. Criminal lawyer Joseph Tully exposed the extent of this taint in his book California: State of Collusion. In his 2018 work, Tully presented both an analysis and a warning about how both elements of law enforcement and the court system work against the interests of innocent people. He said the book lays out the case of how entrenched, crooked police, district attorneys, judges and politicians fight to maintain and enhance their own interests [and] power at the expense of the rest of us. Tully is no stranger to the books topics. The Contra Costa County-based criminal lawyer has more than two decades of experience and more than 1,000 cases under his belt. He is also a certified criminal law specialist, as attested by the California Board of Legal Specialization. California: State of Collusion warns that innocent people can be subjected to a power trip police encounter, arrested by a megalomaniacal cop, jailed by a sadist, prosecuted by a manipulative Machiavellian and judged by an ego-tripping sociopath. First, the book looks at systemic abuses in law enforcement that are enabled by selfish prosecutors and empowered by politician judges. It outlines these embedded practices which include gang enhancements, racial profiling and stop-and-frisk programs. The book also mentions police departments that have been implicated in misconduct, such as The Riders of the Oakland Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Departments Rampart Division. The Golden States corrupt justice system does not end with police officers. Tully shined a light on the cruelty, systemic racism and medical abuse going on in the California prison system. Additionally, California: State of Collusion scrutinizes how the media portrays law enforcement as incorruptible even though corrupt acts still occur behind the scenes. Tully: It all goes back to appellate courts California: State of Collusion also looks at the role of appellate courts in overseeing both law enforcement officers and prosecutors. Tully explained that appellate courts serve as the bosses of the court system as they are in charge of local courts under them. In turn, the local courts ensure that prosecutors and police officers are kept in check. If you went to a restaurant and the waiters, cooks and bussers were all rude you would look to the manager. You would look at the boss for accountability for the organization. For this reason, appellate courts hold a lot of power, explained Tully. The criminal lawyer, however, cited the anonymity of appellate courts compared to the Supreme Court. Appellate courts handle the vast majority of cases, compared to the Supreme Court which hears relatively few. Tully argued that this anonymity, coupled with the concentration of power, makes appellate courts dangerous. (Related: California judge should be cited for treason after attempting to nullify Second Amendment rights of all citizens.) One bad ruling by an appellate court can embolden thousands of bad cops and influence the course of the entire justice system. We now have a 40-year track record of appellate courts bending over backwards to justify bad police conduct. Furthermore, Tully pointed to judges turning a blind eye on misconduct by both police officers and prosecutors to avoid compromising their chances for re-election. Appellate court judges are deliberately ignoring misconduct to avoid running afoul of police unions, while imposing sentences that appeal to voters. California: State of Collusion is available on Amazon for both e-book and paperback versions. More information about Joseph Tully can be found on his website. Watch Gabor Gabe Zolna below talking about a Sacramento Superior Court judge approving early releases for repeat offenders, in an apparent bid to appeal to voters. This video is from the zolnareport.com channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: In California, where millions are under lockdown, people are calling the police to report their coughing neighbors. Corrupt judge tramples parental rights and health freedom, orders healthy three-year-old to undergo chemo against parents wishes. I need answers! San Fran woman lashes out at Gavin Newsom after she is savagely beaten by homeless man released from prison by liberal judge (VIDEO). Sources include: JosephTully.com 1 JosephTully.com 2 Tully-Weiss.com Amazon.com JosephTully.com 3 Brighteon.com (Natural News) Are you an American taxpayer? If so, you might be interested to know that Joe Biden and his criminal cabal of White House occupiers this includes Barack Hussein Obama, who basically admitted to pulling Dementia Joes strings from beyond the White House are planning to deprive public schools of federal funding, also known as your hard-earned dollars, if they refuse to bow the knee to the transgender mafia. By the way, you can listen to Obama reveal his true plans in the video below from the Brighteon.com channel Themoreuknow: The latest news headlines reveal that the Biden regime no longer wants to fund lunches at public schools that refuse to let boys into girls' bathrooms, and vice versa. Either confuse children with LGBTQ propaganda or they will starve to death, is Bidens ultimatum. As of now, the federal government supplements public school lunches through the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) based on their respective need. This could soon change to providing lunches based on political allegiance to far-left perversion and sexual deviancy. A May 5 announcement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) explains that public schools will need to update their non-discrimination policies to include special protections for gender identity disorders and other LGBTQ mental illnesses. If they refuse, then no more federal money will be pumped into their coffers. Under the leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA and FNS are issuing this interpretation to help ensure its programs are open, accessible and help promote food and nutrition security, regardless of demographics, the USDA announcement reads. Americas destruction is just about complete It turns out that none of this would be possible were it not for Obama, who during his illegal White House occupation altered federal law to include special protections for people who damage their hormones and remove their genitals to try to become their true selves. Obama-era guidance interpreting Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 to prohibit gender-identity discrimination stated that transgender students must be allowed to use the restroom, locker room and shower facility that matches their gender identity, reports The Daily Caller, pointing once again to the real villain grasping at Bidens puppet strings. Under Biden, the USDA has now chosen to interpret the sex-based discrimination provisions in Title IX of the Education Amendments to include gender identity when all it was ever meant to cover was biological sex. The politicization of science has now been codified at the federal level, in other words. Noam Chomsky last year similarly called for starving the vaxxed into submission, noted Chris Menahan from Information Liberation. I hope Americans are taking notes for when the tables are turned. Will the tables actually turn, though? An entire generation and then some has now been brainwashed into accepting this transhumanist agenda as normal. And many of the ones who have not accepted it will soon find out that the price for this is exclusion from society as they will no longer be allowed to get an education, keep a job or even eat, as in the case of public schools. The answer is to defund and delegitimize government schools, wrote someone at Information Liberation. The first step would be to vote down all local property tax levies that fund government schools. A second step would be to demand that your state government replace government schools with school vouchers. Another wrote that federal income taxes period are illegitimate. If the beast stopped getting fed, then a great many of societys problems, if not most or all of them, would more than likely resolve themselves. More related news about the transgenderization of America can be found at Transhumanism.news. Sources for this article include: Brighteon.com InformationLiberation.com (Natural News) A retired neurosurgeon slammed governments, health experts and personalities like Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates for making the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic the most manipulated infectious disease in history. In a piece published last month on the Surgical Neurology International journal, Dr. Russell L. Blaylock said that the pandemic response was filled with an unending stream of lies spread by government bureaucracies, medical associations, medical boards, the media and international agencies. For the first time in American history, protocols are not being formulated based on the experience of the physicians treating the largest number of patients successfully, but rather individuals and bureaucracies that have never treated a single patient including Fauci, Gates, EcoHealth Alliance, the CDC, WHO, state public health officers and hospital administrators, he wrote. We have witnessed a long list of unprecedented intrusions into medical practice, including attacks on medical experts, destruction of medical careers among doctors refusing to participate in killing their patients and a massive regimentation of health care, led by non-qualified individuals with enormous wealth, power and influence. Meanwhile, renowned experts like Dr. Peter McCullough are being ignored or even censored if they go against the narrative. McCullough has successfully treated over 2,000 COVID-19 patients by using a protocol of early treatment. He has published his results in peer-reviewed journals, reporting an 80 percent reduction in hospitalizations and a 75 percent reduction in deaths by using early treatment. But the so-called experts completely ignored this. Dr. Michael Yeadon, former vice-president for the science division of Pfizer, charged the company with making an extremely dangerous vaccine. The former Big Pharma executive was demonized for this move. (Related: Former Pfizer VP Mike Yeadon declares covid vaccines are toxic by design theyre weapons to reduce global population.) Recently, Dr. Meryl Nasss license was suspended by the medical board in Maine and was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation for prescribing ivermectin. I know Dr. Nass personally and can vouch for her integrity, brilliance and dedication to truth. Her scientific credentials are impeccable. This behavior by a medical licensing board is reminiscent of the methodology of the Soviet KGB during the period when dissidents were incarcerated in psychiatric gulags to silence their dissent, Blaylock said. He also lamented that neither Fauci, the CDC, WHO nor any medical governmental establishment has ever offered any early treatment other than Tylenol, hydration and a tip to call an ambulance once a patient is having difficulty breathing. These medical organizations and federal lapdogs did not even suggest early treatment. They even attacked anyone who attempted to initiate such treatment with all the weapons at their disposal loss of license, removal of hospital privileges, shaming, destruction of reputations and even arrest, Blaylock stated. FDA rejects cheaper drug because Big Pharma wont profit Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected a request to grant emergency authorization to a cheap drug for the treatment of COVID-19. In a 27-page memorandum, FDA said that the benefit of fluvoxamine was not persuasive when focusing on clinically meaningful outcomes such as proportion of patients experiencing hospitalizations or hospitalizations and deaths. Dr. David Boulware, a professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota, drew up the request because he believes that more COVID-19 treatments are needed. He said that FDA said no just because they have a different criteria when analyzing fluvoxamine than when they analyzed drugs from major pharmaceutical companies, such as a pill from Pfizer called paxlovid. FDA should evaluate clinical trials using the same endpoint definitions for generic drugs as for Big Pharma. The deliberate creation of two-tiered system is inappropriate, Boulware said in a letter to Dr. Peter Stein, director of the FDAs Office of New Drugs. A cheap generic drug, fluvoxamine could be extremely useful for low- and middle-income countries where paxlovid is not yet available. The Pfizer-manufactured drug was granted emergency use authorizations by the FDA in December last year. Visit AlternativeMedicine.news to learn about safe and affordable treatments for COVID-19. Watch the below video as Dr. Mike Yeadon says the pandemic response is all lies. This video is from the A Warrior Calls channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Dr. Peter McCullough: Early treatment key to preventing COVID-19 deaths. Former Pfizer VP says all covid vaccine manufacturers need to be immediately indicted for fraud. HISTORY IS MADE: Top 6 Covid Corruption Whistleblowers of 2021 and 2022. Monkeypox is a coverup (distraction?) for covid vaccine adverse events, including AIDS. Sources include: LifesiteNews.com 1 NCBI.nlm.nih.gov LifesiteNews.com 2 Brighteon.com 1 TheEpochTimes.com Brighteon.com 2 (Natural News) Dr. Jane Ruby believes the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines are making people vulnerable to various diseases. These shots are degrading the immune system of people. So whats happening is they are going to become prey to all kinds of opportunistic infections and youre just seeing a degradation of immune power, Ruby told host Stew Peters during a recent episode of the Stew Peters Show. The veteran medical professional and pharmaceutical drug development expert also said that the vaccine-induced HIV-AIDS being transmitted sexually is something that needs to be teased out a little bit. She explained that the HIV-AIDS from the vaccine can be transmitted through body fluids. (Related: Covid vaccines cause AIDS: proof.) The host of the Dr. Jane Ruby Show on Brighteon.TV also talked about getting blood donation from the vaccinated. This is really a big concern for a lot of people because the American Red Cross has been going along with this for a long time without a safety screening program in place, Ruby said, noting that she is not aware of any studies being done on blood donation from the vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. Ruby compared getting the vaccinated blood with getting vaccinated with the Novavax vaccine, which is now approved in certain parts of the world is reportedly coming to the United States. She mentioned that this injection actually makes the spike proteins by the billions using a moth. And then they just directly inject them into you. So how is that different from getting the vaccinated blood of someone who is making millions or billions of spike proteins? Its very dangerous, Ruby explained. Peters presented a question from a viewer who asked about the effect of monkeypox on people who are now immunocompromised because COVID-19 vaccine. Ruby said many people dont really know what monkeypox is yet, except for that fact that it produces shingles. She added that shingles is one of those viral diseases that will appear once a persons immune system is damaged, degraded or down for one reason or another. Monkeypox is another bioweapon made in Wuhan lab Peters noted that monkeypox is not relatively harmless because this is probably another product of gain-of-function research. This has been commercially man-engineered as a bioweapon in the same lab in Wuhan, China. Bill Gates is behind this and it has been weaponized for intentional destruction and death. So the monkeypox that we are seeing here thats coming out is going to be resistant to any vaccines, but yet they are going to push you towards a vaccine that will not be a vaccine. Itll be mRNA technology that is also gene editing, DNA altering, dangerous and deadly, Peters said. So thats the prediction here that Im making. Im not a doctor or a scientist. I know where it comes from. And I wouldnt just discount this as some weak thing. I think that this is going to be something because its been weaponized. Ruby agreed that it is absolutely weaponized although the supposed cases show people are not dramatically ill. Peters pointed out that anybody who contracted COVID-19 and just let their immune system take care of it have managed to survive, especially if they dont have any serious underlying comorbidities. He added that 99.989 percent of people who got COVID-19 survived on their own without any intervention and that this is something that people should not forget about. Follow BiologicalWeapons.news for more news about bioweapons being used against humanity. Watch the video below to know more about Dr. Jane Rubys comments about the immune compromised, blood of the vaccinated and monkeypox. This video is from the Katy Odin channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Stew Peters reminds Americans that COVID-19 pandemic was planned Brighteon.TV. How two corrupt pharma companies are cashing in on monkeypox scare. Dr. Jane Ruby: Big Pharma companies intentionally deploying toxic batches of COVID-19 vaccine Brighteon.TV. Sources include: Brighteon.com DrJaneRuby.com (Natural News) For years, Google, Facebook and the Silicon Valley elite have been trying to control online speech, while manipulating elections and the will of world democracy. Their most successful social engineering scam has come in the form of partnerships with so-called fact checkers. One of the most infamous fact checkers is an organization called Science Feedback, headed up by a guy named Emmanuel Vincent from Paris, France. Right now, Emmanuel Vincent is on the run as authorities seek to reign in this shady organization and its subsidiaries. Science Feedback routinely posts false and misleading statements online to slander and defame others. Instead of labeling Science Feedbacks posts as opinions, Big Tech gives this organization absolute authority over all information on the platform and uses their fact checks to shut down dialogue, debate, dissent, data and common sense. These so-called fact checks are used to obfuscate the truth and misrepresent actual facts. Big Tech uses Science Feedback to promote government propaganda and suppress content they dont like. The president of Science Feedback is on the run, not taking responsibility for libel and censorship On June 24, 2021, the French Ministry of the Interior summoned Mr. Vincent to appear in court for posting defamatory statements and then misrepresenting them as facts. The French Ministry served the paper with the authority of the Hague Convention. Vincent did not show up at the police station or in court, prompting an expensive manhunt by French authorities. In August of 2020, a legal complaint was delivered to Science Feedbacks address: 40 Rue Alexandre Dumas, 75011, Paris, France. Mr. Vincent was nowhere to be found and did not report. Authorities followed him to another address: 16, rue Cecile Furtado Heine, Paris, France, but to no resolve. Authorities were finally able to reach Vincent through the phone. Vincent refused to sign a receipt confirming he received the legal complaints at one of his four addresses. Vincent finally appeared in front of Ms. Marie Fonquerne, a judicial police officer. He confessed he was the president of Science Feedback, but he only agreed to email correspondence, as he denied all responsibility for his actions. When authorities pressed him on the legal complaints, Emmanuel Vincent wrote that he was not responsible for any of it, because Science Feedback is not in a direct partnership with Facebook. Vincent wrote: [I]t is the company SCIVERIFY that works in partnership with FACEBOOK and not the association SCIENCE FEEDBACK. SCIVERIFY is a subsidiary of SCIENCE FEEDBACK and is located at 40 Rue Alexandre Dumas 75011 PARIS and it is who must be assigned, I refuse to accept the act which is not addressed to the right entity. Fact checkers are just middle men, carrying out censorship operations for government criminals The Wall Street Journal called out Science Feedback after they attacked John Hopkins researcher Marty Makary for penning an essay on covid-19 herd immunity. At the time, Dr. Makary had made a prediction based on his analysis of available evidence, but Science Feedback quickly labeled the piece an unsubstantiated claim in a fact check that was used to censor him. This conspiracy is also linked to government officials in Washington. Fact checkers are used to establish official narratives, and the federal government uses these narratives to put further pressure on Big Tech to eliminate any dissent or expose. In 2021, the US government went as far as targeting an alleged disinformation dozen. The Biden regime claimed that Facebook was killing people because they wouldnt entirely remove anti-vax content from their platform. Facebook currently suppresses the reach of any content that calls out the corruption of the vaccine industry, the destruction of medical ethics, and the sad reality of vaccine injury and death. Facebooks (Metas) attorneys finally admitted in a 2021 court filing that these so-called fact checks are opinions, even though they are represented as facts. This admission was made in response to a lawsuit filed by John Stossel. Stossel argued that he was defamed by a fact check that Facebook used to label a video by him as misleading. Even though Facebook uses these fact checks to limit the spread of content they dont like, they were able to state in court that these fact checks are mere opinions, and cannot be held accountable to libel law. Science Feedback and its subsidiary Sciverify are funded in part by Facebook and are trained by Facebooks content moderation team on how to identify false information. If the information does not uphold the narratives pushed forth by the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control, or the National Institutes of Health, then it is slandered and defamed, its reach restricted, shadow banned or blacklisted. Basically, the most totalitarian and criminal sects operating inside the government have outsourced their censorship to Facebook, and then Facebook outsources the work to a trail of middle men overseas. Facebook uses a sophisticated system of content moderation that pretends to consist of third-party fact checkers looking out for the best interest of the public. However, these foreign fact checkers are slowly being exposed, and their perpetrators are running scared, like fugitives. Sources include: SharylAttkisson.com WSJ.com NaturalNews.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Almost unbelievably, yet another food facility in the United States was burned to the ground over Memorial Day weekend. At least one large barn at Forsman Farms in Minnesota housing egg-laying chickens was turned into a pile of ash, reports indicate. The cause of the fires remains unknown. (Related: There have been dozens of similar fires in recent months all targeting food facilities.) It was unbelievable how quick it grew; it was insane, said Andy Trebesch, a neighbor who observed flames at the facility around 10 p.m. on Saturday night. It was the whole sky; it was quite large. The Trebesch family immediately called 911, which sent firefighters from multiple agencies across Wright County to the site. Many of these firefighters are volunteers. One barn housing tens of thousands of chickens was completely leveled in what a farm spokesperson called a tragic accident. Forsman Farms, by the way, has been around since 1918. It is a massive fourth-generation business that sells more than three million eggs per day to some of Americas largest retailers. Overnight, a fire destroyed one of our barns at our Howard Lake farm, the spokesperson added. No one was injured and we are grateful that first responders were quickly on scene to put out the fire. Unfortunately, chickens were lost because of the fire. We are evaluating the extent of the damage which appears to be confined to a single structure as well as investigating the cause of the fire. Was the Forsman Farms fire arson or an accident? Eddie Olson, a resident of nearby Cokato, says he heard about the fire on his scanner, which he typically uses to track severe weather events. Fires are scary in general, but when you see something of that scale you know, out of control, Olson told a local police affiliate. It was just hard to, you know, to think about the chickens, the company, you know, people that work there. Its kind of a hard hit because were already struggling, you know, with the eggs and the cost of stuff and that takes kind of a bite out of the market. The extent of the damage at Forsman Farms is still under investigation, as is the cause of the fire. Its timing and synchronicity with other recent fires of a similar nature is certainly suspicious, to say the least. The egg supply in particular has already been under attack by the new avian flu narrative, which suggests that chickens and other foul are contaminated with another disease that requires their flesh and eggs to be destroyed. As we reported back in early April when the bird flu hysteria was starting to gain traction, the government is using the same fraudulent PCR tests that it used for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) to test birds for avian flu which means the whole thing is probably another fraud. The combination of bird flu propaganda and this new fire in Minnesota attacking egg-laying hens is all too convenient in light of the Great Reset agenda that appears to be well underway. At least we know why these animal viruses popped up recently now, wrote someone at Natural News about the bird flu situation. The silly thing is they suggest that killing the animals is the best way to deal with the situation. If the virus was deadly, wouldnt the animals already be dying from it? Control the food, control the people, wrote another, citing a popular trope about how dictatorships often form. To keep up with the latest news about the coordinated attack on both the national and global food supplies can be found at FoodCollapse.com. Sources for this article include: Minnesota.CBSlocal.com NaturalNews.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Ballentine Elementary School in Fuquay-Varina, N.C., located near Raleigh, has been caught teaching preschool children that men can get pregnant. Rep. Erin Pare (R-Wake County) received an email from a concerned parent in her district who took pictures of flashcards her child was shown depicting what appears to be a pregnant man soon to give birth. The flashcard shows a male figure holding a large pregnant belly with the female figure standing behind him while holding his hips in support. Preschool children at Ballentine Elementary School were also shown flashcards depicting the Progress Pride Flag containing not only the six standard rainbow colors but also black, brown, blue, pink and white for the other genders and gender expressions. The flashcards come from something called Rainbow Families and are clearly designed for young children with full protective laminate. Upon receiving the email, Rep. Pare immediately contacted Principal Lutashia Dove to alert her about the flashcards and the parents concern. Dove reportedly took swift action to both respond and investigate. Dove later confirmed that the stack of flashcards was found and that they are not part of the approved curriculum at the school. Dove says she was unaware that the flashcards were being used at the school. Most North Carolinians want to know what their children are being taught in public school Dove reportedly took immediate possession of the flashcards, contacted the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) area superintendent, and initiated a conversation with human resources about the issue. Dove also thanked Rep. Pare for bringing the matter to her attention as she claims she would not have known about it otherwise. I am grateful that a concerned constituent reached out and that this issue is being addressed in a swift and professional manner by Ballentine Elementary School, said Rep. Pare. Schools should only be using age-appropriate materials, and these flashcards clearly do not meet that standard for a pre-school classroom. I hope schools across Wake County and the State of North Carolina will follow the example of Ballentine and respond swiftly when a parent expresses concern and ensure that materials like this are not being used to teach young students. Add to all this a recent poll showing that 57 percent of North Carolina voters support passing legislation to make parents the primary decision-makers regarding their childs health and medical decisions and provide parents with opt-out options regarding controversial surveys or age-inappropriate classroom materials. The North Carolina General Assembly is said to be reviewing legislation to address this very thing since parents deserve to know what their children are being taught at public school. It is not all that surprising to see the idea of pregnant men creeping its way into public school curriculum now that large corporations such as Calvin Klein are pushing the idea. Teachers who are exposed to this type of propaganda and buy into it are now regurgitating what they think they have learned to the children placed under their care, demonstrating exactly why parents must beware of what their children are being taught. This is Satanism, and dont ever forget it, wrote someone at Natural News. Satan is coming for you, for your family, for your children, and for your future grandchildren. Satans only wish is to destroy all of humanity and to destroy all of human morality through the complete destruction of natural law as created by God. Come out of her, my children, so that you be not partakers in her sins. Babylon WILL fall. Get right with God. More related news about the gender insanity that is infesting and plaguing American schools can be found at Gender.news. Sources for this article include: SpeakerMoore.com NaturalNews.com The UAE and Israel have signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in Dubai, thus beginning a new era of co-operation between the two nations that established diplomatic ties in September 2020. The CEPA deal is expected to advance bilateral trade beyond $10 billion within five years. The UAE-Israel CEPA, the second bilateral trade agreement signed by the UAE, offers unprecedented economic benefits for both parties by lowering or eliminating tariffs on more than 96% of tariff lines and 99% value of trade, enhancing market access for exporters, attracting new investment, and creating opportunities in key industries, including energy, environment, and digital trade. The deal will also support service sectors such as hospitality, financial services, distribution, and construction and provide a platform for SMEs in both countries to expand internationally, reported state news agency Wam. The UAE-Israel CEPA is expected to advance bilateral trade beyond $10 billion within five years and add $1.9 billion to the UAEs GDP within the same time period. Total UAE exports are expected to increase 0.5 percent by 2030, said Abdulla Bin Touq, the UAE Minister of Economy after signing the deal with Major General (Retd) Orna Barbivay, Israel Minister of Economy and Industry. Bin Touq pointed out that this CEPA with Israel will create a new paradigm for the region. "It will accelerate growth and underscores a shared belief that the only way to build resilient and sustainable economies in a complex world is by doing so together," he noted. "It also symbolises something greater than business: the importance of building meaningful partnerships. Our agreement can demonstrate to nations and governments around the world that cooperation and dialogue are the best ways to transform challenges into opportunities," he added. Barbivai said: "This is a visit of strategic importance for economic relations between Israel and the UAE. Today we have signed a CEPA and advanced a series of economic partnerships. Together, we will break down obstacles and we will advance comprehensive trade and new technologies that will serve as a basis for our shared path, contribute to the benefit of our citizens and make it easier to do business." "This is the first full free trade agreement made with an Arab state, that is happening such a short time after the establishment of diplomatic relations," he added. The agreement builds on the exponential growth in trade and investment the UAE and Israel have enjoyed since the signing of the Abraham Accords. From September 2020 to March 2022, non-oil trade surpassed $2.5 billion, while it reached $1.06 billion in the first three months of 2022 five times the total from the same period in 2021. Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, said: "By establishing diplomatic ties in 2020, the UAE and Israel embarked on a new era of regional trade, investment, and exchange. The UAE-Israel Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement will further catalyze economic activity and, importantly, create new research and investment opportunities in agri-tech, renewable energy, and advanced technology, which are priority sectors for both countries." "Over the past 18 months, our nations have demonstrated what can be achieved when we cast aside our differences and, as we emerge from the challenges of the global pandemic, the UAE and Israel believe that multilateral approaches are needed to rebuild supply chains, reinvigorate economies, and restore confidence. We are confident this deal will pave the way for a new era of regional economic success," he added. (Natural News) Over 50 percent of plant species rely on animals for seed dispersal. According to a study published in the journal Science, the ability of animal-dispersed plants to adapt to changing conditions and migrate across the landscape has been reduced by as much as 60 percent because of the loss of mammals and birds that help these plants adapt to environmental change. For the study, scientists from Aarhus University, Iowa State University, the University of Maryland and Rice University used machine learning and data from thousands of field studies to map the contributions of seed-dispersing birds and mammals worldwide. To determine the severity of the declines, they compared recent maps of seed dispersal with maps showing what dispersal would look like without human-caused extinctions or species range restrictions. Evan Fricke, the studys first author and an ecologist from Rice University, explained that while some plants live hundreds of years, their only chance to move is during the short period when theyre a seed moving across the landscape. As human activity destroys the ecosystem, many plant species must relocate to a more suitable environment. However, plants that need seed dispersers may face extinction if there are too few animals to move their seeds far enough to keep up with changing conditions. If no animals eat their fruits or carry away their nuts, animal-dispersed plants wont be able to travel far, explained Fricke. Seed dispersion usually happens when animals eat fruits from plants or carry away their nuts, then excrete or drop the seeds elsewhere. Other seeds have hooks or barbs that catch onto an animals fur, feathers or skin. In tropical rainforests, animals disperse the seeds of at least 90 percent of tree species. Fricke explained that many plants people rely on economically and ecologically need help from various seed-dispersing birds and mammals. Identifying the scale of the seed-dispersal problem globally This study is the first of its kind to quantify the scale of the seed-dispersal problem globally and to identify the regions most affected, said Fricke. The researchers used data from thousands of studies that focused on how many seeds specific species of birds and mammals disperse, how far they disperse them and how well those seeds germinate. (Related: Conservationists study rare species to understand how biodiversity protects ecosystems and humans.) Doug Levey, program director of the National Science Foundations (NSF) Directorate for Biological Sciences, which partially funded the work, explained that the study is a necessary wake-up call about how declines in animal species have significantly limited the ability of plants to adapt to changing ecological conditions. The study also helped show how effective complex analyses are when applied to huge, publicly available data. Findings revealed that there were significant seed-dispersal losses in temperate regions across North America, Europe, South America and Australia. If endangered species go extinct, the tropical regions in South America, Africa and Southeast Asia would be most affected. According to Fricke, there were regions where climate-tracking seed dispersal declined by a staggering 95 percent, even though they only lost a few percent of their mammal and bird species. Additionally, seed-dispersal declines emphasize a crucial ramification of the human-caused destruction of animal biodiversity via habitat destruction and global pollution. The biodiversity of seed-dispersing animals has a large role in the climate resilience of plants, which includes their ability to continue storing carbon and feeding people. Fricke believes ecosystem restoration can help improve the connectivity of natural habitats to rectify some declines in seed dispersal. Jens-Christian Svenning, the studys senior author and a professor and director at Aarhus Universitys Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World, added that large mammals and birds are also very important as long-distance seed dispersers. Unfortunately, many have been widely lost from natural ecosystems. Much of this research is being described in the false context of climate change when it is really about the mass die-off of animals and pollinators due to pesticides, pollution and habitat destruction. Watch the video below to know more about the impact of climate change on biodiversity. This video is from the Finding Genius Podcast channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Newly discovered pathogen variant may wipe out already threatened bee populations worldwide. Sustainable farming: 7 Indigenous practices to preserve crop and soil health. Higher plant biodiversity may help discourage the use of pesticides, reveals study. Sources include: ScienceDaily.com WeForum.org ScienceLearn.org.nz Brighteon.com (Natural News) The Canadian people are learning a lesson once-free people throughout the history of the world also learned the hard way namely, once you surrender your rights along with the ability to get them back, it always leads to tyranny. In an announcement this week following the horrific murder of 19 children and two adults in our country, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used our tragedy to punish his people and further restrict their right and ability to protect themselves from those who would do them harm and from their own increasingly authoritarian government. It will no longer be possible to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns anywhere in Canada. In other words, were capping the market for handguns, Trudeau said as he stood in front of Canadian officials who are still wearing masks despite the fact that COVID-19 has not been a serious health threat for months. And then they all clapped for this tyranny. WATCH: It will no longer be possible to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns anywhere in Canada. In other words, were capping the market for handguns, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says at a news conference in Ottawa as he outlines governments new gun control bill.#cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/cuexvvZ3mV CPAC (@CPAC_TV) May 30, 2022 Mind you, there havent been any mass shootings in Canada. No one in that country has shot up any schools. There arent a lot of handgun crimes, either. But notice how the leftist authoritarians there use tragedy experienced by other people as justification to further crack down on their own law-abiding citizens. In that way, Canadian leftists are exactly like the American leftists in the Democratic Party, as Natural News founder and editor Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, has noted: We saw Trudeaus tyrannical tendencies on display just a few months ago when he ordered Canadas banks to seize the accounts of law-abiding citizens who merely donated a few dollars to the peaceful freedom convoy truckers that were protesting vaccine mandates in Canada. According to Trudeau, anyone who disagrees with Trudeaus tyranny is by definition a terrorist and must have their assets seized. Once Canada is fully disarmed thanks to new legislation, Trudeau will no longer have to be concerned with citizens ability to defend themselves against government death squads and secret arrests. In that scenario, Trudeau can simply claim theres a new outbreak of some infectious disease, then round up all political opposition at gunpoint then take them to infectious disease death camps and have them exterminated at will. Their deaths will be blamed on the current pox or pandemic, of course, and the government will claim they died because they resisted the governments vaccines. Those vaccines, obviously, are slow-acting euthanasia shots engineered to reduce the population of the world through blood clots, cancers, heart attacks, autoimmune disorders and neurological damage. Adams went on to note that what Trudeau and the Canadian left are doing is part of a pattern: Just two years ago, he signed a measure banning AR-15-style self-defense rifles in his bid to double down on crimes against humanity by endangering his own people. And as Adams further notes, disarming Canadian citizens is the same game plan followed by tyrants the world over in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries: Its the first step before imposing large-scale tyranny that includes rounding up citizens deemed to be threats to the regime (like political opponents) and either shipping them off to concentration camps or simply eliminating them. Adams also noted that Trudeau is following a pre-determined nine-step plan developed by the World Economic Forum to topple democratic republics and enslave entire countries: In order to carry out this plan, globalists must achieve: DISARMAMENT of the masses so they are unable to fight back when they realize they are being exterminated. CENSORSHIP of all major communication platforms in order to keep the masses oblivious to the truth for as long as possible. COMPLIANCE of the masses through social pressures and punishments for non-compliance (such as losing your job). PERMANENT CRISIS in order to keep the masses in a state of constant fear and confusion where they defer to authority. RESET of the money supply via CBDCs (digital wallets controlled by central banks) while outlawing cash. CERTAINTY of all election outcomes by rigging the ballot counting machines and counterfeiting ballots. SUPPRESSION of all whistleblowers in science, medicine, government and academia who try to warn the public. ENGINEERED SCARCITY of all natural resources such as fossil fuels, lumber, land, minerals and crop yields. DEMONIZATION of all who criticize government as extremists or terrorists to be arrested, silenced or executed. CONTROL of all media, science funding, pop culture messaging and search engine results in order to erase knowledge. Donald Trump so frightened the Marxist globalist left by his America First popular agenda they are now moving at a quick pace to quash any resurgence of similar movements before he can run for office again. That much is obvious. Sources include: CitizenFreePress.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) The outrages following the mass murders of 19 school children and two adults in Uvalde, Texas last week continue to emerge as we learn more about the tragedy, including a little detail about the citys police chief. Uvalde Schools Police Chief Peter Arredondo donated a total of $17 to Act Blue and $5 of it was earmarked for Beto. The $10 donation was earmarked, Need to Impeach. And while the amount donated was not much, it certainly shows his political affiliation and ideology: That citizens should not be able to own the most popular self-defense rifle in the country. You may recall that year Robert Beto ORourke, formerly a Democratic member of Congress, was running for governor against current GOP Gov. Greg Abbott. After he lost that race, he decided to run for president and entered the Democratic primary sweepstakes. During a debate, he famously said, Hell yes, were coming after your AR-15s. Indeed, that pledge inspired now-Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), who owns a restaurant in Rifle, Colo., where wait staff are required to wear a sidearm, to run for Congress. The police chief of the Uvalde CISD Police donated money to ActBlue in December of 2017 that was earmarked for Beto ORourke. Cant make it up, noted political commentator Pete DAbrosca. The police chief of the Uvalde CISD Police donated money to ActBlue in December of 2017 that was earmarked for Beto ORourke. Cant make it up. https://t.co/xAaBY8E29X Pete DAbrosca (@pdabrosca) May 28, 2022 He then reminded his followers that Arrendondo was the one who stopped responding police officers from entering the Robb Elementary School as the shooter was inside killing people. To be clear: this is the same guy who stopped 19 LEOs from entering the school while 21 people were being murdered, he wrote. To be clear: this is the same guy who stopped 19 LEOs from entering the school while 21 people were being murdered. Pete DAbrosca (@pdabrosca) May 28, 2022 To be clear, preventing officers from entering an active shooter situation at the school goes against their training. And to that point, that same school held an active shooter drill just two months ago. I have spent the past few days researching the training of Uvalde officers, including the tactics they were expected to use to halt school shooters. The documents are jarring. Heres a thread of our findings so far, New York Times reporter Mike Baker wrote in a Twitter thread last week. In the past two years, the Uvalde school district has hosted at least two active-shooter training days. One of them was just two months ago. The trainings included both classroom teachings and role-playing scenarios inside school hallways, he added. The Uvalde training session 2 months ago relied on guidelines that give explicit expectations for officers responding to an active shooter, Baker continued. The training is clear: Time is of the essence. The first priority is to move in and confront the attacker.' But how should officers confront the gunman? With a tactical team? The training says thats probably not feasible, because the urgency is so high. A SINGLE OFFICER, the training says, may need to confront the suspect on their own, the reporter continued. The guidelines provide sobering clarity: The first officers may be risking their lives. But, it says, innocent lives take priority, he added. Baker also quoted the training materials: A first responder unwilling to place the lives of the innocent above their own safety should consider another career field. The training expectations are obviously in stark contrast to what we are seeing in Uvalde. Police officials have said that officers were reluctant to engage the gunman because they couldve been shot,' he wrote, quoting a senior law officer who spoke last week to reporters about why officers did not go in sooner. The Uvalde training session 2 months ago relied on guidelines that give explicit expectations for officers responding to an active shooter. The training is clear: Time is of the essence. The first priority is to move in and confront the attacker.https://t.co/UV5I33bFhi 3/9 pic.twitter.com/7IuKw1lnMi Mike Baker (@ByMikeBaker) May 28, 2022 The guidelines provide sobering clarity: The first officers may be risking their lives. But, it says, innocent lives take priority. A first responder unwilling to place the lives of the innocent above their own safety should consider another career field. 5/9 pic.twitter.com/tQCcODkfTa Mike Baker (@ByMikeBaker) May 28, 2022 Its also possible that the shooter was previously arrested for plotting a Columbine-style attack four years ago, to take place when he was a senior. The shooter in Uvalde was 18. Sources include: ThreadReaderApp.com NaturalNews.com Officials stated that seven individuals died on Georgia waterways over the holiday weekend, including one who drowned in a lake with a tragic past. Infamous Lake According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, a two-boat crash on the Wilmington River in Savannah killed five persons and wounded four others on Saturday. A single household was responsible for four of the victims. Three of the deceased were not discovered until Sunday morning. #BreakingNews @USCG, partner agencies searching for 3 men after 2 boats collided in the Wilmington River, about 1.5 miles north of Thunderbolt Marina, Saturday. More to follow. pic.twitter.com/838wZF9TtM USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) May 28, 2022 The crash's cause is still being investigated. According to the Savannah Morning News, one of the survivors has been charged with boating while intoxicated. Following the crash, Bill Koster, the chief of operations for Chatham County Emergency Services, told reporters, "Rough day today." On Saturday, Kaiden Franklin, 5, was drowned while playing on a float on Lake Allatoona in Clear Creek in northwest Georgia. According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, his body was discovered later that afternoon. He had recently completed kindergarten at Rome's Model Elementary School. The school released a statement on Facebook saying, "Our deepest sadness is having to disclose the death of one of our school babies." According to the Forsyth County News, a 20-year-old male was found dead in Lake Lanier at a Margaritaville resort in the north Georgia mountains on Sunday. His identity was being held by the police pending notification of his relatives. Since 1994, more than 200 people have perished in the lake, which has a strange and eerie history, in swimming and watercraft accidents. In the 1950s, the famous 38,000-acre lake north of Atlanta was built by flooding valley villages and covering existing graves. Ecologists continue to condemn the lake's environmental devastation, and many residents believe it is haunted. According to legend, the "Lady of the Lake," clad in blue, is said to represent a woman who drowned in 1958. Also Read: Swimmer Drowned to Death After a Fatal Shark Attack in Sydney Drowning Drowning killed an estimated 236 000 people globally in 2019, making it a severe public health issue. Injuries accounted for about 8% of total world mortality in 2019. Drowning is the third highest cause of death from an unintentional injury, accounting for 7% of all injury-related deaths. Drownings are becoming more common in lakes, rivers, backyard pools, and other inland water bodies around the United States. Experts argue that because fewer children learned to swim during the coronavirus pandemic's lengthy stay-at-home periods when schools and public pools were closed, children are now at increased danger of drowning. Rising Number of Drowning Cases in the US Ben Hoffman, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention expressed his dissatisfaction with their lack of preparedness. "Last year, it was tough for folks to get swimming lessons," Hoffman told ABC's Good Morning America. "And, from what I've heard, it'll be much more difficult this year because everything has already sold out." The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued its 2021 annual drowning and submersion report. Related Article: Another Body Found in Lake Mead As Water Level Continues to Drop For more climate and weather updates, don't forget to follow Nature World News! Niue, a Pacific island nation, has stated that it will safeguard all of the water inside its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which covers 317,500 square kilometers (122,000 square miles), nearly the size of Vietnam. Protecting Marine Biodiversity The katuali, a sea snake that lives in the island's honeycomb of underwater caverns, can only be found in the ocean that surrounds one of the world's biggest elevated coral atolls. Humpback whales migrate from Antarctica to Niue to give birth, spinner dolphins swim close to the shore, and Niue has the largest population of grey reef sharks globally. Despite this, the reefs of this remote Pacific island, 370 miles (600 kilometers) from its nearest neighbor Tonga, are threatened. Illegal fishing is a big problem in the Pacific Ocean, and Niue is also feeling the effects of the global warming catastrophe, with coral bleaching and harsh weather wreaking havoc on the ecosystem and infrastructure. "Due to frequent high and heavy waves, the sand from several coves has been swept away. Our coral is still recuperating after Cyclone Heta hit Niue in 2004," stated Dalton Tagelagi, Niue's premier. Niue, a self-governing island nation in free association with New Zealand, stated in 2020 that 40 percent of its ocean would be protected. It follows the Cook Islands' lead in pledging complete protection. The Niue Nukutuluea multiple-use marine park was established due to the new policy, which took effect in April. The pristine Beveridge Reef, an uninhabited atoll 120 miles from the island where fishing is prohibited, and only scientific studies are permitted; a three-mile zone for traditional canoe fishing, sport fishing, and scuba diving; a general ocean zone for foreign commercial fishing; and a conservation zone where vessels may pass through but not stop. Those found fishing illegally in Niue's marine park face having their vessel and catch seized and a fine of up to NZ$500,000 (255,000). The government can prosecute under the 2013 Maritime Zones Act or the 1996 Territorial Sea and Economic Zones Act if it considers the offense should be punished more severely. "Depending on the nature of the offense, we can impose even harsher sanctions," said Brendon Pasisi, Niue's director of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. Also Read: Climate Change Affects Ocean Composition, Making it Harder for Marine Creatures to Communicate Fishing Monitoring Global Fishing Watch, a satellite surveillance business, assists the islanders in monitoring the marine park. Because Niue lacks a navy, its 1,700 residents rely on neighboring countries to patrol its waterways. Neighbors Tonga, Samoa, and the Cook Islands carry out annual monitoring activities. At the same time, the New Zealand air force flies over the protected zone twice a year to check for evidence of illegal fishing. However, according to Alanna Matamaru Smith, a marine scientist stationed in the Cook Islands, enforcing the newly protected areas will be a huge problem for the small nation. Some individuals doubt how much marine reserves can accomplish, especially in light of major challenges like global warming, ocean acidification, and increasing sea levels. Despite agreements from more than 50 nations to safeguard 30% of the world's ocean by 2030, just around 6% of the ocean is protected, and only about 2% is in highly protected "no-take" zones. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, most nations lack the resources needed to monitor and preserve the reserves adequately. Intensive Efforts Smaller, lower-income countries may also find it harder to commit to broad-based protection. Palau stated in 2020 that 80 percent of its EEZ would be protected. Meanwhile, Palau is considering reopening 50% of its protected zone to commercial fishing to improve its economy after tourists plummeted during the epidemic. Tagelagi recognizes that converting Niue's whole ocean into a protected reserve is a lofty goal, but he insists that there is no other choice. When the epidemic halted tourism on the island, Barclay's team organized diving dives for schoolchildren and boat trips for younger children. The objective is for young, qualified divers to assist with the replanting of coral on the reef. Still, it is also anticipated that these expeditions would encourage them to pursue a career in ocean conservation. Related Article: Coral Reef in Ocean's 'Twilight Zone' Untouched by Climate Change Found in Tahiti For more Environmental News, don't forget to follow Nature World News! Coffee drinkers seem to benefit from the beverage as it cuts down on the risk of early death. This is true for either a cup of coffee with sugar or a cup that is just plain coffee, The Guardian reports. Getting a cup of coffee may be a routine for some, with the frequency of consumption going unnoticed. However, a group of scientists has been paying close attention to global coffee consumption. According to their estimates, over 400 million cups of coffee are consumed every day in the United States, more than one cup for every person in the country. The scientists pointed out that because not everyone drinks coffee every day, the statistics suggest that the average American coffee drinker consumes three cups per day. The Effects of Coffee on Health Coffee contains a stimulant that affects the central nervous system. Caffeine inhibits the action of adenosine on neuronal receptors and thus prevents drowsiness. Caffeine, while it makes people feel more active and energized, is an addictive drug, and researchers have warned against overdoing it. On the other hand, coffee consumption has been linked to positive outcomes such as slowing the progression of prostate cancer and providing antioxidants in warmer brews. The researchers used the UK Biobank to learn more about the long-term effects of coffee consumption. The UK Biobank Over 500,000 people's lifestyle, genetic, and health data are collected in the UK Biobank, which was first released in 2006. This data can easily be segmented based on the type of people being studied, such as those who drink coffee or don't, those who drink more than three cups of coffee per day, and so on. A group of Chinese researchers accessed this database and chose a cohort of 171,000 people to study for seven years, during which time 3,177 people died. The researchers found that people who drank unsweetened coffee had the lowest risk of death, while those who did not drink coffee had the highest risk. It was discovered that people who drank 2.5 to 4.5 cups of coffee per day had a 29% lower risk of death. Read also: To All Coffee Lovers: Study Shows That 2-3 Cups of Coffee Can Reduce Heart Disease Even those who drank sugared coffee had a lower risk of dying than those who did not. Whether the participants drank instant, ground, or decaffeinated coffee, the results were similar. According to the data, there was no clear correlation among people who used artificial sweeteners instead. However, some researchers who were not involved in the study argue that such results should not be taken at face value. These studies are observational, which does not imply that the results are conclusive. While coffee is addictive and may not be harmful in large doses, this does not mean that one can consume as many sweetened coffees as they want. According to experts, the UK Biobank's data collection consisted of only asking participants once about their lifestyle choices and beverage preferences. Experts added that coffee drinkers are typically more affluent and lead healthier lifestyles than those who do not. Related article: New Scientific Breakthrough Shows Considerable Decrease in Stroke, Dementia Risk With Coffee and Tea Consumption WUHAN, CHINA - NOVEMBER 11: (CHINA OUT) An aerial view of the ships carrying coal transport to unload outside the coal fired power plant on November 11, 2021 in Hanchuan, Hubei province, China. China and the United States on Wednesday released the China-U.S. Joint Glasgow Declaration on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s here at the ongoing COP26 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.his is the 26th "Conference of the Parties" and represents a gathering of all the countries signed on to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Climate Agreement. The aim of this year's conference is to commit countries to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. (Photo : Photo by Getty Images) A new study showed that the Earth's behavior changes dramatically in "chaotic" ways as human-induced climate change worsens. The Earth System (ES), as shown and described by a Landau-Ginzburg model, predicted that Earth will become a chaotic world, "with dire consequences",a NewsBreak report said, drawing a broad picture of the full potential impact of human activity on the chaotic climate. "The implications of climate change are well known (droughts, heat waves, extreme phenomena, etc.)," study researcher Orfeu Bertolami told Live Science. "If the Earth System gets into the region of chaotic behavior, we will lose all hope of somehow fixing the problem." According to the study authors and scientists in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Porto in Portugal, the climate model simulated how our planet heads to catastrophe if climate change and use of fossil fuels are not reduced. The Shifting Climate It is the Earth's nature to experience massive changes in climate patterns from one stable equilibrium to another, driven mostly by external factors like changes in Earth's orbit or surge in volcanic activity. However, studies suggested that we are entering a new phase of climate shift driven by human activity - a new era called the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene is a period of human-influenced climate systems that has never occurred before. "Furthermore, we find that the equilibrium point for temperature fluctuations can exhibit bifurcations and a chaotic pattern if the human impact follows a logistic map," according to the research posted in the preprint database arXiv. The researchers modeled the Anthropocene as a phase transition, a process observed in matter of transfers between phases, such as transition phase from a solid to a liquid. In the case of the Earth's climate, a phase transition leading to a new pattern of seasons and weather indicated a sudden and rapid change in Earth's climate patterns. Also read: Scientists Discover the Source of the World's Most Active Volcano Where is Earth's Climate Headed? These new weather patterns developed due to human activity have become one of the most pressing problems of climate science. It is now only a matter of years for this finite amount of human-driven impact to drive the world into chaos, leading to different outcomes. To account for these regular trajectories in the phase space, a mathematical tool called a logistic map was employed by the researchers to describe climate variables and to what extent they naturally reach a limit. "Our influence on the environment is definitely growing, and it has been for over a century. But it will naturally reach a limit," the researchers explained. "For example, the human population can only grow so large and can only have so many carbon-emitting activities; and pollution will eventually degrade the environment." The researchers found that a tool of such kind can capture the future trajectory of carbon output very well, given that at some point in the future, they will reach a maximum limit. The experts have also explored how a human logistic map and carbon output could evolve with time to examine how the human-driven phase transition affects the evolution of the world's climate. Related article: Avalanche Due to Late-Season Snowfall Results in Several Casualties in Colorado Peru witnessed the world's deadliest avalanche in history 52 years ago. Caused by a massive earthquake, the avalanche triggered a 60-meter high mudslide hurling towards a market town, killing more than 30,000 people and wiping everything on its path of destruction. The natural calamity will later be known in history records as the 1970 Huascaran debris avalanche, where the tremor destabilized a nearby glacier on a mountain in Yungay Province, Peru. The event has been considered to be the country's worst natural disaster in modern history. For the past three decades, Peru experienced a series of relatively weaker yet lethal landslides caused by both geological and meteorological phenomena like strong quakes and heavy rain with flooding. The threat still remains, placing communities and its residents on mountainsides at risk. 1970 Huascaran Avalanche On May 31, 1970, the historic avalanche was triggered by the so-called Ancash earthquake or the Great Peruvian earthquake, with an intensity of 7.7 magnitude on the Richter scale. What started as a mass of snow, the avalanche reportedly absorbed large chunks of gravel and rocks from the Nevados Huascaran mountain before hitting the town of Yungay. Thousands of Yungay residents were gathering for the town's Sunday market at about 3:23 p.m. local time that day when a rock-ice avalanche from a glacier called "Glaciar 511" in the Cordillera Blanca occured, according to GRID-Arendal, a non-profit environmental communications center of the United Nations. The avalanche was traveling at a reported speed of 270 miles per hour and immediately entombing thousands of the inhabitants in the area. The avalanche originated from a overhanging cliff with an elevation of 5,400 to 6,500 meters above sea level in the Peruvian Andes mountain range. The cliff consisted of a fractured granite rock on its peak covered with a 30-meter thick glacier, the center reported. Also Read: Magnitude 7.7 Earthquake Jolts Caribbean Region Ancash Earthquake USGS Report The United States Geological Survey (USGS) issued a preliminary report regarding the geologic events during the 1970 Huascaran avalanche, claiming that the Ancash earthquake was the most destructive earthquake in the Western Hemisphere and ranks in one of the world's catastrophic natural events. During the report in December 1973, the USGS cited a statistical analysis from a Peruvian government agency that the earthquake killed approximately 70,000 people and injured 50,000 others, as well as destroyed 186,000 buildings, which represents 80% of all structures in the region. The Huascaran avalanche occurred almost simultaneously at the same time after the Ancash earthquake, which was recorded in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Peru. Pacific Ring of Fire Geological activities like earthquakes, aftershocks, and tremors contribute to the occurrence of rockfall, mudslides, and landslides across Peru. These phenomenon are common in the South American country for it is situated within the Pacific Ring of Fire, a horse-shoe shaped region across the Pacific Ocean marked by increased seismic activities. It is also for this reason why volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are common in Peru and other countries within the said region. In Peru's most recent catastrophic seismic event, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake occurred in November 2021, destroying a 16th century Catholic church, injuring four people, and destroying hundreds of homes, as per USA Today. Related Article: Avalanche Due to Late-Season Snowfall Results in Several Casualties in Colorado Killer asteroids have reportedly remained a major threat for their potential to hit Earth in a specific point in time in the future. Astronomers and space enthusiasts in the past have long speculated the possibility of the next planet-killing asteroid is not a matter of fact but rather time. Now, a new tool developed allowed the detection of 100 killer asteroids, which were previously unknown to any astronomical database or records. The technology is run by an algorithm that utilizes asteroid archives instead of relying on manual observation on the night sky. Over recent years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and other space agencies worldwide have reached significant advancement when it comes to space technology. This progress included the creation of sophisticated space rockets and concepts for space exploration from private companies, including those from Elon Musk's Space X. However, the successful detection of all incoming asteroids toward Earth is not absolute; as recent space events pertaining to these space rocks showed that the estimation of an asteroid impact or asteroid flyby have proven to be inaccurate, including those from the initially projected asteroid strike of 2009 JF1 on May 6. The ADAM Platform On Tuesday, May 31, the B612 Foundation announced their newly developed asteroid detection platform called Asteroid Discovery Analysis and Mapping (ADAM), which was responsible for detecting the previously unknown asteroids. The foundation is a non-profit organization based in California, United States. According to former NASA astronaut Ed Lu, the executive director of the foundation's Asteroid Institute, ADAM is capable of detecting asteroids by making any telescope with a recorded archive could be converted into an asteroid search telescope, as cited by NBC News. Lu emphasized the platform uses the power of large-scale computation; where the objective is to allow not only additional discoveries of asteroids from existing telescopes but also to detect and monitor asteroids in historical images which went unnoticed. Also Read: Gigantic Asteroid Will Pass By Earth in 7 Years, Do We Have Defense Against Such Threats? THOR Algorithm The B612 Foundation says ADAM's system is based on a novel algorithm called Tracklet-less Heliocentric Orbit Recovery (THOR). The THOR algorithm connects light that are consistent between the asteroid orbits and their night sky archival images. If the technology confirms the space object is an asteroid, the algorithm then calculates its orbit and starts the tracking process, according to a press release from the media company Cision PR Newswire. Near-Earth Asteroids According to NASA, almost 30,000 near-Earth asteroids have been detected up to date. Some of these space rocks vary in sizes and distance, which are situated relatively near our planet's orbit. However, the US space agency is concerned for a small number of killer asteroids that are large enough to either cause widespread damage or pose an extinction-level event in case of a direct impact. With asteroid detection and planetary defense efforts are underway, NASA is currently engaged with the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), a space program which aims to test the deflection of an incoming asteroid and other near-Earth objects through kinetic impact. Related Article: Asteroid Hits Off the Coast of Iceland, Becoming the Fifth Known Earth Impactor Severe storms and heavy rain have been forecasted to hit areas from the southern to the northeastern regions of the United States in the coming days. US weather authorities have indicated the severe weather is expected to generate large hail, strong gusty winds, and tornadoes. The US weather forecast was issued as the country is entering its Atlantic hurricane season. In addition, it came amidst the ongoing trail of destruction in Mexico by Hurricane Agatha, which was initially projected to strike Florida and its surrounding coastal regions. Since March, multiple tornadoes from severe storms have plagued the US spring season. With this, recent forecasts and research indicated that the possibility for a combination of severe weather, as well as both named and unnamed storms linked to the hurricane season from early June. NWS Weather Forecast The National Weather Service (NWS) on Tuesday, May 31, issued its latest weather advisory regarding a frontal system moving southward across the US, traversing the eastern and central regions of the country and threatening to bring severe storms and torrential rain. The Weather Prediction Center (WPC) of the NWS also issued other forecasts pertaining to the arrival of cooler temperatures across the Great Plains and Midwest by mid-week and increased hot weather across the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic. Scattered rain showers, but still dominated by tranquil, seasonal conditions, are also expected west of the Rockies, the NWS - WPC weather advisory indicates. The short-range forecast is valid from Wednesday to Friday, June 1 to June 3. Also Read: Severe Thunderstorm Places over 60 Million Americans at Risk in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Northeast US Weather The US weather agency predicts a slow-moving cold front navigating in a southwestward direction will continue to trigger scattered showers and severe weather across New York and most parts of New England. This entails that weather hazards related to the adverse weather like flash floods and strong winds may affect not only New York but also the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Other Severe Storm Forecasts In a separate forecast, The Weather Channel reported that the threat posed by severe thunderstorms or "severe t-storms" will be mainly concentrated in two area on Wednesday. The first area will be from Ohio to western Pennsylvania and New York state, wherein the primary thunderstorm hazard will be damaging wind gusts. The second area will from Oklahoma to Texas, where there is a possibility of large hail and destructive wind gusts, which can spread into western Texas. Meanwhile, the severe t-storms on Thursday, June 2, will affect the mid-Atlantic and bring the mentioned storm hazards from parts of Virginia to southern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey. The impact of the storm system could reach as far as Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas. In a supplemental forecast, AccuWeather meteorologists saie that the system will shift to east over the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes on late Wednesday and the Northeast on Thursday. The severe weather forecast comes after four storm-spawned tornadoes wreaked havoc across Minnesota, including in Forada and Plato in Minnesota, but with no reported fatalities or injuries, as per local news outlet FOX 9. Related Article: In the Middle of Recovery, Ida Ravaged Northeast May Experience Severe Flooding Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company (Mumtalakat), the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain, held its Portfolio Day today under the patronage of Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, the Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the company. The event was attended by Mumtalakat board members and management team alongside its portfolio companies representatives to discuss Mumtalakats new investment strategy and its alignment with the kingdoms economic growth goals. Shaikh Khalid confirmed the important role Mumtalakat plays in supporting the kingdoms economic growth initiatives under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the supervision of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister. Shaikh Khalid highlighted the new strategy which will allow Mumtalakat to continue to support the economic growth of the Kingdom through developing the fund assets and identifying new investment opportunities that are aligned with the economic requirements of the Kingdom and in cooperation with all stakeholders. The one-day event included sessions and workshops that discussed the principles and pillars of the new strategy of active management and effective board representation. The event also showcased success stories of international entities that are managed with the same principles in addition to few of Mumtalakats success stories in applying the same principles within some of its portfolio companies and the lessons learned during these transformational journeys and the importance of onboarding management teams in adopting the new strategy. Khalid Al Rumaihi, CEO of Mumtalakat, said: Portfolio Day served as a platform to discuss the new investment strategy and Mumtalakats role in supporting its portfolio companies to enhance financial returns and create employment opportunities in Bahrain. In addition to identifying new investment opportunities that are aligned with the Kingdoms economic growth plans within new sectors including food security, fintech, medical technology, vaccine manufacturing and others. Mumtalakats portfolio includes over 50 companies with majority stakes in strategic Bahraini companies that account for 18% of the Kingdoms GDP and supports more than 12,000 jobs locally. It has also contributed a total of BD100 million to the national budget between 2017 and 2021 year-end. Mumtalakats portfolio includes some of the Kingdoms leading companies such as Gulf Air, Alba, Batelco and National Bank of Bahrain. In addition, the fund includes direct international investments and co-investments managed by leading international funds. TradeArabia News Service Mice peer out from a loaf of bread which they hollow out and use the crust to live in, during an attraction for New Year visitors at the Inokashira Park Zoo in suburban Tokyo 06 January 2008, on the last day of Japan's largest holiday. This year is the Year of the Rat, according to the Chinese zodiac. (Photo : Photo credit: YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP via Getty Images) Did you know that mice are terrified of bananas? Not to the looks of it, but the scent of the fruit just drives them away! This "unusual fruit aversion" was discovered by researchers from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, by accident while analyzing stress hormones in male mice when close to pregnant female mice. "The whole thing came as a surprise, since we were not looking for this in particular and found it by accident," said the study's senior author Jeffrey Mogil, who is also a professor in the department of psychology at McGill University. "The pregnant females were in our lab for another experiment, and one of our grad students realized that the males began acting weird," Mogil told Live Science. The study published in the journal Science Advances reported that certain chemical compounds in a banana triggered a stressful response in male mice, the same compound called n-pentyl acetate found in the females' urine. Olfactory Messages among Mice According to the researchers, "male mice, especially virgin males, are well known to engage in infanticidal aggression to advance their genetic fitness." Meanwhile, pregnant and lactating females rely on emitting chemical responses through their bodies called chemosignaling to send messages to the males to stay away from their youngs. While rodents and several mammals rely on their sense of smell, new findings suggested something that has "never been described before in mammals." "We've seen a lot of olfactory messages being sent from males to females, but there are fewer examples of females sending them to males," Mogil said. Most of these messages have to do with sexual behavior, but not for the present case. According to the author, "the females are telling the males to stay away, otherwise be prepared for me to beat the crap out of you if you touch my pups." This observation of the male's stress level in response to the females' urine was compared to possible source that could trigger a similar response. Also read: Earth Heads to Catastrophe as Humans Make the Climate Warm and 'Chaotic' Why the Male Mice Go 'Bananas'! Using banana oil from a local supermarket put in cotton balls, the team measured increased stress levels of the males, just like the urine had done in previous experiments. Findings showed that the hormonal spike directly relates to the stress levels when faced with threat or possible fight. Consequently, exposure to these chemical compounds had an analgesic, or pain-relieving effect that decreases the males' sensitivity to pain, "developed as quickly as five minutes after they smelled n-pentyl acetate, and abated 60 minutes after smelling it," the authors reported. The study offers a glimpse and better understanding of the invisible communication channels animals use to talk to each other, Mogil added. This phenomenon of female-to-male chemosignaling suggested that the close proximity is a previously unknown stressor for the males. Related article: Scientists Puzzled by Mysterious and Extinct Creature as It may be One of Our Ancient Ancestors Testicles have been found to be sensitive to temperatures, even in a small degree. This discovery is based on a study led by researchers in Japan. The scientists found warming testicles of most mammals, including humans, destroy the sperm-creating process called spermatogenesis, which leads to male infertility. For many years, various research estimate there are millions of infertile men worldwide. While there are various causes of male infertility like erectile disfunction and impotence, the correlation of temperature and testicles have been looked into before by scientists. The new study even acknowledged the examination of previous research on the link between heat and spermatogenesis impairment. However, the Japan-based scientists claimed that research was not able to regulate testicular temperature, which is vital to the propagation or death of sperm cells. Warming Testicles In a study published in the journal Communications Biology on May 26, biologists from Yokohama City University in Japan defined mammalian spermatogenesis as a heat-vulnerable process which thrives at low temperatures. However, elevated testicular temperatures reportedly cause infertility among most male animals in the class Mammalia. Based on the study, spermatogenesis is capable of successfully producing healthy sperm cells at 34 degrees Celsius (93.2 degrees Fahrenheit). On the other hand, this biological process fails with temperatures between 37 and 38 Celsius (98.6 and 100.4 Fahrenheit). This failure is caused by the unsuccessful separation of homologous chromosomes into haploid sperms or meiosis, which is the sole mechanism of the sperm-generating process. In addition, damaged cells within the testicles undergo cell death. Also Read: Men Who Smoke Cannabis Regularly May Develop Testicular Cancer - Studies Temperature Tests The study arrived with their conclusion by culturing mouse testes using different temperature tests, with a general temperature-dependency between 30 and 40 Celsius. The site of the experiment was through incubators, containing a testis organ culture, that resembles an ideal environment where spermatogenesis can take place. According to the study's lead scientist, Takehiko Ogawa, the research team did not expect the multiple temperature-dependent events exhibited by the testicle culture, as cited by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Testicles and Scrotum Since the Yokohama City University study asserted that temperature is crucial for sperm cells to emerge and function well, the research provided further knowledge behind the male reproductive anatomy, which consists of the following parts: testes (testicles), epididymis, vas deferens, seminal vesicles, prostate gland, urethra, and penis. The scrotum and testicles are of particular interest since these parts are the focus of the new study. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, the scrotum is a bag of skin that protects the two small organs called testicles and keep them intact, and emphasized that the testicles needs to be cooler than the internal body temperature for them to produce sperm. The current structure of the scrotum outside the body is also the reason of this cold-dependent reproductive process. The novel research sheds light on the current cases of male infertility worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes infertility as a global health issue; where available data shows between 48 million couples and 186 million people are suffering from the reproductive system disease. Related Article: Using Nanotechnology to Warm Testicles Can Work as a Male Contraception Alternative According to information published by Tass on June 1, 2022, Turkey has canceled or postponed some planned NATO drills in the Black Sea due to the requirements of the Montreux Convention amid tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told. Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link NATO ships exercise in the Black Sea in July 2019. (Picture source: NATO) The (Montreux) Convention regarding the Regime of the Straits, often known simply as the Montreux Convention, is an international agreement governing the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits in Turkey. Signed on 20 July 1936 at the Montreux Palace in Switzerland, it went into effect on 9 November 1936, addressing the long-running Straits Question over who should control the strategically vital link between the Black and Mediterranean Seas. The Montreux Convention regulates maritime traffic through the Black Sea. It guarantees "complete freedom" of passage for all civilian vessels during peacetime and permits Turkey to restrict the passage of navies not belonging to Black Sea states. Military vessels are limited in number, tonnage, and weaponry, with specific provisions governing their mode of entry and duration of stay. Warships must provide advance notification to Turkish authorities, which, in turn, must inform the parties to the Convention. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the Ukrainian government appealed to Turkey to exercise its authority under the Montreux Convention to limit the transit of Russian warships from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. At least six Russian warships and a submarine had crossed the Turkish straits in February. After initial reluctance, attributed to the country's close ties with both Russia and Ukraine, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced on 27 February that his government would legally recognize the Russian invasion as a "war", which provides grounds for implementing the Convention with respect to military vessels. This blockage of naval vessels also applies to NATO powers who cannot now move their vessels from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. Omans Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (Madayn) has signed a cooperation protocol with the Secretariat General of the Tender Board to study and analyse the Bill of Quantities for a number of government tenders. In its first stage, the programme provides for the establishment a link with locally made products and eventually develop a database of products and services of companies and production units (factories) based in industrial cities, after checking their adherence to quality standards, reported Oman News Agency (ONA). The linking task will be undertaken by Madayn through its Industrial Innovation Academy. The cooperation protocol was signed by Badr Salim Al Maamari, Secretary-General of the Tender Board, and Hilal Hamad Al Hasni, CEO of Madayn. Indias railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw addresses the inaugural programme of Mitali Express, third passenger train between Bangladesh and India, at Rail Bhavan in New Delhi on Wednesday. Bangladesh Railways Ministry The Mitali Express on the DhakaNew Jalpaiguri route via Chilahati in Nilphamari in Bangladesh and Haldibari in India began its journey on Wednesday after a gap of 57 years. The express train, third passenger train between Bangladesh and India, started its journey from New Jalpaiguri at about 9:30am on the day and reached Dhaka cantonment station at about 10:55pm on the same day with 18 passengers. The train service was jointly inaugurated in New Delhi at Rail Bhavan under the Indian Railways virtually around 10:00am in the presence of Bangladeshs railways minister Nurul Islam Sujan and the Indias railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The train communications on this route came to an end following the India-Pakistan war in 1965, said Bangladesh Railways west zone general manager Asim Kumar Talukder. He also said that later in December 2020 freight train services on the route between the two countries resumed. On March 26, 2021, prime minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Mitali Express. But due to the outbreak of the delta variant in India and Bangladesh, the service did not start. Later on Sunday, the cross-border train service between Bangladesh and India resumed after remaining suspended for over two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. On Sunday, the Maitree Express on the DhakaKolkata route and the Bandhan Express on the KhulnaKolkata route restarted their international trips. The Mitali Express will leave India on Sundays and Wednesdays and leave Bangladesh on Mondays and Thursdays. During a meeting, railways minister Nurul Islam Sujan urged his Indian counterpart to run the Mitali Express five days per week, said a press release issued by the railways ministry. Bangladesh Railways west zone general manager Asim Kumar Talukder told New Age that on the first day 18 passengers came to Bangladesh from India while for journey from Dhaka to New Jalpaiguri today (Thursday) four passengers brought ticket. An apparent lack of publicity was behind this low number of passengers, he added. The number of seats in the Mitali Express will be 456 during daytime and 408 during night time as it has sleeping facilities. Passengers have to pay Tk 5,255 for an air-conditioned berth, Tk 3,420 for an AC seat and Tk 2,780 for an AC chair seating in the train. The Mitali Express will cross a total of 495 kilometres on the DhakaNew Jalpaiguri route, with 61 kilometres of the route being in India, and the rest are in Bangladesh. The cross-border train services of the Maitree Express and the Bandhan Express were also launched in 2008 and in 2017 respectively. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina presides over the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council at the Planning Commission in Dhaka, on Wednesday. BSS photo. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council in a meeting on Wednesday approved a proposal from the Bangladesh Bridge Authority to make an upward revision of the Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway project funded by China. Following the revision, the new project cost now stands at Tk 17,553.04 crore from Tk 16,901.32 crore, said planning minister MA Mannan at a briefing after the meeting at the Planning Commission. The tenure of the project has been extended by four years till June 2026 from June 2022 for the project, said the planning minister. Exim Bank of China will provide a loan worth Tk 9,192.07 crore to the project. The meeting presided over by prime minister Sheikh Hasina physically first time since March 2020 also approved eight more project proposals with an overall involvement of Tk 2,665.21 crore. The United States warned Tuesday that it will try again to toughen United Nations sanctions if North Korea tests a nuclear weapon, after a bid last week was vetoed by China and Russia. Asked if the United States would make a new attempt at the Security Council if North Korea goes ahead with a feared nuclear test, US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said: Absolutely we will. First of all, we need to enforce the sanctions that we have already authority to enforce, she told reporters. And we certainly, as we attempted in this last resolution, will push for additional sanctions, she said. US intelligence has said that North Korea appears to be preparing its first nuclear test since 2017, although it did not go ahead during a visit to the region earlier in May by President Joe Biden. The United States on Thursday forced a vote at the Security Council on toughening sanctions after North Korea carried out a series of rocket launches including, according to US and South Korean officials, of an intercontinental ballistic missile. The United States said the test was a brazen violation of a unanimous United Nations resolution in 2017 that warned of further consequences for tests of long-range missiles or nuclear weapons. But China, North Koreas main ally, and Russia, whose relations with the West have deteriorated sharply over its Ukraine invasion, both vetoed the resolution, saying that new sanctions would be counterproductive and raise tensions. The United States instead on Friday imposed new unilateral sanctions, including on two Russian banks accused of assisting North Korea on its weapons programs. The Biden administration has said it is ready for dialogue with North Korea without preconditions. But it has found little interest in low-level negotiations from Pyongyang, where leader Kim Jong Un held three meetings with Bidens predecessor Donald Trump that lowered tensions but failed to produce a lasting agreement. A three-member delegation of Cankiri Karatekin University in Turkey calls on Islamic University vice-chancellor Professor Shaikh Abdus Salam on the IU campus in Kushtia on Wednesday. New Age photo. A three-member delegation of Cankiri Karatekin University in Turkey called on Islamic University vice-chancellor Professor Shaikh Abdus Salam on the IU campus in Kushtia on Wednesday. The members of the delegation were Sarkan Koldas, Efehan Ulas and Ace Noor, said a press release issued by the university's information, publication and public relations office. During the meeting, they discussed matters of mutual interest and exchanged views on expansion of the ongoing joint academic and research activities between Islamic University and Cankiri Karatekin University. The possibilities of an exchange of teachers and students between the two universities were also discussed at the meeting. IU pro-vice-chancellor M Mahbubur Rahman, treasurer M Alamgir Hossain Bhuiya, IU English department chair M Maher Ali, IU international affairs division director M Shahadat Hossain Azad and others were present on the occasion. A file photo shows clients receiving services at a branch of a bank at Motijheel in the capital Dhaka recently. Inflow of remittance dropped by 15.95 per cent or $3.64 billion in the July-May period of the current fiscal year 2021-2022 amid a widening gap in exchange rates in the formal channel and the kerb market. New Age photo Inflow of remittance dropped by 15.95 per cent or $3.64 billion in the July-May period of the current fiscal year 2021-2022 amid a widening gap in exchange rates in the formal channel and the kerb market. In the 11 months of FY22, the inflow dropped to $19.19 billion from $22.84 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year, the Bangladesh Bank data released on Wednesday showed. Though the central bank on Sunday increased the interbank exchange rate of the US dollar to Tk 89, the exchange rate of the greenback still remained at up to Tk 97 on the informal market, known as the kerb market. Asked about the remittance inflow trend in the current fiscal year, Centre for Policy Dialogue distinguished fellow Mustafizur Rahman told New Age, I dont treat it as a decline if the amount is compared with the pre-pandemic period. Instead, the growth rate would be double digit if it is compared with the inflow of remittance in the first 11 months of the pre-pandemic fiscal year of FY20, he said. The inflow went up unusually in FY21 for a number of reasons, including return of migrants along with their savings and additional financial support by the migrants to family members due to the Covid outbreak, Mustafizur said. In FY19 and FY20, the inflow of remittance was $16.42 billion and $18.21 billion respectively. The amount, however, rose sharply to $24.78 billion in FY21. In FY21, the government for the first time introduced 2 per cent incentive against the inflow of remittance and the amount was revised upward to 2.5 per cent in January 2022 amid a downward trend from the very beginning of the fiscal year. Mustafizur also mentioned that an exchange rate stability would be very much vital so that the exchange rate difference does not divert remittance to the kerb market from the formal channel. If the exchange rate gap between the formal and kerb market remains as high as Tk 7, there might be a tendency of remitters of sending remittance through the informal channel, he said. Our embassies should carry out a strong campaign to encourage expatriates to send money through the formal channel, he said, adding that the migrants should also be informed about the violation of law if money was sent through any informal channel like hundi. Besides, the countrys remittance would see positive results due to new migrations, he said. In 2021, migration from Bangladesh increased to 6,17,209 from 2,17,669 in the previous year. In the first four months of 2022, total 4,26,558 people left Bangladesh for different destinations, including 2,68,584 to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, showed the latest the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training data. If the exchange rate can be kept stable and the difference between the formal and kerb market can be kept to a minimum level, it would be possible to overcome the slowdown, Mustafizur said. Asked about the newly introduced scope for sending money above $5,000 without any document, Mustafizur said that he did not consider it a positive step since it would create scope for legalising money through remittance. Amid a gradual decline in the foreign exchange reserve to around $42 billion from $48 billion, the central bank On May 23 exempted remitters from providing any document to receive cash incentive against remittances worth $5,000 or above. The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Wednesday alleged that the prices of rice kept going up even in this peak harvesting season due to the manipulation of the government and the ruling Awami League people. BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made the allegation while speaking at a discussion at National Press Club. Jatiyatabadi Krishak Dal organised the programme marking the 41st death anniversary of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman. I have seen in the newspapers that the prices of rice are rising when they are supposed to come down in this peak season, Fakhrul said. Fakhrul also criticised the AL leaders for their speeches targeting opposition parties and leaders. I want to say again and again that you [AL leaders] change the language. The way Obaidul Quader [AL general secretary] threatened yesterday [Tuesday] it is not the language of any politics. You do not believe in democracy. If he believed in democracy, he would not speak in this language, Fakhrul said. Quader on Tuesday asked Fakhrul not to play with fire. If you play with fire, its consequences will not be good, Quader said. Krishak Dal president Hasan Jafir Tuhin presided over the discussion, which was attended by Bangladesh Agricultural University professor Golam Hafiz Kennedy, and Krishak Dal general secretary Shahidul Islam Babul among others. Momtazuddin Ahmed Thursday is the third anniversary of the death of the Ekushey Padak-winning playwright, Language Movement activist, theatre activist and actor Momtazuddin Ahmed. He was born in 1935 in Malda, British India. He participated in the Language Movement when he was a student at Rajshahi Government College. Ahmed along with his fellow students erected a Shaheed Minar at Muslim Hostel of Rajshahi Government College on February 21, 1952. He was imprisoned multiple times for his involvement in political activism. Ahmed is mostly known for his satirical plays and columns depicting social and political anomalies. He wrote around 40 plays for stage, radio and television and directed several of them. He also acted in some of the most popular TV dramas in the 1970s and 80s. Apart from plays, he has written novels, research papers, essays, newspaper columns, screenplays for films and more. His works also extended to the field of pedagogy. Among his popular plays are Ki Chaho Shankhachil, Raja Anuswarer Pala, Hridoy Ghatita Byapar Syapar, Saat Ghater Kanakari, Swadhinata Amar Swadhinata, Bakulpurer Swadhinata and others. Momtazuddin Ahmed taught Bengali, Sanskrit, and European drama in several non-government and government colleges for over three decades. He was a professor in the department of Bangla at Jagannath University and a part-time teacher at the department of Music and Dramatics at Dhaka University. Rabindra Bharati University has included his works Bibaha and Ki Chaho Shankhachil in its curriculum. Several of his plays are also included in primary, secondary and higher secondary curriculum in Bangladesh. For his contribution to theatre, education and culture as a whole, he received Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1976 and Ekushey Padak in 1997. Besides, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy honoured him as one of the outstanding playwrights in Bangladesh in 2008. He died in 2019. Saudi Arabia and Greece have explored opportunities to expand partnerships in the private sector and boost investment cooperation. On a visit to Greece, Khalid Al Falih, Saudi Arabias Minister of Investment, held bilateral meetings with several high-level Greek officials including Minister of Development and Investment Adonis Georgiadis, Minister of State and Digital Governance Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Minister of Tourism Vasilis Kikilias, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Ioannis Plakiotakis, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Costas Fragoyiannis. Reflecting on the visit, Al Falih said: This visit builds on a bond between our two nations that runs deep and is of a long-standing, historic and strategic nature. In recent months, our countries have met at the very highest level several times, resulting in key achievements such as the launch of the Joint Saudi-Greek Business Council and the Saudi-Greek Investment Forum. Common interest During this trip we explored further several areas of common interest. Our continued collaboration will help us to achieve our mutual determination to transform our economies, and now is the time to ensure an overarching alignment between our visions to further economic growth and investment in both countries. The fifth meeting of the Saudi-Greek Joint Ministerial Committee took place during the visit. The Committee focused on ways to develop partnerships across key sectors of shared interest, recognising the importance of continued collaboration between both countries at the highest level. On the sidelines, the Saudi-Greek Investment Forum was held, which explored mechanisms to deepen cooperation in the energy, construction, innovation, agricultural foods, maritime transport, and tourism sectors, whilst also promoting the resources available to investors. Saudi-Greek Business Council In addition, the inaugural Saudi-Greek Business Council convened, marking the next step in the partnership. The Business Council involved participation by the Council of Saudi Chambers and the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises, as well as meetings between representatives of the private sector from both countries to develop existing partnerships and explore ways to benefit from new opportunities available.-- TradeArabia News Service A campus-based journalist was physically assaulted by a group of students at Rajshahi University Tuesday night. The injured journalist, Omar Faruk, is a final-year student of the mass communication and journalism department. He works for online news portal campuslive24.com. Witnesses said that a worker from Netrokona district was electrocuted while welding at an under-construction academic building on the RU campus Tuesday noon. Protesting at the incident, the members of the Netrokona District Student Association vandalised the construction site at 9:30pm. Omar told New Age that the members of the association, mostly activists of the ruling Awami League-backed Bangladesh Chhatra League, carried out an attack on him while he went to film the incident of vandalising. When I gave them my identity, the student association president Mehedi Hasan Shadhin snatched my mobile phone, started punching me on my head and hurled abusive language, he alleged. Omar said that he had lodged a complaint with the university proctor office and filed a general diary with Motihar Police Station in this regard. However, the accused Mehedi Hasan Shadin denied the allegation of beating and said that he had snatched the mobile phone as Omar was filming the incident of vandalism and thrown it on the ground. RU proctor Professor Ashabul Haque told New Age that he had received the complaint and would take action in this regard after an investigation. Despite the challenges of the past couple of years, Bahrains transportation strategy has remained focused, stated Shaikh Ahmed bin Isa bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, the Undersecretary for Ports and Maritime Affairs. He was giving his keynote address at the 18th Trans Middle East 2022 Exhibition and Conference, held at The Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel, Residence and Spa in Bahrain, on Wednesday. At the core of this strategy is the recently launched global sea-to-air logistics hub in the region, which affirms the kingdoms strategic position midway between European and Asian markets as well as its proximity to regional target markets, he added. The two-day event, being held under the patronage of Engineer Kamal bin Ahmed Mohamed, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, is the first maritime event held in the kingdom since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world. According to Shaikh Ahmed, this hub relies on a seamlessly integrated infrastructure consisting of capabilities across land, air and sea transport, and once complete, is expected to lead to 40 per cent cost savings compared to airfreight and 50 per cent faster lead time than pure sea freight, with only a two-hour turnaround time for all containers. Additionally, the full airport modernisation programme, setting up of a new cargo zone near the airport for which it has confirmed Fedex as an anchor tenant, and the passing of the new maritime law are other major efforts which have boosted the kingdoms maritime services. We have just recently succeeded in passing into law a new maritime code, which is the first major update to the law and brings Bahrain into par with other countries, Al Khalifa said in his address, and added: The new law and regulations are designed to ensure that our main commercial port, the Khalifa bin Salman Port (KBSP), provides the highest efficiencies possible in port and logistics services. Lauding the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications efforts, Al Khalifa said that despite the global slowdown over the past two year, the Ministry in 2021 witnessed an increase of over 40 per cent in maritime licensing activities over the previous year with a 45 per cent increase in new licenses issued. Maureen Bannerman, Managing Director, APM Terminals Bahrainthe operator of the KBSP--said that as Bahrains only commercial port, with over 90% of consumer goods coming through its operation, Khalifa Bin Salman Port is an invaluable part of Bahrains national infrastructure and growth and a significant contributor to Bahrains non-oil GDP. Over the past ten years, KBSP has witnessed stable growth across its various operations including container volumes. This area has grown by 60%, general and bulk cargo by 237%, and over 11,000 vessels including 390 cruise vessel calls that have collectively brought 813,436 visitors to Bahrain, she said in her welcome address. Commenting on the impact the pandemic has had on the shipping and maritime industry and the disruptions to the global supply chain, she said that `the recovery for our industry will linger much longer than others. Despite these headwinds, the highlight for Khalifa Bin Salman Port (KBSP) for 2021, has been its ability to adapt to our customers requirements in the increasing demand for break-bulk handling on General Cargo vessels through conversion of containerized volume, besides the introduction of new non cargo related services. This combined with a favourable cargo mix and revenue from non-cargo related activities has resulted in a positive year, despite the global setbacks we all faced, Bannerman said. The increased throughput numbers last year were on the back of three new Container Services, including one Mainline Service connecting Bahrain to the Far East and a common carrier service connecting Bahrain to the Indian Subcontinent. Movement restrictions on the King Fahd Causeway linking Bahrain to Saudi Arabia resulted in the modal shift of cargo from road to sea, which positively impacted the cargo throughput at KBSP, she added. This has not so much created new trends in supply chain and logistics as it has accelerated existing ones, from increased digitalization to the need for faster shipping services to meet rising e-commerce demand, Bannerman said. Other session topics, on the first day, included Decarbonising Shipping; GCC Investment Opportunities and Economic Diversification on Global Maritime Trade Flow; Driving Digital Transformation in the Port and Transportation Industries; and Challenges and Opportunities in Multimodal Supply Chain Movements Throughout the Region. The event, features over 20 local, regional and international speakers addressing topical issues and challenges on global transportation and logistics with an audience that includes executives from the regions leading shippers, cargo owners, importers/exporters, shipping lines, freight forwarders, logistics companies, ports, terminal operating companies, railway operators, port equipment and services suppliers from countries throughout the GCC region. In addition, an exhibition featuring 28 maritime and logistics companies is being held in parallel to the event, showcasing products and capabilities in the maritime sector. Exhibiting companies include APMT Bahrain, Tamkeen, Bahrain Polytechnic, TMEIC, Bemo Rail, Basrec, Export Bahrain, Gulf Air and Red Sea Gateway Terminal.TradeArabia New Service remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Bhopal, June 1 (UNI) Throwing down the gauntlet to the scourge of terrorism, BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda minced no words on Wednesday when he said that the Centre is definitely not maintaining silence over the grisly truth that militants are targeting civilians in Kashmir. In fact, ceaseless action is underway against the grim shadow of insurgency. New Delhi has an unambiguous zero-tolerance policy vis-a-vis such cases. Those desiring anarchy are experiencing frustration over the fact that local bodies elections were finally conducted peacefully in Kashmir recently, the visiting leader averred during an interaction with media representatives in the Madhya Pradesh capital. Heaping sarcasm on erstwhile Congress president Rahul Gandhi in the context of his much-talked-about public appearance in London, Mr Nadda quipped that nobody lends a patient ear to Mr Gandhi in India and that is precisely why he talks big abroad. Regarding the Gyanvapi Mosque issue, let me make it abundantly clear that the BJP reposes unalloyed faith in the Constitution and the judiciary, he added. UNI GV-AC Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government that is distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Reporter Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk). Our County Editor Dave Hinton is editor of The News-Gazette's Our County section and former editor of the Rantoul Press. He can be reached at dhinton@news-gazette.com. Reporter Debra Pressey is a reporter covering health care at The News-Gazette. Her email is dpressey@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@DLPressey). AP The U.S. and Germany are pledging to equip Ukraine with some of the advanced weapons it has long craved for shooting down aircraft and knocking out artillery Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (2nd R) co-hosts the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting with Fijian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Voreqe Bainimarama (1st R) in Suva, Fiji, May 30, 2022. Photo: Xinhua On May 30, 2022 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Fijian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama co-chaired the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Suva. At a joint press availability after the meeting, Wang said that the success of the meeting can be summarized in a five-point consensus including deepening the two sides' comprehensive strategic partnership. However, Western media selectively ignored these fruits but focused on the joint document that was not finalized, saying China "falls short" on cooperation with Pacific island countries. Such reports only reflected the zero-sum mentality of some Western elites who see every diplomatic move of China through a geopolitical lens. It is quite normal for cooperation documents between China and Pacific island countries to come up for more consultations. This is just a normal stage in bilateral cooperation. Many international multilateral documents require lengthy discussions before they are finally signed, Chen Hong, director of the Australian Studies Center at East China Normal University, told Global Times. "The West spares no efforts to say that China 'fails' and 'falls short' in a bid to smear China's diplomacy, portraying a scenario that appears China's diplomacy doesn't work well," Chen said. But no matter how hard they hype China's "setback," they cannot disguise the fact of the US and Australia's diplomatic failure in the region. Western media's coverage of Wang's trip has shown the West's zero-sum mentality to the fullest. The West believes that if China "wins," that means a loss of the West; but from China's perspective, whether cooperation can be a win-win result matters. The West focuses on the "security pact," but in a distorted way. China's cooperation with Pacific island countries aims to boost local governance. But the West says it is about military; and this is nothing but a move to pave way for hyping the "China threat theory." The West wishes to pile more pressure on Pacific island countries this way and mislead them to doubt, even reject cooperation with China, so that they can exclude China in the region and realize their zero-sum goals. Some observers were quoted by Western media as outlining China's so-called "global ambitions" and China's "embarrassment." Such analyses apparently misinterpret China's diplomacy for the sake of smearing. Wang emphasized that the cooperation between China and Pacific island countries aims to "make the world fairer, more harmonious and stable." The consultations for consensus on cooperation between China and local countries demonstrate China's full respect for Pacific island countries to achieve this goal. "China is willing to listen to Pacific island countries and does not seek to impose anything on them. This is in sharp contrast to Australia's previous efforts to block cooperation between China and those nations," Chen noted. "Although Australia stresses respect for the decisions of regional nations, such 'respect' is entirely based on double standards." "When Australia exerts its influence over these countries, it does not respect their ideas. Even the new foreign minister, on a visit to Fiji, openly said there would be 'consequences' for Pacific island countries which cooperate with China. This was a blatant threat," Chen said. As Wang advised, when seeing cooperation between China and Pacific island countries, some people should not "be too anxious or nervous." Forcing Pacific island countries to make a choice with a zero-sum game mentality while ignoring their interests will only hurt those countries' interests, let alone respect them. China has set an example of policing cooperation with the Solomon Islands and countries like the Philippines and Italy outside the region, Chen said, noting that actions speak louder than words. It is believed the development of cooperation between China and Pacific Island countries will dispel the doubts of all parties and let them witness the benefits of security cooperation with China for social stability. New Delhi, June 1 (UNI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held an extensive conversation with the Foreign Minister of Canada Melanie Joly on Wednesday during which the two discussed their political and economic engagement, as well as close community connections, with the Indo-Canadian population pegged at 1.4 million. He also spoke about the misuse of freedoms and the dangers of extremism in reference to the Khalistani extremist elements residing in that country and fomenting secessionism. The two also discussed the Ukraine conflict. The EAM said in tweets: An extensive conversation recently with Foreign Minister @melaniejoly of Canada. Discussed expanding our political and economic engagement, as also our cultural and community connect. Spoke about misuse of freedoms and the dangers of extremism Exchanged views on the Indo-Pacific and the global effects of the Ukraine conflict. Agreed to strengthen multilateral cooperation, including in the Commonwealth." The Canadian FM in a tweet said that she spoke with her Indian counterpart to deepen Canada and India's long-standing friendship. We discussed global stability and security, CEPA, expanding the Canada-India Transport Agreement and the importance of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. The Canadian Foreign Ministry statement said the two sides discussed Russias invasion of Ukraine and the need for the international community to come together to restore global peace and security. They also discussed the broader impact of the conflict including on global food security. They also discussed areas of future collaboration, including tackling climate change and working towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), expanding the Canada-India Transport Agreement, among other matters. The talks follow the visit in March of Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng to India, in a high level visit aimed at taking bilateral ties forward and to push the CEPA negotiations. UNI RN 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. Submit Champaign, IL (61820) Today Some clouds. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 59F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 59F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Introduction The role of testosterone Infertility Erectile dysfunction High male mortality A case-by-case approach References The term "male health" is used in the sense of "potency and reproductive viability"; sometimes, the expression "male power" is used instead. But male power is only part of the overall well-being. A man's health includes both "men's health" and general physical activity, a stable emotional background, normal pressure, and pulse. Often, men face an important hurdle in their self-evident health issues in general, recollecting themselves when the problem has gone too far. Among doctors, there is the concept of a "lethal quartet": obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and stress. With age, this combination threatens so many members of the male sex. Image Credit: BlurryMe/Shutterstock.com The role of testosterone German scientist Michael Zitzmann, an endocrinologist at the University of Munster, has studied the effects of testosterone deficiency on men's health. During his research, he found that problems with potency are often associated with diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Also, low testosterone, according to him, is the cause of depression in men. The crucial role of testosterone in men's health is confirmed by a long-term study conducted by the Heart Institute in Salt Lake City. Older men diagnosed with coronary heart disease and testosterone deficiency were given hormone replacement therapy, increasing the level of the male hormone. As a result, their group experienced fewer strokes and heart attacks than the control group, which did not receive testosterone therapy. Infertility Infertile men have associated health problems or risk factors that can impair their quality of life and shorten their lives. Assessing a man's fertility provides a unique opportunity to assess their overall health and prevent disease, which was uncovered during a study of 5,000 infertile couples from the Italian Society of Andrology and Sexual Medicine. It indicates not only a decrease in fertility but also other malfunctions in the male body. According to a recent large-scale study by endocrinologists in Italy, low sperm count is associated with adverse metabolic changes, risk of cardiovascular disease, and decreased bone mass. Urologists, endocrinologists, therapists, and psychotherapists deal with the problems of infertile marriage. The causes of male infertility include chronic inflammatory diseases of the male reproductive system, sexually transmitted diseases, and metabolic syndrome. Erectile dysfunction Over half of men (52%) aged 40-70 suffer from erectile dysfunction - the inability to have an erection or maintain it at a level sufficient for normal sexual intercourse. Only 10% go to doctors. This delicate problem leads to an unhealthy lifestyle and problems with the nervous, genitourinary, or endocrine system. One of the most common male diseases is prostatitis. After 50 years, up to 50% of men have hidden or overt manifestations of prostatitis. Less common are adenoma and prostate cancer. And even though the symptoms of all prostate diseases cause severe inconvenience to a person, men do not immediately go to the doctor. Male infertility and erectile dysfunction may result from excessive alcohol consumption. It should be remembered that under the influence of alcohol, degenerative changes occur in the very finely arranged epithelium of the testicles, which produces spermatozoa. Image Credit: tommaso79/Shutterstock.com High male mortality According to the HSE Institute of Demography for 2017, the mortality rate among the male population is higher both in general and for all major causes: from respiratory diseases - 5.96 times higher than for women, from external factors (accidents, poisoning, injuries) - 5.1 times, from infectious and parasitic diseases - 5 times, from diseases of the circulatory system - 4.6 times, from digestive organs - 3.5 times, and from malignant neoplasms - 2.4 times. In the structure of oncological diseases in men in several countries, prostate cancer takes 2nd or 3rd place; in the USA and Sweden, it takes 1st place. Only melanoma is ahead of it in terms of the rate of increase in incidence. In February 2019, a Federation Council Committee on Social Policy meeting was held on "Actual issues of maintaining the health of the male population." It addressed issues of early diagnosis and treatment of urological diseases, protection of the reproductive health of the male population, gender characteristics of cardiovascular diseases, as well as ways to increase life expectancy. A case-by-case approach Men's health is characterized primarily by the individual and depends on the specific situation. The need for regular examination by specialists is determined by the presence of chronic diseases or bad habits in the patient. However, even men without any underlying health problems are still at the risk of developing a particular disease. For those individuals, the doctor will assess the frequency of examinations to identify the disease at the earliest stages of development. Ongoing scientific fundamental and applied research should be focused primarily on providing preventive and personalized assistance to prevent an early diagnosis of diseases. It is also noted that the development of new medical technologies and the creation of new pharmaceuticals can improve the ability to treat diseases but, unfortunately, do not affect the demographic situation on a global scale. All this should work to shift health care priorities from the treatment of diseases to the maintenance of men's health. For a modern man, the desire to increase life expectancy should be due not to the fact that he will live longer in old age but to the fact that old age will come much later. Williams, David R. (May 2003). "The Health of Men: Structured Inequalities and Opportunities". American Journal of Public Health. "Testosterone What It Does And Doesn't Do". Harvard Medical School. Harvard Health Publishing. 16 July 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2022. Wilsnack, Richard W.; Wilsnack, Sharon C.; Kristjanson, Arlinda F.; Vogeltanz-Holm, Nancy D.; Gmel, Gerhard (September 2009). "Gender and alcohol consumption: Patterns from the multinational GENACIS project" Macken, University of Western Sydney-Michael. "Men's Health Information and Resource Centre". westernsydney.edu.au. Retrieved 10 April 2022. "Erectile dysfunction (impotence)". Evidence-Based Medicine Guidelines. Nov 30, 2018. Rove, Kyle. "Infertility in Men". DynaMed. Retrieved 10 April 2022. Further Reading Introduction Why HIV/AIDS Costs are Difficult to Ascertain Drug Designs That Have Buffered the Economic Impact of HIV/AIDS How has HIV/AIDS Affected the Market How we can Presently Avert the Economic Hardships of HIV/AIDS References AIDS has been placing stress on the world economy since the early 90s, whether it be government, the private sector, or individual households. With the US government allocating an estimated 85 billion dollars into PEPFAR, as well as dolutegravir and emtricitabine drug implementations, this disease is being tackled on all fronts. This amount of funding has saved millions of lives and prevented millions more from contracting the virus. The present surge in biotechnology resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated our path toward a medicinal medium capable of controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Image Credit: Hafiez Razali/Shutterstock.com Why HIV/AIDS Costs are Difficult to Ascertain This disease has remained a horrifying part of life for millions of people for several decades. Although the media has done an excellent job at educating the masses regarding symptoms and preventative measures, most individuals who have not contracted the disease remain aloof as to how much treatment costs. It is well known that seeing a general physician can be costly, depending on the individual's capital and insurance. However, when one catalogs the cost of the individual drugs, the laboratory costs, the medical care costs, and the additional fees, one can create a vague image of just how much expense is fixed to this disease. Just a decade ago, one would appraise the sum of all these costs at about 50,000 dollars a year per individual. These costs have been significantly reduced after the new advent of PrEP treatments, Ziagen, and Emtriva. However, because insurance premiums and hospital costs vary greatly, general expenses still elude the public. Drug Designs That Have Buffered the Economic Impact of HIV/AIDS As of now, a little over 1 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in the United States. Because there is no cure and medicinal needs must be met daily, costs will steadily accrue over time if we cannot minimize the impact. Drugs have been designed in such a way as to inhibit viral loads from entering, as well as to inhibit replication after entry. Some prime examples are fusion inhibitors, which bind to the GT120 and Gp41 proteins on the viral surface. These blockers prevent HIV from binding to CD4 cells (T cells), which will keep the immune system uncompromised. In addition to fusion inhibitors, nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (nRTI) function well if the phospholipid bilayers of CD4 cells are already penetrated. Here, the nRTI's act as pseudo analogs of wild-type nucleosides. This prevents elongation and viral DNA replication. One very popular drug that has been the main combative force against HIV/AIDS is PrEP (Pre-exposure prophylaxis). For those at risk of contracting HIV, or those who are negative for HIV, this drug will prevent individuals from contracting the virus with a 99% rate of efficacy. This indirectly stimulated the market by saving on medical care costs. A secondary advantage to using PrEP is that individuals with HIV do not need to take PrEP every day for the rest of their lives. People will only need to take it during periods of intimacy, where HIV acquisition could occur. It would be much more frugal to pick and choose when to take this medication rather than be forced to take a required dose every day. Image Credit: Sahara Prince/Shutterstock.com How has HIV/AIDS Affected the Market At the upper echelons of firms and multi-level marketing companies, AIDS has increased the cost of doing business. The dual burden of increased medical care and reduction in transportation has contributed to an economic decline and the dithering health of many. Indirect or supplementary hindrances must also be considered. Because AIDS has ended the lives of many "young" adults, a segment of the most hard-working and taxable denizens is severed. This negatively impacts the availability of resources for public expenditures like education, infrastructure, and health services that are related and unrelated to AIDS. This shows how direct impacts at the household level can slow economic growth. How we can Presently Avert the Economic Hardships of HIV/AIDS A study Performed by Emanuel Krebs et al. delves into the health benefits currently being offered to HIV patients. This study incorporated the analysis of health outcomes and contagiousness in six different US cities. The paper outlines that the most effective health benefits deal with HIV prevention rather than treatment or curing. This primarily includes antiretroviral therapies derived from viral vectors, resulting in viral suppression. This was especially true for more densely populated cities like New York City and Atlanta. An auxiliary finding asserted that a combination of HIV-Specific benefits and medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) improved quality of life and longevity. If this dual funding is provided to other major cities, the resulting amelioration in patients will be mirrored in the market's macrocosm. Shah M, Risher K, Berry SA, Dowdy DW. (2016) The Epidemiologic and Economic Impact of Improving HIV Testing, Linkage, and Retention in Care in the United States. Clin Infect Dis Veenstra N, Whiteside A. (2005) Economic impact of HIV. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. (2):197-210. Krebs E, Enns E, Zang X, Mah CS, Quan AM, Behrends CN, Coljin C, Goedel W, Golden M, Marshall BDL, Metsch LR, Pandya A, Shoptaw S, Sullivan P, Tookes HE, Duarte HA, Min JE, Nosyk B; (2021) Localized HIV Economic Modeling study group. Attributing health benefits to preventing HIV infections versus improving health outcomes among people living with HIV: an analysis in six US cities. AIDS. (13):2169-2179.. Wanni Arachchige Dona S, Bohingamu Mudiyanselage S, Watts JJ, et al. (2021) Added socioeconomic burden of non-communicable disease on HIV/AIDS affected households in the Asia Pacific region: A systematic review. Lancet Reg Health West Pac. Further Reading Closing the gap in life expectancy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples will be the focus of an Australian first health alliance. The Research Alliance for Urban Goori Health will unite a research organization, health service and primary health care provider to improve health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The partnership between UQ's Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH) and Metro North Health, has identified cancer care, rehabilitation programs and innovative models of care, such as hospital in the home, as priority areas. Poche Centre Director Professor James Ward said the Alliance's work would be transformational, helping to accelerate Australia's progress towards closing the gap in life expectancy. "Some of the issues we're looking to explore is where the health system works well for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients, and where it needs to be improved," Professor Ward said. "As a Pitjantjatjara and Nukunu man, I know how important it is to ensure our peoples' voices are at the center of service design and delivery, to ensure equal access across the healthcare system." The life expectancy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples born in a major city is approximately eight years shorter when compared to the non-Indigenous population. The first phase of the project will focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in Brisbane's northside to understand what the issues are, what barriers they face, and what needs to be fixed. Institute for Urban Indigenous Health Chief Executive Officer Adrian Carson said the new partnership aims to build the evidence base for the delivery of integrated care across the health system, spanning from primary to public healthcare and back to the community. "With almost 27,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people residing within the northside of Brisbane, it's imperative that our sectors work together to address the barriers which exist within the health system that prevent our people from receiving the care they require," Mr Carson said. "Through applied research in priority areas, we can invest in healthcare pathways across the continuum of care and life course, which lead to our people living healthier, happier and longer lives." Metro North Health Chief Executive Adjunct Professor Jackie Hanson said the Alliance would help achieve health equity. "We acknowledge there is a lot of work to do to enable integrated and culturally appropriate health care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and I'm proud of our commitment to improve health outcomes and close the gap," Ms Hanson said. "Metro North Health is very focused on achieving health equity and we are particularly excited about the opportunity to upskill all staff working in Metro North Health to improve cultural responsiveness and remove barriers." The Alliance is supported by funding from Queensland Health to achieve health equity via a Health Equity Framework. In a new large national study led by researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS), Black patients diagnosed with early-onset colorectal cancer received worse and less timely care than their white counterparts. Differences in health insurance coverage type, a modifiable factor, according to the findings, were the largest identified contributor to the racial disparities. The study results will be presented at this year's annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago, June 3-7. In the study, led by Dr. Leticia Nogueira, senior principal scientist, health services research at the American Cancer Society, more than 147,000 non-Hispanic Black and white individuals aged 20-49 years newly diagnosed with colorectal cancer during 2004-2019 were selected from the National Cancer Database. Patients who received all care recommended by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (staging, surgery, lymph node evaluation, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy) for which they were eligible according to cancer subsite and clinical and pathological TNM stage were considered guideline-concordant. Demographic characteristics (age and sex), comorbidities, and health insurance coverage type were added sequentially to a series of multivariable models to estimate the contribution to racial disparities in receipt of guideline-concordant care. Racial disparities in time from diagnosis date (among rectal cancer patients eligible for neoadjuvant chemotherapy) and surgery date (among colon cancer patients eligible for adjuvant chemotherapy) to date of chemotherapy initiation was evaluated using restricted mean time to treatment. Of the 84,728 colon and 62,483 rectal cancer patients included in the study, 20.8% and 14.5% were Black, respectively. Black patients were 18 and 36% less likely to receive guideline-concordant care than white patients diagnosed with colon and rectal cancer, respectively. Demographic characteristics and comorbidities combined explained less than 5% of the disparity, while health insurance coverage type explained 28.6% and 19.4% of the disparity among colon and rectal cancer patients, respectively. Restricted mean time to chemotherapy was statistically significantly longer among Black than white patients for colon (54.0 vs. 48.7 days) and rectal cancers (49.6 vs. 40.9 days), respectively. Study authors stress improved access to care could help mitigate disparities in cancer outcomes. Six new products poised to improve the quality of health care will take center stage at a June event for life sciences innovators and investors reshaping the industry. The Big Company/Little Company Showcase on Thursday, June 16, from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., will be a free, online program spotlighting new medical devices and technologies. It will connect entrepreneurs, researchers and venture capitalists to one another and resources with an aim to advance their work. The event is presented by the UMass Center for Advancing Point of Care Technologies (CAPCaT), a business incubator funded by the National Institutes of Health that promotes innovations designed to improve the well-being of patients with heart, blood, lung and sleep disorders. The center is housed in the Massachusetts Medical Development Center (M2D2), a joint venture of UMass Lowell and Worcester-based UMass Chan Medical School. M2D2 assists entrepreneurs with all aspects of moving new products and technologies from the drawing board to the marketplace. Among those welcoming participants to the session will be UMass Lowell Chancellor-elect Julie Chen. This event spotlights M2D2's commitment to engaging with life science entrepreneurs, corporate partners and investors to advance innovations that improve health outcomes. UMass Lowell is proud to partner with our colleagues at UMass Chan Medical School to provide the expertise and resources needed to assist medical device and biotech entrepreneurs to realize their vision and develop viable commercial products." Julie Chen, UMass Lowell Chancellor-elect Entrepreneurs from six startups developing point-of-care innovations will pitch their inventions before a panel of experts. Products featured include mobile apps that monitor lung and airway health as well as devices that assess iron levels in pediatric patients, monitor blood pressure, regulate the delivery of oxygen to patients receiving emergency treatment and provide hearing protection to infants in neonatal intensive care units. "The CAPCaT collaboration between UMass Chan Medical School and UMass Lowell is among the most innovative and gratifying I'm involved in," said CAPCaT co-director Dr. David McManus, Richard M. Haidack Professor and chair of the Department of Medicine, UMass Chan Medical School, where he is the founding director of the program in digital medicine. "We look forward to another great Big Company/Little Company event exploring cutting-edge solutions to improve patient health." Offering the session's keynote remarks will be Girardin Jean-Louis, professor of psychiatry and neurology at the University of Miami and director of the Center on Translational Sleep and Circadian Sciences and the NIH-funded PRIDE Institute on Behavioral Medicine and Sleep Disorders. "We're very excited to host Dr. Jean-Louis, one of the world's leading experts on advancing the science and practice of sleep and circadian sciences. His research focuses on the multi-level barriers that prevent the adoption of healthful practices in underserved communities," said Bryan Buchholz, CAPCaT co-director and UMass Lowell professor and chair of the Biomedical Engineering Department. Mara Aspinall, managing director of health care investment and policy at BlueStone Venture Partners, and Kadir Kadhiresan, vice president of venture investments at Johnson & Johnson Innovation, will also lead an interactive discussion about the medical device and biotech industry. M2D2 has vetted more than 250 medical device and biotech ventures and supported more than 100 startups since its inception in 2007. In total, M2D2 resident companies have secured more than $150 million in external funding for their innovations. A data-driven simulation model designed to help policymakers to better understand and address the nation's rampant opioid crisis has been developed by a team of scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). In a study in the journal PNAS, researchers report that the model, known as SOURCE (Simulation of Opioid Use, Response, Consequences, and Effects), presents the most detailed model to date of the crisis by capturing how the interconnections between stages of prescription and illicit opioid use, from initiation and addiction treatment to relapse and overdose mortality, have evolved over time. "The opioid crisis is so complex that it demands a dynamic simulation tool that can generate reliable data and a big picture perspective on this major public health challenge," says senior author Mohammad Jalali, PhD, with the MGH Institute for Technology Assessment. "SOURCE provides a dynamic understanding of the trajectory of the opioid crisis that can serve as a framework for projecting future scenarios and informing public policy planning." Opioid overdose has been responsible for over half a million deaths in the U.S. over the past 21 years. Opioid deaths have grown sharply since 2013, claiming nearly 70,000 victims in 2020 alone, driven in large part by the illicit spread of fentanyl, a powerful opioid that is often mixed with heroin to lethal effect. Millions of people suffer from opioid use disorder, triggering severe health, social, and economic consequences for the country. In 2017, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine called for development of a quantitative system model to help understand the crisis and guide policy analysis and decision-making. In response, a team of researchers from MGH and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) developed SOURCE. SOURCE uses national data on opioid use from 1999 to 2020 to track stages of use and misuse of opioids, including use initiation, treatment, relapse and death by overdose. Unlike other national models of the crisis, SOURCE replicates how the risks of opioid misuse have evolved over time in response to various behavioral and other factors, and how they may change in the future, providing a platform for projecting and analyzing potential policy impacts and solutions." Tse Yang Lim, PhD, co-author, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Among the factors driving these changes are social influence that is, the spread of drug use behaviors through social exposure and risk perception, whereby fear of the perceived risk of overdose death can discourage initiation of drug use. SOURCE has also quantified the impact of increased distribution of the overdose reversal drug naloxone, as well as the proliferation of the deadly synthetic substance fentanyl, on overdose death rates. Overall, SOURCE projects that deaths from opioid overdose will increase over the next few years before trending downward as opioid use disorder decreases. Using SOURCE, the researchers are examining potential strategies to address the opioid crisis as part of an ongoing modeling effort, while continuing to refine the model to reflect the still-evolving nature of the crisis. "Despite the projected decline, opioid deaths over the next 10 years will still exceed half a million people," emphasizes co-author Erin Stringfellow, PhD, with MGH. "Fentanyl's poisoning of the unregulated drug supply will continue to be a severe problem, which is why leaders across the country need to be working as hard as they can to keep people who use drugs safe." Jalali is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. Tse Yang Lim is a recent PhD graduate from MIT. Stringfellow is a postdoctoral research associate at the MGH Institute for Technology Assessment. Co-authors include Keith Humphreys, professor and section director for Mental Health Policy at Stanford University, as well as several researchers from the FDA. The study was supported by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Their parents and grandparents probably never got asked by a doctor or nurse whether they had enough to eat, a safe and stable place to live, someone discriminating against them, or anything getting in the way of their education. But most members of Generation Z say they want their health care providers to ask about these things, and most want providers to offer information or referrals for services to address these concerns, according to a new poll. And most understand why these "social determinants of health," as they're collectively called, are important to overall health. The poll findings, published in the June issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health by a team from the University of Michigan, are based on data from the MyVoice National Poll of Youth, based in the U-M Department of Family Medicine. More than 1,000 youth aged 14 to 24 answered five open-ended questions via text message in March 2021. Nearly 39% of respondents came from families whose income levels qualified them for free or reduced-price school lunch under national criteria. The poll asked about housing, food, education, safety and discrimination all factors that can affect a person's health in the short and long term, and their ability to seek care and keep up with treatments. In all, 81% of youth said providers should ask about such factors. Nearly a third said that embarrassment might keep them from seeking help for such issues if they were experiencing them. In addition, a quarter said they would want providers to offer resources for people with social needs, and a nearly equal percentage said providers should offer information about resources that could assist people with such needs. Finally, youth's most commonly reported preference for how to receive information about assistance or social risks was in-person, though they were amenable to phone, email, and handouts, as well. First author Claire Chang, a U-M Medical School student, says, "It seems obvious that addressing social needs, like food and housing, in clinical settings would benefit patients. But we actually know very little about whether and how patients would want to receive this kind of assistance. Youth in our study told us that they do want to talk about social determinants of health with their providers. It is important for us to understand these preferences and desires as social/medical care integration efforts spread across the country." An increasing number of health systems and clinics including U-M's own academic medical center, Michigan Medicine now screen for SDOH's as part of patient care. Poll director and U-M family medicine physician Tammy Chang, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., concurs. "As a doctor, what I hear is my adolescent and young adult patients want me to ask them about more than their health. They want me to ask about their lives," she says. "This opens a door for doctors and other healthcare providers to really understand the root causes of the issues that young people are facing today. Youth in our study didn't expect providers to solve their issues, rather, just listen. I can do that." Chang is a member of the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. Eickhoff opens new assembly facility in Chennai Chennai, Jun 1 (UNI) Eickhoff Wind Asia, a 100% subsidiary of the Bochum based family owned company Gebr. Eickhoff Maschinenfabrik u. Eisengieerei GmbH, today announced the opening of its new manufacturing facility in Chennai. Eickhoff Wind Asia is part of the Eickhoff Wind division of Gebr. Eickhoff Maschinenfabrik u. Eisengieerei GmbH, that supplies gearboxes for wind turbines as well as industrial applications and offers customized service concepts. The new assembly facility for wind gearboxes strengthens Eickhoff's geographical footprint in Asia and marks an important milestone in its growth and internationalization strategy, a company release said. The company has signed a MoU with the Tamil Nadu Government to invest Rs 639.78 crore in India. The group plans to employ about 700 persons directly and indirectly with this investment. Since the ground-breaking ceremony in July 2021, construction work has progressed rapidly, local staff has been trained and the plant is now fully prepared for operations. The utilized area of the plant covers 24,000 m, with the majority being used for operational work related to the assembly of the wind gearboxes. In addition, the facility contains an administration building of around 2,000 m. The main functions of the new site include assembly, storage, and testing of the gearboxes up to a size of 8 MW. In the first stage of the expansion, which has now been completed, up to 900 gearboxes per year will be assembled, with plans to assemble up to 1,500 gearboxes per year in the second stage. Company CEO Dr Ulf Achenbach said with the new assembly plant in India, we have now reached a central corporate milestone in a very important growth market. "With the plant in Chennai, we can serve the dynamic growth market of wind power even better and grow locally in India together with our customers. We are pleased that the construction work remained on schedule despite the impact of a global pandemic. Our planned expansion stages will enable us to expand our supply and provide international assembly at a very high level. UNI GV 1633 Children whose mothers experience rising levels of depression from the period before pregnancy until the months just after giving birth are at greater risk of developing emotional, social and academic problems during their youth, UCLA psychology researchers and colleagues report. Their recently published seven-year study, which tracked mothers and their offspring from preconception until the children were 5 years old, is the first to demonstrate how changes in mothers' level of depression over time may impact early childhood behavior and emotional well-being, the authors said. Our findings suggest that increases in mother's symptoms of depression from preconception to postpartum contribute to children's lower attention and behavioral control, which can raise the risk of problems across the life span. Parents should know, however, that this can be addressed through early childhood intervention." Gabrielle Rinne, UCLA psychology graduate student, lead author For the two-part study, the researchers first analyzed data on 362 women -; most of whom were Black or Hispanic and from low-income backgrounds -; collected as part of a study by the Community Child Health Network, a collaboration among health scientists from UCLA and other institutions, along with community partners, that investigated disparities in maternal and child health among poor and minority families. The women, all of whom already had a young child, were followed through a subsequent pregnancy and were interviewed on four occasions about their symptoms of depression -; once before becoming pregnant, twice during pregnancy and again approximately three months after their baby's birth -; with researchers tracking how these symptoms changed over time. Just under 75% of the women reported low symptoms of depression that didn't change over the study period, while 12% had low symptoms that significantly increased and 7% had persistently high symptoms. For the second part of the study, the researchers followed 125 of these women several years later. When their children were 4, or preschool age, the mothers were asked to describe in detail their child's temperament and behavior -; particularly their experiences of emotional distress and their ability to regulate their emotions. Then, at age 5, the children performed a task requiring focused attention. Looking at an iPad screen showing a series of fish, they were asked to identify the direction the fish in the middle was facing while ignoring the direction of all the other fish. Higher scores on this task reflect a greater ability to concentrate and inhibit attention to surrounding stimuli, Rinne said. Children of mothers whose depression had increased from preconception through the postpartum period performed significantly worse on the computer task than those whose mothers had reported consistently low symptoms of depression. Interestingly, there were no differences in performance between kids whose mothers had experienced consistently high depression and those whose mothers had consistently low depression. The findings are published in the Journal of Affective Disorders (free access through June 15). "This study suggests that a pattern of increasing depression may adversely affect children," said senior author Christine Dunkel Schetter, a distinguished professor of psychology and psychiatry at UCLA who had a lead role in study design and in interview development. She noted that not all of these kids are destined to experience problems but emphasized that "they are at higher risk of socio-emotional and behavioral issues and problems at school." Children whose mothers consistently reported low symptoms of depression, she said, are not at risk. "Moms who experience depression or stress at multiple times should know the effects this can have on young children," Dunkel Schetter added. "They can seek evaluation and treatment from a doctor or mental health professional for their children and themselves." The importance of getting treatment for maternal depression "The addition of a child to the family is a significant emotional and psychological adjustment that can involve both joy and distress," Rinne said. "Maternal depression is one of the most common complications of pregnancy and postpartum." In Los Angeles County, she pointed out, estimates of depression during pregnancy and in new mothers range as high as 25%. The study's findings, Rinne said, support "the importance of comprehensive mental health care at multiple periods of the reproductive life course," beginning even before pregnancy and continuing afterward -; especially for mothers who are feeling elevated level of distress at any point. Los Angeles County resources for maternal mental health care in pregnancy are available here. If a mother is depressed but too busy to see a doctor or therapist, she may be able to find help through evidence-based apps online. Newer forms of digital mental health treatment can also be effective, Dunkel Schetter said. Study co-authors include Elysia Poggi Davis of the University of Denver, Madeleine Shalowitz of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and Sharon Ramey of Virginia Tech. Nicole Mahrer, a former UCLA postdoctoral scholar and current assistant professor of psychology at the University of La Verne, and former UCLA postdoctoral scholar Christine Guardino who is now an assistant professor of psychology at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, assisted in the research. The study, which was conducted prior to COVID-19, concluded in 2019. It was funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute for Nursing Research, both part of the National Institutes of Health. The mental workload of intensive care unit nurses can successfully be evaluated using eye-movement tracking glasses. In research recently published in Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Nima Ahmadi, a lecturer in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and researchers at the Center for Outcomes Research at Houston Methodist employed eyetracking and physiological monitoring technologies to investigate cognitive load and visual search of stressed nurses. The collected data -; ocular and physiological responses -; from entire 12-hour nursing shifts were analyzed to evaluate the cognitive loads between day and night shifts as well as to compare the beginning with the middle and the end of shifts. Furthermore, the impact of stress on nurses' visual search was assessed. His research detected no significant difference in the cognitive levels of the nurses who worked the day shift compared to those working overnight. However, Dr. Ahmadi found that the start of working shifts is more cognitively demanding than the middle and end of ICU shifts, and stressed nurses had shortened fixation, which was accompanied by more sporadic gaze behavior This is the first naturalistic study that employs an eye-tracking technology in behavior assessment of critical care nurses. Analyzing this rich dataset may shed light on major contributors to nurses' high-stress and demanding episodes and will pave the way for effective interventions to address providers' mental health. We believe this research will provide foundational knowledge that could inform the design of real-time stress monitoring and burnout mitigation systems." Dr. Nima Ahmadi, Lecturer, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Nurses who work in intensive care units have particularly high workloads that could lead to cognitive overload and medical errors. To support nurses and enhance patients' outcomes, continuous unintrusive measurements of mental workload and stress are necessary. Previous nursing studies have measured cognitive/mental stress namely through self-reported instruments or by using metrics such as patient-nurse ratios or patients' acuity scores; these methods fail to capture fluctuation in workload or stress and do not address the general gap in real-time monitoring. Dr. Ahmadi's study is the first naturalistic study that attempted to investigate workload and stress in the ICU using ocular metrics and physiological responses including pupil diameter, gaze entropy, fixational, and saccadic eye movements. "Outcomes from this and the follow-up studies will elucidate the complexity of care in ICU and its potential impact on patient safety, and provide much-needed support for providers' mental health," Dr. Ahmadi said. Next steps for this research would be to use machine learning tools to pinpoint moments of stress and communicate them in real-time to nurse leaders to address complex care delivery needs for critically ill patients. The principal investigator for this research was Farzan Sasangohar from Texas A&M University and Houston Methodist. The study received a grant from the Dyer Foundation. Dr. Ahmadi was joined in the paper, "Quantifying Workload and Stress in Intensive Care Unit Nurses Using Naturalistic Evaluation of Clinical Care Delivery," by Jing Yang and Denny Yu Ph.D. from Purdue University, Valerie Danesh from the University of Texas at Austin, Faisal Masud MD, FCCP, FCCM and Steven Klahn from Houston Methodist. Just like the hypertension that people develop when their blood pressure increases, the increase of blood pressure in the main vein that supplies blood to the liver, called the portal vein, is also a dangerous situation. This condition, called portal hypertension, is the main side effect of liver cirrhosis, and the development of complications like ascites, hepatic encephalopathy and variceal hemorrhage are dependent on the severity of this hypertension. Recording portal hypertension is therefore crucial when studying the effect of drugs used to treat cirrhosis and for predicting patient prognosis. Hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) represents the difference between pressures in the portal vein and the intra-abdominal portion of inferior vena cava, another major vein, and is the standard method used to assess portal hypertension. However, unlike overall blood pressure, this method is invasive, because the vein is located deep in the body. Therefore, it isn't performed commonly, and so, patients who are recommended for this method might not know much about it. Patient tolerance and acceptance are important if medical techniques are to be used more widely. But the tolerance and acceptance of patients with liver cirrhosis hasn't been studied. So, a team of researchers led by Dr. Xiaolong Qi of The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, China addressed this gap in their latest study published in Portal Hypertension & Cirrhosis. The team conducted a prospective international study among 271 patients with liver cirrhosis. Data related to tolerance and acceptance was assessed by using questionnaires. They found that over 80% of patients had no or mild discomfort either during the procedure or after it. Almost 50% of patients had little to no understanding of the value of HVPG measurement and around 39% of patients regarded HVPG measurements of being little to no help. Only 15% of patients reported that they would definitely undergo the procedure again with the rest of the patients weren't too sure about it; 63% of patients found the cost of the procedure to be acceptable. So, what do these results signify? Dr. Qi states "The results of our study indicate that HVPG was found to be tolerated well in patients with cirrhosis. But we expected a much higher rate of acceptance among patients. Half the patients did not understand the value of the procedure, suggesting that the communication between doctors and patients was insufficient. If patients don't have the right information and knowledge about a procedure, they're less likely to choose it. Clinicians should make it a priority to properly educate and guide patients in understanding the value of HVPG measurements." This study highlights the need for patient education and awareness about this procedure in order to improve its overall acceptance. This is important, because the use of this procedure can help in achieving early diagnosis and improving patient outcomes in patients with cirrhosis. "We hope that our study will pave the way for this procedure to be widely accepted by the general public and medical community," concludes Dr. Qi. If it seems as though the anti-abortion movement has gotten more extreme in recent months, that's because it has. But it's not the first time positions taken by both sides of the abortion debate have ebbed and flowed repeatedly in the 49 years since the Supreme Court declared abortion a constitutional right. Abortion opponents and those supporting abortion rights expect the Supreme Court to soon overturn its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, and both groups have reacted strongly. Abortion rights supporters unsuccessfully pushed Congress to pass the Women's Health Protection Act, which would not only codify abortion rights but also eliminate lots of popular restrictions the court has allowed since 1973, most notably parental involvement laws. But it's abortion opponents' efforts in many conservative states to exclude most exceptions for rape or incest or to save the life of the mother that have drawn headlines recently. The efforts do not appear to have wide appeal. The majorities of Americans who support allowing those exceptions are nearly as large as the majorities who oppose abortion late in pregnancy, according to opinion polls. Nonetheless, there are numerous examples of such efforts going far beyond the banning of abortions after 15 weeks, which is at the crux of the Mississippi law being considered by the Supreme Court. A leaked draft opinion published last month suggests the court could use the case to overturn Roe. For example, over the past few months, Oklahoma has passed three laws restricting abortion. The latest one, signed by the governor May 25, bans abortion beginning at fertilization, which would, at least in theory, ban both in vitro fertilization and many forms of hormonal birth control. (The Oklahoma bill's sponsor says that is not the law's intent.) During debate in the Oklahoma Senate on the strictest of the bans, Republican Sen. Warren Hamilton said he did not think the measure went far enough because it allowed abortions in the case of an ectopic pregnancy, a life-threatening medical emergency in which an embryo is growing outside the uterus. That has horrified some medical professionals. "The fallopian tube and other places a pregnancy can implant cannot support a pregnancy," Dr. Iman Alsaden, an OB-GYN and medical director of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, told reporters at a news conference May 19. "If you continue to let these pregnancies happen, there will be no viable baby afterwards. What will happen is [the fallopian tube] will burst and people will bleed to death." At the same time, an increasing number of state legislatures are contemplating bans that do not include exceptions for the health (as opposed to the life) of the pregnant person or for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. Testifying on her bill in Ohio, GOP state Rep. Jean Schmidt in April told lawmakers that a child resulting from rape would be "an opportunity for that woman, no matter how young or old she is, to make a determination about what she's going to do to help that life be a productive human being." Rape and incest exceptions have been an accepted part of most abortion bans since the early 1990s, but that was not always the case. For a dozen years, they were not part of the so-called Hyde Amendment, the provision inserted in annual federal spending bills that bars the use of almost all federal funds for abortion. The more liberal (at least on abortion) Senate tried to keep the rape and incest (and health) exceptions intact back then, only to be forced to back off by the more conservative House, whose anti-abortion efforts were led by Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.). "The Supreme Court had said: 'You may not impose capital punishment on a rapist. That's cruel and unusual punishment,'" Hyde said during a 1988 debate over the issue. "But you are saying exterminate. Exterminate this innocently inconvenient residual of the rape." In 1993, Hyde himself put the rape and incest exceptions back into his eponymous funding ban, and they have remained there since. With Democratic president Bill Clinton in the White House, and large Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate, "I didn't think the votes were there anymore for a straight ban on abortion funding," he said at the time. Indeed, at that point, the entire ban was in danger of being dropped, and only Hyde's parliamentary maneuvering kept the slightly less stringent ban in place. Abortion bans with few or no exceptions are politically risky. In the 2012 Missouri race for U.S. Senate, the challenger, Republican then-Rep. Todd Akin, was favored to defeat incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill until he said in a now-infamous interview that he didn't support exceptions because women rarely get pregnant as a result of rape. "The female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down," he said. The comments were disavowed by the Republican running for president that year, Mitt Romney, and his running mate, Paul Ryan. Akin eventually lost. Now, however, anti-abortion forces appear to be on the cusp of being granted free rein by the Supreme Court to ban abortion to any degree they want. Activists clearly want the most comprehensive bans that lawmakers will pass. Whether voters will go along with that will be decided at the ballot box in November. HealthBent, a regular feature of Kaiser Health News, offers insight and analysis of policies and politics from KHN's chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, who has covered health care for more than 30 years. Isela Perez entered the custody of Georgia's child welfare system at age 10. It happened after her father was deported and her mother left her and her brother alone in their home for two weeks, she said. Perez estimates she moved more than 20 times among group homes, mental health facilities, and foster families. "A lot of foster parents didn't know how to deal with my anger issues or my depression," said Perez, now 18 and in an independent living program in Dahlonega, Georgia. In between those placements came nearly a dozen stays in budget hotels, including one as recently as last year, while state Division of Family & Children Services workers tried to find her a more permanent home where she felt comfortable, she said. "I knew once I was in a hotel: 'OK, I'm going to stay in here for at least a week or two until DFCS can magically find me another placement, and then I'll be back in the hotel in about two or three weeks.'" Like Perez, foster kids across the country many with complex mental, behavioral, and physical health needs end up bouncing around in their states' child welfare systems and landing in temporary placements like hotels and county or state offices. The practice is known as "hoteling." These children already face tremendous challenges, having been given up by their parents voluntarily or removed from their homes due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment. Child welfare advocates say being shuttled between temporary placements adds trauma. Kids end up in hotels and offices for many reasons, including a shortage of foster parents with the training and support to take high-needs children and a lack of community-based support services for families. Long-term solutions have been hard to find. States such as Washington, West Virginia, Texas, Oregon, and Georgia have resorted to placing foster children in less-than-ideal temporary living situations for years. There's no nationwide count of how many foster kids might be sleeping in a hotel or office. But state-level reports indicate that the disruptions of the covid-19 pandemic have made the matter worse. Child welfare agencies faced the same staffing shortages that hit health care facilities. Foster families hesitated to take in children because of heightened concerns about disease transmission. States diverted dollars and personnel to fight the public health emergency. "Exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the placement resource crisis has only worsened," Patrick Dowd, director of Washington state's Office of the Family and Children's Ombuds wrote in a recent report. It noted 256 children spent a combined total of 2,535 nights in hotels or offices from September 2020 through August 2021. In Texas, an independent, court-appointed panel found the number of children housed in offices, hotels, and unlicensed facilities increased 152% in the first half of last year. Since then, the panel said, "it has slowly declined but remains sizable." One major challenge is to find foster parents prepared to take children as they transition out of inpatient treatment, said Gwen Skinner, who runs residential facilities that serve foster children in Georgia and Florida, owned by the nonprofit Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, serving kids with severe autism, oppositional defiant disorder, and schizophrenia. "Youve got to have well-trained foster parents, particularly if they are going to deal with those children who are at the deeper end of the behavioral health needs those children who end up in hotels," she said. In two metro Atlanta counties, Fulton and DeKalb, temporary placements have been on the rise, according to a recent report from court-appointed monitors. "There was an increased challenge with youth, mainly over 14 years old, staying in county offices more frequently and for longer durations," the report said. The monitors counted 31 office stays longer than 24 hours and 16 longer than five days. The longest recorded was 68 days. As of mid-May, Georgia's Division of Family & Children Services said the number of kids in temporary placements has swelled to nearly 70, up from the 30s before the omicron wave of the pandemic. "Many providers foster families, kinship placements, and group home facilities had to limit how many children that they could serve due to personal health concerns or COVID-19 workforce challenges," Candice Broce, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Human Services the parent agency to DFCS said in a statement. She said the agency has provided temporary staffing to help solve the problem. State lawmakers put $31.4 million into the budget to bump up payments to foster parents, child placement agencies, and caregivers who are relatives of the children. DFCS has also recently offered a one-time $5,000 payment to providers who take kids out of a hotel or office. Broce has argued that additional money would ultimately be a better deal for Georgia than to cover what she's called the "staggering" cost of keeping foster kids in a hotel. She estimated it costs about $1,200 a day to cover food and lodging and pay for often multiple staff members for each child. Service providers and advocates say additional money will help but won't solve the problem. "I dont care if you pay a foster parent $500 or $100 its not going to make their skill level or what they can do any better. They have to have the support," said Sally Buchanan, CEO of Creative Community Services, a nonprofit in Norcross, Georgia. Buchanan specializes in finding homes for children who have had multiple placements in the foster system sometimes as many as 20, she said. Many have never received adequate treatment for mental or behavioral health conditions. But even her nonprofit has limited capacity to help. "Its a pretty desperate situation, to be perfectly honest," Buchanan said. Some of those children have ended up living with Joyce Shaheed in Fayetteville, Georgia. She estimates she's fostered more than 100 kids since 2007. A handful of them have come to her from hotels or offices. "A lot of them come in with a lot of behaviors. And you just have to figure out what this child needs," she said. If states took fewer children into custody, fewer would end up in hotels, said Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform. Building out the social safety net and making it easier to access those support services could keep some families together, he said. "Get the children who dont need to be in foster care out and back into their own homes," Wexler said. In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers assessed the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) neutralizing antibody activity among migrant workers. The waning protection induced by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) natural infection and vaccines has raised grave concerns about public health policies. Moreover, there is still a lack of data related to the duration and potency of immunological responses elicited by vaccines as well as natural infections. About the study In the present study, researchers investigated the COVID-19 infection rates and SARS-CoV-2 immunological responses among a migrant population over a period of six weeks. The study comprised a test cohort of migrant workers aged between 19 and 59 years who were residents of a COVID-19-infected dormitory. The team obtained blood samples from the participants in May 2020 as well as two and six weeks after the initial sampling. The community cohort included adults residing in the community aged 21 years and above who also provided blood samples in November or December 2020. The team analyzed the obtained serological samples for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies by employing a surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT). Information related to the presence or incidence of other medical issues such as diabetes, heart diseases, and hypertension along with data related to the number, type, and dates of COVID-19 vaccines received. The researchers performed the serological analysis of participants who reported the receipt of two doses of any COVID-19 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines by either May or June 2021. The study cohort also included individuals who had received two and three COVID-19 vaccine doses by January 2022. For persons vaccinated with either two or three doses, the team compared the SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing activity based on the type of vaccine administered. Furthermore, the team assessed the cumulative distribution of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing activity based on time point as well as the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses received by various populations taking into account factors such as age, gender, and pre-existing comorbidities. The neutralizing activity decay rates were also evaluated for individuals who had received two and three mRNA vaccine doses. The team also compared the neutralizing antibody activity among vaccinees belonging to the community cohort and those experiencing either mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 infection. Results A total of 799 individual vaccine recipients, including 553 Comirnaty, 131 Spikevax, and 115 mixed doses of Spikevax and Comirnaty vaccinees. The team noted that the second vaccine dose was received after a median duration of 27 days up to the follow-up in May or June 2021 and 157 days at the January 2022 follow-up. The study results showed that the individuals who received the Spikevax vaccine had remarkably higher levels of neutralizing antibody activity after the two doses. However, among three-dose recipients, high neutralizing antibody levels were found for all the vaccines analyzed with single and mixed-dosed vaccinees displayed comparable neutralizing activity. When the team performed comparisons based on cumulative distributions, individuals aged 70 years and above had lower neutralizing activity after the receipt of two doses up to May or June 2021. However, by January 2022, all the age groups displayed lower and comparable levels of neutralizing antibodies. This indicated that even though the younger participants exhibited high neutralizing antibody levels initially after the vaccination, the protection levels waned to similar levels over time. Notably, the neutralizing activity was significantly higher in three-dose recipients as compared to two-dose recipients. The team noted higher neutralizing antibody responses after two doses among females in May or June 2021, which eventually reduced to comparable levels to the male counterparts in January 2022. The administration of a booster vaccine dose increased the neutralizing antibody responses to substantially higher levels with insignificant differences between the two genders. Furthermore, individuals with hypertension and diabetes had lower neutralizing antibody responses after two doses in May or June 2021 as compared to persons having no comorbidities. The team also observed that the males aged 60 years and above who belonged to the general population group and had received two or three vaccine doses within the previous 12 weeks showed higher neutralizing antibody responses as compared to that in mild or asymptomatic COVID-19-infected males from the migrant cohort. Moreover, the team noted that 84% of the unvaccinated persons had anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies, indicating a substantial impact of natural infection in the previous six to seven months. Conclusion Overall, the study findings showed that COVID-19 booster doses had a potent effect in providing sufficient protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection. The researchers believe that the rise in breakthrough infection cases necessitates the development of a COVID-19 vaccine specific for SARS-CoV-2 variants. *Important notice medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. In association with the British High Commission in Bangladesh, the Directorate General of Nursing and Midwifery (DGNM) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) organized a dissemination seminar on Wednesday 1 June 2022, at the auditorium of DGNM in Dhaka, to share findings of two studies on midwifery in Bangladesh. Those two independent studies focused on the lessons learnt while strengthening midwifery in Bangladesh, and pathways to women's empowerment through midwifery education. The findings indicate that the UK Government's support helped the Government of Bangladesh increase deployment and utilize the diploma holder midwives which greatly improved women's access to safe childbirth, over the last three years. In 2021, the midwives, deployed in 403 Upazila Health Complexes (UzHCs), conducted 87 per cent of the total deliveries at those UzHCs. In 2018, the percentage was only 24. The studies also found that the existing midwifery education in Bangladesh is effective and contributing to sharpen the social and counseling skills, and improve interpersonal communications of midwives while attending any service recipients. In contrast to the traditional birth attendants, the trained midwives are able to provide more institutional support to use technology-based tools for child delivery, which makes midwifery in Bangladesh more trustworthy to service recipients. The curriculum on midwifery education helps midwives immensely in taking vital decisions when a situation is critical. Over the last decade, the community's attitude and acceptance toward midwives have shifted remarkably. Nowadays, rural residents seek service from licensed midwives for delivery and mother care; they strive for assistance and advice from licensed midwives. Mr. Md. Saiful Hassan Badal, the Honorable Secretary of the Medical Education and Family Welfare Division of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare graced the occasion as Chief Guest. HE Mr. Robert Chatterton Dickson, the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Dr. Vibhavendra Raghuyamshi, the Chief of Health, UNFPA, Bangladesh, Dr. Daniel Novac, First Secretary, Embassy of Sweden in Bangladesh attended the seminar with over hundred representatives from different ministries, development partners, implementing agencies,midwifery institutions, and student midwives. Ms Siddika Akter, the Director General of the Directorate General of Nursing and Midwifery (DGNM), the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), chaired the seminar. Md. Saiful Hassan Badal, the Honorable Secretary of the Medical Education and Family Welfare Division of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), said "The national midwifery program has greatly contributed to the reduction of maternal and newborn deaths, as well as cesarean section rates in Bangladesh. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has initiated development of a cadre of international standard professional midwives. It was possible due to the strong commitment and support of our honorable Prime Minister. Government has opened the door to higher education for midwives. I believe that the midwives will play significant role in enabling us to achieve the SDGs by 2030." In his remarks, British High Commissioner HE Robert Chatterton Dickson said: "The UK has been a close development partner to Bangladesh since independence. Our joint effort to strengthen midwifery in Bangladesh adds to the five-decade long Brit Bangla Bondhon for development. "Today almost 3,000 midwives are working in the public health system and have helped deliver over 300,000 children over the last five years. Almost 500 midwives are serving in the Rohingya camps and others in the private sector, enabling safer childbirth for women and their babies across Bangladesh." During his speech, the British High Commissioner highlighted the importance of empowering young women through midwifery education, which helps women to realizing their potential and contribute to a healthy society. He reiterated the UK Government's prioritization of women and girls in its new International Development Strategy. "I thank the Government of Bangladesh and hope that the Government will consider those recommendations the UK supported studies have proposed to further strengthen midwifery in Bangladesh", he added. Midwives play a critical role in saving the lives of both mothers and newborns. Bangladesh's National Midwifery Programme has successfully enabled thousands of mothers to give birth normally. Considering the need for their services across the country, more than 20,000 midwives need to be deployed to different health facilities including district and medical college hospitals in the near future. To continue these promising developments, the Government has created 5000 new midwifery posts." Ms Siddika Akter, the Chair of the seminar, Director General of the Directorate General of Nursing and Midwifery (DGNM), the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) For one decade, UNFPA Bangladesh has been a committed implementing partner of the UK who is playing a significant role in advancing the midwifery in Bangladesh. Dr. Vibhavendra Raghuyamshi, the Chief of Health, UNFPA, stated, "It has been an immense pleasure for UNFPA to take part in conducting these studies, the findings of which are highly valuable. Professional midwives do not just play a critical role in preventing maternal and newborn deaths, but also providing family planning and gender-based violence response services to vulnerable women and girls. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Government of Bangladesh, as well as our generous donors the United Kingdom, Sweden and Canada to ensure the life-saving services of midwives will become as widely in available Bangladesh as possible." Since the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the genomic evolution of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been widely reported. Owing to genomic mutations, several SARS-CoV-2 variants have emerged and have been categorized as variants of concern (VOC) and variants of interest (VOI) by the World Health Organization (WHO) in accordance with their transmissibility, capability to escape immune responses, and virulence. Study: A repeat pattern of founder events for SARS-CoV-2 variants in Alaska. Image Credit: hyotographics / Shutterstock.com Background Certain SARS-CoV-2 variants, especially VOCs, have reduced the efficacy of available COVID-19 vaccines; thus, their circulation has increased infection rates globally. Similar to many regions across the world, Alaska experienced an increased spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant between the end of 2020 and early 2021. Alaska is considered a distinct state within the United States as a result of its large size, uniquely diverse and dense population, and physical distance from the contiguous United States. Unlike other contiguous regions of the United States, Alaska was predominantly impacted by the B.1.1.519 lineage throughout early 2021. During the same period, researchers observed 77.9% of B.1.1.51 prevalence in Alaska as compared to 4.9% throughout other contiguous U.S. states. This finding indicates a B.1.1.519 founder event in Alaska. Although initially Alaska and other U.S. states exhibited differential patterns associated with dominantly circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants, both regions eventually exhibited a similar pattern during the Delta- and Omicron-dominant waves. Although the incidence of the Omicron variant in Alaska and other U.S. states was similar, the emergence of sublineages within the larger variant classification was different. Several studies have indicated that Omicron sublineages exhibit a significant divergence that impacts immune responses. These sublineages present the risk of recurrent infections, which could prolong the COVID-19 pandemic. About the study A new study published on the medRxiv* preprint server assesses the pattern of SARS-CoV-2 variant emergence across Alaska. The Omicron sublineage reported in the current study, BA.2.3, contains several mutations including L140F in the open reading frame (ORF3a) protein, as well as A2909V in ORF1a. These mutations are responsible for the variants capacity to evade immune responses and increased replication rate. In this study, researchers obtained genomic sequences from the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) to study the pattern of incidence and transmission of the Omicron sublineage BA.2.3, which is also known as B.1.1.529.2.3, in Alaska. Herein, the scientists compared this pattern with the SARS-CoV-2 emergence pattern associated with the the Lower, which refers to states within the contiguous U.S., as well as other major U.S. states including New York, California, and Washington. Study findings A higher prevalence of the Omicron lineage BA.2.3 was reported in Alaska as compared to the Lower. To investigate the emergence pattern, scientists determined the date of first detection and incidence of BA.2.3 in both regions. To this end, the researchers observed that the Omicron variant was first reported from the Anchorage-Mat Su region of Alaska, which is a densely populated area on December 19, 2021. Soon after its incidence, this variant replaced the pre-existing Delta variant and became the dominantly circulating strain in both Alaska and the Lower. The Omicron sublineage BA.1.1 prevailed in both Alaska (66.3%) and the Lower (67.2%). During this time, the Omicron sublineage BA.2 was detected in some parts of the U.S. By January 16, 2022, although the Lower region exhibited a 0.2% of prevalence of BA.2, Alaska showed no such prevalence. During the same period, Alaska reported a 2.7% incidence of the sublineage BA.2.3 (2.7%), which is comparable to the 0.1% prevalence reported in the Lower. The percent of sequences by week (estimated prevalence) colored by SARS-CoV-2 lineages detected from 2021-11-28 to 2022-04-03 in (A) Alaska and (B) the Lower 48. BA lineages of Omicron except BA.1.1, BA.2, and BA.2.3 are aggregated into B.1.1.529. BA.2 includes all sublineages of BA.2 detected except BA.2.3. Soon after, BA.2.3 cases significantly increased in Alaska to 45.3% as compared to the Lower (6.1%), New York (5.5%), Washington (17.6%), and California (16.2%). This difference in prevalence highlights the divergent patterns of BA.2.3. The percent of sequences by week (estimated prevalence) belonging to BA.2.3 colored by states including Alaska, California, New York, and Washington detected from 2021-11-28 to 2022-04-03. The composition of SARS-CoV-2 lineages within Alaska and the Lower contained differential sets of mutation. The absence of other lineages in Alaska allowed the founding of BA.2.3 in the population. Spatiotemporal variation in the incidence and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 lineages was identified across a wide geographical area. Alaska contains six economic regions defined by the U.S. Department of Labor and Workforce Development, which included the Southwest, Anchorage-Mat Su, Gulf Coast, Interior, Southeast, and Northern regions. Model studies have shown that among the economic regions of Alaska, the Gulf Coast recorded the earliest detection of the BA.2.3., which ultimately became the dominant circulating strain of the region. Conclusions In the current study, the GISAID repository was used to demonstrate the distinct emergence and transmission patterns of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2.3 sublineage in Alaska as compared to the Lower and other regions of the U.S. Herein, researchers report the potential ancestral origins of BA.2.3 cases in Alaska and its spread across the economic region of the state. The unique location of Alaska might influence the emergence of distinct SARS-CoV-2 variants. *Important notice medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. In a recent report posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers investigated a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak among individuals who attended an overnight summer camp in Texas in June 2021. Background SARS-CoV-2 dispersal dynamics are highly variable, with the majority of COVID-19 patients not transmitting SARS-CoV-2 and only a few coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients being responsible for secondary SARS-COV-2 infections. The heterogeneous SARS-CoV-2 transmission indicates that super-spreaders play an essential role in SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Super-spreader events occur when one infected individual is responsible for a surge in secondary infections. Studies have consistently reported that educational settings do not contribute to SARS-CoV-2 community transmission. On the contrary, the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Texas occurred recently among 186 children and adults who attended an overnight summer camp in Texas in June 2021. The Texas outbreak The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak occurred among overnight camp attendees in June 2021 at the beginning of the Delta variant wave in the United States (US), while cases were still low in the community but rapidly increasing. A total of 451 individuals attended the camp, including 364 children (aged below 18 years) and 87 adults (aged above 18 years). After the camp ended, 186 attendees developed reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-confirmed-SARS-CoV-2 infections. Among the attendees, 6% and 19% and 6% were partially vaccinated and fully vaccinated, respectively. Pre-arrival RT-PCR test reports were not mandatory for attending the camp, and no post-arrival RT-PCR tests were not performed. A 41% primary attack rate was observed among the camp attendees, of whom 20% and 48% were vaccinated and unvaccinated, respectively. Ribonucleic acid (RNA) was isolated from 55 nasopharyngeal swabs obtained from SARS-CoV-2-infected camp attendees (n=36) and community members (n=19) and subjected to Oxford Nanopore genome sequencing using the ARTIC approach. Subsequently, libraries were prepared, and bioinformatic analysis was performed. In addition, 4085 complete genomes published in the Global initiative on sharing all influence data (GISAID) database were collected from the Harris County and Galveston County, Texas, and compared phylogenetically to the genomes collected from the camp attendees using the Nextstrain platform. SARS-CoV-2 amplicons were produced from RNA of all patients, and 70% of the SARS-CoV-2 genome was successfully reconstructed with >10X coverage from 44 samples (13 Galveston County residents and 31 camp attendees). The results aligned with three genomes isolated from Arlington family members who tested SARS-CoV-2-positive on contact with asymptomatic campers after the camp ended. The evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 genome was determined using the phylogenetic IQ-Tree analysis, which showed that all SARS-CoV-2 genomes obtained from the camp attendees and the Arlington family shared a common ancestor. This was indicative of the initiation of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak from one SARS-CoV-2-positive camp attendee. Further, SARS-CoV-2 genomes obtained from the camp attendees who shared risk factors such as common cabins or buses did not demonstrate clustering together. Likewise, SARS-CoV-2 genomes obtained from family siblings did not cluster together, indicating that SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurred during the summer camp. Of interest, several SARS-CoV-2 genomes obtained from individuals who were camp nonattenders clustered together with the camp attendees, indicating that SARS-CoV-2 was transmitted from the camp attendees to the community. The Nextstrain platform phylogenetic analysis detected 29 genomes that demonstrated clustering with the camp attendees genomes obtained after the summer camp ended, i.e., between 28 June 2021 and 30 July 2021. This indicated that SARS-CoV-2 community transmission originated from the camp and continued till July 30, 2021. Conclusions Overall, the study findings showed that SARS-CoV-2 super-spreading can occur during large educational gatherings. The Texas outbreak most probably resulted from a single SARS-CoV-2-positive camp attendee who transmitted SARS-CoV-2 to the other campers and subsequently to the community residents. This led to a chain of SARS-CoV-2 transmission which persisted at least till the end of July 2021. The study highlights the risks of acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infections in overnight summer camps which do not incorporate COVID-19 prevention strategies such as vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 testing before and after the arrival of camp attendees. Further, the authors believe that the present work is the first of its kind to integrate epidemiological, phylogenetic, and genomic approaches for investigating a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak occurring in an overnight summer camp. *Important notice medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. New Delhi, June 1 (UNI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday slammed the Modi government over the killings of civilians in Jammu and Kashmir and said Kashmiri Pandits are on dharna for 18 days but the BJP is busy celebrating its years in office. Rahul Gandhi's remarks came after a school teacher, Rajni Bala, was killed by the terrorists in Kulgam in Kashmir on Tuesday. In Kashmir, 15 security personnel were martyred and 18 civilians were killed in the last five months. Yesterday also a teacher was murdered. Kashmiri Pandits are on dharna since 18 days but BJP is busy celebrating 8 years, Rahul Gandhi tweeted. New Delhi, June 1 (UNI) A Supreme Court lawyer, Vineet Jindal, has written to Chief Justice N V Ramana requesting him take suo motu cognizance on the alleged targeted killings of Hindus in Kashmir. Jindal stated that the killing of a Hindu teacher, Rajni Bala, on Tuesday was the seventh such killing in May in Kashmir. The letter sought a direction from the Supreme Court to provide adequate security to Hindu minorities in Kashmir. Jindal also sought to establish a special delegated unit to structure and administer a system to ensure the safety and security to minority groups in Kashmir. He also sought compensation of Rs 1,00,00,000 to the families of the Hindus who were killed and a government job to one of the members of the deceased family. UNI SM MR (Newser) Update: A Pennsylvania man who was turned in by his ex-girlfriend after the Capitol riot has pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstructing an official proceeding and will be sentenced on Sept. 1. Richard Michetti, who has been under house arrest since early last year, admitted as part a plea deal that he invaded the Capitol with other Trump supporters and yelled at officers, NBC reports. He admitted that he also "gesticulated at the officers and at one point briefly pinched the sleeve of one officer," according to court papers. Michetti sent his ex regular updates from the riot and called her a "moron" in one message. She contacted the FBI the next day. Our original story from Feb. 25, 2021 follows: Pennsylvania man Richard Michetti argued with his ex-girlfriend and sent her videos from the scene as he stormed the Capitol with a mob of Trump supporters last month, according to court filingsand he was the one who called her a "moron." The man's ex told the FBI the next day that Michetti had been at the riot and provided them with the videos and messages he had sent her from the scene, the Washington Post reports. She also helped identify the Ridley Park man in other photos and videos, including some taken in the Capitol rotunda. Michetti faces charges including violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and obstruction of Congress and could face up to 20 years in prison. Authorities say Michettiwho was seen using his phone on the Capitol stepsargued with his ex about the former president's election fraud claims. "If you can't see the election was stolen, you're a moron," Michetti wrote in a message quoted in court filings released Wednesday, per the Philadelphia Inquirer. "This is tyranny. They told us 'We rigged the election and there's nuthin [sic] you can do about it' What do you think should be done?" In another message, he wrote: "It's going down here. We stormed the building they held us back with spray and teargas and paintballs." Michetti, who was released on bail with electronic monitoring, is one of at least 246 people charged in connection with the riot. (Read more Capitol attack stories.) (Newser) An 80-year-old woman was fatally shot minutes after she saw the youngest of her 15 grandchildren receive his high school diploma on Tuesday. Augustine Greenwood was shot outside the Morris Jeff High School graduation ceremony at Xavier University in New Orleans, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. Police say two men were injured in the shooting, which happened after two women started arguing in the parking lot of the university's convocation center as graduates and their relatives spilled out of the building, reports USA Today. Greenwood, a retired housekeeper, was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Chris Goodly, deputy superintendent for the New Orleans Police Department, says several people were detained at the scene for questioning but no arrests have been made over the "senseless act of violence." He says Greenwood's death is being investigated as a homicide. Greenwood's son-in-law, Corey Lashley, tells the Times-Picayune that she was shot as the family walked to their car after the ceremony. "Instead of celebrating, we wound up sad, crying," says Lashley, who describes Greenwood as a "sweet, loving person." "Today, I lost my mother to gun violence," Geraldine Greenwood-Lashley, one of Greenwood's six daughters, said in a Facebook post. She said she had a message for the "young ladies that started all of this." "You have ruined my son and family's world," she wrote. "All you had to do was walk away." Louisiana Gov. Bel Edwards said it was time to talk about moves including expanded background checks for gun buyers, the AP reports. He noted that Tuesday's tragedy came just two weeks after four people were injured in a shooting outside a high school graduation at Southeastern Louisiana University. (Read more New Orleans stories.) (Newser) A Kentucky pediatrician is accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill her ex-husband for $7,000. Authorities say Dr. Stephanie Russell, upset her ex had won custody of their kids, spoke to people who had connections to her medical practice about her idea, and one (who worked at the medical office at the time) played along, pretending to have found someone for Russell before later pretending that person had diedand ultimately quitting their job at Kidz Life Pediatrics to try to get away from Russell. Russell reached out to that person again, authorities say, and this time the person put her in touch with an undercover FBI agent posing as a hit man. Russell was arrested May 19 after allegedly going through with the first half of her planned payment, the Owensboro Times reports. Russell, 52, accused her ex of abusing their children, and a police investigation into those claims was what first tipped authorities off to the alleged murder plot after a former nanny told them about it. But when they could find no evidence either of the child abuse or of the murder plot, both investigations were closed until a private investigator uncovered more evidence related to the alleged murder-for-hire scheme, authorities say. That's when the two witnesses were found. Authorities have text messages from Russell in which she repeatedly refers to a Christmas flower delivery as a euphemism for the plot, per authorities. She is currently jailed without bail. (Read more Kentucky stories.) (Newser) Since Russia invaded Ukraine, around 15,000 suspected war crimes have been reported so farand 200-300 more reports come in every day, Ukraine's chief prosecutor says. Several thousand of those were reported in the eastern Donbas region, where fighting is particularly heavy, the BBC reports. Some of the alleged war crimes include the killing of civilians, torture, the forcible transfer of people to Russia, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure. Eighty prosecutions have already started, with some 600 suspects having been identified so far. The chief prosecutor says "top military, politicians and propaganda agents of Russia" are among those implicated. Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, and Slovakia are assisting with investigations, and the International Criminal Court has declared Ukraine a crime scene and sent its largest-ever team of investigators there. It plans to open an office in Kyiv. ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan says the joint effort "shows that there is this common front of legality that is absolutely essential, not just for Ukraine ... but for the continuation of peace and security all over the world." A two-day coordination meeting was held this week in the Hague, the AP reports. As for the finances involved, Khan says, per Fox News, "the cost of justice is small potatoes compared to the billions of dollars that are expended in conflict. It's much cheaper to fund a judicial mechanism than to buy tanks and missiles." (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.) (Newser) If you're busted in British Columbia with a small amount of hard drugs, you could soon see some grace, thanks to an innovative new program designed to deal with the OD crisis. The BBC reports that, starting at the end of January, drugs like cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA (ecstasy), and opioids such as heroin and fentanyl will be decriminalized in British Columbia, a three-year trial said to be the first of its kind in Canada. That doesn't mean that such drugs are now legalrather, it simply means that individuals 18 and older can possess up to 2.5 grams of them without fear of being arrested, charged, or having the drugs yanked. Instead, they'll receive information on health and social services available to them. The BC government requested the move last fall, noting it would "remove the shame" and stigma that keeps people from asking for help amid what it's deemed a public health emergency. More than 9,000 people have died of overdoses in the province over the past six years, while upward of 26,000 people across all of Canada suffered fatal opioid ODs between 2016 and 2021, per the National Post. There are exceptions to the programit won't apply to possession of said drugs at airports, in the military, or near child care sites or primary and secondary schoolsand production, trafficking, and exports/imports could still bring charges, reports the Washington Post. But in terms of most individuals in the province, it flips the approach on dealing with possible addictions. "Substance use is a public health issue, not a criminal one," says Sheila Malcolmson, BC's minister of mental health and addictions, per the National Post. The province also noted during its initial exemption request in November that harsher drug policies end up targeting marginalized communities disproportionately. It's a "fundamental rethinking of drug policy that favors health care over handcuffs," notes Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart, per the BBC. The program will run from Jan. 31, 2023, through Jan. 31, 2026. (Read more Canada stories.) (Newser) President Biden has proclaimed the United States a staunch ally of Ukraine amid the Russian invasion there, and he re-upped that commitment Tuesday with a New York Times op-ed stressing America's main goal in the conflict: "to see a democratic, independent, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression." In the piece, Biden first lays out what the US will do to advance that mission, including continuing to implement tough sanctions against Russia; working with ally nations and other partners to alleviate the food crisis in Ukraine brought about by the war; and providing "billions more" in financial aid, as well as a slew of advanced weapons systems that will let Ukraine "more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield." Biden affirms the US will keep "reinforcing NATO's eastern flank" to protect allies, and that he stands by the "nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine" philosophymeaning "I will not pressure the Ukrainian governmentin private or publicto make any territorial concessions," as has been suggested by some. The president also notes that, beyond helping Ukraine protect its sovereignty, he doesn't want to take Putin on. "We do not seek a war between NATO and Russia," he writes. "As much as I disagree with Mr. Putin, and find his actions an outrage, the United States will not try to bring about his ouster in Moscow." And, "so long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces." Still, "Americans will stay the course with the Ukrainian people because we understand that freedom is not free." His essay in full here. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.) (Newser) A former princess of Qatar has been found dead in her bed in Spain. Polish-American Kasia Gallanio, who was once married to Abdelaziz bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the 73-year-old uncle of the emir of Qatar, was discovered in the family's apartment in the resort city of Marbella on Sunday, reports the AP. Early indications are that she died of a drug overdose, per Sky News. There were no signs of any physical violence, according to French newspaper Le Parisien, which first reported the news. Police were called to the home by one of Gallanio's three daughters, who said her mother wasn't returning phone calls, per the AP. All three daughters17-year-old twins and a 15-year-old, per Yahoo Newslive with their father in France, which has been his home base since his exile over a coup in the 1990s, according to Le Parisien. Gallanio, said to be 45 or 46, was denied custody of the children following a yearslong legal battle, which focused on allegations that Abdelaziz sexually assaulted one daughter, per Sky. He has consistently denied the allegations. Gallanio had lately been battling alcoholism and depression, Le Parisien reports. In an April interview, she described feeling trapped in a "golden cage," adding she had to sell her jewelry to make ends meet as her ex-husband, a former oil and finance minister, was refusing to pay child support. (Read more Spain stories.) (Newser) Two Minnesotans filed federal civil rights lawsuits Tuesday against the city of Minneapolis and Derek Chauvin, alleging they were traumatized when the former police officer used his "signature move" of kneeling on their necksthe same way that he killed George Floyd, per the AP. John Pope Jr. was just 14 in September 2017 when he says Chauvin repeatedly struck him in the head with a metal flashlight, put him in a chokehold, then pinned Pope to the floor, with the officer pressing his body weight and left knee into Pope's upper back and neck for more than 15 minutes while Pope was not resisting and crying out "that he could not breathe." According to the complaint, Pope's mother was drunk when she called police because she was upset with him and his 16-year-old sister for leaving their cellphone chargers plugged in when not in use, leading to a physical confrontation. The other case alleges Chauvin used excessive force against Zoya Code in June 2017 after she allegedly tried to strangle her mother with an extension cord. Code's lawsuit alleges Chauvin "gratuitously slammed Zoyas unprotected head on the ground" before kneeling on the back of her neck for nearly 5 minutes. Criminal charges against Pope and Code were eventually dropped. Both lawsuits claim racism; Pope and Code are Black and Chauvin is white. They allege the city knew he had a record of misconduct but didn't stop him and let him stay on the job long enough to kill Floyd on May 25, 2020, a case that led to a national reckoning on racial injustice. Both lawsuits seek unspecified damages and name other officers involved. "We intend to move forward in negotiations with the Plaintiffs on these two matters and hope we can reach a reasonable settlement," Interim Minneapolis City Attorney Peter Ginder says in a statement, calling the incidents "disturbing." Chauvin's attorneys have not responded to requests for comment. (Read more Derek Chauvin stories.) (Newser) The US will supply Ukraine with advanced rocket systems to "help it strike enemy forces more precisely from a longer distance," per the BBC. Ukrainian officials have been begging for longer-range weapons to counter Russian firepower, which has pummeled cities and Ukrainian military positions in the Donbas region for weeks. In a New York Times essay published Tuesday, President Biden said the weaponry will help Ukraine defend itself and strengthen its hand at the negotiating table. Biden also sent assurances to the Russians, writing, "We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia." The announcement comes as critics have piled on in recent weeks, accusing the Biden administration and NATO of "mollycoddling" Russia. Per the BBC, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday accused the US of "directly and intentionally adding fuel to the fire." The Washington Post reports that shortly after Biden's essay was published, Russia's Defense Ministry announced exercises involving Moscow's strategic missile forces responsible for "nuclear deterrence of possible aggression." According to Russian military doctrine, the use of nuclear force is justified "if the Russian state faces an existential threat from conventional weapons." The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) that the US will send can deliver satellite-guided munitions nearly 45 miles, outmatching comparable Russian systems. It's also much easier to reload and more mobile than its Russian counterparts. Per the Times, the US declined to send its most advanced systems, which have a range up to 200 miles, and agreed to send the HIMARS based on Ukrainian promises that the weapons won't be used to strike Russian territory. President Zelensky reiterated the point in an interview on Newsmax, saying, "We're not interested in what is happening in Russia. We're only interested in our own territory." In related news, Germany announced Wednesday that it will send Ukraine its most advanced air-defense system, the IRIS-T, which "could be deployed to protect whole cities." (Read more Ukraine stories.) (Newser) Elon Musk has made clear to his Tesla workforce that remote work is not acceptable. Nor is it "acceptble," as the subject line of an email apparently sent to Tesla employees Tuesday and later posted to Twitter made clear. The brief email explains that "anyone who wishes to do remote work must be in the office for a minimum (and I mean *minimum*) of 40 hours per week or depart Tesla. This is less than we ask of factory workers." Further, that in-office work can't be done in a "remote branch office unrelated to the job duties, for example being responsible for Fremont factory human relations, but having your office be in another state." Bloomberg reports Musk didn't verify the authenticity of the email, but when asked on Twitter what he would say to anyone who thought in-office work is a thing of the past, he replied, "They should pretend to work somewhere else." Electrek also posts what it says is a follow-up email from Musk, subject line, "To be super clear." It doubles down on the message of the first, attributing Tesla's success in part to him having "lived in the factory so much." It continues: "There are of course companies that don't require this, but when was the last time they shipped a great new product? It's been a while." The email signs off with this: "Tesla has and will create and actually manufacture the most exciting and meaningful products of any company on Earth. This will not happen by phoning it in." Bloomberg flags the reference to factory workers in the first email, pointing out the situation at Tesla's Shanghai plant: In order to prevent COVID from interrupting production, thousands of workers have been "effectively locked in" for months, working 12-hour days six days a week and sleeping on the factory floor or in shared temporary dorms. In a separate opinion piece for the New York Times, longtime Musk critic Edward Niedermeyer deflates Musk's line about spending so much time in Tesla's factories. "What he left out of his self-aggrandizing was the reality for his employees," writes Niedermeyer. "His presence brought no real manufacturing expertise to bear, just the overbearing pressure of a boss whose public shaming was punctuated by declarations like 'I can be on my own private island with naked supermodels, drinking mai taisbut I'm not.'" (Read more Elon Musk stories.) (Newser) In 2017, Mike Heard of New Zealand set a world record for most bungee jumps over 24 hours with an impressive 430. Now, a Frenchman has made that hair-raising stunt look rather mild, topping Heard's record in just over 12 hours. After a 50-minute rest, 44-year-old Francois-Marie Dibon went on to rack up a total 765 jumps over the day's 1,440 minutes, which concluded Wednesday morning, easily setting a new world record as confirmed by a Guinness World Records judge, the Guardian reports. Judge Joanne Brent said it was "inspiring" to watch each jump from a 130-foot-tall bridge in the Scottish town of Pitlochry, per the Guardian. Dibon, who lives in Sweden, thanked his support team from Highland Fling Bungee, "who have brought me their energy that's kept me going until the end." He said he was surprised how quickly he beat Heard's record. "It was our objective to go high, but not that high," he said. "We knew what we could do, but we never trained that much or for that long." Still, "we had the mindset." He averaged a jump roughly every two minutes in the end. He said the only challenge was the "expected" cold and intermittent rain. Bungee jumping holds a special place in Dibon's heart, having helped him overcome "an immense fear of heights" that lasted into his 30s, the Scotsman reports. His first jump was 11 years ago. He's been planning for this record attempt for the last five years. (Read more world record stories.) (Newser) The Uvalde school district police chief accused of making the "wrong decision" during last week's school shooting has made his first public comments since the day of the massacrebut he didn't shed any light on his actions. Pedro "Pete" Arredondo told CNN Wednesday that he is in contact with the Texas Department of Public Safety "every day," though DPS says he has failed to respond to a request for a follow-up interview with the Texas Rangers. Arredondo was incident commander during the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School, and he has been heavily criticized for directing officers to wait outside in a hallway while the gunman remained in a classroom for more than an hour. Officers from other agencies were captured on audio telling Arredondo they should follow established procedure and break into the locked classroom without delay. Arredondo told CNN that he wasn't going to provide more information while funerals of the victims19 children and two teachersare underway. "We're going to be respectful to the family," he said. "We're going to do that eventually. Whenever this is done and the families quit grieving, then we'll do that obviously." Arredondo, who spent 15 years with the Uvalde Police Department before joining the small school district force, was privately sworn in as a city council member Tuesday. He was elected earlier this month, before the mass shooting. The Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, the state's largest police union, urged members Tuesday to "cooperate fully" with investigations of the police response in Uvalde, the Texas Tribune reports. Official accounts of the incident are continuing to shift, with police saying Tuesday that a teacher had closed a door they initially said was propped open during the shooting. Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin walked back criticism of state leaders late Tuesday, per the Tribune. "Our parents deserve answers and I trust the Texas Department of Public Safety/Texas Rangers will leave no stone unturned," he said. Our emotions are raw, and hearts are broken, and words are sometimes exchanged because of those emotions. (Read more Pete Arredondo stories.) (Newser) Once the largest restaurant chain in the US, the Howard Johnson's diners were down to their last orange roof by 2016. Now that location, in Lake George, New York, has shut its doors. The restaurant had served visitors to the Adirondack Mountains region for nearly 70 years, per CNN. "Cobwebs on the door," a local Facebook poster wrote. About 1,000 of the roadside cultural landmarks were serving fried clams and 28 flavors of ice cream in the 1960s, per the Albany Times Union. Then came fast-food chains, including McDonald's. The chain was sold and resold in pieces, starting in 1985, losing the rights to the "HoJo" nickname along the way. The "Howard Johnson" name still appears on hotels, motels, and motor lodges, and is now owned by Wyndham. The restaurant chain made appearances in the films 2001: A Space Odyssey and the TV series Mad Men. The Lake George diner, which was built in 1953, was sold in 2015 to a salesman who was then convicted of harassing 15 employees. A new owner took over for the past few years and dealt with pandemic interruptions, like restaurants everywhere. No reason was given for the permanent shutdown. (Read more Howard Johnson's stories.) (Newser) The man who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981 is set to be released from all remaining restrictive conditions on June 15. US District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman said in September that he would free John Hinckley from restrictions on that date as long as Hinckley continued to do well. Officials say Hinckley has, and Wednesday's hearing did not alter those plans. CBS News reports federal prosecutors, mental health professionals, and lawyers for Hinckley said at the hearing that they have no worries regarding his mental state. The judge has said that Hinckley, who turned 67 on Sunday, has displayed no symptoms of active mental illness, no violent behavior, and no interest in weapons since 1983, reports the AP. Hinckley was confined to a mental hospital in Washington for more than two decades after a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity in shooting Reagan. But starting in 2003 Friedman began allowing Hinckley to live for longer stretches in the community with requirements like attending therapy and restrictions on where he can travel. He's been living full-time in Virginia since 2016, though still under restrictions. Those include: allowing officials access to his electronic devices, email, and online accounts; being barred from traveling to places where he knows there will be someone protected by the Secret Service; and giving three days notice if he wants to travel more than 75 miles from his home. CBS News reports Hinckley was not in court, but his attorney cited the release agreement as the "culmination of decades of work." He noted Hinckley wishes he could "undo" his actions and wanted to apologize to the Reagans. Prosecutors wished Hinckley "the best" and said his decades-long transformation was indicative of the value of proper mental health care. In July, Hinckleywho plays guitar and sings and has shared his music on a YouTube channelplans to give a concert in Brooklyn, New York. Appearances in Connecticut and Chicago for what he has called the "John Hinckley Redemption Tour" have been cancelled. (Read more John Hinckley stories.) Alaska_news Interior lawmakers buck the trend of incumbents exiting the Legislature News-Miner Capitol building in Juneau. Rep. Mike Cronk Photo courtesy of Rep. Grier Hopkins Rep. Grier Hopkins News Miner file photo Rep. Bart LeBon Rep. Adam Wool Eric Engman Rep. Steve Thompson Sen. Click Bishop Sen. Robert Myers Eric Engman Sen. Scott Kawasaki Rep. Mike Prax Interior legislators are bucking a trend of incumbents leaving the Alaska Legislature in 2022. Some political observers say that up to a third of incumbent lawmakers may not seek another term in the Alaska Legislature. Most of the Interior incumbents are pledging to run again, which is a contrast to legislators from other parts of the state who are stepping aside in higher numbers than anticipated. With the filing deadline 5 p.m. today to run in the state primary, all but two Interior state lawmakers have announced their re-election campaigns. I just filed today, Rep. Grier Hopkins said Tuesday. It is hard being away from your family for extended periods. But it is still incredibly important to serve. Reps. Bart Lebon, Mike Cronk, Mike Prax and Hopkins as well as Sens. Click Bishop, Robert Myers and Scott Kawasaki are seeking re-election in 2022. Cronk, who is from Tok, and Prax, who represents North Pole, are the only ones to run unopposed as of 5 p.m. Tuesday. But that could change in the next several hours. Kawasaki, a Fairbanks Democrat, has stated his intention to file, but at the close of day Tuesday no one had filed to run in his Senate district, according to the Alaska Division of Elections website. Officials at the elections office said it takes time to process each filing, so a candidate's name does not show up immediately after filing. Rep. Adam Wool, another Fairbanks Democrat, is leaving his state House seat to campaign in the special primary race for Alaskas sole seat in the U.S. House seat. And Republican Rep. Steve Thompson of Fairbanks, who told the News-Miner 12 years is enough, is headed for retirement. As incumbents step aside, others step up to run and replace them in the Legislature, including political newcomers and candidates from third parties who may not be well known to voters. Heres a closer look at how some Interior races are shaping up. Everything is fluid until the filing period closes. In the House, incumbent Republican Rep. Bart LeBon of Fairbanks will face early competition from at least one other Republican and a Democrat. The campaigns of Democrat Maxine Dibert and Republican Kelly Nash have been certified in District 31, where LeBon is the incumbent. Dibert is a schoolteacher, and Nash is a conservative party activist. Hopkins, a Fairbanks Democrat, faces two challengers in House District 34. Republicans Nate Demars of Salcha and Frank Tomaszewski of Fairbanks have been certified to run against him. Demars describes himself on social media as your local guy running for election to the State House. Tomaszewski is a long-time Fairbanks resident and member of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly. In the Senate, incumbent Republican Robert Myers of Fairbanks will field a challenge from Alaska Independence candidate Arthur Serkov of Fairbanks. The Alaska Independence Party promotes Alaska-centric issues, according to its website, including resource development, and advocates a vote on secession from the United States. Sen. Click Bishop also faces a challenge from an Alaska Independence Party candidate. Robert Bert Williams is running against the long-time incumbent. In House District 32, Republican Will Stapp, a military veteran, is seeking to fill the seat that has been held by Thompson. "I have been involved in political causes since I returned to Alaska from my last combat tour to Iraq and I have been an active supporter of various service organizations and campaigns," Stapp told the News-Miner. "However, this would be my first time as a candidate for elective office." Thompsons retirement is no surprise, as he indicated more than a year ago that he would not run again. Stapp was the only candidate Tuesday certified in the District 32 House race. Stapp was stationed at Fort Wainwright as an infantry soldier. Thompson told the News-Miner that he is endorsing Stapps run for office. While some races have only one candidate, District 35 is a crowded House race. Wool, the Democratic incumbent, announced he would not seek another term as he campaigns for the U.S. House seat left vacant after the death of 88-year-old Rep. Don Young. Democrat Ashley Carrick, an aide to Wool in the Legislature, is running to fill the seat. The other challengers are Republican Ruben McNeill Jr., a health care manager; Kiernan Brown of the Alaska Constitutional Party; and Tim Parker, a retired English teacher who is not affiliated with any party. Editor's note: This article was updated on June 1, 2022. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Bahrain and Morocco are committed to strengthening relations of cooperation and joint coordination at all levels to achieve the common interests of the two countries and peoples. This came as Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani yesterday held talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, on the sidelines of the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh, hosted by Morocco. During the meeting, Dr Al Zayani praised the historical bilateral relations in all fields in implementation of the directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco. The Moroccan Minister affirmed his countrys pride in the close relations that bind the two countries and peoples, and the development they are witnessing in all fields. He praised the significant stances of Bahrain and its constant support for Morocco in all political, economic and development fields, wishing the Kingdom further progress and prosperity. The meeting also discussed the close brotherly relations between the two countries and ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in various fields, intensify joint coordination and unify positions towards various issues in regional and international gatherings. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa expressed pride in long-standing historical and fraternal relations binding the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Sultanate of Oman. Receiving Omans Shura Council Chairman Shaikh Khalid bin Hilal Al Maawali, HM the King stressed steadily-growing bilateral relations, noting mutual keenness on further bolstering joint ties. HM the King hailed the advanced level of bilateral relations, praising the pivotal role played by Bahrains Shura Council and Representatives Council and Omans Shura Council in strengthening fraternal ties and supporting development in both countries. He commended the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Representatives Council and Omans Shura Council, which will contribute to supporting parliamentary cooperation and stepping up coordination regarding common issues. HM the King stressed the importance of fraternal visits to expand corporation, exchange legislative expertise and coordinate stances in parliamentary arenas. He praised the pivotal role of HM Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Saidin supporting bilateral relations and hailed development strides in the Sultanate of Oman. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Bahrain takes pride in continuing to build on a centuries-old history, during which our authentic Bahraini values of tolerance, coexistence and respect for religions, beliefs and cultures, derived from the principles of our true Islamic religion, were rooted. This was emphasised by Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani as he participated yesterday in the inauguration of the Freedom of Religion and Belief Conference. The event was held under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, in the presence of ministers, senior officials, ambassadors and guests. The Minister welcomed the participants from the European Union (EU) to the conference that brings together policy makers and diplomats with religious and community leaders. In his speech, Dr Al Zayani noted that Bahrains long experience as a regional trade centre has given Bahrainis a unique understanding of the value of cooperation and dialogue among all religions and societies. They have also appreciated the benefits of these freedoms, based on the Kingdoms keenness to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms regardless of gender, origin, religion or sect. Dr Al Zayani noted that the Kingdom grants freedom of religion and belief to all. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs, Dr Shaikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, participated in the launch of Gulf Airs four new direct destinations in its global network to Milan and Rome in Italy, Nice in France and Manchester in the UK. The celebration was held at Bahrain International Airport, in the presence of Acting CEO of the company, Captain Waleed Al Alawi, Ambassadors of friendly countries and senior officials in the Ministry of Interior, Civil Aviation Affairs, Bahrain Airport Company, Bahrain Airport Services Company, and the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority. The Undersecretary stressed that direct flights to more European capitals and cities will contribute to deepening the economic partnership of Bahrain with European countries. Why have investors started coming back to Singapore? It all has to do with the countrys exceptionally strong economic fundamentals. After a brief hiccup due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Singapore GDP growth is back on track. Foreign direct investment volumes in 2022 are now consistently hitting close to pre-pandemic levels, and optimism is running high among investors in the city-state. Here are 7 reasons why Singapores economy inspires such confidence even in these uncertain times. 1.) A Laissez-Faire Economic System Singapore is often held up as a prime example of a successful laissez-faire economic system. In contrast to many other developed nations, the Singaporean government tends to take a hands-off approach when it comes to business. Rather, it focuses on developing an environment wherein both domestic and foreign-owned businesses can thrive. The lack of government interference sets the stage for businesses based in Singapore to become more innovative than they would be in a more restrictive economy. The lack of interference also facilitates easier knowledge transfers among professionals based in the country, which helps nurture a culture of creativity and innovation. 2.) World-Leading IP Protection Singapore is widely considered to lead Asia and much of the world when it comes to the protection of intellectual property rights. This gives the country a crucial advantage when it comes to attracting investments that create real, lasting value. This is because robust IP protection ensures that the originators of technologies, creative works, and processes can benefit from their innovations. This strong protection of intellectual property rights encourages both foreign and domestic investors to stay in the country, often creating additional innovations and value for the global market. 3.) Easy Business Incorporation Processes The World Bank tagged Singapore as having the simplest business incorporation laws in the world. The Singaporean government itself claims that incorporating a business with the city-state only takes 15 minutes. This is in stark contrast with many of Singapore s Asian neighbours, where incorporating a business can be a protracted and expensive process. Singapore s fast business incorporation process makes the country especially attractive for entrepreneurs who want to immediately capitalise on current or emerging trends. Together with Singapore s world-leading IP protection laws, this simple incorporation process has been credited with making the country a leading choice for the world s serial entrepreneurs. 4.) A Highly Educated Population Singapore s greatest resource is its people. Since its founding, the country has invested significantly in the education of its population, largely to ensure that the country can generate value even with its lack of natural resources. Today, the country has the highest human capital index (HCI) in the Asia-Pacific, beating Japan and South Korea A high HCI is always good news for investors. A higher HCI means that businesses don t need to invest a lot of funding in training and development, a complication that s common when investing in less-developed countries. In countries with high HCI, long onboarding processes are often less necessary, as the educational system will already have provided adequate education. Singapore also distinguishes itself from other high HCI nations by its commitment to lifelong education. Programs such as SkillsFuture provide Singaporean nationals with opportunities for continuing education at all ages, ensuring that their skills do not become outdated and that they can continue to be productive regardless of how old they are. 5.) Global Connectivity The country s strategic location has long made it a key sea and air logistics hub. This alone gives investors key price advantages whenever they need to import goods into the city-state. However, the country is also globally connected in another equally meaningful way. Singapore has one of the fastest internet speeds in the world, a key factor that allows the small country to attract considerable tech investments. Extremely fast internet speeds and reliable connections have allowed Singapore to gain a large piece of the globally important cloud computing space. Today, the country hosts data centres for many of the world s most recognized financial institutions, largely thanks to its superior connectivity infrastructure. 6.) Publicly Funded Innovation Though the government tries to minimise its interference in day-to-day business, it does offer several tax deductions, subsidies, incentives, and grants. These are targeted at industries, technologies, and disciplines that are considered important for Singapore s GDP growth. This approach is designed to improve the desirability of investing in the country over the long term. The country s world-leading digital connectivity, advanced AI technology, and IP protection laws all major attractions for investors are all the result of strategic government funding. 7.) Trustworthy Political Institutions Trust in public institutions tends to be remarkably high in Singapore, especially considering that the city-state is a multiparty parliamentary democracy. Singapore also consistently ranks among the world s least corrupt countries and is the least corrupt in Asia, according to Transparency International. Petty crime is also highly unusual in the country, and local and foreign residents tend to feel safe whether on the streets or in their homes. The low corruption, negligible crime, and high trust in public institutions create an atmosphere of safety and low risk, something that most investors look for. Indeed, both domestic and foreign investors tend to view Singapore s economic and political system as enablers of business innovation, and it s easy to see why. It s Time to Invest in Singapore Over the decades, the Singaporean government has parlayed its modest advantages to become a global investment destination. The foundations for its success run deep, which is partly why it was able to weather the economic fallout from the pandemic as well as the global shocks resulting from the Russo-Ukrainian War. These foundations remain and are still constantly being improved on, which is great news for investors. If you have an idea that you want to bring to fruition, few places could give you the benefits you ll find in Singapore. Over 10,000 food items in Japan will experience price increases of an average 13 percent this year as a result of rising materials costs and the yen's rapid depreciation, a survey by a credit research firm showed Wednesday. The Teikoku Databank Ltd. survey found that 105 major food manufacturers had raised prices on 6,285 products by June, with price hikes planned for an additional 4,504 products from July onward. A growing number of Japanese companies are selling products at higher prices as the coronavirus pandemic and Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine have caused the cost of everything from wheat to crude oil to rise. ...continue reading (The Center Square) Ohio teachers would need less than a day of training before carrying a gun to school, rather than the currently required month if the House agrees with Senate changes to a bill it passed Wednesday. House Bill 99, which passed the House nearly six months ago, would eliminate the need for teachers to pass the states peace officers training course, which includes more than 700 hours of instruction. Instead, they would only need to complete 24 initial hours of training, along with four reoccurring hours of training established by the attorney general. School districts could require more training. Staff members also would be required to meet certain range requirements, and school boards must notify the public if it elects to allow staff to be armed. The bill, which added more required training than the House bill and includes $6 million for school safety, passed on party-line votes by Republicans in both the House and Senate. This bill is completely permissive and allows local school boards to either approve or disapprove of carrying weapons in the schoolhouse, thus providing another tool in the toolbox, said Sen. Frank Hoagland, R-Mingo Junction. To me safety is paramount. Everything else is a plan and consideration. Our mission is to save lives. Ohio is taking ownership and the burden of assuring a safe education. A Democrat amendment to increase training to a minimum of 152 hours was defeated. State Sen. Cecil Thomas, D-Avondale, called the 24 hours of training madness, despite the killing of 19 elementary school students in Texas a week ago. The biggest concern, not only from just myself by my colleagues, and not just parents and teachers, the biggest concern from law enforcement was the amount of training, West said on the Senate floor. Folks, we are talking about putting guns in the hands of someone to be in charge of overseeing safety in our schools and the total amount of training required is 24 hours. This is madness. The bill moved out of the Senate Veterans and Public Safety Committee on a party-line Republican vote Tuesday after just two hearings, despite a long line of individuals, teachers, the state teachers union, religious groups and other organizations testifying against it. Elizabeth Overmier, with Brady United Against Gun Violence, testified more guns in schools would create issues for students. Adding armed staff will increase not decrease student anxiety, Overmier said. Ohio students deserve better than House Bill 99. In the House, the bill was opposed by law enforcement, teacher and education groups, churches and parental groups. The Buckeye Firearm Association and Ohio Gun Owners testified in favor. Rob Sexton, legislative affairs director at the Buckeye Firearm Association, said the bill protects students and gives school boards the right to make decisions. House Bill 99 has one purpose, which is to give our kids a fighting chance in the event the worst happens in their schools, Sexton testified. House Bill 99 restores the right of school boards to create school safety plans that include armed staff. If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Submit This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SLOVIANSK, Ukraine (AP) Russian forces in a frenzied push have seized half of Sievierodonetsk, the eastern Ukrainian city that is key to Moscows efforts to complete the capture of the industrial Donbas region, the mayor said Tuesday. The city is essentially being destroyed ruthlessly block by block, Oleksandr Striuk said. He said heavy street fighting continued and artillery barrages threatened the lives of the estimated 13,000 civilians still sheltering in the ruined city that once was home to more than 100,000. A Russian airstrike on Sievierodonetsk hit a tank of nitric acid at a chemical factory, causing a huge leak of fumes, according to Serhiy Haidai, governor of the Luhansk region. He posted a picture of a big cloud hanging over the city and urged residents to stay inside and wear gas masks or improvised ones. Haidai said later Tuesday that most of Sievierodonetsk" was under Russian control, though he added that fierce fighting continued and the city wasnt surrounded. Sievierodonetsk is important to Russian efforts to capture the Donbas before more Western arms arrive to bolster Ukraines defense. Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian troops in the region for eight years and held swaths of territory even before the invasion. President Joe Biden said Tuesday the U.S. will provide Ukraine with the more advanced rocket systems that its leaders have been begging for. In an essay published in The New York Times, Biden said the rocket systems will enable Ukraine to more precisely strike key targets. U.S. officials, speaking before Biden's announcement on condition of anonymity, said Washington will send Ukraine a small number of high-tech, medium-range rocket systems. The rockets could be used both to intercept Russian artillery and to take out Russian positions in towns where fighting is intense, such as Sievierodonetsk. The rocket systems would be taken from U.S. inventory, which would get them to Ukraine quickly. Ukrainian troops would also need training on the new systems, which could take at least a week or two. Sievierodonetsk, which is 145 kilometers (90 miles) south of the Russian border, is in an area that is the last pocket under Ukrainian government control in the Luhansk region. The Donbas is made up of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Striuk said more than 1,500 residents have died of various causes since Russias invasion of Ukraine in late February. Evacuation efforts from Sievierodonetsk have been halted because of shelling. Civilians are dying from direct strikes, from fragmentation wounds and under the rubble of destroyed buildings, since most of the inhabitants are hiding in basements and shelters, Striuk said. Electricity has been cut off, and people need water, food and medicine, the mayor said: There are food supplies for several more days, but the issue is how to distribute them. In his nightly video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the situation in the Donbas remains extremely difficult as Russia has put its armys maximum combat power there. At least three people were killed and six wounded overnight in a Russian missile strike on the city of Sloviansk, west of Sievierodonetsk, Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said in a Facebook post Tuesday. A school was among several buildings damaged. A crater was blasted in the road between two apartment buildings heavily pockmarked by shrapnel. The floor and stairwell of one building were smeared with blood. Resident Olena Voytenko, 59, said she knew one of the people killed, a man whose apartment caught fire in the blast. Another resident, Mikhaylo Samoluk, said the strike occurred in the middle of the night. I was on my sofa and suddenly my sofa just jumped in the air, he said. ___ Yuras Karmanau reported from Lviv, and Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) As student anxiety skyrockets, campus ministries are trying to help by not only offering the comforts of faith and community, but also creating collaborations with mental health professionals. On Ivy League campuses, large public institutions and faith-based colleges, chaplains and psychologists are teaming up, informed by abundant research showing religion and spirituality can ease mental distress by providing group support and boosting personal resilience. Were good partners, and routinely refer back and forth, said Calvin Chin, Princeton Universitys director of counseling and psychological services, which a third of students use. Were really thinking holistically about how to support a student, what they need to lead successful and satisfying lives. On a spring Saturday afternoon close to finals week, Sadaf Shier, the Muslim chaplain at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, oversaw a celebration for the end of Ramadan where students of all faiths, or none, did stress-reducing activities like flowerpot painting and henna hand decorating. Shier and the universitys Protestant pastor, Neil Ellingson, mingled with dozens of students on the lawn outside the Catholic chapel. My major engagement is providing a climate where students feel their religious identity is legitimate, Shier said. Thats directly supporting mental health. Ellingson also saw a direct connection between faith and mental health: Belief in a higher being leads students to feel that youre loved by the cosmos and you matter in this big sense. But he added the challenge is to broaden ministrys outreach. Students who tend to come through the door are already plugged in. How do you connect with those who arent? he said. At the time when students need this stuff the most, theyre not seeking it. The need is indeed critical. In December, halfway through the first academic year when most colleges returned to in-person instruction, the U.S. surgeon general issued an advisory on the countrys youth mental health crisis. It found everything from sadness to suicide plans increased by more than 40% in the decade before COVID-19 and that the pandemics further impact was devastating. Counselors are seeing distress become more widespread and more severe particularly anxiety, which overtook stress and depression among students, according to the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors. Our faculty say students seem much more overwhelmed, to be carrying a lot more anxiety, especially about coping with demands and social interactions, said Cindy Bruns, director of counseling and licensed psychologist at Central Washington University. By fostering supportive community events where students can relearn to socialize in real life and not in always-curated social media a skill often lost in pandemic isolation campus ministries can have a big impact. At Yale University, Omer Bajwa, an imam and director of Muslim life, has seen a dramatic increase in attendance at Friday prayers and Ramadan events compared to pre-pandemic times. While he said the class of 2025 has nearly double the usual number of self-identifying Muslim students, he believes attendance is also driven by how relevant chaplains have become. We are trained to be good listeners, to ask reflective questions, to engage with people where they are, Bajwa said. Across the country at the University of Southern California, home to 50,000 enrolled students, record numbers showed up at spirituality and wellness events at Shabbat dinners, Buddhist meditations, Catholic Masses and pet therapy sessions. We had 250 kids come out to pet two therapy dogs. We normally get 20 kids, said Varun Soni, dean of religious life. They were so desperate to be with each other within a context of meaning-making, that suddenly religious and spiritual life boomed in the fall. Even before the pandemic, despair seemed to mark Generation Z, whose members were born roughly between 1997 and 2012. Students were no longer asking me, How should I live? They started asking me, Why should I live? Soni said. Chaplains and counselors have been teaming up for years, he said, but even though USC bolstered its wellness team by adding 60 new counselors since 2008, appointment wait times remain around three weeks. Still, chaplains and psychologists are quick to emphasize that one cant replace the other especially since demand is so high. By serving as students long-term mentors, chaplains can free up counseling to deal with critical care like panic attacks and suicidal thoughts. The Newman Center at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, offers game nights and dances and also pays for weekly student counseling sessions at its residence hall, which is open to non-Catholics, too. We arent just an activity center, we want to be a place for people to ask the big questions, said its director, the Rev. Dan Andrews. Not to have answers is a root cause of the anxiety theyre experiencing. David deBoer, director of counseling at Loyolas wellness center, sees in that soul-searching the special role of campus ministry. Campus ministry can engage students to a more existential level, gets at more profound questions that mental health language has limitations for, he says. For example, a chaplain can help reconcile the dissonance that traditionally educated Muslim or Catholic students might feel if developing a sexual orientation or gender identity not welcomed by their faith, he added. Many experts argue that therapy should assess students engagement with spirituality as an overall part of their identity. It would help uncover potential coping mechanisms, said David Hodge, professor in the school of social work at Arizona State University. It also prevents misdiagnosing them a Catholic student who just received the sacrament of reconciliation might say Im OK with dying but not be suicidal, said Charis Davidson, a professor and public health researcher at Mercy College. Her studies found that collaborations between campus ministry and counseling are still definitely the exception at public universities, but that the current crisis might bring more together. Also crucial is to broaden the outreach to students reluctant to approach faith leaders. Vanessa Gomez Brake, a secular humanist and the associate dean of religious and spiritual life at USC, said expanding spiritual wellness offerings for religious and nonreligious students alike should become the priority for campus ministry. This year, for example, she partnered with the counseling center to launch a group for those processing pandemic-related grief. At the University of Wisconsin, Madison, the Catholic student center tried to keep as many community programs going as possible even during the pandemics darkest moments, said its director, the Rev. Eric Nielsen. I had an atheist come in who wanted to just hang out, he recalled, adding the student said it helped him feel a bit less depressed. At the recent Eid celebration at the University of St. Thomas, three students worked the table offering glitter, decals and ribbons to decorate mason jars and hijabs. Salma Nadir, a graduating senior and secretary of the Muslim Student Association, said Shier, the chaplain, saved us so many times with events like this that foster a welcoming community. Its been good for my stress, to be able to talk with new people, first-year student Arianna Norals agreed. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate DANBURY At 85, Bob Kingsley has been battling a debilitating bone ailment called osteomyelitis that has kept him out of the cockpit for the last three years. But Wednesdays gathering of octogenarian pilots at Danbury airport was an annual event he didnt want to miss. So Kingsley and three friends climbed into a single-engine Cesna 172 and made the 40-minute trip here from New Jersey. It was fantastic this is the first time I flew in three years, and it was a really nice flight, said Kingsley, who added that his autopilot did half the work for him above the clouds. It was a good to get back into the saddle. It was even better to see a couple dozen pilot friends all at least 80 years old gathered at picnic tables outside the Business Aircraft Center hangar on runway 8. Most of the group assembled Wednesday drove in from the region because the forecast had threatened rain. Typically, more members of the club known as UFO for United Flying Octogenarians fly into the event, said Ken Johnson, 85, a retired commercial pilot from Kent, who helped organized Wednesdays UFO gathering. If someone wants to organize a fly-in we do and guys come in from all over, Johnson said of the groups 1,600 members. (Danbury airport) is a good location within 100 miles of here, there are quite a few UFOs. Of the handful of octogenarians who flew in for Wednesdays event, David Roeberg took the award for speed. His silver G2 Vision Jet, which he purchased used last year for $2.6 million, has a cruise speed of 300 mph. Roeberg, 84, made the flight from Wilmington, Del., in 40 minutes. There are clouds below you and above you, so you are operating the equipment with the instruments, and you have to always be cognizant what you are doing next and be ahead of the airplane mentally, Roeberg said as the crowd of octogenarians admired his jet. I have been flying for over 50 years, so its second nature. Roebergs jet wasnt the only aircraft with wow factor on Wednesday. Jack and Sandi Rosen, who celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary over the weekend, taxied to the hangar reception in a custom-made single-engine plane that Jack Rosen made by hand. Leaning into the nose with his hands on either side of the propeller, 85-year-old Jack Rosen pushed his plane off the blacktop and onto the grass by himself, raising his arms up in a body builders stance. Sandi and I got married, said Rosen, a retired engineer. Some people buy a house. We bought an airplane, his wife Sandi said, beating him to the punchline. In the plane we had before this we crossed the Atlantic (Ocean) 12 times and Sandi did eight of the flights with me, Rosen said. So we have been all over Europe in a single-engine. We thought nothing of flying to Iceland for the weekend. On Wednesday, Jack Rosen was happy to be in Danbury. He opened a small square engine hatch on the nose of his aircraft, and he dipped his face toward it with his eyes closed Best smell in the world right there, he said. An aircraft engine cooling off. rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342 TORONTO, June 1, 2022 /CNW/ - RSM Canada LLP ("RSM") - a leading global provider of audit, tax and consulting services focused on the middle market - is proud to announce that the firm has been named on the 2022 list of Best Workplaces for Giving Back. This honour is received following a thorough and independent analysis conducted by Great Place to Work, and the list is based on direct feedback from employees of the hundreds of organizations that were surveyed by Great Place to Work. The data has a 90 per cent confidence and a plus or minus 5 per cent margin of error. "Stewardship is one our key pillars at RSM Canada and we are proud to give back to the communities where our people live and work," said Harry Blum, national managing partner at RSM Canada. "RSM has volunteered more than 73,000 hours and donated more than $920, 000 through various firm initiatives to charities that support education, along with children and families in the areas of hunger, housing and health. We are grateful to our people for their constant support to these worthy programs." In 2021, over 4,000 RSM employees and their family members participated in more than 100 volunteer events across Canada and the U.S. for RSM Volunteer Day - employees and their families supported 91 charitable organizations throughout the year by helping their communities virtually. To be eligible for this list, organizations must be Great Place to Work-Certified in the past year and at least 90 per cent of employees must feel good about the way their company contributes to the community. Companies are assessed on the overall Community Investment Index score from employees as well as the range and quality of programs that encourage workplace community investment. To learn more about RSM Canada's ESG initiatives, visit the firm's website. About Great Place to Work: Great Place to Work is the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. Through proprietary assessment tools, advisory services, and certification programs, Great Place to Work recognizes Canada's Best Workplaces in a series of national lists including those published by The Globe & Mail (Canada) and Fortune magazine (USA). Great Place to Work provides the benchmarks, framework, and expertise needed to create, sustain, and recognize outstanding workplace cultures. Visit us at www.greatplacetowork.ca or find us on Twitter at @GPTW_Canada. About RSM Canada: RSM's purpose is to deliver the power of being understood to our clients, colleagues and communities through world-class audit, tax and consulting services focused on middle market businesses. The clients we serve are the engine of global commerce and economic growth, and we are focused on developing leading professionals and services to meet their evolving needs in today's ever-changing business environment. RSM Canada LLP provides public accounting services and is the Canadian member firm of RSM International, a global network of independent audit, tax and consulting firms with 51,000 people across 123 countries. RSM Alberta LLP is a limited liability partnership and independent legal entity that provides public accounting services. RSM Canada Consulting LP provides consulting services and is an affiliate of RSM US LLP, a member firm of RSM International. For more information visit rsmcanada.com, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and/or connect with us on LinkedIn. SOURCE RSM Canada For further information: FleishmanHillard HighRoad for RSM Canada, 416-508-8430, [email protected] Arham Pratap Jain, CEO, Trucknetic, spoke about how he has managed to build his company Trucknetic from scratch and shared his experience. Speaking about the idea and objective behind the company, he said, I started my career as a social entrepreneur, where I stayed there for three to four years. Later, I transitioned into investment banking. I was not enjoying the job and always wanted to be an entrepreneur, so I joined my family business, which was related to trading. Trading is closely related to logistics. There, I got exposed to the logistics market of the country. We faced a lot of challenges in procuring vehicles inside and outside the market when it comes to road transportation. That made me think about what is wrong with the industry. No one has been able to look into the industry the way it is. It kind of make me put my thinking cap on. I took a sabbatical after a year from the business for three months and started interacting with a lot of stakeholders starting from those who have trucks, fleet owners, transporters, enterprises, corporates, and started to make sense of the whole ecosystem. I figured that there is a lot of problems and white space in the industry. There are challenges. Elaborating further, he added, The entire supply chain is a lot expensive because a lot of stakeholders are involved, who are not putting any value into the system, yet making money off the side whereas end customers are getting exploited, so thats how I started the company in 2019. When we asked him about what made him name the company as Trucknetic, he responded, When it comes to the name, I got the name at 3 AM in the morning while I was sleeping. I just felt like buying this domain name Trucknetic. If the name is broken down its Truck Plus Kinetic, which means a truck should always be in motion with kinetic energy. It echoed with the purpose. We are a one-stop solution for all kinds of trucks from small trucks to heavy-duty trucks. We do B2C to B2B, and we do intercity to the interstate. Anybody who wants a truck can come to our platform. We have reduced lead time substantially, from two days to thirty minutes to three hours. We have been able to reduce the freight cost for the shippers because we are using high-end technology like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other automation software to bring down another cost for the shippers and to bring down the cost of logistics in the country, which is 18% of the GDP as compared to 8-10 % globally. Every single year we are losing close to $45 billion due to demand and supply mismatch, he added. Talking about securing the funding for his company, to which he said, The growth has really accelerated. We started just before Covid, but it was a blessing in disguise because with Covid people have started accepting the digital platform like ours. They have seen business can be disrupted and think out of the box to maintain the business. When it comes to the funding I put in all my savings in the beginning. We also got some awards, funds and grants for the company. Watch the complete interview here: Rakesh Tikait, a farmer leader, claims that an ink attack on him in Bengaluru was an effort to kill him. During a function in Bengaluru, miscreants threw ink on him. During a function organised by a farmers organisation at Gandhi Bhavan in Bengaluru, miscreants splashed ink on farmer leader Rakesh Tikait on Monday. In connection with the attack, three people have been arrested. After the ink attack, scuffles erupted between the organisers and the miscreants, with both sides striking each other with plastic chairs. Rakesh Tikait, speaking to sources, claimed, The government was to blame. They didnt offer any protection. It appears to be a well-thought-out plot. I strongly encourage the government to launch an investigation and prosecute the perpetrators. I was assaulted with a microphone and sustained injuries. Im not sure if the assailants and the sloganeering are connected, but the government must act He went on to say. His turban, face, Kurta, and the green scarf around his neck were all covered in black ink. Tikait claims he was targeted for assassination. Araga Jnanendra, the Karnataka Home Minister, denounced the incident and said an investigation is ongoing. According to the PLA's Eastern Theatre Command, exercises were held in the water and air surrounding the self-ruled island. The Chinese military has said that it carried out a combat readiness patrol in the sea and airspace surrounding Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory. The Peoples Liberation Army Eastern Theatre Command stated in a statement that the exercises took place recently and were a necessary step against what it called US-Taiwan cooperation. Recently, the US has made repeated manoeuvres on the Taiwan problem, saying one thing and doing another, encouraging support for Taiwan independence forces, which will push Taiwan into a perilous scenario, the command added in a statement released on Wednesday. The largest intrusion by Chinese aircraft into Taiwans Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) since January was recorded this week, with 30 planes, the majority of which were fighter jets, flying into the southwest of the ADIZ. Tammy Duckworth, a US Senator, was visiting the island at the time of the event. Beijing has lodged solemn representations with the US about her travel, according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian. According to the sources, Zhao said at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, We urge relevant US politicians to earnestly adhere to the one-China principle, and immediately stop official exchanges with Taiwan in any form and refrain from sending any wrong signals to the Taiwan independence separatist forces. China will continue to take strong measures to protect Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity. In a press briefing, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the State Councils Taiwan Affairs Office, said it was extremely dangerous for the US to connive in the separatist activities performed by Taiwan secessionists. Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China (ROC), is located 161 kilometres (100 miles) from the mainland Chinese shore. The PM expressed remorse for what he called the previous government's "maltreatment" of Turkish businessmen over the past four years while speaking at the Turkey-Pakistan Business Forum. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on the first day of his official visit to Turkey on Tuesday that the closeness of Pakistan and Turkeys relationship was not reflected in trade relations between the two countries, and expressed a desire for the volume of trade between the two to reach $5 billion per year. The Prime Minister expressed remorse for what he called the previous governments maltreatment of Turkish businessmen over the past four years while speaking at the Turkey-Pakistan Business Forum. Turkey designed the first metro in Lahore. Pakistan was offered solid waste management knowledge in exchange for peanuts. Turkish police officers provided free training to our officers. What we have done to our Turkish brothers, however, is in exchange. He also declared that Turkish citizens will no longer be subject to visa restrictions. The PM also commended Turkeys leadership for its principled support on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in an interview with Turkish news agency Anadolu. We share similar views on regional and international issues and work closely on bilateral, regional, and multilateral forums, Sharif said ahead of his three-day official visit to Turkey. He said Pakistan and the US had a long-standing and broad-based cooperation in numerous areas of mutual interest, when asked about Pakistans involvement in US strategy in the region. We want to strengthen and broaden our engagement with the United States, he said. The United States is Pakistans largest export market and a major source of FDI and remittances. He said the objective of connectivity and win-win cooperation at the heart of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was in accordance with his governments aims, as well as the vision for Pakistan as a peaceful, affluent area. He said that work on the CPEC Special Economic Zones was ongoing, and that Pakistan was encouraging foreign investment in critical industrial areas. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SIMSBURY When local firefighters arrived at the scene of a plane crash Tuesday night, they had an unusual, but welcome problem there were no victims, the fire chief said. The small plane had overshot the runway at Simsbury Airport, traveled about 250 feet, plowed through a wire fence and into a greenhouse, or hoop house, on a neighboring farm, Fire Chief James Baldis said Wednesday. The pilot, who apparently wasnt seriously injured, went home before authorities arrived, Baldis said. A farmer discovered the single-engine Piper about an hour later and called police at 8:20 p.m., Baldis said. The plane had gone through the hoop house and became entangled in the plastic that covers half-circle supports to keep crops warm. The aircraft also was damaged, he said. The farmer went to do some work in his field and found there was a plane in his hoop house, Baldis said. When we arrived on scene, there was no one there. Firefighters learned that an acquaintance had been flying in another plane behind the pilot. Once the second plane landed safely, the pilot who crashed drove off with the acquaintance, Baldis said. The pilot who crashed had been taking the plane in for service, Baldis said. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating. Deputy Police Chief Chris Davis said police are working with the FAA on the probe. As far as whether there will be any charges for leaving the scene of a crash, Davis didnt know. At this point, its kind of preliminary to say anything about charges, he said. Correction: The story has been updated to reflect the pilot who crashed drove away with a second person. MIDDLETOWN The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts Center will present a reception for its Middletown Arts Fest exhibit Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. at 605 Main St., featuring paintings by city-based Kevin Cox. Artwork will be hanging in the gallery for month of June, and is for sale, according to a press release. Born and raised in Memphis, Tenn., Cox studied art at the University of Memphis and moved to Connecticut in 2013. After living in a bubble for most of his life, he decided to branch out and see a new perspective of the country with a couple of friends, The Buttonwood Tree said. Cox, who lives with his partner Brian, says he prefers to paint people as a coping mechanism for his social anxiety disorder, the news release said. I am an aggressive introvert, he said in a prepared statement. However, I am at the same time fascinated by people. I like capturing people, both as they really are, and who they are trying to project, a moment in time captured of modern life. I want to capture their authentic self, even if it is while they are pretending. Cox said his art is voyeuristic looking in on a private moment. Because of social media, we are a society of voyeur enthusiasts in a way. Using social media as well as using my own creeper photos, photos taken of people while going about my daily life, I hope to capture a realistic time capsule of the times in which we live, he explained. The event is free. For information, call 860-347-4957 or navigate to buttonwood.org. LVIV, Ukraine (AP) Belarus on Wednesday expanded the death penalty law to include attempted terrorism, in a move that could radically ramp up the government's pressure on the country's beleaguered opposition. Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko signed a law allowing the death penalty for an attempt to commit a terrorist attack. Previously, it could not be handed down for an unfinished crime. Belarus' leading human rights groups and opposition politicians have spoken out against the law. Belarus is the only country in Europe where the death penalty is still in place. The new law amends Belarus' Criminal Code and applies in cases of plotted acts of international terrorism and murders of government officials or public figures. It has been approved by the country's parliament. Authorities in Belarus started actively bringing terrorism charges against opposition figures after Lukashenko won his sixth term in office in a disputed 2020 presidential election, triggering a wave of mass street protests that drew up to 200,000 people. Lukashenko's government responded with a violent crackdown, detaining more than 35,000 people and brutally bearing thousands. Key opposition figures have been either jailed or forced to leave the country. In March 2021, the prosecutor general's office launched a criminal case on the charges of preparing a terrorist act against opposition leaders Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Pavel Latushka and others. The latest arrests on terrorist charges involved so-called railway partisans" suspected of sabotaging the Belarusian railways to hinder supplies of Russian weapons to the frontlines in Ukraine. Introducing death penalty for attempted terrorism is a direct threat to activists opposing the dictator and the war (in Ukraine), Tsikhanouskaya told the AP. I call on the international community to respond and consider any instruments for preventing political murders in Belarus. Belarus' Helsinki Committee, the Viasna human rights center and the Human Rights Against Death Penalty group have issued a joint statement noting that the new amendments create prerequisites for serious abuses and arbitrary application of the death penalty. WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden hailed Adm. Linda Fagan as new Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard and the armed forces' first female service chief, declaring during a change of command ceremony on Wednesday, It's about time. The trailblazing career of Admiral Fagan shows young people entering the services, we mean what we say: There are no doors no doors closed to women, Biden told around 2,000 cheering guests at Coast Guard headquarters. Those attending included service chiefs from other military branches and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW HAVEN Local residents, including the family of Paul Witherspoon, objected Wednesday to former Hamden police Officer Devin Eaton recently being sentenced to probation in the shooting of an unarmed woman, expressing concerns about the effect of the incident on the community and the standard of accountability for law enforcement. The Rev. Boise Kimber and Rodney Williams, a former aldermanic candidate and Witherspoons uncle, spoke at a press conference at First Cavalry Baptist Church. This is on camera. This happened with the cameras rolling, and you mean to tell me a Black person can be shot with the camera on and an officer goes free? Kimber said. Right down the street, a beautiful young lady could have lost her life based on individuals thinking what they were thinking. In the shooting, the car was being operated by Witherspoon, then 21; Stephanie Washington, 22, was struck by one of the bullets fired at the vehicle by Eaton and suffered a non-life-threatening injury. Williams said the Witherspoon family had been expecting some jail time the 18 months requested by prosecutors was not a lot, he said, but represented something. Eaton had been reckless, he said, suggesting that a Black person, charged with firing repeatedly at an officer, would not have received a similar sentence. Williams said that, in his mind, letting Eaton go free on probation set an inappropriate precedent for other police, who may be emboldened to wield their weapons in such a manner. I just feel like, when its reckless, its reckless. Whether its a resident, an officer, theres no separation, said Williams. Change starts with accountability, and this judge (imposed) no accountability for the actions of this officer. Judge Brian Fischer sentenced Eaton to five years in prison suspended, with three years of probation, last Friday, his attorney, Gregory Cerritelli, said. Eaton had pleaded no contest to a charge of first-degree assault in January. The charges, recommended by then-New Haven states attorney Patrick Griffin, stemmed from an incident on April 16, 2019. A clerk at the Go On Gas Station on Arch Street in Hamden had reported an attempted robbery involving Witherspoon early that morning, initially saying during the 911 call that he had seen a gun, according to records. VIDEO: Body camera footage of police-involved shooting in New Haven According to officials, Witherspoons vehicle was stopped on Argyle Street in New Haven when the shooting occurred. Eaton told state police investigators he believed he saw an object possibly a gun in Witherspoons hand as he began to get out of the vehicle. Eaton fired 13 shots toward the vehicle, striking Washington, according to court records. No gun was found at the scene. The clerk later said he had not seen a gun, as he initially had reported. Eatons plea agreement initially would have suspended his five-year sentence after he served 18 months in prison, but the agreement allowed him to argue for a fully suspended sentence if he agreed to never seek employment in law enforcement again, records show. Williams said the incident had altered his nephews life, as well as those of his family. He had been there on that night, he noted, livestreaming events to his neighbors; he later learned his kin had been involved. Every young Black kid in this community, how do they feel? ... (Given the video), how can something like this happen? Williams said. Williams called for lawmakers and residents to consider the laws surrounding accountability for police officers. He noted the example of drug-related offenses, where legal standards have shifted in recognition of their historic impact on Black people, and called for laws regarding the conduct of police officers to be weighed in similar fashion. Were in a different time, and I think the laws should reflect the time that were in, said Williams. This situation happened because the laws didnt reflect the time. william.lambert@hearstmediact.com DETROIT (AP) The Michigan Court of Appeals kept two Republican candidates off the Aug. 2 primary ballot Wednesday, declaring that election officials suspecting signature fraud had no obligation to examine campaign petitions line by line. The court first ruled against Perry Johnson, a wealthy businessman considered to be a leading candidate for the Republican nomination, and then applied the 12-page decision to investment adviser Michael Markey. The opinion would seem to doom the chances of former Detroit Police Chief James Craig and entrepreneur Donna Brandenburg, who were also barred from the ballot last week. There appears to be no dispute that fraudulent signatures were turned in by paid circulators, though theres no evidence that the candidates were aware of the scam. In a court filing, attorneys representing the Board of State Canvassers called it an unprecedented situation. The candidates were declared ineligible as the result of a tie vote by the board. State election staff said Johnson, Craig, Markey and Brandenburg didnt meet the 15,000-signature threshold because of fraudulent signatures. In Johnson's case, about 7,000 were put in the scam column. Election staff found dead voters on his petitions, misspelled names and some signatures with first names but only a last initial. Johnson asked the appeals court to overrule the canvassers and put him on the ballot. He said he would meet the signature threshold if the state election bureau would examine each line. Only 20% of the 7,000 signatures were compared to signatures in the qualified voter file. The board ... had a clear legal duty to investigate, but it did not have a clear legal duty to conduct a comparison of each fraudulent signature against the qualified voter file, the appeals court said in a 3-0 opinion. Five other Republican candidates landed a ballot spot, including Tudor Dixon, a former conservative TV news host who has the backing of Betsy DeVos, who was head of the U.S. Education Department during the Trump administration. The winner will face Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the fall. ___ Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwritez This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen has escaped any serious challenge from within GOP ranks, but other party-backed candidates for attorney general and the southern Minnesota congressional seat left vacant by the death of U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn will have hurdles to clear in the state's Aug. 9 primary. Former Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek, who had been considering a primary run but is recovering from injuries he suffered in an auto accident, cleared the lane for Jensen when he failed to file at the secretary of states office by the 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline. Jensen won the GOP endorsement at the partys state convention last month. Meanwhile, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz got a boost when former broadcast personality Cory Hepola, who was backed by Andrew Yangs Forward Party, also failed to file by the deadline. Democratic strategists had feared that Hepola could serve as a spoiler and siphon votes away from Walz in the November election. Hepola said in a statement that Minnesota still needs a strong third party to represent the majority in the middle. The secretary of states office was still in the process of verifying the petition signatures submitted by Hugh McTavish of the Independence-Alliance Party, who announced his candidacy in April. While neither Jensen or Walz will face more than token primary opposition, two small pro-marijuana parties that have major party status in Minnesota will have candidates on the November ballot who could be factors if its a close race. In the attorney general's race, Doug Wardlow, general counsel to MyPillow, who was the losing GOP candidate in 2018, went through with his plan to challenge endorsed candidate Jim Schultz, despite pleas by party leaders that he abide by his earlier pledge to honor the state convention's choice. Wardlow is an ally of MyPillow founder, Mike Lindell, a leading proponent of false accusations that the 2020 election was stolen from President Donald Trump. Wardlow said in a statement that only he can beat incumbent Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison. But Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman David Hann said in a statement that Wardlow broke his word and has instead proven himself to be a shameless politician motivated only by his personal ambitions. Doug Wardlow has an infamous track record of failed election bids. With this futile primary challenge, he will add one more loss to his record. In the Republican-leaning 1st Congressional District race, state Rep. Jeremy Munson and agricultural attorney Matt Benda revived their efforts to win the seat left open by Hagedorn's death from cancer in February, in a process that voters may find confusing. Munson and Benda lost last week's GOP special primary to former USDA official Brad Finstad. Finstad will face the Democratic special primary winner, former Hormel Foods chief executive Jeff Ettinger, in a special general election Aug. 9 to serve out the rest of the late congressmans term, which ends in January. But Munson, who is a founder of a hard-right faction among Republicans in the Minnesota House, and Benda will get another shot the same day in the regular primary election, which will select candidates for filling the seat in the next Congress. That sets up a theoretical possibility in which one man is elected Aug. 9 to complete Hagedorn's term, but 1st District voters send someone else to Congress in the November general election. Ettinger faces only token opposition in the regular primary. Hann said in a separate statement that he was strongly disappointed to see Benda and Munson file, given that 1st District Republicans overwhelmingly endorsed Finstad at a special meeting Thursday. Hann said that Benda and Munson, as former local party officers, should have had more respect for the party's endorsement. Two Minnesota Democratic congresswomen will face well-financed but long-shot primary challengers. U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar will face former Minneapolis City Council Member Don Samuels, a leader of the opposition to a proposal on the city ballot last fall that would have replaced the Minneapolis Police Department with a revamped public safety agency. And U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum will face progressive community organizer Amane Badhasso in their St. Paul-based district. ___ This story was first published on June 1, 2022. It was updated on June 2, 2022, to correct it to say that gubernatorial candidate Hugh McTavish of the Independence-Alliance Party did file his petition by the deadline, but that the secretary of states office was still verifying the signatures. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) A wide-ranging health care access bill penned by Republicans that includes covering hundreds of thousands of additional North Carolina adults through Medicaid received initial approval Wednesday from the state Senate. Support was nearly unanimous in the chamber for the measure, which also loosens practice restrictions on specialty nurses and eases government scrutiny of medical construction and equipment. The bill's anchor Medicaid expansion represents a dramatic turn for its prospects in North Carolina after being blocked for a decade by GOP elected officials. Still, House Republicans aren't interested in considering expansion during the annual work session expected to end around July 1, Speaker Tim Moore said recently, potentially leaving the issue for the fall or 2023. A final Senate vote is expected Thursday before the bill moves to the House. Senate leader Phil Berger and other Republicans had been adamantly opposed to adding adults to the Medicaid rolls through the 2010 Affordable Care Act. They had argued the state Medicaid program was broken and Washington couldn't be trusted to keep paying 90% of the costs for insuring adults who otherwise made too much to received traditional Medicaid. North Carolina is one of a dozen states that hasnt yet accepted expansion. But Berger said last fall he was willing to consider expanding Medicaid as part of budget negotiations. Now he says that the state's Medicaid program is fiscally sound and Congress probably won't lower the federal governments 90% share. North Carolina also would receive an additional $1.5 billion over two years to treat traditional Medicaid patients if it signs up. Medicaid expansion has evolved to the point that its good state fiscal policy," said Sen. Ralph Hise, a Mitchell County Republican, said on the Senate floor before the vote of 44-2. We will not get a better deal to expand Medicaid than we have right now. Last week, Berger, Hise and others unveiled expansion within a multipronged effort that includes several other health care reforms that they say will help increase the number of providers and services in rural areas. Provisions that would allow nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists and others to practice independently without a physician's supervision are opposed by the state's leading doctors association. Democrats led by Gov. Roy Cooper have sought expansion for years, and senators in his party, while taking issue with portions of the broader bill, praised Republicans for a monumental step. It does my heart good that even though it took 10 years, yall are there. Praise the Lord, said Sen. Gladys Robinson, a Guilford County Democrat. Nothing is more important than a persons health. The expansion proposal would likely cover 500,000 or 600,000 people whose income reaches up to 138% of federal poverty guidelines. Although about 2.7 million North Carolina residents are now enrolled in Medicaid, some current consumers whom the state has been required to keep on the rolls during the COVID-19 pandemic would ultimately be covered by expansion. The states 10% share of expansion expenses would be paid through a new assessment on hospitals. The NC Health Works program also would include a work requirement for expansion recipients. Similar mandates by other states have been struck down by federal courts or blocked by President Joe Bidens administration. Expansion would go forward even if a work mandate doesn't get approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The bill also would scale back and streamline certificate of need laws that require health regulators to sign off on expansion plans by medical providers. The legislation would require health insurers in the state to cover telehealth services. And in-network health facilities would have to alert patients before an appointment when out-of-network providers are scheduled to provide care. The conservative John Locke Foundation and the state chapter of Americans for Prosperity opposed the legislation, saying that expansion would result in higher federal deficits, not better health care. For years, most state senators have rightfully recognized that Medicaid expansion is bad medicine for North Carolina, said Locke Foundation CEO Amy O. Cooke said in news release. Their changed view is disappointing. MANCHESTER A person found dead in the Connecticut River Monday has been identified as a Manchester resident, according to police. Sherrian Howe, 22, had been missing from the community since Dec. 21, officials said. Police upgraded the case to a silver alert Dec. 29 after police found an unoccupied car connected to Howe in Windsor Locks the day before. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW HAVEN A number of doors in city schools do not lock properly, according to information provided by the superintendent to Board of Education members, and at least one school board member is taking issue with the building maintenance process. In an email exchange obtained by the Register, Superintendent of Schools Iline Tracey informed the Board of Education Friday afternoon that doors to some schools do not close properly. All of our schools have a buzz in system. However, we have learned that in a few places, if certain doors are yanked hard enough they can be opened. Most of the schools have a double door entry system an outer and inner door before one can gain access in the front, Tracey told board members in the email. Tracey wrote that Chief Operating Officer Thomas Lamb would collaborate with city officials to expedite the process to fix the problem, using capital funds instead of putting replacement doors out to bid. This is going to be costly, but safety remains a high priority, Tracey wrote. Board member Darnell Goldson expressed disappointment that building maintenance in the school district is too often reactive instead of proactive. It is frustrating to think that after hours of discussion around security issues several years ago, and with us being assured that entry points were our front line of defense and all was well, now we are hearing that doors dont even work, he said. Tracey denied that the districts maintenance is reactive, but said that the shootings increased the districts urgency alluding to the May 24 mass shooting in a Texas elementary school with at least 21 fatalities. Goldson said he believes the district should bid once per year on a contractor similar to the districts snow removal contract to handle maintenance issues such as door replacement instead of waiting until a number of doors are weakened or broken to bid them out. Repairing broken doors is a high priority for us. Our goal is to fix them so that the fix lasts. In some cases that means replacing not just a lock or an access control mechanism, but the entire door, with frame and hardware, said district spokesman Justin Harmon in an emailed statement. Harmon said one of the districts considerations for expediting the maintenance process is the suggestion Goldson made. We are looking for ways to expedite the process of checking the more than 2000 doors at New Haven schools, assessing the need for repair, and getting repairs done. One way we are trying to do that is by engaging a single contractor who can handle repairs of any size. Additionally, we have contracts currently in place for locksmith services and access control systems maintenance. We bid for full-year service contracts where possible, versus bidding individual projects, he said. brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com The airlift team of the 9th Chinese peacekeeping medical contingent to Mali transports the injured soldiers. (Photo by Sun Zhaoshun) GAO, Mali, June 1 -- The 9th Chinese peacekeeping medical contingent to Mali took in three Egyptian peacekeeping soldiers who encountered a bombing attack on May 29. After being treated by Chinese medical personnel, the three soldiers are now out of danger with their vital signs steadily recovering. Eight Egyptian peacekeepers were attacked by bombs when performing an escort task. Based on their conditions, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) decided to send them to the level-II hospital operated by the Chinese peacekeeping medical contingent. Receiving the notice from the MINUSMA medical officer, the Chinese contingent dispatched its airlift team, carrying along with medical equipment, to pick up the injured soldiers at Gao airport. The three soldiers were diagnosed and treated as soon as they arrived at the hospital, and are now in steady conditions. Our soldiers have received good treatment at Chinese level-II hospital . The Chinese people and Egyptian people have enjoyed friendly cooperation. We are very grateful to them, said the commanding officer of the Egyptian peacekeeping troops , when visiting the injured at the hospital. Medical personnel of the 9th Chinese peacekeeping medical contingent to Mali treat the injured soldiers. (Photo by Sun Zhaoshun) OLD SAYBROOK A local middle school student was arrested Tuesday after making concerning statements about a potential shooting, including mentioning a hit list, according to school officials and police. In a letter sent to the school community, Superintendent Jan Perruccio and Police Chief Michael A. Spera said threat to the school or its students. The investigation did find that a middle school student made these concerning statements today but that no formal, actual hit list exists. All families with a student whose name was mentioned to be part of the hit list have been contacted by an Old Saybrook Police Officer and the Middle School Principal. These students and their families have been offered resources through the schools student support team, Perruccio and Spera said. We understand that messages from us about school safety matters are concerning. We can assure you that the safety and security of your children and our staff is paramount. You should also know that as leaders of the District and the Department, it is also our daily priority. The student was charged with second-degree threatening and second-degree breach of peace, the officials said. They were set to appear in juvenile court on Wednesday. Perruccio and Spera said they were issuing the letter as a part of an effort to provide community members with transparent insight into what is happening concerning school safety issues in our District and how they are being addressed. Officials asked parents to talk with their children about the importance of communicating with adults in such situations. We know that when it comes to school safety, seconds matter, said Perruccio and Spera. All trusted adults employed by the Public School District are reminded that student safety concerns are a priority. We are here to listen should a concern arise and take swift action to ensure we are as safe as possible. william.lambert@hearstmediact.com In April 2022, Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) street crime detectives assigned to 2 District (Niagara Falls / Niagara-On-The-Lake) commenced an investigation into the distribution of illegal drugs throughout the City of Niagara Falls. In the afternoon of May 31st, 2022, detectives received judicial authorization to execute a search warrant at an address in the area of Green Avenue and Rysdale Street, in the City of Niagara Falls. As a result of the investigation 104.4 grams of suspected cocaine, 25.1 grams of suspected fentanyl, .07 grams of suspected crystal methamphetamine, and $1,980 in Canadian currency believed to be from the proceeds of crime was seized. The combined estimated street value of the seized drugs is $16,080. Cathy DENNIS (48 years) of Niagara Falls has been arrested and charged with: Possession for the purpose of trafficking fentanyl - Controlled Drugs and Substances Act Possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine Controlled Drugs and Substances Act Possession of a crystal methamphetamine Controlled Drugs and Substances Act Possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime under $5000 Criminal Code Candy STEWART (53 years) of Niagara Falls has been arrested and charged with: Possession for the purpose of trafficking fentanyl - Controlled Drugs and Substances Act Possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine Controlled Drugs and Substances Act Possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime under $5000 Criminal Code Christopher JUDGE (47 years) of Niagara-On-The-Lake has been arrested and charged with: Possession for the purpose of trafficking fentanyl - Controlled Drugs and Substances Act Possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine Controlled Drugs and Substances Act Possession of property obtained by crime under $5000 Criminal Code Rebecca MCDONALD (39 years) of St. Catharines has been arrested and charged with: Possession for the purpose of trafficking fentanyl - Controlled Drugs and Substances Act Possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine Controlled Drugs and Substances Act Possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime under $5000 Criminal Code DENNIS, STEWART, JUDGE and MCDONALD have all been released on Form 10 Undertakings. They have been scheduled to attend the Robert S.K. Welch Courthouse on August 4th, 2022, at 9:00am. Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to contact detectives at 905-688-4111, dial option #3, extension #1022200. Members of the public who wish to provide information anonymously are encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers of Niagara online or by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards to persons who contact the program with information that leads to an arrest. Incident #22-57957 President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived in Madrid, capital of Spain. The Nigerian leader is on a State visit at the invitation of Spanish Pre... President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived in Madrid, capital of Spain. The Nigerian leader is on a State visit at the invitation of Spanish President, Pedro Sanchez. The President flew out Tuesday afternoon via the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, in Abuja. His aircraft landed at the Torrejon Airbase in Madrid at 10 p.m. (local time). Buhari was welcomed by Spanish government officials and the leadership of the Nigerian Embassy in Spain. The visit is his first in official capacity since the All Progressives Congress (APC) assumed power in 2015. Buhari will meet with the Head of State of the Spanish nation, His Majesty King Felipe VI, as well as the Nigerian community. The President will sign Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding to further enhance the bilateral relations between the two nations. He will attend an Investment Forum jointly organized by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, the Ministry of Trade, and the Confederation of Employers (CEOE). The President, accompanied by some ministers and other Nigerian officials, is expected back in the country on June 3. The North East Chairman and Commander of Hunters/ Vigilantes (Sarkin Baka) based in Hawul Local Government Area of Borno state, Alhaji Moh... The North East Chairman and Commander of Hunters/ Vigilantes (Sarkin Baka) based in Hawul Local Government Area of Borno state, Alhaji Mohammed Shawulu Yohanna in company of his team on Monday killed a Boko Haram Commander and his Deputy (names withheld) during a clash in Shaffa Taku village of Damboa local government area of Borno State. The leader of the hunters have also recovered an AK47 rifle and a motorcycle used by the terrorists, while several other terrorists escaped with gunshot wounds. Shaffa Taku is located in the heart of Sambisa forest which is a hideouts of Boko Haram sect who have been terrorizing the communities of Mandaragirau in Biu, Sabon Gari in Damboa and other villages in Askira-Uba council areas in the last two weeks, with forceful collection of tax, looting of foodstuff and livestock in the affected nearby communities. Recently, the same leader of the hunters with his team arrested some Boko Haram food suppliers with recovery of N6.050 million in their possession at one of the villages of Hawul council area, before he handed them over to the authorities of the 231 Battalion, Biu for further action. The North East Chairman of Hunters, Alhaji Yohanna in telephone interview with Journalists in Maiduguri on Tuesday confirmed the incident. Yes, we acted on an intelligence information that were given volunteered people who hinted me about the movement of the insurgents who have been terrorizing their communities in the last two weeks. Upon recieving the information, i mobilized my team and stormed the spot in the evening at Shaffa Taku, which is a deserted community in Damboa. Luckily, we sighted the terrorists numbering more than 20 riding on motorcycles. We engaged them in a gun battle, and we were able to kill the Commander and his Deputy, while several.others fled with gunshot wounds. We also recovered one motorcycle and one AK47 rifle from the terrorists, presently, I have informed the authorities of the 231 Battalion in Biu, and we are going to meet today (Tuesday) for onward handing over to the recovered AK47 rifle and the motorcycle. Yohanna stated. The approach lights on the runway of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, have gone off, forcing pilots to depend solely on ... The approach lights on the runway of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, have gone off, forcing pilots to depend solely on equipment onboard their aircraft to land An approach lighting system is a lighting system installed on the approach end of an airport runway and consisting of a series of light-bars, strobe lights, or a combination of the two that extends outward from the runway end, according to Wikipedia. It is a lighting system that assists the pilot/aircraft to come in and land safely. Impeccable airport sources said the approach lights collapsed on Monday evening and pilots were subsequently forced to rely solely on their onboard equipment to land airplanes. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak on the matter, said it was sad that the relevant aviation authorities did not issue a Notice to Airmen on the development until later on Tuesday. A copy of the NOTAM showed that the document was issued by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agencys Aeronautical Information Services department. The NOTAM, dated May 31, 2022, was signed by one Abah G.N, an official of the airspace agency. As of 10:30pm on Tuesday, it was uncertain when the problem would be fixed. The Acting General Manager, Public Affairs, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Mrs Faithful Hope-Ivbaze, asked our correspondent to send a text message when she was contacted on the development. A pilot with one of the domestic airlines, who chose to speak on condition of anonymity on the matter, said the collapse of the approach light could inhibit pilots capability to land airplanes safely in bad weather. According to him, the approach lights assist pilots in landing on the runway. It is sad that the relevant authorities are just issuing NOTAM on the development over 24 hours after the light collapsed. That is very dangerous. This is very annoying, the pilot said. A pilot and President, National Association of Private Aircraft Owners, Mr Alex Nwuba, said there was no reason to panick over the development but stressed that there an urgent need for the authorities to fix the lights as soon as possible. Last year, some parts of the runway lights at the MMIA collapsed, forcing British Airways to divert its flight to the Abuja airport. The development then forced the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the aviation industry regulator, to downgrade the landing procedure at the Lagos airport from Category Two to Category One. BA passengers whose flight was diverted to the Federal Capital Territory were forced to pass a night in Abuja before being flown back to Lagos. The unserviceable state of the runway lights made it impossible for BA, which flies a large plane, to land at the Lagos airport at night. Other foreign airlines with relatively smaller planes can land. Also, last week, the international wing of the MMIA was temporarily shut after the mangled body of a dead man was found on Runway 18R of the nations flagship airport. During the temporary shutdown of the runway, international flights were prevented from landing and taking off from the airports international terminal. Among the flights that could not land due to the shutdown was an Ethiopian Airlines flight 3907, a Boeing 77F aircraft with registration number ETAVN, which was coming from Lome, Togo to Lagos, Nigeria. The flight was later diverted back to Lome after holding for a while. Airport officials said the corpse was suddenly found on Runway 18R during a routine runway inspection by FAAN personnel. As of the time of filing this report, FAAN had yet to confirm the identity of the corpse. The national working committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has issued a certificate of return to Atiku Abubakar, winner of... The national working committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has issued a certificate of return to Atiku Abubakar, winner of the partys presidential primary election. Atiku was handed the certificate of return on Wednesday at the partys headquarters in Abuja. The former vice-president polled 371 votes to clinch the ticket to represent the party in the 2023 elections. He defeated Nyesom Wike, governor Rivers; Bukola Saraki, former senate president; Udom Emmanuel, Akwa Ibom governor; Ayo Fayose, former governor of Ekiti; Bala Mohammed, Bauchi governor, among others, at the time primary election held on Saturday. Wike, his closest challenger, got 237 votes, while Saraki came third with 70 votes, followed by Udom Emmanuel with 38 votes. Speaking before the certificate of return was issued to Atiku, Iyorchia Ayu, national chairman of the PDP, described the former vice-president as the man of today and tomorrow, adding that he is Nigerias next president. He said there is no victor and loser in the contest, and that it is the party that won. In his remarks, Atiku commended the party for being impartial in the conduct of the presidential primary election. He said the party members must work together to win the 2023 presidency. Saraki, Tari Olivia, Mohammed Hayatu-Emmanuel, Ahmadu Fintiri, governor of Adamawa; Ifeanyi Okowo, governor of Delta, were present at the event. Former Chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, Chekwas Okorie, has disclosed why Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous Peo... Former Chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, Chekwas Okorie, has disclosed why Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, left the party to join Radio Biafra. Okorie said the frustrations by those who hijacked APGA made Kanu and some others to leave the party for Radio Biafra. He disclosed that under his leadership of APGA, Kanu and a former Deputy Leader of IPOB, Uche Mefor, Egemba and other agitators were members of APGA. Speaking at an even in Enugu on Wednesday, Okorie said: Things happened in APGA barely two years after it was founded, just barely a year after it triggered off a revolution in Nigeria. We didnt abandon the ship. We struggled to save the sole of APGA. We struggled for eight years. And the Supreme Court up to three times and no court ever ruled that APGA had a new national chairman. In 2012, we founded UPP. In the same 2012, all our leaders from diaspora, including Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Uche Mefor, Egemba, all of them said they were tired of the political process in Nigeria and they moved on to join Radio Biafra. When that UPP couldnt move forward, in 2020, we decided to try our hands with the ruling party, the APC. We collapsed our structure into the APC. That was a difficult decision for us to make. But, at the end of the day, we werent too comfortable in APC. Having been in opposition, fighting a particular course for several decades, it was not so easy to change from the characteristics that you have. Watertown, NY (13601) Today Thunderstorms early, then cloudy skies after midnight. Low around 55F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Thunderstorms early, then cloudy skies after midnight. Low around 55F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Watertown, NY (13601) Today Cloudy with occasional rain in the afternoon. High 73F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Thunderstorms in the evening, then variable clouds overnight with still a chance of showers. Low around 55F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Watertown, NY (13601) Today Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Low 63F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Low 63F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Mention river diversions in southeastern Louisiana, and youll likely get an earful. Proponents hold that controlled openings of the Mississippi levee can replicate natural processes, by releasing sediment-laden fresh water into basins where saltwater has been intruding and marsh soils eroding. Opponents counter that river diversions can upset salinity regimes to the detriment of marine life, namely valued shellfish and finfish as well as dolphins, while injecting an excess of pollutants and insufficient quantities of sediment. Likewise, Louisianians in centuries past had opposing reactions to diverting river water, just as they had different motivations for doing so. Among them were irrigation, crop management, hydropower, and resource extraction. The people creating these early diversions were not government officials enacting public policy, but usually plantation owners pursuing private monetary interests. Early diversions On nearly every plantation along the lower Mississippi, planters directed enslaved laborers to excavate a network of ditches to drain soil water to the optimal level for the intended crop. During times of drought, and if river stage were high enough, those same ditches could be connected to a sluice cut through the levee, through which river water could be redirected to moisten fields. Different crops had different needs, and therein lay the controversy. Rice planters liked to inundate their fields to kill off weeds, whereas those raising sugar cane feared excess water would cause root rot. Neighboring planters thus disputed just how much water ought to be diverted, while all their neighbors fretted whether proper attention went into monitoring the sluice. If the river got too high, if the sluice gate malfunctioned, or if erosive currents scoured underlying soils, a levee might cave in, which could lead to a crevassethat is, total levee failure causing destructive flooding. Crevasse floods were the premier reason for historical deluges in our region, and while most of them were attributable to shoddy levee construction, the shoddiness could often be traced to an intentional diversion gone amok. One notorious example was the Bell Crevasse of 1858, which occurred on the West Bank plantation of John M. Bell, upriver from the Harvey Canal. In colonial times, this had been a rice plantation, where a sluice had been installed to divert river water onto the fields. After rice cultivation gave way to sugar cane, the old sluice was removed (and( filled with earth, reported the Daily Picayune. But the earth does not appear to have been packed with sufficient solidity, and when the river rose(,) it found the weak spot. River water widened the fissure, and on April 11, 1858, it ruptured into a crevasse. Bells plantation went under fast-moving water, and as the crevasse expanded to 300 feet in width and 22 feet in depth, so did neighbors lands to the east, west and south. By mid-June, floodwaters extended sixty-five miles (south and) still spreading out further, reported the Jefferson Journal, until there is a strong probability that the Mississippi will soon be connected by an unbroken sea of water with the Gulf of Mexico. Not until autumn did the river stage drop enough for workers to repair the capacious breachall traceable to a tiny decades-old diversion. Mill races Another motivation for diverting the river was to harness energy. During high water, a well-positioned diversion could be made into a mill racethat is, a canal flowing with just enough hydraulic head to turn a water wheel to grind rice or saw wood. One early mill race was installed in the 1730s at present-day Algiers Point, when it was known as the Company Plantation, a colony-supporting operation of depots, facilities and fields of rice, tobacco and indigo. Rice being a critical food crop, engineersprobably Le Page du Pratz and Alexandre De Batzhad a sluice cut through the levee to steer river water down a race through a flume to a mill. The wheel astride the mill turned a stone to rub off the bran and leave behind the edible rice grains, which were then stored in an adjacent two-story warehouse. Another mill-race diversion operated across the river, in what would later become the Faubourg Marigny. There, around 1750, Claude Joseph Villars Dubreuil Sr. had his enslaved workers excavate a sluice through the levee at what is now the foot of Elysian Fields Avenue. About 200 feet inland, he built a moulin a planches (sawmill), where high river water would flow down the run and through the flume to power the saw. Dubreuil, being a big land owner as well as a shipbuilder and building contractor, benefitted in myriad ways from his sawmill. He harvested timber on his West Bank holdings and likely had the logs floated to his East Bank sawmill, whereupon he used the lumber for construction contracts. Its possible that beams hewed at Dubreuils hydropower sawmill remain inside the Old Ursuline Convent, built by Dubreuil in 1752 and still standing at 1111 Chartres St. The sawmill lasted through the French and Spanish colonial eras, by which time the Marigny family owned the plantation, and the mill became known as the Canal del Molino de Don Pedro de Marigny. The sawmill appears prominently in a famous 1803 illustration titled Under My Wings Every Thing Prospers, made by J.L. Bouqueto de Woiseri to commemorate the Louisiana Purchase. The impact of Dubreuils diversion affects us to this day. Being perfectly straight, the mill race gave reason for engineer Nicholas de Finiels, hired by the Marigny family to subdivide their plantation in 1805, to lay out a wide avenue along the races trajectory. The old sawmill canal determined the direction of the new streets, wrote architectural historian Samuel Wilson Jr., the canal itself becoming the center of the principal street to which was given the name Champs Elisees. Elysian Fields Avenue thus became the main axis of the Faubourg Marigny, and remains so today. According to historian Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, Dubreuil owed much of his success to African slaves technological knowledgehow to dam and control the waters of the rivers and bayous. That know-how was by no means limited to Dubreuils plantation. Many of the planters have saw mills, wrote English Captain Philip Pittman in 1770. (They) are worked by the waters of the Mississippi in the time of floods, and then they are kept going night and day till the waters fall. Even after river stage lowered, mills could be operated through some clever engineering. According to environmental historian Adam Mandelman, some planters also built a series of check dams that could impound and store water in the backswamp, at their rear of their plantations. When the river subsided, this stored water would be released to power the mill in reverse. River diversions could also be broadened into a canal wide enough to extract natural resources from the backswamp. Cypress logs, Spanish moss, clay, wild game, and other raw materials could be floated up to the front of the plantation, even as water flowing down the same canal could be used to irrigate, grind or saw. End of an era The era of private river diversions came to an end in the late 1800s as the federal government became increasingly involved in designing and financing the control of the Mississippi River. In the 1880s, government engineers adopted a policy of levees only, based on an understanding that strong, high levees would force the current to deepen its channel. All types of outlets, it followed, ought to be sealed off, be they natural distributaries or manmade diversions. Levees up and down the river were realigned, raised and strengthened, obliterating the old sluices, while revetments were laid to stabilize bankside soils. After the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927 overwhelmed the entire system and caused catastrophic flooding throughout the valley, engineers realized the folly of levees only" and switched to an approach that also incorporated safety valves, such as the Bonnet Carre and Morganza spillways. By then, the era of sluices and mill runs had long since ended. But so too did the connection between the Mississippi River and its deltaic plain. Less and less fresh water made it out of the channel, and fewer sediment particles got deposited on adjacent swamps and marshes. All the while, ever more manmade canals were being excavated through coastal marshes, for navigation and petroleum extraction, each of which allowed saltwater to intrude and erode along lengthier shorelines. Along with other factors such as rising sea levels and natural subsidence, the digging of canals and the leveeing of the Mississippi has caused upwards of 2,000 square miles of coastal Louisiana to disappear since the 1930s. What to do? To many, including most coastal scientists, the answer is river diversions. But to others, including many coastal denizens, that answer is just as controversial as the river diversions of centuries ago. Richard Campanella, a geographer with the Tulane School of Architecture, is the author of The West Bank of Greater New Orleans, Bienvilles Dilemma, and Bourbon Street: A History. Campanella may be reached at http://richcampanella.com , rcampane@tulane.edu , or @nolacampanella on Twitter. Wolfram Koehler liked to say that a man always has friends when he brings the beer. The German-born, Germain-trained brew master helped bring a new era of beer to his adopted home of New Orleans when he and partners opened the French Quarter brewpub Crescent City Brewhouse in 1991. Through the decades that followed he tapped the connections and conviviality around beer to promote his other passions for art, music and social fellowship. He lived 10 lifetimes in one, big and joyful, said longtime friend Thomas Bayer. Koehler died May 18 while traveling in his RV in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, confirmed his friend Laura Kelley. His death was attributed to a heart issue. He was 65. Crescent City Brewhouse was the citys first brewpub, combining a restaurant with an in-house beer-making operation. Breweries now dot New Orleans, producing an ever-changing and dizzying array of styles. But things were very different in the early 1990s. Just getting approval to open a brewpub required a change in state laws and city ordinances. Koehler saw the effort as a revival, pointing out at the time that the French Quarter was once home to several breweries making local products. I told people you have to think about it more as a bakery, its a fresh product that we make and serve right here, Koehler said in a 2021 interview. Originally from the Franconia region of Germany, Koehler studied brewing at university in Berlin and then apprenticed at local breweries. He worked at breweries overseas extensively, from London to Latin America. When he first came to New Orleans he sensed an opportunity to make a mark. Food and restaurant news in your inbox Every Thursday we give you the scoop on NOLA dining. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up New Orleans had everything I love, food, music, beautiful weather, most of the time, but a lack of good beer, Koehler once said. Friends remember Koehlers generosity, including his willingness to give away beer at community events and support budding artists and traditional musicians. As the Decatur Street business developed, he used it as a hub for these cultural pursuits. The walls were always open for artists, and for many this was their first real show, Bayer said. And from the day the brewhouse opened he employed jazz musicians. He saw jazz disappearing from the French Quarter and it was something he wanted to keep up. The Crescent City Brewhouse remains open for normal business, now run by partners and managers. That means traditions Koehler established here will continue, which is a comfort to his friends, Bayer said. One important example is the Stammtisch, a table for regulars and a cornerstone of beer halls and restaurants in German. At the brewhouse, its a 10-foot-long oak table just where Koehler hosted a cadre of friends for regular visits. The Stammtisch is a tradition that continues and can last for generations, and thats what he loved about it, Bayer said. Funeral arrangements are pending. Have you ever wondered what goes into creating, writing, and publishing a cookbook? Join Gambit on June 8 at 6:00 pm for The Making of a Cookbook: a discussion, wine-tasting, and cookbook swap with special guests from One Book One New Orleans (OBONO) and the Southern Food and Beverage Museum. Dr. Megan Holt (OBONO) will talk with author and SoFAB founder Liz Williams about her new cookbook, Nanas Creole Italian Table. Learn about the inspiration behind this Italian-New Orleanian cookbook that tells the story of Sicilian immigrant communities through the lens of food. The discussion will be followed by a Cookbook Swap. Bring a cookbook, trade a cookbook! Discover a new cooking style by trading gently used cookbooks with fellow Gambit members. To save your spot for this night of foodie fun, become a Gambit or One Book New Orleans member (for only $5) at bestofneworleans.com/member or join onebookonenola.org. Piece of Meat converts from butcher shop to steakhouse In response to customer demand, Piece of Meat is now open three nights a week, with plans to expand to six as soon as possible. PERFECT ATTENDANCE: NOLA Public Schools, with help from Premier Automotive Group, has awarded a new car to Kachand Jenkins, a graduate of Livingston Collegiate Academy High School with perfect attendance. To date, more than 750 students have participated in this annual competition. Jenkins plans to pursue a degree in biology from Prairie View A&M University. INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL OF NEW ORLEANS: Traditional dress, dancing, food and music were among the offerings during a celebration of Arabic heritage at the International High School of New Orleans. ST. BERNARD DRUG EDUCATION: The winner of the D.A.R.E. essay competition in St. Bernard Parish is Baylee Deogracias, who is in fifth grade at Joseph Davies Elementary School. Capt. Lisa Jackson supervised the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, with help from Sgt. Darrin Miller. LOUISIANA SCHOOL FOR MATH, SCIENCE, AND THE ARTS: Senior class President Ella Abney, of Slidell, was honored as the gonfaloniere, or "flag bearer," for the department of creative and performing arts at the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts in Natchitoches at the school's commencement ceremony. The gonfaloniere for the sciences department was Travis Elmore, of Slidell, who was also recognized as graduating with distinction, along with Riley Leger, of Slidell. ST. CHARLES PARISH NUTRITION: A free summer food service will be available for children under 18 and people with special needs in St. Charles Parish from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. June 6 through July 14 at Albert Cammon Middle School in St. Rose and G.W. Carver Early Learning Center in Hahnville. Those interested must attend a state-accredited school. Free bus transportation to both sites will be available. For more, call (985) 764-7944. New Orleans police will rebook Ronnie Davis, 27, on six counts of attempted murder in their investigation of a mass shooting outside Balcony Bar that wounded six people. Police arrested Davis on May 4 after a crime camera caught him driving the car that rolled up on the Balcony Bar filled with assailants a rented 2021 Nissan Kicks with Texas plates. According to court documents, police found a fully loaded Taurus semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine on the drivers-side floorboard and a rifle on its passenger-side floorboard. Police booked Davis into jail on two counts of possession of a firearm or weapon by a felon. Magistrate Commissioner Jonathan Friedman set a $500,000 bond. Police responded to the shooting in the 3200 block of Magazine Street at around 10 p.m. on April 29. About 50 bullets strafed the crowd gathered there and wounded four women and two men. Emergency Medical Services took the women to the hospital, and the men went in private vehicles. NOLA Business Insider The biggest stories in business, delivered to you every day. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Among those struck was Nairobi Davis, 23, the alleged target, according to law enforcement sources. Nairobi Davis has been linked to multiple homicides. Over the course of their investigation, police identified Ronnie Davis as a perpetrator in what law enforcement sources described as a shootout between rival groups. He will face six additional charges of attempted murder. Anyone with information may contact detectives at (504) 658-6060 or call Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans anonymously at (504) 822-1111. John Simerman contributed to this report Celebrating Solar Reliability Pioneer Dick DeBlasio Joined NREL-Precursor SERI in 1978 and Was Instrumental in Getting PV Industry Going Dick DeBlasio. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL When National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Senior Research Fellow Emeritus Richard Dick DeBlasio joined the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI) in 1978, he was among the first 300 people hired. During his initial 15 years at SERI, he was the program manager for the photovoltaics (PV) performance, reliability, and systems integration efforts. Dick was instrumental in getting the nascent PV industry off and running, said Ben Kroposki, director of NRELs Power Systems Engineering Center. Dick was truly a pioneer of not only the PV industry but also the entire distributed energy industry. DeBlasio was a lifelong member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and one of his major contributions was in standards. As the inaugural chair of the IEEE Standards Coordinating Committee 21 on Photovoltaics, he played a key role in crafting the standard for how PV modules are tested for long-term reliability. That led to the development of 2025-year warranties for PV modules, a major step in the field. Dicks accomplishments represent some of the most important activities of the time, said Kevin Lynn, the U.S. Department of Energys director of grid integration. Without standards such as IEEE 1262 or IEEE 1547, the solar industry does not become what it is today. Sadly, Dick DeBlasio died on April 27 at the age of 80. The Air Force veteran will be interred at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver. Among his many achievements, Dick was also responsible for starting the NREL PV Performance and Reliability workshops, which gathered industry members together to address reliability problems. These workshops continue to this day. Also, NRELs Outdoor Test Facility (OTF) was DeBlasios brainchild, Kroposki noted. The solar innovator was responsible for making the OTF a reality through perseverance in obtaining the needed funding, masterminding the research activities, and supervising construction. Located on the west side of the NREL South Table Mountain Campus, the OTF brought together several activities in PV performance and reliability to create a showcase for new technologies. This included many of the very first thin-film PV materials, including the very first cadmium telluride modules from a fledgling company called Solar Cells Inc. Results from testing at the OTF demonstrated the promise of this new technology and helped that company, renamed First Solar, become a leader in the solar industry. Dick DeBlasio on the NREL campus in 2012. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL Continuing his leadership in standardization, in 2011, DeBlasio initiated and chaired the effort to develop the IEEE 2030 Standard for power systems, communication, and information technology interoperability, which has become the IEEE foundational standard for smart grid modernization. DeBlasio received many awards over his career, including the NREL Van Morris Award for outstanding leadership and sustained dedication to the growth and development of the Photovoltaic Testing and Reliability and the Distributed Power programs. Dick was always thinking ahead and was instrumental in moving the power industry forward, Kroposki said. DeBlasio continued to serve as a research fellow in the NREL Power Systems Engineering Center and then as a research fellow emeritus after his retirement from NREL in 2015. Prior to joining SERI, DeBlasio was a senior nuclear research engineer with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in Washington, D.C. (1974 to 1978), addressing nuclear power reactor safety. He was a project manager with Underwriters Laboratories (19721974) and a member of the nuclear engineering research staff at Stanford University (19651972). He served in the U.S. Air Force as a radar/electronics specialist from 1961 to 1965. He earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering in 1972 from Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California. Always devoted to his family and NREL, Dick was a friend and caring mentor to many NREL staff, including myself, Kroposki said. He encouraged everyone to achieve their best and make an impact. His experience and guidance will be greatly missed. Learn more about solar energy research at NREL. NREL Earns Four ARPA-E Awards To Make Tidal and Riverine Energy an Affordable Option Across the United States, underwater turbineswhose blades look a bit like shark finscould produce energy equivalent to the electricity needed to power every home in all six New England states and New York state combined. But first, these technologies must get hardier and cheaper, and NREL researchers are leading and supporting several award-winning projects to get marine energy to market. Photo from Jakob Owens, Unsplash What do a BladeRunner, RAFT, and kite have in common? They are all SHARKS, and they are getting in the water. Despite the predatory nature of the animals that are their namesake, these electronic SHARKS only swim to serve. They are all designed to do one critical thing: turn tides and river currents into an affordable source of renewable energy. In the United States, these rushing waters carry about 94 terawatt-hours of energy per year. That is enough to power about 9 million homes, roughly the size of the six New England states and New York state combined. There is just one problem. These riverine technologieswhich often look like mini submerged wind turbinesare still too expensive for widespread adoption. That is why we need SHARKS, which stands for the tongue-twisting Submarine Hydrokinetic And Riverine Kilo-megawatt Systems, a high-risk, high-reward research program funded by the U.S. Department of Energys Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). ARPA-E is the energy equivalent of DARPA, whose funding created the internet, among other life-altering inventions. Through SHARKS, ARPA-E, along with partners like the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), could make it possible for marine energy devices to power up in rivers across the country and play a valuable role in combating the climate change crisis. Tides and river currents could be a huge boost to the U.S. power grid, said Michael Lawson, the marine energy group manager of NRELs water power research and development program and a lead researcher on one of the SHARKS projects NREL is supporting. The resources are abundant and renewable. But compared to other energy generating sources, the technologies are still expensive. SHARKS is helping fix that. The SHARKS program funds efforts to make underwater turbines an affordable, reliable, and substantial source of clean energy for U.S. communities, especially remote villages that often rely on expensive shipments of diesel fuel to power their lives. Of the 11 SHARKS grants ARPA-E awarded in November 2020, NREL is leading one and supporting three others. One Code To Rule Them All Trial and erroror, as researchers like to call it, iterative designis a fine way to invent new technology. But is it practical to construct, say, a building just to learn what might go wrong? Not really. It is far quicker and cheaper to hone the design before construction. So why do so many marine energy developers still build and plunge prototypes into rivers to see how well they work? Simple: No software could holistically assess novel marine energy technologiesuntil now. Our tool allows simultaneous design of all of a devices different components, said Nick Johnson, a mechanical engineer at NREL and principal investigator on the laboratorys SHARKS award. This type of software doesn't exist in the industry. Johnson and his team of NREL engineers are developing the first open-source software to combine all those design steps into one streamlinedand therefore faster and more cost-effectiveapproach. The tool is a form of something called control co-design, a technical term for blending technology design, optimization, and control (the ability to manipulate the devices energy production from afar). Say, for example, a developer wants to build their underwater turbines with bigger blades. Users can plug in that information to learn how that change might impact their technologys cost, energy output, and robustness. We can do very quick, lower-fidelity simulations on the order of seconds, Johnson said. Or we can use higher-fidelity simulations in a matter of minutes to hoursthis project provides the tools to do both. Because underwater turbines share similarities with wind turbines, the team is relying on NRELs veteran wind energy code, OpenFAST, as a foundation. Both wind and water are fluids, but water is a thousand times denser than air. So, Johnson and his team are adapting OpenFAST to account for these physical differences and provide marine energy developers with accurate simulations of how different designs would perform in the real world. Our tool will help accelerate the design of more innovative, cost-competitive marine energy technologies to get them closer to where wind energy and solar power are today, said NRELs Thanh Toan Tran, a mechanical engineer who is working on the project along with Hannah Ross, a postdoctoral researcher at NREL. Theres been really big growth in the wind energy industry, Ross added. A lot of that can be attributed to the availability of modeling tools. Marine energy is where wind energy was 30 or 40 years ago. And higher-risk research and development programs, like SHARKS, are crucial for us to advance the industry towards commercialization. Getting Three More SHARKS Ready To Swim While Johnson leads his SHARKS awardand external SHARKS teams prepare their BladeRunner, RAFT, and kite for the waterthree other NREL research teams are supporting industry and university award winners to achieve their cost and operational goals. These teams are: Elena Baca and Ritu Treisa Philip and University of Washington : Baca and Philip, both research engineers at NREL, are developing custom code for the University of Washington to analyze the power and cost performance of the teams tidal turbine arrays (a set of turbines installed together, like a wind farm). Because individual tidal turbines can affect how water flows around them, different arrangements can increase or decrease the energy production of downstream turbines. The University of Washington research team aims to identify the optimal design for these tidal energy farms while Baca and Philip analyze whether specific technology designs could make that farm cost-effective. : Baca and Philip, both research engineers at NREL, are developing custom code for the University of Washington to analyze the power and cost performance of the teams tidal turbine arrays (a set of turbines installed together, like a wind farm). Because individual tidal turbines can affect how water flows around them, different arrangements can increase or decrease the energy production of downstream turbines. The University of Washington research team aims to identify the optimal design for these tidal energy farms while Baca and Philip analyze whether specific technology designs could make that farm cost-effective. Michael Lawson and Littoral Power : With Lawsons support, Littoral Power will analyze their turbine design, which includes a buoyant underwater vehicle tethered to the riverbed by one mooring. Attached to the other side of the vehicle is a turbine, which rides on currents like a kite on wind. Because this design reduces the stress on the mooring line, it could reduce the overall operational and maintenance costs and, therefore, the cost of energy it produces. : With Lawsons support, Littoral Power will analyze their turbine design, which includes a buoyant underwater vehicle tethered to the riverbed by one mooring. Attached to the other side of the vehicle is a turbine, which rides on currents like a kite on wind. Because this design reduces the stress on the mooring line, it could reduce the overall operational and maintenance costs and, therefore, the cost of energy it produces. Scott Hughes and Aquantis: NRELs Hughes, a mechanical engineer, is assisting Aquantis to assess their Tidal Power Tug, an especially low-weight tidal energy design, which is more cost effective, too. Looking more like an imperial spacecraft in a galaxy far, far away than an electricity-generating device, the designs vertical and horizontal turbine blades are well suited to survive even aggressively turbulent seas. All three SHARKS projects could benefit from the control co-design tool NREL researchers are currently developing. Without this tool theres been a big gap for the marine energy industry, Ross said. There are bits and pieces of tools scattered around the world, but ours is the first to combine them all and close that gap. Im personally very excited to see the next generation technologies our code helps build. Partner with NREL! The laboratory's teams are committed to providing flexible support for the budding marine energy industry to help technologies achieve commercial success. NREL is also seeking marine energy industry input! Want to help NREL researchers hone their control co-design code? Get in touch today. Congressman Frank Mrvan made a second recent appearance before the International Trade Commission to testify on the continuation of tariffs on cold-rolled steel imports last week. Mrvan, co-chairman of the bi-partisan Congressional Steel Caucus, argued that targeted tariffs should be maintained on cold-rolled steel flat products from Brazil, China, India, Japan, Korea and the United Kingdom following a surge that hurt domestic steelmakers economically. The tariffs were initiated during an import crisis in 2015. Tariffs grabbed a record 29% of the market share that year, plunging the capacity utilization rate as low as 70%. "I am here today in support of our American steel manufacturers and workers and members of the United Steelworkers in this case regarding the continuation of anti-dumping and countervailing duties on cold-rolled steel flat products from Brazil, China, India, Japan, Korea, and the United Kingdom," he said during his testimony. "Similar to last week, six years ago to this very day, on May 24, 2016, Congressman Pete Visclosky, my mentor and predecessor for the First Congressional District, testified in person before you during the initial proceedings for this case." The tariffs help preserve steel mill jobs in Northwest Indiana and across the nation, Mrvan said. They are now up for a five-year sunset review on whether they're still needed. "The Steel Caucus has long advocated for the importance of ensuring that American workers can compete on a level playing field, and that is why we have adamantly supported the value of and continuation of the Section 232 steel tariffs," he said. More than 50 members of Congress from both parties signed a letter in support of the duties to protect American steel jobs. They noted imports rose 43% last year and are up 28% so far this year. "We note in the letter how global overcapacity remains a significant issue, and that a recent Steel Committee meeting at the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development heard reports that producers in Southeast Asia expect to bring over 90 million metric tons of steelmaking capacity online over the next 5-6 years," Mrvan said. "The letter also states that we encourage you to give these steel industry trade cases full and fair consideration, and that we believe they are critical to ensuring our domestic steel sector remains strong." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Longtime Lakeshore Public Radio host Chris Nolte, who has worked in public broadcasting for nearly 40 years, is stepping away from the mic he's long manned. Nolte has been on the air with the Merrillville-based NPR affiliate for 13 years. Lakeshore Public Radio said he had "one of the most recognizable voices from Northwest Indiana." He hosted the local version of Morning Edition and the locally produced Regionally Speaking" on Lakeshore Public Radio, which broadcasts across Northwest Indiana. The knowledge my guests brought with them made the show what it is. Im glad I had the opportunity through Lakeshore to facilitate multiple perspectives over a variety of topics to help listeners form their own take on the news, Nolte said. Nolte is a Navy veteran who graduated from Ball State University. Over the years, he worked for many radio stations across Indiana and the Midwest, including WKBV-AM in Richmond, WLW-AM Cincinnati, WFIU-FM Bloomington, WTHR-TV Indianapolis, WIBC-AM and WFYI-FM Indianapolis. He joined Lakeshore Public Radio in Merrillville in 2009. He's won an award from the Indiana Associated Press Broadcasters Association, interviewed politicians during campaign season and helped the public broadcasting radio station host debates with civic groups like the League of Women Voters. He will sign off from Lakeshore Public Radio on his final episode of "Regionally Speaking," which will air from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Friday. Lakeshore Public Radio plans to continue to air "Regionally Speaking" in the future, with Dee Dotson and Tom Maloney co-hosting together until future notice. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A variety of companies will be on hand at an upcoming job fair in LaPorte. The LaPorte Economic Advancement Partnership will host the Ready2Work Hiring Event from 3-6 p.m. on June 7 at the LaPorte Civic Auditorium at 1001 Ridge St. Ivy Tech Community College and WorkOne also are helping stage the event. Aero Metals, Als Supermarket, Alexander Chemical Corporation, Alpha Baking Company, American Renolit, BOSS Air, City of LaPorte, E-Pak Machinery, General Insurance Services, GreatNews.Life, Hatfield Pest Control and other employers will be on hand at the job fair. Businesses in a variety of industries will be ready to hire that day. Companies in attendance will also include Horizon Bank, Howmet Aerospace, Jaeger-Unitek Sealing Solutions, LaPorte Community School Corp., LaPorte County Family YMCA, Lewis Bakeries, McDonalds, MonoSol, New York Blower, Northwest Health, NRP Jones, Packaging Logic, Village Supply and Winn Machine. We are excited to provide another great opportunity for our community to connect with our local employers and explore quality job and career opportunities," Workforce Development Coordinator Erik Nelson said. "This event is open to all members of our community, and we encourage job seekers of all ages to attend. A big thank you to Ivy Tech, WorkOne, and all the volunteers that are partnering with us on this event. The event is open to the public and no advance registration is required. Attendees should bring resumes, dress professionally and be prepared to do interviews on the spot. The goal of this event is to bring available positions in the community to the forefront and to showcase what skills are needed for these positions," committee facilitator Mike Riehle said. "It is our hope that in doing so, we can continue to strengthen our relationship with our schools, community leaders, and businesses to solidify the pipeline of qualified talent to our local companies. The ultimate mission of our group is to fill every open position in La Porte County. For more information, call 219-324-8584 or visit laportepartnership.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Editor's note: Police originally said the man died from his injuries, but later said he suffered life-threatening injuries. GARY One man suffered life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck him while he was riding a motorcycle, police said. First responders were called at 5 p.m. Tuesday to a wreck at Martin Luther King Drive and East 21st Avenue, said Gary Police Department Cmdr. Jack Hamady. A man driving a motorcycle was struck by a vehicle at the intersection, Hamady said. The man suffered injuries that were life-threatening and he was airlifted to an Illinois trauma hospital. His current condition is unknown, police said. The Lake County Sheriff's Reconstruction Unit assisted Gary police and medics at the scene. The cause of the crash is under investigation, police said. Anyone with information on the wreck is asked to call Gary Sgt. Ryan Martens at 219-881-1209. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 4 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. GARY Homicide detectives are seeking the public's help after a suspect open fired on a 20-year-old Gary man, killing him. On Wednesday, Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. released a surveillance image of the suspect vehicle to see if anyone is able to provide information leading to a suspect. Derrick Davis was pronounced dead after suffering an apparent gunshot wound Friday morning in the area of 21st Avenue and Clark Road, police say. Authorities believe Davis was in a silver Hyundai Sonata when a suspect opened fire on him, Martinez said. The vehicle is described as a gold-colored Chevy Suburban with aftermarket tail lights similar to those found on a Cadillac. The windows of the Suburban are tinted, including the front windshield. The 911 call came in just before 10 a.m. and members of the Lake County/Gary Metro Homicide Unit responded. Gary officers were aided by the Gary Fire Department EMS and the Lake County Sheriff's Department CSI unit. Davis's death was classified as a homicide, according to a report from Lake County Coroner David Pastrick. Anyone with information is asked to call the Lake County Metro Homicide Unit at 219-755-3855 or the Lake County Sheriffs Department Report-A-Crime Hotline at 1-800-750-2746. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. LOWELL An Indiana State trooper dove over a median wall to avoid being struck in a multi-vehicle crash, police said. "I saw it coming and dove over the wall," said Sgt. Glen Fifield. "I didn't want to get hit or pinned between the cars, so I dove. I hurt my knee and shoulder." Around 3 p.m. Wednesday first responders were called to a crash involving four vehicles at the 10-mile marker on eastbound Interstate 80 in Gary, said Indiana State Cpl. Bobbie Crowder. A driver crashed into a median wall, crashed into another vehicle and then crashed into Fifield's vehicle, he said. Fifield was able to jump over the median to avoid the collision but hurt his knee and shoulder. He was taken to be checked out at a hospital and was released in good condition Wednesday afternoon. Crowder said there were lane blockages at the Broadway southbound to eastbound ramp, with traffic moving slowly through the area. The investigation is ongoing. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. LAKE STATION A motorist who died in a fiery crash on Interstate 80 has been identified. On Wednesday the Lake County coroner's office released the report for Alexandria Headd, 32, of Merrillville. Headd died from smoke inhalation due to a vehicle fire, according to the report. The family has been notified. Police said they were called out around 11 p.m. May 19 for a two-vehicle crash in the eastbound lanes of I-80 just east of the Ripley Street exit. The crash caused both the semi-truck and Chevrolet passenger car to catch fire. "It was determined that the Chevrolet was stationary in the roadway for an unknown reason when it was struck by the semi tractor-trailer," police said. The driver of the passenger car died in the crash/fire, while the truck driver reported no injuries, according to police. State police were assisted at the scene by the Lake Station Fire Department, the Indiana Department of Transportation, Waffco Towing, the Indiana State Police Lowell Crash Reconstruction Team and the Lake County coroner's office. 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. The groundbreaking ceremony for the newest monument on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. a commemoration made possible, in part, thanks to the work of a former Indiana senator is scheduled for mid-summer. Veterans and other dignitaries are set to convene at 9 a.m. Region time July 14 to turn the first spades of dirt at what will become the National Desert Storm and Desert Shield Memorial. The memorial will recognize the historical significance of the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War and honor the service and sacrifice of the U.S. military personnel, including some 60,000 Hoosiers, who led the effort to liberate Kuwait from Saddam Hussein's Iraqi invaders while defending Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula. The final design of the memorial still is in the process of being finalized. Nevertheless, the National Park Service has granted the National Desert Storm Memorial Association permission to break ground at the memorial site on the southwest corner of Constitution Avenue and 23rd Street NW, just north of the Lincoln Memorial and west of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The federal law authorizing a Desert Shield/Desert Storm memorial was enacted in December 2014 by Democratic President Barack Obama. It was sponsored by U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind, now U.S. ambassador to the Holy See. In 2017, Republican President Donald Trump approved another Donnelly-sponsored measure granting permission to place the memorial on the National Mall. Donnelly said at the time: "Our nation's monuments share the story of our country. It can't fully be told without a National Desert Storm War Memorial." "Perhaps more importantly, the nearly 400 fallen service members of this war deserve a memorial for their sacrifice, and those who fought alongside them deserve a place of remembrance and healing," Donnelly said. No federal funds are being spent to build the estimated $40 million memorial that's due to be completed in 2023. Donations to help fund construction can be made to the National Desert Storm War Memorial Association online at ndswm.org. 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. All 11 Democrats serving in the Indiana Senate, including four representing Northwest Indiana, want the General Assembly to reconvene immediately to enact new laws aimed at reducing gun violence in the Hoosier State. In a letter sent Friday to Gov. Eric Holcomb, the Senate Democrats urge the Republican chief executive to call a special legislative session focused on gun safety following the May 24 Uvalde, Texas, massacre that killed 19 children and two teachers, and wounded 17 others, at Robb Elementary School. "For the first time ever, the leading cause of death among children is gun violence. This epidemic is unacceptable made all the more so because we know what can be done to address this harrowing statistic: pass common-sense gun safety regulations," said Senate Democratic Leader Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis. The letter says Indiana easily could adopt popular gun safety policies, including universal background checks for gun purchases, safe gun storage mandates, training and permitting requirements for gun owners, and a ban on assault weapons. "Thoughts and prayers are insufficient in the urgency of this moment," the letter says. "We must not wait until January to show Hoosiers we are serious about protecting families, as we are obligated in our roles to secure our schools and protect our children before the next school year begins in August." "Our young Hoosiers, our educators, and all of their families and loved ones eagerly wait for their elected leaders to demonstrate a commitment to finally addressing this epidemic." The governor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Senate Democrats' letter urging him to call a special legislative session. In any case, the policies championed by the lawmakers signing the letter, including state Sens. Michael Griffin, D-Highland; Eddie Melton, D-Gary; Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton; and Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago; are unlikely to win majority support in a Republican-controlled chamber that in March voted to eliminate Indiana's permit requirement for carrying a handgun in public, beginning July 1. Taylor said he hopes that decision also would be reconsidered in a special session because House Enrolled Act 1296, enacted by Holcomb, will make it "easier for an 18-year-old in our state to access a gun than it will be for them to vote." "Our colleagues across the aisle have expressed their desire to protect innocent lives in our state this is our opportunity," Taylor said, referring to a letter sent in March by 100 Republican state legislators urging Holcomb to call a special session to further restrict or ban abortion in Indiana if permitted by an anticipated U.S. Supreme Court ruling. "To quote our Republican colleagues, 'As a state that recognizes that life is a precious gift that should never be neglected, it is our desire that you, as the governor of Indiana, ensure that those values are upheld without delay.' We hope you agree and immediately call us into session to do our duty to serve and protect Hoosiers." According to the Indiana Constitution, only the governor has the authority to convene the General Assembly after it has adjourned for the year, typically in mid-March in even-numbered years and late April in odd-numbered years. 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. HOBART The pastor of New Life Community Church wanted to do something to remember those who died in the May 24 attack at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. He believed prayer was the answer. So about 25 people joined Pastor Jason Pena at the Hobart church the next day to pray for the 21 victims, teachers, administrators, students, first responders and the family of the offender. An 18-year-old opened fire at the school, killing at least 19 children and two teachers and wounding about 16 others. We need to pray for peace, Pena said. This is a time of prayer and appropriate mourning for Texas. Sometimes we are called to pray in a season of mourning. Our county is in a lot of need. He asked those gathered to not leave the prayer service thinking that was the only night to pray. "If you know a teacher, a student or anyone who has been impacted by this and has been touched by this tragedy check on them and pray for them, Pena said. Pastor Julie Hayden of Hope Ministries International expressed her sadness and concern for what these families are facing. We may pray in different ways, but we are crying out to the Lord. Every prayer and every tear is precious, she said. Hayden said she sat in stunned silence watching the news and the events unfold. We pray for peace and comfort for the parents of the victims. And we pray for the teachers and students and the shooters family, she said. Scott Ramsay, a Hobart resident and member of City Point Church in Portage, prayed for the first responders who were on scene at the tragedy. We lift them up and thank you for the first responders that they receive healing for what they saw, Ramsay. said Pastor Ken Miller of Living Hope in Portage, who is retired, prayed for administrators. My heart aches for the school principal, he said. Rikki Guthrie, a Hobart school board member and member of New Life Community Church, attended the service and was brought to tears. What can we do better as part of our school system? she asked. This makes you think about so many things. Are we doing enough with safety of the children and their mental health? 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. Memorial Day has long been understood as the unofficial start of the U.S. summer, but during the pandemic, it has also come with canceled events, bans on large gatherings and news of lagging vaccination rates. This holiday weekend, however, during one of the countrys traditionally busiest travel periods, more than 39 million Americans are expected to take to the skies and roads, according to estimates by AAA, the automobile owners group. Were approaching prepandemic numbers, said Andrew Gobeil, a spokesman for HartsfieldJackson International Airport in Atlanta, the worlds busiest airport. He said on Friday that he expected more than 2 million passengers between Thursday and Wednesday. Its an honest appraisal of where we stand, he said. Everyone is pretty thrilled. Los Angeles International Airport is expecting around 200,000 passengers a day, about 40 percent more from Memorial Day weekend last year. Were not back to normal here, said Heath Montgomery, an airport spokesman, adding that passenger volume was still down about 25 percent from 2019. The Federal Aviation Administration said on Tuesday that it had issued Boeing a shorter extension than the company had sought to conduct some of its own regulatory checks, as the agency works to reform the practice of outsourcing regulatory authority. Under a program known as Organization Designation Authorization, corporate employees are allowed to determine regulatory compliance on some matters on the F.A.A.s behalf. Boeing had sought a five-year renewal of that authority, but the F.A.A. agreed to only three years. The congressionally approved program drew sharp criticism after two crashes of Boeings 737 Max in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people, leading to a ban of the plane globally for nearly two years. A federal law passed in 2020 made a number of aviation safety changes, including some focused on the Organization Designation Authorization program. The F.A.A. said it had approved only a three-year renewal because it wanted to ensure that Boeing was carrying out certain changes to the program. Sarah Palin lost her bid for a new trial in her libel case against The New York Times on Tuesday, with a judge ruling that she had failed to introduce even a speck of evidence necessary to prove the newspaper had defamed her in a 2017 editorial. The written decision by Judge Jed S. Rakoff of U.S. District Court said that while mistakes were made as editors rushed to meet deadlines, a mistake is not enough to win if it was not motivated by actual malice. Actual malice is the legal bar set by the Supreme Court that a public figure like Ms. Palin needs to prove to win a defamation case. That would mean that The Times either knew it was publishing false information or recklessly disregarded evidence despite harboring doubts about the truth of what it published. The striking thing about the trial here was that Palin, for all her earlier assertions, could not in the end introduce even a speck of such evidence, Judge Rakoff wrote. Palins motion is hereby denied in its entirety. This piece is one of 10 winners of our 2022 Profile Contest. You can find more here. Yueyang Ge, the author, is 16 and goes to UWC South East Asia, Dover Campus, in Singapore. Fighting Against the Wind By Yueyang Ge Ynnel Villarias left her hometown the day her youngest daughter turned 6. I had to explain to her, again and again, that this is for her future. Our future. Mama is leaving to earn money so we can pay for college and build our own little house, she said. In front of the house, we will plant so many orchids. As many as we like. Seven years later, Ms. Villarias would recall this dream, which she painted for her three daughters as much as for herself. She would remember the night she landed in Singapore and became a migrant domestic worker. Recollect squeezing out every last bit of toothpaste and scrimping for seven years. The remittances she sent. The pictures of her dream house materializing brick by brick. This piece is one of 10 winners of our 2022 Profile Contest. You can find more here. Gauri Gupta, the author, is 14 and goes to the The Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai, India. Street Market Sweets By Gauri Gupta In March 2020, India experienced the first wave of Covid-19 and went into a complete national lockdown. This made the news worldwide, because of the particular challenges faced by poorer Indians, many of whom had to travel hundreds of miles back to their villages from the cities. It was a highly controversial policy, partly because it, in fact, facilitated the spread of the virus through rural India, and partly because it exposed the vulnerable employment and living conditions of a large swath of the Indian population. These images of chaos and human suffering were seen around the world. What was not reported was the suffering of those left behind in the cities. Vasudev Govind sells imartis in Chandni Chowk, a busy street market in the Indian capital, New Delhi. An imarti is a Rajasthani dessert of Persian origin that is enjoyed as a popular and ubiquitous street food. The following interview has been translated from Korean and edited for clarity. Image Mr. Kim with his work nonpicture series n-3. Credit... Nathan Ko Tell me about yourself. Im a photographer who uses gelatin silver print, basically black-and-white photography. Most contemporary artists no longer use this medium. The complicated, slow and restricted process of black-and-white photography is inconvenient. I was curious about the contemporary changes occurring in the photo production process. Thus, in my latest series, I focused on each production stage, highlighting the role of black-and-white photography in contemporary art. My work is considered relatively unconventional, which has allowed me to receive positive attention. At the highest point of your career, you were diagnosed with cancer. Your suffering worsened due to the pandemic. I can only imagine the range of emotions you felt. When I was given six months to live, I was miserable. Ive had many fevers during my battle with cancer. At the beginning of the pandemic, concerns about Covid-19 symptoms, such as fevers, meant that I missed out on chances for desperately needed treatment. The New Jersey attorney generals office has opened an investigation into the unsolved deaths of a prominent political couple whose bodies were found in their home near Princeton, N.J., nearly eight years ago. The couple, John and Joyce Sheridan, had been stabbed, and a gasoline-fueled fire was set in their bedroom near their bodies. The case shook New Jersey political circles and has confounded friends and relatives in the years since. The new investigation was first reported on Tuesday by WNYC, which has aired a podcast focused on the Sheridans deaths in September 2014 and damning gaps in the initial inquiry. The Somerset County prosecutors office initially concluded that Mr. Sheridan, 72, had killed himself and his wife of 47 years. But three years later, a New Jersey medical examiner under pressure from the couples four sons and three former governors, all of whom had called for a more thorough investigation reversed that decision and said the cause of their deaths was unclear. We will continue cooperating with our allies and partners on Russian sanctions, the toughest ever imposed on a major economy. We will continue providing Ukraine with advanced weaponry, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, Stinger antiaircraft missiles, powerful artillery and precision rocket systems, radars, unmanned aerial vehicles, Mi-17 helicopters and ammunition. We will also send billions more in financial assistance, as authorized by Congress. We will work with our allies and partners to address the global food crisis that Russias aggression is worsening. And we will help our European allies and others reduce their dependence on Russian fossil fuels, and speed our transition to a clean energy future. We will also continue reinforcing NATOs eastern flank with forces and capabilities from the United States and other allies. And just recently, I welcomed Finlands and Swedens applications to join NATO, a move that will strengthen overall U.S. and trans-Atlantic security by adding two democratic and highly capable military partners. We do not seek a war between NATO and Russia. As much as I disagree with Mr. Putin, and find his actions an outrage, the United States will not try to bring about his ouster in Moscow. So long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces. We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia. My principle throughout this crisis has been Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. I will not pressure the Ukrainian government in private or public to make any territorial concessions. It would be wrong and contrary to well-settled principles to do so. Ukraines talks with Russia are not stalled because Ukraine has turned its back on diplomacy. They are stalled because Russia continues to wage a war to take control of as much of Ukraine as it can. The United States will continue to work to strengthen Ukraine and support its efforts to achieve a negotiated end to the conflict. By now youve probably guessed that I rank Warner Bros. cartoons as the all-time best. But lately, Ive thought that they might have some competition: The shorts Disney has been making since 2013. My girls and I call them Funny Mickeys, in contrast to Disneys old shorts, which are expertly animated but, especially by contemporary standards, not narratively engaging. An isolated drawing from Mr. Duck Steps Out, for example, hangs on my wall at home and is a nice image of Donald Duck adjusting his hat in preparation for a date. But the cartoon itself, from 1940, just sits there the liveliest thing is that Donald and Daisy Duck do some dancing. In the newer Disney cartoons, the characters are as laugh-out-loud funny as the Looney Tunes characters have been all along. The artwork is great, too: The updated Disney characters are drawn in a style saluting the original late-1920s, early-1930s versions of the characters, while the backgrounds are gorgeous paintings reminiscent of the ones in Disney classics like Sleeping Beauty. But now, the Disney characters have a chance to engage in the same lively wordplay as the Looney Tunes characters, with nearly as much wit. Chris Diamantopoulos is especially good voicing Mickey, wangling the mouses classic falsetto into colors and shades that somehow convey a whole soul rather than just a squeaking, two-dimensional protagonist. The Funny Mickeys come with a modern ethos, eschewing the old-school stereotypes found in earlier cartoons. When one of these new shorts is set in a different country, instead of wallowing in silly false-translation jokes, as the old Looney Tunes did (French people fleeing Pepe Le Pew, yelling Le Pew!), the characters speak the local language French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Mandarin, Korean, Turkish and Hindi, so far. In Mumbai Madness, the seriess composer, Christopher Willis, wrote Bollywood-esque music. Another great thing about these newer shorts is that they revel in the weight of the 20th centurys trove of pop culture references: They mine the Disney heritage itself, from the Disney version of The Big Bad Wolf to Ursula from The Little Mermaid. In one short, Mickey and Minnie cavort to a 1930s-style love song, As Long as Im With You, camping it up rather than just doing it straight. Another takes on the quaint ambition of a Jetsons-like vision of the future. Willis, whose work is brilliant, seems to have a fondness, where thematically appropriate, for the teasing soft-rock feel of 1970s and 1980s shows such as The Love Boat (try, for example, the nautical scenes from Captain Donald). Between this, the facial expressions that often seem to channel the weird, densely detailed close-ups of cartoons from the Fleischer studio that created Betty Boop and Popeye, and the whiz-bang pacing familiar from Ren & Stimpy, these shorts exist in a kind of otherworldly combination of now and before, the way a good cartoon should. Ive been forced to rethink my own sense of what belongs on Best Of lists: I remain a Looney Tunes loyalist, but the new Disney shorts strike me, often, as some of the best cartoons Ive ever encountered. They helped me through the pandemic lockdown, are great for taking a load off the mind now, and should be known better than they seem to be. Whether we like it or not, added Fischer, modern Europe is now in a confrontational mode with Russia. Russia is no longer part of any European peace order. Theres been a complete loss of trust with Putin. Is there any wonder why? Putins army is systematically destroying Ukrainian cities and infrastructure with the seeming intent not to impose Russian rule on these towns, communities and farms but rather to erase them and their residents from the map and make true by force Putins crackpot claim that Ukraine is not a real country. At the Davos World Economic Forum last week, I interviewed Anatoliy Fedoruk, the mayor of Bucha, Ukraine, the town where Russia stands accused of murdering scores of civilians and leaving their bodies on the streets to rot, or piled into a mass grave in a churchyard, before the Russian troops were driven out. We had 419 peaceful citizens murdered in multiple ways, Fedoruk told me. We had no military infrastructure in our town. People were defenseless. The Russian soldiers stole, they raped and they drank. I am really surprised that this is happening in the 21st century. If that was the shock phase of this war and it is still going on the awe phase is something I detected among European officials in Davos and Berlin. To put it bluntly, while the United States of America seems to be coming apart, the United States of Europe the 27 members of the European Union have stunned everyone, and most of all themselves, by coming together to make a fist, along with a number of other European nations and NATO, to stymie Putins invasion. You could almost feel E.U. officials saying: Wow, did we make that fist? Is that our fist? Since February, the E.U. has imposed five packages of sanctions against Russia sanctions that not only badly hurt Russia but are also costly for the E.U. countries in terms of lost business or higher raw material costs. A sixth package, agreed to on Monday, will cut some 90 percent of E.U. oil imports from Russia by the end of this year while also ejecting Sberbank, Russias biggest bank, from SWIFT, the vital global banking messaging system. Maybe the most impressive thing is how many Ukrainian refugees E.U. nations have been willing to house without much complaint. There is an awareness that Ukrainian menfolk are fighting to defend them, too, so the E.U. nations can at least house their women, children and elderly. Again my love suffers in a war between two families! Romeo laments, but this time he is intent on a happy resolution. Directed and choreographed by Justin Ross Cohen at Theater 555, and presented by Eric Krebs in association with Amas Musical Theater, this is a first-rate production of a show that could easily teeter on the edge of cheesy. It delights in cartoon mobsters and cares not a whit for hipness unlike, say, & Juliet, the West End jukebox musical that imagines a different fate for Romeos beloved, or Fat Ham, James Ijamess Pulitzer Prize-winning Hamlet reclamation at the Public Theater, both of which have a much higher glamour quotient. With music adapted from classic Italian melodies, as the program credit puts it (many of the tunes are by Francesco Paolo Tosti; music direction is by Aaron Gandy), and witty period costumes (by Joseph Shrope), Romeo & Bernadette feels fond, familiar, escapist: theater as merry comfort food. The appeal of that especially in this time of relentlessly dire headlines is not to be underestimated. The one real clunk in the works is the framing device. The musical begins at a Brooklyn Community Players performance of Romeo and Juliet, whose corpse-strewn ending leaves an English major (Ari Raskin) in tears and her uncultured date (Notardonato) worried that his chance of scoring with her is doomed. So he spins the tale of Romeo & Bernadette as the story of the real Romeo. His inventiveness might come off as more plausible, and less mansplainy, if we hadnt seen him barely paying attention to the play. Still, inside the story he weaves, Burshteyn makes Romeo an absolute darling, with an ingenuousness that parents swoon over. It is no spoiler to say that Bernadette eventually recognizes him as a gentler version of a man than her violent fiance will ever be. That has proved to be a tricky line to walk for the president and his advisers since Mr. Putin sent his troops into Ukraine nearly 100 days ago. In his article on Tuesday, Mr. Biden described his administrations resolve to support Ukraine in its attempts to repel Russian invaders. But Mr. Biden also offered specific assurances for Mr. Putin that the United States does not intend to provoke a wider conflict or the use of weapons of mass destruction. We currently see no indication that Russia has intent to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, though Russias occasional rhetoric to rattle the nuclear saber is itself dangerous and extremely irresponsible, Mr. Biden wrote. Let me be clear: Any use of nuclear weapons in this conflict on any scale would be completely unacceptable to us as well as the rest of the world and would entail severe consequences. Mr. Biden stated bluntly in his article that he did not seek to overthrow Mr. Putin, despite his off-the-cuff remarks during a speech in Poland earlier this year, when he said the Russian president cannot remain in power. On Tuesday, Mr. Biden presented a different view. We do not seek a war between NATO and Russia, he said. As much as I disagree with Mr. Putin, and find his actions an outrage, the United States will not try to bring about his ouster in Moscow. So long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces. Last Wednesday, on the second anniversary of George Floyds death, President Biden unveiled a long-awaited executive order aimed at overhauling policing in the United States. As my colleagues noted at the time, the final text of the order reflected the balancing act the president is trying to navigate on policing between progressive activists demanding greater constraints on the use of force, police groups seeking to limit the scope of change and Republicans who see rising crime as a winning political issue. It was the product of delicate coalition politics more than 120 meetings across more than 100 hours, according to the White House. But all of that balancing work, which earned praise from groups as disparate as the N.A.A.C.P., the A.C.L.U. and the Fraternal Order of Police, masked an enduring divide among Democrats that the massacre of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, has ripped back open: Should America invest more in its police or redirect funding and attention elsewhere? Where consensus on the left breaks down When it comes to how to protect children in schools, the national debate bears many hallmarks of the countrys disagreements over policing, and falls into many of the same ruts. BRUSSELS Russian troops battled their way into the devastated Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk on Tuesday, as their slow, brutal offensive in eastern Ukraine shifted from indiscriminate shelling to street fighting, with thousands of civilians still trapped among the ruins. With Moscow pressing its advance despite heavy losses, Ukraines allies looked to new ways to raise the price Russia pays for aggression, while easing the pain it causes elsewhere. A day after the European Union agreed to ban most Russian oil imports, the blocs focus shifted to aiding Ukraine and helping it resume food exports that are vital to feeding the world. Wrapping up a two-day summit meeting in Brussels, E.U. leaders agreed to $9.7 billion in aid to Ukraine this year, albeit with demands attached to fight the corruption that has plagued the country. And Ursula von der Leyen, president of the E.U. executive commission, said the developing global food crisis is only the fault of Russia, which has seized or blockaded all of Ukraines Black Sea ports. The only reason we are struggling with this is because of this brutal, unjustified war against Ukraine, she said. For six weeks, the defamation case that the actor Johnny Depp filed against his ex-wife Amber Heard transfixed the nation, offering a rare instance of high-profile #MeToo charges and countercharges, including lurid accusations of physical abuse, being hashed out in the public spotlight of a courtroom. On Wednesday, the seven-person jury in Fairfax, Va., found that Mr. Depp had been defamed by Ms. Heard when she described herself in a 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post as a public figure representing domestic abuse. Mr. Depp was awarded more than $10 million in damages. During the trial Mr. Depp had fiercely denied Ms. Heards accusations that he had subjected her to repeated physical abuse that included punching and head-butting and several instances of sexual assault. In a statement after the verdict Mr. Depp thanked the jury, saying that it gave me my life back. Ms. Heard, who was in the courtroom as the verdict was read, said in a statement afterward that she was disappointed beyond words by their finding. Annie is the only person who knows how that happened, said Joemie Tapaungai, the assistant studio manager at Kinngait. Other artists spoke to me of their battles with alcoholism and a sons suicide. One talked about his two years in federal prison for alcohol-related violence. Still another placed her children in foster care and fled an abusive husband. Such travails unfold within the context of a broader historical trauma the forced relocations of many Indigenous people beginning in the early 1900s by the government and religious missionaries. Segregated in settlements like Kinngait, the Inuit were separated from nomadic traditions, making them dependent on a cash economy. The coerced placement and abuse of Indigenous children in Canadas residential schools was the subject of Pope Franciss recent reconciliation discussions with Inuit, Metis and First Nation delegations. His apology came a year after hundreds of children's remains were found on the grounds of Catholic schools. The reverberations of forced assimilation persist in suicide rates for Inuitthat are nine times higher than the non-Indigenous rate; in stubborn poverty (according to census data, Nunavut Inuit median income is less than a quarter of that of non-Aboriginal people who live there), in high rates of tuberculosis, and in severely overcrowded housing that heightens the potential for stress and violence. The nearest major medical center is 1,300 miles away. The cost of basic staples has made food insecurity rampant; as a result, hunting is still prized. (What do you call a vegetarian in Nunavut? Tapaungai quipped. A bad hunter.) Art can be a countervailing force. The ancestral knowledge and spiritual power embedded in Inuit art survives it is a mark of cultural resilience, said the Inuk art historian Heather Igloliorte. Its not just an economic driver, said Jesse Mike, director of social and cultural development for Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., which represents 30,000 Inuit. It helps us stay grounded to our stories and traditions and other things we miss in our lives. The L.G.B.T.Q. community and its allies will celebrate Pride across the New York region this June on city streets and in parks, theaters, museums and clubs in other words, events are almost back to normal this year. Venues might still require masks and proof of vaccination, and its not a bad idea to check websites ahead of time in case events change because of rising Covid rates. With rainbow-festooned floats manned by go-go dancers, dance-the-night-away music festivals and know-your-history movie nights, heres a selection of events and festivities to celebrate Pride as it was meant to be: openly. Marches and Festivals This year, New York Citys Pride programming returns to a fully in-person lineup for the first time since the pandemic began. On June 26, the march starts at noon at 25th Street and 5th Ave. and makes its way past the Stonewall National Monument and the New York City AIDS Memorial before finishing in Chelsea at 16th Street and 7th Ave. This year several Marvel heroes are turning 60: While the Hulk (March) may be incredible, Thor (this month) mighty and Iron Man (December) invincible, the amazing Spider-Man was one of the first Marvel heroes to seep into the publics consciousness. Spidey, as he is popularly known, made his comic book debut on June 5, 1962, and his story was quickly spun into cartoons and live-action television. Before he became a movie-franchise fixture, he was in segments of The Electric Company and had his own prime-time series, 1977-79, starring Nicholas Hammond. The wallcrawler has even inspired a somewhat troubled Broadway musical. In honor of his 60th birthday, I lit a spider-signal on social media, asking fans to recommend their favorite stories. Dan Slott, who wrote Spider-Man for 10 years, playfully recommended one of his own: They should start with Superior Spider-Man and stop right before Peter gets his body back. The End. More cotton candy than balanced meal, the movies, based on the megaselling vampire romance novels by Stephenie Meyer, made careers, including those of Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. They also gave Birmingham his steadiest gig to that point. Most important to Birmingham, it made people happy. Those movies give a lot of joy to a lot of people, he said. I know theres some debate about whether the books are real literature. But if it speaks to people and it speaks to their heart and if it gives them some kind of joy or maybe escapism, then gosh, I think thats such a great gift for any artist to give their audience. Fast forward a few years. Birmingham is reading a script so good he can barely believe it. The writer has no shortage of confidence. The role is a droll Native American Texas Ranger named Alberto Parker, on the trail of a couple of bank robbers with his partner. The director, David Mackenzie, fights for Birmingham, and he gets the part, playing alongside Jeff Bridges in Hell or High Water (2016). The screenwriter, Taylor Sheridan, is floored. I didnt know who you were before, Birmingham recalled Sheridan saying. But after seeing your work, youll never have to audition for me again. (Sheridan was unavailable to comment for this article.) And Sheridan was already cooking up a pet project, a TV series about a stubborn Montana rancher fighting to defend his land from encroaching modernity. Thats how Birmingham got the role of Thomas Rainwater on Yellowstone, the most watched show on cable. Ivy League educated, schooled in realpolitik, Rainwater is a thoroughly modern Indigenous character. He is also the savviest adversary of Kevin Costners rancher, John Dutton. Even as they do battle, they share a grudging, mutual respect. Russia pushes to seize the last major city in Luhansk Russian troops edged closer to seizing control of Sievierodonetsk, the last major city in the Luhansk province still in Ukrainian hands, as Russia approaches its goal of seizing Ukraines east. The continuing Russian assault, during which the citys buildings have been pulverized and a majority of its prewar population of 100,000 people have fled, comes as the U.S. and Germany have pledged to transfer more advanced weapons to Ukraine. The U.S. said it would send advanced rocket systems, greatly extending the range of Ukraines artillery, while Germany promised both an air-defense system and a tracking radar to help the Ukrainian army locate sources of Russian heavy artillery. American view: In a guest essay for The Times, President Biden dismissed concerns that Russias leader, Vladimir Putin, could view American military support for Ukraine as a provocation. The bombardment appears to be causing substantial Ukrainian casualties. On a typical recent day, between 50 and 100 Ukrainian troops were killed, President Volodymyr Zelensky recently estimated. Russia has also managed to capture some economically significant areas, including ports and wheat fields. Putin has adopted a strategy that Russia has used for much of its history, combining its vast resources with a high tolerance of casualties to make slow wartime gains. In this war, Putin believes that Ukraines Western allies become weary of the fight long before he feels much pressure to do so. Hes betting on the West to get tired and to get distracted, Anton said. Still, Putin faces many of the same problems that undermined Russias initial invasion, as Helene Coopers story explains. Its military has proved to be an inefficient, top-down organization in which field commanders often must wait for high-level orders. Much of Russias equipment is out of date, and many of its troops are not well trained. They also did not expect to be part of a full-scale war, and the deaths of thousands of their fellow soldiers have further weakened morale. The Russians are attempting to subdue a massive country with a well-organized military that is fighting on its home turf, Helene said. That is a very tall order for an army where you have soldiers on the ground with no clue why they are even in Ukraine. Barriers to peace Ultimately, many analysts believe that Russias military problems will make it very difficult for Putin to control large parts of Ukraine for months or years. Yet Donbas is where he is most likely to find some success. The overall military balance in this war still trends in Ukraines favor, given manpower availability and access to extensive Western military support, Michael Kofman, the director of Russia studies at CNA, a research group, recently wrote. That will show itself more over time. But the local balance in the Donbas during this phase is a different story. On Wednesday, five U.S. senators and three members of the House, including several from Massachusetts, sent letters to various gig companies, criticizing them for what the lawmakers say is their practice of misclassifying employees as independent contractors. The lawmakers are also demanding that the companies release detailed reports describing the dangers that drivers face after a report from Gig Workers Rising, an advocacy group, found that at least 50 have been killed on the job in the last five years. Uber and Lyft have each released reports on assaults and other serious incidents that occurred on their platforms, but the lawmakers, who are asking for a response by June 22, are calling for more details, as well as for companies like DoorDash to do the same. They also wrote that they wanted information about whether the gig companies compensated drivers who were attacked or helped their families with funeral services and other costs. Lawmakers said a lack of safety for drivers and their independent contractor status were related. Drivers are only put at greater risk because they have low pay, low wages, that pushes them to work longer hours and that pushes them to accept more rides, even when they feel unsafe, Representative Ayanna Pressley, Democrat of Massachusetts, said in an interview. In a statement, a DoorDash spokeswoman said the letter made misleading and inaccurate claims. Instacart said it was closely reviewing the letter and would respond. Both companies, as well as Lyft, said they were committed to keeping their drivers safe. Gig companies spent $200 million fighting for their drivers to be classified as independent contractors in California. The conflict started in 2019 when California passed a law requiring companies like Uber and Lyft to treat their drivers as employees. The states attorney general later sued the gig companies to enforce it, and they responded by threatening to leave the state. Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. Half an hour before midnight on March 28, the first artillery shell I ever heard screeched above the tiny roof that sheltered my colleagues and me. Our newly formed team had recently arrived in Huliaipole, a small eastern Ukrainian town, to report from the wars front lines. A little more than a month earlier, in prewar Kyiv, my job looked a lot different and it did not involve air-raid warnings or howitzer shells. It was Wednesday, Feb. 23, the day before the Russian invasion began. I was working as a production coordinator at a company that produced a Ukrainian cartoon series for children called Brave Bunnies. The job promised a type of stability that I was ready to embrace after years of on-and-off freelance work in video production. That day, I was struggling to write an email about an episode in which the brave bunnies meet a koala because nearby my colleagues were discussing the looming Russian presence near our countrys border. Guys, why worry for no reason? one of them said. The news is just feeding communal anxiety. I dont believe this invasion is going to happen. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. The first time I moved to New York, I was an undergraduate, and I tried to make Harlem my home. I had a lot to learn. As a Californian, I thought Chucks were year-round shoes; I wore them even in the snow, letting my toes get stiff on late-night walks from the library or the 116th Street station back to my dorm. By my sophomore year, though, I knew the most important things: where on Malcolm X I could find the shea butter I needed to keep my skin from turning ashy in the winter, the barbershop where I could get a decent fade and the grocery store where I could buy Red Rooster hot sauce. An earnest literature nerd, I was studying at Columbia because I wanted to be a writer, which meant being like the writers I read as a high school student Larsen, Hughes, Hurston. And that meant being in Harlem. So I often found myself at Mintons Playhouse on 118th, or hanging out at to St. Nicholas Park, or soaking up history by osmosis at the Studio Museum. I wanted to become part of Harlems long cultural legacy, and the steady stream of arrivals whod come to New York to transform themselves into who they were destined to be. This past winter, as I faced the prospect of returning to New York after a decade in Californias Bay Area, I knew I wanted Harlem to be my home again. If I was hoping for a return to the charming literary fantasy that sustained me as a college boy, though, I was out of luck. As I began my search for housing, a broker described the rental market as the worst he had witnessed in his long career. The pandemic or at least, the citys patience with fighting it was coming to an end. My housing search pitched me headlong into a frenzied and undignified reality. Competitors greeted me at every open house I went to. Like me, they had trawled StreetEasy and Trulia and Craigslist; like me, they had been tempted by digitally placed furniture and airbrushed interiors, fooled by wide-angle photos of spacious living rooms that turned out to feel like crypts. Some eager people arrived clutching application packets, while others bid up the rent. One Saturday afternoon in March, I walked to see a fifth-floor walk-up, which a broker described as a sizable one bedroom. It left me deflated: The wood floors subtly sloped toward the apartments center, and the bedroom could snugly fit a full-size bed, maybe a small dresser, but nothing else. The bathroom was a closet; I could barely stand in the sole actual closet. When I asked if the dingy walls would be repainted before the unit was rented, the broker, a gangly zoomer in a fur coat, blinked at me. No, thats not something the landlord will do, he said, before pointing out a neighborhood bar that, he promised, served bottomless mimosas at brunch. The man accused of carrying out a racist shooting at a Buffalo supermarket has been indicted by a grand jury on 25 counts, including murder, domestic terrorism and other charges in relation to the May 14 massacre, which left 10 Black residents dead. The suspect, Payton Gendron, 18, was arrested shortly after the shooting had stopped and he had surrendered to the police. He is scheduled to appear on Thursday afternoon in an Erie County court to be arraigned, according to the county district attorney, John J. Flynn. The 25-count indictment includes 10 counts of first-degree murder and 10 counts of second-degree murder charges as hate crimes, as well as three counts of attempted murder as a hate crime and a single count of criminal possession of a weapon. The indictments first count domestic terrorism motivated by hate carries a penalty of life imprisonment without parole; it alleges that Mr. Gendron acted because of the perceived race and/or color of such person or persons injured and killed in the attack. Hong Kong: Monkeypox to be notifiable disease The Government will publish a notice in the gazette next week to include monkeypox as a statutorily notifiable infectious disease and is formulating a preparedness and response plan to keep hazards at bay. Noting that Hong Kong has not recorded any monkeypox human infection cases so far, the Government said human infection cases have been reported worldwide and the World Health Organization (WHO) has reminded governments around the world to be well-prepared. The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) has enhanced surveillance on monkeypox since May. Apart from further communication with the Hospital Authority with regard to notification matters, letters were sent to all doctors and private hospitals in Hong Kong to request notification of suspected cases so as to facilitate epidemiological investigations and isolation in a timely manner. The CHP website has also been updated to provide information on monkeypox. A notice will be gazetted next week to include monkeypox as a statutorily notifiable infectious disease in Schedule 1 of the Prevention & Control of Disease Ordinance and the notice will take effect on the same day. If a doctor has reason to suspect there is a case of a scheduled infectious disease listed in Schedule 1 of the ordinance, the doctor must report it to the Department of Health. Additionally, the Government is drawing up a plan to set out preparation and response arrangements in case of an emergence or even an outbreak of monkeypox cases in Hong Kong. A three-tier response level of Alert, Serious and Emergency, will be activated based on risk assessment and the disease's health impact on the community. The response plan will be promulgated next week. The WHO does not recommend travel restriction measures in light of monkeypox at this stage. As far as Hong Kong is concerned, if patients are found with monkeypox-related symptoms, medical practitioners will carry out appropriate investigations and follow up accordingly. The Government will maintain close contact with the WHO and carefully monitor the monkeypox infection cases recorded overseas and heed the organisation's latest recommendations. The symptoms of monkeypox are similar to those of smallpox but in milder form. It is generally transmitted through direct or indirect contact but not through short-lived contact with respiratory droplets like COVID-19 and patients usually recover on their own. Since May, confirmed and suspected cases of monkeypox have been reported in places such as Europe, America and Australia. There have been no deaths so far. The CHP reminds the public that proper personal and hand hygiene can help prevent getting infected. Smallpox vaccination, commonly known as "cowpox", can prevent infection of monkeypox, it added. People who need to travel to places affected by monkeypox should avoid physical contact with sick people or animals, wear protective clothing and equipment when taking care of sick people or handling animals and wash their hands after these procedures. All animal products must also be thoroughly cooked before being eaten. People with any suspicious symptoms should seek prompt medical advice. This story has been published on: 2022-06-01. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. China's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday firmly rejected a joint statement by the U.S. and New Zealand which expressed concern over China's "influence" in the Pacific region, saying the statement "distorts and smears" the normal cooperation between China and Pacific island countries. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian added that the statement also touched on Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong issues, which is a gross interfere in China's internal affairs. The statement, issued by U.S. President Joe Biden and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern after their meeting at the White House on Tuesday, noted the two sides' "concerns" over a framework agreement on security cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands. "The security cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands is not aimed at any third party, nor does it intend to establish any military bases," Zhao told reporters at a regular press briefing, slamming Washington's widespread military bases across the world. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi is currently on a 10-day visit to the Pacific region, where he proposed "four-pronged adherence" to develop ties with the countries there. Wang called for treating each other equally, maintaining mutual respect, achieving win-win cooperation and embracing openness and inclusiveness when he met the press in Honiara, Solomon Islands, on Friday. On Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong-related matters, Zhao reiterated that they are all "purely China's internal matters," and China won't tolerate the interference of any country or foreign forces. The spokesperson urged Washington to abandon "Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice," while calling on New Zealand to pursue an independent foreign policy and do more to preserve regional peace and stability. The settlement which also involves changes like designating single-stall restrooms at the bus terminal as gender neutral would help ensure such issues do not resurface, the lawyers said. The agency said in a statement on Wednesday that for the last few years, officers had stopped plainclothes patrols for public lewdness in the bus terminals restrooms, and that it was committed to maintaining high standards for its employees. The agencys police force, with more than 2,200 uniformed members, has been the subject of numerous suits over L.G.B.T.Q. issues. Last summer, a transgender officer sued the agency, accusing co-workers of referring to him as it, deliberately calling him by his former name and making other offensive remarks. The suit is ongoing. In 2005, a jury in a federal case found that officers regularly led sweeps for lewdness without regard to probable cause at a Lower Manhattan PATH station. Lawyers said few changes were instituted afterward. Now, the agency has agreed that it would only restart plainclothes policing for public lewdness with the approval of senior officials. In Mr. Mejias case, an officer claimed that he tried to initiate an encounter with another man. Mr. Mejia said that he thought officers might have targeted him because of the jewelry he was wearing that day a gold necklace and a pendant. Another plaintiff, Cornell Holden, 35, was arrested two months earlier, also at a Port Authority bathroom for public lewdness, charges which were later dismissed. He said that he overheard the officer who arrested him call a colleague the man who Mr. Holden said was standing next to him at a urinal the gay whisperer. Others have reported similar experiences, including one man who had been in a 10-year relationship when he said he was falsely accused. He recalled an officer remarking you gay people as he was arrested and said that the experience led to a decline in his mental health. With the number of shootings in New York City still at heightened levels, Mayor Eric Adams is expected to appoint a gun violence czar just as the summers traditional spike in firearm-related violence looms. The Adams administration has also considered declaring a state of emergency related to the surge in gun violence, according to internal materials reviewed by The New York Times. Since taking office in January, Mr. Adams a former police captain who was elected on the premise that he could crack down on crime has assigned more police officers to the subway system while also reviving an anti-gun unit that the previous police commissioner abolished after it was repeatedly implicated in abuses. The mayor has also said he would name a staff member with a focus on fighting gun violence at every city agency, and has experimented with technology that can find guns without the use of a metal detector. Deflated, Father Frank Tumino stepped into the pulpit at St. Francis Xavier Church in Brooklyn on Tuesday morning. Six blocks away, St. Augustines, the other church where he serves as pastor, was closed and cordoned off with police tape. At its center was a literal and figurative hole. This is just one more blow, Father Tumino said after presiding over Mass. He was referring to the theft of St. Augustines tabernacle, a $2 million gold treasure that was separated from its 19th-century foundation last week with a power saw before presumably vanishing into the murky underground of stolen artifacts. The ornate tabernacle box that held the eucharist the consecrated wafers that the faithful believe embody Jesus Christ disappeared from the Park Slope churchs sanctuary sometime between last Thursday evening and Saturday afternoon, the police said. The church, which was under construction at the time, had security cameras, but they were not working, the police said. Regardless, Father Tumino said, whoever stole the tabernacle thought to grab the digital recorder on which the videos would have been stored. Heres what he told me about how he and his fellow reporters tracked down the mens families and a key survivor, and why: First, our colleague Annie Correal, and then Karen, did all they could to learn about Marco Martinez, 18, whose death, from being crushed in a mechanical lift, was only reported in his home country, Ecuador. That meant knocking on doors, finding a friend of the family, an aborted Gofundme page, and finally the family, whod spent their savings to smuggle him north. We were lucky to have resources to send Daniele Volpe, a photojournalist, to stay with the family in Gunag, their village in Ecuador, to document their daily life and ask questions about Marco. They also located a roommate of Mauricio Sanchez, 41, a foreman who died in the elevator crash, found his brothers name and eventually talked to his mother in Mexico. Karen went to the mens shelter where Michael Daves had lived until he died after falling through a hole. And through court papers they found his mother. But our real guide, our Virgil through this world, was Yonin Pineda. I reached out through his lawyer, and we had three long interviews. Hes the one who told us details like Sanchez playing the guitar. He, too, was undocumented and knew what it meant to work a nonunion job and maybe feel that very present, lingering sense of vulnerability and not being completely comfortable with where you are, being taken advantage of as a worker. And he puts you in that freaking elevator. Whats that like? The horror of an elevator collapse. The nightmarish feel of what it might be like. You want the reader in that elevator. Weather Temps will be near the high 60s, with a chance of showers and thunderstorms persisting throughout the day and night. In the evening, temperatures remain steady in the low 60s. Coming of age in the 1970s and 80s, a kid took in a fair number of public service messages. Smokey Bear warned that only you could help prevent forest fires (if only this were entirely true). An actor dressed up as a Native American shed a single tear to get people to stop littering (or at least feel guilty when they did). The crash-test dummies made anyone bypassing a seatbelt look like a moron. Later campaigns against smoking, like the one featuring the singing cowboy, terrified many teenagers out of lighting their first cigarette. Obviously, not everyone transformed into responsible citizens while imbibing these messages between doses of Sugar Pops and Scooby-Doo. If nothing else, Schoolhouse Rock, which similarly set forth principles around when to dump tea and reject kings, let us know that real change often required the passage of laws, and thats not easy, as the oft-demoralized hero of Im Just a Bill was known to wail. But simple messages stick, and when done well particularly when lives are at stake have proved highly effective. Heres how to start changing peoples minds about guns. The disquieting fact remains that a staggering number of Americans clearly want even love to own guns: Not only does this country have more guns than people, but also over the past 30 years, Americans have grown less supportive of stricter gun laws. Astonishingly, in 1959, 60 percent of Americans favored a ban on handguns except those used by police officers and other authorized people; today that figure is 19 percent. The tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, points once again to the senselessness of this love affair. Unfortunately, the most needed and most effective measures repealing the Second Amendment, getting the Supreme Court to apply its supposed strict constructionism to the phrase well regulated militia, state laws regulating production and sales have been stymied. This is the fundamental weakness of every organization run as a cult of personality: The dear leader cant be everywhere or make every decision but often fails to provide the clear code of values that allows managers to independently shape their decisions around common goals. When the success of the company is tied to one mans whims, you get bizarre phenomena like managers deciding whether or not to take issues to Mr. Musk based on the shade of blond of his wifes hair that day (with platinum shades being correlated with better moods). When the boss happens to run tunneling, rocket and brain-implant companies in addition to a high-profile car company, even the most brilliant minds will occasionally be too disconnected from the realities of the decisions that they must make. After the collapses of Theranos and WeWork companies with similarly confident founders who insisted that they would achieve their soaring ambitions if given more time and money Mr. Musks reliance on hype is especially jarring. Indeed, the main difference between Mr. Musk and Silicon Valleys fallen heroes is that he has been able to deliver on some promises: Tesla does make cars, and SpaceX does land rockets. But as a number of old promises like fully self-driving cars appear to be more aspirational and less plausible, the distinction between him and those fallen heroes is starting to lose its meaning. His long list of unfulfilled commitments a fully solar-powered electric vehicle charging network, a fully automated manufacturing system, an autonomous minibus and even a rocket-powered flying car wildly exceed his achievements. By moving to buy Twitter, Mr. Musk has not only added another distraction to his long list but has also already shown the same drive to announce sweeping decisions in public. While he had some success in realizing user features at Tesla, his contradictory goals of increasing algorithmic transparency and eliminating spam bots on Twitter are the most obvious sign that he intends to impose his will on the service without drawing on the expertise of workers who have been wrestling with Twitters thorniest challenges. Ultimately Mr. Musks goals for Twitter, as they are for Tesla, are not about making the right decisions for his companies or the people who make them possible. They are about playing to the crowd and burnishing the legend that keeps fresh bodies and minds moving through the businesses that chew them up and spit them out. Now if Twitter falls into his control, Mr. Musk will have seized the means of making the product he has always cared about most: his own myth making. There are so many reasons that teachers and children should not be asked to bear this burden, but the bottom line is that it shouldnt be dangerous to go to school in America. Legislators, Americans, fix this! Turn the world right side up again so that my child doesnt have to worry about his mom being killed in the line of duty. Katherine Ulanowsky Brooklyn To the Editor: I was an armorer in Vietnam, so I had to be expert in the use and repair of all of the weapons used by my company. Later, I was a classroom teacher and a school administrator for more than 30 years. I can assure you that even with my experience in a war and all of those years in the schools, I would not have been ready for a gunman bursting through my classroom door firing an AR-15 not even if I were packing a locked and loaded handgun on my hip. At the N.R.A. annual convention, Donald Trump trotted out the tired N.R.A. talking point that armed teachers would be the best defense for a classroom. This, of course, is absurd on the face of it. Mr. Trump and those who spout the same nonsense would like us to imagine that a fourth-grade teacher in Texas would have taken out the gunman. He and all of the other pro-gun politicians absolutely know that this is an insidious lie. Richard Young Minneapolis To the Editor: I taught for 22 years, experiencing several lockdowns a year, and I can tell you that there is nothing scarier than being in a locked classroom with 30 kids huddled in a back corner and having no way to protect yourself or them. When a hospital patient dies unnecessarily, standard procedure is to search for the point of failure. In the 2017 death of 75-year-old Charlene Murphey, that point of failure was identified as RaDonda Vaught, the nurse who injected Murphey with a fatal dose of vecuronium bromide, a muscle relaxant, instead of Versed, a sedative, while Murphey was at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for a brain injury. Prosecutors found that Vaught overrode a computer system when she couldnt find Versed and instead chose the first medication on the list beginning with V-E, then ignored the red cap on the vecuronium bromide that states Warning: Paralyzing Agent. She told investigators later that she had been distracted with something. She was sentenced on May 13 to three years probation. But the serious problem of medical accidents in the United States and other countries goes far beyond errors by individuals, be they nurses, technicians or doctors. If deaths occurred only in cases of egregious misbehavior, they would be rare. In fact, deaths during treatment are distressingly common. Hundreds of thousands of people may die annually partly as a result of medical error, according to some estimates. (That equals the loss of lives from several large passenger jets crashing every day.) To save lives, hospitals and their regulators need to stop focusing on single points of failure. A potential solution can be found, surprisingly, in the engineering department at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Nancy Leveson, a professor there, says hospitals ought to use systems thinking, or analyzing how accidents may come about from unforeseen interactions that emerge within a complex system. I featured Levesons work in a newsletter last year. She emailed me after the verdict in the Murphey case to alert me to research by another scholar, Elizabeth White Baker, in which Baker proposes a better way for hospitals to detect and prevent errors in the administration of medications. Baker is an associate professor of information systems in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business who studied in Levesons lab and wrote a thesis on her findings. We have a decent sense of what those policies might be. The people drawn to this kind of terrorism are overwhelmingly of a type young, troubled, socially awkward men. They are not necessarily gun experts, prepared to retrofit any weapon they acquire for maximal lethality, nor are they necessarily experts at navigating black markets to acquire weapons they cant get legally. And they often expose their instability and intentions in advance. Yes, some will overcome all obstacles or strike without warning. But many others, including those like the Uvalde shooter, seem potentially deterrable at the point of weapons acquisition. As the University of Alabama criminologist Adam Lankford put it, in a recent interview with The Dispatch, If you make buying a firearm more difficult for people who find it difficult to do anything socially, that makes a difference. Those difference-making difficulties could be imposed via restrictions that target age and weapon type at once. Or they could be imposed through laws encouraging pre-emptive action by parties who might see the threat coming in advance. Age requirements for the purchase of AR-15s and other semiautomatic rifles fall into the first category; red-flag laws, which enable interventions that temporarily strip dangerous-seeming people of their guns, are the best example of the second approach. Im open to both options, but my current policy preference is slightly different. I worry that red-flag laws demand too much of bystanders and family members, while offering too little in cases where the potential shooter has cut himself off from normal contact. Im not sure an age limit of 21 covers enough of the young male danger zone, and I also understand the objections of gun rights advocates to a system that demands that a 20-year-old enroll himself for potential military service but refuses him adult rights of self-defense. So I would like to see experiments with age-based impediments rather than full restrictions allowing would-be gun purchasers 25 and under the same rights of ownership as 40- or 60-year-olds, but with more substantial screenings before a purchase. Not just a criminal-background check, in other words, but some kind of basic social or psychological screening, combining a mental-health check, a social-media audit and testimonials from two competent adults all subject to the same appeals process as a well-designed red-flag law. This is an alteration and refinement of an earlier suggestion I floated following the Parkland shooting, which would have staggered the age at which various guns become available for legal purchase. Of course it generates its own set of objections, practical and constitutional; every potential gun regulation does. And if you fear our government enough, there will always be a reason to imagine that to yield anything is to yield everything that todays screening for early-20-something gun owners will become tomorrows tacit ban on conservatives buying guns, to pick the most obvious possible response. But thats a counsel of futility for responding to almost any threat, as long as our politics are polarized and trust in government stays low. And Im not interested in futility, any more than Im interested in the forms of right-wing overreaction or left-wing fantasy politics criticized above. New Havens upswing is not citywide. Blighted blocks endure in neighborhoods like Dixwell and Dwight. But some of the citys less affluent areas are also improving. Its better here, by buckets, said Monika Mittelholzer, 61, a seven-year resident of Newhallville, a working-class enclave. One reason is that renters, including low-income ones, are taking advantage of programs designed to help them buy, said Ms. Mittelholzer, an immigrant from Guyana who works as an administrative assistant at Yales medical school and lives with her sister, Sonja, 54. Home for her is a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath house that she bought for $140,000 in 2015 from Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven, a nonprofit that rehabs and sells distressed properties at low prices to buyers with qualifying incomes. The group, which has turned around some 300 houses since 1979, can seem to be reshaping whole blocks. It restored eight houses on Ms. Mittelholzers section of Lilac Street alone. But Yale also helped Ms. Mittelholzer with her down payment and mortgage through its Homebuyer Program, which typically offers employees $30,000 to buy in struggling areas. Since 1994, 1,370 properties have benefited, said Karen Peart, a Yale spokeswoman. In 2002, when Ms. Mittelholzer moved to the area, I thought New Haven was depressed, she said. But its coming up. When we have this message that you need to be back at work in six weeks, and we arent offering you anything to acknowledge the new demands on you or what youve been through, its dispiriting, Dr. Monk said. This is sending the message that we see what you just did, we see what youve been through, and we know this is a huge transition. Melina Hope was a patient care associate at Lenox Hill Hospital before becoming a nursing assistant at Boram; she said the entire staff tries to create that kind of support for new moms. I saw my goal as filling in for the village to support moms in the vulnerable postnatal period. Ms. Hope, who is 43 and lives in North Bergen, N.J., said when she worked at a hospital mothers would primarily get medical care, and if they had no complications, they would go home after one or two days with a lot of unanswered questions. At Boram she can spend one-on-one time with the moms and really help them. The difference between how they came in when they arrived and how rested and confident they were when they went home, she said, is remarkable. With his twin notes, Mr. Musk waded directly into a fractious debate over the right way for corporations to bring workers back to the office during the coronavirus pandemic. Over the past couple of years, Apple, Meta, Microsoft and many other companies have announced and then delayed return-to-office dates as coronavirus surges have complicated plans. Remote work has become normalized. The issue has become more fraught as coronavirus vaccinations have increased and an abatement of the pandemic seemed to be near. Some companies began saying they expected workers to return to the office. Still, plans have continued to fluctuate. Apple last month suspended its requirement that employees return to the office in May for at least three days a week because of a resurgence of Covid-19 cases. Airbnb recently told its employees that they never had to return to the office. Mr. Musk, Tesla and SpaceX did not return requests for comment. Many employees at Tesla and SpaceX had already been back in the office to some extent. In 2020, as nonessential workplaces in California closed their doors during the early days of the pandemic, SpaceXs headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., used its exemption as a government contractor to remain open. In a March 2020 email, which was earlier reported by BuzzFeed News, Mr. Musk told SpaceX employees that they had a higher risk of being killed in a car crash than dying from the coronavirus. In May 2020, Mr. Musk also attacked local officials in the San Francisco Bay Area for not letting him reopen Teslas factory in Fremont, Calif. Tesla sued Alameda County, where the factory is situated, and reopened it anyway, in defiance of health officials instructions. The fact that this act of barbarism, this execution of innocent human beings, could be livestreamed on social media platforms and not taken down within a second says to me that there is a responsibility out there, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York said after the shooting in Buffalo. Four days later the states attorney general, Letitia James, announced that she had begun an investigation into the role the platforms played. Facebook pointed to its rules and policies that prohibit hateful content. In a statement, a spokeswoman said the platform detects over 96 percent of content tied to hate organizations before it is reported. Twitter declined to comment. Some of the social media posts on Facebook, Twitter and Reddit that The New York Times identified through reverse image searches were deleted; some of the accounts that shared the images were suspended. The man charged in the killings, Payton Gendron, 18, detailed his attack on Discord, a chat app that emerged from the video game world in 2015, and streamed it live on Twitch, which Amazon owns. The company managed to take down his video within two minutes, but many of the sources of disinformation he cited remain online even now. His paper trail provides a chilling glimpse into how he prepared a deadly assault online, culling tips on weaponry and tactics and finding inspiration in fellow racists and previous attacks that he largely mimicked with his own. Altogether, the content formed a twisted and racist view of reality. The gunman considered the ideas to be an alternative to mainstream views. How does one prevent a shooter like me you ask? he wrote on Discord in April, more than a month before the shooting. The only way is to prevent them from learning the truth. His writings map in detail the websites that motivated him. Much of the information he cobbled together in his writings involved links or images he had cherry-picked to match his racist views, reflecting the kind of online life he lived. By his own account, the young mans radicalization began not long after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, when he was largely restricted to his home like millions of other Americans. He described getting his news mostly from Reddit before joining 4chan, the online message board. He followed topics on guns and the outdoors before finding another devoted to politics, ultimately settling in a place that allowed a toxic melange of racist and extremist disinformation. The Supreme Court handed social media companies a win on Tuesday by blocking, for now, a Texas law that would have banned large apps including Facebook and Twitter from weeding out messages based on the views they expressed. But the issue may return to the court, and at least three justices seem open to considering a question that could fundamentally change social media as we know it: Do sites like Facebook have a First Amendment right to allow some material and not others, or an obligation to distribute almost anything? The justices interest shows that were all still figuring out how to deal with a handful of social media companies having enormous influence over public conversation. Few people are happy about this reality, but its not clear what to do about it. Let me lay out how we got here: What the First Amendment says: The First Amendment restricts government censorship, but it doesnt apply to decisions made by businesses. CHESTERFIELD, Mo. Robert Mark Kamen was through with The Karate Kid, his semi-autobiographical 1984 martial arts film that spawned a string of movies, an animated program and the hit Netflix series Cobra Kai, until he saw Hadestown in 2019. Thats when he realized: He loved musicals. When you watch a movie, the camera is limited to one dimension, Kamen, 74, said in early May during a break from rehearsals for The Karate Kid The Musical, which is debuting at the new $25 million STAGES St. Louis Kirkwood Performing Arts Center just outside St. Louis. With this thing, you can have three dimensions, people doing something [pointing] here, here, here, going up and down, around and around, all at the same time. It opened up so many possibilities. This spring, the Icelandic airline Play began flying between the United States and Iceland. Service has already started between Baltimore and Boston to Reykjavik, with continued flights to Dublin, Prague and nearly two dozen European cities. Flights to and from New York Stewart International Airport, an hours drive from Manhattan in New Windsor, N.Y., are expected to start this month. If you want to check out how much baggage fees or seat assignments might cost or even pay for your ticket youll need to register for an account with an email address. Other new international carriers include Zipair, a Tokyo-based airline offering daily nonstop flights to Tokyo from Los Angeles and Honolulu (once daily after July 16). But unlike many other low-cost carriers, Zipair has a separate business class cabin on its Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet with lie-flat seats. These seats can start as low as $900 one-way, compared to the business-class tickets on established carriers that can easily top $3,000 each way. And Arajet, a low-cost carrier in the Dominican Republic, plans to begin operations in July with a fleet of Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets. With a base in Santo Domingo, the airline expects to serve destinations in the United States, Brazil and Colombia, but a route map has not yet been announced. New domestic options throughout the country Avelo Airlines began service last April, with nonstop flights to more than 30 U.S. destinations from hubs in Burbank, Calif., New Haven, Conn., and Orlando. As with many other low-cost carriers, Avelos flights are not scheduled daily. Tickets on its newest routes, including Baltimore to Orlando and Burbank to Denver, start at $29 each way. Breeze Airways, founded by the former chief executive of JetBlue, David Neeleman, began operations in May 2021. The Utah-based airline serves more than 30 U.S. destinations, including airports in Westchester County in New York, Louisville, Ky., and Charleston, S.C., and stresses its point-to-point single-route system instead of the traditional hub-and-spoke model as a traveler benefit. In May, the airline also announced that it would begin nonstop service between Jacksonville, Fla., and eight cities, including New Orleans and Las Vegas. Fares start at $49 each way. If youre accustomed to calling customer service to purchase, change or cancel flights, youre out of luck; the airline only responds to requests by email, text or through Facebook. Aha! which stands for air, hotel and adventure is a brand operated by the regional airline ExpressJet Airlines. It offers nonstop flights from its Reno, Nev., hub to 10 West Coast destinations, including Palm Springs, Calif., and Spokane, Wash. Need a refresher? Here are answers to some questions about voting in California: How do I get a ballot? Should I already have received one? One major way that California has made it easier to vote is by sending a ballot to every active, registered voter. And yes, you should have gotten your ballot in the mail by now. You can track it online through the states Wheres My Ballot? system, which will let you know by email if it was sent or delivered, and then when its received and counted. If you havent gotten one (or you cant find it), you can vote in person at a polling place or vote center. In many counties, at least one polling place will be open early. Click here to look up places to vote near you. If youre not sure if youre registered to vote, you can check your voter registration here. If youre not yet registered, no problem: You can register to vote as late as Tuesday at your county elections office, your local polling place or a vote center. Your ballot will be provisional, but once your registration goes through, your vote will be counted like any other. Where can I drop off my ballot? You can drop off your ballot at any polling place, vote center, county elections office or official ballot drop box. Or you can mail it. When is the last day to vote? Tuesday is the last day to vote or drop off your ballot, and polls close at 8 p.m. If you mail your ballot, it will be counted as long as it arrives at your county elections office no more than a week after Election Day. (So if youre mailing your ballot, you may want to do so a couple days early, just to be safe.) A California woman who repeatedly punched a Southwest Airlines flight attendant last year, bloodying her face and chipping three of her teeth, was sentenced on Friday to 15 months in federal prison, prosecutors said. The woman, Vyvianna M. Quinonez, 29, of Sacramento, will also have to pay nearly $26,000 in restitution and a $7,500 fine, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of California. A video of the attack, which occurred in May 2021, was widely viewed on social media. Judge Todd W. Robinson of United States District Court also ordered Ms. Quinonez to be on supervised release for three years after completing her sentence, during which she will be barred from flying on any commercial aircraft. The assault came amid a surge of unruly and violent behavior by passengers who shoved, struck and yelled at flight attendants. Within days of the attack, two major airlines, American and Southwest, postponed plans to begin serving alcohol again on flights, in an effort to stop the behavior. Both airlines have since resumed alcohol sales. WASHINGTON The nationwide shortage of baby formula is getting worse, with an increasing number of retailers and online sellers posting out-of-stock notices even as President Biden met on Wednesday with executives of five baby food companies, and announced new shipments of formula from Europe to help restock American shelves. Baby formula has been in short supply across the United States for weeks, the result of the shutdown in February of the leading infant formula manufacturing plant, operated by Abbott Laboratories, because of contamination concerns. Last month, the president invoked the Defense Production Act to help other manufacturers, and promised to use the military to speed up imports of formula from around the world. But despite those efforts, shortages have only gotten worse. And on Wednesday, Mr. Biden said he had not been aware of the shortage of formula until April, raising new questions about why the White House waited almost two months before taking aggressive actions to address it. Mr. Bidens comments were in stark contrast to those from company executives, who told the president that they knew a crisis was in the making from the moment the Abbott plant closed. David C. MacMichael, an intelligence analyst who resigned from the C.I.A. in 1983 to go public with evidence that the Reagan administration was preparing to launch a coup against the government in Nicaragua, a revelation that would in part lead to what is known as the Iran-Contra Affair, died on May 16 at his home in Front Royal, Va. He was 95. His daughter Alicia Williamson confirmed the death. A history professor turned contract analyst for the C.I.A., Dr. MacMichael was one of the agencys leading experts on Latin America at a time, in the early 1980s, when fears were rising over the Soviet Unions support for left-wing governments in the region. Of particular concern was Nicaragua, where the Sandinistas, a socialist movement, had taken power in 1980. The Carter administration initially provided aid to the new government, but suspended it after evidence emerged that the Sandinistas were funneling Soviet weapons to rebels in El Salvador. When Ronald Reagan took office in 1981, he maintained that the Sandinistas would destabilize the region, and immediately began pushing for aid to right-wing rebels known as the contras. The provisional order from the Supreme Court came after a Republican judicial candidate in Lehigh County submitted an emergency application on Friday, asking Justice Alito to halt a recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that allowed undated ballots to be counted. Mr. McCormick, a former hedge fund executive who was trailing by less than 0.1 percent against Dr. Oz, the Trump-backed celebrity physician, had placed an emphasis on the Lehigh County ruling in his lawsuit. Oral arguments in the McCormick lawsuit took place on Tuesday, hours before Justice Alito issued the administrative stay. Jess Szymanski, a spokeswoman for Mr. McCormicks campaign, said that Justice Alitos temporary stay did not have a bearing on the proceedings in Mr. McCormicks lawsuit. Mr. McCormick wants Pennsylvanias 67 counties to accept mail-in ballots from voters who turned them in by the May 17 deadline but did not write the date on the outer return envelopes. That step is required by a state law, one that Republicans have fought to preserve. In the Lehigh County case, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Philadelphia, ruled that the handwritten date requirement ran afoul of a provision of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. The provision prohibits government officials from denying the right to vote because of an error or omission if it is not material in determining whether such individual is qualified under state law to vote. After Representative Young Kim, a Republican, flipped an Orange County House seat in 2020, she was hailed as one of the new faces of the Republican Party: a 58-year-old Korean American politician who was able to win a seat even as Joe Biden carried the district at the top of the ticket. After redistricting, the seat was drawn even more in her favor in 2022. Instead of having a Democratic tilt, analysts say, it now favors Republicans and seemingly Kim. And yet an expensive rescue mission on Kims behalf has been not so quietly underway in recent weeks ahead of Californias June 7 primary, which was supposed to have been a cakewalk for the incumbent Republican. Why? Because those favorable redrawn district lines, with nearly 80 percent of voters in the district new to Kim, mean that lots of voters know little about her and a Trump-style Republican is running to her right. The result has been about $1 million in Republican television ads during what was supposed to be a sleepy primary. The situation prompted Don McLaughlin, the mayor of Uvalde and a staunch conservative, to request a Justice Department investigation over the weekend, and led a statewide law enforcement union to issue a statement supporting that inquiry, in part, because sources that Texans once saw as ironclad and completely reliable have now been proven false. The reference was to the governor and the head of the state police, according to a spokeswoman for the union, the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas. Mr. McCraws agency, the Texas Department of Public Safety, oversees both the state police and the Texas Rangers, and it had been leading the investigation into the shooting and the response by the police until the Justice Department stepped in with its own review. On Wednesday, a spokesman for the state police, Travis Considine, referred questions to the local district attorneys office and said that going forward the department would not be providing updates on the investigation. The district attorney, Christina M. Busbee, did not respond to requests for an interview. State police officials have been forced to amend portions of their timeline of events several times, including last week when it became clear that a school district police officer had not confronted the gunman before he entered the school. They did so again on Tuesday, when the department said that the gunman did not enter through a door that was being propped open. Instead, the closed door had not been locked. After examining video evidence we were able to conclude that after propping the door open with a rock, the teacher ran back inside when she saw the shooter, and removed the rock and the door shut, Mr. Considine said. Investigators are now looking at why the door did not lock properly when it was shut. The Justice Department announced its investigation on Sunday and has said that the inquiry would result in its own report on what took place at Robb Elementary School. Coronavirus infections surged in South Africa in recent months despite research suggesting that about 98 percent of the population had some antibodies from vaccination, previous infection, or both. The study, released last Thursday but not yet peer reviewed, analyzed the prevalence of two types of antibodies in 3,395 blood donors collected mid-March across the country in order to estimate prevalence at the national level. It found that by that time, about 87 percent of the population had likely been infected with the coronavirus. About 11 percent had antibodies that, according to the studys authors, suggest that a person had been vaccinated but not recently infected. But though the vast majority of the South African population had antibodies against the virus, many still became infected in the latest virus wave, which began in April and was driven by BA.4 and BA.5, new subvariants of Omicron. KATHMANDU, Nepal For two years, the Indian climber was banned from mountaineering in Nepal, accused of faking a summit of Mount Everest by doctoring photos of his ascent. A steep fall followed: A major award was revoked hours before he was to receive it from Indias president. People in his home village, he said, called him a fraud. Now, the climber, Narender Singh Yadav, has found redemption. On Wednesday, five days after he scaled Everest documenting it with dozens of photos and videos taken from various angles, as well as testimony from Sherpas he was handed a certificate by the authorities in Kathmandu, Nepals capital, attesting to his achievement. Mr. Yadav, 26, said he reached the peak of the worlds highest mountain early on Friday, just a few days after the end of his ban a six-year prohibition, applied retroactively to his disputed climb in 2016. As the news spread, people offered sweets to each other in the northern Indian state of Haryana, where he lives with his parents. This time I summited in six days, without acclimatization, Mr. Yadav, who maintains he did not fake his previous climb, said in an interview. It was to show to all the people who defamed me. I have suffered a lot. SEOUL President Yoon Suk-yeols governing party won 12 of the 17 races for big-city mayors and provincial governors in local elections held in South Korea on Wednesday, further expanding Mr. Yoons conservative influence less than three months after he won the presidential election. The results on Wednesday were a decisive victory for Mr. Yoon, who won the presidential race by a razor-thin margin in March and was inaugurated just three weeks ago. Although this weeks elections were only held at the local level, the results were seen as an early referendum on Mr. Yoons performance as leader. Oh Se-hoon, of Mr. Yoons People Power Party, or P.P.P., won the mayoral race in Seoul, the capital. The P.P.P. also won 11 other elections for mayors and governors, including mayor of Busan, the countrys second-largest city after Seoul. (Both the mayor of Busan and the mayor of Seoul were incumbents elected during last years by-elections.) The opposition Democratic Party won five races, three of them in Jeolla in the southwest, which is its perennial support base. Its candidates also won the governors races in the southern island of Jeju and in Gyeonggi-do, a populous province that surrounds Seoul. LAKE ROTOMA, New Zealand A riot of native plant life once covered the shallows of Lake Rotoma, one of the many bodies of water that speckle New Zealands upper North Island. At night, mottled green crayfish scuttled from the deep to graze beneath the fronds in such plentiful numbers that the local Maori tribe could gather a meal in a few minutes of wading. These days, the lake bed is carpeted by an alien canopy. Sharply spiraled weeds, introduced by goldfish owners dumping unwanted tanks, form an impenetrable wall around the lakes edge. Unable to push through it on their daily commute, the crayfish largely vanished. Now, the local tribe, Te Arawa, and conservation agencies are racing to suppress the weeds explosive growth as it chokes once-pristine aquatic ecosystems. At Lake Rotoma, the tribe found a surprising solution in a centuries-old tool and added to a pitched debate about how ancestral Maori knowledge can complement conventional science. BRUSSELS In a major concession to the Polish government, the European Unions executive arm on Wednesday opened the door for the disbursement of billions of dollars in aid to Poland that had been blocked during a standoff over judicial independence in the country. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said the executive body had endorsed a Polish plan to address concerns over the countrys judiciary that would in turn unlock funds from an E.U. coronavirus recovery fund that had been frozen by the dispute. The approval of this plan is linked to clear commitments by Poland on the independence of the judiciary, which will need to be fulfilled before any actual payment can be made, Ms. von der Leyen said. Polish officials said the first tranche of money could be disbursed as soon as September, although E.U. officials did not immediately confirm that timeline. A secret U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that the money to build the ships came from a group of investors led by Gennady Timchenko, a confidant of Mr. Putin and one of Russias richest men, who, like Mr. Sechin, has been under U.S. sanctions since 2014. Mr. Timchenko and his partners designed the Scheherazade seized in early May by the Italian police as a gift for Mr. Putins use, according to the assessment. Together, the three vessels may have cost as much as $1.6 billion, enough to buy six new frigates for the Russian navy. Simon Clark, a lawyer for Imperial Yachts, said that the company is unaware of any connection between our business and Mr. Timchenko. However, we are in the yacht-building business; we are not involved in our clients financial affairs. Mr. Clark added that the company has never conducted business or provided services to any parties subject to international sanctions. But U.S. officials are not buying such explanations. Elizabeth Rosenberg, the assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes at the Treasury Department, said it was the responsibility of people in the yacht services industry to avoid doing business with people under sanctions. And if you do, she said, you yourself will be subject to sanctions. Courting Russias Wealthiest Mr. Kochman, 41, got his start in the yacht business in Russia in 2001, the year after Mr. Putin took power, selling Italian-made yachts. Russia had been through a decade of turmoil after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and many of todays oligarchs had yet to amass their billions. But Mr. Kochman, then just 20 years old, had plenty of millionaires to court. As some well-connected Russians joined the ranks of the worlds wealthiest people and began to buy up villas on the French and Italian Rivieras, Mr. Kochman moved to Monaco. Instead of selling mere yachts, often made on a production line, Mr. Kochman and his sister, Julia Stewart, now 46, entered into the world of superyachts, custom-made vessels of about 100 feet or longer. We grow with our clients like parents with babies, he said in 2016 in a rare interview. In his nightly address, Mr. Zelensky acknowledged the battle for control of the Donbas region was very difficult but emphasized that his troops were having success in the south, near Kherson and around Zaporizhzhia, and around Kharkiv in the northeast. The frontline situation must be assessed comprehensively, he said. Not by one area, where there is the most tough situation and which attracts the most attention, but by the whole frontline. To fill gaps in the frontline, Ukraine has resorted to deploying minimally trained volunteers of the Territorial Defense Force, which mobilized quickly as the war started. Hints of morale lapses have surfaced. One unit recorded a video protesting dire conditions. In interviews, soldiers said their artillery guns sometimes go quiet for lack of ammunition. Those people who said that the war would end very soon, that we have already won, that we will celebrate in April, said a dangerous thing, Ukraines national security adviser, Oleksiy Danilov, told Ukrainian media this week. In the messy seesaw fighting on the Easts rolling plains, Ukrainian forces are buoyed by the promise of Western weapons arriving soon. On Tuesday, President Biden announced plans to give Ukraine multiple rocket launch systems, a powerful, long-range artillery weapon. U.S. and Ukrainian officials have said the systems are not intended to strike targets within Russia. On Wednesday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany promised to send a sophisticated air defense system and a tracking radar capable of locating Russian artillery. Mr. Scholz had faced criticism from Ukraine and some German lawmakers that he had not done enough to support Ukraines military. He did not announce a timeline for the new shipments. Amid the roar of artillery and bone-rattling explosions, New York Times photographers have borne graphic witness to the fight to survive. These are their stories and images. Lynsey Addario, Finbarr OReilly and June 1, 2022 Through the three months of Russias invasion, New York Times journalists have chronicled carnage and courage, ruin and resolve, across the wide arc of combat through eastern Ukraine, where Vladimir V. Putins brutal offensive is now concentrated. At the front line and within easy range of it, they have joined civilians whose homes, families and emotions have been shattered, as well as Ukrainian soldiers hardened veterans and green volunteers using tools as modern as surveillance drones and as ancient as trenches. Amid the roar of artillery, the clatter of small arms and bone-rattling explosions, Times photographers have borne graphic witness to the fight to survive and kill or just survive. These are their accounts and images from the last few weeks of that fight. On the front line south of Izium, a Russian-captured city just north of the Donetsk region, two Ukrainian 122-mm guns thundered across the rolling landscape last week. They belonged to an artillery detachment of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade, called in to fire on Russian forces who had pinned down Ukrainian troops. LVIV, Ukraine Vladyslav Tkachenko grimaced, gripping a wooden balance rail and edging forward carefully. Then he lost his balance, and his metal leg, fitted with his old combat boot, hit the ground. Undeterred, he got back up and pushed forward, staring determinedly at his reflection in the mirror. In his mind, he is already back there, with his comrades, said Viktoriia Olikh, a prosthetics specialist, hovering behind him. She is helping fit Mr. Tkachenko, 25, with a limb he hopes will carry him back to the battlefield. Mr. Tkachenko lost his left leg on the second day of Russias invasion of Ukraine, when an artillery shell blew it off and tore into his right thigh, leaving a web of dark red scars. He is among the first in what Ukrainian doctors fear could become a devastating surge of amputations as Ukrainian forces push to regain territory and the fighting in the east intensifies. That expectation has sparked an international effort to shore up Ukraines supply of prosthetic limbs. But Nagender Parashar, owner of a Kyiv-based prosthetics company, is worried. There are already hundreds. The numbers are frightening, he said, referring to the number of Ukrainian soldiers who have lost limbs. RAMLA, Israel When the sirens warning of incoming rockets split the skies, Israels national blood bank moves into high alert to keep the nations blood supply safe. The heavy machinery for blood processing, plasma freezers and centrifuges are transferred to a basement bomb shelter, a cumbersome operation that takes 10 to 12 hours. That is about to change. By the end of the year, the blood bank will be relocated to a bright, state-of-the-art subterranean facility built to withstand chemical, biological and conventional weapons, including a direct hit from a large missile, as well as earthquakes and cyberattacks. With war in Europe underscoring the vulnerability of hospitals and other essential facilities, the new, nearly completed, $135 million facility is being described by officials as the worlds most protected known blood bank. But that didnt do anything for Mr. Chaneys student loans, which are notoriously more difficult to discharge than other debts. In the years he spent sending money to creditors under a Chapter 13 payment plan, his student loan balance ballooned. I have always worked, he said. Never made over $40,000. Even much smaller balances can be a lingering burden for people without degrees, who are also more likely to slip into default. In 2009, Xavier Sanchez started a nine-month audio engineering program in Manhattan to get the kind of hands-on experience that would prepare him for a job as a recording engineer. But the experience left him underwhelmed the school didnt provide him with the skills and equipment he had expected, and the classes, which were often run by substitutes, were lacking, he said. He dropped out after four months, but more than a decade later hes still on the hook for about $7,000 in federal loans. I felt cheated out of a proper education, said Mr. Sanchez, 36, of Dallas. He tried to have loans discharged through a federal program for misled borrowers but was rejected. The debt could soon go away anyway. Mr. Biden has backed the idea of student loan relief since before his presidency, promising to knock $10,000 off the loans of everybody in this generation. The issue has been a subject of debate within the White House, and administration officials said no decisions had been made yet. Gary Grates Gary Grates is leaving Real Chemistry after a nearly 11-year run, where he handled strategic communications and the San Francisco-based firm's academic partnerships. He was co-director of the Weiss Center for Social Commerce at Syracuse University and responsible for Real Chemistry's relationships with USC, Wisconsin and Elon. Prior to Real Chemistry, Grates served as executive VP at GCI Consulting, president of Edelman Change and Employee Engagement and VP-corporate communications/North America at General Motors. Former McKinsey & Co. healthcare practice partner Shankar Narayanan succeeded Real Chemistry founder Jim Weiss as CEO in January. Independent TD for Laois Offaly Carol Nolan has said that while consumers must be protected from soaring rises in food prices, efforts must also be doubled to ensure that farmers and food producers are protected from the ongoing practice of below-cost selling in major supermarkets. Deputy Nolan was speaking during a Dail debate on rising food prices and after The Central Statistics Office confirmed in its latest consumer price index for March 2022, that food prices rose 6.7% in the last year. Families and people on low to middle incomes are being hit by a tsunami of prices rises right across the board on everything from food, to home heating, to energy, rent and education and health. It is therefore absolutely imperative that government takes whatever steps it can to protect them from the impact of all this Deputy Nolan said. However, it is also clear that farmers and food producers continue to be confronted by the fact that below-cost selling continues as standard practice in many of the major multiples. The farmer and producer are experiencing massive hikes in the form of input costs, fertiliser price increases, green diesel and other agri contractor-related expenses but when they go to sell their goods, they continue to receive below the cost in return. I accept that some movement is being made in the form of the new Unfair Trading Practices Enforcement Authority. However, as Minister McConalogue made clear to me in a recent reply, only 14% of primary producers surveyed were aware of the fact that, as a supplier of agri-food product, they have legal protection against the 16 specific unfair trading practices, and only half of primary producers surveyed claim that they understand that the UTP Regulations protect against unfair trading practices," Deputy Nolan added. We must ensure that more farmers and producers know their rights and that they act in a concerted and unified fashion to force change on the below cost issue from the multiples, who will, let us be in no doubt, continue to rely on a lack of awareness to keep the status quo in place. The multiples and the major supermarkets must be the ones to absorb the brunt of the financial hit in the form of paying a decent price for quality Irish goods, not families, farmers and producers, concluded Deputy Nolan. THERE were 27 homeless adults in Offaly during the week of April 18-24, 2022, according to figures from the Department of Housing. The report states that in the same week 101 homeless adults accessed local authority managed emergency accommodation in the midlands. 52 of those were male and 49 were female. 19 were in the 18-24 age group, 57 in the 25-44 age category, 23 were between 45 and 64 and two were in the 65 plus group. 83 were Irish, 11 were from the European Economic Area EEA or the United Kingdom and 7 were non-EEA. 22 families in the midlands accessed emergency accommodation during the same week of which 17 were single parent families. A total of 27 were adults and 42 ware child dependents. A recent housing report to Tullamore Municipal District indicated that tender documents are to be prepared in relation to the redesign of Clonamore House on the Arden Road in Tullamore, for use as emergency accommodation. The former hotel is to be converted into supported accommodation for the homeless with 17 units to be provided. Approved Housing Body Sophia is responsible for the project. The facility will be managed by Midlands Simon with a qualified social worker team providing support 24/7. Midlands Simon Community already operate emergency accommodation in Tullamore and Athlone with 12 emergency beds catering for men and women over 18. Meanwhile Oaklee Housing Body are in the process of building 19 houses at Clonminch, with a finish date earmarked for the end of this year, these houses will be suitable for the elderly. Oaklee are also in the middle of constructing 41 houses in Kearney's Field in Tullamore, these are expected to be finished in 2022/2023.In Mucklagh a number of houses are expected to be completed by the end of 2022. In addition, nine vacant units have been repaired and completed in the Tullamore Municipal District while 4 are at tender stage. A housing scheme at Jackson's Hill on the Rahan Road is finished and the houses are being allocated. Meanwhile Offaly County Council has re-tendered for the construction of 38 houses at Raheen in Clara, the original contractor pulled out of the job due to rising costs of building materials. There are also houses planned for Edenderry, Moneygall and Banagher. The Departments official homelessness statistics are published on a monthly basis and refer to the number of homeless persons accommodated in emergency accommodation funded and overseen by housing authorities during a specific count week, typically the last full week of the month. Almost one in three Irish people believe the Government exaggerated Covid-19 deaths, according to new research from UCD. The research, which surveyed over 12,000 people across six European countries to investigate public trust in expertise, reveals the publics view on the pandemic, vaccination, and their belief in various Covid-19 conspiracies. The study was commissioned by UCD, as part of its European Commission Horizon 2020 project, Policy Expertise and Trust in Action (Peritia). Despite 31% of people in Ireland thinking the number of deaths from coronavirus were exaggerated by government, the majority still expressed a strong belief in the scientific consensus that Covid-19 vaccines are safe. Three-quarters of those surveyed in Ireland said it was true that nearly all scientists agreed on this, with one in seven thinking otherwise, the largest recorded figure across the nations involved in the study. Belief in this scientific consensus was virtually joint-highest with the UK and higher than the average elsewhere at 69%. In Poland, the belief that government-inflated Covid-19 deaths was most widespread at 43%. Ireland has the lowest percentage of people, from the six countries studied, who believe the symptoms mostly blamed on coronavirus were linked to 5G network radiation. One in six people in the UK hold this belief, the highest in the study. Professor Maria Baghramian, professor of philosophy at UCD, said: A key point in Ireland is the publics belief in the scientific consensus that vaccines are safe, and this is reflected in the very high take up of Covid vaccines here. Its also very reassuring to see the low prevalence of belief in conspiracies around the pandemic in Ireland, with the lowest percentage in the countries studied believing that the symptoms of coronavirus are linked to 5G network radiation. Irish respondents, and those in Italy, also showed the highest rate of willingness to comply with coronavirus restrictions put in place by the Government, with 88% of people saying that they always or sometimes do this. However, interestingly, over one third believe that the Government is exaggerating the number of deaths from Covid-19. Following the results of the survey we released last week, I think the Irish show an admirably high level of trust in advice given by scientists while distrusting information that comes from the Government. The feeling that government is not honest and truthful was shared by 48% of Irish people in the first part of the Peritia study, with 58% thinking the Government communicates inaccurate and biased information. Regarding the legacy of the pandemic, 78% of people in Ireland are concerned about its long-term impact, though this figure was higher in some other countries. Despite majorities in all countries reporting fears about the pandemics long-term effects, there is a gap between concern and action. On preventing future spreads of Covid-19, only one in three in Ireland said they would give part of their income in taxes to help, with the majority saying they would not. The project, led by Prof Baghramian, is investigating the topic of public trust in experts, examining the role of science in policy decision making and the conditions under which people trust and rely on expert opinion that shapes public policy. An inquest into the deaths of four Irish Coast Guard aircrew in the Rescue 116 helicopter crash has heard how the visibility in the moments before the crash was very poor and dense. Rescue 116 crashed off Co Mayo at 12.46am on March 14 2017, during a search-and-rescue mission with four crew on board, after it struck Blackrock Island, 12 miles off the Irish coast. At the time of the accident the crew were offering support to an operation to airlift an injured man from a fishing trawler. The inquest, in Belmullet, heard how visibility dropped fast in the area moments before the R116 crew were due to land at Blacksod to refuel. Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, the commander of the flight, was pulled from the sea in the hours after the crash and never regained consciousness, and the body of Captain Mark Duffy, the co-pilot, was taken from the cockpit 12 days later by Navy divers. The bodies of winchmen Paul Ormsby and Ciaran Smith were never recovered, despite weeks of intensive searches of the seabed, surface and shore. Vincent Sweeney, who worked as a lighthouse attendant at Blacksod, told the inquest how visibility can change in a matter of minutes. He said that visibility was some 400 to 500 feet at the time. He told coroner Dr Eleanor Fitzgerald that he often used reference points to check the visibility, as he had no modern or electronic equipment. He said of the visibility on the night of the crash: It can happen (drop) very fast, its very bad. You could hardly see your arm in front of you. It was more a mist that turned into a deadly fog. It was like soup. That happened within minutes. He told the coroner that he waited outside the lighthouse for R116 to land but could not hear or see them. He said he became concerned when they failed to appear and tried to contact them with his handheld radio, but could not reach them. Mr Sweeney, who has worked at the site since 1981, said he contacted Malin Head to establish if they had heard from the R116 crew. Staff at Malin Head said they were surprised that the crew had not yet landed at Blacksod and within minutes they issued a mayday call. Simon Sweeney, Mr Sweeneys son, said he travelled up a hill, away from the lighthouse, to check visibility. He said it was very poor and very dense and less than 20 metres. Mr Sweeney said he attempted to contact R116 three times but did not receive a response. In a statement read to the inquest, William Buchan, the captain of a fishing vessel, said one of his fishermen was badly injured when part of his thumb was amputated while out at sea. Ian Scott, a radio officer at Malin Head Coast Guard, received the call about the injured fisherman and he made the decision to request medical help. He told the coroner that he understood the casualty was bleeding out, blood spurting and that he was in severe pain and half of his thumb was gone. He told the coroner that he did not think the fisherman could wait the 14 hours to make it back to land, saying he thought it was a life or death situation. Mr Scott also said that he tried to get top cover by the Air Corps and to get a Nimrod from the UK, but it was not available. He also said the doctor he consulted about the injured fisherman did not object to his decision to send a recue helicopter out to the boat, saying he would make the same decision today. Michael Scott, a commander of Rescue 118, told the inquest that while rescuing the injured fisherman he was told that R116 was missing. While making their way back to land, they passed close to Blackrock Island where almost immediately they saw strobes and debris in the water. Another member of the crew spotted a body floating in the water but they were unable to recover the body as sea conditions were too difficult. An investigation published last year into the crash identified systemic safety issues and made 42 safety recommendations. The investigation found that the aircraft was manoeuvring at 200ft and nine nautical miles from the intended landing point, at night and in poor weather conditions, unaware that a 282ft obstacle was on the flight path. There were serious and important weaknesses with the operators safety management systems (SMS) in relation to navigation and the reporting of safety issues, such that certain risks that could have been mitigated were not, the report said. The investigation report found that concerns had been raised over the navigation system, the enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS), four years before the crash. Michael OHara, a member of RNLI Achill Island lifeboat crew, described the moment they spotted Captain Fitzpatricks body in the water. We pulled the body on to the deck of the boat. The body was facing upwards in the water, the life jacket was fully inflated but was not wearing a helmet, Mr OHara said. We placed the body on their back, but they were unresponsive, there was no movement and the eyes had a fixed stare and hands were cold. The crew then started CPR but Ms Fitzpatrick was already dead. Mr OHara said he had to hold on to the crew member who was attempting to revive Ms Fitzpatrick as the sea conditions were so rough. The inquest was also told that the helmet and lifejacket belonging to Mr Smith was found washed up on a beach months after the crash, but his body has never been found. A yellow helmet belonging to Mr Ormsby was found in the water by a fisherman some four months after the accident. The inquest also heard how Mr Duffy was found in the cockpit of the helicopter by Navy divers, but that rescuers struggled to remove his body as his leg was trapped in the wreckage. Retired Superintendent Tony Healy described the effort that went into finding the missing men, involving 150 volunteer divers who searched around Blackrock. He said it was very hard to search around Blackrock as there were six to seven metre high swells and strong underwater currents. I have been involved in searches of this nature for 39 years and it was one of the biggest and most comprehensive searches I was involved in, Spt Healy added. The report into the crash said that the crew were unaware it was heading for the Blackrock island. The ordnance survey imagery did not show Blackrock and instead showed open water. Paul Farrell, from Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) who led the investigation, said that moments before the crash one of the winchmen detected the island and said come right a number of times, but it was too late and the helicopter collided with the terrain. The helicopter then crashed into the sea and plummeted to a depth of 40 metres. Mr Farrell also described the difficulty in spotting Blackrock, particularly at night in poor visibility. Having been out there, its not called Blackrock for no reason, he added. I have stood on search vessels less than 200 metres and at night it almost morphs into the night and that is in relative good conditions. It is incredible. A preliminary inquest was held in 2018 to issue death certificates for all four crew, and was then adjourned. The inquest has heard from all of its 23 witnesses. In her address to the jury, Dr Fitzgerald said that the incident would appear to be an accident, but it is for the jury to decide. The jury spent some time considering the verdict on Wednesday but asked for additional time. The inquest has been adjourned until Thursday. A holding area may be needed for passengers who arrive earlier than the recommended time during extremely busy periods this summer, the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) has said. DAA chief executive Dalton Philips told the Oireachtas Transport Committee that this protocol is in place in order to triage access to the terminals during busy periods, but that they do not expect to have that in place this coming bank holiday weekend. He said that some of the short-term car parks in both terminals, as well as the space where queues formed outside the terminals, are among the spaces that may be used as holding areas. At times when the terminals get particularly busy, we may triage access to the terminals and control entry into the terminal, based on the departure time of flights if necessary. A protocol for the deployment of this is in place. For departing passengers, access to the appropriate terminals will be controlled and will require the presentation of documentation indicating the time of flight such as a booking confirmation or boarding card. Passengers are recommended to arrive at least 2.5 hours before short-haul flight departures, and 3.5 hours before long-haul flights depart. Passengers should allow for an extra hour if they need to check a bag in. DAA will put in place bad weather cover, seating and toilets in the holding area as quickly as possible in the coming days following trialling of this system over the June bank holiday weekend. He said that special consideration will be given to those passengers who require special assistance, such as people with autism. Mr Philips said that things will be managed differently this weekend and beyond, and that the airport is focused on a better passenger experience. There will be 10% more staff this weekend compared with last weekend, he added, and around double the number of security lanes would be open. We have 40 more staff, we have brought officers up from Cork which were very grateful for, we will have a very extensive overtime packaging, which is triple time. The DAA will try to maximise the availability of staff resources, increase the number of security lanes open at peak times, and improve queue management. Following these incremental measures, we are confident we have a robust plan and we do not envisage a repeat of what occurred last Sunday. And, should unanticipated issues arise, we have appropriate escalation and triage mechanisms focused on ensuring no passengers will miss their flights. Mr Philips said the quick recovery of the aviation industry following the pandemic, new EU rules requiring enhanced background checks of airport staff, and exceptional levels of absence due to Covid-19, had resulted in passenger delays at the airport. He added that during discussions about the aviation sectors post-pandemic recovery with colleagues across Europe, a return to 75% of Dublin Airports traffic in 2022 compared with 2019 was seen as an aggressive budget. Terminal One is now at around 95% of 2019 levels, and Terminal Two is at 85%, depending on the day. The airport is expected to have more than 30 million passengers a year by 2023, Mr Philips said, adding that it would arrive back at that number two years earlier than many commentators had predicted. He said that losing around a million euro a day led the DAA to offer a voluntary severance scheme to employees, which was taken by 248 people, or 25% of staff. We should not have gotten rid of that amount of people but if I knew then what I know now, Id have made a very different decision, Mr Philips said. Asked whether the airport considered asking airlines to fly into other airports in Ireland, Vincent Harrison, DAA managing director, said it has discussed with the airlines whether they have the capacity and the desire to shift capacity through other airports. I would say that there are a whole range of logistical challenges with that, not least the crew and resources on the airline side. Mr Philips told TDs and senators that he understood the anger, frustration and upset among passengers over the scenes last weekend, and apologised unreservedly for the long queues and delays. Asked if people who missed flights would have their holiday accommodation costs covered by the DAA, Mr Philips said: Yes, if they dont have insurance and its our fault, absolutely. We messed up. We do not want to be quibbling that at all. Youth Work Ireland Midlands in conjunction with Offaly Volunteer Centre and St Marys Youth & Community Centre are planning a series of roadshows over the next few months, to reinvigorate youth clubs and community groups in Offaly The title of these events is Get Back Clubbing Join a Youth Club / Community Group! The idea of the event is to invite the public to come and see what youth and community clubs are available in an area. The event will showcase youth clubs and community groups and give an opportunity for the public to get information on clubs and enrol in clubs. The event will act as a focal point for advertising for youth clubs to get new members and volunteers using social media, local press and radio. Each club and group participating will have a table to use for enrolling new members and volunteers. Clubs can carry out demonstrations, display equipment, display their creations from workshops etc., display what they do. Light food and refreshment will be provided free of charge. The event is open to any youth club to participate in and the public. Come along to this family friendly event. The next event is in collaboration with St. Marys Youth & Community Centre and Offaly Volunteer Centre and will take place on Saturday the 11th of June from 2-5pm in St. Marys Youth & Community Centre, Harbour Street, Tullamore, R35 W2K0. We are also hoping to roll out the event in Edenderry, Clara, Birr/Banagher for the remainder of 2022. Smaller rural villages where Youth Work Ireland Midlands clubs are represented have also a possibility to run such an event on a smaller scale. If you wish to find out more about our Get Back Clubbing - Join a Youth Club or Community Group! you can check out our Facebook page or contact Eileen McArdle on 086 3294763 email emcardle@youthworkmidlands.org If you are a youth or community group in the Tullamore area and you would like to display a table / stand on the day here is the link: Get Back Clubbing - stand request 11.06.2022 - Google Forms Spaces will be allocated on a first come first served based. Uvalde is a city and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 15,217 at the 2020 census. Uvalde is located in the Texas Hill Country, 80 miles (130 km) west of downtown San Antonio and 54 miles (87 km) east of the MexicoUnited States border. Father's Day is a holiday of honoring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on March 19 as Saint Joseph's Day since the Middle Ages. In the United States, Father's Day was founded by Sonora Smart Dodd, and celebrated on the third Sunday of June for the first time in 1910. The day is held on various dates across the world, and different regions maintain their own traditions of honoring fatherhood. A Ukraine court has sentenced two Russian soldiers to over 11 years in prison for the shelling of civilian buildings. Meanwhile, Ukraine says Russia controls "around half" of Sievierodonetsk. euronews (in English) 31 May 2022 Governor of the Luhansk region Sergei Haidai said that all critical infrastructure in the key city in eastern Ukraine has been.. Newsy 08 Jun 2022 Watch VideoWhile Congress is wrestling with gun reform laws, more limited in scope New York is going all.. Jacinda Ardern is the first New Zealand leader to visit the White House since 2014. She and US President Joe Biden discussed China's influence in the Pacific, a new trade pact and the scourge of gun violence. The Ukrainian president has called for a seventh package of EU sanctions, describing Russia as a "terrorist state." President Biden said that the US will send Ukraine "advanced rocket systems." Follow DW for the latest. US President Joe Biden and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern have discussed gun reform and Pacific security during a 90-minute sitdown at the White House. 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. President Emmanuel Macron urged the French government on Wednesday to investigate with "full transparency" the chaos at this.. News24 01 Jun 2022 The suspect is accused of belonging to a far-right criminal organization that sought to spread antisemitic propaganda by selling books. His group allegedly had store rooms stocked with thousands of texts. A jury on Wednesday said it has reached a verdict in Johnny Depp's $50-million libel lawsuit against actor Amber Heard, his ex-wife, who testified that Depp physically and sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions. From Labor's economic challenges to the United States and Germany supplying weapons to Ukraine, these are the stories making headlines in Australia and around the world. An image of the US President with his arm around Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during her visit to the White House has been described as "creepy" and "unwanted touching from a man in a position of power". The photograph being shared... Syrian and Afghan refugees are believed to be on the list of people set to be deported to Rwanda in a fortnight, charities have said. A World Health Organization (WHO) expert raises alarm on the quick spread of the monkeypox virus that has already infected more than 550 people in 30 different countries worldwide. The situation comes as UK officials urged infected individuals to abstain from sex to curb the spread of the disease. Washington (AFP) May 31, 2022 President Joe Biden asked New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for advice Tuesday after the latest US mass shooting but the White House also acknowledged the limitations it faces on gun control compared to its close allies. Meeting in the Oval Office with Ardern, Biden referred to the 2019 Christchurch slaying of 51 people in mass shootings targeting Muslims. The bloodshed prompte Flyers with a phonetic version of the Ukrainian anthem will ask Scotland fans to sing in solidarity. In an Op-Ed, the president said such systems would enable Ukraine to fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table. Political analyst Joe Siracusa cautions US President Joe Biden over his Taiwan stance that can cause US defeat due to a mismatch with China. President Joe Biden hailed Adm. Linda Fagan as new Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard and the armed forces' first female service chief, declaring during a change of command ceremony on Wednesday, "It's about time." (June 1) A Russian lawmaker has proposed kidnapping a NATO defense minister in Ukraine and transferring him to Moscow for questioning regarding the West's "orders" to Kyiv. The painted missile fragments will be raffled off and sold to charity auctions in Europe to help raise funds for the Ukrainian army. Kathleen Buhle, the ex-wife of President Joe Biden's son Hunter, says she has "total control over my life now," five years after her divorce, as she opens up about her marriage in a new memoir.Buhle describes her ex-husband's drug... Shape the World Summit 2022 reconvenes in-person at The Swissotel, The Stamford. It is set to attract more than 150 global leaders and industry players from 12 countries as they gather to share solutions and ideas on how to shape future resilience by design Singapore, 1 June 2022 - The global COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many businesses and operations. Yet, the pandemic saw many inspiring examples of resilience and how some Children are the focus at Joey's this February. The restaurant chain is selling kids coins as a new part of their kids meal program. "Kids are important to us. They are the next generation of seafood lover," said Joey's Vice President, Max Gagnon. "We like that parents prefer to dine where their little ones feel comfortable, happy and catered to, so a promotion like this is right up our alley." Joey's new This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BIG RAPIDS A Memorial Day ceremony honoring fallen soldiers was held Monday at the Mecosta County Courthouse, hosted by the Big Rapids AMVETS Post 1941 and the American Legion Post 98. Master of ceremonies Steve Werner addressed those in attendance, saying We stand in front of this monument where the names of local soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are engraved in granite for all eternity. These men gave their last full measure in defense of an idea called America. He went on to say that Memorial Day is not just another long weekend, but is a holiday that pays homage to our war dead. Memorial Day events originated shortly after the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865, he said, when groups of citizens in both the north and the south began to hold spring time tributes at various gravesites and decorated the graves with flowers and flags and offered prayers for the fallen. Springtime was chosen because flowers were plentiful and in full bloom, he added. In 1868, former Union General James Logan lobbied for a nationwide day of remembrance to commemorate those that perished in the Civil war, he continued, and that same year President James Garfield addressed 5,000 who gathered at Arlington National Cemetery to decorate the graves and honor the 20,000 Civil War soldiers buried there. In 1871, Michigan became the first state to make Decoration Day, as it was called then, an official state holiday, Waring said. Over time Decoration Day began to become known as Memorial Day and now we honor not only the Civil War dead but those of the Revolutionary War, World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, along with the many other conflicts our nation has been engaged in. MORE PHOTOS More photos of the Big Rapids AMVETS Post 1941 and the American Legion Post 98 Memorial Day ceremonies may be found at bigrapidsnews.com. See More Collapse For many years Memorial Day was observed May 30, and in 1868 Congress established the last Monday in May to honor the heroes that made the ultimate sacrifice, he said. Today we are not honoring those that gave some, but those that gave all. During the ceremony, the Big Rapids High School band played the National Anthem and America the Beautiful. At the conclusion of the ceremony, American Legion Chaplain Don Lindgren gave the benediction and the American Legion Post 98 Honor Guard gave a 3-round volley followed by the bugler playing Taps. Following the ceremony at the courthouse, the Veterans, the Boy Scouts and the Big Rapids High School band led a parade down Michigan Avenue in downtown Big Rapids. A second ceremony was held at Highland Park Cemetery where local BSA Troop 114 members raised the flags to half-mast. Werner spoke again reciting the poem by John McCrae, In Flanders Field, which memorializes the April 1915 battle in Belgiums Ypres salient. For 17 days, McCrae tended those injured in the battle. The poem, written after the death of a close friend, led to the adoption of the poppy as the Flower of Remembrance for the British and Commonwealth war dead. The event concluded with a Post Everlasting ceremony in which Past Legion Commander William Semar and Troop 114 Scouts placed the names of departed post members in fire in a cast iron helmet as a salute to thank them for their contribution and service to the country, the community, and the Post. Following the ceremonial events, the AMVETS Auxiliary hosted a barbecue chicken dinner, which was opened to the public. PHOENIX (AP) Arizona Republican lawmakers heard Tuesday from members of the Texas-based conservative group that provided research for a widely debunked documentary that alleges widespread voter fraud led to former President Donald Trump's loss in the 2020 election. Cell phone data analysis done by True the Vote was used by conservative filmmaker Dinesh DSouza in his film 2000 Mules to try to show that Democratic operatives were paid to illegally collect and drop off ballots in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The film has drawn crowds of Trump backers to theaters nationwide but had been widely panned by independent fact-checkers, including at The Associated Press. The AP found that flawed analysis of cellphone location data and ballot drop box surveillance footage was used to cast doubt on the results of the 2020 presidential election nearly 18 months after it ended. The group used GPS data to identify cell phones they say were repeatedly in close proximity to ballot drop boxes and also made repeated visits to nonprofit organizations that True the Vote claims could be involved in illegal ballot collection activities. True the Vote claims those cell phones must have been carried by people who were illegally collecting ballots and turning them in but has provided no video of anyone making multiple visits to a drop box or evidence that they had ballots. Catherine Engelbrecht, founder of True the Vote, and her associate Gregg Phillips presented their findings to eight Republican lawmakers in a livestreamed meeting at the state Capitol, but they did not present new evidence to support their claims. Phillips said news stories pointing out the lack of proof were written by journalistic terrorists. But he declined to outline the methods, calling them proprietary." Engelbrecht declined to identify the nonprofits used in the analysis, which she said would interfere with law enforcement. Phillips said he turned over data to Attorney General Mark Brnovich's office a year ago, but the AG's office told him it never received it. Like many such efforts since Trump's loss, "2000 Mules" used a tiny kernel of truth to help bolster its conspiracy theory. The film focuses in part on southwestern Arizona's Yuma County, where the Arizona attorney general's office indicted two people for illegally collecting ballots in the 2020 primary election. Guillermina Fuentes and a second woman were indicted in December 2020 on one count of ballot abuse, commonly known as ballot harvesting and made illegal under a 2016 state law. Additional charges of conspiracy, forgery and an additional ballot abuse charge were added last October. Her co-defendant awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to a reduced charge several months ago. Fuentes has a court date where she may change her not guilty plea later this week. Fuentes, 66 and a Democrat, is a former mayor of the border city of San Luis and currently serves as an elected board member of the Gadsden Elementary School District in San Luis. She's accused of collecting ballots in the border city in violation of the law that only allows a caregiver or family member to return someone else's early ballot, and in some cases filling them out. Her attorney has not responded to repeated inquiries seeking comment. It is the only case ever brought by the attorney general under the 2016 law, which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. Records show Fuentes was under investigation within days of the Aug. 4, 2020, primary election and knew she was a suspect by mid-September. There's no sign she or anyone else in Yuma County collected ballots in the general election. Ballot abuse is a felony that carries a possible sentence of up to two years in prison and a $150,000 fine. The True the Vote representatives told lawmakers that they have no video from Yuma County and have only have obstructed surveillance footage from one drop box in Maricopa County. Despite the lack of evidence of widespread problems with ballot drop boxes, several of the lawmakers said they'd push for laws restricting their use in future elections. I have been so pleased to hear about all you vigilantes out here who want to camp out at these drop boxes. Do it," said Republican Sen. Kelly Townsend. She warned that there will be people monitoring dropboxes, following people to their car and writing down license plate numbers. WASHINGTON (AP) Boeing employees will still be allowed to perform some safety analysis on the companys aircraft, but for three more years instead of the five-year extension the company requested, federal regulators have determined. Federal Aviation Administration officials indicated Tuesday that the agency's decision on the safety-related work was designed to keep a closer eye on Boeing. Under rules in place for more than a decade, employees of aircraft manufacturing companies can be deputized to do certain tasks for the FAA. That practice came under more scrutiny after two deadly crashes involving Boeing 737 Max jets and allegations that Boeing employees misled regulators about a key flight system on the planes. Boeing's ability to do that work for the FAA was due to expire Tuesday. In a letter to Boeing, an FAA safety official said a three-year renewal was more appropriate than a five-year extension. There are multiple in work improvements that the FAA would like to assess within the Boeing organization over the next three years, Ian Won, acting manager of the FAA office that oversees Boeing, told the company. The list of items that the FAA wants Boeing to complete in the next three years includes ensuring that employees who help the FAA are protected from pressure by company managers, and making sure that Boeing quickly corrects any problems it finds. Boeing issued a statement, which in its entirety read, "As always, we are committed to working transparently with the FAA through their detailed and rigorous oversight processes. The FAA also said its inspectors and not Boeing employees will continue to be responsible for issuing final safety certificates for all new Boeing 737 Max and 787 jets rolling off the company assembly lines. That was a step taken in November 2019, during a 19-month grounding of the Max following crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. Deliveries of the 787, which Boeing calls the Dreamliner, have been halted most of the past two years because of a series of production problems. That is depriving Boeing of cash, because buyers typically pay a large portion of the purchase price for jets on delivery. ___ This story has been updated to correct the year that the FAA took full responsibility for issuing safety certificates for Boeing 737 Max and 787 jets. It was November 2019, not 2020. Midland County added 110 cases and one death from May 26 to June 1, according to the state's website on Wednesday. COVID-19 numbers May 26-June 1 Midland County added 110 cases and one death from May 26-June 1. Overall, Midland County has 18,291 cases, 1,744 probable cases, 212 deaths and 15 probable deaths. Bay County added 149 cases and two deaths. Overall, Bay County has 25,334 cases, 2,841 probable cases, 563 deaths and 33 probable deaths. Gladwin County added 29 cases. Overall, Gladwin County has 4,894 cases, 835 probable cases, 111 deaths and four probable deaths. Isabella County added 62 cases. Overall, Isabella County has 13,711 cases, 2,471 probable cases, 193 deaths and 21 probable deaths. Saginaw County added 323 cases and one death. Overall, Saginaw County has 47,461 cases, 4,244 probable cases, 906 deaths and 50 probable deaths. Overall, Michigan is at 2,547,366 confirmed and probable cases and 36,407 confirmed and probable deaths. MyMichigan Health statistics As of May 30, MyMichigan Medical Center in Midland was listed as having a 81% bed occupancy with 16 COVID patients and one in the ICU. MyMichigan Medical Center in Gladwin was listed as having a 10% bed occupancy with no COVID patients. Both medical centers reported having at least 15-30 days worth of personal protection equipment (N95 masks, surgical masks, gowns, gloves and eye protection) on hand. Recovered According to the Midland County Health Department website, 17,874 Midland County individuals have recovered from COVID. This data was last updated on May 31. Testing Midland Countys seven-day rolling positivity rate between May 20-26 was listed at 19.8% and Gladwin Countys was listed at 15.6%. Midland and Gladwin counties have high community transmission. Our 12-county region was listed at 19.8% and Michigan was at 14.7%. Every household in the U.S. is eligible to order four free at-home COVID-19 tests for free. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days. To place an order for at-home COVID tests, visit covidtests.gov. Midland County vaccinations Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are available at clinics administered by the health department at the Midland County Services building, 220 W. Ellsworth St., Midland. The health department will vaccinate anyone who needs a first or second dose; those who need their second dose must bring their vaccination card. Following FDA approval, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is urging all eligible Michiganders to get a Johnson & Johnson, Moderna or Pfizer booster vaccine if they have received their primary COVID-19 vaccines. Following CDC approval, MDHHS is urging all eligible Michiganders 12 and up to get the Pfizer booster vaccine if they have received their two primary COVID-19 vaccines. Currently, Pfizer is the only authorized vaccine for under age 18. The Midland County Department of Public Health has vaccine booster shots available for children ages 5-11. Eligible individuals may choose which vaccine they receive as a booster dose. Some people may prefer the vaccine type they originally received and others may prefer to get a different type of booster vaccine. CDCs recommendations now allow for this type of mix and match dosing for booster shots. Consult your healthcare provider if there is a question which vaccine is appropriate for you. Michiganders should bring their COVID-19 vaccine card or immunization record with them when getting their booster dose, which is available at any vaccine provider. Downloadable immunization records are accessible free at the Michigan Immunization Portal. To obtain their record, Michiganders must create a MILogin account at Michigan.gov/MiImmsportal and upload a valid government issued photo ID such as a driver's license, state ID or passport. If you do not have records in the portal, contact your healthcare provider or local health department. Future COVID-19 vaccine clinics in Midland County are listed at www.co.midland.mi.us/HealthDepartment/COVIDVaccineInformation.aspx. Those with questions may call 989-832-6380 or email MCDPH@co.midland.mi.us. LUDINGTON -- A small business owner or anyone with an entrepreneurial idea can compete for a $5,000 cash prize. Both nonprofit and for-profit Mason County organizations are encouraged to enter the 2022 Momentum 5x5 Competition, which opened June 1. A complete, written business plan is not required to submit an entrepreneurial idea. This competition is a great way to showcase your business and get some seed money for your idea, said Brandy Miller, president/CEO of the Ludington & Scottville Area Chamber of Commerce, in a news release. Meeting with a SCORE mentor has also proven to be a wonderful asset for our past competitors. We encourage any small business to enter. Five chosen finalists will present their ideas to a panel of judges on Aug. 16 at Epworth Heights. The Ludington & Scottville Area Chamber of Commerce administers the Momentum 5x5 program to encourage new businesses in Mason County, for participants who may need start-up funds to get their business ideas moving forward, according to a news release. Prize money is sponsored jointly by the Epworth Assembly and the Epworth Church Association. As part of the contest, applicants will receive free, confidential counsel from a SCORE business mentor. In addition, each entrant will have five minutes to pitch an idea. The winner is eligible to move on to a larger momentum competition in 2023. The 5x5 is one of the ways we highlight Epworths connection to the community, said Kim Hamm, Epworths general manager, in a news release. We are grateful to our local entrepreneurs for creating businesses our cottagers need and support. Its pretty awesome to see how all of the previous winners are thriving." This will be the fourth Momentum 5x5 in Mason County hosted by the chamber and Epworth. The 2018 winner, Sister Bees, won $5,000 and went on to a larger competition, the Momentum Business Plan Competition, in which the Ludington skin-care company won $50,000. In 2019, My Inspired Studio was awarded $5,000 in the 5x5 contest. Entrepreneur and artist, Sarah Stechschulte, used the funds for her subscriber-based, monthly creative kit which included art supplies plus online instruction. Stechschulte won another $14,000 in the larger Momentum competition with her Inspired Parties business. House and Harbor, a local candle company, was the winner in 2021 and has plans to open a downtown Ludington storefront soon. This years winner will be eligible to participate in the larger Momentum competition planned for 2023. For complete rules and information about how to enter the Momentum 5x5, visit momentum startup.org. Entry deadline is July 22. PHOENIX (AP) An Arizona woman indicted in 2020 on accusations of illegally collecting ballots apparently ran a sophisticated operation using her status as a well-known Democratic operative in the border city of San Luis to persuade voters to let her gather and in some cases fill out their ballots, according to records obtained by The Associated Press. Guillermina Fuentes, 66, and a second woman were indicted in December 2020 on one count of ballot abuse, a practice commonly known as ballot harvesting that was made illegal under a 2016 state law. Additional charges of conspiracy, forgery and an additional ballot abuse charge were added last October. Fuentes, a former San Luis mayor who serves as an elected board member of the Gadsden Elementary School District in San Luis, has a Thursday court date where she may change her not guilty plea. Her co-defendant awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to a reduced charge several months ago. Fuentes is accused of collecting ballots during the 2020 primary election in violation of the law that only allows a caregiver or family member to return someone elses early ballot, and in some cases filling them out. Her attorney, Ann Chapman, has not responded to repeated inquiries seeking comment, including on Wednesday. Republicans have rallied around the possibility of widespread voting fraud in the 2020 election where former President Donald Trump was defeated. They've pointed to the charges against Fuentes as part of a broader pattern in battleground states. There is no sign of that in the investigation records, though. They were obtained through a public records request from the Arizona attorney general's office that was first made in February 2021, but was denied. The AP sent a new request last October after more charges were filed against Fuentes. The attorney general finally provided more than 20 documents laying out the investigation late last week. The records show that fewer than a dozen ballots could be linked to Fuentes, not enough to make a difference in all but the tightest local races. It is the only case ever brought by the attorney general under the 2016 law, which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. Investigators said it appears she used her position as a powerful figure in the heavily Mexican American community to get people to give her or others their ballots to return to the polls. The alleged illegal ballot collection by Fuentes and her co-defendant happened in plain sight outside a cultural center in San Luis on the day of the primary election, the reports show. Fuentes was at a card table set up by supporters of a slate of city council candidates and was spotted with several mail-ballot envelopes, pulling out the ballots and in some cases marking them. The ballots were then taken inside the cultural center and deposited in a ballot box. It was videotaped by a write-in candidate who called the Yuma County sheriff. An investigation was launched that day, and about 50 ballots checked for fingerprints, which were inconclusive. The investigation was taken over by the attorney general's office within days, with investigators collaborating with the sheriff's deputies to interview voters and others, including Fuentes. Although Fuentes is charged only with actions that appear on the videotape and involve just a handful of ballots, investigators believe the effort went much farther. Attorney general's office investigator William Kluth wrote in one report that there was some evidence suggesting Fuentes actively canvassed San Luis neighborhoods and collected ballots, in some cases paying for them. Collecting ballots in that manner was a common get-out-the-vote tactic used by both political parties before Arizona passed the 2016 law. Paying for ballots has never been legal. Theres no sign she or anyone else in Yuma County collected ballots in the general election, but investigators from the attorney general's office are still active in Yuma County. The Arizona Republic reported Tuesday that search warrants were served last month at a nonprofit in San Luis. The group's executive director is chair of the Yuma County board of supervisors and said the warrant sought the cell phone of a San Luis councilwoman who may have been involved in illegal ballot collection. And at a legislative hearing Tuesday where election conspiracy theorists testified, the Yuma primary election case was again a highlight. Its all about corruption in San Luis and skewing a city council election, Yuma Republican Rep. Tim Dunn said. This has been going on for a long time, that you cant have free and fair elections in south county, for decades. And its spreading across the country. Ballot abuse is a felony that carries a possible sentence of up to two years in prison and a $150,000 fine. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Mark Birdsall/Huron Daily Tribune Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Mark Birdsall/Huron Daily Tribune Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Nicholas Kilburn of Unionville loves his country and decided he wanted to give something back to the community that has provided him with so much. Kilburn, a college student, is a former Scout who, in addition to having a patriotic streak, is also musically inclined. He played the French horn in high school, and one day he decided to start scrolling through the listings on the online auction site eBay for a bugle. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate With every unit at Village West Condominiums now occupied, owner Doug Loose looks back at a very busy two-year period with a sense of gratitude. After all, the 46-unit, 10-building complex was nearly abandoned by its homeowners association after suffering heavy flooding following the dam failures in May 2020. "We got our last permits on May 5, (2022). We were full on May 13," Loose said. "The mayor (Maureen Donker) helped out a lot. The city inspectors made sure all our stuff was up to date." Loose said 33 of the units have long-term tenants, while the rest are fully furnished and intended as short-term housing. Sixteen Dow interns will be living at Village West for the summer, he said. Village West, which was built in 1987, lies just east of Northwood University and is close to the Tittabawassee River and Sturgeon Creek. It right in the crosshairs when the Tittabawassee flooded just over two years ago. The Daily News reported in June 2020 that the Village West board of directors had initially voted unanimously to not repair the condos in light of the amount of flood damage they had sustained and the potential requirements for them to meet strict building codes for flooded residences that are repaired in a floodplain. However, Loose stepped in with his own proposal. In late June, he offered to purchase all 46 units, repair all flood damage, and rent to those who wished to stay on a lifetime lease at a discounted rate. Most of the residents at the time were seniors. After holding two collective meetings with the residents and some individual meetings to follow up, Loose came to an agreement with all 46 homeowners to purchase all the condos. The $4.2 million purchase, brokered by Modern Realty and financed in part by Frankenmuth Credit Union, was finalized in August 2020. Loose and numerous contractors then went to work on repairing the condos. "We've had over 100 contractors on site," he noted. Supply chain delays were a hurdle that had to be overcome in the process of fixing all the units. "We couldn't get caulking for months. We had to improvise," Loose said. He said some businesses really stepped up to help Village West, including a local business, Builders Plumbing & Heating Supply, along with Home Depot, Menards and others. "We struggled, but we made it through," Loose said. An international community Over the course of the past two years, Village West's occupants have turned over almost 100%. Loose's mother and stepfather, Sharon and Bob Weaver, are the only tenants from May 2020 still remaining. Loose and his wife, Virginia, who got married in March of this year, have moved into one of the condos themselves. Virginia grew up in Costa Rica and is one of many international residents now living at Village West. Others, she said, are from Korea, China, Japan, Nicaragua, Mexico, Ethiopia and South Africa. In fact, so many non-native English speakers moved into Village West about 22 currently that Doug Loose realized there was a need for English instruction there. "So I went to ETC (Education and Training Connection) and we came up with a plan," he explained. An English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom was set up in a basement of one of the units, and an ESL instructor goes to Village West once a week for three to four hours to teach residents who are at varying levels of English proficiency. The instruction is free of charge, Loose said. "ESL will help us (non-native English speakers) get a better job," Virginia said. The international influence at Village West has also fostered cross-cultural understanding. Residents have shared meals with each other from their respective countries. Meeting tenants' needs Another resident, Louis DeWeaver, said his family moved into Village West in February 2021 and was the second tenant -- following Sharon and Bob Weaver to move there after the rebuilding. Having previously worked at Northwood, DeWeaver was very familiar with Village West. So when he heard that the condos were being repaired, he was immediately interested in moving in. The quality of the units, and the Looses' flexibility in allowing tenants to make interior changes, sold DeWeaver and his family on Village West. "Why buy a home when I can just stay here? I end up cheaper renting than owning," said DeWeaver, who works remotely in cybersecurity for a company in New York. The DeWeaver family's two dogs enjoy the adjacent woods, and the family attends the bonfires that the Looses sometimes hold for all the Village West residents. "It feels like family," DeWeaver enthused. "Doug's the best landlord I've had." Loose said he and Virginia do their best to work with prospective tenants who need financial help, knowing that the housing market in Midland, among many other places, is very tight. Loose is glad that the Village West condos are available as one option for people in Midland. "If you take 46 units off the market right now, (that would make housing options even slimmer)," Loose said. TO THE EDITOR: Let me preface this with a short history about the baby formula shortage. President Trump's revision of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to the now U.S., Mexico and Canada Agreement (USMCA) restricted baby formula from Canada. So we imported no formula from Canada in 2021. This left us vulnerable to domestic stock, which hit when the Abbot plant was contaminated. Trump's tax cuts for corporations also contributed to the baby formula shortage. Instead of spending money to upgrade their machines, Abbot kept the money from the tax cut and used it for a $5 billion stock buy back. Additionally, the importation of alternative baby formula products manufactured in the EU were banned alleging different product standards that would "create confusion" among customers without further details being provided. U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, you and another 191 Republicans voted "no" on May 18 on a bill that would send $28 million to the Food and Drug Administration to help boost formula supply and prevent further shortages. Please tell us, the public and your constituents, why you voted "no" on this bill? You profess to be anti-abortion. You are adamant that the fetus must be born, but once it is out of the woman's body, you no longer have any interest in the child or its welfare. You and your Republican colleagues complained about the baby formula shortage and then refused to support legislation to help ease the baby formula shortage. Shame on you, Mr. Moolenaar. I await your explanation in this space. BARBARA WITEK Midland Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - A group of 132 vulnerable asylum seekers, including young children, were evacuated from Libya to Rwanda on Tuesday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said KIGALI, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda has announced an additional 250 million U.S. dollars for the Economic Recovery Fund as part of the country's efforts to support the recovery of businesses severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. "Today, we have launched the second phase of economic recovery fund by boosting the recovery fund with 250 billion Rwandan francs (about 250 million U.S. dollars) in order to continue supporting businesses severely affected by the pandemic," said Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente on Wednesday in the Rwandan capital city Kigali. He added that the economic recovery fund that was launched in 2020 has supported businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to be back on their feet. According to him, the increase in the country's economic growth is a result of strategies put in place by the government to fight against COVID-19 including mass vaccination of the Rwandan population. Ngirente also updated the nation about rising global commodity prices and Rwanda's readiness to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), scheduled in June 2022. Ngirente said that Rwanda will work to ensure the supply of commodities and keep their prices stable on the market despite some commodity prices hitting new records. He said that Rwanda is currently importing wheat from Brazil and Australia following the Ukraine crisis. The challenge is that shipping costs have increased but the quantity of wheat has relatively remained the same on the Rwandan market, added Ngirente. The Economic Recovery Fund prioritizes sectors including tourism and hospitality, manufacturing, transport and logistics, agro-processing, education, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) linked to domestic and global supply chains, said Ngirente. According to him, the manufacturing industry was one of the sectors hit hardest by the pandemic, falling by 19 percent, while the construction sector dropped by 6 percent. Rwanda's economy recorded a growth of 10.9 percent in 2021, according to the latest report by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR). The NISR report for the year 2021 said that the sustained recovery during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic managed to reverse the 3.4 percent contraction recorded in 2020. Gaborone, Botswana (PANA) - Prolonged sanctions against Russia, the largest rough diamond producer, could increase demand for and prices of Botswanas diamonds, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a statement on Tuesday following its consultation with the southern African country Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Libyan coastguards have rescued 64 migrants of several nationalities on their way to the European coast in an inflatable dinghy, the Libyan naval forces said in a statement on Tuesday Photo: (Photo : Getty images ) Pediatric stroke can happen, and it is crucial to spot the signs to save a young one's life. Chase Schweiger just got back from school and was preparing for his karate class when he saw his friends playing outside. He asked his mom to skip the karate class so he could play with them. His mom agreed, and it was a good call. Chase's Mom, Wendi Schweiger, recalled that she heard one of his friends urging her son to get up. When she turned around, Chase was lying on the ground, just a few meters from her, Epoch Times reported. She thought her son was kidding around, but then she saw drool coming out of the right side of his mouth. A neighbor quickly lifted Chase and dialed 911. Wendi later noticed Chase's face looked weird; he could not speak and only moaned. They also noted that Chase wasn't moving on the right side of his body. Those were telltale signs of stroke. Chase was immediately transferred to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), where he got immediate treatment. The doctor noted a swelling in the brain; hence, they had to perform immediate surgery to remove a portion of the skull. Such intervention is meant to reduce brain swelling. Chase survived the surgery, and their family has now become advocates for educating others on the signs of pediatric stroke. Read Also: What Parents Need to Know About Sudden Cardiac Arrest in Children What is Pediatric Stroke? John Hopkins Hospital said pediatric stroke is a blood vessel disorder. It can be ischemic, caused by an insufficient blood flow in the brain, or hemorrhagic - bleeding into the brain. It is a rare condition affecting one of every 4,000 newborns and 2,000 older children yearly. Strokes can be life-threatening, and it requires immediate medical intervention. It is one of the top causes of death among children, and it can also cause neurologic disabilities. Signs to look out for: The symptoms of pediatric stroke would depend on the age of the patient. According to Standford Children's Hospital, in newborns, parents and health professionals should watch out for: Seizures Extreme sleepiness Tendency to move or use only one side of the body. For younger children, guardians need to watch out for: Trouble balancing or walking Sudden lethargy or drowsiness Severe headaches, possibly with vomiting Trouble with vision Sleepiness or loss of consciousness What is FAST? Chase's parents emphasize the acronym FAST to easily recognize the symptoms of a stroke. F.A.S.T. stands for: F is for face drooping. One side of the face is drooping or numb. If the person tries to smile, the smile is uneven. A is for Arm Weakness. An arm is weak or numb. When both arms are lifted simultaneously, one arm drifts down. S is for Speech difficulty. You may notice that the child is suddenly having slurred speech or difficulty speaking. The child may have a problem repeating a sentence when asked. T: Time to call 911. If someone shows any of these symptoms, they must call 911 immediately. Related Article: Toddler Fights for Life After Swallowing a Rock While Playing at Daycare Photo: (Photo : SAMUEL CORUM/AFP via Getty Images) Dallas, Texas native Chrissy Murray was driving back from a girls' trip in Cabo, Mexico when she decided to stop by a supermarket to buy some groceries. Murray could not believe her eyes when she entered the store as she found rows and rows of baby formula, which are now hard to find in the United States. Murray told News Nation Live the store worker seemed confused by her excitement. According to Murray, the store worker told her to take as much formula as she wanted as they had tons of supplies in the back. Murray said it was like a kid in a candy store situation for her. She got everything she possibly could from the store and loaded it in her car. Parents have gone to great lengths amid a baby formula shortage in the United States after a recall by formula manufacturer Abbott intersected with supply chain shortages in the country to create the worsening crisis. President Biden invokes Defense Production Act The shortage is particularly alarming because babies' systems can only process certain formulas and breast milk during their first year. For parents who can't or don't want to breastfeed - which accounts for as high as 50 percent in the U.S., the formula is the only way to feed their babies. President Joe Biden invoked emergency powers last week with the Defense Production Act (DPA) to address the baby formula shortage. The Justice Department has proposed a consent decree against Abbott, while French company Danone and Swiss firm Nestle have both vowed to send hundreds of thousands of cans to the United States in the coming weeks. Murray said she and her friends loaded up 12 cans of formula to take back home to the U.S. Murray said she didn't feel guilty like she would at home for taking more than she needed because other people need it too. Read Also: Bubs Australia to Ship Baby Formula Supplies to United States to Help Address Nationwide Shortage Doctors warn parents to only buy brands they recognize and use And while formula is plentiful in some cities like Tijuana, just south of the border, some doctors warned parents to only buy brands they recognize and use. Dr. Maya Bunik, medical director of Children's Hospital Colorado, said that is because formula manufactured in other countries does not necessarily meet the same standards as in the U.S. Additionally, 2-5 percent of babies in America are allergic to dairy. Bunik said there is a toddler formula called Nido that is not safe for infants. She added that they want families to avoid making their own formula recipes and provide more juice or cow's milk from the carton. Abbott has said it plans to reopen the closed Michigan plant on June 4, but it could take up to eight weeks before the formula will be available to buy, according to CNN. Related Article: President Biden Invokes Defense Production Act to Address Baby Formula Shortage in the U.S. Photo: (Photo : Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) Florida authorities released on Monday, May 30, the mugshot and arrest footage of a 10-year-old boy accused of threatening to shoot up his own school. Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno told W Radio in Colombia that he did a campaign which was a fake threat. Marceno said that while he understands that the boy is ten years old and his brain is not fully developed as the kid is still a juvenile, he believed that when a 10-year-old presses a trigger, the aftermath is the same regardless of the age. The sheriff's office posted a video on social media platform Facebook showing Daniel Isaac Marquez - a fifth-grade student at Patriot Elementary School in Cape Coral - being arrested by police on Saturday, May 28, for the alleged text-message threat, which was forwarded to deputies by a tipster that same day. Suspect told friend to get ready for him to carry out mass shooting Marquez was shown being led off with his hands cuffed behind his back while dressed in camouflage, blue Crocs, a hooded, zip-up sweatshirt, and matching shorts. Marceno spoke about the baby-faced suspect in the interview, saying that Marquez told a friend in a text message about "wads of cash" and to "get ready" for him to carry out the mass shooting. The boy allegedly wrote in the text, "I scammed my friend." According to an arrest report, the message included a Google image of money. Marquez then allegedly shared an image of four assault rifles he said he bought and told his friend to "get ready for water day." The New York Post reported that he was referencing a recent school-sponsored event in which students in his school participated in water activities. Marceno said that they didn't wait one second when asked about authorities looking into the boy's threat. Marceno said they investigate every threat as if it is real. He added that they have zero tolerance and that their children will be safe no matter what. Read Also: Uvalde Shooting Child Victims Include 11 Little League Players Marquez charged as a juvenile with making a written threat to conduct a mass shooting Marceno then made a passionate plea, saying, "So, what we need to do is, I beg the parents to sit with your children. We need to do everything we can as a team to prevent these types of issues and not ignore the red flags." Marceno said Marquez was charged as a juvenile with making a written threat to conduct a mass shooting. Later in the interview, he spelled out his department's response to a would-be school shooter. He made a stern warning, saying, "You don't get to come into one of my schools in my county and present deadly force because we meet deadly force with deadly force, without one second, without hesitation." Marceno added, "If you think you're going to come and kill a child, a teacher or a faculty member, think again, we will kill you immediately." Marceno told NBC News that now is not the right time to act like a little delinquent as it is not funny. Related Article: Indiana Mom Draws a Heart on Her Children's Hands Every Morning in Case of School Shooting Photo: (Photo : Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) The history of Father's Day in the U.S. actually started with a woman who campaigned for this special holiday for 62 years before it became a nationally-recognized celebration. Sonora Louise Smart Dodd, then 16 years old, wanted to honor her father, who single-handedly raised five boys and one daughter as a widower, per ABC News. Dodd has heard of Mother's Day in 1909 and felt that dads need the same commemoration as well. In June of that same year, Dodd submitted a petition with the local government to hold a Father's Day celebration. She chose June because this was her father's birth month. Unfortunately, Dodd's petition earned just two signatures, However, she would soon dedicate much of her time campaigning for Father's Day as a national holiday for most of her adult years. This meant Dodd had to travel to different parts of the U.S. to get her message across. Read Also: Schools Cancel Father's Day and Mother's Day, to Hold More Inclusive 'Grownups Who Love Us Day' Presidents Supported Dodd's Father's Day Ideas For the next four or five decades, some states would hold Father's Day celebrations but never as a federal event. Historian Lawrence R. Samuel said that because America was a patriarchal society, having a day to honor fathers was deemed unnecessary compared to Mother's Day, which was recognized as a federal holiday in 1914. Samuel told Teen Vogue that men during this period thought Father's Day was created to boost commercialism thus the ideas were shot down. However, Father's Day started to become appealing when Mother's Day became "highly commercialized" in the 1930s. Retailers also wanted to have the same success with the holiday, especially at a time of economic depression. Eventually, many presidents also supported Father's Day as it helped boost their appeal to voters. Yet Congress refused to sign on proposals to make this into a national event until President Richard Nixon in the 1970s. Who Was Sonora Louise Smart Dodd? Dodd was quite well-known as a poet, writer and sculptor. She published a popular book, "Children's of the Sun," which was about the Native Americans living in Spokane. She was a well-learned student who studied at the Chicago Art Institute, where she also taught sculpture and ceramics. She was a mom to John Bruce Dodd, Jr. Her husband was part-owner of a funeral home in Spokane, where she also served as the vice president. There is a plaque to honor Dodd at the Spokane YMCA. The city also recognizes her as the Founder of Father's Day and the house where she lived is part of the historic and heritage listing of Spokane. She passed away in 1978. Meanwhile, Father's Day has become a billion-dollar industry in America. In 2022, the National Retail Federation expects families will be spending a total of over $20 billion just for this holiday. It comes as fatherhood has also shifted in recent years to reflect dads who are more involved in their children's lives not just as providers but also as nurturers just like moms. Some fathers today even take care of childcare duties while supporting their spouse's career. Related Article: Mother's Day Creator, Anna Jarvis, Fought to Remove Celebration From the Calendar Photo: (Photo : SEYLLOU/AFP via Getty Images) There are very few people across the globe whose lives have not been affected by cancer. That was evident on Saturday, May 28, as many Canadians in Kingston took part in the Ride for Dad, an event aimed to raise money and awareness for prostate cancer. For many who attended over the weekend, the Ride for Dad event is near and dear to their hearts. Participant Josee Douville said they were there to ride the Ride for Dad for prostate cancer. Douville added that they started attending in 2006 and have been doing it every year since. Marion Perry, co-chair of the event and someone impacted by the disease, told Global News that one out of six men would be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Perry added that if she only knew then what she knows now about this disease, she might have saved her dad. Prostate cancer is a silent disease There was a recurring message throughout the day for all men over 40 - to get checked for prostate cancer as it is a silent disease. Perry said a simple PSA test could go a long way in preventing prostate cancer or detecting it. Tianna Garrett also had a message for the women - to do what they do best, which is nag the men in their lives and get them to the doctors. While Perry could not save her father from the deadly disease, she is doing everything she can to ensure others do not experience what she did. Perry said she could try to get the word out there; that is what they are doing; it is their mission. Ride for Dad will continue to do its part by helping raise funds to save lives from prostate cancer while having fun. According to CTV News, Kingston was the second city to host Ride for Dad in 2004 and, on its own, has raised $1.5 million throughout the years. Read Also: Double Murder-Suicide in Florida: Air Force Veteran Kills Terminally Ill Wife and Stepdaughter Before Ending His Life How to treat prostate cancer Prostate cancer occurs in the prostate, a small walnut-shaped gland in males. The prostate gland produces the seminal fluid that nourishes and transports sperm. According to Mayo Clinic, many cases of prostate cancer grow slowly and are confined to the prostate gland, where they may not cause serious harm. While some types of prostate cancer grow slowly and may need minimal or even no treatment for the patient, other types are aggressive and can spread quickly. The best chance for successfully treating prostate cancer is to detect the disease early. Prostate cancer that is more advanced and that has spread outside the prostate gland may cause signs and symptoms such as trouble in urinating, decreased force in the stream of urine, blood in the urine, blood in the semen, bone pain, losing weight without trying, and erectile dysfunction. Related Article: Gun Goes Off in 8-year-old's Backpack at School Grazing a Classmate; Chicago Mom Charged Photo: (Photo : ARMEND NIMANI/AFP via Getty Images) A father and son from Kansas were hailed heroes in their local community after saving a 4-year-old with autism from a potential pool drowning incident. Maddox Westerhaus, 12 years old, was playing in the backyard with his friends when he noticed someone's tiny head floating in the community pool. The youngster realized that it was their neighbor's toddler, Xzavier Rigney, who had autism. The 12-year-old rushed home to alert his father, Tom Westerhaus, who used to work as a lifeguard. Without missing a beat, Tom ran towards the pool, dove in the water, and took the toddler to safety. Tom then started doing chest compressions on Xzavier, who had been underwater for about three minutes, according to People. The dad was relieved when Xzavier jolted and coughed up water. Minutes later, the Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical Battalion arrived on the scene and took over. Read Also: Middle School Students Attempted to Save Bus Driver Experiencing Medical Event While Driving Xzavier's Mom Was With Infant Daughter Alexis Rigney, Xzavier's mother, said that she was trying to appease and comfort her infant daughter when her son, who is also non-verbal, took off without her knowledge. Though their apartment complex pool had gates to prevent such an accident, Xzavier somehow got past this and immediately jumped in the water. The mother said that her toddler with autism has been "attracted to the water" ever since, but he's not yet a strong swimmer. She was in tears when she thanked the father and son for saving Xzavier. The whole incident was caught on the apartment's CCTV, which was how the medical battalion determined how long the toddler had been submerged. Laura McCabe, the fire and police department spokesperson, told Today that Xzavier was already blue from lack of oxygen. However, Tom didn't give up on administering CPR for over two and a half minutes. "I hope people realize how long that is to work on a child with very few signs of it making a difference," McCabe said. All it took was one distracted moment and this 4-year-old slipped out of his apartment and into the pool. He was under for more than 3 minutes until a hero jumped in to save him. Full story to come. pic.twitter.com/N1AQiLZTbj TODAY Parents (@TODAY_Parents) May 31, 2022 As a result of their alertness and heroism, Tom and Maddox were recognized by the fire and police department in a special ceremony. Chief Rob Fleeup awarded the father and son with certificates of heroism and commemorative coins for saving a life. Parents Share Tips on Water Safety Meanwhile, as the summer season has begun, parents Jennifer and David Peacock offered some advice for families to ensure their kids are safe in the water. The Peacocks lost their son, Wesley, to a pool drowning incident at the height of the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. They have been advocating for water safety since then, per Click Orlando. The parents said that it's important for families to consider these important factors to prevent drowning accidents. First, the children should have swimming lessons, and the family should have CPR training. The pool must also have a secure and self-closing gate, while the backyard door going to the pool should be locked or set with an alarm in case the kids wander off. Jennifer and David also emphasized the supervision of children. This way, parents can avoid situations that will put their little ones at risk. Related Article: Rare Carnegie Medal for Lifesaving Awarded to College Swimmer Marena Kouba for Rescuing Drowning Kids Photo: (Photo : JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images) Shelves that are usually filled with baby formula are becoming increasingly bare at pharmacies in Richmond due to the closing of a large manufacturing facility in the United States. That is the case at the Shoppers Drug Mart at Richmond Center, where almost all baby formula items are gone. The situation at London Drugs on Westminster Highway was slightly better, but half of the shelves for baby formula in that store were also empty. Blue signs were seen hanging on the shelves of that store, stating, "Due to limited supply, baby formula is limited to 1 per customer." Amy Bown, speaking on behalf of London Drugs, told Richmond News that due to the high demand, the current limit is one unit for in-store and online purchases. She added that they hope to increase limits to two units for in-store and online purchases by the middle of June. Many stores are limiting purchases of customers Richmond customers can buy two baby formula items at a time on Shoppers' online store. Many stores, however, are limiting purchases to dissuade worried parents from panic buying and hoarding, which would put even more pressure on the supply chain. Benjamin Liu, a customer who used to go to Superstore and Walmart for cheaper baby formula, said he is getting used to the shortage now. Liu noted that almost every time there are discounts, half of the formula items are gone when he gets there. When Liu could not get his preferred baby formula for his one-year-old daughter, he would go online and purchase the product from overseas. However, there was some delay with his recent online purchase, with Liu saying it took a month to get his last order from Germany. Baby formula supply challenges are a broader industry issue, with several B.C. retailers starting to put limits simultaneously. The limits in purchases come as a large baby formula manufacturing plant in the United States was temporarily shut down, causing a global shortage of the much-needed product, according to CNBC. Read Also: Ride for Dad Event in Kingston Raises Funds and Awareness for Prostate Cancer Formula shortage expected to ease soon with the reopening of the Abbott plant According to London Drugs, the limits on baby formula will likely be in place until this fall, with supply disruptions expected to be resolved by that time. Liu said he feels lucky that he still has one and a half bottles of baby formula at home. That will be enough to feed his baby girl for half a month. Bown said they encourage customers to speak to their doctor or pharmacist to discuss alternative solutions for accessing specialty formulas. There is good news, though, for customers with Abbott set to reopen their Sturgis, Michigan plant this June 4. The first batches of the new formula are expected to be available to consumers on or around June 20, with Abbott confirming to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that it will start with EleCare and other specialty metabolic formulas, according to Fox Business. Related Article: Gun Goes Off in 8-year-old's Backpack at School Grazing a Classmate; Chicago Mom Charged Photo: (Photo : Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) A father has sparked positivity and hope at his daughter's school in Massachusetts by holding up a sign outside the school premises to urge the kids to be kind to one another. For over a week, Stephen Mandile has been holding up his kindness sign at the entrance of the Whitin Middle School so that the kids and their parents could see his message during the school drop-offs. According to WCVB, the students have been calling him "the kindness guy." His wife said that teachers have been coming up to her husband to express how much this simple gesture has uplifted the community. One parent, Renee Smith, said it helps to see the kindness guy on the school steps every morning as a positive boost. Read Also: Bullying: Dad Divides Internet for Sharing He's Proud of Daughter Who Beat Up Her Bully Helping Kids Who Are Having a Tough Time Mandile said that he wanted to do something after his daughter relayed that there have been increasing bullying incidents on campus. He thought that sharing positive and motivational messages would help the children. The dad told NBC 29 that he has also talked to the school principal about helping kids who are having it rough and plans to read to some of the kids in the coming weeks. "I don't have a degree or a doctorate in psychology or anything," Mandile, a veteran of the Iraqi War, said. "But I can come outside; I can be seen; I can share a positive message." On some days, Mandile is joined by his wife and two daughters in holding up the signs outside the school. In a time of division and hatred, the family believes it's worth fighting for love and kindness. Dads Also Spreading Kindness in Uvalde Meanwhile, other fathers like Mandile have been spreading kindness in Uvalde, Texas, following a tragic school shooting incident. Dad Carlos Hernandez, who runs a restaurant in the small town, has distributed family-sized platters to the bereaved families for free because he knows that they are "too distraught" to cook, per CNN. Hernandez has also been writing unifying and uplifting messages at his restaurant through the glass windows to give the locals hope. Dad Patrick Johnson is not from Uvalde. He lives hours away in another Texas town, but he chose to drive to the locale to distribute toys to the children so they can hold on to the joy of their childhood. It's not the first time he has done something selfless like this, as Johnson also drove to two other Texas towns, Sutherland Springs and Sante Fee, which were impacted by mass shootings in 2017 and 2018. On the other hand, Librarian Mendell Morgan opened the El Progreso Memorial Library in Uvalde as a place for healing. He has invited massage therapy practitioners, psychologists, pianists, and even magicians to help the locals grieve and heal. Related Article: Valuable Random Acts of Kindness, a Way to Teach Kids Without Any Cost Photo: (Photo : Getty images ) Police arrested Florida teen Corey Anderson at his home near Tampa on Sunday for written or electronic threats to conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism. The 18-year-old allegedly posted photos of weapons on social media with a caption asking Siri the directions to the nearest school. Siri is a built-in, voice-controlled personal assistant available for Apple users. According to jail records, Anderson was booked but was released on bond hours later, NBC News reports. Unacceptable threats The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office detectives were informed about Anderson's alleged post on Sunday. As per the investigation, authorities found that the handgun and rifle were "airsoft guns," resembling typical firearms and using plastic pellets as bullets. In a statement, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said that the threat is unacceptable as Anderson intentionally instilled fear into the community as a sick joke. Chronister added that protecting students is their greatest priority, and they take threats seriously. The sheriff also vowed that his agency would "do everything within our power" to track down individuals threatening schools. A day before Anderson's post, Sheriff deputies in Florida also arrested a ten-year-old fifth-grade student after being accused of threatening to shoot up a school. According to KKTV, the school involved was Patriot Elementary School in Cape Coral. The 10-year-old boy, Daniel Isaac Marquez, was also charged with making a written threat to conduct a mass shooting. The fifth-grader allegedly made the threat through text messenger. Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said that as the child made a fake threat, he is now experiencing the consequences. The father of the 10-year-old Florida boy, Dereck Marquez, 35, broke into tears when asked about his son's shocking arrest. Authorities confirmed that guns were established in the family home and that the son had access to the firearms in Cape Coral. Marceno said that he does not know precisely how the guns are stored. But making the threat and having access to firearms in the house brings a whole different dynamic level. He added that he never wanted to put a handcuff on a 10-year-old, but he tried to warn people that fake threats have real consequences. The young Marquez will remain in juvenile court detention for 21 days. Read Also: Uvalde Shooting: GoFundMe for Orphans of Killed Teacher and Her Husband Reaches Over $2 Million. Wake of Uvalde school shooting Anderson and Marquez's arrest came days after Salvador Ramos,18, entered Rob Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and shot dead 19 elementary school students and two teachers. Law enforcement officers eventually killed Ramos 80 minutes after he entered the classroom. The complaints of parents and witnesses on the delayed response of law enforcement, the inconsistent statements and narratives of the events, and standard police procedures for an active shooter not being followed have prompted a state-led investigation on the shooting, USA Today reports. Related Article: Uvalde Shooting: Family Says More Could Have Been Done to Save Lives This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact the Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions Googles exhausting messaging saga continued Wednesday, with the company pledging for now to unify its Android messaging apps around Google Meet. Google told 9to5Google that the company will update its Google Duo chat app on iOS and Android with all of the Google Meet features, including customized backgrounds, meeting scheduling, shareable content, closed captions and more. Later in the year, Google will simply rename Google Duo to Google Meet, and deprecate the older version, which will be renamed Meet Original. The great thing about bringing the teams together is that weve brought some of the best of both products to each other, strengthened the foundation and its now fairly straightforward because of the work weve done over the last few years to take that final step and actually bring them fully together, Dave Citron, Googles director of product management, explained to TechCrunch. If this sounds confusing, well, youre not alone. For a company founded on simplifying search across the Web, email, and more, simply recounting Googles history in messaging apps requires some digging. Even today, Google still has a page for Google Hangouts, which is being replaced by Google Chat, whose functionality is duplicated in Google Meet, which is being integrated into Gmail. And lets not even talk about the swift death of Allo, Duos one-time companion. Google seems to be promising that the bad old days are over, and we can all go back to a simplified one-app-that-does-it-all approach. Of course, if you believe that, you havent been following Google. History tells us that at some point, Google will likely decide that we need yet another chat app, with yet another interface, with functionality that goes beyond what Meet delivers. The two will coincide for some time, pulling users back and forth. Then one will win out, and there will be a lengthy period of integration while one is absorbed into another. Some features (ones youll care about, most likely) will be killed off, while others wont. And once youve finally figured out a way to make it all work, some ambitious Google engineer will begin the process all over again. If youd like, you can read TechCrunchs account for more explanations of why all this occurred. While you do, maybe the rest of us should all buy iPhones and start FaceTiming. The Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has urged students, especially at the tertiary level to develop the passion and skill to become entrepreneurs as it is the only way to gain employment immediately after graduation. According to him, students who venture into entrepreneurship would only be self-employed after graduation but would be able to also employ others and through that support the nation to reduce its unemployment numbers. He gave this advice when he was addressing participants of a Career Fair organized by the Member of Parliament for Anyaa Sowutuom Constituency Dr. Dickson Adomako Kissi in collaboration with the Pentecost University College (PUC). The event which was held on 26th May 2022 attracted patrons mostly university students and graduates within the constituency and beyond. Mr. Oppong Nkrumah who was the special guest of honour advised the participants to not only develop and nature their skills to attract investments but also institutionalize their businesses to live beyond them. He also advised the participants to use the opportunity offered through the Carrier Fair to acquaint themselves with the corporate firms and their activities in order to position themselves well to obtain experience through internships, and attachments to prepare for the job market. The Member of Parliament for Anyaa Sowutuom Constituency Dr. Dickson Adomako Kissi also entreated the participants, especially those yet to complete university to seek internship opportunities from the various agencies present at the Career Fair in order to gain working experience which will be crucial to their chances of recruitment in future. Some of the firms that participated in the fair include Ghana Shippers Authority (GSA), Ghana Health Insurance Authority, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, National Road Safety Authority, Electricity Company of Ghana, Volta River Authority, Consolidated Bank Ghana and GLICO. The Career Fair was to shape the minds of the students about the job market and how they can position themselves to gain internships, attachments and jobs after school. Some participating firms exhibited available internships, attachments and job opportunities at their end. Source: B&FT 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 Institute for Education Studies (IFEST), a Civil Society Organization on Education says it has observed a friction between the leadership of the Ministry of Education and that of the Ghana Education Service. In a press statement dated May 30, 2022, IFEST expressed concern over the seeming sidelining of the GES in its operations by the Ministry. IFEST said the Ministry was making the GES ineffective. According to IFEST, the Ministry has sidelined the GES in key developments in the sector such as National Standard Test (NST), School Calendar, and the Recruitment of Heads of STEM schools. IFEST said it cannot fathom how Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP) could be purported to have been carried out without the explicit knowledge and involvement of the GES. Below is a copy of the IFEST statement PRESS STATEMENT IFEST EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER MINISTRY OF EDUCATION SEEMING SIDELINING OF THE GHANA EDUCATION SERVICE IN ITS OPERATIONS 1. IFEST has taken notice of a series of events that might have a drastic effect on the Education system in Ghana. It is called an Education System because it has various parts which have to function properly to achieve the common goal of providing quality education for the citizens and improving the human capital capacity of the country. 2. Whereas the Ministry of Education has an oversight responsibility over all its Agencies, there are specific roles assigned to each of these agencies to enable them function effectively within the education ecosystem. For example, National Teaching Council has a mandate to promote teacher professionalism; NaCCA is responsible for Curriculum and Assessment issues at the pre-tertiary level; NaSIA is mandated to provide an independent external evaluation of the quality and standards in basic and second cycle educational institutions in the country on a periodic basis etc. 3. The Ghana Education Service (GES) which is the largest agency under the Ministry of Education is responsible for the implementation of approved national pre- tertiary educational policies and programs to ensure that all Ghanaian children of school-going age irrespective of tribe, gender, disability, religious and political affiliations are provided with inclusive and equitable quality formal education. 4. The mandate of the GES makes it practically impossible for any decision or policy to take place at the Pre-Tertiary level without their input because, they are the implementers of all these policies as mandated by law. 5. IFEST would want to remind the general public about four incidences in the education sector that suggest an attempt to weaken the GES and render it redundant in undertaking its mandate in the sector. These are very worrying trends which should not be swept under the carpet. a. NATIONAL STANDARD TEST (NST): IFEST is reliably informed that the GES just like many other institutions in the sector was not in favour of the mode in which the NST was to be conducted. This was against the National Learning Assessment Framework and its associated Operational Plan of making the NST a school-based diagnostic test instead of a WAEC conducted external examination. Against all sound advice, the Ministry went ahead with the test, the conduct of which was characterized by confusion. Almost six months down the line, WAEC is in still struggling to produce a single result because most students did not shade the paper, as per our investigations. b. SCHOOL CALENDAR: For some time now, we have been experiencing an erratic academic calendar which is uncharacteristic of our pre-tertiary education sector. The GES has been responsible for the school academic calendar all these years, however, recently, the Ministry set up a committee to produce what they said was going to produce a long lasting stable academic calendar. The end result of this decision is a matter of public record. c. RECRUITMENT OF HEADS: Documents available to IFEST reveal that far reaching decisions were made on the recruitment of Heads for newly completed STEM schools. This was resisted by the teacher unions. Although the Ministry refuted this claim, there is enough documentation that points to the fact that NAGRAT was right in their claim. It is obvious that this activity does not lie within the mandate of the Ministry. d. GALOP BROUHAHA: The conversation on the GALOP Teacher Training issue clearly cements our proposition that the Ministry of education is gradually juggling the role of policy formulation and implementing agency and this presents the GES as inefficient. It is clear from the correspondence from the World Bank, The GES and the Press Statements from the Ministry that the GES which is mandated to undertake this teacher training exercise was sidelined in the entire process. Without impugning any motives, IFEST cannot fathom how such a project could be purported to have been carried out without the explicit knowledge and involvement of the GES. 6. It is clear from the events mentioned that it seems the Ministry of Education is consciously or unconsciously weakening the GES with its constant acts. It is important to point out that GES needs to be efficient, effective and inspiring in the delivery of its mandates. Any attempt to continue on this path by the Ministry of Education will kill morale within the GES and put the implementation of a lot of policies in the education sector especially at the Pre-Tertiary level in complete disarray as it has been witnessed in some instances. Already, the World Bank has bemoaned the slow implementation of the GALOP projects. Way Forward 1. IFEST calls on the Minister of Education to show leadership and ensure that there is proper coordination and cordiality between these two critical institutions. 2. We further call on the GES council to ensure that the mandate of the service is not compromised. 3. Finally, we appeal to the President of the Republic of Ghana to step in and ensure that the investments made in the education sector do not go down the drain because of the lack of coordination between these two critical institutions. Signed Peter Anti (Executive Director). 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 National Youth Organizer aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Prince Kamal Gumah has donated assorted relief items to flood victims in some communities in Accra. Prince Kamal Gumah, popularly called Grounds master empathized with the victims as he shared in their loss. The donation exercise took the dynamic PKG and his team to some of the affected communities in the nation's capital to shelter and provide some resources to enhance their livelihoods. Presenting the items, the youth leader stated that the donation is his way of standing in solidarity and also to commiserate with them in this difficult time. Prince Kamal Gumah was hopeful that the intervention would ameliorate the plight of the victims. In each of the communities he visited, the beneficiaries expressed their heartfelt gratitude to him and his team for their thoughtful generosity in their time of need. 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 The Chief Scribe of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia says persons defending IGP, Dr George Akuffo Dampares statement to the British High Commissioner, Harriet Thompson are ill-fated to international relations issues. He was emphatic on NEAT FMs morning show 'Ghana Montie' that the IGP goofed with his lengthy statement. He [IGP] could have used that to address bad policing in our country, he said. Some individuals have commended the IGP for educating the British High Commissioner on what her mandate should be as a diplomat. They claimed the UKs senior representative in Ghanas tweet on the #FixTheCounty Movement, Oliver Barker-Vormawor'sarrest was needless since Ghanas diplomats in the UK do not interfere in UKs security affairs. Harriet Thompson, in a Tweet on Tuesday, May 17, said she looks forward to seeing how the arrest of the Convener of the #FixTheCountry Movement will turn out. Oliver Barker-Vormawor, the convener of #FixTheCountry Movement, arrested again, I understand, for a motoring offence on his way to court. Ill be interested to see where this goes, the tweet said. But the Ghana Police Service through the IGP responded to the British High Commissioner over her comments concerning the arrest of the Convener of FixTheCountry Movement. After posing some fifteen (15) questions to the British High Commissioner, the IGP, however, asked her to be much more concerned about her countrys issues rather not being nosy. De wo fie asem, the IGPs lengthy statement ends with the twi adage. But Johnson Asiedu Nketia noted that the IGPs comment was uncalled-for. His [IGP] duty is to protect citizens not to conduct international relation issues on behalf of Ghana, he lamented. 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. Alex Dadey, Executive Chairman of KGL Group was awarded Group CEO of the year 2021, Conglomerate, at the 6th Ghana CEO Excellence Awards held on Monday 30th May 2022. The Award was presented to him by the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, at the very colourful and significant summit, in recognition of his sterling leadership and business excellence over the last year. The event which attracted the nations creme de la creme, presented the most astute captains of industry, spearheading and achieving not only in Ghanas fledgling economy but also, in the wider context of ECOWAS and Global business circles. Mr. Dadeys award in the Conglomerate Business sector of Ghanas economy, was high public praise indeed. His leadership in guiding the KGL Group to spearhead innovation and digitalisation across various disciplines and towards the growth and progress of businesses in an ever changing and dynamic global economy is immense, and the Groups vision, professionalism, expertise and high standards of practice, shone clear. Mr. Alex Dadey is committed to investing in the business, and to expanding its frontiers beyond Ghana. His vision and ambition have created massive job opportunities, and a commensurate positive impact on the business community. KGL Technology Limited, KGL Capital Limited, KGL Foundation, KEED Ghana Limited and Birchfield (Ghana) Limited are just a few of the high net subsidiaries under the KGL Group led by this visionary Group Chairman and this award adds to the list of many acknowledgements to spur Mr. Alex Dadey, on to achieve more. About KGL Group At The Forefront of Digitalization KGL Group is a wholly owned Ghanaian group of companies, with interests in Technology Innovation, Fin-Tech, Logistics, Trade, Property Development, Gaming and Commerce. The parent company commands a network of specialized business units that promote efficient solutions and effective tech-based related services to customers across Ghana and partner operating regions. KGL Technology Limited - Digital Innovation, Fintech KGL Capital Limited - Equity, Trade, Finance, Fund Management KGL Foundation - Social Accountability (CSR Division of Group) Keed Ghana Limited - Tech Solutions, E-Games Development Birchfield (Ghana) Limited - Logistics, Property Development 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 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that his government will introduce new legislation to implement a 'national freeze' on handgun ownership and prevent people from buying and selling handguns anywhere in the country. 'The day this legislation goes into effect it will no longer be possible to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns in Canada,' Trudeau told reporters on Monday, May 30. The handgun freeze would contain exceptions, including for elite sport shooters, Olympic athletes, and security guards. Canadians who already own handguns would be allowed to keep them. The new laws would also ban some toys that look like real guns, such as airsoft rifles. Last week Toronto police shot and killed a man carrying a pellet gun. "Because they look the same as real firearms, police need to treat them as if they are real. This has led to tragic consequences," Justice Minister David Lametti told reporters. Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Association, welcomed some of the moves, such as the "red flag" provisions in the case of domestic violence, and said he would like more information on enforcement and resources for measures such as the handgun freeze. He completely supported a crackdown on fake guns, which he said were a "big challenge." "You cannot distinguish between what's a replica firearm and what's a real firearm, particularly when these incidences involving replica firearms occur often in very dynamic, quickly evolving circumstances." If passed, the freeze on handguns is expected to come into force in the autumn. Canada's public safety minister has tabled regulatory amendments in parliament to ensure it can be implemented swiftly, according to a ministry statement. This comes after the last week's killing of 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Texas has fed concern about gun violence worldwide. In 2020, Canada banned the sale and use of some 1,500 models of assault weapons, like the AR-15 rifle in the wake of a mass shooting in Portapique, Nova Scotia, a move some firearms owners say they are contesting in court. 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 Queenmothers have appealed to the government to reduce the rising cost of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in order not to reverse the gains made in its usage in the country. They said the constant increase in the price of the product would have a negative effect on the government's afforestation agenda, since people might resort to cutting down trees to use as wood fuel. According to the women traditional leaders, the situation had also made it difficult to convince people to opt for LPG when its price kept rising. The queenmothers made the appeal at a stakeholders meeting organised by the National Energy Transition Committee of the Ministry of Energy for paramount queenmothers in Kumasi last Monday. The meeting was to seek the views of the queenmothers, who represented their respective regions on the countrys energy policy in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Prices Currently, the price of a 6kg gas cylinder ranges between GH60 and GH80, while that of 14kg cylinder is between GH170 and GH200. This has compelled some patrons to now buy gas in quantities they can afford, instead of filling their cylinders. The queenmothers further entreated the government to remove all taxes on LPG and, if need be, subsidize the price to enable more people to patronize the product. The Queenmother of the Nkonya Traditional Area, Nana Adwoa Otubea II, said it would be unwise to ask women to stop using wood fuel if the alternative was not within their reach. Her concern was shared by the Queenmother of the Gwolu Traditional Area, Halakuoro Dr Hajaratu Limann I, who said even though women in her area were into charcoal burning, some were still unable to afford charcoal and coal pot and wondered how such women could opt for LPG. The Mamponghemaa, Nana Agyakoma Difie II, opined that food cooked with charcoal was tastier than that cooked with gas, but admitted that there was the need to preserve the environment through the use of cleaner sources of fuel. Reducing emission The sector Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, said all over the world, governments were taking deliberate steps to reduce the emission of dangerous gases that contributed to the destruction of the ozone layer. He said in Ghana, the transport sector had been found to be a major contributor to the emission of carbon dioxide, even though the sector was playing a pivotal role in the socio-economic development of the country. The minister explained that the objective of the meeting was to seek the input of the women traditional leaders, who represented the largest constituency of people in the country. He said it was also to present the road map in the countrys march towards a net zero future where mitigation actions would offset Ghana's emission challenges. Dr Opoku Prempeh further said the issue was how to shift from the use of fossil fuel to renewable energy and said that required a concerted and deliberate effort on the part of all to ensure that humanity was protected. The Director of Policy and Planning at the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Sheilla Addo, called on queenmothers to rally women and educate them on the impact of wood fuel on the environment and the need to shift focus. Source: graphic.com.gh 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 Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare has cautioned British High Commissioner, Harriet Thompson to learn to keep within the limits of what concerns you". This follows a tweet from Harriet after Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a Convener of FixTheCountry Movement was arrested again. In the tweet, she said: Oliver Barker Vormawor, convener of #FixTheCountry movement, arrested again, I understand for a motoring offence on his way to court. Ill be interested to see where this goes. However, in a strong-worded statement signed by Dr Akuffo Dampare, the tweet was "misguided, unwarranted and biased". "Ordinarily, the Ghana Police Service would not have responded to comments such as yours, obviously made from either a biased or uninformed position. However, we have learnt from previous, painful experience that it has not been helpful to ignore such misguided, unwarranted and biased comments intended to tarnish the reputation of the Ghana Police Service and that of our country. "For the moment, we would recommend a Ghanaian saying that might guide you in your diplomatic engagements. The saying goes: 'di wo fie asem' it means learn to keep within the limits of what concerns you, the statement added. Read the full statement below Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Recently, Ghanaian took to social media to express their outrage after a purported will of Sir John emerged with portions of the Achimota forest lands allegedly belonging to him. This was concurrent with the governments decision to declassify some five parcels of Achimota land for developmental purposes. Sir John also disclosed in the alleged will that he also owned land at the Ramsar area in Sakumono in Accra. But the National Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Freddie Blay, wants Ghanaians to cut the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Forestry Commission, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, some slack over the purported will. Freddie Blay deems it extremely unfair for anyone to assume the industrious Sir John amassed wealth and acquired assets because he was in political office. People have misconstrued and exaggerated it. I have known Sir John, he is my contemporary. He is a lawyer, worked at several places and owned some businesses. I dont know how he acquired his assets, but I will not be in a hurry to say that he obtained everything within two years. So we shouldnt use this to judge Sir John, he emphasised. Freddie Blay was speaking to Angel News Nana Fynn on the sidelines of the Western Regional NPP delegates conference at Ampain in the Ellembelle District. While stressing that his one-time political fellow will not abuse power as head of the Forestry Commission to obtain land for himself, the National Chairman urged the public to exercise some restraint and allow for thorough investigations before making any conclusions. The NPP Chairman insists it will also be hasty to rope the larger NPP group into the development and cast corruption-related aspersions against its members. Lets see what we can do Source: dailyguide 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 Mpraeso, Hon. Davies Opoku has appealed to the President, HE Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo Addo to sack Hon. Adwoa Safo from her position as the Minister for Gender, Women and Children Protection. According to him, her role in government is worthless as she is not dispensing any services of material worth to her position as a minister of state. The Dome-Kwabenya MP has attributed her long absence from Parliament to family issues and assured the people in her constituency that she has not abandoned them. She says her son was unwell. As you know, my son is unwell and has to transition to school, so I have to ensure that all that is settled before I can resume my duties and that is exactly what I am doing. I have been doing a lot to take care of my children which the law requires and as you know here in the foreign land (USA), I have to comply with whatever I am directed to do and until all that is sorted out, I have to do what I have to do, and then I will return to my duties, she said in a recent interview with the media. But speaking on Okay Fm's "Ade Akye Abia" programme, Davies Opoku, who is the former Director of Operations for the Alliance For Accountable Governance (AFAG) accused the Dome-Kwabenya MP of offering flimsy excuses whiles ignoring the larger picture of the plight of the many vulnerable women and children in the country she has abandoned and left to the goodwill of philantrophists. "As the sector minister, she is supposed to provide bills that will seek the welfare of women and children but she is cooling off somewhere and does not even seem to care about the plight of women and children in the country. The country could not even mark World Hygiene Day properly which was normally occasioned with the sharing of sanitary pads for free to school girls across the country just because the sector minister was not even around to draft proposals to solicit for sponsorship for such an activity." "There are over 30 million Ghanaians and i believe she is not the only one who is competent for the job. the president HE Nana Addo Dankwah should in the interest of Ghanaians sack her and appoint some one who is ready to work and help in the Akufo Addo administration. "Ghana can not be held at ransom just because a minister has refused to effectively discharge her duties and is rather offering flimsy excuses," he added. Watch Video Below Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline/[email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Pollster, Ben Ephson says anyone who doubts his election prediction is either a baby in politics or with a short memory. The Managing Editor of the Dispatch Newspaper is under pressure after getting his prediction wrong on the just ended Ashanti regional NPP elections. Ben Ephson had predicted that Chairman Wontumi will lose the regional elections however, Wontumi beat his closest contender, Chairman Odeneho Kwaku Appiah, also known as COKA by over 100 votes to win a reelection as Chairman of the Ashanti Region. After the election, many have tagged Ben Ephson as a 'lair' for wrongly predicting another election in Ghana. But he has defended his false prediction with claims that, Chairman Wontumi won the elections with money. According to him, if delegates were not bought, his prediction would have been accurate. He, however, said those doubting his political forecasts have short memories or babies who have little idea in politics. I need to remind them of my records, he said in an interview with NEAT FMs morning show, 'Ghana Montie'. 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 The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has described as "regrettable and misguided" a letter from the Ghana Police Service to the British High Commissioner, Harriet Thompson. The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare in a statement asked the British High Commissioner "to learn to keep within the limits of what concerns you". This follows a tweet from Harriet after Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a Convener of FixTheCountry Movement was arrested again. In the tweet, she said: Oliver Barker Vormawor, convener of #FixTheCountry movement, arrested again, I understand for a motoring offence on his way to court. Ill be interested to see where this goes. However, in a strong-worded statement signed by Dr Akuffo Dampare, the tweet was "misguided, unwarranted and biased". "Ordinarily, the Ghana Police Service would not have responded to comments such as yours, obviously made from either a biased or uninformed position. However, we have learnt from previous, painful experience that it has not been helpful to ignore such misguided, unwarranted and biased comments intended to tarnish the reputation of the Ghana Police Service and that of our country. "For the moment, we would recommend a Ghanaian saying that might guide you in your diplomatic engagements. The saying goes: 'di wo fie asem' it means learn to keep within the limits of what concerns you, the statement added. Reacting to this in a statement, the NDC said the IGP "should have raised his concerns about the British High Commissioners tweet on Oliver Barker-Vormawors latest arrest with Ghanas Foreign Minister through the Minister for the Interior for it to be addressed via the usual diplomatic channels". "The IGPs regrettable and misguided letter has the tendency of jeopardising the enviable cordial bilateral relations between Ghana and Britain. Ghana and the UK have shared strong friendly bilateral relations and official communications must avoid tones and language which are considerably discourteous, offensive and needlessly provocative," the statement signed by Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the General Secretary of NDC . Read the full statement below: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 31st May 2022. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has become aware of a letter from Ghanas Inspector-General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, addressed to the British High Commissioner, H.E. Harriet Thompson, which has now been widely published. The NDC takes the considered view that Inspector-General of Police, Dr George Akuffo Dampare, should have raised his concerns about the British High Commissioners tweet on Oliver Barker-Vormawors latest arrest with Ghanas Foreign Minister through the Minister for the Interior for it to be addressed via the usual diplomatic channels. The IGPs regrettable and misguided letter has the tendency of jeopardising the enviable cordial bilateral relations between Ghana and Britain. Ghana and the UK have shared strong friendly bilateral relations and official communications must avoid tones and language which are considerably discourteous, offensive and needlessly provocative. The IGPs rather ill-advised attack on the British High Commissioner for being meddlesome in Ghanas internal affairs appears rather far-fetched, particularly considering the significant fact that the activist of interest is a student in the UK and that matters of human rights are universal and cardinal. In any case, international relations of the modern era creates great accommodation for peer reviewthis has been on exhibition in recent times when the Ghanaian President criticised western nations including the UK in his 2021 UN address for apparently using COVID-19 vaccination policies as a discriminatory immigration tool against Africans. The Ghanaian Government was among the first nations of the world to condemn President Vladimir Putin for Russias invasion of Ukraine. In all these instances, no one has accused Ghana of violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961. The NDC has, on no occasion described these very recent examples cited above as tantamount to President Akufo-Addo meddling in the internal affairs of other nations. It is only autocratic regimes that have no regard for democratic principles that are averse to criticism and international scrutiny. The NDC calls on Ghanas Foreign Ministry to immediately intervene in offering diplomatic guidance to the IGP and also taking concrete steps to ease tensions. The NDC wishes to caution the IGP against a posture of high handedness and insipid arrogance which creates the impression that the Ghana Police Service under his leadership is above reproach. He must also be reminded that he does not speak for the Ghana Armed Forces or the Government of Ghana. We request of IGP Akuffo Dampare to rather focus his attention on the worsening security environment which has led to the gruesome loss of the life of a lawyer, gold dealers in Asamang Tamfoe, and many other victims of unresolved police brutalities from the 2020 election killings to Ejura, Tamale, Akatsi, Asawase and Nkoranza. Signed. Johnson Asiedu Nketia- General Secretary 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 On Wednesday 25 May 2022, Spotify took the opportunity to celebrate a crop of African creators who are making their voices heard and, through that, showing the world the vast array of African talent. Dubbed Sounds of Africa, the campaign highlighted six artists and six podcasters, and came to life through a social media campaign in the week leading up to 25 May. It all culminated in a night of merrymaking in Johannesburg, South Africa, where some of the creators as well as music industry stakeholders were present. The six podcasters included Kenyas Mantalk.ke and The Sandwich Podcast, Nigerias I Said What I Said and Tea with Tay and South Africas True Crime ZA and After School is After School with Sis G.U. The six artists were Kenyas Chris Kaiga and Nikita Kering, Nigerias Ladipoe and Preye, and South Africas Nomfundo Moh and Zoe Modiga. The host for the evening was the multi-talented Patricia Kihoro, who kicked off the event with a fireside chat with Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, Spotify Africas Managing Director. In her first ever interview in the role, Muhutu-Remy shared about the Spotify journey in Africa and how platforms like Spotify can help out African storytelling on the map. A creator panel featuring Eli and Oscar of Mantalk.ke, Jola from I Said What I Said podcast and South African artist Zoe Modiga reiterated the importance of telling our own stories as a way of changing the perceptions of the continent. Spotify also announced the creation of the Africa Podcast Grant to help highlight voices from the continent. The $100,000 grant will be given to 10 creators that are telling Africas story.. This fund aims to amplify underrepresented stories and perspectives in podcasting. The party officially kicked off with Blinky Bill, who delivered an electrifying set that got everyone dancing, and a couple of Kenyans in the house even joined him on stage. South African dancer-turned-artist Kamo Mphela took the stage right after with a building shaking performance . DBN Gogo was next with an Amapiano set, before the main act of the night, Nasty C took the stage. The Coolest Kid in Africa definitely delivered, ending with his hit song Particular. To close off the night, Juls took to the decks for an Afrobeats set that left everyone wanting more. This is the first of many initiatives to come. We would like to highlight even more African creators on an even bigger scale, to ensure that the whole world knows that Africa is not just a singular moment, it is here to stay, it is THE moment. - Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, Managing Director, Spotify SSA 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 Jacob Sansom (left) and his uncle Maurice Cardinal are shown in a handout photo from the Facebook page "Justice for Jake and Morris." THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Facebook-Justice for Jake and Morris **MANDATORY CREDIT** Must-Read Travel Guides EAST ASIA SOUTHEAST ASIA Featured Articles Contact Copyright Disclosure If you wish to contact me for questions, advertising, collaboration inquiries, comments, suggestions, reviews or just about anything, please send an email to. I will try my best to reply quickly! Unless, of course, I'm on a trip! :D All rights reserved. All photos and content in this blog are owned by(unless otherwise stated). Parts of the articles may be excerpted (a link to this site should be provided), but not reproduced as a whole. Photos may not be used without permission. Thank you very much!Unless otherwise stated, I personally write my blog posts and it expresses my own thoughts and opinions. I pay for all the expenses of my trips (unless otherwise stated). I welcome collaborations, advertorials and reviews as long as they are beneficial to my readers. All reviews on collaborations contain my own views and opinion and were not influenced by anyone. For inquiries, you may contact me here . Thank you very much! Aiken, SC (29801) Today Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable. A response has been filed to a legal action seeking to overturn all Aiken City Council decisions concerning Project Pascalis. Gary Smith, city of Aiken attorney; Rick Osbon, Aiken mayor; and Stuart Bedenbaugh; Aiken city manager, filed a motion to dismiss the litigation with prejudice on the grounds of lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The three filed the motion through the counsel of Clarke W. McCants III, and Clarke W. McCants IV, of Nance & McCants. In the original May 10 filing, John "Drew" Johnson alleged a conflict of interest and an ethics violation, believing state ethics laws were violated when Smith, the city attorney, "counseled the City Council regarding their vote to give away a section of Newberry Street to RPM Development Partners who is Mr. Smith's business partner William Ray Massey," according to the filing. "I ask that you make null and void every official decision the City Council has made on these items as the public have been completely unaware of Smith's conflict of interests and this massive breach of ethics," Johnson wrote in the May 10 filing. In the response, McCants cites the S.C. Rules of Civil Procedure, writing "this matter is not a civil action commenced in accordance with the provisions of Rule 3, SCRCP." "Mr. Johnson seeks to 'appeal' the enactment of City of Aiken Ordinance No. 05092022B, which was duly considered and lawfully voted upon and passed by the members of Aiken City Council on May 9, 2022," the document reads. The ordinance referred to is the ordinance conditionally conveying Newberry Street to the developers, the condition being that the conveyance would "only take place if a master development agreement is in place between the Aiken Municipal Development Commission and RPM Development Partners LLC." The amount of Newberry Street being conveyed would be 0.2678 acres, which is part of the block of the street between Richland Avenue W. and Park Avenue S.W. The filing notes that Johnson was an attendant at the May 9 meeting and expressed his opposition to the ordinance. "The enactment of the Ordinance by Aiken City Council does not constitute a final judgment of a Court, and from which an appeal may be undertaken pursuant South Carolina law," the filing reads. "For this reason this Court, respectfully, does not have subject matter jurisdiction in this case and it should be dismissed with prejudice," the filing continues. The document also asks for the defendants to "respectfully reserve the right to later petition this Court" for recovery of attorney's fees, costs and expenses in the event that the court "grants the relief set forth in this Motion." The Project Pascalis footprint is bounded by Laurens Street, Richland Avenue, Newberry Street and Park Avenue, with plans to build a hotel, apartments, parking garage and conference center. The new hotel is proposed to be built on the former Hotel Aiken site after that building is demolished. The proposed apartments and parking garage would be located at the corner of Newberry Street and Richland Avenue. The potential conference center would be housed in the old Aiken Municipal Building on Park Avenue. One of the city's goals pertaining to Project Pascalis was to keep any structure being built below the height limit of 55 feet. Aiken City Council agenda notes from May 9 read, "In order to accommodate that restriction while still creating a project containing space for the 100-key hotel, approximately 100 multifamily residential units, a municipal conference center of 25,000 to 30,000 square feet and an adequately-sized parking garage, additional space east of the subject parcels was needed." The June 14 primary will be the second time all South Carolina voters can cast their ballots early. S.C. Gov. Henry Master signed a bill into law in May that created a two-week period of in person early voting beginning at 8:30 a.m. May 31 and ending at 5 p.m. on June 10. Except for the 2020 general election, South Carolina voters that wanted to cast ballots early needed to have a reason to do so. In Aiken County, in person early voting will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Ronnie Young Aiken County Government Center located at 1930 University Parkway in Aiken. Absentee voting by mail is still allowed for qualified voters including people who have disabilities or who are attending people with disabilities, who are 65 or older, who are members of the military or married to someone who is in the military, who are in the hospital, who aren't going to be in their county of residence on June 14, who have employment obligations, or who are in a jail awaiting a trial. People who want to vote absentee are required to apply by phone, mail or at the county voter registration office. The phone number of the Aiken County Voter Registration and Elections office is 803-642-2028. The mailing address is P.O. Box 3127, Aiken, SC 29802. After receiving their application, people are asked to return it to the voter registration office by mail or in person by June 3. Once people receive their ballot, they're asked to return it to the election office by 7 p.m. on June 14. Ballots returned by mail should be mailed no later than one week prior to election day to help ensure timely delivery. Absentee voters are still required to have the ballot signed by a witness and to have a photo identification if they return their ballot in person. People will need to bring a photo ID to vote early or if they vote on election day. Acceptable forms of photo ID are a driver's license or DMV ID card, a military ID, voter registration card with photo or a passport. South Carolina uses an open-primary system, meaning that a registered voter can vote in whatever primary he wishes to vote in regardless of what party he's registered to. As such, voters will need to choose which primary, Republican or Democratic, to vote in. The man who became one of the youngest members of the South Carolina Senate died last Thursday after an accident at his home. Former S.C. Sen. Michael Laughlin represented parts of Aiken County in the South Carolina Senate from 1968 to 1976. Laughlin was born in 1944. He was the grandson of Thomas Laughlin, an executive with the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company. He graduated from Aiken Prep, the Brooks School in North Andover, Mass., and the University of Virginia. Laughlin was in his mid-20s and a student at the University of South Carolina when he withdrew to enter the race for the South Carolina Senate in 1968. A 1968 Aiken Standard article about his campaign says that Laughlin was recruited by the Democratic Party to run against a Republican incumbent. From 1878 to 1964, the Democratic Party had a dominant position in South Carolina politics but in the 1960s the battles over desegregation began to push the state toward the Republican Party. Aiken County was among the first counties to move toward the Republican Party because of the influx of northerners that came to work at the Savannah River Site. In 1968, the state's eight electoral votes went to Republican nominee and election winner Richard Nixon. However, the vote was essentially split into thirds with Nixon receiving 38%, third party candidate George Wallace receiving 32% and Democratic nominee Humbert Humphrey receiving just under 30%. Despite the Republican triumph nationally and the election of six Republicans in the state senate for the first time since the 1890s in 1964, the Democrats were able to increase their majority in the senate in 1968. Laughlin was one of the Democrats elected over Republicans that year. He received 14,196 votes to defeat the Republican incumbent who received 11,255 votes. Toby Ward, Laughlin's attorney, said Laughlin often said that the Senate allowed him to take his seat despite his age. A 1971 Aiken Standard article says that Laughlin was 24 when he was sworn in and the Senate had to pass a special resolution to allow him to serve because he wasn't yet 25, the minimum age for a state senator. The article notes that a similar resolution was passed in 1941 to allow W.J. Bryan Dorn Dorn went on to represent the state's third Congressional district from 1951 to 1974 to serve in the state Senate. Laughlin was reelected to the state senate in 1970 and 1972, the year the state started having senate elections every four years instead of every two years. Laughlin lost his reelection bid in 1976. On March 1, 1976, Laughlin and another state senator announced at a Columbia news conference held with Gov. James Edwards, the first Republican elected governor since Reconstruction ended in 1876, that they were switching to the Republican Party. Laughlin told Aiken Standard reporter Lin Smithwick that he felt the state Democratic Party was taking on more of the characteristics of the national party and becoming more liberal. He added his current views were more in line with the Republican Party. In 1976, South Carolina's electoral votes went to Democratic nominee and eventual winner Jimmy Carter this was the last time that the state's electoral votes went to a Democrat and, in the words of Smithwick, the Democrats "dunked on the GOP contenders." Republican Bill Knotts received 51,130 to Laughlin's 30,557 votes. Ward added Laughlin devoted his time to his businesses and charity work after he lost the 1976 race. Laughlin's business interests included aviation, two radio stations that he owned, automobile sales, media production and timber and equine activities. He founded Eagle Aviation in 1967. The company would manage the Aiken airport several years and currently serves as the fixed base operator at both Columbia airports. Laughlin also served on the South Carolina Aeronautics Commission. A report provided to the General Assembly in 1983 lists him as vice chairman of the commission. A New York Times engagement announcement Laughlin was married twice and had no children says that Laughlin was president of Eagle Enterprises which included two radio stations. It adds that Laughlin was also president of Mill Race Farms. In terms of charity, Laughlin was involved with the Green Boundary Club, Aiken Prep and the Hitchcock Woods Foundation. A 1968 Aiken Standard article says that Laughlin was among the alumni working to improve the Aiken Prep's facilities. Laughlin also served for four years on the board of the New Holland Volunteer Fire Department during the early 2010s. New Holland Chief Dennis Jackson said Laughlin was a good guy and a great individual who donated the land for the department's station two. Jackson said anything the department needed, Laughlin worked to provide. He added Laughlin would occasionally use his own money to provide the then-cash-strapped department with equipment and supplies. Ward said that Laughlin also provided advice and support to friends, associates and acquaintances in business and political endeavors. Laughlin's arrangements are being handled by Shellhouse Funeral Home. Memorials in Aiken and New York are planned for a later date. Memorials may be directed to the Brooks School in North Andover, Mass. A member of the South Carolina General Assembly representing Aiken County has been endorsed by S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster. McMaster announced his endorsement of S.C. Rep. Bart Blackwell, R-Aiken, in the House District 81 Republican primary late Tuesday. McMaster's endorsement of Blackwell comes as Blackwell, who has represented the district since 2017, works to rebut the criticism leveled at him by primary challenger Betsy Lamb. Lamb has repeatedly criticized Blackwell for a lack of communication with the residents of the district and votes on bills that would have prevented COVID-19 vaccine mandates and legalized limited medical marijuana in South Carolina. On the vaccine mandate bill, Lamb has criticized Blackwell for a vote in favor of an amendment that removed a provision that would have prevented private companies from enforcing vaccine mandates. At a forum last week, Blackwell pushed back, saying that every member of the Republican Caucus had voted in favor of the amendment. On the medical marijuana bill, Lamb has said Blackwell voted against it. Blackwell denied this in a recent forum and said he voted in favor of a motion to table a request from House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, D-Richland, for the whole House to reconsider a ruling from Speaker Pro Tempore Tommy Pope that declared the bill didn't comply with the state constitution because it didn't start in the House. In addition to the criticism, Lamb appears to be out fundraising Blackwell in the race. The most recent fundraising numbers available in the race indicate that Lamb has raised $21,152.83 as of May 25 and Blackwell has raised $1,964.90 as of March 31. The South Carolina Ethics Commission requires campaigns to file quarterly statements and statements within a certain period prior to an election. Lamb has filed both her quarterly and pre-election report. Blackwell has not yet filed his pre-election report. Blackwell and Lamb are the only candidates who have filed to run in the June 14 primary so it is very likely that the primary election will determine the representative of the district. Early voting has begun for the June 14 primary election and over 100 Aiken County residents have already cast ballots. Poll workers at the Aiken County Voter Registration and Election office reported 105 people had voted as of just after 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday. They added there have been no issues and voting is going smoothly at the voting location on the first floor of the Ronnie Young Aiken County Government Center. Tuesday marked the first day of a two week period of no excuse early voting that will end at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 10. The two week period of no excuse early voting was implemented after S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster signed an election reform bill into law on May 13. The bill was approved by the South Carolina General Assembly on May 12, the last day of their 2022 session. The bill also restricts absentee ballots to mail-in only and certain groups like people over 65 or have a disability or who have a work conflict. It also makes voter fraud a felony and increases the penalties for people convicted of the offense. The Vietnam War claimed nearly 60,000 American lives. Thirty men from Aiken County were among those who died, and their names are engraved on a memorial that was rededicated Monday in Aiken. I would like to announce that there will be no politics, religion and controversial statements, said Burrell Whitley as he addressed the crowd gathered at Aiken County Veterans Memorial Park for the ceremony. This is all about the patriots listed on this monument, who sacrificed the ultimate for their country, the United States of America, and their memory being reunited with their fellow patriots from previous wars and police actions, who also sacrificed their lives for America. Whitley, a Vietnam veteran, played an important role in the creation of the memorial, which originally was dedicated in 1973 and used to be located on Laurens Street near the Aiken Department of Public Safetys former headquarters. The monument was moved April 22 to Veterans Memorial Park, which is more accessible to the public than the median where it formerly stood. Before the transfer could take place, legislation had to be passed at the state level because the South Carolina Heritage Act prevents the removal of historic monuments from public property without the approval of two-thirds of the General Assembly. On April 4, Gov. Henry McMaster signed into law the resolution needed to relocate the Vietnam War memorial. In its new home, there also is a memorial wall that honors all of Aiken Countys fallen military heroes. The Aiken County Veterans Council teamed up with the local chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America to organize Mondays rededication event. It was held immediately following a Memorial Day ceremony conducted by the Marine Corps Leagues James L. Hammons Detachment No. 939. Veterans Memorial Park is at 1435 Richland Avenue East. Moncks Corner, SC (29461) Today A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low 69F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. When Robert Thomas was in high school, he had no idea he could make a good living with a creative, hands-on career. Now, his blacksmithing company is expanding to create more jobs and products in a $2.9 million investment. "Our expanded operations will enable our growing community of craftsmen and designers to have the space, equipment and support they need to keep the spirit of blacksmithing thriving in Charleston, Thomas said. Robert Thomas Iron Design is a blacksmithing company that combines traditional techniques with new methods to create custom orders as well as small lines of products like cookware, furniture and decorative hardware. Prices can range from under $100 for smaller products to well into the hundreds of thousands for items like custom gates, Thomas said. The companys expansion into a larger building in North Charleston will let Thomas hire 45 new employees over the next three years, make more products and educate the community about blacksmithing. Thomas said the unique thing about his company is that it has figured out how to manufacture small product lines while also taking custom orders. Most blacksmiths mainly rely on custom orders, said Eric Doesburg, the company's chief financial officer. "There's no difference in the core principles of how we join metal, how we shape metal, but instead of that one project, we do it repetitively for a product," Doesburg said. Doesburg and Thomas also work in the shop as metal workers. Each of the positions the company plans to hire should have a craftsperson mindset of creativity, Doesburg said. The company's unofficial motto is to build cool (stuff) and have fun while doing it, Doesburg and Thomas said. About 70 percent of the positions Robert Thomas Iron Design plans to hire will go to metal workers. The rest will be open to designers, engineers and other office workers and administrators, Thomas said. The company currently has about 15 full-time employees. Doesburg said blacksmiths are highly trained and use judgment with every movement they make to the metal. "There's a lot of problem-solving, Doesburg said. You are problem-solving each time you hit, because you see it's not where you want it. So, you hit it at this angle at this height to come together as your craft. Combining custom orders and designing product lines, such as custom cookware, is another area where the company put problem-solving to the test. "Most blacksmiths are incredible craftspeople but abysmal at business," Thomas said. "We made an active decision that we would learn to bother with all of the business." Robert Thomas Iron Design is trying to create its own path where it doesn't have to choose between craftsmanship and business. "We're doing it at the largest scale that we can do where the craftsmanship still matters," Thomas said. Craftsmanship and creativity are central focuses in a project to create custom oyster trays for The Ordinary restaurant in Charleston. Were always looking for different ways to evolve and tighten up our presentation, chef and co-owner Mike Lata said. We want to give customers an experience that is unique to this town. We do so by creating decor thats specifically unique to the city. The expansion which probably wouldve happened sooner, if not for the pandemic will let the company continue doing custom orders, like the oyster trays, and large public art pieces, such as gates, while also identifying new consumer items they can forge. Though they get the lease to the new building, 56 Hayter St., in January 2023, theyll upfit it and move in next spring or summer. With the new space, theyll make anything they can get forged metal to lend itself to. "That mix (of products) enables us to provide a place where craftspeople can come and make a really good living and practice their craft, where they can get full benefits," Thomas said. "All of those things that you might get from a 'real job' people can come here and they can hammer on metal and they can get those same things." Open positions will be posted on the companys career page. The executive director of Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum is stepping down after about a year on the job. The state-owned maritime museum in Mount Pleasant said June 1 that director Rorie Cartier will leave at the end of the month, citing "personal and family needs" that require him to vacate his role at one of the region's top attractions. It has been a pleasure to serve in this role, and the lessons and experiences gained have been invaluable," Cartier said in a statement Wednesday. "I am confident that the museum is on solid footing and will continue to grow, inspire and educate the world on patriotism and honor. Cartier's resignation will be effective June 30, and the museum's board will start searching for a new director. An interim director will step in to lead between Cartier's departure and the start of a new director's tenure, but a specific person hasn't been named for that yet, museum spokesperson Mayci Rechner said. The board will likely discuss that and the upcoming search at its next meeting, which is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on June 3. Cartier was named executive director a little over a year ago, in May 2021, and he started in the role last summer. He had replaced Larry Murray, who was deputy director for legislative affairs for the S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles before becoming executive director at Patriots Point in mid-2019. Murray was in the lead role at the maritime museum for about two years before stepping down in spring 2021. Murray's predecessor, Mac Burdette, was executive director at Patriots Point for nine years before he retired in 2019. Before coming to Patriots Point, Cartier was director of the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas. He was also an assistant director of development for the Admiral Nimitz Foundation and had leadership positions with the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. Cartier told The Post and Courier last summer that he had a lot of goals for the waterfront museum including getting it accredited something he was able to do at the museum in Texas. The potential that this place has is just phenomenal, Cartier said at the time. In a statement, Patriots Point board vice chairman Wayne Adams said he was sorry Cartier isn't able to stay at the museum and pointed to the success that Patriots Point had last year. Like tourist attractions across the state, Patriots Point had to close early on in the pandemic and suffered from a drop in attendance but saw demand return during 2021. Demand has also been strong this year. "We appreciate his service and leadership during the past year as we recovered from the pandemic," Adams said of Cartier. Last year was a "very good year" for the museum, Adams said, adding that the museum expects that to continue "over the coming months." WEST COLUMBIA Nephron Pharmaceuticals has issued a recall of more than 2 million doses of 20 generic drugs it produces at its West Columbia manufacturing facility. Medicines that relieve pain, reduce bleeding after childbirth, control blood pressure and that are used in anesthetics were among those recalled. Notices posted on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website state the various pharmaceuticals are being recalled because of "lack of assurance of sterility." Sterility assurance refers to the probability that bacteria, viruses or other microorganisms are unable to survive the sterilization process. Federal regulations require that drug makers demonstrate a certain level of confidence in the sterility of their products. Out of an abundance of caution, Nephron is proactively cooperating with the Food and Drug Administration on a voluntary recall of a limited number of product lots," CEO Lou Kennedy said in a statement. "We do not take this lightly. While there has been no impact to patient safety, and there is no evidence of contamination, Nephron has decided in the interest of patients to proceed with this recall process." FDA officials have been at Nephron conducting what the company called "a routine inspection ... after not having been able to visit, due to the ongoing public health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic." The drugs involved in the recall are part of Nephron's compounding drug operation, which produces high-demand, commonly-used drugs for hospitals and medical clinics across the country. Neither the FDA nor the company said what led to the concern surrounding its sterilization process, only repeating that "there has been no danger to patient safety and no contamination." Nephron did not release how much the recall will cost the company. "Nephron is more confident than ever it will learn from this and emerge stronger than ever working hard as a team," the company said in a statement. The company's drug compounding business remains in operation as the FDA continues with its inspection process. FDA officials did not respond to questions from The Post and Courier in time for deadline. Among the drugs recalled are: oxytocin, used to induce contractions during labor and reduce bleeding after childbirth; phenylephrine and labetalol, used to control blood pressure; ketamine hydrochloride, lidocaine, glycopyrrolate, succinylcholine chloride, rocuronium bromide, which are anesthetics, sedatives and anesthetic aids; neostigmine methylsulfate, used to reverse the effects of muscle relaxants after surgery; epinephrine, used during cardiac arrest; calcium gluconate, used to treat calcium deficiency; sodium bicarbonate, an antiacid; and hydromorphone, a pain reliever. Nephron has sent notices to customers via certified mail and email. There is also a dedicated phone line for anyone with questions about the recall. "The company is prepared to provide the resources and information necessary to health care providers and patients to make certain they have anything they need and any questions answered. They remain our top priority," Kennedy said. A total of 2.15 million syringes and more than 7,000 bags of drugs were involved in the recall, which the notice on the FDA website said is ongoing. The recall was listed as a Class II, the second of three classes used by federal regulators, meaning use of the drugs could cause temporary adverse health consequences or the probability of serious health consequences is remote. Nephron has the capacity to produce more than 1 billion doses of various pharmaceuticals annually, the company said. In its compounding operations, the company is approved to make some 125 types of sterile drugs, Kennedy previously told The Post and Courier. The drugmaker has been on a growth wave in recent years, building out its sprawling campus to add production of at-home COVID-19 test kits and medical gloves, a new 110,000-square-foot wing where it will begin making chemotherapy drugs and a number of antibiotics, a new 200,000-square-foot warehouse where it plans to fill vaccines, and a new subsidiary that will make a portion of the medical devices and packaging that Nephron previously contracted out. This is in addition to the respiratory medications the company has long been known for. According to Kennedy, the company employs roughly 1,200 full-time workers and 2,500 part-timers. COLUMBIA Danielle Page drove just under an hour from her home in Lexington to a Walmart in Orangeburg to retrieve baby formula for her 8-month-old son, Everest. There, she met a young mother who drove an hour and a half from Augusta, Ga., with her baby searching for formula. Like many mothers across the country these days, neither got the formula they needed. It's really hard for me to go to multiple places to see who has formula," Page said. "Plus, I'm not a native to Columbia, because I moved here two years ago, I don't know a ton of people in the area." Her fruitless trip spurred Page to create a Facebook group called Moms of the Midlands to help locate baby formula around the Columbia region during a nationwide shortage. Similar online groups have popped up, including Lexington SC formula finds. Moms of the Midlands, which has over 400 members, shares information where shoppers have found formula in recent weeks. A few group members put formula up for sale or are willing to exchange it for brands of formula they need. "I would always say at the end of some of my posts: 'Let's get these babies fed.' Because really, ultimately, that's what every interaction on this page has been about" Page said. At one point, Page put up an offer for three cans of formula and worked with another mother to get some to her. The woman only took one can, though, saying she wanted to leave the rest for others. I think that they're really great with being able to know how much they need and not get an excess of, Page said. Jordan Craps, who lives in Lexington, started the Lexington SC formula finds group on Facebook after she saw a friend repeatedly posting on her Facebook asking if anyone had seen a specific brand of baby formula. The group has over 550 members. Some mothers need to use baby formula because they cannot breastfeed, like Craps who needs to take blood pressure medicine. The Lexington group has even attracted posts from employees at some stores who will say when formula shipments are expected. There are a lot of people rallying together that don't have kids, like I said, just offering, Hey, can I pick this up for you? I finally came across a little bit, is this what you use, Craps said. Page, who cannot breastfeed due to her son being born five weeks early, said during her search that a post in her group showed a row of formula in a store in Irmo. When she called the store, an employee told Page the store did not have the formula. Later in the day, though, the employee called Page to tell her she had kept two cases of the formula for Page. Page wanted to share the cases with another mother but kept them when she told Page to do so after receiving formula from outside of South Carolina. I thought that was the most selfless thing," Page said. "This group is a bunch of selfless women that just really want to help each other. The groups also help answer questions about ways some parents have tried to overcome the shortage, such as making formula at home or ordering formula from Canada. Once the shortage ends, Page said she wants to keep running the Moms of the Midlands group so parents can talk about their kids and the day-to-day challenges of parenting. With the influx of people moving here from all out of the state, I think it's really important to have a group like Moms of the Midlands that is not just singled out to one specific city, or too far out, Page said. You are the owner of this article. This is part of The Post and Couriers Daily Digest series, in which one of our food reporters asks a local to describe a day of eating in detail. Devon Wray Hanahan is a professor, faculty marshal and vice president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors at the College of Charleston. I don't eat breakfast during the week, even though I love breakfast food. I drink hot black tea with a splash of milk. Today, I had one on my way to work, and then I fixed another one to take to my first class at the College of Charleston. I actually keep a microwave in my classroom so I can keep reheating my tea when it gets tepid; it has to be super hot or I don't like it! I usually bring my lunch to work, but I forgot it, which happens at least once a week. I went across the street to the Liberty Fresh Food Company, also known as the cafeteria at the College of Charleston. I don't know why some students complain because they have a smoothie bar, a salad bar, an Asian food bar, a home-cooked meal bar, a sandwich bar, a pizza bar and on and on. When I was a student we got one meal (no salad bar), and you could take it or leave it! I was feeling virtuous, so I fixed a big salad and got a very good piece of grilled salmon from the Asian food bar. I then ruined it, however, by getting a lemon cupcake and eating the frosting off of it before I even got back to my office. I fixed another cup of tea for my 1 p.m. class, and then a couple of hours later I ate a little bag of Cheez-Its from the snack supply I keep in my classroom for my students. When I got home at 6 p.m., I fixed black bean and chicken quesadillas with avocado, cucumber and salsa on top for my husband and myself. I drank a Pamplemousse La Croix. Once again, I tainted the healthy effects of that meal by having a spoon of Nutella later that night for dessert. Oh well, life is short, and Nutella is amazing. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Partly cloudy with a slight chance of thunderstorms. High near 85F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight A few clouds. Low 74F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Georgetown, SC (29440) Today Sun and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 84F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear. Low 69F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Over the past year and a half, a Greenville-originated real estate program intended to locally challenge home listing powerhouse Zillow has become the official app of the Greater Greenville Association of Realtors. Quitchet is an app for both mobile and desktop devices, developed by local real estate agent Bob Morgan, which allows would-be home buyers, sellers and real estate agents to directly connect. It launched in October 2020. The local realtor group supported and tested the app, and in the third quarter of 2021 it entered into a long-term agreement with Quitchet to make it the main app and one of two home tour schedulers for the Greater Greenville Realtors Association, Morgan said. It is now listed as a member benefit of the association. "We have tested Quitchet for more than a year and we feel this is an amazing tool to help the market and anyone looking to move into or search the Upstate," Greater Greenville Association of Realtors CEO Nick Sabatine said in a statement. Morgan has long planned to expand beyond the Greenville area. He expects to announce a few more expansion markets later in 2022 and in 2023. The company has presented in places like California, New Jersey, and Ohio. "We're very optimistic about the next couple of years," Morgan said. GSP receives federal funds Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport plans infrastructure improvements to its air cargo apron with the help of COVID-19 stimulus funds. U.S. Economic Development Administration awarded a $5.2 million grant from the American Rescue Plan Act. The airport will match the funds from the federal government by $3.4 million for a grand total of $8.6 million. The South Carolina Appalachian Council of Governments helped the airport secure the grant. Planned improvements includes expansion of the air cargo apron and extension of a roadway and utilities. The airport is currently expanding its cargo facility by 50,000 square feet, which is expected to be completed late summer. More than two years ago, the airport opened its 110,000-square-foot cargo facility and a 17-acre apron that can hold up to three Boeing 747-8 freighters. In 2021, the airport handled 96,800 tons of cargo, a 48 percent increase from 2020. About 43,800 tons of cargo from 2021 was international freight valued at more than $5 billion. Community Pride Fair June is Pride Month. Pride Link, a Greenville-based nonprofit aiming to improve the lives of LGBTQ people in the Upstate, paired with The Community Tap for a event to raise money for the nonprofit. The Community Pride Fair will be held on June 4 from noon to 5 p.m. at the beer and wine bottle shop on Wade Hampton Boulevard. The Community Pride Fair will have food, games and a raffle. Latest gift to Clemson Amy and Micky Scott gave $2 million to the Clemson University Wood Utilization and Design Institute to endow its directorship. The institute looks into how wood-based construction materials can compete with steel, concrete and other materials in nonresidential construction. The Patricia "Pat" Layton Endowed Directorship is named after the founding direction as Layton prepares to retire. She will remain part-time director as the institute board searches for her replacement. Personnel moves around the Upstate The Southern Bank which announced in mid-May it plans to put its holding company headquarters in Spartanburg added Russ Williams as its new senior vice president of Upstate commercial lending in the Greenville market. Previously, he worked as a senior advisor for business broker Vikings Mergers and Acquisitions. the Greenville branch of The Southern Bank is under construction on Cleveland Street in Greenville. An opening date will be announced soon. which announced in mid-May it plans to put its holding company headquarters in Spartanburg added as its new senior vice president of Upstate commercial lending in the Greenville market. Previously, he worked as a senior advisor for business broker Vikings Mergers and Acquisitions. the Greenville branch of The Southern Bank is under construction on Cleveland Street in Greenville. An opening date will be announced soon. Greenville-based Jordon Construction Company added Solomon Bolden as an assistant project manager in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Kiersten Mills as an administrative assistant to Scott Gaeta, the Chief Construction Officer. added as an assistant project manager in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and as an administrative assistant to Scott Gaeta, the Chief Construction Officer. The 449-acre Hartness development project southeast of Greenville announced Tori Wallace-Babcock as its development manager. She brings more than 15 years of development, real estate and construction-related project management to the "urban village" project, previously serving as project manager at the Greenville offices of Mashburn Construction Company. Anna B. Mitchell contributed to this story. Thats all for this week. Email your thoughts, tips, releases and newsy bits to smirah@postandcourier.com. Brandon Alter covers the town of Kingstree and Williamsburg County for The Kingstree News. He is from the suburbs of Washington, D.C. He graduated from the University of South Carolina's school of Journalism and Mass Communications in May 2021. The last time we checked in with South Carolinas best-known ethically challenged magistrate, the S.C. Supreme Courts Office of Disciplinary Counsel had just dismissed a complaint against Angel Underwood for presiding over cases brought by deputies who were set to testify in her husbands federal corruption trial. Fortunately, that wasnt the end of the story. As The Post and Couriers Avery Wilks reports, work continued on a separate 2019 complaint against the Chester County magistrate, and last week a unanimous S.C. Supreme Court suspended her for six months. It was the second time the high court had been compelled to suspend her since she was appointed to the bench in 2011. This time, the court said, Judge Underwood engaged in conduct that served to erode public confidence in the judiciary when her husband was Chester County sheriff and she used her official email account to issue instructions to his employees and meddle in Sheriffs Office matters. The court had suspended her for a year in 2016 for failing to disqualify herself from more than 100 cases brought by the office after her husband became sheriff. The court's most recent order did not seem to address another part of the 2019 complaint against Judge Underwood: Just months after her initial one-year suspension ended in 2016, she had secretly aided the sheriffs office in drafting a complaint against her colleagues on the bench. That seems particularly egregious, since it involves trying to get other judges removed from office because her husband was unhappy with their decisions. The latest suspension did include a bizarre reference to Judge Underwood helping her husband prepare a complaint concerning one of his employees. If the justices were talking about her efforts to get other magistrates removed and somehow mischaracterized the situation (and thats a pretty significant mischaracterization), they need to set the record straight. If they still have not acted on the part of the complaint involving other magistrates, they need to do so or explain why that was not a problem. But while we need some clarification on that, and we still need the court to truly open up its disciplinary system the way it said it was doing a quarter century ago, we need to be clear on one thing here: The major failing in the Angel Underwood case is not at the Supreme Court. Its across the street in downtown Columbia, at the Statehouse. How much of that blame belongs downstairs in the governors office and how much upstairs in the Senate chamber depends on how courageous you think a governor should be in face of certain defeat: Gov. Henry McMaster reappointed Judge Underwood to the bench in 2019, despite her earlier suspension. The governors office said it wasnt aware of the suspension, which she did not mention on her application for reappointment, but it takes about 10 seconds to type her name into the search box of the Supreme Courts website and find the 2015 reprimand and suspension. Of course, while the governor officially appoints magistrates, the reality is that senators pick the magistrates in their districts and the governor rubber-stamps those picks because the Senate defers to the judgment of the local senator and wont confirm a magistrate that senator doesnt want. And state law says magistrates remain on the bench until their successor is appointed, so Mr. McMaster would not have been able to get Judge Underwood off the bench even if he had refused to reappoint her; instead, he would have effectively given Sen. Mike Fanning more inappropriate sway over a judge, by empowering him to keep her in holdover limbo and remove her whenever he wanted to which is something some senators do just because they can. Mr. Fannings support of Angel Underwood has been indefensible. We hope this latest suspension coming as it does now that her husband is awaiting his turn in a federal prison instead of holding the most powerful law enforcement position in Chester County finally convinces him that she is unfit to serve as a judge. She not only has no respect for the concepts of judicial independence and integrity but also has no intention of developing it. Her current term ends next year, and Sen. Manning should go ahead and pick someone with integrity to replace her. Even if he continues to support her, though, his colleagues should stop allowing him to make a mockery of our judicial system, and of the Senate. The first step is to refuse to let him reappoint her and to let Mr. McMaster know they would confirm anyone else he appoints. Beyond that, senators need to overhaul an internal system that allows a back-bench senator to hide information from his colleagues about serious problems with his appointments and to put his cronies on the bench with no questions asked. There are numerous other changes lawmakers need to undertake to make magistrates more professional, competent and honest starting with eliminating the holdover provision that turns magistrates into at-will employees of individual senators but those changes inside the Senate would be a good first step. Queen Elizabeth is celebrating her Platinum Jubilee70 years on the throne. After a lifetime of integrity and faithful service, the queen is naturally popular. Current surveys have Elizabeth at 81% favorable and 12% unfavorable. One wonders who the 12% areIRA terrorists, maybe? Of the royal family, Prince William and Duchess Catherine score next at 74/10. Prince Andrew is the least popular royal, with a 5% approval rating. I dont think I have ever before seen a public person with an approval rating that low. Up one notch from Prince Andrew are the Sussexes, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Markle. Poor Harry now scores an anemic 32/58 approval, while Meghan lags behind at a brutal 23/63. In my opinion, Meghans unpopularity is deserved. It also strikes me that one can compare her standing with the public to that of Amber Heard, a principal in a trial that has been followed by orders of magnitude more people than, say, the Sussmann prosecution. For those who havent paid attention, Amber Heard is a modestly successful actress who at one time was married to Johnny Depp, a more prominent actor. Heard was part of the me too movement. Someone at Amnesty International (she promised a big donation to Amnesty, but didnt deliver) ghost wrote an op-ed for Heard in the Washington Post in which she described herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse. That was all it took. Depp sued her for defamation, claiming that he did not, in fact beat Heard during their brief marriage. Several years ago he brought a similar lawsuit against the U.K.s Sun newspaper, which called him a wife beater based on Heards allegations. That case was tried to a London judge who held that Heards claims were true. Depp got a second bite at the apple in a Virginia courtroom, I assume because British judgments do not get collateral estoppel effect in American courts. Depp v. Heard has been followed breathlessly by many millions in the U.S. and around the world. To say that the testimony has been lurid is an understatement. The trial has lifted the lid on an almost unbelievably depraved Hollywood lifestyle. Amber Heard is much like Meghan Markle. Like Markle, she came from a hardscrabble background, but was ambitious beyond what most consider reasonable. Like Markle, through grit and determination she parlayed her natural beauty into a pretty successful acting career. Like Markle, her ambition found its ultimate outlet in marrying up. For whatever reason, it seems that this combination is not popular with the general public. I have only watched portions of the Depp v. Heard trial, but from what I have seen I think that both litigants have considerable faults. That said, Depp is, in my view, much worsea hopeless drunk and drug addict, and a crude, cruel man. In all, a terrible human being. From what I have seen, I think Heards characterization of herself as a victim of domestic abuse is probably correct, if sometimes overblown. And yet the public cant stand Heard. Every day at the courthouse, Depp is cheered by adoring fans, while Heard is booed. The courtroom is packed with Depp fans; he flirts with court personnel and is treated deferentially by the judge. On social media, Heard is relentlessly mocked, with 30-second videos purporting to destroy her case a staple on TikTok. I guess the me too moment must be over. One remarkable feature of the trial is that Depps lawyers, who have had the better of Heards lawyers at every turn, called an expert witness (a woman who, for what it is worth, is even more beautiful than Amber) to testify to Heards personality defectsshe supposedly suffers from borderline personality disorderand call her a liar. How did this happen? There were hundreds of times in my career as a litigator when I would have liked to have a psychologist examine an adverse party and testify to his untrustworthiness, but this is not ordinarily possible. I assume the explanation must be that Heards lawyers called a psychologist to testify that Heard exhibits the characteristics of a battered woman, or else to testify to the emotional damage that Depps defamation of Heard has causedshe has asserted a counterclaimthus opening the door for Depp to call his own psychologist by way of rebuttal. I am always reluctant to criticize other lawyers, who know a million times more about their cases than I do, but this seems like an appalling blunder. The Depp v. Heard jury retired to deliberate at about the same time as the Sussmann jury. The Depp case is being followed with vastly more interest, and the jury is taking more time to deliberate. Notwithstanding relentless spin on Depps behalf, my guess (having watched nowhere near half of the trial) is that the jury will not award much, if any, money to either party. The key element is perhaps the gender composition of the jury, which I believe has five men and two women. That at least should give Heard a fighting chance. As the enforcement of ban on commercial motorcycles across six local government areas of the state commences on Wednesday (today), the Lagos State Government has advised schools below tertiary level to be security conscious. In a statement on Tuesday, the director-general of the Lagos State Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA) at the states ministry of education, Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, said the schools should ensure compliance with the Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy of the state as prescribed. In furtherance with the State Governments Emergency Guidance for Public and Private Schools, schools should be proactive by preparing to address various safety and child protection issues that may arise, the statement reads in part. She reiterated that the Lagos State Police have assured the public that all necessary human, material and operational resources have been deployed across the state to forestall any breakdown of law and order. The director-general also advised school authorities, parents and guardians to contact appropriate emergency services and also lodge complaints on the agencys website should the need arise for such. The Okada ban In May, Mr Sanwo-Olu imposed a fresh ban on commercial motorcycles, popularly known as okada from operating in six local government areas: Eti-Osa, Ikeja, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland, Apapa, and Surulere. Following the ban, the police in Lagos deployed officers to different parts of the state to prevent the breakdown of law and order due to a viral Whatsapp message of a planned protest by the riders. The Lagos State Task Force also seized more than 200 motorcycles in Lekki before the deadline. The latest ban comes more than two years after the government enforced a ban on the operation of motorcycles and tricycles across the state. The government had explained that the relaxation of the law was not unconnected with the impact of the coronavirus-induced lockdown on global economies and how many Nigerian families have since continued to struggle to survive even after the lockdown was lifted. The governor, however, said commercial motorcycle operators have since constituted a menace in the state, even as he cited security reports to back the position. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The former Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, has been screened by the All Progressives Congress (APC) committee screening presidential aspirants. Mr Okorocha was screened at the Transcorp Hilton venue of the exercise on Tuesday night. He arrived around 9:20 p.m. Earlier on Tuesday, PREMIUM TIMES reported how the Federal High Court in Abuja granted Mr Okorocha bail with a directive that he should remain in custody until the bail conditions are met. Justice Inyang Ekwo, while granting Mr Okorocha bail, imposed a N500 million bail bond with one surety in a likesome who must be within the jurisdiction of this court. Mr Ekwo directed the Federal High Court registry to verify the documents of property to be presented as bail bonds. He also ordered Mr Okorocha, who is being prosecuted by the EFCC for allegedly stealing state funds while he was governor, to deposit his international passport with the court registry. Mr Okorocha was able to meet the bail conditions and make it to the venue of the screening. Speaking to journalists after the screening, Mr Okorocha said he came directly from the EFCCs custody to the venue. It was quite successful and I am the last to be screened at this late hours because I came straight from the EFCC headquarters, he said. He also agreed with the call for a consensus candidate, noting that the consensus can only be achieved by ensuring that all the aspirants are allowed to reach such agreement. Consensus is needed, but consensus is that some of us must agree that is what is meant by consensus. There must be a platform where all of us can agree and to say listen, lets look at what other party is doing and who can really match the other party and most importantly who can cut across this nation, he added. President Muhammadu Buhari had on Tuesday said the governors should back him to select his successor. Mr Buhari had during a meeting with the governors said he will be offering leadership in the course of the transition. Mr Buhari did not, however, say who his preferred option is. Meanwhile, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was also screened yesterday by the committee. A total of 23 aspirants remain in the race for the APCs presidential ticket. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The Peoples Democratic Partys (PDP) governorship candidate in Bauchi State, Ibrahim Kashim, has withdrawn from the race. The partys spokesperson, Yayanuwa Zainabari, said at a press conference in Bauchi on Tuesday that Mr Kashim withdrew from the race, citing personal reasons. He said the PDP would soon follow due process to replace Mr Kashim. We shall make our position known within this week. The only option left for the party is to forward the name of his replacement to INEC for proper documentation, he said. Mr Zainabari added that the party would replace Mr Kashim with another competent, loyal and qualified member either through a fresh primary election or through affirmation as required by the partys Constitution and the relevant laws. The News Agency of Nigeria NAN reports that Mr Kashim polled 655 votes from the 656 delegates that participated in the governorship primary election. Mr Kashim is the immediate past Secretary to the Government of Bauchi State. PREMIUM TIMES reported how Governor Bala Mohammed tied down the PDP governorship ticket in the state. READ ALSO: How Bala Mohammed tied down PDP governorship ticket while running for president Mr Mohammed, a former senator and minister, lost in the PDP presidential primary held in Abuja on Saturday. He could only garner 20 votes in the election won by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Sources within the party in the state informed this newspaper that Mr Kashim was only being used as a character in Governor Mohammeds political subterfuge. The SSG is the governors Plan-B, should His Excellency fail to clinch the presidential ticket next week, one source said last week. No doubt Kashim, who is barely known by many in Bauchi, is only helping his boss to hold forth until the presidential election primaries are concluded. Many agree that it is uncommon for a first-time governor who is hopeful of re-election to throw it away in the way Mr Mohammed and his SSG wanted Nigerians to believe. (NAN) WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 For much of the past decade, Ansaru has largely been an outlier on the terrorism threat landscape. But the group is making a comeback in Nigeria and is more dangerous than ever. Ansaru claims to defend the interests of Islam in communities where its presence has largely been contained. It was formed in 2012 as a breakaway Boko Haram faction after a disagreement between moderates and hardliners. There are three worrying signs of Ansarus resurgence: its increased links to abductions and banditry, its connections to other violent extremist groups, and the ability to win over local communities with its hearts and minds campaign. These activities are driving up instability in the region. To counteract the group, governments need to provide better security and services for local populations. Ansaru is especially active in Nigerias North-West and North-Central zones, where banditry and abductions have soared in recent years. The group is believed to have provided weapons and other support to bandits behind attacks in the North-West. This claim is supported by accounts of police raids on a bandit camp in Kuduru forest in Kaduna State, with which Ansaru is linked. Kidnappings are another vital tool the group uses to sustain and expand its activities. Beyond Nigeria, the wider Sahel region is at risk of Ansarus symbolic loyalty to more violent extremist groups. At the start of 2022, Ansaru reconfirmed its allegiance to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Ansaru reflects AQIMs expansion into Nigeria through members who trained with AQIM and formed Ansarus militant wing. In January 2013, for example, Ansaru claimed responsibility for an attack on a Nigerian military convoy travelling to a peacekeeping mission in Mali. Arms trafficking in the region gives Ansaru easy access to weapons. Sources told the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) that the group buys weapons primarily from criminals in Nigeria such as bandits and members of violent extremist groups such as Boko Haram. Arms proliferation is already a challenge in the country. There were over six million weapons in circulation last year, former president Abdulsalami Abubakar told a meeting of the National Peace Committee in Abuja in 2021. Ansarus hearts and minds approach to winning community support is perhaps the most threatening trend. The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) used the same strategy of distributing food, clothing and cash to residents. The idea of humanitarian assistance from any of these groups enables continuous recruitment and loyalty. The approach is also long-term, which means Ansaru devotes time to connecting with communities and building a sustained presence in the region. Key to Ansarus success is its delivery of essential public services against the backdrop of state failure in rural communities. For example, the group protects rural residents against bandits. One Ansaru supporter in Gwandu village in Kaduna State told the ISS the group merely protects locals without expecting gifts or rewards for services rendered. Some community members referred to Ansaru as peaceful and supportive, keen on defending residents against bandits. The group supplies fertiliser, pesticide and agricultural products to farmers, especially in Kaduna, Katsina and parts of Zamfara states. ISS interviews revealed that during Ramadan, Ansaru gave food to Muslims in Kaduna State, where it has some followers. On this years Eid-el-Fitr celebration, food and gifts were distributed to people in Birnin Gwari. Amid Ansarus display of motorcycle stunts, and to the delight of community members, several youths praised and declared their support for the group. But these handouts come without repercussions. In December 2021, a resident of Kuyallo in Birnin Gwari invited an Ansaru amir to be the guest speaker at a Moulud celebration. The amir warned listeners to steer clear of secular political gatherings or discussions that promote democracy. ISWAP does the same in Nigerias North-East, and those who fail to comply are punished and sometimes executed. With campaigning for the 2023 elections underway across Nigeria, politicians are visiting communities to solicit votes. This could encourage locals to resist Ansaru but winning popular trust after years of government neglect wont be easy. Pre-emptive measures are needed to prevent Ansarus resurgence from causing greater problems. The hotbeds of banditry and abductions in the North-West and North-Central zones create an enabling environment for the group, and must be attended to. These crimes were an issue before Ansaru was formed but have intensified in recent years. Intelligence cooperation among the affected states should be boosted and followed by swift action. Inter-agency collaboration and cross-border monitoring of the sources and flows of arms used to perpetrate crimes are also needed. As Nigerias 2023 general elections approach, human security should be a priority for those seeking office. Ansarus affiliation to AQIM means the problem is transnational and requires coordination among countries and regional blocs. The Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS current efforts provide a possible framework for action. Its first ministerial meeting on African soil was hosted by Morocco in May. To counter Ansarus hearts and minds strategy, countries in the region must improve their governance and service delivery to communities. A campaign is also needed to engage Islamic clerics familiar with the doctrinal elements required to deconstruct ideological narratives. Clerics are crucial to community mobilisation because they serve as patrons of numerous Islamic organisations through which theological guidance flows. Ansaru may not pose the most significant terror threat in Nigeria. But its ability to resurface hints at a dangerous tendency to use the element of surprise as it quietly gathers strength within communities. Akinola Olojo, Project Manager and Malik Samuel, Researcher, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Regional Office for West Africa, the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin and Idris Mohammed, Lecturer, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Nigeria This article is published with the support of the governments of The Netherlands and Norway. (This article was first published by ISS Today, a Premium Times syndication partner. We have their permission to republish). WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday presided over the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. President Muhammadu Buhari is on a state visit to Spain. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha and Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari, a professor, are attending the council meeting. Ministers at the meeting are those of Education, Adamu Adamu, Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello, Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, Labour, Chris Ngige, Police Affairs, Muhammadu Dingyadi and Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen. Others ministers present at the meeting are those of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouk; Health, Osagie Ehanire; Power, Abubakar Aliyu; and Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu. Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva and his counterparts in Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora; and Labour, Festus Keyamo, are also at the meeting. At the last meeting on May 18, FEC approved N169.7billion for the reconstruction of four roads under the tax credit scheme. (NAN) WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The Rivers State judicial commission of inquiry set up to investigate some financial transactions during the administration of Rotimi Amaechi can only investigate but has no powers to convict anyone, the Supreme Court ruled last Friday. The Supreme Court, however, ruled against Mr Amaechi who had argued that he was denied a fair hearing by the commission of inquiry. The court also awarded N1 million cost against him. On Friday, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Olukayode Ariwoola, while dismissing Mr Amaechis appeal marked SC/911/2017, held that the mandate of the commission of inquiry was not to try anyone. The gist of this decision is to the effect that the commission of inquiry was to investigate some transactions, hence no one was on trial, hence the issue of denial of fair hearing, therefore, does not arise, Adamu Jauro, who read the judgement, said. However, while the main ruling was against Mr Amaechi, a presidential aspirant of Nigerias ruling party, APC, the Supreme Court also declared that the commission had no power to convict Mr Amaechi or anyone else. The Panel In 2015, the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, set up a judicial commission of inquiry to probe some transactions made by the Rivers government under Mr Amaechi, who was governor from 2007 to 2015. Mr Amaechi refused to appear before the panel and instead filed a suit against it and the Rivers panel. The panel eventually indicted Mr Amaechi and called for his prosecution. Panel finding not Conviction The Supreme Court in its judgment last Friday held that where a panel of inquiry makes far-reaching findings against persons, such findings do not constitute a conviction or determination of such persons rights and obligations under the law. In a copy of the Supreme Courts judgement seen by PREMIUM TIMES, Emmanuel Agim, who prepared the lead judgment, said a commission of inquiry remains a mere fact-finding body lacking adjudicatory powers to prosecute anybody or determine disputes as to any rights or obligations of liabilities. It is also our very view and we hold that the 3rd respondent (the Rivers State Judicial Commission of Inquiry) is a fact-finding and an investigative body a body exercising powers which are merely investigative in character and which do not have any legal force Mr Agim noted that The purpose of the investigation is to find out the facts or gather facts on the subject matter of inquiry. In doing so, it is not trying any person for the commission of any misconduct or crime. It does not engage in the trial of any person for anything. It merely gathers facts on the subject of the inquiry. Even if it (the commission) makes findings of facts that are adverse to a person (Amaechi), such adverse findings do not amount to a conviction for an offence or determination of his right and obligation. They remain mere finding of facts on the basis of which it would make recommendations to the appointing authority who may accept or reject them. If it rejects them, the matter ends there. If it accepts them and decides to take necessary action on the accepted recommendation, the white paper accepting the recommendation can be challenged in court, the Supreme Court ruled. Commission of Inquiry not a law court The Supreme Court further explained that the panel of inquiry can not be equated with a court or an investigative agency. So a Commission of Inquiry is not a court. It is not a criminal investigation agency such as EFCC, ICPC and Police, the apex court ruled. The designation of the commission of inquiry set up as a Judicial Commission of Inquiry and the fact it was headed by a serving or retired judicial officer cannot invest it with judicial powers or character and did not change its nature as a fact-finding or information-seeking body with no power to adjudicate, or in any manner determine any rights or obligations or try any person for the commission of a crime. It is not a civil or criminal trial. The purely fact-finding function of a commission of inquiry is what defines its nature and character as an administrative investigation and a non-judicial body. The description of such body as a judicial commission of inquiry does not change its character from being a fact-finding body, the Supreme Court said. Rivers will prosecute Amaechi over $15 million scandal Meanwhile, Mr Wike said on Friday that his predecessor, Mr Amaechi, transferred an unjustified $15 million of public funds to Sahara Energy when Mr Amaechi was Rivers governor. Mr Wike said his government is now ready to prosecute Mr Amaechi for the controversial transaction and others. He said there was no justifiable reason for the financial transaction between the Rivers government and Sahara Energy. Speaking at an interactive session with Rivers State stakeholders, which was televised live on Channels Television, on Friday, Mr Wike said the state government would initiate criminal proceedings against Mr Amaechi, who is a presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The governor spoke hours after the Supreme Court judgement of Friday, which dismissed Mr Amaechis appeal challenging the existence of the Rivers State governments judicial commission of inquiry. $15 million dollars was transferred from Rivers State government (treasury) through Access Bank Plc to Sahara Energy, Mr Wike said. What did Sahara Energy do for us (Rivers State government) that we paid 15 million U.S. dollars? the governor queried. Criminal charges will be filed against Amaechi, Tonye Cole Referring to the sale of the states assets Omoku Gas Turbine, Afam Gas Turbine, Trans Amadi Gas Turbine, Eleme Gas Turbine, and Olympia Hotel and the award of contract for the execution of the monorail project, Mr Wike said: criminal charges will be filed against Rotimi Amaechi, Sahara Energy and Tonye Cole. Mr Cole is the APC governorship candidate in Rivers State, and co-founder and former Group Executive Director of Sahara Group, an energy conglomerate. You said Sahara Energy bought our gas turbines. If they bought our gas turbines, why are we paying them $15 million dollars? Did we borrow money from them? Where is the agreement to show that we borrowed money from them? Mr Wike asked. Flanked by the State House of Assembly Speaker, Ikuinyi Ibani, and former governor Celestine Omehia, Mr Wike said, I am going to direct the Ministry of Justice to file criminal charges against Rotimi Amaechi, Sahara Energy and Tonye Cole. He recalled that despite corruption allegations against Mr Amaechi, the Nigerian Senate cleared him for a ministerial job in 2015. In his reaction to the Supreme Court ruling, Mr Amaechi, on Friday, said he is not on trial over corruption allegations against him by the Rivers State Government. In a statement by Mr Amaechis media office on Friday, the presidential aspirant of the APC said the Supreme Court ruling vindicated him. Efforts to get Messrs Amaechi and Cole to comment on Mr Wikes threat of criminal trial were unsuccessful. As of the time of filing this report, Mr Amaechis spokesperson, David Iyofor, was yet to respond to PREMIUM TIMES request for comments, despite his promise to do so. Similarly, Mr Cole promised to get back to this reporter on Sunday but has yet to do so at the time of this report. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Armed persons on Tuesday blocked Birnin Gwari Highway in Kaduna State, abducting many travellers and burning at least eight vehicles, a group of residents of the area said. The gunmen reportedly blocked the highway, intercepted a convoy of motorists between Kuriga and Manini near Udawa and kidnapped an unspecified number of people. Ibrahim Nagwari, the chairman of Birnin Gwari Vanguard for Security and Good Governance, a vigilante group, said the gunmen had been been active in the area in the last few days. In the last four days, terrorists had lay siege on motorists on Birnin-Gwari-Kaduna highway, abducting as well as killing and wounded many innocent citizens, he said. He said despite being active in the area, residents failed to report their presence. He also blamed the Nigerian authorities for not doing enough to tackle insecurity in the area. In the sad event today, eight vehicles were set ablaze by the terrorists, while unaccounted number of innocent motorists mostly women and children were waylaid into the bush by the terrorists for ransom. It is evidently, clear, that, unholy marriage of bandits and Ansaru ( Boko Haram) has declared a total war on our people, yet the political will by the authorities to honour their oaths of office to protect Lives and Property of our citizens remains a mirage. While politicians are engaged on their mission to clinch power comes Twenty-twenty-three, none of the gladiators seeking for elections has any agenda of emancipating our people from the bondage of terrorists and miscreants. Moreso, none of this politicians deem it fit to visit Birnin-Gwari to either see delegates, but rather called delegates to Kaduna for consultations. We had always appreciate efforts of security personnel in their passion to curtailed the precarious Insecurity bedeviling Birnin-Gwari general area. But, our people has reach a point of no return, hence the need for the people of Birnin-Gwari and communities along the Kaduna-Birnin-Gwari highway to halt with immediate effect traveling on this notorious highway from tomorrow till security situation improves. This organization hereby advise all our citizens to exercise maximum restraint and obey all rules of the land and seclude themselves in prayers for Allah intervention to deal with the terrorists and their collaborators within our communities. Equally, we pray for safe return of our people mostly women and Children that were abducted. We are citizens of this country and not prodigal sons that were left wandering, like Sheeps without Shepherd. The states Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, did not return phone calls from our reporter seeking comment on the incidents. When reached for comments, the Kaduna police spokesperson promised to released a statement later. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The Nigerian Police Force has clarified that the five students of Police Secondary School, Igbo Ora, Oyo State, who were reportedly expelled for alleged involvement in drugs were only suspended. Muyiwa Adejobi, the Force spokesperson, said an investigation found the students culpable of involving in illicit drugs and smoking substances suspected to be Indian hemp. The students were suspended and not expelled for disciplinary offences for which gambling, smoking of weed suspected to be Indian hemp as well as scaling the fence out to do some nonsense outside the school, said Mr Adejobi. They were caught and preliminary investigations were carried out, they made confessional statements and the five of them were suspended. The five of them are SS3 students. That is the case and there is no other version to it. Deji Ashiru-Balogun, the father of one of the suspended students, had demanded that the police school management produce his son. Mr Ashiru-Balogun said since the school told the students to go home last Saturday, he had not seen his son. The police spokesperson said after the students were suspended last weekend, they were handed over to their guardians and parents. READ ALSO: Student missing after expulsion from school But Mr Ashiru-Balogun told our correspondent on Tuesday that his son was handed over to the guardian this morning at the school premises. When asked about the childs whereabouts since Saturday, Mr Ashiru-Balogun said hed rather not speak about that because of his sons age. I really do not want the boy to be at the centre of the discussion but we must address the issue at hand, he said. When I asked my boy for the account of what happened, he said it was not a case of smoking but a phone business between his colleague and one officer in the carpentry department of the school. Why then, should my son be that humiliated and de-kitted? WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 An economist and former presidential aspirant, Pat Utomi, has revealed why he stepped down for a former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, during the Labour Party (LP) presidential primary on Monday. Mr Obi defected to the LP after resigning his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and also withdrawing from the presidential race under the party. The former governor consequently joined the race for the partys presidential ticket. On Monday, during the partys presidential primary in Asaba, Delta State, Mr Utomi, who was a major contender for the ticket, stepped down and declared support for Mr Obi. Two other aspirants also stepped down for the former governor who went ahead to clinch the presidential ticket of the party unopposed. The economics expert told PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday that his decision to give up his aspiration in favour of Mr Obi was based on a variety of factors. Mr Utomi, a professor of political economy, said he has been seeking an alternative and creative political platform that will challenge the dominance of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) and opposition PDP to usher in an era of credible leadership in Nigeria. He disclosed that he has also been in touch with some platforms over a possible alliance to provide a better political alternative to Nigerians. But the 66-year-old politician said with his efforts in forming the Third Force Movement and rebuilding the Labour Party to displace the two dominant political parties, he decided to step down to show an example of leadership. Having gotten that momentum going, somebody asked me, you just woke up one morning and then gave it to somebody who just came from somewhere? I said no. You got to put more thought into this. First of all, it is going to need a remarkable level of work involving everybody for us to get to where we are hoping we can get to next year. People need to come together and one of the things I teach is that in finding how to overcome certain things, be the first to show an example. I thought that if I show an example by saying, look, hey, it is not about me that people will learn something from it. So, that disposes me, first and foremost, of wanting to show the possibility with a personal example, he explained. The management expert also noted that his stepping down for Mr Obi was in support of the clamour for Nigerias president of South-east extraction in 2023. He added: Secondly, we have all realised (that) in the politics of Nigeria, that there have been issues of justice, equity, fair play and all of that. Because many people think that there are people who are trying to dominate others. In line with this thinking, clearly is the fact that somebody who is Igbo, and of course, ultimately having to deal with certain kinds of issues from the South-east, will be the person that it is more just to probably end up in the presidency. Yes, I am Igbo, but Peter Obi is from the South-east and I felt it might get rid of this problem of South-east agitation (for the presidency) if we get somebody like him. Mr Utomi hails from Igbo-speaking Ibusa in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigerias South-south. I have known Peter Obi for a long time. While he was governor, many times when he had big challenges, he would call me and say, senior, what do you think? So, I know that he can listen and turn to people for advice. So, I felt comfortable, that he being the younger person with more energy, he should go forward, but we will work together, Mr Utomi added. The university academic also said many notable politicians across the country are already seeking to defect to the Labour Party since Mr Obi emerged as the partys presidential candidate. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The Kaduna State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in next years election, Uba Sani, has resolved the lingering squabble between him and Sani Shaaban, a top political opponent and an in-law to President Muhammadu Buhari. To emerge as the APC governorship candidate of the state, Mr Sani scored 1149 votes to defeat two other aspirants, including Mr Shaaban, who scored 10 votes in the primary last week. However, Mr Shaaban, rejected the result, saying he was rigged at the poll. I reject the result of the primaries because delegates were manipulated. I cannot be muscled out for no reason, Mr Shaaban said. However, on Tuesday, Mr Sani visited the home of Mr Shaaban to reconcile with him and also discuss how they can join forces to emerge victorious in next years election. Their main contender is the opponent of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Isa Ashiru. Mr Uba said in a statement that he visited Mr Shaaban to exchange ideas and fashion strategies on how to ensure the success of the APC in the 2023 governorship elections. Hon. Shaaban, a famed political strategist and mobilizer, assured me that he will deploy his political skills and extensive networks to put the APC in an unassailable position in the 2023 elections in Kaduna State. The highly respected politician pledged to not only support me in the governorship election but would mobilize massively to ensure we occupy Kashim Ibrahim House in 2023. We also agreed to forge a sustainable partnership for the progress and development of Kaduna State. The starting point is the sustenance and consolidation of Governor El-Rufais legacy in Kaduna State, Mr Sani said. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 An Ado-Ekiti High Court on Wednesday sentenced a 29-year-old farmer, Tobi Owajulu, to 10 years imprisonment for raping a 17-year-old girl. The police charged Mr Owajulu on June 12, 2021, with rape contrary to Section 31(2) of the Childs Rights Law, Cap. R7, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012. Delivering Judgment, the judge, Adeniyi Familoni, held that the prosecution proved the rape against Mr Owajulu beyond a reasonable doubt. Mr Familoni did not give the convict an option to pay a fine. The convict richly deserves the legal consequence of his misdeed. Therefore, Owajulu Tobi is hereby sentenced to ten (10) years imprisonment without any option of fine he said. To prove his case, the prosecutor, Taiwo Ajibulu, called five witnesses and tendered statements of the defendant, medical report, and underwear as exhibits. The convict spoke through his counsel, Gbenga Abiola, in his own defence, but called no witness. (NAN) WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Edo State suffered the largest scale of natural forest loss in Nigeria in 2021, according to new data. Data analysed by the Global Forest Watch, an open-source web application that monitors global forests in near real-time, shows that Edo recorded a total tree cover loss of 18,200 hectare last year, followed by Cross River with a loss of 11,800 hectares. The two states lost a massive 399,000 hectares in the last 20 years, the data shows. Tree cover loss is the complete removal of tree cover or canopy for any reason, including human-caused loss and natural events although in some cases. The loss may be permanent or temporary. Tree planting and preservation provide many benefits to the environment and mankind. Some of the benefits include ensuring healthy lives and promotion of well-being for all, protection against climate change, and land degradation. Most of these trees are being destroyed through human activities in the course of finding means of livelihood. Nigeria has the largest mangrove ecosystem in Africa, and the Cross River mangrove is one of the most important in the country. However, indigenous fishing communities on the coast harvest mangrove wood for household domestic use, in particular for cooking and smoking fish. This has put severe pressure on mangrove forests, leading to steady deforestation, the United Nations said in a 2020 report. Data to show tree cover loss in states in Nigeria What data shows The Global Forest Watch data shows that in addition to Edo and Cross River States, and Ogun State had the third highest rate of tree cover loss in 2021 with 9,120 hectares. This was followed by Ondo and Ekiti States. Most states in the northern part of the country witnessed zero tree cover loss due to the regions peculiar vegetation. Abia State was the only state in the southern part of the country with zero tree cover loss in 2021. Chiagozie Udeh, former chairperson, Plant-for-the-Planet Initiative, said that tree usage cannot be taken out completely from people but there should be plans for replacement whenever any tree is destroyed so as to avert tree cover loss in the environment. Its inevitable that forest resources may be used for various purposes, especially timber but there must be a sustainable approach to its use. Trees are incredible carbon sinks that thrive on carbon dioxide while giving us oxygen, the benefit of breathing in fresh air for our health need not be overemphasized, he said. Government must implement policies that encourage sustainable use of forest resources. Companies such as timber companies must be able to replace at least twice the number of trees that they log for their work. Since trees can only sequester carbon over a few decades, it is important that logging and reforestation is happening in a systematic way that doesnt reduce the amount of carbon the trees are able to sequester. Mr Udeh said the government can work closely with communities to achieve positive results on forest conservation. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The All Progressives Congress (APC) 2023 Presidential Screening Committee has screened Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio ahead of the partys primary. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that this is in continuation of the screening by the John Odigie-Oyegun-led APC 2023 seven-member presidential screening committee which began on Monday. Mr Osinbajo arrived at the Transcop Hilton Hotel, Abuja, the venue of the screening in the company of chieftains of the Yemi Osinbajo Support Groups amidst pomp. Also screened were Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi, President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan and a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole. A total of 11 presidential aspirants are expected to appear before the committee for screening ahead of the APC Special Convention for its presidential primary slated for June 6 and 8. Other aspirants being expected to appear before the committee include Governor. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, oil magnate, Tein Jack Rich and former Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Ogbonnaya Onu. Others are Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River, and former Minister of Information under late General Sani Abacha, Ikeobasi Mokelu. Rochas Okorocha, the immediate past governor of Imo State is also expected to appear before the committee for screening. Mr Okorocha had been in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an alleged N2.9 billion fraud case. He was, however, granted bail by a Federal High Court in Abuja early Tuesday. The committee had on Monday screened 12 presidential aspirants, including Tunde Bakare, a cleric, Bola Tinubu, one of the partys leaders and a two-term governor of Lagos State. Governor Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa, former governor of Ogun, Ibikunle Amosun, former governor of Zamfara, Sani Yerima and Rotimi Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation were also screened on Monday. Others are former Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba; Felix Nicholas, a pastor, the only female presidential aspirant,Uju Ken-Ohanenye and Ajayi Boroffice, a serving senator. Former President of the Senate, Ken Nnamani and Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State were also screened on Monday. (NAN) WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Former Anambra Central Senator, Ebenezer Ikeyina, has been declared the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) despite the crisis rocking the party. Mr Ikeyina emerged at the partys presidential primary held on Tuesday in Abuja and attended by 311 delegates from all the states of the federation. At least 308 votes were cast in favour of the former Third Republic senator while two were against him. A vote was declared void. The factional acting chairman, Supo Shonibare, in his address to the delegates, acknowledged the ongoing internal crisis but promised to protect the interests of elected candidates at all levels ahead of the 2023 General Election. We will continue to extend an olive branch to the other tendencies who we know were never elected and we are particularly mindful of the fate of our candidates because I tried to tell my colleagues that we must appreciate that candidates that have come as SDP candidates may not know the division within the party. Even if they know the division within the party if the INEC station in their state tells them that a particular group whom they are dealing with it is very difficult for candidates not to go in that direction. So we must appreciate the challenges of candidates and we have offered an olive branch which the other tendencies, the other faction if they had meant well for our political party, they would have accepted that olive branch because what we proposed was to co-administer the primaries for candidates but because they were focused on other issues they were prepared to put candidates in jeopardy because the fact that INEC has told you to go and speak to one side does not guarantee that the court when this matter is determined will make a declaration that wherever you went to is the legitimate leadership of the party, Mr Shonibare said at the event. His comment came two weeks after calling out two of the partys former chairmen, Olu Agunloye and Shehu Gabam, for allegedly posing as the leaders of the party. In a separate reaction, a former National Chairman of the SDP, Olu Falae, dismissed the two sets of executives claiming to be the last authentic elected national chairman of the party. The convention and presidential primaries conducted by Mr Shonibares faction were dismissed as fake by Messrs Agunloye and Gabam when PREMIUM TIMES contacted them on Tuesday night. A schedule of activities for the national and state elections signed by Mr Agunloye in his capacity as the national secretary, fixed June 2 for the SDP national convention and presidential primaries. Adewole Adebayo, Khadijah Okunnu-Lamidi and Cessnabimilo Akenova were named as the factions presidential aspirants. Calls and messages by this newspaper to the INEC spokesperson, Festus Okoye, to confirm which of the conventions and presidential primaries organised by the two factions the commission would supervise, were not responded to. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 As the National Assembly aspirants in Saturdays primaries of the All Progressives Congress are still counting their gains and losses, some journalists who covered the events in Ekiti are still in a maze why they were barred from covering the voting exercise of the Ekiti North Senatorial primaries which held in Ifaki. The contestants for the ticket were incumbent senator, Olubunmi Adetumbi, Cyril Fasuyi, Oluomo Osinkolu, and Segun Ajibulu. Expectedly, the ticket was keenly contested given that the state government was rumoured to be backing a particular candidate for the ticket other than the incumbent. Reporters were at the venue as early as 9 a.m. but as soon as the process began, the Chairman of the committee for the election ordered that journalists be barred from entering the hall. Adeola Aderibigbe, a reporter with the African Independent Television(AIT), told PREMIUM TIMES that the order to bar journalists from the venue was issued by the partys Publicity Secretary, Segun Dipe, who was heading the committee. He said despite protests from the reporters and efforts to get the party to change the rules, they were kept out of the premises until voting was concluded. Mr Dipe was a journalist before joining politics. We covered several other APC primaries, there was never a place where we were barred from covering the process, said Mr Aderibigbe. We were only allowed into the hall after voting had taken place and we were there to cover the counting of the ballots and thereafter the results were announced. He said the incident indicated that there was something someone wanted to hide and had prevented the press from playing its role during the voting process. Kayode Babatuyi, the Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Ekiti, said it was strange for reporters to be barred from covering an event as important as a senatorial primary. Although we were later called in to cover the counting of votes after the delegates were done with the voting, it is unusual for reporters not to be allowed to cover primaries., he said. Mr Babatuyi, who also reports for the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria(FRCN), noted that he had covered several APC primaries before Fridays event and still could not fathom the reason behind the decision. He, however, said there was nothing suggesting malpractice during the exercise. Mr Osinkolu, one of the aspirants who spoke to journalists on the issue, said That is not part of the rules. There is no election that journalists are asked not to cover the exercise. So, that is not part of the rules. While announcing the results of the primary, Mr Dipe said Mr Adetumbi polled 85, while Mr Fasuyi scored 111 to emerge as the winner of the primaries. Mr Osinkolu scored 47 votes and Mr Ajibulu scored 13 votes. Mr Dipe further stated that the total number of expected voters was 280 but 270 votes were cast. When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES for his reaction on the matter, Mr Dipe said he would not speak on it. I am not in any position to speak to you on the matter. Thank you. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The Lagos State APC Governorship Primary Election Appeal Committee, on Tuesday, said it had resolved the lone petition before it from an aspirant, Abdul-Ahmed Mustapha. The Chairman of the three-man appeal committee, Ibrahim Akaje, disclosed this at a news conference after the outcome of the committee sitting in Lagos at the APC Secretariat in Ikeja, He said the grievance was a family issue and had been looked into as a family. The only petition we received is the petition from Mr Abdul-Ahmed Mustapha. We have looked into the petition as a family and come to conclusion and agreement as family to understand ourselves amicably to move our party forward. For us to sit down on the same table now (with the petitioner) truly define APC as a party that stands for unity and progress. So, all that our meeting is saying now is that we had a family issue and we have looked into it as family, he said. Mr Mustapha had accused the party of locking him out of the venue of the governorship primaries, last week. Earlier, Mr Akaje said the APC National Working Committee inaugurated the panel to look into issues that might arise from the conduct of the gubernatorial primary election of the party in the state. We are here in Lagos as an appeal committee of the APC to attend to any complaints that may have arisen from the conduct of the gubernatorial primary election. It is only normal that in any kind of democratic election, you are bound to have committed contestants who will raise issues which they feel were not handled properly. And APC with the emergence of its new leadership is desirous of making amends where applicable and uniting the party faithful as one big family. Our great party as a truly democratic vehicle is most obliged to provide an avenue for its members that feel aggrieved with the conduct of the primary election to seek redress. The committee received a single petition submitted by Ahmed Olorunfemi Mustapha, alleging that he was denied access and participation in the gubernatorial primary election, he added. Mr Akaje said that given that and to ensure justice and fairness, the complainant was invited and accorded a fair hearing in a peaceful meeting under a conducive atmosphere. He said the report of the Gubernatorial Primary Election Committee confirmed that the election was a free, fair, peaceful, and transparent exercise. READ ALSO: APC appeal committee disqualifies four House of Reps aspirants Mr Akaje said: The appeal committee received the petitioner who presented his matter extensively. After thorough analysis and deliberations on the matter, the committee subtly informed the petitioner that he was not cleared by the gubernatorial screening committee, the verdict of which was upheld by the screening appeal committee. Both parties, therefore, agreed to embrace peace and maintain unity for the good of the party and the state, Mr Akaje said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu emerged winner of the governorship primaries conducted on Thursday, May 26, at Mobolaji Johnson Arena to run for a second tenure in the 2023 general elections. NAN also reports that the petitioner, Mr Mustapha, was also on the ground at the news conference by the appeal committee. He promised to abide by the partys decision, pledging to support the governor in the 2023 election. (NAN) WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 A man rides a horse on a water-logged street during flooding caused by heavy rains in the city of Dario Meira, Bahia State, Brazil, on Dec. 28, 2021. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua) At least 14 Pernambuco municipalities declared a state of emergency, while 33 did the same in the neighboring state of Alagoas, where three people were killed and more than 18,000 evacuated as a result of the rains, which started last week and intensified over the weekend. RIO DE JANEIRO, May 31 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from heavy rains in the northeastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco has risen to 100, primarily in the state capital Recife and its metropolitan area, rescue teams said Tuesday. At least 16 people were still missing, according to reports, among them 14 were buried by landslides and two were swept away by water currents, while over 6,000 residents were evacuated from their homes. Rescue work had to be suspended intermittently on Tuesday as heavy rainfall continued, which, the fire department warned, could lead to new landslides and flooding in the area. At least 14 Pernambuco municipalities declared a state of emergency, while 33 did the same in the neighboring state of Alagoas, where three people were killed and more than 18,000 evacuated as a result of the rains, which started last week and intensified over the weekend. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced on Monday that the government will allocate 1 billion reals (about 210 million U.S. dollars) for the reconstruction of the affected areas. The 2022 State of World Population (SWOP) Report released by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) states that nearly half of all pregnancies, totalling 121 million each year throughout the world, are unintended. The information contained in the report was announced in a statement by the Media Associate of UNFPA Nigeria, Kori Habib, in Abuja on Tuesday. Ms Habib stated that the annual SWOP Report, which has Seeing the Unseen: The case for action in the neglected crisis of unintended pregnancy as its 2022 theme, warns that this human rights crisis has profound consequences for societies, women and girls and global health. The media associate added that key findings of the report indicated that gender inequality and stalled development drive high rates of unintended pregnancies. Other findings are that globally, an estimated 257 million women who want to avoid pregnancy are not using safe, modern methods of contraception, and where data is available, nearly a quarter of all women are not able to say no to sex. A range of other key factors also contributes to unintended pregnancies, including the lack of sexual and reproductive healthcare and information and contraceptive options that dont suit womens bodies or circumstances. Some other findings are harmful norms and stigma surrounding women controlling their own fertility and bodies, sexual violence and reproductive coercion, judgmental attitude or shaming in health services, poverty and stalled economic development, and gender inequality. All of these factors reflect the pressure societies place on women and girls to become mothers. An unintended pregnancy is not necessarily a personal failure and may be due to the lack of autonomy society allows or the value placed on womens lives, she quoted the report as stating. She also quoted the UNFPA Executive Director, Natalia Kanem, as saying 60 per cent of unintended pregnancies end in abortion and an estimated 45 per cent of all abortions are unsafe, causing 5 13 per cent of all maternal deaths, thereby having major impact on the worlds ability to reach the Sustainable Development Goals. The war in Ukraine and other conflicts and crises around the world are expected to drive an increase in unintended pregnancies, as access to contraception is disrupted and sexual violence increases. This report is a wake-up call. The staggering number of unintended pregnancies represents a global failure to uphold women and girls basic human rights. For the women affected, the most life-altering reproductive choice, whether or not to become pregnant, is no choice at all. By putting the power to make this most fundamental decision squarely in the hands of women and girls, societies can ensure that motherhood is an aspiration and not an inevitability. The SWOP Report is UNFPAs annual flagship publication since 1978, highlighting emerging issues in the field of sexual and reproductive health and rights, bringing them into the mainstream and exploring the challenges and opportunities they present for international development. As the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA helps people obtain contraception and life-saving reproductive health services and information and empowers women and girls to make informed decisions about their bodies and lives. (NAN) WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Cote dIvoire is the worlds top cocoa producer, but the countrys principal economic activity is driving devastating deforestation, which harms the environment and feeds the illicit timber trade. Cocoa expert Simon Nanga told the ENACT organised crime project that farmers typically relied on natural soil fertility in virgin forests for high cocoa yields. Natural soil has better nutrients than already-farmed cocoa fields. This leads to forests being cleared to allow for cocoa cultivation. After five to 10 years, soil fertility dwindles and farmers move to the next fresh two to three acres of virgin forest to plant a new crop. This is replicated in many parts of east-central and western Cote dIvoire, leading to a growth of towns and villages in protected forest areas. For example, an illegal settlement of around 30,000 people was recently discovered in the Marahoue and Mont Peko national parks. To diversify and increase their income, some farmers make profitable deals with logging companies and illegal timber traders to remove trees to make way for cocoa crops. This practice has proved more lucrative for farmers than cocoa bean production, making illegal logging arguably one of the countrys most prevalent and lucrative forms of organised crime. Illegal logging has increased with the spread of cocoa farming countrywide. With funding from shadowy financiers, artisans carry out logging in forests that cocoa farmers have targeted. In contravention of Cote dIvoires 2019 Forest Act, these loggers mill raw timber into semi-finished products at the felling site. Truckers move the cargo to markets in urban centres. Cote dIvoire lost 47,000 hectares of forest in its cocoa belt in 2020 alone, a rate that experts argue could see a total depletion of the countrys forest cover by 2034. Illegal cocoa-related logging wipes out endangered tree species such as teak, framire and gmelina, which are covered by strict international trade regulations. Illicit cocoa-related logging has also caused massive biodiversity and wildlife losses in Cote dIvoire, notably among elephants and primates. Inconsistent enforcement of state regulations has left loopholes that illegal loggers exploit to go deeper into protected forests. Corruption and system weaknesses facilitate unlawful logging in areas designated for timber extraction, most of which are also cocoa-producing areas. In 2019, a Wild Chimpanzee Foundation report revealed shortcomings at the Forest Development Corporation of Cote dIvoire (SODEFOR). These included logging beyond approved areas, irregular issuance of licences to log prohibited species, and authorising logging before doing an inventory and in the absence of a monitoring agent or transportation slips. SODEFOR was found to lack the capacity to track private companies activities and impose legal sanctions against infringements of the 2019 Forest Act. In the absence of systematic law enforcement, illegal loggers produce most of the timber used across various industries, which strips income from the economy. The Ministry of Water and Forests estimates that illicit networks produce 15 to 30 times more timber than formally licensed traders, making illegal logging worth more than 33.5 million annually about 7 per cent of the countrys GDP. There have been international interventions to address cocoa-related environmental degradation, including illegal logging. Global consumer demand has led to the certification of cocoa, a new approach used by multinational companies to ensure sustainability. Incentivised by access to the international market, the approach has gained momentum among cocoa production cooperatives in Cote dIvoire since the late 2000s. However, certification limits some cooperatives to niche markets such as fair trade or organic farming. Certification is also prohibitively expensive for most farmers and their associations. ENACT was told that farmers income from certified beans isnt worth the effort to achieve certification. The Cooperative Agricole Mawobe de Yere Yere said demand from this niche market accounted for around 300,000 tonnes of Cote dIvoires annual production of over two million tonnes. Cote dIvoire has made numerous official commitments to international standards that include the European Union Timber Regulation, the New York Declaration on Forests and other global initiatives. However, this high-level political will is undermined by weak law enforcement. Organised crime networks exploit fraudulent practices and corruption by officials who accept bribes at every stage of the timber supply chain, from logging to transportation and sale. Also, the Forest Act prejudices local cocoa farmers interested in preserving forest land, say civil society groups. The law gives 24-year concessions to multinational chocolate-producing companies in some protected forest areas to encourage infrastructure development and farming practices that promote reforestation. But this could conflict with Article 12 of the Ivorian Constitution, which prevents rural land ownership by legal entities. By permitting such concessions, the Forest Act defeats the spirit of the constitutional provision. Reforestation is addressed in the governments 2018 Forest Preservation, Rehabilitation and Expansion National Policy. The policy aims to restore forest cover to 20 per cent of the national territory by 2030 in protected areas, which cocoa farmers are urged to move away from. It includes an ambitious 940 million master plan to deter cocoa-related deforestation and illegal logging. The policy also seeks to discourage farmers from clearing virgin forests for cocoa cultivation and stimulate sustainable cocoa farming with mechanisms such as the Cocoa & Forests Initiative. These initiatives need to be adequately implemented alongside a determined effort to curb fraudulent practices encouraging the illegal timber trade. Without a focus on law enforcement, all efforts to achieve sustainable cocoa farming could come to nought. Allan Ngari, ENACT Regional Organised Crime Observatory Coordinator for West Africa and Deo Gumba, Research Consultant, ENACT, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) This ENACT article was funded by the European Union (EU). The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of the author and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the EU. (This article was first published by ISS Today, a Premium Times syndication partner. We have their permission to republish). WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 In April, Cameroon renewed a military cooperation agreement with Russia as Moscow intensified its offensive in Ukraine. The timing certainly supports Russias claim that its international isolation is relative. It also raises questions about Cameroons foreign policy at a time when African countries votes in the United Nations (UN) General Assembly are under scrutiny. The military agreement reflects a trend in Cameroons foreign and trade policy that entails keeping great powers at equal distances. While the Central African country is one of the largest recipients of French development cooperation in sub-Saharan Africa, its biggest creditor is by far China. Cameroon also maintains close foreign and trade ties with the United Kingdom, United States and Germany. This international balancing act loses its appeal when it comes to Africa and the African Union (AU), however. In May, Cameroon chaired the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) after being re-elected to the council for a three-year term. The relative indifference to this rotating leadership by Cameroonian decision makers, opinion leaders and society contrasts with the substantial diplomatic efforts taken to secure the countrys re-election. The PSC rotating chair usually helps a government push regional and thematic priorities, and demonstrate its diplomatic ability to address continental issues. For Cameroon, its difficult to identify clear goals in the AU, apart from preventing the Anglophone crisis from reaching the PSC agenda. The councils discussion of the crisis could see a peace support operation deployed to the country, which Cameroon would consider intrusive. Yaounde is also poised to guarantee constant AU support for the logistical base of the African Standby Force located in Douala and the regional Multinational Joint Task Force against Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin. Despite the many contemporary transnational issues facing Africa an expanding terrorist threat, activating the African Continental Free Trade Area, and the resurgence of coups Cameroons policy towards the AU and Africa remains unclear. Its also characterised by limited engagement at the heads of state level, where AU decisions are ultimately made. President Paul Biya is notorious for missing AU summits. Despite this, Cameroon has managed to get its nationals elected as commissioners in the AUs Konare/Ping Commissions (2003-11) and the first Faki Commission (2017-21). But these political appointments hardly compensate for the few Cameroonians in the AU Commissions senior leadership or the absence of shared guidelines for the countrys action in the AU. Cameroon can sometimes mobilise political capital to secure positions in the AU such as the current head of the Reform Implementation Unit. However, the country does not exploit its strategic and unique location at the crossroads between the Francophonie and the Commonwealth, Sahel and Equatorial Forest, and Western and Central Africa. Cameroons indecisive foreign and trade policy can also be seen in Central Africa. Based on the size of its economy, demography and transport infrastructure, the country could play an anchor role in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), which comprises six countries using the CFA franc. But the government rarely uses this position of strength to boost Cameroons regional interests. Despite being the gateway to the sea for Chad and the Central African Republic, Cameroon lacks the vision and strategy to harness the strong positions of its private companies in those countries. In the wider Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), Cameroons power is challenged by oil-rich Angola and the war-torn but mineral-rich Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Rwandas increasingly active security and trade diplomacy in the region will be interesting to watch as power relations are redefined. While CEMAC comprises countries solely committed to Central Africa, ECCAS members also have regional allegiances to Southern and East Africa. Examples of the latter include the DRC, Angola, Burundi and Rwanda. The planned merger of the two regional organisations would probably move the centre of gravity east- and southwards, diluting Cameroons influence in the bloc. Cameroons foreign policy is notoriously obscure because official documents outlining its interests and strategic goals are rarely made public. Even Cameroonian diplomats struggle to give a unified view of the countrys actions in Africa and internationally. There is no single forum convened for diplomats and their hierarchy, and the last conference of ambassadors was held in 1985. The heavy focus on the president and his personal preferences has prevented Cameroons diplomacy from being led by principles. It has also been the main obstacle to the Foreign Affairs Ministry driving foreign policy rather than the presidency. But as instability grows in Central Africa, clear guidelines for Cameroons regional and continental engagement will become more crucial than ever. Cameroons foreign policy should start with designing a neighbourhood policy. As a leading trading partner in Central Africa, Cameroon has a vested interest in the regions stability. This makes it surprising that other less affected states increasingly settle crises on its doorstep. A clear vision based on Cameroons medium- and long-term interests in CEMAC, ECCAS and the AU could guide diplomats and other foreign policy actors. Taking more responsibility for settling violent conflicts in Central Africa would boost Cameroons stature in the region and build skills among its civilian and military cadres. The government has tried hard to prevent the Anglophone conflict from being considered by the AU and UN. It could learn from Rwanda and Chad, whose regional military diplomacy has successfully shielded them from international criticism in recent years. To reposition Central Africa and Africa in Cameroons foreign policy, the country also needs to rectify the widespread bias which sees only diplomatic postings in Global North capitals as prestigious. Neglecting the low-hanging fruit of African diplomacy will damage the countrys image. Paul-Simon Handy, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Regional Director for East Africa and Representative to the AU, and Felicite Djilo, independent analyst (This article was first published by ISS Today, a Premium Times syndication partner. We have their permission to republish). WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has given approval for the NNPC to enter into an agreement with ECOWAS for the construction of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, briefed State House correspondents after the FEC meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Mr Sylva said the project was still at the point of the front end engineering design after which the cost would be determined. The pipeline would traverse 15 West African countries to Morocco and Spain. The Ministry of Petroleum Resources presented three memos to Council. The first memo, Council approved for the NNPC Ltd to execute MoU with ECOWAS for the construction of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline. This gas pipeline is to take gas to 15 West African countries and to Morocco and through Morocco to Spain and Europe, he said. The minister said the council also approved the construction of a switchgear room and installation of power distribution cables and equipment for the Nigeria oil and gas park in Ogbia, Bayelsa, in the sum of N3.8billion. He said the park was to support local manufacturing of components for the oil and gas industry. ALSO READ: Osinbajo presides over FEC meeting More so, Mr Sylva said that FEC approved various contracts for the construction of an access road with bridges to the Brass Petroleum Product Deport in Inibomoyekiri in Brass Local Government in the sum of N11billion plus 7.5 per cent VAT. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline was proposed in a December 2016 agreement between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Moroccan Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (National Board of Hydrocarbons and Mines) (ONHYM). The pipeline would connect Nigerian gas to every coastal country in West Africa (Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote dIvoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Senegal and Mauritania), ending at Tangiers, Morocco, and Cadiz, Spain. (NAN) WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The Nigerian Army has denied allegations of complicity of its men in the kidnap of the Prelate of the Methodist Church, Nigeria, Samuel Kanu-Uche, and two other priests. It, however, said it would investigate the allegation. The clergymen were abducted on Sunday while they were on their way from a programme in Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State. They were, however, released after a ransom of N100 million was allegedly paid by the church. One of the clergymen revealed after their release that men of the Nigerian Army collaborated with their abductors. But responding to the allegations, Army spokesperson, Onyema Nwachukwu, a brigadier general, said the allegations were unsubstantiated. He added that there were many questions still begging for answers. While expressing concern and sympathy for the victim of the heinous crime, the army said the insinuations were not entirely premised on any findings of investigations and therefore cannot be swallowed hook line and sinker. Given our professional disposition and zero tolerance for any misconduct in the Nigerian Army , we will take this weighty allegation seriously and approach the Prelate and the Methodist church to unravel the basis for the allegation, the statement added. Read full statement; ALLEGED COMPLICITY BY SOLDIERS IN BISHOPS KIDNAP UNSUBSTANTIATED The Nigerian Army (NA) has been notified of the insinuation making the rounds on social media, alleging complicity of troops of the Nigerian Army in the kidnap incident of the Methodist Prelate in Abia state recently. While the Nigerian Army expresses concern and sympathy for the victim of this heinous crime and shares in his pains, the insinuation that troops are complicit in the kidnap incident is not entirely premised on any findings of investigations and therefore cannot be swallowed hook line and sinker. This allegation therefore raises some pertinent questions which are still unanswered. Given, the spate of insecurity in the region, the question would be, was the issue reported to the unit covering the area? Did the Methodist Church take the NA into confidence while negotiating the ransom with the kidnappers? No formal complaint has been received by the unit. More worrisome is the fact that it was alleged that the ransom was paid in less than 24 hours. Was the ransome paid to troops? These are questions that beg for answers. Moreso, the NA unit, has not received any debrief from the Prelate or the Methodist Church. It is therefore, important to state that troops are deployed at Forward Operating Base(FOB) Okigwe and in front of the Abia State University Uturu and no information was made available to them or to 14 Brigade or any other formation, except the information making the rounds in the social media. It must be clarified that troops deployment in the Nigerian Army is not done with considerations for ethnic affiliation, hence a deployment of troops of Fulani ethnic extraction who as alleged by the Prelate, carried out the dastardly act is not our practice or modus operandi in the NA. Given our professional disposition and zero tolerance for any misconduct in the Nigerian Army , we will take this weighty allegation seriously and approach the Prelate and the Methodist church to unravel the basis for the allegation. ONYEMA NWACHUKWU Brigadier General Director Army Public Relations 1 June 2022 WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has received his certificate of return after emerging as the flag bearer for the 2023 polls. The partys chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, presented the certificate to him on Wednesday at the PDP Secretariat, Abuja. The presentation comes about four days after the partys national convention where he emerged as the winner in the primary election. The former vice president won the contest with 371 votes from the votes of the 767 national delegates accredited for the primary election. His closest rival, the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, polled 237 votes and was followed by Bukola Saraki with 70 votes. Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel garnered 38 votes, Bala Mohammed, 20 votes, Pius Anyim got 14 votes and Sam Ohuabunwa got a vote. About 12 votes were invalid. PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Tambuwal withdrew from the race just before voting began and how that move was a major factor in Mr Atikus victory. After he received the certificate, Mr Abubakar noted that the victory is a victory for the party and the majority of Nigerians suffering under the misrule of the APC. He described his victory as a collective effort. While he thanked the convention organising committee led by former Senate President, David Mark, and the National Working Committee for a fair and credible convention, he warned that the convention was just a contest within a family and there was a need to work in harmony to dethrone the ruling APC. The main contest is the one to win the Presidency of our country for our party. And it requires the entire PDP family and other supporters, he said. He said unity at a time like this is important so the party can face real opponents, defeat them in the elections and begin the process of rescuing and rebuilding the country. The callous and dangerous APC misrule over the past seven years is there for everyone to see, he added. Besides being a key part of his campaign and promises, Mr Abubakar also preached unity to other party members who contested in the national convention. He had visited Messrs Tambuwal, Wike, Anyim and Saraki to seek their support ahead of the general elections. While Mr Tambuwal withdrew from the race and asked his supporters to vote Mr Abubakar on the day of the convention Mr Saraki had stayed back to congratulate the candidate while Mr Wike angrily left the venue. The trio has, however, pledged to work and support Mr Abubakar for the good of the party and the country. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The immediate past Chief Judge of Anambra State, Peter Umeadi, on Wednesday, won the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). Mr Umeadi emerged as the unanimous flag bearer of the party for the 2023 presidential election at its special convention held at the national secretariat in Abuja. His candidacy was affirmed by 150 delegates at the convention. Mr Umeadi, a law professor, retired from the Anambra State Judiciary in March this year, and immediately joined APGA in his Anaocha council area of the state. Riding on rule of law In his acceptance speech, Mr Umeadi anchored his campaign on what he termed triple banner of rule of law, separation of powers and due process. He said Nigerians are entitled to a country better run than what we have now, assuring a new Nigeria which an APGA government at the centre under my watch would bring about. Mr Umeadi lamented that Nigerians are traumatized on (a) daily basis from wanton killings, displacements, disorganisation of business and social life with attendant difficulty to sustain economic, commercial and domestic life. The presidential hopeful further pledged to galvanize Nigerians from different religious persuasions and all six geopolitical zones, to deliver a new Nigeria where justice would reign. He promised sound education, affordable health care, food on the table, security of life and property, If elected. APGA will produce Nigerias next president Addressing APGA stalwarts at the convention, the National Chairman of APGA, Victor Oye, thanked the delegates who travelled from far and near despite the security crisis in the country to attend the event. This gathering is for the sake of justice in Nigeria, he said, assuring that his tenure as APGA Chairman would end in June next year after the party would have produced Nigerias president. Mr Oye was elected APGA National Chairman in 2015. The convention was attended by Enyinaya Abaribe, the Senator representing Abia South Senatorial District. Mr Abaribe recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to APGA, where he stands as the latters flagbearer for the Senate at the polls next year. Also, a former Minister of Information, Frank Nweke, who is APGA governorship candidate in Enugu State, attended the convention. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Iyorchia Ayu has told the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that the party had cancelled all its congresses held in Ebonyi State. Mr Ayu, in a letter to INEC, dated May 31, 2022, explained that the congresses were cancelled for violating the PDPs guidelines. This is to bring to your kind attention that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP has cancelled the congresses in Ebonyi State which purportedly took place on 28th May, 2022 for the State House of Assembly, House of Representatives and Senate, Mr Ayu said. The party also cancelled the gubernatorial congress held on May 29, 2022. The congresses were cancelled for violating the guidelines of the party as the committee that purportedly conducted them did not form the required quorum, the national chairman said. He said the party would inform the commission of the new date for the congresses. The National Secretary of the party, Samuel Anyanwu, also signed the letter. PREMIUM TIMES reported that a faction of the PDP in Ebonyi State elected Ifeanyichukwu Odii as its governorship candidate for the 2023 general election during a controversial primary held on Sunday. The exercise was held despite the position of the national leadership of the party which it had announced earlier. The national spokesperson of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, said in a statement on Sunday that the decision was made after extensive consultations and deliberation by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party. But in a counter statement, shortly after, a factional chairman of the party in the state, Silas Onu, denied that the partys primaries were cancelled. Mr Onu accused the PDP spokesperson of issuing the statement without authorisation from the partys NWC. Another faction of the party in the state led by Tochukwu Okorie, was said to have distanced itself from the exercise, citing the cancellation by the national leadership of the party. Background The Ebonyi chapter of the PDP has been enmeshed in a leadership crisis lately. The crisis has frustrated efforts to conduct the three-man delegate election across wards in the state. The crisis has also split the party into factions resulting in postponement of congresses in various wards and council areas of the state about three times. The postponements followed a myriad of court rulings sacking and reinstating factional leaderships of the party in the state. Messrs Onu and Okorie have been engaged in a battle for the control of the party in the state, ahead of the 2023 general elections. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 I admire these three women and more; women setting admirable standards, blazing the trail, and breaking the glass ceiling. They are the pathfinders; the role models we want for the girl child, just as some strong-willed women of the past shone the light for them to excel today. They have also proved the point that there is no stopping the women folk; not in the corporate world, not in the academia, and definitely not in politics. It has been mixed-feelings for the female-folk in recent time; some issues to cheer and some others to agonise over. Only a few weeks ago, Nigerian women carried their protest to the doorsteps of federal lawmakers, for failing to pass the bill that would have given more seats to women in elective positions, despite the advocacy by activists to that effect and the intervention of the first lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari. Somehow, the protesting women were pacified, and the protest tempo diminished and withered away, perhaps to give way for more strategies to advance the cause of women in politics. There is, however, cheerful news from the exploits of women in academia and to some extent in politics, as it relates to the just concluded primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). At the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Professor Adenike Temidayo Oladiji was appointed the vice chancellor, after the initial opposition from vested interest within the university community. By this appointment, Professor Oladiji has become the first woman to be vice chancellor at FUTA. The local chapter of ASUUs earlier grouse was based on Act No 11 of 1993 as amended (2003) in relation to the appointment of VCs. Section 3 (b) states that the Council shall select one candidate from among the three candidates submitted to it under subsection (3) of this section and forward his name to the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed forces. Two candidates were selected out of the 20 who were earlier screened. In the end, Professor Shadrach Olufemi Akindele was said to have scored 73.9, while Professor Oladiji scored 73.8. The insignificant difference didnt stop the Governing Council from appointing her. Although, the so-called gap is virtually nothing, the local ASUU rejected her appointment initially, saying the election of a predetermined preferred candidate whose overall score in the process is lower than that of the candidate who came first, throws merit overboard. Unfortunately, that cannot and will not be acceptable to us and shall not stand. However, ASUU later recanted, even though it didnt look like their grouse was about merit alone. As a matter of fact, it was based on the fact that Professor Olajidi is not one of their own, as their statement betrayed that line of thought: We, concerned members of FUTA Senate, call on our respected colleague, Professor Olajidi of the University of Ilorin to remain steadfast at her duty post at UNILORIN and not attempt to come to FUTA as VC. This further exposed FUTAs ASUU as championing the cause of their colleague(s) at FUTA than the merit of their arguments. The two universities (of Ilorin and Akure) belong to the federal government, which appoints the Governing Councils of universities that normally recommend three candidates to the president for the appointment of VCs. In other words, the FUTA Governing Council did not breach any extant law in the appointment of Professor Olajidi. The symbolism of her victory should not be lost on us. Here is a Muslim woman from what critics call the conservative North, pulling a surprise victory to the detriment of party stalwarts of the APC. Our hope is for her to win the general election, so that she can be celebrated as the first female governor in the country from a so-called conservative environment. It is also proof that religion is not a drawback to ones dream and aspiration, as perceived by many people. So, from the get-go, the FUTA chapter of ASUUs criticism was based on a faulty foundation of supporting their own against a supposed outsider. However, SSANU and NASU, two other university unions in the university threw their weight behind the new appointee. And seeing the handwriting on the wall, ASUU members, who have another grouse with the Federal Government and are on strike for that reason, withdrew their opposition to Professor Olajidi. Its just as well, because you cannot fight on many fronts and hope to win all. Olajidi, a professor of Biochemistry, who has since assumed office as vice chancellor of FUTA bagged her first degree in Biochemistry from the University of Ilorin in 1988, did her Masters and PhD in the same university, and began her working career there in 1992 before becoming a professor in 2011. Most importantly, Professor Oladiji is as qualified as they come, and as the first female VC of FUTA, she broke all barriers from within and outside to scale through. This calls for celebration; and for the women folk in particular, it is yet another milestone in the struggle for relevance in a patriarchal society like ours. On the political front where, traditionally, women take the back seat, the exploits of a few who have been able to weather the storm and become triumphant should be examplary. In this category in the just concluded primaries of the two major political parties the PDP and APC are Senators Aishatu Dahiru Binani and Abiodun Olujimi. Aishatu Binani is a serving APC senator from Adamawa Central senatorial district; she had earlier served as a House of Representatives member representing Yola North/Yola South federal constituency. Her emergence as the governorship candidate of the APC has gotten tongues wagging; the media was agog with her unfamiliar feat, while women activists have been on a roller-coaster outburst of rejoicing with her. Senator Binani beat five other male aspirants, including former governor of the State, Jibrilla Bindow; a former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu; a House of Representatives member, Hon Abdulrazak Namdas, and others. The serving senator floored them all, and won with 430 votes against her closest rival, Nuhu Ribadu, who polled 288 votes. On a personal note, Im not happy that Nuhu Ribadu, a very hardworking and humble gentleman, lost out again, in his aspiration serve his State, but for me as woman, Binanis victory compensated for my emotional interest in Nuhu Ribadu. When Senator Olujimi was run out of town during the governorship primary of the PDP by the former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, I felt personally touched, not because I know her, but because many, like me, saw in her a potential governorship candidate. Senator Olujimi is one woman I admire from afar, because of her obvious capacity, enduring spirit and trajectory in the Senate. I understand that Binani is very popular among women, and always identifies with the grassroots, while also having a deep pocket to boot. She has always been there for the people and many of the delegates benefitted from her generosity in the past, her director of media and communication, Salihu Baba Ahmed told Daily Trust in an interview. The symbolism of her victory should not be lost on us. Here is a Muslim woman from what critics call the conservative North, pulling a surprise victory to the detriment of party stalwarts of the APC. Our hope is for her to win the general election, so that she can be celebrated as the first female governor in the country from a so-called conservative environment. It is also proof that religion is not a drawback to ones dream and aspiration, as perceived by many people. When Senator Olujimi was run out of town during the governorship primary of the PDP by the former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, I felt personally touched, not because I know her, but because many, like me, saw in her a potential governorship candidate. Senator Olujimi is one woman I admire from afar, because of her obvious capacity, enduring spirit and trajectory in the Senate. She comes across as a serious, committed, hardworking and determined woman, yet Fayose wouldnt allow her be in the Ekiti governorship race. Although she has since won her primary election, with the hope that she will be returned to the Senate, history still beckons for her to fulfil her destiny of being the governor of Ekiti State someday. I admire these three women and more; women setting admirable standards, blazing the trail, and breaking the glass ceiling. They are the pathfinders; the role models we want for the girl child, just as some strong-willed women of the past shone the light for them to excel today. They have also proved the point that there is no stopping the women folk; not in the corporate world, not in the academia, and definitely not in politics. Zainab Suleiman Okino is the Chairman of Blueprint Editorial Board/zainabokino@gmail.com WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Those were the days when the leaders of the North were stupid. They negotiated for Nigerias unity and got regional autonomy for themselves and others. It is akin to them negotiating today for a proper federation that would reduce the power of the centre and allow the geo-political zones to stand on their own. It is a kind of negotiation that can give some zones in the North a work-free day on Fridays and a resumption of the workday on Sundays. There was a time when Northern leaders were stupid. I am talking about the days before the May 1953 riots in Kano and the days after. Oh, they were so stupid that I am sure they would be ashamed of themselves when they look back. Here is a summary of what happened. This is for their children and grandchildren who were not there and were not taught the history of those terrible days. By May 1953, southern leaders were ready for Nigeria to be an independent nation. They were pushing for a three-year plan that would have granted Nigeria independence in 1956, one year before Ghana. The only problem was that the leaders of the north felt they were not ready. The North feared that the South would dominate the new nation. As a result, the North argued for a delay. They believed that if given a few years, they would catch up in the number of Northerners who went to school and were qualified to participate fully in the running of Nigeria. At that time, the North did not need affirmative actions like catchment areas, federal character, or disadvantaged states, to be at par with the South. To them, those were symbols and symptoms of a society that embraced mediocrity. Idan angulu ta biya maka maradi, zabuwa ta tafi da zanenta. That was the mood of the country when on March 31, 1953, headstrong Anthony Enahoro moved the motion for Britain to grant Nigeria independence by 1956. Enahoro did not say it on the pages of the newspaper. He moved the motion in the federal parliament in Lagos. What audacity! Immediately, the Yoruba and Igbo people in Action Group and the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) joined him. All rascals. They were just excited like a man who just got married and could not wait for the reception to end before going to the oza room with his new wife. The leaders of the North, in their wisdom, asked what the rush was. They knew that a temporary hunger would not kill a person. The honourable gentleman, Ahmadu Bello, came up with a brilliant compromise. He said that the Enahoro bill should say self-government as soon as possible and not in the year 1956. But trust the Southern leaders, they put their foot down. They said it must be 1956 or nothing. Some even sang, Give us 1956 or give us death. It led to all parties walking out of parliament, leaving the British colonial people in the cold, scratching their heads. Talking of clowns, the Northern leaders got insulted by Lagos loutish crowds on the way home. The Northern leaders returned to Kaduna and issued a strong statement. It was nothing like the watered-down statements that Hakeem Baba-Ahmed issues these days. In their 1953 statement from the towers of Lugard Hall in Kaduna, Northern leaders listed eight points that the Southern leaders must meet before their return to Lagos. The Northern leaders were ready to leave the country for all intents and purposes. That was a stark contrast to the nonsense threat we get in this era from the likes of Yerima Shettima, whose only power is to now give an ultimatum to people from other parts of the country to leave Northern Nigeria. The real power lies in taking yourself out of unpleasant situations and not kicking people out of your immediate environment. That is how you know a real man. The next day, Saturday, May 16, 1953, the Kano Native Authority withdrew the permission initially given to Akintola and his group of rascals to have their meeting at Colonial Hotel, Kano. Because the authorities in Kano withdrew their permission, placid mobs had no option but to throw stones at Akintola and his fellow traitors in the hotel, just to flush them out. Nothing more. Of course, ruwa bas u tsami banza, water does not become sour without a cause. Anyway, Southern ignoramuses like Samuel Akintola refused to smell the sweet scent of feaces. He and other pro-independence ruffians took their campaign for independence to the North. Imagine Nyesom Wike and Rotimi Akeredolu in Sokoto campaigning for state police or a right to build their own power grid for their region. Yeah, something like that. Talk about taking the ball to the 18-yard box of your opponent who is already agitated and down on the scoreboard. That was how the riot of 1953 started. On May 15, 1953, supporters of the Northern Peoples Party (NPC) had a demonstration to tell Akintola and company that they did not appreciate seeing them stand in their front and count their nine fingers. It was just a very simple statement of fact. The next day, Saturday, May 16, 1953, the Kano Native Authority withdrew the permission initially given to Akintola and his group of rascals to have their meeting at Colonial Hotel, Kano. Because the authorities in Kano withdrew their permission, placid mobs had no option but to throw stones at Akintola and his fellow traitors in the hotel, just to flush them out. Nothing more. Of course, ruwa bas u tsami banza, water does not become sour without a cause. As with stuff like this, one thing led to another and two Southerners died. And the imperturbable mobs saw that it was sweet. They moved on to Sabon Gari to flush out other radical sympathisers who were pretending to be minding their own business as if they were not engaged in WhatsApp conversations with Akintola and his fellow clowns. By Sunday the 17th, it had become a full-scale inter-ethnic crisis. Who could have imagined that? The mobs chanted anti-Yoruba songs as they went on a rampage, but soon they remembered the Igbo and attacked them. The military was called up to help quell the crisis. By the time it was over, 46 people, mostly Southerners, were dead. The day after the riot, the British colonial government imposed a state of emergency in Northern Nigeria before they regained control of the situation. The British administrative officers also conducted a probe. At the end of the probe, the statement they issued said, No amount of provocation, short-term or long-term, can in any way justify their behaviourthe seeds of the trouble which broke out in Kano on May 16 [1953] have their counterparts still in the ground. It could happen again, and only a realisation and acceptance of the underlying causes can remove the danger of recurrence. I tell you, those old leaders of the North believed that mu dai beran rami daya, in ba a gama a shiga ba, a gama a fita; we the mice come out of one hole, we either meet going in or we meet going out. That was an old conventional wisdom. They were squeamish about ignoring the hush-hush but didnt want to do anything to amplify it or turn it into a clarion call for confrontation. Who could have known that those British people have been noisemakers for so long? The danger of recurrence? What crystal ball showed them that? After the riot, the honourable Ahmadu Bello and the Northern leaders in NPC issued another list of demands. This time, they gave the list as conditions for them to return to the useless Federal Parliament in Lagos. Please, dont confuse this Lagos Federal Parliament with the Ahmad Lawan-led majestic National Assembly in Abuja today. One is a bunch of zombies sucking the blood of Nigeria. The other one was Enaharos parliament. In the Northern leaders demands were safeguards that gave autonomy to each region. The negotiation for the unity of Nigeria went so well that the honourable Ahmadu Bello was comfortable staying in the North as the premier, while he sent his protege, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, to Lagos to be the prime minister. Those were the days when the leaders of the North were stupid. They negotiated for Nigerias unity and got regional autonomy for themselves and others. It is akin to them negotiating today for a proper federation that would reduce the power of the centre and allow the geo-political zones to stand on their own. It is a kind of negotiation that can give some zones in the North a work-free day on Fridays and a resumption of the workday on Sundays. In such a negotiation, each zone will build its own power grid, choose its own language of instruction in schools, and derogatory terms like federal character and disadvantaged states will be discarded, as each geo-political zone will decide its destiny and the pace at which it wants to get there. I tell you, those old leaders of the North believed that mu dai beran rami daya, in ba a gama a shiga ba, a gama a fita; we the mice come out of one hole, we either meet going in or we meet going out. That was an old conventional wisdom. They were squeamish about ignoring the hush-hush but didnt want to do anything to amplify it or turn it into a clarion call for confrontation. Sissies, they are all of those as soon as possible apostles. Who does something like that when you can control the whole country and lord it over them as long as possible? Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo teaches Post-Colonial African History at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He is also the host of Dr. Damages Show. His books include This American Life Sef, Children of a Retired God, among others. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 it is a very simplistic argument that only Tinubu can defeat Atiku in the 2023 presidential election. Dont allow them to set the wrong agenda for you. If all Nigerians will get their Permanent Voters Card and ensure to participate in the 2023 election by campaigning for their preferred presidential candidate both one and one and online, the peoples choice, not the politicians choice will emerge as the president of Nigeria. There is this cheap propaganda currently being touted by the BATists that it is only Tinubu who can defeat Atiku. There is a deliberate attempt to set this only Tinubu can match Atiku agenda. The truth, however is that the Nigeria electorate are becoming more sophisticated by the day and I am surprised that events in the past few years have not taught politicians this simple fact. I mean, how difficult is it to see that our people are tired of the devil and the deep blue sea situation, which is what they are trying to do to us by presenting us with two politicians who are clearly part of the old order that is responsible for the present mess that Nigeria has found itself. One thing that I am very sure about is that the Nigerian people are tired of corrupt and old politicians and they want a change. Yesterday, while discussing the option of Professor Yemi Osinbajo as the most presentable for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the person raised an argument that I believe should not be ignored. He countered the choice of Professor Yemi Osinbajo as a credible candidate because of his position within the present administration. As logical as this sounds and as difficult as it may be to separate the vice president from the achievements and failures of President Muhammadu Buhari, it is also important to note that the vice president does not wield as much influence as many people think he does. We must also note that it is illogical to expect that the vice president will speak on certain issues when he is not the number one individual in this country. It will amount to gross insubordination if he does so. He can only make recommendations to the president and allow the president to exercise his discretion with regards to the final decision-making. I will however concentrate on highlighting the qualifications and unique selling points of the Vice President. I am sure that since we started this current democratic dispensation, which commenced from 1999, Nigeria has not had any individual with such level of brilliance, erudition, composure, professional and high level political experience as a presidential candidate. The vice president is such a breath of fresh air. It gives me goose-bumps watching and listening to his sound presentations at the comity of nations. Would it not be nice to have such a man as president of Nigeria. Worthy of note is how Professor Osinbajo detected the P&ID fraud against Nigeria. According to a September 2020 Vanguard report, going by Fridays ruling by a United Kingdom judge, the timely observation and interventions of the Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo was instrumental in how the Process and Industrial Development Limited (P&ID) became known and identified as a fraudulent endeavour according to a review of the court record. Sir Ross Cranston of the U.K. High Court of Justice Queens Bench Division Commercial Court explained that the vice president was a regular fixture all through the review process under the Buhari administration, noting that Professor Osinbajos fraud on the nation statement in June 2018 turned the case against P&ID in Nigerias favour. The Presidency said, In our view, the judgment is right, just and provides a strong prima facie case that the fraudulent gas deal with P&ID and the subsequent judgment debt of $10 billion against Nigeria was a clear attempt to cheat the country of billions of dollars by a company that had not invested one Naira in our country. Following a meeting, on March 13, 2017 Mr Malami wrote to Vice President Osinbajo, who was acting president at the time, exploring five scenarios and making recommendations on each. He explained that the vice presidents involvements was not restricted to his role as acting president alone. On 12 June 2018, the Vice Presidents office reported that he had agreed with the recommendation and would take up the matter with the President. That same day, 12 June 2018, the Vice President wrote to the president recommending the reopening of negotiations with P&ID. The President approved this recommendation on 26 June 2018. I know that the BATists believe that Professor Yemi Osinbajo (PYO)s closeness to the presidency is a disservice to him. However, most right thinking Nigerians will agree with me that working with the present administration has provided Professor Yemi Osinbajo with insights on the workings of the Nigerian state, her strengths, her weaknesses, the available opportunities and threats, as well as what could be done to eliminate these threats. Another shallow point that has been used as a weapon to demarket Professor Osinbajo is his involvement in the TraderMoni initiative, while he was still in charge of the National Social Investment programmes. However, as far back as February 2018, in a report by Business Post, the new special adviser to the president on Social Investments who took charge of the TraderMoni has denied allegations that the programme has been hampered by fraud in some states of the federation. There have been several other attempts to launch a smear campaign against the vice president especially using the religious factor. I will reiterate the fact that it is rather preposterous of anyone to think the Nigerian voters will not interrogate the groundless lie that the vice president is a fanatic. This particular one has been debunked by several past work employees, colleagues and friends of the vice president who have attested to his liberalism. I will in fact strongly advise the BATists not to polarise the electorate along religious lines considering the sensitive state of the nation. That is why I will reiterate that it is a very simplistic argument that only Tinubu can defeat Atiku in the 2023 presidential election. Dont allow them to set the wrong agenda for you. If all Nigerians will get their Permanent Voters Card and ensure to participate in the 2023 election by campaigning for their preferred presidential candidate both one and one and online, the peoples choice, not the politicians choice will emerge as the president of Nigeria. The improved IVED (INEC Voter Enrolment Device) gives me a level of assurance that the 2023 election will be credible to a considerable extent. In a Blueprint 2022 report, the chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, Lawrence Oyekanmi was quoted thus, the IVED is currently being used for the physical registration of voters. During an election, it will facilitate the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), which provides for both fingerprint and facial authentication. It will also be used to upload individual polling unit election results to the INEC Result Viewing portal (IReV) in real time on election day. Rukayat Okediran wrote from Abuja. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 What I have found curious is that the public seems to believe the extravagant claims of aversion to vote buying and the attempt to present it as something premiered in the current season. It is a protracted illness from which our politics has suffered and is sufficiently dangerous to us as a society because of its spread to every level of our politics. Back when he was lucid, the late Majek Fashek sang-to no public disapproval: Religion na politics. I do not remember the theme or lyrics of the song well enough to be certain if it also contains a claim that is both eminently capable of scrambling the heads and minds of people involved in either or both. No matter. I am of the view that they do. Big time. First example: Bashorun Dele Momodu, an out-and-out celebrity and doyen of celebrity journalism, spent the last few months thumping his not inconsiderable chest at more grizzled rivals for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential ticket. While admitting that he lacks the spending power of Atiku Abubakar, Bukola Saraki and other obscenely monied aspirants, he claimed to have a strategy to nick the ticket. Evidence provided by results of the primaries, where he got a whopping zero vote, declined to support his claim and showed he was propelled by motivational hokum. Only. Everyone has a plan, Mike Tyson famously said, until they get punched in the mouth. Momodu, with sadistic force, got punched in the mouth. Better organisation, familiarity with the terrain and, of course, of money in industrial quantities available to Atiku and Nyesom Wike, to which he said his strategy was an antidote, must have relieved him of the notion of having a strategy. He got his wires crossed, conflating celebritydom with popular political appeal a clear sign that he is anything but self-aware. In a video cut from a television interview granted a few days ago, he said he knew what was going to happen at the primaries because he was aware of the predilection of Nigerians for following the big man with money. The big man, he said, is hyped without restraint. Two things. If he knew that Nigerians, including delegates, were incurably fascinated with big names and money, what was his optimism based on? Equally importantly, we need to ask if there is a bigger hype machine for the big man than Ovation, published by no other person. Ovation, the big mans bulletin, is peerless as a channel for fawning and Hallelujah articles about the class of people Momodu now bitches about. Atiku Abubakar, Bukola Saraki and Chris Uba have been celebrated in his magazine as though they made scientific discoveries. Mohammed Abacha, whose father was a Mobutu-scale thief and who was alleged to have tortured pro-democracy activists in the military era, was celebrated in Ovation. So, what was Bashorun thinking when flapping his gums? Ayo Fayose, the absurdist former governor of Ekiti State, did not claim to have a strategy. He was only certain of Nigerians affection for him. Proof of that, he said, were the high-decibel cheers he got when he went to eat amala and ponmo days before the primaries at which he did as well as Momodu. His buffoonery went up a few notches before the voting got underway when he boasted that he will defeat President Buhari, who will not be on the ballot, because he is an expert at defeating incumbents. Only he and probably Dino Melaye is capable of such. Thankfully, he has not whined about the use of money. Not yet, at least. Example two: Pastor Tunde Bakare, a non-horse let alone a dark one. Were there a figure lower than zero, that would be the number of votes the preacher would score at the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primaries kicking off on Saturday. Apparently still drunk on being once chosen as Buharis running mate, the preacher is convinced he is about making the jump. News reports quoting him as saying he will defeat Atiku of the PDP show him as worse than deluded. This is a chap that nobody within his party in his home state (Ogun) talks about. That he cannot score less than zero means he cannot have an outcome worse than what Fayose or Momodu had. There is every chance that at the end, he will come wailing about the use of money. Injurious to the democratic process as vote buying (in intra-party or inter-party election) is, it is not new as it is being spun in the ongoing political season. Bizarrely, even actors who had been beneficiaries of the zero-fidelity process or shown no irritation to it are shrieking like scalded cats. They have been around the turf long enough to know the score. I think they do know the score, but find it convenient to attribute intra-party electoral losses to the use of money. The loudness of the screams about the use of money this time and making it appear like a novelty, I think, is largely attributable to the withdrawal of Mr Peter Obi, a high-profile aspirant, from the PDP race. Shehu Sani, a PDP governorship aspirant in Kaduna State, is also bleating that he got two votes allegedly because he refused to give money to delegates. Those claims of aversion to money politics deserve to come under the headlights of scrutiny. Do those making them have enough and are unwilling to spend as much as others or they just do not want to be found anywhere around the practice? I cannot claim to know for sure. What I am fairly certain of is that they know and have always known the score. Obi, for example, spent two terms as governor, after which he left for one of the major parties the PDP through which he became chairman, Nigerian Security and Exchange Commission. The PDP before and after he joined is no pristine organisation. It is, like other political platforms, an ethics-free trade zone, brimming with men with money and the readiness to use it. There is a reason PDP, share the money came into our political lexicon. Until recently, it is safe to say Obi was not uncomfortable with the men in the PDP. Had he been, he would not have accepted the offer to be running mate to Atiku, whose seemingly bottomless pocket blew rivals, for the 2019 PDP presidential ticket, out of the water. Using the same instrument and Tambuwwals support, Atiku has, again, picked the ticket. He got a high-five from Obi, as well as an acknowledgement of him as his leader. I cannot, will not, except at gunpoint, congratulate or accept the leadership of the man who was most responsible in ensuring that the process had no fidelity. To do so, I am afraid, does not suggest an aversion to vote buying. I said at gunpoint because we can say things we do not mean when life is under threat. A close friends encounter with armed robbers in the late 90s left him fidgeting so much that where he was lying down, he hit his leg on that of one of the robbers. The robber asked: You wan fall me down? My friend replied: You wont fall in Jesus name. Obi was under no threat. Shehu Sani can, while joyfully combing his afro, continue to make that claim, but he felt no discomfort hanging around those splashing the cash in the APC when he won the 2015 senatorial ticket and the platform still found a use for him. Atiku has the ill-luck of being perceived as a serial system corrupter. But I do believe that he is no worse than any other actor. Certainly not Bola Tinubu. In 2014, while in the APC, Atiku was mocked for losing the presidential ticket despite spending loads of money. His mockers gave the impression he was the only one who spent money and nobody spent on behalf of Buhari. I do not want to believe that. What I have found curious is that the public seems to believe the extravagant claims of aversion to vote buying and the attempt to present it as something premiered in the current season. It is a protracted illness from which our politics has suffered and is sufficiently dangerous to us as a society because of its spread to every level of our politics. Bamidele Johnson writes from Lagos. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Cross Rivers State Governor, Ben Ayade, on Wednesday again canvassed the need for the southern part of the country to produce the next president of Nigeria, saying with the expiration of eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari next year, it is the turn of the South. He said the idea of zoning came about to ensure an egalitarian and equitable power sharing in the country. Governor Ayade spoke when a national leader of the All Progressives Congress and presidential aspirant, Bola Tinubu, visited him at the Government House, Calabar. Zoning is a provision of our constitution to ensure balancing. It should not be about ethnic or regional domination, but balancing. Its the turn of Southern Nigeria in 2023, he said. Governor Ayade said the country was in dire need of change and a new way of doing things, arguing that with Nigerias potential as around Number 7 in the world in terms of oil and gas deposit, it is regrettable that the country is still importing petrol to meet its local demand. While describing Mr Tinubu as a trans-generational leader and political strategist, the governor said the politician has the capacity, experience and exposure to lead and is more than qualified to be Nigerias president. Mr Ayade said history would be kind to Mr Tinubu as the man who propelled the APC to power in 2015, adding that the APC leader was a cornerstone of the partys success. He said he has a long standing excellent relationship with Asiwaju, pointing out that each time he sought his advice on issues, he always got it. Thank you for your insensitivity to party affiliation, to age difference, to religion and to ethnicity, he added. The APC leader had told Governor Ayade, who is also contesting for president, that there was no collision in their desires. Mine is to respect you as you respect me. I appeal to you as your senior brother and the first to declare his intention, not to endorse me today but when you get to Abuja, you can endorse me fully. We must have that unity of purpose. We must work together not only for the unity and economic development of Cross Rivers, but also of the country. We owe that to the present and future generations, he said. Mr Tinubu promised to work with the state for the full development of Calabar Port if elected president. Joining Asiwaju Tinubu on the visit were Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje; former governor of Nasarawa State, Senator Tanko Al-Makura; former governor of Borno State, Senator Kashim Shettima; former Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba; Presidential Aide, Yau Darazo, and Chairman of TETFUND, Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, among others. The APC leader had also earlier visited the Obong of Calabar, His Royal Highness, Edidem Ekpo Okon Abasi Otu V, who described him a great former Lagos governor, a great power-broker and a great leader of APC. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The police in Enugu State said they have arrested 26 suspects for various offences in the state. The police spokesperson in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday. He said they arrested 24 of the suspects while they were having a secret cult meeting and initiation process in a forest at Eke in the Udi Local Government Area of the state. Mr Ndukwe said police operatives raided their meeting camp on Saturday after receiving information about the gathering. Two locally made pistols, seven black berets and litres of liquid substances suspected to be a mixture of palm wine and Indian hemp used for the initiation, were among the items recovered during the operation, according to the police. Ongoing investigation revealed that the suspects are made up of 14 newly initiated and ten old members of Apache Tigers (Two-Two) which is also known as Black Beret (BB) Confraternity. They all confessed to being members of the secret cult group, the police said. Mr Ndukwe said the police also arrested one other suspect for alleged illegal possession of two locally made pistols with three live cartridges along Abakaliki Road, Enugu. The suspect, Obinna Owoh, 22, hails from Ntezi in Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. He was arrested on Sunday while two of his accomplices escaped, the police spokesperson said. The police said they also arrested another suspect in Nsukka for alleged illegal possession of a Beretta pistol with one live round. The suspect, Benedict Nwodo, 29, of Ugwuechara in Nsukka, was arrested following the prompt response of police operatives to a distress call. All the suspects shall be arraigned in court once investigations are concluded, the spokesperson said. Mr Ndukwe said the Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Abubakar Lawal, charged operatives to remain at the top of their games to actualise the commands resolve to purge the state of unrepentant criminals. He urged the public to remain law-abiding, and vigilant and continue to assist the police with useful information in the fight against crime in the state. The latest arrest is coming barely one month after the police in the state announced the arrest of 46 suspects for various offences. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 AbdulAhmed Mustapha, one of the two governorship aspirants disqualified by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the primary election, has pledged support for the state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. The governor polled 1,170 votes to emerge as the winner of the primaries held at the Mobolaji Johnson Stadium in Onikan, Lagos. Mr Mustapha and his counterpart, Wale Oluwo, were disqualified in the May 26 governorship primaries. He made the statement at a press conference on Tuesday, the states Chief Press Secretary, Gbenga Akosile, said on his Twitter handle. In a 16 seconds video posted by Mr Akosile, the former aspirant said he will support Mr Sanwo-Olu. aspiration of the party, to support the nominee of the party and we will work to make sure that not just in Lagos but also at the federal level so that our leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will become the next president of Nigeria, he said. Mr Mustapha had detailed how he was prevented from accessing the venue where the election was held. But the chairman of the Lagos APC primary electoral committee, Ahmed Yuguda, said only the governor was cleared to participate in the primary. Mr Mustapha had also asked the national working committee (NWC) of the party to nullify the primary election. He described his disqualification and exclusion from the election as illegal. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The trial of murder and rape suspect, Andrew Ominikoron, has suffered a setback at a High Court in Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos on Wednesday. Mr Ominikoro is accused of raping and murdering a 22-year-old fashion designer, Bamise Ayanwola, in February inside a BRT bus. He is also accused of raping another passenger, Maryjane Odezelu, on November 25. The Director of Public Persecution (DPP), Babajide Martins, informed the court at the resumption of the trial that the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) in Ikoyi had taken the initiative not to let out any inmates. He said this was due to the rumours of riot by some commercial motorcyclists popularly called Okada after the ban by the state government. He said the Lagos Island area has been known to be a hotbed during such incidents and they intend to prevent any inmate from taking advantage of such incidents to escape custody. Three witnesses were present in court to testify against the defendant. Okada ban Following the mob attack that led to the death of David Imoh, a sound engineer in the Lekki area of the state, the governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu imposed a ban on six local government areas. The ban is effective June 1. At the last hearing, a prosecution witness Kayode Aluko, a Fleet Operations manager at the Lagos Bus Services Limited, explained how the company employs their drivers. The judge adjourned the matter to the earlier scheduled dates June 7 and 9 for the continuation of the trial. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 An unidentified man was on Wednesday rescued from committing suicide at a lagoon in Lagos State. He had attempted jumping into the lagoon from the Lekki-Ikoyi link bridge but was rescued by patrol officers of the Lekki Concession Company (LCC). Thanks to the quick intervention of LCC Patrol Officers, a young man was saved from committing suicide on Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge, LCC tweeted. He has been handed over to the police. In the video shared by the company, a female patrol officer held the man alongside other passersby pleading with him not to jump into the lagoon. You will see connection (helper). You are a man, it is okay. You are a man, you are a man, she said. Dont die. Your future is bright. Come let me find work for you. Your future is bright. My darling, it is okay. The man held onto the bridge railing in a move to jump into the lagoon. The person behind the camera called on people to help restrain him from committing suicide. Please help us hold him, he said. The unidentified man was in tears as he was helped to move away from the bridge railing. Similarly, in April, the police prevented a suicide attempt in the state. The sexagenarian (name withheld) had attempted to jump into the Lagos Lagoon from the 3rd Mainland Bridge due to personal challenges. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Key Appian customers include a large multinational financial services company based in Spain , one of the largest Spanish telecommunications companies in the world, a global consulting firm , plus other companies looking to transform their business at rapid speed with security, reliability, and agility. In addition to Appian Founder and CEO Matt Calkins and Victor Ayllon, Vice President of Automation at Appian, delegates from the Regional Government, the Seville City Hall and the Cartuja Science and Technology Park, and other leaders also attended the recent Appian Seville office opening ceremony. "We welcome Appian and applaud its decision to establish its first product development team outside the US in the Cartuja Science and Technology Park," said Rogelio Velasco, the Minister of Economic Transformation, Industry, Knowledge, and Universities of the Andalusia Government. "Its commitment to our region reaffirms the advantages Andalusia has to offer: a qualified talent pool, prestigious university, and an entrepreneurial business ecosystem. This new Technology Innovation Center reaffirms the growth trajectory of the Cartuja Science and Technology Park, which has attracted nine multinational initiatives so far this year alone." Appian incorporated its EMEA Headquarters in London, UK, in 2007 and ten years later, opened its first office in Madrid, Spain, in 2017. The global low-code software company established its footprint in Seville in January 2020 when it acquired a local company known for its Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology, Novayre Solutions. Since then, Appian has more than doubled the number of employees in Spain and has chosen Seville to be the first Technology Innovation Center outside of the US. "Seville provides the ideal environment for Appian to establish its technology hub, grow our team, and serve our regional customers and partners," said Ayllon. "The new Appian office shows our vision for Seville and commitment to the Andalusia region as we plan to double the team here in the next few years. We will continue to work closely with local government authorities, universities, and communities to identify, recruit, and promote talents in the region." In addition to investing in a new Technology Innovation Center, hiring local talents, and scaling up the Seville team, Appian has partnered with Fundacion Once and PCT Cartuja on the "Digital Talent" project to help people with disabilities improve their employability. Appian is also working with universities in Seville and the Andalucia regions to host workshops for students and recruit top talent. Lastly, Appian is sponsoring 50 individuals in the Sputnik Talent Program to develop technical skills and help them transition into a new career in software development, project management, or solutions consulting. Please visit our website and see open positions in Seville if you would like to be part of our growing team in Spain. About Appian Appian is the unified platform for change. We accelerate customers' businesses by discovering, designing, and automating their most important processes. The Appian Low-Code Platform combines the key capabilities needed to get work done faster, Process Mining + Workflow + Automation, in a unified low-code platform. Appian is open, enterprise-grade, and trusted by industry leaders. For more information, visit appian.com . Follow Appian: Twitter , LinkedIn . Follow Appian UK: Twitter , LinkedIn . Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1829720/Appian_New_Technology_Innovation_Center_Seville_Ayllon.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1829721/Appian_New_Technology_Innovation_Center_Seville_Reception.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1488235/Appian_Logo.jpg SOURCE Appian Rise in focus toward development of public access defibrillator (PAD) by public and private organizations and surge in incidence of cardiac diseases drive the growth of the global external defibrillators market. PORTLAND, Ore., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "External Defibrillators Market by Product Type (Manual External Defibrillator, Automated External Defibrillator (AED), Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator (WCD)), by End User (Hospitals, Pre-Hospitals, Public Access Market, Alternate Care Market, Home): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031." According to the report, the global external defibrillators industry generated $2.7 billion in 2021, and is expected to reach $5.2 billion by 2031, witnessing a CAGR of 7.0% from 2022 to 2031. Download Sample PDF at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/2109 Drivers, Restraints, and Opportunities Rise in focus toward development of public access defibrillator (PAD) by public and private organizations, rise in number of key players that develop advanced defibrillator devices, and surge in incidence of cardiac diseases drive the growth of the global external defibrillators market. However, increase in pricing pressure on market players restrains the market growth. On the other hand, rise in adoption of technologically advanced defibrillators devices, increase in demand for quality medical care, and rise in prevalence of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) present new opportunities in the coming years. Covid-19 Scenario The demand for public access defibrillator (PAD) reduced considerably during the Covid-19 pandemic, due to lockdown restrictions imposed by governments. These restrictions prevented the movement of people at shopping malls, hotels, and other public places. Manufacturing activities of various types of defibrillators such as automated external defibrillator (AED) and wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WCD) were hindered due to shortage of raw materials, disrupted supply chain, and unavailability of workforce. The automated external defibrillator (AED) segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period Based on product type, the automated external defibrillator (AED) segment contributed to the highest market share in 2021, accounting for more than two-thirds of the global external defibrillators market, and is expected to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. This is due to rise in the initiatives by major companies, surge in number of adoption of defibrillators at healthcare facilities, and the implementation of several public access defibrillation programs. However, the wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WCD) segment is expected to witness the highest CAGR of 12.9% from 2022 to 2031, owing to rise in prevalence of cardiovascular disorders, surge in elderly population, and ease of use for non-invasive devices. Specific Requirement on COVID-19? Ask to Our Industry Expert: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/2109 The hospitals segment to continue its lead position during the forecast period Based on end user, the hospitals segment held the highest market share in terms of revenue in 2021, accounting for more than half of the global external defibrillators market, and is projected to continue its lead position during the forecast period. This is due to ever-increasing volume of patients visiting hospitals, new strategies adopted by key manufacturers, and rise in adoption of various types of external defibrillators by hospitals. However, the alternate care segment is expected to register the fastest CAGR of 8.7% from 2022 to 2031. This is attributed to rise in the installation of defibrillators in public places such as highways, shopping malls, hotels, and others. North America to continue its dominance by 2031 Based on region, North America accounted for the largest market share in terms of revenue in 2021, holding more than two-fifths of the global external defibrillators market, and is expected to continue its dominance by 2031. This is attributed to increase in the number of installations of external defibrillators in hospitals along with other public places such as schools, hotels, highways, railway stations, and others. However, Asia-Pacific is estimated to manifest the largest CAGR of 8.9% during the forecast period. This is due to increase in number of cardiovascular diseases, rise in healthcare costs, and improvements in the healthcare infrastructure. Leading Market Players Nihon Kohden Corporation Asahi Kasei Corporation Koninklijke Philips N.V. CU Medical Germany GMBH Mediana Co., Ltd. Shenzhen Comen Medical Instruments Co., Ltd. Stryker General Electric Company Schiller AG Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co., Ltd. Avenue Basic Plan | Library Access | 1 Year Subscription | Sign up for Avenue subscription to access more than 12,000+ company profiles and 2,000+ niche industry market research reports at $699 per month, per seat. For a year, the client needs to purchase minimum 2 seat plan. Request for 14 days free trial: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/avenue/trial/starter "We have also published few syndicated market studies in the similar area that might be of your interest. Below are the report title for your reference, considering Impact of Covid-19 Over This Market which will help you to assess aftereffects of pandemic on short-term and long-term growth trends of this market." Trending Reports in Healthcare Industry (Book Now with 10% Discount): Cancer Diagnostics Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202028 Traditional Wound Management Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2028 Personal Mobility Devices Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2028 Cannabis Testing Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202028 COPD and Asthma Diagnotic and Monitoring Device Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202028 U.S. Advanced Wound Care Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202028 Healthcare Chatbots Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202028 Veterinary Medicine Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202028 Track and Trace Solutions Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202028 Patient Centric Healthcare App Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202028 About Us Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. Pawan Kumar, the CEO of Allied Market Research, is leading the organization toward providing high-quality data and insights. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States USA/Canada (Toll Free): +1-800-792-5285, +1-503-894-6022 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1(855)550-5975 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/reports-store/life-sciences Follow Us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/life-sciences-industry-research/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE Allied Market Research MUMBAI, India, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Investment Banking firm Elara Capital Plc. today announced the appointment of former Minister of State, United Kingdom, Jo Johnson, to its Board of Directors. A Member of Parliament between 2010-2019, Jo served as a senior Government Minister under three successive Prime Ministers, including as Head of the No10 Downing Street Policy Unit and Minister of State in the Cabinet Office; Minister of State for Transport; Minister for London; and Minister of State, attending Cabinet, for Universities, Science, Research & Innovation. He is now a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School and President's Professorial Fellow at King's College London, as well as a member of the House of Lords. "It is an honour for us to have Jo Johnson join our Board. Elara Capital will benefit from Jo's experience and also seek his guidance on investments in interesting growth sectors like technology and education," said Raj Bhatt, Chairman, Elara Capital Plc. Jo Johnson began his career as an investment banker with Deutsche Bank and later spent 13 years at the Financial Times, including as Head of Lex and Associate Editor. His foreign postings included over three years as the FT's South Asia Bureau Chief based in New Delhi and four years as the FT's Paris Correspondent. Jo has written extensively on the UK-India relationship. He recently co-authored Natural Partners: Building a Comprehensive UK-India Knowledge Partnership (Harvard Kennedy School-King's Policy Institute, 2021) and co-edited Reconnecting Britain and India: Ideas for an Enhanced Partnership (Academic Foundation, 2011). About Elara Capital With an entrepreneurial DNA and strong ethos, Elara Capital has emerged as one of the leading investment banks for Indian companies looking at overseas fund raising and was ranked amongst the top investment banks in the Bloomberg league tables. SOURCE Elara Capital Organised by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), part of the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), the annual fair saw a notable increase in sales of books and publications in various fields of knowledge and culture, as publishing houses participating in the event gave positive feedback of their experience and the large volume of sales completed. The event welcomed thousands of students from schools across the country, who brought great energy and enthusiasm to the various sections of the Fair. This year's edition of the fair boasted a busy agenda of events that stood out for their groundbreaking and serious content, including a professional programme for publishers and workshops to hone creative writing skills. A significant increase was noted in the number of publishers participating in the event, with 1,130 publishers from over 80 countries offering a large selection of literature appealing to diverse audiences. More than 650 cultural, artistic and educational events took place across the week, featuring such distinguished international guests as Nobel laureates and winners of the Booker and Pulitzer Prizes, alongside renowned Arab intellectual and creative minds. ADIBF 2022 chose the influential Egyptian writer and intellectual Taha Hussein known as the 'Dean of Arabic Literature' as its 'Personality of the Year', highlighting the renowned author and critic's life and work during the seven-day event, and introducing his work to a new generation. The Federal Republic of Germany was hosted as the Guest of Honour, with renowned German publishers taking part and a special calendar of activations rolled out throughout the week. The activities highlighted German literary heritage and celebrated the longstanding tradition of cultural exchange between that country and the UAE. It also highlighted the UAE's efforts in the publishing industry and the conferences sector, further promoting the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair on the world stage. The Sheikh Zayed Book Award also celebrated the winners of its 16th edition in a special ceremony at Louvre Abu Dhabi, where renowned thinker Dr. Abdullah Al Ghathami was honoured, in recognition of his illustrious and pioneering career, where he completed landmark studies and research projects that contributed greatly to the cultural movement in the region and the Arab world. Dr. Al Ghathami was awarded the title of 'Cultural Personality of the Year'. The 31st Abu Dhabi International Book Fair presented a wide range of diverse events to participants, including the inaugural International Congress of Arab Publishing and Creative Industries, which hosted 300 speakers, publishers and specialists from around the world. It also included the launch of the first edition of the 'Kanz Al Jeel' Award, which aims to honour Nabati poetry, as well as heritage studies and research. With a name inspired by one of the poems written by the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Award is granted to scholars and creators who submit works that explore Nabati poetry and its values; it seeks to enhance poetry's standing in society as a mirror of the community. The 19th edition of the Gulf Book Fair Managers Meeting was also held on the sidelines of the event, resulting in a set of new recommendations to improve book fairs across the region and better support the Arab publishing industry. His Excellency Dr. Ali bin Tamim, Chairman of ALC, said: "Our strategic objectives for the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair were to convey a respectable image that befits the leading position and positive reputation of the UAE and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, in particular. We sought to position Abu Dhabi as a destination of choice for the world's most prominent cultural events that aim to empower people and promote creativity, knowledge and culture. The Fair embodies the vision of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre and the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi to support publishers and pave the way for them to make their competitive return to the market. ADIBF 2022 signalled a new beginning where life returns to the world of culture, shedding light on the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and its authenticity, identity, and grand cultural aspirations. "This year witnessed many cultural and literary firsts in the history of the exhibition, and we wanted to present events with meaningful content to offer visitors a positive, well organised book fair experience, steering attention towards the books sector out of our commitment to following in the footsteps of the UAE's Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who believed in the importance of the book and its role in the progress and development of societies," HE bin Tamim added. A series of diverse talks, panel sessions, exhibits and other events took place throughout the fair, including a special poetry evening with poet Adonis, while the winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Economics, Guido Imbens, gave a talk discussing his economic theories. Tokyo-born artist Fuad Honda, widely recognised as one of the world's top Arabic calligraphers, delighted fans with an exhibition and book launch at the fair, which also included panel discussions to introduce winners of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award 2022 and the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, affiliated with the Booker Prize, along with a series of panels, activities, and workshops targeting book-lovers and all segments of the community. For the ADIBF wrap up video, please click here. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1830607/ADIBF_1.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1830605/ADIBF.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1830606/ALC.jpg SOURCE Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre AllianceRx Walgreens Prime, Walgreens presented findings at ISPOR 2022 in Washington, D.C. ORLANDO, Fla., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- AllianceRx Walgreens Prime and Walgreens recently announced results from separate research studies exploring the impact of adherence on hospitalizations and medical costs as they related to cystic fibrosis (CF) and ulcerative colitis (UC)/Crohn's disease, respectively. Researchers wanted to better understand the effect of adherence on patient outcomes and well-being. Findings from both studies supported the idea that specialty pharmacy interventions focused on adherence may improve patient outcomes. Access to commercial data prompted the research, according to Edward Witt, PhD, manager, health analytics, research and reporting at Walgreens, and an author of the study. "We wanted to understand the effect of adherence on total cost of care and other outcomes that we don't usually have access to with pharmacy-only data." Both studies were retrospective analyses of a de-identified commercial claims database consisting of a national sample of patients. CF is a progressive, genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits the ability to breathe over time. CF transmembrane conductance regulator modulator (CFTRm) medications address the underlying cause of the disease. UC and Crohn's disease are two types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), chronic conditions causing inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Biologic medications are often prescribed to help manage these conditions. In both studies, researchers used pharmacy and medical claims data to determine patients' adherence to their medication therapies and compare it to outcomes. Adherence was measured by using a proportion of days covered (PDC) metric among patients who had medical claims with ICD-10 codes for their respective study during 2019. Researchers examined outcomes including hospitalizations, inpatient bed days and inpatient costs. Witt says the CF study found patients prescribed CFTRm therapies who were adherent to their medication were significantly less likely to be hospitalized during the same period as non-adherent patients. Among hospitalized patients, "the data showed a pattern such that inpatient costs were lower, and days stayed in the hospital were shorter for adherent patients relative to non-adherent patients. However, these differences were not statistically significant," he says. "This study suggests the importance of adherence to these therapies for preventing worse health outcomes for patients." Witt went on to say the UC/Crohn's study found UC and Crohn's patients who were adherent to their biologics had fewer hospitalizations, shorter stays in the hospital if hospitalized and lower inpatient costs than non-adherent patients during the same time period. "The inpatient cost differences themselves were substantial," he says. "This study suggests the importance of adherence in this patient population for reducing risk of negative health outcomes and financial costs and suggests the importance of establishing evidence-based specialty pharmacy adherence programs to improve adherence for UC and Crohn's patients." Nishita Hira, PharmD, CSP, clinical program manager at AllianceRx Walgreens Prime and an author of the CF study, says the research findings reinforce the role specialty pharmacies play in supporting CF patients. "Specialty pharmacies can help support adherence through monthly touchpoints with patients. These include refill reminders and screening for and counseling on adherence barriers such as administration difficulties or side effects that may pose a threat to continued adherence," she says. "Through improving adherence, specialty pharmacies can have a beneficial outcome on patient quality of life." The same holds true for patients with UC/Crohn's disease, according to Renee Baiano, PharmD, CSP, clinical program manager at AllianceRx Walgreens Prime and an author of the UC/Crohn's disease study. "The continual interaction between the patient, specialty pharmacy and provider is fundamental in the continuity of care for IBD patients. Specialty pharmacists can improve the quality of life for these patients by providing expert advice and support of treatment regimens, as well as by encouraging medication adherence." Witt says patients, payers and providers can learn from this study. "For patients, the message is staying adherent can keep you out of the hospital. For payers and providers, medication adherence is a key factor for reducing inpatient costs and improving quality of care." Researchers presented findings from both studies at ISPOR 2022, May 15-18, in Washington, D.C. About AllianceRx Walgreens Prime AllianceRx Walgreens Prime (alliancerxwp.com) is a specialty and home delivery pharmacy that strives to provide exceptional care throughout a patient's treatment journey with the medications they need every day. Formed in 2017, the company offers tools and resources for patients, providers and health plans to deliver optimal health outcomes. The company is headquartered in Orlando, Florida, and its pharmacies are accredited by several national pharmacy accreditation services. Media Contact Adrienne Foley, APR External communications manager adrienne[email protected]alliancerxwp.com SOURCE AllianceRx Walgreens Prime Franchisees Nationwide Take Purple Pledge, Participate As Walk To End Alzheimer's National Team PHOENIX, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Assisted Living Locators, a nationwide senior placement and referral service, annually "goes purple" to support Alzheimer's & Brain Awareness Month. The company 140 franchisees across the U.S. join the movement by taking the Purple Pledge and participate as a Walk To End Alzheimer's National Team to raise funds to fight Alzheimer's. The color purple has been chosen to help raise Alzheimer's awareness as The Alzheimer's Association encourages people to "Go Purple with a Purpose" throughout June. Fundraising efforts take place on the longest day of the year, June 21. The event shines light on the 5.7 million Americans living with Alzheimer's disease and the more than 16 million family members and friends providing care and support. "In support of the Alzheimer's care and research, Assisted Living Locators franchisees are recruiting community members to participate in their upcoming local Walk days and expect to raise thousands of dollars in their fundraising events," said Angela Olea, RN Assisted Living Locators CEO. "Our senior care advisors are on the front lines, providing much-needed support services to individuals living with Alzheimer's and educating their caregivers. We see the impact this disease has on families and are dedicated to Alzheimer's care, support and research." Olea noted that her company is the first nationwide senior placement service to achieve system-wide dementia care-certification to help families affected by Alzheimer's find at no cost, assisted living, and memory care options. "We are making a positive difference every day by finding facilities that are best suited for these individuals," she added. During Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month, Assisted Living Locators will also show the power of purple by changing its company logo to purple on its corporate website and franchisee social media channels to show solidarity for those with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. The company's senior care advisors wear purple and share photos on social media, as well as participate in Longest Day fund-raising and dementia care education events. To join Assisted Living Locators' Walk to End Alzheimer's team, visit www.alz.org/assistedlivinglocators. If have questions about dementia care, speak to an Assisted Living Locators Senior Care Advisor at 877-266-7788 or visit www.assistedlivinglocators.com. Media Contact: Rhonda Grundemann The Grundemann Group 602-739-8810; [email protected] SOURCE Assisted Living Locators MIAMI, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Baptist Health South Florida in partnership with Mind Body Social Events announced today the start of in-person, wellness programming for the 55+ community throughout Palm Beach County. The event series titled the 55+ Wellness Series powered by Baptist Health Foundation offers a diverse and inclusive selection of activities for wellbeing designed for today's modern, wellness-minded active adults. "Our mission at Mind Body Social is to positively impact as many people through our wellness programming." Tweet this Yoga class at Delray Market Place Amphitheater as part of 55+ Wellness Series powered by Baptist Health Foundation "Our mission at Mind Body Social is to positively impact as many people through our wellness programming, and we are grateful for this opportunity to increase awareness for the active adult community in Palm Beach County," said Jose Antonio Hernandez, co-founder of Mind Body Social Events. "Our goal is to inspire the 55+ community in the Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Palm Springs, Lake Worth and Ocean Ridge areas to join an innovative and engaging wellness program created just for them and free to them." The 55+ Wellness Series powered by Baptist Health Foundation encourages healthy behavior and fosters preventive care while adapting to lifestyle changes. The overall goal of the series is to promote physical and mental well-being throughout the Palm Beach County community and is offered exclusively for residents ages 55 and older in the City of Boynton Beach, the City of Delray Beach, the Village of Palm Springs, the City of Lake Worth Beach, and the Town of Ocean Ridge. In line with Baptist Health South Florida's standing commitment to offering easily accessible wellness programs around South Florida, the 55+ Wellness Series powered by Baptist Health Foundation features a selection of fitness classes curated by the Mind Body Social team including: Zumba, Tai Chi, Yoga, Jazzercise, and Barre, among others. Additionally, the series addresses wellness topics including mindfulness and nutrition. The series began with online-only programming in January and kicked off the in-person events this May. It will be offered through December of this year. Full schedule and more information on the 55+ Wellness Series powered by Baptist Health Foundation is available here . To learn more about Mind Body Social Events' wellness offerings, visit www.mindbodysocialevents.com and follow @mind_body_social on Instagram or @MindBodySocialEvents on Facebook. For more information on Baptist Health South Florida, visit www.baptisthealth.net or follow @baptisthealthsf on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Media Contact: Lilyvania Mikulski Stronger Communications & Marketing [email protected] SOURCE Mind Body Social, LLC Safety Leader Helping to Protect Nearly 6M Children Online to Increase its International Presence ATLANTA, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bark Technologies, a global leader in the digital safety space, today announced the closing of a $30 million Series C financing round led by Kayne Partners, the growth private equity group of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, with participation from existing investors. This investment brings Bark's total funding raised to date to $67 million. The company also announced that Leon Chen, Managing Partner at Kayne Partners, will join Bark's board of directors. Founded in 2015 by Brian Bason to help families work together to navigate the dangers of an ever-changing digital world, today Bark helps to protect nearly 6 million children online at home and in more than 3,200 schools and districts in the U.S., Guam, South Africa, and Australia. The Series C funding will be used to accelerate Bark's international expansion, enable more strategic global partnerships, and further position Bark as a leader in the online safety space. "We are thrilled to have Kayne Partners as a partner to help us offer even more families our online safety tools and resources," said Brian Bason, founder and CEO of Bark. "In such an unpredictable world filled with far too many digital dangers that have greatly contributed to a youth mental health crisis, this funding is critical to our company's mission and expansion to help protect more children online and in real life." Using highly sophisticated artificial intelligence, Bark alerts families to concerning behaviors in a variety of categories, including cyberbullying, depression, suicidal ideation, violence, and online predation. Bark monitors more than 30 of today's most popular social media platforms and apps, as well as text messages, images, videos, chats, emails, and files. Families can also create custom screen time schedules, block websites and apps, and receive location alerts when kids are on the go. Bark even detects the nuanced ways kids communicate online via slang and emojis including country-specific language differences to help parents better understand their children and detect crises often masked in teen/tween speak. "Kayne Capital prides itself on carefully selecting partners who are both leaders as well as responsible stewards in their areas of expertise," said Leon Chen. "Bark is changing the world for the better by using technology for social good. We are proud to partner with a cause-driven organization that not only helps to protect children but also educates and empowers families while modeling behaviors of responsible digital citizens." Recent highlights for the company include: For more information on Bark Technologies, visit www.bark.us. About Bark Bark helps families manage and protect their children's digital lives. The award-winning service monitors 30+ of the most popular apps and social media platforms for signs of issues like cyberbullying, suicidal ideation, online predators, threats of violence, and more. Bark's web filtering and screen time management tools empower families to set healthy limits around the websites and apps their kids can access and when they can visit them. Visit www.bark.us for more information. About Kayne Partners Kayne Partners, the Los Angeles-based dedicated growth private equity group of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P., leverages its large firm resources to partner and invest in lower middle market, privately held, high growth, enterprise software and tech-enabled service businesses across North America. The team has developed a durable and repeatable investment strategy and process for applying its stage expertise through sourcing and investing in companies at an early inflection point, adding value and scaling through organic growth and M&A, and exiting these must-have assets to strategics & financial sponsors. The team has experience investing across media & telecommunications, supply chain & logistics, financial technology, healthcare IT, security & compliance, and business process outsourcing and automation. For more information, please visit www.kaynepartners.com. About Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P., founded in 1984, is a leading alternative investment management firm focused on real estate, credit, infrastructure/energy, renewables, and growth equity. Kayne's investment philosophy is to pursue niches, with an emphasis on cash flow, where our knowledge and sourcing advantages enable us to deliver above average, risk-adjusted investment returns. As responsible stewards of capital, Kayne's philosophy extends to promoting responsible investment practices and sustainable business practices to create long-term value for our investors. Kayne manages $32 billion in assets (as of 3/31/2022) for institutional investors, family offices, high net worth and retail clients and employs 325 professionals in five core offices across the U.S. www.kaynecapital.com SOURCE Bark Technologies ChannelCon 2022, which will take place Tuesday, Aug. 2, through Thursday, Aug. 4, at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk in Chicago, is the technology industry's premier annual conference for vendor-neutral collaboration, learning and partnership, stimulating the innovative ideas and actionable advice to help grow and protect businesses around the world. "We're incredibly excited to bring Scott Galloway to the ChannelCon audience this year," said M.J. Shoer, chief community officer at CompTIA. "Few thought leaders can cut through the noise and help us all make sense of the ever-changing business world these days. The professor and entrepreneur will share his unique takes on creative solutions in health tech, higher education, transportation, financial technology, and related fields that will shape the next decade and beyond." Galloway, who has nearly 500,000 followers on Twitter, has founded nine companies including Prophet, Red Envelope, L2 and Section4. Along with his Webby Award-winning No Mercy/No Malice newsletter, he is The New York Times bestselling author of "The Four," "The Algebra of Happiness" and "Post Corona." He also has served on the boards of directors of The New York Times Company, Urban Outfitters, Berkeley's Haas School of Business, Panera Bread and Ledger. In addition to the keynote, ChannelCon will feature a specialized mix of education and collaborative sessions from leading technology experts offering insight into key trends, business challenges and growth opportunities in today's market. Set against the backdrop of CompTIA's hometown of Chicago and embracing the city's rich music tradition, ChannelCon will celebrate bringing the industry back together in person throughout the program. ChannelCon 2022 Programming Tracks Cybersecurity: Today's cyber strategies must be multi-faceted, collaborative, and resolute. Learn from security leaders about how to identify the latest threats and respond proactively to stay safe. New Solutions: Managed services providers (MSPs) and other solution providers are always on the lookout for new, innovative solutions. Learn how to engage in meaningful discussions with partners and get valuable insights to help you keep making beautiful music together. Education: For MSPs to stay competitive, they need to learn and incorporate the latest sales and marketing strategies to help keep their customers in perfect harmony. Hear from industry experts about the latest trends and best practices to help take your business straight to No. 1. New Tech, Workforce Strategies: Adopting new technologies and keeping tech talent happy can help differentiate a business. CompTIA Communities and Industry Advisory Council leaders will discuss business-building tactics and IT workforce strategies that will keep employees and customers coming back for an encore. ChannelCon is co-located with the CompTIA Partner Summit, which includes academic educators, commercial trainers, government agencies, corporate learning and development leaders, and instructors looking to improve training solutions and measurably enhance the skillset of the tech workforce. The Summit, which will take place Aug. 3 and Aug. 4., includes general sessions along with the Galloway keynote. Registration is currently open for ChannelCon 2022 and Partner Summit. To register for ChannelCon, go here. To register for Partner Summit, go here. About CompTIA The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a leading voice and advocate for the $5 trillion global information technology ecosystem; and the estimated 75 million industry and tech professionals who design, implement, manage, and safeguard the technology that powers the world's economy. Through education, training, certifications, advocacy, philanthropy, and market research, CompTIA is the hub for unlocking the potential of the technology industry and workforce. Visit https://connect.comptia.org/. Media Contact Roger Hughlett [email protected] +1 202-678-8468 SOURCE CompTIA For every ride on a Pride-themed bike in June, Bluebikes title sponsor Blue Cross will donate $1 to Fenway Health, in support of LGBTQ+ health care BOSTON, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of Pride Month, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts ("Blue Cross") is rolling out 100 Bluebikes wrapped in a rainbow pride-themed design through the month of June. Blue Cross Proud bikes will be integrated across the Bluebikes system's 11 municipalities (Arlington, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Newton, Revere, Salem, Somerville and Watertown). Blue Cross is the title sponsor of Bluebikes, which is owned by the municipalities and operated by Lyft. To reflect its continued support of the LGBTQ+ community, Blue Cross will donate $1 for every ride taken on Blue Cross Proud bikes through the month of June to Fenway Health in Boston. Lyft will assume the $1 donation after the 10,000th Proud bike ride of the month. Fenway Health, a longtime partner of BCBSMA, works to enhance the well-being of the LGBTQ+ community and beyond through access to the highest quality of health care, education, research, and advocacy. "We're thrilled to once again celebrate Pride month by continuing our support of Fenway Health's mission," said Jeff Bellows, Blue Cross' vice president of corporate citizenship and public affairs. "Blue Cross is committed to creating more equitable communities and to making health care more accessible and affordable. We look forward to seeing the Proud bikes in the Bluebikes fleet and raising awareness of LGBTQ+ equality along the way." The Blue Cross Proud bikes will be available within the more than 400 Bluebikes stations across the system's eleven municipalities through the end of June. Blue Cross is also a founding sponsor of the Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce and, for the fourth year in a row, received a perfect score on the 2022 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality, as administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. "We appreciate the commitment Blue Cross continues to demonstrate to the health and wellness of the LGBTQ+ community," said Fenway Health Chief Executive Officer Ellen LaPointe. "This initiative will once again support our critical care, education and advocacy efforts. We're thankful for our ongoing partnership with Blue Cross and hope that everyone takes a ride on a Pride-themed Bluebike during Pride month." This is the third time Blue Cross has supported Fenway Health via Blue Cross Proud bikes. In 2019 and 2021, the company donated $1 for every ride on a pride-themed Bluebike, in collaboration with Lyft, to the health center. "We're proud to collaborate with Blue Cross on a Bluebikes Pride initiative that helps shine a spotlight on the need to improve access to health care for the LGBTQ+ community, especially queer and trans youth who are at a heightened risk for critical health issues," said Dom Tribone, Lyft General Manager for Bluebikes. "Through this effort, we celebrate the diversity and resilience of the LGBTQ+ community and support the compassionate care provided by Fenway Health." Blue Cross has been the title sponsor of Bluebikes since its launch in May 2018. Through its partnership with the municipal owners of Bluebikes, Blue Cross continues to support system growth and accessibility, including station expansions, upgrades and additional bikes. About Bluebikes Bluebikes is public transportation by bike. The system is jointly owned and managed by the Cities of Boston, Cambridge, Everett, Salem and Somerville and the Town of Brookline. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is the system's title sponsor. Riders can find 400 stations and 4,000 bikes across 11 municipalities in Metro Boston. Since 2011, more than 14 million trips have been taken by bike share. For more information about Bluebikes, visit bluebikes.com. About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (bluecrossma.org) is a community-focused, tax-paying, not-for-profit health plan headquartered in Boston. We are committed to the relentless pursuit of quality, affordable and equitable health care with an unparalleled consumer experience. Consistent with our promise to always put our members first, we are rated among the nation's best health plans for member satisfaction and quality. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. SOURCE Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts A passionate supporter of the arts, Samdani is the co-founder of the not-for-profit Samdani Art Foundation in Bangladesh. Through her efforts with the Foundation, she has brought attention to Bangladeshi contemporary artists both at home and internationally. This has resulted in their works being included in major international public institutions and collections. Samdani also co-founded the Dhaka Art Summit (DAS), the highest visited art summit in the world which welcomed 477,000 visitors in 2020. A key part of the Foundation's remit to make art accessible to all, it provides opportunities for the local community to engage with art by bridging the gap between the local art scene and the international art world. Under her continued leadership, DAS will celebrate its tenth anniversary from 3 to 11 February 2023. Nadia Samdani MBE says: 'It's an extraordinary honour to receive recognition for over a decade of supporting and nurturing artistic talent. It's been heartening to see the huge levels of public engagement with our work, and how the Foundation has fostered new cross-cultural dialogues between Bangladesh and the rest of the world. I am thrilled that this honour comes as part of celebrations for Her Majesty the Queen's 70-year reign, and her length of service and commitment is something I hope to emulate in my ongoing work.' About Nadia Samdani MBE Nadia Samdani MBE is the Co-Founder and President of the Samdani Art Foundation and Director of the Dhaka Art Summit. In 2011, with husband Rajeeb Samdani, she established the Samdani Art Foundation to support the work of Bangladesh and South Asia's contemporary artists and architects and increase their exposure. As part of this initiative, she founded the Dhaka Art Summit - the highest visited art summit in the world - which has since completed five successful editions under her leadership and welcomed a record 477,000 visitors for its last edition in 2020. Nadia Samdani is a member of Tate's South Asia Acquisitions Committee, Tate's International Council, Alserkal Avenue's Programming Committee and the Delfina Foundation's International Council, and is one of the founding members of The Harvard University Lakshmi Mittal South Asia Institute's Arts Advisory Council. In 2017, with her husband Rajeeb, she was the first South Asian arts patron to receive the prestigious Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award. Photo- https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1831023/Nadia_Samdani.jpg SOURCE Samdani Art Foundation NASSAU, Bahamas, May 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- COCO Bahama Seaplanes is expanding its fleet of state-of-the-art amphibious seaplanes, adding a new VIP concierge team to Odyssey Nassau FBO and is launching a portfolio of Seaplane Safaris and Adventures to celebrate the unique beauty and offerings of the Bahamian Family Islands. Coco Bahama Seaplane Arrival at Kamalame Cay Private Island Resort, Bahamas Mr. Brian Hew, CEO of COCO Bahama Seaplanes said today's announcement, "Follows the company's stated commitment to help support and expand the range of tourism offerings for visitors and to work aggressively with both independent and multinational hotels and resorts to spread tourism dollars to the Family Islands through day trips and excursions." The first COCO Bahama Seaplane Safaris and Adventures launched the first week of May 2022 and include half- and full-day trips to the Swimming Pigs in Exuma and Spanish Wells and day trips to the award-winning Kamalame Cay Private Island Resort. Both swimming pig adventures will offer tourists the opportunity to get up close with the pigs and to experience the water wonderlands of Exuma and Spanish Wells, where tourists will also enjoy wild turtle and sting ray experiences and unique locally prepared food and beverages. Expanding on the success of Kamalame's monthly wine pairing luncheons, Kamalame Cay is launching a weekly Chef's Table experience where guests can now fly with COCO to Kamalame Cay for the day and join a grand communal table set directly on the beach, with a menu celebrating the very best of what the ocean has offer locally in season (fish, lobster, shrimp, crab, conch) and the best seasonal offerings from the farm (herbs, vegetables, fruit). The menu celebrates the local fisherman, farmers, foragers, bakers and artisans from which each item is sourced. Each luncheon is expertly paired with specialty cocktails and selection of spectacular international wines from Young's Fine Wines in Nassau. On Friday, Audrey Oswell, President and managing director of Atlantis Paradise Island announced it was the first of the mega resorts to partner with COCO Bahamas Seaplanes and said it was moving to "share all of The Bahamas with our visitors" by providing day excursions to the family islands via COCO Bahama Seaplanes. "We know The Bahamas' bounty of culture, art and our environment's endless splendour exists among our sister islands. Why wouldn't we want to share all of The Bahamas with our visitors? We are thrilled to offer access to even more of our beautiful country to our guests." Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, Hon. I. Chester Cooper said, "I am very proud that our government continues to partner with the Bahamian people to do great thingsCOCO Bahama Seaplanes and the launch of these Family Island day trips and excursions will not only help support and expand the range of tourism offerings for domestic and international visitors but will help bring urgently needed economic support to many of the Family Islands. We are very pleased that COCO Bahama Seaplanes and Atlantis Paradise Island have partnered on the inaugural flight and look forward to expansion of these offerings." More COCO Bahama Seaplane Safaris and Adventures will be announced by hotel partners in the coming days. About COCO Bahama Seaplanes: COCO Bahama Seaplanes is the first, year-round, amphibious airline to debut in The Bahamas in over half a century. 100% Bahamian owned, with a fleet of state-of-the-art aircraft, two pilot crews and world class safety standards, COCO is bringing glamour, classic style and quality service to flying the islands of Bahamas. For more information and updates, visit FlyCocoBahama.com. #COCOBahamaSeaplanes #FlyCOCOBahama #FlyCOCO #FlyAwayBahamas #C6FAB #LoveIsInTheAir MEDIA CONTACT: [email protected] About Kamalame Cay: Named "No.1 Private Island Resort in The Bahamas" by both Conde Nast Traveller and Travel + Leisure for the last five years running, Kamalame Cay is the antithesis of the corporate luxury resort. Accessible only by seaplane, helicopter, or boat, this family-owned island just a mile off the world's third-largest Great Barrier Reef, boasts world-class diving, boating, and fishing, the only overwater spa in the Bahamas, and some of the finest cuisine, wine, and spirits in the tropics. (Kamalame.com). #KamalameCay #Kamalame #IheartKamalame #FlyAwayBahamas SOURCE COCO Bahama Seaplanes MIAMI, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Curve Health, a software & services company that provides connected senior care for Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs), today announced the hiring of Amanda Pritchard as the company's Chief Financial Officer. Pritchard will direct the company's financial planning and serve a key role in strategic decision-making as Curve scales nationwide. Curve Health empowers SNFs and their nurses to expand their care offerings for residents and their families, thus improving the patient care experience and reducing hospitalizations. Curve's solution goes beyond telemedicine to include live diagnostics, health information exchange, predictive analytics, smart billing, and business intelligence. A study by Western Journal of Emergency Medicine found care provided through the Curve Health platform reduced SNF patient hospital admissions by as much as 80%. Curve's solution combines best-in-class technology with a team of seasoned healthcare and nursing home professionals. "I have had the privilege of supporting family members going through different stages of their life. This has fueled a passion for the advancement of healthcare delivery," said Pritchard. "Curve is on a mission to support those who need help the most, and I couldn't be more proud to be part of the team making this happen." Pritchard brings a unique skill set to Curve following 20 years in public and private companies in healthtech, fintech, manufacturing and accounting. She began her career as an auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers and most recently served as the VP of Finance at 6 Degrees Health. Amanda obtained her Bachelor and Master's in Accounting at the University of Southern California. "We're thrilled to bring Amanda onboard at this inflection point in our growth," said Rob MacNaughton, Curve's CEO. "Amanda's expertise across industries will serve the company well as we deliver our best-in-class platform to skilled nursing and home health organizations as well as the providers we support to deliver optimal care." The integration of Curve Health's platform enables nurses to expand care options available to residents in SNFs. Residents are directly connected from their rooms with remote providers through a tablet, allowing collaboration with onsite nurses who execute treatment plans. Enhanced care is made available through advanced predictive analytics, ensuring more accurate identification and treatment of medical conditions, and accurate execution of advanced care plans. Additionally, business intelligence analytics enable SNFs to improve staffing allocation, and smart billing features provide appropriate reimbursement for remote physician groups. About Curve Health: Curve Health is senior care without walls. Founded in April of 2020 on a platform that's reduced patient transfers from Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) to Emergency Departments by 80%, Curve advances connected senior care by bridging the silos that hinder healthcare delivery today; enabling physicians to remotely care for patients in SNFs, at home, in ambulances or wherever they may be. Curve combines telemedicine, a health information exchange, predictive analytics, and smart billing into a single platform, resulting in higher quality care + significant return on investment while ensuring the most seamless patient experience. To learn more visit: www.curvehealth.com. SOURCE Curve Health Ten NAFLD/NASH pipeline product profiles were evaluated by US gastroenterologists and hepatologists to assess strengths, weaknesses, and physician receptivity EXTON, Pa., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Spherix recently surveyed 103 US gastroenterologists and 20 hepatologists, along with conducting eight qualitative interviews (including 2 KOLs and 6 clinical trial participants), to assess the current and future management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The combination of qualitative and quantitative research included in their Market Dynamix: NAFLD/NASH (US) service evaluates, in detail, the diagnostic and treatment trends emerging with the conditions, as well as physician reactions to therapies in development. The NAFLD/NASH market represents perhaps the largest opportunity among all gastroenterology treatment areas. Several factors identified in the report contribute to this: Size - The median number of patients per year treated by respondents is 65 for NASH and 110 for NAFLD. It is estimated that 25% of all US adults have NAFLD and that 20% of these patients have NASH (5% of all US adults). 1 Growth - Roughly half of gastroenterologists and at least three quarters of hepatologists project the number of NAFLD and NASH patients will increase over the next three years. hepatologists NAFLD Undiagnosed population - Respondents estimate that between forty to fifty percent of NAFLD /NASH patients have not been diagnosed. No approved options - There currently are no FDA-approved therapies to treat NAFLD or NASH. Promising therapies - More than half the respondents rated themselves "likely" to prescribe four of the ten pipeline profiles they reviewed if those therapies were to be approved by the FDA. Combination potential - One in five gastroenterologists and almost half of hepatologists are open to the potential of prescribing combination therapy to treat NAFLD or NASH. Spherix's Market Dynamix service assesses physician awareness of and familiarity with ten pipeline NAFLD/NASH assets that have at least Phase 2 clinical data available. To accommodate maximum exposure of potential pipeline therapies, six profiles were exposed to all 123 physicians, while four rotated so that only 30 respondents reviewed them. The pipeline therapies part of this assessment include: Resmetirom (Madrigal Pharmaceuticals) Aramchol ( Galmed Pharmaceuticals) Galmed Lanifibranor ( Inventiva Pharma ) Inventiva Pharma EDP-305 (Enanta Pharmaceuticals) Icosabutate ( NorthSea Therapeutics) NorthSea Semaglutide (Novo Nordisk ) Nordisk Efruxifermin ( Akero Therapeutics) Akero Namodenoson ( Can-Fite Biopharma ) Can-Fite Biopharma TVB-2640 (Sagimet Biosciences) VK2809 (Viking Therapeutics) Gastroenterologists and hepatologists engaged in a thorough review of these pipeline product descriptions (based on publicly available clinical information). Quantitative data captured for these NAFLD/NASH pipeline therapies includes: Most likely to prescribe therapy (likelihood rating if FDA-approved) Most preferred pipeline therapy (ranking) Advantages of each pipeline therapy (open-ended) Limitation of each pipeline therapy (open-ended) Reasons for ranking each therapy number one Estimated number of NAFLD and NASH patients who would be started on each number-one ranked therapy These metrics in the Spherix report can help to identify where the NAFLD/NASH market is moving in terms of expectations for pipeline therapies and their mechanisms of action. For example, the American Gastroenterology Association (AGA) recently established a Critical Care Pathway (CCP) for diagnosing and managing NAFLD/NASH patients. That CCP included the targeting of type 2 diabetes patients as primary candidates for potentially developing NAFLD/NASH. This revised approach also appears to be influencing gastroenterologists' and hepatologists' prioritization of the pipeline therapies with diabetes-focused mechanisms. Specifically, of four NAFLD/NASH therapies with two years of preference data in the report, the two NAFLD/NASH therapies with diabetes-focused mechanisms of action (GLP-1 and PPAR) saw the largest increase in ranking preference since last year's report. NAFLD/NASH represents just one of the emerging gastroenterological conditions introduced into Spherix's gastroenterology offerings through their Market Dynamix service. Other conditions covered include eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), celiac disease (CeD), and clostridium difficile (C. diff). About Market Dynamix Market Dynamix is an independent service providing analysis of markets anticipated to experience a paradigm shift within the next three to five years. Insights highlight market size, current treatment approaches, unmet needs, and expert opinions on the likely disruption introduced by pipeline agents. Learn more about our services here. About Spherix Global Insights Spherix Global Insights is a hyper-focused market intelligence firm that leverages our own independent data and expertise to provide strategic guidance, so biopharma stakeholders make decisions with confidence. We specialize in select immunology, nephrology, and neurology markets. All company, brand or product names in this document are trademarks of their respective holders. For more information contact: Eric John, Gastroenterology Franchise Head Email: [email protected] www.spherixglobalinsights.com SOURCE Spherix Global Insights Powered by Purlin, a New Valley Ventures PropTech Investment, AdPro Enhances Agents' Ability to Promote Listings, Target Buyers, Grow Reach and Boost Lead Gen NEW YORK, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Douglas Elliman Realty, one of the largest independent residential real estate brokerages in the United States, announced today the launch of AdPro, a new custom-built digital ad publishing solution that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help agents more effectively promote properties, target potential buyers, expand their reach and generate more leads. AdPro is powered by Purlin, one of the first companies to receive funding from New Valley Ventures, the PropTech investment arm of Douglas Elliman Inc. "As a business built on empowering agents to grow their businesses, we are continuously looking for new tools and technologies to give them an edge," said Scott Durkin, Chief Executive Officer, Douglas Elliman Realty. "We can't wait to see what opportunities and possibilities AdPro will unlock for them." Featuring a simple and intuitive interface, AdPro enables agents to quickly and easily produce and publish ads on-the-go for Facebook, Instagram and Google. "So much of sales and marketing is about telling powerful stories, and our agents are some of the best storytellers around," said Stephanie Garbarini, Chief Marketing Officer, Douglas Elliman Realty. "AdPro will help them to share their stories more efficiently and ensure they are seen by the right people." AdPro's propriety AI models track lookalike high-intent audiences, as well as engagement with similar listings and related interests, in order to target likely buyers in the market for real estate. Agents can select from a menu of packages preset with finely tuned targeting and optimal duration to maximize the impact of a promoted listing. "AI is profoundly transforming the way we do business and with AI enhanced AdPro, we are delivering our agents a more qualified and intentional pool of buyers for of their exclusive listings," said Connie Mui-Reilly, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Douglas Elliman Realty. "Our commitment to developing and investing in AI-powered PropTech like AdPro will ensure we stay at the leading edge of innovation," added Dan Sachar, Managing Director of New Valley Ventures LLC and Vice President of Enterprise Innovation at Douglas Elliman Inc. "We are excited to see our investment in Purlin come to life via this exciting platform." AdPro also fosters greater collaboration and transparency with sellers by sharing real-time performance and traffic reports for the ads promoting their properties. Douglas Elliman will begin rolling out AdPro to agents on a regional basis in the coming weeks. About Douglas Elliman Inc. Douglas Elliman Inc. (NYSE: DOUG, "Douglas Elliman") owns Douglas Elliman Realty, LLC, which is one of the largest residential brokerage companies in the New York metropolitan area, which includes New York City, Long Island, Westchester, Connecticut, New Jersey and the Hamptons, and the sixth largest in the U.S., with operations in California, Colorado, Texas, Nevada, Florida and Massachusetts. In addition, Douglas Elliman sources, uses and invests in early-stage, disruptive property technology ("PropTech") solutions and companies and provides other real estate services, including development marketing, property management and settlement and escrow services in select markets. Additional information concerning Douglas Elliman is available on its website, www.elliman.com. Investors and others should note that we may post information about Douglas Elliman on our website at www.elliman.com or, if applicable, on our accounts on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube or other social media platforms. It is possible that the postings or releases could include information deemed to be material information. Therefore, we encourage investors, the media and others interested in Douglas Elliman to review the information we post on our website at www.elliman.com and on our social media accounts. SOURCE Douglas Elliman Realty BOGOTA, Colombia, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL; NYSE: EC) informs that to comply with the provisions of Part III Title I Chapter VI of the Basic Legal Circular issued by the Financial Superintendence of Colombia (E.C. 029 of 2014), the Board of Directors of Ecopetrol S.A. ("Ecopetrol" or the "Company") approved the implementation of the following measures aimed at guaranteeing the adequate representation of shareholders at the extraordinary General Shareholder's Meeting to be held on June 17, 2022: The Board instructed the Company's management to: Inform shareholders of their right to be represented through the appointment of a proxy and indicate the legal requirements of the proxies to be granted for such purpose. Appoint those who will validate the shareholders' proxy assignments, advising that those proxies that fail to meet the minimum requirements established by law will not be admitted as valid, nor proxy form will be accepted where the name of the respective appointed representative is not clearly defined. To abstain from making any recommendations or determinations regarding the proxy selection of the shareholders. Not suggest to shareholders to vote for a specific candidate list. Not suggest, coordinate, or agree with shareholders regarding i) the submission of proposals at the Meeting; and/or ii) voting in favor or against any proposal discussed in the Meeting. Verify that the shareholders do not grant proxies to persons directly or indirectly related to the Company's management or employees. The Vice-president of Corporate Affairs of Ecopetrol was appointed as the officer responsible for verifying the compliance with the above measures. The Legal Affairs Vice Presidency of Ecopetrol was appointed as the area responsible for supervising the review of proxies. The previous measures adopted by the members of the Board of Directors of the Company in a meeting held on May 31, 2022, will be informed by its Chairperson to the general market through the Delegate Superintendent for Issuers before the General Shareholders' Meeting. Ecopetrol is the largest company in Colombia and one of the main integrated energy companies in the American continent, with more than 18,000 employees. In Colombia, it is responsible for more than 60% of the hydrocarbon production of most transportation, logistics, and hydrocarbon refining systems, and it holds leading positions in the petrochemicals and gas distribution segments. With the acquisition of 51.4% of ISA's shares, the company participates in energy transmission, the management of real-time systems (XM), and the Barranquilla - Cartagena coastal highway concession. At the international level, Ecopetrol has a stake in strategic basins in the American continent, with Drilling and Exploration operations in the United States (Permian basin and the Gulf of Mexico), Brazil, and Mexico, and, through ISA and its subsidiaries, Ecopetrol holds leading positions in the power transmission business in Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Bolivia, road concessions in Chile, and the telecommunications sector. This press release contains business prospect statements, operating and financial result estimates, and statements related to Ecopetrol's growth prospects. These are all projections and, as such, they are based solely on the expectations of the managers regarding the future of the company and their continued access to capital to finance the company's business plan. The realization of said estimates in the future depends on the behavior of market conditions, regulations, competition, the performance of the Colombian economy my and the industry, among other factors, and are consequently subject to change without prior notice. This release contains statements that may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All forward-looking statements, whether made in this release or in future filings or press releases or orally, address matters that involve risks and uncertainties, including in respect of the Company's prospects for growth and its ongoing access to capital to fund the Company's business plan, among others. Consequently, changes in the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward -looking statements: market prices of oil & gas, our exploration, and production activities, market conditions, applicable regulations, the exchange rate, the Company's competitiveness and the performance of Colombia's economy and industry, to mention a few. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. For more information, please contact: Head of Capital Markets Carolina Tovar Aragon Email: [email protected] Head of Corporate Communications Mauricio Tellez Email: [email protected] SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A. MAUMEE, Ohio, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Fiberon, a leader in wood-alternative cladding, is proud to announce that its Wildwood PE composite cladding was featured as one of Green Builder's Top 50 Sustainable Products of the Year. Green Builder is the leading voice in sustainable construction, and products included on the Top 50 list represent today's most innovative products that make buildings more resilient, intelligent, efficient, healthy and safe. Fiberon Wildwood composite cladding was featured as one of Green Builder's Top 50 Sustainable Products of the Year. Tweet this Fiberon Wildwood composite cladding, shown here in Wenge, was featured as one of Green Builder's Top 50 Sustainable Products of the Year. Wildwood PE composite cladding is made from 94 percent mixed recycled wood fiber and plastic content destined for landfills and incinerators. It is perfect for architects who want a long-lasting, maintenance-free, sustainable alternative to traditional wood cladding, offering a solution for projects that require the beauty of wood with long-term warranted performance. "Sustainability has always been important to Fiberon as a company, and we continuously look for ways to be better stewards of the environment," said Mark Ayers, senior vice president of marketing and product development for Fiberon. "This award validates the commitment we have made to producing beautiful, high-performing building products that we can all be proud of. We look forward to continuing to provide sustainably produced products for many years to come." Wildwood features an open-joint profile and is available in a variety of board lengths and widths for added design flexibility. It also features a durable composite core that ensures exceptional resistance to rotting, cracking, insects and decay. It will cut and install similar to real wood without the hassle and does not require the same staining and painting maintenance that wood requires. Wildwood is available in two nature-inspired collections that feature rich colors, realistic textures and the organic warmth and beauty of real wood. For more information on Wildwood composite cladding, visit fiberoncladding.com Shareable Highlights Fiberon, a leader in wood-alternative cladding, is proud to announce that its Wildwood composite cladding was featured as one of Green Builder's Top 50 Sustainable Products of the Year. About Fiberon Founded in 1997, Fiberon is a leading U.S. manufacturer of wood-alternative decking, railing and cladding distributed worldwide. Fiberon also provides products like lighting and outdoor furniture, for a complete outdoor experience. Fiberon products are available in a wide range of styles and price points, all providing the warmth and beauty of natural wood without the costly, time-consuming maintenance. With a goal of improving sustainability and environmental responsibility, Fiberon PE decking contains a minimum of 94% recycled content. Fiberon maintains operations in North Carolina and Idaho. For more information, visit www.fiberondecking.com or call 800-573-8841. Fiberon is part of the Outdoors & Security division of Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc. (NYSE: FBHS), a Fortune 500 company, part of the S&P 500 Index and a leader in the home products industry. The Company's growing portfolio of complementary businesses and innovative brands include Moen and the House of Rohl within the Water Innovations Group, outdoor living and security products from Therma-Tru, LARSON, Fiberon, Master Lock and SentrySafe, and MasterBrand Cabinets' wide-ranging offerings from Mantra, Diamond, Omega and many more. Visit www.FBHS.com to learn more about FBHS, its brands and how the Company is accelerating its environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments. SOURCE Fiberon Custom health plan leverages significant discounts with local focus on plan sponsors in the Greater Houston Area IRVING, Texas, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- HealthSmart, one of the nation's largest third party administrators of health plans for employers and plan sponsors, announced the launch of Houston SmartCare, a comprehensive level-funded health plan that offers market leading discounts to Houston-area small to mid-sized employers. The plan offers significant savings and protection for plan sponsors and features access to leading hospitals, facilities and providers in Greater Houston through Employers Health Network (EHN). Houston SmartCare delivers a transparent, all-inclusive model that offers predictable costs through a level-funded plan with no additional risk for employers and significantly lower premiums than mainstream fully-insured programs. The program also offers financial security with stop loss coverage to protect plans from catastrophic claims. In addition to a comprehensive health benefits plan, Houston SmartCare boasts a superior member experience through its Concierge Advisor Team who works to guide members and help them navigate their healthcare journey every step of the way. Houston SmartCare is available across an eight-county area in Greater Houston, and is a collaborative effort of HealthSmart, EHN, and Elan Insurance Group. "This new health plan designed especially for the Greater Houston area is another example of how HealthSmart approaches our organizational mission of reducing costs for plan sponsors and delivering premium healthcare solutions to our members," said Craig Julien, CEO for HealthSmart. "This program demonstrates an innovative approach to help plan sponsors in the Houston area control their health benefit costs by providing deeply discounted access to the area's top hospitals and providers through EHN." Julien added, "This is big news for small and medium employer groups and Houston SmartCare is truly a game-changer for our broker community in terms of providing quality healthcare options with deep discounts." Omar Haedo, president of Elan Insurance Group, sees Houston SmartCare as a comprehensive solution that solves several problems for plan sponsors in the Houston area. "Plan sponsors typically must work with several players to build their health plans," said Haedo. "By bringing together experts in the areas of most concern to small and mid-sized plan sponsors, we have created a one-stop solution that offers a top-quality, focused provider network, critical stop loss coverage, and comprehensive third-party administration services, relieving area health plan sponsors of the burden of shopping for these services individually." Brokers, employers and plan sponsors can learn more about the program or request more information at www.houstonsmartcare.com. HealthSmart will showcase the Houston SmartCare health plan at an upcoming webinar on Wednesday, June 29, 2022 at 1:30 p.m. CDT. The webinar will share more information for brokers that serve Houston-area plan sponsors. Registration is available at www.houstonsmartcare.com/webinar. About HealthSmart HealthSmart is one of the largest third party administrators in the country and the premier provider of innovative, customizable and scalable healthcare solutions for employers, brokers and payers. We partner with plan sponsors to provide key services needed to reduce healthcare costs and manage members with dignity and respect. HealthSmart is the one-stop source for health plan needs, including health plan benefit administration, pharmacy benefit management, care management and wellness programs and provider networks. For more information, visit www.healthsmart.com. Follow HealthSmart on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. About EHN Employers Health Network (EHN) embraces a high-performance network model that helps employers provide exceptional quality healthcare benefits at lower cost. Our unique network model helps both employers and members save immediately and save over time through a sustainable model with our high-quality and accountable network partners. For more information, visit www.employershealthnetwork.com. About Elan Insurance Group ELAN Insurance Group is a group of companies headquartered in Miami collaborating to bring competitive, cutting-edge health insurance products to the marketplace. From traditional comprehensive plans to self-funded plans, ELAN tailors its offering to meet the needs of employers and individuals across the Caribbean and the United States. For more information, visit www.elan.insure. SOURCE HealthSmart The competitive scenario provided in the Industrial Automation and Instrumentation Market in India report analyzes, evaluates, and positions companies based on various performance indicators. Some of the factors considered for this analysis include the financial performance of companies over the past few years, growth strategies, product innovations, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc. Don't wait, Make a strategic approach & boost your business goals with our Industrial Automation and Instrumentation Market in India Forecast Report - Buy Now! Industrial Automation And Instrumentation Market In India: Product Landscape The industrial automation and instrumentation market share growth in India by the industrial automation segment will be significant for revenue generation The industrial automation market in India is mainly driven by the business imperative to use resources efficiently, improve productivity, and optimize plant operations. Government regulations that seek to control carbon dioxide emissions by limiting power consumption and the need to minimize wastage of raw materials are also driving this market. To know about the contribution of each segment - Download a sample now! Vendor Analysis: The industrial automation and instrumentation market in India is fragmented and the vendors are expanding their product portfolio to compete in the market. The industrial automation and instrumentation market report of India also offers information on several market vendors, including ABB Ltd., and Eaton Corp. Plc, Emerson Electric Co., General Electric Co., Honeywell International Inc., Robert Bosch GmbH, Rockwell Automation Inc., Schlumberger Ltd., Schneider Electric SE, and Siemens AG among others. ABB Ltd. - The company offers different types of automation and instrumentation products such as Flame Scanners, Condition Monitoring, and others. The company offers different types of automation and instrumentation products such as Flame Scanners, Condition Monitoring, and others. To know ow about all major vendor offerings - Download a sample now! What our reports offer: Market share assessments for the regional and country-level segments Strategic recommendations for the new entrants Covers market data for 2020, 2021, and 2025 Market trends (drivers, opportunities, threats, challenges, investment opportunities, and recommendations) Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancements Related Reports: The radiation detection monitoring and safety market size is predicted to surge by USD 1.48 billion from 2021 to 2026 at a CAGR of 7.21%. Download a sample now! is predicted to surge by from 2021 to 2026 at a CAGR of 7.21%. The HVAC terminal units market size is expected to be valued at USD 1.41 billion by 2026 with a progressing CAGR of 5.05%. Download a sample now! Industrial Automation And Instrumentation Market In India Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 8.62% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 1.92 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 8.04 Performing market contribution India at 100% Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled ABB Ltd., Eaton Corp. Plc, Emerson Electric Co., General Electric Co., Honeywell International Inc., Robert Bosch GmbH, Rockwell Automation Inc., Schlumberger Ltd., Schneider Electric SE, and Siemens AG Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for forecast period, Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. Table of Content Executive Summary Market Landscape Market ecosystem Value chain analysis Market Sizing Market definition Market segment analysis Market size 2020 Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025 Five Forces Analysis Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Threat of new entrants Threat of substitutes Threat of rivalry Market condition Market Segmentation by Product Market segments Comparison by Product Industrial automation - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Industrial instrumentation - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Market opportunity by Product Market Segmentation by End-user Market segments Comparison by End-user Process industry - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Discrete industry - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Market opportunity by End-user Customer landscape Market drivers Market challenges Market trends Vendor Landscape Vendor landscape Landscape disruption Vendor Analysis Vendors covered Market positioning of vendors ABB Ltd. Eaton Corp. Plc Emerson Electric Co. General Electric Co. Honeywell International Inc. Robert Bosch GmbH Rockwell Automation Inc. Schlumberger Ltd. Schneider Electric SE Siemens AG Appendix Scope of the report Currency conversion rates for US$ Research methodology List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio SALT LAKE CITY, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- With the COVID-19 pandemic having eroded corporate culture and upended the rhythm of coworkers' connections, restoring corporate culture may be difficult. One global CEO and bestselling author on harmony outlines steps company leaders should consider to restore a corporate culture that's sustainable. All the Right Reasons: 12 Timeless Principles for Living a Life in Harmony, by USANA CEO and chairman Kevin Guest (PRNewsfoto/USANA) "Inspired by Peter Drucker's quote, 'Culture eats strategy for breakfast,' I'm convinced that restoring culture is key to bringing our companies back from the pandemic," said Kevin Guest, chairman and CEO of USANA Health Sciences (NYSE: USNA). "Aligning personal values with your employer's culture brings a peaceful sense of harmony and strengthens teams." Author of bestseller All the Right Reasons: 12 Timeless Principles for Living a Life in Harmony, Guest provides eight steps to help employees and leaders alike restore company culture and become stronger as an organization. "Transitioning to hybrid work is the perfect time to celebrate reuniting with the team that achieved success together during the pandemic," he said. "Deepening those relationships at company and personal events can reinforce the sense of team and harmony." Giving back to the community strengthens bonds and allows teams to make a difference outside of themselves. "Every great company I know has a robust community outreach program," Guest said. "This service provides opportunities to forget about yourself and to help others. When you're doing this with coworkers, you'll see an inner source of accomplishment and gratitude for how you can make a difference and lift others." In his book, Guest writes, "Growing up in Montana, we learned we are all God's children, and He wants us to love and serve each other." The non-profit arm of USANA Health Sciences, the USANA Foundation, works to eliminate starvation for people in 37 countries worldwide. Regular service by employees bonds them and highlights strengths. "Next, I encourage everyone to focus on strengths and pay attention to the things they do well," he said. "Then build on that footing to reach higher and grow personally and as a company." Facing challenges show our strengths. In his bestseller, Guest writes, "When challenges arise, stand up, be strong, and meet your troubles head on. You can conquer just about anything if you'll just face it." Hailed by CEOs as the top soft skill in demand, communications brings remarkable power to restore culture. "Communicate openly. Nothing beats speaking directly and respectfully. When we can feel safe about sharing and receiving direct communication, we grow exponentially," said Guest. "Always share credit because teamwork is at the heart of every successful company. Thank others individually and in public for how they contribute to group victories. Sometimes, it's appropriate to throw a party or to send a note expressing your gratitude." If openly giving praise hasn't been the norm, the global leader says it should be going forward. "Give praise. Generously acknowledge the talents and achievements of colleagues. A genuine thank-you energizes colleagues who work hard to bring success to projects," he said. "With that, it's important to build consensus and to seek feedback to involve others when making important decisions. "When we seek input in safe conversations, others will be more likely to support projects they have helped develop. More important, they'll feel valued and recognized." A musician at heart, Guest urges everyone to continue learning and growing. "I have spent hours at home learning to play guitar and honing my skills. Although I love music and love to play, it has been hard work. However, the years of hard work have paid off." With country music star Collin Raye, Guest has shared the stage with Brooks and Dunn, Keith Urban, Diamond Rio, and many others. "Through constant learning and practice, it's also been my privilege to play at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, and I know developing your knowledge and skills will broaden your opportunities to contribute in meaningful ways," Guest said. "Implementing these steps will help restore corporate culture and build stronger teams going forward." All proceeds from All the Right Reasons are directed to feed two million meals to hungry children. Available on Amazon, the book provides 40 meals for each single purchase. For more information, visit www.kevinguest.com . MEDIA CONTACT: Tim Brown, Candid Communications [email protected] 801-557-1466 SOURCE USANA WASHINGTON, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Iris Powered by Generali ("Iris") today announced that Integreon has selected their OnWatch platform to provide identity and credit monitoring to their legal and corporate client base. Partnering with Iris expands Integreon's capabilities and rounds out their competitive cyber incident response (CIR) solution. Paige Schaffer, CEO of Iris, commented on the news, "From the first meeting with Integreon, we knew this was a partnership with tight synergies between our teams. Integreon's services dovetail nicely with the capabilities of our Iris OnWatch platform. Companies, like Integreon, are looking for differentiating services like our ScamAssist protection offering in addition to our best-in-class monitoring and resolution services to give their clients peace of mind and Iris does just that." Integreon will be offering four levels of Iris services to their client base. The services vary from a basic package that has Iris' leading Identity Theft Resolution and ScamAssist services to a more comprehensive identity and credit monitoring offering. These four packages were crafted to give Integreon's customers the flexibility to choose services tailored to the specific needs of their business and employees. Integreon's extensive experience handling protected personal data has yielded a highly efficient cyber incident response-specific process that enables them to accurately estimate the cost and timeframe for completionfrom data mining through to breach notification and now, ongoing credit monitoring. Their approach reflects thousands of successfully completed projects across an array of industries, including healthcare, technology, retail, finance, and telecom, to name a few. "Our team of experts and tech-enabled cyber incident response process are second to none," commented Jamie Berry, EVP and Business Head, Cyber and Litigation Services. "Putting this last piece of the CIR puzzle in place with a partner that also has a client-first culture and commitment to quality is game changing. We look forward to working with Iris and continuing to be the change agents in the market." Ms. Schaffer concluded, "An often-unsaid part of what makes Iris an ideal partner is our ability to offer flexible and customizable solutions that are uniquely aligned with the strategies and objectives of our clients. Our services can be incorporated into a new client's ecosystem quickly and efficiently allowing them to get ahead of fraudsters and scammers looking to steal their users' identities. As an example, the custom gating solution we built for Integreon accommodated seven unique requests that helped them achieve their goals for enhancing their customer activation and client reporting processes." Integreon will begin offering Iris services to its customers this month and their users can learn more about the offerings by visiting: https://bit.ly/3MTUHyw About Iris Powered by Generali Iris is a B2B2C global identity and cyber protection company owned by the 190-year-old multinational insurance company, Generali, offering always-available identity resolution experts (real people available 24/7/365) and tech-forward solutions that uncomplicate the protection process. Today, understanding that victimization has no geographical boundaries, we've got a solution no matter your customers' coordinates. To learn more about Iris' offerings, please visit https://www.irisidentityprotection.com/. Connect with Iris on: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook About Integreon Integreon is the trusted, global provider of legal and business outsourced services to corporations and law firms seeking to expand their capabilities and transform their performance. The company's 3,500+ professionals provide expert support across a range of managed servicesfrom legal and regulatory to creative design, content delivery and administrative support. With global delivery centers on three continents, Integreon delivers round-the-clock service in 50+ languages and is deeply committed to client success, consistently delivering innovative, tech-enabled solutions that improve agility and efficiency to drive business performance. Integreon is owned by EagleTree Capital, a leading New York-based private equity firm that has invested approximately $2.7 billion of equity capital since inception. For more information about Integreon's range of services, email [email protected], visit www.integreon.com and follow Integreon at LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Iris Media Contact Jay A. Morakis M Group Strategic Communications +1 646.859.5951 [email protected] Integreon Media Contact Christy Burke Burke & Company PR +1 212.620.7711 [email protected] SOURCE Iris powered by Generali "Congratulations to Drs. Klemes, Malinow and Monaco on being three of only 25 physicians across the country to earn this prestigious recognition from CMT and the healthcare community," said MDVIP Chairman and CEO Bret Jorgensen. "MDVIP's strong showing on this year's list is a testament to the significant contributions our physicians have made in redefining preventive care and elevating the primary care experience for patients and doctors alike." Here are the 2022-24 Distinguished Physician Leaders in Concierge Medicine from MDVIP: Andrea Klemes, D.O., F.A.C.E. As MDVIP's chief medical officer and executive leader of its Medical Advisory Board, Dr. Andrea Klemes oversees the company's pursuit of quality and innovation in the delivery of primary care, drawing on the expertise of its affiliated physicians. She also leads MDVIP's clinical research and has authored ten studies showing that patients in the MDVIP model enjoy better health outcomes compared to those in traditional primary care practices in areas such as hospital utilization and readmissions, chronic disease management and identification of risk for cardiovascular disease. Dr. Klemes is board certified in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology and is a fellow of the American College of Endocrinology. Louis B. Malinow, M.D. Dr. Lou Malinow is an MDVIP-affiliated physician who has been practicing in Baltimore for more than 20 years and also currently serves on MDVIP's Medical Advisory Board as Director of Education & Clinical Excellence. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, a certified Hypertension Specialist and a Diplomate of the American Board of Clinical Lipidology, making him one of the only physicians in Maryland with a dual specialty in high blood pressure and high cholesterol management. Dr. Malinow is a member of the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society and has received numerous recognitions, including Baltimore Magazine's annual Top Doctor list for [eleven] consecutive years and Concierge Medicine Today's Top Doc in Concierge Medicine, 2020-21. Michael E. Monaco, M.D. Board certified in Internal Medicine, Dr. Michael Monaco opened his MDVIP-affiliated practice in 2009 to provide patients in the Greater Kansas City community a higher level of personalized care. As a powerful example of a doctor who literally walks the talk, he started a weekly "Hearts and Soles" walking group in October 2010, where he invites patients and their guests to join him for a walk and discussion about the benefits of daily exercise. Dr. Monaco has been an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine since 1991, and he has been on the physician team of the Kansas City Chiefs for 28 years, serving as the head team physician for the last three years. "Each physician we recognize with this distinction is typically chosen for a specific or singular reason by our publication," said CMT Editor-in-Chief Michael Tetreault in a press release. "What they all have in common, however, is their curiosity to learn more about medicine, their great big heart for serving patients and their irresistible desire to be a leader when their patients and the healthcare marketplace at-large asks them to step up to the challenge. Not only have they met this leadership challenge, they've sent back maps for others to follow and left their mark along the way." About MDVIP MDVIP leads the market in membership-based healthcare that goes far beyond concierge medicine services with a national network of more than 1,100 primary care physicians serving 368,000 patients. Published research shows that the MDVIP model identifies more patients at risk for cardiovascular disease, delivers more preventive health services and saves the healthcare system hundreds of millions of dollars through reduced hospitalizations and readmissions. In response to growing consumer demand for a more personalized healthcare experience, hospital systems are incorporating the MDVIP model into their primary care offering. MDVIP is also partnering with employers to offer an executive health program as a benefit to their employees. The company has been certified by Great Place to Work since 2018 and is recognized by Fortune as one of the 2021 Best Workplaces in Healthcare. For more information, visit www.mdvip.com. Follow MDVIP on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. Media Contact: Nancy Udell 561-310-5455 [email protected] SOURCE MDVIP Who: American College of Surgeons leadership; Trauma surgeons who have treated gravely wounded shooting victims What: NEWS CONFERENCE Accelerating our response to America's firearm public health crisis When: Thursday, June 2, 2022; 9:30 a.m. (EDT); Livestreaming available (details below) Where: American College of Surgeons - Washington D.C. Office 20 F Street, NW (near the intersection of North Capitol Street) WASHINGTON, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Firearm violence is a growing public health crisis that must be urgently addressed. Our surgeons are on the front lines dealing with the devastating effects of this crisis and are advocating for bipartisan solutions to reduce the rising numbers of deaths and serious injuries that are arriving in trauma centers on a daily basis. During this news conference, leaders from the American College of Surgeons and its Committee on Trauma (ACS COT) will provide an overview of important steps that can be taken to accelerate an effective response to America's firearm injury and death crisis. Peer-reviewed published recommendations from the ACS COT Firearm Strategy Team (FAST) could help elected officials find common ground to address this crisis. The recommendationsthe product of a broad consensus of trauma surgeons, including many who own firearmspresent a multi-faceted approach and attainable strategies to reduce firearm violence while respecting a person's right to own and safely use a firearm. For more than three decades, the ACS COT has advocated for effective prevention of firearm injuries, and in 2019, brought together 44 national medical and other organizations to develop a consensus on a comprehensive public health and medical approach to address the issue. Trauma surgeons, including Dr. Ronald M. Stewart who treated Uvalde school shooting victims, will also discuss how they've treated patients who have been seriously wounded by high-velocity weapons, how trauma surgeons across the U.S. are dealing with the firearm violence epidemic, and the impact that these devastating incidents are having on trauma care across the country. Speakers include: Patricia L. Turner , MD, FACS Executive Director, American College of Surgeons Washington, D.C. , and Chicago, Illinois , MD, FACS Executive Director, American College of Surgeons Ronald M. Stewart , MD, FACS Chair, Department of Surgery, University Hospital San Antonio Former Medical Director, ACS Trauma Programs San Antonio, Texas , MD, FACS Chair, Department of Surgery, University Hospital Former Medical Director, ACS Trauma Programs Eileen M. Bulger , MD, FACS Professor & Acting Division Chief, Division of Trauma, Burns, & Critical Care Department of Surgery University of Washington Chief of Trauma & Acting Surgeon-in-Chief Harborview Medical Center Medical Director, ACS Trauma Programs Seattle, Washington , MD, FACS Professor & Acting Division Chief, Division of Trauma, Burns, & Critical Care Department of Surgery Chief of Trauma & Acting Surgeon-in-Chief Harborview Medical Center Medical Director, ACS Trauma Programs Patrick V. Bailey , MD, MLS, FACS ACS Medical Director for Advocacy Washington, D.C. , MD, MLS, FACS ACS Medical Director for Advocacy Jeffrey Kerby , MD, PhD, FACS Brigham Family Endowed Professor/Director Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery University of Alabama at Birmingham Chair, ACS Committee on Trauma Birmingham, Alabama Media registration Journalists should send an email message confirming their attendance in advance to: [email protected]. They should include their full name, title, and media affiliation. Pre-registration is encouraged to facilitate quick access to the news conference. Onsite registration begins 30 minutes before the event. Journalists should provide appropriate professional identification at the registration desk (press identification or business card). Livestreaming information For media unable to attend in person, the news conference will be livestreamed on our website. Questions for the participants may be submitted for consideration via email to [email protected]. About the American College of Surgeons The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for all surgical patients. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 84,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. "FACS" designates that a surgeon is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. SOURCE American College of Surgeons Astonishing 2,000% growth rate of EVs in Costa Rica signals exceptional opportunities for new EV partnership ORLANDO, Fla., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NovaCHARGE, a recognized leader in Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE), today announced that its state-of-art charging equipment and best-in-class interconnected cloud-based software, ChargeUP, will now be available in Costa Rica from a new strategic partner, Costa Rica Solar Solutions. NovaCHARGE, based in Orlando, Florida, already has thousands of successful deployments across the United States. Becoming established in Costa Rica will be its first foray in a long-term strategy of internationalization of the company. Costa Rica has prioritized green energy and sustainability for many years, as well as a National Decarbonization Plan. It has already built a nationwide electric charging grid of more than 140 places where the public can charge their EVs. In 2010 Costa Rica had only 247 vehicles classified as electric. Projections for 2022 forecast that will have grown to 5,266 vehicles, including automobiles, motorcycles, and specialized vehicles, or a more than 2,000% increase. This international expansion for NovaCHARGE means that a wide variety of businesses and organizations will be able to utilize its next-generation NC8000 Level 2 charger port hardware and simplify their management with its ChargeUP Network. Whether a handful of charger ports or 100, ChargeUP provides an online management dashboard for remote administrative control, efficient load management, robust reporting, and unrivaled scalability. Scott Benson, CEO and president of Costa Rica Solar Solutions, offers, "As one of the longest standing solar and energy storage providers in Costa Rica, we are excited to partner up with NovaCHARGE to offer a new solution for electric vehicle charging in Costa Rica. With our strong presence across Costa Rica and our growth in other Central American countries, we look forward to leading the way with NovaCHARGE to an EV-centric future." Oscar Rodriguez, chairman and CEO of NovaCHARGE, emphasizes, "Already EV sales are taking off in Costa Rica and we'll be perfectly placed to help accelerate the adoption of EV infrastructure across the country. We are honored to leverage our vast experience in the U.S. EV charging market, and to offer a best-in-class hardware and software portfolio to help Costa Rica better reach its goals of decarbonizing transportation. Our commitment to open standards in the EV charging industry brings flexible business models for retail, workplace, MDU (Multiple Dwelling Unit), and fleet operators, while delivering reliable and sustainable EV infrastructure that delivers a higher ROI. About NovaCHARGE, Inc.: NovaCHARGE, Inc., founded in 2008, is a nationally recognized technology manufacturer and turnkey systems integrator of electric vehicle (EV) hardware and cloud software. NovaCHARGE offers innovative EV charging solutions and boasts open standards, in both its next generation ChargeUP Network and NC7000 and NC8000 Level 2 hardware lines. As a leading provider of EV networked charging solutions, NovaCHARGE has architected successful deployments for thousands of businesses across the United States. NovaCHARGE is headquartered in Orlando, Florida. ChargeUP is a trademark property of NovaCHARGE, Inc. For more information, visit www.NovaCHARGE.net. CONTACT: NovaCHARGE [email protected] SOURCE NovaCHARGE NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- GVTC announced that On Trac, Inc. has won the 2022 GVTC IMPACT Award. This prestigious award is given to the vendor/partner that best compliments GVTC's values and strategic initiatives by building a strong relationship with GVTC through cost reductions, product innovation, quality improvement, service, teamwork, integrity, community involvement, or fiercely loyal customer principles. On Trac, Inc. Wins 2022 GVTC IMPACT Award On Trac, Inc. has been a key partner of GVTC for over 16 years. At the beginning of the partnership, On Trac began helping GVTC's fiber to the home (FTTH) install process by performing the "Hang and Light" function. This function involves bringing the fiber drop from the street to the side of the home, hanging the optical network terminal (ONT), and splicing the fiber to ensure there is light, so the fiber is ready when the installer arrives. As GVTC's trust and confidence in On Trac grew, GVTC began using On Trac for the majority of FTTH in-home installs and all "Hang and Light" functions. On Trac's management team has continuously acted with integrity and accountability in dealings with GVTC and GVTC customers. On Trac's focus on superior customer service to both GVTC and the customer has been critical in achieving GVTC's objectives for Net Promoter Score and event-based surveys. When GVTC rolled out the Fiercely Loyal Customer Program, On Trac actively participated in the training and monitoring of installers to ensure they followed GVTC's Six Principles. These principles include personalization, integrity, expectations, empathy, time & effort, and resolution. "On Trac always displays teamwork in dealing with GVTC management and personnel to the point that they are practically part of the GVTC family," said GVTC's President and CEO, Ritchie Sorrells. In addition to all the great things On Trac, Inc. has done with GVTC, they have been a loyal supporter of The GVTC Foundation for several years. On Trac has invested in The GVTC Foundation, supporting the foundation's vision, and sustaining a strong partnership. In addition to monetary support, On Trac keeps in contact with periodic phone calls and emails to check in and ensure all is well with The GVTC Foundation. "We are thankful for the partnership we have built with On Trac and their support in our mission to enhance the quality of life in our community," said GVTC Foundation President Sonia Aguillon. On Trac, Inc. has been an ideal partner of GVTC. They have brought in extra people to handle high install volumes. They have adapted to the technology evolution as GVTC introduced higher speed packages, Premium WiFi, and indoor ONTs. On Trac's continuous focus on the success of GVTC has led to their long-term success as an Impact Partner. "On Trac, Inc. is honored to be recognized with this award, which speaks to both companies' commitment to excellence," said Monte Hill, President of On Trac, Inc. "We are excited to support their ongoing success and will continue to be a dedicated partner of GVTC." About GVTC: GVTC is an award-winning fiber optics communications provider delivering high-speed Internet, digital cable TV, phone, and interactive home security monitoring to residential and business customers in far north San Antonio, the Texas Hill Country, and South-Central Texas. GVTC offers Internet connection speeds up to 1 Gbps and symmetrical broadband connections up to 250 Mbps. GVTC's wholesale carrier transport network delivers Ethernet data delivery between San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, and Houston, with access to remote Texas markets. The company's philanthropic arm, The GVTC Foundation, is celebrating more than a decade of charitable giving. More than $4.9 million in contributions have been given throughout GVTC's service area. Contact: John Hill- Communications and Ecommerce Manager Office: (830) 8858282 [email protected] www.gvtc.com SOURCE GVTC Communications Enter to win their week-long giveaway with over $1k worth of prizes DENVER, Colo., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Opopop celebrates its one-year anniversary this week with the launch of a limited edition Birthday Flavor Wrapped Kernels Birthday big bag, and a week of giveaways with over $1k worth of prizes for consumers to celebrate and enjoy. Based in Denver, CO, Opopop is one of the fastest-growing popcorn companies on the market - redefining traditional popcorn with the invention of Flavor Wrapped Kernels and Peel + Pour Pop Cups. Opopop Celebrates 1 Year Anniversary with a Limited Edition Birthday Big Bag Popcorn has never tasted this good. Opopop's Flavor Wrapped Kernels Birthday Cake big bag is a sweet birthday cake-flavored treat. Consumers can purchase it individually or as a Birthday Discovery Kit, which includes one Birthday big bag, one Fancy Butter big bag, an Opopop Popper, and Sugarfina Birthday Cake cookie bites. In addition to the new package, the company is celebrating with a week-long giveaway for consumers to enter and win different prizes throughout the week. Prizes range from an Ultimate Couch Kit to a Home Theater Bundle. To enter the giveaway, head to opopop.com at 9 AM MT each day from June 1-7 and follow along on our social platforms. "Opopop products are made for a new generation of popcorn lovers, who we think will be excited to celebrate our first birthday with us. Opopop is all about having fun, and what's more fun than Birthday Cake popcorn and tons of prizes?" said Sarah McDowell, Opopop's President. Opopop has reenvisioned what it means to be a popcorn company by inventing unique products and exciting flavors. Since launching in June 2021 they have quickly become one of the fastest-growing popcorn brands. Since inception, Opopop has Flavor Wrapped over 265,000,000 Kernels. Fan-favorite flavors include Fancy Butter, Maui Heat, Salty Caramel, and Cinnalicious. This success has attracted retailers such as Foxtrot Markets and Williams-Sonoma. For a limited time, consumers can purchase Opopop's Birthday 320g big bag for $13.99, and the Birthday Discovery Kit for $49.99 exclusively at opopop.com. Media Contact Bri Rios 303-519-0883 [email protected] SOURCE Opopop Industry webinar features discussion with RouteThis on how brands can use support services to create customer loyalty DALLAS, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Parks Associates research finds 50% of smart home device owners have experienced a recent problem with one or more of their devices, with the majority of problems related to wireless connectivity. These issues contribute to the high return rates for these devices. The research firm will examine how companies can improve the user experience and build brand loyalty throughout the smart home ecosystem during the industry webinar "Building Brand Loyalty across the Smart Home" hosted on Thursday, June 9, 11 am CT US (12 pm ET), in partnership with RouteThis. Parks Associates: Smart Home Devices: Top Technical Problems Experienced "Between 2-4% of US internet households returned at least one smart home device in the past 12 months, which are high return rates when you consider the purchase and adoption rates are still in single or low double digits," said Elizabeth Parks, President and CMO, Parks Associates. "A poor early experience impacts future consumer attitudes, as 13% of consumers report they are not likely to purchase a new product from the same brand if they return a product from that brand. In this early market stage, brands need to build enthusiasm and brand loyalty to continue the drive toward mass market." "Smart home devices often get returned for reasons that have nothing to do with the device itself," said Jason Moore , Co-founder and CEO, RouteThis. "Aside from the expense these returns create, they can also have a significant impact on customer loyalty. In reality, over half of the issues these devices experience are directly related to the consumer's home Wi-Fi. So, when it comes to building brand loyalty, smart home brands first need to consider what they can do to better resolve and assist customers with these issues." Consumers report the main reason for smart home returns were "the product did not work as advertised" and they had "difficulty with the physical installation," indicating more work needs to be done to improve consumer education, setup and installation processes, and product connectivity. Additionally, over one-half of Wi-Fi network owners report some network problem over the last 12 months, including slow speeds and lost connections. The webinar explores the need for brands to offer a variety of support resources. Industry experts address the role of onboarding and support services for connected device owners. Topics: The installation and setup process How to help support Wi-Fi and connectivity issues Proactive and predictive support services and tools The costs and business impact associated with product returns Smart home and CE devices consumers most wanted covered by support Webinar speakers: Jason Moore , Co-founder and CEO, RouteThis , Co-founder and CEO, Christopher Carney , Founder and CEO, Abode Systems , Founder and CEO, Elizabeth Parks , President and CMO, Parks Associates All media are invited to attend. Register at https://www.parksassociates.com/routethis-june2022. To request data or an interview, contact Rosey Sera at [email protected] or 972-490-1113. About Parks Associates Parks Associates, a woman-owned and woman-led internationally recognized market research and consulting company, specializes in emerging technology solutions serving the consumer and small to medium business (SMB) markets. Celebrating its 35th year in 2021, Parks Associates is a partner to companies navigating the changing consumer technology landscapes through data-driven market insights, extensive consumer and industry intelligence, custom marketing services, and executive networking experiences and conferences. https://www.parksassociates.com Contact: Rosimely Sera Parks Associates 972.996.0233 [email protected] SOURCE Parks Associates The brand earned the designation with the creation of the first and only FDA approved over-the-counter, clean hydrocolloid acne patch SAN FRANCISCO, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Peace Out Skincare, a cult-favorite and leader in innovative skincare treatments, today announced the brand is now "Clean at Sephora" thanks to its creation of the first-ever clean, FDA approved over-the-counter (OTC) hydrocolloid acne patch. Peace Out realized its longtime mission to be a fully clean skincare brand by reformulating hydrocolloid and, by doing so, creating the first-ever clean patch on the market. Hydrocolloid polymer technology, found in Peace Out's award-winning and patented acne dots and pore strips, helps extract impurities and guards against skin irritation by creating a breathable barrier for optimal healing conditions. Founder and CEO Enrico Frezza worked for more than two years with his expert research and development team to reformulate hydrocolloid ensuring Peace Out's hero products of acne dots and pore strips are clean for consumers. This innovative technology has earned the brand Sephora's clean seal of approval, the retailer's designation that signals to consumers which products meet specific criteria around transparency, formulation and ingredients. "I am excited to finally say that Peace Out is a 100% clean skincare brand," said Enrico Frezza, founder and CEO, Peace Out Skincare. "Creating clean skincare products has always been very important to me and our brand. At Peace Out, our mission is to create products that perform at the highest level without jeopardizing skin health. For this reason, we spent countless hours reformulating this product and are ecstatic to share the only clean and OTC hydrocolloid acne patch on the market with our customers." Peace Out's products had always used clean formulations with the exception of hydrocolloid, which is, by industry standards, made with mineral oil, cosmetic grade versions of which are safe to use but derived from non-renewable resources. Frezza and team developed a version of hydrocolloid without the mineral oil but then had to ensure it was as effective as the original. Peace Out put the new hydrocolloid through the paces, including a blind comparative test. The results showed the new formulation could actually be more effective than the original. This patent-pending, first-of-its-kind technology is the latest innovation from Peace Out, joining Dark Spots Serum, which launched last month. The brand continues its mission to help consumers bring peace to their skin through easy to use clean, effective, and fun skincare solutions. Peace Out's innovations have already been awarded patents for Wrinkles and for Pores while also receiving a patent for Acne Dots in Canada. The brand also has five other patents pending. "I am very proud of our teams and Peace Out for pushing the boundaries of skincare to create the best products for our customers," continued Frezza. "We cannot wait to see the reaction to the new, clean formulations and are excited to continue innovating and growing as a brand while listening to what is important to our consumers." Peace Out Skincare is sold in Sephora locations around the world as well as on PeaceOutSkincare.com and Sephora.com . ABOUT PEACE OUT SKINCARE Peace Out was made by real people who tried everything to get rid of their skin imperfections. Frustrated with breakouts and poor results, they set out to create something that really works. Peace Out easy one-step solutions combine active ingredients with innovative technology so you can stop thinking about your skin and start feeling great. For more information, contact: Carolyn Lowe [email protected] 212.584.5668 SOURCE Peace Out Skincare MIAMI, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- William G. Hardin has been named dean of Florida International University's College of Business (FIU Business). He has served as interim dean since May 2021 and is Ryder Eminent Scholar Chair and Research Fellow in the Tibor and Sheila Hollo School of Real Estate. Hardin joined the FIU Business faculty in 2006 as director of real estate programs and the Jerome Bain Real Estate Institute. He was founding director of the Hollo School of Real Estate, created in 2012, and most recently served as associate dean, Chapman Graduate School of Business. "Dr. Hardin is the ideal leader for this moment in the trajectory of FIU Business," said Elizabeth M. Bejar, interim provost, executive vice president, and chief operating officer. "He understands the needs of industry and has a vision for ensuring our students and graduates continue to excel, and FIU remains a national leader in business education." U.S. News & World Report currently ranks the FIU Business undergraduate international business program No. 2 in the U.S., its international MBA program No. 5, its online undergraduate business program No. 13 among public universities and its online specialized master's programs No. 13 among public universities. Additionally, FIU Business was ranked No.1 globally for real estate research productivity by the Journal of Real Estate Literature. Hardin is a recognized expert on real estate markets, commercial and residential properties, financial markets, and securitized real estate. Over the course of a 20-year academic career, Hardin has authored or co-authored 70 papers on topics including commercial real estate investment, foreclosures, corporate governance, residential real estate, and REIT financial structure. He is co-editor of Journal of Real Estate Research. "It is an extraordinary honor to be chosen as dean of FIU Business at this pivotal time for the global business community, Miami and our students," Hardin said. "We will marshal the remarkable talent and dedication of our faculty and staff and FIU Business alumni -- nearly 65,000 strong -- to address challenges and drive success." In 2018, Hardin received the Ricardo Medal by the American Real Estate Society, its highest recognition of scholarship, which recognizes important research in real estate over at least two decades. That year, he was selected by the International Real Estate Society for its Achievement Award. Hardin was ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in the world for real estate research productivity from 2015 2021 by the Real Estate Academic Leadership (REAL) Author Rankings. Before joining FIU Business, Hardin held the Robert W. Warren Chair of Real Estate at Mississippi State University, where he directed both the real estate and construction management programs. He also served on the faculty of Morehouse College in Atlanta. Hardin received his doctorate from Georgia State University. He also has a Master of Science in Real Estate from Georgia State University, and a Master of International Business Studies from the University of South Carolina. Media Contact: Cynthia Corzo 305-348-1664 [email protected] SOURCE Florida International University NEW YORK, May 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- WHY: New York, N.Y., May 31, 2022. Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE: CS) between March 19, 2021 and March 25, 2022, inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important June 28, 2022 lead plaintiff deadline. SO WHAT: If you purchased Credit Suisse securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Credit Suisse class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=5868 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than June 28, 2022. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually handle securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Credit Suisse had deficient disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting; (2) Credit Suisse's practice of lending money to Russian oligarchs subject to U.S. and international sanctions created a significant risk of violating rules pertaining to those sanctions and future sanctions; (3) the foregoing conduct subjected the Company to an increased risk of heightened regulatory scrutiny and/or enforcement actions; (4) a synthetic securitization deal, in which Credit Suisse sold off $80 million worth of risk related to a $2 billion portfolio of loans backed by assets owned by certain of the bank's ultra-high net worth clients (the "Securitization Deal") concerned loans that Credit Suisse made to Russian oligarchs previously sanctioned by the U.S.; (5) the purpose of the Securitization Deal was to offload the risks associated with these loans and mitigate the impact on Credit Suisse of sanctions likely to be implemented by Western nations in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine; (6) Credit Suisse's request that non-participating investors destroy documents related to the Securitization Deal was intended to conceal the Company's noncompliance with U.S. and international sanctions in its lending practices; (7) the foregoing, once revealed, was likely to subject the Company to enhanced regulatory scrutiny and significant reputational harm; and (8) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. To join the Credit Suisse class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=5868 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.rosenlegal.com SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A. Civil Grand Jury releases " Buried Problems and a Buried Process: The Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in a Time of Climate Change " SAN FRANCISCO, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2021-2022 San Francisco Civil Grand Jury today released a troubling report about the unaddressed risk of rising groundwater at Hunters Point, and what it means for the cleanup and development of the heavily polluted former Naval Shipyard. The Shipyard is a Superfund site where the Navy, overseen by EPA and state regulators, has been cleaning up extensive radiological and chemical contamination for over thirty years. As each stage of the cleanup is approved, the Navy has agreed to transfer property to the City. A developer, working with the San Francisco Office of Community Infrastructure and Investment, plans to build thousands of homes at the Shipyard, along with office towers, parks, a school and millions of feet of commercial space. "Hunters Point is part of the biggest development in San Francisco since the 1906 earthquake," said Michael Hofman, Jury Foreperson. "Yet neither the Navy nor the City is paying attention to what's going to happen there when sea level rise pushes the groundwater closer to the surface." The Jury's research found that when sea level rises, shallow groundwater near the shore rises with it, and can damage infrastructure, cause flooding from below, and mobilize contaminants in the soil. In the low-lying Shipyard, where the Navy intends to leave hazardous toxins buried, experts told the Jury that rising groundwater poses special risks to health and safety, and to future development. "There's so much at stake in the Hunters Point Shipyard," Hofman said. "But inside the City, only a tiny program in the Department of Public Health is engaged with the cleanup. The City isn't prepared to respond when things go wrong. And the City isn't devoting the right resources to anticipate problems like groundwater rise at the Shipyard, while there's still time to do something." To find the full report, please visit https://civilgrandjury.sfgov.org/report.html About the Jury: Every year, the Superior Court selects 19 San Franciscans to serve year-long terms on the Civil Grand Jury. The purpose of the Jury is to investigate the operations of the government of the City and County of San Francisco. Civil Grand Jury reports and information are available online . CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO 2021-22 CIVIL GRAND JURY 400 McAllister Street, Room 008, San Francisco, CA 94102 civilgrandjury.sfgov.org SOURCE San Francisco Civil Grand Jury SCAD celebrates the Class of 2022 with acclaimed actor, producer, and director Amy Poehler, host Daniel Thrasher, and honorees David Yurman and Tricky Stewart SAVANNAH, Ga., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Savannah College of Art and Design celebrates the Class of 2022, the university's largest graduating class, with digital and in-person events Friday, June 3, and Saturday, June 4. Presented online, the Presidential Conferment of Degrees begins 9 a.m. ET, Friday, June 3, for all SCAD locations, uniting graduates, students, and audiences from around the world. Following the morning's ceremony, in-person Presentations of Degrees with esteemed faculty will take place in Savannah and Atlanta through Saturday, June 4, as graduates command the stage. SCAD will celebrate the Class of 2022 on June 3 and 4 with acclaimed actor, producer, and director Amy Poehler, host Daniel Thrasher, and honorees David Yurman and Tricky Stewart. "The Class of 2022 will carry SCAD in their hearts wherever they go, into every boardroom, every brand they build, and every atelier and studio they launch," said SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace. "SCAD Bees make the world more beautiful. Together, we strengthen our communities and uplift our neighbors. These talented Bees may be graduating, but they never leave SCAD. They are SCAD. And they shine our love and light in everything they create for others." The high-energy, digital conferment of degrees ceremony will be emceed by entertainer, actor, composer, YouTube sensation, and SCAD alum Daniel Thrasher (B.F.A., performing arts, 2015). President Wallace will confer degrees and present two honorary degrees to visionary artists David Yurman and Tricky Stewart. Yurman is a jewelry designer and sculptor with a lifelong love for design an innovation. With his wife and co-founder, Sybil, Yurman created America's foremost luxury jewelry brand, David Yurman. Stewart is a multi-Grammy Award-winning songwriter, producer, and composer. In a career spanning more than three decades, Stewart's profound respect and appreciation for music has been the guiding force in more than 50 million records sold. Acclaimed actor, writer, director, producer, and bestselling author Amy Poehler will deliver the commencement address to more than 3,200 graduates during the virtual ceremony. Poehler made her documentary directorial debut with Amazon's critically acclaimed documentary Lucy & Desi, which she executive produced through her production company Paper Kite Productions. She also executive produces Netflix's Emmy-Award winning series Russian Doll, Amazon's Harlem, NBC's Making It, which she co-hosts alongside Nick Offerman, Peacock's Baking It, and Fox's Duncanville, which she co-created and voices two characters. Her acting credits include Parks and Recreation, Saturday Night Live, Inside Out, and Mean Girls, among others. Other programming includes remarks by SCAD alumni Erika Bazo (B.F.A., industrial design, 2014; B.F.A., service design, 2014) and Daniel Freyermuth (B.F.A., industrial design, 2012). The couple met at SCAD and have since led innovation and change in their respective creative careers. Bazo is a senior user experience manager at multinational financial services firm Charles Schwab. Freyermuth serves as the product strategy and development director for Flarespace, a Storyteller Overland subsidiary and adventure van parts manufacturer supporting RV manufacturers and the DIY community. Their remarks will encourage the new graduates to "live free, explore endlessly, and tell better stories." The HoneyBees, SCAD's elite performance ensemble, will also be featured, along with a compilation video of the university's 2022 Outstanding Graduates from both the SCAD Savannah and Atlanta locations, and a special highlight reel dedicated to the Class of 2022. Outstanding graduates represent an array of the university's top-ranked degree programs including business of beauty and fragrance, interactive design and game development, industrial design, interior design, performing arts, visual effects, and user experience (UX) design. The digital event will be livestreamed via YouTube with a link to the live broadcast at scad.edu/commencement, giving at-home viewers a front-row seat to the show. Following the morning ceremony, the Presentation of Degrees ceremonies will take place as in-person events at the Savannah Convention Center and the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Savannah graduates will participate in the ceremony designated for their school on either Friday, June 3, or Saturday, June 4. For friends and loved ones who are unable to attend in person, all Presentation of Degrees ceremonies will also be streamed live online via scad.edu/commencement. SCAD Outstanding Graduates 2022 Atlanta: Valedictorian: Jabria Oliver B.F.A. industrial design Chapel Hill, North Carolina Salutatorian: Akebalan Etzioni B.F.A. interactive design and game development Tuskegee, Alabama Excelsus Laureate: You Li M.F.A. interior design Handan, China Savannah: Valedictorian: Hannah Harris B.F.A. business of beauty and fragrance Coconut Creek, Florida Salutatorian: Andrew Goodridge B.F.A. user experience (UX) design West Chester, Pennsylvania Excelsus Laureate: Felipe Amaya Quintero M.F.A. visual effects Bogota, Colombia SCAD: THE UNIVERSITY FOR CREATIVE CAREERS SCAD is a private, nonprofit, accredited university, offering more than 100 graduate and undergraduate degree programs across locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia; Lacoste, France; and online via SCADnow. For more information, visit scad.edu. SOURCE Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Three randomized, controlled clinical studies demonstrate long-acting serdexmethylphenidate yielded significantly lower abuse-related effects, fewer stimulant-like adverse events than dexmethylphenidate Results published in Current Medical Research & Opinion BOSTON, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Corium, Inc., a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company leading the development and commercialization of novel central nervous system (CNS) therapies, announced that serdexmethylphenidate (SDX), the novel prodrug of dexmethylphenidate (d-MPH), has significantly lower potential for abuse and fewer stimulant-like adverse events compared to d-MPH. This peer-reviewed finding appears in the May 2022 publication of Current Medical Research & Opinion. AZSTARYS (serdexmethylphenidate and dexmethylphenidate) is the first and only medicine containing SDX and was approved by the U.S. FDA in March 2021 as a once-daily treatment for ADHD symptoms in patients aged 6 years and older. "The studies demonstrate that SDX is associated with significantly lower abuse potential than d-MPH via oral, intranasal, and intravenous routes of administration. These results provide important information to enable patients, parents, caregivers, and healthcare professionals to consider the abuse potential of available ADHD therapies when making treatment decisions," said Charles Oh, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Corium. As a prodrug, SDX is designed specifically to be pharmacologically inactive until reaching a patient's lower gastrointestinal tract, where, by design, SDX is gradually converted to d-MPH throughout the day. AZSTARYS, which is a Schedule II therapy, contains 70% SDX (a Schedule IV substance) and 30% d-MPH (a Schedule II substance). Consequently, AZSTARYS provides control of ADHD symptoms rapidly with the immediate-release d-MPH and for an extended duration with SDX while also providing a gradual offset of action. Once-daily AZSTARYS is available in the U.S. in three SDX/immediate-release d-MPH dose strengths of 26.1/5.2 mg, 39.2/7.8 mg, and 52.3/10.4 mg. "The studies profiled the abuse potential of SDX relative to placebo and d-MPH via three administration routes using a rigorous experimental design in recreational stimulant users and analyses that used clinically meaningful assessments. The findings enhance our understanding of the relative abuse potential of these drugs via oral and non-oral routes and demonstrate the reduced abuse potential of SDX, supporting its Schedule IV status," said Megan J. Shram, PhD, primary author, principal at Altreos Research Partners, Inc., Toronto, and Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Toronto. The three clinical studies documented that SDX via all three routes of administration testedoral, intranasal, and intravenous (IV)yielded statistically significantly lower abuse-related drug effects and stimulant-like adverse effects (AEs) than molar equivalent doses of d-MPH. These findings demonstrate that SDX has significantly lower abuse potential compared to d-MPH and support designating SDX as a Schedule IV controlled substance. SDX, whether oral, intranasal, or intravenous, has lower potential for abuse The three phase 1 randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled crossover studies evaluated the abuse-related effects of SDX chloride (Cl) compared to d-MPH hydrochloride (HCl) in healthy adults who are able to discriminate a stimulant from placebo. The primary endpoint was the maximum (Emax) Drug Liking (DL) score, rated on a bipolar 100-point scale. Scores higher than 50 (neutral midpoint) are associated with greater abuse potential. In each study, participants were required to discriminate a dose of d-MPH from placebo to continue in the treatment phase, during which they received a dose of SDX, an active comparator drug, and placebo in a randomized sequence, with washout periods between each treatment. In the oral study, participants received 80 mg extended-release d-MPH HCl, 120 mg and 240 mg SDX Cl (molar equivalent to 60 and 120 mg d-MPH HCl, respectively), and placebo in a randomized, crossover design. The participants had significantly higher DL Emax scores following administration of 80 mg d-MPH HCl compared to 120 mg SDX Cl, (81.5 vs. 62.8, respectively, p=0.0011) or 240 mg SDX Cl (DL Emax=63.8, p=0.0058). Per FDA guidance, the oral study used two doses of SDX that were about two- to four-fold higher than the highest therapeutic dose contained in 52.3/10.4 mg strength of AZSTARYS. In the intranasal study, participants received 40 mg d-MPH HCl, 80 mg SDX Cl (molar equivalent to 40 mg d-MPH HCl), and placebo in a randomized, crossover design. Drug Liking Emax scores were significantly higher following administration of d-MPH HCl compared to SDX Cl (93.2 vs. 71.0, respectively, p<0.0001). In the intravenous study, participants received 15 mg d-MPH HCl, 30 mg SDX Cl (molar equivalent to 15 mg d-MPH HCl), and placebo in a randomized, crossover design. Drug Liking Emax scores were significantly higher following administration of d-MPH HCl compared to SDX Cl (84.3 vs. 56.6, respectively, p=0.001). Drug Liking Emax scores for IV SDX were also found to be non-inferior to placebo (56.6 vs. 53.8, respectively) using a prespecified non-inferiority margin. The IV study is the first to examine the abuse-related effects of IV d-MPH in a clinical laboratory setting. In addition to DL Emax, investigators employed visual analog scale assessments recommended for use in human abuse potential studies that included other "at-the-moment" effects, such as Feeling High, Good Effects, Bad Effects, Any Effects, and Drowsiness/Alertness, and retrospectively assessed endpoints that measured the overall balance of drug effects, such as Take Drug Again and Overall Drug Liking. In all three studies, secondary endpoints were generally consistent with the primary endpoint outcomes. The article, Shram MJ, Setnik B, Webster L, Guenther S, Mickle TC, Braeckman R, Kanski J, Martin A, Kelsh D, Vince BD, Barrett AC. Oral, intranasal, and intravenous abuse potential of serdexmethylphenidate, a novel prodrug of d-methylphenidate. Curr Med Res Opin. 2022 May 16:1-40. doi: 10.1080/03007995.2022.2076474, is available via open access at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03007995.2022.2076474. About AZSTARYS Approved by the FDA in 2021, AZSTARYS is first and only medicine with d-MPH and novel SDX prodrug technology for treatment of ADHD symptoms in patients aged 6 years and older. As a prodrug, SDX is specifically designed to be pharmacologically inactive until reaching the lower gastrointestinal tract, where SDX is gradually converted to d-MPH throughout the day. The result is a treatment that provides symptom control rapidly with the immediate-release d-MPH component and for an extended duration with the SDX component, with gradual offset of action. AZSTARYS is available in the United States. In December 2021, Ark Biopharmaceutical and a Gurnet Point Capital affiliate signed an agreement providing exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize AZSTARYS in Greater China. Corium and Gurnet Point Capital continue to explore opportunities in other geographies. About ADHD Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopment disorder marked by an ongoing pattern of inability to pay attention or hyperactivity with impulsive behaviors or both, which interferes with functioning or development. ADHD usually is diagnosed during childhood but often continues into adulthood. Children with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviors (may act without thinking about what the result will be), or be overly active. In the United States, an estimated 6.1 million children have received an ADHD diagnosis, including 2.4 million aged 6 to 11 years. Indication and Important Safety Information for AZSTARYS (serdexmethylphenidate and dexmethylphenidate) Indication AZSTARYS is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant indicated for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in patients aged 6 years and older. IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION WARNING: ABUSE AND DEPENDENCE CNS stimulants, including AZSTARYS, other methylphenidate-containing products, and amphetamines, have a high potential for abuse and dependence. Assess the risk of abuse prior to prescribing, and monitor for signs of abuse and dependence while on therapy Contraindications Known hypersensitivity to serdexmethylphenidate, methylphenidate, or other product components. Bronchospasm, rash, and pruritus have occurred with AZSTARYS. Hypersensitivity reactions such as angioedema and anaphylactic reactions have occurred with other methylphenidate products. Concomitant treatment with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) or use of an MAOI within the preceding 14 days, because of the risk of hypertensive crisis. Warnings and Precautions Sudden death has been reported in association with CNS stimulant treatment at recommended doses in pediatric patients with structural cardiac abnormalities or other serious heart problems. In adults, sudden death, stroke, and myocardial infarction have been reported at recommended doses. Avoid use in patients with known structural cardiac abnormalities, cardiomyopathy, serious heart arrhythmias, coronary artery disease, or other serious heart problems. CNS stimulants cause an increase in blood pressure and heart rate. Monitor all patients for hypertension and tachycardia. Exacerbation of Pre-existing Psychosis : May exacerbate symptoms of behavior disturbance and thought disorder in patients with a pre-existing psychotic disorder. Induction of a Manic Episode in Patients with Bipolar Disorder : May induce a mixed/manic episode in patients with bipolar disorder. Prior to initiating treatment, screen for risk factors for developing a manic episode (e.g., comorbid or history of depressive symptoms, or a family history of suicide, bipolar disorder, or depression). New Psychotic or Manic Symptoms : At recommended doses, may cause psychotic or manic symptoms (e.g., hallucinations, delusional thinking, or mania) in patients without a history of psychotic illness or mania. Discontinue if symptoms occur. : May exacerbate symptoms of behavior disturbance and thought disorder in patients with a pre-existing psychotic disorder. : May induce a mixed/manic episode in patients with bipolar disorder. Prior to initiating treatment, screen for risk factors for developing a manic episode (e.g., comorbid or history of depressive symptoms, or a family history of suicide, bipolar disorder, or depression). : At recommended doses, may cause psychotic or manic symptoms (e.g., hallucinations, delusional thinking, or mania) in patients without a history of psychotic illness or mania. Discontinue if symptoms occur. Cases of painful and prolonged penile erections and priapism have been reported with methylphenidate products. Immediate medical attention should be sought if signs or symptoms of prolonged penile erections or priapism are observed. CNS stimulants, including AZSTARYS, are associated with peripheral vasculopathy, including Raynaud's phenomenon. Signs and symptoms are usually intermittent and mild; very rare sequelae include digital ulceration and/or soft tissue breakdown. Carefully observe patients during treatment for digital changes. Further evaluation may be required, including referral. CNS stimulants have been associated with weight loss and slowing of growth rate in pediatric patients. Monitor height and weight at appropriate intervals in pediatric patients. Treatment may need to be interrupted in children not growing or gaining weight as expected. Adverse Reactions Based on accumulated data from other methylphenidate products, the most common (>5% and twice the rate of placebo) adverse reactions are appetite decreased, insomnia, nausea, vomiting, dyspepsia, abdominal pain, weight decreased, anxiety, dizziness, irritability, affect lability, tachycardia, and blood pressure increased. Drug Interactions Adjust dosage of antihypertensive drug as needed. Monitor blood pressure. Avoid use of AZSTARYS on the day of surgery if halogenated anesthetics will be used. For additional safety information, click here for Prescribing Information and Medication Guide , including BOXED WARNING. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch , or call 1-800-FDA-1088. About Corium Corium, Inc., is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company that is leading the development and commercialization of CNS therapies that provide clinicians with important new treatment options for patients, their families, and their caregivers. Corium is commercializing two U.S. FDA approved products, ADLARITY, approved in March 2022, and AZSTARYS. Corium has a robust development pipeline focused on addressing unmet needs in the treatment of patients with CNS conditions. In November 2018, all of Corium's outstanding stock was acquired by an affiliate of Gurnet Point Capital. For further information, please visit http://www.corium.com. About Gurnet Point Capital Gurnet Point Capital is a unique healthcare investment platform within the B-Flexion group and led by a team with deep expertise in an industry for which they share a passion, both as investors and senior executives. GPC invests long-term capital and supports entrepreneurs in building a new generation of companies that deliver outsized returns through active ownership. Based in Cambridge, MA, its remit encompasses life sciences and health care focused businesses, with a particular emphasis on businesses that have high growth potential in the product development and commercialization stages of their evolution. With its strategy of driving best in class operational transformation for these businesses, to create social impact while generating significant economic value, GPC is able to deliver differentiated results for its investors and partners. For more, go to http://www.gurnetpointcapital.com. Contact: Corium, Inc. [email protected] 202-413-4226 SOURCE Corium, Inc. Wide range of research across tumor types underscores Servier's commitment to discovering novel approaches to addressing difficult-to-treat cancers Phase 3 AGILE data support recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of TIBSOVO (ivosidenib tablets) in combination with azacitidine for the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed IDH1-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in adults 75 years or older, or who have comorbidities that preclude use of intensive induction chemotherapy Updated results of ivosidenib monotherapy to be presented in relapsed/refractory myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) BOSTON, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Servier, a growing leader in oncology committed to bringing the promise of tomorrow to the patients we serve, today announced that data will be presented from multiple studies across its oncology portfolio during the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, June 3-7 and the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2022 Congress, June 9-12. Data highlighted at ASCO and EHA include multiple company-sponsored and investigator-initiated trials, which underscore the breadth of Servier's oncology portfolio and commitment to improving outcomes for patients with difficult-to-treat cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer and lung cancer. At both congresses, new data will be presented from Servier's phase 3 AGILE study, a global, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TIBSOVO (ivosidenib tablets) in combination with azacitidine compared with placebo in combination with azacitidine, in adults with previously untreated IDH1-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who are not candidates for intensive chemotherapy (75 years old or who have comorbidities that preclude the use of intensive induction chemotherapy). These data build on the efficacy and safety results presented at the 2021 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition. Patients with IDH1-mutated AML have a poor prognosis and have fewer treatment options, especially for newly diagnosed patients who are not eligible for intensive chemotherapy. This new AGILE data presentation comes on the heels of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of TIBSOVO in combination with azacitidine for the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed IDH1-mutated AML. Ivosidenib monotherapy has breakthrough therapy designation in IDH1 mutated R/R MDS and Servier will be presenting updated efficacy and safety results at both ASCO and EHA. "Several of the studies being presented at this year's ASCO and EHA highlight the potential role of IDH inhibition and the company's overall innovative research portfolio in generating new therapies based on precision approaches," said David K. Lee, CEO, Servier Pharmaceuticals. "Servier Pharmaceuticals has made immense progress since we've launched our oncology program in 2018, and we will continue to move the needle for patients with difficult-to-treat cancers." In the short time the company has been in the U.S., Servier Pharmaceuticals has established a presence in oncology. The company has tripled its oncology portfolio since 2021 with 21 oncology assets at varying stages of clinical development, and 20 research projects. "Our significant presence at these key congresses demonstrates our long-term commitment to developing innovative therapeutic solutions to meet the needs of patients with difficult-to-treat cancers," said Claude P. Bertrand, Executive Vice President of Research and Development, Servier Group. "We look forward to presenting to the scientific community data across our diverse portfolio, including research on the potential of IDH inhibition in the treatment of cancers with high unmet needs." Key highlights of data from Servier and its partners at ASCO are listed below and are available online on the ASCO website: https://conferences.asco.org/am/abstracts. Abstract #7042/Poster #273: Hematologic improvements with ivosidenib + azacitidine compared to placebo + azacitidine in patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia. Date & Time: Saturday, June 4 at 8 a.m. CDT at Poster Session : Hematologic MalignanciesLeukemia, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, and Allotransplant : Hematologic MalignanciesLeukemia, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, and Allotransplant Presenting Author: H. Dohner Abstract #7019/Poster #250: Molecular characterization of clinical response in newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia patients treated with ivosidenib + azacitidine compared to placebo + azacitidine Date & Time: Saturday, June 4 at 1:15 p.m. CDT ; poster will be on display in the poster hall from 8 11 a.m. at ; poster will be on display in the poster hall from 8 Poster Discussion : Hematologic MalignanciesLeukemia, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, and Allotransplant : Hematologic MalignanciesLeukemia, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, and Allotransplant Presenting Author: S. de Botton Abstract/Publication Only: Changes in health-related quality of life in patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia receiving ivosidenib + azacitidine or placebo + azacitidine. Author: A. Schuh Abstract #7053/Poster #284: Ivosidenib in patients with IDH1-mutant relapsed/refractory myelodysplastic syndrome (R/R MDS): Updated enrollment and results of a phase 1 dose escalation and expansion substudy Date & Time: Saturday, June 4 at 8 a.m. CDT at Poster Session : Hematologic MalignanciesLeukemia, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, and Allotransplant : Hematologic MalignanciesLeukemia, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, and Allotransplant Presenting Author: D. Andrew Sallman Abstract #7005/Oral Presentation: Overall survival by IDH2 mutant allele (R140 or R172) in patients with late-stage mutant-IDH2 relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia treated with enasidenib or conventional care regimens in the phase 3 IDHENTIFY triali Date & Time: Tuesday, June 7 at 11:33 a.m. CDT at Oral Abstract Session : Hematologic MalignanciesLeukemia, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, and Allotransplant : Hematologic MalignanciesLeukemia, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, and Allotransplant Presenting Author: S. de Botton Abstract #7032/Poster #263: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) with enasidenib vs conventional care regimens in older patients with late-stage mutant-IDH2 relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (R/R AML)i Date & Time: Saturday, June 4 at 8 a.m. CDT at Poster Session: Hematologic MalignanciesLeukemia, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, and Allotransplant Hematologic MalignanciesLeukemia, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, and Allotransplant Presenting Author: C. Dinardo Abstract #3568/Poster #362: Trifluridine/tipiracil plus bevacizumab (FTD/TPI + BEV) and trifluridine/tipiracil (FTD/TPI) monotherapy in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC): results of a meta-analysisii Date & Time: Saturday, June 4 at 8 a.m. CDT at Poster Session: Gastrointestinal CancerColorectal and Anal Gastrointestinal CancerColorectal and Anal Presenting Author: T. Yoshino Abstract/Publication Only: Characterizing Platinum Sensitivity among Medicare FFS Patients with Limited vs Extensive Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer Receiving NCCN Category 1 Regimensiii Presenting Author: G. Dieguez Abstract/Publication Only: Patient Characteristics and Outcomes Associated with Small Cell Lung Cancer by Treatment Status in a U.S. Medicare Populationiii Presenting Author: P. Cockrum Abstract/Publication Only: Treatment Patterns and Outcomes Associated with Small Cell Lung Cancer by Platinum Sensitivity Status in a U.S. Medicare Populationiii Presenting Author: P. Cockrum Abstract #8584/Poster #210: Trends in Treatment Patterns Associated with Small Cell Lung Cancer in a U.S. Medicare Populationiii Date & Time: Monday, June 6 at 8 a.m. CDT at Poster Session: Lung CancerNon-Small Cell Local-Regional/Small Cell/Other Thoracic Cancers Lung CancerNon-Small Cell Local-Regional/Small Cell/Other Thoracic Cancers Presenting Author: R. Ramirez Abstract #7018/Poster #249: A phase Ib/II study of ivosidenib with venetoclax +/- azacitidine in IDH1-mutated hematologic malignancies Date & Time: Saturday, June 4 at 8 a.m. CDT at Oral Abstract Session : Hematologic MalignanciesLeukemia, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, and Allotransplant : Hematologic MalignanciesLeukemia, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, and Allotransplant Presenting Author: C. Lachowiez Abstract #3612/Poster #406: Phase II, multicenter, open-label, non-randomized study of neoadjuvant chemotherapy NALIRINOX (5-FU/LV + oxaliplatin + nal-IRI) followed by chemoradiotherapy in patients with rectal cancer in a watch-and-wait program Date & Time: Saturday, June 4 at 8 a.m. CDT at Poster Session: Gastrointestinal CancerColorectal and Anal Gastrointestinal CancerColorectal and Anal Presenting Author: C. Gregorio Munoz Abstract #TPS4185/Poster #157b: A randomized phase II study of gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel compared with 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, and liposomal irinotecan in older patients with treatment-naive metastatic pancreatic cancer (GIANT): ECOG-ACRIN EA2186Trials in progress Date & Time: Saturday, June 4 at 8 a.m. CDT at Poster Session: Gastrointestinal CancerGastroesophageal, Pancreatic, and Hepatobiliary Gastrointestinal CancerGastroesophageal, Pancreatic, and Hepatobiliary Presenting Author: E. Dotan Abstract #4005/Oral Presentation: NET-02: A multi-centre, randomised, phase II trial of liposomal irinotecan (nal-IRI) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)/folinic acid or docetaxel as second-line therapy in patients (pts) with progressive poorly differentiated extra-pulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma (PD-EP-NEC) Date & Time: Sunday, June 5 at 9 a.m. CDT at Oral Abstract Session: Gastrointestinal CancerGastroesophageal, Pancreatic, and Hepatobiliary Gastrointestinal CancerGastroesophageal, Pancreatic, and Hepatobiliary Presenting Author: M. McNamara Servier will be hosting a continuing medical educational program at ASCO focused on hematology: "Advantage with Innovation in AML: Guidance on Developing and Delivering Effective and Highly Personalized Care," administered by PeerView, June 3, 2022 In addition, encore presentations from ASCO will be presented at EHA: Poster #2209: Hematologic improvements with ivosidenib + azacitidine compared to placebo + azacitidine in patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia Date & Time: Friday, June 10 at 4:30 p.m. CET at Presenting Author: H. Dohner Poster #2374: Changes in health-related quality of life in patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia receiving ivosidenib + azacitidine or placebo + azacitidine Date & Time: Friday, June 10 at 4:30 p.m. CET at Presenting Author: A. Schuh Poster #2356: Molecular characterization of clinical response in newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia patients treated with ivosidenib + azacitidine compared to placebo + azacitidine Date & Time: Friday, June 10 at 4:30 p.m. CET at Presenting Author: S. de Botton Poster #P765: Updated enrollment and results from the phase 1 substudy of ivosidenib in patients with IDH1-mutant relapsed/refractory myelodysplastic syndrome (R/R MDS) Date & Time: Friday, June 10 at 4:30 p.m. CET at Presenting Author: C. DiNardo About Servier Pharmaceuticals Servier Pharmaceuticals, LLC is a commercial-stage company with a passion for innovation and improving the lives of patients, their families and caregivers. A privately held company, Servier has the unique freedom to devote its time and energy toward putting those who require our treatment and care first, with future growth driven by innovation in areas of unmet medical need. As a growing leader in oncology, Servier is committed to finding solutions that will address today's challenges. The company's oncology portfolio of innovative medicines is designed to bring more life-saving treatments to a greater number of patients, across the entire spectrum of disease and in a variety of tumor types. Servier believes co-creation is fundamental to driving innovation and is actively building alliances, acquisitions, licensing deals and partnerships that bring solutions and accelerate access to therapies. With our commercial expertise, global reach, scientific expertise and commitment to clinical excellence, Servier Pharmaceuticals is dedicated to bringing the promise of tomorrow to the patients that we serve. More information: www.servier.us About Servier Servier is a global pharmaceutical group governed by a Foundation. With a strong international presence in 150 countries and a total revenue of 4.7 billion euros in 2020, Servier employs 22,500 people worldwide. Servier is an independent group that invests over 20% of its brand-name revenue in Research and Development every year. To accelerate therapeutic innovation for the benefit of patients, the Group is committed to open and collaborative innovation with academic partners, pharmaceutical groups, and biotech companies. It also integrates the patient's voice at the heart of its activities. A leader in cardiology, the ambition of the Servier Group is to become a recognized and innovative player in oncology. Its growth is based on a sustained commitment to cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, oncology and immuno-inflammatory, and neurodegenerative diseases. To promote access to healthcare for all, the Servier Group also offers a range of quality generic drugs covering most pathologies. More information: www.servier.com Follow us on Social Media: LinkedIn, Twitter Press contacts Servier Pharmaceuticals (U.S.) Julia Ferreira [email protected] Servier Group (France and worldwide) Sonia Marques [email protected] +33 (0)1 55 72 40 21 / + 33 (0)7 84 28 76 13 Disclosures This release contains general information about the Servier Group and its entities (hereinafter "Servier and its Affiliates") and is intended for informational purposes only. The information is thought to be reliable; however, Servier and its Affiliates make no representation as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained herein or otherwise provided and accept no responsibility or liability, in contract, in tort, in negligence, or otherwise, should the information be found to be inaccurate or incomplete in any respect. Servier and its Affiliates are not acting as an advisor to the recipient of this information, and the ultimate decision to proceed with any transaction rests solely with the recipient of this information. Therefore, prior to entering into any proposed transaction, the recipient of this information should determine, without reliance upon Servier or its Affiliates, the economic risks and merits, as well as the legal, tax, and accounting characterizations and consequences, of the transaction and that it is able to assume these risks. This statement also contains forward-looking statements that are subject to varying levels of uncertainty and risk. Investigational new drugs and indications are subject to further scientific and medical review and regulatory approval. They are not approved for use by the FDA. Any reliance placed on this document is done entirely at the risk of the person placing such reliance. The information contained in this document is neither an offer to sell nor the solicitation of an offer to enter into a transaction. The content of this document is a summary only, is not complete, and does not include all material information about Servier and its Affiliates, including potential conflicts of interest. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable laws and regulations, Servier and its Affiliates disclaim all representations, warranties, conditions and guarantees, whether express, implied, statutory or of other kind, nor does it accept any duty to any person, in connection with this document. Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, Servier and its Affiliates do not warrant or represent that the information or opinions contained in this document is accurate or complete. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable laws and regulations, Servier and its Affiliates shall not be liable for any loss, damage or expense whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, howsoever arising, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability or otherwise, for direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive or special damages arising out of or in connection with this document, including (without limitation) any course of action taken on the basis of the same. The estimates, strategies, and views expressed in this document are based upon past or current data and information and are subject to change without notice. About TIBSOVO (ivosidenib tablets) INDICATIONS TIBSOVO is an isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1) inhibitor indicated for patients with a susceptible IDH1 mutation as detected by an FDA-approved test with: Newly Diagnosed Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) In combination with azacitidine or as monotherapy for the treatment of newly diagnosed AML in adults 75 years or older, or who have comorbidities that preclude the use of intensive induction chemotherapy Relapsed or Refractory AML For the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory AML Locally Advanced or Metastatic Cholangiocarcinoma For the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma who have been previously treated IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION WARNING: DIFFERENTIATION SYNDROME IN AML Patients treated with TIBSOVO have experienced symptoms of differentiation syndrome, which can be fatal. Symptoms may include fever, dyspnea, hypoxia, pulmonary infiltrates, pleural or pericardial effusions, rapid weight gain or peripheral edema, hypotension, and hepatic, renal, or multiorgan dysfunction. If differentiation syndrome is suspected, initiate corticosteroid therapy and hemodynamic monitoring until symptom resolution. WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS Differentiation Syndrome in AML: In the combination study AG120-C-009, 15% (11/71) of patients with newly diagnosed AML treated with TIBSOVO plus azacitidine experienced differentiation syndrome. Differentiation syndrome is associated with rapid proliferation and differentiation of myeloid cells and may be life-threatening or fatal. Symptoms of differentiation syndrome in patients treated with TIBSOVO included noninfectious leukocytosis, peripheral edema, pyrexia, dyspnea, pleural effusion, hypotension, hypoxia, pulmonary edema, pneumonitis, pericardial effusion, rash, fluid overload, tumor lysis syndrome, and creatinine increased. Of the 11 patients with newly diagnosed AML who experienced differentiation syndrome with TIBSOVO plus azacitidine, 8 (73%) recovered. Differentiation syndrome occurred as early as 3 days after start of therapy and during the first month on treatment. In the monotherapy clinical trial AG120-C-001, 25% (7/28) of patients with newly diagnosed AML and 19% (34/179) of patients with relapsed or refractory AML treated with TIBSOVO experienced differentiation syndrome. Of the 7 patients with newly diagnosed AML who experienced differentiation syndrome, 6 (86%) patients recovered. Of the 34 patients with relapsed or refractory AML who experienced differentiation syndrome, 27 (79%) patients recovered after treatment or after dose interruption of TIBSOVO. Differentiation syndrome occurred as early as 1 day and up to 3 months after TIBSOVO initiation and has been observed with or without concomitant leukocytosis. If differentiation syndrome is suspected, initiate dexamethasone 10 mg IV every 12 hours (or an equivalent dose of an alternative oral or IV corticosteroid) and hemodynamic monitoring until improvement. If concomitant noninfectious leukocytosis is observed, initiate treatment with hydroxyurea or leukapheresis, as clinically indicated. Taper corticosteroids and hydroxyurea after resolution of symptoms and administer corticosteroids for a minimum of 3 days. Symptoms of differentiation syndrome may recur with premature discontinuation of corticosteroid and/or hydroxyurea treatment. If severe signs and/or symptoms persist for more than 48 hours after initiation of corticosteroids, interrupt TIBSOVO until signs and symptoms are no longer severe. QTc Interval Prolongation: Patients treated with TIBSOVO can develop QT (QTc) prolongation and ventricular arrhythmias. Concomitant use of TIBSOVO with drugs known to prolong the QTc interval (e.g., anti-arrhythmic medicines, fluoroquinolones, triazole antifungals, 5HT3 receptor antagonists) and CYP3A4 inhibitors may increase the risk of QTc interval prolongation. Conduct monitoring of electrocardiograms (ECGs) and electrolytes. In patients with congenital long QTc syndrome, congestive heart failure, or electrolyte abnormalities, or in those who are taking medications known to prolong the QTc interval, more frequent monitoring may be necessary. Interrupt TIBSOVO if QTc increases to greater than 480 msec and less than 500 msec. Interrupt and reduce TIBSOVO if QTc increases to greater than 500 msec. Permanently discontinue TIBSOVO in patients who develop QTc interval prolongation with signs or symptoms of life-threatening arrhythmia. Guillain-Barre Syndrome: Guillain-Barre syndrome can develop in patients treated with TIBSOVO. Monitor patients taking TIBSOVO for onset of new signs or symptoms of motor and/or sensory neuropathy such as unilateral or bilateral weakness, sensory alterations, paresthesias, or difficulty breathing. Permanently discontinue TIBSOVO in patients who are diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome. ADVERSE REACTIONS In patients with AML, the most common adverse reactions including laboratory abnormalities (25%) are leukocytes decreased, diarrhea, hemoglobin decreased, platelets decreased, glucose increased, fatigue, alkaline phosphatase increased, edema, potassium decreased, nausea, vomiting, phosphate decreased, decreased appetite, sodium decreased, leukocytosis, magnesium decreased, aspartate aminotransferase increased, arthralgia, dyspnea, uric acid increased, abdominal pain, creatinine increased, mucositis, rash, electrocardiogram QT prolonged, differentiation syndrome, calcium decreased, neutrophils decreased, and myalgia the most common adverse reactions including laboratory abnormalities (25%) are leukocytes decreased, diarrhea, hemoglobin decreased, platelets decreased, glucose increased, fatigue, alkaline phosphatase increased, edema, potassium decreased, nausea, vomiting, phosphate decreased, decreased appetite, sodium decreased, leukocytosis, magnesium decreased, aspartate aminotransferase increased, arthralgia, dyspnea, uric acid increased, abdominal pain, creatinine increased, mucositis, rash, electrocardiogram QT prolonged, differentiation syndrome, calcium decreased, neutrophils decreased, and myalgia In patients with cholangiocarcinoma, the most common adverse reactions (15%) are fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, cough, decreased appetite, ascites, vomiting, anemia, and rash. The most common laboratory abnormalities (10%) in patients with cholangiocarcinoma are hemoglobin decreased, aspartate aminotransferase increased, and bilirubin increased DRUG INTERACTIONS Strong or Moderate CYP3A4 Inhibitors: Reduce TIBSOVO dose with strong CYP3A4 inhibitors. Monitor patients for increased risk of QTc interval prolongation. Strong CYP3A4 Inducers: Avoid concomitant use with TIBSOVO. Sensitive CYP3A4 Substrates: Avoid concomitant use with TIBSOVO. QTc Prolonging Drugs: Avoid concomitant use with TIBSOVO. If co-administration is unavoidable, monitor patients for increased risk of QTc interval prolongation. LACTATION Because many drugs are excreted in human milk and because of the potential for adverse reactions in breastfed children, advise women not to breastfeed during treatment with TIBSOVO and for 1 month after the last dose. Please see Full Prescribing Information , including BOXED WARNING for AML patients. i In partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb ii In partnership with Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd iii In partnership with Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals SOURCE Servier Pharmaceuticals MILWAUKEE, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ademi LLP is investigating UB Bancorp (OTCQX: UBNC) for possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law in its transaction with F.N.B. Corporation. Click here to learn how to join the action: https://www.ademilaw.com/case/ub-bancorp or call Guri Ademi toll-free at 866-264-3995. There is no cost or obligation to you. Ademi LLP alleges UB Bancorp's financial outlook and prospects are excellent and yet UB Bancorp holders will receive only 1.61 shares of FNB common stock for each share of UB Bancorp common stock they own, or $19.56 per share based upon the closing stock price of FNB as of Tuesday, May 31, 2022. The transaction agreement unreasonably limits competing bids for UB Bancorp by imposing a significant penalty if UB Bancorp accepts a superior bid. UB Bancorp insiders will receive substantial benefits as part of change of control arrangements. We are investigating the conduct of UB Bancorp's board of directors, and whether they are (i) fulfilling their fiduciary duties to all shareholders, and (ii) obtaining a fair and reasonable price for UB Bancorp. If you own UB Bancorp common stock and wish to obtain additional information, please contact Guri Ademi either at [email protected] or toll-free: 866-264-3995, or https://www.ademilaw.com/case/ub-bancorp. We specialize in shareholder litigation involving buyouts, mergers, and individual shareholder rights throughout the country. For more information, please feel free to call us. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Contacts: Ademi LLP Guri Ademi Toll Free: (866) 264-3995 Fax: (414) 482-8001 SOURCE Ademi LLP BOSTON and WELLESLEY, Mass., TORONTO, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSX: SLF) (NYSE: SLF), through its U.S. business, announced today the completion of its acquisition of DentaQuest, the second-largest dental benefits provider in the U.S. by membership. Sun Life has acquired DentaQuest from CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization, and minority shareholder Centerbridge Partners, L.P., a private investment management firm. Headquartered in Boston and founded in 2001, DentaQuest has more than 33 million members in 36 states and more than 2,400 employees. DentaQuest is now part of the Sun Life U.S. business, which offers dental benefits through employers for their employee benefits plans and has an extensive national commercial dental network. In addition to dental benefits, Sun Life U.S. offers a broad portfolio of group insurance products, including disability, absence management, life, dental, vision and voluntary, as well as medical stop-loss coverage and healthcare navigation services. The completion of the acquisition is expected to bring Sun Life U.S.'s total annual benefits revenues to more than US$7 billion. The transaction advances the Sun Life U.S. business strategy of being a leader in health and benefits. DentaQuest is the largest provider of U.S. Medicaid dental benefits, with growing Medicare Advantage, commercial, and U.S. Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange businesses. DentaQuest positions Sun Life as a leader in providing dental benefits for U.S. government programs. Slides related to the acquisition announcement from October 2021 are available at www.sunlife.com. About Sun Life Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing asset management, wealth, insurance and health solutions to individual and institutional Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of March 31, 2022, Sun Life had total assets under management of C$1.35 trillion. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com. Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF. About Sun Life U.S. In the United States, Sun Life is one of the largest group benefits providers, serving employers in small, medium and large workplaces across the country. Sun Life's broad portfolio of insurance products and services in the U.S. includes disability, absence management, life, dental, vision, voluntary, medical stop-loss and care navigation. Sun Life and its affiliates in asset management businesses in the U.S. employ 7,800 people. Group insurance policies are issued by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Wellesley Hills, Mass.), except in New York, where policies are issued by Sun Life and Health Insurance Company (U.S.) (Lansing, Mich.). For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com/us . Forward-looking Statements From time to time, Sun Life makes written or oral forward-looking statements within the meaning of certain securities laws, including the "safe harbour" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements contained in this release include, without limitation, statements relating to the increase in Sun Life U.S.'s total annual benefits revenues. These statements represent our current expectations, estimates, and projections regarding future events and are not historical facts, and remain subject to change, particularly in light of the ongoing and developing COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the global economy and its uncertain impact on our business. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Information about forward-looking statements and risk factors relating to the Company are set out in our MD&A for the period ended March 31, 2022 and in SLF Inc.'s other annual and interim regulatory filings filed with Canadian securities regulators or furnished to U.S. securities regulators, which are available for review at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this document or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. Sun Life Media and Investor Relations contacts: Devon Fernald Rajani Kamath Senior Publicist Associate Vice-President Sun Life U.S. Corporate Communications 781-800-3609 647-515-7514 [email protected] [email protected] Yaniv Bitton Vice-President, Head of Investor Relations & Capital Markets 416-979-6496 [email protected] DentaQuest Media contact: CareQuest Institute for Oral Health Media contact: Fred Menko Kristin LaRoche 615-308-7414 857-275-5038 [email protected] [email protected] Connect with Sun Life U.S. https://www.facebook.com/SLFUnitedStates/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/sun-life-financial/ https://twitter.com/SunLifeUS SOURCE Sun Life Financial Inc. The Sunsortai Sorter Employs a Broad Spectrum of Sensors and Cameras to Detect and Identify Fruit Defects, Even Those Invisible to the Naked Eye RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The sorting and grading of citrus fruit just got a lot easier thanks to the fully-automated Sunsortai machine, a next-generation sorter from Sunkist Research and Technical Services. The revolutionary new sorter uses Google AI technology to assess the inherent quality of each piece it processes, including any potential defects. Sunkist Research and Technical Services Launches Next Generation, Citrus Fruit Sorter Thats Powered by Google AI The Sunsortai's strength is its ability to use a proprietary imaging system to automatically identify fruit characteristics such as size, shape, weight, blemishes, and even decay that might not be visible to the naked eye. Be it citrus greening, oleocellosis, or citrus cankers, Sunsortai sorters can be trained to recognize the blemishes and defects that matter the most to each packer's operation. "Bringing AI to the fruit sorting process allows our packhouses to dramatically increase the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of their sorting operations," said Aaron Gorsky, General Manager of Research and Technical Services. "Sunsortai equipment can conduct a comprehensive fruit assessment and sort the piece accordingly, all in one pass. This offers substantial operational efficiencies and improvements." Because every packhouse is unique, Sunsortai machines can be customized to serve to each facility's individual needs and it will readily adapt to existing conveying systems. It employs a proven mechanical design that is fast, reliable but also gentle when it comes to handling mass quantities of freshly picked fruit. "One of this AI sorter's greatest features is its ability to learn," explains Gorsky. "Through repetition, the sorter learns to distinguish a defect's appearance from normal anomalous features like blossoms and stems. This happens in one pass, so it eliminates the need for special lines, manned by separate sorting specialists, who focus on specific blemishes. It's a huge time saver." After proving successful in Sunkist packing houses, the Sunsortai sorter is now available to any processing facility that needs to increase revenues through fast and accurate sorting. To learn more about the Sunsortai sorter visit: https://rtsequipment.com Sunsortai is a trademark of Sunkist Growers, Inc. About Sunkist Research and Technical Services Research and Technical Services (RTS), a division of Sunkist Growers, develops best-in-class citrus fruit sorting and packing equipment using state-of-the-art equipment and designs. Based in Rancho Cucamonga, California, the company is an industry leader in solutions that drive down packer costs and increase their profits. PRESS CONTACT Lynn Munroe 845.548.1211 SOURCE Sunkist Research and Technical Services SALT LAKE CITY and SAN FRANCISCO, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Suralink , the leader in request list and workflow management software for professional services firms, today announced that it received a strategic growth investment from Luminate Capital Partners . Suralink's SaaS application integrates dynamic request list and assignment workflow functionality with a secure file hosting and sharing platform. The company's solution serves as a single hub for client interaction, increasing efficiency and improving the client experience for accounting firms and their clients. Suralink's solutions are currently used across accounting firm groups, including audit, tax, and advisory, as well as by internal corporate audit teams, security consultants, financial services firms, and investment firms. Suralink's customer base spans more than 20 countries and includes industry leaders like MNP, Armanino, Sikich, UHY, Elliott Davis, PKF Littlejohn, and others. "This is an important milestone for us as a company," said Tim Ballantyne, Founder and CEO at Suralink. "We have always believed in the value our products provide to our customers and industry and have a vision for a broader platform as we continue to scale. We chose to partner with the Luminate team because we felt they shared in that vision for the future. With this investment, Luminate's history of successfully scaling SaaS companies, and our team's deep domain knowledge, we are poised for even greater success in the coming years. We could not be more excited about what's ahead for us, for our customers, and for our industry." "We have been very impressed by Suralink's product and customer focused culture, which is why we believe they are the market leader," said Andrew Baldwin, Partner at Luminate. "We are thrilled to partner with and support Tim and his team on this next chapter of growth," added Dave Ulrich, Partner at Luminate. Mark Haidet, Operating Partner at Luminate, further said "There is a big opportunity for Suralink as it extends its competitive differentiation and scale throughout the world's leading professional services firms." "The success Suralink has had over the last three years is remarkable," said Nate Grossman and Steve Wolfe, Co-Founders at Growth Street Partners , existing investors in Suralink. "We look forward to continuing to work with the team as the company moves forward in its next phase of growth and continues to further its leadership position in this growing category." Vista Point Advisors provided M&A advisory services to the shareholders of Suralink and legal advice was provided by Goodwin Proctor. Kirkland & Ellis provided legal advice to Luminate. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. About Suralink Suralink is the leader in request list management and approval workflow, helping businesses simplify the document workflow process while improving the client experience. The company's SaaS application integrates a dynamic request list and assignment workflow solution with a secure file hosting platform to serve as a single location for client interaction. Suralink's technology, combined with its industry expertise, helps more than 750 clients worldwide ensure security, simplicity, transparency, and accountability throughout the document workflow process. For more information, visit www.suralink.com. About Luminate Capital Luminate Capital Partners is a private equity firm managing almost $2 billion with a focus on growth software companies. Luminate partners with management teams to drive growth. Luminate's portfolio of market leaders has included Axonify, Compliance & Risks, Conexiom, LiquidFrameworks, Oversight Systems, PDI, StarCompliance, and Thought Industries. For more information, visit https://www.luminatecapital.com. About Growth Street Partners Growth Street Partners provides early growth capital to rapidly growing SaaS and technology-enabled services companies located in underserved U.S. markets. The firm partners with founders who have personally lived through the problems their businesses solve. Investments include Pear Deck, ChildcareCRM, Visual Lease, Hotel Effectiveness, Suralink, HR Acuity, Govenda, PikMyKid, PublicInput, and uConnect. The firm has $200 million in assets under management across two funds. For more information, visit www.growthstreetpartners.com. CONTACTS For Suralink Meghan Mitton VP, Marketing Suralink [email protected] For Luminate Chris Tofalli Chris Tofalli Public Relations, LLC 914-834-4334 SOURCE Luminate Capital Partners MEDFORD, Ore., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Collaborative, a center for transformation and collaboration in service of women and gender diverse individuals opened its doors in Jackson County this month. This is a combined effort between the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) Child Welfare and Self Sufficiency Programs, Jackson County Community Justice (JCCJ) and The Pathfinder Network (TPN). These three agencies will now be housed together with a mission to cultivate a space in service of participants, so they and their children and families can thrive in our community. The living room is where participants visiting The Collaborative enter the building and connect to services and support. Members of The Collaborative team planning for the launch of the new center. "It is inspiring to see the missions of all three agencies coming together to cultivate such a needed, intentional and innovative impact in this community. I am so proud of The Collaborative," says Leticia Longoria-Navarro, Executive Director of the Pathfinder Network. The Collaborative's vision is to co-create holistic pathways to integrated and responsive services and supports. Efforts will focus on mitigating the impacts of trauma, decreasing social isolation for impacted community members, preventing the use and misuse of substances, employing community-wide approaches to reducing harm associated with behavioral health issues, and ensuring access and coordination of services. The Collaborative focused on redesigning its space to foster an inclusive and welcoming space, where individuals feel comfortable seeking support for themselves and their families. The voices of individuals who would utilize the space led the redesign and former and current participants describe the environment as welcoming, calm, comfortable, safe and warm. "The Collaborative is a great example of how we are putting the Child Welfare Vision for Transformation into action by creating a space where children and families are supported holistically across systems," says Kimberlee Whitney, Child Welfare District Manager. "Thank you to our partners within ODHS, Pathfinder Network and Jackson County for making this effort come to life." Team members from all three agencies will support participants in their engagement with parole and probation and the Oregon Department of Human Services through a trauma, gender and culturally-responsive approach and provide peer support in a space intentionally created to provide the best services and support. Individuals are welcomed in by team members as they enter the space into the "living room" and are connected to staff in the building to assess their needs, connect them to resources, make referrals to other community resources, sign them up for group services and events at the center and provide on the spot peer support. Our community will benefit and notice a positive return on investment when individuals and families that have been impacted by systems are provided with evidence-based support and services. The Collaborative is a one stop shop for services that are working towards eliminating the barriers of accessibility by modeling how agencies can co-create. Involvement within systems increases the likelihood of negative outcomes and the costs for systems and communities. By investing into system-impacted individuals and families in stabilizing their livelihood we work towards minimizing the social detrimental impacts one may experience and increasing the likelihood that all members of our community are able to thrive. "By putting people first, the outcomes will follow. We know that relationships, connections and focusing on strengths lead to people being successful. This in turn results in increased public safety for the community. To do this work in partnership with professionals with lived experience is truly innovative, effective and an honor to be a part of," says Eric Guyer, Director of Jackson County Community Justice. This effort would not have been possible without the integral partnership and support of AllCare Health, Jackson Care Connect and the Oregon Community Foundation, Creativity and Innovation Fund. Thank you to our partners. If you are near the Medford area and would like to see the Collaborative space or would like to learn more about what support each agency within The Collaborative has to offer, please visit us during our free open house Thursday, June 2nd from noon to 2 p.m. More information can be found in this flier. Media Contact Leticia Longoria-Navarro 5037548401 [email protected] SOURCE The Pathfinder Network DUBLIN, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global and China Automotive Emergency Call (eCall) System Market Report, 2022" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Automotive eCall system: wait for the release of policies empowering intelligent connected vehicle safety At the Two Sessions held in March 2022, more than 10 deputies to the National People's Congress (NPC) and members of the hinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) put forward over 30 proposals on the development of the automotive industry, above 80% of which relate to the development of intelligent connected vehicles. The issues about strengthening the safety of intelligent connected vehicles were mentioned many times. Yin Tongyue, chairman of Chery, suggested that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) take the lead in promoting the release of eCall (Emergency Call or Accident Emergency Call System) regulations at the earliest possible time, and give some subsidies to companies for a faster progress in promotion and implementation while carrying out the regulations. A total of over 30 million people have died in car crashes worldwide since the car made its debut, according to the World Health Organization. The data in statistical yearbooks show that in recent years there are more than 150,000 to 160,000 traffic accidents causing casualties in China annually, with around 40,000 deaths. In traffic accidents, the vast majority (above 90%) of all the dead lost their lives before reaching hospitals. Yet the injured who were successfully delivered to hospitals were very likely to be rescued. In Japan where the timely rescue rate (the rate of rescues within 30 minutes) reaches as high as 98%, the traffic fatality rate is as low as 0.9%, justifying how important it is to introduce mandatory eCall regulations. An automotive emergency call system can provide the user with eCall rescue services (GNSS positioning and voice call services) in the event of an emergency, and it can be activated manually and automatically. The manual eCall function is enabled by a physical button; automatic eCall refers to a function in which the eCall system receives the signal and automatically makes an emergency call after a traffic accident happens. After the eCall system dials, the backstage will arrange the responsive rescue services in time according to the location of the vehicle. A typical eCall system is at least composed of the following: 1. GNSS receiver; 2. GNSS antenna; 3. NAD (Network Access Device, including SIM card); 4. mobile network antenna; 5. ECU/MCU; 6. microphone; 7. speaker/emergency pager; 8. manual button; 9. battery or power supply system; 10. warning or indicating device; 11. collision detection system (sensor). eCall policies have come into force in quite a few Eurasian countries. In 2005, the European Commission made a request for developing an in-vehicle emergency call (eCall) service, aiming to implement and deploy a unified automotive eCall service system in Europe. To that end, in 2005 the European Commission assigned the technical standard task to ETSI/3GPP (European Telecommunications Standards Institute, ETSI) to develop and build an eCall communication technology standard system. In 2008, ETSI/3GPP began to release a range of eCall communication module technology standards. In 2011, nine European countries co-founded the HeERO (Pan-European In-Vehicle Emergency Call Service) Consortium. The EU issued the Regulation (EU) 2015/758 in 2015, and introduced the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/78 and the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/79 in 2017. The EU eCall policies specify the mandatory installation of 112-based in-vehicle eCall systems in all new M1 and N1 vehicles from March 31, 2018. Besides the EU, the Russia-led Customs Union, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have also launched their eCall bills. Since the introduction of UNECE-R144 in 2018, for new vehicle models, Japan has required mandatory installation of accident emergency call systems (AECS) in M1/N1 vehicles after the transition period of 1.5 years; for vehicles in production, Japan has required mandatory installation of AECS in M1/N1 vehicles after the transition period of 3 years. The AECS will save an average of 4 minutes of rescue time according to Japan's official statistics. Meanwhile, the D-Cal system, Japan's advanced rescue service, is expected to save 17 minutes on average. India has also stipulated that from April 1, 2019, all passenger vehicles such as taxis and buses must be equipped with the device AIS 140 Tracker. China's eCall market is awaiting the accompaniment of policies. In early 2022, we made a one-to-one discussion and communication with several Chinese experts from Tier1 suppliers on the development of eCall systems. We all made an optimistic prediction about the enforcement time of eCall policy, and roughly determined the timeline is between 2023 and 2024. Automotive safety has always been a major concern of policies. The Telematics Industry Application Alliance (TIAA) announced the TIAA eCall solution in late 2015. In 2013, the TIAA members, Huawei, HealthLink, Changan Automobile and BYD set up the `eCall Standard Working Group` to research and draft Chinese eCall standards. In June 2014, the key members of the working group including Changan Automobile, HealthLink, BYD, Chery and JAC held a joint demonstration of eCall systems in four places, verifying the stability and practical usability of China's self-developed eCall system. The global eCall market is mainly driven by policies. At present, the market is concentrated in the EU, Russia and other places that have issued eCall policies. Still amid the pandemic in 2021, as the automobile shipments had yet to recover to the level before the COVID-19 and eCall still used 2G/3G modules, the declining average price of the system led to an overall flat market size (by value) in the year, in spite of a slight increase in eCall system shipments. It is conceivable that the global eCall system market will be worth USD1,678 million in 2022, up by 4% versus 2021, and will grow to USD9,931 million in 2030, mainly thanks to the rebound in the automotive market and new eCall markets such as Saudi Arabia and China, a country which will introduce eCall polices on one optimistic estimate. Supply goes before troops, players makes beforehand deployments in eCall market. The EU goes earlier in formulation of eCall system standards, with a high demanding on system reliability, but not requiring 4G/5G networks for communications. Currently, European eCall products still mainly use 2G/3G modules, so CAT1 communication modules are fully competent. Some low-end vehicle models are not equipped with products with intelligent connectivity feature, but only eCall products capable of basic communications (Entry Telmatics). Many mid- and high-end models, of course, pack 4G T-Box that integrates eCall function, which is commonplace for intelligent connected vehicles. Key Topics Covered: 1 eCall System 1.1 eCall System and Features 1.2 Composition of eCall System 1.3 eCall Integration Mode (e.g., Volkswagen J949 Module) 1.4 eCall Workflow 1.5 Implementation of eCall - In-band Modem eCall 1.5 Implementation of eCall - NG-eCall 1.5 Implementation of eCall - TIAA E-Call 1.6 eCall Industry Chain 2 eCall System Policies 2.1 EU's eCall Policies 2.2 Russia's eCall Policies 2.3 Saudi Arabia's eCall Policies 2.4 United Arab Emirates' eCall Policies 2.5 eCall Policies of Other Regions 2.6 UN Regulation No.144 2.7 eCall Test Standards 3 Global eCall Market 3.1 Global eCall Market, 2019-2021 3.2 Global eCall System Market Forecast, 2022-2030E 3.3 Global eCall System Market Forecast by Region, 2019-2030E 3.4 European eCall Market Status Quo and Trends, 2019-2030E 3.4.1 eCall Development in Czech 3.4.2 eCall Development in Romania 3.4.3 eCall Development in Spain 3.4.4 eCall Development in Germany 3.4.5 eCall Development in Greece 3.4.6 eCall Development in Hungary 3.4.7 eCall Development in Italy 3.5 Russia's eCall Market Status Quo and Trends, 2019-2030E 3.6 Saudi Arabia's eCall Market Status Quo and Trends, 2019-2030E 3.7 United Arab Emirates' eCall Market Status Quo and Trends, 2019-2030E 4 Chinese eCall Market 4.1 China's eCall Policies 4.2 China's Automobile Export Market's Demand for eCall, 2019-2030E 4.2.1 China's Automobile Exports, 2007-2021 4.2.2 China's Automobile Export Market Structure, 2018-2021 4.2.3 China's New Energy Vehicle Exports, 2018-2021 4.2.4 China's Automobile Exports by Region, 2018-2021 4.2.5 China's Automobile Exports by Country, 2018-2021 4.2.6 Top 15 Countries by Automobile Exports from China, 2008-2021 4.2.7 Top 10 Countries by Change in Automobile Exports from China, 2021 4.3 China's Local Automotive Market's Demand for eCall, 2024E-2030E 4.4 eCall Service Market Status Quo 5 eCall System Industry Chain Companies 5.1 Continental 5.1.1 Profile of Continental Automotive 5.1.2 Development History of Continental Automotive's Communication and eCall Business 5.1.3 Continental eCall Products - Entry Telmatics with eCall 5.1.3 Continental eCall Products - TCU with eCall 5.1.4 Continental Automotive's Telematics Development Plan 5.2 Bosch 5.2.1 Profile 5.2.2 Telematics Products and Service Process 5.2.3 eCall Service Process 5.2.4 eCall Products 5.2.5 Vehicle Computing Platform 5.3 Valeo 5.3.1 Profile 5.3.2 eCall Products - Rescuer? 5.3.3 eCall Products - TCU with eCall 5.4 Ficosa 5.4.1 Profile 5.4.2 eCall Products 5.5 LG Electronics 5.5.1 Profile 5.5.2 Main Automotive Components and Revenue 5.5.3 eCall Product - TCU with eCall 5.6 AKM 5.6.1 Profile 5.6.2 eCall Products 5.7 Yamaha 5.7.1 Profile 5.7.2 eCall Products 5.8 Huawei 5.8.1 Profile 5.8.2 Development History of Telematics Products 5.8.3 eCall Patent 5.9 Flaircomm Microelectronics 5.9.1 Profile 5.9.2 Evolution of Main Products 5.9.3 eCall 5.9.4 eCall Products 5.9.5 Partners and Customers 5.10 Desay SV 5.10.1 Profile 5.10.2 Intelligent Cockpit Solutions 5.10.3 Connected Service Solutions 5.10.4 eCall Patents 5.11 Fibocom 5.11.1 Profile 5.11.2 Products 5.11.3 eCall Products 5.12 Shenzhen Discovery Technology 5.12.1 Profile 5.12.2 eCall Service Platform 5.12.3 AM eCall Terminals For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/kf72m Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets New robust cannabis training program for pharmacists is now available! Tweet this "The RxAdvanced: Guide to Cannabis program is an online training program developed specifically for pharmacists by our expert faculty members. The program provides pharmacists with a great resource says Dr Jodie Malhotra, PharmD, Director of Practitioner and International Development. "By the time they finish the program, pharmacists will be prepared to offer sound advice on role that medical cannabis may - or may not - have in patient care" RxAdvanced: Guide to Cannabis focuses on practical tips for consulting with patients and healthcare providers about cannabis. Pharmacists gain insights about the human endocannabinoid system as well as the medical history of cannabis and its chemical constituents. The curriculum also covers state and federal regulations that pertain to cannabis. About TRC Healthcare TRC Healthcare provides resources, training, and support for a wide-range of healthcare professionals to ensure better patient care. 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About the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences The top-ranked Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences on the world-class University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is preparing the world's future pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists through innovative learning and teaching. During its 110-year history, the School of Pharmacy has been a global leader in medical discoveries, patient care, pharmacy advocacy, and online education. CU Pharmacy is ranked in the top 15% of all pharmacy schools in the nation, producing graduates that exceed national student outcomes and enjoy stellar career opportunities. The School's faculty are advancing science and health care, through programs that reach urban and rural Coloradans, as well as communities around the world. SOURCE TRC Healthcare This newest attempt to ban Skill games is yet another assault on freedom, tramples on constitutional rights, and harms Virginia small businesses ROCKY MOUNT, Va., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Virginia businessman and NASCAR great Hermie Sadler slammed Virginia legislative leaders who are working to harm small businesses and disregard their constitutional rights by inserting language at the eleventh hour into the latest proposed state budget that would ban legal skill games. According to draft budget language released on May 29th, a small handful of legislative leaders, working behind closed doors and with no public input, have inserted wording into the budget proposal that would radically alter the existing criminal code to ban skill games. This language is nearly identical to what was included in Senate Bill 971. That bill was part of a lawsuit Hermie brought against the Commonwealth. The main argument raised in the Sadler Brothers Oil Company v. Virginia, et. al case was a constitutional free speech claim that the Commonwealth cannot ban skill games as it infringes on citizens' first amendment rights. The facts and arguments made were so compelling, a judge issued a temporary restraining order on Dec. 6, 2021 -- still in effect -- allowing the play of skill games. Another court hearing is scheduled for November 2, 2022 while the injunction prohibiting the ban of certain skill games (that had been previously licensed by the Virginia ABC) remains in effect. During the 2022 regular session of the Virginia General Assembly, no attempt was made by the legislature to address the skill game issue while Sadler litigation is pending, and it has been nearly unheard of for the conferees of the state budget to insert brand-new legislation that has not been previously considered by both the State Senate and House of Delegates. Hermie Sadler said, "Rather than follow the time-honored tradition of not interfering legislatively with issues pending before the judiciary, a few legislative leaders, working on behalf of big out-of-state casino lobbyists, have doubled down on attempting to restrict the constitutional rights of all Virginians. This totally circumvents the judicial process. "This effort, shielded from the public's view, is not surprising, but it is deeply disappointing coming from people who are supposed to support all Virginians," Sadler continued. "Rather than allow legislators to vote on the merits of this issue, they have chosen to insert this unconstitutional language into an omnibus budget bill with hopes that they could quietly pass it alongside other critical funding initiatives. "The reality is that the language is nearly identical to what passed in 2020 as part of SB 971. That language is still being challenged for violating the constitutional rights of Virginians. However, the facts and arguments already presented in court were so compelling, a judge has issued a temporary restraining order allowing the continued play of skill games in the commonwealth. That injunction is in place until the November court hearing. "Further, it is insulting that a few legislative leaders have placed the needs of the big, out-of-state casino lobby over those of Virginia small businesses who depend on skill game revenue to pay their bills. This language is written in such a draconian manner, it bans Esports contests, and will put family fun centers, like Dave & Busters and other similar facilities, out of business. We urge legislators to vote against this unconstitutional attempt to stifle the rights of Virginians. We also ask the legislature to consider the thousands of small businesses who will be unfairly harmed by passing this legislation," Sadler concluded. Sadler's attorney, State Senator Bill Stanley (R-20), made the following statement: "What a select few legislators have done here is to force feed to the rest of the membership of the General Assembly a radical change to the criminal code that was not previously introduced as a stand-alone bill in the regular session, never debated by any committee, and never fully vetted by both chambers through the regular legislative process. Previous claims by the chairs of the money committees that 'we do not legislate through the budget' now ring hollow and are rendered untrue. Previous long held standards that 'we do not legislate issues that are pending before our courts' are now also meaningless due to the will of the few being exerted against the other elected officials in this legislative body. This new so-called 'budget amendment' further convolutes an already unconstitutional law, and it does nothing to protect legal gaming in the Commonwealth while rooting out the criminal element that comes with the illegal gambling that is now proliferating throughout Virginia. Quite frankly, this budget amendment is a jumbled mess of word spaghetti meant to placate the outside gambling and casino interests that seek to monopolize this emerging industry, while harming the small businesses of Virginia that are the backbone of our economy during these trying economic times. I expect that this new improper attempt to eliminate skill games will likewise find the same fate as their previous attempt did upon a review by the Courts at our trial this November," Stanley concluded. Press Note: Sen. Bill Stanley will not be present at the June 1st budget session, due to the fact that he has contracted the Covid-19 virus, and is recovering along with his family at home. Contact: Chad Monday, The Stanley Law Group Phone: (540) 721-6028 Email: [email protected] 13508 Booker T Washington Hwy Moneta, VA 24121 vastanleylawgroup.com SOURCE The Stanley Law Group "Noblewomen'' and "ladies", "literati" and "warriors", reciting poems in the streets and imitating songs and dances of the Tang Dynasty, and the moving love story performed by ''gifted scholars and beautiful ladies of the Tang Dynasty'', etc., this is a Tang style city life neighborhood, which was derived from a historical TV drama, The Longest Day in Chang'an. The beautiful scenery of Tang dynasty clothing can be seen everywhere, and with the help of "sound, light and electricity" technology, it is like entering a "time and space feast" interwoven with literature, history, folklore and food. Through the integration of film and television IP and commercial IP, each visitor can realize the transformation from "watching the play" to "getting into the play" when entering the "The Longest Day in Chang'an", which makes people "back to Tang Dynasty in one second". The immersive experience satisfies people's new demand for experiencing Tang culture and becomes a new contact point to promote the integration of culture, tourism and business. What's more, relying on the "Tang cultural elements" to successfully build a cultural tourism scenic spot, there is also the famous Grand Tang Dynasty Ever-bright City. It has not only launched commercial activities such as "Tang Food Corner", "Tang Souvenir Corner" and "Tang Amusement Area", but also launched a number of immersive performances in the way of "interaction + experience", created a number of highly recognizable cultural tourism character IPs and blossomed the charm of "Tang culture" in an innovative way. More than fourteen hundred years ago, Xi'an was known worldwide as Chang'an. It was the world's first city of one million people, including about 100,000 envoys, merchants, foreign students and monks from other countries, so Xi'an's image of openness and inclusiveness was also known to the world. Despite the challenges of the epidemic, the ancient capital with thousands of years of history still exudes new vitality, driven by new leisure models such as market blocks, heritage exhibitions and immersive experiences. The long-standing cultural history has given consumption growth vitality and resilience, with "mystery boxes of Tang Dynasty characters", "ice cream made of images of popular landmarks such as the Terracotta Warriors and the City Wall," and "7 million netizens watching the Xi'an drum music stream", etc. All kinds of new consumption methods became the driving point for the upgrading of cultural tourism consumption. Xi'an is speeding up the integration of cultural resources and making history and culture the driving force for the development and innovation of this ancient city. Image Attachments Links: Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=422383 Caption: A Tang style city life neighborhood, which was derived from a historical TV drama, The Longest Day in Chang'an. SOURCE Xi'an Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government Digital workspace pioneer and global eLearning innovator put 25,000+ online courses at frontline employees' fingertips. NEW YORK, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- YOOBIC, the pioneering digital workplace provider trusted by 300+ global companies, today announced a partnership with OpenSesame, the global SaaS eLearning leader, to provide powerful training and development opportunities for frontline teams. Together, the companies will support employees with in-the-workflow access to over 25,000 digitally optimized training courses in critical areas including mental health, wellness, diversity, and on-the-job safety. Built from the ground up to give frontline teams seamless access to the performance tools they need to succeed, YOOBIC enables smarter, more engaging, and more efficient work for employees in sectors such as food services, fashion, beauty, luxury goods, pharmaceutical, and specialized retail. Now, YOOBIC's users will also gain direct access to OpenSesame's full range of training resources, including rich eLearning content and actionable insights across a wide range of critical business functions tailored for the needs of today's most challenging work environments. Like YOOBIC, OpenSesame was created to help today's frontline workers unlock their full potential, with curated content tailored to help teams operate as true knowledge workers to meet the needs of increasingly demanding and well-informed customers. By providing meaningful growth and learning opportunities, OpenSesame's content also enables employers to upskill, engage, and retain their most valuable employees. With materials offered in a range of formats and languages, OpenSesame is known for its seamless integration with customers' existing learning systems and through its partnership with YOOBIC, employers will gain dynamic new ways to deliver engaging and effective eLearning opportunities for frontline teams. "At OpenSesame, we take pride in elevating the employee experience by providing the most comprehensive catalog of learning materials on the market, and enabling employees with access to critical tools in areas such as wellness and safety," said Josh Blank, OpenSesame President, and Chief Product Officer. "By partnering with YOOBIC, we're putting these powerful resources at employees' fingertips and enabling companies across a variety of vital industries to engage and support their frontline teams." "YOOBIC is dedicated to using cutting-edge digital innovations to empower frontline teams, and this partnership will enable us to provide important new training and personal development opportunities for these critical workers," said Fabrice Haiat, CEO at YOOBIC. "Frontline workers want their employers to recognize them, support them, and provide new opportunities for advancement and growth and by partnering with OpenSesame, we're bringing the world's biggest catalog of eLearning content within reach of frontline teams, driving value for their employers and delivering a richer, more engaged, and more fulfilling employee experience." About OpenSesame OpenSesame helps develop the world's most productive and admired workforces through powerful workforce eLearning in every industry. With the most comprehensive catalog of eLearning courses from the world's top publishers, OpenSesame's learning experts guide global companies every step of the way. From finding the course to mapping them to core competencies, syncing them with an LMS to increasing utilization and improving L&D programs. OpenSesame provides the flexibility of multiple purchasing options with simple to use and administer eLearning courses. In a moment of an increasingly virtual workforce, OpenSesame has added even more Global 2000 brands. And with over 25,000+ OpenSesame catalog courses, the eLearning platform touches all industries in all markets. The company is defining a new era of engaging a people-first talent force. To learn more, visit www.opensesame.com About YOOBIC: YOOBIC is an all-in-one digital workplace for frontline teams. Our mobile app gives business leaders and frontline teams the performance tools they need to communicate, learn, and work - all in one place. With streamlined communications, mobile learning, and digitized task management, YOOBIC drives operational excellence while drastically improving the frontline employee working experience. 300+ companies around the world including Boots, BurgerFi, Lancome, Lacoste, Logitech, Peloton, Puma, Vans, and Sanofi trust YOOBIC to improve operational consistency and agility, get real-time visibility into multi-location business execution, and improve their customer experience. To learn more about YOOBIC visit www.yoobic.com or follow us on LinkedIn . SOURCE YOOBIC BERRYVILLE, Va., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank of Clarke County, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eagle Financial Services, Inc., whose divisions include Eagle Investment Group, announced that Joseph (Joe) T. Zmitrovich has been appointed President and Chief Banking Officer for the Bank. In this new position, Joe will head up merger and acquisition strategy to ensure full engagement in acquisition plans related to individual branch expansion, niche business acquisition, and whole bank purchases, while continuing his oversight of commercial lending, retail banking, cash management, loan operations and loan servicing. Joe Zmitrovich, President & CBO Bank of Clarke County Mr. Zmitrovich joined the Bank in 2016 as its Senior Vice President and Lending Officer. In 2019, Joe was promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer and in 2021, to Executive Vice President and Chief Banking Officer. Mr. Zmitrovich has over 29 years of banking experience and prior to joining the Bank, Joe served as Market President of the Southern Pennsylvania region for BB&T from 2015 to July 2016. From 2008 to 2015 he served as Senior Vice President and Commercial Executive for Susquehanna Bank. Mr. Zmitrovich currently serves on the Boards of the Loudoun County Chamber and Bankers Title Shenandoah. Brandon Lorey, Bank of Clarke County CEO, stated "Given the increased complexity of our organization, this was a natural next step for both the Bank and for Joe. I am thrilled to leverage Joe's background and expertise in mergers and acquisitions as we continue to look for acquisition opportunities, grow organically, and enhance shareholder value." Eagle Financial Services, Inc. is a bank holding company which wholly owns Bank of Clarke County (the "Bank"). The Bank offers a wide range of retail and commercial banking services, including demand, savings, and time deposits and consumer and commercial loans. The Bank also offers both a trust department and investment services and has 13 full-service branches, two loan production offices, and one drive-through only facility. The Bank serves Northern Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley area, with branches located in Clarke County, Frederick County VA, Loudon County, Fairfax County, Frederick County MD, and the Towns of Leesburg, Purcellville, and Warrenton, and the City of Winchester. SOURCE Bank of Clarke County SHANGHAI, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: ZTO and HKEX: 2057) ("ZTO" or the "Company"), a leading and fast-growing express delivery company in China, today announced that it will hold its annual general meeting of shareholders ("AGM") on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. (local time), at Building One, No. 1685 Huazhi Road, Qingpu District, Shanghai, 201708, China. No proposal will be submitted to shareholders for approval at the AGM. Instead, the AGM will serve as an open forum for shareholders and holders of the Company's American depositary shares ("ADSs") to discuss Company affairs with management. The board of directors of the Company has fixed the close of business on May 31, 2022 (Beijing Time) as the record date (the "Record Date") for determining the shareholders entitled to receive notice of the AGM or any adjournment or postponement thereof. Holders of record of the Company's Class A ordinary shares or Class B ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share in each case, at the close of business on the Record Date are entitled to attend the AGM and any adjournment or postponement thereof in person. Holders of the Company's ADSs are welcome to attend the AGM in person. ZTO has filed its annual report on Form 20-F, including its audited financial statements, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. ZTO's Form 20-F can be accessed on the Company's website at http://zto.investorroom.com, as well as on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. ZTO has also published its annual report for Hong Kong purposes pursuant to the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited ("HKEX"), which can be accessed on the Company's website at http://zto.investorroom.com as well as the HKEX's website at http://www.hkexnews.hk. About ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. ZTO is a leading and fast-growing express delivery company in China. ZTO provides express delivery service as well as other value-added logistics services through its extensive and reliable nationwide network coverage in China. ZTO operates a highly scalable network partner model, which the Company believes is best suited to support the significant growth of e-commerce in China. The Company leverages its network partners to provide pickup and last-mile delivery services, while controlling the mission-critical line-haul transportation and sorting network within the express delivery service value chain. For more information, please visit http://zto.investorroom.com. For investor and media inquiries, please contact: Investor Relations Department E-mail: [email protected] SOURCE ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. Akima and our subsidiary companies share a strong legacy of hiring veterans and transitioning military professionals Tweet this CDID is the U.S. Army's force modernization proponent for cyberspace operations, signal communications, and electromagnetic warfare. Compass Point will provide support for the entirety of CDID operations, including cyber battle lab, concepts & analysis, requirements integration, information advantage and program management. As a result of the contract award, Compass Point is planning to grow its presence in Fort Gordon to support the range of expertise required to support CDID. This will include a focus on veterans with relevant experience. "Akima and our subsidiary companies share a strong legacy of hiring veterans and transitioning military professionals," said Smallwood. "We offer these experts an opportunity to work for a company that allows them to continue to support the mission and grow their capabilities." About Compass Point, an Akima Company From cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) to big data and analytics, the future of IT has arrived. Government agencies are embracing disruptive technologies at an increasing rate to improve decision-making, take control of data security, and deliver superior mission outcomes. As an SBA-certified 8(a) company wholly owned by an Alaska Native Corporation, Compass Point delivers a broad range of skilled IT services to support a smarter, more connected government. About Akima Akima is a global enterprise with more than 8,000 employees, delivering agile solutions to the federal government in the core areas of facilities, maintenance, and repair; information technology; logistics; protective services; systems engineering; mission support; furniture, fixtures & equipment (FF&E); and construction. As a subsidiary of NANA, an Alaska Native Corporation owned by more than 14,000 Inupiat shareholders, Akima's core mission is to enable superior outcomes for our customers' missions while simultaneously creating a long-lived asset for NANA consistent with our Inupiat values. In 2021, Akima ranked #28 on Washington Technology's Top 100 List and #63 on Bloomberg Government's BGOV200 List of top federal contractors. To learn more about Akima, visit www.akima.com. SOURCE Akima A 25-year veteran of the airline, Prainito previously served as vice president of airport and inflight operations at Horizon Air, where he helped the airline return to stability following the pandemic, restoring operations and engaging employees. "Matt is highly regarded by those he has led for his collaborative, hands-on approach to problem solving and continuous improvement," said Constance von Muehlen, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Alaska Airlines. "He is laser focused on our guests and the stability of our operation, while at the same time he puts employees first and is always looking for new ways to connect with them, visiting airports, on flights or on Instagram." Prainito started with Alaska in 1997 as a customer service agent in Los Angeles before stepping into airport manager roles in Burbank, Ontario and LAX. He served as regional manager, director of airport operations and managing director of airport operations for the state of Alaska, Hawaii and the Pacific Northwest. He was promoted vice president at Horizon Air in 2019 and led the regional carrier through a period of great challenge during the pandemic. In 2012, Prainito received the Alaska Airlines Leadership Award, based on his frontline experience, unparalleled knowledge of customer service strategies, and his unwavering commitment to guests and employees. Prainito has a bachelor's in business administration and management from Grand Canyon University and a private pilot's license. Connect with Prainito on LinkedIn. About Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines and its regional partners serve more than 120 destinations across the United States and to Mexico, Canada and Costa Rica. The airline emphasizes Next-Level Care for its guests, along with providing low fares, award-winning customer service and sustainability efforts. Alaska is a member of oneworld. With the global alliance and the airline's additional partners, guests can travel to more than 1,000 destinations on more than 20 airlines while earning and redeeming miles on flights to locations around the world. Learn more about Alaska at newsroom.alaskaair.com and blog.alaskaair.com. Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK). SOURCE Alaska Airlines "We're honored and thrilled to share Chef Admony's induction into All-Clad's Chef Ambassador program," said Christina Roperti, Director of Content and Communications at Groupe SEB. "Her world-renowned Israeli cooking, exceptional technique, as well as her lively personality and passion for building community through her culturally rooted cuisine makes her the perfect addition." In addition to opening and maintaining several restaurants, Chef Admony is also a two-time champion and competitor of Food Network's Chopped and Throwdown! With Bobby Flay. She is also a published author of Balaboosta, her debut cookbook, featuring 140 of her favorite Israeli home cooking recipes, and her latest release, Library Journal Best Cookbook of the Year winner, Shuk. "I am very proud to be working with a company that takes its craft so seriously and is devoted to producing consistent, high-quality cookware," said Chef Admony. "I myself have pieces of All-Clad from when I first arrived in the states and am thrilled to be able to pass them down to my children." Chef Admony currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children. When she's not cooking at one of her restaurants you can find her hosting dinner parties for friends and family or performing stand-up comedy at the Comedy Cellar or Broadway Comedy Club in New York City. The All-Clad Chef Ambassador program was founded over ten years ago, and today, is comprised of five professional chefs across the country. During their tenure with the program, the chefs are advocates of using All-Clad cookware not only within their professional kitchens, but also in their homes defining their passion for hand-crafted, timeless cookware to cook with perfection, every time. To learn more about All-Clad's Chef Ambassador program and catch exclusive tips, interviews, recipes and more from its revered chefs visit all-clad.com, and follow @allclad on Instagram. About Chef Einat Chef Einat Admony is a pillar of the international Israeli cooking community. The Tel Aviv native served as a cook in the Israeli Army before traveling and working in Europe throughout her twenties, eventually landing in New York City as an ambitious young chef. After 15+ years leading the New York culinary scene and establishing multiple restaurants, Admony has become a double-time champion and competitor of Food Network's Chopped and Throwdown! With Bobby Flay and has been featured in many publications, including, The New York Times, Bon Appetit, The New Yorker, Forbes, and more. She has authored two cookbooks with Artisan Books: Balaboosta (2013) and Shuk (2019). In 2014, she was a recipient of the Great Immigrants Award from Carnegie Corporation of New York for exemplary contributions to American life. About All-Clad Originally designed to meet the demands of professional chefs, All-Clad is the undisputed choice in top culinary circles and four-star kitchens throughout the world. Today, as the preferred premium cookware brand for both professional chefs and passionate home cooks alike, All-Clad is the "must-have" kitchen companion for cooking enthusiasts. With a 50-year history of superior cookware, All-Clad is helping home cooks elevate their skills with the right professional grade tools you know, the ones pro chefs actually use so that they can feel and do as the experts do, even in their own kitchens. All-Clad is part of the Groupe SEB family of brands. For more information, please visit www.all-clad.com . SOURCE All-Clad Metalcrafters Seventh Strategic Acquisition Enhances the Altus Platform's Presence in Northern New England BROOKLYN, N.Y., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Altus Fire and Life Safety ("Altus"), a full-service fire and life safety platform, announced today it has acquired BK Systems, Inc. ("BK Systems" or the "Company"), a provider of installation, monitoring and repair services for fire alarm, fire suppression and security systems across New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts. BK Systems' founder Karl Klardie and his daughter Beth Mortell will maintain a minority stake in the Company. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Established in May 2021, Altus is a full-service fire and life safety services platform owned by AE Industrial Partners, LP ("AEI"), a private equity firm specializing in aerospace, defense & government services, space, power & utility services, and specialty industrial markets. The platform currently consists of seven brands including Adcock, Alarm & Suppression, BK Systems, Croker, Cross-Fire & Security Co., FSI, and NISCO. Based in Pembroke, NH, BK Systems has been a family-owned and operated business serving commercial and industrial customers across the Northern New England region since 1988. As a Honeywell Premier NOTIFIER Engineered System Distributor ("ESD"), the Company specializes in the installation, test & inspection, and service & maintenance of a range of fire alarm, suppression and security & access control systems. "Karl and his daughter Beth have built BK Systems into a leading player in the fire and safety market, and we are pleased to welcome them and the entire team to Altus," commented John Adams, Altus CEO. "Adding another Premier NOTIFIER ESD to the platform will be a competitive advantage as we look to secure large, significant projects in the Northeast." "We have found the perfect partners in Altus and AEI, who have a deep understanding of the industry and a long history of supporting family-owned businesses," said Mr. Klardie and Ms. Mortell. "We look forward to working with the entire Altus family as we continue to deliver the highest quality services to our customers." Altus has partnered with key industry executives, including Board Chair Kelly Romano, an AEI Operating Partner with deep sector experience in fire & security and commercial building industries including over 30 years at United Technologies Corporation (UTC), and Board Member Ed Cettina, a senior construction management executive previously working with AECOM and Tishman Construction. About Altus Serving customers for more than 100 years, Altus is a full-service fire and life safety services platform. Altus offers a complete suite of solutions, from the design, engineering, installation, and servicing of state-of-the-art fire and life safety systems to training, consulting, crisis management and business continuity services. The platform currently consists of seven brands including Adcock, Alarm & Suppression, BK Systems, Croker, Cross-Fire & Security Co., FSI, and NISCO. For more information on Altus, please visit www.altusfire.com. About AE Industrial Partners AE Industrial Partners is a private equity firm specializing in aerospace, defense & government services, space, power & utility services, and specialty industrial markets. AE Industrial Partners invests in market-leading companies that can benefit from its deep industry knowledge, operating experience, and relationships throughout its target markets. AE Industrial Partners is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment and the ILPA Diversity in Action initiative. Learn more at www.aeroequity.com. CONTACT: Lambert Jennifer Hurson 845-507-0571 [email protected] or Caroline Luz 203-656-2829 [email protected] SOURCE Altus Fire and Life Safety; AE Industrial Partners Amgen is the inaugural sponsor of the NSG Tomorrow Programme that aims to support innovation among biotech startups in Southeast Asia SINGAPORE, May 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Amgen, a leading global biotechnology company, and NSG BioLabs, Singapore's largest and leading biotechnology (biotech) incubator, today announced the launch of a 3-year Golden Ticket sponsorship. Amgen's Golden Ticket sponsorship marks the first of the NSG Tomorrow Program created to help innovative biotech startups execute towards their vision. As part of the sponsorship, Amgen will support one "Golden Ticket" award each year for three years, providing winners with one year of free residency in NSG Biolabs' fully equipped turnkey BSL-2 laboratory as well as additional facility benefits and connections to Amgen's scientific and business leaders. Companies and pre-incorporated projects in Singapore which are conducting research in specialised biotech fields or developing novel medicines and therapeutics can apply to join the competitive programme. Areas of interest include novel and transformational therapies to treat oncology, inflammatory, hepatic and cardiometabolic diseases as well as innovative research and biomanufacturing platforms. Amgen's internal scientific committee selects the Golden Ticket winner following an interactive pitch event. "Singapore is a leading innovation hub in Asia, with high-quality biomedical science performed at internationally renowned institutions based in the country. Recognizing the growing biotech ecosystem locally, and Amgen's high-tech biopharmaceutical manufacturing footprint located in Singapore, our sponsorship of the Golden Ticket with NSG BioLabs aims to further foster early-stage life science companies and provide unique mentoring opportunities for local scientist-entrepreneurs. Amgen R&D and Operations teams are excited to partner with NSG BioLabs to support the burgeoning bioscience community in Singapore, and further enable emerging life-science startups," said Philip Tagari, Vice President Therapeutic Discovery, Amgen. Amgen Singapore began operations in 2014 as Amgen's first Next Generation biomanufacturing facility in Asia, heralding state-of-the-art efficiencies and innovative production of medicines in commercial-scale manufacturing. Working closely with healthcare providers and the community to address the region's growing healthcare needs, Amgen continues to drive innovation in science and biotechnology and to develop a pipeline of skilled specialists and quality biomedical careers for the Singapore biotech industry. Since its launch in 2019, NSG has achieved several major milestones in its mission to empower innovative biotech companies and enhance the ecosystem in Singapore. In 2021, with site 1 at full capacity, the company doubled its facility capability, enabling it to support more biotech companies by providing state-of-the-art equipment and space, as well as access to a diverse and growing community of innovators and scientists. Residents at NSG include large multi-national companies like Applied Materials, L'Oreal Research & Innovation and Oxford Nanopore Technologies and promising local startups like Engine Biosciences, ImmunoScape and PairX Bio. The startups at NSG have achieved notable breakthroughs, with over S$100 million in funds raised, major partnerships, and new product launches since 2020. NSG currently has over 20 local and international resident companies, specialising in a diverse range of transformative technologies and life-changing applications such as genome editing, tissue engineering, cellular agriculture, cancer immunotherapy, artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, neurodegeneration drug discovery, and COVID-19 diagnostics. The COVID-19 pandemic and success in vaccine and therapeutic development have drawn global attention to the biotech sector. Sector growth is accelerating in Singapore with local research yielding fruit, local companies expanding internationally and attaining key milestones, strong government support, and industry leaders establishing key commercial operations and manufacturing/production facilities in the country. Yet, Singapore's biotech startups continue to face unique technical, structural, and cultural challenges in launching and growing. "With our first-hand experience in both the Singapore and US biotech sectors, NSG BioLabs has a deep understanding of the challenges biotech startups face. It is vital that we support their work as it could lead to new life-changing medicines. It is in this spirit that we started NSG Tomorrow, and we are honoured that Amgen shares our vision to help biotech startups grow and facilitate Singapore's development into an international biotech powerhouse," said Daphne Teo, CEO and Founder of NSG BioLabs. For more details about the NSG Tomorrow and Amgen Golden Ticket, visit nsgtomorrow.com and for more information about NSG BioLabs, visit www.nsgbio.com About NSG BioLabs Founded with a focus on supporting early-stage biotech companies, NSG BioLabs offers state-of-the-art equipment, professionally managed operations, capital efficiency, the expertise of world-class teams and global networks to incubate and assist emerging life sciences companies. The conducive R&D environment contains fully equipped laboratory and office infrastructure across 22,000 sq ft in the prime location of Biopolis. With access to a global network and a shared set of skills and experience with its strategic partners, NSG BioLabs ensures that biotech startups can execute on their cutting-edge research and development ecosystem in Singapore, leading to the innovation of revolutionary technologies and products that translate into breakthrough biotech ventures and impact for patients. About Amgen Amgen is committed to unlocking the potential of biology for patients suffering from serious illnesses by discovering, developing, manufacturing, and delivering innovative human therapeutics. This approach begins by using tools like advanced human genetics to unravel the complexities of disease and understand the fundamentals of human biology. Amgen focuses on areas of high unmet medical need and leverages its expertise to strive for solutions that improve health outcomes and dramatically improve people's lives. A biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen has grown to be one of the world's leading independent biotechnology companies, has reached millions of patients around the world and is developing a pipeline of medicines with breakaway potential. Media Enquiries Redhill Communications, Singapore [email protected] SOURCE NSG BioLabs State's Second Largest Black-owned Employer Takes the Helm, Creating Pathways to Small Business Ownership OMAHA, Neb., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Anago Cleaning Systems, an industry-leading commercial cleaning franchise with over 1,700 Regional and Unit Franchises throughout the U.S. and Canada, announced its newest franchise opening in the great state of Nebraska. The husband-and-wife team, Luper and Brittanie Akough, will lead the Anago Master Franchise expansion in the Cornhusker State with an immediate focus on the Omaha and Lincoln metropolitan areas. "We are extremely blessed and proud to bring Anago to Nebraska," said Luper and Brittanie. "The businesses making money today are the ones that have proven survival in a variety of economic climates. Commercial cleaning fit the bill, and once we studied and learned about Anago's Master Franchise model, we knew this was our next business venture, allowing us to continue a passion for creating small business opportunities and accessibility to fellow Nebraskans." "Luper and Brittanie are exemplary Master Franchise owners, each bringing unique business, finance, and leadership qualities and experience to the Anago family," said Adam Povlitz, CEO & President of Anago Cleaning Systems. "We're excited to see them both build a network of small business ownerships for Nebraska-based entrepreneurs ready for the opportunity to own their own Anago commercial cleaning unit franchise." "We are extremely blessed and proud to bring Anago to Nebraska," said Luper and Brittanie. "The businesses making money today are the ones that have proven survival in a variety of economic climates. Commercial cleaning fit the bill, and once we studied and learned about Anago's Master Franchise model, we knew this was our next business venture, allowing us to continue a passion for creating small business opportunities and accessibility to fellow Nebraskans." A Nebraska native, Luper launched his entrepreneurial career in 2012 when he opened his first insurance agency. Starting with zero clients and a will to succeed, Luper grew his business into a profitable endeavor, allowing him to explore other revenue sources. When Luper launched into building a real estate portfolio and flipping houses, he found further success professionally and personally when he met Brittanie. The two would get married and build a family with two children while continuing to diversify into other business opportunities. Most recently, Luper and Brittanie launched an Omaha-based logistics company facilitating last-mile delivery routes for Amazon. Wanting to add a more secure, recession-resistant business to their portfolio, they discovered Anago's Master Franchise model. They were sold on its long-standing reputation, business model, and award-winning franchise support system. Luper admits that Anago's Master Franchise model was something he'd never seen before in franchise operations. As the concept resembled the insurance business model, he had found success in since 2012, he was further convinced that this was the route to go. Still in their early 30s and very involved in community development, especially within the African American community, Luper and Brittanie's focus is to ensure that small business ownership opportunities are widely accessible for people in underserved communities. The Anago expansion will provide access to entrepreneurial pathways that are reasonable and profitable for those willing to work hard for themselves. Nebraska continues to be an economy built on diverse industries, with food processing, insurance, and telecommunications leading the way. Recently, Anago Cleaning Systems was recognized by Franchise Business Review as a leading, recession-resistant franchise for its strength, viability, and profitability during strained economic times. Like all businesses, Anago experienced a slowdown in the early months of the pandemic but recovered quickly, with specialized disinfection services emerging as one of the most requested cleaning programs. "Luper and Brittanie are exemplary Master Franchise owners, each bringing unique business, finance, and leadership qualities and experience to the Anago family," said Adam Povlitz, CEO & President of Anago Cleaning Systems. "We're excited to see them both build a network of small business ownerships for Nebraska-based entrepreneurs ready for the opportunity to own their own Anago commercial cleaning unit franchise." Because of this strong business ethic, history of growth, and business-friendly franchise program, Anago is consistently recognized by industry peers, including its regular inclusion within Entrepreneur's suite of ranking systems. Anago has earned top positions for several years running in all the magazine's main rankings. These include Franchise 500, Fastest Growing Franchise, Top-Ranked Franchises Under $50K, Top Home-Based Franchise, and Top Global Franchise. Anago Cleaning Systems' continued inclusion within these rankings demonstrates the brand's rising popularity with both franchisees and clients. "Anago Cleaning Systems is a pioneer of the master franchise system, allowing successful mid-career professionals to operate their regional franchises while allowing small businesses to invest in their success," added Povlitz. "Both levels simply focus on running their business while we provide the marketing assistance, support, and critical tools to grow. As an industry, we expect to see continued growth and expansion in 2022 and beyond." The Anago Nebraska office is located at 5421 North 103rd Street, Omaha. To explore unit franchise opportunities with Anago of Nebraska, contact Luper and Brittanie at 402-509-7988 or [email protected]. About Anago Cleaning Systems Anago Cleaning Systems is an international commercial cleaning franchise brand. Founded in 1989, Anago has set the worldwide standard in business support and structure for local and regional companies to provide unparalleled cleaning services to businesses. Utilizing the Master Franchise System, Anago supports over 45+ Master Franchisees and 1,700 Unit Franchisees. Anago was ranked #34 overall by Entrepreneur Magazine in its latest Franchise 500 ranking. For further information, visit www.AnagoCleaning.com. Press Contact: Perry Athanason/TopFireMedia/[email protected]/917-319-2126. SOURCE Anago Cleaning Systems BELGRADE, Serbia, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- apiip is a world-leading IP intelligence service. Through an integrated API, website, application and back-office visitors are tagged with a geolocation, pinpointing their city, region, country and much more. This data allows owners to automate and personalize user experiences and carry out invaluable user research via an API interface. Today, apiip are delighted to announce that they have expanded their IP to location API service to handle over 1 million requests a month. Now, everybody from small businesses who receive 5,000+ hits a month to large scale organizations that receive 1,000,000+ hits a month can utilize IP and geolocation intelligence. This is big news for digital enterprises and businesses of all sizes who require geolocation data to improve their conversion. Regardless of the number of requests per month, the API will store over 40 unique data points for each visitor, providing the most accurate geolocation data through a powerful node infrastructure. Below, we detail how apiip have expanded their IP to location API to cater for 1 million+ requests per month, and how the service works: Built to scale: IP to location API requests are intensely quick, accurate, and now, can handle almost infinite hits The infrastructure behind apiip was built to scale and almost indefinitely. Thanks to continuous improvement, apiip can now work with organizations to create custom solutions, regardless of the number of estimated requests the API is likely to receive per month. As part of expansion and following successful trials, apiip have increased their server distribution worldwide for speed, reliability and security. Each IP to location API request, such as a website visit, an application visit or a back-office visit, is directed to the nearest and fastest node, providing rapid response from any place in the world. The response time for each request is up to 100 milliseconds in most parts of the world. This speed is invaluable for organizations who need to serve personalized content or information, such as location-based campaign website pages, currencies, time zone information, or to redirect based on language detection. All data sent to and processed by the servers (excluding the free plan) is secured via 256-bit SSL encryption (HTTPS), while local databases are updated by apiip, meaning there is no requirement on the web, application or back-office owner to carry out database updates. How organizations are benefitting from IP to location API data Understanding detailed information regarding visitors geolocations is invaluable for organizations. With this data, organizations can better understand who their visitors are and how their interaction and conversion behavior changes based on location. With this insight, personalization can be triggered, displaying content and functionality that is tailored to suit the needs and requirements of that audience. For example, when a website visitor lands on an organizations website, the apiip IP to location API request is triggered. In rapid time, the API will decipher where the request has come from and document the continent, country, city, postcode, preferred language, currency, time zone, application and browser, amongst many other data points. At this stage, website pages and content that have been created specifically for that geolocation can be served, with no noticeable time delay to the end user. This process allows organizations to: Improve behavioral factors by up to 70% by delivering personalized content based on the visitors location Redirect users to their preferred language version of a website or application Display prices in location currency, which typically increases the conversion rate by 40% Display content based on time zones, ensuring users from across the globe see accurate timings and are aware of opening hours, support line operating hours, shipping days and more and much more Integrating custom IP to location API solutions that caters for over 1 million requests per month With the news that apiip can now cater for over 1 million IP to location API requests per month, they have only enhanced their reputation has one of the leading IP intelligence services in the world. To understand how it works, and how custom solutions are already in place for organizations that require large API request numbers, visit the apiip website. More Information: apiip is an API service allowing customers to automate IP address validation and geolocation lookup in websites, applications and back-office systems. Following a successful API request, the API will return more than 40 unique response objects containing result data, allowing personalized content and functionality to be displayed. Learn more at https://apiip.net/ Source: https://thenewsfront.com/apiip-expand-ip-to-location-api-services-to-verify-1-million-requests-a-month/ Company: Apiip. Contact Person: Vojkan Trojanovic Address: Losinjska 10B, Zvezdara Belgrade 11000 Serbia Phone: +381644886737 Email: [email protected] Website: https://apiip.net/ SOURCE Apiip ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG) will be hosting its regularly scheduled quarterly management meeting on Wednesday, June 15, from 8:00 a.m. until approximately 10:30 a.m. CT. This quarter's meeting will take place virtually via conference call. During the call, the company's operating and financial leaders will present background information and commentary on the company's business operations and financial outlook, and will take questions from the investment community. The conference call will be broadcast live through Gallagher's website at www.ajg.com/irmeeting, and a conference call replay will be available at the same link through June 22, 2022. Any information distributed in conjunction with this meeting will be available on June 15 at 7:30 a.m. CT at https://www.ajg.com/June15materials. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG), a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm, is headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Gallagher provides these services in more than 130 countries around the world through a network of correspondent brokers and consultants. Contact: Raymond Iardella VP Investor Relations (630) 285-3661/ [email protected] SOURCE Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. New institutional partners will support the further expansion of Ashcroft's Sun Belt multifamily portfolio NEW YORK, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ashcroft Capital ("Ashcroft"), a vertically integrated multifamily investment firm, today announced the closing of a strategic partnership (the "Partnership") with institutional investors including investment funds advised by Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Blackstone Strategic Partners. The Partnership will provide liquidity to existing investors across the Ashcroft portfolio in addition to funding future acquisitions. The Partnership expects to invest in value-add multifamily properties throughout the Sun Belt markets, and Ashcroft currently anticipates that the Partnership will acquire real estate assets with an aggregate cost of $800 million. Ashcroft currently owns communities throughout Texas, Georgia and Florida, and is seeking to expand into the Carolinas, Arizona, Colorado, Tennessee and Nevada. Birchstone Residential, Ashcroft's in-house property management affiliate, will manage all properties acquired by the Partnership. "We're excited to partner with such highly respected and experienced institutional groups," said Frank Roessler, founder and CEO of Ashcroft. "We are grateful for their support and confidence in us, as we continue to execute our value-add strategy, focusing on diligent underwriting, business plan execution and seeking to drive a best-in-class resident experience. This partnership will enable us to continue to expand at a rapid-yet-measured pace, as we'll carefully select assets that fit within our investment parameters and possess a tremendous potential upside in our key markets." Since its inception in 2015, Ashcroft has acquired more than 14,600 apartment homes spanning nearly 50 communities. In an active 2021, Ashcroft acquired 11 properties totaling more than 3,500 units across three states. Ashcroft, with over $1.9 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2021, is targeting approximately 15 to 20 acquisitions in 2022. In addition to portfolio expansion, Ashcroft and Birchstone each possess growing teams to support and expedite the continued acquisition efforts. "We are delighted to welcome these new blue-chip limited partners, and we look forward to the continued expansion of our institutional platform," said Bill Kay, managing director of capital markets for Ashcroft. "As we continue to grow, it is invaluable to be backed by such esteemed institutional players and we remain eager to acquire well-vetted assets in our target markets and further expand the portfolio." Ashcroft's value-add strategy generally includes an update and modernization of the amenity spaces, improved curb appeal and upgrades to landscaping and community signage. Ashcroft also modernizes apartment interiors with features such as stainless steel appliances, hard-surface countertops, upgraded lighting and plumbing fixtures, tile backsplashes, and vinyl-plank flooring to create a better living experience and make assets more appealing in their respective markets. Through a competitive lender selection process managed by Eastdil Secured, PGIM Real Estate, the $209.3 billion real estate business of PGIM, the $1.5 trillion global asset management business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), has committed core-plus financing in support of certain acquisitions executed by the Partnership in connection with its closing, as well as in support of funding for property renovations. "We are pleased to further expand our lending relationship with Ashcroft Capital," said Trevor Arnholt, Vice President, PGIM Real Estate who led the deal on the firm's behalf. "This transaction represents a continuation of our commitment to and positive outlook for the multifamily sector, particularly in the growing hubs in the Sun Belt region." Latham & Watkins LLP served as counsel to the general partner in connection with the offering of interests in the Partnership. Devon Park Advisors provided strategic capital raising services to Ashcroft Capital. About Ashcroft Capital Founded in 2015, Ashcroft Capital is a vertically integrated multifamily investment firm that has acquired 47 communities comprising over 14,600 units since its inception and now has over $1.9 billion in assets under management as of 12/31/2021 throughout several high-growth metros of the Sun Belt. The firm focuses on capital preservation while striving to return strong, risk-adjusted cash-on-cash to investors. Ashcroft is capitalized with high net worth, family office and institutional capital. Ashcroft specializes in value-add multifamily real estate and aims to exhibit an expertise in extracting maximum value from every asset it acquires. Rather than attempting to play cycle timing, the firm strives to acquire excellent apartment communities within well-located submarkets of large and growing U.S. metros. About Birchstone Residential Birchstone Residential is the in-house property management company of Ashcroft Capital. It has a comprehensive property management platform that provides all essential services, including leasing, maintenance and construction management. Birchstone was purpose-built to execute the value-add business plan for each Ashcroft property, optimize financial returns and deliver high resident satisfaction. Committed to a people-centric culture and employee development through job training, job enrichment and accelerated development, Birchstone seeks to provide best-in-class service that attracts new residents and enriches the lifestyles of current residents. About Goldman Sachs Asset Management Vintage Funds Bringing together traditional and alternative investments, Goldman Sachs Asset Management provides clients around the world with a dedicated partnership and focus on long-term performance. As the primary investing area within Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), we deliver investment and advisory services for the world's leading institutions, financial advisors and individuals, drawing from our deeply connected global network and tailored expert insights, across every region and marketoverseeing more than $2 trillion in assets under supervision worldwide as of March 31, 2022. Driven by a passion for our clients' performance, we seek to build long-term relationships based on conviction, sustainable outcomes, and shared success over time. Goldman Sachs Asset Management invests in the full spectrum of alternatives, including private equity, growth equity, private credit, real estate and infrastructure. Established in 1998, the Vintage Funds within Goldman Sachs Asset Management have been innovators in the secondary market and have invested over $40 billion of capital since inception. The Vintage Funds provide liquidity, capital and partnering solutions to private market investors and managers worldwide across private equity strategies. Follow us on LinkedIn. Blackstone Strategic Partners Strategic Partners is a global leader in illiquid fund investing, including secondaries, co-investments and primary advisory. The Strategic Partners business was founded in 2000 and has significant experience in providing limited partners a range of liquidity solutions across illiquid asset classes on a fair, timely and confidential basis. Strategic Partners is one of the most prolific secondary market participants in the world and is recognized as an innovative investor, with broad transaction capabilities that reinforce its established reputation as a nimble and responsive investor. Through its private equity, infrastructure and real estate platforms Strategic Partners has executed over 1,800 transactions that represent interests in approximately 4,900 underlying fund interests managed by over 1,500 different financial sponsors. Strategic Partners is a business unit of Blackstone (NYSE: BX), the world's largest alternative asset manager. About PGIM Real Estate As one of the largest real estate managers in the world with $209.3 billion in gross assets under management and administration,1 PGIM Real Estate strives to deliver exceptional outcomes for investors and borrowers through a range of real estate equity and debt solutions across the risk-return spectrum. PGIM Real Estate is a business of PGIM, the $1.5 trillion global asset management business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU). PGIM Real Estate's rigorous risk management, seamless execution, and extensive industry insights are backed by a 50-year legacy of investing in commercial real estate, a 140-year history of real estate financing,2 and the deep local expertise of professionals in 32 cities globally. Through its investment, financing, asset management, and talent management approach, PGIM Real Estate engages in practices that ignite positive environmental and social impact, while pursuing activities that strengthen communities around the world. For more information visit pgimrealestate.com. 1 As of Dec. 31, 2021. AUM reflected as gross. Net AUM is $137.9 billion and AUA is $45.9 billion. 2 Includes legacy lending through PGIM's parent company, Prudential Financial, Inc. Media Contact for Ashcroft and Birchstone Stephen Ursery LinnellTaylor Marketing [email protected] 303.682.3945 Media Contact for PGIM Real Estate Katlyn Lamb Prosek Partners [email protected] 860-391-1442 This Press Release contains forward-looking statements that are based on Ashcroft's expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "believes," "scheduled," "estimates," variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward- looking statements which include, but are not limited to projections of revenues, earnings, returns, etc. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve numerous risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual future results and trends may differ materially from what is forecast in this Press Release due to a variety of factors. All of the interests in the Partnership having been sold, this Press Release has been issued as a matter of record only, and does not constitute an offering of any security, or as a solicitation of an offer to acquire any security. SOURCE Ashcroft Capital VANCOUVER, BC, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Astra Exploration Inc. (TSXV: ASTR) ("Astra" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Nikki McEachnie has been appointed as Manager of Investor Relations, Marketing & Business Development. Ms. McEachnie brings 7 years of experience to the Company in Marketing, & Investor Relations, specifically in the mining sector. Most recently she served as Manager of Investor Relations & Director of Corporate Communications for Talisker Resources. Brian Miller, CEO of Astra Exploration, commented: "Ms. McEachnie's appointment is another example of Astra's commitment to building an industry-leading team comprised of accomplished professionals with a demonstrated history of creating value. Astra's reach in the institutional and retail investor space will be greatly expanded through Nikki's network, and her reputation for quality work and organized execution is exactly what we seek at Astra. This is a very exciting development for the Company." Stock Option Grant & Remuneration: In relation to Ms. McEachnie's appointment and accordance with its stock option plan, the Company has granted a total of 150,000 stock options ("Options") exercisable at a price of $0.25 each for a period of 5 years from the date of grant. The Options will vest according to the following schedule: 1/3 at 3 months, 1/3 at 18 months, and 1/3 at 36 months. The Options are subject to TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") policies and regulations. Ms. McEachnie will provide consulting services through her company 504 Capital Ltd for a term of 12 months, at the end of which the parties may choose to renew. Neither Ms. McEachnie or 504 Capital Ltd currently own any interest in Astra either directly or indirectly. As compensation, Astra will pay $5,000 upon signing and a monthly fee of $10,000. PDAC 2022 Participation: Astra will be attending The Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) In-Person Convention hosted in Toronto, Canada from June 13th-15th. Visit us in the Investors Exchange at Booth 3316. About the Company Astra Exploration Inc. is an exploration company based out of Vancouver, BC. Astra is engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of epithermal gold-silver properties in Chile and is building a portfolio of high-quality projects. Astra's current focus is the development of the Pampa Paciencia Project. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When or if used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target, "plan", "forecast", "may", "schedule" and similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements or information may relate to the Company's business activities; exploration on the Company's properties; and marketing initiatives. Such statements represent the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, without limitation: development of the industry in which the Company operates; risks associated with the conduct of the Company's business activities; risks relating to reliance on the Company's management team and outside contractors; currency fluctuations; risks regarding the failure to generate sufficient cash flow from operations; laws and regulations governing the industry in which the Company operates; the ability of the communities in which the Company operates to manage and cope with the implications of COVID-19; the economic and financial implications of COVID-19 to the Company; operating or technical difficulties; employee relations, labour unrest or unavailability; stock market volatility; conflicts of interest among certain directors and officers; lack of liquidity for shareholders of the Company; litigation risk; and other risk factors disclosed in the Company's public disclosure documents available on the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations. SOURCE Astra Exploration Limited Combined company expected to source majority of its raw materials from third party by-product streams, reducing need for virgin zinc and contributing to industry wide sustainability HOUSTON, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Aterian Investment Partners ("Aterian") has combined U.S. Zinc and EverZinc, two of the largest global producers of zinc chemical products, to form the pre-eminent global zinc chemistry business. The combined company will operate under the EverZinc name, and will be headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company will support high value markets, such as personal care, alkaline, storage and rechargeable batteries, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, textiles, agriculture, feed, paints and coatings, and rubber and serve its customers from 14 facilities located throughout North America, Europe and Asia. U.S. Zinc is a United States leader in zinc oxide, fine zinc powder and zinc metal. The business is differentiated through over 70 years of innovation, strong material science know-how and quality in the marketplace. U.S. Zinc services the domestic market with an expansive capacity and manufacturing footprint throughout its four facilities in Texas and Tennessee. EverZinc, through its 185-year heritage, is a global zinc technology leader in specialty zinc materials, including fine zinc powders, zinc oxides, battery zinc powders and Zano, an ultra-fine zinc oxide. EverZinc services its customers through 10 production sites located in Belgium, Canada, China, the Netherlands, Norway and Malaysia. Aterian, an operationally-focused middle market private investment firm targeting industry leading businesses, acquired U.S. Zinc in 2018. "We're excited to partner with Aterian and the board to lead this new combined organization forward into the future," said Vincent Dujardin, Chief Executive Officer at EverZinc, who will lead the combined company as President and Chief Executive Officer. "This strategic combination brings together two industry pioneers. By combining our comprehensive zinc chemistry platforms, employee base, proven R&D and technology capabilities and specializations, we will further our leadership in catapulting the new organization years ahead on the technology curve." "We built a long-term thesis around zinc chemistry, starting with our platform investment in U.S. Zinc," said Christopher H. Thomas, Co-Founder and Partner at Aterian. "As one of the most widely available and sustainable metals in the world, zinc is uniquely recyclable and has applications critical to our future. This investment further expands on our vision as the organization will continue to partner and innovate with its customers to lead the industry through technological and sustainable alternatives and solutions." Zinc is the fourth most common metal in use in the world and has made considerable inroads as a potential material of choice in nascent markets. These include innovations in personal care, where zinc minerals are seen as a better alternative to existing materials in sunscreen and skin care, and renewables and energy storage, where new battery combinations such as zinc air and nickel zinc are alternatives to existing stationary power storage technologies. "This combination will strengthen our global footprint, improve sourcing capabilities, diversify our business and allow our platform to better serve customers on a global scale," said Joel Hawthorne, President and Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Zinc, who will serve as Vice Chairman of the EverZinc enterprise and member on the combined company's board. "We are eager to continue serving existing applications while cultivating new market streams for our zinc components." Zinc is highly recyclable. The new company intends to source a majority of its critical raw materials from third party by-product streams, by converting used zinc material already available in the marketplace, thus encouraging greater industry-wide sustainability. Zinc can be recovered without a significant loss in quality, resulting in less need for virgin zinc and the air and water emissions, deforestation, energy consumption and waste that often results from mining and processing virgin zinc. "Aterian will continue to support EverZinc through investment in capacity, technology and innovation," said Joshua Ciampa, Managing Director at Aterian. "Global applications for zinc are reaching a critical inflection point and we are pleased to be in a position to leverage our European or Asian technology for capacity in North America, and vice-versa." Aterian Investment Partners, U.S. Zinc's controlling shareholder, will continue to own the combined company. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to U.S. Zinc and Aterian, and Moelis & Company LLC served as U.S. Zinc's and Aterian's M&A advisor. Willkie, Farr & Gallagher LLP served as legal counsel and Jefferies served as lead financial advisor and Stifel served as financial advisor to seller. Financial terms were not disclosed. About U.S. Zinc Headquartered in Houston, Texas, for more over 70 years, U.S. Zinc is the premier global leader in value added zinc products including zinc oxide, zinc powder, and zinc metal products sold to the tire, chemical, coatings, and agriculture markets. The business is differentiated through over 70 years of technology and quality in the marketplace, with an expansive manufacturing footprint throughout four facilities in Texas and Tennessee. For more information, please visit http://www.uszinc.com About EverZinc EverZinc is a global provider of specialty zinc materials including fine zinc powders, zinc oxides, battery zinc powders and Zano, an ultra-fine zinc oxide. The company's products are used in a wide variety of applications, including corrosion inhibiting paints, performance tires, pharmaceuticals, ceramics, glass, sunscreen, alkaline batteries, and other products. With manufacturing operations located in Belgium, Canada, China, the Netherlands, Norway, and Malaysia, EverZinc leads through its 10 production sites to serve its growing global customer base. For more information, please visit https://www.everzinc.com/en/ About Aterian Investment Partners Aterian Investment Partners is a private equity firm that invests in industry-leading, middle market businesses. In collaboration with management, Aterian supports investments throughout an organization, from people to processes, equipment, technology, and social governance, among others. With offices in New York and Florida, Aterian has raised cumulative equity commitments of more than $1.5 billion since its founding in 2009. For more information, please visit http://www.aterianpartners.com SOURCE Aterian Investment Partners ATLANTA, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season is here, and Atlanta Gas Light is encouraging its customers to prepare for an expected active Atlantic hurricane season. Forecasters predict 19 named storms and nine hurricanes. Atlanta Gas Light's number one value is safety and the company reminds customers to keep safety first as they prepare for the threat of severe weather this hurricane season. Atlanta Gas Light offers the below natural gas safety tips for customers to remember: Meter Safety Know the location of your natural gas meter. Do not attempt to turn off your gas supply at the meter. Only Atlanta Gas Light or emergency personnel should turn the valve on or off. attempt to turn off your gas supply at the meter. Only Atlanta Gas Light or emergency personnel should turn the valve on or off. Leaving natural gas meters on helps to maintain proper pressure in the gas lines. It also can prevent water from entering the fuel lines should flooding occur. Following severe weather, make sure your natural gas meter is visible, and the area surrounding the meter is free of trash and debris. Mechanical equipment used during storm clean-up could damage the meter if it is hidden. If your natural gas meter is damaged or an underground gas line is exposed, leave the area immediately and call 911 or the Atlanta Gas Light 24-hour emergency response line at 1-877-427-4321 from a safe location. Appliance Safety Before and After the Storm Leave your natural gas appliances connected in severe weather . Most modern gas appliances have safety valves that shut off the flow of natural gas automatically if there is a loss of gas pressure or flooding of the appliances. . Most modern gas appliances have safety valves that shut off the flow of natural gas automatically if there is a loss of gas pressure or flooding of the appliances. If you are not comfortable leaving your appliances connected, contact a certified plumber or HVAC representative to shut off your appliances at the cutoff valves. When it is safe to do so, have them return to turn the valves back on, leak test the line and ensure the appliance is safe to operate. If flooding occurs at your property and the gas appliances are underwater, please do not use the appliances until a safety inspection is conducted by a certified plumber or HVAC representative. Damage Prevention Intense winds and saturated ground can cause trees to become uprooted. Contact Georgia 811 to request that the underground utility lines be marked. This is important because the tree roots could become tangled with utility lines. 811 to request that the underground utility lines be marked. This is important because the tree roots could become tangled with utility lines. If a natural gas meter is damaged or a natural gas line is exposed, please immediately leave the area and call 911 or the Atlanta Gas Light 24-hour emergency response line at 1-877-427-4321 from a safe location. Detecting Gas Leaks If you smell the distinctive "rotten-egg" odor associated with natural gas, leave the area immediately and move away from the potential leak. Look for blowing dirt, discolored vegetation or continued bubbling in standing water. Never try to identify the source of a leak or stop the leak on your own. Avoid using any sources of ignition, such as cell phones, cigarettes, matches, flashlights, electronic devices, motorized vehicles, light switches or landlines, as natural gas can ignite from a spark and cause a fire or explosion. Call the Atlanta Gas Light 24-hour emergency response line at 1-877-427-4321 or 911 once you are in a safe location away from potential leak. Generator Safety Generators can be helpful after a storm but dangerous if not used properly. The primary hazards to avoid when using a generator are carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, electric shock or electrocution and fire. Never use a generator in an enclosed or partially enclosed space. Never try to power the house wiring by plugging the generator into a wall outlet, a practice known as "backfeeding." Plug appliances directly into the generator or use a heavy duty, outdoor-rated extension cord that is rated (in watts or amps) at least equal to the sum of the connected appliance loads. During a power outage, natural gas generators provide continuous fuel supply from an existing natural gas line. While these units are available in a range of sizes to meet various energy needs, please contact Atlanta Gas Light prior to the purchase and installation to determine whether their service line and meter meet load requirements for the generator's safe and efficient operation. For more information about Atlanta Gas Light, log on to our website or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. About Atlanta Gas Light Atlanta Gas Light is one of four natural gas distribution companies of Southern Company Gas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO). Atlanta Gas Light provides natural gas delivery service to approximately 1.7 million customers in Georgia. In operation since 1856, the company is one of the oldest corporations in the state. For more information, visit atlantagaslight.com. About Southern Company Gas Southern Company Gas is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE:SO), America's premier energy company. Southern Company Gas serves approximately 4.3 million natural gas customers through its regulated distribution companies in four states with approximately 666,000 retail customers through its companies that market natural gas. Other businesses include investments in interstate pipelines and ownership and operation of natural gas storage facilities. For more information, visit southerncompanygas.com. SOURCE Atlanta Gas Light This market research report extensively covers Automotive Camera-based Side Mirrors Market by the following: Application - Passenger cars and commercial vehicles The passenger car category will see a large increase in market share for automotive camera-based side mirrors. Luxury carmakers are focusing on improving passenger car safety by including innovative safety features such as camera-based side mirrors. As a result, the car industry's need for camera-based side mirrors is rapidly expanding. Geography - North America , Europe , APAC, Middle East and Africa , and South America The Americas will account for 41% of the market's growth. In the Americas, the UK is the most important market for automobile camera-based side mirrors. The market in this region will increase at a quicker rate than the market in other regions. Over the projected period, the increased adoption of automotive electronics will aid the growth of the vehicle camera-based side mirrors market in the Americas. Get more insights into this market's growth with a detailed analysis of the top regions, View our Sample Report! Automotive Camera-based Side Mirrors Market Dynamics Market Driver One of the primary factors driving the worldwide automotive camera-based side mirrors market is the increasing adoption of automotive electronics. Electronic components and sub-systems have become more common in automobiles as a result of technological advancements (especially passenger vehicles). Stringent regulatory norms and mandates, the growing focus on fuel efficiency, the demand for advanced safety, the growing need for connectivity systems, the increasing adoption of hybrid powertrains, and the electrification of components all contribute to the high adoption of automotive electronics. Market Trend The expansion of the worldwide automobile camera-based side mirrors market will be fueled by the emergence of surround-view mirror systems. A surround-view mirror system, often known as a 360-degree camera system, is a collection of numerous cameras positioned to offer the driver with 360-degree visibility of the vehicle. The technology is built to automatically combine all of the inputs from the surrounding cameras into a single movie that provides the driver with an elevated view. Surround-view mirror systems use sonar technology to correctly determine the distance between nearby vehicles or obstacles and provide auditory cues to the driver about the distance between the vehicle and the obstacle. Market Challenge Government laws governing vehicle mirrors are posing a significant impediment to the growth of the worldwide automotive camera-based side mirrors market. The majority of states in the United States have laws requiring vehicles to have side-view mirrors. The inclusion of side mirrors based on automobile cameras raises production costs. As a result, automakers are more likely to offer automotive camera-based side mirrors solely on expensive vehicles. Our reports cover all the major factor that drives a market along with the challenges. To get a detailed understanding of the market trend, Download Sample Report Now! Automotive Camera-based Side Mirrors Market Segmentation Application Passenger Cars Commercial Vehicles Geography APAC Europe South America MEA North America Download Sample Report: to know additional highlights and key points on various market segments and their impact in coming years. Automotive Camera-based Side Mirrors Market Vendor The growing competition in the market is compelling vendors to adopt various growth strategies such as promotional activities and spending on advertisements to improve the visibility of their services. Some vendors are also adopting inorganic growth strategies such as M&As to remain competitive in the market. The report analyzes the market's competitive landscape and offers information on several market vendors, including: BMW Group Continental AG Gentex Corp. Honda Motor Co. Ltd. Hyundai Mobis Co. Ltd. Kappa optronics GmbH Kyocera Corp. Magna International Inc. Mitsubishi Electric Corp. Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd. Find out the top market vendors, their competition, and how they excel in the Automotive Camera-based Side Mirrors Market in our latest Sample Report. Download our Detailed Sample Report. Product Insights and News Gentex Corp. - The company offers vision systems based on multiple imager platforms. - The company offers vision systems based on multiple imager platforms. Honda Motor Co. Ltd .- The company offers side camera mirror systems. .- The company offers side camera mirror systems. Kyocera Corp.- The company offers automotive camera modules. Do reach out to our analysts for more customized reports as per your requirements. Speak to our Analyst now! Related Reports Truck Bedliners Market by Type and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Polyester Tire Cord Market by Application and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Automotive Camera-based Side Mirrors Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 83.09% Market growth 2021-2025 $ 69.68 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 35.96 Regional analysis APAC, EMEA, and Americas Performing market contribution Americas at 41% Key consumer countries Japan, UK, China, Germany, and South Korea (Republic of Korea) Competitive landscape Leading companies, Competitive strategies, Consumer engagement scope Key companies profiled BMW Group, Continental AG, Gentex Corp., Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Hyundai Mobis Co. Ltd., Kappa optronics GmbH, Kyocera Corp., Magna International Inc., Mitsubishi Electric Corp., and Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for forecast period Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. Table of Contents 1 Executive Summary 2 Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem Exhibit 02: Market characteristics Exhibit 03: Value chain analysis for automotive components and accessories 2.2 Value chain analysis 3 Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition Exhibit 05: Market segments 3.2 Market segment analysis 3.3 Market size 2020 Exhibit 06: Global - Market size and forecast 2020 - 2025 ($ million) 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025 Exhibit 07: Global market: Year-over-year growth 2020 - 2025 (%) 4 Five Forces Analysis 4.1 Five forces summary Exhibit 09: Bargaining power of buyers 4.2 Bargaining power of buyers Exhibit 10: Bargaining power of suppliers 4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Exhibit 11: Threat of new entrants 4.4 Threat of new entrants 4.5 Threat of substitutes Exhibit 12: Threat of substitutes 4.6 Threat of rivalry Exhibit 13: Threat of rivalry Exhibit 14: Market condition - Five forces 2020 4.7 Market condition 5 Market Segmentation by Application 5.1 Market segments Exhibit 16: Comparison by Application 5.2 Comparison by Application Exhibit 17: Passenger cars - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) 5.3 Passenger cars - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 18: Passenger cars - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) Exhibit 19: Commercial vehicles - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) 5.4 Commercial vehicles - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 20: Commercial vehicles - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) Exhibit 21: Market opportunity by Application 5.5 Market opportunity by Application 6 Customer landscape 7 Geographic Landscape 7.1 Geographic segmentation Exhibit 24: Geographic comparison 7.2 Geographic comparison Exhibit 25: APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) 7.3 APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 26: APAC - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) Exhibit 27: EMEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) 7.4 EMEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 28: EMEA - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) Exhibit 29: Americas - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) 7.5 Americas - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 30: Americas - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) Exhibit 31: Key leading countries 7.6 Key leading countries 7.7 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 32: Market opportunity by geography ($ million) 8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 8.1 Market drivers 8.2 Market challenges Exhibit 33: Impact of drivers and challenges 8.3 Market trends 9 Vendor Landscape 9.1 Overview Exhibit 35: Landscape disruption 9.2 Landscape disruption Exhibit 36: Industry risks 10 Vendor Analysis 10.1 Vendors covered 10.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 38: Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 39: BMW Group - Overview Exhibit 40: BMW Group - Business segments Exhibit 41: BMW Group Key news 10.3 BMW Group Exhibit 42: BMW Group - Key offerings Exhibit 43: BMW Group - Segment focus Exhibit 44: Continental AG - Overview Exhibit 45: Continental AG - Business segments 10.4 Continental AG Exhibit 46: Continental AG Key news Exhibit 47: Continental AG - Key offerings Exhibit 48: Continental AG - Segment focus Exhibit 49: Gentex Corp. - Overview Exhibit 50: Gentex Corp. - Business segments 10.5 Gentex Corp. Exhibit 51: Gentex Corp. Key news Exhibit 52: Gentex Corp. - Key offerings Exhibit 53: Gentex Corp. - Segment focus Exhibit 54: Honda Motor Co. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 55: Honda Motor Co. Ltd. - Business segments 10.6 Honda Motor Co. Ltd. Exhibit 56: Honda Motor Co. Ltd. Key news Exhibit 57: Honda Motor Co. Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 58: Honda Motor Co. Ltd. - Segment focus Exhibit 59: Hyundai Mobis Co. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 60: Hyundai Mobis Co. Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 61: Hyundai Mobis Co. Ltd. Key news 10.7 Hyundai Mobis Co. Ltd. 10.8 Kappa optronics GmbH Exhibit 66: Kappa optronics GmbH Key news Exhibit 67: Kappa optronics GmbH - Key offerings Exhibit 68: Kyocera Corp. - Overview Exhibit 69: Kyocera Corp. - Business segments 10.9 Kyocera Corp. Exhibit 70: Kyocera Corp. - Key offerings Exhibit 71: Kyocera Corp. - Segment focus Exhibit 72: Magna International Inc. - Overview Exhibit 73: Magna International Inc. - Business segments 10.10 Magna International Inc. Exhibit 74: Magna International Inc. Key news Exhibit 75: Magna International Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 76: Magna International Inc. - Segment focus Exhibit 77: Mitsubishi Electric Corp. - Overview Exhibit 78: Mitsubishi Electric Corp. - Business segments 10.11 Mitsubishi Electric Corp. Exhibit 79: Mitsubishi Electric Corp. - Key offerings Exhibit 80: Mitsubishi Electric Corp. - Segment focus Exhibit 81: Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 82: Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd. - Business segments 10.12 Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd. Exhibit 83: Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 84: Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd. - Segment focus 11 Appendix 11.1 Scope of the report Exhibit 85: Currency conversion rates for US$ 11.2 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 86: Research Methodology 11.3 Research methodology Exhibit 87: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 88: Information sources Exhibit 89: List of abbreviations 11.4 List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio Franchise Group, High Caffeine Inc. LLC, Aids in Brand's Growth Goal to Double Nationwide Store Count by 2023 TAMPA, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii, a leading coffee franchise renowned for its premium sourcing, roasting, and quality 100% Hawaiian coffees and international blends, announces the signing of a multi-unit agreement that will bring five stores to the greater Tampa market by the end of Q1 2024. Longtime business partners Chris Bruckner and Richard Elkhoury are heading up the development efforts under the LLC, High Caffeine Inc. The duo has been in business operations and development for over 30 years and are actively growing in central Florida with several concepts that are looking to expand. Their portfolio includes many different operations including gas stations, convenience stores, car washes, and quick-serve restaurants with 18 total businesses across Florida and Boston, MA. Eager to diversify with a unique coffee concept, they decided to franchise with Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii and are on track to open their first location late Q4 2022/early Q1 2023. Site selection for all five stores is well underway, targeting the greater Tampa market including Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Treasure Island, and Wesley Chapel. "When looking at coffee brands, we knew we needed a competitive advantage and Bad Ass Coffee gives us just that," said Bruckner. "With Bad Ass Coffee, we have a superior product, fun and exciting branding, and a strong connection to our Hawaiian roots that really makes us stand out in the industry. When doing our due diligence, we simply didn't see that from any other brands out there Bad Ass Coffee is different and a brand we can truly grow with. We are very active in the communities we operate in and as a resident of Trinity, the greater Tampa market is ideal for our development." Florida has been proven to be a successful state for Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii for more than a decade, hosting four of its top stores across the system. The stores in Naples, Miramar Beach, Pensacola, and Santa Rosa Beach provide great visibility for the brand because they attract vacationers from across the nation. As Bad Ass Coffee expands into other markets across Florida, it continues to strengthen brand awareness, providing strong validation for franchisees - demonstrating that the concept and model performs well in similar markets. "As one of the top 10 fastest growing cities in the country, we're very excited to have such a strong franchise partner like High Caffeine to open up the Tampa market," said Scott Snyder, CEO of Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii. "Chris and Richard impressed us with their knowledge of the market as well as their diversified retail operations experience. We believe it will be a mutually beneficial partnership that will only accelerate our aggressive multi-unit development and growth plans." Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii was born on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1989 with the dream of sharing American-grown, premium Hawaiian coffee with customers everywhere. In addition to premium coffee from the famous Kona region of the Big Island, Bad Ass Coffee also sources from Kauai, Maui and Moloka'i. Beyond premium Hawaiian coffees, Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii also serves up a full menu of popular blended drinks, signature lattes, cold brews, teas, innovative foods with a Hawaiian twist, and branded merchandise. With rapid expansion underway, the brand has set aggressive expansion plans to open 150 new locations over the next five years, with territories available nationwide. Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii is looking to partner with qualified and engaged individuals seeking single and multi-unit opportunities. The brand offers an affordable, highly scalable opportunity with strong profit-potential. As International Franchise Association VetFran members, veteran franchisees who join will receive a $10,000 discount off the initial franchise fee. For more information on Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii franchise opportunities, visit badasscoffeefranchise.com or call 833-205-2224. About Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii was born on the Big Island of Hawai'i in 1989 and is dedicated to sharing premium Hawaiian coffees "with a kick" from the Hawaiian Islands through 20-plus franchise locations with additional 70 shops in various stages of development. Today, Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii stores also serve popular blended drinks, teas, food, along with other international premium coffees and sell popular branded merchandise with exceptional service and the Aloha Spirit. Bad Ass Coffees are available in franchise stores, online and will soon be available through grocery, hospitality, and specialty retail channels. The Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii brand and franchise is owned by Royal Aloha Franchise Company, LLC. For more information, visit badasscoffee.com and connect on Facebook and Instagram @badasscoffeeofhawaii. Franchise information is available at badasscoffeefranchise.com. SOURCE Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii Deal financing led by existing investor, Archangels, with participation from Scottish Enterprise, Cancer Research Horizons and new investor Old College Capital, the University of Edinburgh's in-house venture investment fund Proceeds to be used to fund the first in human trials with the BIOCAPTIS and prepare for regulatory trials in 2023 BIOCAPTIVA's BioCaptis is a cell-free DNA (cfDNA) capture device which has the potential to transform liquid biopsy testing for cancer management. EDINBURGH, Scotland, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BIOCAPTIVA Ltd ("BIOCAPTIVA"), a company developing the BioCaptis a revolutionary cell-free DNA (cfDNA) capture device designed to transform liquid biopsy testing for cancer management announces an oversubscribed 2.1 million additional seed funding round. The financing was led by existing investor Archangels, a leading business angel syndicate, with a long track record of successfully investing in early-stage Scottish life sciences and technology companies. It was joined by Scottish Enterprise and Cancer Research Horizon, the new innovation engine of Cancer Research UK, and new investor Old College Capital, the University of Edinburgh's in-house venture investment fund. The investment will be used to fund the company through the first in human trials with the BioCaptis, expected to generate its first data before the end of 2022, and to prepare for regulatory trials which are planned to start in 2023. BIOCAPTIVA's BioCaptis can capture up to 100x more cfDNA than a conventional blood draw, increasing the quality and quantity of cfDNA available for liquid biopsy testing. This technology, by providing higher quantities of cfDNA, increases the types and stages of cancers amenable to liquid biopsy testing thereby greatly expanding the number of patients who could benefit from this approach to cancer management. Jeremy Wheeler, CEO of BIOCAPTIVA, said, "BIOCAPTIVA is at the forefront of developing technology to transform liquid biopsy testing in cancer management. We are pleased to have raised these additional funds as the company enters its next stage of development, with the BioCaptis beginning its first in human trials. These trials will allow us to generate important data before the end of 2022. This will be a key step before starting regulatory trials in 2023 as we move towards our goal of unleashing the full potential of liquid biopsy in cancer management to improve patient outcomes." Sarah Hardy, Director and Head of New Investments at Archangels, added: "In 2021, Archangels supported the spin-out of BIOCAPTIVA from the University of Edinburgh based on the technology developed from Professor Tim Aitman and Professor Mark Bradley's research. Since then, the company has made remarkable progress and is poised to begin the first in-human trials with BioCaptis just over a year after its formation. We are pleased to lead this financing to support the company in generating its first in human data, and towards its ambition of ensuring that the BioCaptis device can play a key role in realizing the full potential of liquid biopsy testing for cancer management." Andrea Young, Fund Manager at Old College Capital, said, "Old College Capital is delighted to support BIOCAPTIVA by joining this additional seed financing. The company's technology is the result of collaborative research by two world-leading University of Edinburgh academics and its goals are perfectly aligned to the Old College Capital mandate. We look forward to working with BIOCAPTIVA and a strong syndicate of investors led by Archangels to make the BioCaptis device a success." Kerry Sharp, Director of Entrepreneurship and Investment at Scottish Enterprise, added: "BIOCAPTIVA is an innovative and exciting company with strong growth prospects. Its BioCaptis device has the potential to really transform the way cancer is diagnosed, monitored and managed. We look forward to seeing how its first in human trials progress, followed by regulatory trials, so that one day soon this exciting new technology can be put to work for the benefit of patients." About BIOCAPTIVA BIOCAPTIVA is developing the BioCaptis, a revolutionary medical device which has the potential to transform liquid biopsy testing for cancer management, by improving early diagnosis and monitoring of disease and enhancing clinical trial data of cancer patients. The BioCaptis captures up to 100x more cell free DNA (cfDNA) than a venous blood draw, yielding cfDNA in high quality and quantity for testing, addressing the major challenge of liquid biopsy in cancer management. This will potentially allow the testing of a far greater number of cancer types and stages in a much wider range of patients. BIOCAPTIVA was founded in 2021 when it spun out from the University of Edinburgh. BIOCAPTIVA is based in Edinburgh and backed by Archangels Scottish Enterprise, Cancer Research Horizons, the new innovation engine of Cancer Research UK and Old College Capital, the University of Edinburgh's in-house venture investment fund. For more information, please visit www.biocaptiva.com and follow us on LinkedIn About Archangels Archangels is a prominent business angel syndicate which has been at the forefront of early stage investing in Scotland for more than a quarter of a century. Originally formed in 1992 and based in Edinburgh, the syndicate now comprises around 120 investor members and leads investment of around 20m per year in early stage Scottish companies. About Scottish Enterprise Scottish Enterprise is Scotland's national economic development agency. We're committed to growing the Scottish economy for the benefit of all, helping create more quality jobs and a brighter future for every region. Follow us on Twitter @scotent and @scotentnews and on LinkedIn About Cancer Research Horizons Cancer Research Horizons - Cancer Research UK About Old College Capital Old College Capital is the University of Edinburgh's in-house venture investment fund. It aims to support the University's research, staff and students by investing in high-growth, early stage businesses associated with the University. Contacts Jeremy Wheeler Chief Executive Officer [email protected]ocaptiva.com www.biocaptiva.com Media Relations for BIOCAPTIVA Ltd David Dible, Eleanor Perkin, Frazer Hall - MEDiSTRAVA Consulting +44 (0)20 3928 6900 [email protected] Archangels [email protected] 07387 090 070 [email protected] 07703 987 098 SOURCE BIOCAPTIVA Ltd The company aims to bring to market the world's first honeybee vaccine to improve the health and productivity of honeybee colonies. ATHENS, Ga., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dalan Animal Health , Inc., a biotech company focused on insect health, announced today that it will relocate its headquarters to Athens, Georgia. The company is anticipated to create 20 new jobs over the next five years. Dalan Animal Health ( www.dalan.com ) seeks to prevent diseases that affect beneficial insect populations to increase the profitability and yield of pollinated crop farms worldwide. Dalan's first product to market is a honeybee vaccine for American Foulbrood, a highly contagious disease threatening beehives worldwide. The company will expand its product development to other honeybee diseases as well as underserved industries, such as shrimp, mealworms, and grasshoppers used in feed and food production. Company CEO Dr. Annette Kleiser brings over 20 years of experience in business development, start-up formation, corporate strategy development, and alliance management, both in university technology transfer as well as the biotechnology industry. "Athens is the ideal location to build an innovative biotechnology company focused on sustainable agriculture," explains Dr. Annette Kleiser, CEO of Dalan Animal Health. "We're excited to be a part of this community and take advantage of its many benefits to achieve significant and sustained growth." Dalan Animal Health has already begun collaborations with UGA faculty, including Dr. Keith Delaplane, Director of the Honeybee Program in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and the College of Veterinary Medicine's Dr. Jorg Mayer. The company also plans to engage with UGA students and alumni as they develop a talent pipeline. The company's headquarters is located in the University of Georgia's Innovation Hub, within the growing Innovation District in downtown Athens. "We are proud to welcome Dalan Animal Health to Athens-Clarke County, and there could be no better fit, as our shared focus on innovation, resilience, and long-term quality of life is perfectly in harmony," said Mayor Kelly Girtz. "I am confident that making their home in Athens will offer a host of collaborative opportunities, from world-class University of Georgia research and development units to a number of peers in our private-sector bioscience community." The Athens-Clarke County Economic Development Department worked with the Georgia Department of Economic Development and University of Georgia Economic Development and Innovation Gateway on the company's relocation. SOURCE Dalan Animal Health SINGAPORE, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading global derivatives exchange - Bitget, today announced the appointment of Gracy Chen as Managing Director, who will lead Bitget's growth strategies as the platform accelerates its global expansion plan. She will also be elevating Bitget's voice and presence in the broader crypto ecosystem and assisting the brand to further flourish under her leadership. With presence in over 50 countries around the world, Bitget has been growing at an unprecedented pace. Earlier this year, Bitget announced its derivatives trading volume reached an all-time high of $8.69 billion, representing a 300% growth when compared to the previous year. Commenting on Chen's appointment, CEO of Bitget, Sandra Lou said, "We are extremely pleased to have a seasoned professional like Gracy to join us, and look forward to leveraging her expertise in the space to further strengthen our growth strategies across international markets." Having witnessed the tremendous growth at Bitget since its launch in 2018, and most recently ranking top five globally by CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko for derivatives trading by volume, Chen was inspired to rejoin the Fin-tech industry and devote her full attention to the crypto space. Chen joins Bitget having held executive roles at XRSPACE, a VR technology company headquartered in Taipei. Gracy oversaw and led the marketing and business development functions, as well as government and public relations in the region. "It is an exciting time to join a crypto platform that is leading the growth in global derivatives trading. I have always been an avid investor in crypto and related ventures. I am elated to be joining an organisation full of driven and intelligent individuals, and to guide Bitget to chart even higher growths as the portal that transcends Web2 and Web3, connecting CeFi and DeFi, resulting in an expansive bridge to the vast web of crypto." said, Gracy Chen. Chen was named a Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum in 2015. A graduate of the National University of Singapore, Chen will also be pursuing an MBA degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. About Bitget Established in 2018, Bitget is currently serving over two million users in more than 50 countries around the world, Bitget accelerated its mission to promote decentralised finance in 2021 with a 500-strong workforce spanning over 20 countries. For media queries, please contact: [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE Bitget Gonzalo joins BNY Mellon Wealth Management from Safra National Bank of New York, where he served as a senior vice president. Prior to that, he was a division head at Bradesco BAC Florida Bank, and chairman and managing member of Ace International Capital Ventures. Gonzalo has also held a variety of senior roles at Bernstein Private Wealth Management and other top regional and global firms. "The more favorable tax and business climate in Miami continues to attract ultra-high-net-worth families and institutional clients," said Kaplan. "We are excited to welcome Gonzalo to the rapidly growing Miami office. His extensive experience in the financial industry and impressive credentials and deep roots in the local and international communities will be an invaluable resource to clients, as well as the delivery of our Active Wealth framework." Gonzalo earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Business Administration from Florida International University. He is an active member of his community and currently serves on the board of directors for Coral Gables Museum, Wolfsonian FIU Museum and FIU Alumni Association. He also serves as a co-chairman of the College of Arts, Sciences and Education Advisory Board and has been active with United Way of Miami-Dade since the 1990s. ABOUT BNY MELLON WEALTH MANAGEMENT For more than two centuries, BNY Mellon Wealth Management has provided services to financially successful individuals and families, their family offices and business enterprises, planned giving programs, and endowments and foundations. It has $305 billion in total client assets as of March 31, 2022, and an extensive network of offices in the U.S. and internationally. BNY Mellon Wealth Management, which delivers leading wealth advice across investments, banking, custody, and wealth and estate planning, conducts business through various operating subsidiaries of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. A line of business within Wealth Management, BNY Mellon Investor Solutions includes the firm's institutional multi-asset solutions business. The Investor Solutions AUM/AUA is $28.7bn as of March 31, 2022. For more information, visit www.bnymellonwealth.com or follow us on Twitter @BNYMellonWealth. Media Contact: Ben Tanner 212-635-8676 [email protected] SOURCE BNY Mellon Wealth Management The Commission is established to promote the objectives of the CoRe Partnership and to advance joint research and development and collaborative innovation initiatives, as well as new business models, across the two nations' advanced science and technology ecosystems. CoRe provides a framework for U.S. and Japanese collaboration, uniting the world's two largest democratic economies as they work toward generating greater prosperity in their own nations and around the world. President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida both confirmed their commitment to the CoRe partnership during their recent summit in Tokyo. The U.S.-Japan Commission on Innovation and Competitiveness will elevate CoRe's goals across both nations by bringing together leaders from the private sector and key communities, including firms, research institutions, academia, and laboratories to accelerate understanding of each other, and to help identify and provide pathways for potential partnerships based on principles of competitiveness, resilience, invention, innovation, sustainability, and inclusivity. The Commission will anchor the nations' relationship in their shared democratic values. Deborah Wince-Smith, President & CEO of the Council, and Hiro Nishiguchi, Chief Executive Officer of the JIN, submitted letters to President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida commending the Administrations' commitment to the CoRe Partnership based upon multiple discussions among the Cabinet Office of Japan, the Council and JIN, and expressing their intention "to engaging with [the] Administrations to fulfill this ambitious agenda that is so important to our nations' global competitiveness, and economic and national prosperity and security." "The Council on Competitiveness, having long defined and shaped a private sector innovation agenda in the United States from the local, to the regional, to the national levels is honored to join with the Japan Innovation Network in launching this distinctive, joint commission. Our Council members, spanning a broad cross section of our economy, are poised to contribute our experience and capabilities, and we will exercise leadership in the private sector to advance the CoRe agenda," said Deborah L. Wince-Smith, President & CEO of the Council. "Japan Innovation Network was established in 2013 based on a research project of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to transform Japan into an Innovation Nation. As such, JIN has been proactively promoting and bringing forth the concept of the Innovation Management System and achieving Sustainable Development Goals through innovation-based activities among Japanese organizations. We are honored to join with the Council on Competitiveness to design and operate this Commission to advance the private-sector driven innovation agendas in both nations through the implementation of systematic, cross-border, innovation management systems," said Hiro Nishiguchi, the CEO of JIN. About the Council on Competitiveness For more than three decades, the Council has championed a competitiveness agenda for the United States to attract investment and talent and spur the commercialization of new ideas. While the players may have changed since its founding in 1986, the mission remains as vital as everto enhance U.S. productivity and raise the standard of living for all Americans. The members of the CouncilCEOs, university presidents, labor leaders and national lab directorsrepresent a powerful, nonpartisan voice that sets aside politics and seeks results. By providing real-world perspective to policymakers, the Council's private sector network makes an impact on decision-making across a broad spectrum of issuesfrom the cutting- edge of science and technology, to the democratization of innovation, to the shift from energy weakness to strength that supports the growing renaissance in U.S. manufacturing. The Council firmly believes that with the right policies, the strengths and potential of the U.S. economy far outweigh the current challenges the nation faces on the path to higher growth and greater opportunity for all Americans. About the Japan Innovation Network JIN's mission is to transform Japan into an Innovation Nation where innovation arises from every organization. Working in tandem with countries across the world, JIN improves the success rate of our innovation activities by accelerating employee growth and organizational reform backed by our innovation management and project support. JIN represents Japan in the technical committee of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for Innovation Management Systems (IMS) as the exclusive national institution. In this capacity, JIN takes an active part in developing international standards for innovation management, local opinion gathering, and international negotiations. As the scheme owner of the ISO 56000 series in Japan, JIN has accumulated many successful cases in IMS Design and Implementation and Innovation Projects with executive, middle and junior managers by exploiting our international network and expertise in supporting the acceleration of innovation in large enterprises. JIN firmly believes that every organization needs an excellent management system to unleash the potential of all employees to go through this age of great uncertainty. SOURCE Council on Competitiveness; Japan Innovation Network Wealth management software and infrastructure leader expands client reporting and data aggregation to include digital assets from Eaglebrook's crypto SMA platform CHICAGO, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bridge Financial Technology ("BridgeFT"), a data-centric wealth management technology platform for registered investment advisors (RIAs), financial institutions, and FinTech innovators, announced today that it has partnered with Eaglebrook Advisors, Inc. ("Eaglebrook"), the largest SEC registered digital asset separately managed account ("SMA") platform, to expand its data aggregation, insights, and client reporting solution to include bitcoin and crypto SMAs from Eaglebrook. This partnership provides joint clients of BridgeFT and Eaglebrook with an integrated solution that makes it easier to invest, manage, report, and bill on their clients' bitcoin and digital asset holdings within a secure, unified technology ecosystem. Through a direct integration that is live and fully operational, Eaglebrook's client and crypto SMA account data is seamlessly connected with BridgeFT's data aggregation platform and advisor-facing portal, AtlasTM. This integration enables financial advisors, TAMPs, and wealthtech partners to gain a better understanding of their clients' complete financial picture which now includes digital assets, paving the way for better investment advice and more accurate management, reporting, and billing on crypto positions. As part of the integration, historical and ongoing digital asset investment data from Eaglebrook is automatically normalized, reconciled, and enriched by BridgeFT to calculate daily performance history and power advanced analytics, in conjunction with traditional custodian and held-away assets. The addition of Eaglebrook's crypto SMA data further extends the rich, consolidated, trade-ready data sources already available to BridgeFT clients via our open Developer API and/or directly through Atlas, our integrated advisor platform. "We are excited to welcome Eaglebrook to our partner ecosystem and our growing roster of data resources available to our RIA and wealthtech clients. As retail investors continue to demand increased exposure to cryptocurrencies, Eaglebrook has led the way for wealth management professionals by making it easier for them to access digital assets directly using groundbreaking technology and the time-tested SMA platform advisors are used to," said Joe Stensland, CEO of BridgeFT. "At BridgeFT, we are continuously looking for partners, like Eaglebrook, who have a shared vision for using technology to help our clients deliver better, data-driven outcomes and more personalized experiences." "We are thrilled to partner with Bridge to provide a seamless and secure digital asset solution for their RIAs and financial advisors," said Christopher King, CEO of Eaglebrook Advisors. "The partnership will continue to support the adoption and acceleration of digital asset SMAs as well as Eaglebrook's platform, positioning it as the premier solution for financial advisors investing in the digital asset market." Digital assets held in Eaglebrook's SMAs are secured in an offline, institutional-grade custody account at Gemini Trust Company, a New York state trust company and digital asset custodian. Eaglebrook also provides educational resources through Eaglebrook IQ which delivers digital asset education and training for financial advisors to help them better understand the merits and risks of the emerging asset class, as well as answer client questions confidently. Advisors interested in learning more about the integration between BridgeFT and Eaglebrook are invited to stream an informational webinar scheduled for June 2nd at 1:00PM EST. About BridgeFT BridgeFT is a cloud-native, API-first software and data platform that enables registered investment advisors (RIAs), financial institutions, and FinTech innovators to deliver better, data-driven outcomes for their clients. More than 300 leading firms trust BridgeFT to automate critical back office operations and power their digital wealth management ecosystemsseamlessly aligning essential wealth data, proactive client insights and reporting, and portfolio management automation to deliver a truly personalized client experience. From an integrated advisor platform to flexible, open APIs, BridgeFT delivers the infrastructure needed for success. Reimagine your approach to wealth infrastructure at bridgeft.com . About Eaglebrook Eaglebrook Advisors, Inc. is a SEC-registered investment adviser that operates the largest SEC registered SMA Platform in the crypto market. The firm has created the first bitcoin and crypto separately managed accounts (SMAs), which are designed to seamlessly integrate with an advisor's current portfolio management systems and workflows. The company is backed by leading wealth management executives and financial institutions. For more information about Eaglebrook, its products, services and for important disclosures, please visit www.eaglebrookadvisors.com and follow us on LinkedIn . Media Contact: Dave Hagen [email protected] SOURCE Bridge Financial Technology CAHME is an accrediting body for academic programs that offer a professional master's degree in healthcare management education. Every year, the organization partners with Canon Solutions America to recognize educational institutions that strive to instill ideals of sustainability and social responsibility in future healthcare leaders with the Award for Sustainability in Healthcare Management Education and Practice . This award signifies the critical role education plays in inspiring future healthcare leaders to enact positive change incorporating the ideals of cultural competency, community involvement, environmental focus, and sustainability. "Receiving the CAHME/Canon Solutions America Award for Sustainability in Healthcare Management Education and Practice is a true honor for us," said Jean Abraham, PhD, professor and interim head, SPH Division of Health Policy & Management. "It really represents a true affirmation of the significance of the efforts we've put forth to enhance sustainability. In April of 2020, we released our five-year strategic plan, which included a call to promote greater diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are ensuring that our students have a solid foundation in understanding the root causes of health and healthcare disparities." The Minnesota MHA program was recognized for its efforts to manifest sustainability ideals that contribute to student and community development, focusing on enhancing cultural competency, increasing community involvement, acquiring an environmental focus, and increasing access to healthcare services. The program was honored at the CAHME Award Ceremony on March 27 at the ACHE Congress in Chicago, IL. "We are excited to join Canon Solutions America in awarding this honor to the University of Minnesota," said Anthony Stanowski, DHA, FACHE, President and CEO of CAHME. "Since 1968, Minnesota's graduate program in healthcare administration has provided students the training and support they need to become thoughtful, skilled, and effective leaders within healthcare." "It's an honor to promote the excellent work being done by the University of Minnesota Master of Healthcare Administration program, and their holistic view of sustainability," said Peter P. Kowalczuk, president of Canon Solutions America. "On behalf of Canon Solutions America, congratulations to the University of Minnesota on this great achievement." About CAHME CAHME serves the public interest by advancing the quality of healthcare management education globally. CAHME is the only organization recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation to grant accreditation to individual academic programs offering a professional master's degree in healthcare management. CAHME Accreditation is the benchmark for students and employers that ensure the integrity of healthcare management education. For more information, visit cahme.org. About the University of Minnesota School of Public Health The University of Minnesota School of Public Health improves the health and wellbeing of populations and communities around the world by bringing innovative research, learning, and concrete actions to today's biggest health challenges. We prepare some of the most influential leaders in the field, and partner with health departments, communities, and policymakers to advance health equity for all. Learn more at www.sph.umn.edu. About Canon Solutions America, Inc. Canon Solutions America, Inc. provides industry leading enterprise, production, and large format printing solutions, supported by exceptional professional service offerings. Canon Solutions America, Inc. helps companies of all sizes discover ways to improve sustainability, increase efficiency, and control costs in conjunction with high volume, continuous feed, digital and traditional printing, and document management solutions. A wholly owned subsidiary of Canon U.S.A., Inc., Canon Solutions America, Inc. is headquartered in Melville, NY and has sales and service locations across the U.S. For more information on Canon Solutions America, please visit csa.canon.com . Canon is a registered trademark of Canon Inc. in the United States and elsewhere. All other referenced product names and marks are trademarks of their respective owners. 2022 Canon Solutions America, Inc. All rights reserved. SOURCE Canon Solutions America Relationship management platform provider puts successful entrepreneur at the helm COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bonzo, a relationship management platform provider dedicated to giving busy mortgage and real estate professionals their free time back, announced that Chad Jampedro has been named the company's CEO. The former CEO of GO Mortgage and Loanmarq, Jampedro was a Bonzo customer and investor in the company before joining. Jampedro joins Bonzo co-founders Miles Miller and Jason Perkins, who serve as chief operating officer and president, respectively, to round out Bonzo's executive team. Jampedro's duties will include navigating the capital and investor space, supporting and inspiring the Bonzo team, and establishing internal systems to support planned growth. Unlike other industry CRM providers, the automated Bonzo platform is designed and priced to help salespeople attract and engage customers without all the traditional legwork, cost and time. This enables salespeople to spend less time and money chasing deals or implementing a new CRM, and more time building lasting client relationships. "For Bonzo to have the transformational impact we desireempowering professionals to create freedom in their liveswe needed a visionary leader with experience in all facets of the mortgage industry and a track record of running successful businesses," said Miller. "Chad is that leaderand with his guidance, we are positioned to fulfill our mission and ultimately expand into other areas of the housing market." "We are beyond thrilled to have Chad as Bonzo's CEO," Perkins added. "His commitment to leadership and excellence exemplifies our strategic efforts to expand Bonzo's footprint in key verticals." Early in the pandemic, Jampedro met Miller and Perkins while seeking a sales automation platform for his former company, GO Mortgage. Jampedro was so impressed with Bonzo that he made an investment in the company in early 2021. "Mortgage and real estate professionals deserve to lead rich and rewarding lives outside of work," Jampedro said. "Bonzo empowered my former team to do just that. So, when the opportunity arose to become CEO and help other companies build more successful teams, I had to take it." Jampedro began his career as a loan originator before becoming a partner in GO Mortgage and ascending to the role of president, where he remained until April 2022. While leading GO Mortgage, Jampedro, who was recently named a 2021 Housing Industry Icon by Mortgage Professional America magazine, also owned and sold Loanmarq, a mortgage software provider. "I'm very passionate about what Miles, Jason and the Bonzo team are doing," Jampedro said. "I look forward to helping to transform the way industry professionals work so they can lead richer lives." About Bonzo Bonzo provides an automated relationship management platform designed to give time and freedom back to mortgage and real estate professionals by increasing the number of customer conversations and decreasing the time spent on mundane tasks. The affordable Bonzo platform is customizable, easy to use and can be implemented in nearly an instant, and features customer support that reflects the company's human-first philosophy. Read more about Bonzo at getbonzo.com. Press Contact Sam Garcia, Publicist Strategic Vantage 214.762.4457 | [email protected] SOURCE Bonzo Six New Sweet and Savory Spreads Add a Burst of Fresh Flavor to Every Eating Occasion DUBLIN, Calif., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Challenge Butter, a leading U.S. farmer-owned butter brand, today announced the launch of Challenge Butter Snack Spreads. These new spreads make a variety of favorite sweet and savory flavor profiles, ranging from Chocolate and Salted Caramel to Everything and Buffalo, available in a Challenge Butter-based spread. As people are seeking easier ways to add fast flavor to meals and snacks with fresh ingredients, Challenge Butter designed these Snack Spreads for topping, dipping, spreading, slathering, sauteing and more. As people are seeking easier ways to add fast flavor to meals and snacks with fresh ingredients, Challenge Butter designed these Snack Spreads for topping, dipping, spreading, slathering, sauteing and more. Challenge Butter today announced the launch of Challenge Butter Snack Spreads in six sweet and savory flavors. Made with real butter and no artificial flavors, the Snack Spreads are available in three Dessert and three Seasoned varieties: Vanilla Fudge Dessert Snack Spread a hint of sweetness perfect for brightening up graham crackers, pretzels and waffles a hint of sweetness perfect for brightening up graham crackers, pretzels and waffles Chocolate Dessert Snack Spread chocolaty bliss that's amazing on popcorn, crepes and strawberries chocolaty bliss that's amazing on popcorn, crepes and strawberries Salted Caramel Dessert Snack Spread a perfect balance of sweet and salty on apples, pancakes and sauteed bananas a perfect balance of sweet and salty on apples, pancakes and sauteed bananas Buffalo Seasoned Snack Spread Mildly spicy with the perfect amount of tang offers a kick to quesadillas, cauliflower and chicken wings Mildly spicy with the perfect amount of tang offers a kick to quesadillas, cauliflower and chicken wings Everything Seasoned Snack Spread - This popular roasted, savory flavor combination takes pita chips, chicken, sandwiches, and vegetable marinades to the next level - This popular roasted, savory flavor combination takes pita chips, chicken, sandwiches, and vegetable marinades to the next level Garlic Parmesan and Herb Seasoned Snack Spread a perfect blend of garlic, Parmesan and herbs that brings bold flavors to pasta, meats, bread and chips "The Challenge Snack Spread line adds a new, flavorful twist to our beloved, freshly churned butter, making it possible for anyone to enhance their favorite snacks and meals quickly and easily," said Michael Burdeny, President of Challenge Dairy Products Inc. "Even after 110 years, Challenge continues to push itself to bring fresh innovation to the category, responding to consumers' growing interest in snacks and seeking ways to further enhance those eating occasions." Challenge Butter Snack Spreads are packaged in 6.5 oz tubs with a SRP of $3.99, and just hit shelves at, Meijer, Spartan Nash, Harris Teeter, SaveMart, Lucky's, Lowe's Foods and Albertsons and its subsidiaries including Safeway, Jewel-Osco and Vons, with additional retail availability to follow this summer. Challenge Butter is churned fresh daily from pure sweet cream as it has been for more than 110 years. Its dedicated dairy farmer owners and employees challenge themselves daily to exceed the tradition of quality and exceptional service the company has offered from its inception in 1911. Challenge Butter products are available at retailers across the country. For additional information, recipes, cooking tips, retailers and more, please visit www.challengebutter.com. About Challenge Butter Award-winning Challenge Butter has been churning its butters from family-owned dairies daily since its inception in 1911. Today, it is one of the top butter brands in the nation and is part of Challenge Dairy Products portfolio of retail products which include traditional butter, spreadable butters, European-style butters, cream cheese and its new line of sweet and savory Snack Spreads. Challenge is a pioneer in the quality of butter products, being responsible for many industry firsts and today, with an eye on the future, its family dairy farmers are leaders in sustainable farming and animal welfare practices. Visit Challenge on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ChallengeButter or at www.ChallengeButter.com. Challenge Dairy Products, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of California Dairies Inc., the second largest dairy cooperative in the United States. Challenge is a cooperative association responsible for the marketing and distribution of dairy products produced from 400 family-owned dairies. Media Contact Jennifer Parnell [email protected] 720-515-3651 SOURCE Challenge Dairy Products, Inc. Happy Hippie Foundation partnership helps address food insecurity with $250,000 in community meals and support of The Trevor Project provides life-saving resources for the greater LGBTQIA+ community throughout the year NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) announced its 'Always Real' support for the LGBTQIA+ community in honor of Pride month. Chipotle worked with its PRIDE Employee Resource Group to identify pressing issues that members of the community face, and together developed its first-ever program dedicated to yearlong support. Chipotle worked with its PRIDE Employee Resource Group to develop its first-ever program dedicated to yearlong support of the LGBTQIA+ community. The company's 'Always Real' support includes partnerships with The Happy Hippie Foundation and The Trevor Project. 'Always Real' Food Food insecurity, the state of being without reliable access to enough affordable, nutritious food, disproportionately affects members of the LGBTQ community. LGBTQ adults living in the U.S. are nearly twice as likely to be experiencing food insecurity during the pandemic than non-LGBTQ adults.* To help address this crisis, Chipotle is teaming up with Happy Hippie, a nonprofit organization founded by Miley Cyrus whose mission is to fight injustice facing homeless youth, LGBTQ youth, and other vulnerable populations, to provide $250,000 in free Chipotle to Happy Hippie's partner LGBTQIA+ centers across the country, giving them access to real food throughout the year. Round Up for Real Change Now through June 16, guests in the U.S. can round-up their order total to the next highest dollar amount on the Chipotle app and Chipotle.com to support The Trevor Project, the world's largest suicide prevention and mental health organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) young people. Guests in Canada can round-up their order total to support Egale Canada throughout June. Egale works to improve the lives of Two Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex people through research, education, awareness, and legal advocacy. To date, Chipotle has raised approximately $12 million for underserved communities through its Round Up for Change platform. The brand also plans to continue its support of LGBTQIA+ organizations beyond June and spotlight Happy Hippie as a round up partner later this year. 'Always Real' Pride Today, Chipotle is launching a collection of inclusive merchandise, including various tees and long-sleeve tops that were designed in partnership with its PRIDE Employee Resource Group to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community. Chipotle will donate $10 from each item sold to The Trevor Project or a minimum of $15,000. Fans can explore and purchase the new collection here: https://chipotlegoods.com/. Pride at Chipotle As a long time Pride supporter, Chipotle celebrates equality with its employees as well as its customers. The company empowers its workforce by investing in the well-being of its employees and their families with world-class benefits like access to mental health care through employee assistance programs. Further resources include enhanced paid parental leave for adoptive parents, same-sex couples, and paternity leave, as well as covered care and surgical services for Transgender employees. Chipotle recently received a 100 score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index, highlighting best workplaces for LGBTQIA+ equality. 'Always Real' Training Chipotle is also collaborating with The Trevor Project to boost its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs by providing new interactive and intensive trainings to Chipotle employees focused on allyship and the environmental stressors and cultural stigmas that contribute to the LGBTQ community's heightened risk for suicide. "As an organization rooted in purpose, we're always looking for ways to drive real, meaningful change," said Marissa Andrada, Chief Diversity, Inclusion and People Officer at Chipotle. "Cultivating a better world takes a commitment from all of us, and we want to address the needs of the LGBTQIA+ community, provide everyone a safe place to authentically come to work, and cultivate an environment for all to thrive." *SOURCE: NPR ABOUT CHIPOTLE Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is cultivating a better world by serving responsibly sourced, classically-cooked, real food with wholesome ingredients without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Chipotle had over 3,000 restaurants as of March 31, 2022, in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany and is the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates all its restaurants. Chipotle is ranked on the Fortune 500 and is recognized on the 2022 list for Fortune's Most Admired Companies. With over 100,000 employees passionate about providing a great guest experience, Chipotle is a longtime leader and innovator in the food industry. Chipotle is committed to making its food more accessible to everyone while continuing to be a brand with a demonstrated purpose as it leads the way in digital, technology and sustainable business practices. For more information or to place an order online, visit WWW.CHIPOTLE.COM. SOURCE Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. ZURICH, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Chubb Limited (NYSE: CB) today announced that Cheryl Krauss has been appointed Senior Vice President, Chubb Group and Chief Communications Officer, effective June 6. Ms. Krauss will be responsible for Chubb's corporate communications and marketing functions globally. In addition, the investor relations function will report jointly to Ms. Krauss and Peter Enns, Executive Vice President, Chubb Group and Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Krauss will report to Evan G. Greenberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Cheryl Krauss Formerly Chief Communications Officer of global investment management firm Barings, Ms. Krauss succeeds Patrick McGovern, Senior Vice President, Chubb Group, who will assume an interim role providing executive communications and speechwriting support to the CEO. Mr. McGovern will work closely to support Ms. Krauss on the successful leadership transition of the chief communications role. "Cheryl is a seasoned global marketing and communications executive with extensive experience in financial services, private equity and management consulting," said Mr. Greenberg. "Cheryl has a distinguished track record of developing strong, consistent global brands and driving strategic marketing communications for both consumer and commercial businesses. I am pleased to welcome Cheryl to Chubb." "I want to thank Pat for his 19 years of service building and leading our communications function through a period of significant change and growth," Mr. Greenberg continued. "I am fortunate that we will continue to work together on my communications and public speaking agenda." Prior to joining Barings in 2019, Ms. Krauss spent four years with BNY Mellon in senior global communication roles and approximately 14 years with Bain & Company as Worldwide Senior Director, Public Relations. Before Bain, she held a range of agency and in-house communications roles for Burson-Marsteller (now BCW), a subsidiary of WPP, including Managing Director of the Latin America Media Practice. Ms. Krauss started her career as a journalist and photojournalist with ABC and NBC affiliates in Miami and West Palm Beach, Florida and CBS News in New York. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Miami in Communications with a major in broadcast/journalism and she studied art history at the University of Sydney. About Chubb Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries and territories, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London, Paris and other locations, and employs approximately 31,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: www.chubb.com SOURCE Chubb Limited HOUSTON, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CITGO Petroleum Corporation recently awarded several grants to promote community resilience in its operating areas. As part of the overall disaster resilience and relief strategy for CITGO, several of our community grants coincide with the upcoming hurricane season. In Lake Charles, La., CITGO is donating $25,000 to the United Way to help create a pre-screening system to facilitate assistance more quickly for those in need affected by storms. In Corpus Christi, Texas, CITGO is donating $25,000 to the United Way's resilience quick release funds, which assist partner organizations prior to and immediately after storms. "The communities we call home demonstrate tremendous resilience, especially during storm season and they do so by coming together. We're proud to regularly join in this effort, both through grants to our nonprofit partners and through TeamCITGO volunteer activities," said Michael Rosen, CITGO General Manager of Government and Public Affairs. "Together, we've lent a helping hand both immediately following a natural disaster and in the long-term by helping communities rebuild and better prepare for future storms. These grants in particular support projects to help communities increase their resiliency and be better prepared." To further support resiliency in other regions of our operations, CITGO will donate $25,000 to Will County Habitat for Humanity in Joliet, Ill. to assist vulnerable families in Lockport, Ill. with housing needs. In the Houston area, CITGO awarded $25,000 to Operation Impact. Funds will support the distribution of a week's worth of shelf-stable meals to seniors through Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston's Meals on Wheels program in the greater Houston area. CITGO will also donate $50,000 to the Gulf of Mexico Alliance to support its green design project. As a way to increase the environmental resilience of the Gulf Coast and reduce water pollution, these green design practices can reduce flooding, improve water quality and increase storm protection, while also providing increased wildlife habitat. "In one way or another, all of our community programs at CITGO aim to create greater resiliency whether through education, disaster relief, community assistance, or environmental protection. They all go hand in hand," continued Rosen. "CITGO is part of these communities, and when they are healthy and thriving, we're succeeding." About CITGO Headquartered in Houston, Texas, CITGO Petroleum Corporation is a recognized leader in the refining industry with a well-known brand. CITGO operates three refineries located in Lake Charles, La.; Lemont, Ill.; and Corpus Christi, Texas, and wholly and/or jointly owns 38 active terminals, six pipelines and three lubricants blending and packaging plants. With approximately 3,300 employees and a combined crude capacity of approximately 769,000 barrels-per-day (bpd), CITGO is ranked as the fifth-largest, and one of the most complex independent refiners in the United States. CITGO transports and markets transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products and supplies a network of approximately 4,400 locally owned and operated branded retail outlets, all located east of the Rocky Mountains. CITGO Petroleum Corporation is owned by CITGO Holding, Inc. SOURCE CITGO Corporation SAVANNAH, Ga., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- City Wide Facility Solutions, the leading management company in the building maintenance industry, is opening a location in Savannah making this the third location in Georgia. The new office in Savannah serves several areas, from down south in Brunswick to up north into Orangeburg, South Carolina. Local building owners and property management companies throughout Savannah and surrounding areas now have access to a single-source solution for all their facility management needs. Rick Cobden, president, and Nick MacKinnon, general manager, have partnered to open City Wide Facility Solutions at 6001 Chatham Center Drive, Suite 255 in Savannah. This is the third City Wide Facility Solutions office opened by Rick with the other offices in Greenville and Charleston. "Nick is a big reason why we have the ability to open another location. He has helped us expand significantly when it comes to our client base," said Cobden. "Both Nick and I want to continue the City Wide mission of spreading the ripple and making a positive impact on our communities whether that be through the work we do every day or what we do outside of work Savannah is the perfect opportunity to do that." Cobden has been involved with City Wide since 2009 finding it rewarding to be able to build the brand in the Carolinas through the years. Nick MacKinnon joined Cobden at City Wide Facility Solutions in 2013 as a sales associate. He then worked his way up to director of operations before taking on his role as general manager. For the past two years, he has been managing both the offices in Greenville and Charleston with a focus on growth, leading to the locations earning the highest honor of 'Platinum Market' from the City Wide Home Office for having more than $1 million in revenue and a 95% client retention rate. Playing an instrumental role in boosting local economies, City Wide Facility Solutions puts business back into the community by partnering with smaller, independent and locally owned companies to execute services. Aligning with independent companies ensures clients have access to more specialized services while providing an opportunity for small businesses to develop alongside a reputable national company. For more information about City Wide Facility Solutions in Savannah and the services it offers, please visit savannah.gocitywide.com or call (864) 327-1751. SOURCE City Wide Facility Solutions 'For over 20 years now, our vaccine based on A. marginale rather than A. centrale has remained the best, most cost-effective protection in this ongoing battle against bovine anaplasmosis' Dr. Gene Luther, University Products LLC BATON ROUGE, La., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- University Products LLC demonstrated the clinical importance of using a killed A. marginale vaccine, rather than the usual live A. centrale vaccine in the fight against annual bovine anaplasmosis infections citing recent research published in Veterinary Parasitology. The study analyzed three tick-borne disease strains developed in Australia and imported into Paraguay for analysis one of which causes anaplasmosis and was treated with a vaccine based on A. centrale. Researchers definitively concluded that: "The A. centrale [vaccine] strain did not prove to be as safe as would be desirable in safety trials, neither did it provide as good protection an alternative to A. centrale should be sought to provide protection against local strains of A. marginale." University Products LLC A series of similar studies undertaken in Zimbabwe, Paraguay, and Argentina came to the same conclusion that A. centrale vaccines were ineffective at fighting A. marginale and another recent study pointed to the dangers of using live A. centrale vaccines in general: "Because the A. centrale vaccine is blood-based, it is not approved in the United States or European Union due to the inherent risk of transmission of known or emerging blood-borne pathogens along with the vaccine, as previously demonstrated in a batch of vaccine contaminated with bovine leucosis virus". Of the studies and their ramifications, University Products vaccine developer Dr. Gene Luther said: "Most countries outside of the United States use an attenuated strain of A. centrale in a variety of vaccines to fight anaplasmosis. But we know that A. centrale is weaker. While A. marginale is highly pathogenic and relatively unaffected by these vaccines. Our killed vaccine is based on Anaplasma marginale and provides superior protection at a lower cost with fewer handling conditions. In addition, our manufacturing process can produce a purified antigen based on any sample strain of A. marginale from around the world. "We really are gratified to see international researchers, companies and governments verifying what we have known for over two decades now," said Dr. Luther. "And it is the simple truth: most established treatment protocols for fighting bovine anaplasmosis have failed. Antibiotic treatments or live vaccines created with A. centrale are less effective, expensive, and hurt consumers . Using a killed A. marginale vaccine is the most effective weapon we have against this disease. We should be deploying our technology across the globe." About University Products LLC The University Products vaccine does not prevent infection, but when properly used, significantly reduces clinical signs in at-risk animals. The vaccine requires only two doses in the first year, with one annual booster each year thereafter and is safe to use in any stage of bovine pregnancy. A detailed description of the vaccine and its method of administration is publicly available for PDF download. For more information on the University Products vaccine, with availability for farmers and producers, please instruct veterinarians to contact Dr. Luther directly by email at [email protected]. Media Contact: Don Luther, Director 1-225-413-7203 [email protected] SOURCE University Products LLC INDIANAPOLIS, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Core BTS, a leading technology consulting firm and managed services provider, announced today that CRN a brand of The Channel Company, has named Core BTS to its 2022 Solution Provider 500 list. CRN's annual Solution Provider 500 ranks North America's largest solution providers by revenue and serves as the gold standard for recognizing some of the channel's most successful companies. The list represents organizations that are at the forefront of their industry and have strong partnerships with leading technology suppliers. "The Solution Provider 500 list from CRN serves as the benchmark for the top technology integrators, strategic service providers, and IT consulting firms, making it an invaluable resource for technology vendors seeking to partner with today's top-performing IT solution providers," said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. "My congratulations go out to each of these companies for their extraordinary contributions to the continued growth and success of the IT channel." This is the fifth time that Core BTS has been named to the Solution Provider 500 list, highlighting an ongoing commitment to innovation, partnership, and client focus. "We are proud to be recognized on CRN's 2022 Solution Provider list," said Paul Lidsky, CEO at Core BTS. "This recognition affirms Core BTS' commitment to partnering with clients to leverage technology that transforms their business and enables change. As organizations look to accelerate digital transformation, this provides them with further confidence that Core BTS can help develop and implement solutions that accelerate their business." To learn more about Core BTS' delivery methodology, visit corebts.com/approach. To see CRN's 2022 Solution Provider 500 list, visit www.CRN.com/SP500. A sample from the list will also be featured in the June issue of CRN magazine. About Core BTS Core BTS is an award-winning technology consulting firm and managed service provider. Recognized for accelerating the adoption of digital technology to transform business, Core BTS delivers robust cloud, modern workplace, collaboration, security, and networking solutions to clients nationwide. Core BTS is owned by Nomura Research Institute, a global provider of consulting services and system solutions. Learn more at https://corebts.com/. About The Channel Company The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers, and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelcompany.com Media Contact Richie Roesner Walker Sands [email protected] SOURCE Core BTS BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, sent a congratulatory letter to extend warm congratulations to all members of the foundation and sincere greetings to people in and outside China who have contributed to the cause of the foundation. In the letter, Xi said that under the strong leadership of the Party, China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, over the past 40 years, has inherited and carried on the lofty ideals of Madame Soong Ching Ling and has played a significant role in many aspects including enhancing international friendship, expanding cross-Strait exchanges and exchanges with Hong Kong and Macao, and undertakings promoting youth development. Xi expressed his hope that the foundation will uphold Madame Soong Ching Ling's conviction that "we will always stand with the Party," and pursue its cause under the principle of "peace, reunification, and future." With a clear understanding of the theme of our times, the foundation should give full play to its unique strengths, deepening nongovernmental international cooperation, remaining committed to promoting the peaceful reunification of the motherland, helping the growth and development of young people, advancing charitable causes, and making greater contributions to promoting the unity of all Chinese at home and abroad and realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation, Xi hoped. A ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the founding of China Soong Ching Ling Foundation was held in Beijing on Tuesday. Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), attended the ceremony and delivered a speech. He said General Secretary Xi's congratulatory letter has fully recognized the achievements made by the foundation over the past four decades and set requirements for its missions in the new era. This demonstrates that the CPC Central Committee attaches great importance to the foundation's work and has ardent expectations for it, and it points out the direction for the future development of the foundation in the new era. The foundation should study and implement the gist of Xi's letter, adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. It should boost its consciousness of the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, follow the leadership core, and keep in alignment with the central Party leadership; strengthen its confidence in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics; and uphold General Secretary Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and uphold the Party Central Committee's authority and its centralized, unified leadership. It should also forever follow the right political line, keep abreast of the times, and give prominence to its nature as an organization for public interest, so that the foundation will do an even better job in pursuing its cause in the new era. Wang said that as a people's organization under CPC leadership, the foundation should uphold Madame Soong Ching Ling's conviction that "we will always stand with the Party" as its guiding principle and take it as the pivot of its work to pool strength for realizing national rejuvenation, so as to forge a mighty force that unites all Chinese at home and abroad to fulfill the Chinese Dream together. While continuing to focus on the central task and serve the overall interests of the country, the foundation should coordinate all its work to become a platform for expanding people-to-people diplomacy, a bridge for promoting the peaceful reunification of the country, a force for facilitating the youth and teenagers' development, and a group for advancing public welfare and charity programs. The foundation should continue to improve itself, carry out its work in accordance with the law and its regulations, ensure transparency and inclusiveness of its operation, run its council under prescribed institutions and standards, and step up capacity building of its council members, volunteers, and staff, so as to deliver better work. You Quan, a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, read out the congratulatory letter by Xi at the meeting. Li Bin, vice-chairperson of the CPPCC National Committee and chairperson of China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, made a speech. Zheng Jianbang, vice-chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, attended the meeting. Representatives of relevant parties delivered congratulatory messages, and the UNICEF sent a congratulatory letter to the occasion. Those who also attended the meeting include officials of relevant departments and offices under the Party Central Committee and the State Council, heads of some people's organizations, and representatives of relevant memorial organizations for Sun Yat-sen and Soong Ching Ling, council members and honorary council members of the foundation. Founded in 1982, the foundation is a people's organization under the leadership of the CPC. Over the past 40 years, following the principle of "peace, reunification, and future," it has contributed to promoting people-to-people friendship with other countries, promoting cross-Strait exchanges and exchanges with Hong Kong and Macao. The foundation has also made significant contributions to the development of youth programs. The collection combines two unique, science-based technologies that set a new standard in comfort footwear, offering energy return and climate control NEWTON, Mass., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Two Boston-based innovators in comfort technology, Rockport and Ministry of Supply , have teamed up to set a new standard in footwear with the launch of a limited-edition Total Motion R+M collection. Inspired by the innovation of the iconic Apollo missions and striving to recreate the zero-gravity experience, the new collection combines two distinct technologies (one NASA-developed) into sneakers that provide the wearer with a smooth, cool stride throughout the day. Carefully designed and tested, the Total Motion R+M collection features a Men's lace-up and Women's slip-on style and is available to purchase on Rockport and Ministry of Supply. Rockport and Ministry of Supply Limited-Edition Total Motion R+M Collection (PRNewsfoto/The Rockport Company) A collection backed by science-based elements, the Total Motion R+M sneakers combine Rockport's energy-dispersing Total Motion Technology and Ministry of Supply's temperature-regulating, NASA-developed Apollo Phase Change Materials. The result is unparalleled energy return and a climate-controlled environment, packaged into a sneaker that also delivers on a lightweight and flexible design for the wearer. "With decades of experience between us in comfort technology and a shared vision for what could be next, without a doubt Ministry of Supply was the perfect partner to bring this collection to reality," said Steven Holt, Brand President at The Rockport Group. "Our team worked closely with Ministry of Supply Co-Founders Aman and Gihan to design, test, and deliver a shoe that provides the ultimate in comfort. We're proud to offer consumers this collection and set a new comfort standard in the industry." "Our world has become increasingly hybrid and we're always looking for ways to engineer the modern wardrobe to match our customer's evolved lifestyle. Rockport's shared history in innovation in comfort and our Boston roots, made them a natural partner to create the optimal work-from-anywhere shoe, that extends to any day of the week with ease," said Gihan Amarasiriwardena, Co-Founder and President of Ministry of Supply. "We've heard the desire to keep moving through the modern day, anywhere, and by marrying our flagship technologies we're excited to launch a comfortable system that can do just that." Both Rockport and Ministry of Supply are committed to working towards an eco-friendlier future. From the sneakers itself to the shoebox, the collection was responsibly designed incorporating recycled materials. The shoe uppers are made from over 50% recycled material content, while the shoebox features at least 75% recycled content and was designed as one-piece to use less paper and glue than standard boxes, among other eco-friendly packaging elements such as soy ink. The limited-edition Men's Total Motion R+M Lace-Up ($135) and the Women's Total Motion Slip-On ($110) are now available on Rockport.com and will launch on Nordstrom.com later this month. About The Rockport Group: Rockport was founded in 1971 on the idea that shoe style and comfort should go hand-in-hand. This core belief led Rockport to become the first brand to infuse dress shoes with sport-comfort technology, reinventing shoe design forever. Today, Rockport and its other brands including Reef, Cobb Hill and Dunham can be found in various retail channels in more than 60 countries worldwide. Building on decades of experience, Rockport continues to deliver extraordinary technology-based comfort, incorporating the latest advances in construction and design into both modern and classic shoe styles. For more information, visit www.rockport.com . About Ministry of Supply: Ministry of Supply is an MIT-founded clothing company that leverages advanced manufacturing techniques, innovative materials, and human-centered design to make clothing scientifically better and more adaptable for the modern hybrid lifestyle. For more information, visit www.ministryofsupply.com . SOURCE The Rockport Company HyperTrader No Longer Requires Paid Subscriptions; All Existing Features Accessible and Free to Everyone AUSTIN, Texas, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- HyperLinq , the cryptocurrency trading platform and creator of institutional-grade trading terminal HyperTrader , now provides all HyperTrader features free of charge. HyperTrader is an invaluable resource born to solve problems for crypto traders. It helps users manage multiple portfolios, execute trades quickly and efficiently, and provide insights into their trading activities. Until now, HyperTrader required a paid subscription. "We started HyperLinq with a mission to democratize access to technology and markets," said HyperLinq CEO Amar Gautam. "Charging subscriptions for basic features is contrary to our mission. So it is time that we make these effective and necessary tools accessible for everyone worldwide without charging a fee." These new features and tools will be available for public beta in the coming months. "The current crypto market conditions have presented various challenges. We empathize with the traders and want to help them navigate these uncertain and volatile times," said Karamvir Singh, HyperLinq CPO. HyperLinq has decided to remove all subscription costs for all customers. The HyperTrader app is now 100% free. HyperLinq is providing a free service to users to help them maximize their portfolio as effectively and efficiently as possible. "Our commitment has never wavered. We will continue to add new features and provide one of the most efficient and powerful trading terminals available," said Kunal Kumar, HyperLinq CTO. About HyperLinq HyperLinq builds supercharged trading systems to help traders work more efficiently by creating a simple yet powerful and fast trading terminal for crypto. Thousands of traders around the world use HyperTrader . HyperLinq, headquartered in Austin, is on a mission to develop technology to give easy access to global markets and provide tools so that everyone can invest in those markets effectively. SOURCE HyperLinq The new endpoint is designed to offer customers on-demand insight into current and historical content from ransomware websites hosted on the darknet. DENVER, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- DarkOwl today announced the release of Ransomware API, the latest in their suite of darknet products. By enabling users to monitor darknet ransomware sites for their strategic assets including first and third party vendors organizations have the most accurate information available as to whether an entity has been extorted or compromised in a ransomware attack. Ransomware API accesses the same database of darknet content as DarkOwl's other data products, but targets results to content that was posted on ransomware group websites. These sites include those where actors post about their victims, and frequently leak compromised data that resulted from their attacks. Using this data, a company could expose potential risk for their own organization, assess supply chain vendor risk, or calculate risk to support cybersecurity insurance underwriting processes. "As ransomware actors become ever more prevalent and advanced in the darknet, companies need tools that allow them to monitor and stay ahead of any cyberattacks. We hope that our deep coverage of this space can help illuminate a criminal economy that is constantly shifting and evolving," said Mark Turnage, President and CEO of DarkOwl. DarkOwl's newest product was developed as a direct result of market demand, and is the first in the industry to offer streamlined, targeted insight into ransomware-hosted content on the darknet. As stated by DarkOwl's Director of Product Technology, Sarah Prime, "We're excited to release this new endpoint as a response to what we were hearing from our customers. Our insight into this area of darknet is unique, particularly our historical archive. Through this API product, organization mentions on these sites can now serve as a critical risk indicator." For more information, please visit www.darkowl.com/products/ransomware-api Related Links: Chris Kampfe Vice President of Marketing DarkOwl [email protected] This release was issued through WebWire(R). For more information visit http://www.webwire.com. SOURCE DarkOwl TSX.V: DME U.S. OTC: DMEHF Frankfurt: QM01 VANCOUVER, BC, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - DESERT MOUNTAIN ENERGY CORP. (the "Company") (TSXV: DME) (OTC: DMEHF) (Frankfurt: QM01) From the President of the Company The Company is pleased to announce that it has added Marta Hodan Wasko as VP of Geology. Marta is a petroleum geologist with a focus on sedimentology and stratigraphy with multiple years of experience in exploration, development, reservoir characterization, and wastewater injection. She has multiple degrees from the Colorado School of Mines, coupled with her experiences, in both the private sector and state regulation. Marta also has experience in well planning, permitting and drilling for oil, gas, helium and wastewater while working in both the private sector and state regulation. Her most recent position was as the Program Administrator for the Arizona Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. She worked on state regulations for oil, gas, and helium development while gaining knowledge of the historic and current helium exploration and development, in addition to gaining experience working with federal, state, local and Indigenous jurisdictions. "We are extremely pleased we were able to have Marta join our company," says Robert Rohlfing, CEO of Desert Mountain Energy Corp. "She has an outstanding track record within the industry and her overall knowledge of both geology and regulatory compliance aspects are a great fit for our continued growth." GENERAL UPDATE Construction on the McCauley Helium Processing Facility continues and DME will be adding selected pictures of the assembly to the website as it approaches completion. The Company expects to drill the next wildcat in the early part of July after the rig is released from the project it is currently on. DME will announce the permits when they have been received. Desert Mountain Energy's trucking company has sufficient work committed to keeping the equipment busy on average six days per week for the next 24+ months. This business segment will be adding cash flow immediately and those numbers will be reflected in the financials. Forecasts suggest the Company will get a full return on investment by the end of June. The Company's extension into the pre-payment of a drill rig with 16,000' capabilities is starting to bear fruit. DME receives a predetermined amount on a daily basis for every day it is utilized. The rig has been contracted on an extended basis for all times other than when the Company will be utilizing it. Management has decided to sell helium at spot price and not sign any long-term contracts. The recent deficit in the global helium market has resulted in strong demand and unprecedented helium prices. Desert Mountain Energy Corp. does not project any short-term solutions for the helium market and prices are expected to be at historically high levels for the foreseeable future. ABOUT DESERT MOUNTAIN ENERGY Desert Mountain Energy Corp. is a publicly traded resource company primarily focused on exploration, development and production of helium, hydrogen and noble gases. The Company is primarily looking for elements deemed critical to the renewable energy and high technology industries. We seek safe harbor "Robert Rohlfing" Robert Rohlfing Exec Chairman & CEO Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in polices of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The statements made in this press release may contain certain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ from the Company's expectations. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward looking statements and information herein include but are not limited to statements regarding the Company's anticipated performance in the future the planned exploration activities, receipt of positive results from drilling, the completion of further drilling and exploration work, and the timing and results of various activities. Forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company and its operations to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include, among others, changes in national and local governments, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in Canada and the United States; financial risks due to helium prices, operating or technical difficulties in exploration and development activities; risks and hazards and the speculative nature of resource exploration and related development; risks in obtaining necessary licenses and permits, and challenges to the Company's title to properties. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including but not limited to the continued operation of the Company's exploration operations, no material adverse change in the market price of commodities, and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or information, there may be other factors that cause results to be materially different from those anticipated, described, estimated, assessed or intended. There can be no assurance that any forward-looking statements or information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Company does not intend to, and nor does not assume any obligation to update such forward-looking statements or information, other than as required by applicable law. SOURCE Desert Mountain Energy Corp. Austin now an '18-hour city'; Downtown housing and office markets surpass pre-pandemic levels with 22 current or planned major commercial construction projects AUSTIN, Texas, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Downtown Austin Alliance (Downtown Alliance) revealed the 2022 State of Downtown report findings at its Future of Downtown event today at Waterloo Park. The report presents data on a range of economic indicators that impact downtown Austin and has been produced and shared by the Downtown Austin Alliance annually since 2019. "Downtown Austin is growing and evolving, and as stewards of downtown, we are committed not only to the economic and cultural prosperity of our neighborhood, but also to bringing the community's vision for a vibrant, resilient and inclusive downtown to life," Dewitt Peart, president and CEO of the Downtown Austin Alliance, said. "Given the recent influx of residents and businesses into our region, the State of Downtown report is essential to understanding the direction our downtown is headed. It also informs strategies for preserving our unique character and maintaining a welcoming, dynamic downtown for years to come." The report indicates that Austin has emerged as an 18-hour destination city, as opposed to the 12- or 8-hour city it has been in the past. The report highlights the number of employees working downtown, real estate activity, retail and nightlife, and more elements that make downtown a day-to-night hub of activity. While downtown makes up only 0.5% of Austin's land area, it accounts for: 13,648 residents 9,447 residential units 5.1 million unique visitors annually 106,500 downtown employees downtown Additionally, downtown Austin's housing and office markets have rebounded at an exponential pace. Leasing activity returned to pre-pandemic levels with downtown Austin leading the nation in sublease space absorbed. In the last decade, at least 4,000 residential units were added to the downtown areamore than any other area its size in the city. Additionally, 11 office projects are currently under construction, and 11 more have been proposed or are in planning. The State of Downtown report also included results from a city-wide community survey conducted to determine how Austinites feel about their downtown. An overwhelming number of respondents, 79%, 'strongly agree' or 'agree' that a thriving and vibrant downtown is essential to Austin's success. Similarly, 74% of respondents rated downtown as an 'excellent' or 'good' place for live music but gave lower ratings to its affordability, safety during nighttime hours, and as a place to live. The downtown issues that are most important to Austinites to be addressed over the next two years are homelessness, traffic congestion, public safety, affordability and parking. Looking to the future, the report also touches on monumental projects and opportunities that will impact and shape downtown, including Project Connect and capping and stitching I-35 in the central corridor, among other major investments. Other findings of note from the report include: Austin is the first among the top 50 largest metros for new residents. is the first among the top 50 largest metros for new residents. Downtown employers draw talent from the entire Central Texas region. Half of downtown's 106,000 employees live outside the city limits. region. Half of downtown's 106,000 employees live outside the city limits. Total downtown employment has recovered, although unevenly across industries. Most of the growth is reflected in professional, scientific and technical service jobs, while accommodation and food service employment has recovered only 29% of jobs lost. Downtown businesses are capitalizing on the rebound for consumer demand. 60 new businesses have opened downtown since the pandemic began. Downtown is poised to add 1,015 hotel rooms in the coming years, or 7.5% of current inventory. The Future of Downtown event also featured a panel of downtown experts and neighborhood leaders, including Caitlyn Ryan, senior vice president of Stream Realty; Annick Beaudet, mobility officer for the City of Austin; and Jen Weaver, founding principal architect of Weaver Buildings. The panel was moderated by Jim Ritts, CEO of Paramount Theatre, and included conversations on elements important to establishing downtown as an 18-hour "live, work, play" city. The event included activations and expos demonstrating current and future technologies, infrastructure and planning projects highlighting the things that transform downtown Austin. Participants had the opportunity to design the streets of the future in an augmented reality session, listen to DJ Chorizo Funk from the interactive art piece Passion Flower, watch Aaron Darling create a mural during the event, enjoy live music by San Gabriel and learn first-hand about the many transformative projects currently changing the downtown skyline. This signature event returned for the first time since it premiered in 2019 when the inaugural State of Downtown report was unveiled, along with the creation of the Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation. The full 2022 report can be viewed online . For more information on the work of the Downtown Alliance and its Foundation, please visit www.downtownaustin.com/foundation. About the Downtown Austin Alliance The Downtown Austin Alliance (Downtown Alliance) works with key downtown stakeholdersproperty owners, residents, business owners, community organizations and government officialsto advance our collective vision for the future of downtown Austin. The Downtown Alliance is engaged in dozens of projects and issues that contribute to the safety, cleanliness, and appeal of downtown Austin to residents, employees and visitors. As a full-time advocate for downtown, the Downtown Alliance protects and promotes Austin's downtown through full-time advocacy, strategic initiatives and thoughtful planning. For more information, please visit www.downtownaustin.com . Media Contacts: ECPR Rebecca de Haro or Danielle Kaigler 512.779.5601 or 617.840.1689 [email protected] SOURCE Downtown Austin Alliance Zoghbi is one of 11 scientists from across the globe being named a Kavli Prize Laureate. The Kavli Prize is a partnership among the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research and the Kavli Foundation to recognize scientists in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience for breakthroughs that transform our understanding of the big, the small and the complex. Her longtime collaborator and colleague Dr. Harry T. Orr, professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Minnesota, also is receiving the same honor. He and Zoghbi independently discovered the gene known as ATAXIN1, which is responsible for SCA1. Working together, Orr and Zoghbi discovered that a repeat expansion causes SCA1 and discovered that the mutation caused proteins to misfold and accumulate, eventually leading to neuronal dysfunction and death. The Zoghbi and Orr teams have elucidated the disease mechanism and identified paths that can be pursued for therapeutic interventions. "I am deeply honored by this recognition and credit my mentors, trainees, collaborators and the incredible research environment at Baylor and Texas Children's Hospital in helping me advance the work on SCA1 and Rett syndrome," said Zoghbi, who is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. "To be acknowledged alongside Harry Orr, Jean-Louis Mandel and Chris Walsh is especially meaningful as it is beautiful recognition of the power of genetics for understanding disease." Zoghbi is the founding director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's and a Distinguished Service Professor at Baylor. "Dr. Zoghbi is a superb scientist and talented innovator. She has expanded the field of neurogenetics and continues to do so not only with her research and patient care, but also through her mentorship and educational leadership at Baylor," said Dr. Paul Klotman, president, CEO and executive dean of Baylor. "Her discoveries have helped to treat pediatric patients and now even adults as she continues to make new discoveries in her field of neurodegenerative diseases." The journey to ATAXIN1 Zoghbi started her career as a clinical neurologist. Encountering girls with Rett syndrome inspired her to go into research. Zoghbi's patient care and research focuses on developmental disorders. It was during her early work treating Rett syndrome, which is not inherited, that she took note of an inherited neurodegenerative disorder, spinocerebellar ataxia. Her research with families suffering from spinocerebellar ataxia led her to Orr, who was also working with families with spinocerebellar ataxia. His research was pointing to the same chromosome that Zoghbi was investigating as playing a role in the development of this disease. However, they were each studying separate regions of that chromosome. "Curiously, because of where the genes mapped in the respective families in our research, we were looking at two different parts of chromosome 6 despite being fairly certain we were studying the same disease," she said. Zoghbi continued to investigate while working with Orr, the two sharing their research techniques from their respective work. After pinpointing the genetic line responsible for passing on the gene within the family she was working with, Zoghbi realized the gene mapped on top of the gene in Orr's spinocerebellar ataxia family. Zoghbi and Orr decided to collaborate even more intensely, recognizing they were working on the same gene. They split the region in half, and each started working from the outside in, searching for triplet repeats while moving toward the middle. "Finally, on April 8, 1993, we both discovered the disease-causing gene [ATAXIN1] on the same day, right in the middle of the candidate region. Harry was sending me a fax of the expansion he detected in his family, while I was sending him ours. We had the pleasure of sharing the discovery and our data at an international ataxia meeting in Capri, Italy, that summer. "After the gene discovery, we had to plan the next steps: do we continue to collaborate, or do we go our different ways? We chose to continue our collaboration," Zoghbi said. "Studying ataxias led me to one of the highlights of my scientific career, the collaboration with Harry Orr, and ensured that I could be productive while I was still struggling to understand Rett," Zoghbi said. Dr. Huda Zoghbi describes what being named a Kavli Prize Laureate means to her and the future of her research, followed by images of her lab, here. Patient care leads to Rett discovery Prior to her work and findings regarding ATAXIN1, Zoghbi's first experiences with Rett syndrome began when she joined Baylor and Texas Children's in 1983 to begin her residency in child neurology. She encountered two patients with symptoms and soon identified other children who had similar symptoms. She then began research to uncover what causes this disorder. "From the moment Dr. Zoghbi arrived at Texas Children's Hospital, we knew immediately that she was essential to unlocking the mystery of these devastating diseases," said Mark A. Wallace, president and CEO of Texas Children's Hospital. "Dr. Zoghbi continues to amaze us with her commitment to not only understanding what causes neurological diseases but also her dedication to lead the discovery and development of new treatments that will undeniably transform the landscape of neurological research and, ultimately, change lives for generations to come." In 1999, she and her research team were able to identify mutations in methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 gene, known as MECP2, as the root cause for Rett syndrome. The discovery of the Rett syndrome gene provided a straightforward diagnostic genetic test, allowing early and accurate diagnosis of the syndrome. Her work also revealed how sensitive the brain is to varying levels of the protein MeCP2. The gene MECP2 is responsible for production of this protein. Too little MeCP2 causes Rett syndrome; however, doubling MECP2 levels causes extra MeCP2 production, which leads to an increase in protein function, causing neurological deficits. MECP2 duplication syndrome in humans causes a progressive neurological disorder. Mutations in MECP2 also can cause a host of other neurological phenotypes ranging from autism to juvenile onset schizophrenia. Her findings provided evidence that an autism spectrum disorder or an intellectual disability disorder can be genetic even if it is not inherited. Zoghbi and her team's discoveries opened a new area of research on the role of epigenetics in neuropsychiatric phenotypes. Epigenetics is the study of changes in organisms caused by modification of gene expression rather than the genetic code. Zoghbi's use of an antisense oligonucleotide to lower MECP2 levels provided a potential therapeutic strategy for the MECP2 duplication syndrome and is inspiring similar studies for other disorders caused by altered gene dosage. Neurological Research Institute As the founder of the NRI, Zoghbi's vision of generous, multidisciplinary collaboration has guided the NRI to become a remarkable leader in neurogenetic research. Baylor and Texas Children's opened the NRI in 2010, building on each institution's strengths in genetics, neuroscience and pediatrics. Zoghbi collaborations have been critical for the success of many projects throughout her career; the NRI was therefore designed to foster a multidisciplinary, collaborative environment to facilitate fundamental discoveries in neuroscience with the goal of translating them to therapies for many incurable neurological and neurodegenerative conditions. Currently, the NRI is home to 30 principal investigators and 400 scientists and trainees. The NRI faculty have published more than 1300 scientific studies in top-tier journals and discovered more than 60 disease-causing genetic mutations. Promising clinical trials for numerous disorders are underway. Kavli Prize Honorees This year's Kavli Prize Laureates are: Kavli Prize in Astrophysics: Conny Aerts ( Belgium ), Jrgen Christensen-Dalsgaard ( Denmark ) and Roger Ulrich ( USA ). ( ), Jrgen Christensen-Dalsgaard ( ) and ( ). Kavli Prize in Nanoscience: David L. Allara ( USA ), Ralph G. Nuzzo ( USA ), Jacob Sagiv ( Israel ) and George Whitesides ( USA ). ( ), ( ), ( ) and ( ). Kavli Prize in Neuroscience: Jean-Louis Mandel ( France ), Harry T. Orr ( USA ), Christopher A. Walsh ( USA ) and Huda Y. Zoghbi ( Lebanon / USA ). "We honor the 2022 Kavli Prize Laureates for their transformative contributions to science and society. Their discoveries created entirely new fields, opened up new realms of scientific research and advanced science for the benefit of humankind," says Lise vreas, president of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. About Baylor College of Medicine Baylor College of Medicine (www.bcm.edu) in Houston is recognized as a health sciences university and is known for excellence in education, research and patient care. It is ranked 22nd among medical schools for research and 17th for primary care by U.S. News & World Report. Baylor is listed 20th among all U.S. medical schools for National Institutes of Health funding and No. 1 in Texas. The Baylor pediatrics program ranked 7th among all pediatric programs, reflecting the strong affiliation with Texas Children's Hospital where our faculty care for pediatric patients and our students and residents train. Nationally our physician assistant program was ranked 3rd in the health disciplines category and our nurse anesthesia program ranked 2nd. Located in the Texas Medical Center, Baylor has affiliations with seven teaching hospitals and jointly owns and operates Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, part of St. Luke's Health. Currently, Baylor has more than 3,000 trainees in medical, graduate, nurse anesthesia, physician assistant, orthotics and genetic counseling as well as residents and postdoctoral fellows. Follow Baylor College of Medicine on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/BaylorCollegeOfMedicine) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/BCMHouston). About Texas Children's Hospital Texas Children's Hospital, a not-for-profit health care organization, is committed to creating a healthier future for children and women throughout the global community by leading in patient care, education and research. Consistently ranked as the best children's hospital in Texas, and among the top in the nation, Texas Children's has garnered widespread recognition for its expertise and breakthroughs in pediatric and women's health. The hospital includes the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute; the Feigin Tower for Pediatric Research; Texas Children's Pavilion for Women, a comprehensive obstetrics/gynecology facility focusing on high-risk births; Texas Children's Hospital West Campus, a community hospital in suburban West Houston; and Texas Children's Hospital The Woodlands, the first hospital devoted to children's care for communities north of Houston. The organization also created Texas Children's Health Plan, the nation's first HMO for children; Texas Children's Pediatrics, the largest pediatric primary care network in the country; Texas Children's Urgent Care clinics that specialize in after-hours care tailored specifically for children; and a global health program that's channeling care to children and women all over the world. Texas Children's Hospital is affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine. For more information For more information, go to www.texaschildrens.org. Get the latest news by visiting the online newsroom and Twitter at twitter.com/texaschildrens. SOURCE Texas Children's Hospital Boards Packed with Fresh Fruit, Chocolate, Brownies, Cookies, Cupcakes and Cheesecake ATLANTA, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Step aside charcuterie boards, Edible has a sweet way to wow your party guests and earn extra brownie points with their new dessert boards. These Instagram-worthy creations are full of fresh fruit, chocolate, and baked goods. The dessert boards are designed to feed a crowd and can serve up to 15 people. The new Edible Signature Dessert Board and Ultimate Dessert Board will be available for order online and in Edible's more than 900 stores starting May 23, 2022. Pricing starts at $179.99. On June 20, 2022, a new Birthday Party Dessert Board with celebration cupcakes will also be available. The boards include brownies, an assortment of cheesecake and cookies; fresh strawberries, pineapple, blueberries, grapes and orange slices; chocolate and vanilla cupcakes; chocolate and white chocolate swizzle strawberries, apple wedges and pineapple; and double dipped bananas. The Ultimate Dessert Board is larger and also includes peanut butter cups, Jordan crackers and pecan patties. "Charcuterie boards are always a hit, and our new Edible dessert boards are a perfectly sweet complement for parties big or small," said Angela Johnson, VP of Innovation and Merchandising of Edible. "The dessert boards have something for everyone, whether your sweet tooth craves fresh fruit, chocolate, or a brownie, cookie, cupcake or cheesecake." The new Signature and Birthday Party Dessert Boards will also be available in Canada, with the Ultimate Dessert Board launching at a later date. Pricing in Canada starts at $209.99. Edible pioneered the edible fresh fruit arrangement and now offers fresh fruit smoothies, fresh produce boxes and baked goods both online and at over 900 Edible locations worldwide. For more information, visit www.ediblearrangements.com. About Edible Brands Edible Brands is the parent company of Edible, the world's largest franchisor of stores offering fresh fruit snacks, dipped treats, and fruit arrangements with over 900 locations worldwide. Since its founding in 1999, the company has been recognized as an industry leader, ranking first in its category in Entrepreneur magazine's annual "Franchise 500," Entrepreneur's Top 40 of "Fastest Growing Franchises'' and "America's Top Global Franchises" as well as being included among the "Inc. 5000" list of the fastest growing privately-held companies. Edible's fresh fruit arrangements, chocolate Dipped Fruit, fresh fruit smoothies, fresh produce boxes and other treats can be ordered through any local Edible store or online at edible.com. Edible has franchise opportunities available in a number of key markets in the United States and Canada. For more information about owning an Edible please visit ediblefranchise.com. IMAGES: HERE MEDIA CONTACT: [email protected] 786.605.9228 SOURCE Edible Brands BIRMINGHAM, Ala. and CAPE CORAL, Fla., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Encompass Health Corp. (NYSE: EHC) and Lee Healthcare Holdings, LLC, wholly owned subsidiary of Lee Health, announce the opening of Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Cape Coral, a 40-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital located at 1730 NE Pine Island Road. The hospital features all private patient rooms, a large therapy gym with advanced rehabilitation technologies and an activities of daily living suite, a therapy courtyard, a cafeteria and a dayroom. The hospital serves patients recovering from debilitating illnesses and injuries including strokes and other neurological disorders, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations and complex orthopedic conditions. In addition to 24-hour nursing care, Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Cape Coral offers physical, occupational and speech therapies to restore functional ability and quality of life. Care is provided by highly specialized nurses, therapists and physicians. "We are excited to open this new hospital in Cape Coral to help individuals recovering from major illnesses and injuries regain the strength and function needed to reach their highest levels of independence," said Michelle Fitzgerald, CEO of Encompass Health of Cape Coral. "Through customized therapies and best practices, our team will deliver specialized care, close to home at this state-of-the-art hospital and help our patients return to things they love most." Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Cape Coral is Encompass Health's 149th inpatient rehabilitation hospital and its 17th inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Florida, with two additional hospitals expected to open in Florida this year. About Lee Health Since the opening of the first hospital in 1916, Lee Health has been a health care leader in Southwest Florida, constantly evolving to meet the needs of the community. A non-profit, integrated health care services organization, Lee Health is committed to the well-being of every individual served, focused on healthy living and maintaining good health. Staffed by caring people, inspiring health, services are conveniently located throughout the community in four acute care hospitals, two specialty hospitals, outpatient centers, walk-in medical centers, primary care and specialty physician practices and other services across the continuum of care. Learn more at www.LeeHealth.org. About Encompass Health As a national leader in integrated healthcare services, Encompass Health (NYSE: EHC) offers both facilitybased and homebased patient care through its network of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, home health agencies and hospice agencies. With a national footprint that includes 149 hospitals, 252 home health locations, and 99 hospice locations in 42 states and Puerto Rico, the Company provides highquality, cost-effective integrated healthcare. Encompass Health is ranked as one of Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For. For more information, visit encompasshealth.com, or follow us on our newsroom, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Encompass Health contact: Lee Health contact: Media contact: Danielle Hall | 205-970-5912 Media contact: Pat Dolce | 239-343-8370 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE Encompass Health Corp. SAN DIEGO, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- EVOTEK, America's premier enabler of digital business, announced today that CRN , a brand of The Channel Company, has recognized EVOTEK to the 2022 Solution Provider 500 List for the 7th Year in a Row. CRN's annual Solution Provider 500 ranks North America's largest solution providers by revenue and serves as the gold standard for recognizing some of the channel's most successful companies. With a combined revenue of more than $434 billion, this year's list represents an impressive amount of influence and impact wielded by these companies on today's IT industry and the technology suppliers they partner with. In 2022, EVOTEK ranked at #78 on the list, a climb of 346 spots in 7 years, and 19 spots from last year. EVOTEK makes the SP500 list 7 years in a row "We have continued to expand our business based on the differentiation of how we serve our customers," said Jeff Klenner, President of EVOTEK. "With a focus on adjacencies, from data center to cloud, from cybersecurity to network, we are working to breakdown the silos in the solutions we provide." EVOTEK has been on a hyper-growth trajectory since its inception in 2014. EVOTEK was founded to pursue a disruptive new vision: to provide technology leadership on innovative ways to thrive in a digital world. With practice areas in Digital Platform Solutions, Networking, Data Center, Cybersecurity and Communication Platforms, EVOTEK is connecting the data center to the next generation, secure multi-cloud. "The Solution Provider 500 list from CRN serves as the benchmark for the top technology integrators, strategic service providers, and IT consulting firms, making it an invaluable resource for technology vendors seeking to partner with today's top-performing IT solution providers," said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. "My congratulations go out to each of these companies for their extraordinary contributions to the continued growth and success of the IT channel." "EVOTEK has made a notable impact the industry," said Cesar Enciso, CEO and Founder. "It is an honor to have been recognized on this list for every year that EVOTEK has been in business, and I can't wait to see where we go in the future." CRN's 2022 Solution Provider 500 list is available online at www.CRN.com/SP500 and a sample from the list will be featured in the June issue of CRN Magazine. About EVOTEK EVOTEK is North America's premier enabler of digital business with a focus on innovation. With technology offerings in data center and cloud, EVOTEK is uniquely equipped to enable customers with the industry shift from traditional IT computing to secure multi-cloud. With services practices in cybersecurity, mobility, platform engineering, and AIOps, EVOTEK is moving up the value chain closer to the part of digital business that matters most. EVOTEK was named to Inc. Magazine's "Best Places to Work" in 2018 and 2020. For six consecutive years, from 2016-2021, EVOTEK was listed in The San Diego Business Journal's "Best Places to Work" and recognized in CRN's "Solution Provider 500" list, CRN's "Next-Generation 250" list, CRN's "Triple Crown" and highlighted as CRN's "Top 150 Growth Companies", holding the #1 spot in 2017 as the fastest-growing system integrator in the country. Follow EVOTEK: LINKEDIN, FACEBOOK, and TWITTER About The Channel Company The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers, and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelcompany.com Follow The Channel Company: Twitter , LinkedIn, and Facebook . 2022 The Channel Company, LLC. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved. The Channel Company Contact: Jennifer Hogan The Channel Company [email protected] Media Contact Mike Mayo (858) 362-5083 [email protected] SOURCE EVOTEK BOGOTA, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Chief Executive Officer of Ecopetrol S.A. ("Ecopetrol" or the "Company") invites the Shareholders of the Company to attend the Extraordinary General Shareholders' Meeting (the "Meeting") to be held on June 17, 2022, starting at 8:00 a.m., at Ecopetrols main building located at Carrera 13 No. 36 - 24 in Bogota. The agenda for the Meeting will be: Safety guidelines Quorum Verification Opening of the General Shareholders' Meeting by the Chief Executive Officer of Ecopetrol S.A. Approval of the Agenda Appointment of the President of the Meeting Appointment of the committee responsible for scrutinizing elections and polling Appointment of the committee responsible for reviewing and approving the Meeting minutes Update the dividend payment term to the majority shareholder of the company approved by the General Assembly of Shareholders held in March 2022 Modification of the destination of a portion of the occasional reserve of the Company, previously approved at the Annual General Shareholders' Meeting of the Company held in March 2022 to distribute it Distribution of a portion of the occasional reserve as dividends The Meeting will be broadcasted live via streaming on Ecopetrol's website. The Shareholders may consult the supporting information of the agenda on Ecopetrol's website and shareholders who cannot attend the Meeting in person may be represented via proxy (a.k.a. power-of-attorney) duly granted in writing to a trusted proxy, who must meet the requirements established in Article 184 of the Colombian Commercial Code. Proxy form templates can be downloaded on Ecopetrol's website. Except in cases of legal representation, Ecopetrol administrators and employees may not represent shares other than their own while they are employed by the Company, nor substitute the powers conferred thereon. For the legal representation of the shareholders, compliance will be given to the provisions of the Basic Legal Circular 029 of 2014 regarding the illegal, unauthorized and unsafe practices of securities issuers. FELIPE BAYON PARDO Chief Executive Officer Recommendations In case you are representing other shares, have the respective proxy form and any respective additional documents handy. To avoid overcrowding, guarantee the adequate participation of all shareholders, the doors of Ecopetrol's Main Building and registration points will open as of 7 a.m. Only one Companion will be allowed for those shareholders requiring special attention. The admission or distribution of advertising elements and any other material that may affect the normal course of the Assembly is prohibited. If you have symptoms associated with COVID-19 please do not attend the Meeting. We suggest wearing a mask (over nose and mouth), maintain physical distancing of at least 1 meter and wash hands frequently. Kit or refreshments will not be provided. Additional information is available at: Shareholder Services Office Bogota phone number: from abroad (+571) 307 7075 / from Bogota (601) 307 7057; rest of the country: (+57) 01 8000 113434 Email: [email protected] www.ecopetrol.com.co SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A. WASHINGTON, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Family Research Council (FRC) today is launching a brand-new digital media outlet named The Washington Stand . Like FRC, The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. The platform will feature multiple types of content, including original reporting, news analysis, political and biblical commentary, videos, podcasts among others. The FRC-branded outlet was created to address a void in the lack of a digital news outlet to help inform Christians from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand will complement Washington Watch with Tony Perkins, a national daily one-hour TV and radio broadcast program that Family Research Council President Tony Perkins has hosted for the last nine years. On the launch of The Washington Stand, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins commented: "The institutional bias of the 'legacy media' has spawned a revolution in news not seen since the advent of cable news. As the anti-Christian, anti-moral bias of the media has reached a fevered pitch, more and more Christians are seeking out news content that is aligned with their biblical worldview rather than attacking it. They are looking for news and information that they can trust and that will enable them to better understand the times in which we live. The Washington Stand is not just something FRC wants to do, this something we have to do because America has found itself at a time when legacy media can no longer be relied upon. And social media is silencing conservative viewpoints, while at the same time claiming to be the town hall of this generation. Biblically-informed Christians need news sources they can trust, and the Washington Stand seeks to meet that need. "God is our basis for the truth but unfortunately too many Christians have not been trained to go back to the Scripture and dig into the foundation. As a result, they go silent in the face of a world and news media that has intentionally sought to marginalize their views. The Washington Stand is a means to embolden Christians who are motivated to engage and serve the broader culture because of their Christian faith. The Washington Stand is a means to embolden Christians to boldly speak the truth and engage our culture to transform it for God's glory whether it be in their workplaces, public office or anywhere else," concluded Perkins. The Washington Stand Editor-in-Chief Jared Bridges also commented: "Our objective with The Washington Stand is to equip followers of Jesus with truth and wisdom so that they can rest assured that they have the truth from a source they can trust." Visit The Washington Stand at: WashingtonStand.com Follow the Washington Stand on Twitter @WSHStand and Facebook. SOURCE Family Research Council SAN FRANCISCO, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Medical AI start-up Aesop Technology announced a new partnership that made their new product, DxPrime, available in the Olive Library. DxPrime provides physicians and clinical documentation improvement (CDI) teams with information about missing and wrongly coded diagnoses and procedures to correct the patient's chart in just a few clicks. It makes completing discharge summaries, prioritizing work for CDI teams, and medical coding much easier, faster, and less error-prone. If the patient record is incorrect, you cannot code correctly. Completeness, precision, and validity of medical documentation are critical for all healthcare stakeholders. Without correct patient records, patients could receive improper discharge instructions and a sub-optimal continuum of care. Providers also can struggle to estimate the length of stay and code insurance claims correctly, resulting in denials and loss of revenue. Approximately 10% of inpatient claims are denied, of which more than 85% (or about $35 billion) result in unnecessary losses. Many of these denials occur because of errors in the patient record that occur upstream from the claims process. Diagnosis input errors are difficult for physicians to avoid because the knowledge of coding systems is different from what they need to learn to provide great patient care. Modern medicine's complexity has caused 14,400 diseases to be included in ICD-10, further classified into 68,000 ICD-10-CM and 87,000 ICD-10-PCS codes. "Physicians, CDI team, and coders have to spend a lot of time poring through medical records to find the key clinical diagnoses among the vast amount of information available," said Jim Long, CEO of AESOP. "After that, they have to follow a series of inefficient steps on the computer to complete the input process, and search functionality for ICD codes often is not helpful. The whole process is complex, time-consuming, and error-prone. When the physicians input the improper diagnosis, it also has downstream implications. When using DxPrime, we have helped physicians often notice they did not correctly code complications such as urinary tract infections and respiratory failure. By assisting them in inputting the proper diagnoses, our partners have seen an increase in revenue of 5-10% per inpatient." State-of-the-art machine learning assisted physician data entry. DxPrime provides high-quality suggestions to support physician data entry based on a machine learning model (published in the Healthcare journal) that has been run on top of data from 3.2 Billion patient visits, including vast amounts of structured information. It allows DxPrime to use items from the patient record like lab test results and medications ordered when predicting a diagnosis. This comprehensive model utilizes artificial intelligence to efficiently compensate for traditional CDSS and NLP weaknesses to find correct or missed diagnoses. About Aesop Technology Aesop Technology develops AI-powered technology to enhance patient safety and medical coding quality. Contact Jeremiah Scholl, CPO & Co-founder [email protected] T: +1 415-818-0633 www.aesoptek.com SOURCE AESOP TECHNOLOGY AMSTERDAM, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Forcyd, a Dutch-headquartered international provider of eDiscovery, Cyber Forensics and Document Review Consulting services, has hired James MacGregor to lead their UK practice. "The London eDiscovery and Document Review market is underserved by boutique service providers who can tailor service delivery to their client's needs," says MacGregor. "In the wake of vast market consolidation in recent years, less than a handful of specialist eDiscovery providers remain in the UK whose owners are intimately involved in the day-to-day running of the business. Without outside investment, Forcyd's founding Partners have built an impressive international business that serves companies listed at the top of the FTSE 100 as well as some of the biggest law firms in the world. I am thrilled to further expand Forcyd's global footprint by helping the firm grow its UK presence and by assisting with its expansion into new geographies in Europe and beyond. MacGregor was previously a Managing Director in the London office of one of the largest eDiscovery providers in the world and prior to that he was a Director in New York at an international consulting firm with a practice focused on cross-border litigation and investigations. He is the founder and President of the Association of eDiscovery Specialists (ACEDS) UK Chapter and serves as a volunteer on the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) International Programming Team. Mathieu Van Ravenstein, one of Forcyd's founding Partners welcomed James with the following sentiment: "We've been looking to expand our UK market presence for some time to keep pace with the growing number of UK clients Forcyd works with. However, it was important we found the right business partner in London who embodies the Forcyd culture we've worked so hard to build. James shares our belief that, much like the law firms we serve, an eDiscovery business owned by its practitioners, is better aligned with its client's long-term incentives, than an institution owned by external investors looking for a quick return. We are delighted to have James on the team." www.forcyd.com SOURCE Forcyd The 24/7 Automated Pizzeria Adds Chief Development Officer as Rapid Expansion Continues TORONTO, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PizzaForno, one of North America's only automated pizzerias, appoints Travis Edmonson, former Vice President of Franchise Development at Mr. Gatti's Pizza and former Vice President of Franchise Sales & Development at Marco's Pizza, as Chief Development Officer. Edmonson joins as the second former Marco's Pizza business leader this year to get behind this 24/7 digital pizzeria designed to combat labor shortages, food costs and rent rising. A strategic executive, Edmonson brings over 19 years of experience with an enthusiastic, resourceful, and creative approach to drive growth. Passionate for the lucrative pizza industry, Edmonson brings years of experience in identifying market opportunities, site selection, contract negotiations, lease management, and sales analysis. Having worked with a variety of pizza brands, including Simple Simon's Pizza, Cheezies Pizza, Marco's Pizza, and Mr. Gatti's Pizza, he has a proven track record of success at devising strategies in the industry. In addition, he's worked with Pollo Campero, Gigi's Cupcake Franchise, and ExecuFran, LLC. "We've built up our senior leadership team because we know we're headed across the entire U.S. in a short amount of time and needed the right support to take us there," said Les Tomlin, Co-founder and President of PizzaForno. "As we continue to break into major U.S. markets, we know that Travis's background in franchise development will turn our easy-to-scale business model into the next fastest growing pizza brand." The new Chief Development Officer specializes in business developments, market identification, brand exposure, and more. "We have something the pizza industry has never seen before, as we have the units, technology and support in place to make PizzaForno a household name," said Travis Edmonson. "We know this small square footage required pizzeria can fit perfectly in high-traffic areas all around cities, vacation spots, universities, hospitals and more." PizzaForno projects to open a minimum of 50 units in the U.S. by yearend, with two new units launching in the coming weeks in New Orleans at the LSU Medical Center (433 Bolivar St 6th Floor Nola, LA 70112) and the University of New Orleans (2000 Lakeshore Drive New Orleans, LA 70148). The company will also be launching two new units in Houston at a Chevron gas station (1520 College Ave, South Houston, TX 77587) and in a parking lot at 212 Milam Street. As PizzaForno expands throughout California, Texas, and Louisiana, potential licensees now have the chance to be one of the first to break into the registered U.S. markets with the high-demand, turnkey business opportunity. PizzaForno not only offers a high ROI but has the ability to operate 24/7 with zero on-site labor costs, limited waste and gives the option for licensees to scale quickly. To learn more about PizzaForno and their licensing opportunities, visit https://www.pizzaforno.com/become-a-licensee/. ABOUT PIZZAFORNO Founded in 2018 by Canadian entrepreneurs William Moyer and Les Tomlin, PizzaForno is North America's only automated pizzeria which introduces gourmet artisanal pizzas in less than three minutes. Accessible 24/7 at the tap of a digital screen, PizzaForno offers a selection of innovative menu options, each made with high quality ingredients, with an authentic approach. In 2020, PizzaForno was honored with the Restaurants Canada 2020 Innovation Award. Utilizing technology made popular in France by ADIAL, PizzaForno exclusively owns all North American distribution rights for the technology. The brand is rapidly growing throughout North America and backed by a landmark partnership with one of the leading food service providers, Aramark. The agreement is set to bring cutting-edge food innovation and a quality meal solution to various facilities with technology, sustainability, safety, and convenience at the forefront. PizzaForno currently has 40 operating locations and over 100 additional locations committed with the first U.S. locations already established in Michigan. To learn more about PizzaForno, visit https://www.pizzaforno.com/. To inquire about the licensee opportunity, visit https://www.pizzaforno.com/become-a-licensee/. SOURCE PizzaForno Company to become one of only a few companies in the country offering total end-to-end beverage solutions HOUSTON , June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Houston-based FreshBrew, one of the largest private-label coffee and tea producers in the country, announced today the investment of $10 million into its specialty roasting and production divisions. The investment will expand current roasting production and will fund extraction, bottling and canning capabilities, making FreshBrew one of only a few companies in the country to offer total end-to-end beverage solutions. Expansion is slated to be complete in early 2023. "FreshBrew remains committed to providing our customers with the highest quality product and technology-driven services while continuously expanding our product lines and meeting increasing demand from our national clients," said Al Ansari, President and CEO of FreshBrew. Earlier this year, FreshBrew sold the vending division of the company to Compass Group North America, the owner of Canteen Vending Services, in response to rapidly increasing customer demand for production services. This strategic move allowed FreshBrew to focus the company's efforts and resources on the expansion of its coffee, tea and extract product lines, which have been the heart of the business since its inception, more than 90 years ago. FreshBrew upgraded its existing roasters and purchased two additional roasters which will arrive later this summer. They added 11 packing lines for a total of 25 to accommodate increased demand. Their tea lines expanded as well, with the addition of sugar to their production, to allow for sweet tea products. Construction is now underway to transform the 40,000 sq. ft. of vending space to allow for extraction, bottling and canning production in-house. They also acquired an additional 25,000 sq. ft. of space, creating a combined total of 140,000 sq. ft. for the roasting plant and warehouse. "As we look towards the future, we are energized and excited to continue to provide innovative total beverage solutions to many of the country's largest convenience stores, quick service restaurants and foodservice industries," said Ansari. As one of the largest private-label coffee and tea producers in the country, FreshBrew supplies award-winning coffee, tea and total beverage solutions to notable brands in the national foodservice, convenience store, hospitality and retail sectors. Production is expected to increase to 100 million pounds annually once the extracting, bottling and canning services and additional roasting capabilities are fully implemented. For more information about FreshBrew, please visit http://www.freshbrewgroup.com/. About FreshBrew FreshBrew is a family-owned business operating FreshBrew Coffee and Tea. Since its inception more than 90 years ago, FreshBrew has been dedicated to providing customers with the highest quality product and technology-driven services while continuously expanding product lines. As one of the largest private-label coffee and tea producers in the country, FreshBrew supplies award-winning coffee, tea and total beverage solutions to notable brands in the national foodservice, convenience store, hospitality and retail sectors. For more information, visit www.freshbrewgroup.com SOURCE FreshBrew Frontera Added To The MSCI Canada Small Cap Index CALGARY, AB, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Frontera Energy Corporation (TSX: FEC) ("Frontera" or the "Company") announced today that it has been added to the S&P/TSX SmallCap Index and the MSCI Global Small Cap Indexes under the MSCI Canada Small Cap Index. Inclusion in these indexes can potentially broaden participation in a company's investor base by enabling investment from index funds and similar investment vehicles. The S&P/TSX SmallCap Index is an investable index for the Canadian small cap market that includes common stock and income trusts. The index includes 230 constituents with a mean market cap of CAD $634 million. The index is float adjusted, market cap weighted and was developed with industry input as a benchmark for small cap exposure to the Canadian equity market. On May 31, 2022, after markets closed, Frontera was added to the MSCI Canada Small Cap Index. The MSCI Canada Small Cap Index is designed to measure the performance of the small cap segment of the Canada market. With 215 constituents, the MSCI Canada Small Cap Index covers approximately 14% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization in Canada. The average market cap of MSCI Canada Small Cap Index listed companies is CAD $1.8 billion and approximately 21% of the index is composed of companies from the energy space. About Frontera Frontera Energy Corporation is a Canadian public company involved in the exploration, development, production, transportation, storage and sale of oil and natural gas in South America, including related investments in both upstream and midstream facilities. The Company has a diversified portfolio of assets with interests in 34 exploration and production blocks in Colombia, Ecuador and Guyana, and pipeline and port facilities in Colombia. Frontera is committed to conducting business safely and in a socially, environmentally and ethically responsible manner. If you would like to receive News Releases via email as soon as they are published, please subscribe here: http://fronteraenergy.mediaroom.com/subscribe . Corporate Presentation See Frontera Energy's corporate presentation at: https://www.fronteraenergy.ca/reports-presentations/ Social Media Follow Frontera Energy social media channels at the following links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/fronteraenergy?lang=en Facebook: https://es-la.facebook.com/FronteraEnergy/ LinkedIn: https://co.linkedin.com/company/frontera-energy-corp Advisories Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information relates to activities, events or developments that Frontera believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future. Forward-looking information in this presentation includes, without limitation, the potential broadening of the Company's investor base. All information other than historical fact is forward-looking information. Forward-looking information reflects the current expectations, assumptions and beliefs of Frontera based on information currently available to it and considers the experience of Frontera and its perception of historical trends. Although Frontera believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be placed on such information. Forward-looking information is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including that the Company's shares could be removed from an index. Some of these risks and uncertainties are similar to those that other oil and gas companies face and some that are unique to Frontera. The actual results of Frontera may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, Frontera. The annual information form of Frontera for the year ended December 31, 2021, and Frontera's management's discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2021, and quarter ended March 31, 2022, and other documents Frontera files from time to time with securities regulatory authorities describe the risks, uncertainties, material assumptions and other factors that could influence actual results and such factors are incorporated herein by reference. Copies of these documents are available without charge by referring to Frontera's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. All forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Frontera disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. SOURCE Frontera Energy Corporation Future Crops finds greener pastures, zero carbon emissions in wind power and solar energy. WESTLAND, Netherlands, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Future Crops, Ltd., has taken its vertical farm a further step off the grid by shifting to reliance on 100% renewable energy. Harnessing the natural green powers of solar and wind energy, the company also is solving the primary hurdle to bringing the industry to a substantially greater carbon-neutral position, all while advancing its sustainability goals. Future Crops Moves to 100% Renewable Energy Over the past decade, vertical farms have been cropping up as creative method of boosting food resilience and bringing food sources closer to home. Multistory indoor farming optimizes land use by growing food from the ground up in designated horticultural regions or even within dense urban localities. However, this method of growing crops in a controlled indoor environment can be energy intensive. Future Crops operates a state-of-the art, multilevel indoor vertical farm in ABC Westland, Netherlands, the greenhouse hub of Europe. The facility grows a broad portfolio of pesticide-free leafy green vegetables and herbs. While many such facilities rely on hydroponics, the scale-up developed a unique, proprietary soil substrate in which to grow crops, bringing the vertical farm concept closer to nature and the earth. The environmental virtues "Vertical farming is an emerging industry that is gaining traction due to its multiple virtues," explains Gary Grinspan, co-founder and CEO of Future Crops. "We are able to grow tremendous amounts of high-value food on a much smaller stretch of landapproximately 5% of the land required for conventional agriculture. And having no reliance on seasonality amplifies growing cycles tenfold. This means we can grow more, faster while concurrently cutting the food mileage. Our produce also has a naturally longer shelf-life which cuts food waste and eliminates ecotoxicity to people and the earth since no pesticides or harmful chemicals are required. The Future Crops system also addresses the downside of the controlled indoor methods of growing crops: high energy consumption due to crops being unable to soak up natural sunlight." Future Crops began operations in 2018 with zealous ambitions to completely "green up" the entire process and reach zero carbon emissions. This spurred the company to choose a site that was already crowned with an impressive structure of 18,000 solar panels that could substantially limit its reliance on conventional fossil fuel forms of energy. In 2019 Future Crops received the final go-ahead to get connected. This year the company also started exploiting wind energy, bringing reliance on renewable energy to 100%. The success of these measures was reflected in a recently conducted projection-based analysis. "We bolstered our farm's infrastructure and insulation capabilities," explains Grinspan. "We also sought solutions to further improve our cultivation processes to be more energy-efficient, including boosting yields. At the same time, we began a gradual migration to renewable energy." Future Crops further notes that all its resources are reused and recycled, including 97% of the water. Soil substrate that has undergone several growth cycles is sold to other growers who treat and reuse it. The company's commitment even goes to overcoming food waste. Produce that does not meet the visual specifications for retail is sold to food producers. Restoring the carbon balance "Food waste and reducing carbon footprint are the most pressing issues in the battle to save the planet," adds Grinspan. "As the population grows over the next 3 decades, food consumption is predicted to increase by 70%. To accommodate that, arable land will need to be doubled, in turn driving up water usage. Currently, 75% of global water is consumed by agriculture." "The lack of available land for food growth has led to a cascade of problems, beginning with the conversion of forests into agricultural land," explains Susanne Mosmans, Business Unit Director & CMO of Future Crops. "Deforestation already has disrupted the healthy balance of carbon and oxygen emissions, leading to rising temperatures that negatively impact crops growth and yields. This has sparked the need to think out of the box. And that's where vertical farming comes in. It offers the ultimate solution to make healthy, sustainable food accessible to all." For further information, please contact: Company Contact: Press Contact Future Crops Susanne Mosmans Business Unit [email protected] www.future-crops.com Press Contact NutriPR Liat [email protected] www.nutripr.com Tel +972-9-9742893 Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1830454/Future_Crops_Solar_panels.jpg SOURCE Future Crops The next gen BLI technology now available in Europe PALO ALTO, Calif., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Gator Bio, the next gen Biolayer Interferometry solutions company, has signed an agreement with I&L Biosystems GmbH, a distributor of innovative biomedical technology and products. The agreement will allow Gator Bio to expand rapidly its product offerings into the European Union, a key region for Gator's growth strategy as it begins its global reach. Dr. Hong Tan, CEO of Gator Bio, said, "I&L Biosystems has a history of bringing new and innovative technologies into market as evidenced by its previous success in commercializing e.g., various multi-analyzer, protein purification devices, SPR instruments, and bioreactors, etc. We look forward to working with the I&L team to bring the Gator platform to users throughout the region, helping meet the demand for therapeutics development and manufacturing." "Gator BLI platform and a range of innovative biosensors are an important addition to I&L's portfolio of protein characterization products, and we are very excited about the possibilities the Gator shall give our customers in characterizing antibodies, AAVs and small molecule drugs," said Mr. Alexander M. Beljaars, CEO of I&L Biosystems GmbH. "Access to this next gen technology is key to the continued enablement of our biopharma and academia research customers across our geographies. We are very excited about helping research and manufacturing community with the novel applications in gene therapy, immune therapy and lipid nano particle development." The latest partnership of two companies builds on Gator Bio's commitment to providing high-quality BLI platforms globally, recently demonstrated through a strategic partnership with BMS Korea (Bio Medical Sciences) to provide sales and services to biotherapeutics and gene therapy companies in Republic of Korea. To learn more, please visit www.gatorbio.com. About Gator Bio, Inc. Gator Bio is a life sciences company providing bioanalytical systems to accelerate the development of therapeutics and diagnostics. Gator Bio along with its sister company ET Healthcare are part of Access Medical Systems. The Gator instruments and biosensors enable real-time analysis of biomolecular interactions providing information on affinity, kinetics, concentration and epitope binning, etc. Most importantly, Gator Bio's analytical capabilities enable better and faster characterization of drug candidates, thus providing greater value in drug development applications where existing methods have limitations in throughput, performance, and cost. The company is headquartered in Palo Alto, California with facilities in Shanghai and Suzhou, China. For more information, please visit www.gatorbio.com. About I&L Biosystems I&L Biosystems is a leading distributor of innovative scientific products with the headquarter in Konigswinter, Germany. The company was founded in 1991 and has been growing steadily ever since. The focus of I&L is on sales and distribution of high-quality laboratory equipment to customers and researchers in the microbiology, cell biology and biotechnology markets in almost all European countries. High quality of the products, competent advice and fast service are the basis for a long-lasting relationship with our customers and partners in industry, research and development. More than 120 employees ensure that our customers throughout Europe receive excellent support for technical or application-related questions. Visit I&L Biosystems' website for more information: www.il-biosystems.com. Media and Investor Relations Contact: Subodh Nimkar, Marketing Director [email protected] +1 650 575 0827 Website: http://www.gatorbio.com// LinkedIn SOURCE Gator Bio Bento's innovative platform can build, launch and administer custom dental and patient membership plans designed to facilitate better oral care for all Americans ATLANTA, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bento, on a mission to transform the outdated traditional dental insurance industry, is proud to announce it has received an exclusive endorsement from the Georgia Dental Association. The GDA joins the American Dental Association and other state and local associations endorsing Bento as an alternative to traditional dental plans for employers, groups, associations, dentists, and individuals. With this partnership, the GDA will help introduce Bento's innovative and easy-to-use technology platform to its 3500+ member dentists located throughout Georgia, and join a rapidly growing number of dental providers nationwide offering solutions powered by Bento. "We are pleased to partner with Bento to give GDA members and their patients a modern alternative to traditional dental benefits," said GDA President Dr. Louvenia A. Rainge. "Bento's platform aims to reduce the workload in dental benefit administration while offering the flexibility of customizable patient membership plans for dentists." GDA Executive Director, Frank J. Capaldo, adds, "Offering innovative solutions to our members is critical in ensuring the dentists of Georgia can continue to provide high-quality dental care to patients from all socioeconomic backgrounds." Traditional dental insurance has not seen innovation since the 1950s and has become a source of frustration for patients, employers, and dentists. Bento's end-to-end solution and HIPAA-compliant platform alleviates the need for groups and individuals to contract with insurance companies resulting in a seamless and transparent experience with direct payments from the source to the provider. Bento's platform enables dental practices to offer customizable in-office patient membership plans greatly increasing the number of options for individuals without a dental benefit. Bento's expert team works with dentists to create optimal patient membership plans, provides tools and free customizable marketing materials for seamless implementation. "Traditional dental insurance has continued to cause confusion and frustration for dentists and patients for decades. With the GDA's help, we're excited to educate dentists, businesses, and individuals on the benefits of using Bento's platform to upgrade their dental benefits and improve access to oral care across Georgia," says Ram Sudireddy, founder and CEO of Bento. Bento is on a mission to provide the transparency, access, flexibility, and clarity that Americans deserve with their dental care. The company has received recognition across the dental industry earning endorsements from the American Dental Association, Florida Dental Association, Georgia Dental Association, Tennessee Dental Association, and Texas Dental Association among others. Based out of Boston, MA and with offices in Miami, FL; Bento has established a large and rapidly developing number of dental providers in the US with over 360,000 access points nationwide and empowers employers, groups, and dentists around the country to offer better dental solutions to their employees and patients. To learn more about how Bento is improving the dental care experience, visit bento.net. This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com. SOURCE Bento DUBLIN, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Head-Up Display Market (2022-2027) by Type, Component, Technology, Application, Geography, Competitive Analysis and the Impact of Covid-19 with Ansoff Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Global Head-Up Display Market is estimated to be USD 3.14 Bn in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 8.91 Bn by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 23.2%. Market dynamics are forces that impact the prices and behaviors of the Global Head-Up Display Market stakeholders. These forces create pricing signals which result from the changes in the supply and demand curves for a given product or service. Forces of Market Dynamics may be related to macro-economic and micro-economic factors. There are dynamic market forces other than price, demand, and supply. Human emotions can also drive decisions, influence the market, and create price signals. As the market dynamics impact the supply and demand curves, decision-makers aim to determine the best way to use various financial tools to stem various strategies for speeding the growth and reducing the risks. Company Profiles The report provides a detailed analysis of the competitors in the market. It covers the financial performance analysis for the publicly listed companies in the market. The report also offers detailed information on the companies' recent development and competitive scenario. Some of the companies covered in this report are Alps Alpine, Bae Systems, Bosch, Collins Aerospace, Continental, Denso Corp, Elbit Systems, Envisics, Garmin, Honeywell Aerospace, Hudway, I4Drive, etc. Countries Studied America ( Argentina , Brazil , Canada , Chile , Colombia , Mexico , Peru , United States , Rest of Americas) , , , , , , , , Rest of Americas) Europe ( Austria , Belgium , Denmark , Finland , France , Germany , Italy , Netherlands , Norway , Poland , Russia , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland , United Kingdom , Rest of Europe ) ( , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Rest of ) Middle-East and Africa ( Egypt , Israel , Qatar , Saudi Arabia , South Africa , United Arab Emirates , Rest of MEA) and ( , , , , , , Rest of MEA) Asia-Pacific ( Australia , Bangladesh , China , India , Indonesia , Japan , Malaysia , Philippines , Singapore , South Korea , Sri Lanka , Thailand , Taiwan , Rest of Asia-Pacific ) Competitive Quadrant The report includes Competitive Quadrant, a proprietary tool to analyze and evaluate the position of companies based on their Industry Position score and Market Performance score. The tool uses various factors for categorizing the players into four categories. Some of these factors considered for analysis are financial performance over the last 3 years, growth strategies, innovation score, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc. Ansoff Analysis The report presents a detailed Ansoff matrix analysis for the Global Head-Up Display Market. Ansoff Matrix, also known as Product/Market Expansion Grid, is a strategic tool used to design strategies for the growth of the company. The matrix can be used to evaluate approaches in four strategies viz. Market Development, Market Penetration, Product Development and Diversification. The matrix is also used for risk analysis to understand the risk involved with each approach. The analyst analyses the Global Head-Up Display Market using the Ansoff Matrix to provide the best approaches a company can take to improve its market position. Based on the SWOT analysis conducted on the industry and industry players, The analyst has devised suitable strategies for market growth. Why buy this report? The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Global Head-Up Display Market. The report includes in-depth qualitative analysis, verifiable data from authentic sources, and projections about market size. The projections are calculated using proven research methodologies. The report has been compiled through extensive primary and secondary research. The primary research is done through interviews, surveys, and observation of renowned personnel in the industry. The report includes an in-depth market analysis using Porter's 5 forces model and the Ansoff Matrix. In addition, the impact of Covid-19 on the market is also featured in the report. The report also includes the regulatory scenario in the industry, which will help you make a well-informed decision. The report discusses major regulatory bodies and major rules and regulations imposed on this sector across various geographies. The report also contains the competitive analysis using Positioning Quadrants, the analyst's Proprietary competitive positioning tool. Key Topics Covered: 1 Report Description 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Market Dynamics 4.1 Drivers 4.1.1 Increasing Awareness about Passenger and Vehicle Safety 4.1.2 Enhanced Convenience Offered by Combination of Satellite Navigation Technology and Head-Up Displays to Enrich In-Vehicle Experience 4.1.3 Growing Adoption of AR-Based Head-Up Displays 4.2 Restraints 4.2.1 Space Constraints in Automotive Cockpits 4.2.2 High Luminance, Power, and Brightness Requirements of Head-Up Displays 4.2.3 Incorrect Interpretation of Symbols Used in Head-Up Displays 4.3 Opportunities 4.3.1 Growing Demand for Semi-Autonomous and Electric Vehicles 4.3.2 Emergence of Screen-Less Displays 4.3.3 Enhanced Driving Experience Offered by AR-Based Head-Up Displays 4.4 Challenges 4.4.1 High Costs of Advanced Head-Up Displays 4.4.2 Availability of Laser-Based Volumetric Displays as Alternatives to Head-Up Displays 5 Market Analysis 5.1 Regulatory Scenario 5.2 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Ansoff Matrix Analysis 6 Global Head-Up Display Market, By Type 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Conventional Head-Up Displays 6.2.1 Windshield-Based Head-Up Displays 6.2.2 Combiner-Based Head-Up Displays 6.3 AR-Based Head-Up Displays 7 Global Head-Up Display Market, By Component 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Projector/Projection Unit 7.2.1 Projectors/Projection Units 7.2.2 Liquid Crystal On Silicon (LCOS) Projectors 7.2.3 Digital Light Processing (DLP) Projectors 7.2.4 Laser Beam Steering (LBS) Projectors 7.3 Display Units 7.3.1 Digital Micromirror Device (Dmd) Technology 7.3.2 Liquid C 8 Global Head-Up Display Market, By Technology 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Cathode Ray Tube 8.3 Light-Emitting Diode 8.4 Microelectromechanical System 8.5 Optical Waveguide 9 Global Head-Up Display Market, By Application 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Aviation 9.3 Automotive 9.4 Wearables 9.5 Others 10 Americas' Global Head-Up Display Market 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Argentina 10.3 Brazil 10.4 Canada 10.5 Chile 10.6 Colombia 10.7 Mexico 10.8 Peru 10.9 United States 10.10 Rest of Americas 11 Europe's Global Head-Up Display Market 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Austria 11.3 Belgium 11.4 Denmark 11.5 Finland 11.6 France 11.7 Germany 11.8 Italy 11.9 Netherlands 11.10 Norway 11.11 Poland 11.12 Russia 11.13 Spain 11.14 Sweden 11.15 Switzerland 11.16 United Kingdom 11.17 Rest of Europe 12 Middle East and Africa's Global Head-Up Display Market 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Egypt 12.3 Israel 12.4 Qatar 12.5 Saudi Arabia 12.6 South Africa 12.7 United Arab Emirates 12.8 Rest of MEA 13 APAC's Global Head-Up Display Market 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Australia 13.3 Bangladesh 13.4 China 13.5 India 13.6 Indonesia 13.7 Japan 13.8 Malaysia 13.9 Philippines 13.10 Singapore 13.11 South Korea 13.12 Sri Lanka 13.13 Thailand 13.14 Taiwan 13.15 Rest of Asia-Pacific 14 Competitive Landscape 14.1 Competitive Quadrant 14.2 Market Share Analysis 14.3 Strategic Initiatives 14.3.1 M&A and Investments 14.3.2 Partnerships and Collaborations 14.3.3 Product Developments and Improvements 15 Company Profiles 15.1 Alps Alpine 15.2 Bae Systems 15.3 Bosch 15.4 Collins Aerospace 15.5 Continental 15.6 Denso Corp 15.7 Elbit Systems 15.8 Envisics 15.9 Garmin 15.10 Honeywell Aerospace 15.11 Hudway 15.12 I4Drive 15.13 Microvision 15.14 Nippon Seiki 15.15 Panasonic 15.16 Pioneer Corp 15.17 Renesas Electronics 15.18 Saab Ab 15.19 Stmicroelectronics 15.20 Texas Instruments 15.21 Thales Group 15.22 Transdigm Group 15.23 Visteon Corp 15.24 Wayray 15.25 Yazaki Corp 16 Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/eddc91 Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets DUBLIN, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Route Optimization Software Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global route optimization software market reached a value of US$ 6.7 Billion in 2021. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to reach US$ 17.7 Billion by 2027, exhibiting at a CAGR of 17.3% during 2022-2027. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, we are continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor. Route optimization software enables the user to manage and plan delivery routes via robust algorithms. It is efficient, cost-effective, and provides a remarkable user experience compared to manual route planning, which is error-prone and time-intensive. Moreover, it can update already planned routes in real-time, thereby improving driver management and planning for future business challenges. Nowadays, leading players are introducing new route optimization software that minimizes fuel costs and saves time. It integrates digital technology, historical traffic data, weather conditions, and scenario modeling to help identify the fastest, economical, and planned route with multiple stop points. Route Optimization Software Market Trends: Due to digitization and the expansion of business globally, manual route optimization has become more challenging. This represents one of the key factors propelling enterprises around the world to adopt route optimization software as it is efficient, scalable, accurate, flexible, and robust. Apart from this, the escalating demand for online food delivery solutions on account of their convenience, along with the increasing utilization of smartphones and the burgeoning food and beverage (F&B) industry, is bolstering the market growth. In addition to this, food service providers are focusing on improving the accuracy of online orders, simplifying order processing, and providing discount coupons to expand their consumer base. This, in turn, is contributing to market growth. Moreover, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are relying on route optimization software to increase productivity and improve their customer experience. It also assists in managing driver schedules, available hours, total stops, fulfillment estimates, and legal requirements. Furthermore, rising fuel prices are anticipated to promote the adoption of modern route optimization software to lower operational, fuel, and driver payroll costs significantly. Competitive Landscape: The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players being Caliper Corporation, Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc., Geoconcept SAS, Microlise Telematics Pvt. Ltd., Omnitracs (Solera Holdings Inc.), Ortec B.V., Paragon (Aptean), PTV Planung Transport Verkehr AG (Porsche SE), Route4me Inc, Routific Solutions Inc, Verizon Communications Inc. and Workwave LLC (IFS AB). Key Questions Answered in This Report: How has the global route optimization software market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years? What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global route optimization software market? What are the key regional markets? What is the breakup of the market based on the solution? What is the breakup of the market based on the deployment type? What is the breakup of the market based on the organization size? What is the breakup of the market based on the vertical? What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry? What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry? What is the structure of the global route optimization software market and who are the key players? What is the degree of competition in the industry? Key Topics Covered: 1 Preface 2 Scope and Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Introduction 4.1 Overview 4.2 Key Industry Trends 5 Global Route Optimization Software Market 5.1 Market Overview 5.2 Market Performance 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Market Forecast 6 Market Breakup by Solution 6.1 Software 6.1.1 Market Trends 6.1.2 Market Forecast 6.2 Services 6.2.1 Market Trends 6.2.2 Market Forecast 7 Market Breakup by Deployment Type 7.1 Cloud-based 7.1.1 Market Trends 7.1.2 Market Forecast 7.2 On-premises 7.2.1 Market Trends 7.2.2 Market Forecast 8 Market Breakup by Organization Size 8.1 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises 8.1.1 Market Trends 8.1.2 Market Forecast 8.2 Large Enterprises 8.2.1 Market Trends 8.2.2 Market Forecast 9 Market Breakup by Vertical 9.1 On-demand Food Delivery 9.1.1 Market Trends 9.1.2 Market Forecast 9.2 Taxi 9.2.1 Market Trends 9.2.2 Market Forecast 9.3 Homecare and Field Services 9.3.1 Market Trends 9.3.2 Market Forecast 9.4 Retail and FMCG 9.4.1 Market Trends 9.4.2 Market Forecast 9.5 Others 9.5.1 Market Trends 9.5.2 Market Forecast 10 Market Breakup by Region 11 SWOT Analysis 12 Value Chain Analysis 13 Porters Five Forces Analysis 14 Price Analysis 15 Competitive Landscape 15.1 Market Structure 15.2 Key Players 15.3 Profiles of Key Players 15.3.1 Caliper Corporation 15.3.1.1 Company Overview 15.3.1.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.2 Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc. 15.3.2.1 Company Overview 15.3.2.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.2.3 SWOT Analysis 15.3.3 Geoconcept SAS 15.3.3.1 Company Overview 15.3.3.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.4 Microlise Telematics Pvt. Ltd. 15.3.4.1 Company Overview 15.3.4.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.5 Omnitracs (Solera Holdings Inc.) 15.3.5.1 Company Overview 15.3.5.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.6 Ortec B.V. 15.3.6.1 Company Overview 15.3.6.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.7 Paragon (Aptean) 15.3.7.1 Company Overview 15.3.7.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.8 PTV Planung Transport Verkehr AG (Porsche SE) 15.3.8.1 Company Overview 15.3.8.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.9 Route4me Inc 15.3.9.1 Company Overview 15.3.9.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.10 Routific Solutions Inc 15.3.10.1 Company Overview 15.3.10.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.11 Verizon Communications Inc. 15.3.11.1 Company Overview 15.3.11.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.11.3 Financials 15.3.11.4 SWOT Analysis 15.3.12 Workwave LLC (IFS AB) 15.3.12.1 Company Overview 15.3.12.2 Product Portfolio For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/xu9iw9 Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets CHICAGO, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Senior citizens at Victory Centre of Roseland, a supportive living community operated by Pathway to Living, a Chicago-based developer, owner and operator of seniors housing communities, hosted Governor JB Pritzker on Tuesday, May 31, at 1 p.m. for the signing of House Bill 246. This new legislation provides more than $500 million to benefit the state's most vulnerable seniors with additional funds for Illinois nursing home and Supportive Living, a Medicaid-funded nursing home alternative, care. Victory Centre of Roseland resident Betty Jacobs is grateful that Gov. Pritzker and state lawmakers passed legislation to increase Medicaid funding for nursing homes and Supportive Living so more seniors like herself can age with grace and dignity. Thanks to the Illinois Supportive Living program, administered through the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, Supportive Living residents throughout Illinois, including those at Victory Centre of Roseland, can live affordably and independently in a community where personal choice, dignity, privacy, and individuality are emphasized. South Side Retired Teacher Affirms Supportive Living Benefits Betty Jacobs, age 88, a retired Morgan Park High School art teacher, who lives at Victory Centre of Roseland, gave remarks at the bill signing. Jacobs stated that she is fortunate and grateful for the affordable care, comfortable housing, and engaging lifestyle state-funded supportive living offers. After marrying her high school sweetheart from Wendell Phillips Academy and having three sons, Jacobs went back to school to pursue a college degree from Chicago State University. While teaching she earned the knick-name "tissue-giver" for always taking time to listen with compassion to students, parents, and co-workers. In retirement, Jacobs performed with the Trinity United Church of Christ choir throughout the U.S. and in Switzerland. However, after losing her beloved husband, Jacobs was hospitalized with a debilitating illness and was unable to walk. Discharged from skilled nursing and rehabilitation to Victory Centre of Roseland in 2019, she went on to make a remarkable recovery. "I needed help with just about everythingeven bathing," recalled Jacobs. "The Victory Centre team showed me amazing dignity, kindness and support to help me get back on my feet." Thanks to coordinated physical therapy and occupational therapy services, staff and family encouragement, and her own determination to get stronger, Jacobs was soon walking again with a rollator walker. What's more, Jacobs is now able to enjoy Victory Centre's signature VIVA! lifestyle that affords her the opportunity for new friendships, art classes, daily exercise, and group tripswith last summer's Victory Center of Roseland Camp VIVA! outdoor recreation excursion among her favorites! New Legislation is a Gift Victory Centre of Roseland Executive Director Crystal Wills also gave remarks. After three years leading Victory Centre, mostly during a pandemic, Wills calls the increase in funding "a gift" for Victory Centre's residents and the nearly 50,000 seniors in nursing homes and supportive living communities across the state. "The additional revenue provides more funds for staffing, caregiving, programming and amenities, so we can offer older adults an affordable, quality housing and care option to help them fulfill their dreams and accomplish their goals," said Wills, adding that since opening in 2016 Victory Centre of Roseland has been home to 520 seniorsmany of whom have deep roots in the Roseland community. "Supportive Living will now be more accessible, attractive, and affordable than ever before to Illinois seniors who qualify for financial aid and whose care needs can be best met in a residential care setting." An Affordable Alternative While traditional nursing home, skilled nursing and assisted living services are good options for many seniors who can no longer live alone and need some assistance and care, the expense may be cost-prohibitive for low-income seniors. Illinois' Medicaid-funded Supportive Living option offers the best of both worldsthe help seniors need at a price they can afford. Like assisted living, Supportive Living offers private apartment homes, services, amenities, personal care, and assistance as needed, plus social opportunities and engaging programming. The difference is that Supportive Living does so at a much lower cost and financial assistance is available to those who qualify. Residents with state-funded financial assistance that House Bill 246 provides can stay at a Supportive Living community if, and when, personal funds are depleted. About Pathway to Living Victory Centre of Roseland's Independent Living and Supportive Living community is operated by Pathway to Living, a Chicago-based developer, owner and operator of senior housing communities. The company's portfolio includes a wide range of community types senior apartment, independent living, assisted living, supportive living, and memory support spanning 48 properties and more than 3,700 units (including communities under development) in Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, and Florida. Pathway to Living is owned by Waterton, a Chicago-based real estate investor and operator. For more information, please visit www.pathwaytoliving.com and https://waterton.com/. For more information contact: Kathy Wolf, [email protected] Cell: 708-987-9938 SOURCE Pathway to Living INDIANAPOLIS, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Lumina Foundation has named Hawaii the sixth Talent, Innovation, Equity (TIE) state, awarding a $575,000 grant to support efforts to create a more inclusive and sustainable economy. Hawaii was the first state to set an ambitious goal for educating its residents beyond high school. The state joins Colorado, Tennessee, Oregon, Virginia, and Massachusetts in exploring new approaches that support more Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Filipino learners to build workforce-relevant knowledge and skills. As part of an equity-first orientation, Lumina has worked with states to identify specific goals for ensuring racial equity, meaning having a college degree or other quality credential beyond a high school diploma can no longer be predicted by a person's race or ethnicity. For several years, Lumina has supported policy and programmatic work focused on achieving racial equity with the University of Hawaii. "In our years of partnership, the Hawaii team demonstrated it is well equipped to reduce disparities in educational outcomes among Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Filipino students," said Amanda DeLaRosa, a Lumina strategy officer for state policy. The university will use its grant to work toward increasing the share of working-age state residents with college degrees or other credentials of value by 5 percentage points among specific ethnic populations during the next four years. Meeting this commitment would result in a post-high school educational attainment rate of 27.8 percent among Native Hawaiians. This rate would be 27.4 percent when combined with other Pacific Islanders' outcomes and 38.7 percent among Filipino residents. Lumina established the Talent, Innovation, and Equity Partnership to give states an array of funding, research, and related support for achieving targeted improvements in higher education. Hawaii will improve in four areas: educating a higher percentage of the state's people, creating a learning community among faculty members to support racially and ethnically diverse student groups, developing pathways to success for more students, and reviewing state policies to ensure they are designed to support students of color. "We are grateful to Lumina Foundation for this timely and remarkable opportunity to strengthen our work to increase education equity in Hawaii through a greater data-informed focus on populations that have historically been marginalized and boosting the associated educational outcomes," said UH President David Lassner. "Lumina's invitation to the university to lead this work for Hawaii provides even more national affirmation of our efforts on educational attainment and equity, including with other national partners who have recognized our successes." "Lumina Foundation's support marks a milestone in the state's educational ecosystem," said Stephen Schatz, the Hawaii P-20 Council's executive director. "The Hawai'i P-20 Partnership and the University System will be able to align their strategic priorities to eliminate disparities in educational attainment among Native Hawaiians, Pacific islanders, and Filipinos building a strong workforce pipeline to family-sustaining jobs for Hawai'i's residents." About Lumina Foundation Lumina Foundation is an independent, private foundation in Indianapolis that is committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all. We envision a system that is easy to navigate, delivers fair results, and meets the nation's need for talent through a broad range of credentials. Our goal is to prepare people for informed citizenship and for success in a global economy. Media Contact: Tracy Chen Director of Media Strategy, Lumina Foundation [email protected] 317-670-0521 SOURCE Lumina Foundation SAN FRANCISCO, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Heartex, the company behind the leading open source data labeling platform Label Studio, today announced it has successfully completed a SOC2, Type 1 examination for its flagship Label Studio Enterprise platform. The audit conducted by Prescient Assurance found that Heartex's information security practices, policies, procedures, and operations meet the SOC 2 standards for security, availability, and confidentiality as developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). SOC 2 reports are attestation reports that examine controls at a service organization relevant to the security, availability, or processing integrity of a system (security, availability, and/or processing integrity principles) or the confidentiality or privacy of the information processed for the user entities (confidentiality or privacy principles). SOC 2 reports demonstrate a company's ability to not only implement critical security policies but also prove compliance over an extended period of time. "The Heartex team is committed to continually investing in operational and security best practices that ensure Label Studio Enterprise customer data is safe," said Michael Malyuk, Heartex CEO and Co-Founder. "Achieving the SOC2, Type 1 attestation is an important milestone in our company's ongoing commitment to meet the gold standard for software development processes, operational excellence and technical security controls." In addition to operational best practices, Label Studio Enterprise offers advanced security capabilities, including: Customer data remains private on their systems. Label Studio only stores URLs to the data and fetches sample data for authenticated users in real-time. Label Studio only stores URLs to the data and fetches sample data for authenticated users in real-time. Support for SSO, LDAP & role-based access control. Enterprise customers can integrate Label Studio with their SSO provider of choice, as well as manage roles and access amongst their team. Enterprise customers can integrate Label Studio with their SSO provider of choice, as well as manage roles and access amongst their team. Detailed audit logs, analytics and reporting. Label Studio Enterprise customers can also keep track of and report on user activity in the system. Heartex's SOC 2 report verifies the existence of internal controls which have been designed and implemented to meet the requirements for the security principles set forth in the Trust Services Principles and Criteria for Security. It provides a thorough review of how Heartex's internal controls affect the security, availability, and processing integrity of the systems it uses to process users' data, and the confidentiality and privacy of the information processed by these systems. This independent validation of security controls is crucial for customers in highly regulated industries. For more information or to request a copy of the report about Heartex, please visit http://www.heartex.com . About Heartex Heartex is the company behind Label Studio, the most popular open source data labeling platform for Machine Learning & AI. Founded in 2019 by data scientists and engineers who faced common challenges with model accuracy due to poor quality training data, the team believed the only viable solution was to enable internal teams with domain expertise to annotate and curate training data. They created Label Studio with a focus on usability, flexibility and collaborative workflows that support internal data labeling operations at scale and increase the accuracy of ML/AI models. Today, Label Studio has been used by more than 100,000 people around the world to label 20M+ pieces of data, including production ML/AI initiatives for enterprises like Bombora, Geberit, Outreach, Trivago, Wyze, Zurich Insurance Group, and more. For more information, visit www.heartex.com . Media Contact Kat Eller Murray ROAM Communications for Heartex 415.684.8528 [email protected] SOURCE Heartex Creators of the world's warmest socks are giving back to non-profit organizations and Ukrainian Refugees through product donations ONTARIO, Canada, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Heat Holders - the maker of the world's warmest thermal socks - has partnered with various charities over the years to give back to the community. As part of the company's commitment to give back via their Making Life Warmer Project, they have donated hundreds of thousands of much-needed winter wear to charities, including sanctuaries, non-profit organizations for the homeless, and now, asylum seekers in Ukraine. With supply chains being cut off throughout the country and an influx of displaced persons, civilians are finding themselves without basic necessities. With warmth and socks being one of the most requested items Heat Holders is in a unique position to help. Heat Holders have donated 12,000 pairs of socks via Global Empowerment Mission, who are providing these socks to aid those displaced by the invasion of Ukraine. Heat Holders stays dedicated to supporting the homeless and others in need. In addition to the Ukraine aid, the brand has donated more than 8,000 units just this year alone to organizations like Rosie's Place a sanctuary for poor and homeless women, Friends of Boston's Homeless a non-profit organization that connects people with stable housing, Knock Knock Give a Sock a non-profit organization dedicated to collecting socks for those in need, The Compass Church) and many more. Aside from the brand's work with a variety of charities, their goal is to bring warmth to the world which doesn't stop with just a pair or two of socks. They plan to give more every year and every Heat Holders item sold allows them to donate more products. "We are grateful to our customers who continue to help grow The Making Life Warmer Project and make it such a success. They know they are helping those in need via our efforts and we could not do this without them. Most importantly, our wonderful partners who are doing great work at the grass-roots are truly inspiring and we are thankful to them for allowing us to help." states the brand. Heat Holders distribution started in North America in 2011. As their products made their way into the marketplace, local charities and organizations started reaching out to help those in need. Heat Holders has been happy to help every step of the way, from the person who received it, to the person who approved it, to those who helped ship out the product. Millions of pairs of Heat Holders later, the message of warmth continues to spread all over the world. Then, as now, its Heat Holders - Making Life Warmer. Heat Holders is currently available for purchase on Amazon, Target, Walmart, and a number of other retailers across the country. To learn more, visit https://www.heatholders.com/ or follow them on Instagram or Facebook . About Heat Holders Internationally recognized as the world's warmest socks, Heat Holders socks are over 7x warmer than regular cotton socks and 3x warmer than ordinary thermal socks. Heat Holders are specially developed with cashmere-like acrylic yarn which provides high performance insulation against the cold with superior moisture breathing abilities. Available in 3 different warmth profiles Originals, Lites & Ultra Lites, they are like thermostats for your feet! With Heat Holders, you can give the perfect gift of warmth! Heat Holders hats, gloves, or socks make for a fun and thoughtful stocking stuffer, or the perfect holiday gift for a loved one, friend or colleague. MEDIA CONTACT: Matt Kovacs BLAZE PR [email protected] (310) 395-5050 SOURCE Heat Holders Free, research-backed mental health tool helps LGBTQ+ youth cope with stress through practical, relevant, and inclusive approaches imi (pronounced eye-me) helps LGBTQ+ youth explore and affirm their identity and learn practical approaches to cope with sexual and gender minority stress in ways that are supportive, relevant, inclusive, and joyful. (pronounced eye-me) helps LGBTQ+ youth explore and affirm their identity and learn practical approaches to cope with sexual and gender minority stress in ways that are supportive, relevant, inclusive, and joyful. imi, made for and with LGBTQ+ teens, breaks down important topics like stress, LGBTQ+ identity, internalized stigma, and gender identity and expression through interactive resources, stories, and activities. made for and with LGBTQ+ teens, breaks down important topics like stress, LGBTQ+ identity, internalized stigma, and gender identity and expression through interactive resources, stories, and activities. imi was evaluated in a randomized controlled trial by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania , as detailed in a preprint manuscript currently under peer review. SAN FRANCISCO, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hopelab, in collaboration with CenterLink and the It Gets Better Project, announced today the release of imi (pronounced eye-me), a free, digital mental health tool designed to support LGBTQ+ youth explore and affirm their identity. Designed with and for LGBTQ+ teens, with an intentional focus on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), transgender, non-binary, and gender nonconforming youth, imi provides relevant and practical approaches to boost positive coping skills and mindsets that support LGBTQ+ youth mental well-being. imi is available for free; easily accessible from any device with a web browser and internet connection at imi.guide . Identity-affirming resources are vital to the well-being of sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY)1. Alarming data continues to shed light on the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on LGBTQ+ youth suicidality, and now more than 300 anti-transgender and anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced across nearly 40 states further exacerbating healthcare disparities and directly impacting LGBTQ+ youth2. imi responds to the need for safe, accessible, and research-backed support for LGBTQ+ youth within the digital health ecosystem, delivering freely available resources and activities that focus on topics like stress, LGBTQ+ identity, internalized stigma, and gender identity and expression. "Queer youth deserve an inclusive and just world where they can express themselves without judgment, harassment, or discrimination," said Deborah Levine, (she/her), director of LGBT YouthLink at CenterLink. "Until that world exists, we must provide support to LGBTQ+ youth, especially BIPOC teens, with accessible tools and resources that affirm and support their identities." A broad and diverse group of young people supported the co-creation of imi through a collaborative design process guided by Hopelab. Notably, Hopelab intentionally focused on BIPOC, transgender, non-binary, and gender nonconforming youth during the research, design, and development process to ensure the final product is inclusive. imi's research-based guides feature the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ teens through videos, audio recordings, artwork, and affirmations, that support LGBTQ+ teens with diverse and intersectional identities. "The development of imi was only possible with the input and perspectives of LGBTQ+ teens. Co-creation with young people is an essential ingredient for making mental health and well-being interventions more accessible and engaging," said Margaret Laws, President and CEO of Hopelab. "imi is really a multi-sector collaboration that will help move the needle on equitable health outcomes." imi was tested through a randomized controlled trial conducted by researchers at Hopelab and the University of Pennsylvania's Program on Sexuality, Technology, and Action Research ( PSTAR ). Of the 270 teens who participated in the trial, 78% identified as BIPOC, and 60% identified as transgender and/or gender expansive, genderqueer, or gender nonconforming. Initial data, detailed in a preprint manuscript (under peer review), posted in May, indicates that imi is effective in supporting the well-being of LGBTQ+ youth. A diverse group of LGBTQ+ youth randomly assigned to receive imi reported significantly greater improvements in coping skills, and significantly greater confidence in their ability to cope than youth randomly assigned to receive a web-based list of freely available resources for LGBTQ+ youth. These results suggest that imi may play an important role in helping LGBTQ+ teens cope with stress. "Even in a best-case scenario, when a young queer person has access to a supportive community, there are still obstacles they face in finding the resources they need to inform their gender and sexual development," said Brian Wenke, Executive Director of the It Gets Better Project. "We hope that imi can help fill this knowledge gap with an experience that encourages LGBTQ+ teens to explore who they are without fear of judgment or persecution. The It Gets Better Project proudly endorses any platform that has the potential to inspire a young queer person to pursue and embrace their greatest potential. We believe imi can play an important role in that journey." imi is not a social platform or a crisis tool it is intended as a resource for LGBTQ+ teens to help affirm their identity and learn practical ways to cope with stress and stigma. If in crisis, the following resources are available for support: TrevorLifeline , TrevorChat , TrevorText , Trans Lifeline , Crisis Text Line , and/or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline . A "quick exit" button is also included for users who need to discreetly leave the tool when feeling unsafe or judged in their surroundings. imi is available for free, June 1, 2022 at imi.guide . To learn more about the data peer reviewed and presented at the 2022 Association for Psychological Science Conference, see the preprint here . About Hopelab Hopelab is a social innovation lab and impact investor advancing entrepreneurs, research, digital health, and solutions that support and empower young people, especially those from historically underserved communities. The organization works to remove systemic barriers to youth mental health and emotional well-being through targeted social impact investments, hands-on design and research support for digital innovation, and translational science partnerships. Learn more at hopelab.org . About CenterLink CenterLink was founded in 1994 as a member-based coalition to support the development of strong, sustainable, LGBTQ community centers. The organization strengthens, supports, and connects LGBTQ community centers. A fundamental goal of CenterLink's work is to help build the capacity of these centers to address the social, cultural, health, and advocacy needs of LGBTQ community members across the country. With over 300 members, CenterLink continues to play a vital role in addressing the challenges centers face by helping them to improve their organizational and service delivery capacity, access public resources, and engage their regional communities in grassroots social justice movements. Learn more at www.lgbtcenters.org About It Gets Better Project It Gets Better Project is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that strives to uplift, empower and connect LGBTQ+ youth around the globe. Created in 2010 as the result of one of the most successful viral video campaigns in YouTube's history, the It Gets Better Project provides critical support and hope to LGBTQ+ youth around the world by leveraging the power of media to reach millions of people each year. The project has expanded its origins in storytelling and media to include educational resources through It Gets Better EDU and reaches 19 countries outside of the U.S. through It Gets Better Global.The project has garnered support from President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, along with numerous celebrities, including Kelly Clarkson, Gabrielle Union, Zachary Quinto, Mj Rodriguez, Josie Totah, and Gigi Gorgeous. More than 750,000 people have taken the It Gets Better pledge to share messages of hope and speak up against intolerance. Learn more at www.itgetsbetter.org Citations [1] https://2022survey.thetrevorproject.org/assets/static/trevor01_2022survey_final.pdf [2] https://www.hrc.org/campaigns/the-state-legislative-attack-on-lgbtq-people#nationwide-testimony-against-anti-lgbtq-legislation Contact: Shania Genwright [email protected] 610-732-7403 SOURCE Hopelab Rural critical access hospital reduces acute kidney injury with point-of-care precision dosing for antibiotic treatments SAN FRANCISCO, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today InsightRX, a healthcare technology company which provides cloud-based precision dosing support to guide treatment decisions, announced that Boone County Hospital, a 25-bed critical access hospital in Iowa, implemented model-informed precision dosing via its point-of-care InsightRX Nova platform to reduce acute kidney infections resulting in zero nephrotoxicity events. The hospital has also improved the number of patients achieving the desired therapeutic range for their antibiotic regimen by 27% in one year. In May 2019, Boone County Hospital implemented InsightRX Nova, a precision dosing platform that uses pharmacokinetic model-informed Bayesian forecasting, to standardize its therapeutic drug monitoring for four key antibiotics, including vancomycin. Although the platform is only being used for approximately 50 patients per year, Boone Hospital has realized an annual $16,000 cost avoidance from reduced blood draws in addition to $7,000 in pharmacist time through efficiency improvements. "In addition to saving money and time, we're also saving our patients from too many blood draws, which improves the patient experience," said Kimberly Askren, clinical pharmacist and antimicrobial stewardship champion at Boone County Hospital. "Previously, patients needed to have two blood samples taken at precise times, and then we needed to run the manual calculation using a pharmacokinetic equation. Now, we measure the vancomycin level in the regular morning blood draw, and it takes me a tenth of the time to get the correct dose. That extra clinical time is really valuable." With five clinics, including a walk-in urgent care, Boone County Hospital serves a large rural population from across central Iowa, treating an average of 800 emergency patients every month. Nearby infectious disease physicians also refer patients to Boone Hospital's outpatient infusion center, which conducts long-term antibiotic dosing for patients with serious infections. In the past few years, the center identified a need to prevent adverse effects, including tinnitus and acute kidney injury (AKI), for patients who were receiving a triple therapy of gentamicin, vancomycin, and a broad-spectrum antibiotic. Vancomycin is an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections. Inadequate dosages can be ineffective and lead to possible resistance, while excessive dosages frequently cause AKIs. Affecting nearly 500,000 patients in the U.S. each year, AKIs add up to $81,000 in additional per-patient hospital costs, according to a recent literature review in the Journal of Pharmacy Practice. In 2020, several national organizations issued a new consensus guideline for the therapeutic monitoring of vancomycin, which included a switch from the typical peak/trough dosing strategy to one that optimizes the area under the curve to the minimum inhibitory concentration (AUC/MIC) ratio. The guidelines also recommend the use of Bayesian modeling software, rather than manual calculations, to determine accurate dosing levels. While many smaller hospitals assumed they would be unable to meet the new standard of treatment, Boone Hospital was already practicing next-generation precision dosing with its patients. "Now that we have InsightRX for precision dosing, our patients are at much lower risk of under or overtreatment, and we feel confident that we're giving them the right dose from the start," said Sondra Donald, director of pharmacy at Boone County Hospital. "Critical access hospitals tend to assume this kind of software is cost-prohibitive for them, but we're proof that precision dosing can be a viable option for small facilities. The software pays for itself in a short period of time, and our patients are now getting world-class treatment in rural Iowa with much lower risk of adverse events." As part of the implementation, InsightRX also provided Boone County Hospital with a review of its current process, offering two methods for improving its outpatient infusion performance. In the past six months, the team was able to achieve its therapeutic target attainment goals based on that guidance. Boone County Hospital is also pleased with the analytics provided by the precision dosing platform, as one of the requirements of a CMS-approved antimicrobial stewardship program is the ability to track performance improvement over time. "Boone County Hospital is a great example of how even smaller, more rural facilities can leverage model-informed precision dosing to have a significant impact on patient safety," said Sirj Goswami, PhD, co-founder and CEO of InsightRX. "With the technology we have today, there's no reason for patients to experience undue risk as they embark on an antibiotic regimen. We look forward to a long partnership with this pioneering facility." About InsightRX InsightRX is a healthcare technology company that has developed a cloud-based platform for precision medicine and clinical analytics designed to individualize treatment at the point of care. The platform leverages patient-specific data, pharmacology models, and machine learning to understand each patient's unique pharmacological profile and can be integrated seamlessly within a clinical workflow. Media Contact Megan Moriarty Amendola Communications for InsightRX 913.515.7530 [email protected] SOURCE InsightRX DUBLIN, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Remote Sensing Software Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global remote sensing software market reached a value of US$ 1.46 billion in 2021. Looking forward, the market is projected to reach a value of US$ 2.92 billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 11.80% during 2022-2027. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, the analyst is continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic on different End-use sectors. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor. Remote sensing software is an application utilized for processing and monitoring remotely sensed data to extract geographic information through satellite sensor intelligence and airborne sensor data. It is extensively used for weather forecasting, natural hazard study, resource exploration, land-use mapping, and environment study. Remote sensing software operates by acquiring information over large spatial areas and supervising the constant changes in that specific region to fuel the decision-making process. At present, remote sensing software is commercially available in two varying deployment models, including on-premises and cloud. Remote Sensing Software Market Trends The widespread adoption of remote sensing software in various industrial verticals, such as healthcare, commercial, military, and defense, for instantly interpreting data and forecasting natural hazards represents the key factor primarily driving the market growth. Additionally, the increasing requirement for geographic imaging, remote sensing, and global positioning system (GPS) satellite surveying for processing excessive geospatial data is propelling the market growth. In line with this, the introduction of web-based management applications for resolving various limitations related to the installation of image processing software packages and geographic information systems (GIS) is contributing to the market growth. Moreover, the escalating utilization of remote sensing software in the agricultural sector for equipping farmers with information related to climatic variables, crop health, and quality is another growth-inducing factor. Besides this, the growing investments and fundings in intelligent surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) payloads and satellite communication is positively influencing the market growth. Other than this, manufacturers are offering advanced remote sensing technology, which, in turn, is creating a positive outlook for the market across the globe. Other factors, such as extensive research and development (R&D) activities, is driving the market toward growth further. Competitive Landscape The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players being BAE Systems plc, EOS Data Analytics Inc., Esri, Hexagon AB, L3Harris Technologies Inc., Merrick & Company, PCI Geomatics, Textron Systems (Textron Inc.) and Trimble Inc. Key Questions Answered in This Report How has the global remote sensing software market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years? What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global remote sensing software market? What are the key regional markets? What is the breakup of the market based on the component? What is the breakup of the market based on the deployment mode? What is the breakup of the market based on the application? What is the breakup of the market based on the End-user? What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry? What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry? What is the structure of the global remote sensing software market and who are the key players? What is the degree of competition in the industry? Key Topics Covered: 1 Preface 2 Scope and Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Introduction 4.1 Overview 4.2 Key Industry Trends 5 Global Remote Sensing Software Market 5.1 Market Overview 5.2 Market Performance 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Market Forecast 6 Market Breakup by Component 6.1 Software 6.1.1 Market Trends 6.1.2 Market Forecast 6.2 Services 6.2.1 Market Trends 6.2.2 Market Forecast 7 Market Breakup by Deployment Mode 7.1 On-premises 7.1.1 Market Trends 7.1.2 Market Forecast 7.2 Cloud-based 7.2.1 Market Trends 7.2.2 Market Forecast 8 Market Breakup by Application 8.1 Ground 8.1.1 Market Trends 8.1.2 Market Forecast 8.2 Satellite 8.2.1 Market Trends 8.2.2 Market Forecast 8.3 Airborne 8.3.1 Market Trends 8.3.2 Market Forecast 9 Market Breakup by End User 9.1 Defense 9.1.1 Market Trends 9.1.2 Market Forecast 9.2 Commercial 9.2.1 Market Trends 9.2.2 Market Forecast 10 Market Breakup by Region 11 SWOT Analysis 12 Value Chain Analysis 13 Porters Five Forces Analysis 14 Price Analysis 15 Competitive Landscape 15.1 Market Structure 15.2 Key Players 15.3 Profiles of Key Players 15.3.1 BAE Systems plc 15.3.1.1 Company Overview 15.3.1.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.1.3 Financials 15.3.1.4 SWOT Analysis 15.3.2 EOS Data Analytics Inc. 15.3.2.1 Company Overview 15.3.2.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.3 Esri 15.3.3.1 Company Overview 15.3.3.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.3.3 SWOT Analysis 15.3.4 Hexagon AB 15.3.4.1 Company Overview 15.3.4.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.4.3 Financials 15.3.4.4 SWOT Analysis 15.3.5 L3Harris Technologies Inc. 15.3.5.1 Company Overview 15.3.5.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.5.3 Financials 15.3.6 Merrick & Company 15.3.6.1 Company Overview 15.3.6.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.7 PCI Geomatics 15.3.7.1 Company Overview 15.3.7.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.8 Textron Systems (Textron Inc.) 15.3.8.1 Company Overview 15.3.8.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.9 Trimble Inc. 15.3.9.1 Company Overview 15.3.9.2 Product Portfolio 15.3.9.3 Financials 15.3.9.4 SWOT Analysis For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ljgvmt Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Digital Platform Launches for New Jersey Applicants; New York Pre-Sales Available CHICAGO, June, 1 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Calling all cannabis start-ups and aspiring entrepreneurs! Today, Cognitive Harmony Technologies (CHT) announced the launch and rollout of the CHT Accelerator to streamline the cannabis business license application process, making it as simple as filing taxes online. The company's game-changing service and platform offers materials, resources, live support, and guidance by industry leaders through every part of the process to allow all applicants regardless of the amount of investment capital - an alternative to compete effectively and at an affordable price, paving the way for a more equitable and just cannabis industry where small businesses have a fair shake. Like most disruptive technologies, Co-Founders, software engineer Walter Moore and physicist Charles Cherqui, founded CHT when they ran into their own set of obstacles. When launching their own cannabis company and social equity incubator, Perception Farms, the application process was not only intimidating, but most applicants were set up for rejection from the beginning, even in states whose laws include restorative justice components. "One mistake. Come back in two years," said Walter Moore, CHT Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer. This set the stage for the creation and need for the CHT Accelerator, which uses AI and machine learning algorithms to streamline the process to create a competitive application. The software automates redundant processes, enabling applicants to submit without missing materials or making other common mistakes. The CHT Accelerator is now available for New Jersey cannabis business license applicants. Pre-sales for New York applicants are also available, with expansion into additional states' licensed markets rolling out later this year. "Producing a compliant application typically requires an expensive consulting service that can cost upwards of $150K, creating a huge gap between the goodwill of legislators passing social equity laws and equitable cannabis business ownership," Moore said. "The CHT Accelerator is designed to level the playing field to support social equity initiatives and bring change to an industry which has historically whitewashed the past injustices served in its former prohibition." The CHT Accelerator provides applicants with a master checklist, automated templates and live chat features that guide the submission and is much more affordable than its hundred-thousand-dollar-plus competitors: CHT charges $30K for general applicants and $15K for social equity applicants, with additional opportunities for significant discounts, including their offer of a 20 percent discount on pre-sales until June 30, 2022. "As a cannabis business license owner, I know just how difficult it is to put together a competitive application. We developed the CHT Accelerator to help lower the barrier of entry for others willing to put in the hard work of assembling an application, but who would otherwise be priced out of the competition," said Charles Cherqui, Co-Founder and Chief Business Development Officer. Additionally, Cognitive Harmony Technologies (CHT) will be working with Justice Cannabis Co as its content partner to offer its clients the same quality content that has won dozens of licenses in numerous states. Co-founded by civil rights attorney Jon Loevy, one of the most successful trial lawyers in the United States, the Justice Cannabis team has spent their careers fighting for the rights of the wrongly convicted and currently have 11 dispensaries around the country, as well as an impressive range of world class cannabis products in development. "CHT has the potential to turbo-charge social equity participation in cannabis," said Jon Loevy, Co-Founder of Justice Cannabis Co. "There is nothing like CHT in the existing marketplace. Justice Cannabis appreciates the opportunity to partner with CHT and share our technical knowledge of the industry with license applicants." For more information on Cognitive Harmony Technologies and to begin the license application process, visit https://cognitiveharmony.tech/. About Cognitive Harmony Technologies Our mission is to open the doors for equitable cannabis business ownership by making the application process easy as filing personal income taxes online. The CHT Accelerator streamlines the entire application process into one easy-to-use software platform so you can create a complete and competitive application. Follow us on LinkedIn or visit our website. Contact: Stephen Neilans [email protected] 716.397.4154 SOURCE Cognitive Harmony Technologies NEW YORK, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Juan Monteverde, founder and managing partner of the class action firm Monteverde & Associates PC (the "M&A Class Action Firm"), a national securities firm rated Top 50 in the 2018-2021 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report and headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City, is investigating TherapeuticsMD, Inc. (TXMD), relating to its proposed acquisition via a tender offer by an affiliate of EW Healthcare Partners. Under the terms of the agreement, TXMD shareholders will receive $10.00 in cash per share they own. Click here for more information: http://monteverdelaw.com/case/therapeuticsmd-inc. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you. About Monteverde & Associates PC We are a national class action securities litigation law firm that has recovered millions of dollars and is committed to protecting shareholders from corporate wrongdoing. We were listed in the Top 50 in the 2018-2021 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report. Our lawyers have significant experience litigating Mergers & Acquisitions and Securities Class Actions. Mr. Monteverde is recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in Securities Litigation in 2013, 2017-2019, an award given to less than 2.5% of attorneys in a particular field. He has also been selected by Martindale-Hubbell as a 2017-2021 Top Rated Lawyer. Our firm's recent successes include changing the law in a significant victory that lowered the standard of liability under Section 14(e) of the Exchange Act in the Ninth Circuit. Thereafter, our firm successfully preserved this victory by obtaining dismissal of a writ of certiorari as improvidently granted at the United States Supreme Court. Emulex Corp. v. Varjabedian, 139 S. Ct. 1407 (2019). Also, in 2019 we recovered or secured six cash common funds for shareholders in mergers & acquisitions class action cases. If you own common stock in TXMD and wish to obtain additional information and protect your investments free of charge, please visit our website or contact Juan E. Monteverde, Esq. either via e-mail at [email protected] or by telephone at (212) 971-1341. Contact: Juan E. Monteverde, Esq. MONTEVERDE & ASSOCIATES PC The Empire State Building 350 Fifth Ave. Suite 4405 New York, NY 10118 United States of America [email protected] Tel: (212) 971-1341 Attorney Advertising. (C) 2022 Monteverde & Associates PC. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Monteverde & Associates PC (www.monteverdelaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. SOURCE Monteverde & Associates PC SMITHTOWN, N.Y., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- John J. Rush, MD, MBA, MHA, is being recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Top Healthcare Professional in the Medical field and in acknowledgment of his work with Arthritis Knee Pain Centers. John J. Rush Well-established as a physician and entrepreneur, Dr. Rush is the owner, CEO, and Chief Medical Officer of Arthritis Knee Pain Centers (AKPC), a nationwide network of medical practices focused on advanced therapies to treat osteoarthritis of the knee. The practices offer state-of-the-art digital imaging to precision-guide knee joint injections of a visco-supplement. This FDA-approved injection of "visco" cushioning gels provides pain relief and improves mobility for patients without the use of opioids or surgery. The practices also offer knee bracing and lifestyle counseling. Arthritis Knee Pain Centers have locations in New York, New Jersey, Kentucky, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Arizona. In addition, Dr. Rush plans on opening three new medical practice locations in Georgia in the cities of Marietta, Alpharetta, and Lilburn. As part of his work, Dr. Rush provides training to new AKPC physicians and covers clinically, when needed. He and his team of highly trained medical professionals are committed to providing the highest quality of care to their patients and making them feel welcome and cared for during their treatments. He states, "I am honored to be part of the hard-working Arthritis Knee Pain Centers family. People all over the country look to us to relieve them of the debilitating pain caused by osteoarthritis." In pursuit of his higher education, Dr. Rush first obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Integrated Life Sciences from Kent State University. He went on to earn his Medical Degree from the Northeast Ohio Medical University and completed his Emergency Medicine Residency at Loma Linda Medical Center. Dr. Rush additionally holds Master of Business Administration and Master of Health Administration degrees, both received from Pfeiffer University in Charlotte, NC. Dr. Rush has also formed the Arthritis Knee Center Political Action Committee. The AKPC PAC contributes to legislators on both sides of the aisle to raise awareness and seek legislative support for cost-effective pain relief treatment protocols for osteoarthritis. Dr. Rush's latest venture is the Arthritis Knee Pain Centers Foundation, an idea that sprang from AKPC employees. The Foundation's mission is to give back to the communities served by Arthritis Knee Pain Centers. The Foundation raised $200,000 in its first year, 2020. The Foundation has contributed to YMCAs and food banks in all the communities served by AKPC. The Foundation also recently gave a $25,000 minority scholarship award to Dr. Rush's alma mater, Northeast Ohio Medical University. AKPC employees want to give back and believe that business can be a positive force for the social change that is needed in the country. If you would like to learn more information about AKPC or the Arthritis Knee Pain Centers Foundation, please visit their website at www.arthritiskneepain.com. Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected] SOURCE Continental Who's Who The lawsuit alleges that Instant Brands, Inc., the manufacturer of the Instant Pot pressure cookers, has misrepresented the safety of its pressure cookers. ST. PAUL, Minn., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson // Becker, PLLC is a nationwide products liability law firm with experience representing victims of pressure cooker explosions. The firm has represented over 500 clients who have been severely burned by exploding pressure cookers designed and sold by numerous manufacturers. Johnson//Becker filed this Complaint on behalf of Ms. Amber Durham, a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, alleging that Instant Brands, Inc., the manufacturer of the Instant Pot pressure cooker, misrepresented the safety of its pressure cookers. Ms. Durham's pressure cooker exploded on December 26, 2021. As a result of the explosion, Ms. Durham sustained severe burn injuries. According to the Complaint, the Instant Pot is marketed as having "safety mechanisms" which are supposed to prevent the unit from both building pressure if the lid is not closed properly, as well as the lid from being removed until all the pressure is released. However, Ms. Durham alleges that the Instant Pot pressure cookers contain defects which allow unsuspecting consumers to remove the lid while the cooker is still under pressure causing the scalding hot contents to be projected from the unit. This suit is filed by Michael K. Johnson, Kenneth W. Pearson and Adam J. Kress of Johnson // Becker, PLLC. Michael K. Johnson is a founding partner of Johnson // Becker, PLLC. Michael, Ken and Adam exclusively handle injury cases, with an emphasis on national products liability litigation, including cases involving burn injuries from defective products. Questions about an Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Lawsuit? Contact a Johnson//Becker lawyer today for a free case review. If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective Instant Pot pressure cooker, you may want to speak with the lawyers at Johnson//Becker. We are actively filing new Instant Pot pressure cooker lawsuits across the country, and you may be entitled to financial compensation for your defective pressure cooker injuries. We offer a free case evaluation. To learn more about Johnson // Becker's product liability cases, or to arrange a free, no obligation case review, please visit Johnson // Becker at https://www.johnsonbecker.com/product-liability/instant-pot-pressure-cooker-lawsuit/, https://www.johnsonbecker.com/product-liability/pressure-cooker-lawsuit/ or contact Johnson // Becker directly at (800) 279-6386. SOURCE Johnson // Becker, PLLC Andreessen Horowitz, BCG and PAR Capital Ventures Participate in Round CHICAGO , June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Journera, recognized as one of the World's 10 Most Innovative Travel Companies by Fast Company and a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, today announced its Series B-1 funding round as the company expands its real-time data exchange platform across the travel industry. The round provides $10 million in additional capital for market expansion. The round was led by B Capital and joined by existing investors Andreessen Horowitz and BCG. PAR Capital, the storied travel industry private investment fund, is a new investor in Journera. "We are pleased with the commitment of both existing and new investors to our vision for journey-centric travel industry," said Jeffrey Katz, CEO, Journera. "After the disruption of a global pandemic, the travel industry is entering a period of unprecedented innovation and growth where our new approach to data and marketing is enabled across the entirety of the travel ecosystem." "With our deep experience in enterprise software, we fully appreciate the Journera value proposition," said Allen Duan, General Partner, B Capital Group. "We view the importance of data and digitization to the travel industry as a tremendous transformation opportunity that Journera will help enable." "We are pleased to be able to invest in Journera and Jeff's vision for a journey-centric travel industry." said Paul Reeder, CEO, PAR Capital Ventures. "As it takes hold, this is an important step to bolster travel industry P&Ls and customer satisfaction." The Journera platform brings together data from throughout the travel journey to open up new possibilities for travelers and travel companies from identifying potential customers who are planning journeys, better anticipating their needs throughout the whole journey, and offering new services and experiences based on the traveler's real-time needs. Journera has recently commercialized its Journey Aware product, which helps travel providers and tourism marketers know which customers are traveling where and when. For destination marketing organizations, this capability allows for highly targeted advertising buys focused on the most likely customers for their market. Airlines, hotels and other travel providers use Journey Aware to pinpoint travelers to a given market who don't yet have air, hotel or car reservations. Journera's commercial partners include United Airlines, American Airlines, Hilton, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott International, Hyatt Hotels Corporation and many others. Together, these travel companies account for nearly 50 percent of all travel in the U.S. For more information about Journera, visit www.journera.com. About Journera Journera is a technology company that provides a secure, real-time data exchange for creating more seamless travel journeys. Through its platform, Journera creates a complete view of the traveler's journey in real-time, enabling travel-related companies to create better travel experiences that drive increased loyalty and direct engagement with customers. Journera was recognized as a 2021 'World's Most Innovative Company' by Fast Company. For more information, visit www.journera.com. Media Contact: Journera Communications [email protected] SOURCE Journera "We support cancer caregivers throughout our community, whether they are friends of one of our cancer patients or family," said Kathleen Hardy, LMSW, oncology social worker at Karmanos Cancer Institute's Lawrence and Idell Weisberg Cancer Center in Farmington Hills. "Cancer affects more than just the patient, but it also affects the unsung heroes who assist and support the patient through their journey. Caregivers need support just as much as the patients they care for." The first Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Legacy Funds awarded to Karmanos assisted in starting the Cancer Caregiver Community Program in 2017. Karmanos extended the counseling support services offered at the Weisberg Cancer Center to include support groups, art therapy, massage, Reiki, yoga, tai chi, meditation classes and music therapy for caregivers. The 2022 grant will assist the cancer center in building upon current programming and developing additional techniques to help ease stress and create social connections with fellow caregivers experiencing the same journeys. Workshops are available in person and online. Caregivers may contact Kathleen Hardy, LMSW for more information about the Cancer Caregiver Community Program at Karmanos by calling 1-800-KARMANOS (527-6266) or emailing [email protected]. About the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute Karmanos Cancer Institute is a leader in transformative cancer care, research and education through courage, commitment and compassion. The Karmanos vision is a world free of cancer. As part of McLaren Health Care, Karmanos is the largest provider of cancer care and research in Michigan. For more than 75 years, the administrative and research headquarters, along with the premier specialty cancer hospital, have been located in downtown Detroit. With 16 network sites, Karmanos delivers world-renowned care and access to clinical trials throughout Michigan and northern Ohio. The National Cancer Institute recognizes Karmanos as one of the best cancer centers in the nation with a comprehensive cancer center designation. Its academic partnership with the Wayne State University School of Medicine provides the framework for cancer research and education defining new standards of care and improving survivorship. For more information, call 1-800-KARMANOS (800-527-6266) or visit www.karmanos.org. Follow Karmanos on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. About the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan is a full-service philanthropic organization leading the way to positive change in our region. As a permanent community endowment built by gifts from thousands of individuals and organizations, the Foundation supports a wide variety of activities benefiting education, arts and culture, health, human services, community development and civic affairs in the seven counties of southeast Michigan. The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Legacy Funds at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan honor Mr. Wilson's charitable legacy by supporting efforts across the region in caregiving, design & access, and youth sports, as well as for community assets in Mr. Wilson's home community of Grosse Pointe. For more information, please visit www.cfsem.org. SOURCE Karmanos Cancer Institute Combining Kim's visionary approach with her knowledge from years of working with global skincare specialists and leading experts at Coty (NYSE: COTY ), each product was thoughtfully formulated to care for all skin types, tones, and textures at every stage of maturity. Through active ingredients and technical formulas, SKKN BY KIM offers clinically proven skincare solutions to support the skin's natural abilities and revitalize the complexion. "In all of my business endeavors, I've been fueled by my passion to fill gaps in the market with expertly-crafted and universally-loved products that are performance driven and I have carried this same drive and approach with me into creating a legacy skincare brand," says brand founder and CEO, Kim Kardashian. "What began as a psoriasis diagnosis became the catalyst for my journey of skincare discoveries, inspiring me to learn more about my skin and how to care for it. Working with some of the top dermatologists and estheticians over the years has given me the incredible opportunity to learn from their expertise and I knew I had to share my learnings. Fueled by years of gathered insights, SKKN BY KIM's science-backed formulas work together to reactivate skin's inner potential and inspire confidence. I'm proud to finally be able to share this collection with everyone." Together with Coty Inc., one of the world's largest beauty companies with an iconic portfolio of brands across fragrance, color cosmetics, and skin and body care, Kim Kardashian is launching SKKN BY KIM on June 21, 2022 through a new U.S. direct-to-consumer website. The site will be the go-to destination for all new product launches and will also feature tutorials and special collections. The SKKN BY KIM collection features nine core products, developed to deliver effective results through clean and uncompromising high-performance formulas: Cleanser ( $43 / $37 refill): A lightly-foaming cleanser developed to gently dissolve any makeup, water-resistant residues, unwanted oils, and impurities without stripping skin. A lightly-foaming cleanser developed to gently dissolve any makeup, water-resistant residues, unwanted oils, and impurities without stripping skin. Toner ( $45 / $38 refill): A skin-renewing toner using double acidic and enzymatic exfoliation to help reduce the appearance of pores and enhance skin's texture. A skin-renewing toner using double acidic and enzymatic exfoliation to help reduce the appearance of pores and enhance skin's texture. Exfoliator ( $55 / $47 refill): A double mechanical and enzymatic exfoliator that helps promote skin resurfacing, leaving skin renewed, refreshed and retexturized. A double mechanical and enzymatic exfoliator that helps promote skin resurfacing, leaving skin renewed, refreshed and retexturized. Hyaluronic Acid Serum ( $90 / $77 refill): A multi-molecular weight hyaluronic acid serum that delivers long-lasting, 72-hour moisture, and helps reduce dehydration and the appearance of fine lines. A multi-molecular weight hyaluronic acid serum that delivers long-lasting, 72-hour moisture, and helps reduce dehydration and the appearance of fine lines. Vitamin C8 Serum ( $90 / $77 refill): Featured with a powerful dose of vitamin C8 to help boost collagen synthesis, this serum is clinically proven to diminish the appearance of pigmentations, wrinkles, and fine lines. Featured with a powerful dose of vitamin C8 to help boost collagen synthesis, this serum is clinically proven to diminish the appearance of pigmentations, wrinkles, and fine lines. Face Cream ( $85 / $72 refill): A luxuriously indulgent firming moisturizer that works to nourish and revive skin. Formulated with postbiotics and enriched with a natural alternative to retinol, this cream visibly improves firmness, elasticity, and radiance. A luxuriously indulgent firming moisturizer that works to nourish and revive skin. Formulated with postbiotics and enriched with a natural alternative to retinol, this cream visibly improves firmness, elasticity, and radiance. Eye Cream ( $75 / $64 refill): A moisturizing eye cream that preserves elasticity while acting to reduce puffiness and fine lines around the eye. Formulated with hyaluronic acid for added hydration and peptides to help stimulate collagen production, this product promotes a visibly firm, rested, and illuminated eye contour. A moisturizing eye cream that preserves elasticity while acting to reduce puffiness and fine lines around the eye. Formulated with hyaluronic acid for added hydration and peptides to help stimulate collagen production, this product promotes a visibly firm, rested, and illuminated eye contour. Oil Drops ( $95 / $81 refill): Developed with a highly stable, active form of Vitamin C, this supercharged oil evens out the complexion, helps reduce the appearance of pores, and immediately promotes radiant and glowy looking skin. Developed with a highly stable, active form of Vitamin C, this supercharged oil evens out the complexion, helps reduce the appearance of pores, and immediately promotes radiant and glowy looking skin. Night Oil ( $95 / $81 refill): A nourishing recovery treatment developed to help reenergize skin overnight for supple, smooth, and glowy skin by morning that feels hydrated and plumped. Grounded in the brand's ethos of sustainability, each product is bottled inside sleek, minimalistic, and refillable packaging. To further reduce the environmental impact, refills are packaged inside eco-friendly materials. Photographed by Mario Sorrenti, the campaign images feature Kim amongst larger than life replicas of the collection's sculptural packaging. The creative direction and design for brand identity, product, and packaging, as well as consulting on strategy and art direction was guided by PerronRoettinger. Availability: SKKN BY KIM is launching on June 21 at 9a PT / 12p ET exclusively on SKKNBYKIM.COM PR Contact for Kim Kardashian and SKKN BY KIM: Bevin Lee, Full Picture / [email protected] PR Contact for Coty: Stephanie Taylor/ [email protected] Link to DTC website below: United States : www.SKKNBYKIM.com Social Media: About SKKN BY KIM SKKN BY KIM invites you to experience a new daily skincare ritual. With a focus on quality and efficacy, SKKN BY KIM's science-backed, clean, and cruelty-free formulas are meticulously crafted to support the skin's natural renewal abilities. Through a visionary nine-product ritual, SKKN BY KIM delivers rejuvenation, nourishment, and an indulgent at-home experience designed to help people feel confident in their skin. About Coty Inc. Founded in Paris in 1904, Coty is one of the world's largest beauty companies with a portfolio of iconic brands across fragrance, color cosmetics, and skin and body care. Coty serves consumers around the world, selling prestige and mass market products in more than 130 countries and territories. Coty and our brands empower people to express themselves freely, creating their own visions of beauty; and we are committed to making a positive impact on the planet. Learn more at coty.com or on LinkedIn and Instagram . SOURCE SKKN BY KIM FAIRFAX, Va., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Knowesis Inc. (Knowesis) was awarded prime positioning for the Defense Health Agency's OMNIBUS IV contract. The potential $10 billion contract vehicle for services supporting military medical research and development programs will be supported by a cohort of companies from the commercial, academic, and nonprofit sectors. The OMNIBUS IV Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) multiple-award contract provides awardees the opportunity to compete for task orders in the areas of Research and Development, Research and Development Support Services, Regulatory Processes, and Translational Science Support Services. "We are proud to be among the list of contractors to win this opportunity," John Broughton, Knowesis Director of Business Development, said of the announcement. "Our expertise in medical and scientific research, along with proficiencies in program evaluation, translational science, data analytics, program management and more, makes us the perfect partner to support the Defense Health Agency's Military Research and Development needs on the OMNIBUS IV contract." According to SAM.gov, the contract's base ordering period will conclude on June 19, 2027, and a five-year option period would extend work performance through June 19, 2032. Knowesis is a Center for Veterans Enterprise (CVE) certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and a certified Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB), providing a full range of professional consulting services to federal and state government agencies to include Scientific and Medical Research, Computational Sciences, Information Management, Technology and Security, Operations and Management, Policy and Program Evaluation, and Strategic Communications. We currently support multiple entities within the Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security, and the National Institutes of Health. Knowesis maintains offices in Fairfax, Virginia, with staff at locations across the United States. More information about the company can be found at https://www.knowesis-inc.com/ as well as on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. SOURCE Knowesis Inc. NEWARK, Del., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Covation Biomaterials, a leading global company offering bio-based solutions, launched today as an independent business, following the acquisition of DuPont Biomaterials by the Huafon Group. Proudly combining decades of world-class science and engineering expertise with new investment and manufacturing capabilities, Covation Biomaterials is creating the sustainable building blocks for customers to make innovative and high-performance, bio-based products accessible globally. "As a supplier of bio-based materials solutions, we are an important gateway into a more circular economy. Sustainable supply chains must begin with sustainable materials and our science allows our customers to end their overreliance on petroleum," said Michael Saltzberg, CEO - Covation Biomaterials. "By collaborating with forward-thinking value chain partners and brands globally, we will continue to push the boundaries of innovation and sustainability to deliver high-performance biomaterials at scale. We are thrilled to be joining the Huafon Group, a highly successful materials company that is uniquely positioned to expand the reach of our current products and help us accelerate the introduction of new offerings and technologies to the market," Michael said. Covation Biomaterials improves product performance, protects the environment and partners to turn passion into progress. Together, Covation Biomaterials and its customers find new ways to use science and engineering to meet the growing global demand for sustainable materials today and in the future. The new company builds on a decades-long legacy and successful suite of products currently available in the market, including: Sorona , a partially bio-based polymer that answers the global call for sustainably sourced carpets and fabrics, bridging the personal and societal at a defining moment in our ecological stewardship. Sorona is ideal for creating attractive, high-performance apparel and soft, durable carpeting; , a partially bio-based polymer that answers the global call for sustainably sourced carpets and fabrics, bridging the personal and societal at a defining moment in our ecological stewardship. Sorona is ideal for creating attractive, high-performance apparel and soft, durable carpeting; Susterra , a 100% plant-based, high-performance building block that reduces the need for petroleum-based components while enhancing end-product attributes. Its applications range from footwear and outdoor apparel to coatings, inks and functional fluids; and , a 100% plant-based, high-performance building block that reduces the need for petroleum-based components while enhancing end-product attributes. Its applications range from footwear and outdoor apparel to coatings, inks and functional fluids; and Zemea, a plant-based and biodegradable material that helps brands reach sustainability goals without compromising quality or performance. Available in multiple formulations, Zemea meets exacting standards in a variety of high-volume markets, from personal care and home care, to pharmaceuticals, to enhancing flavors and foods. Covation Biomaterials has a rich product pipeline of exciting bio-based solutions that it will bring to the market. "We have long admired the work by this team of biomaterials scientists and developers, who are developing industry-leading, sustainable materials available at scale," said Feifeng You, vice president - the Huafon Group and Chairman of the Board - Covation. "The addition of Covation Biomaterials to the Huafon Group will bring bio-based materials to an even larger global customer base and drive the materials sector toward a sustainable future. We are excited for the bright future of this business," Feifeng said. About Covation Biomaterials Founded in 2022, in Newark, Delaware, Covation Biomaterials is a leading global innovator offering a product portfolio of high-performance, sustainable solutions. The company builds on its rich DuPont legacy of groundbreaking scientific innovation and continues to deliver novel solutions at scale across multiple industries, including apparel, carpeting, cosmetics, food and packaging. Through product lines such as Sorona, Susterra and Zemea, the mission of Covation Biomaterials is to deliver the sustainable building blocks that will enable customers to provide bio-based products accessible to everyone. About the Huafon Group Founded in 1991, headquartered in Ruian, China, Huafon Group has been innovating to provide new material solutions globally in multiple industries by promoting sustainability, safety, technology and quality. Huafon Group is one of the largest manufacturers of polyurethane (PU) materials in the world with broad product portfolio in adipic acid, polyester polyols, spandex filament, microfiber material, TPU, polyamide etc. By 2021, Huafon Group has more than 14,000 employees and owns multiple subsidiary companies globally in chemical, metals, finance, logistics, information technology and trade. Covation, Covation Biomaterials, Sorona, Susterra, and Zemea, are trademarks of Covation Biomaterials LLC or its affiliates. For more information about Covation Biomaterials, please visit CovationBio.com and follow us on LinkedIn Huafon is a trademark of Huafon Group. Co., Ltd. or its affiliates. For more information about Huafon Group, please visit Huafeng.com Contact: Alexa Raab [email protected] SOURCE Covation Biomaterials The expanded relationship offers HBR's legal industry clients greater value in managed services CHICAGO , June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- HBR Consulting (HBR), the most comprehensive strategy, operations and technology consulting firm focused on the legal industry, today announced the expansion of its relationship with ServiceNow as a partner in the ServiceNow Partner Program Module. This announcement expands on HBR Consulting's work with ServiceNow as a member of the ServiceNow Sales and Service Provider Program Modules. Membership in this partner program module enables HBR not only to purchase ServiceNow products and services and operate them in a managed services capacity on behalf of clients, but also to deliver implementations for the Now Platform, which may include consulting, outsourcing, subcontracting, or custom application development. "HBR's long-standing relationship with ServiceNow dates back to Managed Technology Services LLC, which HBR acquired in 2019. As the premier managed services provider to the legal industry, we're excited to expand our collaboration with ServiceNow to support a range of HBR's clients and managed services," said Chris Petrini-Poli, HBR's executive chairman. "Through this program module, we can offer an exceptional value proposition to the legal market, supporting law firms and law departments as they work to modernize their platforms and delivery of legal services." HBR's deep understanding of the legal vertical and specialized technical expertise, coupled with ServiceNow capability, will provide HBR's legal industry clients an enhanced customer experience across multiple areas of operations. HBR provides law firms and corporate law departments with strategic guidance, operational improvement, and technology solutions. Its 2021 combination with Keno Kozie Associates brought together more than 700 experts in these areas to meet the expanding technology needs of the legal ecosystem. About HBR Consulting HBR Consulting LLC (www.hbrconsulting.com) provides law firms and corporate law departments with strategic guidance, operational improvement, and technology solutions that drive innovation while managing cost and mitigating risk. HBR's proven combination of experience, relationships, and insightsspanning the legal ecosystemdelivers sustainable financial and competitive advantages for its clients. ServiceNow, the ServiceNow logo, Now, Now Platform, and other ServiceNow marks are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ServiceNow, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. SOURCE HBR Consulting GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A sad realization swept over Melissa Jachim's third grade class at Walker Charter Academy earlier this spring as students learned that 105 of their chinook salmon fry, part of their Salmon in the Classroom project through the Michigan DNR, had died over the weekend. Quick to point out the correlation with nature, Jachim noted their five remaining fish were still ahead of the curve compared to salmon hatched in the wild. "A salmon might lay about 10,000 eggs, but how many of those will actually get the chance to grow to be an adult?" Jachim asked the class, prodding their memories. "The odds are about one or two will have a full life cycle out of those 10,000. Many of them will get eaten by other fish like steelhead, or fishermen like you guys." Salmon are not native to the Great Lakes and the reasoning behind their introduction was partly to help manage the overpopulation of a baitfish called an alewife. These fish would wash up on beaches at the end of their life cycle by the thousands. While showing the students a picture of a shoreline full of dead alewives, Jachim asked another leading question. "Too bad we don't have smell-o-vision," she said. "What would it smell like? Would it smell good? It would not, you would not want to play there." "Eeeew," the class replied in unison. About 800 miles to the southeast, students at PreEminent Charter School in Raleigh, N.C. were learning about shad, a migratory fish that spawns in freshwater but spends much of its life in saltwater. Science Teacher Gina Bobbitt partnered with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to host the Shad in the Classroom project. The fish eggs arrived on a Monday and students learned to sort the live from the dead eggs, which became a daily task. "We pulled out the eggs and fry onto petri dishes to watch their development," Bobbitt said. "I was able to pull out the digital microscope to display on the overhead so everyone could see the development." The eggs grew to become tiny see-through fish, which students took to a park down the road from the school to release into the river to grow. The program also provides an artistic element where students make fish prints made from grown shad molds, created by the museum. Finally, a student from North Carolina State University will lead PreEminent students in shad dissections to show what a fully grown fish looks like. PreEminent Charter School and Walker Charter Academy are part of NHA, a charter school management company in Grand Rapids, Mich. with 98 tuition-free, public charter schools across nine states, serving more than 60,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. SOURCE National Heritage Academies Iconic Lip Balm Brand Re-Releases Limited Edition "Love Wins" Stick and Calls on LGBTQ+ Allies to Share #ProudLips Moments to Support It Gets Better Project WARREN, N.J., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Time to pucker up for a good cause! ChapStick is proud to show continued allyship of the LGBTQ+ community through the re-release of a limited-edition "Love Wins" cotton candy-flavored lip balm this June. As part of the initiative, the brand is partnering with the It Gets Better Project, a nonprofit organization with the mission to uplift, empower and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth around the globe. In addition to a $25,000 donation, 100% of the "Love Wins" lip balm sales will benefit the organization to help support LGBTQ+ youth, while supplies last. ChapStick Love Wins Lip Balm To spark a positive impact within the community, ChapStick is calling on brand fans and all LGBTQ+ allies to show support this Pride Month by showing off their #ProudLips. Whether sharing a smooch with a loved one or a giving a friend a kiss, supporters are invited to share their #ProudLips moments via Instagram posts or by using the #ProudLips filter on Instagram stories and tagging @ChapStick. "At ChapStick, we believe in using lips for good and are proud to team up with the It Gets Better Project to advocate for LGBTQ+ youth worldwide," said Angela Gozenput, ChapStick Brand Director. "We are constantly inspired by our community and can't wait to see how they show off their #ProudLips in unwavering support and celebration of the LGBTQ+ community this Pride Month." The exclusive ChapStick "Love Wins" cotton candy lip balm is available while supplies last this month on www.ChapStick.com as a 12-count pack for a MSRP of $24 with 100% of sales donated to the It Gets Better Project. To learn more about ChapStick and the causes that the brand supports, including the It Gets Better Project, visit www.ChapStick.com. About ChapStick ChapStick, the lip expert, makes it a priority to help people care for their lips all year round. Originally created in the early 1880s, ChapStick is known today as America's favorite lip balm and there's a variety for every consumer need. As part of GSK Consumer Healthcare, ChapStick offers a variety of products and fun flavors that promote happier and healthier lips. For more information on ChapStick, please visit www.ChapStick.com . About GSK Consumer Healthcare GSK Consumer Healthcare combines science and consumer insights to create innovative world-class health care brands that consumers trust, and experts recommend for oral health, pain relief, respiratory and wellness. About the It Gets Better Project It Gets Better Project is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that strives to uplift, empower and connect LGBTQ+ youth around the globe. Created in 2010 as the result of one of the most successful viral campaigns in YouTube's history, the It Gets Better Project provides critical support and hope to LGBTQ+ youth around the world by leveraging the power of media to reach millions of people each year. The project has expanded its origins in storytelling and media to include educational resources through It Gets Better EDU and reaches 18 countries outside of the U.S. through It Gets Better Global. The project has garnered support from President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, along with numerous celebrities, including Kelly Clarkson, Gabrielle Union, Zachary Quinto, MJ Rodriguez, Josie Totah, and Gigi Gorgeous. More than 750,000 people have taken the It Gets Better pledge to share messages of hope and speak up against intolerance. Please visit www.itgetsbetter.org for more information, and join the conversation on TikTok, Instagram and Twitter at @ItGetsBetter; Facebook.com/ItGetsBetterProject; and YouTube.com/ItGetsBetterProject. SOURCE GSK Consumer Healthcare COPENHAGEN, Denmark and NEW YORK, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --The Lupus Research Alliance (LRA) and its clinical trial arm Lupus Therapeutics congratulate Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) on new positive results from a Phase 2 trial of its investigational agent deucravacitinib for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Deucravacitinib is a potentially first-in-class inhibitor of Tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2), which regulates the levels of Type I interferons, molecules in the immune system that contribute to tissue damage and lupus symptoms. Data showed that the primary endpoint at week 32 evaluating the effectiveness of deucravacitinib was met; a significantly greater percentage of patients treated with the study drug met the required reduction of symptoms as evaluated by the SLE Responder Index-4 (SRI-4), a composite measurement of disease activity (58.2% of patients taking deucravacitinib versus 34.4% on placebo). At 48 weeks, those patients given deucravacitinib at an oral dose of 3 mg twice daily showed statistically significant reduction in symptoms according to four objective measurements of BICLA, LLDAS, CLASI 50, and change in active joint counts. Safety was demonstrated with similar rates of side effects between those patients given deucravacitinib compared with those receiving placebo. These late-breaking data were presented by Professor Eric Morand, Head of the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health in Australia and Lupus Research Alliance Distinguished Innovator Award recipient, at the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) 2022 Annual Congress, June 1-4, Copenhagen. Albert Roy, Executive Director of Lupus Therapeutics commented, "These are very encouraging results for patients with SLE. We are honored to have played a role in this exciting work by helping to conduct this clinical trial through our Lupus Clinical Investigators Network (LuCIN) of renowned North American academic centers. We thank BMS, all the investigators, and all the patients for their participation in this study evaluating what could serve as a much-needed treatment option." "The lupus community owes tremendous gratitude to the patients who took part in this study. Lupus is a highly heterogeneous autoimmune disease which differs from person to person, so many new treatments are needed. We urge every person with lupus to talk to their healthcare professionals about participating in the clinical research as an opportunity for high-quality care while helping improve the future for all those living with lupus," Roy added. About Lupus Lupus is a chronic, complex autoimmune disease that affects millions of people worldwide. More than 90 percent of people with lupus are women; lupus is most often diagnosed during the childbearing years of 15-45. African Americans, Latinx, Asians and Native Americans are two to three times at greater risk than Caucasians. In lupus, the immune system, designed to protect against infection, creates antibodies that can attack any part of the body including the kidneys, brain, heart, lungs, blood, skin, and joints. About the Lupus Research Alliance The Lupus Research Alliance, the largest nongovernmental, nonprofit research organization dedicated to lupus research worldwide, aims to transform treatment while advancing toward a cure by funding the most innovative lupus research in the world. The organization's stringent peer review grant process fosters diverse scientific talent who are driving discovery toward better diagnostics, improved treatments and ultimately a cure for lupus. Because the Lupus Research Alliance's Board of Directors funds all administrative and fundraising costs, 100% of all donations goes to support lupus research programs. About Lupus Therapeutics Lupus Therapeutics, an affiliate of the Lupus Research Alliance, aims to accelerate drug discovery and diagnostic innovation for all patients living with lupus. Lupus Therapeutics collaborates with biotechnology and pharmaceutical partners through its unprecedented Lupus Clinical Investigators Network (LuCIN) to drive rapid and meaningful progress in the treatment of lupus patients. The organization aims to place the patient voice and community stakeholders at the center of the clinical research process with the most innovative and renowned experts throughout North America. SOURCE Lupus Research Alliance NORTHVILLE, Mich. , June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Chief Mack Jenkins has joined Justice Speakers Institute (JSI) as an Associate Partner and Vice President. He will serve alongside Institute founders, Judge (Ret.) Brian Mackenzie and David Wallace, (the Traffic Safety Guy) to further JSI's mission of promoting justice and the rule of law globally. Chief Jenkins Joins JSI Jenkins retains the honorific "Chief" in recognition of his 9 years from 2007 to 2016 as chief probation officer for San Diego County, California, where he lead the implementation of evidence-based practices for community supervision. Chief Jenkins oversaw operations of a department of up to 1500 employees responsible for supervising 14,000 adults and 2000 youth throughout the state. He has also served as a senior policy adviser for The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center and a consultant for both the National Institute of Corrections, Washington, D. C., and the Drug Court Institute, Alexandra, Virginia. Chief Jenkins held a variety of leadership positions with Orange County Probation, including division director, overseeing adult, juvenile, and institutional services. For over 40 years he has worked with local, state, and national policymakers to develop and support legislation that serves the goals of the criminal justice system. Additionally, Chief Jenkins has worked in the treatment court field for more than 25 years have helped start treatment courts in Orange county California, and serving two terms on the board of Directors for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in social ecology/criminal justice from the University of California Irvine and a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice from California State University Long Beach. Chief Jenkins is an adjunct instructor with the Rancho Santiago Community College District in Santa Ana and serves on the board of several probation and justice organizations including the California Prison Industry Authority, and the California Council on Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health JSI Co-President Judge Mackenzie noted that "for more than four decades Chief Jenkins has worked to improve the justice system. We at Justice Speakers Institute share his commitment and are delighted he agreed to become part of JSI." Jenkins said, "I am very excited to have the opportunity to join Justice Speakers Institute. I was long an admirer of the late Judge Peggy Hora, a co-founder of JSI, and an early trailblazer in our country's treatment court movement. I believe Judge Hora in launching JSI saw an opportunity to move our country's justice system forward in the areas of treatment, collaboration, fairness, and justice itself. Her fellow co-founders Judge Brian Mackenzie (Ret.) and Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Wallace have continued to pursue that vision and I feel privileged to be able to contribute to that effort." JSI offers curriculum development, publications, presentations, traffic safety policy, research, conference planning, technical assistance, and other services. Its professionals imbue each project they undertake with their core values of excellence, trustworthiness, respect, commitment, experience, insight, collaboration, integrity, and fun. For more information, visit justicespeakersinstitute.com or call (989) 479-2144. Justice Speakers Institute, founded in 2015, is the gateway to Justice System leaders worldwide. Its founders and associates are internationally recognized experts with decades of experience and mastery over 300 subjects impacting the justice system. MEDIA CONTACT: David Wallace, JSI Cofounder Harbor Beach, Michigan USA 48167 Phone: (989) 479-2144 [email protected] SOURCE Justice Speakers Institute SAN FRANCISCO and DETROIT, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mapbox and General Motors (NYSE:GM) today announced that it will speak, sponsor, and host a virtual booth at Informa AutoTech Detroit, hosted by Wards Intelligence. GM and Mapbox will present how their collaboration is accelerating the pace of innovation for navigation and infotainment, and how the Mapbox platform supports GM's commitment to delivering best-in-class customer experiences throughout a vehicle's lifetime. WHO: Alex Barth, VP of Automotive at Mapbox and Matt Joshua, VP of Infotainment Strategy at GM will present at Informa AutoTech Detroit. WHAT: Fireside Chat: The making of Maps+: Accelerating Innovation GM and Mapbox have collaborated on Maps+ to introduce a ground-breaking delivery concept for navigation. Maps+ is an example of how GM is supporting its growth strategy by innovating its digital offerings and subscription services, and making their customers' ownership experience better over time by upgrading capabilities they did not previously have at the time of purchase. The speakers will discuss the genesis of Maps+, the strategic importance of a deeply integrated, continuously evolving navigation experience and lift the curtain on where Maps+ will go next. WHEN: Informa AutoTech Detroit Conference: June 8-9, 2022 Mapbox and GM Presentation: June 8, 2022, 4:15 p.m. ET in Sapphire and Ruby rooms WHERE: Suburban Collection Showplace 46100 Grand River Ave., Novi, MI 48374 To attend the event, please visit the registration page here. Please connect with Mapbox on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and with GM on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. About Mapbox Mapbox is the leading real-time location platform for a new generation of location-aware businesses. Mapbox is the only platform that equips organizations with the full set of tools to power the navigation of people, packages, and vehicles everywhere. More than 3.5 million registered developers have chosen Mapbox because of the platform's flexibility, security, and privacy compliance. Organizations use Mapbox applications, data, SDKs, and APIs to create customized and immersive experiences that delight their customers. For more information, visit www.mapbox.com. SOURCE Mapbox IRVINE, Calif., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today reported total May sales of 15,312 vehicles, a decrease of 63.7 percent compared to May 2021. Year-to-date sales totaled 127,673 vehicles; a decrease of 18.5 percent compared to the same time last year. With 24 selling days in May, compared to 26 the year prior, the company posted a decrease of 60.7 percent on a Daily Selling Rate (DSR) basis. CPO sales totaled 5,077 vehicles in May, a decrease of 26 percent compared to May 2021. Mazda Canada, Inc., (MCI) reported May sales of 3,974 vehicles, a decrease of 31.5 percent compared to May last year. Year-to-date sales decreased 17.5 percent, with 22,892 vehicles sold. Mazda Motor de Mexico (MMdM) reported May sales of 2,138 vehicles, a decrease of 44.7 percent compared to May last year. Year-to-date sales decreased 33.4 percent, with 14,031 vehicles sold. Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts, and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States, Canada, and Mexico through approximately 780 dealers. Operations in Canada are managed by Mazda Canada Inc. in Richmond Hill, Ontario, and operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at News.MazdaUSA.com. Follow MNAO's social media channels through Twitter and Instagram at @MazdaUSA and Facebook at Facebook.com/MazdaUSA. Month-To-Date Year-To-Date May May YOY % % MTD May May YOY % % MTD 2022 2021 Change DSR 2022 2021 Change DSR Mazda3 904 4,525 (80.0)% (78.4)% 13,990 18,311 (23.6)% (23.6)% Mazda 3 Sdn 405 2,874 (85.9)% (84.7)% 5470 11,756 (53.5)% (53.5)% Mazda 3 HB 499 1,651 (69.8)% (67.3)% 8520 6,555 30.0% 30.0% Mazda6 2 2,335 (99.9)% (99.9)% 334 8,137 (95.9)% (95.9)% MX-5 Miata 405 1,397 (71.0)% (68.6)% 2,668 5,450 (51.0)% (51.0)% MX-5 160 515 (68.9)% (66.3)% 908 2,197 (58.7)% (58.7)% MXR 245 882 (72.2)% (69.9)% 1760 3,253 (45.9)% (45.9)% CX-3 - 967 - - - 3,373 - - CX-30 2,955 7,959 (62.9)% (59.8)% 16994 28,080 (39.5)% (39.5)% CX-5 8,093 20,595 (60.7)% (57.4)% 75150 76,227 (1.4)% (1.4)% CX-9 1,453 4,409 (67.0)% (64.3)% 15023 16,983 (11.5)% (11.5)% CX-50 1,465 0 - - 3221 0 - - MX-30 35 0 - - 293 0 - - CARS 1,311 8,257 (84.1)% (82.8)% 16,992 31,898 (46.7)% (46.7)% TRUCKS 14,001 33,930 (58.7)% (55.3)% 110,681 124,664 (11.2)% (11.2)% TOTAL 15,312 42,187 (63.7)% (60.7)% 127,673 156,562 (18.5)% (18.5)% *Selling Days 24 26 126 126 SOURCE Mazda North American Operations Virtual and in-person sessions complement healthcare company's focus on education to drive new clinical thinking Northfield, Ill., May 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Medline today announced skin health and wound care workshops in 2022 to help drive standardization of care and empower frontline caregivers across the continuum of care. Offered throughout the year, Medline has created in-person and virtual compression workshops for outpatient wound centers and virtual boot camps for post-acute care providers on complex skin health topics, ranging from prevention of skin breakdown to wound etiologies and appropriate treatments. "It will take time to fully assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on skin health management, but we have learned that successful organizations continue to empower their staff," said Amin Setoodeh, senior vice president of skin health and clinical services for Medline. "Medline strives to be more than just a medical supplier, and we are fortunate to have a robust clinical team at Medline to arm healthcare providers with essential skin and wound care knowledge to help their organizations run better." The acute and post-acute care education is an extension of Medline's dedication to building knowledge and confidence in clinicians, and the sessions are led by Medline clinicians who have extensive experience in the healthcare industry. Post-acute care skin health boot camps : The Medline Post-Acute Skin Health Solution team has designed a curriculum for all levels of care expertise that focuses on how to properly assess and document wounds, measure wounds, and provide essential patient and family education. The sessions, which range in length from one hour to half-day, are divided into three series based on level of expertise. Learn more about the post-acute skin health boot camps. : The Medline Post-Acute Skin Health Solution team has designed a curriculum for all levels of care expertise that focuses on how to properly assess and document wounds, measure wounds, and provide essential patient and family education. The sessions, which range in length from one hour to half-day, are divided into three series based on level of expertise. Learn more about the post-acute skin health boot camps. Acute care compression workshops: Geared toward outpatient wound centers, the workshops are designed to drive best practices for applying compression therapy in treating patients with venous disease. With 80-90% of lower extremity wounds being venous in origin, the curriculum focuses on contributing factors and characteristics of venous disease, advancements in compression therapy, and hands-on training to practice skills learned during the workshop. Fill out the form to learn more about the compression workshops. Medline's commitment to education beyond skin health Medline continues to create educational opportunities to enhance staff engagement and optimize patient care outcomes. In addition to the focus on skin health, Medline's online continuing education (CE) platform, Medline University, saw a 30% year-over-year growth in monthly users in 2021, with new courses in development in 2022 to address self-care for nurses, telehealth and workplace violence and incivility in nursing. Read more about Medline's focus on empowering clinicians through education at https://newsroom.medline.com/caregiver-readiness/the-role-of-workforce-education-in-retaining-and-attracting-healthcare-staff. About Medline Medline is a healthcare company; a manufacturer, distributor, and solutions provider focused on improving the overall operating performance of healthcare. Partnering with healthcare systems and facilities across the continuum of care, Medline provides the clinical and supply chain resources required for long-term financial viability in delivering high-quality care. With the scale of one of the country's largest companies and the agility of a family-led business, Medline is able to invest in its customers for the future and rapidly respond to a dynamically changing market with customized solutions. Headquartered in Northfield, Ill., Medline has 30,000+ employees worldwide and does business in more than 125 countries and territories. Learn more about Medline at www.medline.com. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube SOURCE Medline The increasing government support is a major factor supporting the global microgrid market share growth. is a major factor supporting the global microgrid market share growth. The rapid advances in technology is another factor supporting the global microgrid market share growth. is another factor supporting the global microgrid market share growth. The high implementation costs will be a major challenge for the global microgrid market share growth during the forecast period. will be a major challenge for the global microgrid market share growth during the forecast period. North America will register the highest growth rate of 28% among the other regions. Therefore, the microgrid market in North America is expected to garner significant business opportunities for the vendors during the forecast period. will register the among the other regions. Therefore, the microgrid market in is expected to garner significant business opportunities for the vendors during the forecast period. The microgrid market vendors should focus on grabbing business opportunities from the remote segment as it accounted for the largest market share in the base year. Download Sample : for more additional information about the Microgrid Market Scope of the Report Microgrid Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 12.86% Market growth 2021-2025 $ 19.5 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 12.43 Regional analysis North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution North America at 28% Key consumer countries US, China, Russian Federation, Australia, and Canada Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled ABB Ltd., Eaton Corp. Plc, Emerson Electric Co., Exelon Corp., General Electric Co., Honeywell International Inc., Powerhive Inc., S&C Electric Co., Schneider Electric SE, and Siemens AG Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for forecast period, Customization preview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. Didn't Find What You Were Looking For? Customize Report- Don't miss out on the opportunity to speak to our analyst and know more insights about this market report. Our analysts can also help you customize this report according to your needs. Our analysts and industry experts will work directly with you to understand your requirements and provide you with customized data in a short amount of time. Speak to our Analyst now! to take full advantage of every opportunity using competitive analysis created just for you Remote Application Held the Largest Market Share The microgrid market share growth by the remote segment will be significant during the forecast period. will be significant during the forecast period. India , Indonesia , Bangladesh , and several countries in Africa and Southeast Asia are the prospective markets for remote microgrids. are the prospective markets for remote microgrids. The multi-year decline in the cost of solar panels, coupled with advances in energy storage, is allowing clean energy microgrids to reach people where investments in conventional grids are not feasible. North America is Expected to Hold a Significant Share of the Market 28% of the market's growth will originate from North America during the forecast period. US and Canada are the key markets for microgrid market in North America . of the market's growth will originate from during the forecast period. for microgrid market in . Market growth in this region will be slower than the growth of the market in APAC, MEA and South America . of the market in APAC, MEA and . Increased initiatives from the US government for implementing energy-efficient power solutions will facilitate the microgrid market growth in North America over the forecast period. Purchase our 120 Page Report for more insights on the market share & contribution of various regions & segments. You will also get access to +17000 reports on 100s of topics Vendor Insights- The report analyzes the market's competitive landscape and offers information on several market vendors, including: ABB Ltd. Eaton Corp. Plc Emerson Electric Co. Exelon Corp. General Electric Co. Honeywell International Inc. Powerhive Inc. S&C Electric Co. Schneider Electric SE Siemens AG The microgrid market is fragmented and the vendors are deploying organic and inorganic growth strategies to compete in the market. Download Sample Report to find additional highlights on the vendors and their product offerings. Recent Developments ABB Ltd.- The company offers microgrids under the brand name Emax 2. Business segments of the company include- Electrification, Industrial Automation, Motion, and Robotics and Discrete Automation. The company offers microgrids under the brand name Emax 2. Business segments of the company include- Electrification, Industrial Automation, Motion, and Robotics and Discrete Automation. Eaton Corp. Plc- The company offers microgrid energy systems that helps companies facilitate electrical energy savings, resiliency and independence from a utility. The company offers microgrid energy systems that helps companies facilitate electrical energy savings, resiliency and independence from a utility. General Electric Co.- The company offers distributed energy solutions which enables improved grid resiliency and availability. Download Our Sample Report for more product offerings, news, and developments Here are Some Similar Topics- Remote Microgrid Market by Application and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025: The remote microgrid market size is expected to grow by $ 5.26 bn and record a CAGR of 14.10% during 2021-2025. To get more exclusive research insights: Download Sample Report Global Energy Storage Market for Microgrids: This industry research report identifies NEC Energy Solutions, NRG Energy, Saft, Samsung SDI, and UniEnergy Technologies as the key vendors in the global energy storage market for microgrids. To get more exclusive research insights: Download Sample Report Table of Contents 1 Executive Summary 2 Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem Exhibit 01: Parent market Exhibit 02: Market characteristics 2.2 Value chain analysis Exhibit 03: Value chain analysis: Environmental services 3 Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition Exhibit 04: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis Exhibit 05: Market segments 3.3 Market size 2020 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025 Exhibit 06: Global - Market size and forecast 2020 - 2025 ($ million) Exhibit 07: Global market: Year-over-year growth 2020 - 2025 (%) 4 Five Forces Analysis 4.1 Five forces summary Exhibit 08: Five forces analysis 2020 & 2025 4.2 Bargaining power of buyers Exhibit 09: Bargaining power of buyers 4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Exhibit 10: Bargaining power of suppliers 4.4 Threat of new entrants Exhibit 11: Threat of new entrants 4.5 Threat of substitutes Exhibit 12: Threat of substitutes 4.6 Threat of rivalry Exhibit 13: Threat of rivalry 4.7 Market condition Exhibit 14: Market condition - Five forces 2020 5 Market Segmentation by Application 5.1 Market segments Exhibit 15: Application - Market share 2020-2025 (%) 5.2 Comparison by Application Exhibit 16: Comparison by Application 5.3 Remote - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 17: Remote - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 18: Remote - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.4 Institutions and campus - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 19: Institutions and campus - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 20: Institutions and campus - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.5 Military - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 21: Military - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 22: Military - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.6 Others - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 23: Others - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 24: Others - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.7 Market opportunity by Application Exhibit 25: Market opportunity by Application 6 Customer landscape 7 Geographic Landscape 7.1 Geographic segmentation Exhibit 27: Market share by geography 2020-2025 (%) 7.2 Geographic comparison Exhibit 28: Geographic comparison 7.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 29: North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 30: North America - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.4 APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 31: APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 32: APAC - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.5 Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 33: Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 34: Europe - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 35: South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 36: South America - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.7 MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 37: MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 38: MEA - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.8 Key leading countries Exhibit 39: Key leading countries 7.9 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 40: Market opportunity by geography ($ million) 8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 8.1 Market drivers 8.2 Market challenges Exhibit 41: Impact of drivers and challenges 8.3 Market trends 9 Vendor Landscape 9.1 Overview Exhibit 42: Vendor landscape 9.2 Landscape disruption 10 Vendor Analysis 10.1 Vendors covered Exhibit 45: Vendors covered 10.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 46: Market positioning of vendors 10.3 ABB Ltd. Exhibit 47: ABB Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 48: ABB Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 49: ABB Ltd. - Key News Exhibit 50: ABB Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 51: ABB Ltd. - Segment focus 10.4 Eaton Corp. Plc Exhibit 52: Eaton Corp. Plc - Overview Exhibit 53: Eaton Corp. Plc - Business segments Exhibit 54: Eaton Corp. Plc - Key News Exhibit 55: Eaton Corp. Plc - Key offerings Exhibit 56: Eaton Corp. Plc - Segment focus 10.5 Emerson Electric Co. Exhibit 57: Emerson Electric Co. - Overview Exhibit 58: Emerson Electric Co. - Business segments Exhibit 59: Emerson Electric Co. - Key News Exhibit 60: Emerson Electric Co. - Key offerings Exhibit 61: Emerson Electric Co. - Segment focus 10.6 Exelon Corp. Exhibit 62: Exelon Corp. - Overview Exhibit 63: Exelon Corp. - Business segments Exhibit 64: Exelon Corp. - Key News Exhibit 65: Exelon Corp. - Key offerings Exhibit 66: Exelon Corp. - Segment focus 10.7 General Electric Co. Exhibit 67: General Electric Co. - Overview Exhibit 68: General Electric Co. - Business segments Exhibit 69: General Electric Co. - Key News Exhibit 70: General Electric Co. - Key offerings Exhibit 71: General Electric Co. - Segment focus 10.8 Honeywell International Inc. Exhibit 72: Honeywell International Inc. - Overview Exhibit 73: Honeywell International Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 74: Honeywell International Inc. - Key News Exhibit 75: Honeywell International Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 76: Honeywell International Inc. - Segment focus 10.9 Powerhive Inc. Exhibit 77: Powerhive Inc. - Overview Exhibit 78: Powerhive Inc. - Product and service Exhibit 79: Powerhive Inc. - Key offerings 10.10 S&C Electric Co. Exhibit 80: S&C Electric Co. - Overview Exhibit 81: S&C Electric Co. - Product and service Exhibit 82: S&C Electric Co. - Key offerings 10.11 Schneider Electric SE Exhibit 83: Schneider Electric SE - Overview Exhibit 84: Schneider Electric SE - Business segments Exhibit 85: Schneider Electric SE - Key News Exhibit 86: Schneider Electric SE - Key offerings Exhibit 87: Schneider Electric SE - Segment focus 10.12 Siemens AG Exhibit 88: Siemens AG - Overview Exhibit 89: Siemens AG - Business segments Exhibit 90: Siemens AG - Key News Exhibit 91: Siemens AG - Key offerings Exhibit 92: Siemens AG - Segment focus 11 Appendix 11.1 Scope of the report 11.2 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 93: Currency conversion rates for US$ 11.3 Research methodology Exhibit 94: Research Methodology Exhibit 95: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 96: Information sources 11.4 List of abbreviations Exhibit 97: List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio It's been reported that, months after the tornadoes struck, hundreds of people remain in temporary housing, including travel trailers, hotel rooms, and state parks. A fourth round of tornado recovery relief was just announced by Kentucky Governor Beshear to help support families until homes and lives can be rebuilt. "The Mid-Continent family believes we all need to do our part to build better and stronger communities," said Fernando Villanueva, Mid-Continent's CEO. "It feels good to see millions of American-made MAGNUM nails on the ground in Kentucky. They are going contribute to the building and rebuilding of safe homes for the residents of Bowling Green and Dawson Springs." Mid Continent's donations to Kentucky Habitat for Humanity are being spilt between projects in two areas of the state that were hit hardest by the December tornadoes. The Bowling Green project includes 10 homes and is expected to break ground in mid-July. The Dawson Springs project includes 14 homes and is expected to break ground next fall. Mary Shearer, executive director of Kentucky Habitat for Humanity, said of the partnership with Mid-Continent, "We cannot thank Mid-Continent Steel and Wire enough for their support, passion, and dedication to not only Habitat for Humanity, but the countless families we will serve with their donations. It is because of companies like Mid-Continent and your employees that Habitat is going to rebuild the lives and communities of those who lost so much!" Please follow Mid-Continent's Facebook page for updates on our partnership with Kentucky Habitat for Humanity, including a video message from CEO Fernando Villanueva and details on the two blitz builds. About Mid-Continent Steel and Wire (MCSW): Mid-Continent Steel and Wire is one of the biggest wire manufactures in North America and with its MAGNUM brand it is the nation's largest nail manufacturer. The company's main locations are in Poplar Bluff, MO; Houston, TX; and Laredo, TX. MCSW and its dedicated family of brands and employees are committed to providing a comprehensive mix of high-quality products and outstanding service each and every day. We aim to build and secure the future of our communities, employees, customers, suppliers, and shareholders by offering reliable, best-in-class steel solutions at an unbeatable value. For more information, visit www.mcswusa.com. Contact: Elizabeth Heaton, [email protected], 202-445-9858 SOURCE Mid Continent Steel & Wire, Inc. MoEngage's Multi-Channel Customer Engagement platform registered 2x growth in business and doubled its global team in 2021. SAN FRANCISCO, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MoEngage , the insights-led customer engagement platform, today announced that it has raised $77 Million in Series E funding. This round is led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management and B Capital, with participation from the company's existing investors Steadview Capital, Multiples Alternate Asset Management, Eight Roads Ventures, and Matrix Partners India. This is the third round of funding raised by the company in the last 12 months, with $32.5 million raised in July and $30 million in December 2021. MoEngage will use the additional funds to deepen its geographic footprint in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Middle East markets and expand in new markets like Latin America and Australia. The funds will also be used to explore strategic acquisitions that can help extend its platform capabilities and provide more value to customers. AI-driven customer engagement technology is the next big frontier in martech. Some experts have predicted that the customer engagement solutions market will grow to $ 32.2 billion in the next five years alone. Digital native consumers not only expect highly personalized interactions with brands across every channel, but research shows they will abandon brands that can't deliver it. Meanwhile, ever-evolving data privacy regulations have forced marketers to seek alternatives to trusted tools such as cookies and iOS-based data collection. These two opposing trends create a significant opportunity for MoEngage to further scale and add more functionality to its solution. MoEngage's insights-led customer engagement platform empowers marketers and product owners with AI-driven insights to create cross-channel experiences that their customers love. With real-time customer data and predictive insights, brands can easily offer tailored communications and recommendations that resonate on an individual basis across the customer journey. "Connecting with our customers in a meaningful way is a key part of our success as a business. MoEngage helps us gain actionable insights at our fingertips so we can create the most relevant experiences for our customers and scale our personalized outreach across channels," said Deepak Thakral, Vice President of Consumer Commerce at McAfee. "At JibJab, everything we do is driven by customer engagement. We aim to provide our customers with personalized content that they can use for the ideal occasion," said Marc Geraldez, Product Manager at JibJab Apps. "Understanding what our customers care about and offering them the right experience at the right time is a critical part of our growth and retention strategy, and that's where MoEngage is invaluable. MoEngage gives us the customer insights we need to make smarter decisions and personalize our communications to increase user engagement and conversions." In the last 12 months, MoEngage has grown its annualized recurring revenue (ARR) by 105%, added 500 new customers, and doubled its headcount to surpass 650 employees across its offices in the U.S., UK, Germany, UAE, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand. The company has a very healthy annualized net revenue retention of over 135% and was named a "Strong Performer" in the Q3 2021, Forrester Wave report for Cross-Channel Campaign Management. "To respond to the increased demand, we ramped up our investments in R&D and U.S. sales, customer success support, and partnership functions in the last 24 months," said Raviteja Dodda, Co-founder and CEO at MoEngage. "With this newest round of funding, MoEngage will have the ability to expand what we've been building, enter new markets, and add even more innovation to our platform. We're proud to add Goldman Sachs Asset Management and B Capital to our outstanding team of investors and look forward to our next phase of unprecedented growth." Rajat Sood, a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said: "We anticipate the continued expansion of the marketing automation and analytics industry. As companies seek to better engage customers across digital channels, MoEngage's leading technology platform provides marketers with insightful, real-time data, enabling them to orchestrate and run effective campaigns to build and retain customer relationships to enhance customer lifetime value. We look forward to leveraging our global resources and network to support the ambitions and continued growth of the company." "We are excited to welcome MoEngage to our growing portfolio of cross-border SaaS investments. MoEngage is an AI-first platform helping companies retain customers and give insights on user journeys across channels. It helps companies engage and retain over 1 billion users on the platform globally. We are thrilled to partner with Ravi, Yashwanth, and the entire MoEngage team as they build an insights-led customer engagement platform across the world," said Kabir Narang, Founding General Partner at B Capital Group. About MoEngage MoEngage is an insights-led customer engagement platform, trusted by more than 1,200 global consumer brands such as Ally Financial, McAfee, Flipkart, Domino's, Nestle, Deutsche Telekom, Travelodge, and more. MoEngage empowers marketers and product owners with insights into customer behavior and the ability to act on those insights to engage customers across the web, mobile, email, social, and messaging channels. Consumer brands across 35 countries use MoEngage to power digital experiences for over 1 billion customers every month. With offices in ten countries, MoEngage is backed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, B Capital, Steadview Capital, Multiples Private Equity, Eight Roads, F-Prime Capital, Matrix Partners, Ventureast, and Helion Ventures. MoEngage has been named as a "Strong Performer" in the Q3 2021 Forrester Wave report for Cross-Channel Campaign Management and as a "Leader" in the 2020 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Mobile Marketing Platforms. It was named one of America's Best Startup Employers 2022 by Forbes, and one of the Top 25 Highest Rated Private Cloud Computing Companies To Work For by Battery Ventures in 2021. To learn more, visit www.moengage.com . About Goldman Sachs Asset Management Growth Equity Bringing together traditional and alternative investments, Goldman Sachs Asset Management provides clients around the world with a dedicated partnership and focus on long-term performance. As the primary investing area within Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), we deliver investment and advisory services for the world's leading institutions, financial advisors and individuals, drawing from our deeply connected global network and tailored expert insights, across every region and marketoverseeing more than $2 trillion in assets under supervision worldwide as of March 31, 2022. Goldman Sachs Asset Management invests in the full spectrum of alternatives, including private equity, growth equity, private credit, real estate and infrastructure. Since 2003 the Growth Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management comprising more than 75 individuals has invested over $13 billion in companies led by visionary founders and CEOs. We focus exclusively on investments in growth stage and technology-driven companies spanning multiple industries, including enterprise technology, financial technology, consumer and healthcare. Follow us on LinkedIn . About B Capital B Capital is a multi-stage global investment firm that partners with extraordinary entrepreneurs to shape the future through technology. With over $3.5 billion in assets under management across multiple funds, we focus on seed to late-stage growth investments, primarily in the enterprise, financial technology and healthcare sectors. Founded in 2015, B Capital leverages an integrated team across eight locations in the US and Asia, as well as a strategic partnership with BCG, to provide the value-added support entrepreneurs need to scale fast and efficiently, expand into new markets and build exceptional companies. For more information, click here . SOURCE MoEngage Qualifying customers can receive up to $300 toward their energy bills. PLAINFIELD, Ind., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- More than $225,000 in financial assistance is still available to Duke Energy Indiana customers who may be struggling to pay their energy bills. "Hoosiers are paying more at the grocery store and gas pump and may also be noticing higher energy bills, as rising fuel costs impact the price of electricity," said Stan Pinegar, president of Duke Energy Indiana. "We know that higher bills can be a hardship for many, and we want to connect our customers with financial assistance and resources to help. So far this year, we have been able to support approximately 450 households with more than $100,000 in assistance." The funding is made possible through Duke Energy's Share the Light Fund, which brings together customers and communities to help individuals and families struggling to pay their energy bills. Duke Energy works in partnership with the Indiana Community Action Association to distribute the company's assistance funds. Qualifying Duke Energy customers who are struggling to pay their electricity bills can receive up to a $300 credit annually on their account. Customers should contact their local community action agency to take advantage of funds available locally. Click here to find a listing of service providers by county. Duke Energy offers a number of tools and resources to help customers take control of their energy use and save money. To learn more about these programs, visit duke-energy.com/HereToHelp. Duke Energy Indiana Duke Energy Indiana, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, provides about 6,300 megawatts of owned electric capacity to approximately 870,000 customers in a 23,000-square-mile service area, making it Indiana's largest electric supplier. Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 28,000 people. Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business and at least a 50% carbon reduction from electric generation by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The 2050 net-zero goals also include Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 emissions. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear. Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2022 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' "America's Best Employers" list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. Media contact: McKenzie Barbknecht 800.559.3853 SOURCE Duke Energy Study highlights potential of Polygenic Risk Scores (PRS) to improve breast cancer risk assessment in women across multiple ancestries MENLO PARK, Calif., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MyOme , a clinical whole genome platform analysis company, today announced new data on a cross ancestry polygenic risk score (caPRS) for breast cancer that will be presented at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting. Using a proprietary informatics approach to PRS that provides benefit across multiple ancestries, MyOme showed a significant association between their caPRS and breast cancer in a study including more than 130,000 women across multiple ancestries "Only 5 to 10% of breast cancer is thought to be caused by single gene mutations. Polygenic risk scores aggregate hundreds or potentially thousands of variants into a single measure of disease risk. PRS has the potential to inform the 90-95% of women without rare breast cancer genetic mutations of their risk for breast cancer," said Akash Kumar, MD, PhD, chief medical officer of MyOme. Key findings from the study include: caPRS was highly correlated with odds of breast cancer across ancestries. caPRS performed better across multiple ancestries than when applying a widely used European-based PRS across the same ancestries. For example, caPRS demonstrated a 5% increase in odds ratio for African/Black women (1.24 [1.08-1.4] to 1.30 [1.15-1.48]) "Polygenic risk scores have primarily shown benefit in Caucasian women due to limited data on individuals of non-European ancestry. However, our data highlights the opportunity to use cross ancestry PRS to better predict breast cancer risk for women across multiple ancestries who may be missed otherwise," said Kate Im, PhD, head of research at MyOme and author on the study. "Our cross ancestry PRS sets the foundation for a more inclusive risk assessment tool." Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and a leading cause of cancer mortality. According to the American Cancer Society, it is estimated there will be 287,850 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed in the U.S. and around 43,250 deaths in 2022. Abstract #: 10540 Title: Cross-ancestry polygenic risk score for breast cancer risk assessment Authors: Tshiaba, P., et al. Session Title: Prevention, Risk Reduction, and Hereditary Cancer Session Date & Time: Monday, June 6, 2022, 1:15 PM-4:15 PM CDT About MyOme MyOme is a clinical whole genome analysis platform company helping families understand their risk for inherited diseases. MyOme leverages the power of the whole genome for a lifetime of actionable insights. Certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA), MyOme is based in Menlo Park, California. For more information, visit myome.com . SOURCE MyOme, Inc WASHINGTON, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is helping kick off a new initiative to deliver food and hands-on science, technology, engineering, and math kits, called Learning Lunchboxes, in Orlando at 10:30 a.m. EDT on Friday, June 3. The lunchboxes are aimed at inspiring and educating youth and families about NASA's upcoming Artemis missions, which includes landing the first woman and person of color on the Moon and helping prepare for human exploration of Mars. Dr. Frederic Bertley, president and CEO of the Center of Science and Industry (COSI), Derrick Chubbs, president and CEO of the Second Harvest Food Bank, JoAnn Newman, president and CEO of the Orlando Science Center, and Pastor Howard C. Harrison Jr. also are helping kick-off the initiative. The event will take place at New Beginnings Church The Gathering Place at 8287 Curry Ford Road in Orlando and is open to media. Nelson and COSI leadership will be available to answer questions. To participate, media must RSVP no later than two hours before the start of the event to Justin Weiss at: [email protected]. The NASA Artemis Learning Lunchbox is made possible through NASA's Teams Engaging Affiliated Museums and Informal Institutions (TEAM II) program. NASA Learning Lunchboxes provide five space-focused learning activities that showcase the diversity of STEM at NASA. COSI will distribute 30,000 NASA Learning Lunchboxes at local food banks across the country to help feed hungry lives and feed hungry minds. This innovative, community-based model will bring together other science centers and museums, afterschool providers, and community leaders to highlight the importance of STEM. This project also includes digital extension resources. NASA, COSI, and the U.S. Department of State recently showcased the NASA Learning Lunchboxes at the World Fair in Dubai to as an example of American innovation and efforts to educate the next generation. For more information about NASA's STEM Engagement, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/stem SOURCE NASA HUNTSVILLE, Ala., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA will announce the winners of this year's Student Launch rocketry competition in a live virtual awards ceremony Thursday, June 2, beginning at 1 p.m. CDT. Media are invited to attend via the Student Launch Facebook page, as well as the YouTube page for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, in Huntsville, Alabama. Student Launch is an annual competition that typically culminates each April with a gathering of teams for a weekend of rocket launches and celebration. This year, teams had the choice of competing April 23 near NASA Marshall or launching from a home field. Student Launch challenges middle school, high school, college, and university students from across the United States and Puerto Rico to design, build, and test a high-powered amateur rocket, fly it to an altitude between 4,000 and 6,000 feet, and make a successful landing. Teams compete in collegiate or middle school/high school divisions, and are scored in nearly a dozen categories, including altitude, safety, vehicle design, social media presence, and more. For the 2022 season, college/university teams were tasked with designing a payload capable of autonomously locating where their rocket landed by identifying the rocket's grid position on an aerial image of the launch site, while transmitting the data back to their ground station. This had to be accomplished without the use of GPS. Middle/high school teams could choose to attempt the college/university division challenge or develop their own science or engineering experiment. NASA's Southeast Regional Office of STEM Engagement at NASA Marshall manages Student Launch, one of the agency's Artemis Student Challenges. These activities stimulate innovation and advance NASA's human exploration mission through collaboration with educational institutions and students the Artemis Generation, who will help NASA explore the Moon and Mars. For more information about Student Launch, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/stem/studentlaunch/home/index.html For more information about NASA's Artemis Student Challenges, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/stem/artemis.html SOURCE NASA WASHINGTON, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Following is a statement from National Press Club President Jen Judson and National Press Club Journalism Institute President Gil Klein on the 15-year prison sentence imposed by an Egyptian court this week on Al Jazeera Journalist Ahmed Taha. "We object in the strongest terms to the arbitrary sentence against Ahmed Taha, a journalist for Al Jazeera since 2011. Taha, who lives in London and is a presenter on Al Jazeera's Mubasher Channel interviewed former presidential candidate Aboul Fotouh in late 2018 to discuss the upcoming 2019 elections. For this interview, Taha was charged with spreading 'false news.' Interviewing opposition political figures is a routine part of the practice of journalism. There is nothing false about it. This is part of a pattern by Egypt of harassing Al Jazeera journalists that started with a sweep of their offices in 2013. Even today there are still four Al Jazeera journalists being held without charges in Egypt. They are Hisham Abdel-Aziz, Bahaa El-Din Ibrahim, Ahmed Al-Najdi and Rabie Al-Sheikh. All four should be released immediately." Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. The Club has 3,000 members representing nearly every major news organization and is a leading voice for press freedom in the U.S. and worldwide. The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire civic engagement. Contact: Bill McCarren, 202-662-7534 for the National Press Club SOURCE National Press Club "DK Properties has a rich history of superior client care in Chattanooga," said Matthew Whitaker, Evernest Founder and CEO. "We plan to uphold that legacy while enhancing services, expanding resources and working closely with DK Properties staff to ensure a smooth transition." "I've known Matthew for a long time and Evernest's high standards and commitment to quality are what sold me on selling to them," said DK Properties owner, Brandon King. "I have been in contact with multiple larger, multi-state companies in the hopes of finding one that met my high expectations for client care. Evernest was the solution." DK Properties is the 19th organization purchased by Evernest, and one of four purchased within the last month. "Our goal is to find best-in-class property management providers who are ready to exit the industry. We take the legacy they've built and infuse it with our distinctive culture, including a national brand, in-house brokerage services, and in-house underwriting." "As Evernest expands our footprint in Chattanooga, we're excited to help residents, owners, and investors achieve their real estate goals, whatever those may be," said Whitaker. Evernest is based in Birmingham, Alabama, and operates in 17 real estate markets across the country. It is one of the nation's largest single-family and small multi-family investment brokers and property management providers. The firm manages more than 7,000 homes for over 3,000 owners, brokers more than 700 investment deals annually, and has made the Inc5000 list five of the last six years. Learn more about Evernest - https://www.evernest.co/about-us/ SOURCE Evernest "My House Property Services has been a fixture in the Fort Collins property management sphere, and we plan to deliver the same care their clients have come to expect" said Matthew Whitaker, Evernest Founder and CEO. "Our goal is simply to uplevel that client experience, through increased services, offerings and resources." "Evernest's unique approach to property management is one of the primary reasons for this deal," said My House Property Services owner, Kris Holcombe. "I feel confident leaving my valued clients in their hands, as Evernest's expertise, commitment and care has been clear from the very start." My House Property Services is the 21st organization purchased by Evernest, and the fourth in the last month. "Our goal is to find best-in-class property management providers who are ready to exit the industry. We take the legacy they've built and infuse it with our distinctive culture, including a national brand, in-house brokerage services, and in-house underwriting." "As Evernest grows its footprint in Fort Collins, we're excited to help residents, owners, and investors achieve their real estate goals, whatever those may be," said Whitaker. Evernest is based in Birmingham, Alabama, and operates in 17 real estate markets across the country. It is one of the nation's largest single-family and small multi-family investment brokers and property management providers. The firm manages more than 7,000 homes for over 3,000 owners, brokers more than 700 investment deals annually, and has made the Inc5000 list five of the last six years. Learn more about Evernest - https://www.evernest.co/about-us/ Contact: McKenna Keller 205.940.6363 [email protected] SOURCE Evernest Leading the way in barefoot fitness for nearly 40 years, Nia's global community believes everyone has the right to choose if and when to move barefoot - local fundraisers will help empower the millions who live without shoes around the world PORTLAND, Ore., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of National Go Barefoot Day on June 1, Nia , the original pioneer of mind-body fusion barefoot fitness, today announced that its global community of teachers and practitioners will host fundraisers across the world, benefitting Soles4Souls . The global non-profit organization partners with women's shelters, veterans organizations, children's programs and schools to provide shoes and clothing to those who need it most. The events will begin on June 1 with a free, public class led by Nia trainer and teacher, Ann Christiansen , in support of empowerment and choice when it comes to moving barefoot. Nia Barefoot Class Nia has led the way in barefoot fitness for nearly four decades. While science has shown tremendous benefits in being barefoot including improving balance and awareness, relieving body pain and building foot and ankle strength the Nia community recognizes the privilege of being able to CHOOSE if and when to move barefoot. "Millions of children and adults living without shoes around the world do not have this choice," said Debbie Rosas, founder of Nia. "Shoes provide a plethora of benefits, including opening up opportunities for school and work that are otherwise unavailable. At Nia, we want to do our part to empower people and help them acquire at least one pair of shoes they can use in their daily lives, when and if they choose." Nia is a holistic fitness practice that addresses body, mind and soul, with teachers and practitioners worldwide who are passionate about all aspects of self care as well as community connection. With its strong community focus and belief in confidence, connection and empowerment, Rosas says the Barefoot Day fundraiser is a perfect fit for Nia. She says participating Nia teachers will host fundraisers to benefit Soles4Souls. To learn more or make a donation, visit https://bit.ly/NiaFundraising . To sign up for the free, public Nia class, visit https://nianow.com/barefoot-day . About Nia Nia is a holistic fitness practice addressing each aspect of life - body, mind and soul. Combining dance, martial arts and mindfulness, Nia has nearly 40 years of experience helping individuals' condition, strengthen and self-heal the body while transforming the mind, emotions and spirit. Today, Nia classes are available across the world led by Nia-certified teachers' trainers in-person, online, or virtually with Nia On Demand. To learn more and find a class nearby, visit nianow.com . About Soles4Souls Soles4Souls disrupts the cycle of poverty by creating sustainable jobs and providing relief through the distribution of shoes and clothing around the world. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, the organization repurposes product to supply its micro-enterprise, disaster relief and direct assistance programs. Visit soles4souls.org for more information. MEDIA CONTACT RACHEL SHAYKIN MEKKY MEDIA RELATIONS 847-331-5861 [email protected] SOURCE Nia Building Off Success of Commissioned cGMP Facility ROCKVILLE, Md., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On Demand Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ODP), an innovative technology company transforming the way medicines are made, announced today that it has signed a Preferred Supplier agreement with Azzur Group through 2024. The transformation of ODP's Rockville Headquarters into a State-of-the-Art cGMP Medicine Manufacturing facility began with Azzur in the fall of 2020. Azzur collaborated in designing ODP's GMP Roadmap and helped develop the strategy and execution plan for ushering in this latest addition to Maryland's Biotech Hub. Building on the strategy, Azzur worked alongside ODP to initiate a Managed Services approach to execution, providing a single source for Commissioning services, Equipment rentals, Technology subscriptions, and a series of outsourced packages covering Environmental Monitoring, Training, and Documentation. Dr. John Lewin, ODP's Chief Medical Officer, said "The flexibility Azzur demonstrated to accommodate the fluid nature of a startup and the challenges we all faced during the COVID-19 pandemic was remarkable. Having the ability to pull on a variety of resources and expertise, when we needed it, is the reason we entered this relationship." Tita Tavares, the Director of Azzur Washington, D.C., said "Enabling ODP to implement their innovative approaches required beginning with compliance in mind. Our unique approach to the Compliance Services world parallels ODP's strengths for innovation and delivering value to customers. At Azzur Group, we deliver the cGMP solutions required to address the greatest challenges life science companies face at every stage of their life cycle. ODP is on their way to filing their first regulatory submission and we look forward to our future efforts together." About On Demand Pharmaceuticals On Demand Pharmaceuticals is an innovative technology company transforming how medicines are made so they can be produced on demandwhenever and wherever medicines are needed. Our breakthrough manufacturing technology platform, Pharmacy on Demand (PoD), can be quickly customized to produce anything from key starting materials to active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and final formulated drugs and was recently named by the World Economic Forum and published in Scientific American as one of the top 10 emerging technologies of 2021. With this technology, we're on a mission to provide an adequate, safe, and reliable supply of medicines to every community across the world. For additional information, please visit https://ondemandpharma.com About Azzur Group From Discovery to Delivery, Azzur Group provides the life science community full life-cycle solutions for all their GxP needs. From Azzur Cleanrooms on Demand facilities, to our labs, training centers, and consulting offices across the nation, Azzur Group helps organizations start, scale, and sustain their growing enterprises. With nearly four decades of service to the life science community, we have become a trusted partner to the world's leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and healthcare companies, as well as their supply chain. For more information about Azzur Group, visit Azzur.com. SOURCE On Demand Pharmaceuticals California-based distillery to launch new premium vodka this summer with all proceeds going to humanitarian relief in war torn country LARKSPUR, Calif., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Family-owned O'Neill Vintners & Distillers today announced the introduction of Saint Javelin Vodka, a new premium vodka that will go on sale in mid-August, to support Ukrainian relief efforts and help rebuild a country and people brought down by a horrific war. O'Neill will be donating all proceeds to Razom, an organization that is providing critical humanitarian war relief and recovery to the people of Ukraine. In addition, to kick start the campaign, O'Neill will donate $50,000 before the first bottle is sold. O'Neill Vintners & Distillers introduces Saint Javelin Vodka with 100% of proceeds going to humanitarian relief in Ukraine. As people across the world have stood witness to Russia's unprecedented acts of war and aggression against the Ukrainian people, many have been left wondering how to support the victims of such atrocities. For some, it was traveling to Poland to help support Ukrainian refugees. For others, it was purchasing and displaying Ukrainian flags. Companies across the world were even showing their support by pulling Russian products from shelves. But Jeff O'Neill, founder and CEO of O'Neill Vintners & Distillers, believed there was a big opportunity to support the Ukrainian people through the company's spirits division that will allow all of the company's partners to join Saint Javelin's mission. Wholesale and retail partners have the chance to work with O'Neill and help advance this initiative to stymie the Russian autocracy. Every time a consumer raises a glass of luxury Saint Javelin vodka, we can toast the hopeful demise of this autocratic and sinister regime. Every glass represents the freedom we have in America and the hope of a bright future for our Ukrainian friends. "It has been horrific to watch events unfold on the other side of the world, seeing families being torn apart and lives broken and changed forever," said O'Neill. "Many of us have made small contributions to Ukraine, but I was trying to find a lasting platform that could continue to promote success against a barbaric regime that our children may have had to face later. The name Saint Javelin is no accident as it pays homage to the thousands of anti-tank missiles supplied by the United States that have become an iconic weapon of war. Lightweight but lethal, these javelins have helped the underdog Ukrainians inflict major damage on Moscow's much-vaunted military and thwart their advance." The guiding principle of O'Neill's spirits division is 100 percent transparency, 100 percent of proceeds donated, and 100 percent dedicated to doing good. The new brand, Saint Javelin, will aim to sell 5,500 cases of vodka in its first year. We will bring weekly updates on our progress including funds contributed and where they went to support the efforts. Said O'Neill, "People around the world have been stunned and inspired by the strength and pride of the Ukrainian people. We are hopeful that our wholesalers, retailers, and consumers alike will join us in helping make a significant and positive change in this country." "We are grateful that O'Neill has entrusted Razom as the recipient of proceeds from their new Saint Javelin vodka," said Dora Chomiak, president of Razom for Ukraine. "This money will go directly to providing life-saving vital aid to Ukrainians on the ground. We look forward to toasting Ukraine's victory and recovery with Saint Javelin and a hearty 'budmo!'" Saint Javelin Vodka is made from super premium neutral grain spirit blended with a grape-based spirit that is crafted by Master Distiller, Erik Ettner. The brand will be available in 750 ml bottles and priced at $22.99. The brand can be pre-ordered online at www.saintjavelinvodka.com and will be available wherever fine spirits are sold beginning in mid-August or online at www.reservebar.com. About O'Neill Vintners & Distillers O'Neill Vintners & Distillers was founded in 2004 by industry veteran and entrepreneur Jeff O'Neill. The vertically integrated winery is one of the fastest-growing companies in California with a reputation for producing premium-quality wines and spirits and for its sustainability practices. O'Neill received the Green Medal Leader Award in 2021 by the Wine Institute. The company's national brands portfolio includes Line 39, Robert Hall, Harken, Day Owl Rose, Game Box, Rabble Wines, BrandyLab, and Charles Woodson's Intercept. For more information, please visit www.ONeillWine.com. About Razom Razom, which means "together" in Ukrainian, is an organization united by a single mission: building a more prosperous Ukraine. Established in the United States, the non-profit organization works towards that mission by creating spaces where people meet, partner and do. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Razom has focused on providing critical humanitarian war relief through its emergency response project, including procuring tactical medicine, communication devices, hospital supplies, and medicines, evacuating vulnerable populations, and advocating for Ukraine through policy and education. Over this period, Razom has already deployed $30 million worth of aid. Razom has been building a more prosperous Ukraine since 2014 and will continue to build a vibrant, productive democracy for years to come. SOURCE O'Neill Vintners & Distillers Delivering all-electric, turnkey solutions, Orange EV has more than 400 heavy-duty electric yard trucks operating across the United States KANSAS CITY, Mo., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Orange EV, the manufacturer with the most zero-emission trucks in operation in the United States, today announced the new e-TRIEVER brand for its Model Year 2022 all-electric terminal trucks. The e-TRIEVER builds upon the T-Series' exceptional foundation while continuing Orange EV's commitment to innovation and delivering trucks that meet the demanding needs of heavy-duty, goods movement operations. e-TRIEVER Logo Orange EV commercially deployed its first all-electric yard truck in 2015. Five million miles, 1.5 million hours, and 400 trucks later, Orange EV is recognized as the leading manufacturer of Class 8 electric truck solutions. Trusted by more than 130 fleets across the United States and Canada, Orange EV electric trucks are proven to deliver 98-99% average uptime and a lower total cost of ownership, with many customers experiencing a 3- to 4-year payback on a 10-year expected life. The e-TRIEVER extends this excellence, bringing all the benefits fleets depend upon including zero tailpipe emissions while adding next-generation technology. The e-TRIEVER features DTS (Digital Truck Systems) designed to integrate with autonomous control systems along with advanced digital cab architecture, improved sensing, remote diagnostic capabilities, and an optional IntelliBoom package that captures 5th wheel load weight, boom lift cycles, and kingpin presence and retention data. The basic specifications for the Model Year 2022 4x2 e-TRIEVER remain unchanged from the prior Model Year 2021 4x2 T-Series: GCWR: 81,000 lbs. Speed: Up to 25 mph Battery Capacity: 180 kWh or 100 kWh Charge Rate: Up to 70 kW Range: Up to 24 hours on a single charge Motor: Brushless AC induction Transmission: None; direct drive Available now for purchase, lease, or rent Custom builds delivered in 90-120 days "Orange EV's vision is to excel on all fronts: the lowest cost of ownership, highest up-time, best service, highest quality, longest life, and most beneficial for drivers. We are delivering on that vision," said Kurt Neutgens, Orange EV President and CTO. "Drawing upon our ten-year heritage of electric truck innovation, the e-TRIEVER continues this excellence, and we believe the new name conveys Orange EV's staunch commitment to our customers the e-TRIEVER is loyal, hardworking, and delivers every time." About Orange EV Orange EV, headquartered in Kansas City, MO, is the leading OEM providing industrial fleets with heavy-duty, electric vehicle solutions proven to save money while being safer, more reliable, and preferred by drivers and management. Building both new and re-powered terminal trucks, Orange EV was the nation's first manufacturer offering 100 percent electric Class 8 vehicles to be commercially deployed and scaled. Now in its 10th year of operations, Orange EV's terminal trucks have been chosen by more than 130 fleets across 26 states, Canada, and the Caribbean. For more information, please visit www.orangeev.com . Media Contact: Len Fernandes Firecracker PR (888) 317-4687 ext. 707 [email protected] SOURCE Orange EV The findings are particularly concerning when we take into account that employees who consider their work stress levels to be manageable are 3 . 7 times more likely to be engaged at work ( McLean & Company Engagement Survey Database, 2022 ). "To escape the infinite cycle of employees re-experiencing burnout, organizations need to shift the focus of burnout solutions from individual responsibility to the organizational level," explains Berte. "It's here that root causes are addressed and norms that promote employee health and wellbeing are fostered." The new research states that the common causes of burnout, adapted from Maslach & Leiter, fall under six core domains: Workload The number and complexity of work-related tasks or processes that require physical, mental, or emotional effort and are influenced by time pressures. The number and complexity of work-related tasks or processes that require physical, mental, or emotional effort and are influenced by time pressures. Role Clarity & Autonomy The degree to which employees understand their job responsibilities, have control over how their work is completed, and feel they have adequate resources or training to succeed The degree to which employees understand their job responsibilities, have control over how their work is completed, and feel they have adequate resources or training to succeed Supervisor & Coworker Relationships Internal relationships and the extent to which they promote mutual support, bidirectional communication, and cooperation. Internal relationships and the extent to which they promote mutual support, bidirectional communication, and cooperation. Rewards & Recognition Monetary and non-monetary rewards that result in employees feeling valued and recognized for their personal contributions to the organization. Monetary and non-monetary rewards that result in employees feeling valued and recognized for their personal contributions to the organization. Fairness & Equity The perceived fairness of organizational processes and policies, such as work assignments, promotions, and pay increases. The perceived fairness of organizational processes and policies, such as work assignments, promotions, and pay increases. Employee & Organizational Values The perceived connection between an employee's work responsibilities and goals and the organization's mission/vision/values. To address these domains of burnout, McLean & Company suggests following its three-step plan: Identify root causes of burnout: Identify key roles and responsibilities in evaluating and addressing burnout. This includes gathering existing internal data to assess the current state of burnout and using McLean & Company's Burnout Questionnaire, then considering the data by employee segment to identify high-priority groups. Conducting focus groups to capture employee voice and identifying priority root causes of burnout and their associated goals and metrics are also critical. Tailor solutions to address root causes of burnout: Explore solutions across the six burnout domains and create a shortlist based on employee needs and organizational resourcing constraints. Consult with stakeholders to finalize a list of solutions and, finally, create a roadmap to outline solution implementation and plan for the change management process. Create a future with minimal burnout: Revise organizational policies and programs to identify gaps and opportunities for minimizing burnout. Equip managers with the tools and training they need to identify and minimize burnout within their teams and develop a communication plan to promote solution uptake. Then create a plan to reevaluate and monitor organizational burnout. Also consider reviewing McLean & Company workshops that can assist with solution implementation. McLean & Company's research emphasizes that assessing burnout is an ongoing process, not a one-time effort. Triggers and signs of burnout will continuously surface across the workforce, creating the need for continuous reevaluation and iteration of solutions. To support people leaders in their efforts to identify, address, and prevent burnout within their organizations, McLean & Company offers practical resources like Plan to Extinguish Organizational Burnout as well as various levels of support designed to meet organizations' unique HR needs, including DIY toolkits, guided implementations, workshops, and consulting. To learn more about McLean & Company or to download all the latest research, visit hr.mcleanco.com and connect via LinkedIn and Twitter. Media professionals are encouraged to register for McLean & Company's Media Insiders Program for more research and insights. This program provides unrestricted, on-demand access to HR, IT, and software industry content as well as subject matter experts from a group of over 200 research analysts. To apply for access, contact [email protected]. About McLean & Company Through data-driven insights and proven best-practice methodologies, McLean & Company offers comprehensive resources and full-service assessments, action plans, and training to position organizations to meet today's needs and prepare for the future. McLean & Company is a division of Info-Tech Research Group. SOURCE McLean & Company The campaign creative and concept was designed by the Co-Chair of the OUT at OUTFRONT Employee Resource Group (ERG) and an OUTFRONT STUDIOS member, Jake Parshall. The PRIDE Personified campaign applauds individuals for their impact in their communities and workplaces. To illustrate this, each LGBTQIA+ individual's photo and occupation is displayed, along with authentically queer, vibrant, and fun designs on the campaign creative. "I really set out to do something that didn't feel 'corporate," said Jake Parshall, Co-Chair of the OUT at OUTFRONT ERG. "I wanted the designs to be super colorful, mirroring the diversity of the LGBTQIA+ Community and I pulled colors from not just the traditional rainbow flag but the progress flag, especially highlighting the trans community." "I am honored to be part of OUTFRONT's 2022 PRIDE Personified campaign," said Marc Fenty, SVP OOH at Horizon Media & Co-Chair OOH United. "I have long believed in the power of OOH and it is important to use these impactful IRL canvases to celebrate the individuals of the LGBTQIA+ community. This campaign directly follows the launch of OOH United, an initiative committed to advancing a culture of inclusion throughout the OOH industry, as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is core to industry growth." The 2022 honorees are listed below, please visit OUTFRONT.com/PridePersonified to read more about each leader and see the campaign in action: Marc Fenty , SVP, OOH at Horizon Media and Co-Chair of OOH United Amanda McAllister Wallner , Director at The California LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network Cody Janczewski , Vice President, Managing Director Media at Horizon Next Caty Burgess , SVP Marketing & Media Strategies at The CW Qween B Amor, Trans-queer Performance Artist Steve Birnbaum , EVP, Managing Director at Spark Foundry Monica C. Smith , Founder & CEO at Marketsmith Inc. Alberto Mendez , Prevention Programs Manager at Resource Center Mayor Pro Tempore Sepi Shyne , Mayor Pro Tempore, City of West Hollywood at City of West Hollywood Vivian Perez , Event & Travel Architect at Ladies Touch Events & Travel Danny Rose , Executive Producer at Danny Rose Media, Inc. Ross S. Currie , Vice President, Client Services at Conroy Media Ltd. Josh Miller , Co-Founder + CEO at IDEAS xLab Rebecca Washington , Owner /CEO Washington Academy of Barbering and Arts at Washington Academy of Barbering and Arts Heather Luce , Broker/Owner at KC LOCAL HOMES Mat George, Social Media Personality/Podcaster/Activist Bri Burrows , Head Brewer & Co-Owner at The Big Rip Brewing Co. Rev. Jacquie Fernandez , Senior Minister at Unity Church of Overland Park Damian Pelliccione , CEO / Co-Founder at Revry About OUTFRONT Media Inc. OUTFRONT leverages the power of technology, location and creativity to connect brands with consumers outside of their homes through one of the largest and most diverse sets of billboard, transit, and mobile assets in North America. Through its technology platform, OUTFRONT will fundamentally change the ways advertisers engage audiences on-the-go. Contact: Investors: Media: Stephan Bisson Courtney Richards Vice President, Investor Relations Manager, Events & Communications (212) 297-6573 646) 876-9404 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE OUTFRONT Media Inc. LOS ANGELES, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Parks Realty, the powerhouse real estate brokerage in the greater Nashville, Tennessee area, joins forces with Back At You to provide agents with social media marketing , content posts, and total listing automation . As a winner of numerous local awards including "Top Workplace in Middle Tennessee", Parks Realty is home to over 850 agents in Brentwood, East Nashville, Franklin, Green Hills, The Gulch, Hendersonville, Murfreesboro, Mt. Juliet, Nashville, and surrounding areas. Back At You's SocialBAY will aid Parks Realty with social media marketing that has been vetted for capability and expertise by industry leaders. Agents with Parks Realty now have the ability to use Back At You's world-class technology to effortlessly market their listings, and have local content automatically scheduled and posted to their Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn profiles. "Parks Realty ensured our agents' requests were answered by providing intuitive, seamless marketing technology," states Jenni Barnett, CFO of Parks Realty. "With the ability to promote listings and content across multiple social media platforms, Back At You equips our agents with the most powerful digital marketing and training to successfully grow their business. The customer service has been excellent, and the onboarding and launch process could not have been easier." "It's always fantastic to work with a company the caliber of Parks Realty, from the onset of our conversations there was a clear need for social media marketing and automation within their technology stack," says Adam Long, Vice President of Sales for Back At You. "Seeing the adoption and stellar results stemming from the usage is exactly what we strive for." With the partnership, Back At You will provide Parks Realty with their SocialBAY technology, including content creation, listing automation , and lead capture in one intuitive platform. About Parks Realty Parks Realty has been in business for over 45 years and is honored to consistently be recognized for excellence. Parks is committed to the highest ethical standards, and advocates for our clients with extraordinary service, uncompromising ethics, and exceptional knowledge. For more information on Parks Realty, visit www.parksathome.com. About Back At You Back At You is the premier back-office, marketing, website , and CRM technology solution for real estate brokerages. The Company's three products, SocialBAY, ClientBAY, and FinancialBAY, provide brokerages and their agents with seamless social media, website, back-office, and all-in-one technology solutions. For more information on Back At You, visit www.backatyou.com or email [email protected] . Media Contact: Katie Callaway 800.660.7719 [email protected] SOURCE Back At You CHICAGO, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Pharmacy Automation Market by Product (Automated Medication Dispensing & Storage Systems, Table-Top Counters, Retrieval Systems, Medication Compounding), End User (Inpatient, Outpatient (Fast-Track Clinics), Retail Pharmacies) - Global Forecast to 2027", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Pharmacy Automation Market is projected to reach USD 8.2 billion by 2027 from USD 5.6 billion in 2022, at a CAGR of 7.9% during the forecast period. Browse in-depth TOC on "Pharmacy Automation Market" 218 Tables 43 Figures 247 Pages Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=71522890 Growth in the market is mainly driven by the growing need to minimize medication errors, the rapid decentralization of pharmacies, and the rising geriatric population leading to increased adoption of automated dispensing systems. The automated medication dispensing and storage system segment accounted for the largest share in 2021 Based on products, the pharmacy automation market is segmented into automated medication dispensing and storage systems, automated packaging and labeling systems, automated tabletop counters, automated medication compounding systems, and other pharmacy automation systems. In 2021, the automated medication dispensing and storage systems segment accounted for the largest share of this market, primarily due to the growing need to manage increasing workloads and reduce medication errors. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=71522890 The inpatient pharmacies segment accounted for the largest share of the pharmacy automation market Based on end users, the pharmacy automation market is segmented into inpatient pharmacies, outpatient pharmacies, retail pharmacies, and pharmacy benefit management organizations and mail-order pharmacies. In 2021, inpatient pharmacies accounted for the largest share of this market. This is due to the increasing use of pharmacy automation dispensing and storage systems, such as automated dispensing cabinets, across inpatient healthcare facilities. As pharmacy automation systems and solutions help ward nurses and other hospital staff dispense medication faster and more accurately than manual methods. North America holds the largest share of the pharmacy automation market North America accounted for the largest share of the pharmacy automation market in 2021. Factors such as technological advancements in pharmacy automation systems, growth in the healthcare sector, and the presence of top pharmacy automation system manufacturers in the US are expected to contribute to the growth of the pharmacy automation market in North America. Speak to Analyst: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalystNew.asp?id=71522890 The prominent players in the pharmacy automation market are Becton, Dickinson and Company (US), Omnicell, Inc. (US), KUKA AG (Swisslog Healthcare) (Germany), Baxter International Inc. (US), Capsa Healthcare (US), Cerner Corporation (US), Yuyama Co., Ltd. (Japan), ARxIUM Inc. (US), Parata Systems, LLC (US), RxSafe, LLC (US), and ScriptPro LLC (US). Browse Adjacent Markets: Medical Devices Market Research Reports & Consulting Browse Related Reports: Pharmaceutical Packaging Equipment Market by Product (Aseptic Packaging, Blister, Strip, Bottle, Tube, Carton, Case Packer, Wrapping Machine, Palletizing, Labeling & Serialization), Type (Tablet, Powder, Cream, Syrup, Aerosol) - Global Forecast to 2027 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/pharmaceutical-packaging-equipment-market-19845828.html Central Fill Pharmacy Automation Market by Product (Equipment (Medication Dispensing System, Automated Medication Compounding Systems, Workflow Management), Service (Process Optimization, Facility Design), Software), Vendor - Global Forecast to 2024 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/central-fill-pharmacy-automation-market-87188549.html 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: [email protected] Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/pharmacy-automation-systems-market.asp Visit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/pharmacy-automation-systems.asp SOURCE MarketsandMarkets Disorder is one of the leading causes of maternal deaths in the U.S. MELBOURNE, Fla. , June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Preeclampsia is a life-threatening hypertensive disorder affecting 300,000 pregnant women in the U.S. annually, often yielding serious complications for mother and baby as well as long-term effects. Eleni Z. Tsigas is devoting her summer to connecting with those affected by the disorder while raising awareness of its impact on families and communities. www.preeclampsia.org Eleni Tsigas, CEO, Preeclampsia Foundation On Thursday, June 2, Tsigas, chief executive officer for the Preeclampsia Foundation, will kick off a 17-state road trip traveling in an RV through parts of the Midwest and the eastern United States. The driving force behind the "Re-Connect Tour: Putting Preeclampsia on the Map," Tsigas will make stops in 22 cities over the course of two months to meet preeclampsia survivors, donors, researchers, clinicians, and supporters. The trek covers thousands of miles with planned activities in cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Boston, and Indianapolis. Other stops include Madison, Wisconsin; New Haven, Connecticut; Syracuse, New York; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and Nashville, Tennessee. Foundation staff, friends and family members will accompany her in the RV on various legs of the tour. "This is my opportunity to get out and listen and learn from families affected by preeclampsia, to meet them where they are and understand their experiences," said Tsigas, a two-time preeclampsia survivor who has held her current position with the national non-profit patient advocacy organization since 2009. "There is nothing like sitting down with someone, looking them in the eye, and connecting with them on a personal level. This RV trip is a more grassroots way for me to do that. It allows for shared experiences as well as new opportunities and exploration." Tsigas also plans to raise awareness of the Preeclampsia Registry, an online database hosted by the foundation that uses individual pregnancy experiences and medical information in research studies to discover the causesand possible curesof preeclampsia and related hypertensive disorders. The registry has more than 8,000 members. Tsigas said the registry is currently seeking more maternal experiences from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities to ensure they are seen, heard, and more proportionately represented in the research. Preeclampsia is 60% more common in Black women than in those of other races and ethnicities. Black women also are three times more likely to die from the disorder. Tsigas noted that 60% of the maternal deaths caused by preeclampsia are preventable. "These are moms who were in the prime of their lives," she said. "Behind every one of these numbers was a young, vibrant woman." Tsigas also will meet with affected families as she visits several local Promise Walk for Preeclampsia events planned throughout the U.S. this summer, starting with the event in Madison, Wisconsin, on June 4. The events are the foundation's largest fundraising and awareness initiative. Some of the walks are resuming this year after a hiatus due to COVID-19. Tsigas is excited to see some familiar faces at the events and looks forward to meeting new participants. "Attending and participating in the Promise Walks is a great way of reaching, engaging, and reinvigorating those affected by preeclampsia," she added. For years, the Preeclampsia Foundation has funded and/or collaborated with researchers on studies to gain better insight into how to diagnose, treat, and eventually prevent the disorder. The tour will include Tsigas visiting research collaborators in numerous institutions. "These are centers of preeclampsia excellence, and we want to applaud and showcase their innovative and superlative work," she said. Daily updates will be posted on the Preeclampsia Foundation's social media, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok. About the Preeclampsia Foundation The Preeclampsia Foundation is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 2000 to improve the outcomes of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy by educating, supporting, and engaging the community, improving healthcare practices, and finding a cure. We envision a world where preeclampsia and related hypertensive disorders of pregnancy no longer threaten the lives of mothers and babies. For more information, visit www.preeclampsia.org. Media Contact Rolanda Hatcher-Gallop 321.421.6957 [email protected] SOURCE Preeclampsia Foundation Prime Trust Earns Highest Achievement for Secure Data Management with SOC 2 Type 2 Certification Tweet this "Prime Trust is devoted to achieving the highest level of security, and this new certification is further evidence of our abilities to safeguard sensitive customer information," said David Pigott, Chief Security & Risk Officer. "SOC 2 Type 2 Certification is the gold standard for institutions who hold and process customer data. Only a handful of other financial infrastructure providers have been certified, and we are proud to join their ranks." This recent certification provides added confidence and trust for customers using Prime Trust's leading financial infrastructure services. It is an important achievement to ensure the right controls and processes are in place to continue to expand and serve clients while safeguarding their assets and data. "This new milestone reflects our commitment to help clients mitigate risk and simplify the onboarding process so they can focus on the core of their business," said Tom Brandl, Chief Operating Officer. "We will continue to follow best practices, seek new certifications, and pioneer new methods to protect our clients' assets and data many of which include the world's leading crypto exchanges, on ramps, apps, ATS, RIAs, broker-dealers, and banks." This new certification serves as another step in solidifying the company's position as a go-to, trusted partner for today's fintech leaders and financial institutions. In addition to the SOC 2 Type 2 designation, Prime Trust also has earned SOC 2 Type 1 certification, which recognizes the implementation of sound controls to address disruptions and security threats, as well as ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification around information security management standards. Beyond this latest accomplishment, Prime Trust continues to experience incredible growth in 2022 and gain recognition from the greater industry with recent accolades, such as: To learn more about Prime Trust and how the company is powering today's digital economy, please visit www.primetrust.com . About Prime Trust Prime Trust powers innovation in the digital economy by providing fintech and digital asset innovators with financial infrastructure. Through a full suite of APIs, we help clients build seamlessly, launch quickly, and scale securely. Regulated by the State of Nevada, Prime Trust processes hundreds of millions of API calls per month. Prime Trust's team has extensive regulatory and financial services backgrounds from the OCC, SEC, Federal Reserve, US Department of Justice, US Treasury/Secret Service, JPMorgan Chase, Green Dot, American Express, PNC, Bank of America, and Visa. The company is recognized by Forbes as America's Best Startup Employer 2022 and is also Great Place to Work-Certified 2022. Prime Trust has also been named to CB Insights Blockchain 50 for 2022. Visit us at www.primetrust.com and connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Media Contact: [email protected] SOURCE Prime Trust, LLC From the Flames calls to attention the serious environmental effects of ongoing drought in California coupled with climate change through two poignant photographs from the frontlines of the Caldor and Dixie Fires. Addario is a Pulitzer Prize winner and one of the five most influential photographers of the past 25 years as named by American Photo magazine in 2015. Her work is often centered around important social and environmental issues such as human rights and climate change. Through this drop, Addario wants to raise global awareness of the severe effects of climate change, while honoring those affected by the 2021 fires by donating 10% of proceeds to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation , a non-profit organization that provides assistance to fallen firefighters' families and to firefighters injured in the line of duty. Addario has covered conflict zones across the world, including the current crisis in Ukraine, and in 2021, documented the causes and effects of Climate change across three continents: from the floods in South Sudan to deforestation in the Amazon to the wildfires in California. It was especially important to Addario that these NFTs be carbon neutral. The collection consists of: An auction of one 1/1 artwork with reserve of $2,000 USD : CALDOR FIRE, BURNING CABIN The owner of this NFT will also receive a signed version of the National Geographic cover, a signed archival pigment print on Hahnemuhle Fine Art paper and a 30 min Q&A with the creator. The photograph was taken near the Sierra at Lake Tahoe Lodge along Highway 50, in California, August 29, 2021. The image was featured on the cover of National Geographic's 2021 Year in Review (released Dec. 9th) and January 2022 special edition cover. One limited edition (5/5) photograph, DIXIE FIRE, BUTTE LAKE CAMPGROUND, taken of firefighters monitoring the fireline (the periphery of the fire) as dry winds increase in the Lassen Forest in Northern California . Addario shot these images over a two-week period on the Dixie and Caldor fires, and both were featured in National Geographic's powerful photographic series. According to CALFIRE, The Dixie Fire started July 13 , and as of October 2021 , had burned roughly 965,000 acres "This collection is especially powerful, because it demonstrates how climate change is destroying our environment across continents," said Lynsey Addario. "Showing people, not just telling them, why this is an urgent global issue is my primary goal; and I chose MakersPlace to launch my first NFT collection, because of our shared values. The company is committed to the environment with its carbon neutral drop program, and they are all about supporting creators who are looking to express themselves in new ways." The offsets from this drop will be allocated to high-quality forest conservation projects verified by American Carbon Registry and to emerging technologies such as Charm industrial that capture carbon from biomass waste and permanently store it underground. For more information on the drop, visit https://makersplace.com/lynseyaddario/drops/from-the-flames/ About MakersPlace MakersPlace is the premier NFT marketplace for digital art. Launched in 2018, MakersPlace utilizes blockchain technology to facilitate the sale of authentic, original digital artwork, ensuring rarity and ownership for both creators and collectors. MakersPlace has emphasized accessibility since its inception and has attracted a large mainstream audience as the first NFT marketplace to accept both cryptocurrency (ETH) and non-cryptocurrency (USD) payments, which it facilitates through crypto wallet and credit card transactions, respectively. MakersPlace helped catapult digital art and NFTs onto the global stage, with the historic sale of Beeple's Everydays: The First 5000 Days for $69.3 million in partnership with Christie's auction house in March 2021 the record price for any digital artwork. Our mission is simple: to enable a vibrant future for digital creativity. Please visit: https://makersplace.com/ About Lynsey Addario Pulitzer Prize-winning American photojournalist Lynsey Addario has covered global humanitarian crises and conflicts for the past 20 years. She is a regular contributor to The New York Times and National Geographic. Throughout her career, Addario has covered conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Darfur, Congo,South Sudan, Yemen, and Libya, where she was among four New York Times journalists kidnapped in 2011.Currently, Addario is covering the war in Ukraine for The New York Times. Addario has been the recipient of numerous international awards throughout her career, including as a member of the Pulitzer Prize team for International Reporting for her photographs in 'Talibanistan,' published in the New York Times Magazine, and a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship. American Photo Magazine named Lynsey one of the five most influential photographers of the past 25 years, writing that "Addario changed the way we saw the world's conflicts." About Ioconic Ioconic is a VC-backed full-service partnership business for brand owners, individual IP holders and licensors, offering exposure to the NFT and digital asset industry. Ioconic's services to brands cover digital asset strategy formulation, branded digital ecosystem development, branded tokenisation, marketing, and distribution. Established by licensing experts as well as NFT and blockchain specialists, Ioconic's wide network and experience allows Ioconic to create unique solutions for partners to successfully digitise their brands. Media Contact: [email protected] SOURCE MakersPlace PHOENIX, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- qBotica's hero IDP product, DoqumentAI, has propelled the company into the Major Contenders & identified a Star Performer in the latest Everest Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) Technology Provider Landscape with Products PEAK Matrix Assessment 2022. qBotica qBotica Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) market is growing rapidly within Automation space and qBotica has assisted world's leading organizations like Western Union, TPI Composites and Polaris Transport in processing documents and automating processes. They also work with other large enterprises in the healthcare, telecommunications, and other high-tech industries. qBotica has also released an on-premises version of its DoqumentAI platform to meet the needs and compliance requirements of highly regulated businesses. "qBotica has emerged as a Star Performer and a Major Contender on Everest Group's Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) PEAK Matrix Assessment 2022. It has enhanced the capabilities of its IDP platform, DoqumentAI, offering more flexibility in addressing various data types and document formats and greater control to enterprise users," said Ashwin Gopakumar, Practice Director, Everest Group. "Its investments in pre-built dashboards to monitor key operational and workforce metrics, along with its strong growth and a more diversified portfolio of clients, have also contributed to its success" Everest Group, considered one of the top three analyst firms globally, offers state-of-the-art consultation services by fostering relationships with key industry organizations. They help educate and support the ongoing growth and evolution of the IT, business process, and engineering services industries. Their PEAK Matrix assessments are considered an unbiased resource to provide analysis and insights to enterprises about global services providers. Talking about this recognition, Mahesh Vinayagam, the Founder & CEO of qBotica, said, "We're ecstatic to see qBotica rated as a Star Performer and Major Contender in a very crowded IDP market. Our team's relentless emphasis on customer success, the commitment to build an easy-to-use cutting-edge product, and the backing of an extraordinary collection of Global 1000 enterprises who continuously choose DoqumentAI for their document processing-based automation needs have all contributed to our success. We thank Everest Group for recognizing the work that we do here at qBotica." qBotica's DoqumentAI with cloud-based open architecture provides enterprises with a futuristic platform that allows for organizational growth and technological advancement. Their Intelligent Automation Ecosystems can rapidly support enterprise operations such as finance, accounting, customer service, procurement, inventory management and payment processing. For more information about qBotica's solutions, please visit https://qbotica.com . Media Contact: Isha Vyas (623) 253-5673 [email protected] SOURCE qBotica NEW YORK, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences announced 31 finalists today for the 2022 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists, the world's largest unrestricted prize honoring early-career scientists and engineers. From that exceptional group, three winners - in life sciences, chemistry, and physical sciences and engineering - will be named on June 29, each receiving $250,000 as a Blavatnik National Awards Laureate. The honorees, whose research is described here, were chosen from a highly competitive pool of 309 nominees from 150 leading universities and scientific institutions from 38 states across the United States. "Since the Blavatnik National Awards were established nine years ago, many of our finalists have made extraordinary discoveries that have led to groundbreaking innovations in their respective fields," said Len Blavatnik, founder and chairman of Access Industries and head of the Blavatnik Family Foundation. Previous honorees have gone on to help develop COVID-19 vaccines and diagnostics; identify sustainable energy and battery technologies; tackle climate change through novel technologies, such as next-generation photovoltaics and sustainable new materials; and find cures for treatment-resistant diseases. Many also have received other prestigious honors, including being elected as fellows to the National Academy of Sciences or selected as MacArthur Foundation fellows. "We are proud to honor their commitment to scientific excellence and celebrate their achievements. We look forward to following their continued success," Blavatnik said. President and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences Nicholas B. Dirks said: "There are many prizes for lifetime achievement in science, but there are only a few prizes that honor scientists at this critical crossroads in their careers. Why does this matter? It's at this stage where support and recognition can make a tremendous difference, giving enormous visibility to their research." "On behalf of the academy, I also would like to thank our judges and our scientific advisory councilall eminent scientists from across the U.S. We couldn't successfully administer these awards without their continued support and the engagement of the broader scientific community," he said. Three highly respected independent jurieseach representing one of the award categoriesselected these finalists and will determine the winning laureates. Laureates must be faculty-level scientific researchers, 42 years of age or younger, and are nominated to the competition by their university or research institution. About the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists, established by the Blavatnik Family Foundation in 2007 and independently administered by the New York Academy of Sciences, began by identifying outstanding regional scientific talent in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The Blavatnik National Awards were first awarded in 2014 and expanded in 2017 to honor faculty-rank scientists in the UK and Israel. By the end of 2022, the Blavatnik Awards will have awarded prizes totaling $13.6 million. Visit blavatnikawards.org. About the Blavatnik Family Foundation The Blavatnik Family Foundation is an active supporter of world-renowned educational, scientific, cultural and charitable institutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel and other countries throughout the world. The foundation is headed by Len Blavatnik, a global industrialist, philanthropist and founder and chairman of Access Industries, a privately held industrial group based in the U.S. with global strategic interests. Visit www.accessindustries.com or www.blavatnikfoundation.org. About the New York Academy of Sciences The New York Academy of Sciences is an independent, not-for-profit organization that since 1817 has been committed to advancing science for the benefit of society. With more than 20,000 Members in 100 countries, the Academy advances scientific and technical knowledge, addresses global challenges with science-based solutions, and sponsors a wide variety of educational initiatives at all levels for STEM and STEM-related fields. The Academy hosts programs and publishes content in the life and physical sciences, the social sciences, nutrition, artificial intelligence, computer science, and sustainability. The Academy also provides professional and educational resources for researchers across all phases of their careers. Please visit us online at www.nyas.org. Media contact Kamala Murthy [email protected] 212-298-3740 SOURCE New York Academy of Sciences SOLNA, Sweden, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Loomis AB has through the repurchase program that was resolved and communicated on May 5, 2022, and that is still being executed, repurchased 424,600 own shares as of May 31, 2022. The company's holding of own shares thereby amounts to 1,858,382 shares. The total amount of shares in the company, including the company's own shares, amount to 75,279,829. This press release is also available on the company's website, www.loomis.com. CONTACT: Anders Haker Chief Investor Relations Officer Mobile: +1 281 795 8580 E-mail: [email protected] This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/loomis-ab/r/repurchase-program-of-loomis--shares,c3577891 The following files are available for download: https://mb.cision.com/Main/51/3577891/1587246.pdf Repurchase program of Loomisa shares SOURCE Loomis AB Acquires Four Properties for $164 Million within Prime Infill Southern California Submarkets Year-to-Date Investments Total $774 Million LOS ANGELES, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc. (the "Company" or "Rexford Industrial") (NYSE: REXR), a real estate investment trust focused on creating value by investing in and operating industrial properties located throughout infill Southern California, today announced the acquisition of four industrial properties for an aggregate purchase price of $163.8 million. The purchases were funded using a combination of cash on hand, the Company's line of credit and units in the Company's operating partnership ("OP Units"). "These investments, acquired through off-market transactions, reflect our team's ability to leverage its regional sharpshooter advantage and value-add expertise within infill Southern California, the nation's lowest-supply and highest-demand industrial market. Our proprietary market access positions the Company to drive favorable cash flow growth as we capitalize upon our information advantage to accretively grow beyond our current portfolio comprising 39 million square feet of industrial properties, representing a 2% market share," stated Howard Schwimmer and Michael Frankel, Co-Chief Executive Officers of the Company. "Our year-to-date investments total $774 million, of which over 85% were acquired through off-market or lightly marketed transactions. With over $600 million of additional investments under contract or accepted offer, plus a breadth of value-add internal growth initiatives under-way, we are well positioned with a low-leverage balance sheet to drive superior long-term shareholder value." In May and June, through off-market transactions, the Company acquired: 2020 South Central Avenue, Compton , located within the LA South Bay submarket for $10.8 million , or $110 per land square foot. The 2.3 acre industrial-zoned land site contains a fully occupied 30,233 square foot single tenant building, leased at rent estimated to be approximately 60% below current market rates. Upon lease expiration, the Company plans to redevelop the site by constructing a 45,000 square foot Class-A industrial building. The initial 3.5% unlevered cash yield is projected to grow to an unlevered stabilized cash yield on total investment of 5.5%. According to CBRE, the vacancy rate in the 219 million square foot LA South Bay submarket was 0.6% at the end of the first quarter 2022. , located within the LA submarket for , or per land square foot. The 2.3 acre industrial-zoned land site contains a fully occupied 30,233 square foot single tenant building, leased at rent estimated to be approximately 60% below current market rates. Upon lease expiration, the Company plans to redevelop the site by constructing a 45,000 square foot Class-A industrial building. The initial 3.5% unlevered cash yield is projected to grow to an unlevered stabilized cash yield on total investment of 5.5%. According to CBRE, the vacancy rate in the 219 million square foot LA submarket was 0.6% at the end of the first quarter 2022. 14200-14220 Arminta Street, Panorama City , located within the LA San Fernando Valley submarket for $90.2 million , or $451 per square foot. The 200,000 square foot Class-A building situated on 8.5 acres is leased long-term to a credit tenant at rent estimated to be approximately 35% below current market rates. The investment generates an initial 2.8% unlevered cash yield on total investment, growing over time by 3.25% contractual annual rent increases. The purchase was completed using $24.5 million of cash and 954,000 OP Units at a value of $68.84 per unit, which are redeemable by the seller on a one-to-one basis for shares of the Company's publicly traded common stock. According to CBRE, the vacancy rate in the 181 million square foot LA San Fernando submarket was 0.5% at the end of the first quarter 2022. , located within the LA San Fernando Valley submarket for , or per square foot. The 200,000 square foot Class-A building situated on 8.5 acres is leased long-term to a credit tenant at rent estimated to be approximately 35% below current market rates. The investment generates an initial 2.8% unlevered cash yield on total investment, growing over time by 3.25% contractual annual rent increases. The purchase was completed using of cash and 954,000 OP Units at a value of per unit, which are redeemable by the seller on a one-to-one basis for shares of the Company's publicly traded common stock. According to CBRE, the vacancy rate in the 181 million square foot LA submarket was 0.5% at the end of the first quarter 2022. 1172 Holt Boulevard, Ontario , located within the Inland Empire West submarket for $17.8 million , or $404 per square foot. The 44,000 square foot Class-A building was built in 2021 and is situated on 2.1 acres of land adjacent to the Company's recently purchased 1154 Holt Boulevard site. The property is leased to a single tenant at rent estimated to be approximately 35% below current market rental rates. Upon lease expiration, the Company intends to drive accretive cash flow growth through re-leasing at market rates. The investment generates an initial 2.5% unlevered cash yield that is projected to grow to an unlevered stabilized cash yield on total investment of 4.1%. According to CBRE, the vacancy rate in the 321 million square foot Inland Empire - West submarket was 0.1% at the end of the first quarter 2022. , located within the Inland Empire West submarket for , or per square foot. The 44,000 square foot Class-A building was built in 2021 and is situated on 2.1 acres of land adjacent to the Company's recently purchased 1154 Holt Boulevard site. The property is leased to a single tenant at rent estimated to be approximately 35% below current market rental rates. Upon lease expiration, the Company intends to drive accretive cash flow growth through re-leasing at market rates. The investment generates an initial 2.5% unlevered cash yield that is projected to grow to an unlevered stabilized cash yield on total investment of 4.1%. According to CBRE, the vacancy rate in the 321 million square foot Inland Empire - West submarket was 0.1% at the end of the first quarter 2022. 1500 South Raymond Avenue, Fullerton , located within the North Orange County submarket for $45.0 million , or $143 per land square foot. The 7.2-acre industrial-zoned site contains a recently shuttered hotel that will be redeveloped into a Class-A warehouse totaling approximately 138,500 square feet with excess land for trailer/outdoor storage. The high visibility property has freeway frontage with immediate on/off ramp access. The investment is projected to generate a 4.8% unlevered cash yield on total investment upon stabilization. According to CBRE, the vacancy rate in the 115 million square foot North Orange County submarket was 0.9% at the end of the first quarter 2022. About Rexford Industrial Rexford Industrial creates value by investing in, operating and redeveloping industrial properties throughout infill Southern California, the world's fourth largest industrial market and consistently the highest-demand, lowest supply market in the nation. The Company's highly differentiated strategy enables internal and external growth opportunities through its proprietary value creation and asset management capabilities. Rexford Industrial's high-quality, irreplaceable portfolio comprises 322 properties with approximately 38.8 million rentable square feet occupied by a stable and diverse tenant base. Structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT) listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "REXR," Rexford Industrial is an S&P MidCap 400 Index member. For more information, please visit www.rexfordindustrial.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, which are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," or "potential" or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases which are predictions of or indicate future events or trends and which do not relate solely to historical matters. While forward-looking statements reflect the Company's good faith beliefs, assumptions and expectations, they are not guarantees of future performance. For a further discussion of these and other factors that could cause the Company's future results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements, see the reports and other filings by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, and the Company's most recent Form 10-Q. The Company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, of new information, data or methods, future events or other changes. Contact: Investor Relations: Stephen Swett 424 256 2153 ext. 401 [email protected] SOURCE Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc. Images can be downloaded here. NEW YORK, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Romer Debbas, LLP, a recognized authority in the field of real estate law, announces the merger with award-winning New York City residential real estate firm Katz & Matz P.C. to form New York City's largest dedicated residential real estate practice. Together in 2021, the firms closed approximately 1,900 residential purchase/sale transactions for individual clients and approximately 1,400 residential loan transactions on behalf of various lending institutions. Katz & Matz was founded in 1994 to specifically serve buyers and sellers of residential real estate. With an aligned ethos and dedication to specialized representation by tenured practitioners, the firm will operate under Romer Debbas and extend service to all legal matters, including residential, commercial, landlord/tenant, and trusts and estates. Bruce D. Katz and Steven Matz, principals of Katz & Matz, will join Romer Debbas on July 1, 2022, as partners and continue to bolster the success of the firm's thriving residential real estate practice. They will be joined by an esteemed team of 18 lawyers, paralegals, and assistants. "It isn't often in the business world, and certainly not in New York City, that two renowned firms in their own right, can join forces with such an unsurpassed and extraordinary level of synergy, compatibility and aligned commitment to delivering the best possible service," said Bruce D. Katz. "We are very excited to welcome the Katz & Matz team who are not only great at what they do but are more importantly quality people. Our mission is to preserve and expand upon the wonderful culture that Bruce and Steven created over the last twenty years," said Michael J. Romer, Founder and Managing Partner, Romer Debbas. "The expansion of our respective "families" will result in a firm that can provide a larger and wider range of services, to purchasers and sellers, brokers and their companies, lending institutions and loan officers and to our city as a whole, all the while maintaining our trademark focus on personalized and sensitive care to everyone we serve," said Steven Matz. "We are beyond thrilled to be embarking on this journey with our friends and colleagues at Romer Debbas." "After just celebrating our 11th anniversary, it is a true honor to now say that Romer Debbas has the number one residential real estate practice in the greatest city in the world," said Pierre E. Debbas, Founder and Managing Partner, Romer Debbas. Michael J. Romer has extensive experience in the areas of real estate and general business law, concentrating on the purchase and sale of New York City commercial and residential real estate, commercial leasing, real estate related financing matters, representation of cooperative and condominium boards, foreign investors, and small businesses. In addition, he has a long history of representing prominent financial institutions in commercial and residential lending transactions, including some of the most exclusive private banks and wealth management divisions in the country. Mr. Romer is consistently recognized for his achievements, most recently among Super Lawyers and as a Newsmaker Futurist. Pierre E. Debbas focuses on the purchase and sale of commercial and residential real estate in New York City, commercial leasing, real estate related financing matters, representation of cooperative and condominium boards, foreign investors, and small businesses. Over the course of his career, Mr. Debbas has been involved in thousands of real estate transactions and is instrumental in his firm's annual ranking as one of the top transactional firms based on volume of transactions closed in NYC. Bruce D. Katz is a tenured attorney who has established valued relationships with many of New York City's most notable residential real estate professionals. Clients and brokers alike appreciate his hallmark attentiveness, direct accessibility, and thorough approach to facilitating a seamless transaction. Steven Matz is highly respected throughout New York City's residential real estate industry, often serving as a consultant to brokerage houses and financial firms seeking real estate counsel for their clients. He boasts an unparalleled understanding of the specific needs of international and ultra-high net worth/high-profile clients, expertly helping them navigate 1031 Tax Deferred Exchanges, LLC Formation, and various issues involving the purchase and sale of New York City properties. Mr. Matz's experience extends to new construction and conversion projects, where he often provides written digests and comprehensive analyses to clients and brokers alike. About Romer Debbas, LLP (www.romerdebbas.com) Romer Debbas, LLP boasts New York City's largest residential real estate practice, uniquely focusing on all real estate matters for clients in local, national, and international markets. Led by Managing Partners Michael J. Romer and Pierre E. Debbas, the annually ranked top firm prioritizes highly specialized, client-centered representation with a practice that also extends to include Corporate and Business Law, Immigration, Litigation, Bankruptcy, Taxation, Trusts, and Estates. SOURCE Romer Debbas, LLP LEHI, Utah, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PCF Insurance Services (PCF), a top 20 U.S. insurance brokerage firm, announced today the completion of a strategic partnership with Rowland Insurance Agency with locations in Anderson, Belton, and Clinton, South Carolina, supported by insurance mergers and acquisitions advisory firm Insurance Merger Specialists LLC. Founded in 1997, Rowland Insurance is a full-service agency offering auto, home, commercial, and life insurance out of its three South Carolina offices. "We are excited to welcome Renea Rowland and the Rowland Insurance team to the PCF family," says Peter C. Foy, Chairman, Founder and CEO of PCF Insurance. "Renea is highly entrepreneurial and has built solid collaborative relationships with her clientsa crucial component of our collective retention and long-term success." To achieve long-term, sustainable growth, PCF Insurance intentionally selects Agency Partners who believe in the PCF business strategy, possess a proven track record of success, are highly entrepreneurial, and are looking to grow beyond their current watermark. "PCF allows me to continue to run my agency the way I've done for the past 25 years," said Renea Rowland, principal of Rowland Insurance. "And we're confident this partnership will provide a long runway for continued perpetuation through operational resources, new growth opportunities, and a network of knowledgeable colleagues." About Rowland Insurance Agency Since 1997, Rowland Insurance has offered clients affordable insurance options, and a 'hometown' feel from all three South Carolina locations: Anderson, Belton, and Clinton. Learn more at rowlandinsurance.net. About PCF Insurance Services Headquartered in Lehi, Utah, PCF Insurance Services is a leading full-service consultant and insurance brokerage firm offering a broad array of commercial, life and health, employee benefits, and workers' compensation solutions. A top 20 U.S. broker, PCF Insurance's agency-centric operating model and entrepreneurial environment support its tremendous growth profile, offering partners alignment through equity ownership, significant leadership incentives, and resources to over 2,000 employees throughout the U.S. Learn more at pcfins.com. SOURCE PCF Insurance Services "The new store boasts over 31,000 square feet of indoor sales and service space to serve this incredible market. The service center has 14 state of the art indoor service bays and 2 wash bays to service customers year-round. The store will be part of our East Region run by Don Strollo, East Region President," added Jon Ferrando. "This will be a great store. The Newtown community and the local government officials have been supportive during the entire build process. We are pleased to represent our RV manufacturing partners in the Connecticut community and welcome all the new associates at the store into RVR," added Don Strollo, East Region President for RV Retailer. RV One Superstores Connecticut location is on South Main Street/25 and on the south side of Newtown the city. The new location is surrounded by several beautiful state parks in Rocky Glen State Park, Upper Paugussett State Forest and Kettletown State Park. To learn more about our RV One Superstores Connecticut location and RV Retailer, please visit: https://rvone.com/connecticut or https://www.rvretailer.com/ About RV Retailer, LLC RV Retailer, LLC is a leading recreational vehicle retail company in the United States with a focus on providing an outstanding experience for recreational vehicle customers in new and used sales, service and parts, and customer financial services. RV Retailer has 100 RV stores in 31 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming. Regional store brands include: RV One Superstores, Motor Home Specialist, ExploreUSA, Floyd's RV, Sonny's Camp-N-Travel, Cousins RV, Camper Clinic, RV Outlet USA, Lifestyle RVs, Family RV Group, Northgate RV, Tom's Camperland and Blue Dog RV, which sell a wide range of new and used RV brands with thousands of RVs in inventory. RV Retailer is led by co-founders Jon Ferrando, Chief Executive Officer and President, and John Rizzo, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Jon Ferrando and John Rizzo were instrumental in building America's largest automotive retailer from start-up to over $20 billion in revenue. RV Retailer's leadership team has over 250 years of automotive and RV retail industry experience. SOURCE RV Retailer, LLC OTCQX: SHWZ NEO: SHWZ DENVER, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Schwazze, (OTCQX: SHWZ) (NEO: SHWZ) ("Schwazze" or the "Company"), announced today that it closed the transaction to acquire substantially all the assets of Urban Health & Wellness, Inc. ("Urban"). The transaction includes the adult use Urban Dispensary, located at West 38th Avenue and Clay Street, in Denver's vibrant Highlands neighborhood as well as a 7,200 square foot indoor cultivation facility (2,700 square feet of canopy) located in Denver, Colorado. This purchase continues Schwazze's aggressive expansion in Colorado and brings the Company's total number of Colorado dispensaries to 23 and grow facilities to four. The acquired assets included state and local retail marijuana and marijuana cultivation licenses supporting the adult use dispensary and indoor cultivation facility acquired in the transaction. "Urban's strategically located dispensary and grow facility will be excellent additions to our expanding portfolio of assets in Colorado. Delivering our brands and our excellent customer service into new neighborhoods is a Schwazze hallmark as we continue to go deep in Colorado and New Mexico." said Nirup Krishnamurthy, Schwazze's COO. The consideration for the acquisition was US$3.2 million, which was paid $1.3M in cash and $1.9M in Company common stock upon closing, of which $288,000 of this common stock consideration was held back by the Company for indemnification claims. The common stock consideration was split 65% to 35% between the two equityholders of Urban. At closing, each equityholder that received common stock consideration was required to execute a standard lock-up agreement providing for limitations on resale of the stock consideration received. There were no finder's fees or similar arrangements in connection with the transaction. Since April 2020, Schwazze has acquired or announced the planned acquisition of 33 cannabis dispensaries as well as seven cultivation facilities and two manufacturing assets in Colorado and New Mexico. In May 2021, Schwazze announced its BioSciences division and in August 2021, it commenced home delivery services in Colorado. About Schwazze Schwazze (OTCQX:SHWZ, NEO:SHWZ) is building a premier vertically integrated regional cannabis company with assets in Colorado and New Mexico and will continue to take its operating system to other states where it can develop a differentiated regional leadership position. Schwazze is the parent company of a portfolio of leading cannabis businesses and brands spanning seed to sale. The Company is committed to unlocking the full potential of the cannabis plant to improve the human condition. Schwazze is anchored by a high-performance culture that combines customer-centric thinking and data science to test, measure, and drive decisions and outcomes. The Company's leadership team has deep expertise in retailing, wholesaling, and building consumer brands at Fortune 500 companies as well as in the cannabis sector. Schwazze is passionate about making a difference in our communities, promoting diversity and inclusion, and doing our part to incorporate climate-conscious best practices. Medicine Man Technologies, Inc. was Schwazze's former operating trade name. The corporate entity continues to be named Medicine Man Technologies, Inc. Schwazze derives its name from the pruning technique of a cannabis plant to enhance plant structure and promote healthy growth. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements." Such statements may be preceded by the words "plan," "will," "may,", "predicts," or similar words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future events or performance, are based on certain assumptions, and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control and cannot be predicted or quantified. Consequently, actual events and results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with (i) our inability to manufacture our products and product candidates on a commercial scale on our own or in collaboration with third parties; (ii) difficulties in obtaining financing on commercially reasonable terms; (iii) changes in the size and nature of our competition; (iv) loss of one or more key executives or scientists; (v) difficulties in securing regulatory approval to market our products and product candidates; (vi) our ability to successfully execute our growth strategy in Colorado and outside the state, (vii) our ability to consummate the acquisition described in this press release or to identify and consummate future acquisitions that meet our criteria, (viii) our ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses and realize synergies therefrom, (ix) the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, * the timing and extent of governmental stimulus programs, (xi) the uncertainty in the application of federal, state and local laws to our business, and any changes in such laws, and * out ability to satisfy the closing conditions for the private finding described in this press release. More detailed information about the Company and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements is set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Investors and security holders are urged to read these documents free of charge on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by law. SOURCE Medicine Man Technologies, Inc. SecurityMetrics Pulse Security Operations Service (SOS) and Shopping Cart Monitor help IT teams get even more done by leveraging SecurityMetrics' threat hunting approach and expertise. Both products will have live demos at RSA 2022. OREM, Utah, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- One problem many SMBs face is having adequate resources to manage and maintain good security practices. To help augment IT teams, SecurityMetrics created Pulse, a platform that provides SMBs with tools, training, and support to fight threat actors and provide needed network threat visibility. The Pulse Security Platform helps businesses with both ecommerce and business location network security. The Pulse Security Operations Service (SOS) helps IT teams strapped for resources to get crucial threat visibility. Pulse SOS helps businesses: Find their most pervasive threats with access to finely tuned and frequently updated scan engines Avoid a system lockout with ransomware and virus protection Spot threat actors in a network with asset discovery Lighten workloads with security team augmentation Prevent damage with prompt compromise notifications Track security progress with an up-to-date monthly analyst review and report Get a monthly cybersecurity consultation with a threat hunter Kelly Redd, Director of Product Management, explains how Pulse can help overworked IT teams. "For IT Teams without a dedicated security staff who need fundamental cyber protection, SecurityMetrics' Pulse SOS is a security operations service that's built on the Pulse platform that uses network traffic analysis to provide threat visibility. Unlike other offerings, our product provides white glove service at an accessible price." Also, as part of the Pulse Platform, SecurityMetrics offers an ecommerce solution that provides support to IT teams. Shopping Cart Monitor helps vendors by detecting digital skimming, also known as formjacking or magecart attacks against payment checkout pages on ecommerce sites. This new technology has the potential to save online retailers a significant amount of money and frustration since organizations can be held liable for damages. Shopping Cart Monitor offers: Non-intrusive scanning of ecommerce payment pages Customizable notifications Regular alerts and support Straightforward and simple reporting Automated inspection Segmented lists of threat indicators User-friendly software 24/7 technical support To see demos of Pulse SOS and Shopping Cart Monitor, stop by booth 340 at RSA on June 6-9th. To learn more about SecurityMetrics, Webpage Integrity Monitoring or Pulse Security Operations Service (SOS) , please call 801.705.5656 or email [email protected] . For press inquiries, email [email protected]. About SecurityMetrics SecurityMetrics secures peace of mind for organizations that handle sensitive data. They have tested over 1 million systems for data security and compliance. Industry standards don't keep up with the threat landscape, which is why they hold their tools, training, and support to a higher, more thorough standard of performance and service. Never have a false sense of security. As an Approved Scanning Vendor , Qualified Security Assessor , Certified Forensic Investigator, and Managed Security provider SecurityMetrics guides organizations through data security testing and compliance mandates (PCI, HIPAA, GDPR, HITRUST). With over 20 years of forensic investigations, penetration testing, vulnerability assessments, and compliance audits, SecurityMetrics has tested over 1 million systems for vulnerabilities. The privately held company is headquartered in Orem, Utah where it maintains a Security Operations Center (SOC) and 24/7 multilingual technical support. SOURCE SecurityMetrics, Inc. SKANES FAGERHULT, Sweden, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Jesse Smith has decided to leave his position as Senior Vice President of the Hydraulics division, his last day with the Company will be 10 June 2022. The work to recruit a permanent successor is underway. Jesse Smith commented, "I have worked with some great people and teams and I truly appreciate the experience and growth opportunities gained during my tenure with Concentric." Martin Kunz, CEO of Concentric, commented: "Ever since joining Concentric in 2007, Jesse has made a significant contribution to our Hydraulics business as general manager of our Rockford facility and latterly as SVP of the Hydraulics division, and we all wish him every success for the future. We expect to announce a permanent successor in the near future." For additional information please contact Marcus Whitehouse, telephone +44-121-445 6545 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/concentric-ab/r/senior-management-change-at-concentric-ab,c3577695 The following files are available for download: SOURCE Concentric AB Group Announces Transformation of Golden Circle Loyalty Programme and New Monthly Offers to Bring Even More Value to Members HONG KONG, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Shangri-La marked a new chapter in its pioneering Asian hospitality with the transformation of its award-winning Golden Circle loyalty programme on 28 April. A contemporary travel and lifestyle platform, Shangri-La Circle goes beyond the traditional hotel loyalty programme by offering members more: simplicity, flexibility, privileges, recognition, and convenience. Furthering its commitment to enhancing the guest journey, Shangri-La Circle will launch its new 'Circle the Sixth' Members Day initiative, giving members even more ways to live the good life with Shangri-La. Built on the idea that life is meant to be fun, limitless, exciting, and full of possibilities, the innovative new Shangri-La Circle programme curates exclusive experiences and offers unprecedented flexibility across the brand's portfolio of hotels, restaurants and bars, wellness facilities, and family experiences. Members will enjoy exclusive rates and deals, enhanced benefits, and a simplified process for earning and redeeming Shangri-La Circle Points while staying, dining, and shopping with Shangri-La. The platform will also celebrate members' personal journeys through unparalleled insider and backstage access and curated personalised experiences. Shangri-La Circle comprises four membership tiers, including Polaris, a new, invitation-only membership tier offering the highest level of personalised privileges. Benefits include unrestricted access to Shangri-La facilities worldwideeven without staying overnighta dedicated global Polaris concierge, Polaris Discovery experiences, and Diamond status gifting to share memorable experiences with loved ones. Members also have access to the new Shangri-La Circle App, where they can plan a getaway, reserve a table, or shop for merchandise on the Shangri-La Boutique. Through the app, members can also manage their account in one convenient place, and decide whether to use cash or pointsor a combination of bothfor bookings. With the June launch of 'Circle the Sixth,' Shangri-La Circle offers members even more exclusive experiences with limited-time monthly offers. Starting from 6 June, the Members Day will see the release of new offers that will only be available for 48 hours each month, starting at 9am (Hong Kong Time) on the 6th and ending at 9am (Hong Kong Time) on the 8th. The special offers will be curated by the Shangri-La Circle team to offer exciting new ways to live the good life. For the inaugural Members Day, Shangri-La Circle will debut more than 20 staycation packages bundled with curated dining and wellness experiences that allow guests to personalise their Shangri-La journeys. Shangri-La Circle members will be rewarded with six times the Points when they book these special offers through the dedicated Members Day website or Shangri-La Circle Mobile App. In addition, Shangri-La Circle members in Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Taipei will receive six times the Points when they shop the Shangri-La Boutique during the 48-hour Members Day period. New members will earn 300 Bonus Points with their first Shangri-La Circle experience, and up to 1,500 additional Bonus Points with continued spending through 31 July 2022. These Points can then be used for their next celebratory dining experience, weekend getaway, or wellness escape. With the launch of the new Shangri-La Circle platform and its 'Circle the Sixth' Members Day initiative, Shangri-La is continuing to pioneer new horizons in hospitality. For more info: https://www.shangri-la.com/en/corporate/shangrilacircle/ A selection of images can be downloaded via this link. Media Contact: Shangri-La Group Corporate Communications: [email protected] SOURCE Shangri-La Group FORT WORTH, Texas, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Insight Global, a national leader in the staffing services industry, today announced the official opening of its newest office here in downtown Fort Worth. The location marks 64 Insight Global offices throughout the United States. Located at 640 Taylor Street, the office will specialize in engineering, manufacturing, technology and federal, state and local government. Insight Global will work with companies throughout the area to provide staffing services, managed services and culture consulting services. "Fort Worth has welcomed us with its famous Southern hospitality, and we're thrilled to support such a vibrant, growing community," said Tatum Lackey, sales manager and office lead at Insight Global Fort Worth. "Companies need a trusted and reliable staffing partner that understands their business and is able to provide them top-notch employees they need, when they need them, to achieve their growth goals." Insight Global Dallas has worked with the Fort Worth community since it opened in 2005. During that time, Insight Global has placed more than 400 contractors in the Fort Worth area across 70 different companies in various industries. "Now that we have a fully dedicated team servicing this area, we're looking forward to increasing our support of the local business community," Lackey said. For more information about Insight Global Fort Worth, please contact the office at (972) 541-0099 and Tatum Lackey at [email protected]. Learn more about Insight Global at www.insightglobal.com. About Insight Global Insight Global is a national staffing and services company dedicated to empowering people. We relentlessly pursue opportunities for others, because when we all work together, anything is possible. We specialize in sourcing information technology, accounting, finance, and engineering professionals, and delivering service-based solutions to Fortune 1000 clients. Our team spans across more than 64 regional offices throughout North America and has pledged to place more than 80,000 people in jobs in 2022. Insight Global's services extend far beyond just filling roles. In addition to staffing services, we provide culture consulting, diversity, equity and inclusion guidance, specialized health care staffing and resources, and an array of managed services designed to meet company's individual needs. To learn more about Insight Global, visit insightglobal.com. SOURCE Insight Global The delegation arrived at Israel at the invitation of Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan Israeli Start-up companies gave innovation demos of their technologies emphasising water and climate tech solutions addressing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals TEL AVIV, Israel, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A delegation of ambassadors to the UN from 11 countries concluded their 5-day visit to Israel on Tuesday with a professional review of Israeli innovation technology focusing on climate and sustainability solutions by Start-Up Nation Central, a non-profit that promotes the Israeli innovation ecosystem around the world. Avi Hasson, CEO of Start-Up Nation Central with the delegation of UN Ambassadors; (Photography credit: Ahikam Ben Yosef) (PRNewsfoto/Start-Up Nation Central (SNC)) The high-level diplomats visited the non-profit organization's headquarters in Tel Aviv to learn about the strengths of the Israeli innovation ecosystem and how it is addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations. The delegation that included ambassadors to the United Nations from Benin, Burundi, Czech Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Malawi, Panama, Poland, United Republic of Tanzania, and Uzbekistan participated in a tour hosted by Israel's Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan. Israel's Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan: "One of my main goals at the United Nations has been to illustrate how Israeli innovation is helping people all over the world. After spending a week in Israel, the ambassadors were able to see the innovative spirit that is infused throughout the people. Bringing the delegation of ambassadors to Start-Up Nation Central was the perfect way to cap off this trip and I am confident that they will be strong advocates of partnering with Israeli companies in the future, both at the UN and in their home countries". Start-Up Nation Central's CEO, Avi Hasson: "In Israel today, there are over 1,100 companies that offer diverse technological solutions to support global sustainable development in both societal and environmental arenas. While Israeli entrepreneurs continue to build on their achievements in water management, AgriFood-tech, and solar energy to tackle global climate challenges, the world is working to achieve the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and decisionmakers from around the world are increasingly looking at Israel's innovation ecosystem for solutions to address global challenges and to meet these ambitious targets, including affordable and clean energy, sustainable cities, and climate action". During their visit to Start-Up Nation Central, the diplomats received an in-depth review of the Israeli technological innovation ecosystem by Start-Up Nation Central's CEO, Avi Hasson and viewed innovation demos by Israeli startup companies who showcased their technologies, emphasizing water and climate tech solutions towards achieving the UN's SDGs. The world-renown Israeli company which develops clean and safe drinking water from the air WaterGen gave a live presentation of its technology to the delegation. Among the additional Israeli Startups that presented were: The Sustainable Group develops a zero-carbon, circular self-sustained infrastructure for resilient and climate-ready cities. develops a zero-carbon, circular self-sustained infrastructure for resilient and climate-ready cities. SG Tech - specializes in zero-carbon sustainable farming, with a focus on providing a complete and sustainable solution for the livestock industry. - specializes in zero-carbon sustainable farming, with a focus on providing a complete and sustainable solution for the livestock industry. vBact develops and manufactures automated real-time systems for the detection and enumeration of bacteria and foreign microparticles in water. develops and manufactures automated real-time systems for the detection and enumeration of bacteria and foreign microparticles in water. Biotic - created an environmentally friendly process for producing PHA polymer, which can be used as a fully biodegradable replacement for plastic. - created an environmentally friendly process for producing PHA polymer, which can be used as a fully biodegradable replacement for plastic. Senecio Robotics builds solutions to automate the production and release of billions of sterile, non-biting male mosquitoes to suppress diseases such as malaria, dengue, Zika, and others. builds solutions to automate the production and release of billions of sterile, non-biting male mosquitoes to suppress diseases such as malaria, dengue, Zika, and others. Eco Wave Power - developed a patented, smart, and cost-efficient technology for turning ocean and sea waves into clean electricity. Start-Up Nation Central is a non-profit organization that connects Israeli innovation to the world in order to help international entities solve global challenges. Immersed in the Israeli technology ecosystem, we provide a platform that nurtures business growth and generates partnerships with corporations, governments, investors, and NGOs to strengthen Israel's economy and society. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1830671/Start_Up_Nation_Central_1.jpg SOURCE Start-Up Nation Central (SNC) NEW YORK, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Margaret Grossman, Managing Partner and President of Sugar Hill Capital Partners, is being honored as an 'Urban Angel' by the New York Theological Seminary. Grossman will receive the Restoring Hope award at the NYTS 18th Annual Urban Angels gala on June 2. The theme of this year's gala, Redeeming Lives, Restoring Hope, and Reclaiming Power, recognizes leaders that share NYTS's vision to transform urban communities through contemporary, global, economic, and social strategies. Margaret Grossman, President, Sugar Hill Capital Partners "Ms. Grossman has been actively engaged in not only supporting our community directly, but by bringing other business stakeholders to the table to help forward our efforts to bring positive change to various neighborhoods," said Dr. LaKeesha Walrond, NYTS President. "She understands the nuances of today's housing challenges and that meaningful improvement can only be achieved through tireless collaboration." "NYTS plays a crucial role in transforming neighborhoods that too often are overlooked by the business community," Grossman said. "We are honored by this recognition and are committed to continuing to be responsible stewards in supporting the needs of the communities where we invest." Grossman has spent nearly eight years at Sugar Hill Capital Partners, including previous roles as Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel. Previously she practiced real estate law at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where she focused commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions, financing, leasing, and asset disposition. Grossman also has historic preservation and urban planning experience. She earned her Doctor of Law degree from the University of Michigan, and her undergraduate degree from Columbia University. Grossman has also received multiple awards for her pro bono legal services work. Also being recognized at the gala are Dr. Dave Choski, New York's 43rd Health Commissioner; Deray Mckesson, Co-Founder & Executive Director of Campaign Zero; and Susan Shah, Managing Director, Racial Justice Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies. Urban Angels are defined as a person, group of people, or organization who has had an impact on global and urban ministries, innovatively; has created social mobility and/or economic equality in their respective fields; has pushed boundaries in their field; work and passions intersect with the mission and values of the New York Theological Seminary. Proceeds from the event will used to tackle prison education reform and support the organization's pioneering second master's degree Program at Bedford Hill Corrections Facility for Women. Tickets are available at: visit: https://nytsurbanangels.splashthat.com About Sugar Hill Capital Partners Sugar Hill Capital Partners is an impact investment management and operations firm that invests in and repositions stressed middle-market, multi-family apartment buildings in New York City. About New York Theological Seminary Founded in 1900 by Wilbert Webster White as the Bible Teacher's Training College, and upon moving to New York, The Biblical Seminary in New York, the institution became the New York Theological Seminary in 1966. The President of the NYTS, Dr. Walrond, describes the institution's as: "Through the creative collaboration of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and trustees, we have begun to reimagine what NYTS represents in our community and our world. While political turmoil, social upheaval, and economic crises narrate our current reality, NYTS continues to shine as a beacon of hope for those called to serve humanity." Contact: Rick Van Warner 407.256.5865 [email protected] SOURCE Sugar Hill Capital Partners Negotiating Committee Addresses Members' Top Priorities; Local Union Leaders to Review Proposed Three-Year Agreement on June 16 WASHINGTON, May 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Teamsters National Automobile Transporters Industry Negotiating Committee (TNATINC) reached a tentative national carhaul agreement this evening. If ratified, the three-year agreement will provide wage increases, increases to maintain health and welfare, additional paid time off and work rule improvements. Details of the tentative agreement will be announced after leaders from local unions meet June 16 in Washington to review the proposal, which is required by the IBT constitution. Members will report to work as normal. "This agreement addresses our members' top priorities. We will release more information once the local union leaders have the opportunity to review it," said Avral Thompson, Teamsters Carhaul Division Director and TNATINC Co-Chair. "I want to thank the negotiating committee for their hard work and dedication throughout the bargaining process. We are proud of what we have accomplished. This agreement will improve wages and benefits and will serve as a national model to organize hundreds of new carhaulers nationwide." The current National Master Automobile Transporters Agreement (NMATA), which was set to expire today, May 31, at midnight, will be extended until members vote on the tentative agreement. Increases applied to wages, rates, etc. will be retroactive to June 1, 2022. The tentative agreement will be presented at a June 16 meeting in Washington where two representatives from each local union representing members in the carhaul industry will decide whether to approve the contract. If the tentative agreement is approved by the two-person committee, it will be sent to the Teamsters' General Executive Board. Upon recommendation by the General Executive Board, the agreement will be submitted for a democratic ratification vote by the membership. The NMATA covers more than 3,000 members at 29 Teamster locals nationwide. Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.2 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters . Contact: Daniel Moskowitz, (770) 262-4971 [email protected] SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters -Fast casual concept celebrates grand opening with free chicken salad for a year to first 100 guests on June 15th- ATLANTA, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicken Salad Chick , the nation's only fast casual chicken salad restaurant concept, announced today the opening of its newest restaurant in Lake Jackson, Texas, which will feature a drive-thru and indoor seating area. This marks the brand's 11th Houston-area location and third restaurant from franchise owners Kim and Clarke Hayes, who opened Chicken Salad Chick Pearland in 2020 and expanded to Pasadena this past January. Located at 101 Winding Way, Chicken Salad Chick Lake Jackson will celebrate its grand opening on Wednesday, June 15th by giving away free chicken salad for a year to the first 100 guests. During grand opening week, guests will experience the Southern hospitality that Chicken Salad Chick is known for, with giveaways and specials that include: Wednesday, June 15 Free Chicken Salad for a Year The first 100 guests will receive one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per month for an entire year, with one of those lucky guests randomly selected to win one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per week.* Guests may arrive starting at 7 a.m. for grand opening day only. Free Chicken Salad for a Year The first 100 guests will receive one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per month for an entire year, with one of those lucky guests randomly selected to win one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per week.* Guests may arrive starting at for grand opening day only. Thursday, June 16 The first 100 guests to purchase a Chick Special will receive a free Chick Special for their next visit.** The first 100 guests to purchase a Chick Special will receive a free Chick Special for their next visit.** Friday, June 17 The first 50 guests to purchase a Chick Trio will receive a free Chick Tumbler.** The first 50 guests to purchase a Chick Trio will receive a free Chick Tumbler.** Saturday June 18 The first 50 guests to purchase two large Quick Chicks will receive a free large Chick Cooler.** Multi-unit franchise owners Kim and Clarke Hayes of H7 EATS, LLC own and operate the new Lake Jackson Chick. Graduates of Texas A&M and Houston locals, both have career backgrounds in sales and are passionate about customer service. They were thrilled to discover the Chicken Salad Chick business opportunity, quickly embracing the brand's culture and emphasis on flavorful, made-from-scratch food served from the heart. Expanding their business and becoming further ingrained in their Houston-area communities over these past two years has been an exciting accomplishment. "We are blown away by the enthusiasm and support of our guests each time we open a new restaurant," said Kim Hayes. "Chicken Salad Chick is such a special combination of food, family and community, and we love being able to serve our neighbors and know we are providing delicious meals made fresh every day." Chicken Salad Chick in Lake Jackson will be open Monday Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, visit http://www.chickensaladchick.com . Follow Chicken Salad Chick on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram for the latest news and trends. *Guests should start arriving at 7 a.m. to get checked in. The first 100 guests will be assigned a number and a designated return time between 10 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. Upon return, guests will make a purchase of "The Chick" or anything of greater value and enter a code on the Chicken Salad Chick app to officially secure your spot. If you are late, or miss the return time, your spot will be awarded to the next in-line. Guests will receive their first free Large Quick Chick electronically to your App the Monday following Grand Opening Day. **Must download the CSC App and be 16 years or older to purchase. Not valid with any other offers. Limit 1 reward per guest present. For more information on giveaways and specials, visit https://www.facebook.com/ChickenSaladChickLakeJacksonTX. About Chicken Salad Chick Chicken Salad Chick serves full-flavored, Southern-style chicken salad made from scratch and served from the heart. With more than a dozen original chicken salad flavors as well as fresh side salads, gourmet soups, signature sandwiches and delicious desserts, Chicken Salad Chick's robust menu is a perfect fit for any guest. Founded in Auburn, Alabama by Stacy and Kevin Brown, in 2008, Chicken Salad Chick has grown to more than 215 restaurants in 17 states. Today, under the leadership of Scott Deviney and the Chicken Salad Chick team, the brand is continuing its rapid expansion with both franchise and company locations. Chicken Salad Chick has received numerous accolades including rankings in the 2022 Entrepreneur Franchise 500, Franchise Times' Fast & Serious for the second consecutive year, Fast Casual.com 's top Movers and Shakers from 2018 to 2022, QSR's Best Franchise Deals in 2019 and 2020, and Franchise Business Review's Top Food Franchises in 2020. See www.chickensaladchick.com for additional information. Contact: Nicole Hunnicutt Fish Consulting 404-558-4108 [email protected] SOURCE Chicken Salad Chick FULTON, Md., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The CyberWire and Dragos, Inc. announced today the launch of Control Loop, a new podcast and newsletter covering operational technology (OT) and industrial control systems (ICS) security. With the aim of bringing attention to industrial cybersecurity, Control Loop is an informative and educational resource for the international community of infrastructure operators and security professionals. Control Loop is a collaboration between cybersecurity news leader the CyberWire , and Dragos , the global leader in cybersecurity solutions for industrial infrastructure. The Control Loop podcast, hosted by the CyberWire's Dave Bittner, investigates the latest threat intelligence, security strategies, and technologies that industry professionals rely on to safeguard civilization. Every two weeks, Dave analyzes the biggest stories in OT security with commentary from key industry leaders and operators. Each episode includes new guests who provide the insider's perspective on major threats and vulnerabilities, novel ideas and solutions, and critical training topics. "Control Loop is all about giving back to the OT community," said Robert M. Lee, CEO and Co-Founder of Dragos. "Creating this podcast has been a dream of mine for years. Our goal here is to keep the community informed, provide high quality education, and lead an open conversation about the issues that matter most to our industry." "The threat to OT networks and systems is a huge growing concern in the industry," said Peter Kilpe, the CyberWire's CEO and Executive Editor. "Rob Lee and Dragos have been key partners since CyberWire started and we're excited to bring this new resource to the community. What I love most about this show is that it's more than just news and intelligence, there's also practical education for the people on the ground who work tirelessly to secure our daily life." The first show launches today with new episodes every two weeks. The first newsletter publishes next week with new editions every month. Listen and subscribe to the podcast wherever you get your favorite shows and subscribe to the newsletter on the CyberWire website . About the CyberWire The CyberWire gets people up to speed on cyber quickly and keeps them a step ahead in a continually changing world. Situational awareness, continuing education, and professional development are the cornerstones of our programs. The CyberWire has long been trusted by many of the most influential leaders and professionals in the public and private sectors, around the world. We separate the signal from the noise. Learn more about our podcasts and newsletters at thecyberwire.com . About Dragos Dragos has a global mission : to safeguard civilization from those trying to disrupt the industrial infrastructure we depend on every day. The practitioners who founded Dragos were drawn to this mission through decades of government and private sector experience. Dragos codifies the knowledge of our cybersecurity experts into an integrated software platform that provides customers critical visibility into ICS and OT networks so that threats are identified and can be addressed before they become significant events. Our solutions protect organizations across a range of industries, including power and water utilities, energy , and manufacturing , and are optimized for emerging applications like the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT). Dragos is privately held and headquartered in the Washington, DC area with regional presence around the world, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and the Middle East . SOURCE The CyberWire RICHMOND, Va., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Virginia General Assembly Recognized Paymerang's Impact on Virginia by commemorating a resolution in the Senate. James D. Worsley, Ph.D., Deputy County Administrator for Human Services, Chesterfield County; Delegate Roxann L. Robinson, Virginia House of Delegates; and Senator Ghazala F. Hashmi, Senate of Virginia visited Paymerang's recently expanded office in Chesterfield to present the framed resolution. "Being recognized by the Virginia's General Assembly is a great honor. We're privileged to be able to help finance departments around the country automate their processes and become more strategic to their organizations. This improves the performance of the industries we serve, like healthcare, education, manufacturing, and services. We look forward to creating more jobs and helping the American economy thrive. " said Nasser Chanda, CEO of Paymerang. Since 2018, Paymerang has evolved into an industry-leading finance automation solution, growing from 27 to 225 employees while expanding company operations, new product development, sales, and marketing. Paymerang is deeply invested in fostering an environment of diversity and growth for its team members. Most recently, they sponsored training and development initiatives for emerging leaders, while providing professional development opportunities to members in their sales, technology, and operations departments. "Paymerang has made a massive impact in the technology space by transforming Accounts Payable departments, saving businesses thousands of hours annually. And they're just getting started!" said Delegate Roxann Robinson. "We're excited to be a part of this journey with Paymerang and watch how they continue to impact Virginia and organizations nationwide." Paymerang's goal is to cultivate high-performing teams in an environment of continuous learning where everyone can discover their strength, master new skills, and utilize different tools to overcome new challenges. In addition to internal company culture, Paymerang is committed to providing a work environment focused on work-life balance, healthy lifestyles, community engagement, and personal development initiatives. "I commend Paymerang's commitment to diversity, inclusion, professional growth, and work-life balance. Paymerang's successes with its engaged workforce demonstrate that when we invest in people, organizations thrive." said Senator Ghazala Hashmi. "The recent pandemic has had an impact on all of society. A special concern has been supporting the mental health of employees. This has highlighted the importance of flexible hours, collaborative cultures, and hybrid workspaces. The Virginia Chamber is pleased to be associated with an organization whose values are more than just words on a website and truly live out dailyprioritizing integrity, growth, teamwork and positivity." said Barry DuVal, CEO of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. Noted as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America, Paymerang provides exemplary services to its clients while meeting the needs and aspirations of its employees and making Chesterfield a more wonderful place to call home. To view the resolution, click here. SOURCE Paymerang CHICAGO, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Vistria Group, a middle-market private investment firm focused on delivering both financial returns and societal impact through investments in essential industries like healthcare, education and financial services, today announced two key additions to its Investor Relations team, welcoming former State Street Global Advisors Managing Director Gennell Jefferson and Senior Associate Katherine Eilers. "We are extremely proud to add two talented individuals to our Investor Relations team," said Kip Kirkpatrick, Co-CEO and Senior Partner at The Vistria Group. "Gennell is a rock star in the industry who has worked with us as a limited partner for almost 10 years. She knows our unique market position and brings a deep understanding of what makes us special and attractive to investors. Katherine adds to our portfolio of talent with her background in capital fundraising, investor communications, and project management." "Since our first day we have told our investors that we were going to re-invest in our business every chance we got especially when talented people become available," said Marty Nesbitt, Co-CEO and Senior Partner at The Vistria Group. "We could not be more excited about Genell, Katherine and Rob working together to help us communicate with our outstanding group of limited partners." Jefferson and Eilers will support the firm's investor relations efforts overseen by Rob Parkinson, Senior Partner. Jefferson joined The Vistria Group in April 2022 as a partner in Investor Relations following a distinguished career in asset management and investment banking. Previously, she was a Managing Director of Private Equity and Business Development at State Street Global Advisors, a $4 trillion global asset manager. She managed a private equity portfolio of $1.7 billion and served on the advisory boards for firms specializing in communications, education, financial services, healthcare, media and technology. Jefferson was appointed by the CEO to lead a global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team to counter racism and inequality in the asset management industry. Prior to joining State Street via the 2016 acquisition of GE Asset Management, Jefferson was a Senior Vice President of Strategic Business Development where she led the Diverse & Emerging Managers Program. She was previously an investment banker at firms including Bank of America and Lehman Brothers where she specialized in capital markets structuring and underwriting, raising over $600 billion in debt and equity financings for Fortune 500 corporations. Jefferson serves on the board of directors of the National Association of Securities Professionals, A Better Chance, Inc. and Francis W. Parker School in Chicago. She earned a B.S. in Engineering from Washington University and an MBA from the University of Michigan. "The Vistria Group is changing the face of private equity, literally and figuratively," Jefferson said. "The firm is ushering in a new era of inclusive capitalism focused on creating impactful health, wealth and educational outcomes for the ultimate benefit of society. Moreover, our team is incredibly diverse across a variety of dimensions which enhances the quality of our decision-making and results. This philosophy is also shared with the companies and communities we invest in." "With every new team member, our firm continues to grow in a way that is driven by insight and a passion for making a difference," said Marty Nesbitt, Co-CEO and Senior Partner at The Vistria Group. "We are excited to welcome Gennell and Katherine to continue to work alongside us, reinforcing our mission of combining profit with purpose." Eilers joined The Vistria Group in January 2022 following work as an Associate in the Fund Placement Group at Campbell Lutyens. There she focused on strategic advisory and project management for U.S. private equity and infrastructure fundraises. With a natural acumen for the capital fundraise process, Eilers has played a key role over the past few months in the firm's investor communication and coverage and taking lead on much of the project management-related affairs within the firm's Investor Relations team. Prior to Campbell Lutyens, she worked at Morgan Stanley in the Investment Solutions Group where she was a sales and product specialist on the Structured Investments Deck. Eilers received a B.B.A. in Finance and Psychology from the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business and served as captain of the Women's Varsity Lacrosse team. "The Vistria Group's alignment between investment performance and mission-driven focus to make education, healthcare and financial services more accessible to everyone, but importantly underserved communities, is unmatched in private markets today," Eilers said. "I'm thrilled to work with Rob and Gennell as we continue to build out our investor relations practice and strive to be the best partners to our investors." Founded in 2013, The Vistria Group now currently manages more than $7 billion in institutional capital across its four Flagship Funds, Structured Credit Fund and co-investment vehicles. The Vistria Group most recently closed on Fund IV at $2.68 billion in June 2021. About The Vistria Group The Vistria Group is building a new kind of private investment firm that delivers both financial returns and societal impact. It invests in essential industries like healthcare, education and financial services that deliver value for investors as well as communities, employees, and consumers. The Vistria Group works as a true partner with its portfolio companies, drawing on its deep sector knowledge, operational expertise, unique network, diverse team, and impact orientation to achieve transformational growth. With nearly $7 billion in AUM, The Vistria Group has delivered attractive returns for its investors while achieving positive outcomes for its portfolio companies, and the lives and livelihoods it supports. For more information, please visit www.vistria.com. SOURCE The Vistria Group Nick Paspaley, Hotel Owner and Executive Chairman of Paspaley Group of Companies stated, "The Wall Street Hotel is a natural continuation of our family legacy, bringing 100-years of travel and trade, global cultural experience, adventure, and refinement to transform the historic Tontine Building into a new oasis of charm and comfort. A one-of-a-kind gem for New York's famed financial district." With architecture by Stonehill Taylor, interiors by Rose Ink Workshop, signature restaurant design by Charles & Co. and development assistance from Actium development company, The Wall Street Hotel is home to 180 individually designed guest rooms and suites, ranging in size from generous king rooms to spacious and luxurious multi-bedroom suites. Designed to accommodate a variety of travelers - from couples, friends, and families to those visiting for business - all accommodations feature plush custom furnishings, robust technology offerings, curated libraries, a handcrafted bar cart with premium spirits, and original artworks making stays both memorable and convenient. Guest spaces are inspired by classic New York homes and designed to serve as guests' own personal pied-a-terre, with a light, yet saturated color palette that evokes a sense of calm and warmth intended to make guests feel effortlessly at ease. The hotel experience is rounded out by curated concierge services, an elegant lobby lounge, rooftop ballroom, modern 24-hour fitness center and soon-to-be-announced restaurant and bar concepts. As the birthplace of one of the world's greatest cities, the lower tip of Manhattan has a rich and impactful history, and the site of The Wall Street Hotel is no exception. Paul Taylor, President of Stonehill Taylor noted, "We had the unique opportunity to recharge this special location, while preserving the historic character of the original buildings we restored. The Wall Street hotel now serves as a welcoming destination for locals and global travelers alike drawn to the energy of New York's iconic financial district." Liubasha Rose, Creative Director and Founder of Rose Ink Workshop added, "My goal is for visitors to feel like they are coming to their favorite pied-a-terre in New York and for locals to have a refuge to meet friends in the heart of the chaos of New York. The interiors were drawn from the energy of Wall Street with a nod to the heritage of the Paspaley Pearling family. Using rich velvets, marble floors, soaring ceilings, and hand applied finishes, we created a timeless design for guests tap into their inner movie star." More information about the hotel and reservations are available at The Wall Street Hotel's website. About The Wall Street Hotel: The Wall Street Hotel will present a stylish and cultural center in the heart of New York City's Financial District. With 100 years of international trade and travel experience, The Paspaley family Australia's renowned pearling family and the property's ownership group- returns to New York City's historic pearl trading district with an inaugural hotel. Housed in the landmark Tontine building and blending the best of Manhattan's brilliance, The Wall Street Hotel softens the edges of an ambitious metropolis, offering guests an elegant and gracious approach to service and hospitality. With vibrant colors, striking lounges, unique, highly versatile event space, and luxurious rooms that are worldly and chic, the property invites guests to rediscover downtown and the famed Wall Street. Across its180 rooms and suites and interiors inspired by classic New York residences, robust technology amenities, curated libraries, eclectic objects, and original artworks, The Wall Street Hotel offers an abundance of uniquely memorable guest experiences. Press Contact: The Brandman Agency US Media Relations Email: [email protected] SOURCE The Wall Street Hotel DUBLIN, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Allergic Conjunctivitis Market, Size, Forecast 2022-2027, Industry Trends, Growth, Impact of COVID-19, Opportunity Company Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report provides a detailed analysis of Allergic Conjunctivitis Industry. The allergic conjunctivitis market is expected to reach US$ 1,642.6 Million by 2027, from US$ 1,621.5 Million in 2021. Allergic conjunctivitis interchangeably is also known as Ocular allergy (OA). It is a common immunological hypersensitivity disorder affecting numerous populations. In recent years, allergic conjunctivitis has been increasing in frequency, with symptoms of itching, redness, and swelling globally that significantly impact an individual's quality of life. Besides, allergic conjunctivitis is an often under diagnosed and undertreated health problem because very few patients with allergic conjunctivitis symptoms seek medical attention, whereas most patients manage with over-the-counter medications and complementary no pharmacological remedies. Global Allergic Conjunctivitis Market Size was US$ 1,621.5 Million in 2021 Recently, the prevalence of allergic conjunctivitis has increased due to factors like rapid urbanization and an increasing number of allergens. Moreover, increasing awareness is further expected to boost the adoption of drugs for allergic conjunctivitis conditions during the forecast period. Remarkably, considering these contributively factors, a substantial influx of generic versions of prominent medications is likely to create growth opportunities for the global allergic conjunctivitis market during the forecast period. Furthermore, increasing prescription (Rx) drugs to over-the-counter (OTC) switches are also expected to boost this market. United States dominates Global Allergic Conjunctivitis Market, Patients Population & Treated Patients Population As per our analysis, the United States stands out as the largest market for allergic conjunctivitis treatments due to the high prevalence of allergic conjunctivitis. Further, the allergic conjunctivitis treatment market in the United States has the most dominant patient population and is also expected to have a large population base in the forecasted period. Remarkably, leading to increased demand for improved health care facilities, the country also has the most significant treated patients' population. Further, rapid urbanization and increased particulate pollution have augmented the incidence of allergic conjunctivitis in several countries, such as India and China. However, a few factors such as a dearth of awareness among the general public concerning eye disorders and lack of health insurance control the market in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. According to the publisher, Global Allergic Conjunctivitis Industry has grown with a CAGR of 0.2% from 2021-2027. Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic on Global Allergic Conjunctivitis Market COVID-19 virus outbreak in December 2019 had spread to over 100 countries across the globe. Moreover, COVID-19 affected the economy in three significant ways; by directly affecting production and demand, devising disruptions in distribution channels, and its financial influence on firms and financial markets. Further, players operating in the worldwide allergic conjunctivitis industry faced significant challenges on various fronts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, significant challenges comprise the supply of raw materials required for drug formulations due to irregularities in transportation. Moreover, distributors also experienced irregular demand for products from the retailers due to the increased number of patients suffering from COVID-19 and other life-threatening disorders. Allergic Conjunctivitis Associated with Medical Treatment & Upcoming Therapies Are Enhancing the Market Expansion Our report covers numerous Disease Type variants like Seasonal Allergic Conjunctivitis (SAC) & Perennial Allergic Conjunctivitis (PAC), Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis (VKC), Atopic Keratoconjunctivitis (AKC), and Giant Papillary Conjunctivitis (GPC). Moreover, in our report, we have also covered, Allergic Conjunctivitis Pipeline Drugs like Zerviate, OTX-DP, ADX-102, PRT-2761, CVXL-0074, AK-002, Bertilimumab, Reproxalap, ST-266, SYL-116011. The increase in awareness of allergic conjunctivitis associated with medical treatment & upcoming therapies is enhancing the market expansion. Moreover, numerous pharmaceutical companies are trying to develop many new treatment possibilities for allergic conjunctivitis. Key Market Players Major players performing in the global allergic conjunctivitis market are Ocular Therapeutix Inc., Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc., Alcon, Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and Novartis. Key players operating in the market are tremendously focusing on developing treatments for allergic conjunctivitis. This is anticipated to drive the global allergic conjunctivitis market growth during the forecast period. Further, the market players are considerably contributing to market growth by adopting various strategies, including new product launches, mergers and acquisitions, collaborations with the government, and technological advancements to stay competitive in the market. Key Topics Covered: 1. Introduction 2. Research Methodology 3. Executive Summary 4. Market Dynamics 4.1 Growth Drivers 4.2 Challenges 5. Global Allergic Conjunctivitis Market and Patients Analysis 5.1 Market 5.2 Patient Numbers 5.3 Treated Patient Numbers 6. Share Analysis - Global Allergic Conjunctivitis 6.1 Country Market Share 6.2 Patients Population Share 6.3 Treated Patients Population Share 6.4 By Disease Type Share 7. India - Allergic Conjunctivitis Analysis 7.1 Market 7.2 Patient Numbers 7.3 Treated Patient Numbers 8. China - Allergic Conjunctivitis Analysis 8.1 Market 8.2 Patient Numbers 8.3 Treated Patient Numbers 9. Japan - Allergic Conjunctivitis Analysis 9.1 Market 9.2 Patient Numbers 9.3 Treated Patient Numbers 10. United States - Allergic Conjunctivitis Analysis 10.1 Market 10.2 Patient Numbers 10.3 Treated Patient Numbers 11. United Kingdom - Allergic Conjunctivitis Analysis 11.1 Market 11.2 Patient Numbers 11.3 Treated Patient Numbers 12. France - Allergic Conjunctivitis Analysis 12.1 Market 12.2 Patient Numbers 12.3 Treated Patient Numbers 13. Germany - Allergic Conjunctivitis Analysis 13.1 Market 13.2 Patient Numbers 13.3 Treated Patient Numbers 14. Italy - Allergic Conjunctivitis Analysis 14.1 Market 14.2 Patient Numbers 14.3 Treated Patient Numbers 15. Spain - Allergic Conjunctivitis Analysis 15.1 Market 15.2 Patient Numbers 15.3 Treated Patient Numbers 16. Disease Type - Global Allergic Conjunctivitis Market 16.1 Seasonal Allergic Conjunctivitis (SAC) & Perennial Allergic Conjunctivitis (PAC 16.2 Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) 16.3 Atopic Keratoconjunctivitis (AKC) 16.4 Giant Papillary Conjunctivitis (GPC) 17. Global Allergic Conjunctivitis Pipeline Drugs 17.1 Zerviate 17.2 OTX-DP (Dexamethasone Insert) 17.3 ADX-102 17.4 PRT2761 17.5 CVXL-0074 17.6 AK-002 17.7 Bertilimumab 17.8 Reproxalap 17.9 ST-266 17.10 SYL-116011 18. Porters Five Forces 18.1 Overview 18.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers 18.3 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 18.4 Degree of Competition 18.5 Threat of New Entrants 18.6 Threat of Substitutes 19. Company Analysis 19.1 Ocular Therapeutix Inc. 19.1.1 Overview 19.1.2 Recent Development 19.1.3 Revenue 19.2 Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc. 19.2.1 Overview 19.2.2 Recent Development 19.2.3 Revenue 19.3 Alcon 19.3.1 Overvie 19.3.2 Recent Development 19.3.3 Revenue 19.4 Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. 19.4.1 Overview 19.4.2 Recent Development 19.4.3 Revenue 19.5 Novartis 19.5.1 Overview 19.5.2 Recent Developmen 19.5.3 Revenue For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/x9206n Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets OXFORD, England , June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Theolytics is a biotechnology company harnessing viruses to combat disease. The company has been awarded a Biomedical catalyst grant by Innovate UK to progress a novel therapy for multiple myeloma patients. Multiple myeloma is an incurable blood cancer, for which cancer-killing ('oncolytic') viruses are an emerging therapy offering hope. The therapy selectively infects and kills cancer cells - targeting heterogeneous, systemic cancers based on their phenotype rather than molecular targets, providing the promise of durable remission and curative potential. This grant will focus on translating Theolytics' lead candidate to clinic-readiness. The work includes partnering with the University of Sheffield to investigate the efficacy of Theolytics' lead candidate in clinically representative, drug-resistant models of multiple myeloma. This project will further validate this novel therapy, positioning the lead oncolytic virus candidate for testing in Phase I clinical trials. Margaret Duffy, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder said: "The myeloma treatment landscape has changed considerably in recent years; despite some promising clinical results with BCMA targeted therapies, lasting remissions remain a challenge for many myeloma patients. Due to the unique mechanism of this oncolytic virus candidate, we wish to offer hope to those with advanced, refractory disease. This grant provides the opportunity to advance our candidate to the clinics and we are grateful to Innovate UK for their continued support of Theolytics' work." Michelle Lawson, Academic Collaborator, University of Sheffield said: "I am absolutely thrilled to be working in collaboration with Theolytics on this exciting project to further demonstrate the efficacy of their lead candidate in our preclinical models of myeloma, as subsequent in-patient use could ultimately lead to much-needed improvements in outcomes for myeloma patients with advanced disease." About Theolytics Everyone should have access to innovative therapies that represent the promise of lasting cures. At Theolytics we are working to transform patients' lives, through world leading science, with a great team. Our platforms harness viruses to combat disease, leveraging systematic phenotypic screening technologies to power the discovery of therapies optimised for a chosen patient population. Theolytics is headquartered in Oxford, UK, backed by Oxford Science Enterprises and international life sciences investors Epidarex Capital, Taiho Ventures, and M Ventures. Media contact: [email protected] SOURCE Theolytics AFR Welcomes New President, Continues to Build a Leadership Team Focused On Bringing More Families Home PARSIPPANY, N.J., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- American Financial Resources, Inc. (AFR) , a national mortgage lender, is pleased to welcome back Timothy J. Yanoti as President and Chief Financial Officer, where he will be leading the charge for AFR Wholesale as well as the consumer-facing divisions of the company, eLEND and ManufacturedHome.loan . Having previously served as President of AFR from 2014 to 2018, Tim brings tremendous knowledge of the company, in addition to extensive experience across the mortgage industry with a proven track record of successful leadership. Yanoti rejoins the AFR team coming from Lincoln Holdings, where he served as CFO and Partner for the mortgage title insurance business. Prior to this, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer for Ocwen where he was responsible for the company's retail, correspondent, bulk, MSR purchase, and reverse businesses. Yanoti found great success in this role, growing annual originations to over $65B and annual profitability to over $150M. "During my time away from AFR, I've watched the brand continue to grow as a successful leader in the mortgage industry, never wavering from its mission to bring more families home despite market changes," said Timothy Yanoti, President and Chief Financial Officer at American Financial Resources. "Now, just short of five years later, I'm looking forward to stepping back into this role to better serve our customers and partners moving forward, no matter what the future holds." In addition to his most recent ventures, Yanoti has held several other leadership roles including Head of Global Securitization for GE Capital, Head of Capital Markets for GE Mortgage, Head of Securitization for Fannie, and Senior Vice President and Head of Capital Markets for National City Corporation, where he was also board member of NatCity Investments. This breadth of experience has only added to Yanoti's knowledge of the industry, which he will once again put into practice to ensure AFR continues to fill in the market's gaps and support the underserved by offering a variety of financing options for eligible borrowers. "We are so excited to welcome back Tim to support AFR's bright future, knowing that he embodies everything we stand for and has a proven track record of success to push us that extra mile," said Richard Dubnoff, CEO of American Financial Resources, Inc. "As someone who has been an AFR partner for almost a decade, we're confident Tim will jump right back into this role and further our growth as we continue to expand our product offerings." AFR's mission has always been to help the underserved whether it be first time home buyers, veterans, or families without the budget for a hefty down payment. The team continues to introduce new products based on market demand, including eCASH Home Financing, Manufactured Home Financing, VA Renovation, AFR Advantage Down Payment-Assistance Program, One-Time Close Construction-To-Permanent FHA, VA, and USDA loans. With Yanoti back at the helm of the company, AFR's variety of financing options for eligible borrowers will only continue to expand. For additional information about AFR and its current product offerings, please visit https://www.afrcorp.com/ . About American Financial Resources, Inc. American Financial Resources, Inc. (AFR) offers a comprehensive array of residential mortgage products to meet a variety of financing needs through their Wholesale Division (AFR Wholesale) and Consumer Direct Divisions (eLEND and ManufacturedHome.loan). AFR is a leading FHA 203(k) lender for sponsored originations and an innovator in construction and renovation lending. AFR utilizes the latest technology and delivers educational resources to correspondent lenders, mortgage brokers, and loan originators, as well as to consumers. American Financial Resources, Inc. is an Equal Housing Lender and Equal Opportunity Employer. Lender NMLS 2826 at www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org . For more information, visit www.afrcorp.com . SOURCE American Financial Resources, Inc. NEW YORK, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Kicking off the inaugural Turkish Cuisine Week , the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism's New York office held a celebration of Anatolian cuisine and traditional flavors on the evening of May 23, 2022 on the terrace of the Turkish House, overlooking the United Nations. With renowned Turkish Master Chef Ismet Saz leading the kitchen, more than 180 journalists, members of the Turkish Embassy and guests of the Embassy dined on exquisite Turkish dishes, wines and spirits. The event kicked off with opening remarks by the Consul General of Turkey Reyhan Ozgur and the Turkish Ambassador to the United States Hasan Murat Mercan, followed by a video of remarks from First Lady Emine Erdogan and a traditional Turkish dance performance. Chef Ismet Saz amazed attendees with a cooking demonstration. For images of the event, click here. Guests then dined on a wide variety of classic Anatolian dishes part of a menu curated and prepared by Chef Saz including Zucchini and Calamari Fritters with Pomegranate Reduction Sauce and Salted Yogurt; Hunkar Begendi Braised Beef with Velvety Smoked Eggplant Puree; Stuffed Grape Leaves with Sour Cherries (known as Sarma); Quince Carpaccio with Double Cream and Walnut and many other dishes. Several recipes of dishes served at the event are available on the official website for Turkish Cuisine Week (TurkishCuisineWeek.com) and in the new book, Turkish Cuisine with Timeless Recipes. An online guide to Turkiye's cuisine, TurkishCuisineWeek.com offers curious guests an in-depth look at Turkiye's history through its food. Recipes on the website include: Dolma; Bitter Almond Cookies; and classic Ottoman sherbets. Cooking videos by award-winning Turkish chefs including Ismet Saz, Ali Ronay, Sinem Ozler and many more are also available for a more in-depth walkthrough of a selection of recipes. Scholars and academics have also published articles on the website, explaining the history, sustainable impact and nutritional value of Turkish cuisine. Turkiye is home to three UNESCO Creative Cities in the field of gastronomy: Gaziantep, Hatay and Afyonkarahisar. Each city is known for its culturally significant gastronomic scenes reflecting centuries of knowledge and cultural heritage. Istanbul also recently made headlines as the 38th international destination of the world-leading restaurant rating organization, Michelin, which will reveal its compendium of the best restaurants of the city on October 11, 2022. CONTACT: Keaton Ramjit, [email protected] SOURCE Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism The combination will deliver a full Source-to-Pay procurement journey tailored for the needs of midmarket organizations LONDON , June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Unit4, a leader in enterprise cloud applications for mid-market people-centric organizations, has today entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Scanmarket, a global vendor of cloud Source-to-Contract software. With Scanmarket, a privately-held company founded in 1999 and headquartered in Denmark, Unit4 will now be able to provide organizations with a unified Source-to-Pay journey, building on its existing ERP and Procure-to-Pay (P2P) offerings. Scanmarket's suite of solutions extends Unit4's transactional procurement functionality (P2P), with the acquisition bringing additional capabilities in strategic procurement including sourcing, spend analytics, supplier management and contract lifecycle management. Customers include Emirates Flight Catering, NatWest, ISS Facility Services, MacMillan Cancer Support and Karcher. As the Office of the CFO has moved beyond the back office due to expansion in functional remit, increasing demands for analysis and planning, and the ability to drive greater business value, process automation and data-driven insights provide further control and understanding of company operations. This happens through a single lens, with a view to optimizing resources, delivering greater employee efficiency and satisfaction through intuitive, purpose-built technology, and driving performance optimization. As well as supporting Unit4's growth ambitions, this deal marks a significant investment in the company's ERP solution, and will enable customers to gain deeper insight into their spend, to manage suppliers and contracts better and realise savings on procurement, with an enhanced customer experience. Mike Ettling, CEO, Unit4, said, "We are delighted to have added Scanmarket to the Unit4 portfolio. Their market-leading global strategic procurement capabilities and cloud-based solutions are trusted by 324 customers, across more than 85 countries, and have received strong recognition from industry analysts, such as Gartner, Info-Tech Research Group and SpendMatters. As well as a great technology fit, both organisations are culturally similar in that we have developed our solutions with users and people at the centre of what we do, so we are excited to welcome the Scanmarket team to Unit4." Betina Nygaard, CEO of Scanmarket added "Scanmarket is all about people so, when considering this deal, finding a buyer who is a cultural match was of the utmost importance. People centricity is also key to Unit4 and, not only that, the company shares our core values. Our team has been fundamental in getting us to where we are today, and Unit4 clearly recognizes the quality and skills of our colleagues. In addition, both companies are focused on digitalisation and, in the case of Scanmarket, centred on transforming the procurement function through best of breed source-to-contract capabilities while effectively managing governance, risk and compliance. The combination of Unit4 and Scanmarket will deliver a comprehensive Source-to-Pay solution and bring added value for midmarket and enterprise organizations across both upstream and downstream procurement. " The terms of the deal were not disclosed. About Unit4 Unit4's next-generation enterprise solutions power many of the world's most people-centric mid-market organizations. Our state-of-the-art cloud platform, ERPx, brings together the capabilities of Financials, Procurement, Project Management, HR and FP&A onto a unified cloud platform that shares real-time information and is designed with a powerful, people-centric approach, so employees can benefit from better insight and become more effective and increasingly engaged. It supports rapid and continuous change while delivering individualized fit for customers at scale, delivering the right tools to unify the processes across their organization, and connect their people. Unit4 serves more than 6,000 customers globally including, Bravida, Havas, Migros Aare, Americares, Save the Children International, Action against Hunger, Metro Vancouver, Forest Research, Southampton City Council, Selkirk College, FTI Consulting, and Surrey County Council. For more information please visit https://www.unit4.com/, follow us on Twitter @Unit4global , or visit our LinkedIn page About Scanmarket Scanmarket is a source-to-contract (S2C) software provider that develops advanced functionalities in an effortless design. Our S2C solution is attuned to meet the needs of procurement, legal, and finance professionals with applications for strategic sourcing, contract lifecycle management, and third-party risk management. We take ownership of customer success with experts at your fingertips to drive user adoption. Digitalize your business with technology that is built to be used. Read more at scanmarket.com About Verdane Verdane is a specialist growth equity investment firm that partners with tech-enabled and sustainable European businesses to help them reach the next stage of international growth. Verdane can invest as a minority or majority investor, either in single companies or through portfolios of companies, and looks to deploy behind three core themes; the Digital Consumer, Software Everywhere and Sustainable Society. Verdane funds hold over 4 billion in total commitments and have made over 135 investments in fast-growing businesses since 2003. Verdane's team of over 100 investment professionals and operating experts, based out of Berlin, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Oslo and Stockholm, is dedicated to being the preferred growth partner to tech-enabled and sustainable businesses in Europe. More info: www.verdane.com Follow Verdane on LinkedIn Media Contact: Lisa Stassoulli Global Communications Manager, Unit4 Mobile: +44(0)7870 916827 [email protected] SOURCE Unit4 JERUSALEM, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday in Jerusalem, over 400 people gathered for the largest meeting of Israeli and Palestinian peacebuilders in memory. Unite the Field: ALLMEP's 2022 Peacebuilders Conference saw the region's largest and fastest growing network of civil society peacebuilders convene its 150+ members, diplomats and partners for a day-long discussion of their work, and the challenges and opportunities of this moment. Israeli and Palestinian peace builders gather for a panel session at ALLMEP's Regional Conference US Ambassador Tom Nides in conversation with ALLMEP's Kari Reid The event began with special addresses from the EU Representative to the West Bank and Gaza Sven Kuehn Von Burgsdorff, EU Deputy Representative to Israel Benoit Chapas, and the US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, who thanked ALLMEP and its members for their work, saying, "I was honored to speak with ALLMEP members at their Peacebuilding Conference. What a group of fabulous organizations spearheading the work towards peace between Palestinians and Israelis. We are proud to call a number of these organizations our partners." ALLMEP's US Director Kari Reid reflected that "even before COVID-19, Israelis and Palestinians were already too separated, with physical as well as psychological barriers limiting their ability to connect, and to work together for peace and equality. This event proved an important milestone in efforts to disrupt that reality, and at a scale that we've frankly never seen before." With twelve different sessions, including panels, keynotes and workshops, as well as immersive sessions using Virtual Reality, a Storytellers Corner, and a Members Fair allowing organizations to present their work: there has never been such a gathering of Israeli and Palestinian peacebuilders. They were joined by diplomats from over 30 countries as well as philanthropic partners, allowing all to participate in a strategic and inclusive discussion on civil society's role in disrupting the current reality. As ALLMEP's Founder and President Avi Meyerstein said in his opening remarks, "at a time when few have hope for diplomacy, it's energizing to see hundreds of peacebuilders, diplomats and supporters gather to strengthen and scale the work that will make diplomacy possible in the future." Thanks to ALLMEP's advocacy to help deliver the $250m Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act (MEPPA), there are now unprecedented resources available for peacebuilders, who have seen their budgets slashed in recent years. ALLMEP is continuing to campaign for an International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace, which was a topic of frequent discussion at the conference and could allow MEPPA to be leveraged toward a long-term and institutionalized approach to conflict resolution, with contributions from around the world. Speaking on one of the event's panels, former US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro also noted that warming relations between Israel and the Gulf might allow Arab countries to participate in such a project for the first time. Reflecting afterwards, ALLMEP's Executive Director John Lyndon said, "this was an important moment for peacebuilders. The violence, racism and injustice are real. But so is this community, and it is clearly growing. Together, these Israeli and Palestinian activists can break this structure of violence and dehumanization and build something better and more just in its place." Contact: John Lyndon +972 (0)549547063 [email protected] SOURCE The Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP) National building materials distributor continues to grow presence in Arizona PHOENIX, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- US LBM, a leading distributor of specialty building materials in the United States, has acquired Truss Fab Companies, a manufacturer of structural roof and floor trusses, wall panels and supplier of lumber to customers in Arizona, California, Nevada and New Mexico. Founded in 2005, Truss Fab serves framing and building contractors for residential, multi-family and commercial projects. In addition to manufacturing all types of pre-assembled roof and floor wood trusses, Truss Fab also provides lumber and built-to-order wall panels for tract and custom residential housing. Truss Fab operates two locations, a lumberyard and truss plant in Glendale, Ariz. and an additional truss plant in Apache Junction, Ariz. "We are delighted to be joining the US LBM family, one of the top companies in the building materials industry. Our fantastic team and use of innovative technology have been key to our success, and this partnership will take us to new heights, providing more value for both customers and employees," said Truss Fab President and General Manager Dean Rana, who will continue to lead day-to-day operations. "The Truss Fab team has strong and lasting relationships with its customers, based on honest communication, exceptional customer service, and dedication to delivering quality products," said US LBM President and CEO L.T. Gibson. "Truss Fab complements our recent acquisition of Crown Components and existing R&K division to further expand our manufacturing capabilities in a thriving Southwest market." Other US LBM divisions in Arizona include R&K Building Materials, Rosen Materials and the recently acquired Crown Components. Whelan Advisory Capital Markets acted as financial advisor to Truss Fab Companies. ABOUT US LBM US LBM is the largest privately owned, full-line distributor of specialty building materials in the United States. Offering a comprehensive portfolio of specialty products, including windows, doors, millwork, wallboard, roofing, siding, engineered components and cabinetry, US LBM combines the scale and operational advantages of a national platform with a local go-to-market strategy through its national network of locations across the country. For more information, please visit uslbm.com or follow US LBM on LinkedIn. Contact: Timothy Wirth US LBM Communications 484-886-5705 [email protected] SOURCE US LBM COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Vectrus, Inc., (NYSE: VEC), a leading global government services company, announced that company management will address the Stifel 2022 Cross Sector Insight Conference in Boston, on Tuesday, June 7, at 8:35 a.m. Eastern time. A live audio webcast of the briefing will be available at https://wsw.com/webcast/stifel68/vec/1916022 and be available for replay for 90 days afterward. About Vectrus: For more than 70 years, Vectrus has provided critical mission support for our customers' toughest operational challenges. As a high-performing organization with exceptional talent, deep domain knowledge, a history of long-term customer relationships, and groundbreaking technical expertise, we deliver innovative, mission-matched solutions for our military and government customers worldwide. Whether it's base operations support, supply chain and logistics, IT mission support, engineering and digital integration, security, or maintenance, repair and overhaul, our customers count on us for on-target solutions that increase efficiency, reduce costs, improve readiness, and strengthen national security. Vectrus is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., and includes about 8,100 employees spanning 205 locations in 28 countries. In 2021, Vectrus generated sales of $1.8 billion. For more information, visit the company's website at www.vectrus.com or connect with Vectrus on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Contact Information Mike Smith, CFA [email protected] (719) 637-5773 SOURCE Vectrus, Inc. MCKINNEY, Texas, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Industry-leading Virtual Care Platform MyTelemedicine continues to set trends in the marketplace and build solutions for the future with the rollout of its new Caregiver Support tools to its flagship brand Lyric Health. Lyric Health Virtual Primary Care Lyric Health Virtual Primary Care Unique to the industry, Lyric's new enhancements enable patients and providers to add other family members, caregivers, or specialty providers to their multiway video session, supporting an integrated approach to their treatment plan. Real-time text or push notifications enable users to join by video or audio via browser session or mobile app, across all devices and without any special downloads required. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), six in ten adults suffer from a chronic disease in the United States and are a leading factor in the $4.1 trillion in annual health care costs. Studies have shown that chronic conditions are often neglected when they lack caregiver or family support. According to data from the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) and the AARP, there are 9.5 million family caregivers in the United States, an increase over the last five years. This reflects the increasing importance of the caregiver's role in discussing and managing treatment plans for patients visiting their Virtual Primary Care doctor. There has also been a rise in mental health challenges, with over 40% of people reporting mental health struggles during the pandemic. Getting caregivers and family members involved during counseling sessions can have a tremendous impact on a patient's recovery journey. It also benefits the caregiver who might be suffering caregiver burnout or added stress, which is another overlooked aspect of long-term care that drastically affects clinical outcomes. "This is a win for everyone. We're bringing in a designated caregiver, a loved one, or a specialty provider. They need to be a part of the conversation they're all a critical component of a patient's treatment and a part of this new world of virtual care," said Rey Colon, Founder and CEO of MyTelemedicine. Lyric Health is a Nationwide Virtual Primary Care service provider that enables its members to access specialty Virtual Care services across all devices and modalities. Lyric provides fully integrated tools and services for users, including: Virtual Primary Care Virtual Urgent Care Behavioral Health Care Care Navigation & Coordination Integrated Lab Request and Result Access to Wellness Tests and Health Risk Assessments 24/7/365 Dedicated Care Team Including Lyric as part of an overall portfolio of group employee benefits has become an important healthcare cost containment tool. Lyric reduces out-of-pocket expenses for employees and lowers claim costs to the employer's group healthcare plan. From the rise in patient monitoring through wearables, to virtual specialty care offered through telehealth providers nationwide, the pandemic has brought the value of digital health services to the foreground, notably the drive to improve patient care and the continuous reduction of costs. Amid the growing demand for digital health services, the market is seeing an upsurge, with a reported 46% of telehealth services now being used to replace in-person visits, up from 11% pre-pandemic. "Telehealth services were really used episodically before the pandemic. Now, consumers are starting to understand how powerful technology is at improving their care," Colon said. About Lyric Health Lyric Health is the service arm of award-winning Virtual Care platform MyTelemedicine, providing comprehensive Virtual Care solutions for employers, consumers, health carriers, and healthcare providers. Based in McKinney, Texas, the Virtual Care solution provides 24/7 access to urgent care, primary care, behavioral health, care navigation, lab testing, and assessments. It was recently rebranded from MyTelemedicine, which was recognized in 2021 by J.D. Power as a top direct-to-consumer telehealth provider and ranked on the Inc. 5000 list in 2020 and 2021 as one of the fastest-growing companies in America. Visit GetLyric.com for more information. Media Contact Emma Coello 4692535756 [email protected] SOURCE MyTelemedicine Inc Vision Films Inc. ("Vision") announces the US and Canadian VOD release of the sci-fi feature film, based on true events, Alpha Code on June 14, 2022. LOS ANGELES, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Directed, co-written and executive produced by Keoni Waxman with Milan Friedrich, produced by Phillip B. Goldfine, Binh Dang, Hana Smutna, Zuzana Prusova, David Smutny and also executive produced by Benjamin F. Sacks, David Davis, and William Friedrich. The film, inspired by real events that happened to the film's screenplay writer and producer Milan Friedrich in Scotland was shot entirely in and around Prague in areas known for otherworldly sightings and experiences. Friedrich's former engineering work on electromagnetic levitation generators was the impetus for the story and incorporated into the film. The film crew was given access to shoot in former Cold War atomic storage bunkers that add to the film's dramatic setting and action sequences. Denise Richards in Sci Fi Movie 'Alpha Code' Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/ADvZRRY-uFM Synopsis : After losing both his wife and his daughter in a series of mysterious disappearances, a man begins to see a strange symbol everywhere he goes. Waking up in the hospital and held captive by armed agents, he escapes and encounters a woman who seemingly holds know ledge of a larger conspiracy involving alien abductions and the creation of human hybrids. Lise Romanoff, CEO/Managing Director of Vision Films shares, "Alpha Code is an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride. Based on real life events makes it even more exciting and will entertain audiences who love sci-fi, alien abduction stories and true action adventure films." Writer/producer Milan Friedrich adds, "Lise and I share the same passion for movies that are based on true events which was the main driving force for closing the distribution deal with Vision and getting Alpha Code out there. Alpha Code is a movie not only for people who have shared similar experiences, but also for "the unchosen" to learn reasons behind alien abductions. We are grateful to be on this journey with such a great partner as Vision Films." Starring: Bren Foster (Mad Max), Randy Couture (The Expendables), Denise Richards (The World Is Not Enough), Marek Vasut (Mission: Impossible) Alpha Code will be available on June 14 on all major streaming and cable platforms in the US and Canada. About Vision Films Vision Films is a leading independent sales and VOD aggregator specializing in the licensing, marketing, and distribution of over 800 feature films, documentaries, and series from some of the most prolific independent film producers in the world. Led by Lise Romanoff, Managing Director/CEO Worldwide Distribution, Vision Films releases 2-4 films a month across Theatrical, VOD, DVD, and television platforms. visionfilms.net Media Contact: Andrea McKinnon (818) 415-9442 [email protected] SOURCE Vision Films, Inc. TAMPA, Fla., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- VOLT Lighting ("Volt" or the "Company") announced today that it has appointed John DiNardi to the position of President. Mr. DiNardi will take over the day-to-day operations from Founder Alan Brynjolfsson, who will move into the role of CEO and Executive Strategy Advisor. John DiNardi Prior to joining Volt, Mr. DiNardi served as CEO of CM Partner USA where he led the North American divisions in the design, development, and manufacturing of electronic products, assemblies, and leading-edge technology. Mr. DiNardi brings over 30 years of experience in the electronics and lighting industries, having held executive roles at Hubbell Lighting and Ideal Industries. In addition to his list of accomplishments, he holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from Vanderbilt University. Regarding Mr. DiNardi's acceptance of the position, Mr. Brynjolfsson stated, "John is the consummate executive entrepreneur with deep expertise in industrial manufacturing and a track record of driving growth within organizations. These qualities will be a tremendous asset to Volt as we continue to scale our business and build for the future. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with John, and we look forward to growing under the care of his leadership." Mr. DiNardi remarked, "Over the past 14 years, Volt has built an exceptional reputation for innovation and e-commerce disruption in the global lighting industry. It is an honor to join the organization, and I look forward to working with the team. We will continue to build on the strong foundation laid by Alan, with a commitment to flawless execution, quality, and innovation." About VOLT Lighting: Headquartered in Tampa, FL, VOLT Lighting manufactures and distributes quality outdoor lighting products and systems. VOLT is one of the world's largest manufacturers of professional landscape lighting with distribution centers across the United States. With a passion and focus on quality and innovation, VOLT has built its exceptional reputation with a keen focus on customer satisfaction by offering quick delivery, a lifetime warranty, superior product quality, and dependable customer support. For more information, visit www.voltlighting.com or contact the company at 813-978-3700. Media Contact: Casey Brynjolfsson Public Relations Manager [email protected] 813-978-3700 voltlighting.com SOURCE VOLT LIGHTING ATLANTA, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- White Cap Supply Holdings, LLC ("White Cap") has closed on an agreement to acquire CSI Geoturf, a Michigan-based wholesale distributor of civil site construction geosynthetic and landscape supplies. With locations in metro Detroit, Grand Rapids and Traverse City, Michigan, CSI Geoturf will join White Cap in its North Central Region to serve local customers with exceptional customer service. "With their specialized expertise in geosynthetics and a strong branch footprint in Michigan, we look forward to offering stronger service capabilities, extended breadth and depth of products, and additional locations for local customers, alongside the talented team at CSI Geoturf," said John Stegeman, Chief Executive Officer of White Cap. About White Cap White Cap Supply Holdings, LLC ("White Cap") serves as a one-stop shop providing concrete accessories and chemicals, tools and equipment, building materials and fasteners, erosion and waterproofing and safety products to professional contractors by meeting their distinct and customized supply needs in non-residential, residential and infrastructure end markets. White Cap is comprised of multiple brands in the U.S., including Ram Tool, and the Brafasco, Brock White and NCA brands in Canada. White Cap operates more than 450 branches across North America with more than 9,000 employees supporting approximately 200,000 customers. For more information, visit about.whitecap.com. About CSI Geoturf CSI Geoturf was founded in 1980 to provide effective civil site construction geosynthetic and landscape products to clients throughout Michigan. CSI Geoturf has grown to become Michigan's largest privately held wholesale distributor of geosynthetic products. With locations in metro Detroit, Grand Rapids and Traverse City, they are able to deliver materials and support projects throughout the state of Michigan, including the Upper Peninsula. For more information, visit https://geoturf.com/ SOURCE White Cap Supply Holdings LLC The inaugural release of Wyoming Whiskey's National Parks series contributed over $120,000 to the National Park Foundation in 2021. Wyoming Whiskey continues on a steadfast mission to support our nation's sacred outdoor spaces with this year's initiative and has committed to donating $150,000 to Yellowstone Forever in the park's historic 150th year. March 1, 2022, marked the 150th anniversary of the opening of Yellowstone National Park the world's first national park. Yellowstone Forever supports Yellowstone National Park through three main initiatives: Wildlife Forever, Trails Forever , and Here Forever. Wildlife Forever focuses on conservation efforts encompassing all of the species that call the Park home. Trails Forever supports ongoing trail maintenance as well as new initiatives. Here Forever supports the Park on climate and environmental related projects to increase efficiency within the Park and reduce the overall environmental impact. For every bottle sold of Wyoming Whiskey National Parks No. 2 (MSRP $69.99) from May 2022 until supplies last, Wyoming Whiskey will donate $5 up to a maximum donation of $150,000 based on distributor depletions to support Yellowstone Forever in preserving Yellowstone National Park for the next generation of wonderers, wanderers, and explorers. "Wyoming Whiskey was born on the doorstep of Yellowstone and it has played a profound role in the development of our brand and the enrichment of our people," said David DeFazio, Co-Founder of Wyoming Whiskey. "Our partnership with Yellowstone Forever recognizes the importance of the Park and provides the perfect opportunity to support current and future conservation needs." "Yellowstone Forever is proud to have Wyoming Whiskey on board as a partner in Yellowstone's future. Their commitment to preserving the world's first national park will help ensure that the next generation experiences a vibrant and thriving Yellowstone," said Lisa Diekmann, President & CEO of Yellowstone Forever. The limited edition release is a straight bourbon whiskey made from 68-percent corn, 20-percent wheat, and 12-percent malted barley. Wyoming Whiskey National Parks No. 2 whiskey is bottled at 105 proof. All grains are grown In Wyoming and are non-GMO. The water used to produce Wyoming Whiskey is also sourced from a local limestone aquifer that has not seen the light of day in over 6,000 years. Tasting notes are as follows: COLOR: Amber, Goldenrod, Toasted Maize NOSE: Sandalwood, Cane Sugar, Orange Cream, Peach, Lemon Peel PALATE: Marzipan Buttercream, Carrot Cake, Browned Spices, hints of Toffee and Salted Caramel MOUTHFEEL: Ethereal, forward yet smooth with swelling dryness FINISH: Zesty Orange/Lemon, Lingering oak, Black Pepper, Leather This fall, Wyoming Whiskey will be launching a limited release Single Barrel to continue the celebration. This whiskey will be released in a limited edition run of 180 bottles. Stay tuned for more information on this official release in the coming months. Sign up to become a Whiskey Baron to receive the latest news and special offers from Wyoming Whiskey. For daily updates, follow Wyoming Whiskey on Instagram , Facebook and Twitter . About Wyoming WhiskeyThe Whiskey of the West Based in Kirby, Wyoming, Wyoming Whiskey has had a simple goal: to create America's next great bourbon. That goal has evolved to include all whiskies. The company and their products are a collaboration between its partners and 97,818 square miles of Wyoming. The Mead family first came to Wyoming as ranchers in 1890 and the state defines them, and their whiskey. They use the finest corn, winter wheat, winter rye, barley, and water from the Big Horn Basin and promote Wyoming's natural and human resources. Every drop of this bourbon is 100% Wyoming. To learn more, visit http://www.wyomingwhiskey.com . About Yellowstone Forever Yellowstone Forever is the official nonprofit partner of Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone Forever's mission is to protect, preserve, and enhance Yellowstone National Park through education and philanthropy. The nonprofit raises money to fund priority projects that protect Yellowstone's ecosystem and wildlife; preserve the park's heritage, history & trails; and enhance visitor education and experiences. Yellowstone Forever offers educational programs for visitors of all ages through the Yellowstone Forever Institute and operates 11 educational Park Stores in and around Yellowstone. For more information visit www.Yellowstone.org. Media Contacts: Verde Brand Communications Lauren Haber [email protected] SOURCE Wyoming Whiskey Feedback PLC (AIM:FDBK) said it expects revenue for the year ended 31 May 2022 to be materially ahead of market expectations after its strong trading momentum continued into the second half. The specialist clinical communication company attributed its performance to progress with its flagship product Bleepa as well as additional technology licence fees arising from its partnership with Imaging Engineering LLC. READ: Feedback wins two more NHS contracts for Bleepa app "We are delighted to report that revenue is expected to be materially ahead of expectations. Importantly, we are developing relationships with existing and new partners and believe that we are at an inflection point for growth as we continue to see the benefits of investing the funds raised last year, commented Feedback chairman Rory Shaw. The company also announced the appointment of Annemijn Eschauzier as a non-executive director with immediate effect, as Tim Irish steps down after five years. With over 25 years experience in the healthcare sector, Eschauzier is adding a strong healthcare and digital skill sets, Feedback noted. Eschauzier began her career at GlaxoSmithKline before moving to GE Healthcare, where she held a variety of leadership positions for over 15 years, becoming chief marketing officer for women's health in 2017. She is now with Hardian Health, a company that provides strategic services to navigate the digital health sector. "We are delighted to welcome Annemijn to the board and believe that she will bring a wealth of experience as we steer the company ever faster towards the commercial growth of our technologies, said Shaw. Cellphone photo taken on May 1, 2022 shows Dowa Village in Nagarze County in Shannan, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. With an altitude of 5,070 meters, Dowa Village is located at the foot of the Mongda Kangri Mountain and by the Puma Yumco Lake. (Xinhua/Shen Hongbing) LHASA, June 1 (Xinhua) -- In the eyes of Wangdu, 31, the most beautiful landscape in the world is in his hometown, a small village at 5,070 meters above sea level in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. Situated next to the Puma Yumco Lake in the city of Shannan, Dowa Village, home to only 40 households, is one of the highest villages in the world. For generations, villagers herd sheep for a living. "I'd like to do something to make my hometown better known," said Wangdu, who runs the first hostel in the village. Benefiting from the improved education and social development, the village now has witnessed a vital change with young people like Wangdu returning home and contributing to its transformation. Born into a herders' family, Wangdu still remembers he had to help his parents with herding during vacations when he was young. "Sometimes, we had to leave home for a month," he recalled. Cellphone photo taken on May 1, 2022 shows Dowa Village in Nagarze County in Shannan, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. With an altitude of 5,070 meters, Dowa Village is located at the foot of the Mongda Kangri Mountain and by the Puma Yumco Lake. (Xinhua/Shen Hongbing) In 2013, Wangdu was enrolled at Tibet University in the regional capital Lhasa, becoming one of the first university students in the village. Four years later, the graduate majoring in broadcast decided to return home. "It's a pity that few people knew about the breathtaking view with the surrounding snow-capped mountains and the beautiful lake here. I want to do something to turn my hometown into a tourist resort," he said. In 2017, Wangdu opened the first homestay business in the village, providing 11 beds. To promote tourism, he went to Lhasa to find travel agency partners, issued brochures and opened accounts on online short video platforms. At the same time, as part of the government's efforts to fight poverty, villagers bid farewell to shabby houses, and had concrete roads built right to their doorsteps. Now, villagers live in brand-new Tibetan-style houses. Equipped with tap water facilities at home, they no longer had to carry water from the lake. Villagers take turns to take care of the sheep, with the spared labor force being able to have other jobs. The improved facilities have also brought more tourists. In 2019, receiving the government's support for entrepreneurship, Wangdu upgraded his homestay into a lakeside hostel with 14 rooms, hiring five villagers for cleaning and cashier work. Cellphone photo taken on May 1, 2022 shows a road and Tibetan-style houses in Dowa Village, Nagarze County in Shannan, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. With an altitude of 5,070 meters, Dowa Village is located at the foot of the Mongda Kangri Mountain and by the Puma Yumco Lake. (Xinhua/Shen Hongbing) During the peak seasons, such as the National Holiday last year and the Lunar New Year this year, the hostel was full. The tourists are from across the country, including the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chengdu. Wangdu named the rooms with the nearby mountains and lakes, such as Puma Yumco, to make the places better known. Migmar Tsering, director of the village committee, said three tea houses and two stores have been opened in the village. The village was lifted out of poverty in 2018. Last year, the per capita disposable income of the village surged by 16 percent to 16,933 yuan (2,540 U.S. dollars). Apart from promoting tourism online himself, Wangdu also invited Tibetan online celebrities to come for livestreaming to help with the promotion. "I hope more tourists come so that more villagers will benefit from the tourism industry," he said. BHP Group Limited (LSE:BHP) said the all-stock merger of its oil and gas portfolio with Woodside Energy Group was completed on Wednesday. BHP received 914.8mln Woodside shares for the sale of BHP Petroleum, while the former paid the in specie dividend and distributed the latters shares to eligible BHP shareholders. As part of completion, BHP made a net cash payment of roughly US$700mln to Woodside, as well as leaving around US$300mln of cash in the BHP Petroleum bank accounts to fund ongoing operations. This, however, was still subject to a customary post-completion review that may result in an adjustment to the amount paid. Woodsides closing price on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) on Tuesday was A$29.76, meaning the in specie dividend was approximately A$5.38, with A$2.30 of franking credits per BHP share. The merger of our petroleum assets with Woodside creates a global energy company with the scale and opportunity to help supply the energy needed for global growth and development in a rapidly decarbonising world, Mike Henry, BHP chief executive, said. S4 Capital PLC (LSE:SFOR)'s rally tailed off this morning as analysts warned of high risks facing its business despite an overwhelming 'buy' consensus among brokers. The recommendations followed quarterly results yesterday with six brokers outright buyers and three rating it as outperform. Citigroup was one of the buyers, but said it was 'high risk. In its trading update this week, S4 Capital reported revenue of 206.8mln for the first quarter of 2022, up 40.6% like-for-like, and 34.5% like-for-like growth in gross profit. But it faces multiple headwinds of slow economic growth in its key sectors, global media, marketing services, trade budgets and digital marketing transformation, said Citi. Following high growth in digital media and media spending last year, growth in these areas is expected to slow in 2022 and 2023. The weak performance in the shares since last September is primarily attributable to the reset to margins and concerns stemming from the delay to FY results," Citigroup said in an analyst note. "There are, however, other 'hygiene' factors that weigh on sentiment for S4C, largely relating to uncertainty about contingent liabilities associated with the group's highly acquisitive nature and its generous LTIP for its founders. In this context, 1Q results were helpful, in our view, not only because they gave comfort on the underlying trends in the business (which remain robust) but also because the company took the opportunity to clear up some of the uncertainty over the degree of overhang from these factors," the analyst note said. Citigroup slapped a 640p price target on the business, estimating it will bounce back to the price level from last November, but cautioning it as Buy/High Risk. Shares were 281p today. Cookie Policy Overview This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping us understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. See our Cookie Policy for more information. "The company's performance in 1Q 2022 provides a solid foundation for the rest of the year," said Thor CEO Segun Lawson Thor Explorations Ltd (TSX-V:THX, AIM:THX, OTC:THXPF) has posted revenue of US$24.8 million in its first quarter as the gold miner achieved commercial output at its Segilola asset in Nigeria. In the three months to end-March 31, 2021, the firm milled 221,920 tonnes of ore and sold 16,658 ounces of gold at all-in sustaining costs (AISC) of US$799 per ounce. It also sold 922 ounces of silver. The net profit came in at US$200,473 compared to a net loss of US$67,365 in 1Q 2021. "The company's performance in 1Q 2022 provides a solid foundation for the rest of the year," said Segun Lawson, the CEO in a statement. "Segilola is now running efficiently and the company continues to be on track to achieve its guidance of 80,000 to 100,000 ounces of gold this year within our AISC guidance of US$850-US$950 per ounce." Thor said it also aims in 2022 to advance its Douta project to preliminary feasibility study (PFS) stage. Other highlights of the quarter were that the firm cancelled US$1.35 million of its Senior Facility with Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), which it did not draw down and made its first scheduled debt repayment on March 31, 2022, to AFC of US$2.53 million consisting of principal and interest as part of its senior secured facility. It ended the quarter with gold dore inventory of 6,626 ounces and had cash of around US$6.27 million. Post-period-end and now that the company has moved to commercial production, it said James Philip, the vice-president (VP) of corporate development since 2016, has been named as chief operating officer (COO) Thor also announced the appointment of Chris Omo-Osagie (previously deputy chief finance officer) as acting chief financial officer (CFO), succeeding Ben Hodges who has resigned. Omo-Osagie will report directly to the CEO and is not joining the board. Hodges will remain a consultant over the next three months to ensure a smooth transition, it added. Lawson in the statement, thanked Hodges for his "contributions since joining the company over the last six years, seeing the company grow from an exploration company to a gold producer". "We are also proud of our Environmental, Social and Governance efforts in and around the local communities. We are particularly proud to share our inaugural sustainability report, which will be published later in the year. In particular, we are proud of our International Women's Day celebrations, where the theme was women in STEM, we continue to address the gender chasm in male-dominated STEM careers," added the company boss. Thor Explorations focused on mineral properties in Nigeria, Senegal and Burkina Faso. It holds a 100% interest in the Segilola gold project in Osun State, Nigeria and has a 70% economic interest in the Douta Gold Project in south-eastern Senegal. Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com Astro Resources NL (ASX:ARO) will pick up an 80% stake in the Georgina Basin iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) project in the Northern Territory from fellow ASX-lister Greenvale Mining NL. Greenvale said the sale would keep it in step with its renewable energy focus while it passes the Georgina Basin baton to a diversified international explorer. In exchange for the project, Astro will hand over 1.15 billion ARO shares, representing around 19.7% of the companys existing issued capital. The company also has a chance to snap up the remaining 20% for either cash or shares in the two years after this transaction settles. Greenvale will also hold onto a 2% net smelter royalty so it can profit on any future IOCG production on the Georgina Basin tenement. As part of the transaction, Greenvale CEO Matthew Healy will become the Astro chief executive, while Greenvale directors Neil Biddle and Tony Leibowitz will join the Astro board. Astros portfolio Astros recent focus has been on developing gold exploration interests in Nevada, which is globally recognised as a gold hotspot, having produced more than 215 million ounces since 1835. The international explorer holds the Needles Gold Project, which is located around 100 kilometres southeast of the 15-million-ounce Kinross Round Mountain open cut gold mine. Interstingly, Kinross is thought to be one of the worlds largest epithermal, low-sulphidation volcanic-hosted gold deposits. The Needles Project was historically mined for epithermal gold and silver mineralisation in the early 1900s and subsequent geophysical exploration has identified the potential to host an orebody of similar size and structure to the Round Mountain Deposit. ARO recently completed a four-hole drill campaign for the Needles project and is currently waiting for the final results from the fourth hole. Astro has also staked a series of highly prospective lithium brine and clay claims in the Kibby Basin, Nevada, providing a low-cost entry to a high-value commodity in a Tier-1 resource jurisdiction. The other key area of focus for Astro is the Governor Broome Heavy Mineral Sands Project in WAs southwest. Astro recently completed an infill drilling campaign at this project with a view to upgrading the resource category from JORC Inferred to JORC Indicated for the Jack Track tenement. Once the resource upgrade is complete, Astro hopes to complete a scoping study over the entire project. The explorer also holds the Lower Smoke Creek Diamond Project, located southwest of Lake Argyle in the Kimberly region of Western Australia. Down the line, it hopes to spin off these assets with a collection of other diamond projects. Gascoyne Resources Limited has intersected multiple zones of shallow, high-grade gold mineralisation in the Eastern Footwall area of Gilbeys open pit, the main ore source at its 100%-owned Dalgaranga Gold Project in Western Australia. The drilling has highlighted the potential to delineate significant new mineralisation immediately adjacent to the main operating pit at Dalgaranga and directly below the Eastern Ramp which was previously used to access the pit. Notably, every drill-hole assayed so far at the Eastern Footwall targets has intersected shallow gold grades above 0.5g/t across multiple stacked zones beneath the historically mined upper main Gilbeys orebody, with strong intersections including: 2 metres at 2.40g/t from 11 metres; 3 metres at 5.54g/t from 26 metres including 1metre at 14.8g/t; and 5 metres at 38g/t from 50 metres, including, 1 metre at 176g/t Looking ahead, the results represent another important near-mine exploration breakthrough by the companys geology team, highlighting the significant opportunity to grow mineral resources and ore reserves and extend the mine life at Dalgaranga. Exciting exploration breakthrough Gascoyne Resources managing director and CEO Simon Lawson said: Our expansionary nearmine drilling continues to outline new mineralised areas across multiple fronts at Dalgaranga. The three reverse circulation rigs we currently have employed are extremely busy drilling for gold at Gilbeys North, Plymouth, Gilbeys South and are now following up these spectacular shallow gold horizons in the footwall of the main operating Gilbeys open pit which represents another exciting exploration breakthrough. Standing back from the detail at the main Gilbeys deposit, you can see a number of strike parallel mineralised horizons within the overall deposit geometry heading both north-south through the Gilbeys and Plymouth deposits as well as the recently discovered Gilbeys North prospect, and also through the east-west Plymouth and Sly Fox deposits. Adding to this regional observation, mining of the main deposit at Gilbeys had historically encountered and mined several high-grade areas adjacent to the main orebody in the footwall of the Gilbeys pit. In fact, a small area of this high-grade footwall material was mined in January 2022, contributing to our record March 2022 quarter. Significant in-mine discovery The Gilbeys Eastern Footwall target is comprised of a number of individual targets previously thought to be isolated north-eastern splays, which now appear to be semi-continuous horizons running strike parallel to the main Gilbeys orebody. An initial drill program has intersected multiple mineralised lenses with gold grades of up to 176g/t along about 300 metres of strike adjacent to the main Gilbeys ore body. All intersections were found less than 1 kilometre west of the more-than-2.5 million-tonne-per-annum Dalgaranga processing plant, within the currently operating Gilbeys open-pit mining operation and are easily accessible from the Eastern Ramp. Lawson adds: Our geology and mining team hypothesised that there may be a lot more continuity both along-strike and down-dip in the Eastern Footwall areas and that, rather than isolated splays, these high-grade 'pockets' might actually be continuous mineralised zones running the length of the pit and beyond a length of over 1,000 metres of strike. Using the existing eastern ramp infrastructure as drill platforms, holes were drilled into the footwall at roughly 50-metre spacing along strike, where achievable, and a mixture of vertical and steeply east-dipping holes were drilled into the footwall to test this theory. Drill program As recently as January 2022, the Eastern Footwall material has been mined from existing infrastructure and processed at good recoveries with a high gravity recovery component. Three reverse circulation (RC) drill rigs are currently on-site at Dalgaranga targeting: Gilbeys North discovery north-west step-out extension and resource in-fill drilling assays pending for around 25 holes; Eastern Footwall in-fill and follow-up drilling for grade control and near-term mine scheduling assays pending for around 5 holes; and Gilbeys South follow-up and resource drilling as part of the assessment of future south mine ramp options assays pending for around 15 holes. Lawson adds: Every single drill-hole we have had returned from the lab so far, drilling into the footwall target areas, has encountered significant gold grades above 0.5g/t, with some holes intersecting multiple mineralised horizons and some ending in mineralisation. This provides further validation of our targeting theory at Dalgaranga. Keep it simple, drill your best target and the result either moves into the mine plan or we rapidly test another target and then repeat, repeat, repeat. All the while, our disciplined approach to mining and minimising costs is continuing to deliver results, despite increasing cost pressures, our strategic review is delivering outcomes with the recently announced sale of the Mumbakine Well Project to Capricorn Metals, and we intend to push forward generating consistent cash-flow from Dalgaranga in support of our ongoing initiatives to extend mine life and make new discoveries. Polymetals Resources Ltd (ASX:POL) is back on the ground at the Mansala Gold Project in Guinea thanks to an airborne magnetic survey. The new program is designed to determine the structural controls on Mansalas mineralisation and give the company a clearer picture of the projects host rocks. Polymetals 500-line-kilometre survey comes after the explorer completed a 700-line-kilometre program at the Alahine project last month. Combined with recent auger drilling and a soil sampling program, the explorer will use its latest survey to design an initial reverse circulation drill program at Mansala. Auger program Polymetals has drilled 799 holes, covering 6,123 metres, since it kicked off its auger program in late February. The campaign took place on a 100-metre by 50-metre drill pattern over six delineated areas, as outlined below. POLs auger program was designed to test gold-in-soil anomalies supported by coincident pathfinder elements (such as arsenic, silver, bismuth, molybdenum, antimony, tungsten and tellurium). The company also plans to take a closer look at strong gold anomalies (reporting more than 1000 parts per billion) without supporting pathfinder elements before to moves to further drill testing. Soil sampling at Mansala Polymetals is also completing a soil sampling program for XRF analysis on the western portion of the Mansala licence. The campaign is designed to delineate orogenic gold pathfinder elements within Mansalas western corridor. Subsequently, samples that return with anomalous pathfinder elements will be assayed for gold. All soil samples will be collected from between 300 to 500 millimetres below the surface on a 100-metre by 25-metre grid. From here, the samples will be analysed using portable XRF to test for any pathfinder elements in the district. Down the line, the soil sampling results will be used to identify further follow up targets within the Mansala Gold Project. Next steps Its all hands on deck at Mansala for the next chapter of fieldwork. Once the survey results are in, Polymetals will look for future drill targets and use the findings to design its next exploration campaigns in 2022. Results for the survey are expected next quarter. In the meantime, XRF analysis will scrutinise samples for those all-important pathfinder elements. Polymetals will take a closer look at its bottom-of-hole intervals in the hopes they can complement the geochem data from its previous soil sampling campaign. Finally, an initial reverse circulation drill program is in the works for the Mansala gold property. Polymetals will map out the holes based on pit sampling, the auger program and any targets identified during the airborne survey. Cauldron Energy Ltd (ASX:CXU) has appointed experienced geologist and corporate executive Ian Mulholland as a non-executive director and chairman with immediate effect. Current chairman Simon Youds will continue in the capacity of executive director. Prolific career Mulholland has had a long and distinguished career holding senior technical and executive roles for over 30 years. Most notably, he was chief geologist of Summit Resources during which time Summit completed a resource upgrade on the Valhalla uranium deposit and acquired a portfolio of uranium projects; ultimately being taken over by Paladin Resources for ~$44 million. Subsequently, Mulholland was exploration manager at Anaconda Nickel during the period that Anaconda grew its lateritic nickel ore resource from 300 million tonnes to over 1.3 billion tonnes; and technical director of Conquest Mining (ASX:CQT) during the period in which Conquest acquired the Carlton silver-gold project with Conquest subsequently merging with Evolution Mining for a ~$320 million valuation. MD of Rox Resources for 15 years Most recently, Mulholland was founding Managing Director of ASX-listed Rox Resources for 15 years. Under his leadership, Rox Resources was awarded Australian Mining Prospect Awards Explorer of the Year in 2015 for its Fisher East Nickel Sulphide Project discovery. Since retiring from Rox Resources in April 2019, Mulholland has operated a highly successful geological and mining personal consultancy. Ian is a natural fit for Cauldron Mulholland has an extensive background in exploration and mining in Australia, and international experience in Laos, South Africa and New Zealand, across a range of commodities including base metals, gold and uranium. Cauldron executive director Simon Youds said: We are extremely pleased to have someone of Ian Mulhollands experience, corporate knowledge and technical strength join the Cauldron Board as its Non-Executive Chairman. Ian is a natural fit for Cauldron with his significant experience in gold and uranium, and a history of managing successful outcomes for ASX-listed junior exploration companies over many years. We see Ians commitment to Cauldron as a strong vindication of our existing project suite and their prospectivity. The team and I look forward to working with Ian, and to continue to build the company. Sunstone Metals Ltd (ASX:STM) has expanded the Brama-Alba gold-copper porphyry system at its Bramaderos project in Southern Ecuador. The precious and base metal explorer has received more strong results for the camp, which extends the gold-copper discovery to 1.1 kilometres long and 400 metres wide. Some of the best results for this batch of assays (covering five drill holes) include: 221.6 metres at 0.43 g/t gold and 0.11% copper from surface; 93.3 metres at at 0.55g/t gold and 0.08% copper from surface, including 24 metres at 0.86 g/t gold and 0.10% copper from surface; 84 metres at 0.5 g/t gold and 0.16% copper from surface; and 57 metres at 0.74 g/t gold and 0.23% copper from 30 metres. The Brama-Alba system remains open to the east and west, and todays results highlight higher-grade copper-gold zones near the discoverys surface. Whats more, theres a strong possibility for the Brama-Alba deposit to extend right out to some of the nearby gold-copper targets, such as Bramaderos' Melonal and Playas prospects. Strengthening system potential Speaking in a market announcement today, Sunstone managing director Malcolm Norris said the company was pleased with the latest round of results from Brama-Alba. These [results] strengthen the potential and increase the scale of the Brama porphyry system, he explained. As we have seen in previous assay results from Brama, we continue to see very good gold-copper grades from surface. These results will be incorporated into an initial mineral resource estimate for the Brama-Alba deposits expected in late 2022. Further holes will now be drilled on the eastern end of Brama to potentially enlarge the gold-copper system in this direction. Ongoing drilling at Alba is progressing well and the market will be updated as more assay results are returned. Right now, three drill rigs are active at Bramaderos, while metallurgical test-work is underway on some of the new samples from Brama-Alba. Exploration continues Sunstone will continue turning the soil at Bramaderos throughout 2022, targeting several areas of interest. At least one rig is expected to hold the fort at Brama, where itll drill at least five holes for around 2,000 metres, while at least six holes (covering roughly 2,400 metres) will be completed at Alba. Next month, work will also kick off at the Limon target, where Sunstone plans to execute at least six holes and around 3,500 metres of drilling, targeting chargeability and conductive anomalies. Planning is also underway at the Melonal prospect, located southwest of Alba, where at least one hole for roughly 500 metres is expected. Next chapter Ultimately, drilling programs at Brama and Alba will form the basis for an initial mineral resource estimate (MRE) at Bramaderos. Sunstone hopes the MRE will cement an initial resource that can be built up as exploration continues across Brama-Alba and other nearby targets like Limon, Playas and Melonal. Thanks to todays findings, Sunstone knows the Brama-Alba system is at least 1,100 metres long by 400 metres wide, and the system has a vertical extent of at least 400 metres. The explorer will keep the market updated on its work at the Southern Ecuador gold-copper play. Bank of Ireland (LSE:BKIR) said it has completed its 427mln acquisition of Davy Stockbrokers, first announced last July, in a deal set to significantly boost its commercial and strategic goals. The takeover follows a financial scandal that saw Ireland's largest stockbroker fined 4.13mln, the biggest fine of its kind levied on an Irish broker. Davy Stockbrokers had 20bn in assets under management by end-2021, and Bank of Ireland (LSE:BKIR) said combining its existing wealth and insurance assets of about 22.5bn provides it with "significant scale and breadth of proposition". "Along with the KBC Bank Ireland portfolios transaction, which recently received Competition and Consumer Protection Commission approval, completion of this acquisition demonstrates further strategic progress by the group," the company said. In addition to the final consideration of 427mln, Bank of Ireland (LSE:BKIR) will pay excess cash of 126mln due to the sale earlier this year of Davy Global Fund Management and Davy's shareholding in Rize ETF. A further payment of up to 40mln will be due from 2025, depending on the performance of the business model. The highlight intersections are in two holes - both from the southern part of the Springer pit - and include 43.5 metres (m) at 0.67% copper-equivalent starting from 174m depth QC Copper and Gold Inc. (TSX-V:QCCU, OTCQB:QCCUF) has released encouraging new drill results from its ongoing 60,000-metre (m) drill program at the flagship Opemiska copper project in Quebec. The results are from holes sunk within the conceptual open pit as perceived in last year's mineral resource estimate and confirm the company's theory that "significant mineralization", which is currently defined as waste, still lies inside the pit and could be mined. The highlight intersections are in two holes - both from the southern part of the Springer pit - and include 43.5m at 0.67% copper-equivalent starting from 174m depth. Another hole showed 166.5m at 0.32% copper-equivalent starting from 269.5m depth. "These results are all within the conceptual open pit 2021 mineral resource estimate (MRE), specifically from the Saddle Zone, Vein #2 and from the south side of Springer," said Charles Beaudry, director and vice-president of exploration, for QC Copper. "The broad intersections continue to confirm wide mineralized intervals surrounding historical stopes, thus confirming our thesis that significant mineralization, currently defined as waste, exists inside the pit," he added. "We are confident that with this and further drilling, we will be able to significantly reduce the stripping ratio defined by our conceptual pit." Beaudry also noted that in addition, these results indicated that the Saddle Zone is larger than the company had estimated in its mineral resource estimate and may extend southward to Vein #2. Last year's NI 43 101 in-pit current resource has 81.7 million tonnes at 0.88% copper-equivalent in the higher confidence measured and indicated category and 21.4 million tonnes at 0.73% copper-equivalent in inferred. Updating on the current drill program, QC Copper also said that a total of 24,733m of drilling over 96 holes have been completed on the property since last year's resource estimate. QC Copper and Gold is focused on acquiring and developing copper projects in the Chibougamau region that share synergies with its past-producing Opemiska copper mine complex. Global Energy Metals Corporation said it has filed a technical report for its Monument Peak project in Idaho that it believes has the potential to host a significant copper-silver-gold deposit. Results from the 2021 exploration program confirm the occurrence of significant copper-silver-gold mineralization along a northwest-southeast trend on the property. Highlights of those results include sample 15140, which returned 5.61% copper and 42.8 grams per ton (g/t) silver, sample 151402 with 2.76% copper and 20.1 g/t silver, sample 151408 with 4.63% copper, 17.40 g/t gold and 175 g/t silver, and sample 151410 with 4.93% copper, 17.60 g/t gold and 87.8 g/t silver. CEO Mitchell Smith told shareholders that the company is extremely pleased by the results from Monument Peak since the company acquired an interest in the property. As the author highlights in the Technical Report, the Monument Peak project is a Property of Merit and that the continuity and grades of copper, silver, and gold mineralization along strike from both historical and recent work, confirm that the property has potential to host a significant copper-silver-gold deposit," Smith said in a statement. We look forward to working with our partner Dahrouge Geological in continuing to build value, advancing this important US project. The report recommended a two-phase exploration strategy. Phase 1 consists of an airborne high resolution magnetic survey and LiDAR survey over the property, with detailed mapping, soil sampling and rock sampling of anomalies identified by the survey. Phase 2 consists of a diamond drill program to test and delineate targets. Phase 1 is estimated to cost around US$194,000, with Phase 2 estimated at US$642,500. The report was prepared by Brian Brewer of Brewer Exploration and Geological Services Inc. Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas Surface drilling is set to commence in late June targeting significant mineralization extensions to depths of up to 400 m below the current known resource Globex Mining Enterprises Inc said underground exploration at the Labyrinth gold project in Quebec is approaching completion, with initial results supporting a potentially significant Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) resource later this year, according to the project's operator. Per an update from its operator Labyrinth Resources, the company said more than 4,390 metres (m) of diamond drilling has been completed, assays were pending for eight holes with six expected to be received in the next two weeks, and the final hole in the initial program was underway. Upon completion of the underground program, surface drilling is set to commence in late June targeting significant mineralization extensions to depths of up to 400 m below the current known resource. The program will consist of 3,000 m across five holes covering more than one kilometre in strike of the Labyrinth gold deposit and will be targeting the extension of the known resource to the depth of 700 m below surface. Labyrinth CEO Matt Nixon said the company was extremely pleased with the progress at the property as it continues to intercept mineralization across multiple historically modelled lodes through the first genuine exploration conducted in over ten years. The fact that we have a readily accessible underground mine provides a real point of difference to our exploration focus in regards to interpretation and comprehension of the mineralization that has historically been mined across four levels down to 130 m below surface, Nixon said. The initial underground drilling program delivered great results in support of establishing a significant maiden JORC resource later this year and we now immediately turn our attention to the commencement of a surface diamond drilling campaign. Globex said it is pleased by the rapid progress of the work undertaken by Labyrinth and that it looks forward to the announcement of drill assays and the results of the deeper drilling program scheduled to commence shortly. The company retains a 5% gross metal royalty on the first 25,000 ounces of gold produced from the property and a 3% gross metal royalty thereafter. Globex Mining Enterprises is a Toronto Stock Exchange, Frankfurt and OTCQX-listed corporation with a diversified North American portfolio of mid-stage exploration, development and royalty properties containing: precious metals, base metals, specialty metals and minerals, and industrial minerals and compounds. Contact Emily at emily.jarvie@proactiveinvestors.com Follow her on Twitter @emilyjjarvie New Delhi, May 30: Madagascar is the largest island in the Indian Ocean region. The Francophone state is located in the Southwest Indian Ocean off the coast of Mozambique. Strategically important countries like Seychelles and Mauritius and the French Indian Ocean Island territories like RAunion and Mayotte are part of Madagascar's neighbourhood. The Mozambique Channel links Madagascar with the African mainland. Due to the geographic location, Madagascar enjoys a dual identity: it is an African country that is also an Indian Ocean Island state. As the strategic rivalries sharpen across the Indo-Pacific region including in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO), Madagascar too cannot stay aloof from evolving geopolitics. Last month, foreign minister Richard Randriamandrato was in India for the annual Raisina Dialogue. In an interview with WION, he articulated Madagascar's approach to the Indo-Pacific. Explaining the rationale for his visit, Randriamandrato said that "The war in Ukraine is a global concern and Madagascar and India abstained" in the United Nations. Madagascar wanted to discuss "global issues like climate change and the follow up of COP 26, as well as terrorism and, of course, the Indo-Pacific region." Madagascar and India are close partners and the security cooperation, especially in the maritime domain is deepening. The minister added that "there are many opportunities for India and Madagascar to strengthen military cooperation without any biases on how we use military cooperation, be it for the Indian defence or for Madagascar." The Indo-Pacific framework adds an important dimension to the India-Madagascar partnership. When asked about his views on the Indo-Pacific, Randriamandrato observed that "I think it's a very legitimate vision" as "Madagascar is situated geographically on the western side of the Indian Ocean. India is in between the Pacific and the Indian Ocean. It goes without saying that we have to look forward and have a common willingness for a common destiny." According to him, "we have to strengthen dialogues to make sure that we address the issue of terrorism, piracy, transnational organised crime, and illegal fishing as well" In fact, most states in the WIO region share concerns regarding these issues. He further observed that "the Indian Ocean and Pacific are strategic oceans for any superpower". In his view, Madagascar sees "the ambition to have a common understanding" to address these issues "globally within these geographic areas". He believes that "there are many countries that are concerned with these issues, and we need to enhance dialogue so that we go in the same direction in the near future". While talking about China, the minister made it clear that "we may have issues with China on illegal fishing and other issues as well, but we are not an enemy of China". He added that "we cooperate with everybody who would like to support us in developing our island". Randriamandrato expressed hope that "the border issue will be solved between India and China. But as far as Madagascar is concerned, we have no problem with China, for the time being, we continue to cooperate and solve problems diplomatically." The China-Madagascar relationship has blossomed in the last few years with the Chinese companies taking a greater interest in sectors like mining and energy. China is Madagascar's largest trading partner and the resource-rich island country is home to the second-largest Chinese diaspora in Africa as well. Hence, it is not surprising to see Madagascar taking a neutral stand on the India-China border dispute. However, for India, given the recent developments in Sri Lanka, the strategic implications of Chinese investments in Madagascar would remain a concern. It is obvious that Madagascar's view of the Indo-Pacific is shaped by two drivers: first, addressing the most pressing challenges, primarily, in the realm of non-traditional security like terrorism, maritime piracy, transnational crime, and illegal fishing. These issues directly affect the well-being of the Malagasy population and are critical issues in the regional security debates of the Southwest Indian Ocean. Therefore, in an evolving framework of the Indo-Pacific, Madagascar seeks to underscore the importance of these issues. Maritime piracy remains a threat in the WIO as important trade routes pass through the region and the Mozambique Channel is a vital maritime chokepoint. The terrorist activities in Somalia as well as the Islamist insurgency in Northern Mozambique heighten the security concerns for Madagascar. The second driver is to engage major powers like India and China to ensure necessary diplomatic, security, and economic support. That's why the minister underscored that "we have no enemy in Madagascar." It's a clear message that, for now, Madagascar will not choose any one side in the Indo-Pacific rivalries. While China remains a major player in the domain of trade and investments, Madagascar seeks Indian investments in developing port infrastructure and building security capabilities. Madagascar is an active and important member of the Djibouti Code of Conduct and the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC). Madagascar welcomes a greater Indian role in the region. The minister believed that the invitation to India's External Affairs Minister to attend the IOC summit chaired by Madagascar "will be a symbolic, important sign of the quality of the relationship and is important in this context of the Indo-Pacific vision". While the great power rivalries dominate the discourse about the Indo-Pacific, the smaller yet strategically important states too are voicing their concerns. Madagascar is part of India's maritime neighbourhood and is a key partner in the WIO. Therefore, understanding Madagascar's view of the Indo-Pacific is necessary. (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Los Angeles, June 1 : A new Omicron subvariant made up nearly 60 per cent of all new US cases in the latest week, according to estimates released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The new subvariant, known as BA.2.12.1, spreads more rapidly than previous versions of Omicron, Xinhua news agency reported. It only made up about 3.4 per cent of new Covid-19 cases in the country in late March. The data increased to 31.8 per cent at the end of April, and 59.1 per cent the end of May, CDC data showed on Tuesday. The new version evolved from BA.2, which was more contagious than any previous coronavirus variant. The US is averaging more than 100,000 new confirmed cases per day, according to CDC data. Health experts are predicting sharp rise of new infections after Memorial Day weekend travels and gatherings. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Beijing, June 1 : Beijing reported five locally transmitted Covid-19 cases, including four among those quarantined for observation and one from community screening, an official told a press conference. The five Covid-19 cases were reported on Tuesday. At present, Beijing has three high-risk areas and 12 medium-risk areas, Xinhua news agency reported. Beijing has implemented tiered and dynamic prevention and control measures in different districts, and parts of the city have returned to normal production and life, said Liu Xiaofeng, Deputy Director of the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Kiev, June 1 : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with his Slovak counterpart Zuzana Caputova to discuss defence support for Kiev, Zelensky's press service reported. During the talks on Tuesday, Zelensky said that Slovakia has made a significant contribution to the strengthening of Ukraine's defence capabilities and praised the personal role of Caputova in granting defensive aid to Ukraine, Xinhua news agency reported. "I have been assured that Slovakia will continue to provide maximum security assistance to Ukraine," the Ukrainian President told reporters after the talks. For her part, the Slovakian President said Slovakia has supported Ukraine from the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict by providing not only military aid, but also political and humanitarian assistance. Slovakia has provided Ukraine with the S-300 air defence system and demining equipment, and supported sanctions against Russia, Caputova added. Zelensky and Caputova also talked about the prospects for Ukraine to obtain a candidate status to the EU and financial support for Kiev, Slovakia's role in Ukraine's post-conflict recovery, and assistance to Ukrainians who were forced to temporarily leave their homes due to the conflict. According to official figures, nearly 78,000 Ukrainians, including 31,000 children, have fled Ukraine to Slovakia since the start of the conflict. Caputova arrived in Kiev earlier on Tuesday at the invitation of Zelensky. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text New York, June 1 : Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, on Wednesday announced $2 million grant in financing for a new education in emergencies response that will reach 22,000 children and adolescents impacted by instability and the growing refugee crisis in Niger. The new investment will be delivered by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) with local strategic partners and will address the impact of insecurity on the closure of schools and the endangerment of out-of-school children in the Maradi and Tahoua regions of Niger. Niger hosts more than half a million "people of concern", including internally displaced persons, refugees, returnees and asylum seekers, according to UNHCR. Due to an increase in the ongoing insecurity which has been prevailing since 2019 in the north-west Nigerian border regions with Niger, namely Tahoua and Maradi, population displacements have increased in the last half of 2021 and beginning of 2022. Nearly 34,000 new Nigerian refugees were registered by UNHCR in these two regions between August and September 2021. As many as 23,000 new refugees arrived in August 2021 in the Maradi region, and 11,070 others arrived in the commune of Bangui in September 2021 in the Tahoua region. Since March 10, 1,881 new families of 13,537 individuals have arrived from Nigeria in the Maradi region. Seven out of 10 of the newly arrived refugees are children. Their access to education is becoming an increasing challenge due to the unpreparedness of the education system to receive them, cultural practices, and the continued displacement of households due to the activities of armed forces and non-state armed groups. "Especially girls are at extreme risk of dropping out and being subjected to gender-based violence, while boys are exposed to recruitment into armed groups. With UNHCR and local strategic partners, this new investment seeks to provide refugee girls and boys and their host-communities with protective and safe learning spaces, so that they can learn and grow in some form of safety and dignity. They deserve no less," said Yasmine Sherif, ECW Director. The investment builds on ECW's multi-year resilience programme in Niger, which seeks to reach more than a quarter of a million crisis-affected children and adolescents and mobilise an additional $39 million. The 12-month grant targets 11,000 refugees, 6,000 internally displaced persons, and close to 5,000 members of the host communities. In all, 60 per cent of the investment beneficiaries are girls and 10 per cent are children living with disabilities. "The strategic partnership between UNHCR and ECW is of the utmost importance to us. It enables UNHCR and its partners to provide quality education to refugees, internally displaced persons, and other vulnerable people affected by terrorist violence. The focus on girls' education is critical and is also in line with the Niger government's priority to fully include girls in the national education system. We know such approach is key in building sustainable peace, here in Niger as much as in other parts of the world," said Emmanuel Gignac, UNHCR Representative in Niger. The investment will improve access to formal and non-formal education for crisis-affected children and adolescents by providing learning materials and supporting teacher training, increase the availability of appropriate transitional classes for out-of-school children and older adolescents, and build and rehabilitate school facilities, including water and sanitation facilities and temporary learning spaces. Ayodhya, June 1 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reached Ayodhya on Wednesday to attend an event regarding the under-construction Ram temple that marks a significant milestone in the process. The Chief Minister will be taking part in a ceremony to lay the foundation stone of the 'Garbh Griha' or the sanctum sanctorum of the temple by placing the first carved stone in it. In a statement issued last week, the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust, which is heading the temple's construction, had said white marbles from the Makrana hills of Rajasthan would be used in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. The Ram temple trust said the total stone volume to be used for the temple project included eight to nine lakh cubic feet of carved sandstone, 6.37 lakh cubic feet of uncarved granite, 4.70 lakh cubic feet of carved pink sandstone for the temple and 13,300 cubic feet of Makrana white carved marble for the sanctum sanctorum. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had attended the 'bhoomi pujan' or the foundation stone laying ceremony for the temple in August 2020 after which its construction had started. The temple is expected to be ready just before the 2024 general elections. Meanwhile, Yogi Adityanath's visit to Ayodhya for the ceremony comes at a significant time for Uttar Pradesh when court cases over disputes involving mosques -- the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi next to the Kashi Viswanath temple and the Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura next to the 'Krishna Janmabhoomi' or the birthplace of Lord Krishna -- are being heard in courts. Varanasi, June 1 : In a major development, the Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh (VVSS) chief Jitendra Singh Visen, whose niece Rakhi Singh is one of the plaintiffs in the Gyanvapi mosque case, has removed the Hindu litigant lawyer Hari Shankar Jain. Visen has also announced his resignation from the Hind Samarajya Party formed by Jain in 2021. "I have resigned from Hind Samarajya Party in which I held the posts of National Convenor and National General Secretary," he told IANS on Wednesday. Asked about the impact of their split on the future of the Gyanvapi case, Visen said, "Jain is simply an advocate in this case and an advocate can be changed any time." Hari Shankar Jain said, "Differences started arising as his (Visen) ambitions started gaining momentum. He entered this case on my invitation and his niece Rakhi Singh was made a petitioner on his request. The other four plaintiffs Laxmi Devi, Sita Sahu, Manju Vyas and Rekha Pathak are with me. All this will not affect this case in any way." Differences between Jain and Visen had started surfacing with beginning of the Court Commission survey after May 6 when the VVSS chief's said that he would withdraw the case went viral on social media. On May 9, Visen took a U-turn and said he had made the statement for other five cases related to Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi matter, in which he is a plaintiff. After the Shringar Gauri case was transferred from the court of civil judge (senior division) to district judge court on the order of the Supreme Court hearing on maintainability started, Visen filed a petition independently before the court of civil judge (senior division) Ravi Kumar Diwakar on May 24, seeking ban on entry of Muslims in Gyanvapi premises, handing it over to Hindus and permitting regular 'puja' (worshipping) of Lord Aadi Visheshwar. Lucknow, June 1 : Despite the crackdown on mafia and criminals by the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, the gun culture continues to prosper. Well-known British firearms manufacturing company, Webley & Scott, which has an exclusive manufacturing unit in Sandila in Hardoi district, will now increase production to 400 revolvers per month in view of growing demand. Webley & Scott had collaborated with Lucknow-based Sial Manufacturers Private Ltd. for the arms manufacturing unit which had begun operations in Sandila in 2020. Director of its India-based partner, Maninder Pal Singh Sial, told reporters that until now they were getting orders for 175-200 revolvers, but the demand has increased to 400 in the past month from across the country. "So, we have demanded our English partner for the upgrade. New machines from England have already been set up to increase production. A team of engineers from England has also paid a visit to the unit to guide the workers," he said. He also added that "maximum orders are being made for our .32 revolver of Webley & Scott, which also happens to be the first foreign company to manufacture firearms here. We are also giving a stiff competition to the arms manufactured by the ordnance factory. For the first time, people are getting world-class weapons at their doorsteps." He said the maximum orders are those from the states of southern and central India. The government's support and the Centre's 'Make in India' policy have helped the project not only take the final shape but also increase the production, Sial added. He said that from July, they will also begin manufacturing of .32 pistols which will surely become a rage among the buyers. Webley & Scott, which armed the Allied forces during the two world wars and produced weapons for at least 15 countries, has its sole presence in the Indian sub-continent in Sandila. Lucknow, June 1 : Students of class 8 had faced maximum difficulties in arranging digital devices for online classes during the pandemic, a survey report by the National Achievement Survey (NAS, 2021) on hardships faced by students has revealed. As many as 84 per cent students in class 8 had trouble keeping up with online classes as they had no access to digital device at home, while 97 per cent experienced anxiety and fear during the pandemic. The survey was conducted among 4.23 lakh students in more than 62,000 teachers and 15,000 schools in UP. Post Covid-19, NAS is the first and biggest achievement survey of its kind, and the findings reflect the impact of the pandemic on learning among students. The report says that class 10 students faced the least trouble in arranging for the same in Uttar Pradesh. On the other hand, while 47 per cent and 48 per cent classes 3 and 5 students had trouble arranging digital devices, 46 per cent and 48 per cent classes 3 and 5 students experienced anxiety. The report showed that 46 per cent class 10 students were having no access to digital devices, and 45 per cent of them had experienced fear, worry and anxiety. Nearly 59 per cent students from primary section - classes 3 and 5 - learned singing, painting, cooking, engaged in indoor games, and spent joyful time with family as against 52 per cent of students from higher classes who were engaged in extra-curricular activities during the pandemic. "The trend is not limited to UP. Big states like Maharashtra, too, showed a similar pattern. The report shows performance of students worsening across all types of schools, including those run centrally. This needs an immediate examination," said an official. Bengaluru, June 1 : Slamming Karnataka police for mediocre investigation in connection with the case of a husband who forced his wife to have unnatural sex, the High Court has ordered the cops to investigate the case and submit additional charge sheet. The court directed the police to file additional charge sheet within 2 months and also asked the lower court not to proceed any further with the case. The High Court has slammed the police department for investigating only dowry charges. The wife had filed complaint against her husband for forcing unnatural sex and sending obscene pictures to her father. The bench headed by Justice M. Nagaprasanna gave the order on Tuesday. The bench took up the petition of the accused husband who appealed to the court to quash the dowry proceedings against him. The wife had also submitted a petition alleging that her complaint had not been investigated properly and sought direction for the police in this regard. The accused from Bengaluru and the victim wife from Chhattisgarh fell in love while studying in IIT Bombay in 2013. They got married in 2015 while pursuing PhD. They stayed in Bengaluru after marriage. Soon after the wife complained that her husband forced to have unnatural sex and went to her parents' house in Chattisgarh. She came back after accused assured her not to repeat the mistake. However, her husband did not mend his ways and was back to his old habits. Then, she once again went to her parents house in 2016. She alleged that during this time, the accused sent private photos and vidoes to her father and threatened that he would make them viral. He also sent photos to friends of her father. Following this, the victim lodged complaint in Chhattisgarh. Raipur police lodged complaint under IPC Sections 498A (dowry), 377 (unnatural sex), Section 66(E), 67 of IT Act. Later, they transferred the case to Viveknagar police station in Bengaluru, which investigated only the dowry charges against the accused and submitted a charge sheet. The court which took up petitions in connection with the case, said that Bengaluru police who investigated the case have dropped punishable charges under IPC Section 377 and IT Act from the complaint filed by the victim and registered by Chhattisgarh police. The court also noted that the charge sheet submitted by the Bengaluru police does not mention reports regarding mobile phone of victim's father which was sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory. The investigation officer has not confiscated the phone of the accused husband to investigate Sections 66(E) and 67 of the IT Act. This shows the mediocre investigation by the police, the bench said. New Delhi, June 1 : Top Indian companies have shown resilience in post pandemic business conditions and TATA Group, with its brand value up 12 per cent to $24 billion, continues to be the most valuable brand in the country, a new report showed on Wednesday. Taj Hotels (brand value up 6 per cent to $314 million) is the strongest brand in the ranking with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 88.9 out of 100 and a corresponding AAA brand rating, according to leading brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance. Brands in the banking (brand value up 16 per cent), IT services (brand value up 15 per cent) and telecoms (brand value up 7 per cent) sectors in India achieve high brand value as the economy is recovering from the impact of Covid-19. Infosys (brand value up 52 per cent to $12.8 billion) has overtaken LIC (brand value up 28 per cent to $11.1 billion) to become the second most valuable Indian brand this year. "Infosys has shown impressive growth this year, making it the fastest-growing IT services brand globally of 2022, thanks to its commitment to clients and focus on innovation," the report mentioned. Reliance (brand value up 5 per cent to $8.6 billion) achieved some marginal brand value growth to retain fourth position, while the State Bank of India (brand value up 29 per cent to $7.5 billion) improved one ranking position to increase from 7th to 6th. TATA Group retains its top position "as it led by example through the Covid-19 crisis by innovating using technology to reach the masses". "The brand strengthened its strategic business and leadership initiatives with brand building activities across the globe. The brand's growth with sustainable and inclusive actions at its core is the driving force behind brand TATA," said the report. The pandemic and subsequent national lockdowns hit the hospitality sector the most and brands had to re-invent their strategies to remain relevant to the need of tourists. "The hospitality industry is recovering as five-star business hotels in metropolitan cities across the country have seen occupancy reach 75 per cent to 80 per cent in the past month," the report noted. Year 2022 is a tipping point for the Indian IT services industry - as in it, the industry crossed $200 billion in total revenue and $5 million in total workforce. TCS (brand value up 12 per cent to $16.7 billion) and Infosys (brand value up 52 per cent to $12.8 billion) are among the top 3 most valuable brands globally at the second and third spot, respectively. The Indian telecommunications industry is making its mark globally. India is the world's second-largest telecommunications market with a subscriber base of 1.16 billion users. Airtel (brand value of $7.7 billion) ranks No 1 in telecommunication sector in India with an impressive 28 per cent growth in brand value. At second position, Jio (brand value up 5 per cent to $5.1 billion) shows gains in growth followed by VI (brand value of $767 million) which continues to be resilient despite its numerous business challenges. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Kochi, June 1 : A day after the Kerala High Court directed the police not to arrest him till June 2, actor-producer Vijay Babu, who is accused of rape by an actress and had slipped out of the country, returned to India from Dubai on Wednesday. At the exit gate of the Kochi airport here, the actor-producer told the waiting media that he will fully cooperate with the police. "I have full faith in the judiciary, the truth will come out. I wish to thank my family and friends for standing by me," Babu said and drove away. Babu, according to sources, will first go to his family. Later, he will have to present himself before the police, as per the interim order on his anticipatory bail plea which was heard by the High Court on Tuesday. The order said that he should not be arrested till Thursday, when the petition will be disposed off. On Tuesday, the court was informed by Babu's counsel that he will be arriving from Dubai on Wednesday. Rebuking the police and the prosecution, the court said that he might be a star for others, but for the court, he is an ordinary person. The police, it added, is trying to stage a drama for the media by arresting him as soon as he arrives from Dubai. As soon as he arrives from abroad, he should present himself before the police probe team, but should not be arrested till Thursday. The Kerala Police has been trying its best to bring back Babu, who slipped out of the country last month to Dubai and from there - after the police began steps to issue a red corner notice - headed for Georgia and according to those in the know of things, he, will have to touch base at Dubai, before he lands in Kochi. The actor-producer was on the run after the actress from Kozhikode filed a complaint in Ernakulam on April 22 that she was raped and beaten up by him several times in a flat in Kochi. She has also accused him of giving her intoxicants before sexually abusing her. As the news surfaced, Babu appeared live on his social media handle claiming that he was the "real victim" in this case, adding that he would take appropriate legal steps against the complainant whom he also named. The police, apart from the initial complaint, have registered a second case against him for disclosing the name of the complainant. The court will hear his petition again on Thursday. Seoul, June 1 : The US-led United Nations Command (UNC) resumed its educational programme about the roles of its rear bases in Japan on Wednesday after a nearly three-year hiatus caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, its officials said. The resumption came as South Korea and the US are seeking to reinforce security coordination against North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats, with both stressing the importance of trilateral cooperation with Japan in dealing with the recalcitrant regime, Yonhap news agency reported. An unspecified number of South Korean military officers joined the three-day UNC Rear Orientation during which they are set to tour multiple UNC Rear bases in Japan, according to the officials. Gen. Paul LaCamera, who leads the UNC, the US Forces Korea and the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command, also attended the session to brief the South Korean officers on the responsibilities of the UNC Rear. "He emphasised the importance of coalition and logistical support in the defence of Republic of Korea," the UNC wrote on Facebook. "During the briefing, Gen. LaCamera quoted Churchill: There is only one thing worse than fighting with allies, and that is fighting without them," it added, referring to former wartime British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The UNC Rear has seven bases across Japan, including Yokota Air Base and Yokosuka Naval Base -- both near Tokyo -- and Kadena Air Base and Futenma Marine Corps Air Station in Okinawa. Those bases are designed to provide logistical and other forms of support in the event of a contingency on the Korean Peninsula. June 01 : Ranbir Kapoor revealed several unknown facts about his forthcoming film Brahmashtra Part One: Shiva while he was addressing the media and fans at an event in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, along with director Ayan Mukerji and RRR director SS Rajamouli. At the event, Ranbir revealed that Ayan Mukerji made changes to the film Brahmastra after SS Rajamouli's father, KV Vijayendra Prasad, suggested some changes. Ranbir said, After your father watched the film, Ayan made us reshoot for four days after receiving suggestions from K V Vijayendra Prasadji. This is because he values him so much, and we all are very grateful for his contribution to our film. At the event, when Ranbir was asked about his favourite Telugu actor, he replied, I would say, I love my darling Prabhas. He is a very dear friend of mine. All of them are great but if I have to choose one, I'll say darling Prabhas. Ranbir also expressed his admiration for Rajini, Chiranjeevi, Ram Charan and Jr NTR, and others. Talking about his character, Ranbir said, I play the character of Shiva who is a DJ and is born with a certain strange connection with fire. And it is his journey into the world of ancient astras and of realising the divine connection to fire and also his connection to the Brahmastra waking up. Citing reasons for presenting Brahmastra in the South, S S Rajamauli said, One is my association with Karan Johar and the other is Ayan Mukerji. He is very mad about making films and he never loses track. Karan Johars Dharma Productions is backing Brahmastra. The first Bollywood actor to promote a film in Vishakapatnam, Ranbir said, Vizag, thank you so much for your support! I havent felt so much love, affection, and support in any part of the world, not even in my own home! The actor also thanked Rajamouli for his support. Ayan Mukerji also added, I should admit that Brahmastra is receiving so much love and support only because of Rajamouli sir. Alia, who is busy abroad shooting for her debut Hollywood project, Heart of Stone, in which she will share screen space with Gal Gadot, couldnt attend the the promotional event. The actress sent a special video for her fans, stating that she is present at the event in spirit and in Ranbirs heart. I really wish I could be there today with everyone. I am missing the whole team, Ayan, and Ranbir. But I am there in spirit and especially there in Ranbirs heart, Alia said in the video. Helmed by Ayan Mukerji, the fantasy drama, the first part of the trilogy, will be released in theatres on September 9 in five languages Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Nagarjuna and Mouni Roy. New Delhi, June 1 : The Income Tax department on Wednesday started search operations at about 400 locations belonging to various groups, including liquor barons, across the country, sources said. The search operation is on at five states, including Haryans's Gurugram, Mumbai, Delhi. In Mumbai, an I-T team reached the office of Embassy Group situated in Bandra Kurla Complex. Nobody was allowed to leave or enter the office. At Gurugram, the search operation was on at the office of a businessman who deals with liquor. The government agency has doubt that they are allegedly involved in tax evasion. Further details are awaited. New Delhi, June 1 : As the Delhi BJP has started the process of short listing the names for Rajinder Nagar Assembly bypoll, cadres at ground urged the party leadership not to field an outsider. The bypoll was necessitated after AAP's Raghav Chadha resigned from the Delhi Assembly after being elected to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab. Polling will be held on June 23 and counting of votes will take place on June 26. A senior Delhi BJP functionary said that the party is fully prepared to defeat the AAP candidate."Election preparation is in place and workers from the constituency are fully geared up but they have only one demand that the candidate must be local and Punjabi to suit the demography of the Rajinder Nagar," he said. Another leader said that sentiment of cadre at ground to field local and Punjabi has been conveyed to the state leadership for consideration before shortlisting the names. Before shortlisting names to be recommended to BJP Central Election Committee (CEC), party national vice-president Baijayant Jay Panda, Delhi unit president Adesh Gupta and union minister Meenakshi Lekhi met potential candidates. " Met some of the potential candidates for the upcoming Rajinder Nagar bye-election along with @adeshguptabjp @siddharthanbjp @M_Lekhi. The final candidate will be announced soon, as each one has to go through a set procedure defined by the democratic principles of our party," Panda, in-charge Delhi BJP, tweeted on Tuesday. Sources said that former MLA from the constituency and party national spokesperson Sardar R.P. Singh, Delhi BJP vice-president Rajan Tewari, former state unit general secretary Rajesh Bhatia, spokesperson Harish Khurana, former councilor Chail Bihar Goswami, Sonia Sinha, district office bearer Suresh Gupta, Umang Bajaj and others called for interaction. "Ex-councillor Pramod Tanwar, who defeated Tewari in 2012 municipal polls, also called for the interaction," party sources said. It is learnt that the Delhi BJP will be forwarding the three shortlisted names to party central leadership in a day or two. The saffron party started its preparation for the bypoll on its foundation day on April 6 with a roadshow of BJP chief J.P. Nadda. The party workers started a door-to-door campaign under the leadership of Assembly in-charge for bypolls Ajay Mahawar. The BJP workers are also holding corner meetings of five to seven people over tea and explaining to them about the development agenda and vision for Delhi and Rajinder Nagar. Jaipur, June 1 : A two-day workshop of Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee will get underway here on Wednesday for implementation of manifesto and decisions passed in the Nav Sankalp Shivir organised by the All India Congress Committee at Udaipur during Chintan Shivir. Spokesperson of Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee Swarnim Chaturvedi said that about 650 participants are expected to participate in the workshop. "The main agenda of the workshop is to implement the decisions of the new resolution issued in the Nav Sankalp camp organised by the All India Congress Committee in Udaipur at the district and other lower levels. A time bound and phased programme will be made after brainstorming to implement these announcements," said Chaturvedi. He said that in the workshop, a programme will be chalked out to implement the proposed 75 km padyatra to be taken out in all districts from August 9, 2022 onwards. Along with this, brainstorming will be done on the outline and preparations of the huge state level programme to be held on August 15, 2022. The All India Congress Committee will discuss the responsibilities for organising the padyatra from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. In the two-day workshop, a roadmap will be prepared to fill the 50 per cent posts of the organisation by the youth below 50 years of age. This posting shall start from 90 to 180 days, he added. Discussions will be held with all the leaders and workers regarding the formation of Mandal committees, appointment of office-bearers of Mandal committees in Rajasthan state. Based on Udaipur's Nav Sankalp Shivir, special brainstorming will be organised to implement the decisions passed on economic, youth empowerment, farmers etc. New Delhi, June 1 : Elon Musk is banking upon SpaceX's next-generation Starship rocket in order to send next-generation Starlink 2.0 satellites into orbit to beam affordable Internet services to more developing countries and remote areas. Speaking at YouTube show 'Everyday Astronaut,' Musk said that "we need Starship to work and to fly frequently, or Starlink 2.0 will be stuck on the ground". "Falcon 9 rocket has neither the volume nor the mass to orbit capability required for Starlink 2.0. Even if we shrunk the satellite down, the total up mass of Falcon is not nearly enough to do Starlink 2.0," Musk said late on Tuesday. The Falcon 9 rockets sent the first generation of Starlink satellites into space. The Starlink 2.0 has already been developed, weighing about 1.25 tonnes and measuring about seven metres long. "Just think of it like how many useful bits of data can each satellite do. Starlink 2.0 in terms of useful bits of data is almost an order of magnitude better than a Starlink 1.0," said Musk. Meanwhile, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has delayed the completion of its environmental review of SpaceX's Starship programme to June 13. That review, known as a programmatic environmental assessment (PEA), is gauging the environmental impacts of SpaceX's Starbase site in South Texas in the US, reports Space.com SpaceX cannot launch the orbital test mission without a passing grade from the final PEA. And that's not the only regulatory box that needs to be checked. SpaceX is developing Starship to take people and cargo to the moon, Mars and beyond. The vehicle consists of two elements: a first-stage booster called Super Heavy and an upper-stage spacecraft known as Starship, Space.com reported. "We'll have 39 flightworthy engines built by next month, then another month to integrate, so hopefully in May for orbital flight test," Musk said in a tweet in April. Starship and Super Heavy are both designed to be completely and rapidly reusable, and both will be powered by SpaceX's new Raptor engine - 33 for Super Heavy and six for Starship. "It's a challenge to build so many engines, but SpaceX is on track to have enough for the first Starship orbital test flight soon," Musk said. Jaipur, June 1 : There is a strong possibility that the Congress and the BJP will take their MLAs for political fencing to Udaipur and Jaipur to avoid poaching and horse trading amid high profile contest for fourth seat of Rajya Sabha polls in Rajasthan. The fight became interesting after the entry of Subhash Chandra as independent pro-BJP candidate, who is pitted against Congress' Pramod Tiwari. As per official sources, both parties have started making preparations for political fencing with their MLAs. While Congress shall take its MLAs to Udaipur from June 3 onwards after the conclusion of its two-day workshop (on June 1 and 2), the BJP shall hold its MLAs meeting on June 5 and will thereafter take its MLAs to a Jaipur hotel for political camping. Congress MLAs will be taken to Udaipur in the same hotel where Chintan Shivir was organised a few days back, said sources. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that MLAs are taken to camps because they themselves say that attempts are made to lure them. He said, whether it is the Congress or the BJP, it is important to keep the MLAs together. Interesting political equations are emerging after the nomination of Subhash Chandra. Initially, BJP announced Chandra as party candidate, however, minutes later, made him an independent candidate. Sources said that Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) will support only the independent candidate but not the BJP and hence Chandra was fielded as independent pro-BJP candidate. The RLP has three seats, BJP has 71 in the assembly. With 41, its first candidate Ghanshyam Tiwari's victory is certain. Now, with the remaining 30 members, it can be 33 if three RLP members support and hence it requires eight more votes to touch the magical number of 41 required for Chandra's win. The party is hoping high as a few independents are annoyed with the Congress which include Ramila Khadiya and Baljeet Yadav. Further, independent MLA Omprakash Hudka has good connection with former CM Vasundhara Raje. In fact, Chandra met Raje after his arrival here, so there are possibilities of him supporting Chandra. The BTP MLAs have also soured relations with the Congress and so have a few BSP MLAs who supported Congress. Meanwhile, Congress needs 14 more seats to touch the figure of 123 votes for its 3 candidates. With six BSP members who joined Congress, the ruling party has 108 Congress MLAs and one RLD candidate supporting it. Besides there are 13 independents, 2 BTP, 2 CPM which both parties are eyeing to tap. The Congress overall needs 14 votes for its third candidate while BJP needs 8 for its second candidate. Sanyam Lodha, the advisor to the Chief Minister and Congress MLA Bharat Singh have already voiced their concern against outsider being fielded in the Rajya Sabha polls. So, Congress stays worried for much-expected horse trading amid annoyance of its MLAs for many of them did not get expected plush postings despite giving strong support during the rebellion in which 19 MLAs opened front against Gehlot leadership. June 1 : The last time this happened was way back in June 2019, when Kerala schools opened for a new academic year, but amidst Covid blues, the first day of a new academic year in 2020 and 2021 was held online, but on Wednesday it was a return to the past, when close to five million school children marched to their schools across the state. Even though the schools had opened last year, there were restrictions on the number of students and at no point of time the entire strength of the schools was present. The state level inauguration of this was held at a state run school near the IT hub at Technopark by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Vijayan said his government was very particular to provide the best infrastructure for state run schools and they have been able to do well in this front. "Oh it's great to be back. It was tough for two years to be staying at home, when we should have been at our schools," said a group of very young students in the state capital city, waiting for classes to begin. State Education Minister V. Sivankutty said that none need to be worried of Covid as all arrangements are in place and the state government is keeping a close tab on the daily happenings. Masks are mandatory at the schools all the time for staff and students. New Delhi, June 1: Will he, won't he? As the world tries to unravel US President Joe Biden's seemingly contradictory statements over a possible US intervention in a seemingly possible conflict between China and Taiwan, the latter is buttressing its defences against a belligerent China. With the Russia-Ukraine war still raging on after more than three months, Taiwan is apprehensive that an ambitious Xi Jinping, keen to slip his feet into Mao's larger-than-life shoes will invade the island under the One China Policy (OCP), and buttress his iron-man image just in time for his third re-election. Touted to be the most important event of this decade, the Communist Party of China (CPC) is gearing up for its 20th National Congress to be held in Beijing in November this year with about 2,300 delegates representing 90 million members. Till now it is believed that Xi's election is a mere formality, unless something, somewhere goes drastically wrong for China. An attack on Taiwan could make or mar Xi's election, depending on its outcome. Meanwhile, the tiny island nation across the Taiwan Strait has launched itself into frenzied military drills and is furiously taking notes from Ukrainian defence tactics. If China indeed wages war, Taiwanese islands, which have witnessed war earlier in the fifties, will once again find themselves at the forefront. Defence Minister, Chiu Kuo-cheng has already briefed the Parliament that China is capable of attacking the outlying islands and the Taiping Island should be ready at all times. Namrata Hasija, Research Associate at the Centre for China Analysis and Strategy (CCAS), told India Narrative that if ever China wants to capture Taiwan, it has to first capture the outlying islands and then blockade the waters to stop the US or Japan coming to Taiwan's aid. Reciting previous instances, Hasija says: "In the first Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1955, China seized Yijiangshan Islands forcing Taiwan to abandon Tachen Islands. Then, during the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1958, China shelled Kinmen and Matsu Islands but the US intervened and Taiwan could retain these islands. "So they are the first defence walls that China will break in case of a military attack". The Kinmen islands lie barely two km from the Chinese mainland while they are nearly 180 kms from Taiwan's west coast. Hasija says: "People in the Kinmen Islands are in fact comfortable with China and are even looking forward to the construction of a bridge by China's United Front Work Department (UFWD). You have to understand that millions of people migrated from mainland China in 1949 so that generation still feels they are Chinese". The Matsu Islands, which is more of an archipelago consisting of dozens of islands, also lie close to China. Taiwan has placed tens of thousands of troops on the islands. Though China has not attacked the two islands in decades, Taiwan kept making fortifications, air raid shelters and tunnels on the islands. Taiwan is believed to have placed anti-tank as well as anti-aircraft guns for the islands' defence. Lately, many of the tunnels and fortifications have begun to serve as tourist attractions and some have been converted into tea shops. Recently, Taiwan alleged that the Chinese air force flew its aircraft close to the islands. Experts speculate that it could be China testing the waters for a Taiwanese or an American response. Hasija says: "Of course, China has been training for an attack. What it possibly needs are large amphibious assault ships and medium landing craft necessary for a large beach assault. We know that the PLA Navy is extremely strong. If the US does not intervene, it will be difficult for Taiwan to win, however, looking at Ukraine one cannot speculate what lies in store". At the moment, the US and China have placed aircraft carriers in the waters around Taiwan. While China has been holding military drills around Taiwan and also in the Korean Peninsula, the US has mustered the support of the West and the Quadrilateral countries in response. Like a fretful Taiwan, Japan too has joined the US in strengthening its defences against China in the Indo-Pacific. Even as the two nations test the resolve of the countries in the region, for the Taiwanese islands, it is a tense throwback to the fifties. (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative New Delhi, June 1: Reality bites. Sometimes it bites harder when you pen it down as a memoir. Former Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf had in an honest admission in his autobiography, In the Line of Fire, written that 'enforced disappearances' was an undeclared policy of the State. That admission is now coming back to bite him. This Sunday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) asked the Shehbaz Sharif government to explain how disappearances "became state policy". IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah also asked the government to serve notice on Gen Pervez Musharraf, former Prime Minister Imran Khan, current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and all other heads over the government's undeclared tacit policy of enforced disappearances. Sharif had promised to the Baloch people recently that he will look into the practice of enforced disappearances by speaking with the 'highest quarters'. It is certain that Gen. Musharraf is not coming back to Pakistan in a hurry--where he also faces the death sentence for being found guilty of high treason after he suspended the constitution and imposed emergency. At that time in November 2007, he was holding the two powerful offices--the President and the Chief of the Army Staff simultaneously. Pakistan is not known for respecting the human rights of its many minorities or ethnic groups. The world too is only mildly aware of its brutal Death Squads, nurtured by the Pakistani intelligence and a corrupt military. However, the State-sponsored kidnappings, better known as enforced disappearances, have been noted globally even if the world turned a blind eye to the kidnappings. On 26-05-2020 A brave Baloch lady Malik Naaz resisted against the Pakistani army backed death squad. She embraced martyrdom and rest in Baloch History. Malik Naaz will be remember by all of Baloch nation for her bravery and resistance for her dignity. Following the IHC order, the government has constituted a seven-member committee to deliberate upon the unwritten policy of enforced disappearances. But Pakistan-watchers and activists remain sceptical. Geopolitical analyst Mark Kinra told India Narrative: "I don't think investigations by this committee would yield any results until there is strong backing from the Pakistan Army. If the government is serious about ending enforced disappearances, it has to remove the Frontier Corps from Balochistan. Moreover, there needs to be reconciliation with Baloch freedom fighters". Why there is scepticism over the committee is because under Imran Khan, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari did try sincerely to table the bill of enforced disappearances, but Mazari stated that she was threatened by Pakistan Army for doing so. After passage of the bill from the Pakistani parliament's lower house, the enforced disappearances bill went missing from the upper house. Kinra says: "To add salt to the wounds of the families of missing persons, the bill had a clause that criminal charges would be brought against people who are deemed to have made 'false allegations', with a penalty of up to five years imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 Pakistani rupees". (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative New Delhi, June 1 : Cement companies are expected to witness lower volume sequentially in Q1FY23 as the demand had slowed down in May ahead of monsoon, said brokerage house Centrum Broking. Coal prices are expected to be at elevated levels and will increase further in Q1FY23. Coal is used as a fuel in cement plants. The cement companies increased prices during April 2022 but it was not sufficient to cover the increase in coal or pet coke prices, it said. "The inability to pass-on cost fully to customers remains the primary concern. We expect cement margins to decrease on a quarter on quarter basis due to lower volume, higher coal prices which should more than offset an increase in cement prices," it said in a report. However, the sustaining price hike needs to be monitored as demand is slowing down in key markets. In cement space, ACC, Ambuja Cements, and UltraTech Cement, are some of the preferred picks, said the report. Jodhpur, June 1 : In Rajasthan, the districts of Jalore and Sirohi have always been major centres of cumin (jeera) and fennel (saunf) production, respectively. In 2020-21, cumin was planted in 1,35,000 hectares of land in Jalore and production was around 66,402 metric tonnes. In 2021-22, notwithstanding bad weather having confined sowing to 87,303 hectares, around 32,003 metric tonnes of cumin was produced. Similarly, fennel was grown in 5,000 hectares of farmland in Abu and Revadar towns in Sirohi. However, in spite of the high production of cumin and fennel in these parts, Rajasthan has always lacked the necessary marketing and processing facilities, for which farmers have had to transport their produce to the agricultural market (mandi) in Unjha in Gujarat. Transporting the produce to Gujarat meant an additional expense of Rs 2,000 per quintal for a farmer, since Unjha is 260 km from the Jalore district headquarters. The situation was just as bad for the farmers of Sirohi. Hence, with processing units coming up here over the past few years, the farmers of Sirohi and Jalore are very pleased. Entrepreneurs arise with government initiatives Take the case of Yogesh Joshi of Jalore's Sanchore town. Joshi worked in an organic food company earlier. Armed with a diploma in organic farming, he took up agriculture in 2010, growing cumin sans artificial chemicals. Initially, he teamed up with seven other farmers in his venture; the group later grew to 60 in number, with each farmer growing cumin in 2 bighas of farmland. However, they incurred huge losses the first couple of years. Joshi then got in touch with scientists at the Central Arid Zone Research Unit (CAZRI) in Jodhpur. After undergoing training, he went on to grow organic cumin as per their directions. Selling 120 kg of cumin, Joshi made a profit of Rs 50 per kg. Even so, the profits didn't match the effort involved. In 2015, he set up his processing unit. Thereafter, 200 farmers joined him. In the market, loose cumin sells for Rs 180 per kg. If one is to add Rs 15 to7w clean up the grains, it would add up to Rs 195 per kg. But when this cumin is packed, it sells at Rs 250 to Rs 400 per kg. Smaller grains sell at Rs 250 per kg, medium-sized grains at Rs 300 per kg, and large grains fetch between Rs 400 and Rs 450 per kg. Today, there are 3,000 farmers involved in processing cumin here, and the turnover has crossed Rs 50 crore. Selling cumin in its processed form has helped farmers earn much more than what they did selling their raw produce in Unjha. Besides selling their product in various states of India, their cumin is also sold in Japan, Dubai, the US, and the Netherlands. Joshi is looking forward to increasing his turnover to Rs 100 crore in the near future. He's already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Rajasthan government to set up a cumin and cumin powder processing unit in Sanchore. Exploring national and international markets online, he's also managed to export his cumin through a Japanese company. "They were so appreciative of my very first supply of cumin that they went on to place orders for coriander, fenugreek and fennel," said Joshi, who has entered into a contract farming agreement with a Hyderabad-based firm for 400 tonnes of quinoa. It was during the 2020 lockdown that long-time farmer Hiralal Chaudhary of Revadar in Sirohi district was compelled by circumstances to start grading his fennel crop with his group of farmers. Although the harvest was done, there was no way that Chaudhary and his group of farmers could get their produce to Unjha due to blocked roads. "We met the district collector and asked him to work a way out. But even when he managed to get permission for us from the Gujarat government, we found transportation costs to be prohibitive," he explained. This was when the district collector suggested that the farmers do the grading and processing themselves. With the help of officials from the Agricultural Marketing Board, the necessary documentation was completed. However, several rounds failed to yield the elusive government grant. Tired of the long wait, Chaudhary fell back on his savings and ultimately set up a processing unit on his own. Besides fennel, he's been processing castor and mustard, too, at his unit, and grading them likewise. Right now, 2,000 farmers are connected to his unit. In the past, farmers from his village frequented the Unjha market, as well, to sell their produce. "Payments at Unjha were never immediate; farmers had to wait for their turn to be paid. Now, the payment is online and immediate," Chaudhary pointed out. As against a maximum of Rs 80 to Rs 200 per kg that farmers earned at the mandi in Unjha, the graded, processed and packaged fennel fetches them Rs 400 per kg now. There are several farmers and traders besides Joshi and Chaudhury who have benefited from the new regimen. Following the Rajasthan government announcing plans for the state's first agricultural market for fennel in Bilada in Jodhpur district, several processing units have come up in and around the municipality, even as the sale of fennel has picked up. In fact, the announcement saw four processing units being set up in a single year. Several farmers have been making trips to the units to auction and process their produce from other parts of Rajasthan and other Indian states. Where fennel fetched Rs 8000 to Rs 10,000 per quintal last year, the arrival of farmers from other states saw prices climb upwards to Rs 12,000 to Rs 18,000 per quintal. "As compared to 2,032 bags of fennel arriving until March 2021, as many as 4,098 bags of fennel arrived at the mandi by March 2022," Bilada Mandi Secretary Ramsingh Sisodia told 101Reporters. Improved earnings and employment prospects Setting up a processing unit is no expensive prospect for an entrepreneur. A small unit can be set up in just Rs 7 lakh, while a medium-sized unit would need around Rs 30 to Rs 40 lakh. A large unit, however, would need an investment of Rs 60 lakh to Rs 1 crore. The processing machines are easily available in Faridabad or Unjha. Of the four processing units that recently came up, the biggest was set up at Rs 1 crore, while the three smaller units were established at Rs 25 to Rs 50 lakh each. For farmers, local processing has guaranteed better returns for their efforts, saving on transportation costs, improved employment prospects and better earnings for farmers, as Bilada farmer Dhannaram Lalawat, Jetiwas farmer Ramsingh Bhati, and Udaliyawas farmer Tejaram Chaudhury told 101Reporters. Rajasthan's agri-export promotion policy In December 2019, the Rajasthan Agro-Processing, Agri-Business and Agri-Export Promotion Policy was approved by the government of Rajasthan, to encourage agro-processing and agricultural exports and increase farmers' incomes in the state. In its very first phase, 50 farmers were assisted to set up food processing units. Most of these were in Mathania and Ossian in Jodhpur district. Of the Rs 6,848.33 lakh spent to set up these 50 units, the government extended Rs 3,079.50 lakh in the form of grants. According to Rajasthan Agriculture Marketing Board Joint Director (Jodhpur) Jabbar Singh, the state government has borne 50 per cent of the expenses involved in setting up units through grants. Where cumin and isabgol (psyllium) are concerned, subsidies worth Rs 2 crore have already been announced. (The author is a Jodhpur-based freelance journalist and a member of 101Reporters, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.) Kabul, June 1 : Police in Afghanistan's capital city Kabul have arrested 150 people on charge of involvement in criminal activities over the past one month. Confirming the "huge" arrest, Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran on his Twitter account said the arrested individuals were involved in robbery, theft, murder and drug trafficking, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the state-run Bakhtar news agency. All the arrested men have been sent to the central jail Pul-e-Charkhi for further investigation, Zadran said. The Taliban-run administration has vowed to ensure law and order across the war-torn country. Lucknow, June 1 : There is good news for Ayushman Bharat cardholders in Uttar Pradesh. The services under the Ayushman Bharat scheme will now also include bone marrow transplant, which is often recommended to cancer patients. Sangeeta Singh, CEO of state agency for comprehensive health insurance and integrated services, the body that implements the scheme in Uttar Pradesh, said, "Medical literature shows that patients in need of this transplant, especially those from poor socio-economic backgrounds, do not opt for the procedure on account of the cost factor. Thus, it has been included in the list of services provided under the umbrella of Ayushman Bharat." She said the role of medical colleges was crucial to helping patients avail the benefits of Ayushman Bharat. "In many districts, patients were being referred to other states despite availability of the services within Uttar Pradesh," she said, urging heads of state-run institutes and medical colleges to look into the gaps within their system and plug them at the earliest. Executive director of National Health Authority Dr Shakhar Prinja said that as many as 365 procedures/treatments have been included in the list under Ayushman Bharat. The list includes treatment related to interventional cardiology, mental health, neurology and nephrology. Los Angeles, June 1 : Hollywood star Simu Liu waxed his body completely for the upcoming film 'Barbie' starring Margot Robbie. Rumours have circulated the 'Shang-Chi' star is playing one of several Ken dolls in the film (along with headliner Ryan Gosling), and waxing his body would certainly be one practical way for Liu to get a plastic-like sheen, reports 'Variety'. "Waxing has been an education to say the least," Liu told The Independent. "It was one of the most painful experiences of my life. I have such a newfound admiration for the incredibly brave women who go through this on a monthly basis." While Liu could not confirm any rumours about 'Barbie', he did say "the discourse online is giving me life," adding, "With every casting announcement or bit of news, they're like: 'What is this?' And that's perfect - the less you know about it the better." Liu recently told GQ UK that he knew almost nothing about the 'Barbie' movie when he agreed to audition for a role. The actor decided to throw his name in the ring for a role after a junior agent at his agency told him Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach's script for the film was one of the best he'd ever read. "He literally said this verbatim," Liu said. "He was like, 'If I could stake my career on any one script, it's the 'Barbie' script. I really think you should do it.'" Liu described 'Barbie' as "wild" and "incredibly unique," adding: "I wish I could just show you what we do day-to-day because it's crazy." The film is not a musical, but Liu said he's been in dance rehearsals aplenty for the movie. 'Barbie' will open in theatres July 21, 2023, from Warner Bros. Bengaluru, June 1 : Fintech company slice on Wednesday said it has raised $50 million as part of its larger series C round led by Tiger Global, adding that it will use new capital to boost its new unified payments interface (UPI) product. The latest funding round also saw participation from existing investors Moore Strategic Ventures and Insight Partners, and a new investor, GMO VenturePartners. The leading credit card challenger last month launched the integration of UPI into its app for all its existing and waitlisted users in a phased manner. "Our next important product launch with UPI has been gaining strong early traction. We are excited about the long journey that lies ahead of us," said Rajan Bajaj, Founder-CEO, slice. In November last year, slice entered the unicorn club after raising $220 million in its Series-B fundraise co-led by Tiger Global and Insight Partners. "slice is leading the way for innovation, customer experience, and growth in India's rapidly developing payments market," said Alex Cook, Partner, Tiger Global. Similar to other UPI apps, slice users can now create a UPI account on the slice app by linking it to their bank accounts. With andy (&ID), the unique ID on slice, users will be able to make payments just by searching for the &ID. Earlier, only slice's credit users could enjoy its simple and intuitive experience. By extending UPI services to its 10 million waitlisted customers, the company will now be able to provide them with an equally superior experience. Kiev, June 1 : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that his country is losing 60-100 soldiers per day as killed in action and around 500 soldiers as wounded in action. Zelensky made the remark during an interview with an US-based Newsmax TV, Ukrinform news agency reported. "The situation is very difficult. We're losing 60-100 soldiers per day as killed in action and something around 500 people as wounded in action. So we are holding our defensive perimeters. The most difficult situation is in the east of Ukraine and southern Donetsk and Luhansk," Zelensky was quoted as saying. "Putin cannot win, and the world must stop defending him amid the latest atrocities committed by Russian troops... Now, he is almost isolated. The world always keeps giving him a chance, because the sanctions are not imposed completely," he noted. According to Zelensky, the weakness of Putin and Russia is not only in failing to occupy a smaller neighbouring nation but also in attempts to take him out as leader. "Attempting to kill the leader of this or that country is a weakness, I would say. If you can't talk, then it's a weakness. The weakness is to start the war, and they've already demonstrated there is weakness. If you can't occupy that country, that's a weakness. And simultaneously, if you would like something to happen to the family of the other country's leader then that's a political inability to do anything," Zelensky added. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War London, June 1 : Actor Kevin Spacey will "voluntarily" return to the UK after being charged with sexual assault and is "confident" he can clear his name. The former 'House of Cards' star was charged by the Crown Prosecution Service in the UK over a number of incidents, which were alleged to have taken place between March 2005 and August 2008 in London, and in April 2013 in Gloucestershire, and following claims he was set to be formally extradited from the US to face the charges, the 62-year-old actor has now insisted he will "voluntarily" fly to England to appear in court, reports femalefirst.co.uk. He said in a statement released to 'Good Morning America': "I very much appreciate the Crown Prosecution Service's statement in which they carefully reminded the media and the public that I am entitled to a fair trial, and innocent until proven otherwise. "While I am disappointed with their decision to move forward, I will voluntarily appear in the U.K. as soon as can be arranged and defend myself against these charges, which I am confident will prove my innocence." It was announced last week Kevin would face charges of four counts of sexual assault against three men, and an additional charge of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent - is facing the allegations following a review of evidence collected by the Metropolitian Police. The reported incidents took place between March 2005 and August 2008 in London, and in April 2013 in Gloucestershire. Rosemary Ainslie - head of the CPS Special Crime Division - said in a statement: "The CPS has authorised criminal charges against Kevin Spacey, 62, for four counts of sexual assault against three men. He has also been charged with causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. The charges follow a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police in its investigation. "The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against Mr Spacey are active and that he has the right to a fair trial." The 'American Beauty' actor has denied all allegations against him. The charges come after a series of legal battles for the actor after allegations of sexual assault and misconduct were first made public in 2017 by actor Anthony Rapp, who alleged the star assaulted him when he was just 14 years old, after inviting him to his apartment for a party. In the lawsuit, he claimed Spacey grabbed his backside without permission and then lifted him onto a bed, before climbing on top of him and said he still suffers from extreme emotional distress as a result. In a statement in March, Spacey said: "I met [Rapp] several decades ago. I never had a sexual encounter with Mr. Rapp. Nor did I harbour any sexual interest or desire in Mr. Rapp at that time or any time." The lawsuit is set to go trial on October 4. New Delhi, June 1 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to Delhi Police on a plea filed by Aam Aadmi Party legislator Amanatullah Khan, who approached the court challenging the Delhi Police's order declaring him a "Bad Character." Last month, the MLA Khan had been declared a "history-sheeter" and a "bad character" of the Jamia Nagar area by the Delhi Police due to the large number of crimes he was accused of, as per an official statement. As per police statement, he had been previously involved in 18 cases and was declared a "bad character" of the Jamia Nagar area on March 30. Amanatullah Khan attended the Jamia Millia Islamia but did not complete his degree, and is, thus, only educated till Class 12, as per the document. "He started his business at Jamia Nagar and soon formed a group consisting of persons from his village and his neighbouring villages and indulged in land grabbing and illegal constructions.... Most of the cases registered against him are related to intimidation, threatening, hurt, riots, causing hindrance to duties of public servants and causing enmities between two groups and communities," the document prepared by the Jamia Nagar police station read. Based on these involvements, Khan's name was proposed as a "bad character" of the area so that his activities could be kept under surveillance, as per Delhi Police. Notably, the statement came just a day after the AAP leader was arrested for allegedly rioting and obstructing South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) officials from carrying out the proposed anti-encroachment drive at the Madanpur Khadar area. New Delhi, June 1 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday summoned Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son and MP Rahul Gandhi to join the investigation in money laundering case relating to the National Herald. Both will have to appear before the probe agency to record their statements on June 8. The sources have said that both have been asked to appear before ED's Delhi headquarters. The case has been lodged against various Congress leaders including Gandhis for allegedly misappropriating National Herald fund. Initially, the case was lodged with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the ED case is on the basis of the CBI's case. Further details are awaited. Los Angeles, June 1 : Hollywood star Tom Cruise had no issues with pushing the cast of 'Top Gun: Maverick' to the limit with the flying sequences. Asked if he considered easing the workload, Tom told Screen Rant: "No, absolutely not. Absolutely not. Listen, the whole point of making films and the beauty of it is that you get to travel the world and see other cultures and be part of communities. To look and walk in someone else's shoes and feel what they are feeling." The 'Mission: Impossible' star continued: "Making movies, you're constantly learning; you have to constantly work to become more and more competent in many different fields. And I want to tell them, that's the beauty of making movies. "That's why I've always pushed my films to go international, around the world and in different communities. And to be part of that right from the beginning. It was my dream. You've got to work. It's not a bunch of parties and doing that, and that's what I love." The movie sees Cruise's alter ego reunite with Val Kilmer's Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky and the actor has urged audiences to watch Kilmer's performance in the film. Cruise said: "I think people just have to see it; I don't even want to try. He's such a fine actor, and you see what he brings to this movie; the power that he has. And I think that relationship and the structure of the story, where it works, I don't want to talk about. I just want people to experience it." Yangon, June 1 : At least one person was killed with nine others injured in a bomb blast in Myanmar's largest city of Yangon. The blast occurred on Tuesday afternoon near a bus stop in Yangon's Kyauktada Township, Xinhua news agency reported, citing state-run newspaper The Global New Light of Myanmar. It said the attack in the center of downtown Yangon was made with a handmade bomb. New Delhi, June 1 : The Congress has termed the ED summons to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case as "politics of revenge". Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Congress leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala and Abbishek Manu Singhvi said: "This is a politics of vendetta and revenge by the BJP to target opposition leaders as they have done to other opponents in the country." The Congress leaders said that there is no case made out of it and its only intention is "malafide". As there is no money involved in the case, the Congress sources say that the case was closed in 2015. Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said, "National Herald newspaper was started in 1942. At that time the British tried to close it, today Modi government is also doing the same thing as the Britishers did. Now the ED is being used for this purpose. The Enforcement Directorate has given notice to our president Sonia Gandhi and former president Rahul Gandhi." The ED on Wednesday summoned Sonia Gandhi and her son and MP Rahul Gandhi to join the investigation in money laundering case relating to the National Herald. Both will have to appear before the probe agency to record their statements on June 8. The case has been lodged against various Congress leaders including Gandhis for allegedly misappropriating National Herald fund. Chennai, June 1 : A 22-year-old youth, who had stabbed a schoolgirl for rejecting his love request, was found dead on a railway track at Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. Kesavan had stabbed the Class 11 girl near Tiruchi railway station in broad daylight on Tuesday. The girl suffered 14 stab injuries and is battling for life at Tiruchi government medical college hospital. Kesavan was arrested in a Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) case for having kidnapped the same girl in 2021. Police said that Kesavan had just come out of jail after serving prison term in the case. According to Manaparai police that is investigating the case, the accused had proposed to the girl while she was going to a relative's home. When she spurned his request, an infuriated Kesavan stabbed her recklessly. The man fled the spot immediately after the gruesome act. Police were tracing Kesavan from Tuesday onwards and found his body at the railway track near Manaparai, Tiruchi. A case has been registered and an investigation launched. Kolkata, June 1 : BJP's national Vice President and former West Bengal unit chief Dilip Ghosh seems to be in no mood to honour his party high command's order barring him from making media statements against its leadership. Just a day after BJP's national General Secretary and headquarters in-charge, Arun Singh sent an email communique to Ghosh on this count, the latter was in his usual maverick mood on Wednesday morning. "What is this censorship all about? I have not received such communication from the party high command. Of course, the media persons have shown me a copy of some purported letter," he said, indirectly questioning the authenticity of the censorship letter. In the letter that Singh forwarded on Tuesday, it was said that that certain statements and outbursts by the latter have not only angered the state party leaders, but also embarrassed the central leadership. "This was pointed out to you on several occasions by the party leadership in the fond hope that you will take note," read Singh's letter. He also pointed out that he wrote the letter following instructions from party President J.P. Nadda. "On the instructions of J.P. Nadda Ji, I wish to convey to you the party's deep anguish and concern at issuance of such statements and advise you to always refrain from going to the media or any public forum, about your own colleagues either in the state of West Bengal or anywhere else," the letter quoted Singh as saying. On May 20, Ghosh was relieved of the party's organisational responsibilities in his home state West Bengal, and entrusted with the task of expanding the party's base in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Manipur, Meghalaya, Assam, and Tripura. Patna, June 1 : The Patna High Court on Wednesday directed the Bihar police to file an affidavit on the use of fake SIM cards in the state. It was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) where the complainant has pointed out several cases of cyber crime and financial frauds. Bihar police has given the charge of investigation to the Economic Offence Wing (EOW). During investigation, the EOW scanned the FIRs registered in different police stations across the state and found more than 600 fake SIM card users. "A maximum of 325 fake SIM card users have appeared in Patna district. An FIR registered in Patliputra colony police station has the names of 292 fake users," said an official of EOW. Besides Patna, 29 FIRs related to fake SIM card users have been filed in Rohtas, 30 in Nawada, 25 in Muzaffarpur and 35 in Madhubani district. "We have demanded detailed reports from mobile phone service provider companies about the names of users. Following that we will take action against persons who are involved in the fraud," he said. The preliminary investigation revealed that common people, criminals, liquor mafias and Naxal groups frequently obtain fake SIM cards to execute crimes. Besides, cases related to financial frauds take place through fake SIM cards," he said. Bhopal, June 1 : BJP president J.P. Nadda on Wednesday took a dig at the Congress saying the grand old party is a workerless party in Madhya Pradesh. His remarks came after he arrived in Bhopal on Wednesday. Nadda claimed, "A Congress leader told him that around 40 leaders are mahamantri and over 150 are mantri in the Madhya Pradesh Congress, but it has no workers on the ground." Nadda arrived in the state capital on a three-day visit to Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, State BJP president V.D. Sharma and other senior BJP leaders welcomed him at the state hanger. Nadda further said that only BJP had leaders, policies, intention, workers and environment to work. All these qualities were needed for success in politics. Addressing the BJP leaders and party workers, he said that he felt overwhelmed by the grand welcome. Later talking to the press at BJP headquarters in Bhopal, Nadda highlighted various schemes of the Centre and the state governments -- Ujjwala, PMAY, Nal Jal, Kisan Samman Nidhi, Ladli Laxmi and many more. Nadda said that Madhya Pradesh has shown record growth and development during the BJP government in the last 17 years. "In 2003, the BJP had got the state with a BIMARU tag, but in the last 15-17 years, the state has come very close to removing this tag. In many sectors, Madhya Pradesh has left many developed and developing states behind in terms of performance. The BJP president will be meeting with state party leaders and will address the workers later in the evening. After the meeting, he will leave for Jabalpur at 5 p.m. Srinagar, June 1 : Migrant Kashmiri Pandit employees were on Wednesday confined to their pooled accommodations by the authorities as they have threatened to leave the Valley in protest against recent killings by the militants. Authorities confined migrant Kashmiri Pandit employees to pooled accommodations in Tullamulla area of Ganderbal district, Sheikhpora in Budgam district, Veesu in Anantnag and in Baramulla and Kupwara districts. Migrant Kashmiri Pandits serving at different government offices under the Prime Minister's rehabilitation programme in the Valley have threatened to leave the Valley en mass alleging that the authorities have completely failed in protecting them. These employees have not been attending duties after Rahul Bhat was killed by militants in his office in Chadoora tehsil of Budgam district on May 12. The killing of a scheduled caste teacher, Rajni Bhalla in Kulgam district on Tuesday sparked renewed protests among the migrant government employees who want to be adjusted in government offices outside the Valley. Meanwhile, an association of Kashmiri Pandits, Mata Kheer Bhawani Asthapan trust has appealed that this year's annual festival at the Mata Kheer Bhawani shrine in Ganderbal district should be cancelled keeping in view the general fear among the community because of the recent killings by the militants. Bengaluru, June 1 : Amid the huge controversy on revision of class 1 to 10 text books, the Textbook Revision Committee headed by Rohith Chakrathirtha has completed the revision of history textbook of PUC-II in Karnataka, according to reliable sources. The sources in Education department revealed that the committee has revised one lesson of history textbook. The revision has been made on the chapter "Birth of new religions". The committee will submit the revised text to the Education department and seek its consent. Ruling BJP government had earlier directed to handover the responsibility of revision of the 4.2 lesson "Birth of New Religions" of Social Science Text book prescribed for II PUC students. Education Minister B.C. Nagesh had written a note in this regard on February 17, 2022 to the Principal Secretary of the department. The 4.2 lesson for PUC-II Social Science book in the title 'Birth of new religions - Jainism and Buddhism'' says that the confusions, dominance of priests, sacrifice of animals, prayers, caste system and birth of legends led to the birth of new religions. This interpretation has created a controversy. The note by the Education Minister Nagesh says that there is a complaint regarding the lesson 4.2 of History book regarding hurting the sentiments of a particular religion. The lesson 4.2 on Birth of New Religions explains that Vaidik religion was simple before the influence of priests. After their influence the religion became complex leaving the people disheartened. They wanted change and they found succor in new religions. The lesson further says that Brahmins established their authority over all other castes. It had become difficult for the people to conduct yagas without Brahmins. They enjoyed more benefits and thought themselves superior to others. When people were unhappy and disheartened, the great personalities Mahaveer and Gautam Budha were born. They taught principles and virtues in simple languages that could be understood by the people. Common people were attracted to these religions for the same religion, the lesson reads. Kiev, June 1 : The European Union may introduce an insurance ban for ships carrying Russian oil, Andriy Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine has said. "According to the data from Wall Street Journal, this will be part of the sixth sanctions package. This ban is one of the most serious financial instruments of the EU's influence that the bloc has at its disposal to harm the Russian economy. Now it will be difficult for Russia to sell its oil to Asia, as European companies insure most of the world's oil trade," Yermak wrote on Telegram. The EU and the UK are also discussing a coordinated ban on insuring ships carrying Russian oil, he asserted. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Seoul, June 1 : The South Korean government on Wednesday mobilised 57 choppers to help contain a wildfire in the southeastern city of Miryang, while vowing to make all-out efforts to put out the blaze. The fire broke out on Tuesday on a hill in Miryang, around 280 km southeast of Seoul. As of Wednesday afternoon, firefighters said about 60 per cent of the blaze had been brought under control, Yonhap news agency reported. The number of helicopters sent to the scene is higher than 51 deployed to fight another wildfire that broke out across Gangwon and North Gyeongsang Provinces in March. The government also sent around 1,800 personnel, including firefighters and police officers, to fight the fire that has affected 356 hectares of land so far. The Korea Forest Service earlier issued the highest wildfire response level of three. The all-out efforts to fight the wildfire came after President Yoon Suk-yeol instructed related agencies the previous day to "swiftly mobilize all available equipment and personnel" and "put all of their energy into quickly putting out the wildfire." Vatican City, June 1 : Pope Francis has appealed for an end to the blockage of grain exports from Ukraine. At the conclusion of the Pope's weekly General Audience in the Vatican, the Holy Father again turned to the ongoing war in Ukraine, Vatican News reported. "Of great concern," the Pope expressed, "is the blocking of grain exports from Ukraine, on which the lives of millions of people, especially the poorest countries, depend." "I earnestly appeal for every effort to be made to resolve this issue and to guarantee the universal human right to food." "Please do not use wheat, a staple food, as a weapon of war!" He decried these shortages caused and worsening since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War New Delhi, June 1 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside the proceedings before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which stopped construction at Rushikonda Hills abutting the beach in Visakhapatnam, holding that though development is necessary, it is equally important to protect the environment. A vacation bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and Hima Kohli said the high court order would prevail over tribunal orders, in a scenario where both have passed contradicting orders. It said that the NGT was not correct to continue proceedings before it, after being pointed out that the high court was already seized of the matter and had passed orders. The apex court pointed out that contradictory orders would be an issue for the authorities concerned, as they would not know which order to follow. "In such a case, orders of the constitutional court would prevail over orders of the tribunal," it said. During the hearing, the bench emphasised that it is important to strike a balance between development and environmental issues, as though development is necessary for economic development of a nation, it is equally necessary to safeguard the environment. Justice Gavai pressed on the importance of ensuring a pollution-free environment for future generations. The top court made these observations while hearing a plea by the Andhra Pradesh government challenging the NGT order, which stopped construction works at a tourism project at Rushikonda Hills in Visakhapatnam. The bench noted that the high court had allowed construction, therefore it will be appropriate for it to take a decision in the matter - striking a balance between development and environmental issues. Advocate Balaji Srinivasan, counsel for the respondent, contended before the bench that hills have been shaved off, and cannot be restored, and insisted that if construction were to continue, then hills will be lost. He added that hills are being flattened and the resort is being constructed, and pressed that the natural character of the hills need to be preserved. The bench asked the parties to move before the high court in the matter, and also granted liberty to the respondent MP K. Raghu Ramakrishna Raju to file an impleadment application before the high court. It said till the high court takes a call on the issue, the construction will be permitted only on the flat areas, and the area where construction existed earlier. The top court made it clear that till the high court decides the matter, no construction will be carried out on areas excavated from the hills, and parties are at liberty to raise issues, which would be considered in accordance with law. Concluding the hearing, the bench set aside the proceedings before the NGT. The tribunal's order, passed in May, had come on a petition filed by Raju, alleging violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms by the project. The NGT also set up a joint committee to look into the environmental viability of the project and whether CRZ clearances should be revisited. It was alleged that the master plan notified by the Urban Development Department was violated and the petitioner claimed the area was also environmentally sensitive. Chennai, June 1 : The opposition AIADMK seems to be insecure over the growth of its ally BJP in the National Democratic Alliance in Tamil Nadu. The drift started after the BJP announced that it would contest the urban local body polls on its own and that the AIADMK wanted to know the grassroots strength it had in the state. This did not go down well with the AIADMK leadership even though the Dravidian party maintained a studied silence. However, of late the aggressive postures taken by the new state president of the BJP and former IPS officer, K. Annamalai seems to have created a feeling of insecurity in the AIADMK state leadership. While senior leaders like O. Panneerselvam and K. Palaniswami did not utter a word against the BJP, second rung party leaders started commenting against the saffron party. Former Minister and party leader C. Ponnayian in a two-day workshop of the AIADMK think tank, 'Puratchi Thalavi Peravai' for its office-bearers, said that the growth of the BJP does not augur well for the AIADMK, Tamil Nadu, and Dravidian politics. The AIADMK leader came down heavily on the BJP and said that the national party was in doublespeak on issues that are close to Tamil Nadu including the Cauvery river water sharing as well as Mullaperiyar issue. Ponnayian while addressing party leaders said that in the Cauvery issue, BJP Karnataka unit was against the interests of Tamil Nadu in sharing of waters while the Tamil Nadu unit of the saffron party was silent and a mute spectator. He also advised the BJP to change according to the interests of Tamil Nadu and then only can the saffron party grow in the state. C. Ponnayian called upon the IT wing of the AIADMK to expose the attitude of the BJP through social media platforms. The speech of C. Ponnayan is termed by political observers as the first salvo fired by the AIADMK in public against the BJP and is a warning bell to the saffron party in Tamil Nadu. Dr R. Padmanabhan, Director, Socio-Economic Development Foundation, a think tank based out of Madurai told IANS, "The AIADMK knows that the BJP is trying to make a dent in Tamil Nadu and that the party fears that it was doing this at the expense of the AIADMK. The arrival of an aggressive leader like K. Annamalai has led to the AIADMK becoming insecure as the BJP has been charting out schemes and programmes addressing the issues of the masses." It has to be seen how the AIADMK and the BJP will be faring in the days to come and whether there will be a realignment of political forces in the state. New Delhi, June 1 : Reliance Brands and Plastic Legno SPA have signed a joint venture arrangement through which the former will acquire a 40 per cent stake in the latter's toy manufacturing business in India. This investment by Reliance Brands serves a dual purpose -- bringing in vertical integration for its toy business, and helping diversify the supply chain with a long-term strategic interest in building toy manufacturing in India. Plastic Legno SPA is owned by the Sunino group that boasts of more than 25 years of toy production experience in Europe. The group started its India business in 2009 out of a need to develop a strong production hub that would cater to global markets, but more importantly, to the fast-evolving and growing Indian market. "It is imperative for RBL to build design to shelf capability for a strategic advantage over the competition and to be an accelerator in building a robust toy manufacturing ecosystem in India not only for domestic consumption but also for global markets," a Reliance Brands spokesperson said. Reliance Brands has a strong visibility in the toy industry with its portfolio of Hamleys, the British toy retailer and homegrown toy brand Rowan, making it one of the leading toy distributors. Hamleys currently has a global footprint across 15 countries with 213 doors and is India's largest chain of toy stores. In 2019, Reliance Brands marked its first international foray by acquiring the British toy retailer Hamleys. "We have important development plans to implement, always in the spirit of creating a cultural background in this specific sector in India. We are ready for the challenges of the future, but when there is a group like RBL alongside, we are sure that together we can do a great development" said Paolo Sunino, Co-owner, Sunino Group. In the past five years, Reliance Brands has also invested in building and operating homegrown Indian designer brands. Manama, June 1 : Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, on Wednesday met Swami Brahmaviharidas and delegation of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha to discuss the construction of a BAPS Swaminarayan Hindu Temple in Bahrain. It is to be constructed on a land gifted by the leadership of Bahrain on February 1. The meeting, at which Indian Ambassador Piyush Srivastava was present, was led by the international coordinator and head of BAPS Middle East, Swami Brahmaviharidas and included Swami Aksharatitdas, BAPS Bahrain President Dr. Praful Vaidya. During the meeting, Brahmaviharidas delivered a message from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Crown Prince, welcoming the historic moment. He also conveyed blessings and good wishes of the spiritual leader of the global BAPS, Mahant Swami Maharaj. "The fruition of a long-cherished dream, the Swaminarayan Temple in Bahrain will represent the timeless values of Hinduism and the vision of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for an inclusive world that will nurture peace and interfaith harmony." The Bahrain temple will also welcome people of all faiths who may wish to know and understand Indian traditions and have the space for various cultural and spiritual activities. Speaking on the occasion of receiving the grant of land formally from the Crown Prince, Brahmaviharidas said, "We are profoundly grateful to the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain and to the Prime Minister of India for this historic gift of land which represents the enriching of warm relations and an exchange of ideas between Bahrain and India which spans millennia. For BAPS, it is the culmination of a precious moment in 1997 when the late Emir Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa received His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj at the Royal Palace in Bahrain. In their conversation, Sheikh Isa lovingly and instantaneously told Pramukh Swami Maharaj, 'Make Bahrain your home.'" He added, "It was a sentiment that was echoed by the Crown Prince in 2017 when he visited our Diwali gathering. Upon seeing the picture of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj and late Emir Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, he told me, 'Our loveextends to three generations. We will honour the words and sentiments of our grandfather.' The building of this BAPS Swaminarayan Temple marks a seminal and historic moment for Hinduism, for relations between India and Bahrain, and for international harmony as a whole." Brahmaviharidas thanked the leadership for their "generosity", Narendra Modi for his "integrity". He assured that the temple and the surrounding cultural and spiritual complex "shall strengthen universal understanding and inter-faith harmony, and will also nurture the children of today and coming generations towards a brighter future". Moscow, June 1 : Washingtons arming of Ukraine with heavier weapons increases the risk of direct US-Russia confrontation regardless of American statements that they want to mitigate this risk, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Wednesday. The diplomat was commenting on the news that the US has decided to supply HIMARS multiple rocket launchers to Ukraine. The US said the weapons system will not allow Ukrainian forces to attack Russia and argued that this will prevent a scenario, in which Moscow would consider Washington a party in the conflict, RT reported. "We're not providing any weapons that will allow the Ukrainians to attack Russia from inside of Ukraine, and President [Joe] Biden has been very clear on that," US representative to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said of the deliveries, adding: "We're not going to become [a] party to the war." Ryabkov, however, disagreed with the rationale, saying the US was making the conflict more dangerous. "Any arms supplies, which continue and escalate, increase the risk of such a development," Ryabkov told journalists, referring to the possibility of a direct confrontation between Russia and the US, RT reported. The diplomat added that the US for years has done nothing to prevent an escalation of tensions with Russia over Ukraine. It stonewalled Moscow's last-ditch attempts to negotiate a legally binding deal that would have addressed Russian concerns over NATO expansion in Europe, he pointed out. After open hostilities broke out in February, "the remnants of a healthy attitude to the situation were shattered," he said. Washington "maintains its course of what we characterized many times as an intention to wage war to the last Ukrainian, which reflects the goal of inflicting -- as they say themselves -- the strategic defeat of Russia. This is unprecedented. This is dangerous," Ryabkov said, RT reported. The latest ramping up of arms supplies to Ukraine does not fundamentally alter the situation, only raises the risks, he stated. Mumbai, June 1 : In another dimension to the sensational so-called rave party bust aboard a cruise ship last October, a Maharashtra Minister has appealed to the Supreme Court to take suo moto cognisance and initiate a probe into what he contended as "extortion and fake raids" perpetrated by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in the past few years. Prominent farmers leader and Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swavalamban Mission President Kishore Tiwari, who holds minister of state status, has filed a PIL after Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan and others were let off the hook by the NCB in the infamous raid - on board the Cordelia Cruise ship - commanded by the then Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede. "The Hon'ble Supreme Court should institute a high-level judicial enquiry into the malafide style, approach and affairs of the NCB at Mumbai, and its officials targeting film celebrity and few models since last two years, now established upon absolute clean chit given to Aryan Khan by the NCB," said Tiwari in his plea. This is the second such appeal by Tiwari to the apex court after the first one on October 18, 2021, seeking to highlight how the fundamental rights of Aryan Khan and other "soft targets" - trapped by the NCB after the raids sparked off an embarrassing controversy - were infringed. "Now, as the NCB itself has given complete clean chit to the innocent people who were first implicated in a false case by abusing the position... as such unfortunate incidents of abuse of powers and authority by NCB is a matter of grave concern for law-abiding citizens of the country..", said the PIL Tiwari further argued that the SC's intervention was necessary to safeguard "the public faith and confidence" in the law enforcement agencies of India like the NCB. He claimed that in recent times, the NCB is abusing its position and trying to deprive the basic human rights of persons like Aryan Khan or others, accused under the NDPS Act, put them behind bars illegally, and subjected them to immense public humiliation. Referring to Wankhede, who was removed from his position - with grave allegations levelled against him on various counts from different quarters including by state Minister Nawab Malik - for selectively and vindictively targeting rich persons or celebrities like Aryan Khan ostensibly to "uproot the citadel of drugs in Bollywood". Tiwari added that now with the absolute clean chit given to Aryan Khan and others, "its crystal clear that it was a big game of abuse of power and authority" by Wankhede against whom allegations of "extortion" also came up, and all this needs to be probed independently by the apex court under Article 139/142 of the Constitution. The NCB had taken note of these and shunted Wankhede to his parent department for allegedly "running an extortion racket with the help of politically influenced people linked to the ruling party" (Bharatiya Janata Party), and reportedly acquiring huge assets or properties disproportionate to his known sources of income, etc. Tiwari's PIL comes even as Wankhede was given a fresh transfer to a posting in Chennai, and more revelations of the case details emerged from the NCB'S voluminous charge sheet filed before a special court last week. (Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in) Colombo, June 1 : Sri Lanka has relaxed import restrictions imposed on 369 items in March and April this year, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday in a press release. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as the minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies, has issued a gazette notification on the relaxation, the ministry was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency. Earlier, those who wanted to import any of the 369 items had to obtain an import license, and the decision to restrict the import was taken to reduce foreign currency spending on foreign products. Sri Lanka's central bank on Monday announced that it will ensure importers to have access to adequate foreign exchange through the banking sector to import essential items. Sri Lanka has been facing crippling foreign currency shortages this year, which has affected the import of essential items. Kochi, June 1 : Arguments raged in the Kerala High Court on Wednesday on the 2017 actress abduction case, in which actor Dileep is an accused, over more time for the police to complete its probe. While Dileep's side argued that there is nothing in the case and enough time has already been given for the probe team, and they should not be given more to file their final charge sheet, the prosecution argued that since a multitude of documents, messages and voice messages have to be scrutinised, they need more time. After hearing both the sides, the court posted the case for orders for a later date. In a related development, award-winning dubbing artiste Bhagyalekshmi who was seen with the victim when the latter went to meet Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at his office last week, on Wednesday came down heavily on the trial court which is hearing the case, claiming that the verdict has already been written and all what is happening is "nothing but a drama". "The only thing left is when is the verdict going to come and the sad reality is there seems to be different yardsticks of justice, one for the rich and the mighty and another for the ordinary people," she said. New Delhi, June 1 : In a virtual royal snub to the Nagaland Core Committee comprising state ministers and legislators, Assam Chief Minister and NEDA convener Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday that "I don't think I can mediate in such a big issue". "This (Naga insurgency-political problem) is a big complex issue. The Government of India has already nominated A.K. Mishra to negotiate with the NSCN(IM) and find out a solution that is acceptable to everyone," Sarma said a day after the Core Committee invited him for a meeting in Dimapur on Thursday. The key panel is headed by Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio of the NDPP and comprises BJP leader and Deputy CM Y. Patton, former Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang (also NDPP) and NPF leader K. Azo Nienu. However, Sarma maintained that at the "political level" as the NEDA convener, he keeps on interacting and meeting the leaders of BJP, NDPP and NPF in Nagaland. Rio is heading the NDPP-BJP-NPF 'opposition-less' government in the state where Assembly elections are due by Feb-March 2023. "We keep on talking because all are NEDA leaders. But my role is limited -- only to interact with our NEDA partners and not beyond," Sarma said. As reported by IANS, a powerful section of Naga leaders -- both state level politicians and underground -- were not happy with the Core Committee trying to bring in a sitting Assam Chief Minister in the parleys. After the Core Committee announced inviting Sarma for a meeting in Dimapur, within a few hours words spread that the NSCN-IM has once again decided to stick to its "sort of non-negotiable" demands of a flag and a separate Constitution. "Does Himanta Sarma have a magic wand, and if so, Chief Minister Rio and Deputy CM Patton of the BJP should announce it formally. Then we will not complain," a senior Naga leader had said. "An issue which could not be solved by Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi, how can Himanta Sarma play a positive role," the leader asked. Sources said, "The delay games are deliberate and visible and it gives an impression that even the Core Committee is trying to adopt a longer and time-taking road map." "Enlisting the help of Assam's sitting Chief Minister, whose only credential is being the chairman of NEDA, appears ridiculous," the Naga leader had said, adding, "Are some people taking taxpayers' money for granted?" In fact Sarma's stand is very logical and has a basis. In 2000, the then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had mooted the name of former Lok Sabha Speaker P.A. Sangma as the new negotiator. The then Assam Chief Minister and Congress leader Tarun Gogoi had strongly opposed the move, saying no active politician from the northeast should be part of such an exercise as the Naga issue is very complex and sensitive and has implications in various other states in the region. One source has stated that "peace emissary A.K. Mishra does not have anything new to offer, and the Core Committee said recently that we do not know many detailed matters being discussed between the NSCN-IM and the Centre". This only exposes sheer helplessness and limitation of the Core Committee, which was directed by Home Minister Amit Shah to "do homework". The Core Committee's meeting with the Home Minister in Delhi on May 18 was almost a flop show. A section of BJP leaders have already pushed the idea of President's Rule seeking that the Neiphiu Rio-led regime should 'step aside', as articulated lately by no less than the state's Deputy CM, Y. Patton. The NNPG has also called for the resignation of the Rio ministry. It was revealed that Shah had a detailed discussion with Naga leaders, including CM Rio and Deputy CM Patton, in Guwahati and clear "instructions for a roadmap" were passed. Thus, the four leaders of the Core Committee -- Rio, Patton, Zelang and Nienu -- on May 18 discussed only "developmental and disaster management issues" with the Union Home Minister. The government sources said the twin demands of flag and Constitution were raised by NSCN-IM only after October 31, 2019 when officials claimed formal talks were already over. Informed sources said the 'homework' for the Core Committee meant it had to convince the NSCN(IM) leadership to give up the twin demands of flag and Constitution. But the May 31 meeting of the NSCN-IM makes it clear the Core Committee could not convince the militant organisation, especially its leader Thuingaleng Muivah. In his presidential address, Q. Tuccu, Chairman of the NSCN-IM, told the 'emergency assembly' of NSCN-IM: "How can we forfeit the Naga national flag and the Naga Constitution in the name of Naga political solution?" In a representation addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the apex Naga Tribal Council (NTC) President Toniho Yepthomi and General Secretary Nribemo Ngullie said that two-and-a-half years have passed since the dialogue between the Centre and the Naga political groups "officially culminated on October 31, 2019" and hence now a peace pact ought to be inked at the earliest. (Nirendra Dev is a New Delhi-based journalist. He is also author of books 'The Talking Guns: North East India'. The views expressed are personal) Srinagar, June 1 : A Class 12 student of Delhi Public School in Srinagar has earned admission and scholarship worth $70,000 at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Services in Qatar. Tashafee (18), a student of humanities, has been offered a place at the university to pursue her Bachelor's in Foreign Services with a major in Culture and Politics. She credits her success to her family and her teachers in Srinagar. Shafaq Afshan, principal of the school, said, "Every year, our students get admissions and scholarships in the top universities across India and in foreign colleges and universities. Our career counselling and guidance department offers a wide spectrum of guidance and mentoring that prepare students for the next stage of educational journey. Tashafee's success is a testament to the efforts the department is putting in to transform the educational landscape of the Valley." Vijay Dhar, chairman of the school, said, "When we set out to start DPS Srinagar, we wanted to transform the way education was thought of and imparted in the Valley. Over the years, we have reached a stage where it is no longer a bridge too far for our students to dream of top universities across the globe. Tashafee proved that." New Delhi, June 1: It has been six days since the ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan had given an ultimatum to his successor, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Khan had declared that he would return to Islamabad with millions of people in six days if fresh elections are not announced, so far, Sharif has rebuffed Khan's blackmail. "I want to clarify to the leader of this group, your dictation won't work. This house will decide when to hold elections," Sharif told Khan. He asserted that the previous government was ousted via a constitutional process and it is his government's prerogative to decide the timing of the next elections. Six days ago, Imran Khan had failed to come to the protest site with millions of supporters. After abruptly cancelling his march, he had asked supporters to prepare for another long march to Islamabad against the "imported government" which is going to compromise with America on the blood of Kashmiris and recognise Israel. "I ask the entire nation to prepare and wait for my call. This time we will be prepared. Protest is our democratic right. If the imported government does not give the right, we will snatch it," Imran Khan admitted that he failed to get 2 million people for the previous march. According to an insider, Khan was not able to mobilize a large number of people, meaning that had he gone ahead with the sit-in, the situation may have become embarrassing for him. Apparently, the military establishment conveyed to Khan that it was better for him to leave the capital and allow the government to work, and that elections will happen at the right time. Since coming to power last month, the Sharif coalition government has been facing two key challenges: first, from a belligerent Imran Khan; second, the country's deteriorating economy. To make the situation worse, Sharif failed to secure new loans from China and Saudi Arabia, who have reportedly tied extending financial aid to an IMF deal. Now Sharif is in Turkey asking for aid from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan but Turkey is itself in a financial mess. Pakistani watchers say that there is a huge pressure on the military establishment too given the economic crisis of the country. The establishment has conveyed to Imran Khan not to launch another march and to settle his disputes directly with the coalition government. According to Pakistani media, the military was in touch with both political sides, and had even facilitated backdoor talks. The primary concern for the military, as per the report, is to take two parties onboard on the country's approach to get the IMF programme going. "The government's bigger problem is whether it will have the time to recover from such short-term decisions. The key question is whether the ruling coalition will get the support they need from the military to govern capably for the remainder of the current parliament's life," Mosharraf Zaidi, founder and senior fellow of Tabadlab, an Islamabad-based think tank, told Nikkei Asia. The former premier has, however, remained defiant and refused to call off his second long march. The Sharif government has approached the Supreme Court calling the long march an "armed attack on the state in the garb of political activity". "I am warning PTI against the announcement of another long march. One thing I want to illustrate, as soon as the long March is announced, let them come and I'll see how they cross barriers this time," tweeted the Interior Minister Rana SanaUllah Khan. (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative June 01 : Deepika Padukone, who attended the 75 Cannes Film Festival as one of the jury members, returned to Mumbai after the film festival concluded on May 28, after an 11-day run of some of the finest movies from around the world. After returning to India, the Gehraiyaan actor shared a video, which she titled 'From Cannes With Love', in which she summed up her eventful, hectic-yet-fun trip. Throughout the trip, Deepika was the talk of the globethanks to her role as a member of the jury of the Cannes Film Festival 2022 as well as for her stunning sartorial choices. The actor gave several classic looks during her Cannes journey, which had impressed the fashion lovers across the world. Taking to her Instagram handle, Deepika shared a behind-the-scenes video that captured her 11 days in Cannes with several glimpses. The video titled Rewind Cannes showed the actress interacting with her team as she prepped for her stunning appearances and red carpet walk. In the video, celebrity hairstylist Yianni Tsapatori can be seen working on her tresses. Deepika also shared at one place that she had rice and dal. In one clip, the actress is seen celebrating her team member's birthday at work. She can also be seen doing a bit of shimmy with her team and even on the red carpet. Deepika also received a small porcelain duck while she was leaving in a car. In another video, Deepika and her team can be seen having fun with a crying filter used on their faces to show how sad they were to leave Cannes. In the clip, the actor can be heard saying, We are leaving from here and everyone is really upset. Sharing the video, Deepika wrote, And that's a wrap. Thank you Cannes Film Festival for all your love and generosity! Until we meet again. Today, Deepika shared a photo with her entire team in Cannes, where her stylist Shaleena Nathani can also be seen. The actress can be seen wearing the much talked-about green polka dot Louis Vuitton outfit. In the caption, Deepika wrote, A Team. We missed you Mommy. You know who you are. The caption left fans playing the guessing game. Even after landing in Mumbai, Deepika continued with her style streak as she was snapped at the Mumbai airport in a chic boss lady look. She stunned in a neon green pantsuit as she walked out of the airport. She paired the outfit with a white tee and a pair of white sneakers. Chennai, June 1 : With Sri Lanka facing an acute economic crisis, the migration of people coming to India continues as three more persons from the island nation reached Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. Rameswaram Marine police found them at the seashore near the Gothandaramar temple during a routine inspection. The three who reached the shores of Tamil Nadu are L. Anistan, Jesintha Mary alias Akhila and her son Pravin Sanjay. The police said that the three had reached Rameswaram in a fibre boat and had landed on the shores of the state in the wee hours of Wednesday. It may be noted that after the crisis in the island nation, 80 Sri Lankan nationals have arrived on the Tamil Nadu coast and they have all been taken in as refugees. They are now lodged in the Mandapam camp in Rameswaram. The police said that the three persons will be questioned in detail on their travel, the amount spent on the trip, and their antecedents before being lodged in the Mandapam refugee camp. Tamil Nadu has already sent provisions and other essentials to Sri Lanka and the state has an emotional connect with the Tamil diaspora in the island nation. The government of Tamil Nadu has decided that those reaching the shores of Tamil Nadu will be directly lodged at Mandapam after basic questioning. Lucknow, June 1 : Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday said that party workers in Uttar Pradesh should now prepare to fight with renewed strength and vigour. Addressing the 'Nav Sankalp Shivir' at the Congress headquarters here, she said that those who had lost hope, had already left. "If you are sitting here, it means that you have not lost hope. You have stayed true to the ideology of the Congress and this is your biggest achievement," she said. She underlined the need for learning that the party needs to work harder. "We raised issues and even some new issues but obviously that was not enough," she said. The state unit of the Congress is organising a two-day 'Nav Sankalp Shivir' in Lucknow. This is the first such event after the UP Assembly elections. During the workshop, brainstorming sessions will be organised and suggestions on the new resolutions for the party will be shared. All office-bearers, district and city presidents, former MPs, MLAs, candidates of the 2022 Assembly elections, state chiefs of frontal organisations, chairpersons of various cells of the party and also the spokesmen are attending the workshop. Mumbai, June 1 : Aamir Khan's upcoming film 'Laal Singh Chaddha', the trailer of which was released recently, is Aamir Khan's labour of love and persistence as the actor invested 14 years of his life to make the film. The production of the film was never time-bound and the makers gave the film a free space to grow, thrive, press, and bend. At a media event, Aamir Khan spoke about the film's journey as he told the media that the idea for the film came to him from 'Delhi 6' actor Atul Kulkarni back in 2008 after the premiere of 'Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na'. Atul Kulkarni had proposed an Indian adaptation of 'Forrest Gump' to Aamir Khan and that was when the first thought of the film was seeded. After that, Aamir approached the makers of 'Forrest Gump' to acquire the rights to the film, a process which took 10 years as Robert Zemeckis, the director of the 1994 Tom Hanks classic, was not ready to give up the rights of the film. Aamir then approached legendary director Steven Spielberg who has been Zemeckis's mentor. Eventually, the makers secured the rights of the film but then the pandemic took a toll on the film and it got delayed. While time tested Aamir, his patience became his only pursuit which helped him complete the film despite the longstanding wait of 14 years. 'Laal Singh Chaddha', produced by Aamir Khan Productions, Kiran Rao, and Viacom18 Studios, also stars Kareena Kapoor Khan, Mona Singh, and Naga Chaitanya. The film is set to arrive in cinemas on August 11. Moscow, June 1 : The US is "adding fuel to fire" by supplying weapons to Kiev, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday in response to US President Joe Biden's decision to provide more advanced missile systems to Ukraine, media reports said. "We believe that the United States is purposefully and diligently adding fuel to the fire," Peskov told reporters on a regular conference call, CNN reported. The Ukrainian authorities have long asked the United States to supply high-tech, medium-range rocket systems. Biden said on Tuesday the US is providing Ukraine "more advanced rocket systems and munitions" as its war with Russia grinds on. "Such supplies do not contribute to the Ukrainian leadership's willingness to resume peace negotiations," Peskov said, CNN reported. Peskov also added the Kremlin does not trust Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky's words that Kiev would not use multiple launch rocket systems to attack the Russian territory if they receive them from the US. Washington's arming of Ukraine with heavier weapons increases the risk of direct US-Russia confrontation regardless of American statements that they want to mitigate this risk, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Wednesday. The diplomat was commenting on the news that the US has decided to supply HIMARS multiple rocket launchers to Ukraine. Any arms supplies, which continue and escalate, increase the risk of such a development," Ryabkov told journalists, referring to the possibility of a direct confrontation between Russia and the US, RT reported. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Mumbai, June 1 : The historical epic 'Samrat Prithviraj', which stars Akshay Kumar in the titular role, has been banned in Kuwait and Oman. The film tells the story of king Prithviraj Chauhan, who fought valiantly to protect India from the merciless invader Muhammad of Ghor. A senior trade source on conditions of anonymity said, "It is highly unfortunate that a film that is based on our glorious Hindu Samrat Prithviraj's life and courage has been banned in some international markets like Kuwait and Oman. It seems that these countries have taken this stand in the run up to the film's release." The source further shared, "Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan's life is a testimony to the fact that Indians stood up for what is right and defended our country from merciless invaders who only wanted to loot and plunder and murder our people. This film is really buzzing right now and the anticipation is only skyrocketing. Banning his lifestory only makes one question the fact that why can't people take a look at history and accept what happened to India and Hindus." 'Samrat Prithviraj' which has been directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi, also marks the cinematic debut of Manushi Chhillar, who plays the role of Sanyogita. The film is set to release on June 3 in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Ahmedabad, June 1 : Gujarat BJP President C.R. Patil on Wednesday appealed to party workers to not build pressure on him by seeking tickets for the Assembly elections scheduled later this year. Patil had made a similar appeal to party workers a few months back as well. During a closed-door meeting with party workers and leaders of Narmada district, Patil said, "No worker or leader should form a group and approach me for Assembly tickets. There are 182 Assembly seats, and many aspiring candidates will get the nod. If any person attempts to influence the state leadership, his/her request will never be entertained." "Such statements encourage the party workers. If there is a fair opportunity to get ticket, the party cadres will work with full energy and enthusiasm until the tickets are distributed," said senior journalist Janak Purohit, who has covered the BJP closely for more than 30 years. But when it comes to finalising ticket distribution, winnability has been the sole criteria for the BJP which is seldom compromised, Purohit said. New Delhi, June 1 : Elon Musk on Wednesday gave an ultimatum to Tesla employees to either return to office or get out, saying they "should pretend to work somewhere else" if they disagree with the company's policy. He sent a series of emails that asked employees to come back to the office or be terminated. "Anyone who wishes to do remote work must be in the office for a minimum (and I mean *minimum*) of 40 hours per week or depart Tesla. This is less than we ask of factory workers," Musk wrote, reports Electrek. "Everyone at Tesla is required to spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week. Moreover, the office must be where your actual colleagues are located, not some remote pseudo office. If you don't show up, we will assume you have resigned," he added, taking a hard stance on returning to office. The Tesla CEO took a dig at the companies who still allow remote work. "There are of course companies that don't require this, but when was the last time they shipped a great new product? It's been a while," he wrote in one of the emails. Musk did not deny that he has sent these emails to employees. In a tweet, he said: "They should pretend to work somewhere else" if they disagree with the company's return-to-office policy. "The more senior you are, the more visible your presence must be. That is why I lived in the factory so much - so that those on the line could see me working alongside them. If I had not done that, Tesla would long ago have gone bankrupt," Musk said. Moreover, he added, the "office" must be a main Tesla office, "not a remote branch office unrelated to the job duties, for example being responsible for Fremont factory human relations, but having your office be in another state". "Tesla has and will create and actually manufacture the most exciting and meaningful products of any company on Earth. This will not happen by phoning it in," Musk added. Hyderabad, June 1 : With an eye on next year's Assembly polls in Telangana, the BJP will hold its national executive meeting in Hyderabad in the first week of July. BJP's central leadership has decided to hold the key meeting on July 2 and 3 in the city, party sources said. The meeting of the key-decision making body will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP President J.P. Nadda, several Central ministers and Chief Ministers of all BJP-ruled states, among others. The Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) and the adjacent Novotel Hotel in Hitec City, the information technology cluster, will be the venues for the crucial meeting. Some central leaders of the party, including general secretary B.L. Santosh, Tarun Chug along with Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar and others on Wednesday visited the HICC and the adjoining HITEX Exhibition Centre to discuss the arrangements for the proposed meeting. The leaders also went around a few star hotels and resorts in and around the city. Modi is likely to stay at the Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the Governor, for two days while the central ministers and the Chief Ministers will stay at star hotels. Around 300 representatives are expected to participate in the meeting, which will discuss various organisational matters and evolve the party's strategy for the upcoming Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh scheduled later this year. The functioning of all the state units will be also discussed during the meeting, sources said, adding that the party's agenda for the future will also be discussed and finalised at the meeting. The decision to hold the national executive in Hyderabad came close on heels of visits by Modi and Shah amid an aggressive strategy being adopted by the saffron party ahead of the 2023 Assembly polls in the state. Modi, who visited Hyderabad last week to participate in the foundation celebrations of the Indian School of Business (ISB), also addressed BJP cadres at the Begumpet Airport. He claimed that winds of change are blowing in the state and the BJP will come to power to end what he called the 'family rule' of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). Party insiders feel that the national executive will send a strong message to the ruling TRS and also give a boost to the party's efforts on the ground. The BJP and the ruling TRS are on loggerhead on several issues. In January this year, Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar was arrested by the state police. The Telangana police had claimed that the BJP leader was arrested for violation of Disaster Management Act during a protest. The last national executive of the BJP was held in the national capital in November last year. Last month, BJP's national office-bearers' meet was held in Rajasthan, which will also go to the polls next year. Guwahati, June 1 : Assam's Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR), India's seventh Unesco world heritage site, received a tourist footfall of a little over 2.75 lakh -- over 64 per cent more than previous year -- generating a revenue of Rs 6 crore during 2021-2022, an all-time record collection. The revenue collection in 2021-2022 is almost doubled from the previous year's (2020-2021) Rs 3.60 crore. KNPTR Director Jatin Sharma on Wednesday said that altogether 2,75,835 tourists including 1,719 foreign tourists visited the world heritage park during the period of October last year to May this year, setting an all-time record. Altogether, 2,74,116 domestic tourists visited the park, home to more than 2,600 one-horned Indian rhinos. October to May is the main tourist season in the KNPTR, a most favourite destination for both foreign and domestic tourists. Sharma, a senior IFS officer, said that setting an all time record, Rs 6,39,23,389 was collected as revenue in 2021-2022 from the tourists. In 2020-2021, despite Covid-19 pandemic, in all 1,67,644 tourists visited the park with total revenue garnered being Rs 3,60,00,611. According to the KNPTR director, in 2019-2020, a total of 1,42,859 tourists visited the park, generating a revenue of Rs 4,20,63,541. The tourist flow to the park was affected during the period 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 due to Covid-19 pandemic, he stated. Sharma said that for the development of the KNPTR and protection of animals, the Assam Forest and Wildlife Department has taken a series of steps to curb poaching and other menace. The park has a total of 144 man-made scientifically designed highlands, including 33 big ones, for housing animals during floods, he added. The KNPTR, which is spread across five districts of Assam -- Golaghat, Nagaon, Sonitpur, Biswanath and Karbi Anglong, is not just a home of one-horned rhinos, this is also home to Royal Bengal tigers, Asian elephants, wild buffalos and many more animal species while it is also habitat to thousands of birds of over 125 species. (Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in) Panaji, June 1 : The body of a man was found in a Karnataka-registered car here on Wednesday, Goa Police said. The deceased person has been identified as Srikant Kanchangar, 39, from Karnataka's Dharwad, a police official told IANS. "We have contacted the family members of the deceased and the dead body has been sent for post-mortem tests in the Goa Medical College," the police official said. Bengaluru, June 1 : The ruling BJP in Karnataka has started the 'AcceptToolKitResignation' campaign to counter attacks from the Opposition over the textbook revision issue. The campaign has been launched to support the Textbook Revision Committee Chairman Rohith Chakrathirtha. The campaign is trending on social media and garnering support from certain sections including the BJP leaders and workers. It has been mainly launched to counter the Congress campaign and slew of resignations by litterateurs opposing the revision of textbooks and their demand to take action against Chakrathirtha. The campaign is being supported by the ruling BJP Ministers. Revenue Minister R. Ashok, Labor Minister Shivaram Hebbar, Transport Minister Sriramulu, Agriculture Minister B.C. Patil, Social Welfare Minister Kota Srinivas Poojari and Minister for Animal Husbandry Prabhu Chouhan have supported the campaign and said that the government should accept the resignations. Ashok, slamming the Congress, said: "Since it has exhausted all tools to oppose textbook revision, as a final desperate measure, the party has pushed writers forward. One after the other litterateurs are resigning to their posts which have been given to them for supporting their agenda. The government should accept it." Minister Halappa Achar stated that the revision committee has been asking for debate on the issue. "...with only intention to create controversy, Congress has provoked writers to submit resignations. The government will not bow down to persons who are returning awards and submit resignations to posts." "It is the habit of Congress to offer posts to so-called thinkers and get the political work done. The drama of resignations has started when all ways of opposing textbook revision have failed. The government should accept resignations of all toolkit litterateurs," said Minister Shivaram Hebbar. Agriculture Minister B.C. Patil stated this is not the first time that Congress is coming out with "resignation drama". Kota Srinivas Poojari said the Opposition parties are issuing political statements in connection with textbook revision. "The people should not have any confusion regarding syllabus. The textbooks are being published with ideals of nationalism." "The new syllabus will infuse patriotism among children. It is condemnable that the opposition had adopted such a path being envious of popular support to the BJP government," Poojari said. Following the textbook revision row, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has stated that he had asked Education Minister B.C. Nagesh to submit a report in this regard and take a decision. New Delhi, June 1 : The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches at the residential and official premises of a former Managing Director of the Industrial Co-operative Bank Ltd (ICBL) in connection with a money-laundering case. The ED initiated money-laundering investigations against Subhra Jyoti Bharali and others, on the basis of the FIR registered by the Pan Bazar Police Station, Kamrup (M), Guwahati under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. It was alleged in the FIR that Bharali, with the help of some other senior officials of the bank, had allegedly committed financial misappropriation to the tune of Rs 9.5 crore, thereby has caused corresponding wrongful gain to themselves. During the course of search operations, documents, including several sale deeds in respect to properties acquired in the name of Bharali's family members, and details of various banks accounts were seized. Further investigations are on. Patna, June 1 : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday announced the conduct of the long-demanded caste-based census in the state. The decision was taken after an all-party meeting in the Secretariat here on Wednesday evening. Leaders of all nine political parties represented in the Assembly were present in the meeting and gave some important suggestions to the Chief Minister. "The leaders of every party, including the BJP, agreed on a caste-based census. We will soon announce the entire programme of the census in public domain. In the first phase, we will give proper training to the officials and employees to conduct caste-based census. It will be completed in a time-bound manner. "We will conduct a caste-based census at the expense of the state government and after the approval of the cabinet of the Bihar government. The points and expenses related to caste-based census will be passed through the cabinet," Nitish Kumar said. The caste-based census is a long-standing demand for all political parties in the state except the BJP. Asked about any objection being raised by the BJP during the meeting, Nitish Kumar said: "The leader of BJP was present in the delegation when we went to New Delhi for the meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and its leaders are present here as well. So there is no confusion or objection from the leader of the saffron party." The Chief Minister admitted that the meeting for the caste-based census was delayed a bit due to MLC elections coming under local body, and panchayat polls, otherwise it would be done earlier. "Now, we will speed up and soon bring an entire programme for the conducting the caste-based census," he said. New Delhi, June 1 : External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will pay an official visit to Slovakia and the Czech Republic from June 2 till June 6, an official statement said. During his visit to Bratislava, he will call on Slovakia's Prime Minister Eduard Heger, and will hold discussions with his counterpart, Foreign and European Affairs Minister Ivan Korcok, the MEA statement said. He will also attend the GLOBSEC 2022 Forum and speak on the topic "Taking Friendship to the Next Level: Allies in the Indo-Pacific Region". Jaishankar is scheduled to meet Austria's Minister of European and International Affairs of Austria Alexander Schallenberg on the sidelines of the GLOBSEC 2022. During his visit to the Czech Republic, he will hold discussions with his counterpart, Jan Lipavsky, which will provide an opportunity for a comprehensive review of bilateral cooperation. The Czech Republic will be taking over the EU Presidency from July 1. In addition to meeting the political leadership of the two countries, Jaishankar will also interact with a cross-section of the Diaspora, including Indian students, in both countries. "India has traditionally enjoyed close and friendly ties with both Slovakia and the Czech Republic. EAM's visit will impart further momentum to bilateral relations with the two Central European countries," the statement said. Guwahati, June 1 : In the 100 Foreigners' Tribunals (FTs) functioning in Assam, more than 1 lakh cases are pending which raises questions about the efficiency of the members working there. From April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, a mere number of 15,201 cases were disposed of in FTs, reads a status report submitted to the Gauhati High court by the state government. Besides, in those FTs, additional 173 members were attached in the last seven months for early disposal of the foreigners' cases. But, the government status report raises eyebrows of many. The state government had recruited members in FTs with good salaries and additional facilities. But, the outcome is not encouraging. In an FT-related case in the High Court, government advocate D. Nath said a total of 1,19,164 foreigners' cases are pending till March 31 this year. An average of only five cases are disposed of in each tribunal every month. If this trend continues, then it will take not less than eight years to solve the currently pending cases. Meanwhile, the number of cases will definitely increase as many people in Assam are receiving foreigners' notice continuously. Senior advocate of Gauhati High court, Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury told IANS that an ample number of cases disposed of by FT members are appealed to the High court. He alleges that "there are many examples where judgments are deliberately made by the FT members to leave some legal loopholes". "As a result, they returned to the foreigners' tribunal from the court. Thus, the number of cases in FTs is constantly increasing. As the government hired the FT members on contract, they intentionally want to keep the number of pending cases high." But, there are complaints of inadequate infrastructure in some FTs. Nath produced copies of the communications received from the Deputy Commissioners of the various districts in Assam highlighting the measures taken by them so as to ensure that proper infrastructures for the Foreigner Tribunals in the different districts are in place. A perusal of the report submitted by the respective Deputy Commissioners indicates that while in some districts, significant steps have already been initiated to provide befitting infrastructures for operating the FTs, in certain districts, proper infrastructure is still not in place primarily due to the paucity of funds. He informed the court that the state government is looking into all aspects of the matter. New Delhi, June 1 : The Supreme Court said paying Rs 9,000 per month to home guards personnel is nothing but exploitation and asked the Odisha government to reconsider its decision. A bench of Justices M.R. Shah and B.V. Nagarathna said home guards in Odisha are being paid Rs 300 per day, which culminates into Rs 9,000 per month. "To pay Rs 9,000 p.m. is nothing but an exploitation. How a Home Guard personnel can survive and maintain his family members on payment of Rs 9,000 p.m. only when he is performing almost the same/similar duties which is performed by other police personnel," it said. The bench said it is also not in dispute that many of the home guards are working for more than 15 years. "The other police personnel in the State are getting approximately Rs 21,700 plus DA (dearness allowance) as per the recommendations made by the Seventh Pay Commission (after 6 years of their contractual appointment)," it added. Scheduling the matter for further hearing in July, the bench said: "Therefore, we direct the state government to reconsider its earlier decision of paying Rs 9,000 p.m. only to the home guards." The top court made these observations while hearing an appeal against an order of the Orissa High Court division bench, directing the state government to pay payment at the rate of Rs 533 per day to the home guards from January, 2020, instead of November 10, 2016. Patna, June 1 : With the Bihar government on Wednesday announcing a caste-based census, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav termed it a victory for his party President Lalu Prasad Yadav and the party. "Lalu Ji was demanding a caste-based census for a long time. We have taken initiatives for it several times, like when I had written a letter to the Chief Minister for an all-party delegation to meet the Prime minister. Over all, we have fought at every stage for caste-based census. So it is a win for us and Lalu Ji," Tejashwi Yadav, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, said. "During the last census, then (Union) Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley said that the data related to the census went corrupt. Hence, it was not appropriate and useful for us. The Centre is conducting a census and if it would have agreed on adding one more column, there would be no need for an additional caste-based census to be conducted separately by state governments. It may help poor states like Bihar. "Unfortunately, the Centre does not agree on it. Even 39 out of 40 Lok Sabha MPs of Bihar are from NDA but they were not advocating it with the Narendra Modi government. If caste-based census would happen in the entire country, it would be in the national interest and helpful to make policies according to the status of particular caste and community," he added. He also said that during the meeting with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, where the decision was taken, his party had suggested to pass the proposal in the next cabinet meeting. "As there is a flood situation in Bihar every year, I have suggested that he start the survey from November this year. At that time, a large number of migrant people return home for the celebration of Chatth festival," he added. New Delhi, June 1 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Wednesday that it has attached 23 bank accounts of Popular Front of India (PFI) having collective balance of over Rs 59 lakh, and 10 bank accounts of PFI's front organisation Rehab India Foundation (RIF) having collective balance of over Rs 9 lakh as part of its the ongoing money laundering investigation into PFI and its related organisations. Thus, a total amount of over Rs 68 lakh has been provisionally attached under Section 5 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED investigation revealed that huge amount of money, including cash, from questionable sources have been received by the PFI and the RFI. "An amount of more than Rs 60 crore has been deposited in the accounts of PFI since 2009, which includes cash deposit of more than Rs 30 crore. Similarly, around Rs 58 crore has been deposited in the accounts of RIF since 2010," said an ED official. During the investigation, the ED learnt that PFI, in active collusion with other associated accused persons, indulged in laundering of proceeds of crime. The ED has alleged that the proceeds of crime mobilised in the form of cash were deposited in its bank accounts by falsely projecting them as cash donations from sympathisers. "Similarly, in order to obliterate the fund trail and circumvent the regulatory rigour, proceeds of crime were mobilised in the form of cash and deposited by PFI leaders in the bank accounts of various individuals and immediately thereafter these funds were transferred from bank accounts to PFI's bank account," the official said. The ED alleged that PFI was covertly mobilising funds through well-organised networks in Gulf countries as part of criminal conspiracy and these proceeds of crime were secretly and clandestinely sent to India through underground and illegal channels and by way of foreign remittances into the bank accounts of sympathisers, office-bearers, members and their relatives, and thereafter these funds were transferred to the bank accounts of PFI, RIF and other individuals, entities. "In this way, the proceeds of crime have been placed, layered and integrated and therefore projected as untainted money in the bank accounts of PFI as well as RIF," the ED official said. "This has been done as part of a larger criminal conspiracy of PFI and its related entities to raise funds within the country and abroad to carry out various unlawful activities which have resulted in the registration of numerous FIRs, complaints against them for commission of scheduled offences over time and the filing of charge sheets & conviction of its members, office-bearers," the official added. The ED had already filed a charge-sheet on February 6, and a supplementary charge-sheet on May 6 against members/office-bearers of PFI and Campus Front of India before a special ED court in Lucknow. The court had taken cognisance of the charge of money laundering against all the accused persons. Amaravati, June 1 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday launched a new mobile application to curb corruption in the state. If any government officer demands a bribe, the citizens can lodge their complaint on the 'ACB 14400' app. The Chief Minister said anyone who were asked for bribe from anyone and anywhere including Collector's office, RDO's office, Sub-Registrar's office, Mandal level office, Police Station, Village/Ward Secretariats, Volunteers, should download ACB 14400 app and record the conversation through audio or video and this would reach Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). He added that ACB would directly report to the Chief Minister's Office. 'ACB 14400' application is available in Google Play Store for download. An OTP will be sent to a mobile number and once it's registered, the app is ready for use. There are two key features in the app. One is to live record a photo, audio or video and lodge a complaint instantly and another is to send the documents, photos, videos and other proofs and lodge a complaint. A reference number would be sent to the registered mobile number once the complaint is lodged. An IOS version of the app would be released soon. During the Spandana video conference held with district Collectors and Superintendents of Police at his camp office here on Wednesday, the Chief Minister said there should be no scope for corruption in the state. He said the government has taken many initiatives in this regard. The Chief Minister pointed out that the state government has disbursed Rs 1.41 lakh crore directly into the accounts of the beneficiaries transparently without corruption and discrimination. He claimed that this had never happened in the history of Andhra Pradesh or in any state in the country. Jagan Mohan Reddy made it clear every Collector and SP is responsible for curbing corruption and everyone should work with dedication and respond to the complaints. He said it is the responsibility of everyone to deliver corruption free governance and added that stringent action would be taken against anyone who resorts to corruption. Chennai, June 1 : The Tamil Nadu government's pension bill is set to increase to Rs 40,000 crore this financial year as around 20,000 government employees are retiring from service. As many as 5,200 Tamil Nadu government employees retired on Tuesday and around 15,000 will retire in December 2022, thus leading to a huge number of vacancies in various government departments. The state government will however have to deal with a huge volume of payments to the retired employees including their benefits and recurring monthly pension. The state government has spent an amount of Rs 26,410 crore in the financial year 2021-22 as retirement benefits and pension to the employees retired and now the estimated expenditure for 2022-23 for retirement benefits will be around Rs 40,000 crore. However, a senior official with the state Treasury Department told IANS that this was not the amount for those retiring this year and instead this includes regular pensioners, family pensioners, and those opting for one-time settlement. The official said that the state government has funds to settle the benefits of the retired government employees, which include four senior Additional Secretaries and 45 other officials from the state Secretariat. Sources in the state government told IANS that the government was not in a hurry to recruit the replacements for those who are retired and who are retiring by December 2022. It is learned that the state has now a total of only 9 lakh government employees instead of the sanctioned strength of 15 lakh. While this huge deficit in the number of government employees may cause administrative difficulties, the DMK government will not be posting new hands all at once and will conduct recruitments in a phased manner. New Delhi, June 1 : A 22-year-old youth has been stabbed to death by three men after the former refused to give them beer, an official said on Wednesday. Police have arrested the three accused -- identified as Ankit Kumar a.k.a. Muhbada (21), Brijesh Mathur a.k.a. Sadhu (20) and Himanshu Kumar a.k.a. Katappa (20). DCP (northwest) Usha Rangnani said a PCR call was received at Adarsh Nagar police station on May 29 around 11 p.m. regarding an injured person lying in a pool of blood near Vardhman Mall, GTK Road, Azadpur. The police immediately reached at the spot and the injured, identified as Durgesh Shukla, was rushed to BJRM Hospital where he was declared brought dead. On inspection of his injuries, the doctor said that he had a single stab injury on his left side of ribs which seemed to have punctured the heart. Accordingly, a case under section 302 of the IPC was registered in Adarsh Nagar police station and investigation taken up. During investigation, the police examined several CCTV footage in the vicinity of the crime spot and all the three accused were arrested from different locations of the city. The three accused disclosed that on May 29, they came to Azadpur from Mukundpur at about 8 p.m. They purchased 6 beer bottles from a wine shop at Adarsh Nagar and consumed it. Further, they went to Lal Bagh and again purchased 8 beer bottles and consumed the same there. Later, they began roaming at the GT Road in an intoxicated state. At around 10.45 p.m., when they were present at service road in front of Vardhman Mall, they saw Durgesh Shukla coming from the Mall side, carrying a plastic bag containing beer bottles. They asked him to give them the beer bottles but he refused which led to a fight. Things soon escalated, and Brijesh and Himanshu caught him while Ankit stabbed him on his chest. New Delhi, June 1 : Ahead of the Stockholm+50, the crucial environment summit, India on Wednesday emphasised that it is the time to celebrate 50 years of collaborative action and at the same time, also to introspect what has been achieved and what more is yet to be done. Stockholm+50 is a global environmental meeting to be held on June 2 and 3 to commemorate the first-ever conference of the United Nations on Human Environment in 1972. "The developing world needs not just an industrial 'transition', but an industrial renaissance - a flowering of industries that will create jobs and prosperity along with a clean environment. The developed nations, with their historical experiences, must take lead in the global transition towards net-zero and low carbon industry," Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said. "When we celebrate 50 years of collaborative actions, at the same time, it is important to introspect on what has been achieved and what more is yet to be done," he said at the Industry Transition Dialogue as a part of the joint initiative with Sweden, the Leadership for Industry Transition (LeadIT) at Stockholm. The LeadIT initiative lays specific focus on hard to abate sectors that are key stakeholders in the global climate action and require specific interventions. Yadav said that this high level of dialogue (of LeadIT) has contributed to the UN Conference 'Stockholm+50' on the theme of "a healthy planet for the prosperity of all-our responsibility, our opportunity" that will also set the agenda for COP27, the annual climate change conference to be held at Egypt's Sharm-el-Sheikh five months later. Apart from Yadav, the event was also addressed by Sweden's Minister for Climate and the Environment, Annika Strandhall, a statement from the Indian Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister said here. He also updated the audience about the progress made under the initiative that includes the sectoral road mapping, workshops and industrial field visits to facilitate knowledge sharing and combined efforts. India chaired the roundtable dialogue on 'Priorities for Implementation 2022-23'. With Japan and South Africa joining as the latest members of the initiative, the total membership of LeadIT has increased to 37 countries and companies together that shared their initiatives, success stories and plans for the future. Patna, June 1 : A bank officer was killed and his son injured in Bihar's Munger district on Wednesday after the former's son-in-law - a police constable - shot them after a spat over getting his wife to return with him to his house, police said. Accused Sonu Kumar, who is posted at the office of Superintendent of Police, Jamui, used his service pistol to commit the crime and fled from the spot. As per the statement of his wife Anchal Kumari, Sonu Kumar went to her native place in Ghosi tola under Kasim Bazar police station in the district on Tuesday evening to get her. "I was suffering from fever and went to a private clinic in Jamalpur town. As Sonu leant that I went there, he reached the clinic and asked my mother to send me with him. My mother refused him and asked to come home tomorrow (Wednesday). When he came again to my house in Ghosi Tola village, my father Giridhar Saw refused to send me with him. This led to a quarrel between him and my father and in a fit of rage, Sonu pulled his gun and shot my father," Anchal Kumari said in a complaint to local police. "When my brother Krishna Kumar tried to save my father, he also shot him," she said. The local villagers immediately rushed to the spot and rescued the victims and took them to the nearby hospital where Saw was declared dead, while the condition of Krishna Kumar is serious. "We have recovered the dead body. Efforts are on to nab the accused," said an officer of Kasim Bazar police station. Anchal had married Sonu Kumar on July 16, 2021 but their relations were not good. The matter went to the police and panchayat several times in the past and they agreed on a compromise. Bengaluru, June 1 : Karnataka police have busted a gang with the arrest of its six members on charges of converting international calls from Middle-East countries to local calls, causing loss to the state exchequer. The accused persons also reportedly made threatening calls to people. The police have seized 16 SIM box devices, 2 SIP trunk call devices, 9 primary rate interface (PRI) devices, 5 laptops, 6 routers, and 205 BSNL SIM cards, which were used by the accused to convert international calls into local calls. The police busted the racket after conducting raids in Bengaluru and Kerala. Two cases have been registered in this regard in Bengaluru. The accused operated from the Mahadevapura locality in Bengaluru. They obtained the SIP device from Airtel, which is used in call centres. They had opened a fraud company in the name of Icon Tours and Travels and had taken a landline connection with 180 ports to carry out their nefarious plans, the police said. Using these devices, the accused converted VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calls to local GSM calls, the police said. The accused obtained BSNL SIM cards from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and other states. Srinagar, June 1 : Militants shot and injured a civilian in J&K's Shopian district on Wednesday. Police sources said that the militants fired at the civilian in Rakh-e-Chidren village of Shopian district. "The civilian, identified as Farooq Ahmad from Rakh-e-Chidren, was shifted to the hospital where his condition is stated to be stable. The area has been cordoned off and a search operation is on," the sources said. Thiruvananthapuram, June 1 : In a bid to make the cities of Kerala free from solid waste, the state government on Wednesday initiated the Kerala Solid Waste Management Project in all the 93 urban local bodies of the southern state. Minister for Local Self-Government, M.V Govindan, has given instructions to carry out data collection and GIS mapping in all the urban local bodies to take stock of the quantity of waste generated every day in the households, commercial establishments, markets, schools and offices. He said a basic grant will be given to all the local bodies to strengthen and enhance the existing waste management systems. "The grant will be given based on the approval of the waste management projects submitted by the local bodies. They can also use the grant to implement various solid waste treatment projects tailored to their local specifications," said Govindan. On a pilot basis, this was completed in Thalassery Municipality. Govindan has also instructed the urban local bodies to complete the same in the remaining 92 municipalities within four months. This exercise would help every local body create scientific waste treatment units according to the quantity and nature of the waste generated, and also considering the space constraints in each municipality. Land remediation activities have also begun in the first phase in areas where waste has traditionally been dumped. Thirty-four legacy waste disposal sites have been identified in different districts. Here, the initial steps of land reclamation have also begun. As part of the project, more sites will be identified and reclaimed in each municipality in the future. The lands will be reclaimed by segregating the mixed waste heaps that have been accumulated over the years and treating and disposing of them without any environmental, health or social problems. The State Project Management Unit (SPMU) will assist the municipalities in the implementation of the project. Paris, June 1 : Daria Kasatkina of Russia downed compatriot Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 7-6(5) at the French Open to reach the last four of Grand Slam for the first time here on Wednesday. The 25-year-old Kasatkina will meet World No.1 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals, after Swiatek defeated Jessica Pegula to win her 33rd straight match. Swiatek leads their head-to-head 3-1, with all three of the top seed's wins coming on hard court this winter. No.20 seed Kasatkina broke through to her first Grand Slam semifinal, eking past No.29 seed Kudermetova in two close sets earned a first trip to the final four in 2 hours and 8 minutes. Kasatkina improved her head-to-head against her close peer to 2-0, following up a 2021 win in St. Petersburg with the biggest triumph of her career to date. Kasatkina's two previous Grand Slam quarterfinal showings resulted in losses to Sloane Stephens at 2018 Roland Garros and Angelique Kerber at 2018 Wimbledon. "Everything happens for the first time and I'm really happy to be in the semis. Dream coming true and everything is fine," Kasatkina said after her victory. "Tomorrow is another mountain in front of me which I have to climb. Maybe it's even better that I don't have much time to think about how good (it) is to be in the semifinals, so I have another battle tomorrow," she said. "I cannot compare what we are going to have tomorrow and what we had in February, March when we were (last) playing. So it's going to be a completely different match. I want to win a lot, she wants to win as well, and it's going to be a good match." Earlier, World No.1 Iga Swiatek's unbeaten run extended to 33 straight matches with a victory over No.11 seed Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals of the French Open here on Wednesday. The 21-year-old Swiatek moved into the French Open semifinals for the second time in her career with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over American Jessica Pegula in Paris. Swiatek's win also puts her in sole possession of third in the list of longest WTA winning streaks this century; she shared 32 with Justine Henin's effort between 2007-08. Swiatek was tested by Pegula in the 89-minute quarterfinal. The pair traded serviced breaks to start the match, and the American saved three match points in the second set before succumbing to defeat. In between, though, Swiatek won seven of eight games played to lead 6-3, 4-1. Swiatek totaled 30 winners to 28 unforced errors and broke Pegula five times on her 11 chances. New Delhi, June 1 : Delhi Police have busted a kidney transplant racket and arrested 10 persons in connection with the case, an official said on Wednesday. The accused have been identified as Kuldeep Ray Vishwakarma (kingpin), Sarvjeet Jailwal (37), Shailesh Patel (23), Md Latif (24), Vikas (24), Ranjit Gupta (43), Dr Sonu Rohilla (37), Dr Sourabh Mittal (37), Om Prakash Sharma (48) and Manoj Tiwari (36). It is learnt that the accused persons illegally transplanted more than 20 kidneys. Deputy Commissioner of Police (south), Benita Mary Jaiker, said an information was received on May 26 at the Hauz Khas police station regarding an illegal kidney transplant racket operating in the Hauz Khas area, which targeted poor people and induced them to sell their kidneys. A tip-off was received that a person will be taken to a private lab for pre-anaesthesia check-up by the members of the racket and subsequently a trap was laid near the lab. "One person was spotted who informed that he was being taken to the lab by Sarvjeet and Vipin on the pretext of treatment for his abdomen pain, but when he realised that they were taking him there for kidney donation, he had arguments with them following which they went away," the DCP said. Accordingly, the police registered a case under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Transplantation of Human Organs Act and took up the investigation. The police constituted a team which conducted raid at A Block, DDA Flats, Paschim Vihar, where four persons, including accused Shailesh Patel and three others -- Diwarkar Sarkar, Ashwini Pandey and Rizwan -- were found present. On questioning, it was revealed that these three persons were taken there for illegal kidney transplantation. "The three persons were about to be taken for kidney transplant, but due to the police's timely intervention, the plan was foiled," the DCP said. Both Sarvjeet and Shailesh were then questioned at length and on the basis of sufficient evidence, they were arrested. On interrogation, the duo revealed that they used to target poor people for kidney and brought them to Vikas and one doctor who gave them Rs 30,000-40,000 as commission. They further sold the kidneys to rich persons at higher rates. Vikas provided accommodation to all the sellers at Paschim Vihar and further sent them to Sonu Rohilla through accused Ranjeet Gupta at Gohana, Sonipat, for illegal kidney transplantation. The police team along with a forensic squad then conducted raid at a hospital in Gohana where a setup was created by the accused persons for illegal kidney transplantation and arrested Sonu Rohilla. Another accused, Dr Sourabh Mittal, an anesthesist who worked with a reputed hospital in Delhi, helped perform the illegal transplants, the officer said. During interrogation, it was revealed that Kuldeep Ray Vishwakarma was the main mastermind behind the racket who convinced others for illegal transplants. Kuldeep also selected the clinic of Sonu Rohilla for execution of the crime. He was the person who paid all the other accused persons. The gang had performed 12-14 illegal transplants during the last 6-7 months at the Gohana setup. The accused used to target young boys in the age group of 20 to 30 years, who were in desperate need of money. Himmatnagar : , June 1 (IANS) A head constable was injured when a mob attacked a police team in Gujarat's Sabarkantha district with stones and one even opened fire on them on Wednesday, police said. Three to four other police personnel suffered minor injuries in stone pelting in Gauri village of Poshina police station area in Sabarkantha. District Superintendent of Police Vishal Vaghela told IANS that based on specific information that a person from Gauri village is in possession of illegal arms, a police team reached his house to conduct a search. However, the wife of the accused screamed for help, and as in the neighbouring street, a marriage was going on, a mob from there rushed and started pelted stone on the police team. During the melee, the main culprit opened fire on the police team from a home-made 12 bore gun, in which head constable Amit Sawant was injured on his leg. A Poshina police station officer said that Sawant was rushed to the Himmatnagar government hospital. As soon as information was received about the incident, neighbouring police stations and district control were alerted, and senior officers rushed to Gauri village and brought the situation under control, the officer said, adding that the process of registering an FIR is underway. Police are questioning a few suspects involved in the attack, and will invoke charges of attempt to murder, rioting, obstructing public servant from discharging their duty, among others, under the Indian Penal Code, against them. Moscow, June 1 : Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that there are risks of involving third countries in the war with Ukraine if Kiev received US multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS). "Such risks, of course, exist. What the Kiev regime demands, and unequivocally, economically... from its Western patrons. Firstly, it goes beyond decency and diplomatic communication, and secondly, it is a direct provocation to involve the West in hostilities," Lavrov said, as per Ria Novosti. According to him, these risks are "understood by conscious Western politicians", Ukrayinska Pravda reported. "Not everyone, frankly, in the European Union, especially in its northern part. There are politicians who are ready to resort to this madness in order to satisfy their ambitions. "But serious countries in the European Union, of course, are well aware of the unacceptability of such scenarios, and we recently heard signs of reasonable estimates from Washington," Lavrov said. The US is "adding fuel to the fire" by supplying weapons to Kiev, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday in response to US President Joe Biden's decision to provide more advanced missile systems to Ukraine, CNN reported. "We believe that the United States is purposefully and diligently adding fuel to the fire," Peskov told reporters on a regular conference call. The Ukrainian authorities have long asked the United States to supply high-tech, medium-range rocket systems. Biden said Tuesday the US is providing Ukraine "more advanced rocket systems and munitions" as its war with Russia grinds on. "Such supplies do not contribute to the Ukrainian leadership's willingness to resume peace negotiations," Peskov said, CNN reported. Peskov also added the Kremlin does not trust Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's words that Kyiv would not use multiple launch rocket systems to attack the Russian territory if they receive them from the US. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Jaipur, June 1 : Former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot on Wednesday, in a veiled attack on Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot questioned why the Congress-led government could not be repeated in Rajasthan while it could be done in Delhi, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and other states. "Even when (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi was not there (in the Centre), the Congress government could not be repeated. We have to accept the fact that once we were left with only 50 MLAs, and next time, we were left with 21 MLAs. What is the reason that people give majority of votes to our party but then next time, we are unable to repeat the government in Rajasthan?" the Congress leader said while interacting with the mediapersons before the start of a two-day party workshop. "This is the atmosphere that has been created after the arrival of PM Modi (at Centre). Even before this, we were not able to repeat the government. We will also discuss these reasons. In the workshop, we will also take a resolution on how to fight the elections with solidarity and how the Congress government can be repeated." JERUSALEM, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli Citizens' Fund, set up to manage state revenues from natural resources, was officially launched on Wednesday, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement. The sovereign wealth fund includes income from levies imposed on profits gained by franchise energy companies from natural resources, including natural gas, oil, and potash. The sums in the fund are to be used for the benefit of Israeli residents, especially for social, economic, and educational purposes, according to Israeli law. The fund was established by law back in 2014, after the discovery of the Tamar and Leviathan natural gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea off the northern coast of Israel. However, the law stipulates that the fund can become active only after the total tax revenue from natural resources profits exceeds 1 billion new shekels (300 million U.S. dollars). Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday signed an ordinance to operate the fund after the Israel Tax Authority informed him that the total amount of levies collected so far had reached 1.14 billion shekels, according to the ministry. Kohima, June 1 : The National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) on Wednesday accused the Central government's representative for peace talks for "giving wrong interpretation in order to confuse the common people". Without mentioning the name of Central government representative and former Special Director of the Intelligence Bureau A.K. Mishra, the dominant Naga outfit, in a statement, said: "NSCN leaders have categorically stated time and again that they will uphold the Framework Agreement (signed on August 3, 2015) in letter and spirit. "But the representatives of the government of India have started giving wrong interpretations in order to confuse the common people. We too feel apprehensive about the clandestine plot of imposing another accord on the Nagas or hijacking the issue through their surrogates. The Nagas are again placed at a critical juncture where they have to make a decision to save their national future or perish. This is going to be the turning point of history. And now is the time to decide our destiny." After sharp open differences between then central interlocutor and Nagaland Governor, R.N. Ravi, who had on a number of occasions rejected the NSCN-IM's demands of a Naga national flag and Naga Constitution, the Centre had appointed Mishra in his place. After Ravi was transferred to Tamil Nadu last year, Mishra visited Nagaland twice since September last year and held a series of meetings with all stakeholders, including Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma too, who is also the Convener of the North East Democratic Alliance, the northeast unit of the National Democratic Alliance. In his second week-long visit from April 18, he met Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, leaders of the NSCN-IM, Naga National Political Groups, core committee on Naga political issues, as well as the Naga civil society and discussed the matter. The NSCN-IM, in its statement on Wednesday said that on the eve of the British departure, the Naga people took a decisive decision and declared their independence on August 14, 1947. In 1950, the Constituent Assembly invited the Nagas to join the Union of India, but the Naga people outrightly rejected the invitation. "That historic decision saved the future of the Nagas," it said. "In 1960, a section of Nagas made an agreement with the government of India called the 16-point agreement, betraying the Naga national principle. But it was rejected and condemned by the Naga people. On November 11, 1975, another agreement called athe Shillong Accord was made to be signed within the parameters of the Indian Constitution. "The National Assembly, held on August 16, 1976, condemned the Shillong Accord as a sell-out and reaffirmed the national principle. Had it not been condemned by the national assembly and saved the nation, the history and the future of the Nagas would have been murdered by that very accord of treason," the statement said. After 'Emergency National Assembly', held on Tuesday at its General Headquarters at Hebron Camp, near Dimapur, the NSCN-IM said: "How can we forfeit the Naga national flag and Naga Constitution in the name of Naga political solution ? What belongs to us... that defines our political identity can never be compromised for the sweet morsel in the name of Naga political settlement. We cannot be made a laughing stock before the world by tamely succumbing to pressure or temptation." The NSCN-IM's repeated insistence on a separate Naga flag and Constitution have become a big hurdle in the way of resolving the Naga issue. Textbook row; NSUI protest turns violent, activists try to barge inside Edu Min residence, 15 taken into custody Image Source: IANS News Textbook row; NSUI protest turns violent, activists try to barge inside Edu Min residence, 15 taken into custody Image Source: IANS News Textbook row; NSUI protest turns violent, activists try to barge inside Edu Min residence, 15 taken into custody Image Source: IANS News Textbook row; NSUI protest turns violent, activists try to barge inside Edu Min residence, 15 taken into custody Image Source: IANS News Bengaluru, June 1 : At least 15 people were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly indulging in vandalism while staging a protest near the residence of Karnataka Education Minister B.C. Nagesh at Tiptur town in the state's Tumakuru district, the police said. The protest was organised by the National Students Union of India (NSUI) to voice opposition over the textbook revision issue. It has been alleged the NSUI activists burnt Khaki shorts during the protest, and also tried to barge into the Minister's residence. Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said that there was an information that attempts were also made to set Nagesh's home on fire. "There is no place for such 'goondaism' in the state," he said. The police have taken 15 people into custody in connection with the incident and also seized two vehicles, he added. He also visited the residence of Minister Nagesh. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has stated that strict action would be initiated against the "miscreants". BJP National General Secretary C.T. Ravi has slammed the incident, and blamed the Congress party for it. Guwahati, June 1 : The Assam CID team has arrested a man on Wednesday, who allegedly duped students on the pretext of admission to medical colleges. The accused Vimal Kumar Choudhury has been absconding for the last few years. He was arrested from his hideout at Siliguri and was produced before a local court for transit remand, and is being brought back to Assam for further action in connection with the case. The case was registered based on complaints of several victims, who had paid huge amount of money to the accused for admission of their children in MBBS or BDS courses. The police said the accused published fake advertisements in newspapers with contact details like email and phone numbers for admission into medical and dental colleges. Though, the case was registered in 2014, the accused could not be arrested. As per the order of the Gauhati High Court, an SIT was formed in 2014 in connection with investigation of the case. The SIT searched the accused using various means and it had been found that another case with a similar modus operandi was registered against the latter in Delhi's Krishna Nagar police station in 2015. Based on the FIR number, the CID team found that a bail application of the accused got rejected by Delhi High Court in 2016. The accused Vimal Kumar Choudhury was in Tihar jail for two months in connection with the case registered with Krishna Nagar police station. Based on details found in the e-prison portal, passport details of the accused person was collected. The mobile number of the wife of the accused was found in the passport. Based on the analysis of the call detail records, the mobile number of the accused was traced. The movements of the accused were continuously traced as he travelled between Ghaziabad and Siliguri. Two teams of Assam CID were formed and sent to Siliguri and Ghaziabad to apprehend the accused and the latter was arrested from Siliguri, said the CID Superintendent of Police. Bhubaneswar, June 1 : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday launched the second phase of the high school transformation programme, dedicating 532 transformed government high schools in five districts of the state to the people. While 1,070 high schools were transformed in the first phase under the programme, another 2,907 schools were redeveloped in the second phase. Out of the 2,907 schools transformed in the second phase, 532 schools were inaugurated on Wednesday. The Chief Minister has dedicated 339 transformed high schools in Mayurbhanj district, 81 in Khurda, 24 in Boudh, 47 in Malkangiri and 41 Sonpur district through virtual mode. Addressing the school students, Patnaik said each child is unique and has great potential. "The children have dreams of a better future and dreams of doing something big in life. The school transformation programme has added wings to their dreams and brought new opportunities for them," he said. "If the dreams of the children come true, the goal to build a New Odisha will be fulfilled," said the Chief Minister. Patnaik further said that the new look of the schools has filled the children with joy and excitement, creating new hopes and aspirations among the school students. Stating that education can only bring the biggest change in life, he appealed to the school students to properly utilise the time and create a new identity for themselves, their family and the state. He further said that the transformation of the schools is a classic example of the 5T programme (technology, teamwork, time, transparency and transformation). New Delhi, June 1 : The subduction of the Indian Plate discontinues north of 27 N latitude and the indentation process is responsible for seismicity in region connected with the Assam earthquake of 1950 (magnitude 8.6), a study has found. The study has also suggested that the Indo-Burma Range (IBR) is more susceptible to deeper earthquakes, while crustal-scale earthquakes are more likely to occur in the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis (EHS). The Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis (EHS) on the foothills of eastern Arunachal Pradesh and bordering regions of Assam is acknowledged as one of the most seismically active regions in the world. The northeast corner of the Indian Plate in the EHS belongs to the seismic zone V of the national zoning map of India and has a potential to trigger major earthquakes in the future. The researchers analysed the earthquake data recorded by the local broadband seismograph network as well as reviewed catalog data of the International Seismological Center for the seismicity in the north-eastern fringe of the Indian Plate in the EHS (Tidding-Tuting Suture) and adjoining areas. The study published in Tectonophysics Journal also found that the Tidding-Tuting Suture Zone is seismically active up to approximately 40 km depth. Another major finding was that the Mishmi, Tidding, and Lohit thrusts are steeply dipping thrust faults while the Walong fault is a strike-slip fault with a minor thrust component. (All places in the Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh). "The TTSZ is seismically active up to around 40 km depth. In contrast, the seismicity in the Indo-Burma Ranges (IBR) is observed up to a depth of around 200 km, suggesting the active subduction (a term borrowed from oceanography, which means the tectonic process at convergent margins by which slabs of oceanic lithosphere descend into the mantle) process of the Indian plate beneath the IBR. It suggests that the IBR is more susceptible to deeper earthquakes, while crustal-scale earthquakes are more likely to occur in the TTSZ," the study said. This research suggests that the subduction process terminates north of around 270 N Latitude and the indentation process of the rigid Indian plate into south-east Asia predominantly controls the seismicity north of the IBR. "This seismic structure forms a complex tectonics, which produced the great Assam earthquake of 1950 and may be building up stress for a future earthquake. The Great Assam Earthquake is the largest intra-continental earthquake ever recorded," it said. In contrast to several studies carried out in the EHS and adjoining SE Tibetan plateau, the north-eastern fringe of the Indian Plate in the EHS (TTSZ) is studied extremely less for understanding seismo-genesis and its tectonic linkage. A team led by Dr. Devajit Hazarika from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, established 11 broadband seismological stations in the Lohit Valley and eight stations in the Siang Window of Arunachal Himalayas to obtain information of moderate and micro-earthquakes in the region. The results reveal that the closely spaced Mishmi, Tidding, and Lohit faults along the Lohit and Dibang River Valleys of eastern Arunachal Pradesh are steeply dipping thrust sheets that accommodate the large crustal shortening owing to the indentation process and clockwise rotation tectonics. The Walong fault, in the upper part of the Lohit river valley of Arunachal Pradesh, is characterised by strike-slip motion with a thrust component that facilitates the clockwise rotation of crustal material around the syntaxis. New Delhi, June 2 : Anguished over not getting the bodies of their relatives who died in the massive fire that broke out in Delhi's Mundka area last month, the family members of the deceased persons on Wednesday staged protest in the national capital. Holding placards, a total of 25-30 people assembled near the Metro Pillar No. 544, in front of Plot No. 193, Mundka, and raised the issue of delay in forensic and DNA reports due to which the process of handing over the dead bodies to the family members has been delayed. Twenty-seven lives perished on May 13 in one of the deadliest fire tragedies that the national capital has witnessed in recent years. "The protesters were heard patiently by the local SHO and the ACP. They were demanding CBI inquiry into the matter," Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer district), Sameer Sharma, said. The police told the protesters that the exhibits in the case were deposited at FSL without any delay and the FSL authorities are being contacted regularly. A senior official of the Forensic Science Laboratory was contacted over phone in the presence of the protesters who assured to expedite the FSL results at the earliest. "The family members were told that on receipt of the FSL results regarding matching of DNA profiles of the deceased with the family members, the post-mortem of the deceased will be conducted and the bodies will be handed over to the family members," the officer said. The reason a DNA sequencing is needed is that most of the bodies were burnt to such an extent that it became difficult to establish whether the remains were of a man or a woman. Dhaka, June 2 : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said that her government has "taken every step to protect people's lives" as she cited how it had built the Padma Bridge with its own resources after the World Bank withdrew its funding. In her introductory speech at the Awami League Advisory Council meeting held at her official residence Ganabhaban, she noted that a Canadian court declared all the allegations regarding Padma Bridge project false and baseless, although Nobel laureate Dr Mohammad Yunus lobbied against its funding by the World Bank. The Prime Minister said her government could take up the challenge as she has been honest in her purpose. "We have built that bridge with our own money. Also I will inaugurate it on June 25," she said. "Bangladesh has changed a lot... Bangladesh has proved it is no longer dependent on foreign funding by self-financing the construction of the Padma Bridge." She accused Yunus of carrying out the conspiracy against the motherland, just for holding the post of Managing Director of Grameen Bank. "He illegally stayed in the MD post of Grameen Bank at the age of 71. He lodged a case regarding the matter and lost," she Premier mentioned. At the outset of the meeting, one-minute silence was observed in memory of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, four national leaders, martyrs of the August 15 massacre and late members of the Advisory Council. Hasina, who is also President of the ruling party, said that Awami League never forgets its election pledges after forming the government. "Every time while formulating the budget, we evaluate how much progress we have made to implement the election pledges," she said, adding they also consider how to implement the unfinished election pledges. She said that the government is advancing the country using modern technology by developing people of grassroots. Recalling the horrible days the people faced after the mayhem on August 15, 1975 the Prime Minister said that the power was not in the hands of the masses, but with by the self-claimed killers of Bangabandhu, his family, and four party leaders in jail. She said that after assuming power, the Awami League government has been able to bring discipline in every sphere of life after it was destroyed by military regimes led by Ziaur Rahman and Mohammad Ershad. She proudly mentioned that the government has accomplished the development of the country from the rural level with 90 per cent of its own resources and Bangladesh has now attained the status of a developing country. "We don't believe in the trickle down development, we always believe in the socioeconomic development from the grassroots level," she said. She also said that her government has been able to reduce the poverty level to under 20 per cent and hoped that in the upcoming census report, the rate will decline further. She mentioned that the government is taking preparations to face the challenges that may arise because of the country's graduation to a developing nation by 2026. "This will not be a tough job for us. Our export earnings and remittance inflow are increasing," she added. Hasina also said that the government has formulated Delta Plan 2100 for sustainable development of the country overcoming the climate change effects as she also put emphasis on strengthening the party to better serve the people. New Delhi, June 2 : Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Sanjeev Balyan, came down heavily on the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) on Wednesday, which was also incedentally the World Milk Day. After praising the Amul model, Balyan said he had tried to understand (Amul founder) Varghese Kurien's philosophy after he was presented his biography, and realised what all he did for the milk and dairy sector. "When Amul became successful, then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shashtri established the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) to have Amul like success stories in each region. Some were successful, some failed," Balyan said at the 'Unnat Pashudhan Sashakt Kisan Conclave - the Conclave of 75 Entrepreneurs and Exhibition of 75 Indigenous Livestock Breeds'. The minister termed it as 'meri peeda' (personal hurt) when he said that the NDDB has failed to raise Amul-like cooperative models that have brought prosperity to the area the milk plant operates in. Pointing to NDDB chairperson Meenesh Shah -- and also stating that what he says should not be taken personally but as an earnest appeal from a farmer at heart -- Balyan said, "You just a while ago said your Faridabad plant sends 1 lakh litres of milk daily to Delhi. Then why do my farmer brothers not get all those facilities that their counterparts in Gujarat get?" Balyan also spoke about the poultry sector, which, he said, has grown independently of the government, offering low prices to the small farmers rearing poultry. "If this continues, if the contracts for integration by the private companies continue to give losses to the small farmers, the government will have to intervene to stop such exploitation," he said, adding, "We will soon call a meeting of all the stakeholders in this regard." Earlier, Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, inaugurated the conclave. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Patna, June 2 : A BJP MLA sustained critical injuries after his Innova car rammed into a bus in Bihar's Sitamarhi district on Wednesday, police said. The victim Mithilesh Kumar, including his two bodyguards and two other persons have also been reportedly injured in the accident as the BJP MLA was returning from Katihar after attending a state BJP executive committee meeting, the police added. All the four persons have been admitted in Ram Sheela hospital at Sakri Bazar block and Sadar hospital in Madhubani, respectively. The condition of the injured BJP MLA is stable now but he sustained a fracture in one hand, said the Madhubani Civil Surgeon. Two bodyguards Wakil Ram and Jay Prakash sustained serious injuries and were taken to Sadar hospital after which the doctors referred them to Patna Medical College Hospital in Patna. The MLA's driver Mohamad Asadullah and personal assistant Mohamad Ramjani were also injured in this accident. As the car reached Nawada Mod under Sakri police station in Madhubani district on a four lane NH-57, the MLA's driver lost control over the vehicle and crossed the divider and ended up colliding with a bus on other side of the road. After the accident, a large number of supporters of Mithilesh Kumar along with Bihar Panchayati Raj Minister Samrat Choudhary, BJP MLA Sanjay Saraogi and BJP MLC Arjun Sahani also visited the hospital in Madhubani's Sakri Bazar. The victim is currently admitted in the ICU. Beirut, June 2 : Lebanon and Iraq have agreed to bolster legal and judicial cooperation between their Justice ministries, the National News Agency (NNA) reported. The cooperation, agreed upon during a meeting between Lebanese Justice Minister Henri Khoury and his visiting Iraqi counterpart Salar Abdul Sattar Muhammad on Wednesday, includes judicial notifications, penal fields and extradition issues between the two countries, according to NNA. "The Iraqi and Lebanese Justice ministries have authentic and deep-rooted relations ... We must collaborate, cooperate and support each other in international and regional forums and in the League of Arab States," said Muhammad. For his part, Khoury said his Ministry's relation with the Iraqi Justice Ministry and the Supreme Judicial Council in Iraq is very special, highlighting Lebanon's aspiration to "further consolidate these ties in the near future," Xinhua news agency reported. The Hague, June 2 : The Netherlands and Germany will jointly drill for a new gas field in the North Sea, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate announced. State Secretary Hans Vijlbrief has "issued permits for the Dutch part today," said the Ministry in a statement on Wednesday. The permits will be "available for inspection online" from Friday, and an "accelerated procedure" for the required permits is underway in Germany, Xinhua news agency reported. The announcement came a day after Russia's energy company Gazprom stopped its gas supply to the Netherlands, as a reaction to Dutch gas company GasTerra's refusal to pay in roubles. The new drilling field will be located in the North Sea, more than 19 kilometres offshore on the Dutch-German border. A pipeline is being built to transport the gas on land, and there will also be a cable to a nearby German wind farm for the electricity supply on the gas field. The first gas is expected to be produced by the end of 2024, it added. Stockholm, June 2 : The Russia-Ukraine conflict could lead to a global food crisis that will hit developing countries the hardest, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned in Stockholm. Guterres met with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson on Wednesday to discuss the security situation in Europe, recovery from the pandemic and the green transition, Xinhua news agency reported. The Russia-Ukraine conflict is creating suffering and devastation, and "must end now," Guterres said at a press conference after the meeting. He also urged for swift decisions to counter the food crisis that could arise from the conflict, putting developing countries most at risk. The situation is fueling "a three-dimensional global crisis for food, energy and finance" that is affecting "the most vulnerable populations, countries and economies," he warned. A "perfect storm" is threatening to destroy the economies of many developing countries," he added. The food crisis cannot be resolved effectively unless Russia's manure and food production, and Ukraine's food production can reach world markets again, Guterres said. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Russia and Ukraine are the world's largest and fifth-largest wheat exporters, respectively. Together, they provide 19 per cent of the world's barley supply, 14 per cent of wheat and four per cent of maize, making up more than one-third of global cereal exports. In Ukraine, which is known as the breadbasket of Europe, the conflict has left unharvested wheat that was planted months ago, while maize and sunflowers sown when the conflict broke out were left unfertilised. It is estimated that Ukraine's grain production may fall by more than 50 per cent in the current season. Moreover, Russia is the leading producer of fertilisers, accounting for 13 per cent of global production. Restrictions on Russian fertiliser exports due to the US' sanctions have led to a surge in global fertiliser prices. This has forced farmers in Brazil, the US and other major agricultural countries to reduce their use of fertilisers, which could affect future harvests. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Latest updates on Global Food Crisis -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Ahmedabad, June 2 : The executive meeting of Gujarat BJP Yuva Morcha was held at the party's state office Shree Kamalam in Gandhinagar. At the meeting held on Tuesday, programmes for the next two months were discussed keeping in mind the upcoming Assembly elections scheduled later this year. Discussions were held on the important issue of recruiting talented youth in the party through a membership drive from June 16-21. Gujarat BJP Yuva Morcha President Prashant Korat and State party In-charge Pankaj Chaudhary were present at the meeting. Talking to IANS on the importance of BJP's Yuva Morcha, Korat said, "All the parties claim that more youths are joining them, but the figures which result in votes can only be considered true. Youngsters themselves contact us to join the Yuva Morcha." On the state of educated youth unemployment in the state, he added that according to government data, there are about 3,43,000 unemployed educated youth in the state. "We have millions of forms being filled when competitive exams are held, but that doesn't mean they are all unemployed. Government jobs are considered secure jobs, so young people doing other jobs also fill out the forms." "Some youngsters also appear in exams with the desire to be promoted or move to another post. So, we see a large number of candidates for the exams. The Opposition misleads the public by talking about unemployment citing these figures," Korat said. Tripoli, June 2 : The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said that it evacuated 132 vulnerable asylum-seekers from Libya to Rwanda. "UNHCR evacuated a group of 132 vulnerable asylum seekers, including young children and babies, out of Libya to safety in Rwanda," UNHCR Libya tweeted on Wednesday. The asylum-seekers, who are from different African countries, had been living in urban areas of the capital Tripoli and include survivors of violence and torture, and women and girls at risk, said UNHCR in a statement. Expressing gratitude to Libyan authorities for facilitating the evacuation, UNHCR Acting Chief of Mission in Libya Djamal Zamoum said "these vital flights provide hope and safety for some of the most vulnerable refugees and asylum-seekers in Libya". Zamoum urged other countries to "provide more pathways or resettlement opportunities to help others find safety out of Libya". Since 2017, a total of 8,296 vulnerable refugees and asylum-seekers have been evacuated out of Libya to safety, according to the UN relief agency, Xinhua news agency reported. Many illegal migrants, mostly Africans, choose to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores from Libya. Dumpu Airport, Dumpu, Papua New Guinea [ DPU / ] If you are planning to travel to Dumpu or any other city in Papua New Guinea, this airport locator will be a very useful tool. 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DPU - Dumpu Airport IATA Code Tinboli Airport, Tinboli, Papua New Guinea [ TCK / ] If you are planning to travel to Tinboli or any other city in Papua New Guinea, this airport locator will be a very useful tool. This page gives complete information about the Tinboli Airport along with the airport location map, Time Zone, lattitude and longitude, Current time and date, hotels near the airport etc... Tinboli Airport Map showing the location of this airport in Papua New Guinea. Tinboli Airport IATA Code, ICAO Code, exchange rate etc... is also provided. Tinboli Airport Info: Tinboli Airport IATA Code: TCK Tinboli Airport ICAO Code: Latitude : -4.1 Longitude : 143.383 City : Tinboli Country : Papua New Guinea World Area Code : 804 Airport Type : Small Timezone : Pacific/Port_Moresby Tinboli Airport Timezone : GMT +10:00 hours Current time and date at Tinboli Airport is 13:37:42 PM (+10) on Wednesday, Jun 8, 2022 Looking for information on Tinboli Airport, Tinboli, Papua New Guinea? Know about Tinboli Airport in detail. Find out the location of Tinboli Airport on Papua New Guinea map and also find out airports near to Tinboli. This airport locator is a very useful tool for travelers to know where is Tinboli Airport located and also provide information like hotels near Tinboli Airport, airlines operating to Tinboli Airport etc... IATA Code and ICAO Code of all airports in Papua New Guinea. Scroll down to know more about Tinboli Airport or Tinboli Airport, Papua New Guinea. Tinboli Airport Map - Location of Tinboli Airport Load Map Papua New Guinea - General Information Country Formal Name Independent State of Papua New Guinea Country Code PG Capital Port Moresby Currency Kina (PGK) 1 PGK = 0.281 USD 1 USD = 3.562 PGK 1 PGK = 0.263 EUR 1 EUR = 3.809 PGK More PGK convertion rates Tel Code +675 Top Level Domain .pg This page provides all the information you need to know about Tinboli Airport, Papua New Guinea. This page is created with the aim of helping travelers and tourists visiting Papua New Guinea or traveling to Tinboli Airport. Details about Tinboli Airport given here include Tinboli Airport Code - IATA Code (3 letter airport codes) and ICAO Code (4 letter airport codes) Coordinates of Tinboli Airport - Latitude and Longitude (Lat and Long) of Tinboli Airport Location of Tinboli Airport - City Name, Country, Country Codes etc... Tinboli Airport Time Zone and Current time at Tinboli Airport Address and contact details of Tinboli Airport along with website address of the airport Clickable Location Map of Tinboli Airport on Google Map. General information about Papua New Guinea where Tinboli Airport is located in the city of Tinboli. General information include capital of Papua New Guinea, currency and conversion rate of Papua New Guinea currency, Telephone Country code, exchange rate against US Dollar and Euro in case of major world currencies etc... TCK - Tinboli Airport IATA Code VGP announces that it has secured two lease agreements for its VGP Park Berlin in Ludwigsfelde and for its VGP Park Nijmegen, which is with now fully let. In total, the developer lets over 68,000 m in Germany and the Netherlands. . W Hotels Worldwide, part of Marriott Bonvoys portfolio of 30 extraordinary hotel brands, today announces the highly anticipated opening of W Algarve. W Algarve marks the first W Hotel to open in Portugal, bringing a unique, modern luxury experience that is focused on socialising, to the Algarv... [] We are thrilled to be part of the CRN 2022 list and celebrate this as a powerful recognition for our team that continues to excel and build trust with our customers. 10Pearls announced today that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has named 10Pearls to its 2022 Solution Provider (SP) 500 List. From a list of tens of thousands of potential candidates, five hundred companies were ultimately identified for inclusion in the list. CRNs annual Solution Provider 500 ranks North Americas largest solution providers by revenue and serves as the gold standard for recognizing some of the channels most successful companies. With a combined revenue of $434 billion, this years list represents an impressive amount of influence and impact wielded by these companies on todays IT industry and their technology partners. 10Pearls is a global digital product innovation and software development business helping companies leverage technology to scale, innovate and transform the way they operate both internally and externally. 10Pearls has seen consistent yearly high double-digit growth while maintaining its founding principles based on positive social impact. We are thrilled to be part of the CRN 2022 list and celebrate this as a powerful recognition for our team that continues to excel and build trust with our customers, said 10Pearls CEO, Imran Aftab. Our relentless focus on customer delivery and investing in our employees has allowed us to rapidly expand globally, while maintaining our human-centric values. The Solution Provider 500 list from CRN serves as the benchmark for the top technology integrators, strategic service providers, and IT consulting firms, making it an invaluable resource for technology vendors seeking to partner with todays top-performing IT solutions providers, said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. My congratulations go out to each of these companies for their extraordinary contributions to the continued growth and success of the IT channel. 10Pearls continues to expand both organically and via acquisitions in the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Pakistan, Colombia, Peru and the United Kingdom. In addition to being selected to Americas Fastest Growing Companies by the Financial Times, 10Pearls was named to Inc. 5000 list in 2021 for the 3rd consecutive year. Additionally, Imran Aftab, the CEO has been named Entrepreneur of the Year 2022 Mid Atlantic Finalist by Ernst & Young. CRNs 2022 Solution Provider 500 list is available online at http://www.CRN.com/SP500 and a sample from the list will be featured in the June issue of CRN Magazine. About 10Pearls: 10Pearls is a global, purpose-driven digital technology partner helping businesses re-imagine, digitalize and accelerate. As an end-to-end digital partner, 10Pearls helps businesses create transformative digital products incorporating exponential tech (AI/ML, Blockchain, IoT, AR/VR). Our broad expertise in product management, user experience/design, cloud architecture, software development, data insights and intelligence, cybersecurity, emerging tech, and quality assurance ensures that we deliver solutions that address business needs. 10Pearls' clients include Global 2000 enterprises, high growth mid-size businesses, and some of the most exciting start-ups across several industries, including healthcare, education, real estate/ prop-tech, energy, communications/media, financial services, and hi-tech. The Washington Post has referred to 10Pearls as a double bottom line company that balances profits with social causes. https://10pearls.com/ About The Channel Company: The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers, and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. http://www.thechannelcompany.com Power Home Remodeling (Power), the nations leading exterior home remodeler and nationally-recognized top workplace, will show their support for the LGBTQ+ community by participating in this years Dallas Pride Parade and flying in employees from all over the country to celebrate, advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, and give back to the queer community. The weeklong event is part of the companys annual Pride Initiative spearheaded by their LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group (ERG), Queer Power, and their Cultural Diversity and Inclusion (CD&I) Initiative. Every year, Power participates in a Pride parade in one of their 18 territories across the U.S. selected by Queer Power members. Both LGBTQ+ employees and allies design and build a parade float that not only represents the queer community, but the city in which theyre celebrating. In years past, Power hosted their Pride celebration in Phoenix and Houston, and this years selected city is Dallas. At Power, celebrating and empowering our LGBTQ+ community is a cornerstone of our initiative. So especially during the month of June, were proud to stand with our LGBTQ+ employees in a big way, said Olumide Cole, National Director of Cultural Diversity & Inclusion (CD&I) at Power Home Remodeling. Powers Pride Initiative is not just about participating in the parade or displaying Pride flags - its rooted in educating employees on current LGBTQ+ issues, which is more poignant since were hosting the event in Texas. Its incredibly important to us that our employees that work and live in this state are aware of where we stand in regards to their basic rights and freedoms. This year in Dallas, Power is partnering with Resource Center to cook meals for homeless queer people and people impacted by HIV/AIDS, as well as organizing the centers food pantry. Resource Center is a local organization aimed at providing programs and assistance to LGBTQ+ communities and anyone impacted by HIV/AIDS through advocacy, health, and education. Additionally, employees will also participate in a series of outings and team-building activities that support local queer-owned businesses. "Celebrating Pride through Powers Pride Initiative means everything to me as queer person, said Anthony Rivera, Queer Power ERG Chair. It means a sense of belonging, a space to be my true, authentic self, and the opportunity to impact the LGBGTQ+ community at large. Im proud to work for a company thats working so hard to drive change inside the workplace and within our communities. Power is a proud member of the Human Rights Campaigns Business Coalition for the Equality Act, and recently joined businesses across the U.S. by signing the HRCs and Freedom for All Americans' joint National Business Statement Opposing Anti-LGBTQ State Legislation to continue fighting for LGBTQ+ rights and ensure equality for all. Recognized as one of Fortune's 100 Best Companies To Work For in 2021, Power Home Remodeling offers engaging, fulfilling career opportunities where employees can thrive. To learn more about Power and view career opportunities available in its 18 territories nationwide, visit https://powerhrg.com/career/. Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | LinkedIn | Instagram About Power Home Remodeling Power Home Remodeling is a dream realization company believing its purpose is to create positive change in everything the company touches from customers homes to employees lives to the communities they live and work in. Power realizes this purpose by being people-first. Its employees and customers come before profit and their well-being factors into every business decision. Established in 1992, Power is the nations largest, full-service, exterior home remodeler with more than 2,800 employees, over one million customers and $825 million in annual revenue. Headquartered in the Philadelphia region, Powers primary product line includes windows, siding, roofing, doors, solar roofing panels, and attic insulation, providing energy-saving solutions to residents across its operating territories, including: Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington D.C. and Wisconsin. Ron Fredin, Warren Hood and Ken Farrish present Belinda Harvey with a check for $37,687.50. When we discovered that Belinda was the designer of our original logo, we were determined to find her. Jeff Key, director of marketing for Atlas Roofing Atlas Roofing Corporation was thrilled to donate nearly $40,000 to Belinda Harvey, a resident of Meridian, MS, and designer of the roofing manufacturers first logo in 1982. That year, Harvey won the Atlas Roofing logo design contest, for which she received a $200 savings bond. This historical fact, however, was all but forgotten over the past four decades, that is, until Robin Seale, executive office administrator, found an old press release about it and shared the news with Jeff Key, director of marketing. When we discovered that Belinda was the designer of our original logo, we were determined to find her, Key explained. According the 1982 press release, we learned that she attended Meridian Community College, but we had no idea where shed be now, 40 years later. But low and behold, she was still in Meridian, and we were able to track her down. In recognition of Harveys historic work, the Atlas marketing team concocted an idea to give back to her by challenging employees to donate $40 each for the 40th anniversary celebration in 2022. Part of a company-wide email stated, Because her life has been of service to others, we have the opportunity to give back to the woman who helped give us our most visible symbol. With the help of the company itself, Atlas leadership pledged to match employee contributions 150% over what was raised. On May 12, 2022, thanks to 166 employees who donated more than $15,000 in only five days, Harvey received a check for $37,687.50, which was personally presented by Ron Fredin, former president of Atlas Roofing; Warren Hood, chairman and CEO of Atlas Roofings parent company, Hood Companies Inc.; and Ken Farrish, current president of Atlas Roofing. In addition to the financial gift, the manufacturer is also donating materials from its Meridian plant, partnering with a local contractor to give Harvey a new roof. In recognition of the important role she played in our companys history, we wanted to give Ms. Harvey a roof made with the highest-quality products that we know will protect her and her home for years to come, said Lauren Carlson, marketing and communications manager for Atlas. While Atlas updated its logo late last year, the original Harveys design was the visual representation of the company for nearly the past 40 years, during which time Atlas has grown from its first asphalt shingle manufacturing plant in Meridian, MS, to 36 state-of-the-art facilities in North America. For more information about Atlas Roofings 40th anniversary, visit AsphaltLife.AtlasRoofing.com. ### About Atlas Roofing Corporation Atlas is an innovative, customer-oriented provider of asphalt shingles, roof underlayments, rigid expanded polystyrene and polyiso insulation, geofoam, cold chain, protective packaging, lost foam, and cutting-edge coated and paper facers and underlayments for a diverse set of markets. Atlas has grown from a single asphalt shingle manufacturing facility to 36 facilities in North America with worldwide product distribution. Products from the company's four major divisions, Polyiso Roof & Wall Insulation, Shingle & Underlayment, Molded Products, and Web Technologies, are manufactured in state-of-the-art facilities and shipped from its network of manufacturing plants and distribution facilities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. For more information about Atlas Roofing Corporation, please visit AtlasRoofing.com. HYPR, The Passwordless Company, today announced that it will participate in the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agencys (CISA) Shields Up! program. This initiative will help organizations prepare for, respond to, and mitigate the impact of a potential cyberattack by Russia. As part of its involvement, HYPR is joining forces to defend against adversaries by offering its True Passwordless MFA technology free of charge, via CISAs list of Free Cyber Security Services and Tools. HYPR True Passwordless MFA is one of only five technologies listed by CISA as an instrumental tool in helping organizations maximize resilience against a destructive cyber incident and is the sole authentication provider on the complete list of more than 100 free cybersecurity offerings. Enterprise and small-to-medium businesses will now have free access to FIDO Certified phishing-resistant passwordless MFA, a gold standard for Zero Trust Authentication set by the U.S Governments Office of Management Budget (OMB) and CISA. By eliminating password-based authentication, organizations can significantly reduce unauthorized access as well as secure against phishing, man-in-the middle attacks and account takeover. The Shields Up Program is a vital call to action from CISA aimed at educating and arming global organizations with the intelligence and tools to prepare and protect against a foreign attack, with a core element of the program being to deploy and enforce multi-factor authentication, said Andrew Shikiar, FIDO Alliance Executive Director & Chief Marketing Officer. By providing free access to its True Passwordless MFA Platform, HYPR has taken a laudable step to help protect businesses against the growing number of remote attacks that pose an existential threat to the integrity of our networked society. Critical infrastructures such as the energy, information technology and chemical sectors remain the most susceptible to malicious foreign attacks. In fact, CheckPoint Software reported that cyberattacks on critical infrastructures using malware grew by 102% in the first six months of 2021, compared to 2020 a number only poised to increase amidst the Russian attacks on Ukraine. Combined with Verizons findings that 85% of all data breaches result from human error, CISA and cybersecurity authorities in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom are issuing recommended mitigations FIDO-based multi-factor authentication being one. According to HYPRs own 2022 State of Passwordless Security report, only 16% of organizations with passwordless technology use phishing-resistant methods; the remaining employ shared secrets. The urgency to improve authentication security cannot be overstated. Yes, the focus is on critical infrastructures, but history has shown that simple human error has catastrophic implications regardless of size, budget, or sector, said Bojan Simic, co-founder, CEO and CTO of HYPR. It is an honor to be alongside such a high-caliber group of companies aligning to protect against a nationwide attack. This opportunity allows HYPR to democratize passwordless authentication. For more information on HYPR, visit https://www.hypr.com. About HYPR HYPR fixes the way the world logs in. HYPRs True Passwordless MFA platform decouples authentication from the organizations identity providers and eliminates the traditional trade-off between security and user experience by providing uncompromising assurance and consumer-grade experience. By eliminating the password and deployments taking hours rather than weeks or months, organizations decrease the risk of a cyber-attack, increase positive user experience, and lower operational costs. Welcome to The Passwordless Company. Additional information is available at https://www.hypr.com The curbside pickup has been especially convenient for our customers. Not only does it reduce traffic inside the store, because were in a very busy area, its a nicer experience if we can bring it out to them. Something Natural, the popular bakery from Nantucket, known for its delicious sandwiches and fresh house-baked bread, is celebrating five years at its Greenwich location this month. This five-year anniversary is especially important to Something Natural. Only two years after the Greenwich location opened behind Saks off of Greenwich Avenue, the pandemic hit and shook up the entire restaurant industry. Pam Evans, General Manager of the Greenwich Something Natural, said, This milestone is very important to us. Of course, it means we survived the pandemic and are still here. Weve made a commitment to the community, and we want to be here for a long time. Even in the hardest of times, were able to push through and succeed, and were grateful that weve had the support of the community through this time. For Pam, her tenure at the Greenwich store has been particularly challenging, having taken the General Manager position just before the pandemic hit in March 2020. There was a lot of pivoting, she said. Her first task was to learn to bake the bread, something that has always been a part of her life, since childhood. As a child, we visited Nantucket every summer, and the brand was familiar to me. Its really a special product. It tastes like my childhood. In the 1980s, we used to try to figure out the secret recipe for that herb bread, but we never quite got it right. So when this job opened, I just had to figure out how to make that delicious herb bread! Online ordering and curbside pickup has been a big hit for the Greenwich location One of the biggest changes Pam saw since joining was a shift to online ordering and curbside pickup. The pandemic has created a new set of customer expectations, not just for Something Natural, but for the entire restaurant industry. According to Pam, online ordering and curbside pickup has been enormously popular, and is likely to continue to be a focus after the pandemic has passed. Its not hard to go out of our way to do nice things for the community, said Pam. The curbside pickup has been especially convenient for our customers. Not only does it reduce traffic inside the store, because were in a very busy area, its a nicer experience if we can bring food to our customers' cars. Also, we have a lot of moms who have babies and small children in the back seat, so Im happy to help make their lives a little easier. Pam and the entire team are proud to be celebrating their five-year anniversary, as the restaurant industry has faced the biggest challenges it has ever seen. The biggest challenge was when they shut down the town, and most of the town went quiet, said Pam. As an essential service though, we remained open during the shutdown, but that was simply the hardest time. Then more people started coming out, and I had some brave Greenwich High School students join the team for the weekends. It was great having them in the restaurant. A lot of people in the area know Something Natural from visiting Nantucket. We were showing some growth during the pandemic over previous years because of the recognition, our location, and the fact that for many people, it represented such an important part of their lives. For many people in the community I think, like myself, it makes us think of those pleasant childhood memories visiting the island. Something Natural keeps innovating Pam sees continued innovation as key to the stores success. While she has learned the secret recipes she craved as a child, she has also grown to know her customers personally. She knows what they like and shes not afraid to experiment or bring in new things. Besides the soups and hot sandwiches that are so popular, especially on those cold winter days, were always trying to appeal to different types of people around town. Its one of the more affordable options, too, and for many, its a cozy little meeting place, with indoor seating and picnic tables outside as well. The shop now also features ice cream and coffee, and of course, their famous chocolate chip cookies remain a perennial favorite. True to Something Naturals focus on community, the coffee isnt any coffee they rely exclusively on Stamford-based BonJo Coffee Roasters, whose unique roasts offer an unmistakable coffee experience. The local partnership reflects their community-driven operation. Something Natural is also carrying New York-based Perrys Ice Cream, a popular regional favorite, whose devotion to sustainability is in line with Something Naturals own dedication to the environment; Connecticuts Lesser Evil Snacks; and most recently Nantucket Crisps a new chip company started in Nantucket, who gives part of their profits to the North Atlantic Right Whale. Environmentally friendly policies Something Natural is proud to be a member of Waste Free Greenwich, and partners with Food Rescue Fairfield County. Through Food Rescue, Something Natural donates leftover bread and food that does not get used each day. Most recently, Food Rescue also encouraged Something Natural to join Waste Free Greenwich and their Food Matters Challenge, a program which helps reduce food waste and turn it into compost. It also encourages reuse of plastics by bundling them, and keeping them out of our landfills. Something Natural is one of the very first businesses to participate in the Waste Free Greenwich program and a community leader in waste free food service. Help Something Natural celebrate five years in Greenwich; come visit to enjoy a favorite taste or try something new! Something Natural is located at 189 Greenwich Avenue, behind Saks Fifth Avenue, and is open daily from 8 am to 4 pm, 10 am 4 pm on Sundays. ATG is a full-service engineering and planning consulting firm focused on complex transportation systems. In acquiring ATG, DCCM is expanding its existing partnership with industry veteran Gayle Heath, who will be continuing in her role as Chief Executive Officer of ATG. With an eye toward partners most aligned with DCCMs vision for strategic growth, a commitment to developing and investing in staff, and an unrelenting focus on client service, ATG presents itself as an experienced firm with a compelling approach to providing an excellent customer experience without sacrificing a superior product, said James F. (Jim) Thompson, PE, DBIA, CEO of DCCM. We are thrilled to welcome ATG to the DCCM family. "I'm excited that ATG is joining the DCCM family of companies," said Gayle Heath. "ATG's mission is to 'Make Lives Better' by providing quality planning and engineering services and products on time and within budget naturally fits with DCCM and their mission. Our customers expect excellence, and DCCM's broad and experienced resources only diversify and strengthen our capabilities. Our customers will benefit from their additional support and investment into our business." Elie Azar, Managing Director of White Wolf, added Its with great enthusiasm that we add ATG to the DCCM family of companies. We are excited to further expand DCCMs transportation services across the state of Texas and its surrounding regions and look forward to partnering with Gayle, Mike, and the entire ATG team in their continued growth. **** About ATG ATG is a full-service engineering and planning consulting firm that takes a fresh, innovative approach to improve the movement of people and goods through complex transportation systems. Through their innovation and expertise, ATG is focused on solutions that serve the movement of people and communities today and in the future. For more information, please visit: https://alliance-transportation.com/. About DCCM DCCM is a provider of design, consulting, and program & construction management professional services focusing on infrastructure marketplaces throughout the public and private sectors. Through a family of complementary brand companies, DCCM serves a variety of end markets while offering a national reach. DCCM is aggressively hiring key industry professionals in all disciplines and is actively seeking further acquisition opportunities throughout North America. For more information, please visit: http://www.dccm.com. About White Wolf White Wolf Capital is a private investment firm that began operations in late 2011 and is focused on making both direct and indirect investments in leading middle market companies located in North America. On the direct side, White Wolf Capital seeks both private equity as well as private credit investment opportunities in companies with $20 million to $200 million in revenues and up to $20 million in EBITDA. Typical situations include management buyouts, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations and investments for growth. Preferred industries include manufacturing, business services, government services, information technology, security, aerospace, and defense. In addition to making direct investments in operating companies, White Wolf Capital also looks to invest with other private fund managers as a limited partner. Targeted investment candidates are North American focused private credit funds looking to raise $50 million to $500 million in assets under management, with a focus on the lower-middle and middle-market. For further information, please visit: http://www.whitewolfcapital.com. Alex Yastremski Alex has strong and varied experience with private companies, financial sponsors, investors, and entrepreneurs dealing with novel legal issues. His skill set is a perfect match for the needs of many CFM clients. Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP ("CFM"), a boutique investment management law firm focusing on the digital asset space, has hired Alex Yastremski as a Partner to lead its Digital Asset Practice. Mr. Yastremski is a digital asset industry veteran with significant experience helping large and small companies with their go-to-market strategies. His practice is focused on start-ups through emerging growth companies, venture capital financings, equity issuances (including Web3 platforms and token launches), and other regulatory matters related to blockchain-related businesses. Prior to joining CFM, Alex served as Co-Chair of the Blockchain and Digital Currency Task Force of a large law firm and was General Counsel of DASAN Zhone Solutions and BitFury Group Ltd. "We are obviously excited to expand the core CFM investment management practice with the addition of specific digital asset equity and financing practice," said CFM Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner Bart Mallon. "Alex has strong and varied experience with private companies, financial sponsors, investors, and entrepreneurs dealing with novel legal issues. His skill set is a perfect match for the needs of many CFM clients." Alex's arrival comes at a time of notable growth for CFM. The CFM team includes over 35 professionals, serving over 1,500 clients and launching over 250 private funds per year, predominately in the digital asset space. The addition of Mr. Yastremski also highlights the expansion of the firm's corporate and finance capabilities and showcases the growth of the firm. Karl Cole-Frieman, also a CFM Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner, added, "We could not be more delighted to have Alex join our many talented professionals. Our pioneering and best-in-class work with non-traditional asset classes, notably our work with cryptocurrency fund managers, continues to be our firm's core strength." About: Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP is an investment management law firm known for providing innovative and collaborative legal solutions to clients with complex financial needs in both the traditional and digital asset spaces. Headquartered in San Francisco, CFM services a wide variety of groups, from start-up investment managers to multi-billion-dollar firms. The firm provides a full suite of legal services including: formation of hedge funds, private equity funds, and venture capital funds; adviser compliance and registration; counterparty documentation; equity financings and token offerings; SEC, CFTC, NFA and FINRA matters; seed deals; hedge fund due diligence; employment and compensation matters; and, routine business matters. The firm also publishes the prominent Hedge Fund Law Blog, focusing on legal issues that impact the hedge fund community. For more information, please add us on LinkedIn and visit us at colefrieman.com. MISSION announced today that consumer industry veteran, Hugh Rovit, was appointed as the companys new Chief Executive Officer, effective May 16, 2022. This is an incredibly exciting time for MISSION where we see brand strength and momentum throughout the US and great opportunities for future growth in cooling, heat relief and beyond, said Leigh Randall of Topspin Consumer Partners. I am excited that Hugh will lead our high-performance team in this next phase of growth and expansion. His deep expertise in consumer goods, health & wellness, product innovation and omni-channel commerce combined with his strong relationships in the active lifestyle category, make him ideally suited to accelerate our growth as the leader in the market. Im confident Hugh will take MISSION to the next level and execute on our vision for continued market leadership. It is an honor to become CEO of this innovative and disruptive company, and to join the incredibly talented and passionate team at MISSION dedicated to serving active enthusiasts everywhere, said Rovit. Over the last decade, Ive been a loyal consumer and evangelist of the MISSION instant cooling solutions, not just for me, but my family, friends and colleagues, and Im honored to be chosen as the next CEO to build upon MISSIONs success and seize the many opportunities ahead. Rovit was most recently the CEO of Swell, one of the leading hydration brands, where he successfully led the company through a strategic transaction. Prior to Swell, Rovit served as CEO of Ellery Homestyles, a market leading manufacturer and distributor of Eclipse home fashion products. Prior to Ellery, Rovit, served in senior executive roles across a number of top consumer brands in the industry. Rovit currently serves on the Board of Directors at Spectrum Brands and GSC Technologies. About MISSION Founded in 2009 by a group of world-class athletes including Serena Williams, Dwyane Wade and Drew Brees, MISSION is the leader in head-to-toe cooling and heat-relief product innovations that help improve performance and safety for anyone who works, plays or lives in the heat. MISSION is distributed nationwide in over 25,000 retail stores and online, and leads the market with patented and proprietary technologies. MISSION is the founding partner of the National Heat Safety Coalition, a nonprofit organization seeking to improve safety and performance in the heat for workers in the United States. Along with scientists, researchers and industry leaders, the Coalition works with public and private partners to set guidelines and inform on Heat-Safety standards. For more information, visit http://www.mission.com and follow us @mission on Instagram. About Topspin Consumer Partners Topspin Consumer Partners is a Mamaroneck, NY-based private equity firm that makes investments in established, profitable and fast-growing middle-market consumer businesses. The firm invests across a number of subverticals within consumer, including health & wellness, personal care & beauty, food & beverage, household goods, pet, and children's products. The Topspin team has considerable operational expertise in consumer products and services and collaborates with founder-owners and management teams to build businesses of varying stages and sizes. Further information on Topspin can be found at http://www.topspincp.com. Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health Kripalus Its All Yoga brand campaign demonstrates how yoga is more than just poses on a mat but a way of life, rooted in ancient wisdom, said Tracy Williams, senior director of marketing, Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health. Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, now in its 50th year as North Americas leading yoga retreat center and educational nonprofit, today introduced a new brand campaign, entitled ITS ALL YOGA. The campaign reinforces Kripalus signature approach to guiding people through self-transformationextending beyond the physical practice of yoga to heal and revitalize mind, body, and spirit. Kripalus Its All Yoga brand campaign demonstrates how yoga is more than just poses on a mat but a way of life, rooted in ancient wisdom, said Tracy Williams, senior director of marketing, Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health. The word Kripalu means compassion, and compassion is behind everything we do. It is the inspiration to connect and care for ourselves, for others and for our planet. As Kripalu celebrates fifty years of leadership in yoga and mindfulness, we are excited to expand the reach of our mission, and practices, to new audiences during a time of fatigue and a need for healing. The Its All Yoga brand campaign includes: 15- and 30-second videos Digital advertising that begins running today in The New York Times, HULU, USA Today and other media Paid social media placements The Its All Yoga campaign features an unexpected contrast of people doing activities such as enjoying nature and connecting with others, paired with the words This is Yoga to highlight the many powerful benefits of yoga beyond its physical manifestation. The campaign is intended to reach new demographic audiences. Kripalus in-house marketing team developed the brand theme and its creative assets. Media agency BrandCottage was engaged for media planning and placement. In 2021, Kripalu introduced online live and on-demand programs led by thought leaders and Kripalu faculty to expand the Centers accessibility and geographic reach to people of all ages, races, and economic backgrounds. Kripalus online programs now reach people across the U.S. and 50+ countries. About Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to serving people and communities in realizing their full potential through the transformative wisdom and practice of yoga. Founded in 1972 and located in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Kripalu is the largest yoga retreat center in North America. As the field leader in whole-person education for body, mind, heart, and spirit, Kripalu offers onsite and online programs and retreats across a wide range of topics including yoga, meditation, Ayurveda, cooking, outdoor mindfulness, social and environmental justice. For more information, visit http://www.kripalu.org. Sappington, a leading technology marketing firm with headquarters in Seattle, WA, today announced the appointment of Alicia McGarry to the position of Content Strategist. McGarry will bring enterprise technology to life for the firms clients, providing thought leadership and creating powerful content through creative storytelling and messaging frameworks for marketers seeking to position their offerings to win hearts, minds, and market share. McGarry comes to Sappington with a depth and breadth of experience in brand communications and product marketing across a range of enterprise technology companies. She has led integrated marketing initiatives, defining brand narratives for multinational technology, fintech, and telecom corporations, with a specialization in messaging and positioning strategy and execution. Alicia is supercharging our creative team, said Silvina Gils-Carbo, Content Director at Sappington. She has an amazing record of success in content marketing across the lifecycle, from positioning to developing customer-facing creative of all kinds. Shes immersed in trends in the marketplace and writes about them with an end-to-end view of how client engagements come together for maximum impact. She understands the world of the tech product marketer and is going to be a tremendous asset to our great clients. Previously, McGarry was Chief Developer Brand Strategist at IBM where she headed brand positioning and messaging strategy for the acquisition of Red Hat. Prior to that, she led brand transformation and messaging for the IBM Cloud. She began her career as a journalist with The Chicago Tribune and subsequently held brand strategist roles with Equifax and Sprint. Im beyond thrilled to join the Sappington team and contribute my strategic dots-connector approach to content creation, said McGarry. I like to look across a tech clients business needs, integrating and elevating their core messaging to the level where it will have the greatest impact. Today, every brand needs the kind of storytelling that this agency has developed into an artful form of product marketing. McGarry attended Loyola University in Chicago, IL and received a BA in Communications. She lives in Shawnee, KS with her husband and their two sons. ABOUT SAPPINGTON Sappington is the premier enterprise technology marketing firm. We partner with marketers at the greatest technology companies in the world to bring innovative products and services to market. Whether clients are focused on cloud, AI, IoT, security, or other cutting-edge technologies, our mission is to ensure that our clients deliver amazing value to their business customers. RRF Accomplishments Were eternally grateful to our donors and partners for their commitment to helping prevent unnecessary homelessness during a temporary financial emergency. The Resident Relief Foundation (RRF) grew steadily through the pandemic, announcing it made 126 rental assistance grants since April of 2020 and that it has crossed over $1 million raised to help keep renters facing eviction due to a financial crisis remain in their homes. The five-year-old nonprofit, started by real estate investment entrepreneurs Damian Langere and Keith Wasserman, has awarded more than $500,000 in grants to residents in 21 states. Each of the more than 225 grant recipients since 2017 have also completed a financial education course provided by RRF to help them manage their money more effectively. In addition to the gratitude they express for the rental relief, another recurring theme we see in all of the families we help is how much they appreciate the free financial literacy course they are required to complete in order to receive a grant, said Tina Oswald, co-founder and executive director of the Resident Relief Foundation. The average RRF rental assistance grant is $2,300, or about 1.5 months of rent. Funding for RRF has largely come from multifamily industry executives, property management firms, private donors and state and local associations like the Colorado Apartment Association, North Carolina Apartment Association, and Arizona Multihousing Charitable Foundation. The multifamily industry has embraced RRF, as it is a benefit they can extend to residents and because they understand it is less expensive and more desirable to keep a good resident in their home than to evict and replace them with a new one. Were eternally grateful to our donors and partners for their commitment to helping prevent unnecessary homelessness during a temporary financial emergency, but our need for contributions and visibility is greater than ever and remain our highest priorities, said Oswald. As state and federal Covid relief packages subside, millions of people already behind in their rent still face the real prospect of being evicted from their homes. The need is only growing and RRF is turning to the multifamily housing industry and the public for help. The RRF model is proven to help keep more residents in their homes, and because of the generosity of its board to cover overhead, it is one of the few nonprofits where 100 percent of donations go directly to residents who qualify for assistance. Thirty percent of recipients say they would have become homeless if not for the assistance of RRF, underscoring the importance of its work. About Resident Relief Foundation The Resident Relief Foundation (RRF) helps responsible residents stay in their homes during a singular, unexpected financial emergency. Whether its a temporary job interruption, an auto accident, a medical emergency, or a victim of a natural disaster, RRF provides qualified residents with housing stability during a chaotic time and helps them avoid eviction, a forced move, or, worse, becoming homeless. RRF is a 501(c)(3) public nonprofit that helps residents nationally. For more information and to donate, visit residentrelieffoundation.org. Time has changed the design of classroom furniture. Ecommerce has changed the way dealers reach their clients. What hasnt changed is how important it is for us to maintain good relationships with our manufacturing partners. Thats exactly what we will continue to strive for. Worthington Direct has named Jason Miles as its new president. Miles joined Worthington Direct in 2016 as their Director of Operations and has played an integral role in their continued success within the school furniture market. Miles previously worked for Lockton Companies as a Vice President within their transportation sector. This role gave him insight into the logistic challenges that can surface when shipping furniture, especially in the current climate. Miles has deployed many improvements in freight procedures and other internal processes to help the company continue forward. Holding true to the previous 25 years, investing in customer service continues to be his top priority. Anyone who has worked in the school furniture business can tell you their first summer was a baptism by fire. The extremely busy, back-to-school season can easily intimidate those with a faint heart. Miles took it all in stride: answering calls, visiting local schools, and of course, learning all about school furniture products. He passed the test with flying colors, says vice president Brian Heiland. You can usually tell by September if someone is cut out for this line of work, and Jason never wavered. He succeeds founder Kevin Worthington, who has been profoundly active in the school supply chain for over 44 years. Worthington spent 15 years at Hoover Brothers, Inc. and 5 years with JL Hammett Co., before deciding to start his own educational furniture dealership. In 1997, Worthington Direct was founded. Worthington took his knowledge of the industry to market via a direct mail catalog. Today Worthington Direct is still relatively small with under 25 employees. They still print an annual school furniture catalog curated by top sellers; however, their website has greatly expanded their product offering, allowing other markets to find specialty and commercial furniture products with ease. Kevin Worthington will still head up the board of directors but will spend more time working his Texas ranch and traveling with his wife Jan. Time has changed the design of classroom furniture. Ecommerce has changed the way dealers reach their clients. What hasnt changed is how important it is for us to maintain good relationships with our manufacturing partners. Thats exactly what we will continue to strive for, says Miles. We want to provide the best possible customer service and furniture knowledge to our customers, and we cannot do without the strong lines of communication we have with our brand partners. Laura and Jennifer each bring a wealth of industry-specific knowledge and leadership capabilities. Their respective roles will further enhance the collaborative partnerships that Westchester prides itself on providing educational publishing and ed-tech clients. Westchester Education Services is excited to announce that education industry veterans Jennifer Cole and Laura Cunningham have recently joined the companys management team. Each will serve in newly created Content Director roles. Jennifer Cole is the Content Director, Literacy, Languages, and Humanities. In this role, she will apply her more than two decades of editorial experience leading teams in creating engaging and effective classroom materials for educational publishers and educational content providers, including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Sundance Publishing, and KnowledgeWorks Global Limited. Laura Cunningham is the Content Director, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). She draws upon her background as a science educator in public schools, along with her management and executive editorial roles at content development companies, including Calvert Education and CSA Education. In this role, Laura will lead teams that deliver learning materials for our clients that align with national education requirements, including Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), Common Core Math, and state-specific academic measures. Kevin J. Gray, President and Chief Content Officer of Westchester Education Services, stated, As Content Directors, Laura and Jennifer each bring a wealth of industry-specific knowledge and leadership capabilities. Their respective roles will further enhance the collaborative partnerships that Westchester prides itself on providing educational publishing and ed-tech clients. Their acumen as educators and content developers, along with their passions for creating high-quality classroom materials ensures that our editorial and production teams will continue to exceed our clients expectations for high-quality learning materials that reach and engage all students. Westchester Education Services is also pleased to welcome the following individuals to our team: Kevin Schroeder, Director, Client Solutions, will combine his industry experience with companies including Hazelden Publishing, Activate Learning, and SMART Technologies, along with his background as a Social Studies teacher, to guide prospective and existing clients in identifying the specific solutions to best address their unique product development goals. Tara Hlavinka, who has joined the company in the role of Senior Editor, Math, possesses more than 20 years of experience in mathematics educational publishing. She has previously held both content development and management roles, with an emphasis on creating materials addressing the needs of the whole learner. Additional information about the Westchester Education Services team and our service offerings can be accessed at westchestereducationservices.com and westchestereducation.co.uk. # # # About Westchester Education Services: A division of Westchester Publishing Services, our team offers educational publishers and ed-tech providers the complete spectrum of services for literacy, math, science, social studies, bilingual education, and more, including content creation for student books, teacher guides, and ancillaries; translation; original illustrations, photo research, and page design and layout; and post-development editorial and pre-press production, including e-Pub conversion. Our management team includes veteran resources from all aspects of educational development, as well as high-quality design, image management, and page layout professionals. The management team members rely on their deep network of resources to staff projects appropriately, ensuring the best fit for our client's project needs. Follow us on LinkedIn About Westchester Publishing Services: Westchester Publishing Services was founded in 1969 and is a trusted partner to the publishing industry, with an expanding array of editorial, composition, design, and digital conversion services. The company supports clients in trade publishing, university press, academic publishing, industry trade publishing, and policy group spaces among others, including Macmillan, Harvard University Press, The MIT Press, Fastcase, Bloomsbury, and Legend Times Group. Westchester Publishing Services became a US employee-owned company through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in 2014. Since that time, Westchester Publishing Services has launched Westchester Education Services, based in Dayton, Ohio, to serve the needs of educational publishers and ed-tech providers, as well as Westchester Publishing Services UK, based in Stratford upon Avon, to provide added services for publishers in the United Kingdom and Europe. In 2021, Westchester Publishing Services, UK acquired River Editorial based in Devon, UK, to offer bespoke editorial services for clients in the United Kingdom and Europe. Westchester Education UK and International, also based in Stratford upon Avon support our education and ed-tech clients located outside the Americas region with market-specific education content development services. Inquiries about a new product or service offerings should be submitted to Deb Taylor, Director of Business Development and Marketing at 203-448-2280 or Deb.Taylor@westchesterpubsvcs.com. Additional questions should be sent to Nicole Tomassi, Marketing and Conference Manager at 203-658-7135 or Nicole.Tomassi@westchesterpubsvcs.com. Further information is also available at: http://www.westchesterpublishingservices.com. Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Van Leeuwen Launches Five New Flavors Van Leeuwen Refreshes Its Exclusive Offering With The Launch Of Five New Flavors The Exclusive Launch Includes New Collaboration With Grey Poupon, The Mustard Brands First Foray Into Ice Cream Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, the nationally adored brand known for making decadent and delicious dairy and vegan ice cream with high-quality, simple ingredients, has announced the launch of five new refreshed flavors to be sold exclusively at Walmart locations nationwide. The exclusive launch includes brand new flavors including Grey Poupon with Salted Pretzels, Campfire Smores, Summer Peach Crisp, Honey Cornbread with Strawberry Jam, and Espresso Fior di Latte Chip. Van Leeuwens exclusive pints will refresh the previous seven flavors in rotation announced this spring including fan-favorite flavors Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Pizza, and Hot Honey. In this rotation, Van Leeuwen is excited to partner with Grey Poupon for the mustard brand's first foray into the ice cream category. The five new flavors are available today in 3,500 Walmart locations for a 10-week rotation in all 50 states. Walmart is a great partner and we are thrilled they have welcomed us back to launch five summer-themed flavors nationwide, said Ben Van Leeuwen, Co-Founder, and CEO of Van Leeuwen Ice Cream. The Van Leeuwen team couldnt be more excited to give Walmart shoppers the opportunity to try out what are sure to be the next internet-breaking ice cream flavors of the summer, including our latest collaboration with Grey Poupon. Refreshing our flavor selection at Walmart stores has allowed Van Leeuwen to create new unique flavors widely available to ice cream lovers in every corner of the country. Staying true to our artisanal processes, like using single-origin coffee arabica beans from Guatemala for our Espresso Fior di Latte Chip, and highlighting the fresh and nostalgic flavors we all know so well. These pints offer something delicious for every member of your household whether they like their desserts savory or sweet, said Van Leeuwen. Van Leeuwen is continuing to bring the savory and delicious flavors for summer: Grey Poupon with Salted Pretzels: Grey Poupon elevates any meal to something worth savoring so, why not ice cream, especially French Ice Cream. An unexpected yet delightful blend of sweet ice cream, honey-dijon swirl, and salted pretzels. Mais oui. Campfire SMores: It's got toasted marshmallow ice cream. It's got chocolate fudge swirls. It's got loads of graham cookies and marshmallows. No campfire is needed so there's more time for s'more scoops. Summer Peach Crisp: Picture this, if you will. A hot, summer day. The sun is shining. You're sweating. Ew. Someone hands you a scoop of ice cream with peaches and a gluten-free oat crumble. Clutch move. Honey Cornbread with Strawberry Jam: If plain vanilla doesn't do it for you, might we suggest vanilla ice cream with pieces of honey cornbread and strawberry jam. Otherwise known as the pint you're holding right now. Espresso Fior di Latte Chip: Espresso ice cream swirled with Fior di Latte, loaded with chocolate chips and graham cookies. If you close your eyes, you might think you're in Italy. No? Your eyes must not be closed tight enough. For more information about the new Van Leeuwens exclusive Walmart flavors and to keep up on all things Van Leeuwen, follow the brand on Instagram @vanleeuwenicecream or visit http://www.vanleeuwenicecream.com. ABOUT VAN LEEUWEN ICE CREAM Van Leeuwen Ice Cream was started out of a yellow scoop truck on the streets of NYC in 2008 by Ben Van Leeuwen, Pete Van Leeuwen and Laura ONeill, who were on a mission to make good ice cream from good ingredients that makes you feel good. Since 2008, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream has innovated beyond the original dairy recipe and added vegan ice cream to their scoopable lineup. In 2021, they launched their line of dairy and vegan ice cream bars. Van Leeuwen has now opened 31 scoop shops in NYC, NJ, LA, PA, and TX, has products in grocery stores across the country, and is available to order for nationwide shipping from their website. All the while, continuing the ultimate goal of making good ice cream that makes you feel good. BECAUSE A LIFE WITHOUT ANYTHING GOOD IS BAD. MEDIA CONTACT: Alissa Bremner | Konnect Agency abremner (at) konnectagency (dot) com tel:2132254420 Isaac Adams-Hands, an Addiction Treatment SEO Expert based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, is launching a new SEO knowledge base at isaac.io. His industry-specific articles will help drug rehab facilities improve their own organic search results and weed out fraudulent SEO experts who sell overnight success. SEO Expert Isaac Adams-Hands specializes in providing SEO services for drug rehab facilities. He has worked as a digital marketer for MSN and AutoTrader and has technical experience as a full-stack developer. His comprehensive skill set gives him an edge over most professionals in his field. Typically, SEO analysts consider vanity metrics such as gained keywords and overall site traffic that are provided by SEO tools. Isaac Adams-Hands realized that these indices often yield inaccurate insights, so he focuses on improving a websites search engine results page (SERP) ranking to increase site traffic. Site visits from qualified leads can generate conversions from customer-submitted phone calls and form entries. Clients who are searching for a drug rehab facility online are likely to visit related high-ranking websites. Search engine optimization (SEO) specializes in improving on-topic search results. Isaac Adams-Hands consistently applies current SEO best practices. His customized websites are fast to load and easy to understand. He identifies and compares content-specific attributes that will positively impact organic search traffic. Isaac Adams-Hands honed his SEO process by creating winning SEO marketing campaigns that boost clients' online presence. He builds trust and commitment with dedication and meticulous effort. Years of web design experience helped him understand how the Google search algorithm works. His technical SEO audits fix errors that could negatively impact search rankings. Users and search engines prioritize credible, authoritative, popular, and relevant content. Isaac Adams-Hands helps increase a websites content score to improve search rankings. He understands that the interdependence of SEO content and a positive user experience can be used to generate leads and conversions. Targeted, high-quality content can drive a specific response from a niche audience and provide relevant information to clients at each step of their journey. Isaac Adams-Hands also pays close attention to the technical aspects of SEO. He uses keyword identification and analysis and makes actionable recommendations on relevant terms, word count, readability, and content type. Optimizing on-page and off-page SEO increases leads, sales, and revenue. Link building, backlink outreach, and profile growth are all part of his strategy. He applies local SEO to help listings rank higher in the Google Maps Pack. Each SEO campaign includes keyword research and analytics, technical SEO audits, tracking, and meta tag optimization. Competitor analysis, user experience analysis, conversion rate optimization, and social media marketing are human-focused tactics he deploys to aid in optimization. As a service to his clients, Isaac Adams-Hands is happy to help addiction treatment facilities create a better online presence. His Drug Rehab SEO knowledge base of articles will help facilities understand the importance and functionality of SEO and SERP. Addiction treatment professionals can use curated information to make educated choices about content creation and strategy so that they can reach the clients who need their help most. Customers have wonderful things to say about the attention to detail, work ethic, and expertise Isaac Adams-Hands provides: "Isaac is my go-to for anything web-related. I design websites myself, but without the support of Isaac, I wouldnt be half as good as I am at delivering a quality product to my own clients. Hes always willing to help, inform, and make suggestions. I would be lost some days without him." T.L. "I learned from Isaac that being knowledgeable about many things is a superpower and that all it takes is a small amount of time to teach someone something. It makes you feel good that you could have an impact on someones career. I always appreciate the time you take to help!" S.M. Isaac Adams-Hands is passionate about helping drug rehab facilities reach their clients with better SEO. His skills and work ethic contribute to a better life for all people. HSO, a leading business transformation partner with deep industry expertise and global reach, announced the availability of the 2022 Spring release of their aec360 industry solution for Microsoft Dynamics 365. The latest quarterly update features significant feature enhancements, based on user feedback, across the aec360 platform. Chosen by many of the preeminent firms in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, aec360 pre-configures and extends Dynamics 365 to meet the unique needs of architecture, engineering, and construction firms, helping these organizations gain a 360-degree view of their finances, projects, clients, and people in a single, integrated cloud platform thats purpose-built for the AEC industry. The 2022 Spring release introduces a series of new features that include: Extended mobile time management capabilities, including project searching, copy functions, and overtime handling Enhanced time and expense workflow approval capabilities to expedite the review and approval of timesheets and expense reports AR collections enhancements that improve communication between Project Managers and Project Accountants Simplified fee management processes around revenue recognition and adjustments Additional billing features to further streamline the invoice review and backup file generation process We continue to invest heavily in making aec360 the most complete business platform for the AEC industry, explained Paramesh Rajan, Vice President, Technology for aec360. With over 60% of our new features coming directly from client feedback and suggestions, we have selected the top features that AEC firms need to help drive their business forward. Several of the features center around the mobile app extending the capabilities of a mobile workforce. As we continue to expand our user base, this feedback loop is directly impacting our product direction and helping to maximize the value our clients receive with aec360. The aec360 2022 Spring release is now available exclusively through HSO. For more information about aec360 or to request a personalized demonstration, please visit http://www.aec360.com. About aec360 Microsofts leading Dynamics 365-based solution for the AEC industry, HSOs aec360 is a cloud-based business platform designed to meet the unique needs of architecture, engineering, and construction firms. aec360 provides an integrated industry solution for marketing and business development, project management, accounting, and human resource management, and was built to leverage the best of the Microsoft cloud, helping firms drive productivity, collaboration, and insights across their organization. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.aec360.com. About HSO HSO is a Business Transformation Partner with deep industry expertise and global reach that leverages the full power of Microsoft technology to transform the way people work and how organizations operate, driving improvements in their business performance. HSO takes an industry-first approach to help companies modernize business operations, adopt intelligent automation, deliver real-time performance insights, and connect the enterprise accelerating the impact of digital transformation. HSOs Professional Services industry team specializes in delivering solutions to professional services and other project-driven organizations to help them find and win more work, more effectively deliver, and account for their work, and optimize their HR and talent management practices. Learn more about HSOs offerings for the professional services industry at http://www.hsoproserv.com. Founded in 1987, HSO has more than 1,200 professionals throughout Europe, North America, and Asia. It is one of the worlds top business solution and implementation partners and a member of Microsofts elite Inner Circle representing the top 1 percent of partners worldwide. To learn more about the company, visit http://www.hso.com. Preternatural by Michael Scott Scotts paintings offer a place where the natural world, the human world, and the world of the spirit or the soul can commingle. Together they comprise an arena that oscillates between what is there and what is not there, what the artist brings to it and what the viewer brings to it. Michael Scotts landscapes embody the primacy of place. They draw from memory, archetypes, and iconic works of the American canon. His paintings aim not to capture a landscapes particularity, as such, but to infuse it with the regenerative spirit of nature itself. He brings to the work his own sense of wonder, enabling viewers to engage with it from their own points of view. They are rewarded with a portal into Americas wild places, where the elements take center stage. As MaLin Wilson-Powell writes, Scotts paintings offer a place where the natural world, the human world, and the world of the spirit or the soul can commingle. Together they comprise an arena that oscillates between what is there and what is not there, what the artist brings to it and what the viewer brings to it. In addition to 117 full-color paintings, Preternatural features essays by art historians and curators illuminating the artists process and the ways in which his current series, Preternatural, situates him within the broader history of the American landscape tradition. Preternatural coincides with an exhibition at the Cincinnati Museum Center featuring Scotts landscape paintingsAmericas Epic Treasures featuring Preternatural by Michael Scott on display through January 8, 2023. The immersive art exhibition showcases the beauty of natural landscapes and the destructive and rejuvenating nature of the elements. Scotts onsite field studies included in the exhibition provide a look into the artists process. For more information on the exhibition, visit cincymuseum.org. AUTHOR & CONTRIBUTOR BIOS Michael Scott was born in Lawrence, Kansas. He studied painting at the Kansas City Art Institute, where he received his BFA. He was a recipient of the Skowhegan painting fellowship in Skowhegan, Maine, and received his MFA from the University of Cincinnati in Ohio. His paintings of the American landscape and the American West are in numerous private and corporate collections, as well as the permanent collections of the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio; the Art Museum of South Texas in Corpus Christi; Cincinnati Art Museum; New Orleans Museum of Art; Tia Collection in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles; Tyson Collection of Contemporary Art in Springdale, Arkansas; Southern Ohio Museum of Art in Portsmouth; Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga, Tennessee; Whitney Western Art Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center for the West in Cody, Wyoming; and the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. He lives in Santa Fe. MaLin Wilson-Powell is an art historian, author, and independent curator who has written, taught, and lectured widely on American Modernism and contemporary art. She is contributor to numerous publications including Jerry West: The Alchemy of Memory and is the co-author of Mabel Dodge Luhan and Company. Laura F. Fry is a Senior Curator and Curator of Art at the Gilcrease Museum and an American art and design specialist. Amy Scott is Executive Vice President, Research and Interpretation, Marilyn B. and Calvin B. Gross Curator of Visual Arts at the Autry Museum of the American West. Elizabeth Wiecher Pierce is President & CEO of the Cincinnati Art Center. ABOUT THE PUBLISHER Museum of New Mexico Press is an award-winning publisher of finely designed and crafted books that explore cultures of the Southwest and beyond. For more information, please visit http://www.mnmpress.org. 401GO Logo I fear that opting into CalSavers may be a lost opportunity for employers and their employees. There are better alternatives that allow employees to more effectively grow their personal wealth, including 401(k) plans that allow employers to match employee contributions, which CalSavers prohibits." 401GO, a pioneer in the investment space that provides small businesses with the opportunity to offer employees a 401(k) program, today issued guidance to small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) in California who have just 30 days to comply with the states new CalSavers retirement savings program. The program makes having a qualified retirement plan mandatory for organizations with five or more employees. Employees working within organizations who fit this criteria, of which there are about 7.5 million according to the Government Accountability Office, currently have until June 30th to register for CalSavers. As this deadline looms, 401GO CEO Dan Beck, is issuing advice to SMBs who may be unaware of what exactly this mandate means for their company and their employees. On the most basic level, CalSavers does exactly what it aims to do: it makes it possible for companies that do not already have ERISA qualified retirement funds to offer employees a retirement plan option with no cost or liability to the employer, said Beck, before adding that some concerning issues rise to the surface when you look deeper into the program. Since its essentially a payroll-deduction Roth IRA plan, he says its subject to federal rules that employees may not realize. For example, there is a maximum contribution amount of $6,000 per year, which to someone that makes $120,000 a year is less than 5% of their income, Beck added. This means if the employee is auto-enrolled at the default 5%, they will find themselves in trouble with the federal government when they contribute too much to their account. The same problem applies to those who have additional private IRAs. The contribution maximum does not allow for $6,000 per IRA, only $6,000 per contributor. So if an employee is already contributing $4,000 to a privately held IRA, they would only be able to contribute an additional $2,000 to their CalSavers account or face extra taxation. In addition to the concerns outlined above, Beck highlighted several other concerns which are summarized below: Auto-enrollment: Employees from employers who have joined the program will be enrolled in CalSavers automatically. This increases the burden on employers to communicate with staff, including non-English speakers, about their enrollment as well as provide them with the information they need to know how to opt-out. Earnings & fees: CalSavers offers limited investment choices, and those without investment experience may struggle to understand their options. For example, CalSavers default fund is a money market fund that aims to yield 0%. This means that its designed not to lose money, and the result is that it typically doesnt make money. Government involvement: While the state of California has mandated this retirement program, the implementation and management are subcontracted to the lowest bidder, in this case, Ascensus. For business owners, this means finding a way to cooperate with a large corporation that is paid by the state. I fear that opting into CalSavers may be a lost opportunity for employers and their employees, warned Beck. There are better alternatives that allow employees to more effectively grow their personal wealth, including 401(k) plans that allow employers to match employee contributions, which CalSavers prohibits. He added: Instead, I would encourage SMBs to consider offering employees the opportunity to achieve greater financial freedom through privately-offered retirement plans. Not only do these options give employers and employees solid tax advantages, but theres a huge range of investment options to choose from that offer more direct control of accounts. For more information on viable alternatives to the CalSavers Retirement Savings Program, visit: https://401go.com/calsavers-the-california-secure-choice-program/. About 401GO Less than half of those employed by small businesses have access to a 401(k) or pension. Companies with small budgets who want 401(k) plans have been ignored or even laughed at by 401(k) providers. 401GO was founded to provide working Americans and small businesses greater financial freedom through inexpensive and worry-free work-sponsored retirement plans. Setup takes just minutes (not weeks!), pricing is economical at $9/participant, and 401GO handles all the details. With its innovative automated technology, a simple, affordable, and beneficial 401(k) plan is finally practical for small businesses. For more information visit https://www.401go.com. In Cole Milburn suspenseful tale, Bosss Town: A Town where heaven and hell collide (published by Archway Publishing), a man exploring the New Zealand wilderness is welcomed into a mysterious remote town where nothing is as it seems. It is January 2023 and the world is still recovering from a devastating global pandemic when Joe Boyd, a former expatriate who has recently returned to New Zealand, decides to explore his native country. After embarking on a road trip into the rugged wilderness of the South Island, Joe ignores a sign indicating danger ahead and soon encounters Luciville, a mysterious, off-the-grid town in the middle of nowhere. After he is greeted by the residents and their leader, Joe decides to stay and create a new future. Little does he know, Joe will soon be desperate to escape. Escapism is always relevant in any era and especially in this era when many of the rich escape to countries like New Zealand, buy houses in remote areas and build bunkers for the future, Milburn says. I believe readers can imagine if they were in the same position as Joe Boyd and think about the choices they would make. Bosss Town is available for purchase online at the Archway link above, from Barnes & Noble and on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/Bosss-Town-Where-Heaven-Collide-ebook/dp/B09ZDD9FQC. Bosss Town By Cole Milburn Hardcover | 6 x 9 in | 140 pages | ISBN 9781665722162 Softcover | 6 x 9 in | 140 pages | ISBN 9781665722179 E-Book | 140 pages | ISBN 9781665722186 Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble About the Author Cole Milburn grew up in Nelson City, New Zealand, He is a registered nurse who has lived in Japan, Korea, and other parts of East Asia for over 17 years. Bosss Town is his debut novel. Simon & Schuster, a company with nearly ninety years of publishing experience, has teamed up with Author Solutions, LLC, the worldwide leader in self-publishing, to create Archway Publishing. With unique resources to support books of all kind, Archway Publishing offers a specialized approach to help every author reach his or her desired audience. For more information, visit archwaypublishing.com or call 844-669-3957. Our shared vision is to reimagine the American manufacturing base as a hyperconnected, secure, and resilient ecosystem of local and regional suppliers who can more easily find, interact, and do business with the partners and customers that rely on them said Bret Boyd, CEO of Sustainment. Sustainment and CompanyWeek today announced that they are joining forces to better service American manufacturers. Sustainment is a software platform that intelligently connects the fragmented ecosystem of small and medium-sized American suppliers with their enterprise customers to enable agile supply chain networks. Sustainments software enables US-based manufacturers to find and engage with the critical suppliers they need to build secure, resilient, domestic supplier networks. CompanyWeek is a network of manufacturing media, supply-chain tools, and data focusing on the manufacturing economy across the western United States with a dynamic community of over 40,000 readers across 19,000+ manufacturing companies. The integrated collaboration between Sustainment and CompanyWeek will allow community members to build stronger customer and supply chain relationships using workflow automation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence software. The combined online presence will provide a mechanism for small and medium-sized manufacturers to better tell their stories and present their unique capabilities to new customers and partners. Regional and state manufacturing organizations and associations will benefit from a more engaged community to share their services and tell their stories. Manufacturing is the backbone of the US economy and a major contributor to jobs, GDP, and community health across the country. The industry has faced challenges from decades from offshoring and underinvestment, but is in the midst of a generational transformation due in part to technological and geopolitical forces. Our shared vision is to reimagine the American manufacturing base as a hyperconnected, secure, and resilient ecosystem of local and regional suppliers who can more easily find, interact, and do business with the partners and customers that rely on them, said Bret Boyd, CEO of Sustainment. This is the next step in the evolution of the CompanyWeek platform, said Bart Taylor, CEO of CompanyWeek. We have built a great community of US manufacturers over the past 10 years and we are excited to accelerate our vision of using technology and networking to help manufacturers share their stories, their successes and their challenges with each other. Learn more at sustainment.tech. Our methodology not only drives measurable client results but also fuels our agency growth - a track record thats reflected in these recent industry honors. Global tech integrated marketing agency, ARPR, today announced that it has received seven industry honors in the first half of 2022 for its impactful client campaigns, technical and creative solutions, accelerated growth and sought-after culture. After a competitive process, PRovoke Media included ARPR in its 2022 Agencies of the Year rankings. Considered the premier benchmark of PR firm performance, this years honorees were celebrated in May at the annual North American SABRE Awards ceremony, where the firms work was also awarded Trade Show Campaign of the Year on behalf of its healthcare technology client Updox. PRovoke Media also included ARPR on its list of Best Places to Work. This designation is ARPRs 10th, having been honored as a top agency to work for by organizations including Atlanta Business Chronicle, NOLA City Biz List, PRNews and more dating back to 2016. In May, the firms analytics and lead generation division was recognized as a finalist for Digital Team of the Year by Ragan Communications 2022 Digital Marketing and Social Media Awards. In addition, the agency took home honors for Multichannel Campaign of the Year on behalf of client geothinQ. The Ragan judges lauded ARPRs use of inbound marketing strategies, lead generation services and sophisticated measurement. In April, ODwyers PR released its 2022 agency rankings, a comprehensive list that has been published for over 50 years. ARPR continued its four-year streak as the #1 tech PR agency in both Atlanta and the Southeast. Out of all independent American agencies, ARPR ranks in the top 100. Were on a mission to redefine marketing integration for the worlds leading technology brands, said Raj Choudhury, ARPRs CEO. Our methodology not only drives measurable client results but also fuels our agency growth - a track record thats reflected in these recent industry honors. To join ARPRs growing team of nerds, rebels and creatives, view open media, content and digital marketing positions here. About ARPR ARPR is an integrated marketing agency full of problem solvers and idea makers whose work reverberates throughout the Americas, Middle East and Europe. The firms deep expertise in earned media, content marketing, social platforms and digital advertising enables us to launch multi-channel campaigns that boost brand awareness and generate demand for global technology leaders. Since 2012, ARPR has been named a 10-time Best Place to Work, Technology Agency of the Year, Fastest Growing PR Agency, and noted for Best Use of Measurement and Data. To see how we PRopel Whats Possible, visit http://www.arpr.com and follow @AR_ _PR on Twitter and Instagram. As we gain a better understanding of the characteristics that contribute to disparities, we will be better prepared to take actions that prevent unnecessary deaths. In the United States, asthma mortality rates were higher for Black and Puerto Rican individuals and women as a whole, according to research published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice (JACI: In Practice), an official journal of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI). Researchers used retrospective analysis to examine asthma as the underlying cause of death from 2011 to 2018. The main outcome studied was mortality rates by race and Hispanic ethnicity, including non-Hispanic Black (NHB), Hispanic residents of Puerto Rico (PR) and non-Hispanic White (NHW). Age-standardized asthma mortality (ASAM) was estimated for race/ethnic groups, sex and age in the study. A total of 24,869 asthma deaths were reported during the study period. When adjusted using ASAMs association to race/ethnicity and sex, the asthma mortality risk was 2.8 times higher for NHB compared to NHW. PR showed a 2.17 times higher mortality risk compared to NHW. Overall, womens risk of dying from asthma was 39% higher than it was for men. Our research demonstrated that asthma mortality rates for Puerto Ricans doubled those of non-Hispanic Whites, and approached the rate of non-Hispanic blacks in the United States, said researcher Sylvette Nazario, MD. While the cause of this elevated mortality rate among Puerto Ricans is unknown, a number of factors likely contribute to these findings including environmental and socioeconomic elements. Age also played a role in asthma mortality, with mortality rates increasing with age overall. According to the data, NHB men younger than 35, NHB women aged 35-64 and PR women 65 and older had the highest rates of asthma mortality. The average age of death was over a decade younger for NHB with asthma compared to NHW and PR with asthma. Mortality rates worsened with increasing age for women, regardless of the ethnic/racial group. The highest asthma mortality rates were among PR elderly women. Sex disparities continued to worsen with increasing age no matter the ethnic or racial group. There is likely a common contributing factor at play that needs to be addressed, Dr. Nazario added. As we gain a better understanding of the characteristics that contribute to disparities, we will be better prepared to take actions that prevent unnecessary deaths. You can learn more about asthma on the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology website, aaaai.org. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) is the leading membership organization of more than 7,100 allergists, asthma specialists, clinical immunologists, allied health professionals and others with a special interest in the research and treatment of allergic and immunologic diseases. The AAAAI is the go-to resource for patients living with allergies, asthma and immune deficiency disorders. Established in 1943, the AAAAI has more than 7,100 members in the United States, Canada and 72 other countries. The AAAAIs Find an Allergist/Immunologist service is a trusted resource to help you find a specialist close to home. Knowledge of the past is vital to understanding the present. World leaders of the Cold War are tried in Purgatory to determine accountability for decades of debilitating conflict. On the scales of justice, did the good outweigh the bad? Readers are jurors as they read Kirsten E. A. Borgs intriguing novel Politicians in Purgatory (published by Trafford Publishing). First published in 2014, the book is set in Purgatory where women run the trial. Justice is the judge in charge, aided by the Devils Advocate for the prosecution, the Guardian Angel for the defense, and the Recording Angel Clio who reports the whole truth of what really happened. Here, Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, Nikita Khrushchev, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Lyndon B. Johnson are gathered, on trial for their respective roles in the Cold War. They must all tell the truth, as they know it. Their choices are laid out to determine their responsibility for starting and/or stopping the war. Was it necessary? How will they be sentenced for what they did and did not do? Politicians in Purgatory is a well-told story that blends satire and humor. Its unique docudrama structure will appeal to lovers of history for its accuracy, and its whimsical scenario will appeal to those not into the historical genre. When asked what she wants readers to take away from the book, the author says, Knowledge of the past is vital to understanding the present. The Cold War was not black-and-white, but shades of gray. Visit https://www.trafford.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/695372-politicians-in-purgatory to purchase a copy. Politicians in Purgatory By Kirsten E. A. Borg, Ph.D. Hardcover | 5.5 x 8.5in | 212 pages | ISBN 9781490751436 Softcover | 5.5 x 8.5in | 212 pages | ISBN 9781490751412 E-Book | 212 pages | ISBN 9781490751429 Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble About the Author Kirsten E. A. Borg, Ph.D. is a scholar/teacher who has studied/taught many subjects in many ways and places (including academia, Russia, and the public schools). She has written textbooks, historical novels, and books about fixing the USA. A lifelong witness to the Cold War, she hopes that understanding why it happened will enable solutions to the problems left behind. Her previous publications include RODINA: A Novel of Mother Russia, THE PLACE I CALL HOME: Whats Wrong with U.S. and What We Can Do About It, BOOKENDS - Alpha & Omega: A Fable for All Seasons and TSAREVNA: The Tsars Daughter. Trafford Publishing, an Author Solutions, LLC, author services imprint, was the first publisher in the world to offer an on-demand publishing service, and has led the independent publishing revolution since its establishment in 1995. Trafford was also one of the earliest publishers to utilize the Internet for selling books. More than 10,000 authors from over 120 countries have utilized Traffords experience for self publishing their books. For more information about Trafford Publishing, or to publish your book today, call 844-688-6899 or visit trafford.com. BCEN's National Certification Champion Awards recognize employers that support emergency, trauma and critical care transport nursing excellence through RN specialty certification. Our streamlined nomination process makes it easy to put your ED, trauma center, transport program or health system forward for recognition, said BCEN CEO Janie Schumaker. The Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN) invites hospital and freestanding emergency departments (EDs), trauma centers, transport programs and health systems to apply for the 2022 BCEN National Certification Champion Awards which recognize healthcare organizations that support emergency, trauma, and critical care transport nursing excellence through nursing specialty certification. BCENs National Certification Champion Awards recognize healthcare organizations that lead the way in supporting RN professional development and raise the bar for nursing excellence across the emergency spectrum through specialty certification, said BCEN CEO Janie Schumaker, MBA, BSN, RN, CEN, CENP, CPHQ, FABC. Nursing specialty certification independently validates advanced knowledge, clinical judgment and professionalism across a specialty body of knowledge, promotes optimal patient, team, and organizational outcomes, and is associated with greater nurse career success and satisfaction. Nominations for the 2022 BCEN National Certification Champion Awards are now being accepted in these three categories: Small Healthcare Organization Large Healthcare Organization Healthcare System Our streamlined nomination process makes it easy to put your ED, trauma center, transport program or healthcare system forward for recognition, said Schumaker. Visit https://bcen.org/national-certification-champion-award-nominations/ for complete details and to nominate your organization. Nominations are due by 11:59 p.m. CDT on Friday, July 15. One winner will be selected in each category. The judging panel includes emergency, trauma and transport nursing experts and industry leaders. Winners will be announced in September and will be honored with a celebration at their facility. Honorees will also receive a certification support bundle that includes complimentary all-access passes to the BCEN Learn Live professional development conference. National Certification Champion winners are selected based on their commitment to specialty certification as demonstrated through innovative programs and practices that encourage, support, recognize and rewards nurses who achieve and maintain BCEN emergency, trauma and/or transport specialty certification. Over 50,000 RNs worldwide hold one or more BCEN credential, with over 41,000 holding the Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) alone. BCEN offers specialty certification in adult/mixed emergency (the CEN), pediatric emergency, trauma, critical care ground transport and flight nursing. BCENs industry-leading certification support resources for nurses, nurse educators, nurse leaders and employers include the free Nurse Recognition and Support Your Nurse kits, white papers, test anxiety resources, and the BCEN Voucher Program. About BCEN Founded in 1980, the independent, not-for-profit Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN) offers robust certification programs fostering empowered nurses across the emergency spectrum who contribute noticeably to patient care, safety and outcomes. Over 59,000 BCEN board certifications are held by registered nurses (RNs) who specialize in emergency, flight, critical care ground transport, pediatric emergency and trauma nursing. BCEN offers the Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN), Certified Flight Registered Nurse (CFRN), Certified Pediatric Emergency Nurse (CPEN), Certified Transport Registered Nurse (CTRN) and Trauma Certified Registered Nurse (TCRN) certifications. Through the award-winning BCEN Learn continuing education platform and the new-in-2022 BCEN Learn Live conferences, BCEN supports advanced emergency nursing lifelong learning. Learn more at bcen.org. Follow BCEN on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. Long before Laynes Chicken Fingers began expanding within Texas and beyond, now-owner Mike Garratt said he would visit the restaurant in College Station two or three times a week for lunch. His father owned a landscaping business, he owned a lawn mowing business, and the duo just happened to be remodeling a school directly behind Laynes. Never in a hundred years did I ever think I was going to be in the restaurant business! said Garratt. It all just kind of fell into place. One day at lunch, Garratt noticed the overgrown flower beds out front. I looked out front, and there was grass almost two feet tall taking over the flower beds, so I asked Layne if he wanted me to weed it for him, Garratt explained. After seeing the satisfactory work, Layne offered Garratt a job. Once Garratt entered college, he took Layne up on that offer. Garratt was pursuing a degree in agriculture systems management, a blend of business and agricultural engineering, and ended up selling his mowing business to someone who had enough time to maintain the customer base. So, in 1995, Garratt began working part-time at Laynes. I dont even know if we had official titles back then. We were a very small company, so I was just a cook, Garratt explained. Things werent super organized. I always believed in working hard, though, so I just worked really hard and did what I thought the store needed. I kind of worked my way up to manager over the next couple of years. Garratt had gained a stake in the company in 1997, but when he graduated in 1999, he bought the remainder of the business. I like that I can be a part of something that people really enjoy, Garratt said. You think, were just a restaurant, but some people really really love Laynes. Weve even seen people get married wearing Laynes shirts. Laynes has been a Texas favorite ever since its first shop opened on the Texas A&M campus more than 30 years ago. "We were founded in College Station and still have that rich hometown culture in all of our locations, said Garrett Reed, Laynes CEO. We know we have a special brand here, with serious fans across Texas, and we see a bright future for franchisees who want to bring smiles to families in their communities." The success of the brand is often attributed to Garratts commitment to fostering and protecting the unique culture within the original Laynes locations. A community has risen up around the restaurant as past graduates return to eat, and Laynes continues to be involved in student groups and the college experience of Texas A&M students. As Laynes has expanded throughout Texas and is now working to establish locations across the nation, Garratt explained that its his goal to maintain the casual, family feel. Laynes is a part of the community, and its a part that people love and enjoy. I think its neat that were expanding to other parts of the country, and I think it would be neat if we could spread that feeling to other communities, he said. We can be that place in a community where people go to get their food. Somewhere that feels like home and is a place to let their stress out and get something good to eat. While the brand has had to embrace some modernizations with expansion, Garratt said he wants Laynes to have a mom-and-pop feel. Like I said, I dont like to be too stuffy. A lot of our employees are college kids, so our culture has been built from the laid-back, not-so-serious attitude of our employees. A lot of the jokes and lighthearted moments are produced by the staff and customers that come in. Weve built up this culture together. Franchise opportunities range from $737,000 to $1,217,500 with different buildout options available. Learn more about franchising here. ABOUT LAYNE'S CHICKEN FINGERS Founded in 1994 in College Station, the original location became a Texas A&M legend known for its small-town charm, friendly service, iconic chicken fingers, and secret sauce. While opening corporate locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the leadership team focused on fine-tuning its operations and starting to franchise. Now, the company is planning to bring Laynes Soon to be Famous Chicken Fingers to the rest of the world with plans to open 100 locations by the next four years. As we continue to evolve as an organization my goal is to have a sales structure to support our current and future business. C. Mondavi & Family (CMF), one of the country's most iconic wine names, announces today the promotion of Greg Gauci to Senior Vice President of National Sales and a participating member of the Executive Leadership Team, overseeing the entire C. Mondavi & Family portfolio. Gauci will also represent the US Wholesale team to the companys board of directors. Gaucis promotion follows the recent promotion of former VP of Sales David S. Brown to President and CEO of CMF. Gaucis appointment is effective immediately. I am proud to elevate Greg to this new position, says CEO and President David Brown. He will be a critical part of the new leadership at C. Mondavi & Family. Greg Gauci brings more than twenty-six years of industry experience to his new role, spending the last three years with C. Mondavi & Family company overseeing the Eastern Divisional Sales department. Gaucis background includes both distributor and supplier experience, including roles in National Account and Distributor Management within a blend of large and small companies. I am excited to be taking the reigns and leading the sales team for C. Mondavi & Family. We are a multi-generational company that has been in business for more than 75 years and is committed to quality and relentless execution. As we continue to evolve as an organization my goal is to have a sales structure to support our current and future business. As Vice President of National Sales, CMF's portfolio will fall under Gauci's leadership, including Charles Krug, Napa Valley's oldest winery and California's first tasting room as well as recent additions such as French Blue, CMFs first imported brand, and West + Wilder. About C. Mondavi & Family: C. Mondavi & Family is a St. Helena-based wine company founded in 1943 by Cesare and Rosa Mondavi. Owned and operated by co-proprietors, Marc Mondavi and Peter Mondavi Jr., along with their children, the C. Mondavi & Family portfolio includes Charles Krug Winery, CK Mondavi and Family, Flat Top Hills, French Blue, and West + Wilder. With the third, fourth, and fifth generations at the helm, the family holds over 1,500 acres of Napa Valley and California vineyards. For more information visit http://www.cmondavifamily.com. National Center for Childrens Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness issues call for nominations for the 8th Annual Bonnie Strickland Champion for Childrens Vision Award. As part of our Year of Childrens Vision, we are especially excited to recognize those who have made significant contributions to improving the vision health outcomes for our kids, said Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. The National Center for Childrens Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness (NCCVEH) has issued a call for nominations for the eighth annual Bonnie Strickland Champion for Childrens Vision Award. The highest honor that the NCCVEH bestows, the award recognizes significant efforts by an individual or group of individuals to improve public health approaches for childrens vision and eye health at the state or national level. The deadline for submission is August 1, 2022. The award will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the NCCVEH, to be held virtually on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. The award consists of a commemorative plaque, recognition, and opportunity to present at the Annual Meeting. The award recipient will be featured on the NCCVEH website, along with an overview of their innovative approaches to childrens vision and eye health. This award was established in 2014 to commemorate Ms. Bonnie Strickland and her groundbreaking work to establish a comprehensive system for childrens vision in the United States. She served as Director of the Division of Services for Children with Special Health Needs at the federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration before her retirement in 2014. Ms. Strickland proved to be a powerful force, driving improved vision for children through strong national partnerships, innovative program approaches, and improved national surveillance. Nominations for the 2022 Bonnie Strickland Champion for Childrens Vision Award may include an individual person or group who is implementing change to improve childrens vision health in the United States. Nominees should be able to demonstrate an impact in one or more areas of a population health system supporting childrens vision: Key Stakeholder Engagement or Collaboration, including representation from families and diverse racial/ethnic/geographic and socio-economic levels target populations. Training and Education Public Awareness Provision of Resources and/or Services Surveillance and Accountability Reduction of Health Inequities Infrastructure Development- Local, State, or National Level The all-volunteer Bonnie Strickland Champion for Childrens Vision Award Committee will review all nominations and select the award recipient or recipients. The 2021 Bonnie Strickland Champion for Childrens Vision Award was presented to Ms. Shavette Turner, Vice President of Childrens Services at Prevent Blindness Georgia, for her unique approach to helping disadvantaged and underserved youth across Georgia access vision and eye care, with emphasis in Hall County where there is a large Latinx population that experiences barriers to eye care. Additional previous award winners include Logan Newman, NBCT, ABO, MS Ed, Program Developer and NYS Certified Science teacher, Career in Technical Experience Teacher, and founder of the East High School Vision Care Program for his innovative, educational and vocational approach to vision and eye care for disadvantaged and underserved youth in Rochester, New York; Anne L. Coleman, MD, MPH, UCLA Stein Eye Institute, for her work at the UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic (UMEC); the Vision in Preschoolers (VIP) Study Group; Richard Bunner, retired from the Ohio Department of Health; Sean P. Donahue, MD, PhD, Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Vanderbilt University; the Illinois Eye Institute (IEI) at Princeton Vision Clinic; and the Pediatric Physicians Organization at Childrens (PPOC). As part of our Year of Childrens Vision, we are especially excited to recognize those who have made significant contributions to improving the vision health outcomes for our kids, said Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. We encourage nominations of our allies who work to make childrens eyesight a priority. For more information or to submit a nomination for the 2022 Bonnie Strickland Champion for Childrens Vision Award, please visit https://nationalcenter.preventblindness.org/bonnie-strickland-champion-for-childrens-vision-award/, or contact Donna Fishman at dfishman@preventblindness.org. About the National Center for Childrens Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness is the nation's leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. Focused on promoting a continuum of vision care, Prevent Blindness touches the lives of millions of people each year through public and professional education, advocacy, certified vision screening and training, community and patient service programs and research. In 2009, Prevent Blindness established the National Center for Childrens Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness (NCCVEH), with support from the federal Health Resources and Services Administrations Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Serving as a national resource for the establishment of a public health infrastructure, the NCCVEH advances and promotes childrens vision and eye care, providing leadership and training to public entities throughout the United States. The NCCVEH is advised by a committee of national experts and leaders from the fields of ophthalmology, optometry, pediatrics, nursing, family advocates and public health to guide the work and recommendations of the NCCVEH. For more information, or to make a contribution to the sight-saving fund, call 1-800-331-2020. Or, visit us on the Web at http://nationalcenter.preventblindness.org. ### Author NoViolet Bulawayo is visiting Kalamazoo Valley Community College on June 3. Kalamazoo Valley Community College alumnae NoViolet Bulawayo, the author of two books, We Need New Names and Glory, is returning to Kalamazoo for special programs on June 3. Her first book We Need New Names was a finalist for the Booker Prize and won the PEN/Hemingway Award, the Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction and numerous other literary awards. Glory, her second novel, was published earlier this year to rave reviews. Bulawayo moved to the United States from Zimbabwe and graduated from Kalamazoo Valley in 2003. She completed her education with a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Cornell University. There, she was a recipient of the Truman Capote Fellowship. She also was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. A luncheon honoring her accomplishments will be held at the colleges Anna Whitten Hall on June 3 at noon. Following the luncheon Bulawayo will read from her new book and take questions from the audience. At 5:30 p.m. during Art Hop at Anna Whitten Hall, Bulawayo will present another reading from Glory. At 6:30 p.m., she will be available to sign books at the Center for New Media after the presentation of winners of the colleges 11th Juried Alumni+ Art Show. A total of 29 alumni artists have submitted 53 pieces of work that are included in the Alumni+ Art Show. The juried show will be on display throughout the month of June and includes many different types of art. It is meant to provide an opportunity for former students to showcase their talent while competing for cash prizes. Copies of Glory are available in advance at the Kalamazoo Valley Community College Bookstore, This is a Bookstore and at other local retailers. Copies of the book will also be available for sale on June 3 during both programs. Anna Whitten Hall is located on the colleges Arcadia Commons Campus in downtown Kalamazoo. Parking is available in the Eleanor Street parking ramp. Media Contact: Linda Depta Foundation Director and Director of Development ldepta@kvcc.edu or 269.488.4821 As our nation further moves into the endemic phase of COVID-19, we are thrilled to open the CXC and our new HQ, better enabling us to offer a one-of-a-kind experience allowing for increased collaboration and innovation among our team and customers. DeliverHealth, a global provider of technology-enabled solutions for hospitals, health systems and group practices, announced today the opening of its new headquarters (HQ) and Customer Experience Center (CXC) in Clearwater, Florida. Designed to develop and foster deeper relationships, the 10,000-square-foot multi-purpose facility provides a space for DeliverHealth to gather with customers and partners to collectively brainstorm on innovative new product and service needs, and to also host industry thought leadership discussions and events. The CXC also offers hands-on, immersive experiences for DeliverHealth employees, partners, customers and prospects. DeliverHealth is further fulfilling its mission of clearing the way for the healthcare connections that matter most between clinicians and technology, providers and patients, and people and their health. In March 2022, the company unveiled the DeliverHealth Platform built to unify point solutions in healthcare. Leveraging the platform a suite of software and services to improve documentation, coding and revenue integrity, and digital health capabilities hospitals and health systems benefit from a single framework that allows users to capture data once and use it many times to reduce re-work that complicates healthcare. DeliverHealth also announced its acquisition of PresidioHealth this year, improving coding quality and production, physician documentation, and accelerating the reimbursement cycle for multi-specialty physician groups, Hospitalists medicine, free-standing ERs, and urgent care centers. "As our nation further moves into the endemic phase of COVID-19, we are thrilled to open the CXC and our new HQ, better enabling us to offer a one-of-a-kind experience allowing for increased collaboration and innovation among our team and customers, said Michael Clark, CEO of DeliverHealth. We know that one of the biggest barriers to technology innovation and adoption in healthcare is implementation and optimization. Thus, the center will enable us to be more hands-on with our customers partners, and prospects, offering them greater support and engagement as they seek to not only learn more about our platform offerings, but as we collectively aim to solve greater industry and market challenges. DeliverHealth selected Florida as its HQ and the home of the CXC due to the area's booming tech scene and ample access to resources and talent. More than two dozen DeliverHealth employees will work out of the CXC, including team members and executives in sales, marketing development, customer success and more. The company is also hiring for additional roles in 2022 and beyond. Media personnel will be invited to the center for a grand tour on Tuesday, June 14, followed by customer and partner events on June 15 and 16, collectively. For more information on DeliverHealth, the new center, or the companys unified platform, visit http://www.deliverhealth.com. About DeliverHealth Our name says it all DeliverHealth simplifies Electronic Health Record (EHR), patient engagement and revenue cycle complexities, so providers can spend more time delivering the care patients need and less on documentation and technology. We make sure your people, processes, technology and patients are aligned and engaged for better outcomes and greater success. Our platform of solutions and services clears the way for the healthcare connections that matter most, removing complexities from within health systems from the ground up and helping solve systemic issues such as physician burnout, the connected patient experience, and the transition to digital health. By building simplicity into documentation, codification and the digital health patient experience, our customers see realization of their EHR investments and improve upon their security and risk management. With clients and operations in five countries, hundreds of successful EHR go-live deployments, and over three decades of Health Information Management expertise, DeliverHealth helps todays providers prepare now for the future of healthcare. Visit http://www.deliverhealth.com, or find us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Communities recognize the impact business events have in their destinations and that importance is even more visible now. The pandemic has provided opportunities for tourism officials, civic leaders and local government to come together and build stronger communities. Destinations International, the worlds largest resource for official destination organizations and convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs), today announced the launch of the Destinations International Pathfinders Programme to help shape the future of engagement across Europe. As the world starts to rebuild because of the impact of the pandemic and the worldwide shutdown of meetings and events, destination organizations are finding themselves with the rare opportunity to reflect on the impact our industry has on the communities we serve. Now is the time to be bold and rebuild in a way that is impactful, strategic, collaborative and intentional. One of the silver linings of the global pandemic is that it has brought the importance of destination organizations to life and brought unprecedented collaboration between destinations, said Don Welsh, president and CEO of Destinations International. Communities recognize the impact business events have in their destinations and that importance is even more visible now. The pandemic has provided opportunities for tourism officials, civic leaders and local government to come together and build stronger communities. The Destinations International Pathfinders will work with the Destinations International team to bring key trends in European destinations to light and understand how leaders in the industry are stepping up to address these challenges and opportunities. The Pathfinders will then work with Destinations International to develop a framework to elevate the collective voice of destination organizations in Europe, and better communicate the impact of our work in our communities. During my deep listening tour, it has become clear that there are opportunities to support destination organizations in Europe and there are many ways that the Destinations International ecosystem of members, partners and the Destinations International team can create value, said Jane Cunningham, director of European engagement at Destinations International. To come up with a regenerative value proposition, we need a wide range of European destinations on this journey with us. It is an exciting time for European destinations as we build thriving, sustainable communities. European leaders have been searching for more engagement and collaboration. We are looking for new tools, networks and knowledge to be able to develop our internal organisation and the city of Malmo. It is vital that we remain relevant and focus on talent attraction and job creation to make sure that the city of Malmo continues its sustainable and inclusive path to generate future investment opportunities, said Johan Menso, head of the convention bureau at Malmo Convention Bureau. The Pathfinders will work with Destinations International to identify areas of opportunity for the association to create value for European destination organizations and to facilitate knowledge-sharing and collaboration between European and North American destination organizations. The Pathfinders Programme is limited to a select number of destination organizations. These organizations will receive access to the benefits of membership in Destinations International. More information can be found here. Destinations Internationals European engagement is supported by Destinations Internationals key partners working together to increase European engagement including MMGY Global, Simpleview, Expedia, SearchWide Global and IMEX Group. Destinations International is pleased to invite European destination leaders to join the Destinations International Pathfinders Programme. For more information or to become an inaugural Pathfinders member, please email Jane Cunningham at jcunningham@destinationsinternational.org. More information about the Destinations International Pathfinders Programme and opportunities can be found at destinationsinternational.org/pathfinders. ### About Destinations International: Destinations International is the worlds largest resource for official destination organizations, convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) and tourism boards. Destinations International is about serving destination marketing professionals first and foremost. Together with more than 6,500 members and partners from nearly 600 destinations in approximately 14 countries, Destinations International represents a powerful forward-thinking, collaborative association; exchanging bold ideas, connecting innovative people and elevating tourism to its highest potential. For more information, visit http://www.destinationsinternational.org. Trained in the full scope of OMS treatments, Dr. Zarroug is a board certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon. Adding another surgeon to our team will enable us to better meet the needs of our patients and referrals, particularly in the Central Austin area, where he will begin treating patients immediately. On June 1, Najy Zarroug, DDS, MD, will join Austin Oral Surgery an oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) practice with 12 locations throughout Central Texas. Dr. Zarroug will be joining the practices team of surgeons treating patients at the Central Austin office, located at 711 W. 38th Street, Suite A-1. Excellent training, exceptional skills and unparalleled compassion are qualities we look for in all of our surgeons, and Dr. Zarroug embodies each of these. Adding another surgeon to our team will enable us to better meet the needs of our patients and referrals, particularly in the Central Austin area, where he will begin treating patients immediately, said Thomas S. Weil, DDS, MD, and president of Austin Oral Surgery. Trained in the full scope of OMS treatments, Dr. Zarroug is a board certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon. He is particularly skilled in dentoalveolar surgery, complex implantology, orthognathic surgery, facial trauma and temporomandibular joint surgery. Dr. Zarroug earned his bachelors degree in dental surgery with distinction and honors from the University of Khartoum, Sudan. He earned an advanced certificate in clinical research and his doctoral degree in dental surgery (DDS) from New York University, where he graduated with honors in dental anatomy. He earned a medical degree at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, where he also completed his anesthesia training, as well as internships in general and oral and maxillofacial surgery. He is an informative and engaging speaker and published author, presenting and writing on a wide range of OMS topics. In addition, he participates in medical mission work, providing care for cleft lip and palate patients. Dr. Zarroug is involved with a number of professional organizations. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and a member of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, the American Dental Association and the Capital Area Dental Society. About Austin Oral Surgery: When Doctors James Fricke and Sam Fason established Austin Oral Surgery 50 years ago, they had one goal in mind: to put patients first. Austin Oral Surgery continues that legacy of exceptional care today, treating patients with a wide variety of oral/maxillofacial needs from wisdom teeth removal and corrective jaw surgery to dental implants and more. Founded in Austin, the practice has grown to include 12 locations in cities throughout Central Texas. For more information, visit http://www.austinoralsurgery.com. ezPaycheck Software Updated For Business Owners To Input Seasonal Employees As Inactive Latest ezPaycheck has a feature to deactivate and reactivate temporary or regular employees while still saving all employee data in the system. Business owners and Human Resource staff have a difficult time keeping up with seasonal employees whether they leave the company temporarily or leave their current position and come back at a later time. ezPaycheck from Halfpricesoft.com will now accommodate companies to add, deactivate and reactivate an employee if they are hired on as seasonal or if they leave the company. This makes it easy to add them as inactive after the busy season with only a click of a button. Latest ezPaycheck has a feature to deactivate and reactivate temporary or regular employees while still saving all employee data in the system, said Dr. Ge, the Founder of halfpricesoft.com. ezPaycheck is compatible with Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 and other Windows systems. We also sell a MAC version separately. EzPaycheck software is designed to automate paycheck processes to reduce the time spent on running payroll. The softwares graphical interface leads users step-by-step through setting up employee information, importing data, calculating payroll - including calculation of federal, state and local taxes; deductions for Medicare, insurance and 401(k) plans; and printing paychecks. ezPaycheck payroll software features include: Supports payment of hourly, salary, night shift, by piece, by load, or by mileage rates for employees. Supports daily, weekly, biweekly, semimonthly and monthly payroll periods. Features report functions, print functions, and pay stub functions. Prints miscellaneous checks as well as payroll calculation checks. Automatically calculates federal withholding tax, social security, medicare tax and employer unemployment taxes Includes built-in tax tables for all 50 states and the District of Columbia Prints Tax Forms 940, 941, W-2 and W-3 (Copy A form required for IRS) Supports multiple accounts at no additional charge ezPaycheck is compatible with Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 and other Windows systems. We also sell a MAC version separately. Priced at $139 per calendar year for a single installation, (network version available for additional cost) ezPaycheck payroll software is affordable for any size business. To learn more about ezPaycheck, visit: https://www.halfpricesoft.com/index.asp and test for compatibility with no cost or obligation for up to 30 days. About halfpricesoft.com Halfpricesoft.com is a leading provider of small business software, including online and desktop payroll software, online employee attendance tracking software, accounting software, in-house business and personal check printing software, W2, software, 1099 software, Accounting software, 1095 form software and ezACH direct deposit software. Software from halfpricesoft.com is trusted by thousands of customers and will help small Business owners simplify payroll processing and streamline business management. Golden Bridge Awards by Globee More than 100 judges from around the world representing a wide spectrum of industry experts participated in the judging process. The Golden Bridge Awards are the worlds premier business awards program honoring achievements in every industry around the world. The Globee Awards organizer of worlds premier business awards programs and business ranking lists announced today the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners in the 14th Annual 2022 Golden Bridge Awards honoring achievements and recognitions in business and innovations worldwide. More than 100 judges from around the world representing a wide spectrum of industry experts participated in the judging process. The Golden Bridge Awards are the worlds premier business awards program honoring achievements in every industry around the world. We are excited to recognize organizations from all over the world and from a wide range of industries in the 2022 Golden Bridge Awards, said San Madan, co-President of Globee Awards. This years Globee winning nominations are truly remarkable as each organization continues to understand every aspect of the local and global economy and discover innovative ways to make the next move. See the complete list of 2022 winners here: https://globeeawards.com/golden-bridge-awards/winners/ Stay posted and read success stories of organizations by subscribing to the Globee Newsletter: https://globeeawards.com/subscribe/ Winners of one or more 2022 Gold Globee include Semperis, Global eTrade Services (GeTS), EdgeVerve Systems Limited An Infosys Company, BURSALI, Wipro Limited, Jumio, Connectpoint, Inc, Gurucul, Mount Sinai Hospital, Jeunesse Global, Rockwell Automation, Full Sail University, Kong Inc., Mount Sinai Health System, Innover, LaunchX, Invafresh, 7 Stage Advisors, Flobotics, CoStar Group, IBM, Enterprise Operations & Services, Gigamon, LastBasic, Iris Powered by Generali, iboss, Vertafore, Dell Technologies Education Services, Annature, Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporations, Jeunesse Kids, Wolters Kluwers ELM Solutions, Qgiv, Zyter, Scality, Way.com, Michelin North America, Inc., Apollo.io, Alert Logic, Think Tank AlterContacts, Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting Asia Pacific, Precision Medical Products, Aspen Publishing, Google for Startups, Impact Gym, Makers Nutrition, Templeton and Partners, IBM, Enterprise Operations, WRS, Inc./AGIA Affinity + Iris Powered by Generali, PicUP, swIDch, M-Files, EdgeVerve Systems Limited, Wolters Kluwer, Verizon Connect, ADNOC Onshore Company, Honeywell, Wolters Kluwer Legal and Regulatory U.S, Avail Car Sharing, Labaid Cancer Hospital & Super Speciality Center, Five9, SpendMend, IBM, Q2C EMEA, Canonic Security, Ivanti, Concentrix, PJ Lhuillier Inc. (PJLI), INTOO USA, IBM, Quote-to-Cash Asia Pacific and Japan, Chargebacks911, Cardinal Group Management, First Advantage, Axis Security, KPMG, B.S.C. Group, Amino, GreyNoise Intelligence, Beatsons Building Supplies Ltd, 1903 Public Relations, IBM, Onbe, Cyara, Daiichi-Sankyo Turkey, Iapetus Holdings LLC, Epirus Inc., Trustifi, FuelCell Energy, Red Sift, for peats sake!, ZigiWave AD, Data Dynamics, Prescriptive Data, National Grid, BlueVoyant, Bakioglu, Vipre, BrightSprings (Mining) Group, Zotec Partners, BigPanda, Talkdesk, Cymbiotika LLC, Big Health, Centene Corporation, Rocket Software, TCS, Chime Technologies, Torii, Poly, Tata Consultancy Services, Tek Leaders Inc, Intel Corporation, IT Organization, Applied Systems, ADP, Inspired eLearning, Impartner, Cloudbric, Tamkeen, Centage Corporation. Submit your nominations for the 2022 American Best in Business Awards. July 3, 2022 is the Last chance deadline. Learn more about the 2022 American Best in Business Awards and how to nominate here: https://globeeawards.com/american-business-awards/ About the Globee Awards Globee Awards are conferred in nine programs and competitions: the American Best in Business Awards, Business Excellence Awards, CEO World Awards, Cyber Security Global Excellence Awards, Disruptor Company Awards, Golden Bridge Awards, Information Technology World Awards, Sales, Marketing, Service, & Operations Excellence Awards, and Women World Awards. Learn more about the Globee Awards at https://globeeawards.com Subscribe to the Globee weekly Newsletter Subscribe to Globee Awards YouTube channel Follow Globee Awards on twitter Follow Globee Awards on LinkedIn Watch the Globee video All trademarks belong to their respective owners. Jeffrey C. Joy has returned to global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP as an of counsel in the Portland and Orange County offices. He will work in the Private Wealth Services and Tax Practices. Joy has three decades of experience advising high-net-worth individuals and owners of closely held businesses on their estate planning and income tax matters. He focuses on developing plans for succession of ownership within companies using various tax efficient techniques and strategies. Jeff has a solid reputation for delivering top-quality service to his clients, which is why they return to him for advice again and again, said Barbara T. Kaplan and William R. Siegel, co-chairs of the firms Tax Practice, in a joint statement. Jeffs skill set bolsters our already strong tax team, particularly for clients needing highly specialized legal services all along the West Coast. Greenberg Traurigs nationally ranked Tax Practice has been expanding in recent months to meet client demand across the United States. Last year, Shareholder Joseph J. Curran joined the firms Boston office, where he is focused on private equity-related tax matters; Shareholder Jeffrey K. Ekeberg, who advises clients on the tax aspects of complex business transactions, joined the Chicago office; Shareholder Scott J. Bakal joined the firms Fort Lauderdale office, where he works with high-net-worth individuals and entrepreneurial companies on complex tax issues; and Shareholder Seth J. Entin, who represents multinational companies and high-net-worth individuals in international tax matters, rejoined the Miami office. Miami Shareholders Gennette E. Faust, Erika G. Litvak, and Ozzie A. Schindler also are part of the firms international tax team in South Florida. We are thrilled to have Jeff return to Greenberg Traurig, said Susan L. Heller and Bruce Fischer, co-managing shareholders of the Orange County office, in a joint statement. His deep roots in Southern California, coupled with his strong background in estate planning, further expands the firms depth in handling intricate tax matters. Joy has deep experience in both domestic and international tax planning. He practiced in Greenberg Traurigs Orange County office for almost 15 years before transitioning to another firm. He has significant tax controversy experience, previously representing clients before the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Tax Court, and the California Franchise Tax Board. I am truly excited to be returning to Greenberg Traurig and its vast global platform to further build my practice, Joy said. Many of my clients have property in multiple regions, so I rely on the firms depth of experience in tax planning and the culture of collaboration among the attorneys to offer the best all-around service possible. Joy received his J.D. from Washburn University School of Law, an LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law, and a B.S., cum laude, from University of Kansas. He is licensed to practice law in California, Oregon, and Washington. About Greenberg Traurig's Tax Practice: To stay competitive in today's global marketplace, international companies must seek out greater efficiency in their tax planning and compliance, including coordinating tax decisions from country to country. For U.S. operations, an environment of increased scrutiny including passage of more restrictive legislation and a spike in audit activity at every level is quickly becoming the norm, likewise spurring a need for greater self-evaluation and for more frequent representation in controversies and litigation with tax authorities. Greenberg Traurigs multidisciplinary tax team works closely with clients to address these and other tax planning needs, as well as tax controversies and litigation issues. About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2400 attorneys in 43 locations in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm, often recognized for its focus on philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono, reported gross revenue of over $2 Billion for FY 2021. The firm is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law 100, Am Law Global 100, NLJ 250, and Law360 (US) 400. On the debut 2022 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard, it is a Top 15 firm. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule 4.0 Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab and net carbon neutral with respect to its office energy usage. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com. GYMGUYZ's 18,000 Square Foot State-of-the-Art Building and New Corporate Headquarters is Located in Melville, New York. This is quite simply a dream come true for me. I cant tell you how proud I am of our entire team and franchise system for getting us to this point. Josh York, GYMGUYZ Founder & CEO GYMGUYZ, the world's largest in-home, onsite, and virtual personal training company, is announcing today its acquisition of an 18,000 square foot state-of-the-art commercial building in Melville, New York, for its new corporate headquarters. A major real estate transaction for the fast-growing company, GYMGUYZ is relocating its headquarters from Plainview, New York, to accommodate a growing corporate team and to further support the expansion of its franchise system. Significant renovations are being made to support the companys long-term strategic plan and modernize the aesthetics of the building. Our growing franchise system requires more sophisticated training facilities, said Heidi Loiacono, Senior Director, Learning & Development. A large part of our role as a franchisor is training and educating franchisees so they become successful as quickly as possible. Our new headquarters will better support us in that endeavor. Accordingly, the new headquarters will feature an updated exterior, a 1,500 square foot, state-of-the-art training facility for its franchisees, and a content studio that will expand the companys remote training and overall marketing and social media capabilities. Our marketing organization is currently the fastest growing portion of our team, said Phil Brojan, Chief Marketing Officer of GYMGUYZ. This will make room for additional team members, while also giving us the facilities to produce engaging consumer content that can help us grow the GYMGUYZ brand. Were incredibly excited to make this move. GYMGUYZ plans to complete its relocation in mid-June with the installation of new, illuminated marquee signage that will be affixed to the building. The company will occupy the lower level and second floor of the building, while Bank of America will continue to occupy the first floor as a retail banking tenant. Future building improvements include upgraded landscaping and hardscaping, along with improvements to various interior common areas. This is quite simply a dream come true for me, said Josh York, GYMGUYZ Founder & CEO. I cant tell you how proud I am of our entire team and franchise system for getting us to this point. Founded in his parents living room in 2008 by fitness specialist Josh York, the mobile brand utilizes a fleet of branded vehicles that bring state-of-the-art fitness equipment and expert personal trainers to their customers doors. GYMGUYZ is #1 in home, onsite and virtual personal training and provides convenient, customized, and creative workouts to consumer and corporate clients at the location of their choice. With over 150 locations in the US, Canada, and the UK, GYMGUYZ is one of the fastest-growing fitness concepts in the world. To train with GYMGUYZ, visit https://www.gymguyz.com/. To learn more about franchising with GYMGUYZ, visit https://www.gymguyz.com/franchise-opportunities/. ### ABOUT GYMGUYZ: GYMGUYZ is # 1 in home, onsite and virtual personal training and provides convenient, customized and creative workouts to consumer and corporate clients at the location of their choice. Headquartered in Melville, N.Y., and founded in 2008 by fitness specialist Josh York, the mobile brand utilizes a fleet of branded vehicles that bring state-of-the-art fitness equipment and expert personal trainers to their customers doors. In 2019, the brand was recognized as No. 5 on Inc. Mag's 10 Hottest Franchise Businesses in America, which highlighted their growth of more than 801% over the last three years. GYMGUYZ also scored the second-place spot on Franchise Gators annual list of the Top 100 Fastest-Growing Franchises and received recognition as a top franchise in Entrepreneur's Highly Competitive 41st Annual Franchise 500. Now with over 150 locations internationally, including the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, GYMGUYZ is the fastest-growing fitness concept in the U.S. with plans to open another 100+ locations globally in the coming year. For more information on GYMGUYZ and franchising opportunities, visit http://www.gymguyz.com/. The average American is vulnerable to ransomware, hacking incidents, data breaches, phishing attacks, and social engineering, which could compromise their identity. IDStrong offers its customers a premier suite of tools to protect themselves from identity theft and financial fraud with identity and credit monitoring and alerts. Some of the ways that IDStrong goes that extra mile to keep the public safe include. Password Generator - This allows users to create good, strong, safer passwords in seconds. Password Strength Checker - Consumers can check their existing passwords to see if they are vulnerable to hacking. Educational Videos - Access free educational videos on everything from account takeovers, identity theft protection, and ways to avoid fraud. Informational Articles - Access a vast library of educational guides and blogs to learn about cybersecurity. Digital Incident News - IDStrongs Sentinel reports on the latest digital incidents and alerts users daily about threats that may concern them. Scam Tracker - Detects new scams so consumers wont fall victim to them. In the same way that someone might get routine health check-ups to find out that they are in good shape, consumers also need to monitor their digital health for identity and financial threats. Cyberattacks dont just happen to someone else. Everyone is vulnerable. Some ways that IDStrong can help are: Identity Monitoring: When consumers trust IDStrong to monitor their identities, if their email address, bank account details, usernames, passwords, or other sensitive information is found online, they receive an alert and can take quick action. Social security numbers are a gateway to fraud, and if they show up on the dark web, the owner must act fast. IDStrong also monitors information in public records so users can easily find out what others see about them. Consumers can take the first step towards protecting their identity and privacy by visiting idstrong.com today to run a free identity threat scan. Credit Monitoring: Credit is an essential aspect of life, and identity theft can ruin it instantly. IDStrong monitors for any credit inquiries, new credit cards, loans, or credit score updates. Consumers receive alerts if there are any possible threats to their credit so they can take quick action to avoid fraud. Home Monitoring: IDStrong monitors information for address changes, property ownership records (title theft), and sex offenders who move into a customers neighborhood. Homeowners can sleep better and feel safer knowing who lives nearby. Cybercriminals can use pieces of personal information about anyone to puzzle together an entire profile. A lot of sensitive information has been leaked on the dark web through hacking incidents and data breaches. Armed with only a name, email address, or phone number, cybercriminals could access financial accounts by finding a username and password on the dark web and using it to breach other aspects of a consumers digital life. It is essential to take preemptive action rather than wait to fix the problem after it has already happened. The public can do this by monitoring their information to see what is exposed. Founded in 2015, IDStrong empowers consumers to keep their identity safe. IDStrong provides dozens of data tools to allow users to monitor all levels of their personal information from home, credit, identity, and even public records information. Customers can protect themselves against cybercrime using IDStrong, leveling the playing field and putting control back in the consumers hands. Influence Weekly has reached the milestone of 20,000 subscribers to its weekly newsletter. Known for its editorial coverage of the influencer marketing space, creator economy and social media platform, New Monaco Media has grown the Influencer Weekly Newsletter 300 percent since its acquisition of the newsletter in September 2020. After InfluenceWeekly joined New Monaco Medias digital portfolio of brands in 2020, our first area of focus was to establish the newsletter as the go-to outlet for all news in the Influencer Marketing space. Since then, weve worked hard to learn what our readers are looking for and to establish a trustworthy relationship with our subscribers. Our team has expanded our newsletter strategy to include content that is relevant to anyone in the influencer space, from CMOs at national brands, to creators looking to jump start their careers, said David Adler, Managing Director at New Monaco Media. The rapid growth of our newsletter subscribers is a testament to the work our team has done and has skyrocketed this digital platform into the top in the industry. New Monaco Medias Influence Weekly newsletter is a weekly newsletter that accompanies its Net Influencer web property, the world foremost website that covers the influencer marketing industry. The company plans on expanding its editorial coverage of the space to include interviews with both creator economy business founders as well as creators providing a one shop stop on all things creator economy. Middletown Recreation Center with funding partner X-Caliber Rural Funding have selected Clarke Energy USA Inc, a division of Kohler Co. (a leader in engines, generators and clean energy solutions) Middletown Recreation Center with funding partner X-Caliber Rural Funding have selected Clarke Energy USA Inc, a division of Kohler Co. (a leader in engines, generators and clean energy solutions), to provide a microgrid system solution developed by Clarke Energy for the newly upgraded recreation center in Connecticut. The facility will integrate a Yanmar combined heat and power (CHP) unit, a battery energy storage system, solar photovoltaic system, and a KOHLER standby gas generator. Clarke Energy is supplying their most complex microgrid yet at as the company grows to become a full distributed energy solutions business. This installation will be the most complex microgrid supplied yet by Clarke Energy and will integrate numerous sustainable and low carbon power generation and storage technologies. We are delighted to have been selected by Symbiont Energy and the Middletown Recreation Center to deliver this resilient energy solution, comments Andy Malcolm, Managing Director of Clarke Energy, USA. Following the recent demolition and relocation of the Woodrow Wilson Middle School, in Middletown Connecticut, the Middletown Recreation Center is being developed on the site to serve the local community. With significant investment from the local council the site will include a new recreation office, and there will be renovation to the gyms and pools creating the first dedicated building for the department. The building will also be used as a heating and cooling center during extreme weather events. In the event the power utility company has an outage the microgrid system will supply energy to the building keeping local residents comfortably supplied with resilient power. The town is looking forward to the finalization of the upgrades to this recreation center. We see sustainable, resilient energy as key to the longevity of these community facilities and we are pleased to be supported by Symbiont Energy and Clarke Energy in this endeavor, comments Chris Holden, Middletowns Acting Director of the Department of Public Works. In line with the facility being set for the future of the community, sustainable and resilient energy for the recreation center is essential. Clarke Energy was chosen to provide the power solution for the building and to develop and deliver a turnkey microgrid for the site. This facility incorporates several different power generation and storage technologies that will be integrated and optimised to provide both parallel and back-up power for the community center. The base energy source for the community center is one of Clarke Energys Yanmar CHP units supplying 35kW of electricity and 204.1kBTU/hr of hot water at high efficiency. The CHP can provide black-start capability for the microgrid. In addition, there will be a solar photovoltaic array providing renewable electricity from the sun. Surplus energy can be stored in a battery energy storage system for peak shaving. Finally, the resiliency of the site will be further supported with the addition of a KOHLER KG100 back-up gas engine. The sites energy resources will be coordinated by a centralized microgrid controller. It is estimated the microgrid will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 192 tons per year We were pleased to be able to provide long-term financing for this critical community infrastructure that will serve thousands of residents with clean energy. We are committed to providing excellent financing solutions that support our nations local communities and this is a perfect example of a successful execution for a project that will make an impact, says Jordan Blanchard, X-Caliber Rural Capital Co-Founder and Executive Manager. About Clarke Energy Clarke Energy, a KOHLER Company, is a leader in the engineering, design, installation and long-term maintenance of gas engine-based power plants. The company is an authorised distributor for INNIO Jenbacher gas engines in 28 countries. Clarke Energy employs over 1,200 staff and has over 7.4 GW of Jenbacher gas engines installed globally, 1.4GW of which is from biogas, a renewable fuel. About Kohler Power A global force in power solutions since 1920, Kohler manufactures engines and complete power systems, including generators (portable, marine, residential, commercial and industrial), automatic transfer switches, switchgear, monitoring controls, and accessories for emergency, prime power and energy-management applications all around the world. The business is committed to reliable, leading edge power-generation products, clean energy solutions, as well as comprehensive after-sale support. For more details, please visit http://www.kohlerpower.com http://www.clarke-energy.com https://www.linkedin.com/company/clarke-energy https://twitter.com/clarkeenergyusa https://www.facebook.com/ClarkeEnergyUSA/ Morrison Foerster, a leading global law firm, is pleased to announce the arrival of Joshua Lerner as a partner in the firms Executive Compensation Group and Tax Department, based in New York. Lerner brings a decade of experience advising clients on executive compensation, corporate governance, and securities matters to Morrison Foerster. Lerner joins Morrison Foerster from another leading global law firm, where he advised public and private companies and individual senior executives on executive compensation issues in a range of corporate transactions and other matters. He focuses his practice on executive compensation in the context of transactions, including preparing disclosures for SEC filings. Lerner also advises clients on compensatory and benefit arrangements, including equity-based incentives, deferred compensation plans, and retention and severance agreements, and advises public companies on compensation-related disclosures and corporate governance matters. Josh is an experienced lawyer who brings deep knowledge of executive compensation matters, both in the day-to-day course of business and in the context of complex transactions, particularly with respect to mergers and acquisitions, and capital markets matters and transactions. His practice complements and enhances our current capabilities in these and other areas, including new ventures, initial public offerings, and restructurings, among others, said Anthony J. Carbone, chair of Morrison Foersters Tax Department. Morrison Foerster is an industry-leading firm with exceptional transactional capabilities. I am excited to have the opportunity to work alongside my new colleagues to help provide our clients with practical business guidance on their most pressing executive compensation business matters, while growing my own practice here in New York, said Lerner. Earlier in his career, Lerner was a member of the Executive Compensation & Benefits and Financial Services groups at another New York-based firm. He earned his B.A. in Economics from Boston University and his J.D. from Columbia Law School. While in law school, Lerner was also the Senior Articles Editor for the Columbia Business Law Review. He is admitted to practice in New York. About Morrison Foerster Morrison Foerster is a leading global law firm that transforms complexity into advantage for its clients. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, banks, consulting and accounting firms, and Fortune 100, technology, and life sciences companies. Highlighting the firms commitment to client service, leadership in market-changing deals and impact litigation, and values-based culture, Morrison Foerster was recognized as one of the top 10 firms on The American Lawyers 2021 A-List. Year after year, the firm receives significant recognition from Chambers and The Legal 500 across their various guides, including Global, USA, Asia-Pacific, Europe, UK, Latin America, and FinTech Legal. Our lawyers passionately care about delivering legal excellence while living our values. Morrison Foerster has a long-standing commitment to creating a culture that respects and celebrates differences, while providing an inclusive environment. The firm has achieved Mansfield Certification Plus since 2018 as a result of successfully reaching at least 30 percent women, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyer representation in a notable number of current leadership roles and committees. The firm also has a long history of commitment to the community and society through providing pro bono legal services, including litigating for civil rights and civil liberties, improving public education and fostering the well-being of children, advocating for veterans, promoting international human rights, enforcing the right to asylum, and safeguarding the environment. Seeking to help the human race answers their personal questions, Claudia Renees self-improvement book What? Do You Expect From A Sinner (published by Archway Publishing) explores the subject of sin, its characteristics and its repercussions. Through scripture and real-life examples, she tells how sin means the breaking of a religious law, to do wrong especially when it has been planned, plotted, and purposed. According to the author, sin is a wrongdoing and an unjust act, a purposeful pain given or done to someone or something, to commit a crime, a wrong or fault. She hopes that through this guide, readers will find the answers to their personal questions and begin to understand it all from a Christian perspective. I pray that every reader would be healed, delivered and set free from the sting of sin, by renewing of the mind and being transformed, by asking themselves this question: What? Do you expect from a sinner. And take hold to forgiveness, the author says. What? Do You Expect From A Sinner is available for purchase online at the Archway link above, from Barnes & Noble and on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/What-Do-You-Expect-Sinner/dp/1665708654. What? Do You Expect From A Sinner By Claudia Renee Hardcover | 6 x 9 in | 184 pages | ISBN 9781665708647 Softcover | 6 x 9 in | 184 pages | ISBN 9781665708654 E-Book | 184 pages | ISBN 9781665708661 Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble About the Author Claudia Renee is the second oldest of 11 siblings who were raised in Hawkins Village in Rankin, Pennsylvania. She completed a two-year program at Penn State University for elementary education and psychology before furthering her education at Duquesne University in theology and gerontology. The author also took registered nursing courses at Monroeville Community College and attended Woods Hygienic Institute in Kissimmee, Florida. She opened a Veterans Administration personal care home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A mother of three, shes an ordained minister, evangelist, inventor, songwriter, author, and a woman who has experienced Gods signs, wonders, and miracles. Simon & Schuster, a company with nearly ninety years of publishing experience, has teamed up with Author Solutions, LLC, the worldwide leader in self-publishing, to create Archway Publishing. With unique resources to support books of all kind, Archway Publishing offers a specialized approach to help every author reach his or her desired audience. For more information, visit archwaypublishing.com or call 844-669-3957. In Common Men in the War for the Common Man: The Civil War of the United States of America History of the 145th Pennsylvania Volunteers From Organization through Gettysburg, Verel Salmon highlights some of the men's lives before the war and then carries the reader through trials and triumphs from enlistment, jubilant send-off, action from Antietam through Gettysburg and casualty, democracy and the Union are sustained through the actions of common men who were not always given the best of orders. In Common Men in the War for the Common Man: Book II (published by Xlibris in June 2019), Salmon continues the rest of the story of the men of the 145th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, at least those who survived the clean-up at Antietam and the devastation at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. Letters, diaries, service, pension and medical records from the National Archives, reminiscences and historical texts merge to tell the men's stories in one of the most comprehensive regimental histories written. With the nation's current quandaries about equal rights, this story should help people understand our heritage. The founders had a beautiful vision. The Civil War had to be fought to start to right the wrongs, a process that continues today, absent the deaths of 600,000 young Americans, Salmon points out. It is the story told in the words of the men, not so much of what historians interpret. The book includes dozens of photographs of the soldiers themselves which is a unique factor when compared to the numerous regimental histories from other units. When asked what he wants readers to take away from the book, Salmon answers, That history is personal, whether the reader had an ancestor in the war or whether they are a new American. I want them to better understand what these great men and their spouses did to make America the most unique nation in the history of the world, a trust all citizens and newcomers should never take for granted. That they better understand the detail of history more than the broad stroke in a school history book. For more details about the book, please visit https://www.xlibris.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/701455-common-men-in-the-war-for-the-common-man Common Men in the War for the Common Man: Book II By Verel Salmon Hardcover | 6 x 9in | 1,160 pages | ISBN 9781796043990 Softcover | 6 x 9in | 1, 160 pages | ISBN 9781796044003 E-Book | 1,160 pages | ISBN 9781796044010 Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble About the Author Dr. Verel Salmon taught high school and college in Erie, Pennsylvania, before serving as a high school administrator in Mentor, Ohio, then returning to Erie, Pennsylvania, as an assistant superintendent and, finally, superintendent of the Millcreek Township School District. He currently farms near his hometown of historic Waterford where the young George Washington ordered the French to leave British territory in advance of the birth of these United States. Salmon and his wife, Sandra, enjoy four children who have visited, and seven grandchildren who surely will visit the many points along the sacrificial trail of the regiment and their ancestors. Forever the educator, the author challenges readers to study the great nation's heritage to better guide it into the future. Xlibris Publishing, an Author Solutions, LLC imprint, is a self-publishing services provider created in 1997 by authors, for authors. By focusing on the needs of creative writers and artists and adopting the latest print-on-demand publishing technology and strategies, we provide expert publishing services with direct and personal access to quality publication in hardcover, trade paperback, custom leather-bound and full-color formats. To date, Xlibris has helped to publish more than 60,000 titles. For more information, visit xlibris.com or call 844-714-8691 to receive a free publishing guide. "Combining business with SDL just made so much sense. This provides expanded capabilities and resources to our JAMIS Clients." SDL Consulting, Inc and Metis GovCon Support are combining their JAMIS consulting practices under the SDL Consulting name. Jacquelyn Bernard, President of Metis said, Combining business with SDL just made so much sense. This provides expanded capabilities and resources to our JAMIS Clients. Rhonda Lugar, President of SDL said, We have been working with Jacque and her team since 2016 and feel like we are part of the same team. This combination just makes that formal! SDL Consulting is the Premier JAMIS Partner providing Implementation, Licensing, Consulting, Integrations and Managed Accounting Services on the JAMIS Platform. SDL also Represents Acumatica as a Value Added Reseller. One of the few news and documentary photographers of New Orleans whose archives were not destroyed by the floodwaters following the levee failures that covered New Orleans in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina, Harold Baquet captured in film a community that in many ways is simply not there anymore. Focused with his lens on everyday life in the Crescent City, though with an emphasis on the Creole and African-American neighborhoods he grew up in, Mr. Baquet acquired a massive collection of slides, negatives, prints, and other items which are now housed at the Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC). In cooperation with HNOC, these images are now available to the public for purchase online at Fine Art America. His widow Cheron Brylski said only a limited number of images are currently posted for sale, but more will be added in the future. The beauty of this site is that individuals can buy a rare, signed historical print at reasonable prices, frame it themselves, and have it shipped to them already matted or printed on canvas, or they can even make their own t-shirts, said Ms. Brylski. Images can also be purchased for limited use by news organizations. Each print carries with it a signature from the artist. Mr. Baquet, a seventh-generation Creole New Orleanian, died seven years ago after a lengthy battle with cancer. He worked both as a news photographer, the photographer for five New Orleans mayors including the first Black mayor of New Orleans, the late Ernest N. Morial as well as the photographer for Loyola University New Orleans. His work was donated to the Historic New Orleans Collection because at the time it lacked significant documentation of African-American life in the city captured by a Black artist. Since his estates donation, HNOC has increased its focus on documenting the Creole and Black culture of New Orleans, according to Ms. Brylski. The direct link to Mr. Baquets site is https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/haroldbaquetphotography. When an image is clicked, the purchase options available become visible. Proceeds from sales will go to expanding the site. For more information, contact cbrylski@aol.com or call (504) 460-1468. Phoebes sales expertise and service mindset will help her guide her team and expand our presence in northern China. Smith, a leading global distributor of electronic components and semiconductors, today announces the appointment of Phoebe Chan to the position of General Manager of the companys office in Beijing, China. In this role, Phoebe will support Smiths trading team in Beijing, grow and strengthen customer relationships, and cultivate new opportunities for Smith. It is an honor to lead our Beijing team and help them to achieve their individual professional goals, as well as Smiths strategic goals for the region, said Phoebe. I am excited to contribute to our continued growth as we build a foundation of success and innovation. Phoebe joined Smith as a Sales Assistant in the companys Hong Kong office in 2017. A year later, she was promoted to Sales Representative before being named to her most recent role of Assistant Trading Manager of Smiths Shanghai office in 2019. Phoebe has the highest sales performance in Asia for her tenure group and leads by example with her motivating attitude and drive for results, said Choon Byun, Chairman, APAC at Smith. She is a fearless young leader who willingly steps outside her comfort zone to take on dynamic opportunities and challenges every day. During her five-year tenure with Smith, Phoebe has become an elite trader, earning both Platinum Club and Diamond Level distinctions in 2021. She has also taken on numerous mentorship roles to help develop emerging junior traders. Phoebes sales expertise and service mindset will help her guide her team and expand our presence in northern China, said Gordon Qiu, Vice President, China at Smith. We look forward to seeing her new journey begin as General Manager of Beijing. About Smith Founded in 1984, Smith sources, manages, and distributes the electronic components that go into everything from mobile phones and computers to appliances and directional drilling systems. In 17 cities around the world, Smiths legion of employees communicates in 50 languages and dialects and buys and sells components 24 hours per day, generating global annual sales in excess of $3.4 billion in 2021. Smith is always moving: helping manufacturers navigate market shifts; customizing supply chain solutions; testing components using cutting-edge technology. The support of Smiths flexible Intelligent DistributionTM model optimizes customers supply chains from beginning to end, including offering customized options for IT asset disposition that deliver maximum ROI, sustainability, and security. Smiths testing and logistics hubs in Houston, Hong Kong, and Amsterdam cover critical areas like quality management, counterfeit prevention, and environmental safety. Smiths operations, purchasing, and sales worldwide are seamlessly integrated with the companys global IT infrastructure, offering real-time, global inventory and logistics visibility. Smith is the leading independent distributor of electronic components and ranks number seven among all global distributors. For more information, please visit http://www.smithweb.com or reach out to a Smith representative any time of day at +1 713.430.3000. ### "Im thrilled to own a company that not only offers essential services for those in the community, but also provides business ownership opportunities for entrepreneurs across the region. I look forward to helping aspiring small business owners turn their dreams into reality. - Cyndee Flint Stratus Building Solutions, the nation's leading green commercial cleaning and janitorial services franchise, is thrilled to announce the grand opening of its new Master Franchise location in Pickering, Ontario. Cyndee Flint, a former life insurance area manager and health management consultant, is the latest Master Franchisee to join the team. Flint recently opened the Stratus Building Solutions location that will serve the Toronto East region of Ontario on June 1st, 2022. Due to the recent increase in demand for green cleaning janitorial services, more local businesses, offices, shopping centers, and other facilities are seeking healthier alternatives to cleaning their workspaces. As an industry-leading franchise in green commercial cleaning using state-of-the-art cleaning equipment, sustainable processes, and biodegradable and non-toxic branded cleaning chemicals, Flint believes her Toronto East location will be an asset to the community. As many others realized throughout the pandemic, Ive truly recognized the sheer importance of having and maintaining a safe and clean work environment, said Flint. Not only do our personalized sanitization and cleaning services deliver a safe space to thrive, but it also provides a worry-free environment to coexist with others, which can prove beneficial for mental health. I am excited to offer a plethora of green solutions to ensure those in the Toronto East region have the best possible facilities to work, play, and live. For more than 30 years, Flint worked in various roles within the insurance industry. Her professional experience ranges from life insurance manager to disability management, human resources consultant, and a specialized role demonstrating the significance of mental health. Flint always dreamed of becoming a small-business owner one day. She credits her extensive career and expertise for driving her to where she is today, along with the guidance and support of a fellow Master Franchisee, Jeremy Amin. Jeremy was instrumental in my decision to open a Master Franchise location of my own. He walked me through the benefits of franchising with Stratus Building Solutions and the life-changing opportunity it had in store for me and for Unit Franchise owners. Its only fitting we have Master Franchise locations in neighboring regions of Toronto, said Flint. While commercial cleaning isnt the most attractive business, Im thrilled to own a company that not only offers essential services for those in the community, but also provides business ownership opportunities for entrepreneurs across the region. I look forward to helping aspiring small business owners turn their dreams into reality. Stratus Building Solutions offers regional Master Franchise opportunities that allow owners to operate as local sales and support centers. Master Franchisees across the United States and Canada help others uncover the potential of the Stratus Building Solutions Unit Franchise opportunity and choose the specific model and investment that fits their lifestyle and financial goals. Flint hopes the new Ontario location serves the needs of the people across Toronto East while creating opportunities for those who would like to join the team as Unit Franchise Owners. We are thrilled to welcome Cyndee to the Stratus team, said Doug Flaig, Straus Building Solutions President. As we continue our efforts to expand our footprint across Canada and the Toronto East region, Cyndees Master Franchise location in Ontario will play a crucial role in executing our brands growth. We look forward to what Cyndee will accomplish with this new territory and know that she will represent Stratus Building Solutions well. Flints Toronto East location is an important development for Stratus Building Solutions. Since its inception in 2006, Stratus Building Solutions has rapidly expanded throughout North America. Currently, there are 57 United States and Canadian metropolitan regions that provide eco-friendly, customizable commercial cleaning and janitorial services to a wide range of clients, including offices, medical facilities, warehouses, schools, religious centers, gyms, retailers, and more. Stratus Building Solutions of Ontario is located at 1400 Bayly Street in Pickering. For more information, please visit https://www.stratusclean.com/locations/toronto-east. ### About Stratus Building Solutions: Stratus Building Solutions is an international franchise company in the commercial cleaning industry, founded in 2006 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Stratus was developed to provide environmentally friendly commercial cleaning services driven by dedicated, entrepreneurial, small-business owners and regional support offices. Stratus has over 2,500 Unit Franchisees in 60 major cities across the United States and Canada. Stratus is setting new standards in the building services and maintenance franchise industry by being the first to offer green janitorial products with their proprietary Green Seal Certified line of cleaning chemicals. To learn more about franchising opportunities, visit https://www.stratusclean.com/. Jeff Beal, Managing Partner & Broker of Record, and Chad Lagomarsino, Managing Partner of The Agency North Atlanta No other brokerage offers the unmatched marketing power, tools, and technology that The Agency is recognized for, not to mention the level of service and solutions offered to agents and their clients." - Jeff Beal, Managing Partner & Broker of Record of The Agency North Atlanta Global real estate brokerage The Agency has announced the launch of its new franchise office in North Atlanta, Georgia. The new locale is the firms 36th franchise among its growing network of offices in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Europe. The North Atlanta office will be led by Managing Partners Chad Lagomarsino and Jeff Beal, who will also serve as Broker of Record. Located in Alpharetta, The Agency North Atlanta will serve buyers and sellers across the Atlanta Metro area and its surrounding suburbs. This marks The Agencys first office in the state of Georgia, adding to the firms growing list of offices along the east coast. Were delighted to introduce The Agency brand to the state of Georgia and enter the highly sought-after market of North Atlanta, said Mauricio Umansky, CEO and Founder of The Agency. Jeff Beal and Chad Lagomarsinos combined impressive career success and industry experience make them the perfect duo to debut The Agencys global network and cutting-edge solutions to this thriving southern market. The Agency has rapidly expanded its presence across the globe throughout the past year. In 2021, the firms global expansion reached new heights with a record-breaking launch of 11 new franchises in one year, making it one of the fastest-growing luxury boutique brokerages in the world. In the past 12 months, The Agency has already showcased impressive franchise growth in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, opening offices in Amsterdam; Downtown Toronto; Montreal; Ottawa; Muskoka; Brantford; Naples, Florida; Birmingham; Michigan; Seattle; Washington; Miami, Florida; and now North Atlanta, Georgia. Were delighted Chad and Jeff will be leading the charge in North Atlanta as we look forward to bringing our brand to Georgia, said Jim Ramsay, Executive Vice President of Franchise Sales at The Agency. Chad and Jeff are true authorities in this industry and with them at the helm, the Atlanta area will usher in a new era of luxury real estate. As one of Atlantas most acclaimed real estate professionals, Jeff Beal brings nearly a decade of local market experience to his role as Managing Partner and Broker of The Agency North Atlanta. A prominent, influential figure in the regions luxury real estate landscape, Jeff is a Certified Foreign Investor Specialist and a Luxury Property Specialist and has received multiple awards for being a top producer across metro Atlanta. Born and raised in Atlanta, Jeff has far-reaching firsthand experience of the regions distinctive properties, both residential and commercial. He has a high-profile client base and represents some of the most exclusive properties in Atlantafrom traditional estates to mountain cabins to build-ready homesites and beyond. Prior to launching his real estate career, Jeff served as a marketing consultant for more than 20 years, working closely with world-famous brands like Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, and McLaren. During this time, he built long-lasting relationships with the entrepreneurs who purchased these vehicles and deepened his understanding of the luxury market. Jeff also achieved his residential real estate appraiser's license, a certification that still guides him as he assesses potential properties for his clients. As the real estate market in Atlanta continues to thrive more than ever, we look forward to introducing The Agencys cutting-edge approach to our market, said Jeff Beal. No other brokerage offers the unmatched marketing power, tools, and technology that The Agency is recognized for, not to mention the level of service and solutions offered to agents and their clients. We are excited for whats to come and look forward to raising the bar for our industry here in North Atlanta. An award-winning and widely respected real estate authority with more than 25 years of experienceand with hundreds of millions of dollars in salesChad Lagomarsino brings a nuanced understanding of the Southeasts distinct real estate market to his role as Managing Partner of The Agency North Atlanta. A longtime top producer and winner of Realtor of the Year and Commercial Realtor of the Year by the Northeast Atlanta Metro Association of Realtors (NAMAR), Chad has a diverse portfolio of expertisehis transactions range from build-ready land to commercial, residential and mixed-use developments. Born and raised in Georgias capital city, Chad is deeply familiar with the areas residential and commercial real estate market. Known for his resiliency and unshakably calm demeanor, Chad is a seasoned negotiator and provides steady-handed guidance for buyers, sellers, and investors throughout a broad range of processes. I am honored to be a steward of The Agency brand as we bring this luxury boutique brokerage and its highly-collaborative culture to North Atlanta, said Chad Lagomarsino. The Agency is revolutionizing real estate with its groundbreaking approach, concierge client services, creative marketing, and vast global reach. I am confident in our mission of providing the best experience for our agents and clients and I look forward to showcasing the power of The Agency in our market. With solid infrastructure and a renowned brand that is featured on international television shows including Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, The Agency has grown to over 50 corporately-owned and franchise offices across the globe. Poised for further expansion with like-minded partners in strategic markets, The Agency is noted by The Financial Times as one of Americas Fastest-Growing Companies and has ranked among Inc. 5000s list of fastest-growing private companies in the country for five consecutive years. Recently, The Agency ranked 21st on the 2022 RealTrends 500 list, and led the top 50 firms in average sales price by sides with a whopping $2.5 million average sales price. In May 2022, The Agency acquired Triplemint, a revolutionary technology-powered, NYC-based firm, in an all-equity transaction. The Agency will adopt Triplemints proprietary, disruptive technology, and Triplemint will adopt the Agencys innovative, industry-leading brand, forming an agent-first, tech-driven boutique luxury global brokerage firm. In tandem with the acquisition, The Agency jointly raised $35 million in growth capital from strategic investors, further positioning the brand for strategic and sustainable global growth. The Agency North Atlanta will be located at 8000 Avalon Boulevard, Suite 214, Alpharetta, GA 30009. The Agency The Agency is an agent-first, tech-driven boutique luxury global brokerage representing clients worldwide in a broad spectrum of classes, including residential, new development, resort real estate, luxury leasing, and vacation rentals. Breaking away from the traditional brokerage model, The Agency takes a collaborative approach to the business, fostering a culture of partnership in which all clients and listings are represented in a collaborative environment. Agents and clients benefit from the shared resources and networks of the entire global team, including in-house creative, public relations, and cutting-edge technology divisions. The Agency has closed more than $41 billion in real estate transactions since 2011, comprising over 50 offices in five countries, and counting, as one of the fastest-growing boutique, luxury real estate franchise brands in the world. Currently, neurorehabilitation for stroke survivors results in fewer than 10 percent resuming an active, independent lifestyle. This is where Torque3 can make a profound difference. Nothing like this stroke rehabilitation system exists anywhere. Torque3, the company developing a rehabilitation solution for stroke and TBI survivors, announced today that the principal therapeutic factor in its intense, deeply immersive neurorehabilitation platform is TaskOriented Therapy Plus, or TOT+ (patent pending). One of the most common approaches to restoring function after a stroke or TBI is called Task-Oriented Training (or Task-Oriented Therapy), or TOT for short. This type of therapy focuses on recovering impaired functionality and is used primarily by Occupational and Physical Therapists. This type of training generally focuses on isolated motor functions including fine motor activities. However, it may also encompass the tasks of complex movement, navigation within the environment, and large-scale activities. Several principles of TOT are required for successful rehabilitation; they are: Activation of specific brain regions corresponding to the injury Adequate repetition Adequate intensity Activities are novel and challenging Active problem solving Offers meaningful rewards Substantial research is now demonstrating that using both Virtual Reality and Robotics can enhance these principles. The Torque3 platform utilizes a collection of technologies, all to deliver the best task-oriented therapy possible. Torque3s unique approach to task-orientated therapy not only uses multiple methods to improve on current TOT best practices but has expanded considerably upon the fundamentals of how the task-oriented therapy should be performed by adding key new characteristics that increase effectiveness. These technologies include deeply immersive and responsive virtual simulations and advanced robotics, both with integrated and synchronized machine learning. Deep immersion combined with multi-modal integration of cognitive and physical systems are believed to enhance neuroplasticity. In addition to improving neuroplasticity, research suggests that a transfer of training from the virtual world to the physical world is increased if deep immersion is maximized. So, anything that can achieve deep immersion should improve rehabilitation treatment outcomes. The Torque3 platform does that plus much more. Fundamental to achieving deep immersion are presence and embodiment. Presence is considered the subjective feeling of being present in a simulated environment. In contrast, the sense of embodiment is how we experience ourselves inside a body that interacts continuously with the virtual environment. The combination of presence and embodiment facilitates a state of deep immersion, where riders suspend their disbelief, which allows a perception of risk to be created in a safe, controlled environment. This provides two very important capabilities. First, it adds intensity to the overall experience, which unto itself can improve neuroplasticity, but more importantly, the perception of risk causes the brain to assign urgency and importance to all the actions performed during task-oriented therapy. The introduction of risk engages multiple brain regions and neurotransmitter systems that enhance neuroplastic healing, deepens the experience of embodied presence, and maximizes positive psychological states associated with improved immersive experiences. It also fosters a greater sense of self-efficacy, confidence, a feeling of wholeness, and decreased levels of demoralization. Torque3s hypothesis is that introducing this strong neurological motivation to restore functionality will radically enhance neuroplasticity resulting in significantly better recovery of sensorimotor and cognitive performance. This is the power of TOT+. To perform initial testing of the platform, Torque3s is introducing a program they call the Alpha Lab which is anticipated to run for at least six months and is seeking participants who are serious about regaining their independence. Torque3s engineers will be actively involved with these 20 participants to create an experience tailored to meet their specific requirements, and these survivors will be individually accommodated as much as possible. The Alpha Lab is scheduled to open in the Summer of 2022 in Centerville, Utah (about 10 miles north of Salt Lake City). Right now, stroke and TBI survivors have the rare opportunity to experience this revolutionary neurorehabilitation platform. Currently, neurorehabilitation for stroke survivors results in fewer than 10 percent resuming an active, independent lifestyle. This is where Torque3 can make a profound difference. Nothing like this stroke rehabilitation system exists anywhere, said Torque3 CEO David Ellzey. To find out more about Torque 3, visit https://torque3.com # # # Automation Alley, in partnership with the World Economic Forum, today launched the U.S. Centre for Advanced Manufacturing with an announcement at the Mackinac Policy Conference. Created with support from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Oakland County the U.S. Centre will engage the national manufacturing ecosystem to accelerate the transition towards advanced manufacturing through a series of local, national, and international projects and activities. It will play an active role in shaping the global agenda on the future of production, while contributing towards strengthening the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector in the United States. This is the first such thematic Centre in the world. It will join the World Economic Forums global community of Centres for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) that help shape new strategies and policies in technology governance and will work closely with the Forums Platform for Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains that drives the global agenda on the transformation of industrial ecosystems for improved productivity, sustainability, and growth. We are thrilled to welcome the United States Centre for Advanced Manufacturing to Michigan, where our century-long auto manufacturing heritage, innovative businesses, and hardworking people continue to shape and drive the future of manufacturing in the U.S. and around the world, said Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Since I took office, Michigan has added nearly 30,000 manufacturing jobs, many building batteries, electric vehicle, or other advanced sectors and products. These investments have cemented our status as a global epicenter of manufacturing, and with the new Centre, we will build on that leadership, bringing in even more opportunity for workers and bolstering economic opportunity within our state and beyond. Francisco Betti, Head of the Platform for Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing Value Chains at the World Economic Forum, who joined the announcement roundtable on Mackinac Island in Michigan, underlined the Centres role in helping leaders explore and shape the trajectory of industrial transformation in the United States. We are delighted to join forces with Automation Alley on this new major effort and to work closely with the manufacturing community in both Michigan and across the U.S. The new Centre will help manufacturing companies including Small and Medium-sized Enterprises anticipate supply chain disruptions, build resilience, and capitalize on the new opportunities brought by the 4th Industrial Revolution, Betti said. Through new collaborative efforts and projects, the Centre will work with leaders from across different sectors to help speed up the transition towards advanced manufacturing and unlock productivity, innovation, and growth, while enabling workforce engagement and sustainability at scale. The rapid pace of technological change coupled with geopolitical, climate, and supply chain disruptions has created an urgency for manufacturers across the globe to adopt advanced manufacturing technologies and practices to remain competitive, said Tom Kelly, Executive Director and CEO of Automation Alley. This Centre will ensure all U.S. stakeholders are aligned for shared value creation and to accelerate digital transformation. Manufacturers of all sizes need to pay attention to the rapid pace of technological change to remain competitive and relevant today. Automation Alley is proud to be leading this initiative focused on the most pressing issues around the future of manufacturing operations, workforce development, changing consumer demands, sustainability, standards, regulations and so much more. This partnership will allow Oakland County, the region and the state to be a leading catalyst for transformational developments in advanced manufacturing, said Oakland County Executive David Coulter. The U.S. Centre for Advanced Manufacturing will be a good fit for Automation Alley and Oakland County because we put theory into practice with our Project DIAMOnD initiative, which provided $10 million in 3D printers to small manufacturers. We intend to expand on this investment to accelerate the transition toward advanced manufacturing and attract national and international firms to Oakland County. Strengthening collaborations and innovation to drive transformation Strategic priorities of the Centre will include generating new insights by identifying latest trends to help manufacturers and policymakers in the U.S. respond to industry disruption; building peer communities of varied voices across industries and regions to share experiences, synthesize learnings and help shape collaborative responses to address global challenges; and creating multistakeholder coalitions to accelerate action by unlocking potential through new alliances. Through the U.S. Centre for Advanced Manufacturing, businesses will pre-emptively address emerging opportunities in production and increase the pace of responsible industry transformation and unlock new value creation. By connecting globally with other Centres for the 4th Industrial Revolution and the Platform for Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains, the Centre will play an active role in shaping the global agenda on the future of production. Cynthia Hutchison, Automation Alleys Vice President, will serve as Head of the U.S. Centre for Advanced Manufacturing. She previously served as the liaison to the World Economic Forum by overseeing the Michigan Advanced Manufacturing HUB. The U.S. Centre for Advanced Manufacturing joins a network of 15 Centres that span four continents and is the first Centre in the world focused on advanced manufacturing. About Automation Alley Automation Alley is a World Economic Forum Advanced Manufacturing Hub (AMHUB) for North America and a nonprofit Industry 4.0 knowledge center with a global outlook and a regional focus. We facilitate public-private partnerships by connecting industry, education and government to fuel Michigan's economy. We help businesses embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution by equipping them with the knowledge and tools to develop a software-first mindset that leverages the intersections of advanced technologies, systems and people to jumpstart or accelerate a digital path to strategic success. Visit automationalley.com. Board of Trustees Chair Peter Vaughn, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and President DeVivo Understand that even if the path your life takes is not the path you envisioned, theres possibility and promise around every bend. I guarantee there will be plenty of opportunities to put that Vaughn degree to good use, especially here in Queens County. - Queens Borough President Donovan Richards On Saturday, May 21, Vaughn College celebrated the Class of 2022 at its 90th commencement ceremony. Queens Borough President and Vaughn Alumnus Donovan Richards 11 delivered the commencement address to students. Richards compelling speech about achieving success and the value of a college degree noted, Understand that even if the path your life takes is not the path you envisioned, theres possibility and promise around every bend. I guarantee there will be plenty of opportunities to put that Vaughn degree to good use, especially here in Queens County. Richards, a lifelong resident of Southeast Queens, has been the Queens Borough President since 2020. He got his start in politics after a tragedy inspired him to get more involved in his community and join the fight to end gun violence. He worked in numerous positions within the city council where he connected with the community and developed a hands on approach to helping constituents. As Queens Borough President, Donovan is leading the efforts to revitalize our great borough and make it one which works for all of its residents and workers. Richards was awarded an honorary degree from the institution. Wole Barnarde 22, electrical engineering graduate served as this years student speaker and was the recipient of the Board of Trustees Award. His speech reminded peers of the challenges they faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighted the resilience of the Class of 2022 and celebrated their success as college graduates. Vaughn President Dr. Sharon B. DeVivo closed the ceremony by thanking the graduates for their contributions to the institution and wishing them well in the next chapter of their journey. VAUGHN COLLEGE: Founded in 1932, Vaughn College is a private, nonprofit four-year college that enrolls more than 1,400 students in masters, bachelors and associate degree programs in engineering, technology, management and aviation on its main campus in New York City and online. The student-faculty ratio of 14 to 1 ensures a highly personalized learning environment. Eighty-eight percent of Vaughn College graduates are placed in professional positions, 75 percent in a related field, or choose to continue their education within one year of graduation. In recent years, outside of the pandemic, Vaughns outcomes for students typically average more than 95 percent and have been 99 percent, 98 percent and 97 percent for the three years prior. Vaughn College serves many first-generation Americans and first-generation college students and is recognized by the US Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution. In a study conducted by The Equality of Opportunity Project, and reported in The New York Times, Vaughn was ranked number one in upward mobility nationwide. For more information on Vaughn College, please visit http://www.vaughn.edu. These new board members will provide additional guidance and insight for continuing to sustain and grow Westat as an industry leader whose greatest asset is its employee stockholders. Westat is pleased to announce the election of 3 new members to its Board of Directors. This expansion will facilitate the companys focus on business strategy and growth in new markets. Each of these new members brings a wide range of perspectives and diversity of backgrounds for addressing the complex and competitive business environment we face. These new directors fully support Westats culture of employee ownership and commitment to improving lives through research. Kevin Cook has 40+ years of corporate financial and operational management experience. Until recently, he was Chief Financial Officer of Alion Science & Technology, a privately held government contractor that grew in revenues by more than 50% during his tenure. Mr. Cook retired from Alion in the fall of 2021. Robin Portman has extensive leadership experience in business development and management in the health care and government contracting arenas. She is the recent Chairman, President, and CEO of Atlas Research LLC, a health services management and technology consulting firm from which she retired in 2021. Linda Singh worked for Accenture for 20+ years serving as a Managing Director for Health and Public Service and leading business operations and diversity and inclusion initiatives. She also has a nearly 40-year military career in the National Guard and Reserves, reaching the rank of Major General. She became the first woman and first African American to lead the Maryland National Guard. Ms. Singhs recent experience includes being the Founder and CEO of Kaleidoscope Affect, Leader-in-Residence at Towson University, and Interim Executive Director and CEO of the Maryland Technology Development Corporation. These new board members will provide additional guidance and insight for continuing to sustain and grow Westat as an industry leader whose greatest asset is its employee stockholders, noted Scott Royal, Ph.D., Westat President and CEO. About Westat (http://www.westat.com) Westat provides innovative professional services support to clients in addressing challenges to improve outcomes in health, education, social policy, and transportation. We are dedicated to improving lives through research. As major comics conventions return to in-person events in 2022, smaller independent showsaka Comic Arts Festivalsare also getting back on the schedule. CAFs such as the Small Press Expo, better known as SPX, in Bethesda, Md., and the MoCCA Arts Fest in New York City have been on hold for the last two years, and most are returning to in-person events in 2022, some with changed formats. But a few much-loved shows may not return at all. The cancellation and postponement of live events has been a huge change for the world of small comics publisherssales at these shows can be significant, but more importantly, festivals are buzz-driven launching pads for new creators and their books. And for the tight-knit community of alternative/indie creators and publishers, the gatherings are an important social event. Thus far in 2022, MoCCA in New York, TCAF in Toronto, SPX in Bethesda, Md., CXC, aka Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, in Ohio, have either taken place or announced plans to return. And Seattle's Short Run, dormant since 2019, just announced a return on November 5, with a long-delayed 10th anniversary show. But some other small, often volunteer-run events, continue to be missing in action despite a significant pre-pandemic presence on the CAF circuit. Chicagos CAKE festival has still not returned to an in-person event and it has suspended most activity aside from a series of video profiles of participating cartoonists. The show organizers hope to return in 2023. Last held in 2019, Comic Arts Brooklyn, a major showcase for New Yorks thriving alternative/independent comics scene, is on indefinite hiatuseven its website is no longer online. Show organizer Gabe Fowler said hed like to bring the show back, but the stars need to align. During the Covid-19 pandemic I lost my team (a few key people who moved away), and temporarily lost my venue, the Pratt Institute, which is not currently allowing events hosted by outside organizations. So that leaves me with a big bowl of nothing. All I can say is stay tuned and well see what transpires. It may be a chance for a new exciting collaboration. Comic Arts LA (CALA) showcased the vibrant crossover scene of comics and animation and was last held in Los Angeles in 2019, and Its social media accounts have been dormant since then. A spokesperson told PW that We want to and intend to return, we're just waiting a little longer to see how this year's returning comic festivals do. There were times in 2021 when we discussed coming back only to see events cancelled because of Delta or Omicron variants. And we didn't want to be in a situation where we had to enforce masking or vaccination status on attendees. We don't have contracts with hotels or venues so there's a lot of flexibility for when and how we return. But also all of our organizers' lives have changed in the past two years as well and we wanted to give ourselves space to recalibrate before we dive back in. With online retailer and direct-to-consumer book sales surging during the pandemic, some publishers realized that they could make more money sitting home than paying for expensive travel and shipping to shows. Still, the festivals that have returned have been greeted with the open arms and pocketbooks of fans. The MoCCA Arts Fest was the first major indie show to return, held April 2-3 in New York, and sales were better than in the before times. Jake Shapiro, US/Canada sales and marketing manager at the U.K.-based independent comics publisher NoBrow, said I had no idea what to expect at MoCCA this year, but the show ended up being bigger for us than MoCCA 2019. Part of it was a change of venue to a more logical, centrally-located part of the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, but another part was that people were eager to be back at comics shows. Jacq Cohen, director of publicity and promotions at Fantagraphics, agreed that MoCCA was a hit for the Seattle-based publisher. Sales were on par with that of 2019, the last time we attended MoCCA in-person, and attendees were super excited to buy books from our table. Comic Arts Festivals are traditionally the place to launch new cartoonists and books, and publishers told PW this was the biggest loss of not having in-person shows. Some great authors and great graphic novels didn't get the chance to get in front of readers the way they should have, said Leigh Walton, marketing director at Top Shelf, an indie-style imprint of IDW Publishing. But at the same time, pandemic book sales in general have really surgedif book launches have been more challenging, established names and the backlist seem to have benefited as people took the opportunity to dive into their I've been meaning to get that lists. One of the most eagerly awaited returns is that of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF), to be held June 17-19 in Toronto, which attracts creators and publishers from around the world, and traditionally has seen robust sales and exposure for indie, manga and web cartoonists. The 2022 show will have quite a few changes, including a move to June from its traditional May date. During the pandemic, longtime show director Christopher Butcher stepped down, and current executive director Miles Baker has overseen many organizational changes. We have moved to paying a lot more staff and moved away from [using as many] volunteers, so there will be many new people and new roles, he told PW. With more money going to staff, the budget to bring visiting guests has been reduced. There are trade-offs that we have to make as an organization, but also, with the pandemic, the number of artists willing to travel is lower this year. The 2022 festival will be a hybrid event with several virtual programming tracks. The event will continue to showcase international talent: this years major Japanese guest will appear digitally, but Baker still expects cartoonists from Norway, the U.K., Germany, and several other countries to attend. TCAFs return has already run into a few bumps: the shows announcement that Pink Cat, a controversial digital artist who works in NFTs, would be a guest was met with widespread outrage, and forced the festival to rescind its invitation. TCAF will be held at the Toronto Reference Library, as usual, but unlike past years, there will be no satellite venues near the library. The Marriott Bloor Yorkville Hotel just around the corner that hosted panels is being renovated into a luxury hotel and will no longer be used, and the nearby Masonic Hall also will not be used as a venue going forward because of accessibility issues. However a new academic comics symposium has been added to the schedule, and will be held at the Courtyard Marriott Toronto Downtown, TCAFs new headquarters hotel. Instead of spreading out to other venues, well have more digital content, Baker said. Ultimately, it's the most accessible TCAF has ever been to the world, but it will definitely look and feel a little different. While publishers are looking forward to the sales and marketing benefits of attending comics festivals again, its the intangibles surrounding comics gatherings that they look forward to the most. While hes optimistic about festival sales being strong, Top Shelfs Walton pointed out, there are major benefits to festivals beyond book salesindustry awareness, talent relations, and psychological health to name a few. The spokesperson for CALA agreed, I think the value of being in community feels stronger than ever. I don't think the function of the indie festivals will have changed that much, but the in-person connection just feels more important to people now than the commerce aspect. Shows are still important for Nobrow, but not for revenue, Shapiro said. As a U.K. publisher trying to grow in the U.S., comics shows are an integral grassroots part of building a community and fanbase over here. Making connections with the comics scene is important for us in the long term. Mostly though, everyone is happy to be seeing friends again. To me, the years of isolation have really hammered home how precious our personal connections are, and I hope the community can reestablish those, as safely as possible, Walton said. On Wednesday, June 1, the Readmagine annual publishing conference opened in Madrid. The event, which is organized by the German Sanchez Ruiperez Foundation (FGSR) and hosted by Casa de Lectores in Matadero Madridan old slaughterhouse turned cultural centerlooks at innovation and trends in print and digital publishing. The event opened with a pair of sessions focused on current global trends in reading and content consumption. Tom Morris, a senior trends spotter and U.K.-based firm GWI, reasserted that research proves that books are competing for attention with streaming mediabut while books are losing ground, they are not defeated. Thirty-eight percent of consumers are interested in books, he said, a figure larger than gaming or even watching sports. Whats more, 20 million people follow the #books hashtag on Reddit. Of course, Morris noted, this compares less favorably to the 190 million who follow the #books on TikTok. In addition, he pointed to the growing popularity of audiobooks as a harbinger of positive trends. This interest is especially strong among the youngest readers, where some 47% of pre-teens and those 8- to 15-years-old saying they prefer to listen to books rather than read them. The real competitor for books is gamingwhich isnt just for younger people, but is a growing hobby among GenX and Baby Boomers as well. The challenge, he said, will be how the book business can work to transfer interest back to reading. One solution, he offered, was incorporating more video content, which drives engagement, and its not just on TikTok or Instagram. Even 28% of users on LinkedIn are going there for video content, he said. Morris also advocated for incorporating more foreign content to reach wider audiences across the world, pointing to the global success of shows such as Netflixs Squid Game from Korea and Casa de Papel from Spain. This global content metaverse will, in turn, inform the metaverse. The metaverse doesnt exist yet, but it is coming, and you have time to prepare for it, he said. What exists at present, he added, is the proto-metaverse, which includes environments where individuals live a separate, digital life and includes platforms like Minecraft and Roblox, as well as old platforms like Second Life and newer spaces like Decentraland. This do-it-yourself mentality already exists and is expressed through self-publishing, as well as online platforms like Wattpad. Roberta Franceschetti, founder of Mamamo.ita site focused on digital media educationand Content Creators, an Italian content agency, spoke about the evolution of Wattpad and Webtoon. What she spotted that has previously gone unreported is that the main form of engagement is largely driven by a sense of community, especially in the comment threads. People are reading novels on Wattpad together, and some are spending more time engaging with and reading the comments than the story itself, she said. Deep reading is lonely, and this makes it into a community experience. She also argued that publishers should find ways of incorporating more graphic material in their work, especially for younger readers. We are seeing the evolution of hybrid languages, which combine words and emojis, which is one of the reasons, I think, that we are seeing the growing popularity of graphic novels and manga. Using Webtoon as her primary example, Franceschetti said that the industry is likely to see more cross-platform collaboration, much of it driven by data analysis, and cited as an example the launch of Webtoon Unscrolled, which is taking popular Webtoon comics series being published as graphic novels. This years agenda includes several sessions focused on the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals, which focus on advancing equitable society and reducing environmental impacts. Speakers included Anna Maria Soininvaara, director of Oodi Central Library in Helsinki, Finland, a futuristic library that opened in 2018. She spoke about the challenges Oodi faced in serving all Finns, including recent immigrants, noting, for example, that the introduction of a book club for people of color at the library was criticized by racists, which itself sparked a counter-reaction. Soininvaara emphasized that being inclusive was a key priority, Our mandate is to promote active citizenship, democracy and freedom of expression, she said. Sometimes, responding to societys needs demands fast action, she saidsomething the publishing industry isnt always prepared to accommodate: We need more Ukrainian childrens books now, not in half a year. Print-on-demand may offer a solution, something that Arantxa Mellado, founder and director of LiberExpress, a print-on-demand company founded in 2021 in Spain, discussed. Mellado addressed environmental impact of printing, and cited overprinting and bookstore returns as especially wasteful and inefficient. She advocated for print-on-demand and more direct-to-consumer drop-shipping as a solution to curtail further environmental degradation. Published: 1 June 2022 Professor Mary Collins Our new Blizard Institute Director Professor Mary Collins is an immunologist, virologist and a self-confessed lab rat with a history of leading pioneering multidisciplinary research and a passion for scientific outreach. In her new role as the Blizard Institute Director, she hopes to build on our success by utilising our unique links with the East End community, expanding our outreach activities, and developing new national and international partnerships. Professor Collins is joining us from Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), a graduate university located in Onna-son, Okinawa, Japan. She joined the organisation in 2016 as the Dean of Research, then assumed responsibilities of Provost two years later in 2018. During her tenure she oversaw an expansion of a broad research portfolio with numerous multidisciplinary themes that included fields such as marine and environment science, quantum computing and cyber security. She participated in the local outreach programme with Okinawans to help them understand the role of the newly established university in improving their health and economic outcomes. In 2020 she led the universitys response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which included setting up a laboratory to carry out clinically-accredited PCR testing for Okinawa. Before her move to Japan, Professor Collins worked at University College London (UCL) as the Head of Division for Infection and Immunity between 2003 and 2009, and Dean for the Faculty of Life Sciences between 2009 and 2014. In this capacity she was successful in establishing a number of prominent research groups, attracting and mentoring a cadre of notable young researchers, and leading on UCLs School of Life and Medical Sciences' REF2013 submission. She also directed the Medical Research Council Centre for Medical Molecular Virology at UCL, a national hub for research and training in viral epidemiology, genetics and engineering. She is a passionate advocate for developing young researchers and throughout her professional career she has set up and championed numerous training and mentoring schemes for PhD students and young Principal Investigators. She has supervised 27 PhD candidates, many of whom went on to run clinical and research programmes. In line with Queen Mary's values, Professor Collins strives to address gender inequality in academia and played a key role in setting up the Rita R Colwell Fund for the Advancement of Women in Science at OIST. Ambitious plans for the Blizard Institute My aim will be to contribute to the virtuous circle of local outreach, local student recruitment, and world leading research, culminating in improved health for the local population. Our new Director has ambitious goals for the Blizard Institute to further its reputation as a leading research institution by utilising its unique connection to the East End community. When asked about her plans Professor Collins said: I am excited to have the opportunity to lead the Blizard Institute at Queen Mary. I know that the Blizard Institute can go from strength to further strength in the coming years. The iconic building, the very well organised lab space and core facilities, and the outreach projects Centre of the Cell and Neuron Pod make it a beacon of science in Whitechapel. My aim will be to contribute to the virtuous circle of local outreach, local student recruitment, and world leading research, culminating in improved health for the local population. On a personal note, I live on the Elizabeth Line, so expect to see me bright and early every day. She believes that Whitechapel offers several unique opportunities for clinical research in areas such as diabetes, metabolism, paediatrics and rare diseases, many of which can take the form of truly collaborative and multidisciplinary work. Professor Collins sees raising the national and international profile of the Blizard Institute as a key element of her new role and plans to dedicate much of her efforts to developing new national and international partnerships. Professor Jo Martin, Deputy Vice-Principal (Health) at Queen Mary University of London said about the appointment: We are delighted to have Mary join us. She brings an unparalleled wealth of experience and expertise heading world-leading research institutions, multidisciplinary research and outreach activities. Professor Colin Bailey, President and Principal of Queen Mary University of London, said: We are delighted that Mary will be joining us as Director of the Blizard Institute. She is an accomplished researcher and academic leader, and I look forward to seeing how she will build on our research impact and help us to deliver Strategy 2030. Netflix is giving a glimpse of the new series Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend. ADVERTISEMENT The streaming service shared a trailer for the cooking competition show Wednesday. Alton Brown and Top Chef Season 10 winner Kristen Kish host the new installment in the Iron Chef franchise, while Mark Dacascos reprises his role of The Chairman. The series will see five Iron Chefs -- Curtis Stone, Marcus Samuelsson, Gabriella Camara, Ming Tsai and Dominique Crenn -- take on Challenger Chefs, including Mason Hereford, Curtis Duffy, Claudette Zepeda, Esther Choi and Gregory Gourdet, in a series of culinary battles. "Five new trailblazing Iron Chefs will welcome brave Challenger Chefs to the reimagined Kitchen Stadium, where they'll face off and be pushed to the limits of endurance and creativity, as they cook up extraordinary culinary creations," an official logline reads. "The competition's most successful Challenger will return to battle in a grand finale for the chance to be named the first ever Iron Legend," it says. Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend is based on the original Iron Chef, a Japanese cooking show produced by Fuji Television. The series inspired several international spinoffs, including Iron Chef America. Netflix is also developing Iron Chef Mexico and Iron Chef Brazil, which will both premiere in 2022. FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend premieres June 15 on Netflix. By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 06/01/2022 ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. star Michelle Young has shut down breakup rumors plaguing her relationship with Nayte Olukoya Michelle posted multiple videos Monday on Instagram Stories, confirming that she and Nayte have not ended their engagement.While Michelle noted that she typically avoids commenting directly on speculation via her social-media platforms, she decided it was necessary to make a statement amid all the chatter about her romance, People reported Michelle, who said she's received "so many messages" from concerned fans, explained to her followers, "There is a video circulating of me on a rooftop this weekend and I'm not wearing my engagement ring.""And what I will have to say is to the person who is paying close enough attention to catch that moment," she continued, "you also had to be paying close enough attention to see one of my friends briefly remove my engagement ring to try it on and then place it back on my finger."Michelle added, "Just a friendly reminder that Nayte and I, we are human beings -- not a zoo exhibit."Michelle also pointed out how someone "videoing somebody without them knowing is creepy" and "not cool."For his part, Nayte joked on TikTok about how "90 percent" of his DMs on Instagram are fans questioning why Michelle isn't with him.Michelle and Nayte got engaged on 's Season 18 finale last year, which aired in December 2021, but the couple is still living apart and trying to make a long-distance relationship work.Michelle -- who is living in Minneapolis, MN, and Nayte, who currently resides in Austin, TX -- were therefore asked about their future plans during the May 10 episode of the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast, which is co-hosted by Michelle and Season 14 alum Becca Kufrin Michelle explained that she and Nayte have begun talking about moving in together and settling down now that she's able to take a break from "traveling so much" following trips to New York, Los Angeles, Mexico, and Canada."I feel like [us moving in together] is the burning question. Every time I do a Q&A online, everyone is like, 'Why haven't you moved in yet? When are you moving in together?'" the former elementary school teacher said."And really, it's just that we're trying to figure out where we want to be and what location we want to be at. It's just a constant, ongoing conversation and kind of depends [on] what next year is going to look like for me."Michelle said at the time she wasn't sure whether she'd return to the classroom or try to do something new."He's working remotely but they might be going back into the office," Michelle said of Nayte."So we're kind of just taking both of our positions into consideration, and then once the school year is done, I think I'm going to have a better idea of where I'm going to be, and then we're going to kind of cater to that... and figure it out together."But Michelle announced on the May 31 episode of "Bachelor Happy Hour" that she's been in "survival mode" and so she's going to take a break from teaching and "step out of the classroom" for 2023.The Bachelor family gifted Michelle and Nayte a down payment on their first house together following her season. (Michelle was caught whispering to Nayte on : After the Final Rose that the check was for $200,000).Michelle shared in April how she and Nayte were in the beginning stages of wedding planning."Nayte and I, we know so many different people and we have such big families and that's a huge part of [our planning process]," Michelle told Us Weekly."And so coming out of a pandemic... one thing that we both can't imagine is having a small wedding," the Minnesota native added, "and so we want to make sure that we're completely clear of that so that's not even a stressor for us, and then, [we want to have] warm weather [on our big day]."Michelle assured the magazine that although she and Nayte live apart, they're in constant communication."If we're not hanging out, we're texting [or] FaceTiming. We do a lot of movie nights like over FaceTime or Zoom. We've been making it work," Michelle noted, adding, "When we are together, we just spent time together like nonstop."Nayte previously told Us that he and Michelle would like to marry in the summer, and so it appears they won't be tying the knot until at least Summer 2023."We're definitely feeling it all out," Nayte said, before Michelle revealed they'll live together "eventually."After getting engaged last year, Nayte revealed on After the Final Rose that he had planned to move to Minnesota in the next two or three months and the lovebirds had already begun house-hunting.Michelle gushed to People in December 2021 about how she and Nayte "have fun together" and can have deep conversations about controversial issues and more."We vent to each other, we check each other and make sure that we're positive," Michelle said. "We dance, sing, goof around, all of it."Nayte echoed that sentiment and noted how their relationship just "flows" effortlessly."I've never met anybody even, like, remotely close to him because he just has so many layers," Michelle shared of her fiance at the time. "And even now, like on a daily basis, I'm like, 'What did I do to deserve this? How did I get lucky?'""He tells me how he feels about me every day, multiple times," she added.Michelle also told People, "I fall more in love every day.""I was fortunate enough to grow up in a family with a healthy marriage and I thought, 'I'm not going to give up until I have that.' He's my person," she said. "And I didn't know I could love at this level ."And Nayte said he believes their relationship is going to last because they have the type of love everyone searches for."Every day, we'll just catch each other in just this, like, flow of emotion," Nayte said last year."It's just like, 'Holy crap, we are each other's. This is our life. This is actually forever.' We actually have a connection that is forever."Interested in more The Bachelor news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group Charles Siebert, the actor who portrayed the pompous Dr. Stanley Riverside II on all seven seasons of the CBS medical drama series Trapper John, M.D., has died. He was 84. ADVERTISEMENT Siebert died May 1 at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center because of COVID-19-related pneumonia, his daughter, Gillian Bozanic, told The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday. Siebert's death also was confirmed in a statement on the official website of the 6th Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa, Calif., where Siebert frequently appeared. "He was generous to his castmates, had an engaging sense of humor, a wealth of experience and pure, unadulterated talent capable of delivering towering, unforgettable performances," the playhouse said in a statement. "Charlie will be greatly missed, but forever celebrated, by Playhouse patrons and the artists who were fortunate enough to be in his presence." Siebert was best known for his role on Trapper John, M.D., which also led into his TV directing career. He also appeared in films such as The Other Side of Midnight (1977), Blue Sunshine (1977), Coma (1978), Norman Jewison's ... And Justice for All (1979), All Night Long (1981), White Water Summer (1987) and Eight Men Out (1988). In addition, Siebert played Helen Keller's father in NBC's 1979 telefilm The Miracle Worker. He later focused on directing and went on to helm episodes of other shows like Knots Landing, Pacific Blue, Silk Stalkings, Pensacola: Wings of Gold, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess through 2001. Born March 9, 1938, in Kenosha, Wis., Siebert is survived by his wife, Kristine, his children, Gillian and Christopher, and stepchildren, Kristina, Max and Jeremy. FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! Siebert was predeceased by his first wife, Catherine, and son Charlie Jr., a popular musician in the Bay Area who died in 2020. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Rain in the evening...becoming heavy at times in thunderstorms overnight. Low 63F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Rain in the evening...becoming heavy at times in thunderstorms overnight. Low 63F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Rain this evening with thunderstorms developing overnight. Low 62F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Rain this evening with thunderstorms developing overnight. Low 62F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. WEST HARTFORD Residents will be seeing a lower amount the next time they open their car tax bill. The town council passed a resolution lowering car taxes in town, putting them in compliance with Gov. Ned Lamonts budget. Lamonts budget, which he signed in May, has put a new cap on the mill rate a municipality can impose on automobile taxes, dropping it from 45 mills to 32.46 mills. Acting Town Manager Rick Ledwith said the town needed to be compliant with this by June 14. This is very good news for our residents who own a motor vehicle because it will lower their tax bill by approximately 20 percent resulting in a total of about $5.1 million in total savings to our taxpayers in town who own cars, Ledwith said. Ledwith said the state will be helping take care of the $5.1 million that the town would be missing out on with the cap on the mill rate. The good news for our budget as well is that the state will provide the town of West Hartford with a municipal transition grant totalling this $5.1 million to offset the reduction in revenue due to this motor vehicle mill rate cap, Ledwith said. The town council lowered the towns overall mill rate from 42.42 to 40.68 when they approved their $317 million budget in April. Ahead of the 2020 election, Twitter users began sharing a post alleging that a tractor-trailer carrying ballots had overturned on Interstate 95 in Connecticut sending the ballots flying into the air and across the highway. The inaccurate post was spotted by a consultant hired by Connecticuts secretary of the state to comb the Internet for election misinformation. After it was reported, Twitter removed the post from its site. Election officials here and nationally are expecting similar falsehoods to proliferate ahead of this years midterm elections. In Connecticut, the state plans to hire a full-time misinformation expert who will earn a salary of $150,000 - part of a $2 million election security and public information campaign by the SOTS. We need to know whats out there before it goes viral, said Scott Bates, deputy secretary of the state. We need to get ahead of the curve and knock down bad information to protect people from misinformation that would get in their way of voting. The person will monitor mainstream social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook but also fringe sites such as 4chan where false information is often cooked up before spreading on other sites, Bates said. The misinformation specialist will then reach out to social media companies about removing or flagging posts that contain lies about Connecticuts elections. Were looking for any information that might be wrong about the election process itself, nothing to do with issue sets or candidates, Bates said. But some Republicans are already calling the hire a partisan move and have raised concerns about infringing on free speech. Ben Proto, chair of the state Republican Party, questioned how the person would determine what constitutes misinformation a subjective process on its face. This seems highly political, Proto said. This is just policing what is said about elections, and thats just wrong. The SOTS website already has information readily available on how and where to vote, he added. But Bates said election officials have to be proactive about informing the public how the election process works, particularly at a time of eroding public confidence in the Democratic process. The state previously used federal funds to hire a consultant for $65,000 to monitor misinformation ahead of the 2020 general election. The federal money ran out, so Secretary of the State Denise Merrill lobbied state lawmakers for funding to create a full-time position, which was included in the state budget signed last month by Gov. Ned Lamont. The $150,000 salary is based on average pay for an experienced cybersecurity professional, Bates said, noting the state must compete with the private sector for top talent. Bates said he is aware of two other states California and Colorado that have created similar positions. We believe every election cycle from here on out needs this, Bates said. julia.bergman@hearstmediact.com Connecticut has not yet identified a case of monkeypox, but state health officials say they are monitoring the situation as now more than a few hundred cases of the disease have broken out worldwide. Surveillance and rapid identification of new cases is critical for outbreak containment, said state Department of Public Health spokesman Chris Boyle. During human monkeypox outbreaks, close contact with infected persons is the most significant risk factor for monkeypox virus infection. Health workers and household members are at a greater risk of infection. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, monkeypox was first discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research, hence the name monkeypox. The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970, and while cases do occasionally appear in some African nations, it is rare for confirmed human in the United States. As of May 30, the CDC had recorded 15 cases in the United States, including one in Massachusetts and two in New York. Its not clear how the people were exposed to monkeypox, but cases include people who self-identify as men who have sex with men, the CDC wrote. The World Health Organizations top monkeypox expert said this week she does not expect another pandemic as a result of the recent outbreak, but acknowledged there are unknowns with the disease including how its spreading. At the moment, we are not concerned about a global pandemic, WHO's Dr. Rosamund Lewis said. We are concerned that individuals may acquire this infection through high-risk exposure if they dont have the information they need to protect themselves. Though some cases can be severe, Boyle said monkeypox is usually a self-limited disease with the symptoms lasting from two to four weeks. The disease usually begins as a flu-like illness accompanied by swelling of the lymph nodes and followed by rash on the face and body. The virus does not spread easily between people; transmission can occur through contact with body fluids, monkeypox sores, items that have been contaminated with fluids or sores (clothing, bedding, etc.), or through respiratory droplets following prolonged face-to-face contact, Boyle said. Boyle said DPH is forwarding CDC updates and communications to local health departments and infectious disease specialists. Additionally, the state Public Health Laboratory is forwarding instructions on specimen collection storage and transport storage to hospital laboratories and infectious disease specialists, he said. An Associated Press report was used in this story. NEW MILFORD Local police are seeking to hire three armed security guards to be assigned to the towns schools, according to a posting on a law enforcement recruiting site. Applicants must be retired municipal, state or federal police officers who are eligible to be certified as armed school security officers in Connecticut and who left their departments in good standing, according to school officials. The job includes up to 40 hours of work with a salary of $25 per hour, the posting said. The armed guards will report to New Milford Police Chief Spencer Cerruto. The responsibilities for this position include carrying out existing district and school procedures and programs related to school security and safety functions, the job board posting reads. The advertised positions come a week after the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas that left 21 people dead, including 19 students. The incident was the deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook where 20 students and six educators were killed in 2012. But New Milford Superintendent of Schools Alisha DiCorpo said the plan to hire three more armed security guards has been in the works for months. Discussions on this started in September, DiCorpo said. This was careful planning on our part. The district has had an armed security guard at one of the towns elementary schools for a few years, DiCorpo said. The three new hires will be located at the towns other elementary school and at the middle school and high school, which also have school resource officers, DiCorpo said. Weve been pleased with the program, she said. New Milford Police Lt. Earl Wheeler described the hires as an enhancement to the program, which is now in its second full year. The schools currently have multiple armed school security officers and school resource officers. Wheeler said the program gives former law enforcement officers, who may have decades of experience with interacting with the public but may no longer want to handle criminal cases, a chance to protect children and foster their growth. The New Milford Board of Education is scheduled to discuss school security as well as the deployment of security personnel, and/or devices affecting security in the New Milford Public Schools in its meeting Thursday night. The discussion is expected to be held in a closed-door executive session, according to the meetings agenda. The hiring also comes after an incident in April when a loaded 9mm ghost gun was found in a students vehicle after a fight in a school bathroom prompted a search, according to police. Staff writer Lisa Backus contributed to this story. PHNOM PENH, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia and China on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the construction of a COVID-19 vaccine filling and packaging factory in Cambodia. The MoU was inked by Cambodian Health Minister Mam Bunheng and Gao Qiang, general manager of Sinovac Life Sciences Co., Ltd. via video link. Under the deal, the Cambodia Pharmaceutical Enterprise is given rights to build a COVID-19 vaccine filling and packaging factory and the Cambodian government has contracted to purchase the vaccines from the factory for three years from 2024 to 2026, Bunheng said. "The construction of the vaccine filling and packaging factory is to meet the demand of vaccines among Cambodians and foreigners living in Cambodia," he said at the event. Cambodia has so far administered COVID-19 vaccines to over 15 million people, or 94 percent of its total population of 16 million, the Ministry of Health said, adding that China's Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines have been widely used in the kingdom's immunization program. Buoyed by its high vaccination rates, Cambodia has resumed all socioeconomic activities and reopened its borders to fully vaccinated travelers without quarantine since last November. According to the Ministry of Health, the southeast Asian nation has reported no new cases of COVID-19 for the last 25 days, and only four active cases remain in the kingdom. Communist-ruled Laos, a one-party state, was described by Reporters Without Borders as an information "black hole" where the government exerts complete control over news outlets. The watchdog group's 2022 World Press Freedom Index placed Laos 161st out of 180 countries in the index and noted that many of the Southeast Asian country's 7 million people get their news from next-door Thailand, which has a similar language and enjoys more media freedom. Ir Channa returned for the first time since 2005 to help the Candlelight Party in the June 5 elections. UPDATED at 9:06 A.M. EDT on 2022-06-01 Authorities in Cambodia on Monday arrested a former youth activist and Norwegian citizen who recently returned from exile to support the opposition Candlelight Party in the June 5 local communal elections, RFA has learned. Ir Channa had been living in Norway after he was granted asylum there in 2005 for criticizing the Cambodian governments attempts to solve a border dispute with Vietnam. While abroad, he came to support the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which Cambodias Supreme Court dissolved in 2017. The move allowed Prime Minister Hun Sens ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) to claim all 125 seats in the National Assembly during general elections the following year, kicking off a five-year crackdown on political opponents to the CPP. The Candlelight Party grew over the past year to become Cambodias largest opposition party. Candlelight officials have complained for weeks about their partys candidates being harassed by officials supporting the ruling CPP. Ir Channa came back to Cambodia last week to serve as the vice president of Candlelight's organization in Takeo province in the countrys south. He was arrested while trying to apply for a passport in Phnom Penh and sent to detention in Prey Sar Prison on charges of conspiracy to commit treason for his actions two years ago, when he allegedly disturbed the social order to such a degree as to affect the nations security. Candlelight Party Vice President Son Chhay told RFAs Khmer Service that Ir Channa is the second person affiliated with the party to have been arrested after voluntarily repatriating. He expressed concern over the arrest, calling it another example of intimidation against his party. Why are they making these kinds of arrests during the election campaign period? he said. The campaign period started on May 21 and will end on June 3. This is all intimidation to disturb the election. CPP spokesman Sok Ey San said the arrest and the election were not related. This is not pressure against an opponent. It has nothing to do with the election. Dont connect this case to the election campaign, he said, and cited the pending 2020 warrant. Sok Ey San also said that an active election campaign period cannot prevent the court from issuing warrants or arresting criminals. Heng Kim Lay in a file photo. Credit: citizen journalist Monk excommunicated In another move against the opposition, a Buddhist monk in the northern province of Siem Reap said he was removed from his office for his support for the Candlelight Party. Heng Kim Lay raised funds for the party which caused several pagodas to deny him entrance. He left the party on May 28, but the pagodas refused to bring him back into the fold. As a monk, I have political rights, and I should not be a victim, he told RFA. Supporters have urged him to flee to Thailand, he said, but he has decided not to. RFA was unable to reach Ministry of Cults and Religions spokesman Seng Somoni for comment. Removing a monk for his political views is illegal, according to Am Sam Ath of the Cambodian League for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights NGO. Monks have the right to support any political party. He has done nothing wrong, he said. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. CORRECTION: A previous version of this report incorrectly misspelled Ir Channa's name as Ear Channa. Three major exercises have been carried out in the past month as the U.S. reaffirms its commitments to Taiwan The USS Ronald Reagan and USS Abraham Lincoln sailed in formation during dual-carrier operations in the Pacific, May 20, 2022. Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) has intensified activities around Taiwan and in the South China Sea in an apparent response to the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, as well as its support for Taipei. The PLAs Eastern Theatre Command recently conducted a multi-force patrol in the waters and airspace around the Taiwan Island, said an army spokesman. This is the third large-scale military exercise around Taiwan in the past 30 days. Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesperson for the PLA Eastern Theater Command, said the joint combat-readiness security patrol involved multiple services and arms, but did not specify the date. These actions are a necessary response to the collusion activities between the U.S. and the Taiwan independence forces, Shi said. He added that the U.S. has been making frequent moves on the Taiwan question recently, and warned that by emboldening and supporting Taiwan, Washington will put Taiwan in a dangerous situation and bring serious consequences to itself. Last weekend two U.S. aircraft carriers the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Ronald Reagan reportedly conducted dual-carrier exercises in waters to the southeast of Okinawa, according to the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative (SCSPI), a Beijing-based think tank. Chinese analysts say the area could be a main maritime battlefield if the U.S. militarily intervened in a possible conflict across the Taiwan Strait. A U.S. delegation led by Senator Tammy Duckworth has just completed a three-day visit to Taipei to talk about our support for Taiwan security. The U.S will also make sure Taiwan does not have to struggle alone, Duckworth told Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who said that a cooperation plan between the U.S. National Guard and Taiwans armed forces was in the works. On the day of her arrival, 30 Chinese aircraft flew into Taiwans air defense identification zone (ADIZ), making it the second-highest number of daily incursions since the beginning of the year. The senators visit has infuriated Beijing. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said China deplores and rejects this and has lodged solemn representations with the U.S. side. South China Sea drills On Wednesday morning the PLA conducted a military exercise in waters south of Hainan island in the South China Sea, according to a navigation warning issued by the Hainan Maritime Safety Administration. A navigation warning is a public advisory notice to mariners about changes to navigational aids and current marine activities or hazards including fishing zones and military exercises. The warning did not specify what kind of military exercise took place but the coordinates provided indicate the location was just south of Hainan, not far from the Gulf of Tonkin that China shares with Vietnam. Meanwhile on Wednesday Taiwans Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) condemned the harassment by the Chinese Coast Guard of a joint Filipino-Taiwanese research vessel in the South China Sea in April, calling it a breach of a United Nations convention. A day earlier, the Philippines summoned a senior Chinese diplomat to protest over the incident. From late March to early April, the China Coast Guard (CCG) tailed the Legend, a Taiwanese research vessel with Filipino scientists, as it mapped undersea fault lines in the waters northwest of Luzon Island in the South China Sea. As Shanghai residents celebrated a partial end to a weeks-long, grueling city-wide lockdown, calls emerged on for industrial action by businesses in the city to protest Chinese leader Xi Jinping's zero-COVID policy. As the Shanghai city government claimed the city's lockdown had lifted despite multiple barriers to movement around the city, an open letter calling on workers and companies to "lie down on the job" and to go back to work, but not back to production began circulating online. The May letter, penned by businesses rather than shop-floor workers, predicts mass capital flight and a widespread loss of public confidence in the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under Xi, and calls on the industrial sector not to act like "sheep fattened for slaughter." "It is a pity that some of us entrepreneurs and investors who are slightly successful, despite sitting on investments of hundreds of billions of yuan in Shanghai and across the whole country, and employing millions of employees, are still struggling," the letter said. "Repeatedly forced into isolation, door-to-door disinfecting and other threats at the hands of neighborhood committees, the police, and unidentified individuals, all that expensive real estate wasn't enough to protect us or our families," it said. "Now we have woken up, we are no longer willing to wait like fat lambs for the slaughter," it said. "In honor of the 20th CCP National Congress [later this year], we will be going back to work, but not back to production." Predicting mass capital flight a large-scale corporate bankruptcy, reorganization, and liquidation, the letter said the "rule of law" had been reduced to "rule by man", while the economy had been hijacked by politics, leaving millions of COVID-19 "graduates" unemployed. "Social unrest is inevitable," it warned, adding that mass layoffs, salary cuts and streamlining would be necessary. "We have a full sense of autonomy and aspire to fair competition," the letter said. "We look forward to a civil society. The people should take back their civil rights and rebuild the country." It called on the government to overturn the guilty verdicts against entrepreneurs Ren Zhiqiang and Dawu, as well as punishing officials responsible for "violating the law and disregarding public opinion" as part of the zero-COVID policy. A health worker takes a swab sample from a woman in the Huangpu district of Shanghai on June 1, 2022. Credit: AFP Entrepreneurs speak out It called for the "release and rehabilitation" of political prisoners, calling them "national treasures, and the backbone of the nation." "Returning power to the people, rewriting the constitution, loosening the CCP's control of the media, eliminating the privileged class, abolishing feudal systems like household registration and political review, and all other unreasonable systems that violate human morality and conscience," the letter said. "If the country does not reform, trust in the government cannot be rebuilt, and the free market cannot be hoped for, we will never have peace!" it said, calling for the protection of private property rights, especially freehold residential homes, the "last refuge of the family." RFA made contact with several of the people who authored the letter, via other contacts, and was able to verify its authenticity. French political commentator Wang Longmeng said the authors had asked him to help publicize the letter overseas. "I can guarantee that this is the true voice of some entrepreneurs in Shanghai," Wang told RFA. "Instead of committing suicide like Nanjing entrepreneur Hou Guoxin, they fought back." "Even the strategy of resuming work without resuming production shows courage," he said. "The open letter makes the crucial point that there can be no real economic vitality without political reform." France-based Wan Runnan, the dissident software engineer who founded Stone Emerging Industries Company in the 1980s, said Xi's zero-COVID policy has led to the loss of China's economic vitality, the loss of public support, and had likely also undermined the legitimacy of the CCP regime. "Xi Jinping is so stupid and utterly barbaric," Wan told RFA. "What is zero-COVID? ... It has brought zero economic growth, and zero hearts and minds." "He has lost the support of the party, the people and the army," he said. "Entrepreneurs are also a social force and a key component of public support." An open letter penned by Shanghai entrepeneurs calling on workers and companies to "lie down on the job" predicting mass capital flight and a widespread loss of public confidence in the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under Xi Jinping. Credit: Wang Longmeng Bound to a sinking ship Wan said China's entrepreneurs know very well that if the 20th Party Congress does not initiate a process of political reform, they will eventually be bound to the sinking ship of the Chinese economy. "Their plan is a very good one, which is to say that what happens to the economy depends on what happens at the 20th Party Congress," he said. "If Xi doesn't step down ... then we are sorry but we won't play ball." Residents of Shanghai celebrated on the streets after the lifting of lockdown at midnight on , honking vehicle horns and cheering. Many of them have been trapped in their homes for more than two months. Negative PCR tests continue to be required for entry and exiting residential estates and other public places, with hundreds of testing stations set up in the streets to facilitate compulsory mass testing. A resident of Jing'an district surnamed He said she got up in the middle of the night to do her PCR test, to ensure the results were back by the time she needed to go grocery shopping. "It takes between 48 hours and 72 hours to issue a PCR test certificate," she said. "They ask to see these certificates if you go shopping at the supermarket." "It's like the sword of Damocles hanging over your head; you need it to take the bus or get on the subway," He said. A Yangpu resident surnamed Chen said lockdown hadn't even eased yet in her district. "We've been issued with residents' cards, which we will need to be allowed into the compound," Chen told RFA. "Residents of Yangpu district haven't been allowed to go out yet." "Trains also aren't stopping at some stations, and the whole of Yangpu district is still under lockdown," she said. "[They have divided up the city into] low, medium and high-risk areas." Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Army medics involved medicine supply distribution work amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Pyongyang, North Korea May 22, 2022 in this photo released May 23, 2022 by the country's Korean Central News Agency. North Korea is sending most of its reserve medicines to the capital Pyongyang, leaving rural citizens in the lurch, with many turning to alternatives and counterfeits, as the country copes with waves of COVID-19 cases. After two years of denying the pandemic had penetrated its closed borders, North Korea in May declared a maximum emergency and acknowledged the virus had begun to spread among participants of a large-scale military parade the previous month. Medicine to treat the disease is in short supply and the stocks that are available are getting sent to Pyongyang, home of the countrys wealthiest and most privileged citizens. The drug shortage has left an opening for a black market of unproven traditional medicine to emerge, with some citizens offering dried deer blood as a COVID remedy. Counterfeit versions of fever reducers like aspirin and acetaminophen are also on the rise, sources said. All pharmacies are open 24 hours a day in this maximum emergency, but there is a huge difference between Pyongyang and the provincial areas, so people out here are really dissatisfied, a resident of the northwestern province of North Pyongan told RFA on condition of anonymity for security reasons. Expectations were high as the central quarantine command had intensive discussions where they agreed to quickly distribute the reserve stocks of medicines for the emergency, but we were greatly disappointed when that medicine was given to people in Pyongyang and to the military, he said. In the city of Sinuiju, which lies across the Yalu River border from China, no one can find even basic medicines like fever reducers and painkillers, the source said. Reserve medicines were supplied in very small amounts to hospitals, and pharmacy shelves are empty, he said. At least some pharmacies in Sinuiju are stocked with herbal medicines used as a cold medicine, but county-level pharmacies are completely empty. However, the pharmacies are ordered to be open 24 hours a day unconditionally, he said, adding that salespeople and security guards are sitting around at the pharmacies day and night, even if they have nothing to sell. In the city of Chongjin in northeastern province of North Hamgyong, patients complaining of a high fever and cough have increased, a resident there told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely. North Korea lacks adequate testing capabilities to confirm coronavirus cases but has been tracking numbers of patients reporting fever. An acquaintance who is a doctor at a provincial hospital told me that even when patients with coronavirus symptoms come to the hospital, they are unable to receive the proper treatment because there is no medicine, said the second source. According to my acquaintance, medicines are normally supplied to hospitals and pharmacies in Pyongyang, and patients with fever in Pyongyang are receiving intensive treatment at quarantine facilities. But even though pharmacies in Chongjin are open 24 hours a day, but there is no medicine or only herbal medicines whose efficacy has not been verified. So it is not helpful to patients at all, he said. They complain saying, Are Pyongyangers the only citizens of the state? Is it okay for us in the provinces to just die? the source said. To deal with the shortage of medicine in the provinces, people are turning to the black market, where unproven traditional remedies like deer blood are sold. In Pyongysong, South Pyongan province, north of Pyongyang, people are illegally selling deer blood from their homes, touting its medicinal properties as effective against COVID-19, a resident there told RFA on condition of anonymity for safety reasons. The types of deer blood traded on the black market are raw blood and dried blood powder. Raw blood in a tiny penicillin bottle is 10,000 won [about US$1.80], and powdered blood in a penicillin bottle is 5,000 won [about US$0.90], she said. If you catch a deer, you can drain its blood. Then you put the blood in a plastic bag, she said. Raw blood spoils, so its hard to sell. So, people dry the blood and sell it. When a deer gives birth, there is placenta coming out. They also dry it and sell it as a treatment for coronavirus. The deer blood remedy is available in North Pyongan as well, a resident there, who declined to be named for safety reasons, told RFA. She said that rather than catching the deer in the wild, the workers on a deer farm that supplies meat and other byproducts for Kim Jong Un, his family, and other high-ranking officials, are illicitly selling the blood on the black market. The musk or placenta of deer are vacuum packed and usually sent to the Central Committee, but the people who work there are secretly selling it. Counterfeit medicines that look like the real thing but have no effect at all are also being sold. Fakes have made their way to the local marketplaces in Chongjin, a source there told RFA on condition of anonymity for security reasons. The authorities are making a fuss saying they are responding to coronavirus by releasing the national reserve medicines, but theres still a shortage here so counterfeiters are taking advantage of this opportunity, the second Chongjin source told RFA. A few days ago, the head of the neighborhood watch unit circulated a notice from the district to each household. The notice warns of the fake drugs out in circulation. There are many people around me who bought fake medicines and suffered from taking them, the second Chongjin source said. There are various types of counterfeit medicines, such as antipyretic analgesics such as aspirin and acetaminophen [Tylenol], and multivitamins, which are frequently sought by people to treat coronavirus infection. A friend from my workplace had a fever, so he bought acetaminophen at the market and took it for two days. But it was fake and didnt work at all, the second Chongjin source said. The counterfeit was indistinguishable from the real deal, according to the second Chongjin resident. I saw the fake medicine that my friend bought. The packaging looked quite real. It appears to have been made using a pharmaceutical factory facility, with foreign characters engraved on one side of the pill. Ive heard that medicine dealers bribe pharmaceutical factory officials and rent factory equipment at night to make fake medicines secretly. Traveling merchants bring the fakes to distant parts of the country where they know there is a shortage, a resident of Taehongdan county, in the northern province of Ryanggang, told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely. Last week, some people in my neighborhood bought aspirin and other meds from a travelling merchant who visited our village. One of the people with cold symptoms took the medicine, but it did not work. So he showed the aspirin and multivitamins he bought to the doctor, the Ryanggang source said. The doctor tested it by biting a pill and burning it. He then said the multivitamins tasted wrong and the aspirin was too hard, so it seems as if the medicines were fakes made of wheat flour. Though North Korea has acknowledged that the virus is spreading inside the country, it has only reported a handful of confirmed COVID-19 cases. Data published on the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center showed North Korea with only one confirmed COVID-19 case and six deaths as of Tuesday evening. The country is, however, keeping track of numbers of people who exhibit symptoms of COVID-19. About 3.6 million people have been hit by outbreaks of fever, 69 of whom have died, according to data based on the most recent reports from North Korean state media published by 38 North. Around 3.5 million are reported to have made recoveries, while around 182,900 are undergoing treatment. The state-run Korea Central News Agency reported Sunday that the countrys powerful Political Bureau positively evaluated the national pandemic response, saying the pandemic situation was being controlled and improved across the country. Translated by Claire Lee and Leejin J. Chung. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Six others were wounded in the attack on a monastery amid fighting between military forces and PDFs. The Nat Myaung village monastery in Kalay township in Myanmars Sagaing region that was hit by heavy artillery, May 31, 2022. Seven displaced people sheltering in a monastery, including a ten-year-old boy, have been injured by heavy artillery in Kalay township, in the war-torn Sagaing region, local residents told RFA Wednesday. They said army shells hit the monastery at Nat Myaung village on Tuesday. Two men and four women were injured along with the boy. A local resident, who declined to be named for safety reasons, said soldiers heading to Nat Chaung village were intercepted by local militia of the People Defense Forces (PDFs). The army troops intentionally shelled the monastery, the resident said. The army came from the north. They entered from the cemetery east of Nat Myaung village and passed through the village, the local said. An internally displaced persons (IDPs) camp has been set up at Nat Myaung villages monastery. There is a field between the monastery and the village. The soldiers went through between the Aung Su Pan monastery and Net Chaung Educational School and were confronted by the local defense forces. The army did not fire the heavy artillery in the direction of the militia. Soldiers turned back and intentionally fired at the monastery where the IDPs are sheltering. The source, who is close to the injured family, said the heavy artillery hit the 10-year-old boy who was critically injured. He was sent to a 100-bed military hospital in Kalemyo. The local resident said the other six people were not critically wounded and are being treated at the monastery. The shells also hit a fence and water tank at the monastery, according to residents Calls to a military council spokesman by RFA still remain unanswered. Fighting between the military troops and local militia PDFs at Nat Chaung village near Nat Myaung village intensified on Wednesday morning, according to local residents. There are more than 200 villages in Kale Township. It was the first township in Myanmar to take arms against the military junta. Some 150 people have been killed and nearly 500 arrested due to the military crackdown, arrests on suspicion and arbitrary killings of anti-regime protesters in Kale Township in the year since the military coup, according to anti-regime protesters. Military, NUG trade accusations over Yangon blast The attack comes as the military junta and government-in-exile trade accusations over an explosion in downtown Yangon that killed one person and injured nine others. No-one has claimed responsibility for Tuesdays attack but a junta spokesman said the National Unity Government (NUG) was behind the blast. He did not provide evidence. NUG spokesman Dr. Sasa said in a statement that evidence pointed to the junta, claiming the "brutal genocidal military has been carrying out senseless bombings and killings against its own civilian population across Myanmar." Also Tuesday, a bomb blast at around 2 p.m. (3:30 p.m. EDT) near a state education office in Naung Cho Township, northern Shan State, killed at least one person and wounded seven. The Institute for Strategy and Policy said in a report this month it had documented at least 5,646 civilian deaths between the Feb. 1, 2021 coup and May 10. The figures include people killed by security forces during anti-junta protests, in clashes between the military and pro-democracy paramilitaries or ethnic armies, while held in detention, and in revenge attacks, including against informers for the regime. A report by Amnesty International suggests the junta may have committed war crimes in the regions. Myanmars military has subjected ethnic civilians in Kayin and Kayah states to collective punishment through aerial and ground attacks, detentions that lead to torture or extrajudicial executions, and the razing of villages, according to a new report by London-based rights group Amnesty International. The report, entitled Bullets rained from the sky: War crimes and displacement in eastern Myanmar and published Wednesday, found that clashes between the military and armed groups in the two regions reignited in the wake of the militarys February 2021 coup and worsened significantly from December to March this year. Hundreds of ethnic Karen and Karenni civilians have been killed in the fighting and more than 150,000 people have been displaced. The worlds attention may have moved away from Myanmar since last years coup, but civilians continue to pay a high price. The militarys ongoing assault on civilians in eastern Myanmar has been widespread and systematic, likely amounting to crimes against humanity, Rawya Rageh, senior crisis adviser at Amnesty International, said in a statement accompanying the report. Alarm bells should be ringing: the ongoing killing, looting and burning bear all the hallmarks of the militarys signature tactic of collective punishment, which it has repeatedly used against ethnic minorities across the country. Amnesty based its report on research it carried out in March and April this year, including interviews dozens of eyewitnesses and survivors of attacks as well as three defectors from the military. The group analyzed more than 100 photos and videos related to rights violations, in addition to satellite imagery, fire data and open-source military aircraft flight data. Amnesty said that since the coup, the military has relentlessly attacked civilians to punish those who purportedly support a particular armed group or the wider anti-junta uprising, while at other times fir[ing] indiscriminately into civilian areas where there are also military targets. Direct attacks on civilians, collective punishment and indiscriminate attacks that kill or injure civilians violate international humanitarian law and constitute war crimes, the group said. Attacks on a civilian population must be widespread or systematic to amount to crimes against humanity; in Kayin and Kayah States, they are both, for crimes including murder, torture, forcible transfer and persecution on ethnic grounds. Amnesty said it documented two dozen attacks by artillery or mortars between December and March that killed or injured civilians or that destroyed civilian buildings, adding that eyewitnesses said some of the attacks lasted days at a time. The group also documented eight air strikes on villages and camps housing refugees fleeing clashes in the first quarter of 2022 that killed nine civilians and injured at least nine others. Eyewitnesses described the attacks on locations where only civilians appear to have been present as extremely traumatic, leaving many unable to sleep or unwilling to return to their homes out of fear that they would be targeted again. A school destroyed by a military airstrike in Lay Kay Kaw, April 11, 2022. Credit: KNLA Cobra Column Extrajudicial executions, looting and burning Additionally, Amnestys reporting found that the military regularly carried out arbitrary detentions of civilians based on their ethnicity or because of their suspected support of an anti-junta group. Detainees were tortured, forcibly disappeared or extrajudicially executed, Amnesty said. The group specifically pointed to an incident that drew international condemnation in Kayah states Hpruso township on Christmas Eve last year, when the military stopped at least 35 women, men and children in multiple vehicles, killed them, and burned their bodies. An examination found that many of the victims had been tied up and gagged and were likely shot or stabbed to death. Amnesty has called for an investigation into the incident as a case of extrajudicial executions which, during armed conflict, constitute war crimes, the group noted. Other incidents mentioned in the report were related to what Amnesty called the militarys systematic looting and burning of villages in Kayin and Kayah state. Together, violence in the two regions has displaced more than 150,000 people, the group said, including between a third and a half of Kayah states entire population. The victims of this displacement are forced to shelter in dire conditions, it said, while aid workers are obstructed by the military from providing them access to much-needed food and health care. Donors and humanitarian organizations must significantly scale up aid to civilians in eastern Myanmar, and the military must halt all restrictions on aid delivery, said Matt Wells, Amnesty Internationals crisis response deputy director for thematic issues. The militarys ongoing crimes against civilians in eastern Myanmar reflect decades-long patterns of abuse and flagrant impunity. The international community including ASEAN and U.N. member states must tackle this festering crisis now. The U.N. Security Council must impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar and refer the situation there to the International Criminal Court. Authorities in western Chinas Sichuan province are demanding that local Tibetans report the COVID status of relatives living outside the country, threatening them with the loss of housing subsidies and other support if they fail to disclose the information, RFA has learned. Local officials in the provinces Drago (in Chinese, Luohuo) county have gone door to door to collect the required data, a Tibetan living in exile said, citing contacts in Drago. Sichuan shares a border Tibet, which was invaded and incorporated into China by force more than 70 years ago. Chinese authorities are now forcing Tibetans in Drago to disclose the COVID vaccination status of their relatives living abroad. The information should include proof of vaccination and details of additional doses, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. Tibetan families must also reveal the cell phone numbers and social media accounts of their relatives living outside of China, the source said. They are being told that if they fail to hand this information over, they will be removed from household registries and denied any state assistance they may be receiving from the government, he added. The reason for the data collection is still unclear, the source said. However, there have been a few Tibetans living overseas who have been submitting their COVID vaccination records in the hope of someday returning to Tibet. On the other hand, the Chinese authorities may want to collect data on Tibetans living abroad simply to gather information, he said. China closely tracks communications from Tibetans living in Tibetan areas of China to relatives living abroad in an effort to block news of protests and other politically sensitive information from reaching international audiences, sources say. In May, RFA reported that Sichuan authorities were forcing Tibetan monks in Drago, a county located in Sichuan's Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, to sign affidavits claiming responsibility for the destruction of a sacred statue torn down by China. The move came after news of the demolition reached the international community, prompting widespread condemnation. The 99-foot tall Buddha that stood in Drago was targeted for destruction in December by officials who said the statue had been built too high. Monks from a local monastery and other Tibetan residents were forced to witness the destruction, an action experts called part of an ongoing campaign by China to eradicate Tibets national culture and religion. Eleven monks from a nearby monastery were later arrested by Chinese authorities on suspicion of sending news and photos of the statues destruction, first reported exclusively by RFA, to contacts outside the region. Using commercial satellite imagery, RFA later verified the destruction at the same time of a three-story statue of Maitreya Buddha, believed by Tibetan Buddhists to be a Buddha appearing in a future age, at Gaden Namyal Ling monastery in Drago. Communications clampdowns and other security measures meanwhile remain in place in the county, Tibetan sources report. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFAs Tibetan Service. Written in English by Richard Finney. Almire Erkin was arrested in 2017 for watching the foreign movies on her cell phone. Chinese police patrol the streets of the Old City of Kashgar in northwestern China's Xinjiang region, May 4, 2021. The daughter of a Uyghur police officer who has won commendation for detaining Uyghurs in re-education programs in Chinas Xinjiang region is serving a 10-year prison sentence for watching Turkish movies on her cell phone, the womans father and a Uyghur knowledge of the situation said. Almire Erkin, 32, a former hospital nurse, is the daughter of Erkin Tursun, a Uyghur police officer in Kashgar (in Chinese, Kashi), who confirmed that she was jailed in 2017. A problem was discovered from her phone and she was taken to re-education, he told RFA. A Uyghur source who knows the family told RFA that Almire is serving her sentence in a womens prison in Urumqi (Wulumuqi), capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Although Tursun has close relatives who are top Chinese government officials in local government, he said he was not able to spare his daughter from a prison term for the crime of watching Turkish movies. Almires aunt is an official in the Kashgar government, and her uncle, Enwer Tursun, is mayor of Makit (Maigaiti) county in Kashgar prefecture. Tursun recalled that Enwer told him it was not a big deal that Almire had watched Turkish movies and that authorities would release her. When RFA contacted Tursun at a phone number provided by the anonymous source, he confirmed that his daughter, his oldest child, had been sentenced to 10 years in prison and was serving her term in Urumqi. Tursun also said that he had received awards from the municipal government for outstanding performance as a police officer in the past 10-12 years, including one for taking in 2,000 people for re-education. Since 2017, Chinese authorities have detained an estimated 1.8 million of mostly Muslim Uyghurs and other native Turkic peoples in a vast network of internment camps for re-education, purportedly to prevent religious extremism and radicalism. But evidence quickly emerged that inmates had been deprived of their freedom under the pretense of political education. The U.S. and the parliaments of several Western governments have declared that the detentions and Chinas other rights abuses in Xinjiang constitute genocide and crimes against humanity. Tursun said his daughter had been sentenced without a trial and that he had heard about her prison term from her husband. They came and read the verdict in the neighborhood community, he said. They said her sentence was on account of being connected to Turkey. Tursun also told RFA that he had urged residents to protect state secrets before a United Nations delegation led by U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet arrived in the XUAR last week for a visit to Kashgar and Urumqi. In the run-up to the visit, the Chinese government launched a campaign warning Uyghurs not to talk about or discuss state secrets, meaning the detention of Uyghurs or other measures to repress them. We are telling people that when they see the U.N. delegation team, they should speak about how our situation is good and how our lives have turned around for the better, Tursun said. Uyghur rights groups condemned Bachelets failure to denounce the Chinese governments repression in the XUAR as genocide during her visit. On Sunday, Campaign for Uyghurs based in Washington, D.C., called for Bachelets immediate resignation, saying her visit was a Potemkin-style sham and accusing her of neglecting her mandate to the world to stand up for human rights. Translated by RFA Uyghur. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Uyghur rights groups are calling for the United Nations human rights chief to resign after they said she reiterated Chinese talking points in a news conference about her trip to northwestern Chinas Xinjiang region and failed to denounce the repression Uyghurs face there as a genocide. Michelle Bachelet, a former Chilean president who has served as the U.N. high commissioner for human rights since 2018, paid a six-day visit to China last week, including spots in the coastal city of Guangzhou and Urumqi (in Chinese, Wulumuqi) and Kashgar (Kashi) in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). At a May 28 press conference in Beijing to mark the end of the visit, Bachelet said she had raised questions and concerns about the application of counter-terrorism and de-radicalization measures and their broad application and their impact on the rights of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities in the XUAR. Bachelet, who said before her trip that she wouldnt be conducting an investigation like Uyghur rights groups had pushed for, told reporters that she had been unable to assess the full scale of what China calls vocational education and training centers (VETC) in Xinjiang, but which the human rights community and scholars call internment camps. Uyghur rights groups took issue with her references to deradicalization, anti-terrorism and vocational education and training centers, which they said mimic the words Beijing uses to describe its campaign in Xinjiang. Washington, D.C.-based Campaign for Uyghurs said Bachelet provided no transparency about the trip and that a prison visit in Xinjiang was a Potemkin-style sham. The high commissioner has disgraced herself and her office by refusing to investigate Chinas genocide and adopting, repeating the Chinese regimes narrative, further cementing their propaganda in the U.N., Rushan Abbas, the organizations executive director, told RFA on Tuesday. Her comments seem custom-made for Beijings propaganda machine, and she neglects the duties of her office and the founding principle of the U.N., she said. Abbas called on Bachelet to step down from her post. In bed with communist China Bachelet she said she raised with the government the lack of independent judicial oversight in the region, the reliance on 15 indicators to determine tendencies towards violent extremism, allegations of the use of force at the institutions, and reports of severe restrictions on religious practices. During my visit, the government assured me that the VETC system has been dismantled, she said. I encouraged the government to undertake a review of all counter terrorism and deradicalization policies to ensure they fully comply with international human rights standards, and in particular that they are not applied in an arbitrary and discriminatory way. In 2017, authorities began illegally detaining thousands of Uyghurs and others in re-education camps in an effort, they said, to prevent religious extremism and radicalism, later calling the facilities closed training centers or vocational training centers. But evidence quickly emerged that inmates had been deprived of their freedom under the pretense of political education and were in some case subjected to severe abuse. It is believed that authorities have held up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and others accused of harboring strong religious and politically incorrect views in a vast network of re-education or internment camps in Xinjiang. The United States and the legislatures of several Western countries have deemed Chinas mistreatment of the mostly Muslim Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in the XUAR as genocide and crimes against humanity. Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress based in Germany, said Bachelet missed a historic opportunity to hold China accountable for the Uyghur genocide. The impression is that now the U.N. is in bed with communist China, a regime that has been committing the Uyghur genocide for the past five years, he said Tuesday. It is truly stunning to see that Ms. Bachelet did not act as the highest human rights official at the U.N. but rather as a mouthpiece of the Chinese communist government during and after her trip. She has completely discredited the role of her office and the authority of the United Nations as a champion of human rights in the world, Isa said. Isa also called for Bachelets immediate resignation. US expresses concern The same day Bachelet held a press conference about her trip, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. remained concerned about her visit and efforts by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) to restrict and manipulate it. While we continue to raise our concerns about Chinas human rights abuses directly with Beijing and support others who do so, we are concerned the conditions Beijing authorities imposed on the visit did not enable a complete and independent assessment of the human rights environment in the PRC, including in Xinjiang, where genocide and crimes against humanity are ongoing, Blinken said in a statement. The U.S. was also troubled by reports that authorities had warned Uyghurs and others in the XUAR not to complain or speak openly about conditions in the region, that no insight was provided into the whereabouts of missing Uyghurs and the conditions of those in detention, he said. The high commissioner should have been allowed confidential meetings with family members of Uyghur and other ethnic minority diaspora communities in Xinjiang who are not in detention facilities but are forbidden from traveling out of the region, Blinken said. In response to Blinkens statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a press conference on Monday that the U.S. rehashed false claims that had been debunked countless times to try to smear and attack China. Ridiculously, this time they made up new lies that China has restricted and manipulated the visit, he said. In fact, all the activities and arrangements of High Commissioner Bachelet during her stay in China were decided in accordance with her will and based on full consultation of the two sides. The high commissioner also said at the press conference that she had unsupervised and extensive meetings during the visit, Zhao said. Where is restriction and manipulation to speak of? To find the one trying to manipulate this visit, look no further than the U.S. Translated by Alim Seytoff for RFA Uyghur. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Worshipers were allowed into a few prominent mosques in Urumqi and Kashgar. A sign with a Chinese slogan hangs from the fence of a mosque in the city of Aksu in northwestern China's Xinjiang province, July 17, 2014. Officials in northwestern Chinas Xinjiang region opened long-closed mosques in the two cities visited last week by the United Nations human rights chief to give the appearance of normalcy despite a severe crackdown on the religion and culture of Muslim Uyghur residents, local police officers and government officials said. Mosques in Xinjiangs capital Urumqi (in Chinese, Wulumuqi) and Kashgar (Kashi) were opened for a visit by U.N. rights czar Michelle Bachelet during the two days she spent in the region. Bachelet was on a six-day trip to China during which she also stopped in the coastal metropolis of Guangzhou in southern China. Since about 2017, up to 16,000 mosques, or roughly 65%, of all mosques have been destroyed or damaged as a result of government policies, according to the Uyghur Human Rights Project, a U.S.-based activist group. Other mosques have been closed but left standing, and a few famous ones remain open but under surveillance. The moves are part of a larger campaign of repression to erase Uyghur religious practices culture, along with the arbitrary detention of an estimate 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in internment centers and prisons. China has repeatedly denied it has committed rights abuses against Uyghurs and said the camps were vocational training centers to prevent extremism in the region. The United States and the parliaments of several Western countries have issued determinations that Chinas policies in the XUAR amount to genocide and crimes against humanity. A person familiar with the situation in Urumqi told RFA that during Bachelets visit the Chinese government opened mosques that had long been closed there and in Kashgar. Local police officers interviewed by RFA also said some central mosques were open to the public in both cities, while other officials confirmed that mosques in Ghulja (Yining), Xinjiangs third-largest city, which was not on Bachelets itinerary, remained closed before and during her trip to the XUAR. Though most of the mosques in Urumqi had been demolished or closed since 2016, a number have remained open for exhibition since 2020, said another source with knowledge of the situation. Prayer services are rarely performed, however. Uyghurs urged to pray Ahead of the U.N. teams visit to Xinjiang, neighborhood committees urged Uyghurs to begin praying at several prominent mosques, including Urumqis Aq Mosque, also known as the White Mosque, said the source, who declined to be named for safety reasons. A police officer in the area where the Aq Mosque is located said the imam led Friday prayers on May 27 and that the religious building was open for exhibitions. The imam of White Mosque led the prayers last Friday. Thats what I know, he said. A police official in Kashgar told RFA that the historic Id Kah Mosque, which dates to 1442 and has been closed for worship since 2016, was opened for prayers since Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan that fell on May 1-2 this year. The official did not say how many people were going to mosque for prayer or whether they were going voluntarily or being forced by their neighborhood committees. The only mosque that was opened during the U.N.s visit was the Id Kah Mosque, he said. A second security official in Ghulja said the four mosques in his hamlet were all closed and that Uyghurs were still banned from praying. He also described the situation of people not praying as a positive development. We are telling them all the time that they cannot pray and they should not pray at home, he said. Before 2017, when people were allowed to pray, they did. But now everyone listens to the governments new rules on religion and does not pray. Its been like this since 2016. Bachelet first announced that her office sought an unfettered access to Xinjiang in September 2018, shortly after she took over her current role. But the trip was delayed over questions about her freedom of movement through the region. In March, she announced that her office reached an agreement with the Chinese government about the visit. Her may trip was the first visit to China by a U.N. human rights commissioner since 2005. Bachelet said that her visit was not an investigation, but a dialogue and exchange between two sides. But Uyghur rights organizations have criticized her for failing to condemn China for its genocidal policies in Xinjiang and called for her resignation. Washington, D.C.-based Campaign for Uyghurs said Bachelet provided no transparency about the trip and that a prison visit in Xinjiang was a Potemkin-style sham. RFA Uyghur has yet to receive a reply to a request for comment from Bachelets office. Translated by RFA Uyghur. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Protesters in Dak Lak province want the return of land they farmed for four decades A screenshot of a video of villagers in Lang village, Ea Pok town, Cu Mgar district in south-central Vietnam's Dak Lak province who have been proesting since mid-May to reclaim about 40 hectares of arable land from a forestry company. Hundreds of ethnic minority households from a commune in south-central Vietnam's Dak Lak province are fighting to reclaim their land from a forestry company after 40 years of working on it as hired laborers. Protests in Lang village, Ea Pok town, Cu Mgar district began last month, with farmers demanding the return of about 40 hectares of arable land. Demonstrations came to a head on May 18 when hundreds of people gathered on the land to protest against the coffee company's destruction of their crops. Videos and photos of the protest were shared on social media, showing riot police clashing with demonstrators. Demonstrations continued last week, with protestors holding up banners asking the coffee company to return the land. State media has so far not reported on the incident. We want the company to return our ancestral land so that people can have a business in the future, a local resident told RFA under the condition of anonymity. People are getting [taxed] more and more but have less land, so people need to reclaim the land. According to RFA research, Lang village has about 250 households, all indigenous Ede people. The residents all make a living from farming. The company does not give a dime Residents told RFA they had been cultivating the land for many generations but after 1975 the local government took it and gave it to the state-owned enterprise, Eapok Coffee Farm to grow coffee trees. The company later changed its name to Ea Pok Coffee Joint Stock Company. Locals went from being landowners to hired workers on their own land. They say the company allowed them to cultivate the land from 1983 until now but told them to produce 18 tons of coffee per hectare or pay for up to 80% of each harvest. People work hard, but they don't have enough to eat because they have to pay the company's output. In many cases, they don't even have enough output to pay so they are in debt and have to pay for it in the next crop," said one resident who was assigned to grow coffee on 8,000 square meters of land. Residents say that in 2010 the company allowed them to uproot coffee trees and grow other crops, including corn, but did not support them by offering seedlings, fertilizers, or pesticides. The company also continued to impose output quotas or taxed as much as 80% of the crop. People have to pay by themselves. The company does not give a dime or give a single pill when people are sick, said another resident farming 10,000 square meters of land. Struggling farmers decided to file an application with the government in 2019 to reclaim their land and farming rights. Locals say this year Ea Pok Coffee asked them to start growing durian trees. When they opposed the plan the company started destroying crops on May 18 to prepare the land for durian cultivation. When an RFA Vietnamese reporter called Ea Pok Coffee Joint Stock Company to ask for comments they were told the press must register with the company's leaders, and get their approval first. When asked about the government's attitude towards people's demands, a local resident said: We sent petitions to the town government and the provincial government but got no response. The first time five households signed, then many more households signed. The government always sides with the company, rather than helping the people. RFA contacted Nguyen Thi Thu Hong, chairwoman of the People's Committee of Ea Pok town, to ask about the dispute between Lang villagers and the coffee company. She said that she would not accept telephone interviews. When asked if people would agree to maintain the current form of contract farming if Ea Pok Coffee Joint Stock Company reduced taxes and increased support, local people said they still committed to reclaiming the land. Translated by Ngu Vu. The death toll from the collapse of a residential building in the Iranian port city of Abadan has reached 37 as demonstrators continued to protest what they see as widespread negligence and corruption among officials. Officials said on June 1 that another body had been found under the rubble, bringing to 37 the number of those killed while another 37 were injured in the collapse on May 23 of the Metropolis 10-story residential and commercial building. Iran's Education Ministry said on May 31 that five of those killed were students. It is not yet clear if other bodies are still buried under the rubble. The collapse of the unfinished building was one of Iran's deadliest such disasters in years. Authorities have blamed the collapse of the building on local corruption and lax safety and say 13 people, including mayors and other officials, have so far been arrested for construction violations. But the collapse sparked daily protests in the city in the oil-producing region of Khuzestan as the country reels from unrest over rising food prices and other economic issues amid the harsh sanctions imposed by the United States over Iran's nuclear program. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on June 1 that Iranian authorities last week arrested a local journalist at a ceremony for the victims of the building collapse. Freelance reporter Arash Ghaleh-Golab was detained on May 27, the CPJ said. During Ghaleh-Golab's arrest, security forces beat and kicked him, the New York-based advocacy group reported, adding that it was unclear whether he was covering the event as a journalist or attending as a private citizen. Ghaleh-Golab has written political commentary and editorials for various local publications. Most recently, his work was published by state-run website Ensaf News. As mourners gathered late into the night on May 31, videos posted on social media purported to show a heavy security force presence in Abadan as authorities sought to quell the weeklong protests over the disaster. One video showed demonstrators setting fire to tires and blocking roads in the nearby town of Shadegan late on May 31. The authenticity of the footage could not be immediately confirmed from independent sources. Video posted on social media earlier showed some protesters shouting "Death to Khamenei," a reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. With reporting by Reuters The Russian State Duma has passed a pair of bills to end the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the country. The bills passed nearly unanimously on June 7, with only one deputy from the opposition Communist Party voting against. They must be signed by President Vladimir Putin in order to become law. One of the bills would remove the country from the jurisdiction of the ECHR and the other would set March 15 as the cutoff for rulings against Russia, meaning any ruling after that date will not be implemented. State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said the ECHR "in the hands of Western politicians has turned into an instrument of political struggle against our country. He was quoted by TASS as saying some of its decisions directly contradicted the Russian Constitution, our values, and traditions." He cited an ECHR ruling that Russia recognize same-sex marriages, saying there have been a multitude of such rulings by the ECHR, and Russia cannot agree with this. Russia informed the director general of the Council of Europe (CoE) that it was withdrawing from the court based on Article 7 of its charter under which any member of the council may withdraw following an official notification. The Strasbourg-based CoE overseas the court and its parliament elects the judges who sit on the ECHR. The CoEs Committee of Ministers decided in March to expel Russia after 26 years of membership over its invasion of Ukraine the month before. The two bills passed the Duma the same day that the ECHR ruled on a complaint filed by Russian members of Jehovahs Witnesses, a banned Christian group that for decades has been viewed with suspicion in Russia. The court ruled that the Russian authorities decision to ban the group, liquidate its headquarters and nearly 400 legal entities of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, and seize property violated the rights of believers. The court recognized that the Russian authorities violated the provisions of several articles of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, including the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. The court ruled that Russia must take all necessary measures to ensure that any criminal prosecutions of Jehovah's Witnesses are terminated and those previously convicted for participation in the activities of the organization are released. The court ruled that Russia was obliged in total to pay the applicants almost 3.5 million euros in compensation and return the confiscated property. The decision was issued in the case of Taganrog and Others vs. Russia, which combined 20 complaints filed by Jehovah's Witnesses from 2010 to 2019. The ruling would also affect a case in the Siberian city of Chita, where several Jehovahs Witnesses this week were handed prison terms on extremism charges amid an ongoing crackdown on the religious group that has been banned in Russia since 2017. But the implementation of the ruling will be blocked if Putin signs the bills into law. The break with the ECHR would also remove a legal avenue that Russians, including jailed Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny, have used in the past to raise cases that had been rejected by national courts. The ECHR ruled in February 2021 that Navalny should be released from prison after being jailed on charges he described as politically motivated. Russia described the ruling as "unlawful." With reporting by Reuters and TASS Seaside hotels. Subsidized living. And summer just around the corner. It sounds like cause for envy. Except that it describes the precarious existence of thousands of Ukrainians uprooted by war and now facing abrupt orders from Bulgarian authorities to clear out, pay up, or go home. Officials including Prime Minister Kiril Petkov this week lamented the "luxury" that they've accorded to Ukrainians and hastily curtailed a relocation scheme for many of those same refugees, further distressing many displaced victims of Russia's invasion and prompting some to return home despite the risks. Less than a month after Bulgaria said it was ending refugee reimbursements to hotels as the tourist season approached on its Black Sea coast, around 60,000 Ukrainians faced a deadline of June 1 to vacate hotels that became subsidized shelters amid a massive regional crisis. "The Bulgarian state cannot continue to support such a luxurious stay in Bulgaria," Petkov, who took office in December 2021, said on May 31. "For three months, we have given unprecedented support in some of the best hotels in Bulgaria. Now we are entering a slightly more normal framework, despite the fact that they are refugees. The Bulgarian state cannot continue to endlessly support such a luxury stay in Bulgaria -- [and] we are entering a reality that is closer to what is expected for refugees." Amid concerns of a shortage in alternative facilities, senior officials this week accused refugees of failing to register their whereabouts or simply spurning buses and trains scheduled to take them to "buffer centers" and uncertain futures. But statements from refugees and volunteer organizers suggested the Bulgarian government and its relevant agencies failed to fully communicate their plans to Ukrainians already victimized by war and struggling to keep abreast of Sofia's rapidly evolving relocation effort. 'Protection Is...Not An Obligation' "We have no official information," Tetyana, a nurse who fled eastern Ukraine with her 13-year-old daughter after the outbreak of the war, told RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service on May 30. "Absolutely none." She and her daughter have been staying in a hotel in the cape resort of Sozopol since escaping in the family car from their home in Druzhkivka, a town in the Donbas region that had already changed hands twice since Russia-backed separatists took over swaths of Ukraine in 2014 and is currently threatened by the Russian military's pincer-like advances in the area. Tetyana said neither she nor other refugees she spoke with had received any information about transportation to any refugee center, although she said she'd filled out an online survey announced weeks ago by Deputy Prime Minister Kalina Konstantinova. "We were told that we would receive a preliminary notice 48 hours before the relocation -- either by e-mail, or by phone, or through our personal profile on the ukraine.gov.bg website," Tetyana said. "However, no one received anything. We also communicate with the people in the other hotels in Sozopol, [and] they didn't receive any information either." She said there was no word yet on where she and her daughter might be sent. "We checked some [sites] that could accommodate us ourselves, but the [refugee] Crisis Center responded by telling us that we have no right to accommodate ourselves. A few days later, they said we could accommodate ourselves: 'Just look for a place,'" Tetyana said. "First they told us not to check in on our own because the hotels would charge us, and then they told us that if we could find a place, we could move." Konstantinova announced a new tack in a Ukrainian-language video released on May 30. When only a tiny trickle of refugees turned up last week to board buses and trains organized by the government to take them from their current hotels to unspecified facilities, Konstantinova complained that too many Ukrainians granted temporary protection had failed to inform teams on the ground of their intentions for accommodation or to utilize the free transport. As a result, Konstantinova said, only Ukrainian refugees "in real need, who have nowhere to go after May 31," would be accommodated at "buffer centers" in Elhovo, about 100 kilometers from the coast, and Sarafovo, near Burgas airport. The rest, she suggested, must find their own way. She added bluntly: "Protection is a right, not an obligation. Therefore, I will not allow any more empty buses or empty cars to leave. The development of the situation from that moment on is in the hands of the Ukrainian community in Bulgaria." 'Live Like Everyone Else' Bulgaria is the European Union's poorest member, and opposition and other critics have accused Petkov's government of committing too few resources to cope with the flow of some of Ukraine's 6 million war refugees. Nearly 300,000 Ukrainians have entered NATO-member Bulgaria since Russian tanks and troops rolled into Ukraine on February 24 in the largest military invasion in Europe since World War II. Around 100,000 of them have been granted temporary shelter and protection, with most of the rest presumably continuing on to wealthier EU destinations. As the peak season approached for hotels and other businesses on the Bulgarian Riviera, officials repeatedly announced and amended their plans for the tens of thousands of Ukrainians benefiting from a government program to reimburse hotels 40 levs a day ($22) for accommodating refugees. Tourism Minister Hristo Prodanov warned in late April that Bulgaria had "accommodated and cared for" refugees for long enough, adding, "Now they must enter the labor market, find housing, pay rent, and live like everyone else." In early May, officials said they would cease the hotel reimbursements at the end of the month and move refugees to unspecified facilities. Days later, the chairwoman of the Bulgarian State Agency For Refugees, Maryana Tosheva, expressed confidence that "no one will be left out on the street" but acknowledged that there were 63,000 Ukrainian refugees in Bulgarian hotels and only around 33,000 vacancies in the state and local centers set up to take them. She suggested the 30,000-person gap "will shrink a lot" as Ukrainians who "have said they want to leave the country" departed or found rent-free alternatives, including with relatives or acquaintances. A few days later, Prime Minister Petkov's cabinet said it had changed its mind and would extend the reimbursement scheme -- but at a lower rate of 15 levs per day, eliciting some howls from hotel owners. By late May, an adviser to Konstantinova said around 23,000 sites had applied to receive Ukrainian refugees under the new reimbursement policy. But the Bulgarian Red Cross announced that by last week more Ukrainians were leaving the country than were arriving -- a first since Russia's invasion began three months ago. Some Ukrainian refugees told Bulgarian media last week that they felt obliged to return to Ukraine despite the intensifying conflict and fears for their own safety. "I'll go home because I don't know what will happen to us at the end of the month," Maryna, who is from Cherkasy, a central Ukrainian city of nearly 300,000 residents before the war, told Bulgarian national broadcaster BNT. A 'Complete Vacuum' "These people should be notified 48 hours before being taken somewhere, they should at least get a message. This is how it was described in the program," Maksym, a Ukrainian who helps other refugees in the port city of Burgas, told RFE/RL. Instead, he said, he and other volunteers frequently learn where the transport buses are stopping "literally 30 minutes before they arrive in front of the hotels" and refugees are simply told, "'Get on the buses, we don't know where you will be taken,' or 'We won't tell you.'" There has been a "complete vacuum" of information from the authorities, he said. In an impassioned open letter on Facebook, one of the organizers of a Facebook page to help Ukrainian refugees in Bulgaria accused Konstantinova, Tosheva, and other officials of a "complete lack of communication with refugees from the moment they cross the border [and a] complete lack of understanding of needs." In a point-by-point argument, Julianna Lisa Kylukina said virtually none of the public communications about the unfolding relocation were issued in Ukrainian and suggested officials were "indifferent" to the refugees' fates. She estimated that her group got more than 100 enquiries a day from Ukrainians -- mostly "mothers with children and the elderly" -- wanting to know how and where the resettlement will take place. "For all three months, the refugee issue was resolved with the help of volunteers, ordinary residents of Bulgaria," Kylukina said, challenging the authorities. "And you created problem programs that volunteers had to solve!" In Tsarevo, a southeastern seaside resort, hours before the June 1 deadline to vacate, Olena had registered with Bulgarian authorities but received no official information. She was scrambling to figure out how and where she and her daughter, mother, sister, and young niece could go. "Those people who had cars returned to Ukraine or found a home to rent," she told RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service, "but we don't have that opportunity -- we don't have a car or money." Olena and her family are from Zaporizhzhya, a southeastern Ukrainian hot spot in the current fighting. "We're thinking of getting out of the hotel, going and checking centers one by one -- maybe someone will pick us up," she said. Later, Olena expressed relief at having learned of a center that was continuing to house refugees and would accept them immediately. Maria, a refugee from Odesa who helps as a volunteer in Primorsko, another coastal resort about 10 kilometers north of Tsarevo, is helping to move about 100 of her compatriots to a refugee site that is expected to close at the end of August. She criticized officials' failure to call or e-mail any of 300 or so Ukrainians at a hotel there and said she was still awaiting a callback with specific information on May 31 from a government hotline. "The result is that people don't feel protected here," Maria said. "And everyone is worried." Written by Andy Heil based on reporting by RFE/RL Bulgarian Service correspondents Damyana Veleva, Yana Stroi, and Elitsa Simeonova 2 A view of Eduard and Nila's destroyed home The UN calls the situation in Ukraine dire. "Internally displaced people, the majority of whom are women and children, have lost everything they had -- their homes and belongings, their livelihoods, their support networks, and in many cases, their loved ones. Many of them face shortages of food, water, basic items and energy, and lack access to health services and medication." For decades, the grieving relatives of thousands of political prisoners and regime opponents who were killed in the late 1980s were denied access to their unmarked graves at Tehran's Khavaran cemetery. Now, as the current authorities try to keep the lid on the war crimes that took place during the massacre, they are erecting barriers in an apparent effort to ensure no respect is paid to the victims. Videos and images published on social media in the past week show that a high concrete wall and towering security-camera fixtures have been installed around the perimeter of the cemetery, known by many Iranians as the "place of the damned." The cemetery in the east of the capital was traditionally a final resting place for members of religious minorities, who were interred there to keep them separate from the graves of Muslims. But following the mass executions of political prisoners and other accused opponents of the Islamic republic's clerical regime beginning in 1988, Khavaran became best known as a secret burial ground for some of the thousands killed. The graves at Khavaran are unmarked, and Tehran has for decades barred families of the dead from mourning there and punished those who brave the authorities by leaving flowers and mementos. The strict official stance has contributed to accusations that Tehran has attempted to cover up the killings of dissidents and religious minorities by death squads, and even desecrated the burial sites of victims. Families and activists see the new installations as a brazen attempt by authorities to further restrict access to the Khavaran cemetery in their efforts to erase the memory of the dead. A group representing families of those killed during the purge has expressed outrage over the construction at the Khavaran site, which it believes holds the remains of families' loved ones killed in 1988. "We do not tolerate the regime's decision to put up a wall and install cameras to prevent the presence of families," the group said in a statement this week, according to RFE/RL's Radio Farda. "We urge the Islamic Republic of Iran to stop harassing the families of [those interred at Khavaran cemetery] as soon as possible and to answer our questions instead of threatening and intimidating us." The group and other activists have tied the new construction to Iran's effort to deflect attention from the decades-old massacre, which is at the center of a high-profile case in a foreign court. Hamid Nouri, a former deputy prosecutor who is charged with helping carry out more than 100 executions and human rights abuses that took place in Tehran's notorious Evin prison in 1988, is being tried in a Swedish court and a verdict is expected on July 14. Nouri has been cast as a henchman for the judges who determined which prisoners would be executed in keeping with a fatwa issued by former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic. Khomeini's order, issued at the end of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, initially targeted members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) accused of carrying out attacks on Iranian soil, but was expanded to include others found guilty of "mohareb," or waging war against God. The rights watchdog Amnesty International estimates that around 4,500 people -- including members of the MKO, students, leftists, and other alleged opponents of the clerical regime -- were killed in the purge, although the MKO places the number at around 30,000. Nouri's arrest in 2019 upon his arrival in Sweden for a vacation and his subsequent trial in Stockholm on charges of international war crimes and human rights abuses have been fiercely criticized by Iran. The trial has implicated the involvement of high-ranking members of Iran's clerical establishment in the mass killings, including current President Ebrahim Raisi. That has led the UN special rapporteur on human rights to call for an independent inquiry into the massacre and Raisi's possible role. In response to the trial, Tehran has officially demanded Nouri's release and accused the Swedish court of bias. Since arguments wrapped up in February, Tehran has been accused of trying to influence the outcome of the trial by threatening to execute a Swedish-Iranian researcher imprisoned in Iran on terrorism charges and through the arrests of other Swedish citizens. Prosecutors in the Nouri trial reportedly requested to visit the Khavaran cemetery, which has been bulldozed multiple times over the past three decades. The request was denied. In its statement this week, the group representing victims' families said that documents presented in Nouri's trial have provided evidence that "our loved ones are secretly buried in graves" such as those at Khavaran cemetery. "Nearly 34 years have passed since the massacre of political prisoners in the summer of 1988, during which the families of Khavaran have been repeatedly harassed and even detained, and in several cases the regime has attempted to destroy the cemetery," the group said. "They have been buried en masse and we do not know how, why, or even where they are buried." The group vowed to launch an international campaign to protest against the new construction at the Khavaran cemetery and to call on the authorities in Iran to allow political diversity and respect human rights. A prominent Iranian human rights advocate, Narges Mohammadi, and photojournalist Alieh Motalebzadeh have received death threats while in prison amid a worsening situation for political prisoners on the whole, a lawyer for one of the two women said. Mostafa Nili, Mohammadi's lawyer, told Emtedad in an interview on May 31 that a prisoner convicted of murder in Qarchak prison had sent threatening messages to both women saying, "I will kill you and I will become famous for this." Pointing out that this prisoner had no "previous problems or conflicts" with Mohammadi and Motalebzadeh, Nili said that the threatening of political prisoners by ordinary prisoners without "any history of controversy" seemed "suspicious." The lawyer said the attempt to provoke clashes with those in the regular prisoner population had been accompanied by an increase in "obscenities and threats" from others in front of the political prison ward in recent days. Nili referred to the "deteriorating security of political prisoners in Gharchak prison" and said their situation "has become dangerous." Prison authorities have yet to respond to his queries about the issues political prisoners are facing at the institution, he added. The two women were briefly released from prison for medical attention before being forced to return in April. A journalist and an engineer, Mohammadi was arrested in November 2021 after she attended the memorial of a man killed by Iranian security forces during nationwide protests in November 2019. In late January, a court sentenced her to another eight years and two months in prison, as well as 74 lashes. Motalebzadeh was transferred from the Evin prison to Qarchak in January in what was seen as punishment for holding a ceremony to commemorate the death of human rights defender Baktash Abtin, who died from COVID-19 complications. Iran says a report by the UN nuclear watchdog on traces of nuclear material found at three undeclared sites is unfair. The report, issued on May 30, said the watchdog still had questions regarding nuclear material previously found at three sites -- Marivan, Varamin, and Turquzabad -- which had not been declared by Iran as having hosted nuclear activities. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said its long-running efforts to get Iranian officials to explain the presence of nuclear material at the sites had failed to provide answers. Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters on May 31 that the report does not reflect the reality of the negotiations between Iran and the IAEA. "It's not a fair and balanced report," he said, adding that Iran expects it to be corrected. Iran and the IAEA agreed in March on an approach for resolving the issue of the sites, one of the remaining obstacles to reviving the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. Tehran said it wanted the issue of uranium traces found at old but undeclared sites to be dropped and closed permanently. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as it is formally known, gave Iran relief from crippling economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear activities. Then-U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled out of the pact in 2018 and reimposed sanctions, prompting Iran to begin backsliding on its nuclear commitments. President Joe Biden's administration says it favors a return to the deal, including lifting key sanctions, but has rejected an Iranian demand to reverse the blacklisting of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization. State Department spokesman Ned Price said on May 31 that the United States had "full faith and confidence in the IAEA" and its chief, Rafael Grossi. "Iran must fully cooperate with the IAEA without further delay," he told reporters in Washington. The IAEA report also estimated that Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium has grown to more than 18 times the limit laid down in the nuclear deal and Iran is continuing its enrichment of uranium to levels higher than the limit permitted in the deal. Western powers say Iran is getting closer to being able to quickly produce a nuclear bomb if it chose to, though Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful. The developments come as talks to revive the landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers remain deadlocked. With reporting by AFP BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz authorities have added an abuse of office charge against jailed former President Almazbek Atambaev over deadly ethnic clashes in 2010 that claimed almost 450 lives. Atambaev's lawyer, Zamir Jooshev, told RFE/RL on June 1 that although the charge was serious, its legality was questionable due to the statute of limitations, adding that an official statement regarding the new charge against his client will be made public later. Atambaev is currently serving an 11-year prison term he was handed in 2020 for his role in the illegal release of a notorious crime boss, Aziz Batukaev. He was leading an interim government when clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks shook the Central Asian country's southern regions of Osh and Jalal-Abad in June 2010, following anti-government protests that toppled then-President Kurmanbek Bakiev. According to Kyrgyz officials, 446 men and women were killed in the ethnic clashes, known as the "June events," about 2,000 people were injured, and tens of thousands were displaced. The majority of the victims were ethnic Uzbeks. Last month, three Kyrgyz politicians who were members of the interim government were also charged with abuse of office over the "June events." Atambaev is currently involved in two other trials. One trial is over a charge of attempting to seize power during anti-government protests in October 2020 that were sparked by controversial parliamentary elections seen by many as rigged. Atambaev was released during the protests and joined them along with several other politicians. He was later rearrested. He also is part of another trial linked to two days of violence at his compound near Bishkek that was sparked by his refusal to obey three summons to appear at the Interior Ministry for questioning about Batukaev's release. The 2019 standoff between security forces and his supporters resulted in the death of a senior security officer and more than 170 injuries -- 79 of them sustained by law enforcement officers. In that case, the 65-year-old former president and 13 others are charged with murder, attempted murder, threatening or assaulting official representatives, hostage taking, and the forcible seizure of power. Two Russian lawmakers in the Far Eastern region of Primorye Krai have been thrown out of the Communist Party's faction in the regional parliament after they called on President Vladimir Putin to stop military operations in Ukraine and withdraw all troops, in what was a rare display of political protest in Russia. The second secretary of the Communist Party in the region, Yevgeny Lyashenko, said on May 31 that Leonid Vasyukevich and Gennady Shulga had been expelled from the party's faction for what he called "actions that discredit the party," adding that the two lawmakers were not members of the Communist Party, although they were in its parliamentary faction. The decision to exclude the lawmakers was supported by the factions members unanimously. Vasyukevich and Shulga were not present at the gathering. Two other members of the regional parliament, Natalya Kochugova and Aleksandr Sustov, were officially reprimanded for supporting Vasyukevich and Shulga. Vasyukevich told the daily Kommersant that he and Shulga will continue to serve in the parliament as independent lawmakers. On May 27, Vasyukevich read out a statement he said was signed by him and three other lawmakers, calling on Putin to stop the war in Ukraine. The statement said that as Russian troops are suffering significant losses in Ukraine, there is no way to get any success by military means. The region's governor, Oleg Kozhemyako, who was at the session, ordered Vasyukevich and Shulga, who vocally supported the statement, to be removed from the premises, calling them "traitors." The leader of the Communist lawmakers, Anatoly Dolgachyov, said the deputies' action will have "very severe repercussions." Kochugova and Sustov said at the time they did not sign the statement. Russia launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on February 24 and has met with much stiffer-than-expected resistance from Ukrainian troops. Ukrainian and Western officials say thousands of Russian soldiers have died during the war. Moscow has said little on the death toll. In its last official statement, the Defense Ministry said on March 25 that 1,351 of its soldiers had been killed in the fighting. With reporting by Interfax and Kommersant Russian authorities say Western sanctions have made it impossible to implement their plan to remove toxic waste from the watershed of Lake Baikal. The proposed solution: a cheaper method that a Greenpeace activist said would be extremely dangerous for the once-pristine pearl of Siberia. In a submission to parliament in May, Russia's Natural Resources Ministry proposed revisions to its regulations concerning the purity of the watershed feeding Lake Baikal that would substantially increase the levels of pollutants allowed in the water. If lawmakers approve the changes, iron levels would be increased by a factor of 10, chromium levels by 1.3, and mercury by 13. The acceptable level of organohalogen compounds-- toxins commonly used in solvents and pesticides -- would be 200 times higher than it is today. Altering the pollutant norms would create serious threats to the lakes ecosystem, especially considering that the existing norms were already considered untenable, the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences has warned. Activists say the changes would essentially mean the government has stopped controlling the emissions of organochlorine compounds into the lake -- compounds that have already been linked to health problems in Baikal seals, the only freshwater seals in the world. At a hearing on the matter last week at the State Duma, the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, experts testified indifferently, as if they were not discussing Baikal but some reservoir in a village, said Roman Vazhenkov, head of the Baikal Program at Greenpeace Russia. [We are talking about] dioxins, carcinogens, substances that accumulate in the body over time and lead to disorders of the immune system and the reproductive system, Vazhenkov said. Scientists have already proved that in the late 1980s, the mass die-off of seals and other animals was caused by organochlorine poisoning. The government says the proposal is a direct result of international sanctions imposed on Russia over Moscows unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Lake Baikal, a unique, UNESCO-protected ecosystem that holds about 20 percent of the worlds fresh surface water, has been called the Galapagos of Russia because it is home to more than 2,000 species of plants and animals, about two-thirds of which are found nowhere else. During Soviet times, a large paper mill was built on the lake, wreaking ecological havoc. In 2013, on President Vladimir Putins orders, the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill (BPPM) was permanently closed after 47 years of operation. But it left behind 6.5 million tons of hazardous waste sludge stored in crumbling containers along the lakefront. If any of them were to collapse, tons of toxic waste could be dumped into the lake. The governments original plan was to pump waste out of the containers and reprocess and compost it at another site. But the effort never got off the ground, and Western sanctions have now restricted access to needed technology, prompting the government to adopt a new tack, officials say. In November 2020, the government changed the contractor for the cleanup effort for the fourth time, choosing a state company called Federal Ecological Operator (FEO), a subsidiary of the state Rosatom nuclear-energy agency. Last month, the government and FEO announced a new plan for coping with the waste. FEO plans to use a process of lithification, the deep mass stabilization of waste using mineral geopolymer binders. Essentially, chemicals would be used to harden the sludge into something like cement at its current location, which theoretically would keep it from leaching into the watershed. But the process, environmentalists say, would require the substantial easing of standards for releasing waste into the lake and its associated rivers and streams. The process would be less expensive and, of course, very dangerous for Lake Baikal, Greenpeaces Vazhenkov said. As I understand it, the technological solutions selected by FEO for eliminating BPPMs accumulated damage to the environment can only pass muster if the current requirements for discharges of industrial wastewaterare reduced substantially, said Aleksandr Kolotov, the Russian coordinator of the Rivers Without Borders international ecological coalition and a member of the Angara-Baikal Basin Council. The Natural Resources Ministrys explanatory note to lawmakers said the changes to the wastewater standards are necessary to implement tasks aimed at ensuring the implementation of work to lower the level of water accumulated on top of the sludge in the Solzansky and Babkhinsky storage areas. Environmentalists have warned for years that harmful substances are already leaching from the containment areas and have been detected in soil on the lakefront. Any landslide or major rain event, they say, could mean contaminated water could overflow the containers and enter the lake. In a post on Telegram, Duma Deputy Dmitry Kobylkin, head of the Ecology Committee, said deputies would postpone action on the ministrys amendments while the government revises its list of wastewater sources and synchronizes technologies with waste norms. This message raised red flags with environmentalists. This is some sort of Russian newspeak, Vazhenkov said. You can look at this synchronization two ways: to adapt technologies to the norms or to adapt the norms to the technologies. I think the government has chosen the path of increasing the impact on Lake Baikal, even though the governments draft revisions drew about 9,000 negative public comments compared to seven positive ones. Is this what we want for Baikal? he added. We have already reached the point where it is impossible to swim in this pure lake. Since 2018, the resort on Olkhon Island has posted signs saying you cant swim and that the coastal area is polluted. This is outrageous. We arent talking about [the crowded Black Sea resort of] Anapa, where it is common to get a case of rotavirus after swimming for two days. We are talking about Baikal! Even under the existing standards, Vazhenkov said, the Siberian branch of the Academy of Sciences has determined that the ecosystem of the lake is being altered in ways that allow invasive species to crowd out endemic ones and that contaminants in the water are causing blooms of spirogyra algae that are killing off endemic sponges, which play a crucial role in the lakes self-cleansing system. Over the past three years, activists say, wastewater has been pumped from sludge storage areas. This needs to be controlled because the water is discharged either into rivers flowing into Baikal or directly into the lake, Vazhenkov said. In fact, no one knows exactly where the water is dumped. Greenpeace believes it is folly to discuss what levels of contaminants can be released into the lake and its watershed. You cant dump in Baikal at all, Vazhenkov said. Despite such fears, the activists believe the governments revisions will be approved by the Duma this summer. After that, Vazhenkov said, it is possible the floodgates of deregulation will be opened. The lobbying will continue, he concluded, and soon will we see attempts to further ease restrictions. Written by Robert Coalson based on reporting from Russia by RFE/RLs Siberia.Realities Washington has agreed to supply Ukraine with a powerful rocket artillery system. Here's how the weapon works and why its full power will not be available to Kyiv. The photo above shows the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) that Washington has agreed to send to Ukraine. It is unknown how many will be provided, but the weapon will be a significant upgrade from the rocket systems currently used by Kyiv to combat the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The system requires a crew of three including a driver, gunner, and commander who sit tightly packed inside the cab of the vehicle as rockets are launched before scooting away from the launch site after the barrage is fired. HIMARS are armored against shrapnel and small arms but remain light enough to be transported by some aircraft. The American weapon can launch six rockets from the "MFOM" family of projectiles with enough precision to hit a car from up to 70 kilometers away -- far beyond the reach of howitzer artillery and more accurate than Soviet and Russian-made rocket launchers. It is unclear if expensive guided rockets will be a part of the package being sent to Ukraine or if cheaper unguided munitions will be supplied. HIMARS are also capable of firing a single 1.7-ton projectile called an Army Tactical Missile, or ATACMS (seen above being launched from an M270), with a range of up to 310 kilometers, but Washington has confirmed these longer-range missiles will not be provided to Kyiv. Kyiv had repeatedly called for Washington to provide it with HIMARS and the heavier tracked M270 rocket system. On May 30, U.S. President Joe Biden appeared to rule that out, telling a reporter: "We are not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that can strike into Russia." That statement was later walked back by a White House official, and on May 31 Biden confirmed that the United States would in fact be sending "more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable [Ukrainians] to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine." UPDATE: After this feature was published, the private Turkish manufacturer of the Bayraktar attack drone announced that it would donate the drone for the Ukrainian military, and suggested the money raised by Lithuanian citizens be used for humanitarian aid to Ukraine. A joke has been making the rounds on Lithuanian social media in recent weeks with the punchline: "Let's all pitch in and buy a tank for Ukraine." That quip planted an idea in the head of journalist Andrius Tapinas, who was looking to step up his efforts to help Ukraine in the wake of Russia's unprovoked invasion on February 24. "The company where I work -- Laisves TV -- has been trying to help Ukraine since the war began," Tapinas told RFE/RLs Russian Service, adding that the company gathered funds for humanitarian assistance and arranged transportation for refugees to leave Ukraine. "Two weeks ago, at the request of the Ukrainian Embassy in Lithuania, we collected 330,000 euros ($354,000) to buy two Estonian-made observation drones that are used for guiding artillery fire," Tapinas said. "We did that in 16 hours." His next project, Tapinas decided, would be to buy a Turkish-made Bayraktar attack drone, capable of flying up to 150 kilometers from its base and destroying armored vehicles with four "smart micromunition" missiles. He contacted the Lithuanian Defense Ministry with his proposal and the ministry got the ball rolling by opening talks with the Turkish Embassy and the manufacturer of the drone. "On Wednesday, May 25, they gave us the green light," Tapinas recalled. "The minister called me and said: 'Everything is ready. They have agreed to sell a Bayraktar. All that is left is to collect the money. Show what you can do!'" In three days, Laisves TV was able to crowdsource 5.8 million euros ($6.2 million). Although the donations came from 50 countries around the world, 95 percent of the contributions were from Lithuanian citizens, Tapinas said. Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the major developments on Russia's invasion, how Kyiv is fighting back, the plight of civilians, and Western reaction. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here. "We got only one or two donations of more than 20,000 euros," he said. "Most of them were between one euro and 200 euros. We are still processing everything, but we got donations from several hundred thousand individuals. We are talking about teachers.... We even got a transfer from a home for seniors. Children sent money they'd been saving for bicycles or computer games. It was very touching." There were even a few donations from inside Russia, with notations from the sender saying things like "I am ashamed for my country." "I think there were about 10 transfers like that," Tapinas said. On May 30, a Lithuanian deputy defense minister traveled to Turkey to finalize the deal to buy the drone and its home base and to arrange for their delivery to the Ukrainian military. Tapinas says he rejects arguments that it is unethical for him, as a journalist, to be engaged in such activism. "A journalist from the BBC asked me that question and I thought -- 'And when the Battle of Britain was being fought, would you have 'objectively' reported on it or would you have supported your country?'" he said, referring to the four-month air battle in 1940 during which Nazi Germany tried to force Britain to negotiate a peace agreement. "I support Ukraine and I am trying to do everything I can to collect more money and contribute somehow to Ukraine's victory," he said. Robert Coalson contributed to this report Vyacheslav, 18, from Ukraine's Donetsk region, became the guardian of four younger siblings after their mother was killed by a Russian shell and their house was completely destroyed. Hundreds have now offered to help the family after their story featured in a video by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. Over the past several weeks, Russian troops have slowly expanded their control of territory in the Donbas, pounding Ukrainian defense forces with artillery bombardments and reducing towns and villages to rubble. Setbacks for the Ukrainian military in the east contrast with the course of the war in the weeks after Russias February 24 invasion, when Kyiv's forces kept the attacking troops out of the capital and other key cities, picking off Russian tanks with anti-armor weapons. Russia has since concentrated its forces in the east for a large-scale artillery fight reminiscent of World War II battles. Experts say Moscow hopes to take advantage of having the upper hand in terms of manpower and weapons, something visible in its nonstop bombardments of Ukrainian forces in the Donbas in recent days. Now the West is taking steps to arm Ukraine for the new reality of the war before it is too late. On June 1, U.S. President Joe Bidens administration formally announced a new tranche of military aid totaling $700 million that includes powerful high-mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) capable of pulverizing enemy forces from miles away. Likening the artillery war in the Donbas to two boxers slugging it out in the ring, a senior NATO official said on condition of anonymity on May 30 that the outcome will depend on "who has more rounds of artillery ammunition, who has more rockets, who has more people to actually put on the ground in the fight." With Russia close to capturing the whole of the Luhansk region, one of two provinces that make up the Donbas, the West is hoping to change the tide of the fighting. Russian President Vladimir Putin has made capturing the Donbas a key military aim. Russia currently has about 110 battalion tactical groups (BTGs) in Ukraine, according to the United States. Each group could have six to eight artillery pieces such as howitzers or rocket launchers, Mark Cancian, a retired U.S. Marine colonel and a senior adviser at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, told RFE/RL, an estimate that would put the total as high as 900, with the majority concentrated in the Donbas. Wesley Clark, NATOs supreme allied commander in Europe from 1997 to 2000, warned last week that Ukrainian forces lack the artillery to fight the new phase of the war effectively and said Western military aid was so far "insufficient" to drive the Russian forces back. "Ukraine needs to be further reinforced. It has the fighting capacity and the determination to force the Russians out; it does not have the means," he told RFE/RL in an interview on May 27. "This is a fight that could be lost," he said. Ukraine's military industry has been partially crippled by missile attacks since Russia launched the full-scale invasion, undermining its defense capabilities. And the Ukrainian military is also lacking ammunition for its Soviet-made artillery, including its 152-milimeter howitzers, hindering its ability to destroy Russian weapons. Globally, the largest suppliers of such ammunition are Russia and China, according to Cancian. "The United States has literally been scouring the world to find Soviet-standard ammunition to give to the Ukrainians. And my suspicion is that we're running out of places that will sell us that kind of ammunition," he said. Provocative Move? For weeks, as its soldiers were slowly pushed back from some of their positions in the Donbas, Ukraine had been asking Western nations for greater military aid, including howitzers and rocket launchers to destroy Russian artillery. In a guest essay in The New York Times on May 31, Biden wrote that his administration had agreed to provide Ukrainian forces "with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine." However, he added that the United States was "not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders." The United States has hesitated to turn over such heavy artillery amid concerns it could provoke Russia, analysts said. Some analysts say the administration's internal debate on weapons supplies has lost precious time for Ukraine. "All of our decisions have been late," Ben Hodges, a former commander of the U.S. Army Europe, told RFE/RL. "The administration has overexaggerated the concern that whatever we do might provoke the Russians. They don't need provocation. They attack without provocation," he said. "We've lost weeks when [rocket systems] could have been delivered," added Hodges, who is now a military analyst for the U.S.-based Center for European Policy Analysis. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told his nation on May 30 that the situation in the Donbas was "extremely difficult," saying Russia had concentrated its military's "maximum combat power" in the region. Earlier in May, he said Russian attacks were killing from 50 to 100 Ukrainian soldiers a day. That intense bombardment is putting Ukrainian supply lines under extreme pressure, making it difficult to get Western weapons quickly to the soldiers at the front line, analysts said. Western military aid is brought into Ukraine from Poland by train and taken further by truck to the front lines. Russia is seeking to cut off those transport links to the Donbas. Hodges said Ukrainian forces will face a few "pretty rough" weeks before they start feeling the "positive effect" from all the U.S. and other Western artillery starting to arrive. Clark sees a two-month window starting in July for Ukrainian forces to drive the Russians out of the Donbas if they receive enough heavy artillery. By then the ground will be parched, making it easier to attack, while Russia will have yet to mobilize more forces, he said. Menu Of Weapons The United States began sending heavy artillery to Ukraine in April, including the powerful M777 howitzer, which can strike targets as far as 40 kilometers away. On May 26, a senior U.S. Defense Department official said it had delivered 85 M777 howitzers to Ukraine, as well as 190,000 projectiles for use in those weapons systems. The Biden administration has promised a total of 108 M777s and 209,000 projectiles, though that could be increased as the war goes on. The howitzers can fire a variety of 155-milimeter projectiles including guided munitions, which Cancian said were a "potential game changer" in the Donbas fight because it has greater potential of hitting and destroying Russian artillery. It is unclear how many guided projectiles for the M777 Ukraine has received. Cancian says it takes time to train soldiers to operate and maintain howitzers, calling it a "constraint" on their quick deployment to the front lines. The United States has trained more than 400 people to operate the M777 and about 50 have learned to maintain them, the U.S. official said. Eight soldiers are required to operate an M777. The HIMARS just approved by the Biden administration are just as devastating. Glen Howard, a military expert and president of the Jamestown Foundation, said HIMARS can "pulverize" an area where enemy forces are gathering for an attack. "They just saturate an area," he said. The HIMARS consists of a pod of six rockets launched from a truck. Unlike the howitzer, which can fire continuously, it takes about five minutes to reload a pod. The HIMARS and the howitzers "complement each other," Cancian said. "If you want to smother a target at long range, [HIMARS are] excellent. On the other hand, if you want to keep firing at some enemy position to make them keep their heads down or try to destroy it with a lot of ammunition, artillery cannon is great." Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the major developments on Russia's invasion, how Kyiv is fighting back, the plight of civilians, and Western reaction. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here. The United States has authorized the delivery of four HIMARS along with rockets capable of traveling up to 70 kilometers, Colin Kahl, undersecretary of defense for policy, said on June 1. The United States may ship additional HIMARS to Ukraine as needed, but troops must first learn how to use them, a process that will take about three weeks, he said. Kahl warned the HIMARS were no silver bullet, saying that "no system is going to turn the war. It is a grinding, hard conflict." HIMARS can launch missiles as far as 300 kilometers -- but delivering missiles with such a range might violate Biden's determination not to encourage Ukraine to target Russian soil. "The Biden people are obsessed with something being offensive, because it means escalation," Howard said regarding the limitation. "And that's why the [M777 munitions] were so slow in arriving." Howard suggested the HIMARS along with new Western anti-ship missiles could potentially deter Russia from attacking ships exporting grain from Ukraine's Black Sea ports. Russia is currently blockading Ukrainian ports, driving up grain prices and raising concerns about a global famine. Its warships and submarines are patrolling the waters between Crimea and Snake Island, a small rocky outpost just 48 kilometers from Ukraine's shore. Denmark has recently delivered Harpoon anti-ship missile systems to Ukraine to bolster its low supply of domestic weapons. Ukraine claims to be responsible for the April sinking of the Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Russia, which captured Snake Island earlier in the war, is placing air- and missile-defense systems there in an attempt to hold the strategic outpost. While the HIMARS rockets approved by the Biden administration cannot reach Russian artillery on Crimea, they can reach Snake Island. It is unclear whether Ukraine will place the HIMARS along its Black Sea coast. With reporting by Rikard Jozwiak and Vazha Tavberidze Mr Ngo is a banking veteran with more than 30 years of experience. He joined UOB in 2004 and he was Head of Group Compliance from 2017 to 2022. Before that, he led Group Audit from 2006. Prior to joining UOB, Mr Ngo worked at a global bank, based in Singapore and Australia, for 17 years. Since 2015, Mr Ngo has been active in engaging businesses and industry partners in Vietnam. He was instrumental in helping UOB to become the first Singapore bank to establish a foreign-owned subsidiary in Vietnam in 2017. Mr Ngo will lead efforts to deepen UOB Vietnam's digital capabilities, expand its financing offerings, and connect clients to market opportunities in Vietnam and across UOB Groups regional network. Mr Wee Ee Cheong, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, UOB, said, Victor has deep market knowledge and a strong affinity with Vietnam. With his extensive experience in the banking industry and within UOB Group, he is well placed to drive our Vietnam franchise to new heights. Mr Ngo succeeds Mr Harry Loh, who relinquished his position to return to Singapore to lead Group Non-Financial Risk Management. Mai Tram SYDNEY, June 1 (Xinhua) -- As Australia heads into winter and people switch on their heating, energy costs have spiked due to surging demand, leaving smaller electricity retailers unable to weather price shocks. Peak national employer organization, the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group), referred to the rises in energy prices as "apocalyptic" on Tuesday. "Apocalyptic rises in energy prices threaten chaos for industry and pain for households. They demand a national, integrated and strategic response," said Chief Executive of Ai Group Innes Willox. "The extraordinary price rises, including a 50-fold spike in wholesale gas prices in (the Australian state of) Victoria," said Willox. He added that the spike in prices was a combination of outages at local coal plants and international coal and gas shortages driven by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. As a result of the sudden price fluctuation, Australia's peak energy regulator, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), has put a cap on price increases. This has left smaller companies like Queensland retail budget supplier, ReAmped Energy, unable to absorb costs and with no option but to send customers away. On Wednesday ReAmped Energy CEO Luke Blincoe urged customers to switch to larger retailers as soon as possible. "The truth is that the more customers we have, the higher our prices will need to go... staying with us could mean your prices have to double soon," said Blincoe. Willox said any solutions to the current price pain would not be simple, and noted that Australia's reliance on foreign commodities, which once had diversified Australia's energy needs, was now making it vulnerable to international conditions. "The most sensible steps on both the supply and demand sides to build for the future and reduce our exposure to fuel costs will take time to deliver. Short-term responses to help vulnerable industry and households will also be needed." Over the past week, Australia's state governments have issued varying support payments for residents struggling to pay their energy bills. The Marin County Sheriffs Office will stop relaying license plate and vehicle location information to federal immigration agencies and other federal and state agencies outside California under a settlement with civil rights groups and local activists that was announced Wednesday. The settlement resolves a lawsuit that said Sheriff Robert Doyles office, since 2014, has shared automated license plate reader photographs and vehicle location data with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, other federal agencies and hundreds of state government offices outside California. The readers, attached to cameras stationed throughout the county, scan every vehicle within range and can record thousands of license plates each day. The suit cited a 2016 California law, SB34, which prohibits law enforcement agencies in the state from sharing automated license plate information with federal officers or state agencies outside California. While not acknowledging any violations of the law, Doyles office agreed to provide the data only to authorized state or local agencies in California and to pay $49,000 to the plaintiffs for their attorneys fees and costs. This settlement is a victory for disfavored and marginalized people, including immigrants, who historically have been subjected to civil rights abuses through invasive surveillance by police, said Vasudha Talla, immigrants rights program director for the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California, which represented the plaintiffs along with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. She said such agreements could also help California to become a refuge for marginalized groups such as women from other states who seek abortions if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that declared a constitutional right to abortion. The courts decision is expected within a month. Although the lawsuit, filed in October, was the first to accuse any California county of violating SB34, ACLU attorney Matt Cagle said Wednesday that it appears to be a pretty widespread problem. Our understanding is that there are many agencies sharing information across state lines, and their practices are not transparent to the public, Cagle said. He said federal records, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show that ICE was tapping into a database of this kind of information and using it to arrest and deport immigrants. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Cagle said Marin Countys records showed that Doyles office started changing its practices in November, weeks after the suit was filed, to follow the law. Lisa Bennett of ICE Out of Marin, one of the three activists who filed the suit, said they were glad to have accomplished their goal but remain concerned that Sheriff Doyle violated these state laws for so long and with so little transparency. She said Marin County supervisors should establish an oversight agency to hold the sheriffs office accountable. Asked for comment, Brian Washington, spokesperson for the Marin County Counsels Office, said in a statement, We are pleased to have been able to work with the plaintiffs to ensure that the Sheriffs practices in their limited use of automated license readers meets state law and best practices and to have avoided unnecessary litigation. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko A growing vegetation fire in rural Napa County triggered evacuation orders Tuesday afternoon for residents along Soda Canyon Road, officials said. The Old Fire, as fire officials called it, sparked just north of Napa around 3:30 p.m. and grew from 50 to more than 500 acres within six hours, according to Cal Fire. By 9:00 p.m., the fire had reached 570 acres and was 5% contained as firefighting crews attacked the flames from the ground and the air. The blaze was threatening structures in the area, and residents of Soda Canyon Road were ordered to evacuate, according to the Napa County Office of Emergency Services. Areas between Silverado Trail and Soda Canyon Road were under an evacuation advisory. Soda Canyon Road was closed off at the intersection with Silverado Trail, officials said. The fire was much less active now, Cal Fire officials said in an update on Twitter around 9 p.m. Firefighters will work through the night to contain and control the fire. Parts of nearby Solano County were under a red flag warning Tuesday due to strong winds and dry fuels, which make it easier for wildfires to spark and quickly spread. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Napa County opened an evacuation center at Crosswalk Community Church at 2590 First St. in Napa, with food, water and charging stations available. The Napa Community Animal Response Team was activated Tuesday to help evacuating residents secure shelter for their animals. Residents were encouraged to call 707-732-1555 for assistance. Andy Picon (he/him) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: andy.picon@hearst.com Twitter: @andpicon Created with Datawrapper San Francisco police are investigating the fatal shooting of a knife-wielding man by a security guard in the Mission District early Wednesday morning, officials said. Police responded to a report of shots fired around 16th and Utah streets at 4:07 a.m., the Police Department said in a news release. There, officers found an armed security guard who was working in the area, they said. As part of our ongoing reporting on the closures of local restaurants, here is a list of Bay Area establishments that closed in May 2022. Notable shutterings include San Mateo Japanese-Chinese spot Yu-Raku, Michelin-starred Indian restaurant Rasa and Oakland critical darling Nyum Bai. See April 2022s list of closings here. At the end of the month, Santa Rosas Willie Bird Turkey Store and Deli on Highway 12 shut down after nearly five decades in business. The financial impacts of the pandemic and looming upgrades needed for the old, rural building led to the decision to close, according to the Press Democrat. The shack-style shop sold whole birds and turkey parts in addition to simple sandwiches starring turkey. Diestel Family Ranch bought Willie Bird two years ago and will continue to sell the brands products in Bay Area grocery stores. Yu-Raku, one of Californias few Japanese-style Chinese restaurants, closed after nearly a dozen years. While the San Mateo restaurant has remained busy throughout the pandemic, owner Sakae Yuizumi told KQED that he and his wife had been wanting to retire to Japan. Yu-Raku was known for comfort fare like mabo dofu, a less spicy version of mapo tofu. Downtown Palo Alto coffee destination Tono Coffee Project, located inside Salvaje, closed after nearly two years in business, as reported by Palo Alto Online. The cafe was known for single-origin coffees carefully prepared with oat milk. In Fremont, 4-year-old Hakka Cuisine closed at the end of May. The Chinese restaurant was one of few in the Bay Area to focus on Hakka dishes like salt-baked chicken and stuffed tofu. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle 2019 Lauded Cambodian restaurant Nyum Bai closed after four years of serving bold, traditional dishes like koh (braised pork belly with egg) and fish amok (custardy fish in banana leaves) in Oaklands Fruitvale district. The restaurants lease came to an end, but owner Nite Yun hopes to reopen it in a new location. Despite widespread acclaim, Michelin-starred Rasa in Burlingame has closed after eight years. The upscale Indian restaurant will make way for a second location of the owners other, more casual Indian spot, Saffron. John Storey/Special to The Chronicle 2015 Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. Warung Siska, a rare Indonesian restaurant in the Bay Area that debuted less than a year ago to much anticipation, shut down in Redwood City. Owner Anne Le Ziblatt blamed the staffing shortage, saying the lack of reliable employees made it impossible to operate the restaurant. Saratogas the Basin is no more, as first reported by the Mercury News. Chef Daniel Nally decided to move with his family to Montana. After about two decades in business, the Basin pivoted multiple times during the pandemic, going from an upscale restaurant to a market to a takeout spot to, finally, a more casual neighborhood hub. Expert fried dough purveyor Johnny Doughnuts shut down its San Francisco location in Hayes Valley. But the business, which also has locations in San Rafael, Larkspur and Santa Rosa, plans to open a new spot in San Francisco. Janelle Bitker is the senior editor of Food & Wine at the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate UPDATE: Third Culture Bakery is reevaluating mochi muffin trademark after intense backlash. CA Bakehouse, a small, family-run bakery in San Jose, had been selling mochi muffins for about two years when the cease-and-desist letter arrived. The letter from Third Culture Bakery in Berkeley, whose success has been driven by its cult favorite mochi muffins, demanded that CA Bakehouse immediately stop using the words mochi muffin or face legal action. Third Culture trademarked the term in 2018. CA Bakehouse owner Kevin Lam was shocked, not only by the legal threat but that such a common term a description for chewy, glutinous rice treats baked in muffin tins could be trademarked. Its like trademarking plain bread or banana muffin, Lam said. We were just getting started, and were a small family business compared to them. So we changed the name, unfortunately. Mochi muffin trademark: Bay Area bakerys mochi muffin trademark ignites outrage and calls to boycott Since Third Culture secured the federal trademark to its signature item, the bakery has been quietly working to stop restaurants, bakers and food bloggers across the country from using the words mochi muffins. Oaklands Ramen Shop received a cease-and-desist letter from Third Culture several years ago, co-owner Sam White said. In April, a wave of businesses also received letters from Third Culture, including a tiny home-baking operation in Worcester, Mass. Almost all those contacted quickly complied and renamed their products CA Bakehouse now sells mochi cakes, for example afraid of getting into a label battle with a relatively large, well-resourced business that ships its mochi muffins nationwide. It raises questions about who is allowed to own a culinary dish, long a heated conversation in both the restaurant and cookbook worlds. Josie Lepe/Special to the Chronicle Third Culture co-owner Wenter Shyu said he recognized early on that the bakery should protect its first and most popular product. Third Culture now keeps attorneys on retainer to monitor the trademark. Were not trying to claim any ownership (of) the word mochi or mochiko or muffin, he said. It relates back to the one singular product that started our bakery and put us on the map. Its how we pay our bills and how we pay our employees. If anyone else makes a mochi muffin that looks like ours and (is) selling it, thats who we go after. Numerous bakers and food bloggers contacted for this story declined to speak on the record, afraid that doing so might result in legal action by Third Culture. One Bay Area business owner who sells mochi muffins said he has been nervously expecting a letter for years. When a San Diego bakery tried to push back in 2019, Third Culture sued the owner for trademark infringement. As word about the latest cease-and-desist letters spread among bakers like a dessert whisper network, outrage erupted in a 145,000-member Facebook group called Subtle Asian Baking. Many of its members are bakers and bloggers with their own mochi muffin recipes who worry about the precedent of trademarking a baked good rooted in a ubiquitous ingredient, glutinous rice flour, which long predates Third Culture. Were a community of Asian baking fanatics. We love to bake mochi, said Subtle Asian Baking founder Kat Lieu. What if one day were afraid to make banana bread or a miso cookie? Do we always have to look behind us and fear a cease-and-desist, or can we continue to be creative and free? Janelle Bitker/The Chronicle Mochi muffins are inseparable from the Third Culture story. Co-owner Sam Butarbutar started by selling his chewy, Indonesian-inspired muffins to Bay Area coffee shops in 2014. They became so popular that he and Shyu, his husband, opened a bakery in Berkeley in 2017. They expanded to Colorado (both locations are now closed) and Walnut Creek and plan to open two bakeries in San Francisco. Many food blogs mochi muffin recipes cite Third Culture as inspiration. The muffin in many ways became a symbol of Third Cultures brand: an inclusive company run by an Indonesian and Taiwanese couple making sweets inspired by their third culture identities. Its also deeply personal: The business was built from a dessert that Butarbutar made with his mother, who cut ties with him after he came out to his family. To Third Culture, the mochi muffin is more than just a pastry item, its standard cease-and-desist letter reads. Our retail locations stand as a space for the many intersections of culture and identities to exist and thrive. But it also became an enviable product. Third Culture sold wholesale mochi muffins to companies that later created their own versions of the baked good, according to Shyu. In the beginning we felt much more at ease and safe and secure with the trademark, Shyu said. In the food world, if you see a cool idea, you run with it online. But ... theres no credit. Josie Lepe/Special to the Chronicle From a tiny storefront in San Jose, CA Bakehouse sells a few hundred mochi cakes a day in flavors like guava and banana nut. The owners had to change the sweets name on signs, brochures and the bakerys website despite the fact that the recipe has been in the family since Lam was a teenager. Social media posts describe it as their spin on banh bo, a Vietnamese rice flour cake. He said his mother, who has been in the Bay Area baking business for more than 20 years, was confounded by the idea that a company could trademark something so common. The Lam family understands the desire to protect an allegedly original creation. They claim to have been the first U.S. business to sell a pandan-flavored South Asian waffle at the familys previous San Jose bakery, Le Monde, opened in 1990. CA Bakehouse markets itself as the creator of the original green waffle. Weve had that for 20 years, but we never thought about trademarking it because its a common term, Lam said. Only one business appears to have attempted to contest the trademark to date. After the Bay Area bakery demanded that San Diegos Stella + Mochi stop using the term, Stella + Mochi filed a petition in late 2019 to cancel Third Cultures mochi muffin trademark, records show. They argued that the term is too generic to be trademarked. Third Culture responded with a trademark infringement lawsuit, alleging that the San Diego bakerys use of mochi muffins would cause customer confusion and irreparable damage to Third Cultures reputation, according to court records. The lawsuit was settled within a few months. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. An attorney for Stella + Mochi said terms of the settlement are confidential and declined to comment. Stella + Mochis owner declined an interview, citing a nondisclosure agreement. I think people are scared, said Jenny Hartin, director of publicity for recipe search website Eat Your Books. You dont want to get in trouble. Celeste Noche/Special to The Chronicle 2019 Legal experts contacted by The Chronicle questioned whether Third Cultures mochi muffin trademark would survive a court challenge. The trademark is listed on the United States Patent and Trademark Offices supplemental rather than principal register, meaning its not eligible for exclusive protection, said Robin Gross, a San Francisco intellectual property lawyer. The principal register is reserved for trademarks that are considered distinctive and are afforded more legal protections as a result. It looks to me that Third Culture Bakery is not going to succeed on its claim because its mark is merely descriptive, not something that can attain exclusive rights, Gross said. If companies are not allowed to use the descriptive words that describe their products, then trademark law has gone too far and is infringing on freedom-of-expression rights. Trademarks can move to the principal registry if they show acquired distinctiveness, which means their use has achieved a belief in the minds of consumers that only it uses the words mochi muffin, Gross said, which will be a difficult sell, since other bakeries use the words. Third Culture has applied for but failed to secure trademarks for several other products, including mochi brownie, butter mochi donut and moffin. Other bakeries have trademarked business names or more specific creations, such as New York City bakery Dominique Ansels hit the Cronut, or Rolling Out Cafes Mochissant, a hybrid mochi-croissant pastry sold at the San Francisco bakery. A trademark battle is brewing between a California cocktail company and a Delaware candy business over the rights to hot chocolate bomb. Third Culture, which serves a turmeric-stained matcha latte once called the golden yogi, renamed it after getting a cease-and-desist letter. Shyu sees trademarks as business common sense in a world where fad recipes spread rapidly on social media. Theyre already applying for trademarks for future products not even on the bakeries shelves yet. For now, bakers and food bloggers have been warning each other about promoting any kind of mochi desserts. (Mochi doughnuts are now wildly popular, with numerous new bakeries and recipes flooding social media.) On the Subtle Asian Baking Facebook page, threads suggesting alternative names to avoid legal action mochimuffs, moffins, mochins drew dozens of comments. Some Subtle Asian Baking members were particularly upset by the cultural implications of a bakery seeming to take ownership of an ingredient, the glutinous rice flour used to make mochi, with deep roots in many Asian cultures. They debated boycotting Third Culture, and some left negative one-star reviews on the bakerys Yelp pages. If someone were to trademark something very cultural or meaningful, such as halo halo, the Filipino dessert, and then I couldnt make it or post a recipe, I would be very upset, because its something thats been in my family for years, said Bianca Fernandez, who runs a food blog called Bites by Bianca in Boston. She recently scrubbed it of any mention of mochi muffins. Elena Kadvany is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: elena.kadvany@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ekadvany Decades ago, a Vietnamese couple emigrated from Vietnam to the United States in search of a better life. In their 40s, they landed in San Francisco. They learned about the path to American success by randomly observing a suave businessman wandering the Financial District. He puffed his chest before entering a skyscraper, surely bracing for his next business meeting. The couples eyes were glued to the veritas crest on his crimson sweatshirt. Below the crest read Harvard, the school he likely graduated from. The couple wanted to replicate the businessmans success. But prestigious universities like Harvard didnt accept older immigrants who barely spoke English. Without a solid education, theyd be trapped in underpaid, working-class lifestyles that were barely an improvement from those they abandoned in Vietnam. If they couldnt muster American success independently, perhaps a child born and raised alongside the citys resources could get it for them. But the wife was nearing her menopausal stage. The couple needed to be quick. They scoured the city for high-quality academic programs for their future prodigy. It didnt take them long to hear about Lowell High School. Lowell produced a former Yale president and Supreme Court Justice. They became so infatuated with the school that they believed the other high schools in the city werent worth considering. They knew that Lowell was selective. At the time, Lowell judged an applicants performance in seventh grade and the first semester of eighth grade using a grade point-based system. So, they designed a road map to ensure their future childs academic success. Their child would feverishly study math and science workbooks they collected from garage sales. On the cusp of the 2000s, they were ready for me. I was their only child their final chance to be successful. I began my academic journey with the citys Head Start prekindergarten program. I was learning rapidly. At 5-years-old, I was the familys best English speaker. I could become their prodigy. My parents informed me of Lowell in elementary school. You need to get into Lowell. Then youll be successful, my father repeated after every study session. He never elaborated, but I didnt care. I just wanted their approval. A Lowell acceptance would secure it. I entered seventh grade ready to conquer Lowells admission requirements. I spent at least five hours outside of class studying daily. In my free time, Id defer to the workbooks my parents accumulated to independently learn calculus. I needed to stay ahead of my classmates, or Id jeopardize my Lowell admission. My hard work paid off. I secured a 3.7 GPA. I only needed to maintain my academic performance for another semester to meet Lowells academic threshold. But I hadnt anticipated a troublesome eighth-grade English class. I was lulled to sleep when my English teacher recited mundane Shakespeare plays. My grades were barely meeting Lowells academic requirements this semester. I needed an A in English. Most of my English grade was determined by the final exam. It must have been a cosmic joke that the exam solely covered Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream. I spent days studying the play only to get a C on the exam. Im not good enough to go to Lowell, I told my parents as I showed them the exam. They desperately scanned the page for a grading error, but the teachers grading was flawless. This didnt stop my parents from submitting a Lowell application anyway, but they must have known that I would be rejected. So, they reluctantly entered me into the citys high school lottery system, which placed me into Abraham Lincoln High School, my second choice school. They became worried about my future. Lincoln wasnt as prestigious as Lowell. I would not be successful, they thought. I, too, was troubled by my Lowell rejection. I believed that I couldnt succeed academically because I didnt meet Lowells eighth-grade standards. But I didnt need Lowell to succeed. Lincoln was ranked among the nations top 8% of public high schools among those ranked by U.S News & World Report. Its resources would allow me to gain admission to several prestigious colleges. Today, Ive graduated from Vanderbilt University, a top 15 college. Still, itd be naive to ignore Lowells host of rigorous classes and extracurricular activities, which can prime its students for college success. Its possible that the San Francisco school board recognized this and wanted to permanently democratize Lowells academic resources. Now, Lowell will admit applicants via lottery admission. Angry parents have challenged the lottery admission. Gifted and driven students need a place, reads a poster in support of restoring Lowells merit-based admissions. Motivate students to be brilliant. The protesters remind me of my parents, who believed that my sole chance for success would be jeopardized without a Lowell admission. My parents were wrong, and these parents are, too. Lowell doesnt have a monopoly on post-high school success. San Francisco is blessed with five public alternatives that rank among the nations top 12% of high schools and offer similar academic resources as Lowell. I did just fine without Lowell. Your child can, too. Danny Nguyen is a writer and recent graduate from Vanderbilt University where he studied molecular and cellular biology, and medicine, health and society. A cyclist died early Wednesday after a collision with a vehicle at Octavia and Oak streets in San Francisco, police said. Police described the male victim as a cyclist, and representatives of Recology said one of its collection trucks was involved in a crash with a man on a motorized unicycle. A police spokesperson said Wednesday afternoon that the department would only disclose that a cyclist collided with a commercial vehicle and would not identify the type of vehicles involved. Officers sent to the scene of a traffic collision at about 4 a.m. found an injured male cyclist, according to the Police Department. They summoned paramedics and administered aid, but the cyclist died at the scene. The driver of the vehicle in the collision remained on the scene and was cooperating with the investigation, police said. Police said they were investigating the incident, which closed the intersection for several hours. It reopened to traffic at about 10 a.m. Impairment from drugs or alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the collision, police said. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and start the message with SFPD. Robert Reed, a Recology spokesperson, said in a statement that the truck was headed north on Octavia when it was struck by the unicycle. Police spokesperson Allison Maxie said the department has not yet determined how the collision occurred. Supervisor Dean Preston tweeted his condolences and vowed to work to improve traffic safety in San Francisco. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. This is the 11th traffic fatality on our streets this year alone, and it is completely unacceptable, he said. We need to take bold steps if we are going to achieve zero traffic fatalities by 2024. My office is committed to doing everything in our power to make that happen. Michael Cabanatuan (he/him) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Mayor London Breed wants to take advantage of some of San Franciscos projected $75 million surplus over the next two fiscal years to help hire more police, give raises to experienced officers and boost the pay of new recruits to city law enforcement. The plans are included in the new two-year city budget that Breed proposed Wednesday, reflecting her desire to fill vacant law enforcement jobs in response to public safety concerns raised by the San Francisco Police Department as well as many residents and business leaders. The proposed budget is $13.95 billion the first year, dropping to $13.85 billion the second massive figures that reflect San Franciscos rare status as both a city and county. Breed has in recent months embraced an active role for law enforcement to address some of the citys most dire street conditions and the ongoing drug crisis that worsened during the pandemic. Her push to bolster the police force comes despite mixed crime data assaults and robberies are down, but shoplifting is up, for example and as voters decide whether to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin. She told business leaders last month that she would make police funding a priority in her next budget, and Wednesdays proposal follows through on that promise. Overall, Breed is proposing to increase the SFPD budget by about $50 million, bringing it to $708.3 million next fiscal year. Much of the budget growth reflects wage increases that the city is contractually obligated to pay starting July 1. But it is also due to new spending the mayor is seeking in order to improve police recruitment and retention. The boost in the departments funding comes as most San Francisco departments see a larger budget due to higher staffing costs. And the amount the mayor wants to spend on police still pales in comparison to the health departments proposed budget, which totals about $3 billion. Members of the Board of Supervisors may feel differently about how to spend public dollars and push for changes as they vet the budget before voting on it in the coming weeks. Breed touted her budget proposal in a news conference at Union Square where she was flanked by police officers, community ambassadors, Public Works employees and others. When I traveled to promote San Francisco, people talked about the city and how much they love it and how much they want to come here, but what they also talked about is their concerns about safety, Breed said. Breeds spending plan would support hiring 220 police officers through eight academy classes over two years. The new hires are intended to fill vacancies that are already accounted for in the department budget SFPD expects to have 1,671 full-duty sworn officers and about 200 unfilled jobs when the current fiscal year ends. The department is planning for 220 new recruits because it anticipates more departures and because not everyone may finish the academies. SFPD has said its hundreds of officers short of staffing levels recommended by a department-commissioned consultant but experts disagree about how many officers the city needs. At her news conference, Breed referenced the November mass robberies in Union Square and the police response that followed, which she credited as a success. She also said survey results had shown that San Franciscans generally want to see more police officers walking the beats. We made that happen in Union Square, and we didnt see those mass looting situations occur since then, Breed said. The mayor said the department has seen hundreds of officers leave the force, and we anticipate more to retire. SFPD is also battling perceptions of ineffectiveness due to reports of officers not investigating crimes properly. Some of the extra police funding would go toward 2% retention bonuses that kick in at five and 15 years of service to discourage officers from leaving SFPD. Thats expected to cost the city $10.5 million annually. Additionally, Breed wants the city to spend $1.3 million over two years to develop new police recruitment tools and strategies. The larger budget would also help increase the starting pay for entry-level SFPD officers, but it wasnt immediately clear by how much. Breeds intent is to make San Francisco more competitive with other Bay Area cities that offer more attractive compensation packages for new recruits. Police officials have said the department has struggled to attract and retain officers, as some leave for other jobs due to better pay or living conditions. SFPD is also expecting a wave of retirements. Critics of the mayor and supporters of defunding the police have argued in the past that more armed officers wont solve San Franciscos homelessness, mental health and overdose problems. We have a pretty huge budget for SFPD already, said former Police Commissioner John Hamasaki. The policing-first approach taken by the mayors office leaves a lot to be desired. It leaves a lot of the conversations that weve been having nationally as far as public safety and community safety unaddressed. I see this as ... more of a political move than a substantive move. Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who chairs the boards budget committees, said she would look at the mayors SFPD spending plans in the context of the citys broader efforts to move some functions away from the police. The devil is in the details, Ronen said. I want to fund whats realistic, whats needed, understanding that I am 100% committed to transferring work away from the police that they should never have been doing in the first place. If were going to be doing that, then we should be expecting some shrinkage of the force over time. Ronen said she also wanted to take a closer look at how the mayors plans for police recruitment and retention compare to what other jurisdictions pay for law enforcement. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. The budget proposal further envisions an expansion of hiring in the fire and sheriffs departments, both of which have been relying on overtime pay to make up for low staffing levels, according to city officials. Breed wants to fund four extra firefighter academies and two extra paramedic academies. At the same time, the mayor is trying to invest in alternatives to law enforcement. Her budget would allow the city to hire 10 new unarmed park rangers to improve safety in the citys park system. Breed would also maintain spending levels for street response teams that are meant to help people who overdose or are suffering from acute mental health crises. The mayors proposal would also provide $7.2 million over the next two fiscal years for a dedicated 18-person crew to clean the streets of the Tenderloin every weekday. The mayors proposal would funnel nearly $49 million over two years to help the citys economy recover from the pandemic. The budget plan includes tens of millions to raise pay for workers in the citys aging single-room-occupancy hotels and $5 million for upgrades and repairs following a Chronicle investigation that revealed understaffing and poor living conditions in the facilities. The budget further proposes $7 million in capital funding to set up a new 70-cabin village of tiny homes in the Mission. And it also would allow the city to maintain operations at three shelter-in-place hotels where homeless people were moved during the pandemic that would have otherwise closed. Her budget includes $160 million over two years to fund increased costs associated with employee agreements. The city has more than 32,000 employees, and the average salary is $114,420. San Franciscos budget surplus had been expected to total $108 million in the next two fiscal years, but the city reduced the estimate by more than $33 million due to higher projections for retirement spending and workers compensation. The surplus comes from a variety of factors, including lower pension contributions due to strong investment returns and a tax windfall from some major real estate deals. The city still expects budget shortfalls in the 2025 and 2026 fiscal years, and its budget may be challenged if tourists and downtown office workers do not return in strong numbers. The Board of Supervisors budget committee will hold hearings on the proposal in June and make changes to the budget before it goes to the full board, which must approve it by Aug. 1. J.D. Morris is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thejdmorris Vice President Kamala Harris speaks before President Joe Biden signs an executive order aimed at reforming policing practices, at the White House in Washington on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. (Pete Marovich/The New York Times) Effective Date: May 1, 2022 Through this Privacy Policy we provide you with important information about our privacy practices. This Privacy Policy applies when you interact with our website and online services and mobile applications (the "Sites"), as well as with respect to our collection and processing of your information for our publication offline (altogether the "Services"). For users in the European Economic Area ("EEA") or Switzerland, please see the section below titled Users in the EEA and Switzerland for additional provisions applicable to your use of the Services. This Privacy Policy explains: What information we gather about you; How we use and protect the information we gather about you; The types of information we may share with others and under what circumstances; The choices you have about the collection, use, and sharing of your information; Along with other administrative details like how to update your information with us. When this Privacy Policy Applies Sites that are governed by this Policy will include a link to this Policy. This Policy applies also when you interact with us through social media and other websites or online services. Third party sites that are linked from our Sites are governed by their own privacy policies. When you interact with us through social media sites, the social media platforms privacy policy will apply to their collection of information. Please review the privacy policies of those websites and online services to understand their privacy practices. With respect to our print publication, this policy applies to our collection of your information for purposes of providing you with our Services and communications related to or promotion of those Services. Changes to this Policy: We will amend this Privacy Policy from time to time, and when we do, we will post any changes to our Website. The changes will become effective when they are posted to this page. Please check the date at the top of this policy for reference. Registered users will be notified via email of any significant or material changes made to the way we use your information. Your continued use of our Sites and Services following the posting of any changes means you accept those changes. Information We Collect From or About You Below we describe the different types of information we collect from you at different points of engagement with us. Information You Give Us: Some parts of our Sites allow you to enter contact information and other information about you. We collect and store any information you enter on our Sites, including your name, mailing address, ZIP Code, phone number, email address, or other demographic information. This information may be collected during the registration process on our Sites and may be linked to an account number so that we can associate your preferences online and through our Services to your account. Information Collected Automatically: As you interact with our Sites certain information is collected about you and your use of our Sites automatically. This information includes device information such as computer and network connection information, your IP address and device identifiers, your operating system and browser type; and usage information, such as your page views, traffic that brought you to our Sites and what pages you visited after our Sites, URLs that referred you to our Sites; and advertising data. We also collect transaction history on our Sites and web logs (which are aggregated and used to analyze usage of our Sites), websites you click on within emails that we send you or through pages you visit on our Sites. Much of this information is collected and stored through your web browser or device, and using cookies, web beacons, mobile and advertising identifiers and similar tracking technologies. Most web browsers can usually be modified to disable or reject cookies. You may take steps to stop the automatic use and acceptance of web trackers, but understand that if you delete your cookies or decline cookies through your web browser, then you will not be able to access certain areas of our Sites. For more information about Online Tracking and Advertising see section below. Information Collected from Social Media: If you log onto our Sites through a social media platform, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others, we and the social media service may share certain information about you and your activities. Your interaction with social media typically allows the social media platform to collect some information about you through cookies they place on your device and other tracking mechanisms. In some cases, the social media platform may recognize you through its cookies even when you do not interact with their application. Please visit the respective privacy policies of third party social media platforms to better understand their data collection practices and controls they make available to you. Location Information: We log IP (Internet Protocol) addresses, and the location of your computer on the Internet, for systems administration, troubleshooting, and for the purpose of geotargeting our own advertisements. We use the IP address log in an aggregate fashion to track access to our Sites. Additionally, when you interact with our Sites, we may collect information about your location and your device. Some of this information may be general, such as the state or city associated with your zip code, while some of this information may be more precise, such as information associated with your mobile device. Location information allows us to provide location-based services, and to tailor promotions to your locality. Most mobile devices allow you to control or disable the use of precise location services in the device's settings menu. Other Information We May Collect: Special Offers and Events are held from time to time in the form of contests, sweepstakes, through surveys and market research we conduct. In such cases, we collect information voluntarily from you. Each special offer or event will be governed by its own privacy terms. We will notify you if we plan to share your information with third parties, except for in circumstances where the information is shared in the aggregate and cannot be attributed to a particular person or response. You can always decline to share your information by not participating in these special events or offers. How We Use Information We Collect From or About You We may use information you give us or we collect about you to: Communicate with you in response to your inquiries, to fulfill your requests, or to provide you with offers and information about our services or services of our affiliates and partners. With respect to your account with us, we may connect with you about news stories, features to which you may have access, surveys about our Services, and other important information like legal notices. To optimize, improve, and maintain our Sites including research and analytics regarding use of the Sites, identifiers that will allow us to remember you when you leave and return to our Sites. To provide and improve our products and services, both online and offline, to better understand and serve our users. We do so by collecting interest-based behavior information. To provide and manage the Services you request by processing your transactions at your request, authenticating your identity as our customer, sending you subscription material, electronic newsletters, and other features. Deliver interest-based advertising on our Sites as well as other websites and applications. We may use your information to deliver targeted advertisements, and offers or promotions tailored to you, on behalf of ourselves and other advertisers both as part of our Services and on other websites and mediums. Detect, investigate and prevent activities that may violate our policies or be illegal or fraudulent. When we believe it is necessary, we will protect, enforce, and defend our legal rights, privacy, safety or property, or that of others. We comply with all applicable laws. We may combine information collected on our Sites about you with: (1) information we obtain from our business records, (2) information provided by third parties, (3) information collected from your browser or device; or (4) other usage information collected on our Sites not specific to any one individual. We may use information collected from or about you to create aggregated or de-identified data that does not identify you. Once the data is properly de-identified and aggregated we may share it with third parties for their purposes. Internet-Based Advertising The Sites use the information we collect about you, such as behavioral, demographic and preference information to provide you with advertising and offers that are more pertinent to you. We partner with third party advertising companies to provide advertisements on our Sites, as well as on other websites and applications about our products and services that may be of interest to you. Some of our Sites may also include advertisements or promotion content for unaffiliated products and services. All of this means users see advertising that is most likely to interest them, and advertisers send their messages to people who are most likely to be receptive, improving both the viewer's experience and the effectiveness of the advertisements. The advertisements you see may be based on information collected through cookies, web beacons and other tracking technologies from our Sites and on other third-party websites you visit and mobile applications you use that participate in our advertising networks. Our Cookies: We may place an sfexaminer.com cookie on your computer with a unique anonymous number to ensure that your browser does not see the same ad over and over again, to sequence ads in a series and to measure the number of unique visitors that have viewed a particular advertisement or visited a particular Web page. Others' Cookies: Third parties may use persistent identifiers to track your Internet usage across other websites and mobile applications in their networks beyond the Sites. We do not share information that personally identifies you with unaffiliated third parties for their own uses. But third parties, with sufficient data from other sources, may be able to identify you. The information we receive from online advertising trackers allows us to generally inform advertisers about the nature of our subscriber base. You can learn more about advertising serving companies and the options available to limit their collection and use of your information by visiting the websites for the Network Advertising Initiative and the Digital Advertising Alliance, and the webpages for Facebook's ad preferences tool and privacy policy. Similarly, you can learn about your options to opt-out of mobile app tracking by certain advertising networks through your device settings and by resetting the advertiser ID on your Apple or Android device. For more information about how to change these settings go to: Please note that opting-out of advertising networks services does not mean that you will not receive advertising while using our Sites or on other websites, nor will it prevent the receipt of interest-based advertising from third parties that do not participate in these programs. It will, however, exclude you from interest-based advertising conducted through participating networks, as provided by their policies and choice mechanisms. If you delete your cookies, you may also delete your opt-out preferences. We use other websites analytics services, such as those provided by Google, Inc., to help us administer and constantly improve the quality of our Sites. Google Analytics uses cookies or other tracking technologies to help us analyze how users interact with and use the Sites, and provide us with services related to our Sites' activity and usage. Google Analytics may collect information such as your IP address, time of visit, whether you are a return visitor, and any referring website. That information will be transmitted to and stored by Google and will be subject to Google's privacy policies. To learn more about Google's partner services and to learn how to opt out of tracking of analytics by Google, click here. Your browser or device may include "Do Not Track" functionality. At this time, we do not respond to browser "Do Not Track" signals. Our Email Policies and Your Opt-out Options From time to time, we may provide subscribers with information and offers about other products and services, including subscriptions and other premium products and services. If you do not wish to receive emails about such offers, you may opt-out. Our email policy is the following: Newsletters: We offer email newsletters. If you no longer wish to receive a specific newsletter, you can click the "unsubscribe" link located near the bottom of each newsletter. Promotional Emails: We periodically send emails with promotions about services we offer and services offered by our partners. We will not share, sell, rent, swap or authorize any third party to use your email address without your permission. You can always opt-out of messages you do not want to receive. If you feel you have received an email from us in error, please contact newsletters@sfexaminer.com. If you would like to opt-out of receiving email promotions, please opt-out by clicking on the opt-out link at the bottom of the email you received. Account and Service-Related Email: Periodically we will send you emails related to your account with us that include information about order confirmations, renewal/expiration notices, and notices of credit-card problems, other transactional emails and notifications about major changes to the Site and/or to our Privacy Policy. If you have registered for online discussions or other services, you may receive emails specific to your participation in those activities as well. Survey Emails: If you have not opted out, we may send you an email inviting you to participate in user surveys, asking for feedback on our Sites and existing or prospective products and services, as well as information to better understand our users. User surveys greatly help us to improve our Services, and any information we obtain in such surveys will not be shared with third parties, except in a de-identified or aggregate form. Emails Communications with You: If you send us emails, you should be aware that information disclosed in emails may not be secure or encrypted and thus may be available to others. We suggest that you exercise caution when deciding to disclose any confidential or sensitive information in emails. We will use your email address to respond directly to your questions or comments. Email This Article Feature: Our readers may use this feature to send links to articles to others through email. The email address(es) that you supply to this service will only be used to send the requested article. EEA and Switzerland Residents: We will only send you marketing emails if we have your prior consent to do so, or if you are an existing customer and our message relates to products or services that are similar to those previously sold to you, and in such cases you will still be given the opportunity to opt-out of further marketing emails of that nature. How We Share Information We Collect From or About You If you have registered to our Sites, we will not sell, rent, swap or authorize any third party to use your email address or any information that personally identifies you without your permission. We do, however, share information about our audience in an anonymous form after removing all your personal information. The Sites may publish summaries of statistical information regarding the Sites' visitors for promotional purposes and as a representative audience for advertisers. These summaries will provide broad insight into the activities of our visitors and customers without identifying any specific individual. The following provides information about the entities with which we may share your information, or the circumstances under which we may share information: Service Providers: We contract with other companies to provide services on our behalf, including credit-card and billing processing, shipping, email distribution, online message processing, analytics or promotions management. We provide these companies only with the information they need to perform their services. These service providers are restricted from using this data in any way other than to provide us services, and they may not share or resell this data. We must disclose your opt-out information to third parties so they can suppress your name from future solicitations, in accordance with applicable laws. Other Parties as Required by Law or as Necessary to Protect Our Users, Employees, Property, and Services: We may occasionally release information that personally identifies you as required by law, for example, to comply with a court order or subpoena. We may disclose information that personally identifies you if we are required to do so by law or we in good faith believe that such action is necessary to (1) comply with the law or with legal process; (2) protect and defend our rights and property; (3) protect against misuse or unauthorized use of our Web sites; or (4) protect the personal safety or property of our users, our employees, or the public (among other things, this means that if you provide false information or attempt to pose as someone else, information about you may be disclosed as part of any investigation into your actions). Other Parties in Connection with a Corporate Transaction: We reserve the right to transfer any information we have about you in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger acquisition, sale of assets or any line of business, change in ownership control, or financing transaction. We cannot promise that an acquiring party or the merged entity will have the same privacy practices as described in this Privacy Policy. Otherwise with Your Consent or at Your Direction: We may share information about you with third parties when you consent or direct us to such sharing. We may also share information with third parties in an aggregate form that does not identify any users. For Users in the EEA and Switzerland: Please see our Cookies Policy that provides a list of partners that provide certain features or functionality on the Services, including content, analytics, advertising and social medial plug-ins, that may use your data. Data Security To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy and ensure the appropriate use of information, we have put in place physical, electronic and managerial procedures to protect the information we collect online. While we take measures to safeguard your information, we cannot guarantee that the security of our databases or that the information you supply will not be intercepted while in transit over the Internet. Other Information Children's Privacy: We do not knowingly collect or store any personal information about children under the age of 13, unless permitted by law. If we learn that a child under the age of 13 has provided us with personal information, we will delete it in accordance with applicable law. California Consumer Privacy Act as of January 1, 2020 As a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act permits a consumer to ask which categories of personal information a company has collected about a consumer and specific pieces of information it has collected about that consumer. A consumer also has the right to know from which sources the company has collected the information. In order for us to provide this information to you we need to confirm your identity. Please email newsletters@sfexaminer.com. Per CCPA you also have the right to ask us to delete any personal information we have collected about you as long as it isn't necessary to obtain that information in order for us to deliver your subscription to you or any other transaction. Please email newsletters@sfexaminer.com. Additionally, California residents who are registered users of the Services and are under the age of 18 are entitled, in accordance with California law, to request and obtain removal of content and information that they themselves post on the Services. You may request such removal by emailing us at newsletters@sfexaminer.com. To effectuate this request, please provide the following information: your name, email address or your website user name, year of birth, mailing address, and a description of the material you want removed including sufficient details to enable us to locate the material. In the subject line please note that this is a "California Removal Request." Your request does not ensure the complete removal of the material on the Internet, as some materials that you post may be republished by another user or third party entity. Users Outside of the United States: Our Company is headquartered in the United States. If you use our Sites outside of the United States, please be aware that information you provide to us or that we obtain through your interaction with our Sites may be collected in your country and transferred to the United States or another country, in accordance with applicable law. By using our Services you consent to the collection, processing and storage of information about you in the United States. Users in the EEA and Switzerland: If you are a resident of the EEA or Switzerland, the following information applies with respect to personal data collected through your use of our Services. Purposes of processing and legal basis for processing: We process personal data consistent with our disclosures in this Privacy Policy. We process personal data on the following legal bases: (1) with your consent; (2) as necessary to perform our agreement to provide Services (such as when you become a subscriber); and (3) as necessary for our legitimate interests in providing the Services where those interests do not override your fundamental rights and freedoms related to data privacy. Transfers: Personal data we collect may be transferred to, and stored and processed in, the United States or any other country in which we or our affiliates or processors maintain facilities. We will ensure that transfers of personal data to a third country or an international organization are subject to appropriate safeguards. Individual Rights: If you are a resident of the EEA or Switzerland, we respect your rights according to Chapter 3 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation. In order to verify your identity, we may require you to provide us with personal information prior to accessing any records containing information about you. For More Information: please reach out to us at San Francisco Examiner, 465 California St., San Francisc CA 94104 or at newsletters@sfexaminer.com. Josef Chytry is author of "Mountain of Paradise: Reflections on the Emergence of Greater California as a World Civilization" and founding managing editor of the journal Industrial and Corporate Change at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. District Attorney Chesa Boudin marches in the Carnaval celebration Sunday in the Mission District while wearing a "No on H" T-shirt. (Christopher Victorio/Special to The Examiner) The cocreator of dogecoin has made some harsh comments about Elon Musk, calling the Tesla and SpaceX CEO a "grifter" who wasn't capable of running basic code. Jackson Palmer spoke to independent Australian news site Crikey on topics ranging from Musk to the future of cryptocurrency. Palmer is best known for being one of the people behind dogecoin, a cryptocurrency coin based on a meme that launched in 2013. Partly thanks to Musk, dogecoin is now one of the world's most valuable crypto coins. However, Palmer criticized Musk in his interview with Crikey and shared some details of his "interesting past" with the billionaire. According to Palmer, he first messaged the billionaire on Twitter some years ago after creating a bot that would help detect if there was a cryptocurrency scam in a Twitter mention and send an automated report to the platform flagging the scam, per Crikey. Palmer said he also worked with Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey and the Twitter team so that reports would be instantly sent to them, the outlet reported. He also sent the code to other crypto influencers. "Elon reached out to me to get hold of that script and it became apparent very quickly that he didn't understand coding as well as he made out. He asked, 'How do I run this Python script?'" Palmer said, per Crikey. "After I gave him the script, I wasn't a fan of him. He's a grifter, he sells a vision in hopes that he can one day deliver what he's promising, but he doesn't know that," Palmer added, per the outlet. "He's just really good at pretending he knows. That's very evident with the Tesla full-self-driving promise." Palmer claimed people on Twitter were likely enamored by Musk tweeting at them and angling to be friends with him or get rich themselves by association, per Crikey. "About a year ago, when Musk was saying something about crypto, I said Elon Musk was and always will be a grifter but the world loves grifters," Palmer said, the outlet reported. "They love the idea that they may also be a billionaire one day, and that's the dream he's selling." Palmer also spoke to Crikey about Musk's Twitter bid, saying he thought the billionaire was out to destroy the platform. "He was sowing a huge amount of discord and distrust on the platform, and there are huge amounts of churn and attrition from staff," Palmer said, per the outlet. "His play is to either dismantle all trust or maybe he's delusional enough to think he can build an alternative. The other alternative is that he wants to drive it into the ground at a much lower price, and I think that's what he's doing." Regarding Musk's resolution to vote Republican, Palmer told Crikey: "It's so strange. I think the good news is that a large number of people do see through his shit, including a lot of people who have the rug pulled over their eyes." Representatives for Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider. Copyright 2022 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) A former executive of a California solar power company was sentenced Tuesday to eight years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $620 million in restitution for his role in a $1 billion fraud scheme, federal prosecutors said. Alan Hansen, of Vacaville, pleaded guilty in 2020 to conspiracy and money laundering charges, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement. Hansen, 51, worked for DC Solar, a company based in Benicia in the San Francisco Bay Area that marketed mobile solar generator units. The firm touted the units mounted on trailers as being able to provide emergency power for cellphone companies or to provide lighting at sporting and other events. But the company executives started telling investors they could benefit from federal tax credits by buying the generators and leasing them back to DC Solar, which would then provide them to other companies for their use, prosecutors said. The generators never provided much income, and prosecutors say the company ran a Ponzi scheme, in which early investors were paid with funds from later investors. The company eventually stopped building the mobile generators altogether, and prosecutors say a least half the companys claimed 17,000 generators didnt exist. Hansen had previously worked for a telecom company that did business with DC Solar. In that role, he accepted $1 million from co-conspirators at DC solar to fraudulently sign a false leasing contract for the generators, prosecutors said. Then Hansen joined DC Solar, where he signed false agreements relating to the earlier contract, according to court documents. DC Solar founder Jeff Carpoff was sentenced last November to 30 years in prison and ordered to pay $790.6 million in restitution for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. The company's chief financial officer, Robert Karmann, was sentenced in April to to six years in federal prison and ordered to pay $624 million in restitution. Other defendants have pleaded guilty to criminal offenses related to the fraud scheme and are scheduled for sentencing, prosecutors said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW YORK (AP) A woman wounded in last month's mass shooting on a New York City subway filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the maker of the handgun allegedly used in the attack and its parent company, accusing the firearm manufacturer of reckless disregard for human life." Authorities say a 9mm Glock semiautomatic handgun was used in the attack. In her lawsuit, filed in federal court in Brooklyn, Ilene Steur said Glock has endangered the public health and safety" with the marketing, distribution and sales of its guns. An email seeking comment was sent to Glock. Steur was one of 10 people shot and wounded on April 12 when a gunman fired dozens of bullets in a train full of morning commuters. The man charged in the attack, Frank James, has pleaded not guilty to terrorism and other counts. In the lawsuit, Glock is accused of marketing that emphasizes firearm characteristics such as their high capacity and ease of concealment, that appeal to prospective purchasers with criminal intent." The lawsuit was filed as the nation reels from last week's massacre of 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. In February, the families of nine victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting reached a $73 million settlement in a lawsuit against Remington, the maker of the rifle used in that attack. The families said the company should have never sold such a dangerous weapon to the public. They said their focus was on preventing future mass shootings by forcing gun companies to be more responsible with their products and how they market them. Gun rights groups said the settlement would likely have little effect on rifle sales and gun makers, who continue to be shielded from liability in most cases under federal law. But some experts said it may prompt insurance companies to pressure gun makers into making some changes. LATEST May 31, 8:59 p.m. Cal Fire said the fire has grown to 570 acres and remains at 5% containment, according to a tweet Tuesday night. It said that while the fire is "less active," crews will work through the night in an effort to contain and control the blaze. May 31, 6:30 p.m. Cal Fire reported that the Old Fire in Soda Canyon, Napa County, has grown to 200 acres, with containment remaining at 5%. "Firefighters continue to make progress," the department said in a tweet. Images streamed from an Alert Wildfire camera in the region showed red fire retardant falling from aircraft over the blaze. May 31, 5 p.m. A 100-acre brush fire in Napa County, first reported at around 4 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, is threatening structures and has forced mandatory evacuations, authorities say. Napa County Office of Emergency Services issued a mandatory evacuation of residences between 1300 Soda Canyon Road to the dead end of that road. That approximately four-mile stretch is home to several wineries and vineyards including Relic Wine Cellars and Antica Napa Valley. Soda Canyon Road and the Silverado Trail road have also been closed in the region until further notice. In a tweet outlining the alert, Cal Fire named the blaze the Old Fire. The California Fire Scanner account reported that Cal Fire's response is underway. The blaze is visible on the Alert Wildfire cam position to the south of Soda Canyon. Find the live stream here. Shortly after 5 p.m, Cal Fire reported that the fire was 5% contained. This is a breaking story and will be updated as more information is available. Houston is experiencing an increase of suspected COVID-19 cases, according to the latest findings in the city's wastewater. Each week, the city and researchers at Rice University pull samples from each of the city's wastewater treatment facilities and test it for the virus, a grueling task of public service they've been performing since summer 2020. The findings help the Houston Health Department identify which communities are experiencing higher cases. Wastewater findings from May 23, which is the most recent data available, show COVID-19 numbers have risen across the city. COVID-19 concentration levels are up 242 percent from where they were in July 2020, when Houston communities experienced a "high COVID-19 burden." The suspected positivity rate is 14 percent of tests, according to the analysis. The wastewater was tested again Monday, but findings were not immediately published. When you flush, wastewater is sent to one of the city's dozens of treatment plants. Each week, researchers take samples from each plant and test the wastewater for RNA fragments of the virus, which is found in the stool of a person infected with the virus. Scientists calculate the concentration of those RNA fragments inside the sample, which indicates how much concentration of the virus is in the community that feeds any specific plant. When COVID-19 concentration levels started to spike in March 2021 across Houston, the numbers decreased by the end of May and spiked again in mid- to late-June, according to the data. This year, however, concentration levels have been steadily increasing since the beginning of March, archived reports show. Dr. Ericka Brown, director of the health department's Community Health and Wellness Division, told the Houston Chronicle that despite the increase in concentration levels, Houston's hospitals are experiencing a low rate of hospitalization. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) During an afternoon rehearsal of John Leguizamo's Kiss My Aztec!, actor Joel Perez bursts into laughter during a raunchy scene with co-star Krystina Alabado. They have probably done it hundreds of times. They know it by heart. But the scene is still so funny that Perez loses it for a minute, making the whole cast and crew laugh. Keep going, directs Tony Taccone from his seat. And after a couple deep breaths, things move on. With a book by Leguizamo and Taccone, Kiss My Aztec! begins previews on Wednesday at Hartford Stage before opening on June 10. This is its third stop after previous engagements at Berkeley Repertory Theatre and La Jolla Playhouse in California, and Broadway-veteran Leguizamo hopes it soon takes the B way and makes it home to New York. I think its so funny," Leguizamo tells The Associated Press right before rehearsal. Youre gonna laugh your ass off and, at the same time, youre going to be educated. The show travels back to the 16th century, as a group of Aztecs lead the resistance against Spanish invaders. With a fierce female warrior at the helm and a not-so-fierce clown in tow, they mount a scrappy attack, and get entangled with royalty, colonizers, pop stars, even puppets. The music by Benjamin Velez with lyrics by Velez, David Kamp and Leguizamo fuse salsa, gospel, hip-hop, funk and merengue, as well as some flamenco and paso doble for the Spaniards. The choreography is by Mayte Natalio. Like Latin History for Morons, Leguizamo's last one-man play on Broadway, Kiss My Aztec! is a hilarious celebration of Hispanic and Latin culture. But unlike the others, it is his first full-scale musical and the comedian stays behind the scenes this time around. I cant sing like that, or dance like that, the Tony Award-winner explains, noting that he's managed to do some musical work including Disney's animated film Encanto, where he voiced Bruno with a lot of help, patience and auto-tune. I mean, like, for Encanto, poor (song-writer) Lin-Manuel (Miranda) had to spend hours trying to get me in that pocket. He got me, though, he got me in the pocket, he adds with a laugh. Besides Perez and Alabado, the cast includes Chad Carstarphen, Eddie Cooper, Richard Ruiz Henry, Z Infante, Jesus E. Martinez, Maria-Christina Oliveras, Desiree Rodriguez, Matt Saldivar and Brittany Williams. Angelica Beliard, KC Dela Cruz, Nicholas Caycedo and Geena Quintos. These actors are ridiculously talented, says Leguizamo, calling them a quadruple threat" who can act, sing, dance and are funny. The Colombian American actor and playwright, whose Broadway credits include Freak and Ghetto Klown, says he started working on the musical years ago, when he was doing research for Latin History for Morons. Its interesting because obviously, Latin History for Morons opened up the world of our great, incredible contributions to the world there wouldnt be an Industrial Revolution without our corn, without our potatoes," says Leguizamo. "Our gold that was stolen from us created the Enlightenment era, and the Renaissance was helped by the wealth that was stolen from us. So I learned so much, and I wanted to go back and start telling our history. This musical is the birth of Latin man, which is the conquest. Going from doing monologues to a full-blown musical was a big challenge, Leguizamo admits. "All I had to do before is check with myself: Whats your schedule? Oh, I am available. Oh, great. Lets start tomorrow! he laughs. This is different, this is a lot of moving parts. With its bawdy humor, adult themes and some salty language, the show may not be suited for all audiences. But Leguizamo hopes it to be the next big thing in musical comedies. I want it to be like The Book of Mormon, like Spamalot," he says. "I want it to be one of the funniest shows ever written. ___ Sigal Ratner-Arias is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/sigalratner. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) A jury sided Wednesday with Johnny Depp in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, awarding the Pirates of the Caribbean actor more than $10 million and vindicating his allegations that Heard lied about Depp abusing her before and during their brief marriage. But in a split decision, the jury also found that Heard was defamed by one of Depp's lawyers, who accused her of creating a detailed hoax that included roughing up the couple's apartment to look worse for police. The jury awarded her $2 million. The verdicts bring an end to a televised trial that Depp had hoped would help restore his reputation, though it turned into a spectacle that offered a window into a vicious marriage. Heard, who was stoic in the courtroom as the verdict was read, said she was heartbroken. Im even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. Its a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously, she said in a statement posted on her Twitter account. Depp, who was not in court Wednesday, said the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled. I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up, he said in a statement posted to Instagram. Depp sued Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse. His lawyers said he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name. The jury found in Depp's favor on all three of his claims relating to specific statements in the 2018 piece. Throughout the proceedings, fans who were overwhelmingly on Depps side lined up overnight for coveted courtroom seats. Spectators who couldnt get in gathered on the street to cheer Depp and jeer Heard whenever they appeared outside. A crowd of about 200 people cheered when Depps lawyers came out after the verdict. Johnny for president! one man yelled repeatedly. Greg McCandless, 51, a retired private detective from Reston, Virginia, stood outside the courthouse wearing a pirate hat and red head scarf, a nod to Depps famous role as Capt. Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. I do believe that there was defamation, and I do believe that it did hurt his career, McCandless said. I think the jury heard the evidence, and the verdict was just. In evaluating Heard's counterclaims, jurors considered three statements by a lawyer for Depp who called her allegations a hoax. They found she was defamed by one of them, in which the lawyer claimed that she and friends spilled a little wine and roughed the place up, got their stories straight, and called police. Sydni Porter, 30, drove an hour from her home in Maryland to show support for Heard. She said the verdict was disappointing, but not surprising, and sends a message to women that as much evidence as you have (of abuse), its never going to be enough. The jury found Depp should receive $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, but the judge said state law caps punitive damages at $350,000, meaning Depp was awarded $10.35 million. While the case was ostensibly about libel, most of the testimony focused on whether Heard had been physically and sexually abused, as she claimed. Heard enumerated more than a dozen alleged assaults, including a fight in Australia where Depp was shooting a Pirates of the Caribbean sequel in which Depp lost the tip of his middle finger and Heard said she was sexually assaulted with a liquor bottle. Depp said he never hit Heard and that she was the abuser, though Heards attorneys highlighted years-old text messages Depp sent apologizing to Heard for his behavior as well as profane texts he sent to a friend in which Depp said he wanted to kill Heard and defile her dead body. In some ways, the trial was a replay of a lawsuit Depp filed in the United Kingdom against a British tabloid after he was described as a wife beater. The judge in that case ruled in the newspapers favor after finding that Heard was telling the truth in her descriptions of abuse. In the Virginia case, Depp had to prove not only that he never assaulted Heard, but that Heards article which focused primarily on public policy related to domestic violence defamed him. He also had to prove that Heard wrote the article with actual malice. And to claim damages, he had to prove that her article caused the damage to his reputation as opposed to any number of articles before and after Heards piece that detailed the allegations against him. The case captivated millions through its gavel-to-gavel television coverage, including impassioned followers on social media who dissected everything from the actors mannerisms to the possible symbolism of what they were wearing. Both performers emerge from the trial with reputations in tatters with unclear prospects for their careers. Eric Rose, a crisis management and communications expert in Los Angeles, called the trial a classic murder-suicide. From a reputation-management perspective, there can be no winners, he said. Theyve bloodied each other up. It becomes more difficult now for studios to hire either actor because youre potentially alienating a large segment of your audience who may not like the fact that you have retained either Johnny or Amber for a specific project because feelings are so strong now. Depp, a three-time best actor Oscar nominee, had until recent years been a bankable star. His turn as Sparrow helped turn the Pirates of the Caribbean into a global franchise, but hes lost that role. He was also replaced in the third Fantastic Beasts spin-off film, The Secrets of Dumbledore. Despite testimony at the trial that he could be violent, abusive and out of control, Depp received a standing ovation Tuesday night in London after performing for about 40 minutes with Jeff Beck at the Royal Albert Hall. Heards acting career has been more modest, and her only two upcoming roles are in a small film and the upcoming Aquaman sequel due out next year. Depps lawyers fought to keep the case in Virginia, in part because state law provided some legal advantages compared with California, where the two reside. A judge ruled that Virginia was an acceptable forum for the case because The Washington Posts printing presses and online servers are in the county. RENO, Nev. (AP) A 27-year-old Oregon man who initially identified himself as a movie character portraying a Batman villain has been sentenced to up to life in prison for a fatal shooting during a Zombie Crawl in Reno. Juan Hernandez was convicted earlier of second-degree murder with a deadly weapon in the October 2019 killing during the annual Halloween celebration that draws thousands to Reno's downtown casino district. Steve Jennings/Getty Images Wednesday marks the beginning of Gay Pride Month, a celebration of LGBTQ+ culture which starts with the ceremonial lighting of the Pink Triangle, an acre-sized installation on the side of San Francisco's Twin Peaks. The ceremony will feature an appearance from Oakland-based "Jeopardy!" champion Amy Schneider. Schneider, whose historic 40-game winning streak captivated the world, will read a history of the pink triangle, a symbol originally used in Nazi concentration camps to identify and persecute gay men, but has since been reclaimed by the LGBTQ+ community as symbol of resistance. Following the recognition by the city for his contributions during the ongoing pandemic, Laredo Health Authority Dr. Victor Trevino was recognized by the Nuevo Laredo government for his efforts in vaccinating Mexican nationals at critical stages of the pandemic. We are communities that are intertwined in a family, culture and history, Trevino stated. Regional access to health care and vaccination is essential for the protection of our communities. I am humbly grateful for this honor. The ceremony was held on Tuesday morning at the Estacion Palabra, where local officials and the Nuevo Laredo Health Department recognized him for his great support for the community of Nuevo Laredo with the donations of vaccines against COVID-19, over the past three years. Trevinos vaccination efforts would see him travel to the Mexico amid the border closure in a campaign that focused on providing residents facing challenges. These included vaccine availability and clinic accessibility. He has often cited the need of both cities to be immunized to be able to reach true herd immunity and worked throughout the pandemic to do so. Approximately 200,000 vaccines were administered to Nuevo Laredo residents since summer 2021 as part of the binational vaccine program, according to the Texas Tribune. Ultimately, this effort and the ongoing work to immunize Laredo residents also saw Trevino receive the key to the City of Laredo. The idea is to have border, regional immunity, because we are different from a lot of other places, Trevino said last November. This is a major land port of the United States, and we have to understand that we have to get this border immunity as it is unique to us, it would behoove us to have a regional immunity rather than just immunity in one city and another without. Regardless, the pandemic is still not over, and Laredo and Nuevo Laredo health officials are still cautious about the situation. The pandemic is not over, but rather we are now faced with the challenge of how to keep improving the situation and incorporating infection control into our daily lives and routine, City of Laredo Health Director Dr. Richard Chamberlain said. Research has shown it takes years of data collection to understand the endemic properties of a disease; once understood, we can forecast increases of cases and infection risk during a given year, enabling advanced warning. We are all continuing to learn about COVID-19 and now how to manage and live with whats still a mutating and unpredictable virus. After the FDA and CDC approved the pediatric boosters, health officials have recommended families to have their children fully vaccinated during the summer. The BA2.12.1 variant has garnered concern from U.S. and local health officials and encourage everyone to keep up to date with their vaccines and boosters. Vaccination with a primary series among this age group has lagged behind other age groups leaving them vulnerable to serious illness, Walensky told CNBC News. I encourage parents to keep their children up to date with CDCs COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) Two Southern California tax preparers each pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal charges they filed 433 phony tax returns using stolen identities as part of a $1 million fraud scheme, prosecutors said. Anton Nguyen, 53, of Fountain Valley, and Rosemary Pham, 64, of Midway City, were arraigned on charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement. Currently Reading Alert: Biden administration canceling $5.8 billion in student loans still held by students who attended Corinthian Colleges SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) The South Dakota National Guard is investigating how another of its planes rolled off a Sioux Falls runway. The Argus Leader reported Tuesday that the F-16C assigned to the 114th Fighter Wing ran off an airport runway that afternoon after returning from a training mission. Emergency responders released the pilot from the scene. Sunday, June 5 On this date in 1871, Armijo, one of the principal chiefs of the Navajo Nation died. On this date in 1928, bids were opened for the construction of the North Rim Road of the Grand Canyon. On this date in 1928, Northern Arizona State Teachers College at Flagstaff graduated the largest class in its history as President Grady Gammage presented 81 certificates. On this date in 1996, Winslows temperature hit 100 degrees, breaking the record of 96 for the day set back in 1957. Monday, June 6 On this date in 1851, Camp Independence was established on the east bank of the Colorado River near its junction with the Gila River under the command of Lt. Thomas W. Sweeny. Camp Independence was replaced by Fort Yuma in December, 1851. On this date in 1903, Gov. Alexander Brodie ordered the Arizona Rangers to Morenci and Clifton where miners were striking. On this date in 1933, the first concrete was poured at Hoover Dam. On this date in 1936, the first barrel of tequila made in the United States was produced at the San Andres distillery in Nogales. Tuesday, June 7 On this date in 1890, the mine fuel tanks at Pearce exploded, destroying the stamp mill and setting part of the town on fire. On this date in 1896, a Congressional Act provided that the portion of the White Mountain Reservation south of the Salt River was to compose the San Carlos Reservation, while the portion north of the Salt was to be know as Fort Apache. On this date in 1928, three men drowned at Lees Ferry when the ferry boat turned over in mid-stream. Wednesday, June 8 On this date in 1874, the Apache chief Cochise died in his stronghold in the Dragoon Mountains. On this date in 1927, State Teachers College at Tempe, now Arizona State University, gave its first Bachelor of Education degrees to 13 graduates. On this date in 1928, the Navajo County sheriff raided the Holbrook City Hall and confiscated 65 gallons (246 litree) of bootleg whiskey in 13 kegs that were hidden under the floor boards. On this date in 1928, Arthur H. Elliott, who staked out a homestead in 1881 on what was to become the town site of Casa Grande and who became the editor and publisher of the first newspaper in Casa Grande, died. On this date in 1928, the city of Flagstaff dedicated its new airfield, Koch Field, with an aerial circus and banquet. Thursday, June 9 On this date in 1894, the town of Globe was destroyed by fire. On this date in 1901, the first spike was driven on the Narrow Gauge Railroad of the Greene Consolidated Copper Co. from Naco to the mines in Cananea. On this date in 1904, a fire of incendiary origin in Nogales destroyed the Southern Pacific Station, U.S. Customs building, Wells Fargo Depot and several freight cars. On this date in 1932, after an absence of 104 years, the Franciscan Order again occupied residence quarters in San Xavier Mission. Friday, June 10 On this date in 1881, James Finely brought a sample of ore to the assay office of the Hermosa Mining Co. at Harshaw which assayed at 823.77 ounces of silver to the ton. On this date in 1903, 11 persons were confirmed drowned and many others were missing after two hours of torrential rain in Clifton. On this date in 1922, Arizonas first woman governor, Rose Mofford, was born in Globe. On this date in 1928, ground was broken for the new $35,000 cotton gin to be erected at Solomonville. On this date in 1928, the Grand Canyon official airport owned and developed by Scenic Airways, Inc., was dedicated. Saturday, June 11 On this date in 1822, Abraham Harlow Peeples, who came to Arizona in 1863 and with Pauline Weaver organized the prospecting expedition which discovered the Rich Hill gold placers, was born. On this date in 1868, philanthropist and civic leader Maie Bartlett Heard was born. She later endowed the Heard Museum in Phoenix, donated land for the Phoenix Civic Center, founded the Welfare League and gave a gymnasium to the Phoenix YMCA. On this date in 1876, the Chiricahua Apaches were moved from their reservation in Cochise County to San Carlos. On this date in 1928, more than 1,000 acres (4 square kilometers) of timberland were destroyed in the Ajo Mountains by a raging forest fire. PHOENIX (AP) Minority Democrats in the Arizona Senate used a procedural move Tuesday to force a vote on legislation that would require background checks for any firearm purchase. The move came a week after a man armed with two AR-15-type rifles killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. The effort led to more than an hour of pleas from Democrats and pushback from Republicans, who for years have blocked all gun restrictions. All 16 Senate Republicans voted against the measure, while the 13 Democrats supported it. The bill, which never got a hearing, would have closed the so-called gun show loophole that allows someone to buy a gun without the federal background check that federally licensed firearms dealers are required to perform before a sale is completed. Republicans won't even assign Democratic gun bills to a committee, meaning they never get hearings or a chance to get a formal floor vote. Democratic Sen. Martin Quezada bypassed that process to bring it right to the floor. This isnt a radical idea - this isn't something that other state arent considering or even enacting, Quezada said. He called requiring background checks for private gun purchases, anything except a transfer to a family member, a commonsense measure supported by overwhelmingly majorities of Americans that won't prevent anyone legally allowed to have a gun from purchasing one. We have that loophole built into our public policy, he said. And closing it, fixing this policy would save lives. Republicans listened as Democrat after Democrat pleaded for their support, including a tearful Sen. Raquel Teran, who said she can't stop watching the stories of the slain children while thinking of her young son. "The ask here is to vote on commonsense legislation," Teran said. If this is not it, what is it? Let's come to the table, let's work together, I know we can. Republicans said there was no way they'd back the background check bill. Republican Sen. Sonny Borrelli said it would impact private property rights, and said it would keep him from selling a gun to a trusted friend. He noted that the 18-year-old gunman legally bought the two rifles. He then read part of the Second Amendment. GOP Sen. Rick Gray pointed to gun violence in Chicago, in a state with tough gun laws and a seeming unending string of shootings each weekend. Night after night, week after week, year after year, children are dying of gun violence in Chicago, Gray said. But when it comes to Texas, lets stir this up, and lets make a political statement here to pass gun laws. And Sen. Warren Petersen said he too wouldn't back the Democrats' measure. The reason why this bill should not be supported is because it will stop law-abiding citizens from protecting themselves, Petersen said. "Criminals will not abide by this law. Only law-abiding citizens will abide by this law. I vote no so good guys with guns can stop bad guys with guns, he added. Democrats noted that good guys with guns were not able to save the children from the gunman. This good guy with a gun nonsense if you read the papers there were multiple police officers, armed police offers, standing outside in the parking lot when the guy was in the classroom killing children, Democratic Sen. Rebecca Rios said. ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, Colo. (AP) Authorities say rescuers have recovered the body of a man who was killed in a weekend rock fall and avalanche that also injured two other climbers at Rocky Mountain National Park. Park spokeswoman Kyle Patterson said in a statement that a helicopter crew lifted the man's body from the avalanche zone on Mount Meeker on Tuesday. The Boulder County coroner's office planned to release the man's identity after an autopsy, Patterson said. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The second of two self-described members of an anti-government extremist group accused in Minnesota of dealing firearm components to informants acting as members of Hamas is headed to prison. Benjamin Ryan Teeter, 24, of Hampstead, North Carolina, was sentenced in federal court Wednesday to four years behind bars. He pleaded guilty in December to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. California's first-in-the-nation task force on reparations for Black Americans said it has documented 170 years of systemic discrimination by the state and demanded "comprehensive reparations" for those harmed by that history of government-sanctioned oppression. In a 500-page report released Wednesday, a legislatively-mandated task force argues that the present-day wealth gap between Black and White Americans in California and the rest of the country is the direct result of slavery, Jim Crow laws, redlining, and other government policies that locked Black Americans into failing schools and over-policed communities. "Segregation, racial terror, harmful racist neglect, and other atrocities in nearly every sector of civil society have inflicted harms, which cascade over a lifetime and compound over generations," the report said. The task force called its work, an interim report, the most extensive document on government discrimination against the Black community since the landmark 1968 Kerner Commission report. It called for the creation of a government office to address past harms and potential future ones, and help eligible Black Californians through a reparations program. But it does not put a price tag on its recommendations; that is expected to be detailed later in a second report. The report recounted a history of California's mistreatment of Black Americans stemming back to its founding. While California was admitted to the union as a free state, the report points out that the state passed and enforced a fugitive slave law that required the return of enslaved people who sought freedom in there. The report also cites the extensive history of "sundown towns" in California, communities that prohibited Black Americans from living within their boundaries; the report says that many suburban communities outside of Los Angeles and San Francisco, and most Orange County cities, were once "sundown towns." It also documents the history of urban renewal and highway projects that dismantled once thriving Black neighborhoods like San Francisco's Fillmore district, effectively destroying generations of wealth accumulation. Committee members themselves said they were at odds on whether direct cash payments are politically feasible in the state. The report, issued in conjunction with the state's Department of Justice, lands in a Sacramento awash with cash. Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposed budget included a $97.5 billion surplus, but the Democrat also has faced demands for refunds for taxpayers, and other programs have a call on specific sums of money. Even supporters admit the campaign for reparations faces an uphill battle in a state where just 6% of the population identifies as Black and where voters recently rejected a move to bring back affirmative action. "I'm hoping that this report is used as an education tool and an organizing tool, educating the state of California and the United States at large about the harms against the African American community and the contributions of the African American community in the United States," said Kamilah Moore, chair of the task force. "This report is documenting the full corpus of evidence around the harms against the African American community, which will substantiate the claims for reparations in the final report." The interim report comes halfway through the two-year term of the state's reparations task force. It was created in 2020 by legislation championed by then-Assembly member Shirley Weber, a Democrat who has since become the first African American to serve as California's secretary of state. California's work comes as the idea of reparations has entered the mainstream of the political conversation. More than three decades after it was first introduced in Congress, a House bill that would create a federal commission to study reparations for Black Americans has enough votes to pass on the floor, its key champions say. With odds against the bill in the evenly split Senate, supporters are pushing President Joe Biden to sign an executive order that would create a commission resembling California's task force. A 2021 Washington Post poll found that 65% of Americans opposed the idea of cash reparations to Black Americans. A plurality of Democrats - 46% - favored the idea, while over 90% of Republicans opposed it. Two-thirds of Black respondents supported reparations, but only 18% of White respondents did. While a majority still oppose reparations, the numbers of those who support the idea is up markedly from past polls. A 1999 ABC News poll found that just 19% of Americans approved of reparations for Black Americans. "This has to be a political campaign on top of a matter of policy and any sort of moral argument," said James Lance Taylor, a political science professor at the University of San Francisco and a member of the city of San Francisco's reparations task force. "Anything in favor of expanding rights to Black people has always been negatively received. The odds are always against us, but we are further along than we've ever been." Much of the thorniest work for the task force remains to be done. After months of debate, in March, the task force voted 5-4 to limit cash reparations only to people who can show that they are descended from Black Americans who were in the country before the turn of the 20th century. But broader questions about the size and scope of a cash reparations - and if they are even possible - remain unanswered. "I personally feel, this is just me, this is just my perspective, that white folks ain't going to give Black folks no money to put in their pockets," said the Rev. Amos Brown, the task force's vice chair and pastor of Third Baptist Church in San Francisco's Fillmore District. "But if we can get programmatic solutions in areas where we can quantify the gap and show that the state is responsible, in areas like education, economics, and our cultural enclaves, if we can get some form of reparations along those lines, than I think we will have done a job well done." But Chris Lodgson - an organizer with the Coalition For A Just and Equitable California, an advocacy group that helped write the bill calling for the task force and that continues to work closely with the commission by running listening sessions - said cash payments are a must. "We're of the position that if it isn't direct compensation, it ain't reparations," Lodgson said. "So crafting actual proposals that rely very heavily on direct financial compensation is the big challenge for us over the next year, but I'm confident that we will do it." Supporters remain optimistic that they can find a path. "California has shown the way on a number of big issues that were just as difficult as reparations, namely marriage equality and marijuana legalization, so if there's any place that can initiate a similar kind of effect around the issue reparations it's California," Taylor said. "It's the largest state in the union. It's politically important, and it represents a kind of promise to the rest of America that no matter how outrageous the sort of backlash politics are, there's a blue wall of California." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate TORONTO (AP) Indigenous leaders met with Canadian bishops on Wednesday and were told Pope Francis won't add more stops, as they requested, to his trip to Canada, where he will apologize in person for the abuse suffered by Indigenous people at the hands of the Catholic church. Pope Francis, who has been using a wheelchair because of a bad knee, will head to Canada on July 24 and visit Alberta, Quebec and Iqaluit, a small town in the far north. The pope leaves on July 29. Three locations were picked. The survivors had no say in that. We werent asked, said Ken Young, a former regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations in Manitoba. We asked the bishops if that could change to include other venues, perhaps Kamloops, and that answer was no. Richard Smith, the archbishop of Edmonton, said the Vatican made it clear the trip had to be short, considering the popes health. The Vatican has announced those three sites, and when the Vatican announces it, thats it, Smith said. Smith said hes astonished Francis is going ahead with the visit considering his limited mobility. Smith noted that a planned trip to Lebanon was cancelled and said Francis still plans visits to South Sudan and Congo in early July. I dont know this, but I wouldnt be surprised if people were advising him not to travel at all, Smith said. With the Canada trip, Francis, 85, will be testing his stamina. After weeks of limping badly due to what the Vatican has said is a badly strained knee ligament, Francis began arriving at some public appearances in a wheelchair. Pressure for a papal apology increased when the apparent remains of over 200 children were detected buried in unmarked graves in Kamloops, British Columbia, last year at what had been Canadas largest indigenous residential school. There are also unidentified remains in unmarked graves at other residential schools across Canada. Indigenous leaders wanted Francis to visit Kamloops. From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 Indigenous children in Canada were forced to attend state-funded Christian schools as an effort to assimilate them into Canadian society. Canadas government has admitted that physical and sexual abuse was rampant in the schools, with students beaten for speaking their native languages. Earlier this year, Francis made a historic apology in the Vatican for abuses in Canadas church-run residential schools and expressed sorrow and shame for the lack of respect for Indigenous identities, culture and spiritual values. He said then that he wanted to go to Canada to deliver the apology personally to survivors. Young said the apology at the Vatican didnt go far enough but said he's confident the pope will say the right thing. The church has to accept ownership and responsibility for what happened to First Nations people and families, Young said. The impacts were life changing and life lasting. We expect, at least I expect, the pope to apologize on behalf of the Catholic Church in the right way. How that works out in terms of words is something we have agreed to work on with the bishops." Ted Quewezance, former chief of the Keeseekose First Nation in Saskatchewan and the interim chair of a residential survivors school group, said they would like to see the wording of the apology Francis will make in Canada. He said they also need to work out how to get survivors to the locations the pope will visit. Smith, the the archbishop of Edmonton, said the pope will say the right thing because he really wants this to be a step forward and a step in the whole healing process. DOVER, Del. (AP) Prosecutors have dismissed criminal corruption charges against Delawares state auditor because of a legal technicality but plan to seek a new grand jury indictment next week, court officials said Wednesday. The move comes after the defense attorney for Auditor Kathy McGuiness argued in a Wilmington courtroom Tuesday that the case should be dismissed because an indictment obtained by prosecutors last year failed to say where McGuiness alleged crimes occurred. Defense attorney Steve Wood said the venue where an alleged offense occurred is among the essential elements Delaware law requires in an indictment. McGuiness lives in Sussex County and her office is in the state capital, Dover, in Kent County, but prosecutors brought the case in New Castle County. Prosecutors argued that the indictment was sufficient for trial because McGuiness serves all three counties and her alleged crimes affected all three counties. Superior Court Judge William Carpenter Jr. appeared skeptical of that argument, noting that, under long-standing Delaware law, the county where an alleged offense occurred is the venue where the case is prosecuted. Carpenter said basing the venue on McGuiness status as a statewide official would be a pretty radical change. He suggested that, under the prosecutions reasoning, McGuiness could be tried in New Castle County for a hypothetical murder in Sussex County because of her status as a statewide official. Carpenter did not dismiss the indictment, but he noted that if prosecutors opted to proceed in New Castle County, they risked having him grant a defense motion for acquittal after they rest their case if they could not establish proper venue through evidence and testimony. The alternative, he said, was to drop the case and re-indict McGuiness in Kent County, which prosecutors have opted to do. In a letter to Carpenter late Tuesday, prosecutors said they will be prepared to present the case to a Kent County grand jury Monday and suggested that a trial jury be chosen that same day. The defense is expected to argue that the new indictment should also be dismissed because of the unreasonable delay by prosecutors in bringing a proper statement of charges. McGuiness, a Democrat who was elected in 2018 and filed for reelection last month, is responsible for rooting out government fraud, waste and abuse. She was indicted in October on felony counts of theft and witness intimidation, and misdemeanor charges of official misconduct, conflict of interest and noncompliance with procurement laws. She has denied any wrongdoing. The charges include allegations that McGuiness hired her daughter as a temporary employee in May 2020, even though other temporary employees had left because of the lack of available work amid the coronavirus pandemic. McGuiness is also accused of orchestrating a no-bid communications services contract for a company she had used as a campaign consultant when running for lieutenant governor in 2016, then keeping the contract payments under $5,000 each to avoid having to get approval from the Division of Accounting. Authorities also allege that when employees in her office became aware of McGuiness misconduct, she responded by trying to intimidate the whistleblowers, including monitoring their email accounts. BERLIN (AP) Deutsche Bank subsidiary DWS said Wednesday that its chief executive is resigning, hours after authorities raided its offices as part of a probe into claims that the company exaggerated the sustainable credentials of some of the financial products. CEO Asoka Woehrmann is set to step down after the company's annual general meeting on June 9, DWS said. He will be succeeded by Stefan Hoops, who currently oversees Deutsche Bank's corporate and commercial client activities. In a statement, Woehrmann said DWS was profitable and stable despite difficult market conditions. At the same time, the allegations made against DWS and myself in past months have become a burden for the company, as well as for my family and me, he was quoted as saying. "In order to protect the institution and those closest to me, I would like to clear the way for a fresh start. Some 50 investigators searched the offices of DWS and Deutsche Bank on Tuesday, Frankfurt prosecutors said. The raids were triggered by a former manager in charge of sustainability, who claimed that DWS had engaged in greenwashing by exaggerating the environmental and climate credentials of certain funds it sold. Prosecutors said initial investigations showed there were sufficient indications that environmental, social, and governance criteria were not considered in a majority of the funds featured in the company's sales brochures. Deutsche Bank said Tuesday that the actions taken by prosecutors were directed against unknown people in connection with greenwashing allegations against DWS. DWS said that they have continuously cooperated fully with all relevant regulators and authorities on this matter and will continue to do so," the bank said Tuesday. BRUSSELS (AP) The European Unions executive branch on Wednesday approved Polands pandemic recovery fund, paving the way for the release of billions of euros in grants and loans, even as lawmakers expressed deep unease about democratic backsliding in the country. The long-delayed decision, which must be approved by EU member states within four weeks, would see the nationalist government in Warsaw given access to 23.9 billion euros ($25.4 billion) in grants and 11.5 billion euros ($11.7 billion) in loans. The European Commission said that Polands plan includes milestones that must be met on the independence of the judiciary. Brussels said this is vital for investor confidence and to help the countrys economic recovery. Poland needs to demonstrate that these milestones are fulfilled before any disbursement under the (pandemic fund) can be made, the commission, which proposes EU laws and supervises the way they are enacted, said in a statement. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is due to travel to Warsaw on Thursday to publicly announce the move. The announcement came after a centrist group in the European Parliament demanded an urgent explanation Wednesday amid reports the Commission was prepared to release billions of euros to Poland's government. Renew Europe, a centrist group in the European Parliament, said it was concerned by reports of a deal despite Poland's "consistent trashing of the rule of law." Poland's lower house of parliament voted last week to abolish a disciplinary body within the Polish Supreme Court that the right-wing government has used to suspend judges for rulings or public statements it did not like. Associations of judges and human rights groups say the changes were only perfunctory because the powers of the soon-to-be abolished Disciplinary Chamber will continue to be carried out by judges who are effectively political appointees. Before last weeks vote, the chamber had suspended judges for issuing rulings respecting EU law as well as the rulings of another international court, the European Court of Human Rights. Our group urgently demands a detailed explanation from European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, Renew Europe said. We should not accept merely small, inadequate cosmetic changes to Polands seriously politicized legal system in exchange for the EU funds. We wont be able to stand up to autocrats abroad by placating those who unravel democracy at home." The Disciplinary Chamber has cost Poland dearly. The European Court of Justice fined Poland a record 1 million euros per day for failing to dismantle it. Poland also failed so far to get the 36 billion euros in recovery funds that are intended to reboot EU economies after pandemic lockdowns. Sophie in t Veld, a Dutch lawmaker with Renew Europe, said von der Leyen appeared to be pulling back from a promise not to compromise on the rule of law. "Exactly such a compromise is now in the works with Poland: a short-term political deal with lasting irreparable damage to the EU as a community of laws in t Veld said. A Polish lawmaker, Roza Thun, added that Poles undertook efforts to join the EU expecting it to guarantee democratic values. If those values are not protected, Thun said she fears the 27-nation bloc will start to rot. We struggled against the communist oppression because we wanted to live in a democratic country which respects the rule of law," she said. John Morijn, a law professor at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, said the EU releasing funds now would be a purely political move and highly damaging for both Polish judges and the standing of the European Court of Justice. ___ Gera reported from Warsaw. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) The European Union has agreed to slash Russian oil imports in a tough escalation of the bloc's campaign of sanctions to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. It's a landmark decision that will hit Russian coffers in the long term, but could also hurt consumers across the European continent. The move agreed late Monday at an EU leaders' summit in Brussels comes amid soaring energy prices in Europe and could spark more rises, particularly later this year as nations compete for natural gas supplies to heat homes and fire industries, analysts say. Just hours before U.S. markets opened Wednesday, benchmark U.S. crude had climbed $1.25 to $115.92 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Analysts say that amid high oil prices, the sanctions are unlikely to hit Russia hard soon, but they deprive Moscow of one of its most important customers for oil likely for a long time to come. WHAT HAS THE EU DONE? European Union leaders agreed to cut Russian oil imports by about 90% over the next six months, a dramatic move that was considered unthinkable just months ago. The 27-country bloc relies on Russia for 25% of its oil. The ban applies to all Russian oil delivered by sea. It contains a temporary exemption for oil delivered by the Russian Druzhba pipeline to certain landlocked countries in Central Europe. Germany and Poland have agreed to stop using oil from the northern branch of the pipeline. Russian oil delivered by sea accounts for two-thirds of the EUs oil imports from Moscow. WHAT ABOUT GAS? Russia has the worlds largest natural gas reserves and is the biggest global exporter, according to the International Energy Agency. But don't expect the 27-nation bloc's leaders to sign off on a ban on Russian gas imports any time soon. The bloc imports 40% of its gas used for everything from generating electricity to heating homes from Russia, and finding alternative supplies is tougher than for oil. Russian oil is much easier to compensate ... gas is completely different, which is why a gas embargo will not be an issue in the next sanctions package, said Austrias Chancellor Karl Nehammer. That doesn't mean gas is immune from the geopolitical tensions. Russia is flexing its economic muscle and retaliating to other sanctions by cutting off or restricting gas supplies to some European nations. Russian state energy giant Gazprom said this week it is halting the flow of gas to Dutch trader GasTerra and Denmarks Oersted company and is also stopping shipments to Shell Energy Europe that were bound for Germany. Germany has other suppliers, and GasTerra and Oersted said they were prepared for a shutoff. Gazprom previously stopped the flow to Bulgaria, Poland and Finland. Who's next? said Lucia van Geuns, an energy expert from The Hague Centre for Security Studies. She said the tightening of the net by Moscow could leave EU countries competing for gas supplies from other sources to fill up storage facilities over the summer and to use next winter a move that would likely drive up prices even further. WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR CONSUMERS? In short: Higher prices. Amid concerns about the devastating war in Ukraine and moves to punish Russia invading its neighbor, energy bills and gasoline prices have been high for months and governments have been cutting taxes in a bid to spare their citizens. Even so, energy consumers that's basically everybody who flicks a light switch, takes a shower, looks at their phone screen or fills their car's fuel tank are feeling the pinch and looking for ways to cut costs where they can. As oil prices rose again Wednesday, motorists in the eastern Netherlands were crossing the border in droves to refuel in neighboring Germany, where government tax cuts have made a liter of gasoline much cheaper than in the Netherlands. Dutch broadcaster NOS showed lines of cars with Dutch license plates waiting outside German gasoline sellers. WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR RUSSIA? Moscow is waging a hugely expensive war in Ukraine. Oil and gas exports go a long way to footing the bill. Last year they accounted for 45% of the federal budget, the International Energy Agency says. Europe is Russias main energy customer, and once the 27 countries have stopped using its supplies, they may not go back. Short term, the oil ban will likely not hurt Russia too much amid high oil prices that mean Moscow can sell at a discount to clients in Asia and still make a profit, said Chris Weafer, CEO at Macro-Advisory Ltd., a consulting firm. The financial pain for Russia probably will come more next year or over the next couple of years if it still has to offer discounts, Weafer told the AP. Van Geuns said Moscow's decision to cut off gas to European customers also will likely hurt Russia in the long term "because they are going to lose a large client and of course Europe is their biggest client as far as gas is concerned. WILL THIS HASTEN TRANSITION TO RENEWABLE SOURCES? In the long term, probably, but in the short term it could actually have the opposite effect. Some lawmakers in the Netherlands have already voiced support for cranking up output from the country's remaining coal-fired power stations, which are being phased out in an attempt to rein in carbon emissions, so that consumption by gas-fired power stations can be reduced. Mads Flarup Christensen, secretary-general of Greenpeace Norden, urged the EU to mitigate the effects of the oil sanctions by using less oil. If the ban is to have the maximum effect on Putins war and on the climate crisis, then there must be immediate reductions in our oil consumption, Christensen said. "It will require changes in the way we transport ourselves, such as a ban on short-haul routes, lower motorway speeds and cheaper public transport." ___ Follow APs coverage of the Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) A conspiracy that stretched across the continent and resulted in the murder of a Vermont man grew out of a financial dispute between the victim and one of the men now charged with arranging to have him killed, federal prosecutors say. In filings from federal court in Las Vegas, prosecutors laid out details of the alleged conspiracy that resulted in the January 2018 shooting death of Gregory Davis, who was abducted from his Danville home on Jan. 6. He was found dead the next day in a snowbank on a back road in Barnet. In a Monday filing, prosecutors said Davis had been threatening to go to the FBI with information that Serhat Gumrukcu, 39, an inventor and the co-founder of a Los Angeles-based biotechnology company, was defrauding Davis in a multi-million dollar oil deal that Gumrukcu and his brother had entered into with Davis in 2015. During 2017, Gumrukcu was facing felony fraud charges in California state court, prosecutors say. In 2017 Gumrukcu was putting together a successful deal that came together soon after Davis's death, which gave him significant ownership stake in Enochian Bioscience. The Los Angeles-based company describes itself as developing therapies to cure and treat diseases that kill millions of people each year. Gumrukcu therefore had a strong motive to prevent Davis from reporting yet another fraud, and likely threatening the Enochian deal, said the filing. At present, Serhat Gumrukcu appears to own over $100 million worth of Enochian stock. About a week before his arrest last month, Gumrukcu generated about $2 million by selling some Enochian stock, prosecutors say. Davis, a New Jersey native who moved to Danville in northeastern Vermont about two years before his death, was found shot to death on Jan. 7, 2018, in a snowbank in Barnet. Over the years investigators used cell phone records to link Jerry Banks, 34, of Fort Garland, Colorado, to the kidnapping of Davis from his home. Banks is due to appear in federal court in Vermont on Thursday to answer the kidnapping charge. While Banks was not charged with killing Davis, prosecutors said they believed that Banks killed Davis. Later in April prosecutors charged Aron Lee Ethridge, 42, of Las Vegas, with kidnapping in connection with the death of Davis. Prosecutors say that after the killing of Davis, Banks called Ethridge who has since entered a not guilty plea to the kidnapping charge. Last week Gumrukcu, of Los Angeles, and Berk Eratay, 35, of Las Vegas, were arrested on charges of conspiring to use interstate commerce facilities in the commission of a murder-for-hire which resulted in the death of Davis. Gumrukcu is due in court in Los Angeles on Thursday for a detention hearing. His attorney did not immediately return an email Wednesday seeking comment. After his arrest Eratay's attorney had asked the court to allow Eratay to be released from custody pending trial. On Tuesday a federal court judge in Las Vegas denied Eratay's request for pre-trial release. Mr. Eratay intends to vigorously defend against these charges and denies the allegations, his attorney, David Chesnoff, said in a Wednesday email. He looks forward to his day in court. Not long after Davis's death, the investigation entered what prosecutors described as a long covert stage that led them to identify Banks as the alleged kidnapper. Investigators also discovered a chain connecting the four suspects: Banks was friends with Ethridge, who was friends with Eratay, who worked for Gumrukcu. The government also said Eratays bank records reveal over $150,000 in wire transfers from Turkish accounts controlled by Gumrukcu between June and October of 2017, as the murder scheme was building. Last week after Gumrukcus arrest, the Enochian board of directors issued a statement that said there was no link between the crime Gumrukcu is charged with and the company. In the statement, Enochian CEO Dr. Mark Dybul said the company remained committed to the development of life saving products. The personal life of the inventor and co-founder does not altar these fundamental facts, Dybul said. Indeed, there has never been a formal role for Dr. Gumrukcu in the company and the remaining informal role as a scientific advisor has concluded. We look forward to the work ahead. SALEM, Ore. (AP) Every public school district in Oregon last year was given the option to ban guns from their properties. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports that most have declined to do so. Since a change to Oregon law in September, only 13% of the states public school districts have opted to close an exemption that allows holders of a concealed handgun license to carry weapons onto public property where possessing a gun would otherwise be a felony. According to an analysis by OPB, that list includes some districts in the Portland metro area though not yet Portland Public Schools along with more rural school systems. Among the 25 that have banned guns are districts in Klamath Falls, Myrtle Point, Tillamook, Pendleton, Tigard-Tualatin, Lake Oswego and Woodburn. The vast majority of the states 197 public school districts have, to date, taken no action. Whether or not to prohibit guns in schools has been a contentious point in Oregon, where one estimate suggests gun ownership is more prevalent than in many other states. The slaying of 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, has many Americans demanding measures to narrow access to firearms a dynamic on display over the weekend, when independent gubernatorial candidate Betsy Johnson faced heated questions about her pro-gun stance from a crowd in Portland. Gun rights groups and sympathetic politicians, meanwhile, insist having armed citizens nearby during an attack could limit damage from mass shootings. Opponents of the 2021 Oregon bill have suggested new restrictions are more apt to make public spaces less safe because CHL holders are overwhelmingly law-abiding. Mass shooters, they point out, dont care about gun bans. In Oregon, concealed handgun license holders must be at least 21, and are required to undergo a background check and complete a gun safety training course prior to receiving a license. In exchange for those steps, people with a CHL have long been granted leeway to bring their weapons into places where guns are otherwise prohibited. With SB 554, lawmakers chipped away at that privilege. They banned guns in the state Capitol and the terminal of Portland International Airport, whether or not a person has a concealed handgun license. And they gave public schools, colleges and universities the option to implement their own bans. A separate provision of state law, unimpacted by the bill, allows lawfully possessed guns on school grounds as long as they are unloaded and locked in a vehicle, regardless of a school boards actions. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) A 26-year-old murder case has been solved with new DNA technology, police in Florida's capital city said Wednesday. The Tallahassee Police Department arrested Alan Lefferts, 71, for the 1996 killing of James Branner, who was found dead in a room at the Prince Murat Motel following a violent fight. WASHINGTON (AP) Hundreds of thousands of students who attended the for-profit Corinthian Colleges chain will automatically get their federal student loans canceled, the Biden administration announced Wednesday, a move that aims to bring closure to one of the most notorious cases of fraud in American higher education. Under the new action, anyone who attended the now-defunct chain from its founding in 1995 to its collapse in 2015 will get their federal student debt wiped clean. It will erase $5.8 billion in debt for more than 560,000 borrowers, the largest single loan discharge in Education Department history, according to the agency. As of today, every student deceived, defrauded and driven into debt by Corinthian Colleges can rest assured that the Biden-Harris Administration has their back and will discharge their federal student loans, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said. For far too long, Corinthian engaged in the wholesale financial exploitation of students, misleading them into taking on more and more debt to pay for promises they would never keep." Tens of thousands of former Corinthian students were already eligible for debt cancellation, but they had to file paperwork and navigate an application process that advocates say is confusing and not widely known about. Now, the relief will be made automatic and extended to additional borrowers. Those who have a remaining balance on their Corinthian debt will also get refunds on payments they have already made, Education Department officials said. But the action does not apply to loans that have already been paid off in full. At its peak, Corinthian was one of the nations largest for-profit college companies, with more than 100 campuses across the country and more than 110,000 students at its Everest, WyoTech and Heald schools. But the company shut down in 2015 amid widespread findings of fraud. The Obama administration working with Kamala Harris, who was then California attorney general and later became vice president found that scores of campuses were falsifying data on the success of their graduates. In some cases, the schools reported that students had found jobs in their fields of study even though they were working at grocery stores or fast food chains. Hundreds of students told investigators they were pressured to enroll with promises of lucrative employment, only to end up with huge sums of debt and few job prospects. Federal officials also found that the company falsely told students their course credits could be transferred to other colleges. The case inspired a federal crackdown on for-profit colleges, and the Obama administration promised to forgive loans for Corinthian students whose programs lied about job placement rates. The administration went on to expand a process known as borrower defense to repayment, which allows any defrauded student to apply for debt cancellation. But an explosion in applications for debt forgiveness, along with political battles over the process, created a years-long backlog in the process, leaving many former Corinthian students still awaiting relief. As of December, the Education Department reported it had more than 109,000 pending applications from students alleging fraud by their colleges, including many Corinthian students. Borrowers and their advocates have been urging the government to erase all Corinthian debt, saying evidence of misconduct was so widespread that all the chains students were the victims of fraud. The administration announced the action Wednesday as President Joe Biden considers broader student loan forgiveness for millions of Americans. As a candidate, Biden said he supports forgiving $10,000 in student loans for all borrowers. He later indicated that such action should come through Congress, but the White House has said he is considering whether to pursue it through executive action. Advocates said the Biden administrations decision brings long-delayed justice. "This is a tremendous student victory, and it belongs to the tens of thousands of borrowers who were cheated and abused by Corinthian Colleges, said Eileen Connor, director of the Project on Predatory Student Lending, which has represented Corinthian students in lawsuits. They never stopped fighting over three administrations for the justice they deserve under the law. Libby DeBlasio Webster, senior counsel for the advocacy group Student Defense, said the news gives a fresh start to former Corinthian students, but she noted that many defrauded students from other for-profit colleges are still awaiting help. We also hope todays news is a sign that other decisions are on the horizon for thousands of similarly situated students who are waiting for this kind of relief, she said. ___ The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content. ALBANY, Ga. (AP) A southwest Georgia jury has convicted two men in a 2018 shooting that left a woman paralyzed. WALB-TV reports Dougherty County jurors on Wednesday convicted Darrell Eiland of aggravated assault, aggravated battery, conspiracy to commit murder and possessing a gun while committing a crime. Jurors convicted Ernest Hudson of conspiracy to convict murder. Testimony at trial showed that Eiland shot Andrea Willis at a convenience store after Eiland and others concluded that Willis had robbed Hudson or arranged to have him robbed at a nightclub. Prosecutors said Hudson knew about and approved of the plan to kill Willis, a cousin. Hudson said he was robbed after he and Willis got into a fight at the nightclub. Hudson's son, Dontavious Hudson, testified against his father and Eiland, as did Jarrod Brown. Dontavious Hudson and Brown both pleaded guilty earlier, with prosecutors recommending reduced sentences. Ernest Hudson's lawyer denied that his client participated in a conspiracy before the shooting, suggesting that he may have been guilty of not reporting the shooting to police to protect his son. Eiland's lawyer suggested that the two men who had taken plea bargains were unfairly trying to pin the shooting on Eiland. Brown and Willis identified Eiland during the trial as the man who shot Willis. BERLIN (AP) A German woman who took her young daughter to Syria, joined the Islamic State group there and allegedly took advantage of an enslaved Yazidi woman was convicted Wednesday of membership in a terrorist organization and other offenses. The state court in Celle said the 34-year-old, who has been identified only as Romiena S. in line with German privacy rules, was sentenced to three years and three months in prison. She was also convicted of being an accessory to a crime against humanity, abducting a minor and breaching her duties of welfare and education. Germany plans to buy 60 Boeing Chinook transport helicopters as part of a massive procurement drive to upgrade its military, the country's defense ministry said Wednesday. Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced shortly after Russia invaded in February that Germany would commit 100 billion euros ($107 billion) to a special fund for its military and raise its defense spending above the minimum 2% of gross domestic product that NATO countries had committed to and on which Berlin has long lagged. JERUSALEM (AP) The Israeli military said Wednesday that dozens of its aircraft conducted a drill simulating airstrikes on long-range targets, a thinly veiled reference to a possible attack on regional rival Iran. The army said the exercise took place a day earlier over the Mediterranean and involved long-range flight, aerial refueling and striking distant targets. It provided no additional information. MADISON, Wis. (AP) Dane County Circuit Judge Everett Mitchell announced Wednesday that he will run for the Wisconsin Supreme Court next year to fill a seat currently held by the conservative former chief justice. The April election will determine the ideological balance of the court. Retiring Justice Patience Roggensack, who turns 82 in July, is not seeking a third 10-year term. She is part of the four-justice conservative majority on the seven-member court. Gov. John Bel Edwards agreed on Wednesday to a request from Louisiana lawmakers that he and his top attorneys testify before a bipartisan committee investigating allegations of a cover-up in the deadly 2019 arrest of Black motorist Ronald Greene. The request came just days after The Associated Press reported that Edwards and his lawyers privately watched a long-withheld video showing Greene taking his final breaths during his fatal arrest yet did not act urgently to get the crucial footage into the hands of those with the power to charge the white Louisiana State Police troopers seen stunning, punching and dragging the man. The video, which showed critical moments and audio absent from other footage that was turned over, didnt reach prosecutors until nearly two years after Greenes May 10, 2019, death on a rural roadside near Monroe. Prosecutors and detectives have said they were not even aware the 30-minute clip existed until six months after the governor viewed it in October 2020. State Rep. Clay Schexnayder, the Republican House speaker, cited serious questions that can only be answered by" the Democratic governor and his staff. This committee will do its job and see this through no matter where the evidence leads," Schexnayder said in a statement asking the governor to appear before the committee June 16. Edwards' top lawyer, Matthew Block, wrote in a public letter to the committee that he, another lawyer and the governor will all appear to testify. We are confident that this testimony will demonstrate that neither the governor nor anyone on his staff had any role in any attempt to cover up the facts related to Mr. Greenes death, Block wrote to Rep. Tanner Magee, the Republican who chairs the panel. Block previously had told the AP that there was no way for the governor to have known at the time that the video he watched had not already been turned over to prosecutors, and there was no effort by the governor or his staff to withhold evidence. The legislative committee for weeks has sought to reconstruct the state's response to Greene's death, interviewing a long list of law enforcement officials and even subpoenaing the handwritten journals of a former state police superintendent. Lawmakers are now pivoting to what the governor knew, when he knew it and what he did about an in-custody death that troopers initially blamed on a car crash. The legislative inquiry comes amid ongoing federal and state investigations that have not resulted in any charges. At issue is the 30-minute body-camera footage from Lt. John Clary, the highest-ranking trooper to respond to Greenes arrest. It is one of two videos of the incident, and captured events not seen on the 46-minute clip from Trooper Dakota DeMoss that shows troopers swarming Greenes car after a high-speed chase, repeatedly jolting him with stun guns, beating him in the head and dragging him by his ankle shackles. Clarys video is perhaps even more significant to the investigations because it is the only footage that shows the moment a handcuffed, bloody Greene moans under the weight of two troopers, twitches and then goes still. It also shows troopers ordering the heavyset, 49-year-old to remain face down on the ground with his hands and feet restrained for more than nine minutes a tactic use-of-force experts criticized as dangerous and likely to have restricted his breathing. The governors attorneys didnt mention seeing the Clary video in a meeting days later with state prosecutors, who wouldnt receive the footage until a detective discovered it almost by accident six months later. But state police say they showed the Clary video to Greene's family days after the governor viewed it. Several members of Greene's family denied they had seen the video, but one of their attorneys wrote lawmakers an email this week confirming they had, in fact, seen Clary's video, citing contemporaneous notes. __ Mustian reported from Los Angeles, Bleiberg from Dallas. RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Virginia's divided General Assembly passed a compromise state budget Wednesday that would offer nearly $4 billion in tax relief, increase pay for teachers and other public employees, boost K-12 education spending and fund a wide range of projects from roadwork to school construction. Budget negotiators crafted the measure at a time when Virginia's tax revenues have been soaring far beyond projections. That allowed for making long-term investments in core government services while also boosting the state's reserves and enacting tax cuts that are expected to save a family of four an estimated $1,108 a year, Republican House Appropriations Chairman Barry Knight said. Its been a long haul, but I believe the result is a fiscally sound, bipartisan budget we can all be proud of, he said. The proposed spending plan, which covers two fiscal years and would take effect July 1, passed with broad bipartisan support and relatively subdued debate. Lawmakers also passed a bill making adjustments to the current budget. The legislation now goes to GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who can sign it or seek changes. He said in a statement earlier this week that the compromise offered a good framework and that he would be reviewing it closely in the days to come. Lawmakers had to return to the Capitol in a special session to finish the budget because they deadlocked over the spending plan as their regular calendar drew to a close in March. They opted then to extend the talks, which have been happening privately among a handful of negotiators. Some lawmakers criticized the opacity of the process on Wednesday. Youngkin, who campaigned on a promise to enact a broad slate of tax cuts, had been calling on lawmakers for weeks to act with urgency. A deal was announced Thursday. The two-year budget includes many, but not all, of the tax cuts the governor pushed for. It directs about $1 billion in tax relief toward one-time rebates of $250 for individuals and $500 for families, which would be distributed later this year. About $1.6 billion would go toward increasing the standard deduction but not quite doubling it as Youngkin sought. About $372 million in tax relief would eliminate the state portion of sales tax on groceries and essential personal hygiene products; $301 million would provide phased-in income tax relief for military retirees 55 or older; and $315 million would make the Virginia Earned Income Tax Credit partially refundable. The plan does not include a gas tax holiday, another priority of the governor's. The budget would boost pay for teachers, state employees and state-supported local employees. It would allocate $100 million for a Youngkin-backed initiative to partner colleges with K-12 systems to create lab schools, and would direct hundreds of millions toward school construction and modernization. According to appropriations committee documents, it marks the largest-ever K-12 education budget, spending $19.2B over the biennium, a 20% increase from the previous budget cycle. The spending plan would also allocate hundreds of millions to support the widening of Interstate 64 between Hampton Roads and Richmond and create a new intermediate misdemeanor penalty for possession of more than 4 ounces but not more than 1 pound of marijuana. The General Assembly did not take up one of the year's most controversial issues Wednesday a bill that would offer lucrative tax incentives to the NFL's Washington Commanders in an effort to lure the team to Virginia. Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, one of the measure's sponsors, said Tuesday that a compromise version had not been finalized yet. Lawmakers can return to the issue later. The team is in the midst of a long-running search for a new stadium site, and Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia have all been under consideration. The stadium bill initially passed with broad, bipartisan support, but some members have since raised concerns about the size of the incentives and the various controversies swirling around the Commanders. Virginias attorney general announced in April that his office had launched an inquiry into the team following allegations of financial improprieties raised by a congressional committee. The team has denied any wrongdoing. Lawmakers elected two judicial candidates for general district court positions Wednesday. But they still have not scheduled a vote on two state Supreme Court vacancies or an opening on the powerful State Corporation Commission. House Republicans and Senate Democrats remain at odds over how much sway each should have in the picks and any subsequent vacancy that might be created in a lower court if a judge were promoted. Also Wednesday, House Democrats elected a new caucus leader, selecting attorney and two-term member Don Scott from Portsmouth. The decision came after the 48-member group ousted minority leader Eileen Filler-Corn in April over simmering dissent about an unsuccessful election cycle that saw the party lose full control of the state government. Scott told reporters it was an honor to be chosen by his peers and vowed to be a collaborative leader who would push back against Youngkin's agenda and help Democrats retake control of the chamber in the next election cycle. All House and Senate seats are scheduled to be on the ballot in 2023, although a pending lawsuit seeks to force House elections again this year. That's because the last cycle was held under old legislative boundaries as a result of delays in the redistricting process. ___ This story has been edited to correct the wording in a quote from Knight. CAIRO (AP) A pipeline rupture in Libya is spewing thousands of barrels of oil into the desert, as workers scramble to seal off the leak, authorities said Wednesday. The damage to a land pipeline linking the Sarir oil field to the Tobruk terminal on the Mediterranean was the latest blow to Libyas struggling oil industry, as renewed tensions again divide the chaos-stricken country. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) Malaysia suspended exports of live chickens Wednesday to guarantee adequate supplies for domestic markets, prompting distress in neighboring Singapore, where chicken rice is a national dish. In Singapore, which sources a third of its poultry from Malaysia, consumers rushed to stock up on fresh chicken ahead of the ban, with local media reporting that shelves in some wet markets and supermarkets have been cleared of the meat. Malaysia typically exports up to 3.6 million chickens a month, many of which go to Singapore, where they are slaughtered and chilled. The Singapore Straits Times said chicken sellers predicted the cost of chilled chicken could rise by up to 30%, sending chicken dish prices soaring. The Singapore government has urged consumers to switch to frozen chicken and other alternative meats, and is exploring new markets for fresh chicken. But there is concern over the fate of the ubiquitous chicken rice that is sold everywhere from hawker stalls to top hotels. Popular eatery Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice, which gets its poultry entirely from Malaysia, reportedly said it will introduce pork and seafood dishes instead of using frozen chicken if it fails to find new suppliers. Malaysia's ban comes as countries worldwide grapple with soaring food prices, fueled partly by the Ukraine war. Ukraine is a major exporter of corn and grains that are key components of chicken feed. India also moved to protect its markets, restricting sugar and wheat exports, while Indonesia temporarily halted and then lifted palm oil sales abroad. Apart from the export ban, Malaysia also abolished import permits for chicken and other foods to boost food supply and curb prices amid public anger. It has earlier capped chicken prices and allocated subsidies for farmers squeezed by rising cost of chicken feed, partly caused by a weakening Malaysian currency. The move came as a surprise by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob's government, which took power in August and faces a general election next year. The government is also investigating claims that cartels are controlling the price and supply of chicken. The ban not only caused alarm in Singapore but also troubled smaller Malaysian poultry farmers who supply to Singapore to help keep their operations afloat. The government didn't say how long the export ban will last, but officials expect supply and prices to normalize within a month. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) Legislation authorizing marijuana for medical use in North Carolina and developing a system to grow, sell and regulate cannabis was recommended by a state Senate committee Wednesday, nine months after it last surfaced. The measure, which now heads to the Senate floor for the first of two required votes Thursday, would allow patients with at least one of the more than a dozen debilitating medical conditions to purchase and use marijuana with their physician's formal approval. Those conditions would include cancer, epilepsy, Crohns disease and post-traumatic stress disorder. The bill envisions several dozen medical cannabis centers across the state operated by 10 state-licensed growers and vendors. They could sell up to 30-day supplies of pot or cannabis-infused products to patients or their caregivers, who would have to obtain registration cards from the state Department of Health and Human Services. Ten percent of the cannabis suppliers' monthly revenues would be forwarded to the state. The legislation idled in the Senate since last August after advancing through three policy committees. Brunswick County Republican Sen. Bill Rabon, chief bill sponsor and a cancer survivor, said the measure was never on a fast track, adding that he wanted to ensure all of his colleagues' questions were answered to build bipartisan support. Bill supporters have included war veterans and others with severe illness who say marijuana can ease pain or help them lead more normal lives. The bill is designed to give the citizens of this state who need and deserve compassionate care just that, Rabon said during debate in the Senate Rules Committee, which he chairs. "It is nothing more than trying to help those people with the care that they need and augment their treatments. Senate leader Phil Berger said Tuesday that he planned to support the bill on the chamber floor. The bill, if approved by the full Senate, would then go to the House, where Speaker Tim Moore said he didn't expect medical marijuana to be discussed until 2023. That would mean new legislation would have to be filed. Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia allow the medical use of cannabis products, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Conservative Christian groups remain opposed to the measure and their representatives spoke against the bill in the committee. We all want to be compassionate and help people in need, said Jere Royall with the North Carolina Family Policy Council. But he said several medical associations still don't support the medical use of marijuana and research shows significant health risks remain. Senate Bill 1029, Suspend gas tax this summer: Passed 30 to 7 in the Senate To suspend collection of the states 27.2 cent-per-gallon "motor fuel tax" on gasoline and diesel fuel sales from June 15 to Sept. 15, 2022. The Senate Fiscal Agency reports this would reduce the amount available for future road and bridge repairs by around $360 million. Y Rick Outman (R) Six Lakes, Sen. Dist. 33 Y Curt VanderWall (R) Ludington, Sen. Dist. 35 Senate Bill 972, Suspend sales tax on gas and diesel: Passed 36 to 1 in the Senate To suspend collection of the states 6% sales tax on purchases of gasoline and diesel fuel from June 15 to Sept. 15, 2022. The Senate Fiscal Agency reports that suspending sales and use taxes on fuel would reduce state and school revenue around $680 million in the current fiscal year. Y Rick Outman (R) Six Lakes, Sen. Dist. 33 Y Curt VanderWall (R) Ludington, Sen. Dist. 35 House Bill 5291, Authorize port subsidies to private and public developers: Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate To authorize state grants of up to $2.5 million each to developers and owners of shipping ports and related facilities. The bill creates a new state agency to manage the subsidies, and to pursue more projects eligible for them. Y Rick Outman (R) Six Lakes, Sen. Dist. 33 Y Curt VanderWall (R) Ludington, Sen. Dist. 35 House Bill 4527, Authorize carnival ride safety violation fines: Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate To authorize civil fines of $2,500 per day for carnival ride safety violations. The bill would also revise procedures on permit revocations, appeals, reporting and disclosure mandates and more. Y Rick Outman (R) Six Lakes, Sen. Dist. 33 Y Curt VanderWall (R) Ludington, Sen. Dist. 35 House Bill 5190, Revise state high school graduation requirements: Passed 35 to 2 in the Senate To revise state high school graduation requirements by adding a new one, that schools offer and students take a one-semester personal finance course, which would also substitute for a portion of the math credits that are currently required. The Michigan Department of Education would be required to develop the personal finance course. Y Rick Outman (R) Six Lakes, Sen. Dist. 33 Y Curt VanderWall (R) Ludington, Sen. Dist. 35 House Bill 4239, Revise vehicle immobilization after arrest: Passed 106 to 1 in the House To revise details of the requirement that a vehicle be immobilized after certain offenses where police detain the driver. Currently, that involves taking the license plate and issuing a temporary plate. The bill would eliminate the requirement that a temporary plate be issued, essentially making the vehicle unusable until the violation is adjudicated or the vehicle is sold outside the family. Y Jason Wentworth (R) Clare, Rep. Dist. 97 X Scott VanSingel (R) Grant, Rep. Dist. 100 Y Michele Hoitenga (R) Manton, Rep. Dist. 102 House Bill 6070, Authorize adoption-related business tax credits: Passed 95 to 12 in the House To authorize adoption leave business tax credits for employers, which would be equal to half the annual wages of the employee for up to 12 weeks of adoption leave, up to a maximum of $4,000. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Hundreds of students walked out of class Tuesday and gathered in downtown Minneapolis to demand state legislators adopt tougher gun laws in the wake of last weeks mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The Star Tribune reported the students walked out around 12:30 p.m. and gathered in Gold Medal Park. They demanded officials create a statewide advisory group made up of students and teachers from every school district in the state to discuss ways to reduce gun violence in schools. LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) Federal officials and a company that runs a central Virginia research dog-breeding facility are working toward a potential settlement in a civil case accusing the company of animal welfare violations, according to court documents filed Wednesday. The government and Envigo RMS filed a joint motion asking a judge to extend by two weeks the terms of a temporary restraining order issued against the company in late May. The restraining order had been set to expire June 4, but both parties are asking for more time to work out the details of their settlement, the motion said. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) A local government attorney and former town council member was seated Wednesday at the North Carolina House, replacing veteran Rep. Verla Insko, who formally stepped down this week. Allen Buansi of Orange County was appointed Tuesday to succeed Insko, who since 1997 had served in the legislature. Insko had decided not to seek reelection. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) The suspension of poultry shows and public sales in North Carolina has been lifted effective Wednesday, the state veterinarian said. State Veterinarian Mike Martin announced in a news release that all exhibitions, farm tours, shows, sales, flea markets, auction markets, swaps and meets pertaining to poultry and feathered fowl in North Carolina can resume. The suspension had been in effect since April 5. ISLAMABAD (AP) Pakistan's government on Wednesday sent a 50-member delegation of tribal elders to Kabul to negotiate an extension of a truce with the Pakistani Taliban that expired this week, two security officials said. Talks between the two sides that led to cease-fires in the past have been mediated by the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP are a separate group but allied with the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in their country last August, as the U.S. and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout from Afghanistan. The TTP has been behind numerous attacks in Pakistan over the past 14 years and has long fought for stricter enforcement of Islamic laws in the country, the release of their members who are in government custody and a reduction of Pakistani military presence in the countrys former tribal regions. The development comes after the latest cease-fire expired on Tuesday. A similar truce between the TTP and Pakistan, brokered by the Afghan Taliban last November, lasted a month. However, none of the cease-fires have paved the way for a more permanent peace agreement. Both sides have remained silent about earlier talks in Kabul, the sticking points between them and also about the chances of an extension to the latest cease-fire. Analysts say a more permanent deal could be possible if either side is willing to show flexibility on what is or isn't acceptable to them. Two senior TTP members who are close to the negotiations also confirmed the arrival of the 50-member team in Kabul. They told The Associated Press that a truce extension is linked to a positive response" from the Pakistani government. They declined to elaborate and like the two security officials, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media about the negotiations. There was no official comment from the Pakistani government or the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban often use neighboring Afghanistan's rugged border regions for hideouts and for staging cross-border attacks into Pakistan. They have been emboldened by the return to power of the Afghan Taliban, who last ruled Afghanistan in the late 1990s when they imposed their harsh edicts and interpretation of Islamic law, severely restricting the rights of women and minorities. In Pakistan, the TTP insurgency has been centered in the remote former tribal region, now province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, bordering Afghanistan. Mahmood Shah, a Pakistani security analyst, said the Islamabad government sent tribal elders to Kabul as intermediaries because under Pakistan's constitution, the government cannot negotiate at least not directly with those waging an insurgency against it. Pakistani authorities want an extension of the cease-fire in order to continue the talks, he said. Shah served as a local official in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when the military launched operations there after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, closely liaising between the military and the government side, which allowed for first-hand knowledge of operations against the TTP and other militant groups. The negotiations in Kabul are difficult, he told the AP, because for the military, any government-level talks with TTP are equal to converting the military victory into a defeat. Pakistani officials say the talks with the TTP are being overseen by Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, a former Pakistani spy chief who is now the top commander in the northwest. According to the two TTP members, the group asked Pakistani elders during Wednesday's meeting in Kabul to scrap a 2018 law that did away with the semi-independent status of the former tribal regions that dates back to British colonial rule. Islamabad is unlikely to give in to such a demand as the law paved the way for granting equal rights to millions of residents in the restive areas once they were incorporated into Pakistan's authority as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. TTP also wants Pakistani troops to pull out of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, release all the TTP fighters in government custody and revoke all the legal cases against them. Pakistan has demanded the TTP disband, accept Pakistan's constitution and sever all its ties with the Islamic State group, another Sunni militant group with a regional affiliate that is active in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. ___ Associated Press writers Rahim Faiez in Islamabad and Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report. WYOMING, Mich. (AP) Police on Wednesday identified a Wyoming woman and her two children who were allegedly shot and killed by her boyfriend who then killed himself. Police said Liliana Landa-Sanchez, 33, and daughters, Joelin Hernandez-Landa, 13, and Ayzy Hernandez-Landa, 11, were found slain early Tuesday in their home in Wyoming, just southwest of Grand Rapids, The Grand Rapids Press reported. GEORGETOWN, Ky. (AP) Republican Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles stressed his rural roots and pledged to be a unifier Wednesday as he formally launched his 2023 campaign for Kentucky's governorship. Quarles chose the courthouse square in his native Scott County in central Kentucky to begin presenting his agenda and touting his credentials to Bluegrass State voters. The event came about a month after Quarles announced he would seek Kentuckys top political job next year. Only in America can a farm kid who grew up in the tobacco patch aspire to run for governor one day, Quarles told a crowd of sun-drenched supporters. Hes part of a growing list of candidates vying for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in what's shaping up as a fiercely competitive primary next spring. Quarles touted his conservative credentials including his opposition to abortion and support for gun-ownership rights. Like other Republicans, he condemned Beshear's COVID-19 restrictions on businesses and gatherings. Folks, just because you lived through a once-in-a-century pandemic doesn't mean our constitutional rights, individual liberties and freedoms should be tossed out the window, he said. Beshear, who is seeking a second term, maintains that his aggressive approach saved lives. His restrictions were in place mostly when COVID-19 vaccines were not available or not yet widely distributed though lawmakers later severely limited his ability to respond when virus cases surged again. Beshear says his actions reflected guidance from the White House coronavirus task force when Republican Donald Trump was president. In laying out his agenda, Quarles promised Wednesday to finish the job of extending broadband access to underserved urban and rural areas of Kentucky. He vowed to fight violent crime, tackle the state's drug abuse problems and push for a tax code that makes it easier to start businesses. He criticized Beshear for his policy battles with the state's Republican-dominated legislature which led to some court fights once GOP lawmakers overrode his vetoes of contested legislation. Quarles vowed to bring more unity to government if he's elected governor. Our commonwealth so desperately needs unity during historic times of division, when vetoes instead of cooperation put a black eye on Frankfort, Quarles said. State Democratic Party Chair Colmon Elridge responded by labeling Quarles a self-serving and self-promoting politician. After years in office, Kentuckians would struggle to list a single accomplishment by Quarles, Elridge said in a statement. Recent polling shows Beshear remains popular in GOP-trending Kentucky. The governor has touted his stewardship of Kentucky's economy, pointing to the state's record-setting economic development pace for job creation and business investments. He has landed the states two largest economic development projects ever both battery plants. Quarles, a former state lawmaker in his second term as agriculture commissioner, has long been seen as a gubernatorial contender. Hell try to capitalize on his name recognition across rural GOP strongholds a potential advantage he stressed in direct appeals to working-class Kentuckians. If President Trump taught us anything, it is this: Those who have been ignored by politicians or looked down upon by the ruling liberal elite will no longer be ignored, he said. Quarles' campaign rolled out a list of 53 state lawmakers and county judge-executives who have endorsed his candidacy, the start of what could become a strong grassroots effort. Others already in the governors race on the GOP side include Attorney General Daniel Cameron, state Auditor Mike Harmon and retired attorney Eric Deters. Several other prominent Republicans are considering bids for governor. Looking ahead to the crowded primary, Quarles vowed to follow Ronald Reagans so-called Eleventh Commandment not to speak ill of fellow Republicans. Running for office shouldn't be about who has the biggest insults, but about who has the best ideas, he said. ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) Amnesty International on Wednesday urged Croatia to halt extradition proceedings to Turkmenistan and immediately release a detained member of a Russian music band known for its strident opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin's policies. Lawyers for the rights group and the member of the Pussy Riot band said Croatia detained Aysoltan Niyazov on the strength of a 2002 Interpol warrant issued by Turkmenistan for alleged embezzlement. Neighboring Slovenia had previously arrested Niyazov but released her immediately. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) Denmarks largest energy company said Russia cut off its gas supply Wednesday because it refused to pay in rubles, the latest escalation over European energy amid the war in Ukraine. Russia previously halted natural gas supplies to Finland, Poland and Bulgaria for refusing a demand to pay in rubles. And on Tuesday, the tap was turned off to the Netherlands. Danish energy company rsted said it still expected to be able to serve its customers. We stand firm in our refusal to pay in rubles, and weve been preparing for this scenario, rsted CEO Mads Nipper said. The situation underpins the need of the EU becoming independent of Russian gas by accelerating the build-out of renewable energy. In response to Western sanctions imposed against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree saying foreign buyers needed to pay in rubles for Russian gas as of April 1. Moscow offered customers receiving its natural gas to establish an account in dollars or euros at Russias third-largest bank, Gazprombank, then a second account in rubles. The importer would pay the gas bill in euros or dollars as specified in contracts and direct the bank to exchange the money for rubles. "This is totally not acceptable," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said. This is a kind of blackmailing from Putin. We continue to support Ukraine, and we distance ourselves from the crimes that Putin and Russia commit. Russian state gas giant Gazprom confirmed Wednesday that it stopped gas supplies to Shell Energy Europe and Denmarks rsted after the two companies refused to abide by the ruble-payment mechanism. Gazprom said it hadnt received payments from either company for gas supplied in April and therefore was halting deliveries. The Danish Energy Agency said that in the first 18 weeks of 2022, Russian gas amounted to approximately 25% of EU gas consumption. The agency said that Denmark losing its supply would not have immediate consequences We still have gas in Denmark, and consumers can still have gas delivered, Kristoffer Bottzauw, head of the Danish Energy Agency. said in a statement Monday. But we have plans ready if the situation worsens. Since there is no pipeline going directly from Russia to Denmark, Russia will not be able to directly cut off gas supplies to Denmark, which still will be able to get it, rsted said. Russia's move means that Denmark must purchase more gas on the European gas market, the company added. Denmark has been a net exporter of natural gas for many years, but because its Tyra field in the North Sea is being renovated, the country currently imports about 75% of its gas consumption via Germany. The Tyra field is expected to reopen in mid-2023. In Denmark, some 380,000 households use natural gas for heating via gas boilers, the agency said. On Tuesday, the leaders of the European Union agreed to cut around 90% of all Russian oil imports over the next six months. The 27-nation bloc has relied on Russia for 25% of its crude and 40% of its natural gas. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine A Ukrainian court found two Russian soldiers guilty of "violating the laws and customs of war" on Tuesday and sentenced them to 11 and a half years in prison - the second verdict handed down in a Ukrainian war crimes trial held during the conflict. The sentencing came as Ukraine's chief prosecutor announced that Estonia, Latvia and Slovakia would become the newest members of a multinational investigation team, gathering and exchanging evidence in an effort to hold Russia accountable. The two soldiers convicted Tuesday are in Ukrainian custody, and they stood trial in the Poltava region. Prosecutors accused them of shelling civilian sites in a town in the eastern Kharkiv region. The shelling destroyed an educational facility but left no casualties, prosecutors said. Alexander Bobikin and Alexander Ivanov pleaded guilty last week. The verdict followed another last week in Kyiv, where a court found a 21-year-old Russian soldier guilty of war crimes and sentenced him to life in prison. The soldier, Vadim Shishimarin, had pleaded guilty to killing a 62-year-old civilian in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region early in the war. His lawyer said he intends to appeal. Tens of thousands of investigators have fanned out across Ukraine to gather evidence. Iryna Venediktova, Ukraine's prosecutor general, said Tuesday that her office receives 200 to 300 new war crimes cases each day, for a total of 15,000 so far. It has identified nearly 80 suspects. Prosecutors and investigators around the world have lent their expertise to Ukrainian authorities and begun preparing cases for prosecution in courts elsewhere in Europe. Countries including France, Lithuania and the Netherlands dispatched investigators to Ukraine. The International Criminal Court, which opened a probe into violations of international law on both sides of the conflict, sent a team of 42, its largest-ever deployment. Experts describe the slew of investigations as unprecedented in both scale and speed, unfolding even as the war rages.. The timing allows investigators to access fresh evidence, but fighting and Russian occupation has impeded access. The scale of the efforts has raised concerns about duplication and overlap, which the joint investigation team - created in March and initially including Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland, is meant to address. The ICC last month joined the effort, which Eurojust, the European Union's criminal justice agency, is coordinating. The E.U. recently approved rules allowing the agency to store evidence related to war crimes and share it with judicial authorities. Eurojust, which will receive additional funds from the European Union, is also providing financial support to the joint investigation, said the agency's president, Ladislav Hamran. The IIC is working toward opening an office in Kyiv, prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan told reporters. Venediktova expressed gratitude for the assistance. She asked for more equipment and laboratory capacity for DNA analysis. At a news conference in The Hague, Venediktova said that she hopes the joint investigation will become a model. Some legal experts have raised concerns about the proceedings in Ukraine's first trials, however. Under international law, prisoners of war cannot be tried for their participation in a conflict, though they can be prosecuted for war crimes. POWs must be treated humanely and have the right to a competent lawyer and fair trial. Robert Goldman, a war crimes and human rights expert at American University's Washington College of Law, said the first two trials in Ukraine have been noticeably fast, and that Shishimarin's life sentence, harsh beyond the typical confines of European jurisprudence, appeared to mean the court was "holding him responsible" for the broader conflict. Shelling a civilian target, for which the other two soldiers were prosecuted, can be complicated to prove, he said. To count as a war crime, prosecutors must show that the defendants deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure or launched a disproportionate attack with disregard for the civilian impact. "Again you've got in a matter of days people who are tried and convicted for a very serious crime, which is a war crime," Goldman said. "I have very real questions about the conduct of the trial and the adequacy of the defense." The defense said Bobikin and Ivanov had been following orders and appealed for leniency, according to Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne. Prosecutors had asked for 12 years, Reuters reported. Venediktova also announced Tuesday that a Russian service member charged with rape will be tried in absentia in Ukraine. Mikhail Romanov is accused of killing an unarmed civilian and, with an accomplice, repeatedly raping the man's wife and threatening to shoot the victim and her child. Trials in absentia have occurred in the past, Goldman said, and typically defendants are retried if captured. But in this case and others, they raised concerns about fairness. "There's a real problem of trying someone for a crime where they can't really mount a defense," he said. Moscow and Russian-backed separatists, now holding hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered in Mariupol, have indicated that they intend to put Ukrainians on trial for war crimes as well. The Russian justice system remains highly politicized and legal experts said it is unlikely the prisoners would get a fair trial. Russian soldiers convicted in Ukraine could be included in a prisoner swap. Venediktova said Tuesday that Ukraine has "technical possibilities to exchange people," though this does not fall under the purview of her office. - - - The Washington Post's Andrew Jeong contributed to this report. MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) The Alabama Republican Party hopes to arrange a debate between U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks and Katie Britt ahead of the June runoff in the U.S. Senate race, the chairman said. This is something we would like to provide for the people of Alabama as well as offer to our candidates to hold a fair and open debate with questions from Republican primary voters, Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl said Tuesday. RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) Prosecutors wont seek the death penalty for a New York man charged with killing three people in Rapid City. Pennington County States Attorney Mark Vargo told a judge Tuesday that he wasnt aware the 45-day deadline for making a decision had passed four days earlier, the Rapid City Journal reported. Thirty-seven-year-old Arnson Absolu faces three counts of premeditated first-degree murder in connection with the August 2020 deaths of Charles Red Willow and Dakota Zaiser, both of Rapid City, and Ashley Nagy of Greeley, Colorado. Red Willow and Nagy were found shot to death in a vehicle at a park on Aug. 24, 2020. Zasier's body was discovered Sept. 24 near Sheridan Lake. According to court documents, he had been killed sometime between Aug. 24 and Aug. 25, 2020. He was initially identified as possible witness in Red Willow and Nagy's deaths. About 20 people attended the court hearing on Tuesday, including two of Nagys nieces, Amarri Hiermeier and Allyson Hiermeier. Amarri said she was upset about the state not pursuing the death penalty and said, We didn't get the news we wanted. Allyson said it was hard to see Absolu in person for the first time. She had been to a hearing where he appeared virtually. Actually seeing him, and him looking back at us. I never saw him that close, so that gives you a very hard feeling, she said, adding that she was friends with the other two victims as well. LOS ANGELES (AP) A 44-year-old man was in custody Wednesday on suspicion of phoning in bomb threats to five Los Angeles schools earlier this year, while separate threats against northern and southern California high schools led to the arrests of two students, authorities said. Marcus James Buchanan, who lives in Oklahoma but grew up in Los Angeles, is charged in a federal criminal complaint alleging he threatened to bomb five Los Angeles campuses and shoot children as they exited one of the elementary schools, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement. It wasn't immediately known if Buchanan has an attorney and contact information for the Blackwell, Oklahoma resident could not be found. In February and April, prosecutors say, Buchanan phoned in multiple threats that led to lockdowns at Los Angeles schools. During one phone call, Buchanan allegedly told an employee: "There is a bomb at your school and we will shoot the kids when they get out of the school. That is what you get for not accepting me in 86," according to an affidavit. Phone records indicated that the threatening calls came from a number identified with Buchanan, the affidavit states. Separately, Berkeley police said Wednesday that officers arrested a 16-year-old boy after receiving a tip that he had been recruiting other students to participate in a mass shooting or bombing at Berkeley High School in the San Francisco Bay Area. A search of the teens home yielded parts to explosives and assault rifles, several knives, and electronic items that could be used to create more weapons, Berkeley police said on Twitter. The teen surrendered to police Monday and was arrested on suspicion of possessing destructive device materials and threatening to commit a crime that would result in death or great bodily injury. The arrests come a week after a gunman killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. In Southern California, authorities said an unnamed juvenile who attends Sierra Vista High School in Baldwin Park was arrested on suspicion of emailing a threat involving explosive devices on campus. The investigation began May 25 when staff received the threatening email after classes had ended for the day, police said in a statement Tuesday. A large police response including explosives-detection canine teams from many agencies did not find any devices on the campus 15 miles (24 kilometers) east of Los Angeles. The police statement said that staff again received threats on Tuesday and detectives, with technical assistance from the FBI, identified the suspect, arrested him and seized evidence from his home. Detectives will seek criminal prosecution for these threats, the police statement said. The school announced on its website that in addition to a police presence, staff would search students backpacks and belongings through the last week of the current semester. Meanwhile, administrators at Orange Countys Mater Dei Mater Dei High said Tuesday that the school would be closed through the end of this week after a threat against the campus. Santa Ana police said Wednesday that the threat from a former employee did not rise to the level of a criminal offense. No arrests were expected, officials said. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Tennessee will celebrate National Trails Day by offering free guided hikes at all 56 state parks starting this weekend. According to a news release, the events come as Tennessee's state parks agency will celebrate its 85th anniversary. Were looking forward to the hikes at each of our parks especially this year because of the anniversaries of our parks and National Trails Day, said Jim Bryson, deputy commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, in a statement. Each hike has its own identity, and we invite everyone to participate. Radnor Lake State Park, located within Nashville, will hold a kickoff night hike on Friday. Following events will include day hikes, history hikes, nature hikes and trail cleanup hikes. Some will host post-hike celebrations. A full schedule be found at https://tnstateparks.com/about/special-events/national-trails-day-hikes/. ISTANBUL (AP) Turkey will no longer hold high-level talks with neighboring Greece, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday amid rising tensions between the traditional rivals. Ankara resumed negotiations with Athens last year following a five-year break to address differences over a range of issues such as mineral exploration in the eastern Mediterranean and rival claims in the Aegean Sea. We broke off our high-level strategy council meetings with Greece, Erdogan told a meeting of his partys lawmakers in Ankara, adding: Dont you learn any lessons from history? Dont try to dance with Turkey. The talks had made little headway, but were a means for the two countries to air out their grievances without resorting to a potential armed standoff as had occurred as recently as two years ago. Erdogan's pivot on the talks appeared to have been triggered last week when he signaled his displeasure at comments made by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during a trip to the U.S. Erdogan said Mitsotakis no longer exists for him after accusing the Greek leader of trying to block Turkeys acquisition of F-16 fighter planes. Erdogan also commented on Turkeys objection to Sweden and Finland joining NATO. Ankara has complained the Nordic states harbor terror suspects and arm a group in Syria it accuses of being an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK that has waged a 38-year insurgency inside Turkey. NATO is a security organization, not a support organization for terrorist organizations, he said. The U.S. and EU have categorized the PKK as a terror group. However, its Syrian wing, the Peoples Protection Units, or YPG, has played a leading role in the U.S.-led fight against the Islamic State group. Erdogan said those who tried to legitimize the PKK with letter tricks were deceiving themselves, not us. The president added that Turkey would not change its stance on the Swedish and Finnish NATO application without seeing binding documents demonstrating a hardened approach to those Ankara considers terrorists. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson told a news conference in Stockholm that she's looking forward to further constructive meetings with Turkey to "sort out any issues or misunderstandings that there might be. Sweden has a significant Kurdish diaspora and most of Ankara's complaints about support for terrorists" seem directed there. Finland, meanwhile, has a Kurdish-speaking population of around 15,000. Regarding a new cross-border military operation in Syria, Erdogan said Turkey was entering a new phase in its goal to create a 30-kilometer (19-mile) buffer zone south of the frontier. The territory is controlled by a Syrian Kurdish administration and Ankara says it has been used to launch attacks on Turkey. Erdogan singled out the towns of Tall Rifat and Manbij as targets Turkey will be clearing of terrorists. Both lie west of the Euphrates river while the main Kurdish-controlled region is to the east. - Karl Ritter in Stockholm, Sweden, contributed to this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate STOCKHOLM (AP) U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday warned that the Ukraine war is diverting attention away from climate change, while at the same time showcasing the world's suicidal dependence on fossil fuels. Speaking ahead of an environmental conference in Stockholm, Guterres said the scale of the conflict has inevitably shifted the focus from other issues, including efforts to halt the global temperature rise. The sense of urgency in the debate on climate has of course suffered with the war in Ukraine, Guterres told reporters at the Swedish prime minister's official residence. "But I think this war has demonstrated one thing: How fragile is the world in its dependence on fossil fuels. He pointed to decisions by the European Union this week to stop most imports of Russian oil as part of sanctions imposed after the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. The conflict has underscored how dependent many European countries are on Russian oil and gas. So its time to learn the lesson," Guterres said. "If we do not want again to be in the same situation we are today we need to make a clear bet: massive investment in renewable energy and clear understanding that the dependence on fossil fuels is a suicidal one. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson noted that before the Ukraine war the world was grappling with other crises including the COVID-19 pandemic. We have to be able to handle all these crises at the same time, she said. When we come together we can achieve fantastic things together. Guterres was in Stockholm to attend a two-day conference starting Thursday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in the same city in 1972. That event was the starting point for U.N. efforts to promote global environmental action and led to the creation of the U.N. Environmental Program. Rick Egan/AP U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has tested positive for COVID-19 and has mild symptoms, the agency said Wednesday. Haaland, 61, is isolating in Nevada where she took part in a roundtable discussion Tuesday in Las Vegas about clean energy production on public lands, the Interior Department said in a statement. COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are rising again in the U.S., and deaths are starting to rise, too. In response, many people are understandably asking what the country can do to minimize the viruss toll in the weeks ahead. So far, a lot of discussion has focused on mask mandates. Schools in Philadelphia; Providence, Rhode Island; Berkeley, California; and Brookline, Massachusetts, have reimposed theirs, as have several colleges. Elsewhere, some people are frustrated that officials including New York City Mayor Eric Adams have not done so. Critics have accused these leaders of a lack of political courage, saying that they are yielding to COVID fatigue rather than imposing necessary public health measures. But I think that the criticism misreads both the history of public health and the recent scientific evidence about mask mandates. The evidence suggests that broad mask mandates have not done much to reduce COVID caseloads over the past two years. Today, mask rules may do even less than in the past, given the contagiousness of current versions of the virus. And successful public health campaigns rarely involve a divisive fight over a measure unlikely to make a big difference. The Evidence From the beginning of the pandemic, there has been a paradox involving masks. As Dr. Shira Doron, an epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center, said, It is simultaneously true that masks work and mask mandates do not work. To start with the first half of the paradox: Masks reduce the spread of the coronavirus by preventing virus particles from traveling from one persons nose or mouth into the air and infecting another person. Laboratory studies have repeatedly demonstrated the effect. Given this, you would think that communities where mask-wearing has been more common would have had many fewer COVID infections. But that hasnt been the case. In U.S. cities where mask use has been more common, COVID has spread at a similar rate as in mask-resistant cities. Mask mandates in schools also seem to have done little to reduce the spread. Hong Kong, despite almost universal mask-wearing, recently endured one of the worlds worst COVID outbreaks. Advocates of mandates sometimes argue that they do have a big effect even if it is not evident in populationwide data, because of how many other factors are at play. But this argument seems unpersuasive. After all, the effect of vaccines on severe illness is blazingly obvious in the geographic data: Places with higher vaccination rates have suffered many fewer COVID deaths. The patterns are clear even though the world is a messy place, with many factors other than vaccines influencing COVID death rates. Yet when you look at the data on mask-wearing both before vaccines were available and after, as well as both in the U.S. and abroad you struggle to see any patterns. Almost 30% The idea that masks work better than mask mandates seems to defy logic. It inverts a notion connected to Aristotles writings: that the whole should be greater than the sum of the parts, not less. The main explanation seems to be that the exceptions often end up mattering more than the rule. The coronavirus is so contagious that it can spread during brief times when people take off their masks, even when a mandate is in place. Airplane passengers remove their masks to have a drink. Restaurant patrons go maskless as soon as they walk in the door. Schoolchildren let their masks slide down their faces. So do adults: Research by the University of Minnesota suggests that between 25-30% of Americans consistently wear their masks below their nose. Even though masks work, getting millions of people to wear them, and wear them consistently and properly, is a far greater challenge, Steven Salzberg, a biostatistician at Johns Hopkins University, has written. Part of the problem, Salzberg said, is that the most effective masks also tend to be less comfortable. They cover a larger part of a persons face, fit more snugly and restrict the flow of more air particles. During an acute crisis such as the early months of the pandemic, when masks were one of the few available forms of protection strict guidelines can nonetheless make sense. Public health officials can urge people to wear tight-fitting, high-quality masks and almost never take them off in public. If the mandate has even a modest benefit, it can be worth it. But this approach is not sustainable for years on end. Masks hinder communication, fog glasses and can be uncomfortable. There is a reason that children and airline passengers have broken out in applause when told they can take off their masks. In the current stage of the pandemic, there are less divisive measures that are more effective than mask mandates. Booster shots are widely available. A drug that can further protect the immunocompromised, known as Evusheld, is increasingly available. So are post-infection treatments, like Paxlovid, that make COVID cases less severe. (For young children, who are not yet eligible for the vaccine, COVID is overwhelmingly mild, similar in severity to the flu.) Continuing to expand access to these treatments can do more to reduce hospitalizations and deaths than any mask rule probably would. People have the wherewithal to protect themselves, Dr. Robert Wachter, chair of the medicine department at the University of California, San Francisco, said. Absent a much larger surge in COVID hospitalizations, he added, the case for mandates is weaker than it used to be. Dr. Aaron Carroll, chief health officer of Indiana University, recently wrote for The New York Times Opinion section: Instead of continuing to bicker about things that have become hopelessly politicized like mask mandates, those in public health could focus on efforts that might make much more of a difference. The available data also suggests that more than half of Americans have had COVID in the past six months, making many of them unlikely to contract it again now. As Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at Brown University, told Vox: Many of the people who are not wearing masks have already had COVID, so theyre like, Ive been vaccinated, I already had it how much longer do you want me to do this for? And its kind of hard to say, No, you absolutely must wear it. One-Way Masking The country is probably never going to come to a consensus on masks. They have become yet another source of political polarization. Democrats are more likely to wear masks than Republicans, and Democrats who identify as very liberal are more likely to support mandates. Fortunately, the scientific evidence points to a reasonable compromise. Because masks work and mandates often dont, people can make their own decisions. Anybody who wants to wear a snug, high-quality mask can do so and will be less likely to contract COVID. If anything, that approach one-way masking is consistent with what hospitals have long done, Doron of Tufts said. Patients, including those sick with infectious diseases, typically have not worn masks, but doctors and nurses have. One-way masking is how we have always used them, she wrote. The same system can work for COVID outside of hospitals. Wachter, for example, believes that the time for mandates has passed but still wears one at the supermarket, in classrooms, on airplanes and elsewhere. Different people can reasonably make different choices. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) Police have arrested a woman for allegedly trespassing on the state Capitol grounds near the governors residence. The Bismarck Tribune reported Tuesday that the 32-year-old was taken into custody Sunday night. According to the North Dakota Highway Patrol, the woman was seen near the residence about 9:45 p.m. but left when police asked her to leave. Capitol security spotted her near the residence again about half an hour later. She had entered the grounds when a gate opened to let a vehicle in. By Eli Wolfe San Jose Spotlight Santa Clara County officials want to create a department focused on hate crimes, but local leaders have questions about how it would work. The Board of Supervisors recently directed county workers to come up with a plan for implementing dozens of recommendations for addressing hate crimes. This would include developing a reporting system for hate-based incidents and making data about these incidents more transparent to the public. The board also asked for more details about the creation of a new county office that would receive and track reports of hate incidents and crimes. A couple of supervisors said they were reluctant to green light a new office, which would require money and personnel. Supervisor Cindy Chavez, who co-introduced the referral with Supervisor Otto Lee, said she has no preference on whether a new office is created, as long as some department is receiving reports and tracking incidents. "We don't really have a tool for people to do that besides 911," Chavez told San Jose Spotlight. "Not everybody feels comfortable calling in a hate crime like that." Chavez said this is a problem because it leaves the county with incomplete data for tracking criminal acts motivated by race, gender, religion or other characteristics. Available data suggests these incidents are occurring with greater frequency in San Jose. The San Jose Police Department reported 116 hate crimes in 2021, compared to 89 in 2020 and 33 in 2019. This is part of a broader pattern in California where the overall number of hate crimes increased from 1,015 in 2019 to 1,330 in 2020. There are myriad factors potentially driving this trend. A notable one is hateful rhetoric about Asians relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, which appears to be causing some anti-Asian violence in the Bay Area. Lee said it's important for the county to invest resources in combating hate crimes in light of the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York that targeted Black people, and the 2021 shooting in Atlanta, Georgia where a gunman attacked Asian masseuses. "Hate is not something that should be tolerated," Lee told San Jose Spotlight, adding county leaders should also learn more about how online activity can fuel hate crimes. "We need to nip this in the bud." Not another office The recommendations stem from the San Jose State University Research Foundation, which forwarded them to the county's Hate Prevention & Inclusion Task Force. The county formed the task force in 2019 after the deadly Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting. Sparky Harlan, CEO of the Bill Wilson Center, told San Jose Spotlight it's critical to focus on hate crimes, but she's not convinced the county needs a new office to accomplish this mission. She's also opposed to adding this mandate to a law enforcement agency, such as the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office. "The community really doesn't want to talk to the DA, public employees or the police," Harlan said. "They want to be able to talk to people they trust." Harlan said it may be appropriate to place this role within a division of the County Executive's Office, such as the Division of Equity and Social Justice, noting this could save the government some money. Richard Konda, executive director of the Asian Law Alliance and a member of the county's Hate Prevention & Inclusion Task Force, agreed it makes more sense to place hate crime prevention under the purview of an existing department. Konda emphasized the county needs an institution to keep track of hate crimes that can also work with community organizations to develop strategies for curbing the problem. He said while some people are comfortable reporting hate incidents, others are reluctant to come forward, although this is becoming easier through self-reporting websites such as Stop AAPI Hate. "The numbers are shocking to me," Konda told San Jose Spotlight, referring to the reports he's seen about hate crimes. "There's all kinds of hate-related incidents that are happening." Bob Nunez, president of the San Jose/Silicon Valley NAACP, said he believes the county is taking hate crimes seriously, and he appreciates its efforts. His main concern is how county officials plan to coordinate their efforts with residents. "How's the input from the community being brought in--are we going to be asked to be on five or six different advisory committees to different departments?" Nunez told San Jose Spotlight, adding he'd also like to see how the county's plans fit within existing goals around diversity and immigration. Copyright 2022 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. Copyright 2022 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. San Francisco Mayor London Breed released a plan Tuesday to eliminate transgender homelessness by 2027. Breed has added a plan to her two-year budget proposal to end homelessness that would include transgender and gender nonconforming San Franciscans, a spokesperson for her office said. The mayor claims any such action would make the city the first in the nation to commit to ending homelessness for this specific group of people. The mayor's plan would create at least 150 long-term housing subsidies through the Flexible Housing Subsidy Pool program. A new permanent supportive housing site would also be acquired for trans youth with a focus on those at transition age. Breed would also earmark $6 million over two years for short-term rent subsidies, flexible financial assistance and support to build capacity among nonprofit providers. $500,000 would go to behavioral health services. City officials estimate that there are roughly 400 TGNC residents experiencing homelessness at any given time in San Francisco. Napa County residents who were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday evening due to the Old Fire are permitted to return home, Cal Fire announced at Midnight. Only residents of the area are permitted access at this time, authorities said. Cal Fire is asking residents to use extreme caution when returning as there is emergency personnel still assigned to the incident. The Old Fire was first reported at 3:35 p.m. on Tuesday and at last report at 11:11 p.m. the blaze was at 370 acres with 5 percent containment. Crews will remain working through the night. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued an air quality advisory Tuesday for wildfire smoke coming from the Old Fire currently burning in Napa County north of Napa. The advisory is in effect through Wednesday. Smoke from the fire is expected to impact the Napa Valley, officials said in the 6:30 p.m. advisory. Weather maps show the smoke traveling as far as Vallejo late Tuesday night. The fire broke out on Tuesday afternoon and had reached 200 acres by 6 p.m., according to officials with the Cal Fire Sonoma/Lake/Napa. Fairfield Police are advising the community of a bear that has been sighted around Hiborn and Martin Roads on the west side of town, the department announced on Tuesday evening. Animal control and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife have been notified of the sightings, the department said. A bear was spotted this week in Vallejo, as well. The department advises residents not to antagonize the bear by approaching it, chasing, it, or trying for photos or selfies with the animal. Napa County Sheriff's deputies have arrested a transient man suspected of starting 10 separate fires, including one on Thursday in Monte Rio on the Bohemian Highway. Jack Stanley Seprish, 43, was detained Thursday after witnesses said they spotted him in the area of both the Monte Rio fire and another one that had been set nearby. Authorities located Seprish and arrested him on suspicion of arson but also on suspicion of burglary to a nearby house. After an investigation, Seprish was charged with 10 counts of arson to forest land for ten separate fires he is allegedly linked to. He was arraigned on Tuesday. Seprish remains in custody and his bail has been set at $920,000. San Jose resident Gregory Riedl, 66, has been missing since Thursday, according to a Silver Alert issued Tuesday by the California Highway Patrol on behalf of the San Jose Police Department. Riedl was last seen at about 3:30 p.m. Thursday in San Jose wearing a gray shirt and blue pants. He is believed to be on foot and is considered at-risk. The alert describes Riedl as 6 feet tall and weighs about 200 pounds, has balding brown hair and hazel eyes. San Leandro police report that a collision with a tractor-trailer killed the driver of a car Tuesday afternoon and sent a passenger to the hospital. Officers responded to a 4:10 p.m. report of a collision between a car and a big-rig truck in the area of Eden Road and Doolittle Drive just east of the Oakland International Airport, according to a news release issued Wednesday night by the San Leandro Police Department. Upon arrival, officers found the driver of the car unresponsive and she died at the scene. A passenger in her car was taken to a local hospital and is expected to survive. The California Highway Patrol reports that a fatal collision between a tractor-trailer and a car has closed State Route 183 west of Salinas early Wednesday. Officers responded to a 12:50 a.m. report of a collision in unincorporated Monterey County on Route 183 near Cooper Road. Initial investigation found that a Ford Mustang came into the same lane occupied by a big-rig truck, which struck the car. Both the driver and occupant of the truck were described as "OK" in the CHP traffic log. CHP officials provided no estimate when the roadway will reopen. The National Weather Service forecast for Wednesday the greater San Francisco Bay Area calls for a repeat of Tuesday's sunny and warm conditions. Daytime highs will be in the mid 60s along the coast, in the mid 70s to low 80s around the bay and in the mid to upper 80s in the interior areas of the East Bay and North Bay. Overnight lows are expected in the low 50s. Temperatures should slowly cool slightly to near normal Thursday and Friday then cool to below normal over the weekend with a slight chance of showers in the North Bay. Copyright 2022 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. Copyright 2022 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. It was the convergence of a record-shattering crisis in accidental drug overdose deaths in San Francisco and my own personal journey in recovery from drug addiction that moved me to ask Mayor London Breed last month to consider me as her appointee to the Board of Supervisors. That same convergence is now, for me, a decisive factor in why I will vote yes on Proposition H on June 7, to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin. How I plan to vote on this recall was among the first questions posed to me after I was sworn in as a supervisor, and I have been more deeply conflicted about it than some will likely give me credit for, Im sure. Critics will undoubtedly point to the last two years of my professional background on the San Francisco Police Departments command staff as their rationale for why my decision was predictable. But it is more accurately my personal background as someone who identifies as an addict and alcoholic, and who has spent most of my adult life in recovery that led me to arrive at this decision. In the final analysis, heres where District Attorney Boudin himself made it impossible, in my view, for any conscientious supervisor representing District 6 neighborhoods like SOMA, Mid-Market and Civic Center to support his retention. Most of the residents that I speak with arent particularly upset that there are drug sales happening there, DA Boudin explained to the Washington Post last February. Since the advent of COVID-19, San Franciscos street drug trade has surpassed that global pandemics lethality nearly twice over, claiming the lives of almost 1,500 San Franciscans since January 2020. Overwhelmingly, the chemical culprit in these fatalities is fentanyl, a potently deadly synthetic opioid with a minimum lethal overdose estimated to be around 2 milligrams. Early in his tenure, District Attorney Boudin challenged the San Francisco Police Department (where I until recently served) to do better. I need the police department to bring me kilos, not crumbs, he said, for cases he could prosecute against drug dealers. At the time, I considered the DAs quip to be an ill-considered anachronism a throwback to a bygone time when quaint scourges like heroin and methamphetamine were the most dangerous drugs we had to worry about. With crumbs as deadly as fentanyl, I felt, the drug dealers trafficking them on our streets deserve to be held accountable. Im perhaps particularly sensitive to this as someone whose journey in recovery from substance use disorder continues every day. Like many others in recovery, Im acutely aware that Im one bad decision away from a fentanyl poisoning that could make me an overdose statistic. What I couldnt have predicted two years ago, however, was that SFPD officers in the Tenderloin Police District, which covers multiple blocks in my district, would indeed start bringing kilos, not crumbs to the DAs office for prosecution. The totals have become increasingly startling: During the entirety of 2020, the combined fentanyl haul from drug dealers arrested by SFPD Tenderloin officers was just under 5.5 kilos. Calendar year 2021 represented a nearly five-fold increase over that with 25.5 kilos of fentanyl seized. Today still more than a month away from 2022s halfway point fentanyl seizures are already approaching the entire annual total for 2021, at 20.8 kilos. For context, thats more than 45 pounds or enough lethal overdoses to wipe out San Franciscos population a dozen times over. Two weeks ago, an analysis of San Francisco Superior Court case records by The San Francisco Standard found that DA Boudin did not secure a single conviction for possession with the intent to sell fentanyl among the cases he prosecuted in 2021. Not one. In fact, The Standards research established that the DAs office secured a total of only three convictions last year for possession with intent to sell: two cases for methamphetamine and one involving heroin and cocaine. For context, that compares to more than 90 such drug-dealing convictions in 2018 by our former district attorney, George Gascon. For fentanyl dealers, Boudin is pursuing a lesser charge of accessory after the fact. To be sure, there may be valid reasons to pursue alternatives to drug dealing convictions. But if those lesser charges are not breaking the cycle of recidivism and the evidence shows they are not then those reasons have ceased being valid. Among the many neighbors from whom I regularly hear on this topic, it has decidedly not been my experience that they arent particularly upset with brazen trafficking of deadly drugs in our neighborhoods. To the contrary, most find it as profoundly upsetting as I do, and for a multitude of reasons. They include blocked and trashed sidewalks, and drug dealers threatening behavior toward neighborhood residents and visitors especially women, seniors, families, and unhoused residents. They include law-abiding small businesses, some of them now shuttered, that have lost customers and employees who feel intimidated and unsafe. They include drug overdoses that are disproportionately killing people of color. And they include drug-related violence, including homicides, which of late have even claimed the lives of juveniles. The mounting seriousness of open-air drug markets, in other words, has given the District 6 neighbors and small business owners I hear from plenty to be upset about. One of the toughest challenges of leadership is taking responsibility not just for the words we say but how our words might be heard. In diminishing the legitimacy of neighborhood concerns about the myriad problems associated with open-air drug markets, District Attorney Boudin has forced his allies and potential allies into the unenviable position of defending the indefensible. But its worse than that, because theres an audience for Boudins words thats even more problematic than they are for my neighbors and myself and thats drug dealers. Its bad enough for San Franciscans to feel our own concerns ignored or minimized. Its worse to consider how the words of San Franciscos chief elected law enforcement official might be emboldening those who traffic deadly drugs and engage in dangerous criminal conduct on our neighborhoods streets. Im convinced, personally and professionally, that San Francisco needs to do better. Thats why Ill vote yes on Prop H in the June 7 election. Matt Dorsey is a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, representing the District 6 neighborhoods of SOMA, Mid-Market, Rincon Hill, East Cut, Treasure Island, South Beach, Mission Bay, Showplace Square, the Hub and portions of Civic Center. WFO BINGHAMTON Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, June 1, 2022 _____ SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Binghamton NY 1241 PM EDT Wed Jun 1 2022 ...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of southwestern Broome and northeastern Susquehanna Counties through 115 PM EDT... At 1241 PM EDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near Binghamton, moving southeast at 25 mph. HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph and nickel size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible. Locations impacted include... Binghamton, Vestal, Johnson City, Endicott, Kirkwood, Conklin, Susquehanna, Susquehanna Depot, Port Dickinson and Hallstead. This includes the following highway exits... New York Interstate 81 between 1 and 5. Interstate 86/Route 17 between 67 North and 75. Pennsylvania Interstate 81 between 223 and 230. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. This storm may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio stations and available television stations for additional information and possible warnings from the National Weather Service. LAT...LON 4185 7573 4201 7602 4209 7610 4215 7593 4200 7548 4198 7548 TIME...MOT...LOC 1641Z 299DEG 22KT 4206 7594 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO BINGHAMTON Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, June 1, 2022 _____ SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Binghamton NY 158 PM EDT Wed Jun 1 2022 ...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of southwestern Steuben County through 230 PM EDT... At 158 PM EDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over Greenwood, or 14 miles south of Hornell, moving east at 30 mph. HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 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. Locations impacted include... Addison, Woodhull, Jasper, Thurston, Troupsburg, Cameron, Greenwood, Cameron Mills, Pinnacle State Park and Willeyville. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. This storm may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio stations and available television stations for additional information and possible warnings from the National Weather Service. LAT...LON 4220 7774 4222 7720 4200 7722 4200 7775 TIME...MOT...LOC 1758Z 275DEG 26KT 4212 7763 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH ...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of southwestern Sullivan, northern Wayne and north central Pike Counties through 230 PM EDT... At 159 PM EDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near Rutledgedale, or 11 miles north of Honesdale, moving southeast at 45 mph. HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 40 mph and pea size hail. Lackawaxen, Bethel, Damascus, Callicoon, Tusten, Cochecton, Lava, Fosterdale, Narrowsburg and Hortonville. LAT...LON 4177 7542 4187 7532 4170 7482 4145 7499 TIME...MOT...LOC 1759Z 304DEG 41KT 4174 7525 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.25 IN _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather Storm Prediction Ctr, Norman, OK Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Tuesday, May 31, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE FOR WS 297 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 633 PM CDT TUE MAY 31 2022 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 297 REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM CDT FOR THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS TX . TEXAS COUNTIES INCLUDED ARE BRISCOE CHILDRESS COLLINGSWORTH COTTLE CROSBY DICKENS DONLEY FLOYD FOARD GARZA HALL HARDEMAN KENT KING MOTLEY WHEELER WILBARGER The National Weather Service in Lubbock Texas has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Northwestern Hall County in the Panhandle of Texas... Northeastern Briscoe County in the Panhandle of Texas... * Until 715 PM CDT. * At 634 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 8 miles southwest of Brice, or 14 miles north of Caprock Canyon State Park, moving northeast at 20 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... Brice. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO AMARILLO Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, June 1, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Amarillo has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Northern Wheeler County in the Panhandle of Texas... Northeastern Gray County in the Panhandle of Texas... Southeastern Roberts County in the Panhandle of Texas... Southern Hemphill County in the Panhandle of Texas... * Until 730 AM CDT. * At 634 AM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 8 miles west of New Mobeetie, or 9 miles south of Miami, moving east at 30 mph. HAZARD...Quarter size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Damage to vehicles is expected. * Locations impacted include... Briscoe, Wheeler, Allison, New Mobeetie, Codman and Mobeetie. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. 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. 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 AMARILLO Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, June 1, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Amarillo has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Northeastern Carson County in the Panhandle of Texas... Southeastern Hutchinson County in the Panhandle of Texas... Gray County in the Panhandle of Texas... Southern Roberts County in the Panhandle of Texas... * Until 745 AM CDT. * At 651 AM CDT, severe thunderstorms were located along a line extending from 3 miles east of Skellytown to near Kingsmill to 4 miles southeast of White Deer, moving east at 30 mph. HAZARD...Quarter size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Damage to vehicles is expected. * Locations impacted include... Pampa, White Deer, Mclean, Lefors, Lake Mcclellan, Kingsmill, Alanreed and Codman. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. Large hail and continuous cloud to ground lightning is occurring with these storms. Move indoors immediately. Lightning is one of nature's leading killers. Remember, if you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning. Torrential rainfall is occurring with these storms, and may lead to flash flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO LUBBOCK Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Tuesday, May 31, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Lubbock Texas has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Northeastern Castro County in the Panhandle of Texas... Northwestern Swisher County in the Panhandle of Texas... * Until 730 PM CDT. * At 636 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 7 miles north of Hart, moving north at 25 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... Happy and Nazareth. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. Central Swisher County in the Panhandle of Texas... * Until 745 PM CDT. * At 638 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 4 miles southwest of Tulia, moving northeast at 10 mph. Tulia and Vigo Park. ...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR NORTHEASTERN WHEELER AND SOUTHEASTERN HEMPHILL COUNTIES IS CANCELLED... The storm which prompted the warning has moved out of the area. Therefore, the warning has been cancelled. However small hail and gusty winds are still possible with this thunderstorm. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until 1000 PM CDT for the Panhandle of Texas. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather ULAN BATOR, June 1 (Xinhua) -- As part of its goal to promote the tourism sector, Mongolia aims to develop cross-border tourism with its neighbors -- China and Russia, Mongolian Minister of Environment and Tourism Bat-Ulzii Bat-Erdene has said. "In particular, we are working to create legal conditions for the development of cross-border tourism with neighboring China and Russia, and to create 72-hour cross-border tourism zones," Bat-Erdene told Xinhua in a recent interview. Mongolia has set a goal of welcoming 1 million foreign tourists and earning 1 billion U.S. dollars from tourism in 2024, said the minister, adding the Asian country plans to set 2023 and 2024 as "Years to Visit Mongolia" to promote the pandemic-hit tourism sector. Mongolia has also been considering exempting visa requirements for a list of 11 countries, Bat-Erdene said. Given the fact that the Asian country's tourism is seasonal, the minister said Mongolia has attached great importance to developing winter tourism to boost its tourism industry. "Therefore, we are considering the issue of upgrading our local airports to international 4C4 rating, developing winter business tourism, and hosting major international events, such as conferences in Mongolia in winter," Bat-Erdene said. Meanwhile, Mongolia is exploring the possibility of receiving transit flights at the new Chinggis Khaan International Airport near Ulan Bator. "What this means is that Mongolia wants to be the main bridge and transit point connecting Asian countries such as China, South Korea and Japan with Europe and others," said the minister. With its economy largely dependent on export earnings from the mining sector, Mongolia has been making efforts to diversify its economy, notably through revitalizing the tourism sector. WFO LUBBOCK Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Tuesday, May 31, 2022 _____ FLASH FLOOD WARNING Flash Flood Statement National Weather Service Lubbock TX 717 PM CDT Tue May 31 2022 ...FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 830 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR NORTHWESTERN CHILDRESS AND NORTHEASTERN HALL COUNTIES... At 717 PM CDT, trained weather spotters reported thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the warned area. Up to 3 inches of rain have fallen. Additional rainfall amounts up to 1.5 inches are possible in the warned area. Flash flooding is already occurring. HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms. SOURCE...Trained spotters reported. 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... Memphis and Lakeview. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. The National Weather Service in Lubbock Texas has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... East central Swisher County in the Panhandle of Texas... Northwestern Briscoe County in the Panhandle of Texas... * Until 815 PM CDT. * At 718 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Mackenzie Reservoir, or 12 miles northwest of Silverton, moving east at 25 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... Vigo Park and Mackenzie Reservoir. For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 745 PM CDT FOR NORTHEASTERN SWISHER COUNTY... At 719 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Tulia, moving northeast 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... Tulia and Vigo Park. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO LUBBOCK Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Tuesday, May 31, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Lubbock Texas has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Southeastern Swisher County in the Panhandle of Texas... Central Briscoe County in the Panhandle of Texas... * Until 845 PM CDT. * At 744 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 5 miles southwest of Mackenzie Reservoir, or 12 miles west of Silverton, moving east at 30 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... Silverton, Caprock Canyon State Park, Quitaque, Mackenzie Reservoir and Claytonville. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. The National Weather Service in Lubbock has issued a * Flash Flood Warning for... West Central Childress County in the panhandle of Texas... Central Hall County in the panhandle of Texas... * Until 945 PM CDT. * At 745 PM CDT, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the warned area. Up to 3 inches of rain have fallen. Additional rainfall amounts up to 2 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... Estelline and Plaska Community. Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO LUBBOCK Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Tuesday, May 31, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Lubbock Texas has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Childress County in the Panhandle of Texas... Hall County in the Panhandle of Texas... * Until 900 PM CDT. * At 758 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 11 miles north of Tell, or 12 miles northwest of Childress, moving east at 15 mph. HAZARD...Two inch 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... Childress, Memphis, Tell, Kirkland, Brice, Estelline, Lakeview and Plaska Community. 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. ...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of west central Pecos, northwestern Brewster and southeastern Jeff Davis Counties through 845 PM CDT... At 759 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 15 miles northeast of Alpine, moving southwest at 10 mph. HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph and nickel size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible. Locations impacted include... Alpine and Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport. If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. LAT...LON 3079 10331 3058 10294 3040 10295 3028 10318 3033 10350 3036 10352 3034 10356 3035 10356 3036 10355 3036 10357 3038 10358 3037 10359 3036 10358 3035 10360 3037 10371 3048 10374 TIME...MOT...LOC 0059Z 038DEG 11KT 3054 10350 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN MAX WIND GUST...55 MPH _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO LUBBOCK Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Tuesday, May 31, 2022 _____ FLASH FLOOD WARNING The National Weather Service in Lubbock has issued a * Flash Flood Warning for... Northern Childress County in the panhandle of Texas... * Until 1100 PM CDT. * At 849 PM CDT, trained weather spotters reported portions of US Highway 83 north of Childress are impassable. Up to 3 inches of rain have fallen. Additional rainfall amounts up to 2 inches are possible in the warned area. Flash flooding is already occurring. HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms. SOURCE...Trained spotters reported. 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... mainly rural areas of Northern Childress County PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO MIDLAND/ODESSA Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Tuesday, May 31, 2022 _____ FLASH FLOOD WARNING The National Weather Service in Midland/Odessa has issued a * Flash Flood Warning for... West Central Pecos County in southwestern Texas... * Until 930 PM CDT. * At 627 PM CDT, emergency management reported thunderstorms producing heavy rain with flooding reported near Belding. Between 1 and 3 inches of rain have fallen. Flash flooding is already occurring. HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms. SOURCE...Emergency management reported. 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... mainly rural areas of West Central Pecos County PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. ...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of southern Collingsworth and southeastern Donley Counties through 700 PM CDT... At 630 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 4 miles southeast of Memphis, moving east at 30 mph. HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph and nickel size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible. Locations impacted include... Wellington and Dodson. If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm and may lead to localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until 1000 PM CDT for the Panhandle of Texas. LAT...LON 3475 10000 3475 10070 3492 10000 TIME...MOT...LOC 2330Z 256DEG 25KT 3466 10051 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN MAX WIND GUST...55 MPH _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO MIDLAND/ODESSA Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Tuesday, May 31, 2022 _____ FLASH FLOOD WARNING Flash Flood Statement National Weather Service Midland/Odessa TX 729 PM CDT Tue May 31 2022 ...FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 930 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR WEST CENTRAL PECOS COUNTY... At 729 PM CDT, flooding continued near Belding. Between 1 and 3 inches of rain have fallen. Light rain continues to fall across the area with additional flooding possible as water runs off. HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms. SOURCE...Emergency management reported. 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... mainly rural areas of West Central Pecos County PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. The National Weather Service in Norman has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Jackson County in southwestern Oklahoma... Southeastern Harmon County in southwestern Oklahoma... Southeastern Greer County in southwestern Oklahoma... Northwestern Wilbarger County in northern Texas... Northeastern Hardeman County in northern Texas... * Until 815 PM CDT. * At 728 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 6 miles southeast of Gould, moving east at 15 mph. HAZARD...Two inch 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... Altus, Blair, Olustee, Eldorado, Martha, Gould, Elmer, Friendship, Altus Air Force Base, Duke, Warren, Fargo, Humphreys, Odell, Hester, McQueen and Hess. For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO MIDLAND/ODESSA Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Tuesday, May 31, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Midland has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Southwestern Brewster County in southwestern Texas... * Until 900 PM CDT. * At 811 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Castolon, or 13 miles east of Lajitas, moving northeast 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... Chisos Basin, Study Butte, Castolon and Big Bend National Park. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. 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. Torrential rainfall is occurring with this storm, and may lead to flash flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways. The National Weather Service in Norman has issued a Jackson County in southwestern Oklahoma... Southwestern Kiowa County in southwestern Oklahoma... Northwestern Tillman County in southwestern Oklahoma... Southeastern Greer County in southwestern Oklahoma... Northern Foard County in northern Texas... Northwestern Wilbarger County in northern Texas... Hardeman County in northern Texas... * At 812 PM CDT, severe thunderstorms were located along a line extending from 4 miles northwest of Blair to 3 miles east of Eldorado to 9 miles southwest of Goodlett, moving southeast at 20 mph. HAZARD...70 mph wind gusts and ping pong ball size hail. 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. Altus, Mangum, Quanah, Crowell, Tipton, Blair, Chillicothe, Olustee, Eldorado, Martha, Elmer, Headrick, Friendship, Altus Air Force Base, Margaret, Warren, Fargo, Medicine Mound, Humphreys and Odell. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO MIDLAND/ODESSA Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Tuesday, May 31, 2022 _____ AREAL FLOOD ADVISORY Flood Advisory National Weather Service Midland/Odessa TX 837 PM CDT Tue May 31 2022 ...FLOOD ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 1145 PM CDT THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Arroyo and small stream flooding caused by excessive rainfall is expected. * WHERE...A portion of southwest Texas, including the following county, Brewster. * WHEN...Until 1145 PM CDT. * IMPACTS...Minor flooding in low-lying and poor drainage areas. Rises in small streams and normally dry arroyos. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 836 PM CDT, Doppler radar and automated rain gauges indicated heavy rain due to thunderstorms. This will cause arroyo and small stream flooding. Between 0.5 and 1 inch of rain has fallen in the past 30 minutes. - Some locations that will experience flooding include... Castolon, Study Butte and Big Bend National Park. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. In hilly terrain there are hundreds of low water crossings which are potentially dangerous in heavy rain. Do not attempt to cross flooded roads. Find an alternate route. ...FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 945 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR WEST CENTRAL CHILDRESS AND CENTRAL HALL COUNTIES... At 837 PM CDT, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the warned area. Up to 4 inches of rain have fallen. Additional rainfall amounts up to 2 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... Estelline and Plaska Community. ...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of northwestern Brewster, southeastern Jeff Davis and northeastern Presidio Counties through 930 PM CDT... At 838 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm capable of producing a landspout near Alpine, moving southwest at 10 mph. HAZARD...Landspouts, wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph, and nickel size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible. Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Locations impacted include... Alpine, Fort Davis, Camp Mitre Peak, Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport, Davis Mountains State Park, Indian Lodge and Fort Davis National Historical Site. If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. LAT...LON 3068 10393 3064 10359 3042 10329 3030 10340 3029 10345 3027 10347 3026 10346 3024 10346 3019 10350 3045 10403 TIME...MOT...LOC 0138Z 047DEG 8KT 3041 10360 LANDSPOUT...POSSIBLE MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN MAX WIND GUST...55 MPH The National Weather Service in Lubbock Texas has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Northeastern Floyd County in northwestern Texas... Northwestern Motley County in northwestern Texas... Northwestern Cottle County in northwestern Texas... Southwestern Hall County in the Panhandle of Texas... Southeastern Briscoe County in the Panhandle of Texas... * Until 945 PM CDT. * At 840 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 7 miles northeast of South Plains, or 14 miles southwest of Caprock Canyon State Park, moving east at 10 mph. HAZARD...Two inch 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... Turkey, Caprock Canyon State Park, Quitaque, Valley Schools, Flomot, South Plains, Dougherty and Northfield. For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO MIDLAND/ODESSA Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, June 1, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Midland has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... North central Brewster County in southwestern Texas... East central Jeff Davis County in southwestern Texas... * Until 515 PM CDT. * At 409 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 18 miles northeast of Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport, or 18 miles northeast of Alpine, moving southeast at 20 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect wind damage to roofs, siding, and trees. * This severe thunderstorm will remain over mainly rural areas of north central Brewster and east central Jeff Davis Counties. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO MIDLAND/ODESSA Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, June 1, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Midland has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... West central Reeves County in southwestern Texas... * Until 530 PM CDT. * At 437 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located over Toyah, moving northeast at 25 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... Pecos, Toyah and Pecos Municipal Airport. This includes Interstate 20 between mile markers 16 and 45. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. North central Jeff Davis County in southwestern Texas... East central Culberson County in southwestern Texas... * At 440 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 7 miles north of Plateau, or 19 miles west of Kent, moving east at 30 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and half dollar size hail. IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect wind damage to roofs, siding, and trees. Kent. This includes Interstate 10 between mile markers 160 and 182. The National Weather Service in Norman has issued a Southwestern Foard County in northern Texas... * At 441 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 13 miles northwest of Truscott, moving east at 15 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail. * This severe thunderstorm will remain over mainly rural areas of southwestern Foard County. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO MIDLAND/ODESSA Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, June 1, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Midland has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... East central Lea County in southeastern New Mexico... Northwestern Andrews County in western Texas... Southwestern Gaines County in western Texas... * Until 600 PM CDT/500 PM MDT/. * At 502 PM CDT/402 PM MDT/, a severe thunderstorm was located 16 miles west of Monument, or 24 miles west of Hobbs, moving east at 35 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... Eunice, Monument, Nadine, Eunice Airport, Oil Center and Lea County Regional Airport. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 600 PM CDT FOR CENTRAL ANDREWS COUNTY... At 504 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 15 miles west of Andrews, moving east at 20 mph. HAZARD...Ping pong ball size hail and 60 mph wind gusts. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...People and animals outdoors will be injured. Expect hail damage to roofs, siding, windows, and vehicles. Expect wind damage to roofs, siding, and trees. Locations impacted include... Andrews, Andrews County Airport and Frankel City. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO MIDLAND/ODESSA Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, June 1, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Midland has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... South central Lea County in southeastern New Mexico... Northwestern Winkler County in western Texas... Northeastern Loving County in western Texas... * Until 615 PM CDT/515 PM MDT/. * At 521 PM CDT/421 PM MDT/, a severe thunderstorm was located 12 miles north of Mentone, moving northeast at 20 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... Bennett and Slash Ranch. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. TX . TEXAS COUNTIES INCLUDED ARE ANDREWS BORDEN BREWSTER CRANE CROCKETT CULBERSON DAWSON ECTOR FISHER GAINES GARZA GLASSCOCK HOWARD IRION JEFF DAVIS KENT LOVING LYNN MARTIN MIDLAND MITCHELL NOLAN PECOS PRESIDIO REAGAN REEVES SCURRY STERLING STONEWALL TERRELL TERRY UPTON WARD WINKLER YOAKUM ...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of southeastern Tyler and central Jasper Counties through 600 PM CDT... At 524 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near Spurger, or near Town Bluff, moving northeast at 20 mph. HAZARD...Winds in excess of 40 mph and pea size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible. Locations impacted include... Fred, Town Bluff and Spurger. If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm and may lead to localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways. Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm. Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe shelter inside a building or vehicle. LAT...LON 3076 9428 3084 9409 3058 9407 3052 9418 3053 9429 TIME...MOT...LOC 2224Z 229DEG 17KT 3072 9413 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.25 IN MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO NORMAN Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, June 1, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING Severe Weather Statement National Weather Service Norman OK 547 PM CDT Wed Jun 1 2022 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 615 PM CDT FOR SOUTHEASTERN FOARD AND NORTH CENTRAL KNOX COUNTIES... At 547 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 5 miles north of Gilliland, moving east 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... Gilliland. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. ...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of southeastern Lea and west central Andrews Counties through 615 PM CDT/515 PM MDT/... At 549 PM CDT/449 PM MDT/, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 8 miles southwest of Eunice Airport, or 11 miles southwest of Eunice, moving east at 45 mph. HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph and nickel size hail. IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible. Eunice. If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until 1000 PM CDT/900 PM MDT/ for southeastern New Mexico...and western Texas. LAT...LON 3227 10347 3246 10340 3242 10295 3215 10299 TIME...MOT...LOC 2249Z 281DEG 37KT 3235 10332 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN MAX WIND GUST...55 MPH The National Weather Service in Norman has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Southeastern Foard County in northern Texas... Northeastern Knox County in northern Texas... * Until 630 PM CDT. * At 549 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Gilliland, moving southeast 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... Gilliland and Vera. ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 615 PM CDT/515 PM MDT/ FOR SOUTH CENTRAL LEA...NORTHWESTERN WINKLER AND NORTHEASTERN LOVING COUNTIES... At 550 PM CDT/450 PM MDT/, a severe thunderstorm was located 16 miles southwest of Jal, moving northeast at 20 mph. Bennett. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather Fintech company slice on Wednesday said it has raised $50 million as part of its larger series C round led by Tiger Global, adding that it will use new capital to boost its new unified payments interface (UPI) product. The latest funding round also saw participation from existing investors Moore Strategic Ventures and Insight Partners, and a new investor, GMO VenturePartners. The leading credit card challenger last month launched the integration of UPI into its app for all its existing and waitlisted users in a phased manner. "Our next important product launch with UPI has been gaining strong early traction. We are excited about the long journey that lies ahead of us," said Rajan Bajaj, Founder-CEO, slice. In November last year, slice entered the unicorn club after raising $220 million in its Series-B fundraise co-led by Tiger Global and Insight Partners. "slice is leading the way for innovation, customer experience, and growth in India's rapidly developing payments market," said Alex Cook, Partner, Tiger Global. Similar to other UPI apps, slice users can now create a UPI account on the slice app by linking it to their bank accounts. With andy (&ID), the unique ID on slice, users will be able to make payments just by searching for the &ID. Earlier, only slice's credit users could enjoy its simple and intuitive experience. By extending UPI services to its 10 million waitlisted customers, the company will now be able to provide them with an equally superior experience. American Association of Physicians of Indian origin (AAPI), will honor India at its 40th annual convention in San Antonio, Texas next month as it celebrates 75 years of Indias Independence FREMONT, CA: The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) will commemorate India at its 40th annual convention next month in San Antonio, Texas, in commemoration of India's 75th anniversary of independence. According to an AAPI press release, each day of the June 23-26 conference, co-sponsored by the Embassy of India and the Consulate General of India (CGI) Houston, will have a specific theme. Each day at the convention will feature a different theme. The campaign begins with 'Unity in Diversity to display one's state dress code to 'Heritage India' which honors and celebrates India's rich cultural diversity. Following that, prominent Bollywood vocalists Shaan and Mehfil will give special performances. Each day's menu will reflect the topic chosen for that day. On June 25, AAPI will host an In-Person Plenary Session on the India-US Healthcare Partnership with Indian Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya for the first time. The convention chair and AAPI past president remarked on the hard work of the physician members during the pandemic and that this convention is the ideal moment to heal the healers, with a special focus on health. The preview also included the convention's theme, 'Heal the Healers Rejuvenate And Rekindle Your Mind And Spirits.' Taking place on San Antonio's colorful and vibrant River Walk, the convention will be held at the newly renovated Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center. Workshops and hands-on workshops on well-being, 10-12 hours of CMEs, Women's Forum, CEOs Forum, 'AAPI Got Talent,' and Alumni and Young Physicians events are just a few of the key events of the conference. Among other events, it will host a Mehfil, Bollywood nite, fashion show, medical jeopardy, abstract poster contest, and exhibitions and sales of jewelry, clothing, medical equipment, pharma, finance, and so on. However, a yoga-based wellness package, meticulously crafted with world-renowned speakers is considered to be the most distinctive aspect of the convention with the potential to transform and inspire every individual. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! It was the last Friday of May and three weeks to go until a shareholder vote that would determine the future of energy giant AGL, Australias biggest carbon emitter. Time to crunch the numbers. For billionaire climate activist Mike Cannon-Brookes and his staff at Project Greenlight a team set up in secret in early April to foil AGLs planned demerger there was good reason already to feel confident. AGL Energy chief executive Graeme Hunt and Atlassian founder Mike Cannon-Brookes. Credit:Louie Douvis, Justin McManus, Wolter Peeters Thousands of phone calls made over the past fortnight by proxy-vote solicitation firms Orient Capital on behalf of Project Greenlight, and Morrow Sodali, working for AGL, were suggesting a 2:1 split. There was a rump of undecideds, dont-knows or havent-even-considered-its. But for every one shareholder set to support the boards controversial plan to break up AGLs retail arm from its coal-fired power stations, there were two who would vote no. There are days now when you can almost forget about the virus. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world are still being infected with COVID-19 daily, but after more than two years and millions of lost lives, the pandemic has given way in headlines and breaking-news crawls to older and more familiar atrocities. The rhythms of life have returned to something like their pre-pandemic tempo. Bars and restaurants are packed, theres a wedding boom, and in the US, the Memorial Day weekend looks likely to kick off a busy summer travel season. Any peace weve reached with the virus may be only a temporary, uneasy one. Credit:Bloomberg But remember how giddy we all were for a virus-free summer last year? It was in May 2021 that officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised that Americans who had been vaccinated could take off their masks and forget about social distancing in most settings. Then, during a successful campaign to vaccinate millions of people, the White House began preparing a Fourth of July bash to declare a summer of freedom from the virus. You know how that turned out. The vaccination rate was too low, and just when we thought wed licked it, COVID wriggled free. First the Delta variant spread widely, then Omicron and its many subvariants. Masks were ordered back on. Boosters were soon recommended for people older than 12. And in the year since what was once billed hot vax summer, about 400,000 more Americans died from COVID-19. He is the acclaimed creator of The West Wing and The Newsroom. The Oscar-winning screenwriter of A Few Good Men, The Social Network and Moneyball. And the writer-director of The Trial Of The Chicago Seven and Being The Ricardos. But the first thing Aaron Sorkin wanted to talk about when he took to the stage for a Vivid Ideas talk was a lost Australian love. Aaron Sorkin on stage with Leigh Sales at the State Theatre. Credit:Steven Siewert The urbane 60-year-old playwright-turned-filmmaker told the sell-out audience at Sydneys State Theatre on Wednesday night that he had been handed a note backstage. When I graduated from college, I moved to New York to start my life as a struggling playwright, he said. I met there a beautiful woman from Australia named Jillian. Author and TV show host Julia Child is an American culinary icon. Her kitchen, partly designed by her husband, Paul, is displayed at the Smithsonian Institutions National Museum of American History. In Australia, shes probably best known as the co-author of the cookbook classic, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. In the early 1960s, when her cooking show, The French Chef, debuted on WGBH in Boston, she was a most unlikely TV star, as she would be today. She was more than six feet tall, generously proportioned and often made fun of her size 12 feet. Far from being a comely young woman, she was middle-aged and, in Julia (Binge, Foxtel), the eight-part series created by Daniel Goldfarb in which shes delightfully portrayed by English actress Sarah Lancashire, experiencing the early, uncomfortable hot flushes of menopause. Jefferson Mays as Albert Duhamel and Sarah Lancashire as Julia Child in Julia. Credit:HBO MAX/Foxtel Then there was that voice. Her transatlantic accent had hints of upper-middle-class-Massachusetts matron and fluctuated discordantly between high-pitched trilling and deep bass notes. There was no one like her, before or since, which is one of the reasons that this admiring, affectionate and beautifully rendered portrait is reflective of its times and relevant now. Defying conventional wisdom and prevalent prejudices, Child charmed a receptive audience, first in the local TV market and then nationally when her show was syndicated. Her lack of polish and abundance of joie de vivre were essential ingredients of her appeal. Goofy and saucy, she was encouraging of effort and forgiving of mistakes as she introduced American households to omelettes, coq au vin and chocolate souffles. In some respects, Spider-Man is a useful touchstone for Ms Marvels journey. In the past there has been a tendency to age-up younger superheroes into a kind of television-and-film-adulthood, perhaps because it was perceived as a better fit with a broader audience. The current Spider-Man franchise, starring Tom Holland, is the first in some time to give the character a teen-aged origin story and then gradually mature him on screen. I think its so realistic that a kid doesnt know how to fight and talk to bad guys, says Vellani. Kamala doesnt know what shes supposed to do, but she knows she has powers. That she has to do good with them. I think our show does quite a good job in just like being corny, but also self-aware about that, the fact that its corny. Iman Vellani at the London premiere of Ms. Marvel. Credit:Getty Images Being a teenager, you go through so much, all your growing pains, and your break-ups, and friendships, and crushes, everything is so heightened, Vellani adds. Minor inconveniences feel like the end of the world because you havent really experienced a lot. Youre only like, what, 16? Everythings so new and fragile. I think theres still so much time, and kids dont always realise that. The shows high school setting gives it an easier way into that suite of emotions, Vellani says. Im still learning so much and feeling new feelings every day; high school is definitely no ones peak, but its nice that our show gets to kind of appreciate the fact that this is high school, she says. And Kamala sees Carol Danvers, and she sees how she fights, and shes like, oh, Ive got to do that. Vellani is only three years older than the fictional Kamala Khan. And Vellani is being wheeled out to the worlds media to promote a major title for the streaming platform owned by one of the worlds biggest content studios. I have opinions, and I have feelings, and I have thoughts, and I think all of our creatives at Marvel, theyve really respected me and allowed me to be part of this collaborative process, Vellani says. I am so eternally grateful for them, [that they] just treat me like a real person. And I think it helps the story as well to bring a lot of myself and my experiences into the show. Because you know, it is written by 30-year-olds, 40-year-olds. Its hard writing for 16-year-old kids. As an Italian-Australian, I point out to her that I have never met a Pakistani-Canadian. Our differences are obvious, but in some ways, I put to Vellani, perhaps our experiences are the same? Growing up, I didnt care about it, it wasnt something I would define myself as because I was like, no, Im Canadian, I dont remember Pakistan, I was born there, but I moved when I was one, Vellani says. It didnt feel like a thing that I needed to say to people to define myself. Then, after doing the show and seeing so many talented writers, and producers, and creatives on our show coming from south Asian and Muslim backgrounds, and speaking Urdu on set, it was just so comforting, Vellani says. I think I got to experience a lot of Kamalas self-discovery journey as well. And I think weve shared growing up together, and learning about our backgrounds, and our culture, and how much that means to people. Now, she says, she is very proud of her heritage. I cannot wait to start talking about it more to people and let people know that their experiences are shared. Im not the only Canadian-Pakistan girl. Its important to showcase immigrant children who are proud of their culture, and dont neglect it, which is how we see a lot of them in mainstream media. Walking in the door for the first time, Vellani says, she was offered advice from every direction. Literally, everyone gives me advice, she says. They kind of just see me as this little person they need to protect just because of how new I am, and how little experience I have. After she was cast, actress Brie Larson, who plays Captain Marvel in the MCU films, contacted her. She reached out and was like, we need to talk. And it was so freaky that I was on FaceTime with Brie Larson two days after I got cast, Vellani says. But she was so welcoming and encouraging. And even though she was already an Oscar winner, Marvel completely changed her life. And so I cant even imagine what the next year is going to look like for me. But shes really supported me. It can be lonely being on set and you feel a little insecure sometimes, Vellani adds. A lot of the stuff requires so much CGI. So even though it looks cool when youre watching it on Disney+, in real life, Im just going like, ugh, you look like a complete idiot. Its very nice to have her reassurance of her experiences, and how uncomfortable her costume is. We were just sharing stories. Questions about the planned 2023 film The Marvels are the sort which can lead to rapped knuckles, particularly when it comes to a spoiler-wary studio such as Disney-owned Marvel. At the same time, I put to Vellani, questions about it are inevitable, at least insofar as the commitment she is making to the character and the franchise, beyond the Ms. Marvel television series. Over the next few weeks and months we can expect to see the minutiae of the parties strategies and the performance of the leaders among the focal points of the post-mortem accounts of the 2022 federal election campaign. Already, however, material has surfaced that gives pause for reflection. Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising revelations to date concern what was going on inside prime minister Scott Morrisons bunker. Scott Morrison concedes defeat on election night. Credit:Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images In particular, the hateful and fantastical strategy to target transgender athletes in a perverse (and failed) attempt to win votes in the regions and the outer suburbs affords a disturbing insight into national leadership gone rogue. As Niki Savva first described in a column published by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, this was allegedly a strategy owned by Morrison and directed from inside his Prime Ministers Office (PMO). Katherine Deves, the mouthpiece for the attack on the transgender community, was Morrisons handpicked candidate in the electorate of Warringah. In the past few weeks, the word corflusion has entered our household vocabulary to describe the profusion of corflutes around polling stations, observes Trevor Townson of Leichhardt. Strangely, it seems that, at least in the Inner West, the Greens are among the most dilatory in removing them post-election. An impressed Col Burns of Lugarno writes: Possessing Rain Man savant-type capabilities in mental arithmetic that enable her, while driving, to calculate a pothole (C8) total of 375 (definitely 375), Merona Martin risks being headhunted by Andrew Constance to assist in a Gilmore vote recount. Rory McCarthy of Pretty Beach thinks Merona may have the most potholes in her road but for sheer scale, I nominate Wagstaffe Avenue, Wagstaffe, where the potholes are so large that a resident felt it necessary to erect a large sign saying: No Swimming, No Diving, No Snorkelling, No Fishing. I was told by a lady in Minnesota that she loved my accent (C8) and [asked] where was I from, says Llewellyn Dickeson of Culburra Beach. When I said Sydney, she replied: Sydney Nebraska, I didnt know they spoke like that. Im still not sure why my answer of No, Sydney Australia was greeted with: Oh my Lord, Ill pray for you! Peter Miniutti of Ashbury had a similar experience while on a seven-day fall foliage tour. Two sisters were from Louisiana and had never spoken to an Australian before. I had never spoken with someone with that southern drawl, so we happily chatted away for some time. I must have impressed them as they passed on their grandpappys possum pie recipe to me. More than one in five NSW public school students are below the lowest acceptable standard in reading and numeracy, and the gap between the most and least advantaged students is widening. The NSW Department of Education admitted it needs to do better after it again fell well short of the governments achievement targets. Its 2021 annual report showed students improved slightly on some measures and went backwards on others. We will need considerable improvement across all cohorts and schools in our systems, the report said. The NSW Department of Education failed to reach targets for student achievement in NAPLAN. Credit:Rodger Cummins One target involved increasing the proportion of public school students above the minimum standard for reading and numeracy in NAPLAN to 87.9 per cent, but average results were almost nine percentage points below that target. The woman explained that in Queensland courts she felt the victim was the one who had her credibility questioned. I was once laughed at by a male police officer for not pursuing an assault charge when my abuser spat in my face ... Youre going to regret this, the police officer said. Victim submission I am the one whose character is up for criticism, I am the one who essentially is called a liar by the defence. I have to worry about what colour I wear, how my clothes will hug my body, will my tattoos show, do I look like a good girl, do I cry enough, do I seem cold, am I the perfect victim? And if not, then no one will believe me. Also, I believe that although it is a civil matter, cumulative DVOs across different partners should matter and should be considered. My abuser had two DVOs to his name. Then he almost killed me. Another woman said her experience with the justice system was actually worse than the assault itself. Those men were predators, but Im not sure what excuse the Queensland Police has for their actions, she said. Another submission, from a woman who identified as queer, detailed how in her early 20s she was assaulted outside a major sporting event and sought help from two male officers, who looked her up and down. I hadnt been drinking so I thought it was strange until one of the officers stated that I wasnt the kind of woman who gets assaulted, she said. I am queer, and although female, present more masculine. I have short hair and at the time was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. They wouldnt listen to me, wouldnt let me lodge a report, in their words [there was] nothing they could do all because Im the wrong type of woman. Ive since learnt that I did nothing wrong, and not only was I a victim of those two men who assaulted me, but those two policemen. Victim submission And every time I hear in the news or social media of people asking Why didnt you report it to the police, my anger is palpable. I tried. Ive come to accept that the police cannot protect me, nor will they be there for me after a crime. But to think, if Id had long hair and worn a skirt those police officers might have taken me seriously that night. In another submission, a woman explained she was 15 when she was turned away and denied from giving a statement at a police station. Taskforce chair Margaret McMurdo said the criminal justice process was far too slow, confusing and traumatising for many victims, who would find it too much and give up. Many feel that these experiences of abuse and trauma are not adequately considered across the criminal justice system. The inadequacy of the public health system was also criticised, with many patients or clients neglected, particularly those with PTSD. Womens Safety and Justice Taskforce Chair Margaret McMurdo AC. If it wasnt for the fact that I receive private treatment in a private hospital and with private psychiatrists, I would be dead, one submission read. To live in the body of a survivor is to never be able to leave the scene of the crime - and I cannot forget that I live here. The taskforce also released the submission from a female prisoner, who detailed across a 100-point document what she saw as failings of the corrective services system, particularly with mental health support, reporting assaults, and basic health requirements. The woman said she had been sexually assaulted several times in her 20 months in prison, and neither of those events led to consequences for her attacker. Instead, in both situations, the officers said they did not believe me because I had previously been seen hanging out socially and having fun with my attackers, therefore, they told me they believed that I simply regretted breaking the rules, and I was told if it happened again, I would be breached and lose privileges. She said she had sought help from officers when she realised she was suicidal. I had already begun self-harming. The officers noted my behaviour had curbed and instead of referring me for support they berated me and told me to suck it up and get over myself, the woman explained. It took over six months for any staff in the prison to acknowledge the severity of what I had gone through, and I still have not been offered any professional referrals or support now, 14 months later. She said imprisoned mothers found it near-impossible to file welfare reports on their children being abused or neglected, and when they could the reports were not taken seriously by the department, leaving the mothers suffering worse self-esteem. She said anyone who had a health complaint had to fight and beg repeatedly for months before they are taken seriously. For women allergic to pads and tampons, there is no substitute, and currently management does not approve the use of [menstrual] Diva cups, even at the prisoners own cost. Clothing is worn until it literally falls off. The taskforce is expected to hand down its second report to the state government on June 30. Opposition Leader Matthew Guy will face a co-ordinated campaign by unions hoping to capitalise on the unpopularity of Peter Dutton among Victorian voters ahead of Novembers state election. Days after Dutton, a Queensland MP from the partys conservative wing, took over as federal Liberal leader, union groups have signalled their intention to weaponise his unpopularity and use his image on campaign material in key seats. Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy has said he would campaign alongside Peter Dutton during Novembers state election campaign. Credit:Luis Ascui Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary Luke Hilakari told The Age that Dutton had cultivated a hardman image in policy areas such as climate change, refugees, same-sex marriage and Indigenous issues. He might appeal well to some people, Hilakari said. But the character he has created is powerful, and we will be going through his voting record and his public comments to highlight his views and positions on issues Victorians care about. COVID-related deaths in Australian aged care homes are now averaging 11 people each day, as families increasingly shun the sector and a new federal minister faces the task of fulfilling Labors promise to tackle the crisis swiftly. There have been 1572 deaths caused by COVID-19 in nursing homes in the first five months of this year alone, compared to 231 for the whole of last year. There are 780 COVID-19 outbreaks in the nations 2650 nursing homes. Maria Sampey has brought her mother, Vittoria, home from an aged care facility to care for her herself. Credit:Simon Schluter Families are increasingly opting to keep elderly relatives at home or remove them from aged care. Newly sworn-in Aged Care Minister Anika Wells said fixing aged care was one of the issues that contributed to Labors election victory. Tens of thousands, if not more, Australians voted for us on the basis that they were putting their faith in us to help people in aged care. Government MP Julian Hill has urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to stick to his principles and encourage the United States to drop its extradition of Julian Assange. When opposition leader, Albanese declared Assanges incarceration in the United Kingdom pending his extradition to the United States, where he faces spying charges had gone on long enough and he wanted him freed. Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange leaves Southwark Crown Court in a security van after being sentenced on May 1, 2019 in London, England. Credit:Getty Asked during Tuesday nights press conference if he would match his rhetoric as opposition leader now he is prime minister and encourage the United States to drop the charges, Albanese said my position is that not all foreign affairs is best done with the loud hailer. Government backbencher Julian Hill, a member of the bipartisan Bring Julian Assange Home parliamentary group, on Twitter attacked the use of weasel words. Resting flat on the polished wooden table in the reception room of Government House was an item never seen before during an Australian federal ministers swearing-in ceremony. The pink Koran sat before western Sydney Labor MP Ed Husic as he placed his right hand on his heart and took an oath before Governor-General David Hurley as Australias first Muslim cabinet member. Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic, was gifted a pink Koran for his swearing in. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The small book carried the weight of myriad symbols from the giver, who watched on in tears as it played its role in forming the most culturally inclusive ministry and parliament modern Australia has seen. Ive got goosebumps now, Muslim Women Association CEO Maha Abdo told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age after gifting the religious text to Husic, a man she hadnt known well before packaging it with a note that read, I didnt imagine this happening in my lifetime. Penny Wong will race back to the Pacific to match Chinas diplomatic advance, flying into Samoa and Tonga just days after Beijings top envoy signed new deals with the island nations. The foreign minister was sworn in on May 24 and will make her second trip to the Pacific in nine days. The period has been marked by Chinas Foreign Minister Wang Yis tour through five countries, a dozen bilateral agreements and a failed attempt to secure a security and trade deal with 10 Pacific nations. China and Australias foreign ministers Wang Yi and Penny Wong are competing for influence in the Pacific region. Credit:AP/Getty Ahead of her flight on Wednesday night, Wong said Australia understood that the security of the Pacific is the responsibility of the Pacific family, of which Australia is a part. We understand that we need to work together like never before, for our peoples and for generations to come, she said. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has indicated he may be open to supporting a referendum on a First Nations Voice to parliament, but he wants the symbolic to be accompanied by practical responses. He wants a Voice to reduce the incidence of child abuse within those communities and to improve education, employment and many other indicators. Dutton is correct to insist on practical impact: Indigenous recognition would be meaningless without it. Importantly, a practical focus will enable Dutton to find common ground with many Indigenous leaders, such as Noel Pearson and others, who have championed Indigenous responsibility in their affairs. Peter Dutton, who has indicated support for a Voice that is practical, not merely symbolic. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Such leaders want practical action to close the gap, not empty symbolic gestures. The vast majority of Indigenous Australians agree. That is why they want a Voice, not a tokenistic preamble. Five years ago, Indigenous peoples from all over Australia gathered to produce a consensus statement on how they wish to be constitutionally recognised. The Uluru Statement from the Heart acknowledged that Indigenous people are the most incarcerated people on the planet, their children are aliened from their families at unprecedented rates and their youth languish in detention in obscene numbers. NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman has called for a pilot pre-court drug diversion scheme to give illicit drug users up to two infringements before facing a court, hitting back at claims the plan is radical or soft on drug use. The proposal, which was taken to cabinet last week, follows a separate controversial three strikes policy sparked a bitter Coalition dispute in late-2020. It is the latest attempt to respond to the special commission of inquiry into the drug ice, which was handed down more than two years ago. The pilot proposal seeks to divert drug users to appropriate healthcare. Credit:Viki Yemettas Under Speakmans pilot proposal, which remains under discussion, police would have the discretion to issue drug offenders up to two infringement notices of $400 each. However, penalties would be waived if the offender undertakes a health intervention recommended in the penalty notice. It is a truth universally acknowledged that when well-established homeowners reminisce about their first home they will slip into a humblebrag about their property prowess. New Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was a police academy graduate when he bought his first home at 20. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Incoming Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton did just that on Tuesday when, during a press conference to try out his new, softer image, he instead talked about his first foray into the property market as a teenager. I started part-time work at a butcher shop after school until I started university, he said. I saved and bought a house at 19 and built a business from nothing to ultimately employ 40 people. In fact, property records show Dutton was a recent police academy graduate when he bought his first home, paying $93,000 for an apartment in Brisbanes riverside suburb of Yeronga. Rome: Travellers to Italy are no longer required to have a valid coronavirus pass as of Wednesday, Italian authorities have announced. The countrys Health Ministry said the regulation obliging visitors to present a so-called Green Pass which showed proof of vaccination, recent recovery or a negative test would expire . I think the conditions exist for a summer without restrictions, Undersecretary of Health Andrea Costa said. People walk through Duomo Square in front of the Dome Cathedral in Milan, Italy. The country is will now welcome visitors without a need for proof of vaccination. Credit:Bloomberg Costa urged people to continue to be prudent and have a sense of responsibility but said pressure on hospitals was low and conditions in the country were positive. Tulsa: A man armed with a rifle opened fire inside a medical building in Tulsa, Oklahoma, killing four people, police said, in the latest of a series of mass shootings in the United States. Tulsa Police Department Deputy Chief Eric Dalgleish said the shooter also was dead, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Tulsa police respond to a shooting at the Natalie Medical Building in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Credit:AP It was unclear what prompted the assault. However, the unidentified gunman carried both a handgun and a rifle during the attack, Dalgleish said. Police responded to the call three minutes after dispatchers received the report and made contact with the gunman one minute later, Dalgleish said. PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs said on Wednesday that the discussions on the 8 new conditions that the Kingdom wants to impose on St. Maarten for the removal of the 12.5% cuts that were imposed in 2020. Jacobs said that during the visit of the State Secretary Alexandria van Huffelen last week meetings were held with the State Secretary, the unions, and other stakeholders, and the Council of Ministers where the conditions were again discussed. She said the discussions continue since there has not been an agreed resolution on the proposed condition. While the countrys Prime Minister referred to the conditions, she did not say what all of the conditions are. On Tuesday, Curacaos Prime Minister released the 8 conditions which are as follows: (1) The National Ordinance for the Standardization of Top Incomes Curacao must have entered into force; (2) There must be money in the budget to be able to finance the abolition of the 12.5 percent reduction. The costs cannot be paid from the liquidity support provided by the Netherlands. The Financial Supervision Board (Cft) must be requested to carry out an evaluation; (3) The focus on abolishing the 12.5 percent cut should be on those on low incomes; (4) If there is sufficient room in the budget to eliminate the 12.5 percent regulation and there are no other unexpected developments, Article 25 of the Kingdom Act on financial supervision (Rft) can no longer be invoked. This article is about damage caused by extraordinary events as a result of which the Kingdom Council of Ministers can agree to a deviation from the budget norm; (5) Rapid implementation of the B.5 measure in the National Package, which aims to reduce the government's total wage bill; (6) The 25 percent discount on the salary of ministers and members of parliament will be maintained; (7) After the abolition of the 12.5 percent rule, the salaries of civil servants may not exceed the salaries of ministers or Members of Parliament, cut by 25 percent, and finally the abolition of the 12.5 percent discount can only take place after a decision on this by the Kingdom Council of Ministers, which has been informed by the Cft that Curacao meets all the above conditions. Jacobs said the three countries have not agreed to these conditions and they are supposed to meet to further discuss the conditions that have been proposed. The Prime Minister also explained that the state secretary is also in agreement with the overseas countries that the 12.5% cuts should be lifted but she also indicated that there is also a political agenda that she has to adhere to. SIMPSON BAY:--- It was a festive atmosphere at the Princess Juliana International Airport on Wednesday, when a delegation representing both the Dutch and French Tourism Offices, dignitaries, as well as representatives of the Airport, were on hand to welcome the return of Copa Airlines. The airline resumed flights between St. Maarten (SXM) and Panama City (PTY), nearly two years after the airline suspended its service, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Copa Airlines is currently the only carrier offering non-stop services from St Maarten to Central America and will operate twice a week, with flights on Wednesday and Friday, using a Boeing 737 with a seating capacity of 160. CEO Brian Mingo of Princess Juliana International Airport: Today Im very happy and honored to welcome Copa Airlines again to our airport and the island of St Maarten. Copa plays a vital role via its Central American hub and is increasingly important for our hub network in the Caribbean. It was also a pleasure to welcome the Director Chief Pilot of Copa Airlines, Captain Marcelo Gallino, as he flew on the first flight to St. Maarten in 2010. Karen Sanne, Regional Sales Manager for Copa Airlines, stated, Copa Airlines is excited to start operations once again in St. Maarten and continue supporting the development of the region through the connectivity offered by the Hub of the Americas in Panama, connecting the Caribbean with the rest of the continent. With new gateways opening, this gives an opportunity for destination St. Maarten to be able to target new areas in Panama as well as other surrounding regions in Central and South America. This is definitely a positive development for the island of St Maarten said May-ling Chun, Director of the St. Maarten Tourism Bureau. CAY HILL:--- On Thursday, May 26th, St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) hosted a visit by State Secretary of Kingdom Relations and Digitalization Alexandra van Huffelen and her delegation from the Netherlands. The purpose of the visit was to provide the State Secretary with a general overview of SMMCs expanded services, the status of the essential upgrades, and the St. Maarten General Hospital (SMGH) construction project including the progress and challenges in construction due to international developments. The Hon. Minister of VSA Omar Ottley, Mr. Chris Johnson, head of the Dutch Representation Office in St. Maarten (VPN) who initiated the visit, and Director of SVZ Mr. Glen Carty were also present during the tour. The Minister expressed his hope for continued collaboration between the Dutch and local government as it pertains to healthcare in St. Maarten. After a presentation on SMMC by Medical Director Dr. Felix Holiday and the SMGH construction project by Mr. Henk de Zeeuw, SMGH Project Manager, the State Secretary was given a birds eye view of the SMGH construction site and a tour of SMMCs new operating theater complex, which boasts two new class 1 operating theaters, by Operating Room Supervisor, Mr. Jules Carty. Like the Minister, the management of SMMC also expressed their hope for continued collaboration as they continue to provide quality care, close to home for the people of St. Maarten, Saba, and Statia. Osisko Development completes acquisition of Tintic consolidated metals, finalizes binding stream terms and satisfies Escrow release condition for brokered subscription receipt financing Osisko Development Corp. (aOsisko Developmenta or the aCompanya https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/osisko-development-corp/ ) (ODV: TSX-V & NYSE) is pleased to announce the completion of its previously announced acquisition of Tintic Consolidated Metals LLC (aTintica), which owns the producing Trixie test mine (aTrixiea), as well as mineral claims covering more than 17,000 acres (including over 14,200 acres of which are patented) in Central Utaha?s historic Tintic Mining District (the aTransactiona). For additional details regarding the Transaction, please refer to the Companya?s news release dated January 25, 2022. Mr.A Sean Roosen, Chair and Chief Executive OfficerA of Osisko Development commented: aWith the acquisition of Tintic we have inherited not only a highly prospective test mine in the Trixie project, but also a large, historic land package in one of the worlda?s premier mining jurisdictions. Through underground exploration, we hope to continue to expand the mineralization footprint along the T2 and T4 zones. We have engaged drilling contractors and look forward to sharing the results with you as we progress the understanding of this ground. We are also looking forward to working with, and supporting, the stakeholders in our project, including the local communities in Utah and Juab counties.a Osisko Developmenta?s near term plan is to initiate underground and at surface drilling while it continues exploration development and processing of the mineralized material at the Trixie project. Drilling is targeting support for preparation of an initial resource statement pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 over the next twelve months. Concurrently, the Company will complete advanced technical studies on the project to generate additional surface and underground targets, conduct metallurgical testing, geotechnical work and environmental studies to justify further development as well as increase production through a low-capital expenditure expansion.[1] Under the terms of the Transaction, Osisko Development will fund the acquisition through the issuance of (i) 12,049,449 common shares in the capital of the Company (aCommon Sharesa), (ii) aggregate cash payments of approximately US$54 million, (iii) the issuance of an aggregate of 2% NSR royalties, with a 50% buyback right in favour of the Company exercisable within five years, (iv) US$12.5 million in deferred payments, and (v) the granting of certain other contingent payments, rights and obligations. The Company is also pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding term sheet with Osisko Bermuda Limited (aOBLa), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd, for a stream on the metals produced from Tintic (aStreama) for total cash consideration of US$20 million. Under the Stream, the Company will deliver to OBL 2.5% of all metals produced from Tintic at a purchase price of 25% of the relevant spot metal price. Once 27,150 ounces of refined gold have been delivered, the Stream rate will decrease to 2.0% of all metals produced. Closing of the Stream is expected to take place on or before July 31, 2022 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory and stock exchange approvals. The proceeds from the Stream will be used for to advance the development of Tintic. The Stream is a \related party transaction\ for purposes of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 a Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (\MI 61-101\) as OBL is a \related party\ of the Company for purposes of MI 61-101. The Company intends to rely upon exemptions from (i) the formal valuation requirements of MI 61-101 in reliance on Section 5.5(b) of MI 61-101, and (ii) the minority approval requirements of MI 61-101 in reliance on Section 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101 insofar as the fair market value of the subject matter of, and the consideration for, the Stream does not exceed 25% of the market capitalization of the Company. The Stream has been approved by the independent directors of the Company. A Completion of the Stream is subject to the negotiation and execution of definitive documentation, and obtaining any regulatory, including approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. In addition, with the closing of the Transaction, the Company has satisfied the escrow release conditions relating to the 13,732,900 subscription receipts of the Company (the aSubscription Receiptsa) issued at a price of C$4.45 per Subscription Receipt for gross proceeds of approximately C$61.1 million, which were issued on a bought deal private placement (the aOfferinga). The gross proceeds of the Offering and accrued interest thereon, net of the commission (accrued interest thereon) and expenses payable to the underwriters of the Offering, will, upon the delivery of the escrow release notice, be released to the Company and each Subscription Receipt will be converted into (i) one-third of one Common Share, and (ii) one-third of one Common Share purchase warrant of the Company (each whole warrant, a \Warrant\), with each Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at a price of C$22.80[2] until March 2, 2027. The net proceeds of the Offering will be used to advance the development of the Company\-s mineral assets. About Osisko Development Osisko Development Corp. is uniquely positioned as a premier gold development company in North America to advance the Cariboo Gold Project and other Canadian and Mexican properties, with the objective of becoming the next mid-tier gold producer. The Cariboo Gold Project, located in central British Columbia, Canada, is Osisko Development\-s flagship asset. The considerable exploration potential at depth and along strike distinguishes the Cariboo Gold Project relative to other development assets. Osisko Development\-s project pipeline is complemented by its interest in the San Antonio gold project, located in Sonora, Mexico and the Trixie gold test mine, located in Utah, USA. [1] The Corporation cautions that the owners of Tintic have taken the decision to commence production at Trixie in the form of small scale underground mining and batch vat leaching without the benefit of a feasibility study, or reported mineral resources or mineral reserves, demonstrating economic and technical viability, and, as a result there may be increased uncertainty of achieving any particular level of recovery of material or the cost of such recovery. The Corporation cautions that historically, such projects have a much higher risk of economic and technical failure. There is no guarantee that production will continue as anticipated or at all or that anticipated production costs will be achieved. The failure to continue production may have a material adverse impact on the Corporation\-s ability to generate revenue and cash flow to fund operations. Failure to achieve the anticipated production costs would have a material adverse impact on the Corporation\-s cash flow and potential profitability. The Corporation cautions that historically, such projects have a much higher economic or technical risks. In continuing current operations at Trixie after closing, the Corporation will not be basing its decision to continue such operations on a feasibility study, or reported mineral resources or mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability. The Corporation cautions that test mining at Trixie could be suspended at any time. [2] On May 4, 2022, the Common Shares were consolidated on the basis of three old Common Shares for each new Common Share (the \Consolidation\). Accordingly, the Warrants were adjusted such that each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one-third of a Common Share. Accordingly, a Warrant holder will be required to exercise three Warrants in order to purchase one Common Share. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking statements which constitute aforward-looking informationa within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and aforward-looking statementsa within the meaning of the asafe harbora provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively, aForward-looking Statementsa). All statements included, other than statements of historical fact, which address activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates may or will occur in the future, are forward-looking information. The Forward-looking Statements in this news release may include, without limitation, statements about the Companya?s current expectations, anticipated synergies and benefits of the Transaction, the Stream and the use of proceeds of the Offering. Readers are also cautioned that such additional information is not exhaustive. Often, but not always, these Forward-looking Statements can be identified by the use of words such as aanticipateda, aestimateda, \expected\, apotentiala, afuturea, aassumeda, aprojecteda, aplanneda, ato bea, \will\ or statements that events, acoulda or ashoulda occur or be achieved and similar expressions, including negative variations. The impact of any one risk, uncertainty or factor on a particular forward-looking statement is not determinable with certainty as these factors are independent and management\-s future course of action would depend on its assessment of all information at that time. Information contained in the Forward?looking Statements is based upon certain material assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making a forecast or projection, including management\-s perceptions of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, public disclosure from operators of the relevant mines, as well as other considerations that are believed to be appropriate in the circumstances. The Company considers its assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available, but cautions the reader that their assumptions regarding future events, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, may ultimately prove to be incorrect since they are subject to risks and uncertainties that affect the Company, and its business. Readers are urged to consult the disclosure provided under the heading \Risk Factors\ in the Companya?s annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2021, as amended, which has been filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) under the Company\-s issuer profile and on the U.S. Securities Exchange Commissiona?s EDGAR website (www.sec.gov), for further information regarding the risks and other factors applicable to the Transaction. Although the Companya?s believes the expectations conveyed by the Forward-looking Statements are reasonable based on information available at the date of preparation, no assurances can be given as to future results, levels of activity and achievements. The Company disclaims any obligation to update any Forward-looking Statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by law. There can be no assurance that these Forward-looking Statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on Forward-looking Statements. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. Osisko signs binding agreement with respect to the previously announced metals stream on the Trixie mine in Utah\-s historic Tintic Mining District Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd (the aCorporationa or aOsiskoa https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/osisko-gold-royalties-ltd/ ) (OR: TSX & NYSE) is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Osisko Bermuda Limited (aOBLa) has entered into a binding agreement with Tintic Consolidated Metals LLC (aTCMa), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Osisko Development Corp. (aODVa) (ODV: TSX-V & NYSE), with respect to the previously announced metals stream (the aStreama) on the Trixie test mine (the aTrixie Minea), as well as mineral claims covering more than 17,000 acres in Central Utaha?s historic Tintic Mining District (the aTintic Propertya). STREAM DETAILS Upfront Deposit: OBL will make an upfront cash payment to TCM totaling US$20 million, with the proceeds to be used to fund the development of the Trixie Mine and Tintic Property. Streamed Metal: OBL will purchase 2.5% of all metals produced from the Tintic Property until 27,150 ounces of refined gold have been delivered. Thereafter, OBL will purchase 2.0% of all metals produced from the Tintic Property for the remaining life of mine. Production Payments: OBL will make ongoing payments for refined metal delivered to the Stream equal to 25% of the spot prices on the day prior to the date of delivery. Security: The Stream shall be a senior secured, first ranking obligation of ODV, inclusive of guarantees. Area of Interest: The Stream shall be referenced to production from the entire Tintic Property, including the Trixie Mine. Closing: The Stream is expected to close on or before July 31, 2022, subject to certain conditions precedent to closing, including, but not limited to, execution of all definitive agreements with respect to the Stream. The economic effective date of the transaction is May 29, 2022.A TRIXIE MINE DEVELOPMENT UPDATE ODVa?s near term plan is to initiate underground and at surface drilling while it continues exploration development and processing of the mineralized material at the Trixie Mine. Drilling is targeting support for preparation of an initial resource statement pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 over the next twelve months. Concurrently, ODV will complete advanced technical studies on the Tintic Property to generate additional surface and underground targets, conduct metallurgical testing, geotechnical work and environmental studies to justify further development as well as increase production through a low-capital expenditure expansion. For further details including cautionary language and forward looking statements related to the Trixie Mine and Tintic Property, please refer to ODVa?s press releases dated January 25, 2022 titled aOsisko Development Announces Proposed Acquisition of Tintic Consolidated Metalsa and May 30, 2022 titled aOsisko Development Completes Acquisition of Tintic Consolidated Metals, Binding Stream Terms and Release of Funds from Subscription Receipt Financinga filed on www.sedar.com.A OSISKO OWNERSHIP INTEREST IN ODV ODV announced today that is has closed its previously announced acquisition of a 100% interest in the Trixie Mine and Tintic Property, and satisfied the escrow release conditions relating to the previously announced issuances of subscription receipts of ODV (collectively the aTransactionsa).A Following completion of the Transactions, Osiskoa?s ownership interest in ODV is now approximately 45%. Qualified Person The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Guy Desharnais, Ph.D., P.Geo., Vice President, Project Evaluation at Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd, who is a aqualified persona as defined by National Instrument 43-101 a Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (aNI 43-101a). About Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd Osisko is an intermediate precious metal royalty company focused on the Americas that commenced activities in June 2014. Osisko holds a North American focused portfolio of over 165 royalties, streams and precious metal offtakes. Osiskoa?s portfolio is anchored by its cornerstone asset, a 5% net smelter return royalty on the Canadian Malartic mine, which is the largest gold mine in Canada. Osiskoa?s head office is located at 1100 Avenue des Canadiens-de-MontrAal, Suite 300, MontrAal, QuAbec, H3BA 2S2. Forward-looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may be deemed aforward-looking statementsa within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and aforward-looking informationa within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation.. These forward?looking statements, by their nature, require Osisko to make certain assumptions and necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward?looking statements. Forward?looking statements are not guarantees of performance.A These forward?looking statements, may involve, but are not limited to, statement that all conditions will be met to close the Stream in a timely manner , statements with respect to future events or future performance, the realization of the anticipated benefits deriving from Osiskoa?s investments, including the Stream, the general performance of the assets of Osisko, and the results of exploration, development and production activities as well as expansions projects relating to the properties in which Osisko holds a royalty, stream or other interest and in particular the continued exploration and development of the Trixie Mine. Words such as amaya, awilla, awoulda, acoulda, aexpecta, asuggesta, aappeara, abelievea, aplana, aanticipatea, aintenda, atargeta, aestimatea, acontinuea, or the negative or comparable terminology, as well as terms usually used in the future and the conditional, are intended to identify forward?looking statements. Information contained in forward?looking statements is based upon certain material assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making a forecast or projection, including, without limitation, managementa?s perceptions of historical trends; current conditions; expected future developments; the ongoing operation of the properties in which Osisko holds a royalty, stream or other interest by the operators of such properties in a manner consistent with past practice; the accuracy of public statements and disclosures made by the operators of such underlying properties; no material adverse change in the market price of the commodities that underlie the asset portfolio; no adverse development in respect of any significant property in which Osisko holds a royalty, stream or other interest; the accuracy of publicly disclosed expectations for the development of underlying properties that are not yet in production; and the absence of any other factors that could cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Osisko considers its assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available, but cautions the reader that their assumptions regarding future events, many of which are beyond the control of Osisko, may ultimately prove to be incorrect since they are subject to risks and uncertainties that affect Osisko and its business. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, that the financial information presented in this press release is preliminary and could be subject to adjustments, the successful continuation of operations underlying the Corporationa?s assets, the performance of the assets of Osisko, the growth and the benefits deriving from its portfolio of investments, risks related to the operators of the properties in which Osisko holds a royalty, stream or other interest, including changes in the ownership and control of such operators; risks related to development, permitting, infrastructure, operating or technical difficulties on any of the properties in which Osisko holds a royalty, stream or other interest, the influence of macroeconomic developments as well as the impact of and the responses of relevant governments to the COVID-19 outbreak and the effectiveness of such responses. In this press release, Osisko relies on information publicly disclosed by third parties pertaining to its potential new assets: the Stream on the Tintic Property and, therefore, assumes no liability for such third party public disclosure. For additional information with respect to these and other factors and assumptions underlying the forward?looking statements made in this press release, see the section entitled aRisk Factorsa in the most recent Annual Information Form of Osisko which is filed with the Canadian securities commissions and available electronically under Osiskoa?s issuer profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and available electronically under Osiskoa?s issuer profile on EDGAR at www.sec.gov. The forward?A looking statements set forth herein reflect Osiskoa?s expectations as at the date of this press release and are subject to change after such date. Osisko disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward?looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. A Robert Barfield recalled Wednesday all of the times the medical staff with the state Department of Correction continued to deny his request to receive life-saving drugs that could cure Hepatitis C. I kept telling medical officials its not even an issue whether you are supposed to treat me, the 53-year-old Barfield said in an interview. Of course, they were supposed to treat me. I told them I would take them to court and it would cost them money. Six years ago, Barfield was serving a decades-long sentence in Connecticut for an attempted murder in Nevada due to a prisoner exchange pact. He knew he had contracted Hepatitis C, a viral infection that ravages the liver and could cause liver cancer or death if untreated. He also knew he was running out of time. They wanted to wait until I was almost critical to give me the treatment, that doesnt make sense, Barfield said. They told me this is one of those things you just have to accept. But I told them, maybe what Im supposed to do is change things. In July 2018, Barfield filed a federal lawsuit, claiming he was sick with Hepatitis C, but he wasnt receiving what had become the standard of care for the disease from the DOC, alleging the agency violated of his Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Since then, Barfield is among the nearly 1,000 state inmates who were cured of the disease after being given proper treatment in part due to the efforts of his attorneys Kenneth Krayeske and DeVaughn Ward. U.S. District Court Judge Michael Shea on Tuesday approved a settlement agreement that includes $112,000 in legal fees for Barfields attorney to end the nearly four-year legal battle. Under the agreement, all inmates until Aug. 1 will be tested for Hepatitis C and treated with direct-acting antiviral drugs, according to the standard of care for the disease. Its a victory that was hard fought and hard won, Krayeske said. I could die tomorrow and say that I have accomplished something, Krayeske said Wednesday. We forced the state of Connecticut to spend $40 million. We shouldnt have had to do that. Barfield and hundreds of other inmates had Hepatitis C while incarcerated but the lawsuit contended that they werent being given access to antiviral drugs, which had become the standard treatment, until they were near death. People were dying, said Krayeske, who is representing one family in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the agency due to the lack of Hepatitis C treatment. As the litigation progressed, former DOC Commissioner Rollin Cook, who later resigned during the pandemic, agreed to give Barfield the drugs. Krayeskes response was to add plaintiffs to avoid having the case thrown out. When the state moved to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds Barfield was now receiving treatment, a federal judge denied the request in August 2019 and extended the litigation as a class action suit, representing all future and current inmates. The next day, Cook issued a revised policy allowing all inmates to be tested and treated. That didnt end the lawsuit as the state had hoped, Krayeske said. But it did give 977 inmates a fighting chance at beating Hepatitis C, the attorney said. The cost has not been cheap. From August 2019 to October 2020, the DOC spent $9.9 million to test 14,000 inmates and treat 475 of the 1,398 who tested positive, figures released by the state in 2021 show. The legislature voted in 2021 to accept the settlement, which required the state to test and treat all inmates until at least March 2022. The settlement funded an additional $20 million on top of the $10 million that had already been spent and $10 million in DOC funding that was put aside for Hepatitis C testing and treatment as the lawsuit progressed. As of Friday, 21,248 inmates have been tested since August 2019 with 2,123 testing positive for Hepatitis C, court records show. Of those who tested positive, 977 have been given the antiviral drugs and are considered cured, including Barfield who is now living in Nevada after being released to parole in November 2021. Attorney General William Tongs office, which represented the DOC in the lawsuit, declined comment but instead referred to testimony submitted before the legislature in January 2021 encouraging lawmakers to agree to the settlement. The Office of the Attorney General determined that settlement was the best avenue to resolve this case and believes this settlement to be a fair resolution, the testimony said. When the judge agreed to deny the states motion to dismiss, Barfields right to receive damages was also denied. Although the settlement only extends testing and treatment to August, Krayeske contended in court filings that inmates could file future litigation if they were denied the antiviral drugs. Barfield, who is now looking for work and hoping to go into the legal profession in some fashion, walked away with a sense of pride that he was able to save lives through his fight to save his own. I feel great about that, Barfield said. At first when I went into this it was to get myself treatment. But when Ken painted the broader picture for me, I understood that this could help everyone. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW BRITAIN Tool making giant Stanley Black & Decker has named a 23-year veteran of the company to succeed Chief Executive Officer James Loree. Stanley Black & Deckers board of directors announced Wednesday that Donald Allan, Jr., who is currently president and chief financial officer, has been selected to become the companys new CEO, starting July 1. Loree became CEO in 2016 and will also leave his spot on the companys board once the transition with Allan occurs. A company spokeswoman, Debora Raymond, said Lorees departure from the company had not been previously announced. With the recent strategic refocusing of the business around our leadership positions in the global tools and outdoor power equipment markets in place, the time was right for this transition as Stanley Black & Decker looks to drive its next phase of growth across this more focused strategy, Raymond said in a written statement. Andrea J. Ayers, chairwoman of the board, said Allans appointment reflects the Boards succession planning. We have chosen a world-class executive with exceptional experience and leadership skills, Ayers said in a written statement regarding Allans promotion. Don has been instrumental in driving the companys growth and transformation strategy. He is well respected throughout the organization as well as among our valued customers and the investment community. Allan said Stanley Black & Decker has become a more focused and streamlined company, with leading franchises that serve the construction, outdoor, and industrial markets. Our strong leadership team is committed to capitalizing on our organic growth catalysts, enhancing operational execution through price realization and cost prioritization, transforming the supply chain, and successfully completing our outdoor integrations and security divestitures, Allan said in a statement. Ayers praised Lorees accomplishments during his tenure as CEO. His contributions to the strategic repositioning of the business, and his strong dedication to the companys key stakeholders, will be hallmarks of his legacy, she said. Loree called serving as Stanley Black & Deckers CEO an enormous privilege. Loree joined the company in 1999, when it was known as Stanley Works, after having work for 19 years at General Electric. He started out at Stanley as the companys vice president and chief financial officer. Outside of the company, Loree was active in leading efforts to improve Connecticuts business climate. Starting in 2017, he served on an ad-hoc commission - The Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Growth - that developed a set of proposals to make the state a more attractive place for businesses. Following the release of the groups findings in March 2918, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont chose Loree to serve on the board of the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, a nonprofit corporation seeking to foster business formation, recruitment, and growth in Connecticut. The group is now known as AdvanceCT. luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com Muad Hrezi has raised about $500,000 in his long-shot bid to unseat veteran U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-1st District, despite a lackluster showing at the Democratic nominating convention last month. Hrezi, a former substitute teacher who worked as a staffer for U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, is challenging Larson from the left as progressive candidates across the country seek to bring new faces and more left-leaning policies to the Democratic Party amid record outside spending in some recent House primary races. The message is really quite simple, Hrezi, 27, said in a recent interview. Its time for new blood. Larson, 72, was first elected to Congress in 1998 and is believed to be in one of his partys safest seats ahead of the 2022 midterms. He has not faced a primary challenger in 24 years. John welcomes every candidate to the race, and he takes every campaign seriously. We believe that voters want someone they can count on to show up for them every single day. John shows up, Owen Hooks Davis, Larsons campaign spokesman, said in a written statement. Hrezi, a Libyan American whose parents sought asylum in the U.S. from the Gaddafi regime, grew up in the Naugatuck Valley and now lives in East Hartford. He said corporate money is driving the agenda in Washington and he accused Larson of being too close to the defense and health care industries that dominate his district. Hrezi said he and Larson differ on how to address some of the most important issues to voters such as health care. Hrezi supports Medicare for All and said Larsons Medicare buy-in plan doesnt meet the moment. Larson has said his proposal would achieve the same goal as Medicare for All without getting rid of private insurance. At the Democratic convention, Hrezi received just 14 delegate votes to Larsons 390. He is now seeking to petition his way onto the primary ballot, which requires gathering signatures from 2 percent, or nearly 4,000, of registered Democrats in the 1st District. Connecticuts petitioning process is more stringent than many other states, he said. As of the weekend, hed gathered more than 3,000 signatures. He has until 4 p.m. on June 7 to submit his primary petition. Were stationed at economic hubs - downtown Hartford, Blue Back Square, Hrezi said. Were knocking on doors. Were going to community events, senior centers. Hrezi said his failure to garner more support from Democratic delegates had more to do with establishment politics and a nominating process that benefits entrenched incumbents, rather than enthusiasm for his campaign. Hes raised more money than all five Republican endorsed candidates for Congress in Connecticut including former state legislator George Logan, who is considered the GOPs best chance at turning a blue seat red. Logan had raised $373,160 as of the end of April with $187,411 cash on hand. Still, Hrezis fundraising was less than half of what Larson has raised so far $1.1 million, as of the end of April, and $841,353 cash on hand. Hrezi had raised $497,872 at that point and had $165,597 in available cash. Their next campaign finance reports are due in July. Hrezi has vowed not to take any money from political action committees. His campaign finance reports show many of the contributions received have been for $100 or less. Larsons campaign said Hrezis campaign is largely being supported by donors outside of Connecticut. Our opponent has raised big sums of money from donors in California and elsewhere, but more than three quarters of his money comes from out of state. John listens to the voters, leads in Washington, and delivers for the district, and that's why voters trust him, said Hooks Davis. Hrezi asserted that he has strong backing from Connecticut residents, whom he called the engine behind his campaign. Our donor base reflects the diversity of the supporters we have and the coalition were building, he said. julia.bergman@hearstmediact.com Curious about cannabis in CT? Check out our free newsletter series Click here to sign up for our free, seven-day newsletter course on legal cannabis in Connecticut. / Greenwich Police Department GREENWICH Officers arrested a man from the Bronx, N.Y., who was allegedly attempting to make sexual contact with a minor, during a sting operation mounted by law enforcement authorities, according to the Greenwich Police Department. The Detective Division has been investigating child predators who use online platforms to lure and victimize children, Greenwich police said in a statement Monday. The police department said worked with the FBI on the recent arrest of Tong-Hyon Suh, 45, of the Bronx. NEW CANAAN Police are reminding residents to lock their cars and remove their belongings after three cars were stolen in town since Friday. One home had two luxury vehicles stolen while their owners were at a barbecue there, police said. The spate of thefts began around 9:55 p.m. last Friday, when New Canaan police were sent to a home on Carter Street, where the two vehicles had been taken. Police identified the stolen cars as a 2020 Audi A8 and a 2020 Mercedes Benz GLS. Both vehicles were left unlocked with the keys inside, police said in a news release. One of the stolen vehicles contained lacrosse equipment, and a wallet containing a drivers license and credit cards. The Audi was later recovered in Meriden on Monday morning, police said. The third vehicle theft was reported to police around 4:47 p.m. on Monday, Memorial Day. Police said a 2021 Lexus RX350 was taken from the driveway of a home on Canoe Hill Road. The vehicle was also left unlocked with the keys inside. An incident involving a fourth vehicle was caught on a video surveillance system later that evening. Police said around 8:32 p.m., police were sent to a home on Hoyt Farm Road for a report of a suspicious person on the property. It is believed that this suspect intended to steal a vehicle, but was scared away when he saw a video camera, New Canaan police said. Police asked residents to remember to lock their vehicles, take their keys with them and to never leave their valuables inside. Often, identity theft occurs when drivers licenses and credit cards are stolen, police said. Anyone with information about the thefts is asked to contact New Canaan police at 203-594-3500. STAMFORD For the first time, Stamford Pride will recognize LGBTQ Pride Month with a slate of events throughout June. The group, established in 2019, pushed its first-ever Pride events to a week in August last year because of COVID-19. We are incredibly excited and grateful to have the opportunity to work with our community partners and sponsors on several Pride events and activities this year, said Chris Koutsovitis, the president of Stamford Pride, in a release. Our hope is that by providing safe, friendly and fun programming for the community, we can continue to uphold our mission as a nonprofit organization that engages, inspires, supports and celebrates LGBTQ+ members and allies through initiatives that educate, connect and enrich our diverse community. The colors of the rainbow will light up the face of Old Town Hall beginning Wednesday night. The rainbow flag will be raised outside Stamford Government Center at noon the next day. A Rainbow Rave for high school students will be held June 10 at The Stamford Hotel. Tickets cost $12 for the event, which will include music by a DJ, drag performances and a lip sync competition. A student ID from a Connecticut high school will be required to enter. The following day, Stamford Pride will have a booth at Triangle Community Centers Pride in the Park in Norwalk. Harbor Point restaurant MEXiCUE will host a drag brunch on June 12. Miss Chevious, Frankie Cyanide, Robin Fierce, Xiomarie LaBeija and Midnight are set to perform. Tickets cost $20. Food and drinks will need to be paid for separately. This month, Curtain Call is staging the musical Disaster! at the Kweskin Theatre. Proceeds from a performance on June 15 will go to Stamford Pride. Using the code PRIDE will knock $5 off the price of a ticket, which ranges from $20 to $35. On June 16, a free exhibit called The Art of Community will open at the Ferguson Library downtown. The show, co-sponsored by the Stamford Art Association, will examine how art can lift all voices in the community through engagement, awareness and support, according to the library. Then on June 22, Erin Kate Ryan will speak about her book, Quantum Girl Theory: A Novel, at the library. brianna.gurciullo@hearstmediact.com STAMFORD A city teen received the max prison sentence of 10 years on Wednesday, months after pleading guilty to felony charges stemming from a 2020 stabbing and a later case where he assaulted five city police officers while trying to evade arrest. Judge Gary White handed Kristian Alvarez, 19, a 20-year prison sentence that will be suspended after 10 years, followed by five years of probation and a $5,000 fine. In March, Alvarez pleaded guilty at Stamford Superior Court Wednesday to first-degree assault, first-degree robbery, criminal possession of a firearm and five counts of assault of a public safety officer. The charges stemmed from two separate incidents: A September 2020 stabbing where a 37-year-old Stamford man was seriously injured in a downtown apartment building, and July 1, 2021, when a gun bust turned armed robbery ended with a failed escape and injuries to multiple police officers. Seven Stamford police officers, some of whom were seriously injured in the struggle to arrest Alvarez in 2021, watched from the court gallery as he was sentenced Wednesday. Two of the officers, Sgt. Brendan Phillips and Officer Matthew Linehan, submitted letters asking the judge to impose the maximum sentence on Alvarez for the serious nature of his crimes. Linehan, who was in a police cruiser that Alvarez rammed during the escape attempt, suffered a traumatic brain injury and may require neck surgery as a result of his injuries. He wrote that not only did Alvarezs actions keep him out of the job for five months, force him to step down from his role in the departments Special Response Team and prevent him from taking an upcoming promotional exam to advance in the department, but it also left him seriously injured only five days before the birth of his second child. This accident impacted every sphere of my life, Linehan wrote in the letter. In a separate letter, Phillips described Alvarezs actions as not a crime of opportunity, but a preplanned, violent criminal act orchestrated by an 18-year-old man. Not only did he participate in the offense, but he recruited and convinced others that this was a good idea to partake, Phillips wrote. Phillips said Alvarezs actions that day showed a complete disregard for the health of others. Supervisory States Attorney Michelle Manning also argued for the maximum prison sentence, citing Alvarezs significant history of crime as a juvenile and a history of noncompliance with court orders. Before being sentenced, Alvarez told the court that he thought of his harmful actions every day and that he would accept the consequences for those actions. To those officers that I injured, I would like to say Im very sorry, Alvarez said. I didnt want to injure you guys, I didnt want to crash the car, I was just scared for my life. After the sentencing, Alvarezs attorney, Wayne Keeney, said that while Alvarezs actions were indefensible, he felt that this clients apology was sincere. This is a young man that has been misguided his whole life, Keeney said. Keeney also commended Stamford police for showing tremendous restraint in not firing their weapons during Alvarezs second arrest. Alvarez was originally charged with first-degree assault, first-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery, third-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit third-degree larceny, interfering with police, first-degree threatening, criminal possession of a firearm, possession of an illegal high-capacity magazine, illegal sale of a firearm, possession of weapons in a motor vehicle, assault on a police officer, disobeying the signal of an officer and various motor vehicle violations stemming from the two incidents. While out after posting bond in connection to his 2020 stabbing arrest, police were told that Alvarez was reportedly attempting to sell guns on the internet. In response, police organized a controlled purchase of a weapon from Alvarez in July 2021. When police watched Alvarez pull a weapon and put it the head of the person making the purchase, police officers tried to converge on the group. Alvarez then repeatedly rammed his vehicle straight into police cruisers, police reports said at the time. At least five officers suffered injuries including Linehans traumatic brain injury, a concussion, a separated shoulder and more, according to court records. In addition to Alvarez, Jahdiel Rodriguez, 18; Jaylan Jones, 18; and Jackdelys Maldonado, 19, were also charged with first-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery, third-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit third-degree larceny and interfering with police. The cases against Jones, Rodriguez and Maldonado are still pending before the court. Jones is scheduled to next appear in court on June 29, and Rodriguez and Maldonado are both scheduled to appear on July 13. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MADISON, Wis. (AP) Two court-appointed prosecutors declined Wednesday to charge a Wisconsin sheriffs deputy in the 2016 fatal shooting of a man sleeping in a park, saying they didn't believe they could defeat a self-defense argument. The decision echoes a district attorneys finding years ago that Joseph Mensah had acted in self-defense when he shot Jay Anderson Jr., one of three people he fatally shot over a five-year span. Mensah was a Wauwatosa police officer at the time but has since become a Waukesha County deputy. The special prosecutors, Milwaukee attorney Scott Hansen and La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke, spent months reviewing the case, consulting judges and attorneys and even conducting a mock trial with a jury and repeatedly found they couldn't overcome the self-defense argument. Ethical considerations prevent prosecutors from charging cases they know they can't prove beyond a reasonable doubt, Hansen said. I'm only sorry that there's nothing that we can do to help heal those wounds, Hansen told Judge Glenn Yamahiro as Anderson's family looked on from the courtroom's gallery. But there isn't. And that's our conclusion. Mensah came upon Anderson, who was 25, sleeping in a car after hours in a Wauwatosa park in June 2016. Mensah said he fired after Anderson reached for a gun on the passenger seat, and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm declined to charge Mensah later that year. Chisholm also chose not to charge Mensah in the deaths of either of the other two people he killed. Andersons family disputed that Anderson had reached for the gun. Their attorney, Kimberly Motley, used a obscure legal maneuver similar to a grand jury inquiry to persuade Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Glenn Yamahiro that there was enough probable cause to support charging Mensah. He appointed Hansen and Gruenke in December as special prosecutors to review the case and file charges if they saw fit. Motley argued Wednesday that Gruenke and Hansen were required by law to file charges since Yamahiro ruled enough probable cause existed to support a complaint. This law was put on the books to protect people that are victims, as my clients are," Motley said. Yamahiro said he believes the statutes required him only to find probable cause and launch a review. He said that self-defense is difficult to overcome and Hansen was right when he said prosecutors can't ethically charge cases they know they can't prove. He sympathized with Anderson's family but said he never thought a case against Mensah was a a slam dunk. I am sorry from that perspective this is not a more satisfying outcome for them," he said. Linda Anderson, Jay Anderson Jr.s mother, told the judge that all the work that went into forcing the second review had been for nothing. Im not stopping until that man is behind bars where he needs to be, she said, drawing applause from the gallery. Mensah's attorney, Jonathan Cermele, didn't immediately respond to an email message following the hearing. Mensah joined the Wauwatosa Police Department in 2015. That year, he fatally shot Antonio Gonzales, who prosecutors said had refused to drop a sword. Mensah killed Anderson the following year. In 2020, he shot and killed 17-year-old Alvin Cole as Cole fled from police following a disturbance at a mall. Mensah said he fired because Cole pointed a gun at him. That shooting sparked months of protests. In explaining his rationale for not charging Mensah in Coles death, Chisholm said evidence showed, among other things, that Cole fled from police carrying a stolen handgun, fired a shot while fleeing and refused police commands to drop the weapon. Mensah is Black, as were Anderson and Cole. Gonzales identified as Native American. Hansen and Gruenke wrote in a 25-page report summarizing their investigation and conclusions that the Gonzales and Cole shootings were relevant to Anderson's case and if they tried to tie the shootings together in court a judge wouldn't permit it. They added that Mensah put himself in danger during his encounter with Anderson by approaching Anderson's vehicle from the passenger side rather than the driver's side, using his squad's floodlights rather than its emergency lights, not waiting for back-up officers and failing to keep Anderson's gun in sight. None of that changes whether he acted in self-defense at the moment he opened fire, however, they said. Mensah resigned under pressure from the Wauwatosa Police Department in 2020 and joined the Waukesha County Sheriffs Department. The Anderson family has filed a civil lawsuit against Mensah in federal court. Motley said after the hearing that's she looking forward to deposing Mensah under oath. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate CLINTON The police department will be able to greater protect community members living with cognitive disabilities with these two new programs. The Empower Card and Project Lifesaver have been implemented within the last month, with hopes of getting more individuals, who would benefit, enrolled in one or both of the programs. Cpl. John Harkins, who introduced the Empower Card, has a very personal interest in both programs. I grew up with a sister with special needs, with Down Syndrome, so I know the aspect of always worrying that shed wander off, he said. As I got older, I could see my parents would always have that concern in the back of their heads. For me, it hits home. The Empower Card program was implemented in conjunction with the Clinton Public Schools. We had great success, we had 11 kids sign up, said Harkins. The idea is simple. Students living with cognitive disabilities can be issued a photo ID, about the size of a drivers license, with emergency contact information and personal information to hand to emergency responders in a routine or crisis situation. Stressful situations with people in law enforcement or EMS, some of these kids are autistic and they might clam up or they might just be nonverbal, said Harkins. That might come across to officers as confrontational, but in reality, thats just the way they are, he said. For Tara Lawrie, special education teacher for the Intensive Learning Program at Jared Eliot School, starting this program was such a huge, monumental event. A lot of our students are nonverbal, she said. There have been cases in the past where maybe a student has been found wandering or lost and really has no way of communicating who they are, what their phone number is, where they live. Lawrie said that she has been working with her students this year, to make sure these students are able to communicate, as best they can, whenever possible. This includes being able to correctly choose the card that has their name, their birth date and their address. Now, were going to start to shift those questions to when asked an identifying question, what is your name, directing by either pointing or showing their Empower Card. For Clinton resident Lisa DeRusha it is important that her son, 13-year-old JJ Juarez, has the Empower Card in case of an emergency. Hes nonverbal, so how would anybody know what to do, she said. So, its a way they can have my contact information and know his disabilities to help them, the police or fire, deal with him in the best way that they can. This seventh grader at Jared Eliot School has cerebral palsy. He is nonverbal, legally blind, has seizures and is wheelchair bound. The card is always in his backpack, attached to his wheelchair, DeRusha said. She said the card gives her peace of mind 100 percent. He has it with him all the time, she said. I just know that God forbid anything happens, he would be taken care of. Project Lifesaver is perfect for someone with Alzheimers, dementia, Down Syndrome, autism, where kids or adults tend to wander or bold, said Harkins. Project Lifesaver was started in Guilford in 2015. It is a program where adults or children with impaired cognitive skills, such as Alzheimers disease or autism, wear a personal transmitter that can be used to find them in case of emergency. Currently Clinton has two local individuals signed up for this program, which was made available to the town through a grant from the Alzheimers Foundation of America. We have a couple clients here in Clinton that are involved with the program that might come up from Florida and so they needed to find a spot to register, he said. They were using Guilfords Project Lifesaver account. Harkins said that all information in the program is confidential. They are entered into our computer system, its all private, he said. The only people who have access to it is law enforcement, firefighters and EMS, he added. He recalled a situation, about a year and half ago, when Clinton officers worked with a student who had wandered off. Hes nonverbal and could not identify himself or where he lived, said Harkins. He couldnt talk, so it took them a couple hours to figure out how to get him home. We had to text our SRO, who texted the teachers, who texted the principal, who texted out to all the teachers, he said. This card would eliminate all that. Harkins said that this increased ability to locate these individuals will greatly improve the chances of them being returned home, safe and unharmed. Harkins talked about the statistics of individuals who wander off. Without Project Lifesaver, somebody that wanders off, its upwards around eight, nine, 10 hours to locate that person, he said. Thats just too long. With Project Lifesaver, I think it gets down to somewhere around 15 to 30 minutes from point of going missing to point of being found, he added. So, if we can find these individuals sooner, that will keep them safer. They wont find a body of water to fall in or freeze in the woods in the middle of the winter. Both of these programs are now available to any Clinton residents with cognitive disabilities. We want to keep Clinton safe, said Harkins. There are some citizens that are more vulnerable than others, that group needs a little extra care and guidance and we can provide that now. For more information on the Empower Card program contact Cpl. John Harkins, email: harkins@clintonct.org, or call 860-669-0451 For more information on Project Lifesaver contact Sgt. Bryan Pellegrini, at bpellegrini@clintonct.org or Officer Kate Recchia at krecchia@clintonct.org or call 860-669-0451. Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media After a record-high temperature was set Tuesday in Bridgeport, temperatures have cooled off and potentially strong thunderstorms may be headed to Connecticut, the National Weather Service said. A record high of 94 degrees was recorded Tuesday at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Bridgeport, according to the weather service. Temperatures have quickly dropped and are expected to only reach the mid-60s to low-70s on Wednesday, the weather service said. WFO NORMAN Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Tuesday, May 31, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Norman has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Jackson County in southwestern Oklahoma... Southwestern Kiowa County in southwestern Oklahoma... Northwestern Tillman County in southwestern Oklahoma... Northwestern Foard County in northern Texas... Northwestern Wilbarger County in northern Texas... Southern Hardeman County in northern Texas... * Until 930 PM CDT. * At 844 PM CDT, severe thunderstorms were located along a line extending from near Warren to 3 miles north of Odell to 11 miles southeast of Swearingen, moving east at 20 mph. Isolated wind gusts over 70 mph were recently reported in Altus. HAZARD...70 mph wind gusts and half dollar size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. 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... Altus, Frederick, Quanah, Snyder, Tipton, Chillicothe, Olustee, Mountain Park, Roosevelt, Manitou, Elmer, Headrick, Friendship, Altus Air Force Base, Tom Steed Reservoir, Warren, Fargo, Medicine Mound, Humphreys and Odell. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather BUDAPEST, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian health authorities on Tuesday confirmed the country's first case of monkeypox in a 38-year-old man. The disease does not spread easily, only through close contact, said the chief medical officer Cecilia Muller in a press conference. The disease lasts for two to four weeks and can spread more easily in immuno-compromised patients and pregnant women, she added. Muller noted that the infected have to be isolated during their convalescence. "We need to pay attention to these cases, to set up an early diagnosis. We need to follow the symptoms. If anyone has a suspicion of illness, please go see a doctor," she said. While monkeypox is primarily found in the tropical rainforest areas of central and west Africa, it has been increasingly identified in non-endemic countries. The World Health Organization has confirmed that there are 257 confirmed monkeypox cases and 120 suspected cases in 23 countries where the virus is not endemic. The WHO warned on Tuesday that the potential for further transmission in Europe and elsewhere this summer is high. Furrico Neal paints his own mask inspired by Marvel Comics character Black Panther during last years free summer program at the COCO Center. Romanian and Ukrainian children taking refuge in our country took part, at the Victoria Palace, in a drawing and painting contest with topics such as peace, friendship and love, within an event dedicated to the 1st of June, Children's Day. It was organized by the Ministry of Family, Youth and Equal Opportunities and the Taxiul cu bomboane/ Taxi with candy Association. About the event dubbed "Peace, friendship, love" spoke the Minister of Family, Youth and Equal Opportunities, Gabriela Firea, present at the Government with the ministers Sebastian Burduja and Florin Spataru, the spokesman of the Executive, Dan Carbunaru and the representative of the Association Taxiul cu bomboane. "The Government of Romania is today the playground of children. We wanted the Victoria Palace to open for children from Romania and Ukraine who wanted to participate in a painting and drawing contest that has as theme peace, friendship and love. (...) There are children both younger and older, between 4 and 14 years old, who today chose to spend their day drawing and painting about peace, about love, about friendship. I am certain that many of them would have liked this day, and I refer to those from Ukraine, to spend it in their country with their families, with friends, with relatives, but, unfortunately, the war led them to flee together with their mothers, especially, with their grandmothers, with their aunts from their country," Firea said. The Minister of Family pointed out that the Government continues to give, through certain measures, all the attention to the Ukrainian children, too, who are in a considerable number in our country. "Romania is a friendly country, a country that takes care of the children in Romania, this is natural, but also for those from Ukraine who are on the territory of our country. (...) And not a few have passed through, there were 38,000 and there are now almost 40,000 children from Ukraine on the territory of Romania, of which 200 come from placement institutions in Ukraine, and Romania hosts them," Firea said. At the end of the painting and drawing contest, the participating children received symbolic prizes from the organizers, consisting of books, sweets and other surprises. AGERPRES. The Minister of Energy, Virgil Popescu, is in Azerbaijan, to participate in Baku Energy Week, an event that takes place between 1 and 3 June, Agerpres reports. On Wednesday, the minister attended the official opening of the exhibition "Caspian Oil & Gas" and the forum dedicated by the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Alyiev."I am glad to announce that companies from Romania are also present with a stand in the exhibition. Romania and Azerbaijan have a strong and solid relationship, our frequent bilateral contacts stand as proof of this. Diversification of transport and supply routes will be a topic we will debate these days with colleagues and specialists in the field, in order to find solutions to strengthen energy security. Moreover, I had the opportunity today to be the one who signed in the "book of honour" immediately after President Ilham Alyiev," Virgil Popescu wrote on his Facebook page. The General Inspectorate of Border Police informs that, on Tuesday, 74,662 people entered Romania through the border points, of which 11,862 Ukrainian citizens (up by 20% compared to the previous day). At the border with Ukraine, 4,656 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania (increasing by 12.9%), and 943 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania by 943 Ukrainian citizens (down by 0.9%), the source says in a release sent to AGERPRES.Since the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis (February 24th) and until Wednesday, at 00:00, at national level, 1,087,995 Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania.Also, since February 10 (pre-conflict period), 1,122,524 Ukrainians have entered our country. Education is the most beautiful gift we can offer children and represents the foundation of a better future, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said on Wednesday, in a message on the occasion of Children's Day - June 1st, Agerpres reports. "Access to education - of spirit and mind, of discernment between good and evil, between truth and lies - is the source and resource on which the adult will be based in the balance with himself and with others. Education changes destinies, strengthens society, develops the nation. It is the foundation of a better future. Today's children will cope better as adults of dynamic social transformations and ever-changing life situations if we educate them to be open to new perspectives, to accept and respect diversity, to be in solidarity and empathetic," says Nicolae Ciuca.According to him, the country project "Educated Romania" lays the foundation on which the Romania of tomorrow is built, open to all those who want to contribute, responsibly, to make it possible to put it into practice.The head of the Executive emphasizes the need for support for children and young people from vulnerable categories, those who suffer from many deprivations.At the same time, the prime minister points out, in the current context, the importance of providing support to Ukrainian children refugees in Romania. The National Liberal Party chairman, Prime minister Nicolae Ciuca on Wednesday, in his speech at the congress of the European People's Party, launched a call for solidarity among European countries to support Ukraine in front of the Russian aggression, stressing that Romania has helped and continues to help Ukrainian refugees, Agerpres reports. ''Dear colleagues, the moment we are living is going to redefine our current history and the way we prepare for the future. The invasion of Ukraine is a war against all the values of the EPP, it is a war against our common European principles and values: freedom, democracy, fundamental rights, the rule of law. I'd like to thank the EPP for taking a clear stance against the Russian invasion in Ukraine. It is our duty to support Ukraine with everything that we can. Thanks for the strong proposal that our Commission's President put forward and our President of the European Parliament advocated for, we managed to take such an unprecedented action against Russia and in support of Ukraine. We can be proud of what we achieved as a political family during these recent months. Now it is equally important to continue. We have to stay united as European Union and also as EPP," the liberal leader told the EPP delegates present at the statutory congress in Rotterdam.He recalled that Romania has mobilized to help the more than 1.1 million Ukrainian refugees who have crossed the border into our country since the beginning of the war.''We provided shelter, security and everything that we could. More than 85,000 people from Ukraine are still in Romania and are well taken care of, including more than 30,000 Ukrainian children and teenagers which are attending Romanian schools," Ciuca added.On the other hand, the PNL president pronounced himself for granting the status of candidate for accession to the EU for the Republic of MoldovaRomania has been a solid support of the sanctioning measures of the criminal behaviour of Russia. We will continue to be next to Ukraine and the Ukrainians. In addition, we must be united in our support for the Republic of Moldova. The Republic of Moldova has adopted a path of ambitious reforms. The pro-EU president of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, who belongs to our political party, the government and the clear majority in the parliament work together to implement the reforms, acting in a European spirit and welcoming the largest number of refugees reported to the country's population. That is why we insist for the granting to the Republic of Moldova of the EU candidate statute, Nicolae Ciuca stressed.The leader and other members of the PNL leadership participate in the EPP statutory congress in which the new leadership of the pan-European party is elected for the next three years. German Manfred Weber became the new president of the EPP on Tuesday evening, and on Wednesday the leadership is completed with the 10 vice-presidents, the secretary-general and the treasurer. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) met with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, as well as with the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, on the sidelines of the European People's Party congress, in Rotterdam, on Monday, a party's release reads, Agerpres reports. The PNL president also met with the new leader of the European People's Party, Manfred Weber.During the meeting with Ursula Von der Leyen, Nicolae Ciuca expressed his support for the rapid implementation of the sixth package of sanctions against the Russian Federation and strongly condemned the war of aggression unleashed by Vladimir Putin against Ukraine.The future of the EPP, the current agenda of the EU, as well as the expansion of the Schengen area were the topics addressed in the discussions with the EP President, Roberta Metsola, the source says.On this occasion, Ciuca reiterated that Romania's accession to the Schengen area is a priority for our country, which relies on the full support of the European Parliament to achieve this objective.At the meeting with the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, the discussion focused on the security situation in the region and Romania's support for Moldova's EU candidate status. The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, chairman of the co-ruling Social Democratic Part (PSD) Marcel Ciolacu, said on Wednesday that the proposal of the Ministry of Justice regarding a law on "fugitives" represents "a correct approach", noting that Romania is a European state and it is not possible that when a sentence must be applied, the convicted person to not be found, Agerpres reports. "We see what we're facing and I think the approach is right. One can't have a whole system of trying to condemn someone and when one has to carry out the sentence one doesn't find them at home. We are after all a European state with pretensions," Ciolacu said at the Parliament, when asked on this topic.The Ministry of Justice has put into public debate a draft amendment to the Criminal Code - "a law on fugitives" - which proposes that the definitively convicted persons who do not surrender within 7 days of the sentencing should receive in addition a punishment for escape, up to 3 years. Over 100 Romanian and Ukrainian children from the social projects of the Royal Margareta Foundation of Romania were invited to Elisabeta Palace to celebrate Children's Day. According to a statement sent on Wednesday by the foundation, the children were received by Her Royal Highness Princess Sofia. The guided tour of the palace and the viewing together with Princess Sofia of the photographic exhibition Royal Childhood were followed by surprises and creative workshops at the National Village Museum Dimitrie Gusti, the quoted source said. Also, the children from the Stern Generations Center der Hoffnung in Buzias, the Timis County, enjoyed the visit made to the Royal Domain of Savarsin, the press release also reads. AGERPRES. As many as 300 new cases of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 were recorded in the last 24 hours in Romania, up 303 from Tuesday, with over 19,000 RT-PCR and rapid antigenic tests performed, the Health Ministry informed on Wednesday, Agerpres reports. Of the new cases, 34 were in re-infected patients, who tested positive more than 90 days after the first time they recovered from the disease.Most of the newly confirmed COVID-19 cases in Romania since the previous reporting were recorded in Bucharest City - 102, and in the County of Cluj - 24.As of Wednesday, 2,909,495 cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus were confirmed in Romania.- Hospitalisations -As many as 498 people with COVID-19, down 35 from the Tuesday reporting, including 31 children, are hospitalised in Romania at specialist care facilities.Out of the total number of hospitalised patients, 78 patients, two more than in the previous day, are in intensive care.Of the 78 patients admitted to ICU, 70 are unvaccinated against COVID-19.- Deaths -According to the ministry, one Romanian infected with SARS-CoV-2 is reported dead in the last 24 hours, a woman of over 70, with comorbidities and vaccinated.Since the beginning of the pandemic, 65,685 people diagnosed with the SARS-CoV-2 infection have died in Romania. Liberal chairman, Premier Nicolae Ciuca stressed on Wednesday, during the congress of the European People's Party, that Romania's accession to the Schengen area can no longer be postponed, our country meeting all the necessary technical criteria in this regard, Agerpres reports. ''Again, during this crisis as we did so many times before, Romania has proven that we can secure the external border of the European Union. We can secure an external border of the European Union and we can secure the external border of the Schengen area. This is also what the Commission has been saying for more than 10 years, this is also what the European Parliament has been saying for a very long time. Romania has been waiting for 10 years to join the Schengen area and we believe that this decision can no longer be postponed," Nicolae Ciuca argued in his speech in front the EPP congress's delegates.He added that the decision must be one based solely on merits.On the other hand, the Romanian prime minister said that concrete measures are needed to strengthen the EU in the near future. A first targeted area is, in his opinion, the increase of the energy security of the community bloc. In this regard, Ciuca noted that Romania "fully supports the political objective of the European Union to eliminate as soon as possible the energy dependence on Russia".''Romania is ready and committed to contribute to European efforts through the use of domestic natural gas from the Black Sea, through investments in new technologies in the field of nuclear energy and renewable energy production, as well as through efforts to strengthen energy connectivity in our region. Given the pressure they are under, it is our duty to coordinate effectively for assistance to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova in terms of energy needs and reducing dependency through increased connectivity," Ciuca said.The defence is the second targeted area. According to the PNL leader, the current crisis highlights how important it is to have a solid cooperation between the EU and NATO."We need to provide adequate financial resources for defence through dedicated EU instruments and through national increase in budgets. Romania decided to increase its defence budget to 2.5 pct of the GDP as from the next year. We also need to consolidate the EU's capacity to manage the challenges of our times, especially in the cyber and hybrid fields," Ciuca added.A third priority area must be food security, at a time when the war in Ukraine has had a direct impact on global food security. The PNL leader recalled that Romania participates in joint efforts to facilitate Ukraine's agricultural exports through the Black Sea, including through the development of new infrastructure capacities.''Dear colleagues, PNL wants to see the EPP remaining the largest political force in Europe and I can assure you that myself and the National Liberal Party will be fully supporting this objective and we will participate with all our experience and energy," Nicolae Ciuca concluded. WASHINGTON (AP) The Biden administration announced on Tuesday that it will send Ukraine a small number of high-tech, medium-range rocket systems, a critical weapon that Ukrainian leaders have been begging for as they struggle to stall Russian progress in the Donbas region. The rocket systems are part of a new $700 million tranche of security assistance for Ukraine from the U.S. that will include helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, tactical vehicles, spare parts and more, according to two senior administration officials. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the weapons package that will be formally unveiled on Wednesday. The U.S. decision to provide the advance rocket systems tries to strike a balance between the desire to help Ukraine battle ferocious Russian artillery barrages while not providing arms that could allow Ukraine to hit targets deep inside Russia and trigger an escalation in the war. In a guest essay published Tuesday evening in The New York Times, President Joe Biden confirmed that he's decided to provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine. Biden had said Monday that the U.S. would not send Ukraine rocket systems that can strike into Russia. Any weapons system can shoot into Russia if it's close enough to the border. The aid package expected to be unveiled Wednesday would send what the U.S. considers medium-range rockets they generally can travel about 45 miles (70 kilometers), the officials said. The Ukrainians have assured U.S. officials that they will not fire rockets into Russian territory, according to the senior administration officials. One official noted that the advanced rocket systems will give Ukrainian forces greater precision in targeting Russian assets inside Ukraine. The expectation is that Ukraine could use the rockets in the eastern Donbas region, where they could both intercept Russian artillery and take out Russian positions in towns where fighting is intense, such as Sievierodonetsk. Sievierodonetsk is important to Russian efforts to capture the Donbas before more Western arms arrive to bolster Ukraines defense. The city, which is 90 miles (145 kilometers) south of the Russian border, is in an area that is the last pocket under Ukrainian government control in the Luhansk region of the Donbas. Biden in his New York Times' essay added: We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia. It's the 11th package approved so far, and will be the first to tap the $40 billion in security and economic assistance recently passed by Congress. The rocket systems would be part of Pentagon drawdown authority, so would involve taking weapons from U.S. inventory and getting them into Ukraine quickly. Ukrainian troops would also need training on the new systems, which could take at least a week or two. Officials said the plan is to send Ukraine the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, which is mounted on a truck and can carry a container with six rockets. The system can launch a medium-range rocket, which is the current plan, but is also capable of firing a longer-range missile, the Army Tactical Missile System, which has a range of about 190 miles (300 kilometers) and is not part of the plan. Since the war began in February, the U.S. and its allies have tried to walk a narrow line: send Ukraine weapons needed to fight off Russia, but stop short of providing aid that will inflame Russian President Vladimir Putin and trigger a broader conflict that could spill over into other parts of Europe. Over time, however, the U.S. and allies have amped up the weaponry going into Ukraine, as the fight has shifted from Russias broader campaign to take the capital, Kyiv, and other areas, to more close-contact skirmishes for small pieces of land in the east and south. To that end, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pleading with the West to send multiple launch rocket systems to Ukraine as soon as possible to help stop Russias destruction of towns in the Donbas. The rockets have a longer range than the howitzer artillery systems that the U.S. has provided Ukraine. They would allow Ukrainian forces to strike Russian troops from a distance outside the range of Russia's artillery systems. We are fighting for Ukraine to be provided with all the weapons needed to change the nature of the fighting and start moving faster and more confidently toward the expulsion of the occupiers, Zelenskyy said in a recent address. Ukraine needs multiple launch rocket systems, said Philip Breedlove, a retired U.S. Air Force general who was NATOs top commander from 2013 to 2016. These are very important capabilities that we have not gotten them yet. And they not only need them, but they have been very vociferous in explaining they want them, said Breedlove. We need to get serious about supplying this army so that it can do what the world is asking it to do: fight a world superpower alone on the battlefield. U.S. and White House officials had no public comment on the specifics of the aid package. We continue to consider a range of systems that have the potential to be effective on the battlefield for our Ukrainian partners. But the point the president made is that we wont be sending long-range rockets for use beyond the battlefield in Ukraine, State Department Ned Price said Tuesday. As the battle has shifted its dynamics, we have also shifted the type of security assistance that we are providing to them, in large part because they have asked us for the various systems that are going to be more effective in places like the Donbas. Russia has been making incremental progress in the Donbas, as it tries to take the remaining sections of the region not already controlled by Russian-backed separatists. Putin has repeatedly warned the West against sending greater firepower to Ukraine. The Kremlin said Putin held an 80-minute telephone call Saturday with the leaders of France and Germany in which he warned against the continued transfers of Western weapons. Overall, the United States has committed approximately $5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration, including approximately $4.5 billion since the Russia invaded on Feb. 24. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee and Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report. Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) The gunmen in two of the nation's most recent mass shootings legally bought the semi-automatic rifles they used in their massacres after they turned 18. That's prompting Congress and some governors and state lawmakers to revisit the question of whether to raise the minimum age for purchasing such high-powered weapons. Only six states require someone to be at least 21 years old to buy rifles and shotguns. Advocates argue that such a limit might have prevented the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two teachers dead and the racially motivated supermarket attack in Buffalo, New York, that killed 10. Lawmakers in New York and Utah have proposed legislation that would raise the minimum age to buy AR-15 style rifles to 21. A similar restriction is expected to move as soon as next week in the U.S. House, where it has some bipartisan support, but the legislation faces uncertainty in the closely divided Senate. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican who chairs the National Governors Association, said the idea should be up for discussion. I think you've got to be able to talk about the AR-15 style weapons, and whether that's an 18 or 21 age," Hutchinson told CNN this week. You have to at least have a conversation about that." But Hutchinson, who leaves office in January, isn't pushing for the limit in his own state. Any proposed gun restrictions there are unlikely to find support among Republicans who control the Legislature. Arkansas Republicans are echoing their party's calls at the national level to focus instead on beefing up school security or addressing mental health. If we move to 21 and the shooter is 21, then they'll want to move to 25," said Republican state Sen. Bart Hester, who will serve as Senate president next year. We have established that 18 in our society is an adult who can make adult decisions, and I'm good with that." A recent survey of governors by The Associated Press highlighted the partisan split over whether the minimum age should be higher. Many Democratic governors who responded supported restrictions such as increasing the age to buy semi-automatic weapons. But only one Republican Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, whose state already has a minimum age of 21 to buy guns, with some exceptions supported such a move. Gun control advocates say raising the age offers one of the clearest steps that could have stopped or prevented the most recent mass shootings. The Uvalde attacker, Salvador Ramos, bought the AR-15 he used shortly after he turned 18. If Ramos hadn't been able to buy the weapon, maybe he would have gotten the mental health treatment he needed and this never would have happened, or maybe someone would have called some signs out to law enforcement that this person was acting erratically, said Sean Holihan, state legislative director with the gun control advocacy group Giffords. But its clear if there had been a law in place where he would have been 21 years old, he wouldnt have been able to purchase that gun. Federal law already prohibits federally licensed dealers from selling handguns to anyone under age 21, but people age 18 to 20 can still buy handguns from unlicensed dealers in their state unless state law sets a higher age limit or other restrictions. Florida is a rare example of a Republican-led state that took swift action on gun restrictions after a mass shooting. In 2018, weeks after the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, then-Gov. Rick Scott signed legislation raising the minimum age to buy rifles from 18 to 21, along with a host of other school safety and gun control measures. Scott, a Republican, said at the time that the law balanced our individual rights with the need for public safety. Only months after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, state lawmakers and the governor approved sweeping new restrictions that won support from many Republicans in the Democratic-controlled Legislature. They included a ban on retail sales of semiautomatic rifles that accept magazines holding more than five rounds of ammunition to anyone under 21. We saw what transpired at Sandy Hook and what could be done in a very short period of time with that type of firearm and the magazine capacity, said state Senate Republican Leader Kevin Kelly. I think a response was necessary, and something had to be done." The Buffalo and Uvalde attacks are similarly prompting New York lawmakers this week to consider an age limit increase for buying semiautomatic rifles as part of a package of gun safety bills. Under the proposal, those age 21 and older who want to buy or possess a new semiautomatic rifle would have to obtain a license. New Yorkers deserve to feel safe in schools, in grocery stores, in movie theaters, in shopping malls and on our streets -- and we must do everything in our power to protect them," Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul said. A proposal in Utah, which would raise the minimum age to buy any firearm to 21, is more of a longshot in the Republican-controlled Legislature. If you are not able to consume alcohol, why should you be able to buy a gun?" Democratic Sen. Derek Kitchen said of his proposal. The age provision in the bill before the U.S. House has some bipartisan support, but it remains unclear which aspects of the legislation will pass and get taken up in the Senate. Any measure there needs support from at least 10 Republicans to pass. The House bill also would make it a federal offense to import, manufacture or possess large-capacity ammunition magazines and creates a grant program to buy back such magazines. Democratic Rep. Anthony Brown of Maryland is leading efforts to increase the age for buying semi-automatic rifles. He said such guns have no place in our neighborhoods, let alone in the hands of an 18-year-old. Several Republicans have pointed to a ruling by a federal appeals court panel that found California's ban on the sale of semi-automatic weapons to adults under 21 is unconstitutional. Republican governors who decline to pursue the age increase also cite the political reality in their GOP-controlled legislatures. For Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, raising the age limit to buy an AR-15 style rifle to 21 falls into the category of items the Governor feels would not pass or be considered by the Ohio General Assembly, said press secretary Dan Tierney. Eighteen-year-olds already are allowed to do many things in society, including joining the military, said state Sen. Terry Johnson, a southern Ohio Republican who sponsored the states new law that makes concealed weapons permits optional for people legally allowed to carry a firearm. Theyre adults and theyre Americans, and they are protected by the Second Amendment, Johnson said. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice this week said he supports raising the minimum age for buying an AR-15 style rifle to 21, but isn't proposing such a change in his state. First of all, do I really feel like an 18-year-old ought to be able to walk in and buy an assault weapon? I dont, the Republican governor told reporters this week. Yet he appeared pessimistic about that or any other gun control measure gaining traction in his state. I can call 1,000 special sessions," he said. And if all Im doing is calling 1,000 special sessions for people just to come and talk and get up on a soap box and get nothing done, why?" Associated Press writers Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Kevin Freking in Washington, D.C.; Anthony Izaguirre in Tallahassee, Florida; John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia; Marina Villeneuve in Albany, New York; Lindsay Whitehurst in Salt Lake City; and Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report. Follow the AP's coverage of the mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, here: Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. HAZELWOOD U.S. Reps. Cori Bush and Emanuel Cleaver are asking questions about GKN Aerospace's plans to shut down its factory here. UK-based GKN said in February that orders have declined at its facilities off James S. McDonnell Boulevard, which employ about 900 making commercial and military airplane parts for customers like Boeing, and the facility was struggling to be profitable. It expected to wind down operations this year and next. Tuesday, Bush and Cleaver sent a letter to GKN saying the closure announcement came as a surprise to the community. They asked what factors led to the decision to close, if GKN plans to move the jobs elsewhere, and if it will continue producing the parts it currently makes here. "Our top priority is to see what can be done to keep these jobs in St. Louis," Bush and Cleaver wrote. "We implore you to center the lives and skills of workers in all considerations as we work together to maintain a strong industrial base in our region for years to come." GKN spokesman Wesley Bates said Wednesday that the company had just received the letter and would respond "in due course." The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) The U.S. and Germany pledged on Wednesday to equip Ukraine with some of the advanced weapons it has long desired for shooting down aircraft and knocking out artillery, as Russian forces closed in on capturing a key city in the east. Germany said it will supply Ukraine with up-to-date anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems, while the U.S. announced it will provide four sophisticated, medium-range rocket systems and ammunition. The U.S. is trying to help Ukraine fend off the Russians without triggering a wider war in Europe. The Pentagon said it received assurances that Ukraine will not fire the new rockets into Russian territory. The Kremlin accused the U.S. of pouring fuel on the fire. Western arms have been critical to Ukraines success in stymieing Russias much larger and better-equipped military, thwarting its effort to storm the capital and forcing Moscow to shift its focus to the industrial Donbas region in the east. But as Russia bombards towns in its inching advance in the east, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly pleaded for more and better weapons and accused the West of moving too slowly. Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian presidents office, hailed the new Western weapons. Im sure that if we receive all the necessary weapons and strengthen the efficient sanctions regime we will win, he said. The new arms could help Ukraine set up and hold new lines of defense in the east by hitting back at Russian artillery pieces that have been battering towns and cities and by limiting Russian airstrikes, said retired French Gen. Dominique Trinquand, a former head of Frances military mission at the United Nations. "The NATO countries the European nations and the Americans have progressively escalated the means that they are putting at Ukraines disposal, and this escalation, in my opinion, has had the aim of testing Russian limits, he said. Each time, they measure the Russian reaction, and since there is no reaction, they keep supplying increasingly effective and sophisticated weaponry. Military analysts say Russia is hoping to overrun the Donbas before any weapons that might turn the tide arrive. It will take at least three weeks to get the precision U.S. weapons and trained troops onto the battlefield, the Pentagon said. But Defense Undersecretary Colin Kahl said he believes they will arrive in time to make a difference in the fight. The rocket systems are part of a new $700 million package of security assistance for Ukraine from the U.S. that also includes helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, radars, tactical vehicles, spare parts and more. The rockets have a range of about 50 miles (80 kilometers) and are highly mobile. Ukraine had pushed unsuccessfully for rockets with a range of up to 186 miles (300 kilometers). Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow does not trust assurances that Ukraine will not fire on Russian territory. We believe that the U.S. is deliberately and diligently pouring fuel on the fire, he said. Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintzev later went further, directly accusing Ukraine of planning to fire U.S.-provided missiles from the northeastern Sumy region at border areas in Russia. The claim, which he said was based on radio intercepts, couldnt be independently confirmed. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Ukraines push for more weapons is a direct provocation intended to draw the West into the fighting. He warned that the multiple rocket launchers would raise the risk of an expanded conflict. Sane Western politicians understand those risks well, he said. As the new weapons shipments were announced, a Russian missile hit rail lines in the western Lviv region, a key conduit for supplies of Western weapons and other supplies, officials said. Regional Gov. Maksym Kozytskyy said five people were wounded in Wednesday's strike, and the head of Ukrainian railways said the damage was still being assessed. Germany's promise of IRIS-T air defense systems would mark the first delivery of long-range air defense weapons to Ukraine since the start of the war. Earlier deliveries of portable, shoulder-fired air defense missiles have bolstered the Ukrainian militarys ability to take down helicopters and other low-flying aircraft but didnt give it enough range to challenge Russias air superiority. Germany has come under particular criticism, both at home and from allies abroad, that it isnt doing enough. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told lawmakers that the IRIS-T's surface-to-air missiles are the most modern air defense system the country has. With this, we will enable Ukraine to defend an entire city from Russian air attacks, he said. The radar systems will also help Ukraine locate enemy artillery. A regional governor said Russian forces now control 80% of Sievierodonetsk, a city that is key to Moscows efforts to complete its capture of the Donbas, where Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists have fought for years and where the separatists held swaths of territory even before the invasion. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said Russian troops were advancing in the city during fierce street battles with Ukrainian forces, though he noted that in some districts the Ukrainian troops managed to push them back. The only other city in Luhansk that the Russians have not yet captured, Lysychansk, is still fully under Ukrainian control, he said, but is likely to be the next target. The two cities are separated by a river. If the Russians manage to take full control over Sievierodonetsk within two to three days, they will start installing artillery and mortars and will shell Lysychansk more intensively, Haidai said. Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said the country is losing between 60 and 100 soldiers a day in the fighting. He turned the focus to children in his nightly video address, saying 243 of them have been killed in the war, 446 have been wounded and 139 are missing. The real numbers could be higher, he added, as his government doesnt have a full picture of areas under Russian occupation. Zelenskyy also said 200,000 children are among the Ukrainians who have been forcefully taken to Russia and dispersed across that vast country: The purpose of this criminal policy is not just to steal people but to make those who are deported forget about Ukraine and unable to return. In southern Ukraine, a regional governor sounded a more positive note, saying Russian troops were retreating and blowing up bridges behind them. They are afraid of a counterattack by the Ukrainian army, Vitaliy Kim, governor of the Mykolayiv region, said on the Telegram messaging app. Jordans reported from Berlin. Associated Press writers Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine, Lolita C. Baldor in Washington and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Updated Wednesday afternoon with comments from the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department and Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. ST. CHARLES COUNTY A St. Charles County sheriff's deputy is being investigated for the fatal shooting of his neighbor's dog, authorities said on Tuesday about the case that has drawn attention from near and far. The shooting, which happened May 22, was investigated by a different agency, the St. Charles County Police Department, which recently passed its findings to county prosecutors. The county's prosecuting attorney then asked a judge to appoint a special prosecutor due to a "familial relationship between the suspect and an employee of this office." The case is being turned over to Jefferson County prosecutors. However, Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Trisha C. Stefanski told the Post-Dispatch on Wednesday that her office had not yet received the case's file. On Wednesday, St. Charles County Sheriff Kevin Scott said an internal investigation of the incident also was underway. The family who owned Apollo, the 3-year-old mastiff mix that died, is just hoping to see the deputy charged. "We're just in shock over how this all happened," said Erica Hansen, whose family adopted Apollo as a rescue dog while living in Spain. "We want to make sure this doesn't happen to any other family." The sheriff's deputy was still on active duty as of Tuesday, the St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney's Office said. The deputy, who is not being named because no charges have been filed, was off duty at the time of the shooting. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to Hansen, the day of the shooting, she and her family were at her mother's home in unincorporated St. Charles County when she noticed that Apollo appeared to be choking. The family rushed the dog to a veterinarian, but she said the dog died before they arrived. Hansen said X-rays and medical reports showed that a pellet had penetrated the dog's chest cavity and collapsed both lungs. Hansen's boyfriend, Eric Bacon, recorded a confrontation with the deputy on the deputy's property after the shooting. Through the course of that conversation it was implied that the dog had wandered next door onto the deputy's property. Apollo would play with other dogs with permission from neighbors, Hansen said; however she insisted the dog never wandered over to the deputy's yard behind their home. Concerns about the dog's fatal shooting have poured in from as far away as Michigan, some in the "wee morning hours" and "with the callers' levels of intoxication debatable," the St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney's Office posted on its Facebook page. "Who knew that there are people in Michigan who care enough to leave us several vulgar voicemails at 2:40 AM on Memorial Day Weekend?" the Facebook post said. Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. JEFFERSON CITY The owner of a politically connected company that has flooded the state with unregulated gaming devices faces illegal gambling charges in Adair County, in northern Missouri. But Torch Electronics, owned by Wildwood businessman Steven Miltenberger, hasnt given up on trying to influence Missouri politics in the wake of the charges, filed in March. Torch on May 23 directed $240,000 to a network of political action committees tied to the companys lobbyist, Steve Tilley, according to a review of Missouri Ethics Commission records. The donations were the latest act of resistance by the company as law enforcement most notably the Missouri State Highway Patrol and a small group of state lawmakers attempt to encircle it. Torch, along with Warrenton Oil, last year sued the Highway Patrol in an attempt to convince a Cole County judge to bar the state from seizing machines. A hearing in that case is scheduled for June 16. Torch also sued the Greene County prosecutor last year after the Highway Patrol seized multiple Torch games at an AM-PM Food Mart in the county. A hearing in that case is scheduled for June 6. There were no hearings currently scheduled in an illegal gambling case out of Linn County, where the prosecutor charged Torch Electronics, not Miltenberger, with illegal activity. In Adair County, Miltenberger faces three counts of possession of a gambling device, a class A misdemeanor. Possession of a gambling device carries a maximum penalty of one year behind bars and a $2,000 fine if convicted. A hearing in the case is scheduled for June 9. Miltenbergers attorney, Travis Noble, said his client isnt guilty. We maintain that these arent gambling devices, Noble said. Three probable cause statements provided by the Adair County prosecutor show Sgt. C. Craig, of the Highway Patrol, detailed three instances of alleged illegal gaming by Miltenberger between Sept. 29 and Oct. 5. The first incident occurred Sept. 29 when Craig played $10 on an electronic gambling device at the Ayerco gas station, on the 1700 block of South Baltimore Street, in Kirksville. The machines were identified by a sticker on the machine as being owned by Torch Electronics, Craig said. The owner or managing officer of Torch electronics was identified as Steven A. Miltenberger. The Highway Patrol officer investigated two other stores on Oct. 5. Craig said officials had received an illegal gambling complaint for the BP Speedmart, on the 1100 Block of South Baltimore Street in Kirksville. When he arrived, Craig saw eight electronic gambling devices, four of which were active, the investigator said. The active machines in BP Speedmart were identified by a sticker on the machine as being owned by Torch Electronics, Craig said. At a third location, an Ayerco on the 2200 block of North Baltimore Street in Kirksville, Craig found seven electronic gambling devices on Oct. 5. The machines in Ayerco #29 were identified by a sticker on the machine as being owned by Torch Electronics, the probable cause statement said. Torchs recent donations mirrored a similar spending spree launched last June. At the time, Torch, along with Warrenton Oil, funneled more than $275,000 to political action committees tied to Tilley, according to a review of ethics commission records. PAC money then flowed to Missouri politicians. Attempts to target the unregulated devices have failed in the Legislature. Torch has argued its machines dont meet the definition of a gambling device under Missouri law even though players insert money into the devices with the hope of winning more. Legislation this year wouldve stated clearly that an illegal gambling device is one not regulated by state gambling authorities that involves cash payouts. It wouldve banned individuals and companies convicted of illegal gambling from participating in any future expansion of legal video gambling in the state. Posted at 12:45 p.m. Wednesday, June 1. Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CLAYTON St. Louis County Executive Sam Page on Wednesday defended conditions at the county jail after an outspoken jail adviser quit last week in frustration and criticized the administrations handling of a long-delayed external audit. Page, who took office in early 2019 amid a spate of inmate deaths at the jail, pointed to programs instituted over the last two years including new educational and job training classes, personal electronic tablets for inmates, a pay raise for correctional officers, training for jail nurses, and the distribution of medicine to treat drug overdoses to inmates leaving custody. The jail has not seen an inmate death since early 2020. Were now treating folks in the jail with dignity and respect and with an opportunity to improve their lives and get back on track, Page said during a press briefing, in response to questions posed by a reporter. Its a much better atmosphere than it used to be. The Rev. Phillip Duvall announced his resignation Friday in a letter that criticized Pages administration over delays and limitations put on a long-sought outside audit of the jail. The advisory board demanded the audit in August 2020 after a jail director Page had hired to turn the facility around quit amid allegations of misconduct. After conducting an internal survey, the county issued requests for bidders last year and hired CGL companies in November. Duvall said Friday that he was frustrated with the countys removal of language specifically calling for thorough scrutiny of inmate deaths, including six deaths of medical complications in 2019 and 2020, and the countys refusal to release inmates medical records to auditors. The county has maintained the records are confidential, but Justice Services Director Scott Anders told the advisory board at the last monthly meeting in April that auditors were reviewing investigative records to include in their final report by the end of June. Page said Wednesday he expected the audit will tell us that weve done a lot of really good things over the past two years, but also point out some opportunities for improvement. Duvall also called for the six-member advisory board to be dismantled and replaced by a larger board with subpoena power and wide authority to investigate alleged wrongdoing. He is the third member of the advisory board, which Page relaunched in mid-2019 after years of apparent dormancy, to resign in protest in the past 14 months. But Page said Wednesday he was looking to consult with other board members and consider appointments to fill Duvalls former seat and a vacancy left by another board member, Twyla Lee, who resigned in July. Mary Zabawa Taylor, who had first called for the outside audit, resigned in April of 2021 and was replaced with UMSL Criminology Professor Beth Huebner. One of the reasons why I appointed some of our critics to the advisory board was to hear their concerns and make sure they held us accountable, Page said Wednesday. We cant always do what everyone asks, but their opinions are very important to us and they need to be incorporated with the opinions of everyone else on the advisory council so we can find the best path forward. Posted at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 1. Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Updated June 1 with arrest details. ST. CHARLES Police officers on Tuesday arrested a wanted Montgomery County, Missouri, officer accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend and releasing nude images of her. Police had asked for the public's help Friday in finding William Gary Barnes II, who was considered "armed and dangerous." Barnes, an officer with the New Florence Police Department, posted a $25,000 bail and was released shortly after his arrest. Barnes has been charged in St. Charles County with second-degree stalking, threatening nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images, and two counts of nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images. According to court documents, Barnes stalked his ex-girlfriend between July and November after they broke up. Barnes placed a GPS tracker on his ex-girlfriend's car, court documents say, and then texted her location to her. The officer is also accused of sending nude pictures of his ex-girlfriend to her mother, and uploading them on a social media platform, OnlyFans.com. People paid him to watch the videos, investigators said in court documents. ST. LOUIS Prosecutors have charged a St. Louis man with assaulting a corrections officer at the City Justice Center in downtown St. Louis. Elvine J. Dethrow, 43, of the 400 block of South Kingshighway Boulevard, was charged Tuesday with second-degree assault. Charges say the officer, Joseph K. Welker, was escorting Dethrow from prisoner processing to a cell Saturday when Dethrow threw a chair at Welker and punched him in the face. Welker has multiple broken bones as a result and will require reconstructive surgery, charges said. Dethrow's criminal history includes a stalking conviction in St. Louis County, charges said. Dethrow, who did not yet have a lawyer in the new case, was being held without bail. Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. ST. CLAIR COUNTY Three more people have been charged in connection to the killing of an employee at an O'Fallon, Illinois, restaurant last month, authorities said. Four people now have been charged in the May 22 fatal shooting of 20-year-old Ivan J. Marshall in the parking lot behind Bella Milano, at 455 Regency Park in O'Fallon, police said. Marshall worked at the restaurant, and police said Tuesday that the shooting was not a random act of violence. Last week, a Cahokia Heights woman, Nautica Young, 18, was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting. Bail was set for her at $1.5 million, St. Clair County court documents indicate. On Tuesday, O'Fallon police said that three others had been charged. They are: Nathan T. Smith, 17, of Collinsville, who has been charged as an adult with first-degree murder. Bail has been set at $2 million. Darrayvia D. Crump, 18, of Cahokia Heights, who has been charged with first-degree murder. Bail for Crump has been set at $1.5 million. Nina M. Smith, 38, of Collinsville, who has been charged with obstruction of justice/destroying evidence and aiding a fugitive. Her bail was set at $90,000. Nathan T. Smith was being held at the St. Clair County Juvenile Detention Center, while the others were in custody on Tuesday at the St. Clair County Jail, O'Fallon police said. An additional juvenile also was arrested, police said, and was being held on unrelated charges. Marshall was found on the restaurant parking lot around 10 p.m., an hour after the business had closed. Marshall had been shot in the chest and died at a hospital, police said. The shooting was investigated by the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis and O'Fallon police. JEFFERSON CITY Missouri has enrolled nearly 65% of the people it projected would qualify for an expanded Medicaid program, potentially putting the state on track to meet a goal set when voters approved the expansion two years ago. According to the Department of Social Services, which oversees the MO HealthNet program, 178,000 people have signed up for the federally backed health insurance program for low-income Americans. When voters approved the expansion, it was estimated that 275,000 would be eligible for the coverage. But the rollout, which began in October, continues to be rocky. Nearly 60,000 people are waiting for their applications to be approved and that wait time has stretched beyond the 100-day mark, said Kim Evans, director of family services at the Department of Social Services. At a meeting of the states Medicaid oversight panel Wednesday, Evans said that processing times will drop to 45 days at the end of July and 30 days by the end of August. In March, waiting times were upward of 70 days. Evans said giving workers raises and offering overtime pay and other incentives for employees who are tasked with the applications will help lower the time it takes to process an application. We have a lot of work ahead of us, Evans said Wednesday. The shorter waiting time also was good news to Sen. Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur, a committee member. I think thats great, Schupp said. Before the voter approved expansion, the Medicaid program did not cover adults without children. Coverage through MO HealthNet is now available to all Missourians with incomes below 138% of the federal poverty level, or about $18,800 per year for an individual. MO HealthNet Director Todd Richardson said the budget for the program is positive heading into a new fiscal year beginning July 1. Overall, we are very, very pleased, Richardson told the committee. This is certainly the best budget weve had since Ive been director. The $10.1 billion plan, which has not yet been signed by Gov. Mike Parson, would boost nursing home reimbursement rates by $200 million, which could help boost the pay for front-line workers at the facilities. Another $90 million was added to the budget for reimbursing medical providers. Both of those adjustments are expected to go into effect on July 1, affecting the more than 974,000 people who are covered by the program. The upcoming spending plan marks the first full year the state will operate under an expanded Medicaid program that was approved by voters after years of resistance from the Republican-led Legislature. The expansion went online in October, but frustrations have mounted for applicants who are waiting to become eligible for the health care benefits. Posted at 2:50 p.m. Wednesday, June. 1. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CLAYTON St. Louis County employees could be eligible for 12 weeks of paid parental leave under a new proposal before the County Council, up from two weeks of paid leave currently available. The bill, introduced by Councilman Tim Fitch, R-3rd District, and Council Chair Rita Days, D-1st District, would give new parents a total of 480 hours of paid leave after at least six months of full-time employment with the county. Employees currently are eligible for up to two weeks of paid leave to care for a new child, for a seriously ill family member or for their own serious medical condition under a 2019 executive order signed by County Executive Sam Page. The bill would only expand paid leave for new parents, for birth or adoption of a new child. The leave would include 160 hours for prenatal appointments and 40 hours for first-year health care appointments for infants. The proposal would appear to give the county one of the most expansive government paid parental leave policies in the state. Kansas City gives new parents six weeks of paid leave under a policy that went into effect in 2016; Jackson County has given new parents 12 weeks of paid leave since 2020. The city of St. Louis does not offer paid leave for employees. But Mayor Tishaura O. Jones has proposed six weeks paid family leave, a spokesman said Wednesday. Jones in March had announced she would commit $1 million for the plan. County officials did not have an estimate available Wednesday for what the countys expanded paid parental leave would mean for its budget. The council is scheduled to discuss the bill at a hearing Tuesday, including a potential cost to the countys budget. Fitch said he has asked county departments for feedback, including the countys Department of Human Resources and the Civil Service Commission, which promulgates rules for merit employees, as well as the police department and the jail. Asked about the bill during a news conference, Page didnt commit to supporting the bill but said he expects to expand the current policy. I expect us to expand that policy, he said. Were looking at it now, were listening to everyone who has input, folks that understand that this is good public policy, that there are some expenses associated with that. I think well work through that and well get a bill that everyone can agree with. Fitch, a Republican representing parts of West County, said the proposal would help attract and retain county employees. Its a competitive environment out there right now in the jobs world, he said. And he said he considered it a pro-life policy. From a Republican standpoint, if were pro-life, what are we going to do support our employees having children? This is certainly one of those things. Councilwoman Lisa Clancy, D-5th District, said she considered the proposal a great start but wanted to amend the bill to cover more caregiving situations. I know weve got a lot folks in our workforce in St. Louis County that are younger and taking care of kids but just as many that are older and taking care of aging parents, she said. Fitch said he excluded those circumstances because they are long-term situations and would have a greater impact on staffing than births or adoptions. If thats a discussion that we want to have, to increase that, I think it needs to be done in a separate piece of legislation, he said. Employees can use sick pay or available paid-time-off for the remainder of time to accrue pay while on leave, or take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave under federal Family and Medical Leave Act. The 1993 law requires private employers with 50 or more employees to give most workers 12 weeks of unpaid leave for certain circumstances, including a new child, to care for a seriously ill family member or for their own serious illness, or for care related to military deployment. But not all workers can afford to take unpaid leave under FLMA, leaving many lower-income workers and single parents out, said Richard von Glahn, with Missouri Jobs with Justice, an advocacy group Fitch said he had been talking to about the bill. Von Glahn said paid leave policies help to ensure equal benefits for workers, and called the proposal by Fitch and Days is a great step in that direction. But he said it should be expanded to include other caregiving situations. A more robust paid family leave policy that can help provide workers with security for all of the caregiving roles they might have would help maintain participation in the workforce and would be an important investment in workers by their employers, he said. Days did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment. Posted at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, June 1. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. JEFFERSON CITY Two years after a brewing pandemic led to the closure of an interstate rest area in north St. Louis County, state transportation officials are moving to bulldoze the site. Crews have been hired to demolish structures and roadways at the Chain of Rocks Welcome Center at the Riverview Drive exit of Interstate 270, one of three that was shuttered amid budget concerns at the start of the public health emergency. Although the state is flush with cash now, the Missouri Department of Transportation decided to make the closure permanent. MoDOT owned and maintained the building and since the Welcome Center was closing we decided to close the facility completely. In urban areas, there are many options for drivers to stop at gas stations and restaurants, said agency spokeswoman Linda Horn. The contract was awarded to Ahrens Contracting Inc. of St. Louis for $32,500 Along with the St. Louis location, the states Division of Tourism voted to close the welcome centers in Hannibal and Kansas City in 2020 as a cost-saving measure. The reductions came after Republican Gov. Mike Parson withheld nearly $450 million from the state budget in July 2020 in response to a steep drop-off in state tax revenue caused by the coronavirus. At the time, he cut the tourism divisions budget of $18.6 million by $8.6 million. The divisions budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 is $25 million, with some of the increase fueled by an influx of federal pandemic recovery dollars. Welcome centers in Eagleville, Conway and Joplin remain open, but with reduced hours. The facilities are typically used by travelers to pick up maps, use a restroom and ask advice of the staff about tourism opportunities in the area. The St. Louis location included pavilions with picnic tables. Horn said MoDOT has not decided what will happen to the property once it is cleared. We are still evaluating best use for the land. It could be used as a staging area for the future construction work on the I-270 Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi River. It could also be put on the market. MoDOT has a program to sell excess property once we determine its not needed for state purposes, she said. Welcome centers have been targeted for budget cuts before. In 2018, former Gov. Eric Greitens moved to slash funding for the tourism program, resulting in the closure of the welcome centers on weekends, when most people travel. Posted at 11 a.m. Wednesday, June 1. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CLAYTON The St. Louis County Council voted Tuesday to advance a $20 million bond issuance aimed in large part at the rising costs to replace two police stations. The council voted 6-0 without discussion to give first-round approval to the bill, which would raise $15 million for precincts in North County and the Affton area. The bond issuance would raise an additional $5 million to reimburse the countys park fund for paying a special assessment to the Howard Bend Levee District in the Missouri River flood plain. The bonds could get a final vote next week. If approved, the bond issuance would bring the total amount borrowed for the project since 2017 to more than $41 million. Officials said last month that the issuance includes a 50% contingency to cover any cost overruns. The county estimates about $3 million remaining could be redirected toward other maintenance needs. The county issued a request for bidders for the two projects last week. The two stations were estimated to cost roughly $13 million in 2017, when they were first proposed, and are now tagged at $38 million. The cost includes $17.6 million to rebuild the North County precinct and $20.2 million to demolish a former Affton precinct and build a new station. Officials have blamed the increase on an inadequate initial estimate and rising construction costs and supply chain disruptions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, among other changes. Rent for youth center The council also voted 6-0 to rent space in a shopping center to house the county Department of Human Services Spanish Lake Youth Center. The center offers services including workshops on life skills, educational support, job training and individualized social welfare support. The five-year lease would see the county pay $4,200 monthly rent in the first two years of the contract for a 4,200-square-foot office and plot of adjacent land in the Belle Park Plaza Shopping Center at 12079 Bellefontaine Road. Rent would increase 3% each successive year, raising rent to $4,326 a month in the third year. The county would pay $4,455.78 a month in the fourth year and $4,589.45 in the fifth year. The council also approved an $86,248 contract with engineering firm EDM Inc. to conduct a safety and maintenance inspection of the county-owned 121 South Meramec Parking Garage in downtown Clayton. The garage hasnt been inspected in 10 years, according to public works officials. The contract includes an inspection and consultation on needed repairs that would be bid out at a later date. Condemning gun violence The council on Tuesday also unanimously approved a resolution condemning gun violence in the wake of a deadly school shooting last week at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Nineteen students and two teachers were killed. But a resolution recognizing June 3 as Wear Orange for Gun Violence Awareness Day encountered pushback from Council Republicans for including a call for tighter gun control measures, including universal background checks. The council voted 5-1 for the resolution, recognizing the day organized by the group Everytown for Gun Safety, which advocates for enhanced gun regulations and safety practices. 6th District Republican Ernie Trakas voted against the resolution, calling it politicization of gun violence to call for tighter gun control laws. I wish I could support this resolution, but I cannot...this is a very complex, complicated, multi-layered problem that demands a multilayered holistic answer. Republicans Tim Fitch, 3rd District, and Mark Harder, 7th District, echoed Trakas criticism. But they voted for the measure because it largely focused on raising awareness about gun violence, they said. 5th District Democrat Lisa Clancy, who sponsored the resolution, said proposals including universal background checks, gun permits, and safety trainings are the kinds of things we make people do when we apply for jobs and get drivers licenses. Rita Heard Days, D-District 1, was absent from Tuesdays meeting. 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. UVALDE, Texas (AP) The pallbearers wore white shirts and gloves. The desert-brown church with the tall bell tower was filled to overflowing. The casket held a 10-year-old girl who loved purple. On Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of mourners turned out for the funeral Mass for Amerie Jo Garza, a smiling fourth-grader who was killed a week ago when 18-year-old Salvador Ramos stormed into her Uvalde, Texas elementary school and opened fire on her classroom. Amerie's funeral was the first since the massacre, with Maite Rodriguezs scheduled for later Tuesday at an Uvalde funeral home. Nineteen more funerals are planned for the next two-and-a-half weeks for the 19 children and two teachers who were killed in that classroom on May 24. Mourner Erika Santiago, her husband and their two children wore purple shirts adorned with images of the victims to Ameries funeral. She described Amerie as a nice little girl who smiled a lot, and who was so humble and charismatic but full of life. Santiago said her 10-year-old son, Adriel, watched in horror when news reports first showed images of people killed and he recognized his friends Amerie and Maite. He told me he did not want to go to school fearing that could happen, Santiago said. He told me, 'Mom, I just dont feel safe. Visitation for one of the teachers, 48-year-old Irma Garcia, also was Tuesday, along with visitations for children Nevaeh Bravo and Jose Flores Jr. Vincent Salazars 11-year-old daughter, Layla, has the last of the scheduled services her visitation is June 15 with the funeral the following day. Salazar said the family likely wont see Laylas body until soon before the visitation. I understand there were other children as well, but were just waiting to get her back," Salazar said. "Thats all were focused on. Uvalde County Justice of the Peace Eulalio Lalo Diaz Jr. said the bodies of all 21 victims were first sent to the medical examiners office in San Antonio for autopsies, which he said is standard for a major crime. Then, because there isnt enough space at Uvaldes two funeral homes, many bodies were sent to out-of-town funeral homes until services near. The Uvalde funeral homes are working with the families on when they can see their loved ones, he said. Its mainly because of the number of victims, Diaz said, asking: Where do you store that many people? Diaz said the autopsies are complete. He declined to discuss preliminary results and said final reports will take three to four months. Vincent Salazar said he and his family are going to as many visitations as they can to pay respects to the other victims and their families. Not necessarily going to the funerals because were still taking care of things hour by hour, day by day, here, Salazar said. Weve got so much stuff going on with our own. You have to set everything up obituaries, death certificates, funeral arrangements. Thats all were focused on right now her, getting her back and being able to put her to rest, Salazar said of Layla. Thats it. Investigators continue to seek answers about how police responded to the shooting, and the U.S. Department of Justice is reviewing law enforcement actions. The blame for an excruciating delay in killing the gunman even as parents outside begged police to rush in and panicked children called 911 from inside was placed on the school districts homegrown police chief, Pete Arredondo, after the director of state police said Arredondo made the wrong decision not to breach the classroom, believing the gunman was barricaded inside and children werent at risk. Steven McCraw, head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Friday that after following the gunman into the building, officers waited over an hour to breach the classroom. The revelation raised new questions about whether lives were lost because officers did not act faster to stop the gunman, who was ultimately killed by Border Patrol tactical officers. State police said Tuesday that the teacher who at one point propped open an exterior door to the school had closed it before the gunman used it to get inside. However, the door did not lock, police said. Authorities had originally said Ramos came in through the door she'd propped open. Instead, investigators said the teacher, who has not been identified, closed the propped-open door when she realized there was a shooter on campus and ran to get her phone and call 911, said Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety. Investigators are looking into why the door didn't lock. Jacob Albarado, an off-duty Border Patrol agent who rushed to the school with a shotgun borrowed from his barber, said Tuesday it was chaotic when he arrived in search of his daughter and wife. Both were physically unharmed in the attack, he said. To me, I believe everyone there was doing the best that they could given the circumstances, he told NBCs Today Show." I believe everyone there was doing everything in their power. Authorities have said Ramos legally purchased two guns not long before the school attack: an AR-style rifle on May 17 and a second rifle on May 20. He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law. President Joe Biden's long-planned meeting Tuesday with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern shifted to gun control after what happened in Uvalde and a week earlier in Buffalo, New York, where 10 Black people were killed by a shooter espousing racist replacement theory. Ardern won passage of gun control measures after a white supremacist killed 51 Muslim worshippers at two Christchurch mosques in 2019. Less than a month later all but one of the countrys 120 lawmakers voted in favor of banning military-style semiautomatic weapons. Biden told reporters that he will meet with the Congress on guns, I promise you, but the White House has acknowledged that winning new gun legislation will be an uphill climb in an evenly divided Congress. Salter reported from O'Fallon, Missouri. More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. The school district police chief who served as on-site commander during last week's deadly shooting in Uvalde, Texas, said Wednesday that he's talking daily with investigators, contradicting claims from state law enforcement that he has stopped cooperating. In a brief interview, Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo told CNN that he's speaking regularly with Texas Department of Public Safety investigators. "Ive been on the phone with them every day, Arredondo said. The chief has been the focus of ire in the community and beyond over allegations that he delayed sending officers into the school on May 24, believing that the gunman was barricaded inside adjoining classrooms and the shooting had morphed into a hostage situation. Nineteen children and two teachers died in the attack at Robb Elementary School, the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade. Funerals began this week, and U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona attended Wednesday's services for teacher Irma Garcia, who was killed in the attack, and her husband, Joe Garcia, who died of a heart attack two days later. The district announced Wednesday that students and staff would not return to that campus, though plans were still being finalized on where the less than 600 students would attend classes in the fall. Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez said Wednesday that his office is working with state and federal agencies to request upwards of $45 million in federal funding for the school. According to the U.S. Department of Education, its School Emergency Response to Violence, known as Project SERV, funds short-term education-related services to help educational facilities recover from a violent or traumatic event in which the learning environment has been disrupted. Gutierrez said he is unaware of any plans to tear down Robb Elementary but that funds obtained through the program by other schools have traditionally been used to rebuild. State officials have said police waited for more than an hour outside the classroom where Salvador Ramos, 18, opened fire, despite repeated pleas from children calling 911 for help. At one point there were as many as 19 officers in the hallway, Steven McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said. Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Tuesday that Arredondo had not responded to DPS requests for two days, while other officers in the Uvalde city and schools police departments continue to sit for interviews and provide statements. Arredondo has not responded to multiple requests for comment from The Associated Press. Considine told AP Wednesday that Arredondo had not responded to Texas Rangers' requests for follow-up interviews as of Tuesday. The Texas Rangers the investigative arm of the Department of Public Safety that focuses on major crimes have not commented on Arredondos insistence he was in regular touch with DPS. The Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas, which represents police officers, has urged its members to cooperate with all government investigations into the shooting and police response, and endorsed a federal probe by the Justice Department. The confusing and sometimes contradictory information released in the week since the deadly shooting continued Tuesday with the revelation that the exterior door used by the gunman was not left propped open by a teacher, as police previously said. They have now determined that the teacher, who has not been identified, propped the door open with a rock, but then removed the rock and closed the door when she realized there was a shooter on campus, Considine said. But, Considine said, the door that was designed to lock when shut did not lock. Since the shooting, law enforcement and state officials have struggled to present an accurate timeline and details of the event and how police responded, sometimes providing conflicting information or withdrawing statements hours later. State police have said some accounts were preliminary and could change as more witnesses are interviewed. On Wednesday, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the state to conduct in-person school district security audits, including random, unannounced intruder detection visits to campuses to find weak points and how quickly they can penetrate buildings without being stopped. This will improve accountability and ensure school districts are following the plans they create, Abbott said in a letter to the head of the Texas School Safety Center at Texas State University. Texas has more than 1,200 school districts, according to the Texas Education Agency. Abbott also asked top lawmakers to convene a legislative committee to examine and make recommendations on school safety, mental health, social media, police training, firearm safety and more. The next Texas legislative session is scheduled for January 2023, although some lawmakers have urged Abbott to call a special session in response to the shooting. After previous mass shootings at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Santa Fe High School and a Walmart in El Paso, Abbott convened roundtable discussions, sometimes involving survivors and victims families. After the 2018 shooting at Santa Fe High School, lawmakers in 2019 approved $100 million for schools to improve campus safety with metal detectors, vehicle barriers, shooter alarms systems and other safety measures. They also allowed more teachers to carry guns on campus and be trained in campus shooter response. But Abbott and state lawmakers resisted calls for stricter gun ownership measures. In 2021, Abbott signed into law a measure that allows people 21 and older to carry handguns without a license or training. In Uvalde on Wednesday, Ramos mother was denied service at the drive-thru. Adriana Reyes then walked into an adjacent convenience store where the cashier said she would not be served. She declined to speak with an Associated Press reporter on the scene, saying: I dont want to be rude but I dont want to say anything. More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press writers Adriana Gomez Licon in Uvalde; Jake Bleiberg in Dallas; and Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. A former teaching assistant in suburban St. Louis has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for raping a second-grader at the school and exposing the child to the virus that causes AIDS. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 39-year-old Deonte Taylor was sentenced Thursday after being found guilty in April of three counts of sodomy and one count of knowingly exposing someone to HIV. Taylor also pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of conspiracy to commit murder for trying to arrange the killing of the boy and his mother. Authorities say the attack happened in 2015 at Lusher Elementary School in Florissant. The boy later tested negative for HIV. TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Tuesday reiterated America's support for Taiwan on her second visit in a year to the self-governing island claimed by China. Duckworth, meeting with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, emphasized the close economic, political and security relations between Taipei and Washington. China sent 30 military aircraft toward the island on Monday in an ongoing campaign of regular flights. Taiwans Defense Ministry said it responded by scrambling jets, putting air defense missile systems on alert and issuing radio warnings. Duckworth said she wanted to emphasize our support for Taiwan security." The former Army helicopter pilot and lieutenant colonel in the National Guard cited strong bipartisan backing for a bill she has put forward promoting cooperation between Taiwans armed forces and the National Guard. I do want to say that it is more than just about military. Its also about the economy, the Illinois Democrat told Tsai. Tsai thanked the U.S. government and Congress for the importance they place on peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," as well as Duckworth herself for keeping a close watch on Taiwan related security issues. China said it strongly deplores Duckworth's visit. Taiwan is a province of China, and there is no so-called president, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said. He urged the U.S. to end all official contacts with Taiwan. The U.S. government has recently sent a series of erroneous signals on the Taiwan issue, he said. What the U.S. government should do is to put into practice President Bidens remarks that the U.S. does not seek a new Cold War with China, does not aim to change Chinas system and does not support Taiwan independence." U.S. President Joe Biden said on a recent trip to Japan and South Korea that the U.S. would intervene militarily if China were to invade Taiwan. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has put China's threats against Taiwan under new focus, prompting increased backing for arms sales and political support from Democrats and Republicans. China upped the ante further in May, reaching out to the Solomon Islands and nine other island nations with a sweeping security proposal that, even if only partially realized, could give it a presence in the Pacific much nearer Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand and on the doorstep of the strategic American territory of Guam. That is seen as a potential route to blocking access to Taiwan by the U.S. and its allies in the event China makes good on its threat to invade the island. In a speech Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said President Joe Biden's administration aims to lead the international bloc opposed to Russias invasion of Ukraine into a broader coalition to counter what it sees as a more serious, long-term threat to global order from China. He did say that the U.S. does not support Taiwan independence. While relations with Taiwan are informal in deference to Beijing, the U.S. remains its main supplier of defensive arms and source of political support in international organizations where China blocks Taiwan's participation. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Even though the horror of the massacre in Uvalde, Texas, happened after the mass killings at Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, New York, and the Irvine, California, Taiwanese Presbyterian Church (both less than a week before), one thing that the Buffalo shooter said in his alleged manifesto has resonated with me. Namely, its that people keep talking about how we need diversity, but no one has explained why. If this is part of the vernacular of hate (or perhaps the display of ignorance) being used as propaganda for the ever-multiplying groups on the radical right, perhaps a discussion on the value of diversity is warranted. If youve ever watched any sort of animal show on television or visited any American zoo or aquarium, you have probably heard the phrase Species Survival Plan. This term is used by veterinarians and educators in these institutions to explain how the health of animal populations is weakened if the individuals within are too closely related. Many genetic abnormalities can occur in pairings between interrelated individuals. The more diverse the group, the healthier it tends to be. The same is true for humans. This is why there are laws on the books in nearly every state that decry incest and restrict marriage between certain degrees of relatives. In high school biology, I learned that certain human traits are dominant, and others are recessive. For a person to exhibit various characteristics controlled by recessive genes blue eyes are always the example that seems to be used both parents have to carry that gene. Sadly, however, there are a slew of devastating diseases and conditions that can occur when parents pass on the same defective gene. Today there are a great many improvements in genetic testing for some of the most common recessive gene disorders: cystic fibrosis, sickle-cell anemia, and the less-frequently occurring Tay-Sachs Disease, which to date is an always fatal disease that usually kills afflicted children before they are five after rendering them blind, paralyzed, and suffering intractable pain. Sites like Ancestry.com and 23andme can certainly help identify closely related prospective parents before they conceive. But a terminal diagnosis made for a fetus raises another issue in the abortion wars, doesnt it? A diversified, less homogenized society would reduce the incidence of these diseases in the first place. In the past, many civilizations believed in intermarriage between families. Sometimes the actual motive was as much to merge dynasties or secure property as it was to ensure racial purity. The exception to this was among the Egyptian pharaohs who, believing themselves gods, needed other gods as mates. Incest was their solution. Egyptian royal siblings often married, and uncles often married their nieces, which increased the possibility of passing on defective genes to their children and thereby weakening the bloodline. This practice of incest was strengthened by the legend that the god Osiris married his sister Isis. Similarly, European royalty suffered from various familial diseases linked to recessive genes. The frequency of intermarriage between royal houses resulted in hemophilia in the lineage of Queen Victoria and her husband/cousin Prince Albert. This disease afflicted not only the royals in Great Britain but also the royal families of Spain, Portugal, Germany, and Russia, to the point that it was often called the royal disease. But aside from the physical advantages gained by diversifying the population, the cultural advantages are immeasurable. Weve all benefited from the knowledge of native plants in medicine that the combined groups taught us far ahead of European civilizations alone. Foods that are now staples in our lives like coffee, pizza, Latin and Chinese food, German potato salad, sausages from Poland, as well as bagels and lox from Jewish culture, are a direct result of the integration of people from different lands. American music and art evolved from the molding of every nationality, starting with the ceremonial dances of Native Americans, to the drums and cadences brought to the Americas on slave ships. Every musical genre has been influenced by every other. This is why diversity is valuable. It has strengthened our population, provided us with better health, better foods and better experiences. Embrace it. Janet Y. Jackson is a Post-Dispatch columnist and Editorial Board member. On May 24, another horrific school shooting took place in Texas, killing 19 elementary school children and two teachers. It was the deadliest massacre of school children in Texas history, but not the deadliest school shooting. The Virginia Tech shootings killed 33, and the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School took the lives of 28. Although America has a long history of school shootings dating back to 1893, when four students were shot dead at Plain Dealing High School in Louisiana, school shootings have become more common and deadlier in recent decades with 15 deadly school shootings taking 189 lives since 1999. Despite National Rifle Association claims that gun ownership and lack of gun control measures are not associated with gun violence and deaths, numerous studies have shown the opposite to be true. For example, in a 2021 report by thetrace.org comparing U.S. gun violence rates to other countries, researchers Champe Barton and Daniel Nass found an extraordinary high relationship between gun ownership and gun violence and deaths in the United States. They reported that states with more gun owners also see more firearm deaths. The study found the same holds true for other countries. Studies also show that gun control measures work to reduce gun violence and deaths, even in countries where gun ownership is similar to that in the United States, such as in Switzerland. In another study, Aylin Woodward and Erin Snodgrass noted that gun deaths are much higher in the U.S. compared to other countries with similar gun ownership per capita because other countries impose gun control measures. They report: Studies have linked stricter background checks, rules prohibiting abusers from owning weapons, and secure locks on firearms in the home with decreased rates of gun-related deaths. Of course, such studies seem to support common sense. And by far, most Americans trust such studies and not the NRAs self-serving commentary about the causes of gun violence. The truth is that the vast majority of Americans support an array of gun control measures. According to a May 25 Morning Consult/Politico poll, 88% of respondents support mandatory background checks for all gun sales; 87% support expanded screening and treatment for the mentally ill; 84% support banning sales of all firearms to dangerous people posing a threat to police, as documented by mental health providers; 69% support a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines; while 67% support a ban on assault weapons. You would think that, in a representative democracy, elected politicians would not ignore clear public opinion in favor of gun control measures, yet those U.S. senators and representatives we have sent to Congress have done so repeatedly. The question is: Why? The answer is not difficult to understand. Not only do members of Congress opposing gun control measures receive enormous campaign contributions from gun control interests, including the NRA, they also tend to hold very safe seats. Consequently, they tend to believe they do not need to respond to voter preference for gun control since they feel secure in their ability to get reelected anyway. Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri once told my political science class at St. Louis University that one of the greatest problems for our democracy is the extremely high number of safe seats in Congress. He was right. This is because holding a safe seat means that members of Congress can often act irresponsibly and defy the interests of the people yet still stand very little chance of not getting reelected because their seats are noncompetitive. While partisan gerrymandering has made seats safe for both Republicans and Democrats, senators come mostly from states that are either very red or very blue. Since 2000, for example, the average reelection rate of House members has been 93.9%, while the average reelection rate of senators has been 85.7%. Do not expect our elected leaders in Congress to pass any meaningful gun control measures, despite tragic school shootings taking the lives of many students and teachers, as well as mass shootings elsewhere such as the 2017 mass shooting in Paradise, Nevada, that took 61 lives and the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting that killed 50. Republican members of Congress march to the drumbeats of the NRA, continuing to appreciate their generous campaign contributions, while NRA donations to Democrats are virtually nonexistent. With the vast majority of those in Congress sitting in very safe seats, they feel they can ignore poll data showing clear and overwhelming public support for various gun control measures. Our Washington lawmakers continue to make incredulous arguments in favor of the gun industry but not sound arguments for gun control in favor of the public interest. Kenneth F. Warren is a professor of political science at St. Louis University and president of The Warren Poll. A Disney vacation can be a trip of a lifetime. It can also be the most expensive trip of your lifetime. For many, buying travel insurance should be just as essential as buying a churro as you cruise down Main Street. After all, were still in the midst of a pandemic. But thats not the only reason you might cancel. Maybe you booked a vacation but later lost your job; you might want to delay until you regain a stable income stream. Maybe your kid breaks his leg and you want to rebook when its healed. Trip insurance can be purchased from a dedicated travel insurance company, or you might already have it by holding certain credit cards. Otherwise, you might buy it directly from Disney, which offers insurance as an add-on for vacation packages at its U.S. theme parks. Is Disney travel insurance worth it, or are there better deals out there? What Disney travel insurance covers If youre heading to Walt Disney World in Florida or Disneyland in California and youve booked a vacation package (meaning a hotel and theme park tickets), youre eligible to purchase Disneys Travel Protection Plan. Underwritten by Arch Insurance Company, its available for purchase by U.S. residents and U.S. citizens living abroad who book through Disneys website. Exact coverage and benefit availability varies based on where you live, but it typically includes: Trip cancellation or interruption: Reimburses prepaid travel up to your total trip cost for covered reasons including illness, injury, job loss or military service. Reimburses prepaid travel up to your total trip cost for covered reasons including illness, injury, job loss or military service. Trip delay: Reimburses eligible expenses of up to $200 per day ($600 per trip). Reimburses eligible expenses of up to $200 per day ($600 per trip). Baggage loss: Reimburses up to $2,000 for lost, stolen or damaged luggage. Reimburses up to $2,000 for lost, stolen or damaged luggage. Bag delay: Reimburses purchases of necessary items if your bags are delayed 12 or more hours. Reimburses purchases of necessary items if your bags are delayed 12 or more hours. Emergency medical expenses: Provides up to $25,000 of coverage if you get ill or injured while traveling. Provides up to $25,000 of coverage if you get ill or injured while traveling. Rental car damage: Reimburses repair costs up to $25,000 in the event of collision, theft, damage or vandalism. How much is Disney travel insurance? While Disney doesnt outright state its prices, a NerdWallet analysis of several travel packages found that it costs a flat rate of $82.50 per adult and $6 per child. Flat-rate travel insurance can be good for ultra-expensive trips, but a bad deal for budget trips. Take a seven-night stay during the week of Christmas 2022 for a family of four (two adults and two children) at Disneys opulent Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Book it alongside six-day theme park tickets with all the add-ons like water park admission and youd pay about $12,000. Adding on travel insurance would cost $177, which is 1.4% of your overall cost. But say you instead planned a trip at the end of September when the kids are back at school. Two adults could stay at Disney's All-Star Movies Resort with basic, two-day tickets for just $850. Adding Disneys insurance would increase your package cost to over $1,000, which is an overall price increase of nearly 20%. Travel insurance that nets out to just 1.4% of your overall trip cost is a deal, but 20% is far from it. After all, most travel insurance costs between 4% to 8% of the total trip, according to the U.S. Travel Insurance Association. Reasons to get Disney travel insurance Flat-rate travel insurance, as Disney offers, is pretty rare. Most policies are priced based on factors including the length of your trip, your destination and the age of the policyholder. Heres why it might make a good deal: Flat-rate pricing is better for more expensive trips: If a costly trip is going to result in equally costly travel insurance, opting for flat-rate pricing is smart. And its not just a fancy hotel and Disney theme park tickets with all the add-ons like front-of-theline passes. Factor in other nonrefundable trip elements, such as airfare and pre-paid rental cars. If youre flying first class, or youre a victim to rising rental car prices, then flat rate insurance is especially appealing. Youre an older adult: Travel insurance costs are based on risk, and insurance is more expensive for older travelers, who are more likely to experience health problems, according to Allianz Travel Insurance. Because Disneys only age differentiator is child versus adult, its plan might be cheaper for older adults versus going with an independent insurer. Many other policies wont cover theme park tickets: Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney has required travelers to make advance reservations to enter its U.S. theme parks. The days of buying tickets first thing in the morning are gone. For popular days, youll often have to reserve your tickets months in advance. But while most policies cover cruises, airfare, lodging and tours, its tough to find policies that cover theme park tickets. Because of the high cost of Disney tickets (and the fact that most Disney tickets are nontransferable and nonrefundable), you likely want to be covered for those too. Reasons to skip Disney travel insurance But most people would be better off skipping Disney insurance. Here are a few reasons why: Maximum coverage is relatively low: Disneys insurance will pay out a maximum of $25,000 in the event of accidental death and dismemberment, while its common to find coverage of up to $500,000 elsewhere. Similarly, Disneys policy covers up to $2,000 for lost baggage. That might be insufficient if youve packed a fancy camera. With other insurance policies, coverage of at least $3,000 is common. And Disneys rental car coverage only reimburses repair costs of up to $25,000. Especially given rising car prices, that might not be enough for serious accidents. Coverage is limited: Actually getting reimbursed with your Disney travel insurance can be tricky. Covered events are restricted to narrow situations, including injury, a family members death or jury duty. Plus, you must provide proof, like a court order or death certificate. Disneys insurance also wont cover pre-existing conditions. You dont want to book a Disney hotel: Disneys insurance is only available to travelers staying at one of Disneys own (expensive) resorts. If youre going to Disney World on the cheap, staying off-property is almost always cheaper. Dont let eligibility to purchase Disney insurance persuade you to book a Disney resort thats outside of your ideal budget. Better alternatives to Disney travel insurance Before your Disney trip, compare travel insurance quotes from multiple providers. And dont overlook these other types of travel insurance: Cancel For Any Reason coverage Perhaps an uptick in COVID-19 cases has you considering travel. Or maybe an injury is preventing you from travel, but you dont have a doctors note to prove it. Given the limited number of reasons that qualify for coverage, you might be better off with Cancel For Any Reason coverage, which covers you no matter why you cancel. Look to your credit card Some credit cards offer travel insurance as a benefit, as long as you purchased the trip on that card. Given the high cost of travel insurance, this benefit alone can often be worth the often-high annual fees these cards charge. Check with your bank to see whats covered. For example, the insurance offered via many Chase credit cards explicitly wont cover theme park tickets. When is Disney travel insurance worth it? Given the uncertainty of travel these days, even a quick weekend getaway should have some degree of insurance. But you might not need to pay for Disneys travel insurance. As long as youre OK with your theme park tickets not being insured, the travel insurance offered through many credit cards is likely a better bet, and might not cost you anything once you hold the card. If you really want to ensure coverage, paying for a Cancel For Any Reason might be even better. Photo courtesy of Disneyland Resort. Sally French writes for NerdWallet. Email: sfrench@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @SAFmedia. The article Is Disney Travel Insurance Worth the Cost? originally appeared on NerdWallet. After a five-year search U.S. SOCOM (Special Operations Command) has selected a new PDW (Personal Defense Weapon, or pistol replacement) for special operations troops or any personnel needing a compact weapon more powerful than a pistol. The new PDW is the Sig Sauer MCX Rattler, which was already available and did not require development of a new weapon. SOCOM wanted a PDW that used the 5.56mm ammo as American assault rifles and could have an assault rifle stock as an attachment. More importantly the MCX could use the new (2011) subsonic (low-velocity) 7.6235mm Blackout round by swapping out the standard 5.56mm barrel assembly. The Blackout round could use M4/M16 magazines and, with the addition of a suppressor (silencer), provided MCX users with very quiet weapons, especially when firing single shots. The Blackout round was adopted by several European countries for their special operations forces. The MCX Rattler is 584mm (23 inches) long, 204mm (8 inches) high, and weighs 2.7 kg (5.1 pounds) with a 30-round magazine, and normally uses the Blackout round with the 5.56mm round as an option. The war on terror after 2001 caused many changes and one of the less well-known ones was the large number of new weapons designs that appeared. One of the more interesting, but generally unnoticed areas of developments is the PDW, which first appeared in the 1980s when NATO sought a smaller and more compact replacement for 9mm machine-pistols. The 9mm round was the most widely used pistol round ever. Police forces worldwide used the 9mm machine-pistol/submachinegun, as do paramilitary and military forces for non-combat and security troops. And special operations troops found PDWs useful, as did some types of police. PDWs never became a large seller but there was demand for weapons manufacturers to introduce new models and demand and new technology developed. By the 1990s new models demonstrated how compact, lightweight and powerful machine pistols or PDW could be. For example, the Russian PP-2000 PDW uses a 9x19mm round. The PP-2200 weighs 1.4 kg (3.1 pounds), has a 183mm (7.2 inch) long barrel and can use 20 or 40 round double stack (short) magazines. It has a folding stock so it can be used like a pistol or a submachine gun. You can attach a red dot sight and light (to the bottom). When folded up in pistol mode it will fit in a jacket. After 2001 the growing threat of terrorist attacks led to a proliferation of PDW designs, some using different ammunition. In 2010 the Rock River Arms PPS (Performance Piston System) Pistol appeared. This was a 5.56mm weapon that used a new internal design. It has a short gas piston, with the recoil spring and guide rod over the 21cm (8 inch) barrel. The entire weapon, which does not have a stock, was 44.5cm (17.5 inches) long and weighed 2.2 kg (5 pounds). There were single shot and full automatic versions, each costing $1,335. There have been some notable European PDW designs from the major pistol manufacturers like H&K and Sig Sauer. If you want a smaller PDW, you often have to go with smaller ammunition. An example of this is a 2009 Chinese PDW design that used a 4.6x30mm round. This weapon is a variant of the Type 79 compact submachine gun which uses the old Russian 7.62x25mm round. The 2009 Chinese weapon weighs 1.6 kg (3.6 pounds) and has a 30 round, dual stack, magazine. Rate of fire is single, 400 or 600 rounds per minute. It has a Picatinny rail on top for scopes and sights. With the telescopic stock closed, the weapon is 34cm (13.4 inches) long, and 54cm (21.2 inches) with the stock extended. The weapon is gas operated with a closed bolt. The bullets are about half the weight of 5.56mm ones and the 4.6mm round is lethal at short ranges, especially in bursts. The bullet travels at high speed (over 700 meters a second). The 4.6mm round will not penetrate walls or ceilings as well as 9mm or 5.56mm bullets, meaning less chance of unintended casualties. The Personal Defense Weapon never really succeeded, on a large scale, as a pistol replacement. The military, especially in the United States, simply developed an M-16 with a shorter barrel and stock (the M-4). Many troops who previously only had a pistol, now had an M-4. These were cheaper than PDWs, and not much larger. But security professionals, especially bodyguards, are a growing market for the easily concealed PDWs. Many police departments use them for special situations. The military government has forced French counterterrorism forces out of the country, and withdrawn from the EU supported G5 Sahel Counterterrorism force. Over the last few years, French voters grew discouraged about continuing to support peacekeeping in Mali and counterterrorism efforts throughout the Sahel region. With nearly 10,000 French and regional (G5) troops gone, Mali would prefer to keep the 13,000 UN peacekeepers that maintains government control over the rebellious north. These peacekeepers are supplied by AU (African Union) nations and some of the African nations supplying these peacekeepers are withdrawing that support. A few percent of the peacekeeping force consist of troops from NATO nations that supply specialized services, especially transport helicopters and other services. Currently the foreign contingent is about a thousand German troops. The UN threatens to withdraw its peacekeepers because Mali is paying for about a thousand Russian mercenaries (Wagner Group military contractors) as well as buying weapons from Russia, which is banned from selling weapons to foreign nations. Russia is under severe economic sanctions because of its recent Ukraine invasion but Mali gets around that by paying Russia in gold. Mali is a major producer of gold and Russia has a large gold stockpile for emergencies. Russia will accept gold for the weapons and Wagner Group contractors. Russia also supplies pilots and maintainers for the eight Russian helicopters Mali has received since 2017. Most of the helicopters are flown by Russian pilots with a Mali co-pilot who is learning how to operate the new helicopters. Wagner Group operations use Russian methods, which involve terrorizing civilians believed cooperating with Islamic terrorists. Wagner Group operates mainly in central Mali, where, Wagner Group men accompany Mali troops on surprise attacks, often in towns where Islamic terrorists are known to be active. The Russian transport helicopters are often used to carry the ground assault force. The Mali troops speak the local languages and are better able to spot known or suspected Islamic terrorists. The Wagner Group men, most of them veterans of Russian special operations or airborne units, have combat experience and pass that on to the Malian forces. This produces thousands of civilian casualties. This is one reason for UN threats to withdraw all peacekeepers, who are essential to keeping the north under government control. This is mainly because of the Wagner Group, which has been accused of using unacceptable (to the UN) tactics. The Russian presence threatens to end most foreign aid, including the 13,000 AU (African Union) peacekeepers that have policed the north since 2013. This is where most of the Islamic terrorist and ethnic conflict has always been found. Since 2018 a lot of the violence has moved south to central Mali and the three-border area where the Mali army and tribal militias take most of the casualties. Each year, in June, the UN votes on whether or not to keep the peacekeepers in Mali for another year. Three years ago, the UN began planning to reduce and ultimately end the Mali peacekeeping force, especially if there is not more progress in Mali. Being a peacekeeper can be a dangerous job, especially in Mali where peacekeeper casualties since mid-2013 were over 500 dead and wounded. Mali is the most dangerous peacekeeping operation the UN operates. Losses were much heavier among the Islamic terrorists. Since 2015 Islamic terrorist operations, mainly in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso has left 25,000 locals (civilians and security forces) dead and forty percent of those deaths occurred in Mali. In response to the terrorist threat France supplied an additional counterterrorism force (Operation Barkhane). These 5,100 French counterterrorism troops were always separate from the UN Mali peacekeepers because the French force deals with Islamic terrorism throughout the region and has a license to kill. UN peacekeepers mainly defend and are rarely given permission to search and destroy. Since 2018 popular support for Barkhane in France declined and that led to efforts to get other nations to replace the French force completely or partially. Because of all this, the official end of Barkhane is not surprising. It was not a matter of if, but when. Western nations have long contributed small contingents who operate transport helicopters and surveillance UAVs. Sometimes they send small teams of special operations troops. France has been reducing its counter-terrorism forces since 2018 and trying to replace them with special operations troops from African nations also threatened by the growth of Islamic terrorism in Africa during the last decade. The local G5 Sahel counterterrorism force was seen as a better peacekeeping solution because it consists of the best troops from five Sahel nations (Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad) and is capable of dealing with Islamic terrorism throughout the Sahel, which is the semi-desert belt below the Sahara Desert that extends across most of Africa. The problem is that the least effective G5 contingent comes from Mali, which has long had a reputation for the least effective military in the area, G5 began operations in early 2018 after three years of planning and preparation. In late 2016 the countries involved agreed on the details of G5. This included who would provide what in terms of the 5,000 soldiers and police needed and where they would be based. The G5 force was to be stationed in three operational areas along with troops familiar with local conditions. Sahel East consists of troops from Chad and Niger. Sahel Central is staffed by troops from Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso while Sahel West mainly uses troops from Mali and Mauritania. The G5 force has been most active in the three borders area (where borders of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso meet) and found itself spending more and more time in this terrorist hotspot. A successful G5 Force would enable France to shrink and eventually disband the force of 4,000 French troops it has deployed in the Sahel since 2013 and reduce the 13,000 strong UN peacekeeper force in Mali. Increasingly, central Mali is where there has been more and more Islamic terror group activity, not all of it violent. The Russian presence led Mali to withdraw from the G5 force as well as ordering all French counterterrorism forces out. The other G5 members saw that as the end of the G5 force. The growing Russian presence is what threatens the continued presence of the peacekeepers. This is because the UN presence also enables investigations of alleged atrocities committed by Mali soldiers or police. This has been a problem for decades and led to the 2011 rebellion in the north that in turn led to a military coup in Mali and the military intervention of France to keep the north part of Mali. The UN peacekeeper presence means the UN is able to investigate the growing number of incidents where the army is accused of terrorizing civilians in Central and northern Mali, usually because the civilians were suspected of supporting Islamic terrorists or tribal militias that had clashed with soldiers. The military government can now block some of those investigations because Russia will use its UN veto to block certain investigations. The military government expulsion of French troops and the French ambassador caused economic sanctions to be imposed. The officers running the military government seem unconcerned because they have access to income from Mali gold mines. Mali also has rich farmland in the south and exports a lot of food. There is a desert and semi-desert area north of the Niger river that has less than ten percent of the population and causes a disproportionate number of problems. Most of the northerners are Tuareg and a smaller number of Arabs. Both of these groups are ethnically different from the 90 percent of the 20 million Malians living in the well-watered south. The only reason the ethnically different north is part of Mali is because, when France organized its Mali colony, it incorporated the northerners because to the north of Mali were Arab majority nations that did not want more of those troublesome Tuaregs. The black African Mali majority does not want to cut the north loose, as many Tuareg want, because the northerners would still be a problem for Mali. The northerners are better fighters and have defied southern control since Mali became independent in the 1960s. Historically the Tuareg were responsible for many raids on the more populous and prosperous south. This northern problem kept Mali from achieving peace and prosperity. In 2021 the situation got worse when there was another military coup. This one was an internal dispute among army officers upset about corrupt civilian members of the interim government and the prospect of the army losing power after new elections. Since the May 2021 coup foreign donors have warned that most of the foreign aid will stop coming if Mali does not carry out a significant reduction in corruption, government ineffectiveness and overall instability. None of these three military takeovers were about corruption, but rather anger at the corrupt politicians stealing money meant to finance operations against Islamic terrorist and separatist minorities in the north. The colonels running the current military government are unwilling to step down and are trying to make it on their own, despite the large number of UN peacekeepers and French troops who have long kept the Islamic terrorist problem up north under control. The May 2021 coup was led by the army colonel who had earlier been appointed deputy head of the CNT (National Transitional Council). The colonel replaced the civilian who originally held the job as CNT leader. After that the military-dominated CNT rapidly replaced many existing CNT officials with army officers or civilians known to be pro-military. When foreign donors, including France, criticized this, the army threatened to seek financial aid elsewhere. For countries dependent on foreign trade and foreign aid, ignoring what the trading partners and aid donors think is a no-win situation. The trade partners can take their business elsewhere, where there are fewer problems. For the foreign aid groups, they are faced with a global situation where need far exceeds the aid available. That has led to triage, in which recipient nations or regions that use the aid less effectively, usually by diverting much of it to corrupt rulers or rebel leaders, get less. A military coup is usually a sign of problems and threat of damaging triage. By 2022 most foreign aid was gone and Mali was bankrupt, but the military government was not. The threats from the military said a lot about their motives, which was mainly about maintaining their power and helping themselves to a portion of foreign aid. The Mali military government is apparently spending $10.8 million a month to hire a thousand Wagner Group military contractors and these began arriving in December 2021. Their first task was to build a base near the airport outside the capital. The Wagner personnel flew in on transports operated by the Russian military. Wagner Group also provides media and political support to local governments that hire them. An example of this is Russia and the Mali coup leaders both accusing the French of sustaining colonial rule. This angle serves the coup leaders and Wagner because it makes it patriotic to expel some contingents of European troops. Wagner is also foreign, but they have been hired by the coup government and are thus considered serving Mali, not practicing some form of colonialism. French and foreign donor efforts against corruption are portrayed by the corrupt coup leaders as another example of French colonialism. This may seem absurd to outsiders but the coup government controls most mass media to justify attacks on hostile demonstration and protection of supportive ones. The Russian presence is not the only problem the military has to deal with. At the start of 2022 Mali defaulted on more of its foreign debt. So far Mali is unable to make payments on $180 million in debts. This is partially due to the reductions in foreign aid because of the ongoing corruption and refusal of the military government to hold elections. The best the military government could do was promise elections in five years. That was answered with major cuts to foreign aid. The loss of over 20,000 foreign troops (peacekeepers and foreign special operations forces) will cause a lot more violence in Mali and so far, the military government seems unconcerned. This sort of mismanagement is why Mali became the center of a growing Islamic terrorist problem in the first place. Islamic terrorists are a growing problem in Mali. A decade ago, most were in the north but now most of them are south of the Niger river and few are Arabs or Tuareg. African Islamic terrorists believe a religious dictatorship will solve the problem but that has never worked either. Captured Islamic terror group records always include complaints about corruption, and that occasionally makes the news when a terrorist leader absconds with a large amount of money. Islamic terrorism is another form of civil war, by religious zealots against an elected government or, more likely, a dictatorship or military government. This is another case of Be Careful What You Wish For turning into a disaster. Malis neighbors have long considered Mali as more of a problem than a helpful neighbor. Now the neighbors will concentrate on isolating themselves from Mali and that will mean seeking some of those 20,000 foreign troops Mali ordered out. Mali now has only about 14,000 troops and paramilitaries, including the thousand from Wagner Group, to handle security previously supplied by 33,000 foreign and Malian troops. Taking security advice from Russia is not a good idea, as Russian discovered in Ukraine. Some members of the Mali military government are having second thoughts if only because the numbers dont add up to anything that will benefit Mali. May 27, 2022: In the northeast (south of Gao) IGSS (Islamic States in Greater Sahara) ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) members near the Niger border have taken advantage of the departure of French counterterrorism forces. During the last six weeks IGSS launched a number of attacks and appeared intent on taking control of the border between Mali and Niger. Mali responded early on with one of their Russian armed helicopters. This failed when the helicopter attacked a group of Mali civilians fleeing the area thinking they were Islamic terrorists. After that Mali did nothing about the situation as its security forces and the UN peacekeepers were busy elsewhere. The Niger government was also unable to respond and is seeking to negotiate the deal with IGSS. This area has been a terrorist hotspot since 2018 because Islamic terror groups can just cross the border to escape heavy counterterrorism efforts. For that reason, this area has been called the Menaka Region. Previously this area was just part of the larger Gao Region, centered on one of the few cities in the north. The area being fought over is near where the borders of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso meet. Menaka has become ungovernable because so many Islamic terrorists and bandits now operate here. The French counterterrorism forces regularly searched for and attacked specific Islamic terrorist targets. The Mali government has no clear plan for dealing with this situation. Having defeated Mali and Niger forces in the area, IGSS turned to Burkina Faso, where as many as fifty civilians have died in the last few days. May 20, 2022: The Mali foreign minister visited Moscow to confer with Russian officials about increasing trade and military assistance. Both Mali and Russia now agree that NATO is evil and controls the UN while also seeking to isolate Russia. This was the Mali foreign ministers second visit to Russia. The first was in November 2021, where the current arrangement was worked out. May 18, 2022: In the capital police arrested twelve senior army officers and accused them of planning a coup against the current military government. Several other army officers were arrested and charged with corruption and stealing money. Rumors of another coup have been circulating because it was no secret that many military and civilian leaders opposed the loss of the French and G5 counterterrorism forces Neighboring Burkina Fas0 also had a coup in January, with the army complaining that the elected government was not doing enough deal with the growing Islamic terrorist activity. Since then, the Islamic terrorist attacks, and civilian casualties, have increased even more than in Mali. In the first three months of 2022 over 500 civilians were killed by security forces and Islamic terrorists. This is more than three times the deaths during the previous three months. The security forces are the worst offender and coup leaders dont seem to have a solution. Telestream COO Jon Wilson Talks Encoding.com Acquisition Jan Ozer: I'm speaking today with Jon Wilson, president and COO of Telestream, who this week announced that they acquired Encoding.com, perhaps the pre-eminent cloud and coding platform. And that's what we're gonna talk about today. Thanks for joining us, John. Jon Wilson: Thanks for having me. Jan Ozer: My pleasure. So what attracted Telestream to Encoding.com? Jon Wilson: Largely three things. First, the tech the people and then the customer base. So from a tech perspective, as you said, pre-eminent leader in the OTT streaming space for VOD transcoding and workflows. They've built a fantastic business over 13 years in really that product leadership. And that was certainly what attracted us most. But then I think about the people, who've been leading the business for those 13 years: Greg Heil the CEO and founder, and Jeff Malkin, who is the president of Encoding.com. One, fantastic fit from a Telestream perspective in terms of who they are, how they fit with our leadership team and how we roll as Telestream, but overall their cloud leadership and capabilities are what really attracted us from a people perspective and really, overall, their broader team that they've built across Encoding.com. That was great. And then last, but certainly not least, the customer base. They built their presence over the last 13 years initially with a lot of different corporate video users that were doing more simplistic and in some cases complex workflow-based transcoding in the cloud. But then increasingly they've extended that leadership into M & E and broadcast, and they've had some fantastic wins over the last three years that we saw as incredibly relevant for Telestream, as we see our customer base evolving into leveraging cloud/on-prem hybrid models. Those were really the three reasons that attracted us to the team and the deal. Jan Ozer: Greg and Jeff were, were cloud before cloud was cool. No doubt about it. I remember meeting with them 12, 13 years ago and wondering, what the hell are you doing? This will never work. Clouds are too big. And then maybe six or seven years after that, it was like, Why aren't you in the cloud? They really did take that ball and run with it. So tell us the general details of the deal. Jon Wilson: Certainly, as you can expect, we don't disclose the financial terms of the deal. But we bought the entire business of Encoding.com. So Encoding.com is now a Telestream company. We'll continue to run it at least initially as a separate standalone operation that provides our customers great flexibility to extend their use cases from a cloud perspective onto the Encoding.com platform. And then ultimately--and I think we'll get into it probably a little bit more as we go here--they'll provide us the ability to extend our suite of solutions from a cloud perspective that we've had native at Telestream onto the Encoding.com platform as well. Jan Ozer: You mentioned that Greg and Jeff are gonna be joining your executive team. Is Encoding.com going to still exist just as a separate sub or is it gonna get kind of rolled in? Jon Wilson: Great question. So, to be determined in terms of how we ultimately roll in the combined enterprises. As of now, and for a period of time, Encoding.com will continue to operate on a separate standalone platform. We'll be working through with Greg and Jeff and our broader leadership team how we integrate the platforms, the capabilities, the people. But for right now, it's all about customer focus, keeping our combined customer set moving forward and really allowing them to accelerate what they're doing in the cloud and then extending what they're doing in on-prem into the cloud, which again is increasingly relevant. So that's that's 0.1. I think 0.2 from a Greg and Jeff perspective, you mentioned it--they're gonna join our senior leadership team. As cloud has become increasingly important across the M & E broadcast space, Greg's gonna take over leadership for cloud across Telestream right. In the initial charter for Greg will be combining the capabilities of Encoding.com and Telestream Cloud and what we have there into a broader offering for our customer base. And then over time. It's an opportunity for Greg to really extend across our entire portfolio, our offerings from a cloud perspective, right. To really put our customers in a great position to be successful as they think about what does cloud mean to them, how do they extend broader capabilities from for their workflow needs? So that's Greg, and then from a Jeff perspective Jeff's done a fantastic job building the business from a customer base perspective. And so we're gonna put Jeff in a position, or we put him in a position to lead our sales efforts from a cloud standpoint across Telestream as well. Jan Ozer: Interesting. When you say cloud, is that primarily encoding, exclusively encoding, or does it extend beyond that? Jon Wilson: It will. Today I'll say it's largely encoding, but we've also got a number of solutions outside of just encoding that fit into the broader Telestream cloud platform. So whether it's cloud, it's QC, it's captioning, we've got a number of capabilities beyond just encoding or transcoding and workflow automation that we do in the cloud today that really Jeff and team will have the charter to continue to extend across our customer base as we go forward. Over time, what that will evolve into is more just broad capabilities across the platform for our customers, as we think about the broader suite of Telestream solutions. Jan Ozer: Specifically, how is that going to relate to Vantage, which I know was your big desktop, and you've moved that to the cloud with your own cloud platform. So what do you see happening with Vantage across Encoding.com and your existing capabilities in the cloud? Jon Wilson: From a Vantage perspective, you hit it on the head. We've extended Vantage to the cloud with our Vantage Cloud Port offering. So our customers today, if they want to extend what they're doing on-prem and continue do that in the cloud and have the ability to do that across on-prem/cloud hybrid models. They can do that today. I think as we go forward from a combined Encoding.com plus Telestream perspective, it provides the opportunity to give our customers a broader set of capabilities across a broader platform. So we've got an unbelievable base of transcoding technologies in our Media Library that we've built throughout the 24 years of Telestream's history, and having now the capability over time to plug that into what Encoding.com has been doing and give our customers even more reach to the most complex workflows across across their base is going to be increasingly important for us as we move forward. Jan Ozer: Taking a step back--when we first met Telestream 15, 20 years ago, it was primarily--if not almost exclusively--encoding. And you went on a tear of acquisitions with Ineoquest and Tektronix and the caption business. What are the major lines of business for Telestream now? Jon Wilson: It's a really relevant question for where we are today, from the standpoint that we've grown, as you mentioned, tremendously over the last five years largely through M & A, but also organically. And that has put us in a position to have solutions for our customers across nearly the entire media supply chain. And that's where we see, frankly, increasing value for our customers across the business, is to extend the solutions. Our customers are increasingly wanting us to do more for them. And how do we combine all the different piece parts that have come into Telestream over the last few years into broader solutions and capability sets as their workflows become more complex? Natively, we do a lot of transcoding and encoding, but we're a workflow company. We do a tremendous amount around workflow. And as we think about connecting all the different products and solutions that we have, that's increasing value that we can provide to our customers. So when you think about the base today, right, we start our tech video product line from a test and measurement perspective. We've got great capabilities there. You then move into the media workflow and and automation space, and that's where Vantage has been dominant historically on-prem, extending that now with our cloud capabilities. Plus Encoding.com gives us a great base again to extend from on-prem to the cloud and everywhere in between from a hybrid standpoint. And then you extend that. We talked earlier before we went live about the Ineoquest acquisition in 2017. So that's our monitoring capabilities. Really, from ingest of a file, we are monitoring that content right through our monitoring technologies. And so it's really a combined offering and solutions that for our customers that we believe again is increasingly relevant and we can add a lot of value for them. Jan Ozer: How long have you been with Telestream? Jon Wilson: I joined in April, 2019, so just over three years now. Jan Ozer: So, give us the business school do's and don'ts for acquisitions that that you've picked up. Jon Wilson: From a do's perspective and just overall, it's all about the people. And making sure about the people and about the customers, and so, as long as we maintain focus on the people and ensuring that they feel like there's a home, they won, and we wrap our arms around them to make them feel welcome. And that Telestream is not just a home, but it's a destination. It's a destination for all of the people that join us to really build and develop their careers. That's incredibly important for setting the stage for success in terms of combining bringing companies into a broader platform, and then from a customer-based perspective, not losing sight of at the end of the day, all of the acquisitions that we've completed and will continue to pursue is all about how do we provide more value for our customers. And so long as we maintain that focus on the customers as our guiding light, we can be successful from an acquisition perspective. So I think as long as we continue to get those two things right which we've done really well over time, right ... From inception it has been all about the people, all about the customer focus and we've maintained that DNA for 24 years. And so that where we'll continue to focus from an acquisition perspective, and how we make sure that they're successful, because if we don't get those two pieces, that's where a lot of acquisitions fall down. Jan Ozer: It's remarkable that Dan Castle's been there since day one, which is almost remarkable, given the changes. Jon Wilson: We've always been private. We're on our second ownership with private equity right now. So Thoma Bravo was the first private equity owner, came into the business in 2012 after the business had taken on VC capital in early stages. And then now our current owner Genstar Capital came into the business in 2015. And they've been incredibly supportive of enabling our management team to continue to build the platform. And really the strategy that we've been pursuing to extend our reach outside of the traditional Vantage transcoding workflow automation space to build a broader set of capabilities and then ultimately solutions for our broader customer base. Jan Ozer: What's their exit point? We're starting to see some pretty incredible valuations out there. What happens in the next three to five years to kind of exit or liquidate or not liquidate, but monetize their investment externally? Jon Wilson: To be determined in terms of where Genstar ultimately goes with their ownership. As I said, they've been incredibly supportive of what we've been building I think you look at vis RT, for example. They've been owned by Nordic Capital for a number of years and Nordic Capital just re-upped with them in terms of moving them into a new fund. And is that a potential for Telestream with Genstar? Yeah, it may be. I think we build a great platform that others in the space from a private equity ownership perspective would really value to see how do we continue to take Telestream forward and build on the foundation that we've established over our 24 years of leadership. Jan Ozer: I think that's all I have. I appreciate you taking the time to discuss this. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Related Articles Telestream Acquires Encoding.com The addition of Emmy-award-winning cloud media processing platform Encoding.com marks the 13th acquisition for Telestream. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Companies and Suppliers Mentioned Teradata (NYSE: TDC) today announced the election of Todd McElhatton to its Board of Directors, effective June 1, 2022. With his election, Teradata expanded the size of the Board from 9 to 10 directors, nine of whom are independent. McElhatton brings more than 25 years of corporate finance leadership experience, with specific emphasis on the shift from enterprise software to the cloud. He currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of Zuora, an NYSE-listed cloud-based subscription management software company, a position he has held since June 2020. He previously held various roles at SAP, including SVP and CFO of the Cloud Business Group, where he led the execution of the financial vision for its cloud business strategy across multiple lines of business globally, and SVP and CFO of SAP North America, where he provided oversight to SAPs financial activities in the United States and Canada. Prior to that, McElhatton served as CFO of VMwares Hybrid Cloud Business, Vice President of Oracles Cloud Services, and CFO of Hewlett Packards Managed Services Business. Todds expertise at the intersection of finance and cloud transformation directly aligns with Teradatas strategic plan and will be a tremendous asset as we continue to execute our own transformation and drive sustainable profitable growth, said Mike Gianoni, Chairman of the Board. Our ongoing efforts to enhance the cloud expertise of our Board is a testament to our commitment to supporting Teradatas growth objectives, and we are delighted to welcome Todd to the Board. McElhatton said, Teradata has seen tremendous success in its cloud transformation with an exciting roadmap ahead. Strategic capital investment and discipline are core to Teradatas execution, and I look forward to working with the Board to help build on Teradatas progress and momentum. McElhatton was selected following a comprehensive search conducted by the Board and he has been elected as a Class III director. He will serve as a member of Teradatas Audit Committee and has been designated as an Audit Committee Financial Expert. McElhatton holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Southern Methodist University and an M.B.A. from the University of Tennessee. About Teradata Teradata is the connected multi-cloud data platform for enterprise analytics company. Our enterprise analytics solve business challenges from start to scale. Only Teradata gives you the flexibility to handle the massive and mixed data workloads of the future, today. Learn how at Teradata.com. The Teradata logo is a trademark, and Teradata is a registered trademark of Teradata Corporation and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and worldwide. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220601005475/en/ Jennifer Donahue 858-485-3029 office [email protected] Source: Teradata HANGZHOU, China--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ant Group, a global technology provider, today announced its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy as part of its latest sustainability report. The ESG strategy, which lays out Ant Groups sustainable development objectives by 2030, will be implemented across all aspects of the Companys operations. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220531006112/en/ Four pillars of Ant Groups ESG strategy and objectives by 2030 (Graphic: Business Wire) Ant Groups ESG strategy is focused around four pillars: Digital Inclusion, Green and Low-carbon Development, Open Ecosystem, and Technological Innovation. Each of the pillars has a corresponding sustainable development objective by 2030: Digital Inclusion: support 100 million small and micro-sized enterprises (SMEs) and serve communities globally support 100 million small and micro-sized enterprises (SMEs) and serve communities globally Green and Low-carbon Development: achieve corporate carbon neutrality and support business partners and the general public to significantly reduce their carbon footprint achieve corporate carbon neutrality and support business partners and the general public to significantly reduce their carbon footprint Open Ecosystem: continue to provide a safe, trusted, diversified and open ecosystem to drive common development with partners continue to provide a safe, trusted, diversified and open ecosystem to drive common development with partners Technological Innovation: continue to invest in core technology research and development to provide world-leading technological products and services "We believe these are the most important pillars for Ant Group to achieve sustainable growth in a future-facing, responsible, and responsive manner, wrote Eric Jing, Ant Groups Chairman and CEO, in the sustainability report. This framework will guide Ant Groups value creation and sustainable development in the future. Ant Group formulated its ESG strategy based on a comprehensive assessment of changing macro environment and policy trends, its own development strengths, and inputs from the Companys stakeholders, including customers, users, employees, partners and governments. The ESG strategy was finalized after extensive management discussions and a detailed Board review. After solicitating feedback from stakeholders, Ant Group defined 19 material issues for its ESG strategy, ranging from responsible products and services, facilitating industry-wide carbon neutrality, cutting-edge technology discovery and R&D and transparency & risk management. To provide organizational support to effectively implement the ESG strategy, the Companys Board of Directors has approved the establishment of an ESG sustainable development committee, comprised of a subset of the Board, responsible for decision-making supervision, risk management and policy making. The Company is setting up an advisory committee consisting of internal and external ESG experts to provide input and support. Ant Group has also set up an ESG sustainable development leadership team, led by the CEO and the Chief Sustainability Officer, as well as working groups for each of the 19 ESG material issues. Our ESG strategy originated from our own long-term needs and was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. The pursuit of sustainable development has been inherent in every step of our journey and is not designed to cater to short-term trends, but rather a necessary driver to realize our vision to be a good company that will last for at least 102 years, added Mr. Jing. A good company is never independently defined. We will listen to the opinions and suggestions from all parties with an open mind and welcome supervision and guidance from all of our stakeholders. As part of its Technological Innovation pillar, Ant Group has been increasing its R&D investments, which grew at an annual rate of more than 39% for three consecutive years (2018-2021), with total R&D spending in 2021 exceeding RMB 18.8 billion (approx. USD 2.77 billion). These investments enabled the Company to continuously turn technological breakthroughs into innovative, inclusive and reliable products and services to support the digital transformation of industries and better anticipate the evolving needs of an increasingly digital global economy. In 2021, MYbank, an Ant Group associate and an online SME bank, leveraged digital technology to deliver convenient, accessible and responsible collateral-free financing services to 45 million SMEs. In February 2022, Ant Group was recognized as a Top 100 Global Innovator 2022 by Clarivate. This prestigious annual list identifies global companies and institutions that contribute new ideas, solve problems and create new economic value. Since 2017, three years after Ant Groups establishment, the Company has steadily introduced and advanced its ESG assessment framework and published an annual sustainability report, compiled according to the Global Reporting Initiative standards. These reports, including the latest 2021 edition with the Companys ESG strategy, can be found on Ant Groups website (Chinese only for now, English edition will be online in the coming weeks). About Ant Group Ant Group aims to build the infrastructure and platforms to support the digital transformation of the service industry. Through continuous innovation, we strive to provide all consumers and small and micro businesses equal access to digital financial and other daily life services that are convenient, sustainable and inclusive. For more information, please visit our website at www.antgroup.com or follow us on Twitter @AntGroup. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220531006112/en/ Media Inquiries Le SHEN [email protected] Source: Ant Group OPEN Health is one of the leading global providers of scientific communications and market access services helping pharmaceutical companies to unlock the full potential of their clinical and commercial assets. Astorg will actively support and accelerate OPEN Healths next phase of growth and innovation, drawing on their extensive experience of investing in the healthcare space. LUXEMBOURG & GREENWICH, Conn. & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Astorg and Amulet Capital Partners (Amulet) today announce that they have signed a binding agreement whereby Astorg will acquire OPEN Health, a leading global provider of scientific communications and market access services to the pharmaceutical industry. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220530005444/en/ Established in 2011 and headquartered in London, UK, OPEN Health is a key partner to its customers in helping them develop strategies for evidence generation and data communication by leveraging their extensive scientific knowledge and relentless focus on quality. Together, this approach consistently delivers best-in-class scientific communications, health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) and market access services to an ever-increasing audience. OPEN Health has more than 1,000 employees in 15 locations and six countries, across North America, Europe and Asia. OPEN Health serves over 170 life sciences customers, including 48 of the top 50 pharmaceutical companies. OPEN Healths existing management team, led by CEO Rob Barker, will continue to lead the organization, building on a strong track-record of organic growth and strategic acquisitions. "We are excited to build on the momentum across our business and to continue executing with our new partners at Astorg on a shared long-term vision to bring deep scientific solutions that support our clients in driving positive health outcomes," said Rob Barker, CEO, OPEN Health. "We are grateful for the strong partnership of the Amulet team over the last three and a half years and for all that we have accomplished in expanding our industry-leading capabilities across disciplines. We continue to be very well positioned to drive innovation and growth, and we look forward to embarking on this next chapter for OPEN Health." Building on OPEN Healths leading service offerings, Astorg will invest in the development of the business across its main existing offerings, and beyond, to continue delivering best-in-class scientific content to OPEN Healths customer base and help them harness the full value of their most important assets. "OPEN Health is a very impressive company. We have been following the development of the medical affairs space for a long time as the function evolved from a supportive to a central role and identified OPEN Health as a global leader in the making. We have been impressed with its outstanding reputation and the trust it benefits from its customer base, said Judith Charpentier, Partner and Head of Healthcare, Astorg. We look forward to supporting Rob and the OPEN Health management team in continuing to build a global leading scientific focused medical affairs platform, expanding the platform through both organic initiatives and additional strategic acquisitions, said Olivier Lieven, Director, Astorg. Ramsey Frank, President and Managing Partner of Amulet, said, OPEN Health was built around Amulets investment thesis in medical affairs: the current generation of drugs is fundamentally different from prior generations, and these therapies need to be brought to market with the support of high science communications and data analytics. We brought OPEN Health together very intentionally via three acquisitions to create a purpose-built suite of services to meet pharmas evolving needs. Amulet Partner Nick Amigone continued, We could not be more grateful to Rob Barker and his team for the outstanding job they have done in building a true industry leader. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals. Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor to OPEN Health and Rothschild & Co advised Astorg on the transaction. About OPEN Health OPEN Health brings together deep scientific knowledge, global understanding, and broad specialist expertise to support our clients in improving health outcomes and patient wellbeing. We are united as one flexible organization, harnessing the power of the collective to solve complex challenges. For more information on OPEN Health, please visit www.openhealthgroup.com. About Astorg Astorg is a European private equity firm with over 17 billion of assets under management. Astorg works with entrepreneurs and management teams to acquire market leading global companies headquartered in Europe or the US, providing them with the strategic guidance, governance and capital they need to achieve their growth plans. Enjoying a distinct entrepreneurial culture, a long-term shareholder perspective and a lean decision-making body, Astorg has valuable industry expertise in healthcare, software, technology, business services and technology-based industrial companies. Astorg has offices in London, Paris, New York, Frankfurt, Milan and Luxembourg. About Amulet Capital Partners, LP Amulet Capital Partners, LP is a middle-market private equity investment firm based in Greenwich, CT, focused exclusively on the healthcare sector. Amulet seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciation through privately negotiated investments in companies. Amulet Capital Partners focuses on those segments it believes have the most attractive long-term fundamentals with a target investment size generally between $25 million to $150 million. For additional information please visit www.amuletcapital.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220530005444/en/ Press OPEN Health Candice Subero [email protected] Astorg Stephanie Tabouis Publicis Consultants +33 6 03 84 05 03 [email protected] Amulet Jon Keehner / Erik Carlson Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher (212) 355-4449 Source: Amulet Capital Partners Supports Equality, Wellness and Safety for LGBTQIA+ Community LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Capri Holdings Limited (NYSE: CPRI) is proud to announce the creation of The Versace Foundation in connection with Pride month 2022. The company has pledged $10 million to further the foundations mission of fostering, promoting and supporting programs, projects and activities designed to generate awareness of and support for the LGBTQIA+ community. The foundation will engage with philanthropic organizations and community groups to support the preservation of LGBTQIA+ history and culture as well as to promote the advancement of equality, wellness and safety for the LGBTQIA+ people. Donatella Versace, Chief Creative Officer of the Versace brand said, Im proud that Versace has always been known for its inclusivity. I am excited for the support and assistance The Versace Foundation will bring to the LGBTQIA+ community. We are pleased to announce the creation of The Versace Foundation, said John D. Idol, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Capri Holdings. We all have a right to be accepted, to be loved and to be our most authentic selves. The Versace Foundation enables us to further our pursuit of LGBTQIA+ equity, wellness and safety, as well as to continue to be an ally for LGBTQIA+ individuals. For more information on Capri Holdings commitment to diversity and inclusion, visit Diversity & Inclusion at www.capriholdings.com. About Capri Holdings Limited Capri Holdings Limited is a global fashion luxury group, consisting of iconic brands that are industry leaders in design, style and craftsmanship. Its brands cover the full spectrum of fashion luxury categories including womens and mens accessories, footwear and ready-to-wear as well as wearable technology, watches, jewelry, eyewear and a full line of fragrance products. The Companys goal is to continue to extend the global reach of its brands while ensuring that they maintain their independence and exclusive DNA. Capri Holdings Limited is publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CPRI. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220601005488/en/ Investor Relations: Jennifer Davis +1 (201) 514-8234 [email protected] Media: Dinesh Kandiah +1 (917) 934-2427 [email protected] Source: Capri Holdings Limited Liquid-cooled GPUs provide improved performance, efficiency, and environmental sustainability HAMBURG, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Inspur Information, a leading IT infrastructure solutions provider, announced at ISC 2022 that it will be among the first to support the recently announced liquid-cooled NVIDIA A100 and H100 PCle Tensor Core GPUs. As digital transformation and environmental sustainability become increasingly intertwined, Inspur is pioneering greener and more powerful liquid-cooled computing systems for enterprises and industries. Inspur AI servers, including NF5468M6 and NF5468A5, support up to eight liquid-cooled NVIDIA PCIe GPUs. Inspur was the first server vendor to offer eight liquid-cooled 500W HGX A100 GPUs in its NF5488LA5 and NF5688LA5 servers, and now Inspur is also among the first to support liquid-cooled PCIe GPUs in its product portfolio. Inspur AI liquid-cooled servers have strong AI computing and general computing capabilities, and can be flexibly configured according to user needs. They provide strong computing for AI and HPC applications including image recognition, speech recognition, natural language processing, scientific research and engineering simulation. The cold plates cover high power components like the GPUs and CPUs, and the server adopts warm water cooling technologies, allowing the power usage effectiveness (PUE) of Inspur servers to be as low as 1.1. This results in a substantial reduction in operating costs for cooling equipment. The rapid growth of data center computing power and power consumption highlights the importance of liquid cooling, said Liu Jun, Vice President of Inspur Information and General Manager of AI and HPC. Our liquid-cooled AI servers offer powerful and green solutions that make it easier to build next-generation intelligent data centers and hyperscale with tremendous density and performance, while reducing energy costs and being more environmentally sustainable. The growing demand for mainstream systems that can effectively run AI applications such as training and inference require powerful GPUs, said Paresh Kharya, Senior Director of Product Management for Accelerated Computing at NVIDIA. Inspurs systems powered by liquid-cooled NVIDIA A100 and H100 PCIe GPUs will enable customers to achieve higher performance on these workloads, while improving energy efficiency in the data center. Inspur Information is a leading AI server provider, with a rich portfolio of AI computing products, and works closely with its AI customers to help them achieve incredible performance improvements in AI applications including voice, semantics, image, video, and search processing. About Inspur Information Inspur Information is a leading provider of data center infrastructure, cloud computing, and AI solutions. It is the worlds 2nd largest server manufacturer. Through engineering and innovation, Inspur Information delivers cutting-edge computing hardware design and extensive product offerings to address important technology sectors such as open computing, cloud data center, and AI. Performance-optimized and purpose-built, our world-class solutions empower customers to tackle specific workloads and real-world challenges. To learn more, visit https://www.inspursystems.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220601005563/en/ Fiona Liu PR Manager Inspur Information [email protected] Vivian Kelly Interprose for Inspur Information +1 703.509.5412 [email protected] Source: Inspur Information SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Liminal, a wallet operations infrastructure that secures digital assets in a simple and efficient way, has raised $4.7 million in its seed funding round led by Elevation Capital. The round also saw participation from prominent investors like LD Capital, Woodstock, Nexus Ventures, and crypto ventures like CoinDCX, Hashed, Cadenza Ventures, Vauld, Better Capital, and Sparrow Capital. There are also marquee angel investors like Andreas Antonopoulos, Balaji Srinivasan, Sandeep Nailwal, Jaynti Kanani, Ajeet Khurana, amongst others. Liminal is the first wallet architecture to provide the MPC and MultiSig to secure digital assets across different blockchains. This plug-and-play platform provides unmatched support to exchanges by eliminating manual operations by 90% and saving manual refill hours. Safe custody of digital assets is a key challenge faced by businesses and institutional investors, and custodians like Liminal will play a big role in facilitating the mass adoption of digital assets and Web3. The company was founded in 2021 by Mahin Gupta. A serial entrepreneur, Gupta built Indias first blockchain company BuySellBitco.in. Prior to this, he co-founded ZebPay, one of Indias largest crypto exchanges. Through Liminal, he has embarked on a journey to simplify and automate wallet operations, and self-custody of digital assets for businesses and institutional investors. Liminal has, in one year of operations, processed transactions over $2.5 billion, automated transactions worth $400 million, and has around $50 million in assets under protection. At its core, Liminal provides asset security and ease of transacting. Liminals automated wallet solution makes it easier for crypto-native businesses, SMEs, and Web3 startups to manage their workflows across different blockchain protocols, saving them significant development cost overhead. It provides services to clients such as exchanges, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to help them securely scale their digital asset operations. The primary concern regarding digital asset security is maintaining the safety of the keys while adhering to compliances. If this key is misplaced or lost, it could mean huge losses for the owners, whether individuals or businesses. This is why digital asset custody is of great value. Once investors are assured about the safety of their keys, it will mean more people gain trust in the cryptocurrency and related applications like Web3 commerce, DeFi, etc. Liminal Key is insured by one of the most trusted and reputable global insurers, making it a company that is future-ready. The company counts ZebPay, DIFX, and Flitpay as clients, and is currently focused on expansion in the APAC and MENA region, eyeing dominance in the automated wallet infrastructure operation space. The team at Liminal comes with over ten years of experience in running cryptocurrency exchanges, and it understands the difficulties businesses using wallet infrastructure face. We will be using the funds to invest in hiring and product development, says Gupta. With Liminal, we solve the very real problem of securing and scaling digital assets where users have to use different wallets and infrastructure for different protocols. Our three layers provide key management, operational automation, and compliance for enterprises, he adds. Gupta is mentored by leading thought leader Andreas Antonopoulos, whose strategic advice has helped shape the business for Liminal. The team at Liminal has an impressive record and extensive real-world experience in custody, key management, and security. Above all, they care about doing things the right way, says Antonopoulos. Vaas Bhaskar, Principal at Elevation Capital, said, Rapid adoption of digital assets is going to be driven by multiple new-age crypto businesses and institutions. These businesses are increasingly demanding plug-and-play custody solutions that are built taking their unique needs into account, including security, regulatory readiness, and operational efficiency. We have been very impressed with Mahin and his teams customer obsession and knowledge of this space. We are thrilled to partner with Liminal on this journey. "With a team of veterans that have already made waves in the Web3 landscape in the past, Liminal is bringing security and comfort to individual and institutional self-custody with its digital assets custody solution. We are delighted to support them in their journey to one of the most prominent names in the security and custody sector," said Himanshu Yadav, Founding Partner at Woodstock. Balaji Srinivas added, "As they say, 'not your keys, not your crypto. Liminal is emerging as a viable alternative for holding your crypto." About Liminal Liminal is an enterprise-grade platform that offers a robust infrastructure to secure digital assets. Liminal enables crypto-native companies to securely scale their digital asset operations through automated, plug-and-play wallet infrastructure. Liminals security-first approach, allows projects to define customized policies and assign roles to users based on their responsibilities. Liminal's operations excellence framework provides efficient fees management, transaction confirmation guarantees, seamless onboarding and other wallet operations. Our unified interface ensures the same wallet management experience for multiple blockchains. About Elevation Capital Elevation Capital is a leading venture capital firm which provides seed and early stage capital for emerging companies in India. Elevation Capital has been investing in India since 2002 deploying almost $2 billion of capital in over 150 companies. The firm announced its eighth pool of capital of $670 million in April 2022. The firm is led by Co-Managing Partners Ravi Adusumalli and Mukul Arora, along with three Managing Directors Mridul Arora, Deepak Gaur and Mayank Khanduja. The firm has invested in over 150 companies across Consumer Internet, SaaS, Fintech, Consumer Brands, Edtech, Healthtech and Web3/Crypto, and has offices in Bengaluru, Gurgaon and Salt Lake City. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220531006014/en/ Olivia Troisi Wachsman E: [email protected] Source: Liminal CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI) (the Company) announced today the early results of its previously announced cash tender offer (the Tender Offer) for up to $275,000,000 aggregate principal amount (the Maximum Amount) of its 4.000% Senior Notes due 2024 (the Notes). The Tender Offer is being made upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase, dated May 17, 2022 (as amended or supplemented from time to time, the Offer to Purchase), which sets forth a detailed description of the Tender Offer. The Tender Offer is open to all registered holders (individually, a Holder and collectively, the Holders) of Notes. Title of Notes CUSIP/ISIN Number Principal Amount Outstanding Principal Amount Tendered Principal Amount Expected to be Accepted for Purchase Bloomberg Reference Page(1) Fixed Spread (bps) Early Tender Payment(2) 4.000% Senior Notes due 2024 620076BF5 /US620076BF55 $588,417,000 $308,561,000 $275,000,000 PX1 85 $30 (1) The page on Bloomberg from which the Dealer Managers (as defined below) will quote the bid side price of the U.S. Treasury Security. In the above table, UST denotes a U.S. Treasury Security. (2) Per $1,000 principal amount of Notes validly tendered at or prior to the Early Tender Date and accepted for purchase. The consideration to be paid in the Tender Offer for Notes validly tendered and expected to be accepted for purchase as described in the Offer to Purchase (the Total Consideration) will be determined at 9:00 a.m., New York City time, on June 1, 2022. As of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on May 31, 2022 (the Early Tender Date), as reported by Global Bondholder Services Corporation, the Tender and Information Agent for the Tender Offer, the principal amount of Notes listed in the table above have been validly tendered and not validly withdrawn. The Withdrawal Deadline of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on May 31, 2022 has passed and, accordingly, Notes validly tendered in the Tender Offer may no longer be withdrawn. The Company expects to accept for purchase and make payment for Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Early Tender Date on June 2, 2022 (the Early Settlement Date), subject to proration. Because the aggregate principal amount of Notes validly tendered exceeds the Maximum Amount, the Company expects that it will accept validly tendered Notes on a prorated basis in accordance with the Offer to Purchase. Because the Company expects to accept for purchase approximately the Maximum Amount of Notes, no additional Notes will be purchased pursuant to the Tender Offer after the Early Settlement Date. As described in the Offer to Purchase, all Notes tendered and not accepted for purchase will be promptly returned to the tendering Holders account. Holders of all Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Early Tender Date and accepted for purchase are eligible to receive the Total Consideration, which includes the Early Tender Payment of $30 per $1,000 principal amount of Notes tendered at or prior to the Early Tender Date (the Early Tender Payment). In addition to the Total Consideration, Holders of Notes accepted for purchase will receive accrued and unpaid interest up to, but not including, the Early Settlement Date (Accrued Interest). The Company expressly reserves the right, in its sole discretion, subject to applicable law, to terminate the Tender Offer at any time prior to the Expiration Date. The Tender Offer is not conditioned on any minimum principal amount of Notes being tendered but the Tender Offer is subject to certain conditions as described in the Offer to Purchase. The Company has retained Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and TD Securities (USA) LLC to act as Dealer Managers (the Dealer Managers, and each a Dealer Manager) for the Tender Offer. Global Bondholder Services Corporation has been retained to act as the Tender and Information Agent for the Tender Offer. Requests for assistance relating to the procedures for tendering Notes may be directed to the Tender and Information Agent either by email at [email protected], or by phone (212) 430-3774 (for banks and brokers only) or (855) 654-2015 (for all others toll free). Requests for assistance relating to the terms and conditions of the Tender Offer may be directed to Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. at (212) 250-2955 (collect) or (866) 627-0391 (toll free) and TD Securities (USA) LLC at (212) 827-7795 (collect) or (866) 584-2096 (toll free) or via email at [email protected]. Beneficial owners may also contact their broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee for assistance. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or purchase, or a solicitation of an offer to sell or purchase, or the solicitation of tenders with respect to, any Notes. No offer, solicitation, purchase or sale will be made in any jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful. The Tender Offer is being made solely pursuant to the Offer to Purchase made available to Holders of Notes. None of the Company, the Dealer Managers, Tender and Information Agent or the trustee with respect to Notes, or any of their respective affiliates, is making any recommendation as to whether or not Holders should tender or refrain from tendering all or any portion of their Notes in response to the Tender Offer. Holders are urged to evaluate carefully all information in the Offer to Purchase, consult their own investment and tax advisers and make their own decisions whether to tender Notes in the Tender Offer, and, if so, the principal amount of Notes to tender. About Motorola Solutions, Inc. Motorola Solutions is a global leader in public safety and enterprise security. Our solutions in land mobile radio communications, video security & access control and command center software, bolstered by managed & support services, create an integrated technology ecosystem to help make communities safer and businesses stay productive and secure. We are ushering in a new era in public safety and security. Learn more at www.motorolasolutions.com. Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable federal securities law. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and generally include words such as believes, expects, intends, anticipates, estimates and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are statements other than statements of historical fact and may include, among other things, statements in relation to the Companys current expectations and beliefs as to its ability to consummate the tender offer, including the timing, size, pricing or other terms of the tender offer, and other future events. All information set forth in this release is as of the date hereof. The Company does not intend, and undertakes no duty, to update this information to reflect future events or circumstances. Actual results are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and may differ materially from the current expectations and beliefs discussed in this press release. Certain potential factors, risks and uncertainties that could affect the Companys business and financial results and cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements include the Companys ability to complete the tender offer and satisfy the conditions thereto, and other potential factors, risks and uncertainties under the heading Risk Factors in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended April 2, 2022, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and available at the SECs website at www.sec.gov. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220601005582/en/ Investor Contact: Tim Yocum Motorola Solutions +1 847-576-6899 [email protected] Media Contact: Alexandra Reynolds Motorola Solutions +1 312-965-3968 [email protected] Source: Motorola Solutions CHICAGO & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- IG Group (LON: IGG), a leading, global fintech at the forefront of online trading, today announced an evolution of management at tastytrade. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220601006023/en/ Since tastytrade became part of IG Group in June 2021, the Companys focus has been on integration which has gone very well, with successful cross pollination and synergies created across the business including tech and marketing. With integration materially complete, co-founder Kristi Ross has decided to move to a strategic advisory role and step back from day-to-day responsibilities at tastytrade and IG, from 1 July 2022. JJ Kinahan will take an expanded leadership role as Regional CEO for IG, North America, effective 1 July 2022. Currently tastytrades Vice President and Chief Market Strategist, Mr. Kinahan has previously worked very closely with tastytrades senior team, including Tom Sosnoff, Kristi Ross, and Scott Sheridan. His extensive experience, including holding senior positions at thinkorswim, TD Ameritrade, and at Charles Schwab will be invaluable as IG Group continues to scale and grow tastytrade. Co-founder of tastytrade, Tom Sosnoff, will continue to lead tastytrade as CEO and oversee the overall development and scaling of tastys business in the US and abroad. Kristi is a highly-esteemed entrepreneur whose industry expertise and guidance helped shape tastytrade to become a premier online investing destination for self-directed traders, said June Felix, Global CEO, IG Group. JJs industry experience and his background with tastytrades founders will drive our efforts to take tastytrades growth to the next level. We are pleased that the business will continue to benefit from Kristis expertise in her capacity as strategic advisor. Tom Sosnoff added, Having worked with JJ before, Im really excited that he is stepping into this important role. As a co-founder and entrepreneur, I cant express enough how much I love tastytrade and I continue to be enthusiastic about the combination of IG and tastytrade. Therefore, as I enter this next exciting stage of my career, I remain committed to helping IG Group in an advisory capacity and have more time to focus on a non-financial start up, said Ms. Ross. tastytrade was born out of the desire to create an investing ecosystem that combines compelling, informative content with a dynamic brokerage. The entire tastytrade team has devoted over 30 years to help individuals better understand financial markets and become empowered to meet their financial goals. Im proud of the tremendous achievements we have made to date and Im excited to see the next chapter of expansion and innovation to come. The work Tom, Kristi and others have done to empower retail investors is an impressive accomplishment, said Mr. Kinahan. Being able to help the team build on this solid foundation is a thrilling point in my career. I look forward to helping to grow IG and tasty to further serve self-directed, ambitious people through our unique and comprehensive offering. About tastytrade, Inc. tastytrade, Inc. is focused on empowering investors through its award-winning financial content and media network, trader education, and dynamic brokerage services. Established in 2011 as a disruptive force to reinvent the accessibility of retail options and futures content and education for individuals, tastytrade offers 10 hours of daily, live, commercial free programming 7 days a week to retail investors in 190 countries. The tastytrade ecosystem also includes brokerage firm tastyworks, Inc., established in 2017, which supports investors who want to actively manage their own money with a powerful trading platform and embedded engaging content. tastyworks, Inc. is a registered broker-dealer and a member of FINRA, NFA and SIPC, and tastyworks Australia Pty Ltd is an ASIC registered broker-dealer. tastytrade, Inc. is part of IG Group Holdings plc (LON: IGG) a global fintech company that provides its award-winning products and platforms to ambitious people around the world, giving them access to over 19,000 financial markets. About IG IG Group has been at the forefront of trading innovation since 1974. Since then, weve evolved into a global fintech company incorporating the IG, tastytrade, IG Prime, Spectrum and DailyFX brands, with a presence in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. Our award-winning products and platforms empower ambitious people the world over to unlock opportunities around the clock, giving them access to over 19,000 financial markets. Today, more than 400,000 clients call IG Group home. IG Group Holdings plc is an established member of the FTSE 250 and holds a long-term investment grade credit rating of BBB- with a stable outlook from Fitch Ratings. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220601006023/en/ Media Contacts: UK Alayna Francis IG Group [email protected] +442076335395 US Fran Del Valle Influence Central PR [email protected] 917-922-5653 Source: IG Group FILE PHOTO: Pump jacks operate at sunset in an oil field in Midland, Texas U.S. August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Nick Oxford By David Gaffen NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil prices rose on Wednesday after European Union leaders agreed to a phased ban on Russian oil and as China ended its COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai, which could bolster demand in an already tight market. Oil benchmarks have marched steadily higher for several weeks as Russian shipments are squeezed by EU and U.S. sanctions and as India and China can only buy so much from Russia, the world's largest exporter of crude and fuel. Brent crude settled at $116.29 a barrel, a gain of 69 cents, or 0.6%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 59 cents, or 0.5%, to $115.26. EU leaders agreed in principle on Monday to cut 90% of oil imports from Russia by the end of this year, the bloc's toughest sanctions yet since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation". "The impact of the sanctions becoming formalized is significant," said Bill Farren-Price, director at Enverus in London. "If they achieve near what theyre intending to, Russia is going to lose about 3 million barrels (in daily exports) and not all of that can be diverted, so it's quite significant." Sanctions on crude will be phased in over six months and on refined products over eight months. The embargo exempts pipeline oil from Russia as a concession to Hungary and two other landlocked Central European states. In China, Shanghai's strict COVID-19 lockdown ended on Wednesday after two months, prompting expectations of firmer fuel demand. Two OPEC+ sources said on Wednesday that members did not discuss the idea of suspending Russia from the current oil supply deal, after the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that such a move was under consideration. OPEC+ comprises members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies led by Russia. The group is due to meet on Thursday to set policy. The group has been criticized for not boosting output more quickly to deal with rising fuel prices, but Gulf nations have said most members of the cartel do not have the extra capacity to boost output. "Do you really think (Saudi Arabia is) going to raise a million barrels a day? And if they do, global spare capacity will be under 2 million bpd," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures. An OPEC+ technical committee on Wednesday trimmed its forecast for the 2022 oil market surplus by about 500,000 bpd to 1.4 million bpd, sources said. U.S. crude oil production rose in March by more than 3% to 11.65 million bpd, the highest since November, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday. The market edged off the day's highs after the release of the Federal Reserve's anecdotal report on economic conditions in the United States, which reported both increased inflationary pressures and strong demand. (Reporting by David Gaffen; additional reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar in London; editing by Barbara Lewis, Kirsten Donovan) Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) today announced that its Wyoming electric utility, Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power Company, doing business as Black Hills Energy, filed a rate review application with the Wyoming Public Service Commission requesting $15.4 million in new annual revenue. Since the companys last general rate filing in 2013, Black Hills Energy has invested approximately $250 million in safety, reliability and system integrity for more than 1,330 miles of electric distribution and 59 miles of electric transmission lines, which serve approximately 44,000 electric customers in Cheyenne. This rate review request reflects our long-standing commitment to our customers and to the greater Cheyenne community to deliver safe and reliable service, said Linn Evans, president and CEO of Black Hills Corp. This investment in our system, combined with excellent operational execution by our team, supports our ability to deliver top-quartile reliability to our Cheyenne customers. This investment is also essential to our ability to meet our customers demands for energy, while also preparing to meet steady economic growth in Cheyenne. As proposed, the rate review requests a capital structure of 54% equity, 46% debt and a return on equity of 10.3% for investments the company has made in its electric system in Cheyenne. Black Hills Energy is seeking to implement new rates in the first quarter of 2023. FILE PHOTO: Delta Air Lines passenger planes are seen parked due to flight reductions made to slow the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Elijah NEW YORK (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian said on Wednesday it was still trying to reach an aircraft deal with Boeing Co. Reuters reported in March that Boeing was edging toward a landmark order from Delta for up to 100 of its 737 MAX 10 jets.. Asked at an industry conference if he saw a place for the MAX in Delta's fleet, Bastian said he agreed. "I think there is. We've been trying to get a deal done with Boeing. We're keeping our eye on that, and hopefully, we'll be able to figure that out," Bastian said on Wednesday. A Boeing spokeswoman declined to comment. At the event in New York to celebrate the opening of a new terminal at LaGuardia Airport, Bastian declined to offer details of the size of any potential 737 MAX order and emphasized no decision had been made. "We continue to see if there's opportunities with the MAX but no decisions, no hold ups," Bastian told Reuters. Delta is the only major U.S. carrier without a 737 MAX on order. The MAX 10 competes with Airbus' strongest-selling model, the A321neo. Both planes are aimed at the fast-growing segment of the market just above 200 seats. In September, Airline Weekly quoted Bastian as saying there was a place for the MAX at Delta if the carrier could figure out how to bring them in. (Reporting by David Shepardson and Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr) (Updated - June 1, 2022 3:44 PM EDT) (Updated - June 1, 2022 3:31 PM EDT) Sheryl Sandberg announced on Facebook that she is stepping down as Meta's (FB) COO. From Sheryl Sandberg: Today, I am sharing the news that after 14 years, I will be leaving Meta. When I first met Mark, I was not really looking for a new job and I could have never predicted how meeting him would change my life. We were at a holiday party at Daniel L Rosensweig's house. I was introduced to Mark as I walked in the door, and we started talking about his vision for Facebook. I had tried The Facebook, as it was first called, but still thought the internet was a largely anonymous place to search for funny pictures. Marks belief that people would put their real selves online to connect with other people was so mesmerizing that we stood by that door and talked for the rest of the night. I told Dan later that I got a new life at that party but never got a single drink, so he owed me one. Many months later, after countless and I mean countless dinners and conversations with Mark, he offered me this job. It was chaotic at first. I would schedule a meeting with an engineer for nine oclock only to find that they would not show up. They assumed I meant nine p.m., because who would come to work at nine a.m.? We had some ads, but they were not performing well, and most advertisers I met wanted to take over our homepage like The Incredible Hulk movie had on MySpace. One was so angry when I said no to her homepage idea that she slammed her fist on the table, walked out of the room, and never returned. That first summer, Mark realized that he had never had a chance to travel, so he went away for a month, leaving me and Matt Cohler in charge without a ton of direction and almost no ability to contact him. It seemed crazy but it was a display of trust I have never forgotten. When I was considering joining Facebook, my late husband, Dave, counseled me not to jump in and immediately try to resolve every substantive issue with Mark, as we would face so many over time. Instead, I should set up the right process with him. So, on the way in, I asked Mark for three things that we would sit next to each other, that he would meet with me one-on-one every week, and that in those meetings he would give me honest feedback when he thought I messed something up. Mark said yes to all three but added that the feedback would have to be mutual. To this day, he has kept those promises. We still sit together (OK, not through COVID), meet one-on-one every week, and the feedback is immediate and real. Sitting by Marks side for these 14 years has been the honor and privilege of a lifetime. Mark is a true visionary and a caring leader. He sometimes says that we grew up together, and we have. He was just 23 and I was already 38 when we met, but together we have been through the massive ups and downs of running this company, as well as his marriage to the magnificent Priscilla, the sorrow of their miscarriages and the joy of their childbirths, the sudden loss of Dave, my engagement to Tom, and so much more. In the critical moments of my life, in the highest highs and in the depths of true lows, I have never had to turn to Mark, because he was already there. When I joined Facebook, I had a two-year-old son and a six-month-old daughter. I did not know if this was the right time for a new and demanding role. The messages were everywhere that women and I could not be both a leader and a good mother, but I wanted to give it a try. Once I started, I realized that to see my children before they went to sleep, I had to leave the office at 5:30 p.m., which was when work was just getting going for many of my new colleagues. In my previous role at Google, there were enough people and buildings that leaving early wasnt noticed, but Facebook was a small startup and there was nowhere to hide. More out of necessity than bravery, I found my nerve and walked out early anyway. Then, supported by Mark, I found my voice to admit this publicly and then talk about the challenges women face in the workplace. My hope was to make this a bit easier for others and help more women believe they can and should lead. I am beyond grateful to the thousands of brilliant, dedicated people at Meta with whom I have had the privilege of working over the last 14 years. Every day someone does something that stops me in my tracks and reminds me how lucky I am to be surrounded by such remarkable colleagues. This team is filled with exceptionally talented people who have poured their hearts and minds into building products that have had a profound impact on the world. It's because of this team past and present that more than three billion people use our products to keep in touch and share their experiences. More than 200 million businesses use them to create virtual storefronts, communicate with customers, and grow. Billions of dollars have been raised for causes people believe in. Behind each of these statistics is a story. Friends who would have lost touch but didn't. Families that stayed in contact despite being separated by oceans. Communities that have rallied together. Entrepreneurial people especially women and others who have faced obstacles and discrimination who have turned their ideas into successful businesses. Last week, a friend saw a post about a mutual friend of ours having a baby and told me that she remembers how before Instagram, she would have missed this moment. When the women in Lean Ins global Circles community couldnt meet in person, they used Facebook to encourage each other and share advice for navigating work and life during the pandemic. At an International Womens Day lunch, a woman told me that her Facebook birthday fundraiser generated enough money to provide shelter for two women experiencing domestic abuse. Just last month, I heard about how in India, the Self Employed Womens Association connects over WhatsApp to organize and increase their collective bargaining power. Ive loved traveling the world (physically and virtually) to meet small business owners and hear their stories like Zuzanna Sielicka Kalczynska in Poland, who started a business with her sister selling cuddly stuffed animals that make white noise to sooth crying babies. They began with a single Facebook post in 2014 and have gone on to sell in more than 20 countries and build a workforce mostly made up of moms like them. The debate around social media has changed beyond recognition since those early days. To say it hasnt always been easy is an understatement. But it should be hard. The products we make have a huge impact, so we have the responsibility to build them in a way that protects privacy and keeps people safe. Just as I believe wholeheartedly in our mission, our industry, and the overwhelmingly positive power of connecting people, I and the dedicated people of Meta have felt our responsibilities deeply. I know that the extraordinary team at Meta will continue to work tirelessly to rise to these challenges and keep making our company and our community better. I also know that our platforms will continue to be an engine of growth for the businesses around the world that rely on us. When I took this job in 2008, I hoped I would be in this role for five years. Fourteen years later, it is time for me to write the next chapter of my life. I am not entirely sure what the future will bring I have learned no one ever is. But I know it will include focusing more on my foundation and philanthropic work, which is more important to me than ever given how critical this moment is for women. And as Tom and I get married this summer, parenting our expanded family of five children. Over the next few months, Mark and I will transition my direct reports and I will leave the company this fall. I still believe as strongly as ever in our mission, and I am honored that I will continue to serve on Metas board of directors. I am so immensely proud of everything this team has achieved. The businesses weve helped and the business we've built. The culture we've nurtured together. And I'm especially proud that this is a company where many, many exceptional women and people from diverse backgrounds have risen through our ranks and become leaders both in our company and in leadership roles elsewhere. Thank you to the colleagues who inspire me every day with their commitment to our mission, to our partners around the world who have enabled us to build a business that serves their businesses, and especially to Mark for giving me this opportunity and being one of the best friends anyone could ever have Miami, May 31, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As part of its efforts to help compliance practitioners meet rising regulatory risks across the Australasian region, ACAMS will host a special 2-day training and networking event for its 2nd Annual AML & Anti-Financial Crime Conference Australasia. Beginning on June 20th, attendees of this in-person event will hear from high-level expert speakers on the most pressing regional compliance topics of today, including recent regulatory changes, sanctions practices tied to the invasion of Ukraine, emerging illicit-finance typologies in the Pacific Islands and Papua New Guinea, strategies to combat human trafficking with existing due diligence procedures, and regional environmental-crime risks linked to crypto-assets and transnational money flows. The events keynote speakersNicole Rose, PSM, CEO of AUSTRAC, and David Shannon, Director of Mutual Evaluations for the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Launderingwill also outline anti-financial crime (AFC) priorities across the region. In addition to having the chance to meet their peers face-to-face in networking sessions, attendees will be able to pose their compliance questions directly to the conferences high-level subject-matter experts representing the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, Australian Federal Police, Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Banking Group, National Australia Bank (NAB), BSP Financial Group, MoneyGram, Crown Resorts, International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), University of Canberra, and others. Money laundering and other financial crimes have increasingly dominated headlines throughout Australasia in recent years and AFC professionals are under greater pressure to root out illicit activity taking place in banks, money transfer firms, casinos, and other companies, said ACAMS CEO Scott Liles. To do that, the financial sector and government will need to work together to share compliance knowledge and best practices. For this reason, weve designed this conference to serve not only as a platform to debate and discuss AFC guidance on emerging threats but also to empower attendees with practical advice that can be effectively implemented in their own institutions, he said. Were all in this fight together, which is why this is an important opportunity for law enforcement officials, regulators, and compliance practitioners to expand their professional networks and AFC toolkits. The full program of the conference can be found here. ### About ACAMS ACAMS is the largest international membership organization dedicated to providing opportunities for anti-financial crime (AFC) education, best practices, and peer-to-peer networking to AFC professionals globally. With over 90,000 members across 180 jurisdictions, ACAMS is committed to the mission of ending financial crime through the provision of anti-money laundering/counterterrorism-financing and sanctions knowledge-sharing, thought leadership, risk-mitigation services, ESG initiatives, and platforms for public-private dialogue. The associations CAMS certification is the gold-standard qualification for AFC professionals, while the CGSS certification is its premier specialist qualification for sanctions professionals. ACAMS 60 Chapters globally further amplify the associations mission through training and networking initiatives. Visit acams.org for more information. Lashvinder Kaur ACAMS +44 7388264478 [email protected] Source: Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists TOKYO, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading semiconductor test equipment supplier Advantest Corporation (TSE: 6857) has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Italy-based CREA - Collaudi Elettronici Automatizzati S.r.l. ("CREA). CREA is a major supplier of power semiconductor test equipment. Its products are used to test all kinds of power devices, and are utilized by global semiconductor companies around the world. The global response to climate change has stimulated demand for electric vehicles and energy-efficient data centers, boosting demand for power ICs, which are needed to efficiently supply electricity for these and other applications. Manufacturers are accelerating the development of next-generation silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) power devices, which have superior power characteristics, while power semiconductors are also increasingly being integrated into other devices. The power device market is expected to grow significantly in the future. CREA has many years of extensive experience in the development and production of test equipment for power semiconductors, including the latest SiC / GaN semiconductors. This acquisition will enable Advantest to provide broader test and measurement solutions to a wider range of customers in high-growth sectors. Advantest President and CEO Yoshiaki Yoshida commented, "The acquisition of CREA will expand our test and measurement solutions within the evolving semiconductor value chain to meet a wider range of customer needs. By integrating CREA's product lineup, development capabilities, excellent customer base, and world-class R&D team into the Advantest Group, we can enrich our portfolio of power semiconductor test solutions. I am also confident that as the power device market is expected to grow in the future, this acquisition will contribute directly to our and our customers efforts to help achieve Net Zero. CREA, headquartered in Cirie close to Torino, Italy, will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Advantest Europe GmbH, the Company's European subsidiary. The closing of the transaction is tied to regulatory approvals. The financial advisor on this acquisition was Houlihan Lokey Corporation, and the legal advisors were Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu and Pedersoli Studio Legale. About Advantest Corporation Advantest (TSE: 6857) is the leading manufacturer of automatic test and measurement equipment used in the design and production of semiconductors for applications including 5G communications, the Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous vehicles, high performance computing (HPC) including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, and more. Its leading-edge systems and products are integrated into the most advanced semiconductor production lines in the world. The company also conducts R&D to address emerging testing challenges and applications; develops advanced test-interface solutions for wafer sort and final test; produces scanning electron microscopes essential to photomask manufacturing; and offers system-level test solutions and other test-related accessories. Founded in Tokyo in 1954, Advantest is a global company with facilities around the world and an international commitment to sustainable practices and social responsibility. More information is available at www.advantest.com. ADVANTEST CORPORATION Shin-Marunouchi Center Building1-6-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005Tel+81-70-4017-8104Contact: Yoichi Oyama, PR Department Source: Advantest America, Inc. TORONTO, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- B2B Bank announces an increase to its prime lending rate by 50 basis points from 3.20 % to 3.70%, effective June 2nd, 2022. About B2B Bank B2B Bank is a leading provider of banking products to more than 15,000 financial advisors and brokers across Canada. Through the professional advisor and broker channels, it offers a broad range of products and services to consumers including Investment, RSP and TFSA Loans, mortgages, GICs, banking services and investment accounts and services through B2B Bank Dealer Services. B2B Bank is proudly dedicated to serving the needs of its clients and it continues to provide innovative products and solutions that help advisors and brokers build rewarding relationships with their clients. B2B Bank is a Schedule I bank. For more information, please visit https://b2bbank.com. Contact: Merick SeguinSenior manager, media relationsLaurentian Bank of CanadaMobile: 514 451-3201[email protected] Source: B2B Bank RAPID CITY, S.D., June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) today announced that its Wyoming electric utility, Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power Company, doing business as Black Hills Energy, filed a rate review application with the Wyoming Public Service Commission requesting $15.4 million in new annual revenue. Since the companys last general rate filing in 2013, Black Hills Energy has invested approximately $250 million in safety, reliability and system integrity for more than 1,330 miles of electric distribution and 59 miles of electric transmission lines, which serve approximately 44,000 electric customers in Cheyenne. This rate review request reflects our long-standing commitment to our customers and to the greater Cheyenne community to deliver safe and reliable service, said Linn Evans, president and CEO of Black Hills Corp. This investment in our system, combined with excellent operational execution by our team, supports our ability to deliver top-quartile reliability to our Cheyenne customers. This investment is also essential to our ability to meet our customers demands for energy, while also preparing to meet steady economic growth in Cheyenne. As proposed, the rate review requests a capital structure of 54% equity, 46% debt and a return on equity of 10.3% for investments the company has made in its electric system in Cheyenne. Black Hills Energy is seeking to implement new rates in the first quarter of 2023. Black Hills CorporationBlack Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) is a customer focused, growth-oriented utility company with a tradition of improving life with energy and a vision to be the energy partner of choice. Based in Rapid City, South Dakota, the company serves 1.3 million natural gas and electric utility customers in eight states: Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. More information is available at www.blackhillscorp.com and www.blackhillsenergy.com. Investor RelationsJerome E. Nichols605-721-1171[email protected] 24-hour Media Assistance888-242-3969 Caution Regarding Forward Looking StatementThis news release includes forward-looking statements as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. We make these forward-looking statements in reliance on the safe harbor protections provided under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this news release that address activities, events or developments that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward looking statements, including anticipated revenues from the new rate increase. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions which we believe are reasonable based on current expectations and projections about future events and industry conditions and trends affecting our business. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to our expectations and predictions is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that, among other things, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, the risk factors described in Item 1A of Part I of our 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC, and other reports that we file with the SEC from time to time. New factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward looking statements emerge from time-to-time, and it is not possible for us to predict all such factors, or the extent to which any such factor or combination of factors may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking statement. We assume no obligation to update publicly any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Source: Black Hills Service Company, LLC LOS ANGELES, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eyenuk, Inc., a global artificial intelligence (AI) medical technology and services company and the leader in real-world applications for AI Eye Screening and AI Predictive Biomarkers, announced today that its EyeArt system has been confirmed to have sufficient high quality evidence as safe and cost-effective, and is the only diabetic eye screening AI technology ready for live clinical implementation in the United Kingdom, according to the report, Automated grading in the Diabetic Eye Screening Programme- External review against programme appraisal criteria for the UK National Screening Committee. The comprehensive review of 10 AI algorithms performance, reported in peer-reviewed publications, was conducted for the UK National Screening Committee (NSC), which provides advice about all aspects of population screening to the National Health Service (NHS) and the ministers of the four UK countries (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland). The 169-page NSC report identified the EyeArt v2.1 algorithm for autonomous diabetic retinopathy screening as the only AI technology ready for live clinical implementation in the UK. Study authors concluded that there is sufficient high-quality evidence from the EDESP (English Diabetic Eye Screening Program) that EyeArt v2.1 may be safe and cost-effective either using it for level 1 grading or as a filter prior to manual grading. The EyeArt system is now being planned for live clinical use within the North East London NHS Diabetes Eye Screening Programme as part of a project led by the Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and supported jointly by the NHSX AI Lab and the UK Health Foundation. The funded program will implement the live clinical use of artificial intelligence and assess its effectiveness in addressing racial and ethical health inequalities, and its acceptability by healthcare providers and people with diabetes. We are gratified by the NSCs confirmation that the EyeArt system stands out from other solutions for its safety and cost-effectiveness and would like to thank our clinical collaborators within various diabetes eye screening programs (DESP) throughout the National Health Service, said Kaushal Solanki, PhD, founder and CEO of Eyenuk. We look forward to working with the Moorfields Eye Hospital and the North East London NHS DESP to deploy the EyeArt system for live clinical use. The UK has been leading the world in diabetic retinopathy screening, achieving patient uptake rates of over 80% (screening nearly 2.5 million diabetes patients annually). In most countries, fewer than half of diabetes patients receive annual eye screening. Thanks to the UKs comprehensive screening program, it is the only country where diabetic retinopathy is no longer the leading cause of blindness in the working-age adults. Eyenuk will showcase the EyeArt AI System during the American Diabetes Associations 82nd Scientific Sessions in New Orleans, June 3-7. Attendees can visit booth #1709 to learn how the EyeArt system can help their organizations improve diabetes management and population health. About Eyenuk, Inc.Eyenuk, Inc. is a global artificial intelligence (AI) medical technology and services company and the leader in real-world AI Eye Screening for autonomous disease detection and AI Predictive Biomarkers for risk assessment and disease surveillance. Eyenuk is on a mission to screen every eye in the world to ensure timely diagnosis of life- and vision-threatening diseases, including diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, stroke risk, cardiovascular risk, and Alzheimers disease. Find Eyenuk online on its website, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. About the EyeArt AI SystemThe EyeArt AI System provides fully autonomous diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening, including retinal imaging, DR detection based on international clinical standards and immediate reporting, in a single office visit during a diabetic patients regular exam. Once the patients fundus images have been captured and submitted to the EyeArt AI System, the DR detection results are available in a PDF report in less than 30 seconds. The EyeArt AI System was developed with funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and is validated by the U.K. National Health Service (NHS). In addition to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) clearance, the EyeArt AI System has CE marking as a class 2a medical device in the European Union and a Health Canada license. It is the most extensively validated AI technology for autonomous DR detection, tested on over 500,000 patients globally with 2 million images collected in clinical environments. It is designed to be General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) compliant. The EyeArt AI System is reimbursable by government and private payors in the U.S. under the newly created Category 1 Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code 92229. VIDEO: Learn more about the EyeArt AI System for Autonomous Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy Media Contact Todd Stein+1 510 417 0612[email protected] Eyenuk, Inc. Contact Frank Cheng, President & CCO +1 818 835 3585[email protected] Source: Eyenuk, Inc. New York, U.S.A., June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The UN Global Compact today launched its China strategy aiming to accelerate and scale the collective impact of business in China to drive progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). China is home to the largest number of Fortune 500 companies and more than 44 million small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Greater engagement with Chinese companies and stakeholders supports the UN Global Compact Global Strategy 20212023 which aims to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business by upholding the Ten Principles and delivering the SDGs through accountable companies and ecosystems that enable change. It also represents the next step in the UN Global Compacts ambition to enhance its reach and collaboration with the global South. Recognizing Chinese companies as important contributors to advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and working with national partners through its Liaison Office in China, the UN Global Compact aims to increase its impact by: Engaging key stakeholders in China to maximize their collective impact to achieve the SDGs both in China and globally through thought leadership, policy dialogues, capacity building activities, action-oriented projects, and innovative partnerships. Mobilizing Chinese companies collective action and impact in supporting Chinas development priorities as reflected in Chinas 14th Five-Year Plan (FYP 20212025) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 20212025 for China. Specifically, the China strategy identifies seven key areas, covering all Ten Principles of the Global Compact through which the UN Global Compact will maximize its impact: combat climate change; reduce inequalities; advance decent work; take collective action against corruption; engage the private sector through the Belt and Road Initiative to advance 2030 Agenda; strengthen South-South cooperation through China-Africa business collaboration on the SDGs and foster business innovation and SDG partnerships through the Global Development Initiative. Launching the China strategy at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit, Sanda Ojiambo, Assistant Secretary-General and CEO of the UN Global Compact said: The Sustainable Development Goals cannot be achieved without China and the engagement of Chinese companies. As the fastest-growing market for the UN Global Compact in the Asia Pacific region, we have seen a rapidly growing number of companies from China stepping up to address regional and global challenges. We know that Chinas development path is closely linked with other countries. With this strategy we have committed to maximizing our impact in China through long-term investment and constructive collaboration with the private sector and key stakeholders. At the UN Global Compact, we stand ready to collaborate and support the Global Development Initiative, helping the private sector to fully align with recognized international norms and standards embedded in the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact. His Excellency Ambassador Zhang Jun, Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations said: "China stands ready to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the UN Global Compact. We look forward to enhanced ambition and actions by its members for the 2030 Agenda. Lets jointly take actions to make greater contributions to global recovery and sustainable development." Board member of the UN Global Compact and Vice Chairman of State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council of China, Ren Hongbin, said: I am happy to witness todays launch of the UN Global Compact China strategy. It is a clear roadmap, led by Ms Sanda Ojiambo, to support Chinas development priorities and mobilize enterprises and stakeholders from China to positively contribute to the world. Siddharth Chatterjee, United Nations Resident Coordinator in China noted: China is a critical market for growth, innovation, and the impact of the UN Global Compact in this Decade of Action. Given Chinas spectacular efforts to lift over 750 million people out of absolute poverty over the last four decades, we must consider its unique context when developing new strategies and partnerships towards the achievement of the SDGs in China and redouble our efforts for more South-South cooperation as well as North-South knowledge sharing and partnerships. Success for the Sustainable Development Goals globally is success for all of humanity. Notes to Editors About the United Nations Global Compact As a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General, the United Nations Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Our ambition is to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business by upholding the Ten Principles and delivering the Sustainable Development Goals through accountable companies and ecosystems that enable change. With more than 15,000 companies and 3,000 non-business signatories based in over 160 countries, and 69 Local Networks, the UN Global Compact is the worlds largest corporate sustainability initiative one Global Compact uniting business for a better world. For more information, follow @globalcompact on social media and visit our website at unglobalcompact.org. Contact:Meng LiuHead, UN Global Compact China Liaison Office[email protected] Dan Thomas United Nations Global Compact (212) 907-1301 [email protected] Source: United Nations Global Compact Goldman Sachs analyst Diego Aragao reinstates coverage on Grupo Televisa SA (NYSE: TV) with a Neutral rating and a price target of $11.50. For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Grupo Televisa SA click here. For more ratings news on Grupo Televisa SA click here. Shares of Grupo Televisa SA closed at $10.21 yesterday. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 1, 2022) - Appia Rare Earths & Uranium Corp.(CSE: API) (OTCQB: APAAF) (FSE: A0I0) (FSE: A0I.F) (FSE: A0I.MU) (FSE: A0I.BE)(the "Company" or "Appia")is pleased to announce complete WRCB assays results from its 2021 drilling program and the discovery of a massive new rare earth element ("REE") -bearing zone in the WRCB area of the 100%-owned Alces Lake high-grade rare earth elements and gallium property, Athabasca Basin area, northern Saskatchewan. Further assay results from 2021 drilling in the Western Anomaly area of the Alces Lake claims block will be released in the near future. The complete assays results are available in Table 3 by clicking on this link. Highlights: Wilson 21-WRC-014 intersected 15.81 wt% TREO over a drilled width of 3.67m within a broader interval of 6.99m @ 11.70wt% TREO (see Table 1) Wilson 21-WRC-016 intersected 24.30 wt% TREO over a drilled width of 1.93m within a broader interval of 3.19m @ 15.38wt% TREO AND 17.85 wt% TREO over a drilled width of 2.69m within a broader interval of 11.6m @ 5.71wt% TREO (see Table 1) Richard 21-WRC-053 intersected 17.12 wt% TREO over a drilled width of 1.08 metres within a broader interval of 4.29m @ 5.19 wt% TREO (see Table 1) High grade, at or near surface mineralization at WRCB now correlated along strike length for 100 metres New discovery of the AMP zone, which is continuous from surface to a down plunge extent of 300 metres and remains open. The true width of the mineralized zone is known to exceed 10 metres Frederick Kozak, President of Appia said, "The wait for the assay results was worth it. Appia has identified the continuity of the WRCB shallow high-grade mineralization with a strike length of approximately 100 metres and consistently strong assay values. However, the new discovery of the massive AMP zone from surface to depth has revealed it is large and continuous across all of the WRCB area and open along strike within the NNW-trending kilometre-scale structural corridor. This could be a blockbuster for future rare earths production, as Appia continues to move the Alces Lake rare earths discovery towards potential development." Figure 1: 3D Model (wt% TREO mineralization) of Wilson-Richard-Charles-Bell (WRCB) Area Figure 1 is a 3-Dimensional contour (Interpolant model) of greater than 0.1% TREO. Interpolant model volumes are calculated with a base range of 25m and a shape that is preferentially trended along orientations of interpreted continuity. Figure represents a west looking perspective inclined at 50 degrees. To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5416/126102_050a0129d4ca7910_005full.jpg. The above 3D graphic (Figure 1), looking approximately west into WRCB, shows the drillhole penetrations that were completed in 2021 with a few holes from prior years. While not shown in the figure, the WRCB and Ivan/Dante accumulations are exposed at surface. The lowermost zone depicted is the newly discovered AMP zone. It has a very large areal extent, which is also exposed at surface in the Ivan/Dante area before dipping as pictured in Figure 3. The shallow zones at WRCB show the high-grade mineralization and its continuity over approximately 100 metres of strike length - drilling in 2021 has essentially confirmed the separately named segments of WRCB as one continuous accumulation of high-grade mineralization. Approximately 54 holes were drilled at WRCB in 2021, for a total of 5,297 metres. To the end of 2021, 119 holes have been drilled into WRCB for a total of 8,590 metres. Below in Figure 2 is an overhead view that shows the large areal extent of the AMP zone as well as continuity of the shallow high-grade mineralization. The cross section A-B (west to east) is shown in Figure 3 Figure 2: Plan View of WRCB Area Figure 2 is a Plan view of 3-Dimensional contour (Interpolant model) of greater than 0.1% TREO. Interpolant model volumes are calculated with a base range of 25m and a shape that is preferentially trended along orientations of interpreted continuity. To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5416/126102_050a0129d4ca7910_006full.jpg. In Figure 3 below, the cross section A-B is shown through the shallow Wilson discovery to depth and demonstrates the continuity and thickness of the AMP zone from surface to depth. Hosted within a planar geological structure, the AMP zone is defined by a plunging chute of mineral enrichment and interpreted tectonic thickening. This is a newly discovered style of mineralization at Alces Lake, identified and delineated for the first time in 2021. Outcropping in the WRCB area, the zone has uninterrupted continuity from surface to a down plunge extent of 300 meters and remains open down plunge. Figure 3: Cross Section A-B (west-southwest to east-northeast) through WRCB Figure 3 To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5416/126102_050a0129d4ca7910_007full.jpg. The following tables summarize the assay results from previously released assays and additional assay results from representative holes in WRCB. Full assay results are available in Table 3 linked to this news release. The 2021 drilling program confirms the continuity and consistency of the shallow high-grade mineralization in WRCB. Table 2 summarizes the assay results from the deeper AMP discovery. Table 1: Summary of 2021 High Grade Assay Results at WRCB Including Zone Hole No. From (m) To (m) Interval (m) wt% TREO wt% Ga 2 O 3 From (m) To (m) Interval (m) wt% TREO wt% Ga 2 O 3 Wilson 21-WRC-016 38.92 42.11 3.19 15.38 0.040 39.67 41.6 1.93 24.30 0.060 Wilson 21-WRC-014 16.09 23.08 6.99 11.70 0.034 16.99 17.84 0.85 22.15 0.061 And Including 18.22 21.89 3.67 15.81 0.045 Wilson 21-WRC-016 22.41 34.01 11.6 5.71 0.018 25.03 27.02 2.69 17.85 0.048 Wilson 21-WRC-016 32.85 33.15 0.32 17.98 0.015 Wilson 21-WRC-015 37.88 38.8 0.92 14.60 0.039 Wilson 21-WRC-015 30.63 32.04 1.41 1.64 0.008 Wilson 21-WRC-017 32.61 34.08 1.47 0.80 0.008 Richard 21-WRC-053 50.25 54.54 4.29 5.12 0.015 53.46 54.54 1.08 17.12 0.047 Richard 21-WRC-050 8.01 11.21 3.2 1.73 0.004 10.22 10.88 0.66 6.50 0.170 Richard 21-WRC-051 6.38 6.7 0.32 0.45 0.000 Dante 21-WRC-046 12.71 12.89 0.18 18.74 0.045 12.71 12.8 0.09 34.72 0.080 Dante 21-WRC-023 10.9 12.64 1.74 1.48 0.006 10.9 10.98 0.08 15.00 0.040 Table 2: Summary of 2021 AMP Zone Assay Results at WRCB Including Zone Hole No. From (m) To (m) Interval (m) wt% TREO wt% Ga 2 O 3 From (m) To (m) Interval (m) wt% TREO wt% Ga 2 O 3 AMP 21-WRC-014 111 111.56 0.56 0.61 0.010 AMP 21-WRC-061 67.21 68.08 0.87 0.60 0.005 AMP 21-WRC-059 159.88 160 0.12 0.54 0.000 AMP 21-WRC-026 48.29 54.66 6.37 0.43 0.008 AMP 21-WRC-002 39.18 42.4 3.22 0.42 0.010 AMP 21-WRC-015 102.69 104.74 2.05 0.39 0.006 AMP 21-WRC-006 36.47 36.85 0.38 0.38 0.010 AMP 21-WRC-003 39.51 44.95 5.44 0.34 0.010 AMP 21-WRC-014 106.13 108.41 2.28 0.34 0.005 AMP 21-WRC-020 69.02 70.21 1.19 0.34 0.010 AMP 21-WRC-027 77.99 78.83 0.84 0.34 0.003 AMP 21-WRC-046 1.22 6.69 5.47 0.34 0.004 1.22 3.62 2.4 0.57 0.009 AMP 21-WRC-004 46.94 48.42 1.48 0.33 0.008 AMP 21-WRC-013 68.32 76.6 8.28 0.33 0.007 70.39 73.34 2.95 0.65 0.010 AMP 21-WRC-039 2.09 3.73 1.64 0.33 0.007 AMP 21-WRC-025 34.35 35.45 1.1 0.31 0.008 AMP 21-WRC-047 1.47 1.82 0.35 0.31 0.005 AMP 21-WRC-054 116.97 119.77 2.8 0.31 0.006 AMP 21-WRC-004 40.13 41.8 1.67 0.30 0.010 AMP 21-WRC-021 120.33 128.48 8.15 0.30 0.006 125.62 127.94 2.32 0.52 0.007 AMP 21-WRC-026 39.82 40.5 0.68 0.30 0.010 AMP 21-WRC-016 108.8 120 11.2 0.29 0.005 116.28 118.36 2.08 0.50 0.007 About the Alces Lake Project The Alces Lake project encompasses some of the highest-grade total and critical* REEs and gallium mineralization in the world, hosted within several surface and near-surface monazite occurrences that remain open at depth and along strike. * Critical rare earth elements are defined here as those that are in short-supply and high-demand for use in permanent magnets and modern electronic applications such as electric vehicles and wind turbines (i.e: neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb)). Appia recommenced drilling at Alces Lake in mid-March 2022 and plans to drill significantly deeper holes compared to the 100 holes (approximately 8,076 metres) drilled in 2021. This is designed to allow Appia to determine continuity at depth and along the identified REE mineralization trends as the company works towards a maiden resource estimate in accordance with NI 43-101 for the area. With high-grade REE mineralization now identified in many locations within an area covering approximately 27 km2 of the Alces Lake block, the Company believes the project has the potential to be a world-class source of high-grade critical rare earth bearing monazite. The Alces Lake project is located in northern Saskatchewan, the same provincial jurisdiction that is developing a "first-of-its-kind" rare earth processing facility in Canada (currently under construction by the Saskatchewan Research Council and scheduled to become operational in early 2023). The Alces Lake project area is 35,682 hectares (88,173 acres) in size and is 100% owned by Appia. To ensure safe work conditions are met for the workforce, the Company has developed exploration guidelines that comply with the Saskatchewan Public Health Orders and the Public Health Order Respecting the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District in order to maintain social distancing and help prevent the transmission of COVID-19. All lithogeochemical assay results were provided by Saskatchewan Research Council's Geoanalytical Laboratory, an ISO/IEC 17025:2005 (CAN-P-4E) certified laboratory in Saskatoon, SK. All analytical results reported herein have passed internal QA/QC review and compilation. The technical content in this news release was reviewed and approved by Dr. Irvine R. Annesley, P.Geo, Advisor to Appia's Board of Directors, and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. About Appia Appia is a Canadian publicly-listed company in the rare earth element and uranium sectors. The Company is currently focusing on delineating high-grade critical rare earth elements and gallium on the Alces Lake property, as well as exploring for high-grade uranium in the prolific Athabasca Basin on its Otherside, Loranger, North Wollaston, and Eastside properties. The Company holds the surface rights to exploration for 105,026 hectares (259,525 acres) in Saskatchewan. The Company also has a 100% interest in 12,545 hectares (31,000 acres), with rare earth element and uranium deposits over five mineralized zones in the Elliot Lake Camp, Ontario. Appia has 123.1 million common shares outstanding, 142.1 million shares fully diluted. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This News Release contains forward-looking statements which are typically preceded by, followed by or including the words "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "intends", "plans" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance as they involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward- looking statements and shareholders are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such statements. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange 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. For further information, please contact: Tom Drivas, CEO and Director: (cell) 416-876-3957, (fax) 416-218-9772 or (email) [email protected] Frederick Kozak, President: (cellular) 403-606-3165 or (email) [email protected] Frank van de Water, Chief Financial Officer and Director, (tel) 416-546-2707, (fax) 416-218-9772 or (email) [email protected] To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/126102 Dhaka, Bangladesh--(Newsfile Corp. - May 31, 2022) - Bangladesh's digital flagship program, a2i, has been revealed to play a significant role helping to bring the country toward achieving its 'Vision 2041,' which envisions the country to be a fully developed nation by the year 2041. Serving in part of the country's Digital Bangladesh Agenda, a2i acts as an innovation unit that works across the whole government and helps its citizens by creating faster, hassle-free, and reliable services. According to a2i senior officials, Digital Bangladesh implies the contextual application of ubiquitous technologies to unlock the full potential of education, health, job placement, and poverty reduction initiatives for the poor and marginalized. The program traces its early beginnings to the Office of the Prime Minister, originally mandated to bring about a change in civil service. With full support coming from the Government and working with global partners, the program seeks to position the government to be at the forefront of integrating new, whole-of-society approaches to achieve the SDGs. One of its initial projects included the implementation of an empathy training program that sought to give government officials a first-hand experience of what an ordinary citizen goes through when trying to secure a government service. The success of this initiative helped usher in a new concept called the Time, Cost, Visit (TCV) Audit-a full-pledged assessment program aimed at simplifying the process of accessing services by eliminating unnecessary steps, innovating interventions to save both cost and visits for citizens. The audit also gave way to learning how to further innovate the process via the infusion of newer technologies. Perhaps of equal importance was the fact that reducing TCV provided a clear byword for innovation that civil servants at all administrative tiers - from policymakers to field officers - irrespective of ministry or domain, could easily understand and rally around. Aggregated, citizens of Bangladesh have saved over $16 billion, nearly 12 billion workdays, and 7.5 billion visits in the last decade due to the more efficient delivery of public services alone. Int. Communication strategist Ashfaq Zaman explains that the a2i program is primed by its mission to enable the government to be citizen-centric-a single platform that offers multiple solutions to its constituents. To date, a2i has successfully formed key strategic partnerships with major companies and organizations. A2i is set to be formally established as Bangladesh's national innovation agency and roll out a series of new innovations to repurpose its existing programs such as the digital centers, national helpline 333, and MyGov app in lieu with making a SMART & Innovative Bangladesh for Vision 2041, whilst also exporting the successful models to be replicated in developing countries such as Yemen, Somalia, Philippines and others. Media Contact: Name: Ashfaq Zaman Email: [email protected] To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/125842 (Reuters) - Russia accused the United States on Wednesday of adding fuel to the fire by supplying advanced rockets to Ukraine, and said it did not trust Kyiv not to fire them into Russia. "We believe that the U.S. is deliberately pouring oil on the fire. The U.S. is obviously holding the line that it will fight Russia to the last Ukrainian," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. U.S. President Joe Biden has agreed to provide Ukraine with advanced rocket systems that can strike with precision at long-range Russian targets as part of a $700 million weapons package expected to be unveiled on Wednesday. (Reporting by Reuters) HOUSTON, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Axiom Space announced today that it has been awarded the NASA Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) Contract. Axiom is one of two companies to win the award with a potential total value of $3.5 billion across the life of the program. Under the terms of the contract, the Houston-based company will build the space agency's next generation astronaut spacesuits that may be used for low Earth Orbit (LEO) and the Artemis lunar missions. The new spacesuits by Axiom Space will provide astronauts with advanced capabilities for space exploration while providing NASA commercially developed human systems needed to access, live, and work in microgravity and on and around the Moon. The Axiom spacesuit is key to the company's commercial space services. This new NASA contract enables Axiom to build spacesuits that serve the company's commercial customers and future space station goals while meeting NASA's ISS and exploration needs. "Our innovative approach to xEVAS spacesuits provides NASA with an evolvable design that enables cost-efficient development, testing, training, deployment, and real-time operations to address a variety of EVA needs and operational scenarios for a range of customers, including NASA," said Michael Suffredini, Axiom Space's President & CEO. "We are immensely pleased that NASA recognizes the value Axiom Space is providing across a range of human spaceflight activities, from our recent private astronaut mission to the ISS to the design and development of Axiom Station, and now to providing this critical system and associated services for astronauts in LEO and beyond." Axiom Space has partnered with a strong team of industry experts on this contract including KBR, Air-Lock, David Clark Company, Paragon Space Development Corporation, Sophic Synergistics, and A-P-T Research. The firm fixed price contract is structured as an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) award over a 10-year ordering period and allows for two additional years for completion of services. Authorization to perform work under the xEVAS contract will be through the issuance of NASA task orders not to exceed $3.1B with a ceiling of $3.5B for all services. Axiom's xEVAS spacesuits will be designed to accommodate a wide range of crew members. Building off of NASA's xEMU spacesuit design, the Axiom spacesuits are created to provide increased flexibility and specialized tools to accomplish exploration needs and expand scientific opportunities in space. The xEVAS spacesuits design includes life support, pressure garments, and avionics. The Axiom Space team will provide EVA systems training and real-time operations support to NASA, among other services. NASA may order IDIQ services at any time after the contract starts with a period of performance beginning June 2022 and ending June 2032. No phase-in period is anticipated, and the work will be managed at Axiom's Houston facilities. This NASA contract win is the latest of Axiom Space's list of recent accomplishments in its efforts to grow the commercial space industry. Earlier this month Axiom Space celebrated the groundbreaking at the company's new, long-term headquarters at Houston Spaceport, which will be home to the development and construction of Axiom Station, the world's first commercial space station. Axiom Space also recently welcomed home the crew of Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) after successfully completing the first all-private astronaut mission to the ISS. The company has also signed agreements with several nations including Italy, Hungary, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to fly on future space missions. Axiom Space was founded in Houston in 2016 by space entrepreneur Kam Ghaffarian and Michael Suffredini NASA's ISS Program Manager from 2005 to 2015 to build the world's first commercial space station and develop commercial space infrastructure that will drive a thriving low-Earth orbit economy. The company currently employs more than 500 people, the majority of which work at its current Houston facilities and will grow the number to over 1,000 by 2023. About Axiom Space Axiom Space, the premier provider of human spaceflight services and developer of human-rated space infrastructure, is guided by the vision of a thriving home in space that benefits every human, everywhere. Axiom is opening new markets in low-Earth orbit through operating end-to-end missions to the International Space Station while privately developing its successor a permanent commercial destination in Earth's orbit that will sustain human growth off the planet and bring untold benefits back home. More information about Axiom and its generational mission can be found at www.axiomspace.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/axiom-space-wins-nasa-contract-to-build-next-generation-astronaut-spacesuits-301559584.html SOURCE Axiom Space ELSTREE, England, May 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bio Products Laboratory (BPL), a leading manufacturer of plasma-derived protein therapies, based in Elstree, UK, announced today the issuance of a marketing authorization for Coagadex in the Dominican Republic. Coagadex is the first and only specific treatment for Hereditary Factor X Deficiency, an ultra-rare inherited clotting disorder, affecting up to 1 in a million people worldwide. The disease causes problems with blood clotting due to not having enough Factor X in the blood, and people with Factor X Deficiency can have serious and life-threatening bleeding episodes. The treatment is critical to meet the increasing needs of patients in the region, with a population of 10.8 million, the Dominican Republic is the tenth largest economy in Latin America. The approval is also timely, as only two months ago, the protocol was updated in the country for the treatment of paediatric and adult Haemophilia, including Hereditary Factor X Deficiency. This is the first marketing authorization for BPL in Central America and the Caribbean, and with a robust strategic expansion plan in motion, the company expects this to be the first of many countries in the region to receive marketing authorization. It also follows some key milestones for BPL this past year who received two marketing authorizations for Coagadex, firstly in India last September, followed by Mexico in May. Bob Rossilli, Chief Commercial Officer, Global Business, said, "We are delighted by this approval, which means we can soon provide patient communities in the Dominican Republic with Coagadex - the only treatment specifically for Hereditary Factor X Deficiency. This authorization and our recent approvals in India and Mexico for Coagadex, reflects our plans for expansion in Central America and across the world. It also highlights our corporate mission of providing a continuous supply of plasma-derived products worldwide to support healthcare professionals and patients every day." Thank you to our distributor, Bioplus Care, and all those involved, for the great collaborative work during a long journey to make another success happen for patients in the Dominican Republic and around the world." Stephanie Waserstein, Head of BioPlus Care, said, "It is extremely satisfying for BioPlus Care to have partnered with BPL, a truly patient centred company, committed to making its therapies available in all parts of the world where patients need them." About Bio Products Laboratory (BPL) Recognising the importance of plasma and with many years of experience in the industry, BPL supplies high-quality plasma derived medicines to meet the needs of clinicians, patients, and customers globally. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, with US offices in Durham, NC, and plasma collection centres across the United States, we are dedicated to producing medicines for the treatment of immune deficiencies, bleeding disorders and infectious diseases as well for critical care. BPL invests in the latest R&D, technology and manufacturing methods, and continuously adapts to ensure that we continue to serve all our stakeholders effectively. For more information visit http://www.bplgroup.com or https://www.bpl-us.com. BPL consists of two operating divisions BPL Plasma and BPL Therapeutics. BPL Plasma, headquartered in Austin, Texas and operating in the USA, collects plasma from donors in around 29 centers across the U.S. BPL Plasma employs over 900 staff to support the needs of donors and to ensure high-quality plasma collection in all their centers. Plasma collection is regulated by both FDA and MHRA, and BPL Plasma follows industry guidelines. BPL Plasma operates plasma facilities, staffed with trained personnel, dedicated to supporting donors through the process that leads to the donation of plasma. Plasma is shipped to the headquarters of BPL Therapeutics in Elstree, United Kingdom. The plasma is fractionated, purified, and filled through the efforts of our over 1,000 employees involved in production, quality, R&D, commercial, customer services, and administrative activities. BPL's plasma-derived medicines are commercially available in the U.K., USA, and 30 plus other countries around the world through our network of local affiliates and distribution partners. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bpl-expands-options-for-patients-in-the-dominican-republic-with-marketing-authorization-for-coagadex-301558141.html SOURCE Bio Products Laboratory USA WAKEFIELD, Mass., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (CSE: CURA / OTCQX: CURLF) ("Curaleaf" or the "Company"), a leading international provider of consumer products in cannabis, today announced that members of Curaleaf's executive management team will be participating in the following investor community conferences and events during June 2022. 19th Annual Craig-Hallum Institutional Investor ConferenceJune 1, 2022 Curaleaf management will be hosting investor meetings Jefferies Cannabis SummitJune 2, 2022Curaleaf management will be hosting investor meetings. Oppenheimer 22nd Annual Consumer Growth and E-Commerce ConferenceJune 14 15, 2022Curaleaf management will be hosting investor meetings. For more information regarding upcoming Curaleaf financial community conference and event participation as well as details to access the webcasts please visit Curaleaf's IR website at https://ir.curaleaf.com/events. About Curaleaf Holdings, Inc.Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (CSE: CURA) (OTCQX: CURLF) ("Curaleaf") is a leading international provider of consumer products in cannabis with a mission to improve lives by providing clarity around cannabis and confidence around consumption. As a high-growth cannabis company known for quality, expertise and reliability, the Company and its brands, including Curaleaf and Select, provide industry-leading service, product selection and accessibility across the medical and adult-use markets. In the United States, Curaleaf currently operates in 22 states with 133 dispensaries, 26 cultivation sites, and employs over 5,700 team members. Curaleaf International is the largest vertically integrated cannabis company in Europe with a unique supply and distribution network throughout the European market, bringing together pioneering science and research with cutting-edge cultivation, extraction and production. Curaleaf is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol CURA and trades on the OTCQX market under the symbol CURLF. For more information, please visit https://ir.curaleaf.com. Curaleaf IR Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/Curaleaf_IR Investor Toolkit: https://ir.curaleaf.com/investor-toolkitInvestor Relations Website: https://ir.curaleaf.com/ INVESTOR CONTACTCuraleaf Holdings, Inc. [email protected] MEDIA CONTACTCuraleaf Holdings, Inc.Tracy Brady, VP Corporate Communications[email protected] View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/curaleaf-announces-june-investor-community-conference-and-event-participation-301559060.html SOURCE Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. Steven Abramson's experience in complex contract negotiations brings ever improved care quality and financial strength for UpStream's network physicians GREENSBORO, N.C., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- UpStream Healthcare, the fastest growing primary care health services organization, has appointed Steven Abramson, as SVP, Chief Market & Payor Relations Officer. Mr. Abramson joins UpStream from Southwestern Health Resources (SWHR), an integrated network of academic and community clinicians, researchers, hospitals, and ambulatory facilities in North Texas. In this new role, Mr. Abramson will work alongside executive leadership and UpStream's partner organizations to develop winning payor strategies that align with health plans and delivery system requirements to ensure market access, improved quality of care and financial strength for UpStream and its network of primary care physicians/integrated health professionals to better serve seniors in Medicare Advantage programs. He will also coordinate across product lines to ensure that vital primary care access is maintained across UpStream's provider networks. "I've been fortunate in my career to have experience working on both the payor and provider side with local, regional, and national organizations," said Mr. Abramson. "Joining UpStream, with our focus on supporting primary care physicians with the tools necessary to succeed in value-based care, will allow me to utilize all of these learnings and experiences to the benefit of our provider partners and their patients." Most recently, Mr. Abramson oversaw the managed care functions across both UT Southwestern and Texas Health Resources and more than 500 community based primary care physicians, representing more than $6 billion in contracted revenue, with more than 750,000 patients in value-based arrangements. Before joining SWHR, Mr. Abramson was National Vice President, Contracting & Payor Relations for Ascension Health, one of the largest non-profit health systems in the U.S., where he was responsible for fee-for-service and value-based managed care contracting generating approximately $12 billion in revenue. Mr. Abramson has extensive health plan experience, having served at Oscar Health, a technology-focused health insurance company, leading national delivery partnerships. He previously was Senior Vice President, Strategy & Operations, Aetna Accountable Care Solutions for Aetna Inc., one of the nation's leading health insurance companies, where he managed some of Aetna's Accountable Care Organization (ACO) relationships. In his earlier role as Senior Vice President, Business Development, Accountable Care Solutions for Aetna, he led regional initiatives partnering with large health systems, hospitals, and physician organizations to employ technology, tools, and programs to advance ACO development, strategies, and value-based economic models with a focus on joint accountable care insurance product offerings. "Steve's work is crucial to the future of our network's physicians participating in alternate payment models. His attention to the payor environment in a constantly changing field of contracts and regulations allows us to ensure the best possible managed care contracting for our clinical partners and medical groups. With more PCPs in value-based care, we can deliver the highest standard of care for our valued senior patients," said UpStream CEO, Dr. Sanjay Doddamani. He further explained the UpStream partnered physician groups expect to have access to the embedded clinical teams, unique care model and incentive programs which cannot be implemented unless they shift to value-based care. "I am delighted to welcome Steve Abramson to UpStream. Steve brings vast experience in value-based contracting and understands both payor and provider concerns and opportunities to be successful in caring for older, sicker patients through payment innovation" explained UpStream's Founder, Chief Strategy Officer and Board Member, Fergus Hoban, adding, "with the addition of Steve, we have completed building one of the most experienced C-Suite healthcare leadership teams in the country, under Sanjay, and all over the past year!" UpStream Healthcare's unique model offers support to practices of any size or historic experience who do not have the resources or ability to take the heavy financial risks currently associated with value-based models. Participating providers receive Guaranteed Advanced Payments for Quality or GAP-Q as financial incentives on a schedule basis for their quality performance, taking out guess work in an otherwise unpredictable environment. About UpStream Healthcare UpStream Healthcare provides physicians with the support and systems they need to improve their practices, and therefore their patients' care. To achieve this, we embed a powerful support platform that facilitates physicians, pharmacists, and nurses to work together in primary care practices of all sizes. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/expert-market-payor-negotiator-with-history-of-advanced-care-models-for-doctors-joins-upstream-healthcare-301559359.html SOURCE UpStream Healthcare BOSTON, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - The John Hancock Closed-End Funds listed in the table below announced earnings1 for the three months ended April 30, 2022. The same data for the comparable three month period ended April 30, 2021 is also available below. Three Months Ended 4/30/2022 Ticker Fund Name Current Fiscal Year End Net InvestmentIncome PerCommon Share NAV Total ManagedAssets Total Net Assets HPI Preferred Income Fund 7/31 $ 9,301,948 $ 0.353 $ 18.07 $ 732,968,021 * $ 475,868,021 HPF Preferred Income Fund II 7/31 $ 7,539,663 $ 0.352 $ 17.91 $ 590,285,684 * $ 383,585,684 HPS Preferred Income Fund III 7/31 $ 10,114,730 $ 0.318 $ 16.01 $ 783,073,830 * $ 508,773,830 JHS Income Securities Trust 10/31 $ 2,091,602 $ 0.180 $ 13.14 $ 244,298,726 * $ 152,998,726 JHI Investors Trust 10/31 $ 3,121,447 $ 0.357 $ 15.65 $ 223,755,819 * $ 136,855,819 PDT Premium Dividend Fund 10/31 $ 10,609,685 $ 0.217 $ 14.35 $ 1,074,803,905 * $ 701,103,905 HTD Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund 10/31 $ 11,885,861 $ 0.336 $ 25.25 $ 1,313,182,721 * $ 894,282,721 HTY Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield 10/31 $ 881,889 $ 0.081 $ 6.09 $ 66,547,115 $ 66,547,115 Three Months Ended 4/30/2021 Ticker Fund Name Current Fiscal Year End Net InvestmentIncome PerCommon Share NAV Total Managed Assets Total Net Assets HPI Preferred Income Fund 7/31 $9,384,000 $ 0.358 $20.42 $ 786,026,935 * $535,526,935 HPF Preferred Income Fund II 7/31 $7,645,560 $ 0.358 $20.14 $ 634,525,875 * $430,525,875 HPS Preferred Income Fund III 7/31 $10,199,792 $ 0.322 $17.99 $ 836,391,555 * $570,391,555 JHS Income Securities Trust 10/31 $2,402,990 $ 0.206 $15.97 $ 277,278,400 * $185,978,400 JHI Investors Trust 10/31 $3,134,280 $ 0.360 $18.75 $ 250,150,282 * $163,250,282 PDT Premium Dividend Fund 10/31 $11,168,533 $ 0.229 $14.79 $ 1,094,573,426 * $720,873,426 HTD Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund 10/31 $12,295,347 $ 0.347 $24.99 $ 1,303,634,542 * $884,734,542 HTY Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield 10/31 $1,027,013 $ 0.094 $6.72 $ 73,332,978 $73,332,978 *Total managed assets include assets attributable to borrowings under the Committed Facility Agreement or Liquidity Agreement, as applicable. 1 Earnings refer to net investment income, which is comprised of the Fund's interest and dividend income, less expenses. Earnings presented represent past earnings and there is no guarantee of future results. Amounts distributed by the Funds may vary from the earnings shown above and will be announced in separate press releases. Up-to-date distribution rate information is available on John Hancock Investment Management's web site at www.jhinvestments.com by clicking on "Closed-End Funds" under the "Daily Prices" tab. Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined by the United States securities laws. You should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on forward-looking statements because they are subject to uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Fund's control and could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. An investor should consider a Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing. About John Hancock Investment Management A company of Manulife Investment Management, we serve investors through a unique multimanager approach, complementing our extensive in-house capabilities with an unrivaled network of specialized asset managers, backed by some of the most rigorous investment oversight in the industry. The result is a diverse lineup of time-tested investments from a premier asset manager with a heritage of financial stewardship. About Manulife Investment Management Manulife Investment Management is the global brand for the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, our leading capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 18 geographies. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We're committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulifeim.com. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/john-hancock-closed-end-funds-release-earnings-data-301559614.html SOURCE John Hancock Investment Management 'PRIDE Personified' Campaign Will Be Displayed On OOH Assets Nationwide In June NEW YORK, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE: OUT) proudly celebrates Pride month by highlighting 19 LGBTQIA+ individuals on out of home assets across the country. With PRIDE Personified, OUTFRONT showcases leaders from industries including Media, Politics, Television, Film, Marketing, Real Estate, Art, Health & Human Service, for their accomplishments in the face of adversity and those who personify the spirit of Pride both professionally and personally. The campaign creative and concept was designed by the Co-Chair of the OUT at OUTFRONT Employee Resource Group (ERG) and an OUTFRONT STUDIOS member, Jake Parshall. The PRIDE Personified campaign applauds individuals for their impact in their communities and workplaces. To illustrate this, each LGBTQIA+ individual's photo and occupation is displayed, along with authentically queer, vibrant, and fun designs on the campaign creative. "I really set out to do something that didn't feel 'corporate," said Jake Parshall, Co-Chair of the OUT at OUTFRONT ERG. "I wanted the designs to be super colorful, mirroring the diversity of the LGBTQIA+ Community and I pulled colors from not just the traditional rainbow flag but the progress flag, especially highlighting the trans community." "I am honored to be part of OUTFRONT's 2022 PRIDE Personified campaign," said Marc Fenty, SVP OOH at Horizon Media & Co-Chair OOH United. "I have long believed in the power of OOH and it is important to use these impactful IRL canvases to celebrate the individuals of the LGBTQIA+ community. This campaign directly follows the launch of OOH United, an initiative committed to advancing a culture of inclusion throughout the OOH industry, as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is core to industry growth." The 2022 honorees are listed below, please visit OUTFRONT.com/PridePersonified to read more about each leader and see the campaign in action: Marc Fenty, SVP, OOH at Horizon Media and Co-Chair of OOH United Amanda McAllister Wallner, Director at The California LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network Cody Janczewski, Vice President, Managing Director Media at Horizon Next Caty Burgess, SVP Marketing & Media Strategies at The CW Qween B Amor, Trans-queer Performance Artist Steve Birnbaum, EVP, Managing Director at Spark Foundry Monica C. Smith, Founder & CEO at Marketsmith Inc. Alberto Mendez, Prevention Programs Manager at Resource Center Mayor Pro Tempore Sepi Shyne, Mayor Pro Tempore, City of West Hollywood at City of West Hollywood Vivian Perez, Event & Travel Architect at Ladies Touch Events & Travel Danny Rose, Executive Producer at Danny Rose Media, Inc. Ross S. Currie, Vice President, Client Services at Conroy Media Ltd. Josh Miller, Co-Founder + CEO at IDEAS xLab Rebecca Washington, Owner /CEO Washington Academy of Barbering and Arts at Washington Academy of Barbering and Arts Heather Luce, Broker/Owner at KC LOCAL HOMES Mat George, Social Media Personality/Podcaster/Activist Bri Burrows, Head Brewer & Co-Owner at The Big Rip Brewing Co. Rev. Jacquie Fernandez, Senior Minister at Unity Church of Overland Park Damian Pelliccione, CEO / Co-Founder at Revry About OUTFRONT Media Inc. OUTFRONT leverages the power of technology, location and creativity to connect brands with consumers outside of their homes through one of the largest and most diverse sets of billboard, transit, and mobile assets in North America. Through its technology platform, OUTFRONT will fundamentally change the ways advertisers engage audiences on-the-go. Contact: Investors: Media: Stephan Bisson Courtney Richards Vice President, Investor Relations Manager, Events & Communications (212) 297-6573 646) 876-9404 [email protected] [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/outfront-showcases-barrier-breaking-lgbtqia-individuals-in-pride-personified-ooh-campaign-for-pride-month-301559370.html SOURCE OUTFRONT Media Inc. PQShield is a leading contributor to NIST's process to standardize post-quantum cryptography The company is witnessing a surge in demand as businesses seek to defend against the quantum threat "'Harvest now, decrypt later' attacks are the single biggest reason companies are taking immediate action," says PQShield CEO Ali El Kaafarani The company has launched a quantum-readiness programme for businesses of all stages Its hybrid cryptographic library is the first ever submitted for FIPS 140-3 validation LONDON, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Post-quantum cryptography company PQShield has delivered new deals to introduce its quantum-ready cryptographic solutions to organizations across sectors. Today, the company announces a major licensing deal with Microchip Technology, as well as a collaboration with Collins Aerospace. The quantum threat has been rising higher on the global security agenda in recent months as the US National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) finalizes its process to standardize post-quantum cryptography. The new standards are expected imminently. In the meantime, governments and security agencies have been making ever more noise about the urgent need to transition to new, quantum-secure cryptographic standards. In January and May, White House memos called for US government agencies to identify any encryption not compliant with quantum-proof standards and provide a timeline towards transition. Separately, the French national security agency (ANSSI) recommended the immediate introduction of post-quantum defenses throughout the private sector, and Germany's BSI endorsed the use of post-quantum cryptography. PQShield is a leading contributor to the NIST process, having co-authored multiple algorithms under final consideration for standardization and advised on all others. Since raising $20 million in Series A funding in January, the company has seen strong growth driven by increased global awareness of the quantum threat and a growing understanding of its urgency. Today, the company announces the following: In the semiconductor industry, Microchip Technology has become a licensee of PQShield's post-quantum cryptography IP cores for use in its product portfolio in the coming years, recognising the quantum threat and leading the industry in actively adopting the new standards. In defense, PQShield and Collins Aerospace, a leader in technologically advanced and intelligent solutions for the global aerospace and defense industry, are collaborating on a proof of concept integration of post-quantum cryptography solutions. In the roll-out of post-quantum cryptography for governments, PQShield submitted its hybrid cryptographic library, PQCryptoLib, to be validated for FIPS 140-3, the mandatory standard for the protection of sensitive data within US and Canadian federal systems. This makes it the first hybrid library ever submitted to NIST's Cryptographic Module Validation Program for FIPS 140-3. It will be used by government partners and contractors to do business in a fully-compliant, quantum-secure way. PQShield is the only company that can demonstrate and deliver quantum-safe cryptography on chips, in applications, and in the cloud. Over the last two quarters, the company consolidated its position as the only established provider of post-quantum solutions at all stages of the post-quantum cryptography journey, from standards development to licensing. Its quantum-readiness programme, which has launched for businesses of all stages, includes: Standards development: PQShield is part of the NIST program to develop new standards for post-quantum cryptography. Its team is also working with other bodies, like RISC-V and GlobalPlatform, to define theirs. Education: Through a new briefing programme, PQShield is helping executives, buyers and engineers to understand the quantum threat and get the concrete information they need to plan for a secure future. Crypto discovery: PQShield has researched and selected a leading crypto-discovery tool to incorporate its industry-leading know-how into. The partnership, to be announced at a later date, will help businesses understand what cryptography they have in place, and where - the first stage of their migration to quantum security. Evaluation: Each company's product is unique, so evaluation is an important step before finalizing a migration plan. PQShield is supporting multiple partners, like Collins Aerospace, at this stage of the transition process. Licensing: Once a company like Microchip Technology understands what it needs, it's time to license it. Only PQShield can provide the cryptography needed to do this in both hardware and software. PQShield is also expanding its international presence in response to this surge in global demand. In April, the company appointed Intralink, an international business development consultancy specializing in Asia, to support its entry to the Japanese market. It also plans to expand its presence in Europe and the US over the coming months. The company also plans to double its team by the end of 2022. This follows the hiring of Alan Grau (ex-Sectigo) as VP Business Development; Michael Vroobels (ex-TrueLayer) as VP Operations; and Graeme Hickey (ex-NXP Semiconductors) as Senior Director of Engineering. Ben Packman (ex-advisor to Navenio, Vivacity Labs, ThoughtRiver and others) also joined the team as SVP Strategy in April. Ali El Kaafarani, PQShield's founder and CEO, says: "There's been a major gear shift as companies realize just how serious a quantum attack could be for their business. 'Harvest now, decrypt later' attacks are the single biggest reason they are taking immediate action. It doesn't matter that a viable quantum machine hasn't yet arrived on the scene: any sensitive data stolen today will be ripe for immediate decryption as soon as it does. "Our new licensing deal with Microchip Technology is a great example of how seriously manufacturers are taking the quantum threat. OEMs and suppliers now understand that any hardware designed and built today could have a decades-long lifecycle. If it doesn't have quantum-resistance baked in, that's a huge security problem waiting to happen. "We're pleased that governments are shining the spotlight on this critical threat to infrastructure and requiring their agencies to implement new quantum-resistant encryption. As government partners and contractors adapt to the new standards, we expect more sectors to follow quickly in their footsteps." About PQShield PQShield is a cybersecurity company specializing in post-quantum cryptography, protecting data from today's attacks while readying organizations for the threat landscape of tomorrow. It is the only cybersecurity company that can demonstrate quantum-safe cryptography on chips, in applications, and in the cloud. Headquartered in the UK, with additional teams in the United States, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Japan, its quantum-secure cryptographic solutions work with companies' legacy systems to protect devices and sensitive data now and for years to come. PQShield is principally backed by Addition, Crane Venture Partners, Oxford Science Enterprises (formerly OSI), Kindred Capital, and InnovateUK. Its latest white papers are available to read here. www.pqshield.com | LinkedIn | Twitter View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pqshield-announces-major-new-licensee-microchip-technology-and-a-fips-140-3-ready-solution-as-governments-mandate-the-transition-to-post-quantum-cryptography-301558205.html SOURCE PQShield Two Powerful Photos Taken During the 2021 California Fires will be Released as NFTs in a Carbon Neutral Drop to Benefit the Wildland Firefighter Foundation Drop Date: June 1st 2022 at 3:30 PM PT SAN FRANCISCO, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MakersPlace, the premier marketplace for rare and authentic digital artworks, today announced in collaboration with Ioconic, the company integrating global brands into Web3, that it will be offering the genesis NFT collection From the Flames of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario. The photographs were featured in a National Geographic series on the California wildfires of 2021, one of which was a cover for National Geographic's Year in Pictures, will be released exclusively on MakersPlace on June 1st, 2022 at 3:30PM PT. The carbon neutral From the Flames NFT Collection will be offset using Aerial, a sustainability platform that calculates the carbon emissions based on associated energy use. From the Flames calls to attention the serious environmental effects of ongoing drought in California coupled with climate change through two poignant photographs from the frontlines of the Caldor and Dixie Fires. Addario is a Pulitzer Prize winner and one of the five most influential photographers of the past 25 years as named by American Photo magazine in 2015. Her work is often centered around important social and environmental issues such as human rights and climate change. Through this drop, Addario wants to raise global awareness of the severe effects of climate change, while honoring those affected by the 2021 fires by donating 10% of proceeds to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides assistance to fallen firefighters' families and to firefighters injured in the line of duty. Addario has covered conflict zones across the world, including the current crisis in Ukraine, and in 2021, documented the causes and effects of Climate change across three continents: from the floods in South Sudan to deforestation in the Amazon to the wildfires in California. It was especially important to Addario that these NFTs be carbon neutral. The collection consists of: An auction of one 1/1 artwork with reserve of $2,000 USD: CALDOR FIRE, BURNING CABIN The owner of this NFT will also receive a signed version of the National Geographic cover, a signed archival pigment print on Hahnemuhle Fine Art paper and a 30 min Q&A with the creator. The photograph was taken near the Sierra at Lake Tahoe Lodge along Highway 50, in California, August 29, 2021. The image was featured on the cover of National Geographic's 2021 Year in Review (released Dec. 9th) and January 2022 special edition cover. One limited edition (5/5) photograph, DIXIE FIRE, BUTTE LAKE CAMPGROUND, taken of firefighters monitoring the fireline (the periphery of the fire) as dry winds increase in the Lassen Forest in Northern California. Addario shot these images over a two-week period on the Dixie and Caldor fires, and both were featured in National Geographic's powerful photographic series. According to CALFIRE, The Dixie Fire started July 13, and as of October 2021, had burned roughly 965,000 acres "This collection is especially powerful, because it demonstrates how climate change is destroying our environment across continents," said Lynsey Addario. "Showing people, not just telling them, why this is an urgent global issue is my primary goal; and I chose MakersPlace to launch my first NFT collection, because of our shared values. The company is committed to the environment with its carbon neutral drop program, and they are all about supporting creators who are looking to express themselves in new ways." The offsets from this drop will be allocated to high-quality forest conservation projects verified by American Carbon Registry and to emerging technologies such as Charm industrial that capture carbon from biomass waste and permanently store it underground. For more information on the drop, visit https://makersplace.com/lynseyaddario/drops/from-the-flames/ About MakersPlaceMakersPlace is the premier NFT marketplace for digital art. Launched in 2018, MakersPlace utilizes blockchain technology to facilitate the sale of authentic, original digital artwork, ensuring rarity and ownership for both creators and collectors. MakersPlace has emphasized accessibility since its inception and has attracted a large mainstream audience as the first NFT marketplace to accept both cryptocurrency (ETH) and non-cryptocurrency (USD) payments, which it facilitates through crypto wallet and credit card transactions, respectively. MakersPlace helped catapult digital art and NFTs onto the global stage, with the historic sale of Beeple's Everydays: The First 5000 Days for $69.3 million in partnership with Christie's auction house in March 2021 the record price for any digital artwork. Our mission is simple: to enable a vibrant future for digital creativity. Please visit: https://makersplace.com/ About Lynsey AddarioPulitzer Prize-winning American photojournalist Lynsey Addario has covered global humanitarian crises and conflicts for the past 20 years. She is a regular contributor to The New York Times and National Geographic. Throughout her career, Addario has covered conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Darfur, Congo,South Sudan, Yemen, and Libya, where she was among four New York Times journalists kidnapped in 2011.Currently, Addario is covering the war in Ukraine for The New York Times. Addario has been the recipient of numerous international awards throughout her career, including as a member of the Pulitzer Prize team for International Reporting for her photographs in 'Talibanistan,' published in the New York Times Magazine, and a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship. American Photo Magazine named Lynsey one of the five most influential photographers of the past 25 years, writing that "Addario changed the way we saw the world's conflicts." About IoconicIoconic is a VC-backed full-service partnership business for brand owners, individual IP holders and licensors, offering exposure to the NFT and digital asset industry. Ioconic's services to brands cover digital asset strategy formulation, branded digital ecosystem development, branded tokenisation, marketing, and distribution. Established by licensing experts as well as NFT and blockchain specialists, Ioconic's wide network and experience allows Ioconic to create unique solutions for partners to successfully digitise their brands. Media Contact: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pulitzer-prize-winning-photojournalist-lynsey-addario-to-release-from-the-flames-on-makersplace-an-nft-collection-calling-attention-to-the-deadly-effects-of-climate-change-301559392.html SOURCE MakersPlace New funding will allow RealWear to build a fully integrated software, hardware and cloud subscription platform to further empower frontline workers SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- At Augmented World Expo (AWE), RealWear, the world's leading provider of assisted reality solutions for frontline industrial workers, today announced that it closed its Series C for $23.5M. Led by Foundry Group, the new raise enables RealWear to shift and expand from a hardware-centric to a platform-centric company, creating even deeper connections to, and value for, its global customers. "The funding marks the next stage of growth for the business, as we provide technology for frontline workers toward a vision of assisted intelligence where contextual data for the frontline leads to better decisions, ultimately improving operational productivity and safety," said Andrew Chrostowski, Chairman and CEO, RealWear. "In addition to building new hardware, we will use these new funds to grow a unified software and services platform across our human-centric wearable products. Expect more game-changing tech to come." Currently, 41 of Fortune 100 companies are using RealWear devices for business resiliency, productivity, training and employee engagement including Mars Petcare, Goodyear, Colgate-Palmolive and ExxonMobil. RealWear partners will be able to tie into our cloud systems to improve their understanding of app performance and aggregate device utilization. RealWear will introduce the vision for Assisted Intelligence for the first time at AWE. At the booth, RealWear will be previewing the following using RealWear Navigator 500: IBM Inspector Wearable real-time image and reality matching assisted reality solution for the automotive industry using AI with computer vision and machine learning to identify manufacturing defects in real-time for frontline workers. Transition Technologies PSC with SLAM - label assets as digital overlays anchored to physical assets within a 2.5D environment. The system will display real-time IoT sensor data and images including pressure readouts. At the end of last year RealWear launched its next generation assisted reality device, RealWear Navigator 500, which is the first commercially available head-worn device with a modular design. "RealWear delivers real customer value through its line of assisted reality products. They empower the frontline workforce, providing them information and expertise in real-time that brings value to large global organizations whose priorities are productivity and safety," said Brad Feld, partner at Foundry Group. "This new investment will allow RealWear to expand its hardware, software and cloud offerings." Former investors also joined this round, including Qualcomm Ventures, Kopin and Columbia Ventures Corporation. According to global technology intelligence firm ABI Research, total enterprise smart glasses shipments will grow at a 63% CAGR over the next five years, with over 27 million shipments seen in 2027. RealWear's position as a platform-centric business will provide customers new tools and insights of whole-fleet utilization and the associated workflows. Please join Rama Oruganti, RealWear Chief Product Officer, at 11:40-12:05 PM PST for his talk "Future of Work: Digital Transformation for the Frontline" in the Grand Ballroom, Enterprise Track. About RealWear RealWear is the world's leading provider of assisted reality wearable solutions that engage, empower, and elevate the modern frontline industrial worker to perform work tasks more safely, and with increased efficiency and precision. RealWear gives these workers real-time access to information and expertise, while keeping their hands and field of view free for work. RealWear is field proven with world-class customers, including Shell, Goodyear, Mars, Colgate-Palmolive, and BMW, who use it to improve workplace safety while delivering unprecedented ROI. RealWear is headquartered in Vancouver, Washington in the United States, with local offices in the United Kingdom, Singapore, Germany, Australia, the Netherlands, and Japan, along with a new customer experience center in Dubai. RealWear's number one position was further strengthened with triple (3X) year-over-year growth in 2020. The company has shipped wearable devices to thousands of enterprise customers worldwide in a range of industries, including Energy, Manufacturing, Food & Beverage, Automotive, and Telecommunications. For more information, visit www.realwear.com CONTACT: [email protected][email protected]415-819-7791 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realwear-raises-23-5m-to-turn-successful-industrial-wearable-into-high-growth-assisted-intelligence-platform-business-301558519.html SOURCE RealWear Learn best practices and hear insights from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital oncologists, psychologists, scientists and more at the annual gathering of clinical oncology experts. MEMPHIS, Tenn., May 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Professionals from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital will share original research and expertise at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting. The meeting will be held June 48, at McCormick Place in Chicago and include online lectures. ASCO is the premier professional society for clinical oncology, representing nearly 45,000 individuals dedicated to cancer care. 2022 ASCO Pediatric Oncology Award Amar Gajjar, M.D., Department of Pediatric Medicine and Department of Oncology chair, will receive the 2022 ASCO Pediatric Oncology Award. Gajjar has been honored with this year's award for his work leading clinical trials developing novel treatments for pediatric brain tumors. He will accept the award in person and have a pre-recorded lecture available on-demand, online. He is the seventh investigator from St. Jude to receive the honor. The award presentation is 9:30 a.m. CST, Saturday, June 4 in N Hall B1. A new approach to neuroblastoma Neuroblastoma is a rare pediatric cancer that develops in neuroblasts, cells which develop into nerve cells. High-risk neuroblastoma has a survival rate of about 50%. In a pilot study, St. Jude researchers worked with the clinical trials organization Children's Oncology Group. Together, they found that adding the chemoimmunotherapy dinutuximab to the treatment of pediatric patients with recurrent or refractory neuroblastoma produced a response rate of 86.8%. Sara Federico, M.D., St. Jude Department of Oncology, will present the results in her talk "A Pilot Induction Regimen Incorporating Dinutuximab and Sargramostim for the Treatment of Newly Diagnosed High-risk Neuroblastoma: A Report from the Children's Oncology Group." Federico's talk complements other research about disparities in high-risk neuroblastoma survival that is being presented at the meeting. Federico's talk is 3:36 p.m. CST, Monday, June 6, in room S406, as part of the Pediatric Oncology session. A Global Perspective Two St. Jude researchers are included in the ticketed session, "Meet the Professors: Improving Childhood Cancer Outcomes Worldwide." Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, M.D., St. Jude Global Pediatric Medicine chair, will present "Life During Wartime: SAFER Ukraine." Catherine Lam M.D., Global Pediatric Medicine, will report on "Improving Worldwide Outcomes in Pediatric Oncology: The World Health Organization Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer." The session begins at 4:45 p.m. CST, Saturday, June 4, in room E253b. Educational session in medulloblastoma Paul Northcott, Ph.D., St. Jude Department of Developmental Neurobiology, will present "The Genetics and Epigenetics of Medulloblastoma: Implications for Risk Stratification." His talk is part of the "Medulloblastoma: Molecular Classification, Risk Stratification, and Therapeutic Implications" educational session. It is at 11:30 a.m. CST, Sunday, June 5, in room S504. Conquer Cancer awards Three St. Jude researchers will receive Conquer Cancer awards from the ASCO foundation at the annual meeting. Dylan Graetz, M.D.,, Department of Global Pediatric Medicine, will receive a Career Development Award, which provides three years of research funding to promising early career investigators developing their own clinical cancer research program. Caitlyn Duffy, M.D., Department of Oncology, and Marta Salek, M.D., Department of Oncology, will both receive Global Oncology Young Investigator Awards. This award funds early-career investigators tackling global health needs. Presenting original research posters Scientists from St. Jude will present original research on a variety of topics at poster sessions throughout the conference. The primary focus of these posters will be pediatric oncology, including neurocognitive or cardiac function post-treatment. The posters also assess new cancer therapies and connect nutrition with treatment-induced disease. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and cures childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Treatments developed at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to 80% since the hospital opened more than 60 years ago. St. Jude freely shares the breakthroughs it makes, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. To learn more, visit stjude.org or follow St. Jude on social media at @stjuderesearch. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/st-jude-research-highlighted-at-annual-meeting-of-the-american-society-of-clinical-oncology-301558397.html SOURCE St. Jude Children's Research Hospital CALGARY, AB, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Vermilion Energy Inc. ("Vermilion", "We", "Our", "Us" or the "Company") (TSX: VET) (NYSE: VET) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Myron Stadnyk to our Board of Directors. Mr. Stadnyk brings over 35 years of business and industry knowledge, with extensive experience in senior leadership, cost management, operational effectiveness, governance, health, safety, and environment. He most recently served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of ARC Resources Ltd. where he led ARC's transformation from a royalty trust to a top-tier Montney producer demonstrating outstanding strategic leadership. Prior to ARC, Mr. Stadnyk worked at a major oil and gas company in both domestic and international operations. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Crescent Point Energy Corp., Prairie Sky Royalty Ltd. and the University of Saskatchewan Engineering Trust. Mr. Stadnyk holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program. He is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta and served as a Governor for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers for over 10 years. We are excited to welcome Mr. Stadnyk to our Board of Directors, and look forward to his diverse skills, perspectives and expertise contributing to the ongoing success of Vermilion. About Vermilion Vermilion is an international energy producer that seeks to create value through the acquisition, exploration, development and optimization of producing assets in North America, Europe and Australia. Our business model emphasizes free cash flow generation and returning capital to investors when economically warranted, augmented by value-adding acquisitions. Vermilion's operations are focused on the exploitation of light oil and liquids-rich natural gas conventional resource plays in North America and the exploration and development of conventional natural gas and oil opportunities in Europe and Australia. Vermilion's priorities are health and safety, the environment, and profitability, in that order. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of the public and those who work with us, and the protection of our natural surroundings. We have been recognized by leading ESG rating agencies for our transparency on and management of key environmental, social and governance issues. In addition, we emphasize strategic community investment in each of our operating areas. Employees and directors hold approximately 4% of our outstanding shares and are committed to delivering long-term value for all stakeholders. Vermilion trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol VET. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vermilion-energy-inc-announces-appointment-of-a-new-board-member-301559671.html SOURCE Vermilion Energy Inc. 8-K false 0001673358 0001673358 dei:OtherAddressMember 2022-05-27 2022-05-27 0001673358 2022-05-27 2022-05-27 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549 FORM 8-K CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): Yum China Holdings, Inc. (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter) Delaware 001-37762 81-2421743 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) (Commission File Number) (IRS Employer Identification No.) Yum China Building 7100 Corporate Drive 20 Tian Yao Qiao Road Plano , Texas 75024 Shanghai 200030 United States of America Peoples Republic of China (Address, including zip code, of principal executive offices) ( 469 ) 980-2898 (Registrants telephone number, including area code) Not Applicable (Former name or former address, if changed since last report) Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions: Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share YUMC New York Stock Exchange 9987 The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (240.12b-2 of this chapter). Emerging growth company If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. 1 Item 5.07. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders. Yum China Holdings, Inc. (the Company) held its 2022 annual meeting of stockholders on Friday, May 27, 2022, at 8:00 a.m. Beijing/Hong Kong time (Thursday, May 26, 2022, at 8:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern time) via the internet at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/YUMC2022 (the Annual Meeting). A total of 364,481,733 shares, or 86.02% of the Companys outstanding common stock, were present virtually or represented by proxy at the Annual Meeting, constituting a quorum. At the Annual Meeting, the Companys stockholders: (i) elected the 10 director nominees listed below to serve until the 2023 annual meeting of the Companys stockholders; (ii) ratified the appointment of KPMG Huazhen LLP as the Companys independent auditor for 2022; and (iii) approved, on an advisory basis, the Companys named executive officer compensation. Set forth below are the voting results for each of the proposals presented at the Annual Meeting: Proposal 1: The election of 10 director nominees to serve until the 2023 annual meeting of the Companys stockholders: Director Name For Against Abstain Broker Non-Votes Fred Hu 318,338,897 4,873,980 384,080 40,884,776 Joey Wat 322,103,048 1,113,040 380,869 40,884,776 Peter A. Bassi 320,207,516 3,004,552 384,889 40,884,776 Edouard Ettedgui 320,036,146 3,168,871 391,940 40,884,776 Cyril Han 321,847,526 1,364,018 385,413 40,884,776 Louis T. Hsieh 306,660,590 16,548,787 387,580 40,884,776 Ruby Lu 315,696,118 7,537,606 363,233 40,884,776 Zili Shao 321,229,855 1,979,318 387,784 40,884,776 William Wang 321,423,012 1,779,922 394,023 40,884,776 Min (Jenny) Zhang 320,627,616 2,609,005 360,336 40,884,776 Proposal 2: The ratification of the appointment of KPMG Huazhen LLP as the Companys independent auditor for 2022: For Against Abstain Broker Non-Votes 362,835,169 1,202,230 444,334 0 Proposal 3: An advisory vote to approve the Companys named executive officer compensation: For Against Abstain Broker Non-Votes 285,947,228 36,272,523 1,377,206 40,884,776 2 SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized. YUM CHINA HOLDINGS, INC. By: /s/ Joseph Chan Name: Joseph Chan Title: Chief Legal Officer Date: June 1, 2022 3 The U.S. Army is planning its first Patriot missile air-defense exercise on Palau amid efforts by China to woo other Pacific island nations with offers of economic and security cooperation. Okinawa-based soldiers from 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Battalion are expected to fire the Patriot during a June 15 drill, Capt. Nicholas Chopp, a spokesman for the 94th Air and Missile Defense Command at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, told Stars and Stripes by phone Wednesday. Its going to be the first time we have done [a Patriot live-fire drill] on Palau, he said. And its the second one west of the International Date Line. Palau, one of a handful of nations that recognize Taiwan as independent of China, was excluded from Beijings recent offer of economic and security assistance to 10 Pacific island nations, including nearby Micronesia, The Associated Press reported Saturday. Chinese outreach to small states in the region, which included a security pact signed with the Solomon Islands in April, has alarmed U.S. allies and partners such as Australia and New Zealand. This months exercise in Palau has been in the works for more than a year and isnt a response to Chinas diplomatic moves, Chopp said. The Army is sending a pair of Patriot launchers as well as radar and command and control systems and an unspecified number of soldiers to Palau for the exercise, he said. Patriot Advanced Capability-2 missiles can travel up to 60 miles and reach as high as 20 miles, according to the Missile Defense Agency. Palau has been involved in other U.S. exercises, including Operation Christmas Drop in December, an annual humanitarian assistance exercise involving the 374th Airlift Wing out of Yokota Air Base, Japan. In December 2020, following a visit by then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Palauan President Tommy Remengesau Jr. proposed building joint-use military facilities in his country, which the U.S. could use as needed. The Patriot drill signals renewed interest and commitment by the U.S., Ralph Cossa, president emeritus of the Pacific Forum think tank in Hawaii, said by phone Wednesday. The Army has moved its Patriot batteries around the Pacific frequently in the past year. In March, a U.S. Navy hovercraft delivered one of the surface-to-air systems to a Philippine beach for the first time during amphibious drills by U.S. and Philippine troops. That same month, four launchers and 130 soldiers from the Armys Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment deployed from Okinawa for the annual Balikatan 22 drills involving 5,100 U.S. and 3,800 Philippine troops. On Guam in September and November, a theoretical Patriot battery was incorporated into air-defense tests involving a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, battery and an Iron Dome system brought from Texas by the 2nd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment. A Patriot battery deployed to Japans southern island of Amami during last summers annual Orient Shield exercise. Also last summer, 65 soldiers from the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade deployed to Australia with a pair of Patriot launchers, a radar, power plant, control station and brigade and battalion command posts during the biennial Talisman Sabre drills. Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See more stories here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. LANDSTUHL, Germany U.S. troops are unlikely to have to endure a repeat of the heavy COVID-19 restrictions they faced during the early days of the pandemic, the Armys new top health officer in Europe said Wednesday. The extreme lockdown that we experienced, I dont think well see that again, Brig. Gen. Clinton Murray told Stars and Stripes after taking command of Regional Health Command-Europe. The regional command provides medical and dental services to personnel in about 40 countries, including support for troops in U.S. central and Africa commands. Murray took charge of the unit from Brig. Gen. Mark Thompson in a ceremony at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. Soldiers stood in close formation before dozens of attendees, all without masks. It contrasted starkly with the welcome Thompson received when he arrived in the spring of 2020, in the early stages of an outbreak that countries the world over struggled for two years to control. In his speech Wednesday, Thompson recalled the challenges of assuming command as the COVID-19 pandemic began raging. He thanked the medical staff, who he said had administered some 210,000 vaccine doses and 360,000 coronavirus tests. You collectively did the impossible over the last two years, Thompson said. Thompson also noted efforts by the command to care for Afghan evacuees who passed through U.S. bases in Germany on their way to the United States after the fall of their country to the Taliban. Medical staff at Landstuhl treated 391 Afghan patients and delivered 26 babies, he said. Thompson will head to U.S. Army Medical Command headquarters at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, said Gino Mattorano, a spokesman for Regional Health Command-Europe. He will trade cities with Murray, who previously helmed Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. The harsh restrictions at the beginning of the pandemic were due to concerns about a lack of hospital beds as well as the absence of vaccines and testing tools, which are now available, Murray told Stars and Stripes. Health officials will have to see whether the virus continues to mutate into new variants. But should that happen, theyre more prepared than they were at the beginning of the pandemic, he added. We may move back and forth on wearing masks and having events, changing a little bit of what we do, but I dont think well ever go back to when we truly shut down, Murray said. Murray specialized in infectious diseases at multiple points during his career, according to a biography provided by Regional Health Command-Europe. He completed a fellowship in infectious diseases in 2002 and reviewed infection control procedures during a deployment to Afghanistan in 2012. He is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, a medical association based in Arlington, Va. WASHINGTON President Joe Biden on Wednesday presided over the Coast Guards change-of-command ceremony that officially made Adm. Linda Fagan the first female officer in charge of an U.S. armed service branch. She will be the first woman to serve as commandant of the Coast Guard, the first woman [to lead] any branch to the United States armed forces, and it's about time, Biden said. The secretary of defense, when he sent me the name, I said, 'What in the hell took you so long?' Fagan replaced Adm. Karl Schultz as commandant. Its not the first time that Fagan has been the first woman to break a barrier in the military. Last year, she became the first female four-star admiral in the Coast Guard when Biden appointed her as the service's vice commandant. The 1985 Coast Guard Academy graduate previously served as commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area, overseeing all Coast Guard missions from the Rocky Mountains to the East Coast of Africa, according to the service. Fagan is also the services first-ever Gold Ancient Trident, which is the officer with the longest service record in the marine safety field, according to the Coast Guard. Today is about you, she told the Coast Guard members at the ceremony. I'm honored and humbled to serve as your commandant. Thank you for your dedication, your hard work and your service. It's my greatest privilege to work on your behalf. Fagan was 16 when she arrived at the Coast Guard Academy in 1981, just five years after the first women were allowed to attend the school, she said during the ceremony. At the time, only 8% of the academy's students were women, Biden said. Now, women make up about 40% of the student body. Schultz, who has served as Coast Guard commandant since 2018, will retire nearly 40 years after he graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1983, he said during the ceremony. Schultz oversaw the service through multiple challenges, including the busiest hurricane season on record, the coronavirus pandemic and increasing tensions with China over illegal fishing in the territorial waters of other Western Pacific nations. He also led the force through a 35-day government shutdown in early 2019 that temporarily stopped paychecks for Coast Guard members, who fall under the Department of Homeland Security and thus are not protected from furloughs such as other military services in the Defense Department. Biden said the Coast Guard will be called upon more and more frequently in the coming decade to underwrite international maritime security, to keep sea lanes open and secure, to follow rules based international order [and] to protect the waters through which nearly one quarter of the United States [Gross Domestic Product] is transported. The president said the Coast Guard will also be called upon to manage the impact of climate change [with] more extreme weather and growing migration flows. "As we look to the years and decades ahead, the Coast Guard is only going to play an increasingly prominent role in our homeland and national security challenges, Biden said. The challenges we face continue to evolve, and the choices we make today are literally going to shape the direction of the world throughout the 21st century. President Joe Bidens May visit to Asia was timely especially in the wider context of international developments, in Europe, the Americas and elsewhere. Chinas sustained military buildup requires a diplomatic and strategic response, and clearly, this was a principal though not the only incentive for the trip. The journey included Japan and South Korea, the two largest Asia economies outside of China. Both are close United States allies. The Korean War of 1950-53 forged a powerful tie. South Koreas evolution afterward to political democracy and economic powerhouse is extraordinary. Biden spent three of the five days of the trip in South Korea, including a wreath laying May 21 at Seoul National Cemetery to honor Korean War dead. Talks with new President Yoon Suk Yeol followed. On May 24, high-level talks took place in Tokyo among leaders of the Quad, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, reestablished in 2017 following unsuccessful earlier efforts. The Quad leaders who met in Japan: Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and Biden. China accuses Quad nations of trying to replicate NATO. That analogy neglects the great distances and associated challenges of the Asia theater. NATO ties together largely contiguous nations of Europe, along with North America. Along with geographic realities, important differences in histories characterize the Quad. Nonetheless, the enormous growth of Chinas military, in particular the maritime dimension, provides powerful incentive for this allied cooperation. The Obama administration declared Asia a priority concern for defense policy. This reflects the threat from China, and more generally the expanding strategic importance of Asia. Since the mid-1980s, the total volume of U.S. trade with Asia has been larger than with Europe. In the wake of collapse of the Soviet Union, and end of the Cold War, international relations have become more flexible and unpredictable. The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation organization is an ambitious initiative to provide policy coordination among the Pacific nations. APEC was conceived by Australias Prime Minister Bob Hawke and embraced enthusiastically by President George H.W. Bush and Secretary of State James Baker. Australia over the past several decades has moved in the direction of free markets, and a much more explicit national commitment to tolerance, directly reflected in official policy toward indigenous populations. The Obama administration decision to station a U.S. Marine contingent in Australia underscores the strong bilateral ties between the two nations, dating back to World War II. The 2006 APEC summit was held in Vietnam. The gathering highlighted that nations economic growth, and commitment to multilateralism. As with China, economic realities forced ideological change. Hanoi honored U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and our government with a parade, complete with American flags an ironic as well as poignant gesture. There are military security aspects to APEC summits, just as with the Quad. In the 2008 summit held in Peru, Americans and Russians discussed differences over Moscows invasion of Georgia, important background given Russias invasion of Ukraine. There is nothing new about economic dimensions of war as well as diplomacy. The American Revolutionaries emphasized vital importance of financial aid from France and the Netherlands. President Abraham Lincoln and associates from the start of our Civil War gave disciplined attention to financing the conflict, and economic pressure on the Confederacy. The Pacific region generally lacks the complex established network of economic and military organizations defining Atlantic area relationships. For this reason especially, APEC and the Quad are significant. For decades, Cold War division defined relationships among nations. Today, economic incentives and related self-interest undermine ideological hostilities. This unfolding reality may or may not change Chinas strategy. Therefore, Bidens blunt declaration of commitment to Taiwan is justified. Beijing is on notice. Asia-Pacific democracies are strong, and united. Arthur I. Cyr is the author of After the Cold War. BEIJING China's support for Russia through oil and gas purchases is irking Washington and raising the risk of U.S. retaliation, foreign observers say, though they see no sign Beijing is helping Moscow evade sanctions over its war on Ukraine. Beijing's importance as a lifeline to Russian President Vladimir Putin rose Monday after the 27-nation European Union, the main market for fossil fuels that supply most of Moscow's foreign income, agreed to stop oil purchases. President Xi Jinping's government declared ahead of Russia's Feb. 24 attack that it had a "no limits" friendship with Moscow and has kept the West guessing about whether it might bail Putin out. China rejects the sanctions as illegal because the United States, Europe and Japan cut off Russia from their markets and the global banking system without working through the United Nations, where Beijing and Moscow have veto power. The sanctions don't prohibit China, India or other countries from buying Russian oil and gas. But President Joe Biden has warned Xi of unspecified consequences if Beijing helps Moscow evade sanctions. That leaves open the risk Chinese companies might be punished by losing access to valuable Western markets. Beijing appears to be complying. But state-owned companies are buying more Russian oil and gas, which gives the Kremlin export income. They also are potential investors in Russian energy projects as Western companies leave. "The Biden administration will likely become increasingly exasperated at China's continued support for Russia," Neil Thomas of Eurasia Group said in an email. That increases the likelihood of "unilateral moves to punish Beijing" and "allied coordination on economic security measures aimed at countering China," Thomas said. The conflict adds to tension with Washington over Taiwan, Hong Kong, human rights, trade, technology and Beijing's strategic ambitions. China poses the "most serious long-term challenge to the international order," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a May 26 speech. Xi's government has tried to distance itself from Putin's war by calling for peace talks, but it avoids criticizing Moscow. Other governments "must not harm China's legitimate interests in any way" in dealing with Ukraine, warned a foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian. Monday's decision by EU leaders will cut imports of Russian oil by 90%, according to the head of its executive branch, Ursula von der Leyen. European customers have been paying Russia as much as $1 billion per day for oil, gas and coal. Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, responded on Twitter: "Russia will find other importers." Moscow is tiny as a trading partner for Beijing but an ally against what both resent as U.S. dominance in global affairs. China sees Russian oil and gas as a way to diversify supplies for its energy-hungry economy. China bought 20% of last year's Russian crude exports, according to the International Energy Agency. The two sides announced a new 30-year gas contract on Feb. 4, three weeks ahead of Moscow's attack on Ukraine, that the state newspaper Global Times said will increase annual supplies to China by about 25%. While the two are friendly, China is taking advantage of the situation to get cheaper energy and favorable business deals, said Maria Shagina of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "They would always capitalize on Russia's isolation," said Shagina. "But they would be very cautious not to violate sanctions outright." On May 24, while Biden was visiting Tokyo, Russian and Chinese warplanes carried out "strategic air patrols" above the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and the western Pacific. The Japanese government said bombers flew near Japan. Biden warned Xi during a March 18 video meeting not to give Moscow military or economic aid. Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said in March that Washington wouldn't tolerate China or any other country helping Moscow work around sanctions. The White House has criticized Beijing's "rhetorical support" for Putin. Washington is "monitoring closely" Chinese dealings with Moscow, the American Embassy said in a written response to questions. "We have not seen the provision of military equipment," it said. Asked about economic sanctions and possible violations, the embassy said it had nothing further. After BP and ExxonMobil announced they were pulling out of Russian oil and gas projects, "there are rumors state-owned Chinese companies might step in and acquire stakes," said Shagina. China's imports from Russia rose 56.6% over a year earlier in April to $8.9 billion, according to customs data. That helped Putin's government record a current account surplus, the broadest measure of trade, of $96 billion for the four months ending in April. Washington also is frustrated that India, the No. 3 global oil importer, is buying more from Russia to take advantage of low prices. The Biden administration is lobbying Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to stop. In March, the U.S. government told Asian and European allies that American intelligence had determined China indicated to Russia it would be willing to provide military support for the campaign in Ukraine and financial help to limit the impact of sanctions. Russia has been expelled from the global SWIFT network for bank transfers. China's credit card processor, UnionPay, refused to work with Russian banks after Visa and MasterCard stopped serving them, the Russian news outlet RBC reported in April. It said UnionPay worried it might be hit by "secondary sanctions" and cut off from the Western-controlled global financial system. China gave Moscow an economic lifeline following Western sanctions imposed over its 2014 seizure of Crimea from Ukraine. Beijing agreed to buy Russian gas in a deal estimated to be worth up to $400 billion over three decades. Moscow turned to Chinese state-owned companies to help pay for oil and gas development after Crimea-related sanctions cut off Western financing. "The help will never come for free," Shagina said. CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea A special operations officer in the South Korean army allegedly traded military secrets to a North Korean hacker in exchange for nearly $70,000 in cryptocurrency, according to a South Korean military affidavit. The army captain, identified in the redacted affidavit only as Kim, his surname, was arrested April 6 and charged with violating the National Security Act, military prosecutors state in the document. The allegations against Kim are absolutely shameful, said a former South Korean special forces officer and former commander of a joint support group. In my 19 year-career in the military, this is the first time Ive heard this kind of news, Lee Kwan Woo, a former commander in the Eighth Armys U.S.-South Korea joint support group, told Stars and Stripes by phone Wednesday. Special forces officers and noncommissioned officers are trained on security all of those members are trained very seriously to keep security. Kim attended South Koreas school of infantry in 2015, according to military records cited in the affidavit. He then served as a platoon leader for a reconnaissance company in 2016 and five years later became a company commander in the 13th Special Mission Brigade, according to Lee a special operations group specifically trained to capture or kill leaders in North Korea. In March 2020, an unidentified former classmate approached Kim with an offer of money in exchange for military information for a third party, according to the affidavit. Kim declined the offer, saying such an act is illegal, the affidavit states. Around six months later, Kim, now in financial straits due to online gambling, accepted his classmates offer, the affidavit said. The classmate introduced Kim to Boris, a man who claimed to be an ethnic Korean living in China. Boris, later identified as an agent for a North Korean hacking group, posed as an information broker working for an illegal sports-betting website, according to the affidavit. Boris claimed that information given to him would be passed on to Russian entities. Prosecutors alleged Kim began providing Boris information about South Koreas military in November. At Boris request, Kim used his cellphone to photograph the secured military networks login screen and sent the images through Telegram, an encrypted messaging service. In January, Kim allegedly collected additional photos, including the start-up screens for computers, for Boris. The North Korean agent was preparing a USB-type module containing a malicious program to hack into the military network, according to the affidavit. Kim went on to send pictures of wartime and peacetime operational plans to Boris, which would incur obvious danger to national security and interests, the affidavit said. Kim is believed by prosecutors to have received 0.89761 Bitcoin equivalent to roughly $28,300 as of Wednesday in exchange for his services between November and March. One Bitcoin reached an all-time high of roughly $68,000 in November. Its value plummeted since then and is currently trading at around $31,000, depending on cryptocurrency exchanges. U.S. officials in recent weeks have warned of a rise in North Koreas illicit activities involving cryptocurrency thefts and computer network attacks. These capabilities also support military operations and national security goals to collect information, garner illicit revenue, and spread propaganda, Navy Adm. John Aquilino, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, wrote in a statement submitted to Congress on May 17. Cyber-enabled financial theft, extortion campaigns, and cryptojackingcompromising computing resources to mine digital currency fund much of Pyongyangs weapons development programs. President Joe Biden on Tuesday confirmed that his administration is sending medium-range advanced rocket systems to Ukraine, responding to a top request from Ukrainian officials who say the weapons are necessary to curb the advance of Russian forces in the east. Biden said the more advanced rocket systems and munitions, which can pinpoint an enemy target nearly 50 miles away, will enable Ukraine to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield. His announcement triggered an angry response in Moscow on Wednesday. We believe that the United States is deliberately and diligently pouring fuel on the fire, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a news briefing. Such deliveries do not contribute to . . . the Ukrainian leaderships willingness to resume peace talks. Russia views any U.S. pledge to send advanced rocket systems and munitions to Ukraine extremely negatively, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the state-owned news outlet RIA Novosti. He called U.S. military support of Ukraine unprecedented and dangerous. However, Ukrainian officials have provided assurances that they would not use the weapons to strike targets inside Russia, a senior U.S. official said. Americas goal is straightforward: We want to see a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression, Biden said in an essay published Tuesday evening in the New York Times. We do not seek a war between NATO and Russia, his essay added. An announcement on advanced rocket systems had been expected this week, as officials weighed how to help Kyiv defend itself without further inflaming tensions with Russia. The United States is sending the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, which will extend Ukraines reach in the ongoing artillery war with Russia, a senior administration official said Tuesday. The United States will not provide the longest-range munitions for the system to Ukraine, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters. The advanced weapons are part of a new $700 million package of military equipment. HIMARS is a type of Multiple Launch Rocket System. Typical rockets fired by these systems have a range of about 43 miles, according to U.S. Army data. Ukrainians currently use a Russian-made version of this system, the official said. The Kremlin has warned that any country providing advanced weaponry to Ukraine will face harsh repercussions. On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the West has declared total war against Russia. Shortly after the essay published, Russias Defense Ministry said its strategic missile forces were conducting exercises in Ivanovo, northeast of Moscow. According to state media reports, the strategic missile division is Moscows main force responsible for nuclear deterrence of possible aggression. The exercises reportedly involve mobile launchers for the Yars, a Russian intercontinental ballistic missile. In his essay, Biden offered assurances to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the United States does not intend to provoke a wider conflict or the use of weapons of mass destruction. We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia, Biden wrote. He added that we currently see no indication that Russia has intent to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, though Russias occasional rhetoric to rattle the nuclear saber is itself dangerous and extremely irresponsible. Ukraines forces are already using U.S.-delivered M777 howitzers, which have a range of about 18 miles. Other sophisticated weapons the United States has sent include thousands of Stinger and Javelin shoulder-fired missiles. The addition of the HIMARS system to Ukraines arsenal comes as Kyiv loses ground to Moscow in an artillery-dominated battle in Donbas, despite the flood of U.S. and Western arms. Russian forces now control most of Severodonetsk, one of the last major Ukrainian-held areas of the eastern Luhansk region, local officials said Tuesday evening. Russia has pummeled the city for weeks, and capturing it would give the Kremlin a significant symbolic victory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address Tuesday that Moscows combat power is at maximum strength in the area. - - - The Washington Posts Mary Ilyushina and Annabelle Timsit contributed to this report. BAKHMUT, Ukraine Larisa Strelnikova arrived in this once peaceful town in an armored bus last week, dodging Russian shells and death. For the past three months, the 79-year-old had lived mostly underground, taking cover in her basement as Russian forces bombarded her beloved city of Severodonetsk. One day, her neighborhood market was destroyed; another day, the bus station. Then a Grad rocket slammed into her building, setting her apartment on fire. People rescued me and sent me here, she mumbled, still disoriented by the jarring turn of events in the winter of her life. She paused, then said: I gave birth to my children there. One is dead. I dont know where the other is. I cant remember when I spoke to him last. As Russian forces push deeper into Ukraines eastern Donbas region, hundreds are fleeing towns and villages every day, including areas once viewed as safe. Russian missiles and rockets are expanding their reach, striking civilian areas as far as 200 miles from the front lines. Severodonetsk and the communities that surround it are growing more desolate by the day. Many of our evacuees wait until the last minute, said Anatoliy Bezkrovny, the pastor of the Church of Grace in the nearby town of Pokrovsk, which has become a way station of sorts for those escaping. When the shelling and explosions intensify, when they see their houses destroyed, they flee. The church received 900 evacuees in April. Now it is getting as many as 300 people a day. Most are fleeing the region entirely, betting that the war will grind on for months and spread throughout Donbas. An escape route has taken shape, run by caring police officers and volunteers. Evacuees reaching Bakhmut are housed in churches or shelters, then taken to the nearest train station so they can travel to Dnipro, or continue to peaceful areas farther west. For the elderly, leaving means they will probably never return again to their homes, a final farewell to the lives they built for decades. I dont know where I will go now, said Strelnikova, in tears, as two elderly women nearby listened, their faces etched with concern. The civilian exodus from Ukraines east comes as Russian forces have captured the towns of Lyman and Svitlodarsk in recent days. They have surrounded Severodonetsk on three sides and are fighting fierce street battles with Ukrainian soldiers. Unfortunately, the front line divided the city in half, Oleksandr Stryuk, head of Severodonetsks military administration, said in an interview with a local network. But the city is still defending itself, the city is still Ukrainian. An estimated 90 percent of the citys buildings and all its critical infrastructure have been destroyed, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. If the Russians seize Severodonetsk, they will control nearly all of the Luhansk region and can threaten larger cities in the Donetsk region, the other part of Donbas. Authorities in Severodonetsk are frantically trying to get as many residents as possible to safety. On Monday, though, evacuations were temporarily halted as shrapnel from a Russian strike killed a French journalist who was traveling with a group of evacuees. In the military aspect, the situation is, unfortunately, getting worse, said Serhiy Haidai, head of Luhansks regional war administration. The closer the Russians get to Severodonetsk, the more opportunities they get for shelling. If before they only used Grads or artillery, now they also use mortars. Their tactic is to turn the city into a desert and then take the territory. Vyacheslav Todorov never expected to flee. Five generations of his close-knit family were raised in Severodonetsk and they never left. Not when the Nazis occupied the city in 1942, known then as Liskhimstroi, and not when the city fell under Soviet rule and was given its current name in 1950. Nor did the Todorovs flee in 2014 when Severodonetsk was briefly captured by Russian-backed separatists. So when Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, the family was determined to stay put and outlast the war. All 11 members of the Todorov clan stayed together, even as the Russian bombardment intensified, even as the hours they spent in their basement stretched to entire days and nights. They stayed as the grocery stores and pharmacies shuttered. They stayed as electricity and running water disappeared, using generators to charge their cellphones. When they ran out of supplies, they depended on charity from authorities. Whenever they could, they ordered food, gas and other necessities from Dnipro, 200 miles away, spending their savings on couriers who were willing to risk entering the city for a hefty price. When they ran out of gas, they piled up wood and cooked their food on a fire. We hoped it would end, said Vyacheslav Todorov, 32. Thats why we stayed. But the fighting drew ever closer. Ukrainian forces were in the city, firing rockets and artillery at the Russians from a trolley depot near their house. The Russians were shooting at the places where the Ukrainian troops were located, said Yevhen Todorov, 22, Vyacheslavs foster son. And then the Ukrainians would fire back. More than half the city is destroyed, chimed in Vyacheslav. Its like a new Mariupol, he added, referring to the southern port city that was heavily bombarded for weeks and was finally seized by the Russians in mid-May. Last week, after the family had spent three straight days in their basement, a shell struck a few feet away, shattering the windows of their home. There were so many explosions, said Vyacheslav. We thought our house would get destroyed. Thats when they finally decided to leave, along with their neighbors. Only one person stayed behind to look after his in-laws, who were too old to move. They are still hoping to survive, said Dmitry Todorov, Vyacheslavs 65-year-old father. But we lost our hope. They reached out to local police, who have evacuated an estimated 37,000 people from across Luhansk since the start of the invasion. This is now our mission, said Oleh Hryhorov, the Luhansk police chief. The war has changed the life and duties of the policeman. The family - all 11 of them - left the city in a convoy of police cars. In one of the vehicles was Larisa Strelnikova. To escape, the convoy had to cross one of two bridges still connected to the city. The Russian forces had destroyed a third bridge a few days earlier and were now bombing the others. We were shelled the whole time on the bridge, said Vyacheslav. We were praying we would live. After they crossed and reached the city of Lisychansk, the 45 evacuees were placed in a police-escorted armored bus to take them to Bakhmut. The 35-mile stretch of road is a constant target of Russian artillery. We heard the shelling all the time, a sort of whistling sound. Vyacheslav recalled. By nightfall, they had reached a bus station in Bakhmut, where two yellow buses waited to take them to a shelter for the night. As they arrived, they heard sounds of eight successive shells slamming into different parts of the city, a reminder that they hadnt fully escaped the war. The following morning, the evacuees got back on the buses and traveled 47 miles southwest to Pokrovsk, where they were greeted by volunteers at the Church of Grace. They put down their meager possessions - whatever they could carry in their hands - in front of the building. Then they sat down to eat a breakfast cooked by the nuns - pancakes with poppy seeds, soup, pickled cucumbers, coffee and tea. In one corner, Strelnikova sat with the two elderly women who were attentively listening to her story. Natalia Zinchenko, 70, had escaped with her 92-year-old mother-in-law, Nadia Dolupan, on the same armored bus. They, too, had seen their neighborhood market and the bus station destroyed. They, too, had nowhere to go. Zinchenkos granddaughter had fled weeks earlier, but Zinchenko and her mother-in-law didnt want to be a burden on her. Strelnikovas son, the last time she heard, lived in Svitlodarsk. It was now occupied by Russian forces. All three of us will stick together, said Zinchenko, who needed help to walk because of her severe arthritis. Strelnikova smiled, unable to fight back her tears. The three were waiting to go to the train station in Pokrovsk to travel to Dnipro later that afternoon. As they sat, another elderly woman came over. Her name was Lydmila Koroboko and she was 87. I dont have any family, she said. I am alone. The three ladies invited her to come with them. Bezkrovny, the pastor, watched the interaction and smiled. He had seen plenty of cases of elderly evacuees arriving alone and finding solace in others of their generation. He made a mental note to have some of his churchs volunteers meet the women in Dnipro. They will bring them to a nursing home or another church, he said. They will decide what to do with them. The day before, in Bakhmut, volunteers had come to evacuate Nelya Kamynin, along with 15 other residents of the city who wanted to flee. Among them was an elderly couple who had arrived two weeks before from the town of Popasna; now they were on the run again. At 92, Kamyina was the oldest of the group. Volunteers had entered her apartment, where they found her nearly catatonic, a result of her age, said her son, Ihor Kamynin, a 58-year-old university lecturer who had come down from Kharkiv to care for her. After three straight days of intense Russian bombing, he heard reports on Telegram channels that Russian troops were moving toward Bakhmut. He decided then it was time to evacuate his mother. Its becoming more and more dangerous here, said Ihor, adding that his own house in Kharkiv had been partly destroyed. This is the right decision. The volunteers wrapped Nelya up in a blanket and carried her down two flights of stairs, placing her in a large white van. Two hours later, there were two more elderly women lying next to her, and more evacuees in other vehicles. Nelya was born here in 1930, when the city was called Artemivsk. The Nazis occupied it from 1941 to 1943 and her family house was burned down, Ihor recalled his mother telling him. At one point, she and other children and some elderly people hid in the cellar of a church, he said. The same situation might happen here. Only now, she cant escape and hide in a cellar. His mother studied medicine and became a nurse. She lived for several years in Lithuania, where she met her future husband and Ihors father, who had fought in World War II. They returned to Bakhmut and had lived in the same apartment since 1963. She stayed there, even after her husband died. And she remained there, even as most of her neighbors left in recent weeks. They are not afraid of the city being captured, said Ihor, referring to the neighbors. They are worried about the shelling and being bombed. He had arranged for his mother to be cared for at a nursing home in Dnipro. He stepped inside the van and sat next to her as she lay there, her face turned upward. After picking up the other evacuees, the van took them to a hospital in the nearby city of Slovyansk to spend the night. Nelya never made it to Dnipro, said her son. She died at the hospital the following day. Her last wish was to be buried next to her husband and parents in Bakhmut. Ihor said he asked the military, volunteers, anyone he could find. But no one would take her remains back to a war zone. She was buried in Slovyansk. I wish I never evacuated her, said her son in a telephone call on Tuesday. She should have stayed in Bakhmut. Yevhen Semekhin contributed to this report. An annual U.S.-led naval exercise in the Baltic region that starts this weekend could allow Finland and Sweden to demonstrate their maritime prowess, potentially underscoring the contributions they might make as NATO members. Both countries long have been participants in Baltic Operations, or BALTOPS, but this year Sweden hosts opening events and other elements of the exercise, which kicks off Sunday. At least two other participating countries, Latvia and Germany, also will host events. Nordic navies excel at using small missile-armed warships and shore-based aircraft in concert with geography to make things tough on an aggressor, said James R. Holmes, a professor at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. He also noted the stealth Swedish submarine presence, which is an integral part of the countrys defense efforts. That strategy results in an imposing access- and area-denial network that NATO could use to effectively bar Russian access into the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean via the Skagerrak strait and Kattegat sea area. Sweden and Finland will join 14 NATO countries, including Germany, France and Turkey, as participants in BALTOPS, which focuses on amphibious operations, gunnery, anti-submarine and air defense exercises. Mine clearance operations, explosive ordnance disposal, use of unmanned underwater vehicles and medical response also are included, U.S. Naval Forces Europe said in a statement Friday. Sweden and Finland ditched decades of neutrality and applied for NATO membership May 18, one of the biggest geopolitical consequences of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. A successful exercise can show everyone that Sweden is a worthy partner for peace and war, which is what NATO is all about, Holmes said, adding that an excellent performance in BALTOPS should smooth the admissions process. However, he pointed out that Turkeys opposition to Swedish accession into NATO would have to be addressed. Turkey also has objected to Finlands application, saying both countries would need to make a serious commitment to addressing Turkish security concerns, which include perceived support of the Kurdistan Workers Party, which Ankara regards as a terrorist group. BALTOPS hosts are decided years in advance, so the choice of Sweden is unrelated to the war in Ukraine or the NATO bid, said Sebastian Bruns, a Fulbright scholar in residence at the U.S. Naval Academy and maritime expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Rather, Sweden cleverly plays the long game here in that it has since 2014 been a strong naval player who shows its active role in BALTOPS as tensions progressively rose, Bruns said. Swedish capabilities in coastal defense, corvette operations and conventional submarine operations will be a boon for BALTOPS participants, Bruns said. And Finnish expertise in small-boat operations and inshore coastal and archipelago defense will benefit U.S. service members as well as those from other NATO countries, he said. More than 45 ships, over 75 aircraft and about 7,000 personnel will participate in the exercise, which ends June 17. New to BALTOPS this year are religious services and consultation provided by chaplains from five participating countries, according to the U.S. Naval Forces Europe statement. Swedish efforts to host the exercise pre-sail conference, or safety briefing, began about three years ago, said Michaela Linge, head of communications for the Swedish Naval Warfare Center. KYIV, Ukraine The U.S. and Germany pledged on Wednesday to equip Ukraine with some of the advanced weapons it has long desired for shooting down aircraft and knocking out artillery, as Russian forces closed in on capturing a key city in the east. Germany said it will supply Ukraine with up-to-date anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems, while the U.S. announced it will provide four sophisticated, medium-range rocket systems and ammunition. The U.S. is trying to help Ukraine fend off the Russians without triggering a wider war in Europe. The Pentagon said it received assurances that Ukraine will not fire the new rockets into Russian territory. The Kremlin accused the U.S. of pouring fuel on the fire. Western arms have been critical to Ukraines success in stymieing Russias much larger and better-equipped military, thwarting its effort to storm the capital and forcing Moscow to shift its focus to the industrial Donbas region in the east. But as Russia bombards towns in its inching advance in the east, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly pleaded for more and better weapons and accused the West of moving too slowly. Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian presidents office, hailed the new Western weapons. Im sure that if we receive all the necessary weapons and strengthen the efficient sanctions regime we will win, he said. The new arms could help Ukraine set up and hold new lines of defense in the east by hitting back at Russian artillery pieces that have been battering towns and cities and by limiting Russian airstrikes, said retired French Gen. Dominique Trinquand, a former head of Frances military mission at the United Nations. "The NATO countries the European nations and the Americans have progressively escalated the means that they are putting at Ukraines disposal, and this escalation, in my opinion, has had the aim of testing Russian limits, he said. Each time, they measure the Russian reaction, and since there is no reaction, they keep supplying increasingly effective and sophisticated weaponry. Military analysts say Russia is hoping to overrun the Donbas before any weapons that might turn the tide arrive. It will take at least three weeks to get the precision U.S. weapons and trained troops onto the battlefield, the Pentagon said. But Defense Undersecretary Colin Kahl said he believes they will arrive in time to make a difference in the fight. The rocket systems are part of a new $700 million package of security assistance for Ukraine from the U.S. that also includes helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, radars, tactical vehicles, spare parts and more. The rockets have a range of about 50 miles (80 kilometers) and are highly mobile. Ukraine had pushed unsuccessfully for rockets with a range of up to 186 miles (300 kilometers). Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow does not trust assurances that Ukraine will not fire on Russian territory. We believe that the U.S. is deliberately and diligently pouring fuel on the fire, he said. Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintzev later went further, directly accusing Ukraine of planning to fire U.S.-provided missiles from the northeastern Sumy region at border areas in Russia. The claim, which he said was based on radio intercepts, couldnt be independently confirmed. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Ukraines push for more weapons is a direct provocation intended to draw the West into the fighting. He warned that the multiple rocket launchers would raise the risk of an expanded conflict. Sane Western politicians understand those risks well, he said. As the new weapons shipments were announced, a Russian missile hit rail lines in the western Lviv region, a key conduit for supplies of Western weapons and other supplies, officials said. Regional Gov. Maksym Kozytskyy said five people were wounded in Wednesday's strike, and the head of Ukrainian railways said the damage was still being assessed. Germany's promise of IRIS-T air defense systems would mark the first delivery of long-range air defense weapons to Ukraine since the start of the war. Earlier deliveries of portable, shoulder-fired air defense missiles have bolstered the Ukrainian militarys ability to take down helicopters and other low-flying aircraft but didnt give it enough range to challenge Russias air superiority. Germany has come under particular criticism, both at home and from allies abroad, that it isnt doing enough. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told lawmakers that the IRIS-T's surface-to-air missiles are the most modern air defense system the country has. With this, we will enable Ukraine to defend an entire city from Russian air attacks, he said. The radar systems will also help Ukraine locate enemy artillery. A regional governor said Russian forces now control 80% of Sievierodonetsk, a city that is key to Moscows efforts to complete its capture of the Donbas, where Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists have fought for years and where the separatists held swaths of territory even before the invasion. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said Russian troops were advancing in the city during fierce street battles with Ukrainian forces, though he noted that in some districts the Ukrainian troops managed to push them back. The only other city in Luhansk that the Russians have not yet captured, Lysychansk, is still fully under Ukrainian control, he said, but is likely to be the next target. The two cities are separated by a river. If the Russians manage to take full control over Sievierodonetsk within two to three days, they will start installing artillery and mortars and will shell Lysychansk more intensively, Haidai said. Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said the country is losing between 60 and 100 soldiers a day in the fighting. He turned the focus to children in his nightly video address, saying 243 of them have been killed in the war, 446 have been wounded and 139 are missing. The real numbers could be higher, he added, as his government doesnt have a full picture of areas under Russian occupation. Zelenskyy also said 200,000 children are among the Ukrainians who have been forcefully taken to Russia and dispersed across that vast country: The purpose of this criminal policy is not just to steal people but to make those who are deported forget about Ukraine and unable to return. In southern Ukraine, a regional governor sounded a more positive note, saying Russian troops were retreating and blowing up bridges behind them. They are afraid of a counterattack by the Ukrainian army, Vitaliy Kim, governor of the Mykolayiv region, said on the Telegram messaging app. ___ Jordans reported from Berlin. Associated Press writers Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine, Lolita C. Baldor in Washington and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. WASHINGTON The United States will send high-tech, medium-range rockets to Ukraine as part of another $700 million in military aid to help its forces stop advancing Russian troops in the eastern Donbas region, a senior White House official said Tuesday. We are giving the Ukrainians a range of capabilities that we think are commensurate with the fight that they are in on the battlefield and the conditions that exist today, the official told reporters by phone. The new aid package to be announced Wednesday will include High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS. Ukrainian officials have been pleading with U.S. officials for weeks to get the rocket systems, which can strike targets roughly 50 miles away. Some critics have argued sending the rocket systems could escalate the monthslong war, but Ukraine has agreed to a U.S. stipulation that the rockets not be used against targets in Russia, the White House official said. The Ukrainians have given us assurances they will not use these systems against targets in Russian territory and based on those assurances, were very comfortable that they will not, the official said. President Joe Biden on Monday pledged he would not send Ukraine rocket systems that can strike into Russia, though any ammunition placed close enough to the Russian border could fire into enemy territory. The fighting in Ukraine has been focused recently in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, which the Pentagon has said requires long-range munitions such as these types of rockets. Russia has made incremental progress in the region, a senior U.S. defense official said Friday, but the Ukrainians continue their fierce resistance. The official said criticisms about the potential for the rockets to be used against targets inside Russia distract from the Russian assault on a sovereign country. Russia is attacking inside Ukraine, not the other way around, the official said. I think that can't be stated enough because it's definitely a Russian goal to obfuscate that fact. The new aid package will also include helicopters, tactical vehicles, artillery rounds, counter-fire radars, air-surveillance radars and Javelin missiles, the official said. Some U.S. rocket systems can launch as far as 186 miles, depending on the type of munition, but the U.S. is not sending those at this time, the official said. We've decided not to provide the longer-range munitions and have communicated that to the Ukrainians, the official said. The U.S. has already sent weapons such as Javelin surface-to-air missiles and M777 howitzers in 10 previous military aid packages. The 11th package will bring the total dollar amount of equipment and weapons sent to Ukraine to more than $4.6 billion since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. Wednesdays package will be the first to come from the new $40 billion supplemental funding bill passed May 19, which allotted about $11 billion for military aid for Ukraine. White House officials did not say when the new aid would arrive in Ukraine. On average, it has taken about four days between the time a military aid package is approved to when it ships out to Europe, senior U.S. defense officials have said. The Cabinet secretary for the state Department of Veterans Services, Sonya Smith, told lawmakers Tuesday theres more bad news stemming from a federal committees recent recommendation to close small veterans health care clinics in Northern New Mexico. The recommendation also suggests moving behavioral health services for many rural New Mexico veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder to an Arizona clinic. For those of us who served ... we know that mental health is something that is critical, and the notion that we would move services out of state ... only creates more trauma, Smith said during a hearing held by the Legislatures interim Military and Veteran Affairs Committee. The one-sentence proposal, couched within the larger context of recommendations from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission, says demand for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) services (in the Albuquerque veterans hospital) will be met at the proposed new Anthem (Ariz.) clinic. Anthem, a Phoenix suburb, is more than 400 miles from Albuquerque. That clinic has not yet been built. The recommendations also include transferring some rural residential rehabilitation treatment programs to veteran health facilities in Tucson and Prescott, Ariz., as well as facilities in California. Smith, a U.S. Air Force veteran, said after the hearing such a proposal would have a terrible impact on our veterans dealing with mental and emotional challenges created by their military service. Sen. Nancy Rodriguez, D-Santa Fe, blasted the idea, saying because New Mexico is already struggling with providing adequate mental and behavioral health services for its residents, its unconscionable to even consider such a move. She said to displace those patients from their home state and say, Sorry, if you need services, go get them in Arizona, is no way to respect veterans. National reports have said veterans suffering from PTSD are more likely to consider taking their own lives. A 2021 suicide prevention report prepared by the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention said veteran suicides made up 13.7 percent of all adult suicides in 2019. Based on state Department of Health data, New Mexico suffered 515 suicides in 2019, the most recent year data was available. Of those, 68, or 44.2 percent, were veterans. Tuesdays interim committee hearing focused around concerns raised by the reports recommendations, released in mid-March, which said veterans agencies should centralize services in major hubs nationwide, where demand remains high. It recommends shutting down smaller facilities and letting community health centers provide services for veterans in affected areas. In New Mexico, the report suggests closing the veterans clinics in Espanola, Gallup, Las Vegas and Raton. Among other measures, that report used veteran health care enrollment data as a guidepost. The Las Vegas site saw a decrease in enrollment of over 55 percent in the past five years, the report says. Enrollment dropped by just 2.1 percent in that period at the Espanola facility, according to the report, but is expected to continue declining. The report suggests veterans in Espanola could drive to Santa Fe for services. While the report also recommended expanding space and services at the Albuquerque veterans hospital, its closure proposals drew immediate criticism and objections from New Mexicos congressional delegation, as well as state legislators and leaders of statewide veterans groups. New Mexico is home to over 148,300 military veterans, according to data provided by the state Department of Veteran Services. Several lawmakers, noting the reports reliance on military patient enrollment data, asked Smith if the state also keeps track of New Mexicans currently serving in the military. Those figures could be used to more accurately predict future veteran statistics and medical demand for those veterans, they said. Smith said her agency does not currently compile those numbers but said she will look into the possibility of doing that going forward. Smith said U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough plans to visit New Mexico in late June to learn more about our concerns regarding potential closure and visit the Gallup veterans medical clinic. Several lawmakers asked Smith to ask McDonough to take part in a public town hall meeting on the issue. They also suggested committee members sign off on a letter to McDonough voicing their objection to the reports closure recommendations. Smith emphasized that the federal suggestions remain just proposals at this point. Nothing has been set in stone yet, she said. ___ (c)2022 The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, N.M.) Visit The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, N.M.) at www.santafenewmexican.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. WASHINGTON The FBI thwarted a planned cyberattack on a children's hospital in Boston that was to have been carried out by hackers sponsored by the Iranian government, FBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday. Wray told a Boston College cybersecurity conference that his agents learned of the planned digital attack from an unspecified intelligence partner and got Boston Children's Hospital the information it needed last summer to block what would have been "one of the most despicable cyberattacks I've seen." "And quick actions by everyone involved, especially at the hospital, protected both the network and the sick kids who depended on it," Wray said. The FBI chief recounted that anecdote in a broader speech about cyber threats from Russia, China and Iran, and the need for partnerships between the U.S. government and the private sector. He said the bureau and Boston Children's Hospital had worked closely after a hacktivist attacked the hospital's computer network in 2014. Martin Gottesfeld launched a cyberattack at the hospital to protest the care of a teenager at the center of a high-profile custody battle; Gottesfeld later was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The attack against the hospital and a treatment home cost the facilities tens of thousands of dollars and disrupted operations for days. "Children's and our Boston office already knew each other well before the attack from Iran and that made a difference," Wray said. He did not ascribe a particular motive to the planned attack on the hospital, but he noted that Iran and other countries have been hiring cyber mercenaries to conduct attacks on their behalf. In addition, the health care and public health sector is classified by the U.S. government as one of 16 critical infrastructure sectors, and health care providers such as hospitals are seen as ripe targets for hackers. When it comes to Russia, he said, the FBI is "racing" to warn potential targets about preparatory actions that hackers are taking toward destructive attacks. In March, for instance, the FBI warned that it was seeing increased interest by hackers in energy companies since the start of Russia's war against Ukraine. Hackers from China have stolen more corporate and personal data from people in the United States than all other nations combined, as part of a broader geopolitical goal to "lie, cheat and steal their way into global denomination of global sectors," Wray said. The speech took place as the FBI continues to combat ransomware attacks from criminal gangs, a continuing concern for U.S. officials despite the absence of crippling intrusions in recent months. Wray emphasized the need for private companies to work with the FBI to thwart ransomware gangs and nation-state hackers. "What these partnerships let us do is hit our adversaries at every point from the victims' networks, back all the way to the hackers' own computers," Wray said. The FBI and other federal agencies have been working to assure hacking victims that it is in their best interest to report intrusions and cyber crimes. Many companies attacked by ransomware gangs often do not go to the FBI for a variety of reasons. Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, issued a report this year critical of the FBI's response to some ransomware victims. In two cases, the FBI "prioritized its investigative and prosecutorial efforts to disrupt attacker operations over victims' need to protect data and mitigate damage," the report said. One unnamed Fortune 500 company told committee staff that the FBI did not offer any "helpful assistance" when responding to a ransomware attack. Wray, though, cited the FBI's capacity to get a technically trained agent to any victimized company in an hour "and we use it a lot." ___ Suderman reported from Richmond, Virginia. COLUMBIA, S.C. (Tribune News Service) A cadet at South Carolinas military college The Citadel and his alleged accomplice have been given a Jan. 3, 2023, trial date in the case brought against them by the federal government in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot. On Wednesday, U.S. Judge Tanya Chutkan gave Elias Irizarry, of York County, a chance to finish his junior year fall semester, which ends in December. Irizarry had put off a decision on whether to go to trial or plead guilty numerous times, delays that allowed him to complete his sophomore year. Chutkan indicated it would be a trial by jury. Irizarry, a Trump supporter who sported a red Make America Great Again hat during the riot, and his alleged accomplice, Grayson Sherill, have both declined plea deals for lesser charges from the government. In December, they were indicted on revamped charges by a federal grand jury. Irizarry faces eight misdemeanor charges, including violent entry and disorderly conduct at the Capitol. Sherill, who lives across the North Carolina-South Carolina state line in Gaston County, faces a felony charge of assaulting an officer along with the same various misdemeanor charges that Irizarry faces. Both men have pleaded not guilty. Another man arrested with them, Elliot Bishai, has already pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in late June. Bishai and Irizarry were both in the Marine Corps JROTC at Nation Ford High School in Fort Mill before graduating in 2020. All three men were in a Gastonia, N.C., unit of the Civil Air Patrol at the time of the riot. In total, 16 South Carolinians have been charged for their involvement in the Capitol riot, seven of whom have pleaded guilty. Judge denied cadets summer abroad request Evidence against Irizarry and Sherill, who were turned in to the FBI by tipsters, includes numerous photos and videos, according to court records. Bishai pleaded guilty to entering a restricted area in the Capitol on April 25. He faces up to one year in prison on the misdemeanor conviction. An uncontested statement of fact from Bishais guilty plea stated Sherill, Irizarry and Bishai went together to former President Donald Trumps pre-riot Jan. 6 speech. At the Capitol, Sherill and Irizarry each had a metal pole in their hands, the statement said. With Irizarry, Bishai then followed the mob through a broken window next to the U.S. Senate wing and entered a conference room, where he sat in a chair. Irizarry and Bishai then went to the Capitol Crypt that has statues, where Bishai took pictures of Irizarry, the statement of fact said. They then entered the Capitol Rotunda, where Bishai and Irizarry climbed on top of statues and took selfies with their cellphones, the court statement of fact stated. Thousands of Trump supporters motivated by false widespread voter claims stormed on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the same day Congress was scheduled to formally count the electoral college votes that would ultimately declare President Joe Biden the 2020 election winner. The riot forced Congress to stop their vote, and caused members of Congress to flee and injured more than 100 police officers. Congress eventually returned to session and certified Bidens victory. This spring, Irizarry asked the judge if he could travel for three weeks to Europe near the Russian-Estonian border, visiting sensitive NATO and U.S. installations on a Citadel summer abroad program. But, in May, Chutkan denied Irizarry permission to leave the country, saying he had rejected a government plea offer while not trying in any way to move his case forward. The governments plea offer was made in December. Mr. Irizarry needs to re-examine his priorities, Chutkan said. He is facing federal charges in one of the most serious and consequential actions in this country over 100 years. Typically, criminal defendants in state and federal cases must surrender their passports and get permission from a judge to travel outside their state and especially abroad. Irizarrys effort to visit Estonia was not discussed during Wednesdays hearing. 2022 The State. Visit thestate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. PHILADELPHIA (Tribune News Service) The robots are here. An eagle-sized quadcopter flew above a wooded Schuylkill river bank, counting trees as it was designed to do in the forests of the Andes. Other robots swam underwater, where their hoops of mesh-like material billowed like jellyfish as they took pictures or searched for watercraft. Still others swarmed like mosquitoes, reading the landscape with GPS to find landing targets. Or they were seen wheeling and running, on four legs and two, as if practicing to further automate Amazons warehouses. The glory of robots in action was on full display last week in the halls and parking lots at Pennovation, the former paint factory that houses the University of Pennsylvanias engineering labs. Robots of various stripes and sizes also appeared at the Penn medical school, the nearby Singh Center for Nanotechnology, and the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Penn students, professors and business partners along with the worlds top robotic researchers and key companies were showing off dozens of their creations for the International Conference on Robotics and Automation, a yearly conclave organized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers based in New York City. About 4,500 guests from 89 countries have filled city hotels for the robot lollapalooza. And thats not counting remote viewers of the groups first in-person conference since the pre-pandemic year 2019. The show was first held in Philadelphia in 1988, and only returned this week larger than ever, said Vijay Kumar, Penns engineering school dean and past head of its General Robotics, Automation, Sensing & Perception (GRASP) Lab. This conference has 96 industry partners, pledging $868,000, a record amount, an IEEE spokesman said. The companies include warehouse operators led by Amazon, car makers such as Toyota, construction and farm equipment makers such as John Deere, and automation software developers such as Nvidia and Shield AI, Kumar said. A global outlook is much in evidence. The 54-member host committee, mostly professors, includes 24 from universities in Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada, and Australia. The U.S. market for robotics is $80 billion and growing by a robust 18% a year. Robotics has become a fundamental discipline in engineering education, said Kumar, who co-chaired the event with Penn engineering professor George J. Pappas. You have hardware and software levels. You drew integration from nature. The popularity of the Penn robotics lab, founded in 1979, helped Penn double its current roster of doctoral engineering students to about 800 since the mid-2010s, Kumar said. He credited the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, based in Maryland, for encouraging its many private contractors to support university research. Companies hire students, and take direct equity positions in professors and graduate students start-ups. Qualcomm bought Kumars own robotics firm, KMel Robotics, in 2015. Qualcomm and Nvidia fund his research, which has given birth to a string of start-ups, including South Philly mine-mapper Exyn Technologies, and Pennovation-based IQ Motion Control, which makes smart motors. The scene at Pennovation The Pennovation parking lots looked like a dog park from a Marvel superhero movie, with sturdy pet-like quadruped robots and even some human-like bipeds marching and responding to kicks from their operators to demonstrate their ruggedness. This one is water-resistant for half an hour. It has reversible motors, and is not camera-dependent [to sense what surrounds it], so it can stay balanced without being told how to respond by a human operator, said Avik De, chief technology officer of Ghost Robotics at Pennovation. It can do nine kilometers in three hours on one charge. It is full-sealed, so you can use it in the swamp, De added. It uses components you can buy off the shelf, in line with a keep-it-simple ethic cited by many of the Penn robot developers. It could be used for security in a remote environment, and routine patrol inspections. Penns link to a famous Turkish drone Robotics means business, and that business has often been war. The programs masters degree graduates include Selcuk Bayraktar, now the son-in-law of Turkish strongman President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Bayraktars Penn and MIT studies in robotics helped prepare him to build the military-products maker that mass-produces the lethal, low-cost drones that Turkey and its allies have used to kill Armenian, Kurdish and Syrian fighters from a distance. His last name has also become a popular folksong in Ukraine, where Bayraktar TB2 drones have been credited with slowing the Russian invasion. Some Penn roboticists are uncomfortable with the moral problem of their work being applied for killing. Bioengineering senior lecturer Brittany Shields addresses many of those issues in a required course on the ethics of robotics. Other robots on display are intentionally delicate. Penn doctoral student Dongsheng Chens diving robots, with side panels enlarging and closing like jellyfish, were inspired by origami, the Japanese art of folding paper. Another Penn doctoral student, Gedaliah Knizhnik, prepared a mini-quad-copter to land in a pool-sized water tank, where five floating mini-docks had assembled autonomously to receive it, aided by magnets. These are very simple bots, he explained. Manufacturers who develop a product for this application usually assume it has to go in any direction and install multiple motors and complex controls. But those are subject to failure, especially in watery conditions, he said. One-motor boats with simple flippers can do it, and just ride the flow for most of their observation period. You can save more than 70% on energy. Going super small Indeed, many of the robots on display made a virtue of simplicity. The Piccolissimo 2 drone drawn from the Italian word for smallest while honoring the name of developer Matt Piccoli is small enough to fit in a childs palm, and uses a single actuator to respond to stimuli a lighthouse beacon or an air current. It can be used for search-and-rescue or area patrols, said team head Drew Curtis. A team of cheap Piccolissimo 2 drones could swarm a target, like a flock of hummingbirds. Event-based cameras use LiDAR Laser Detection and Ranging instead of traditional light accumulation on a lens, to instantly process extra information from a subject. Its a next-generation camera because its effectively composed of many tiny cameras, each the size of a pixel, that combine their data into a much sharper image, said Kumar, the dean, stopping his tour to watch the camera display. This much more closely mimics the way the human eye works, so you need less data than a traditional camera. Its much less expensive, said camera project member Kenneth Chaney, as he used the camera to capture a fidget spinner toy whirling in real time instead of showing a blur like most cameras. With event-based cameras, each pixel is its own small camera, noted Claude Wang, another member of the team. It collects a lot more data than the eye can process. Tracking the trees Some of the drones can literally count and measure the trees in a forest like Google does for roads, said Argentina-born student Fernando Cladera, dashing down two flights of stairs to set his drone in the screen of oaks along the Schuylkill for an audience filling a third-floor lab. His Falcon 4 can fly for 35 minutes, using a lithium-ion battery, which weighs a third as much as earlier lithium-polymer systems. Postdoctoral researcher Marc Badgers Treeswift drone also zooms through forest canopies. Hes about to graduate and move to Boston, to work with another group of Penn grads, at Aescape.com, which aims to pioneer robot massage therapy. They use the same Penn software, which was developed to model bird flight, he marveled. A lot of robots are inspired by nature, said Kumar. But the reality is, we dont know much about nature, so engineers are using robots to learn more, in a self-reinforcing cycle. Super thin robots At the CMOS group of researchers, the robots are as thin as a human hair; a handful are displayed resting in a copper U.S. penny, in Lincolns ear. Thats about 300 microns across. These are dumb robots: no sensing, said Lucas Hanson, a Penn doctoral student who helps to fabricate them. They move in response to illumination and are expected to have medical applications, such as assembling gene therapies in the body. Sure enough, he turns up the light on the demonstrator, and the robots short trains of square electrodes and solar cells wiggle faster. Mathew Halm is using a desk-based, multi-elbowed robotic arm in a physically based learning experiment, tracking and fielding balls and blocks he throws past it, and mapping their trajectories and resting places so they become easier to find and read. We think it will be particularly useful for companies that want to automate warehouses, he said. So many new products a day, its impossible for humans to keep track of all of them. Hell be in Boston working for Amazon as an intern this summer. Its exciting, sometimes scary stuff. But, Kumar cautions: Robotics is very speculative. Its far from clear what will work. People severely underestimate the problems. We have been working on self-driving cars since 1987. Ten years ago the money was in drones. Now its self-driving cars. Its unclear where all this will be 10 years from now. But the fundamentals will still apply. 2022 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. WASHINGTON Four medium-range rocket systems will be included in the latest $700 million U.S. military aid package after continued calls by Ukrainian officials for the weapons, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said Wednesday. The High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, can strike targets roughly 50 miles away and are expected to help provide Ukraine additional precision in targeting at [a longer] range, Kahl told reporters at the Pentagon. By comparison, the M777 howitzer, the last significant artillery system that the U.S. provided Ukraine, has a maximum range of 15 miles. The U.S. has sent approximately 108 of those 155mm cannons to Ukraine since April. Kahl said the rockets were the Ukrainians top request in discussions about the weapons that they need to beat back Russian forces on the battlefield. The weapons and equipment in the latest aid package also includes four Mi-17 helicopters, 15 tactical vehicles, five counter-artillery radars, two air surveillance radars, 1,000 Javelin missiles, 6,000 anti-armor weapons, 15,000 155mm artillery rounds and various spare parts, Kahl said. "Right now, it's a concentrated artillery duel in the east, he said of the war thats now focused in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. In the last several days, the Russians have made some incremental progress in and around the Donbas. They have not had a decisive breakthrough, and the Ukrainians are putting up a heck of a fight." The aid package announced Wednesday will be the first to come from the new $40 billion supplemental funding approved by Congress on May 19, which allotted about $11 billion for military aid for Ukraine. Thanks to the additional funding for Ukraine, passed with overwhelmingly bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress, the United States will be able to keep providing Ukraine with more of the weapons that they are using so effectively to repel Russian attacks, President Joe Biden said in a statement announcing the additional aid. While the inclusion of the rockets is significant, Kahl warned no system is going to turn the war. This is a battle of national will. You have tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of men ... on each side, he said. It is a grinding, hard conflict and it's likely to be a conflict that will stretch on for a long time." In exchange for the rockets, Ukrainian officials promised U.S. officials that they would only use the HIMARS for defensive purposes and not target Russian territory to avoid further escalation in the war, Kahl said. "Ukraine is defending their territory, anything they're doing on the territory of Ukraine is defensive, he said. Some critics have said sending advanced weapons to Ukraine could further provoke Russias aggression, which Kahl said the Biden administration takes into consideration. President Biden has made clear, we have no intention of coming into direct conflict with Russia, we don't have an interest in the conflict in Ukraine widening to broader conflict or evolving into World War III, Kahl said. But at the same time, Russia doesn't get a veto over what we send to the Ukrainians. The four rocket systems had already been prepositioned in undisclosed European nations outside Ukraine. They will remain there before entering the fight as Ukrainian forces undergo training on the systems, which should take about three weeks, he said. Sometime in that timeframe you can start talking about getting the systems into the fire, Kahl said. The U.S. could send additional rocket systems and ammunitions in the future should it be necessary, he said. I think we need to see this kind of as a rolling process, Kahl said. As the fight continues to change, the Ukrainians come to us with their priorities [and] we make our own assessments." With the latest announcement, the U.S. has committed roughly $5.3 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration about $4.6 billion of which was sent since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to the Pentagon. It has been a bumpy year for the restraint coalition - that loose network of analysts, advocates and politicians calling for a sharply reduced U.S. role in the world. Having reached peak influence with the withdrawal from Afghanistan, this group initially found itself marginalized by Russias war in Ukraine. Now, the restraint crowd is offering a renewed critique of U.S. policy, one that will probably prove to be persistent, though not persuasive. Restraint is a broad church. It features anti-interventionist academics, who often style themselves as non-ideological realists, alongside well-funded think tanks such as the Quincy Institute. It includes libertarians such as Sen. Rand Paul who deplore the financial costs of U.S. foreign policy and progressives who contend that American globalism is a cover for imperialism and neoliberalism. There are pacifists who believe that all wars are criminal, as well as nationalists such as Sen. Josh Hawley who argue that being appropriately hawkish on China requires being more dovish on nearly everything else. Some restrainers seek wholesale global retrenchment; others mainly decry ongoing U.S. involvement in Europe and the Middle East. What unites them is a conviction that the overuse of U.S. power has been catastrophic for America and the world. This coalition seemed ascendant a year ago, when President Joe Biden denounced the forever wars while pulling out of Afghanistan. That decision, two analysts argued, marked Biden as a hard-nosed realist - and perhaps an ally in the struggle to reshape American diplomacy. Yet the moment didnt last. The collapse of the Afghan state even before the U.S. finished withdrawing showed that, while waging wars is expensive, losing them can impose a serious cost. Then came Russias assault on Ukraine. As Vladimir Putins forces sought to restore the Soviet empire and murdered Ukrainian citizens, they revealed just how awful a world shaped by great powers other than Washington might be. Indeed, Biden isnt getting much praise from self-proclaimed realists today. While refusing to intervene militarily, Biden has otherwise backed Ukraine with money, weapons and other support. NATO - whose peaceful expansion allegedly forced Putin to order a campaign of aggression and murder - now appears likely to add two new members, Finland and Sweden. Biden has even invoked the rhetorical legacy of his cold war predecessors, declaring that Ukraine is a vital front in the struggle to save the free world. In response, the restraint coalition has itself opened a new front, finding multiple reasons to attack Bidens Ukraine policy. First is cost. Sustaining a medium-sized country under a ferocious military assault is fantastically expensive. The latest U.S. support package for Ukraine totals some $40 billion - money, Hawley complained, that could be better spent on giving U.S. military personnel a generous raise. Some Republicans in Congress seem to agree - 57 representatives and 11 senators voted, unsuccessfully, against the aid package. Second is risk. No one knows how the war in Ukraine will end. If the U.S. helps Ukraine defend itself too successfully, the thinking goes, then perhaps a humiliated Russia will escalate wildly rather than accept defeat. Finally, there is politics. With Biden having gone all-in on Ukraine, theres little space for the restraint contingent on the left. But Hawley and other Republicans seeking to inherit Donald Trumps political base clearly believe that there is a constituency for claims that supporting a vulnerable democracy equates to putting America last. It is uncharitable to label such arguments pro-Putin. Forty billion dollars is real money, given that the Pentagon is struggling to find a 10th of that for urgent near-term improvements to Americas military posture in the Pacific. There is, undoubtedly, danger in a scenario where Putin worries that he is losing the war - and in consequence loses his head. But the perpetual problem with restraint is the corresponding unwillingness to consider what happens after America pulls back. Suppose Washington does slash support to Ukraine and leave European security to the Europeans. What does that bring? Judging by the past century - or even the past six months - the answer is not a stable Europe and a more solvent America. Rather, the result is likely to be a partially successful Russian war of conquest that creates pervasive insecurity in Europe; a continent that, lacking American leadership, is less united and confident in opposing Putin; and greater global instability that ultimately makes it harder to contain China, as well. Similarly in the Middle East, reasonable people can debate the proper level of U.S. involvement, or what constitutes a reasonable risk to accept on a variety of issues, from containing Iran to opposing Putins ambitions in Ukraine. But recent events have reminded us that a world less influenced by the U.S. will be one in which autocratic predation becomes more common. The Ukraine war has reminded the world about the stubborn persistence of evil. In doing so, it has also illuminated the virtues of American power. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Hal Brands is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. The Henry Kissinger Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins Universitys School of Advanced International Studies, he is co-author, most recently, of Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China. WASHINGTON It took almost three years to make happen, but 109 women veterans from Florida were finally able to visit the nations capital and see memorials that honor those who served. I think they've been overlooked for a long time, and we found on past Honor Flights, we've had very, very few females apply, said Liza Diana Walters, Honor Flight Villages flight director. We take at the most, a couple per flight, so I hope that this will raise awareness for the female vets and encourage them to come on Honor Flights. The Honor Flight network is an organization that flies veterans to visit memorials in Washington, D.C., free of charge. For Honor Flight Villages in Florida, it was the first time the organization flew an all-female Honor Flight. Walters said the Tri-County Women Veterans approached Honor Flight Villages in 2019 to ask whether the group would organize an all-female flight. The group had been scheduled to visit in May 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic caused the Honor Flights to shut down for two years. Now that the all-female flight has come to fruition, Walters said they hope it will draw attention to the contributions of women veterans. On the Honor Flights first day in Washington, the veterans toured the Navy Museum as their first stop. Later, they visited the World War II Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. Connie Plotkin, 74, joined the Air Force in 1969 as a medical technician. She served five years and attended nursing school. She then commissioned into the Army Reserve in 1984 and retired in 2008. I had to get out because I was of age, Plotkin said of her time in the service. I was 60, so they made me get out. But I love my military career. It was the highlight of my life. She served in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War in the early 1990s and later Operation Iraqi Freedom. She also met her husband during her time in the service. Theyll celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary this year. It's been very emotional today, coming in and having people clap for you, Plotkin said of her Honor Flight visit to Washington. It's just unbelievable. I served in Vietnam, and at that time, it wasn't the same as it is now. It's been a long time coming. It really feels good. On Wednesday, their tour of the citys memorials will include the Military Womens Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. The museum reopened May 27 after a six-month partial renovation. Nancy Atkinson, 80, joined the Navy in 1972, serving 14 years on active duty and 14 years with the Reserve. I had been a civilian nurse for quite some time, she said. I felt like I was going nowhere, and I was really impressed with the military because I worked as a civilian nurse in a military hospital. And when they allowed you to come in with a dependent child, I signed up. Atkinson said she never thought she would be part of an Honor Flight. I haven't been with this women's veterans group that long, and they included me in everything and really encouraged me to go, and so it's been a wonderful two days, she said. Gloria Corbet, 82, served in the Army from 1965 to 1985, working with computers. Her favorite memory from her service was shocking her father when she told him that she joined the Army. I said, I never had a red light over my door before, I'm not going to have one now, Corbet said. You don't have to worry about anything. But he was in the second World War. He thought all the women were red-light girls. When Dixie Thalwitzer, 81, graduated high school, she knew she was going to join the Air Force, she said. When she first joined, she worked as a communications and teletype operator. Thalwitzer left the service after she married but reenlisted in the 1980s. By that time, her kids had grown up and she attended nursing school. She worked as a medevac nurse and officer in the Air Force and was in a squadron that flew C-141 and C-130 cargo aircraft. Im very honored to be asked to come [on the Honor Flight], Thalwitzer said. Were all female veterans, and its really special to be recognized. SPOKANE, Wash. (Tribune News Service) Military veterans and care providers stood side-by-side Tuesday morning to defend the 70-plus-year-old Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center from potential service cuts. Federal decision-makers said they haven't yet finalized reductions in services offered at the hospital. But that has done little to deter protesters, including more than two dozen at times. They held signs defending hospital staff but criticizing the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. They said they were spurred by a March report recommending that inpatient medical and surgical services be discontinued at the military hospital and instead take place in civilian and community health centers. John Givens, anesthesiology chief at Mann-Grandstaff, said moving care to outpatient is poorly timed following the hospital's work during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that it would render the VA as "something unrecognizable" in the community. "We need more services, not less services," Givens said. U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough said last week in response to a question from The Spokesman-Review in the nation's capital that rumors that inpatient services at Mann-Grandstaff could be cut before the completion of a lengthy review process were "not accurate." "So we're not planning, and I wouldn't agree to, a diminution of service pending completion of this process," McDonough said. He added that any final decision would not be made "behind closed doors." That was little comfort to the gathering of former employees and veterans who've received services from Mann-Grandstaff, particularly those who said they'd witnessed firsthand delays in care during the controversial $16 billion rollout of a new electronic health record system that has been plagued by multiple outages and problems since October 2020. "They're just slowly taking away, and eroding, the care that we get," said Louanne Hausmann, an Air Force major who worked as a nurse at the hospital for 20 years before leaving just as the new system, created by Kansas City-based health technology firm Cerner, came online. She waved as trucks passing honked their horns and drivers shouted encouraging phrases or gave a thumbs-up to the assembled group. Charlie Monroe, department of Washington commander for the Seabee Veterans of America, said the records system, along with noncompetitive pay and other challenges, were driving good physicians away from the VA hospital and into other jobs. He praised Givens and other health care workers, including Monica McLaughlin, an urgent care nurse who joined the group, for persisting in helping veterans despite the challenges. "It's more than a job for them, it's a vocation," said Monroe, clarifying with people walking up to their table in front of the hospital on Assembly Street that they supported health care workers, but were pushing against the recommendations laid out by VA administration. McLaughlin pointed to a February 2022 study published in the British Medical Journal that found senior-age veterans in the United States taken to VA hospitals over a 17-year period from 2001 to 2018 had a 20% lower mortality rate than those taken to non-VA medical centers. The result was particularly better for Black (26%) and Hispanic (23%) veterans, indicating that familiarity with a patient led to a better outcome. "What we do here at the VA saves lives," she said. McLaughlin, herself a Navy veteran, said she'd experienced some difficulty with the Cerner records system as a patient , using the program's "portal" to send messages to her own provider in an attempt to be better prepared for patient questions. Givens acknowledged that the system had been difficult to work with. Those difficulties would ensure the rollout to the rest of the VA system would go smoother, he said. "Somebody's got to go first. We're the tip of the spear," he said. "The rest of the enterprise will benefit." Veterans at the protest believed the military should have considered testing the system in a method that didn't put patient care at risk. In April, the Department of Veteran Affairs confirmed a patient had been hospitalized with heart failure after not getting necessary medication. "We're the testbed," said Charlie Bourg, an Army veteran who believes his delayed diagnosis of an aggressive form of prostate cancer was due to a lost referral he attributes to the Cerner system. Doctors have since told him his cancer is terminal, Bourg said. Bourg and Monroe, who have been part of past protests of reduced services at the Spokane facility, say they'll be back out front of the medical center to support those who care for them, even as supervisors weigh whether to accept the recommendation and end inpatient services at the hospital. "Something's got to happen," Monroe said. The Spokesman-Review staff writer Orion Donovan-Smith contributed to this report. (c)2022 The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) Visit The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) at www.spokesman.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. (Tribune News Service) To bring a supercarrier like the former USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) in through the jetties of the Brazos Santiago Pass, everything has to be just right, and getting everything just right can take some time. As such, the venerable warship was a couple of hours late making its appearance at the southern tip of South Padre Island Tuesday en route to International Shipbreaking/EMR Group at the Port of Brownsville, finally entering the pass around 1 p.m. Nonetheless, hundreds of veterans and other spectators endured the heat and the delay to see the Kitty Hawk commissioned in 1961 and decommissioned in 2009 float majestically by under tow on the last stretch of its final voyage. The new Cameron County Amphitheater served as an ideal venue for a ceremony honoring the veterans and the ship and an ideal vantage point for watching the massive vessel come in through the pass. The county has done a heck of a job, said ISL Vice President Robert Berry of the new facility. Several veterans took turns at the podium recalling their time aboard the Kitty Hawk, and many contributed their signatures to a Kitty Hawk memorial flag. Hundreds of veterans and their families and curious spectators lined the north jetty. Others set up chairs and umbrellas or took advantage of scant shade along the Isla Blanca Park roadside leading to Dolphin Cove farther inland. The Brownsville Herald asked a handful of veterans present their thoughts on bidding the ship a final farewell. One was Juan J. Montelongo, a Brownsville resident who served on the Kitty Hawk from May 1990 to May 1994 in the Air Department, which handled catapult and arresting gear for the carriers aircraft. He described the day as a tearjerker. Its emotional because thats the ship there that made me who I am, Montelongo said. I was able to be part of a group of people that I loved and to this day I try to keep in touch. During the ceremony he ran into a friend and former shipmate he hadnt seen in 28 years, he said. To me this day, its somewhat like a spiritual thing for closure, Montelongo said. Im excited. With smiles and hugs in abundance, everywhere veterans shared stories of the old days aboard the Kitty Hawk. Some of them we can talk about in public and some of them we really just cant, Montelongo said with a laugh. Jeff Kyle, who served in the Navy from 1979 to 1999 and aboard the Kitty Hawk as flight deck director from 1980 to 1982, traveled all the way from Spokane, Wash. He confessed to having goosebumps long before the ship actually arrived. Its a sad day, Kyle said. It was the first ship I was on. They were great days. Neal Woodall, raised in Richardson, Texas, now lives with his wife, Alice, in Brownsville. He served on the Kitty Hawk from December 1966 to October 1968 for two tours during Vietnam. After leaving the Navy, Woodall spent decades in the Pacific Northwest before moving to the Rio Grande Valley seven years ago. Woodall expressed amazement that his new home turned out to be the final destination of the ship he served on more than a half century ago. This is just a great day, one I certainly never expected, he said. Woodall also worked on the flight deck, as a plane director or yellow shirt. Part of the job involved pulling A-4 Skyhawks onto the catapult, since the A-4s lacked steerable nose wheels to maneuver themselves, he said. The cat crew would come and hook it up and then your job is done, he said. The planes come across onto the catapult, a jet blast deflector comes up behind them, and a lot of times you stood right under that jet blast deflector (during takeoff). ... Very intense stuff. Its hard to believe that I can still hear. Woodall said he saw a lot of the world during those two tours, including the Philippines and, on two occasions, Hong Kong for rest and relaxation. He admitted it was an emotionally charged day for him and said hed met two other veterans with whom hed crewed the flight deck. Its been a remarkable day, Woodall said. It was honor and even more so now. Im glad Im still alive to see this day. Capt. Robert Berry, vice president of ISL and an Air Force veteran whose son is about to retire from the Navy after three decades, acknowledged the aura of excitement around Tuesdays proceedings. There are lot of people here that served on a lot of different ships, but a lot of the Kitty Hawk guys are here, and were real proud of all of them, he said. (c)2022 The Brownsville Herald (Brownsville, Texas) Visit www.brownsvilleherald.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. RTHK: Sweden, Finland to meet Turkey at Nato for talks Nato said on Wednesday it will hold talks involving Turkey, Finland and Sweden in hopes of ending Ankara's opposition to the Nordic nations joining the alliance ahead of a summit this month. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he would convene senior officials from the three nations in Brussels in the coming days "to ensure that we make progress on the applications of Finland and Sweden to join Nato." "My intention is to have this in place before the Nato summit" in Madrid starting on June 28, Stoltenberg said on a visit to Washington. "Finland and Sweden have made it clear that they are ready to sit down and to address the concerns expressed by Turkey," Stoltenberg told a joint news conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Sweden and Finland have historically tried to steer clear of angering nearby Russia but shed their reluctance to join Nato after Moscow's assault on Ukraine which had unsuccessfully sought to join the alliance. Russian President Vladimir Putin "wanted less Nato. He is getting more Nato," Stoltenberg said. But all 30 Nato members need to agree to admit a new member and Turkey has voiced objections, citing the presence in the two Nordic nations of militants from the PKK, the Kurdish separatist group considered terrorists by Ankara. Stoltenberg said that the two nations and Nato took the PKK issue "very seriously." "We know that no other Nato ally has had suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkey," Stoltenberg said. Blinken reiterated that he remained "very confident" that Nato will "move forward" with the membership of the two nations. He appeared to play down linking the membership to Turkey's desire to buy F-16 fighter jets, as some pundits believe Ankara is holding out for concessions. "These are separate questions. We have a longstanding and ongoing defence relationship with Turkey as a Nato ally," Blinken said. "We'll continue to work through cases as they as they arise with regard to systems that Turkey seeks to acquire," Blinken said. The United State expelled Turkey in 2019 from development of the state-of-the-art F-35 in retaliation for Ankara's purchase of an advanced air defence system from Russia. But Turkey's image has risen in the United States through its drones that it has sold to Ukraine, even as Ankara avoids sanctions on Russia. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2022-06-01. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Three years after Tauranga-based M/V YWAM KOHA was originally donated to charity, the former cargo vessel is ready to embark on its first international aid mission and will take dozens of local volunteers with her. Tauranga oral and maxillofacial surgeon, Dr Abi Estelle, will be on board and says the humanitarian mission to northern Fiji is a cause she feels passionate about. Theres a lot of variability across the globe in how easily people can access dental and health care. So being able to be part of something to address that is very rewarding," says Dr Estelle. Dr Estelle helping communities in need. Photo: Supplied. M/V YWAM KOHA was gifted to Christian humanitarian organisation YWAM Ships Aotearoa (Youth With A Mission) in March 2019 and was fitted out as a medical aid ship right before Covid shut New Zealands boarders. The ships mobile Trinity Koha Dental Clinics have instead been delivering free dental care on land across the Bay of Plenty for the past year, delivering treatments worth around $550,000 to over 1100 patients. Managing Director for YWAM Ships Aotearoa Marty Emmett says its been wonderful to help locals in need but now international travel is again possible, its time to realise the aspiration of deploying the M/V YWAM KOHA in the Pacific, delivering dental services and medical care to isolated communities. YWAM KOHA. Photo: Supplied. The 48m-long ship will set sail for Fiji around July 21 and visit some of the poorest and most isolated communities for the following three months. Im feeling beyond excited that the ship will finally become the koha/gift to the isolated communities in the Pacific that she was intended to be, says Marty. I would estimate there will be in excess of 100 volunteers take part over her upcoming deployment to the northern region of Fiji. Dental services will be the key focus but a small medical team will also be on board to work in partnership with local Fijian health workers to assess the primary health needs in each village and collate an accurate picture of what can be done. This will then inform what medical programmes and services YWAM will deliver in future. Dr Estelle, who works at Tauranga Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS) and Tauranga Hospital, will spend two weeks on board the ship helping to surgically extract teeth and provide oral health education and support. It's very satisfying to be able to help someone get out of acute pain, but the bigger message is showing that we care and that we regard each individual as a valuable human being. Dr Estelle on board a dental aid ship. Photo: Supplied. The 41 year-old has visited over 50 countries and provided medical care in five continents for a variety of international relief organisations in the past, including Haiti, the Philippines and Cameroon. This will be her first official mission with YWAM, aside from having volunteered during their recent Kawerau dental clinic. I went to a NZ Dental Association meeting that was held on YWAM KOHA about 18 months ago. Id been looking for a way to be involved since moving to New Zealand. I thought this was right up my street. YWAM have a vision that Id like to join along with. Dr Estelles husband will also travel to Fiji to help undertake construction projects on land, and their 4 year-old son will be along for the ride. Living on a ship is always an adventure. The equipment and set-up are quite basic so its a challenge to make it work and keep things simple," says Dr Estelle. Managing Director for YWAM Ships Aotearoa Marty Emmett. Photo: John Borren. Marty says the deployment will cost up to $350,000 half of which is fuel costs. We have already raised $100,000 but need to raise the additional $250,000 in the next two months to cover our fuel bill and the provisioning of the ship with food and medical supplies. So if anyone is keen to partner with us to empower health in the Pacific, we would be most grateful," says Marty. Donations can be made via www.ywamshipsaotearoa.org.nz/donate or by emailing marty.emmett@ysa.nz. In addition to delivering free dental care in the Bay, the past 12 months have seen the M/V YWAM KOHA travel to Lyttleton, Wellington, Nelson and Whanganui on port tours to raise awareness as well as undertaking drydock maintenance and upgrades. Extensive crew training has also been undertaken at the ships home port of Tauranga. We will be fully prepared and ready to sail in less than two months, says Marty. We feel the significance of our first mission, to bring hope and health throughout these isolated areas of Fiji. "We are driven by the belief that everyone should have access to the basic necessities of life, whether it is here locally in the Bay of Plenty, or in a small island in the North of Fiji. Together, as people of Tauranga Moana we can make a measurable impact for the future of our pacific neighbours. "If this is sounds like a mission that you want to be part of, we look forward to hearing from you. Tauranga people waving at the crew on board YWAM KOHA as it left the harbour in 2021 to sail to other ports around NZ. Photo: Supplied. Katikati resident and first-term Western Bay of Plenty councillor James Denyer has joined the race to become the districts next mayor in Octobers Local Body Elections. And at 46, hes not shying away from the fact that hed bring a younger perspective. However, he says his past finance career, community development work and knowledge of local issues also make him a wise choice for the top job. I think I have the skills and experience to make a positive impact and provide leadership in a time of change; theres a lot going on in the Local Government sector at the moment, says James, who is standing for Mayor and a Katikati-Waihi Beach councillor seat. Youve got Resource Management reform, Three Waters, and the Future for Local Government Review. I can provide that leadership and a younger perspective, and assist council to be agile in adapting to the changes. Moving to Katikati in 2009, James is a Rotarian, Aongatete Forest Projects chair, a board member for Bay Conservation Alliance, and chair of the community-led development group, Whirihia Te Ara Ki Mua. My career background is in corporate finance in London, so I have a strong financial background, which is actually remarkably rare in Local Government, so my skillset is wider than just being a first-term councillor, in which role I also chair two council committees. Fresh perspective James joins fellow WBOP councillor Don Thwaites, 59; Te Puke-based fellow councillor and Deputy Mayor John Scrimgeour; and Te Puke Economic Development Groups managing director Mark Boyle, 61 in the mayoralty race brought about by Mayor Garry Webbers impending retirement and believes he brings a fresher perspective. People comment that they want someone younger, and I do value diversity on council and different life experiences and theres nothing wrong with older candidates but I think sometimes you just need someone with a bit more view of the future. Mayor Webber resigned after giving himself an age limit of 75 in the job James didnt sign up because of this, but says: I agree with his perspective on that. Asked his main goals if elected Mayor, James talks by area. At Waihi Beach youve got the upgraded library I want to get on with that and the Athenree crossing. In Katikati, obviously the bypass but I recognise thats going to be a political decision, so thats more of advocacy. We want to upgrade footpaths, particularly on Main Street, and Im keen to get a roundabout at each end of town particularly Beach Rd/SH2. Right development James wants to focus on ensuring the Te Puna community gets the right development in the right place. "So, broadly, what is the future for Te Puna? What development goes where? Omokoroa were almost there but we need to get the proposed SH2 intersection over the line. And, theres housing intensification so lets keep some green space as well for recreation. Some of Te Pukes infrastructure needs upgrading, particularly with roading, says James And theres plans for a new swimming pool, so I want to ensure that happens. Asked if hed support amalgamation of WBOPDC with BOP councils, James says its worth looking at closer cooperation. Theres synergies that can be can be gained from that. I think amalgamation at this point will be difficult, partly because youve got governance issues. I wouldnt want to do it while theres Commissioners at Tauranga City Council and theyve also got quite a lot higher amount of debt. Maintaining our voice The main concern is how do you maintain the voice for local decision making? WBOP districts got 50,000-odd people; Tauranga has 140,000. For a town like Katikati with 5000 residents, peoples voices would just get lost in that. Three Waters? Because it has been mandated by Central Government the councils role is now to be agile enough to take advantage of opportunities that arise from that. And a bypass for Katikati? James absolutely supports this. I was on the reference group that built the business case with NZTA. The problem is the criteria from government has changed a number of times over the years. The latest focus is safety and the road to zero, which is a good thing. But it does mean because Katikati bypass is not predicated on safety it doesnt necessarily score highly on getting it done. However, if elected mayor James would continue to strongly advocate for it. Nominations for mayoral candidates is open July 15 - August 12. The election is on October 8. Four locals affected by the Links Avenue trial have spoken to SunLive about their concerns, in a podcast hosted by Brendan Horan. The Links Avenue trial continues to anger Mount Maunganui and Papamoa residents because of increased congestion and large fines. The road runs parallel between Maunganui Road and Oceanbeach Road and the eastern end has been closed to through traffic by creating two bus lanes. The cul-de-sac trial instigated by Tauranga City Council has seen people rack up around $1.6 million in fines for using a bus lane. Illegal use of a bus lane attracts a $150 fine and some Links Avenue residents have received four or five infringements. The four-month trial was put in place after concerned residents approached council about the safety of school children using the road. Matt Nicholson speaks on the podcast about how he started a petition calling for council to refund all the fines after seeing how many had been handed out. His petition was signed by 5600 people and he presented it to council at a meeting last week with the support of around 40 locals. Matt told council the trial wasnt fit for purpose, the notification for the trial was inadequate and the signage and road layout were confusing. Fining during a trial is not an effective way to engage your community. Podcast panellist Sandra Riggir received a warning despite not drive down Links Ave at all on the day she was accused of. At first, I was panicked, she says. I thought, oh my God, what have I done? Because I know I didn't go to Links Avenue. Sandra was one of three people that SunLive spoke to previously, who received a warning or fine incorrectly. Tauranga City Council regulation monitoring team leader Stuart Goodman says human error has resulted in the registrations being entered incorrectly and infringements being issued. On the podcast, Brendan also speaks to transport engineer Philip Brown, president of the Papamoa Residents and Ratepayers Association, and Michael ONeill former Road Safety Officer with NZTA who chairs the Mount Maunganui Residents and Ratepayers Association. Both have deep expertise and long-standing involvement with this issue. Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. The Taos News delivered to your Taos County address every week for a full year! We offer our lowest mail rates to zip codes in the county. Click Here to See if you Qualify. Plan includes unlimited website access and e-edition print replica online. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. You may cancel at anytime. Jeroen Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Delhi Posts: 6,564 Thanked: 31,830 Times View My Garage Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp The next day we met up at a McDonalds near the starting point of our Route. When we arrived, Bart and Marianne were already there. But we noticed another Spider! Big surprise, Cees and Annelies had driven up to Luik the night before. They had spend some time exploring Luik (Liege) and stayed overnight. The next morning they set off early and drove north to surprise us all. Peter had a little problem with his Spider. Couple of dials and some lights had gone wonky. We checked and a fuse had blown. Simple repair! We have driven the route to Le Paradis many times. We dont like to do motorways. This year I had modified the route of two years ago. All rural roads. Five and a half hour driving. About 300 km in all. We bring a couple of thermos flasks and fill them up at our hotels. So we can pull over whenever we like, have a little leg stretch, drink some coffee etc. We know from long experience that once we reach France, it will be impossible to find a cafe/restaurant to have lunch. Small villages just dont have cafe/restaurants any more. So we try to find something before we enter France. This time we found a lovely Italian restaurant in Luxembourg. The owner asked us, and our Spiders, to pose for him. We will be on his website soon! We made it to Le Paradis without any problems. Nice relaxing evening, catching up with everybody. The next day we went out for a nice long drive. Annelies and Cees had made this route recently, so we decided to give it a try. As I mentioned, finding just a simple place to have coffee in this part of France is a real problem. So we always bring our coffee, and often we pop into a supermarket for some food. The driving here is superb, but stopping to eat and drink and talk is just as much fun. Here we are at one of our many coffee stops This is the view from where we had stopped: We stayed here for about 35 minutes. In all that time, we were passed by one car!! It is very very quiet in this part of France. Another stop, this time for lunch. Dinner is always at Le Paradis. Annelies is a great cook and she does us a four course dinner every night. Except Saturday night when we all go out and eat in one of the restaurants nearby. On Sunday Annelies serves a sort of Tapas like dinner, very tasty! We tend to spend the day touring and visiting nearby places. Sometimes with the whole group, or we break out in smaller groups, depending on who wants to do what. And of course, we might have to work on one or two Spiders now and then. Peter was having a problem with his fuel gauge. It indicated fine, till half way and then went wonky. So time to pull the level sensor out of the tank. We took the whole thing apart and opened up the resistor bridge. Its wire had snapped. Tried to solder it, but would not work. So we decided to pop it back in. If anything, Peter knows what to order. These level sensors come in at least 4-5 different varieties. This one also has a small fuel pump fitted to it. One day we decided to visit some of the Brocante Market. It is a very local activity. All these villages are always completely dead and deserted when we drive through. That is, until it is time for the local Brocante Market. All the local come out, there will be food and drinks. Mrs. D is somewhat of an expert when it comes to Brocante. I am lucky we are in the Spider as it gives me a good excuse to tell her we cant take anything back with us. Simply dont have the space. We also had a look at the Fuel Gauge of Bianca. Her Spider was experiencing similar symptoms as Peters Spider. We were a bit more lucky with her Spider. We found the sensor was missing an mass cable. So we quickly made one, and her fuel gauge works perfect again!! Then Peter had some problems with his brakes. We put some new pads in. Five minute job on a Spider. On Monday Peter, Bart and Marianne had to head home. But Bianca, Alex and us were staying an extra night. We decided to drive over to Verdun. Put a nice route into the TomTom, Verdun is a nice little town. Of course, Verdun is mostly known for the enormous battle in world war 1. The main battle lasted for 300 days, killed some 300.000 soldiers and wounded another 400.000. We visited the Verdun Museum. Hugely impressive!! We drove back to Le Paradis for our last evening here. Cees had been doing some stuff on his two pride and joys. His Spider and his 2CV. Guests can borrow the 2CV, but not the Spider. If you have never driven a 2CV and get the chance, always go for it. These little cars are a hoot to drive. You can not get them to topple over, no matter how hard you try! The next day, Tuesday, Alex and Bianca set off for the Netherlands. We had booked a hotel for two nights in Reims as we wanted to explore the Champagne area. Reims, we found, to be a very attractive little French town. Its well known for its immense Cathedral. And of course, we had some excellent French cuisine, with you guessed it, quite a bit of champagne. Mrs. D loves champagne and for two days refused to drink anything else!! On Wednesday we drove around the Champange area. I had found a TomTom route on the Internet that would take you past all Champagne houses! It was a fantastic route, gorgeous country, endless little villages. Also, we were very surprised by the number of Champagne houses. We had sort of thought there were a couple of dozen, maybe 40-50 different one. Turns out there are hundreds and hundreds of Champagne Houses. From very large, almost factory type of operation, to very small, run from a garage. And that is before we started counting the Co-Op Champagne outfits. In the afternoon Mrs D needed some more Retail therapy and I set off to the local car museum. A very nice and interesting museum. Lots of cars, some 220 and hundreds of model cars too. On Thursday morning we left our hotel at around 09.30. About 400 km drive to get home. We got home by about 14.00. We had two stops along the motorway. We had been away for a full week, driven just over 1900 km. The Spider used about 600-700 ml of engine oil. Which is better than before. So the valve seal replacement appears to have worked. Still, Peter told me he sees blue smoke when I accelerate and come off the throttle. So I might need a cylinder head revision in the not so distant future. Tomorrow back to spannering; We are going to replace the AC condensor on my wifes Ford Fiesta Jeroen A week ago, my wife and I set off in our Spider, heading south to Maastricht. We would meet our Spideristi friends Alex and Bianca and spanner mate Peter in our hotel. Have a nice dinner, Friday morning our friends Bart and Marianne would join us. With out four Spider we would drive over to the Bed & Breakfast Le Paradis ( https://leparadis.nl ) owned and run by our (Spideristi) friends Cees and Annelies. We have been doing this trip every year for the last five years, as long as Cees and Annelies have been open for guests.The next day we met up at a McDonalds near the starting point of our Route. When we arrived, Bart and Marianne were already there. But we noticed another Spider! Big surprise, Cees and Annelies had driven up to Luik the night before. They had spend some time exploring Luik (Liege) and stayed overnight. The next morning they set off early and drove north to surprise us all.Peter had a little problem with his Spider. Couple of dials and some lights had gone wonky. We checked and a fuse had blown. Simple repair!We have driven the route to Le Paradis many times. We dont like to do motorways. This year I had modified the route of two years ago. All rural roads. Five and a half hour driving. About 300 km in all.We bring a couple of thermos flasks and fill them up at our hotels. So we can pull over whenever we like, have a little leg stretch, drink some coffee etc.We know from long experience that once we reach France, it will be impossible to find a cafe/restaurant to have lunch. Small villages just dont have cafe/restaurants any more. So we try to find something before we enter France. This time we found a lovely Italian restaurant in Luxembourg. The owner asked us, and our Spiders, to pose for him. We will be on his website soon!We made it to Le Paradis without any problems. Nice relaxing evening, catching up with everybody. The next day we went out for a nice long drive. Annelies and Cees had made this route recently, so we decided to give it a try.As I mentioned, finding just a simple place to have coffee in this part of France is a real problem. So we always bring our coffee, and often we pop into a supermarket for some food.The driving here is superb, but stopping to eat and drink and talk is just as much fun.Here we are at one of our many coffee stopsThis is the view from where we had stopped:We stayed here for about 35 minutes. In all that time, we were passed by one car!! It is very very quiet in this part of France.Another stop, this time for lunch.Dinner is always at Le Paradis. Annelies is a great cook and she does us a four course dinner every night. Except Saturday night when we all go out and eat in one of the restaurants nearby.On Sunday Annelies serves a sort of Tapas like dinner, very tasty!We tend to spend the day touring and visiting nearby places. Sometimes with the whole group, or we break out in smaller groups, depending on who wants to do what.And of course, we might have to work on one or two Spiders now and then. Peter was having a problem with his fuel gauge. It indicated fine, till half way and then went wonky. So time to pull the level sensor out of the tank.We took the whole thing apart and opened up the resistor bridge. Its wire had snapped. Tried to solder it, but would not work.So we decided to pop it back in. If anything, Peter knows what to order. These level sensors come in at least 4-5 different varieties. This one also has a small fuel pump fitted to it.One day we decided to visit some of the Brocante Market. It is a very local activity. All these villages are always completely dead and deserted when we drive through. That is, until it is time for the local Brocante Market. All the local come out, there will be food and drinks.Mrs. D is somewhat of an expert when it comes to Brocante. I am lucky we are in the Spider as it gives me a good excuse to tell her we cant take anything back with us. Simply dont have the space.We also had a look at the Fuel Gauge of Bianca. Her Spider was experiencing similar symptoms as Peters Spider.We were a bit more lucky with her Spider. We found the sensor was missing an mass cable. So we quickly made one, and her fuel gauge works perfect again!!Then Peter had some problems with his brakes. We put some new pads in. Five minute job on a Spider.On Monday Peter, Bart and Marianne had to head home. But Bianca, Alex and us were staying an extra night. We decided to drive over to Verdun. Put a nice route into the TomTom, Verdun is a nice little town.Of course, Verdun is mostly known for the enormous battle in world war 1. The main battle lasted for 300 days, killed some 300.000 soldiers and wounded another 400.000. We visited the Verdun Museum. Hugely impressive!!We drove back to Le Paradis for our last evening here. Cees had been doing some stuff on his two pride and joys. His Spider and his 2CV. Guests can borrow the 2CV, but not the Spider. If you have never driven a 2CV and get the chance, always go for it. These little cars are a hoot to drive. You can not get them to topple over, no matter how hard you try!The next day, Tuesday, Alex and Bianca set off for the Netherlands. We had booked a hotel for two nights in Reims as we wanted to explore the Champagne area.Reims, we found, to be a very attractive little French town. Its well known for its immense Cathedral.And of course, we had some excellent French cuisine, with you guessed it, quite a bit of champagne. Mrs. D loves champagne and for two days refused to drink anything else!!On Wednesday we drove around the Champange area. I had found a TomTom route on the Internet that would take you past all Champagne houses!It was a fantastic route, gorgeous country, endless little villages. Also, we were very surprised by the number of Champagne houses. We had sort of thought there were a couple of dozen, maybe 40-50 different one. Turns out there are hundreds and hundreds of Champagne Houses. From very large, almost factory type of operation, to very small, run from a garage. And that is before we started counting the Co-Op Champagne outfits.In the afternoon Mrs D needed some more Retail therapy and I set off to the local car museum. https://www.musee-automobile-reims-champagne.com A very nice and interesting museum. Lots of cars, some 220 and hundreds of model cars too.On Thursday morning we left our hotel at around 09.30. About 400 km drive to get home. We got home by about 14.00. We had two stops along the motorway.We had been away for a full week, driven just over 1900 km. The Spider used about 600-700 ml of engine oil. Which is better than before. So the valve seal replacement appears to have worked. Still, Peter told me he sees blue smoke when I accelerate and come off the throttle. So I might need a cylinder head revision in the not so distant future.Tomorrow back to spannering; We are going to replace the AC condensor on my wifes Ford FiestaJeroen Last edited by Jeroen : 26th May 2022 at 21:55 . Bottom line: A new report claims that Apple's Safari web browser currently has over 1 billion users on both mobile and desktop. Meanwhile, Chrome is reportedly used by over 3.3 billion users, meaning that over 40% of the world population prefers Google's web browser. According to a new study by Atlas VPN, Apple's Safari web browser just passed the 1 billion user mark, making it the second browser ever to achieve this feat. The Atlas VPN team reached these statistics by taking the total number of internet users, which is currently estimated to be over 5.2 billion, and dividing it based on GlobalStats' browser market share percentages. It's also worth noting that these numbers include both desktop and mobile users. Safari comes as the default browser on most of Apple's devices, including iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Nonetheless, today's achievement remains impressive considering that the browser isn't available on Android or Windows (Apple stopped developing the Windows version a decade ago), the two most popular operating systems. Meanwhile, Google Chrome has a whopping 3.3 billion users worldwide, remaining by far the most popular web browser, a title it inherited in 2012 from Internet Explorer. Microsoft Edge takes third place with over 212 million users. The browser has slowly been gaining ground since becoming Chromium-based in 2019. Rounding out the list is Firefox with 179 million, Samsung Internet with 149 million, and Opera with 108 million users. In related news, the EU might have something to say about Apple requiring third-party web browsers on iOS to use the WebKit engine, the same as Safari. In brief: We've seen working Apple-1 computers sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past, but this latest model has some standout features: not only does the machine come with most of its original components, but it's also been signed by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Only 200 Apple-1 computers were designed by Steve Wozniak and assembled and tested by Steve Jobs, his sister Patty Jobs, and Daniel Kottke in the Jobs' Los Altos home. After finishing the machines in 1976, 175 were sold to a computer shop in Mountain View, California, and this is one of the 80 that still exist today. The seller of this particular Apple-1 is famed collector Jimmy Grewal, founder of the Dubai-based AAPL Collection that boasts almost 200 Apple computers. He says money from the sale will be used to take his "Apple museum" to more places. What's likely to make this Apple-1 more appealing is that it was signed by its creator, Steve Wozniak, last year. A few Apple-1 computers bear Woz's signature, but this is believed to be the only one signed on the white ceramic 6502 processor. Additionally, this modelmachine number 89has almost all of its original working components, is fully functional, and is thought to be the first Apple-1 used outside of America. The auction starts on June 2, 2022, and will run until June 12. It's expected to bring between $460,000 and $485,000. That's more than two recent Apple-1 sales, including this one in a Koa wood case, but around half the record amount someone paid; a model sold for $950,000 in 2014. Microsoft will be dropping several features in Excel. In 2020, the company introduced Money in Excel, which allowed users to connect their financial data to Excel sheets. However, this is one of the features that will be discontinued, along with other Microsoft 365 features. (Photo : FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images) A picture taken on May 23, 2022 shows the logo of Microsoft during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos. Money in Excel Money in Excel is a dynamic template and add-in for Excel that connects financial accounts, like banks, credit cards, investments, and loans. Data could be synced with an Excel sheet in one click that could be turned into graphs, charts, and tables. It's safe to say that the Money feature in Excel is a valuable financial planning tool as it makes the process a whole lot easier. However, Microsoft confirmed that Money will be shut down on June 30, 2023. "We've learned a lot from Money in Excel and appreciate the many needs people have for their families and their money. We believe there are other areas where we can have a greater impact and will be focusing on those going forward," the company said. The data stored in Money won't be deleted, so users don't need to panic. After June 2023, it will be impossible to import new transactions and other data to it. Microsoft recommends Tiller as an alternative that will allow users to import financial data into Excel. Moreover, Microsoft 365 subscribers can claim an extended 60-day trial of Tiller and after that, users should pay $79 per year. Additionally, Microsoft 365 users will get exclusive access to their premium budget templates that can be used also as an alternative to Money in Excel. Also Read: Dark Mode is Coming To Microsoft Word's Web App Wolfram Another feature that Microsoft will discontinue is the Wolfram data type, which was also introduced in 2020. Wolfram allows Excel users to import stocks, nutritional information, and data from Wolfram Alpha. The data will not be removed here once it's officially shut down, but users won't be able to add new Wolfram data types or refresh existing data anymore by then. Partner Benefits Aside from these features, Microsoft will also discontinue its partner benefits. These benefits allow Microsoft 365 users to get discounts on certain Microsoft products. Users can still redeem discounts and other eligible offers by June 30, 2023. On their FAQs page, the company said that they are "looking for new ways to deliver" consistent value and they will explore other areas where they can do this and focus on them moving forward. Microsoft didn't specify the reason they're getting rid of these features. The email the company sent to some Microsoft 365 subscribers also didn't fully explain the reason for its decision to cut these features. However, as noted by XDA developers, the email said that Microsoft "will occasionally remove underused features and benefits." Related Article: Microsoft Excel New Updates Unlock Default Full Shortcut Keyboard List This article is owned by TechTimes Written by April Fowell 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Texas pushed for its HB20 law, a regulation that will remove social media censorship in the state and prevent Big Tech companies from banning people on the platform for the things that they do. However, it did not go as planned, as the United States Supreme Court blocked the appeal of the state's government to push for the law under the First Amendment provisions. Texas Social Media Censorship Law Gets Blocked by Supreme Court (Photo : Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 24: Protective fencing remains up around the U.S. Supreme Court building in anticipation of protest related to a possible decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization case that could essentially overturn the Roe v. Wade abortion decision on May 24, 2022 in Washington, DC. The US Supreme Court does not agree with Texas on their anti-censorship law on social media platforms, particularly with HB No. 20, which focuses on removing it under their jurisdiction. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defended that law in a proceeding with the Supreme Court, but it did not go as planned. The law got a green light from Texas Governor Greg Abbott for its proceedings, and the state-backed it up for it to move forward with its observation. Texas said that it needs to have neutrality on specific topics, especially when posted online, not something social media platforms can change or hide from the world to practice free speech, the core of HB 20. Read Also: Facebook, Twitter Shut Down Reposts from Trump's Blog, But Florida Will Go Against this Censorship with New Law Censorship Lives On, First Amendment Rules However, the US Supreme Court did not share the same sentiments as the lawmakers from Texas, focusing on blocking HB 20 from making it to their official books and enforcing its policies against the platforms. The US SC said that the First Amendment lives on among social media companies, and they have the right to do this under their jurisdiction as platforms. Social Media Censorship Social media censorship is a way for companies to control the content that floods into their platform. They focus on making the experience safe for all, with all ages available to access different content. However, some go against this as some people that got deplatformed got back up from Florida's Gov. Ron DeSantis. Earlier this month, news regarding the Texas HB20 circulated online, and there were mixed reactions to this proposal that the state pushed for its application to its books. It would be one law that would take a higher stand against social media applications that are present in the state, and it will not be able to censor anything in the region. Censorship is done for a reason, as there are people that go overboard with their posts and statements online, with some bordering on harmful or disturbing content, down to misinformation. Some of these may help prevent issues or conflict among its users, the state, and the companies involved, with the Supreme Court taking on censorship's side here. Related Article: Twitter Free Speech: New Owner Elon Musk Clarifies No 'Censorship Beyond the Law' on Private Social Media This article is owned by TechTimes Written by Isaiah Richard 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. NASA isn't the only one making moves in space. Now, China is preparing to send its Long March 5B rocket carrying a 22-ton Wentian experiment module into space potentially on June 23. China Is Launching Its Long March 5B Rocket to Send Its Second Module Into Space The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) recently announced the arrival of the components for the third Long March 5B heavy-lift rocket on May 29 at the Wenchang space station. According to the story by Space News, the launcher components were shipped to Wenchang but were initially manufactured and tested in northern China at Tianjin. In order to ship the components, they had to use specially constructed cargo vessels to pass the southern island province of Hainan. The Chinese Wenchang Module Will Join Tianhe in Orbit Both the assembly of the launch vehicle and its testing is expected to happen really soon due to the completion of the Long March 5B. The rocket is an 849-metric ton 53.7-meter-long rocket that is packed with four liquid boosters, a cryogenic core, and an elongated payload fairing. The Long March 5B is "unofficially expected to launch around July 23" and its mission includes sending an experimental module, the 22-ton Wentian, to join Tianhe in orbit. Tianhe is a core module that is similar in size to the Wentian module and was launched in April of 2021. Wentian was Called the 'Quest for the Heavens' Module Wentian was dubbed a "Quest for the Heavens" module and is expected to dock at Tianhe's forward port. So far, the Tianhe is in a 240.47 by 239.84-meter orbit inclined by 41.5 degrees. Three astronauts from the Shenzhou-14 are expected to be aboard the Tianhe when Wentian arrives. The astronauts are expected to cooperate with ground control in order for them to bring the new module to a "radial docking port" through the use of a large robotic arm in space. Should the process be successful, Wentian will be considered the second out of three modules for the Taingong space station. The final module, Mengtian, is expected to come to space in October of this year. Read Also: SpaceX Celebrates 10th Anniversary of the COTS 2 Mission-Dragon's First Successful Flight to the ISS When Did China Start Building Its Space Station? China has been working towards building and expanding its space station ever since it was first envisioned in 1992. Shortly after, Project 921 was approved which allowed them to develop human capabilities for spaceflight as detailed in an article by World Space Flight. The project experienced a few delays in its early days due to development and performance issues when it came to the Long March 5B. The project was also expandable to six modules for tourist and commercial missions in the future. Wentian is composed of a small robotic arm, a new airlock, and more living quarters to accommodate crew handovers. Related Article: China is Finalizing Details For the Ongoing Tiangong Space Station | What to Expect This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Urian B. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Takara Tomy, a popular Japanese toymaker, will soon release its AI smart speaker that can easily copy a person's voice using deepfake. This smart home gadget is perfect for parents who want to read bedtime stories to their children even though they are away from home. This will also save you a lot of time reading a passage repeatedly. Smart Speaker Uses Deepfake Voice Copy (Photo : Takara Tomy) Takara Tomy's smart speaker relies on deepfake technology to mimic how a parent reads a bedtime story to his/her children. Smart speakers have vastly improved over the past years. From allowing Amazon Alexa to operate to featuring voice upgrades, these products prove that they still have a long way to progress. Although these inventions make life easier, they also have downsides. As such, a deepfake could be used to scam people, like in the case of the 2021 heist. At the time, the hackers used a deepfake voice to steal $35 million from a company. However, Takara Tomy wants to correct this situation by releasing its advanced technology that uses deepfake in a good way. According to a report by Gizmodo, the Japanese company will soon launch a smart speaker that could easily copy a parent's voice. The device called "Coemo" is a smart speaker which features a human face design on its exterior. The usual smart speaker that we see is for instructional purposes. However, this one is different. Takara Tomy's AI-powered device intends to help parents who want to read stories to their children at bedtime. The smart speaker houses over 60 songs and stories, including the famous nursery rhymes, fables, folktales, and more. The best thing about this smart speaker is its ability to emulate a person's voice. Through artificial intelligence, it copies the exact voice of a parent so he/she will have no problems when narrating a children's story at nighttime. It's easy to use since you can access this right away with an iOS app. The Android version is expected to arrive soon. Although Coemo could not exactly copy the quality of a voice, the product is still near-perfect nonetheless. The AI smart speaker could also imitate the voice intonations and inflections of an individual. Takara Tomy guarantees that this would be a child-friendly tool that will help the kids bond with their beloved parents. Related Article: These Smart Speaker Add-Ons Can Intensify Your Privacy as it Stops Alexa From Spying on You Coemo Smart Speaker Pre-Order In a similar report by Gizmodo, Takara Tomy's AI smart speaker will cost $105 upon its launch. Pre-orders will kick off on June 14. The package will include songs, stories, and even some effects that will help the children achieve a good night's sleep. Elon Musk Deepfake Video Speaking of deepfakes, one of the most controversial figures in the tech industry, Elon Musk has, become the subject of deepfake last week. According to Interesting Engineering, unidentified hackers used the photo of the tech boss to steal money from their victims. The suspects targeted the crypto holders who wanted to get rich quickly and easily. Read Also: Audio Deepfake: This AI Voice from Sonantic Can Flirt With You This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Joseph Henry 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Klarna Bank CEO Sebastian Siemitkowski has shared a list containing hundreds of staff that were terminated. On LinkedIn, the Swedish founder posted it as part of the company's cost-cutting campaign. However, many people on the platform have quickly criticized his opinion about the lay-off incident. Klarna Boss Posts LinkedIn List of Former Employees (Photo : John Phillips/Getty Images for TechCrunch) Klarna Bank CEO Sebastian Siemitkowski spilled out the list of former staff to push its cost-cutting campaign. Here's what the people say about this. According to a report by Bloomberg, Siemitkowski said that he has some "mixed feelings" about the list. The 40-year-old founder added that this decision has been difficult for him so far. On LinkedIn, it's usual to see posts coming from a company CEO. However, it appears that Siemitkowski's writeup was not well-received by the audience on the job-seeking platform. Just a few moments after the Klarna CEO posted the employee list. Many people have quickly left their reactions about it. Some are angry about it, while others say it's "tone-deaf." Although many have criticized Sebastian, some praised him for luring potential recruiters. For instance, Sweden-based trading union Finansforbundet has noticed the list and immediately requested Klarna to discuss some details about it. According to Ulrika Boethius, the president of the union, they were not informed about the layoffs that took place. Additionally, they expected the company to release advanced information about the list, but it was only shared on social media. Related Article: Alibaba and Tencent to Layoff Thousands of Employees This Year Due to Regulatory Crackdown What People Think About Klarna's LinkedIn Post In a report by Livemint on Wednesday, June 1, one user who claimed to have worked with Klarna said that he left the company a month after joining them. "I left klarna one month after I joined. Best decision I made. Klarna is the most chaotic place I've ever been a part of and knew immediately that something like a big layoff was just a matter of time. Klarna needs to learn how to be lean, fix problems instead of throwing more ppl at it (and then letting go a bunch once you realize that costs a lot of (money)," the person wrote. According to another commenter, what Klarna did wasn't smart in publicly posting the terminated employees' email addresses. The person added that the company should make a dedicated list that will help the recruiters. Another user agreed that the confidential list is a "goldmine" for the recruiters. While it's good that recruiters can find potential employees out of them, this would harm their personal data since bad actors can take advantage of them. Weird Job Titles on LinkedIn In another LinkedIn-related story, Tech Times reported that new job titles had been added to the platform. Interestingly, "stay-at-home dad" and "stay-at-home mom" are now officially job titles that people could explore, especially during a pandemic. Read Also: LinkedIn Job-Hunting? Beware of Phishing Scams as It Surges to 232% Since Feb. 1 | How to Avoid This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Joseph Henry 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Ford's logo change and cryptic messages allegedly hint at a new vehicle. Recently, many individuals spotted the giant automaker changing its Instagram profile picture. (Photo : Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 06: A Ford F-150 pickup truck is offered for sale a dealership on September 6, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. Ford has announced a recall of about 2 million of the trucks because of a seatbelt problem that could result in a fire. Instead of using its official logo, Ford changes its DP into a galloping horse. Now, the car developer posted a tweet, sharing some of its favorite emojis. These icons include a circle, a chess piece (pawn), a hole, a square, the symbol of a spade, sunglasses, as well as an X mark. Aside from the emojis, Ford's May 31 tweet also included the date "6.1.22." 6.1.22 Ford Motor Company (@Ford) May 31, 2022 However, the automaker hasn't confirmed what these symbols are for. Now, here's what experts conclude. Ford Logo Change, Crypto Messages Hint New Vehicle According to CarScoops' latest report, Ford's Instagram logo change might suggest that there will be a new vehicle with more engine power. (Photo : Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images) A Ford Motor Company workers works on a Ford F150 truck on the assembly line at the Ford Dearborn Truck Plant on September 27, 2018 in Dearborn, Michigan. The Ford Rouge Plant is celebrating 100 years as America's longest continuously operating auto plant. The factory produced Eagle Boats during WWI and currently produces the Ford F150 pickup truck. Also Read: Ford's NEW Mustang Reportedly Gets Familiar Fuel Powered Engines! No EV Version at Launch? Experts stated that it is unlikely that the logo change and cryptic messages are for the next-gen 2024 Mustang vehicle. This is because the automaker has already confirmed that this new car will arrive on April 2023. Of course, Ford's Mustang Mach-E electric vehicles can also be involved. However, critics explained that if Ford releases a new vehicle with more horsepower, then EV is already out of the question. Remember, there are already a pair of higher-performance variants of Mach-E available in the market. F-150 Raptor R Might Be the Hinted Vehicle If Mach-E and the 2024 Mustang are already out of the choices, that leaves the new F-150 Raptor R. As of writing, many drivers are not really satisfied with the performance offered by the mainstream Ford F-150 models. But, this scenario is expected to change once the new F-150 Raptor R arrives. Rumors stated that this new car might borrow the 5.2-liter Predator V8 of the Mustang Shelby GT500. If the automaker is hinting at a new powerful vehicle, there's a high chance that it's the F-150 Raptor R, especially after MotorTrend reported that some of the new vehicle's images were leaked. You can visit this link to see the actual leaked photos of the new F-150 Raptor R. Recently, around 400,000 Ford trucks were recalled because of a software bug. On the other hand, Ford F-150 Lightning EVs were added by the United Rentals to its fleet. For more news updates about Ford and other giant automakers, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Ford F-150 Lightning Model Units NOT For Sale Just Yet? Dealership May Face Hefty Fines This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. China-backed hackers are attacking the unpatched version of Microsoft Office's zero-day vulnerability, which is called "Follina," and carrying out malicious code remotely on various Windows systems. "High-Severity Vulnerability" The malicious code is considered a high-severity vulnerability, and it is now being tracked as CVE-2022-30190. The vulnerability is used in the attacks to embed harmful PowerShell commands through the Microsoft Diagnostic Tool (MSDT) that pops up when Office documents are opened or previewed. This flaw is affecting a total of 41 Microsoft products such as Office 365, Windows 11, and more. Additionally, it can operate even without the presence of elevated privileges, does not need macro code to perform scripts or binaries, and bypass Windows Defender detection. According to Tech Crunch's report, the zero-day can enable the circumvention of Microsoft's Protected View feature, one of Microsoft Office's tools that warns the user about malicious files and documents. Meanwhile, researchers from the cybersecurity platform Huntress cautioned that if a user converts a document to a Rich Text Format (RTF) file, it could enable attackers to bypass this warning and lets them exploit it with a hover-preview of a downloaded file that does not entail any clicks from the user. Microsoft also noted that the flaw could lead to hackers installing programs, deleting data, and making new accounts based on the context that is guaranteed by the user's rights. Read also: Microsoft Addresses Zero-Day Hacks Afflicting Chromium-Based Browsers Chinese State-Sponsored Hackers Back in April, cybersecurity experts already noticed that hackers were exploiting the flaw to target users from Russia and Belarus. But more recently, an Enterprise security firm called Proofpoint claimed this week that a hacking group sponsored by the Chinese state has been taking advantage of the zero-day in their attacks aiming at the international Tibetan community. Proofpoint said in a tweet that "TA413 CN APT" was spotted in the wild "exploiting the Follina zero-day" through URLS that deliver ZIP archives containing Word Documents. "Campaigns impersonate the 'Women Empowerments Desk' of the Central Tibetan Administration and use the domain tibet-gov.web[.]app[.]," Proofpoint added. In its statement with TechCrunch, Proofpoint revealed that it had tracked the TA412 threat actor with the names "LuckyCat" and "Earth Berberoka." This threat actor is targeting Tibetan groups via the use of malicious browser extensions and espionage campaigns with COVID-19 as the theme. The Follina zero-day was first reported to Microsoft back on April 12 when Word documents falsely appeared to be coming from Russia's Sputnik news agency that offers a radio interview for the recipients. On Tuesday, June 1, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) alerted users and administrators to review Microsoft guidance and initiate possible workarounds. Related Article: Chrome Zero-Day Vulnerability: North Korean Hackers Bring Threats to US Targets, Same One in Past Years This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. NASA's next-gen Artemis mission spacesuit manufacturers will soon be announced. Protective gears in space are essential since they keep astronauts and other experts safe when they are in orbit. (Photo : Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images) This 14 February NASA photo shows Discovery Shuttle astronaut Steven Smith working with equipment in the shuttle's cargo bay. Discovery's seven-man crew will spend several days and make a series of space walks to service the Hubble Space Telescope and add improvements. AFP PHOTO/NASA (Photo by - / AFP) Since humans are born on Earth, they will have a hard time surviving in the harsh conditions of space. This is why they need to wear PPEs that can cover efficiently cover their entire bodies. However, there are some instances when the spacesuits of NASA and other space agencies are flawed. For example, Gizmodo reported that the spacesuit water leak forced the international space agency to suspend its ISS (International Space Station) spacewalks. This kind is scenario can put NASA astronauts in grave danger, especially if they are on a space mission that is very far away from Earth. NASA's Next-Gen Artemis Mission Spacesuit Announcement For the past few years, NASA has been trying to perfect its spacesuits, especially PPEs used in long-term spaceflights. Now, the international space union will announce the new partner manufacturer/s that can further help it develop better-performing spacesuits. (Photo : Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images) The SpaceX spacesuit to be wore by NASA astronauts that will travel to the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule is displayed during a media tour at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, on August 13, 2018. - According to the Teslarati website the majority of the helmet is 3D printed. Also Read: NASA Mars Orbiter Glitch Leads To a Protective Safe Mode Action; Will This Affect Perseverance, Curiosity Rover? NASA will confirm this information in its upcoming conference, which will air on June 1 at 2:00 p.m. EDT. The selected company/companies that will work with the space agency will focus on designing, testing, and producing next-gen spacesuits used for Artemis missions, moon spaceflights, and ISS visits. "New spacesuits that allow humans to explore the lunar surface and unlock new spacewalk capabilities outside the International Space Station are a critical part of advancing human exploration in space and demonstrating continued American leadership," said NASA via Space.Com. Where To Watch and Other Details If you are among the individuals interested in watching the upcoming spacesuit announcement of NASA, you can visit its official YouTube channel. On the other hand, you will also be able to hear the statements of the following NASA officials and experts: Lindsay Aitchison, program executive for Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program, NASA headquarters Vanessa Wyche, director, NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) Dina Contella, operations integration manager, International Space Station Program, JSC Lara Kearney, manager, Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program, JSC On the other hand, the NASA Hubble Space Telescope took a photo of two galaxies connected by a stream of dead galaxies. Meanwhile, NASA's new space laser innovation, inspired by ants, is expected to identify the depth of snow. For more news updates about NASA and its other activities, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Dangerous NASA Heat Shield Update: No Propellant Leak During Axiom Mission 1 Spaceflight, Says Space Agency This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. NSO Group, an Israeli technology firm known for its proprietary spyware Pegasus, has been facing financial problems since the US government blacklisted it in 2021. The ban was imposed after its Pegasus was used to spy on activists, government officials, and journalists. NSO Group CEO to Sell Pegasus to Other Countries Based on a story written in The Financial Times, in early 2022, the firm applied for a loan with Berkeley Research Group or BRG for $10 million, which temporarily solved the issue with salaries. Now, the company's CEO is looking for a long-term solution, and that is by selling its software to countries that they know will abuse it. NSO Group's CEO Shale Hulio talked about his plans of selling the Pegasus spyware to firms that he reportedly described as risky. Also Read: Pegasus Spyware Creator NSO is Reportedly Experiencing Financial Trouble | Will it Exit the Market Soon? Named the "phoenix plan," NSO Group's CEO wants to split the firm into two so that the Pegasus software code and the engineers would be in one company. If his plan pushes through, NSO Group's riskier clients will not be affected by the ban imposed by the US government, and the firm can get cash in fast enough to pay salaries and address its loans and other debts. The NSO Group has tried several times to argue its case with the Department of Commerce and have them removed from the blacklist, but the firm has not yet managed to meet with the officials. Pegasus Spyware Used to Hack Officials NSO Group developed the infamous spyware called Pegasus, which was sold to government and law enforcement agencies in different countries, 9to5Mac. Several iPhones have been hacked by Pegasus, including those owned by prominent people like Prime Ministers, US State Department officials, senior EU officials, lawyers, journalists, and human rights activists. In 2021, the US government banned the Pegasus after it was accused of enabling hostile spying by authoritarian governments. According to TechCrunch, blacklisting NSO Group is the Biden-Harris administration's attempt to make human rights one of the priorities of American foreign policy. On top of the ban, Apple also sued the firm due to iPhones infected by its spyware. The tech giant wants to hold NSO Group accountable for its surveillance of some Apple users. The filing submitted by Apple is also seeking an injunction to prevent the firm from using any Apple services or devices in the future. In November 2021, the tech giant alerted its customers in three countries: Thailand, El Salvador, and Uganda. This is after it was discovered that the spyware was activated in the said countries to attack activists and researchers who have been critical of the government, according to Tech Times. Apple alerted the users that were targeted by state-sponsored attacks that tried to compromise iPhones linked with specific Apple IDs. Related Article: FBI Confirms Testing NSO's Pegasus Spyware, But Denies Using it During Investigation This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Sophie Webster 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A new Chinese AI can possibly detect hypersonic missiles quicker than the existing air defense system models. (Photo : Photo credit should read NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP via Getty Images) Visitors look at a Chinese HQ-2(J) Ground-To-Air missile, on the day that marks the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I at the war museum in Beijing on November 11, 2018. (Photo by Nicolas ASFOURI / AFP) The Air Force Early Warning Academy researchers in China claimed that their new artificial intelligence could identify missile threats in just 15 seconds. Hypersonic missiles are among the best defense technologies that China, Russia, the United States, and other giant countries have in their arsenals. But, since they know that other countries can use these dangerous rockets against them, advanced early warning system developments are also becoming a must. Now, China might soon have a very efficient AI-based EWS that can help the Asian country detect hypersonic missiles as soon as possible. New Chinese AI Can Possibly Detect Hypersonic Missiles in 15 Seconds According to Interesting Engineering's latest report, the new artificial intelligence system developers said that their new EWS could determine if a hypersonic missile enters their air zones within 15 seconds. (Photo : Photo by South Korean Defense Ministry via Getty Images) In this handout photo released by the South Korean Defense Ministry, South Korea's Hyunmu-2 ballistic missile is fired during an exercise aimed to counter North Korea's nuclear test on September 4, 2017 in East Coast, South Korea. South Korea's military said Monday it conducted a combined live-fire exercise in response to North Korea's sixth nuclear test a day earlier. Also Read: Satellite Photos Show China's Copying Japan's SDF Aircraft; Experts Claim It's a Dummy Target-For What? The South China Morning Post also reported that the new AI-based EWS detection works even against Mach 5 rockets (missiles that are five times faster than the speed of sound). The Air Force Early Warning Academy's Chinese researchers said that their new EWS would rely on a machine-learning algorithm to determine a hypersonic missile's probable route. They said that the data captured from the early stages of hypersonic missile flights are somehow noisy, which makes it difficult for their AI system to identify. Because of this, they created a new and unique deep learning algorithm that can remove the noise from the signals. Their new AI-based EWS works just like home human brains do thanks to this innovation. Other Anti-Hypersonic Missile Techs Aside from China's new sophisticated AI-based EWS, DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is also working on another anti-hypersonic missile tech. Their ongoing project entered phase 2, allowing DARPA researchers to test their tech in wind tunnels. Defense innovations like this are quite essential, especially since the U.S., North Korea, and Russia have been trying new variants of hypersonic rockets. You can visit this link to see further details about DARPA's hypersonic missile countermeasure program and China's new EWS. On the other hand, experts claim that the U.S. missile defense systems are still ineffective against ICBMs. Meanwhile, the U.K.'s early warning systems are allegedly affected by smart meters. For more news updates about early warning systems and other defense techs, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Did Chinese Military Researchers Find An Effective Strategy to Counteract Elon Musk's Starlink in Case of Possible Threat? This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The number of people who repay their mortgages early has increased, and the property market has cooled down and they feel that they are "on the top of the mountain" in interest rates A bill that would provide about $54 million per year in state aid for a new bridge across the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge neared final approval Wednesday when the Louisiana House endorsed it 98-1. The measure, Senate Bill 277, now returns to the Senate for consideration of minor changes made in the House. The Senate earlier gave the plan lopsided approval. It is sponsored by Senate President Page Cortez, R-Lafayette, which all but guarantees final approval. The money would be on top of the $300 million approved earlier by the Legislature. Despite pushback, backers of Baton Rouge bridge optimistic 'very significant' aid coming While the Louisiana House has voted to water down Gov. John Bel Edwards' plan to spend $500 million for a new bridge across the Mississippi Ri The bridge and its connections, notably La. Hwy. 30 on the east side and La. Hwy. 1 on the west side, are expected to cost up to $3 billion. Shawn Wilson, secretary for the state Department of Transportation and Development, said earlier the money could help subsidize any public-private partnership to help with financing costs. Backers envision a partnership with a private firm to help pay for construction costs in exchange for a long-term revenue source tolls. State officials have also said the money could finance bonds totaling up to $1 billion. The legislation won House approval without debate. It sets up a fund in the state treasury that would allocate motor vehicle sales tax revenue for the bridge and three other projects. They are construction of Interstate 49 South between Lafayette and New Orleans; a new Calcasieu River Bridge in Lake Charles and improvements to I-49 North. The price-tags for those three are $8.6 billion, $1.8 billion and $1.2 billion respectively, according to state estimates. The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up All three would get $54 million each. Gradually moving 60% of motor vehicle sales tax revenue from Louisiana's general fund to one for road and bridge projects only won approval last year. +2 Senate leaders endorse $300 million for new bridge in Baton Rouge; 'Well on its way' Resolving one of the key issues of the legislative session, state Senate leaders Sunday endorsed spending $300 million for a new bridge across The bill makes change in the 2021 law, and says that 75% of the new money would be used for the four projects. The other 25% would be used for road and bridge preservation. The House also approved a companion measure Senate Bill 266 that would ensure the new revenue is eligible for federal matching funds. The vote was 99-0. It won Senate approval on April 20 37-0 The Cortez bill cleared the Senate the same day 36-0. Both are expected to win final approval before adjournment on Monday at 6 p.m. +5 Officials narrow new Mississippi River bridge sites to three locations in Iberville Parish A state panel Friday endorsed three sites in Iberville Parish just south of Plaquemine on the west side and St. Gabriel on the east as finalis A state panel last Friday narrowed the list of possible sites for a new bridge in Baton Rouge to three, and all three are in Iberville Parish. A final site is expected by the summer of 2024. Purchases made via links on our site may earn us an affiliate commission Gov. John Bel Edwards speaks during a press conference at the State Capitol on March 30, 2022, flanked by members of the Democratic caucus, after both the House and Senate voted to override his veto of the congressional redistricting bill that passed recently. Skip Gallagher is photographed in his office where he is a professor in the Chemistry department at University of New Orleans in New Orleans, La. Thursday, May 12, 2022. When not teaching, Gallagher spends his time scrutinizing public records and his research has helped launch an expanding FBI investigation into NOPD officers who abuse special details. (Photo by Max Becherer, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate) Sheryl Sandberg, the No. 2 executive at Facebook owner Meta, is stepping down. Sandberg has served as chief operating officer at the social media giant for 14 years. She joined from Google in 2008, four years before Facebook went public. When I took this job in 2008, I hoped I would be in this role for five years. Fourteen years later, it is time for me to write the next chapter of my life, Sandberg wrote on her Facebook page. Sheryl Sandberg is standing down as Meta COO but will remain on the company board. Credit:Bloomberg Sandberg has led Facebook now Metas advertising business and was responsible for nurturing it from its infancy into an over $US100 billion ($139 billion)-a-year powerhouse. Shes leaving Meta later this year and will continue to serve on the companys board. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in his own Facebook post that Javier Olivan will serve as Metas new COO, although it will be a different job than the one Sandberg held for the past 14 years. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Alexei Ratmansky is clearly distracted. Sitting in the Australian Ballets Southbank studios during a break in rehearsals, the acclaimed choreographer has a lot on his mind. Not only is he in the process of conveying his vision of Harlequinade, the lost ballet created in 1900 and resurrected by him in 2018, but his thoughts are with family and fellow artists in Ukraine. Born in St Petersburg but raised in Kyiv, Ratmansky considers himself Ukrainian: his elderly parents are still in the country, his wife Tatiana is Ukrainian, and Ratmansky was a dancer with the Ukrainian National Ballet from 1986 to 1992, rising to the role of principal. The Russian invasion bites deep. Its painful, its a very difficult experience. We communicate every day in hope that everything is going to be all right. So for me its a constant fear, he says quietly. His parents have since moved out of Kyiv to a safer place: but as he points out, nowhere has been safe since the Russians invaded in February. On the day the invasion began, Ratmansky was in Moscow choreographing a new ballet for the Bolshoi Ballet (where he was artistic director from 2004 to 2008) he left immediately to return to his adopted home of New York, where he is artist in residence for American Ballet Theater. He says he will not return to Russia until the invasion has ended and those responsible have been tried for war crimes. Its a catastrophe, what happened, in all aspects cultural, moral, economic, everything, he says. Its a collapse of whole idea. Brett Chynoweth as Harlequin in The Australian Ballets Harlequinade. Credit:Pierre Toussaint To say that Ratmansky is in demand as a choreographer is something of an understatement: the 53-year-old has been described by New York Times critic Alasdair Macaulay as the most gifted choreographer specialising in classical ballet today. He has made ballets for companies around the world, including the Royal Danish Ballet, the San Francisco Ballet, the Bolshoi and Mariinsky (formerly the Kirov) in Russia, the Royal Swedish Ballet and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. As renowned dance writer Joan Acocella put it in a 2011 New Yorker profile of Ratmansky: No one who can afford to call him hasnt, it seems. Advertisement Australian audiences will remember his Cinderella, which was first staged here in 2013 a witty, colourful romp of a ballet that pushed the dancers to the limits of their capabilities. Now hes back, and again with something mercifully fun in mind: his production of Harlequinade, which he describes as an archaeology. What he means is that he wanted to revive a ballet that was originally choreographed 120 years ago by legendary ballet-maker Marius Petipa (who also choreographed some of the worlds most famous ballets, including Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty). So he had to do some digging. He set about exploring the original notation a written record of the steps the dancers are asked to perform and piecing together the ballet so that it is as close to Petipas 1900 version as possible. And so we unearth bits and pieces of this lost ballet and we put it together, he explains. His is a flying visit to instruct the local dancers in his version of the ballet, which he originally choreographed for American Ballet Theater. While Harlequinade has a love story as its foundation, it is primarily a comedy in the style of commedia dellarte, an improvised style of theatre popular in Italy in the 16th to 18th centuries. Ratmansky found the notation in archives held at Harvard University the fact that a 1900 ballet was notated at all was a miracle he says, and there was perhaps a second miracle that they have survived. TAKE 7: THE INSIDE STORY OF HARLEQUINADE Created in 1900, Harlequinade disappeared for years following the Russian Revolution. The local production will use 70 young dancers from ballet schools around Victoria, one of the largest casts of children in the traditional ballet repertoire. Harlequinade is based on the traditions of commedia dellarte, a witty, abrasive entertainment that burst out of Italy in the mid-1500s. The shows sets and costuming, which were created by Robert Perdziola, were inspired by the original designs held in the collection of a museum in St Petersburg. The ballets 175 costumes cost an average of $US5000 ($7000). The main source of the choreographic text of Harlequinade was a set of notations written out in the Stepanov system, made up of lines, dots, arrows, Xs and Os, across three staves, each corresponding to a different part of the body. After the Revolution the notations were spirited out of the country. In 2014, Alexei Ratmansky and his wife Tatiana taught themselves how to read this seemingly impenetrable code with the help of manuals created at the end of the 19th century. It might be tempting to think that in the 120 years since Harlequinade was originally choreographed, the technique of dancers, and the way ballet itself is performed, would have changed radically. In some ways, this is true, just as a host of other factors in ballet the flooring, dancers bodies and what we know about health and nutrition, staging, technology, even the design of pointe shoes means dancers can do a range of different steps today that might not have been possible or even thought of in Petipas day. Advertisement But I very much disagree with the idea that the technique of the dancers is so much better now, says Ratmansky. I think its just different. Harlequinade centres around the love between young couple Harlequin and Columbine, which looks as though it may be thwarted by Columbines rich father he considers Harlequin too poor to marry his daughter, so he has Columbine locked up by his faithful servant, Pierrot. However, with the help of Pierrots wife, who is sympathetic to the couple, and a good fairy who gives Harlequin a magical slap stick, the lovers are united. I feel more Ukrainian now than ever because Im proud of this country ... Nothing can be compared to what the Ukrainians are experiencing. Alexei Ratmansky Classical ballet more often deals in tragedy than comedy, and Ratmansky says this too, is a challenge: while there is a lot of mime to the audience, he does not want the dancers to slip over into hammy. You have to have a sense of timing and you have to somehow read the audiences reaction, he says. You shouldnt oversell it. Technically, too, it asks much of dancers: Its a challenging thing to do, there are a lot of hops on pointe, the speed of the steps is very different sometimes its quicker than were used to now, he explains. The transitions between the steps are different and there is also a lot of engagement with the audience again, something rare in classical ballet. With its bright colours and almost cartoonish sensibility, Harlequinade offers the audience an escape from their modern lives, Ratmansky says. And because the dancers use mime to communicate with the audience throughout the ballet, the mime is like a secret language that the audience learns as the ballet progresses. Ako Kondo as Columbine in Harlequinade. Credit:Pierre Toussaint Advertisement For me whats important about Harlequinade is that it creates a world on stage. The world is so different from whats going on now. The harmony in it, the good humour, the good heart of it, should soothe the pains of today for the audience. Ratmansky and Tatiana, who has family in Ivano-Frankivsk in Ukraines west, have been glad of the respite of coming to Melbourne to polish Harlequinade. On his all-black outfit, Ratmansky wears a small badge of the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag: the invasion, and the people in danger, are never far from his mind. I feel more Ukrainian now than ever because Im proud of this country, he says. Then he pauses for a second and adds: Its a big drama for me, but nothing can be compared to what the Ukrainians are experiencing. Its on another level completely. Loading He has been in touch with many Ukrainian dancers since the war began, even though most of his professional connections are now in Russia. In March he posted on Facebook the devastating news that Artyom Datsishin, a principal dancer with the National Opera House of Ukraine, had died in a Kyiv hospital from injuries he sustained under Russian artillery fire. He was a beautiful dancer loved by his colleagues, Ratmansky wrote. Unbearable pain. Now, Ratmansky says, he feels very much part of Ukraine and will do what he can to promote Ukrainian ballet. Ukraine has to win, but at what price? he asks. The fact the world is watching this invasion like a Netflix series, seeing people being killed every day, seems surreal to him. It tells me that the whole system is not working, something new has to come out of that. He has been somewhat heartened by the widespread support the Ukrainians have had from other countries, and I hope that this will be the beginning of the worlds reaction on aggression and unjustified wars. It is constantly occupying his mind. I was always thinking that were so lucky, our lives are luxury, he says. But here we go again. However, even amid the worry, anger and grief, Ratmansky still finds a place for optimism: I think after all this ends its going to be a renaissance of Ukraine, and Im very much looking forward to it. Advertisement Hes soft-spoken, occasionally prickly, given to frustration at peoples insistence on questions like how do you feel, and unerringly direct. When a journalist from NBC asks if he thinks Julian was naive at times, he replies, Expecting states to obey their own laws is hardly naive. John was out of his sons life from the time he was three until his mid-20s, and theres a sense that while he believes utterly in the principle at stake hes also making amends. But it comes at an enormous cost: at 76, he has a five-year-old daughter back in Australia, and the year hes spent in London fighting for his boy is time he will never get back with his girl. Lawyer Moris, meanwhile, has two kids of her own with Assange. Theyve had fleeting moments together in the embassy, but the statue unveiling, she says through tears, is the first time shes seen him in three dimensions since a judge ruled against his extradition 10 months earlier. The basis of that verdict wasnt that the US had no grounds to pursue Assange for receiving and publishing information, the bedrock of journalism (its notable that he alone is facing espionage charges, not any of the mastheads who co-published). It was that his mental health was so fragile that he would likely end up dead at his own hand if extradition were ordered. The Labor governments appointment of Matt Thistlethwaite as assistant minister for the republic this week has sparked intense debate between republicans and monarchists. It marked the first time a government MP has been given official responsibility for shepherding the country towards embracing a native head of state. Assistant minister Matt Thistlethwaite says the republic is a two-term proposition for Labor. Credit:James Brickwood Just in time for Queen Elizabeths Platinum Jubilee, republicans across the country rejoiced, according to national correspondent Matthew Knott. Peter FitzSimons, chair of the Australian Republic Movement and a columnist at The Sydney Morning Herald, called it the greatest breakthrough for the republic movement in nigh on a quarter of a century, particularly after suffering a crushing defeat in the 1999 referendum. Monarchists, however, were furious a minister of the Crown was being paid by taxpayers to advocate for the removal of the Crown. Philip Benwell, chair of the Australian Monarchist League, said he was disturbed by the terribly unfair and undemocratic decision. If its a level playing field we dont have a problem with the government moving towards another referendum. The problem we have is that an unfair advantage is being given to the republican side. Its not up to the government to push a particular outcome on people. In Thistlethwaites first speech to parliament, he said: I hope that during my time in this place, we see our nation fully recognise our maturity and become a republic. Read more: Monarchist fury over republican ministry appointment. It is clear from Chinas recent overtures to Australia that it regards the new government in Canberra as a chance to reset bilateral relations, which have fallen to their lowest ebb since Deng Xiaopings reforms started in the late 1970s. The new Labor government, too, may see advantage in a reset. Clearly, Australian businesses hope for an improvement in bilateral relations that will see our once-booming trade with China restored. And many people in the community, sensing the Morrison government had been too forward-leaning in labelling China as an adversary, would welcome a return to more hospitable relations. Illustration: Dionne Gain Credit: Indeed, the wisdom of Duttons breathless claims of impending war with China was never clear, either in relation to domestic appeal or international bravado aimed at ingratiating Australia with Washington. The recent turn of events Chinas reaching out to Australia, and its diplomatic forays in the Pacific are a challenge to the new Labor government to understand and reflect the reality of competing strategic interests with China, and to act with nuance to explore avenues for mutually beneficial co-operation and re-establish a firm basis for high-level dialogue. Western Australias mandatory workplace vaccination policy will be scrapped from June 10. The lifting of the ban comes one day after the deadline for around 1 million workers to receive their third mandatory jab, with 82 per cent of the public aged 16 and over now triple-vaccinated. Premier Mark McGowan said the change was based on health advice, which brings WA into line with most other states and territories. The policy has been extraordinarily effective in protecting West Australians and helping achieve some of the highest vaccination rates in the world, he said. Loading Now Im just hanging out in my lounge room all dressed up nowhere to go and Im just tired of the fight. I dont know what to do anymore, I dont know how much I can fight to just do the basics like fly, deliver a speech and make money. Liddell said she had been inundated with messages from other travellers with similar experiences after sharing her ordeal on social media. She encouraged her supporters to complain to Qantas and Jetstar. In a statement, Jetstar said large lithium batteries were considered dangerous goods and, as such, required special clearance. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority defines dangerous goods as items or substances that pose a risk to health, safety, property, or the environment when transported by air. Rechargeable lithium batteries are considered a risk due to their volatility in high temperatures and flammable nature. The airline said Liddells booking had been made through a travel vendor and did not include the requirement to travel with a 25-kilogram lithium battery-powered wheelchair. We will reach out to our travel partners to ensure all requirements for customers travelling with a battery-powered wheelchair are clearly communicated on each booking to prevent situations like this from happening again in the future, the statement read. Jetstar said it had spoken to Liddell to apologise for the incident and had issued her with a full refund and a travel voucher. Liddells experience in Queensland comes just weeks after former disability discrimination commissioner Graeme Innes, who is blind, was told he and his guide dog could not pass through a body scanner at Adelaide Airport together. Innes, who is lodging a complaint with the Human Rights Commission over the incident, told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald he had heard dozens of stories from people with disabilities who had terrible airport and airline experiences. Former disability commissioner Graeme Innes has complained to the Human Rights Commission over his treatment at an airport. Credit:Paul Harris This is typical of the way airlines treat people with disabilities, he said. They have thumbed their nose at the Disability Discrimination Act for 20 years. He said negotiations with airlines to improve the treatment of passengers with disabilities had fallen on deaf ears and the only way to ensure carriers followed appropriate procedures was to enshrine them into the law, like in the US. Jetstar is one of the worst offenders because they have a policy of only letting two people in wheelchairs travel on a plane at a time, he said. Loading If we said only two parents can travel with a pram on each flight, Australians would be outraged, but we tolerate this wheelchair apartheid. Innes said passengers with a disability were treated differently than able-bodied people and asked to follow separate rules to fly such as notifying airlines of battery-powered wheelchairs days in advance. This is not an isolated example, this is a regular occurrence, he said. Lorna McDonough-Brown, a retired 84-year-old from Newcastle, NSW, was made to wait for more than four hours at Melbourne Airport while Qantas verified her assistance dogs accreditation. After being diagnosed with bilateral vestibulopathy a condition that causes chronic unsteadiness McDonough-Brown sought full accreditation for her Pyrenean mountain dog, Aragorn. They had travelled together by air at least seven or eight times since 2018, but were stopped when trying to board their return Jetstar flight from Tullamarine Airport, with Qantas head office saying that proper documentation for Aragorn was missing. Although McDonough-Brown was eventually allowed to board the flight, she was disappointed by the lengthy delays and miscommunication across airlines. I just dont think this should happen, McDonough-Brown said. A walker wont take me where I need to go ... and Aragorn isnt about to explode on the plane. At my stage of life, to be sitting in the airport with that hanging over my head... Its disgraceful. McDonough-Brown will lodge an official complaint to Qantas, encouraging the company to streamline policies involving assistance dogs and other disability aids across airlines. In 2009, Jetstar apologised to Paralympian Kurt Fearnley after he criticised the airline for making him check his personal wheelchair in with his luggage. Fearnley said at the time he chose to crawl through Brisbane Airport rather than use an unsuitable chair offered by the airline. In 2018, Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott also complained he had been left on a plane without his wheelchair being brought to the gate and urged Australian airlines to sort their shit out. It is inhumane and unfair taking peoples independence away and not caring about it, he tweeted at the time. A Perth vet who was found guilty of unprofessional conduct after leaving three puppies inside a pregnant bull terrier says she is mortified by her mistake, but claims it could happen to anyone. Dr Karon Easterley, who owns Vets 2U in Bibra Lake, said she had to pay out thousands of dollars in legal costs despite multiple letters of support from clients and other vets. Vets 2Us Dr Karon Easterley delivered this litter of eight puppies several months before the incident in October. The case, which was taken to the State Administrative Tribunal, was related to and elective C-section on a two-year-old dog named Mira in October 2021. Easterley sedated Mira and removed five puppies, before concluding there were no more to be delivered and closing the incision. All kudos to the Victorian local governments calling on our state government for planning laws to be amended to allow them to ban gas on new developments (The Age, 1/6). As noted, burning gas produces about 16per cent of Victorias total emissions and residential users account for two-thirds of those. In addition, bright sparks are getting off the gas in droves. This means the rapidly rising cost of gas, and gas infrastructure will fall to those who either choose to burn, or like renters, may have no choice. Not good for the environment nor equity. As we race to a safer, decarbonised world, supporting gas use and gas infrastructure is no longer a defendable nor ethical choice. Karen Campbell, Geelong The Greens climate policy is evidence-based Shaun Carney (Opinion, 1/6) repeats the tired, mainstream-media trope of ideological rigidity against the Greens. The Greens climate policy is net zero by 2030. This is not ideological, it is evidence-based. That is why I voted for it. It means, according to the science, that catastrophic climate change may be avoided. Alas, Labors inadequate targets which include at least 114 new gas, coal and fracking projects could fatally wound us all. More power to the Greens. They have been legitimately elected and endorsed to break the bipartisan denial and inadequacy response to our existential threat. Michelle Goldsmith, Eaglehawk Australia needs true representative democracy Shaun Carney, by any Western (European) standard, the Greens are not a minor party. If the Australian election had been held in, say, Germany or Denmark under their proportional representation systems, Adam Bandt would now likely be minister for climate change in a coalition government with the Labor Party. The only reason why the ALP won the majority of the seats and claims to have a mandate with one-third of the primary votes is attributable to Greens and teal voters having given their preferences to Labor. The election result should have called for a consensus centre-left government with the Greens being part of it. Henk van Leeuwen, Elwood LETTERS Spread out your eggs The councils that wish to prohibit gas cooktops and heating in new developments seem unaware, in their righteousness, that their proposed alternatives of induction cooktops and heat pumps for water are essentially powered by coal, in Victoria at least. Combustion of coal produces considerably more carbon dioxide per unit of energy than gas. Also, those with interest in cooking will understand the difficulty in heating a curved base wok on a flat induction top, quite apart from the household inventory of non-magnetic cookware that is incompatible. Workarounds exist, to be sure, but remember when the electricity is off, brownouts and power lines down and so on, the gas remains available. Having all the eggs in the one basket is just a tad unwise.Henry Askin, Hawthorn I forgot to touch on Passenger numbers are now not as high as previously anticipated, according to budget documents, and Victorias Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll has announced a reduction of tram services in St Kilda Road and Elizabeth Street (The Age, 1/6). Can I point out that he has no idea how many passengers are actually travelling on trams. I use the 96 service regularly and barely half the passengers touch on. I suspect this is true of other routes. If we had enough inspectors finding the thousands of passengers who are rorting the system, Carroll might find we need more services, not fewer. Peter Kay, Carlton North The real footy challenge If youre going to the G, use public transport, they extol. But this year, on footy days, we will cancel route 12 trams along Collins Street. To add some challenge, well add special footy trams along Flinders Street, but we wont tell you the arrival times on Tram Tracker so you can enjoy a crowded tram stop and a packed route 70 tram. Well done, Yarra Trams, for keeping the hoi polloi on their toes. Brian Burgess, Middle Park Let the surgeries proceed My daughter was due to have elective surgery at a private hospital on Tuesday. A last-minute positive COVID-19 test put paid to that. Surely the time has come for hospitals to go ahead with these so-called elective surgeries especially for vaccinated patients. The fallout from not doing these surgeries surely holds significant risk to patients who are being forced to endure illnesses for longer than is medically recommended. Hospitals seem to be the final bastion of a lockdown mentality that struggled to acknowledge nuance. This is paradoxical considering they are the very places where disease control is best understood. Donna Wyatt, Wyndham Vale The double flu standard Good on the state government for making flu shots free for everyone, but what about those of us who have already paid to have it? The cheque is in the mail, huh? Mark Kennedy, Sebastopol Pressure on our schools Congratulations, Nicole Precel, for the revealing report about the sad state of our public schools due to COVID-19 and now the emerging flu pandemic (The Age, 31/5). Little wonder our teachers are exhausted, and our children bewildered or disconnected. However, there is one thing we can rely on. This time next year, politicians particularly those on the conservative side will blame lazy teachers for the certain lower academic results among students, and disregard Precels thoughtful and sensitive report. David Allen, Bayswater North No incentive to return If retired teachers were truly being welcomed into an environment where the flu and COVID-19 are running wild, putting their health at risk, the government would offer them sick leave in the same way it does for current teachers in the service. If I come back to the classroom and am rewarded with illness and no benefit of sick leave, then I am not coming back. Paul Gooley, Ringwood East Tactfully asking can... Re: The question that is just a step too far (Comment, 1/6). Abbir Dib makes an interesting point about asking people: Where are you from? I was born in Australia of parents who migrated in 1941 and I studied languages at university, so I am interested in accents. I approach asking questions by saying, Unless you are Indigenous, were all immigrants. My parents came from Europe, so do you mind if I ask where youre from? So far, nobody has been offended and I am always impressed by those who grin and reply, Guess. I am happy to say that I get the answer right about 70per cent of the time, which leads to interesting conversations. Juliet Flesch, Kew ...lead to fascinating chats The conversation I had with an amazing cocktail waiter in Sydney on the weekend about travel, Argentina, Antarctica and our mutual ambition to revisit Cuba kicked off with a question regarding his accent. After reading Abbir Dibs column, this encounter now has a whole new meaning. Peter McGill, Lancefield Safety of NZ and Australia Peter Hartcher China raising the Pacific stakes (Comment, 31/5) did not mention Australias trump card. If and when the ocean levels rise and these islands become submerged, it will be Australia and New Zealand that will offer new lives and homeland to those displaced peoples and their future generations. Unless they wish to, and are allowed to, live in China. Rosslyn Ellis, Newport Engage with our backyard The new governments initial approaches to the Pacific look promising. But right in the middle of the Pacific is an Australian territory Norfolk Island. Based on a recent visit there, I suspect the islanders would say Australia is not taking their need for infrastructure seriously, is limiting their funding and is generally treating the territory as an afterthought. If my observations are correct, the situation would be well known across other Pacific Island nations. For enduring success in our re-engagement in the Pacific, we should start in our own backyard. Bernie Carolan, Templestowe Lower The factions rule, OK? The process determining the make-up of the ALPs cabinet suggests that, like the Coalition before it, Labor governs according to the whims of its factions before the needs of the nation. Michael Langford, Ivanhoe Its time to listen to us... Sussan Ley, the Liberal Party might do better by listening to what Australian women have to say, rather than complaining they didnt hear much of what we were saying (The Age, 1/6). I heard you. I did not like what you were saying. The election result suggests that I am not alone. If you will not hear our voices, listen as we vote. Anne Rutland, Brunswick West ...and observe our looks For those who questioned Grace Tames behaviour towards Scott Morrison at the Australian of the Year morning tea, it appears that look reflected the feelings of many Australian women. Anne Carroll, Brighton East Follow Caldicotts lead In the early 1980s I attended a Palm Sunday Peace Rally in Melbourne. The eminent anti-nuclear campaigner Dr Helen Caldicott was the guest speaker. A hundred or so anarchists positioned themselves at the front of the 25,000-plus crowd. Their disruptive interjections rattled the first two speakers and annoyed us all. When Caldicott was introduced, she put her fingers to her lips and made a long, polite shush sound. As soon as the anarchists interrupted again, she made an even longer, quietly powerful sound Shsssshsh. There was total silence and then the crowd burst into laughter and applause, witnessing this congruent peace activism. The anarchists gave up. So here is an idea for the first parliamentary sitting with a new government. The first time an MP is interrupted, those who want change please respond in the spirit of Caldicott. Offer a collective, respectful but firm shush. Repeat this strategy until positive behaviours are established across the house. Andrew Mountford, Portarlington Importance of word order I was pleased to find the solution to one of the clues in the quick crossword (Puzzles, 1/6) was contralto, the lowest singing voice for a woman. Not the lowest woman singing. Beryl Helme, Fitzroy North Three strikes, youre out As a retired (and aged) doctor, I read with interest Timna Jacks article, Walking linked to impending dementia (The Age, 1/6). Could I suggest some simple diagnostic, cognitive and ambulatory tests for the elderly to see if they fall into the high risk group? Firstly, observe if they succeed using the internet to contact their bank and speak to a real person. Having failed this, then observe how long it takes them to walk to their local bank. Finding it is now permanently closed, see how they then deal with the problem. Three fails mean they will be consigned to a home for the bewildered. Dr John OSullivan, Hawthorn Encourage kids to aim high Re: Parents shun public schools in citys north (The Age, 28/5). When I attended Fawkner High School during the 1960s, the pool it drew its students from was definitely working-class, probably migrant, and mostly drawing a wage rather than a salary. Yet the school had a staff that was passionate about us exceeding societys expectations of working on the assembly line at the Ford factory. If I recall correctly, a number of senior teachers were state examiners in their subject areas in my final matriculation year in 1968. It seems the Education Department has let its expectations for the current cohort to revert to 1950s, class-based standards. Perhaps they should be reminded that the Ford assembly line is no longer active. Mike Pantzopoulos, Ashburton AND ANOTHER THING Credit:Illustration: Matt Golding Federal Didnt Chris Bowens mother tell him that he needed his greens? Robin Jensen, Castlemaine Re Bowens comment on climate change. Lets hope he isnt getting ahead of himself like he did in 2019 when he told people not to vote Labor if they didnt like its policies. Michael McKenna, Warragul With an ALP primary vote of 33per cent, how can Bowen claim a mandate for anything? Rob Hocart, Tyabb Ley says women didnt hear much of what we were saying. The Liberals are sticking to Morrisons line that its someone elses fault. Paul Sidebottom, Glenroy An independent speaker is needed for fairness, and to stop the insulting farce of question time. Malcolm McDonald, Burwood The saying politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason comes to mind. Barry Higgins, Traralgon Arts and science in cabinet. Its like merit-based has taken on its original meaning. Angus Smallwood, Northcote So Palmer thinks the $70 million he spent on advertising was worth it despite not winning a single seat. Surely he must be dreaming. Ross Chadderton, Mount Waverley LOL: Tim Smith describing others as loud, entitled and privileged. Colleen Heatley, Drouin West Perhaps its time to consider the relevance of the trumpeted polls on the preferred PM. Ron Townsend, Wheelers Hill Furthermore The state government is cracking down on privately run disability homes in Victoria, closing one after findings of bullying, coercion and abuse of residents and warning all facilities that the strongest possible action will be taken to tackle neglect. Gracemanor in Melton South, which houses people with disability and mental illness, has been deregistered to protect the health of residents and its proprietor found not suitable to operate a supported residential service on conduct and character grounds. Parvinder Kaur is the manager of Sydenham Grace and Gracemanor (formerly Meadowbrook) Supported Residential Services. Credit:Eddie Jim The crackdown comes as the Coroners Court and Department of Families, Fairness and Housing investigate the death of a man at Sandy Lodge Supported Residential Services in Aspendale. Department secretary Brigid Sunderland warned the entire supported residential services sector which houses more than 4000 of Victorias most marginalised citizens was on notice. Kalgoorlie has lots of mining operations as well, mostly for gold, but it is number 10 on the list and a significant amount behind the other two WA mining locations. Fortescue Metals manages the Christmas Creek mine and chief executive Elizabeth Gaines said the company implemented a range of dust suppression measures on all our sites and report emissions in line with the requirements of the National Pollutant Inventory. As we decarbonise our operations, emissions associated with diesel combustion will be reduced, she said. Rose said their research showed the pollution total of the five types of air pollutants per postcode in kilograms was 185 million in Newmans postcode and 134 million across Tom Price. Kalgoorlies postcode was a significant step down at five million kilograms; still considered very high according to the list. Muja power station in Collie. Credit:Synergy In Collie, pollution levels are at 81 million kilograms and are largely linked to Collie, Muja and Bluewaters coal power stations and an alumina refinery. Rose said the main problem for Collie was the Muja power station. This is the oldest of the stations and two of its four units are closing by 2024. It is the fourth-biggest polluter in the state. If the coal power station emissions were to come out of the data then it would pull Collie out of that top 10 list, he said. It is clear that a transition to renewable energy is needed to not only improve air quality for residents but to help slow down the impacts of climate change. Loading But Rose said he appreciated there was a balance needed and that the industries provided jobs for communities and materials that are used every day. We are definitely not calling for anything to be shut down right now, we just want better regulations and new, nationally consistent air quality standards that are applied to all facilities, he said. Curtin University professor of sustainability Peter Newman said that the list was much appreciated as often the information was hidden away and not accessible. But he also said the list was oversimplified and broad, and it was hard to know the impacts of the five pollutants in regional town centres as the mines were often a good distance away from residential zones. The measurements have been taken at each of the specific sites and the pollutants are obviously more concentrated in those areas, he said. The view for motorists heading through Karijini, the national park on the doorstep of Tom Price, which is also home to vast iron ore operations. Credit:Emma Young However it is still a concern that all the worst polluted areas are in the regions, in WA and nationally. Newman said there had been discussion around forming a federal Environmental Protection Agency which would help apply stricter regulations across the states and would allow focus on more remote areas. He also said the biggest concern was the coal power stations and the three alumina refineries in WA, including the one in Collie. Loading Coal burning is the biggest contributor to air pollutants, particularly as they have been burning for a long time, he said. They, alongside aluminium refineries, are also in closer proximity to town centres and produce high levels of mercury which can affect your brain in the long run. Synergy, which operates the Muja and Collie power plant, was unable to comment within the deadline. The weight of expectation on the new Labor government was obvious well before its senior members reached the gates of Government House, with climate activists holding out placards screaming of the fresh hope the new regime brought with it. Inside the double doors of the reception room, the mood was celebratory: a mixture of homecoming for those who had been here before and a welcome for the newer faces to be sworn into Anthony Albaneses Labor ministry. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese poses for a group photo with his ministry after a swearing-in ceremony with Governor-General David Hurley at Government House. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Health Minister Mark Butler carried his months-old son, Charlie, to adoring onlookers, while Education Minister Jason Clares baby came wrapped in a knitted koala hoodie. New Environment Minister Tanya Pliberseks bright yellow pantsuit set the tone among hugs and back-slaps. Regional Development Minister Kristy McBains royal blue velvet pantsuit raised it higher. Labor will take its first step in closing the gender pay gap on Friday by arguing for higher wages for Australias lowest-paid employees as a key cabinet minister stressed workplace equality was a priority. Treasurer Jim Chalmers confirmed the new governments highly anticipated submission to the annual minimum wage review would urge the Fair Work Commission to raise pay packets to meet the rate of headline inflation, saying it was even more important than ever the umpire delivered a favourable outcome. Former prime minister Julia Gillard, (second from right) discusses gender equality and pay gaps with experts including Mary Wooldridge and Geraldine Chin-Moody. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen After Anthony Albanese said during the election campaign he absolutely supported real wages keeping in line with the 5.1 per cent inflation rate, Labor added the promise of the minimum wage submission to its policy suite to close the gender pay gap, saying women formed the majority of the workers in low-paid industries. The director of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Mary Wooldridge, says there needs to be a generational change in attitudes towards masculine or feminine industries and publicly reporting gender pay gaps within private companies is also key to eliminating it. Archaeologists in Egypt have uncovered a trove of ancient artefacts at the necropolis of Saqqara near Cairo, including mummies and bronze statues dating back 2500 years. Among the treasures were 250 sarcophagi - or painted coffins - with well-preserved mummies inside, unearthed during recent excavations at a burial ground outside Cairo, said Mostafa Waziri, the secretary general of Egypts Supreme Council of Antiquities. Painted coffins with well-preserved mummies inside, dating back to around 500 BC at a makeshift exhibition at the feet of the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, Egypt. Credit:AP In one of the wooden sarcophagi, we found, for the first time, a complete and sealed papyrus, he told reporters at a makeshift exhibit. The document was immediately moved to a museum for further study. Waziri said he believed it was similar to those found 100 years ago that discuss the Book of the Gates and the Book of the Dead. Both are ancient Egyptian funerary texts. The dig also uncovered 150 bronze statues of Egyptian deities and instruments used for rituals dating back to the Late Period of ancient Egypt, about 500 BC, said Waziri, who led the archaeological mission. Twenty-five years is a long time for an off-Broadway-to-Broadway transfer to happen, but in the case of Paula Vogel's How I Learned to Drive, the wait was worth it. The Pulitzer Prize winning play is now running at Manhattan Theatre Club's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre after an initial run at the Vineyard in 1997, and it has earned Vogel a Tony nomination for Best Revival of a Play, and acting nods for longtime stars Mary-Louise Parker and David Morse. Here, Vogel and Morse dig into the depths of this storied work, and discuss all the fears that come with remounting a show two decades later. Paula Vogel and David Morse ( David Gordon/Joseph Marzullo) This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity. Take me back a quarter of a century and longer. Paula, what's your origin story of this play? Paula Vogel: This play had been in my head since I was 20, and I would always think "How the heck would I do this?" I went, for a while, down the rabbit hole of Lolita. I wanted to see if there was a way to do it from Lolita's point of view. I started driving one day, and I saw a young woman adjusting the rear-view mirror, and I saw the ghost of a man materialize in the back seat. Rally kind of wigged me out. But that was it. By chance, I had done a lot of research to write a play for Cherry Jones for the Perseverance Theatre in Alaska on a Pew grant. I had worked with Cherry on The Baltimore Waltz. I was futzing around with the cast, and I skipped across the room and Cherry said, "Oh my God, girl, the way you jiggle." And I swiveled around and said, "I'm going to write something so you know how that feels." Not that that was the only initial impulse to write this. And what's interesting, I hadn't remembered that her childhood nickname was "L'il Bit," which is a common nickname in the south. As we were about to get on the plane, Cherry called me and said, "I just got offered The Heiress." I landed in Alaska and everyone's like "Hey, where's Cherry?" And I'm like "Good news, bad news. Cherry's going to Broadway, that's the bad news. The good news is, I have a play about an uncle." What was it like for you to hear the play aloud for the first time? Paula: I associate this play with a type of silence that I hadn't experienced before. We did one reading in Alaska, and when we finished, there was absolute silence. I thought they were going to stone me. Then, [artistic director] Molly Smith came up to me and said, "This will run forever." I was really stunned. I couldn't get arrested in New York at that point, but Doug Aibel at the Vineyard read it overnight and offered me a slot. I remember that quiet in the audience at our first preview, and I think I went backstage and said, "We're going to get stoned," because that's what I thought. I don't know if you worried about that. David Morse: I think part of it is, forgive me for using this word, the genius of your play. People are drawn into it in a way that they just don't expect, and as they get deeper and deeper in it, they're holding their breath. You've got them laughing, you've got these amazing characters, and there are all these little steps you take until you get them to those final moments, and it kills them emotionally. But then, at the end, the grace. That you leave them with even a little bit of humor. You give them hope to heal. What else could they do but be silent? It's the power of the play. I really do remember the power of it in that room. You can just feel it. And that power has only grown stronger to this very day. Mary-Louise Parker and David Morse in the Broadway production of How I Learned to Drive ( Jeremy Daniel) David, what is it like to do this play now, 25 years later, when our cultural vocabulary for child abuse and pedophilia and grooming is infinitely more expanded than it was? David: I was afraid of doing it now because I'm so much older and I was afraid people would just either be totally grossed out or it would be so offensive to have this older guy doing this that it would be unbearable for them to watch. There's so much anger at men now, and it should have been there all along because of the abuse they've inflicted on women and children for centuries. I was afraid I was going to come in and be representing all those men and all that abuse would be unforgivable. Paula: The secret for me in the play was that I loved my uncle. I felt love for my uncle. I felt glad when I wrote it because I could see him again, rather than compartmentalizing him as this demon who caused me this much pain. I could go back and look at it as gray, rather than black and white. That was my worry about the politics of this. People have to understand that there are childhood states of needing love, needing to be desired, and needing to be taken care of, as part of this. David, you're the only person who can pull off the idea of, "Can we feel sympathy, empathy, and desire for this man?" And if the audience can, we can understand the kind of Stockholm Syndrome that goes on with children who do feel love and do feel loved. That there is something that feels reciprocal. Not in all cases. But in cases where children are being groomed, they do feel the desire, they do feel the love. David: In some ways, I feel like in the first production, because we were younger, it was easier for people to get swept up in that story and in that relationship, and I think it's the power of your play. I won't take credit here, because as far as I'm concerned, I'm only doing what you wrote, but even with our ages, in this day and time, they still get swept up in it. And I'm glad they do. Paula: I feel even more urgency this time around to say that this is a syndrome that will happen and happen unless we, as parents and aunts and teachers and family members and neighbors, are vigilant. We cannot afford, as adults, to be naive and not watch. A lot of pedophiles marry in the hope that this will stop the urges or will channel the urges. Also, family members around someone who's exhibiting pedophilic impulses need to be vigilant, as well. In a strange way, I feel like my original funny tagline that nobody would allow me to use is truer than ever, which is "It takes a village to molest a child." That's really true. What kind of help can you get for men, so they don't give in? I'm curious if people do chart or recognize, David, how hard Peck fights against it. David: It's my hope that they do, because that's one of the things I wanted to focus on this time, and in a way, I don't think I got it the first time. He really fights against it. He did something to L'il Bit when she was younger, and he has paid the price. In terms of their relationship, he violated her, but he also violated the fact that he truly loves her from the day she was born. And he said, "I'm not going to do anything you don't want to do," so he is really battling it, in a way. But he's also doing the stuff he's doing with the hope that someday this will become more than just a sexual affair. He proposes to her, and he really is in love with her, and he doesn't want to destroy that again. David Morse, Alyssa May Gold, Johanna Day, Paula Vogel, Mary-Louise Parker, Mark Brokaw, and Chris Myers make up the How I Learned to Drive team. ( David Gordon) Do you all feel an added pressure knowing that you've come back to this with the history you all have? David: Completely. I really felt intimidated by that production and the younger people that we were. It was such a phenomenon in the city when the play opened at the Vineyard. It sold out immediately and it was one of the must-see things in New York for a year, though Mary-Louise and I only did it for six months. I just didn't know if I could personally measure up to whatever that young man did. I'm still not sure I can, but I think maybe we've done pretty good here. When I see friends after the show, people can't speak to me. People who think they're tough literally can't speak to me because they're so moved by this play. So clearly, whatever we're doing is working and I have faith in that. Paula, I know you've reworked things here and there for this production, particularly the ending, where she no longer reveals her age. Can you talk about that? Paula: I wanted to change it so that it would be the most flexible going forward for anyone who plays it. Because the truth of the matter is, if you're telling the story to an audience, decades have already passed, and it doesn't matter what age you are. I wanted to emphasize the gap but make the age ambiguous so that it would fit any performer. I feel that writers are basically tailors, and every actor deserves a bespoke suit. The other thing we talked about is how we could do a framing device that's 2022, so that we're talking about what is existing right now, rather than doing a road trip back to 1997. And then the last thing I've come to, and which is fairly important, took me 25 years. And it's my response to what David has given me. The grace and the humanity of his Peck has given me the ability to say, "There's one forgiveness that matters, and that's the forgiveness of self." Acquisitions in Colorado and Wyoming significantly increase access to public lands The Bureau of Land Management is kicking off Great Outdoors Month by finalizing two land acquisitions in Colorado and Wyoming that will unlock over 40,000 acres of previously inaccessible public land. In partnership with The Conservation Fund, a national nonprofit that supports the voluntary protection of public lands and waters, the Bureau of Land Management finalized two acquisitions through the Land and Water Conservation Fund: the 160-acre Escalante Creek Parcel within the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area in Colorado, and 35,670 acres of private land southwest of Casper, Wyoming that will unlock access to 40,000 acres of existing BLM and State of Wyoming land. The BLM works hard to provide additional access to previously inaccessible public lands by working with partner organizations like The Conservation Fund and through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, said BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning. We are so grateful for these partnerships that allow us to conserve and expand access to public lands for many generations to come. Marton Property Acquisition The BLM Wyoming acquisition is the largest land purchase that the BLM has undertaken in Wyoming, creating a 118-square-mile contiguous block of public land and improving public access to the North Platte River. The Conservation Fund worked closely with the Marton family to acquire the property, and recently transferred it to the BLM for permanent protection using funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The Conservation Funds initial purchase was also supported by a grant from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Congress provided funding to acquire the ranch over several years, and BLM received $21 million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund in 2021 to purchase the ranch in its entirety. Located east of Alcova Reservoir, the Marton property is bordered to the north by 8.8 miles of North Platte River frontage and extends south into Carbon County. Acquisition of the property will connect formerly inaccessible BLM and State lands and ensure the continued conservation of important wildlife habitat for Greater Sage-Grouse, raptors, and big game species. The propertys proximity to Casper and ease of access furthers the Department of the Interiors commitment to ensuring equitable access to Americas lands and waters. This acquisition marks a big step forward for improving public access, said BLM High Plains District Manager Kevin Christensen. Through our lasting partnership with The Conservation Fund, we have a unique opportunity to conserve crucial wildlife habitat at a landscape scale and expand access to the river and public land for our local community and visitors. The inclusion of an additional 8.8 miles of public access to the North Platte River, a blue-ribbon trout fishery boasting more pounds per mile of fish than any other stream in Wyoming, provides growth opportunities for the tourism and recreation economy in Casper and Natrona County. In 2021, travelers spent $285.1 million in Natrona County, generating $16.3 million in state and local taxes. The acquired lands will be managed initially the same as adjoining BLM-managed lands, with existing decision in place that protect wildlife habitats and other resources while promoting recreation. The BLM will undertake a planning effort to develop management prescriptions specific to the area that take into account the purposes of the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the input of Tribes, partner agencies, and the public. Ensuring a conservation solution like this one requires not just an outstanding landscape, but outstanding private citizens and public servants to match it, said Dan Schlager, Wyoming state director at The Conservation Fund. Thanks to the truly exceptional land management and determination of the Marton family, and an unwavering problem-solving commitment from the BLM, this remarkable landscape will remain permanently conserved for the enjoyment of the entire Wyoming community. Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area The Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area, located in canyon country of the Uncompahgre Plateau in Western Colorado, is part of the BLMs National Conservation Lands system. It is designated as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern, Watchable Wildlife Area, and Special Recreation Management Area. The parcel being transferred includes about a half-mile of Escalante Creek, which is home to three sensitive fish species and provides a popular whitewater kayaking destination. The creek is also an important tributary to the nearby Gunnison River. The lands are used for recreation activities like camping, fishing, and kayaking and contain essential wildlife habitats for desert bighorn sheep and mule deer. This acquisition in Colorado allows the BLM to permanently protect and enhance the cultural, recreational, and wildlife resources in Escalante Canyon for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations, said Collin Ewing, Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area Manager. We appreciate our continued partnership with The Conservation Fund and the local community that allows us to improve equitable access on our public land. The Conservation Fund worked with the former owners of the 160-acre Escalante Creek property to find a permanent conservation solution for their land that will secure public access, improve recreational opportunities, and preserve ecosystem benefits for the local communities. Increasing recreational access to the spectacular red-rock canyons in the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area is a great addition to the public lands that belong to all of us, said Kelly Ingebritson of The Conservation Funds Colorado office. We appreciate the leadership of the BLM, Colorados Congressional delegation, the landowners, and local supporters to protect a strategic treasure on Escalante Creek and in the heart of the National Conservation Area. We are proud to see this land protected for public access and future generations, said Paul Felin, former landowner, and representative for the family who owned the parcel. The propertys portion of Escalante Creek is a wonderful recreation area that our family and friends enjoyed visiting since the 1970s, which the public will now be able to experience going forward under the BLMs ownership. *** These projects support the America the Beautiful initiative, a decade-long challenge to pursue locally led and voluntary efforts nationwide to conserve 30 percent of the nations lands and waters by 2030. The initiative centers on collaborative conservation, expanding access to public lands, and making outdoor recreation accessible. The Land and Water Conservation Fund provides funding for the acquisition of land, and interest in land, for the benefit of present and future generations. The funding BLM receives is used to support specific conservation, recreation, and other projects to enhance public access to and the management of public land, waters, and resources. To learn more about other lands acquired by the BLM through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, please visit BLMs web map. These and other projects are part of the BLMs mission to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. News Updates Would you like to receive our newsletter? Get local, Wyoming, and national news, the weather forecast, and more, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. After a six-week long trial, the jury in the Johnny Depp V Amber Heard trial finally annouced their verdict this morning. Depp is sueing Heard for $50 million USD for defamation after her 2018 op-ed, which described herself as "a public figure representing domestic abuse". Even though Depp was not named in the article, he is claiming it has cost him his career and potential roles. Jury's verdict: Jury awards $15 million in damages to Johnny Depp with the actor winning both counts in defamation. $5 million of those damages will be reduced to the Virginia maximum for puinitive damages of $350,000. Meaning Johnny will receive $10,350,000 in total. Heard filed a counterclaim for $100 million USD after Depp's lawyers said her allegations were a hoax. Jury's verdict: Amber heard wins Count. 2 in her counter-claim however loses Count. 1 and Count. 3 in counter-claim. Jury awards $2 million in damages to the actress. Depp has shared his first messaged following the outcome. Posting on Instgram, the actor said he is 'truely humbled' Last updated: 8.15am. Late Wednesday night, the jury in the Johnny Depp VS Amber Heard trial announced that after 13 hours deliberating, they'd reached a verdict on the two defamation cases. Heard was present for the verdict while Depp joined virtually from the UK with a rep for the actress saying he took "his snickering and lack of seriousness on tour. "Your presence shows where your priorities are," they continued. Depp is sueing Heard for $50 million USD for defamation after her 2018 op-ed, which described herself as "a public figure representing domestic abuse". Even though Depp was not named in the article, he is claiming it has cost him his career and potential roles. Jury's verdict: Jury awards $15 million in damages to Johnny Depp with the actor winning both counts in defamation. $5 million of those damages will be reduced to the Virginia maximum for puinitive damages of $350,000. Meaning Johnny will receive $10,350,000 in total. A police car behind police tape is seen blocking a road in Florida on Aug. 26, 2018. (Gianrigo Marletta/AFP via Getty Images) Florida Girl, 10, Shoots and Kills Woman After Online Post, Police Say A 10-year-old Orlando girl shot and killed a woman who was arguing with her mother over a social media post, a police arrest affidavit said on May 31. The girl and her mother were taken into custody on May 30 following the fatal shooting of Lashun Rodgers, 41, outside an apartment complex, according to the Orlando Police Department. Lakrisha Isaac, 31, the childs mother was arrested and charged with manslaughter by culpable negligence, child neglect, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and aggravated assault with a firearm. She is being held at the Orange County Jail without bond. The girl was turned over to the Florida Department of Children and Families. The affidavit indicated that officers spoke with three witnesses to the event, including the victims boyfriend. Investigators said an argument between two women, Lashun Rodgers and Lakrisha Isaac, over a social media post resulted in a fist fight at a downtown apartment complex where the two women resided. Isaac, who according to witnesses was intoxicated at the time of the altercation, had handed her daughter a backpack as she began to fight with Rodgers in the breezeway of an apartment building. The child found the handgun and shot it twice, hitting Rodgers in the head, police said. Then she reportedly yelled, She shouldnt have hit my momma. The mother then pointed the gun at Rodgers boyfriend, who had attempted to break up the fight before the shots were fired, before returning to her apartment, the report said. Rodgers was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Her boyfriend told police Isaac had thrown the first punch and that he tried to pull Rodgers away but she broke free and continued to confront Isaac, the affidavit said. A neighbor confirmed the boyfriends account to the police and said Isaac had approached her to ask about Rodgers and the social media post. The neighbor said Rogers then told her to go inside her apartment so she wouldnt be involved in the fight, the report said. Other witnesses told police the child said that she was defending her mother. The Orange-Osceola State Attorneys Office is considering charges against the girl. A health worker prepares a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a convention hall in Banda Aceh on Aug. 30, 2021. (Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP via Getty Images) 9 Million COVID Vaccine Doses in Indonesia to Be Destroyed After Expiring Some 9 million doses of expired COVID-19 vaccines being kept in storage facilities in Indonesia will be destroyed, as the country winds back its anti-COVID measures. The vaccines expired last month, the Indonesian Health Ministry said. Our storage facilities are feeling the strain as theyre filled with expired doses, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in a Tuesday briefing Bloomberg reported. Thats especially as we have a new campaign to push for basic vaccination for children across the country. The majority of the vaccines were donated from developed countries before their expiration dates, Sadikin said, according to local media KOMPASS.com. When the vaccines were transferred to us, the average expiration date was between one and three months, he said, adding that Indonesia accepted the free vaccines due to the outbreak situation at the time. Sadikin cited the decline in the countrys vaccination rate as another cause for the vaccines being unused. The governments initial goal was for 90 percent of the population to be fully immunized, and 80 percent to receive a booster dose. We discussed with [Prime Minister Joko Widodo] whether the vaccination rate was attainable, he noted. It would be more realistic to have 70 percent of the population fully vaccinated and 50 percent receive a booster shot. A man receives a booster shot of the Pfizer COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at a makeshift clinic at the Aceh Museum in Banda Aceh on Jan. 17, 2022. (Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP via Getty Images) The Indonesian government lifted the outdoor mask mandate and waived pre-departure coronavirus testing for foreign travelers on May 18. Mask wearing will remain mandatory for indoor activities and on public transport, reported Reuters. Indonesia is not the only country that saw donated vaccines go to waste. In December last year, Nigeria destroyed over a million expired COVID-19 doses and announced that it would no longer accept donated vaccines with short shelf lives. The United Nations revealed in January that more than 100 million donated COVID-19 vaccine doses were rejected by poor countries, primarily due to their short shelf life, reported Reuters. About 15.5 million of the rejected vaccines were destroyed, the U.N. stated, adding that the recipient nations had to delay supplies due to a lack of storage facilities for the vaccines. In November last year, the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) and the U.N.-backed COVAX program issued a joint statement saying that the quality of donations needs to improve. The majority of the donations to-date have been ad hoc, provided with little notice and short shelf lives. This has made it extremely challenging for countries to plan vaccination campaigns and increase absorptive capacity, they stated. To achieve higher coverage rates across the continent [of Africa], and for donations to be a sustainable source of supply that can complement supply from AVAT and COVAX purchase agreements, this trend must change. They urged donors to release donated doses in large volumes and have a minimum of 10 weeks shelf life when they arrive in-country, as well as to inform recipient countries of the availability of the doses not less than four weeks before their arrival. Ballots for the 2020 general election are counted by Maricopa County Elections Department staff in Phoenix on Oct. 31, 2020. (Courtney Pedroza/Getty Images) 19,000 Late, Invalid Ballots Were Counted in Arizona 2020 Election: Report Arizona 2020 Election Results May Have Been Different, Election Integrity Group Says With the 2022 midterm elections around the corner, scrutiny of the 2020 election continues to raise questions about election integrity, including a newly identified anomaly in Maricopa County, Arizona. Arizona Law requires that, to be considered valid, ballots must be received by the county no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day. But newly uncovered records documenting the Maricopa County 2020 general election show that while more than 20,000 ballots were transported from the U.S. Postal Service after Election Day, Maricopa County only rejected 934 late ballots in its Early Voting Rejections Summary document. This means more than 19,000 late, invalid ballots should have been rejected. That is significant because it is enough to potentially sway the results of Arizonas presidential election, which rested with a final tally of Joe Biden winning the state with 10,457 more votes than Donald Trump. It is impossible to know if the results would be different if the late ballots had not been counted in Maricopa County. The Early Voting Rejections Summary is just one of the documents telling the story. County documents were obtained by Verity Vote, a group of citizen volunteers with data research and investigation backgrounds who have been investigating the 2020 election results throughout the country. Verity Vote recently released a report detailing this investigation. How Ballots Move To understand the anomaly, it is important to know how ballots are moved in Maricopa County, which uses dropboxes and early mail-in voting. A truck driven by a Maricopa County Elections Department employee picks up ballots at least once a day. The collection truck starts at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center. The truck has some space for more ballots but is already loaded with some early in-person ballots and ballots that were placed in a dropbox. The driver goes to the post office and picks up more ballots, then takes the truck to Runbeck Election Services where all ballots are given an incoming scan. It is here, at the scan, that the Inbound Receipt of Delivery document is generated. This receipt of delivery shows the date, time, and names of the employees delivering and receiving the ballots, and it itemizes the number of ballots that came from the post office, dropboxes, and early in-person voting. In response to some document requests, Maricopa County made the Receipt of Delivery documents available for public inspection for dates spanning Oct. 13 to Nov. 6, 2020. From that collection of documents, Verity Vote noticed that documents from Nov. 4, 2020the day after the electionwere missing. Verity Vote requested Maricopa County provide the Receipt of Delivery for that day, first with a few phone calls, then with written requests. It should have been a simple request because all the other dates were already public. But this request went to a county attorney. After numerous delays, multiple follow up emails, and phone calls, county employees informed Verity Vote that the records were with legal counsel pending review, the report says. It took nearly seven months to get the documents. The Nov. 4 Receipt of Delivery shows 18,000 ballots were picked up from the Post Office the day after the Nov. 3 election. The form has three colors of ink. A Runbeck Election Services employee printed his first name only, Brandon, in blue. The ballots arrived at 9:30 on 11-4-20 and the paper is signed in the same blue ink by the receiver, but the signature is illegible. A row listed as lates should show how many ballots are late. The four columns in the late row have numbers in blue ink but are scribbled over and cannot be read. Another signature, scrawled in red ink, is also illegible. It denotes the person who delivered the ballots. Even though the document is dated Nov. 4, one day after the election, at the top of the page, above the margin, someone has written Election Day in black ink in what looks like different handwriting from the rest of the page. The county also documents receiving 1,000 ballots on Nov. 5 and 1,500 ballots on Nov. 6. Combined with the 18,000 ballots found on Nov. 4, the total documented late ballots were 20,500. A letter from County Recorder Stephen Richer, responding to Verity Votes document request, indicated that the Nov. 4 receipt the county provided is not the only receipt for ballots the county received that day. This document does not represent the complete universe of Maricopa County inbound receipt delivery forms from Nov. 4, 2020. We cannot be certain, but we believe that the remainder of these forms were transferred to the treasurers office to be stored and sealed with ballots, Richer wrote. If so, it indicates there are more mailed ballots that were not counted in the Early Voting Rejections Summary, and presumably would have been counted in the results. Another anomaly is the number of ballots collected Nov. 4, compared to other surrounding days. Voters were instructed to mail ballots by Oct. 27 to be sure their ballots arrived on time. By Oct. 30, the number of ballots coming by mail dropped sharply, but then spiked the day after the election. On Oct. 28, the county received 58,500 ballots from the post office, then: Oct. 29: 14,500 Oct. 30: 10,500 Oct. 31: 6,000 Nov. 1: 1,500 Nov. 2: 1,000 Nov. 3: 2,500Election Day. In order to be counted and valid, the ballot must be received by the county no later than 7 p.m. Nov. 4: 18,000 late, invalid ballots Nov. 5: 1,000 late, invalid ballots Nov. 6: 1,500 late, invalid ballots Yet Maricopa County rejected just 934 ballots for lateness. Maricopa County responded to The Epoch Times request for comment with an email promising the communications director in its Elections Department would reach out. The Epoch Times will report when they do. Arizona has 11 electoral votes. In the final tally, Biden had 74 more electoral votes than Trump, according to the official record at the National Archives. A massive crowd gathers on the east side of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Bobby Powell/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) Army Reservist Found Guilty of Jan. 6 Capitol Breach Facing 23 Years in Prison An Army reservist from New Jersey was found guilty Friday on misdemeanor and felony charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Breach when his actions disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain electoral votes related to the presidential election. Timothy Louis Hale-Cusanelli, 32, of Colts Neck, New Jersey, was found guilty of a felony charge when he obstructed an official proceeding, according to a Justice Department news release that followed his trial in the District of Columbia. He was also found guilty of four misdemeanors including entering and remaining in a restricted area, disruptive conduct on the premises, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading within a Capitol building. The arrest happened on Jan. 15, 2021, and Hale-Cusanellis sentencing is set for Sept. 16, 2022. Altogether, the charges carry a statutory maximum of 23 years in prison along with financial penalties. During the time of incident, Hale-Cusanelli was enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves and worked at a naval weapons station with a secret security clearance. He has since been disbarred from the facility. On the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, Hale-Cusanelli joined a crowd of demonstrators that illegally breached a police line on Capitol grounds. Based on government evidence, he commanded other people to advance on the Capitol. He moved inside the building shortly after the breach that took place at 2:12 p.m. at the Senate wing door, and remained inside for approximately 40 minutes. Days after the incident, Hale-Cusanelli told a friend that being in the Capitol was exhilarating, he was hoping for a civil war, and that the tree of liberty must be refreshed with the blood of patriots and tyrants, according to the DOJ report. During the trial, Hale-Cusanelli pleaded ignorance and claimed he did not know that the Capitol was where the Congress conducted business and whether they were in session on Jan. 6, according to a report from NBC News. I know this sounds idiotic, but Im from New Jersey, he told jurors on Thursday. I feel like an idiot, it sounds idiotic, and it is. He told a federal prosecutor, I didnt know the Capitol building was the same as the congressional building. According to court documents, Hale-Cusanelli was alleged to be carrying extremist and racist views. Based on interviews by Naval Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS), 34 out of 44 Hale-Cusanellis co-workers described him as having extremist or radical views pertaining to the Jewish people, minorities, and women. Sergeant John Getz, who was Hale-Cusanellis supervisor at Naval Weapon Station Earle for a period of 1.5 years, offered a letter of support in the documents. He wrote that he knew Hale-Cusanelli for a little over 2 years. I was appalled at how he was slandered in the press in regards to him being a white supremacist. I have never known him to be this way. I know that our co-workers would agree. For example, he was close with an African-American co-worker for whom he would frequently buy breakfast, Getz wrote. Never have I seen Mr. Hale treat any of his African-American co-workers differently than anybody else, nor have I heard any distasteful jokes or language leave his mouth. I believe the media to have severely exaggerated this particular character trait. However, the documents refer to contradicting statements the sergeant made to NCIS during an interview. Following the arrest and subsequent detention of Hale-Cusanelli, he has since been held in solitary confinement. This led to Cynthia Hughes starting the Patriot Freedom Project (PFP) in spring 2021. Hale-Cusanelli is her nephew and she founded the PFP as a support group for the families of defendants being held in jail in Washington. I realized very quickly that what I was doing for my nephew and my family I could be doing for other people, Hughes told The Epoch Times. So, through Patriot Freedom Project we have replaced the public defenders and supplemented retainers for people who hired their own attorneys. Since the Jan. 6 breach, over 800 individuals have been located and arrested from nearly all 50 states. More than 250 individuals have been charged with assault and impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing. Patricia Tolson contributed to this report. Attempted Ronald Reagan Assassin John Hinckley Gets Unconditional Release John Hinckley, who attempted to assassinate former President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, will get an unconditional release, a judge ruled Wednesday. The 67-year-old will be released on June 15, said U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in the Wednesday order. Previously, the judge said Hinckley would be released as long as he remained on good behavior. John Hinckley tried to kill the president of the United States. He came very close to doing so. We came to learn President Reagan was very close to death. James Brady was damaged for life, he said Wednesday. Brady, a former White House press secretary, was paralyzed in the attack. The judge added: In 1981, over 40 years ago, John Hinckley was a profoundly troubled young man. He had acute psychosis. He began to stalk the president. The president [at the time] was Jimmy Carter. He never got close to Jimmy Carter. But he did get close to Ronald Reagan. Friedman said Hinckley has been in sustained remission for over 25 years and has followed every condition imposed by the court, adding that he has demonstrated self-awareness and responsibility for his mental illness. We are not losing sight of what he did 40 years ago, the judge continued. Hes been scrutinized, hes passed every test. I am confident Mr. Hinckley will do well in the years remaining to him. I hope the public will understand, he has made such progress, and hes not a danger anymore. Last year, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute issued a statement saying it opposes Hinckleys unconditional release. In this March 30, 1981 file photo, Secret Service agents and police officers swarm a gunman, obscured from view, after he attempted an assassination on President Ronald Reagan outside the Washington Hilton hotel. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File) Contrary to the judges decision, we believe John Hinckley is still a threat to others and we strongly oppose his release, the foundation said. Our hope is that the Justice Department will file a motion with the court leading to a reversal of the decision. Hinckley was confined to a mental hospital in Washington for more than two decades after a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity for shooting Reagan, who was injured in the incident. Starting in 2003, Friedman began allowing Hinckley to live for longer stretches in the community with requirements like attending therapy and restrictions on where he can travel. Hinckley has been living full-time in Virginia since 2016, though still under restrictions including: allowing officials to access electronic devices, email, and online accounts; being prevented from traveling to areas where he knows there will be an official or family member protected by U.S. Secret Service; and giving notice if he wants to travel more than 75 miles from his home. Hinckley was 25 when he carried out the attack. Jurors later said he was suffering from severe mental problems and found him not guilty by reason of insanity, saying he required treatment and not life in prison. If he hadnt tried to kill a president he would have been released unconditionally a long time ago, Friedman wrote in September in an attempt to rationalize his release. According to a Twitter account that appears to belong to Hinckley, he is scheduled to hold a music concert in Brooklyn on July 8. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Anthony Albanese (C), Penny Wong (L) and Richard Marles (R) walk out of Government House after being sworn in as prime minister, foreign minister, and deputy prime minister respectively, in front of the Governor-General, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) in Canberra, Australia, on May 23, 2022. (David Gray/Getty Images) Australian Labor Party Forms Majority Government, Announces Ministry Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced his new ministry after the Australian Labor Party secured 77 seats in the lower house, giving the party one more seat than required to form a majority government. The new ministry will see 30 ALP members of parliament form the new frontbench with interim ministers Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles all retaining their positions after being sworn in as part of an interim cabinet last week. However, Albanese announced that Marles will also take on the role as defence minister, while Gallagher will be given the additional responsibilities of Minister for Women and the Public Service Minister. In a surprise move, Tanya Plibersek will away from her shadow ministry portfolio of education into a new portfolio and be environment and water minister, while Clare ONeil will be home affairs and cyber security minister. Tanya Plibersek addresses a 2019 Federal Election Volunteer Rally in Burwood in Sydney, Australia on April 14, 2019. (Brook Mitchell/Getty Images) Don Farrell has been appointed to trade, tourism and special minister of state, while Tony Burke will be minister for employment, workplace relations and the arts. Health and aged care will be looked after by Mark Butler, with climate change and energy being overseen by Chris Bowen. Catherine King will be the new minister for infrastructure, regional development and local government, while Amanda Rishworth will be social services minister. Linda Burney has been appointed to be Indigenous Australians minister, just the second Aboriginal person to hold that portfolio. The prime minister also announced Pat Dodson would work alongside Burney as a special envoy for reconciliation and implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart. New NDIS Minister Bill Shorten speaks to participants during an event to celebrate the International Day of people with a disability at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Dec. 3, 2020. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch) Former opposition leader Bill Shorten will be the next minister for the NDIS and government services, with Mark Dreyfus being attorney-general and cabinet secretary. Brendan OConnor will pick up skills and training, and Jason Clare will be in charge of the education portfolio. Michelle Rowland will keep the portfolio of communications, Ed Husic will be in industry and science, and Madeleine King takes responsibility for resources and northern Australia. Housing, homelessness and small business will be overseen by Julie Collins, with Murray Watt responsible for agriculture and emergency management. There will also be some new faces on Labors frontbench, with Anne Aly elevated to early childhood education and youth minister, and Kristy McBain in charge of regional development, local government and territories. Ed Husic, speaks to media during a press conference in the Mural Hall at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on May 13, 2021. (Photo by Sam Mooy/Getty Images) Veterans affairs and defence personnel will go to Matt Keogh, aged care and sport to Anika Wells, and immigration, citizenship and multicultural affairs to Andrew Giles. Pat Conroy has been appointed to the defence industry, international development and the Pacific, and Stephen Jones will be assistant treasurer and financial services minister. The full cabinet will be sworn in at a ceremony at Government House on Wednesday morning. Of the 30 member frontbench, 16 will come from the right and 14 from the left due to a proportionate split within caucus. Prime Minister Albanese said there was good balance of new faces and members who had been in the previous Labor frontbench when the party was last in power. We had a position whereby I think we have an overflow of talent on our side of parliament Its a mix of people who have served in the cabinet before, he said. That will augur well for how the government functions. There will also be two further special envoys, with Nita Green being an envoy for the Great Barrier Reef and Susan Templeman being a special envoy for the arts. Additionally, by winning the 77th seat in the House of Representatives the party will be able to choose the House speaker from its own ranks while maintaining a majority vote. Opponents of the Coastal GasLink pipeline set up a support station outside of Gidimt'en checkpoint near Houston B.C., on Jan. 8, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Jason Franson) Crown Going Ahead on Charging 15 BC Coastal GasLink Pipeline Protesters With Criminal Contempt The B.C. Prosecution Service is going ahead with prosecuting 15 protesters for criminal contempt for allegedly defying an injunction passed in 2019 that protects the construction of a liquefied natural gas pipeline in northern B.C. Crown lawyer Trevor Shaw told Supreme Court Justice Marguerite Church on June 1 that prosecutors need another four weeks to decide whether to charge 10 additional protesters with criminal contempt related to the blockades and actions last fall opposing the Coastal GasLink pipeline, reported the CBC. In total, 27 people were arrested over a period of six days between September 2021 and November 2021, two of whom the Crown decided not to charge due to evidentiary reasons. The 670-kilometre pipeline would transport natural gas from Dawson Creek in northeastern B.C. to Kitimat on the Pacific coast. Almost all of the route has been cleared and nearly one-third of the pipeline has already been installed. The pipeline has the support of 20 elected First Nation governments along the route, including the elected governments of the Wetsuweten Nation and Haisla Nation. But its opposed by the Wetsuweten hereditary chiefs and environmental activists, whose protests against the pipeline spread to other parts of the country in early 2020, in many cases with protesters setting up blockades on railroads. Last December, the RCMP reported that a group of protesters allegedly threatened Coastal GasLink security officials, damaged trucks, and fired flares and bear bangers at security officials. In February, the RCMP said about 20 protesters, some armed with axes, attacked Coastal GasLink security guards and smashed their vehicle windows. Church had asked prosecutors twice before to consider pressing criminal contempt charges against protesters accused of defying the injunction she issued in 2019 that protects the access to the pipeline worksite, reported CBC. The Crown declined to say exactly why in both previous cases, when they decided that prosecution was not in the public interest. The decision to prosecute this time around was made after Crown counsel applied both the evidentiary and the public interest tests found in their policies for charge assessment relating to civil disobedience, Shaw told the judge. Lee Harding contributed to this report. Beijing Inks Security, Economic, and Disaster Relief Deal With Pacific Nation Tonga Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has managed to secure several bilateral agreements with Tonga on disaster relief, agriculture, fishery, health, and police equipment as he reaches the backend of his 10-day trip around the Pacific. The agreements come after Beijings vow to continue pushing Pacific nations to join a sweeping regional security and economy deal, despite a lack of consensus among Pacific nations on the Chinese regimes original proposal. Wang has visited the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, and Fiji to date. He will be heading to Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, and Timor-Leste in the coming days. On May 31, Wang met with Tonga Prime Minister Huakavemeiliku Siasi Sovaleni and King Tupou VI at the Royal Palace, where the leaders signed a tranche of bilateral agreements that will allow China to provide a police laboratory and customs inspection equipment to Tonga, disaster relief aid, blue economy cooperation, and a tomb improvement project. The announcement of the deepening bilateral ties comes after Tonga, one of the Pacifics poorest nations, signed up for Beijings Belt and Road Initiative in 2021. It also owes two-thirds of its external debtworth US$195 millionto Chinas Export-Import Bank, its budget statement shows. Tonga is still recovering from a volcanic eruption and tsunami that wreaked havoc on the Pacific nation in January. The event has seen major countries pledging financial aid in a bid to compete for influence. Beijing has sent two Chinese Navy ships, two Chinese fishing vessels, and two Y-20 military aircraft to Tonga for emergency assistance. The Red Cross Society of China also provided Tonga with $100,000 in cash assistance. Australia has provided a $16 million package to support Tongas long-term reconstruction and recovery, alongside a delivery of nearly 55,000 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to support Tongas pandemic response. New Zealand has provided Tonga with $3 million in humanitarian funding. China is currently in the process of seeking wider security ties in Pacific nations, which, despite its small population, boast rich natural resources and strategic military locations. Last week, a leak of the China-Pacific Island Countries Common Development Vision revealed Beijings plan to cooperate with 10 Pacific nations in the fields of free trade, fisheries, security, cyber, and maritime mapping. However, the deal has been shelved following a lack of consensus, with David Panuelo, president of the Federated States of Micronesia, saying that the pact could trigger a new Cold War. On May 27, Wang met with Kiribati Vice President Teuea Toatu and managed to secure a commitment to deepen ties. Kiribatis ambassador to China, David Teaabo, said the leaders were to sign up to 10 memoranda of understanding, according to Chinese state-owned media Global Times. On May 28, Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa committed to deepening cooperation in areas such as infrastructure development, pandemic response, climate change, and education. Upon her accession, Mataafa had cancelled a $100 million Belt and Road Initiative deal in the countrys capital, Apia, yet the prime minister was still keen to continue building diplomatic ties with Beijing. Daniel Y. Teng contributed to this report. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks in Washington on May 11, 2022. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) Beware Faucis Scheme to Empower the World Health Organization Commentary When the next pandemic hits, President Joe Biden wants the World Health Organization (WHO)a puppet of the Chinese Communist Partyto have more power over the United States and other countries. Among other changes, WHO is pushing for equity in access to vaccines and medicines, meaning the U.S. will be hindered from rushing new vaccines and treatments to its own population until poor countries are supplied, never mind who develops and pays for the drugs. Should the United States surrender its ability to care for its own population for the sake of global equity? The answer is no. Anthony Fauci, Bidens top delegate to WHO, is behind the dangerous idea of enlarging WHOs power. We should all vigorously oppose it. WHO lost its credibility early in 2020, when COVID struck outside China. WHO parroted Chinas false denials about human transmission, delayed declaring a global health emergency, and advised against travel restrictionsall in service to Beijing, instead of offering unbiased advice to the world. Georgetown University professor and globalist Lawrence Gostin said the agency and its director-general were caught in an awfully difficult position between what science dictates and a very, very powerful country. Nonsense. The morally correct course was obvious, but WHO kowtowed to China instead, jeopardizing millions of lives. No wonder President Donald Trump moved to sever connections with WHO. But Biden reengaged them on his first day as president, putting Fauci in charge of rejoining WHO. Fauci, in turn, promised the move would produce transparency on COVIDs origins and reform the agency. So far, there have been no answers and no reform. WHO keeps taking Americas money while taking orders from China. WHOs pro-China bias was on display last week at its annual meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. WHO spurned the U.S. request to admit Taiwan as an observeron orders from Beijing. WHO also reelected Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for another term. He ran unopposed. The United States made no attempt to replace him, despite his subservience to China at the expense of Americas safety and well-being. Why? Misplaced loyalties. Ghebreyesus calls Fauci my brother, and Fauci considers Tedros my dear friend. American interests be damned. Even more troubling, the assembly voted to begin revising its regulations, which spell out a countrys legal obligations if a disease outbreak could spread internationally. Its unclear how the revisions might impede the United States from making decisions about travel bans and other issues. But Reuters already reported one red flag: African nations supported the revision effort only after being guaranteed vaccine and therapeutics equity for poor countries. Tedros has been pushing equity since 2020, insisting that wealthy countries should not be permitted to meet the needs of their own populations before sharing with underdeveloped nations. As troubling as Taiwans exclusion, Tedross reelection, and the proposed rule changes are, the worst is WHOs failure to produce information on COVIDs origins. The first WHO-sponsored investigation allowed China to dictate the terms, barring access to Chinese doctors and patients medical records and discounting evidence of a lab leak. Fauci has touted WHOs promise of a second investigation and report, but so far, its come to nothing. Fauci and Biden seem willing to forget 1 million American deaths from COVID, but the rest of us want answers. There should be no cooperation with WHO or funding for WHO until we get them. WHO failed the American people and the world by working hand in hand with the Chinese Communist Party to conceal the origins of COVID-19, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said. Congressional Republicans launched measures last week to block further entanglements with WHO. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) introduced legislation mandating that any new agreement with WHO be deemed a treaty requiring the advice and consent of the Senate. Meanwhile, several House Republicans demanded Biden explain capitulation to Tedross reelection. The world needs a global institution to man an early-warning system, track disease outbreaks, and coordinate an international response. WHO is disqualified from that role. Biden is endangering our health security by entrusting it to Fauci and his WHO cronies. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A U.S. soldier sits at a Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) during the demonstration of the reload procedures after an artillery live fire event at a military training area in Grafenwoehr, southern Germany, on March 4, 2020. (Christof Stache/AFP via Getty Images) Biden Confirms US Sending Advanced Rocket Systems, Munitions to Ukraine The United States is providing Ukraine with more advanced rocket systems and munitions as Russias invasion continues, President Joe Biden said on May 31. Writing in a New York Times opinion piece, Biden said that Americas goal in Ukraine was to see a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression. We have moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table, he said. Thats why Ive decided that we will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine. Some news outlets reported last week that Biden was preparing to send advanced, long-range rocket systems to Ukraine following requests from officials in Kyiv. The reports, which cited unidentified Defense Department officials, said the White House would deploy Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) or the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) to Ukraines military. The longer-range missiles can fire rockets at targets hundreds of miles away and are made to support operations with high-volume destructive, suppressive and counter-battery fires, according to the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center (USAASC). The weapons allow for attacks with low-collateral damage and provide all-weather, 24-hour close- and long-range precision rocket and missile fire support which can quickly enhance combat effectiveness, the center says. A Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) shoots during an artillery live-fire event by the U.S. Army Europes 41st Field Artillery Brigade at a military training area in Grafenwoehr, southern Germany, on March 4, 2020. (Christof Stache/AFP via Getty Images) While the munitions would mark a big improvement to Ukraines current stock of weaponry, it would also mean that Kyiv could potentially strike targets or infrastructure inside Russia, a move that would dramatically escalate the war. Biden said in his op-ed that while his administration plans to send the more advanced systems to Ukraine, it wasnt advocating for Ukraine to direct the rockets into Russian territory. Russia warned the United States and NATO last month that there would be unpredictable consequences if they continue sending the most sensitive weapons to Ukraine, the Washington Post reported. We do not seek a war between NATO and Russia, Biden wrote. As much as I disagree with Mr. Putin, and find his actions an outrage, the United States will not try to bring about his ouster in Moscow. So long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces. We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia. Elsewhere, the president said the United States would continue to provide Ukraine with advanced weaponry, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, Stinger antiaircraft missiles, powerful artillery and precision rocket systems, radars, unmanned aerial vehicles, Mi-17 helicopters, and ammunition. Servicemen of Ukrainian Military Forces move U.S. made FIM-92 Stinger missiles and the other military assistance shipped from Lithuania to Boryspil Airport in Ukraine on Feb. 13, 2022. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images) The White House would also continue cooperating with its allies regarding further sanctions on Russia, and send billions in financial assistance to Ukraine, as authorized by Congress. We will work with our allies and partners to address the global food crisis that Russias aggression is worsening, Biden said. And we will help our European allies and others reduce their dependence on Russian fossil fuels, and speed our transition to a clean energy future. The latest weapons package draws from a nearly $40 billion bill approved by Congress last month that included $20.4 billion in military assistance along with $8.5 billion in economic assistance and $3 billion in humanitarian assistance to address food shortages around the globe. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks at the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington on May 31, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) Biden Doesnt Support Ban on All Handgun Sales: White House President Joe Biden does not support a ban on all handguns but does support a ban on the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines as well as expanded background checks, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday. Jean-Pierre made the comments in response to questions from reporters regarding whether or not the president would support legislation similar to that of Canada that would make it impossible to buy, sell, transfer, or import handguns anywhere in that country. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday introduced legislation that would implement a national freeze on handgun owners and propose stricter sentences for gun smugglers and traffickers. Jean-Pierre said Biden believes that the United States needs to act, and that hesupports a ban on sales of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and expanded background checks to keep guns out of dangerous hands, but not support a ban on the sale of all handguns. Jean-Pierres answer also comes a day after Biden suggested he wanted to ban 9mm handguns in remarks to reporters at the White Houses South Lawn. As he visited Texas over the weekend, officials showed me an x-ray he said, a 22-caliber bullet will lodge in a lung and we can probably get it out and maybe save a life. A 9mm bullet, blows the lung out of the body, Biden said. So the idea that these high caliber weaponstheres simply no rational basis for it in terms of self-protection, huntingand remember, the Constitution, the Second Amendment was never absolute, he said. President Joe Biden speaks to reporters outside the White House in Washington on May 30, 2022. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) Its not clear why Biden was making reference to 9mm ammunition, which is primarily used in handguns, not riflesor if he was confused with another cartridge caliber. Uvalde Shooting Trudeaus legislation came shortly after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on May 24 in which 19 children and two adults were killed. At least 17 others, including children, sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos had purchased two semi-automatic rifles separately, on May 17 and May 20, just after his birthday, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) confirmed on May 25 in a briefing to Texas state senators, reported KHOU. He had also purchased 375 rounds of 5.56 ammunition on May 18, according to ATF authorities. Ramos was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent after opening fire inside the school. People visit a makeshift memorial for the 21 victims of an elementary school mass shooting in the town square in Uvalde, Texas, on May 29, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) The mass shooting, the 27th such shooting to have taken place in the U.S. this year alone, has sparked a renewed debate over stricter gun-reform legislation. Jean-Pierre was asked on Tuesday what steps Biden is taking with regards to the newly-revived debate surrounding guns, to which she said the president is in close contact with key members of Congress on negotiations. Bipartisan negotiations are currently underway in Congress regarding gun control legislation in response to recent mass shootings. What the president is going to continue to do, as hes done from the first few days that he walked into the office, is to ask Congress to act, the press secretary said. And so, were going to continue to have those conversations. Hes going to do everything that he can to make that happen. We have to stop this gun violence epidemic that were seeing. The latest comments from the White House come after a bloody Memorial Day weekend in the U.S. that left multiple people dead and dozens more injured due to a string of shootings. Some 352 shootings occurred across Saturday, Sunday, and the federal holiday on Monday, according to the nonprofit research organization, the Gun Violence Archive (GVA). In total, there have been 230 mass shootings in the United States in 2022, according to GVA, while approximately 17,911 people have died from gun violence in America. Canadian Legislation Elsewhere on Monday, Trudeau said the new legislation, Bill C-21, also proposes taking away the firearms licenses of those involved in acts of domestic violence or criminal harassment, such as stalking. The legislation would also allow law enforcement to seek wiretap powers if they have reasonable grounds to believe that an individual is in possession of a firearm for which he or she doesnt have a proper license. The government will also require long-gun magazines to be permanently altered so they can never hold more than five rounds. However, Conservative MP and public safety critic Raquel Dancho said the new firearms bill wont do much to reduce gun violence across the nation and instead negatively impacts law-abiding gun owners. Despite years of more gun control, bans, buybacks, and nearly a billion dollars spent, gun violence continues to go up in Canada, Dancho said on Twitter on May 31. Today Trudeau doubled down on his failed approach and again promised Canadians it will keep them safe. It wont, just as it hasnt for years. With reporting by Jack Phillips. Nelson Peltz founding partner of Trian Fund Management LP. speak at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, Calif. on Oct. 25, 2016. (Mike Blake/Reuters) Billionaire Investor Peltz, With 1.5 percent Stake, Joins Unilever Board Billionaire activist Nelson Peltz will join the board of Unilever, the consumer goods giant said on Tuesday, heaping pressure on the maker of Dove soap and Hellmans mayonnaise as it reviews its strategy. Shares in the London-listed group jumped 7 percent as it said Peltz, who has amassed a 1.5 percent stake in Unilever, will join as a non-executive director from July and serve as a member of the boards compensation committee. It is Peltzs latest move on a consumer goods company and likely to increase pressure on Unilever for a bigger revamp of strategy after an unsuccessful 50-billion-pound ($63-billion) attempt to buy GSKs consumer healthcare arm earlier this year. We look forward to working collaboratively with management and the Board to help drive Unilevers strategy, operations, sustainability, and shareholder value, Peltz said in a statement. Peltz, chief executive and founding partner of New York-based hedge fund Trian, is known for his interest in consumer-oriented firms and proposing operational changes at Trians portfolio companies. In 2018, Trian called for a slew of changes at Unilevers bigger rival P&G, after which Peltz joined its board following a months-long proxy fight. We have held extensive and constructive discussions with him and the Trian team and believe that Nelsons experience in the global consumer goods industry will be of value to Unilever, Unilever Chair Nils Andersen said. Analysts at RBC and Credit Suisse welcomed Peltzs appointment, saying he could effect positive changes to company culture and financial performance. If not that, at least the presence of an activist investor can drive collaboration amongst Unilevers other shareholders and raise Unilevers profile in the media to increase accountability of ongoing changes, RBC analysts added. Shares in Unilever have slumped well below their 2020 pandemic lows this year and are still down 30 percent from an all-time high reached in 2019. Unilever said Trian Fund Management manages funds with interests in 37.4 million Unilever shares, or about 1.5 percent of the British firm. Fellow Unilever investor Waverton Investment Management also welcomed Peltzs addition to Unilevers board. He/Trian can add fresh outsider ideas, Waverton fund manager Tineke Frikee said. ($1 = 0.7931 pounds) By Sachin Ravikumar Brandon Straka, founder of the #WalkAway Campaign, speaks at the CPAC convention in National Harbor, Md., on Feb. 28, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Brandon Straka: Jan. 6 Confession Was Made Under Pressure of Facing Charges With Long Prison Term Brandon Straka, a conservative activist, was confronted with a choice between pleading guilty to a crime he did not commit and facing serious charges with a long prison term related to the Jan. 6 Capitol rally. He chose to accept the plea deal because he felt he would not get a fair trial. On Jan. 6, 2021, after then-President Donald Trump addressed the rally at the Ellipse, a park near the White House, Straka walked to U.S. Capitol where he was supposed to give a speech at an event planned to take place on the east side of the building, Straka recollected of that day. While walking, he received messages from people watching the news at their homes saying that some people went inside the Capitol building, Straka told EpochTVs Crossroads program. He thought that something unusual might be happening, so when he was about three blocks away from the Capitol, he started shooting a video to record everything that happened from that point on, Straka said. The breach of the Capitol occurred on the west side of the building, but he was heading to the east side where his speaking engagement was going to take place, said Straka, founder of the WalkAway Campaign. There were people on all four sides of the Capitol. As Im entering the grounds [on the east side of the Capitol], there are no police officers present that can be visible anywhere in the video. People on the grounds are very, very calm. Theres a man on the top of the steps on the east side, sort of motioning down and hollering out. Theyve opened the doors, theyre letting us in. Straka said he walked to the top of the stairs and began filming while holding his camera fully above his head, as there were hundreds of people standing outside. Most people did not enter the Capitol, but some did, he added. The doors were wide open. I never went inside the building, I just stood outside of the building, filming. After about eight minutes, a man with a bullhorn came outside of the Capitol, Straka continued. He said into the bullhorn: Theyve cleared Congress. Everybodys left the building. Clear out, clear out. At that moment, I immediately turned around, I left, Straka said. Straka then came to his hotel room, uploaded the video he shot to Twitter, and posted it with a comment similar to This is what I witnessed today at the Capitol, he said. However, after seeing on TV the footage of what had occurred on the west side of the Capitol, he took his video down. It was really shocking to me because I didnt see anything like that with my own eyes. I took my video down when I saw that because I didnt want anybody to think that I was there or a part of it or somehow condoning whatever that was. But for that hour or two that my video had lived on Twitter, Twitter trolls had copied my video, and they began mass posting it for the next several weeks and tagging the FBI. On Monday, January 25, I woke up to an FBI squad on my door. They came in and raided my apartment and put me in handcuffs. [They] presented me with a search warrant and they took me to jail. The FBI took his computer, iPad, phone, hard drives, thumb drives, camera, and clothing, Straka said. Facing Charges Straka said that being in jail really terrified him because it was just five days after the President Joe Bidens inauguration when the Democrats had taken full control of the federal government, and he thought he could be spending decades in prison for spending eight minutes outside of the Capitol on January 6. After two and a half days, he was released from the prison on a judges order, Straka said. He was charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor. The first felony was for occupying restricted grounds. On the east side of the Capitol, where Straka was, there were no police and no barricades, he said. Theres a very large sidewalk [there], very, very wide, so you could drive a truck down the sidewalk, and on both sides of it, there was bike rack in the grass, but the sidewalk was wide open. I think any logical person would not think that they werent allowed to be on that sidewalk, not to mention the fact that there were thousands of people everywhere. So I dont know how on earth anyone would get the indication that they should not be there. Straka said he believed that the charges against him were not fair: A lot of people, even people who went inside the Capitol, even people who crawled through a broken window and went inside the Capitol, are getting misdemeanor charges of being on restricted grounds or parading inside the Capitol. I was charged with a felony for that. He was also charged with a felony for impeding an officer in the line of duty. I was standing there with my arms above my head, my camera pointed toward the open doors of the Capitol and filming. And theres a moment in my video where a police officer comes to the doorframe of the east side Capitol doors somebody grabs his shield out of his hand and they begin passing it back through the crowd. And as thats happening, a few people in the crowd are shouting, take it, take it, and take the shield, take the shield. This happened about 35 feet in front of him with hundreds of people in between him and the Capitol doors, Straka explained. The FBI said they knew conclusively that it was his voice, Straka said. First, they said it was me shouting take the shield, take the shield. And then they changed it to me shouting take it, take it, he said. Straka said he vehemently denied the charges. The government later offered him a plea deal that dropped the two felony charges but charged him with a misdemeanor of disorderly conduct, Straka said. However, there was a condition attached to the plea deal: They put in my plea deal that I witnessed this police officer having his shield taken away and that I shouted take it, take it to encourage the crowd to take the shield away. He was told that if he objected to the deal, he could go to trial facing the two felonies and the misdemeanor that he had already been charged with, and possibly an additional felony charge of obstruction of Congress, which carries a sentence of 20 years, Straka said. Facing such pressure, Straka signed the plea deal, which means he confessed to a crime he didnt commit only to avoid facing charges with long prison terms that he believed would not be heard before a fair trial, Straka explained. Trials of Jan. 6 defendants are held in Washington, D.C., and these judges do not release jurisdiction to somewhere else, Straka said. Every jury trial that has taken place so far on January 6 cases has resulted in the juries deliberating for a matter of two hours or less and coming back with guilty on all counts verdicts. I dont believe that my case would have been any different. My opinion is that it does not matter if youre innocent, and it does not matter if the evidence shows that youre innocent. If you are a vocal Trump supporter who questioned the 2020 election and youre going before a D.C. judge and jury, youre going to be punished for making the decision to support Donald Trump and question the election. A lot of the judges in Washington, D.C., are liberal-appointed activist judges who also hate Donald Trump, Straka said. I struggle every dayprobably until the day I die, Ill struggle with [this]: Did I make the right decision? But ultimately I have to believe that I did. Aftermath of Confession Straka said he has been paying dearly for signing the plea deal, as his reputation was destroyed. He has been portrayed by media as an insurrectionist who encouraged an attack on a police officer, he said. He believes, however, that nobody should ever take a shield from a police officer, and nobody should ever encourage anybody to take a shield from a police officer. In 2020, at the time when the BLM movement promoted defunding the police, Straka, a Democrat-turned-Republican, and his WalkAway Campaign organized Rescue America rallies across the country during which they raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support police officers, the activist said. In December last year, WalkAway held a fundraising event to refund the police and raised $30,000 to give to defunded police departments to help restore training and equipment, Straka said. The funds were raised through a limited email campaign aimed at his followers, Straka said. His audience supports the police, and they would have never supported Straka and his campaign if they had believed that he participated in or encouraged an attack on a police officer, Straka said. The WalkAway Campaign encourages and supports those on the Left to walk away from the divisive tenets endorsed and mandated by the Democratic Party of today, the WalkAway website reads. Its mission is to bring Americans together to walk towards unity, civility, respect, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all, the website says. Straka said that he and his organization have been permanently banned from online-donor and popular payment services. My name has been destroyed in the media. I am now synonymous with being an insurrectionist and a terrorist who went to D.C. on January 6 to try to overthrow the government and encourage an attack on a police officer, when in fact, I thought I was going to be speaking at a First Amendment-protected event, Straka said. Its been catastrophically destructive to my name and the name of my organization, Straka said, but he added: Im a fighter, Im going to fight my way back, Im going to keep going, Im not going to back down. This is an uphill battle, but were going to win. Ella Kietlinska Reporter Follow Ella Kietlinska is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on U.S. and world politics. California Legislature Proposes $195 Billion in More Taxes Commentary Its never enough for tax-giddy California legislators. California taxpayers are so generous they will be funding a state budget of $300.7 billion. Thats according to the figure in Gov. Gavin Newsoms May Revision of his budget proposal for fiscal year 2022-23, which begins on July 1. That includes an incredible surplus of $97.5 billion, by itself more than the entire budgets of 45 other states. Yet on May 31, the California Tax Foundation came out with its latest (pdf) annual Tax and Fee Report: Major Taxes and Fees Introduced in the California Legislature. It uncovered 64 proposals, of which 51 are too difficult to figure out. But 13 laws, if all were enacted, would increase taxes and fees $195 billion a year. The two worst: ACA 11 is by Assemblyman Ash Kalra (D-San Jose). In the bills language, it would adopt a statutory program of comprehensive universal single-payer health care coverage and a health care cost control system for the benefit of every resident of the state. That is, it would impose socialized medicine. The cost: $162.8 billion a year in new taxesfor starters. But that would be on top of the $202.8 billion a year already spent on state and federal health programs, such as Medicare and Medi-Cal. Total: $365.5 billion a year for total state control of all health care. Notice the bills wording of a health care cost control system, which means rationing. The state government would determine what kind of health care you and your family get. And if you dont like it, too bad. A big immediate problem would be interfacing with existing federal programs, including not just Medicare and Medicaid (Med-Cal here), but the Veterans Administration, care for active-duty military families and programs for federal employees. ACA 11 would set up a new bureaucracy, the CalCare Trust Fund. It would increase taxes on all incomes above $149,509. The highest rate would be 2.5 percent for those making $2,484,121 and above. That means the top state income tax rate would rise to 15.8 percent, by far the highest in the country. On top of the 37 percent top federal income tax. Total income tax: 52.8 percent. Which would be an even greater incentive than already exists for rich people to leave. Wealth Tax AB 2289/ACA 8 is by Assemblyman Alex Lee (D-San Jose). Its a wealth tax of $22.3 billion. It would raise taxes not on income, but on the valuation of a resident of this states worldwide net worth. If a person only had a home here, but billions of net worth in other states or even countries, the valuation would be taxed here. The top rate would be 1.5 percent on $1 billion of wealth. No wonder Elon Musk left California. His current net worth of $218 billion would mean he would have to pay $3.3 billion a year just to exist. An obvious problem is worldwide includes countries with less exacting accounting standards than those in America. How does one value assets in Ukraine, Russia, Ethiopia, Somalia or other countries at war? What about countries with which the United States has strained relations, such as Iran and the Peoples Republic of China? On May 24, YJ Fischer, Director, Office of International Affairs at the Security and Exchange Commission, discussed this in his speech, Resolving the Lack of Audit Transparency in China and Hong Kong: Remarks at the International Council of Securities Associations (ICSA) Annual General Meeting. He said, I would like to focus on the recent regulatory developments related to the lack of US inspections of audits and investigations in China and Hong Kong, and the implications for continued trading of China-based issuers on US exchanges. For more than a decade, local authorities in those jurisdictions have hampered the Public Company Accounting Oversight Boards (PCAOB) ability to obtain audit work papers and interview audit engagement personnel as statutorily mandated. This situation is untenable because, among other things, it exposes US investors to significant risks. Should Californians go to jail because they cant maneuver in the maze of inadequate accounting in China? California Marxism Its also strange that both Kalra and Lee hail from San Jose in Silicon Valley, the epicenter of the global eruption of wealth from the internet the past three decades. In some strange twist on Karl Marxs Das Kapital, extreme wealth seems to generate its own negation, socialism. Marx himself wrote in a London described by his near contemporary and fellow immigrant Joseph Conrad: The air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless over the biggest, and the greatest, town on earth spread out in the tranquil dignity of a waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth. Thats from the beginning of Heart of Darkness, published in 1899. Shortly after, the United Kingdom fell into the socialism of higher taxes and hyper-regulations. Its greatness evanesced into Conrads mournful gloom. Perhaps that is Californias fate as well. Even if these tax increases go nowhere this year, they are bound to return in the future. The billionaires, businesses, and jobs already are heading for Texas and Florida, or out of the country altogether, on Boeing 737s to the uttermost ends of the earth. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Thousands gather around Parliament Hill in support of the Freedom Convoy truckers' protest in Ottawa on Feb. 5, 2022. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) Canadas Judges Must Guard Against Bias, Say Lawyers 13 lawyers lodge complaint about Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagners comments on trucker convoy protest More could be done to ensure judges act without bias, say the lawyers who wrote a complaint letter regarding comments made by the Supreme Court of Canada chief justice about the truckers convoy. Queens University law professor Bruce Pardy and retired Ontario lawyer Karen Selick spoke to The Epoch Times about accountability among Canadas judges. They are two of the 13 lawyers who complained to the Canadian Judicial Council (CJC) about Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagners remarks on the trucker-led protest against vaccine mandates in Ottawa earlier this year. The May 16 letter quoted an April 9 Le Devoir article in which Wagner called the convoy the beginning of anarchy where some people have decided to take other citizens hostage, to take the law into their own hands, not to respect the mechanism. I find that disturbing. Selick, who practised law for 38 years, says she was startled by Wagners comments. Ive never seen any judge speak out in such a biased manner about a contentious issue that is likely to be heard by the court, she said. He shouldnt be talking about this and clearly taking one side in a very live controversy. I think he should have been able to foresee that there would be litigation on this issue. I think there already had been. The letter said there are currently four notices of application to the Federal Court in relation to the convoy, which will potentially end up before the Supreme Court. In the article, Wagner characterized the convoy protest as a circumstance that could undermine our principles such as judicial independence, the rule of law, institutions. The article added, Forced blows against the state, justice and democratic institutions like the one delivered by protesters must be denounced with force, and this by all the figures of power in the country, believes Mr. Wagner. Selick doesnt share Wagners interpretation. I think its far more credible to believe that the federal governments reaction to it [the trucker convoy]that is, the invocation of the Emergencies Actwas much more clearly questionable [regarding] democracy and the rule of law, she said. Attempts by the media to portray [convoy protesters] as treasonous or revolutionary or trying to overthrow the governmentthose are just false, because theyd never spoken that. They were always just about, We want to be able to drive our trucks without having a vaccine. The Epoch Times reached out to Wagner for comment but did not hear back. The CJC is composed of Canadas 41 chief justices and associate chief justices. It was created in 1971 partly in response to the case of a judge who was charged with a criminal offence. Since 1990, the CJC has heard 15 complaints and has recommended judges be removed from the bench. In 2009, the council recommended that Justice Paul Cosgrove be removed from the Superior Court of Ontario, but he resigned before Parliament could vote on his removal. As Wagner himself is the chair of the CJC, Selick said she wonders what will happen to their complaint, and she is unsure what the range of possible penalties might be. Its not very likely that the chief justice is going to order that he [himself] be removed from the bench, she said, adding that I certainly think that he should recuse himself from any cases where these issues are going to be argued. You should not be obviously adjudicating the complaint against [yourself]. Judiciary and Public Confidence If the CJC recommends removal of a judge, Parliament will vote on whether to do so. In Canada, Parliament can vote to remove a judge but doesnt vote to install them. Law professor Pardy says there are advantages to holding hearings on judges and putting their appointment to a vote by elected officials, as is done in the United States. The American process is highly politicized, and thats often been the criticism of it. On the other hand, it is transparentor at least more transparent than ours. And I think, on balance, thats more good than bad because what you get to see is a potentially more accurate picture of the person as a jurist. You know their views on judicial philosophy and their political inclinations, Pardy said. That strikes me as a more honest way to go about things than to pretend, as we do in Canada that we dont have political courts, which is obviously not true. The party who is in power tends to appoint people who are sympathetic to their political inclinations. Pardy says its going too far to assume that judges who donate to a political party would side with that partys government in a court dispute. He does, however, believe that active campaigning on issues or for candidates is inappropriate. For the public to have confidence in the courts, they have to believe that the decision being rendered in a court is based upon the evidence that is given in the courtroominside the courtroom, not outside, not in the hallways, not in the [news]paper, he said. B.C.s courts require participants to use preferred pronouns, and Pardy says that could falsely tilt the scales of justice in cases where parents disagree on the issue of a childs transition into a different gender. In the B.C. pronoun situation, you have the courts as a body deciding the outcome of a social debate for the purposes of what happens inside the courtroom. That strikes me as pre-determining the outcome, he said. For similar reasons, Pardy is concerned about the sensitivity training judges receive. One of the things thats become popular in recent times is the idea that judges undergo continual education to keep them up to date on certain kinds of social issues, he says. This, for my money, is a dangerous idea because now youre into the territory of preferring certain social conclusions. And that means, potentially, that the independence of the individual judges is being messed with because the program is trying to influence them into thinking about things in a certain way. FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the fiscal year 2023 budget for the FBI at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on n May 25, 2022. (Bonnie Cash - Pool/Getty Images) China Is Worlds Largest Hacking Power, Seeks Global Domination of Technology Sectors: FBI Director Wray China is the worlds largest malicious cyber actor and its affiliated hackers have stolen more data from Americans than every other nation combined, according to FBI Director Christopher Wray. Wray said that Chinas communist regime is engaged in a massive campaign to lie, cheat, and steal their way into global domination of technology sectors, during a wide-ranging cybersecurity talk at Boston College on June 1. The Chinese government is methodical, hacking in support of long-term economic goals, he said. Theyve got a bigger hacking program than all other major nations combined. Theyve stolen more American personal and corporate data than all nations combined. And theyre showing no sign of tempering their ambition and aggression. Wray singled out the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) use of coercive laws to effectively force technology transfer from U.S. businesses operating in China to the state. In an apparent reference to Chinas national intelligence laws, which allow the regime to demand the data of any company in the name of security, he said that many U.S. companies simply accept that theyll be spied on. Chinas economy also gives it leverage and tools, sway over companies For many U.S. and foreign companies doing business in China, or looking to, the cost effectively amounts to a blanket consent to state surveillance in the name of security, at best, Wray said. At worst, theyve got to accept the risk that their sensitive information may be co-opted to serve Beijings geopolitical goals. Wray also described how the CCP uses state-mandated tax systems in China to covertly spy on companies on the mainland. He said that Chinese laws require businesses to make use of a small suite of software options for tax purposes, at least one of which was used by the CCP to implant malware into companies systems to allow covert government access to the companys data. Aside from direct government intervention, Wray said that China, along with Iran and Russia, is hiring hackers as if they were cyber mercenaries, and providing them with state resources to conduct attacks on the United States on Chinas behalf. Such actors, he said, frequently target the defense and industrial sectors to cause havoc, deny access, or steal secrets. The comments built upon Wrays previous remarks, such as when he said in April that China is the largest cyber security threat to the United States and warned that the regime is targeting every part of the U.S. economy. The biggest threat we face as a country from a counterintelligence perspective is from the Peoples Republic of China and especially the Chinese Communist Party, Wray said during an interview with 60 Minutes on April 24. The director also said the FBI opened a new China counterintelligence investigation about every 12 hours, that there are currently more than 2,000 such investigations, and that all 56 U.S.-based FBI field offices are engaged in the effort. As such, the FBI currently maintains a series of web pages dedicated to the China Threat, which state that the counterintelligence and economic espionage efforts emanating from the government of China and the Chinese Communist Party are a grave threat to the economic well-being and democratic values of the United States. Is Elon Musks Starlink satellite internet system on Beijings radar? Chinese researchers reportedly view the network as a possible military threat. An American investment firm could be profiting from Chinas zero-COVID-19 policy, after investing millions into a Chinese PCR test manufacturer. The accuracy of Chinese virus testing is being brought into question. Beijing took down three COVID-19 test companies in just ten days after accusing them of fraud. Is Beijing becoming the next Shanghai? The capital city is tightening its anti-virus measures. But its causing delays for local medical care, a problem posing lethal consequences. Actor Tom Cruises long-awaited Top Gun: Maverick had a brilliant opening weekend for its global debut. The success came without China, the worlds biggest movie market. Topics in this episode include: US Firm Investing in China Virus Testing? Chinese COVID-19 Test Companies Accused of Fraud Beijing Tightens Virus Rules, Medical Delays Persist Top Gun: Maverick: Cruises Best Debut Ever China, Pacific Islands: No Consensus on Pact A Migrant Workers Ordeal in Locked-Down Shanghai Chinas Premier Holds Meeting on Restoring Economy UK to Probe Chinese Takeover of Microchip Factory Is Sri Lanka Debt Trapped by China? Have other topics you want us to cover? Drop us a line: chinainfocus@ntdtv.org And if youd like to buy us a coffee: https://donorbox.org/china-in-focus Subscribe to our newsletter for more first-hand news from China. Follow China in Focus on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChinaInFocusNTD Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@chinainfocus Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/chinainfocus Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NTDChinainFocus Gab: https://gab.com/ChinaInFocus Telegram: https://t.me/ChinainFocusNTD Click the Save button below the video to access it later on My List Follow EpochTV on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/EpochTVus Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/EpochTV Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@EpochTV Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/epochtv Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EpochTVus Gab: https://gab.com/EpochTV Telegram: https://t.me/EpochTV The IBM logo in the Garibaldi-Porta Nuova modern district of Milan, on June 22, 2021. (Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images) Court Orders IBM to Pay $1.6 Billion to BMC in Lawsuit Involving AT&T A Houston federal judge ordered International Business Machines Corp. to pay $1.6 billion to BMC Software Inc. for swapping in its software while servicing their mutual client, Bloomberg reports. The U.S. District Judge Gray Miller, after a seven-day non-jury trial, rejected IBMs claim that their mutual client AT&T Inc., opted to switch software products on its own. The judge ruled that IBMs role in the decision to dump BMC smacked of intentional wrongdoing. BMC prosecuted IBM in 2017, alleging breach of their agreement and poaching of AT&Ts software business when the two companies renewed their power-sharing deal in 2015. IBM countered that AT&T dumped BMCs products and jumped to IBM, claiming a clean chit. IBM serviced AT&Ts mainframe computers for over ten years, which ran on rival BMCs software products. By Anusuya Lahiri 2022 The Epoch Times. The Epoch Times does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Recruits of the Azov far-right Ukrainian volunteer battalion take their oath during a ceremony in Kiev, on Aug. 14, 2015. (SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images) DHS Warns of Ukrainian Neo-Nazi Battalions Recruiting Americans Video footage released on May 27 purportedly shows U.S. volunteer soldiers shooting a rocket at a Russian armored vehicle in Ukrainefootage that comes on the heels of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) bulletin warning about how American volunteer participation in the conflict abroad could increase extremism at home. The DHS bulletinobtained by transparency group Property of the People via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)notes that the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington received more than 3,000 applications from U.S. citizens to fight in Ukraine as of March 3. Many U.S. fighters have openly announced their plans to join the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine, which was announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Feb. 28. According to the DHS, some Americans have been recruited by Ukraines Azov Battalion, which has drawn controversy over the groups neo-Nazi ties and the use of the Wolfsangel symbolalso used by Nazi forces in Germany during World War II. Ukrainian nationalist groups including the Azov Movement are actively recruiting racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist-white supremacists to join various neo-Nazi volunteer battalions in the war against Russia, reads the DHS bulletin, which Property of the People published on May 19. [White supremacist extremists] in the United States and Europe announced intentions to join the conflict and are organizing entry to Ukraine via the Polish border. The March DHS bulletin didnt state how many Americans have actually joined neo-Nazi battalions in Ukraine. The department didnt respond to an email seeking comment for this article. The DHS based its assessment on open-source information, as well as Customs and Border Protections (CBP) encounters with Americans departing for Ukraine. In one instance, CBP officers searched a U.S. Marine veteran and active-duty police officer departing from JFK International Airport to Poland on March 2. CBP searched the unnamed persons phone and found that he planned on joining the Azov Battalion, according to the DHS. [The person] admitted to contacting the Georgian National Legion, but decided against joining the group as they were accused of war crimes, the DHS bulletin reads. Based on a basic border search of his electronic device, [the person] stated that he hoped to obtain a work contract with the Azov Battalion. The DHS bulletin states another U.S. Marine veteran who left for Ukraine in March was the leader of Virginias Boogaloo movementa far-right extremist movement preparing for a second American civil war. When questioned about his involvement with the Boogaloo movement, [the unnamed person] stated he had not been involved with the group for almost a year due to the direction they were heading in, the DHS report reads. A search of [his] baggage revealed military gear to include face paint, camouflage knee pads, handcuffs, a gas mask, and a fixed-blade knife. Along with other examples of Americans planning to fight in Ukraine, the DHS bulletin expresses concern about intelligence gaps. According to the bulletin, the DHS doesnt know how many prospective American fighters are traveling on non-U.S. documents to Ukraine, what instructions Americans are given when they reach Ukraine, and what other groups of foreigners are attempting to join the war in Ukraine. What kind of training are foreign fighters receiving in Ukraine that they could possibly proliferate in U.S.-based militia and white nationalist groups? the DHS bulletin reads. In response to an email inquiry, the State Department sent The Epoch Times comments Secretary of State Antony Blinken made in March. Weve been very clear for some time in calling on Americans who may have been resident in Ukraine to leave, and making clear to Americans who may be thinking of traveling there not to go, Blinken said on March 2, days after Zelenskyy announced the formation of the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine. Blinkens advice is in accordance with the State Department issuing a Level 4: Do Not Travel warning for Ukraine on April 19. Doug Fords PCs Get Boost From Trade Union Support Ahead of Ontario Election During the Ontario election campaign, the Progressive Conservatives (PCs) have been able to capture considerable support from trade unions, something usually associated with the NDP, which has traditionally pursued the blue-collar vote. Going into the June 2 election, eight trade unions had endorsed the Ontario PCs, a landmark in the provinces political history. This does not surprise me a great deal, says Scott Bennett, a political science professor at Carleton University, noting that the PCs have been courting the union vote as part of their goals for the provinces economy. With this strategy for rebalancing the economy, one needs to have allies in the labour force who will benefit from the general direction of new policy, and those allies will support the PCs, at least in official terms, he said in an interview. While many trade unions, particularly those in the construction sector or people who work very closely with the trades, are on board with the PCs, most public sector unions dont support the party or Doug Fords government. Although membership in Ontarios trades unions exceeds 50,000, the total membership in public sector unions is much greater. No major public sector or near public sector unions are supporting the PCs, because they know they represent the part of the economy that the PCs want to de-emphasize, Bennett said. Unions relating to education, health, social services, and so forth are mostly supporting the NDP. There are also some overarching federations of unions that seem to still be leaning to the left. Under Bill 124, which was enacted in 2019, public sector wages are limited to 1 percent annual growth. This has given one more reason for the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents 180,000 members, to support the NDP. The Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation has endorsed candidates for 47 of the provinces 124 ridings as of May 31. Among those candidates, eight are Liberal, one is Green, and 38 are NDP. And the Ontario Federation of Labour, which has been even more active, has hosted many local events in support of NDP candidates. There has traditionally been a more conservative bent to the trades and their unions compared to other unions, but this has been nurtured and greatly improved to the benefit of the Ford government, Bennett said. Nelson Wiseman, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto, says labour support for the PCs is limited to the private sector, and even then it is only as consistent as economic growth. The NDP was officially the political arm of labour, and it still is, although some of those ties have been fraying and the main reason is because the nature of the union movement in Canada has changed. Private sector unions have been losing status, Wiseman told The Epoch Times. Its not a lasting shift [for the PCs], he says of the trade union support. All you need is a downturn in the economy. If we go into recession, and a lot of these unions dont get the same kind of work and a lot of their employees are laid off, they, like large other parts of the public, will be unhappy with the government. But right now things are OK for those unions. The Ontario Pipe Trades Council, which represents 10 local unions with a membership of over 22,000 workers, such as plumbers, steamfitters, and welders, was among the first to endorse the PCs, doing so in a press release on May 18. The release cited the Ford governments extensive consultation with industry and millions of provincial tax dollars directed to safety and training programs for the pipe trades. The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers Local Union 285 endorsed the PCs saying its because for their efforts to address the labour shortage in the skilled trades. The union praised the governments streamlined processes for trades apprenticeship and certification, the $114.4 million over three years put into the Skilled Trades Strategy to help more apprentices enter the trades, and $15.8 million to the Skills Development Fund for 202223 to expand training facilities. Wiseman says there were some divisions in the union movement because the overall organization didnt endorse Ford. There has been talk about the NDP severing its ties with the union movement, but I think that was just loose talk, he adds, because the NDP itself was and still is formally a merger of the old CCF [Co-operative Commonwealth Federation] and the Canadian Labour Congress. And unions continue to have special status at NDP conventions. Theyre entitled I think to 25 percent of all the delegates. Editors note: An earlier version of this article attributed a quote to Scott Bennett instead of Nelson Wiseman. The Epoch Times regrets the error. True the Vote founder and president Catherine Engelbrecht makes a point during a presentation on ballot trafficking at the Arizona statehouse on May 31, 2022. Seated next to her is True the Vote data investigator Gregg Phillips. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times) Election Integrity Group Unveils Findings on Ballot Trafficking in Arizona The election integrity group True the Vote presented Arizona lawmakers with cell phone tracking data showing alleged ballot traffickers visited drop boxes in two of the states largest counties no less than 5,700 times during the 2020 election. When we started the project, we didnt know [what we would find], said Catherine Engelbrecht, the Texas groups founder and president. We began to think through what is a realistic expectation or threshold for when going to a dropbox is too many times. We wanted to focus on a clear, narrow data set [to demonstrate] extreme outlier behavior. The groups investigators settled on 10 visits as an actual numberbut here, in Arizona, they went an average of 21 times, Engelbrecht told the panel of state legislators on May 31. Lawmakersall Republicanvowed to move forward with HB-2289 to make ballot drop boxes illegal in Arizona. The only thing I would like to see come out of this meeting is people going to jail, said State Rep. Quang Nguyen (R). I would just like to see people cuffed. The presentation was delayed 45 minutes while Arizona Democratic legislators wrangled over proposed gun control. Arizona state Sen. Kelly Townsend (R) goes over data during a presentation on election integrity by True the Vote in Phoenix on May 31. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times) This is political grandstanding, which I find is shameful, said Arizona state Rep. Mark Finchem (R). Theyre trying to suspend the rules, which is always a bad ideato bring forward a bill that hasnt gone to committee, and that has not had any vetting whatsoever. Its not going to happen. During the 90-minute presentation, Engelbrecht and True the Vote data investigator Gregg Phillips, former head of Mississippis Department of Human Services, described the groups investigation into so-called mules, illegal ballot runners, and the role NGOs may have played to commit 2020 election fraud. The investigation focused on two of the states largest countiesMaricopa County and Yuma Countyand on unique visits to ballot boxes utilizing cell phone tracking technology to develop patterns of life for each alleged ballot trafficker. We resolved to try to find a path that we could measure that would be useful to law enforcement, Engelbrecht said. The study used Oct. 7 and Nov. 3, 2020 as a timeframe, identifying 202 target devices that made 4,242 unique dropbox visits in Maricopa County. In Yuma County, the study found 1,435 unique dropbox visits by 41 target devices based on cell phone signals, or pings. Arizona State Sen. Leo Biasiucci (R) listens as the election integrity group True the Vote presents its findings on ballot fraud in at the statehouse Arizona in Phoenix on May 31, 2022. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times) Engelbrecht said a geofence is around every dropbox to provide a digital coordinate set and measure how many times a device passed through the geofence. Measurements are precise to within a meter of contact with a ballot box. The federal government uses the same tracking technology. Its accuracy is nearly perfect [like] wearing an ankle bracelet, Engelbrecht said. Friends, its happening on all of our phones, which are attached to us at almost all times. Suffice for this purpose and for this time to say the outlier set was so extreme that it warrants serious consideration, one that we hope this body before us will consider, she said. Phillips said the web of cell phone signals is so significant. Your phone is sending regular pings [this] is how all that comes together. He added, It cant be overstated not to do what the [New York Times] did in a series of articles on geofencingto say we got 50 billion pings and make all these [erroneous] assumptions. Phillips said the groups study sifted through billions of signals, teasing out devices based to exclude false positive signals. Dinesh DSouza illustrated these findings in the new movie 2,000 Mules, which seeks to expose organized ballot trafficking in the 2020 election. We decided to go in on a methodology that uses ad data [embedded] in all of your phones. This is how digital DNA is captured, Engelbrecht said. If there were a subversion of [electoral] process, it would show up in the drop boxes. We believed that to prove it [geospatial data] would be something to focus on. We resolved to look at the ways to prove this. True the Vote is investigating alleged 2020 ballot harvesting in Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania electoral jurisdictions as well, and will share its findings with law enforcement officials that could lead to criminal investigations. Engelbrecht said inaccurate voter rolls provide a gateway to all your problems with mass mailing of ballots. She said that issues are more likely to occur at ballot drop boxes because they are not well regulated. Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake (C) claps during a presentation of ballot trafficking by True the Vote at Arizonas statehouse in Phoenix on May 31. Next to her is Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times) True the Vote recommends Arizona lawmakers commit to clean voter rolls using real-time technology, and eliminate mass mailing of ballots and drop boxes. Or at the very least, drop boxes should be secure with video surveillance technology. Finally, lawmakers should make the penalty for ballot running something cheaters will fear, said Engelbrecht, who views 2020 election fraud as a vertical grift layers and layers deep. The exploitation targets the most vulnerable communities. This is voter abuse. This is not about Republicans or Democrats. This is about securing the vote, Engelbrecht said. Arizona state Rep. Leo Biasiucci (R) said, Obviously, something is going on. Weve got to figure out what went wrong, how to fix it, and if you were involved, you should be prosecuted. State Sen. Nancy Barto (R) said it is very scary for voters not to have confidence in the ballot. We are going to get a handle on this, she said. State Sen. Walter Walt Blackman (R) summed up the solution for Arizona in HB-2289. After seeing this, we need to move forward with [HB-]2289, he said to loud applause. Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk arrives for the 2022 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York on May 2, 2022. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images) Elon Musk Takes Dig at Deutsche Banks Greenwashing Raid After Tesla ESG Snub Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has taken a jab at environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment funds after news broke that German authorities raided Deutsche Bank and asset management company DWS Group due to alleged greenwashing of its ESG funds. Greenwashing refers to processes by which companies falsely present themselves as more pro-environment than they really are. The allegations are that DWS has been advertising so-called ESG financial products for sale as being particularly green and sustainable when they actually werent, a spokesman for the public prosecutor told Fortune. In a June 1 tweet responding to the news, Elon Musk wrote, I have yet to see an ESG list that *isnt* fraudulent. Musk had earlier called ESG a scam following the removal of electric car company Tesla Inc. from the ESG Index, while Exxon Mobil Corp. remained on the list. Exxon is rated top ten best in world for environment, social & governance (ESG) by S&P 500, while Tesla didnt make the list! ESG is a scam. It has been weaponized by phony social justice warriors, Musk wrote. In the course of the investigation, which has been ongoing since January, prosecutors claim to have found evidence that could support allegations of prospectus fraud. A whistleblower alerted authorities to the alleged fraud. ESG factors were taken into account for only a minority of investments at DWS, according to German prosecutors. The majority of investments never took into account ESG factors, thus contradicting statements that DWS made in its fund sales prospectus. Measures taken by the prosecutors are targeted against unknown persons in connection with greenwashing allegations against DWS, Deutsche Bank revealed. A spokesperson for DWS stated that the firm was continuously and comprehensively cooperating with authorities. DWS said that they have continuously cooperated fully with all relevant regulators and authorities on this matter and will continue to do so, Deutsche Bank said. Asoka Woehrmann, chief executive of DWS, resigned June 1 amid the ongoing investigation. He cited personal attacks and threats as a reason for his resignation. In a January 2021 interview with Der Spiegel, former DWS executive Desiree Fixler warned that the company was making misleading claims about ESG products. DWS markets its ESG strategy as world-class and above the industry standard but claims internally that it is poor and unclear, Fixler said. Externally, the firm says that a large share of its investments are in ESG-compliant strategies, but internally, it claims that such investments are only a fraction, Fixler revealed. It is not a crime to lag behind a market or to have weaknesses here and there. But the point where DWS crossed the line was when the company marketed itself as a leader and above the industry standard and when it publicly stated that the majority of its assets under management were ESG integrated, Fixler said. DWS has defined and qualified its ESG framework in a policy statement and in its annual report. They pretend one thing to the outside world, but say something different internally, Fixler said. In 2021, German financial watchdog BaFin and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission launched separate investigations into Fixlers comments. Reuters contributed to this report. 'I hope God blesses everyone who doesn't yet have children.' The record-breaking Malian nonuplets have just celebrated their first birthday in perfect health. The babies born in Morocco last year are the worlds only known naturally conceived nonuplets, and even hold the Guinness World Record for most babies delivered in a single birth to survive. The previous record was held by eight babies born to Octomom Nadya Suleman of the United States in 2009. Mother Halima Cisse was flown to Morocco from West Africa by the Malian government for special care at 25 weeks gestation, ahead of the planned Caesarean section on May 4, 2021, while Cisses husband, Abdelkader Arby, an officer in the Malian army, stayed back in Mali to look after their first child, a 3-year-old daughter. Arby and Cisse with their nonuplets and 3-year-old daughter (C). (Courtesy of Nonuples Arby) Arby and Cisse welcomed five girls and four boys at Ain Borja Clinic in Casablanca, Morocco, at 30 weeks gestation. The babies ranged in weight from just 1 pound 1 ounce to 2 pounds 2 ounces at birth. The eighth and ninth babies were a surprise, according to Dr. Youssef Alaoui, the medical director of Ain Borja. Alaoui told Today Parents that the ultrasounds had only indicated seven fetuses, but luckily, the surprise didnt faze the medical team, since the clinic boasts one of the largest neonatal resuscitation services in Morocco. Its a first for the whole world, and were proud to have had this extraordinary experience thanks to our medical and technical expertise, he added. The newborn babies were placed in incubators and were cared for at the Ain Borja clinic for several months after being born, and are still receiving supportive care from nurses. Arby met their newborn babies for the first time in October 2021 before returning home to Mali to be with their 3-year-old daughter. However, around the time of the nonuplets first birthday, the proud dad and daughter returned to Morocco to be with their family. They held a small birthday party in their Moroccan homea medically equipped flat belonging to Ain Borja Clinic where the family is currently residinginviting nurses and neighbors to join the celebration. Nothing is better than the first year, Arby told BBC Afrique. Theyre all crawling now. Some are sitting up and can even walk if they hold on to something. Its not easy but its great. Even if its tiring at times, when you look at all the babies in perfect health were relieved. The Malian state has put everything in place for the care and treatment of the nine babies and their mother. Its not at all easy, but its beautiful and something that is comforting. While the family of 12 hasnt yet returned to Mali en masse, they already have a fanbase comprising eager extended family members, friends, and followers. Arby and Cisse share snapshots of their love-filled, unusual life with the world on Instagram. Describing parenthood as a real treasure, Arby expressed hope that others could one day share in a similar joy. I hope God blesses everyone who doesnt yet have children, he told the BBC, that they can have what we, the parents of nonuplets, currently have. Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Inspired newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee nomination hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Feb. 25, 2021. (Tom Brenner/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) Five GOP Senators Seek Info From NIH Acting Director on Royalty Payments to Feds Five Republican senators have asked National Institutes of Health (NIH) Acting Director Lawrence Tabak for a comprehensive accounting of every royalty payment by an outside source to an employee of the federal agency since 2009. We believe that the American taxpayer deserves to know 1) the degree to which government doctors and researchers have a financial interest in drugs and products they support, and 2) whether any relationship exists between federal grants awarded by NIH and royalty payments received by NIH personnel, the senators told Tabak in a letter that was made public on June 1. Additionally, Americans deserve greater transparency in how the hundreds of millions in royalty payments NIH receives are distributed, and the degree to which NIHs leadershipalready among the highest-paid individuals in the federal bureaucracyhas benefited from this hidden revenue stream. The five senators are Rand Paul of Kentucky, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, and Rick Scott of Florida. Tabak has been acting NIH chief since his predecessor, Dr. Francis Collins, resigned in December after leading the agency for a dozen years. The GOP senators letter was prompted by revelations first reported by The Epoch Times based on information obtained via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) submitted to NIH by Open the Books, an Illinois-based nonprofit government watchdog. We estimate that up to $350 million in royalties from third parties were paid to NIH scientists during the fiscal years between 2010 and 2020, Open the Books CEO Adam Andrzejewski said in a telephone news conference on May 9. We draw that conclusion because, in the first five years, there has been $134 million that we have been able to quantify of top-line numbers that flowed from third-party payersmeaning pharmaceutical companies or other payersto NIH scientists. The first five years, from 2010 to 2014, constitute 40 percent of the total, he said. We now know that there are 1,675 scientists that received payments during that period, at least one payment. In fiscal year 2014, for instance, $36 million was paid out and that is on average $21,100 per scientist, he said. Collins received 14 payments while serving as NIH director, according to the information obtained by Open the Books. Dr. Anthony Fauci received 23 payments, and his deputy, Clifford Lane, got eight payments during the period. Tabak conceded during a recent congressional hearing that the payments have the appearance of a conflict of interest. Republicans have since been vocal in demanding that NIH be more forthcoming about the royalty payments, while Democrats have been unusually quiet. Open the Books received the data on the royalty payments only after suing in federal court, and even then, the information provided was heavily redacted so that the specific amounts of individual payments to recipients and the names of payers were concealed. The GOP senators took note of that fact in their letter to Tabak. Each year, NIH awards tens of billions of dollars in the form of federal grants, and under 401.10 of the Patent and Trademark Law Amendments (BayhDole) Act, federal agencies and employees may receive royalty payments for products and inventions when listed as an inventor or co-inventor on a products patent, the senators told Tabak. A 2020 study conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) showed that, in total, 93 NIH patents contributed to 34 FDA-approved prescription drugs, generating roughly $2 billion in royalty payments to the agency between 1991-2019. In 2004 alone, some 900 NIH scientists earned approximately $8.9 million in royalties for drugs and inventions they discovered while working for the government. The senators said NIH has in the past been substantially more transparent about the payments. In 2005, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) implemented a policy requiring its employees to disclose these royalty payments on the consent forms for clinical trial participants; however, the agency has taken no action to disclose such payments to the public at large, the letter states. In fact, even after the nonprofit organization Open the Books submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to disclose royalty payments made between 2009 and 2020, the agency only provided the names of the employees receiving the payments and the number of payments they received between 2009 and 2014; the amounts of the individual payments, the innovation in question, and the names of the third-party payers were redacted by NIH. Andrzejewski told The Epoch Times on May 31 that his nonprofit shouldnt have had to take NIH to court to get the information the five senators are now demanding. The production of an estimated $350 million in third-party royalty payments to NIH and 1,700 of its scientists is so heavily redacted that its nearly impossible to follow the money. NIH is violating the spirit if not the letter of open records law, Andrzejewski said. It shouldnt take our lawsuit or congressional action to force NIH to comply with basic open government rules. We applaud the actions of the senators on the Homeland Security committee as they remind these unelected career bureaucrats that they work on behalf of the American people. Police officers form a cordon as a crowd turn on their phone torches at a band-stand where a planned vigil in honour of alleged murder victim Sarah Everard was cancelled due to CCP virus restrictions, on Clapham Common, south London on March 13, 2021. (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images) Four Prosecuted For Breaching UK COVID-19 Rules At Sarah Everard Vigil Four people who attended a vigil for murdered marketing executive Sarah Everard are being prosecuted in secret court hearings in London for allegedly breaking COVID-19 laws by their attendance. The vigil followed the discovery of Everards body in Kent. Her killer turned out to be a serving police officer, PC Wayne Couzens, and in September last year he admitted kidnap, rape, and murder and was given a whole life sentence. The spontaneous vigil, which was attended by hundreds of people, took place on Clapham Common, not far from where Everard was abducted by Couzens, who tricked her into getting into his car in handcuffs after telling her she was in breach of the lockdown rules. It was held after Reclaim These Streets were forced to cancel an official vigil after being threatened with 10,000 fines. The Metropolitan Police were criticised for their allegedly heavy-handed approach to the vigil, which ended with women being handcuffed on the ground and led away by predominantly male officers. A report by Her Majestys Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services said the polices handling of the vigil was a public relations disaster and said some of the statements made by senior officers were tone deaf. Vivien Hohmann, 20, from Clapham, Dania Al-Obeid, 27, from Stratford, east London, Ben Wheeler, 21, from Kennington, south London, and Kevin Godin-Prior, 68, from Manchester, were due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday. But they are being prosecuted under the controversial single justice procedure (SJP), which is not open to the press or public. All four are accused of participating in a gathering of more than two people in a public outdoor place when London was under Tier 4 restrictions. Tristan Kirk, the London Evening Standards courts correspondent, wrote on Twitter: The MoJ [Ministry of Justice] and the Attorney General chose to allow COVID prosecutions in closed courts. In the early days of the pandemic, there was a safety reason. Now its done for expediency. Met Police chose to prosecute these (and many other) cases in the SJP system. Earlier this week the Metropolitan Police was refused permission to appeal for a second time against a High Court ruling which concluded they had breached the rights of the Reclaim These Streets organisers. Four of the organisers, Jessica Leigh, Anna Birley, Henna Shah, and Jamie Klingler, argued it amounted to a breach of their human rights to freedom of speech and assembly. PA Media contributed to this report. People hold LED candles to mark the anniversary of the military suppression of a pro-democracy student movement in Beijing, outside Victoria Park in Hong Kong, on June 4, 2021. (Kin Cheung/AP Photo) From Tiananmen in 1989 to Hong Kongs Ongoing Political Crackdown Commentary By the time this article is published, we have just a few days left before June 4, the 33rd anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre. With the imposition of the National Security Law (NSL) for almost 2 years, the political atmosphere in Hong Kong is tense, almost like at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. This year in Hong Kong, the Catholic church will no longer be hosting June 4 memorial services, and key organizers of the traditional large scale candlelight vigil at the Victoria Park are all in jail: Lee Cheuk-Yan (former law-maker, politician), Albert Ho Chun-Yan (solicitor and politician, former law-maker) and Chow Hang-Tung (barrister and politician), the former chairs and vice chairs of the now defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movement of China (). They have been refused bail, and are waiting to be tried under the NSL. Would communist Hong Kong go so far as to crackdown on private gatherings or scattered crowds holding up iphones in public with light on at 8:00pm, to commemorate what happened at Tiananmen Square 33 years ago? It will be crazy to see the National Security Department or police start arresting these citizens. Not yet I hope. But we can never be sure. Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, 90 years of age, was recently arrested under the NSL and charged with suspected collusion with foreign forces. This, is the new Hong Kong. For those who didnt follow too closely, communist Hong Kong has technically banned the Victoria Park June 4 candle light vigil three years in a row. Hongkongers have been steadfast in organizing annual June 4 candlelight vigils at the Victoria Park since 1989, which always attracted thousands of people, until the regime banned it in 2020, using covid as the excuse. Those who tried entering the Park on June 4, 2020 had already paid a hefty price, as alluded to earlier key organizers and supporters of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China () are either serving prison terms or are remanded in custody without bail, something no one would have imagined possible, even two years ago. Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, founder of Apple Daily (pro-democratic newspaper), had been a keen supporter of Hong Kongs June 4 candlelight vigil. His imprisonment, and freezing of his companys assets to cripple his media group, had made headlines internationally last year. Most outspoken voices of Hong Kong are almost either in jail or self-exile. John Lee Ka-chiu, the man hand-picked by Beijing to be the incoming Chief Executive of Hong Kong on July 1, his last two posts being Chief of Security and Chief Secretary for Hong Kong, is a career policeman. Lee is among the 11 Hong Kong officials sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in 2020 for undermining Hong Kongs autonomy and restricting the freedom of expression or assembly of the citizens of Hong Kong, Lee, in particular, was designated for being involved in coercing, arresting, detaining, or imprisoning individuals under the authority of the National Security Law, as well as being involved in its development, adoption, or implementation. Hong Kong has, beyond any doubt, turned into a police state. It is sad to see Hong Kongs autonomy fading so quickly. And the Tiananmen crackdown from 33 years ago has made another curse: Hong Kong, a city that once supported Tiananmen student protests in 1989, now faces its own crackdown by the CCP. Being accustomed to express my thoughts with numbers and figures, let me put the picture in investment terms: the CCP has abruptly issued a put option with a near term expiry date to kill Hong Kong, and there is no genuine takers of this issuance, buyers or sellers alike. Whatever the CCP does now, will ultimately choke and destroy Hong Kong. Ironically the CCP is on a different path to achieve just the same result, as depicted in some Hong Kong protestors slogan in the 2019 anti-extradition movement: If we burn, Hong Kong burns with us. () Meanwhile, the harsh political cleansing continues in Hong Kong. Most of the 47 participants in the 2020 Hong Kong pro-democracy primaries, charged with the alleged crime of conspiracy to commit subversion, many of whom are former legislators and district councillors, remain remanded for well over a year now, have been refused bail, and are still waiting for trial dates at Hong Kongs kangaroo courts. The confession sessions are mostly announced through their Facebook accounts, which are managed by the detainees confidants. This might not last for too long, as there could be restrictions on social media coming soon in Hong Kong, starting with Telegram. We start to see a lot of similarities now, between the prisoners of conscience in communist China and those in Hong Kong. The demands of Hong Kong people could no longer be heard, and those who resist the authority would be heavily punished. Former paramount leader of the CCP, Deng Xiao Ping, was a man of controversy. He engineered Chinas economic reforms that attracted foreign investments, but the Tiananmen Massacre made people look at him from a different light. The Tiananmen Massacre of 1989 would remain an indelible stain of modern China. Deng pledged to allow Hong Kong remain unchanged for 50 years after the territorys 1997 handover. Twenty five years on, it is now obvious the idea of keeping Hong Kong autonomous from the rest of communist China had hopelessly failed. The CCP has now DQed (disqualified) Hong Kong, as the locals put it. The so-called brand new phase of the one country two systems boasted by CCP influencers cannot be further from the truth. Each day grows darker for Hong Kong, and there is no point reminiscing the glory of our past. While things look gloomy, and in the most extreme situation, the CCP might block off Hong Kong, we must all continue to speak out loud while we still can, to let the world know about the situation in Hong Kong. Let us also continue to fight for preserving our core valuesour own language, our freedom and heritage. Hongkongers, no matter where you are, especially prisoners of conscience held behind bars, lets keep our faith in this difficult journey to freedom. The courage needed to keep up the spirit and hope, fighting for a free Hong Kong, is beyond what most people could comprehend. It comes with huge sacrifice. Its never going to be easy to carry on, but we must have faith, that days are darkest before the dawn. We pray that a free China and a free Hong Kong will eventually come, one day. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Policemen secure the entrance to the court building where the trial against Gambian defendant Bai L., accused of of crimes against humanity, murder and attempted murder, is taking place in Celle, northern Germany, on April 25, 2022. (Ronny Hartmann/AFP via Getty Images) German Court Convicts ISIS Returnee Who Took Daughter to Syria BERLINA German woman who took her young daughter to Syria, joined the ISIS group there, and allegedly took advantage of an enslaved Yazidi woman was convicted Wednesday of membership in a terrorist organization and other offenses. The state court in Celle said the 34-year-old, who has been identified only as Romiena S. in line with German privacy rules, was sentenced to three years and three months in prison. She was also convicted of being an accessory to a crime against humanity, abducting a minor, and breaching her duties of welfare and education. Judges said that she traveled to Syria in 2014, taking her 4-year-old daughter against the wishes of the childs father. She then successively married a number of ISIS members, enabling them to fight by running their households. The defendant brought up her daughter and two Syria-born sons in line with ISIS ideology, taking the girl to the stoning of a woman when she was 6 and showing her execution videos, the court said. At one point, it added, she exploited an enslaved Yazidi woman at the home of a slave trader for a few days and guarded her as she went into town. The defendant also posted messages on Twitter supporting extremist attacks in Nice, France, and Wuerzburg, Germany, in 2016. She was arrested at Frankfurt airport when she arrived in October among a group of women and children repatriated from a camp in northeastern Syria where suspected ISIS members were held. The court said the defendant largely admitted to the allegations against her and has now distanced herself credibly from ISIS. It said in a statement that judges also took into account the fact she wasnt a hard-liner and that joining ISIS was in part an escape from her previous life situation. It didnt elaborate. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference with federal, state, and local officials a day after a mass shooting at an elementary school, in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Gov. Abbott Declares State of Disaster in Uvalde to Unlock Support and Cut Red Tape Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday declared a state of disaster in Uvalde in order to fast-track resources meant to help the community and cut through hindering red tape in the aftermath of the May 24 mass school shooting that left 19 young students and two teachers dead. The declaration will accelerate all available state and local resources to assist the Uvalde community, as well as suspend regulations that would prevent, hinder, or delay necessary action in coping with the aftermath of the tragic shooting, the governors office said in a release. The disaster declaration unlocks the ability of state agencies such as the Texas Division of Emergency Management to swiftly provide all resources to respond to the disaster, including a temporary family resource center to support Uvalde families and community members seeking mental health services and other resources. The community of Uvalde has been left devastated by last weeks senseless act of violence at Robb Elementary School and should not have to encounter any difficulty in receiving the support needed to heal, Abbott said. This disaster declaration frees up the many resources available through the State of Texas and local jurisdictions to continue providing much needed support to all who were impacted and work in the community unencumbered by regulations unnecessary to respond to this tragedy. The governor added that all of Texas stands with Uvalde and is prepared to provide support through all available means. Meanwhile, Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto ORourke has criticized Abbott for his stance on gun laws and was escorted out of a press conference on the shooting held by the governor in Uvalde last week. ORourke, a Democrat, started yelling at Abbott about gun control laws during the May 25 press conference. He was immediately branded an embarrassment by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. ORourke has claimed that some shootings in Texas have occurred in the state as a result of Abbots opposition to universal background checks. The Midland-Odessa gunman failed a federal background check. But he was still able to legally purchase an AR-15 and kill Texans thanks to Greg Abbotts opposition to universal background checks in our state, ORourke wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. Since the shooting, Abbott has argued that further laws to make schools safer and address an array of healthcare issues that relate to those who commit gun crimes are needed, not more gun laws. A single access point for the Uvalde community to access mental health services is being set up by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission with local mental health authorities and entities, according to the governors office. Uvalde community members can call a 24-hour hotline to request help: 888-690-0799. Payton Gendron is led into the courtroom for a hearing at Erie County Court in Buffalo, N.Y., on May 19, 2022. (Matt Rourke/AP Photo) Grand Jury Indicts Buffalo Shooter With 25 Counts of Terrorism and Hate Crime Charges In a 25-count indictment, a grand jury charged the 18-year-old Buffalo supermarket shooter with domestic terrorism and first-degree murder on June 1. Payton Gendron, who is accused of shooting 10 black people at the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, New York, was charged with a 25-count indictment by a grand jury on June 1, according to a copy of the indictment obtained by local news station WKBW. The charges include one count of carrying out a first-degree domestic act of terrorism motivated by hate, 10 counts of first-degree murder, 10 counts of second-degree murder as a hate crime, three counts of second-degree attempted murder as a hate crime, and one count of criminal possession of a weapon. Gendron opened fire on shoppers at the supermarket on May 14, killing 10 people ranging in age from 32 to 86 and wounding three others. Gendron surrendered and was indicted on May 19 on a single count of first-degree murder, covering all 10 deaths at the supermarket. Federal authorities found that Gendron detailed his plans in groups on the online discussion platform Discord prior to the shooting and then livestreamed the attack from a camera mounted on his helmet. Authorities are investigating Gendrons online postings and whether social media platforms used by Gendron were liable for providing a platform to plan and promote violence. These outlets must be more vigilant in monitoring social media content. And certainly, the fact that this act of barbarism, this execution of innocent human beings could be livestreamed on social media platforms and not taken down within a second, says to me that there is a responsibility out there, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul told reporters at a press conference on May 14. More details on the charges will be announced June 2 during Gendrons arraignment. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen waves during National Day celebrations in front of the Presidential Palace in Taipei on Oct. 10, 2019. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images) Historic Breakthrough: US, Taiwan Announce New Trade Initiative TAIPEI, TaiwanThe United States and Taiwan have agreed to a new trade initiative after the island was excluded from the new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework that President Joe Biden launched in May. The new agreement, formally called the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, was announced following a June 1 virtual meeting between Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi and Taiwans top trade negotiator, John Deng, according to a June 1 press conference held in Taipei. Calling the initiative a historic breakthrough in TaiwanU.S. economic and trade development, Deng said it will pave the way for trade negotiations with the United States, potentially leading to a bilateral free trade agreement. He noted that the initiative will help Taiwan build economic ties with other governments in the world. Deng said hes scheduled to travel to Washington near the end of this month for a face-to-face meeting with U.S. trade officials under the initiative. Joseph Wu, Taiwans foreign minister, said the initiative is of high strategic importance, saying that it will assist the island in joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), an 11-nation free trade agreement. Wu noted that Taiwans semiconductor and other high-tech industries make the island a reliable partner to the United States and other countries. The initiative shows the U.S. commitment to the region, specifically economically, senior U.S. administration officials said on May 31 during a background call with the press. We will continue to build on this work to deepen our ties with Taiwan and the region in order to deliver for people at home and for people in the Indo-Pacific, one official said. The Biden-Harris administration sees Taiwan as a leading democracy, a technological powerhouse, and a key economic and security partner. At the meeting later this month, the two sides will talk about trade areas, including trade facilitation, regulatory practices, agriculture, anti-corruption, labor rights, and non-market practices and policies, according to the officials. Biden announced the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) during his recent trip to Japan. The framework so far consists of 14 members, including the United States, Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Fiji. Neither China nor Taiwan are in the framework. The IPEF is widely seen as a U.S. strategy to counter Chinas influence in the Asia-Pacific region. Its also supposed to fill the regional void created when the United States pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which later morphed into the CPTPP, in 2017. Under the framework, member nations seek to strengthen their economic ties by focusing on digital economies, supply chain issues, clean energy, and fair and transparent economic policies. Taiwans foreign ministry has expressed regret for not being included in the IPEF. Deng, at the June 1 press conference, said the Taiwanese government will continue to push for inclusion in the pact. Some Republicans have expressed frustration at the Biden administration for not including Taiwan in the framework. Taiwan is a high-standards economy & one of our top trading partners, Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) wrote on Twitter. Leaving Taiwan out is a needless bow to the #CCP [Chinese Communist Party]. Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) wrote on Twitter that she was disappointed in Biden for failing to include Taiwan in a framework intended to counter the CCPs hostility. Its beyond time for the President & the world to take Taiwans role on the world stage seriously, Steel wrote. Taiwans participation in the IPEF has support from politicians on both sides of the aisle. On May 18, before the framework was launched, a bipartisan group of more than 50 senators wrote a letter to Biden, urging the president to include Taiwan in the IPEF. Senior administration officials, during the May 31 briefing, suggested that Taiwan could participate in the future. We do intend to pursue a flexible and adaptable approach to IPEF participation going forward, one of the officials said. The United States isnt currently a formal diplomatic ally of Taiwan after Washington ended its diplomatic ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing in 1979. However, the two sides have enjoyed a robust relationship under the Taiwan Relations Act, which requires the United States to provide the island with military equipment for its self-defense. Currently, Washington and Taipei also engage under a framework known as the Technology Trade and Investment Collaboration (TTIC), which was initiated in December following a virtual meeting between U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Taiwans Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua. The U.S. State Department also holds the Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue for the two sides to engage in high-level economic talks. The inaugural dialogue took place in November 2020. The bloody Battle of Antietam set the stage for President Lincoln to make a historic announcement President Abraham Lincoln had a great deal on his mind in the summer of 1862. The Civil War dragged on, and the very fate of the nation hung in the balance. As he considered his responsibilities and authority as president, his resolve for a new measure grew. He invited Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles and Secretary of State William Seward to accompany him one day in July. As his carriage rolled toward its destination, for the first time Lincoln spoke of a proclamationa document that would change the course of American history. He dwelt earnestly on the gravity, importance and delicacy of the movementsaid he had given it much thought and said he had come to the conclusion that we must free the slaves or be ourselves subdued, Welles wrote. The discussion continued throughout the carriage ride, and Lincoln urged Welles and Seward to give the proclamation more thought. The president felt strongly that something must be done. Later in July, Lincoln drafted the document. However, he wanted to give this momentous proclamation added strength by coming on the heels of a Union victory. Two months later, Union General George B. McClellan and the Army of the Potomac marched to halt the advance of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia. Lincoln anxiously awaited news as the armies clashed northwest of Washington, D.C., in what would become known as the Battle of Antietam. Robert P. Kennedy of the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry later remarked on the significance of what unfolded in the late summer of 1862. Upon this field of Antietam was fought one of the most desperate battles of the War of the Rebellion, upon the outcome of which hung the destinies and liberties of millions of human beings. Special Orders 191 After he received command of the Army of the Potomac on September 2, General McClellan wrote, This week is the crisis of our fate. This crucial week began with the lesser-known Battle of South Mountain. After crossing the Potomac and entering Maryland, Lee thought the Confederate presence alone would drive Union forces from Harpers Ferry, a crucial location for ensuring lines of supply and communication. When this didnt happen, Lee issued Special Orders 191 on September 9. The orders split the army, with the largest number of troops ordered to take the Union garrisons at Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry. Lee ordered the rest of the army to South Mountain and Hagerstown, where they were to protect several key mountain passes. Abraham Lincoln meets with General McClellan and other Union officers to encourage further advances against the Confederate Army. (Public Domain) Robert Hall Chilton, Lees assistant adjutant general, wrote these orders and sent them to Lees generals. Before the orders were issued, General D.H. Hill was under the command of General Thomas Stonewall Jackson, so he received his orders from Jackson. However, the orders established Hill as an independent commander, so Chilton drafted a separate copy of the orders for Hill. This additional copy is where the confusion around Special Orders 191 erupted. Hill claimed he never received the additional orders Chilton sent. Instead, the orders fell into an entirely different set of hands. Union troops fled Martinsburg, and the Confederates positioned themselves to take Harpers Ferry. However, this had taken longer than Lee had thought, and Union troops made an important discovery. While resting from their march, troops from the 27th Indiana Volunteer Infantry discovered Lees orders enclosed with two cigars. They quickly realized the importance of the find and passed it along. The orders reached McClellan on September 13. He had no way of knowing how accurate the days-old orders still were. However, he did now know that Lee had divided the army. With this information, McClellan ordered an attack on the Confederate forces at South Mountain, aiming to take control of the South Mountain passes. Casualties mounted as the battle raged. Union troops finally succeeded in driving the Confederates back, but the delay allowed Confederate forces to take Harpers Ferry. However, South Mountain marked a crucial victory for Union forces, and it set the stage for one of the fiercest battles of the war. The Battle of Antietam Tomorrow we fight the battle that will decide the fate of the Republic, some heard Union General Hooker tell his staff on the eve of the battle. The fighting the next day was some of the worst of the war. It was the early gray light that appeared just before the sun rises above the horizon, and we could little more than distinguish each other, Captain Albert Monroe of the 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery recalled. We could see the first rays of the sun lighting the distant hilltops, when there was a sudden flash, and the air around us appeared to be alive with shot and shell from the enemys artillery. The opposing hill seemed suddenly to have become an active volcano, belching forth flame and smoke. President Abraham Lincoln confers with General George McClellan in 1862. (Vernon Lewis Gallery/Stocktrek Images/Getty Images) Some of the heaviest fighting that day took place in what became known as the Cornfield. This 24-acre field changed hands no fewer than six times in just three hours. The Union troops eventually succeeded in driving the Confederates from the field, only to sustain many casualties in the West Woods. In total, the fighting in the Cornfield and the West Woods accounted for around 10,000 killed or wounded in just four hours. In the time that I am writing every stalk of the corn in the northern and greater part of the field was cut as closely as could have been done with a knife, and the slain lay in rows precisely as they had stood in their ranks a few moments before. It was never my fortune to witness a more bloody, dismal battlefield, General Hooker reported. The fierce battle continued on Sunken Road, later dubbed Bloody Lane, and at the bridge that crossed Antietam Creek. General Burnside and his men finally succeeded in taking what is now known as Burnside Bridge. Though the Union troops launched one final attack after taking the bridge, Confederate General A.P. Hill arrived just in time to drive them back. A horrific day of fighting came to a close. On September 18, Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia retreated back across the Potomac. Thenceforward, and Forever Free The Battle of Antietam marked the bloodiest day in American history, with 23,000 men dead, wounded, or missing after 12 hours of fighting. However, it also provided the opportunity the president had been waiting for to fulfill his promise. Lincoln made a pledge, to both himself and God, that if the Confederate army retreated, he would issue his historic Proclamation. With Lees failure, Lincoln stayed true to his word. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation took effect, declaring that the slaves in the Southern states shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free. When President Lincoln signed the Proclamation, he did so without any doubt. I never, in my life, felt more certain that I was doing right than I do in signing this paper, he said. If my name ever goes into history it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it. This article was originally published in American Essence magazine. A map of Indonesia and Australia, Australia's new Labor government has signaled that it wishes to deepen ties with its northern neighbor. (Google Maps) Bilateral Ties With Indonesia Key to Australias Economic Goals Says Treasurer The new Australian government has signalled that it will prioritise deepening ties with the countrys northern neighbour Indonesia. New Treasurer Jim Chalmers, in an interview with Sky News Afternoon Agenda on May 31, signalled the importance of bilateral ties with Indonesia, noting that Indonesian Treasurer Sri Mulyani was his first international call. Chalmers said that Australias relationship with Indonesia had absolutely been perennially overlooked and noted for the new Labor administration the relationship would be a key to the Albanese governments economic goals. We need to work harder at it. Anthony wants to, Penny Wong wants to, and I want to work closely with them as well, Chalmers said, referring to the bilateral relationship. Theres a big international economic agenda. I hope to get to the G20 meetings in Bali in July so that we can make our contribution to making sure the G20 works effectively in the economic sphere as well as the issues beyond that. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers arrive for morning television interviews at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on May 12, 2021. (Sam Mooy/Getty Images) Indonesia will chair the next G20 meetingor the Group of 20an international forum designed to enhance global economic cooperation among the worlds major economies. At present, forum members include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. These nations account for more than 80 percent of global GDP, 75 percent of global trade, and 60 percent of the earths population. The decision to focus on deepening ties with Indonesia was highlighted by Labor during the election, with the party declaring they would establish an Australia-Indonesia Climate Resilience and Infrastructure Partnership as a key pillar of its engagement strategy with Southeast Asia. The Labor Party has committed $200 million to the program drawn from the Overseas Developmental Assistance program, with hopes it can be expanded after more discussion with Jakarta. Additionally, Labor will also look at expanding trade ties via a comprehensive partnership agreement. The comments from Chalmers come as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese prepares to travel to Indonesia for high-level talks on Sunday. Deepening ties with Australia will also work in favour for Indonesia as potential food shortages loom globally. International trade and market expert, Matt Dalgliesh from Thomas Elder Markets, has previously told The Epoch Times that Indonesia could face issues in the coming months. Countries that are on our doorstep, like Indonesia, that have a huge population and are struggling for self-sufficiency in terms of their [own] self-sufficiency, they could have problems, he said. Dalgleish said due to lower socio-economic levels, much of the population already spend a higher proportion of income on food-related matters, and as grain supplies dropped, prices could rise as competition for supply heats up. When people become food insecure, thats a very quick way to get civil disobedience and instability within a country, he said. A shopper wearing a protective mask pushes a shopping cart at Japan's supermarket group Aeon's shopping mall as the mall reopens amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Chiba, Japan on May 28, 2020. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters) Japan May Consumer Confidence Improves for 2nd Month TOKYOJapans consumer confidence index rose in May for a second straight month, the government said on Tuesday, as households enjoyed the first restriction-free spring holiday season since before the COVID-19 pandemic. A Cabinet Office survey showed the sentiment index for general households, which includes views on incomes and jobs, was at 34.1 in May, up from 33.0 in April. The government upgraded its assessment of the sentiment index, saying the decline has come to an end. Actors Johnny Depp (L) and Amber Heard at the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Fairfax, Va., on May 4, 2022. (Elizabeth Frantz/Pool Photos via AP) Johnny Depp Wins Defamation Lawsuit Against Ex-Wife Amber Heard Jury also rules in favor of Heard's counterclaim after Depp's lawyer called her abuse allegations a hoax A seven-person jury in Virginia reached a verdict on June 1 regarding Johnny Depps defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, who had countersued Depp. Jurors read the verdict aloud in the Fairfax County courtroom, finding that Heard defamed Johnny Depp on almost every count when she wrote a 2018 opinion article for The Washington Post. The jury awarded compensatory damages of $10 million and $5 million in favor of Depp. Jurors also ruled that Depp had to pay $2 million to Heard. It ruled in favor of a counterclaim Heard had filed after Johnny Depps lawyer called her abuse allegations a hoax. The Pirates of the Caribbean actor had sued Heard for $50 million in damages over a 2018 Washington Post opinion article in which Heard claimed she had become a public figure representing domestic abuse, although she didnt mention Depp by name. His attorneys, however, argued that it referred to allegations that she made during their 2016 divorce proceedings. In late 2020, Heard countersued Depp for $100 million. She contends that Depps lawyer, Adam Waldman, made false statements about her in 2020 to media outlets after he described Heards abuse claims as a hoax. Defamation lawsuits brought by public figures typically have to meet the high bar of both proving the claims were false and that the individual or entity who made the defamatory remark did so with actual malice, according to a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 1964. Jurors on June 1 found that Heards Washington Post claims against Depp met that standard. The six-week-long trial, which drew numerous international headlines, came to a close last week after final arguments were made to the jury. On May 31 and June 1, the jury deliberated and answered a verdict sheet with questions. Testimony during the trial has included lurid details of their short and volatile marriage. Heard testified that Depp physically or sexually assaulted her more than a dozen times. Depp said that he never struck Heard, that she concocted the abuse allegations, and that she was the one who physically attacked him, multiple times. In closing arguments, Depps lawyers had asked the jury to give him his life back after it was ruined by his ex-wifes allegations. They said that Heard would rather fight than allow Depp to leave and accused her of acting while testifying in court. Heards lawyers, meanwhile, said Depp would make the jury an accomplice to his abuse and a campaign of global humiliation against Heard. On May 31, Depps team triedand failedto strike a portion of Heards closing arguments. Some analysts claim Depp is using the trial to rehabilitate his public image following Heards allegations against him. Depp hasnt been waiting in Virginia for the decision. He spent the past few days onstage, singing and playing guitar with Jeff Beck in the United Kingdom. The defamation case is being held in Fairfax County, Virginia, because the online edition of The Washington Post is published through servers in the county, which allows Depp to sue her in that jurisdiction. When the jurors were called to read their verdict at 3 p.m. ET, they hadnt filled out the amount for damages. The judge then instructed them to go back and fill out the form before the verdict was rendered. The Associated Press contributed to this report. K-pop boy band BTS at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 10, 2019. (Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) K-Pop Band BTS Visits the White House to Discuss Anti-Asian Hate Crimes South Korean K-pop boyband BTS spoke out about anti-Asian hate crimes and Asian inclusion in their first visit to the White House on May 31, saying that the escalation of hate crimes in the United States was devastating. We were devastated by the recent surge of hate crimes, including Asian-American hate crimes. To put a stop on this and support the cause, wed like to take this opportunity to voice ourselves once again, band member Jimin said at a press briefing. The seven-member supergroup did not take questions from the press. The group met with President Joe Biden after the press briefing and discussed Asian inclusion and representation, as well as addressing anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination. While many of you may know BTS as Grammy-nominated international icons, they also play an important role as youth ambassadors, promoting a message of respect and positivity, said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. BTS meeting coincided with the Asian-America, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month in May. Anti-Asian hate crimes have escalated since the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020, which anti-discrimination activists linked to the pandemics emergence from China. Hate crimes against Asian-Americans rose by 149 percent in 2020 in 16 major cities compared with 2019, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism in March 2021. Eight people, including six Asian women, were killed in a shooting spree at Atlanta-area spas on March 16, 2021. Biden signed into law the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act in May 2021, enabling the reporting of hate crimes to be more accessible and ensuring that reporting resources are available online in multiple languages. Activists and celebrities have used social media to advocate for an end to anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States, including BTS, who had previously shared their own experiences with racial discrimination in the United States. We have endured expletives without reason and were mocked for the way we look. We were even asked why Asians spoke in English. We cannot put into words the pain of becoming the subject of hatred and violence for such a reason, they said in a statement published on Twitter. Our own experiences are inconsequential compared to the events that have occurred over the past few weeks. But these experiences were enough to make us feel powerless and chip away our self-esteem, they added. BTS is known for using their lyrics and social campaigns aimed at empowering youths since making their debut in 2013. Their fan base extends into older demographics, tying their spending clout to an internet-savvy generation that harnesses the power of social media. Reuters contributed to this report. Russia's President Vladimir Putin (front) and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attend a session of the Council of Heads of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Sochi, Russia, on Oct. 11, 2017. (Maxim Shemetov/AFP/Getty Images) Latest US Weapons Shipment to Ukraine Triggers Warning From Kremlin Russian officials have issued a warning after President Joe Biden confirmed in an opinion piece that the United States will send advanced rocket systems to Ukraine. Writing in The New York Times on May 31, Biden said his administration will send more advanced rocket systems to Kyiv as part of a new military package. We have moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table, he wrote. However, in response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on June 1 that Moscow suspects the United States is purposefully and diligently adding fuel to the fire by sending more weapons to Ukraine. When asked by reporters about how Russia might respond, he said, Lets not talk about worst-case scenarios. Peskov added that such supplies wouldnt encourage Ukraines leadership to resume stalled peace talks. Asked later if the U.S. move increased the chances of a third country becoming involved in the conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, Such risks certainly exist. He told a news conference in Saudi Arabia, It is a direct provocation [by Ukraine], aimed at involving the West in military action. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, when asked about the prospect of a direct confrontation between the United States and Russia, said that any arms shipments that continue, that are on the rise, increase the risks of such a development, according to RIA Novosti. In the NY Times article, Biden claimed that his administration has a straightforward goal to see a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression. That requires providing Ukraine with U.S. weapons, he argued. We will continue providing Ukraine with advanced weaponry, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, Stinger antiaircraft missiles, powerful artillery and precision rocket systems, radars, unmanned aerial vehicles, Mi-17 helicopters, and ammunition, the president wrote. We will also send billions more in financial assistance, as authorized by Congress. Earlier this week, Biden told reporters that the United States wont send rocket systems that can strike targets inside Russia. Russias invasion of Ukraine, which officials have described as a special military operation, started on Feb. 24 and has lasted nearly 100 days. Russian forces on June 1 pressed closer to the center of an industrial city in a drive to grab a swathe of eastern Ukraine, while the United States said it would supply advanced rockets to Kyiv to help force Moscow to negotiate an end to the war. Ukraines General Staff said Russian forces were pounding infrastructure in eastern and southern regions including the symbolically important city of Sievierodonetsk, which they entered on May 27. It has been the main focus of their ground offensive for several weeks. Sievierodonetsk, a Soviet-era city, houses a large chemical factory. According to local Gov. Serhiy Gaidai, a Russian airstrike hit the plant on May 31, blowing up a tank of toxic nitric acid and releasing a plume of pink smoke. Reuters contributed to this report. Loopholes Must Be Shut to Stop Foreign Money Influencing UK Politics: Watchdog The UK must close loopholes in its political donations rules in order to block foreign influence in British politics, an election watchdog has said. John Pullinger, the chairman of the Electoral Commission, the UKs independent elections agency, said there are not enough safeguards in place for the British public to have confidence that unlawful foreign money is not influencing UK politics. In an article for The Telegraph, Pullinger wrote: For over two decades, there have been laws in place to restrict who can donate to political parties. But, does existing electoral law do enough to safeguard from unlawful foreign money, or to protect public confidence in the political finance regime? To put it bluntly, no. Currently, anyone on a UK electoral register and any company registered in the UK can legally make donations to political parties. However, the companies do not need to prove enough money is made in the UK to cover the amount of the donations they make. This is a loophole allowing a UK-based company to use foreign money to make political donations in the UK. Pullinger said the Electoral Commission has put forward two proposals to shut the loophole, both focusing on the recipient of unlawful money. Firstly, the law should stipulate that parties cannot accept money from companies that have not generated enough in the UK to fund the amount of their donation or loan, so as to ensure the money did not originally come from outside the country. Secondly, the UK government should require political parties to take steps to ensure that they know where the money has come from, a duty companies, financial institutions, and public sector bodies already have to fulfil under anti-money laundering laws. Pullinger said over 240 million ($302 million) has been donated to political parties in the UK since 2019, and proper transparency is needed to prevent foreign political influence. He said now is a timely moment to kick-start action and strengthen financial checks, as the recent spotlight on Russian-linked individuals and their wealth has sparked renewed interest and concern about foreign influence and money entering UK politics. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP)s influence operations in the UK have also attracted media attention this year. In January, Britains MI5 security agency warned that Christine Ching Kui Lee, an alleged CCP agent who had been active in the UK Parliament, had acted covertly with the United Front Work Department of the CCP to interfere in UK politics. PA Media contributed to this report. Microplastics used to make surgical masks were found in 11 of 13 patients undergoing lung surgery. Data demonstrate how these particles may cross into the bloodstream and could enter organs, the brain and developing babies. Once inhaled or consumed, microplastics can be found in your bloodstream in particles small enough to cross membrane barriers. Its also found in an infants first stool, suggesting maternal exposure; an animal study found nanopolystryene particles in fetal brain, liver, kidney and lung tissue 24 hours after maternal exposure A data analysis of cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Kansas revealed counties with mask mandates had higher mortality rates than those without mask mandates A respirator specialist says surgical masks dont meet the legal definition of a mask but rather are breathing barriers. He was emphatic they are shedding microplastics small enough to be inhaled Researchers found 39 microplastics in surgical lung samples from 11 of 13 people. There were 12 types that would commonly be found in plastic bottles, twine, clothing and surgical masks Tiny bits of plastic about the size of a sesame seed or smaller are everywhere. News headlines often show intact plastic bags, rings and bottles as the primary threats to the environment and these are indeed harmful to marine life and more but the smaller, more insidious microplastic bits may even be more harmful. A study1 from Great Britain2 found microplastics in 11 out of 13 patients lungs. Across the world, 299 million tons of plastic were produced in 2013, much of which ended up in the oceans, threatening wildlife and the environment.3 That number jumped to 418 million tons in 2021.4 In 2018, the U.S. alone generated 35.7 million tons of plastic and sent 27 million tons to landfills, which accounted for 18.5% of all municipal solid waste.5 Chemicals found in plastic products are known to act as endocrine disruptors.6 These chemicals are similar in structure to natural sex hormones, and they interfere with the normal functioning of those hormones in your body.7 This poses a particular problem for children who are still growing and developing. The price that society will pay for the ubiquitous use and distribution of plastic particles has yet to be quantified. Evidence suggests that the long-term exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals like phthalates poses a significant danger to health and fertility. The amount of plastic that enters the environment grows each year as manufacturers continue to produce products in disposable containers and consumers continue to demand a disposable lifestyle. At a time when advocacy groups warn that plastics are falling from the sky8 and have become a global tragedy,9 the COVID-19 pandemic has driven the plastic problem to even greater heights. Study Finds Microplastics in 11 Out of 13 Patients Lungs Decades of research have shown that people breathe in microparticles of air pollution as well as consume them in food and water. A 2021 autopsy study10 showed microplastics in 13 of the 20 people analyzed and over 20 years ago a 1998 U.S. lung cancer study11 found plastic and fibers in 99 of the 114 lung samples that were examined. According to the Natural History Museum,12 microplastics measure less than 5 millimeters. They call microplastics one of the greatest man-made disasters of our time. While there are industrial uses for microplastics, most form when they break away from larger plastic products in the environment. Primary microplastics are those produced in small sizes for industrial use, such as in sandblasters, cosmetics or microfiber clothing. Secondary microplastics result from the breakdown of larger plastic products caused by exposure to environmental stressors.13 One team of scientists from Hull York Medical School sought to analyze the impact that inhaling microplastics has on human tissue. Past research has found synthetic fibers in lung tissue, but researchers wrote there were no robust studies confirming microplastics in lung tissue. The current study analyzed human lung tissue in 13 patients who had undergone lung surgery. They found microplastic contamination in 11 of the 13 patients.14 The team found 39 pieces in 11 lung tissue samples. Laura Sadofsky, senior lecturer and lead researcher in the study, commented on the importance of the results:15 Microplastics have previously been found in human cadaver autopsy samples this is the first robust study to show microplastics in lungs from live people. It also shows that they are in the lower parts of the lung. Lung airways are very narrow so no one thought they could possibly get there, but they clearly have. This data provides an important advance in the field of air pollution, microplastics and human health. The characterisation of types and levels of microplastics we have found can now inform realistic conditions for laboratory exposure experiments with the aim of determining health impacts. Study authors found the subjects harbored 12 types of microplastics, which have many uses and are commonly found in packaging, bottles, clothing, rope/twine, and many manufacturing processes. There were also considerably higher levels of microplastics in male patients compared to females.16 Another unexpected finding was that a higher number of microplastics were found in the lower portions of the lung. The most abundant types of microplastics were polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).17 This finding points to the recent ubiquitous use of blue surgical masks during the pandemic as PP is the most commonly used plastic component in those masks. Expert Says COVID Face Covers Are Not Masks A study18 published in 2021 looked at the risks of wearing blue surgical face masks and inhaling microplastics. The researchers found that reusing masks could increase the risk of inhaling microplastic particles and that N95 respirators had the lowest number of microplastics released when compared to not wearing a mask. They said, Surgical, cotton, fashion, and activated carbon masks wearing pose higher fiber-like microplastic inhalation risk 19 and yet, according to Chris Schaefer, a respirator specialist and training expert, the masks used by millions of people throughout the world are not really masks at all.20 Schaefer calls these breathing barriers as they dont meet the legal definition of a mask. He was emphatic that the surgical masks used by consumers throughout Canada, the U.S. and the world are shedding microplastics small enough to be inhaled.21 A [proper] mask has engineered breathing openings in front of mouth and nose to ensure easy and effortless breathing. A breathing barrier is closed both over mouth and nose. And by doing that, it captures carbon dioxide that you exhale, forces you to re-inhale it, causing a reduction in your inhaled oxygen levels and causes excessive carbon dioxide. So, theyre not safe to wear. He encourages people to cut one open and look at the loose fibers that are easily dislodged within the product.22 The heat and moisture that it captures will cause the degradation of those fibres to break down smaller. Absolutely, people are inhaling [microplastic particles]. Ive written very extensively on the hazards of these breathing barriers the last two years, Ive spoken to scientists [and other] people for the last two years about people inhaling the fibres. If you get the sensation that youve gotten a little bit of cat hair, or any type of irritation in the back of your throat after wearing them. That means youre inhaling the fibres. He went on to note that anyone exposed to these types of fibers in an occupational setting would be required to wear protection. Instead, people are using products that increase the risk of inhaling fibers that break down very small and, well, what thats going to do to people in the in the form of lung function as well as toxicity overload in their body I guess well know in a few years.23 Face Coverings Also Increase the Death Rate From COVID-19 German physician, Dr. Zacharias Fogen, published a study24 in the peer-reviewed journal Medicine, which analyzed data across counties in Kansas, comparing areas where there was a mask mandate against counties without a mandate. He found that mandatory masking increased the death rate by 85%. The mortality rate remained 52% higher in counties that mandated masking even when the analysis accounted for confounding factors. Fogen writes that further analysis of the data showed that 95% of the effect can only be attributed to COVID-19, so it is not CO2, bacteria or fungi under the mask.25 He has named this the Foegen Effect which refers to the reinhalation of viral particles trapped in droplets and deposited on the mask, which worsens outcomes. He writes:26 The most important finding from this study is that contrary to the accepted thought that fewer people are dying because infection rates are reduced by masks, this was not the case. Results from this study strongly suggest that mask mandates actually caused about 1.5 times the number of deaths or ~50% more deaths compared to no mask mandates. The mask mandates themselves have increased the CFR (case fatality rate) by 1.85 / 1.58 or by 85% / 58% in counties with mask mandates. It was also found that almost all of these additional deaths were attributed solely to COVID-19. This study revealed that wearing facemasks might impose a great risk on individuals, which would not be mitigated by a reduction in the infection rate. The use of facemasks, therefore, might be unfit, if not contraindicated, as an epidemiologic intervention against COVID-19. Fogen notes two other large studies that found similar results with case fatality rates. The first was published in the journal Cureus27 and found no association between case numbers and mask compliance in Europe but a positive association with death and mask compliance. The second study28 was published in PLOS|One, which demonstrated there was an association between negative COVID outcomes and mask mandates across 847,000 people in 69 countries. The researchers estimated that ending the mask mandates could reduce new cases with no effect on hospitalization and death. Plastics Trigger Cell Damage and Death Past research has highlighted the impact microplastics have on the environment, wildlife and human health. However, many studies have not drawn an association between microplastic consumption or inhalation and disease. Instead, they identify research gaps and recommend further study.29 A paper30 published in April 2022 has suggested why this data has been inconsistent. The lab data was the first to find that microplastics damaged human cells at levels that are relevant to the number of particles humans ingest or inhale. The study was a meta-regression analysis of the toxicological impact on human cells across 17 studies that compared the level of microplastics that cause cell damage. The researchers found that it was the irregularly shaped microplastics that cause cell damage and not the spherical microplastics that are normally used in laboratory experiments. This suggests that past lab data using spherical microplastics may not fully represent the damage that microplastics cause to human health. Evangelos Danopoulos from Hull York Medical School in the U.K., who led the study, commented on why research is increasing: It is exploding and for good reason. We are exposed to these particles every day: were eating them, were inhaling them. And we dont really know how they react with our bodies once they are in.31 Where Does Plastic Pollution Go in Your Body? Researchers have found that tiny microplastics are not only deposited in your lungs and gut but can also be found floating in your blood. Researchers from The Netherlands analyzed samples32 from 22 healthy volunteers and found plastic particles in 77% of the samples. These particles were 700 nanometers or greater in dimension, which is a size that can be absorbed across membranes. Some samples contained up to three different types of plastic. The study author told The Guardian Our study is the first indication that we have polymer particles in our blood its a breakthrough result. But we have to extend the research and increase the sample sizes, the number of polymers assessed, etc.33 The researchers wrote that where these plastic particles end up in the body also requires further study. They stated that its scientifically plausible that the plastic particles are being transported by the bloodstream to organs, based, for instance, on data showing that 50, 80 and 240 nm polystyrene beads and microsized polypropylene can permeate the human placenta.34 After these microplastics cross the placental barrier, they end up in a newborns first feces. This means they migrate from the infants blood to the gut. A pilot study35 published in 2021 looked at the magnitude of human exposure to microplastics and found that the microplastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was found in meconium samples, which is a babys first stool. The amount of PET in infant stool was 10 times higher than found in adult samples, which suggested that babies have plastic in their system that is absorbed from their mother. How this will affect the future of human health is still being studied. An animal study found that just 24 hours after maternal inhalation exposure, nanopolystyrene particles could be detected in the placenta and fetal brain, lungs, liver, heart and kidney.36 It appears that inhaling or consuming microplastics allows micro particles access to your bloodstream and then to your vital organs. While researchers have demonstrated that the irregularly shaped microplastics found in the environment cause cell damage and death, the long-term effects on disease have not been identified. Yet, you may be sure that cell damage and death do not occur without consequences. Originally published Sources and References Lisa Bloom attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the AT&T Performing Arts CenterWinspear Opera House, Dallas, Texas on May, 29, 2022. (Sally Sun/The Epoch Times) DALLAS, Texas The dancing is just extraordinary, said composer Lisa Bloom. Ive never seen dancers who could do such amazing things and the discipline is just amazingly impressive. Ms. Bloom was attending the premier New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts at the AT & T Performing Arts Center on May 29. Ive seen a lot of dance and ballet all through my life and this is the most impressive Ive ever seen, she said. Shen Yun is bringing back the long-lost culture of Chinas five millennia civilization that was virtually destroyed after the Chinese communist regime came to power. The music is gorgeous, said Ms. Bloom who composes music for film and television. Shen Yuns orchestra is a combination of classical Western and traditional Eastern instruments. Ms. Blooms male friend agreed. The music is really amazing. I like the Chinese instruments added to the Western instruments. The combination is really good. The East-West blend introduces traditional Chinese instruments such as the pipa and erhu, a traditional two-stringed violin. Its so unusual, but theyve done a really magnificent job blending the two [cultures] and also they really know how to dramatize and accentuate the emotions of whats going on the stage. And I love also how they combined the backdrop. Thats really clever, said Ms. Bloom. [The composer] has mastered all of the Western forms of orchestration that you would use in very powerful film scoring like animation, but yet hes integrated all of the Eastern themes and theres a lot of interesting variation and drama. So its very exciting, said Ms. Bloom. Lot More Love in This World Also present in the audience were Justin Phillip, a senior cyber security architect, and Charlotte Phillip. The couple attended Shen Yun with Nancy Visel, an entrepreneur, and Thomas Visel, an aerospace engineer. The friends were enchanted by the story-based dances presented in Shen Yun. Monkeying Around in Paradise a comedy from the classic Chinese novel, Journey to the West, and The Restaurant Tale, another comedy that shows the friendly jibes between restaurant owners vying for customers, were both very popular. Mr. Justin Phillip (2nd R) and his wife, Charlotte, (1st R), and their friends Thomas Visel (2nd L) and wife, Nancy Visel (1st L), at Shen Yun Performing Arts at the AT&T Performing Arts CenterWinspear Opera House, Dallas, Texas on May 29, 2022. (Sonia Wu/The Epoch Times) Mrs. Phillips also enjoyed the instrumentalist who played the traditional two-string violin, the erhu. So beautiful, she said. That range of sounds with two strings was amazing, agreed her husband. Mrs. Visel loved the colors and the texture which were exemplified in the dance Water Sleeves, which also offered a glimpse into the imperial court of a long past dynasty where elegant ladies swirl their long colorful sleeves. Reviving Chinas traditional culture resonated with the group. Mrs. Phillip said it was important it was for people to support Shen Yun in todays world. Mrs. Visel agreed. I think its a wonderful way to learn about other people and who they are from a historical aspect. Some of Shen Yuns dances transmit spiritual messages in their narratives. I think its important for people to know theres more than just us theres more than just our heightened opinions of ourselves, said Mr. Phillip. Theres a spiritual element in everything, its not just pure science. And theres a spirituality in the West too although we often forget it, he added. Shen Yun was conveying important messages, he said. Mrs. Visel also remarked on the issue of spirituality. I think the spirituality that was portrayed is very similar to many cultures all across the world and if people could understand and look at the metaphors in the stories, they would see how much alike we really are, how our hearts are longing for redemption, how were looking for the Creator to come back and save us from everything, said Mrs. Visel. If we focussed more on those things instead of our differences I think wed have a lot more love in this world. Mr. Visel had been looking forward to seeing Shen Yun for three years and said it had exceeded his expectations. It gave a different, honest, and open perspective on Chinese culture. Mr. Visel was referring to Shen Yuns portrayal of the Chinese communist regimes persecution of people because of their spiritual beliefs. [Shen Yun] wasnt afraid to go into places [that] you wouldnt normally talk about. I just loved that, he said. Reporting by Sally Sun , Sonia Wu and Diane Cordemans. The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006. A double layer of barricades surrounds the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on May 10, 2022. (Jackson Elliott/The Epoch Times) New Republican Bill Would Criminalize Supreme Court Leaks A group of 12 House Republicans introduced a proposal in Congress this week that would make knowingly sharing confidential information from the Supreme Court a crime punishable by a fine or as many as five years in prison. The legislation comes a month after a leaked draft majority opinion indicated the Supreme Court was preparing to overturn Roe v. Wade, the seminal 1973 precedent that federalized abortion policy, overriding the states and making the procedure lawful throughout the entire United States. The landmark 72 decision held that a womans right to an abortion was safeguarded by her right to privacy under the 14th Amendment. Politico published the draft decision written by Justice Samuel Alito in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization on May 2. Left-wing critics are outraged that the high court is considering overturning Roe v. Wade, while conservatives are angered that the leak, perpetrated by a person or persons still unknown, appeared calculated to inflame public opinion and persuade the justices to reconsider reversing the 49-year-old abortion precedent. Some have argued that the unprecedented leak of the full opinion is a kind of terrorist attack on the judicial branch of the federal government. The proposed Leaker Accountability Act is a three-page measure (pdf) whose principal sponsor is House Republican Conference Vice Chair Mike Johnson (R-La.). GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) is also a sponsor. The bill was introduced on May 31. The unauthorized leak of the draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health constitutes a grave breach of judicial ethics and a deliberate attack on the independence of the Supreme Court, Johnson said in a statement. This legislation is now, unfortunately, a necessary step to discourage future such attempts to intimidate justices during their deliberative process and restore independence to the Court so that it can ensure the American people are afforded equal and impartial justice under the law. The institution of the court has been damaged and we must do what we can to try to repair it, he said. The bill states that any officer or employee of the Supreme Court who is engaged in knowingly publishing, divulging, disclosing, or making known in any manner or to any extent not authorized by law any confidential information coming to that officer or employee in the course of the employment or official duties of that officer or employee shall be imprisoned not more than 5 years or fined or both. The measure defines confidential information as including internal notes on cases heard by the Supreme Court, any communication between a Justice of the Supreme Court and an employee or officer of the Supreme Court or communication between officers and employees of the Supreme Court on a matter pending before the Supreme Court, a draft opinion, a final opinion prior to the date on which such opinion is released to the public, personal information of a Justice of the Supreme Court that is not otherwise legally available to the public, and any other information designated to be confidential by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Supreme Court law clerks, who assist the courts nine justices, have been asked by court investigators to produce personal cellphone records and swear affidavits. Some clerks are reportedly considering retaining outside legal counsel to safeguard their legal rights, according to CNN. A legal expert consulted by The Epoch Times said the proposed Leaker Accountability Act seems like a good idea. Curt Levey, president of the Committee for Justice, said in an interview that federal laws already prevent employees in the governments executive branch from leaking certain information. Why should that not apply to [Supreme Court] clerks as well? The leak has shaken the collegiality of the court and trust in the court, Levey said. This bill could definitely restore that. I would definitely think [the bill is] a step in the right direction, Levey said, adding he hoped it would enjoy bipartisan support. I know that theres plenty of people on the left who consider the leaker to be a hero, but they should realize the next leak could come from a conservative clerk, assuming this one came from a clerk. Everyone really does have a stake in the legitimacy of the Supreme Court. I know the left doesnt feel that way, but just think about all the Supreme Court rulings that the left cherishes that may not have been adhered to if people didnt consider the Supreme Court legitimate. This is not a conservative or liberal bill, Levey said. Its common sense. Leveys nonprofit describes itself as devoted to restoring the Founders vision of a federal judiciary governed by the rule of law and anchored by the Constitution. Its unclear when the high court will release its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization. At issue is Mississippis Gestational Age Act, which allows abortions after 15 weeks gestation only for medical emergencies or severe fetal abnormality. Citing Roe v. Wade, lower courts held that the state statute was unconstitutional. Oral arguments in the Dobbs case were heard by the Supreme Court on Dec. 1, 2021. Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada David Lametti rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 16, 2022. (Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press) No Countrywide Decriminalization to Follow as BC Exempts Possession of Small Amounts of Illegal Drugs: Justice Minister Following British Columbias announcement to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use, federal Justice Minister David Lametti said currently there wont be a larger discussion on decriminalization across the country. Lametti made the remarks just before Parliament is expected to vote on an NDP private members bill on a nationwide decriminalization of personal possession of illicit drugs on June 1. On May 31, the B.C. government said the exemption is part of the response to an overdose crisis in the province. It applies to all adult residents in B.C. who are in possession of up to 2.5 grams of certain illegal drugs, such as opioids (including heroin, morphine, and fentanyl), cocaine, methamphetamine, and MDMA. The exemption will be effective from Jan. 31, 2023, to Jan. 31, 2026, according to a statement released on May 31. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government will not seek to decriminalize such illicit drug possessions in other jurisdictions without putting the system and supports in place. He said Ottawas decision to decriminalize possession of small amounts of illicit drugs in B.C. was to offer other ways to support people. The province also takes a similar approach through projects that expand access to prescribed safer supply [of illicit drugs], which the B.C. government said will help separate people from the poisoned illicit drug supply. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, however, said on May 31 that the federal governments decision is a slippery slope and is counterproductive to solving the problems of illicit drugs and helping people recover from addiction. Kenney said other provinces should have been consulted first, particularly next door in Alberta. He said the move also violates a promise from Trudeau to not undertake such action. Conservative MP Brad Vis, who represents B.C.s MissionMatsquiFraser Canyon riding, told reporters on June 1 that a blanket decriminalization wont change the province without addressing the underlying mental health problem that is leading more and more Canadians to turn to drugs. What we do lack in B.C. right now is adequate facilities to give people compassionate treatment, what we do lack is an effective federal mental health strategy, what we do lack is sufficient homes where people have a safe place to live and to recover, Vis said. So we have to keep public safety in mind, we have to keep recovery in mind, we have to keep human dignity in mind. The Canadian Press contributed to this article. LGBT-themed flashcards had been used in a preschool classroom at North Carolina's Ballentine Elementary School as a way to teach about colors. (North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore) North Carolina Teacher Resigns After Using Flashcard Showing Pregnant Man to Teach Preschoolers A North Carolina teacher has resigned after being exposed using LGBT-themed flashcards, including one depicting a pregnant man, to teach preschoolers about colors. North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore, a Republican, shared photos of the cards on his personal website. He said the images were emailed to state Rep. Erin Pare by one of her constituents. The cards in question appear to be from a 12-piece bundle called Progress Pride Flag Rainbow Families. An online description for the card set says the custom-designed illustrations celebrate LGBT2SQ+ Families of diverse races, ages, sexualities, genders, and abilities. According to Moore, Pare reached out to the Ballentine Elementary School, where the cards had been allegedly used in a preschool classroom to teach colors. The schools principal confirmed the claims, stressing that the cards were not part of any approved curriculum. The Wake County Public School System, of which Ballentine is a member, reiterated that the flashcards were not part of its curriculum and called them an inappropriate instructional resource found in a preschool classroom. An initial review determined that flashcards were not tied to the districts Pre-K curriculum, did not complement, enrich or extend the curriculum and were used without the principals review, knowledge and/or approval, a spokesperson for the school district said. The preschool teacher, who was not immediately identified, has also resigned, the spokesperson added. The incident comes as North Carolina Republicans seek to pass a bill that affirms parents rights to direct their childrens upbringing, including the right to be informed of conversations the school has with their child about sex and gender. The bill, similar to one that recently became law in Florida, would ban public school curricula for grades K through 3 from containing instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity. It would also require North Carolina schools to tell parents if their child wants to be referred to by a different name or pronoun, as well as ask for parents consent before providing the child with any counseling service or other non-emergency health care. In addition, the bill would allow parents to sue the school that fails to address concerns about their parental rights. Any health care provider that fails to obtain parents consent before giving non-emergency medical treatments for their child would also face penalties, including fines of up to $5,000. The proposed measures will be added to an existing curriculum transparency bill, which would guarantee that parents have the right to review and object to textbooks and supplementary materials, to seek a medical or religious exemption from immunization requirements for their child, and to see which books their child has borrowed from the school library. Parents want to be more involved in their childs education. This proposal strengthens the relationship between schools and parents, state Senate leader Phil Berger said at a May 24 press conference. The bill is about transparency and trust in our public schools. The more open communication school personnel have with parents about a childs education and well-being the better. Nunes: Sussmann Case Revealed So Much About Clinton, FBI The case of ex-Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann revealed key details about the campaigns efforts to seed claims about Donald Trump and the FBIs treatment of those claims, former Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) says. This was a really important case that got brought in D.C.even with the verdictbecause we learned so much, Nunes, now the head of Trumps social media company, told NTDpart of the Epoch Media Grouphours after Sussmann was acquitted. We learned that Clinton approved of this operation. We learned that, for sure, they were spying on Trump. We learned the FBI knew about it. We learned that the seventh floor was very interested in this case, Nunes added. Robby Mook, Clintons campaign manager, testified during the trial that Clinton approved the plan to promote the TrumpRussia allegations to media outlets. Mook said he wasnt sure whether Clinton approved of Sussmann taking the same information to the FBI. Sussmanns other client, Rodney Joffe, meanwhile, was monitoring internet data in order to obtain derogatory information about Donald Trump, prosecutors with special counsel John Durhams team said. Also during the trial, it was revealed that then-FBI Director James Comey and other bureau leaders were fired up about the allegations, which concerned a purported secret backchannel between the Trump Organization and Russias Alfa Bank. Senior FBI officials pressured lower-level workers to investigate the claims, even though cyber experts within a day deemed them unsupported. Former FBI agent and federal prosecutor Marc Ruskin told NTD, that the evidence presented during the trial will have ramifications in the future, including Mooks disclosures and internal FBI emails. Regardless of the political implications, there is a lot more knowledge, you could say, more evidence now that the public is aware of that they would not be aware of had this trial not taken place, Ruskin said. The evidence is now out there. And I think its up to the uninformed public to read it, digest it, and evaluate it and make their own determinations as to its value. Durham was tasked during the Trump administration to investigate the origins of the U.S. governments widespread effort to investigate links between Trump and Russia. The effort was partially based on allegations funded by Clintons campaign. Sussmanns was the first trial stemming from the investigation. Sussmann was acquitted on May 31 on one count of lying to the FBI. He had told FBI lawyer James Baker he was bringing the TrumpRussia claims on his own accord, but later acknowledged under oath he was acting on behalf of a client. Durham earlier secured a guilty plea from FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, who admitted to doctoring an email from the CIA to say that former Trump campaign associate Carter Page was not a CIA asset, when, in fact, he was. Durham has also charged Igor Danchenko, a primary source for the anti-Trump dossier compiled by ex-British spy Christopher Steele, who was paid by Fusion GPS, a firm contracted by the campaign to conduct opposition research. Sussmann was tried in Washington. Danchenko will go on trial later this year in Virginia. Nunes, who unearthed much of the early evidence of wrongdoing by the government in its probe of the Trump campaign, said that Durham presented so much evidenceoverwhelming evidencein the Sussmann trial that Id be shocked if Durham doesnt bring several more indictments, or possibly even a conspiracy indictment. OC Power Authority CEO Accuses Board Members of Corruption The head of the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) has accused Huntington Beach City Councilors Mike Posey and Dan Kalmick of corruption and open meeting law violations. Brian Probolsky, CEO of OCPA, alleges that Posey and Kalmick conspired to create a common plan and scheme, to fire him, place Kalmick on the OCPA board, and hire Posey to serve as Chief Business Officera position neither authorized nor created by the other Board members, according to a letter leaked to The Epoch Times on May 31. The letter, signed by Probolskys attorney, Megan Lencek, was sent to OCPA General Counsel Ryan Baron, the Orange County District Attorney, the State Attorney General, and the state Fair Political Practices Commission Enforcement Division. Probolsky has sought whistleblower protection. OCPA Board Member Susan Sonne allegedly told Chief Financial Officer Tiffany Law a few days ago in a phone call, there will be a special meeting, there are votes to fire Brian [Probolsky], bring in management from Marin, and hire new [e]xecutives, according to the letter. Kalmick confirmed that OCPA received the letter on May 31 but declined to comment stating he is still waiting to hear back from OCPA counsel. Probolsky also alleged a Brown Act violation occurred during a May 17 Huntington Beach City Council meeting when Posey resigned from his seat as the citys representative on the OCPA board as he is terming out at the end of this year. The city council appointed the citys alternate representative, Kalmick, as his replacement, then installed Posey as the citys alternate. The Brown Act violation occurred, Probolsky alleges, when the city agendized the move as a re-appointment rather than a replacement. The City not only misled the public but also lacked the legal authority under the Brown Act as no re-appointment of a former board member occurred, the letter reads. A second Brown Act violation occurred, the letter states, in May 2022 when Kalmick called other board members on the OCPA asking them for support in removing existing agency management, including CEO Brian Probolsky. Posey denied the allegations, saying there is no position for Chief Business Officer or whatever you want to call it. That position doesnt exist. I offered to help as a board member or an alternate to help with larger customers and help the business development directors with their approach, he told The Epoch Times. Probolsky also mentions in the letter that Posey allegedly attended an event recently, including Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner, who is also an OCPA board member but not part of the alleged conspiracy, adding that Posey had an interest in working for OCPA as Chief Business Officer. But, Posey said thats not what the meeting was about. I had a meeting on my front patio last week. I had about a dozen people over here, and the meeting was to talk about the candidates for the Huntington Beach City Council. And, we spoke at length about strategy to get Republicans elected, Posey said. At the meeting, Wagner asked Posey why he had left the OCPA so abruptly, and why he hadnt given him a heads up, Posey said. Posey said he explained to Wagner that while he was frustrated with some of his colleagues on the board, that was not the reason he quit, and that he should have called Wagner before resigning. This should have been a benign non-controversial changing of the guard because Im termed out, he said. Probolsky also alleges in the letter that Posey abused his position on the board by requesting that OCPA hire two of his political associates. Posey also denied these claims. Thats not true, either, he said. Posey said he gave two names to former Chief Operating Officer (COO) Antonia Castro-Graham, who had resigned last December. When Toni Graham was the COO, she told me about this new program that she was going to initiate, he said. She asked me if I knew anybody, so I gave her two names, Posey said. He said Graham interviewed the two applicants, but then resigned amid controversy and allegations that Probolsky had bullied her at a board meeting. So, when Toni left, I asked Brian, what was he going to do about those two people, and he said, he already found two people. And I said, Fine. That was it. Probolskys attorney, Lencek, did not respond to requests for comment by press time. Ohio Bill Lowering Training Requirements for Armed Teachers Moves Forward The Ohio state legislature is considering a bill that would dramatically lower training requirements for teachers who wish to carry guns at school. Under current Ohio law, individual school districts are able decide whether teachers and staff members can arm themselves. In June 2021, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled 43 that any school employee who wants to bear arms on school grounds must either have 20 years of experience as a police officer, or have completed a basic police training program. A basic police training program in Ohio entails at least 700 hours of education in areas including driving, conducting traffic stops, performing field sobriety tests, testifying in court, investigating human trafficking, and homeland security. House Bill 99, proposed by Republican state Rep. Thomas Hall, would instead require school employees to first obtain a concealed carry weapon (CCW) license before they can carry a gun at school. Ohios CCW course takes eight hours, with at least two hours on the range with live fire training. 750-plus hours is not a realistic or practical requirement for full-time staff to complete in order to simply keep our students and educators safe, Hall said in a press release. On top of the CCW training, school employees would need 20 initial hours of training and four reoccurring hours of training, the bill states. If a school board decides to allow staff to carry, the board must notify the public. Ohio law does not specify the criteria school employees have to meet in order to carry guns at school. It does say, however, that a school district may not hire anyone as a special police officer, security guard, or other position, unless that person has 20 years of experience as a police officer or has completed a basic police training program. In the majority opinion (pdf), Chief Justice Maureen OConnor of the Ohio Supreme Court wrote that this effectively means schools are banned from allowing employees with no police training or experience to carry guns on campus. Applying the plain, ordinary meaning of the statutory language, a school employee who is not employed as a special police officer or security guard is employed in an other position,' OConnor wrote. So long as the 43 ruling stands, Ohio teachers must either disarm or undergo extensive police training. Hall said this prompted him to put forth House Bill 99, which has so far passed the House and its first committee hearing in the Senate. At the end of the day, what we are talking about here is empowering our local schools to make the best decision for their students and educators so that our children feel safe and are safe in Ohio schools, he said. Introduced in 2021, House Bill 99 recently gained renewed attention because of the May 24 attack that left 19 children and two teachers dead at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was among the first Republicans to call for arming school personnel following the Uvalde attack. President Donald Trump, speaking at this years NRA convention, also suggested that highly trained teachers should safely and discreetly conceal carry firearms on campus. Students walk to their classrooms at a public middle school in Los Angeles, on Sept. 10, 2021. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images) Oklahoma Man Accused of Making Bomb Threats to Los Angeles Schools LOS ANGELESAn Oklahoma man who grew up in Los Angeles was arrested on June 1 on federal charges alleging that he telephoned bomb threats to five Los Angeles schools, including two elementary schools, and also threatened to shoot the children as they exited one of the elementary schools. Marcus James Buchanan, 44, of Blackwell, Oklahoma, is expected to make his initial appearance on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Wichita, Kansas. Buchanan is charged with one count of making a telephonic threat to damage or destroy buildings by fire or explosives, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. According to court papers, during a period of fewer than two hours on the morning of Feb. 28, Buchanan allegedly called in bomb threats to two elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school in Los Angeles. In a call to one of the elementary schools, Buchanan allegedly threatened to shoot the children as they exited the building, prosecutors said. On April 27 and 28, Buchanan allegedly made additional bomb threats targeting two of the Los Angeles schools he had previously threatened, this time threatening to shoot children at other schools. On April 27, he allegedly called an elementary school and told an employee, There is a bomb at your school and we will shoot the kids when they get out of the school. That is what you get for not accepting me in 86, according to an affidavit. When the employee asked who was calling, Buchanan allegedly responded, If you try to find out, I will shoot you, prosecutors said. School staff notified police and placed the school on lockdown. Police searched the campus for explosives or unusual items but found none. On April 28, Buchanan allegedly called the same school again and said there was a pipe bomb placed at the schools address. Police were again notified, and the campus was locked down and searched, but no destructive devices were found. That same day, Buchanan allegedly called a different elementary school and said, Stop playing games, you know who this is. I am going to shoot the school. I know the kids are there. That school was also placed on lockdown, but no explosives or unusual items were found. Phone records determined that the threatening calls came from a number linked to Buchanan, the affidavit states. If convicted, Buchanan would face up to 10 years in federal prison, prosecutors noted. Los Angeles County Sheriff deputies guard a home in the city of Lancaster in the high desert Antelope Valley north of Los Angeles on Nov. 29, 2021. (Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP Photo) Over 100 Arrested in Antelope Valley Marijuana Grow Operation LANCASTER, Calif.A nine-day joint operation aimed at taking down multiple illegal marijuana grows in the Antelope Valley resulted in more than 100 arrests and the seizure of several tons of marijuana products, the county sheriffs department announced Tuesday. The Marijuana Eradication Teamwhich consists of the sheriffs department, the California National Guard Counterdrug Task Force, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlifeserved 278 marijuana cultivation-related search warrants in the Antelope Valley from May 17 through May 27, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said. The search warrants resulted in 105 felony arrests and the seizure of at least 40 firearms, including 11 ghost guns, sheriffs officials said. Authorities also seized more than 270,000 marijuana plants and nearly 57,000 pounds of harvested marijuana. The operation resulted in the demolition of at least 167 locations after authorities determined they were unsafe to work in, Villanueva said. The LA Sheriffs Department anticipates warrants will be served at the remaining 60 to 75 illegal cultivation sites identified in the Antelope Valley by fall 2022. Narcotics investigators created the email address MarijuanaTips@lasd.org in July 2021, and anyone who can provide information to detectives investigating marijuana cultivation cases was encouraged to contact via email. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives to speak and take part in the National Prayer Breakfast of Canada in Ottawa on Tuesday, May 31, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Peter Menzies: In Attempting to Curb Misinformation and Disinformation, the Liberals Perpetuate Same Commentary The Trudeau government has taken #fakenews, #alternativefacts, #misinformation, and #disinformation to a whole new, breathtaking level. This week, the Liberals introduced legislation that will freeze the buying, importing, and selling of handguns and pretended gun owners wont be affected. You may agree or disagree with that approach, but what is clear is that if you own a handgun in Canada, you will now never be able to sell it or give it away to someone else. If you had a handgun collection that you thought you or your heirs might wish to sell at some point, that collection is now worthless. And you can never buy a new one. Regardless, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wasted no time in cautioning a reporterchiding him reallyto be careful about spreading misinformation and disinformation about this. The bill is not targeted to law-abiding firearms owners. Those who currently own and operate handguns safely are not at all targeted by this legislation, Trudeau saidwith a straight facebefore going on to explain the freeze that will prevent law-abiding firearms owners from selling, buying, or transferring ownership of handguns. The most generous interpretation of that statement can only be that the prime minister didnt intend for this bill to have any impact on law-abiding gun owners. If thats the case, then he either hasnt read his own legislation (possible) and should amend it (unlikely), or his aim isnt very good and the law-abiding gun owners are victims of a drive-by legislative shooting. As noted above, you may think tighter gun control is a good thing or a bad thing. But what is definitely a very bad thing is this naked gaslighting of anyone (particularly someone who might actually have read the bill) who raises fact-based concerns about the impact of government legislation. It is, essentially, an attack on those seeking the truth. This is particularly rich from a government that is developing legislationworking title: Online Harmsthat would regulate what you can say on the internet in an effort to crack down on misinformation and disinformation. One assumes that new act will not apply to the governments own practice of characterizing the views of its critics as disinformation, while insisting only its at times fantasy-laden interpretations of reality represent the correct information. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino provided another example last week when he declared that new legislation regarding searches of peoples mobile devices, texts, photos, and emails would institute clear and stringent standards that must be met before a travellers device can be searched. It turns out theres nothing clear and stringent at all about giving border agents the power to search peoples phones on the basis of something as bizarrely vague as reasonable and general concern. The phrase itself appears to be something the architects of the legislation more or less just made up. The very low (and legally novel) threshold of reasonable general concern for border officials to conduct a search of a travellers personal electronic device does not adequately protect travelers privacy, wrote the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. Or, as the Globe and Mail editorial board put it, We think the proposed legal standard sounds a lot like asking CBSA officer Peter Parker if his Spidey senses are tingling. Not to be outdone, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne announced a historic step toward a more consumer-focused policy on telecommunications, exactly as the cabinet he is a part of upheld a regulatory decision that handcuffs efforts by small operators to offer consumers lower-cost internet service. But the creme de la creme on the week went to Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez who continues to insist that his Bill C-11, which gives the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) sweeping powers to regulate speech and other content on the internet, doesnt do things it actually does. Despite waves of analyses from experts and confirmation from CRTC Chair Ian Scott that the legislation does indeed grant the regulator the power to deal with social media posts, Rodriguez stood up in the House of Commons and once again declared it does not. This was succinctly illustrated in a brief video posted by University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist. Either Rodriguez never read his own legislationthe power to regulate social media posts is right there in black and whiteor he is intentionally saying things that arent true. If disinformation and misinformation are undermining Canadians faith in their institutions, the cause appears to be the people who insist they are seeking a solution to a problemmisinformationthey themselves compound daily. When it comes to the lust for power, the first victim is always the truth. The next one is you. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A person walks past a Pfizer logo amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the Manhattan borough of New York, on April 1, 2021. (Carlo Allegri/Reuters) Pfizer to Exit GSKs Consumer Health Arm After Spin-Off LONDONPfizer plans to exit its 32 percent stake in Haleon, a consumer health joint venture with British drugmaker GSK, after the business is spun off as an independent listed company in July, GSK said on Wednesday. Pfizer previously signalled it would seek to sell its shareholding in Haleon, the worlds largest consumer health business and home to Sensodyne toothpaste and Advil painkillers. But GSK, which has a 68 percent controlling interest in Haleon, had said in February the U.S. drugmaker would retain its stake. It had also said Pfizer would appoint two members of Haleons board while GSK would relinquish representation. GSKs latest statement suggested Pfizers board nominees would stay even though the U.S. drugmaker planned to sell up, although GSK said Pfizer would exit in a disciplined manner. The British drugmaker also said that GSK planned to monetize its stake in Haleon in a disciplined manner. GSK has applied to Britains regulator to list Haleon on the London Stock Exchange on July 18 and said it expected to apply to list the health business on the New York Stock Exchange soon. Haleon was poised to generate above market, medium-term annual organic revenue growth of 4 percent to 6 percent, GSK said. Haleons closest competitors in the non-prescription drugs, vitamins, and oral care market are Procter and Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson & Johnson, and Bayer. GSK rejected a 50 billion pound ($68 billion) offer for Haleon from Unilever last year, saying it undervalued the business. Unilever abandoned its pursuit in January. Before the spinoff, the holding company for Haleon will pay dividends to GSK and Pfizer. GSK said it would receive cash proceeds of more than 7 billion pounds at separation. After the spinoff, at least 54.5 percent of Haleons total issued ordinary share capital would be held by GSK shareholders and 6 percent would be held by GSK, the company said. Following the split, GSK will focus on pharmaceuticals and vaccines but can no longer rely on steady consumer health revenue to offset some of the unpredictability of drug development. Under pressure from shareholders such as activist investor Elliot, GSK has sought to shore up its drug pipeline. It has also made acquisitions, agreeing to purchase cancer drug developer Sierra Oncology in a $1.9 billion deal and unveiling plans to pay up to $3.3 billion for vaccine developer Affinivax. By Natalie Grover and Ludwig Burger Philippine Police Say They Killed 4 Chinese Kidnap Suspects MANILA, PhilippinesPhilippine police killed four suspected Chinese kidnappers in a gunbattle and rescued a Chinese man they had allegedly abducted in a central city, officials said Tuesday. Backed by a SWAT team and intelligence agents, police raided a hideout in Lapu Lapu city on Monday night after tracking down the suspects, who had received a partial ransom payment through the Chinese smartphone app WeChat, police said. Our men were met with gunfire from the suspects, prompting them to retaliate, said police Brig. Gen. Rudolph Dimas, who heads the national polices anti-kidnapping force. The Chinese victim, identified by police as Lyu Xingou from Chinas southeastern province of Fujian, was seized from his house by Chinese-speaking gunmen last Wednesday as he prepared to leave for work in Lapu Lapu city, police said. The kidnappers called the victims son in China and demanded a ransom, which the family partially paid through WeChat in an arrangement that allowed the police to track down the suspects, police said, without elaborating. Police recovered four pistols, a laptop computer, cellphones, and handcuffs from the slain suspects, who may have been involved in past kidnappings of Chinese working for lucrative online casinos in the Philippines that cater to Chinese clients in China, Dimas said. Philippines Summons Chinese Diplomat Over Harassment of Ship in Disputed Waters The Philippines has summoned a senior Chinese Embassy official to protest the Chinese coast guards alleged harassment of a Taiwanese vessel in the South China Sea, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on May 31. The department stated that the Taiwanese vessel, dubbed the RV Legend, was conducting a marine scientific research activity with Filipino scientists on board in the disputed sea, a local news agency reported on Tuesday. The summoning of a Chinese official happened on April 13, it stated, adding that detailed reports of the incidents are being reviewed for the filing of appropriate diplomatic action. The Department of Foreign Affairs notes that only the Philippine Coast Guard has enforcement jurisdiction over these waters. The presence of foreign vessels following tracks that are neither continuous nor expeditious, that are not consistent with Article 19 of UNCLOS on innocent passage, are against the interests of the Philippines, it added. The statement came days after U.S.-based research organization Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) reported that Chinese vessels have made three rounds of coercion in Philippine waters since March. In three separate incidents over the last two months, Chinese law enforcement vessels have challenged marine research and hydrocarbon exploration activities within the Philippines exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, the report reads. The Philippines lodged yet another diplomatic protest against China on May 30, this round against Beijings unilateral imposition of a fishing ban in the South China Sea, which Filipinos refer to as the West Philippine Sea. The fishing ban took effect on May 1 and is expected to last until Aug. 16. The [Philippines] reiterated its continuing protest of Chinas annual practice of declaring a fishing ban over areas that extend far beyond Chinas legitimate maritime entitlements under the 1982 UNCLOS, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Beijing claims much of the South China Sea as its own under its so-called nine-dash line. The Hague Tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines in 2016. Still, it has had little to no impact on the Chinese regimes behavior, with Beijing repeatedly intruding into Manilas territorial zones. Earlier in May, the Philippine Coast Guard installed five 30-foot-long navigational buoys bearing the national flag on four islandsLawak Island, Likas Island, Parola Island, and Pag-asa Islandin the South China Sea, designating the areas as special protected zones where mining and oil exploration are prohibited. Other nations, including Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam, also have competing claims against China regarding the South China Sea. Portugal Illustrates European Weakness on China Commentary Portugals failure to even attempt to use leverage to secure the safety of its own citizena teenager who was detained, held incommunicado, and later sentenced to prison in a secret trialillustrates European failure to understand the nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and how to deal with it effectively. As I recently wrote, Portugal is set to reverse recent changes around Europe, which has generally gotten tougher on China when it comes to extraditing people, as Chinas already weak legal safeguards have weakened further under Xi Jinpings rule, and its human rights record has gotten even worse. That alone should cause outrage across Europe, and indeed, politicians and other governments are aware of it. Still, few speak about it openly, and the media has largely ignored it. Now Safeguard Defenders, a nongovernmental organization I founded, reveals damaging information about how Portugal allows itself to be used by China, despite the maltreatment of a young Portuguese citizen, first in China and now in Hong Kong. Kok Tsz-lun, a Hong Kong native, is a Portuguese citizen and was but a teenager when he and several others, known as the HK 12, fled Hong Kong for Taiwan in a speedboat, only to be caught by the Chinese coast guard on August 2020. They fled as they had all been part of the 2019 anti-extradition and pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, including charges under the citys oppressive national security law. Kok and the others were detained, arrested, and then convicted in a secret trial in 2020. After serving his sentence in China, Kok was returned to Hong Kong and detained immediately. On May 30, he appeared in court after pleading guilty and will soon face up to seven years in prison. Portugal has adopted what might be called a European strategy ad absurdum. One that was not only doomed to fail but which, if one uses the Portuguese ambassador to Chinas statement, has been a remarkable failure. Since Kok was detained in 2020, he has been denied any contact with, or consular support from, the Portuguese government. In fact, Beijing has refused to communicate with the Portuguese government about the case. And not surprisingly, Portugals attempt to attend Koks trial was denied. Despite this, Portugal has approved at least four more extraditions to China, according to Safeguard Defenders. Kok was held incommunicado and had no access to legal counsel. In fact, his family hired three lawyers, but they were not allowed to communicate with him or access the case files. And worse, all three have since been disbarred due to attempting to represent their client according to Chinese law. Riot police detain a pro-democracy supporter during a protest in Hong Kong on May 24, 2020. (Anthony Kwan/Getty Images) For extraditions in Portugal, the government must first find the request permissible and can deny such requests if it has any reason to do so. Then, the judicial system must process the request to ensure it is legal. Throughout the entire process for this Portuguese citizen, the government has been kept in the dark. And because Kok is not accused of any national security crime, holding him incommunicado, refusing contact with family, and denying legal access are all clearly in violation of Chinese law. Furthermore, forbidding consular support, arguing that he is a dual citizen, is problematic. Despite a Portuguese citizen having every guaranteed right violated, the government back in Portugal has turned a blind eye and continued to process extradition requests, despite Koks case glaringly showing that the ability for a fair trial is impossible in China, under which no extraditions should be legally possible for Portugal, which is bound by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). In effect, China embarrassed Portugal publicly and doomed one of its citizens to secret incarceration against the law. And whats Portugals response? To give China everything it wants without requiring reciprocity of any kind. A very European solution that at least two decades of examples have proven, beyond any doubt, will lead to no results of any kind. Like so many other governments around Europe, Portugal could be just pretending that it is unaware that the world does not operate as it does within the safe confines of Western Europe and that the idea of leverage is foreign to it. Yet, that wont change the fact that dictatorships, like bullies, will simply take more, not less, if their demands are met without resistance. To really measure the outcome, we can use the words of the Portuguese state. Police detain people as they patrol the area after protesters called for a rally in Hong Kong on Sept. 6, 2020. (Dale De Lay Rey/AFP via Getty Images) Portugals ambassador to China, Jose Augusto Duarte, said: Its a diplomatic game that is delicate and requires a lot of patience and determination. We follow our own methodology, which so far has been encouraging, in the hope that it is the best way to achieve what is most wanted, adding he found it key to ensure it does not create a controversy. Beyond the obvious, that any strategy aimed entirely at not causing controversy is doomed to fail, the fact that Portugals embassy in Beijing never, even once, managed to communicate with its citizen and was refused to attend the trial makes it clear, by Duartes own stated benchmark, that the situation has been nothing but a total failure. Despite this, neither Portugals government nor courts have seemingly thought about using the leverage it has, which is significant, to force the Chinese regimes hand; namely, to put a moratorium on extraditions. Kok is now in a similar problematic situation, facing imprisonment in Hong Kong, where his access to legal counsel has been spotty. Despite that, Portugal remains one of only two democracies, one of only two developed countries globally to continue an extradition treaty with Hong Kong. This strategy of giving everything and requiring nothing back is not surprising, and neither is it working in Portugals favor. In fact, Portugal insists on maintaining the extradition treaty with Hong Kong despite being called upon by the European Union to suspend it, as many other member states have done. And yet, Portugal gets nothing out of it. If this is a strategy, then heads need to roll within the Portuguese foreign ministry because it is, even by European standards, abysmal and embarrassing in its performance. China, as has been proven over and over again, responds only to leverage. Find what Beijing wants more than it is asking for, and threaten to take it away. For the Chinese regime, to be able to imprison a Portuguese teenager secretly is far less important compared to the value of having free access to seek extraditions from an EU member and seek them without the government or courts paying any attention to (legally binding) human rights protections. While Kok will almost certainly get sent away to suffer more time in prison, Zhang Haiyan will be extradited from Portugal to China to face alleged criminal charges, again giving Beijing what it wants despite the Portuguese government receiving nothing in return. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Rescue crews work at the site of a ten-story building collapse in Abadan, Iran, on May 23, 2022. (WANA via Reuters) Protesters Chant Death to Khamenei Over Iranian Building Collapse Protesters in several cities in Iran chanted anti-government slogans overnight, including death to Khamenei, over a deadly building collapse in the southwest of the country, videos posted on social media showed. Officials said the death toll had risen to 34 on Tuesday, with another 37 injured in the May 23 collapse of the 10-story residential and commercial building in Abadan in the oil-producing region of Khuzestan. Rescue workers continued to search for victims under the rubble, they said. Authorities are blaming the collapse of the Metropol Building on individual corruption and lax safety and say 13 people have so far been arrested for construction violations. Iranian protesters, however, blame it on government negligence and endemic corruption. Shouts of death to Khamenei, a reference to Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, are heard on an unverified video shared on Twitter, which gives the location as the south Tehran district of Nazi-abad. Anti-Khamenei slogans are considered a red line for the Iranian regime. Another unverified video shows riot police roaming on motorcycles in the same area, apparently to disrupt or intimidate protesters. In the southern port city of Bushehr, protesters are heard shouting Death to the dictator, also a reference to Khamenei. Theyre lying that its America; our enemy is right here, they shout. That is a common slogan during anti-government protests in Iran. Videos of protests in other Iranian cities are also posted on social media. Iranian police have used tear gas and fired shots in the air to disperse crowds and have clashed with demonstrators during the week-long protests. In covering the disaster, official Iranian media have mainly shown religious mourning and funeral processions. Speaking on state television, Abadans governor has warned people to solely follow official media and eschew rumors from social media. Iranians are already frustrated with high food prices and economic problems at a time when efforts have stalled to achieve a revival of a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and, with it, relief from sanctions. The logo of Gazprom Germania is pictured at their headquarters, in Berlin on April 1, 2022. (Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters) Russias Gazprom Cuts Off Natural Gas to Netherlands Russian state-owned fuel company Gazprom has cut off natural gas deliveries to the Netherlands, as Russian President Vladimir Putin enforced his ultimatum that payments for Russian natural gas must be made in rubles. The Netherlands is currently the largest country to be cut off because of the ultimatum. On May 31, Gazprom ceased shipments of natural gas to its Dutch equivalent GasTerra, after the latter refused to make payments for Russian natural gas in rubles, Russias fiat currency, as stipulated by the ultimatum. Dutch gas trader GasTerra has decided not to comply with Gazproms one-sided payment requirements, GasTerra said in a statement posted on its website. These payment requirements are set out in a decree passed by Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding payment for the supply of Russian gas. In response to GasTerras decision, Gazprom declared to discontinue supply with effect from 31 May 2022. GasTerra is half-owned by the Dutch state, with 25 shares owned by Shell and Exxon, respectively. The company refused to comply with Russias demands for payment in rubles, which would have required GasTerra to open two accounts with Gazprombank in Moscow: one dealing in rubles and one dealing in euros. GasTerra stated that it refused Putins demands out of concern that it might breach international sanctions and incur financial and operational risks. The suspension of gas deliveries to the Netherlands will result in a deficit of approximately 2 billion cubic meters (m3) of contracted gas between now and the planned end of the RussoDutch energy contract in October. The Dutch energy company stated that it intended to fill the deficit with gas from other suppliers. The European gas market is highly integrated and extensive, GasTerra stated. However, it is impossible to predict how the lost supply of 2 billion m3 of Russian gas will affect the supply/demand situation and whether the European market can absorb this loss of supply without serious consequences. With the new announcement, the Netherlands joins a small, but growing contingent of European countries with Russian natural gas supplies that have been suspended. Bulgaria, Finland, and Poland have all had natural gas supplies from Russia suspended for refusing to pay in rubles, with Denmark likely to follow. Notably absent from this club are the largest economies of Western Europe. The Netherlands is currently the only economy larger than $1 trillion annual gross domestic product (GDP) to be cut off from Russian gas supplies. At present, Russia hasnt cut off gas exports to France, Italy, or Spain. Germany, Europes largest economy at $4.3 trillion annual GDP, is notably dependent on Russian gas after the dismantling of its nuclear energy program in the past decade. Since Russias invasion of Ukraine last February, German policymakers have scrambled to reduce the countrys dependence on Russian fuels. The UK remains largely unreliant on Russian fuel exports, with less than 4 percent of its natural gas coming from Russia. Senior FBI Official Likely Broke Ethics Rules With Anti-Trump Animus: Grassley A top FBI official appears to have violated ethics guidelines when he made a series of highly partisan posts on social media, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) says. Timothy Thibault, the assistant special agent-in-charge (ASAC) at the Washington Field Office, shared a post on Twitter that called then-President Donald Trump a psychologically broken, embittered, and deeply unhappy man, according to Grassley. Other posts saw Thibault telling Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) that her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, was a disgrace and Thibault liking a post on LinkedIn that claimed then-Attorney General William Barr had gone rogue because of his review of the case against onetime Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn. Thibault has deleted his LinkedIn and locked his Twitter account. Grassley detailed the posts in letters to Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz. Thibault likely violated federal regulations and DOJ guidelines with his posts, Grassley said, including FBI social media policies. Specifically, as illustrated below, based on a review of open-source content, ASAC Thibault has demonstrated a pattern of active public partisanship, such as using his official title for public partisan posts relating to his superiors and matters under the FBIs purview, that is likely a violation of his ethical obligations as an FBI employee, Grassley told Garland and Wray. Accordingly, his actions present a grave risk of political infection and bias in his official decision-making process, creating serious questions with respect to oversight of investigative matters under his purview. Grassley is the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The FBI said it received Grassleys letter. Without commenting on any specific personnel matters, all FBI employees are held to the highest standards of professional and ethical conduct. Any allegations of misconduct are taken seriously and referred to the Inspection Division, a bureau spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email. Horowitzs office declined to comment. The DOJ didnt return an inquiry. Thibault could not be reached. The pattern of behavior from the official is concerning in light of how he traveled to the Czech Republic in 2016 to attend the same seminar as Bruce Ohr, a government official who handled the anti-Trump dossier, and Nellie Ohr, a Fusion GPS operative who helped compile the dossier, Grassley said. These illustrative social media posts call into question ASAC Thibaults ability to perform the duties and responsibilities of an FBI agent objectively and without bias, he said. Grassley demanded information on what action, if any, DOJ leadership has taken to ensure Thibaults decisions have not been tainted by political bias and asked for details on each investigation Thibault has supervised since 2015, as well as records of all briefings between Wray and Thibault. He also urged Horowitz to launch an investigation into the potential violations. Simon and Karen Fox attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at The Granada Theatre, Santa Barbara, Calif. on May 29, 2022. (Michael Ren/The Epoch Times) SANTA BARBARA, Calif.Shen Yun Performing Arts, the worlds foremost traditional Chinese classical dance and music company, brought beauty and compassion to the evening performance at The Granada Theatre on May, 29. The company, which is restoring Chinas ancient culture, is entertaining and educating its audiences with story-based dances that depict the Middle Kingdoms divine culture which was passed down to earthly mortals by heavenly deities. Karen Fox and Simon Fox, who have a non-profit agency Adventure in Caring, connected to the values in Shen Yun. Mr. Fox said his agency was all about compassion. Its teaching people, mostly young people who would become doctors, how to communicate with patients, explained Mr. Fox. Mrs. Fox also enjoyed Shen Yun. I loved the whole aspect of how compassion is so important and that we come together as human beings and to me, love is so important. Thats the healer of all things because you cant have love and hate at the same time. So when you help to encourage compassion which brings the heart, the love, it dispels the darkness, she said. She was stunned by the beauty of the heavenly scenes in Shen Yuns dances. [I] absolutely loved it. Shen Yuns backdrops, with the help of its 3D technology, create a magical illusion for the audience. They were also amazing, said Mrs. Fox. Then dancers all disappear, you see them all fly up into the heavens. I kept saying to my husband, look look, theyre flying, she said. The dance Blue Heaven which depicts the majestic blue phoenix which can transform into heavenly maidens, was exquisite, she said. I love that [Shen Yun] breathes spirituality, said Mr. Fox. Its so much more than [a] performance. Its got a real spiritual core to it that speaks to all faiths. There was a message to infuse everything we do with great beauty and grace, said Mr. Fox. Shen Yuns unique orchestra, a blend of Eastern traditional and Western classical instruments, was uplifting and melded harmoniously with the scenes, said Mr. Fox. Its been a while since we went to a live orchestra and it was outstanding, he said. The couple concurred that Shen Yun had arrived at a crucial time. It should be shown in universities because you know our universities are so infiltrated by communism. It would help them to wake up, to become more aware of what is truth, what is real and what is fake, said Mrs. Fox. Both Mrs. Fox and her husband believe that traditions play an important role. The only thing that could overcome [the] chaos, is the restoration of some order and tradition really helps with that, said Mr. Fox. [Shen Yun] is going stay with me for a while as an inspiration. It will have a lasting impact. The beauty and grace of it are truly memorable, he concluded. New Way to Tell History Teresa Wynn, the owner of Golden Empire Shelling LLC, also enjoyed seeing Shen Yun at the Granada Theatre. It was absolutely visually stunning and beautiful and the music was great, said Ms. Wynn. Teresa Wynn attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at The Granada Theatre, Santa Barbara, Calif. on May 29, 2022. (Jana Li/The Epoch Times) It was both an interesting and fun way for her to learn about Chinas ancient culture. It was a new way to tell history, she said. I think its incredibly important to share perspectives from different cultures in different parts of the world. That helps us to identify with them and relate better and understand their history. She was also impressed with how Shen Yun was able to tell its stories in an impartial way. There was no animosity towards the communist regime, she said. They just told their side of their story without reflecting the negativity of what they experienced in their faith. So that was a very peaceful way to say it, said Ms. Wynn. [The dance] was very well choreographed. And you could see the systematic training [in the dancing]. Chinese traditional culture reflects the harmonious relationship between tradition and the divine. I like it when you have a tradition, and youre linking it to the God that you love, she said. The last piece in the repertoire [The Display of Great Compassion] was the culmination of Shen Yuns message, said Ms. Wynn. It explained what the performers wished to achieve and their love for and desire to serve their faith, she added. Reporting by Michael Ren, Jana Li and Diane Cordemans. The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006. Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, speaks during the Digital-Life-Design confernce in Munich, Germany, on Jan. 20, 2019. (Lino Mirgeler/AFP/Getty Images) Sheryl Sandberg to Step Down as COO of Facebook Parent Company Meta Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebooks parent company Meta, said on Wednesday that shes leaving this fall after 14 years with the company. Over the next few months, Mark [Zuckerberg] and I will transition my direct reports and I will leave the company this fall, she said in a long statement on social media. Fourteen years later, it is time for me to write the next chapter of my life. I am not entirely sure what the future will bringI have learned no one ever is. But I know it will include focusing more on my foundation and philanthropic work, she added. She will stay as a member of Metas board of directors. Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the House Financial Services Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in the District of Columbia on October 23, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Sandberg praised the 14 years of working along with Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, as an honor and privilege of a lifetime. Zuckerberg attributed the social media giants success to Sandberg. When Sheryl joined me in 2008, I was only 23 years old and I barely knew anything about running a company, he wrote. Sheryl architected our ads business, hired great people, forged our management culture, and taught me how to run a company. She created opportunities for millions of people around the world, and she deserves the credit for so much of what Meta is today. He named Javier Olivan, Metas chief growth officer, to replace Sandberg. Prior to joining Facebook, Sandberg was vice president of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google, chief of staff for the United States Treasury Department under former President Bill Clinton, a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, and an economist with the World Bank. As a Harvard University graduate, Sandberg described herself as a feminist and published a feminist-themed book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead in 2013. Reuters contributed to the report. Investigators search the crime scene of a shooting at Xavier University in New Orleans on May 31, 2022. (Gerald Herbert/AP Photo) Shooting Kills 1, Wounds 2 After HS Graduation at University NEW ORLEANSAn elderly woman was killed and two males wounded when an argument between two females erupted into gunfire Tuesday at a university campus after a high school graduation there, New Orleans police said. The males received wounds that were not life-threateningone hit in a shoulder, the other in a leg, authorities told news outlets. Police did not give their ages. The gunfire occurred about 11:45 a.m. near the Xavier University of Louisiana Convocation Center, where Morris Jeff Community School held its high school graduation Tuesday morning. A little more than an hour later, investigators were setting evidence cones near empty shell casings, a pair of shoes, and a handgun that lay near a minivan with a flat tire. Others were using cellphones to take photographs through the windows of a car. A man comforted a young woman in a graduation gown as they sat at the rear of a minivan inside the parking lot marked off with crime scene tapea lot about the size of a city block. Crime scene tape marked another vehicle about a block away, with an officer posted there. A man comforts a young woman wearing a graduation gown within the crime scene of a shooting at Xavier University in New Orleans, on May 31, 2022. (Gerald Herbert/AP Photo) Deputy Superintendent Chris Goodly told reporters he did not know whether the people who fought in the parking lot were the ones who pulled guns, or how many guns or bullets were fired. Three people were being questioned, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported. Multiple subjects were detained at the scene for questioning. No arrests have been made as of this writing, police said in a news release around 3 p.m. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney speaks at the Rideau Club in Ottawa on March 12, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick) Slippery Slope: Albertas Kenney Questions Federal-BC Drug Decriminalization Plan Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says he has concerns about the federal governments decision to decriminalize possession of small amounts of illegal drugs in British Columbia. Kenney says the decision is a slippery slope and is counter-productive to solving the twin problems of illicit drugs and helping those recover from addiction. Under the program, British Columbians who possess up to 2.5 grams of illicit drugs for personal use will not be arrested or charged starting early next year. Its part of the provinces request for an exemption from Canadas drug laws following a record number of overdose deaths. Kenney says other provinces should have been consulted first, particularly next door in Alberta. He says the move also violates a promise from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau not to undertake such action. Palm trees sway in the wind as Hurricane Agatha pounds the southern coast of Mexico, in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca state, Mexico, on May 30, 2022. (Jose de Jesus Cortes/Reuters) Storm Agatha Kills 3 in Southern Mexico; Heavy Rainfall to Continue PUERTO ESCONDIDO, MexicoAt least three people were confirmed dead and at least five others reported missing on Tuesday after record-breaking storm Agatha battered southern Mexico, local authorities said on Tuesday. Heavy rainfall in the region is expected to continue, and the remnants of the storm are likely to form a tropical depression by Friday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Aldis Lopez, 21 and Mario Cruz, 18 were the storms first confirmed victims in the community of Santa Catarina Xanaguia in the hardest hit state of Oaxaca. They were buried between rocks and mud, Axel Martinez, a spokesperson for the Oaxacas civil protection agency, told Reuters. The civil protection agency confirmed a third person had died in the town of San Mateo Pinas, a woman who got caught in a landslide. Five others were reported missing, according to the states public security secretary. Agatha made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane Monday afternoon, touching down with 105 mile-per-hour winds (169 kilometers per hour) near the beach town of Puerto Angel on the Pacific coast, losing strength as it moved inland. By late Tuesday, the storm continued tipping torrential downpours across the states of Oaxaca, Chiapas, Tabasco, and Veracruz, according to Mexicos National Water Commission (CONAGUA). The remnants of Agatha interacted with an upper-level trough over the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, the NHC said, with a 40 percent chance of the disturbance becoming a tropical depression in the next 48 hours and a 75 percent chance by Friday. The storm is likely to drop rainfall on Mexicos Yucatan, as well as Guatemala, Belize, Cuba, and Florida over the next few days, the NHC said. In a news conference on Tuesday morning, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he would meet with authorities and security advisors to monitor the situation. Rain caused mud and rocks to slide into two highways in Oaxaca, blocking access to at least one area of the state, local authorities said. Mexicos transportation ministry was working to clear the roads into the night on Monday. Some towns in Oaxaca lost power, and one transformer exploded, officials said. Telephone lines were knocked out on Monday, forcing authorities to communicate by radio. Agatha, the strongest hurricane on record to reach land on Mexicos Pacific coast during the month of May, is expected to drop a total of 10 to 16 inches (2541 cm) of rain on Oaxaca, with heavy downpours in nearby states, the NHC said. By Jose Cortes A file photo of El Segundo High School in El Segundo, Calif., on July 28, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Student Arrested for Alleged E-mail Bomb Threats in Baldwin Park BALDWIN PARK, Calif.A Sierra Vista High School student has been arrested for allegedly making emailed threats against the school, Baldwin Park police reported on June 1. The arrest was made on Tuesday, the Baldwin Park Police Department reported. Police did not release the name of the male student, who reportedly is a freshman. On Wednesday, May 25, 2022, Sierra Vista High School staff received an email threat of explosive devices on campus, after classes had ended for the day, police said in a statement. A large police response was initiated including explosives detection canine teams from many local area police agencies. No devices were found or detonated. According to police, more threats from the same person were received by Sierra Vista High School staff on Tuesday. With technical assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, [Baldwin Park Police Department] detectives identified the suspect, arrested him, and seized evidence from his home, police said. The suspect is a juvenile student who attends the school. Detectives will seek criminal prosecution for the alleged threats and the investigation is ongoing, police said. Anyone with information on the case was urged to contact Detective Andres Villalobos at 626-960-1955, ext. 418. A Dallas police car and an emergency response vehicle sit in a parking lot in Dallas on Oct. 16, 2014. (Mike Stone/Getty Images) Supreme Court Allows Lawsuit Against Dallas Police in Death of Mentally Ill Man Rejecting an appeal by Dallas police officers, the U.S. Supreme Court decided on May 31 to allow a lawsuit to proceed against them after Tony Timpa, a mentally ill man, died in police custody. The case goes back to August 2016 when Timpa, 32, called 911 to report that he was having a lot of anxiety about a man he said he was afraid would harm him. Timpa said during the call that he suffered from schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorder, but had failed to take his medication that day. When police responded to the scene, Timpa cried out, Youre gonna kill me! according to a summary in Reason. A security guard handcuffed Timpa and then the police held him face down on the ground for about 15 minutes, which made it difficult to breathe. He repeatedly asked for help. A private autopsy concluded that Timpa died due to mechanical asphyxia. The local medical examiner found that he experienced sudden cardiac death due to the toxic effects of cocaine and physiological stress associated with physical restraint. The examiner noted that because of his prone position and physical restraint by an officer, an element of mechanical or positional asphyxia cannot be ruled out. The City of Dallas fought efforts to release body camera video from police. Eventually the footage was released. It shows police mocking Timpa as hes dying. Geoff Henley, an attorney for Timpas family, told the Fox affiliate in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that he was pleased with the Supreme Courts ruling. The decision means that the case can proceed to trial and that there will be no more delays from any appellate court, Henley said. Also, the decision means that the Fifth Circuit did it right that their ruling regarding deadly force will be the law of the land at least in Mississippi, Texas, and Louisiana for as long as we know. The Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari, or review, from the officers on May 31 in Dillard v. Timpa, court file 21-1396. In accordance with its usual practice when denying a petition, the court provided no reasons for its decision. The petitioners in the case are police officers Dustin Dillard, Danny Vasquez, Raymond Dominguez, and Kevin Mansell. The lead respondent is Timpas mother, Vicki Timpa, whos also a representative of her sons estate. On July 6, 2020, a federal district court judge ruled in favor of the police officers, finding that they enjoyed qualified immunity, a controversial legal principle criticized by civil libertarians. Qualified immunity protects a government official from lawsuits alleging that the official violated a plaintiffs rights, only allowing suits where officials violated a clearly established statutory or constitutional right. When determining whether or not a right was clearly established, courts consider whether a hypothetical reasonable official would have known that the defendants conduct violated the plaintiffs rights, according to the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School. Qualified immunity is not immunity from having to pay money damages, but rather immunity from having to go through the costs of a trial at all. Accordingly, courts must resolve qualified immunity issues as early in a case as possible, preferably before discovery, the law schools website reads. On Dec. 15, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit rejected qualified immunity and reversed the district court decision, allowing the litigation to proceed. A request to rehear the case was denied on Jan. 22. The Epoch Times reached out to counsel in the Supreme Court case for comment. Nicholas D. Palmer of the Dallas City Attorneys Office replied by email, We have no comment. San Francisco attorney Easha Anand, who represented the Timpa family in the Supreme Court appeal, didnt respond to a request for comment by press time. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (L) and Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas Jr. at a press conference in Eagle Pass, Texas, on May 23, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Texas Governor Calls for Legislators to Examine School Safety, Mental Health in Wake of Mass Shooting The governor of Texas on June 1 called for legislators to convene to examine issues that include school and firearm safety, mental health, and police training following the elementary school shooting in Uvalde that left 21 dead, in addition to the shooter. Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, asked Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and state House Speaker Dade Phelan each to convene a special legislative committee. I request that these committees review what steps previous legislatures have enacted, what resources the State has made available to local school districts, and make recommendations to the Legislature and the Executive Branch so that meaningful action can be made on, among other things, the following topics to prevent future school shootings: school safety, mental health, social media, police training, firearm safety, Abbott said in a letter to Patrick and Phelan, who are also Republicans. Abbott asked that the process begin immediately following the shooting at Robb Elementary School. We as a State must reassess the twin issues of school safety and mass violence. As leaders, we must come together at this time to provide solutions to protect all Texans, he said. The offices of Patrick and Phelan didnt respond by press time to requests for comment. Abbott said during a recent briefing that he expects new legislation to be approved, including measures that improve school safety and address the array of health care issues that relate to those who commit gun crimes. He has indicated that he isnt supportive of proposals that would tighten access to guns. Abbott signed a bill in 2021 that let people carry guns without licenses. Texas Democrats want to enact a number of measures, including ones that raise the age to buy guns to 21 from 18, expand background checks, and impose a so-called red flag law that would enable judges to strip certain people of their ability to possess firearms. But Abbott is resisting pressure from Democrats to call a larger special legislative session to consider the proposals. Under Texas law, the governor is the only official who can call a special session. If he doesnt, the next session doesnt begin until Jan. 10, 2023. Anyone can call for a committee. Only a governor can call a special session. Do your job, said Beto ORourke, a Democrat challenging Abbott in the upcoming election. Ovidia Molina, the president of the Texas State Teachers Association, said Abbotts request was very weak. Guns kill people, including school children and educators, and there are too many guns out there in the possession of dangerous people, Molina said. It doesnt take more committees to figure that out. Following the shooting, Phelan said the legislature would have a long, very robust discussion about mental health, calling the situation another reiteration of a mental health crisis we have in this state. Law enforcement work the scene after a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. (Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images) Texas Officials Change Story, Say Teacher Didnt Prop Open Door Before Mass Shooting After saying that a teacher at Robb Elementary School propped open a door that was used by gunman Salvador Ramos during last weeks mass shooting, officials in Texas said the teacher had actually closed the door. The unnamed educator shut the door behind her, but the door did not lock as it should, Travis Considine, chief of communications with the Texas Department of Public Safety, told The Washington Post on May 31. And now investigators are looking into why that was. Considine also told The Associated Press that the door was designed to lock when shut but did not lock. We did verify she closed the door. The door did not lock. We know that much, and now investigators are looking into why it did not lock, Considine said. Several days ago, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said at a news conference that the door was propped open and was ultimately used by Ramos to enter the building. Ramos, 18, shot and killed 19 children and two teachers during the rampage. That back door was propped open, McCraw said on May 28. It wasnt supposed to be propped open; it was supposed to be locked. But McCraw added that the teacher witnessed Ramos crash his vehicle and saw him emerge with a gun, prompting a 911 call. After calling 911, the teacher kicked the rock away when she went back in, her attorney Don Flanary said in an interview with the San Antonio Express-News. Apparently, the door was being propped open by a rock, he said. She remembers pulling the door closed while telling 911 that he was shooting. She thought the door would lock because that door is always supposed to be locked, he said. Considine confirmed to the Post that the teacher did indeed remove the rock before she went back inside Robb Elementary School. Since the shooting, officials in Uvalde have received significant criticism over the police response after it was revealed during a news conference that it took more than an hour for law enforcement to get inside the two adjoining classrooms where Ramos was holed up. Meanwhile, officials have frequently revised details that they released to the public about the incident. The move to delay the police response, McCraw said, was the wrong decision. On May 31, the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, which represents police officers, urged its member officers to cooperate with all government investigations into the shooting and police response and endorsed a federal probe already announced by the Justice Department. The organization was also sharply critical of the constantly changing narrative of events that has emerged so far. There has been a great deal of false and misleading information in the aftermath of this tragedy. Some of the information came from the very highest levels of government and law enforcement, the association said. Sources that Texans once saw as iron-clad and completely reliable have now been proven false. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A member of the Syrian Arab-Kurdish forces places a cross in the rubble ahead of a Christmas celebration at the heavily-damaged Armenian Catholic Church of the Martyrs in the city centre of the eastern Syrian city of Raqa on Dec. 26, 2017. (Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images) The Ongoing War on Arab Christians and Western Complicity Commentary Christianity faces the possibility of disappearing in the Middle East, where its roots go back to the death of Jesus Christ. A century ago, Christians comprised 20 percent of the regions population. Today, they are less than four percent. Moreover, as noted by Barbara Kay, a Canadian columnist, we are seeing mass exoduses of Christians from Middle Eastern countries in which they are indigenous inhabitants. However, the persecution of Christians in the Middle East rarely gets much attention in the Western media. The late Jonathan Sacks, who was an English rabbi, said this to the House of Lords in 2019: The persecution of Christians throughout much of the Middle East and elsewhere is one of the crimes against humanity of our time, and Im appalled at the lack of protest it has evoked. Saudi Arabia defines itself as an Islamic State, and Saudis are required by law to be Muslim. Christians living in the country cannot worship in public, and they are not entitled to hold meetings even in the privacy of their own homes. Christians caught practising their faith in public are most likely to be beheaded. An official eighth-grade textbook used in Saudi public schools teaches children that the Apes are the people of the Sabbath, the Jews; and the Swine are the infidels of the communion of Jesus, the Christians. Despite all this severe persecution, Saudi Arabia is Americas largest foreign military customer and second-largest trade partner. Particularly under the administration of President Donald Trump, a very strong military and economic relationship was cemented between the two countries. Relations between the two nations were so strong during the Trump administration that the Saudi newspaper, Al-Youm, ran headlines like: U.S.-Saudi Relations are Fortified Politically and Strategically. There is also now evidence that the U.S. government under President Barack Obama indirectly aided and abetted extremists in their quest to expand the scope of Islamic fundamentalism during the so-called Arab Spring, which was a series of anti-government protests and uprisings that spread across much of the Middle East (and North Africa) in the early 2010s. During this period, the U.S. government and its agents did more than any fundamentalist group to permanently enshrine Sharia as the constitutional law of the land throughout the Muslim world. An Egyptian Coptic man holds a Bible and a Koran during a march in Cairo in Cairo on October 9, 2012 to mark one year since nearly 30 demonstrators were killed in a Coptic Christian demonstration that was violently crushed by security forces. (Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images) In Egypt, the Arab Spring ended up empowering extremists to initiate bloody persecution that has led hundreds of thousands of Christian Copts to flee the nation. Egyptian political scholar Samuel Tadros said: The Copts can only wonder today whether, after 2,000 years, the time has come for them to pack their belongings and leave, as Egypt looks less hospitable to them than ever. In Iraq, Christian Assyrians are among the last to pray in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke. However, since Saddam Husseins dictatorship was overthrown by an U.S.-led military coalition, at least two-thirds of the Assyrian population has fled the country due to intense violence from Islamist extremists and common criminals, both of whom operate with impunity and who specifically target Christians. From 2005 to 2008, when some 100,000 American troops were occupying Iraq, the local Christian community experienced some horrific persecution. When 20,000 Christian families were being violently driven from Baghdad in 2006-07, then-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice contended that the American government could not take effective action to protect them from being murdered and kidnapped because it did not want American policy to be seen as sectarian. One laudable exception to the persecution of Arab Christians is Syria, a country where they can trace their origins to the beginnings of the Christian faith. There, the embattled autocratic ruler of Syria, Bashir Al-Assad, has always protected Christians and his Alawite Muslim sect against foreign-backed religious extremists. Middle East scholar Kurt Werthmuller recalls an Easter Sunday visit in January 2012 to Aleppo in Syria: I was visiting from Egypt, where I lived at the time and where Copts were typically seen but not heard, so I was amazed to hear the ringing of church bells and to find a Syriac Easter liturgy broadcasting over loudspeakers to overflow congregants in the city streets! Therefore, the support of Syrian Christians to the Assad regime is entirely justifiable. It is primarily due to a fear that the ongoing uprising against this secular government could end in just another Islamist takeover that would threaten the very existence of the nations multi-religious society. Palestinian Christian youth carry a cross as they attend Easter prayers at the Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City, Palestine, on April 1, 2018. (Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images) However, since June 2012, the U.S. government has run a covert operation in aid of military groups fighting President Assads army forces. Some of these groups are Sunni warriors affiliated with al-Qaeda and other extremist groups that are waging jihad against that secular government. Religious freedom, of course, is the bedrock on which the United States was founded. Why is it then that Washington has been so indifferent, sometimes even complicit, on all these egregious human rights violations in the Middle East? The answer lies, at least in part, with the strong economic ties between these Western elites and the Saudi theocratic rulers. As author Paul Marshall points out, Because Saudi Arabia supplies one-quarter of the worlds oil, the United States and other governments have been reluctant to press it harder to end its demonization and incitement to violence against Christians both within the kingdom and throughout the Islamic world. This reluctance exists despite the financial and other support for terrorism emanating from the kingdomterrorism based on doctrines of religious hatred and jihad. The west has a lot to answer for the appalling atrocities against Christians in the Middle East. Since they have somehow contributed to many human rights violations in the region, especially against the Arab Christians, they deserve our strongest possible condemnation. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. NEW YORKRegrets born of decisions made and opportunities not taken form the crux of Karen Hartmans involving familial drama The Lucky Star. Inspired by actual events, the show can be seen at 59E59 Theaters. Joseph (Danny Gavigan) is a Jewish man living in Krakow, Poland in 1939. Because of his job as a travel agent, one which requires him to frequently visit other countries, hes had the opportunity to observe firsthand the rise of the Nazi party, and the danger it presents. Determined to flee Poland while there is still time, he manages to secure exit visas for himself, his wife Felicja (Eva Kaminsky), and members of his extended family of three sisters, a brother-in-law, two nieces, and his aged mother. Yet when Joseph presents his plan, only his wife chooses to go with him. The rest, not wanting to abandon their home, work, or school responsibilities, instead take a wait and see what happens approach. In the end, Joseph and Felicja manage to escape just in time, while his relatives find themselves trapped by the invading occupation and the ever-growing restrictions on Jews. The Letters For the next few years, Josephs only lifeline to his family are the letters they are able to write him; such correspondences are filled with half-truths and carefully worded sentences. As explained by Josephs son Richard (Steven Skybell) who serves as a sort of narrator or guide for the piece, one must read between the lines of what was written, as there were many things that could not be put on paper in order to pass the scrutiny of Nazi censors. Sky Smith (L) and Steven Skybell in The Lucky Star. (Carol Rosegg) The letters Joseph receives also contain elements of optimism, as when Josephs widowed sister Dola (Alexandra Silber) happily writes she has found a new love to share her life. There are also the continuous efforts of those who put on a brave face in their correspondences while trying their best to hang until better days finally arrive. Joseph himself practices this same form of hope and denial. He never writes his family of his struggles with the American immigration authorities as he battles to stay in the United States, or that his marriage has fallen apart, or that there were times he was so short of money he resorted to skipping meals just so he could afford to send chocolate to his relatives. Learning From the Past Containing elements still quite topical, The Lucky Star, the title of which is taken from a prayer the family members often say to one another, is also about the importance of history and learning from it, no matter how uncomfortable it might be to do so. Alexa Shae Niziak (L) and Dale Soule in A Lucky Star. (Carol Rosegg) Not simply satisfied in having the story proceed along two separate narrative tracks, one following Joseph and one concerning his family, the playwright adds an additional twist. Richard must confront his own connection to the family letters, and the secret he has desperately tried to keep hidden, even as he praises the correspondences ultimate significance. Its a secret that may cost Richard the chance to find important answersanswers that eluded his father. Multiple Cast Roles The entire cast, many of whom play multiple roles, is strong. Each able to bring to life characters that always feel fully formed. Gavigan is excellent as Joseph, a quiet man. Joseph goes from a self-assured sort to one who loses everything, to ultimately having the chance of beginning again, both in life and in love. The scenes showing Josephs immigration hearings, taken from the actual transcripts, particularly pack quite the emotional punch. Dale Soules and company in The Lucky Star. (Carol Rosegg) Skybell is a perfect fit as Richard, someone who has an outwardly self-assured persona until forced to acknowledge his own role in the family saga. Sky Smith offers an interesting viewpoint as Richards son Craig. Dale Soules strikes a believable note as Josephs salt-of-the-earth mother, a woman who offers assurance, words of wisdom, and hope in the face of the unspeakable. Silber is very good as Dola who, like Joseph, experiences both loss and love in matters of the heart. Skye Alyssa Friedman works well as a young boy Joseph takes under his protection when he and Felicja flee the turmoil in Europe. Noah Himmelsteins direction keeps the story flowing smoothly. Although the second act, which focuses more on Skybells character, doesnt come off as strong as the first. This is a multi-generational cautionary tale about the danger of not only making the wrong choices, but also waiting too long to make them. The Lucky Star shows people caught up in events beyond their control and more intent on moving forward than dwelling on the circumstances that brought them to misfortune in the first place. The Lucky Star Presented by The Directors Company 59E59 Theaters 59 East 59th St. Tickets: 59e59.org Running Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes (one intermission) Closes: June 12 Canadian Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Carolyn Bennett speaks during a news conference after British Columbia was granted an exemption to decriminalize possession of some illegal drugs for personal use, in Vancouver on May 31, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck) Theodore Dalrymple: BC Drug Decriminalization: The If You Cant Beat Em, Join Em Approach Is No Solution to Drug Abuse Commentary In the face of bad behaviour, our societies have increasingly one response: retreat, appeasement, and surrender. In California, for example, shoplifting has been all but legalized. Think of the advantages: the police time saved, the young people unstigmatized by a criminal record, the economic redistribution in an unequal society, the racial justice furthered (insofar as shoplifters are disproportionately of some ethnic minorities)! And if shop owners cant afford it, they can either close altogether or move elsewhere. British Columbia, which has a high death rate from overdose of illicit drugs, is about to legalize the possession of small quantities of drugs such as fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine. The production, importation, and dealing in these substances will remain illegal. This is being done in the name of harm reduction, on the principle that if you cant beat em, join em. Drug abuse and its fatal consequences have increased spectacularly in recent years in B.C., which half the world thinks of as a paradise on earth, and the authorities have been powerless, or have rendered themselves powerless, to do anything about it. The only thing they can think of doing is to treat the increase as a natural phenomenon, such as an earthquake or rising tide, and limit the damage accordingly. No one can say for certain what the effect of the decriminalization will be because the future (thank goodness) retains its ability to surprise us. Nevertheless, we would not be human if we did not try to guess, and my guess is that the effect of this measure will be cosmetic or symbolic more than anything else. Let us briefly consider the statistics of crime in B.C. In 2020, there were 78,405 violent offences and 224,952 property offences recorded by the police, while there were 15,335 offences against the drug laws (other than cannabis) known to them. Of those 15,335 offences, 3,363 ended in prosecution. In the first 10 months of 2021 there were more than 1,700 deaths from overdose of illicit drugs (I use the word overdose, though perhaps a better one would be poisoning, since there is no correct dose of methamphetamine, cocaine, etc.). In other words, there is approximately one death by overdose for every two arrests in British Columbia. This in turn suggests that the chances of anyone being arrested in possession of a small supply of illicit drugs are minimal, since deaths can be only the tip of an iceberg of consumption. In 2020, 5,133 cases of infringement of the cannabis laws were known to the police, resulting in 153 prosecutions. Since the figure of 5,133 can be only an infinitesimal proportion of the real number of offences against the cannabis laws, we can see that the law is hardly draconian in its effects, whatever its intentions. Thus, the proposed law to legalize the possession of small amounts of drugs will only regularize what is de facto the case already. The effects on crime will probably be minimal. The law will leave the situation mainly untouched, for the importation, production, and distribution of illicit drugs will still be illegal, and it is because of these activities that most major crime attributable to drugs takes place. Meanwhile, the small-time user (it is no longer possible to say abuser in polite company) will still be faced by the necessity to pay for his drugs, and if he indulges in petty crime to do so, he will still do so. The symbolism of the proposed law is perhaps its most important aspect. It is claimed that drug abuse is a public health problem and addiction an illness. I think this is weaselly. There is no question that drug abuse and addiction give rise to public health problems and have medical consequences, often very severe ones (death at a young age among them). But the consequences of a phenomenon are not quite the same things as the phenomenon itself. After all, sport has medical consequences, being one of the principal causes of injury in western society, but we do not call sport a public health problem or its repeated practice an illness. However, it is now an orthodoxy that drug-taking and drug addiction are problems of public health and disease, as a water-supply contaminated with typhoid bacilli would be. Therefore, to treat people in possession of drugs for their personal use as criminals is akin to treating the ill as criminals. This is bad not because of its practical effects, which as we have seen are practically nil, but because it offends against the orthodoxy, and no sin is greater in the modern world than offending against an intellectual orthodoxy adopted, however recently, by a liberal political class. In fact, drug-taking is a voluntary condition, even when a person is addicted. There are difficulties in abstaining, of course, physical, psychological, and social. For example, drug-takers enter a subculture to which they become attached and, if they continue in it long enough, forms the whole of their world. Difficulty is not the same as impossibility, however. The fact is that millions of addicts have abandoned their drug habit. During the Vietnam War, thousands of American soldiers, through a combination of opportunity and the fear and boredom that is fighting a war, addicted themselves to heroin. When they returned home they gave it up, mostly without any assistance whatever, and they never returned to their addiction. Taking drugs is a choice, in my opinion not a very good one, though I drink coffee every morning and hardly an evening goes by without a drink. The question is one of self-control. Like many others, I am inclined to eat more than is necessary to assuage my hunger; I go on eating after I am no longer hungry. This is not illnessit is human weakness, my own. If I allow myself to become yet weaker, eventually there may be medical consequences for me, as there are for so many others. Drug-taking is a form of self-indulgence. It may be a response to an unfortunate situation, in which case we can truly sympathize, but it is self-indulgence all the same. Mass self-indulgence as exhibited in B.C. and elsewhere is undoubtedly an issue and gives rise to medical and public health problems, but at heart is a moral, spiritual, and cultural one. I do not claim to have the solution, either in theory or practice. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. By Hunter Boyce From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Atlanta Had a long week? These vineyards will help you take the edge off with style. After a long week, sometimes you just need a break. Dinner and movie can be fun. And Atlanta nightlife is filled with unique bars. But sometimes you just need something different something elegant and relaxing. For those times, Georgia has a bevy of wineries that are each perfect destinations for your next outing. So pick up your wine glass, uncork your schedule and listen up. Here are the best Georgia wineries to help you unplug. City Winery If you want to live loud and large, then this high octane winery and music venue is perfect for your next weekend outing. Founded in New York City back in 2008, City Winery was created to provide an experience just as cultural as culinary for urban wine enthusiasts. Atlanta is now home to one of City Winerys eight nationwide locations, where patrons can enjoy live music, food, and a fully functioning winery. Step into urban wine country, City Winery said, describing the patron experience at each of the eight locations. Each of our locations evokes the warmth of wine country with modern comfort and convenience. Our performance venues offer pristine acoustics courtesy of Meyer Sound. Before your concert begins, visit our tasting room for a flight of wines and join us at the bar after the show. Wolf Mountain Vineyards & Winery If you are looking for elegance and pure, undiluted quality, you need to visit this next place. Nestled in the north Georgia mountains is a vineyard with style, fun and flavor. Wolf Mountain Vineyards and Winery is Dahlonegas hidden gem, hosting one of the most delicious restaurants among all of Georgias wineries according to Atlanta Eats. The vineyard also took home Georgias first ever gold medals at the San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles International Wine Competitions. Yonah Mountain Vineyards If you want to take in the best views the Peach State has to offer, then there is no place better to visit than the Yonah Mountain Vineyards. This 200-acre family winery is no nonsense, offering little in terms of amenities, but plenty in terms of quality wine with stunning views to match. Making world class wines and enjoying the process is our ultimate goal, the winery said. Rolling hills and sandy soil are the perfect setting for our twenty planted acres of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Petit Manseng, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. Chateau Elan Winery If a single day of relaxation isnt enough to reset your stress levels, then visit the Chateau Elan Winery just outside of metro Atlanta for top-class lodging. With a resort just as elegant as its wine, Chateau Elan is sure to make the most out of your weekend. At Chateau Elan Winery, textbook winemaking rules take a backseat to intuition and experience, the winery said. We love nothing more than experimenting with new varieties, growing areas, and styles, challenging the traditional winery business model in a quest for consistency, sustainability, and quality. Real-world experience working with more than 25 grape varieties in terroirs all over the world informs our winemakers holistic approach, allowing him to let go of expectations and embrace the natural evolution of the grape. 2022 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. People wear masks as they wait in line to check in at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on May 12, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette) Travel and Tourism Group Calls on Ottawa to Lift Border Measures Leaders of industry groups representing the Canadian travel and tourism sector are calling on the federal government to lift some border measures, saying Canadas reputation as a tourist-friendly destination depends on it. The travel, tourism, and hospitality sectors were the hardest hit during the pandemic. Necessary public health restrictions shuttered many of our businesses, most of whom barely made it to the other side, said Susie Grynol, president and CEO of the Hotel Association of Canada. We did our part to keep Canadians safe, and now it is finally our turn to recover. Travel is back with a vengeance and we could not be happier. But the passenger experience at our Canadian airports is a challenge. Grynol was speaking at a press conference in Ottawa on June 1 with other representatives of the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable. She cited lengthy airport delays stemming from duplicated health checks, random arrivals testing, and other unnecessary restrictions as major hindrances to the industrys rebound. She noted other countries like Italy, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland have fully opened up and are fiercely competitive destinations. We believe that Canada should follow suit, she said. Monette Pasher, interim president and CEO of the Canadian Airports Council, presented three demands from the group to help reduce bottlenecks in airports. These include removing the mandatory random testing in airports, removing the Public Health Agency of Canadas (PHAC) duplicate health check questions at checkpoints, and allowing unvaccinated security staff to return to work. Pasher said airport traffic will only increase as the summer travel season ramps up and it will be challenging to manage that level of traffic with leftover legacy public health protocols. She urged the government to remove the border restrictions before June 15. PHAC announced on May 31 that current measures for travellers entering Canada were being extended until at least the end of June. Patrick Doyle, vice-president and general manager of American Express Global Business Travel, said recent steps taken by the government were encouraging but its not enough, and that swift action must be taken. Our reputation is at stake, he said at the June 1 press conference. Transport Canada announced on May 27 plans to increase airport staffing and other measures to address bottlenecks and improve efficiency. The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) also indicated in a May 31 report the government has earmarked an additional $330 million in funding for the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) which wasnt announced in previous budgets. The additional funding may allow CATSA to accommodate the usual seasonal increase in summer air travel, read the report. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended the governments travel measures on June 1 when asked about the increasing pressure from the tourism industry. Well, the reality is as much as people would like to pretend were not, were still in a pandemic, Trudeau told reporters on Parliament Hill. Were still at risk. Were particularly at risk as fall approaches with new variants. We need to make sure were doing everything we can to keep Canadians safe. Trudeau also said last week during a media event in Vancouver that its great to put this pandemic somewhat behind us even though we know we continue to have to be vigilant. Pressure on the federal government to lift travel restrictions has been steadily building in recent days. On May 24, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) urged the government to lift travel restrictions citing massive delays at airports. On May 31, the CEO of Canadian airline WestJet Alexis von Hoensbroech called on Ottawa to drop the vaccine mandate for travel, saying there is no more logic to maintain it. Meanwhile, a Tory motion that called for a return to pre-pandemic travel rules was defeated this week in the House of Commons. While the Bloc Quebecois and NDP voted against the motion, along with most of the Liberal party, two Liberal MPs dissented, with MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith later openly calling for an end to the vaccine travel mandate. Former President Donald Trump speaks at the George R. Brown Convention Center during the National Rifle Association annual convention in Houston, Texas, on May 27, 2022. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images) Trump Threatens to Sue Pulitzer Committee for Awarding Russian Collusion Coverage Former President Donald Trump sent a letter last week threatening to sue the Pulitzer Committee if they do not withdraw prizes given to journalists from The New York Times and the Washington Post. In a May 27 letter to Pulitzer Prize administrator Marjorie Miller, Trump threatened to sue the Pulitzer Prize Board if it did not rescind the awards it gave to New York Times and Washington Post for publishing false and fabricated allegations that the Trump campaign and administration colluded with Russian entities. The continuing publication and recognition of the prizes on the Boards website is a distortion of fact and a personal defamation that will result in the filing of litigation if the Board cannot be persuaded to do the right thing on its own, the former president stated. In 2018, the committee awarded the Pulitzer Prize in journalism to the staff of The Times and The Post for their reporting on alleged Russian connections to the Trump campaign and administration. In his letter, Trump urged the Pulitzer Committee to examine newly unveiled evidence in the trial of Michael Sussmann, the former attorney for Hilary Clintons 2016 election campaign who was charged with lying to the FBI. Sussmann alleged to the FBI before the 2016 U.S. presidential election that the Trump campaign colluded with Russian entities in election interference. FBI agent Scott Hellman testified during Sussmanns trial that it took less than a day to determine that the information Sussmann provided did not support the Russian collusion allegations. Mr. Sussman [sic] is being prosecuted for lying to the FBI regarding false information purporting to show connections between me and Alfa Bank in Russia, as well as lying about approaching the FBI as a concerned citizen and hiding the fact that he was doing the bidding of the Clinton Campaign and Hillary Clinton herself, Trump stated. The former presidents letter came during the final days of Sussmanns trial. A Washington-area jury, which reportedly included several Clinton donors and a woman whose daughter is on the same crew team as Sussmanns daughter, unanimously found Sussmann not guilty on May 31. In response to the jurys ruling, Trump protested on Truth Social on Tuesday, saying that the legal system is corrupt and that our Judges (and Justices!) are highly partisan, compromised, or just plain scared. Together with the publications that have obsessively promulgated disgustingly false attacks against me, you have done all you can to destroy my reputation, how do I get my reputation back? Trump stated in the letter. I again call on you to rescind the Prize you awarded based on blatantly fake, derogatory and defamatory news, the former president said in the letter. If you choose to not do so, we will see you in court. The Epoch Times has reached out to the Pulitzer Prize committee for comment. British Home Secretary Priti Patel and Rwandan minister for foreign affairs and international co-operation, Vincent Biruta, signed a "world-first" migration and economic development partnership in the East African nation's capital city Kigali, on April 14, 2022. (Flora Thompson/PA) UK Government Sets Date of First Deportation Flight to Rwanda British Home Secretary Priti Patel said she will not be deterred in her plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda as the Home Office announced the dateJune 14for the first flight. In April Patel unveiled plans to transfer dozens of people whose applications for asylum are awaiting processing to the African country. The policy was criticised by a the opposition Labour party, by a number of charities representing asylum-seekers and even by some Conservative MPs. Patel has pushed on with the policy, which she has said is the best way to deal with large numbers of illegal immigrants crossing the English channel. The Home Office announced on Wednesday said it has begun the process of notifying the immigrants they will be transferred to Rwanda, where they will be held in a three-star hotel. Referring to legal challenges, and possible airport protests, Patel said she was sure attempts will now be made to frustrate the process and delay removals. Earlier this month the Home Office said it had issued notices of intent to 50 individuals, who were told they were in scope for relocation to Rwanda, which has been ruled by President Paul Kagame ever since 1994 when his RPF rebels took power after the infamous genocide. Extremists from the majority Hutu tribe massacred almost a million people from the Tutsi minority after a plane carrying Rwandas President, Juvenal Habyarimana, was shot down allegedly by the Tutsi-dominated RPF. Kagame has restored peace and prosperity to Rwanda but critics, who include Amnesty International, have accused his government of human rights abuses. Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said on Tuesday: The Rwanda scheme isnt about deterring the criminal gangs or small boat crossings, its about chasing headlines regardless of reality. This is a completely unworkable, extortionately expensive, and deeply un-British policy. There is no proper process for identifying people who have been trafficked or tortured. The Home Office said some of those being transferred to Rwanda had taken dangerous, unnecessary, and illegal journeys to reach Britain and some are believed to be from African countries like Eritrea and Somalia. A Home Office blog explains: Those whose claims for protection are rejected will either be offered the chance to stay in Rwanda or return to their home countrythey will not return to the UK once their claims have been decided by Rwanda. Boris Johnson recently said that activist lawyers undermine the handling of illegal immigration and process of handling asylum seekers. A number of organisations, including Detention Action and Freedom from Torture, have threatened to take the government to court over the Rwanda policy. In a pre-action letter to the department setting out the grounds for the legal challenge, Freedom from Torture said it was calling into question assertions by ministers and officials that Rwanda is generally a safe country and argued the policy was unlawful on the basis of apparent pre-determination or bias. The charity has also claimed removing asylum seekers to Rwanda is beyond Home Secretary Priti Patels legal authority as it is contrary to the Refugee Convention to enforce such removals where Rwanda will not uphold the full set of obligations owed under the Convention to those transferred. PA Media contributed to this report. A surgeon and his theatre team perform key hole surgery to remove a gallbladder at at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England on March 16, 2010. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) UK: NHS Marking Own Homework Over Complaints, Say Researchers Britains NHS complaints procedures have been likened to asking hospitals to grade their own homework, in research by a leading London university. Researchers set out to examine the national policies for handling complaints within the health service, where some 200,000 complaints are made each year. Complaints are a critical source to help drive improvements, with most patients and families contributing to the system to prevent harm from occurring to others, yet they often feel dissatisfied with the system, researchers said. They said the complex, bureaucratic nature of the complaints system is often cited as an obstacle to effective complaint handling. The team of academics, led by experts from Imperial College London, examined national policies guiding NHS hospitals and interviewed 20 clinical, managerial, complaints, and patient advocacy staff about their experiences with the system. Their paper, published in the Journal Of The Royal Society Of Medicine, identified a number of national policies which undermine a patient-centric and improvement-focused approach to complaints including: Patients facing muddled routes for raising concerns. In some instances even frontline staff were unsure about the differences between Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) and complaints services. There was a heavy emphasis on whether or not complaints were well founded. Investigators assessed the legitimacy of complaints through checking hospital documentation with internal evidence being regarded as superior. The authors wrote: Asking hospitals to grade their own homework carries particular risks in the context of organisations with poor safety culture. National requirements for data about complaints were seen to be too granular and did not help hospital complaint managers spot any recurring themes. Managers appeared to focus on whether complaint handling was meeting national performance targets when monitoring the system, leaving the relative severity of individual complaints unexplored. The authors have made a series of recommendations on how the complaints procedures could be improved including: patient involvement in complaints investigations, the establishment of independent investigation bodies, and more meaningful data analysis to uncover and address recurring complaints. Lead researcher Dr Jackie van Dael, from Imperial College London, said: All complaints are opportunities towards better understanding patients needs and their unique perspective on organisational safety. We recommend involving patients and families in complaints investigations as standard practice and creating opportunity for dialogue between involved staff and affected patients. Travellers wait in a long queue to pass through the security check at Heathrow Airport, in London, on June 1, 2022. (Carl Court/Getty Images) UK Travel Chaos Continues as Hundreds of Flights Cancelled Due to Staff Shortages British holidaymakers face more delays as airlines cancel hundreds of flights on the eve of a bank holiday weekend due to staff shortages. Passengers are stuck in long queues at UK airports after more than 150 flights were cancelled on Wednesday alone. EasyJet cancelled at least 31 flights at Gatwick, and British Airways axed 124 short-haul flights at Heathrow. Tui Airways is continuing to cancel six daily flights at Manchester Airport, which represents a quarter of its schedule. According to aviation data firm Cirium, 377 flights from UK airports were cancelled in the seven days up to and including Tuesday. Airline passengers have been hit by disruption for several months, with the situation worsening this week due to the rise in demand sparked by the half-term school holiday and the four-day Platinum Jubilee weekend. The aviation industry is suffering from severe staff shortages. Airlines and airports made thousands of employees redundant during the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic, but are now struggling to recruit new workers and have their security checks processed. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has blamed the chaos on travel firms, accusing them of having seriously oversold flights and holidays relative to their capacity to deliver despite government warnings. In a statement on Tuesday evening, Shapps said: Its been very distressing to see passengers facing yet more disruption at airports, having well-earned holidays cancelled and plans left in disarray. He said the government has done its part and it is now on airports, airlines, and ground handlers to make sure everyones well-deserved holidays can go ahead free from the major disruption weve seen in recent days. Talking to Sky News on Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab also accused airlines of a lack of preparation ahead of the holiday surge. I dont think the airline operators have done the recruitment that they should have done, he said. But industry leaders claim that businesses have suffered from uncertainties over the governments COVID-19 travel restrictions, which were completely lifted only on March 18. Airlines UK, the industry body representing UK-registered carriers, said the aviation industry did not know when restrictions would be completely removed or how much flying would be possible this summer. It added that the vast majority of the many tens of thousands of UK-departing flights a week are operating as scheduled. The main opposition Labour Party accused the government of being missing in action. In a letter to Shapps, Labours shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh called for a series of measures such as accelerating security checks for new airport staff and working with the aviation sector to tackle chronic low pay. PA Media contributed to this report. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson looks on during a visit to the CityFibre Training Academy in Stockton-on-Tees, Britain, on May 27, 2022. (James Glossop/Pool via Reuters) UKs Johnson Says Partygate Fine Did Not Breach Ministerial Code, Citing Lack of Intent British Prime Minister Boris Johnson denies breaking the ministerial code over the partygate scandal, stressing that there was no intent to breach COVID-19 lockdown rules. Johnson, his wife Carrie, and Chancellor Rishi Sunak were all fined by the Metropolitan Police for attending a birthday gathering for the prime minister in No. 10 Downing Street in June 2020. The prime ministers ethics adviser, Lord Christopher Geidt, said a legitimate question had arisen as to whether the fine might have constituted a breach of the overarching duty within the ministerial code of complying with the law. In his latest annual report on ministers interests, published on May 31, Geidt wrote: It may be that the prime minister considers that no such breach of his ministerial code has occurred. In that case, I believe a prime minister should respond accordingly, setting out his case in public. In response, Johnson released a letter later that evening, claiming that he did not breach the ministerial code, as there was no intent to break the law. He also insisted that he had taken full responsibility for everything that took place on my watch in light of lockdown-busting gatherings in Downing Street and pointed to his apology made in the House of Commons. In a June 1 interview with Sky News, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab offered backing to Johnson and said questions around whether he broke the ministerial code have been answered. Raab also said he doesnt believe the prime minister will face a confidence vote next week, stating that speculation over the matter is yet more Westminster talking to itself. An official report on the so-called partygate scandal by senior civil servant Sue Gray, published on May 25, detailed events at which officials drank so much that they were sick, sang karaoke, became involved in altercations, and abused security and cleaning staff at a time when millions of people across the country were unable to see friends and family because of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Gray wrote that the senior leadership at the centre must bear responsibility for the breaches, which resulted in a total of 126 fines being issued to 83 people. The prime minister could face a leadership challenge if 54 Conservative MPs15 percent of the parliamentary partywrite to the chairman of the influential 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, Sir Graham Brady, calling for a vote of no confidence. While only 25 Tory MPs have so far publicly called for Johnson to step down, that doesnt necessarily reflect the total number of formal letters submitted to Brady, which is kept secret. PA Media contributed to this report. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent stands in Hawthorne, Calif., on March 1, 2020. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters) Undercover Sting Nets 43 Arrests for Child Sex Trafficking, Drugs in Arizona: ICE U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on May 27 that an undercover operation targeting commercial human trafficking, including sex trafficking, had led to the arrests of 43 individuals. The operation, in which officials worked alongside Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), was dubbed Spring Fling and targeted alleged sexual predators in Arizona, focusing on hotel prostitution and street prostitution enforcement, ICE said in a press release. HSI joined the Scottsdale Police Department Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEaT) Unit and the police departments from Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe, Gilbert, and Surprise, along with Arizona State University Police Department for the operation. In total, 43 people were arrested for crimes that included child sex trafficking, prostitution, drug charges, and misconduct involving weapons. Officials said that the suspects allegedly solicited or brokered deals for various sex acts before being apprehended. The majority of those arrested were charged with prostitution. These latest arrests come shortly after law enforcement officers were able to locate and recover 70 missing children, most of them in West Texas, following a three-week operation involving multiple agencies. Known as Operation Lost Souls, the police action ran from the end of April through mid-May in El Paso, Midland, and Ector and Tom Green counties in Texas. The missing children ranged from 10 to 17 years old and were victims of sex trafficking and physical and sexual abuse. Many of them were runaways. Although a majority of the children were located in West Texas, some were also recovered from the DallasFort Worth area, as well as the state of Colorado, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The agencies provided victim services and counseling to the recovered children and their families. Operation Lost Souls exemplifies Homeland Security Investigations commitment to protecting the public from crimes of victimization. In this case, we are looking out for our children our communitys most precious resource, said HSI El Paso Deputy Special Agent in Charge Taekuk Cho. HSI is committed to continue working with our law enforcement partners to locate, recover and help missing children heal, while ensuring that perpetrators are held responsible for these heinous crimes and brought to justice. According to the latest data from the National Human Trafficking Hotline (NHTH), 10,583 cases of human trafficking were reported in the United States in 2020, of which sex trafficking marked the highest number of cases. The International Labour Organization estimates that there are 24.9 million victims of human trafficking and exploitation around the world, with women and girls accounting for 99 percent of victims in the commercial sex industry. In February 2022, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced the release of the Justice Departments new national strategy to combat human trafficking, which aims to enhance the departments capacity to prevent trafficking from taking place and prosecute trafficking cases while supporting and protecting victims and survivors. Under that strategy, the DOJ will establish federally funded and locally led human trafficking task forces across the nation, increase attention to labor trafficking investigations, implement new victim screening protocols to identify potential human trafficking victims, and bolster coordination efforts among federal law enforcement agents nationwide. Union Sues NYC to Stop Unvaccinated NYPD Detectives From Being Terminated A detectives union has sued the city of New York to prevent unvaccinated NYPD detectives from being fired from their jobs, citing concerns over an increase in crime. The Detectives Endowment Association filed suit in Manhattan Supreme Court Tuesday seeking to block the city from terminating over 30 NPYD detectives on June 3 after they failed to get the COVID-19 shots, the New York Post reports. Former mayor Bill de Blasio set an Oct. 29 2021 deadline for the city of New York employees to get vaccinated. Under that deadline, city employees were required to have proof of at least one dose or risk being placed on unpaid leave until they could show proof of vaccination to their supervisor. Ahead of that deadline, one in six workers employed by the city had declined to get a COVID-19 vaccine, the city stated on Oct. 30. NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea told CNN in November that around 6,000 officers had applied for exemptions to the mandate. The Detectives Endowment Associations lawsuit claims that if the city were to terminate over 30 detectives, and a portion of the 600 detectives who still have religious and medical exemption requests pending, this will eliminate approximately 10 percent of the rank dedicated and trained to combat and investigate the crimes that befall the citizenry of the city on almost a daily basis. It further claims that the June 3 firings are set to occur shortly after 38 unvaccinated detectives received termination letters last week. When the city needs detectives the most, in order to deal with and investigate the significant rise in crime, respondents, through the misguided justification of the mandate, seek to eliminate the best crime-fighting force in the city, the suit states. The suit adds that the force cannot afford to lose experienced detectives as they are needed to train incoming detectives and notes that the force is already under pressure amid a wave of future retirements anticipated this summer. This brain drain will exacerbate the existing rise in crime because the department cannot simply plug in a new number to fill this void, the suit alleges. The lawsuit comes as New York City saw a substantial increase in grand larcenies, burglaries, and other crimes in March 2022 compared to the previous year, according to an April 6 NYPD press release. New York City police investigate an incident on an Uptown 4 subway after an emergency brake was pulled near Union Square in New York on April 12, 2022. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images) NYPD Police officers listen as Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York President Pat Lynch and representatives from other NYPD and law enforcement unions hold a news conference at the Icahn Stadium parking lot in New York on June 9, 2020 (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images) Overall crime rose by 36.5 percent in March 2022 compared to March 2021, driven by a 59.4 percent increase in grand larceny auto, a 48.4 percent increase in robbery, and a 40.5 percent increase in grand larceny. Citywide shooting incidents increased by 16.2 percent year-on-year. Citywide burglaries also surged by 40 percent in March 2022 compared to last year. However, officials noted a 15.8 percent drop in homicide rates compared to March 2021. The need for a well-staffed, properly-trained, and seasoned police force is imperative during these troubling times, the unions filing states, according to the New York Post. The suit calls the terminations arbitrary and capricious and states that the firings lack a sound basis in fact pointing to the fact the city had already lifted mask mandates for children, gyms, and indoor dining, as well as vaccine mandates for athletes and performers. Therefore, the firings run contrary to the urgency claimed by respondents for the enforcement of the mandate against DEA members, it states. In a statement on Twitter, the union said: When the city needs detectives the most to deal with and investigate the significant rise in crimethis misguided mandate will ultimately diminish some of the best crime fighting teams in the city. This is experience that cant be duplicated overnight. City Hall Spokesman Johan Allon told The Post: Numerous courts have already held that the citys vaccine mandate for public employees is lawful and enforceable. All city workersunless they have been granted a reasonable accommodationhave had to comply with this mandate as a condition of their employment. We will defend this in court. The Epoch Times has contacted New York City Hall and the Detectives Endowment Association for comment. A department spokesperson told The Post that 91 percent of the NYPD was vaccinated as of May 10 but did not elaborate on how many detectives remain unvaccinated or have been terminated from their roles. However, in February, Mayor Eric Adams announced that 1,430 public-sector workers in the city were fired for failing to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Starship prototypes are pictured at the SpaceX South Texas launch site in Brownsville, on May 22, 2022. (Veronica G. Cardenas/Reuters) US FAA Delays SpaceX Final Environmental Decision to June 13 WASHINGTONThe Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday again delayed completing a final environmental assessment of the proposed SpaceX Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket program in Boca Chica, Texas until June 13. In late April, the FAA extended the target date to May 31 for a decision, saying it was working toward issuing the final Programmatic Environmental Assessment after several delays. The agency said in April SpaceX had made multiple changes to its application that required additional FAA analysis. SpaceX founder Elon Musk said in February he was highly confident his new SpaceX Starship, designed for voyages to the moon and Mars, would reach Earth orbit for the first time this year. Even in a worst-case scenario, in which a full environmental impact statement was required or legal wrangling over the issue threatened to drag on, Musk said SpaceX has a fallback plan. The company would shift its entire Starship program to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, where SpaceX already has received the environmental approval it needs, Musk said. Such a move would cause a setback of six to eight months, he added. In any case, SpaceX is still shooting for a 2023 launch of what it calls the worlds first private lunar mission, flying aboard a Starship to loop around the moon and return to Earth. The FAA also released 17,000 comments Tuesday that show concerns raised about the project impact on migratory birds, endangered species, and a nearby wildlife refuge. The nearby city of Port Isabel, Texas raised serious concerns in a November letter warning the potential impact of noise, vibration and overpressure and asked the FAA to limit the number of launches per year and restrict the time and conditions when they are allowed. The FAA notes completing the environmental review does not guarantee the issuance of a vehicle operator license, which is contingent upon meeting FAA requirements for safety, risk, and financial responsibility. By David Shepardson A U.S. M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers fire salvoes during the "African Lion" military exercise in the Grier Labouihi region in southeastern Morocco on June 9, 2021. (Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images) US Providing New $700 Million in Military Aid for Ukraine President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced another $700 million in military aid to Ukraine, coming just days after he signed a Congress-passed deal worth $40 billion. The United States will stand with our Ukrainian partners and continue to provide Ukraine with weapons and equipment to defend itself, Biden said in a statement released by the White House. In the statement, Biden said he is now sending precision, advanced rocket systems after receiving assurances from Kyivs government that it would not fire on targets inside Russia, which would surely escalate the conflict. Thanks to the additional funding for Ukraine, passed with overwhelmingly bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress, the United States will be able to keep providing Ukraine with more of the weapons that they are using so effectively to repel Russian attacks, said Biden. The advanced weapons include High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) with battlefield munitions, said the president in the statement. We will continue to lead the world in providing historic assistance to support Ukraines fight for freedom. Ukraine has been seeking Multiple Rocket Launch Systems (MLRS) such as the M270 and M142 HIMARS, which are both made by Lockheed Martin, to provide more firepower at longer range to hit Russian troop concentrations and weapons stockpiles at Russias rear. Jonathan Finer, the deputy White House national security adviser, said earlier that Washington believed the HIMARS system will meet Kyivs needs. This is a defensive conflict that the Ukrainians are waging. Russian forces are on their territory, Finer said in an interview with CNN. However, in response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on June 1 that Moscow suspects the United States is purposefully and diligently adding fuel to the fire by sending more weapons to Ukraine. When asked by reporters about how Russia might respond, he said, Lets not talk about worst-case scenarios. Peskov said that such supplies wouldnt encourage Ukraines leadership to resume stalled peace talks. Asked later if the U.S. move increased the chances of a third country becoming involved in the conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, Such risks certainly exist. He told a news conference in Saudi Arabia, It is a direct provocation [by Ukraine], aimed at involving the West in military action. Reuters contributed to this report. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, at a briefing in New York City on March 1, 2021. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) US Seeking to Impose New Sanctions on North Korea If Regime Goes Ahead With Nuclear Tests Despite opposition from China and Russia, the United States stated on May 31 that it would push for new United Nations sanctions on North Korea if the communist regime conducts a nuclear test. U.S. officials, along with counterparts from South Korea and Japan, have voiced concern regarding a potential nuclear test by the North Korean regime. It would be the countrys first nuclear test in nearly five years and seventh nuclear test overall. China and Russia vetoed a U.N. resolution on May 26, sponsored by the United States, that would have imposed sanctions on North Korea for a recent uptick in missile testing, including intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the continental United States. With a 132 vote, security council members overwhelmingly voted in support of the resolution, but the two dissenting votes revealed the division regarding North Korea among veto-wielding permanent members. A total of 10 resolutions have been placed on North Korea since it conducted its first nuclear test in 2006, when the security council permanent members were united in their condemnation. However, thus far, the resolutions have failed to deter the regimes missile program. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on May 31 that North Korea is actively preparing to conduct a nuclear test. If that happens, Washington absolutely will try again to impose sanctions on Pyongyang, she said. First of all, we need to enforce the sanctions that we have already authority to enforce, she told reporters. And we certainly, as we attempted in this last resolution, will push for additional sanctions. North Korea didnt conduct nuclear tests during President Joe Bidens Asia trip as earlier feared by intelligence officials. North Korea launched its 17th round of missile tests of 2022 on May 25. The escalation is reportedly part of Kim Jong Uns efforts to apply pressure on international rivals and obtain relief from current sanctions. China and Russia have lately been seeking to ease sanctions on the regime, claiming that adding more sanctions would be counterproductive and increase tensions. When asked by reporters about the May 26 vote, Thomas-Greenfield replied that the U.S. draft resolution had been discussed and considered for nine weeks while North Korea continued to test weapons in violation of Security Council resolutions. So, they heard very loudly and clearly that 13 members of the council stand strong in condemning what they are doing and theyre being protected by the Russians and the Chinese veto, she said. But now they know that the Russians and the Chinese have not been supported by the members of the council. After the vote, Frances Ambassador to the U.N. Nicolas de Riviere said the Chinese and Russia vetoes amounted to protecting the North Korean regime and giving it a blank check to proliferate even further. France will continue its efforts to ensure that the council is able to act and that it regains the unity it has had on this issue, he said. Under a U.N. General Assembly resolution adopted April 26, the 193-member world body will be required for the first time to hold a debate on any issue that sparks a veto in the Security Council within 10 working days. Precedence on the list of speakers is given to the permanent member or members casting the veto. General Assembly spokesperson Paulina Kubiak said the assembly would hold a meeting on the veto of the North Korea resolution on June 8, but she said she wasnt in a position to confirm whether China or Russia would participate. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Uvalde school district Chief of Police Pete Arredondo hugs a school student at a community prayer evening held the day after a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School that killed 19 children and 2 teachers, in Uvalde, Texas, on May 25, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) On-Scene Police Commander at Uvalde Shooting Breaks Silence The embattled Uvalde, Texas, school district police chief confirmed Wednesday that he is speaking daily with state investigators after reports claimed that he wasnt cooperating. Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo, who was the on-site commander for the mass shooting last week that left 21 people dead, told CNN that he is talking to investigators with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). Just so everybody knows, weve been in contact with DPS every day, Arredondo told the news outlet. Ive been on the phone with them every day. A CNN reporter said that Arredondo has declined to answer more questions about the incident. Were going to be respectful to the family, he told CNN about not releasing more information about the shooting. Were going to do that eventually. Whenever this is done and the families quit grieving, then well do that obviously. A day before, DPS spokesman Travis Considine told news outlets that Arredondo hadnt responded to requests for more interviews about the shooting at Robb Elementary School. Officials last week said that Arredondo was the commander who ordered police to remain outside during the shooting after believing that shooter Salvador Ramos was barricaded in the building. It was the wrong decision to delay the response, admitted DPS Director Steven McCraw during a news conference late last week. Law enforcement experts said police should have entered the building much sooner after reports emerged that on-site first responders waited more than one hour. Eventually, a U.S. Border Patrol agent entered the building and killed the suspect, DPS said. Officials have now determined that the teacher, who has not been identified, propped the door open with a rock, but then removed the rock and closed the door when she realized there was a shooter on campus, Considine said. But, Considine said, the door that was designed to lock when shut did not lock. We did verify she closed the door. The door did not lock. We know that much and now investigators are looking into why it did not lock, Considine told AP. Investigators confirmed the detail through additional video footage reviewed since Fridays news conference when authorities first said the door was left propped open. Earlier this month, Arredondo was elected to the Uvalde City Council, and a special meeting was scheduled to swear him in and others. However, that didnt occur, according to Mayor Don McLaughlin, who confirmed that Arredondo was sworn in this week. McLaughlin said in a statement Monday that the City Council meeting will not take place as scheduled before saying that our focus on Tuesday is on our families who lost loved ones. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Pete Arredondo, chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (L), speaks at a press conference while Superintendent Hal Harrell looks on, following a mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Uvalde School Police Chief Sworn In as City Councilman as Investigators Try to Reach Him The police chief of the school district in Uvalde, Texas was sworn in as a city councilman on May 31 as investigators probing the police response to the recent elementary school mass shooting sought to interview him. Pete Arredondo, the chief of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, won the election before the May 24 shooting to the Uvalde City Council. Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said in a statement that Arredondo and the other members-elect were sworn in per the City Charter. Out of respect for the families who buried their children today, and who are planning to bury their children in the next few days, no ceremony was held, he said. Arredondo was the law enforcement official at the scene of the shooting who made the decision not to immediately breach the classroom that the shooter had entered, according to Texas officials. Multiple children inside the classroom called 911 while officers were in the hallway outside. Officers eventually entered the door after nearly 50 minutes. Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), called it the wrong decision and Texas Lt. Gov Dan Patrick said it cost lives, though he later said it may have cost lives. McLaughlin said previously that there was nothing to prevent Arredondo from taking his seat on the council, which the chief plans on holding in addition to continuing as the school districts top officer. Arredondo did an initial interview with Texas Department of Public Safety investigators who are probing the law enforcement response to the shooting but he has yet to respond to the [Texas] Rangers request for a follow up interview that was made a couple of days ago, a spokesperson for the agency told The Epoch Times in an email. Arredondo did not pick up the phone on Wednesday or return a voicemail. The Uvalde school district and the Uvalde Police Department are otherwise cooperating with the probe, the spokesperson said. McLaughlin said that Uvalde parents deserve answers and I trust the Texas Department of Public Safety/Texas Rangers will leave no stone unturned. Arredondo has not spoken publicly since appearing at a vigil, which took place before he was named as the official who gave the order to hold. Arredondo told The Epoch Times that the vigil was a good beginning. I saw a lot of shoulders drop, which means people started to breathe a little bit. And thats one of the first processeslearn to breathe again. Its good to see a good tight-knit community come together, he said. Charlotte Cuthbertson and Caden Pearson contributed to this report. Young adults stand looking at a memorial at Robb Elementary School following a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on May 26, 2022. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images) Uvalde Shooting: Door Ramos Accessed Did Not Lock After Teacher Shut It A Robb Elementary teacher reportedly propped open an exterior doorand proceeded to shut it without locking itwhich allowed Salvador Ramos to enter the school to kill 19 children and two adults. New details on the Robb Elementary shooting suggest that an unnamed female teacher did not leave open the exterior door that Ramos used to access the school after propping it open using a rock, Don Flanary, the counsel representing the teacher, told San Antonio Express-News. She saw the wreck, Flanary told the publication, referring to when Ramos crashed his grandmothers truck before entering the school. She ran back inside to get her phone to report the accident. She came back out while on the phone with 911. The men at the funeral home yelled, He has a gun! She saw him jump the fence, and he had a gun, so she ran back inside. She kicked the rock away when she went back in. She remembers pulling the door closed while telling 911 that he was shooting. She thought the door would lock because that door is always supposed to be locked, Flanary said. Flanarys statement mostly agrees with the timeline authorities have established at this time. However, one nuance contradicted a May 27 statement made by Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety. We know from video evidence, at 11:27 [a.m.], the exterior door what we know the shooter entered was propped open by a teacher, McCraw told reporters at the May 27 press conference. At 11:28, the suspects vehicle crashes into a ditch, as previously described. The teacher runs to room 132 to retrieve a phone, and that same teacher walks back to the exit door, the officer said. And [the] door remains propped open. McCraw added that the door wasnt supposed to be propped open. It was supposed to be locked. And certainly, the teacher that went back for her cellphone propped it open again. So that was an access point that the subject used. The nuance, authorities confirmed on May 31, is that the teacher had shut the door. However, the door did not lock. We did verify she closed the door. The door did not lock. We know that much and now investigators are looking into why it did not lock, Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety, told AP News on Tuesday. Authorities and the public have had difficulty reconstructing the timeline of the tragic events that transpired on May 24. Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas (CLEAT), the union representing Texan police officers, urged its member police officers to cooperate with government investigations in a May 31 statement while noting a great deal of false information coming from the highest levels of government after the incident. There has been a great deal of false and misleading information in the aftermath of this tragedy. Some of the information came from the very highest levels of government and law enforcement, CLEAT said. Sources that Texans once saw as iron-clad and completely reliable have now been proven false. The many motivations behind the American Revolutionary War Modern American society still talks about and references the American Revolution all the time. Its battlefields are well preserved and marked, its literature is still invoked in modern political campaigns and speeches, its symbols and quotes and prominent figures are everywhere in stone and bronze and steel and inkat least for now. Perhaps the individual motivations for participation in violent struggle were as numerous as the individuals who participated. On a certain level, then, asking, What were they fighting for? is only inviting inevitable oversimplification. Even so, an attempt to spell out some of what provoked men and women to shoot at each other (or to support others in the endeavor) may serve to at least demonstrate the wide range of impulses driving the American Revolutionary War. War, like other historical phenomena, is complicated. Its muddy. Those Who Served Letters were exchanged throughout the war between Massachusetts shoemaker Joseph Hodgkins, a Minuteman leader and veteran of Bunker Hill, and his wife Sarah. In April 1776, he wrote Sarah, I am willing to serve my country in the best way and manner that I am capable of, and as our enemy are gone from us, I expect I must follow them. I would not be understood that I should choose to march, but as I am engaged in this glorious cause, I am [willing] to go where I am called. Hodgkins would go on to fight at the Battle of Long Island, the Battle of Harlem Heights, the Battle of White Plains, the Battle of Trenton, and the Battles of Saratoga. Hodgkins left his wife and children aloneoften to Sarahs chagrinin order to serve [his] country, i.e. Massachusetts. A map detailing the major campaigns of the American Revolutionary War. (Public Domain) John Greenwood was a 15-year-old from Boston, recently apprenticed to his cabinetmaker uncle when the Battles of Lexington and Concord occurred. These events, he wrote later, made him afraid [his family back in Boston] would all be killed by the Britishso he walked the 150 miles of mostly wild country back home, offered free quarters along the way when he explained he was going to fight for my country. Boston was inaccessible when he arrived, and so young Greenwood instead enlisted in the 26th Massachusetts Regiment as a fifer in defense of the Patriot cause. On the way to join the battle at Bunker Hill, Greenwood later remembered, a [black] man, wounded in the back of his neck, passed me and, his collar being open and he not having anything on except his shirt and trousers, I saw the wound quite plainly and the blood running down his back. I asked him if it hurt him much, as he did not seem to mind it. He said no, that he was only to get a plaster put on it and meant to return. You cannot conceive what encouragement this immediately gave me. I began to feel brave and like a soldier from that moment, and fear never troubled me afterward during the whole war. Greenwood fought for family and countrythat is, Massachusetts. Margaret Corbin, of Irish stock, was from frontier Pennsylvania. At age 5, she survived an American Indian raid on her home that saw her father killed, her mother kidnapped (and never seen again), and herself and her brother orphaned. Sixteen years later, Margaret married a Virginia farmer named John Corbin, who went on to enlist as an artilleryman in the Patriot cause. Not content to stay home, Margaret (like many soldiers wives) became a camp follower. She was especially useful because she was a nurse. The camp followers cared for sick or wounded soldiers, cooked, did laundry, and helped in any way they could. During battle, some of these camp followers became Molly Pitchers, a nickname for those who carried water to thirsty soldiers (or to cool down overheated cannons) in the midst of the fighting. As a nurse, Margaret was allowed to join her husband at Fort Washington (situated at the northern end of Manhattan Island), where she watched him die manning a cannon during a British assault. Margaret reportedly jumped immediately into her husbands place, working the cannonuntil she herself had been shot in the arm, chest, and jaw. Margaret was captured by the British but, as a wounded soldier, released. She never fully healed, and she later received a military pension. Margaret Corbin fought for family and country. Soldiers in the early years of the American Revolution wore mismatched uniforms and civilian clothing, illustrated by H.A. Ogden, 1891. Lithography by G.H. Buek & Co. (Public Domain) The Visionaries In a speech in Boston marking the fourth anniversary of the Boston Massacre, John Hancock revealed some of his own motivations when he took aim at those who had perpetrated that inhuman deed. Asked he, Do not the injured shades of Maverick, Gray, Caldwell, Attucks and Carr [that is, the five killed in the Massacre], attend you in your solitary walks, arrest you even in the midst of your debaucheries, and fill even your dreams with terror? His was an impulse born of perceived violent injustice, his purpose liberty. The American colonists fight for their houses, their lands, for their wives, their children, for all who claim the tenderest names, and are held dearest in their hearts, they fight for their liberty, and for themselves, and for their God. I have the most animating confidence that the present noble struggle for liberty, will terminate gloriously for America. The Virginia Declaration of Rights (adopted June 12, 1776), later used by Jefferson as he composed the opening sections of the Declaration of Independenceand used by other colonies as well to make similar statements, and to write their own separate bills of rightswas primarily written by Virginia planter George Mason. It would later serve as the basis for the federal Bill of Rights. Government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people, nation or community, the Virginia Declaration declared, [and] whenever any government shall be found inadequate or contrary to these purposes, a majority of the community hath an indubitable, unalienable, and indefeasible right to reform, alter or abolish it, in such manner as shall be judged most conducive to the public weal. The people have a right to uniform government; and therefore, that no government separate from, or independent of, the government of Virginia, ought to be erected or established within the limits thereof. The blessings of liberty, Mason insisted, can be preserved [only] by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue and by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles. For Mason, the Revolution was about establishing a free government in Virginia. An illustration of John Hancock, a prominent supporter of the American Revolution, and president of the Second Continental Congress. (mikroman6/Moment/Getty Images) Fighting for Self-Government Perhaps more than anything else, then, the revolutionaries fought for local self-government. And, indeed, on a historical level, local self-government made sense for the colonies (now States). Theyd grown up separate and separately, each developing as a distinct community or network of communities. This variation was especially marked from region to region. For almost 200 years, whenever Britains Parliament, or monarch, had attempted a sort of consolidation, the colonies had rebelled. Boston men had no desire to be roped into a polity with New Yorkers, nor ruled by Virginiansand certainly not by Britons on the other side of the ocean. South Carolinians wished to make their own laws, rather than be dictated to by some far-away government. The same could be said for every other colony. One could argue that such localism (the seed of a future federalism) had been developing ever since the first English colonist set out for the New World. Many tens of thousands chose to fight, to killto avenge past crimes, to defend their country against a foreign enemy, to escape tyranny (or simply because they burned with hatred toward all tyranny). Some fought to defend family, home, land, some for their liberty, some out of duty, others for pay, still others for adventure. Some hoped to preserve ownership of land granted by the Crown, while others hoped to deprive their neighbors of that ownership. Some fought to resist ever-increasing British aggression, or ever-increasing colonial encroachment, or to protect their inherent or unalienable rights, or to restore tribal lands. Some fought for their own freedom from slavery, or to free others from slavery, or to avenge the crimes of chattel slavery. Some fought for the prospect of a glorious future America, while others found virtue in serving freedom, to live or die for it. Perhaps most of all, American revolutionaries fought to establish local self-government as citizens of Free, Sovereign and Independent States. Forcing a Passage of the Hudson River by Thomas Mitchell, 17761799. Oil on canvas. National Maritime Museum. This painting, depicting British naval ships pushing their way past Forts Washington and Lee, is a copy of an original rendering by Dominic Serres the Elder. (Public Domain) This article was originally published in American Essence magazine. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW CANAAN In the midst of an ongoing town discussion on affordable housing, developer Arnold Karp confirmed Tuesday that he has submitted an application to the town for a 20-unit multifamily project on 51 Main Street. The development would call for six affordable housing units at the plot of the yellow building on .34 acres built in 1889 known as the Red Cross building which is to be moved closer to the street to make room for the 11 two-bedroom apartments and nine one-bedroom apartments proposed behind it. Owned and operated by the Red Cross since 1952, the organization sold the building to Karp in 2017. He already has another application under State General Statute 8-30g for a 102-unit project on Weed Street. Karp has been vocal about his support of affordable housing and has called it not just a local or state issue, but a national issue. Sitting in the historic district, the front portion of the 2,600 square-foot antique building would be preserved, according to Karp. Once the project two doors north of Town Hall is completed, the view from the road would look like the same street scape as is there currently, Karp said. He is expected to file a separate application with the Historic District Commission. More than two-thirds of the footprint would be preserved, or 936 square feet of the 1,277 square foot total, according to the plans disclosed by Karp. The remaining 341 square feet in the rear would be removed to make room for the multifamily units. The new building would have four stories, with three stories on top of a grade-level parking garage. The one-bedroom apartments are anticipated to range in size from 738 to 920 square feet and the two-bedroom apartments are expected to be 989 to 1,652 square feet. The plan provides for 33 parking spaces. This new application comes at a time when town officials and residents are concerned about developments under 8-30g, which allow developers to bypass local zoning laws. Unlike previous years, the town currently lacks the protection of state-sanctioned 8-30g moratorium. Karp is not sure when his firm will break ground on the antique building, as approvals are still needed from the town. Since the Main Street building was built more than 130 years ago, it is in rough shape and needs tender loving care, Karp said. The previous owners did not invest in capital improvements, he added. According to the application, 51 Main Street is appropriate for a multifamily residential redevelopment because it is near the train station, shops and parks and in an area that already has multi-family residences. In addition to Karps application for 751 Weed Street, he is also expected to submit plans for a 101-unit building on Hill Street. The developments are expected to feature nearly 30 affordable housing units each. If any of his projects are rejected by the town, he said, he would reapply and then the state gets involved. Affordable housing was not his original concept for the property near Town Hall, but rather he envisioned a colonial corner, which depended on the purchase of Vine Cottage next door from Town Hall, he said. A deal for Vine Cottage with the town, the owner of the building, could not be reached. Karp questioned the viability of the draft of the towns plan, required under Connecticut General Statute 8-30j, to explain how the town will reach the states 10 percent affordable housing goal. The plan mentions moratoriums nearly 20 times and calls for the town to build enough affordable housing to earn the housing equivalency points needed to achieve the moratoriums. The drafted plan argues the future moratoriums will allow the town to manage the type, form and location of affordable housing. In the past, moratoriums that were earned for the building of Millport Apartments and Canaan Parish have prevented 8-30g developments from being built in town. Karp said that affordable housing developments can cost $80 million, noting that the town does not have that sort of money. He also questions the practicality of residents and officials lamenting over the four-year 8-30g moratorium that was expected after the building of the 60 new units for Canaan Parish. He argued a new affordable housing project would not be done by the time that moratorium was up. Instead, he asks what the towns plan is. He said that the town has yet to find a location to comply with state laws that have been in place for 34 years. Town officials have publicly blamed a delay in the construction on the corner of Lakeview Avenue and Route 123 for the lack of moratorium. The construction was said to have been delayed because of the pandemic. ATLANTA (AP) Georgia's highest court on Wednesday declined to hear an appeal filed for a man on death row claiming that his execution would be unconstitutional because he has cognitive impairments that cause him to function like a young child. Lawyers for Virgil Delano Presnell Jr. had argued in a filing with the Georgia Supreme Court that he suffered brain damage caused by his mother's heavy alcohol use during pregnancy. A 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that prohibits the execution of intellectually disabled people includes people like him with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, they argued. In an order issued Wednesday, the state Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal based on the constitutionality argument without giving any explanation. The case was one of two pending before the state high court for Presnell, who killed an 8-year-old girl and raped her 10-year-old friend in May 1976 and had been scheduled to be executed last month. In the other case, the state is appealing a judge's stay of execution that remains in effect until later this month. In the petition filed in Butts County, where death row is located, Presnell's lawyers had argued that their 68-year-old client remains childlike and gullible and has enormous difficulty acquiring and processing new information, navigating social interactions, and reasoning abstractly. They said new medical knowledge and changes in the law meant the petition should be considered. Lawyers for the state had argued that Presnell had previously raised similar arguments and that his petition was therefore barred for procedural reasons. Presnell abducted the two girls on May 4, 1976, as they walked home along a wooded trail from school in Cobb County, just outside Atlanta. He drove them to a secluded wooded area, had them undress and raped the older girl, according to evidence at trial outlined in a Georgia Supreme Court ruling. The younger girl tried to run, but Presnell caught her and drowned her in a creek, the ruling says. He locked the 10-year-old girl in the trunk of his car and then left her in a wooded area when he got a flat tire, saying hed return. She escaped and ran to a nearby gas station and described Presnell and his car to police. Officers found him changing his tire at his apartment complex. He denied everything at first but later led police to the 8-year-old girls body and confessed, the ruling says. Presnell had been scheduled to be executed May 17, but Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shermela Williams stayed his execution after his lawyers filed a lawsuit and emergency motion. In those filings, they claimed that the state had violated an agreement with lawyers representing people on death row that effectively put executions on hold during the coronavirus pandemic and established conditions under which they could resume. The lawsuit alleges that those conditions were not met before Presnells execution was scheduled. Williams order blocked the state for 30 days from pursuing the execution of any death row prisoner covered by the agreement. The families of the two girls last week told The Associated Press that they've waited 46 years for justice and were disappointed that the execution was delayed. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WESTPORT A new fire marshal was sworn in this week, bringing with him nearly two decades of experience with the Westport Fire Department. Terrance Dunn is the new fire marshal. He replaces Nathaniel Gibbons who retired Tuesday, the fire department announced. Coming from a family with a history in public safety, Im really looking forward to continuing to serve the residents of the Town of Westport in my new role as fire marshal, Dunn said in a statement. Dunn was hired as a Westport firefighter in October 2003 and was promoted to fire inspector in 2009. He earned a bachelors degree in arson investigation from the University of New Haven where he also minored in criminal justice. He is also certified by the state to be a fire marshal and licensed as an assistant building official. I extend congratulations and best wishes to Terry Dunn on his well-deserved promotion, First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker said in a statement. He is a genuine and humble leader who has the skills and experience necessary to ensure that the f ire department continues to provide exceptional service to the community. Dunn is also the first vice president of the Connecticut Fire Marshals Association, a member of the Fairfield/New Haven County Fire Marshals Association, the International Association of Arson Investigators and District 8 Building Officials Association. Dunn said hes grateful for the opportunity to serve as fire marshal. Fire prevention often goes unnoticed until something bad happens, he said. This is what has shaped the current fire codes we have in place. The importance of preventing fires, ensuring safe buildings throughout our town and public fire education will always be at the forefront of my mind. Fire Chief Michael Kronick also congratulated Dunn on his new role. I am very proud of Terry and the contributions that he has made to our department and look forward in partnering to lead the department, Kronick said in a statement. Both he and Tooker also thanked Gibbons for his years of service. Fire Marshal Gibbons has prepared and tirelessly worked for a smooth transition of a competent and dedicated team, Kronick said. Nates presence in the firehouse will be missed, and I wish him the best in his retirement. He is a true educator who is passionate about the safety of our residents. Tooker said Westport has benefited from Gibbons expertise and dedication throughout his 27 years of service. As fire marshal for the past five years, Nates expertise and knowledge were crucial in helping the Westport business community and local agencies maintain the highest level of fire protection services, Tooker said. Not only known in the business community, Nate was also a constant presence at every school event and graduation ceremony to ensure the safety of our children. A formal pinning ceremony is planned for 5 to 7 p.m. on June 21 at Christ and Holy Trinity Church to celebrate the departments promotions and medals. NEW YORK (AP) A prosecutor told jurors in closing arguments at a criminal trial Tuesday that there is overwhelming evidence that organizers of a We Build The Wall campaign to raise millions of dollars for a wall along the U.S. southern border defrauded investors by lying to them. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Sobelman urged Manhattan federal court jurors to deliver guilty verdicts on fraud and conspiracy charges against the lone defendant: Timothy Shea. You will quickly see that the evidence is overwhelming, the prosecutor said as he delivered a rebuttal after defense attorney John Meringolo told the jury that an acquittal was the only fair verdict. Jurors deliberated for a short time late Tuesday without reaching a verdict. Their work resumes Wednesday morning. Former presidential adviser Steve Bannon was once a defendant in the case, but ex-President Donald Trump pardoned him as he left office last year. Two other defendants had pleaded guilty to charges and await sentencing. Meringolo insisted in his closing that there were multiple ways that jurors could conclude there was reasonable doubt and that an acquittal was fair. There are two sides to every story, he said. Their story has doubt and their story has reasonable doubt. As he had in his opening statement a week earlier, Meringolo insisted that a company prosecutors say was created to carry out a fraud Ranch Property Management was not the shell company the government claimed it was. And he said prosecutors were wrong to say his client didn't work. It wasn't a shell company. Tim worked, he said. Sobelman and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos in an earlier closing argument attacked the motives of Shea, who owns an energy drink company, Winning Energy, whose cans have featured a cartoon superhero image of Trump and claim to contain 12 oz. of liberal tears. They maintained that Shea, of Castle Rock, Colorado, and his former codefendants siphoned money from the fund, which raised over $25 million from thousands of donors after it was created in late 2018. No one donates to a nonprofit thinking that the nonprofit is going to loan money to an energy drink company, Sobelman said. They stole and looted from the organization, Roos said, citing hundreds of thousands of dollars that did not go to a stretch of several miles of wall that resulted from the fundraising effort. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A pair of drag queen storytime events at two local libraries has generated protests from parents who dont believe that the programming is appropriate for their children. But library officials, citing the need to provide a variety of programming for the community, defended the decision to host the events. From noon to 2 p.m. on Friday, June 3, Collinsville Memorial Library will host a storytime appearance by Chasity Valentino, a drag queen performer from St. Louis. According to the librarys Facebook page, Valentino will read a couple of books to listeners about identity, love and acceptance. Valentino held a similar event at the Caseyville Public Library on June 26, 2021. Glen Carbon Centennial Library, meanwhile, is hosting a pair of events featuring drag queen performer Maxi Glamour. A program for adults at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 7 will be exploring issues of liberation and addressing art, activism, politics, human rights and life in St. Louis. Glamour will return for a childrens storytime event at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 21. We try to offer a variety of different events for the community and this year we had the opportunity to hire Maxi Glamour for a storytime session, said Christine Gerrish, executive director of Glen Carbon Centennial Library. We thought it would be a good idea to give the community a chance to meet the performer before the event, which is why we have the adult program on June 7. That program will introduce Maxi to the community and were really happy with the reception weve had. Its one of the highest registrations that weve had for an adult program since before COVID. Collinsvilles library is part of the Mississippi Valley Library District (MVLD), which also includes the Fairmount City Library. We do not serve a community that is uniform in its needs and its interests, MVLD executive director Kyla Waltermire said. We try to provide a wide variety of programs that meet those needs with ongoing education opportunities for as many community members as we can. The drag queen storytime events, though, have generated criticism from many local residents, including Doug Hulme of Maryville, a Republican candidate for Madison County treasurer. Hulme addressed the issue in an open letter to Glen Carbon Mayor Bob Marcus, Glen Carbon trustees and library trustees. I believe Glen Carbon has worked hard to project a family friendly community and there are many parents that feel this kind of push by local public employees is inappropriate, Hulme said. We should not be using our publicly funded libraries to push in-your-face sexual messaging and divisive politics. I don't believe the leaders in Glen Carbon that I know would tolerate this. I do not live in Glen Carbon, but I am speaking for many in Glen Carbon that are opposed to this expenditure of public resources. My children have used the Glen Carbon Library and we participate in Little League in Miner Park next to the library. I do not want to explain drag queens, sexual identity and other sexually charged political issues to my 8- and 5-year-olds. I am sure I am not alone. I think those decisions should be left up to parents privately. As public officials and employees, I would suggest that everyone keep their sexual and political desires outside of publicly funded work and away from our children. Edwardsville resident Jennifer Sexton, meanwhile, has similar concerns. Im speaking out because Ive got three kids and they deserve to not be exposed to gender confusion and drag queens peddling sex at their local library, Sexton said. An online search for more information about Valentino was especially disturbing for Sexton. When I saw the Collinsville drag storytime event being promoted, the first thing I did was to look up the performers name, like any child could do, Sexton said. I plugged it into Instagram and seconds later Im looking at lingerie photos of the performer with sexually explicit captions like, Sex still sellin and plugs for her OnlyFans account where more explicit photos could be purchased. I immediately thought, Why is this person needing to come speak to children? Is this the only way we can teach acceptance and anti-bullying? How about having someone with a physical disability come talk about what it means to be different and how to treat everyone with kindness? Sexton said that programs like drag queen storytime shouldnt simply be lumped in with other items on the librarys calendar. These events being put on for kids are so obviously wrong, yet were supposed to pretend like theyre wholesome activities, Sexton said. Drag shows are all about sexual innuendo, and over the top sexiness and glamour. None of that needs to be introduced to young children. Its being done to acclimate them to this ideology of gender fluidity and get them comfortable with sexuality. Its a form of grooming. If parents want to bring up their kids that way, they can, but innocent kids in a library do not need to be subjected to this as theyre going to check out a Berenstain Bears book in the middle of the day. Sexton finds certain aspects of Glamours appearance at the Glen Carbon Library to be equally disturbing. The Glen Carbon drag event to my knowledge isnt being targeted to kids necessarily, but they have booked a performer who makes no secret of their distaste for Christians, as they are a self-proclaimed, Demon Queen and shared a sexual meme of Jesus on their Facebook page for Easter, Sexton said. Would the Glen Carbon library also book a performer sharing anti-Semitic or Anti-Muslim memes, or is it just OK to be wildly hateful and disrespectful to Christians? Criticism of these events has nothing to do with any hatred or phobia, although its very easy to sling that as an accusation. Any criticism about exposing kids to this event is warranted and logical, and stems from concern about our childrens innocence and well-being. Gerrish feels the librarys need to offer a diverse range of programming outweighs any negative feedback from community members. Whether people agree with it or not and its fine if they dont its a program that there is community interest in, Gerrish said. We want to provide information and programs that the community is interested in. While we have had some pushback about this program, the vast majority of what we have been hearing has been positive. People are looking for different events and theyre happy that were offering a program like this. Gerrish noted that Glamour has become a regular storytime performer in the St. Louis area. Maxi has been a performer for many years, and they have done the drag queen storytime many times for libraries in St. Louis City, St. Louis County. Jefferson County and other communities in Missouri, Gerrish said. I believe this will be their first Illinois story time. Waltermire, likewise, cited the need to provide programming for all segments of the community. We have gotten contacted by individuals who object to the program for reasons of personal or religious beliefs, but we have also been contacted by several individuals who are thanking us for having this program, Waltermire said. They have been traveling across the river to St. Louis for these kinds of programs because there hasnt been anything locally to meet their needs. There are some libraries in northern Illinois that have hosted these events, but Caseyvilles program last year was the first one in the Metro East. Some of the negative feedback, though, has led to a major change regarding Valentinos storytime appearance at the Collinsville library. Unfortunately, there have been some comments directed toward our guest reader (Valentino) that have made her concerned for her safety, so instead of having her reading stories in person, she is going to be reading stories virtually, Waltermire said. We will still be hosting an in-person event with other typical storytime things like singing, dancing and sharing snacks. The reading itself will take place virtually. Sexton added that Pastor Myles Holmes of the Revive Assembly of God Church in Collinsville is planning to peacefully pray outside the library at 8 a.m. Friday before Valentinos story session, which starts at noon. I think its a great counterbalance to what will be going on at the library later in the day, Sexton said. Gerrish confirmed that Glamour, who usually charges $200 per event, is performing the adult event and the childrens storytime at the Glen Carbon Library for a discounted fee of $300 for both events. For more information about events at Glen Carbon Centennial Library, call 618-288-1212, go to https://glencarbonlibrary.org/ or visit Glen Carbon Library on Facebook. This is the first time since 2019 that we have been able to have a full slate of events, Gerrish said. We have 60 different programs going on this summer and were really excited to be ramping up our programming to be able to serve the community with all of these programs. We hope we have something for everybody. For more information about events at Collinsville Memorial Public Library, call 618-344-1112, go to https://mvld.org/ or visit Collinsville Memorial Library Center on Facebook. A request to keep bees, goats and double the allowed number of chickens on residential property was denied by the Madison County Zoning Board of Appeals last week. Seven other requests were approved during the May 24 meeting. The one denial was a request by Steven Taylor and Kaitlyn Bryan, owners of property at 57 Odom Drive, Collinsville, for a special use permit to allow the keeping of bees, two goats and chickens. They also sought a variance to keep 10 chickens instead of the five normally allowed. There was a great deal of opposition from neighbors who submitted a petition with 36 signatures against the request. Another request was approved on a split 3-2 vote. Danielle Trask and Joey Muscarella had requested a special use permit to place a mobile home at 1930 Roberta Ave., Granite City, for Trask and her family. The special use permit was approved with Nicholas Cohan, Sharon Sherrill and Cedric Irby voting yes while George Ellis and Mary Goode voted no. Member Thomas Ambrose was absent. Other requests approved include: Mike Moniger of Moniger Excavating Co. Inc. requested to rezone a 4.54-acre tract at 5965 Illinois 140, Moro, to B-4 Wholesale Business district from PD Planned Development District. In February 2020 the County Board approved rezoning to a planned development district to allow a small-scale hemp processing facility, but the plans fell through, according to Planning & Development officials. Nic Frey requested a special use permit to allow the placement of a mobile home at 10115 Lower Marine Road, Marine. Mark and Donna Sanders had requested a variance at 8411 Steelecrest Lane, Troy, to construct an attached garage 2 feet from the east property line, instead of the required 10 feet. James and Patricia Radcliffe requested a variance for 2635 Staunton Road, Troy, to construct an accessory structure in the front yard setback area in an R-1 Single-Family Residential area. Colby Schrumpf, on behalf of Frey Properties of Highland LLC, requested a special use permit to construct a helicopter hanger and heliport along Ellis Road, St. Jacob, for the storage of St. Josephs Hospitals helicopter in an M-2 General Manufacturing District. Andrew Jones Jr., on behalf of the Southwestern Electric Cooperative Inc., requested the rezoning of a half-acre tract at 4772 Illinois 4, Alhambra, to PD Planned Development District from A Agricultural District to operate a bitcoin mining facility using power from the existing electrical substation on site. All the zoning requests must go to the Building & Zoning Committee and then to the full Madison County Board for approval. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, (NCDC) has said it has no laboratory in the country where Monkeypox virus is being generated. NCDC disclosed this while reacting to a recent report on the social media attributed to the Chief of Russian Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Force. The report alleged that, there are four US-controlled biological laboratories operating in Nigeria. That WHO reports that the Monkeypox (MPX) virus responsible for outbreaks in Europe and elsewhere was imported from Nigeria where the United States of America deployed its biological infrastructure. In order words, MPX virus is generated in these laboratories. However, in a statement by NCDC Director General, Ifedayo Adetifa, the commission said, The statement is not backed by any evidence. It added that, The designation and activities of Nigerian public health laboratories are known to the supervising authorities, most of the laboratories having been procured and set up by the Federal Government in all 36 States and FCT for diagnostic purposes, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other infectious diseases. Some other laboratories are dedicated to the very successful HIV control program, managed by the Federal Government and her Partners, based on larger and longstanding bilateral and multilateral cooperation in public health, including prevention, diagnosis, surveillance, and control of diseases. As a rule, Nigeria welcomes scientific cooperation with all foreign countries, and has received material support from the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan etc, and also discussed vaccine production with Russia. Collaboration between Nigeria and the United States has provided opportunities for technical assistance, capacity building, provision of equipment and field hospitals at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and funds to support health programmes, like HIV/AIDS, malaria elimination, it concluded. The successionist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has reiterated its commitment on the liberation and restoration of the Sovereign States of Biafra. The group affirmed that no amount of intimidation will dissuade it from pursuing a noble cause. IPOB stated that though the Federal Republic of Nigeria had tagged it a terrorist organisation, its modus operandi and demands do not in any way suggest any form of terrorism. This was contained in a statement by the IPOB Director of Media and Publicity, Emma Powerful, released on Wednesday. He expressed gratitude to Biafrans for painstakingly participating in the annual May 31 Biafra Day. The statement partly read, The global movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra under the command and leadership of our great leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, wish to congratulate Biafrans, friends of Biafra and lovers of freedom across the world who made out time to grace the epoch event and remembrance of our fallen heroes and heroines who paid the ultimate price for the freedom of Biafra between 1967-1970 and till date. We commend Biafrans both home and in the diaspora over their resilience, tenacity and effort in ensuring that our celebration of Biafran Heroes and Heroines was very successful and had a beautiful global outlook in all countries in the world. IPOB leadership brings to you a message of encouragement and hope from our great leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu who is joyful over the committed participation by IPOB families worldwide who demonstrated to the global community that we are ready to go and to manage our destiny in a free and Independent Biafran Nation. In line with fully charged emotions and agonising memories, we appeal to the conscience and conscious considerations of the International community to extend to West Africa and precisely the Biafrans that all important and widely preached and consistently published United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which includes but not limited to freedom to choose our POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SYSTEMS, SELF DETERMINATION, among others. It is also unheard of that we are by the stipulated policies of the Nigerian government not allowed self-motivated, community effort/financed regional infrastructural development in compliance with Sustainable Development Goals. We equally thank IPOB families amongst us whose effort on this years Heroes Remembrance Day programme of events attracted distinguished diplomats and dignitaries of high repute, especially from their host countries. The indoor program yielded more opportunities for the tenacious pursuit of Biafra freedom and for our people to be re-educated by knowledgeable Biafrans and friends of Biafra on the need for us to remain peaceful and focused no matter the height of mountains of distractions and provocation from agent provocateurs working against our collective interest but working in collaboration with the Nigerian Fulani government. Therefore, everyone must endeavour to focus on the ball the larger picture is our struggle to liberate our land from the distasteful forcible union called Nigeria. We are Biafrans of over 75 million in population. We are no terrorists, we are no criminals as our oppressor Nigeria wished to tag us. Every country and nation of the worlds police, immigration, foreign affairs and competent courts can attest to our good conduct, which is contrary to deliberate character assassination of a race by the Nigerian government police, armed forces and their media disinformation. The Federal Executive Council (FEC), on Wednesday, approved N8.3 billion for the procurement of operational vehicles and equipment for the Nigeria Police Force. This was disclosed after the weekly FEC meeting which was today presided by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. The Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Mohammed Dingyadi, while speaking to journalists on the development at the State House, said the approvals also covered supply of drugs and medical equipment for police hospitals. He said, Today, the Federal Executive Council approved for the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF) to award contracts for the supply of 82 operational vehicles, Toyota brand, for the efficient operation of Nigeria Police at the total cost of N2.2 billion. We also had approval for supply of customised police raincoat for distribution to police across the country at the cost of N1.9 billion. Also customised Police boots at the cost of N576 million; we also got approval for the supply of micro first aid kits for the police at the cost of N1 billion as well as customised instructional materials for the police colleges and schools at the cost of N664 million. There is also the supply of drugs and medical equipment for police hospitals across the country at the cost of N2 billion; when you add all these projects, they will come up to N8.3 billion.' He further stated that the NPTF was set up as a special intervention fund to facilitate the improvement of the operations of Nigeria Police Force in terms equipment, training and welfare. Similarly, the Minister of Power, Mr Abubakar Aliyu, told newsmen that he presented three items to the council. According to him, the first was a note to the council on the ongoing projects. In his words, The second one is a request for approval of a contract to supply and install emergency restoration system or 330KV and 132KV transmission line for ongoing rehabilitation works in Lagos at the sum of 968,000 dollars as the offshore component; the onshore component is N7.4 million. The third item is variation on a subsisting contract of a sub-station in Katsina and Kano and the variation sum is only on the onshore component of the contract which has offshore and onshore components as usual with electricity contracts. So, it is only affecting the onshore component due to escalation of construction materials within; and the sum is N445.3 million, and the subsisting contract amount as I told you the offshore is not affected. The onshore, which was N939.4 million, has now moved to N1.9 billion and the council graciously approved. British man convicted of infamous body in suitcase murder KANCHANABURI: A court in Kanchanaburi yesterday (May 31) convicted a British man of the 2014 murder of a woman whose dismembered body was found in a suitcase dumped in a river. crimedeathmurder By Bangkok Post Wednesday 1 June 2022, 09:29AM Shane Kenneth Looker was photographed at immigration when he entered Thailand in late 2014. He was convicted of the body in a suitcase murder yesterday (May 31). Photo: Royal Thai Police Shane Kenneth Looker was given an eight-year prison sentence for killing 27-year-old sex worker Laxami Manochat in a hotel room and disposing of her body, reports the Bangkok Post. Police said the 51-year-old had been photographed with Laxami - nicknamed Pook - leaving a Bangkok go-go bar on Nov 1, 2014, before the pair were seen entering a hotel together. Only Looker was seen leaving the premises, with a bellboy reporting his large bag was so heavy it took two people to carry it, and a hotel cleaner saying the rooms bedsheets were bloodstained. The defendant is found guilty of charges and sentenced to 16 years in jail but due to his confession, the court reduced his sentence by half to eight years without suspended jail term, an official at the court in the western town of Kanchanaburi said. Looker was ordered to pay compensation of just under B10 million plus interest to Laxamis mother, as well as B2mn plus interest to the murdered womans daughter, another court official said. Laxamis dismembered corpse was found on Nov 6, 2014, in a suitcase loaded with stones and tossed into the Mae Klong River. Lookers DNA was later discovered under her nails. Kanchanaburi Provincial Court issued an arrest warrant on Jan 28, 2015, for murdering and hiding, moving or destroying a body in order to conceal the death or cause of death. But the Briton - who laid low at his holiday home in the seaside resort of Hua Hin for weeks before taking a train over the border to Malaysia - had already hot-footed it to Spain. Looker was detained in June 2017 on the party island of Ibiza by Spanish authorities acting on an international arrest warrant. He spent years fighting an exhaustive legal battle against extradition, claiming he would be subject to inhumane treatment in Thailand. Eventually the European Court of Human Rights rejected his challenge, after Thai authorities gave assurances he would not face the death penalty, and he was sent to the kingdom to face trial in July. Phuket field hospital at PRU closes PHUKET: The field hospital set up at Phuket Rajabhat University to provide care and accommodation to people who had tested positive for COVID-19 has finally been closed. COVID-19health By The Phuket News Wednesday 1 June 2022, 12:00PM The end of the era was marked with a ceremony led by Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO) Deputy Director Padungkiat Utokasenee at the university yesterday morning (May 31). Joining the event were Phuket Provincial Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) Somprat Prabsongkram, Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation (PPAO) Vice President Thiwat Seedokbub, Vachira Phuket Hospital Director Dr Weerasak Lorthongkham and Phuket Rajabhat University President Asst Prof Dr Hiran Prasarnkan. The university had provided a venue to provide care for a total of 3,195 COVID patients suffering minor symptoms from August 2021 to March 2022, said Mr Padungkiat. The university made available its Khun Lert Phokarak Conference Room and Khunying Kanchana Na Ranong meeting hall, together providing 285 beds with a common area In two zones, he added. The return of the area to PKRU [the university] at this time is a victory that Phuket people can overcome COVID-19 by relying on cooperation from all sectors and above all the sacrifice and dedication of doctors, nurses, government officials and members of the private sector to perform their duties as a team, and all the volunteers who have helped the people of Phuket in a timely manner to complete the mission and return happiness to the people of Phuket, Mr Padungkiat said. Thailands entry requirements from June 1 PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has issued a notice confirming the requirements for foreign travellers to enter Thailand in efffect from today (June 1). tourismCOVID-19 By The Phuket News Wednesday 1 June 2022, 09:22AM Image: TAT The notice, described as "Further easing of measures for vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers from around the world", is marked as updated on May 31. The notice in full reads as folows: The following rules will be in effect from 1 June, 2022, with specific requirements for vaccinated and unvaccinated/not fully vaccinated travellers from all countries/territories with scheduled arrivals from this date. Pre-arrival requirements Vaccinated travellers must have the following documents for entering Thailand: A valid passport, or a Border Pass for arrivals via border checkpoints. A Thailand Pass (via https://tp.consular.go.th/) (Thais are exempt from this requirement.) Once all essential details have been completed via the system, the QR code will be automatically issued (no waiting time) An insurance policy with coverage no less than US$10,000. Thais and foreign expatriates under Thailands national healthcare coverage are exempt from this requirement. A Certificate of COVID-19 Vaccination Everyone 18 years of age and older must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 with an approved vaccine at least 14 days before travelling to Thailand. Travellers 5-17 years of age travelling to Thailand unaccompanied must get vaccinated with at least 1 dose of an approved vaccine at least 14 days before travelling to Thailand. Those travelling with parents are exempt from this requirement. Travellers with a history of COVID-19 infection who have recovered by medical treatment, and travellers who have received at least one dose of an approved vaccine post-infection must have a certificate of COVID-19 recovery. Unvaccinated/not fully vaccinated travellers must have the following documents for entering Thailand: A valid passport, or a Border Pass for arrivals via border checkpoints. A Thailand Pass (via https://tp.consular.go.th/) (Thais are exempt from this requirement.) Once all essential details have been completed via the system, the QR code will be automatically issued (no waiting time) An insurance policy with coverage no less than US$10,000. Thais and foreign expatriates under Thailands national healthcare coverage are exempt from this requirement. On Arrival Requirements Upon arriving in Thailand, all travellers must undergo entry screening, including body temperature check, and present the required documents to the Immigration/Health Control officer to carry out the checks. The vaccinated travellers will then be allowed entry and are free to go anywhere in the kingdom. *For arrivals by land using a border pass, they will be allowed a stay of no longer than 3 days within the specified areas only. Likewise, unvaccinated/not fully vaccinated travellers who have uploaded proof of a negative result from an RT-PCR test or professional ATK within 72 hours of travel via the Thailand Pass system will be allowed entry and are free to go anywhere in the kingdom. Unvaccinated/not fully vaccinated travellers without a negative test result within 72 hours of travel are required to follow the public health instructions and guidelines as deemed appropriate by the Health Control officer at the point of arrival. During the Stay While in Thailand, both vaccinated and unvaccinated/not fully vaccinated travellers are advised to strictly follow the health and safety standards. Travellers who are experiencing COVID-like symptoms should get tested. If testing positive, they must get the appropriate medical treatment. Three arrested in connection with Russian womans death PHUKET: Police investigating the death of a Russian woman who fell eight stories from a Patong condo early yesterday morning (May 31) have arrested three tourists for drug possession in relation to the womans death. patongdrugsdeathpolicetourismRussian By Eakkapop Thongtub Wednesday 1 June 2022, 05:16PM Jordanian national Ahmad Radi Mustafa Alatoom, 28, was arrested at Phuket airport while he was waiting to board a flight out of Thailand last night (May 31). Photo: via Eakkapop Thongtub One of the three, a Jordanian national, was arrested at Phuket airport while trying to flee the country last night. Patong Police, assisted by Phuket Tourist Police, Phuket Immigration officers and regular police placed Ahmad Radi Mustafa Alatoom, 28, in custody at Phuket airport while he was waiting to board a flight out of Thailand, police have confirmed. The other two placed under arrest were named as Russian national Natalia Kosenkova, 35, and US citizen Jamaal Antwaun Smith, 38. The three have been taken to Patong Police Station to be charged with possession of Category 5 drug, Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Sermphan Sirikong said. The arrests came as police investigate the death of 35-year-old Russian national Evgeniia Smirnova at The Emerald Terrace condo off Phra Barami Rd in Patong yesterday morning. Police were called to the condo complex at 4:30am. Officers were shown where the body of Ms Smirnova lay, at the back of the building, below where curved exterior stairs join the seventh and eighth floors. Ms Smirnova had suffered fatal trauma on impact. She died instantly, police said. The drug-possession charge was pressed against all three tourists after 1.10 grammes of finely chopped dried marijuana was found in a transparent plastic bag in the room where Ms Smirnova was staying, reported Maj Gen Sermphan. Ms Smirnova was staying at the condo block with the three tourists now arrested, he said. The four had been drinking and used drugs on the night of the incident, he added. Maj Gen Sermphan repeated his message from yesterday that police were still investigating the circumstances of Ms Smirnovas death. Police are now working hard to find out the cause of the death of the Russian woman. We must ask for time for officers to do their work and to collect evidence related to the case, he said. On Demand We have a new story every day on the front page of thephuketnews.com. Also like us on our Facebook page (facebook.com/thephuketnews) and be the first to watch all the new stories. Finally you can watch any segment, any time by going to thephuketnews.com/tv where all the stories are listed for you to enjoy. All our programs can be enjoyed in High Definition when watching on the internet. In-Room VDO Today Partly cloudy this evening followed by mostly cloudy skies and a few showers after midnight. Low near 45F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening followed by mostly cloudy skies and a few showers after midnight. Low near 45F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%. Tomorrow Thunderstorms likely in the morning. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. High 67F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%. City_news CDN/NDG explains loans Alex Montagano was wrong... sort of. Two weeks after publicly questioning the likelihood of a reply from Cote des NeigesNotre Dame de Grace council to his question on loans and PDIs, the former mayoralty candidate and council regular got an answer. In April, Montagano highlighted Montreals most populous borough is one of the largest contributors to city coffers with the citys smallest per capita operational budget and the lowest per capita investment budget in the city (PDI), and a current debt load estimated at $60 million. Stymied in his efforts to get an explanation of the relationship between borough debt and local investment (PDI) tax, he said CDN-NDG has the smallest PDI in the city at $401 per person. Can you please tell me why we finance our entire PDI, while other boroughs do not?... This is a major fail. No one knows what our debts are, and council keeps voting in budgets every year without that being exposed. Montagano got no explanation, the question steered towards administrative services director Guylaine Gaudreault, whose remote connection to the meeting was inaudible. Mayor Gracia Kasoki Katahwa pledged a response by email. No, he replied. Im at a public forum and have the right to ask a question and get an answer. We will send you a reply by email, Katahwa repeated. I dont believe you will, said Montagano, leaving the microphone. Two weeks later Montagano wrote the entire council and senior directors about the lack of response, and eight hours later received an emailed reply: CDN-NDG isnt unique in the way in which it funds and pays for its local PDI. All boroughs follow the same model, wrote Katahwa. However, this doesnt mean that all investments made in the borough are financed through the local PDI. For many investment projects, we also receive funding through city-centre programs. She cited the example of the $1.2 million investment to renovate the chalet at Parc Martin-Luther King. As every other item in our PDI, we will then get a loan to pay for that investment and reimburse it through the local investment tax. But in addition to cash from the local PDI, she said there will also be investment of $1.285 million from the city centre through a program in the citys PDI, paid for through funds of the city, thereby making it the responsibility of all Montrealers. All local PDI are paid for by loans and investment taxes, she said, but not all investments in a borough are paid for by the local PDI. The majority of investments in our borough come from the city-centre PDI, either because it is for a city-centre jurisdiction (e.g., maintaining and renovating water infrastructure) or because we receive funding through one of the many city programs. Editor: Kevin Anderson, CPA, J.D. Malta has long been viewed as a favorable jurisdiction in which to conduct international business operations. The island nation located off the coast of Sicily is an EU member. In addition, the Maltese tax system offers a tax refund mechanism that can result in an effective corporate income tax rate of between 0% and 10% for certain Maltese corporations owned by nonresidents. Because of these and other features, such as the fact that Malta does not impose withholding tax on dividends, interest, or royalties under its domestic law and the island country's extensive tax treaty network, many multinationals, including those with U.S. operations, may be tempted to incorporate a Maltese entity into their group structure. Multinational businesses, however, should carefully assess the interaction of Malta's tax refund mechanism with the ability to claim benefits under the United StatesMalta tax treaty, as well as the potential interaction with proposed U.S. anti-conduit regulations. This discussion explores certain issues that multinationals should consider when deciding whether to use Malta as part of their worldwide operations. Malta imputation system Under the Maltese Income Tax Act, corporations that are incorporated and tax resident in Malta are generally subject to a 35% corporate income tax on their worldwide income, but in certain circumstances a substantial refund is available. More specifically, a corporation's distributable profits are allocated to a number of "accounts," depending on the source and nature of the profits. Under the Maltese imputation system, provided certain conditions are fulfilled, dividend distributions made from these accounts may entitle the shareholder to a partial refund of the taxes paid on the distributed income, with the most common tax refund being six-sevenths of the Maltese tax paid on active trading income. This results in an effective Maltese tax rate of 5% (i.e., one-seventh of 35%). Given the mechanics of the imputation system, a business may benefit from choosing to set up two Maltese corporations that are in a parent-subsidiary relationship, with the subsidiary (OpCo) acting as the operating company and the parent company (TopCo) acting as a holding company. To give a simplified numeric example, if OpCo generated $100 of active trading income, it should be subject to the 35% Maltese corporate income tax. OpCo could then pay out the remaining $65 to TopCo as a dividend. TopCo should not be subject to tax on the $65 of income and can also claim a refund of six-sevenths (i.e., $30) of the $35 of tax previously paid by OpCo on the distributed income (which generally would also not be taxable to TopCo). Between TopCo and OpCo, therefore, $5 of tax is paid on $100 of active trading income, without the income being distributed to TopCo's shareholders. As set out below, however, this beneficial regime could create issues when seeking to claim benefits under the U.S.-Malta income tax treaty and must also be carefully analyzed in the context of proposed U.S. anti-conduit regulations under Prop. Regs. Sec. 1.881-3. Limitation-on-benefits articles Looking first at the U.S.-Malta income tax treaty, some businesses may be presented with a conflict between taking advantage of the Maltese imputation system and claiming benefits under the tax treaty. The reason involves a base-erosion test in the treaty. To be eligible for benefits under the U.S.-Malta treaty, a Maltese person must be considered a tax resident under Article 4 and must meet at least one of the tests set out in Article 22, the limitation-on-benefits (LOB) article. At first glance, the LOB tests in the U.S.-Malta treaty are generally in line with the 2016 U.S. Model Income Tax Convention, as well as U.S. tax treaties with other European jurisdictions. Importantly, however, a number of the tests, including the "active trade or business" test (Paragraph 4), the "publicly traded company" test (Paragraph 2c), and the "ownership/base erosion" test (Paragraph 2f), each require Clause ii of Paragraph 2f to be met. Clause ii, often referred to as the "base-erosion test," is generally aimed at preventing taxpayers from stripping earnings out from an entity that is eligible for treaty benefits to an entity that is not eligible. In the U.S.-Malta treaty, the base-erosion test is passed if "less than 25 percent of the person's gross income for the taxable year, as determined in the person's State of residence, is paid or accrued, directly or indirectly, to persons who are not residents of either Contracting State [i.e., of the United States or Malta] entitled to the benefits of this Convention under [certain subparagraphs] (other than in the form of arm's length payments in the ordinary course of business for services or tangible property)." Notably absent from the treaty provision is language stating that the payments taken into account for purposes of the base-erosion test include only those that are deductible for income tax purposes in the person's country of residence. By comparison, language setting out such a restriction is included in many other U.S. income tax treaties (see, for example, Paragraph (2)(f)(ii) of Article 23 of the United States-United Kingdom treaty; Paragraph (2)(f)(ii) of Article 26 of the United States-Netherlands treaty; and Paragraph (2)(f)(bb) of Article 28 of the United States-Germany treaty) but not in the U.S.-Malta treaty. This difference in wording is quite significant because dividends (e.g., paid by OpCo) are generally not deductible for income tax purposes. If the U.S.-Malta treaty had limited the scope of its base-erosion test to deductible payments, dividends would generally not be taken into account when determining whether the base-erosion test was passed. But because the language in the U.S.-Malta treaty is not limited to "tax deductible payments," the position may be taken that dividends paid by a Maltese corporation should be taken into account in applying the base-erosion test. In other words, Maltese corporations seeking to claim treaty benefits under the active trade or business test, the publicly traded company test, or the ownership/base-erosion test, but whose parent corporations do not meet one of the permissible LOB tests set out in the base-erosion test language, are presented with a conflict between claiming treaty benefits and taking advantage of the Maltese imputation system. On one hand, the Maltese corporation may wish to maximize its dividend distributions to allow its shareholder to claim the highest possible tax refund. On the other hand, paying out dividend distributions may result in the base-erosion test being failed and treaty benefits (which may be required, for example, to apply a reduced withholding tax rate) not being available. Proposed anti-conduit regulations Multinational business with U.S. and Maltese operations should also be aware of proposed U.S. anti-conduit rules (REG-106013-19). These proposed regulations arguably are targeted at tax regimes such as the Maltese imputation system. Broadly, the current anti-conduit rules allow the IRS to disregard the participation of one or more intermediary entities in a financing arrangement where such entities are acting as "conduit entities" (Regs. Sec. 1.881-3(a)). If such a financing arrangement is found to exist, the IRS can recharacterize the arrangement as a transaction directly between the remaining parties. While a discussion of the anti-conduit rules and definitions is outside the scope of this item, very generally, a "financing arrangement" means a series of transactions by which one person (the "financing entity") advances money or other property, or grants rights to use property, and another person (the "financed entity") receives money or other property, or rights to use property. The advance and receipt must be effected through one or more other persons (the "intermediate entities"), and there must be financing transactions linking the financing entity, each of the intermediate entities, and the financed entity. Certain conditions must be fulfilled for the intermediate entity to be considered a conduit entity, which include that its participation reduces the tax imposed under Sec. 881; its participation is pursuant to a tax-avoidance plan; and either it is related to the financing entity or the financed entity, or it would not have participated in the financing arrangement on substantially the same terms but for the fact that the financing entity engaged in the financing transaction with the intermediate entity. Under the current regulations, nonredeemable equity in a corporation is generally not considered a "financing transaction" for purposes of the anti-conduit rules. Importantly, however, proposed regulations issued in April 2020 would expand the definition of a financing transaction to include: Equity interests where the issuer is allowed a deduction or another tax benefit (including a credit or a notional deduction) for amounts paid, accrued, or distributed with respect to the stock or similar interest, either under the laws of the issuer's country of residence or a country in which the issuer has a taxable presence, such as a permanent establishment (Prop. Regs. Sec. 1.881-3(a)(2)(ii)(B)(1)(iv)); and Equity interests with respect to which a person related to the issuer is, under the tax laws of the issuer's country of residence, allowed a refund (including through a credit) or similar tax benefit for taxes paid by the issuer to its country of residence on amounts paid, accrued, or distributed (deemed or otherwise) with respect to the stock or similar interest, without regard to any related person's tax liability under the laws of the issuer's country of residence (Prop. Regs. Sec. 1.881-3(a)(2)(ii)(B)(1)(v)). As noted above, tax regimes such as the Maltese imputation system are arguably the target of these proposed regulations. Notably, the proposed anti-conduit rules may also be perceived as being broader than other areas of the Internal Revenue Code that seek to target similar regimes. For example, final regulations under Sec. 267A may disallow deductions where the income attributable to the payment is offset by an offshore deduction (the imported-mismatch rules). However, additional requirements (such as a deduction/no-inclusion outcome) must be met for the imported-mismatch rules to apply; such additional conditions are not required under the proposed anti-conduit regulations. If the regulations are finalized as proposed, the Maltese imputation system could fall within the expanded definition of a financing transaction. If so, taxpayers with U.S. and Maltese operations would need to analyze whether their intergroup transactions could fall within the scope of the U.S. anti-conduit rules. The proposed regulations relating to such conduit transactions are proposed to apply to payments made on or after the date of publication of the final regulations in the Federal Register. Conclusion Maltese corporations may be able to mitigate the trade-off of claiming a tax refund and being eligible for tax treaty benefits by, for example, timing the payment of the dividends (or the claim of the shareholder's refund) to years in which treaty benefits may not be as important. However, this may prove difficult to predict and could become burdensome from an administrative and commercial perspective. Similarly, while equity interests of Maltese corporations that take advantage of the Maltese imputation system could fall within the definition of a financing transaction, the remaining criteria required to fall afoul of the anti-conduit rules may not always be met. As is highlighted by these two potential issues, businesses should carefully assess the potential advantages and issues to manage before deciding whether to use Malta as part of their worldwide operations. EditorNotes Kevin D. Anderson, CPA, J.D., is a managing director, National Tax Office, with BDO USA LLP in Washington, D.C. For additional information about these items, contact Mr. Anderson at 202-644-5413 or kdanderson@bdo.com. Unless otherwise noted, contributors are members of or associated with BDO USA LLP. MEXICO CITY (AP) Hurricane Agatha left at least 11 people dead and 33 missing in the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca, where it set off flooding and landslides, Gov. Alejandro Murat said Wednesday. More than 40,000 people in the state have been affected, primarily along the coast and in the mountains just beyond, Murat said. EDWARDSVILLE A Collinsville woman was charged with forgery and compelling a minor to help. Mariana Garcia-Paez, 43, of Collinsville, was charged May 27 with contributing to the criminal delinquency of a minor, a Class 2 felony. and forgery, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Pontoon Beach Police Department. According to court documents, on May 22 Garcia-Paez allegedly compelled a minor to help her commit forgery and attempted to pass a bad check for $917.67. Bail was set at $50,000. Other felony charges filed May 27 by the Madison County States Attorneys Office include: Desmond A. Harris, 22, with a last known address in St. Louis, was charged with offenses relating to motor vehicles. According to court documents, on Oct. 15 Harris allegedly had a reported stolen 2019 Honda Accord with a Michigan registration. Bail was set at $80,000. Joseph T. Shimchick, 53, of East Alton, was charged with escape, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. According to court documents, on May 27 Shimchick allegedly failed to return to the Madison County Jail after receiving a furlough for a 2021 domestic battery conviction. Bail was set at $103,000. Eddie J. Jirdon, 47, of Alton, was charged with domestic battery (second subsequent offense) and obstructing justice, both Class 4 felonies. The case was presented by the Alton Police Department. According to court documents, on May 26 Jirdon allegedly ripped the hair off of a household or family members head and furnished false information to an Alton police officer. He has a 2005 conviction for domestic battery out of Madison County. Bail was set at $15,000. Raymond A. Reeves, 60, of Hartford, was charged with two counts of driving while license revoked, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Hartford Police Department. According to court documents, on May 19 and May 20 Reeves allegedly was found to be driving different vehicles in Hartford with a revoked drivers license. His license was revoked in April 2017 due to a DUI conviction, and he has prior convictions for driving while license revoked in 2013 and 2016. Bail was set at $25,000. GRAFTON The Dinky railbus returns to Grafton on Saturday sort of. Before the construction of Illinois 100, also known as the Great River Road, the Illinois Central Railroad Company launched a railbus in the 1920s that operated between Alton and Grafton. The original vehicle was a city bus configured with wheels for railroad tracks that made stops in Elsah and Chautauqua. Local residents knew the railbus simply as the Dinky. The original railbus is currently on display at the St. Louis Museum of Transportation. Grafton residents, however, have created a replica of the Dinky which will be celebrated with an unveiling at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 4, at the Edward Amburg History Museum at 950 E. Main St. in Grafton. At 11:45 a.m., Rod Jackson will present "The History of the Dinky" at the museum. Also on Saturday, aat 11 a.m., Bob Harke will present "Racing a Pumpkin Seed Boat." Most of the track that the Dinky once ran on has been removed. A small portion still exists and provides freight train service to Ardent Mills in Alton. In 2014, the Dinky Restoration committee was formed to try to restore the original Dinky. The group was able to find a decent match of a railbus in California and it was shipped to Montana where Tracy Kroom, an antique vehicle restorer, repaired the grill and headlights using original parts. The project was continually shelved throughout the years until a new committee was put together in 2017. Final restoration work began in earnest last year. The Edward Amburg History Museum will be open 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, with special crafts for kids 10:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For more details, call 618-786-7000. John Badman SOUTH ROXANA A small fire Tuesday night had the South Roxana Caseys General Store closed Wednesday morning. The fire was reported at about 7:15 p.m. Tuesday and reportedly occurred in a clothes dryer at the store. GODFREY Hestia needs a special diet and deserves love in a special home. She is a 1-year-old mastiff/coonhound, housebroken and will need a special diet throughout her life. She desires her best family fit in a loving, compassionate home. She doesn't get along with men and maybe was abused by a man. Hestia also doesn't like cats, but that's not unusual for a dog, and she's afraid of balloons. Alton's Five As would love to have a caring family or individual adopt Hestia for a forever home. To adopt an animal from Alton's Five As, which stands for Alton Area Animal Aid Association, come out to the shelter and visit the animals. The no-kill shelter is open daily from 11a.m.-3 p.m. Come visit with the animals, fill out some needed paperwork and pay the adoption fee. 5A's is located at 5430 N. Alby St., in Godfrey. If an animal requires surgery, you will get the animal day of surgery; if they have had their surgery, they are available for adoption that day. The nonprofit no-kill shelter was organized and opened in 1956 and is an affiliate member of Illinois Federation of Humane Societies and the American Humane Association based in Denver, Colorado. A premier humane shelter in the Riverbend, 5A's has served the area for more than 60 years, providing compassion and care to abused, unwanted and abandoned animals. The shelter serves Alton, Godfrey, Bethalto, East Alton and Wood River, as well as other adjoining communities. 5A's places approximately 500 "forever friends" into "forever homes" every year. Check out its website regularly for new incoming pet pics and fun upcoming events. Also, to support the shelter, don't forget to check out the area's largest thrift shop, "The 5As Thrift" in Wood River. En sesion del Consejo de Ministros, el presidente Pedro Castillo evalua temas de interes para la poblacion como el proceso de vacunacion COVID-19, la situacion de la viruela del mono y el dengue en el pais, el retorno a clases presenciales y el fortalecimiento de @AutoridadRCC. pic.twitter.com/PFfTXdJOeA Getty Images VIRDEN The death of a Macoupin County toddler in December has been ruled a homicide resulting from abuse. Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon said Jordan Whitaker, 2, of Virden suffered a traumatic rupture of his intestine. The boy died from abdominal sepsis on Dec. 7 at HSHS St. Johns Hospital in Springfield. The worldwide fight against climate change has given new life to old nuclear power plants. Other states have joined Illinois in working to keep low-emission nuclear plants operating. Fifty years ago this spring, officials with the former Illinois Power Co. announced that a new power plant to be built east of Clinton would not be powered by coal. Instead, the long-gone utility now a part of Ameren Illinois decided to build two relatively small nuclear units along the shores of a new lake in DeWitt County. It did not go well, at least for the next 20 or so years. The plant finally opened far over budget and far behind in its construction schedule. Only one of the two planned units was built. The single unit closed about 10 years after it opened, plagued by operating and safety issues. That fed into reasonable concerns about nuclear power after the 1979 Three Mile Island accident and disquiet about the nuclear waste that was (and still is) stored on site. But after being closed for more than two years in the late 1990s, the Clinton plant eventually became part of Exelon, a larger power generator with a fleet of nuclear plants. And for most of the last 20 years, the plant has operated safely, reliably and efficiently. Last year, the 35-year-old plant produced more power than at any point in its last 20 years. And as more coal-fired plants in Illinois close, the continued safe operation of the Clinton plant becomes more important for replacement power and for reducing damaging emissions. The plants operating license expires in 2026, although it can be extended. Like other aging nuclear plants in the United States, Clinton is needed to help fight climate change and to provide a reliable source of large, base-load energy that solar and wind power just cant yet meet. Its a scenario being played out in other states where government leaders and others are now fighting to keep open the nuclear plants they once opposed. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has reversed course and now says he is open to extending the life of the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant that he intended to close in 2025. Thats what happens when your state endures blackouts and brownouts and alternative energy is inadequate. The Biden administration, meanwhile, last month proposed a $6 billion plan a healthy subsidy to keep aging yet mostly clean energy nuclear plants open as a way of reducing carbon emissions. Few people are pushing for new nuclear plants; that ship seems to have sailed, largely because Congress couldnt agree on a method of disposing of nuclear waste at a central location. The only nuclear plant under construction in the U.S. is shades of Clinton behind schedule and more than 100% over budget. But the 55 remaining nuclear plant sites in the United States, including Clinton, having survived scare campaigns, federal licensing revisions and an incapacitated Congress, apparently will become energy workhorses for many more years, in some cases far beyond their expected lifespan. Given a choice between more carbon emissions and energy shortages, the old nukes offer a reasonable compromise that will help Illinois and the nation. Scranton, PA (18503) Today Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low near 60F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low near 60F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Westerly, RI (02891) Today Occasional rain. Low 63F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Occasional rain. Low 63F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. The internet is full of tricksters, con artists and honest Russians. It's hard to know who to trust. Everyone's got an angle - even if scams aren't particularly new. A scrubbing brush - but it is yours? There's a lovely old story on This is Money about the guy who ran a corner shop in the 1950s - when everything apart from wifi was apparently better - who always kept a scrubbing brush on the counter and charged every customer for it. If they questioned the bill, he'd feign surprise, apologise and reluctantly refund the money he'd just tried to steal. Everyone else got overcharged by the price of the brush, which remained on the counter. But that was nearly 70 years ago and we've moved on - haven't we? Our brilliant scams editor Lee Boyce keeps tabs on the big frauds that arrive in your inbox or phone every day in our Beat the Scammers section. At the other end of the manipulation game, there are plenty of tatty 50s-style tricks still going on that remind us we have to be wary of everything we do online - even shopping. Here's a few I've come across over the last year. ONE The misleading special offer Grocery comparison service MySupermarket is a godsend. You can look up your favourite soup, see which store has it on offer, pop in and buy it in bulk. The uniformity of the price of soup is usually as bland as beef consomme But the offers are not always what they seem. You'd think that something as inane as soup would be immune from small print skulduggery. But you'd be wrong. Low-rent canned soup is pretty much always the same price everywhere - 95p a can, or 3 for a multipack. So why did the this-shop-is-better-than-that-shop service claim that 95p was half price - or to be exact: '47% less than its average' when clearly it wasn't? How in the name of all the former British tin miners are these cans almost half price? MySupermarket told me a 2 can had been on sale at Amazon at that price, which is ridiculous. Amazon isn't even a supermarket. Not yet. One day when Amazon is the only shop left, sure we'll have to buy our soup there but for now don't include it in price comparisons for bog standard foodie fare? It's not fair. Amazon had been advertising two quid cans of beef broth last summer. It sent the grocery comparison world into a spin. TWO The VAT trap This one's for people buying goods from the USA - and soon possibly the EU thanks to Brexidermists who presumably want to stuff this up as well as the economy. The rule is this: goods imported from outside the EU are subject to four fees: 1 The price you pay for the stuff 2 The postage 3 UK VAT at 20%. 4 UK duty In simple terms, if the price you pay is more than 135 including postage you need to pay import duty and VAT, which is payable at 20% on anything (not including postage) over the VAT threshold. The VAT threshold is just 15! You can pay the VAT and your 'handling' fine in stamps. It's easy to get caught out. Our volatile exchange rate is the enemy. At old fashioned $1.60 to the pound, the VAT limit was $24. At $1.50 to the pound it's $22.50 and by the time our currency had been properly Brexodomised it was down way below $1.30 ($19.50) to $1.22, about 18 bucks. My $22 regular purchase of allergy friendly hair gunk (not available in the UK) suddenly fell victim to our weak pound and I was over the limit. My goods were confiscated by the Post Office until I paid the VAT and a fine. Go over the variable VAT limit and instead of your package you get a card through your door with details of the money you owe plus a post office fine, or handling fee as it's also known. THREE eBay sellers making up their own rules Shopping on eBay is usually trouble free. Understand the rules and patterns and you'll get a deal. By following a few auctions, it's pretty easy to see how much the dealers are prepared to pay for popular items such as iPhones and by making a bid that's slightly higher - you'll bag a bargain. Sometimes the odds are stacked against you. 'I do not accept returns' should have been the warning sign. A shirt that belonged to a man who went on to lose FOUR stone must be big, you'd think The description seemed clear. For sale: 3XL shirt. Husband lost 4 stone. Shirt now way too big. Conclusion: shirt would fit me. What showed up was a shirt so small it would have barely fitted fit Elvis in his prime. If he'd gone on to lose 4 of his then 12 stone he'd have become an emaciated, tender but unloved Elvis whose career may have gone way on down. It didn't go anywhere near around my waist. Maybe if I lost four stone I'd fit into the shirt that was about the right size for Elvis in his heyday The seller agreed, reluctantly, to accept a return but refused to refund the postage. I couldn't be bothered to fight even though I was entitled to not have to pay postage twice for nothing. Another lesson learned. FOUR Prices that are only available for other products This is wrong. And it's rife. Leather case for 99p or so it says Sellers are gaming eBay's search function by advertising prices that don't exist. Search for an item on Google and theirs come up with the cheapest price. When you select the colour you want the price changes - it goes up But when you play around with the drop-down menu on their product page to find the advertised price - it's for a completely different product - let's call it the eBay scrubbing brush. Wake up eBay. This is not the 1950s! Slide me The cases cost 3.95 not 99p as advertised. The 99p case is a pen (and a con). FIVE Cashback Don't start me on cashback. Some people love it. But they're wrong. This is what 10% cashback looks like. You can fix it eventually maybe with a huge fight with anonymous online help but why not just give me the money off without the tedious e-obstacle course? Click the link for 10% cashback and you'd expect to get cashback at 10% But what you get is 10% of 3,350? Or 201 at modern internet rates of percentage. SIX Ticket refunds for cancelled events where you don't get all your money back Buying concert tickets is a new kind of in-your-face corrupting experience where 'fans' buy up all the seats at the front and three minutes later realise they can't go and sell the tickets that have now sold out on secondary sites owned by the same agencies for ten times the price. We know about this. It's not news. But at the other end of the ticket market small print is what happens if your event is cancelled. Obviously, you get a no-quibble refund. Less obviously, you don't get the booking fees refunded. Full refund minus booking fee SEVEN Automated ads that display prices that don't exist AFerry - the ferry ticket booking service - was recently admonished by the Advertising Standards Authority for advertising return ferry crossings in summer for 7 each - for a car and its passengers. Not even day trips in October with nine people in the vehicle appear to be available for 63. To the credit of AFerry and to the ASA the ads have now been made clear. You can't hire a car at the airport in Guadeloupe at this price But these programmatic ads are everywhere all the time and though sometimes useful must not be misleading. Clickbait is one thing, misleading advertising is another. If you were planning a trip to the film set of TV detective show of the moment Death in Paradise you need to fly to Guadeloupe in the Caribbean and probably hire a car. If you thought Death in Paradise was implausible, check out the price of car hire on the island where it's filmed. According to Argus Car Hire you can get one at Point a Pitre airport for 2 a day? Except you can't. The cheapest I can find is a three-week rental for 254 in hurricane season, which works out at an impressive 12 a day - but that's still 500% more than advertised. And it's almost certainly per person and definitely not one way. Argus said it was a technical error and that the ads would be removed. And then this happened. Free car hire. I don't think so. Hello Advertising Standards Authority if you're watching. Advertisement Margate is the Queen's Jubilee property hotspot, having seen the biggest rise in asking prices since the Diamond Jubilee ten years ago. The Kent hotspot has seen typical values more than double during the decade from 148,000 to 308,508 - an increase of more than 150,000, according to Rightmove. It comes as people across the country prepare to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee over the four-day weekend from tomorrow, with a series of events from Trooping the Colour to street parties. Rightmove has revealed the places where property asking prices have increased the most during the past decade Margate is the Queen's Jubilee hotspot, having seen the biggest rise in property asking prices since the Diamond Jubilee ten years ago, according to Rightmove It is followed by Brislington, an area within the city of Bristol, where asking prices have risen 104 per cent from 166,192 to 338,800. And Dover in Kent takes the third slot, with asking prices increasing 101 per cent during the past 10 years to 261,474. The Kent hotspot of Margate (pictured) has seen typical values more than double during the decade from 148,000 to 308,508 - an increase of more than 150,000 Mark Brooks, of Miles & Barr estate agents in East Kent, said: 'It is no surprise to us to see Margate top the list of areas that have increased in price the most over the last ten years. 'Margate provides prospective buyers with the opportunity to live in a picturesque town with stunning views of the sea, and with travel time back to London taking less than 1 hour 30 minutes to St Pancras station, it is a place that allows many to either solely work from home or have a hybrid working solution. 'Developments such as the Turner Gallery and Dreamland, alongside investments by Kent County Council, have brought new energy to the town and they also have attracted tourists to Margate which increases the local economy. 'Margate is also becoming more well-known and attractive to potential buyers due to the film industry as 'The Empire of Light', a film directed by Sam Mendes, was recently shot in Margate.' This three-bed house in Margate, Kent, is on the market for 595,000 and is being sold by Miles & Barr estate agents JUBILEE PROPERTY HOTSPOTS WHERE ASKING PRICES HAVE RISEN THE MOST IN THE PAST TEN YEARS Location Region Average Asking Price April 2022 Average Asking Price April 2012 % change Margate, Kent South East 308,508 148,763 107% Brislington, Bristol South West 338,800 166,192 104% Dover, Kent South East 261,474 130,265 101% St. George, Bristol South West 293,269 146,344 100% Broadstairs, Kent South East 481,465 240,695 100% Minster-on-Sea, Kent South East 337,338 169,045 100% Patchway, Bristol South West 304,606 153,472 98% Pitsea, Essex East of England 296,350 149,616 98% Bedminster, Bristol South West 369,328 186,846 98% Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire East of England 298,999 151,359 98% Source: Rightmove This two-bed terrace in Brislington, Bristol, is for sale for 350,000 and is being sold by Eveleighs estate agents This four-bed detached house in Dover, Kent, is for sale for 650,000 and is being sold by Andrew & Co estate agents Areas in the South West and the South East make up the majority of the top ten hotspots, with four locations each. However, areas in the East of England have seen the biggest jump in asking prices overall at an average of 63 per cent. Meanwhile, in London, Rightmove analysed the rise in asking prices in areas along the Jubilee Line on the London Underground - the line that is named after the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977. Stratford topped the list, with asking prices for homes near the station more than doubling on average, up 102 per cent from 238,150 to 480,271. West Ham came second, increasing 99 per cent, while Wembley Park was third with values up 78 per cent. Stratford (pictured) topped the list for areas in London around the Jubilee Line on the Underground, which is the line named after the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977 LONDON JUBILEE HOTSPOTS WHERE ASKING PRICES HAVE RISEN THE MOST Location Average Asking Price April 2022 Average Asking Price April 2012 % change Stratford 480,271 238,150 102% West Ham 420,365 210,992 99% Wembley Park 514,172 288,938 78% Neasden 530,198 310,222 71% Kingsbury 548,848 321,332 71% Source: Rightmove Rightmove's Tim Bannister said: 'In a momentous occasion for the Queen, it's interesting to see the areas where house prices have risen the most since the last jubilee celebration. 'Homeowners in Kent are some of the biggest winners in this decade study, with four locations in the top ten, while for buyers, it's easy to see the appeal in moving to an area near the coast for less the national average asking price. 'Bristol also emerges as a key hotspot, with four areas of the city also making up the top ten. With working patterns very different to that of a decade ago, it will be fascinating to see market dynamics in ten years from now, particularly in cities such as Bristol which may continue to attract more people who may have traditionally headed to London.' El Presidente de los EE.UU. @JoeBiden extendio una cordial invitacion para que el Presidente @PedroCastilloTe participe en la Novena Cumbre de las Americas, en Los Angeles del 8 al 10 de junio proximo, cuyo lema es Construyendo un futuro sostenible, resiliente y equitativo. pic.twitter.com/rZBLOMlw7a Kingsport, TN (37660) Today Showers early then scattered thunderstorms developing later in the day. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. High 82F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. Kingsport, TN (37660) Today Light rain in the morning. Scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. High 82F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Variably cloudy with scattered thunderstorms. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. For more information or to register for the conference, visit www.alzfdn.org/tour. Those who are unable to participate in the virtual conference or have immediate questions about Alzheimers disease can connect with licensed social workers through AFAs National Toll-Free Helpline by calling 866-232-8484 or web chatting at www.alzfdn.org. YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Stanislav Zas sent a congratulatory letter to Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on birthday, the PM's Office said. The letter reads: Dear Mr. Prime Minister, Accept my sincere and warm congratulations on your birthday. The CSTO member states highly value Armenias and your personal contribution to the strengthening of the allied relations between our states, the coordination of the joint efforts in international and regional platforms, and the increase of the influence and reputation of our organization. On this memorable day I wish you good health, welfare, new achievements and success for the welfare of the Armenian people. HUDSON A former Columbia County undersheriff pleaded not guilty to a child pornography charge in county court Tuesday. James Blass, 82, entered the courtroom in a wheelchair, taking shallow breaths with the aid of an oxygen tank as he sat beside his attorney, Micheal Howard, with some supporters watching from the gallery. Blass, an Ancram native who lives in Copake, was arrested March 14 and charged with a single felony count of possession of a sexual performance by a child. The pornography was allegedly found on Blass' computer after a tip by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, who alerted the State Police's Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, according to Columbia County District Attorney Paul Czajka. Charging documents in the case were more explicit about the pornography that was allegedly found, stating it was "a digital image of a naked prepubescent female sitting on the lap of a naked adult male, with the males penis next to the females vagina." After waiving his right to a grand jury, Blass entered the not guilty plea. Blass had been released without bail after his arrest in mid-March under bail reform, those accused of possessing child pornography must be released pending trial and prosecutors did not challenge this Tuesday. Howard did not immediately return a call for comment about Blass' case. Columbia County Judge Richard Koweek issued an order of protection barring Blass from having any contact with children under the age of 18 after prosecutors requested the order. After Blass' arrest, State Police seized several electronic devices from Blass, but Czajka said Wednesday nothing else illegal was found. Downtime is the best time Make the most of your Hudson Valley weekend, every week with our newsletter. As well as being the former second-in-command of the county's police force, Blass served as a town judge in Copake, a small town on the Massachusetts border. Neither the Copake town court clerk, or town municipal clerk, could say when the octogenarian served as judge. The Columbia County Sheriff's Office would not share when Blass was hired or served as undersheriff, citing it as a personnel issue. A Freeedom of Information Law request has been filed with the office. If convicted, Blass faces a maximum of four years in prison. RIALTO, Calif. (AP) One person was shot and another wounded when a gun battle broke out in a Southern California park where elementary school children were playing during a field trip on Wednesday, authorities said. Neither victims were students. The shooting on the basketball courts of Rialto's Alec Fergusson Park was during the field trip for about 100 Fitzgerald Elementary School first- and second-graders, officials said. The violence did not involve any students and was not connected to any of the district's schools, the Rialto Unified School District said on Twitter. Two groups of people were playing basketball around 1 p.m. when an altercation broke out, according to Lady Regla, a Rialto police spokesperson. Rialto police Capt. Anthony Vega told reporters the dispute turned into a gun battle between them where multiple shots were fired at the park. There was an exchange of gunfire, he said. At least one shooter remains at large in connection to what police believe was an isolated incident. The victims who were described as two males were found on the basketball courts, Regla said. The city of Rialto is about 55 miles (89 kilometers) east of downtown Los Angeles. More than two hours later, a boy was shot outside a high school during dismissal in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles, police said. Authorities believe the shooting is gang-related. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. It was not immediately clear whether the victim only described as a juvenile male who was in stable condition was a student at Grant High School in the San Fernando Valley. The school went into lockdown, according to the Los Angeles School Police Department. Police were called to the area around 3:30 p.m. following a report of an assault with a deadly weapon, according to Officer Matthew Cruz, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department. No one has been taken into custody. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. One of the most booming cities in the U.S. over the past decade thinks that it grew even bigger than the U.S. Census Bureau says it did. Austin, Texas, became the largest U.S. city to challenge its 2020 census figures when it filed an appeal with the Census Bureau last week, saying it has more than the 961,855 residents tallied during the nation's once-a-decade head count. City officials believe around 7,000 housing units were missed, mostly in newly developed neighborhoods. In some cases, housing units were placed in the wrong location, said Lila Valencia, the city demographer for Austin. We are one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, Valencia said. Any region growing as fast as Austin is going to be hard to count. Among the 50 biggest U.S. cities, Austin's growth rate of 21.7% between 2010 and 2020 was the second-largest in the nation, trailing only Fort Worth, Texas, which grew by 24%. As of last July, Austin was the 11th most-populous city in the U.S. The city of Austin is at the center of one of the most booming metro areas in the U.S., one that was attracting about 150 new residents a day in the middle of the past decade. Figures released last week show that two Austin suburbs, Georgetown and Leander, were the two fastest-growing cities in the U.S. last year, expanding by more than 10% each. Over the past several years, metro Austin has been a jobs magnet. It's home to Tesla's corporate headquarters as well as a high tech hub for entrepreneurs attracted to its highly educated work force and the University of Texas' flagship school. The census figures were used to divvy up congressional seats among the states and redraw political districts. Nothing can be done to change numbers for those purposes, but the outcome of any challenges can determine whether the cities and counties get their fair share when it comes to the distribution of $1.5 trillion in annual federal funding. Valencia said an inaccurate count would cause Austin to miss an unknown amount of funding for affordable housing, parks and low-income students. It's unknown how many people live in the 7,000 housing units. However, an average of almost 2.4 people live in each household in Austin, which translates into 16,800 people. This affects the quality of life of residents, so its worth it to make sure we get every single dollar that we deserve, Valencia said. The 2020 census undercounted the overall U.S. population by only 0.24%. The count was challenged by the coronavirus pandemic, natural disasters and political interference from the Trump administration. But some minority groups were undercounted at greater rates than the previous decade. Historically, racial and ethnic minorities, renters and young children are the people who have been undercounted. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. A report released several weeks ago by the Census Bureau showed that Texas was undercounted by 1.9%, which translates to about 560,000 residents. Texas was among several states with undercounts that did not direct as many resources as other states did to encourage residents to fill out census forms. Until Austin filed a appeal, Detroit had been the largest U.S. city to challenge its 2020 census numbers. The Census Bureau told Detroit officials that they needed to provide more information before the city's appeal could move forward, a city spokesman said in an email Wednesday. States and municipalities have until the middle of next year to appeal their census figures. Challenges are rarely successful, but so far almost 30 have been launched. They have been filed primarily by small towns and counties, about half of which are in the South. Residents of prisons, nursing homes and college dorms places that are known as group quarters were among the most difficult people to count during the 2020 census since students on campus were sent home when the pandemic began in the U.S. in March 2020, and prisons and nursing homes went into lockdowns against the spread of the coronavirus. Because of the difficulties in counting these residents, the Census Bureau created a separate program for challenges of group quarter counts. The bureau will start accepting those appeals next week. ___ Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP HONOLULU (AP) A U.S. judge last week sentenced a former elected Hawaii official to 20 years in prison for leading a drug-trafficking ring. Arthur Brun said last year he sold methamphetamine to support his drug habit even while serving as a member of the county council on the island of Kauai. He pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, assault of a law enforcement officer, witness tampering and other charges. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ALBANY A civil jury in state Supreme Court took less than two hours Wednesday to unanimously find that Albany Medical Center Hospital negligently botched a heart emergency that took the life of Court of Claims Judge Michael Melkonian in 2019. The jury voted 6-0 to rule in favor of the plaintiff, the late judges wife, Caroline, who filed the wrongful death and negligence suit. Jurors awarded the judges wife and two children a combined $7.6 million. Michael Melkonian, 55, of West Sand Lake, an acting Supreme Court justice, married father of two teenage children and a judge since 2008, died on Oct. 17, 2019, after arriving at the hospital with chest pains. He made a call to his cardiologist eight minutes before arriving at Albany Med saying he feared he was experiencing a heart attack, and he was told to go to the emergency room. Within a half-hour of arriving, Melkonian died of cardiac arrest. He had been left alone and unmonitored in a hospital room for 23 minutes, John H. Fisher, the Kingston-based attorney for the judges widow, told jurors in closing arguments on Wednesday. Im pleased that Albany Med has been held accountable for the lack of care they provided to my husband, Caroline Melkonian told the Times Union outside the courtroom following the verdict. If this could happen to us, it could happen to anyone going to the emergency room believing that they are going to be cared for and treated and healed." She praised the jury for its conscientiousness, adding, I felt like justice was served with those jurors. The verdict arrived moments after 3:20 p.m. Jurors were asked if the hospital was negligent in its care and treatment of the judge. The foreman of jury quickly responded: Yes. The judge, in turn, asked the foreman if the negligence of the hospital more likely than not deprived Melkonian of a substantial possibility of surviving his heart attack. Yes, the foreman repeated. The jury awarded Melkonians son and daughter a combined $2.5 million for the loss of the intellectual, moral, physical training and assistance that their father would have given them over the next 20 years had he survived. Jurors awarded Melkonians wife $5.1 million in losses resulting from the death of her husband. Our only goal was to give justice to the family, Fisher said, and today we accomplished that. On Oct. 17, 2019, a hospital tech found Melkonian in a chair, his face pale and his heart flatlined. He was pronounced deceased. This didnt need to happen, Fisher told the jury, which heard the case in the Albany County Courthouse. This was an unnecessary death and I think everyone in this courtroom knows it. Albany lawyer Peter Scolamiero, the lead attorney for Albany Med, declined to comment after the verdict. Earlier, he told jurors the death was a tragedy but not malpractice. Caroline Melkonian filed the malpractice suit against the hospital in November 2019. Fisher, who handled the case with former Appellate Justice William McCarthy, asked jurors to award the judges wife and children millions of dollars given the likelihood, according to life expectancy tables, that Melkonian would have lived 24 more years On the day of Melkonians death, medical staff at Albany Med did not treat the judge with aspirin or other blood thinners or nitroglycerin, blood pressure drugs or other heart medication, Fisher said. Fisher told jurors that Albany Med betrayed the judges trust. And he said the hospital failed to take the judges health seriously at a time when Melkonian believed the hospital was the safest place to be. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. He would have been better off in the street having a heart attack, Fisher said, saying the judge would have been noticed by someone earlier. Scolamiero told jurors in his summation that when the judge arrived at the hospital on Oct. 17, 2019, Melkonian showed a normal heart rate. In addition, he said an echocardiogram (EKG) showed no signs of heart trouble. The judge, he said, laughed and smiled at times after arriving. Remember this happened very quickly, Scolamiero told jurors. Although it was a tragic event, it was not malpractice. The Albany Med attorney argued it was illogical and absolutely ludicrous for Fisher to suggest that an aspirin or constant monitoring of Melkonian could have prevented the judges death. Hospital staff did everything they could, but they werent able to resuscitate him, Scolamiero said. The jury began deciding the case at about 1:20 p.m. after receiving instructions from state Supreme Court Justice Christopher P. Baker, who is based in Schuyler County. Earlier Wednesday, jurors heard testimony from Boston-based cardiologist Eric Secemsky, a witness for Albany Med. Under questioning by Scolamiero, Secemsky testified that placing a heart monitor on Melkonian or giving the judge aspirin would not have increased his chances of surviving. He also testified, under cross-examination by Fisher, that he was paid more than $13,000 for his work for the defense and initially billed more than $17,000. Melkonian, who lived with his family in West Sand Lake, was appointed by Gov. David Paterson to the Court of Claims in 2008. SCHENECTADY A Rotterdam man who killed a single mother when his pickup truck ran head-on into her small sport utility vehicle in 2019 was sentenced to the maximum penalty of 8 1/3 to 25 years behind bars. Oscar Lopez apologized in court Tuesday for his actions and expressed remorse that it cost Amanda Slaven, a 33-year-old state employee and mother of a then-9-year-old son, her life, according to his defense attorney, Adam Eggleston. Slaven died Nov. 1, 2019, at the scene of the crash at Chism and Hamburg streets near her home in Rotterdam. Prosecutors said the crash was captured on a nearby security camera. Her stepmother, Kelly Slaven, addressed the court Tuesday, as Amanda Slavens father, John Slaven, held up a picture of Amandas headstone, according to a news release Wednesday from Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney. The DA's office said County Judge Matthew Sypniewski told Lopez that he should never be able to get behind the wheel of another vehicle again and not be released on parole. He noted that the head-on cash was probably one of the most horrible collisions this county has ever seen" and that it should be considered a violent felony that carries a flat 25-year prison sentence. Eggleston said "we certainly respect the court's sentence, a maximum sentence we felt as though it was particularly harsh, and it may very well be that the maximum sentence is appealed." In April, the now 32-year-old Lopez was acquitted of second-degree murder, but convicted of several other felonies, including three counts of felony aggravated vehicular homicide, aggravated driving while intoxicated, driving while ability impaired by the combined influence of alcohol and drugs and two counts of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, following a two-week nonjury trial before Sypniewski. Lopez has a previous drunken driving conviction. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. At trial, Carney said the crash happened after several people at two different Halloween parties, including Lopez's then-pregnant girlfriend, had tried to stop him from getting behind the wheel. At the time of the crash, his driver's license was revoked and he was in a Spider-Man costume to match the one worn by his then 2-year-old son. Lopez was flown by helicopter to Albany Medical Center Hospital where he consented to a blood-alcohol content test that came back at 0.19 percent and then a second test that registered 0.20 percent. The state limit for driving while intoxicated is 0.08 percent. COHOES Bob Collins peered into one of the remaining buildings at the historic Matton Shipyard on the Hudson River recently recalling that he worked inside there in 1972 fresh out of Columbia High School. Its a legacy. Its important to the community, said Collies of Defreestville about preserving what remains of the historic boat-building industry along the Huson River and Erie Canal. TROY Michael S. Barone, a retired Albany police lieutenant and an attorney, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault Tuesday in Rensselaer County Court and was immediately sentenced to six months in jail as part of a plea deal. Barones plea ended a case that began Oct. 19, 2021 when his friend Michael Brothers, then 35 years old, was robbed at gunpoint of $1,200 and four ounces of marijuana in his city of Rensselaer apartment. Brothers couldnt reach Barone by phone so he drove to Barones Central Avenue apartment in Colonie, according to court documents. The two friends, who originally met in a strip club, headed back to Rensselaer in Barones Mercedes SL 550 with Barone allegedly carrying a gun and wearing a vest, gas mask and tactical pants, according to Brothers statement in court records. When everything was over, Barone had been accused of shooting Brothers in Rensselaer, then taking him to Albany Medical Center Hospital for treatment. This led to Barones eventual indictment for first-degree robbery and second-degree assault. Brothers at the time said Barone accused him of lying, shot him and then drove him to Albany Med. Barone, 55, agreed absolutely with every question posed by County Court Judge Debra Young about the handling of the case and his guilty plea. Absolutely, your honor, Barone said. Ive got a deal to keep my law license. Asked if he was satisfied with his representation by his attorney, Michael McDermott, Barone responded, Mr. McDermott is the best criminal defense attorney I know after myself. Barone pleaded guilty to third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, a lesser crime within the charge of second-degree assault. The first-degree robbery charge was dismissed in the interest of justice. I am guilty, a somewhat exuberant Barone told Young. At times McDermott had to calm down Barone, who at previous hearings had been known to speak out directly to the judge. Columbia County District Attorney Paul Czajka said the misdemeanor guilty plea was satisfactory given the facts of the case. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. Czajka was named special prosecutor because different prosecutors in the case had dealings with Barone in his capacity as an attorney and said they had a conflict of interest. McDermott said Barone was a well-respected police officer with an outstanding career and that this incident was an aberration in an otherwise exemplary life. Young sentenced Barone to six months in the Rensselaer County Jail, ordered him to pay $250 in court costs and issued an order of protection to keep him away from Brothers until May 31, 2025. Barone was sent back to the jail to serve his sentence. Barone still faces three misdemeanor counts in Brunswick Town Court for failing to obey an order of protection issued by Albany County Family Court directing him to stay away from an ex-girlfriend who lives in Brunswick. Barones $25,000 bail had been revoked in the county court case after he was charged in town court. BOSTON (AP) A Rhode Island man was found guilty Wednesday of abducting and killing a young mother celebrating her 23rd birthday at a Boston nightclub. Louis Coleman III, 36, was convicted by a federal grand jury of kidnapping resulting in death in connection with the February 2019 death of Jassy Correia, the U.S attorney's office said in a statement. He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Correia's father thanked jurors for coming to the correct and just decision. A special thanks to the lawyers that had the courage and determination to present to the public and convince the jurors that no one is above the law, Joaquim Correia, speaking through a translator, told reporters. Correia left behind a 2-year-old daughter. An attorney for Coleman said they plan to appeal. Coleman lured Correia into his car by promising her a ride home, then sexually assaulted her and strangled her, Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Richardson told jurors in his closing statements Tuesday. Coleman was captured on surveillance video dragging her body into his Providence apartment and then researched how to dispose of the body, prosecutors said. Coleman, who has a master's degree in physics and worked as an engineer for a defense contractor, was stopped on Interstate 95 in Delaware days later with Correias body in a suitcase in the trunk. Authorities said she died from strangulation and blunt force trauma, and Coleman's DNA was on her body. This crime was senseless and horrific and there is no question that today's verdict is just, said Joseph Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston office. No excuse can justify the savagery committed by this man who will face life behind bars. Defense attorney David Hoose said after the verdict that Louis never claimed that he had no responsibility for this tragedy, but did deny ever kidnapping her or having any evil intent when he went to Boston this night. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. "We think that the evidence was clear that Louis did not go to Boston on this night with a plan to assault or kidnap anyone. The video of his interactions with the woman that he danced with and exchanged text messages with that night establishes what his demeanor was then and on any other night with women," Hoose said in an email. The defense said Correia willingly got into Colemans car after she was thrown out of a ride-hailing vehicle that was not hers, and engaged in consensual sex. The defense argued the encounter turned violent and Correia was the one who attacked Coleman. He panicked when Correia died, defense attorney Jane Peachy said in her closing argument. Part of the reason he didnt think he could go to the police is hes a Black man in America who had already been beaten once by police in San Diego, defense attorney Peachy said. YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. The reports being spread on the media and the social networks according to which the Azerbaijani units again advanced in the mountainous area located in front of the village of Nerkin Hand in Syunik province have nothing to do with the reality, the Armenian Ministry of Defense said in a statement. As already presented in the clarification made by the Defense Ministry of Armenia this year on March 21, the deployment of Azerbaijani units in that section of the border has been recorded after November 9, 2020, in the post-war period. Moreover, immediately after recording that deployment fact, the Armenian Armed Forces have taken necessary steps to take the Azerbaijani positions under control, as a result of which the movement of the Azerbaijani servicemen in that area is fully under control, and any advancement attempt will lead to response actions, the statement says. The Ministry of Defense of Armenia once again urged to refrain from spreading information which has nothing to do with the reality and blows the reputation of the Army, as well as creates unfounded tensions within the public. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) The gunmen in two of the nation's most recent mass shootings legally bought the semi-automatic rifles they used in their massacres after they turned 18. That's prompting Congress and some governors and state lawmakers to revisit the question of whether to raise the minimum age for purchasing such high-powered weapons. Only six states require someone to be at least 21 years old to buy rifles and shotguns. Advocates argue that such a limit might have prevented the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two teachers dead and the racially motivated supermarket attack in Buffalo, New York, that killed 10. Lawmakers in New York and Utah have proposed legislation that would raise the minimum age to buy AR-15 style rifles to 21. A similar restriction is expected to move as soon as next week in the U.S. House, where it has some bipartisan support, but the legislation faces uncertainty in the closely divided Senate. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican who chairs the National Governors Association, said the idea should be up for discussion. I think you've got to be able to talk about the AR-15 style weapons, and whether that's an 18 or 21 age," Hutchinson told CNN this week. You have to at least have a conversation about that." But Hutchinson, who leaves office in January, isn't pushing for the limit in his own state. Any proposed gun restrictions there are unlikely to find support among Republicans who control the Legislature. Arkansas Republicans are echoing their party's calls at the national level to focus instead on beefing up school security or addressing mental health. If we move to 21 and the shooter is 21, then they'll want to move to 25," said Republican state Sen. Bart Hester, who will serve as Senate president next year. We have established that 18 in our society is an adult who can make adult decisions, and I'm good with that." A recent survey of governors by The Associated Press highlighted the partisan split over whether the minimum age should be higher. Many Democratic governors who responded supported restrictions such as increasing the age to buy semi-automatic weapons. But only one Republican Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, whose state already has a minimum age of 21 to buy guns, with some exceptions supported such a move. Gun control advocates say raising the age offers one of the clearest steps that could have stopped or prevented the most recent mass shootings. The Uvalde attacker, Salvador Ramos, bought the AR-15 he used shortly after he turned 18. If Ramos hadn't been able to buy the weapon, maybe he would have gotten the mental health treatment he needed and this never would have happened, or maybe someone would have called some signs out to law enforcement that this person was acting erratically, said Sean Holihan, state legislative director with the gun control advocacy group Giffords. But its clear if there had been a law in place where he would have been 21 years old, he wouldnt have been able to purchase that gun. Federal law already prohibits federally licensed dealers from selling handguns to anyone under age 21, but people age 18 to 20 can still buy handguns from unlicensed dealers in their state unless state law sets a higher age limit or other restrictions. Florida is a rare example of a Republican-led state that took swift action on gun restrictions after a mass shooting. In 2018, weeks after the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, then-Gov. Rick Scott signed legislation raising the minimum age to buy rifles from 18 to 21, along with a host of other school safety and gun control measures. Scott, a Republican, said at the time that the law balanced our individual rights with the need for public safety. Only months after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, state lawmakers and the governor approved sweeping new restrictions that won support from many Republicans in the Democratic-controlled Legislature. They included a ban on retail sales of semiautomatic rifles that accept magazines holding more than five rounds of ammunition to anyone under 21. We saw what transpired at Sandy Hook and what could be done in a very short period of time with that type of firearm and the magazine capacity, said state Senate Republican Leader Kevin Kelly. I think a response was necessary, and something had to be done." The Buffalo and Uvalde attacks are similarly prompting New York lawmakers this week to consider an age limit increase for buying semiautomatic rifles as part of a package of gun safety bills. Under the proposal, those age 21 and older who want to buy or possess a new semiautomatic rifle would have to obtain a license. New Yorkers deserve to feel safe in schools, in grocery stores, in movie theaters, in shopping malls and on our streets -- and we must do everything in our power to protect them," Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul said. A proposal in Utah, which would raise the minimum age to buy any firearm to 21, is more of a longshot in the Republican-controlled Legislature. If you are not able to consume alcohol, why should you be able to buy a gun?" Democratic Sen. Derek Kitchen said of his proposal. The age provision in the bill before the U.S. House has some bipartisan support, but it remains unclear which aspects of the legislation will pass and get taken up in the Senate. Any measure there needs support from at least 10 Republicans to pass. The House bill also would make it a federal offense to import, manufacture or possess large-capacity ammunition magazines and creates a grant program to buy back such magazines. Democratic Rep. Anthony Brown of Maryland is leading efforts to increase the age for buying semi-automatic rifles. He said such guns have no place in our neighborhoods, let alone in the hands of an 18-year-old. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. Several Republicans have pointed to a ruling by a federal appeals court panel that found California's ban on the sale of semi-automatic weapons to adults under 21 is unconstitutional. Republican governors who decline to pursue the age increase also cite the political reality in their GOP-controlled legislatures. For Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, raising the age limit to buy an AR-15 style rifle to 21 falls into the category of items the Governor feels would not pass or be considered by the Ohio General Assembly, said press secretary Dan Tierney. Eighteen-year-olds already are allowed to do many things in society, including joining the military, said state Sen. Terry Johnson, a southern Ohio Republican who sponsored the states new law that makes concealed weapons permits optional for people legally allowed to carry a firearm. Theyre adults and theyre Americans, and they are protected by the Second Amendment, Johnson said. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice this week said he supports raising the minimum age for buying an AR-15 style rifle to 21, but isn't proposing such a change in his state. First of all, do I really feel like an 18-year-old ought to be able to walk in and buy an assault weapon? I dont, the Republican governor told reporters this week. Yet he appeared pessimistic about that or any other gun control measure gaining traction in his state. I can call 1,000 special sessions," he said. And if all Im doing is calling 1,000 special sessions for people just to come and talk and get up on a soap box and get nothing done, why?" ___ Associated Press writers Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Kevin Freking in Washington, D.C.; Anthony Izaguirre in Tallahassee, Florida; John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia; Marina Villeneuve in Albany, New York; Lindsay Whitehurst in Salt Lake City; and Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report. ___ Follow the AP's coverage of the mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, here: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting https://apnews.com/hub/buffalo-supermarket-shooting SCHENECTADY The owner of the recently closed Thai Thai Bistro avoided incarceration Wednesday for human trafficking involving a chef from Thailand, and instead was sentenced Wednesday to five years of probation and community service, according to her attorney, Andrew Safranko. Under the plea deal, Piyamas "Pui" Demasi could have received one to three years behind bars for the felony charge she earlier admitted to before Acting Schenectady County Court Judge Mark Caruso. The agreement gave Caruso the discretion to impose a sentence that consisted of jail or prison time and probation. Schenectady County District Attorney The labor trafficking offense was one of 13 charges Demasi had originally faced in connection with the crimes authorities contend she carried out against a female immigrant from Thailand she had hired to work as a chef at Thai Thai Bistro in Niskayuna from June 2017 and June 2018. Demasi, 46, is also from Thailand. The deal requires Demasi to pay for a yearly review by a forensic accountant of her businesses books and records to ensure she is complying with state tax and labor laws. On Wednesday, Safranko said she has already paid restitution of more than $8,524 to the victim, $3,557 to state Taxation and Finance. and $444 to the state Labor Department. We think this was the appropriate resolution, Pui has paid back all the restitution in this matter, and looks forward to opening up a new restaurant and venture in the near future, he added. "We appreciate the judge using his discretion, and we believe sentencing her in the appropriate manner and fashion." Initially, Prosecutor William Lemon asked Caruso to impose a sentence of one to three years behind bars, but later requested probation, plus to put Demasi in jail for at least two weeks, the same time that she made the victim work for free. He said jail time was warranted given the defendant's systematic ongoing cause of fraudulent conduct in which she financially exploited the victim. Demasi announced on Facebook that the restaurant would be closing April 30 and she planned to open an Asian market in Saratoga Springs next year. The business would offer prepared food, bao-bun ice cream and bubble tea. Though the defendant did not address the court Wednesday, she wrote a letter to the judge outlining her struggles to achieve the American dream. Authorities allege when the woman started working, Demasi forced her to pay thousands of dollars to sponsor her as an expert Thai chef to enable her to get a green card, which would get the worker permanent lawful status in the United States. Demasi demanded that the victim pay for all the costs she claimed were tied to the visa process, as well as agree to continue working for the defendant for two years after the visa process was done, which the employee knew was against the law, officials said. Once the victim made initial payments, Demasi made her work as a server, not a chef as Demasi had represented on the visa application, and also stopped paying wages, forcing her to live off tips alone. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. Despite that, Demasi made the victim pay for legal bills from the visa process and demanded $10,000 more for her handling the visa paperwork. In 2018, the victim stopped working for Demasi after being forced to work for a time without tips or wages. When Demasi paid the victim it was in cash and Demasi failed to report her on state payroll and employment filings, meaning Demasi concealed her illegal arrangement with the victim while also avoiding paying taxes, prosecutors said. The victim eventually filed a complaint with Niskayuna police, who were assisted by agents from the federal departments of Labor and Homeland Security. Thai Thai Bistro was founded in downtown Schenectady in 2013 by Demasi, who was a longtime waitress at the restaurant it succeeded in the location, Bangkok Bistro. Demasi was forced to move the restaurant to Niskayuna in 2016 after its location in the historic Nicholaus Building, at State Street and Erie Boulevard, was damaged when, she said, the adjoining building was being demolished. She later sued Schenectady and several other defendants for negligence. In summer 2019, Demasi opened Karma Bistro in the ShopRite Plaza, the same large shopping complex where the Thai Thai Bistro is located. The Karma Bistro is also closed. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate This legislative session isn't over just yet, and there is much for lawmakers to accomplish before leaving town. High among them: Fixing the mess they made of elections. Courts rejected the disgracefully gerrymandered districts Democrats tried to foist on New York voters, but the result is two primary dates one on June 28 for gubernatorial and other races unaffected by the court rulings and another in August for congressional and state Senate races. The dueling dates are unnecessarily costly and cumbersome for voters. But lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul can fix the problem which they, after all, created by moving all the primaries to August. After putting their own interests ahead of even the state constitution, the least they could do it put voters first now. Here are some of the other top issues needing action right now: Alleviate suffering: New York should provide terminally ill people who want to end their suffering with the option to safely and painlessly do so as ten other states have done. The Medical Aid in Dying Act would let doctors write a prescription that the patient could self-administer to achieve a peaceful death, while ensuring it only applies to people capable of making this decision for themselves. How many more New Yorkers must suffer needlessly while waiting for a lawmakers to allow a humane and dignified choice? React to Roe: With the Supreme Court apparently set to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 decision that guaranteed abortion rights, Democratic lawmakers are understandably eager to react. And yes, they should absolutely push forward with a proposed amendment that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. The proposal would need to second approval in the next session before going to the voters for their final say. But lawmakers must reject a proposal by Attorney General Letitia James that would have New York taxpayers funding abortion access for out-of-state women. It's one thing for the state provide a check-off option on tax returns to donate to such an effort run by a private organization, or to help women's health care centers deal with security and demand. But essentially providing health care for people who live out-of-state is too much to ask of taxpayers. Sign up for the Observation Deck newsletter Read the latest Times Union opinion, perspective and letters to the editor on Mondays by signing up for our Observation Deck newsletter. Act on guns: State lawmakers seem primed to respond to the recent massacres in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas, with gun-legislation that includes a proposal by Ms. Hochul to raise the age to by assault weapons to 21. Passing such meaningful, constitutionally compatible legislation is not just commendable; it might even be inspiration to federal lawmakers who have long been unable to do the same. Re-empower the comptroller: Under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the legislature partially stripped from the sttate comptroller oversight of certain State University of New York and Office of General Services contracts under the guise of efficiency. That was before the bid-rigging scandal that sent former SUNY Polytechnic Institute head Alain Kaloyeros to federal prison. Clearly, it's past time for lawmakers to restore full oversight power to the comptroller. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ALBANY State Republican Party leadership on Tuesday cast an already stalled proposal by Democrats to align local elections with the presidential and gubernatorial cycles as not an attempt to increase voter turnout, but rather to "rig the system" and "illegally seize power." The state of the final week of the legislative session for Democrats remain issues like access to firearms and reproductive health care. Republican leaders turned out in full force outside the state Capitol on Tuesday to knock down a bill they described as having a "chilling effect" on the shape of local elections and, consequently, could lead to fewer Republicans holding local office. "They are once again on a mission to illegally seize power and offend our entire election system in this great state," state GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy said. Democrats, he said, are "focused on rigging the system to put themselves into permanent power at every local government." The Republicans went forward with their news conference even as it was reported that the legislation had stalled. Democrats said it requires public hearings before any action would be taken. The bill, sponsored by state Sen. James Skoufis, D-Cornwall, and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, D-Scarsdale, would require elections outside of New York City to be held on even years, which align with gubernatorial and presidential elections. Turnout is exceptionally higher in even years, which draws high-profile statewide or nationwide races. Last year, 28 percent of active registered voters in New York cast a ballot compared to 70 percent in 2020 during the presidential cycle, according to state Board of Election data. "This is a brazen, craven political power grab at its most naked form," state Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt said. The proposal was filed in December but amended in recent days. The New York State Association of Counties expressed concern about it, according to Langworthy, which led to Republican Party leading a publicity blitz to stop the legislation. A fundraising email from the state GOP asked people to contribute to the party to help "protect free and fair elections in New York." Absent from the fundraising pitch and the speeches Tuesday were mention of a host of election reforms that Democrats have either already passed or expect to push through in the final days of session. Senate Democrats have also passed legislation this month to create mandatory training for elections commissioners and making them full-time employees, in addition to reforming the New York City Board of Elections and establishing a poll worker training curriculum. The Senate Majority said Tuesday it plans to pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act this week, which the majority office described as the "most robust voter protections at any state level in the United States and provide legal recourse for denying or abridging any individuals right to vote." "I am proud that New York is standing as a true bastion of voting rights despite the anti-democratic rollbacks being set forth by Republicans across the nation," Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said in a statement. State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, when asked about whether he supports the Voting Rights Act and other Democrat-sponsored reforms, questioned the intent of the bill package given the current election laws on the books. "I don't see the legitimate reason why we need to continue to push these," Ortt said. "I think it's about something else. I think it's about cementing a power base as opposed to actually making voting easy, which is very easy here in New York." Ortt added: "We talk about voting integrity. They talk about voting suppression. They always say voting fraud is a myth. Show me the voting suppression. Show me where somebody who wants to vote cannot vote." Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay, when asked about the Voting Rights Act, pointed attention back to the Democrat's bill on even year elections while noting, "we certainly are not against turnout and making voting easier." "I'm not sure what they're proposing, but listen, we're open," Barclay said. "But one thing we want to make sure and why I get suspicious, very often they do it for political advantage versus really trying to help people get access to the polls." State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, D-Brooklyn, who chairs the Senate Election Committee and sponsored the Voting Rights Act, said in a statement that, "while states across the country have worked overtime to restrict voting rights, the New York (legislation) will strengthen protections for all voters, especially those who have historically been disenfranchised." The GOP news conference that was billed as an "election integrity rally" featured state leaders and local elected officials including Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin, who is accused of misusing campaign funds and falsifying campaign finance filings in a pending indictment being prosecuted by the state attorney general's office. McLaughlin called the dead legislation a "heat-seeking missile." He hinted at possible legal action by Republicans if the bill were to pass, saying that Democrats have "no right to supersede our charter." Langworthy went a step further, saying if the bill were to pass and Gov. Kathy Hochul doesn't veto it, the party is ready to file legal action similar to the recent case they brought that overturned the political boundary maps drawn by Democrats in the Legislature. "If she refuses to do so, let this be a warning, we will do everything in our power to stop this from becoming law," Langworthy said. Langworthy also said he is concerned Democrats want races to focus on national issues that could benefit their candidates. Local races, although they have substantially lower turnout, should focus on issues closer to home, he said. In even year races, airtime is often filled with expensive advertisements from statewide and national candidates, pushing down-ballot issues off center stage. When asked about how Republicans running in school board races focused on the national topic of "critical race theory," and how that factors into races focused on local issues, he said, "there's nothing more local than the curriculum your kids are fed at school." ALBANY In about five weeks, New Yorks current ethics and lobbying oversight body is going out of business. As the much-criticized Joint Commission on Public Ethics prepares to shutter on July 8, questions remain about the transition to a replacement body created in this years state budget. One bubbling to the surface is whether current JCOPE commissioners will be allowed to serve on the new 11-member panel, called the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government. Gov. Kathy Hochuls office told the Times Union that language in Aprils budget agreement prohibits any current JCOPE commissioner from serving on the new body. The somewhat obscure issue is already causing one current JCOPE commissioner to threaten litigation overturning the entirety of New York's new ethics law. And the issue could serve as an early test to a new, "independent" process for vetting potential commissioners that Hochul has touted as a major reform. The new law was hashed out behind closed doors near the end of this years state budget negotiations in early April. Good government groups criticized the fact that commissioners on the new panel as with JCOPE will be directly appointed by top politicians and may therefore be seen as lacking independence. But in one major shift, deans of New Yorks 15 accredited law schools (or their vice-deans) will be charged with approving the nominees for the new panels 11 commissionerships. After New Yorks three statewide elected officials and leaders of both parties in the Legislature make their picks, the new independent review committee will give each nominee a thumbs-up or -down; if a commissioner is rejected, the politician charged with the appointment would nominate a new person. Under the new law, the vetting process must mostly be conducted in secret while its ongoing. While some progressive Democrats in the Legislature have derided the vetting panel as simply a rubber stamp, Hochul has touted the mechanism as a major reform that will bolster the new ethics body's independence. In explaining why current JCOPE commissioners could not be appointed, Hochuls office pointed to a provision in the new law disallowing the appointment of any commissioner who over the past two years has been a commissioner of an executive agency appointed by the governor. JCOPE is an executive agency with a governor appointment," said Hochuls communications director, Julie Wood. That bars any current commissioner from serving on the new panel, she said. Whether or not the independent review committee agrees with this legal interpretation is not clear. Hochuls office has asked state politicians to submit their nominees by the end of this week. The law school deans then have a month to decide whether to accept or reject nominees based on the persons background and expertise. Theyre legally required to publicly post the procedure they will use for vetting. Wood said that ultimately, the law school deans would independently "decide who is appropriate to serve on the new commission. That's the spirit of what we put in place." At the same time, many of the universities employing the law school deans have interests before the New York government, and retain lobbying firms seeking to influence Hochul and members of the Legislature. JCOPE Commissioner Gary Lavine, who was appointed by state Senate Republicans near the end of 2018, has requested that Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt name him as the conferences pick for the new panel. Late Tuesday, an Ortt spokeswoman confirmed that Lavine has indeed been nominated by Senate Republicans to the new panel, despite the statement by Hochul's office that such an appointment is not allowed. Lavine said that in addition to himself, he believes other current JCOPE commissioners are hoping to be appointed to the new body. He called the administration's legal interpretation "absurd," and said that the 14 current JCOPE commissioners including those appointed by Hochul do not qualify as commissioners of an executive agency appointed by the governor. JCOPE is housed as a matter of convenience in the executive branch's Department of State, Lavine said, but it's a "joint commission" appointed by the Legislature and governor. He questions how unelected law school deans can hold the power to formally accept or reject nominees. If the vetting panel were to reject his nomination, Lavine said, he would sue to overturn the entire new ethics law. Lavine was among former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomos original nominees to JCOPE when it was formed in 2011. In late 2018, Cuomo decided not to reappoint him; Lavine was quickly reappointed instead by Senate Republicans. He notes that the legal language governing JCOPE appointments contains the exact provision that Hochuls office now says bars reappointments. Yet when Lavine was appointed by Senate Republicans after having just served as a Cuomo appointee no one raised a legal objection. Since 2019, Lavine has emerged as an outspoken critic of Cuomo on the panel. His practice of frequently airing commission matters in the media has angered some staffers and commissioners, including the current Hochul-appointed chairman, Jose Nieves. Lavine's role as a self-described "rabble-rouser" is one he would likely continue on the new panel if his appointment is allowed to go through by the vetting panel. HUDSON John DeLucie, a chef and restaurateur who built and rebuilt a top New York City culinary career over nearly 20 years that included the likes of The Waverly Inn and King Cole Bar at the St. Regis Hotel, on Saturday, June 4, is opening the farm-to-table restaurant Merchants Social. DeLucie has described it as being focused on Hudson Valley ingredients with an approach grounded in the simplicity of Italian home cooking but not married to any one cuisine. Merchant Social is located at 333-335 Warren St., an 1850s-era building that was long home to Ca Mea restaurant before the latter moved down the street. The inside space is divided into a casual bar/lounge area and a separate dining room facing an open kitchen; the rear courtyard seats more than 70. LAKE GEORGE A Howard Johnson's restaurant open in the village for nearly 70 years, and the last example of a dining spot with that iconic name that still existed in the country, did not open for the unofficial start of summer over Memorial Day weekend and is for lease. It most recently was open in March, according to a post and photo in a Howard Johnson's fan group. Once numbering about 1,000 restaurants nationwide in the 1960s, the chain of orange-roofed restaurants, known for fried clams and ice-cream sundaes, was so deeply a part of the identity of a broad middle-class swath of the United States that the iconoclastic filmmaker Stanley Kubrick included it in a scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey together with the brands Ma Bell/AT&T and Pan Am. No less a culinary luminary than Jacques Pepin developed its recipes. For a time it was America's largest restaurant chain. But faced with competition from the likes of McDonald's and other fast-growing chains, HoJo's, as both a dining and hotel brand, dwindled and was eventually broken up and sold off. The final three restaurants fell to just one after closures in Lake Placid (2015) and Bangor, Maine (2016). A former vending-machine salesman bought the Lake George HoJo's in 2015, with it closing when he was arrested and eventually convicted of harassing at least 15 staffers. It reopened under a new owner, a former manager, who kept it running for the past several years, albeit with pandemic-related pauses along the way. It was not immediately clear what prompted the failure to open for what is expected to be the vacation destination's busiest summer in three years. The for-lease listing mentions a price of $10 for the 7,500-square-foot property, owned since it was built in 1953 by the DeSantis family. Low lease prices are often used in real estate to generate interest in difficult properties. The address is 2143 Route 9/Canada St. The brand for Howard Johnson's hotels, motels and motor lodges, separate from the restaurants for decades, is owned by Wyndham Hotel Group and is said to comprise more than 400 properties, including one on Canada Street in Lake George. A 44-year-old man is in custody on suspicion of phoning in bomb threats to five Los Angeles schools earlier this year, while separate threats against northern and southern California high schools led to the arrests of two students YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. The first meeting of the Border Commissions between Armenia and Azerbaijan was held in a good and constructive environment, Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan, whose deputy is involved in that commission, told reporters today. It has been a constructive, normal and professional discussion. Quite important issues were raised at the first meeting, a certain agenda of work has been set up and so on, the minister. Asked how the meeting was held in a constructive environment if after that tensions rose on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border as a result of which Armenian serviceman was killed by the Azerbaijani fire, the minister said: Yes, the incidents on the border obstruct such processes and it is very condemnable when the normal working phase could be followed by such a behavior as a result of which servicemen could be killed, he said. Just imagine . . . NEWSFLASH: Somebody on the Internets was raving mad and yelling at the top of their lungs about a situation they described inaccurately. And so . . . REMEMBER THE INTERNETS LADY CLAIMED THE SHOOTING VICTIM WAS UNARMED??? SHE MIGHT HAVE BEEN LYING & HER SKETCHY STORY WENT VIRAL ACROSS THE GLOBE & UNQUESTIONED BY LOCAL MSM!!! Just as we predicted this morning . . . Here's a welcomed fact-check . . . "The woman was shot after two KCPD officers approached a vehicle that matched the description of a vehicle stolen earlier that day in Kansas City, Kansas. "Police recovered a handgun after the shooting.Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Andy Bell told KSHB 41 News that he is certain the woman was holding the handgun during the series of events after reviewing body cam footage. '"We know for a fact that she had a handgun in her hand," Bell said. Bell was not able to confirm the manner of which the woman was holding the weapon."The actions of how she was holding the gun, whether she was pointing it ... we're not prepared to say right now," he said." Predictably . . . The Kansas City Star and their pundits reject the report . . . Just a quick reminder . . . Only activists, hacks & spammers denied Cameron Lamb was carrying a gun. Some even imagined the gun was planted. One of the more popular arguments was that he couldn't have fired it because of a hand injury. In fact, the case is still under appeal and the decision was based on "reasonable search & probable cause" rules and didn't actually hinge on gunfire. Sadly . . . Nowadays, columnists at the Star the aren't even required to use Google for basic fact checking. Meanwhile, just as we predicted . . . The latest Kansas City Police shooting is hopelessly mired in politics and racially-charged rhetoric rather than a consideration of the context & facts. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Highway Patrol: Woman holding handgun during entire exchange before KCPD shooting KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Missouri State Highway Patrol said Tuesday that the woman who was shot by Kansas City, Missouri, police Friday was holding a handgun during the shooting. The woman was shot after two KCPD officers approached a vehicle that matched the description of a vehicle stolen earlier that day in Kansas City, Kansas. Developing . . . Here's a peek at the political future for Kansas and a glimpse at a Fox news guest moving up in the world. Take a look . . . Kris Kobach Files for Attorney General, Launches Five-Point Plan for the Office Kobach will Focus on Voter Fraud and Fighting Back Against Biden's Unconstitutional Executive Actions May 31, 2022 (Topeka) -- Kris Kobach officially filed to run for Kansas Attorney General today in Topeka. On a host of issues from vaccine mandates to attempts to restrict our Second Amendment rights, the Biden administration and its allies in Congress have disregarded the constitutional limits on federal power. The most important officer who can fight back against such unconstitutional actions is a state attorney general, Kobach said. The former Kansas Secretary of State announced a Five Point Plan for the Kansas Attorney Generals Office. The plan outlines his commitment to Kansans and the experience he will bring to the AGs office to help accomplish the plans initiatives. Kobach will prosecute voter fraud as the next attorney general, according to the five-point plan. As Kansas Secretary of State, I drafted the 2011 law that made Kansass elections the most secure in the nation, Kobach said. I brought photo ID and advance ballot security to our state, and drafted the Kansas law that gives both the Kansas Secretary of State and the Kansas Attorney General the ability to prosecute voter fraud. As Attorney General, I will be the first Kansas Attorney General to use that authority to prosecute voter fraud. Kobach is a long-time leader on election security. Former President Donald Trump tapped Kobach to lead his commission on election integrity. Kobach successfully prosecuted more than a dozen voter fraud cases as Kansas Secretary of State. If elected to Attorney General, Kobach will create a special litigation unit within the AGs office, according to the plan. The unit will be tasked with suing the Biden administration to defend Kansans constitutional rights. Leftists weaponized the legal system using activist judges to implement their ideas when voters and legislators refuse. Its called lawfare, and the Left has engaged in it for decades, Kobach said. But when theres a leftwing president in office who is violating federal law and shredding the Constitution, its time for conservatives to engage in lawfare to save the country. As a private attorney, Kobach has already filed four lawsuits against the Obama and Biden administrations. He also worked as a constitutional law professor for 15 years. His 5-point plan also includes initiatives to restore Kansass pro-life laws, strengthen Kansass protections against consumer fraud, and eliminate Kansas conceal and carry registration fees. ################ Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Kris Kobach Launches Five-Point Plan for Kansas Attorney General's Office TOPEKA, KANSAS - Kris Kobach officially filed to run for Kansas Attorney General today. "On a host of issues from vaccine mandates to attempts to restrict our Second Amendment rights, the Biden administration and its allies in Congress have disregarded the constitutional limits on federal power. You decide . . . With more rain on the way . . . Now might be a good time to think about making sure a nearby boat is seaworthy. Of course local rain always inspires some of our finer local activists to claim that global climate change is to blame. However . . . Kansas City has a long history of flooding thanks to poor civic planning . . . And so tonight we take a peek at weather news amid Spring rains. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . Kansas City breaks daily precipitation record at 7 a.m. KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The storms moving through Kansas City brought record-breaking precipitation early in the morning. According to the National Weather Service, as of 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Kansas City recording 2.56 inches of rain surpasses the daily record mark of 2.44 inches set back in 1996. Monday morning's storms cause flooding issues all around metro A lot of people are still cleaning up from Monday morning's storms."This was a set up that, is the way it usually happens really bad, is a lot of really slow slogging rain and then a big hit like we had this morning," said Joe Lillian, co-owner of Servpro of Leawood and Overland Park.Lillian's crews are working nearly a dozen flooded basement calls, including this big one at Queen of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church near 71st Street and Metcalf Avenue."I was not here before this started and truck No. Basements take beating as heavy rain pounds Kansas City area KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City area saw heavy rain Monday night into Tuesday, causing problems for homeowners. The area was pounded by rain and basements took a beating. As sump pumps are already overworked, more showers are on the way. And for the Internets culture . . . Normally we don't link youngster or cutsey stuff but this post is just a placeholder about constant local flooding AND the local clip is gaining traction because it's hilarious. NO MEAN COMMENTS ALLOWED!!! Here's a future KC star that deserves credit for her on-air AWESOME . . . Developing . . . Today the newspaper offers a scintillating connection that might have been important last month when people sorta cared about the story. Here are the not so fresh deets . . . "The Kansas City police officer at the center of a criminal investigation for his role in the former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens ride-along in April is Capt. David Loar, according to court records. "Loar remains on paid suspension during the ongoing investigation. He is the son of Kansas City Councilwoman Teresa Loar and had previously been assigned to the North Patrol Division located in Platte County. "The police department had not identified Loar as the officer under investigation. The department announced late last month that it had launched a criminal investigation for possibly violating Missouri law that strictly prohibits political activity while on the job. "Loar is identified as the officer who is the subject of the investigation in a court order from Presiding Platte County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Fincham appointing Darrell Moore as special prosecutor in the case. The Star obtained a copy of the document. " A few things to remember . . . The "investigation" is in Clay County . . . It's unlikely there will be any charges BUT it's surprising that it's still going on . . . The newspaper seems to be alleging some kind of GOP conspiracy . . . Which could be fun if Council Lady Teresa Loar wasn't close with top Democratic Party leaders for the past 20 years. Also . . . Cops actually don't have that much influence over Missouri politics. Here's the kicker . . . It turns out NOBODY really watches Week In Review on KCPT. That's not really a surprise . . . But seriously, we cautiously put the video front & center and WAITED for readers to notice . . . Seems like people tune out less than 3-mintues into the program. Credit where it's due . . . Eric Wesson told us about this story and the connection on April 29th on Week In Review and it only merited about 20 seconds of conversation. As for the Missouri GOP conspiracy angle . . . We think the overly complicated bit of partisan finger-pointing will merit even less attention for the fading local newspaper. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . KCPD officer in Greitens ride-along is son of a city council member, court records show The Kansas City police officer at the center of a criminal investigation for his role in the former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens ride-along in April is Capt. David Loar, according to court records. Loar remains on paid suspension during the ongoing investigation. Special prosecutor in Greitens ride-along case set to moderate GOP Senate debate A special prosecutor will decide whether to bring charges against a police officer in connection to former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens' April ride-along with Kansas City police that was criticized for politicizing the department. The special prosecutor, Darrell Moore, was appointed in late April by Presiding Platte County Judge Thomas Fincham days after the police department launched a criminal investigation of the incident. You decide . . . Today's life lesson for youngsters and their parents . . . Like it or not, name games are incredibly important as branding determines the course of people's lives far more than we'd like to admit . . . Take a peek . . . "The new mascot for Arrowhead Middle School is now the Wolves. It used to be the Apaches, but the school district deemed that mascot was culturally insensitive." Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . KCK middle school adopts new mascot KCK Public Schools SOURCE: KCK Public Schools A Kansas City, Kansas middle school has officially dropped its Native American mascot.The new mascot for Arrowhead Middle School is now the Wolves.It used to be the Apaches, but the school district deemed that mascot was culturally insensitive.Arrowhead Middle School had already phased out images of the mascot before the board approved the change Tuesday. Board votes to change KCK middle school mascot KANSAS CITY, Kan. - The Kansas City, Kansas Public School Board voted Tuesday to change the mascot of one of its middle schools. Earlier this year the district said it started talking about the change because some school mascots could be considered insensitive to other cultures. According to the district several mascots were reviewed. Developing . . . A deadly double shooting leaves a man dead this afternoon and pushes Kansas City's homicide pace past last year's near record-breaking total. Here's the report . . . Homicide 4500 block of Colonial Terrace Today just after 12 pm, officers were dispatched to the 4500 block of Colonial Terrace in regard to a shooting. An adult female called the police stating she had been shot. When officers arrived they found the adult female suffering from gunshot wounds. Also inside of the apartment they found an adult male who had been shot and was unresponsive. EMS responded and pronounced that victim deceased. We do not have any suspect information at this time and we are asking for the Publics help. Detectives and crime scene personnel have responded to the scene and are actively canvassing for witnesses and processing the scene for evidence. If you have any information please call the Homicide unit at 234-5043. If you wish to remain anonymous you can call the TIPS hotline at 474-TIPS, with up to a $25,000 reward for an arrest in this case. ########### Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . KC police investigating a deadly shooting near Arrowhead Stadium The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department says it's investigating a deadly shooting early Wednesday afternoon. Police say a call reporting the shooting came in just after noon at 12:05 p.m., near 4600 Colonial Terrace.KCPD arrived at the scene to discover the caller, a female victim, suffering from life-gunshot wounds. Police respond to fatal shooting Wednesday in Kansas City, Missouri KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department responded to a fatal shooting Wednesday in Kansas City, Missouri. KCPD officers responded shortly after noon to the reported shooting at 4551 Colonial Terrace, according to KCPD. Upon arrival to the scene, police located a male victim who was pronounced dead. Developing . . . Tonight we're taking a look at a quick but hopeful note from one of THE ABSOLUTE BEST TKC READERS who was on the scene of today's blaze with her KICK-ASS hubby and shares a bit of citizen journalism with our blog community. This might not be a tale of pennies from heaven but, as always, Westport's favorite party spot caught a break from record-breaking early morning rainfall. Here's the story . . . "Just spoke to a Buzzard Beach worker. He said they were lucky. Both of the bars (upper and lower were not damaged. Only 1 window had to be knocked out. It was mostly contained to the patio. They will reopen in a month or 2. Employees working at Johnny Kaw's/Yardbar called Fire Dept. It had only been burning noticeably 20 minutes or so. They think it was electrical or lightning and the heavy rain saved the bar . . . "Peeps are so upset and think all the old school bars are being run out of Westport." Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Popular Westport bar and patio significantly damaged by fire Tuesday morning A popular bar and patio in the Westport neighborhood area of Kansas City, Missouri was badly damaged by fire Tuesday. Fire crews were called to Buzzard Beach on Pennsylvania Avenue around 10:20 a.m. after someone called 911 to report seeing smoke and fire coming from the venue. Developing . . . Special thanks to the MOST KICK-ASS TKC INSIDERS who share a FIRST LOOK at the most important political move of the day. To wit . . . FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW: SOUTHLAND PROGRESS PUTS OUT THE VOTE AND REPRESENTS THOUSANDS OF LOCALS!!! They cover 25 polling places throughout South KC and nearly a dozen spots in Grandview. They publish a ballot that's distributed amongst tens of thousands of voters AND local politicos look to them for leadership. Real talk . . . Southland Progress is the heir apparent to the old school Citizens Association and they now represent the biggest active, registered voter collective on this side of the river. Accordingly . . . Here's a peek at some of their top picks . . . Megan Marshall Wins Over Incumbent Jackson County Legislator Tony Miller AGAIN. She's the surprise candidate of this primary season. The former Marine and suburban school leader has impressed MANY people and this latest endorsement seems to give her clear momentum over an incumbent who has faced criticism for his "complicated" working relationship with Exec Frank White. Missouri District 35 - Anthony Ealy over Annette Turnbaugh Mr. Ealy is a relative newcomer to the political game but he picks up an important win for the Southland. Missouri Rep. Annette Turnbaugh has been a solid leader but might be suffering from the same voter frustration that confronted most super-minority Missouri Democratic Party leaders. Donna Peyton Tops Political Insider Zac Sweets Full disclosure . . . We don't know much about Donna Peyton but we've heard she's a solid neighborhood leader who has a lot of people who like her. Meanwhile, Zac Sweets is a rising star political insider who hasn't had any luck with his foray into Jackson County politics and pursuit of the 2nd District At-Large seat. Remember that Mr. Sweets served as Chief Of Staff for former State Senator Jason "Big Red" Holsman and he currently works with former Council Lady Cindy Circo at Evergy . . . Long story short: He knows people. But that hasn't helped him connect with voter organizations despite his EPIC name that seems PERFECT for local politics. . Manny Abarca Edges Out Geoff Gerling & Justice Horn For Critical South Side Nod This is an important upset . . . After redistricting drama, Geoff Gerling seemed to be relying of his years of political work on the South Side for a competitive advantage. Activist Justice Horn was a long shot in this endorsement contest from a group the is comprised almost completely of moderate Democrat loyalists. In the end, Manny Abarca earned the nod. It's also worth noting that Mr. Abarca recently earned a new union gig and that might be part of the reason he's sweeping union endorsements in this contest despite his social media misadventures that have been mostly negative - i.e. he's got some pretty dedicated trolls and a longstanding beef with Northeast News. Finally . . . Like it or not . . . Former Council Dude John Sharp is now one of the strongest players in Kansas City politics. His years of work with Southland Progress have put the group in a position to have just as much local influence over upcoming elections as any other organization. Developing . . . Canadas Wonderland is thanking Toronto health-care workers for their ongoing efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic with 3,450 tickets to its park with 17 rollercoasters the third-most coasters in any amusement park in the world. YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Minister of Healthcare Anahit Avanesyan met with the Director and staff of the National Health Insurance Fund of Lithuania on the sidelines of her three-day visit in that country, the Armenian ministry of health reports. During the meeting the Director of the Fund presented their activities, the package of services, the procurement mechanism and the monitoring program. YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and President of Russia Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation on June 1, the PMs Office said. The Russian President congratulated the Armenian PM on birthday, wishing all the best. PM Pashinyan thanked Vladimir Putin for the telephone conversation on the occasion of his birthday and stated that he highly values the Russian Presidents warm and friendly attitude. The sides discussed also a number of issues of the Armenia-Russia bilateral agenda, touched upon the regional affairs and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border situation. The Russian President welcomed the first meeting of the commission on border delimitation and security between Armenia and Azerbaijan and reaffirmed Russias readiness to assist the border demarcation process. It was stated that according to the agreement, the next meeting of the commission will take place in Moscow. Pashinyan and Putin also touched upon the issue of opening the regional communications, and an agreement was reached to activate the works of the trilateral working group. PM Pashinyan shared also his impressions from the latest meeting held in Brussels and expressed concerns over the comments that were made after the meeting which, he said, have no connection with the content of the discussions. In accordance with the provisions of the joint statement made by the Armenian PM and the Russian President this year on April 19, the sides discussed also issues relating to the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, particularly the possibility of activating the works of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship. YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia Vache Terteryan received the delegation led by Member of the National Assembly of France Florence Provendier, the ministry said. Welcoming the guests, the deputy minister highlighted the importance of the meeting especially in the frames of the Armenia-France economic cooperation roadmap signed by the ministries of the two countries. The large Armenian-French decentralized cooperation conference scheduled in Lyon in the end of June will be a very good occasion to once again strengthen the horizontal relations between the sides and import new ideas, the deputy minister said. Florence Provendier thanked for the meeting and said that the Armenian community of France plays a big role in the development of the Armenian-French relations. The lawmaker said she is actively cooperating with French-Armenians. The opportunities of building the Spandaryan water reservoir, the strategy directed to the sectoral development and the visions for the future were also discussed during the meeting. The State-owned company that provides LPG or cooking gas supply says it is not impacted by t A remarkable discovery and collaborative effort have revealed a new type of triterpenes, a group of organic compounds which are an important source of many medicines. Until now, all triterpenes were believed to be derived from squalene, itself a type of triterpene. However, for the very first time, researchers witnessed biosynthesis, the formation of complex compounds from simple ones in living organisms, of triterpenes in fungi without the use of squalene. This important discovery opens up a whole new world of possibilities for pharmaceutical science. Triterpenes are organic compounds which are abundantly found in animals, plants, microorganisms and even us. About 20,000 different triterpenes have been found and they are widely used in cosmetics, food supplements and, most importantly, medicine, thanks to their anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic and other valuable properties. Until now, all known triterpenes were thought to be generated from a common precursor or source, squalene. However, as revealed in Nature, a collaborative effort among the University of Tokyo and KEK in Japan, Wuhan University in China and Bonn University in Germany, has found a new type of triterpenes that doesnt require squalene. Nobody could have imagined this happening in nature. This is the discovery of a new biosynthetic machine, explained Professor Ikuro Abe from the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Tokyo. Often, multiple enzyme reactions are needed to create complex molecular compounds, such as when our bodies use squalene to create hormones and bile acid. However, in just a single enzyme reaction, a simple molecule called a C5 isoprene unit, or building block, was the starter to construct a very complex triterpene molecular structure. The discovery happened almost by accident by the team at Wuhan University, who were working on genome mining to find new natural products. They were not necessarily searching for triterpenes, but they found new genes widely distributed in fungi. They didnt know the genes function, said Abe. So they did a characterization of these new genes, and one of them happened to be triterpene synthesis. That is when they asked the other teams to get involved. According to Abe, the team at Bonn University are good at chemistry, so they worked on elucidating the detailed enzyme reaction mechanism, and researchers at the University of Tokyo and KEK applied their expertise in structural analysis. He said that once you understand the structure, you can modify it. Change something here or there and see what happens. We can understand the structure-function relationship. Its like a puzzle, he explained. Chemistry in nature is more efficient than the chemical synthesis we use in industry. That is why we are interested in the biosynthetic processes done in nature, Abe said. Natures method is a better, cheaper and cleaner process. We are trying to better understand how processes take place in nature so that we can recreate or redesign it in the lab, to get more and more important and useful compounds. This new discovery is only the beginning. Now that we have solved the protein structure, we are already manipulating the biosynthetic machinery to try to produce more useful molecules, for example, for drug development, Abe said. At least 4,113 civilians have been killed and 4,916 more have been injured since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. The data were released by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights as of early May 31. The casualties included a total of 4,113 killed (1,550 men, 1,023 women, 95 girls, and 100 boys, as well as 69 children and 1,276 adults whose sex is yet unknown); a total of 4,916 injured (978 men, 658 women, 115 girls, and 138 boys, as well as 168 children and 2,859 adults whose sex is yet unknown). Donetsk and Luhansk regions suffered most civilian casualties (2,337 killed and 2,808 injured). In other regions of Ukraine where the military operations took place or are ongoing, 1,776 people were killed and 2,108 more were injured. OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration. This concerns, for example, Mariupol (Donetsk region), Izium (Kharkiv region), and Popasna (Luhansk region), where there are allegations of numerous civilian casualties. According to the Mariupol City Council estimates, at least 22,000 people have died in the city. According to the Azov Regiment data, the Russian army killed more than 25,000 people, mostly civilians, during the blockade of Mariupol. On February 24, Russian troops launched an invasion of Ukraine, shelling and destroying key infrastructure, massively firing on residential areas of Ukrainian cities, towns, and villages using artillery, MLRS and ballistic missiles. Martial law was imposed, general mobilization was announced in Ukraine. ol The decision of the Russian leadership to concentrate larger forces in eastern Ukraine to capture new territories creates conditions for intensified counterattacks by Ukrainian forces in Kherson region, where Russian troops are increasingly vulnerable. Moscows concentration on seizing Severodonetsk and Donbas generally continues to create vulnerabilities for Russia in Ukraines vital Kherson Oblast, where Ukrainian counter-offensives continue, reads the latest Russian offensive campaign assessment by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). As noted, Kherson is critical terrain because it is the only area of Ukraine in which Russian forces hold ground on the west bank of the Dnipro River. If Russia is able to retain a strong lodgment in Kherson when fighting stops it will be in a very strong position from which to launch a future invasion. If Ukraine regains Kherson, on the other hand, Ukraine will be in a much stronger position to defend itself against future Russian attack. This strategic calculus should in principle lead Russia to allocate sufficient combat power to hold Kherson. But Russian President Vladimir Putin has chosen instead to concentrate all the forces and resources that can be scraped together in a desperate and bloody push to seize areas of eastern Ukraine that will give him largely symbolic gains, reads the report. The ISW experts note that continuing successful Ukrainian counter-offensives in Kherson indicate that Ukraines commanders take advantage of the vulnerabilities that Putins decisions have created. British intelligence also confirms these data. According to the latest report, although the occupiers conduct offensive operations in Donbas, they have to defend themselves in some areas. The Armed Forces of Ukraine went on the offensive in Kharkiv and Kherson regions and achieved good results in these areas. They regained control of some of the occupied territories and advanced several kilometers toward the state border. ol Russia has already lost about 30,700 troops in Ukraine (+200 over the past day). The relevant statement was made by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Between February 24, 2022 and June 1, 2022, the enemys total combat losses included also 1,361 tanks (+3 over the past day), 3,343 armored fighting vehicles (+41), 659 artillery systems (+10), 207 multiple launch rocket systems (+0), 94 anti-aircraft warfare systems (+1), 208 aircrafts (+0), 175 helicopters (+1), 2,290 motor vehicles and fuel tanks (+15), 13 warships/boats (+0), 519 unmanned aerial vehicles (+4), 49 special equipment units (+1). A total of 120 enemy cruise missiles (+0) were shot down. Over the past day, Russian troops have suffered the highest losses in the Kryvyi Rih and Bakhmut direction. The data are yet to be updated. A reminder that Russian troops continue to conduct offensive operations in the Eastern operational zone to gain full control over Donetsk Region and Luhansk Region. Photo: Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine mk A total of 243 children have been killed and 446 injured in Ukraine since the Russian invasion started. The relevant statement was made by the Ukrainian Prosecutor Generals Office on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. A total of 689 children in Ukraine have been affected by the Russian armed aggression. As of June 1, 2022, the number of those killed remained unchanged (243 children). The number of those injured also remained unchanged (446 children), the report states. These data are not final, as they are being investigated within the areas of hostilities, temporarily occupied and liberated areas. Currently, most casualties were recorded in Donetsk Region (153), Kyiv Region (116), Kharkiv Region (111), Chernihiv Region (68), Luhansk Region (52), Kherson Region (52), Mykolaiv Region (47), Zaporizhzhia Region (29), Sumy Region (17), the city of Kyiv (16) and Zhytomyr Region (15). A total of 1,937 educational institutions were damaged across Ukraine as a result of Russias daily air and artillery strikes, and 181 of them were destroyed completely. mk YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan has not been held accountable for its crimes committed during the 2020 large-scale military attack against Artsakh and after that, which encourages the Azerbaijani government to continue conducting ethnic and racial discrimination against the Armenian population of Artsakh, promoting hate speech against them and its aggressive policy of depriving Artsakh-Armenians of their fundamental rights. An international conference titled Human Rights and Accountability: The Aftermath of War was held today at the American University of Armenia, dedicated to the current post-war human rights crisis in Artsakh. The First Annual International Conference on Human Rights was organized by the Center for Truth and Justice. Talking about the importance of this event, the conference coordinator Emilia Mikayelyan recalled the large-scale military attack unleashed by Azerbaijan and Turkey against the people of Nagorno Karabakh on September 27, 2020, reminding about the thousands of people who were killed by them and terrorists, and the current humanitarian crisis in Artsakh caused by the war. She said the Armenians of Artsakh want to live freely, without fear that they will again be subject to violence and ethnic cleansings by the Azerbaijani government. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan, not being held accountable for its war crimes, continues promoting hatred and hate speech against Armenians and is regularly violating the 2020 November 9 trilateral agreement on the ceasefire. The consequence of this is that Armenians of Artsakh live in an absolute isolation and face continuous threats, encroachments and a real danger of ethnic cleansings. And during this whole period Azerbaijan has not been held accountable for any of its crimes, which encourages it to continue its aggressive policy of depriving the Armenians of Artsakh of their fundamental rights. The Center for Truth and Justice has organized this conference to gather the representatives of legal mind and to discuss very sincerely this crisis facing the Armenians of Artsakh for many years, she said. President of the Constitutional Court of Armenia Arman Dilanyan welcomed the conference participants and thanked the organizers for the efforts made. He also thanked all organizers and participants who arrived from the Armenian Diaspora. I think that the participation of internationally known lawyers, international law experts and human rights advocates from more than 15 countries is the best indicator that the topics to be discussed in coming days are relevant and have an important meaning not only for the Armenian public, but also for our international partners, Dilanyan said. The President of the Constitutional Court said that today lawyers witness with their own experience manifestations of xenophobia propaganda, promotion of extremist nationalist ideaology, religious intolerance and other condemnable phenomena. Therefore, he highlighted organizing this international conference dedicated to the rights of the Artsakh population and overcoming the consequences of war. In addition to the reports of experts, the testimonies of war witnesses, collected by the CFTJ students from the persons who suffered from the war, including the displaced persons and the soldiers who returned from the Azerbaijani captivity, will be presented during the three-day conference. Russian invaders currently control 70% of Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk region, but have not completely occupied the city. Luhansk Regional Military Administration head Serhii Haidai addressed the issue during the national telethon, Luhansk RMA reports on Telegram. "Today, indeed, 70% of Sievierodonetsk is controlled by the Russians, but the city has not yet been completely occupied," Haidai said. He noted that the Ukrainian military is retreating to the better, already prepared positions. Read also: Russian armed aggression affects over 680 children in Ukraine "We are constantly in touch with everyone who is defending the city, everyone who is holding their positions everything is fine," said the RMA head. As Ukrinform reported with reference to the General Staff, the invaders carried out assault operations in the northern, southern, and eastern districts of the city of Sievierodonetsk. The Ukrainian military is already mastering the use of British Wolfhound armored vehicles. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine said this in a Facebook post, Ukrinform reports. "Our defenders are already mastering the use of Wolfhounds - British armored tactical support vehicles. [...] The armored vehicles came to Ukraine from Britain as part of a defensive aid package for our country, including the army. We are grateful to British friends for their support!" the post reads. Wolfhound is a six-wheeled cargo version of the Mastiff armored personnel carrier, which in turn is a British version of the South African Cougar vehicle. The Wolfhounds transferred to Ukraine are equipped with 12.7mm Browning M2 large-caliber machine guns. The vehicle's maximum speed is 90 km/h. The armored vehicle can carry eight soldiers and two crew members. The Armed Forces of Ukraine have launched tentative counterattacks in Sievierodonetsk, taking six Russian soldiers prisoner. The relevant statement was made by Luhansk Regional Military Administration Head Serhii Haidai on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Do not give up on Sievierodonetsk! The Armed Forces of Ukraine have launched tentative counterattacks and taken six militants prisoner, Haidai wrote. In his words, Russian invaders have seized about 80% of the city, including the eastern quarters. Battles are going on. On some streets, Ukrainian defenders have gained success, launched tentative counterattacks and taken six rashists prisoner. We are waiting for the information that will help us to push [Russian] orcs away from the city, Haidai noted. Haidai expressed confidence that the Ukrainian military would fight for Sievierodonetsk to the last. The entire free territory of Luhansk Region is under continuous enemy shelling. We manage to deliver humanitarian goods to many settlements and even evacuate civilians, Haidai added. Meanwhile, according to Haidai, Lysychansk is remaining Ukrainian controlled. In military terms, it is an advantageous position. The city is located on a hill, giving many opportunities. The defense of the city is strong, Haidai explained. A reminder that, according to the data from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russian troops were conducting assault operations in the Sievierodonetsk direction. mk In a phone call, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov discussed Ukraines military requirements and priorities for the next Ukraine Contact Group. The relevant readout was provided by the U.S. Department of Defense, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov to discuss Ukraines military requirements as fighting continues in eastern Ukraine, the report states. Austin highlighted the success of the Ukraine Contact Group on May 23 and noted the unity of the international community in supporting Ukraine as it repels the Russian invasion. Meanwhile, Reznikov expressed his gratitude for U.S. leadership on this effort. The two leaders also outlined priorities for the next in-person contact group planned for June in Brussels and pledged to remain in close contact. mk Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi and Chief of the Defence Staff of the French Republic General Thierry Burkhard have held a phone conversation. The relevant statement was made by Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. I informed my counterpart about the current operational situation, emphasizing that hostilities are taking place in almost all directions. The most difficult situation is in Luhansk Region, where the enemy is trying to displace our units from their positions, Zaluzhnyi noted. In his words, operations are complex and require a combination of both defensive and offensive actions. However, the enemy has a decisive advantage in artillery, which raises the question of the earliest possible transition of our units to NATO type weapons. It will save the lives of our people and our territories, Zaluzhnyi stressed. In addition, Zaluzhnyi thanked Burkhard and the people of the French Republic for their help and support. He also expressed condolences over the death of French journalist Frederic Leclerc in Russias shelling in Ukraine. Photo: armyinform.com.ua mk The European Union may introduce an insurance ban for ships carrying Russian oil. The relevant statement was made by Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. According to the data from Wall Street Journal, this will be part of the sixth sanctions package. This ban is one of the most serious financial instruments of the EUs influence that the bloc has at its disposal to harm the Russian economy. Now it will be difficult for Russia to sell its oil to Asia, as European companies insure most of the worlds oil trade, Yermak wrote. In his words, the EU and the United Kingdom are also discussing a coordinated ban on insuring ships carrying Russian oil. Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine mk An expert meeting with journalists entitled ""Island of Crimea": what is happening and is it possible to unblock Crimea, the Black and Black Sea-Azov region" will be held on May 31 at 3 p.m. Participants: Tamila Tasheva - Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea; Alina Frolova - expert of the Center for Defense Strategies, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine 2019-2020; Maria Tomak - Head of the Crimean Platform Support Service in the structure of the Representation of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea; Olga Skrypnyk - head of the Crimean Human Rights Group; Mykhailo Honchar - Expert on International Energy and Security Relations, President of the Center for Global Studies "Strategy XXI"; Andriy Klymenko - Head of the Institute of Strategic Black Sea Studies, Editor-in-Chief of BlackSeaNews; Eugene Khlobystov - Professor of Ecology, National University "Kyiv-Mohyla Academy"; Andriy Ryzhenko - Captain of the 1st rank, expert of the Center for Defense Strategies. Ukraine's leading political and military experts will hold an off-record meeting with journalists on the security situation in Crimea, the Black and Azov Seas. Topics for discussion: - Preconditions for the occupation of Crimea and the CAR. - What is happening now in the Crimea and Kherson region. News from the peninsula, humanitarian aspect. Expectation of a "great" war. - Economic consequences of the blockade of the CAR. - Military context: what Russia and Ukraine are capable of. - Geopolitical context: possible ways to unblock. The format of the event is offline (Hall 1). Registration: https://forms.gle/psGNT6WJJjwjiAV46 Journalists will be able to ask questions offline (Hall 1). Journalists are asked to arrive half an hour before the event. Ukrinform address: Kyiv, street Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 8/16 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic on Tuesday has summoned Russian Ambassador Oleksandr Zmeevsky to express concern over the use of diplomatic properties. This was reported by Reuters with reference to the Czech Foreign Ministry, as seen by Ukrinform. It is noted that a working group has been recently set up by the Czech government to deal with Russian-owned real estate property has identified a number of sites that call into question whether they are indeed used for diplomatic purposes. At the same time, the Czech side did not specify the sites. Read also: Czech Republic gives Ukraine attack helicopters Diplomatic missions on the territory of a foreign state must comply not only with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, but also with the rules and laws of the host country, the Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky stated. According to the top diplomat, Russia does not do this and neither does it respect the rule of law. Earlier it was reported that the City Hall of the Prague-6 district of the Czech capital has made a proposal to use part of the empty premises within the Russian Embassy complex for the needs of Ukrainian refugees. This is primarily about a school that has not been operating since most Russian diplomats were expelled last year over the Vrbetice case (explosions at ammunition depots set up by Russian special services). According to officials, the building could be used to educate Ukrainian children. The United States wants to see a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression. US President Joe Biden makes a corresponding statement in his op-ed for The New York Times published on Tuesday, Ukrinform reports. According to Biden, the United States has sent a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition to Ukraine so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table. The President notes that the United States will continue cooperating with their allies and partners on Russian sanctions, the toughest ever imposed on a major economy, and will continue providing Ukraine with advanced weaponry, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, Stinger antiaircraft missiles, powerful artillery and precision rocket systems, radars, unmanned aerial vehicles, Mi-17 helicopters and ammunition. Moreover, the US will send billions more in financial assistance, as authorized by Congress. The United States, according to Biden, will work with the allies and partners to address the global food crisis that Russias aggression is worsening. And we will help our European allies and others reduce their dependence on Russian fossil fuels, and speed our transition to a clean energy future, he adds. Biden once again stresses that he will not send American troops to take part in military operations in Ukraine. As noted, the US does not encourage or enable Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia, Biden writes. Americans will stay the course with the Ukrainian people because we understand that freedom is not free Vladimir Putin did not expect this degree of unity or the strength of our response. He was mistaken. If he expects that we will waver or fracture in the months to come, he is equally mistaken, Biden sums up. On February 24, Russia launched a new phase of the eight-year war against Ukraine a full-scale offensive. The enemy massively shells and bombs peaceful Ukrainian cities, towns, and villages. The Armed Forces, the Territorial Defense Forces and the entire Ukrainian people effectively resist Russian troops and inflict heavy losses on them. ol Russia's objectives of establishing institutional control over the occupied territories of Ukraine have failed. "Russia's initial objectives of controlling large swaths of Ukraine has been nothing short of a complete failure. The Kremlin probably views that forcibly holding Kherson would provide Russia a land bridge to Crimea, as well as gaining some kind of so-called victory and attempt to justify Russia to Russia's domestic audiences [of] the thousands of lives Putin's war of choice has destroyed, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Tuesday, CNN reports. He stressed that the Kremlin's proxies could not gain any legitimacy in the occupied territories. "Russia is almost certainly failing to gain legitimacy for proxy governments in newly seized territories in Ukraine, as protests persist, and residents refuse to cooperate," Price added. Price noted that the United States remains "concerned about steps Russia is taking to attempt to institutionalize control over sovereign Ukrainian territory, particularly in Ukraine's Kherson region." "The Kremlin is probably weighing a few approaches, from recognizing a so-called People's Republic, as Russia forcibly did in Donetsk and Luhansk, to an attempted annexation, just as Russia did in Crimea," the U.S. State Department spokesperson summed up. On February 24, Russia launched a new phase of the eight-year war against Ukraine a full-scale offensive. The enemy massively shells and bombs peaceful Ukrainian cities, towns, and villages. The Armed Forces, the Territorial Defense Forces and the entire Ukrainian people effectively resist Russian troops and inflict heavy losses on them. ol YEREVAN, 1 JUNE, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 1 June, USD exchange rate down by 2.35 drams to 445.64 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 1.31 drams to 477.59 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.06 drams to 7.27 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 3.18 drams to 560.93 drams. The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals. Gold price down by 372.98 drams to 26344.26 drams. Silver price down by 5.46 drams to 311.91 drams. Platinum price stood at 16414.1 drams. Despite all efforts, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, just as other international organizations, proved unable to react properly to the Russian hybrid war, unleashed against Ukraine in 2014, and then to prevent a full-blown military invasion of Ukraine on February 24. OSCE Secretary-General Helga Schmid is sure that her organization is not to blame as it is a single member, the Russian Federation, that decided to act in breach of its obligations and norms of international law. According to Schmid, various options were offered to continue the dialogue but Russia chose the path of violence. In an interview with Ukrinform, the OSCE chief told how she met the first report on a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, what she thinks about reforming the organization and the consensus principle, and whether the decision to move all SMM personnel out of Ukraine was right, as well as if she is planning to visit Kyiv. Russias military attack on Ukraine is absolutely appalling Madam Secretary-General, could you please recall your impressions of the first reports about the Russian Federation's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February? Did you consider it probable that Russian President Vladimir Putin would dare to start a new war on the European continent, the largest since World War II? Like millions around the world, I was shocked. Russias military attack on Ukraine is absolutely appalling. The consequences for the people of Ukraine are severe. And the suffering induced by this unprovoked violence is profound. I said it back on February 24 and can repeat it now: it did not have to be like this. There were so many working to support dialogue. There were efforts led by the US, by NATO, by the EU. And the OSCE participating States offered to put aside all differences to offer a comprehensive dialogue. On the 8th of February, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office launched the Renewed OSCE European Security Dialogue, which was meant to help build trust, transparency, and co-operation. Russia had options. Russia chose force. So today we are living through a war that seemed unthinkable in Europe in the 21st century, with drastic consequences for Ukraine, as well as for the rest of the OSCE region and beyond. Consensus-based decision making today is not working the way it should The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which was called upon to prevent wars in the region, has demonstrated its inability to stop Putins long-running hybrid war in the Donbas or prevent a large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. What added value to European and global security can the OSCE bring in its current form? Can the OSCE be an effective organization as long as the aggressor state Russia and its accomplice Belarus sit in it, and all key decisions of the Organization are made by consensus? Isn't it time for a radical reform of the OSCE, and in particular the veto principle? As I said, there were options for continued dialogue including through the OSCE. Russia chose violence instead. This isnt a failure of any international organization but a clear choice by one country to act against its commitments and obligations and in violation of international law. As a result, we are facing challenges that were unimaginable just a few months ago. This is a challenge not just for the OSCE but also the wider multilateral system. And while its difficult to talk about open dialogue, there will have to be engagement in the future across the OSCE area. But this cannot happen unless its undertaken in good faith and based on respect for basic principles and commitments. This is essential to start rebuilding trust and co-operation. The OSCE has an important role to play here. It remains the only platform for security dialogue in this region that includes both Russia and Ukraine. We have unique experience and expertise that can support a peaceful, sustainable way forward. This is important in the context of Ukraine as well as in other parts of the OSCE region. Our participating States face a range of challenges, difficulties and tensions, both old and new, and the OSCE plays an important role in addressing these, from countering terrorism and preventing cyberattacks to fighting corruption and combatting human trafficking, just to name a few. We need more co-operation, not less. On consensus, this has never been easy and these days it is especially challenging. Important work can be stalled or derailed altogether by one participating State when there are 57 around the table. To say this is frustrating would be an understatement. But we have a consensus rule because the idea of this organization was, from the start, to bring together states that didnt see eye-to-eye on many issues but still saw an opportunity to build more stability and security by coming together. Consensus-based decision making was meant to help build trust. Today its not working the way it should. As for reforms, there are many proposals for how to improve the work of the OSCE, and much of that is for our participating States to decide. Personally, I am doing what I can within my own mandate to lead changes that will make the OSCE Secretariat more efficient and effective, more transparent and accountable, more inclusive, and more collaborative. The SMM evacuation was only ever intended to be temporary but due to Russia's position the mission stopped its work In the third month of the full-scale war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, it is already possible to more carefully analyse the decisions and steps in the first days. For example, how justified was the complete evacuation of the SMM from Ukraine? Wasn't it more appropriate to move the mission to safer areas and continue remote monitoring of the conflict zone? How does the organization see its further activities in Ukraine? The Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine was used to operating in very difficult situations, as it did for eight years. However, the SMM was an unarmed civilian mission. We had mission members from more than 40 countries, and some of those countries had opted to bring their people home even before the Chair and I had to make the overall decision to evacuate our international staff and facilitate the relocation of our national staff. The decision wasnt easy for anyone, but it was necessary given the dire security situation on the ground. In those unprecedented and highly unpredictable circumstances, our duty of care to our Mission members took priority. And I continue to remain engaged in support of our national mission members in Ukraine through multiple channels. I am so grateful to all the women and men who served in the SMM. They were the international communitys impartial eyes and ears on the ground over the past eight years. On numerous occasions, their work was challenged, their freedom of movement was impeded, and they were sometimes harassed or even threatened. But they continued to work tirelessly to provide objective information and ease the effects of the conflict on the civilian population. I also want to recall that the evacuation or relocation was only ever intended to be temporary. Our teams were ready to resume our work in the country as soon as it was safe to do so. But this opportunity never came. Because the mandate for the mission needed to be renewed by the 31st of March, and this required consensus of all 57 participating States. While there was broad support for the SMM continuing, there was no consensus. So all mandated activities had to stop, and we are now in the process of closing that mission altogether. Of course the closure of the SMM does not mean that the OSCE is leaving Ukraine. The Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine and his team continue to work on the ground in the country, as they have for over 20 years, and were doing a great deal more to support Ukraine across all our areas of work. The OSCE will continue to work every day for the release of detained local staffers of the SMM The Russian military has detained SMM national mission members in the occupied territories, which is a dangerous precedent also for the security of local personnel of other OSCEs field missions. What is the OSCE doing to release those detained and what measures are being taken to prevent further detentions and guarantees of non-repetition? Does the recent announcement of the closure of the SMM mean that these detained people in Ukraine will lose their status as members of the SMM and that the OSCE will no longer play any role in their release from illegal detention? First let me clarify that four of our SMM national mission members are detained by the so-called authorities in Donetsk and Luhansk and not by the Russian military. Their detention is absolutely unacceptable. Minister Rau and I have called for their immediate release and condemned in the strongest terms the deplorable acts of intimidation, harassment, and hostile public rhetoric against the SMM and its staff in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk. We continue to work every day for their release. I also want to make clear that the OSCEs duty of care towards these colleagues does not end with the closure of the SMM. Functional immunity related to acts performed by SMM mission members in their official capacity during their employment with the SMM should, as a matter of international law, continue to be respected even after the mission closes. And there is no question that we will continue to work for the urgent release of our colleagues (One of the four employees of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission was released from captivity on May 31 - ed.). After the beginning of the Russian full-scale war, 12 diplomats of Russias mission to the UN were expelled for engaging in espionage activities. There is no secret that the Russians are actively infiltrating their intelligence services' agents into international organizations, and I think the OSCE is no exception. Are there any steps planned to address this issue? Do you see the OSCE employment system protected from such Russian personnel? The OSCE has a rigorous hiring process in place for each of our institutions and field operations. All our staff members are bound by the OSCE Code of Conduct as part of their conditions of employment and are held to its high standards throughout their employment. This includes a commitment to serve as an international civil servant and uphold all the values of the OSCE in their professional work. They may not represent the interests of their respective countries, and are expected to maintain the highest levels of objectivity, impartiality and professionalism. I do hope to be back in Kyiv very soon The Secretaries-General of the Council of Europe and the United Nations have already visited Kyiv. At the same time, the OSCE leadership have not visited the Ukrainian capital since the start of the war, although it would seem that the OSCE should be the first to visit Ukraine, given the Organization's 8-year history of involvement in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Do you or the leadership of the OSCE institutions plan to pay a visit to Ukraine? Every day were working to support Ukraine from inside the country, from here in Vienna, and across all our institutions and structures. This has been and remains a top priority. I am in very regular touch with the government, and I do hope to be back in Kyiv very soon. And other colleagues have travelled to meet with Ukrainian authorities. This will continue. But make no mistake, whether or not there are pictures in the press, the OSCE is working around the clock and will continue to do so to support Ukraine and its people. The OSCE Project Co-ordinator, which has been supporting Ukraine in its reform efforts for nearly 25 years, returned to the country in early April. The team has helped support people affected by conflict and crisis, helped to combat human trafficking, and supported the country in its humanitarian demining efforts, as well as with environmental protection and media freedom. And this is not all the OSCE does in support of the women, men, and institutions of Ukraine. We support relief efforts for the millions of Ukrainians affected by this senseless war. We support Ukraines democratic institutions including by working with the Constitutional Court to ensure they can operate during conflict. We help to address the environmental consequences of the war including by providing rapid risk assessments in vulnerable areas like the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. I could go on, as there is so much more that we do, but the point is that the OSCE remains present, committed and engaged with Ukraine and we will continue to use our experience and expertise to support Ukraine today and into the future. Wasyl Korotkyi, Vienna Photos by: Bartosz Peterman / MSZ, European Union Office in Kosovo, OSCE/Micky Kroell A massive sanctions strike on Russia, intensified by the maximum number of weapons provided to Ukraine, will allow avoiding a protracted war. This was stated by the head of the President's Office, Andriy Yermak, who addressed the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the Irish Parliament, Ukrinform reports. "The European Union is responding to Russia's aggression by increasing sanctions in portions and gradually increasing arms supplies to Ukraine. Its too long and inefficient. We propose to change the approach. We should do what the Russians arent expecting. Not only will it help save thousands of lives, it will also help avoid a protracted war that Russia is already bracing for," Yermak said. According to the head of the Presidents Office, it is equally important that the continued sanctions pressure on Russia serves as one of the safeguards against further attempts at aggression towards Ukraine. As reported, the European Union leaders had agreed on the sixth package of sanctions on the Russian Federation, which provides for a partial embargo on Russian oil exports and disconnection of Sberbank from SWIFT. Photo: Ukrainian Presidents Office The international community, including the OSCE, has offered Russia various options for dialogue, but Russia chose violence and actions contrary to its obligations and norms of international law. OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid said this in an interview with Ukrinform. "There were options for continued dialogue including through the OSCE. Russia chose violence instead. This isn't a failure of any international organization but a clear choice by one country to act against its commitments and obligations and in violation of international law. As a result, we are facing challenges that were unimaginable just a few months ago. This is a challenge not just for the OSCE but also the wider multilateral system," Schmid said, commenting on the OSCE's inability to prevent a large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to her, she was shocked to receive the first reports of Russia's open military attack against Ukraine: "Like millions around the world, I was shocked. Russias military attack on Ukraine is absolutely appalling. The consequences for the people of Ukraine are severe. And the suffering induced by this unprovoked violence is profound," Schmid said. She said that there were efforts led by the U.S., NATO, the EU and the OSCE participating States offered to put aside all differences to offer a comprehensive dialogue. On February 8, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office launched the Renewed OSCE European Security Dialogue, which was meant to help build trust, transparency, and co-operation. "Russia had options. Russia chose force. So today we are living through a war that seemed unthinkable in Europe in the 21st century, with drastic consequences for Ukraine, as well as for the rest of the OSCE region and beyond," Schmid said. The governments of Ukraine and Poland have signed eight agreements on cooperation in various fields. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said this at a joint briefing with his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki in Kyiv on Wednesday, June 1, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. "Today, for the first time in Ukraine, the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the Republic of Poland held Ukrainian-Polish intergovernmental consultations in Kyiv. The number of agreements and memorandums just signed shows that new level of relations that Ukraine and Poland have built over the last three months is business-like and development-oriented," Shmyhal said. He added that the issue concerned eight documents on cooperation in the fields of energy, defense, cross-border and customs cooperation, environmental policy, rebuilding of Ukraine, as well as cooperation on national memory. "Our governments made a joint statement after intergovernmental consultations. Among the important points is that Poland supports Ukraine's accession to the EU and NATO and will make efforts for Ukraine to obtain EU candidate status this June," Shmyhal added. In addition, both parties agreed to strengthen defense cooperation, develop a Polish-Ukrainian-British alliance and work to strengthen sanctions against Russia and develop cross-border cooperation between Ukraine and Poland. The governments of Ukraine and Poland call on the international community to impose an energy embargo on Russia and strengthen other sanctions. This is stated in a joint statement adopted following the Ukrainian-Polish Intergovernmental Consultations on June 1, published on the Government portal. As noted, the parties called on the international community to step up sanctions against the Russian Federation, including imposing embargo on Russian energy supplies and next restrictions on road and sea transport. Moreover, the parties noted the importance of further directing the efforts of the Governments of Ukraine and the Republic of Poland to strengthen the strategic partnership, develop cooperation between the two friendly countries and fraternal nations on the basis of mutual respect and understanding. The governments also reaffirmed their readiness to continue joint efforts to end the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine and to restore Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. According to the statement, the parties noted the importance of investigating the crimes committed by the Russian side against the Ukrainian state and the civilian population, for which the aggressor country should be held accountable; coordinated further steps of cooperation between governments on the international agenda, in particular within international organizations; noted the importance of continuing the joint efforts with the like-minded partners including the United States of America, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the EU and NATO Member States in order to counter the imminent threats for the security situation in the region. The parties noted the mutual interest of Ukraine and the Republic of Poland in developing cooperation within multilateral fora (including international financial institutions) involved in the emergency support to Ukraine and its neighbors in response to the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine; stressed the importance of increasing military, financial and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. As noted, Poland will assist in expanding the capacity of ports, railway and road infrastructure in order to supply Ukraine with the necessary goods, including fuel. The parties reaffirmed their readiness to actively engage all necessary bilateral and multilateral instruments to ensure granting Ukraine the status of a candidate country for membership in the European Union during the European Council meeting on 23-24 June 2022; reaffirmed the need to promote and support the creation of EU and international financial institutions financial instruments, aimed at supporting Ukraine in the current juncture and the post-war reconstruction and modernisation. The Polish side reaffirmed its strong support for Ukraine's membership in the European Union and NATO which corresponds to the free democratic choice of the Ukrainian people, reads the statement. The parties noted the mutual interest in developing cooperation within regional formats and initiatives, including the Lublin Triangle and the Polish-Ukrainian-British format; confirmed their readiness for active cooperation in the reconstruction of Ukraine in the postwar period. Poland will focus its reconstruction efforts on Kharkiv region. In the statement, the parties identified priorities of Ukrainian-Polish cooperation on the bilateral agenda, in particular in the military-technical (it will guarantee inter alia a basic aviation course for 60 Ukrainian candidates for pilots), defense-industrial, trade-economic, in various technology areas, energy and other spheres. In order to intensify the cooperation, Polish Institute in Kyiv will restart its operations on 1 June and the Consulate General of Poland in Lutsk will reopen on 1 July. The need to deepen cooperation in the field of cybersecurity, digitalization, countering misinformation and various types of hybrid threats and to cooperate on mitigating risks for regional and global food security was underscored. Poland confirmed its commitment to swiftly implement the MoU on strengthening cooperation in the railway sector signed on 23 April 2022 to support Ukrainian exports of food products and stressed its readiness to support the agricultural production capacities of Ukraine in order to maximize the harvests in the upcoming season; Ukraine confirmed its readiness to provide all information necessary to operationalize such support. In the statement, the parties stressed the importance of the temporary suspension of import duties on all Ukrainian exports to the European Union. The Ukrainian side agreed not to impose any restrictive measures on imports from Poland and committed to cooperate with the Polish side on lifting existing restrictions for imports of goods from Poland to Ukraine, including imports of agricultural products. Ukraine and Poland agreed to intensify cooperation in order to increase the efficiency of the border checks on the Ukrainian-Polish state border. For that purpose, the Ukrainian-Polish Working Group has been established. A pilot program aiming at the sharp increase of shared check posts at Krakovets-Korczowa border crossing will be launched in June. To this end, the parties agreed on steps to be taken for an agreement between Ukraine and Poland on enhanced cooperation of border authorities, including on control in shared border crossing points to be signed as soon as possible. The governments agreed that the Republic of Poland will support the accession of Ukraine to the Convention of 20 May 1987 on a common transit procedure, and the Convention of 20 May 1987 on the simplification of formalities in trade in goods, including the use of the NCTS, and declares any support needed by Ukraine. Among other things, the parties stated the need to increase activities of institutional mechanisms, in particular, holding in the near future meetings of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation and the Intergovernmental Coordinating Council on Interregional Cooperation, as well as resuming cooperation between the National Memory Institutes of Ukraine and Poland. According to the document, the Governments of Ukraine and the Republic of Poland exercise their task to further bring together the Ukrainian and Polish peoples, who have shown a high level of solidarity, support and unity and are going together through the atrocities of war, as well as facilitate creating a solid foundation for the new European future of both nations; as part of assistance to the victims of Russian aggression, Klemens Szeptycki Foundation, caring for the orphans of soldiers fallen in defense of Ukraine and providing assistance to the women liberated from captivity, will launch its operations in July in Kyiv. The parties agreed to jointly celebrate in 2023 the 160th anniversary of the beginning of the January Uprising of 1863-1864, in which our nations fought together against the Russian Empire. The parties commended the initiative of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to submit to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine the draft Law "On the establishment of legal and social guarantees for citizens of the Republic of Poland staying in Ukraine", as an expression of gratitude for the adoption of the Law of the Republic of Poland "On assistance to the citizens of Ukraine due to the armed conflict in this country". The next meeting of the Ukrainian-Polish intergovernmental consultations will be held in Warsaw in 2023. ol The United States announced on Wednesday a new security assistance package to Ukraine, which includes additional modern weaponry, including more advanced rocket systems. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a corresponding statement during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg who is on a visit to Washington, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Just this morning, President Biden announced a significant new security assistance package to arm Ukraine with additional capabilities and advanced weaponry precisely what they need to defend themselves against the armed Russian aggression, he said, noting that the package includes more advanced rocket systems so that they can hit key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine from longer distances. According to him, the United States moves quickly so that Ukraine has the opportunity to repel Russia's aggression and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table. All US allies within NATO are committed to ensuring that Ukraine can protect itself, the Secretary of State stressed. He noted that the Russian government and its allies faced serious consequences due to unprecedented sanctions, export controls, and diplomatic pressure. Blinken stressed that the war against Ukraine united NATO and strengthened the protection of Allies themselves. "They see what is happening in Ukraine as a direct assault on the foundation of their own peace and security. That is why we will continue to stand with the democratic, independent, sovereign Ukraine until this terrible war is over," he said. ol The military component of unblocking the Ukrainian sea ports is related to the guarantees ensuring that Russia will not take advantage of access to Odesa and will not attack the city from the sea. The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba in an interview during a nationwide telethon, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. When we are speaking of the military component, this is not about unblocking the ports. This is about the military guarantees ensuring that Russia will not take advantage of access to Odesa to simply attack the city from the sea. For this purpose, we need the military presence of the countries that are ready to take part in such operation, Kuleba told. Ideally, the military component could be implemented under the aegis of the United Nations, Kuleba noted. In this case, when the corridor opens, it would be safe, and Ukraine would be confident that Russian warships will not risk rushing by and attacking Odesa from the sea. We are looking for a balanced solution, which would both resume exports and ensure the countrys security. This is the key. We cannot agree to turn a blind eye on everything and unblock everything, as Russia cannot be trusted, Kuleba stressed. A reminder that, on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, starting a war. Russian invaders blocked Ukrainian sea ports, posing a threat to the global food security. mk YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. No ceasefire violations were reported in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno Karabakh during the day, ARMENPRESS reports the Russian Defense Ministry informed. "The Russian peacekeepers are conducting round-the-clock monitoring at 27 observation posts, monitoring the observance of the ceasefire regime. No violations have been reported in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent," the statement said. English jargon has invaded every corner of France, causing consternation among language purists a trade fair popular with politicians during election season is called "Made in France," for example. Despite widespread usage in business and elsewhere, the government has decided to pick on gaming, officially banning terms like "streamer" and "cloud gaming," according to AFP. Going forward, the far more convoluted terms joueur-animateur en direct and jeu video en nuage must be used for any government communications. The changes were made in consultation with France's Ministry of Culture, which has in the past touted the gaming industry as a French economic success story. However, it told the AFP it's concerned that English terms could become a "barrier to understanding" for non-gamers. (That's a solid point, as I can attest that many French non-gamers wouldn't have a clue what a term like "streaming" means.) France's language keepers, l'Academie francaise, has also expressed concern about English jargon in gaming, having published a lexicon of alternate French terms back in 2017. The changes were issued in the government's official journal, meaning they're binding on all government workers. However, it's hard to see them catching on in daily use or even on French websites or newspapers. Previous efforts by l'Academie francaise to replace anglicisms have not gone well its attempt to get people to use laccess sans fil a internet instead of le wifi failed completely, as The Local France points out. Passengers disembark a Tui plane at Manchester Passengers have expressed fury over what they see as poor treatment after travel giant Tui axed dozens of flights amid continued misery at UK airports. Chris Thompson, whose flight home from Turkey was cancelled minutes before departure, told the BBC that Tui's organisation was "absolutely abysmal". About 34,000 customers were told their June holidays out of Manchester had been axed, some in overnight emails. Tui apologised and said the vast majority of its flights were operating. "We understand that last minute cancellations are incredibly disappointing and we would like to reassure our customers that we are doing everything we can to get them on holiday as planned," it said. Other airlines, including EasyJet and British Airways have also cancelled flights, amid staff shortages and other issues that have coincided with rising demand for foreign travel after the pandemic. Mr Thompson, who is on holiday with his wife and three children in Izmir, Turkey, said the family were told their Tui flight home had been cancelled after they had already got through passport control. The family were put up in a hotel on Tuesday night after spending more than five hours at the airport and were told they could get a flight back to Manchester at 16:00. "Not knowing what's going on is becoming frustrating," he said. "The Tui number is constantly engaged." He was later given a new estimated flight time of 02:20 on Thursday. Chris Thompson said the disruption was "an absolute shambles" Steve Butcher, from Gravesend, was due to fly on holiday to Paphos, Cyprus, on Wednesday morning. But he woke up to an email from Tui saying their holiday was cancelled. "My wife was in tears, she was so looking forward to it. We were all packed and ready to go," he told the BBC. Steve said he then received another email from Tui saying their flight would now be on Thursday morning, but he is unsure whether to go to the airport tomorrow. Story continues "If we do, we have to stay in a Travelodge as we will need to arrive in the early hours. But what if it gets cancelled again?" Tui is cancelling six daily flights at Manchester Airport, a quarter of its schedule at the hub About 34,000 customers due to fly with Tui from Manchester Airport in June have been told their flights are now cancelled. For some, the news came overnight in emails sent after 02:00 BST on Wednesday. Pat Karney, a councillor in Manchester, said he received an early-hours message confirming his holiday to Girona on 18 June had been cancelled. He described the situation as a "shambles" and asked: "Why book us in the first place?" Michael Dunne, who also received a notification, said he was assured by Tui his holiday was not affected when he phoned the firm on Tuesday evening - only to find out it was cancelled overnight. "I made a phone call to them late last night and managed to actually get through... and I was told at that point last night that there was no impact to my holiday and it was going ahead," he said. "I woke up in the middle of the night to find an email cancelling the holiday in its entirety, and if I would like to rebook using the website but cannot do so until Friday." Mr Dunne told BBC Radio 5 Live that when he looked on the Tui website for the same holiday, flying on the same dates, to the same hotel but on a different flight, the quoted price was 5,000 higher than he paid. Tui has said staffing shortages are partly to blame for the cancellations According to flight tracking firm Cirium, 377 flights have been cancelled from UK airports during the last week (25-31 May), with EasyJet the most affected airline and Gatwick the airport worst hit. It comes as up to two million people prepare to fly over the next few days, with the Jubilee bank holiday coinciding with half-term. The aviation industry is suffering from staff shortages as it struggles to recruit replacements for the thousands of workers it laid off during the pandemic when international travel was halted. Before Covid, airports and airlines across Britain employed around 140,000 people, but since then thousands of jobs have been cut, including around 30,000 for UK airlines alone. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps met with senior leaders from airports, airlines and ground handling companies to discuss the disruption on Wednesday evening. He reiterated that airline bosses should have been preparing for a "surge in passenger demand following two years of travel closures", the Department for Transport said. Mr Shapps said he understood the sector's staffing problems but added it "does not excuse poor planning and overbooking flights that they cannot service". "The companies who have seen the most disruption need to learn from those who ran services smoothly," he added. Labour's Louise Haigh accused the government of being "missing in action" and called on ministers to address the backlog in security checks for new airline staff and address "chronic low-pay". The transport secretary said the government had "made the changes needed to allow the sector to prepare for summer" and said it was now up to the industry "to do their bit". "We have been crystal clear - run services properly and according to schedule or provide swift, appropriate compensation," he added. "We do not want to see a repeat of this over the summer." The final Covid restrictions for people travelling to the UK were lifted on 18 March. Airlines UK had said the sector had "only a matter of weeks to recover and prepare for one of the busiest summers we've seen in many years" but, despite this, "the vast majority" of flights this week would be operating as scheduled. After the meeting, chief executive of Airlines UK Tim Alderslade added: "This isn't an airline issue or an airport issue or a government issue. "We're in this together and we look forward to exploring options with ministers to move the sector forwards as we approach the summer." Some European airports have also seen disruption this week. Earlier the Paris Airport authority, which manages Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, said software problems were affecting border controls leading to delays, although by lunchtime it said the system was gradually returning to normal. Eurostar said an IT issue at the French border also led to delays of 30 to 60 minutes to train services. Meanwhile, the operator of Dublin Airport said it could not guarantee the long delays seen last weekend would not be repeated over the bank holiday. Banner saying 'Get in touch' Are you going on holiday? How have you been affected by the issues in this story? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission. Todd L. Borsa recently joined Lyons National Bank at its Auburn offices as assistant vice president and commercial loan officer. A native of Auburn, Borsa graduated from Buffalo State College with a bachelors degree in business administration and most recently served as vice president at LEB Properties Inc. In a news release, LNB said that Borsa is active in the local community and has been a member of the Knights of Columbus for over 20 years. The bank said that he brings many years of lending experience to LNB, and will be responsible for business development serving customers in the Cayuga and Onondaga county markets. LNB is a $1.63 billion independent, community bank with 16 branch offices located throughout Wayne, Monroe, Onondaga, Ontario, Seneca, Yates and Cayuga counties. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 VIENNA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2022) Austria's largest energy company OMV told Sputnik on Wednesday that it had made a payment to Russia's Gazprom for gas supplies under the new mechanism, noting it is still denominated in Euros. "OMV has implemented a sanctions-compliant payment process. The payment has already been made and continued to be denominated in euros. We consider our payment obligation fulfilled by transferring the euro amount," a company representative said. CHISINAU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2022) Moldova continues to receive Russian gas in June at a price of about $880 per 1,000 cubic meters, which is $40 less than in May, the head of Moldova's national energy company Moldovagaz, Vadim Ceban, said on Wednesday. "Natural gas is being supplied to Moldova as usual, in line with the terms of the contract with PJSC Gazprom. The purchase price of the energy carrier in June will be about $880 per 1,000 cubic meters for JSC Moldovagaz, given the heat value," Ceban said on Telegram. In comparison, in May, the cost of gas for Moldova was $920. In October 2021, Russian gas giant Gazprom and Moldovagaz reached a new agreement on gas supplies for five years, with Chisinau pledging to carry out a debt audit in 2022. The audit tender failed, including due to the Russian military operation in Ukraine, as many companies refused to participate. The situation put Moldova at risk of having supplies halted; however, on April 29, Gazprom confirmed that it had reserved the required volumes of fuel, though deliveries for June had not yet been agreed upon. According to the Russian side, it decided to sign the contract on the conditions voiced by Chisinau, given the difficult situation in the republic. At the same time, the contract stipulates that gas supplies must be paid for in advance. Recife, Brazil, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Jun, 2022 ) :Flooding and landslides triggered by torrential rain have now killed at least 100 people in northeastern Brazil, officials said Tuesday as emergency workers searched for bodies and survivors. The force of the landslides ripped apart houses in neighborhoods including Jardim Monteverde, a poor community just outside the city of Recife. Locals have likened the roaring surge of mud to a tsunami. Rescue teams have found dozens of bodies buried after floodwater tore through the neighborhood on Saturday, and said they expect to find more. At least 14 people remain missing, said disaster management officials for the state of Pernambuco, scene of the latest in a series of deadly weather disasters to hit the country in recent months. Crews are using dogs trained to sniff for people and planes to locate the missing. At least 24 municipalities in Pernambuco have declared a state of emergency and more than 6,000 people have lost their homes or been forced to flee. President Jair Bolsonaro posted a video on Twitter on Monday that showed him flying in a helicopter over the disaster zone where brown flood water inundated large areas and gashes of mud scarred hillsides where houses once stood. "I tried to land, but the pilots' recommendation was that, given the instability of the soil, we could have an accident. So we decided against it," the far-right president told a news conference. He recalled a string of devastating floods in Brazil that have killed hundreds of people in recent months, and which experts say are being aggravated by climate change. The rains began last week but intensified over the weekend. Overnight Friday into Saturday, the rain that fell in some parts of Pernambuco was 70 percent of what would be normal for the whole month of May. "We never saw so much rain fall in so little time," said 60-year-old retiree Mario Guadalupe. "I saw the landslide happen. First part of the hill gave way, then it was just a tsunami of mud. It nearly took out my house." Weather-related tragedies are becoming a familiar script in Brazil. They tend to hit hardest in poor neighborhoods, especially hillside favelas, or slums. "Climate change could be responsible for the rise in extreme, violent rain that is being detected not only in Brazil but around the world," Jose Marengo, research coordinator at the National Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring and Alerts, told AFP. In February, 233 people were killed in floods and landslides in the southeastern city of Petropolis, in Rio de Janeiro state. In January, torrential rains claimed at least 28 lives in southeastern Brazil, mostly in Sao Paulo state. Bolsonaro drew criticism for sounding dismissive after saying "unfortunately these tragedies happen, a country the size of a continent has its share of problems."mel/jhb/dw/bgs Ottawa, June 1 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Jun, 2022 ) :Canada announced Tuesday the decriminalization of hard drugs in small quantities in a British Columbia pilot project aiming to tame an opioid crisis that has killed thousands -- by treating addictions rather than jailing users for possession. Responding to a request by British Columbia, Federal Mental Health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett said an exemption from the criminal code to allow for personal possession of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and other hard drugs would kick in on January 31, 2023 and last three years. Adults in the Pacific coast province will not face arrest or charges for possession of up to 2.5 grams of hard drugs, nor will their drugs be seized by police. Instead users will be provided with information on how to access medical help for addictions. "For too many years, the ideological opposition to harm reduction has cost lives," Bennett told a news conference in announcing the pilot. "We are doing this to save lives, but also to give people using drugs their dignity and choices," she said, adding that it could become "a template for other jurisdictions across Canada." Kennedy Stewart, the mayor of Vancouver -- the epicentre of the crisis -- said the decision "marks a fundamental rethinking of drug policy that favors healthcare over handcuffs." Calling it a "historic, brave and groundbreaking step in the fight to save lives from the poisoned drug crisis," he said it would also reduce petty crimes that often feed drug habits. Several Canadian cities, including Montreal and Toronto, have signalled a desire for similar legal exemptions. A small leftist faction in Parliament, the New Democratic Party, meanwhile, is to unveil Wednesday a proposed bill to decriminalize drug possession nationwide. It is expected to be defeated. Bennett stressed that the exemption granted to British Columbia "is not legalization." It will, however, make the province only the second jurisdiction in North America to decriminalize hard drugs after the US state of Oregon did so in November 2020. Oregon's initiative has reportedly had mixed results as few people have taken up offers of addiction help. Substances abuse has left thousands dead in British Columbia. Its Addictions Minister Sheila Malcolmson told AFP in November when it applied for the exemption that the province was facing "an overdose crisis that's causing a terrible loss of life." The pandemic compounded its impacts, she said at Tuesday's news conference. "Shame and fear keep people from accessing the care that they need," she explained. "And the fear of being criminalized has led many people to hide their addiction and use drugs alone. And using alone can mean dying alone." Several drug users surveyed by AFP have said the amount of drugs allowed under the exemption is too small, as their daily consumption is far greater. Bennett acknowledged this but said it's a starting point. She also said calls are growing louder for Ottawa to regulate a safe supply of hard drugs now often laced with toxic substances. But first, she added, evidence must be collected from the pilot to show the approach works. According to federal government data, 26,690 people have died of opioid overdoses across Canada from January 2016 to September 2021. In British Columbia, an estimated six people die each day from opioid-related drug poisoning. Roughly 9,400 have died since public health officials declared the situation a public health emergency in 2016. Caracas, June 1 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Jun, 2022 ) :Judith, a 90-year-old great-grandmother in Venezuela, examines a stuffed animal meticulously in her hands before finding a hole. "This one needs surgery," she says, adding "we're going to sew it up here." Judith is one of 40 volunteers at what amounts to a hospital for stuffed toys. Since being founded in 2017, the hospital has delivered 30,000 recycled toys to schools and associations in poor neighborhoods. It operates out of the Caracas house of founder Lilian Gluck, 63, who receives hundreds of toys a week to repair. The first task is to categorize: Barbie, animals, Mickey Mouse, baby toys etc. "The stuffed toy hospital operates like a hospital, patients come in from the street," said Gluck. "These patients are sewn, washed, fixed, if they are missing eyes we give them eyes, their hair is combed, they are given a beautiful ribbon and a card with a very nice message to take care of them and give them as gifts to other children when they grow up." In one room, more than 300 stuffed toys are awaiting repairs. In the workshop room, volunteers share out the tasks. Some wash the toys and carefully sew them while others paint damaged dolls. There are also tailors creating little outfits, which is one of Judith's favorite tasks. "I love to see them (the children) when we arrive and they know they are going to get a toy. You can't imagine their eyes. It's a real delight, and it's what is needed," she said. Each stuffed animal gift is carefully packaged. Every detail counts, says Gluck, who believes she is bringing dignity to vulnerable children by giving them toys in good condition. In a country where 76 percent of the population lives in extreme poverty, according to the private Catholic University of Andres Bello, Gluck believes what she is doing is equally as important as helping the poor. "We support and accompany many people who bring food, but we cannot be so simplistic. In this country people need to continue having fun," she said. Pediatrician Maria Jose Rodriguez began volunteering with the association after patients in her clinic received donations. "Obviously, you're not going to get a child out of malnutrition with a stuffed animal, but play is a basic need and children have the right to play," said the 47-year-old. In a Primary school in Petare, the largest slum in the country, 10-year-old Elias Barazarte has just received a stuffed toy with a bag, a box of crayons and some sweets. "It doesn't matter that it's recycled as long as you can use and play with it," he said joyfully. An accompanying card reads: "Hello, I'm your new toy. I'm an experienced toy because I've already played with another child. Love me and look after me and I will do the same with you, and when you're big give me to another child who will love me like you do."School director Mariligia Moreno believes that there is a sentimental and emotional element to giving toys to children from deprived backgrounds. "Their parents are not around and a stuffed animal is not going to make up for it, but it is a way to help them express themselves, to take care of them (the toys), to give them the love that perhaps at the moment they have no one to give it to." (@ChaudhryMAli88) WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd June, 2022) US President Joe Biden will join a meeting between NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Thursday, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said on Wednesday. "Tomorrow, the President (Biden) will join a meeting with NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan at the White House. They will discuss preparations for the NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June and the strength of our transatlantic alliance," Jean-Pierre said during a press briefing. BUFFALO The white man accused of killing 10 Black people in a racist attack on a Buffalo supermarket was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday on a state domestic terrorism and hate crime charge that would carry a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Payton Gendron is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday on the new, 25-count indictment, which builds on a previous murder charge hastily prepared in the hours after the May 14 shooting. The 18-year-old has now also been charged with the attempted murders of three people who were shot during the attack, but survived, and with using a weapon while committing a felony. He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors had told a judge May 20 the grand jury had voted to indict Gendron but did not disclose charges, saying proceedings were ongoing. Gendrons attorney, Brian Parker, said he had not seen the indictment and could not comment, adding that prosecution and defense attorneys have been barred by a judge from discussing the case publicly. The horrific nature of the crime and number of victims was likely to already guarantee a life sentence if Gendron is convicted. New York has no death penalty. But adding a state terrorism charge could carry additional emotional resonance and help authorities send a message about violent extremism. The domestic terrorism charge Domestic Acts of Terrorism Motivated by Hate in the First Degree accuses Gendron of killing because of the perceived race and/or color of his victims. This man was motivated by hate against people he never met for no reason other than the color of their skin, said Buffalo lawyer John Elmore, who represents the families of victims Katherine Kat Massey, 72, and Andre Mackniel, 53. Elmore said he hoped for a conviction on every count. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed the domestic terrorism hate crime law in August 2019, in the wake of a mass shooting targeting Mexicans at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas. The measure, dubbed the Josef Neumann Hate Crimes Domestic Terrorism Act after an attack at a rabbis home in Munsey, New York, was signed into law on April 3, 2020, and took effect Nov. 1, 2020. The law expanded on a previous domestic terrorism statute passed after the 9/11 terrorist attack that was largely envisioned as a way to go after international extremism. Prosecutors said Gendron drove about three hours to Buffalo from his home in Conklin, New York, intending to kill as many Black people as possible. Shortly before the attack he posted documents that outlined his white supremacist views and revealed he had been planning the attack for months. The gunman, carrying an AR-15-style rifle he had recently purchased, opened fire on Saturday afternoon shoppers at the only supermarket in the predominantly Black neighborhood. Among those killed was Auburn resident Mackniel, a Buffalo native who was visiting family to celebrate his 3-year-old son's birthday. He was at the store to buy a cake. 'Biggest smile in the world': Auburn victim of Buffalo shooting remembered by brother "He was always joking, always funny, always had a smile on his face. ... That big, cheesy smile. I remember that most about him." Murder charges were filed for each of the victims, who ranged in age from 32 to 86 and included eight customers, the store security guard and a church deacon who drove shoppers to and from the store with their groceries. Somehow were going to find justice for the Massey family, for the Mackniel family and all those others that were affected by this tragedy, Elmore said. Federal authorities also are investigating the possibility of hate crime charges against Gendron, who apparently detailed his plans and his racist motivation in hundreds of pages of writings he posted online shortly before the shooting. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 (@ChaudhryMAli88) The European Commission has concluded that Croatia is ready to adopt the euro as its national currency from January 1, 2022, according to a report published on Wednesday MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2022) The European Commission has concluded that Croatia is ready to adopt the euro as its national Currency from January 1, 2022, according to a report published on Wednesday. "Today, the European Commission has concluded that Croatia is ready to adopt the euro on 1 January 2023, bringing the number of euro area Member States to twenty," the commission said. BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd June, 2022) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday that he advocates the earliest possible beginning of the European Union's accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania. "It is my personal responsibility that the states of the Western Balkans embark on accession talks with the EU as soon as possible, so that progress can be achieved. Their accession would be in our common interest... I believe that it is important that the EU begins practical membership talks with North Macedonia and Albania at earliest opportunity," Scholz told a briefing. He added that this approach also applies to other countries in the region. The debate over EU enlargement has intensified in recent months after Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova have officially applied for EU membership, bringing a total number of states aspiring to join the union to nine, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey. Hungary demanded not to include Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia in the list of anti-Russian sanctions of the European Union, Bloomberg reported citing informed sources MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2022) Hungary demanded not to include Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia in the list of anti-Russian sanctions of the European Union, Bloomberg reported citing informed sources. Earlier, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that, in his opinion, Patriarch Kirill might be on the list of new individual EU sanctions that will be adopted as part of the sixth sanctions package. According to the agency, the permanent representative of Hungary spoke out not only against the inclusion of Patriarch Kirill in the sanctions list, but also put forward a number of technical comments on the embargo on Russian oil. In connection with the position of Budapest, the approval of the sixth package of anti-Russian sanctions may be delayed, Bloomberg noted. (@FahadShabbir) Kazakhstan is hoping for the resumption of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine and is ready to host the negotiations, Kazakh Ambassador to Moscow Yermek Kosherbaev said on Wednesday MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2022) Kazakhstan is hoping for the resumption of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine and is ready to host the negotiations, Kazakh Ambassador to Moscow Yermek Kosherbaev said on Wednesday. "We welcome any steps toward the beginning of the negotiation process," Kosherbaev told the Rossiya 24 broadcaster. He noted that Kazakhstan is urging the warring sides to cease hostilities and is calling on the international community to support the peace process. "I wish that these solutions could be found so that the negotiation process be resumed as soon as possible," the ambassador said. He added that Kazakhstan was ready to provide any assistance and host the negotiations. "Like a number of other countries, we expressed our willingness to act as the appropriate negotiating platform should the parties be interested," Kosherbaev said. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24 after the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk republics applied for help in fending off Ukrainian forces. Moscow and Kiev have made several attempts to negotiate a ceasefire, with a couple of meetings taking place in Turkey, and both exchanged several dozens of war prisoners. However, no agreement has been reached so far and the talks have been paused on Kiev's initiative. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said last week that Russian President Vladimir Putin during a telephone conversation confirmed readiness to engage in active discussions on the exchange of war prisoners with Ukraine. (@FahadShabbir) MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2022) A meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, correspondingly, is not ruled out a priori, it should be prepared and finalized by a document, on which work has been stopped, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that Zelenskyy told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan this week he was ready to meet with Putin. "Our position and the position of the Russian president on the meeting with Zelenskyy is well known ... A priori, no one excludes such a meeting, never excluded it, but it must be prepared and it makes sense for Putin to meet with Zelenskyy only to finalize a certain document, and work on the document was stopped quite a long time ago and has not been resumed since then," Peskov told reporters. MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2022) Moscow negatively assesses the latest package of US military assistance to Ukraine, including the supply of the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Sputnik on Wednesday. A senior US administration official told reporters earlier this week that Washington will unveil the 11th security aid package for Ukraine worth $700 million, which includes HIMARS rocket systems, on Wednesday. Kiev, in turn, assured Washington that will not use the long range systems for targets on Russian territory. "We regard this purely negatively because attempts to present the solution as containing an element of 'self-restraint' are unsuitable," Ryabkov said. MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2022) Moscow has notified the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) about possible provocations by Kiev with the use of chemicals, Russian Permanent Representative to the organization Alexander Shulgin said on Wednesday. "We have already informed. In total, we have recently sent 12 verbal notes, in which we wrote in detail about the places and methods of the supposed provocations (by Ukraine," Shulgin told the Rossiya 24 broadcaster. The organization is currently studying the information, the diplomat added. DOHA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2022) Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that the Gulf monarchy is ready to make and support efforts aimed at achieving a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian conflict and establishing stability in the region, the Saudi foreign ministry said on Wednesday. Lavrov arrived in Riyadh on Tuesday to take part in a meeting of foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Russia. "(Al Saud) has confirmed to (Lavrov) the kingdom's position on the Ukrainian crisis, which is based on international law and support for efforts aimed at achieving a political solution to end the crisis and establish stability and security. He indicated that the kingdom is ready to make the necessary efforts to assist in achieving a political solution to the crisis," the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement. Lavrov is on a tour in Gulf Cooperation Council countries this week. He visited Bahrain on Monday and traveled to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. The previous time Lavrov visited Riyadh was in March 2021. On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine with the purpose of "demilitarization and denazification" of the country after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. The West and its allies responded by imposing comprehensive sanctions against Russia. The international community is currently making every effort to resolve the conflict. (@FahadShabbir) WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2022) The US State Department confirmed on Tuesday that rockets struck an Iraqi base hosting American troops, but no damage or casualties have been reported. "I can confirm that an attack took place last night against an Iraqi base that houses international coalition advisors, we understand that there was no damage, nor were there any casualties," spokesman Ned price told a press briefing. Earlier in the day, US media reported that five rockets hit an Iraqi base hosting US troops. The US-led coalition and US Central Command did not immediately respond to Sputnik's inquiry to comment on the matter. ANTAKYA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2022) The Turkish police on Tuesday arrested 50 demonstrators that gathered at Taksim Square in Istanbul to mark the anniversary of the 2013 anti-government demonstrations in nearby Gezi Park, Zubeida Chapar, their attorney, told Sputnik. "Some 50 demonstrators have been detained by the police. They will be transferred to the General Directorate of Security after the medical report is received," Chapar said. The attorney added that the demonstrators clashed with the police at Taksim Square. "Several students have been beaten up," she said. Ahmed Akim, another attorney, confirmed to Sputnik the news of the activists' arrest; however, he said that the police apprehended about 40 demonstrators. Demonstrations against the reconstruction of Ottoman-era Taksim Military Barracks and the felling of trees in Gezi Park near Taksim Square turned into violent clashes with the police on May 31, 2013. The demonstrations soon turned into anti-government protests, in particular against the increasing Islamization of the country. The protest movement was supported by half of Turkey's provinces and by Turks living in Europe. Auburn Community Hospital will receive more than $2 million in federal funding to help cover its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand recently announced that Auburn hospital will get $2.2 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for COVID-related expenses. Matthew Chadderdon, a spokesman for the hospital, confirmed on Monday that the funding will reimburse the medical center for its purchases of COVID medications, test kits and other supplies. "As the only hospital in Cayuga County, Auburn Community Hospital heroically stepped up by increasing spending, while experiencing significant revenue loss, and working ceaselessly to help our rural communities beat back this virus for over two years," Schumer said. Gillibrand added that the federal aid "will help ensure that Auburn Community Hospital can maintain staffing levels, provide (personal protective equipment), and continue to keep Cayuga County safe as we encounter and fight new variants of COVID-19." Auburn hospital has treated scores of COVID patients since the pandemic began in March 2020. Hospitalizations peaked in January 2021 before vaccinations were widely available. There was a surge in hospitalizations again last winter. Case numbers and hospitalizations are on the decline in Cayuga County, Chadderdon noted that they are still treating COVID patients and there are employees who are out of work due to the virus. "This money is really needed," he added. The funding is the latest aid for Auburn hospital. Before the FEMA money was announced, Schumer successfully intervened to get more than $3.4 million for the hospital. The funding was available through the American Rescue Plan's Provider Relief Fund. Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. June is Pride Month, a celebration that recognizes the impact of the LGBTQ+ community. The month also focuses on the important and ongoing work to achieve equal justice and opportunity for Americans who identify as LGBTQ+, an inclusive acronym that represents the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and/or questioning community. The + symbol is meant to recognize identities that are not specifically represented in the acronym. Pride Month was initially inspired by the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, a series of demonstrations by members of the gay community sparked by a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood in New York City. The raid and ensuing riots mark the start of the gay rights movement. The first Pride March in New York City was held on June 28, 1970, on the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. The University of South Florida is proud to support its LBGTQ+ community during Pride Month and throughout the year with an active network of organizations that host events, provide resources and work to serve and support these communities. Advising the USF president on issues that affect the LBGTQ+ community is the Committee on Issues of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (CISOGI). The goal of the committee is to support LGBTQ+ individuals and communities at USF by acknowledging achievements, raising visibility, sharing information and enhancing connections. The committee, whose members are appointed by the president, also advocates for meaningful policy change, resource allocation and training to maintain a thriving and diverse community of LGBTQ+ students, staff, faculty, alumni and community partners. Among their efforts this year was the work to expand the inclusiveness of the university policy that would allow students to use their chosen name on ID cards and other identification materials. CISOGI also promotes USFs inclusive environment to the broader community, often by participating in the regions Pride and cultural events and by connecting with organizations such as the Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber. There is much work to be done and having a committee at USF that reports directly to the president signals a commitment and willingness, said CISOGI chair Michael Rogers. It indicates the importance of the LGBTQ+ community within USF and a desire to make sure that all LGBTQ+ people feel welcome and included. For anyone interested in how change happens at an organizational level, I encourage them to get involved. CISOGI is also proud to be one of the sponsors of USFs Lavender Ceremony, an annual event celebrating LGBTQ+ student graduates. Lavender graduation ceremonies are held on numerous campuses throughout the U.S. to honor lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and ally students and to acknowledge their achievements and contributions to their university community. USFs first Lavender Ceremony was in 2019 with 50 student participants. This years ceremony, held April 13, recognized 117 graduates, the largest number to date. At the event, Pride Awards are given to recognize allies for their support of the community. Also hosting the event and working closely with CISOGI, the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) houses more than 50 cultural or identity-based student organizations including those representing USFs diverse LGBTQ+ community. OMAs programming includes the Stonewall Suites residential Living Learning Community and the Safe Zone Training Program, a four-part workshop available to all USF students, faculty and staff. OMA also partners with the broader community, carrying a message of support and inclusion. In October, which is LGBTQ+ History Month, the OMA and Tampa campus and community partners host a series of events to celebrate and educate the campus community about social justice and civil rights issues related to the LGBTQ+ community. For Pride Month, OMA oversees USFs annual participation in the St. Pete Pride Parade by purchasing a block of tickets and participating in the parade. This years parade is set for June 25 and marks the 20th year of St. Pete Pride events. USFs LGBTQ+ Alumni Society is an active extension of the universitys community outreach. Co-chairs Todd St. John-Fulton and Robert Wallace agree that USFs support of the alumni society reflects a continued commitment to diversity and student success. The USF Alumni Association also supports a scholarship for LGBTQ+ students, which St. John-Fulton and his husband, Stephen, are proud to support. We know that LGBTQ+ folks are disproportionately disadvantaged when it comes to college, St. John-Fulton said. Between homelessness and other challenges, these scholarships are tremendously important. Wallace believes engaged alumni also can help todays students by providing mentorship and visibility as role models, especially as they enter the job market. When I graduated, I was told that joining the LGBT alumni group would hurt my chances of finding a job, said Wallace, a licensed professional engineer who worked at General Electric for 25 years. That is no longer true, and I see USF working to bridge the gap by helping new graduates connect with mentors who have been out in the world. While much of the work to support LGBTQ+ Pride is future-focused, current student Emma Frank has been inspired to raise the visibility of the LGBTQ+ community through an historical perspective. As a digital humanities intern at USF Libraries, Franks interest in queer fiction eventually led her to create a digital exhibit that investigates themes and events in queer history and literature. The online exhibit, Queer Life and Literature in the 19th Century, was created using StoryMap, a software application that became widely used to share digital content during the pandemic when in-person access to library collections was limited. The exhibit is part of the Libraries Special Collections, which includes more than two dozen archival collections and thousands of monograph and journal volumes written about or by the LGBTQ+ community. Major themes throughout the LGBTQ+ Collections include identity, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender studies, feminism, activism and legal rights. Frank, a double-major in English literature and history with a minor in queer and sexuality studies, says that literature played an important role in her own coming out process as well as determining her academic path. When I first decided that I wanted to go to school to be an English lit major, I had just read The Picture of Dorian Gray, which is one of the heralded texts of queer literature that's also classical literature, Frank said. I loved it, and I loved getting the chance to talk about it and research it. At USF, Franks decision to combine coursework in history, literature and queer studies allowed her to develop a focus for her research on queer life in the 19th century, through the lens of literature. Frank says the work of two of her history professors, David Johnson and Brian Connolly, on gender and sexuality in American history was foundational to her decision to pursue the research that inspired her digital exhibit. Its empowering and powerful to do research that affirms the idea that these identities these emotions have always existed. We just didn't have the words that we have now to talk about them, Frank said. It's still a very under-researched area of literature and literary history, but once people know about it, they are really interested in it. Getting the chance to do work that is meaningful and has some sort of exterior value feels amazing. Franks minor in queer and sexuality studies was first offered at USF in 2018 and examines the rich history and cultural contributions of LGBTQ+ people as well as the processes that have structured sexual relations in different contexts. The minor prepares students for post-graduate study in queer studies and/or prepares them to enter the workforce with greater cultural sensitivity to the needs and issues of LGBTQ+ community. Diane Price Herndl, professor and chair of the Department of Womens and Gender Studies, which houses the minor, says the response from students has been strong. Students from a wide variety of backgrounds find that the minor can help them not only be prepared for a diverse world, but specifically for a diverse working world where companies of all sizes are trying to figure out how to support a workforce that is increasingly diverse in all sorts of ways, Price Herndl said. Were also working to keep up with the exciting developments in scholarship as people begin to look at the significant contributions of LGBTQ+ people over the centuries and at the difference it makes in all sorts of fields when you look at subjects with a queer eye. The Department of Womens and Gender Studies represents a proud history of its own. In 1987, USF became the first public university in Florida to offer a bachelors degree in Womens Studies. In the 2010-2011 academic year, the name was changed to Womens and Gender Studies to better reflect an evolving questioning and understanding of gender identities. As feminist work has evolved, weve come to realize that binary male/female understandings of the world are important, but that they have lots of effects beyond just contributing to the oppression of women, Price Herndl said. Gender identities are more complex, and they really cannot be untangled from other aspects of our identity (like class, race, ethnicity, sexuality or ability). Those who were re-imagining the department in 2009-2010 wanted to reflect that in the name. With Covid-19 restrictions relaxed, Ugandan media report of excitement as the national shrine at Namugongo prepares to host crowds of pilgrims arriving to commemorate Uganda Martyrs Day. Paul Samasumo Vatican City. Ugandan Dioceses usually take turns to host the liturgical celebrations of Martyrs Day at Namugongo shrine. The Bishop of the host diocese presides over the liturgy -fast becoming a continental affair. After a two-year Covid-19 break, Ugandas Fort Portal Diocese will animate the 3 June liturgical celebrations. Fort Portal is located in the western region of the country. Animating Martyrs Day Mass Apart from the enormous financial and logistical challenges on the host diocese, Ugandas Martyrs Day celebration is a window for the host diocese to showcase their faith, culture, dress, languages and church music to the nation. The last time Fort Portal Diocese hosted the Namugongo celebrations was in 1997. According to the current Bishop, Robert Muhiirwa, times have changed. Celebrations then used to be a small event with about 300 people in attendance. Today, as the popularity of the martyrs has spread wide, Martyrs Day Mass attracts millions of pilgrims. Fort Portals choirs have been practising for months -literally. The bar is set high each year, and choirs are expected to lead pilgrims in a memorable performance. The blood of martyrs, seed of Christians Christ does not wish for Christians to put themselves in harms way yet it is still true that sometimes, the blood of those that die because of their Christian faith gives birth to even more Christians. The theme is reflected in the way the martyrs died, they were men of faith baptised with water, but some were not yet baptised (baptism of blood). They had a great love for Christ. That is why they opted to die than obey the orders of Kabaka Mwanga. They were not threatened by the sword or fire. With love and hope, they looked to the life after death and resurrection without any fear, Bishop Muhiirwa told Ugandan media. Police reassure pilgrims about security Uganda Police Force spokesperson, CP Enanga Fred, allayed the publics security concerns. Although a threat environment still exists in the country, authorities assured that there were no known credible or specific threats towards the Uganda Martyrs Celebrations in Namugongo. The spokesperson said that Ugandas joint security Task Teams were camped at all commemoration venues in Namugongo and would continue to review their level of preparedness and assessments of threats and vulnerabilities. We have worked on intelligence and analysis, profiled all venues, hotels and hotspots in the area, to help identify potential risks and taken steps on how to address them, said Enanga Fred. The Police spokesperson nevertheless urged pilgrims, faith-based tourists and well-wishers to remain vigilant and focused about their personal security. He encouraged visitors, when necessary, to use the Uganda Police Mobi App or call any of the following emergency numbers: 0800199699, 0707600773, 0776999135. The Punjab Department of General Services and Administration in Pakistan stops employment advertisements for menial tasks that target candidates from religious minority groups. By Vatican News staff reporter Following a petition of the National Human Rights Commission (NCHR), the Punjab Department of General Services and Administration last week put a stop to the mention of the religion of candidates in public advertisements for jobs. For years, Pakistani civil society organizations have criticized employment advertisements targeting religious minorities who are hired for sanitation and other menial jobs reserved for non-Muslim candidates. The recent notice, issued with the approval of the chief minister of the Punjab province, was sent to all the administrative departments, with directives to nullify any provision that promotes such discrimination. A welcome move "We welcome the notification from the government of the province of Punjab, issued last week, which states that all government offices will no longer have to indicate, in any announcement or public notice, religious faith or the specific request of Christians for jobs such as ecological workers or street cleaners, said Peter Jacob, president of the Center for Social Justice in a statement to the Vatican's Fides news agency. The notification sent last week states that the advertisements violate Article 27 (paragraph 1) of the Pakistani Constitution and Articles 1 to 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, ratified by the Government of Pakistan. Jacob added that the practice is a flagrant violation of the fundamental human rights of religious minorities living in Pakistan and requested the government to issue another notification adding clear sanctions for those who publish job advertisements reserved for only Muslims. As Christians, he continued, we raise our voice for all humanity, not just Christians: that is why the government notification must mention not only Christians, but also the rights of other religious minorities. Reference to professed faith should never be an indicated prerequisite in the job search. Christians, religious minorities employed in menial jobs In Pakistan, about 95 percent of the workers who clean streets, sewers, hospitals, schools and public institutions belong to religious minorities. This discriminatory employment practice can be traced to the caste system still present in some societies, which reserves the humblest jobs for people of the lowest castes. Many Christians in Muslim-majority Pakistan are descendants of lower-caste Hindus, who converted to Christianity years ago. In Pakistans major provinces, Christian organizations and civil society have been vocal in speaking out against discriminatory public job advertisements for menial jobs, claiming it disgraces members of religious minorities and fosters a culture of contempt for non-Muslims. Fr. Bonnie Mendes from Pakistan welcomes the move as a positive step, but notes that there should be severe sanctions if government officials do not respect it. "It was an injury and a serious discrimination to read job advertisements promoted by public bodies in which humiliating jobs were indicated reserved for people from religious minorities, said Aqsa Kanwal, a woman active in the defense of human and minority rights., who welcomes the notice and expresses hope that all discriminatory state practices will be eliminated. Pope Francis expresses great concern over warnings of grain shortages worldwide due to the war in Ukraine, and appeals for "every effort to be made" to "guarantee the universal right to food." By Deborah Castellano Lubov Pope Francis has appealed for an end to the blockade of grain exports from Ukraine. At the conclusion of his weekly General Audience, the Holy Father again turned to the ongoing war in Ukraine. "Of great concern," the Pope said, "is the blockade of grain exports from Ukraine, on which the lives of millions of people depend, especially in the poorest countries." Every effort to guarantee universal right I earnestly appeal for every effort to be made to resolve this issue and to guarantee the universal human right to food. "Please do not use wheat, a staple food, as a weapon of war!" he appealed. The Holy Father decried the likely shortages of grain, which has been caused in part by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Global food crisis The United Nations warns a global food crisis is looming. It is trying to broker a deal to unblock Ukraine's grain exports, despite Western leaders blaming Russia for holding the world to ransom by blockading Ukrainian ports. The price of grain, cooking oil, fertiliser, and energy have soared as the war continues, and as Western nations impose sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. To help avert the crisis, Ukraine is trying to export its vast stores of grain by road, river and rail, but agricultural officials note it has no chance of hitting its targets unless Russia lifts its blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports. Ukraine and Russia together accounted for nearly 30 percent of the world's wheat exports in 2021, and wheat prices have risen by over 50 percent since the start of the year. Listen to our report: Pope's prayers for peace and to end wars Pope Francis has made countless appeals for peace in the war-torn country, as well as for an end to the war in Ukraine and to wars around the world. On Tuesday evening, closing the Marian month of May, Pope Francis prayed a Rosary for peace for these intentions in Rome's Marian Basilica of St. Mary Major. On 25 March, Pope Francis consecrated all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in St. Peter's Basilica, and said the act expressed our complete trust in the Virgin Mary in the midst of the cruel and senseless war in Ukraine. Pope Francis meets with participants in the International Conference on the Global Education Pact, a project he launched in 2019, and tells them the crisis we are experiencing can become a propitious moment for re-evangelisation. By Vatican News staff reporter In an address to participants in an International Conference on the Global Compact on Education, Pope Francis spoke about how a crisis can become a stimulus to set people out on new paths. The example of Aeneas An eloquent example of how to confront a crisis, he said, was how the mythological figure Aeneas saves his father and son from the flames of his burning city. Aeneas saves himself, but not by himself. He brings with him his father, who represents his past, and his son, who represents the future. This image, noted the Pope, can serve to illustrate the mission of educators, who are called to preserve the past and to guide the steps of the young towards the future. It can also help us to reflect on some fundamental principles of the Global Compact on Education. Centrality of the person The first of those principles said Pope Francis, is the centrality of the person. He told those present that every educational process must be centred on persons and concentrate on what is essential; everything else is secondary. Another essential element, highlighted the Pope, is to invest the best energies with creativity and responsibility. Education, he noted is always rooted in a past, but it is also aimed at the future where the old and the new come together in the composition of a new humanism. However, against all this, the Pope warned of a fashion that looks backward, that claims to be the guardian of traditions but is dead of traditions. Throwaway culture Another fundamental element, he underlined, is our need to educate for service. The throwaway culture would have us believe that, as soon as something no longer functions properly, it should be thrown out and exchanged. That is what we do with consumable goods, Pope Francis said. Sadly, it has also become a mindset that affects what we do with people. For example, if a marriage no longer works, you change it; if a friendship is on the rocks, you cut bait; if an older person is no longer self-sufficient, you cast him or her aside. Fragility, however, is synonymous with great value: the elderly and the young are like fragile vases, to be carefully protected. Crisis and opportunity In conclusion, the Pope observed that at a time when technology and consumerism are turning us into users and consumers, the crisis can become an opportunity for evangelization, for preaching anew the meaning of our humanity, our life, and this world in which we live. It can also be an opportunity to reassert the centrality of the human person as a creature that, in Christ, is the image and likeness of its Creator. Not to speak the truth about God out of respect for those who do not believe would be," he stressed, in the field of education, like burning books out of respect for those who are not intellectuals, destroying works of art out of respect for those who do not see, or silencing music out of respect for those who do not hear. WASHINGTON The man accused of murdering 10 Black people in a Buffalo supermarket appears to have written a screed espousing "great replacement" theory. Tucker Carlson and other hosts on Fox News have pushed a version of the same theory and the most powerful New York Republican in the House, Rep. Elise Stefanik, has been accused of flirting with it. But when asked about the longtime fringe theory that there's a conspiracy to replace whites as the majority race in America, the two Republican House members who want to represent Western New York in Congress next year said they knew little about it until recently and want nothing to do with it. Q&A: Hate-fueled mass shootings didn't start in Buffalo. It's doubtful they end here Those who track the hate behind the carnage see no end at this point and fear that some of the twisted logic and conspiracy theories used to justify the shootings have gone more mainstream. "As I have read more and learned more about it, it's clear that this is just a vile and disgusting conspiracy theory rooted in racism and antisemitism," said Rep. Chris Jacobs of Orchard Park. "In my mind, it has no place in this country." Meanwhile, Rep. Claudia Tenney, a Utica-area Republican, said: "To be honest with you, I've never even heard of it until it was raised after this horrific shooting in Buffalo." Afterwards, though, Tenney reviewed the suspect's racist screed. "It is absolutely sickening to read," she said. Both Jacobs and Tenney regularly decry what they see as a crisis at the Southern Border: the regular flow of undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Central America into the United States. But a review of their public comments and social media posts from recent years show that neither have pushed a version of Great Replacement Theory. This theory is nothing new. F. Scott Fitzgerald mocked it a century ago in "The Great Gatsby," creating a boorish bourgeois character named Tom Buchanan who, after reading a racist book of that era, ranted: The idea is if we dont look out the white race will be will be utterly submerged. But the theory was largely confined to fringe publications until the dawn of the internet and the emergence of Fox News, where some talk show hosts have mainstreamed the idea and adapted it to fit the nation's red-blue political divide. "AOC and the gang are eager to replace native born Americans and lawful immigrants with foreigners who came here illegally," Fox News host Laura Ingraham said on Jan. 21, 2021. "They're trying to replace the current electorate, the voters now casting ballots with new people, more obedient voters from the Third World," Carlson said on Fox on April 21, 2021. "That's what's happening. Actually, let's just say it: That's true. You know, I think we're being replaced." "The great replacement plan is working," Carlson said last Oct. 5. "It's helping the Democratic Party. That's the whole point." Jacobs and Tenney, however, don't see it that way. Jacobs, for example, used the word "insane" to describe a version of the theory that alleges that there is a "Jewish elite that's trying to orchestrate getting more minorities from outside the country to diminish the white population." "It's just such an outrageous, insane, insane concept," Jacobs added. And Tenney a longtime supporter of federal refugee resettlement efforts said: "I just think it's seems a bit of a stretch to say the only reason people are allowing illegal immigration is to allow voters" into the country. A racist gunman came for Buffalo, but 'racism is not new here' As Buffalo seeks to heal from this month's hate-fueled attack, advocates say, the city must reckon with its own legacy of racism. Stefanik, who represents the North Country and who is the House's third-ranking Republican, has met criticism for a statement on Twitter that followed the Tops Markets shooting. On May 16 two days after the Buffalo shooting she tweeted: "Democrats desperately want wide open borders and mass amnesty for illegals allowing them to vote. Like the vast majority of Americans, Republicans want to secure our borders and protect election integrity." That tweet prompted backlash. "It is deeply irresponsible of you to keep pushing this argument just days after a white supremacist used it as a rationale for killing ten people," Kevin M. Kruse, a Princeton University historian, replied on Twitter. Such comments, and such a backlash, are nothing new for Stefanik. Last fall, her campaign ran a Facebook ad that showed migrants reflected in President Biden's sunglasses and charged that Democrats were waging "A PERMANENT ELECTION INSURRECTION" by welcoming them. Their plan to grant amnesty to 11 MILLION illegal immigrants will overthrow our current electorate and create a permanent liberal majority in Washington, the ad added. That prompted the Albany Times-Union, in a scathing editorial called "How low, Ms. Stefanik?," to say: "If theres anything that needs replacing in this country and in the Republican party its the hateful rhetoric that Ms. Stefanik and far too many of her colleagues so shamelessly spew." Stefanik declined an interview request but defended herself in an interview with conservative talk show host Ben Shapiro. She noted that a Democratic-aligned think tank, the Center for American Progress, issued a report in 2013 that said: "Supporting real immigration reform that contains a pathway to citizenship for our nation's 11 million undocumented immigrants is the only way to maintain electoral strength in the future." And Stefanik told Shapiro: "We want border security and we want to oppose amnesty. That's where mainstream Americans are. There's nothing racist about that statement, and it is absolutely warped that now somehow this is being tied into the horrific tragedy and act of evil that occurred in Buffalo." Republicans have largely defended Stefanik, too. "From what I know of Elise Stefanik, I think she's a good person," Jacobs said. "I don't think she's a racist or white supremacist at all. I think on both sides, we need to tone down the rhetoric and think twice about how we are stating things in this environment." Tenney said Democrats are making Stefanik widely seen as a potential House speaker or vice presidential candidate "a target." "I think it's unfair what they're doing to Elise, from what I've seen," Tenney said, adding: "I haven't seen the (Facebook) ad or anything." Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Myanmar's military has likely used air strikes and artillery barrages as "collective punishment" against civilians opposing its coup, Amnesty International said Wednesday, accusing the junta of war crimes. Deadly clashes have ravaged swathes of the country since last year's coup, which ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi's government, with the junta unable to crush resistance to its rule. Between last December and March, the military ramped up its onslaught in Kayah and Kayin states along the Thai border, with troops carrying out extrajudicial killings and looting and burning villages, Amnesty said. Air strikes and shelling hit homes, health facilities, temples and churches, the rights group said, with villagers telling researchers some artillery barrages lasted for days. Amnesty said the onslaught constituted "a new wave of war crimes and likely crimes against humanity". Air strikes killed nine civilians and wounded at least nine others during the reporting period, the report said. "In almost all documented (air) attacks, only civilians appear to have been present," it said. One air strike last January hit a camp for internally displaced people in Kayah state, killing a man and two sisters sheltering in an area that activists said "should have been well known to the military". Researchers also documented instances when soldiers had shot civilians fleeing clashes, including one eyewitness who said troops had shot dead six people trying to cross a river into Thailand. 'Collective punishment' Amnesty said the military's operations "reflected its signature policy of collective punishment of civilian communities perceived to support an armed group or, in the coup's aftermath, the wider protest movement". Kayah and Kayin states have seen some of the fiercest fighting since the putsch, with anti-coup fighters often teaming up with more established ethnic rebel groups. In January, the military called in air strikes on the Kayah state capital Loikaw to dislodge anti-coup fighters, a junta spokesman told AFP. On Christmas Eve last year, more than 30 burnt bodies, including those of women and children, were discovered on a highway in the state after a massacre blamed on junta troops. The charity Save the Children later said two of its staff were among those killed. Myanmar's military has been repeatedly accused of atrocities and war crimes during decades of internal conflict. Military violence against the Rohingya minority in 2017 sent an estimated 750,000 people fleeing into neighbouring Bangladesh, bringing accounts of rape, murder and arson. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing -- who headed the army during the Rohingya crackdown -- said in March that the military would "annihilate until the end" groups fighting to overturn its rule. More than 1,800 people have been killed in the junta's crackdown on dissent, according to a local monitoring group. Join veteran journalist Hayde Adams on Straight Talk Africa every Wednesday as he and his guests discuss topics of special interest to Africans, including politics, economic development, press freedom, health, social issues and conflict resolution. Show more Show less The United States says its authorized shipment of medium range missiles to Ukraine to aid in its defense. It comes as Russia secures more of Sievierodonetsk. But what does Moscows effort to take this strategic town say about Russias war effort? And what challenges face the European Union after it passed its sixth round of sanctions against Russia? A record number of women were sworn-in Wednesday as members Australias new left-of-center government. Among the 10 women serving key roles in the cabinet of new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese are Penny Wong, a veteran lawmaker who will serve as foreign minister, Youth Minister Anne Aly, Australias first female Muslim minister, and Linda Burney, who is the Australias first Indigenous woman to hold the Indigenous Affairs portfolio. Another historic first is Ed Husic, who joins Aly as the first Muslims to serve in an Australian federal ministry, who was named by Prime Minister Albanese as Industry and Science minister. Albanese and Wong took office shortly after the Labor Party defeated then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his conservative Liberal-National coalition in the May 21 parliamentary elections so they could attend the so-called Quad summit in Tokyo that included U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters. Greeces armed forces are on high alert in the Eastern Aegean Sea as tensions escalate with Turkey. Officials have been responding to what they say are mounting provocations by Turkeys leadership. Senior Greek Defense Ministry sources say the military intelligence they have gathered point to the prospect of so-called hybrid threats that Greece may face from its neighbor Turkey as the two NATO allies compete for oil and gas drilling rights in contested parts of the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. The points of friction between the two countries are many. A crisis, the sources say, may also spring from a sudden surge in refugee flows from Turkey, or from unexpected wildfires in remote locations or islands in the Aegean Sea that Turkey wants to see demilitarized. Some security analysts say that while Turkeys recent actions including the bellicose remarks of its leader are serious, an armed conflict is unlikely. Retired General Leonidas Tzoumis said both countries stand to lose from a military confrontation, but he warned that Turkish actions may lead to a miscalculation. That prospect, he said, requires heightened vigilance by Greece's armed forces. Tzoumis said Greece is facing what he calls a classic Turkish game of controlled escalation, one of repeated provocations that can trigger a serious enough incident that would eventually force Greece to negotiate matters like the Aegean Sea dispute and territorial rights that Greece has been refusing to discuss because the analyst said - it does not want to cede an inch. Greece and Turkey have been at odds for decades over rights to the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean. They are also locked in a fierce arms race that has them spending among the highest amounts in defense compared to other NATO member states. Turkey has the second largest army in the NATO alliance. U.S. reluctance is blocking Ankara from obtaining a fresh batch of American-made F-16 fighter jets it needs to crush Kurdish separatists in its north. Some officials in the United States and western Europe have voiced concerns that a rearmed Turkey could pose a threat to Greece and others in the region. Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was cutting off all contact with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis because of an address the Greek leader made to the U.S. Congress, urging it to keep blocking the sale. Mitsotakis also sealed a deal for F-35 fighter jets, dashing hopes of a detente in relations with Turkey, despite a March meeting with Erdogan in which the two men agreed to avoid provocations as the war in Ukraine rages. Turkey has since carried out what Greek officials say is an unprecedented surge in violations of Greek airspace. Refugee flows are spiking again. Turkey has recently sent out an exploratory vessel to the Aegean. This week, Ankara openly contested Greek sovereignty over 23 islands, many of them populated and some of them tourist destinations favored by Americans and Europeans. Mitsotakis warns that any serious threat from Turkey will not go unanswered. In a bid to rally European support, he has been meeting key European leaders, presenting them with the worrying intelligence report and a list of what Greece considers Turkish provocations. In remarks Tuesday at a news conference, Mitsotakis said he was in his words - not interested in psychoanalyzing Turkeys behavior, nor would he engage in what he called this play of bellicose remarks. But Mitsotakis told reporters provocations will not and should not be tolerated, especially from a country that says it wants to join the European Union. Mitsotakis said he would push his EU counterparts to issue a strong protest against Turkey when they meet at a summit in late June. Until then, military officials warn, Greeces armed forces will continue to remain on alert. Guinea's ruling junta has rejected a UN call to lift a ban on political demonstrations, insisting protests should only be allowed during the election period in three years' time. The military overthrew President Alpha Conde in September and last month declared a ban on public demonstrations before a return to civilian rule, which it says will be in three years. The UN's Human Rights High Commission on Monday called for the ban to be revoked, but the junta rejected the appeal late Tuesday. "No march will be authorised so long as public order cannot be guaranteed" in such events, it said in a communique read on state TV. Hundreds of people died during violent protests that erupted during the Conde era, the junta noted. The junta said it had already set up bodies where "contradictions and misunderstandings can be debated quite serenely." "As a result, nothing can justify marches during this sensitive period of national life in which Guineans have (begun once more) to speak to each other like brothers," the statement said. Political parties are becoming increasingly vocal in their protests against the junta's rule and what they say is the crackdown on freedoms. The National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (FNDC), a coalition that led months of anti-Conde protests in 2019 and 2020, issued a statement on social media accusing the junta of showing a "dictatorial attitude." It called on the public to "mobilise for the imminent resumption of peaceful and civil demonstrations... to prevent the confiscation of power and demand a swift return to public order." The junta is made up of army officers led by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya. Its plan for a three-year transition period is in defiance of regional partners in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The West African bloc suspended Guinea's membership after the coup and in March warned of economic and financial sanctions if the junta snubbed an appeal for a shorter transition period. The issue is set to return to the agenda at an ECOWAS summit on Saturday in Accra, the capital of Ghana. Meanwhile, a special anti-corruption court on Tuesday ordered three former Conde ministers who were charged in April with suspected embezzlement to be maintained in custody. They are former prime minister Ibrahima Kassory Fofana; former defense minister Mohamed Diane; and former Environment Minister Oye Guilavogui. When she helped launch The Kyiv Independent in November, chief editor Olga Rudenko had no idea that six months later she would be on the cover of Time magazine. But her team's reporting on Russia's war in Ukraine propelled their English-language site into the spotlight, with Time describing The Kyiv Independent as the "world's primary source for reliable English-language journalism on that war." Rudenko feels a great responsibility to her audience, "to be the world's window into Ukraine." That commitment to fact-based reporting has been essential in a war where disinformation is high and journalists find themselves reporting on atrocities happening so close to home. In an interview with VOA's Russian Service, Rudenko talked about her team's efforts to provide objective journalism, and her view on the future for a free press. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. VOA: How difficult is it to report the news, especially in English, and how are your journalists coping? Olga Rudenko: We were a little prepared because the war has been going on since 2014. Some members of our team had experience in war reporting with the Donbas war. But of course, what is happening now is different. It's much more intense. And we had to make an overnight switch. We used to have departments in our newspaper like the business desk or the politics desk. Now all that is gone and everyone is war reporter. Each one of us also had to make decisions about safety. Some people had to move their family. That was the main difference for us compared with international journalists. We and other Ukrainian journalists were in the story, in the epicenter of the war. We had people who had to report on atrocities in places where their families were. That is taking a toll on all of us. But this is something we will have to process after the war ends. Right now things are so dynamic and everything is happening so fast, we are very focused on everyday reporting and don't really have time to process everything. Our reporters amaze me every day with how well they are coping, especially when they are so young. But I know from experience how important it is to support each other in the newsroom and I know that it definitely will affect us all. VOA: How does it feel to appear on the cover of Time and to know the Pulitzer Prize board commended Ukraine's journalists? Rudenko: Those two things happened one right after another. The Pulitzer Prize special citation for Ukraine's journalists and then the Time magazine cover. I'm fully aware that I was on the cover because I represent the Ukrainian journalist and Kyiv Independent. I don't read too much into that as I'm not a Hollywood star or a president or someone you may usually see on the cover. But I think it was a very important recognition of the work of The Kyiv Independent and we're all proud of that. And the same with the Pulitzer Prize citation. It was a very meaningful, very touching moment to see the journalists of Ukraine mentioned. Even though it is happening because of the war, I know many amazing colleagues in Ukraine who have been doing an amazing job for years. VOA: Why do audiences need an English language news site in Kyiv? Rudenko: It is of utmost importance to have a local source published in English. I have a lot of respect for any international journalist who comes to Ukraine, and a lot of them do a great job. But we bring something different to the table. We know the context well, we know Ukrainian and Russian languages. We are at the intersection of the Ukrainian and international news agenda. International journalists say they use us as the primary source. I'm happy that we can do our part in informing the world and helping people get the facts right. At The Kyiv Independent, we don't really add opinion to our reporting, it's very factual and even dry. We present facts. We don't do propaganda, we're not opinionated. We are not neutral in the war of course. We are clear that we are Ukrainians and cheering for Ukraine to win. And this is why it is so important for us personally that we have this role to play and can do something for the country. Many people around the globe have discovered Ukraine for the first time. Many are surprised at how brave Ukrainians are, but they've always been like this. I cannot imagine this war happening with the absence of a trustworthy local news source in English. It is so crucial today. VOA: How would you describe the state of the press freedom in Ukraine now? Rudenko: The war is testing the boundaries between the government and journalists. The government understandably is trying to set limitations on reporting things like precise sites hit by Russian missiles, the victims and disclosure of the military positions' location. While some of that is justified, I know that many journalists in Ukraine feel that the government is overreaching. We're watching it very closely and I'm personally a little concerned because even before the war, Ukraine was not a perfectly free country in terms of freedom of speech. Of course, it was doing much better than Russia, but we had our problems. I was in journalism for over 10 years and the journalist community has always been watching closely any kind of limitations and pushing back. It's a very active community in that regard. And we are now vigilant about limitations that may come. I don't think that the war environment benefits freedom of speech because the government naturally wants to set up limitations that they justify with national security needs. I am concerned about how the relationship between the current government and journalists will be shaped after the war. Obviously now, the government is not scrutinized as much because we are in a survival mode, we are on the same team. My concern is that the government might get used to that. I don't know how they're going to react when things go back to normal and when they start getting a lot of critical questions at press conferences. But I'm sure that the journalistic community in Ukraine is capable of protecting freedom of speech. VOA: How much is Russian propaganda affecting people in Ukraine, including territories that appear to be under occupation? Rudenko: We've seen that people living in the occupied territories were subjected to Russian propaganda. It is working to some extent. We have spoken to people who have lived in the occupied territories since 2014. Some of them don't believe the propaganda being fed to them every day. At the same time a lot of people are influenced by that propaganda with its key narratives about fictional neo-Nazis in Ukraine or the craziest narrative that Ukraine was preparing to attack and invade Russia. It is so absurd that it's hard to debunk it. But we've seen that Russian propaganda can be extremely powerful. A lot of Russians who don't support the government fell in a kind of trap. They have seen what is happening on the state TV with insane and aggressive propaganda narrative. They didn't take it seriously. But when the war happened, it turned out that over 70% of people in Russia supported the war, and propaganda all this time was more effective than many people, both in Russia and abroad, thought. And as for what has happened with independent media in Russia: It is sad to see that the Russian government killed professional journalism in the first weeks of war, when they banned the last remaining independent media outlets. This interview originated in VOA's Russian Service. A trove of internal and confidential police photos and documents, known as the "Xinjiang Police Files" from within China, has been described as the "largest and most significant leak" to date by the Washington-based Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. The information provides a window into Beijing's policy and treatment of the Uyghur ethnic minority group, including the detention of Uyghurs in re-education camps. Rights organizations have accused China of crimes against humanity. In the past, China has repeatedly denied these accusations and called them lies. China's state news agency, Xinhua, has said the vocational training centers serve as "preventive counterterrorism and deradicalization measures." The data from within Xinjiang police computer networks was leaked to one of the organization's researchers, Adrian Zenz, who shared the content with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and other media outlets. Andrew Bremberg, president of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, spoke to VOA Pashto service's Shaista Lami about the Xinjiang police files. The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. VOA: Please shed some light, first of all, on the release of these papers, the leak from Xinjiang police (computer) network. What does it tell the world? Andrew Bremberg: Yes, this is an unprecedented cache of documents directly from Xinjiang police computer servers. This was a hack, in fact not a leak, that someone kind of smuggled out but a hack of tens of thousands of documents that provide the most in-depth understanding of what is actually happening in Xinjiang over the last several years. These materials include thousands of photos, the first photos of their kind that show both individuals who have been detained and the internal security operations of how this police state system works in terms of detention. (It) also has thousands of files that show the internal security workings of these detention facilities, as well as personally identifiable information on hundreds of thousands of people from specific counties that show how the government has been tracking and, in many cases, detaining definitely more than 12% of the entire adult population in these counties. Then, also never before known speeches and remarks by senior officials both from the party and from Beijing directly to those in Xinjiang, admonishing them to continue their basic brutality and telling them why the regime believes it's so important and how committed they are, and that this is a directive from the central government. So, this information, I think is, as I said, unprecedented and really hope that this will have a dramatic impact on how the U.S. and the world understands and responds to this genocide taking place in China. VOA: The report comes as the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, also visited China, kicking off the first trip by a holder of this office since 2005, which is a long time. As she visited the remote Xinjiang region so far, did you have a chance to talk to her, share your concerns in this regard and if yes, what was her reaction? Bremberg: I spoke with High Commissioner Bachelet about this issue many times previously when I served as the U.S. ambassador in Geneva and repeatedly, I raised the gross human rights violations happening in Xinjiang and the need for her individually and her office to speak out and address these terrible human rights violations that were taking place at the time. I had in-depth conversations with her about both the importance of a visit by her office to Xinjiang, but equally about the importance of that visit being an open and independent investigation where she would have free access to move and examine what is happening in the region and not potentially be confined or used by the government. Both from her own office's admission and what we heard from the Chinese government, they seem to agree that this is not an investigation, that it is not transparent and that she is in fact and part of what I believe they referred to as a closed loop, tightly controlled movement. This, of course, has been explained under the auspices of part of their zero-COVID policy to prevent COVID and to whatever degree that was legitimate was the case, that was all the more reason for High Commissioner Bachelet to not go on this visit. Recognizing that if that's the approach the government's going to take, it means it is impossible for her to have an open visit and investigation. VOA: Her trip also shows that it's important for her and for her office obviously that she is making this trip, but how did the Chinese government get away with these human rights violations, and how serious of a problem can this be for the Chinese government as far as the possibilities of sanctions on China? Bremberg: Her office must examine this new evidence that's been presented by this unprecedented file of documents and be included in their report, which also must be immediately released. Her office has been engaged in this investigation for a number of years. That report must be made public immediately after her visit. Turning to your question about how the Chinese government has gotten away with this, China is a sovereign country and can make decisions about how it treats its citizens on its own. They are the ones responsible for those human rights violations. But the United States and the rest of the world, we also bear some responsibility as to whether or not we speak out and act in response to those actions taken by China. So, to date, while the United States has taken important steps to speak out against human rights violations, the United States has designated what they are doing in Xinjiang a genocide, very important designation, many other countries have remained silent, and the United States could still do more. So, the question is in the face of this incredible new evidence that visually confirms for everyone what we've already known or suspected for the last several years, the question is, what will we do? Will we, in freedom-loving countries, democratic countries that profess to believe in and advocate for human rights, will we continue to turn a blind eye or say very little, or will we call out these terrible human rights abuses and more importantly, will we act? VOA: You mentioned countries being silent and one of those can be Pakistan, which is a big ally to China. Your reaction toward that, which is also a Muslim country, and is witnessing what is happening to the Muslim population minority in China. Bremberg: It is very disappointing that across the entire Muslim world, among OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) countries, that none has spoken out against this genocide and oppression of Uyghur Muslim minorities in western China, and this has to end. I hope that this new evidence that countries around the world, governments, and their own citizens, will see, will spur those countries to speak out. At the very least, these countries must stop giving in to China's coercion and supposedly defending China's human rights record. VOA: Besides sanctioning China, what can the international community do for the victims? Bremberg: There's a lot that the United States and other governments can do in response to human rights violations. You mentioned sanctioning China, but the United States has sanctioned several high-level individuals from the Xinjiang region. But the evidence that we've uncovered showed that, as we suspected, these directives have come from Beijing, from the central government. We have the names of individuals that, starting with Xi Jinping on down, that have directed these activities. So the United States can add many more people to the list of those sanctioned including the central government leadership, both in Beijing and their party leadership in Xinjiang, that absolutely should be sanctioned for these human rights violations that they are personally accountable for. The United States also passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act last year that goes into effect next month and the question will be, how vigorously does the U.S. enforce this new law? This new law prohibits the importation of any goods from Xinjiang off of the presumption that they are de facto made from forced labor. That is a really important statement that our country has made. But will it be enforced? That's a critical question the United States must lead on. We need the United States and other countries around the world to put forward resolutions in the (U.N.) Human Rights Council body to condemn these human rights violations taking place in China today. This interview was conducted by VOA Pashto Service's Shaista Lami. VOA's Elizabeth Lee contributed. Iran warned Wednesday it would respond to any "unconstructive actions" taken by the U.N. atomic watchdog after the agency reported traces of nuclear material at undeclared sites in the Islamic republic. Iran and the U.N. agency agreed in March on an approach to resolve the issue of the nuclear material found at Marivan, Varamin and Turquzabad, sites that had not been declared by Iran as having hosted nuclear activities. But in a report on Monday the International Atomic Energy Agency said it still had questions that were "not clarified" despite long-running efforts to get Iran to explain the presence of the nuclear material. The IAEA board of governors is to hold a meeting on Monday for which Britain, France, Germany and the U.S. have prepared a draft resolution "calling on Iran to cooperate on the question of undeclared sites," according to a European diplomatic source. "We will respond firmly and appropriately to any unconstructive action at the board of governors," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a statement. "The responsibility for its consequences falls on the shoulders of those who see the board of governors and the director-general's report as leverage and a tool of political games against Iran," he added. The issue is one of the remaining obstacles to reviving a 2015 deal that gave Iran relief from sanctions in return for guarantees that the Islamic republic is unable to develop a nuclear weapon, something it has always denied wanting to do. The agreement, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was torpedoed in 2018 by the administration of then U.S. president Donald Trump, which withdrew unilaterally and imposed sanctions on Iran. In a tweet on Wednesday evening, Khatibzadeh said Israel, the Islamic republic's archenemy that also strongly opposes the nuclear deal, was the "only nuke-possessor of the MENA region." He used the acronym for Middle East North Africa region. "Time for E3/US to stop pretending to be asleep," he said, referring to the three European nations and the United States. "They can pursue diplomacy -- or pursue the opposite. We're ready for both," he added. Tehran has condemned the U.N. watchdog's report as "not fair and balanced," saying it "does not reflect the reality of the negotiations between Iran and the IAEA." France had called on Iran to respond promptly to the IAEA's requests. "We are consulting closely with our partners on how to respond to this situation at the next board of governors meeting," its foreign ministry said. Khatibzadeh called on "countries such as France to refrain from taking positions and making interventions that would cause the cooperation to deviate from its proper path." These statements were aimed at putting "pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran on the eve of the meetings of the IAEA board of governors," he added. The United States is the target of thousands of cyberattacks daily, many of them originating in Russia. If tensions between Washington and Moscow escalate further over the war in Ukraine, experts worry that Russian leader Vladimir Putin will order a full-scale cyberattack that could devastate Americas critical infrastructure. VOAs Igor Tsikhanenka reports on the likelihood of such a scenario A central New York couple's mission to raise awareness of cytomegalovirus has been embraced by state lawmakers. The state Legislature passed a bill that would require child care providers to receive information about congenital cytomegalovirus, known as CMV. According to the Mayo Clinic, CMV is a common virus but it's rarely problematic for healthy individuals. However, CMV can cause health problems in babies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that babies born with CMV have developmental challenges, such as brain, growth, liver, lung and spleen problems. It can also cause hearing loss either at birth or later in childhood. Jim and Lisa Saunders emerged as leading advocates for the CMV awareness legislation as they began walking the Erie Canalway Trail. The Saunders Jim is an Auburn native shared their story with The Citizen in March 2021. The couple's daughter, Elizabeth, was born with CMV. She developed cerebral palsy, seizures and hearing and vision problems. In 2006, she died after a seizure. Lisa Saunders believes she contracted CMV while running an in-home daycare center and volunteering at a church nursery. She thinks she passed the virus to her daughter through the placenta. The way Lisa Saunders was infected with CMV is why they are hoping to raise awareness among child care providers. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has identified the virus as an occupational hazard among child care workers and estimates that between 40% and 70% of child care providers had CMV infections. Last year, state Sen. John Mannion introduced legislation that would require child care employees to be provided information about CMV. The state Senate passed the bill, but it did not get a vote in the state Assembly. The state Senate passed Mannion's bill again in early May, but lawmakers worked on finalizing an agreement that could clear both houses. The Senate passed the amended bill by a 61-0 vote on May 23. The next day, it was approved by the state Assembly in a near-unanimous 147-2 vote. It will be sent to Gov. Kathy Hochul for her signature. Her office has not indicated whether she will sign or veto the measure. Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding. Love 3 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. Islamic State on Tuesday claimed responsibility for an attack that killed at least 15 civilians in a village in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday, the militant group said on an affiliated Telegram channel. A rights group and a local official said on Monday that fighters believed to be members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) stormed the village of Bulongo in North Kivu province after dark on Sunday, pillaging homes, murdering inhabitants that crossed their path and setting fire to six vehicles. The ADF is a Ugandan militia that has been active in east Congo since the 1990s and killed scores of civilians, many in middle-of-the-night attacks carried out with machetes and hatchets. It pledged alliance to Islamic State in 2019. Islamic State claimed its members killed nearly 20 Christians and set fire to six trucks in the attack using machine guns, and returned to their bases unhurt. A new app is helping Zimbabwes journalists stay safe in environments in which they are at risk. Set up by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), the tool acts as a panic button. It is seen as an important resource leading up to the countrys 2023 elections. Nompilo Simanje, from MISA Zimbabwe, said the media watchdog set up the app after documenting a trend of unlawful detentions and assaults against journalists. So in light of those trends, which have seen to actually increase during election periods, MISA Zimbabwe launched this alert button," Simanje said. "It is very timely and it will be very useful with the general election coming up next year and also for the purposes of reporting any media violence and calling for assistance in the event of any media violation. Journalists in distress can press a Trigger" icon on the app, which immediately alerts MISA and key contacts to the emergency and the persons location. Blessed Mhlanga, a journalist with the Alpha Media Holdings news group, has already signed up for the app. Mhlanga, who was arrested in early May, said he could see the value of being able to seek help quickly. I was arrested just a few weeks ago while covering elections in Chitungwiza," he said. "There was an amazing response from MISA Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, chiefly because when we were arrested, there were some journalists who then made calls and we managed to get quick responses. But imagine if there was no one around. When President Emmerson Mnangagwa took over in 2017, he promised to improve the media landscape in Zimbabwe. But Reporters Without Borders said levels of violence against journalists remain alarmingly high in Zimbabwe, and harsh laws are still in effect. On Monday, Nick Mangwana, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information, told reporters the government was promoting development journalism stories focused on the economy, climate change and infrastructure. He said authorities were not standing in the way of journalists work. It is very important and paramount that the welfare of journalists should be elevated to a level where it becomes an integral [part] of the developmental project that is being rolled by government," he said, "because the media are a key component of creating the critical mass buy-in from the public to the national development goals. Mangwana promised a Media Practitioners Bill in parliament soon as part of efforts by the government to allow journalists like Mhlanga to work freely in Zimbabwe. The ability of media to work unhindered is vital as Zimbabwe prepares for elections next year. During that time, Mhlanga said, the MISA app will be an asset. It is going to be very useful," he said. "And it comes as a relief and guarantee to me as a journalist. Reporters Without Borders recently ranked Zimbabwe 137th out of 180 countries on its annual index, where 1 is the most free. A federal judge on Tuesday increased her sentence to 25 years for a New York City man who had attacked an FBI agent and planned to join Islamic State group. The new sentence came after a federal appeals court had called the original one of 17 years "shockingly low." Fareed Mumuni, 27, pleaded guilty in 2017 to discussing plans to travel overseas to join the militant group, also known as ISIS, and trying to stab an FBI agent after authorities had arrived at his residence in the New York City borough of Staten Island in 2015 to execute a search warrant. The United States considers the Islamic State group a foreign terrorist organization. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn successfully appealed Mumuni's 2018 sentence, with the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals arguing that U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie had improperly second-guessed whether Mumuni truly planned to kill FBI Special Agent Kevin Coughlin, who survived the attack. Prosecutors on Tuesday asked Brodie to sentence Mumuni to the 85 years recommended by federal guidelines. Anthony Ricco, a lawyer for Mumuni, urged Brodie to reduce the sentence, arguing that Mumuni had rehabilitated himself. "I got lucky," Coughlin said during the sentencing hearing on Tuesday as Mumuni, wearing a white skullcap and black face mask, leaned back in his chair. Brodie called prosecutors' request for her to sentence Mumuni to 85 years "unreasonable" but said she would place greater weight on his attack on Coughlin and increase the sentence. Mumuni, whose parents, uncle and two cousins sat in the courtroom's front row, told Coughlin he was sorry. "I can't apologize enough for what I've done," said Mumuni, the son of immigrants from Ghana. He had once interned as a paralegal at the Staten Island district attorney's office and had been studying to be a social worker and working as a home health aide when he was recruited into Islamic State group. "Whatever I say cannot take back what I've done." The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. President Joe Biden hosted K-pop supergroup BTS Tuesday to raise awareness of anti-Asian discrimination. The septet is South Korea's most prominent crossover act, bagging two Grammy nominations and an armful of American music awards and garnering widespread appeal among American teens. They're also U.N. ambassadors. VOA White House Correspondent Anita Powell reports from the White House. For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT. 10:07 p.m.: In his nightly video address, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Childrens Day, spoke about the number of children killed and wounded since Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24. Every year on June 1 we celebrate Children's Day. A special day when adults pay special attention to the rights of children, safety and development of our kids. But since February 24, everything has changed in our country. And literally every day now is a day of protection for us. Protection of all our people, children, our future. Protection of a free country where every child can, when he or she grows up, live the life he or she wants. Without coercion and oppression, he said. During the 98 days of the Russian invasion, 689 children were injured as a result of the occupiers' attacks. And these are only those we know about. We do not yet have all the information from the territory that is currently occupied. But from what is known today - 446 children were injured, 243 children died. 139 went missing, Zelenskyy said. 9:15 p.m.: Even as the European Union decided to reduce Russian crude oil imports by 90% by the end of the year, Italy has become the only country in Europe to increase them, an unintended consequence of EU sanctions against Russia, The Associated Press reports. Italy agreed with its EU partners to cut Russian crude imports by 2023, but Rome also has to deal with the fate of the refinery in Sicily owned by Russias Lukoil. As a result of previous sanctions against Russia, banks have refused to take the risk of extending credit to Russia-controlled ISAB that would allow it to buy oil from non-Russian sources, so ISAB has gone from processing 15% of Russian crude to 100%. Ships continue to arrive at the port-side refinery with crude oil from the Russian parent company, including about 400,000 barrels of Russian oil a day in May, four times the pre-invasion levels, according to the Kpler commodity data company. 8:27 p.m.: The United Kingdom seeks U.S. approval to send American-made medium-range MRLS to Ukraine, Politico reported. The U.Ks request can after the U.S. announced its plans to send similar weapons. The MRLS in question is the M270, which can strike targets 80 km away, similar to HIMARS given to Ukraine by U.S. However, the more modern HIMARS is quicker. 7:18 p.m.: 6:40 p.m.: Ireland's Parliament recognizes Russia's invasion of Ukraine as genocide. 6 p.m.: U.S. President Joe Biden will meet with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House on Thursday, along with Bidens national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. Stoltenberg told reporters after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday that he would convene a meeting in Brussels in the coming days with senior officials from Sweden, Finland and Turkey to discuss Turkey's opposition to Sweden and Finland joining the defense alliance. 5:15 p.m.: One of the world's largest yachts sits in a quiet United Arab Emirates port so far avoiding the fate of other luxury vessels linked to sanctioned Russian oligarchs in one of the poorest emirates, a 90-minute drive from the illuminated high-rises of Dubai, The Associated Press reported. The 118-meter Motor Yacht A's presence in a Ras al-Khaimah creek shows the UAE's neutrality during Russia's war on Ukraine as the Gulf country remains a magnet for Russian money and its oil-rich capital sees Moscow as a crucial OPEC partner. Since Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, the seven sheikhdoms of the Emirates have offered a refuge for Russians, both those despairing of their countrys future as well as the mega-wealthy concerned about Western sanctions. Motor Yacht A belongs to Andrey Melnichenko, an oligarch worth some $23.5 billion, according to Forbes. 4:44 p.m.: A number of civilians are sheltering from Russian shelling under a chemical plant in the Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk and authorities fear it may still have stocks of dangerous materials, the regional governor told Reuters on Wednesday. Russian forces entered the city, the largest still held by Ukraine in the eastern Luhansk region, late last week after weeks of shelling as they try to take full control of the industrial Donbas region. "There are civilians there in bomb shelters, there are quite a few of them," Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai said of the Azot chemical plant, adding that there were "strong Soviet-era" bomb shelters under the factory. "We were assured that there were no (chemicals) left, but as we can see there are still some remnants," he said. Reuters could not independently confirm the account. 4:10 p.m.: Denmark will join the European Union's defense policy after a referendum on Wednesday, public broadcaster DR projected, and Reuters reported. It signals the latest shift among Nordic countries to deepen defense ties in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Denmark is the only EU member that is not part of the bloc's defense and security policy, after the country secured several exemptions in a 1993 referendum. 3:30 p.m.: Without an urgent ceasefire in Ukraine, children will continue to suffer, says United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF). 3:15 p.m.: Vyacheslav, 18, from Ukraine's Donetsk region, became the guardian of four younger siblings after their mother was killed by a Russian shell and their house was completely destroyed. Hundreds have now offered to help the family after their story featured in a video by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. 3:00 p.m.: Can western artillery stop Russias progress in the Donbas? Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty looks into it in this report. 2:40 p.m.: Russia relentlessly shelled Sievierodonetsk in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, with the Luhansk regional governor conceding that Moscows forces now control 70% of the city and that evacuation of civilians had been halted. Some Ukrainian troops were still fighting against the Russian onslaught, Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai said, but others had retreated. Ukrainian Galina Pashkevich witnessed Nazi atrocities during World War II, including the bombing of her city, Kyiv. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February, she left her homeland for America. Angelina Bagdasaryan spoke to her in this report. Anna Rice narrates. Camera: Vazgen Varzhabetian. 1:55 p.m.: The Department of Defense (DoD) announced the authorization of additional security assistance valued at up to $700 million, to help the Ukrainians repel the Russian offensive in the east. VOAs Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb reports that Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl says the initial tranche will include High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems to help "provide Ukraine with additional precision in targeting." Kahl also says that Ukrainians have given us assurances that they will use this system for defensive purposes only." Other items will include 1,000 Javelins and 50 Command Launch Units, and 6,000 anti-armor weapons. 1:00 p.m.: Nigerian manufacturers say they are struggling with rising grain prices, especially for wheat, sparked by Russia's war on Ukraine. But even before the war started in February, Nigeria had been dealing with fuel and power shortages and high inflation. Timothy Obiezu reports from Abuja, Nigeria. 12:05 p.m.: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated the need for countries to continue to support Ukraine against Russia's aggression, The Associated Press reports. Their meeting in Washington on Wednesday comes as the Biden administration announced it will send Ukraine a small number of high-tech, medium-range rocket systems, a critical weapon that Ukrainian leaders have been begging for as they struggle to stall Russian progress in the Donbas region. 11:50 a.m.: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday said international sanctions are affecting Russias ability to export its own grain amid fears of a global food shortage, The Associated Press reports. Speaking during a visit to Saudi Arabia, Lavrov said Russian grain exports may not be directly under sanctions, but the ships carrying the grain face extra hurdles. 11:20 a.m.: US Permanent Representative to NATO Julianne Smith praised Ukraine progress which she said is not always linear. Speaking at The Defense Writers Group in Washington, she says that we [NATO] do hope and believe that Ukraine will ultimately prevailThe allies remain united in their determination to continue providing security assistance to Ukraine. I don't see anyone moving away from that mission". She also notes that Turkeys outreach to Russia to negotiate is good BUT "we're skeptical that at this juncture it's going to lead to some sort of major breakthrough." More with VOAs National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin. 9:51 a.m.: With tens of thousands of displaced Ukrainians living in the western city of Lviv, local football (soccer) academies opening their doors to help them take their minds off the war. Details from reporter Omelyan Oshchudlyak ((O-me-lia-n O-sch-ud-lia-k)) in Lviv. 9:40 a.m.: Poland stands to get an economic boost from agreements to help Ukraine, the prime minister said on Wednesday, as he opened temporary housing funded and built by Warsaw in a town that was largely destroyed during the war with Russia. Benefits could come from possible agreements to re-export Ukrainian grain, help Ukraine rebuild its infrastructure, and by importing power from its neighboring country according to Reuters. 9:37 a.m.: The United States is the target of thousands of cyberattacks daily, many of them originating in Russia. If tensions between Washington and Moscow escalate further over the war in Ukraine, experts worry that Russian leader Vladimir Putin will order a full-scale cyberattack that could devastate Americas critical infrastructure. VOAs Igor Tsikhanenka reports on the likelihood of such a scenario. 9:00 a.m.: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Moscow negatively views U.S. plans to supply more weapons to Ukraine, The Associated Press reports. He said during his daily conference calls with journalists on Wednesday that Moscow doesnt trust Kyivs assurances that the multiple-launch rocket systems supplied by the U.S. will not be used to attack Russia. 8:45 a.m.: U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday he was hopeful of a solution to alleviate the impact of the war in Ukraine on global food supplies, but cautioned any agreement might be a while, Reuters reports. "These are complex things and the fact that everything is interlinked, makes the negotiation particularly complex," he told a news conference with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson in Stockholm. 8:30 a.m.: South Africans are feeling the bite of fuel price increases that are blamed on Russias war in Ukraine and the rise in the Brent crude oil price according to a report by The Associated Press. Neighboring Zimbabwe and other African countries are also grappling with increasing fuel prices. The latest increases make fuel in South Africa about 40% more expensive than a year ago. In Somalia the prices have almost doubled according to this post by the International Committee of the Red Cross. 8:00 a.m.: Western nations promised more and more advanced arms to bolster Ukraines defense, The Associated Press reports. Germany said Wednesday it will supply Ukraine with modern anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems. The U.S. will unveil a new weapons package later in the day that will include high-tech, medium-range rocket systems. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told lawmakers that the IRIS-T SLM missiles it will send are the most modern air defense system that Germany has. 7:35 a.m.: The Kremlin warned on Wednesday that the European Union's sanctions on Russian oil would hit the global energy market but said Moscow could re-route exports to limit its own losses, according to Reuters. "These sanctions will have a negative impact on the entire continent - for Europeans, for us, and for the entire global energy market," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. 7:00 a.m.: Denmarks largest energy company rsted says Russia cut off its gas supply because it refused to pay in rubles, according to The Associated Press. Russia previously halted natural gas supplies to Finland, Poland, Bulgaria and the Netherlands for refusing a demand to pay in rubles. rsted said it still expected to be able to serve its customers. 5:00 a.m.: One of the worlds largest yachts sits in a quiet port in the United Arab Emirates so far avoiding the fate of other luxury vessels linked to sanctioned Russian oligarchs. The 118-meter (387-foot) Motor Yacht A also shows the UAEs neutrality amid Russias war on Ukraine as the country remains a magnet for Russian money and its oil-rich capital sees Moscow as a crucial OPEC partner. Since Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, the UAE has offered a refuge for Russians, both those despairing of their country's future as well as the mega-wealthy concerned about Western sanctions. The superyacht belongs to Andrey Melnichenko, an oligarch worth some $23.5 billion. The Associated Press has the story. 4:35 a.m.: Germany will supply Ukraine with the IRIS-T medium-range surface-to-air defense system, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, following pleas from Kyiv as well as German opposition parties to step up heavy weapons deliveries to the country, Reuters reported. We have been delivering continuously since the beginning of the war, Scholz said on Wednesday, pointing to more than 15 million rounds of ammunition, 100,000 hand grenades and over 5,000 anti-tank mines sent to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country on February 24. Most recently, the government has decided that we will deliver the most modern air defense system that Germany has in the form of the IRIS-T, Scholz told lawmakers in the Bundestag. 4:15 a.m.: Pope Francis on Wednesday appealed to authorities to lift the block on wheat exports from Ukraine, saying the grain cannot be used as a weapon of war. Speaking at his general audience to thousands of people in St. Peters Square, he said the block should be lifted because many millions of people depend on wheat from Ukraine, particularly in the worlds poorest countries. 3:00 a.m.: VOA posts a story about a firm creating mobile laboratories and clinics that could help fill the healthcare gap created by, according to the World Health Organization, the more than 250 attacks on health facilities and health personnel in Ukraine since it was invaded by Russian forces. Genia Dulot has the report for VOA. 2:20 a.m.: Beyond the Donbas, Russia continues to conduct long-range missile strikes against infrastructure across Ukraine, the British defense intelligence report said on Wednesday. The strategically important bridge links Ukraine with Romania and with Ukraines ports on the Danube, which have become critical to Ukrainian exports after the blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports by Russia. Russia continued its focus on ground operations with intensified fighting in Sieverodonetsk streets the ministry added in its daily report. 2:00 a.m.: Swiss financial market supervisor FINMA extended through August a ban on the Swiss arm of Russias largest lender Sberbank from making payments and transactions, as well as other measures designed to protect creditors, Reuters reported. FINMA imposed the measures on Sberbank (Switzerland) on March 4 following Russias invasion of Ukraine, which prompted a host of sanctions to be imposed by Western countries, the report said. They were later extended through May 31, with FINMA on Wednesday adding on a further two months. The measures will remain in place until 2 August 2022 owing to heightened international sanctions and the continuing risks for the bank's liquidity situation, FINMA said in a statement. 1:30 a.m.: Russian defense ministry claimed Wednesday that its forces are holding drills with about 1,000 servicemen in the Ivanovo province, a city located northeast of Moscow, Reuters reported citing the Interfax news agency. The ministry said the exercise includes intense maneuvers using over 100 vehicles including Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launchers, news agency reported. Earlier, U.S. President Joe Biden made mention of the threat of nuclear weapons since Russias invasion of Ukraine in an Op-Ed he penned for The Times on Tuesday. I know many people around the world are concerned about the use of nuclear weapons, Biden said. We currently see no indication that Russia has intent to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, though Russias occasional rhetoric to rattle the nuclear saber is itself dangerous and extremely irresponsible. Let me be clear: Any use of nuclear weapons in this conflict on any scale would be completely unacceptable to us as well as the rest of the world and would entail severe consequences. 12:15 a.m.: U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday he decided to provide Ukraine with more advanced rocket systems and munitions as part of U.S. efforts to help the Ukrainian fight against a Russian invasion now in its fourth month. Biden wrote in an opinion piece in The New York Times that the United States has aided Ukraine with weapons and ammunition in order to bolster its position on the battlefield and ultimately in peace negotiations with Russia. Unprovoked aggression, the bombing of maternity hospitals and centers of culture, and the forced displacement of millions of people makes the war in Ukraine a profound moral issue, Biden said. Biden wrote Tuesday that he does not seek war with Russia. As much as I disagree with Mr. Putin, and find his actions an outrage, the United States will not try to bring about his ouster in Moscow, Biden said. So long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces. We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. 12:01 a.m.: Russian opposition figure and jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny could face 15 more years under a new charge, The Associated Press reported. Navalny took to social media Tuesday to say he now has been charged with starting an extremist organization. There has been no official announcement about new charges against Navalny. Navalny was jailed last year when he returned to Russia after receiving medical treatment in Germany following a poison attack with a Soviet-era nerve agent during a visit to Siberia in 2020. Navalny blamed Putin for the attack. He is currently serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence in a prison camp east of Moscow on a 2014 embezzlement conviction. Navalny has been a longtime outspoken critic of the government, including calling the Russian invasion of Ukraine, stupid and built on lies. Last year, Navalnys foundation was outlawed after being labeled extremist by authorities, who blocked tens of websites run by his network. Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters. The World Health Organization reported more than 250 attacks on health facilities and health personnel in Ukraine since it was invaded by Russian forces. One U.S. firm is helping fill the gap with mobile laboratories and clinics. For VOA, Genia Dulot has our story from Los Angeles. Myanmars military, which seized power in a coup last year, blamed opposition terrorists on Wednesday for a deadly bus stop bombing that happened a day earlier in Yangon. Members of the exiled government denied involvement and blamed the military. The blast left at least one person dead and several others wounded. Photos and video from the scene showed bleeding victims on the sidewalk near the blast. A second fatal bomb blast occurred Tuesday at an education office in eastern Myanmar. Myanmar has been the scene of much unrest since a military coup in February of 2021 led to nationwide protests and violent crackdowns on them by government forces. Some 1,400 have been reported killed. While initial protests were peaceful, armed resistance against the military government has increased, prompting a warning from some United Nations experts that the country is at risk of a civil war. "The world's attention may have moved away from Myanmar since last year's coup, but civilians continue to pay a high price," Rawya Rageh, Amnesty International's senior crisis adviser, said in a news release. Some information in this report comes from The Associated Press and Reuters. Ukraines most stalwart backers in the West are promising there will be no let-up in support, despite increasingly tough talk from Russian officials. The U.S. permanent representative to NATO said Wednesday in Washington that recent Russian gains in eastern Ukraine have failed to shake the alliances resolve, with members continuing to have faith in Kyivs forces. "Collectively at NATO, I think we do hope and believe that Ukraine will ultimately prevail," Julianne Smith told the Defense Writers Group. "The level of ... respect that you see across the alliance for Ukrainian forces right now is quite high," Smith added. We see moments where Russian forces advance. We see moments where Ukrainian forces are successfully able to push back." Smiths comments come a day after Washington announced it would send more advanced weapons systems to Ukraine, including the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems known as HIMARS. U.S. President Joe Biden defended the decision in an editorial piece in The New York Times late Tuesday, saying the advanced rocket systems will help Ukraine to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield. Ukrainian officials have been asking for such systems for weeks, saying they are needed to counter Russian artillery that has enabled Moscows gains in the Donbas region. Russia Wednesday criticized the U.S. decision, accusing Washington of escalating tensions. "We believe that the United States is purposefully and diligently adding fuel to the fire, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, during a visit to Saudi Arabia Wednesday, further called the move a direct provocation, aimed at involving the West in military action." The U.S. ambassador to NATO rejected such concerns. U.S. military aid to Ukraine has all evolved and changed over the last couple of months, I think, quite naturally, Smith said, adding the message to Kyiv about the parameters for that assistance have remained relatively clear. We are not in a position to support you with equipment that can attack Russian territory," she said. "NATO allies are united that NATO will not become a party to this conflict." Separately, Smith welcomed overtures by Turkey to Russia to help forge a path toward peace talks in general and negotiations aimed at ending the Russian blockade of the Ukrainian port of Odesa, which has prevented the shipment of needed grain. Smith also said NATO allies are not expecting much to come from Ankaras efforts. "We're skeptical that at this juncture it's going to lead to some sort of major breakthrough, she said. "There's no indication that Russia is taking any of this seriously or negotiating in good faith. Some information from Reuters was used in this report. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern urged President Joe Biden to engage more with Pacific Island states amid China's concerted push to increase its clout in the region when she met with the U.S. leader at the White House on Tuesday. "We'll be encouraging the United States to really continue and strengthen engagement in our region, including economic engagement, which is really critical to our region," Ardern said. Biden reiterated that his administration was seeking to partner with countries in the region. "We have more work to do in those Pacific Islands," he said. The Biden-Ardern meeting followed a series of engagements the administration has had with Indo-Pacific countries in May, beginning with a Washington summit with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN; Biden's visit last week to allies South Korea and Japan; and the summit in Tokyo among leaders of the Quad, an informal grouping of the U.S., Japan, India and Australia. The Pacific Islands include Papua New Guinea, the U.S. commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna. Since Chinese President Xi Jinping took office in 2013, Beijing has significantly bolstered involvement in the Pacific Islands region, focusing on expanding economic ties and increasing its footprint in the diplomacy and security realms. According to a 2018 U.S. government report, China is a major player in the region, well ahead of the United States in most areas including trade, investment, development assistance and tourism. The Biden administration is "playing catch-up," said Patrick Cronin, the Asia-Pacific security chair at Hudson Institute. "We've relied very heavily over the years on Australia, for instance, for their development, engagement with the Pacific Islands," Cronin told VOA. "Clearly, that's not sufficient." In February, Antony Blinken went to Fiji the first U.S. secretary of state to make the trip in 36 years and promised a new era of regional focus and engagement from the U.S. Chinese presence New Zealand has raised concerns about the Chinese presence in the Indo-Pacific region following Beijing's security deal with the Solomon Islands. The pact, signed in April, would allow China to "make ship visits to, carry out logistical replacement in, and have stopover and transition in the Solomon Islands." Meanwhile, on Saturday, Beijing signed a bilateral agreement with Samoa promising "greater collaboration." The deal includes an economic and technical cooperation agreement, a handover certificate for an arts and culture center and the Samoa-China Friendship Park, and an exchange of letters for a fingerprint laboratory for the police, a Samoan government news release said. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has been on a 10-country diplomatic blitz, pushing for a sweeping regional security pact that would allow Beijing to expand political ties, increase maritime cooperation and gain greater access to natural resources in return for millions of dollars in financial assistance and the prospect of a free trade agreement opening access to China's market of 1.4 billion people. So far, China's effort has been rebuffed. Earlier this week, the Pacific Island leaders said they could not agree to the "Common Development Vision" proposed by Beijing. The 10 Pacific Island nations are concerned about the "substance of the communique and the lack of consensus building around the process by which China pursued it," said Anna Powles, senior lecturer at the Centre for Defense and Security Studies at Massey University in New Zealand. While China is likely to double down on its bilateral relationships in the Pacific, it is also set to continue to pursue this new multilateral approach, Powles told VOA. In their meeting, Biden and Ardern "did not get into specific details about efforts by other countries," a senior administration official told VOA when asked whether the U.S. was concerned about the Chinese initiative. "They did discuss the importance of working together to present an affirmative vision for the region as well as solidifying the traditional areas of cooperation and building new ones," the official said. Indo-Pacific Economic Framework Ardern expressed support for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, or IPEF, calling it "a significant opportunity to build the economic resilience of our region," but signaled that New Zealand would continue to advocate for the U.S. to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP. IPEF is the leading U.S. effort to reengage Indo-Pacific nations in trade more than five years after the Trump administration withdrew from a regional comprehensive trade pact, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP. Following Washington's departure, TPP eventually became CPTPP an 11-country bloc that now constitutes one of the largest free trade areas in the world. Thirteen countries, including the Pacific Island nations of New Zealand and Fiji, have signed on as "founding members" of IPEF, an outline of standards and norms to facilitate trade that Biden launched while he was in Tokyo. IPEF is not a free trade agreement that needs to be passed by Congress, where there is now little political appetite to open U.S. markets due to protectionist concerns for American workers. Without a trade promotion authority granted by Congress, the administration lacks credibility in the region, said Susan Aaronson, professor at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. However, China's "lack of respect for the rule of law to its own citizens" and toward existing supply chain contracts during the pandemic has been "so dramatic" that it is causing countries to rethink their relationships, she said. "It is a huge opportunity for the United States," she told VOA, adding that IPEF is "a creative way to try to get at these issues." Gun reform During their meeting, Biden, who had just returned from the town of Uvalde, Texas, where an 18-year-old man killed 19 children and two teachers, praised Ardern's leadership in curbing extremism and gun violence in New Zealand. "We need your guidance," he said. In 2019, less than a month after a white supremacist gunman killed 51 Muslim worshippers at two Christchurch mosques, New Zealand lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to ban military-style semiautomatic weapons and enacted a buyback program. "Our experience, of course, in this regard, is our own, but if there's anything that we can share that would be of any value, we are here to share it," Ardern said. According to the nonprofit group Gun Violence Archive, the Uvalde school shooting is the 213th mass shooting in which four or more people were shot or killed in the U.S. in 2022. "There's an expression by an Irish poet that says, 'Too long a suffering makes a stone of the heart.' Well, there's an awful lot of suffering," Biden told Ardern. "I've been to more mass shooting aftermaths than, I think, any president in American history, unfortunately." Even as Americans from both sides of the political aisle demand action in the wake of the latest violence, gun control legislation has remained deadlocked for decades, with Senate Republicans blocking even measures that receive broad public support, such as universal background checks for gun buyers. A clergyman of Nigeria's Methodist Church has revealed the church paid a ransom of nearly a quarter-million dollars for his release. Gunmen abducted the prelate Sunday while he was traveling in Nigeria's southeastern Abia state. The payment comes as Nigeria's president is expected to sign a bill punishing those who pay ransoms with up to 15 years in prison. The prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Samuel Kanu-Uche, made the announcement while briefing journalists in Lagos on Tuesday, soon after his release. He had been received by a cheering crowd of church members and immediately held prayers at the church before the briefing. Kanu-Uche said the church paid about $240,000 as ransom to his abductors to secure his freedom and that of the two pastors travelling with him. Eight armed men ambushed them on their way to the airport in Abia state on Sunday, shooting sporadically at their vehicle before taking them hostage. The clergymens driver and one other church member escaped the assault. Kanu-Uche said the kidnappers showed them the rotted bodies of previously kidnapped victims who could not raise ransom payments and threatened to do the same with him. Nigerian authorities have yet to comment on his release. But officials have repeatedly objected to paying ransom for kidnap victims, saying the payments make the abductors more powerful. Archbishop Chibuzo Opoko heads the Methodist church in Abia State. He says paying the ransom was necessary. "They would not have released them if that was not done, it wasn't the security that intervened," he said. "How effective will that law be when security agencies are not doing their best? What is the law for those who kidnap and demand for ransom? Armed groups and criminals have kidnapped hundreds, possibly thousands of people for ransom across Nigeria over the last two years. UNICEF says the number includes at least 1,500 students abducted in northcentral and northwestern Nigeria since late 2020. In an effort to curb the abductions, the Nigerian Senate recently approved legislation that would punish ransom payments with up to 15 years imprisonment. The bill would also punish kidnapping with a death sentence if the abductee dies in custody. Rights groups and families of kidnapped victims continue to protest the measure. Among them is Abdulfatai Jimoh, a spokesperson for the families of passengers kidnapped from a train in Kaduna state in late March. "It's an abnormal bill, abnormal in the sense that in a country where such a bill can exist should be a country that has a law in place that when anybody is kidnapped, that person must be rescued within 48 hours. Without anything like that in place there's no way they can stop anybody from paying ransom," he said. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has yet to say whether he will sign the bill into law. June 1, 2007 Roy Brown was one of three wrongfully convicted men exonerated because of DNA testing who testified in front of the state Assembly Wednesday about proposed criminal justice reforms to prevent more wrongful convictions. Brown was exonerated in March of the 1991 murder of Sabina Kulakowski after spending 15 years behind bars. He received a liver transplant 2.5 weeks ago. Brown submitted oral testimony but not written testimony to the Assembly Standing Committee on Codes and the Assembly Standing Committee on Correction. He revived his criticism that his wrongful murder conviction was an abortion of justice, said Rebecca Brown, a policy analyst with the Innocence Project, a nonprofit law clinic that represented Roy in his fight to secure court-sanctioned DNA testing. Rebecca attended the hearing at which Roy spoke. Roy described not having attorneys at times during his appeals and relying on law libraries and other inmates to fight his case, Rebecca said. Roy spoke against a state Senate proposal to put a one-year limit on filing any new appeals based on new information once initial appeals of a conviction have run out, Rebecca said. Such a law might create more Roy Browns, said Stephen Saloom, policy director for the Innocence Project. It took Roy Brown 11 years to find the information that led to his post-conviction DNA testing, Saloom said. Besides Brown, Peter Neufeld, co-director of the project, Alan Newton and Doug Warney testified. Newton, of New York City, served 21 years for a wrongful rape conviction. Warney, of Rochester, served nine years for a wrongful murder conviction. The Innocence Project said the Assembly's proposed reforms are more likely to prevent wrongful convictions than similar, but less extensive, reforms passed by the state Senate and introduced by Governor Eliot Spitzer earlier in May. The project cited reforms like the Assembly seeking the establishment of statewide rules for preserving evidence, while the Senate seeks only voluntary guidelines. The Assembly calls for running crime scene evidence to be run through DNA databases and fingerprint databases, but the Senate proposal only calls for a DNA database comparison. The Assembly calls for police interviews to be recorded, but the Senate does not touch the issue. Brown has filed a $5 million claim in the state Court of Claims seeking damages for his wrongful imprisonment and conviction. Sensitive DNA testing from a shirt Kulakowski is believed to have been wearing the night she was killed pointed to another, now-deceased suspect, Barry Bench, and eliminated Brown as her assailant. The case is again under investigation by the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office. Compiled by David Wilcox Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Pakistan's government on Wednesday sent a 50-member delegation of tribal elders to Kabul to negotiate an extension of a truce with the Pakistani Taliban that expired this week, two security officials said. Talks between the two sides that led to cease-fires in the past have been mediated by the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP are a separate group but allied with the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in their country last August, as the U.S. and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout from Afghanistan. The TTP has been behind numerous attacks in Pakistan over the past 14 years and has long fought for stricter enforcement of Islamic laws in the country, the release of their members who are in government custody and a reduction of Pakistani military presence in the country's former tribal regions. The latest cease-fire expired Tuesday. A similar truce between the TTP and Pakistan, brokered by the Afghan Taliban last November, lasted a month. However, none of the cease-fires has paved the way for a more permanent peace agreement. Both sides have remained silent about earlier talks in Kabul, the sticking points between them, and also about the chances of an extension of the latest cease-fire. Analysts say a more permanent deal could be possible if either side is willing to show flexibility on what is or isn't acceptable to them. Two senior TTP members who are close to the negotiations also confirmed the arrival of the 50-member team in Kabul. They told The Associated Press that a truce extension was linked to a "positive response" from the Pakistani government. They declined to elaborate, and like the two security officials, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters about the negotiations. There was no official comment from the Pakistani government or the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban often use neighboring Afghanistan's rugged border regions for hideouts and for staging cross-border attacks into Pakistan. They have been emboldened by the return to power of the Afghan Taliban, who last ruled Afghanistan in the late 1990s when they imposed their harsh edicts and interpretation of Islamic law, severely restricting the rights of women and minorities. In Pakistan, the TTP insurgency has been centered in the remote former tribal region, now province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, bordering Afghanistan. Mahmood Shah, a Pakistani security analyst, said the Islamabad government sent tribal elders to Kabul as intermediaries because under Pakistan's constitution, the government cannot negotiate at least not directly with those waging an insurgency against it. Pakistani authorities want an extension of the cease-fire in order to continue the talks, he said. Shah served as a local official in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when the military launched operations there after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, closely liaising between the military and the government side, which allowed for firsthand knowledge of operations against the TTP and other militant groups. The negotiations in Kabul are difficult, he told the AP, because for the military, any "government-level talks with TTP are equal to converting the military victory into a defeat." Pakistani officials say the talks with the TTP are being overseen by Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, a former Pakistani spy chief who is now the top commander in the northwest. According to the two TTP members, the group asked Pakistani elders during Wednesday's meeting in Kabul to scrap a 2018 law that did away with the semi-independent status of the former tribal regions that dates to British colonial rule. Islamabad is unlikely to give in to such a demand as the law paved the way for granting equal rights to millions of residents in the restive areas once they were incorporated into Pakistan's authority as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. TTP also wants Pakistani troops to pull out of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, release all the TTP fighters in government custody and revoke all the legal cases against them. Pakistan has demanded the TTP disband, accept Pakistan's constitution and sever all its ties with the Islamic State group, another Sunni militant group with a regional affiliate that is active in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Russia relentlessly shelled Sievierodonetsk in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, with the Luhansk regional governor conceding that Moscows forces now control 70% of the city and that evacuation of civilians had been halted. Some Ukrainian troops were still fighting against the Russian onslaught, Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai said, but others had retreated. There is no possibility to bring in humanitarian aid, Haidai said in a Telegram post. But Haidai said that Lysychansk the only other city in the Luhansk region not taken by Russia or Moscow-backed separatists remains fully under Ukrainian control. The battle for Sievierodonetsk remains crucial for Russias aim to take control of Ukraines industrialized Donbas region in the eastern part of the country after it failed earlier during its three-month offensive to topple the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy or capture the capital, Kyiv. If Russia were to capture Sievierodonetsk and its smaller twin Lysychansk on the west bank of the Siverskyi Donets River, it will hold all of Luhansk, one of two provinces in the Donbas that Moscow claims on behalf of separatists and a key war aim of President Vladimir Putin. Oleksandr Stryuk, the head of the Sievierodonetsk city administration, told Reuters that Ukrainian forces now control just 20% of the city, Russian forces have well more than half, and the rest has become a "no-man's land." The 20% is being fiercely defended by our armed force, Stryuk said. Attempts are being made to drive out the Russian troops ... We have hope that despite everything we will free the city. Haidai, the Luhansk governor, said Lysychansk was easier to defend since it is located on a hill, but he warned that Russian forces would target it with artillery and mortars once in full control of Sievierodonetsk. Leonid Pasechnik, the leader of the pro-Moscow Luhansk People's Republic, told Russias TASS news agency that Russian fighters had advanced slower than expected, in order to safeguard Sievierodonetsks infrastructure and "exercise caution around its chemical factories." Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council aid agency, which had long operated out of the city, said up to 12,000 civilians remain trapped by the fighting in Sievierodonetsk, without sufficient access to water, food, medicine or electricity. Before the war, the city was home to about 120,000 people. Some material in this report came from Reuters and The Associated Press. The gunmen in two of the nation's most recent mass shootings legally bought their semiautomatic rifles after they turned 18. That's prompting Congress and some governors and state lawmakers to revisit the question of whether to raise the minimum age for purchasing such high-powered weapons. Only six states require someone to be at least 21 years old to buy rifles and shotguns. Advocates argue that such a limit might have prevented the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two teachers dead and the racially motivated supermarket attack in Buffalo, New York, that killed 10. Lawmakers in New York and Utah have proposed legislation that would raise the minimum age to buy AR-15-style rifles to 21. A similar restriction is expected to move as soon as next week in the U.S. House, where it has some bipartisan support, but the legislation faces uncertainty in the closely divided Senate. Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, a Republican who chairs the National Governors Association, said the idea should be up for discussion. "I think you've got to be able to talk about the AR-15-style weapons, and whether that's an 18 or 21 age," Hutchinson told CNN this week. "You have to at least have a conversation about that." But Hutchinson, who leaves office in January, isn't pushing for the limit in his own state. Any proposed gun restrictions there are unlikely to find support among Republicans who control the Legislature. Arkansas Republicans are echoing their party's calls at the national level to focus instead on beefing up school security or addressing mental health. Partisan split A recent survey of governors by The Associated Press highlighted the partisan split over whether the minimum age should be higher. Many Democratic governors who responded supported restrictions such as increasing the age to buy semiautomatic weapons. But only one Republican Vermont Governor Phil Scott, whose state has a minimum age of 21 to buy guns, with some exceptions supported such a move. Gun control advocates say raising the age offers one of the clearest steps that could have stopped or prevented the most recent mass shootings. The Uvalde attacker, Salvador Ramos, bought the AR-15 he used shortly after he turned 18. If Ramos hadn't been able to buy the weapon, "maybe he would have gotten the mental health treatment he needed and this never would have happened, or maybe someone would have called some signs out to law enforcement that this person was acting erratically," said Sean Holihan, state legislative director with the gun control advocacy group Giffords. "But it's clear if there had been a law in place where he would have been 21 years old, he wouldn't have been able to purchase that gun." Federal law prohibits federally licensed dealers from selling handguns to anyone under age 21, but people age 18 to 20 can still buy handguns from unlicensed dealers in their state. Florida is a rare example of a Republican-led state that took swift action on gun restrictions after a mass shooting. In 2018, weeks after the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, then-Governor Rick Scott signed legislation raising the minimum age to buy rifles from 18 to 21, along with a host of other school safety and gun control measures. The law narrowly passed in both chambers of the GOP-controlled Legislature following intense lobbying from student survivors and grieving families, marking a moment of compromise in a state that previously shunned restrictions on firearms. Scott, a Republican, said at the time that the law balanced "our individual rights with the need for public safety." Now a U.S. senator, Scott did not immediately return an emailed request for comment on whether such legislation should be implemented in other states. New York bills The Buffalo and Uvalde attacks are similarly prompting New York lawmakers this week to consider an age limit increase for buying semiautomatic rifles as part of a package of gun safety bills. Under the proposal, those age 21 and older who want to buy or possess a new semiautomatic rifle would have to obtain a license. "New York already has some of the toughest gun laws in the country, but clearly we need to make them even stronger," Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul said. "New Yorkers deserve to feel safe in schools, in grocery stores, in movie theaters, in shopping malls and on our streets and we must do everything in our power to protect them." A proposal in Utah that would raise the minimum age to buy any firearm to 21 is more of a long shot in that state's Republican-controlled Legislature. "If you are not able to consume alcohol, why should you be able to buy a gun?" Democratic Senator Derek Kitchen said of his proposal. The age provision in the bill before the U.S. House has some bipartisan support, but it remains unclear which aspects of the legislation will pass and be taken up in the Senate. Any measure there needs support from at least 10 Republicans to pass. The House bill also would make it a federal offense to import, manufacture or possess large-capacity magazines and creates a grant program to buy back such magazines. It encourages safe firearms storage and builds on the executive branch's ban on bump stock devices and so-called ghost guns made from 3-D printers. Several Republicans have pointed to a ruling by a federal appeals court panel that found California's ban on the sale of semiautomatic weapons to adults under 21 is unconstitutional. Republican governors who decline to pursue the age increase also cite the political reality in their GOP-controlled legislatures. Why try? West Virginia Governor Jim Justice this week said he supports raising the minimum age for buying an AR-15-style rifle to 21 but isn't proposing such a change in his state. "First of all, do I really feel like an 18-year-old ought to be able to walk in and buy an assault weapon? I don't," the Republican governor told reporters this week. He appeared pessimistic about that or any other gun control measure gaining traction in his state. "I can call 1,000 special sessions," he said. "And if all I'm doing is calling 1,000 special sessions for people just to come and talk and get up on a soap box and get nothing done, why?" In the spring of 2020, as COVID-19 spread throughout the world in ways not fully understood, the United States faced a critical shortage of protective masks. Dozens of manufacturing startups attempted to meet the demand for what was then a confusing array of grades and types N95, KN95, full-face respirators Now, after a short respite from many COVID-19 precautions, the U.S. is weeks into a new surge in cases that may foreshadow a greater one this fall, and those same small companies that make masks are hurting. John Bielamowicz is a co-founder of United States Mask. The Fort Worth, Texas, company is among those struggling. Bielamowicz launched his mask-making mission after reading social media posts about medical professionals not having N95 masks in the pandemic's terrifying early months. It was caregivers like them who had helped his family in 2016, when his son Matthew was born missing 80% of his diaphragm on the left side. Bielamowicz and his business partner David Baillargeon put their commercial real estate business on hold to start the mask company. "This was our way of paying it back for the gift that they gave us for sending us home with our son," Bielamowicz told VOA Mandarin in a virtual interview. "It was a debt that I never thought that I'd be able to pay back." The partners began reading and experimenting in February 2020, and by late October of that year, their N95 masks carried a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health certification. At its peak in early 2021, the company produced millions of N95 masks a month and employed close to 50 people. "For me and my family, this was a mission, and we were going to do it or fail trying," Bielamowicz said. "And we didn't fail. We did it." Masks and jobs The American Mask Manufacturers Association (AMMA) represents small companies that started making masks during the pandemic. "During the pandemic, we created just over 8,000 new manufacturing jobs. And this was at a time where most businesses were laying people off or furloughing people," Lloyd Armbrust, president of the association, told VOA in a virtual interview. But attitudes toward mask wearing have varied widely across the U.S. since 2020, and on April 18, a federal judge in Florida voided the national mask mandate covering airplanes and other public transportation. This came a day before the Biden administration said it would no longer enforce a U.S. mask mandate. Armbrust American, Armbrust's mask company in Pflugerville, Texas, staggered from the twin blows. "That day, we saw our online sales be cut at half or even more," said Armbrust, who added that he and other mask makers had already been competing with cheap masks from China before the one-two punch. China and masks According to research published last year by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington-based think tank, 72% of the masks and respirators imported by the U.S. in 2019 came from China. When the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 was first identified in humans in Wuhan, China, in late 2019, U.S. imports of protective masks from China plunged. When China resumed exporting government-subsidized masks in 2020, it attempted to create "a monopoly within the PPE (personal protective equipment) market," the AMMA charged, and manufacturers such as Armbrust American found themselves in difficulty. "Our raw material costs me about $0.015 per mask," Armbrust said. "And yet China can deliver it to the United States for less than $0.01. They say that they're more efficient, but how is that possible when the cost of their finished products is cheaper than I buy the raw materials for? It's just not possible. The answer is, the Chinese government is subsidizing it because they don't want to lose this business." In response to VOA Mandarin questions about China's mask exports to the U.S., Liu Pengyu, the spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said, "I would like to point out that as a market economy, China has earnestly fulfilled its WTO (World Trade Organization) commitments and abides by multilateral economic and trade rules. Chinese merchandise is cheap and good because of the good supply chain, sufficient competition and economies of scale, not nonmarket behavior." An uncertain future "I can be very competitive, but I can't be competitive against the whole government. In 2021, we laid off about 70% of our staff," Armbrust said. Bielamowicz's United States Mask laid off people as well. "It was the worst day of my career," he said. Nationwide, the AMMA, which peaked with almost 30 members in 2021, now includes fewer than 10 enterprises still producing masks. Facing masks' uncertain future, Armbrust American shifted to producing home air filters. Bielamowicz has been traveling to Washington to lobby the federal government. "We're asking for free competition," Bielamowicz said. "We know the free market works." That said, Armbrust hopes the government can subsidize small companies that make masks, as it does farmers, to preserve production capability so that when the next pandemic hits, the small producers can jump back into mask making. "If I could just have a base," Armbrust said, " where I could mothball these machines and I could afford to pay the rent for the space instead of actually shutting it down and scrapping the machines, that would be another solution." U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Tuesday the Biden administration is actively considering adding new Chinese companies to the government's economic blacklist as it investigates what it calls efforts by China to evade U.S. sanctions. The Commerce Department's Entity List restricts access to U.S. exports. Raimondo told reporters the administration was working to "get information around bad actors in China and adding those companies to the Entity List ... We are in the middle of a number of investigations." She added: "I don't see us relaxing sanctions any time soon." China is not standing still, she said. "They are coming up with, we know, new ways to evade our sanctions, setting up new [companies] and the like. We have a very aggressive and vigilant effort under way." When possible, she said, she wants to work with U.S. allies to align their trade restrictions with U.S. export controls. The Trump administration aggressively used the Entity List, adding dozens of Chinese companies including Huawei HWT.UL in 2019. It also added chipmaker SMIC 0981.HK and Chinese drone manufacturer DJI in 2020. The Biden administration has extended that policy and in November put a dozen Chinese companies on the Entity List over national security and foreign policy concerns, in some cases citing their help in developing the Chinese militarys quantum computing efforts. In December, Commerce added China's Academy of Military Medical Sciences and its 11 research institutes to the Entity List. Raimondo cited a recent report that Apple Inc AAPL.O was considering moving some production out of China. "I've heard that same thing from numerous other American manufacturing companies, many of whom have been manufacturing in China for decades," she said. In February, the Commerce Department added 33 Chinese entities to its "unverified list" that requires U.S. exporters to go through more procedures before shipping goods to the entities. Chinas embassy in Washington said last year the United States "uses the catch-all concept of national security and abuses state power to suppress and restrict Chinese enterprises in all possible means." The U.S. launched a new trade pact with Taiwan on Wednesday, hoping to forge closer economic ties with the island territory that China claims as its own, while blunting Beijings economic clout in the region. Biden administration officials said the U.S.-Taiwan deal would boost bilateral digital and clean energy trade and that the two partners would open talks to further technology trade and investments. In announcing the pact, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said economic relations between the U.S. and Taiwan were especially important because Taiwan is a leading supplier of advanced semiconductors needed in an array of consumer technology products. Senior administration officials said controls on the export of sensitive technologies would be addressed in talks between the U.S. and Taiwan. Taiwan is an incredibly important partner to us, especially as it relates to semiconductors, Raimondo told reporters. We look forward to continuing to deepen our economic ties with Taiwan, and we are in active conversations with Taiwan. The U.S.-Taiwan pact comes days after President Joe Biden announced a new economic cooperation agreement with a dozen Asia-Pacific countries during his trip to South Korea and Japan. Taiwan was not invited to join the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework out of concerns from some countries that the countrys participation might anger China. But a senior administration official said, The Biden-Harris administration sees Taiwan as a leading democracy, a technological powerhouse and a key economic and security partner. The latest U.S.-Taiwan connection could further strain Washington-Beijing relations. In Asia last week, Biden said the U.S. would defend Taiwan militarily if China were to attack the democratic, self-governed island, a statement seemingly at odds with the U.S.s long-standing one China policy recognizing Taiwan as part of mainland China. While the White House later said there was no change in U.S. policy, the U.S. does ship weaponry to Taiwan. Bidens comment drew a rebuke from China, with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin saying that no forces, the U.S. included, can hold back the Chinese peoples endeavor to reunify the nation. U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday the United States is providing Ukraine with a $700 million package of more advanced rocket systems and munitions as the Russian invasion enters its fourth month, but White House officials say Ukraine has vowed not to fire those rockets into Russian territory. This new package will arm them with new capabilities and advanced weaponry, including HIMARS with battlefield munitions, to defend their territory from Russian advances, Biden said in a Wednesday statement. We will continue to lead the world in providing historic assistance to support Ukraines fight for freedom. Biden used the acronym for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System. Administration officials said this new weapons package is tailored to the needs of the current phase of conflict, which is unfolding in Ukraines east. As the fight continues to change, the Ukrainians come to us with their priorities, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said Wednesday. We make our own assessments. We are always measuring things against what the Ukrainians need, our assessment of the battlefield, but also things like the impact that it has on our own armed forces, especially when we're drawing things out of our own stockpiles. He said the United States is sending four of the new rocket systems, and that it will take about three weeks to train Ukrainian forces to use them. He declined to say where that training would take place but said the systems are on the European continent. What the HIMARS will allow them to do is to get greater standoff range against targets more than 70 kilometers away, he said. So right now, the howitzers we provided them have about a 30-kilometer range, the HIMARS have more than twice that, which will allow them, even with fewer systems, greater standoff. And the other thing that distinguishes this is an extraordinary amount of precision. Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps Forces Reserve colonel and senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told VOA Ukraines assurances, while notable, rest on delicate premises. WATCH: Related video by Cindy Saine The Ukrainians could use the (HIMARS multiple launch rocket system) to strike targets in the Russian homeland, because of course in many places, the Ukrainians are right up on the border, he said. And this is a risk, because the Ukrainians have said that they won't. But in the heat of battle, you never know what they're going to do. You know, many Ukrainians, of course, are very angry, understandably, at what the Russians have done, and it would not be inconceivable that some commander might shoot at a target in Russia. Speaking in Washington alongside Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said its not clear how or when this conflict will end, but that NATO wants to see Ukraine in a position of strength when peace talks happen. Wars are unpredictable, he said. We were able to predict the invasion. But how this war will evolve, it's very hard to predict. What we do know is that almost all wars end at some stage at the negotiating table. ... I have trust and confidence in the political leadership in Ukraine that they can make the hard judgments and decisions on negotiations and what to agree to, when negotiations at some point will start. Blinken said Russia holds the power to slow or stop the conflict. Its Russia that is attacking Ukraine, not the other way around, he said. And simply put, the best way to avoid escalation is for Russia to stop the aggression and the war that it started. It's fully in its power to do so. Specifically with regard to weapon systems being provided, the Ukrainians have given us assurances that they will not use these systems against targets on Russian territory. There is a strong trust bond between Ukraine and the United States, as well as with our allies and partners. Biden wrote in an opinion piece in The New York Times, released late Tuesday that he does not seek war with Russia. As much as I disagree with Mr. Putin, and find his actions an outrage, the United States will not try to bring about his ouster in Moscow, Biden said. So long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces. We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that the supply of rocket launchers to Ukraine raises the risk of expanding the conflict, and called Ukraines push for weapons from its Western allies a direct provocation intended to draw the West into the fighting. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. weapons shipments do not encourage the renewal of peace talks. We believe that the U.S. is deliberately pouring oil on the fire. The U.S. is obviously holding the line that it will fight Russia to the last Ukrainian, Peskov said. The decision to send more advanced weapons follows earlier reluctance on the part of the Biden administration. White House officials told reporters late Tuesday that the new weapons package the 11th such tranche of weapons the U.S. has sent to Ukraine includes the rocket system, counter-fire radars, air surveillance radars, additional Javelin anti-tank missiles and other anti-armor weapons. The U.S. is also sending more helicopters, more than 200,000 artillery rounds and a package of spare parts to help the Ukrainians fix their existing equipment. Russian forces continued their push to capture the city of Sievierodonetsk, key to its efforts to seize the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai said Russia controlled about 70% of the city as fierce street battles took place. Britain's defense ministry said Russia has taken control of most of the city. The ministry said Ukrainian forces control the main road into Sievierodonetsk, with Russia making "steady local gains, enabled by a heavy concentration of artillery." Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. A top official at the World Health Organization said the U.N. health agency assumes the coronavirus outbreak in North Korea is "getting worse, not better," despite the secretive country's recent claims that COVID-19 is slowing there. At a press briefing on Wednesday, WHO's emergencies chief, Dr. Mike Ryan, appealed to North Korean authorities for more information about the COVID-19 outbreak there, saying, "We have real issues in getting access to the raw data and to the actual situation on the ground." He said WHO has not received any privileged information about the epidemic unlike in typical outbreaks, when countries may share more sensitive data with the organization so it can evaluate the public health risks for the global community. Tough to analyze "It is very, very difficult to provide a proper analysis to the world when we don't have access to the necessary data," he said. WHO has previously voiced concerns about the impact of COVID-19 in North Korea's population, which is believed to be largely unvaccinated and whose fragile health systems could struggle to deal with a surge of cases prompted by the highly infectious omicron and its subvariants. Ryan said WHO had offered technical assistance and supplies to North Korean officials multiple times, including offering COVID-19 vaccines at least three times. Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and other top officials discussed revising stringent anti-epidemic restrictions, state media reported, as they maintained a widely disputed claim that the country's first COVID-19 outbreak is slowing. The discussion at the North's Politburo meeting on Sunday suggested it would soon relax a set of draconian curbs, imposed after its admission of the omicron outbreak this month, out of concern about its food and economic situations. North Korea's claims to have controlled COVID-19 without widespread vaccination, lockdowns or drugs have been met with widespread disbelief, particularly its insistence that only dozens have died among many millions infected a far lower death rate than seen anywhere else in the world. The North Korean government has said there are about 3.7 million people with fever or suspected COVID-19. But it disclosed few details about the severity of illness or how many people have recovered, frustrating public health experts' attempt to understand the extent of the outbreak. Help sought from China, South Korea "We really would appeal for a more open approach so we can come to the assistance of the people of [North Korea], because right now we are not in a position to make an adequate risk assessment of the situation on the ground," Ryan said. He said WHO was working with neighboring countries like China and South Korea to ascertain more about what might be happening in North Korea, saying that the epidemic there could have global implications. WHO's criticism of North Korea's failure to provide more information about its COVID-19 outbreak stands in contrast to the U.N. health agency's failure to publicly fault China in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. In early 2020, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus repeatedly praised China publicly for its speedy response to the emergence of the coronavirus, even as WHO scientists privately grumbled about China's delayed information-sharing and stalled sharing of the genetic sequence of COVID-19. Some Harare residents have filed an application at the High Court seeking an order to compel the City of Harare and Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo to collect refuse and clear all dumpsites that have accumulated in all wards in Zimbabwes capital city. In the application, the residents who live in Mbare, Highfield and Mabvuku and are represented by Paidamoyo Saurombe of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, protested that as faithful ratepayers, they are affected by the non-collection of refuse and yet the City of Harare still charges them for garbage collection. The residents - Juliet Chatambudza, Soul Gurudza and Spiwe Guwa - stated that refuse collection has become erratic in the capital city and they are now providing refuse bins for themselves and yet they used to receive them from City of Harare. Chatambudza, Gurudza and Guwa said due to the non-collection of refuse, residents had resorted to dumping garbage in their suburbs which is piling up in huge refuse dumps. The residents argued that the city is unjustly enriching itself at their expense by continuing to demand payments for collection of refuse while neglecting to remove garbage thereby infringing on their rights as provided in Section 73 of the Constitution. As a result of the non-collection of refuse, the residents argue that they are suffering from dysentery and other diseases caused by the health hazard. Chatambudza, Gurudza and Guwa argued that the City of Harare has an obligation to collect refuse from their residences and to clear dumpsites that have accumulated in the suburbs. As a remedy, the residents want the city to be ordered by the High Court to clear all garbage at dumpsites, to publish a refuse collection timetable in newspapers and on its social media platforms and to collect it in accordance with the timetable it would have published. Council officials were unreachable for comment late Tuesday evening. Source: Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights Juanitas friend always asks how shes feeling, wants to know if she slept well and tells jokes that are so funny, Juanita repeats them later at dinner. Oh, and Juanitas friend happens to be a robot. ElliQ is a proactive care companion that uses artificial intelligence to build relationships with seniors while supporting their health and well-being. Perhaps thought of as a more empathetic version of Amazons Alexa, ElliQ has been featured by major outlets such as the Today show, USA Today, The New Yorker and AARP. Juanita, who appears in promotional videos for ElliQ, is one of the more than 1,000 older adults who have helped test ElliQ, which first became available for purchase in the U.S. in March. Next week, more than 800 New York state seniors will get the chance to try ElliQ for themselves, as the devices will be distributed across the state through a partnership between the state Office for the Aging and Intuition Robotics, a 2016 startup headquartered in Israel that developed ElliQ specifically as a way to support seniors. Much as the Office for the Aging already does with providing animatronic pets to seniors, the state will be distributing the ElliQ devices through the county aging offices. The fiscal year 2023 state budget includes $2.9 million in funding for the state Office for the Aging initiatives to combat social isolation and offer new or expanded innovations in services to support older adults. The goal is to measure. Well see what [ElliQ] does, and how it does, Greg Olsen, state Office for the Aging director, said of the ElliQ rollout. We have a lot of people that are already on our customer load that are older, that live alone, that have chronic conditions, that may not have family or friends nearby. These are individuals that are absolutely able to use technology, and we want to see what this does for their overall health and well-being. Technology like ElliQ is part of an array of resources to help care for seniors and support a health care worker staff that has been stressed by the pandemic, Olsen said. For instance, technology such as ElliQ can potentially be used to measure people's vital signs and deliver those readings to caregivers, or can simply be a way to make seniors feel less alone, Olsen said. We are not trying to replace human beings with any artificial intelligence, Olsen said. We live in a technological world, and were learning not only whats available but learning how to use this stuff to really enhance your life. Not to replace things, but for our overall health and well-being. Thats just the future. Building a connection The idea for ElliQ first came to Dor Skuler, CEO of Intuition Robotics, six years ago when he and his family were helping to care for his elderly grandfather. Skuler noticed that one skilled nurse, who came highly recommended, wasnt able to help his grandfather complete basic tasks such as dressing and bathing, while another nurse was more successful. The difference with the other nurse wasnt in the ability to help him with those functions; it was in the ability to make a connection, to show empathy, Skuler said. ElliQ was designed -- and continues to be updated -- to build this sort of connection, Skuler said. ElliQ promotes independence while providing support for older adults through daily check-ins; assistance with wellness goals and physical activities; connection to family and friends; and other services using a combination of voice commands and on-screen instructions. Getting to know you The robot can learn a persons routines and interests, and develop a relationship much in the way people connect to each other, Skuler said. ElliQ can do everything from reminding an elderly person to take medication to leading them in breathing exercises to telling jokes. Testing showed that seniors interact with ElliQ an average of 20 times per day, according to Skuler. Testing also showed seniors spent about a third of their interactions with ElliQ focused on health and wellness, including conversations about not feeling well or trouble sleeping; a third of the time talking like friends about family, life and memories; about a quarter of the time doing things such as listening to music together or telling jokes; and about 5% of the time completing utilitarian functions, such as setting an alarm. ElliQ also knows how to read the room, according to Skuler. For instance, if youre not feeling well, shes unlikely to tell you a joke -- unless she thinks it will help. If its nice outside, shell encourage a short walk, even if youre feeling tired. She can also learn your schedule well enough to ask if a friend showed up for lunch. And if that friend didnt arrive, She might say, Oh, it happens sometimes. Or maybe you can call her,' Skuler said. The company is working to improve ElliQs understanding of episodic aspects of life, so if, for example, youre bracing for a hip replacement, shell know there will be anxiety leading up to the actual surgery and then an involved recovery afterward, Skuler said. All of this is meant to create a digital friend not to replace real friends but simply to provide seniors with a feeling of companionship at times of the day when theyre alone, said Skuler. In 2017, the U.S. surgeon general declared social isolation to be a global epidemic -- one that has only worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the AARP Public Policy Institute, social isolation drives $6.7 billion in additional associated Medicare spending per year. Prepandemic, we always had to tiptoe around the topic of loneliness and isolation. We would talk instead about motivation, about being more active, about healthy aging, Skuler said. Now, maybe because all of us experienced this as a society, its not a taboo anymore. People are telling us that their No. 1 reason to get ElliQ is because they are by themselves or they feel lonely. That did not happen five years ago. The Saratoga County Department of Aging and Youth has been distributing virtual pets through a similar state program for several years, said Sandra Cross, the departments director. At first, she was skeptical of the pet program. But when a friend, who is older and had recently lost a pet, received one of the digital pets, Cross saw the companionship that was possible with technology. Cross said shes optimistic about the ElliQ distribution, but she is also realistic. Lets roll it out and see what happens. We really dont know, so lets look at it and see how it goes. Cross said she agrees that technology can be a useful part of the toolkit in caring for older adults, but there is nothing like another human being. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Beijing (Gasgoo)- On the first day of June, HUAWEI and SERES young new energy vehicle brand AITO, reported outstanding growing momentum regarding monthly delivery volume in May. In May, AITO delivered 5,006 units of its only model on the market, the M5, representing a 54.27% month-over-month surge. The M5 started delivery in March 2022. In March and April, the brand delivered 3,045 and 3,245 vehicles, respectively. Photo credit: AITO In the past 87 days of delivery, AITO managed to deliver a total of 11,296 M5s, refreshing the speed record of delivering over 10,000 vehicles among all new local auto brands. Notably, AITOs growth in delivery was also built on top of a price rise effective on May 6th. The M5 saw an increase of RMB15,000 ($2,246) in the all-wheel-drive performance trim, and an RMB12,000 ($1,796) hike in the four-wheel-drive flagship trim. At the recent 2022 Guangdong-HongKong-Macao Greater Bay Area International Auto Show, CEO of HUAWEIs Intelligent Automotive Solution Business Unit, Yu Chengdong, disclosed that AITO will launch its second model, the M7 at the end of June, and start delivery in July this year. Beijing (Gasgoo)- In May, HOZON Auto, the startup owning the new energy vehicle brand NETA, celebrated another month with over 10,000 vehicles delivered, more than doubled from a year ago. In the fifth month of 2022, NETA delivered 11,009 vehicles, soaring 144% year over year. In the January-May period, the cumulative delivery volume of the brand summed up to 49,974 vehicles, shooting up 213% from the year-ago period. On May 28th, at the 2022 Guangdong-HongKong-Macao Greater Bay Area International Auto Show, NETA showcased its latest sport coupe model, the NETA S, which will start delivery in the first half of 2022. The NETA S signifies HOZON Autos strategic layout in the intelligent and connected vehicle field. The model is equipped with HUAWEIs MDC computing platform that offers 200TOPS of computing power and the automakers self-developed Shanhai platform. The vehicle is installed with 30 sensors and perceptual components to support its ADAS functions, such as NOP, valet parking, and vehicle summoning. The NETA S comes with two power versions, range-extended and battery-electric. The range-extended version offers a pure-electric range of 300km and a combined NEDC range of 1,100km. The AITO M5, the first model of the AITO brand which was jointly established by Chinas technology company Huawei and automaker SERES, saw its monthly registrations close to 3,000 units for two consecutive months since its delivery started in March. AITO M5; photo credit: AITO The M5, built on Huaweis DriveONE range-extended electric vehicle (REEV) platform, has a WLTC range of over 1,000 kilometers and can sprint from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 4.4 seconds. It has one rear-wheel-drive version and three four-wheel-drive versions. After price rises in April and May, which were claimed to be results of increasing raw material cost, the models prices range from RMB259,800 (about $38,996) to RMB331,800 (about $49,803). Monthly registrations continue to grow According to the data compiled by Gasgoo Auto Research Institute (GARI), monthly registrations of the AITO M5 managed to maintain growth despite various industry challenges. In the first two whole months of deliveries, namely March and April, its monthly registrations stood at 2,875 and 2,952 units respectively. The Covid-19 resurgence in Shanghai had a certain negative impact on the M5s April registrations. In April, Shanghai consumers registered only one M5, far fewer than the 124 units registered in March. By the end of April, the brand had registered 6,697 M5s, leaving a wide gap from its annual sales target. Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei's Intelligent Automotive Solution BU, said earlier that the brand expected to sell more than 30,000 vehicles per month and targeted annual sales of 300,000 units. But in April, the executive admitted it is out of the question to achieve the goal when the whole industry has been challenged by chip supply shortage. It would be a miracle to sell more than 100,000 vehicles, he added in an interview in April. According to the data AITO reported on the first day of June, by the end of May, the cumulative deliveries of the M5 had exceeded 10,000 units. Had it not been for the COVID-19 resurgence in some regions, the brand would have got a better delivery result, Richard Yu said at the 2022 Guangdong-HongKong-Macao Greater Bay Area International Auto Show. Apart from the battery electric version of the M5, which will hit the market as early as in September, AITO also plans to launch its second model, the M7, at the end of June with the expected delivery following at the end of July this year. Claimed to outperform a one-million-yuan luxury vehicle in comfortable and intelligent experience, the M7 is obviously placed high hopes. With new models, the high-profile brand may have better delivery results in the rest of this year. Retail registrations gain more share By ownership, the AITO M5s retail registrations in February, when scale delivery had not commenced, were only 10 units while the rest 846 M5s were registered by fleet buyers. The share of retail registrations surged to 63.6% in March and rose to 77% in April. In terms of Jan.-Apr. period, the M5s retail registrations accounted for 61.37% of its total year-to-date registrations. Only one M5 was registered for renting purpose in the first four months of this year. With the support from Huawei, the sales network of the AITO has been built quickly. Currently, the model is mainly sold in Huaweis offline stores. In January this year, Huawei announced that the models test ride and reservation would be available in 500 Huaweis stores in 118 cities across the country. The registration data showed that the M5 had been registered in 203 cities, but the average number was not so high. By the end of April, Chongqing, where the M5s manufacturer SERES is headquartered, registered the most M5s this year, and Shenzhen, where Huawei is headquartered, followed. In April, Shenzhens registrations of the M5 jumped 40.4% month over month to 264 units, outnumbering those of Chongqing, whose monthly registrations fell 48.25% from a month ago. Beijing was not on the top 10 cities list. Second in REEV segment In the Jan.-Apr. period, a total of five range-extended electric vehicle models are available in the market, namely the Li ONE, the AITO M5, the VOYAH Free, the SERES SF5 and the Enovate ME5. The AITO M5 is actually a strong competitor in the segment with Jan.-Apr. registrations only second to the Li ONE among the said models. The Li ONE is the obvious leader in the segment with 36,109 registered in the first four months of this year, gaining a share of 73.78% out of the REEV segment. The AITO M5 came next with a share of 13.69% while the combined share of the rest three stood at 12.53%. Comparatively, the SERES SF5 only registered 262 units in the span, with maximum monthly registrations not surpassing 100 units. The AITO M7, to take on the Li ONE, is also a REEV model with more Huawei content and will continue to be sold in Huaweis channels. Placeholder while article actions load Vladimir Putins attack on Ukraine showed the world that a resurgent Russia means, of necessity, an imperialist Russia. And it revived discussions about whether Russia needs to be decolonized, or perhaps defederalized, to bury its imperialist ambitions and subdue its military threat. A breakup of todays Russia, similar to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, is seen as a possible, for some even the most desirable, outcome of a failed Ukraine invasion. Regrets are voiced that the US didnt make it a goal in the 1990s, when post-Soviet Russia lay in ruins and struggled to hold onto one, tiny secessionist region: Chechnya. These discussions bring on a sense of literary deja-vu a Russia turned into a quilt of statelets has been almost too easy to imagine since the Soviet Union came apart with such seeming ease. In the 2013 novel Telluria, Vladimir Sorokin, one of the most uncannily precise prophets of Russias turn to fascism, had one of the characters write of the Russian empire: If she, this splendidly ruthless giantess in her diamond diadem and her snow mantle, collapsed conveniently in February, 1917, and disintegrated into several states of manageable size, everything would have turned out in the spirit of modern history, and the peoples held down by czarist power finally would have come into possession of their post-imperial identities and lived in freedom. But thats not how it went. Advertisement In Telluria, Russia is finally split into mostly autocratic principalities of manageable size after a series of domestic shake-ups. Not even Sorokin saw a lost war of invasion as a trigger for a breakup of Russia. And yet a defeat in Ukraine, accompanied by Western economic pressure, could realistically lead to an economic disaster like the one that set off the Soviet Unions collapse, and could thus strengthen the centrifugal tendencies that Putin is so proud of having stifled by establishing his vertical of power. There are good reasons why it might make sense even for the Russian people especially those who do not live in Central Russia. In a way, Putin hasnt just unleashed the breakup discussion by his irrational attack. He has also enabled it intellectually by talking of historical Russia, which in his view includes much of modern Ukraine. If its possible to discuss a core Russian state, rather than the country in its current borders, then it can be argued that this core is in fact much smaller than todays Russia if one peels off all the countrys imperial conquests, some of which, including the takeover of much of Siberia, predate 1721, when Russia officially became an empire. Advertisement In a way, the inclusion of some territories in the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic the entity that became the Russian Federation when the Soviet Union gave up the ghost is as much a Soviet-era accident as the higher-grade statehood of ex-Soviet republics such as Ukraine, Uzbekistan or Moldova. Tatarstan, the populous Russian region on the Volga, is a case in point. Last year, 55% of schoolchildren in its capital, Kazan, chose Tatar as their native language. Is this place, conquered by Ivan the Terrible in 1552, really part of core Russia in any more meaningful way than, say, Kazakhstan was? Many locals would argue otherwise. Is Tuva, which joined the Soviet Union only in 1944 and lived through separatist riots in the early 1990s, part of Russias historical core? Is Dagestan, conquered in the early 19th century, where fewer than 4% of schoolchildren take Russian as native language classes? Wouldnt all of these places have been independent states today had the Communist founders of the Soviet Union constituted them as union republics rather than autonomous republics within Russia? Advertisement All these questions are fodder for the policy makers of Russias geopolitical rival nations. Fomenting nationalist (or anti-colonial, as it can be framed) sentiment in a Russia weakened by a less-than-successful war would make sense on several levels more sense than in the 1990s. An aggressive, irrational leader finding his way to the top in Moscow is no longer a theoretical danger; its easy to see how it can happen again. The best way to guard against that possibility is to defeat Putin both militarily and ideologically. By using the same kind of historical talking points that Putin uses to justify Russias imperial ambitions, it would be possible to turn his main ideological weapon against him. At the same time, the Ukraine campaign so far shows that the Russian military struggles to supply its troops and fight effectively across Ukraines vast expanse. What would Putin do with multiple secessionist rebellions in a country as enormous as Russia? It could be argued that splintering Russia would not really remove its revanchist ability to pick itself up after bad defeats and major territorial losses and become a threat to its rivals again. It did so after the Bolshevik Revolution and the punishing Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Central Powers, and it did so again after the Soviet project wound down. A Russia dismembered will not necessarily stay that way; extreme nationalist and populist forces may even be empowered by such a humiliation, and they will inherit Russias nuclear arsenal, which wont simply disappear even if Russia disintegrates. But those who entertain the decolonization of Russia arent necessarily thinking centuries ahead. A couple of decades might be enough to integrate Russias neighbors into the Western world and build stronger defenses against further imperialist resurgence. As a Russian, I get an uneasy feeling from all this talk of my countrys dismemberment, as if Russia were a cancer patient lying semiconscious on an operating table with only multiple amputations able to stop the tumor from metastasizing further. I hate the idea that the only way to stop our being a threat to neighboring countries is to break us up and I hope its not the imperialist in me that rebels at the thought. Russias vastness and diversity are foundational to our nationhood as it exists today. Manageable size is not us. Advertisement And yet, on an intellectual level, I understand that many Russian people might actually be well served by the Russian Federations dissolution. As Putin strengthened his vertical after his predecessor Boris Yeltsins offer to Russias regions of as much sovereignty as you can swallow, the recentralization bled Russias periphery. Only 23 of Russias 85 regions arent funded by federal subsidies this year, most of them with a predominantly ethnic Russian population (Tatarstan is the exception). This creates the impression that a majority of the provinces, and in particular those with distinct national identities, would be helpless if separated from the center. But thats just how the Putin system operates, sucking money out of the periphery and then generously redistributing some of it back. Viktor Suslov, a top economist at the Russian Academy of Sciences, has built up a body of work showing how this happens. In a 2018 paper, he and his collaborators argued that Russias Central Federal Region, which includes Moscow, acts like a black hole that absorbs about 35% more resources from other regions than it gives back. Siberia, the Ural region, the Far East and the Northwest (which includes St. Petersburg) each contribute 10% to 13% more than they receive. Unsurprisingly, Suslov is based in Novosibirsk, the center of one of the regions whose lifeblood is drained by the great Moscow pump. Its not clear whether a fairer redistribution of resources and an end to the mass migration of people following the money to Moscow can be achieved without a radical decentralization, perhaps even a full breakup. Some of Russias constituent parts may even end up with more reasonable political systems than the quasi-monarchy to which Moscow keeps reverting although many wont, as was demonstrated in the 1990s when regional kingpins became far more authoritarian than the erratic man in the Kremlin. In the Urals, Siberia and the Far East, the unruly spirit of pioneers and ex-convicts is still alive. Omsk artist Damir Muratovs United States of Siberia flag white snowflakes on a field of blue, green and white stripes is more than a Jasper Johns send-up: One can actually imagine the country that would fly it. Advertisement I still hope against hope that democracy, an end to aggressive imperialism, a commitment to the equal development of territories and a true equality of all ethnic groups are possible within Russias current borders. This hope, however, may well be no more than an atavism. Russia doesnt carry its size well. Perhaps it will never learn. More From Bloomberg Opinion: Putins Unconditional Surrender Isnt the Right Goal: Ian Buruma Psychology Has a Label for Putins KGB-Made Mind: Andreas Kluth EUs Russian Oil Ban Is Flawed But Necessary: Marques & Fickling This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Leonid Bershidsky, formerly Bloomberg Opinions Europe columnist, is a member of the Bloomberg News Automation Team. He recently published Russian translations of George Orwells 1984 and Franz Kafkas The Trial. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Wall Street has Fed-speak a turgid dialect of English, a mixture of obfuscation and cryptic messaging. The oil market has Saudi-speak a language of smoke-and-mirrors, a combination of bewildering and byzantine communication typically delivered behind closed doors. A new book provides a lexicon of four decades of verbal intervention in the price of crude by the worlds biggest oil-producing nation. Saudi Arabia has usually delivered clearer signals than the Federal Reserve, but its semaphoring has rarely been public. Instead, one man worked for nearly 40 years in the shadows to shape the kingdoms oil messaging. Ibrahim AlMuhanna was the power behind the power, the trusted communications advisor to four Saudi oil ministers from the late 1980s until recently, the Deep Throat-type source behind many reports on OPECs doings and the man who whispered to many hedge funds and commodity traders. Now retired, he has just published a book that reveals some of the secrets of Saudi-speak. Oil Leaders divulges a few bombshells, including the time when British officials in 2008 proposed to Riyadh a mechanism to keep oil prices between $60 and $90 a barrel, involving producing and consuming nations. The idea, which AlMuhanna credits to former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, would have replaced the invisible hand of supply and demand with government intervention. The author also describes how former Saudi oil minister Ibrahim Al Naimi kept his plan to fight the growth of US shale by flooding the market in 2014 secret even from others in Riyadh. Neither were the Saudi Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economics and Planning consulted nor informed, AlMuhanna writes. The former Saudi official remains loyal to his master, the king, and his friends, and that puts a limit on his candor. Still, his book, a mix of memoirs and historical analysis, gives away just enough to allow readers a peek behind a curtain that has remained drawn for years. Moreover, with the global economy facing an oil shock akin to those of the 1970s, the timing of the publication is excellent. Oil Leaders demonstrates how Riyadh tries to talk the oil market up and down in much the same way as the Fed steers borrowing costs, influencing prices with words as well as action. Oil market fundamentals are very important, but market psychology is equally important, AlMuhanna writes. At times of crisis and uncertainty, sentiment overshadows fundamentals and influences the behavior of financial investors in the oil market. AlMuhanna also reveals the art of deception Saudi oil policy has often employed. He recounts, for example, how a little more than a decade ago the kingdom boosted output by almost a million barrels a day without anyone, including its fellow OPEC producing nations, any the wiser. For months, Riyadh kept its actual production levels secret, making the market believe it was pumping far less than in reality. By mid-2010, Saudi production reached 9m b/d, although some secondary estimates were around 8.2-8.3m b/d, he says, referring to the consultants that OPEC uses as secondary sources to estimate how much its members are pumping. In the crude market, there are lies, damned lies and oil production figures. The former Saudi oil spin master is at his best explaining how the kingdom talked down the market in 2012, revealing a secret plea for help from then-US President Barack Obama, who was facing elections. In the process, he reveals not just how Riyadh can move the market via leaks to traders and journalists, but also some of the secret diplomatic maneuvering between the White House and the royal palace. The first part of the plan was tangible and related to market fundamentals. Saudi Arabia would continue to increase supply to the market, he writes of events a decade ago. The second part of the plan was related to market psychology or sentiment. An international campaign was needed to convince the market that the oil price was very high (a policy referred as talking the market down), he explains, revealing how Saudi officials met quietly in London and New York with analysts, hedge funds, banks and oil companies.Is it surprising that Saudi Arabia talked to the market so directly? No. And its not the only time Riyadh has done so. But the communication shows how many in the commodity market trade on inside information a practice that, while illegal in the world of Wall Street, is commonplace in commodities. In the oil casino, many play with marked cards. AlMuhanna describes the 2012 campaign as a success: oil prices fell, and Obama won the election. The book shows that when the White House and the Saudi royal palace are aligned, Riyadh is willing to go to great lengths to talk the market down, even if that means lower revenues. Its difficult to imagine a similar campaign today, however. In the past two years, Riyadh and Washington have drifted apart.While he avoids commenting on current events, AlMuhanna does provide some nuggets for investors. For one, he makes it clear that Saudi Arabia sees its relationship with Russia as crucial. For Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the future isnt America, but the emerging world. The prince is young, dynamic, ambitious, and has clear futuristic goals. He wants to make Saudi Arabia a major international power in many aspects, above all in energy and oil, the author says, explaining how Prince Mohammed wants to expand his influence to other major powers such as Russia, China and India. Oil Leaders is lacking in self criticism about Saudi oil policy, particularly concerning the most recent period. But it still provides useful insights into how Riyadh communicates with the market, suggesting that the kingdom will continue to wield its reserves as both an economic and a political weapon in the years to come. Placeholder while article actions load The US House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the nations Capitol is nearing a more public phase of its work. Televised hearings are set to begin on June 9, with at least two expected to be held in prime time for maximum exposure. After that, the committee of seven Democrats and two Republicans will report its findings sometime before the midterm elections on Nov. 8. Former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies continue to call the probe a witch hunt focused on scoring political points. 1. What has the committee done? Its conducted more than 1,000 interviews and collected more than 100,000 documents, including emails and texts. It held a public hearing in July 2021 to hear testimony from police officers at the Capitol who came under attack. Its issued at least 99 subpoenas for witness testimony and document production; in four instances where the recipient hasnt complied, the Democratic-controlled House has voted to pursue charges of contempt of Congress. Advertisement 2. What does the committee hope to learn? Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, has said the panels work seeks to uncover the facts, tell the American people the full story of January 6th and ensure that nothing like that day ever happens again. One focus is what role Trump and his advisers played in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election -- which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden -- or to organize the events that preceded the storming of the Capitol while Congress was certifying the results of the 2020 election. Another is what explains the 187 minutes of inaction before National Guard troops and additional police were sent to the Capitol. Other areas of inquiry include why the Capitol and federal and local law enforcement agencies werent better prepared, whether any lawmaker gave a tour of the Capitol on Jan. 5 to members of the public casing the building for the next days incursion, and whether there were crimes or violations of campaign finance law in the funding of events to promote claims the presidential election had been stolen. 3. What has the committee learned? Advertisement Much of that is private, for now. Some of the biggest early committee headlines stemmed from text messages sent or received by Trumps White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, on Jan. 6 or in the days leading up to it. The texts, provided to the committee by Meadows, include messages to him from members of Congress and others pleading for Trump to call on his supporters to stop the assault. Other texts show Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, advocating for invalidating the results of the 2020 presidential election. The committee revealed in March it had uncovered a more-than-seven-hour gap in White House telephone logs of Trump calls during the riot -- a period when lawmakers were urgently trying to get him to quell the mob. 4. Could the committees work lead to criminal charges? Lawmakers arent law enforcement, and the Justice Department is already separately prosecuting more than 800 people for their actions at the Capitol. But the committee could send the Justice Department any evidence it believes shows additional criminal wrongdoing, via a so-called criminal referral. Thompson said on May 17 that the Justice Department had requested access to some of the committees interview transcripts. In legal filings on March 2, the committee suggested it may have evidence that Trump and his associates committed crimes -- including obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison -- in attempting to prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 election results. Committee investigators have information on strategies by Trump advisers to audit or impound voting machines in key 2020 election swing states, for instance. Advertisement 5. How close might this get to Trump himself? Trumps actions and inactions are central to the timeline of Jan. 6. The committees vice chair, Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming -- one of the panels two Republican members -- said on Jan. 2, 2022, that the committee has firsthand testimony now that he was sitting in the dining room next to the Oval Office watching the attack on television as the assault on the Capitol occurred. She said Trump could have, at any moment, walked those very few steps into the briefing room, gone on live television, and told his supporters who were assaulting the Capitol to stop. Not doing so, she said, was a serious dereliction of duty. 6. Who hasnt complied with the committee? Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Dan Scavino, former trade adviser Peter Navarro and former Trump strategist Steve Bannon refused to comply with subpoenas seeking their testimony. So did Meadows, even as he initially complied with the committees request for text messages. Their matters were referred to the Department of Justice for potential criminal prosecution. Bannon has been indicted and is set to go on trial in July on two counts of contempt, which can potentially carry a penalty of up to a year in jail plus a fine. More recently, the committee announced it was subpoenaing five Republican House members. Those include the Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy, who spoke to Trump by phone during the Capitol riot. McCarthy resisted complying with his subpoena, challenging the committees legal standing. Trying to compel testimony from sitting members of Congress is legally complicated and underscores a key facet of the case: Lawmakers were participants in some of the events on Jan. 6 and have information germane to the probe. Advertisement 7. Why the lack of cooperation? In remarks echoed by other Republicans, McCarthy argues the committee is partisan and not conducting a legitimate investigation. Some of those refusing to cooperate cited Trumps claim of executive privilege, the limited right of a president to decline requests from Congress and the courts for information about internal White House talks and deliberations. Longtime Trump confidante Roger Stone invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination. Trumps onetime lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said he invoked attorney-client privilege to refuse to answer some questions. Part of what could be motivating the resistance is a desire to delay the committees progress. All 435 House seats will be on the ballot in November, and Democrats could lose their majority. Republicans have been clear that, should they gain House control at the start of 2023, they would shut down an investigation they view as a partisan waste of taxpayer dollars. 8. Why is the committee dominated by Democrats? Advertisement The Democrat-controlled House passed legislation to create the committee after Senate Republicans blocked the creation of an outside commission, independent of Congress, modeled on the one that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Then, when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to seat two of McCarthys choices for the panel, he pulled his other picks. The two Republicans Pelosi named to the panel, Cheney and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, are both Trump critics who have become regular targets of attacks from within their own party. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Vietnams Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong has likened his anti-graft campaign to a blazing furnace, one thats caught hundreds of senior officials, business executives and others in its blast over the years. While the countrys position has improved by more than 30 spots over the past decade on a global corruption perception index, it was still at 87th place last year out of 180 ranked. Now as Southeast Asias fastest-growing economy seeks to bolster its appeal as a destination for foreign investment in the midst of mounting trade tensions between the US and China, the fight seems to be flaring again. 1. What is Vietnam targeting? Trong, who won a rare third term last year, said in a televised speech last year that each party cadre and member needs to shoulder the responsibility of being a role model. The higher the position and rank, the more responsibility one must take. Eight inspection teams have been set up to deal with corruption cases, including at party committees and agencies, according to the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption. More than 1,200 cases have been investigated this year, with more than 730 involving more than 1,500 defendants brought to court. Police have detained a number of executives as part of investigations into alleged stock price manipulation. Advertisement 2. Whos in the cross hairs? In April police detained deputy Foreign Affairs Minister To Anh Dung over alleged bribery while he organized repatriation flights for Vietnamese abroad during the pandemic. The following month a former deputy health minister was sentenced to four years in prison for his role in a trading ring for counterfeit medicine. The Finance Ministry fired State Securities Commission Chairman Tran Van Dung for alleged serious wrongdoings, amid an ongoing investigation into stock trading. Soon after the head of the Vietnam Stock Exchange was fired for what the Ho Chi Minh City bourse called very serious shortcomings at work. Among the executives who have been detained are the former chairman of Bamboo Airways and its parent FLC Group JSC, Trinh Van Quyet; Tri Viet Securities former chief executive officer Do Duc Nam and Louis Holdings former chairman Do Thanh Nhan. Authorities have said they are also investigating cases involving a military medical university, former high-ranking coast guard officials and property fraud. 3. Whats at stake? Advertisement Vietnam has warned that corruption could put the partys legitimacy and hold on power at risk as the public grows more intolerant of graft -- echoing President Xi Jinping in neighboring, communist China. Aside from that, Vietnam, a country of roughly 100 million people, has much to gain economically if it can bolster its image as place to do business. Global manufacturers have been exploring ways to diversify their supply chains away from China, which has been caught up in pandemic lockdowns and a trade war with the US, and Vietnam has benefited. Its exports are equivalent to more than 100% of GDP, according to World Bank data, making it one of the most trade dependent countries in the world. Vietnam has also been seeking to have its stock market classified as emerging market -- up from the current frontier status, which is the lowest and riskiest rung -- and this could bring greater foreign investment. As a participant in the USs new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, Vietnam also has an opportunity to increase its links to its former wartime foe -- its largest export market. 4. How serious is the crackdown? People are sitting in jail, and some have been sentenced to death. But in Vietnams closely controlled, one-party state, its difficult to say if theres any other motivation beyond building legitimacy. Freedom House, a US-based advocacy group, ranks Vietnam as not free, with a score last year of only 19 points out of 100. Human rights groups repeatedly accuse the government of tamping down on dissent. Transparency International, a Berlin-based anti-corruption group, gave it a score of 39 out of 100 last year, from 31 in 2012 -- the year then-Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dungs government was tainted by a series of scandals. Arrests picked up again after a new administration took power in 2016: Advertisement Nguyen Xuan Anh, party chief in the central city of Danang, was removed from his post. Nguyen Xuan Son, former chairman of state-owned PetroVietnam and the ex-chief executive of Ocean Commercial Joint Stock Bank, was sentenced to death after being convicted for embezzlement. Ha Van Tham, the banks former chairman, was given a life sentence after being found guilty of the same charges. Former politburo member Dinh La Thang, another former PetroVietnam chairman, was sentenced in 2018 to 18 years for violating state regulations. In 2021 the anti-corruption committee disciplined 618 party members for corruption or intentional wrongdoings. It also reported prosecuting 390 graft cases and recovering at least $400 million in assets. 5. Will there be more? The campaign is showing no signs of slowing. The Communist Party Central Committee on May 10 announced it was forming anti-corruption steering committees in every province. In his speech last year, Trong referenced morality some 40 times and said that hed ordered more aggressive, drastic and prompt action in the fight against graft. Tran Khanh Hien, head of research at VnDirect Securities Corp., said the governments moves this year have boosted confidence among foreign investors. But she added they would also want to see how persistent and serious the authorities are. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Judge hands man longer sentence Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight A federal judge on Tuesday increased her sentence for a New York City man who planned to join the Islamic State and attacked an FBI agent to 25 years, after a federal appeals court called the original 17-year sentence shockingly low. Fareed Mumuni, 27, pleaded guilty in 2017 to discussing plans to travel overseas to join the militant group and trying to stab an FBI agent after authorities arrived at his residence in the New York City borough of Staten Island in 2015 to execute a search warrant. The United States brands the Islamic State a foreign terrorist organization. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn successfully appealed Mumunis 2018 sentence, with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit arguing that U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie had improperly second-guessed whether Mumuni truly planned to kill FBI Special Agent Kevin Coughlin, who survived the attack. Advertisement I got lucky, Coughlin said in the sentencing hearing Tuesday. Mumuni told Coughlin he was sorry. I cant apologize enough for what Ive done, said Mumuni, the son of immigrants from Ghana who once interned as a paralegal at the Staten Island district attorneys office and had been studying to be a social worker and working as a home health aide when he was recruited to ISIS. Prosecutors on Tuesday asked Brodie to sentence Mumuni to the 85 years recommended by federal guidelines. Anthony Ricco, a lawyer for Mumuni, urged Brodie to reduce the sentence, arguing that Mumuni had rehabilitated himself. Reuters Election fraud case fails at appeals court A Denver-based federal appeals court has agreed with a lower courts dismissal of a lawsuit that claimed the 2020 presidential election was stolen from President Donald Trump and had been rigged by Dominion Voting Systems, Facebook (now Meta) and others. Advertisement Fridays opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, first reported by Colorado Politics, found that eight plaintiffs from across the United States had no standing to assert that the outcome of the election violated the constitutional rights of every registered voter in the United States. The lawsuit relied on baseless conspiracy theories spread by Trump and his supporters that the election was stolen in favor of Joe Biden. Among others, it named Facebook and Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems, whose election machines remain the focus of some of the most fevered unfounded speculation about voting fraud. U.S. Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter dismissed the lawsuit in April 2021, finding the plaintiffs failed to show they had suffered specific injuries due to the election result and thus had no standing to bring the lawsuit. Advertisement The appeals court agreed and dismissed the plaintiffs request to make the lawsuit a class action on behalf of all registered U.S. voters. Neureiter in November ordered two lawyers who filed the lawsuit to pay more than $180,000 in attorneys fees for the defendants but delayed the order pending the appeal. Associated Press Shooting kills 1, hurts 2 after graduation An elderly woman was killed and two males wounded when an argument between two females erupted into gunfire Tuesday at a university campus after a high school graduation there, New Orleans police said. The males received wounds that were not life-threatening one hit in a shoulder, the other in a leg, authorities told news outlets. Police did not give their ages. The gunfire occurred about 11:45 a.m. near the Xavier University of Louisiana Convocation Center, where Morris Jeff Community School held its high school graduation Tuesday morning. Advertisement Deputy Superintendent Chris Goodly told reporters he did not know whether the people who fought in the parking lot were the ones who pulled guns, or how many guns or bullets were fired. Three people were being questioned, the Times-Picayune/the New Orleans Advocate reported. Multiple subjects were detained at the scene for questioning. No arrests have been made as of this writing, police said in a news release. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) noted that the shooting came two weeks after four people were wounded in a shooting outside another high school graduation at Southeastern Louisiana University. The shooting comes as New Orleans is grappling with rising homicides. The Metropolitan Crime Commission reported 120 homicides as of May 30, up from 80 a year earlier and 51 at this time in 2019 a year when killings marked a 49-year low. Associated Press GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load JERUSALEM Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian woman in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday who they said had approached them while carrying a knife. Another Palestinian was killed as the army went to demolish the family home of an attacker. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia's war in Ukraine. ArrowRight The military released a photo of what it said was the knife she was carrying. It said the soldiers were patrolling a highway near the Al-Aroub refugee camp in the southern West Bank. No soldiers were wounded. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the woman as Ghafran Warasna and said she was shot in the chest. The Palestinian Prisoners Club said the 31-year-old had been released from Israeli prison in April after serving three months. An Israeli security official said Warasna was jailed from January to March after attempting to stab an Israeli police officer in the West Bank city of Hebron. Advertisement The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said she attempted to stab the soldier on Wednesday at point-blank range. There were no photos or videos immediately available to confirm the account. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said Warasna had worked on and off as a journalist for more than a decade. Dream Radio, a local station in Hebron, said she was on the way to their studio for a broadcast when she was killed. In a separate incident, at least one Palestinian was killed in or near the northern West Bank town of Jenin, according to the Health Ministry, which did not provide further details. Israeli forces were operating in the nearby village of Yaabed in order to demolish the family home of a Palestinian who methodically gunned down five people in Bnei Brak in March. Such operations often ignite gunbattles between Palestinian militants and Israeli troops. The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Advertisement Jenin has been the epicenter of a recent wave of violence. Israel has carried out near-daily arrest raids in the West Bank amid a string of attacks by Palestinians that have killed at least 19 people. Tensions have soared following the killing in the West Bank of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who worked for Al Jazeera, and an Israeli ultranationalist march through a Palestinian neighborhood in east Jerusalem. Recent weeks have seen at least 35 Palestinians killed by Israel. Some were gunmen killed in fighting with Israel, while others were shot while allegedly throwing stones or firebombs at Israeli troops in the West Bank. But an unarmed woman and at least two people who appear to have been bystanders were also among those killed. Abu Akleh died during an Israeli military raid in the West Bank. The Palestinians say Israeli troops killed her, while Israel says she was caught in the crossfire of a battle and its not clear if soldiers or Palestinian gunmen fired the deadly bullet. Advertisement Palestinians have carried out dozens of stabbing attacks in recent years, often against Israeli soldiers. But Israel has also faced criticism from rights groups who say security forces sometimes use deadly force rather than arresting suspected attackers or stop them with nondeadly force. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war and the Palestinians want it to be the main part of their future state. Nearly 3 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule in the territory, alongside a growing population of nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers who have Israeli citizenship. The last serious peace talks broke down more than a decade ago. ___ Associated Press writer Josef Federman contributed to this report. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load ZAGREB, Croatia Amnesty International on Wednesday urged Croatia to halt extradition proceedings to Turkmenistan and immediately release a detained member of a Russian music band known for its strident opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putins policies. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia's war in Ukraine. ArrowRight Lawyers for the rights group and the member of the Pussy Riot band said Croatia detained Aysoltan Niyazov on the strength of a 2002 Interpol warrant issued by Turkmenistan for alleged embezzlement. Neighboring Slovenia had previously arrested Niyazov but released her immediately. Pussy Riot is on a tour in Europe protesting the war in Ukraine and Putins policies. The band became internationally known after its members were jailed in Russia for their activism. Croatian authorities know that Aysoltan Niyazovs activism would put her at great risk of suffering serious abuse, including torture and other ill-treatment, should she be extradited to Turkmenistan, Amnesty Internationals Julia Hall, Deputy Director for Europe, said. Turkmenistan is not a safe country for her or any human rights defender. Advertisement Niyazovs lawyer Lina Budak told local Croatian media that authorities have launched a review process for possible extradition to Turkmenistan. Croatian police have said they were obliged to respond to an outstanding international warrant against Niyazov. Amnesty International said Interpol warrants have been notoriously abused by a number of authoritarian regimes and countries with appalling human rights records to try to silence activists and those who speak out about human rights violations. Croatia should not be complicit in such practices, said the groups statement. Authorities in Zagreb must refuse Turkmenistans request for Aysoltan Niyazovs extradition and immediately release her from detention. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load LONDON A top official at the World Health Organization said the U.N. health agency assumes the coronavirus outbreak in North Korea is getting worse, not better, despite the secretive countrys recent claims that COVID-19 is slowing there. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia's war in Ukraine. ArrowRight At a briefing on Wednesday, WHOs emergencies chief Dr. Mike Ryan appealed to North Korean authorities for more information about the COVID-19 outbreak there, saying we have real issues in getting access to the raw data and to the actual situation on the ground. He said WHO has not received any privileged information about the epidemic unlike in typical outbreaks when countries may share more sensitive data with the organization so it can evaluate the public health risks for the global community. It is very, very difficult to provide a proper analysis to the world when we dont have access to the necessary data, he said. WHO has previously voiced concerns about the impact of COVID-19 in North Koreas population, which is believed to be largely unvaccinated and whose fragile health systems could struggle to deal with a surge of cases prompted by the super-infectious omicron and its subvariants. Advertisement Ryan said WHO had offered technical assistance and supplies to North Korean officials multiple times, including offering COVID-19 vaccines on at least three separate occasions. Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and other top officials discussed revising stringent anti-epidemic restrictions, state media reported, as they maintained a widely disputed claim that the countrys first COVID-19 outbreak is slowing. The discussion at the Norths Politburo meeting on Sunday suggested it would soon relax a set of draconian curbs imposed after it announced the outbreak in early May out of concern about its food and economic situations. North Koreas claims to have controlled COVID-19 without widespread vaccination, lockdowns or drugs have been met with widespread disbelief, particularly its insistence that only dozens have died among many millions infected a far lower death rate than seen anywhere else in the world. Advertisement The North Korean government has said there are about 3.7 million people with fever or suspected COVID-19. But it disclosed few details about the severity of illness or how many people have recovered, frustrating public health experts attempt to understand the extent of the outbreak. We really would appeal for for a more open approach so we can come to the assistance of the people of (North Korea), because right now we are not in a position to make an adequate risk assessment of the situation on the ground, Ryan said. He said WHO was working with neighboring countries like China and South Korea to ascertain more about what might be happening in North Korea, saying that the epidemic there could potentially have global implications. WHOs criticism of North Koreas failure to provide more information about its COVID-19 outbreak stands in contrast to the U.N. health agencys failure to publicly fault China in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. In early 2020, WHOs chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus repeatedly praised China publicly for its speedy response to the emergence of the coronavirus, even as WHO scientists privately grumbled about China's delayed information-sharing and stalled sharing the genetic sequence of COVID-19. __ Follow APs coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic GiftOutline Gift Article The very first day of a month is the day for Chinas new energy vehicle (NEV) startups to announce deliveries of the previous month. Today, the first day of June, NIO, XPeng, Li Auto, Hozon and Leapmotor released their deliveries in May and showed resilient results in spite of various industry-wide challenges. Among the said startups, Li Autos ranking bounced back to the first from the last one in April. The Beijing-based automaker was also the only one with a three-digit increase both year over year and month over month. Even though its monthly deliveries have recovered, it also warned that its suppliers have not yet fully recovered. As a result, it will continue to encounter challenges due to parts supply shortages. As such, our Changzhou manufacturing base has not yet reverted to its normal production level, resulting in delayed deliveries for some of our users. At present, we are actively collaborating with our supply chain partners to restore production capacity, aiming to shorten the delivery waiting time for Li ONE users, while meeting all pandemic prevention and containment requirements, Yanan Shen, co-founder and president of Li Auto, said in a statement. According to the quarterly outlook Li Auto announced in May, it wants deliveries to be between 21,000 and 24,000 vehicles in the April-to-June period. Since we have known the results of April and May, its June deliveries should reach 5,337 at least to fulfill the goal. Hozon Auto, the manufacturer of NETA-branded vehicles, delivered the same number of vehicles in May as in January. Besides, Hozon remained second in terms of the total deliveries of the first five months of this year. XPeng also managed to deliver over 10,000 new vehicles last month. In mid-May, the company resumed double-shift production at its Zhaoqing plant as supply chains and key manufacturing areas in China started to gradually recover. XPeng has been continuing to improve its supply chain and enhance its own R&D ability to cope with the parts supply shortage and increasing cost, He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO of XPeng, said in May when the company reported its first-quarter financial results. For example, from 2021 on, XPeng has contacted many battery partners and will basically complete its diversified layout in battery supply in the second quarter of this year. That can minimize the risks of supplier concentration in regions. The P7 remained the main contributor, but the G3i had the largest increase at 28.5% when compared with the previous month. The May deliveries of the G3i were also the best results of the model so far this year. XPeng expects its second-quarter deliveries to be in a range of 31,000 units to 34,000 units, so after deducting the deliveries in April (9,002) and May (10,125), the automaker has to deliver at least 11,873 vehicles in June to meet the target. Last month, Leapmotor recorded a new high in monthly deliveries. From the beginning of this year, the companys monthly deliveries have been growing stably. Compared with the other players, NIO, with four models for sale, was the only one whose May deliveries were fewer than 10,000 units. Like others, the startups production had been recovering in May from the impact of COVID-19 outbreaks in certain regions, but vehicle deliveries were still constrained, the company said. NIO will work closely with partners to ramp up its production capacity to a higher level and to accelerate the delivery starting from June. A fourth person allegedly linked to Middle Eastern organised crime and posing as disability support providers have been charged with defrauding the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) of more than $2 million. The NDIS fraud taskforce raided four properties in western Sydney on Wednesday morning, arresting Wafaa Al Shamari, 32, at Liverpool, Muna El Shreffy, 37, at Bonnyrigg and Adel Al-Shamare, 27, at Wentworthville. Late on Wednesday, Kareem Al Shamare, 62, was arrested and charged with a proceeds of crime offence as he re-entered Sydney. He was refused bail by police to appear in the Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday. All four people are related. New Energy Minister Chris Bowen insists voters gave Labor a mandate to deliver its ambitious climate plan, warning independents and Greens that his crossbench-proof climate policy wont require negotiating an end to coal and gas. Greens leader Adam Bandt is demanding that Labor step up its climate targets, including a ban on new coal and gas projects. However, Bowen said he deliberately designed the partys Powering Australia climate policies so they could be implemented without the support of the Senate, where the Greens hold the balance of power. Labor Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen. Credit:James Brickwood. In relation to the Senate, a lot of the stuff in Powering Australia doesnt need legislation; theres a lot of stuff well just be getting on with, he told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. Labor has committed to legislating its target of hitting net zero emissions by 2050 a goal with bipartisan support. However, it has not promised to do the same for its 2030 target, which is to cut greenhouse emissions by 43 per cent from 2005 levels, even though that is the partys preference. The Coconino County Board of Supervisors certified the results of the May 17 election at a special session that took place Friday, approving Proposition 438, the measure that will place an increase in primary property taxes to fund Coconino Community College (CCC). A total of 22.57% of registered voters in Coconino County participated in the election. Of 20,947 total ballots, 13,339 were in favor of the measure -- about 64%. About 95% of votes were cast by early ballot. The tax rate will increase from 0.4394 cents per $100 of limited property value to 0.7419 cents. According to a CCC press release, the institution will receive one-third of the additional funding in the next fiscal year beginning July 1 and two-thirds the following fiscal year. CCC will permanently receive the entire amount approved through the measure in the third year, a total of about $6 million. The same schedule will also be applied to Coconino County taxpayers, with the amount increasing by one-third through the third year and that total continuing. Areas CCC plans to use these funds for include new career, technical education and training programs, expansions of programs in early childhood education certificate, automotive technology, cybersecurity and nursing. The school also has plans to expand its scholarship program, develop new programs to support training for veterans and county workers, and enhance educational services throughout Coconino County. The release noted that CCC has already begun developing plans to begin new programs and expand existing ones -- which will be developed and rolled out over the next several years. On behalf of CCC, I would like to thank the voters and the many community members who worked hard to help the ballot initiative be successful, said CCC President Colleen Smith. Because of them, we can continue our good work moving into a bright future serving students throughout Coconino County. She added: Yes, we will still have the lowest tax rate of all community colleges in Arizona, and yes, we will still continue to be good stewards of public funds. However, this additional funding will make a big difference and provide much-need fiscal stability as we move into the future. More about the measure can be found at coconino.edu/prop-438. Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 3 Chris Richardson may be the only economist in the country who reckons he and George Clooney were separated at birth. Richardson certainly appears on the nations televisions as much, if not more, than his American superstar doppelganger as he explains the ins and outs of federal budget policy or Australias economic challenges. Economist Chris Richardson. Credit:Janie Barrett And, just as Clooney has moved between acting, writing and directing, Richardson is preparing for a new role. From Wednesday, Richardson will be hanging out his own shingle after more than three decades as the public face of Access Economics and its successor, Deloitte Access Economics. London: British singer-songwriter Billy Bragg, who has been friends with Australias new prime minister for more than two decades, says his old mate Anthony Albanese is up to the task of creating a better and fairer Australia. Bragg, whose hit songs include Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards, Sexuality and A New England, praised Australian Labors election win on Tuesday evening. Veteran British singer-songwriter Billy Bragg says Anthony Albaneses election win gives hope to left-wing movements around the world. Credit:Rick Clifford He said the defeat of the conservative Liberal-National Coalition had given an uplift to many in Britain, where he said Prime Minister Boris Johnsons government also sought to use wedge issues to rally support. Albanese quoted the left-wing activists song To Have and To Have Not when announcing his first ministry on Tuesday, while justifying the inclusion of recent NSW newcomer Kristy McBain (as minister for regional development and local government) ahead of more experienced women. Sunday, May 29 On this date in 1856, Camp Moore in the Sonoita Valley was renamed Fort Buchanan. On this date in 1873, a troop of the 5th Cavalry established a camp on the San Carlos River near Gila. It became the headquarters for the military government of the San Carlos Indian Agency. On this date in 1895, the University of Arizona held its first commencement with three graduates. On this date in 1998, former Sen. Barry Goldwater, who served five terms as Arizonas U.S. senator and lost a bid for the presidency in 1964, dies at age 89 at his home in Paradise Valley. On this date in 2011, the Wallow Fire breaks out in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and goes on to become at the time the largest wildfire in Arizona. The fire was caused by a campfire started by two cousins. Monday, May 30 On this date in 1864, a group of residents along Granite Creek met and established the town of Prescott, named after historian William Hickling Prescott. On this date in 1910, President William Howard Taft signed Proclamation 1043, establishing Rainbow Bridge National Monument. On this date in 1910, Richard Gird, partner of Ed and Al Schiefflin in the founding of Tombstone, and known in later years as the father of the California beet sugar industry, died. On this date in 1935, the governors of Arizona and Utah met at Boulder City to unveil a memorial plaque dedicated to the 89 men killed during construction of Boulder Dam. Tuesday, May 31 On this date in 1910, the Maricopa Reservation was quarantined because of an outbreak of whooping cough and measles. On this date in 1923, Pipe Spring, a Mormon settlement, fort and site of the first telegraph station in Arizona territory, was made a National Monument. On this date in 1929, Lady Mary Heath, British aviatrix, stopped in Yuma during her aerial tour of the United States. Wednesday, June 1 On this date in 1868, the eighth and final treaty between the Navajo Nation and the United States was concluded at Fort Sumner, New Mexico. This treaty included the establishment of the present reservation of the Navajo Nation. On this date in 1906, the mule-drawn street car made its last run to the gates of the University of Arizona beside the electric car which had gone into operation five days before. On this date in 1910, fire destroyed the stable of the Pioneer Transfer Co. in Phoenix. Four horses were burned to death. Thursday, June 2 On this date in 1913, Sarah Greenway, sister of John C. Greenway, lit a fire in the new Calumet & Arizona smelter at Douglas. A big community celebration marked the dedication of what was then the largest and most modern smelter in the United States. On this date in 1930, radio station KTAR brought the first national broadcast network to Arizona through its affiliation with NBC. On this date in 1935, three carloads of dynamite were set off to open the New Cornelia mine site at Ajo and 400,000 tons of rock were dislodged. On this date in 1976, a bomb exploded beneath the car of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles in a parking lot of a Phoenix hotel. Bolles died 11 days later. Friday, June 3 On this date in 1901, Richard McCormick, first territorial secretary and second territorial governor of Arizona, died. On this date in 1913, stockholders of the African Land and Irrigation Co. decided to construct a two-story building in Tucson as headquarters for the organization of Southern Arizona Negroes. On this date in 1936, a convict at Florence State Prison attempted to escape and elude prison bloodhounds by swimming 16 miles (26 kilometers) through irrigation canals to Picacho Lake, towing his lunch in a milk pail. On this day in 1996, record temperatures were reported in Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff and Wilcox. The mercury in Phoenix hit 111, just one degree hotter than the record for June 3, which was set in 1987 and tied in 1990. The temperature at Tucson International Airport reached 107 degrees, tying a 1990 record. Flagstaff hit 86 degrees, matching a record set in 1988, and in Wilcox, the mercury rose to 102 degrees, the hottest for a June 3 since 1956. Saturday, June 4 On this date in 1871, Gen, George Crook assumed command of the Department of Arizona. On this date in 1879, public disapproval halted the scheduled first drawing of the Territorial Lottery. Proceeds were intended to support public schools, but the idea was scrapped. On this date in 1928, fire destroyed the hotel in Elgin. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 By Geoff Cantrell The Forensic Anthropology Program at Western Carolina University recently hosted three days of experiential training in structural fire and arson investigations building and burning a furnished structure in the process. The continuing education class was held in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justices Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Held May 13-15, and attended by federal, state and local officials, along with WCU students and K9 cadaver dog handlers, the class was an introduction to forensic anthropology and fire analysis. Topics covered included anthropological approaches to the study of burned remains, forensic archaeology and fire scene aftermath, and a tour of WCUs body farm human decomposition study facility. This class demonstrates the importance of collaboration and disciplinary expertise, said Nick Passalacqua, director of the Forensic Anthropology Program. We have forensic anthropologists explaining how to analyze burned human remains, fire scene investigators explaining how fires start, spread and affect the environment, and human remains detection dog handlers explaining how dogs respond to different types of scents in normal and burned remains. I think what really stands out is the unique experiential learning that training like this offers, which is a cornerstone of our program. We always strive to be hands-on, and to teach with a mindset of problem-based learning from our casework experience, he said. All of this is important for generating a more holistic approach to the investigation of burn scenes involving human remains. The K9 handlers had come from across the United States and abroad for the universitys highly specialized detection dog training, conducted annually by Lisa Briggs, professor and director of WCUs Emergency and Disaster Management Program. This particular session coinciding with the fire training was a rare opportunity for handlers to build the necessary foundational skills to recover victims who perish in accidental fires or arson, Briggs said. It is unlikely that such experiences and opportunities to train in this manner are provided elsewhere in the country, she said. ATF agent Darren Solomon explains techniques of a post-structural fire investigation. Darren Solomon, senior special agent and certified fire investigator with the Charlotte Field Division of ATF, said the class offers fire investigators an experience that he believes is exclusive to WCU, while the combination of lectures and tactile exercises complement each other and reinforce the learning points that investigators will use in the field. Networking and relationship building were another important aspect, he said. This years training has gained a national reputation and was attended by fire investigators and K9 teams from across the nation, Solomon said. The networking opportunities offered between attendees and instructors is immense. A personal highlight for myself is seeing the layering of expertise from a multitude of disciplines in one environment. Each group brings a unique perspective that contributes and elevates everyone. The benefactor of such learning is our community, which now has better personnel searching for answers when they need it most, he said. Voi nhieu tin hieu tich cuc, du lich Binh Thuan san sang buoc vao mua cao iem on khach keo dai trong 3 thang he voi du bao rat soi ong nho loi the bien xanh - cat trang - nang vang va iem en an toan - than thien - hap dan The mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 elementary school students and two teachers is abhorring, and should serve as a catalyst for change to U.S. gun policy. To the astonishment of many, three days later, less than 300 miles (483 kilometers) away in Houston, the National Rifle Association, the leading gun rights organization in the U.S., held its pompous Memorial Day rally, gathering crowds of fanatic gun supporters in a show of defiance. The juxtaposition of these two incidents is perplexingly ironic, revealing the long-term decay of U.S. politics. Epidemic of gun violence Gun violence has long been a bane in the American society, which has worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Gun Violence Archive, 213 mass shootings have occurred till May 25 this year leading to 242 deaths including a grocery store mass shooting that killed 10 African Americans in Buffalo, N.Y. just 10 days before the Uvalde shooting. In fact, gun violence is becoming an epidemic in the United States. According to recently released data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gun-related deaths are now the leading cause of death for American children. Despite the horrific numbers, gun control reform has been in stalemate for decades, and the U.S. remains top in terms of gun ownership in the world. It is easy to attribute the conundrum to the American deep-seated gun culture, but public opinion polls indicate otherwise. A Morning Consult/Politico poll right before the school shooting showed that 59 percent of respondents supported stricter gun control laws. The pollster conducted a new poll after the school shooting, which showed that 88 percent "strongly" or "somewhat" support background checks on all gun sales, which is garnering bipartisan consensus. Despite sustained public opinion in favor of gun restrictions, politicians in Congress have repeatedly failed to enact even modest gun reform measures and are moving toward loosening gun controls. U.S. President Joe Biden's remarks on the Uvalde shooting sounded defeatism and did not outline any specific proposal to prevent the "massacre" from happening again. This led to a serious reckoning of whether the U.S. government is truly "of the people, by the people and for the people." Money politics corrupts gun policy Gun control is one of the most contentious issues in U.S. politics. Politicians in Washington have been engaged in a forever debate on gun control, as the political right defends the "individual right to bear arms" enshrined the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution while the left calls for more gun restrictions, including background checks, limits on assault weapons and other gun control measures. On the surface, it seems like a debate of ideology. But the crux is interest groups and money politics. Just as the military-industrial complex has fueled the U.S. militarism abroad, the powerful gun rights groups have prevented any meaningful gun reform at home. Gun rights groups have been large donors for the Republican candidates at the national, congressional and state levels. According to OpenSecrets, gun rights groups set a new record of lobbying spending in 2021. The most prominent gun right group, the National Rifle Association, has also been active in financing pro-gun research and silencing research on gun violence, in an aim to sway public opinions on gun policies. Confronted with the public outcry after the horrific school shooting, Republican lawmakers came to defend gun rights, criticized Democrats for politicizing the shooting, and tried to shift the blame to school security and mental health. The most insensitive remarks came from Texas Governor Greg Abbott when he addressed the Uvalde elementary school, as he talked callously about "more people who were shot every weekend in Chicago than there are in schools in Texas," apparently casting doubt on the effectiveness of strict gun control laws. Compared with the strong determination of pro-gun Republicans, Democrats have never countered with a powerful coalition for gun reform. Their campaign to galvanize public support after mass shootings would only dissipate after the tragedies were forgotten. As the U.S. is geared up for mid-term elections, counter-intuitively, gun control has become a sensitive issue for some Democratic candidates, who fear voicing strong demands for gun control would backfire in their races. Instead, many of them only called for strengthening school security measures to protect the children. The systemic failure of U.S. gun reform is taking a huge toll on American lives as well as American democracy. Dampened trust of American people toward the security environment only leads to a higher demand for guns for self-defense, causing a vicious cycle. With the U.S. political polarization deepening, the gun debate will be stuck for the foreseeable future as such tragedies keep repeating itself. With the passing of Dr. Margot Liberty at age 89, the town of Sheridan, Wyoming, lost one of its most colorful citizens and the state of Montana lost one of its greatest cross-cultural (Indians and cowboys) brokers and boosters. And, the nation lost a major scholar of the Plains Indians (the Cheyenne in particular) and chronicler of a previous age when Native American culture-bearers and non-Indian scholars could work hand-in-hand to recover and restore tribal heritages. Raucous, bawdy, enthusiastic and simply a lot of fun on the personal side, but serious, scholarly, and ferociously loyal to the Cheyenne tribe on the professional side, Liberty was one of those rare passionate cultural historians who knew firsthand and respected both the states Indian and non-Indian traditions. An acclaimed anthropologist, historian and knowledgeable in archaeology, Libertys work with the Cheyenne historian John Stands-in-Timber taught her to be an ethnohistorian while her personal experience and fascination for ranching culture made her proficient as a western folklorist as well. Having known her since 1962, when she was a fervent assistant ranger on the Custer Battlefield roster, over the years I read with fascination her classic work on Cheyenne personality (the life history of Stands in Timber, Cheyenne Memories, which was later partnered by her Working Cowboy: Recollections of Ray Holmes). That was followed by her penetrating, personally-experienced essays on Cheyenne ritual and spirituality, and her major overview with renowned Plains Indian scholar Raymond DeMallie, Anthropology on the Great Plains. And then I became a full-on fan with her lesser known, pioneering collaboration with the Smithsonian Institutions legendary director of ethnology, William Sturtevant, and her illuminating introduction to their co-edited collection of personal profiles by eminent non-Indian scholars of the most prominent of their American Indian collaborators, who in past anthropological parlance have often been demeaned as informants, but whom Liberty and Sturtevant insisted on dignifying as intellectuals in their own right. After inviting a host of the nations most prominent American Indian scholars to present papers describing their closest native co-workers (teachers would be a more apt description) for the 1975 annual meeting of the American Ethnological Society, they selected 17 of these papers for publication. That work, American Indian Intellectuals of the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries, became an instant success and remains in print. Hailing from demanding stock her biographer father won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932 for his life of Theodore Roosevelt. Among her mothers books on the American west is the classic, We Pointed Them North she met their challenge and some might argue outdistanced them with her capacious approach to the multi-cultural realities of frontier life and spirit, a frontier that Liberty, as a woman, a one-time ranch wife, a grade-school teacher, a scholar and author, and a friend to many, always tried to celebrate as an intrinsic part of the contemporary West. As the librarian of the Crow Tribe commented upon learning of her passing, One of a kind, we will not see her like again. Peter Nabokov is the author of Two Leggings: The Making of a Crow Warrior and is retired from the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures and the American Indian Studies Program. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Allentown, PA (18103) Today Mostly cloudy with a few showers with a rumble of thunder possible.. Tonight Mostly cloudy with a few showers with a rumble of thunder possible. Jody K. Hansen,52, from Rudyard, pleaded guilty to two counts of outfitting without a license in Hill County recently, according to the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks. In 2019, wardens began investigating Dogwood Hunting, the private lands outfitting business run by Hansen south of Rudyard, under suspicion Hansen was illegally taking some of his hunting and fishing clients on related activities outside his private land. During the investigation, wardens found that Hansen and his associate, Robert Spicher, 56, of Hingham, outfitted fishing trips along the Marias and Missouri rivers and hunts on adjoining private and public properties to pursue deer and waterfowl, for which they did not have the proper (off property) outfitting license. Hansen was ordered to pay $2,760 in fines and restitution, lost his fishing privileges for six months, and hunting privileges for 12 months. Spicher pleaded guilty to one count of guiding without a license. He was fined $135 and ordered to pay restitution of $100. The investigation was a cooperative effort between wardens in FWP Regions 4 and 6. The Hill County Attorneys Office prosecuted the case. Anyone with information about crimes involving fish, wildlife or park regulations is encouraged to call FWPs 24-hour wildlife tip line at 1-800-TIP-MONT (1-800-847-6668) or report to https://myfwp.mt.gov/fwpPub/tipmont. People providing information may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000. Love 8 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 2 Angry 3 Reading, PA (19601) Today Mostly cloudy with a few showers with a rumble of thunder possible.. Tonight Mostly cloudy with a few showers with a rumble of thunder possible. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality is hosting a public meeting in Joliet on June 9 regarding a water quality monitoring project for the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone watershed. The three-year project will build upon existing monitoring data and assess whether Total Maximum Daily Loads are necessary to protect water quality. A TMDL defines the amount of a certain pollutant a waterbody can hold before it impacts water quality and beneficial uses such as agriculture, recreation and aquatic life. If DEQ determines TMDLs are needed, the agency will work with local stakeholders to outline a plan to reduce pollutants. DEQ selected the watershed based on existing data and an ongoing interest in the region from watershed groups. The watershed is known to have some water quality issues such as sediments. DEQ is hosting a hybrid public meeting at the Joliet Community Center on June 9 at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will include a presentation on the monitoring project and an opportunity for the public to ask questions. The public can join the presentation in-person, by phone or online. The in-person meeting will be held at the Joliet Community Center, 209 E Front Ave. To access the online or phone option, visit: https://deq.mt.gov/News/publicmeetings-folder/news-article12. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 This year's Birthday Honours have been revealed, and we've gone through the 147-page list to see who from the theatre world has been recognised. Actor Damian Lewis was made CBE for his services to performance and charity (Lewis and his late wife Helen McCrory raised over 1 million for charities during the pandemic). Darren Henley, chief executive of Arts Council England, was also made OBE, as was Catherine Mallyon, current executive director of the RSC. The same award went to Claire McColgan, director of Culture Liverpool, and also to Arts Council England council member Elisabeth Murdoch. Jennifer Sealey, pioneer of theatre company Graeae, was made OBE, as was Call the Midwife writer and playwright Heidi Thomas. Deborah Williams, executive director at Creative Diversity Network was given the same honour, as was New Adventures' group managing director and Cameron Mackintosh Ltd's deputy managing director Robert Noble. Former Arts Council of Wales chief executive Nick Capaldi was made OBE, as was Dave Moutrey, director and chief executive of HOME in Manchester, and choreographer Rosemary Lee. MBEs were awarded to producer Francesca Moody (Fleabag), Nottingham Playhouse's chief executive Stephanie Sirr and Etta Murfitt, New Adventures' associate artistic director. Artistic director of New Adventures Matthew Bourne said today: "Quite simply, there would be no New Adventures without Robert Noble and Etta Murfitt! They are central to the success of the company and its growth into the UK's most popular dance company and Britain's biggest dance export internationally. Their work in developing new audiences for dance and inspiring new talent in our sector is unparalleled. "Everyone in the New Adventures family will be delighted and thankful to see them recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours list today, none so more than I. As work partners they are second to none, but as dear friends they are treasured even more." Sirr said: "I am really honoured to receive an MBE. It underlines how fortunate I have been to work alongside some really brilliant people over many years. This has enabled some transformative creative work to happen in and for the many communities I have been privileged to serve." British rapper, record producer, actor, writer and film director Rapman was made MBE, as were performers Pauline Quirke and Helen Worth. Zoe Golding of Zoielogic and Linda Watson of Youth Connection Theatre were given the same award. MEBs were given to composer, arranger and conductor Nigel Brooks, as well as Henry Filloux-Bennett, who is currently artistic director and chief executive of the Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield and soon to join HOME. Elsewhere, illustrator Quentin Blake (Matilda) was admitted to the Order of the Companions of Honour, as was writer Salman Rushdie. The Off-Broadway production of Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical is transferring to London this autumn. Inspired by Netflix's global hit series Stranger Things, the comic stage adaptation is now set to play a 13-week engagement at The Vaults under the direction of Ellis Kerkhoven (Nightshade). Written by Jonathan Hogue and originally helmed by Nick Flatto, the piece debuted at The Players Theatre in New York in the summer of 2021. The pair commented: "We are thrilled by the enthusiastic response to Stranger Sings! through social media and with our original cast album, and we can't wait to bring our hilarious upside-down parody musical to fans across the world! We thank the creatives and cast involved in our NY debut last summer, and express our gratitude to our international fan base for helping make this show a global phenomenon." Set in Hawkins, Indiana, in 1983, the show promises "a night of adventure, thrills, indulgent pop culture references, pubescent angst, heavy synth, poor parenting, convoluted love triangles, cheap effects, dancing monsters, and maybe, just maybe justice for everyone's favorite frumpy ginger, Barb Holland." Jason Daniel Chacon and Caroline Huerta Danny Hidalgo An Australian production is also planned for this autumn at Melbourne's Salty Theatre alongside a return Off-Broadway engagement. The UK premiere will run from 5 October to 31 December 2022. A group of Ramsay residents is trying to get construction of a sprawling Loves truck stop halted pending an appeal before the Butte-Silver Bow Zoning Board, but major excavation work is underway at the site 7 miles west of Butte. Residents in the tiny community have been fighting the project for years but have lost several rounds so far, and when Butte-Silver Bow recently issued building permits, contractors on bulldozers and backhoes went to work. Ramsay residents were told two years ago they could appeal decisions on the permits to the Butte-Silver Bow Zoning Board once they were made, and though they did so within days, construction had already started. The residents, through attorneys, sought a stay on the permits from the county and when that was rejected, asked the courts to intervene. State District Judge Robert Whelan in Butte has set a Thursday hearing on the legal request. The Zoning Board will also consider the residents zoning claims sometime this month, but despite those pending matters, work on the project is underway. Ramsay resident Jim Ayres believes Loves purposefully jumped the gun and the county has allowed it. I feel like they (county officials) are going to go, Well, we cant do anything about it now, they have already started and Loves has already spent a bunch of money. We cant stop them now, Ayres said. The Montana Standard reached out to the Oklahoma City-based truck stop giant for comment Tuesday and as of Wednesday afternoon, had not heard back. Loves Travel Stops & Country Stores announced plans to locate a truck stop next to Ramsay in January 2017. It had 410 locations across the U.S. then and now has more than 530 in 41 states, including in Missoula and Hardin in Montana. The one at Ramsay would include a large convenience store, an Arbys restaurant, a casino, a tire shop and parking for at least 110 semis. Numerous Ramsay residents have opposed the project from the start, saying the truck stop will bring traffic, noise, pollution, transients and crime to their quiet community of about 40 houses. But their attempts to thwart the project have failed so far. Butte Silver-Bows Planning Department says Loves met all requirements for recently issued building permits for a convenience store, fuel canopy, diesel fuel canopy and a tire shop, plus an excavation permit. But Planning Director Dylan Pipinich said his staff cautioned Loves about starting construction with an appeal from Ramsay residents pending before the Zoning Board. When we issued the permits, we told Loves, You know, these guys are probably going to appeal, Pipinich said. And when they appealed, we called them and what we told them is, This is at your risk. We will make you put everything back (if you lose). The legal motion filed in District Court asks all building permits be revoked pending a ruling on the appeal before the Zoning Board. The board will consider the appeal sometime this month but a date has not been set. Judge Whelan issued an order last week telling the county to either stay the permits pending a Zoning Board ruling or show cause on Friday why they should not suspend the permits. Kim Wilson Jr., a Helena attorney representing the Ramsay residents, said the limited issue before Judge Whelan is whether the permits under local laws can and should be suspended pending the Zoning Board ruling. The county says the permits have been issued so there are no more proceedings for county officials to stay. Ramsay residents contend the permits can and should be stayed and if Whelan agrees, Wilson said, in theory construction would be stopped for now. From a practical standpoint, he said, residents are justifiably concerned about construction continuing while an appeal is pending. Residents say Ramsay has had zoning regulations on the books for decades that do not authorize a truck stop. They say Butte-Silver Bow changed zoning maps in 2019 based on a crayon drawing, but past maps show the entire complex falls within Ramsay zoning. Because of that, they say, Loves should be required to get a special use permit or some kind of variance to locate there. They tried to make that case to the Zoning Board during a July 2020 meeting but were told their appeal was premature. Board Chairman Dave Wing said the entire discussion that night would be put in the record and if and when a location permit was issued, and Ramsay citizens wanted to appeal, they could argue all of their points then. The county considers the recently issued permits a location permit. We will no doubt hear this again in the future and I will do so with an open mind, Wing said then. Ayres said Tuesday that residents have been banking on that pledge, but now, before they have gotten that hearing, construction has started. I was assuring people out in Ramsay, Weve got our day coming, dont worry about it, he said. I told one lady, You are not going to see anything (construction) this summer. They cant get it going this summer because they just cant. Obviously they can." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Williamson, WV (25661) Today Rain in the morning. Scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. High near 80F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. I deeply lament that I was president of Montana Wilderness Association, recently re-named Wild Montana, when it was transitioning to the much ballyhooed and highly grant-remunerated "compromise and collaboration" model of navigating conservation disputes. That is, I mourn that I helped shepherd this acquiescent approach into its current popularity. Being drawn to its promotional dual notions of healing antagonism with traditional rivals, and "breaking the Wilderness logjam," my board members and I did not grasp the lures presented, or the fateful gaps in the plan. The rationale was that it had been so long since Montana experienced Wilderness legislation prominence, that we could break the impasse, and foster good societal will in the process. And then, there was the call of vast monies rewarded. Heck, we could fund attractive offices, offer much-deserved, professional-level salaries and benefits to our staff, and help move the Montana environmental community into greater respectability. All by taking the grants, and the flattery, prolifically offered by corporate donors and sometimes their governmental partners. We did not deliberate upon the ethics of remuneration, or the science of ecosystems. We were hooked. Looking back 15 years later, and many miles of critical inquiry and personal maturing, I see Montana's remaining wilderness-quality lands being perilously offered up to the powers that be under the same guises of being practical, and working with the status quo, as we thought of it back then. The Hyalite Porcupine Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study Area constitutes the still legislatively unprotected, most aesthetically stunning, and biologically crucial portion of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Not to mention its specific, crucial importance to the Yellowstone grizzly's longevity, a longevity that is genetically dependent on access to grizzly bears further north in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. Yet the new Forest Plan, mostly recommended by the former Montana Wilderness Association (Wild Montana), would cede to various glossily named non-Wilderness designations with all their current and future exploitative dangers the most important parts of these lands. While it at least recommends Wilderness protection for more than half of the WSA, the most lower-elevation, meadow-dense, and wildlife-significant portions of it are sacrificed, such as the contiguous Buffalo Horn and Porcupine Creek drainages perilously adjacent to Big Sky's recreational mass. The plan's advocates are using their amply grant-empowered staff and other monetary resources to deftly deliver their proposal to the public as a "victory" for wilderness, wildlife, and the Montana people. I expect that they still believe, in the way I once did, that they are doing the right thing. While its members would personally want more ecosystem-sound land designations, they think that they are gaining all that is practical in today's Montana. Notwithstanding the fact that most Montanans might well object if they understood the stakes, rather than the advertising version they are presented, there is another crucial point to be made. What if environmental leaders did not acquiesce to putatively dominant unfriendliness to Wilderness designation? What if they didn't conform to the story that's publicly delivered? What if, instead, they got out in front, and argued forcefully and persuasively for broad wilderness protections that are based upon ecosystem considerations, without succumbing to what Aldo Leopold called political and economic expediency? Expediency. A good word: "The quality of being convenient and practical despite possibly being improper or immoral; convenience." What if environmental and political leaders placed deeply and broadly into the public discourse the multiple rewards of biologically defensible conservation? What if they promoted the psychological and spiritual gains of self-restraint in such protections, and the giving up of popular adrenaline- and identity charged, quietude-avoidant recreational uplifts? What if they fought instead for the mature and generative experiences of real conservation? Of real wilderness? Mightn't the public be mobilized to support these greater ecosystemic and psychological values? What about environmental leaders and the local and statewide political leaders who have all too uncritically endorsed the ethically unstudied compromises what if they did not conform to what they have claimed are dominant forces' demands? What if, instead, they were to actually lead? Joseph Scalia III, Psya.D. is a psychoanalyst, social and environmental critic, and a radical activist. He is president of Gallatin Yellowstone Wilderness Alliance (gallatinyellowstonewilderness.org) and a former president of Montana Wilderness Association. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Montanans should be aware that a proposed ballot initiative being circulated for signatures hides dark consequences. CI-121 purports to be an initiative that will address rising property taxes in Montana. Initiative proponents wont tell you that the measure will have long-term negative effects on Montana communities. This ill-conceived tax policy will be locked into our constitution for generations. As a teacher, I am especially worried about the impact of CI-121 on schools. Education groups including those representing teachers, administrators, and elected school district leaders have publicly opposed CI-121. The measure will create havoc in school funding. Even Governor Gianforte and the Montana Taxpayers Association have expressed opposition to the measure because of its potential impacts on Montana public schools. The unfortunate reality of CI-121 is that it will lead to reductions in school funding, increase classroom sizes, and require cuts in programs and services that our public school children and their families need. If that were not enough to justify opposition to the ballot measure, the restrictions and unintended consequences of CI-121 will make it almost impossible for communities to vote for needed improvements in facilities and education budgets for their children. This is an impact Montanas youth will feel for generations as the initiative will not be removed from Montanas Constitution once it has been passed. If one needs to put this into perspective, look no farther than Proposition 13 in California (the model for CI-121.) Proposition 13 capped property taxes in California during the 1970s and has since caused a ripple effect that has impacted the states classrooms and students for decades. A quick Google search reveals that since Proposition 13 was passed in 1978, funding for schools in the state of California has dropped tremendously. Our state does not need flawed solutions from California. Montanans should decline to sign CI-121 and help preserve quality schools and our constitution. Scott McCulloch is a retired educator in Billings who also serves as a current trustee of the Billings School District. Love 6 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) A jury sided Wednesday with Johnny Depp in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, awarding the Pirates of the Caribbean actor more than $10 million and vindicating his allegations that Heard lied about Depp abusing her before and during their brief marriage. Actress Amber Heard departs the Fairfax County Courthouse Friday, May 27, 2022 in Fairfax, Va. A jury heard closing arguments in Johnny Depp's high-profile libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard. Lawyers for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard made their closing arguments to a Virginia jury in Depp's civil suit against his ex-wife.(AP Photo/Craig Hudson) FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) A jury sided Wednesday with Johnny Depp in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, awarding the Pirates of the Caribbean actor more than $10 million and vindicating his allegations that Heard lied about Depp abusing her before and during their brief marriage. But in a split decision, the jury also found that Heard was defamed by one of Depp's lawyers, who accused her of creating a detailed hoax that included roughing up the couple's apartment to look worse for police. The jury awarded her $2 million. The verdicts bring an end to a televised trial that Depp had hoped would help restore his reputation, though it turned into a spectacle that offered a window into a vicious marriage. Heard, who was stoic in the courtroom as the verdict was read, said she was heartbroken. Im even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. Its a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously, she said in a statement posted on her Twitter account. Depp, who was not in court Wednesday, said the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled. I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up, he said in a statement posted to Instagram. Depp sued Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse. His lawyers said he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name. Actor Johnny Depp waves to supporters as he departs the Fairfax County Courthouse Friday, May 27, 2022 in Fairfax, Va. A jury heard closing arguments in Johnny Depp's high-profile libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard. Lawyers for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard made their closing arguments to a Virginia jury in Depp's civil suit against his ex-wife.(AP Photo/Craig Hudson) The jury found in Depp's favor on all three of his claims relating to specific statements in the 2018 piece. Throughout the proceedings, fans who were overwhelmingly on Depps side lined up overnight for coveted courtroom seats. Spectators who couldnt get in gathered on the street to cheer Depp and jeer Heard whenever they appeared outside. A crowd of about 200 people cheered when Depps lawyers came out after the verdict. Johnny for president! one man yelled repeatedly. Greg McCandless, 51, a retired private detective from Reston, Virginia, stood outside the courthouse wearing a pirate hat and red head scarf, a nod to Depps famous role as Capt. Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. I do believe that there was defamation, and I do believe that it did hurt his career, McCandless said. I think the jury heard the evidence, and the verdict was just. In evaluating Heard's counterclaims, jurors considered three statements by a lawyer for Depp who called her allegations a hoax. They found she was defamed by one of them, in which the lawyer claimed that she and friends spilled a little wine and roughed the place up, got their stories straight, and called police. Sydni Porter, 30, drove an hour from her home in Maryland to show support for Heard. She said the verdict was disappointing, but not surprising, and sends a message to women that as much evidence as you have (of abuse), its never going to be enough. The jury found Depp should receive $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, but the judge said state law caps punitive damages at $350,000, meaning Depp was awarded $10.35 million. While the case was ostensibly about libel, most of the testimony focused on whether Heard had been physically and sexually abused, as she claimed. Heard enumerated more than a dozen alleged assaults, including a fight in Australia where Depp was shooting a Pirates of the Caribbean sequel in which Depp lost the tip of his middle finger and Heard said she was sexually assaulted with a liquor bottle. Depp said he never hit Heard and that she was the abuser, though Heards attorneys highlighted years-old text messages Depp sent apologizing to Heard for his behavior as well as profane texts he sent to a friend in which Depp said he wanted to kill Heard and defile her dead body. In some ways, the trial was a replay of a lawsuit Depp filed in the United Kingdom against a British tabloid after he was described as a wife beater. The judge in that case ruled in the newspapers favor after finding that Heard was telling the truth in her descriptions of abuse. In the Virginia case, Depp had to prove not only that he never assaulted Heard, but that Heards article which focused primarily on public policy related to domestic violence defamed him. He also had to prove that Heard wrote the article with actual malice. And to claim damages, he had to prove that her article caused the damage to his reputation as opposed to any number of articles before and after Heards piece that detailed the allegations against him. The case captivated millions through its gavel-to-gavel television coverage, including impassioned followers on social media who dissected everything from the actors mannerisms to the possible symbolism of what they were wearing. Both performers emerge from the trial with reputations in tatters with unclear prospects for their careers. The Free Press | Newsletter Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Eric Rose, a crisis management and communications expert in Los Angeles, called the trial a classic murder-suicide. From a reputation-management perspective, there can be no winners, he said. Theyve bloodied each other up. It becomes more difficult now for studios to hire either actor because youre potentially alienating a large segment of your audience who may not like the fact that you have retained either Johnny or Amber for a specific project because feelings are so strong now. Depp, a three-time best actor Oscar nominee, had until recent years been a bankable star. His turn as Sparrow helped turn the Pirates of the Caribbean into a global franchise, but hes lost that role. He was also replaced in the third Fantastic Beasts spin-off film, The Secrets of Dumbledore. Despite testimony at the trial that he could be violent, abusive and out of control, Depp received a standing ovation Tuesday night in London after performing for about 40 minutes with Jeff Beck at the Royal Albert Hall. Heards acting career has been more modest, and her only two upcoming roles are in a small film and the upcoming Aquaman sequel due out next year. Depps lawyers fought to keep the case in Virginia, in part because state law provided some legal advantages compared with California, where the two reside. A judge ruled that Virginia was an acceptable forum for the case because The Washington Posts printing presses and online servers are in the county. Montana's Wild West is alive and well as a rogue subset of bounty hunters commit crimes and abuses against defendants on bail, their families, and the public. State law gives bondsmen unrestrained arrest powers leading some to employ dangerous tactics that threaten public safety and infringe on defendants' rights. There is a clear need for Montana to create sideboards, rules, and arrest reporting standards to ensure transparency and establish minimal qualifications for individuals operating as fugitive recovery agents (bounty hunters) in our State. The growing abuses and criminal charges against bondsmen culminated in both public outrage and calls for reform by our agency following a shooting last year in Butte. In this case, a bondsman, aided by a convicted felon, allegedly broke into a home unannounced seeking to arrest a defendant out on bond. Following an altercation, the homeowner a third party was fatally shot. The bondsman, as well as the man accompanying, were charged with deliberate homicide and aggravated burglary. Although there are many professional bondsmen and recovery agents acting within the law, there is increasing concern of recovery agents and bondsmen committing, sometimes very serious crimes. A bail bond, or surety bond, is a form of insurance. Bondsmen must be licensed as surety insurance producers to write bail bonds. As the agency charged with regulating insurance in Montana, we have the duty and authority to approve and revoke licenses, levy penalties for misconduct, and adopt rules. Following the shooting in Butte, we revoked the bondsman's license to ensure he could no longer legally write or enforce bonds. The laws regulating bail bonds are even more complex when considering the difference between a bondsman and a fugitive recovery agent. While one is often synonymous with the other, the law does not mandate licensure for recovery agents because they are not offering an insurance product their job is only to arrest defendants. For example, the shooting in Butte allegedly involved a convicted felon who was aiding the bondsman in the fugitive recovery operation. The felon was not a licensed surety insurance producer because he was only acting as a recovery agent. This loophole is void of any authority for any Montana agency to regulate the actions of unlicensed fugitive recovery agents. This creates, in some cases, unclear authority over bondsmen recovering fugitives. Bondsmen arguably have unilateral authority to revoke bail at any time and for any reason. As a result, a defendant legally out on bond can be routinely arrested and imprisoned without a court order, at the whim of the bondsmen. In other words, the bondsman doesnt need any reason other than discomfort to recover a person out on bond. This unrestricted authority is the catalyst of many cases of abuse and crimes committed by bondsmen. Our agency is investigating multiple instances of bondsmen offering payment or reduced bail costs to defendants in exchange for performing tasks, such as assisting in fugitive recovery operations. In some cases, bondsmen have gratuitously revoked a defendant's bail, only to again bail them out of jail to implement additional fees on the same defendant. The vast majority of bail bondsmen and recovery agents in our state follow the law, respect defendants' rights, and support regulations to corral unscrupulous actors whos actions tarnish the industrys reputation. Ive always said, bad actors are bad for business. Nobody wants bad actors in their industry. However, abuses, crimes, and violence perpetrated by bad actors in the bail bonds industry will not stop until the Legislature passes common-sense laws giving some sideboards and oversight on abuses being perpetrated by a handful of bad actors. In the 2023 Legislative Session, we will introduce a bill to reform fugitive recovery. We will be seeking two changes to statute that we believe will help solve many of the problems in fugitive recovery in our great State: 1. Require all recovery agents to be licensed surety insurance producers. Through licensure, our agency can enforce minimal qualifications, training standards, and background checks. Bondsmen and recovery agents abusing their authority will have their licenses revoked and lose their authority to write bonds or arrest defendants. Mandatory licensing also ensures defendants cannot be paid or coerced into assisting in fugitive recovery operations. 2. Implement transparency reporting requirements. Before arresting a defendant, bondsmen must notify local law enforcement and provide licensure information along with the defendant's location. Bondsmen are also required to report all arrests to our agency as a condition of licensure. Reporting will dissuade bad actors from engaging in abusive behaviors without unduly restricting bondsmen from protecting their interests. Fugitive recovery agents have unique powers and authorities usually only granted to highly trained law enforcement professionals. Under the current law, this industry has little oversight, qualifications, or basic training standards required to operate in Montana communities with broad arrest powers. The abuses from this small set of bad actors in this industry are a clear threat to the rights of Montanans. In the next legislative session, the Legislature should modernize our State's laws to protect the rights of defendants and the public from violence perpetrated by bad actors in the bail bond industry. Troy Downing is the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, Montana State Auditor. Commissioner Downing is a two-tour combat veteran, businessman, and entrepreneur. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Sheryl Sandberg, the No. 2 executive at Facebook owner Meta, is stepping down, according to a post Wednesday on her Facebook page. Sandberg has served as chief operating officer at the social media giant for 14 years. She joined from Google in 2008, four years before Facebook went public. FILE- In this Sept. 5, 2018, file photo, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Sandberg, the No. 2 exec at Facebook owner Meta, is stepping down, according to a post Wednesday, June 1, 2022 on her Facebook page. Sandberg has served as chief operating officer at the social media giant for 14 years. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Sheryl Sandberg, the No. 2 executive at Facebook owner Meta, is stepping down, according to a post Wednesday on her Facebook page. Sandberg has served as chief operating officer at the social media giant for 14 years. She joined from Google in 2008, four years before Facebook went public. Meta did not immediately respond to a message for comment. When I took this job in 2008, I hoped I would be in this role for five years. Fourteen years later, it is time for me to write the next chapter of my life, Sandberg wrote on her Facebook page. She did not say what she planned to do. Sandberg has led Facebook now Metas advertising business and was responsible for nurturing it from its infancy into an over $100 billion-a-year powerhouse. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in his own Facebook post that he doesnt plan to replace Sandberg in the companys existing structure. Javier Olivan will serve as Metas new COO. Zuckerberg said this this role will be different from what Sheryl has done. It will be a more traditional COO role where Javi will be focused internally and operationally, building on his strong track record of making our execution more efficient and rigorous. While Sandberg has long been Zuckerbergs No. 2, even sitting next to him pre-pandemic, at least in the companys Menlo Park, California, headquarters, she also had a very public-facing job, meeting with lawmakers, holding focus groups and speaking out on issues such as women in the workplace and most recently, abortion. I think Meta has reached the point where it makes sense for our product and business groups to be more closely integrated, rather than having all the business and operations functions organized separately from our products, Zuckerberg wrote. The Free Press | Newsletter Shelley Cook | Uplift A weekly review of funny, uplifting news in Winnipeg and around the globe that is delivered to your inbox each Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Sandberg has had some public missteps at the company, including her attempt to deflect blame from Facebook for the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. In an interview later that month that was streamed by Reuters, she said she thought the events of the day were largely organized on platforms that dont have our abilities to stop hate, dont have our standards and dont have our transparency. This turned out to be untrue. Internal documents, revealed by whistleblower Frances Haugen later that year, showed that Facebooks own employees were concerned about the companys halting and often reversed response to rising extremism in the U.S. Havent we had enough time to figure out how to manage discourse without enabling violence? one employee wrote on an internal message board at the height of the Jan. 6 turmoil. Weve been fueling this fire for a long time and we shouldnt be surprised its now out of control. Sandberg, who lost her husband suddenly in 2015, said she is not entirely sure what the future will bring. But I know it will include focusing more on my foundation and philanthropic work, which is more important to me than ever given how critical this moment is for women, she wrote, adding that she is also getting married this summer, and that parenting their expanded family of five children will also be a part of this future. Shes leaving Meta in the fall and will continue to serve on the companys board. WINNIPEG - Residential school survivors say they hope the Pope's visit to Canada next month will include a direct apology for the Roman Catholic Church's role in running the institutions. Assembly of First Nations former chief Phil Fontaine, center, stands outside St. Peter's Square at the end of a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, Thursday, March 31, 2022. Residential school survivors met with Roman Catholic bishops today to discuss what they expect from Pope Francis visit to Canada next month.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Andrew Medichini WINNIPEG - Residential school survivors say they hope the Pope's visit to Canada next month will include a direct apology for the Roman Catholic Church's role in running the institutions. Members of the National Indian Residential School Circle of Survivors hosted three days of meetings to discuss what they expect from the visit and reconciliation with the church. On Wednesday, survivors met with three Roman Catholic bishops to share their wishes. "I expect the Pope to apologize on behalf of the Catholic Church in the right way," said Ken Young, a former Assembly of First Nations regional chief for Manitoba. "There has to be some recognition that the (Catholic) Church is responsible for what happened. The Pope can represent that responsibility in a statement that says that." Pope Francis is to stop in Alberta, Quebec and Nunavut. The capital cities of Edmonton, Quebec City and Iqaluit are to act as bases for the trip from July 24 to July 29. He committed to visiting Canada in April after meetings with First Nations, Inuit and Metis groups at the Vatican, where he apologized for the deplorable conduct of church members involved in residential schools. Ted Quewezance announces the discovery of 54 unmarked graves at the Keeseekoose School Gymnasium at Keeseekoose First Nation on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. Residential school survivors say they hope the Pope's visit to Canada next month will include a direct apology for the Roman Catholic Church's role in running the institutions. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Michael Bell Indigenous delegates had told the Pope that they expected an apology to be delivered on Canadian soil. Young said Wednesday the group of survivors drafted wording for an apology and gave it to the bishops. He added language is important and the apology must include ownership and responsibility on the Catholic Church's behalf for its role in the harmful experiences Indigenous children and their families faced, instead of placing blame on individuals within the church. "We expect the Pope to do no less and say no less," Young said. An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools in Canada and more than 60 per cent of the schools were run by the Catholic Church. Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton, who spoke with survivors Wednesday, said the Pope and the Vatican are open to hearing from survivors. "He'll do the right thing. He'll say the right thing, whatever that ends up being, because he really wants this to be a step forward in the whole healing process," Smith said. "How he says it is the prevailing, outstanding issue." Work is still ongoing to find the wording that will "land well for everybody," he said. The group of residential school survivors also spoke about their disappointment at being excluded from the trip planning. They want the papal visit expanded to more locations beyond the scheduled stops. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops previously said the Vatican selected the three cities based on the length of the trip, the vast size of Canada and the health of the 85-year-old pontiff. Smith doesn't expect changes will be made to the trip. He said the bishops of Canada are committed to working with survivors and all Indigenous people during and after the visit. Ted Quewezance, interim chair of the survivors' group and the former chief of Keeseekoose First Nation, said this work is already happening in different regions. The Free Press | Newsletter Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "The bishops are working with survivors. The big priority is how do we get our survivors to Edmonton," he said Wednesday. The group and the Catholic Church are working to get survivors to Alberta and are looking at chartering busses, Young said. He said he left the meeting with an open mind. "I have a positive feeling that we're going to get the work done and that the Catholic Church is going to be there supporting us." The Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program has a hotline to help residential school survivors and their relatives suffering trauma invoked by the recall of past abuse. The number is 1-866-925-4419. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2022. One of the most booming cities in the U.S. over the past decade thinks that it grew even bigger than the U.S. Census Bureau says it did. FILE - Women walk through the Lakeshore area of Austin, Texas, with the skyline in the background on Aug. 31, 2016. The Texas capital became the largest U.S. city to challenge its 2020 census figures by filing an appeal with the Census Bureau in May 2022, saying that it has more than the 961,855 residents counted during the nation's once-a-decade head count. (Ralph Barrera/Austin American-Statesman via AP, File) One of the most booming cities in the U.S. over the past decade thinks that it grew even bigger than the U.S. Census Bureau says it did. Austin, Texas, became the largest U.S. city to challenge its 2020 census figures when it filed an appeal with the Census Bureau last week, saying it has more than the 961,855 residents tallied during the nation's once-a-decade head count. City officials believe around 7,000 housing units were missed, mostly in newly developed neighborhoods. In some cases, housing units were placed in the wrong location, said Lila Valencia, the city demographer for Austin. We are one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, Valencia said. Any region growing as fast as Austin is going to be hard to count. Among the 50 biggest U.S. cities, Austin's growth rate of 21.7% between 2010 and 2020 was the second-largest in the nation, trailing only Fort Worth, Texas, which grew by 24%. As of last July, Austin was the 11th most-populous city in the U.S. The city of Austin is at the center of one of the most booming metro areas in the U.S., one that was attracting about 150 new residents a day in the middle of the past decade. Figures released last week show that two Austin suburbs, Georgetown and Leander, were the two fastest-growing cities in the U.S. last year, expanding by more than 10% each. Over the past several years, metro Austin has been a jobs magnet. It's home to Tesla's corporate headquarters as well as a high tech hub for entrepreneurs attracted to its highly educated work force and the University of Texas' flagship school. The census figures were used to divvy up congressional seats among the states and redraw political districts. Nothing can be done to change numbers for those purposes, but the outcome of any challenges can determine whether the cities and counties get their fair share when it comes to the distribution of $1.5 trillion in annual federal funding. Valencia said an inaccurate count would cause Austin to miss an unknown amount of funding for affordable housing, parks and low-income students. It's unknown how many people live in the 7,000 housing units. However, an average of almost 2.4 people live in each household in Austin, which translates into 16,800 people. This affects the quality of life of residents, so its worth it to make sure we get every single dollar that we deserve, Valencia said. The 2020 census undercounted the overall U.S. population by only 0.24%. The count was challenged by the coronavirus pandemic, natural disasters and political interference from the Trump administration. But some minority groups were undercounted at greater rates than the previous decade. Historically, racial and ethnic minorities, renters and young children are the people who have been undercounted. A report released several weeks ago by the Census Bureau showed that Texas was undercounted by 1.9%, which translates to about 560,000 residents. Texas was among several states with undercounts that did not direct as many resources as other states did to encourage residents to fill out census forms. The Free Press | Newsletter Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Until Austin filed a appeal, Detroit had been the largest U.S. city to challenge its 2020 census numbers. The Census Bureau told Detroit officials that they needed to provide more information before the city's appeal could move forward, a city spokesman said in an email Wednesday. States and municipalities have until the middle of next year to appeal their census figures. Challenges are rarely successful, but so far almost 30 have been launched. They have been filed primarily by small towns and counties, about half of which are in the South. Residents of prisons, nursing homes and college dorms places that are known as group quarters were among the most difficult people to count during the 2020 census since students on campus were sent home when the pandemic began in the U.S. in March 2020, and prisons and nursing homes went into lockdowns against the spread of the coronavirus. Because of the difficulties in counting these residents, the Census Bureau created a separate program for challenges of group quarter counts. The bureau will start accepting those appeals next week. ___ Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP BOSTON (AP) Workers at a McDonalds restaurant in Massachusetts intentionally put bacon on a fish sandwich that a Muslim woman had ordered for one of her children, a civil rights organization said Wednesday. BOSTON (AP) Workers at a McDonalds restaurant in Massachusetts intentionally put bacon on a fish sandwich that a Muslim woman had ordered for one of her children, a civil rights organization said Wednesday. The Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a discrimination complaint on the woman's behalf with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. "It is commonly known that Islam forbids Muslims from eating pork," the complaint says. "McDonalds employees willfully added bacon to the complainants food in an effort to offend, humiliate, and cause distress to complainant and her young children." The family was served the sandwich last June at a McDonald's restaurant in Chicopee, about 80 miles (128 kilometers) west of Boston. The complaint is the first step in the process for seeking monetary damages, said Barbara Dougan, a CAIR lawyer. She also hopes it prompts McDonald's to better train its workers to prevent a similar incident in the future. "Religious discrimination at a place of public accommodation is not only illegal, but also morally reprehensible," she said in a statement. An email seeking comment was left with McDonald's corporate headquarters in Chicago. A message was also left with someone who answered the phone at Gomez Enterprises LLC, which operates the McDonald's on Meadow Street in Chicopee. The experience prompted one the children to ask his mother if "they hate us." The Free Press | Newsletter Shelley Cook | Uplift A weekly review of funny, uplifting news in Winnipeg and around the globe that is delivered to your inbox each Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "McDonalds made my children and me feel unwanted and worthless by intentionally stuffing a fish sandwich full of bacon for no other reason than to punish us for our faith and religious convictions," the woman, Ghadir Alahmar, said in a statement. "This really hurt us. My children now wonder if they are welcome in their own country. They ask me, Do they hate us? How is a mother supposed to answer that question?" Alahmar, who wears a hajib and an abaya, entered the store on June 29 of last year with her twin 7-year-old sons, the complaint says. She ordered a plain fish sandwich, and had one of her children repeat the order to a worker in case they did not understand her accent. They received their order, which included fries and cookies, and left the restaurant to walk to a nearby school playground where they planned to eat. One of her sons noticed the bacon. The sandwich not only had bacon on it, but appeared to have extra bacon, the complaint says. They did not eat the bacon, but one son ate the lower half of the bun and part of the fish filet, according to the complaint. Alahmar's husband returned to the store with the uneaten portion of the sandwich later that same evening and was refunded the purchase price. Erica Daniels, the founder of Kejic Productions, will be off to Ottawa later this year to compete in the national finals of the Pow Wow Pitch and a chance for a $25,000 prize after winning the Winnipeg competition. Erica Daniels, the founder of Kejic Productions, will be off to Ottawa later this year to compete in the national finals of the Pow Wow Pitch and a chance for a $25,000 prize after winning the Winnipeg competition. For the self-made entrepreneur, that kind of money could mean the ability to make important investments in new equipment for her film and TV production company. Pow Wow Pitch is a competition for Indigenous entrepreneurs that has been around for seven years, but last weeks event at Manito Ahbee, the local festival celebrating Indigenous arts and culture, was the first held live outside Ottawa. JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Erica Daniels runs Kejic Productions, a Winnipeg film and TV production company that largely serves Indigenous clients. Daniels, who is in her 30s, believes her success at the event is important to get the word out about Kejic and maybe create an opportunity to grow her business. Kejic has been around since 2017, but has been solely funded by the business and Daniels own resourcefulness. "Growing on our own maybe has been a little slow," she said. "But with the pandemic there has been lots of requests for our services and we found ourselves growing quicker and needing additional equipment. And equipment is quite expensive." With a staff of five, Kejic does about 90 per cent of its work with Indigenous clients. In addition to corporate productions and training videos, the company does a lot of work in Indigenous communities as the local experts helping researchers at post-secondary institutions including Red River College and the University of Manitoba. Growing on our own maybe has been a little slow. But with the pandemic there has been lots of requests for our services and we found ourselves growing quicker and needing additional equipment. And equipment is quite expensive. Erica Daniels That is a little ironic, in that Daniels, a member of Peguis First Nation, has no post-secondary experience herself. She got involved in a program called Just TV at the Broadway Neighbourhood Centre when she was 15 and became passionate about telling stories in film and video especially Indigenous stories. She has gone back to Just TV to help train others just as she was trained and commits time twice a week to train youth in film and television production at Southeast Child & Family Services. "There are not that many Indigenous people in the field who are qualified to do this work. Thats why we are trying to train the up-and-comers," she said. "It is so needed for us to be telling our own stories." That sentiment is part of the reason Sunshine Tenasco started Pow Wow Pitch in Ottawa seven years ago with the vision to empower Indigenous entrepreneurs worldwide. There are not that many Indigenous people in the field who are qualified to do this work. Thats why we are trying to train the up-and-comers. It is so needed for us to be telling our own stories. Erica Daniels Tenasco said she was "supposed" to be a high school teacher but an appearance on the Dragons Den television show, where she landed an investment for her baby moccasins business, changed everything for her. "They really put a lot of positive encouragement and faith in me and it made me realize we really need to see more of that in our communities," Tenasco said. Although the pandemic halted live events, it allowed Pow Wow Pitch to expand across Canada and the United States with online events. Now armed with blue-chip sponsors including RBC, Shopify, Meta and MasterCard, there will be three competitions in Canada, three in the U.S. and one in New Zealand this year. POWWOWPITCH.ORG Sunshine Tenasco started Pow Wow Pitch in Ottawa seven years ago. Victoria Lennox, the former CEO of StartUp Canada, has been acting as executive producer for Pow Wow Pitch. She said big-name sponsors were strategic, because platforms such as Shopify and Metas Facebook and Instagram can allow rural and remote entrepreneurs the chance to access the global digital marketplace. It also brings to light the challenges rural entrepreneurs can have. Lennox said that some had to use snail mail to send their video pitches on USB flash drives to be able to enter Pow Wow Pitch. "It underscores the importance of ensuring we are connected so we can all play on a level playing field," she said. The Pow Wow Pitch is also important to increase inclusivity for Indigenous startups. The Free Press | Newsletter Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. For instance, Daniels said that while she is always looking for support to learn and enhance her business, she was not familiar with North Forge Technology Exchange, the large Winnipeg business incubator support organization. Lennox said that disconnect is all too common among Indigenous entrepreneurs. "It is totally disconnected," she said. "The Indigenous community works with the Indigenous community. It is not part of the mainstream." She believes a big part of overcoming that hurdle is confidence and the need to support the mainstream to create a safe space for Indigenous entrepreneurs to come in. But when it comes to confidence, Erica Daniels is not lacking. "Im confident. I know my stuff," she said. "I have overcome a lot and I believe in myself and I believe in my values and what I am doing to help the community. It gives me strength in whatever space I go in." martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca BRUSSELS (AP) The European Unions executive branch on Wednesday approved Polands pandemic recovery fund, paving the way for the release of billions of euros in grants and loans, even as lawmakers expressed deep unease about democratic backsliding in the country. FILE - Judges from Italy, the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe, many wearing their professional gowns, take part in a march in support of judicial independence in Warsaw, Poland, Jan. 11, 2020. A centrist group in the European Union legislature has on Wednesday, June 1, 2022 demanded an urgent explanation amid reports the EUs executive arm is preparing to release billions of euros to Polands government. If true, Poland would have access to 36 billion euros (about $39 billion) in pandemic recovery funds even though the nations populist government has failed to reverse changes to the judicial system that an EU court deemed illegal. (AP Photo/Vanessa Gera) BRUSSELS (AP) The European Unions executive branch on Wednesday approved Polands pandemic recovery fund, paving the way for the release of billions of euros in grants and loans, even as lawmakers expressed deep unease about democratic backsliding in the country. The long-delayed decision, which must be approved by EU member states within four weeks, would see the nationalist government in Warsaw given access to 23.9 billion euros ($25.4 billion) in grants and 11.5 billion euros ($11.7 billion) in loans. The European Commission said that Polands plan includes milestones that must be met on the independence of the judiciary. Brussels said this is vital for investor confidence and to help the countrys economic recovery. Poland needs to demonstrate that these milestones are fulfilled before any disbursement under the (pandemic fund) can be made, the commission, which proposes EU laws and supervises the way they are enacted, said in a statement. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is due to travel to Warsaw on Thursday to publicly announce the move. The announcement came after a centrist group in the European Parliament demanded an urgent explanation Wednesday amid reports the Commission was prepared to release billions of euros to Poland's government. Renew Europe, a centrist group in the European Parliament, said it was concerned by reports of a deal despite Poland's "consistent trashing of the rule of law." Poland's lower house of parliament voted last week to abolish a disciplinary body within the Polish Supreme Court that the right-wing government has used to suspend judges for rulings or public statements it did not like. Associations of judges and human rights groups say the changes were only perfunctory because the powers of the soon-to-be abolished Disciplinary Chamber will continue to be carried out by judges who are effectively political appointees. Before last weeks vote, the chamber had suspended judges for issuing rulings respecting EU law as well as the rulings of another international court, the European Court of Human Rights. Our group urgently demands a detailed explanation from European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, Renew Europe said. We should not accept merely small, inadequate cosmetic changes to Polands seriously politicized legal system in exchange for the EU funds. We wont be able to stand up to autocrats abroad by placating those who unravel democracy at home." The Disciplinary Chamber has cost Poland dearly. The European Court of Justice fined Poland a record 1 million euros per day for failing to dismantle it. Poland also failed so far to get the 36 billion euros in recovery funds that are intended to reboot EU economies after pandemic lockdowns. Sophie in t Veld, a Dutch lawmaker with Renew Europe, said von der Leyen appeared to be pulling back from a promise not to compromise on the rule of law. The Free Press | Newsletter Winnipeg Gardener What you need to know now about gardening in Winnipeg. A monthly email from the Free Press with advice, ideas and tips to keep your outdoor and indoor plants growing. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "Exactly such a compromise is now in the works with Poland: a short-term political deal with lasting irreparable damage to the EU as a community of laws in t Veld said. A Polish lawmaker, Roza Thun, added that Poles undertook efforts to join the EU expecting it to guarantee democratic values. If those values are not protected, Thun said she fears the 27-nation bloc will start to rot. We struggled against the communist oppression because we wanted to live in a democratic country which respects the rule of law," she said. John Morijn, a law professor at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, said the EU releasing funds now would be a purely political move and highly damaging for both Polish judges and the standing of the European Court of Justice. ___ Gera reported from Warsaw. TOKYO (AP) Ever dreamed of having a gingerbread house like Hansel and Gretel? Tokyo University researchers Yuya Sakai, right, and Kota Machida pose for photos with products they made out of 'food cement' at their laboratory in Tokyo on May 26, 2022. Sakai and Machida developed a technology that can transform food waste into "cement" for construction use. (AP Photo/Chisato Tanaka) TOKYO (AP) Ever dreamed of having a gingerbread house like Hansel and Gretel? In the near future, edible houses may no longer just be found in fairy tales. Tokyo University researchers Kota Machida and Yuya Sakai have developed a technology to transform food waste into potentially edible cement" for construction use. Its the worlds first process for making cement entirely from food waste. The researchers say the tensile, or bending, strength of their product is nearly quadruple that of ordinary concrete. Machida and Sakai say they hope to help reduce global warming, alleviating problems related to wasted food materials that emit methane when they rot while buried in landfills. Food cement made out of dried cabbage is seen on May 26, 2022, at the laboratory of Tokyo University in Tokyo. The university's researchers Kota Machida and Yuya Sakai have developed a technology that can transform food waste into cement" for construction use. (AP Photo/Chisato Tanaka) Sakai, an associate professor of Industrial Science, developed the technology while researching sustainable materials that could replace cement-based concrete. Cement production accounts for 8% of the worlds carbon dioxide emissions, according to the think tank Chatham House. He first developed a way to make concrete by subjecting pulverized wood particles to heat compression. The three-step process of drying, pulverization, and compression was done using simple mixers and compressors the researchers say can be bought on Amazon. Sakai, with his student Machida, decided to do the same thing with food waste. Previous trials using food waste to make cement required plastics to be mixed in to get the materials to stick together. After months of failures, they realized they could get the cement to bind by adjusting the temperature and pressure used. The most challenging part was that each type of food waste requires different temperatures and pressure levels, Sakai said. Other experiments in using food waste in construction have mainly focused on using stuff such as coffee grounds or bio-waste ashes as filler in regular concrete. Sakai and Machida say they have successfully made cement using tea leaves, orange and onion peels, coffee grounds, Chinese cabbage, and even lunchbox leftovers. They've adjusted flavors with different spices and found the colors, scent and taste of the cement can be quite appealing. To be able to eat the material, a person would need to break it into pieces and boil it, Sakai said. To make the cement waterproof and protect it from being eaten by rodents and other pests, it might be coated with Japanese lacquer. The Free Press | Newsletter Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Food waste is a huge problem in Japan and worldwide. Japan produced around 5.7 million tons of edible food waste in 2019 and the government aims to reduce that around 2.7 million tons by 2030. Machida started a company called Fabula Inc. last year with two of his childhood friends. They are working with other companies to make cups, cutlery, and furniture out of food cement. Sakai says the process could be used to make edible makeshift housing for disasters. For example, if food cannot be delivered to evacuees, they could eat makeshift beds made out of food cement, he said. The food cement can be reused and is biodegradable, so it can be buried when it is no longer needed. Our ultimate hope is that this cement replaces plastic and cement products, which have worse environmental impacts, said Machida. DETROIT (AP) Ford's chief executive says he expects the cost of building electric vehicles to fall to the point that in coming years automakers will be battling each other for sales of EVs priced around $25,000. Ford President and CEO Jim Farley speaks in Glendale, Ky., Sept. 28, 2021. Ford's chief executive says the global auto industry is headed for a huge price war in the coming years as electric vehicle costs drop and multiple companies sell EVs priced around $25,000. Farley told the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference on Wednesday, June 1, 2022 that the $25,000 electric vehicle will democratize EVs. Materials to build that vehicle will cost around $18,000, he said. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, file) DETROIT (AP) Ford's chief executive says he expects the cost of building electric vehicles to fall to the point that in coming years automakers will be battling each other for sales of EVs priced around $25,000. CEO Jim Farley told the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference on Wednesday that the $25,000 price tag will democratize EVs. Materials to build that vehicle will cost around $18,000, he said. So I believe there will be our industry is definitely heading to a huge price war, Farley said. It currently costs much more to build an EV than it does one powered by a gas engine, Farley noted. The company's Mustang Mach-E electric SUV, with a starting price around $44,000 but can run much higher, costs about $25,000 more than a comparable Ford Edge gas SUV, he said. The battery cost alone is $18,000, and the charger adds another $3,000. But big cost reductions are coming with new battery chemistries that use fewer expensive and scarce precious metals such as nickel and cobalt, he said. Plus, EVs will take less time and labor to build, saving more money, Farley said. Ford also plans to cut distribution costs, which amount to $2,000 per vehicle more than Tesla, the world's electric vehicle sales leader, he said. That can be done largely by cutting the expense of keeping a large supply on dealer lots, and cutting advertising costs. Ford, like Tesla, may not have to buy advertising to sell EVs, which now amounts to $500 to $600 per vehicle, Farley said. Ford is designing the next generation of EVs for radical simplification of the labor it takes to put them together, Farley said. Half the fixtures, half the work stations, half the welds, 20% less fasteners, he told the conference. We designed it, because it's such a simple product, to radically change the manufacturability. New EVs, he said, also will be designed for optimal aerodynamics so they can use the smallest possible battery to get more range. Redesigning the body of an electric full-size pickup truck for lower wind resistance can add 75 miles (120 kilometers) of range from the same size battery, Farley said. The additional range, he said, cuts another $3,000 from the battery cost, he said. The re-engineering for the vehicle to minimize the size of the battery, since it's so expensive, is going to be a game-changer for these second-generation products," Farley said. Ford has plans to differentiate itself and boost profits by selling software services, including driver-assist and autonomous features that could be rented for a time period or by the mile, Farley said. It all adds up to erasing the $25,000 cost difference and turning profits, even with raw material costs expected to rise, Farley said. A price war already is happening in China, where more than half the electric vehicles in the world are sold today, Farley said. The most popular one is a van made by Chinese manufacturer Wuling that costs about $8,000, he said. Farley conceded that getting to the lower price point will be challenging, with many things to work on at once. Michelle Krebs, executive analyst with Cox Automotive, said Ford has a long way to go to reach the cost reductions that Farley outlined. It sounds like a lot of things have to fall into place to make this happen, Krebs said. Ford in recent years has had quality control issues with several of its new vehicles, raising costs. The Free Press | Newsletter Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. But building a $25,000 electric vehicle will attract more buyers to EVs, which the administration of President Joe Biden is banking on to cut planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. Research has shown that price is now is the biggest obstacle to people making the change from internal combustion engines, Krebs said. The first of the next-generation electric vehicles at Ford will be ready in 2026, Farley said, as Ford refits older factories to build EVs and builds three new battery plants and one new assembly plant in Kentucky and Tennessee, he said. By then, the company will have lined up the needed raw materials and have new battery chemistry, he said. It's going to take a little while, but I'm putting pressure on myself to get to making money on these vehicles, Farley said. It's going to be a good investment. In March, Ford said it would split its electric vehicle and internal combustion operations into two individual businesses to accelerate new technology. Ford plans a major restructuring with two distinct but strategically interdependent auto businesses Ford Blue focusing on traditional combustion engines and Ford Model e, which will develop electric vehicles. Farley also confirmed Wednesday that Ford is working on an electric vehicle made specifically for ride-hailing services such as Uber, saying that product would fit well into Ford's other commercial offerings. He gave no other details. Gary Ng, the former Winnipeg investment adviser and owner of a Winnipeg wealth management firm, has received a $5 million penalty from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), the largest penalty it is able to hand out. Gary Ng, the former Winnipeg investment adviser and owner of a Winnipeg wealth management firm, has received a $5 million penalty from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), the largest penalty it is able to hand out. IIROC alleged that Ng falsified financial information in order to secure loans that eventually allowed him to acquire Vancouver-based PI Financial for $100 million in 2018. IIROC also "charged" Ng with failing to cooperate with the regulators enforcement staff conducting the investigation, a contravention to the rules of registration. In addition, IIROC also ordered him to pay $194,000 to cover IIROCs costs to investigate the matter and is barred for life from being eligible to register as an official in any capacity with any IIROC-regulated entity. Ng was not present at the hearing that were held in Toronto last week but was represented by counsel. According to the IIROC statement of allegations, in 2018 when Ng was the principal of a small Winnipeg firm called Chippingham Financial Group Limited he acquired PI Financial financing it via two loans for $80 million and $20 million that Ng personally guaranteed as well as providing some Chippingham accounts as collateral. But Ng did not actually own or have control over the securities accounts pledged as collateral but falsified documents to make it look like he did. He subsequently orchestrated two other loans totalling $72 million also based on falsified collateral, according to IIROC. Specifically, IIROC said he vastly overstated the value of assets in the accounts; altered the securities account statements of two unrelated Chippingham and PI Financial clients by changing the clients names to his own name in order to make it appear that those clients assets were owned by him; and created fictitious account statements, summaries and screen capture images to make it appear that he held millions of dollars in financial assets with Chippingham and PI Financial when in reality those accounts and the claimed assets did not exist. IIROC became aware of the fraudulent activities in January, 2020 after officials from PI Financial notified them. Ng resigned in February 2020. Ngs colleague, Donald Warren Metcalfe, faces similar allegations, but his matter has not been heard yet by an IIROC penalty hearing, The regulator said that in the course of its investigation it has not found any evidence of any client losses. In an interview with the Free Press in 2018 just after the PI Financial Acquisition, Ng, 38, acknowledged that it may have looked like he came out of nowhere to buy PI Financial which, at the time has a staff of 300 and was managing about $4.5 billion in assets. But the son of Hong Kong immigrants scoffed at the suggestion. "I didnt come from money," he said. "Ive worked very hard for a long time and have taken substantial risks. But Im still the same guy. Ive just got a nicer watch now." About a year later he was forced to resign. An IIROC official said Ng has 30 days in which to appeal the decision. The Free Press | Newsletter Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. While IIROC does not have the power to garnishee wages or put liens on properties it can register the ruling as a judgment of the court and then go through the process of determining if Ng has assets that could be seized. Ng is also facing criminal charges. In January, RCMP charged Ng with one count of fraud over $5,000 and one count of laundering the proceeds of crime. The RCMP said the fraud charge stems from an RCMP investigation into allegations that Ng secured loans and credit from a number of victims/lenders by presenting false collateral in the applications for the loans and credit. The second charge stems from the uses of the loans and credit Ng obtained. martin.cash@freepress.mb.cs OTTAWA - Google has taken the extraordinary step of writing to every MP and senator expressing fears that the online news bill is being rushed through Parliament without proper debate or consideration. The local Google office is seen on November 1, 2018 in Montreal. Google is taking the extraordinary step of writing to every MP and Senator expressing fears that the online news bill is being rushed through Parliament without proper debate.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz OTTAWA - Google has taken the extraordinary step of writing to every MP and senator expressing fears that the online news bill is being rushed through Parliament without proper debate or consideration. In its letter, Google warns that the bill needs more scrutiny because of its implications, including for the way the search engine ranks content and elevates information from "trusted sources" such as the government. Bill C-18, as it is known in Parliament, is designed to support the Canadian news industry and would make online platforms such as Google and Meta compensate media organizations for reusing their journalism. In its letter, Google says it agrees with the bill's aim to support Canadian journalism, including financially, but says there are multiple flaws in the proposed legislation that could have far-reaching consequences. It lists a series of "misconceptions" about how the bill will work in practice, warning parliamentarians that, as worded, it could force Google to subsidize foreign state-owned news outlets. It said the bill has a very broad definition of "eligible news businesses" and could mean that "foreign state-owned outlets could be eligible even if they are known sources of misinformation and propaganda." The letter also warns that, as currently worded, the bill's "undue preference" provision may "prohibit features that elevate information from trusted sources (including government information) or reduce low quality information (including from eligible foreign state media outlets)." "The breadth of this provision threatens potential liability for any type of ranking or moderation of news content or any action that might have a negative impact on any outlet, even if that outlet is known to produce propaganda or disinformation," the letter adds. But Laura Scaffidi, a spokeswoman for Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, said the Online News Act "is critically important legislation to ensure that tech giants fairly pay Canadian publishers and journalists for their work." The government has fast-tracked the bill through the Commons, reducing the amount of time it is debated on the floor of the House before going into committee for closer scrutiny. Scaffidi said the bill "has been referred to committee for further study and discussion from MPs, experts and other witnesses" and will return to the House of Commons and Senate for further debate. But Conservative House leader John Brassard accused the government of "limiting and stifling debate" of the bill by MPs. "I'm profoundly disappointed they moved a time allocation on such a highly contentious bill that needs significant work," he said. "What they are doing is simply bypassing the House of Commons. We only had two hours of debate on C-18 and, as the official Opposition, we only had one speaker." Google spokeswoman Lauren Skelly said: "Getting this right is much more important than getting it done quickly." The Free Press | Newsletter Winnipeg Gardener What you need to know now about gardening in Winnipeg. A monthly email from the Free Press with advice, ideas and tips to keep your outdoor and indoor plants growing. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. She said Google wrote to MPs and senators because it was important for them to "know where we stand" and said the bill as currently written was "deeply flawed." She added, in a statement, that Google was "strongly in favour of contributing financially to support a sustainable future for journalism and the news ecosystem in Canada." Paul Deegan of News Media Canada, which represents the country's news media industry, said "this is important legislation that should be studied by the heritage committee without delay." "It will benefit publishers large and small as similar legislation has in Australia." This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2022. Meta funds a fellowship that supports journalism positions at The Canadian Press. An Ohio woman who was gored Monday by a bison at Yellowstone National Park has not died, despite media reports indicating she had. The Idaho Falls hospital where the woman was taken for treatment did not have a patient death tied to a bison goring, a hospital spokeswoman told the Star-Tribune on Wednesday. That information contradicts an NBC News report that was picked up by several Wyoming media outlets. "To confirm, though, our hospital has has no recent patient death as a result of the injuries being described by the NBC report," the spokeswoman wrote in a text message to the Star-Tribune. Yellowstone National Park reported the woman's goring on Tuesday afternoon. That announcement from the park said only that she was injured. There was no mention of her death. However, on Tuesday evening NBC News reported the woman had died. On Wednesday, NBC News corrected its story, saying its past reporting misstated the severity of the woman's injuries. By then, the story had been picked up by major and local media outlets. The woman, a 25-year-old from Grove City, Ohio, was gored after she moved within 10 feet of the bison, the park said in its statement. Park regulations require people to keep more than 25 yards from bison. The goring occurred near a boardwalk at Black Sand Basin just north of Old Faithful. The woman was on the boardwalk at the time. The incident, the first goring this year, remains under investigation, the park said. It also said that bison injure more people than any other animal at the park. Love 2 Funny 7 Wow 3 Sad 2 Angry 4 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) North Carolina's hemp industry would become permanently exempt from the state's controlled substances law in omnibus agricultural legislation approved unanimously by the Senate on Tuesday. The Free Press | Newsletter Shelley Cook | Uplift A weekly review of funny, uplifting news in Winnipeg and around the globe that is delivered to your inbox each Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) North Carolina's hemp industry would become permanently exempt from the state's controlled substances law in omnibus agricultural legislation approved unanimously by the Senate on Tuesday. The legislation differentiates marijuana, which would still remain unlawful, from hemp and hemp products, which contain a very low amount of the chemical that gives the high to marijuana users. Without the approved language, North Carolina's industrial hemp program approved in 2015 as a pilot and now operated through a federal production program would have to shut down at the end of June. Making the hemp exception permanent would allow the U.S. Department of Agriculture to continue operating the program. Farmers and hemp retailers have been worried that the product would become illegal without the language contained in the Senate's annual farm legislation, which now heads to the House. Meanwhile, a separate Senate bill that would legalize marijuana for medical use in the state is scheduled to be heard in a chamber committee on Wednesday. Senate leader Phil Berger told reporters Tuesday that the measure, which worked its way through other Senate committees last year before idling, could be heard by the full Senate later in the week. Its prospects in the House are unclear. TORONTO - Some of the most active companies traded Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange: TORONTO - Some of the most active companies traded Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange: Toronto Stock Exchange (20,729.34, down 190.06 points.) Arc Resources Ltd. (TSX:ATX). Energy. Down 51 cents, or 2.6 per cent, to $19.05 on 54.7 million shares. Manulife Financial Corp. (TSX:MFC). Financials. Up two cents, or 0.1 per cent, to $23.43 on 23.3 million shares. Athabasca Oil Corp. (TSX:ATH). Energy. Down 11 cents, or 4.1 per cent, to $2.59 on 22.3 million shares. The Free Press | Newsletter Winnipeg Gardener What you need to know now about gardening in Winnipeg. A monthly email from the Free Press with advice, ideas and tips to keep your outdoor and indoor plants growing. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Ballard Power Systems Inc. (TSX:BLDP). Industrials. Down 96 cents, or 9.5 per cent, to $9.16 on 20 million shares. Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSX:SLF). Financials. Down $2.08, or 3.3 per cent, to $61.78 on 17.7 million shares. Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX:CVE). Energy. Down 46 cents, or 1.5 per cent, to $29.32 on 16.9 million shares. Companies in the news: Yamana Gold Inc. (TSX:YRI). Up five cents at $6.80. Gold Fields Ltd. has signed a deal to buy Yamana Gold Inc. in an deal valued at US$6.7 billion. The companies say the deal will bring together two complementary gold portfolios. Under the agreement, Yamana shareholders will receive 0.6 of an ordinary share in Gold Fields or 0.6 of a Gold Fields American depositary share for each Yamana share. The companies say the offer is a 33.8 per cent premium to the 10-day volume-weighted average price of Yamanas shares on Friday. Toronto-based Yamana has gold and silver production, development stage properties, exploration properties and land positions in the Americas, including Canada, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. The deal, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors at both companies, requires approval by Yamana and Gold Fields shareholders as well as the court and other regulatory approvals. It is expected to close in the second half of this year. Once the transaction is complete, Gold Fields shareholders will hold about 61 per cent of the combined company, which will be headquartered in Johannesburg. Yamana shareholders will own about 39 per cent. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2022. BOSTON (AP) Brenda Hampton first came across the toxic industrial compound PFAS after finding it was part of the cocktail of contaminants that tainted the drinking water in her North Alabama community. In this still photo provided by Ethereal Films, Brenda Hampton attends the National PFAS Conference, in Boston, in June 2019. Hampton, a mother and grandmother, who believes tainted water led to her kidney problems, found that PFAS seemed to be in everything, including fast food packaging. Concerned that her children were ingesting the chemicals as they ate french fries and burgers, she joined the fight to get it banned from McDonald's. (Elijah Yetter-Bowman/Ethereal Films via AP) BOSTON (AP) Brenda Hampton first came across the toxic industrial compound PFAS after finding it was part of the cocktail of contaminants that tainted the drinking water in her North Alabama community. Hampton, who believes the contaminated water contributed to kidney problems she and other residents suffer, soon learned the chemicals were found in another source that hit close to home fast food wrappers, boxes and plates. Knowing her three daughters and eight grandchildren ate their share of burgers and fries, she joined the national fight in 2020 to ban PFAS in food packaging. "Everybody is eating fast food. Fast food is selling everywhere. No one has time to cook anymore, said Hampton who teamed with the environmental health advocacy group Toxic-Free Future to spearhead a petition drive last year that collected nearly 75,000 signatures. McDonald's later announced it would remove PFAS from all its packaging. Environmental and health groups are pushing dozens of fast food companies, supermarkets chains and other retail outlets to remove PFAS chemicals from their packaging. Known as forever chemicals" for their persistence in the environment, they have been used for decades to prevent grease, water and other liquids from soaking through wrappers, boxes and bags. Opponents of the practice argue the packaging poses a danger to consumers as well as the environment, since the waste ends up in landfills. in compost or is incinerated where the chemicals can leach into groundwater or soil. They contend there are safer alternatives. Several groups have maintained that many major brands use packaging with PFAS and that testing at times showed extremely high levels. A 2017 study by the Massachusetts-based nonprofit research organization Silent Spring Institute found PFAS in almost half of paper wrappers and 20% of boxes from 27 fast food outlets. Tests by Toxic-Free Future in 2018 produced similar results. And, this year, Consumer Reports found eight restaurants, including McDonalds, Burger King and Cava, had packaging that had more than 100 parts per million of fluorine, which indicates likely presence of PFAS. One of the concerns is that, especially with the pandemic, weve seen just this huge increase in food packaging, delivery, takeout, said Sheela Sathyanarayana, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington and Seattle Childrens Research Institute whose 2021 study found 16 different PFAS chemicals in the breast milk of mothers. We have much, much higher potential for exposure to these kinds of chemicals to everybody in the population, not just certain segments of the population, she said. Basically eating or drinking is one of the biggest sources of exposure. Tom Flanagin, a spokesman for the American Chemistry Council, said his group supports the Food and Drug Administrations agreement with several manufacturers to voluntary phase out some PFAS chemicals used in substances applied to food packaging. But his group opposes what he described as unscientific, one-size-fits-all restrictions on the entire class of PFAS chemistries. "The mere presence of PFAS does not indicate a health risk, Flanagin said. All PFAS are not the same. Individual chemistries have different uses, as well as environmental and health profiles." Studies have linked PFAS exposure to increased cancer risk, developmental delays in children, damage to organs such as the liver and thyroid, increased cholesterol levels and reduced immune functions, especially among young children, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Less studied are health hazards from PFAS in packaging, where the chemicals give material a reflective sheen. A 2019 study by Silent Spring Institute found people who ate at home had on average lower PFAS levels in their blood than those who ate fast food or ate more frequently at restaurants including pizza places. FDA studies of rodents also found that some PFAS chemicals in grease-resistant paper can bioaccumulate in the body. However, there are few guidelines about what levels of PFAS in food packaging, if any, are potentially harmful. The EPA only sets a voluntary health advisory level of 70 parts per trillion for two PFAS chemicals in drinking water. The FDA, which regulates use of certain PFAS chemicals in food packaging, came out in 2020 with a three-year, voluntary phase-out program. The agency is reviewing a petition from environmental groups calling for a PFAS ban in food packaging. In the U.S., only California sets a limit of 100 parts per million of total fluorine in food packaging. The absence of federal standards has shifted the fight over PFAS in food packaging to state legislatures. California, Washington, Vermont, Connecticut, Maryland, Maine, Minnesota and New York have passed bills banning PFAS from being purposely added to food packaging, according to the advocacy group Safer States. Seven other states are considering similar legislation. Federal legislation has also been introduced. In Vermont, the push to ban PFAS in packaging was inspired by findings that the chemicals had contaminated some of the state's drinking water. As a result, the legislature passed a bill last year banning PFAS and other chemicals including bisphenols and phthalates in food packaging as well as in carpeting, ski wax and firefighting foam. Most people just look at the tissue paper around their sandwich and they think I got my sandwich. But the reality is that the coating on that sandwich paper is PFAS, said the bill's author, Democratic state Sen. Ginny Lyons. It's not very much chemical but if you eat a lot of wrapped sandwich and use a lot of paper plates over time that chemical accumulates in the body and can cause cancer or other disorders. The regulations have coincided with bans announced by some of the largest restaurants and retailers. Fourteen fast-food and fast-casual restaurant chains with a total of nearly 124,000 stores and over $203.2 billion in annual sales have committed to removing PFAS from their food packaging, according the Toxic-Free Future. Among them are McDonald's, Starbucks and Whole Foods. Restaurant Brands International, which owns Burger King, Popeyes and Tim Horton, also plans to eliminate PFAS. If there are harmful chemicals in food packaging, people get that those chemicals can migrate into food, said Mike Schade, who directs Toxic-Free Future's market transformation work. This is something that really resonates with consumers. The Free Press | Newsletter Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. None of the companies have referenced health concerns in announcing their PFAS bans. Instead, most stated a desire to use sustainable packaging or said a ban was the right thing to do. A spokesperson for Whole Foods said many factors went into its decision, including that PFAS was a persistent environmental contaminant. The challenge now will be for these companies to find safer alternatives. Environmental groups are urging companies to switch to safer alternatives such as uncoated paper, bamboo or plastic derived from corn starch or sugar cane and alternative coatings including bio-wax or clay. Washington must first find safer alternatives exist before the state's ban takes effect in the next two years. Its assessments found there are alternatives for all takeout containers. "Manufacturers can replace PFAS in their food packaging, which will protect people and the environment from these harmful chemicals," said Lauren Tamboer, a spokesperson for the Washington Department of Ecology. ___ Follow Michael Casey on Twitter: @mcasey1 SHANGHAI (AP) Traffic, pedestrians and joggers reappeared on the streets of Shanghai on Wednesday as Chinas largest city began returning to normalcy amid the easing of a strict two-month COVID-19 lockdown that has drawn unusual protests over its heavy-handed implementation. A resident exercises along the bund as day breaks, Wednesday, June 1, 2022, in Shanghai. Shanghai authorities say they will take major steps Wednesday toward reopening China's largest city after a two-month COVID-19 lockdown that has set back the national economy and largely confined millions of people to their homes. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) SHANGHAI (AP) Traffic, pedestrians and joggers reappeared on the streets of Shanghai on Wednesday as Chinas largest city began returning to normalcy amid the easing of a strict two-month COVID-19 lockdown that has drawn unusual protests over its heavy-handed implementation. Shanghais Communist Party committee, the citys most powerful political body, issued a letter online proclaiming the lockdown's success and thanking citizens for their support and contributions." The move came amid a steady rollback in compulsory measures that have upended daily life for millions while severely disrupting the economy and global supply chains. While defending President and Communist Party chief Xi Jinpings hardline zero-COVID" policy, the countrys leadership appears to be acknowledging the public backlash against measures seen as trampling already severely limited rights to privacy and participation in the workings of government. In one such step, the Cabinets Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism issued a letter Tuesday laying out rules banning non-standard, simple and rude indoor disinfection by mostly untrained teams in Shanghai and elsewhere that have left homes damaged and led to reports of property theft. A resident wearing mask takes photos along the bund as day breaks, Wednesday, June 1, 2022, in Shanghai. Shanghai authorities say they will take major steps Wednesday toward reopening China's largest city after a two-month COVID-19 lockdown that has set back the national economy and largely confined millions of people to their homes. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) Full bus and subway service in Shanghai was being restored from Wednesday, with rail connections to the rest of China to follow. Still, more than half a million people in the city of 25 million remain under lockdown or in designated control zones because virus cases are still being detected. The government says all restrictions will be gradually lifted, but local neighborhood committees still wield considerable power to implement sometimes conflicting and arbitrary policies. Negative PCR tests for the coronavirus taken within the previous 48 to 72 hours also remain standard in Shanghai, Beijing and elsewhere for permission to enter public venues. That measure didnt deter people in Shanghai from gathering outside to eat and drink under the watch of police deployed to discourage large crowds from forming. With the lockdown lifting, I feel very happy. I feel today how I feel during Chinese New Year that kind of mood and joy," said Wang Xiaowei, 34, who moved to Shanghai from the inland province of Guizhou just a week before the lockdown began. Liu Ruilin, 18, said she wasn't sure her building's security guard would let her and others out on Tuesday night. The restriction ended exactly at midnight, she said. Residents cross the road near the bund as day breaks, Wednesday, June 1, 2022, in Shanghai. Shanghai authorities say they will take major steps Wednesday toward reopening China's largest city after a two-month COVID-19 lockdown that has set back the national economy and largely confined millions of people to their homes. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) Then we said, Lets go to the Bund to have fun,'" she said in the city's historic riverside district. We thought there wouldnt be too many people here, but we were surprised after coming over that a lot of people are here. I feel pretty good quite excited." Schools will partially reopen on a voluntary basis, and shopping malls, supermarkets, convenience stores and drug stores will gradually reopen at no more than 75% of their total capacity. Cinemas and gyms will remain closed. Health authorities on Wednesday reported just 15 new COVID-19 cases in Shanghai, down from a record high of around 20,000 daily cases in April. A few malls and markets have reopened, and some residents have been given passes allowing them out for a few hours at a time. The lockdown has prompted an exodus of Chinese and foreign residents, with crowds forming outside the citys Hongqiao Railway Station, where only some train services have resumed. Residents pose for photos along the bund, Wednesday, June 1, 2022, in Shanghai. Traffic, pedestrians and joggers reappeared on the streets of Shanghai on Wednesday as China's largest city began returning to normalcy amid the easing of a strict two-month COVID-19 lockdown that has drawn unusual protests over its heavy-handed implementation. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) Even while the rest of the world has opened up, China has stuck to a zero-COVID strategy that requires lockdowns, mass testing and isolation at centralized facilities for anyone who is infected or has been in contact with someone who has tested positive. The countrys borders also remain largely closed and the government has upped requirements for the issuance of passports and permission to travel abroad. At least half of foreign companies in Shanghai are waiting until next week to reopen while they put in place hygiene measures, said Bettina Schoen-Behanzin, a vice president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. As a precaution, many companies plan to have only half their workforce on site at a time. There is still quite some uncertainty and a scare that if there is a positive case in the office building or in your compound, you might be locked down again, said Schoen-Behanzin, who works in Shanghai. The strict restrictions in Shanghai, the countrys commercial capital and home of the worlds busiest port, dragged down Chinese economic activity and disrupted global manufacturing and trade. Residents wearing masks walk past a display showing a shark, Wednesday, June 1, 2022, in Shanghai. Traffic, pedestrians and joggers reappeared on the streets of Shanghai on Wednesday as China's largest city began returning to normalcy amid the easing of a strict two-month COVID-19 lockdown that has drawn unusual protests over its heavy-handed implementation. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) Retail sales fell by a worse-than-forecast 11% in April from a year earlier, government data show. Auto sales fell by almost half from a year earlier, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Private sector forecasters have cut their estimates for this years economic growth to as low as 2%, well below the ruling Communist Partys target of 5.5%. Some expect output to shrink in the three months ending in June. The economy is really in a crisis, said Schoen-Behanzin. The Port of Shanghai, the worlds busiest, appears to be back to 80% to 85% of its normal operating capacity, according to Schoen-Behanzin. She cited data that said the port had a backlog of 260,000 cargo containers in April. The rest of the world will feel these delays probably (through) June or July, she said. The Free Press | Newsletter Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The city will likely see a mass exodus of foreign residents this summer, especially families with small kids, Schoen-Behanzin said. She said about half of Shanghais foreign residents had already left over the past two years. People are really fed up with these lockdowns, she said. Its not safe, especially if you have small children. ___ Associated Press Business Writer Joe McDonald contributed to this report from Beijing. ___ This version has corrected the timing on PCR tests to a range rather than only 48 hours before being permitted to enter a public venue. WASHINGTON (AP) The FBI thwarted a planned cyberattack on a children's hospital in Boston that was to have been carried out by hackers sponsored by the Iranian government, FBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday. FILE - FBI director Christopher Wray testifies during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing in Washington, on May 25, 2022. Wray says his agents thwarted a planned cyberattack on a Boston children's hospital that was to have been carried out by hackers sponsored by the Iranian government. (Bonnie Cash/Pool Photo via AP, File) WASHINGTON (AP) The FBI thwarted a planned cyberattack on a children's hospital in Boston that was to have been carried out by hackers sponsored by the Iranian government, FBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday. Wray told a Boston College cybersecurity conference that his agents learned of the planned digital attack from an unspecified intelligence partner and got Boston Children's Hospital the information it needed last summer to block what would have been one of the most despicable cyberattacks I've seen. And quick actions by everyone involved, especially at the hospital, protected both the network and the sick kids who depended on it, Wray said. The FBI chief recounted that anecdote in a broader speech about cyber threats from Russia, China and Iran, and the need for partnerships between the U.S. government and the private sector. He said the bureau and Boston Childrens Hospital had worked closely after a hacktivist attacked the hospitals computer network in 2014. Martin Gottesfeld launched a cyberattack at the hospital to protest the care of a teenager at the center of a high-profile custody battle; Gottesfeld later was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The attack against the hospital and a treatment home cost the facilities tens of thousands of dollars and disrupted operations for days. Childrens and our Boston office already knew each other well before the attack from Iran and that made a difference, Wray said. He did not ascribe a particular motive to the planned attack on the hospital, but he noted that Iran and other countries have been hiring cyber mercenaries to conduct attacks on their behalf. In addition, the health care and public health sector is classified by the U.S. government as one of 16 critical infrastructure sectors, and health care providers such as hospitals are seen as ripe targets for hackers. When it comes to Russia, he said, the FBI is racing to warn potential targets about preparatory actions that hackers are taking toward destructive attacks. In March, for instance, the FBI warned that it was seeing increased interest by hackers in energy companies since the start of Russias war against Ukraine. Hackers from China have stolen more corporate and personal data from people in the United States than all other nations combined, as part of a broader geopolitical goal to lie, cheat and steal their way into global denomination of global sectors, Wray said. The speech took place as the FBI continues to combat ransomware attacks from criminal gangs, a continuing concern for U.S. officials despite the absence of crippling intrusions in recent months. Wray emphasized the need for private companies to work with the FBI to thwart ransomware gangs and nation-state hackers. What these partnerships let us do is hit our adversaries at every point from the victims networks, back all the way to the hackers own computers, Wray said. The FBI and other federal agencies have been working to assure hacking victims that it is in their best interest to report intrusions and cyber crimes. Many companies attacked by ransomware gangs often do not go to the FBI for a variety of reasons. Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, issued a report this year critical of the FBIs response to some ransomware victims. In two cases, the FBI prioritized its investigative and prosecutorial efforts to disrupt attacker operations over victims need to protect data and mitigate damage, the report said. The Free Press | Newsletter Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. One unnamed Fortune 500 company told committee staff that the FBI did not offer any helpful assistance when responding to a ransomware attack. Wray, though, cited the FBI's capacity to get a technically trained agent to any victimized company in an hour and we use it a lot. ___ Suderman reported from Richmond, Virginia. ___ Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP. OTTAWA - Defence Minister Anita Anand is standing by defence chief Gen. Wayne Eyre's decision to keep Canada's top military police officer in his job for another two years. Minister of National Defence Anita Anand makes a keynote address at the CANSEC trade show, billed as North Americas largest multi-service defence event, in Ottawa, on Wednesday, June 1, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang OTTAWA - Defence Minister Anita Anand is standing by defence chief Gen. Wayne Eyre's decision to keep Canada's top military police officer in his job for another two years. The extension was announced late Tuesday, the same day that a complaints commission asked Provost Marshal Brig.-Gen. Simon Trudeau to apologize to two military cadets. The apologies related to serious problems with the handling of a case of alleged sexual misconduct and an attempted suicide at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont. While the Military Police Complaints Commission says Trudeau did issue apology letters to the two cadets, the incident follows numerous questions about the conduct and standards of military police. Anand told reporters at a defence conference on Wednesday that she nonetheless has confidence in Eyre's decision to extend Trudeau in his position for another two years. "I have confidence in General Eyre and his appointments, and we will continue to work very hard to ensure the highest standards of integrity in the Canadian Armed Forces," Anand said when asked if she has confidence in Trudeau. The military on Tuesday announced Trudeau was being extended to oversee reforms of the military police and justice system in response to several recent reviews and reports, including one this week from retired Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour. Arbours scathing report included dozens of recommendations to address sexual misconduct in the ranks, including permanently transferring the investigation and prosecution of sexual cases of a criminal nature from military to civilian authorities. "It is important to continue to ensure the transfer of cases from the military justice system to the civilian justice system," Anand said about Trudeaus extension. "It is important for us to remember to work hard on the values that are so important, and that's what we will do every day with that (Trudeau) and everyone in the Canadian Armed Forces in leadership positions." One of Arbours other recommendations is to rethink the need for dedicated military colleges such as RMC and its French equivalent in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., which some see as a breeding ground for sexualized attitudes in the Forces. The Military Police Complaints Commission on Tuesday revealed that it had asked Trudeau to apologize to two cadets after an investigation found military police had severely botched a case in 2019. The investigation in particular found that military police did not conduct a proper investigation after a female officer cadet at the Royal Military College reported a fellow student was harassing her and had committed sexual offences against her. Military police were also found to have done little to respond to the female cadets safety concerns, or her concerns that the other student was suffering from mental health issues. The male student also attempted to kill himself on two separate occasions after military police told him he would "probably" face criminal charges, the commission said. Ultimately, no charges were laid in the case. Trudeau found himself defending the independence and professionalism of his investigators on several occasions last year as members of a parliamentary committee grilled him over how they deal with cases of sexual misconduct. Those questions coincided with allegations of sexual misconduct against several senior military officers, including the former chief of the defence staff, general Jonathan Vance, and his successor, admiral Art McDonald. The Free Press | Newsletter Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Vance eventually pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice and was sentenced to 80 hours of community service. McDonald was not charged. Trudeau's extension was one of dozens of new appointments announced Tuesday along with the retirement of nearly 30 senior military officers. Among those retiring are Vice-Admiral Haydn Edmundson, who was charged with sexual assault and indecent acts last year. He will retire ahead of a trial scheduled for August 2023. Tuesday's announcement also confirmed the retirement of Lt.-Gen. Trevor Cadieu, who hung up his uniform in April while being investigated for alleged sexual misconduct before heading to Ukraine. Anand would not comment on whether she was briefed about Cadieu's retirement and travel to Ukraine to assist the country's defence against Russia's invasion. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2022. Gail Asper and Michael Paterson have more accolades than the average married couple. Actually, Gail has received many honours, I have received very few, Paterson says with a laugh. Gail Asper and Michael Paterson have more accolades than the average married couple. "Actually, Gail has received many honours, I have received very few," Paterson says with a laugh. Asper has the Order of Manitoba and is an officer of the Order of Canada, among other titles, and was a driving force in establishing the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. For years, Paterson has been at the forefront of water quality research in Manitoba, currently as chief research scientist for the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Both do important work but theyve never been honoured together. That changes June 2, when the Jewish National Fund Manitoba & Saskatchewan will do so at its annual Negev Gala, recognizing their decades of contributions to the advancement of human rights and the study of the climate crisis two of the most pressing issues facing the world at large. This years gala, and others across the country, will raise money for the organizations Climate Solutions Prize, a $1-million annual allotment awarded to the top innovative idea to curb climate change and advance research. Organizations partnering with JNF to deliver the award include Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael and Israels Peres Center for Peace and Innovation. Climate change is a cause Paterson said is close to his heart as a professional ecologist, and one that cant be ignored by anybody. "I feel that everybody should care deeply for the environment, because its so important to us," he said. "One of the greatest threats we face is climate change, so anything we can do to help mitigate that (must be done)." Many of the climate outcomes which were predicted and questioned at the start of Patersons career are now "completely evident," he said. "The things we worried about as environmental scientists are sadly coming true." According to the Climate Atlas of Canadas report for the city of Winnipeg, the hottest days for the years between 1976 and 2005 reached an average of 34.4 C. Between 2051 and 2080, that average is projected to reach 39.5 C. Average precipitation could increase by nearly 17 per cent in the spring, as at this moment every Manitoban being reminded of the detrimental impact of an overly wet spring. Climate change brings with it an increased chance of extreme weather, such as flash floods, drought, storms and wildfire. The Free Press | Newsletter Shelley Cook | Uplift A weekly review of funny, uplifting news in Winnipeg and around the globe that is delivered to your inbox each Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Aside from political will to negate the long-term impacts of climate change, ongoing research and scientific intervention are considered crucial tools in the fight to save the planet. Thats a key reason why Paterson and Asper said they were pleased to accept the honour from the JNF. The couple, married 38 years as of June 10, both felt it was a cause they could get behind. "When youre married, you have to share values," Asper said. Even though theyre being honoured together, they wont be able to attend the gala together. For one thing, its being held virtually. For another, Paterson is currently at the Experimental Lakes Area in Ontario, working with the team on microplastics research, among other projects. On the night of the gala, Asper will have a viewing party at home, while Paterson will hope his spotty Wi-Fi connection hangs on. Both are pleased to not have to get dressed up. ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca Survivors of residential schools in Manitoba who want to go to Alberta in July to hear the Popes apology to Indigenous people may be eligible for funding from the Catholic Church. Survivors of residential schools in Manitoba who want to go to Alberta in July to hear the Popes apology to Indigenous people may be eligible for funding from the Catholic Church. Former Assembly of First Nations regional chief Ken Young suggested that possibility following a meeting of the National Indian Residential School Circle of Survivors and three Catholic bishops in Winnipeg Wednesday. "We asked the bishops to be involved in the planning," said Young, a member of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation. Plans call for chartered buses for survivors, he said, adding the church was asked to help with costs. "Our biggest priority is how to get survivors to the meetings with the Pope," he said. The Circle of Survivors met for two-and-a-half days to discuss the papal visit, and ways to deepen engagement with the Catholic Church. Speaking on behalf of the group, which includes former national grand chief Phil Fontaine, Young said survivors would like to see the Popes apology in Canada "go further" than what he said in his personal apology in Rome in March. "He has to say I am sorry for what happened on behalf of the Catholic church," he said. Young, who attended a residential school for 10 years, said he wants the Catholic Church to "accept ownership and responsibility for what happened to First Nations people and their families, for the negative experience we all had." He said he understands the Pope will decide the content of the apology, and he expects it will be done "in the right way." Participants at the meeting talked about the creation of a covenant with Canadas Catholic bishops to deal with outstanding issues related to reconciliation, Young said. "I feel the church stands behind us, to support us in seeking our inherent rights, treaty implementation and reconciliation," he said. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The clearest indication of how important this issue is to the Pope is that he is coming at all, said Richard Smith, Archbishop of Edmonton. About 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools. More than half were run by the Catholic Church. The three bishops at the meeting were Albert LeGatt of St. Boniface, Richard Smith of Edmonton and Don Bolen of Regina. Smith called the meeting the start of a conversation. "A lot was put on the table, more than we could discuss today," he said. "We are committed to walking with survivors and Indigenous people." The most important work between the church and Indigenous people will occur after next months papal visit, Smith said. The Vatican is open to suggestions from the Canadian bishops about the Popes visit and what he says in his apology but the Vatican "has the final say," Smith said. "My personal sense is he will do and say the right thing," Smith said. "He really wants this to be a step forward in the reconciliation process." The Pope met with representatives of Indigenous organizations and residential survivors in Rome in late March. The Free Press | Newsletter Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The clearest indication of how important this issue is to the Pope "is that he is coming at all," Smith said, given his health problems. "I wouldnt be surprised if there are some in the Vatican advising him not to travel," he noted. Smith said there is little likelihood the Pope will add to his itinerary, which includes stops in Quebec City, Iqaluit and Edmonton, during his July 24 to 29 trip. In a statement, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops said it is committed to addressing outstanding issues related to records, fundraising and Indigenous artifacts. "As we continue on this journey, we will listen to the experience of Indigenous people, especially to the survivors of residential schools, to guide our path forward," the statement said. faith@freepress.mb.ca Winnipeg Free Press photographer Mikaela MacKenzie is a double honouree in the News Photographers Association of Canadas pictures of the year competition for 2021. Winnipeg Free Press photographer Mikaela MacKenzie is a double honouree in the News Photographers Association of Canadas pictures of the year competition for 2021. MacKenzie won in the personality category for her portrait of longtime Winnipeg pigeon racer Bill Voulgaris. She finished second in the photo story (feature) category for her work chronicling the return to the wild of orphaned black bear cubs, which was part of a three-part series that documented the behind-the-scenes efforts of Black Bear Rescue Manitoba. In addition, Free Press investigative reporter Ryan Thorpe was part of the CBC podcast team that won the Canadian Association of Journalists award for best online media last weekend. The six-part podcast White Hot Hate examined the rise of white supremacist accelerationism globally, beginning with Thorpes undercover efforts to expose a Canadian Armed Forces reservist who was recruiting for a local neo-Nazi cell. "Im delighted that our photojournalism and our investigative efforts are again earning national recognition," Free Press editor Paul Samyn said. "Mikaela and Ryan are among the best young journalists in the country and I am so proud of the way they deliver for those who put their trust in the Free Press." Ukrainian refugees in Manitoba who are seeking a place to stay and a job are being wooed by Gimli. Ukrainian refugees in Manitoba who are seeking a place to stay and a job are being wooed by Gimli. The Interlake town has already booked 56 people to stay at the Gimli Training Centre for up to two months. The local chamber of commerce and development corporation are working together on the project. Chamber co-president Melanie Specula had reached out to refugees to find workers for her restaurant, and the response was overwhelming. "All of them were desperate to come here, and I had to pick four," she said, later adding: "It was heart-wrenching." "The rest of them kept contacting me, Are there any other jobs in Gimli? Can we still come to Gimli? So I started to think, you know what, they could. Gimli has a 100-room dormitory sitting empty: maybe we could make this work." The facility has 71 rooms, some of which have bunkbeds, while others have single beds. The Free Press | Newsletter Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Specula had put information about living and working in Gimli into a package of material given to the refugees at the provincially run reception centre near the Winnipeg airport. After more than 300 of them arrived this month, she was told many had expressed an interest in living in Gimli. Last Friday, 60 people were bused to Gimli and given a tour of the town. The chamber reached out to its members to ask if the businesses needed workers and there is demand for about 100 people, Specula said. "Were trying to match them up with jobs as well, and also housing," she said. "Hopefully, some will stay and make their home here." fpcity@freepress.mb.ca Man killed, 2 injured in rollover The North Dakota Highway Patrol has identified a driver killed Friday after his vehicle rolled over in a ditch as he attempted to pass a crop sprayer in Ward County. Nathan Joel Wohlk, 42, Ryder, was driving a Nissan Xterra on Ward County Road 24 about 5 miles west of Douglas, the Highway Patrol said. The vehicle encountered a slow-moving row crop sprayer about 11:15 a.m. and drove into the right ditch as it approached the sprayer. The Nissan faulted on an approach and overturned end over end, the Patrol said. Wohlk was declared dead at the scene by the county coroner, authorities said. Two passengers, both 13-year-old girls, were treated for injuries and released. Motorcyclist dies in crash near Williston A Williston man died when the motorcycle he was driving collided with a pickup truck in Williams County. The crash happened at the intersection of Williams County Road 6 and Loves Travel Center north of Williston around 10:35 a.m. Monday, according to the Highway Patrol. Brandon Burkemo was traveling east on his Harley-Davidson on the country road toward the travel center. The pickup turned to go west from the business. The motorcycle struck the rear of the truck, according to the Patrol. Burkemo was transported to a Williston hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The driver of the pickup, Earl Ray, 63, of Stanley, was not hurt. Man accused of causing fatal crash, fleeing A South Dakota man is facing charges of leaving the scene of a double-fatality crash after his pickup rear-ended a motorcycle with two people aboard in southeastern North Dakota. The North Dakota Highway Patrol said the crash happened at 11 p.m. Saturday on state Highway 11 about 6 miles west of Hankinson and 6 miles east of Lidgerwood. The two people on the motorcycle died at the scene. They were identified as Corey Volesky, 45, who was driving, and passenger Amber Volesky, 40, both of Wyndmere. The patrol said the pickup driver, 41-year-old Roberto Corona Eguiza, of Veblen, South Dakota, fled on foot and was apprehended a few hours later. He was not injured in the crash. Veblen has not been formally charged with fleeing. The patrol says other charges are possible once the investigation is complete. --Compiled from staff reports and wire services Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 If Winnipeg didnt break its 126-year-old spring precipitation record on the final day of May, it wasnt for a lack of Mother Natures effort. If Winnipeg didnt break its 126-year-old spring precipitation record on the final day of May, it wasnt for a lack of Mother Natures effort. The meteorological milestone for the total amount of snow and rain from March 1 to May 31 is 325.4 millimetres, which fell in 1896. As of noon Tuesday, Winnipeg was roughly 13 mm away from surpassing it. It all depends what happens the rest of the day, Natalie Hasell, a meteorologist at Environment and Climate Change Canada, said at mid-day. Im not saying it will happen, but we are in the realm of possibility and it isnt just the rain and the snow before that, it is the wind. As of midnight Monday, Winnipeg officially had been hit by a total of 149.1 mm in May. March had brought 14.8 mm and April 118.2 mm, for a total of 282.1 mm. Then another 30 mm of rain rolled in overnight. Even if it doesnt set a record, Hasell said, the fact is Winnipeg is in a firm second place for wettest meteorological spring. The third-wettest is 1911 (234.5 mm), followed by 1878 (231.4 mm). Across the city, the latest deluge left underpasses under water, streets and sidewalks littered with broken branches and, in some cases, downed trees (a large one fell on Mulvey Avenue). Winnipeg hasnt been alone. Little more than a year after drought left some communities rationing water and many farm fields covered with grasshoppers, all across southern Manitoba there is too much water this spring. Whether it is rivers and creeks swollen and spilling over banks because of above-average snowfall followed by spring runoff and multiple torrential rainstorms or major lakes already at or above normal water levels (and going up even further during high winds) or fields farmers cant get on to seed because they are saturated, Manitobans are hoping for respite from the water. Manitoba Hydro said Tuesday overnight rain and winds knocked down power lines across southern Manitoba, with repair crews working throughout the day. David Driedger, a spokesman for the City of Winnipeg, said the most recent rainstorm had resulted in a total of 95 flooded basements and 111 calls connected to flooded streets and ditches by Tuesday at 9:15 a.m. Further south in Morden, the city which last year was urging residents to limit water usage because of a local shortage was again issuing a warning. This time, the sewer system had been overwhelmed. Morden received a whopping 91.2 mm of rain. On Tuesday, officials were imploring residents not to use washing machines and dishwashers, in an effort to reduce wastewater. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Abandoned vehicles sit at the bottom of the flooded McPhillips Street underpass just north of Logan Avenue. Across the city, the latest deluge left underpasses under water, streets and sidewalks littered with broken branches and, in some cases, downed trees (a large one fell on Mulvey Avenue). Our crews are working diligently to get the sewer systems to flow quicker please do your part and conserve water at this time, a statement from the city said. Up in the Interlake, Jackie Mitchell was driving on Provincial Road 222, north of Gimli, when she saw it had been partially washed away near the Aurora Treatment Centre. Ive never seen anything like this I just know the ditches are overflowing to the roads in lots of areas. Lynn Greenberg, mayor of the RM of Gimli, said the rain Monday added more moisture to an already bad situation. Mother Nature has really dumped at us this time, Greenberg said. There is a lot of water coming to us from the west and the ditches cannot handle it because the drains are at the maximum now. And now sewers are backing up and basements are being flooded. But we just have to deal with it. Earlier this week, the province issued strong-wind warnings for the major lakes, saying gusts of up to 80 km/h from the north could drive up water levels. On the east side of Lake Winnipeg, cottage owner Dave Crabb, who lives just north of Beaconia, said the waves were putting water onto his lawn facing the lake. The lake is super angry, the former president of the Manitoba Association of Cottage Owners said Tuesday. Theres about 20 to 25 seconds between the breakers hitting the beach. The water level is probably up about four feet. Its the most Ive seen in four or five years. On the south end of Lake Manitoba, Angie Shindell, general manager of the Portage Regional Recreation Authority, said the Delta Beach campground fared well. Some erosion and a tree down, she said. Debris left behind but looks like very little damage, if any, to the campers. Further up the east side of Lake Manitoba, James Romanow was capturing video of waves crashing into the shoreline in the cottage community of Twin Lakes Beach. The Free Press | Newsletter Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. There are some properties where the waves were going over the shore and the water then goes to the road and into the swamp, Romanow said. Weve had a lot of rain here, 108 mm for the month of May and 27 mm of rain (Monday) it was non-stop. And while the lake was almost half a foot below its operating level in January, now were at the midpoint because water is coming in and cant get out fast enough. Will Jones, president of the Twin Lakes Beach Association, said the provinces long-promised but still not built flood channel to take water out of Lake Manitoba and into Lake Winnipeg would have helped at this time. This is not as devastating as what it appears to be, but I dont want to see it happening, Jones said. A lot of people are freaking out about it and probably it is because they still have PTSD from the last flood. Without the flood outlet channel, this will continue to happen. kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca Stepping in to fill staff shortages in a Winnipeg ER has left one nurse terrified and calling for action. Daniel Crump / Winnipeg Free Press Files A high rate of nurse vacancies in the emergency department at Grace Hospital has meant nurses from other departments have to be reassigned, even though they are not specifically trained to work in emergency. Stepping in to fill staff shortages in a Winnipeg ER has left one nurse "terrified" and calling for action. The high rate of nurse vacancies in the emergency department at Grace Hospital has meant nurses from other departments have to be reassigned, even though they are not specifically trained to work in emergency. One ICU nurse said she and her co-workers there and on medicine wards are routinely sent to the ER and are assigned to care for multiple patients. Although working in the ICU requires a high level of training, the ER has different processes, charting systems and monitoring requirements, the nurse said. Being sent to work in an unfamiliar environment with very sick patients and no one to ask for help is extremely stressful. She spoke on the condition of anonymity. She said she and other nurses have repeatedly raised concerns about the issue to management. She told the Free Press she has seen non-ER nurses "begging," sometimes to the point of tears, not to be assigned to the ER because they arent trained for it. The ER is so short-staffed, she said, that its difficult to find someone who can provide urgent guidance. "Im terrified that Im going to kill somebody, simply because I dont know how to get help or that I dont know where something is, urgently. Its terrifying having peoples lives in your hands and not feeling supported by anyone other than the other nurses who are going through the exact same thing," she said. "Im in this to help people. I dont want to hurt people." Late Tuesday, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority sent a statement. "Every effort is being made to have nurses remain on their unit. If they are reassigned, this is considered a last resort, and only occurs when it is the only option to meet demand and ensure patient safety. When that happens, their experience is taken into consideration." Thirty nurses left the Grace ER between April 2021 and March 2022, and just 19 were hired, the WRHA said. Grace Hospital had the highest nursing vacancy rate of all Winnipeg hospitals, according to data provided by the Manitoba Nurses Union. The Free Press | Newsletter Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. That has left the employer "scrambling" to cover shifts, including trying to get public health nurses and private agency nurses to fill in, said president Darlene Jackson. She said the union has met with hospital administration. "Its an uncomfortable situation for nurses, but its something that is unavoidable at this point," because of the critical nursing shortage, Jackson said. The union also has concerns about the way in which nurses are called in to work for overtime or extra shifts. Theyll be asked to work in their regular department, and when they agree, theyre reassigned to the ER. The current reality is one of "robbing Peter to pay Paul" because other departments arent backfilled when nurses are reassigned to the ER, Jackson said. "Its a scary situation for nurses. Its worrying when youre put in a situation youre not familiar with, and the fact is, we are dealing with patients lives and patients care." katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com A mother of four who had moved to Winnipeg for a new start in life was remembered as a loving person who had done her best for her children, at a vigil Tuesday evening. A mother of four who had moved to Winnipeg for a new start in life was remembered as a loving person who had done her best for her children, at a vigil Tuesday evening. About 250 people mourned the death of 31-year-old Tessa Perry near the Marlow Court home where she was found severely injured Saturday night. She later died in hospital. FACEBOOK Homicide victim Tessa Perry. "She was such an awesome woman We dont know where to go from here. Its going to be hard," said her mother Angie Perry. She choked back tears as she talked about her familys struggle to cope with the tragedy. Mourners lit candles to honour Perry. "Tessa was a shining star who impacted everyone that met her," said Hilda Anderson-Pyrz, an advocate for marginalized Indigenous women, and also Perrys aunt. She said the large attendance at the vigil, which opened with a moment of silence, lighting of tobacco and prayers, shows how much Perry was loved. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Tessa Perrys mother Angie speaks about her daughter at a vigil for her Tuesday. It was important to the family to help them recover, said Anderson-Pyrz. "When a tragic event like this happens, families dont get the opportunity to have closure," she said. "For them to see all of that support and love will help in these hard times." Justin Alfred Robinson, 29, is charged with second-degree murder and failure to comply with a probation order. He remains in custody. Lyle Perry had posted a tribute to his sister on Facebook, saying she had recently moved to the city from Thompson. "She was a loving, caring, charismatic, beautiful soul and a devoted mother," he said. "Whether she was on top of the world or just scraping by, she always made sure those around her were taken care of." He is working with the northern chiefs organization to organize a vigil for her in the northern city. Perry was the fourth Indigenous woman to be killed in Winnipeg this year and the third since May 16. Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Garrison Settee said Tuesday violence toward Indigenous women must stop. "The homicide of a third young Indigenous woman in a span of three weeks is extremely concerning. These women were sacred and loved," he said in a statement. "We are seeing an increase in deadly violence impacting First Nations women in the city of Winnipeg. It is clear we have much work to do in this area." Winnipeg NDP MP Leah Gazan called on the federal government to fund a 24/7 shelter for women fleeing violence. "Women are dying in Winnipeg, ground zero for MMIWG (missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls)," the Winnipeg Centre MP told the Commons on Tuesday. The Free Press | Newsletter Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Winnipeg has numerous 24/7 shelters and drop-in centres for people coping with addictions or escaping domestic violence. Yet Gazan argues the city lacks a space that shelters women and girls fleeing violence, who often need a place to stay overnight for weeks. Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said Tuesday that Gazans request "is clearly one that needs priority, and its something we support as a government." Gazan later said her request aligns with the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls call for justice 4.7. It calls on "all governments to support the establishment and long-term sustainable funding of Indigenous-led low-barrier shelters, safe spaces, transition homes, second-stage housing, and services for Indigenous women, girls, and (LGBTTQ+) people who are homeless, near homeless, dealing with food insecurity, or in poverty, and who are fleeing violence or have been subjected to sexualized violence and exploitation." The fatal attack on Perry was Winnipegs 23rd homicide of the year. with files from Dylan Robertson bryce.hunt@freepress.mb.ca Two of Winnipegs mayoral candidates took first steps down the campaign trail Tuesday evening. Two of Winnipegs mayoral candidates took first steps down the campaign trail Tuesday evening. At the Norwood Hotel, former Manitoba Liberal leader Rana Bokhari touted community, prosperity and sustainability. Nine kilometres away, Wilderness Supply store owner Rick Shone launched his campaign at Torque Brewing. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Rana Bokhari announces her candidacy for the mayoral race at the Norwood Hotel in Winnipeg Tuesday. "Our diversity is our future," Bokhari told a crowd of roughly 50 supporters at the launch event for her bid for the mayors chair. Bokhari later told reporters she has "no desire to fit into any box," unlike her first round in politics. She led the Liberals from 2013 to 2016, but failed to secure a seat in the Manitoba legislature in the 2016 election. On Tuesday, Bokhari, 44, said she wants to make Winnipeg a more welcoming place for all, noting the city is home to many new Canadians and people from rural First Nations communities. Vulnerable groups have been asking for help for generations, Bokhari said. "My job is to listen to them and follow their direction." As a lawyer whos worked with First Nations, she said shes heard Indigenous peoples worries about family members who relocate to Winnipeg. "Theres a lot of institutional racist issues in the city," she said. "Most of us have spent our lives trying to hide it and pretend it wasnt happening." JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Rana Bokhari is greeted by Wuskwi Sipihk First Nation Chief Elwood Zastre just before announcing her candidacy for mayor Tuesday. Bokhari also brought up missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, mental health support gaps, and affordability in her speech. She acknowledged Mayor Brian Bowmans human rights committee to reporters, but said committees only go so far. However, she didnt divulge details on how shed address such issues. "My lived experience is very different than Brian Bowmans lived experience," Bokhari said. "I look a different way, I act a different way, I talk a different way, I come from a different world." Bowman, also a lawyer, is Winnipegs first Metis mayor. He is not seeking a third term in office. Bokharis mother immigrated from Pakistan. Bokhari lived in Pakistan for several years and also grew up on a farm in Anola. She said, as mayor, shed like to build community centres and mental health services. She didnt offer details on infrastructure plans, wanting to hear from community members first. "Im not a podium-and-speech kind of person," she said. "Im a door-knocking, handshaking type of politician." Bokhari was the youngest leader of the Manitoba Liberals and the first South Asian Manitoban to lead a political party in the province. Wuskwi Sipihk First Nation Chief Elwood Zastre from endorsed Bokhari on Tuesday. She has worked on the First Nations contracts for seven years, Zastre said. During that time, the community has built a water main, sewer plant and youth centre. "If they put her in (office), I think shell do good for everybody," Zastre said. "Not just First Nations, but everybody." Tiffany Rhoden, Bokharis long-time friend, was also in the crowd. The two met while Bokhari was studying for law school Rhoden would serve her at a University of Manitoba campus coffee shop, sometimes at 3 a.m. "Im not surprised at all (that shes running)," Rhoden said. "Shes always been so hardworking and motivated." Meantime, to the east, Shone gathered his supporters, too. The Free Press | Newsletter Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The owner of Wilderness Supply stores in Winnipeg and Thunder Bay and a friend are founders of Swamp Donkey Adventure Racing. Shone previously told the Free Press hes passionate about promoting Winnipeg. Shone said the skills hes acquired in multi-sport adventure races endurance, grit and hard work could be assets if he becomes mayor. He didnt respond Tuesday to the Free Press by print deadline. Shone and Bokhari join Scott Gillingham, Shaun Loney, Jenny Motkaluk, Chris Clacio, Idris Ademuyiwa Adelakun, Robert-Falcon Ouellette and Don Woodstock as registered mayoral candidates on the campaign trail. Winnipegs municipal election is set for Oct. 26. gabrielle.piche@freepress.mb.ca As a new allegation of sexual assault surfaced against the grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, the organizations executive council says it will make no decision on Arlen Dumas until the original investigation has been completed. Arlen Dumas was suspended after a woman who worked at the AMC alleged the grand chief had sexually assaulted and harassed her. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press) As a new allegation of sexual assault surfaced against the grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, the organizations executive council says it will make no decision on Arlen Dumas until the original investigation has been completed. In a statement released Wednesday, the AMC executive council said while its constitution allows for the removal of a grand chief from office, "removal cannot occur for rumours or unsubstantiated allegations." "The executive council of chiefs received an update that the investigators report will be completed by the end of June. The results of this report will provide the chiefs with the information needed to determine whether disciplinary action or removal from office proceedings will occur." Dumas was suspended earlier this year after a woman who worked at the AMC alleged the grand chief had sexually assaulted and harassed her. The woman filed a complaint with Winnipeg police. No charges have been laid and the matter has not been before the courts. When the staff member sent the executive council a letter about the allegations, which contained no details, the AMC launched a workplace investigation, it said Wednesday. The investigation was later handed over to a law firm to complete after the letter was leaked to media. APTN reported Tuesday a second woman had come forward, alleging she was sexually assaulted in Winnipeg in 2009 when Dumas was chief of Mathias Colomb Cree Nation. The woman filed the allegations in a third-party report, where an alleged victim talks to members of an agency, which then brings the information to police, APTN said. Police put that information in a special database, but it does not spark an investigation. Acting AMC Grand Chief Cornell McLean, chief of Lake Manitoba First Nation, told the Free Press Wednesday he was unaware of the latest allegation. Sandra DeLaronde, a facilitator who has spent decades advocating for Indigenous Manitobans, said, while she has no knowledge on the latest allegation, she is glad the woman made a report. "Im grateful there is a third-party reporting process," said DeLaronde, one of the women who are putting together an open letter to the AMC calling for the removal of Dumas as grand chief. A draft copy was leaked to media this week. The Free Press | Newsletter Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The group began putting the letter together after the AMC declined two requests for them to meet with the acting grand chief, DeLaronde said. "The AMC does not honour the (AMC) constitution or the very women served by the governance and decision making of the chiefs of Manitoba," the draft says, in part. "It is imperative that the AMC chiefs be accountable and support victims of violence and sexualized violence. "The women who have spoken out deserve a responsive, accountable and culturally appropriate response from leadership to address these issues." DeLaronde said she is hoping Dumas himself makes the decision before the AMC does. "At some point, as a leader you have to think what is in the best interests of the people," she said. "Dont make them force him to resign just resign." kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca An alumna of The Kings School in Winnipeg says Christian educators failed to protect students from a male teacher after she disclosed that he had inappropriately touched teenagers more than three years ago. An alumna of The Kings School in Winnipeg says Christian educators failed to protect students from a male teacher after she disclosed that he had inappropriately touched teenagers more than three years ago. The private academy, which runs a pre-school and provides K-12 instruction in partnership with Gateway Church, recently hired a third-party investigator to probe concerns about a longtime employees behaviour. A spokesperson for the partially funded independent schools board told the Free Press allegations of "inappropriate conduct" were made about a teacher in early 2022 and an investigation is ongoing. "We take the safety of our students seriously and have policies in place that guide our response," wrote board chairman Andrew Frank, in an email Tuesday. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Kings School, a private religious school funded by Gateway Christian Community on Panet Road in Winnipeg. Citing the active status of the case, Frank provided few details. He indicated the accused has been "temporarily removed from the school" and an independent investigator who was retained by the board in February is looking into any "any allegations that come forward present or past." Former student Danielle McNab has mixed feelings about the investigation she said should have happened years ago. "(The school leaders) pride themselves on the safety and the comfort of their students, but I experienced the complete opposite of that when I was there I didnt realize how bad it really was until I left," said McNab, 18. We take the safety of our students seriously and have policies in place that guide our response." The Kings School board chairman Andrew Frank The recent high school graduate said she transferred to public school in Grade 11 due to two factors: the teachers non-consensual touching and homophobia in the community. She recalled one incident in the fall of 2018 that has stuck with her. McNab said she was sitting in an English class when a teacher came up from behind, started massaging her shoulders and whispered into her ear that she seemed tense. The educator asked the then-15-year-old if she needed a massage and when she declined, he indicated that probably would not be allowed anyway, she recalled. The teacher has a reputation in the school community for being known to touch students, whether it be hugging or putting his hands on their shoulders when he prays for them, and he has long indicated that is how he "shows Gods love," multiple sources said. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Kings School has hired a social worker to investigate allegations against a teacher who is known for touching and hugging female students without consent. For that reason, McNab said the incident was not unexpected but it made her feel extremely uncomfortable so she reported her feelings to another adult in the school who suggested the behaviour was allowed, but would pass along concerns to principal Suzan Zielke. Within roughly a week, the teacher announced to a room full of students that someone had disclosed concerns and the principal had spoken with him, McNab said, adding she later told him she was the complainant in the hopes he would stop the touching. "He didnt stop. He just got more sneaky about it," she said. Zielke did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. He didnt stop. He just got more sneaky about it." Former The Kings School student Danielle McNab Around the time she was leaving The Kings School in early 2020, McNab said she warned a younger friend to keep an eye out for the inappropriate conduct. Roughly one year later, the friend called her to say a group of students approached school staff with concerns that echoed hers from 2018, she said. "Its manipulative, its disgusting, really. They should be absolutely ashamed of themselves and held accountable for whats been allowed to happen," said Krista Gerbrandt, a former member of Gateway Church and mother who sent her children to the affiliated religious private school until 2021-22. Gerbrandt said her family felt the church community no longer reflected their belief systems and she had a negative experience working as a bible study and worship leader at Gateway. She said she is infuriated by the schools lack of transparency about the investigation. The independent school is funded by both the evangelical congregation and the Manitoba government. The Free Press | Newsletter Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. In an email to high school families in late April, school administrators announced the teacher would be "on leave for an undetermined period of time." One student who studied under the male teacher as recently as 2021 and who spoke to the Free Press on the condition of anonymity said she felt guilty whenever he touched her shoulders and she felt uncomfortable. "Hes supposed to be a safe person. Hes there for me. Hes just wanting to help," she said, recalling her thought process. Its manipulative, its disgusting, really. They should be absolutely ashamed of themselves and held accountable for whats been allowed to happen." Krista Gerbrandt The teenager noted she has only recently realized how inappropriate the behaviour was, as well as the intensely personal questions he asked students. "Ive never had a teacher (other than him) put their hands on me," she added. After learning current students had recently come forward, McNab filed a police report in early May. The Winnipeg Police Service confirmed the sex crimes unit looked into the situation, but said no charges have been laid. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @macintoshmaggie OTTAWA The Manitoba government is picking up the tab for Ukrainian refugees to get medical checks required by the federal government, after first trying to get Ottawa to pay. OTTAWA The Manitoba government is picking up the tab for Ukrainian refugees to get medical checks required by the federal government, after first trying to get Ottawa to pay. Under its emergency permit, Ottawa requires Ukrainians displaced by the Russian invasion to get medical exams which can cost $350 for an adult within their first 90 days of reaching Canada. The tests, usually an X-ray and blood test, check for communicable diseases more prevalent outside Canada, such as tuberculosis and HIV. The Manitoba government had tried in vain to get Ottawa to pick up the tab. "In the absence of a federal funding commitment, the province is covering the cost," a spokesman wrote. "We are also working through a solution to cover those who have already paid." As CBC News reported this weekend, it makes Manitoba the first province to pay for these medical exams. The Stefanson government made the decision May 27, but did not issue a media release, likely due to rules that forbid announcement during byelections, such as the one in Thompson. "As of Friday, we are waiving the fees associated with these tests," Health Minister Audrey Gordon said during Tuesdays question period. "We hope to see other provinces follow in our lead, so that we can all ensure Ukrainians arriving in Canada can get the tests necessary for certain work permits." Some newcomers have reported reluctantly relying on donations, since they cannot take jobs Manitoba farms and companies have offered. On Tuesday, Gordon echoed calls from advocates for the federal immigration department to authorize more doctors to do these medical checks. She said only 20 Manitoba doctors could do these inspections: 14 in Winnipeg, four in Brandon, and two in Winkler. The Free Press | Newsletter Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Newcomers usually do these tests before arriving in Canada, but the emergency permit allows them to be done after arriving in order to speed up the process. Immigration Minister Sean Fraser was unavailable Monday and Tuesday for an interview. Instead, his office sent a statement that did not explain why Ottawa isnt paying for the tests. It instead noted stipends will soon be offered to impacted Ukrainians. Interlake-area Tory MP James Bezan was unimpressed. "Conservatives commend the government of Manitoba for stepping up to cover costs incurred to these families," he wrote. "Instead of working with provincial governments to address the shortfalls of these programs, the federal government is offloading responsibility of providing critical needs, including health care, education, and child care, to the provinces to address." dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca OTTAWA A reserve on the shore of Lake Winnipeg has been forced to ration food and fuel after the barge that connects it to the outside world was destroyed in a fire. OTTAWA A reserve on the shore of Lake Winnipeg has been forced to ration food and fuel after the barge that connects it to the outside world was destroyed in a fire. "We are in a dangerous situation," Poplar River Chief Vera Mitchell wrote in an email Tuesday. A state of emergency has been declared for the Ojibwa reserve, 345 kilometres north of Winnipeg. It wont have road access until next year, and the airstrip is basically a gravel landing that can only handle small passenger aircraft, Mitchell said. For decades, the fishing community of 1,200 has relied on a boat to transport its catch to Winnipeg and pick up essentials. The MV Poplar River caught fire on May 6 while dry-docked at the Hnausa harbour, said Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The cause of the fire wasnt given. The band struck a task force with Freshwater Fish Marketing Crop., the federal Crown corporation that sells its catch and owns the boat, but another vessel wasnt found. CEO Stan Lazar wrote in an email that Freshwater will restore transportation, and that the schedule for repairs "has not been finalized. We are actively developing a plan to continue to support their needs in the interim." Officials recently told the band not to expect another boat until next year, meaning the community has no way to sell its catch or receive construction material and fuel. The province has yet to extend the all-weather road on the east side of Lake Winnipeg to Poplar River. It ends at Berens River to the south. Improvements to the airport have been in discussion for years. During the 2019 wildfires, it took three days of round-the-clock evacuations to get community to safety, Mitchell said. "We were lucky we didnt wait till the last hour, otherwise we would have had fatalities," she wrote. The Free Press | Newsletter Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The band decided to declare a state of emergency because theres no immediate solution. It announced an immediate rationing of fuel, limits on food supplies and an expected substantial loss of income for fishers. "Our community is now without means to supply itself potentially until the next winter road seasons which stars in January of 2023," the band wrote in a news release. Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu said she hadnt been briefed on the matter. "Well always act on crises to support First Nations that have a variety of different emergency needs, whether its flooding or fires and in this case, disruption to transportation," she told the Free Press. Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal was also unaware of the situation. dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca What's that bright, shining orb in the sky? Where our swaths of grey clouds normally hang? Friends, it may be the sun. May it dry out southern Manitoba a bit today. Top news A high rate of nurse vacancies in the emergency department at Grace Hospital has meant nurses from other departments have to be reassigned, even though they are not specifically trained to work in emergency. (Daniel Crump / Winnipeg Free Press files) ER shortage: Nurse vacancies at the Grace Hospital ER has meant nurses from other departments have to be reassigned, and one is sounding the alarm about the potential risks of having to work in an unfamiliar environment. Katie May reports. Read More Christian school probes conduct: A former student of The Kings School in Winnipeg says educators failed to protect students after she reported a male teacher had touched teenagers inappropriately years ago. The private academy recently hired a third-party investigator to probe concerns about a longtime employees behaviour. Maggie Macintosh reports. Read More Better beach safety: Wayne Betker, who sits on the Grand Beach Cottage Owners Association board, has been pushing for increased safety measures after two children nearly drowned at the beach last year, but has made little progress with provincial officials. Malak Abas reports. Read More Advertisement Weather Abandoned vehicles sit at the bottom of the flooded McPhillips Street underpass just north of Logan Avenue Tuesday morning. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press) Soggy spring: Winnipeg neared a 126-year record for spring precipitation on Tuesday, as rain brought us within 13 mm of 325.4 mm, set in 1896. Tuesday's deluge was still enough to cause problems, leading to flooded underpasses and stalled cars. Kevin Rollason has the story. Read More Your forecast: Sunny with a high of 18 C, and wind from the west at 20 km/h increasing to 40 km/h and gusting to 60 this afternoon. In case you missed it Family and friends gather for a vigil for Tessa Perry on Tuesday. (John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press) Vigil for victim: About 250 people mourned the death of 31-year-old Tessa Perry, a mother of four, near the Marlow Court home where she was found severely injured Saturday night. She later died in hospital, and Justin Alfred Robinson, 29, is charged with second-degree murder. Bryce Hunt reports Read More Support for entrepreneurs: Pow Wow Pitch is a competition for Indigenous entrepreneurs, and Erica Daniels, founder of Kejic Productions, will be off to Ottawa later this year to compete in the national finals and a chance for a $25,000 prize after winning the Winnipeg competition. Martin Cash reports. Read More On this date On June 1, 1953: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that London was "agog" on the eve of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, with 500,000 people preparing to spend the night outdoors to get a good spot along the processional route. The crown jewels were taken secretly to Westminster Abbey under guard for the ceremony. The Queen would wear special TV makeup. According to one proposal, the monarch would live for a time in Canada and each of the six self-governing countries of the Commonwealth outside Britain. Read More Today's front page Get the full story: Read today's e-edition of the Winnipeg Free Press Read More Alexandre Bissonnette walked into the Great Mosque of Quebec on Jan. 29, 2017, armed with a handgun and a semi-automatic weapon and opened fire on worshippers, killing six people and seriously injuring five others. Alexandre Bissonnette walked into the Great Mosque of Quebec on Jan. 29, 2017, armed with a handgun and a semi-automatic weapon and opened fire on worshippers, killing six people and seriously injuring five others. The cold-blooded murders were driven by hatred, racism and Islamophobia. Khaled Belkacemi, Ibrahima and Mamadou Tanou Barry, Abdelkrim Hassane, Azzeddine Soufiane and Aboubaker Thabti lost their lives. The senseless killings, which shook the nation to its core, served as a reminder that Canada is not immune from the mass shootings that occur with obscene frequency in the United States, including last weeks murder of 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Mr. Bissonnette pleaded guilty to six counts of first-degree murder and received a mandatory life sentence in prison. Ordinarily, he would be eligible for parole after serving 25 years behind bars. However, the Crown prosecutor in the case sought to keep Mr. Bissonnette locked up indefinitely through a provision in the Criminal Code enacted in 2011 by former prime minister Stephen Harpers government that allows courts to impose consecutive periods of parole ineligibility when someone is convicted of more than one count of first-degree murder. THE CANADIAN PRESS MATHIEU BELANGER / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Alexandre Bissonnette (right) killed six people in the Great Mosque of Quebec on Jan. 29, 2017. The provision meant some offenders would have no chance of parole for 50, 75, 100 years, or more usually well beyond their life expectancy. The Supreme Court of Canada struck down as unconstitutional that section of the Criminal Code last week in the Bissonnette case. It ruled that imposing penalties that outlive the life expectancy of most offenders is "absurd" and that depriving even the "vilest of criminals" a mechanism to re-enter society is a violation of human dignity. "The imposition of excessive sentences that fulfil no function does nothing more than bring the administration of justice into disrepute and undermine public confidence in the rationality and fairness of the criminal justice system," the top court wrote in its unanimous decision. The Free Press | Newsletter Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Canada does not have an eye-for-eye justice system, nor should it seek one. That was left behind when the country abolished the death penalty in 1976. For first-degree murder, it was replaced with a sentence of life in prison with no eligibility for parole for 25 years. The change sought to balance the sentencing principles of deterrence, denunciation and the separation of offenders from society with the notion that people have the potential, over time, to rehabilitate. The top court ruled correctly that leaving offenders with no possibility of parole is inconsistent with those sentencing principles and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. "The objectives of denunciation and deterrence are not better served by the imposition of excessive sentences," the court wrote. "Beyond a certain threshold, these objectives lose all of their functional value, especially when the sentence far exceeds human life expectancy." THE CANADIAN PRESS JACQUES BOISSINOT / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Alexandre Bissonnette pleaded guilty to six counts of first-degree murder and received a mandatory life sentence in prison. Parole eligibility does not guarantee an offenders release from prison. It is up to an independent parole board to consider many factors, including public safety, before granting a conditional release. One of Canadas most notorious murderers, Paul Bernardo who is serving a life sentence for the torture, kidnapping and killing of Kristen French, 15, and Leslie Mahaffy, 14, in the early 1990s has been eligible for parole since 2018. He has been twice denied parole and is unlikely to be released any time soon. It will be up to a parole board to determine whether Mr. Bernardo has gained sufficient insight into the seriousness of his crimes to be released safely into the community. The same process and sentencing principles should apply in all first-degree murder convictions, including that of Mr. Bissonnette. A South Dakota man is facing charges of leaving the scene of a double fatality crash after his pickup rear-ended a motorcycle with two people aboard in southeastern North Dakota. The North Dakota Highway Patrol says the crash happened at 11 p.m. Saturday on a highway about 6 miles west of Hankinson and 6 miles east of Lidgerwood. The two people on the motorcycle, a 45-year-old man and 40-year-old woman, died at the scene. Both of them are residents of Wyndmere, North Dakota. The patrol says the pickup driver, a 41-year-old man from Veblen, South Dakota, fled on foot and was apprehended a few hours later. He has not been formally charged with fleeing. The patrol says other charges are possible. FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) A jury sided Wednesday with Johnny Depp in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, awarding the Pirates of the Caribbean actor more than $10 million and vindicating his allegations that Heard lied about Depp abusing her before and during their brief marriage. Actress Amber Heard departs the Fairfax County Courthouse Friday, May 27, 2022 in Fairfax, Va. A jury heard closing arguments in Johnny Depp's high-profile libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard. Lawyers for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard made their closing arguments to a Virginia jury in Depp's civil suit against his ex-wife.(AP Photo/Craig Hudson) FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) A jury sided Wednesday with Johnny Depp in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, awarding the Pirates of the Caribbean actor more than $10 million and vindicating his allegations that Heard lied about Depp abusing her before and during their brief marriage. But in a split decision, the jury also found that Heard was defamed by one of Depp's lawyers, who accused her of creating a detailed hoax that included roughing up the couple's apartment to look worse for police. The jury awarded her $2 million. The verdicts bring an end to a televised trial that Depp had hoped would help restore his reputation, though it turned into a spectacle that offered a window into a vicious marriage. Heard, who was stoic in the courtroom as the verdict was read, said she was heartbroken. Im even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. Its a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously, she said in a statement posted on her Twitter account. Depp, who was not in court Wednesday, said the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled. I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up, he said in a statement posted to Instagram. Depp sued Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse. His lawyers said he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name. Actor Johnny Depp waves to supporters as he departs the Fairfax County Courthouse Friday, May 27, 2022 in Fairfax, Va. A jury heard closing arguments in Johnny Depp's high-profile libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard. Lawyers for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard made their closing arguments to a Virginia jury in Depp's civil suit against his ex-wife.(AP Photo/Craig Hudson) The jury found in Depp's favor on all three of his claims relating to specific statements in the 2018 piece. Throughout the proceedings, fans who were overwhelmingly on Depps side lined up overnight for coveted courtroom seats. Spectators who couldnt get in gathered on the street to cheer Depp and jeer Heard whenever they appeared outside. A crowd of about 200 people cheered when Depps lawyers came out after the verdict. Johnny for president! one man yelled repeatedly. Greg McCandless, 51, a retired private detective from Reston, Virginia, stood outside the courthouse wearing a pirate hat and red head scarf, a nod to Depps famous role as Capt. Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. I do believe that there was defamation, and I do believe that it did hurt his career, McCandless said. I think the jury heard the evidence, and the verdict was just. In evaluating Heard's counterclaims, jurors considered three statements by a lawyer for Depp who called her allegations a hoax. They found she was defamed by one of them, in which the lawyer claimed that she and friends spilled a little wine and roughed the place up, got their stories straight, and called police. Sydni Porter, 30, drove an hour from her home in Maryland to show support for Heard. She said the verdict was disappointing, but not surprising, and sends a message to women that as much evidence as you have (of abuse), its never going to be enough. The jury found Depp should receive $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, but the judge said state law caps punitive damages at $350,000, meaning Depp was awarded $10.35 million. While the case was ostensibly about libel, most of the testimony focused on whether Heard had been physically and sexually abused, as she claimed. Heard enumerated more than a dozen alleged assaults, including a fight in Australia where Depp was shooting a Pirates of the Caribbean sequel in which Depp lost the tip of his middle finger and Heard said she was sexually assaulted with a liquor bottle. Depp said he never hit Heard and that she was the abuser, though Heards attorneys highlighted years-old text messages Depp sent apologizing to Heard for his behavior as well as profane texts he sent to a friend in which Depp said he wanted to kill Heard and defile her dead body. In some ways, the trial was a replay of a lawsuit Depp filed in the United Kingdom against a British tabloid after he was described as a wife beater. The judge in that case ruled in the newspapers favor after finding that Heard was telling the truth in her descriptions of abuse. In the Virginia case, Depp had to prove not only that he never assaulted Heard, but that Heards article which focused primarily on public policy related to domestic violence defamed him. He also had to prove that Heard wrote the article with actual malice. And to claim damages, he had to prove that her article caused the damage to his reputation as opposed to any number of articles before and after Heards piece that detailed the allegations against him. The case captivated millions through its gavel-to-gavel television coverage, including impassioned followers on social media who dissected everything from the actors mannerisms to the possible symbolism of what they were wearing. Both performers emerge from the trial with reputations in tatters with unclear prospects for their careers. The Free Press | Newsletter Shelley Cook | Uplift A weekly review of funny, uplifting news in Winnipeg and around the globe that is delivered to your inbox each Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Eric Rose, a crisis management and communications expert in Los Angeles, called the trial a classic murder-suicide. From a reputation-management perspective, there can be no winners, he said. Theyve bloodied each other up. It becomes more difficult now for studios to hire either actor because youre potentially alienating a large segment of your audience who may not like the fact that you have retained either Johnny or Amber for a specific project because feelings are so strong now. Depp, a three-time best actor Oscar nominee, had until recent years been a bankable star. His turn as Sparrow helped turn the Pirates of the Caribbean into a global franchise, but hes lost that role. He was also replaced in the third Fantastic Beasts spin-off film, The Secrets of Dumbledore. Despite testimony at the trial that he could be violent, abusive and out of control, Depp received a standing ovation Tuesday night in London after performing for about 40 minutes with Jeff Beck at the Royal Albert Hall. Heards acting career has been more modest, and her only two upcoming roles are in a small film and the upcoming Aquaman sequel due out next year. Depps lawyers fought to keep the case in Virginia, in part because state law provided some legal advantages compared with California, where the two reside. A judge ruled that Virginia was an acceptable forum for the case because The Washington Posts printing presses and online servers are in the county. RAPID CITY, S.D. Rapid City law enforcement officials say police shot and wounded a woman after she tried to run over an officer Tuesday morning following a failed traffic stop and chase. Rapid City Police Chief Don Hedrick said the incident began about 4 a.m. after officers unsuccessfully attempted to pull over the silver Mitsubishi sedan for an unspecified equipment violation. Police tried several tactics to stop the vehicle, the last of which involved an attempt to block it with a squad car, Hedrick said. At that point, the vehicle spun and drove in the direction of the police officer. At that point, the officer fired several rounds at the car, fired several shots at the vehicle, striking the driver several times. At that point, the vehicle stopped and the driver ceased any sort of action, Hedrick said. The woman is being treated for several gunshot wounds. Her condition is not known. A police spokeswoman said the officer targeted by the woman was outside their vehicle when they fired, the Rapid City Journal reported. It's unclear if any of the other two officers on scene fired their weapons. Hedrick said a passenger had jumped out of the vehicle before the chase started and the woman threw an unknown item out of the window. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A family is looking toward the future after seeing the man charged with sexually assaulting their child admit to one of the accusations in court Friday. Harold Drew Jackson, 37, of Baraboo, was found guilty in Sauk County Circuit Court of a felony count of exposing genitals to a child. As part of an agreement between prosecutors and the defense attorney, a charge of first-degree sexual assault of a child under 13 and misdemeanor bail jumping were dismissed, but read in, which means they will be considered in sentencing. A parent of the child wrote in a victim impact statement that the family was looking forward to no longer enduring the drawn out court proceedings, which included a finding that Jackson was not competent to stand trial and delays caused by COVID-19. I am so proud of the strength of our little beautifulfamily, wrote the parent. We are what we created. All of us have some of the most solid backbones to know what family stands for. To know their parents will forever have their backs. After years of therapy, mentorshipwe are stronger and nearly healed. May we now find closure and move on from the nightmare that has been the last three years. Barrett found Jackson competent to proceed in the court case during a Nov. 2 hearing, during which West Benn psychiatrist Craig Schoenecker testified to Jacksons competency. Schoenecker had been the doctor to declare him incompetent in February 2021. Competency evaluation documents are sealed to the public to ensure the health care privacy of the accused. Jackson was charged in August 2019. According to the criminal complaint, a then 11-year-old told adults that Jackson had groped them in a Lake Delton restaurant and had assaulted the child at least one other time while helping a family member move out of a nursing home. Jackson denied the allegations and said his hand was slipping a bit but he did not assault the child. The exposure of genitals charge was amended as part of a plea deal from a count of first-degree sexual assault of a child. Jackson will tentatively not serve prison time as part of a partial agreement between attorneys and will be ordered to probation instead. Barrett ordered a presentence investigation be conducted without a sentencing recommendation. A psychosexual evaluation is already underway, per court records. Jackson remains on release with a $3,000 signature bond. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 29. Follow Bridget on Twitter @cookebridget or contact her at 608-745-3513. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Three bills recently signed by Gov. Tony Evers meant to help prevent overdose deaths and aid in the treatment of substance abuse are measures local officials say will help them potentially reduce the number of fentanyl-related deaths in Sauk County. Wisconsin Acts 179, 180 and 181 focus primarily on the highly potent and increasingly common fentanyl. Sauk County Community Health Strategist Sara Jesse said it is important to have laws to combat the prevalence of the drug given the high number of overdose deaths associated with it in recent years. Its really imperative to get fentanyl off of our streets, Jesse said. I dont know if its possible, but its killing people and shows no signs of slowing down. According to health department data, 90% of both accidental and intentional overdose deaths in 2020 involved fentanyl, which was 19 out of 21 deaths. It dipped lower in 2021 to 67%, or 10 out of 15 total overdose deaths, but it has been a quickly growing cause of concern in less than 10 years. Jesse said the county did not see fentanyl as a primary reason for overdose deaths before 2018, when it became a major factor, involved in 10 out of 14 total deaths. Before that it was 2 out of 10 or none at all, she said, adding that the deaths were caused by the fentanyl patch which is prescribed for pain management. Wis. Act 181 requires the state Department of Administration, Department of Health Services and Department of Safety and Professional Services to issue a request to the Joint Committee on Finance for consideration of a database that provides usable information of opioid and methamphetamine use trends throughout the state. Jesse said the prospect is appealing because the numbers drive how they operate. I always get excited about data because public health data drives our decisions, from what we prioritize to how we focus our efforts to how we know if were making progress on addressing a community problem, such as drug use, Jesse said. Its wonderful that this is in law that they maintain a data system like this. Drug trends shift frequently, so if we dont have this data, how could we know what exactly is happening on the street? For example, data gathering has shown an uptick in methamphetamine use in Sauk County, from 0% of meth involvement before 2017 to 43% of overdose deaths in 2020 and 47% in 2021. We really need the timely data to stay on top of these trends so we can better focus our efforts and prevention treatment, harm reduction whatever is needed, Jesse said. The growing problem with methamphetamine echoes the growing prevalence of fentanyl. Jesse and Det. Sgt. Scott Steinhorst of the Sauk County Sheriffs Office said fentanyl can be found in any drug being sold illegally. Were finding traces of fentanyl in a lot of methamphetamine, cocaine, THC, Steinhorst said. Pretty much any of the street drugs now, a lot of it has fentanyl in it. Jesse said fentanyl can be made in laboratories, making it cheap to produce, and even though the labs in China where fentanyl is generally made have fallen under stricter regulations, the makers have switched to creating all of the items needed to create fentanyl and shipping them to Mexico, where the product is finished. This requires no poppy production, nothing natural, so it can be made in a lab, Jesse said. A tiny shake of your salt shaker is all you need to kill someone with fentanyl. Its a very small amount that is deadly. Were looking at a very cheap drug that can be mixed into other substances and not always mixed uniformly. Jesse said she likes to refer to the problem of bad mixing by drug dealers as the Chocolate Chip Cookie Effect, because just like biting into the cookie can mean getting a mouthful of chocolate, there could also be nothing but baked dough. The same goes for badly mixed drugs laced with fentanyl; a user might have an abundance of fentanyl or very little. Definitely Gov. Evers making clear that fentanyl test strips are not drug paraphernalia allows agencies to distribute these more effectively, Jesse said. And now that theyre not considered drug paraphernalia, perhaps other agencies will be distributing these more freely so people can test their drugs. Steinhorst said Wis. Act 179 helps update the classification of fentanyl if someone is arrested for selling or making it. Before, regardless of whether a person had 1 gram or 50 grams of the substance, they were held to the same legal punishment. With the new law, the charges will mirror those of heroin possession with intent to sell. It didnt differentiate between the weight of the substance like other drugs are already, like heroin, cocaine, THC; all of that has different structures as far as penalty classes, Steinhorst said. It increases the severity of the felony based on the weight of the substance. Which means that possessing up to 10 grams is a Class E felony, from 10 to 50 grams is a Class D felony and anything more than 50 grams is a Class C felony. Those felonies carry a maximum sentence of 10, 15 and 25 years in prison, respectively. While Steinhorst said law enforcement cannot control what the ultimate sentence is once the charges go forward in the court system, he said the ability to charge for the corresponding amount provides another tool for ensuring more people distributing the highly potent substance will be unable to do so. This will make it a little bit easier on us as far as charging goes, Steinhorst said. The more the substance that we get in a case, the more severe the penalty is going to be. Follow Bridget on Twitter @cookebridget or contact her at 608-745-3513. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Hair-raising, harrowing moments experienced at the Dodge County Historical Society will be shared Friday night with those looking for a thrill. DCHS, located at 105 Park Ave. in Beaver Dam, is hosting a ghost story festival in its backyard next to the Beaver Dam Area Chamber of Commerce. Built in 1891 as the Williams Free Library, the sandstone, Romanesque-style building of the Dodge County Historical Society serves as a fittingly spooky backdrop as professional storytellers from Old World Wisconsin, along with Kathy Barnett of Beaver Dam, disclose some real-life ghost tales. The idea for a ghost festival originated with DCHS President Patrick Lutz. He and his wife, Diane, contacted their friend about writing a story for the festival based on the unexpected happenings at the museum. Nationally known, award-winning playwright Laurie Brooks suggested she author a play, instead. If you go What: Ghost Story Festival and premiere of the play In the Museum: A Ghost Story. Where: Dodge County Historical Society, 105 Park Ave., Beaver Dam When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 3 Cost: Free Diane Lutz first connected with the playwright years ago while attending New York University. The retired Beaver Dam High School educator has directed many of Brooks works over time. Lutz said shes honored to direct the premiere of In the Museum: A Ghost Story. The one-act play runs about 45 minutes and is performed by veteran stage actors from Beaver Dam Area Community Theatre. Cast members include: Paul McMillan, Jim McMillan, Jena Berg, Laurel Goetsch, Lee McMillan, Dan Nugent, Bryce Muenchow, Roberta Marck and Barb Vockroth. Its a humorous piece, but its got a really touching message to it, said Lutz. Its about people who have unsaid thoughts and regrets. Brooks, who resides in Arizona, will attend the performance Friday. She provided the following synopsis of her play: In the world of ghosts, two brothers, Arlo and Gregory, diligently apply Kindness Therapy to help others let go of wrongs and unresolved mistakes from their lives. But Arlo struggles with a desperate need of his own, to reach into the land of the living to correct a painful past. As Arlo struggles, the brothers help William, who cannot forget the Civil War, and Hattie, the cranky librarian who cannot find her kindness. When the Baddies arrive, madly chasing Tiny, a large dog they plan to gobble up for dinner, Arlo and Gregory save Tiny, bringing a touch of magic into their lives. Heartwarming, funny and surprising, this ghost story takes us on a journey of miracles that may or may not be real. Lutz said characters in the play are based upon historical figures from Beaver Dam. Hattie Doolittle, a librarian who lived on site at the Williams Free Library for 47 years in the early days of the 20th century, is represented in the piece, as is Civil War veteran William Coxshall who served as an executioner for a Lincoln assassination conspirator. DCHS Curator Kurt Sampson said he and others have experienced paranormal activity at the museum forever, usually in the evening hours. Sometimes I get this feeling at night here that is hard to describe. Ive been by myself and gotten creeped out and just had to leave. If it ever happens to you, you never forget it. Ive very distinctly heard a womans voice more than once, he said. Sampson relayed that former curator Mary Beth Jacobsen said on a couple occasions she saw an apparition of a woman in Victorian period wear and suspected it was Doolittle. A ghost-hunting team from Western Wisconsin Paranormal Investigations has investigated the museum twice in the past two years and plans to come again. Their findings of pulsating orbs, voice phenomenon and more can be viewed at wwiscpi.com. Lutz said shes always been interested in the unusual encounters at the museum. The cool thing about this play is that it incorporates all the things that have happened to people who work here and spend time here, she said. The cast has felt their spines tingle a bit while rehearsing inside the building, as well. During rehearsal one night we all heard a bang up on the balcony and they all stopped immediately. Patrick went up there and could find nothing disturbed. All ages are invited to the free event, which begins at 7:30 p.m. The ghost story festival will move to The Watermark, 209 S. Center St., in case of inclement weather. Follow Kelly Simon on Twitter @KSchmidSimon or contact her at 920-356-6757. 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. Tracking living and deceased veterans in Juneau County has had a streamlined process over the past four years. The Juneau County Veterans Service Office provides and recommends services for living veterans in the county, as well as identifies burial sites for honoring deceased veterans on holidays such as Memorial Day and throughout the year. Since 2018, the office has used Veterans Benefits a software from Texas-based technology firm Tyler Technologies to speed their operations up and ensure services for more veterans and their families. We track where they are so that, when it comes to be Memorial Day, we can personally know how many flags because our county puts flags in the cemetery, said Juneau County Veterans Service Officer Colin Moten. We also need to know where they are so that veterans organizations like American Legion and VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) go to place the flags, they know roughly how many they have. He also said that he can use the software to track where the veteran passed away and which cemetery he/she is buried in. The office is working with Tyler Technologies to replace a comment section with fill-in fields, as that would provide more accurate, in-depth information. The office tracks the information on burial sites through Tyler Veterans Benefits, which is also used as a case management software and software for filing claims for living veterans with regards to benefits, according to Moten. Wisconsin veterans service offices track more information on veterans than many other states, according to Moten, and he said the software allows for more information to be entered. Rikki Ragland, the media relations manager at Tyler Technologies, said the software, formerly known as ETK, helps veterans and their families access many benefits they are eligible for, along with identifying burial sites of deceased veterans. The Tyler software is used by Veteran Service Officers and offices to formulate, process, and administer Veterans benefits claims on behalf of Veterans, Ragland said in an email. As part of this process, the Veteran Service Officer (VSO) works with the Veteran to capture a wide range of information including, but not limited to, the Veterans personal information, dependents and other important individuals, service record, and detailed medical history. Ragland added that the software stores this information to help veterans service offices put together benefit Veterans Affairs (VA) claims that best suit each veteran. It also monitors claim status after submission to the VA. Moten said that prior to having access to the software, the Juneau County VSO kept hardcopy records of information regarding veterans, which he explained to be a much more tedious process. A Portage doctor and a number of her patients are waiting for a decision from a judge to see if a new medical practice is allowed to operate in Portage. Earlier this year, Divine Savior Healthcare Inc. filed a restraining order against Dr. Amy Doherty. Doherty was planning on opening a direct primary care office in January when her former employer filed an injunction against her. A written decision by Columbia County Judge W. Andrew Voigt on the lawsuit is expected to be filed soon. The restraining order filed by Divine Savior on Jan. 21 asks that Doherty shall be restrained from soliciting Divine Savior patients within thirty miles of Divine Savior Hospital. A 30-mile radius of Divine Savior Hospital, 2817 New Pinery Road, would stretch as far west as Reedsburg, east to Fox Lake, north to Westfield and as far south as the northern suburbs of Madison. Dohertys attorney, Daniel Icenogle, filed a motion for a summary judgment to be made in the case by Voigt. After a couple of canceled hearings, a summary judgment hearing was held on Friday, May 27. A summary judgment is a motion made by a judge in civil proceedings without the matter going to trial. Voigt allowed Doherty to speak at the hearing. During this time, Doherty gave a recap of the events leading to the day in court. She said how she worked for Divine Savior Hospital and how this lawsuit has had a human cost on the community. Doherty shared multiple examples of patients who were in need of her care but couldnt receive it because she was not allowed to open her own practice. Divine Savior attorney Christopher Banaszak objected to what Doherty was saying. He stated Doherty was introducing new evidence and that it shouldnt be allowed in court. Voigt stated he understood his decision when letting Doherty speak and said he would do his best to separate the pertinent information from other things. During the hearing, Banaszak said there was too much to look at in the case to simply be decided by a summary judgment and that this issue would need to be resolved in court or with a trial. Voigt told the courtroom on Friday that he would not be issuing an oral decision for the summary judgment and that no oral ruling would be scheduled. He said the case has been on his mind a lot and while looking at the people in the courtroom, noted his decision will have an effect on the community. I will have a written decision on this case as soon as I can, Voigt said before adjourning the hearing on Friday afternoon. Case background Doherty worked at Divine Savior from June 2016 to December 2021. An affidavit of Divine Savior Healthcare Inc. President Michael Decker filed by Banaszak stated Doherty had no patients in the Portage area when she began working at the hospital in 2016 and had approximately 1,230 patients in December 2021. Decker stated a majority of Divine Savior patients live in the Portage area. Information filed by Banaszak alleges Doherty was operating her own practice within the last 12 months of her employment at Divine Savior which is count one of the complaint, breach of contract-specific performance. The second count of the complaint is breach of contract-damages, alleging Doherty has violated the non-compete clause in her contract. Court documents show Icenogle argued the restrictive covenant cannot be enforced since Divine Savior changed ownership in 2020 when it became part of Aspirus. He also argued the restrictive covenant is void under Wisconsin law because it is too vague. Another argument made by Icenogle is that the restrictive covenant does not apply to Doherty because her proposed new practice is not the same type of medical practice as Divine Savior. Klar Care, 108 E. Cook St., is a direct primary care facility that seeks to offer a subscription type of health care and will not work with insurance companies, Doherty said. Direct primary care is set to make health care more accessible as well as affordable, Doherty said. Patients are able to call or text their doctors and are able to get next-day access. Sometimes it takes up to six weeks for patients to see their primary physicians. This takes out surprise billing of patients and cuts out the third-party insurance companies, she said. Its not about the insurance companies, its about the doctor-patient relationship. 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 first of four book sales at the local library in Wisconsin Dells is set for this weekend, with proceeds helping the library display area history. Friends of the Kilbourn Library, a community support group which advocates for the citys Kilbourn Public Library in a variety of ways, is holding the sale in the facilitys Community Room and on the patio. The sale will feature mostly donated material from city residents, according to library director Cathy Borck. Proceeds from the sale will benefit current and future projects and programs at the library, according to a release from Kay James, a volunteer with the Friends group. Borck said there will be one sale during Wo-Zha-Wa, a fall festival featuring concessions, carnival rides, and arts and crafts in September, another on Columbus Day weekend and a holiday book sale during Thanksgiving weekend. Pricing for the sale, which will include paperback and hardcover books of many topics, magazines, CDs, DVDs, and other media materials, will be dictated by Friends of the Kilbourn Library, as well as setup. We have thousands and thousands of items, said Borck. We have books for adults and children, DVDs, audiobooks, large print, foreign language. Anything that somebody might want, we have it. Borck added that VHS tapes will also be available, which she referred to as a rare collection. She said the videos will be sold at five for $1. There are people that come up for the weekend and have a cabin with a (VCR), so we sell quite a few of those, said Borck. One of the main projects at the library is the addition of the History Room, which sales will benefit. Borck said the library is redoing a couple rooms and the upcoming History Room will feature donated local history items. She also said the library will purchase showcases to display some of the artifacts and will store other items in a locked room. The locked room will be accessible for library guests upon request. She said that a microfilm archive of Dells Events editions dating back to the 1800s will be there. Were really excited about that because its stuff that we have that we cant necessarily put out for patrons right now because we dont have a safe way for them to handle it, said Borck. Another key project, according to James release and Borck, is the summer reading program at the library, called Oceans of Possibilities, which is open to all ages. The Friends of the Kilbourn Library purchases incentives for the program, along with prizes associated with the program. The organization has used previous book sale funds to purchase expansions to the library, including a fireplace and a patio outside of the childrens book area, along with helping expand the librarys collection of books and other media. Notable guests have been invited to the library in the past by the organization as well, and mysteries author Kathleen Ernst will be there later in June. Ernst, who has published 41 books, is a Wisconsin resident who grew up in Maryland, according to her website. She also writes fiction and non-fiction books. The Friends of the Kilbourn Library welcomes volunteers to help with the book sale and to pack items not sold by Saturday. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Borck. RAPID CITY, S.D. Prosecutors wont seek the death penalty for a New York man charged with killing three people in Rapid City. Pennington County States Attorney Mark Vargo told a judge Tuesday that he wasnt aware the 45-day deadline for making a decision had passed four days earlier, the Rapid City Journal reported. Thirty-seven-year-old Arnson Absolu faces three counts of premeditated first-degree murder in connection with the August 2020 deaths of Charles Red Willow and Dakota Zaiser, both of Rapid City, and Ashley Nagy of Greeley, Colorado. Red Willow and Nagy were found shot to death in a vehicle at a park on Aug. 24, 2020. Zasier's body was discovered Sept. 24 near Sheridan Lake. He had been killed sometime between Aug. 24 and Aug. 25, 2020, according to court documents. He was initially identified as a possible witness in Red Willow and Nagy's deaths. About 20 people attended the court hearing on Tuesday, including two of Nagys nieces, Amarri Hiermeier and Allyson Hiermeier. Amarri said she was upset about the state not pursuing the death penalty and said, We didn't get the news we wanted. Allyson said it was hard to see Absolu in person for the first time. She had been to a hearing where he appeared virtually. Actually seeing him, and him looking back at us. I never saw him that close, so that gives you a very hard feeling, she said, adding that she was friends with the other two victims as well. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Special prosecutors were expected to announce Wednesday whether they'll file charges against a Wisconsin sheriff's deputy who killed a man in a park six years ago when he was a suburban Milwaukee police officer. Joseph Mensah has said Jay Anderson Jr. was reaching for a gun when he shot and killed him after finding Anderson sleeping in a park after hours in June 2016. Anderson was one of three people Mensah killed during a five-year stint at the Wauwatosa Police Department. Mensah resigned from the Wauwatosa department in November 2020 and joined the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department. Special prosecutor Scott Hansen and La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke are expected to announce their charging decision during a hearing Wednesday in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. They previously said they will either draft a criminal complaint, or a report to be made public explaining in detail why no charges were being brought. Hansen said last week that he and Gruenke planned to announce the charging decision at Wednesday's hearing, barring unforeseen circumstances. Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm's office chose not to charge Mensah with criminal wrongdoing in Anderson's death or the two others. But Anderson's family's attorney used a John Doe proceeding, a little-known Wisconsin legal maneuver similar to a grand jury inquiry, to persuade a judge 11 months ago that there was probable cause to support charges against Mensah in Anderson's death and to convince him to appoint special prosecutors to decide whether to file any counts. Mensah joined the Wauwatosa department in 2015, the year he fatally shot Antonio Gonzales. Prosecutors said Gonzales refused to drop a sword. The following year he shot Anderson in the park. Last year he fatally shot 17-year-old Alvin Cole as he fled from police following a disturbance in a mall. Mensah said Cole pointed a gun at him. That shooting sparked months of protests. Mensah is Black. Gonzales identified as American Indian. Anderson and Cole were Black. Click the photo and watch the video. Children are the future of the country and the hope of the Chinese nation. The growth and wellbeing of children always weigh heavily on the mind of President Xi Jinping. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has set aside time from his busy schedule whenever possible to visit children since he took office in 2012. Some of the moments Xi shared with them offer insight into his high hopes for youngsters pursuing all-round development and growing into useful talent for society. (Source: Xinhua) BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhua) Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday sent a congratulatory letter to the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation (CSCLF) over the 40th anniversary of its founding. In the letter, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, urged the foundation to make new and greater contributions to the promotion of solidarity of all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation at home and abroad. Xi extended sincere greetings to people of all walks at home and abroad who have contributed to the cause of the CSCLF. Over the past four decades, the CSCLF, under the leadership of the CPC, has carried forward the lofty spirit of Madame Soong Ching Ling and played an important role in promoting friendly international relations, expanding exchanges across the Taiwan Strait and with Hong Kong and Macao, and developing youth programs, Xi said in the letter. Xi expressed his hope that the CSCLF will carry on Madame Soong's faith of "always staying with the Party together," further promote friendly people-to-people cooperation, advance peaceful reunification of China, facilitate the growth of youth, and develop public interest activities and charity. Addressing a Tuesday meeting marking the 40th anniversary of the CSCLF in Beijing, Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said Xi's congratulatory letter has pointed the way forward for the CSCLF's development in the new era. Wang urged the CSCLF to coordinate the advancement of its work on all fronts and play a better role as an important platform for non-governmental diplomacy, an important bridge for advancing peaceful reunification of China, an important force for developing youth programs, and an important organization for the development of public interest activities and charity. Xi's letter was read out by You Quan, a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, at the meeting. Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, addresses a meeting marking the 40th anniversary of the founding of the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation in Beijing, capital of China, May 31, 2022. [Xinhua/Shen Hong] (Source: Xinhua) A qipao gala is held during Expo 2020 Dubai in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates on Jan. 10, 2022. [Xinhua] BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhua) China is ready to work with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to consolidate friendship, cement mutual trust and deepen cooperation, said Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday afternoon. In a phone conversation with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Xi also said that the Chinese side is willing to continuously enrich the China-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership for the benefit of their people. (Source: Xinhua) North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley in a series of tweets Tuesday challenged a man to meet in Wrigley's state Capitol office after the man questioned how Wrigley's eldest daughter obtained an internship in U.S. Sen. John Hoeven's office. Wrigley in an interview defended his tweets, which called retiree Henry Lebak a "dirtbag" and told him to "be a man" and "drop by my office." Wrigley said the tweets were not an invitation to a confrontation or physical altercation. Wrigley was deputy chief of staff for Hoeven from 2000-01 when Hoeven was governor. Both are Republicans. Lebak in his tweet about Wrigley's daughter questioned, "Now, how did she ever get her internship? Hmmmmm!" He continued to raise the issue during the exchange. Wrigley defended his daughter, telling Lebak, "If you want to question (her qualifications) in any way, you dirtbag, I suggest you show up at my office any day ... Show up in person, and have the guts to say anything derogatory about any of my kids to my face. Name the day." Lebak and Wrigley tweeted Tuesday and again Wednesday. Wrigley told Lebak, "Be a man. Drop by my office and speak to me directly. Any day. You wont tho. You dont have that level of guts. You have Twitter guts." Lebak, 71, of Bismarck, told Wrigley to "control your temper. It is not becoming of an AG," and suggested "coffee at some neutral place." Wrigley suggested coffee in the Capitol Cafe, and gave Lebak his office phone number. Wrigley, 56, told the Tribune he "won't step back from those comments" and he doesn't "withdraw one syllable" of his tweets. "I've done this ever since I've been in public life when people call and leave a message on the answering machine at work and say what an idiot I am or whatever, and I always call them back and tell them they are free to ... come by and say to me in person, and I still have not had a person come by and do it," he said. Wrigley said Lebak's "totally inappropriate" tweet "really does rankle me," and that Wrigley's "dirtbag" comment in response was "what I think of a guy who goes after a public person's child in that way and makes it a comment like that." "What I am is willing to put my presence, connect my presence with the words that come out of my mouth," Wrigley said. Lebak told the Tribune that he thinks Wrigley's daughter's internship is a nonissue and that "I just made a comment of it." He said he was surprised by the attorney general calling him a name but did not take Wrigley's tweets too seriously. "Nah, I'm not worried about him. He has a temper, and I just was commenting on his stuff," said Lebak, who added that he also comments on other state officials' tweets. Wrigley, a former lieutenant governor and former U.S. attorney, is running for a full term as attorney general after Gov. Doug Burgum appointed him in February to serve out the remaining months of longtime officeholder Wayne Stenehjem's term. Stenehjem died Jan. 28 at age 68 from cardiac arrest. Democrat Tim Lamb, of Grand Forks, also is running for attorney general. Reach Jack Dura at 701-250-8225 or jack.dura@bismarcktribune.com. Love 1 Funny 2 Wow 3 Sad 1 Angry 4 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. What was a once dense forest and inhabitable floodplains, this small township, shockingly, became the capital of Michigan when Detroits safety came into question following the War of 1812. Lansing started as a scam by a pair of brothers who were trying to sell land. Upon discovering they had been duped, disgruntled homebuyers opted to stay and settle outside the floodplains of the Grand and Red Cedar Rivers. Today, Lansing is a sprawling capital city with historic buildings such as the National Historic Landmark of the Michigan State Capitol Building and is home to Michigan State University. However, this is only a tiny insight into everything that Lansing has to offer. Geography And Climate Of Lansing Lansing, Michigan, downtown skyline at twilight. Lansing is often referred to as Mid-Michigan for its central location in the southern peninsula of the US State of Michigan. Michigan is bounded by four Great Lakes on three sides. Lake Superior can be found to the north, Lake Huron and Lake Erie to the east, and the only Great Lake exclusively found in the US - Lake Michigan to the west. Lansing is situated at the meeting point of the Grand and Red Cedar Rivers. The city covers a total area of 95 sq. km, of which 1.63 sq. km is covered by water, and 93.37 sq. km is occupied by land. With a distinct cool summer and snowy winter, Lansing experiences a humid continental climate that the Great Lakes heavily influence. Over a year, Lansing collects 131.5 days of precipitation from rain, sleet, and snow. The city receives an average rainfall of 840.74 mm, while snowfall averages 130 cm. The warmest month is July, with an average high of 28 C, and January is the coldest month, with an average low of -8.6 C. The coldest day on record occurred in the winter of 1981, when a temperature of -33.9 C was recorded before the windchill. History Of Lansing Michigan State Capitol Building in Lansing, Michigan. Lansing was founded by brothers who plotted out an area known as Biddle City. However, the dense wood of the future city of Lansing resided in a floodplain and remained underwater for much of the year. Nonetheless, the brothers returned to New York to sell their platted land to unsuspecting buyers that were unaware that the township didnt exist. To entice buyers for their nonexistent town, they said would-be Lansing was 65 blocks and included a church. Initially, 16 purchases were made. However, the new homeowners quickly learned they were scammed and too disgruntled to move back home; they chose to remain near the fake settlement. Detroit was initially the capital of Michigan. However, its security came into question due to its proximity to British-controlled Canada. Canada captured Detroit during the War of 1812, but it was recaptured by the US in 1813. The search for a more centralized capital began, with large cities like Ann Arbor and Jackson coming forward; ultimately, the township of Lansing was decided upon. Many were left in dismay at the notion of such a small town becoming the Capital of Michigan. At the turn of the century, Lansing became a major automotive producer, with the likes of REO Motors and Oldsmobile being founded and further manufacturing vehicles in Lansing. The Population And Economy Of Lansing A view of some of the important buildings in the city of Lansing, Michigan. Editorial credit: SNEHIT PHOTO / Shutterstock.com Lansing is spread over two countries: Ingham and Eaton County and has a population of 119,047 inhabitants. The city has a population density of 1,111.07 people per sq. km. It is the sixth-largest city in Michigan State and the third-largest after Detroit and Grand Rapids. The median household income is $52,976, and the gross monthly rent is $819. On the cost of living index, Lansing is 76.5, whereas the state of Michigan is 89.6. Yet, 24.63% of the population lives below the poverty line. The unemployment rate is 5.3%, whereas the US unemployment rate is 6.0%. The top industries contributing to Lansings economy include healthcare and social services at 13.6%, retail trade at 13.2%, and educational services at 11.5%. Oldsmobile was founded in Lansing, and it started the automotive boom in 1897 by Ransom E. Olds. Under General Motors, the Lansing plant alone manufactured 14 million vehicles. Furthermore, this includes Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, and Cadillac vehicles, all being produced here. Olds also established the REO Motor Car Company, which operated from 1905 to 1975 and produced cars, trucks, and for a short time, buses. The cars and trucks proceeded to be popular commuting vehicles. However, during World War II, the REO Motor Company began manufacturing the Studebaker US6. As such, the R. E. Olds Transportation Museum was established. Its purpose was to preserve many of the REO automobiles, noting that the history of the vehicles is significant to Lansings overall history and economic development. Attractions In Lansing Potter Park Zoo A bald eagle with its wings spread out at Potter Park Zoo, Lansing, Michigan. In 1917, James Potter donated land along the banks of the Red Cedar River. As of 2020, the Potter Zoo celebrated being in operation for over a century. Its primary focus is the natural preservation of animals. It has more than 160 different species that include Amur tigers, golden lions, red kangaroos, meerkats, spider monkeys, red pandas, and giant anteaters, to name a few. Attractions of the zoo include camel rides, zookeeper talks, Farmyard Edventures, bird and reptile houses, and lastly, the feline and primate houses. Impression 5 Science Center Formerly referred to as the Impression 5 Museum, the Impression 5 Science Center is found on the Grand River. The name is a nod to the five senses. Founder Marilynne Eichinger was heavily influenced by the Montessori teachings and her five children. She wanted to develop exhibits that were hands-on while promoting thinking. The building Impression 5 is located in is an old wagon works factory. Notable exhibits include the giant eye, chew on this, and electricity and interactive magnetism displays. The site has grown to include labs and mini-workshops for children. Lansing has much to see and do with historic buildings like the State Capitol Building and many attractions like the Impression 5 Science Center and the R. E. Olds Transportation Museum. Although once uninhabitable floodplains, Lansing has developed into the image of a capital city. Aside from that, many people of Michigan were concerned about this small town taking the cardinal seat. However, its central location has fared well in the state. Though a significant city, visitors will be shocked by the laid-back demeanor of this tranquil river town found on the southern peninsula of Michigan. Tucked between Shawnee and Olathe, Lenexa, Kansas, has a small country town feel. It boasts several green spaces, which aided in developing the ProNav before it became known as Garmin. The navigation technology system known as Garmin was founded in Lenexa. As of today, Lenexa is one of many cities that make up the greater Kansas City metropolitan area. Geography Of Lenexa The Location of Lenexa within Johnson County, Kansas Lenexa can be found in northwestern Kansas state in the United States of America and on the continent of North America. It borders other townships in Johnson County, including Shawnee to the north, Olathe to the south, and Overland Park to the east. Kansas is one of 12 states that make up the American Midwest. Lenexa resides in a physiographic area known as the glaciated region. This saw the melting of the Laurentide Ice Sheet and subsequent land erosion that resulted in plains and hills. This is a characteristic found throughout northeastern Kansas, where the rest of the state is flat. It also contains loess, loosely packed silt, gravel, and limestone to make bluffs. Climate Of Lenexa A Sunset over Shawnee Mission Park, Lenexa According to the Koppen Climate Standard, Lenexa experiences a hot, humid continental climate. It has four seasons. However, muggy summers and cold and windy winters are prominent. Over a year, Lenexa collects 91 days of precipitation, whereas the US average is 106.2 from rain, hail, and snow. Rainfall total amounts to 1041.4 mm, and snowfall totals equate 393.7 mm. The warmest month of the year is July which sees an average high of 31.2 C, and January is the coldest month with an average low of -6.6 C. Areas with a similar climate include Madishahr, Iran (11,100 km away), and Gwangju, South Korea (10,700 km away). History Of Lenexa A Monument in Lenexa City Center When rumors surfaced that a railroad could be built, Lenexa began to grow as a settlement. The Shawnee Indians had their land reduced following the America Civil War, and many were selling their plots. Squire Charles A. Bradshaw had acquired 160 acres of land, which piqued the interest of representatives from the Missouri River, Fort Scott, and Gulf Railroad. Moreover, negotiation with the company and Bradshaw resulted in an agreement to have a depot built on his land. In 1869, Bradshaw sold a parcel of 43 acres to engineer Octave Chanute, who plotted out the future site of Lenexa. The town received its name from the wife of Shawnee Chief Thomas Quaskey Blackhoof. Len Ag See was chosen for the town's namesake because of her reputation as a respected community member and her hard workmanship. Lenexa would be incorporated in 1907. Demographics Of Lenexa A Park in Lenexa, Kansas Lenexa can be located in Johnson County, Kansas, and has a population density of 56,453 inhabitants. Covering an area of over 34 square miles, Lenexa has a population density of 1,657 people per square mile. It is the eighth-largest city in Kansas state, with Shawnee and Lawrence ahead of it. The median household income is $109,614, and the gross monthly rent is $1,148. The average age of the resident is 37.8 years old. On the cost of living index, Lenexa rates at 107.5, whereas the state of Kansas is 83.1. With 100 representing the nation's average, the primary concern is the cost of housing at 124.7. Yet, 5.18% of the population lives below the poverty line. Economy Of Lenexa A Public Market in Lenexa, Kansas The unemployment rate is 3.2%, whereas the US unemployment rate is 6.0%. The top industries that make up the economy of Lenexa include healthcare and social assistance of 14.1% overall, scientific and technical service of 12.3%, and retail trade of 11.1%. Garmin was founded in Lenexa, with its headquarters in Olathe. It was initially founded under the name of ProNav and was later changed. Garmin specializes in navigation technology for vehicles, planes, outdoors, and sports. Its first device sold for $2,500, and Garmin's first customer was the US army. The company has a workforce of approximately 20,000 employees worldwide and generates a revenue of $4.2 billion annually. Attractions In Lenexa Kansas City Automotive Museum Located near the border of Olathe and Lenexa is the Kansas City Automotive Museum. With a 930 sq m of exhibit space, the Kansas City Automotive Museum opened its doors in 2014 as a non-profit. Since then, the collection has grown, and exhibits are on rotation every month to six months. The museum offers a space called the Underground, where cars can be stored while on display at their Kansas City location for a fee. The museum is open to all ages and is closed Mondays and holidays. Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art The Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art opened its doors in 2007. It welcomes 100,000 visitors annually. The museum offers a collection of photographs, sculptures, paintings, and ceramics. In addition to having a permanent collection, 11 temporary exhibits provide a variety of pieces. There is a 200-seat auditorium and two classrooms for large gatherings. The design of the building is a work of art itself, being the minimalist vision of Kyu Sung Woo, who used natural limestone found in abundance around Johnson County. The facility's classes and tours are available upon request, and admission is accessible to the public. The post-Civil War shrinking of the Shawnee Indian reserve paved the way for the development of Lenexa. With settlers purchasing a land plot from the departing Shawnee Indians, interest peaked for the development of a railroad. Thus, with the agreement of a rail depot, Lenexa's population grew, and Blackhoof and his wife moved into the town. Although a part of the Kansas City area, Lenexa is a quiet prairie town in the backdrop of the big cities. In this Nov. 18, 2003, file photo, John Hinckley Jr. arrives at U.S. District Court in Washington. Hinckley Jr., the man who attempted to assassinate then-President Ronald Reagan in 1981, remains on track to be freed from the strict conditions of release that he's been living with for several years, his lawyer told CNN on June 1. SEATTLE (AP) Alaska Airlines pilots have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a future strike if current contract negotiations with management and federal mediation efforts fail. The Air Line Pilots Association said May 25 that almost 96% of its members cast mail-in votes and that 99% of those authorized the unions leaders to call a strike if necessary and when permitted after a prolonged process managed by the National Mediation Board, The Seattle Times reported. Following by two months an informational picket in April by off-duty pilots, the vote may increase pressure on Alaska Airlin... A crypto mining company that aims to use renewable energy says it plans to make North Dakota its headquarters and hub for all North American operations. Bitzero announced Wednesday that within three years it intends to build 200 megawatts of data centers in the state and is involved in a joint venture to become an assembly and distribution hub for graphene battery technology. The company says those two proposals alone could represent up to a $1 billion investment. In addition, Bitzero plans tp partner with the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation to buy power from the proposed data center to heat the tribes greenhouse project. Although Wednesdays announcement was made in Fargo, a specific site for the company's headquarters has not been selected. "Rosie's Gold Nugget," a manuscript written by the late Joel Wing, was incomplete at the time of his death in 1987. Former Wrangell resident and Anchorage author Trish Neal promised Wing before he died that she would make sure the story was published. It's a story more than 100 years in the telling. Finally, a book that started being written last century is finding new progress at the hands of an Anchorage author. Patricia Neal is undertaking the publishing of a book that the late Joel Wing began writing about his family's adventures at the Cassiar Mining District before he retired as the Wrangell magistrate in 1973. Neal, who's written books about Wrangell history, met Wing in 1981 when she was the curator for the museum. As they got to talking, Wing mentioned that he was writing about the experiences his family had while mining for go... Award for directors of Wrexham music studio supporting disadvantaged children Leading lights at a popular music studio for disadvantaged young people in Wrexham have been lauded for their inspirational work in the community. Chris Lloyd, Dave Gray and Caroline Richards volunteer directors of Wrexham Sounds are recipients of the UK Governments daily Points of Light Award. The programme is supported by all members of Parliament, highlighting the contributions that volunteers, charity leaders, campaigners and social enterprises are making in their regions. The trio will also receive a letter from the Prime Minister, a certificate of achievement and feature on the Points of Light website. Announcing their success, a spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: I am delighted to let you know that in recognition of your organisation Wrexham Sounds which provides disadvantaged children with the opportunity to transform their lives through music you and your fellow board of directors have been recognised as Points of Light. The Prime Minister would like to write to you all, personally thanking you for your work many congratulations again. A delighted Chris said: Wrexham Sounds gives disadvantaged children and young people a way to express themselves, collaborate, learn, develop, and have fun. On behalf of the volunteers, staff and freelancers who work tirelessly to make this happen, we are thrilled to receive this recognition. Since launching last summer, Wrexham Sounds has made huge progress in forging new partnerships and securing the services of talented freelance musicians and tutors to deliver lessons and activities across multiple genres. As well as children and teenagers who are referred via a range of local agencies and educators there are sessions for pupils unable to access music lessons at school. For more information or to join the team at Wrexham Sounds as a freelance tutor or volunteer, visit www.wrexhamsounds.org and follow them on social media at @wrexhamsounds. North Wales health board confirms changes to mask wearing in its hospitals Those visiting hospital sites across North Wales are no longer required to wear a face mask. It comes after the Welsh Government announced on Friday that the use of face coverings in medical settings would come to an end this week. The mandate in hospitals, surgeries and pharmacies was the last remaining covid measure in place in Wales. Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board have said that patients and visitors can choose to wear a face covering if they wish, but there is no longer a legal requirement to do so. However the health board is advising that people wear a mask in the following situations: Inpatients and outpatients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 in wards and communal areas like waiting areas Isolated with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 if receiving visitors or cannot have the room door closed There is a ward/departmental outbreak of COVID-19 this includes visitors to that ward Patients and visitors in all Haematology/ Oncology settings (inpatients and outpatients including community and primary care) due to increased risk of infection in these groups Patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 transferring to another care area Patients who during triage inform staff that they have COVID-19 symptoms In terms of visiting in patients, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said: We expect our visitors to work with us as partners to maintain the safety of our patients and respect the measures that we ask of them to follow. At any time, visiting may be amended or cancelled to maintain safety. Visiting considerations will be informed by community COVID 19 transmission rates, hospital COVID 19 admission numbers and any outbreaks that may be experienced in the Hospital environment. As you will be aware these can change rapidly hence it is important that you check with the ward / department at the time. All visiting will be by appointment and all visitors will require an individual risk assessment to be completed both in advance of and on arrival of an agreed visit for both exceptional and general visiting arrangements, in order to keep patients, staff and visitors safe North Wales health board facing very challenging situation amid critical reports NORTH Wales health board is facing a very challenging situation following a series of critical reports, its chair has admitted. Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has come under fire in recent weeks after an inspection of the emergency department at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd (YGC) highlighted concerns over lengthy delays faced by patients. It saw Health Inspectorate Wales (HIW) categorise the department at the hospital in Bodelwyddan as a service requiring significant improvement. The health watchdog also flagged up problems at the emergency department at Ysbyty Gwynedd in a report published in April, including oversight of the waiting area and delays in transferring patients with time critical conditions. It came shortly before complaints raised by nurses at the Bangor hospital over claims of bullying and unreasonably long working hours triggered a review of working conditions. And in February, the health board was warned to make urgent improvements or it could be placed back in special measures after a damning report into vascular services in the region. Betsi Cadwaladrs chair Mark Polin told a recent meeting of health board members that the issues had led to question marks over the effectiveness of its leadership. However, the former chief constable of North Wales Police insisted plans were already in place to deliver the changes needed. He said: We are in a very challenging situation in terms of some of the performance concerns that we have discussed previously and will be highlighted today. (These include) the number of adverse reports that we are seeing from Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, from our own internal audit department, from Audit Wales and from others. We also have a number of serious incidents and never events arising. We are in the midst of a very challenging period and we need to demonstrate that we are recognising that situation and responding accordingly. Recent events have led opposition politicians in the Senedd to question whether the health board was brought out of special measures prematurely. Betsi Cadwaladr was removed from Welsh Government control in November 2020 with its escalation status changed to targeted intervention. But Wales Health Minister Eluned Morgan has rejected calls from Plaid Cymru to scrap the health board. She also told its critics that their comments were making it more difficult to recruit healthcare staff in the region. Speaking at Thursdays (May 26, 2022) meeting, Mr Polin said all of the recent reports were in the process of being addressed. He said: We are going to have to ensure that we have a greater level of confidence than we have had around the adverse incident reports that are arising. They require urgent attention and are receiving urgent attention. Concerns have been highlighted by staff and particularly nursing staff at Ysbyty Gwynedd and they are also being examined as a priority. Immediate steps have also been taken to address the significant issues highlighted by HIW at YGC emergency department but more clearly needs to be done in that regard. By Liam Randall BBC Local Democracy Reporter Fifty-five years ago, on June 12, 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the landmark case of Loving v. Virginia, struck down in the name of equal protection and due process a state law banning interracial marriage. The court declared that the right of marriage, though nowhere mentioned in the Constitution, is a fundamental right, the exercise of which is protected by the 14th Amendment. The courts unanimous opinion, written by Chief Justice Earl Warren, represented a powerful blow to one of the remaining remnants of Jim Crow and Virginias effort to promote White Supremacy. The 1924 anti-miscegenation law at issue, An Act to Preserve Racial Integrity, prohibited only whites from marrying people of color. The state made no effort under the law to ban African Americans, Asian Americans or any other racial class from marrying one another. Mildred Jeter, a Black woman, and Richard Loving, a white man, had fallen in love while attending high school in Virginia. In June 1958, the couple was married in Washington, D.C., in accordance with its laws. When the Lovings returned to their home in Caroline County, Virginia, they were charged with violating the state law banning interracial marriage. They pleaded guilty and were sentenced to a year in prison. However, the trial judge suspended the sentence for a period of 25 years on the condition that the Lovings left the state and didnt return for 25 years. In his opinion, the judge expressed the belief that God had created separate races and placed them on separate continents to preclude mixed marriage. Following their convictions, the Lovings took up residence in Washington, but in 1963, eager to return to their home in Virginia, they filed a motion in state court to vacate the judgment on grounds that the law was repugnant to the 14th Amendment. They were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, which had been contacted on behalf of the Lovings by U.S Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. The Lovings faced an uphill battle in Virginia state courts. The high court in the state upheld the 1924 statute, which reflected laws and practices that grew out of the period of slavery, on grounds that Virginia possessed legitimate purposes in the enactment of the legislation. The courts defense and endorsement of White Supremacy rested on the states valid need to preserve the racial integrity of its citizens, and to prevent the corruption of blood, the rise of mongrel breed of citizens, and the obliteration of racial pride. Chief Justice Warrens opinion denied that there was any rational foundation to support the racist laws and emphasized in the application of the strict scrutiny test to laws that created classifications based on race, that the 14th Amendment imposed a heavy burden of justification on the state to defend such statutes. The clear and central purpose of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, Warren declared, was to eliminate all official sources of invidious racial discrimination in the states. The Virginia miscegenation statute was viewed by the court as arbitrary and invidious discrimination since it prohibited generally accepted conduct if engaged in by members of different races. Chief Justice Warren reiterated the courts practice of repudiating distinctions based solely on a citizens ancestry, for they are odious to a free people whose institutions are founded upon the doctrine of equality. In addition to the statutes violation of the Equal Protection Clause, Warren held, it also deprived the Lovings of their liberty under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment, which recognizes that the freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men. The court held that the state has no authority to interfere with the exercise of this fundamental right through means of invidious discrimination. Virginia had argued that the regulation of marriage, including the performance and dissolution of marriage, fell to the states under the 10th Amendment of the Constitution: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. The Supreme Court acknowledged that states enjoy broad authority under the state police power to regulate marriage but reminded readers that this power is not absolute and is subject to the commands of the 14th Amendment. In the end, the court in Loving, as it had in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), in striking down segregation in public schools, objected to the miscegenation statute on grounds that it imposed an invidious racial classification and promoted White Supremacy. Racial classification and racial subordination in America, the court said, are anathema to the core values and principles of the 14th Amendment. The courts landmark ruling in favor of the Lovings permitted the couple to return to their hometown, where they lived the remainder of their lives. June 12, the anniversary of the decision, is commemorated each year as Loving Day, celebrating multiracial families. David Adler is president of The Alturas Institute. This "We the People" series is provided by the North Dakota Newspaper Association and Humanities North Dakota. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Boris Johnsons Conservative government has set a deadline of June 30 for secretaries of state to present plans for slashing jobs in their departments, as part of a proposed cull of 91,000 civil service jobs. The civil service covers every aspect of public service and government policy support, encompassing daily necessities for millions of people, including welfare benefits, passports and vehicle registration. Final decisions on a three-year programme of cuts are planned for the autumn. Johnson announced the jobs massacre a fortnight ago, calling for a reduction of civil service numbers by one-fifth, from 475,000 back to 2016 levels. In 2016, after five years of austerity under David Camerons Conservative-Liberal Democrats coalition, the civil service employed 384,000, the lowest number since the end of World War II. Britain's Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg arrives for a regional cabinet meeting at Middleport Pottery in Stoke on Trent, England, Thursday, May 12, 2022. (Oli Scarff/Pool Photo via AP) Nothing is off the table. Rees-Mogg, the Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency, has mooted that the simplest way to achieve the job cuts is via a blanket recruitment freeze, as up to 38,000 staff leave the Civil Service each year. A move towards that was this weeks announcement that the Civil Service fast stream is to close for at least one year. The scheme offers a fast-track to senior roles, with more than 3,000 graduates joining via this route over past three years. The decision to freeze the scheme was pushed by Johnson and agreed at a Cabinet Office meeting on May 19. The scale of cuts will eviscerate and destroy services. Two months ago, it was announced that 42 Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) offices will close, 13 with no other strategic site nearby for staff. An ideological element is undoubtedly at play, with the Tories intent on destroying big government. The Daily Mail cited government sources complaining that civil service numbers have ballooned due to Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, We cannot let this bigger state become the new normal. Labour meanwhile will continue its role of constructive opposition, helping Johnson and his cronies to complete the Thatcher revolution. Johnson and Rees-Mogg have cynically presented their civil service cuts as a move to help those struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. This from a government that has refused even to reinstate the 20 weekly uplift to the main Universal Credit benefit, put in place during the pandemic but scrapped last October. The Resolution Foundation has assessed that an extra 1.3 million people, including 500,000 children, will be left in poverty this year as a result. As ever greater numbers of people are thrown into poverty, the DWP plans to employ fewer staff to assist them. Therese Coffey, secretary of state for work and pensions, has unveiled her departments 2022-25 plan that includes a 12 percent cut in staff funding. In opposing the job losses, workers are being pitched into a struggle not just against the Tories, but against the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS). The PCS, with 180,000 members, is the largest union in the sector, with tens of thousands of members in the civil service. In a consultative ballot held earlier this year, PCS civil service members voted by an 81 percent majority that they would be willing to strike after rejecting a pay offer of just 2 percent along with attacks on their pensions. However, after years of the PCS refusing to fight anything, including throughout the pandemic, members expressed their frustration in a turnout of just 45 percentbelow the 50 percent required for a ballot to be recognised under anti-strike laws. The PCS is attempting to stifle industrial action and keep the pay and pensions fight separate from any struggle against 91,000 job losses. At its conference last week, the PSC put forward an emergency motion on pay and pensions, stating only that, Conference agrees that we should work towards a national statutory ballot on industrial action in the early autumn, and that the form and scope of the ballot should take account of the consultative ballot results. With criminal complacency it said, Conference instructs the NEC to: Declare a national dispute over pay, pensions and the CSCS [Civil Service Compensation Scheme]: Hold a statutory industrial action ballot to begin in September 2022. On the jobs cull, a PCS statement ahead of conference made clear there would be no immediate mobilisation. A statement read, We have set our stall to protect the civil service by demanding the government fully consults with union officials about its plans Presenting a separate motion on the jobs cull to conference, PCS DWP Group President Martin Cavanagh said it was made, without consultation with staff or unions. Ignoring the mass sentiment that already exists in the membership for a fight, the motion merely proposed that Conference instructs the NEC to: Build a campaign against the governments planned job cuts and for increased resourcing to deliver adequate public services. It would, Work with the PCS Parliamentary Group to advance our campaign. No industrial action was proposedeven in the autumnwith the resolution stating the PCS would, Use all means at our disposal to defend members jobs and public services including industrial action when appropriate. Both motions were passed unanimously by delegates, indicating willingness to fightback against the governments attacks. Mark Serwotka (Credit:Trades Union Congress/Twitter) The PCS has betrayed its members struggles for decades. It has long been a base of operations for various pseudo-left tendencies whose members have worked as part of the union bureaucracy. The union is headed by Mark Serwotka, a member of the pseudo-left Socialist Organiser group in the 1980s and early 1990s, who became a supporter of the Socialist Workers Party-led Socialist Alliance, followed by the Respect organisation led by the SWP and George Galloway. With the backing of pseudo-left groups, Serwotkas speciality is bragging of his constant readiness to fight for his members and the entire working classalone if necessarywhile not lifting a finger to genuinely oppose the decimation of PCS members pay, terms and conditions. At the conference, Serwotka described the campaign against civil servants during the pandemic, They came for our integrity, accusing us of being lazy because we worked from home. But then they came for our jobs # In fact, at the pandemics height, when workers were dying on the job through their criminal exposure to the virus, the PCS held just one union-authorised action over COVID workplace safety. The Swansea office of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency experienced the largest number of COVID infections linked to a single employer or workplace in Britain. PCS members took concerted strike action against management plans to bring hundreds of staff back into the office. The DVLA headquarters in Swansea (credit: Wikimedia Commons) But the PCS refused to call for any broader mobilisation of its membership, instead criticising the government for prolonging the dispute and preventing an agreement between the PCS and management. The union devoted more effort to isolating and ending the dispute than to safeguarding workers health. The PSC is suffocating any industrial action, fully aware of the collective strength that its members wield. Speaking to the Times as the PCS conference was underway, Serwotka said, What people would see [with the job losses] is that job centres would close, there would be nobody there overseeing collection of taxes, overseeing the minimum wage; the justice system would come to a halt We have people at the ports, the airports, checking the passports, issuing driving licences, issuing passports and so much more. So clearly if those people were to take industrial action there would be a huge effect. It would certainly be something that the government couldnt ignore and I think our message will be today that nobody wants to go on strike, but it appears to be that unless we have that vote [at the conference] all our persuasive arguments to government have just been, frankly, ignored. The fight against job losses cannot be left in the hands of the trade union bureaucracy. PCS members must turn to the formation of rank-and-file committees, operating independently of the PCS. These committees in every workplace should fight to link the struggle against low pay and attacks on pensions and conditions to the fight to defeat the Tories plans to slash jobs. Unlimited resources being made available for NATOs proxy war against Russia, but none to ensure job security and decent pay and conditions for millions of workers. The conditions exist for a powerful counter-offensive. Last week 40,000 rail workers voted to strike in defence of jobs, pay and conditions, while 40,000 BT workers are being balloted for strike action. Every effort must be made to draw together these struggles, across every sector, in opposition to the efforts of the PCS and other unions to divide and rule. We urge staff in the civil service who want to take forward this fight to contact the Socialist Equality Party. The 5,000-acre Manassas National Battlefield Park (MNBP) in northern Virginia, the location of two bloody battles during the Civil War, is currently threatened by private real estate developers intent on building a massive data center. Kansas-based QTS Realty Trust initiated the proposed real estate development, dubbed PW Digital Gateway. The plan is supported by wealthy landowners who wish to see their property values increased. They have filed a request with Prince William County to alter the present land usage from agricultural to technology zoning to make way for the development. A tour group gathers around the Bull Run Monument at Manassas National Battlefield Park [Photo by ManassasNPS / CC BY-SA 4.0 The re-zoning request covers 2,100 acres of land, which would secure space for the massive 27.6 million square-foot data center complex, impacting both Manassas National Battlefield Park, Prince William Forest Park, and other historic areas including Civil War and slave cemeteries. The total square footage would equal the cumulative footprint of data centers in neighboring Loudoun County, which boasts the worlds largest concentration of such facilities. So far, Prince William County has not ruled on the proposal. The two battles of Manassasor Bull Run, as they were more commonly called in the North are of great historic significance. The first, taking place on July 21, 1861, was the first major battle between Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. The Confederates prevailed but were unable to capitalize. The defeat stunned the North. To both sides, the battle demonstrated the war would not be easily won. Within three days President Abraham Lincoln signed two separate bills calling for 1 million volunteers for three years service to put down the slaveholders rebellion. Second Manassas happened over a year later, from August 28-30, 1862, and resulted in yet another Confederate victory. Emboldened, General Robert E. Lee would subsequently invade Maryland, culminating in the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, the Battle of Antietam. Lee limped back to Virginia, and Lincoln would issue one of the most revolutionary documents in American history, the Emancipation Proclamation. None of this is of much interest to QTS Realty Trust, which was recently bought by Blackstone Funds in a $10 billion transaction. The firm describes itself as a leading provider of data center solutions across a diverse footprint spanning more than 7 million square feet of owned mega scale data center space throughout North America and Europe. Through its software defined technology platform, QTS is able to deliver secure, compliant infrastructure solutions, robust connectivity and premium customer service to leading hyperscale technology companies, enterprises and government entities. Nonprofits including Preservation Virginia, National Parks Conservation Association, and American Battlefield Trust, along with Acting Superintendent of Manassas National Battlefield Park, Raquel Montez, organized a public event in early May to highlight the issues potentially impacting the Manassas battlefield and other historic locations. At the moment, Montez is merely asking the county government to include the National Park Service (NPS) in the planning efforts to compromise on the harmful effects it will have on the battlefield. Last December, former park superintendent Brandon Bies, in a more urgent plea, expressed grave concerns about the potential irreparable harm and the single greatest threat to Manassas National Battlefield Park in nearly three decades. Residents have also opposed the proposed development. In a public news conference, Prince William County resident Kathy Kulick said, Its a total and complete change of the character, pointing to the potential ruination of the watershed and wildlife in addition to the loss of the battlefields historic character. People who are going to live next to that are afraid, she continued. They didnt move out here to live next to the worlds largest data center industrial zone. Nobody did. The conservation group Preservation Virginia labels Manassas Battlefield as one of the most at-risk sites in its annual list Virginias Most Endangered Historic Places. Its 2022 list includes many important places that could be lost to posterity: Dunnington Mansion, Ivy Cliff Slave Dwelling, Parker Sydnor Cabin, Reedville Grand Order of Odd Fellows Lodge/African American School, Preston-Crockett House, among others. According to the nonprofit, 50 percent of sites on its list have been saved for the moment, 10 percent were lost, and 40 percent are being watched. The trend is not favorable. In nearby Culpeper County, the local government has approved a request from Amazon to build data centers on 230 acres of historic farmland, overcoming objections from both the public and eight national, regional, and local preservation organizations. While both big-business parties, Democrats and Republicanswithout public debate or discussion can instantly supply Ukraine with $40 billion of taxpayer money in weapons for the ongoing proxy war against Russia, history and arts funding is viewed as a drain on resources and profit accumulation. Parks and museums receive scant funding from federal, state, and local governments if any at all. They instead rely on corporate-funded nonprofits and high admission prices. Their employees are grossly underpaid. Last February, the Alliance of Museums released a statement warning that 33 percent of US museums were at risk of closing permanently without immediate financial support. With them, 12,000 museums and 124,000 jobs would be obliterated. Even before the COVID pandemic, under both the Trump and Obama administrations, the National Park Service had its budget axed. In 2013 a budget impasse forced it to furlough 21,000 workers and temporarily close 410 national parks, including the Smithsonian in Washington D.C., the Statue of Liberty, and Yellowstone National Park. In 2017, the Trump administration enacted a hiring freeze on the NPS and proposed a 12 percent cut to the budget of the Department of the Interior, the department under which the NPS functions. As a result, Independence National Historic Park, the birthplace of the United States, and Declaration House, the spot where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, were temporarily closed. Similar attacks on history and culture are taking place all over the world. A report earlier this year by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization stated that in 2020, 10 million arts jobs were losta year in which capitalist governments filled up the coffers of the corporations and finance houses as their favored cure for the COVID pandemic. Only a few days after the horrific massacre of 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School by 18-year-old Salvador Ramos in Uvalde, Texas last week, governments across the country have seized on the tragedy to drum up support for the police and the hardening of schools with additional security measures. Police walk along the perimeter of the scene after a shooting at a supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Joshua Bessex) A little over a week prior to Tuesdays shooting, a racially motivated assault was carried out by a fascist gunman in a Buffalo, New York grocery store, killing 10. The shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde have furthermore taken place amidst a string of mass shootings and other violent events pointing to a deep social crisis in the United States. Last weekend, a Goldman-Sachs employee on a subway train in lower Manhattan was fatally shot by a gunman, in an apparently random act. In early April, a racially motivated shooting took place in a Brooklyn subway station, injuring 29. There have been several other violent occurrences in the New York City public transit system this year. The administration of Eric Adams, a Democrat, former cop and self-proclaimed Law and Order mayor of New York, has used these national and local tragedies to go on the offensive in an effort to heighten police state measures against the citys population and to redirect public anger over violence that has become an increasingly regular feature of life in the US. On Wednesday, Education Chancellor David Banks stated in an official briefing that the municipal government was considering a measure to keep all public school building entrances locked during school hours in response to the Texas massacre. This proposal is significant, considering the fact that the New York City school district is the largest in the country. I spoke with the head of the principals union today, who suggested that we should lock our front doors, Banks said. He continued, [O]nce our students are in school, the front doors should be locked. And if people are coming to our schools, they need to press the buzzer. They need to do something where we can stop and we can identify who's coming in our schools. It shouldn't be such easy access. Similar measures to restrict school entrances were proposed in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nations second largest. Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho announced that the districts recently updated safety protocol would also include blueprints of school buildings being shared with local police agencies. In Texas, Republican House minority leader Kevin McCarthy has proposed to use COVID relief funds to similarly reduce entry points into school facilities. Texas Senator Ted Cruz has also backed the proposal to keep school doors locked during operating hours. On the same day as Adams briefing, New York governor Kathy Hochul announced that state police would be sent to patrol schools across the state. She announced that increased police presence will remain in effect until the end of the school year. At an event held in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month at the Gracie Mansion in Manhattan, Adams issued a brazen call to ramp up political support for cops on Tuesday evening. The occasion, which featured remarks by high-ranking officials and politicians of the administration, concluded with Adams segueing from the topic of the Uvalde shooting into his call for the [Jewish] community to join him on a major public relations campaign to tell our entire city and country, we support our police. Hochul proposed to raise the minimum age for assault rifle purchases from 18 to 21 and called on legislators to back the move. The futility of the governors words is, however, revealed by the fact that a Supreme Court case, which has been ongoing since October 2021, has already threatened to override the states ability to impede weapons sales. Hochul even acknowledged this obstacle in her Wednesday briefing. Adams, employing a more evasive cautiousness than Hochul, has attempted to shift the burden of gun control onto New York City parents, asking them to search their childrens belongings for evidence of weapons. Reviving the narrative of a similar campaign that was popularly rejected in 2011, the New York City mayor said the following: Were asking parents to sit down tonight and have an honest conversation with their children to save the lives of their children. Were asking them to foster their relationship with their child, if they know of another young person in their school thats carrying a weapon. This is not blaming parents, and we dont want that message out. This is not saying parents are responsible for the crime were seeing. Were saying just the opposite. The New York City government also announced Wednesday that it would consider the more widespread implementation of weapons surveillance technologies, despite the negative impact that these would have on the educational environment in schools. Chancellor Banks said, No child wants to go to school and be scanned. You feel like youre going to jail just to go to your English class. [Y]et you can have the assuredness that nobodys walking in this school with a firearm. The Democratic Party establishments response to the recent shootings has, in fact, differed little from that of the fascistic Republican party. The former has issued empty calls for stricter gun control measures while the latter, including ex-President Donald Trump, Cruz, and Texas governor Greg Abbott, have spoken against any and all gun restrictions. Both parties across the board, however, have made calls for bipartisanship and unity and have spoken in favor of the increased militarization of schools. As opposed to the political establishment, the Uvalde shooting has provoked widespread popular disgust with the role of police in American society. If any further proof were necessary to show that the police serve the property interests of the ruling class rather than that of public safety, it was on full display during Tuesdays events in Texas, where the local police refused to take significant action to stop Ramos as he rampaged. Its hard to lie to my kids and tell them dont worry, if theres a shooting the police will keep you safe, a Twitter user said. How do 19 police officers stand in the hallway for 40 minutes and not one of them say [f***] this, Im going in? There wasnt one [g******] cop ready to go? Hard to believe, said another user. The cops who refused to go in and do their jobs should all be charged with involuntary manslaughter, said another. Speaking of the Uvalde police, one user said, The police arent obligated to protect the public Also qualified immunity So what are they there for?? On Sunday, the first round of the presidential elections in Colombia took place, defining a second round that will occur on June 19. It will be a contest between the official left candidate, Gustavo Petro, and the fascistic Rodolfo Hernandez, who has been dubbed the Colombian Trump. People walk past a campaign mural of presidential candidate Rodolfo Hernandez in Bogota, Colombia, May 20, 2022. [AP Photo/Fernando Vergara] In a country that in the last three years has seen an explosive series of mass protests and strikes against brutal levels of social inequality and state violence, both candidates, who present themselves as a break with the traditional political system, take on the challenge of re-establishing the stability of the crisis-ridden bourgeois regime in Colombia. This is the second time that Petro, representing the Pacto Historico (Historical Pact) pseudo-left coalition, has reached the second round of presidential elections. In 2018, he contested it against the current far-right president, Ivan Duque. Throughout this years campaign, he consistently appeared in the intention polls as the favored candidate and received 40.3 percent of the vote on Sunday. Hernandez, on the other hand, who got 28 percent of the vote, was a surprise victor and will advance to the run-off. Until a few weeks ago, the millionaire and former mayor of the city Bucaramanga was considered a little-known politician nationally. Now, Hernandez already appears slightly ahead of Petro in the polls. The comparisons between Hernandez and Trump, as well as his Latin American ally, Brazils fascistic President Jair Bolsonaro, have a point. He combines buffoonish traits with ultra-reactionary rhetoricin 2016, he claimed in an interview, I am a follower of a great German thinker. His name is Adolf Hitlermostly based on fighting corruption. Running for the newly created League of Anti-Corruption Rulers, Hernandez himself is being investigated for corruption in contracts signed during his administration of Bucaramanga. The fact that this grotesque figure has suddenly been thrust forward as one of the main contenders in the presidential race is a testimony to the degeneration of the Colombian political regime. The candidate of the traditional right, Federico Gutierrez, who was until the last moment referred to in the press as the only one capable of contending for victory with Petro, was rejected (he got 23 percent of the vote) for carrying the rotten nomination of former president Alvaro Uribe and his detested disciple, current President Duque. The current elections are at the same time being marked by growing coup threats and unprecedented interference by the military in Colombian politics. The Public Ministry announced at the end of April that it will open an investigation against Army Commander Eduardo Zapateiro for intervening in the presidential campaign with a series of threatening tweets against Petro for criticizing the military. Zapateiro wrote: I have never seen a general on television receiving ill-gotten money. Colombians have seen you receiving money in garbage bags, referring to a corruption scandal from which Petro was acquitted. He ended the tweets by demanding respect for the candidate for the Army. Zapateiros demonstration was openly supported by Duque. Other military personnel spoke out against Petro, raising the fact that the candidate belonged to the Castroite M-19 guerrilla movement. AFP reported that retired colonel Jose Marulanda, president of the Colombian Association of Retired Officers (ACORE), said that a section of the military views Petro with a certain fear and trepidation. We feel that he has a very clear resentment against the military and police, who were the ones who were killed by his M-19 comrades in combat, he said. Alongside these local actors, a decisive role in the assaults against democracy in the country is played by Washington, which has in Colombia its main political and military base in Latin America. In February, US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, after participating in high-level security talks in Bogota, announced that foreign actors were trying to subvert Colombias elections. Nuland announced that, in response, American military and intelligence agents would work together with their Colombian colleagues to guarantee free and fair elections. These episodes are an expression of a universal process of corrosion of bourgeois democratic forms of rule and an advance of fascist dictatorial threats. Similar crises, involving threats of electoral coups and military intervention, have marked the most recent presidential elections in Latin American countries like Peru and Bolivia, and already dominate the future Brazilian presidential elections that will take place in October. The crisis of capitalist rule in Colombia is a case in point. With a long-lasting two-party political system established since 1853, the country was considered bearer of an exceptional political stability in Latin America, having experienced neither military regimes during the 20th century nor bourgeois nationalist Pink Tide governments in recent decades. Uribismo, having presented itself as a political alternative to the crisis of the Conservative and Liberal parties, gave birth to the Duque government, which will leave power after a single term as one of the most unpopular presidential administrations in history. The two fundamental factors behind this political crisis are, on the one hand, the crisis of the world capitalist system, which is having a devastating impact on Latin American commodity-based economies, and on the other, the sharpening of the class struggle to a new historic level. Colombia was defined by the World Bank as one of the most unequal countries in the world. It is the second most unequal country in Latin America and the Caribbean, behind only Brazil, and the most unequal among OECD members. The Duque administrations disastrous pro-capitalist response to the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened already extreme social conditions, driving another 3.6 million Colombians into poverty. This severe social crisis has spurred repeated national strikes since 2019, which have brought hundreds of thousands of angry Colombian workers and youth into the streets, and were precariously kept under control by trade union federations and farmer associations in collaboration with the right-wing government. The employment of murderous state violence against protesters and the population in general, which Duque promoted in continuity with the policies of his mentor, Uribe, intensified the popular anger and burst into another series of massive protests. While Petros electoral growth is directly linked to the growing social opposition and rejection of the capitalist political regime, a possible government of Pacto Historico would prove itself unable to answer the burning questions for the Colombian working class. Petros defeat in the 2018 elections was largely due to his identification with the unpopular austerity policies of the National Unity government of Juan Manuel Santos, supported by Petro. Summarizing the reasons for his current political projection, Petro stated in an interview with The Economist, Now, if I manage to win a majority, as the polls suggest [it is] because the economic and political model on which Uribisimo sustained itself has fallen apart. On the economic side, that was oil, gas and cocaine. And on the political side, the destruction of the FARC provided a unifying narrative, but now they do not exist anymore. Despite acknowledging the exhaustion of these economic and political bases, Petro has no alternatives to offer beyond tackling the states fiscal deficitwhich will necessarily entail more austerity policies - and barely tangible promises of reactivating the countrys industrial sector as opposed to todays essentially extractive based economy. Seeking to present himself as a loyal representative of the nationalist interests of the Colombian bourgeoisie, he strives to dispel any association with a program of confrontation to capitalist profit interests. In the same interview with the Economist, he stated that the caricature about my programme has been that we will expropriate businesses, as if we wanted to create a Soviet economy. I have never suggested that, not even in my days as a guerrilla. He clarifies that his movement, the M-19, was an advocate of the idea that based the 1991 constitution of a social democratic market economyas the Germans call it. With universal rights and respect for private property as well as free enterprise. In other words, he assumes his umbilical relationship to the capitalist political regime that is being massively rejected by the Colombian working class. Being unable to appeal with this reactionary program to the generalized dissatisfaction of the youth and workers, the task of giving airs of radicalism to the Pacto Historicos campaign was fully given to its vice-presidential candidate, Francia Marquez. A black woman, coming from the most impoverished sections of Colombian society, and an activist for environmental and identity politics, Marquez promises to represent a renewal of Colombian politics. At one point, she publicly confronted Petro during the campaign in the face of his reactionary opposition to the legalization of abortion. Yet, despite pseudo-leftist catchphrases in opposition to structural racism and patriarchy, Marquez does not advocate a break with the capitalist system, nor does she have any remote connection to the socialist movement. She has been aptly compared by a Colombian political expert at Hampshire College, Roosbelinda Cardenas, to US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Democratic Partys pseudo-left caucus, the Squad. Like the radical women of color who have dared to show up in the US Congress as equals, Francia Marquezs very presence in Colombias presidential elections rattles the status quo, Cardenas told The Nation. But, instead of rattling the status quo, once in power, Ocasio-Cortez has devoted herself to denouncing any left opposition to Bidens administration as bad faith, and defending American imperialisms massive arming of Ukraine in its proxy war against Russia. Should it take power, the fate of a Pacto Historico government will be the same as that of its pseudo-leftist counterparts in Latin America: implementing anti-social policies and repressing the working class struggles in the name of maintaining a national unity of the bourgeoisie, while paving the way for the rise of fascism, which will permanently haunt its unstable political administration. Customers, some wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus, dine at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, Friday, April 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) The Mid-Atlantic United States, home to nearly 60 million people, has seen a drastic increase in the number of people infected with the latest coronavirus variants. However, the official response to this alarming trend has been mostly silence in order to make it so the virus is not as serious as it appears. Last week, the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) began to reinstate its mask mandate in schools. This occurred one month after a city-wide order calling for indoor masking was rescinded, reducing the requirement for masks to a strong recommendation. In addition, the city eliminated its tiered COVID response system. For the week of May 1521, 592 new cases were reported, representing a gradual increase in numbers from week to week despite low testing numbers. Over 16,100 cases of COVID-19 have been reported since the beginning of the year. The SDP introduced a Mask to Stay option on May 13 where students exposed to COVID-19 but not showing any symptoms would be permitted to remain in school if they wore a mask 10 days following exposure and are self-monitored. Otherwise, the student would have to quarantine for 10 days. Requiring students who have been exposed to COVID-19 but are not exhibiting any symptoms to quarantine at home has the unintended consequence of reducing in-school learning, lamented the SDP. In Maryland, Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS) reported 1,121 cases from May 19 through May 28, including 78 cases at Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle School. The quarantine and isolation period is five days, reduced from 10 days on January 18. Masks have been optional in the BCPS system since March 14. In the Washington D.C. region, COVID-19 cases have risen exponentially. In the week ending May 26, the District of Columbia reported 11,934 cases in a school setting. The Washington Post week wrote last week, 4,698 D.C. Public Schools students had been identified as a close contact of someone who tested positive within the last 10 days. But far from taking a public health-conscious approach such as returning to remote learning, Students who are vaccinated, or contracted the virus in the last 90 days, are not required to quarantine. In early May the Post reported that the Democratic Party-led D.C. government had stopped giving its daily case numbers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) because it was time to treat coronavirus less like an emergency and more like an endemic illness. On April 27, the sporadic but fairly frequent reports stopped altogether. Nearly two weeks went by before the city again reported case numbers, with no explanations given for the lapse. The mask mandate for DCPS was dropped effective March 16. Public schools may choose to utilize the CDCs Test to Stay program, designed to allow people who would otherwise go into quarantine to remain in school, with a negative COVID test and no symptoms. Quarantine period: 0 days for vaccinated people if no symptoms; 7 to 10 days for unvaccinated close contacts. It reflects the difficult reality for schools more than two years into the pandemic: Covid is still here, even as they seek a return to normalcy, the Post declared. The situation is little better in the Districts near suburbs. In Montgomery County, Maryland, the richest and most populous county in the state, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) reported 2,034 cases in the last 10 days as of May 28. The Montgomery County Board of Education voted to make indoor masking optional during a March 8 business meeting, in line with new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines that no longer recommend universal mask-wearing. The county, which earlier in the pandemic rejected Marylands Republican Governor Larry Hogans effort to return to in-person learning when cases were roughly 1,000 a day, has initiated a ridiculous campaign, On or Off, Its Just Me. The program, which combines anti-scientific public health advice with the most selfish forms of individualism, purports to be a reminder that wearing masks may be an individual choice and we must respect each others choices. Written in the framework of an individuals personal space, the guideline completely ignores the well-being of MCPSs immunocompromised children and their families. The isolation and quarantine period for students was reduced to five days from 10 on March 1. In nearby Prince Georges County, 479 separate incidents of COVID-19 were reported between May 18 and 24. Although the countys indoor mask mandate was lifted on February 28, PGCPS continues to require the use of masks in schools regardless of vaccination status, and claims that schools are cleaned and filtrated daily. Isolation/quarantine is five days, or 10 if the student is unable to wear a form-fitting mask correctly. A teacher in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, near the state capital Annapolis, told the World Socialist Web Site that the promises school boards have made in order to lure educators and students back to school were frankly, a lie. They never improved the ventilation system. There are still many classrooms that are hot during the summer and cold during the winter. According to the teacher, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of victimization, ventilation improvements were limited to the replacement of air conditioning filters. Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) reported 298 active cases on May 28 and over 15,000 in total since the beginning of the school year last September 8; an active case is defined by an individual who tested positive that is still under isolation. That period is 5 days for students and adults. New COVID mitigation strategies were put into place on May 23, in which students and staff of any school with a 5 percent positivity rate over a 14-day period would be asked, not mandated to wear masks for 10 days. Whatever the philosophical disagreements on masking and other issues this school year, there is almost universal agreement on one thing: We should do everything we can to keep students in classrooms, where we know the best instruction and learning takes place, said school superintendent George Arlotto. The aversion toward public health measures is strongest in Republican Party-controlled Virginia, where Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin imposed a ban on mask mandates in February. Over 8,000 cases have been reported in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) since the beginning of May, an exponential jump from its previous highs, including over 800 reported cases on both May 16 and May 23. FCPS made mask-wearing in schools optional effective March 1, as long as community transmission was low or medium under the new CDC community risk guidelines as explained earlier. FCPS no longer contact traces individual cases. Even with these alarming increases in cases, the school districts have done little to stem the rising tide, and in some cases intentionally make matters worse, in order to keep the regions economy open. With COVID-19, American society has even come to accept the deaths of children from a preventable cause, states an Associated Press article (COVID-19, shootings: Is mass death now tolerated in America?). The article cites pediatrician Dr. Mark W. Kline, declaring there was a time in pediatrics when children were not supposed to die. There was no acceptable pediatric body count. At least, not before the first pandemic of the social media age, COVID-19, changed everything. Far from marking a new dawn of diversity and inclusiveness, the cabinet and outer ministry announced by Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday, and sworn into office today, will sharply intensify the agenda of the defeated Liberal-National Coalition government of Scott Morrison on both major fronts: alignment behind US wars and deep attacks on working-class living and working conditions. The new Labor government (Credit: Twitter/@AlboMP) Intense efforts being made by Labor and the corporate media to dress up the new government in the identity politics clothes of greater representation of women, indigenous people and a range of ethnic backgrounds are a threadbare mask. The reality is that there is no political or class diversity in the ministry, which was hand-picked by Labors factional powerbrokers. To a man and woman, they are unanimously committed to the program laid out for the Labor government by the Biden administration in the US and by the Australian and global financial elite. It is no accident that the governments very first actions after the ministers are officially anointed today will be to convene meetings of the cabinets National Security Committee and Expenditure Review Committee. The first committee will focus on how to step up Australias role in the escalating US-NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine and the ratcheting up of the accompanying confrontation with China. That task has begun already, with Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong travelling to Tokyo last week to join the anti-China Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) summit. Wong then quickly embarked on a mission to the South Pacific to warn island states of consequences if they signed deals with China. The second committee, usually dubbed the razor gang, will plan the imposition of another wave of pro-business economic restructuring and the slashing of social spending to make the working class pay for the massive budget deficits and debt incurred by propping up big business throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. That offensive also began last week, with a barrage of declarations by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher that dire budgetary pressures required sacrifices, including in health care, aged care and disability services. In remarks that were buried by the media, Albanese told the first caucus meeting of Labor parliamentarians that they must show discipline, unity [and] a sense of purpose. That is, there must be no chinks in their resolve in implementing this reactionary, right-wing agenda. Albanese also praised the trade union movement for its support. That underscores the extent to which the Labor government will depend on the unions to suppress workers opposition to the rising militarism and ongoing cuts to real wages as the cost of living continues to soar. That union partnership with the government and the employers will be cemented by another central plank in Labors policy: the convening of a summit to reinforce a unified front against workers struggles over wages, workloads and conditions which have erupted already among nurses, health and aged care workers, teachers, university staff, bus drivers and public sector workers. Three announcements underlined the Albanese governments unequivocal alignment behind the wars being provoked by US imperialism to reassert, against Russia, China and any other targeted rivals, the global hegemony it won through World War II. The first was the appointment of Labors deputy leader Richard Marles, who has close connections to the US military-intelligence apparatus, as defence minister. That is a key post in implementing the massive increase in military spending and war readiness required under last years AUKUS pact with the US and UK governments, featuring the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines and hypersonic missiles. The second was Albaneses refusal, also buried in the media, to answer a journalists question about Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder. An Australian citizen, Assange has been effectively incarcerated for more than a decade and faces extradition to the US for exposing the war crimes, mass surveillance, regime-change operations and other abuses committed by the US and its allies, including Australia. The journalist cited previous reports that Albanese had once said, behind closed doors, that enough is enough on the US espionage charges against Assange, and asked: As Prime Minister, is it now your position that the US should be encouraged to drop the charges against Mr Assange? And have you made any representations to that effect? Albanese contemptuously dismissed the question, declaring: My position is that not all foreign affairs is best done with the loud hailer. Like the last Labor government of Julia Gillard, which declared Assange to be a criminal, this one will do everything it can to assist the White House to silence him for good, all the more because of the new war crimes being launched by the US and its partners. Labor will keep working hand-in-glove with the Biden administration despite the widespread working-class support for Assange, as shown again by the warm response to the Socialist Equality Partys election campaign demand for his immediate freedom. The third announcement was that Albanese and Wong will next week undertake another mission, this time to Indonesia. President Joko Widodos administration has strengthened economic ties with China and last year criticised the AUKUS pact, on which it was not consulted, saying it endangered Southeast Asias nuclear-free zone. Widodo, like Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India, also has not lined up behind the US war on Russia. Domestically, despite now claiming a bare majority of 77 seats in the 151-member House of Representatives, and therefore a supposed clear mandate from voters, Albanese will not convene parliament until late July, more than two months after the election. That did not stop him urging his ministers to not waste a single day in office in implementing the governments program. Treasurer Chalmers reiterated the governments cost-cutting plans, declaring the need to trim spending. He said he would make a statement to parliament at the end of next month laying out the supposed serious state of the books, which would be used as a basis for spending cuts. In line with Labors pledges to be a government of wealth creation and aspiration, Chalmers and Albanese again ruled out reversing the planned huge income tax cuts for wealthy households, or imposing any super profits taxes on the mining giants. Significantly, two areas of intense social crisisaged care and childcarewhere Labor had promised, as a major pitch in its election campaign, to address the shocking conditions, low pay and under-staffing in nursing homes, and the exorbitant costs of childcare, were shunted into the outer ministry. Control over another crisis area of cuts to support services, that of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), was retained by former Labor leader Bill Shorten. Still regarded as a potential leadership challenger to Albanese, Shorten has been handed the task of imposing the demands of the financial elite for deep cuts to the NDIS, along with other social programs. These demands were spelt out in a May 29 editorial in the Australian Financial Review, which insisted: Labor must reverse-engineer a mandate for fiscal repair. It said the government had to do much more than just walk back its meagre election promises, such as on aged care, the NDIS and childcare. It had to deflate public expectations about the free and universal things that governments can provide voters. With cynical contempt for democracy, let alone the slight improvements pledged by Labor, the editorial declared: It will take much more than surprise, surprise post-election announcements of the dire budget outlook to properly repair Australias tattered fiscal policy. The financial newspaper warned that, after making correct calls on not taxing the rich, reverse-engineering a Labor mandate for fiscal repair will not be easy to reconcile with new promises of relief for cost-of-living pressures. In other words, the government, its freshly-installed ministers and their trade union enforcers must be prepared to ruthlessly stifle workers discontent and hostility as Labor rolls out its pro-business and pro-war measures. The Socialist Equality Party will be discussing the election outcome and the way forward for the working class at an online public meeting on Sunday, June 12 at 2 p.m. (AEST). Register now to attend this important meeting. The mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas has generated enormous anger and concern among students and youth throughout the country and indeed internationally. Walkouts have been organized at a number of schools, and further actions and demonstrations are planned over the coming weeks. While the political establishment, Democrat and Republican, along with the media, seek to keep the discussion on the shooting within the standard frameworkwhich addresses nothing and proposes nothingmany youth are asking: What is it in American society that produces such horrific events with horrifying regularity? For todays generation of young people, school shootings are a significant part of life. This year alone, more children have been shot dead in school shootings than police on the job. According to a report by the Washington Post, more than 311,000 students have experienced gun violence in school since the 1999 Columbine High School Massacre in Littleton, Colorado. At the time, the Columbine shooting was the deadliest school attack in US history. But then came Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Parkland, and many others. Indeed, Columbine no longer even ranks among the 10 deadliest mass shootings in modern US history. People gather at a memorial at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas Monday, May 30, 2022, to pay their respects to the victims killed in last week's school shooting. [AP Photo/Jae C. Hong] The International Youth and Students for Social Equality urges young people to look honestly at our society. What does the phenomenon of mass violence say about the health of modern-day capitalism? Of its politicians, political parties and institutions? Indeed, violence pervades the capitalist system to its core. First, there is endless war that has become permanent. Those of us in the millennial generation and Gen Z have not lived a day of our lives when the United States has not been at warin Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Syria or Somalia, to name just a few. Entire societies have been obliterated under the banner of humanitarian wars and spreading democracy. Now, as the Democratic Party makes perfunctory statements about gun reform, it is simultaneously instigating a major military conflict with Russia that could quickly spiral into a third world war costing the lives of millions of people. James G. Stavridis, a retired US Navy admiral, and currently Managing Director of the powerful global investment firm the Carlyle Group, expressed the sentiment of the ruling class when he tweeted in response to the Uvalde shooting: If you are only 18 and desperate to get your hands on an assault rifleenlist in the @USMC [US Marine Corps]. If you can get in, they will teach you how to use one to protect the countrynot to threat[en] its children. That is, young people would be better served killing enemies abroad than schoolchildren at home. Second, there is the violence perpetrated by the state every day at home. The same governments that have overseen unending war have also funneled military equipment to police departments around the country. They have granted clemency to police officers who murder with impunity on a daily basis. Both Republican and Democratic administrations have whipped up moods of extreme nationalism, violence, paranoia, xenophobia, fear, suspicion and alienation in order to pursue their war aims. Every year, over a thousand people are killed by police. Hundreds of immigrants die attempting to cross the US-Mexico border, and a massive apparatus of repressionincluding the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Customs and Border Protectionexists for the sole purpose of jailing and deporting immigrants. Third, there is the everyday violence of capitalist society, the consequence of enormous levels of social inequality and the indifference of the ruling class to human life. The sacrificial attitude of the ruling class towards the working class is perhaps most clearly expressed in their response to the pandemic. Over 1 million Americans have died of COVID-19 since January 2020. Schools were forced open amid the historic and global health crisis in what can only be understood as a mass medical experiment on children. The impact has been a devastating loss of life on a scale not seen since the Second World War. For decades, social services have been starved. The ruling class insists that there is no money for education, mental health services, basic health care or any semblance of a social safety net, even as the workers have suffered through unthinkable consequences of the COVID-19 global pandemic. While the rich profit off the misery and exploitation of the working class, millions are being pushed to the psychological breaking point. Conditions of social despair and alienation produce a wave of drug abuse, depression, anxiety, even suicide. In the most extreme cases, they also produce homicidal outbursts such as school shootings. This violence is perpetuated by a political system that is completely impervious to the needs and interests of the broad mass of the population. What does the ruling class offer us? On the one hand there is Trump and the Republicans, fascistic coup plotters seeking to overturn the Constitution and establish a dictatorship. On the other hand are the Democrats, now the main party of war, which time and time again demonstrate the futility of changing anything within the existing political system. In relation to mass shootings, the Democrats propose gun reform measures, which they know will never pass and, in any case, do nothing to address the underlying social and political factors responsible. Young people are angry, and rightfully so. Just four years ago, in 2018, after the Parkland shooting, over a million people participated in demonstrations to demand an end to mass violence in the schools. A demonstration in Washington D.C. under the banner March for Our Lives was one of the largest in the citys history, with more than 800,000 people in attendance. In 2018, framing the issue around a legislative effort served to funnel the movement back into the safe confines of the two-party system. Within a matter of weeks, the March for Our Lives organizers were traveling the country on a Get out the vote tour aimed at whipping up support for supposedly progressive Democratic candidates. Students and youth cannot fall into the same trap again! The way forward for youth and students is to turn to the decisive revolutionary force in societythe working class. There is an enormous social movement that is already emerging in the US and throughout the world. The impact of the pandemic, massive levels of social inequality, decades of endless war, the starving of social servicesthese conditions are generating social opposition in the working class. Workers are drawing the conclusion that many youth are drawing: It cant go on like this, a fundamental change in social relations is necessary. This conclusion is the first step to ending mass shootings as well. The source of all the fundamental problems confronted by workers and youth lies in the social structure and the political system of capitalism. Therefore, it must be overturned. The basis for doing so is the class movement of the working class. We urge students and young people to channel their anger, passion and energy into building this movement. We call on all youth and students to join the International Youth and Students for Socialist Equality, the student and youth movement of the Socialist Equality Party, today! Take up the fight for socialism. There is no time to lose. Two recent cases cast doubt on the argument its too easy in North Dakota to get measures on the ballot and amend the states constitution. Twice in recent months Secretary of State Al Jaeger has rejected proposed measures because petition signatures were improper, questionable or illegally obtained. Both cases have been referred to Attorney General Drew Wrigleys office for further investigation. The Tribune has been a strong supporter of initiated measures and the referral process. Both provide the public a way to take action when they feel government has failed to act or overstepped its bounds. The Tribune has opposed efforts over the years to weaken both processes. The Tribune editorial board doesnt believe its too easy to get on the ballot. The Protect North Dakotas Constitution group wanted to limit efforts to amend the state constitution to one subject, and to require at least 60% approval rather than a simple majority of voters. The group needed to get 31,164 valid signatures to be placed on the November ballot. They turned in 914 petitions with 33,624 signatures. Jaeger on May 23 rejected 5,738 signatures and accepted 25,884, thus disqualifying the measure. To their credit, members of Protect North Dakotas Constitution dont plan to challenge Jaegers decision. Jeff Zarling, co-chairman of the group, said it believes Jaegers office did their job thoroughly and correctly. The group used both volunteers and paid signature-gatherers. Zarling said the group had a process for checking the petitions and caught some mistakes. He noted Jaegers office has more experience and resources when verifying petitions. Zarling was correct when he said, This is harmful to the process when people are doing these things. In March, Jaeger rejected about 29,000 signatures on petitions for a proposed ballot measure calling for term limits on the governor and state legislators. Jaeger cited various violations of the law and referred the matter to Wrigley. Both petition drives relied to a certain extent on paid circulators to gather signatures. That has drawn criticism in the past and resulted in charges in at least one instance in which signatures were falsified. Its difficult for volunteers to gather thousands of signatures while under a deadline. It requires a very organized effort to verify the signatures. The secretary of states office doesnt rubber-stamp the petitions; instead, state officials give the petitions a thorough review. Thats the way it should be. Many officials dont like the initiated measure process, feeling their judgment has been questioned and their power usurped. The process, however, is a way for members of the public to be heard when they feel they are being ignored. Its not a perfect system -- someone or a group with unlimited funds can have better odds of getting on the ballot. Still, the process has worked well over the years. The two rejections show its not easy to get on the ballot, and that checks and balances that are in place work. In North Dakota the people have a voice, but they must follow the rules. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Nurses: Tell us about conditions in your hospital or workplace. Share your story by using the form at the bottom of this article. According to reports on social media, on Friday, May 27, around 40 nurses walked off the job at Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC) in downtown Orlando, Florida. The spontaneous walkout was in protest against inhuman workloads, which led to a tragic suicide by a patient going unnoticed for hours. Nurses were apparently forced to sign non-disclosure forms and are unable to speak about any of the conditions at the hospital or face retaliation, including the loss of their jobs. As a result, nurses are speaking through prominent nurse advocates on social media, such as Nurse Nander, who are anonymously sharing reports, photos and information from ORMC nurses because they have been silenced by the hospital. Screengrab from video by NurseNander on TikTok According to reports, on Monday, May 16, sometime between 7:00-11:00 p.m., a patient on the 8th floor of the hospital used a bedside table to break a window and then jumped to his death. The patient in the room below apparently thought the sound was from construction work. What is especially disturbing is that patient loads in the Progressive Care Unit (PCU), where the patient was located, were so high that his suicide was not discovered for some time. In the aftermath of the May 16 patient death, state agents were called in to investigate the incident. Nurses reported that the window that had been broken was quickly replaced, and the grass below the hospital where his body was found was burned. Every effort was made to quickly clean up the scene. Adding insult to injury, additional staffing was supplied to bring down the nurse-to-patient ratios during the inspection to portray better staffing levels. The farce was dropped once the officials left, and patient loads skyrocketed back to their unbearable levels. Reports being sent to nurse advocates on social media are that ratios are 13:1 for Medical Surgical units, 7/8:1 on PCU, 5:1 in Stepdown and 3:1 in the ICU. {See also: Health care workers support nurse walkout at Orlando medical center: I feel bad for the patients and terrified for the staff} On social media, the incident sparked intense discussion among nurses across the country on unsafe staffing levels. What is happening in hospitals should be an absolute national emergency, one nurse said. Another observed, As a nurse you better be ready to be sent to prison if you make a mistake. America is doing to nurses what it did to teachers. Melissa, an ORMC nurse, confirmed to the World Socialist Web Site that the walkout had taken place. Her name has been changed to protect her from retaliation. I cant tell if it was 40, but I know a good number did. I also dont know how many returned, but even if they walked out, I would guarantee administration changed nothing or will implement a change for a month and then revert. Melissa pointed to another troubling patient death that occurred recently and was subsequently covered up and unreported by the hospital or news media. This incident involved a patient who had departed the facility without authorization by staff (known as patient elopement) and was subsequently hit by a car and killed. She told the WSWS that staffing has only become increasingly worse. Staffing has always been terrible, even before COVID, then it got worse during COVID and never recovered. At times, nurses are given four patients in the ICU. Patients who are proned or on CRRT (Continuous renal replacement therapy, or hemodialysis machines) should be 1:1, but COVID eliminated that. I worked many shifts with 3 proned patients on 2 CRRT machines going. PCU is going up to 6-8 patients, and med-surg is going up to 12-15 patients. One of the calls I was on for staffing had one unit where two nurses had 18 patients each. Melissa noted a recent incident when the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) came to investigate violations of a law mandating safe staffing ratios for patients on a 72-hour psychiatric hold. The hospital sticks one sitter for two patients, which is against CMS guidelines, she said. When my manager found out, she told me to lie to the auditor and say staffing was fine. Significantly, there has been no media coverage of the incidents and subsequent reports. Nurse Nander shared an email sent to graduate nurses from ORMC announcing mass hiring of graduate nurses in the Level 1 Emergency Department. However, the hospital [doesnt] have enough experienced nurses to train them appropriately, and she is receiving text messages saying they are giving these GNs double-digit assignments. ORMC recently sent a note to employees that it will pursue Nurse Nander for trespassing should she revisit the hospital, after she dropped off food and cards to two nursing units. She also noted she has received threatening messages from numerous ghost accounts trying to intimidate her by referencing her childs name. Melissa added, The health care system has always been fragile; staffing issues have always been present. Then the pandemic came. ... In the past two years I have been verbally threatened with death, told that Im killing patients, told that Im inflating numbers to make COVID look worse than it is. Told that Id better do everything to save their unvaccinated anti-mask family member or else Theyll find me. So on top of being short staffed, we have to deal with that bulls*** constantly. Ive had to have security walk me to my car. And then find out nurses get criminally charged for errors, she said, referring to the conviction of Tennessee nurse Radonda Vaught over a fatal medication error, when everyone else that makes mistakes gets a slap on the wrist. Cops shoot and kill people all the time without being charged, doctors make mistakes with zero issue; yet nurses go to jail for one mistake. The volume of things required to make actual change to the profession is staggering. Administrators just expect us to pick up the slack: oh, were four nurses short tonight. Oh, well, sucks to suck. Heres your eight patients. Then they will write us up if our charting is five minutes behind. There is little doubt that the hospital giants are colluding with the state political establishment, helmed by far-right Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, to cover up the situation in the hospitals. However, the same can be said for hospitals in states run by the Democratic Party, such as in California. Nationwide, laws mandating nurse-to-patient ratios are broken on a daily basis, while the nurses unions stand idly by, handing out endless stacks of Assignment Despite Objection forms for nurses to fill out to protect their licenses while working illegal workloads. Nurses are determined to fight back. They confront not only individual hospital administrations but an entire political establishment, which has sacrificed public health and countless lives for private profit. A significant step forward was made two weeks ago when nurses around the country formed the independent Nurses Rank-and-File Steering Committee. Our profession is under attack. A larger fight must be waged to save the profession. Every day more of our coworkers leave the bedside, the committee declared in its founding statement. Burnout, PTSD and mental health struggles are part of the everyday life of nurses everywhere. Our most noble profession has been gutted and turned into a nightmare. This can and must be halted. The committees will strive to unite all nurses, whether or not they are in unions. They will connect the struggle of nurses with the struggles of other sections of the working class, in the US and throughout the world, as part of the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC). The shooting in Uvalde, Texas on May 24 has prompted a great deal of discussion. The scale of the horror and the depth of the public reaction suggest that something of a tipping point has been reached. Many people in the US and elsewhere are raising questions about the event. How could such a thing, the massacre of small children, take place? Parents have been placed in the impossible position of having to try to explain to their own children, potential victims, why incidents like this occur. At the same time, everyone knows it is only a matter of time until news of the next, and possibly worse, mass killing flashes across television and computer screens. Where, when and how many victims are the only unanswered questions... And the shooting after that. Waiting anxiously for the next shoe to drop has become a way of everyday life in America. The Texas massacre of the innocents reveals a deep pathology at the core of American society. Vast numbers are sincerely attempting to make sense of how the present state of life in the country unhinges a fraction of the population in this homicidal manner. A politicization and a radicalization are under way. By and large, however, masses of people do not yet make the connection in particular between the official violencethe endless wars and threats of new and wider wars, the relentless killings carried out by law enforcement, the establishments essential indifference to a million dead in a preventable pandemicand the manner in which the most psychologically susceptible individuals experience, absorb and even reproduce it. The susceptibility is mediated through the political and economic situation, as well as the social and cultural atmosphere. This is not the first violent period in American or world history. What generates a truly damaging double despair in certain young people is the combination of their own apparently miserable personal prospects and the barren, repugnant state of the public life they see before them. The absence of any mass-based, progressive social (or anti-war) movement, even of a reformist kind, has far-reaching consequences. Human beings, except for a handful, do not live for stock market prices or the latest in military hardware. The ruling class imagines that it can get by with endless sleight of hand. The Democratic Party offers an African American candidate guaranteeing historic change, a female candidate supposedly speaking for an underrepresented half of the population, an honest Joe promising the most radical administration since the New Deal. Each of these lies has only deepened cynicism and disillusionment. The media registers the popular revulsion over the actions of the gunman in Uvalde, attempting always to channel it in the narrowest and, if possible, most socially backward directions. When it comes, however, to American military violence in Iraq or Afghanistan or any number of other places, or its proxy war in Ukraine, the press and television news adopt another tone. In these cases, the glorification of killing and death goes on uninterruptedly, and not only in the fascistic Murdoch-owned outlets. The New York Times recently ran a typically bloodthirsty piece headlined, Tending Russia's Dead as They Pile Up in Ukraine, which reveled in the carnage. It described the efforts of a Ukrainian soldier to collect the corpses of Russian war dead. The Times went on, This is the best work in the world, the unnamed soldier said of the grim satisfaction to be found in collecting the corpses of the invader. Business Insider, the financial and business news website, for its part, recently reported, A Ukrainian soldier in a liberated town said that killing Russian forces is like a sport now. This only echoes US propaganda about its neocolonial liberating efforts, peppered with atrocities, torture and mass killings, in the Middle East and Central Asia. Why should anyone imagine that the daily glorification of slaughtering other human beings as a legitimate and even preferable solution to difficult problems would not communicate itself viscerally to individuals who find themselves in what they take to be impossible personal binds? Mass death has also been normalized over the course of the past two years through the COVID-19 catastrophe. The population has been told at every turn that it must learn to live with the pandemic, that in fact it ought to get over any sentimentality about the ill and the dead. The Times, the Wall Street Journal and the rest have made it their business to paint the maintenance of profits and business as a far more pressing issue. Again, what corrosive impact does this continuous devaluing of human life, the complacent acceptance that many old, poor and otherwise vulnerable people will fall victim to the virus, have on the texture and quality of popular life? At the same time, the Uvalde episode makes the ruling elite nervous. After all, it gives America a major black eye. On the NBC News website, Jacob Ware, research associate for counterterrorism at the Council on Foreign Relations, commented bluntly May 29: The school shooting epidemic undermines the U.S. in the eyes of both its allies and its adversaries, damaging its ability to provide leadership on human rights and increasing its vulnerability to enemy propaganda... Tuesdays shooting is particularly likely to damage Americas standing in speaking out against Russian violence against children in Ukraine. Guided by this general concern, the Washington Post attempted in an editorial the same day to deflect attention from Americas diseased condition by incorporating the Uvalde events into a universal, presumably inexplicable process in which young lives are cut short. Young people, the Post concluded, continue to be deprived of their lives and their futuresby neglect, greed, orchestrated hatreds or delusional aggressionsin places from Ukraine to Uvalde, Tex. Indeed, there is a link between the deaths in Uvalde and those in Ukraine, in a conflict deliberately provoked and now stoked by Washington, but it is not one the Post, the personal property of one of the richest men in the world, chooses to spell out: both tragedies are bound up with the brutal, decayed state of American capitalism and the eruption of its endless violence, at home and abroad. The pronouncements of establishment pundits on the Uvalde incident continue to be as banal and deluded as ever. The American ruling elite devil will not voluntarily cut off his own clawshe is incapable of even acknowledging them. Much of the attention has been directed toward the inaction and incompetence, or worse, of law enforcement in Uvalde. While the media no doubt uses this element to divert attention from other troubling phenomena, this aspect of the disaster has legitimately outraged both families in the town and broader layers of the population. Generally speaking, as Hurricane Katrina and innumerable natural and social disasters have demonstrated over the past two decades, the vast military-police machine, bloated beyond recognition through the war on terror and the building up of Homeland Security, is useless when it comes to protecting the population. Thats not its purpose. This apparatus is only good as a rule, in the US and on the rest of the planet, for repression, especially for shooting down the poor, the defenseless, the inadequately armed or entirely unarmed. In keeping with this social reality, one Uvalde parent bitterly complained about being arrested by US Marshals and handcuffed after she urged law enforcement to do something about the ongoing massacre. The woman said she saw other parents being pushed to the ground, pepper-sprayed, and tasered. They didnt do that to the shooter, but they did that to us, she said. Thats how it felt. A vile, rapacious, ignorant ruling class presides over American society. The political leadership, in both major parties, along with the bankers and corporate CEOs, are hated by every honest portion of the people. The media only exists to inject poison into the atmosphere and obliterate serious thought, shutting up or drowning out critical voices. But masses of people, undergoing one earth-shattering experience after the other, are concluding that they have had enough. Inexorably, organically, a movement is beginning to break through the corrupt framework. This finds initial reflection sharply in the voting down of contracts foisted on workers by the unions, the criminal accomplices of the financial oligarchy. The widespread anger and revulsion are a necessary and welcome development. They already demonstrate that political pessimism is both unwarranted and thoroughly reactionary. But that healthy sentiment needs to be elevated and take on a consciously radical and anti-establishment character through the growth of socialist understanding and influence in the working class. Significant progress will be made when the very foundations of capitalism in America are questioned and challenged on a mass scale. The catastrophic baby formula shortage in the United States continues to deepen as stores across the country run out of stock and shelves remain empty, while families seek alternatives to commercial products to feed their infants and toddlers. Ashley Maddox holds her 5-month-old son, Cole, after feeding him with formula she bought through a Facebook group of mothers in need Thursday, May 12, 2022, in Imperial Beach, California. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Meanwhile, the Biden administrations Operation Fly Formula campaign, which used military aircraft to ship baby food in from overseas, has done nothing to address the severity of the crisis. As the nationwide average out-of-stock rate has surged past 70 percent, some states are experiencing numbers that are far higher. According to Datasembly, a real-time retail product information analytics company, California, Missouri, Minnesota, Nevada, Montana, Louisiana, Arizona and Utah have shortage rates of over 80 percent. Utah has the highest out-of-stock rate of 89 percent. A report by KSLTV on Tuesday said that Mountain West Mothers Milk Bank in South Salt Lake, which provides nearly 15,000 ounces of breast milk per month, has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of requests from medical facilities with Newborn Intensive Care Units (NICU). Jennie Noren, operations director for the milk bank, told KSLTV, Our usual hospital amounts and orders have doubled and almost tripled for some of the hospitals. She added that it takes the bank about 10 days from the time milk is donated to process and deliver it to hospitals. Hospitals where they may have used a specialty formula, they are now using human donor milk because they dont have access to that formula. Although the dramatic disruption in the supply of infant formula is a life-threatening matter, the last communication from the Utah Department of Health was a series of tweets on May 26 that showed photos of mostly empty supermarket shelves. And it said, We are becoming slightly more optimistic about the availability of baby formula in Utah. ... It is still going to be some time before supplies are normal again, but we are hopeful we will get there. The lack of specialty formula remains one of our biggest problems. On Monday, WXIX spoke to Kathy Furman of Loveland, Ohio, a town northeast of Cincinnati, whose daughter, 14-year-old Morgan, has Roberts Syndrome and requires a feeding tube and specialized formula. Kathy has been feeding her daughter EleCare Jr., which was recalled during the FDA-mandated shutdown of Abbott Labs manufacturing facility in Sturgis, Michigan, last February. She said, We have to have that specialized formula so my kid can live. I mean, she has to have it in order to survive, and Morgans is just as important as the next person. Arizona resident Sandramaria Hicks needs a specific formula for her 10-month-old son, Wesley, who has milk allergies. She told the Tucson Sentinel, We went everywhere, even 50 miles out, and we couldnt find anything. Candice Tanner, a grandmother from Phoenix, explained to the Sentinel, I worked 50 plus hours a week, and then any time I wasnt at work, I was literally driving hundreds of miles to find baby formula. Tanner has been helping find formula for her 9-month-old granddaughter Gabriela. I would drive to Mesa all the way to Surprise [another city in Arizona] to find nothing at all. The US baby formula shortage that is threatening the lives of children and special needs individuals across the country is a manifestation of the callous indifference of the capitalist ruling elite to the most vulnerable sections of the population. The supply chain crisis that arose at the beginning of the pandemic intersected with a dramatic fall in the number of babies being breastfed by their mothers. To the consequent spike in demand was then added the FDA shutdown of the Abbott Labs baby formula factory in Michigan which had become infested with bacteria. The US pediatric nutritionals market is dominated by four manufacturersAbbott, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Nestle USA and Perrigothat supply 90 percent of the formula sold in the US. Abbott Labs supplies 40 percent of the market with its Similac, Alimentum and EleCare products, all of which are manufactured at the Sturgis facility. The Biden administration announced with great media fanfare its Operation Fly Formula last week. The first shipment of a pathetic 75,000 pounds of Nestles Alfamino powdered product arrived in Indianapolis from Germany on May 22. Since then, little else has happened, other than a second flight from Ramstein Air Base with 100,000 pounds of Gerber baby food products which arrived in Washington D.C. on Wednesday. On Friday, the White House and FDA announced that the Australian company Bubs was sending 27.5 million eight-ounce bottles of a variety of infant formulas, including goats milk, organic cows milk and other specialty formulas. The only immediate benefit that Bidens tweeted announcement of Bubs product shipment to the US was that the stock value of the Australian company surged by 77 percent on the Sydney Stock Exchange. As experts have pointed out, these deliveries will not even make a dent in the crisis. Some have denounced the measures as political theater, including Peter Pitts, a former associate commissioner at the Food and Drug Administration. Pitts told The Hill, I think if the president had said, you know, this is not the solution to the problem, but its something we can do right now for those infants most at risk, I think that would have been [better] than a grand announcement thats going to have significant but limited impact for the majority of American parents. While the US baby formula shortage is a product of the capitalist system and both of its two political parties are responsible for it, Republicans have been quick to hide behind the crisis and place all of the blame on the Biden administration. An example of this type of political play-acting was demonstrated by Republican Senator Josh Hawley, the January 6 coup supporter from Missouri, who said the crisis has been one failure after another by Joe Bidens administration and there needs to be an investigation into what the FDA was doing, what is happening at the FDA, why they were not on top of this problem and why did it take so long to get the production facility reopened. Hawley appears to be unaware that the Abbott Labs Sturgis plant is still closed and may not reopen for several weeks. In contrast to the inaction of the US government, one form that the publics response to the crisis has taken has been a surge in donations to breast milk banks. Mothers Milk Bank of Montana in Missoula reports that it has experienced a growth in stockpiles, and their freezers are now full. Taylor Pfaff, director of operations, told the Missoulian, We were actually out of milk for most of January and February. And then we kind of did a big cry for help. And we had a lot of donors come in. So, we have a lot more donors than weve had in years, which is great. The pseudo-left Socialist Alliance organisation has rushed to hail the result of the May 21 federal election as a step forward, opening up the prospect of a new period of progressive reform. This is a continuation of Socialist Alliances own election campaign. The pseudo-left party stood candidates in several states, but insisted that the primary task was the removal of the former Liberal-National Coalition government through support for Labor and the Greens. The election result showed a widespread rejection of this perspective of lesser-evilism, which has been trotted out for decades by pseudo-left groups together with the corporatised trade unions and a broader upper middle-class milieu. Labor and the Liberal-National Coalition received their lowest combined primary vote in history, reflecting a growing recognition that there is no difference between the major parties of big business on the issues of war, mass COVID infection and social austerity. The collapse of their vote represents a major crisis of the two-party system that has been the basis of capitalist rule in Australia for the past eight decades. Under these conditions, Labor rushed to cobble together a government, even though it received its lowest primary vote since 1934, and had to rely on the preferences of other parties. The Murdoch media, along with powerful sections of the ruling elite, asserted that Labor leader Anthony Albanese was the leader of a majority government, when this was entirely unclear given the number of seats in doubt. Socialist Alliance immediately assisted the efforts to provide the new administration with legitimacy. Its particular function is to put a left gloss on a right-wing government that is already committed to a program of war abroad and an onslaught on the social position of the working class at home. In a jubilant article on May 22, Socialist Alliance proclaimed: Climate change makes its mark on Australian elections. The outcome had demonstrated that the grassroots movement was having an impact in the corridors of power. Socialist Alliance hopefully predicted a minority Labor government that would be dependent on the support of Greens and Teal independents. The Greens and independents could push the new government to go beyond the timid and conservative small target platform Labor campaigned on, the article stated. Whether the new Labor government will take real climate action and address growing social discontent will depend in large part on further strengthening the social and union movements, it continued. In other words, the role of workers and young people is to pressure the Greens and the independents and, through them, Labor, to the left. The suggestion that climate change will be resolved through machinations in parliament is a sham. All of the parties referenced by Socialist Alliance, including the Greens and the Teal independents, hew their climate program to the wholly inadequate targets haggled at international summits, which fall far short of the immediate action scientists have insisted is necessary to avert a global disaster. The various market-based solutions championed by the Greens and the Teals have failed to halt emissions where they have been introduced, instead creating lucrative new financial markets. This expresses the fact that climate change is fundamentally a product of the capitalist profit system itself, based upon the subordination of every aspect of social life to profit, and the irrational division of the world into antagonistic nation-states. The only realistic solution lies in the abolition of capitalism and the reorganisation of social and economic life on a global scale. More broadly, Socialist Alliances schema was directed against any class characterisation of the new government. Labor heads a capitalist government beholden to the banks, big business and the military-intelligence establishment. It has made no secret, moreover, of the policies that it will implement to advance these interests. It made a direct pitch to the ruling class that a Labor government would be better placed to oversee the sweeping austerity measures that are on the agenda to pay for a national debt of almost one trillion dollars, accrued through massive handouts to big business over the past two years. At the same time, Labor presented itself as a better partner for the US administration of Joe Biden as it prepares for war with China in the Indo-Pacific. Labors election campaign, far from being lacklustre and timid, was the most right-wing in the partys history. It expressed Labors transformation over the past four decades into an unalloyed instrument of the corporate and financial elite with no connection to the social interests of the working class. This has been confirmed by Labors first week-and-half in office. The first act of the new government was to dispatch Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his foreign minister Penny Wong to Tokyo for a meeting of the Quad, a de facto military alliance of the US, Japan, India and Australia, directed against China. Albanese proclaimed his full support for the US alliance after Biden had stated that the US was prepared to go to war with China over control of Taiwan. Labor then dispatched Wong to the Pacific, where she functioned as an anti-China attack dog on behalf of Washington to undermine a tour by Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi. Domestically, the new government has declared a budget black hole that will necessitate sacrifices, including further cuts to health and disability services. And it has pledged to oversee a productivity drive, i.e., the stepped-up exploitation of the working class. As for the crossbenchers whose election Socialist Alliance hails, they are no less committed to the profit system and its agenda of war and austerity. The Teal independents speak for some of the wealthiest sections of the population. They combine phony posturing over climate change, for which they propose totally inadequate band aid measures within the framework of capitalism, with fiscal responsibility, i.e., support for the dominance of big business. The Greens, far from pressuring Labor to the left, have spent the past months begging it for a power-sharing arrangement. In the final stages of the campaign, the Greens explained that there were no conditions on such a de facto coalition. Since the election, the Greens overtures have been rebuked by Albanese, but Greens leader Adam Bandt has insisted that his party will ensure budgetary supply for Labor no matter what, while continuing to plead for a formal alliance. The rightwing character of the new government is already exposing Socialist Alliances bankrupt perspective. An article on May 26 bemoaned Albaneses participation in the Quad. Socialist Alliance, however, has supported the US-led war drives in Libya, Syria and now, against Russia in Ukraine. Its occasional condemnations of militarism are a cynical cover for an organisation that is firmly part of the pro-imperialist left. The May 26 article, moreover, provided an alibi for Labors preparations to inflict sweeping austerity. It declared that as a result of the deepening global economic crisis, The new Labor government is facing almost impossible tasks. Under these conditions, Socialist Alliances perspective was reduced to the following: Any reform, any tinkering at the edges, is to be supported and welcomed In other words, Socialist Alliance does not even pretend to advance a socialist perspective for the working class in opposition to Labor and the capitalist system it defends. Instead, it insists that workers and youth must remain within the existing political set-up by holding out the false hope that Labor will tinker at the edges. Socialist Alliances positions express the interests of an affluent layer of the upper middle-class ensconced in academia, the top echelons of the public sector and the trade union bureaucracy. The privileges of this social millieu depend upon the suppression of the working class and its subservience to the political establishment. For the layer represented by Socialist Alliance, a Labor government opens up new opportunities. The organisation has close ties to the union bureaucracy which will be more formally integrated into the structures of capitalist rule by Labor, including with a tripartite summit between the government, the major corporations and the unions, committed to stepped-up pro-business restructuring. Socialist Alliance used the election campaign to deepen its ties to the Greens, collaborating closely with them in Queensland, where the Greens won several seats. Socialist Alliance has expressed its hope that the Greens will continue these insurgent campaigns. What this really means in practice, is that Socialist Alliance will offer the Greens fraudulent left credentials while the party continues to collaborate with Labor. In a post-election video, Socialist Alliance leaders Sam Wainwright and Alex Bainbridge insisted that it would be entirely legitimate for Greens MPs to become ministers in a Labor government. They only expressed concern that the Greens maintain a left posture, as well as relations with the grassroots movements. Labor has already signalled that it will bring forward various forms of identity politics, associated particularly with gender and race. It has boasted that its cabinet being sworn in today, contains the largest number of female MPs in history, while Labor has elevated issues of Aboriginal nationalism to centre stage. The function of identity politics is to bury the class questions and divide the working class while advancing the interests of a privileged social layer. Specifically, Labors advancement of feminist and black nationalist politics is aimed at putting a fake progressive veneer on a government of war and austerity, and at drawing a broader upper middle-class constituency that is obsessed with such issues, and indifferent to the plight of the working class, behind it. The Socialist Alliance and the pseudo-left generally, which are steeped in such identity politics, will undoubtedly serve as cheerleaders for Labors moves in this direction as it did under the last Rudd-Gillard Labor governments. In other words, the pseudo-left groups are a key prop of the Labor government and the political establishment. Workers entering into struggle against the government must reject the sham arguments of lesser-evilism. Instead, they should take up the genuine socialist and internationalist perspective of the Socialist Equality Party, based on the fight for the political independence of the working class, and a revolutionary opposition to the existing social, economic and political order. On Monday, Chinas Foreign Minister Wang Yi convened a meeting of foreign ministers from 10 Pacific Island nations in Suva, Fiji. It was the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers Meeting following its inaugural gathering, conducted remotely in October 2021. In this photo supplied by the Fiji government, the President of Fiji, Ratu Wiliame Katonivere, right, gestures with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the State House in Suva, Fiji, Monday, May 30, 2022. (Fiji Government via AP) All the Pacific countries which recognise China attended the on-line meeting: Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands, Niue and Federated States of Micronesia. Those maintaining ties with TaiwanTuvalu, Palau, the Marshall Islands and Nauruwere absent. China presented a major document, leaked last week, which advanced a sweeping region-wide strategy boosting economic and security co-operation. Despite a direct appeal from Premier Xi Jinping, China announced after the meeting it would shelve the proposals and prepare a position paper, so that going forward it can shape more consensus and cooperation. Chinas Ambassador to Fiji, Qian Bo, said there had been general support for the plan, but some leaders had concerns about specific issues. Pacific Islands Forum general secretary Henry Puna and Fijis Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama emphasised that the major issue for Pacific leaders is climate change. Bainimarama told the joint press conference that geopolitical point scoring means less than nothing to those threatened by climate change. He had urged China, he said, as he did with all major countries, to make stronger climate commitments. The meeting came midway through an unprecedented tour of the Pacific by Wang and a 20-strong delegation of Chinese officials. It began in the Solomon Islands last Thursday with the signing of a security agreement between the two countries. The pact, which was agreed in April, was furiously denounced by Washington, Australia and New Zealand, which claimed it would open the way for a Chinese military base in the southwest Pacific. Beijing has repeatedly said it has no interest in establishing such a base. Wangs tour takes place in the wake of a US-led diplomatic offensive in Asia, including the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) Tokyo meeting and President Bidens visits to South Korea and Japan, intended to strengthen its encirclement of China. Beijing is facing the mounting threat of war as the US seeks to prevent any challenge to its global dominance amid a worsening global economic crisis. Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered a speech to the Asia Society Policy Institute in Washington describing China as the most serious long-term challenge to the international order. The Chinese proposals offered the Pacific states millions of dollars in financial assistance, the prospect of a China-Pacific Islands free trade agreement and access to China's market of 1.4 billion people. It also involved police training, cybersecurity and an expanded place in disaster and humanitarian relief and fisheries. Beijing sought to shift from a series of bilateral arrangements towards multilateralism. It would appoint a special envoy for Pacific Affairs to advance political relations and a comprehensive partnership, including aligning its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with the Pacific Island Forums Blue Pacific plans. The President of Micronesia David Panuelo, who is more closely aligned with Washington, warned Chinas proposal could spark a new Cold War in the region. He declared that Pacific Island states risked being pulled into Beijings orbit, suggesting they would lose sovereignty and independence. Australia and New Zealand, backed by Washington, reacted with alarm at what they regard as an intrusion into their backyard. Australias Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused China of seeking to increase its influence in the region of the world where Australia has been the security partner of choice since the Second World War. Albanese revealed a step-up in Pacific engagement, with $A500 million ($US350 million) in additional aid for defence training, maritime security and infrastructure to combat the effects of climate change. Foreign Minister Penny Wong was hurriedly dispatched to Fiji days before Wangs visit. Wong bluntly warned the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat that Pacific leaders should weigh up the consequences of accepting security offers from Beijing. The shelving of Beijings strategic plan has not stopped negotiations with individual Pacific governments. Wang arrived in Fiji from stopovers in Kiribati and Samoa. In Samoa an Economic & Technical Cooperation Agreement was signed, effectively reversing the FAST (Faith in the One True God) party governments anti-China position at the 2021 election. In Kiribati the two parties signed documents on climate change, tourism, infrastructure, marine transportation and COVID-19 medical supplies. Wang also spoke with Niues Foreign Minister Dalton Tagelagi via video link, both committing to extend cooperation including on the BRI. The White House revealed last week that Fiji would join Bidens newly-formed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), the first Pacific Island nation to sign on. The protectionist IPEF is designed to bolster US access to regional markets without offering reduced tariffs or greater access to US markets. The White House said it would enable the US and its allies to decide on rules of the road. The Financial Times promptly trumpeted Fijis involvement in IPEF as a victory in its [Washingtons] competition with Beijing over influence in the Pacific. Bainimarama declared he had enjoyed a wonderful meeting with Australias foreign minister, tweeting; Fiji is not anyones backyardwe are a part of a Pacific family. And our greatest concern isnt geopoliticsits climate change. When Wang and Bainimarama met separately on Monday, they signed several agreements to expand cooperation with Fiji over the economy, trade, agriculture, fisheries, tourism, civil aviation, education, law enforcement, and emergency management. Wang said that China would provide assistance to Pacific countries with no political strings attached. Fiji, the second largest country in the Pacific after Papua New Guinea, occupies a pivotal strategic role. Following Bainimaramas 2006 military coup he established a Look North policy towards China and Russia to counter moves by Canberra and Wellington to isolate the regime. He also encouraged other Pacific countries to take a more independent line. With Fijis elections due this year, the opposition SODELPA leader Sitiveni Rabuka, who staged two military coups between 1987 and 1995, said Chinas influence in the South Pacific will take a king hit if he returns to power. Rabuka has been sharply critical of debt repayments, claiming Beijing will take over some of the public facilities we have, our ports and airports, adding: Its happening around the world. The entire region is facing an economic and social catastrophe. According to the Lowy Institute, the Pacific is staring at a potential lost decade from the economic and social devastation wreaked by the COVID pandemic. Without an ambitious and urgent increase in outside assistance, it declared, the Pacific faces a permanently lower economic and developmental trajectory. The Institute estimates the Pacific will need at least US$3.5 billion over three years in additional international assistance. Wangs tour still has nearly a week to run. After he leaves Fiji he visits Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste, all deeply impoverished countries that maintain existing links to Beijing. On Friday, as part of the budget debate, the federal government plans to pass the so-called Special Fund for the Bundeswehr to the tune of 100 billion. This is the biggest rearmament offensive since the fall of Hitlers Third Reich 77 years ago. It makes Germany the most powerful military nation in Europe. Bundeswehr Eurofighter Typhoon The decision to now equip the Bundeswehr significantly better via the special fund will have a considerable impact. Germany will soon have the largest conventional army in Europe within the framework of NATO, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Social Democratic Party, SPD) gloated in an interview with the Stuttgarter Zeitung on Monday. In backroom talks the day before, the governing partiesSPD, Liberal Democrats (FDP) and Greenshad agreed to launch the special fund with the largest opposition faction, the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU). We have successfully concluded our talks this evening on an amendment to the constitution to create a special fund for the Bundeswehr with the purpose of strengthening alliance and defence capabilities, as well as on a law to finance the Bundeswehr and establish this special fund, the parties announced in a joint statement. They jointly ensure that the Bundeswehr will be strengthened in the coming years with 100 billion euros in additional investments. In doing so, NATO's so-called two-percent [of GDP] target will be achieved on a multi-year average. At the same time, an initiative to accelerate procurement will be launched immediately and before the parliamentary summer recess. The government will also present a strategy to strengthen security in cyber and information space. Additional measures for cyber security, civil defence and the strengthening and stabilisation of partners would be financed from the federal budget. And even after the special fund has been drawn down, the necessary funds would continue to be provided to achieve the NATO capability goals then in force. In other words, the rearmament plans go far beyond the special fund and amount to a permanent ballooning of the military budget. Even achieving the two-percent target means that the defence budget will rise from the current level of about 50 billion per year to well over 70 billion. Scholz had already announced the massive rearmament programme in a speech on February 27, presenting a long list of armament projects in the Bundestag. It concerned the next generation of combat aircraft and tanks, the Eurodrone and the acquisition of the armed Heron drone, the Chancellor explained. Also, for nuclear sharing, he said, a modern replacement for the obsolete Tornado jets will be procured in good time. In any case, Germany needed aircraft that fly, ships that set sail, and soldiers who are optimally equipped for their missions. The rearmament offensive is in every respect a declaration of war on the working class. The costs will be borne exclusively by workers. I am inscribing on my banner: preserve the debt brake, avert tax increases, finance the Bundeswehr more strongly, Finance Minister Christian Lindner told broadcaster ZDF on Monday. In a year of war and crisis, this was a good start to continuing budget consolidation. In 2023, for him, the debt brake is non-negotiable. What that means is obvious. Every cent that flows into rearmament and war will be taken from the working class. This year, the departments of labour and social affairs and education will be cut by a total of more than five billion euros. And that is only the beginning. To get a better grasp of the dimension of the impending slash-and-burn: The current education budget, at around 20 billion, is just about one-fifth of the planned Bundeswehr special fund. Very directly, rearmament serves the escalation of the NATO war against Russia. In his interview with the Stuttgarter Zeitung, Scholz bragged about Germany's leading role in arming Ukraine. He said that Germany had already supplied weapons on a large scale from Bundeswehr stocks, for example hundreds of anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, thousands of anti-tank mines and hand grenades, many millions of rounds of ammunition. In addition, his government had compiled a list of military equipment that the Ukrainian defence ministry can order from the German arms industry. This included heavy weapons such as Gepard anti-aircraft guns. And the self-propelled Howitzer 2000 was being delivered and Ukrainian military personnel were being trained on the weapon systems so that they can also operate this equipment. In addition, Eastern European countries that transferred Russian-made weaponsincluding battle tanksto Ukraine, which can be used there immediately, would be supported by backfilling. In the general debate in the Bundestag on Wednesday, Scholz announced further arms deliveries and promised to supply Ukraine with the modern Iris-T air defence system and tracking radar. Representatives of the same ruling class that conducted a war of extermination against the Soviet Union in World War II are now reiterating that Germanys war aim today is the military defeat of Russia. Russia must not win this war under any circumstances, and that means this needs a strategic defeat for Russia, Green Party Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock demanded on Deutschlandfunk radio on Monday. Ukraine must be able to win, and that was why it is so crucial we continue to support Ukraine in this situation, continue to ensure they can push back Russian troops in the Donbass in particular. Officially, Scholz, Baerbock and Co. justify their foreign policy turn with Putin's invasion of Ukraine. But this is pure propaganda. In fact, the plansincluding the 100 billion 'special fund'were prepared long in advance. With the systematic military encirclement of Russia, NATO deliberately provoked the Ukraine war. Now, the imperialist powers are escalating the conflict to subjugate a resource-rich Russia. In the process, Berlin is pursuing the goal of establishing itself as the leading European power and building independent German-European military structures to pursue its global interestsincreasingly, also, against the United States. The EU must finally give itself a foreign and defence policy that includes, for example, joint cyber and missile defence. EU states could also acquire joint aircraft carriers to become operational in self-defence or the world's crisis areas, Manfred Weber, leader of the European People's Party (EPP) bloc in the EU, told Der Spiegel in a recent interview. And regarding the United States, he added, The role of the USA is elementary at the moment. But in the long term they may not be able to remain our protective power but will have to turn to Asia. Therefore, the EU must conduct its own foreign and security policy and get down to the nitty-gritty. This includes the question of the nuclear shield. The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (SGP, Socialist Equality Party) and the World Socialist Web Site have strongly condemned the ruling class war conspiracy from the beginning. The task now is to organise the growing opposition in the working class by building a powerful anti-war movement and arming it with a socialist programme. The SGP event entitled No Third World War! Billions for health and work instead of armaments and war! was an important step in this. I am excited to write a letter of support for my good friend Sean Cleary in his bid to become ND Senator in District 35. I have known Sean for quite some time and have been highly impressed by his intelligent, respectful, and determined nature. Sean has a real passion for knowing what is right and for getting things done. He has a strong conservative base and knows how best to accomplish difficult tasks. Sean is a thoughtful and responsive listener. He hears and respects others' opinions and beliefs, even when he disagrees. Sean is a wonderful husband to his lovely wife, Amy, a devoted father to his beautiful daughter, Audrey, and an overall great American. He is part of this young generation that knows and cares about creating a better tomorrow. Sean is not just a talker, but he is a doer. He is willing to address the difficult issues that will make North Dakota a better place to live, work, and raise our families. Sean Cleary has the ability, the drive, the leadership qualities, and the character to excel and serve our state with distinction. I respectfully offer my support and recommendation for Sean Cleary to serve in the ND Senate in District 35. Darrell Nitschke, Bismarck Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Public broadcasting came to North Dakota at a time when the percent of homes with a television had skyrocketed in 12 years from 9 to 90 percent. The top-rated television shows were Gunsmoke, Wagon Train and The Beverly Hillbillies. Daytime fare on the three networks included I Love Lucy and Truth or Consequences. Educational televisions time had come. The organization was conceived when a forward-thinking Dr. Ted Donat presided over the incorporation of the North Central Educational Television Association, which sent out its first broadcast in January of 1964. Schools raced to get televisions into classrooms as the value of video learning became apparent. A $65,000 grant from National Educational Television allowed purchase of the latest technology a videotape recorder. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) provided $10,000 worth of videotape. The first original television production by Prairie Public, an English literature course, began in 1965. The network began broadcasting in color in 1967, the same year President Johnson signed The Public Broadcasting Act, creating the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and setting the stage for major developments in public media. PBS and Sesame Street both came along in 1969, changing the public media landscape forever. There was a growth spurt in the 70s. State legislatures in St. Paul and Bismarck added support in 1975 and 1977, enabling expansion beyond the Red River Valley, beginning with the addition of KBME-TV Bismarck in 1979. Also in the 70s, Prairie Public began working to bring public radio to North Dakota. As the television network grew, so did the radio network and more stations were added to build the network we know today that serves the entire state with public radio and public television. In 1977, the legislature passed a bill funding the expansion of Prairie Public to serve all of North Dakota. Bruce Jacobs was hired to help: I was just a kid straight out of NDSU and didnt know much about television. But the engineering school was good on the last day of class the chair of the department even gave us a lesson on the archaic tube technology so wed know something about our uncles old TV and theyd think we had learned something useful at NDSU. That lesson came in handy. For many years, television and radio transmitters still used vacuum tubes big ones. Prairie Publics director of engineering, Don Geiken, was a great engineer and planner. My favorite Don quote: You need to learn from other peoples mistakes because you wont live long enough to make them all yourself. Don always reached out to others to learn the best way to do things, and mined that knowledge for the optimal result. We had just launched the television transmitters for Bismarck and Minot when Dennis Falk announced the board decision to build a public radio station in Bismarck. I jumped at the chance to be the lead engineer for the project. I did know a thing or two about audio having been deep into it since grade school and a student of acoustics in college. The former Mormon church that had been purchased for the public television control point was ideal to become the radio headquarters. It had ample space in the fellowship hall to build a complete suite of radio studios. With the removal of the baptismal pool, it had plenty of room for the staff offices and music library. I enjoyed laying out the studios and designing the construction for studio sound isolation and ideal interior acoustics. But there was one big problem with this location. To carry National Public Radio (now known as NPR), we needed a satellite dish to receive content from Washington DC. As it happened, the frequencies used for receiving the NPR signal were in the same band used by AT&T for relaying long-distance phone calls across the country (before the advent of fiber-optic technology). NPR satellite dishes could be located anywhere, except near an AT&T facility. The closest AT&T facility was a mere block east, sending strong interference directly over the chosen Prairie Public location. Public media has always had a collegial engineering community that shares ideas and solutions. When I presented the problem to Ed Williams, a cracker-jack engineer at PBS, he said there was one hope for our situation a highly specialized conical horn antenna designed to reject adjacent signals, and in our case, only catch the signals from space. It was a suspenseful day when the installer from Florida made his best efforts to align the dish for NPR, saw nothing but AT&T interference, and pronounced the situation hopeless. Bill Mahowald, the Prairie Public engineer from Minot, said we should give it a try on our own, and using precise principles of trigonometry. I set my calculator and protractor to work and by the end of the day the Prairie Public engineers had successfully aligned the dish for NPR. In 2009, Prairie Public switched from analog to digital broadcasting the first in the region to do so. The multi-casting capability of digital allows for more great programming for schools and the stunning clarity of high-definition television and radio. Live streaming, podcasts, and on-demand programming has expanded Prairie Publics reach outside of the region to the world. Although the number of television and radio stations has proliferated, public media remains strong and distinctive, and Prairie Public has remained true to its mission to educate, involve, and inspire thanks to community support and a fiercely loyal audience. Thanks to Russell Ford-Dunker and Bruce Jacobs for their contributions to this reminiscence. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 You put an app on your phone, but haven't used it in a week, and youre about to delete it from your phone. Then an email arrives that shows you how the app solves a problem you've been struggling with. Email personalization saves the day. A 2022 McKinsey report says that 71% of consumers expect companies to offer personalized communication. 76% get frustrated when it doesnt happen. Ramping up your email marketing to stand out and get the results you want can be tough. But theres a strategy that less than 30% of marketers are using. Lets talk about email personalization and check out some personalized email examples. What is email personalization? Email personalization is how brands use data to create unique emails for each person on their email list. Email personalization is more than a strategy. Its a way to connect one-on-one with each person that reaches out to learn about your business. This process helps email marketers create emails that appeal to each individual on their email list. And they can do it without having to draft a separate email for each person. According to Experian, 78% of customers are more aware of how businesses are using their data. So, personalization is more convenient for marketers, but how do customers feel about it? Why is email personalization important? Email personalization is a wildly effective strategy. Segmentation of email campaigns alone can increase revenue by up to 760%. And while subscribers want to know more about how companies are using their data, 59% of customers trust businesses using AI to personalize their experience. Because of this high level of comfort, email personalization is an excellent investment when its done right. According to Statista, 42% of consumers feel that personalization is somewhat or very important. And 67% have used personal recommendations when shopping for products. If you want to improve engagement and revenue for your business, the best time to start personalizing your emails is now. Email Personalization Strategies Most of the posts you see on social media are just for you. These platforms encourage you to spend more time on their platforms using algorithms that notice what you like and give you more of it. The average person spends 147 minutes on social media each day. This can lead them to expect all their online experiences will feel personal. Until marketing automation, businesses found it difficult to personalize emails. But today its possible to create unique emails for every subscriber and to show them what appeals to their personal interests. Email personalization can make every email an offer that's just for them. But creating personalized emails is tougher than it looks. Besides the challenge of designing an email that connects and appeals to subscribers, personalization requires some technical know-how. Its not unusual for an email marketing manager to design a great email. But some of these emails never get sent because of API, email marketing platform, and other challenges. So, before you start personalizing your emails, check out these strategies. 1. Build a list you can segment. Creating a great email list is about more than getting attention from new subscribers. Each form, email, and interaction is an opportunity to collect segmentation data. Collect useful information. As you build each email form, think about the data that you can collect and how it can help segment subscribers later. For example, a form with a single box for subscriber names can make personalizing tough. New sign-ups may add their first name, but they could also add a business name, their last name, or leave this field blank. That means you wont be able to personalize emails with subscribers first names without creating errors. Nothing says impersonal like an email that starts with "Hi jcl89@hotmail." At the same time, you want to make an email sign-up form thats quick and easy to fill out. Think about how you want to collect personal and business names in advance. Then you can choose the best way to personalize for each segment. Other useful information to collect when users subscribe could include: Location A quick yes or no survey Email frequency preferences Demographics like age, company position, or location Psychographics like personality types, income level, or goals Create surveys and interactive emails. As you email new subscribers, use interactive elements to segment users based on their interests. Use link tracking to help you organize your email lists. Link tracking can tell you when a subscriber clicks a link in your email. You can use this data to quickly respond and connect with a prospect, or use this data to segment your list later on. Another way to collect more data for segmentation is through surveys. A survey can help you collect personal information to refine your messaging to contacts. It can also make it easier to understand their top questions and concerns early in the buyer journey. This article includes some segmentation ideas and how you can work them into your emails. Use integrations. Another way that you use data to segment your users is to connect your email marketing tool to your CRM. Integrations with your email marketing tool can also offer real-time insights. This data can help you send targeted emails based on what your contacts are doing online. The goal is to track user behavior that can help you target communications. The amount of data a platform can collect can be a little overwhelming, so instead of grabbing a ton of data that you cant use, create a plan. Think about the emails that will be interesting and useful to your customers. Next, think about how you can use data insights to personalize your emails in a way that makes them even more valuable. For example, instead of offering the same sale to every subscriber, use data to personalize your discount emails. Try offering a discount to every person that bought your most popular product in the last few months to encourage them to buy again. Some other data you might want to collect and use to personalize your email: Buying habits Mobile vs. desktop Engagement, like email opens and clicks 2. Align emails with the buyer's journey. The most effective emails contain the right information at the right time. That means finding a way to welcome new subscribers thats personal, then keeping them engaged until they become loyal brand promoters. So, start with strong brand personas and outline your ideal buyer journey. Next, use email personalization to send automated emails that support and enhance your customer experience. Build automated email sequences for each stage in the buyer journey. Most companies send emails from a few different departments. This might include: An eager sales team that wants to connect A marketing team wooing customers with upsells Customer service agents responding to questions To make sure that every person on your email list gets what they need when they need it, youll want to create targeted workflows and sequences. Start with a welcome sequence. This might be a one-on-one email from a trusted member of your team or a bright graphic welcome that connects to the reason your latest contact signed up. Its also a good idea to offer extra products and services based on past purchases through email. When using this strategy, try to focus on customers who have made more than one purchase. The more data you have, the more likely you will steer customers toward items they really want. Otherwise, these personal recommendations can start to feel decidedly impersonal. Make recommendations about the customer, not about which product you want to sell more of. Other useful sequences and workflows you can build and personalize include: New product announcements Outreach when a contact goes inactive Campaigns based on subscriber activity, like attending a webinar Status alerts, like a flight change or change in product availability Trigger personalized emails at important moments. Use personal emails to highlight the moments when your subscribers expect an email. To stand out, youll also want to celebrate moments where your customer has reached a personal goal. Product engagement moments are key. If a customer has used your meditation app every day this week or theyve logged in to a food diary app for three days in a row, it's a great time to send an email. Triggered emails are a way to show that the moments that are important to them are important to you too. Use behavior triggers. Its easy to focus on the beginning and end of your relationship with an email contact, but most of the real action happens in the middle. You can use this moment in the buyer journey for emails that trigger with an action. Trigger emails are a way to connect with your subscribers at the right time. For example, Instagram sends you an email when they haven't seen you log in for a while. A triggered email sends after a specific event or interaction. When an email aligns with their actions and priorities, it feels more useful and personal than an email blast. Potential behavior triggers for email include: Event registration Loyalty membership Canceling or changing an appointment Changing contact or profile information Cart abandonment Product page exit Shipping cost exit An important note: Use triggers to creatively let your subscribers know youre paying attention, but keep it chill. It can be uncomfortable for some users to know their actions are being tracked online. Add subscriber tags to further segment subscribers based on their actions. It's easy to focus on the beginning of a subscriber's email journey. But ideally, an email subscription is a long-term relationship that deepens over time. Tags can help you continue to send subscribers the right messaging as their interests and needs change. Tagging subscribers when they complete a specific action is a great way to segment your audience. You can use dynamic tags to quickly send subscribers a useful message based on what they are doing now, not what they thought they would do when they first subscribed. 3. Design emails with personalization in mind. If its done well, email can deliver $33 ROI for each dollar you spend. So, build trust with every email. Don't accidentally spam their subscribers with discounts, new products, and pressure to buy. Instead, focus on your subscribers and the value you're giving them each time you hit send. Write personalized subject lines. Email personalization isn't just calling subscribers by name. It's using data to make every one of your subscribers feel special. Write your subject lines and emails like you're writing an email to a friend. This approach can make your language feel more natural. It can also make the added personalization feel more authentic. Take a look at these subject line examples if you need inspiration. Send emails from a person, not just a brand. Send emails from a person, not a brand. A real name and face in the "from" field of an email let subscribers know the face behind the message. It makes each email feel more personal, like a conversation instead of a transaction. You can also try adding a personalized P.S. at the end of an email. A personal postscript is a quick way to add a personal touch to emails. It shows subscribers that you want to connect with them as a person, not just a prospect. Create email campaigns for unique segments of your email list. Use data insights to study and anticipate customer needs. Then create unique emails that address those needs. This might mean creating an email course, directing them to help center resources, or sending surveys that ask for their opinion. Dynamic content in emails can let you send different codes and email content to different subscribers. Try to use data to inform your messaging. At the same time, don't add sensitive personal information directly. For example, if you're personalizing an email for your high-income segment, don't plug in the income level they shared on a form or survey. Instead, you try adding a section with top-tier or exclusive products. Use images to personalize emails. Images and GIFs can make an email more exciting and interesting. Besides making subscribers more aware of your brand and story, images are a great way to get the attention of readers who dont read the messages in their inboxes. Image personalization is an effective strategy for emails too. A company that sees its logo in your B2B email is more likely to pay more attention to what you have to say. A shopper looking for a personalized pillow may be more likely to buy if they see a custom graphic theyve used on your site before. Send limited-time unique email offers. One of the best ways (source) to get a subscriber to act is to create urgency. For example, if a shopper abandons their cart before clicking "Buy now" an email with a limited time discount could inspire them to make that purchase. Schedule emails at the right time. Start with your buyer personas and their habits to decide the best time to send emails. And don't forget to keep location in mind. Let's say your new subscriber opens emails first thing in the morning, you might set their email to send at 8 am. But what if they live in a time zone where they're eating lunch just as you wake up for the day? You might miss the best time for that contact to read your email. Segmenting contacts by location can help you send your emails at the right time to every subscriber. Start A/B testing. Compelling email personalization is in the details. Email marketing seems simple, but some variables can impact the experience. A/B testing is an effective way to gauge how your subscribers respond to your emails. For the most useful insights, test only one variable at a time. If you test too many email features at the same time it will be difficult to understand what is and isn't working. Do some research if youve never run marketing experiments like this before. 4. Make the next steps clear and easy. You can create a great user experience by thinking about the full user journey, not just crafting a perfect personalized email. Shorten the conversion path with relevant links. When your email tells subscribers to click a link, that link needs to deliver. For example, if an item sells out and that product and link are in the highlight of your email, it will only frustrate your customers. Have links in mind before you start writing and designing. Check each link you plan to include to make sure it's current. Then create a message that sells the content in that link. Clicking a link doesn't seem like a big deal. But the increased rate of phishing scams can lead subscribers to second guess engaging with your emails. Keep this perspective in mind. It will help you draft emails that foster relationships with your email list and avoid making emails that feel like clickbait. Create targeted landing pages. If you're building custom landing pages for your emails, make sure that your email and landing page designs work together. Think about creating unique landing pages for each segment. Then focus your landing page message on the information that's most important to that group of people. Personalized Email Examples You Can't Help but Click Why email examples like this work: Not only does this email make it easy to make reservations online, but it also remembers favorite restaurants. This helps users discover new places to eat based on reviews and reservation behavior. One way OpenTable encourages users to leave reviews is by sending emails with a personalized subject line. Then, they ask the diners' to review their most recent restaurant experience. These reviews give OpenTable an idea of which restaurant recommendations are user favorites, which makes the reservation process easier for their users. Why email examples like this work: This email effectively pulls a frequent traveler (me) back in with a check-in email. It reminds me of what Im not doing (opening emails). Next, it encourages me to loop back in with an image of something I might rather be doing (surfing at the beach). This email also has a button marked "Deals." Its a great strategy to offer something special from your brand when a user stops engaging. It could give your audience the motivation they need to take action and make a purchase. Why this email example works: The Hustle has a "Snippets" section in their newsletter. Each email includes a curated list of articles highlighting topics the subscriber picked when they signed up. This users chosen topics are Big Tech and The Hustle Picks, so the snippet section updates with those topics in mind. This makes each email feel like its just for them, instead of a general list of whats new. If you feel like this would work for your subscribers too, set up workflows that remind subscribers how to continue taking advantage of these specially-tailored messages. Why email examples like this work: Spotifys Year in Review emails and in-platform messaging are a highlight for subscribers. Music has a strong emotional impact. Spotify uses this to remind this what their last year looked like in music, just before the new year begins. The copy in this email from Spotify is particularly effective because it frames the personalization in a way that makes the recipient feel like they're getting a reward for their usage. Phrases like "Guess which song is your #1?" lend themselves to a sense of exclusivity making the user feel important. Again, this push helps to confirm that the user is actively using the streaming service, and is continuously reminded of the value. Why this email personalization example works: When I was actively applying for jobs. I often used LinkedIn for my search. Each day, LinkedIn sent me a roundup of jobs it thought would pique my interest. While some of the listings were more applicable than others, all of them were clickable. Did you catch that? Clickable. And even if none of these jobs piqued my interest, I had a network of professional connections who might have considered them, driving even more traffic to LinkedIn's website. Why this email example works: Why this email example works: Be My Eyes is an app that helps blind and low-vision users borrow the sight of over 1.5 million volunteers. This email triggers after a user has their first volunteer call. Then, it goes into detail on how they can solve common problems. This email has a lot of text, but its broken into bullets to make it easy and quick to read. The timing of this email makes a simple process even easier and makes first-time volunteers feel more comfortable helping. Why email examples like this work: This email begins with an enticing subject line: "You're in. Here's your exclusive code." The email is short and clear, highlighting a custom offer and an image GIF highlighting their most popular products. In a more complicated or image-heavy email, that discount code could be easy to miss. But this email personalization is simple and quick to read, which makes it easy to see the unique discount code that the subject line calls out. Why email examples like this work: This email is a great example of how to use location information to offer a customized email experience. In the email, Ticketmaster makes it easy for me to quickly visualize what's headed to my area and when. This lowers the barrier between me and the point of purchase. This type of personalization could be super useful for a company looking to deliver more relevant messages to international leads or existing customers. If youre using HubSpots free email marketing software, you can use a contacts location to personalize your messages like this campaign. Why this email example works: This email triggers after a stay at one of Getaways unique locations. It includes a reminder to book another visit soon. The first image is a slideshow that highlights the best features of a Getaway cabin. The second image shows a punch card with two nights punched out. This makes it easy to see how many more nights it will take to stay for free. This email also includes a referral link to share for an extra discount, offering value to both Getaway and their customers. Why email personalization examples like this work: After following one of his favorite chefs on TikTok, Matthew received this email from the social network with suggestions for similar accounts to follow. What's more, the suggestions were super relevant. When companies have as much data as TikTok does, they usually go one of two ways with personalization: They totally nail it, or they have too much data to sift out what's important. This is an example of accurately identifying what Matthew would care about, and delivering it to him. Why this email example works: This email starts with a bold discount graphic. The message clearly states that the inspiration for every discount was customer feedback and requests. Then it features easy-to-see and attractive images of their top products, with extra text that shares why each bra is a popular pick. Each highlighted product also includes a testimonial. This adds to the feeling that these products have the customer in mind. Why this email example works: Ancestry pulls users back in with an email that hints about new information in the family tree. It personalizes both first and last names in different parts of the email, so the personalization feels more authentic. The email includes personal hints and extra details to lure users to spend more time on the site. Why email examples like this work: This email has a simple message and clearly states the value of their service. The big wow in this email is the personalized image. It pulls a picture from their app to drive another purchase. If you want to boost the word-of-mouth influence behind your product or service, this is a great example of how personalization can help propel your message. Why this email example works: This quick and peppy reminder to get back into an app shows that Bunch is using data-driven strategies to engage users. Theyre anticipating the most likely reason Im not logging in, calling out a common issue, and offering a solution. It also gives me a chance to update my reminders. This isnt the only effective way to use platform data. This strategy could apply to many marketing materials ebooks, webinars, and blog articles, to name a few. For example, if you find that someone downloaded an ebook on social media tips, you may want to set up a workflow to trigger a follow-up email that suggests they check out your social media guide on SlideShare. Why email examples like this work: This email shows a product from a merchant Ivelisse has bought from before. The headline "Your Favorite" reminds her that this is a product shes seen and liked before. Etsys email also offers a discount, with the original price crossed out, and the discount offer is in green instead of black. This makes the offer easier to see but it's still pleasing to the eye. It serves as a great example of how to use a contact's search behavior to re-engage them with your company, and hopefully move them closer to a sale. Why this email personalization example works: Voicebox adds to the post-karaoke experience by adding a personal playlist. They want to know if you had fun, ask for your feedback if you had any issues, and remind you to visit again soon. Even better, the email ends by reminding you exactly what you sang during your session. The list has a lot of detail, which brings you right back to the moment you were singing. Its just the right amount of inspiration to get you to book a session to sing again. Why this email example works: Fear isnt a fun emotion, but it is a motivator. This email offers an alert with positive feedback about my credit score, but it also hints that there could be other less friendly messages in their portal that I should check, just in case. This gets me to click and engage with their services. What I love most about the email is its simplicity. It offers up a single topic, which is enough to interest the recipient without overwhelming them. Plus, the copy is quick, friendly, and clear. Why this email example works: Happyfeed is a gratitude journal app for users to record three things they are grateful for each day. This monthly recap email grabs data from the app to remind me of some of my best moments from the past month. They also remind me how active I was on the app, and include extra offers and new features. This is a great way to reinforce the value of a product while also offering reasons a user should upgrade or spend more time using a product. They also ask for my feedback, reinforcing the message that my opinion is important to them. Why email examples like this work: This email from Google lets Ivelisse know that people like the update she added. It also includes a personalized image of the edited map, so it reminds her of the update quickly and easily. This email reminds her that updating reviews and locations on Google Maps makes a difference. Thats a powerful motivator to keep making updates. Why email examples like this work: Sephora used this personalized email to give Kimberly a free gift and a reminder to buy, with a birthday greeting to boot. That's a great way for brands to achieve customer reactivation by using a fixed date, like a birthday or anniversary, to remind people what it was that they loved about your business in the first place. If you're a HubSpot customer, this is an easy email to copy for your contacts through fixed date or property-based workflows. It allows you to base your workflow on a calendar or contact property date. This makes it easy to send anniversary emails, digital birthday cards, renewal reminders, and more. Why email examples like this work: Reddits mission is to build community. This personalized email shows this user that other members of this subreddit appreciate their comments. This simple email tells the commenter that their opinion is valuable and that they should keep participating. This leads to clicking from the email back into Reddit. Why this email personalization example works: There are a lot of reasons to abandon an online shopping cart. Sometimes you still want to buy, but its hard to find that perfect item again online. Enter this email from Alex Mill. It quickly gets to the point, letting you know they saved the items in your cart and are offering them at a discount. And the big gorgeous image also helps remind you of the quality of their products. Why this email example works: There's a thing about conferences and summits. They're valuable. They help you gain knowledge and become an expert. This personalized email lets conference attendees know what they might have missed and other available learning opportunities. It also outlines a discount offer and makes the offer deadline clear and easy to understand. HubSpot Professional and Enterprise customers: You can create Smart CTAs like these in your own emails with your HubSpot CTA tool. Let's Get Personal Its never been easier to personalize your messaging. With an integrated CRM and email marketing software like HubSpot, you can keep track of all your customer data and use it to tailor your flow. It may seem like a big undertaking, but by observing, understanding, and investing in the behavior of your customers, you can help to make sure that they'll stay customers. So start getting personal and keep growing. Editor's Note: This post was originally published in February 2013 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness. Griffin in the doorway of his Weston-super-Mare pharmacy after his return from Burma. Griffin family archives. The Burmese collection at the British Library has recently received two donations of fascinating memorabilia that belonged to Alfred Sercombe Griffin. He is known for his adventure novels for boys, but made his main living as a pharmacist. He described himself as a nomadic chemist, and was drawn to work as a locum pharmacist around England and in other parts of the world. In 1906 he accepted a post at the English pharmacy in Rangoon. As a result, many of his adventure novels are set in Burma. He also wrote extensively of his work as a pharmacist in Burma in the Chemist & Druggist and the Pharmaceutical Journal. He writes in Avoiding the humdrum, Pharmaceutical Journal, 1925, under the pen name Sasayah (Burmese for writer): My father spent the greater part of forty-five years within a small chemists shop, looking out on a dull grey wall. I was apprenticed to him, and early vowed that such an existence should not be mine, though I might be a chemist and I might be poor. Port of Henzada. Alfred Sercombe Griffin, 1906-08. British Library, Photo 1402(15) Born in Bath and apprenticed by his father, Alfred Sercombe Griffin moved from Bournemouth to London and on to San Remo in 1904-05. After returning to England and working as a locum pharmacist in many parts of the country, he applied for posts in Uganda and China but was not successful. He then found an advertisement for a vacant position in the Supplement of the Pharmaceutical Journal, and was accepted for the post at the pharmacy of Mesrrs. E.M. de Souza & Co., Dalhousie Street, Rangoon, where he arrived in December 1906 after a long boat journey. Travellers coming on board a boat at Martaban, 1906-08. Alfred Sercombe Griffin. British Library, Photo 1402(28) He writes in one of his novels, Burma Road Calling! (1943): An intensely varied crowd surged along the road for the early morning shopping and promenade: Burmese women gay in pink silks with the daintiest replicas of themselves beside them; shaven-headed monks in yellow robes, bearing golden sunshades; sturdy Shans with enormous plantain-leaf hats from the hills; tall Paloungs with black robes and tight skull-caps who had brought tea from over the border; an English soldier or two from the barracks; Chinamen in blue pantaloons; Kachins of wild appearance, Karens of gentler aspect; and half a dozen races that even Mr Wrekin himself could not identify. Just come from Babel? inquired Roger as he listened to the many languages being spoken all round him. In "Avoiding the humdrum" Griffin gives a similar description of his work place: In the pharmacy in Rangoon fifty languages were spoken everyday; my dispensers and assistants were Burmese, Chinese, Goanese, Hindoos, Brahmins, and Eurasians Griffin aimed to avoid the English circles with its bridge parties and English plays that he found rather boring, and much preferred a Burmese pwai instead, sitting leisurely on a mat and passing down a betel box to chew. He however also describes in the letters to his family Friday evenings and parties at the Rangoon YMCA. Griffin was also involved with the Boys Brigade (or new Scouts) and attended their camp at Kokine (Rangoon) in 1907. He was also part of the Boys Work Committee. Two of his adventure novels, The Scouts of Chings Island and Scouts in the Shan Jungle are about boy scouts based in Rangoon and lodging at the YMCA (Chings Island was located at Kokine Lake). Griffin clearly enjoyed similar literature himself, as he asked for the Boys Own Paper to be sent regularly to him from England. Later on he would write stories for the paper himself. Alfred Sercombe Griffin (1878-1943). Griffin family archives. Griffin was soon appointed the manager of the dispensing department, but like many British in Southeast Asia at this time soon fell gravely ill (with dysentery or malaria). In late 1907 he was sent to the branch in Maymyo, Shan States, to recuperate. With a more temperate climate than Rangoon, Maymyo was a favourite hill station for the British. Griffin used his own experiences in Burma to provide colour and detail to his adventure stories, and even the Maymyo pharmacy features in one of them: Roger went up the steps and passed into a marble-floored pharmacy which had rows of medicine bottles, glass show-cases, and a smiling young Englishman behind the counter. (Burma Road Calling!, 1943). Griffin (with his Burmese name Maung Na Gyi) journeyed back to England in late 1908 due to his health, and was apparently banned from returning to the Tropics on medical grounds, which he greatly lamented. From his many writings it becomes clear that he sincerely loved his time in Burma and had a soft spot not just for the Burmese, but also for the variety of people who inhabited the country at this time. Despite staying in Burma for only two years, one of them while very ill, the experience left a lasting impression on him, which he revisited via his writings in pharmaceutical journals, illustrated lectures, and adventure stories, published decades later. After returning to Europe Griffin continued work as a locum pharmacist in Paris, but returned to Bath to take care of his fathers pharmacy in 1910. A few years later, he took over a bankrupt pharmacy in Weston-super-Mare, which he transformed into a thriving business, and then married and settled down there. In 1917 he built a bungalow in Sidcot, Winscombe, named Wingaba (according to Griffin Burmese for a beautiful view). He retired to Sidcot in 1925 early at 47 due to his poor health. He became a Quaker in the early 30s and subsequently travelled to Palestine, where one of his novels is set (Where the Master Lived, 1936). Griffin writes in Avoiding the humdrum (1925): In the duller days when I was to become a proprietor of a pharmacy of my very own I could jump out of the humdrum of income-tax returns and N.H.I. by picking up one of my books on Burma and fly instanter to a land of brilliant sunshine and kindly memories. Cover of Scouts in the Shan Jungle, 1937. Illustrator Richard B. Ogle. British Library, 20059.f.26 Griffins novels are light, entertaining stories of adventure replete with snakes and man-eating tigers, kidnappings, rides through waterfalls, lost cities, mystery and intrigue as well as a varied collection of personalities. The international group of Scouts that also includes Burmese, Shan, Indian and Chinese members nevertheless dress in khaki breeches and sun-helmets, and never miss their coffee and rolls in the morning, a tiffin and a siesta in the afternoon, and a wholesome dinner in the evening. Inevitably, the stories are written from an English perspective, and enjoy the stereotypes of the time, whether European or Asian. All of Griffins writings, however, relay an enjoyment of travel, wonder and humour in the small moments of life, as well as the joy of telling a story. The stress is firmly on the character of the individual. Griffins interest in illnesses and their cure has also been included in the stories. Leprosy features in several novels, where a knee-jerk fear of contagion is dismissed with new medical knowledge. Snake bites can be dealt with the right treatment and some characters even catch malaria and recover. A little girl infected with leprosy near temple steps walking towards Griffin. Alfred Sercombe Griffin, 1906-08. British Library, Photo 1402(37) The two donations that the British Library has received were given by Michael Bruce, the maternal grandson of Alfred Sercombe Griffin, and a traveller and an author himself (Malta: A Geographical Monograph, 1965). The donations include a box of 50 photographic glass slides that Griffin took and collected while in Burma. Once back in Europe, he would give illustrated 'lantern lectures' of his travels with these slides. This lecture is still included with the glass slides and the numerous times the lecture was given between 1910-1941 are recorded on the inside lid (33 times altogether). Some of these slides were used as a basis for illustrations in Griffins novels. Medical prescription in Burmese inscribed for Alfred Sercombe Griffin in Maymyo in 1907. Photograph by Michael Bruce. British Library, Or 17020. The second donation is a framed palm-leaf prescription with the cure for tropical sprue, custom-made for Griffin while he was recuperating in Maymyo. He received it from a young monk who resided in the temple across the road from Griffins pharmacy, which he visited, with the aid of his walking sticks, for Burmese lessons. The prescription was given to him in return for a picture of the Shwedagon Pagoda that Griffin had found at the back of a pharmaceutical catalogue. Griffin describes watching the inscription being made, and indeed one of his glass slides depicts the young monk in question. A description of the process can also be found in Burma Road Calling!: Roger was particularly interested in the monastery scribe who was making the holy books from start to finish. First there were dried strips of palm leaf, eighteen inches long by two and a half inches deep, stretched taut on a special sort of frame. On this dried leaf the words were slowly inscribed with an instrument like a knitting-needle; letter by letter in the round script of the Burmese alphabet the young monk cut into the outer tissue of the palm leaf. Shan scribe working on a palm leaf inscription. Alfred Sercombe Griffin, Maymyo, 1907. British Library, Photo 1402(31) Griffin framed the prescription and wrote about it in the Druggist & Chemist and other medical papers, trying to find help in translating it. Apparently a portion reads: Take the leaves of the Juju tree, plucked at midnight when Mars is in the ascendant. Pound them intimately with the dried tail of a rat and the sting of a cobra The inscription is undeciphered as of today and is still awaiting translation. School boys saying their alphabet. Alfred Sercombe Griffin. 1906-08. British Library, Photo 1402(35) Bibliography of Alfred Sercombe Griffins monographs: The Scouts of Chings Island, 1929. Set in Kokine (Rangoon), with the Kemendeen Scouts. The Treasure of Gems, 1934. Set in 16th century Martaban and Pegu, where an English boy Roger ends up in King Tabinshwetis court. Fetters of Freedom, 1934 Within the Golden Globe, 1934 The Crimson Caterpillar, 1935 Where the Master Lived, 1936 Scouts in the Shan Jungle, 1937. Kemendeen Scouts adventures in the Shan States. Burma Road Calling!, 1943. A journey from Rangoon to Chungking during the second Sino-Japanese War. Maria Kekki, Curator for Burmese This blog was written courtesy of Michael Bruce and Christopher Griffin (both grandsons of Alfred Sercombe Griffin), who generously provided information, articles, letters and photographs from the family archives. The lone rugged cowboy as a symbol of American self-reliance is based on pure fantasy, says Stefano Boscutti in his newsletter, New Old Age: Ronald Reagan actor and former head of the actor's union leaned on the cowboy tropes to propel himself into serving two terms as President of the United States. George H.W. Bush moved from New England where his father was a banker to Texas where he bought a ranch and became Vice President under Reagan until becoming President himself. His son, George W. Bush, got an even bigger ranch and bigger cowboy hat to become President. All the while, the Republican Party patterned their ideal man on this mythology of the American cowboy. Men who could protect their families and communities if only the damn government would get out of the darn way. If only they could buy more guns for chrissakes. This mythology is killing innocent Americans by the hundreds of thousands. Heritage Auctions is selling a slew of space artifacts that once belonged to Michael Collins, the heroic astronaut who in July 1969 piloted the command module above the Moon while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin leapt around on the lunar surface. The Space Exploration Signature Auction featuring items provided by Collins family is tomorrow through Friday. From Heritage Auctions: One of the most exceptional items in the auction is an Apollo 11-flown American flag signed and certified by Collins, who kept the flag as a treasured souvenir of his role in the first manned lunar landing. At 17.75 inches by 11.5 inches, the incredibly rare silk flag is the largest size typically flown by Apollo missions. Written in black ink on the Collectibles Authentication Guaranty-certified flag: "Carried to the Moon on Apollo XI, July 1969- /Michael Collins CMP."[] Also featured in the June auction is a vital piece of documentation from the Apollo 11 mission, a flown and used star chart with handwritten annotations and signed by Collins. An extremely important artifact, the CAG-certified chart depicts dozens of stars and constellations and features numerous handwritten annotations by Collins, with the following written on the left border: "During the flight of/ APOLLO ELEVEN,/ I used this chart/ to help me locate stars. (The/ numbers were/ entered into/ the Command/ Module Computer/ Michael/ Collins/ CMP." Although data scientists say that remote working which surged after Covid hit two years ago is here to stay, according to Forbes, Elon Musk is having none of it. In fact, in leaked email (see below), the Tesla CEO told his staff they can either come back to the office or quit. "Everyone at Tesla is required to spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week. Moreover, the office must be where your actual colleagues are located, not some remote pseudo office. If you don't show up, we will assume you have resigned," he said in one of two emails, first published by Electrek. In a Twitter response to the leaked email, Musk didn't deny it, but instead offered a simple solution for employees who don't, for whatever reason, feel comfortable working at the Tesla office: "They should pretend to work somewhere else." They should pretend to work somewhere else Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 1, 2022 From Forbes: Tesla initially allowed employees to work from home if they felt unsafe working in the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, but reversed coursedefying county orders in Californiaand ramped up production at a Tesla factory in May 2020. Musk came under fire when he said employees who did not return to work would be fired a month later. Tech companies are weighing how to bring employees back to the office, with Google and Apple starting hybrid options. Musk weighed in on Apple's policy last month, sharing a lazy dog meme in response to an article on Apple delaying return to the office. Here are Musk's leaked emails, from Electrek: First email: Subject: Remote work is no longer acceptble Anyone who wishes to do remote work must be in the office for a minimum (and I mean *minimum*) of 40 hours per week or depart Tesla. This is less than we ask of factory workers. If there are particularly exceptional contributors for whom this is impossible, I will review and approve those exceptions directly. Moreover, the "office" must be a main Tesla office, not a remote branch office unrelated to the job duties, for example being responsible for Fremont factory human relations, but having your office be in another state. Thanks, Elon Second email: Jordan Plunkett and her husband, Brad, on their wedding day. Courtesy of Jordan Plunkett. Jordan Plunkett suffered a stroke in June 2019, but clinicians thought she had MS. She was bedridden and in severe pain most of 2020 before getting a proper diagnosis. After a spinal surgery that may have saved her life, she's relearning to walk and sharing her story. Jordan Plunkett was celebrating her 29th birthday with a trip to New York City when her left eye started bothering her. "Man, I really do not take good care of my contacts," she said she thought, and moved along with her itinerary. A few months later, in spring 2019, Plunkett said she became "massively heat intolerant"and started zoning out on walks with her husband, Brad, but she kept it to herself. Plunkett chalked it up to exhaustion from being an overachiever who poured herself into her job in social media creation for a bridal company. Then, in late May, she collapsed on her way in from her building's pool, hitting her head on a storm door on the way down. Still, she convinced herself and Brad she had just overheated and didn't need to go to the doctor. That decision, Plunkett said, "would later be my undoing." Her breaking point came a month later, when she was hit with an excruciating headache. When Brad looked at her, he panicked. "My eye looked like a squished grape," Plunkett said. "It had completely deflated." Finally, she went to the ER, where she lost all vision in her left eye and became paralyzed on her left side. Doctors suspected she had multiple sclerosis, which can cause vision, sensation, and attention problems. But they didn't look into the cause of her symptoms further, Plunkett said. "I think it was very convenient to be 'close enough' and just put a pin in our story," she said of her original neurologist. After enduring more than a year of immobility, pain, and feeling like "a guinea pig" in the medical system, Plunkett sought a second opinion and learned she didn't have MS but had suffered a stroke. She's now regaining her ability to walk. Story continues Plunkett embarked on a project where she posed in her wheelchair, her walker, her brace, and on her own. "No one wants to be looked at like a science project," she said. "Like, I'm normal, it's all good." Courtesy of Jordan Plunkett "Standing up to your doctor is not an easy thing because you have given them your trust to help and heal you, but if something doesn't feel right, then chances are, something isn't," she said. "I know what it is like to have the absolute fear of starting over, but at the end of the day, that second opinion saved my life." Plunkett spent the better part of 2020 in pain in bed, on ineffective treatments Before seeking the second opinion, Plunkett went through two months of inpatient care and a month of outpatient treatment, then eight months of occupational and physical therapy. Then the COVID-19 pandemic shut it down. And yet, she was only getting worse. For the better part of 2020, Plunkett remained in bed with "excruciating head pain" 24/7. Her meds were changed seemingly at random, and getting in touch with the neurologist was "nearly impossible," she said. Barely able to move, she gained nearly 70 pounds and developed two stomach ulcers, on top of brain fog and severe sensory overload issues, which she still experiences today. "Loud noises feel like someone is inserting a pick axe to the base of my brain," she said. Another neurologist discovered Plunkett didn't have MS, but had suffered a stroke after she collapsed By early 2021, Plunkett requested a referral to another neurologist, who took four hours to hear her story, validating that she hadn't been initially evaluated properly. New tests revealed each of Plunkett's "zone out" moments were transient ischemic attacks, or mini-strokes, which can be harbingers of the real deal. Plunkett learned her collapse that Memorial Day had caused a head injury and cerebrospinal fluid leak that exacerbated her stroke risk further. That night in June, she'd suffered a stroke, the new doctor told her. She still doesn't know the root cause. "Nobody ever thinks anything catastrophic could ever happen to them, but I'm living proof that it can," Plunkett said. Women are more likely to have, and die from, strokes, according the American Heart Association. About 10% of them occur in people younger than 50, and the risk goes down the younger you are, Dr. Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, AHA's president, previously told Insider. Courtesy of Jordan Plunkett. Time is of the essence when it comes to recognizing stroke signs. "Minutes matter in terms of saving brain tissue and brain function," Lloyd-Jones said. For Plunkett, minutes became months became more than a year. 'You have to keep going' Plunkett underwent spinal surgery to plug up the CSF leak, which can be life-threatening and lead to meningitis. She continues to regain her ability to walk, thanks to a device that uses electrical stimulation to activate her leg's nerves and muscles. While she discovered it in rehab for what was then believed to be MS, Brad's coworkers later gifted her her own. "If I had never learned about it in therapy I would still be 100% bound to a wheelchair," Plunkett said. "This device gave me a better quality of life, and has truly changed my life forever. " Plunkett says most people tell her they could never persevere if they were in her position, but she insists they would. "If you would've asked me on June 22nd, the day before it all happened, I would've been like, 'No, absolutely no, never would I be able to do that,' but anyone would. You would have to keep going," she said. "You would wake up just like everyone else, and you would start your day," she continued. "That day to you may look quite a bit different and quite a bit harder or more painful, but you have to keep going. And that's what I did." Read the original article on Insider Yuh-Line Niou, a Taiwanese American member of the New York state assembly. Yuh-Line Niou Trailblazers like Norman Mineta showed young Asian Americans that a future in politics is possible. Those role models are key to changing the 'extreme under-representation' of AAPIs in elected office. Today's AAPI leaders are still making history, and recognize the significance of being 'first.' Yuh-Line Niou, whose parents immigrated from Taiwan, remembers the moment she could picture herself holding elected office. As an intern in the Washington state legislature, Niou met Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos, who was the first Japanese American woman elected to the state legislature in 1998. "It was just amazing to be able to see her navigate this system," Niou told Insider. "I remember thinking 'Wow, this is what they mean when you feel like you exist,' and she helped me see that way." That moment, Niou recalls, set her on the path to politicsone that had never seemed open to her as a child growing up in towns like Moscow, Idaho, where she says she was one of the only Asian families in her neighborhood. For members of a new generation of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) leaders, like Niou, who are navigating paths in elected office, Asian American role models who came before them were pivotal in proving that a future in politics was possible. In 2016, Niou followed in Tomiko Santos' footsteps and became the first Asian American to serve in the New York State Assembly in her district, which includes New York City's Chinatown. Norman Mineta walks past a recreation of a guard tower at Heart Mountain Japanese internment camp, where he spent part of his youth. Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images The trailblazers. For Bee Nguyen, a Georgia State Representative and current candidate for Georgia Secretary of State, it was Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams who called attention to the power of the Asian American electorate and supported her campaign. Abrams was the first person running for office in the state, Nguyen told Insider, who "recognized AAPI voters to be an important part of this broad-based solution." "In redefining what we envision as a South, she would always recognize that AAPI people were part of that," Nguyen said. "She made me feel seen and she made me feel heard." Story continues Christine Chen, cofounder and executive director of the nonpartisan civic organization Asian Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote), told Insider that Asian American leaders, like Norman Mineta, helped shape her ambitions in AAPI political advocacy, and created the foundation for those organizations to exist. Mineta, who passed away in early May, was the first East Asian American to serve as a Cabinet secretary when he was appointed Secretary of Commerce during the Clinton administration. He also served as Secretary of Transportation during the Bush administrationbecoming the only Democratic Cabinet Secretary during that termand was the longest serving Secretary of Transportation in US history. Early in his career, Mineta was the first Asian American to lead a major city when he was elected mayor of San Jose in 1971. Chen recalls a moment when Mineta remembered her name and struck up a conversation, making her feel welcome as a newcomer in Washington, D.C. "It's those little touches," she said, "that makes you feel like 'Yes, I belong here.'" Sonia Chang-Diaz hopes to make history as the first woman of color and Asian American to serve as governor of Massachusetts. Sonia Chang-Diaz 'Extreme under-representation' in elected office. While the swearing in of Vice President Kamala Harris in 2020 marked a high point for AAPI representation in political leadership, the number of Asian Americans in elected office is far from reflecting the community's population, advocates say. Asian Americans represent 0.9% of all elected officials, but make up 6.1% of the country's population, according to mid-2020 figures from the Reflective Democracy Campaign, a group that advocates for greater representation of women and people of color in politics. That's the lowest among all demographics, the group found, despite Asian Americans being the country's fastest growing demographic. One problem with such "extreme under-representation" is that it hurts the government's ability to effectively serve AAPI communities, the group said. Despite growing numbers of AAPI members in elected office over the past few decades, many of today's Asian American political leaders say they're still carving out new paths for themselves in politics, and recognize the significance of being the "first" in many ways. Massachusetts state senator Sonia Chang-Diaz was the first Latina member of the State Senate, and the only Asian American in the State Legislature when she was elected in 2009. Being a legislator from multiple ethnic backgrounds is "even more rare," she told Insider. "I did not see myself reflected," Chang-Diaz said, "and I've had to build my own community coming into office." Michelle Au, a Chinese American who was the first Asian American woman elected to the Georgia State Senate in 2020, said she realized while campaigning that members of her districtwhich has the highest percent of AAPI residents and voters in Georgiahad long been hoping to elect someone who understood their lived experience. "There is a tremendous hunger from people who live here and have lived here for a long time, and are raising their kids here, to have representation at the state house that looks like them, and has that experience that they've had as immigrant families, and as Asian families," Au told Insider. Nguyen, the Georgia State Representative, said politics was never dinner table talk with her parents, who are refugees from Vietnam. "It never came across my mind, or any of my sisters' minds, that there would be potential to run for office one day," she said. Yet holding elected office now means carrying on her parents' legacy: "They risked their lives in search of civil liberties so that we could have the freedoms that they didn't have in their country," Nguyen said. Former U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke speaks as he campaigns for Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden on February 18, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Alex Wong/Getty Images 'The shoulders on which you stand.' For Chang-Diaz, who is currently running for governor of Massachusetts, being on the campaign trail has reminded her of the history and struggles of Asian Americans in the US, from Chinese Americans who built the first Transcontinental Railroad, to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. "You can't help but think about the shoulders on which you stand," Chang-Diaz said. Her campaign recently submitted the required nomination signatures to qualify for the gubernatorial ballot, making it "the first time that a woman of color has ever cleared that gate," she said. "Having the first woman of color and the first person of Asian American descent in the governor's office, it's a huge opportunity for us to write some more history this year." Niou, the New York state lawmaker, recently announced her candidacy for Congress in the state's 10th district, where she'll face off against former New York City mayor Bill de Blasio in August. To reach that point, Niou also recalls when Gary Locke was elected governor of Washington in 1996, becoming the first Chinese American to lead a state. Niou was an intern in his administration during that time period, she said, and "to see that change was mind-blowing." "Each time something like that happened, I realized that something that was taught to me about what was possibleit's actually not true," Niou said. "I didn't even know that I had these limits in my own mind about what I could be, or what we could all be." Read the original article on Insider Kentucky Senate candidate Charles Booker (D) wears a noose in a new campaign ad that criticizes GOP Sen. Rand Paul for blocking federal anti-lynching legislation in 2020. (Photo: Screenshot via Charles Booker for U.S. Senate) Kentucky Senate candidate Charles Booker (D) wears a noose in a new campaign ad that criticizes GOP Sen. Rand Paul for blocking federal anti-lynching legislation in 2020. (Photo: Screenshot via Charles Booker for U.S. Senate) Charles Booker, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Kentucky, wears a noose in a new campaign ad that blasts Sen. Rand Paul (R) for initially opposing legislation to make lynching a federal hate crime. In Kentucky, like many states throughout the South, lynching was a tool of terror, Booker, the first Black candidate to win the Democratic nomination for Senate in Kentucky, says in the ad. It was used to kill hopes for freedom. It was used to kill my ancestors. Lynching is a tool of terror. It was used to kill hopes for freedom. In Kentucky, it was used to kill three of my uncles. In this historic election, the choice is clear. Rand Paul may want to divide us, but hate wont win this time. Its time to move forward, together. pic.twitter.com/oYxuqKFdWR Charles Booker (@Booker4KY) June 1, 2022 In 2020, Paul blocked the Senate from unanimously passing the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act, a bill to strengthen sentencing requirements for lynching crimes, arguing that it was too broadly written. The Senate was attempting to pass the bill, named for the Black teenager lynched in Mississippi in 1955, on the day of funeral services for George Floyd, the Black man murdered by Minneapolis police in 2020. Bookers ad also criticizes other controversial statements Paul has made, including saying in 2011 that a right to health care means that you believe in slavery, and his past criticism of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. My opponent? Booker says, as the ad shows an image of Paul. The very person who compared expanded health care to slavery. The person who said he would have opposed the Civil Rights Act. The person who single-handedly blocked an anti-lynching act from being federal law. Story continues Pauls blockade of the 2020 anti-lynching legislation drew criticism from civil rights leaders and Democrats, including then-Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.). Harris, who is now vice president, slammed Paul at the time for trying to weaken a bill that was already passed by seeking to amend it. Paul claimed, in response, that he wanted to alter the bill not because I take lynching lightly, but because I take it seriously, and this legislation does not. He argued that the bill would define lynching so broadly as to include a minor bruise or abrasion. The Senate ultimately passed anti-lynching legislation in March of this year, more than a century after the effort to make lynching a federal crime originally began. Paul co-sponsored that legislation, which he said addressed his concerns that the previous legislation would lead to oversentencing in some cases. He said he had worked with Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) to make the law stronger. Strengthening the language of this bill has been my goal all along, and Im pleased to have worked with Senators Cory Booker and Tim Scott to get this right and ensure the language of this bill defines lynching as the absolutely heinous crime that it is, Paul said in a statement shortly before the bill unanimously passed. President Joe Biden signed the act into law on March 29. Bookers ad does not mention Pauls eventual support for the legislation. Jake Cox, Pauls deputy campaign manager, reiterated that Paul had worked to improve the legislation and said Bookers ad misrepresents the senators views on the issue. Dr. Paul worked diligently to strengthen the language of this legislation and is a cosponsor of the bill that now ensures that federal law will define lynching as the absolutely heinous crime that it is, Cox said in a statement. Any attempt to state otherwise is a desperate misrepresentation of the facts. Paul has previously attempted to walk back other comments Booker criticizes, including his criticism of the Civil Rights Act. In 2013, Paul claimed that he had never wavered in his support for the landmark law, insisting that he had merely disputed how much of the remedy for discrimination against Black people should come under federal, or state, or private purview. He originally said, though, that he opposed a key section of the law that made it illegal for private businesses to discriminate based on race. Also on HuffPost This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... The campaign arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Tuesday endorsed Patrick Branco, a Hawaii state lawmaker whos looking to become the first Latino from the state elected to Congress. The endorsement from Bold PAC comes as Branco is running in a three-way Democratic primary against former state Sen. Jill Tokuda and Honolulu City Councilman Tommy Waters. Whether as a Diplomat in the US Foreign Service or as a State Representative, Patrick has dedicated his life to serving Hawaii and our country. In Congress, Patrick will help bring down Hawaiis ever-rising cost of living by bringing good paying jobs to the state, and secure the federal support needed to strengthen Hawaiis rural areas and agricultural sector, said Bold PAC Chairman Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) in a statement. Bold PACs endorsement could bring donors and endorsements for Branco, as well as some political clout as the organization has aggressively and so far successfully backed its endorsees against other Democrats this cycle. Bold PAC is coming off a morale-boosting win in Oregon, where it pushed state Rep. Andrea Salinas (D) across the finish line for a House nomination against a candidate who received more than $13 million in outside support, including from the top House Democratic super PAC. The August primary among Branco, Tokuda and Waters will decide who gets the partys nomination for the seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Kai Kahele (D). Both of Hawaiis congressional districts are safe Democratic seats. Kahele, who after only one term in Congress quit to run for governor, was at times criticized for being unwilling to make the long trek from Hawaii to establish a lasting presence in Washington. In a recent interview with The Hill, Branco said Hawaii needs long-term representatives in Washington who are willing to build seniority. Whoever gets this seat needs to make sure they are committed to stay there for the long term and bring the resources Hawaii needs to develop, he said. Story continues Branco added he would rely on his experience traveling long hours as a foreign service officer to acclimate to the difficult lifestyle of representing Hawaii a continent away. Branco said Hawaii needs long-term representation particularly to move forward large infrastructure projects, a major challenge for a 1,500-mile-long archipelago. But Hawaiis geography offers unique opportunities in renewable energy, he said, pointing to it as one industry that could help replace the states shrinking agriculture sector. Branco, a descendant of Puerto Rican migrants to Hawaii on both sides, also has native Hawaiian, Filipino and Chinese roots. He told The Hill he grew up very in touch with his Hawaiian roots, but through the foreign service he improved his Spanish and reconnected with his Hispanic side. And Branco said he would look forward to working in Congress to modernize Puerto Ricos territorial status. As a Puerto Rican but also a native Hawaiian, I have a unique perspective on this, he said. When Hawaii was a territory, we were treated as second-class citizens. We need to make sure that all natural-born citizens are given the same rights, he added. Congress is currently considering a bill to address Puerto Ricos status, giving Puerto Ricans a choice to vote among statehood, independence or independence followed by free association with the United States. But time is short for the ambitious status bill to pass, meaning the issue will likely be punted to future congresses, where Branco hopes to engage on the issue. Honestly, Puerto Rico should decide for themselves, thats the beauty of America, but I wouldnt be opposed to statehood. I would welcome it in fact. In the end Puerto Rico should have the right to self determination, said Branco. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Miguel Martinez Youngs is nearly 30. Normally, at this stage of life, he and his friends would be talking about buying houses, he told the Senate Committee on Housing and Municipal Governance. But instead, he said, their conversations tend to center around questions like, "Has your rent gone up? How much?" Martinez Youngs, a Warwick native who works for a national group called Demand Progress but was testifying as a volunteer for Reclaim Rhode Island, was one of several renters who showed up to voice support for the "Create Homes Act" on Tuesday. Sponsored by Sen. Meghan Kallman, D-Pawtucket, the bill proposes using $300 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to create a centralized Department of Housing. It would allow the state to buy land and build what's sometimes known as "social housing" developments where some residents pay heavily-subsidized rates, and others pay full market price. Sen. Meghan E. Kallman, D-Pawtucket, sponsored the "Create Homes Act", which would allow the state to buy land and build housing where some pay subsidized rates and others pay full price. Looking for sulutions: RI could be the first state to tackle the housing crisis by acting as a developer It also incorporates what Kallman has described as a "carrot and stick" approach for dealing with towns that don't meet their state-mandated affordable housing quotas. All cities and towns in Rhode Island are supposed to ensure that at least 10% of their housing stock meets certain affordability criteria, but only six communities have done so. The "carrot" consists of increased educational funding for towns that build more affordable housing. The "stick" is a provision that would apply to communities that haven't reached the 10% threshold by 2026: Any new affordable housing developments would no longer need to be approved by the municipality, "notwithstanding any municipal law or other statute to the contrary." The provision "strips municipalities of their decision-making authority if they are not meeting their housing goals," testified Jordan Day of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns. Doing so would be "absolutely an overreach of the states authority," she said. Story continues Several housing advocacy groups opted to remain neutral, with some saying that they needed more time to analyze the potential repercussions of the sweeping changes proposed in the 40-page bill. The risk, said Brenda Clement of Housing Works RI, is that "if we dont get it right, we will be back here again with bigger problems." At the State House: Leaders in RI House, Senate line up behind new gun-control measures "I would rather focus on short-term immediate needs," she said, pointing to the fact that hotel vouchers for some homeless families will expire at the end of June. When it comes to enacting broad housing policy changes, Clement warned, "We have a history in this state of starting big, thinking big, and never funding it properly." The bill was introduced in mid-May, a relatively late date in the legislative session, which ends in June. Several groups, including RI Housing and the Housing Network of Rhode Island, warned against moving too quickly. "Bold steps are certainly needed to address the housing shortfall that has been decades in the marking," Carol Ventura, the executive director of RI Housing, wrote in a letter to the committee. "However, it is critical that these changes be undertaken in a thoughtful way that includes input from the wide range of stakeholders that would be impacted." Explained: How a Boston woman wound up owning RI's 'Conjuring house' Melina Lodge, the executive director of the Housing Network, echoed those concerns and urged committee members to hold the bill for further study. She described the timeline proposed in the bill, which would go into effect on July 1st, as "extremely aggressive." Splitting with the other nonprofits, United Way of Rhode Island expressed strong support for the bill, saying that it would offer incentives for towns to build more housing, and allow for more coordination between different agencies. Other proponents pushed back against the idea that the timeline outlined in the bill was too aggressive or the legislation was moving too fast. "The situation is just getting more and more dire," said Jordan Goyette, the political director of Reclaim Rhode Island, which has identified the bill as one of its major priorities for this year's legislative session. Currently, building affordable housing in Rhode Island involves a "very scattershot" system of highly complex subsidies that often end up being underutilized, he said. In May: Providence Mayor Elorza signs off on ARPA funds with $30M housing investment Another Reclaim volunteer, Andre Dev, said that after renting for 10 years, he now finds himself unable to buy a home because he's competing with bidders who are waiving inspections and paying cash. Some of his friends have opted to move out of state, he said, yet when he walks down Wickenden Street he sees empty buildings. "I can't express how demoralizing it is," Dev said. Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler of the Rhode Island Working Families Party, which tends to be closely aligned with trade unions, said that the bill would be a boon to the building trades. It would ensure that construction jobs are available "both at good times when the economy is doing well, as well as in a recession," he said. The committee also heard from Raquel Baker, who described herself as a victim of domestic violence and said that she had ended up homeless, in part due to her history of evictions and criminal record. Crystal Berube, who has previously spoken about her experience being incarcerated in Rhode Island, also submitted written testimony. "I have been homeless residing in numerous hotels for almost a year now, and it's exhausting," she wrote. "The resources allocated now for similar ventures are quickly depleting, and I am still left without an affordable APARTMENT TO RENT...Perhaps for me personally if there were more housing developments, then it wouldn't be so difficult to find sustainable, affordable housing." The committee voted to hold the bill for further study. "This is a very large bill that requires work," Kallman acknowledged at the start of the hearing, saying that there were "a number of things to finesse." This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI housing shortage: Bill to overhaul state's approach gets hearing Shinedown - Daylight Photo - credit Sanjay Parikh Sanjay Parikh Shinedown Shinedown's Brent Smith is not one to be easily discouraged, even when the world seems to be falling down. "It motivates me," Smith, 44, tells PEOPLE in an interview mere hours after the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas that took the lives of 19 children and two of their teachers. "I'm motivated to do the work. You can talk about it all you want, but you must take those conversations and put them into action. We're all on this planet together. We've got to figure out ways to take care of one another." He pauses. "You don't have to bow to the chaos. You must figure out a way." It's an uplifting message that Smith and his Shinedown bandmates Zach Myers, Eric Bass, and Barry Kerch has been spreading ever since the band's earliest days. "If there's one thing that this band is, it's honest," Smith says of the groundbreaking band, who have long taken up the mental health flag proudly. "We don't pull this material out of thin air and make it up. A lot of what we write is about the situations that we've been involved in and the life that we lead and the people we meet." RELATED: Jimmie Johnson Enlists Friend Blake Shelton to Help Design His Military-Themed Indy 500 Helmet: 'Very Special' And now, it's this most important of messages that the multi-platinum band is spreading yet again via their new single "Daylight," the most powerful of pop-rock songs created to remind us that we are truly all in this together. "The song was born out from what we all dealt with for the last three years, which was a global pandemic," says Smith of the song he wrote in California alongside Zach Myers, Eric Bass and Dave Bassett back in June of 2020. "We wanted to try to write it as if we were looking three years ahead of us." And while this look into the future started off as optimistic, Smith remembers soon feeling as if the pandemic was going to end up being a longer journey than anyone could have imagined. Story continues But still, the songwriter in him persevered. "It was about understanding all of those elements during the pandemic, but it could also just be about life in general," Smith explains. "It's an epiphany. It's a light bulb. It's a reminder that we must learn to live with one another and that should be celebrated, and not just tolerated." And once Smith and his co-writers allowed themselves to fall into that creative pocket, the song began to pour from their collective souls. "'Daylight' fell out of the sky," he says of the song which was written in the span of just 45 minutes and will soon be found on Shinedown's seventh studio album Planet Zero come July. "The words came so quickly. When you're in a writing session and something like 'Daylight' happens, we call it a gift because it kind of writes itself. The universe is real. And if you listen to it, it will guide you in the direction that you need to go in. It will also guide you in the direction of the people you need to get it in front of." To ensure that the message of the song came through, Smith says that the modern rock powerhouses with the slew of No. 1 hits had to be very specific as to how the song was recorded and mixed. "We didn't want to focus on bombastic elements such as distorted guitars and such," Smith recalls. "We wanted the intent of the song to be heard." And it was heard loud and clear back in April, when more than 14,000 fans were on hand to hear Shinedown perform the emotional "Daylight" for the first time. RELATED: Wynnona Judd Reflects on Mom Naomi's Death a Month Later: 'This Cannot Be How the Judds Story Ends' "I had this calm come over me right before we played it," remembers Smith, who will head out for the group's Planet Zero World Tour through the U.S. this September, following summer dates in Canada, Europe, and the UK. "The song just took over. The song wrapped its arms around us and said, 'I got you.'" And at the end of the day, Smith hopes that it's these kinds of songs and these kinds of messages end up being Shinedown's legacy forevermore. "I believe that human beings are inherently good and that we inherently want to take care of each other," he concludes. "I just don't want people to lose their empathy towards each other. If you see someone on their knees, don't walk past them pick them up." Gaming culture website hard drive made fun of Elon Musk after he tweeted a screenshot from one of its articles without attribution by responding, "hey i'll give u a horse if u stop cropping our name off our articles." hey i'll give u a horse if u stop cropping our name off our articles https://t.co/QnNfyiNYs3 Hard Drive (@HardDriveMag) May 30, 2022 Musk, who is not known for his witty repartee, responded by tweeting: Well, if you make something that looks like a meme & someone (not me) crops off your name, so it goes. Also, this is only a 6/10 meme, so maybe step down from that high horse! The selfless art of anonymous meme creators is something to be admired. Well, if you make something that looks like a meme & someone (not me) crops off your name, so it goes. Also, this is only a 6/10 meme, so maybe step down from that high horse! The selfless art of anonymous meme creators is something to be admired. Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 30, 2022 That's when Hard Drive started pitilessly bullying the infamous mergers and acquisitions tycoon. ok well lemme know what you think about this one https://t.co/JIS5vkyms9 Hard Drive (@HardDriveMag) May 30, 2022 well you're the expert on SNL's bad days pic.twitter.com/Ysb5oJsRBK Hard Drive (@HardDriveMag) May 30, 2022 From Hard Drive: Aerial of Pazaislis Monastery in Lithuania Andrius Aleksandravicius/Courtesy of Lithuania Travel Digital nomads have the best of both worlds: the security of a job with the ability to travel. But after a few tours around the globe, it's easy to settle into bland coworking spaces that feel uninspiring. To fight digital nomad fatigue, Lithuania is offering itself as a destination for remote workers to settle down without having to give up travel. Aerial of Pazaislis Monastery in Lithuania Andrius Aleksandravicius/Courtesy of Lithuania Travel About one hour outside of the Lithuanian capital of Vilinius is a tree house haven nestled in the forest. The Varena Treehouse is a minimalist tree house complex in southern Lithuania along the Merkiai River. If you're someone who gets distracted by urban scenes, the tranquil getaway could be your saving grace. You won't have very many distractions in the middle of the woods. And after a stressful day, you can unwind with a walk through the trees, then a soak in the open-air bathtub. Exterior of the Varena Treehouse in Lithuania Andrius Kundrotas/Courtesy of Lithuania Travel For those looking to learn a bit more about the local culture, you can learn everything you ever wanted to know about buckwheat, a growing culinary trend in Lithuania, at the nearby Grikucis Homestead. The center offers educational programs on buckwheat sowing, preparation, and cooking. Interior of the Tech Spa in Lithuania Courtesy of Lithuania Travel Or you could lean into seclusion and stay at a monastery. Monte Pacis is a hotel operating in the Pazaislis Monastery near the city of Kaunas. (It's one of only a few hundred hotels operating in active monasteries in the world.) Whether you opt for the hotel's class baroque-style rooms or the monastery's guest house, you'll be able to take advantage of the calm atmosphere. The monastery is famous for its Linden Tree Alley, which some call a "reading room among the flowering Pazaislis lime trees." And if you dine at the on-site restaurant, you can try out wine produced by the monks themselves. When the workday is over, head to the nearby Kaunas Reservoir beach, just a short walk away. Story continues TEMA gallery on the shore of the Curonian Lagoon_Coworking space in Klaipeda in Lithuania Andrius Kundrotas/Courtesy of Lithuania Travel Lithuania also has several other unconventional accommodations for workers, including an ultra-modern coworking space in the city of Klaipeda (known as the country's "teleworking capital"), a "Tech Spa" in the historic wellness resort of Druskininkai, or a remote farm in the village of Radiskis. Exterior of Farmers Circle in Lithuania Courtesy of Lithuania Travel International visitors to Lithuania are no longer required to provide COVID-19 tests or provide proof of vaccination to enter the country, according to the U.S. Embassy in Lithuania. Cailey Rizzo is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure, currently based in Brooklyn. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or at caileyrizzo.com. Tennessee (53-7) will host the Knoxville Regional in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 overall seed. The Vols won the Southeastern Conference regular season and tournament championship. Tennessee has been ranked No. 1 nationally for 10 consecutive weeks in the USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll. Ahead of the NCAA Tournament, college baseball insider and former Major League Baseball player Michael Huff discussed Tennessees season. Huff is currently the Director of Youth Baseball for the Chicago White Sox. I think Tennessee has been deservedly the No. 1 seed all year, Huff told Vols Wire. You have to have a balanced team to be one, and it starts with their starting pitching. Tennessee leads Division I baseball in home runs (141) and earned run average (2.35). Its a great balance, but what stands out to me is the pitching, Huff said. Truly the thing that stands out to me is the consistency. You have four, not two, not three, you have four guys that I think on just about any other roster, when it comes to starting pitchers, can be a Friday guy and if not Friday then definitely Saturday. When you have four guys, and you really only need three, or someone has a sore arm, or someone is having a bad day, you can easily swap people out. Your starting pitching is going to give you a chance to win every game, and you also have a good bullpen. Tennessee hitter Jordan Beck (27) celebrates with Tennessee Drew Gilbert (1) after Beck hit a solo home run against Mississippi State during the SEC Tournament Thursday, May 27, 2021, in the Hoover Met in Hoover, Alabama. [Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.] Huff has communication with a handful of scouts and outfielders Jordan Beck and Drew Gilberts MLB stock continues to rise. From what I have seen and heard, Drew Gilbert and Jordan Beck have raised a lot of eye brows at the next level, Huff said. Everyone has their eye on these guys. Theres a lot of upside potential for both of them, not just what we are seeing in college, but even beyond. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will meet with top U.S. officials beginning on Wednesday, close to two weeks after top leaders from Finland and Sweden met with President Biden about joining the military alliance. Stoltenberg will meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday, and the two will hold a press conference, according to a press release from NATO. He will make joint remarks with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday. The NATO secretary general is also expected to meet with national security adviser Jake Sullivan, according to the NATO release. Biden earlier this month met with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, whose countries have formally applied for NATO membership after the Russian invasion shifted the nations stances on joining the alliance. Biden voiced his support for both joining the military alliance, saying, Finland and Sweden make NATO stronger. Stoltenberg also met with Finnish and Swedish officials earlier this month after the countries submitted their applications. All 30 NATO nations must agree on NATO membership for both, though Turkey has objected to their memberships. Last Friday, Blinken said the U.S. was confident that both countries would be able to join the military alliance. There is a very strong consensus in NATO for the admission of Finland and Sweden, and I remain confident that we will work through this process swiftly and that things will move forward with both countries, he said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A white 18-year-old accused of fatally shooting 10 Black shoppers at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket this month has been charged with domestic terrorism motivated by hate. A grand jury decided on the charges, which also include 10 counts of first-degree murder, on Wednesday. Payton Gendron has pleaded not guilty. The 18-year-old could also face separate hate crime charges. Mr Gendron is believed to written hundreds of pages online filled with racist conspiracy theories about his intentions to kill Black people, and had a racial epithet written on the assault rifle he allegedly used in the shooting. He drove nearly three hours from his hometown of Conklin, New York, to Buffalo in an attempt to strike an area with predominantly people of colour, according to officials. The teens attorney, Brian Parker, told the Associated Press he had been barred by a judge from discussing the case publicly. This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information. Susan Freeman-Smith, a Ratcliff resident, has found her mothers birth family thanks to a 23andMe DNA kit. She met one of her aunts last fall and she recently met her uncle and his family in Wisconsin for the first time. Susan Freeman-Smith with her aunt Karlene Wilson-Hess and uncle Jimmie Wilson. Freeman-Smith's mother was adopted as a child when her parents were stationed in the military in Parmesans, Germany. The family had assumed her mother was 100% German. Freeman-Smith was always curious about her mothers family, so she decided to purchase a 23andMe DNA kit in 2014. In 2018, she matched with a predicted cousin but they could never figure out how they were related. A little over a month ago, her cousin reached out. He had figured out that he was actually Freeman-Smith's uncle, so her mother was half-American. Freeman-Smith was thrilled to find her uncle as well as two aunts. She planned a visit to Richland Center, Wisconsin with her daughter Christina to meet them. Susan and Christina Freeman-Smith with their new family members found through 23 and Me DNA kit. I have waited my entire life for this. I always wondered where they were, Susan Freeman-Smith said. She hopes to make another visit to Arizona in the summer to meet another aunt of hers. "You can't deny lookin' like 'em," Susan Freeman-Smith said. "I mean I couldn't deny it if I had to. How can you not feel nothin' for those people? I mean, I do, instantly, instant bond." Through meeting her aunt and uncle in Wisconsin, she found out that they have children, and she has first cousins she never knew about. Her daughter thought that they looked more like her mom. "I couldn't believe they were related to me," Christina Freeman-Smith said. "But I'm a pretty free spirited person." Christina Freeman-Smith with her new cousins. Freeman-Smith plans on going back to Wisconsin every year, where her aunt Karlene Wilson Hess and her uncle Jimmie Wilson took her to their father's grave. Susan Freeman-Smith said she was emotional upon being near her biological grandfather's grave. "You can feel it," Susan Freeman-Smith said. "I take care of cemeteries, restore headstones. I've walked in hundreds of (cemeteries) and I never got that feeling, when I walked on my grandfather's grave." Story continues Susan Freeman-Smith with her grandfather's grave in Richland Center, Wisconsin. Freeman-Smith is now finishing her degree in Business Management and Applied Science at Arkansas Tech University. She's grateful to 23andMe because without their services, she wouldn't have found her family. "I got along with all of 'em, how can you not? How can you not love 'em?" Susan Freeman-Smith asked. This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Ratcliff local finds family through 23 and Me Showtime announced the new half-hour anthology series Spotlights: A Showtime Short Film Series premiering Sunday, June 12. All 5 episodes will be available on streaming and on-demand for Showtime subscribers and will also air weekly on Sundays at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT. Watch the trailer above. More from Deadline Produced for Showtime by Jax Media (Desus & Mero, Emily in Paris, Russian Doll), the episodic anthology series features the bold works of various emerging filmmakers, with each episode featuring two to three short films that vary in timely subject matter, tone and perspective. Spotlights offers a curated approach to support emerging filmmakers, as well as mentorship opportunities for each filmmaker to engage with creatives and executives across Paramount Global. Showtime has long been a home for breakthrough voices, and were excited to share these inspired and revelatory shorts from the next generation of distinctive filmmakers, said Amy Israel, Executive Vice President, Original Programming, Global Scripted. This collection of shorts in Spotlights represents some of the very best emerging creators working today, and we hope our audience finds them as funny, moving, and provocative as we do. There is nothing more exciting than the sense of discovery you feel when a new voice breaks on the scene, and SPOTLIGHTS will give our audiences a front-row seat to meet these creators who are sure to make their mark. Find out more about each episode below. Episode one: Pozole, by Jessica Mendez Siqueiros: A woman sets out to reconnect with her Mexican-American roots on her Nanas birthday, only for things to go terribly wrong. Story continues Tea Time On Hip Hop Nation, by Kelly Fulton: After losing her long-time job at Classical FM, a radio show host interviews for a new gig at Hip Hop Nation. Broken Bird, by Rachel Harrison Gordon: This story follows Birdie, a biracial girl raised by her Jewish mother in a New Jersey suburb, as she spends a rare day with her father while preparing for her Bat Mitzvah. Episode two: Raspberry, by Julian Doan: A son struggles to say goodbye to his dead father. Benevolent Ba, by Diffan Norman: A devout womans lust for virtue thrusts her family into a sacrificial slaughter of biblical proportion. In France, Michelle Is A Mans Name, by Em Weinstein: Set against the backdrop of the American West, this short explores fatherhood, rituals of male bonding and what it means to identify as a trans man in contemporary America. Episode three: Meats, by Ashley Willams: A pregnant vegan wrestles with her newfound craving for meat. Cross My Heart, by Sontenish Myers: An American teenage girl visits her family in Jamaica and learns a secret that changes the way she sees the people she loves. Sebastian, by Sam Fragoso: In a reimagining of an immigrant story, an emigrating father writes home to his son, based on the letters Fragosos grandfather sent and received when he emigrated from Mexico to America in 1948. Episode four: Sweatheart Dancers, by Ben-Alex Dupris: Sean and Adrian are a Two-Spirit couple determined to rewrite the rules of Native American culture through their participation in the Sweetheart Dance, a celebratory contest held at powwows across the country, primarily for men and women couples, until now. The South Is My Sisters Skin, by Zenzele Ojore: A short documentary that follow Zenzeles coming of age with the American South as her backdrop. Sales Per Hour, by Michelle Uranowitz & Daniel Jaffe: A young woman faces a moral dilemma when she witnesses a sexual encounter in a dressing room at the clothing store where she works. Episode five: He Wants To Know My Number, by Sakinah Iman: A powerful and entertaining spoken-word piece that takes on the issue of sex and promiscuity. Ponyboi, by River Gallo & Sade Clacken Joseph: An Intersex sex worker named Ponyboi looks for love and a way out of his seedy life in New Jersey. Through a magical encounter with the man of his dreams, Ponyboi discovers his worth. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Israel's Minister of Economy and Industry Orna Barbivai, UAE Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri and other officials present the Free Trade Agreement they signed Israel's Minister of Economy and Industry Orna Barbivai, UAE Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, and other officials present the Free Trade Agreement they signed, which is the first such agreement Israel has with an Arab county, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on May 31, 2022. Credit - Anuj TaylorStrap Studios/Handout/Reuters Israel and the United Arab Emirates deepened ties on Tuesday with a historic free trade agreementthe first of its kind between Israel and an Arab countryat a time of growing criticism of Israels treatment of Palestinians. Both Israel and the UAE are touting the major economic benefits that such a deal could bring. But experts tell TIME that its too early to assess the economic impact of the free trade agreement and that the main value of the agreement is political in nature. The deal, by the numbers The UAE praised the deal for lifting tariffs on 96% of goods, as well as for its potential to boost budding sectors related to the environment, energy, and digital services. The Israeli government previously stated that the deal would accelerate the trade of products such as food and medicine, while enhancing competition over government procurement contracts in both countries. Both Israel and the UAE are already predicting annual bilateral trade will reach $10 billion in five years, more than 10 times the figure recorded in 2021. Around 1,000 Israeli companies are also expected to open in Dubai by the end of this year. They broke a barrier when they decided to sign the agreement, says Dorian Barack, the co-founder of the UAE-Israel Business Council, a foundation that promotes partnerships between the two countries and Israel and the wider Middle East. The breaking of that psychological barrier I think has brought a lot of peoplewho were out of the Israeli marketto consider doing stuff with Israelis. However, experts are skeptical about the $10 billion figure. According to World Bank data, that amount would make the UAE one of Israels largest trading partners. A local Gulf expert, who asked TIME not to disclose his name out of fear that he could lose his livelihood for challenging the information of regional governments, says that the prediction is a stretch. Look, if the governments are the source, then they usually exaggerate. Story continues The politics of strengthening business with Israel The trade deal comes two years after the Abraham Accords, which saw Israel normalize ties with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. Although the Israeli press championed Tuesdays agreement, the Emiratis tightly controlled the messaging of the deal by shutting out foreign media from the signing ceremony in Dubai. (Many local outlets are owned or controlled by the state.) Its a reminder that, despite the headline news, the UAEs budding ties with Israel remain deeply controversial across much of the Arab worldparticularly as tensions between Palestinians and Israelis mount. Three days ago, the UAE foreign ministry condemned what it called Israels extremist settlers for storming Jerusalems al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. Weeks earlier, Shereen Abu Aklehthe renowned Palestinian-American journalist for Al Jazeerawas shot dead in the Israeli occupied West Bank, most likely by Israeli soldiers, according to a CNN investigation. Israeli police then attacked pallbearers at Aklehs funeral, sparking international condemnation. The incidents followed the arrest of two Palestinians suspected of killing three Israeli civilians with an axe. Read more: The Problems With Israels Version of the Killing of Reporter Shireen Abu Akleh Hasan al-Hasan, a Gulf expert with the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), sees the trade deal as part of a wider Emirati strategy to deepen ties with Israel to hedge against Iran, a shared strategic foe of both countries. Abu Dhabi is walking a tightrope since dispatching its top national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan to Tehran in December 2021. The visit aimed to recalibrate diplomatic relationswhich soured in 2016 when ally Saudi Arabia executed Shia activists and the Saudi embassy in Tehran was stormedand also boost cooperation on a number of shared economic files with Iran. But in case diplomacy fails, the UAE can fall back on its relationship with Israel to contain Irans regional influence, says al-Hasan. By signing this agreement [the Emirates] are saying that despite our differences on the Palestinian issue we can continue to do business on other unrelated issues, adds al-Hasan. Elham Fakhro, a research fellow at the University of Exeters Center for Gulf Studies, agrees that the trade agreement is further evidence that the UAE is committed to establishing a warm peace with Israel irrespective of the wider regional reputational damage brought on by the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Its been clear that Israels relationship with the Palestinians will not affect the trajectory of the relationship between the two sides, she tells TIME. Will other Arab countries follow suit? Despite the low point in Palestinian-Israeli affairs, Tel Aviv is betting that it can entice other Arab states to do business through highlighting the benefits of bilateral cooperation with Abu Dhabi. Although Israel has already established trade relationships with Western nations, its leaders want to tap into these domestic Middle East markets to acquire regional legitimacy from its neighbors, despite the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to the local Gulf expert. Egypt and Jordan, which have maintained a cold-peace with Israel since 1979 and 1994, respectively, have already stepped up economic activity with Israel in recent months. Last November, Cairo signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Tel Aviv to increase the export of Israeli natural gas through its pipelines. Two months earlier, Amman inked a deal that would see it provide clean energy to Tel Aviv in exchange for desalinated water. But a comprehensive bi-lateral pact between Egypt or Jordan with Israel is unlikely due to public opinion in both Arab states. Contrary to the UAE, whose citizens comprise little more than 10% of a diverse population that is generally friendly towards Israelis, Egypt and Jordan are almost entirely populated by their own people. Due to popular pressure, officials from both Arab countries must deal with Israel differently than the UAE. The UAE does not share a border with Israel and has not directly engaged in warfare and conflict in the way the Egyptians and Jordanians have, says Bader al-Saif, an expert on the Gulf at Kuwait University. It is because of that, along with the UAEs interest in benefiting from Israeli technology and raising its profile, which leads to more collaboration. A number of Gulf Cooperation Council countries are still trading with Israel through third-party countries, mostly Jordan, Turkey, or within the E.U. With indirect trade accounting for about $1 billion in 2018, these nations have less of an incentive to endure the reputational costs at home that come with normalizing ties with Israel. Analysts agree that Tel Aviv will remain unable to access most Arab economiesa longer term goal of Israelfor the foreseeable future. The local Gulf expert says that while most Arab countries ban Israeli goods, the ban doesnt hurt Israels economy too badly. Israel still sells big-ticket items, such as military equipment and spyware to various Arab countries, according to a report by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Last year, an investigation by 17 media organizations found that 37 phones belonging to government officials, journalists, and activists were targeted by the Israeli spyware Pegasus. The Ministry of Defense, which approves all export licenses for spyware, said that its products were intended to be used lawfully to fight crime and terrorists. Why the UAE is a regional outlier on Israel The UAE has its own priorities when it comes to Israel. Al-Saif said that Tuesdays free trade agreement should be interpreted as part of a larger Emirati effort to diversify its regional collaboration, such as through mending ties with Qatar and deepening investments in Turkey. The UAE also has a large interest in Israels military hardware, as it increasingly prioritizes bolstering its defense capabilities because of what it perceives as U.S. fatigue in the region. But al-Saif warns that there will always be obstacles for Arab-Israeli cooperation until the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved. Arab-Israeli deals (like the Free-Trade Agreement) will not reach their full potential without resolving the root causes of the Arab-Israeli conflict, he says. President Biden said in an op-ed published Tuesday that the United States would not try to oust Russian President Vladimir Putin from his position of power because of his invasion of Ukraine. We do not seek a war between NATO and Russia. As much as I disagree with Mr. Putin, and find his actions an outrage, the United States will not try to bring about his ouster in Moscow, Biden wrote in a New York Times op-ed published Tuesday evening. So long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces, the president wrote, standing firm in his pledge not to send U.S. troops to fight directly in the conflict. Biden made waves when he declared in Warsaw at the end of March that Putin cannot remain in power. While the White House sought to clean up the unplanned remark by saying the U.S. was not seeking regime change in Russia, Biden stood by his comments and said days later he was expressing moral outrage. The passage in the op-ed was a renewed effort by the White House to make clear it is not seeking regime change in Moscow. In the Times piece, Biden also announced plans to send more advanced rocket systems to Ukraine, saying that the U.S. goal was to ensure a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. Biden also vowed that he would not pressure Ukraines government in private or public to make territorial concessions to Moscow in order to bring about an end to the war, which will enter its 100th day at the end of the week. It would be wrong and contrary to well-settled principles to do so, Biden wrote. He said the U.S. would support Ukraines hand at the negotiating table with Russia to bring an end to the conflict. While the U.S. has not sent forces into Ukraine to fight the Russians, it has provided substantial support to the Ukrainian military in the form of advanced weaponry. The U.S. has sent billions of dollars in security assistance to Ukraine and is readying another $700 million package. Congress has approved $40 billion in security, economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine to help sustain the country over the coming months. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The jury in the bitter defamation trial being fought between divorced Hollywood actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in Fairfax County, Virginia, will soon return its verdict, rolling the end credits on seven weeks of blockbuster drama that has been devoured by online audiences around the world. Mr Depp, 58, is suing Ms Heard, 35, for $50m (40m) over an opinion piece she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018 in which she discussed domestic abuse and experiencing the full force of our cultures wrath for women who speak out. Although Ms Heard did not name Mr Depp to whom she was married between 2015 and 2017 his legal team argues that readers of the newspaper were likely to assume he was the person responsible for the ordeal she alluded to and have claimed that the article caused their client to lose out on lucrative movie roles. Ms Heard is counter-suing Mr Depp, whom she met when they starred together as lovers in The Rum Diary in 2011, for $100m (80m), arguing that it is she who has been defamed by his lawyers arguing that her claims to victimhood amount to a hoax. Fans of the estranged couple have exhaustively documented the plaintiff and defendants every move and mannerism in court, their attorneys arguments, the judges interventions and a wealth of colourful witness testimony on TikTok, Instagram and Twitter, carving up what might have amounted to dry legal proceedings into a spectator sport. All of which has raised disapproving eyebrows in some quarters, with concerns expressed that the real issue at the heart of the case, domestic violence, is being lost in what has become a bad taste viral soap opera. While those criticisms are more than valid, there is no question that the trial has provided an extraordinary spectacle and a cast of unforgettable supporting characters who have found themselves unlikely cult celebrities. Judge Penney Azcarate First off, it is only proper to raise a mega-pint to the woman who has overseen the whole circus with stolid good sense, humour and, occasionally, endearing bafflement. Story continues Quick to restore order when laughter erupted in court, notably when Mr Depp admitted to not watching his own films, Judge Azcarate held it together admirably and who could blame her for being somewhat stunned by it all when lawyers were objecting to their own lines of questioning? Camille Vasquez Mr Depps glamorous counsel, in particular, has become an improbable social media star throughout the trial, inspiring several fan accounts, memes likening her to the Marvel heroes Thor and She-Hulk and even a rumour that she is dating her client, a suggestion she politely laughed off when asked about it directly on the courthouse steps by a TMZ reporter. An affectionate embrace between Mr Depp and Ms Vasquez on 17 May only encouraged the TikTok crowd to imagine a romance between them but Judi James, a more cynical body language expert, told The Daily Mail it could all be part of their strategy: For Depps loyal fans these dramatic rituals will seem like validation If this smart, beautiful woman thinks he is OK then maybe he is will be the implied message. Ms Vasquez cemented her popularity with the #JusticeForJohnnyDepp die-hards by raising an extraordinary number of quickfire objections to a summary being made by Ms Heards attorney Elaine Bredehoft, leaving the latter to comment in exasperation: Im trying Im trying. Elaine Bredehoft Speaking of Ms Vasquezs opposite number, she enjoyed her fair share of memorable moments during proceedings, notably drawing a grin from the plaintiff when she gamely dropped her voice to impersonate him, reading out a transcript of a tape in which Mr Depp had declared: You will not see my eyes again. More seriously, the attorney brought an affecting line from her client when she asked Ms Heard why her former husband cannot now look her in the eye and she answered: Because hes guilty. He knows hes lying. Why cant he look at me? I survived that man and Im here and Im able to look at him. Later, Ms Bredehoft surprised even Mr Depp when she asked airport security officer Beverly Leonard whether she had only volunteered to appear as a witness so that you can get on TV. Adam Nadelhaft Her co-counsel, Adam Nadelhaft, made a name for himself when he raised a hearsay objection during his own questioning of Ben King, Ms Heards house manager. But you asked the question, a perplexed Judge Azcarate responded, bringing stutters of embarrassment from Mr Nadelhaft and giggles from the opposition bench. Alejandro Romero The concierge of the Eastern Columbia Building in downtown Los Angeles, where Mr Depp owned five penthouses and lived with Ms Heard for three years, Alejandro Romero provided the court with an utterly bizarre pre-recorded deposition on 28 April. Filming from behind the wheel of his car, sipping soda and smoking impatiently, Mr Romero cut an exasperated figure and was clearly uninterested in answering questions from Ms Bredehoft about an incident from May 2016 when police were called to the complex to respond to a heated dispute between the couple. You sent me the papers to review, and I didnt even want to review it because its been so long. Its like I just dont want to deal with this anymore, he complained. Im so stressed out because of this, I just dont want to deal with this anymore. Im tired, I dont want to deal with this court case, everybodys got problems and I dont want to deal with this anymore. Malcolm Connolly Another celebrated witness was this grizzled Scottish bodyguard, who had been assigned to protect Mr Depp when he was in Australia shooting Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales in 2015. Mr Connolly won himself a legion of fans when he was asked on 2 May about an incident in which he was forced to intervene in another domestic argument between the couple but wound up baffled by Ms Heards attorneys insisting that Mr Depp had been urinating in the foyer as he had entered the apartment house in question. The security guard denied this detail but his interrogators persisted: Mr Depp had his penis out, didnt he? Perplexed, Mr Connolly delivered the immortal answer, I think I would remember if Id seen Mr Depps penis, prompting a roar of laughter from the actor. Dr David Spiegel The psychiatrist was cross-examined on 23 May about his earlier contention that Mr Depps use of an earpiece on set, so that he could be prompted on key lines, might indicate impairment or mental deterioration as a result of drug and alcohol abuse. I dont believe that actors are routinely given their entire script through earpieces, Dr Spiegel said. I find that hard to believe. This led to a wild exchange about whether or not legendary actor Marlon Brando, with whom Mr Depp worked on his directorial debut The Brave in 1997, ever wore one. Isnt he dead? So the answer is no, he does not use one now, Dr Spiegel responded, baffled, as Mr Depp struggled to hide his chuckling. Dr Spiegel was also forced to backtrack when accused of previously having called the star an idiot and subsequently found that his WebMD and Google pages had been inundated with negative reviews from irate Depp stans. People have been review-bombing the experts called by Amber Heards team. This is the psychiatrist who testified today. All in the last 10 minutes pic.twitter.com/c7jOXGEeFY Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge) May 23, 2022 He told The Independent: I have always believed that an individuals hero should best be someone a person knows and not someone they think they know, thus preventing this level of disappointment. The hysterical fan escorted out There was commotion in the public gallery on 23 May when one of Mr Depps supporters had to be removed after suddenly crying out: Johnny, I love you! Our souls are connected This baby is yours. The target of her appeal simply smiled and waved. Morgan Tremaine The former TMZ employee, testifying for Mr Depp on 25 May, offered a scathing comeback when Ms Bredehoft suggested he was only appearing to secure a taste of the spotlight for himself. Cross-examining Mr Tremaine about his work for the California gossip website, which had seen him dispatch paparazzi to photograph Ms Heard during the breakdown of her marriage in 2016, the attorney asked him whether he was pursuing his 15 minutes of fame by speaking on behalf of the Hollywood veteran. The witness acidly responded: I could say the same thing about taking Amber Heard as a client, for you. Judy the stenographer As proceedings drew to a close last week, Judge Azcarate thanked the legal teams involved and all of the court staff present for their professionalism throughout, before singling out Judy the stenographer, whom she called a rock star, earning the functionary a round of applause and laughter in the courtroom. A true cult icon online, where many viewers believe she is harbouring a secret crush on Mr Depp betrayed by occasional, seemingly lovestruck glances, she even has her own hashtag. Teddy and Truffle Last but by no means least, these two alpacas were brought to the courthouse regularly by Johnny Depp fan Andrea Diaz, founder and owner of My Pet Alpaca, a business she reportedly started during the pandemic to provide emotional support to children. The animals became fixtures of proceedings and both Ms Vasquez and co-counsel Ben Chew posed for pictures with them. Oddly, the question of alpacas came up inside the courthouse too. In a pre-recorded deposition by Disney executive Tina Newman, she was asked whether the corporation would really be prepared to pay $300m (240m) and a million alpacas to reprise his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates franchise, as the actor had jokingly proposed. Ms Newman answered no, saying the matter was above my pay grade. Uvalde school district Police Chief Pete Arredondo said he is in contact with state authorities investigating the police response to the Texas school shooting on a daily basis. The remarks by the police chief, who is in the spotlight following an acknowledgement by officials that they should have engaged sooner with a gunman who killed 19 children and two educators in last weeks shooting, followed reporting that Arredondo was no longer cooperating with police. Arredondo spoke with CNN Wednesday, saying he is in touch with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) every day and declining to comment further while funerals are ongoing for the shooting victims. Speaking with a reporter about releasing additional information, he said, Were going to be respectful to the family. Were going to do that eventually. Whenever this is done and the families quit grieving, then well do that obviously. Police responding to the Uvalde shootings initially received praise for their efforts but have since faced criticism for waiting to enter the classroom where the shooter barricaded himself, believing students were no longer in harms way. A DPS official told NBC News Tuesday that Arredondo had not responded to a request for a follow-up interview from state officials in two days. The official said the police departments for the city and the Uvalde school district have been cooperating with investigators, but ABC News reported Tuesday that multiple law enforcement officials said the two police forces are no longer cooperating. Officials have repeatedly contradicted themselves in their telling of the timeline of the shooting in the days following the attack. The Texas Rangers Division is leading the states investigation into the entire incident, including the police response. The Justice Department announced Sunday that it would launch its own independent investigation after receiving a request from Uvaldes mayor, Don McLaughlin (R). For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. When Pfizer Inc. inquired in December about whether the University at Buffalo was interested in offering a pediatric study in Western New York to help determine whether the pharmaceutical giant's key Covid-19 antiviral drug was safe and effective for use in children, Dr. Steven E. Lipshultz was emphatic in his response. "Absolutely," Lipshultz said he told Pfizer, "whatever we can do to help the kids, we want to do so." Lipshultz, the A. Conger Goodyear professor and chair of pediatrics in the Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, is in the midst of that study now, officially launched in March by Pfizer as an international clinical trial to test Paxlovid considered a crucial pandemic pill in children with symptomatic Covid-19 who are not hospitalized but are at risk of developing severe illness from the virus. The oral treatment was authorized for emergency use in high-risk adults in December, after research showed it reduced the risk of hospitalization or death in adults by 88% if given within five days of the onset of Covid-19 symptoms. Paxlovid will now be tested in about 140 pediatric patients at clinical trial sites globally, including at UB. The study will start with children ages 12 to 17 who weigh at least 88 pounds and go in stages, working its way down to younger children. Pfizer also is working to develop an age-appropriate formulation for children younger than 6 years old. UB getting selected as one of those sites not formally announced until Tuesday is a big deal for a couple of reasons. First, it means Western New York children with underlying medical conditions can potentially get early access to a drug that likely won't be authorized for use in kids by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for quite some time. "Even if you have a really effective medicine, it means it won't be available by prescription for probably the next two years," said Lipshultz, who has studied the effectiveness of antiviral drugs in children for more than 25 years. "That's why being able to participate in Buffalo, if it's effective, gives us access to a therapy two years before the rest of the world can get it on prescription." Second, it's further proof of what Lipshultz called a "real pediatric powerhouse right here in Buffalo." While there are a total of 60 study locations, he said UB was one of only a few selected to initiate the study right out of the gate. In a statement, Pfizer said sites were chosen based on several criteria, including investigator qualifications, geography and interest. Before the study kicked off, Pfizer did multiple site visits to UB from January through the first week of March, Lipshultz noted. Lipshultz has been a principal investigator on Pfizer clinical trials before, including at his previous stop at Children's Hospital of Michigan. He joined UB in late 2018, and also took on the roles of pediatric chief of service at Kaleida Health and president of UBMD Pediatrics. Many UB leaders and employees were involved as well to quickly get a dedicated space set up to effectively isolate Covid-infected children while also being able to treat them through the study's protocols. Once a child has been referred to the clinical study team by a provider, they are greeted at the UB Pediatric Covid Clinic, located inside the UB Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions building at 1021 Main St. in Buffalo. Those interested in more information about enrolling in the clinical trial can contact study coordinator Patti O'Leary at 716-829-5773 or pcoleary@buffalo.edu. Jon Harris can be reached at 716-849-3482 or jharris@buffnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByJonHarris. Buffalo Next Must-read local business coverage that exposes the trends, connects the dots and contextualizes the impact to Buffalo's economy. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Ohio Highway Patrol has identified a 16-year-old Licking Heights student as the victim fatally shot on the lawn of the Ohio Statehouse over the weekend. An image from surveillance footage provided by the Capital Square Review and Advisory Board shows Broderick Harper, 16, and three other people on electric scooters on the Ohio Statehouse lawn around 10 p.m. Sunday. Harper was shot and killed moments later. Broderick Harper was killed after being shot around 10 p.m. Sunday on the northwest corner of the Statehouse grounds. Shooting reported at Ohio Statehouse: One dead in reported shooting on grounds of the Ohio Statehouse Harper, according to a grainy security camera video released Tuesday by the Capital Square Review and Advisory Board, was apparently riding electric scooters with three other people when they stopped outside the Statehouse building and he was shot, falling into the grass off the sidewalk. One of the other scooter drivers can be seen in the video driving off. A second is seen getting off his scooter and backing away as Harper is shot. That individual then flees the scene on foot, running back in the direction the scooters originally came from. Highway Patrol Sgt. Brice Nihiser said the patrol, which is handling the investigation, is looking at the video and all other avenues to identify the three people with Harper at the time of the shooting. Harper was a student at Licking Heights High School, the district confirmed on Wednesday. In a statement, the district said a crisis team will be available between 1 and 3 p.m. on Thursday at the high school for students and staff. Harper's mother, Erica Coit, told The Dispatch on Wednesday outside her South Linden home that her son was "a good kid," but she was too overcome with grief to speak further at that time. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Ohio Highway Patrol at 614-466-2660. Two dead after Prairie Township shooting, crash The Franklin County Sheriff's office is also seeking the public's help with information about a shooting late Tuesday night on West Broad Street in Prairie Township that resulted in a crash and two people dying. Around 11 p.m. Tuesday, deputies began receiving 911 calls about a crash on West Broad Street, east of the Interstate 270 interchange. Story continues According to the sheriff's office, a Ford Crown Victoria was found crashed into a pole in the eastbound lanes of traffic. The male driver was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. A female passenger was taken to OhioHealth Doctors West Hospital, where she died, the sheriff's office said. The male, 35-year-old DeMarco Dubose is believed to have died as a result of being shot, the sheriff's office said Wednesday. The female passenger, identified as 35-year-old Roline Williams, of the Far West Side, is believed to have died from injuries sustained in the vehicle crash, the sheriff's office said. The preliminary investigation revealed that another vehicle fired at the Crown Victoria. Detectives believe that vehicle may be an early to mid-2000 model year Mercury sedan that is either red or maroon. Chief Deputy Rick Minerd said Dubose and Williams were dating, and Williams lived near where the shooting and crash occurred. He said neither Dubose or Williams are believed to have had any issues with others or had involvement in anything that would make them targets for a shooting. "They just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," Minerd said. Dubose worked in roofing and home improvement and would travel frequently for his work, Minerd said. When he was in Columbus, he would often stay with Williams. Video of the shooting shows the red or maroon-colored Mercury race up next to Dubose's Ford Crown Victoria, fire at least one round, and then speed off. Detectives are seeking additional video footage to provide a clearer picture of the vehicle and indications as to where the car may have gone after the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's office at 614-525-3351. bbruner@dispatch.com @bethany_bruner This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 16-year-old Licking Heights student is Ohio Statehouse shooting victim Jun. 1HARTFORD U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal said they believe there is an appetite among some Republicans to compromise with Democrats in the Senate on gun-related legislation, though time is running out, as a deal must be struck by next week. They expect to debate and vote on a package next week with or without Republican support, but are welcoming GOP input. The two Democrats were joined by Connecticut gun violence prevention advocates during a news conference Tuesday morning at the state's Legislative Office Building. The event was a response to a shooting last week at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 children and two teachers. The advocates some of whom were affected by the Sandy Hook school shooting that killed 20 children and six adults in Newtown, Conn., in 2012 implored lawmakers to address the mass shootings that take place in the U.S. more than any other nation. Murphy led off the news conference by criticizing Republicans who refuse to deliberate "on the question that is most fundamental to our human existence, our survival, our children's physical safety." "I wish this country didn't entertain a conversation around the issue of gun violence only after mass shootings," he said. "There is a slaughter every single day in this country. ... I wish this country was willing to step up and have a conversation about the epidemic of gun violence every single day. But the reality is these mass shootings are more charged when 19 children die at one time. For good reason, this country is shaken in a very specific and unique way. And we have to accept that it's during these moments that the opportunity for change is the most attainable." Blumenthal listed several of the gun policies Senate Democrats are looking for middle ground on with their Republican colleagues, including red flag laws, expanded background checks and safe storage known as "Ethan's Law" after a Connecticut teen among others. Murphy said Democrats are not seeking an assault weapons ban because they do not foresee any compromising with Republicans on the subject. Story continues Blumenthal noted two House measures: House Resolution 8, would implement universal background checks, and H.R. 1446, would close a background check loophole that a white supremacist used to carry out a 2015 mass shooting in Charleston, S.C. According to a 2019 national poll, about 90% of Americans supported universal background checks. Murphy said he and Blumenthal "have been in dialogue with our Republican colleagues exhaustively throughout the weekend trying to find some common ground on changes to our gun laws to make sure that dangerous people don't get their hands on dangerous weapons." Murphy said everything is on the table in negotiations with Republicans, including increased school security and mental health measures. But, he noted that he'd seen "too many kids of color be arrested inside our schools" to be comfortable with more police officers in schools. He said he is realistic about negotiations on this issue and wouldn't be surprised if they fell apart, "But make no mistake, we are going to have a debate in the United States Senate." "We are going to take votes in the United States Senate on tightening our nation's gun laws, with or without our Republican colleagues," Murphy continued. "Now, my plan is for them to be with us. My plan is for us to get a bill, a comprehensive bill, that will save lives. But if we can't get that compromise, then we're going to go ahead and put everybody on the record, show the American public who's taking this threat seriously and who isn't." Blumenthal said he met people during events throughout Memorial Day Weekend, and the most common comment he heard was: "Do something." "Americans are saying, 'Do something.' Inaction is not an option," Blumenthal said. "Inaction is complicity. So I say to my Republican colleagues, we are at a moment. It is a moment of opportunity. It is a moral moment. It is a political moment. It's a put up or shut up time for the United States Senate." Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona continue to stand in the way of efforts by their party to get rid of the filibuster to pass gun reform over Republicans' opposition votes. "Part of our challenge is Senate rules that thwart majority rule, Senate rules that require a 60-vote threshold. I've long opposed those rules," Blumenthal said. "Part of making democracy work is adopting rules that enable majority rule ... if my colleagues refuse to do their job, then they'll have to answer to the American people." At the news conference, Blumenthal also criticized the police's response to the Uvalde shooting police reportedly did not approach the shooter for an hour. He said they waited far too long. "I welcome a Department of Justice inquiry into how this incident was handled. The stories that I heard, the images that I saw, were heartbreaking and stomach-turning beyond words," Blumenthal said. "The apparent law enforcement failure here, contrary to the protocols that Connecticut and other states have adopted, deserves the most serious and searching scrutiny." Advocates call for action Co-Founder and Chairwoman of the Newtown Action Alliance Po Murray, whose neighbor killed the 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012, said she was encouraged when she woke up Tuesday morning to the news that "Democrats would be voting on the Protect Our Children package of life-saving gun bills." "The omnibus package bill includes raising the purchasing age for semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21, banning the import, sale, manufacture of transfer of high-capacity ammunition magazines, ban bump stocks and possession of new bump stocks for civilian use, amend the definition of ghost guns, and to require background checks for all sales" and "passing Ethan's Law will be on the table," Murray said, adding that she and others have been pushing for comprehensive packages like this one for 10 years. Connecticut passed Ethan's Law requiring proper storage of firearms in 2019. It is named after Ethan Song, a 15-year-old killed in 2018 while handling a gun at a neighbor's home in Guilford. His mother, Kristin Song, is asking Congress to pass the same legislation on the federal level now. "The day I watched my beautiful boy Ethan be lowered into the ground, I made a promise to him. I promised him I'd fight to protect and save other children," Song said Tuesday. "Early this morning, Po Murray texted me, and I found out that Ethan's Law would be part of a federal life-saving package that will be voted on next week in the House. And the first person I wanted to tell was Ethan. ... So I drove to the cemetery in my pajamas this morning and I ran across the cemetery yelling, 'Ethan, we did it. Your life-saving legislation will be heard and will be voted on.'" Mark Barden, CEO of Sandy Hook Promise, which he co-founded after his 7-year-old son Daniel Barden was killed at Sandy Hook, said December marks the 10th anniversary of that shooting. "Can we start this conversation with, we all want to protect our children, we all want our communities to be safer? Because we can, it's always been possible," Barden said. "It doesn't have to inflict any kind of infringement on anyone's rights to buy a firearm. Community-based violence intervention programs, and smart gun safety laws like we're talking about here today. Universal background checks ... red flag laws, secure storage ... there are solutions that are available to us now." Hartford Reverend Henry Brown said it doesn't make sense to be again discussing students and teachers who lost their lives. "We see mass shootings in our community every day, we see people dying every day, in our communities, and we're sick of it. Parents are sick of it. People who live in Hartford are sick of it," Brown said. "What we need to do is say ... we will no longer tolerate this in America. ... We need to do more. Use your voice. Get out. Go to people. Talk to people. We need to come together, all of us, so we can have a voice in Washington. And let the people know, either you do your job or we vote you out." Jeremy Stein, the executive director of Connecticut Against Gun Violence, held up two pictures, one of an assault rifle, the other of the faces of the children who were killed in Uvalde. "Who are we choosing? What are we choosing here? What are we choosing to protect? Are we choosing this? Is that what we want to protect?" Stein asked, raising up the picture of the gun. "Or are we going to do our job and protect our children? Nineteen children this time, 26 the last time, 17 before that. How many more is it going to take before this country wakes up and decides to protect our children, our mothers, our fathers, our brothers and sisters?" Cindy Carlson of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America was on the library staff at Sandy Hook at the time of the shooting. "I identify deeply with the staff at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, and I wonder about their school librarian. I want to go shelve books for them so they can take time to grieve," Carlson said at Tuesday's news conference. "I want to bear witness when they set aside 19 library cards just the way we put a rubber band around 20 library cards at Sandy Hook. I want to support them as they mark books lost in their catalogue so the shattered parents don't get automatic overdue notices ... I want to suggest like we did a spreadsheet to keep track of all the funerals they want to attend." s.spinella@theday.com E-sports or "jeu video de competition"? France's language watchdog has told government officials to use French gaming terms instead of English ones. The Academie Francaise says "jeu video de competition" should replace "e-sports", and "streamer" should become "joueur-animateur en direct". France's culture ministry told the AFP news agency that Anglicisms were "a barrier to understanding". But gamers have criticised the ban, with one calling it "completely pointless". France regularly issues warnings of the "debasement" of its language through imported English words. Other official translations include "jeu video en nuage" for "cloud gaming". An Academie Francaise member in official dress The Academie Francaise was created in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, and is the official custodian of the French language. The forty Academie members even have their own heavily embroidered uniform, complete with ceremonial sword - an outfit that might not look completely out of place in a game such 2014's Assassin's Creed Unity. The institution has long campaigned against the incursion of English words into French, something technology has often encouraged. However, as news site Thelocal.fr noted, a previous effort to replace "le wifi" with "l'access sans fil a internet", did not take off. On Twitter, one gamer opposed the latest ruling, writing: "I'm French and I find this absolutely ridiculous, nobody will ever use those terms. This type of ban is completely pointless." But several others in the same series of replies to a tweet by Eurogamer, posted memes suggesting they thought the French versions sounded rather more sophisticated than their English equivalents. Iowans and other Midwestern residents could face rolling blackouts this summer if extreme heat and spiking demand coincide with insufficient power. The warning by the North American Electric Reliability Corp., a Georgia-based regulatory authority called NERC, prompted state regulators Tuesday to grill utilities on how they would handle controlled outages. Iowa and 14 other states are at high risk of "energy emergencies during peak summer conditions," NERC said. In April, Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, told utilities whose power grid it serves, including most of those in Iowa, that it expects summer demand to increase 1.7% over last summer, while generation capacity has declined by 2.3%. MISO said the decline in generation is due to fossil-fueled power plant retirements as the nation shifts to renewable energy. The grid operator expects summer demand to reach 124 gigawatts, though there will be only 119 gigawatts of available energy. It warned that Iowa's largest utilities, MidAmerican Energy and Alliant Energy, as well as dozens of municipal and rural electric cooperatives, may be asked to cut power to customers if demand appears on track to exceed available electricity. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting above-average temperatures for Iowa through August. Alliant Energy, whose Iowa subsidiary, Interstate Power & Light, is in Cedar Rapids, noted in a filing with the Iowa Utilities Board that Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin have capacity that exceeds required reserves, while Illinois, Missouri, Indiana and Michigan do not. But MISO members have agreed to provide power and curtail usage throughout the grid to prevent widespread outages like those that occurred in Texas in the winter of 2020-21, leaving millions of people in the dark and leading to the deaths of more than 200 people. While the greatest risk of summer outages is in the Midwest, most of the western U.S. will be at moderate risk, NERC said. That forecast includes Southwest Power Pool, another grid operator that includes part of western Iowa. Story continues More: Des Moines City Council approves franchise agreement extensions with MidAmerican Energy Summer outages 'won't be perceived well,' Iowa Utilities Board member warns Joshua Byrnes, an Iowa Utilities Board member, urged utilities Tuesday to prepare customers for the possibility of outages. "People aren't used to conversations about shedding load" through outages, Byrnes said. "We're used to things like ice storms and our electricity going off or weather-related issues. This is something new and it won't be perceived well." Iowa utility leaders told state regulators they anticipate having enough energy to meet consumer demand for electricity. But if MISO calls for reducing energy use or for outages they have plans in place to comply. For example, MidAmerican has a program that will cut 25% of its peak demand, said Dan Custer, director of MidAmerican's electrical system control. But he said the system won't disrupt service to critical facilities such as hospitals. Officials said service would be disrupted for only about an hour at a time before rolling on to another group of customers, if required by MISO. Whether the shortage of power will result in increased bills is unclear. MidAmerican and Alliant both said the cost of providing electricity is rising as the price of fuel climbs. Natural gas, for instance, costs twice what it did a year ago. MidAmerican said it does not expect consumer prices to climb, but Alliant didn't respond to questions about the effect on consumers. More: Iowan Greg Abel is a regular guy with a shocking workload. Hes also Warren Buffetts chosen successor. MidAmerican officials and other utility representatives said they are unable to specifically prevent electricity losses to homes of customers who need power for medical equipment, but added that most devices are backed up by batteries that last six to eight hours sufficient to carry them through the hour-long outages. Because the Ames Electric Department is a municipal utility, director Don Kom said the city's fire department reaches out to customers with medical equipment to ensure it's reconnected. Noting that central Iowa has several Facebook data centers, Byrnes asked Custer if the leading social media site would continue getting power "so people can complain about not having power." Custer said cutting power to a large user like Facebook may be more of a reduction than MISO would require. More: As big business keeps getting bigger, how 2 Iowa electric cooperatives find success staying small In connection with the expected shortages, some groups voiced concern about the country's push to renewable energy. The Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities, representing 135 city power providers, urged a sensible, balanced transition to renewable energy that "must not sacrifice reliability, as we are now experiencing." "The risk to human life and livelihood caused by an unreliable system is significant, as is the tremendous economic impact on customers," the association said in a filing with the utilities board. That debate is playing out in Iowa, which gets nearly 60% of its energy from wind, the largest share in the nation. While MidAmerican Energy has aggressively adopted wind energy, for example, it's also resisted environmental groups' calls for to retire more coal generation plants, saying it needs to retain them to ensure service reliability. Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at deller@registermedia.com or 515-284-8457. Ways you can save energy and money Before interrupting power, utilities likely would first make a public appeal to customers to reduce their energy use, says Dan Custer, director of MidAmerican's electrical system control. Both Madison, Wisconsin-based Alliant and Des Moines-based MidAmerican, part of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, have programs that allow residential, commercial and industrial customers to voluntarily cut their energy use in exchange for money back or savings on their bills. For more information on Alliant's programs, visit alliantenergy.com and select "Ways to Save." For MidAmerican's program, visit midamericanenergy.com/summersaver. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowans warned: Rising summer temperatures may cause rolling blackouts The new Rolling Hills Local School District complex will involve renovations to Meadowbrook High School to accommodate grades 6-12 and the the design of a 78,235 square foot addition to house elementary students, the district's preschool and administration offices, as seen in this schematic by Fanning Howey. Rolling Hills Local School District is proceeding with the design phase of its $48.3 million new pre-k through12 campus for now, despite financial concerns. However, the vote came after board members voiced concerns over the raising cost of construction and materials on Wednesday and discussions with the project managers, the architects and finance advisor. Board president John Urdak said the board is taking this very seriously and wants to do what's best for the community. Urdak also said they want to be clear regarding the cost if they decided they couldn't afford to continue with the project. "None of us could foresee what was going to happen to the economy," Urdak said. "We just want to make sure the decision we make tonight is the best for the district." The project calls for the renovation the current high school, building on a middle school and adding a two-story K-5 building (82,000-square-feet) on the front of the complex. It's being funded by $21.4 million from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission and a 51% local match ($22.4 million) provided from funding available by the Guernsey Power Plant. The district will receive the funds from the Power Plant over a span of 20 years. Kandi Raach, school treasurer, and Patrick King, of Stifel Public Finance, said they were about $3 million into the project. King informed the board members that if they backed out now, it wouldn't be a hit to their credit but it could make it harder to get the financing again if they decided to pick the project up at a later time. Stacey Thomas, project manager with Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, said this was uncharted waters and she has never had a project like this where the board was considering whether to move forward or not. She said she would need an answer soon because there were other districts chomping at the bit for money to build new campuses and she would need to release the funds earmarked from the state. Story continues Andy Rogers of Summit Construction said that if they at least continue through the design phase and then re-evaluate they would at least have a completed design to either move forward with or pick up at a later date. Rogers noted once the final design is approved in February or March of 2023, prices could be more stable. He added they are about four month behind schedule on the project now. The board also voted to give the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission a first notice of intent to amend the project agreement and acknowledge the obligation to contribute the school district's proportional share of actual cost overrun. "This is just another move forward to the next step," Urdak said. "I look forward to continuing to move forward on the project." "The decision I think to give the construction company more time to figure out a real cost and a hard cost is right," Scott Golec, superintendent said. "This is just a heck of an opportunity for the kids so I think we have to do everything that we can," This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Rolling Hills goes forward with design of new campus despite concerns Russian lawmakers attend a session of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament (REUTERS) A senior Russian politician has suggested his countrys security services should kidnap a Nato defence minister in Ukraine and take them to Moscow. Oleg Morozov, who was first elected to the Russian parliament in 1993, said the supply of Western arms to Ukraine posed a direct threat to Russia. He added that the information provided by any interrogation may lead to a review of Russias military aims, Reuters reported. You know, perhaps it is a fantastical plot that I have brewing... that in the near future, at some stage, a war minister of some Nato country will go by train to Kyiv to talk with (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky," Morozov told the 60 Minutes talk show on Rossiya-1 state TV on Monday. But he would not get there. And would wake up somewhere in Moscow, Morozov said. You mean we abduct them?, asked TV host Olga Skabeyeva, one of the most pro-Kremlin journalists on television. "Yes, Morozon replied. And then we would sort out who gave which order for what, who is responsible for what exactly. It is not such a mythical picture... There are new rules in the world now. Let all those war ministers gathering in Kyiv think a little about what it would be like to wake up in Moscow. An increase in confrontational rhetoric from pro-Kremlin voices in Moscow has been seen over the past few weeks. Yesterday a Russian television personality with close links to Vladimir Putin threatened Britain, claiming the despots invasion could stretch as far as Stonehenge. Firebrand anchorman Vladimir Solovyov, known as Putins Voice, and ranted that Russia could invade Britain and target Boris Johnsons foreign secretary Liz Truss. When asked by the Ukrainian political analyst Vasil Vakarov where Putins savage regime would stop its war, he replied: Well, when we have to, then we will. Where will we stop? Well, as I was saying today, maybe Stonehenge. Liz Truss says she's the one fighting the war. The British foreign secretary has been in the crosshairs of Russian media rhetoric in recent months due to her unwillingness to compromise with Putin. Tucker Carlson learned a valuable lesson today: If you come for K-pop, the K-pop fans will come for you. Speaking on Tucker Carlson Tonight Tuesday, the Fox News host and noted Russian sycophant took aim at K-pops most dangerous target: BTS. The global megastars were in Washington to discuss Asian inclusion and representation and address anti-Asian discrimination with President Joe Biden something that just didnt sit right with Tucker. More from Rolling Stone Yeah, so we got a Korean pop group to discuss anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States, he said. Okay. Good job, guys. If questioning the activism of one of the most popular musical artists on the planet wasnt enough to enrage the digital infantry of the BTS fan ARMY, Carlson later suggested extending White House invites to youth icons like BTS was helping degrade America. And its working, he added. Upon learning of Carlsons comments, Twitter (rightfully) lost its shit, exploding with memes and fervent prayers for ARMY to decimate the Fox figurehead into oblivion. He doesnt know the force he just awoke, one user tweeted and anyone unfortunate enough to have made even a lighthearted joke about BTS online would call that assessment an understatement. Force? More like an unrelenting, 24/7 onslaught of pain. In short: RIP to Tuckers mentions. Things are going so poorly at the White House that even the media can no longer ignore it. pic.twitter.com/wmqZxpi81r Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 1, 2022 The cable news charlatan is seemingly unaware that the K-pop powerhouse comprised of Jungkook, V, Jimin, Suga, Jin, RM, and J-Hope have previously spoken out against anti-Asian violence in the U.S., so their White House invite isnt exactly the stretch Carlson makes it out to be. In March 2021, BTS addressed the then-recent wave of crime targeting Asians across America. We stand against racial discrimination, BTS wrote in a statement accompanied by the hashtags #StopAsianHate and #StopAAPIHate. We recall moments when we faced discrimination as Asians. We have endured expletives without reason and were mocked for the way we look. We were even asked why Asians spoke in English. Story continues The way we think is that everything that we do, and our existence itself, is contributing to the hope for leaving this xenophobia, these negative things, behind. Its our hope, too, that people in the minority will draw some energy and strength from our existence, RM told Rolling Stone in the groups May 2021 cover story. Yes, theres xenophobia, but there are also a lot of people who are very accepting. . . . The fact that we have faced success in the United States is very meaningful in and of itself. Ultimately, the BTS comments merely served as a poorly planned preamble to an interview with fellow shit-stirrer Candace Owens discussing the disarray of the Biden White House. BTS will likely remain unbothered by Carlsons quip especially ahead of the upcoming release of their anthology album, Proof. But Tucker? He just guaranteed his replies will become a wasteland of Jimin fancams and J-Hope GIFs for all eternity. At ease, ARMY. Youve done your duty. Best of Rolling Stone Click here to read the full article. Story at a glance Researchers can track the amount of coronavirus found in wastewater samples to give an idea for how it is circulating in the population. The wastewater signal can preempt clinical case counts by up to 10 days. The data did seem to predict the latest increase in cases of omicron subvariants, although it happened much slower than with previous variants. The COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing, even though many may have started acting like the emergency has passed. A key tool in tracking the pandemic has been wastewater surveillance, especially when case counts and testing numbers have become less reliable with more people using rapid tests and testing access becoming more limited again. How do researchers conduct wastewater surveillance? Researchers collect water samples from designated sites on a predetermined schedule. The samples get processed in a laboratory, where technicians look for genetic fragments of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that enters the system through human waste. Because the virus begins breaking down when it enters wastewater, it may not be possible to isolate whole viruses. In some cases, researchers may be able to identify specific short sequences belonging to particular variants. Did the data predict a surge in cases? Over the pandemic, wastewater surveillance was able to alert health officials to potential oncoming increases in cases or waves. A review of studies found that positive signals from wastewater surveillance typically anticipated cases by 10 days according to 24 separate studies. The authors also found that the wastewater signal may preempt clinical cases by up to 63 days. In a study of three water reclamation plants in Nevada from July 2020 to September 2021, the data suggested steady increases in COVID-19 cases around the Halloween, Thanksgiving and winter holidays. Using daily data, the researchers found that the wastewater data could predict case rates seven days in advance. A study that analyzed wastewater data from two wastewater treatment plants in Italy from Feb. 2021 to Feb. 2022 found that detection of the omicron variant of the virus in wastewater preempted coronavirus cases by six days. The omicron strain was first detected in mid-Dec. 2021 and caseloads increased by five or six times in the following two weeks. Story continues Whats happening now? Researchers who have been tracking wastewater during the pandemic did see modest increases in coronavirus in samples in April and May. In recent weeks, the wastewater signal has slowly been increasing and may be reaching a plateau in some places, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. In particular, the mid-West and West Coast is seeing an increase in virus detection. This spring, the trend has creeped upwards over a long period of time, unlike it did for delta and original omicron variants. It looks like a surge in slow motion, physician Jennifer Avegno, who is head of the New Orleans health department, says to The New York Times. Its not the sharp increase we saw with Delta and definitely not with Omicron. A recent report from the Rockefeller Foundation found that 92 percent of state and 38 percent of local government surveyed conducted some level of wastewater surveillance during the pandemic for about a year on average. They also found that 66 percent of state and 21 percent of local governments plan on conducting wastewater surveillance after the pandemic wanes. The state of Maryland is sharing their data online, showing which sites have found the virus or if there is an increasing or decreasing trend. Virginia plans to launch a similar website, according to the Washington Post. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. BY ANDREW Z. GALARNEAU June 1, 2022 Argentine wood-fired grill among Steer updates After a 10-month closure, University Heights fixture The Steer is set to reopen its doors sporting a fire-breathing grill and new dishes on the vegan side of the menu. The longtime student haunt and neighborhood fixture will reopen June 21, said owner Tucker Curtin. We're going back to seven days a week, Curtin said. Doing things a little bit different on the menu, some old, some new. The pizza oven is gone. In its place will be a wood-burning Argentinian style grill, with a series of grates that can be extensively adjusted to take advantage of the fires particular conditions. We can adjust what we have like an erector set, Curtin said. So we'll have little stub-outs for different pieces of metal gear that would be able to rig up and support the cooking system within a 6-foot wide arc. Despite adding the elaborate barbecue setup, Curtin said he is not abandoning The Steers commitment to its lineup of animal-free dishes, with tofu lasagna and more on offer. The two-story restaurant at 3151 Main St. has been serving University at Buffalo students and others since 1969. Curtin, who bought out a partner to take charge in 1997, had a diner transplanted next door in 2001. The Lake Effect Diner will remain closed for now, Curtin said. First, we're going to get our arms around what's going on here, at The Steer, Curtin said. Chef Ross Warhols fried chicken sandwich is brined and double battered before hitting the fryer. Served on a freshly-toasted bun with a slathering of deviled egg spread and a bright tomato gastrique. Want to find out more about this mouthwatering recipe? Check out the latest episode of Dig In, Buffalo >> Sponsored by Orville's Home Appliances DINING REVIEWS Soho: For most of its years on the Chippewa Strip, Soho's draw was more its dance floors and bars than dining rooms. In January, Chef J.J. Richert took on the challenge of getting customers to spend money on food instead of saving it for bottle service. With pork belly tacos, Puerto Rican skirt steak with chimichurri, grapefruit gnocchi at brunch, Richert is making his case. Read more Next week: Casa Azul: Originally opened in 2016 on Genesee Street, Zina Lapi's Mexican-inspired restaurant has blossomed at its new location at Allen and Elmwood, in the heart of Allentown. Not just tacos, but deeper dishes like mole verde enchiladas and cod poached in poblano broth are as much reason to attend as the pineapple negronis. Read more OPENINGS & CLOSINGS Empanadas al fresco: Addressing a dire regional empanada shortage, The Whole Empanada has started appearing at farmers markets to sell baked handheld pies in a variety of flavors. As in, strawberry rhubarb, Cuban (mojo pork shoulder, ham, kosher dill pickle, Swiss cheese, mustard), beef picadillo, chicken tinga (chipotle tomato), and so on. Theyre $5 to $7, and usually made with lard and butter in the dough, although vegetarian specials will get vegetable shortening, said David Brown. He runs the show with Otto Garcia, whos been using his grandmothers recipes for empanadas and tamales. Operating out of the kitchen-for-hire at the Western New York Food Incubator at Cornell Cooperative Extension in Lockport, theyve been serving Niagara County since last year. Open 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursdays at North Tonawanda City Market, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays at the Lockport Community Farmers Market. Read more Sato Brewpub dry: Sato Brewpub, the restaurant in the basement of downtown architectural landmark the Dun Building, closed last month. It opened in 2017, in the former Soundlab space at 110 Pearl St. Sato, the full-service Japanese restaurant at 739 Elmwood Ave., and Sato Ramen, the University Heights noodle soup specialist at 3268 Main St., will remain open. Being a small family owned business in these current conditions, we believe this is the move we need to make in order to continue to be able to bring our Japanese food and drinks to Buffalo, owners Josh and Satomi Smith posted. We truly appreciate all of the staff who have helped us over the years. Read 2018 review MORE RESTAURANT INTEL History on Tap: On Friday, the Genesee Country Village and Museum hosts a celebration of brewing history crossed with happy hour. From 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., attendees can sample craft brews, including local favorites and some made at the museum. Live music, tours of a 19th-century-style brewery, and lawn games will be among the diversions at the museum, at 1410 Flint Hill Road, Mumford. Tickets for the 21-and-over event are $30 for general admission, $10 for designated drivers, and $27 for members. Get tickets here ASK THE CRITIC Q: Do you know of any African restaurants in the area? -Michelle, via email A: Yes, three. Nile River, South Sudanese-based dishes at West Side Bazaar, 25 Grant St. My favorite foul (vegan fava bean stew with garlic, tomato) in the area, plus terrific dill-laced beef kabobs. At the same address is Abyssinia Ethiopian Cuisine, almost 10 years old now, serving fine vegan or meat dish combinations on injera, the sourdough pancake-like flatbread. Yalleys African Restaurant, a Ghananian place, 290 Kenmore Ave. Dont miss the chicken peanut soup, and fufu. Send restaurant tips, heartfelt recipes and questions to agalarneau@buffnews.com or One News Plaza, P.O. Box 100, Buffalo, NY 14240. Send restaurant tips to agalarneau@buffnews.com and follow @BuffaloFood on Instagram and Twitter. The Buffalo News: Food & Drink Get what you need to know about Western New York's dining and bar scene, including restaurant openings and closings, delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Danny Westneat: Hey, America: Following WA on gun laws could have prevented those mass shootings | Danny Westneat A man who intentionally poisoned a co-worker's drink has been sentenced in Erie County Court to a determinate sentence of six years in prison, according to the Erie County District Attorney's Office. Prosecutors said that 41-year-old Jason M. Keenan of Amherst attempted to cause serious physical injuries to the co-worker by pouring a liquid cleaning agent into his drink on Dec. 19, 2020, inside a restaurant on Niagara Falls Boulevard in Amherst where the two had worked. The victim went to WNY Immediate Care before he was taken to Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital for emergency treatment, and was later transferred to Buffalo General Medical Center where he remained for several days in intensive care for treatment of a caustic injury to his throat. The victim has since recovered. Keenan pleaded guilty April 5 to first-degree attempted assault. Erie County Court Judge Kenneth Case also sentenced him to four years of post-release supervision. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. Emeli Sande, Lisa Stansfield, Stereo MCs and Richard Bona will be among the international and local acts performing at the annual Paloznak Jazz Picnic, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year and offers over 30 acts on four stages. Similarly to previous years the festival will offer part of its revenue to those in need, in cooperation with the Together for Autistic People Foundation. The three-day festival near Lake Balaton will open on August 4 with a concert by the Richard Bona and Alfredo Rodriguez Band. Up next on the main stage will be Emeli Sande who is able to appeal to every generation, Orsolya Valde, the festival director, told the media. The international stars next day include Lisa Stansfield performing old hits and new titles, to be followed by Stereo MCs popular since the mid-80s. On the closing day, August 6, the Al McKays Earth, Wind and Fire Experience will give a concert, to be followed by MF Robots. The festival will also give upcoming Hungarian groups and talents the opportunity to perform in a line-up including Peet Project, Aron Andras and The Black Circle and Random Trip. The festival will continue its environment-friendly policy aiming to reduce communal waste from the event to one kilogram, Valde said. More: jazzpiknik.hu No longer under a cloud of suspicion, Jermaine St. John can finally grieve over the death of his foster son. A jury verdict has cleared him of a manslaughter charge he faced after 6-year-old Byron K. Clark's 2019 death. An Erie County jury deliberated only an hour before acquitting St. John on Thursday. The verdict, while bringing relief, also opened up more space to mourn. "I get to grieve," St. John told The Buffalo News. "My family gets to grieve, as well." Shortly before 9 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2019, Buffalo police responded to St. John's home on Newburgh Avenue in the city's Bailey-East Delavan neighborhood. A child was reported in cardiac arrest. First responders attended to Byron on the living room floor, then took the 6-year-old to Oishei Children's Hospital, where he died later that day. At first, police weren't even sure if anything criminal happened. St. John told investigators the boy fell and hit his head and then had a seizure. Prosecutors filed the first criminal charges 20 months after Byron's death, after an investigation and a finding by the Erie County Medical Examiner's Office that the boy's death was a homicide. St. John's defense was the Medical Examiner's Office got the cause of death wrong. Almost from the start of his life, Byron suffered from a variety of health problems. Byron was a shaken baby, according to St. John and St. John's defense attorney, Paul Dell. St. John worked for Child & Family Services, and he met the boy that would eventually become his foster son through his work as a child care therapist aide. Like Byron, St. John had special needs when he was a child. As an infant, he suffered from severe lead poisoning, which caused developmental delays and some difficulty with speech, Dell said. At age 11, St. John was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer. "Because of all that, he's this dedicated to helping severely needy children," Dell said. St. John became Byron's foster father in November 2018, around two years after St. John started caring for him. It was only a couple of months later that Byron died. Initially, St. John was charged with one count of first-degree manslaughter. Prosecutors in September 2020 said the 6-year-old died of blunt force trauma but declined to say how the injuries were inflicted. The District Attorney's Office attributed the length of time between the death and St. John being charged to the amount of time needed for the investigation and for a completed autopsy report, as well as a pause in court proceedings due to the Covid-19 pandemic. St. John was indicted seven months later, in April 2021, on counts of first- and second-degree manslaughter. During a pre-trial hearing in February, St. John told the judge he wasn't interested in taking a plea offer. "I wasn't about to admit to doing something I didn't do," St. John said after the verdict. A police detective who testified at the February hearing said St. John's "story stayed the same" over three interviews with investigators over nine months in 2019. The trial, held before Erie County Judge James Bargnesi, began Tuesday with opening arguments. Prosecution witnesses included an intensive care unit doctor from Oishei and forensic pathologists from the county Medical Examiner's Office, the latter of whom had concluded Byron died of blunt force trauma, including from having been shaken. Dr. Joseph Felo, a forensic pathologist with the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office in Ohio, who was called as an expert witness by the defense, testified the child died from a lack of oxygen and blood to the brain, Dell said. The conclusion from the Erie County Medical Examiner's Office led to the prosecutors developing a theory that St. John got frustrated and shook the boy, he said. "It wasn't a matter of him hitting his head causing a traumatic brain injury, but the result of a chain of reactions inside his body, as a result of the seizure and prior injuries," Dell said. St. John also took the stand in his own defense. Jurors got the case early Thursday afternoon. Their only request during deliberations was to look at some photographs introduced into evidence. "I think the system worked," Dell said. "This is why we have juries." A spokesperson for the Erie County District Attorney's Office declined to comment, citing the sealed nature of the case following St. John's acquittal. St. John, who turned 31 on Tuesday, said he would like to work in child care again, if possible, but he understands that might not be in the cards. He doesn't think the criminal justice system treated him fairly, but for now, he is taking things step by step, day by day, he said. "I'm just happy that we get to grieve our son and he gets to rest in peace," he said. Reach Aaron at abesecker[at]buffnews.com or 716-849-4602. 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. YORK With a split vote this week, the York County Commissioners voted against giving county employees who worked during the height of the COVID pandemic a $4,000 bonus. Two weeks ago, Commissioner Jack Sikes brought forward the idea, saying he would like to give a $4,000 bonus to each county employee who worked during the shut down time of 2020. He said the money could come from the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds the county has and will be receiving. The county has already received $1.3 million from the federal government and will be receiving the same amount after they file the paperwork to receive it. This courthouse was one of a very few that stayed open to the public during that time, Sikes said. People came here from all over to get their drivers licenses. I think that in itself is why this came up. Sikes recognized that certain expenditures are allowed from this money and COVID bonuses are included. He also noted that Seward and Hamilton Counties have already passed resolutions to allow for these bonuses by split votes. I think it is important for our people and our employees are so important, Sikes said. We need to pay them so they dont leave to go somewhere else. I bet no one turned their back on the $1,400 stimulus checks we received earlier. I think premium pay is important to prove we honor their service and this is the first time we can do this without taking money from the local tax base. Orval Stuhr of Waco, as a member of the audience, said he suggested a more equitable disbursement. Im not a fan of giving out money without a valid reason. These funds could benefit a wider portion of the tax base in different ways. How about on the gravel roads where there are a lot of red flags where there are culvert problems and washouts, if the funds could be used for that. Or how about in some of our smaller towns maybe we could distribute some of that money among the towns for projects like sewers or streets or some internet access issues. And maybe some money could be spent (on technology) which would allow for people to watch meetings and speak aloud to issues without being physically at county board meetings. And there are issues in the county with folks who cant work because there isnt enough daycare not sure if those funds could be used for that. These ARPA funds, in my opinion, could be used to find areas that could benefit taxpayers who may have been affected, in a fiscally beneficial manner. Willard Peterson of Bradshaw also spoke to the matter, saying, Im asking the board to maybe consider this because this courthouse was open long before other courthouses were and maybe the board should consider allowing the funds for these bonuses. Im going to put this forward as a motion, Sikes said. The bonus would be $4,000, if they were working here during that time. Its up to the board, I know you all have an opinion. I make a motion we pay the bonuses. One thing to remember is that this would only be a small piece of the ARPA funds, Peterson said. You wouldnt be using up all the money by any shape or form. Yes, it wouldnt be just this, but just a small piece of that money, Sikes said. The bonuses would be a great morale booster for employees, said York County Highway Superintendent Harvey Keim. They kept the courthouse open, the jail in operation, roads taken care of, the sheriffs department was working and keeping order, etc. Business owners and farmers got funds, this would be for our county employees. Sikes motion was seconded by Commissioner Bill Bamesberger. Ive been on the record saying the one piece I dont care for about this is that it is not for everyone, said Commissioner Randy Obermier. I think our employees are great, Ive fought for better wages for them. I support them. But when we start compiling this list of what we can do with this money, when you start looking at the roads and facilities that need work, it wont be hard to spend. And again, these bonuses wouldnt be for everyone for example, only one person in the clerks office would get this because they were working during that time. The elected officials cant have them because of state law. So only certain people would get the bonuses and certain others wouldnt. This would only be a small portion of the countys ARPA money and if we went $4,000 and maybe 70 employees qualify, that would only be a small portion of the $2.6 million. We need to give these people something. Its a one-time thing. All the employees are important but this is a time we can show our appreciation, Bamesberger said. Sikes and Bamesberger voted in favor of the $4,000 ARPA bonuses Obermier, Kurt Bulgrin and Daniel Grotz voted against, so the motion failed. 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. Hyundai, the countrys second-largest carmaker has finally confirmed the arrival of the Venue facelift. The companys sub-4m compact SUV will soon receive its mid-life update, and it will officially hit the Indian market on June 16. The Hyundai Venue facelift is one of the most anticipated products of this year. The SUV, once ruled the chart in its segment. However, the sales numbers started to take a dip as the product started to show its age. Now, with the arrival of the updated iteration of the Venue facelift, it is expected to revive the same success story for itself. Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Unsoo Kim, MD & CEO, Hyundai Motor India Ltd., said, As the leading mobility solutions provider, Hyundai has been setting new benchmarks in India with the introduction of blockbuster products. Through our vision of Progress for Humanity we have continued to elevate customer experiences and induced the rapid adoption of globally contemporary technologies. Indian customers have showcased their love and trust in Hyundai, making us the most sold SUV brand of 2020 and 2021. At Hyundai, we will continue to excite our most loved customers with unique and exciting products and I am glad to announce the launch of the new Hyundai VENUE in June this year. I am sure, the new Hyundai VENUE will continue to thrill customers both in India as well as export markets. 2022 Hyundai Venue Facelift - Price & Rivals The Hyundai Venue facelift is assumed to be priced from Rs 8 lakh onwards, and it will continue to lock horns with its existing set of rivals, namely Kia Sonet, Tata Nexon, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Nissan Magnite, Renault Kiger and more. 2022 Hyundai Venue Facelift - Design The design of the new Hyundai VENUE exhibits confident body forms, delivering the perfect interpretation of Hyundais signature design language with big and bold contours that add to the premium and futuristic appeal of the new Hyundai VENUE. It now features a Dark Chrome front grille. The facade has been designed to bring forth a wider and confident stance with the seamless integration of bold and dynamic styling elements. The rear section of the new Hyundai VENUE features unique first-in-segment Connecting LED Tail Lamps with unique vertical design elements. The Connecting LED Tail Lamps stretch across the rear and compliment the overall design with a futuristic and distinctive appeal while the hexagonal cut crystal design creates a luxurious yet hi-tech appeal. 2022 Hyundai Venue Facelift - Interior & Features The Hyundai Venue facelift will of course see major revisions on the inside. In addition, a larger 10.25-inch touchscreen is expected. Also, the premium Bose sound system is on cards. A host of new features will be added to the list, while the visual changes will include a new steering wheel, revised center console and more. Also read - Alert vehicle buyers! Cars, two-wheelers to become expensive from today: Check increased insurance premium here 2022 Hyundai Venue Facelift - Engine & Gearbox The engine options on the facelifted Hyundai Venue will remain unchanged. The car will continue to come with three engine choices - 1.2L NA petrol, 1.0L turbo-petrol, and 1.5L turbo-diesel. However, the option of either a 6-speed iMT or a 6-speed AT with the oil burner is likely to be added to the list. Alongside, the Venue facelift will be offered with 3 gearbox options - 5-speed MT, 6-speed iMT, and 7-speed DCT. American Airlines' New York-Delhi flight (AA292) on Sunday (May 29) had to divert to London as one of the passengers faced a medical emergency, aviation industry sources said. Approximately 200 passengers of the AA295 flight have been stuck in the UK's capital city for the last two days, they mentioned. Hence, to bring back the stranded passengers, American Airlines will operate an unscheduled London-Delhi flight, an official of Indian aviation regulator DGCA said on May 31. An official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told PTI that an unscheduled London-Delhi flight was supposed to operate before Wednesday (June 1) but it got cancelled due to crew duty time limitations. The airline sought permission for a change in the flight number as it was an unscheduled flight and the DGCA granted a new number immediately, the official said. The airline has informed the DGCA that the unscheduled London-Delhi flight, which has been granted number AA295, will operate on Wednesday, the official said. Also read: Days after Nepal plane crash, Buddha Airlines flight faces technical snag; returns to airport The change in the number of flights from AA292 to AA295 is in sync with international aviation regulations, according to the official. An American Airlines spokesperson said, "On Sunday, American Airlines flight 292 from New York to Delhi diverted to London Heathrow due to a medical emergency on board." "The flight was unable to continue due to crew rest requirements and is currently awaiting approval from various governmental authorities as needed to re-depart to DEL (Delhi). We apologize to our customers for this inconvenience," the spokesperson said in a statement. (With inputs from PTI) Live TV #mute China barred Russia's airlines from flying foreign-owned jetliners into its airspace as President Vladimir Putin threw the aircrafts' ownership into doubt. Putin allowed them to be re-registered in Russia to avoid seizure under sanctions over Moscow's attack on Ukraine, the Russian news outlet RBK reported. The European Union, home to major aircraft leasing companies, banned the sale or lease of aircraft to Russian carriers in February. However, President Vladimir Putin responded by approving the re-registration measure in March, which prompted suggestions foreign owners may never recover planes worth billions of dollars. China's air regulator asked all foreign carriers last month to update ownership information and other details, RBK said, citing two unidentified sources. It said Russian airlines that couldn't provide documents showing their aircraft were de-registered abroad were barred from Chinese airspace.The Civil Aviation Administration of China didn't immediately respond to a request for confirmation and details of the decision. Also read: American Airlines special London-Delhi flight to bring back stranded passengers from UK on June 1 President Xi Jinping's government said in February it has a no limits friendship with Moscow but has tried to distance itself from Putin's war. Beijing has criticized Western sanctions but appears to be avoiding steps that might be seen as helping Moscow for fear of possible penalties against Chinese companies (With inputs from AP) A Buddha Airlines flight returned back to Nepal's Kathmandu airport due to a technical snag on June 1, according to a media report. The flight took off from Tribhuvan International Airport to Bhadrapur and returned after realising that there was a problem with the plane's tyres, Nepal's news website cited the Civil Aviation Office at the airport as saying. According to a Civil Aviation official, the plane took off from Kathmandu at 10:43 am and returned to the airport soon after, the report said. The report added that an investigation into the matter was underway. The incident comes days after a Tara airline plane carrying four Indians, two Germans, and 13 Nepali passengers, besides a three-member Nepali crew, crashed in Nepal's mountainous Mustang district, minutes after taking off from the tourist city of Pokhara. According to a preliminary investigation carried out by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the Canadian-built turboprop Twin Otter 9N-AET plane crashed on Sunday (May 29) at an altitude of 4,200 metres due to bad weather conditions. Also read: Nepal plane crash: Aviation regulator tightens flight permit rules; scraps pilot's right to take off in bad weather Nepal being a mountainous country, the weather condition is always fluctuating and it is difficult to operate a flight in the mountain region without a proper weather forecasting mechanism. Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Everest, has a record of air accidents. On May 31, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal tightened rules governing domestic flights and made it mandatory for airlines to have clear weather throughout the route of a flight. (With inputs from PTI) Live TV #mute After the deadly Tara Air plane crash on May 29 killed all 22 people onboard including an Indian family, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has introduced a new rule: clear weather throughout the route to carry out a flight. Earlier, the pilot in command's right to decide on the feasibility of flights in case of poor weather was in existence which now is scrapped after a series of instances of accidents caused by poor visibility. "All flights following the visual flight rules (VFR) have to follow the decision," Deputy Director-General of CAAN Devendra Lal Karna told ANI. Before the incident on May 29 of the Tara Air plane crash, the aviation regulatory authority has been issuing permits if weather conditions at the source and destination airports are okay. But, from now onwards, the en-route weather conditions will also be looked into. As per the official, the authority would continue to depend on data provided by the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology to decide if the weather condition is okay at any place. "We will strictly oversee and implement the new flight permit rule," Karna added. With the latest round of decisions, only the airport authority from now onwards will decide on the weather of the airplanes input on domestic flights. Also read: Nepal Plane Crash: Black Box of ill-fated Tara Air flight found, all 22 bodies recovered "After this decision, the decision regarding the weather of the plane's route will be made only from the airport. At present, only a captain can make such a decision, and now every airport will allow flights," he said. A preliminary investigation made by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has shown that the Tara Air crash incident might have occurred due to bad weather conditions. CAAN Director General Pradeep Adhikari told a meeting of the International Committee of the Parliament on Monday that the Tara Air plane met with the accident because of inclement weather. Preliminary investigation showed that the aircraft which should have made a right turn instead took a left turn due to the bad weather and crashed into a hillside. A total of 16 Nepali, 4 Indian and 2 German nationals were killed in the accident which took place on the steep slopes of the Himalayas. (With inputs from ANI) Live TV #mute The Indian electric vehicle market is witnessing an expansion. With the sales chart out for the month of May 2022, it is clear that Tata Motors has managed to take the top spot with sales of 3,454 units. The company also registered a 6-fold YoY growth for May this year, as it could only sell 476 units in the corresponding period last year. Currently, the brand sells a total of three offerings in the Indian market - Nexon EV, Nexon EV Max, and Tigor EV. The company also registered a YoY growth of 171 per cent for its ICE vehicle lineup with sales of over 39,000 units. Tata Motors has recently launched the Nexon EV Max in the Indian market. In comparison to the Nexon EV, it offered a larger battery pack and increased range. The Nexon EV Max gets an ARAI-claimed range of 437 km on a full charge. Furthermore, the company is offering a warranty of 1.6 lakh km or 8 years on the battery and motor. It uses a 40.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack, which can be juiced up from 0 to 80 per cent in just 56 minutes via a 50 kW DC fast charger. Also read - 2023 Mercedes-AMG One breaks cover with F1 engine, gets massive 1049 HP power The motor on the Nexon EV Max is a 143 PS unit, while the peak torque stands at 250 Nm. Resultantly, it can do the 0-100 kmph sprint in well under 10 seconds. In comparison to the regular iteration of the Nexon EV, the long-range avatar also gets an electronic parking brake, multi-mode regen, wireless phone charger, ventilated front seats, air purifier, and rotary gear knob with the in-built display. Priced from Rs 17.74 lakh (ex-showroom), the Tata Nexon EV max rivals the likes of Hyundai Kona Electric and MG ZS EV in the Indian market. New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has written to Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena alleging a scam in toll tax collection by the BJP-led MCD and demanded an inquiry into the matter. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) dismissed the claim, saying the company on which the allegations were levelled, was blacklisted for five years. AAP leader and MCD in-charge Durgesh Pathak said toll tax collection is the largest source of revenue for the MCD. "All the toll tax collection in Delhi goes to the MCD. There has been a large-scale scam in the collection of toll tax. In 2017, the MCD gave the rights of collecting toll tax to a firm for approximately Rs 1,200 crore. The company did not pay Rs 950 crore to the MCD and went to the court. The MCD won the case, but till now, no action has been taken against the company," he alleged in a media briefing. Alleging that the MCD suffers a loss of Rs 1,180 crore due to the collusion of BJP and toll tax companies, he said tenders worth Rs 1,200 crore were awarded in 2017 but only Rs 250 crore reached MCD treasuries every year. "The same tender was awarded for Rs 786 crores in 2021, that company still owes Rs 232 crores to MCD. As per information at hand, both the companies are owned and operated by the same person," he said. "We have written to Delhi LG and MCD commissioner flagging this scandal. Hope that the culprits will be brought to justice and given the strictest possible punishment," he added. He said the party suspects that some leaders of the BJP could also be involved in the ownership of these companies. "Otherwise it would not be possible to run this scam at such a large-scale. I have written a letter on this matter to the LG and also to newly-appointed special commissioner for the MCD Ashwini Kumar and requested them to order an enquiry into this matter and arrest those who are involved in the scam," he said. "I have also asked them for an appointment, so that I can meet them and submit to them the documents that I have regarding this scam," he added. The new reunified MCD came into being on May 22 after unification of the North, South and East Delhi Municipal Corporations. The MCD, in a statement, said the then South Delhi Municipal Corporation engaged an agency and executed contract agreement for collection of toll tax at Rs 1,206 crores per annum. "The SDMC terminated the contract but the contractor challenged the termination notice before the High court. The High Court dismissed the petition of agency and the SDMC took over all the toll plazas and handed them over to a new contractor after following open tender system. The corporation has taken the matter very seriously and has taken every action possible against the contractor," it said. The SDMC has initiated legal course of action for recovery of outstanding dues on account of toll tax and penalty there upon as per provision made in contract agreement. It also stressed that the SDMC had blacklisted the agency from participating in tender process MCD for five years. The then SDMC after termination of contract agreement with previous agency started process to engage another contractor for collection of toll tax. After due process, the new contractor has been engaged and contract agreement has been executed on for collection of toll tax at Rs 786.60 crore per annum against reserve price of Rs 636 crore," it said. The drop in the bid amount from Rs 1,200 crore to present Rs 786.60 crore is reflective of sustainable model and good economics, it said. The present contractor has been paying full weekly remittance of toll tax as per the contract agreement after the restrictions due to Covid-19 have been relaxed. "As per record submitted to the department, the owners/directors/partners of previous and present contractor are different persons," read the statement. Live TV Chennai: The BJP's key ally in Tamil Nadu, the AIADMK on Wednesday slammed the Saffron party alleging that it is anti-Tamil, claiming that the party could never grow in the state. The alliance with the BJP was merely an 'electoral adjustment' and the Saffron party's ideology is diametrically opposite to that of the AIADMK, veteran party leader C Ponnaiyan said. Ponnaiyan alleged that the BJP is continuously 'imposing' Hindi despite AIADMK's stiff opposition all along. "The imposition of Hindi is many times more than what it was during the Congress-led governments at the Centre," he told PTI. "We firmly stand by the 2-language policy of Tamil and English." Ponnaiyan, a founding member of the AIADMK, is the party's organisation secretary and a senior spokesperson. A former Minister during the previous AIADMK regimes, he was part of the Cabinet led by both party founder M G Ramachandran and late leader J Jayalalithaa. He said the AIADMK is opposed to the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for medical admissions. The BJP, however, is 'forcing' the test on Tamil Nadu and this has led to a scenario of 'students from northern states', taking away a chunk of seats in medical colleges in the state, he alleged. While 'state autonomy' is a fundamental principle of his party, the former Minister said the BJP-led central government has reduced state governments to the level of a 'village panchayat' by taking away the rights of states like those related to taxation. Pointing to the Supreme Court judgment on the Cauvery river water issue and inter-state river water matters like the Mullaiperiyar, he condemned what he termed the BJP's 'step-motherly' treatment towards Tamil Nadu. Accusing the BJP of 'actively siding with' the Sri Lankan 'Rajapakse' government that was 'behind the killings' of 1.5 lakh Tamils in the 2009 war in the island nation between the now-defunct Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Army, he said the Tamil families affected by the war were yet to get due relief. Also, the Tamil people have not been empowered by giving them equal rights and opportunities. Ponnaiyan said AIADMK firmly stood for the rights of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka, which includes those related to equal employment opportunities, land rights and due respect and recognition for the Tamil language. "We do not accept the BJP's anti-Tamil race, anti-Tamil language sentiments (stand)." Asserting that the BJP can never grow in Tamil Nadu, he said the national party may get a space in the state only if it appropriately addresses all such issues. Asked if the AIADMK would continue its alliance with the BJP for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, he said, "I do not know. How can we comment on that now." On May 31, addressing a party event here, Ponnaiyan had said that the BJP's growth (in Tamil Nadu) would not augur well for the AIADMK, the state and the Dravidian policies as well. It was the first, open criticism by an AIADMK leader against the BJP. The AIADMK fought the 2021 Assembly election in alliance with the BJP, PMK and other smaller parties. The Saffron party won 4 Assembly seats and the alliance, in total bagged 75 seats in the 234-member Assembly. The DMK-led coalition won 159 seats. Ponnaiyan's comments come against the backdrop of a growing perception in the state that the BJP, under the leadership of its state unit chief K Annamalai is performing the role of the main opposition party, while the AIADMK is not putting up a spirited fight to take on the ruling DMK. New Delhi: Amid demands for holding a caste-based census in the state, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday (June 1) said it will be done in a set time frame and soon the cabinet will take a decision. Kumars remarks came after he headed an all-party meeting on the caste-based census. In the meeting we unanimously decided that a caste-based census will be done in a set time frame. Soon a cabinet decision will be taken and it will be available in the public domain, ANI quoted the Bihar CM as saying. The meeting was also attended by Nitish Kumars ally BJP. Calling the decision to conduct the census our win, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav said the survey is for the benefit of the people. The opposition parties in Bihar have been seeking a caste-based census in the state and it has become a major political issue. Patna, Bihar | In the meeting we unanimously decided that a caste-based census will be done in a set time frame. Soon a cabinet decision will be taken and it will be available in the public domain...: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar pic.twitter.com/nILlGdqC5m ANI (@ANI) June 1, 2022 It's a caste-based survey, not a census. It's our win. Today we suggested (in the all-party meeting) that social anthropologists should be included in this. Central govt should support it financially. This survey is in the interest of people of Bihar, Yadav said. The RJD leader added, We've said to bring the (bill) in the next cabinet meeting and start it in the month of November. During Chhath puja people who reside outside Bihar will also come to the state and till then we can complete prepartions for it. Batting for the implementation of the caste census in Bihar, CM Kumar had earlier said that it will help the government to work for the development of several sections of the society. "We will start it soon and will also ensure it is implemented properly. Once the caste-based Census is done, the government can work for their development," Nitish Kumar had said. (With agency inputs) The Central Terminal Buffalo's last major architectural jewel still to be restored will benefit from the biggest investment toward its revival since the last Amtrak train left the 17-story art deco station in 1979. Gov. Kathy Hochul said that $61 million will be spent on the grand concourse, the exterior of the tower building and the grounds. Master plan charts future, reveals costs to revive Buffalo's Central Terminal The plan foresees the Central Terminal's future as a vibrant destination with economic and social benefits to the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood and the wider East Side. The Central Terminal is a key anchor of the holistic economic development strategy for Buffalos East Side, which focuses on community wealth building, Hochul said. People are passionate about the iconic structure and have wanted to see it revitalized for decades, and it is just one part of a plan that is designed to make big investments to generate transformational improvements for the community. With cost estimates to restore the Central Terminal ranging from $276.5 million to $296.5 million, officials count on the state investment providing an incentive to potential developers when a solicitation for proposals is issued in the coming months. "It's the most beloved building in Buffalo," said Monica Pellegrino Faix, executive director of the nonprofit Central Terminal Restoration Corp. "Addressing the Central Terminal is the most important thing we can do to symbolize that the economic opportunities Buffalo is experiencing are for everybody." Douglas Jemal sets eyes on Central Terminal: 'It's got to be done' "I think it's one of the top 10 coolest buildings in the world," Jemal said of the historic art deco building. "This amount of money is monumental," added James Morrell, the vice chairman of the Central Terminal Restoration Corp. He grew up on nearby Krettner Street in the Broadway Fillmore neighborhood. "It puts us in a place to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel," he said. Marva Threat, who lives with her husband Michael on Detroit Street, six blocks from the Central Terminal, expressed cautious optimism the money will make a difference in the neighborhood. "I'm very excited that the Central Terminal is getting all this money, and I hope it can be a catalyst for our neighborhood," Threat said. Funds for the Central Terminal were in the pipeline when the governor on April 25 revealed funding for several East Side projects, though the actual amount for the abandoned train station wasn't revealed. The May 14 shooting at Tops supermarket on Jefferson Avenue has served to highlight the degree of disinvestment on the East Side and the need for more community reinvestment. Hochul will announce $300 million today for projects in three regions, some previously revealed $180 million for Buffalo, $40 million for Niagara Falls and $80 million for Rochester. The state will provide $200 million. The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation will contribute $67 million, and KeyBank, M&T Bank and ESL Federal Credit Union foundations will add $14 million. The cities will provide a combined $19 million. $5 million in renovations coming to Buffalo's Central Terminal A tangible sign of development at the Central Terminal, the state-funded project raises hopes that even more improvements will come to the 1926 art deco The Central Terminal Restoration Corp. has shepherded the abandoned 523,000-square-foot property with a continual series of improvements, public events and advocacy since acquiring it for $1 in 1997. Passenger travel had fallen steadily after World War II, leading Conrail to unload the building in 1979. The property passed through private hands for nearly two decades and was stripped of most of its decorative interior features when the Central Terminal Restoration Corp. set out to save it. Paul Lang, who chairs the organization's real estate development committee, believes the $61 million constitutes the largest single investment in the Central Terminal since the train station opened in 1929, four months before the start of the Great Depression. "This type of investment from the state is a testament to the perseverance of the organization and our volunteers," Lang said. The Central Terminal project is seen as one anchor in a concerted East Side redevelopment strategy Hochul announced on April 25. Faix said the Central Terminal funds will be used for functional and restorative purposes outlined in a community-driven master plan released last year. Loose and falling masonry on the main terminal and tower buildings will be repaired. Inside the concourse, fire detection systems will be installed, asbestos remediated and windows replaced. There will be new plumbing, electrical, and heat and cooling systems, as well as bathrooms and repairs to several leaky flat roofs and to the parking deck. The original Gaustavino tiles on the inside of the concourse will be stabilized, and a catering kitchen will be added. The sidewalk improvements and landscape enhancements to the grounds to be called the "Civic Commons" are intended to make the outside of the building feel more welcoming and connected to the community, Faix said. Plans call for the grounds to be graded and leveled for sports, picnics, small activities and large community events. There will be more walking paths and electrical access provided. Construction will have minority and women business goals to provide a positive economic impact within the neighborhood, Faix said. "This is one of Buffalo's most iconic buildings, but the reason why it's such an important place is that it is a community-based anchor," said Laura Quebral, director of the University at Buffalo Regional Institute. "It's part of a much bigger Broadway Fillmore neighborhood strategy." Developer Douglas Jemal is one of the Central Terminal's biggest fans. "I think it's one of the top 10 coolest buildings in the world," Jemal told The News in March 2021. "It's phenomenal. I would love to do that one. That one is the coup de grace." The goal of the public-private aid to Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Rochester is to "reduce economic disparities and achieve transformational impact across the region," David Egner, president and CEO of the Wilson Foundation, said in a statement. The three pillars of the program are to foster small businesses, invest in placemaking and workforce preparation. In Niagara Falls, $19 million will be used to boost food entrepreneurship around the city market area along Pine Avenue. A $15 million program will help restore and promote heritage and community anchor facilities, and $5 million will assist small business assistance programs in the same commercial districts. Mark Sommer covers preservation, development, the waterfront, culture and more. He's also a former arts editor at The News. The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday summoned Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her MP son Rahul Gandhi for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper, officials said. While Sonia Gandhi, 75, has been asked to depose before the federal agency on June 8, Rahul Gandhi is understood to have been asked to appear earlier. Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said at a press conference that the senior Gandhi will comply with the summons. "Rahul Gandhi will go if he is here or he may seek a fresh date," Singhvi added. The case to probe alleged financial irregularities in the party-promoted Young Indian that owns the National Herald newspaper was registered recently. The agency, officials said, wants to record the statements of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The National Herald is published by Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and owned by Young Indian Pvt Limited. The agency recently questioned senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal as part of the investigation. The questioning of the senior Congress leaders and the Gandhis is part of ED's investigation to understand the share holding pattern, financial transactions and role of the promoters of Young Indian and AJL, officials said. The agency registered a fresh case under the criminal provisions of the PMLA after a trial court here took cognisance of an Income Tax Department probe against Young Indian Pvt Ltd on the basis of a private criminal complaint filed by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013. The first family of the Congress party, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, are among the promoters and shareholders of Young Indian. After the ED examined Kharge last month, the Congress' whip in the Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore accused the government of "harassing" him. Tagore said the government wants to insult Dalit leaders and added that Kharge would not surrender to such tactics. BJP MP Swamy had accused Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds with Young Indian Pvt Ltd paying only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that Associate Journals Ltd owed to the Congress. The Delhi High Court in February last year issued a notice to the Gandhis for their response on Swamy's plea seeking to lead evidence in the matter before the trial court. They, however, contended in the Delhi High Court that the plea by Swamy was "misconceived and premature". The other accused in this case filed by Swamy are Suman Dubey and technocrat Sam Pitroda. They have earlier said that they did nothing wrong. Live TV Bengaluru: Congress' known face on news channel debates and Supreme Court Advocate Brijesh Kalappa has resigned from the primary membership of the party, ending his 25-years long association. In a letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, he said, in the recent past he has been finding himself "lacking in passion", while his own performance has been "listless and perfunctory". He is likely join the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) soon, sources close to him said. In a letter dated May 30, thanking Sonia Gandhi for opportunities given to him, including his appointment as Legal Advisor to Government of Karnataka with rank of Minister during the party's rule in the state, Kalappa thanked her for "patronage". ALSO READ: KK completed his last concert in Kolkata, despite feeling uneasy Pointing out that he has been representing the party on Hindi, English and Kannada channels since the UPA years in 2013- for almost a decade and has clocked 6,497 debates, he said, besides, the party has been regularly assigning political work to him which he has performed to the best of his satisfaction. "Even at the worst of times for the Party in the aftermath of 2014 and 2019 debacles, I have never felt enervated and lacking in energy and enthusiasm. But, in the recent past I have been finding myself lacking in passion, while my own performance has been listless and perfunctory," Kalappa said. "It is under these circumstances that I am left with little option but to resign from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress and to end an association that began in 1997," he added. ALSO READ: HDFC, PNB increase lending rates on home loans, homebuyers will have to pay higher EMIs According to some party sources, he might have also been upset over not being considered as candidate for recent MLC and upcoming Rajya Sabha polls in the state. During the 2018 Assembly election, Kalappa had expressed his displeasure on being denied the ticket to contest from Madikeri, in his home district of Kodagu. New Delhi: Buying property in Delhi is set to get expensive as the unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi has decided to hike transfer duty by 1 per cent on properties priced above Rs 25 lakh across the city, official sources said on Wednesday. Officials said after the hike, the transfer duty will be 4 per cent for men and 3 per cent for women. The decision was taken in a meeting on Tuesday where a proposal to increase the transfer duty by 1 per cent was moved. The proposal was passed by the special officer of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), who has been entrusted with the power to run the civic body till the new House is elected. "A proposal was moved before the special officer incapacity of the standing committee to hike transfer duty on properties priced above Rs 25 lakh by 1 per cent. The proposal was approved by the SO (special officer). After the hike, transfer duty will be 4 per cent for men and 3 per cent for women,? official sources told PTI. Currently, the transfer duty on the sale and purchase of property in the national capital is 3 per cent for men and 2 per cent for women. Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday (June 1) will lay the foundation stone of Ram Mandir's Garbhagriha in Ayodhya. The preparations are underway for the religious function, which will also be participated by Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya. As many as 90 saints from Ayodhya have also been invited to participate in the foundation stone laying ceremony. Notably, the construction work of the Ram Mandir began on August 5, 2020, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi laying the foundation stone. today. Earlier on Monday, Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra (SRJBTK), which is the authority in charge of Ram Mandir`s operations and supervising the construction, informed that the construction of the Ram Mandir is in full swing. Sharing the progress report, the SRJBTK said that the foundation has been laid, and the plinth or the pedestal raising work, which began on January 24 this year, is still going on. By December 2023, the temple`s sanctum sanctorum which will have the Ram Lalla idol would be ready for worship. "The plinth is raised using granite stone blocks from Karnataka and Telangana. The installation of carved sandstones around the sanctum sanctorum will also commence soon. The Mandir will be built from pink sandstone from the hills of the Bansi-Paharpur region in Rajasthan`s Bharatpur district. About 17,000 granite blocks will be used in the plinth work", ANI quoted the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust as saying. It further said that by December 2023, the temple`s lower floor, which will house the sanctum sanctorum and a Ram Lalla idol, would be ready for worship, adding that white marble from Rajasthan`s Makrana hills will be used in Mandir`s Sanctum Sanctorum (Garbhgrih). "Some of Makrana White Marble is in full progress and some of these carved marbles have started reaching Ayodhya", said the temple authority. Key facts about Ram Temple The dimension of the Ram Temple--Length on the ground floor in the east-west direction-380 ft; Width on the ground floor in the north-south direction-250 ft; Height of the Shikhar (Pinnacle) from the ground at Garbhgrih (sanctum)- 181 ft. CB Sampura is the architect of the temple nad Parkota while Jay Kaktikar is the architect of the rest of the area, informed the Mandir authority. Larsen & Toubro is the main contractor for the construction of the temple and the ramparts, while Tata Consulting Engineers has been hired as the project management consultant. The construction committee, along with the engineers and architects, meets for two to three days under the chairmanship of former IAS Nripendra Mishra and discusses very minutely each and every detail every month. In January this year, Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust released a 3D animation film showing the process of the ongoing construction work of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The devotees will be able to come to the temple to offer prayers from December 2023, while the construction work will continue and it will be completed by 2025, addedthe trust. (With Agency Inputs) New Delhi: Police have busted a kidney racket gang in South Delhi and arrested 10 persons from various parts of the city. The case was registered at the Hauz Khas police station. According to the police, one of the arrested persons is a doctor while others are technicians and helpers. Delhi | The staff of Hauz Khas Police Station, South District has busted a racket involved in illegal kidney transplantation by arresting 10 persons pic.twitter.com/6X48pyl6r5 ANI (@ANI) June 1, 2022 Delhi | 3 more accused- OT technicians Kuldeep Ray Vishvakarama, Om Prakash Sharma and Manoj Tiwari were arrested in the case. They worked with Dr Sourabh Mittal: DCP South, Benita Mary ANI (@ANI) June 1, 2022 Delhi | Probe revealed that Kuldeep Ray Vishwakarma is main mastermind of this gang who convinced other persons for these illegal transplantations and also selected the clinic of a quack doctor Sonu Rohilla for the execution of operations: DCP South, Benita Mary pic.twitter.com/OX6850KuPh ANI (@ANI) June 1, 2022 An operation theatre was set up in Sonipat where the patients were operated upon. "During the interrogation, the detained doctor revealed that he charged lakhs of rupees from a patient for an operation. It was revealed that nearly 14 people were targeted over six months. The figure could increase as the investigation into the matter is underway," said the police. It also came to the fore that the doctor mainly targeted the poor people and lured them by offering more money. He used social media to look for his clients. The police are likely to make more arrests in the case. New Delhi: The Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday (June 1) a campaign titled 'Har Ghar Dastak 2.0', a door-to-door COVID-19 vaccination drive has been launched. The official Twitter handle of the Ministry of Health shared glimpses of the campaign from Delhi and Puducherry as well. India's vaccination drive has been vast and aimed at reaching every citizen of the country. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates had recently appreciated India for its success in the vaccination drive against Covid-19 and said the use of technology by India to drive health outcome is a lesson for the world. Gate's statement came days after his meeting with Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in the form of a reply on Twitter to latter's tweet. What does Har Dastak Campaign 2.0 aim to do? The campaign is mainly aimed at reaching those who missed their second dose or haven't taken their third booster dose yet. The door-to-door aspect will make it more convenient and accessible to people. Apart from the over 18 years population, the vaccination drive will also focus on old-age homes, schools and prisons. Recently, the Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan communicated to all States and UTs in a video conference on May 20 regarding the considerably slow pace of Covid19 vaccination and urged significantly to expedite the pace towards full vaccination coverage by saturating all eligible beneficiaries. For the unversed, the Union Health Ministry's first Har Ghar Dastak campaign concluded on December 31 last year with a focus on administration of the first dose of COVID-19 vaccination to all. (With ANI inputs) Live TV NEW DELHI: BJP chief Jagat Prakash Nadda on Wednesday made a scathing attack on Congress, which said that it wont bow to such pressure tactics after the Enforcement Directorate summoned Sonia Gandhi and her Congress MP son Rahul Gandhi in connection with the National Herald case, which was closed by the investigating agency in 2015. Have you ever seen a criminal say I'm criminal? They'll (Sonia-Rahul Gandhi) of course deny it. Documents are proof. If the chargesheet is filed, you'd approach the court to get it quashed, but they sought bail. It means they're guilty, BJP chief JP Nadda said, according to ANI. Have you ever seen a criminal say I'm criminal? They'll(Sonia-Rahul Gandhi)of course deny it. Documents are proof. If chargesheet is filed, you'd approach court to get it quashed, but they sought bail. It means they're guilty: BJP chief JP Nadda on ED notice to Sonia-Rahul Gandhi pic.twitter.com/8dBaowAtvy ANI (@ANI) June 1, 2022 The remarks from the BJP chief came shortly after the federal agency issued summons for questioning Sonia Gandhi and Rahul. Its move followed the questioning of senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress Treasurer Pawan Bansal in April this year in New Delhi in connection with its money laundering probe into the National Herald case. The agency then recorded the statements of both the Congress leaders then under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The National Herald is published by Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and owned by Young Indian Pvt Limited (YIL). While Kharge is the CEO of YIL, Bansal is the Managing Director of AJL. The ED is currently investigating the shareholding pattern and financial transactions as well as role of party functionaries in the functioning of AJL and YIL. The YIL promoters include Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. BJP MP Subramanian Swamy had alleged that the Gandhis cheated and misappropriated funds, with YIL paying only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that AJL owed to the Congress. He had filed a complaint with a Delhi court earlier. Following the court taking cognisance of an Income Tax Department probe against YIL on Swamy`s petition, the ED also registered a fresh case under PMLA. Meanwhile, Congress said that it will not be cowed down by any such "vendetta" by the BJP government. Congress leaders Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Randeep Surjewala said party president Sonia Gandhi has been summoned by the ED for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper on June 8, and she was determined to appear before the agency as she has nothing to hide. They said former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has also been summoned, and that he has written to the probe agency to postpone the date to after June 5 as he is not in the country. "The Modi government should know that by registering such fake and fabricated cases, they cannot succeed in their cowardly conspiracy," Singhvi told reporters. While listening to the problems related to home-stay in Bankura tourism, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself told the story of bathing in America. She also gave advice on how to build toilets at home-stay. Atal Bihari Vajpayee sent her to the UN General Assembly when he was the Prime Minister. Mamata claimed that, she stayed at a hotel in the United States. And from there the story of the bath comes up. Mamata Banerjee said, "There were no buckets, no mugs, nothing in american hotels. I don't understand the system. Then I went to the hotel kitchen and saw that there was a saucepan. I brought it and took a bath using it like a mug. Saucepan instead of a mug. If I can go to Western Country and use my system. Then why can't you use your system in your country." The Chief Minister has repeatedly stressed on the tourism industry for economic development in Bankura. The emphasis for that is on home-stay. The government is encouraging the creation of home-stays in various tribal areas. Special projects are also being brought in. It was there that some problems with the construction of toilets in the Western style came up. It was then that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee gave this example. She also suggested of building toilets in Indian style wherever there is a problem, if needed. She also made it clear that nothing can be forced on the indigenous people. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, "Tribals have their own culture. We can't interfere with their culture. Let them be proud for their culture." Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has directed to expedite the work on tourism in the district. Srinagar: Amid recent targeting of the minority community in the union territory, sources in Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday (June 1) said that all the Kashmiri Pandit employees working under Prime Ministers Rehabilitation Package (PMRP) will be posted at secured locations by June 6 in the Valley and will also be provided government accommodation. A top official in the government said, All the PM Package employees and others from minority communities posted in Kashmir division will be immediately posted at secure locations and the process to be completed by next Monday i.e. June 6. The official said that approximately 4500 migrant employees have been posted at District or Municipal Town areas. In last week, around 500 employees, as per their request, transferred to the location as preferred by them, including around 100 employees' couple, he said. Other than migrant employees, will be considered for posting at these places as per option by Saturday. While KP sources said they will not accept the offer by the administration as it does not meets their demand of being relocated outside the Valley till the situation improves. KP employees are protesting since May 12 against the administration after the killing of Rahul Bhat, seeking relocation from Kashmir. On Tuesday, KPs hit the roads when a female school teacher Rajni Bala was shot dead in Gopalpora area of district Kulgam. The protesting KPs threatened mass migration to Jammu if the government failed to address their concerns within 24 hours. The government announcement comes before the ultimatum set by the KPs would end. Bengaluru: The Karnataka textbook row has taken a new turn after a social worker lodged police complaint against Chairman of the Textbook Revision Committee, Rohith Chakrathirtha. The complaint has been lodged in Cubbon Park police station in Bengaluru by social worker B.T. Naganna, police said on Wednesday. The complainant has alleged that Rohith Chakrathirtha has insulted the regional-anthem of Karnataka. "Rohith Chakrathirtha is a person who insulted regional anthem. He equated the state with Congress party and the country to the Arab world. It is not fare to put him In-charge of the Textbook Revision Committee," the complainant states. ALSO READ: RBSE 12th Result 2022: Rajasthan Board declares class 12 results, heres how to check He further charges, "the regional anthem "Bharata Jananiya Tanujaate Jaya he Karnataak maate" (victory to you mother Karnataka, the daughter of mother India) written by Kuvempu, who is regarded as the greatest Kannada poet of the country and recipient of Jananpith award, has been distorted. The said song has been declared as state song. The poem depicts and denotes Karnataka that its position in the comity of Indian states which believes in co-existence with her sisters. At the same time it maintains her self respect and dignity from a position of confidence and strength rather than the insecurity and fear. It is one of the most respected song/poem in India. However, an uncouth person like Rohith Chakrathirtha has given satirical theme/meaning to the regional anthem. The accused has compared our great state to Congress (political party) and India to Arab, Naganna claimed. He has shown complete disrespect to our state and the country. "Further, he has compared to our great Tunga river to arrack (liquor) and portrayed that Karnataka is a place meant for drunkards. He has said that people of Karnataka are stupid and have no enthusiasm," the complaint reads. Since, the accused promoted enmity between different groups of religion with deliberate intention to insult their feelings in order to provoke breach of peace to cause mutiny, the complaint alleges. The accused has committed offences punishable under IPC Sections 124-A, 153-A, 295, 295-A and 504. ALSO READ: WhatsApp to soon allow users to set up cover photos for profiles, BUT theres a catch The BJP government has decided to stand behind Rohith Chakrathirtha. Education Minister B.C. Nagesh has stated that distortion of regional anthem was done by some other person and Rohith Chakrathirtha had just shared the post. Litterateurs and Kannada activists have warned the government to face consequences if revised syllabus is not dropped and action is not initiated against the Textbook Committee Chairman. The textbook revision stirred a controversy as the committee has included RSS Founder K.B. Hedgewar speech as lesson for school children. The committee has revised syllabus of standard 1 to 10 in Kannada textbooks and 6 to 10 in social science textbooks. The Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority will collect $13.6 million from the federal government this year to help with its ongoing list of physical improvements. The Niagara Falls Housing Authority will receive $2.26 million, the Lackawanna Housing Authority $1.65 million and the Kenmore Housing Authority just under $500,000. In all, the Department of Housing and Urban Development will distribute nearly $800 million to public housing agencies in New York and $3.2 billion to agencies nationwide under its capital fund program for fiscal 2022. The money can be used to build, renovate or modernize public housing, including roof replacements, energy-efficiency projects, upgrading heating and ventilation systems and installing water-conservation measures, among other things, HUD said in a news release. Flooded stairwells, lead, asbestos at deteriorating Perry projects, audit says The Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority allowed the vacant Commodore Perry Homes to deteriorate to the point where they became a public health hazard, according to a federal audit released this week. The BMHA, which operates 31 sites with around 4,000 units scattered through upstate New Yorks largest city, will receive more than any other public housing authority in New York, HUDs statement indicates. "They increased all the housing authorities' capital fund allocations his year," said Gillian D. Brown, BMHA's executive director. "I think that probably has to do with the insane costs and burdens of running a housing authority over the last few years, with Covid and all the other stuff that has been going on." Brown said the money will likely be used to continue some of the large projects undertaken in recent years. Among them: redevelopment projects at the Commodore Perry site, Shaffer Village and Marine Drive Apartments; installing new kitchens and baths at the Msgr. Geary and LBJ Apartments; new kitchens at the Frank A. Sedita Apartments; two new elevators at the Stuyvesant Apartments; new kitchens and baths at 515 Clinton St.; and repaving the Holling Homes parking lot, "which currently looks like it was bombed, unfortunately," Brown said. Ongoing improvements will continue at Kenfield Homes and Langfield Homes, he said. Meanwhile, the BMHA has plans to acquire the Francis John Apartments near the Broadway Market, which has "very low rents" for low-income people, Brown said. Capital improvement money can be used to modernize those units after the site comes under the BMHA's tent. WNY housing authorities owed millions in back rent from tenants they can't evict The Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority, one of the regions largest landlords, has nearly 2,000 tenant households that owe $3.2 million in rental arrears. Meanwhile, the BMHA also has been under pressure to raze the Perry site's empty buildings that are hazardous. HUDs Officer of the Inspector General completed a report in January describing unsafe conditions that have existed at the Perry complex, just off the I-190s Louisiana Street exit, since at least 2013. Brown said in 2020 that a lack of money has prevented the agency from demolishing the vacant buildings that sit generally between Louisiana and Hamburg streets. Total demolition costs are put at $6 million to $7 million, and he does not want to pay for all of that with capital improvement dollars. "We are looking to see where we can get funding for that, and then we can use capital funds to fill the gaps if necessary. To take the entire cost of demolishing Perry out of a year's capital fund would mean to deprive all the other projects of modernization funding," Brown said. "How do I just say we and we alone are going to pay for this?" he said. "We need somebody else to step up to the plate on that." The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. New Delhi: Anguished over "targeted" killing of many Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday demanded that they should be given adequate security and their voices should not be "quelled". In an online press briefing, he also said that terrorist forces don't want communal amity in Jammu & Kashmir as members of the Kashmiri Pandit community are being "targeted and killed", in a reminder of what happened in the 90s. He also said that 16 Kashmiri Pandits have been killed this year. "I demand Kashmiri Pandits be given adequate security and their voices should not be quelled. They should be allowed to establish their homes in their 'janmabhoomi' (birth place)," Kejriwal said. When Kashmiri Pandits try to raise their voice against it, their voices are suppressed.16 Kashmiri Pandits have been killed this year. I demand that high-level security should be given to them. I appeal to GoI that we've to work together to re-establish them in Kashmir: Delhi CM pic.twitter.com/w6kpxNwnmZ ANI (@ANI) June 1, 2022 "It is my appeal to the Centre that to help Kashmiti Pandits settle in Kashmir, we will all have to work together, and we are ready to play whatever role we can," he said. Protests against the killing of a Hindu schoolteacher in Kulgam continued to rock several parts of Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts of Jammu and Kashmir on the second consecutive day on Wednesday. ALSO READ: Satyendar Jain should be awarded 'Padma Vibhushan': Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal backs AAP minister after ED arrest New Delhi: National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Post Graduate (NEET PG) 2022 result was declared by National Board of Examinations (NBE) on Wednesday (June 1). Candidates can check their NEET PG 2022 result on natboard.edu.in. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya hailed the National Board of Examination in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) for announcing the NEET PG result in record 10 days. "NEET-PG result is out! I congratulate all the students who have qualified for NEET-PG with flying colours. I appreciate @NBEMS_INDIA for their commendable job of declaring the results in record 10 days, much ahead of the schedule," Mandaviya tweeted. NEET PG 2022 exam was held on May 21 at 849 centres across the country. As many as 1,82,318 candidates had appeared for the NEET PG exam this year. NEET-PG result is out! I congratulate all the students who have qualified for NEET-PG with flying colours. I appreciate @NBEMS_INDIA for their commendable job of declaring the results in record 10 days, much ahead of the schedule. Check your result at https://t.co/Fbmm0s9vCP Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) June 1, 2022 DIRECT LINK TO CHECK RESULT HERE. NEET PG 2022 Result: How to check 1. Visit the official website at nbe.edu.in or nbe.edu.in. 2. On the homepage, click on NEET PG 3. Click on the Results link 4. The NEET PG 2022 result PDF will appear. 5. Check your NEET PG 2022 result and download. 6. Take a printout for future reference. NEET PG result CUT-OFF SCORE For General/EWS category: 275 out of 800 SC/ST/OBC (Including PWD of SC/ST/OBC) : 245 out of 800 UR PWD: 260 out of 800 NEET PG 2022 paper was divided into three sections Section A, B and C, containing multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and English as the only medium of instruction. New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha are likely to hold a high-level meeting here in the national capital on June 3 over the killings of Kashmiri Pandits in the Union Territory in last few days, official sources said. It is learnt that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh will also participate in the meeting that is expected to start on the scheduled date in the first half of the day. Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, as well as Director-General of Central Reserve Police Force Kuldiep Singh and Border Security Force chief Pankaj Singh, are also expected to attend the meeting.The move comes in the wake of the recent killings of Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmiri Pandits are holding protests in Srinagar against the killings by terrorists. A 36-year-old migrant Kashmiri Pandit and high school teacher Rajni Bala was shot dead by terrorists in the Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday. Earlier this month, two civilians - including Kashmiri Pandit employee Rahul Bhat -- and three off-duty policemen were killed in Kashmir by the terrorists. These deaths follow a series of killings that have been happening since August 5, 2019, the day when the Union government stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and downgraded it to Union territory while simultaneously bifurcating the region into Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh UTs. Live TV New Delhi: Amid reports of discontentment, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday (June 1) visited MLA and senior party leader Azam Khan at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi. Sharing pictures with Khan from the hospital, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister wrote, "Praying for good health...Get well soon." The Rampur MLA was admitted to the Medicine Department of the hospital on Sunday for a routine medical check-up, PTI reported. "Akhilesh Yadav visited the hospital and met Azam Khan who is admitted at the facility," a hospital source told the news agency. The hospital sources had earlier said that Khan was "perfectly stable". The SP chiefs visit gains significance in the backdrop of reports of differences between him and Khan. On May 22, Azam Khan, his son and MLA Abdullah Azam and Shivpal Yadav had skipped the Samajwadi Party MLAs meeting called by Akhilesh Yadav. The SP had said Khan missed the meeting due to health reasons. Khan's absence had come amid the speculations of his discontentment with the SP chief. The Rampur MLA's media in-charge Fasahat Ali Khan had accused Yadav of ignoring Khan while he was lodged in jail and also the Muslim community. He had alleged that the former UP CM met the Rampur MLA only once and made no attempt for his release in the past 27 months. Khan, who had 89 cases against him and got bail in 88 of them, walked out of jail on May 20 after the Supreme Court granted interim bail a day earlier in a case of cheating regarding Rampurs Kotwali police station. The rumors of Khan's dejection were strengthened when he did not meet SP leader Ravidas Mehrotra in jail but had met Congress leader Pramod Krishnam later. (With agency inputs) New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal came out in support of Health minister and AAP leader Satyendar Jain, who is currently in the Enforcement Directorate's custody, on Wednesday (June 1) and said he should be awarded a Padma Vibhushan for giving mohalla clinics to the national capital. Delhi Health Minister Jain was sent to ED custody till June 9 in a money laundering case a day back. On Monday, the ED had arrested Delhis Health Minister under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The Delhi CM said, "The country should be proud him as he gave the model of Mohalla Clinic that are being visited by people from the world, including (ex) Secretary General of the UN. He gave a health model that treats people free of cost." "I think, he should be given top awards like the Padma Bhushan or Padma Vibhushan," Kejriwal was quoted as saying by PTI. The AAP convenor added that the CBI gave a clean chit to his minister earlier, now the ED will conduct its probe and Jain will come out clean again. Satyendar Jain holds the Health, Power and Home, in the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government in Delhi. After Jain's arrest on Monday, senior AAP leader and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia had claimed that the arrest came as the Delhi Health Minister was made the AAP in-charge of Himachal Pradesh where the ruling BJP fears defeat in the upcoming Assembly elections. Kejriwal had also backed his minister and said the charges against Jain were "completely false". "I have studied the case against Jain. It is completely fake and motivated by political reasons and he has been deliberately framed," he had said. The Delhi CM had also expressed confidence in his minister and said, "We have faith in the judiciary. Jain will come out clean and the fake case will not sustain." (With agency inputs) New Delhi: A day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal broke his silence on his cabinet colleague Satyendar Jain's arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a case of money laundering, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani took potshots at the AAP national convenor saying Jain himself declared under Income Disclosures 2016 that he indulged in money laundering of Rs 16.39 crores. Satyendar Jain has been sent to ED custody till June 9. Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Smriti Irani slammed Arvind Kejriwal for saying that the charges against Jain were baseless, adding "Pronouncing himself judge, Kejriwal set Satyendar Jain free in the peoples court." Union Minister questioned, "Kejriwal ji, is it true that Satyendar Jain himself declared under Income Disclosures 2016 that he indulged in money laundering of Rs 16.39 crores? Ankush Jain and Vaibhav Jain became the channels for it." She also asked the Delhi CM, "Is it true that the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax rejected that the true owners of Rs 16.39 crores were neither Ankush Jain nor Vaibhav Jain but Satyendar Jain himself was the owner of this black money?" Is it true that the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax rejected that the true owners of Rs 16.39 crores were neither Ankush Jain nor Vaibhav Jain but Satyendar Jain himself was the owner of this black money?: Union Minister Smriti Irani (2/2) pic.twitter.com/VoLie5Vpox ANI (@ANI) June 1, 2022 Smriti Irani posed the following questions before the Delhi Chief Minister: - Is it true that Jain himself announced that money laundering worth Rs 16 crore was done by him with Ankush Jain in 2016? - Is it true that Jain is the owner of shell companies, Indo metallic and Prayas Info Solution and all of them are controlled through shareholding with his wife? - Is it true that Satyendar Jain owned 200 acres of land in Karala, Channi, Nizampur and North West Delhi? - Is it true that the 200 acres of land are around illegal colonies that have been regulated? - Did Satyendar Jain launder crores of rupees to family members through 4 shell firms from 2010-to 2016? - Should such a person continue in the post of a minister? At a media briefing here on Tuesday, the Delhi Chief Minister said that the case against Satyendar Jain was "completely fake and politically motivated", and defended him as a "hardcore honest and patriotic" person. He also asserted that the charges levelled against Jain are "completely false", adding that he himself would have taken action against him if there was even one per cent truth in the allegations. Satyendar Jain was arrested by the ED in a case of money laundering on Monday. He holds various portfolios, including health, home and power in the Arvind Kejriwal government. Asserting that the Delhi government and the AAP are "hardcore honest" and consider corruption as treason, PTI quoted Kejriwal as saying "I have studied the case against Jain. It is completely fake and motivated by political reasons and he has been deliberately framed." He further said, "We have faith in the judiciary. Jain will come out clean and the fake case will not sustain," adding "We consider corruption the highest form of treason. We will rather die than indulge in corruption. We can never betray our Bharat Mata. We cannot trade our souls and betray the country." Asked about the demand of the BJP and the Congress for Jain's removal, he said, "They will say anything. If there was even one per cent substance in it, I would have taken action." He also extended his support to Jain's wife and children, saying he is a courageous person and jail can never dent his honesty. Kejriwal said he himself was a "victim" of cases filed by agencies and raids conducted at his place, but could never be framed. Cases were also filed against several AAP MLAs, but all of them were acquitted by courts, he further added. (With Agency Inputs) New Delhi: Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday visited his party MLA Azam Khan at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here, amid media reports about growing differences between them. Azam Khan was admitted to the Medicine Department of the facility on Sunday for a routine medical check-up. "Akhilesh Yadav visited the hospital and met Azam Khan who is admitted at the facility," a hospital source said. The condition of Khan is "perfectly stable", hospital sources had said on Tuesday. Later, in a tweet, Akhilesh Yadav said, "Praying for good health...Get well soon." Khan was released from Sitapur Jail in Uttar Pradesh on May 20, a day after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in a cheating case. Kolkata: BJP`s national Vice President and former West Bengal unit chief Dilip Ghosh seems to be in no mood to honour his party high command`s order barring him from making media statements against its leadership. Just a day after BJP`s national General Secretary and headquarters in-charge, Arun Singh sent an email communique to Ghosh on this count, the latter was in his usual maverick mood on Wednesday morning. "What is this censorship all about? I have not received such communication from the party high command. Of course, the media persons have shown me a copy of some purported letter," he said, indirectly questioning the authenticity of the censorship letter. In the letter that Singh forwarded on Tuesday, it was said that certain statements and outbursts by the latter have not only angered the state party leaders, but also embarrassed the central leadership. "This was pointed out to you on several occasions by the party leadership in the fond hope that you will take note," read Singh`s letter. He also pointed out that he wrote the letter following instructions from party President J.P. Nadda. "On the instructions of J.P. Nadda Ji, I wish to convey to you the party`s deep anguish and concern at issuance of such statements and advise you to always refrain from going to the media or any public forum, about your own colleagues either in the state of West Bengal or anywhere else," the letter quoted Singh as saying. On May 20, Ghosh was relieved of the party`s organisational responsibilities in his home state West Bengal, and entrusted with the task of expanding the party`s base in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Manipur, Meghalaya, Assam, and Tripura. New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her MP son Rahul Gandhi have been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection to the National Herald case. According to a PTI report, Sonia Gandhi has been asked to depose in presence on ED on next Wednesday (June 8). On the other hand, it is unclear when Rahul Gandhi will appear before the probing agency. But Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi assured the press that Rahul will comply with ED's orders if he is in the city or seek a fresh date. The National Herald case involves alleged misappropiration of assets of over 2,000 crore in an equity transaction. Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia are alleged to have been involved in a 'cheating and breach of trust' when Associated Journals Ltd was acquired by Young India Pvt Ltd in which the Gandhis held a majority stake. Here is a brief timeline of the money laundering case involving Associated Journals Ltd, Young India Ltd, and Congress: 2008: The National Herald newspaper, launched by Jawaharalal Nehru in 1938, shut down with a whopping debt of over Rs 90 crore. To save the dying newspaper, the then-ruling party Congress offered a Rs 90-crore interest-free loan to the Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) to aid the newspaper in revival. However, the attempt to bring back the newspaper failed and the debt couldn't be repaid. 2010: Young India Ltd (YIL) was set up in November in which Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi held a majority share of 76%. Motilal Vora held 24% and Oscar Fernandez held 12% of the shares in the company. The Congress who had originally lended money to Associated Journals Ltd assigned the debt to Young India Ltd which meant that AJL had to payback Rs 90 crore to YIL. Since AJL was not in a position to repay the loans, the company tranferred its shareholding to Gandhi-owned YIL for which they received Rs 50 lakh. The Gandhis are charged with taking over a publicly-held company by merely paying Rs 50 lakh considering the company had real estate properties worth Rs 2000 crore. 2012: Former Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy had filed a case against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi of cheating and misappropriation of funds in acquiring the ownership of non-functioning newspaper National Herald. 2014: Metropolitan Magistrate Gomati Manocha summons all accused in the case, including the Gandhis. In August, ED begins a probe into a money laundering angle in the case. 2015: ED reopens the investigation on National Herald case. In December, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are granted bail by Patiala House Court. 2016: The apex court grants exemption to all five-accused in the case - Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes and Suman Dubey from appearing in court but doesn't quash proceedings against them. 2017: Delhi High Court allows Income Tax Department to investigate alleged miappropriation of funds in the case. 2018: AJL instructed to evict Herald House premises by Centre. 2019: The ED attaches a Gurugram property worth Rs 64.93 crores under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) which they claimed was illegally alloted to AJL. 2020: Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were again taken to court in Delhi after Subramaniam Swamy filed a case accusing them of misappropriating the National Heralds properties. 2022: In April, the ED questioned senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge in connection with the case. On June 1, the ED summoned interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi in connection with the National Herald case. Live TV New Delhi: There will be fewer holidays in the month of June as per the RBI mentioned list. Although the number of days when bank branches will be closed in different states will vary owing to some local festivities being celebrated there. Several bank branches will remain closed in various states owing to these local festivals or regional holidays. Before visiting your bank branch in the month of June, you must note down the list of important days during which banks will remain closed. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has mentioned some days when the banking operations will remain closed in the month of June 2022, although online banking activities will continue to work. As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) holiday calendar list banks will be closed for two days, while the other days are that of weekends. However, you must note that the banks will NOT be closed for all festivities in all states or regions. For example bank branches might be closed for Bhubaneswar in Bhubaneshwar but not closed for the same in other states. Reserve Bank of India places its Holidays under three brackets --Holiday under Negotiable Instruments Act; Holiday under Negotiable Instruments Act and Real Time Gross Settlement Holiday; and Banks Closing of Accounts. However, it must be noted that the bank holidays vary in various states as well not observed by all the banking companies. Banking holidays also depend on the festivals being observed in specific states or notification of specific occasions in those states. Here is an elaborate list of bank holidays falling in the month of June 2022. Check out the list. Holiday Description as per RBI Maharana Pratap Jayanti: June 2 Y.M.A. Day/Guru Hargobind Jis Birthday/Raja Sankranti: June 15 Apart from the above bank holidays, the second and fourth Saturdays, Sundays of the month are falling on the following dates: Sunday: June 5 Second Saturday: June 11 Sunday: June 12 Sunday: June 19 Fourth Saturday: June 25 Sunday: June 26 Holidays of the mentioned days will be observed in various regions according to the state declared holidays, however for the gazetted holidays, banks will be closed all over the country. If you keep a track of these holidays, you would be able to plan bank transaction activities in a better way. For long weekends, you can even plan your holidays well. Rep. Chris Jacobs new willingness to support certain gun control legislation has led to a scramble for other Republicans to challenge him in August's primary. One of those likely contenders: State Republican Party Chairman Nicholas Langworthy. More than half a dozen names have been tossed out as potential challengers, but multiple political insiders have said Langworthy is considering a bid for the seat. "In my opinion, Nick would be a great congressman," said Ralph Lorigo, who serves as both chairman of the Erie County Conservative Party and vice chairman of the of the state's Conservative Party. "He knows the issues. Hes perfect on the issues. He could bring people together." Whoever decides to challenge Jacobs for the redrawn 23rd Congressional District would have to act fast. The deadline for submitting petitions to run in the Aug. 23 Republican primary is June 10. Anyone challenging Jacobs, who has given no indication he is withdrawing from the race, would need to gather 1,062 certifiable signatures by then. Jacobs proposes gun safety measures after Buffalo massacre: 'This has been a profoundly impactful event' Rep. Chris Jacobs of Orchard Park on Friday made a surprising about-face on gun control issues, becoming perhaps the first congressional Republican to call for an assault weapons ban in the wake of the recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas. "There are a lot of potential people who feel the calling to get into this race," Lorigo said. "Thats what needs to be overcome." The new 23rd District includes the southern half of Erie County, as well as six other Southern Tier counties, stretching from Chautauqua to Chemung. It is considered one of the reddest districts in the state. Jacobs lives in Orchard Park and currently represents the 27th District, which includes Western and Central New York counties, including most of Erie and Niagara counties. Langworthy is currently a Niagara County resident but would not need to move in order to qualify and serve as a 23rd District congressman. He is best known locally for his long tenure as chairman of the Erie County Republican Party before ascending to the state chairmanship in 2020. While he is better known as a behind-the-scenes kingmaker and would need to gain more name recognition among 23rd District voters, he also is more likely to have the financial and political resources to collect the signatures required and clear the field of other would-be challengers who could split the Republican vote and give Jacobs an easier path to victory. 'No place in this country': Jacobs, Tenney reject 'great replacement' theory When asked about the longtime fringe theory that there's a conspiracy to replace whites as the majority race in America, the two Republican House members who want to represent WNY in Congress next year said they knew little about it until recently and want nothing to do with it. Neither Langworthy nor Jacobs returned requests to comment on Tuesday. Marc Cenedella, a Fredonia native and job search guru, says he is a candidate for a special election to fill the remainder of former Rep. Tom Reed's term and also intends to run in the Republican primary. It is not a sure bet that Langworthy would win the Republican primary and therefore likely secure the 23rd District seat even if he were to earn a spot on the ballot through the petition process. Political observers and consultants have noted that 43% of Republican voters likely to vote in the primary come from Erie County and may have more tempered views on Second Amendment limitations than rural voters. In addition, much of the new 23rd District falls within the Buffalo media market, and voters there might have the mass shooting at Tops Markets in Buffalo on May 14 on their minds when they cast ballots. Jacobs, a former Buffalo school board member, has been a longtime gun rights supporter, but was not considered as staunch an evangelist as some others. Even so, his announcement Friday that he would support bills banning assault weapons, raise the age on some gun purchases to 21, limit gun magazine capacity and ban the sale of military-style body armor to civilians still shocked many local gun rights advocates and appears to speak to a fundamental change of heart. The Tops supermarket shooting that killed 10 in Buffalo and a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two teachers dead both were carried out with weapons that were legally obtained, authorities have said. Higgins, Jacobs split on new domestic terrorism bill Rep. Brian Higgins praised passage of the bill. But Rep. Chris Jacobs said Saturday's tragedy should not pave the way toward a "flawed policy." Jacobs on Friday called the Buffalo mass shooting "a profoundly impactful event for me." But his decision makes his path to re-election far less sure. "I feel he has committed political suicide," said Frank Panusak, president of the 1791 Society, a local gun rights organization. "My phone is ringing constantly with people who are very upset." He faulted Jacobs for succumbing to "do something-itis" and said more focus needs to be placed on identifying and barring mentally unstable individuals from owning deadly weapons than on banning the rights of law-abiding citizens. "Im sure there are other people who will take a good hard look against whether they want to run against Mr. Jacobs," said Joe Sempolinski, who is running in the special election to replace Rep. Tom Reed, R-Corning, but has no plans to run for election for the 23rd District seat. "This is certainly not a minor issue for folks who vote in the Republican primary." Amherst resident Harold W. "Budd" Schroeder, a longtime gun rights advocate and former 18-year member of the National Rifle Association board, said he likes Jacobs and was shocked at his change of position. "I think right off the bat, he lost at least 10,000 votes," he said. Jacobs has rebuffed attempts to get him to withdraw from the race, despite behind-the-scenes lobbying. Any decision to withdraw must be made by Friday in order for his name to be removed from the ballot, said Erie County Board of Elections Commissioner Ralph Mohr. Any unaffiliated independent candidate would have until July 2 to submit ballot petitions, as well, though Mohr said he expects this race for the 23rd District seat to be decided in the Republican primary. Conservative Party leaders are also signaling interest in backing Langworthy, if not their own Conservative Party candidate. The Erie County Republican Party signaled its endorsement for Jacobs a week ago, but that was before Jacobs made his latest statements on gun control measures. In addition, whoever comes out as an alternate candidate for the 23rd District could gain more support if endorsed by former President Donald Trump. In a tweet on Sunday, Donald Trump Jr. assailed Jacobs as someone who "already caved to the gun-grabbers." Correction: This story was corrected to reflect that members of the House of Representatives do not need to live in the district they represent. They are eligible to run and serve as long as they live within the district's state. The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. New Delhi: Klarna Bank ABs chief executive officer (CEO) Sebastian Siemitkowski drew criticism after he shared a contact list of former employees who were recently laid off by the company as part of a recent cost cutting exercise. In his post on the Microsoft-owned professional networking site LinkedIn, he shared a link to Google Sheet which had the list of the fired employees. I personally have mixed feelings about this document, Siemitkowski said in his LinkedIn post, adding, While it symbolizes much of what I am proud of among Klarnas employees, it is also a tangible symbol of a very hard decision that saddens me deeply and will stay with me for a long period of time. The initiative to set up a sheet for employees to find new jobs was taken by Klarna employee J. Tyler Wilson. Its a document where those affected by the changes can sign up to show their availability to recruiters, Siemitkowski said in his post. However, it was the caption of the post that faced the most backlash on social media. Responding to his post, several LinkedIn users pointed out that its "tone deaf" content to get recruiters' attention. Sweden's largest financial trade union, Finansforbundet, has reportedly requested Klarna to discuss the list's publication. Much like your post about Russia, this is tone deaf. Maybe Klarna should consider new leadership, not letting go of talented staff, a user said. Several other users pointed out how putting the email IDs of the individuals could not be the right idea. Also Read: Higher EMIs, bank charges, insurance premiums: 7 BIG changes will impact your monthly budget I feel the exposure of thousands of email addresses in a public document is not so smart. Id suggest to make the list available to recruiters that ask for it and not to the whole internet, the LinkedIn user said. Also Read: Facebook's parent company to change stock ticker to META on June 9 New Delhi: Tesla chief Elon Musk has reportedly asked Tesla executives to return to the office or move out of the company, weighing in on the debate on whether executives should come to the office or continue working from home. In an email sent to the executive staff, Musk reportedly said, Remote work is no longer acceptable, in the subject line. Anyone who wishes to do remote work must be in the office for a minimum (and I mean *minimum*) of 40 hours per week or depart Tesla. This is less than we ask of factory workers, Musk said in his mail. However, he said that there could be exceptions if the individual is an exceptional contributor. If there are particularly exceptional contributors for whom this is impossible, I will review and approve those exceptions directly, he said. Moreover, the "office" must be the main Tesla office, not a remote branch office unrelated to the job duties, for example being responsible for Fremont factory human relations, but having your office be in another state, he said in the mail, a screenshot of which is doing rounds on social media. In response to a Twitter post with the screenshot of the mail, Musk said, They (Tesla executives) should pretend to work somewhere else. hey elon a lot of people are talking about this leaked email, any additional comment to people who think coming into work is an antiquated concept? A Twitter user who goes by the name Whole Mars Catalog had asked Musk. Also Read: Impressive! Google offers job with Rs 1.4 crore package to IIIT Allahabad student Prior to Tesla, several other companies made it mandatory for employees to return to physical offices. Several tech giants such as Apple, Google, and Meta are currently struggling to bring their employees back to their physical offices. Also Read: WhatsApp blocks over 16.6 lakh BAD accounts in India in April 2022 New Delhi: Garena Free Fire releases redeem codes on everyday basis. The 12-digit redeem code consists of alphabets and numbers. Players can get rewards such as skins for in-game weapons and characters to improve their gaming experience. Garena Free fire is banned in India. However, if you are located outside India, you can access the reward codes and redeem them. For that you will be required to visit official Garena Free Fire reward site and log in to your Facebook, Google, Twitter IDs to access the Free Fire redemption page. Check out the Garena Free Fire Redeem Codes for June 1, 2022 FFICJGW9NKYT WLSGJXS5KFYR FFAC2YXE6RF2 FFICJGW9NKYT FFCO8BS5JW2D FF9MJ31CXKRG W0JJAFV3TU5E X99TK56XDJ4X FU9CGS4Q9P4E B6IYCTNH4PV3 FF10HXQBBH2J YXY3EGTLHGJX How to Redeem Garena Free Fire codes for today, 1 June 2022 Step 1: Go to the official Garena Free Fire redemption portal Step 2: Log in on the portal with either your Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Google, VK, or Huawei ID. Step 3: Enter a redeem code in the designated text box. Step 4: Click on the Ok button to get free rewards in your game account. Disclaimer: Garena Free fire is banned in India. Hence we advise people to adhere to government rules New Delhi: Meta-owned WhatsApp on Wednesday said that it banned over 16.6 lakh bad accounts in India in the month of April in compliance with the new IT Rules 2021. The platform had banned over 18 lakh such accounts in the country in March. The company also received 844 grievance reports in April within the country, and the accounts "actioned" were 123. In March, WhatsApp received 597 grievance reports and the accounts "actioned" were 74. "This user-safety report contains details of the user complaints received and the corresponding action taken by WhatsApp, as well as WhatsApp`s own preventive actions to combat abuse on our platform. As captured in the latest Monthly Report, WhatsApp banned over 1.6 million (1,666,000) accounts in the month of April," a WhatsApp spokesperson said in a statement. The company said that data shared highlights the number of Indian accounts banned by WhatsApp between April 1-30 using the abuse detection approach, which also includes action taken in furtherance to negative feedback received from users via its "Report" feature. "Over the years, we have consistently invested in Artificial Intelligence and other state of the art technology, data scientists and experts, and in processes, in order to keep our users safe on our platform," the company added. Also Read: Impressive! Google offers job with Rs 1.4 crore package to IIIT Allahabad student Under the new IT Rules 2021, big digital and social media platforms, with more than 5 million users, have to publish monthly compliance reports. Also Read: Markets lose early gains; Sensex tumbles 185 points in choppy trade New Delhi: WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new feature to allow users to add a cover image to their profiles. The option could be quite similar to how cover images are added to Facebook profiles. It seems like Meta, which owns both Facebook and WhatsApp, is trying to make the profile section on both platforms look similar. According to a report by WABetaInfo, an online platform that tracks the latest update on all things WhatsApp, the messaging platform will soon introduce a layout for profile cover photos quite similar to the one seen on Facebook. In the recent past too, WhatsApp has borrowed a few things from the Facebook Messenger platform. For instance, the app recently introduced WhatsApp Reactions to allow users to react to the messages sent by other users. The media report added that WhatsApp may bring the feature to make the profile page look better or to provide more information about the users. However, the messaging platform could limit the use of the feature to WhatsApp Business users. Thanks to cover photos, you can enhance your business profile by adding a header image and when your customers and other businesses visit your profile, they will be able to view the cover photo. Note that this is another business tool, so cover photos cannot be set up from standard WhatsApp accounts, WABetaInfo said. Also, the feature could be made available to desktop users of WhatsApp. So, users will have to use the desktop version of the WhatsApp Business account to set up their cover photo. WhatsApp already allows iOS users of the WhatsApp Business app to set up their cover photos. WhatsApp Business app beta users have reportedly been using the feature. However, it is yet to arrive on the desktop and Android versions of the WhatsApp Business app. Also Read: HDFC, PNB increase lending rates on home loans, homebuyers will have to pay higher EMIs The media report suggests that WhatsApp is currently testing the feature is currently in the testing phase for the WhatsApp Desktop client. Also Read: Buying property in Delhi? You have to pay more on transfer duty, here's why Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said the Palestinian leadership would take measures to confront the Israeli escalation against the Palestinians. Abbas made the remarks on Tuesday during a meeting with visiting Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in the West Bank city of Ramallah, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA. In light of the international community`s "inability to compel Israel to abide by international law and international resolutions," the Palestinian leadership is in the process of taking action to confront this Israeli escalation, said the WAFA report. The President didn`t give the details of the measures or the date for implementing them, Xinhua news agency reported. "Israel`s criminal actions and racial discrimination are carried out amid US silence on these provocations and practices that flagrantly violate international law," said Abbas. He accused the Israeli government of not abiding by the peace agreements signed with the Palestinians, international law, and UN resolutions, adding that the Israeli authorities carry on with their unilateral actions, mainly in East Jerusalem. The Palestinian President referred to the daily visits of extremist Israelis to the flashpoint holy site of Al-Aqsa mosque compound in East Jerusalem. On Sunday, around 40,000 members and activists of the Israeli far-right-wing groups joined the annual flag march that passed Damascus Gate and the Islamic quarter in the city, sparking tensions in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Live TV Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that Islamabad is looking to forge partnerships for its geo-economics strategy, especially within the region, which apparently includes New Delhi. He was responding to a question about trade with India in an interview with Turkish media outlet Anadolu Agency ahead of his three-day visit to the country, Dawn reported. Sharif, who arrived in Turkey for the visit on Tuesday, said that as part of its shift from geo-strategy to geo-economics, Pakistan is looking to forge partnerships, especially within the region, based on connectivity. "Pakistan and India have a lot to gain from mutually beneficial trade," he said as quoted by Dawn. The Prime Minister further said, "We are cognisant of the economic dividends that can be accrued from a healthy trade activity with India." It is to be noted that after coming to power in Pakistan in early April, Shehbaz Sharif has written a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing his desire for peaceful ties with India and the resolution of all the outstanding issues. This comes in the wake of PM Modi`s congratulatory wishes to the then newly-elected Pakistani counterpart. Sharif, in his reply, thanked PM Modi for congratulating him and said that his country desires peaceful and cooperative ties with India, reported ARY News. In his first address to the National Assembly after being sworn in, Sharif had said, "We want good ties with India but durable peace is not possible until the Kashmir dispute is resolved." On Tuesday, India and Pakistan finalised and signed the annual report of the Permanent Indus Commission for the year which ended on March 31, 2022. The Indus Water Treaty has survived the wars between the two countries and the freeze in bilateral relations. The relations between India and Pakistan have been strained due to Uri, Pathankot and Pulwama terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir with New Delhi making it clear that talks and terror cannot go together. Pakistan PM arrives in Turkey on 3-day visit Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Turkey along with a high-level delegation on a three-day official visit. He was received by Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar on Tuesday and senior government and diplomatic personnel at Ankara Esenboga Airport, according to Dawn newspaper. Pakistani delegation includes Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Information and Broadcasting Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Minister for Investment Board Chaudhry Salik Hussain, and special assistants to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi and Fahd Husain. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, however, reached the Turkish capital on Monday and was received by Ankara Governor Vasip Sahin. He will later rejoin the prime minister`s delegation. Besides discussing the Pakistan-Turkey bilateral relations, the two leaders will also exchange views on regional and international issues. They will also address a Joint press conference after their meetings. "These historical relations are grounded firmly in common religious, cultural, and linguistic links and transcend political changes on either side," Shehbaz said on Pakistan Turkey relations. Finally, we know what it might take to get something done on guns: a tragedy in the home communities of more Republicans in Congress. After the massacres at the Tops supermarket on Jefferson Avenue and the grade school in Uvalde, Texas, GOP Rep. Chris Jacobs of Orchard Park abruptly changed his stance, abandoning the typical Republican opposition to any strengthening of gun laws. Instead, he now backs everything from a nationwide limit on magazine capacity to banning so-called assault weapons. Jacobs, the former Buffalo School Board Member, explained his change of heart after the murders of 10 Tops shoppers by saying there's just something markedly different when it happens in your city, to people you know." He added that the killings of 19 kids, along with two teachers, a week later in Uvalde affected him as a father. Apparently, it also affected some Republican state lawmakers in Texas, who are now demanding that the governor call a special session to do something that will, as one put it, lessen the chance of the next Uvalde tragedy." So the only question now seems to be: How many more such tragedies will it take in members home communities to sway a few more Republicans, particularly in the U.S. Senate? As rational human beings, we like to think we can learn from what happens to others, without having to personally experience it. Obviously, it doesnt work that way in Washington. Jacobs reversal has brought the expected condemnation from gun rights groups that feel betrayed. But New York gun owners already live with some of the restrictions Jacobs and others including a bipartisan group of U.S. senators trying to work out a deal are talking about for the nation. For instance, New York already limits magazine capacity to 10 rounds, which provides the proverbial good guy with a gun a chance to intervene while the criminal reloads. Accused Buffalo murderer Payton Gendron apparently got his high-capacity magazine out of state, which a national law could address. But beyond that, both Gendron and the Uvalde killer were 18, an age at which many scientists say the brain has not fully developed which is why they cant buy a beer or rent a car. If the science supports that analysis, what responsible gun owner would argue that someone with an underdeveloped brain should be able to walk into a store and buy a gun? Limiting the sale of body armor to make it easier for the good guy with a gun to take out a murderer also makes sense. Newburgh Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson proposed such a bill last year, but it went nowhere. In the wake of the Buffalo shooting in which the gunman wore body armor Jacobson said this week that the measure is part of a package now being considered in Albany. Better late than never. But that, too, needs to be part of a national bill, as do universal background checks and red-flag laws to make sure neither street thugs nor those who could be a danger can legally buy a gun. Responsible gun owners shouldnt want guns in either of their hands. Granted, no single measure is foolproof. Gendron was examined under New Yorks red-flag law and then let go. And he passed a background check before buying his rifle. Instead, think of such measures as a Swiss cheese approach in which each has holes in it, but taken as a whole, they can form an effective barrier. Of course, against that reality, gun control advocates can easily oversell such proposals. They also can go too far. Remember then-Gov. Andrew Cuomos short-lived, seven-round limit on magazine size as part of the ridiculous SAFE Act? Speaking of which, the gun the Buffalo shooter bought in Endicott couldnt have been an assault rifle because Cuomo assured us they were outlawed in New York when he signed that 2013 law banning high capacity magazines and lethal assault weapons." But as a gun owner, the magazines and ease of purchase are much more problematic to me than the scary-looking rifles, which function like any other semi-automatic: one shot for each pull of the trigger. Ban specific types or features, as the 1994 temporary federal law did, and manufacturers will simply redesign them to avoid whatever cosmetic elements are outlawed. Ban all semi-automatics? Good luck with that under this nations Second Amendment. The reality is that after Mitch McConnells duplicity in creating a six-member Supreme Court majority most of whose members are relatively young and will serve a long time it could be decades before theres such a radical reinterpretation of the right to bear arms. In the meantime, those on the left are always yammering about Republicans refusal to compromise. But in a country so divided, that cuts both ways, including on proposals to harden schools. Backers of more gun restrictions portray their proposals as common sense. But it strikes me as common sense that when your life or those of your students are on the line, having a gun beats not having one. It at least offers you some chance and some beats none every time. With stringent training requirements and screening including for implicit bias, so that students of color dont get shot by school staff giving those teachers who want to protect students a chance makes far more common sense than leaving them helpless. With that in mind, there is ample room for compromise. Will it happen? Not likely. Maybe, as some have suggested, it will take an Emmett Till moment. Till was the Black 14-year-old savagely killed and disfigured by whites in 1955, allegedly for flirting with a white woman. His mother demanded his casket be open so the world could see what hatred had done a move credited with propelling the civil rights movement. If some shooting victims survivors get angry enough to let Americans see the shattered bodies or faces blown off, perhaps it could have a similarly galvanizing effect. If we reach that moment, gun rights advocates will rue not having headed it off by agreeing to proposals like some of those already in effect in New York. Until then, well have to regret massacres like the ones in Buffalo and Uvalde and the ones surely to come because, while we can offer thoughts and prayers that it will never happen again, we know it eventually will. As gruesome as it sounds, the best we can hope for is that future shootings occur in the right communities so that more Washington politicians come to embrace some of the changes that Jacobs now recognizes might help. The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. State Attorney General Letitia James announced on Wednesday that she has ordered nine Western New York businesses to immediately stop advertising and selling parts that are used to build homemade, untraceable ghost guns. The parts themselves, called unfinished frames and receivers, are not considered firearms. With the use of common tools, though, they can be used to hold together the other parts of a ghost gun. State laws that took effect earlier this year criminalized the sale and possession of ghost guns. The attorney generals effort to clamp down on ghost guns comes less than three weeks after a gunman killed 10 people with a semiautomatic rifle in a Buffalo grocery store in a racially motivated assault. The defendant, Payton Gendron, wrote in a document he published online shortly before the slayings that he had purchased the weapon legally at a gun shop, but modified it with his fathers drill to circumvent the state law limiting the ammunition capacity of such a rifle. Gunning for the guns: Police cracking down in Buffalo to reduce shootings They are going after the "trigger pullers and the gun traffickers," Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said. Jamess office sent cease and desist letters this week to a total of 28 businesses across the state, warning that they could face fines or even imprisonment if they do not immediately stop advertising and selling the parts that are used to make ghost guns. Most of the businesses had advertised the illegal parts either online or at gun shows, according to the Attorney General's Office. Some allowed buyers to purchase the parts online, while others directed customers to call and ask for a price. Jamess office would not release the names of the nine local businesses she sent letters to, and declined to publicly explain why. Ghost guns are proliferating on the streets so quickly that Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia has said he considers it a pandemic. Ghost guns have quickly become more readily available in Buffalo, as in other places throughout the country. In the first 10 months of last year, Buffalo police seized more than 50 ghost guns; in the three previous years combined, they seized 15. Across the nation, too many lives are being lost because of these untraceable and unregistered weapons that anyone can get their hands on without a background check, James said Wednesday in a written statement. 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. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) Denmarks largest energy company said Russia cut off its gas supply Wednesday because it refused to pay in rubles, the latest escalation over European energy amid the war in Ukraine. Russia previously halted natural gas supplies to Finland, Poland and Bulgaria for refusing a demand to pay in rubles. And on Tuesday, the tap was turned off to the Netherlands. Danish energy company rsted said it still expected to be able to serve its customers. We stand firm in our refusal to pay in rubles, and weve been preparing for this scenario, rsted CEO Mads Nipper said. The situation underpins the need of the EU becoming independent of Russian gas by accelerating the build-out of renewable energy. In response to Western sanctions imposed against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree saying foreign buyers needed to pay in rubles for Russian gas as of April 1. Moscow offered customers receiving its natural gas to establish an account in dollars or euros at Russias third-largest bank, Gazprombank, then a second account in rubles. The importer would pay the gas bill in euros or dollars as specified in contracts and direct the bank to exchange the money for rubles. "This is totally not acceptable," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said. This is a kind of blackmailing from Putin. We continue to support Ukraine, and we distance ourselves from the crimes that Putin and Russia commit. Russian state gas giant Gazprom confirmed Wednesday that it stopped gas supplies to Shell Energy Europe and Denmarks rsted after the two companies refused to abide by the ruble-payment mechanism. Gazprom said it hadnt received payments from either company for gas supplied in April and therefore was halting deliveries. The Danish Energy Agency said that in the first 18 weeks of 2022, Russian gas amounted to approximately 25% of EU gas consumption. The agency said that Denmark losing its supply would not have immediate consequences We still have gas in Denmark, and consumers can still have gas delivered, Kristoffer Bottzauw, head of the Danish Energy Agency. said in a statement Monday. But we have plans ready if the situation worsens. Since there is no pipeline going directly from Russia to Denmark, Russia will not be able to directly cut off gas supplies to Denmark, which still will be able to get it, rsted said. Russia's move means that Denmark must purchase more gas on the European gas market, the company added. Denmark has been a net exporter of natural gas for many years, but because its Tyra field in the North Sea is being renovated, the country currently imports about 75% of its gas consumption via Germany. The Tyra field is expected to reopen in mid-2023. In Denmark, some 380,000 households use natural gas for heating via gas boilers, the agency said. On Tuesday, the leaders of the European Union agreed to cut around 90% of all Russian oil imports over the next six months. The 27-nation bloc has relied on Russia for 25% of its crude and 40% of its natural gas. Follow AP's coverage of the Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. WASHINGTON Amid concerns about access to fresh, healthy food on Buffalo's East Side in the wake of the Tops Markets shooting, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer on Tuesday asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture for help. In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Schumer who lobbied for the opening of the Jefferson Avenue Tops in 2003 noted that the store has been closed since the May 14 racist attack that claimed 10 lives there. That being the case, Schumer, a New York Democrat, urged Vilsack to help make sure that neighborhood residents can access good food. "All communities deserve to have access to affordable, fresh, healthy food, and through increased investment in programs like the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, USDA is well-positioned to help local leaders in Buffalo with efforts to expand healthy food access in the short and long-term and make use of federal investment tools to help address the unacceptable concentration of low-access food areas in far too many communities of color," Schumer said. The Healthy Food Financing Initiative offers grants to spur development of food retailers in underserved areas. 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 life of a public official is peppered with moments of decision, some of them of overarching importance. Two such episodes have come the way of Rep. Chris Jacobs in the past couple of weeks and, to his great good credit, he stood out. They were, in fact, moments of courage. It is depressingly odd that it requires political courage to acknowledge the undeniable role of military-style weapons in the American scourge of mass murders, but given the state of too many in Jacobs Republican Party, it surely does. No better is that it takes stomach to push back forcefully on the racist and antisemitic vulgarity of replacement theory, a right-wing lie that Democrats are strategically working to diminish the political strength of white people though various forms of immigration. But its circulating, not only in the dark corners of the internet, but within what has become the Republican mainstream. It has fomented violence for years, most recently the murders of 10 Black Buffalonians on May 14, committed by an 18-year-old wielding one of those weapons of mass murder. Jacobs called that theory what it is in Tuesdays editions of The News. As I have read more and learned more about it, its clear that this is just a vile and disgusting conspiracy theory rooted in racism and antisemitism, the Orchard Park congressman told reporter Jerry Zremski. In my mind, it has no place in this country. Joining him in condemning that calumny was Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-Utica. Both are running for election in districts populated by Western New Yorkers. That was the second time in four days that Jacobs reminded area residents of the kind of Republican they once believed him to be. In the aftermath of bloodlettings in a Buffalo supermarket and a Texas school, Jacobs publicly announced, for all the world to hear, that he backed a ban on assault weapons such as the AR-15, used in the two most recent massacres of innocents and many others before. I hope Ive been compassionate when I read and heard about previous incidents like this that have happened over the years, but I guess theres just something markedly different when it happens in your city, to people you know, he told The News. This has been a profoundly impactful event for me one that he said was amplified by the murders of 19 students and two teachers in a Uvalde, Texas, classroom last week. Jacobs is the father of two young girls. In addition to banning the purchase of such weapons, Jacobs also said he supports raising the age on some gun purchases to 21, limiting the capacity of magazines and banning the sale of military-style body armor to civilians. All fit well within the proscriptions of the Second Amendment, if not in Republican dogma. Thats what makes Jacobs turnaround so welcome. The former Buffalo School Board member, Erie County clerk and state senator was supported by the National Rifle Association in his 2020 campaign, but polls show most Americans oppose the NRAs absolutist positions. Thats not new, but Jacobs awakening is and, with it, he has an opportunity to lead his party back to the place where most Americans live: near the political center, where people of good will and honest intentions can work to address the countrys problems. That, of course, is exactly what we havent done on this problem. Its as though weve thown up our hands in surrender, conceding that this is just too hard to figure out. Its not the image Americans like to project of themselves. As the weekends NRA convention in Houston demonstrated, many Republican leaders cling to a feverish devotion to firearms. Speaking only days after the massacre in Uvalde, former President Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz of the bloodied state of Texas made clear that mass murder is of little concern when it comes to election politics. They are, in American form, the dead-enders once identified by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. We remain aware that this is the same Chris Jacobs who, in the aftermath of a historic insurrection, objected to seating electors pledged to Joe Biden. It was a terrible vote that ignored the damage being done to the country while abetting the corrupt manipulations of the defeated president. But if that decision remains unforgiveable, Jacobs is demonstrating today that no one has to be frozen in time. With his public statements on assault weapons and replacement theory, Jacobs is showing true leadership. His party may not be ready for that but, if it were, hed be following, not leading. This was good to see. Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing. A recent writer suggests that Tops should close this store and create a monument at the site. A monument does not supply food for the tables of this neighborhood. The store is an asset to the people they serve. It must reopen to continue serving its customers. Hopefully, it will be soon. Its a great time to celebrate fishing and boating in Western New York with National Fishing and Boating Week June 4-12. To help kick things off, the annual Kids Teach Me to Fish Derby at the East Aurora Fish and Game Club will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call Dave Barus at 597-4081. There also is a free kids fishing derby starting at 9:30 a.m. Saturday for students from kindergarten to eighth grade at Wilson-Tuscarora State Park. Pre-register by calling Jan Boyer at 799-3839. Another free fishing clinic will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Allegany State Park at Redhouse Lake. Anglers of all ages are welcome and no New York State fishing license is needed to fish the lake since the event is organized by DEC. Adults must accompany children. Pre-register by contacting DEC Region 9 fisheries biologist Mike Todd at 851-7013. Lake Erie and tributaries Bass fishing is good around Buffalo Harbor, according to Capt. John DeLorenzo of Niagara Falls. The south gap by the old lighthouse has been producing big fish in the 5- to 6-pound range. Walleye fishing in front of the windmills has picked up during the day. Bottom bouncing worm harnesses in 32-38 feet of water has been the best approach. Some days are good, some days the fish are picky, but it should get consistently better as the water gets to the 60-degree mark. It was 58 degrees over the weekend, according to DeLorenzo. Night fishing for walleyes is just past peak, but they can be caught from Buffalo to Barcelona on stickbaits in the shallows. Bob Rustowicz of Cheektowaga and I worked waters out of Sturgeon Point to take a couple limits of walleyes in 7 to 9 feet of water with small chartreuse Rapalas, 55 feet behind the boat. Best speed was 1.8 to 2.1 mph. We were fishing alongside Rob Widmer of Sunset Bay, who was fishing with his father, Gary, from Angola. They were fishing the exact same way and limited out before 11 p.m., too. Rob gave his father a great gift as he celebrated his 83rd birthday by night fishing on Lake Erie for walleyes. Tommy Ortolano of Lake Effect Bait and Tackle in Tonawanda reports the area off the windmills is starting to pick up for walleye in 18 feet of water on harnesses and 2-ounce bottom bouncers. Capt. Jim Hanley of Angola says that there are lots of walleye being caught inside the harbor from the middle gap to Donnellys wall. Smallmouth bass are biting well at the north gap and at the end of Donnellys. There is a good bass bite in front of the old steel plant, too, according to Hanley. Some have spawned and some are moving onto the beds. Mike Erdt of Williamsville did well on smallmouth bass on the humps, with 15 to 20 feet of water probably the best. The offshore bite really slowed, probably because many have moved up on beds. Erdt says it will be slow for about a week then the post spawn hot bite will start. Neds and tubes worked best for him. His highlight was getting his sister Barbara Erdt of Cheektowaga, a U.S. Navy veteran, on the boat and catching a nice channel catfish while bass jigging with a Ned rig. Mike also caught some walleyes while jigging, usually a good sign to start the spinner-worm daytime bite. BJ John and Stan Francis of the Cattaraugus Reservation won the fifth annual Catt. Creek Catfish Contest, sponsored by Catt. Creek Bait and Tackle of Irving, on Saturday with a six-fish total weight of 79.8 pounds. Brandon and Josh Fialkowski placed second with a total weight of 76.8 pounds. John and Francis caught 15-16 fish using cutbait and worms. Rigs were 4- to 5-ounce sliders on a float set-up. They caught most of the fish on worms. Mark Dzimian of Lake View tried for perch over the weekend and only caught a few in 54-55 feet of water while fishing with his son Nicholas. He may not have been deep enough. Tommy Ortolano of Lake Effect Bait and Tackle had several reports of better perch action in 62 to 72 feet of water. The WNY Walleye Classic is Friday-Sunday in Barcelona this weekend. Be sure to check out the new expo at the Monroe Harbor Building and at When Pigs Fly BBQ. Niagara River In the Upper Niagara River, walleyes have arrived at the head of the upper river in better numbers as several limits showed up in the past few days at round house and along the break walls for both day and night fishing, reports Tommy Ortolano of Lake Effect Bait and Tackle in Tonawanda. Bass are hitting just about everywhere right now, and they are considerably larger than last year. Try off the breakwall (Bird Island pier off the foot of Ferry) south of the Peace Bridge with a Ned rig or a No. 11 Rapala. Bass have been hitting around the Coast Guard station in the lower Niagara near the mouth of the river, according to Lisa Drabczyk of Creek Road Bait and Tackle in Lewiston. Walleyes are hitting off Lewiston and all the way down to Youngstown. There are some steelhead and trout hanging around, but they are nearly out of the system with warmer water coming down from Erie. Mike Ziehm and Mike Rzucidlo, both of Niagara Falls, have noticed the transition to more warm water species of fish, including white (silver) bass, smallmouth bass, sheepshead and walleyes. Moss is showing up and its starting to be a bit of a hassle. However, its still manageable at this point. Lake Ontario and tributaries Remember that this is tournament week out of Wilson and Olcott, so information is hard to come by for salmon and trout. On Thursday, the Don Johannes/Pete DeAngelo Memorial 3-Fish/Big Fish contest will take place and you can register before 7 a.m. Entry fee is $100 for the boat. Call Mike Johannes at 523-1727 for more information. The Skip Hartman Memorial Pro Am Tournament is Friday and Saturday with a bad weather day set aside for Sunday. Stop at Krull Park to check out the weigh-in starting around 1 p.m. each day. Tommy Ortolano with Lake Effect B&T heard that the salmon action was good last weekend in 210 feet of water and Wonderbread spoons were working well. However, its a different ball game when it comes to tournament fishing. We will have a full report next week. You can check out the tournament website at lakeontarioproam.net. Chautauqua Lake Musky season is open. Jerkbaits and spinnerbaits have been the best for Capt. Mike Sperry so far. Water clarity is good but there are floating weeds to deal with in areas, due to all the boat traffic over the weekend. Casting on the weed lines and over weeds will work for those willing to grind it out. Walleye fishing is decent. Trolling harnesses along the weed lines early in the morning will produce fish. Bring plenty of crawlers because of the yellow and white perch. Jigging Vibes, jig and twister combos and - to -ounce hair jigs will pick up fish on the weed edges and in weed pockets. Finger Lakes Finger Lakes action has seen a good bite for many species, according to local guide Jeremy Newman at Docs Tackle in Honeoye. The crappie fishing on Honeoye has been great for two months now. They are tight to the bank and are not hard to find. Wax worms, fatheads and smaller plastics under a slip bobber has been an effective approach. Bass fishing remains solid, too. There is spawning activity plus an aggressive post spawn pattern to enjoy. On both Conesus and Honeoye, a chatterbait, spinnerbait and jigs are producing. The vegetation is really exploding and after these bass spawn, they will head straight to it. Its not too early to start pitching and flipping for your bigger bites, insists Newman. Perch fishing on Canandaigua is feast or famine. Theyve been hanging out in their summer spots already. They arent hard to catch when you find them. The double drop shot rig with small shiners have been outproducing the fatheads lately. On Honeoye, trolling bottom bouncers, worm harnesses and casting blades are techniques to try first for walleyes. The trout fishing on Canadice and Hemlock is best using big shiners, white tubes and swimbaits. 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 story of the direct-to-consumer furniture business is well into its middle phase after the initial hype and boom. Some DTC sellers opened stores, pursuing a model that looks a lot like the one they planned to disrupt; others have sold themselves to bigger players, and more than a few have disappeared. Then theres Article, the Vancouver-based startup on the verge of celebrating its tenth year in business. It continues to boom, with its founders citing sales up more than 45 percent last year over the year before, new facilities both in North America and in Vietnam and the milestone of recently delivering its one millionth order. But the marker that matters most is the fact that Article is profitable, and has been so for most of its existence. It pays to be obsessive about the entire customer experience, says co-founder and CEO Aamir Baig, an engineer by training. When we began, we saw an opportunity to start a better company. While the company is private and did not share financials for this article, a closer look at why Article has been profitable when so many others have not reveals a business strategy that has prioritized making money over growth almost since its founding. With just a small amount of what it calls friends and family investmentsaccording to Crunchbase, a Series A round in 2016 and a Series B in 2017 from two venture capital fundsthe company has largely worked within its own cash flow and kept its marketing expenses proportionate with its revenue, says Baig. That slow-and-steady approach stands in stark contrast to many other DTC playersCasper and eyewear brand Warby Parker come to mindthat continue to lose money as they push to expand their businesses. By and large, DTC brands have emulated Amazons play in its earlier days, betting that profits would come eventually and growth was the most important thing for the time being. While it worked for Amazon (mainly because the company gets the bulk of its profits from non-retail businesses like web services and advertising) most DTC companies havent yet realized the same success. That makes Articles self-professed profitability all the more unusual in this sector. How have they done it? Article conducts its business somewhat differently than other direct sellers in several important ways. Operations and logistics: Article makes it a point to note on its website that it was founded by engineers (Baig and three others), who brought with them a new approach to making and selling furnitureand none of the preconceived notions of those in the home furnishings industry. This includes the companys proprietary technology for manufacturing and distribution, now manned by more than 100 technicians, who are a key part of Articles work force of 1,300 people both at company headquarters and in Vietnam, where much of its product is made. While Article does not own any of its manufacturing in Asia, the company opened an office in Vietnam in 2020, which allows it to support closer manufacturing relationships, says Baig. In the last year, Article has doubled its headcount abroad, adding team members who collaborate with its manufacturing partners to ensure we develop high-quality products at the best value. The ability to oversee the supply chain and logistics has been especially important amid the disruptions of the past two years, when so many companies have struggled with delivery issues for products manufactured in Asia. While Article has not been immune to those challenges, Baig says that the company is better-equipped to deal with these problems given its in-house resources. Design: The company has also built a nimble operation that is able to respond quickly to market trends, developing proprietary products based on sales data and feedback from its customers. By tracking what designs are the most saleable through purchasing data, the company directs its product development team to continue to focus on those looks. Our online business model also gives us an opportunity to understand our customers at scale, says Baig. Were able to tap direct data sources to understand shopping preferences and customer feedback. Teams across the company use this data to inform decision making, including our product management team, which monitors and analyzes top-selling products to inform production schedules and which collections to expand. That robust data set also helps the company price its products more competitively: Accurate product analysis and forecasting ensures we design and stock products that will produce a return, resulting in top line growth. Delivery: Most furniture retailers, especially in the DTC space, use outside delivery services. Those third-party services sometimes have spotty track records when it comes to reliability and service, especially because they are not necessarily specialists in delivering large home furnishings products. In contrast to that model, Article now delivers more than half of its orders through its own in-house delivery service, which recently launched in 15 markets. In addition, it opened three new fulfillment centersin Chicago, Houston and Vancouverbringing the companys total warehouse footprint to 1.86 million square feet. Ultimately, the goal is to own the entire delivery process for all orders. Providing that excellent customer experience, at an efficient cost, is a very important part of Articles positioning. Its our obsession, says Baig. One piece that is not part of the Article model is stores. It does not have any, and has no plans to add them anytime soon. We dont rule them out, says Baig, but not for the foreseeable future. Even with the slowing down in the broader home furnishings market were seeing in 2022, Baig expects Article to continue to grow: Im confident we will continue to capitalize on the opportunity in front of us through the team's collective determination and expertise." Being more than a bit obsessive doesnt hurt either. Homepage photo: Articles Timber sofa in Charme Tan leather | Article ____________ Warren Shoulberg is the former editor in chief for several leading B2B publications. He has been a guest lecturer at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business; received honors from the International Furnishings and Design Association and the Fashion Institute of Technology; and been cited by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and other media as a leading industry expert. His Retail Watch columns offer deep industry insights on major markets and product categories. RTHK: Blinken says Ukraine promised not to target Russia Ukraine has promised the United States that it will not use new long-range weapons against targets inside Russia, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday. "The Ukrainians have given us assurances that they will not use these systems against targets on Russian territory," Blinken told a joint news conference with Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg. "There is a strong trust bond between Ukraine and the United States, as well as with our allies and partners," he said. The United States said on Tuesday that it will supply Ukraine with advanced missile systems, including the Himars multiple-launch rocket system that can simultaneously launch multiple precision-guided missiles. President Joe Biden said that the United States would not support attacks inside of Russia, which quickly warned of greater risks of conflict between Washington and Moscow. Blinken dismissed suggestions that the United States was risking escalation with Russia, which attacked Ukraine in February despite repeated Western warnings. "It is Russia that is attacking Ukraine, not the other way around," Blinken said. "And simply put, the best way to avoid escalation is for Russia to stop the aggression and the war that it started. It's fully within its power to do so." (AFP) This story has been published on: 2022-06-01. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. (Bloomberg) -- The UK is considering guaranteeing at least $1 billion of South African debt as part of a deal designed to cut the nations reliance on coal and drive a shift to green energy. Most Read from Bloomberg Further negotiations are taking place over how the guarantee will work, with some of it to apply to debt provided by the African Development Bank, said people familiar with the matter, asking not to be identified as the talks arent public. The guarantee is part of a larger $8.5 billion funding package proposed by the UK, US, Germany, France and the European Union. That deal -- which those countries have previously said would consist of concessional loans and grants -- is seen as a prototype for other coal-dependent nations such as Indonesia to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. South Africa, which depends on coal for more than 80% of its power generation, is the worlds 13th-biggest producer of the climate warming gases. Still, the $8.5 billion is only a fraction of what South Africa will need to fund the energy transition. A report this month from the Blended Finance Taskforce and the Centre for Sustainability Transitions at Stellenbosch University estimated the country will need $250 billion over the next three decades. Its not clear what proportion of the UKs contribution to the COP26 climate finance deal the guarantee will comprise, the people familiar said. Even so, a UK guarantee would alleviate pressure on the South African government to stand behind the debt that state power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. may need to fund its shift to renewable energy. By March, the National Treasury had extended 560.1 billion rand ($36 billion) of guarantees to state companies, with Eskom accounting for about 79% of that. The power company has debt of 396 billion rand. Story continues South Africas debt is rated below investment grade by the worlds three biggest ratings companies and the country is wary of taking on more. The Presidential Climate Finance Task Team is currently reviewing the financing offers made by the international partner group, including the offer made by the UK, South Africas National Treasury said in a response to queries. The task team is considering the financial structuring as well as terms and conditions of the offers, including the potential role of multilateral financing organizations such as the AfDB. The task team declined to comment. South Africa also wants to ensure that coal-dependent communities in are cushioned from the impact of job losses during the transition. The so-called Just Energy Transition is seen as key in a country where coal mining employs about 90,000 people. The bank is currently working on a financing vehicle to assist with the funding of the Just Energy Transition in South Africa but we are not yet in a position to discuss any of the details at this point, the AfDB said in a response to questions. On May 27, South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said the country is examining a proposal from the AfDB to manage the $8.5 billion. Akinwumi Adesina, president of the AfDB, said at a press conference on Friday that the institution is working with Group of Seven nations and other partners to help South Africa raise more finance. The Just Energy Transition Partnership, launched at COP26 in Glasgow, aims to deliver climate ambition, social benefits and investments that accelerate the energy transition, a UK government spokesperson said. They are country-led and designed to enable the delivery of a net zero and resilient economy consistent with the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement. Direct loans to Eskom from partner countries would necessitate guarantees, Daniel Mminele, head of the task team, said in an interview with News24, a South African website, this month. In addition to funding Eskoms transition, some of the money could be used to strengthen South Africas power grid. The government also wants to use some of the funds to kick-start its green hydrogen and electric-vehicle industries. (Adds comment from South African Treasury in eighth paragraph) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. Syrian and Afghan refugees are believed to be on the list of people set to be deported to Rwanda in a fortnight, charities have said. Zoe Gardner, head of policy and advocacy at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), said 15 Syrians have been told they will be sent to Rwanda in two weeks. Protect Civilians, a Syrian refugee advocacy group, said it believes there are both refugees from Syria and Afghanistan on that list. Egyptians, Kurds and people from Chad are also set to be deported on the Rwanda flight, the group added. The claims came as Home Secretary Priti Patel announced on Tuesday the government will deport its first set of migrants to Rwanda on 14 June. The Home Office said it had started issuing formal removal notices to migrants as the "final administrative step" in its partnership with the east African nation. Ms Patel said she expects there will still be attempts to delay the process, but she 'will not be deterred' from pushing ahead with the plans. Boris Johnson confirmed the plans in April, saying it would mean migrants using illegal routes - such as coming across the Channel - would be "swiftly and humanely removed to a third country or their country of origin". The policy has come under strong criticism by Labour and refugee charities, but Mr Johnson insisted those attempting to reach the UK by small boat were largely young men who were "not directly fleeing imminent peril". Ms Gardner said one of the JCWI's clients is a Syrian who came to the UK by boat. "There is no safe route to escape Syria. No visa to apply for or queue you can join to reach the UK," she said. "He was targeted by the regime and had to run. He has two sisters living here, where would you go? What welcome would you hope for?" Home Office figures released last week revealed people fleeing Afghanistan were the largest migrant group crossing the Channel in the early part of 2022 after Western allies pulled out of the country in August 2021. Story continues One in four people making the risky journey was from Afghanistan, with the figures showing almost as many Afghans crossing the Channel from January to March this year (1,094) as in the whole of 2021 (1,323). Labour's shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper accused the government of "chasing headlines regardless of reality" after the first flights to Rwanda were announced. "The Rwanda scheme isn't about deterring the criminal gangs or small boat crossings, it's about chasing headlines regardless of reality," she said. "This is a completely unworkable, extortionately expensive, and deeply un-British policy. "There is no proper process for identifying people who have been trafficked or tortured." Poseidon Nickel Ltd (ASX:POS, OTC:PSDNF) has a new non-executive director on the board, bringing further operational and development expertise to the team. Warren Hallam, a highly experienced metallurgist and mineral economist, will pick up the baton from today. Poseidon says Hallams skillset complements the current board and that his familiarity with financing, developing and operating base metal and gold projects will come in handy as the company works to restart its Black Swan Nickel Project. Poseidon chair Derek la Ferla and managing director Peter Harold said they were delighted to welcome Warren to the Poseidon board. [Warrens] skills, expertise and experience will add timely technical and operational strength to our board as we focus on delivering our Fill the Mill Strategy and restarting the Black Swan Nickel Project, they stated. New director Warren onboards as a non-executive director with technical, managerial and financial experience across a broad range of commodities, including copper, nickel, tin, gold and iron ore. He has held numerous board and senior executive positions within the resources sector, including directorships at Westgold Resources Ltd, Aziana Ltd and Nelson Resources Ltd (ASX:NES). Hallam was also the managing director at Metals Exploration Ltd, Metals X Ltd, Capricorn Metals Ltd (ASX:CMM) and Millennium Minerals Ltd. (ASX:MOY) The new director holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Metallurgy, a Master of Science in Mineral Economics and a Graduate Diploma of Business. About Poseidon Poseidon is a nickel sulphide exploration and development company with three projects in Kalgoorlie in the Goldfields region of Western Australia. Together, the projects carry a resource base of around 400,000 tonnes of nickel and 180,000 ounces of gold. Poseidons strategy is focused on the exploration and eventual restart of its established nickel operations in Western Australia. A critical element of this strategy has been to acquire projects and operations with existing infrastructure, large nickel resources and geological prospectivity that are likely to lead to resource growth with modern exploration techniques. Poseidon owns the Windarra, Black Swan and the Lake Johnston Nickel projects. In addition to the mines and infrastructure, including concentrators at Black Swan and Lake Johnston, these projects carry weighty exploration opportunities, as demonstrated by the Golden Swan Resource at Black Swan and the Abi Rose deposit at Lake Johnston. Black Swan will be the first project to restart, followed by Lake Johnston and then Windarra as long as Poseidon achieves favourable feasibility studies and appropriate project financing structures are put in place, the outlook for the nickel price remains positive and all necessary approvals are obtained. The company completed a definitive feasibility study focused on retreating the gold tailings at Windarra and Lancefield in July 2021 and is currently investigating potential partners to develop the project and monetise the asset. Tullow Oil PLC (LSE:TLW) and Capricorn Energy PLC (LSE:CNE, OTC:CRNZF) have agreed to merge to create a leading African energy company with a material and diversified asset base and a portfolio of investment opportunities delivering visible production growth. Capricorn shareholders will receive 3.8068 new Tullow shares in the deal, which will see them together own some 47% of the new company whilst Tullows owners will hold the other 53%. It will comprise low-cost producing assets and a deep portfolio of incremental high return investment opportunities in Ghana, Egypt, Gabon and Cote d'Ivoire, the companies said in a statement. Specifically, it will have Tullows major resource development project in Kenya along with Capricorn's Egypt portfolio, which has opportunities to develop self-funded production growth via infill drilling and low-cost exploration. Further afield, upside remains through exploration assets in Guyana and Mauritania. Together, the new company will have some 96,000 barrels oil equivalent production per day from a base of reserves and resources measuring 343mln and 696mln barrels respectively. Wednesdays statement highlights some US$50mln of pre-tax net cash cost synergies resulting from the combination of the businesses. It is expected to have US$1.8bn of liquidity. Cumulative pre-financing free cash flows are forecast at around US$2.4bn over the 2022-2025 period, based on a US$75 per barrel crude oil price, and it expects to deliver rapid deleveraging in the future. Dividends will resume presently Tullow has no distributable reserves and is therefore currently unable to pay dividends as a capital restructuring will take place alongside the merger. It is anticipated that a base annual dividend of US$60mln will be paid out per year. Tullow chief executive Rahul Dhir will be chief executive of the combined company, whilst Capricorn chief financial officer will take the CFO role. Tullow chair Phuthuma Nhleko will be chairperson whilst the current Capricorn chair Nicoletta Giadrossi will be senior independent director. Simon Thomson, Capricorns chief executive, will become chair of the integration steering committee to help with the integration of the two companies. The boards of Tullow and Capricorn believe the combination has compelling strategic, operational and financial rationale, with the ability to deliver substantial benefits to shareholders, host nations and other stakeholders, the companies said in a joint statement. The combination represents a unique opportunity to create a leading African energy company, listed in London, with the financial flexibility and human resource capability to access and accelerate near-term organic growth, add new reserves and resources cost-effectively, generate significant future returns for shareholders, and pursue further consolidation. PARIS Leylah Fernandezs dream run at Roland Garros ended in the quarterfinals Tuesday a combination of a tough matchup against fellow left-hander Martina Trevisan of Italy and a right foot injury that required treatment in the first set of a 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-3 defeat. Trevisan served for the match at 5-4 in the second set, only to be broken and have Fernandez fight back to take the set in a tiebreak. The third set looked like one-way traffic at 0-4. But Fernandez continued to fight. It took nearly an hour for the 28-year-old Italian, a surprise quarter-finalist in Paris in 2020, to earn her second match point. This time, she finished the job, and is off to her first Roland Garros semifinal to face fellow first-time Grand Slam semifinalist Coco Gauff of the U.S. The trademark energy, exuberance and demonstrativeness was absent in Fernandezs game Tuesday, no doubt in part due to concerns about the foot. There had been no sign of a problem during her practice session on Monday, at least not during the first hour. But it appears to have been a pre-existing issue. After several hours during which Fernandez was said to be having treatment, and a couple of postponements, the Canadian did not meet with the media to shed light on the injury on advice of the tournament medical team. She was spotted in the womens locker room with crutches. In fact, not much is known at all especially not whether the injury is serious enough to affect her preparation and competitive plans during the short grass-court season leading up to Wimbledon next month. A few brief questions put to Fernandez by the WTA communications officials yielded little information, although she was not asked what the problem was. Today was definitely hard luck. I did feel it before the match, but I didn't think much of it. You know, it just happened and we are just going to have to learn from this, Fernandez said during a 58-second audio clip. On the last point of the 2-2 game in the first set, Fernandez came up limping. Story continues Upon arrival at her chair, the physical trainer and doctor came out to treat what appeared to be a problem on the top of her right foot, near the toes. She also took a couple of tablets from the tournament doctor. The foot was wrapped. And some 20 minutes later, when the pills finally kicked in, she did mount more resistance. But in the end, it was the combination of adrenalin and determination that pushed the match to a third set. Fernandez has been remarkably healthy so far in her young career despite being undersized by modern standards. She has rarely missed a tournament because of injury. But in Australia in January, she came in with an abductor pull suffered in Adelaide, in a tune-up tournament two weeks before the main event. She withdrew from a second tournament the following week. She then fell in the first round of the Australian Open to obscure qualifier Maddison Inglis, in straight sets. There was plenty of blowback after that loss. Much like the Emma Raducanu, the British teenager who defeated Fernandez in the U.S. Open final last September, the high standards set by the two teenagers make every defeat fodder for criticism. Father Jorge Fernandez said his daughter probably should not have played her second match in Adelaide, which she lost to Iga Swiatek of Poland. She was off for 7-10 days, and only had a few days to train for the Australian Open. What makes me proud of her that she didn't use that as an excuse. She went through the pain and she probably made it worse than what it could have been, Jorge Fernandez said on Monday. I think she got punished for that. But that gave her more fuel for her fire. She said, The next Slam, I'm going to be ready. She wanted to prove it to herself and prove a lot of people wrong, because they had the wrong assessment of the situation. So this is the second consecutive major in which injury was a contributing factor to a disappointing performance. But this was her first Roland Garros quarterfinal, with a big crowd in Court Philippe-Chatrier and a semifinal berth at stake. It is a little hard at the moment to find some positives, because of course I wanted to get to the semifinals. But I think I will just have to take a few days and then look back and see what I have done well, Fernandez told the tournament official. We are just going to go from there. Right now I will see what I can do to recuperate as quickly as possible. Fernandez was not scheduled to play in the opening week of the grass-court season next week. Her next scheduled tournament is the WTA 500 in Berlin, Germany that begins on June 13. The 19-year-old may end up at a career-high ranking after her quarterfinal effort. But nothing is sure. Because of all the upsets in this years tournament there are several players who began the fortnight ranked lower than Fernandez who might pass her including Trevisan, Gauff and Daria Kasatkina of Russia. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2022. Stephanie Myles, The Canadian Press A former Southington fire board member and Democrat is challenging an incumbent Republican senator this fall. State Sen. Rob Sampson, 52, a Republican from Wolcott, is running for his third term representing the 16th Senate District. The district covers Southington, Wolcott, Prospect and parts of Cheshire and Waterbury. Chris Robertson, 57, a Democrat and previous Senate candidate, is challenging Sampson for the seat. Robertson served on the Southington Board of Fire Commissioners and also served in Cheshire town government when he lived there. Sampson said he hopes to return to Hartford for a third term to tackle the rising cost of living, as well as crime, and taxes. We definitely need to make better policy on a state level to reverse the trend and make Connecticut a more attractive place, he said. Robertson said hell be able to work more effectively with both parties and would consider only the interests of his constituents. When I was a fire commissioner, I worked on both sides of the aisle, he said. Im not going to vote no or yes unless I absolutely believe in the bill thats going to come up. Eight years ago, Robertson ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate under the Working Families party. Hed hoped to run as a Democrat, but missed the deadline for the partys nomination. Robertson lost to Southington Republican Joe Markley, but said this race will be different. This time, were doing everything on time, he said. I got all the delegates, I had my convention last Tuesday and got the nod from all five towns. Last year, Robertson left the Democratic Party and became a Republican to run for the Southington Board of Finance. When that party didnt nominate him, he tried to gather signatures as a petitioning unaffiliated candidate, but fell short by the August deadline. Robertson has switched back to the Democratic Party. Hes encouraged by a change in leadership with Southington Democrats following Novembers municipal election loss and larceny charges against former party treasurer Jim Sinclair. There was a lot of cleaning house that needed to be done in the Democratic Party in Southington, and they did it, Robertson said. Thats 100 percent the reason I came back to the Democratic Party. Its not the people I thought that were hurting the party. Sampson said hes been glad to support recent legislation to crack down on juvenile crime, including penalties for youths convicted of stealing cars. He said legislators need to continue to roll back legislation he feels removed consequences for young offenders that in part led to vehicle crimes. Its an issue that has worried constituents, he added. Ive got people sending me their Ring (video) doorbell footage by email, Sampson said. Sampson said the state has more funds than it needs due to increased tax receipts and federal pandemic money. Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont has proposed one of the largest tax cuts in state history at more than $660 million over the next year, but it represents a fraction of the $8 billion in budget reserves the state expects to have by June 30, according to The Connecticut Mirror. The state is awash with cash, Sampson said. I believe we should be returning the surplus back to taxpayers. Robertson said hed do a better job of working with both parties than Sampson, adding that he feels the Republican isnt representing the majority of people in his district. You need to have people who are going to listen to what is good for the majority and not what is good for the minority, he said. Sampson said, if re-elected, hell continue to fight for individual liberties as well as municipal control. Both are under attack by Democrats in Hartford, he said. I think people know who I am and what I stand for, Sampson said. Im confident Ill be re-elected because I believe I represent the five towns (in the district). Sampson stated that he has raised the financial support that is required to qualify for public campaign financing. He got a boost in support from individuals interested in issues such as the states response to COVID-19, masks mandates for local schools and teaching on race in schools. Robertson said hell be seeking support to qualify for public campaign financing. A Dane County judge has denied a conservative lawyers lawsuit alleging that private grants provided to Madison to administer the 2020 election constituted bribery. Circuit Judge Stephen Ehlke, who had previously described the claims brought by Erick Kaardal, of the conservative Thomas More Society, as ridiculous, on Wednesday affirmed the Wisconsin Elections Commissions dismissal of Kaardals complaint late last year. His ruling marks the latest of multiple court rulings in Wisconsin and nationally to find the grants were legally provided. Ehlke pointed to a host of grievances issued by Kaardal against Madison for accepting election grants from the Chicago-based nonprofit Center for Tech and Civic Life, or CTCL, including a new argument raised last month that some of those funds were used to purchase absentee ballot drop boxes. State law does not prohibit the use of private election grants, which were provided to more than 200 cities across the state to help administer the presidential election during the COVID-19 pandemic. The commission should not be put in the position of having to guess what violation of election law was alleged and then be faulted later when they didnt guess correctly what it is that the complainants are complaining about it is incumbent upon a complainant to state in plain terms what they think is amiss and what the basic facts are supporting their allegations, Ehlke said. Here, plaintiffs were aided by a very experienced lawyer, yet failed to argue violations of (state law) before the commission, Ehlke added. Kaardal filed the lawsuit as an appeal to the commissions Dec. 8 dismissal of his complaints asserting that officials in the states five largest cities broke state election laws by accepting grants from CTCL, funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The commissions lawyers said his allegations didnt raise probable cause to believe that a violation of law or abuse of discretion has occurred. The bottom line is the commission correctly concluded that there is not probable cause to conclude that any election law was violated, Ehlke said. In a statement, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway applauded Ehlkes decision to dismiss the Thomas More Societys lawsuit. Its been clear from the beginning that using grant funds to help conduct an election during a pandemic was legal, Rhodes-Conway said. Every court that has been asked across the country has confirmed this government should be helping people to vote, not constantly throwing up more roadblocks to participating in our democracy. Kaardal has pursued similar lawsuits against the cities of Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha and Green Bay. However, he said Wednesday he does not expect to appeal Ehlkes ruling and the four pending cases will likely be dropped. Thatll be the end of this round, he said. Court rulings have found nothing illegal about the more than $10 million in grants CTCL distributed to about 214 municipalities in 39 of Wisconsins 70 counties, including many in areas solidly won by former President Donald Trump. Nor did CTCL turn down grant requests from any of the Wisconsin municipalities that made them. CTCL funds were put to a variety of uses, including enhanced COVID-related protections for voters, poll worker training, and the purchase of ballot drop boxes and voting machines. However, Republicans note that CTCL showered more money, per capita, on Wisconsins largest and most liberal areas in what they say was an effort to boost turnout for President Joe Biden in a battleground state Trump narrowly won in 2016 and that Biden ended up winning by less than a percentage point in 2020. Drop box lawsuits Kaardal and the conservative group last week filed another round of lawsuits against the states five largest cities related to their use of absentee ballot drop boxes. The lawsuits allege that state law is silent on the use of drop boxes and has asked a judge to declare them legally unauthorized and permanently barred. The legality of drop boxes is currently before the Wisconsin Supreme Court following an appeal filed earlier this year against a Waukesha County judges ruling that barred the use of the free-standing, mailbox-like boxes except for in a clerks office. A ruling is expected this summer. Kaardal has been a regular collaborator with former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman as part of Gablemans GOP-ordered review of the 2020 election. Gableman was hired last year by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, at a cost of $676,000 to taxpayers. Vos announced earlier this month that he had paused Gablemans probe and halved his monthly stipend. Court decisions, recounts and multiple reviews have found no evidence of widespread fraud in Wisconsins 2020 election. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 This Is Why 'the Government' Is Not Going to Ban Digital Assets Source: Adobe/PATARA Benjamin Dean, Director, Digital Assets, WisdomTree, an asset management firm and exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider. _____ 2022 has seen a number of major public policy shifts for digital assets in the United States, the United Kingdom (UK), and the European Union (EU). Far from banning digital assets, the new announcements are overt and positive signs that digital assets are being integrated into existing regulatory and legislative frameworks in different parts of the world. Now that the scale and benefits of digital assets are too great to ignore, governments in these countries are now playing catch-up with Switzerland and Singapore. The latter now serves as home to thriving digital asset industry clusters due to the clear regulatory and legislative positions established years ago. The digital asset ecosystem is not the wild west that it once was. It is maturing, becoming safer, and more could benefit as it becomes more regulated. This is the same process that many technologies go through as they become part of the furniture. Using these networks will become second nature just as many dont think twice anymore when using the Global Positioning System (GPS) to navigate a city theyve never been in before. Scale that has become impossible to ignore The digital asset ecosystem reached an all-time high of over USD 3trn in market capitalization in November 2021. The benefits that this new technology brings such as increased speed, accessibility, and transparency are becoming too great to ignore. At the same time the potential risks particularly related to cybersecurity and criminal activity are now well known. The first major announcement came out of the USA. In March, the Biden Administration announced the Executive Order for the Responsible Development of Digital Assets. This is a finely-worded policy document that clearly lays out potential benefits and risks from digital assets and then tasks various federal agencies to investigate and provide recommendations on how the USA can continue to be, a global leader, growing development and adoption of digital assets and related innovations, and, defend against certain key risks, necessitate an evolution and alignment of the United States Government approach to digital assets. Not wanting to be left behind, the UKs Treasury announced their intention to make the UK the global crypto hub. While details are scant, some initial initiatives include, legislating for a financial market infrastructure sandbox to help firms innovate, a 2-day Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)-led CryptoSprint event in May 2022, working with the Royal Mint on an NFT and an engagement group to work more closely with industry. Finally, the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) proposal is snaking its way through various working groups in the European Parliament. While the actual wording of this proposal is under constant review, if it continues to progress it will eventually be reviewed by Parliament, the European Commission, and the Council of Europe en route to providing the EU with a unified framework for regulating digital assets. Governments deal with new technology in different ways Each government will take a slightly different approach based on their own domestic political structure, how developed the digital assets industry is in their jurisdiction, and other policy imperatives. The approach can take time to develop and can also evolve over time. This is no different from previous waves of technological change. Railroads went through a round of legislative efforts in the UK during the 1840s to raise safety standards for train carriages and lines. So too did car safety in the US due in part to the work of Ralph Nader in the 1960s. The most recent major technology wave, the Internet, is still playing out. One facet of internet governance, data protection, and privacy, is handled very differently in the US. Where there is no federal digital privacy legislation, to the EU and its General Data Protection Regulation and Directive (GDPR). This didnt happen overnight - it took two decades for the GDPR to be developed and implemented. Another example can be seen in the way that speech is regulated online. Section 230 of the US Communications Decency Act has provided online service providers with a safe haven for the liability linked to the conduct of their users on their platform. This was put in place in the 1990s and is part of the reason so many social media companies are US-based. Contrast this with the EU Digital Services Act, which is a relatively new initiative that will only make its way out of the EU apparatus in 2024 around 30 years since the commercial internet arrived. There can be many homes for the digital assets industry For years a recurring question about digital assets has been what happens if the government bans it?. It turns out that there are many governments no single one chooses how new technology will be used worldwide. This is particularly the case for open-source software in an internet-connected world. Far from banning digital assets, many governments are now competing to be the home of the businesses that use this technology. The governments who manage to strike the right balance of measures will be home to a new wave of technological change including the jobs, tax revenue, and well-being that come with it. ____ Learn more: - Bitcoin Mining Can be a Force for Good or Bad, Banning it Doesnt Solve Anything FTX.US President - Brace for More S Korean Altcoins as President-Elect Prepares to Ditch ICO Ban - EU Institutions to Continue MiCA Discussions Without Bitcoin Mining Ban Proposal - Crypto Banned as a Payment Method in Thailand, Trading Intact - China Says it Has Closed all Crypto Exchanges But Traders, Miners May Still Be Active - Japans Prime Minister Reportedly Open to Idea of Crypto Tax Reform HARRISBURG The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily blocked the counting of some mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania, an order that could affect the Republican Senate primary between former hedge fund CEO David McCormick and celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz. An order from Justice Samuel Alito paused a lower-court ruling in a lawsuit over a disputed 2021 local court election that would have allowed the counting of mail-in ballots that lacked a handwritten date. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia had ruled that the state election laws requirement of a date next to the voters signature on the outside of return envelopes was immaterial and no reason to throw out such ballots. Based on that ruling, the state had advised counties to count those ballots in the race between McCormick and Oz, and McCormick promptly went to court to force counties to follow through. The race is in the midst of a statewide recount until June 8, with Oz ahead of McCormick in the initial tally by 922 votes out of more than 1.3 million cast even though some counties are still not done counting every ballot cast in the May 17 primary election. As McCormick scrounges for ballots to make up the gap with Oz, Alitos order could freeze McCormicks lawsuit in Pennsylvania state courts. Pennsylvanias Department of State which oversees elections did not immediately say Tuesday whether it will change its guidance to counties on how to handle the ballots. The U.S. Supreme Courts action, called an administrative stay, freezes the matter until it can give the case further consideration. There is no timeline on the high courts undertaking and the clock for McCormick is ticking down to June 8. McCormick has been doing better than Oz among mail-in ballots, and his campaign has said it counted about 860 undated Republican mail-in ballots received by 65 of the states 67 counties. Counting the undated ballots will not put McCormick over the top against Oz, but it could help narrow the race. Some counties have already agreed to count the undated mail-in ballots, while others have not, saying they are waiting for legal clarity. The state law requires voters to write a date on the envelope in which they mail in their ballots. However, the handwritten date is not used to determine whether the ballot was cast on time, since the envelope is postmarked by the post office and timestamped by counties when they receive it. In any case, counties have acknowledged accepting ballots with wrong dates. Pennsylvanias state Supreme Court declined McCormicks request to intervene Tuesday, just after a judge in the lower statewide Commonwealth Court heard three hours of arguments in the case. In the meantime, McCormicks campaign on Tuesday asked the Commonwealth Court for a hand recount in 150 precincts across 12 counties. McCormicks campaign said it was targeting precincts where there was an unusually large proportion of machine-read ballots that recorded no vote in the Senate GOP primary. That could point to errors in the electronic scanners, McCormicks campaign said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian said on Wednesday it was still trying to reach an aircraft deal with Boeing Co. Reuters reported in March that Boeing was edging toward a landmark order from Delta for up to 100 of its 737 MAX 10 jets.. Asked at an industry conference if he saw a place for the MAX in Delta's fleet, Bastian said he agreed. "I think there is. We've been trying to get a deal done with Boeing. We're keeping our eye on that, and hopefully, we'll be able to figure that out," Bastian said on Wednesday. A Boeing spokeswoman declined to comment. At the event in New York to celebrate the opening of a new terminal at LaGuardia Airport, Bastian declined to offer details of the size of any potential 737 MAX order and emphasized no decision had been made. "We continue to see if there's opportunities with the MAX but no decisions, no hold ups," Bastian told Reuters. Delta is the only major U.S. carrier without a 737 MAX on order. The MAX 10 competes with Airbus' strongest-selling model, the A321neo. Both planes are aimed at the fast-growing segment of the market just above 200 seats. In September, Airline Weekly quoted Bastian as saying there was a place for the MAX at Delta if the carrier could figure out how to bring them in. (Reporting by David Shepardson and Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr) Why only in America? Why is this American exceptionalism so awful? Sky News reporter Mark Stone You know, Im sorry you think American exceptionalism is awful. Why is it that people come from all over the world to America? Because its the freest, most prosperous, safest country on earth. And stop being a propagandist. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas Two days after the horror of Uvalde, where an 18-year-old with an assault weapon killed 19 children and two teachers at school in Texas, and 12 days after the horror of Buffalo, New York, where another 18-year-old with an assault weapon killed 10 Black people in a supermarket, Sen. Ted Cruzs exchange with Sky News reporter Mark Stone underscored a major difference between America and other countries. It's that we think were special, and they see us as we are: Tragically flawed. Especially on guns. 'Nothing trumps easy access to a gun' New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's visit Tuesday with President Joe Biden was a painful reminder of that. When a gunman rampaged through two Christchurch mosques in March 2019 and killed 51 people, Ardern announced a national ban on most semiautomatic weapons and assault rifles within a week, and the parliament passed it 119-1 within a month. New sales stopped immediately, and the government bought back the banned weapons. Australia displayed the same alacrity when a man used semiautomatic rifle and a semiautomatic assault weapon to murder 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania, in 1996. The newly elected center-right prime minister, John Howard, persuaded Australia's powerful state governments to adopt uniform laws banning ownership, possession and sale of all automatic and semiautomatic weapons. The federal government banned imports of those weapons and imposed a one-time tax to pay for buybacks. More from Jill Lawrence: Why won't most Republicans try to fix the gun problem? Story continues Is this the beginning of the end for Trumpism or the Republican Party? A heart-shaped balloon flies outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 30, 2022. These leaders grasped the core problem: guns. Whatever the role of mental illness or a violent culture, Howard wrote in The New York Times shortly after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in December 2012, nothing trumps easy access to a gun. It is easier to kill 10 people with a gun than with a knife. That seems utterly obvious to tens of millions of Americans. But until its obvious to a few Republican politicians in Washington, we're mired in legislative quicksand. Why do we keep having mass shootings? Because that's who we are I admit it, I have nation envy, and not just on guns. I am jealous of health care systems in other nations. A 2021 Commonwealth Fund study of 11 high-income countries ranked America last overall and last on access to care, administrative efficiency, equity and health care outcomes despite being a stark outlier when its performance is compared with the share of GDP it spends on health care. President Joe Biden meets with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on May 31, 2022. Im jealous of Estonia and 39 other countries that all mandate paid leave for new parents. Among the 41 nations in a Pew Research Center analysis, only the United States has no such requirement. Im jealous of countries that spend reams more than America on child care for toddlers. U.S. spending is a measly $500 per child per year, concentrated on poor families. Norway shells out nearly $30,000. Texas schoolchildren begged for help.Officers were standing right outside. Be very mad about that. Im jealous of countries that invest big in preschool, shown by research to boost children's odds of success in school and life. As the Center for American Progress said of a study that found America behind more than 20 other nations in most measures of preschool education, These rankings do not befit the United States. I am even jealous of how Australia barred Novak Djokovic from the Australian Open because the Serbian was not vaccinated against COVID-19. Rules are rules, especially when it comes to our borders. No one is above these rules, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. Inaction with catastrophic results I'm especially jealous of New Zealand and Australia for their quick, dramatic action after gun nightmares, and of Canada, which this week announced new handgun limits and a buyback program for assault-style weapons. The U.S. death toll and the wrecked lives each victim leaves behind mount by the day and the decade, as our political leaders remain gridlocked. Rarely has such inaction had such catastrophic consequences. Again and again. "To be honest, I do not understand the United States, Ardern said in 2019 of America's gun paralysis. Sometimes I don't, either. 'Praying for myself, too': Parents struggle with goodbye after another mass school shooting Ive been disappointed in countless political leaders, some more than others. Former President Donald Trump made America exceptional in the worst ways, culminating in his assaults on elections and democracy itself. Biden is helping to restore normalcy and would do more would fix most of what's on my wish list but he doesn't have enough Democrats to make it happen, or Republicans who feel any urgency about what's on that list. Still, I can't let go. When I attended Trinity College in Dublin in the 1970s, I felt acutely American and very much missed my country, both the negative (the Watergate scandal) and the positive (the rising second wave of U.S. feminism). I happened to see the Twin Towers collapse from across the Hudson River in 2001 and reported on the pain of survivors. When I drove home to Washington, D.C., past fields, cows and Baltimore's harbor, I felt rage and loyalty and ownership how dare anyone attack my country! I know people who have retired to Europe. I could never do that. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden comfort Mandy Gutierrez, the principal of Robb Elementary School, in Uvalde, Texas, on May 29, 2022. I love what I understand to be America's core values and assets: diversity, opportunity, resilience, rules and laws, and a stop-and-start journey to confront and correct the sins of history. All of this makes me a perpetual believer in the future we can build. So, for all our flaws, every Memorial Day, my Army veteran husband flies a U.S. flag outside our house. I saw it out my window this week as I wrote this. Our flag has 51 stars because we still dream of statehood for D.C., just like we dream of catching up to other affluent nations to make life easier and safer for all. Just like we dream of new laws that value human life as much as the right to own a gun. I'm not a liberal who hates America. I'm a hopeful liberal who knows my country can be much better and keeps expecting that one day it will be. Jill Lawrence is a columnist for USA TODAY and author of "The Art of the Political Deal: How Congress Beat the Odds and Broke Through Gridlock." Follow her on Twitter: @JillDLawrence You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com. Marlette cartoon: More precious than life itself... This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gun violence in Uvalde and Buffalo reinforces tragic US exceptionalism Every year in May a colleague and I take about a dozen students on some type of weeklong outdoor experience. In the past we have done backpacking or canoeing, but this year we camped at different historical and environmental locations in western Oklahoma. We spent a few days camping at Black Mesa, followed by a few days at Alabaster Caverns, and concluded at the Battle of Washita. It was on our last day while watching a video about the Battle that a line caught my attention. The video asked, What was the price of progress? I have thought about this for a few days. Historically speaking, there have been too many instances to count where we thought we were doing the right thing at the time, in the name of progress, only to realize later that we had made mistakes. It makes me wonder, with so many social and cultural changes, what will our price be for progress. During the Civil War in 1864, bands of Cheyenne and Arapaho began to attack whites who were encroaching on their lands. In response the Colorado militia under Colonel John M. Chivington attacked a village that included Chief Black Kettle. When the warriors fled, hoping to draw away the soldiers, the soldiers instead attacked the village mostly composed of old men, women, and children. The government acknowledge their wrong and in the 1867 Medicine Lodge Treaty promised to take care of the Indians if they moved to Indian Territory. However, the government did not fulfill their side of the bargain and whites continued to encroach on Indian lands. When the natives fought back and raided settlements, the army decided they needed to put a stop to Indian crimes and ordered General Philip Sheridan to punish they Cheyenne tribes. Sheridan turned to his trusted lieutenant and hero of the Civil War, Lt. Col George Armstrong Custer. Though seen very differently today, Custer was one of Americas most popular celebrities. Made a General during the war at only age 23, Custer was one of the boy generals and was seen as a romantic dashing character. After the war he was commissioned a Lt. Colonel and followed his mentor Sheridan out west where he continued to build his fame as an Indian fighter. On the other side of the battle was Black Kettle. Even after the Sand Creek Massacre, Black Kettle tried to work with the U.S. government for peace. He worked so hard for peace that his band was forced to separate themselves from the other Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Kiowa camped along the Washita River. On the morning of November 27, 1868, Custer with the 7th Cavalry attacked at dawn against the isolated camp of Black Kettle. Custer led one unit directly into the village while the others surrounded it to cut off escape. In the end between 30 to 60 Cheyenne lay dead, including Black Kettle. Custer then ordered the destruction of 650 horses belonging to Black Kettles people to hurt them in the future. It was only after the other camps began to arrive on scene that Custer retreated to Fort Supply. Here is the thing: today we see Custer as a villain, but in 1868 he was lauded a hero. He would go on to win several other major victories, each time increasing his fame. He was so popular by the time of his death at the Little Big Horn that the American population demanded revenge, which justified Sheridans scorched earth policy that devastated the Native tribes and forced most of them onto reservations. It is hard for us to understand the popularity of Custer today. His methods were almost on the level of genocide, but he did it in the name of progress. At the time Natives were standing in the way of U.S. progress. Their outdated ways and beliefs were hurting Americas greatness. At the time Americans needed to grow. They needed more land. The problem with Indians was that they had not changed with the times. They were too old-fashioned. For one thing, they did not use the land properly. In the U.S. view, land was meant to be tamed, to be controlled. You were not using the land properly if you did not section off what was yours with a fence, cut down the trees to build a house, and plow under the grass lands to plant crops. New technologies were allowing Whites to progress faster than ever before, with railroads and steel plows. Railroads needed to cross vast areas of land, lands that had been promised to the Native tribes. With these new technologies, as well as the discovery of gold on Indian lands, the U.S. government began to shrink Native lands, or move them somewhere else altogether. Forget that these lands had been theirs for thousands of years. They were in the way of U.S. progress. It is hard for us today to grasp that in the late nineteenth century, the army was seen as in the right. Those who stood up for the Natives were seen as out of touch and against Americas progress. The Natives did kill Custer and his entire regiment. Anyone capable of such actions needed punishing. Yet the price of such progress was cultural genocide. What is the price of progress that we will have to pay today? Nineteenth-century Americans could never have imagined that they would be judged harshly for their treatment of Indians, who were considered savages who were hurting America. What are we doing today in the name of progress that people will look back on in 100 years and think why did they allow that? What are we doing that could ultimately cause harm to our society or culture but yet seems like the right thing to do? Dr. James Finck is an associate professor of history at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma and chair of the Oklahoma Civil War Symposium. Follow Historically Speaking at www.Historicallyspeaking.blog or Facebook at @jamesWfinck. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The strip of asphalt crossing under the U.S. 67 overpass in Desloge is a road that goes by many names North Desloge Drive, Business 67, Highway 8 and the traffic this summer is about to look different, too. In fact, a number of area road projects this summer will be starting very shortly if theyre not already underway. Chris Crocker, southeast district engineer with the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), updated the Daily Journal as to what drivers, businesses and residents can expect on current and imminent projects. For up-to-the-minute, additional information on these or any Missouri state road projects, calls can be made to MoDOTs Customer Service Center toll-free at 1-888-ASK-MODOT (1-888-275-6636), or visit www.modot.org/southeast. U.S. 67 Bridge in Desloge This hefty project will actually spur on another project, as this crossroads with U.S. 67 sees some of the heaviest traffic in the region and the U.S. 67 north-south traffic will be routed to avoid the bridge area. These Desloge exits from U.S. 67 lead onto North Desloge Dr./Business 67/Highway 8, which lets drivers either head east into the Cedar Falls area, or west into Desloges commercial area where Walmart, Rhodes gas station and many other businesses are located. Replacing the bridge as part of MoDOTs Bootheel Bridge Bundle is expected to start today, and the creative detours are estimated to last until late August when the work is done if the weather cooperates. Crocker said southbound U.S. 67 traffic will use the exit and entrance ramps to continue their path on U.S. 67, traffic will be diverted onto the southbound off-ramp with options to travel west on Highway 8 or continue south using the southbound U.S. 67 on-ramp. Those heading north on U.S. 67 might find it trickier to get where theyre going, Crocker indicated. Signed detours will be in place for northbound U.S. 67 traffic to Highway 8, Highway 8 east to northbound U.S. 67, and Cedar Falls Road. Detour routes will use existing interchanges at Parkway Drive and Orchard. Part of the detour is going to be off the Parkway Drive, where it hits St. Joe Drive, Crocker said. Due to the increased traffic volume we're anticipating on the detour, the contractor is putting up temporary signals to try to help make that intersection flow a little bit better. Crocker said northbound traffic wont be affected on U.S. 67. Youll still have two lanes of traffic going north, but southbound will have a lane closure set up and youll either be able to go down the ramp and back up the ramp to continue south, or youll be able to make a right turn into Desloge, he said. If youre headed north and want to get into Desloge, you need to get off at Parkway Drive ahead of time and go through the detour, or lets say you miss Parkway Drive, youll could either loop back around on the outer road or you could continue north, hit Orchard Road and come back around. Crocker encouraged drivers who frequent those roads to factor in extra travel time, especially for commutes. You can see a video regarding the Desloge bridge project and get an idea on the commute by checking out youtu.be/XlCM4JnmuLM. You can see updates on this and other projects at www.modot.org/bootheel-bridge-bundle Parkway Drive and St. Joe Drive Crocker said the contractor for the Bootheel Bridge Bundle projects, Robertson Contractors Team, is expected to install a traffic signal at the Parkway Drive and St. Joe Drive intersection. While its technically a Park Hills-owned intersection, Crocker said, it was recommended to install the stoplight in anticipation of the high volume of detoured traffic from the Desloge bridge project. Will the light stick around after the bridge is replaced? Crocker said while its not up to MoDOT, it would be a good question for the city, if it turns out drivers like it. We did something very similar to this in Cape Girardeau, but it was a MoDOT intersection, and people were very upset when we pulled the temporary traffic signals out once the diverging diamond we built down there was completed, he said. They werent happy at first, but then really liked the way it kept traffic flowing. Route NN This highway near Iron Mountain Lake in St. Francois County is still closed as contractor crews replace the bridge over Indian Creek, its estimated completion date June 6. The bridge is located between Route N and Indian Creek Road and is part of the Bootheel Bridge Bundle, and Robertson crews have been working on it since early March. Route H to Route DD June 6-7, 7 a.m.-7 p.m., according to a MoDOT news release, southbound U.S. 67 in St. Francois County will be reduced to a single lane with a 12-foot width restriction so MoDOT crews can make bridge repairs on the section located from Route H to Route DD. Highway 47 to Shannon Road MoDOT issued another release announcing northbound U.S. 67 in St. Francois County will be reduced to one lane with a 12-foot width restriction as MoDOT repairs a bridge located on the section of Route 47 to Shannon Road. Watch out for crews who will be working from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 8-9. Highway 47 And speaking of Highway 47, MoDOT has issued two notices for the major highway that runs from the U.S. 67 bridge over Bonne Terre, through town and past Terre Du Lac to the Washington County line. That route will be reduced to one lane with a 10-foot width restriction as contractor crews resurface the road between Jefferson Avenue and Riverview Lane June 6 through June 10, 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. nightly. The road will be reduced to one lane with a 10-foot width restriction again the following week as the rest of the road is resurfaced from the Washington County line to Jefferson Avenue near Bonne Terre, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 13 through June 17. It is getting what we call a mill-fill, if you're familiar with that term, Crocker said. We're going to grind up about an inch and three quarters of the pavement that's there with a milling machine and we're going to put back an inch and three quarters of asphalt so it'll be the same exact elevation. Hopefully it'll look a lot better and run a lot smoother once we're done with it. U.S. 67 J-Turn Crocker said right now, MoDOT crews are working on the outside lanes of the J-turn at U.S. 67 and Route H south of Farmington, so both north and southbound U.S. 67 lanes from Route DD to New Perrine Road are affected. Reconfiguring the crossover intersection with the safer J-turn, which requires adding acceleration and deceleration lanes and work in the median, has been under construction since mid-April and is expected to be completed by early November, weather permitting. Well, right now they're working on the outside lanes of the J-turn and we were anticipating closing the crossover this week, but I think we're going to delay that a little bit to give some more notification to the local quarry and other businesses to kind of plan for that, Crocker said. Weve got to close the crossover at some point in order to finish the project, we've been receiving a lot of complaints from people trying to use the crossover and compete with construction traffic. So we were thinking, let's go ahead and close it a little bit early and try to get the job done a little bit quicker. But we've kind of backtracked a little bit on that just because we didn't think it was fair to close it so soon and not give very much notice to the local businesses. So we're going to provide them with thinking about another week to make their arrangements in order to find alternate routes. And then we're going to close the crossover sometime probably next week. STIP Lets Taxpayers Weigh In Crocker mentioned, now is the time MoDOT is making its five-year plan, and the southeast districts Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP) is open for public comment. A draft is available online for viewing, with public comment links, at www.modot.org/DRAFTSTIP Public review and commenting began May 18 and will end June 17. More information can be gotten by calling toll-free 1-888-ASK-MODOT (275-6636) or emailing STIPcomments@modot.mo.gov. When commenting, MoDOT has requested that people please include project-specific information such as job number or county and route, if applicable. Following the public review, the comments will be presented to the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, which will review the comments and the final transportation program before considering it for approval on July 6. Sarah Haas is the assistant editor for the Daily Journal. She can be reached at 573-518-3617 or shaas@dailyjournalonline.com. Love 1 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. The Piedmont Environmental Council celebrated 50 years of protecting and preserving land and resources in the Piedmont area of Virginia with an event at Mistwood, Sheldon and Rita Clarks Orange County farm. The full day event featured two workshops, demonstrations, a full farm-to-table lunch prepared by local chef Randy Cooper and a speech by author, activist and naturalist Terry Tempest Williams. More than 100 people from throughout the nine counties that are served by the Piedmont Environmental Councilincluding Orange, Madison and Greenebraved the above average temperatures and humidity to attend the outdoor celebration. Participants had the choice to join one of two workshopsBlue Ridge to the Bay: Accelerating Land Conservation in the Upper Rappahannock Watershed; or Stemming the Tide of Grassland Bird Decline. Blue Ridge to the Bay explained the organizations current work preserving open space, promoting land conservation and restoring the water quality. The host farm, Mistwood Farm, exemplifies the ideals of the initiative, promoting open space, supporting sustainable agriculture and protecting water quality and wildlife habitat. PEC has proposed creation of the Rapidan River Clark Mountain Rural Historic District to protect the area from encroaching development. The second workshop, Stemming the Tide of Grassland Bird Decline, dealt with the various programs and resources available to landowners wishing to help provide habitat for grassland birds. PEC partners with several other organizations to help keep habitat available and even will provide bird boxes for landowners. The importance of citizen science was discussed and participants were encouraged to use Ebird to help provide data for the region to help determine population range changes and habitat and migration shifts. In his remarks, PEC President Chris Miller noted the organization began in 1972 as a bunch of people trying to keep the things that were important in the face of inevitable change. By 1972 the northern Piedmont region was beginning to show signs of rapid development and PEC was formed to help protect and preserve farms and forest with a focus on conserving and improving the land for future generations. Miller has been with PEC for 30 years and said he has learned about land conservation along the way. Millers background in environmental law provided him with the ability to navigate laws and policies that impact the environment but he emphasized that land conservation is much more than policyit is the aspiration to protect and improve the land, he said. I think the founders would be proud of what weve accomplished in the past 50 years, Miller said. This is a relentless effort to get incremental change. We focus on engaging and empowering landowners so they can make the best choices. This isnt always an easy task. Its a matter of working together to find ways to have a better place, to preserve and tell everyones history, the good, bad and ugly. The keynote speaker, currently the writer-in -residence at the Harvard Divinity School, Terry Tempest Williams is the author of several books about nature and culture and a fierce advocate for freedom of speech. Williams encouraged the audience to step away from political rhetoric and embrace differences. For Williams, environmental issues are also social issues and eventually matters of justice and the health of the environment is the wealth of a community. Freedom of speech is the open door to all other freedoms, Williams said. If we cant engage in respectful listening there can be no civil dialogue and we all stand to lose. Orange chef and caterer Randy Cooper prepared the farm-to-table meal using ingredients sourced from the region. According to Cooper, more than 90% of the meal came from local farms and businesses. Weve worked on this for four days, Cooper said. Everything was raised, grown and processed here in the Piedmont region. Only some of the spices and oils used in the preparation came from outside the area. The celebration was the first large event for the Piedmont Environmental Council since the beginning of the pandemic. For Miller, the large group was a reminder of the incremental progress the organization has made in suppressing urban sprawl. Everyone here has a connection to keeping the farms and forests, said Miller. We hope that future generations will be able to enjoy the scenic beauty of the Piedmont and that we continue to make improvements to our environment for the future. To the average homeowner, solar energy may seem like a good idea, but its hard to know where to start. As part of its annual Solarize Piedmont campaign, two local nonprofit advocacy groups hope to provide answers and a clearer path for those seeking to implement alternative energy. Solarize Piedmont 2022 is co-headed by the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) and the Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP) with the purpose of promoting and facilitating each step of obtaining a solar energy system for homeowners and small business owners. The campaign runs from April 1 through June 30. For those who are curious about going solar this is a great way to get that proposal and feel confident that youve had a pre-vetted installer with pre-negotiated pricing, says PEC Director of Outreach and Communications Bri West. The campaign is an auxiliary of SolarizeVA, LEAPs initiative throughout Virginia encouraging individuals to convert to solar energy by simplifying the process and negotiating a reduced cost. The campaign also supports the Virginia Clean Economy Act, to reach carbon neutrality in the Commonwealth by 2050. The program encompasses the nine-county region focused by the PEC, which includes Orange, Madison, Greene, Culpeper, Rappahannock, Fauquier, Loudon, Clarke, Albemarle and the City of Charlottesville. Solarize Piedmonts first campaign was in 2014. In the seven years since, PEC and LEAP have facilitated the installation of more than 700 solar power systems, producing more than 6.3 megawatts and valuing more than $17 million. The campaign has seen increased interest from homeowners year by year. This years campaign has as many members signed on in a three-week span as last years entire three-month window had. Through its education process, LEAP aims to answer the more common questions asked by interested homeowners. Theres a couple frequently asked questions, said LEAP Solarize Program Manager Katie VanLangen. The most common, she says, are: Do I need to replace my roof before I get solar? Typically, if your roof is older than 10 years old, we do recommend at least having your roof checked out, she says. How much is it going to cost? The cost of solar varies based on factors including house size, potential energy production and the energy needs of individual households (based on the homeowners year-long electricity payments before installing a solar energy system), according to VanLangen. Our goal is really just to make everything as easy as possible, says VanLangen. We know there are a lot of barriers that go into solar. One such barrier is the upfront cost when purchasing a solar energy system. Through our program, we estimate that, with our discounted pricing, which is 10 to 20% below market rates, a system would cost between $10,000 and $25,000, says VanLangen. There is a 26% solar income tax credit thats available this year. The investment typically pays itself off within eight to 11 years, says VanLangen. The discounted cost is achieved through a competitive bid process. LEAP issues a request for proposals to area installers. Solar energy companies who submit bids are then evaluated based on location, pricing, equipment, warranties and years in business, said VanLangen. Because its time-limited, the installers will put out a lower-than-normal price, says West. There are a lot of installers out there and this is to help you feel comfortable that youre finding a reputable installer with a good price. The installers chosen for 2022s campaign are Prospect Solar, located in Sterling, and Virtue Solar, based in Madison County. If interested, time is of the essence, as the 26% tax credit rate is expected to drop to 22% by the end of the year, and likely to completely phase out by 2024, according to LEAP. LEAP offers virtual information sessions, which can be found by visiting www.solarizeva.org/events. To learn more or to sign up, visit www.pecva.org/solarize. Local officials and community members working to address climate change will share information about their efforts during a forum next week. Hosted by the Senior Statesmen of Virginia, the June 8 discussion will include ways local residents can get involved. Climate protection program managers with Charlottesville and Albemarle, the University of Virginias sustainability director and the executive director of Community Climate Collaborative will sit on the panel. Sue Friedman, president of Senior Statesmen, will moderate. The event is free and open to the public and will begin at 1:30 p.m. June 8. The meeting will be held in the Rotunda Room at Westminster Canterbury of the Blue Ridge, 250 Pantops Mountain Road in Charlottesville. Proof of vaccination and face coverings are required. The long-distance hiker who fell 50 feet off a cliff just north of McAfee Knobs summit early Sunday has died, the Roanoke County Fire and Rescue Department said Tuesday. Paul Classen, a 23-year-old from the Netherlands, died at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital later that day, after a dramatic rescue operation involving first responders, fellow hikers, a physician wilderness medical care specialist, an ATV and a helicopter retrieved him from the remote mountain near Catawba. Robyn Urdaibay, a member of Classens tramily trail family also confirmed his death on the Appalachian Trail Hikers 2022 page on Facebook Tuesday. Urdaibay said in her post that she was sharing information about Classen with approval of his family to clarify the truth of what happened. He was sitting at the edge of the cliffs past McAfee with his feet on a lower rock, not right on the edge, not posing for a photo, and not on the knob itself. He spontaneously slumped forwards and fell, Urdaibay said. He was totally well, just chilling eating breakfast. We think he must have passed out, but we dont know why and will never know for sure. Matt Johnson, 40, of Roanoke, witnessed the incident out of the corner of his eye. He said Classen was with a group of about 12 hikers, including members of his group of thru-hikers, who all seemed to be smiling and having a good time. Johnson said he was about 20 feet away from Classen when he fell, adding the incident wasnt due to extreme negligence. It wasnt like he was bouncing around on the edge, he said. Johnson said he quickly reached Classen amid large boulders below the crest because he knew a fast route down the craggy mountainside. We were also able to send teams of hikers in both directions to help the first responders carry gear, Johnson said. Pauls trail family really came together and did all that was possible to attempt to save him. They kept him still and calm, talked to him the whole time we were waiting on rescue. Everyone there was willing to help. He was our friend, and the most lively, empathetic, personable, fun and goofy guy you could ever meet, Urdaibay said on Facebook. If you met him on the trail, Im sure you will remember him. Jimmy Moore, 55, of Roanoke said he met Classen on Saturday. Classen, used a nickname, as many Appalachian Trail hikers do, calling himself Grandmaster. I went to take some photos of a trail-running friend, Kacie, on her thru hike, Moore said Tuesday. We ran into Grandmaster along the way. I only talked to him for a few minutes. He said he carried a chess set, hence the name Grandmaster, Moore continued. He was laughing, because someone had just beaten him at chess. He told us he was hiking to Daleville on Sunday and leaving the trail. He needed to get to Washington, D.C. to fly home. While we were talking, I took a few pictures. Moore said in a Facebook post that Classen had indicated an interest in hiking the entire Appalachian Trial. So very sad for him and his family, Moore wrote. Urdaibay invited members of the hiker Facebook group to send photos and stories of Classen to stories.grandmaster@gmail.com. These will all be sent on to his family, Urdaibay said. He will be incredibly missed. Thank you all for keeping his family in your thoughts. We have witnessed an outpouring of sympathies and support from the greater A.T. hiking community, a reminder of the close connections the trail creates even between those who have not met directly. We hope that such sympathies offer a degree of comfort to all those grieving his loss, said Sandra Marra, president and CEO of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the organization that manages the backcountry footpath. We also express our sincere thanks to the rescue teams who assisted in the rescue operation, Marra added. Classen is not the first to die after falling from 3,200-foot picturesque McAfee Knob, among the most popular hiking destinations both in the Roanoke Valley and along the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail, which extends between Georgia and Maine. In July 2018, Gregg Marr Sr., 67, of Florida, slipped and fell 100 feet from the summit. He was hospitalized and died about a week later. Every day, Donny White has to drive 40 miles through everything that burned. The Oregon Department of Transportation maintenance worker commutes from his rental in Mill City alongside the Santiam River, past the property where his familys home stood, along the scorched hillsides and burned-out foundations of forests and towns razed in the 2020 Labor Day fires. He and wife Tracy Stevens-White are set to replace the house destroyed by fire in one of the most destructive summers in Oregon history. Its a chance to re-center their family. It sucks to lose your house, but were getting a new house, so thats awesome, White said. Its also the 15,000th house manufactured by the Millersburg Palm Harbor Homes factory at a time when demand for housing and a loosening of supply line restrictions are turning around a pandemic slowdown that had threatened the companys presence in the Northwest. Palm Harbor reached out to the couple to let them know theirs was a milestone in the manufacturers 27-year history in the mid-Willamette Valley, division President Forrest Barnes said. Its a point of pride 15,000 homes is a small city, Barnes said. Conflagration When the state closed the highway Sept. 7, 2020, White knew it was time to flee. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Albany Democrat-Herald. You dont shut down a highway unless something big is going on, White said. White had worked all day to clear trees from Highway 22, hacking and dragging wind-felled timber with a coworker from the stretch of road where it leaves Gates, squeezed into a canyon before rounding Detroit Lake to the east. Gates was choked with stinging, evergreen-scented smoke as White left the house built by Stevens-Whites family on the outskirts of town for the start of his shift in Detroit. Forecasters had feared the holiday weekend's dry, hot winds would fan large fires burning in the Cascade foothills, so ODOT tasked the crew with keeping the roadway driveable. Strong gusts became gale-force winds; ash fell on the river valley. The sky turned pale orange, reflecting light from the Beachie Creek and Lionshead fires merging just miles away to the north and east. State officials christened the blaze Santiam as it combined with the P-515 Fire and grew more than 750-fold from a few hundred acres in just a few days. The fire would claim more than 400,000 acres of woodlands and 1,500 structures over the next half-month. Five died when they couldnt evacuate from the river canyon where they lived. White said his supervisor texted him from Gates and told him it was time to get off the roadways. The two-man crew decided to trade their pickup and chainsaws for a front-end loader at the compound to help them push logs off the highway. White grabbed his phone, hoping to contact his wife, Stevens-White. I got cell service for just a second, and I told her she needs to get the kids and leave, he said. No time to explain why. Evacuation White said he feels fortunate, really, that the fire didnt affect him more. He didnt lose any friends or family to the flames. His parents in Salem took his family in for a couple of weeks, then his brother in Albany for another couple of weeks, he said. White said his family found rentals in Keizer, then Mill City. But Labor Day weekend was the last time White was in his familys home. He remembers joining the lines of cars streaming downriver, expecting the small incorporated city to vanish into the smoke and ash. In my mind, I think my hometown is burning down, White said, my entire community. But months later, wildland fire crews finished mopping up the last hot spots, and residents began looking for the funding and permitting and contractors to build new homes and fill in around the structures left over. To come back and see stuff still standing, that was pretty heartwarming, White said. Stevens-White and White couldnt tell their children at first that their house was gone, he said. We just did what we have to, White said. Just trying to keep their lives normal as normal as they can be. He said a manufactured home would be the absolute fastest option. Their daughter is now 9, he said, and their son 5. They keep asking about the new house. Going through that stuff, and then two years of COVID, (it was) a pretty crappy two years for kids, for sure, White said. Rebuild That house is waiting to be trucked upriver. It worked its way through the Millersburg Palm Harbor plant, rolling off the production line in March where workers are manufacturing 15 homes at any time. Barnes said the factory completes a home in 10 business days. He compared the process to an automobile assembly line and believes that building a home from components as they roll along steel tracks makes the company more efficient, and therefore more cost-effective than what he called stick-built housing. Its like if Ford dumped all those parts in your driveway, he said. If some contractor built that car, how much would that car cost? The market has helped shape that process, Barnes said. Buildable land dried up in mobile home parks, the traditional domain of manufactured housing, making home purchasers choosier. Site-built houses saturated the market, driving down prices, then the 2008 financial collapse halted interest in new homes. Palm Habors output dropped by about 80% compared to its 1995 opening in just a few years, Barnes said. In that time, manufacturers shuttered in the Northwest, including a half-dozen in Oregon. There are just five mobile home manufacturers left in Oregon, Barnes said, and one in Washington. Then pandemic-related shutdowns and restrictions threatened to close more factories, Barnes said, when potential buyers were unable to get into the homebuying process. All the offices feeding demand, whether thats a mortgage lender or a permitting office at a county, that stopped, he said. Those trends are reversing. The Millersburg plant made 600 houses last year, Sales Manager Ben Roche said. And he sees the factory getting closer to that capacity this year. Houses in the market are quickly purchased, new home constructions arent keeping up with demand for the nearly 140,000 homes Oregon estimates it would need to satisfy homebuyers. A package of housing bills that passed in the 2016 Oregon designed to increase the number of affordable homes may help by expanding urban growth boundaries and making allowances for housing on land zoned for light industrial use. Some trade publications estimate nearly one in 10 new homes will be a manufactured home in 2022. That demand will drive more people into factory outlets to look at homes, Barnes said. Once they they see inside, theyll get over any notions that manufactured homes are less-than houses. He credits a residential feel with Palm Harbors continued success, Barnes said. People have always tried to slap a stigma on manufactured housing, he said. People will look into them and say, 'Wow, I can live in this.' Alex Powers (he/him) covers business, environment and healthcare for Mid-Valley Media. Call 541-812-6116 or email Alex.Powers@lee.net. Love 5 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. Fundraiser for the Corvallis Sister Cities Association's Uzhhorod (Ukraine) Refugee Fund. Earl Newman, an artist and screen printer who lives in Summit, has created and donated a screen-printed poster illustrating support for Ukraine. Two hundred numbered posters will be printed; several framed posters will be available. The prints will sell for $100 each to be donated to the refugee fund; framed prints will cost extra. Information: 541-760-8081 or caroltrueba@gmail.com. Rally to support Ukraine, noon to 2 p.m. Saturdays, Benton County Courthouse, 120 NW Fourth St., Corvallis. All are invited to come show solidarity with Ukraine in an event that is not antiwar or anti-Russia but pro-Ukraine. Those attending can bring Ukrainian flags, sunflowers and signs showing support. Updates on the humanitarian aspect of the war will be given. Information: 7442117@gmail.com. Fundraiser to support refugee fund: Four-notecard packs and 8 x 10 prints featuring paintings by Corvallis sisters Allessandra Bakker, 16, and Isabella Bakker, 13, are available for purchase at Visit Corvallis and Benton County Historical Societys Corvallis and Philomath museums for $25 and $30, respectively. Proceeds go toward the Corvallis Sister Cities Associations Uzhhorod Refugee Fund. Fundraiser to help children of Ukraine: Monique Arnold of Corvallis and her teenage daughters are "making quilts to cover the world." The project has raised a total of $4,275 that has been donated directly to USA for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Corvallis Sister Cities organization for Uzhhorod, Ukraine. The quilts are sold every week via Facebook auction, continuing for the next few weeks at https://www.facebook.com/groups/391673602349315/permalink/555540949295912/?sale_post_id=555540949295912. The Corvallis Sister Cities Association Uzhhorod Council is launching a pilot program to provide refugee children in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, with new backpacks filled with school supplies as they prepare to enroll in school. To add emotional support to the project, the council is trying to collect 80 new Beanie Babies stuffed animals from the community and send them along with the backpacks. To support "Beanies and Backpacks," bring a new Ty Beanie Baby to the lobby of Citizens Bank, 978 NW Circle Blvd. in Corvallis, by Monday, June 6, so a volunteer can deliver them to Uzhhorod. Information: Pete Bober at boberp@comcast.net. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Louisville-based Sierra Space inked a partnership with a Kansas aerospace company to accelerate production of space transport vehicles to allow for greater, more affordable access to Earths low orbit, according to a news release. Spirit AeroSystems Inc. (NYSE: SPR) will work with Sierra Space to create a vibrant commercial space economy of the future by assisting in the production and development of the Shooting Star Transport Vehicle. The two companies recently signed a letter of intent. The momentum continues for Sierra Space, which broke off from Sierra Nevada Corp. to become its own entity last year. Earlier this year, it announced plans to double its workforce, especially in Colorado, by adding 1,000 jobs in 2022. It has about 700 workers in the state. In the last 10 months, it has picked up more aerospace contracts and signed partnerships for large-scale space projects in coming years, including with NASA and Blue Origin. It was awarded a $130 million contract to design, build and operate Orbital Reef, which is described as a business park in space. Spirit Defense & Space will work with Sierra Space to enhance accessibility and efficiency of the Sierra Space Shooting Star cargo module system to advance a family of cargo and service modules for on-orbit services, according to the release. It will also work with the Wichita-based company to develop innovative technologies and processes to accelerate Sierra Spaces expanding Dream Chaser family of scalable spaceplanes to the market. The ship is capable of landing on runways worldwide. Through this long-term partnership, Sierra Space is delighted to begin work with Toms (Gentile, president and CEO of Spirit AeroSystems) team at Spirit AeroSystems, widely recognized as leaders in the aerospace industry and aligned with our vision of an accessible and vibrant space economy, CEO Tom Vice said in the release. Working with Spirit Defense & Space, we will broaden access to tomorrows space economy; lowering the cost of entry and increasing the speed to market of Sierra Spaces Dream Chaser franchise. Together we will accelerate the commercialization of space. That momentum in recent months includes Sierra Space securing $1.4 billion in capital, the largest Series A capital raise in 2021 and the industrys second largest private capital raise in history, according to the release. We look forward to joining Sierra Space on its mission to create exciting breakthroughs that enable existing businesses, entrepreneurs, researchers and governments to empower humanity to enhance life on Earth," said Gentile. Your morning rundown of the latest news from overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. FILE PHOTO: Crosses with the names of victims of a school shooting, are pictured at a memorial outside Robb Elementary school, after a gunman killed nineteen children and two teachers, in Uvalde, Texas, U.S. May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Marco Bello There was perhaps no one subject that drew more debate and scrutiny at the State Capitol this year than how to address fentanyl use in Colorado. The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Bureau for Public Health urges residents to take preventive measures against tickborne diseases. Tickborne diseases are spread through the bite of an infected tick and many of these diseases can also infect pets. According to the Office of Epidemiology and Prevention Services in DHHRs Bureau for Public Health, Lyme disease is the most common tickborne disease reported in West Virginia. Preliminary numbers indicate in 2021, there were 1,542 Lyme disease cases across the state with others still being investigated. In comparison, there were 1,062 confirmed Lyme disease cases in 2020. From 2015-2020, there were more than 3,939 Lyme disease cases reported across the state representing a 271% increase. Historically limited to the Eastern Panhandle, Lyme disease has progressively become more common in northern, eastern, and central West Virginia. In 2017, West Virginia was designated a high incidence Lyme disease state. Anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever have also been reported in West Virginia, with about 1-10 cases of each per year. Tickborne infections can cause a variety of symptoms including fever, headache, chills, myalgia, and rash. Most infections occur from late spring through early fall when ticks are most active. Tick exposure can happen any time of the year, but is most common during summer months, said Dr. Ayne Amjad, State Health Officer and Commissioner for DHHRs Bureau for Public Health. The most effective way to prevent tickborne diseases is to use tick repellent when you are in wooded and brushy areas. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides the following tips when coming indoors: check your clothing for ticks, examine gear and pets, shower soon after being outdoors, and check your body for ticks. When seeking medical assistance, its important to save any ticks that may have been involved with a bite which may help medical staff identify the tick. Medical treatments are effective in treating tickborne diseases and can prevent severe complications when given early in the course of infection. For more information, visit https://oeps.wv.gov/arboviral/Pages/tbd.aspx. WASHINGTON Fort Benning would become Fort Moore. Fort Bragg would become Fort Liberty. Fort Gordon would be Fort Eisenhower. And, for the first time, Army bases would be named after Black soldiers and women. An independent commission on Tuesday recommended new names for nine Army posts that now commemorate Confederate officers. The recommendations are the latest step in a broader effort by the military to confront racial injustice, most recently in the aftermath of the May 2020 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Fort Benning, Georgia, would be named after a married couple: Lt. Gen. Hal Moore, who served in Vietnam and received the Distinguished Service Cross, and his wife Julia, who prompted the creation of teams that do in-person notifications of military casualties. Hal Moore commanded the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment at the Battle of Ia Drang in 1965, and his account of the battle became the 1992 bestseller We Were Soldiers Once... and Young, which was made into a movie starring Mel Gibson. The Moores moved to Auburn. Julie Moore died in 2004, and Hal Moore died in 2017 at the age of 94. Fort Bragg, in North Carolina, is the only base that wouldnt be named after a person. Two others would be named after Black soldiers, and three would include womens names. Fort Gordon in Georgia would get the most well-known name commemorating President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who led allied forces in Europe in World War II. Other proposed renamings would honor lesser-known heroes, including several who received the Medal of Honor, the militarys highest award. Fort Polk, in Louisiana, would be renamed Fort Johnson, after Sgt. William Henry Johnson, a Black Medal of Honor recipient who served in the Army in World War I. Fort Pickett in Virginia, would be named after Tech Sgt. Van Barfoot, a Medal of Honor recipient who served in World War II, and And Fort Rucker in Alabama, would be named Fort Novosel, after Chief Warrant Officer Michael Novosel, a Medal of Honor recipient who served in World War II and Vietnam. Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia would be renamed Fort Walker, after Mary Edwards Walker, a doctor who treated soldiers in the Civil War and later received a Medal of Honor. Fort Hood, Texas, would be renamed Fort Cavazos, in honor of Gen. Richard Cavazos, who served in the Korean War, received the Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest military award, and became the Armys first Hispanic four-star general. And Fort Lee, Virginia, would get a hyphenated name Fort Gregg-Adams and is the only one that would commemorate someone who remains alive today: Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg, known as a logistics leader. Lt. Col. Charity Adamsthe other half of the name led the first female Black unit of the Army deployed in World War II. A final report is due to Congress by Oct. 1, and will include the costs of removing and changing the names. The renaming process was laid out in a law passed by Congress in late 2020 The secretary of defense is expected to implement the commissions plan no later than Jan. 1, 2024. The proposal to change the names triggered widespread discussion and debate within the bases communities around the country. Panel members visited the bases, met with local leaders and residents, and relied heavily on their recommendations when choosing the final names, said the vice chairman, Ty Seidule. For years, U.S. military officials had defended the naming of bases after Confederate officers. As recently as 2015 the Army argued that the names did not honor the rebel cause but were a gesture of reconciliation with the South. But in the aftermath of the Floyd killing, and the months of racial unrest that followed, Congress ordered a comprehensive plan to rename the military posts and hundreds of other federal assets such as roads, buildings, memorials, signs and landmarks that honored rebel leaders. The change in the militarys thinking was reflected in congressional testimony by Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a month after Floyds death. He said that the current base names could be reminders to Black soldiers that rebel officers fought for an institution that may have enslaved their ancestors. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin the nations first Black Pentagon chief has spoken bluntly of his own personal brushes with racism. During his Senate confirmation hearing, he told of serving as a lieutenant colonel with the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg when three white soldiers, described as self-styled skinheads, were arrested in the murder of a Black couple who were walking down a street. Investigators concluded the two were targeted because of their race, and all told, 22 soldiers were linked to skinhead and other similar groups or found to hold extremist views. The current chief of the Air Force, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, posted an emotional video last June in which he discussed the difficulties he experienced as a young Black pilot. Brown, the first Black Air Force chief, said he had to prove to white supervisors that their expectations and perceptions of African-Americans were invalid. Created in 2020, the Naming Commission first met in March 2021 and began taking name recommendations from the public in September. Overall, the commission received more than 34,000 potential names, which it said included about 3,670 unique ones that could possibly be used. That list was later narrowed to about 100 before the final nine were chosen to be recommended to Congress. Panel members said Tuesday that the decisions were difficult because they had so many heroes to choose from. But in all cases, they said they had widespread agreement from the local communities. In at least one case, however, the panel members said that local residents were adamant that they wanted a name that wasnt on the final list: Fort Liberty. During the panels final visit to Fort Bragg, people at the meeting were very, very adamant about the name Fort Liberty, said Lawrence Romo, a commission member. We gave a lot of deference to what the Fort Bragg community wanted. Seidule said that the panel wanted names that will inspire soldiers to achieve the highest standards demanded by their nation in peace and in war. The panel also is considering new names for two Navy ships: the USS Chancellorsville and USNS Maury. Those and the new names for hundreds of streets, buildings and other assets, will be in the final report. A final report is due to Congress by Oct. 1, and will include the costs of removing and changing the names. Under the law, the secretary of defense is expected to implement the commissions plan no later than Jan. 1, 2024. On May 24, 2020, the trustees of The Baptist College of Florida (BCF) made an historic decision with the election of Clayton Cloer, senior pastor of the Church at the Cross in Orlando, to serve as the institutions seventh president. Cloer will take office as president on Jan. 1, 2023, after the retirement of the current BCF President Thomas A. Kinchen. The BCF family wants to issue a warm welcome to the Cloer family and we are convinced that Dr. Clayton and Linda will serve with distinction and honor in this unique place, stated Kinchen. The Cloers are no strangers to BCF since their son, Nathan, graduated from the college with a bachelors degree in Ministry Studies in 2016. Kinchen further noted, I have known Clayton Cloer for a long time. He has a heart for the local church and for the development of ministers in Bible-based, Christ-centered higher education. His experience in business, the local church, and the denomination at various levels makes him a great fit for BCF. Throughout his time of service in Florida, he has stood on the right side of the right issues and has represented Baptists well. Ruth Ann and I have literally poured our lives into BCF for over 32 years, stated Kinchen. We have seen God do wonderful and marvelous things here. We, and the remainder of the BCF family, look forward to what our Lord will do here during the Cloer years. Over the years I have written many columns about people I have known who passed away. That list has now grown into the hundreds and, sadly, is still growing. On a recent trip to Central Florida my wife and I stopped at my mothers grave in Leesburgs Lone Oak Cemetery. It is an old graveyard dating back into the early 1800s. My mother is buried in our Sawyer Family plot (her maiden name), where her mother and father are buried. I always like to spend a few minutes looking around when I visit. I have several great-aunts and -uncles buried there as well. I have visited many cemeteries over the years, not necessarily because of funerals. Sometimes I just enjoy walking through them and reading the tombstones. The Western Cemetery in Quincy, Florida has Patrick Henrys grandson buried in it an example of some of the tombstones Ive found. My friend J.T. Akins and I stopped once at a graveyard in Wildwood, Florida, where many members of his family are buried. While I was walking around in that cemetery, I found a gravestone from the 1920s with a very interesting epitaph. It seems the man had been murdered by another man, whose name was included on the stone. As interesting as that is by itself, there was an actual picture of the deceased sitting on his front porch. That is fairly common now, but a hundred years ago it was an oddity. J.T. said he remembered seeing it when he was a boy, so it has been there a long time. I have a cousin whose gravestone is an elephant. Thats right, an elephant. He is buried in Moultrie, Georgia. You can Google it as Duggan Elephant gravestone. I have walked through Arlington National Cemetery which I found to be one of the most fascinating. In addition to watching the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, I found Audie Murphys grave. If you didnt know, he was the most decorated soldier in World War II and later became a Hollywood star before he died in an accident. While I was there, I also walked through the old section of the cemetery. One grave in particular stood out to me. There were three people buried in the same grave: a son killed in Vietnam (the first in the grave), the father, who was a general, and his wife, mother of the son. I understand at the time they allowed as many as three per grave. As it got closer to dark I remember hearing someone playing Amazing Grace on the bagpipes. They were practicing at the barracks adjacent to the cemetery. Hearing them play and overlooking Arlington was a very sobering experience. We have a lot to be thankful for living in a country that honors its fallen soldiers. My cousin, Sam Sawyer, is buried in the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell. He retired from the Florida National Guard. Several of my friends are buried in the Tallahassee National Cemetery, a new cemetery which is fast filling up. Of the first five soldiers buried there, I knew two of them. I wrote about my friend Barney Stallworth, who was buried there this time last year. Since its opening there have been more than 20 people I knew personally buried there. I sure do miss those folks. One cemetery that I never actually visited but would have liked to have spent some time in is the one in Lagrange, Georgia. It is next to U.S. Highway 27 in the middle of town. I just never took the time to stop. Maybe some time, Ill be through there and stop. Byron Spires is a retired newspaper editor. He has written dozens of short stories and serials in the Havana Herald. He recently published The Curious Life of Marci Bell in a series of three books. You can email him at byronspires51@gmail.com. Novaland plans to use $250 million investment from Warburg Pincus and others to increase its strategic land bank and complete development of some major projects. Novaland Investment Group Joint Stock Company (HOSE: NVL), a member of NovaGroup, announced the completion of a US$250-million round of funding by a consortium led by Warburg Pincus. The investment, according to a Novaland official, marks the beginning of a strategic partnership between Novaland and the U.S. fund. The collaboration will ally Novaland's position in the real estate market with Warburg Pincus' global real estate experience and expertise. "We are delighted to welcome Warburg Pincus as a strategic partner," Bui Xuan Huy, chairman of Novaland, said. "Warburg Pincus is one of the world's most established and successful private equity investors, and its sizable investment demonstrates its great belief in Novaland's growth potential." Warburg Pincus' track record of assisting successful real estate enterprises in Vietnam and Asia would be valuable to Novaland, he added. The 1000-hectare NovaWorld Phan Thiet project has been developed by Novaland. Photo by Novaland The money will be used to acquire lands and develop ongoing projects in some important places, leveraging upcoming infrastructure in Vietnam's southern region. Credit Suisse - a global investment bank and financial services company based in Switzerland - acted as the sole financial advisor to Novaland. Jeffrey Perlman, managing director, head of Southeast Asia and Asia Pacific real estate, Warburg Pincus, said the investment further reinforces his company's long-term commitment to Vietnam with over US$1.5 billion committed to date and continues its track record of backing market leaders in their respective sectors. "We are very excited about the opportunity to invest in yet another great Vietnamese company and look forward to working with the management teams at NovaGroup and Novaland. "We believe Novaland will be able to capitalize on the significant market opportunity, and we will use our network, experience and skills to assist Novaland in taking its business to the next level." The Warburg Pincus financing represents Novalands next successful fundraising from international investors in less than a year after the issuance of international convertible bonds listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange in July 2021. Warburg Pincus has made its sixth investment in Vietnam with this deal. Since 2013 it has invested over US$1.5 billion in several of Vietnam's leading businesses, including retail platform Vincom Retail, logistics and industrial developer BW Industrial Development, homegrown integrated hospitality platform Lodgis Hospitality, joint-stock commercial bank Techcombank, and fintech platform MoMo. Warburg Pincus LLC is a global growth investor with more than US$80 billion in assets under management. Its active portfolio, which includes more than 245 firms, is exceptionally diverse in terms of stage, industry and region. Warburg Pincus was founded in 1966 and has 21 private equity and two real estate funds with more than $100 billion in investments in over 1,000 firms in more than 40 countries. It began investing in Southeast Asia in 2013 and has since committed over $3 billion to the region. Novaland Group is a reputed real estate developer in Vietnam. The company has developed more than 50 real estate projects in various segments including apartments, shop houses, officetel 24/24, second homes, and branded villas in the last 30 years. Xiaomi has delivered the first batch of its made-in-Vietnam smartphones, the Chinese electronic giant announced Monday. Its smartphones are made in Vietnam by DBG Technology, a subsidiary of Hong Kong's DBG Electronics Investment Limited, at a factory in northern Thai Nguyen Province. Besides supplying to the local market, those devices will also be exported to some Southeast Asia markets including Malaysia and Thailand, a representative of Xiaomi Vietnam said. The DBG Technology factory only manufactures certain models, it was added. Nguyen Duc Trong of Digiworld, a Xiaomi authorized reseller in Vietnam, said producing smartphones in Vietnam would help solve issues caused by Covid-19 disruption on the global supply chain. "[Vietnamese] consumers will have a more stable supply, while [the country] will solidify its position in the race for smart manufacturing." Xiaomi is the second largest smartphone maker in Vietnam, accounting for 20.6 percent of market share in the first three months this year, according to data from industry analysis firm Counterpoint. Xiaomi smartphones are mostly made in China and India by its manufacturing partners, including Foxconn, DBG, BYD and Flex. A U.S. court has sentenced a local man to life in prison after he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing children in Vietnam. Christopher Edwin Day, 52, received the sentence on May 16 from a court in Florida for two counts of "travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct" and two counts of "attempted coercion and enticement of a minor into illegal sexual activity," the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi announced Tuesday. The case began in the summer of 2016 when a local nongovernmental organization in Hanoi reported the potential molestation of a minor boy to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Vietnam. According to that report, Day had traveled frequently between Florida and Vietnam over the course of many years to meet and sexually abuse underage boys whom he had befriended and groomed online. He sought to buy his victims' silence with money and gifts. Christopher Edwin Day when under arrest for sexually abusing children in Vietnam, 2019. Photo courtesy of Tampa City's police HSI Vietnam had worked with Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security and the U.S. State Departments Regional Security Office in Hanoi to identify and interview more than 10 of Days victims and their parents. During the investigation, Day had returned to Florida, and HSI Vietnam requested assistance from the HSI office in Floridas Tampa City, which subsequently investigated, interviewed, and arrested Day for child sex tourism in August 2019. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justices Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and the U.S. Attorneys Office in Tampa, with Day eventually pleading guilty to the above charges in February 2020. During sentencing, one victim shared the impact of Day's abuse, stating he dropped out of school, suffered from insomnia, and had difficulty socializing and maintaining employment. Higher costs to blame for lack of expressways in Mekong Delta: ministry Vehicles move on Trung Luong - My Thuan Expressway in Chau Thanh District of Tien Giang Province in April, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Nam The Mekong Delta has lacked expressways for decades partly because construction here costs 30-50 percent more than elsewhere, according to the Ministry of Transport. Home to 17.5 million people, or 18 percent of Vietnam's population, the delta spreads over almost four million hectares. It is the country's biggest agricultural hub with more than 2.4 million hectares under crops and 700,000 hectares under aquaculture and accounting for 54 percent of rice and 60 percent of fruit production, and 70 percent of fisheries products. But despite having all the resources needed to become an economic powerhouse, the delta continues to lag behind other regions. After over three decades of reforms, it still faces various challenges, including underdeveloped infrastructure. There is only one expressway connecting it with the rest of the country. The 91-km expressway accounts for only 7 percent of the country's total, according to the ministry. In 2010 the 40-km HCMC Trung Luong Expressway was built, the country's first expressway. It shortened the traveling time from HCMC to the delta's Tien Giang Province from 90 to 30 minutes and eased traffic on National Highway 1A. But it took another 12 years later for it to be extended by 51 km. The extension, called Trung Luong - My Thuan Expressway, links up with HCMC Trung Luong Expressway in Chau Thanh District of Tien Giang Province and passes through five of the province's districts to join National Highway 30 at An Thai Trung Intersection in Cai Be District. The high cost has been the main reason for the lack of expressways in the region, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Duy Lam said at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City Tuesday. It requires 1.3-1.5 times the normal investment since the delta is "home to a lot of waterways, has weak geological layers and faces the impacts of climate change." The delta is the final destination for the Mekong River before it reaches the sea. A majority of the delta was formed by sediment and sand deposits brought by the river over 6,000 years. Nguyen Tan Dong, deputy chairman of HCMC-based Deo Ca Group, which built the Trung Luong My Thuan Expressway, said "The deeper layers of the Mekong Delta are mainly sand, and 80 percent of the ground above is also soft, which easily causes subsidence." He said the condition is "a challenge" for traffic works. Besides, construction materials are "scarce" in the region and transportation takes longer and costs more than normal "because of the crisscrossing waterway network," he said. So better policies are needed to attract private investment, he said. Economist Tran Du Lich said the delta has been left behind in terms of economic and traffic infrastructure development. He called it "unfair" that the delta is linked with the rest of the nation by only one national highway, 1A. The government approved in March a master plan for until 2030 to develop the delta into a key economic region with major infrastructure works included in it. The plan envisages the region having 830 kilometers (515 miles) of expressways by 2030 and 4,000 kilometers of national highways. ELKO Great Basin College has been awarded more than $1 million to implement a robust training program designed to increase the number of new sonographers across rural Nevada, and provide continuing education to current sonographers and medical providers. The three-year award from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust was announced May 23 during a news conference at Martin Luther King Family Health Center in Las Vegas. GBC Health Science and Human Services Dean Amber Donnelli and Radiology Technology and Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program Director Reme Huttman were in attendance to accept the award. Dr. Donnelli called the initiative a monumental step forward in creating a well-educated workforce that can fully embrace sonography as a diagnostic tool. The Helmsley Charitable Trust recognized our vision and has given us an exceptional opportunity through state-of-the-art equipment, tuition assistance, and more to help new students, current technologists, and medical practitioners access the learning and labs they need to not only improve patient care, but save lives, she said. Great Basin College is very grateful. Ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to produce images of structures inside the body. The safe, cost-effective tool supports other clinical information to help providers make timely diagnoses and deliver appropriate treatment. The GBC award is part of a $4.2 million ultrasound training initiative funded through the Helmsley Charitable Trust to help rural, frontier, and urban hospitals and health centers across Nevada purchase more than 50 ultrasound imaging devices. Forty of the devices purchased through the grants are point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) machines, which are small, handheld devices used by providers at the bed or tableside for immediate assessment of a patient to quickly determine a course of action. The grants also will provide eight general ultrasound systems and four cardiovascular ultrasound systems, which aid in imaging of the heart. In addition to funding for equipment, staffing and curriculum development, GBCs award includes tuition assistance for new sonography students seeking a Bachelor of Science in Comprehensive Medical Imaging with Emphasis in Diagnostic Medical Sonography, or a Post Associate Certificate in Diagnostic Medical Sonography. The grant also includes funding to aid current sonographers and ultrasound technologists achieve national certification, learn additional specialties, or expand their skill set. Further, the award will allow GBC to provide point-of-care ultrasound training to physicians, resident physicians, medical students, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners at Nevadas 14 rural hospitals. For more information, or to schedule an appointment to further discuss the Great Basin College Ultrasound Training Initiative, please call the GBC Health Science and Human Services Department at 775-327-2317. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 ELKO While new homes are being sold faster than they can be built, some local builders are at odds with city officials over policies that they say are delaying the completion of residential construction projects. The City is in the midst of an acute housing shortage. We need all of the contractors that we can muster building as many homes annually as possible, Mayor Reece Keener announced to a recent gathering of construction professionals at city hall. Realtor and longtime builder Dusty Shipp agreed. We are in a housing crisis, you said it. We are trying to crank up our volume and deliver more and were being forced to cut back what were doing here. Much of the nearly four-hour discussion before the Elko City Council focused on the difference between inspections of homes permitted through a master set plan as opposed to custom construction. The cookie-cutter plans can be approved more quickly but any changes during construction can lead to extensive reviews and long delays. Theres not one project that Ive ever been involved with that has been seamless. Theres always a change, Shipp said. We have to be able to come to staff and follow code and be able to make those changes. Were here because thats not happening. .. Were having delays on projects that weve never seen before in the history of us building. Keener accused builders of using the master plan process to build custom homes, but Shipp said sometimes the changes are as minor as moving the spot for a refrigerator a few feet. In April, the Citys building department sent out a notice that said, No deviation from the approved plans, regardless of how minor or major, have been or will be allowed to any master plans, including approved options. If it is discovered that changes have been made without prior approval and issuance of the required permit, a Stop Work Order will be issued. Shipp said the review process can delay construction by several weeks. The leadership you have in place is dribbling down this negative, no-can-do, no working together attitude that the other departments are now adopting, he said. City building inspector Jeff Ford told the council that the biggest problem is people building outside of the approved plans, trying to hide stuff. He said Weve got one builder thats a frequent offender and hes almost cost the entire community this process. When you go out and make a change to those plans, and wait for the inspector to catch it, youre breaking the law and its a big deal. And its wrong. And thats whats been going on, Ford said. Keener pointed out that the building department has been processing more permits than before the pandemic, and its resources are stretched thin. The result has been frustration, conflict and in some cases significant delays which have impacted many parties including buyers, lenders, Realtors, builders and staff. The mayor said he hoped the May 17 workshop would mark the beginning of a reset with the building community. This would include potential changes to city code on how construction projects are handled. City Attorney Dave Stanton cautioned the council that city code cannot be written in a way that permits arbitrary discrimination. City officials cant play favorites, he said, but they can make judgment calls depending on how serious or repeated the violations are. City Manager Curtis Calder said while overall building permits were down during the pandemic, residential construction surged 52% the first year and another 37% the second year. He said many permits that have been approved are still vacant lots. Were not maybe as critical as weve been in the past but certainly every Nevada community across the board I mean this isnt unique to Elko, Nevada if you go to Reno, if you go to Las Vegas, every vacant piece of property that you see has some level of construction on it right now. Former Elko Planning Commissioner Aaron Martinez said the problems started when the City adopted the 2018 Building Code, which is much more extensive than the previous version adopted years earlier. The modern day of plan review and plan approval is ridiculous. Its almost a monopolization of the engineering and the architecture world so they can force those guys to have work and be able to pass this plan review, he said. Builders got plenty of support from their colleagues who took the time to attend the workshop. Longtime developer Jim Winer said We only have a fistful of builders even less builder-developers that go from the ground up. To lose one out of frustration would put a dent in the housing supply of 20-30 percent like that, he added, snapping his fingers. Winer said when he ran into problems on a development project two years ago he believed there was a cancerous situation in the City of Elko, and it hasnt gotten any better. I saw there was no change coming through my actions and I said Im done, I will not develop in the City of Elko, Im done. And I havent. John Sorensen of Stewart Title Co. said before the pandemic, about 40% of their business was new construction, and thats huge. I really hope you do work with our local builders, he said. As a title company, if we lose any of these builders it is incredibly hard to get a new builder approved with our underwriting. Several builders have a better relationship with the City than others. My relationship with staff started nine years ago, said Lisa Turner, co-owner of Koinonia Construction. City building staff, including Ford, have been like a team member helping them grow their business, she said. I dont want the staff to be beat up all the time, because you guys do do a good job, said design engineer Mike Lostra. Is it perfect? No, but I think its changing. And the codes are only going to get worse, so we have to change too. One of the problems the workshop addressed was communication. Calder said the City used to have a plan reviewer on staff, but contracted that work out years ago in order to be more efficient. I hear a lot of complaints about that, he said. Chris Kimble, vice president of West Coast Code Consultants Inc. better known as WC3 addressed the group remotely. He said if the company is told that set of plans has been resubmitted for a single, minor change we could look at it really quickly; we dont have to look at the entire project as a whole. If we are given a whole set of plans to look at were going to look at the whole set unless were told otherwise, he explained. In response to a question from Keener, Kimble said the plan reviews have not been an issue with other entities that have adopted the 2018 building code, which includes Elko County and other Nevada counties. After listening to the discussion, attorney Stanton said I think there are probably things that we can do with our code to address a lot of the issues that came up, such as providing more flexibility on master reuse plans. In the end, council members decided to form a committee that includes city staff and construction professionals to iron out such changes. According to Keener, Stanton has been working on possible code revisions and the committee will meet on June 7 to discuss them. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 3 Sad 0 Angry 1 ELKO The name Pat Ament is synonymous with rock climbing. Anyone who knows anything about the sport will recognize his name. Ament has climbed some of the toughest climbs our nation has to offer. He recently moved to Elko where he is working on his latest book about his longtime mentor and the art of climbing. Aments daughter and son-in-law recently graduated from the University of Idaho and they were offered teaching jobs at Elko High School. He decided to move with them last July. Although he no longer climbs, he is happy to live near the Ruby Mountains. My father took a job as supervisor of utilities at the University of Colorado and that meant we moved to Boulder, said Ament. That was one of the two top meccas for climbing in America. The best climber, probably in the world, was there and he took me under his wing. His name was Layton Kor. He and I became partners, Ament said. I was 14 and he was 25. I became a very strong climber at a young age. When I was 14, I was teaching people twice my age. Adults would say, This is our instructor? Ament was doing very hard climbs at a young age and by the time he was 15, he was well known in the climbing world. Some people thought he was the best climber in the country. He met others, including Royal Robbins, a California climber. Ament traveled to climb in Yosemite right after graduating from high school. He also met John Gill, known as the father of modern bouldering. Ament ended up writing his biography. He could do one-fingered pullups on any of his fingers. He could climb a 20-foot rope in 3.8 seconds. Ament claims his technique and strength helped in his endeavors. He would take freight trains to get to climbs, riding the rails to fame. I was compelled, I knew I had to climb. Ament invented moves like the one-armed mantel. Its where you put your hand on a ledge and you reach up and grab a ledge and pull up with one arm, pop your hand onto it and then push and step on the ledge with your foot without using your left hand, he said. Although Ament has had a few close calls, he became known as the master of safety. Ament had been writing before he learned to climb. The two skills went hand in hand, leading him to a long and fascinating career. I wrote one of the first guidebooks, Ament said. Boulder has numerous climbs. Its just covered with rocks. Most guidebooks were stale and boring and I wanted to write mine with an intriguing, beautiful writing, talking about the secrets of climbing and not telling everything. It was called High over Boulder. Climbing magazines asked him to write for them when he was just a kid. The thing I am most proud of is that I have 25 of my articles in various anthologies of writings, he said. Aments nickname is the Poet Laurate of American Climbing. He is also a talented painter, musician, chess master and filmmaker. Ament is currently working on a new book about the seven top climbers of the golden age of climbing, the 1960s. "Apprentice to the Masters of the Golden Age" has an anticipated release of summer 2022. Here is an excerpt from the book: Layton might have viewed my youthful stupidity, my socially untutored, naive innocence, as a saving breath of fresh air in a world gone mad with sophistication. I'm sure he could glance down the rock and know a young person draws reassurance from his own witless observations. I had nothing, if not my foolish words. "... As Layton's partner, I would learn to climb faster and stronger, attend quickly to each step and apply the method that worked not always the most beautiful or theoretically effective. A few of the ways Layton set about to accomplish a difficult move were hardly considered sound. Yet he thrust himself upward or sideways and, if necessary, threw a knee up first, a stylistic no-no. 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. Could the media be responsible for much of what the media condemns? For a number of years and as part of my job, I was sent to Hong Kong. Many people who live west of the Mississippi would rather go to hell than to New York City, but Hong Kong was a delight. It was a dynamic and beautiful city surrounded by an enchanting environment. Ironically, one of its advantages was its news services. Until recently, you could learn more about the world (including what was happening in the US) from a Hong Kong newspaper than from any single source from the United States, and that included the NYT. On one trip, the news outlined something that was happening inside China. There had been (and continues to be) numerous murderous attacks on school children. At least 90 children and teachers have been killed and 473 injured. Similar to attacks in the US, there has been no commonly accepted motive. Some have blamed the attacks on mental health issues and the inadequate government response to these issues, rapid social change, and even problems related to a rise in murder-suicides. Similar to the United States, some have suggested the attacks are related to the stress caused by the breakdown of traditional cultural values. Another commonality is who commits the attacks. In both countries, the murderers are young single males who are frustrated by some aspect of the normative society. But why should they target schools and children for their attacks? Many have suggested that this choice indicates these are copycat crimes. So, what is different between China and the United States? Really, there is only one thing. Guns. The murders of school children in America were committed with guns. The murders in China, where guns are banned and unavailable, were committed by knives, box-cutters, axes, meat-cleavers, and gasoline. When you get the same behavior in two different societies, the cause of that behavior is unlikely to be the very thing that is different between the two societies. This is harsh, but it is also very real. Emphasizing the banning of guns to stop school murders is like asking a proponent if they prefer children be killed by a gun or an axe. Unless we begin to reverse our societal rot, there is one thing we could do that would save childrens lives. Stop publicizing school shootings. Stop politicalizing them. Give them no publicity. Except for those who need to know and the immediate community of those impacted, school shootings should disappear in the media. Yes, this would be possible. If Trump was made to disappear from most major platforms, surely discussions that endanger childrens lives could disappear. Both in China and in the United States, violent and unstable young men are drawn to schools because that is what they see over and over again. In the United States, these same violent and unstable men are drawn to guns because that is what they see over and over again. Ironically, they see guns in the hands of mass murderers; not from the people who have guns, but over and over again from the media, controlled by the very people who hate guns. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A Vietnamese pho restaurant at Utama Shopping Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Photo: VNA) In the framework of the recent meeting of the wives and female officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia and the representative offices of ASEAN countries (ALC) in Malaysia, the unique cultural features, some famous places Typical scenes, as well as Vietnamese cuisine have been introduced to friends from other countries. At the event, the ALC Vietnam team introduced the unique culinary features of Vietnam such as beef noodle soup and fried spring rolls, receiving enthusiastic response and many compliments from ASEAN friends in the local area. In particular, pho always makes an impression on international friends. Ms. Maria Victoria H.Josse, team leader of ALC Philippines, shared that she had watched a lot of pho cooking videos on YouTube and tried many times but could not make it as delicious as enjoyed at this event. She said her family also loves Vietnamese pho. Meanwhile, when being asked about her favourite Vietnamese dish, Ms. Kiki Hermono, the leader of ALC Indonesia, didn't think twice and immediately confirmed it was pho. She shared that a Vietnamese friend taught her to cook pho and she also consulted many Vietnamese cooking channels, but she never found all the right ingredients as required and could not cook it as well as what she ate at the event. ASEAN friends all said that pho is a sophisticated but delicious dish thanks to the perfect combination of all ingredients. They all have in common that they love pho and try to cook it. Ms. Nonee Rahim of ALC Singapore said that she often goes to Vietnamese restaurants across Malaysia to enjoy pho. Pho is considered one of the most typical Vietnamese dishes and has been appreciated by global travel magazines for decades. Vietnamese people can eat pho in the morning, at lunch and at night. This simple dish but with many characteristics of Vietnamese cuisine is also very popular with international friends. In many international exchange events, pho is often chosen by the Vietnamese delegation to introduce Vietnamese cuisine to world friends. Vietnamese Pho is well received around the world, and is present in many countries such as Singapore, Japan, Australia, Germany, UK, USA and Brazil./. Poland has decided to temporarily not carry out veterinary control of feed of plant origin (including forage grain cargoes) in transit through its territory to third countries, which will allow Ukraine to export agricultural crops through the Rava Ruska - Werchrata border crossing point. The simplified grain export regime began to operate on May 31, Deputy Director of the commercial work department of Ukrzaliznytsia JSC Valeriy Tkachev wrote on Facebook on Tuesday evening. "This means that such goods can be imported into Poland through any checkpoints both railway and land. When imported, these goods will be subject only to customs border control. Thus, the transfer of wagons with grain cargo through the border crossing Rava Ruska - Werchrata is allowed. This will increase the export of grain from Ukraine!" he wrote on the social network. As reported, on May 17, Ukraine and Poland agreed on the possibility of transit of grain crops through joint border inspection posts, as well as on ensuring its rail transit through the border checkpoints Werchrata - Rava Ruska, Medyka-Shehyni and Kroscienko-Smilnytsia. In addition to ensuring the possibility of transit of Ukrainian grain through Polish border checkpoints, the parties agreed to increase the number of Polish veterinary inspectors on the border with Ukraine to 19 people, as well as to change their work schedule to round-the-clock at the busiest border checkpoints. Press Release May 27, 2022 De Lima thanks Amnesty International for calling anew for her immediate and unconditional release Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima expressed her gratitude to Amnesty International (AI) after the international human rights group once more urged Philippine authorities to withdraw all charges against her and to release her from unjust detention. De Lima, the most prominent political prisoner under the Duterte regime, said that AI's statement is another proof that the world continues to observe the dwindling human rights situation in the Philippines which alarmingly worsened during the Duterte Administration. "Let me express my most profound gratitude for your continuing support and concern on my plight as a prisoner of conscience, and for your renewed call for my immediate and unconditional release. "Indeed, the world continues to watch and observe the human rights situation here in the Philippines worsened by the current vindictive regime," De Lima said in her letter addressed to the members of AI. "It really means a lot to always have you, a respected and well-established international organization, standing by my innocence. Thank you for using your platform to raise awareness on my situation, especially now that several witnesses have already retracted their allegations against me," she added. De Lima was referring to AI's May 24, 2022 statement after several witness recanted their allegations against her, claiming that they have been threatened and coerced by state agents and key government officials who conspired to make false claims against her and implicate her to illegal drug trading. "Three witness against prisoner conscience Senator Leila de Lima have retracted their testimonies against her. They include a former government official who remains a prosecution witness and whose testimony was cited by a court in deciding to proceed with the trial," AI said in their press release. "As it becomes clear that the charges against her were fabricated from the start, these charges must now be dropped, and De Lima must be released immediately and unconditionally," it continued. AI is referring to the recantations of self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa, former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos and De Lima's former aide Ronnie Dayan. All three personalities claimed that they were coerced and threatened by police authorities and key allies of President Rodrigo Duterte including former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II and the late Representative Rey Umali. De Lima's camp believes that these recent developments greatly weaken the charges against the Senator and should be enough to dismiss the remaining two cases against her, or, at the very least, to grant her the right to post bail. AI is one of many international bodies and organizations who has consistently supported De Lima's claim of innocence since she was arrested in February 2017. To recall, De Lima was chosen by AI as its first recipient of the Ignite Award for "Most Distinguished Human Rights Defender" in 2018. To contribute to accountability and justice for victims of EJKs, AI also pressed the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to "establish an independent investigative mechanism mandated to conduct an in-depth investigation into human rights violations and abuses in the Philippines." AI also urged the International Criminal Court (ICC), through the Office of the Prosecutor, to expedite its preliminary examination of the human rights situation in the country. (30) The practical outcome of the sixth package of European sanctions against Russia will be a reduction in its budget by tens of billions of euros, which are sent to the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. "Finally, we have the specifics about the European Union's sixth sanctions package on Russia for this war. The package was agreed. Its approval and entry into force will take some time. But the key elements of the package are already clear, and most importantly its direction. European countries have agreed to significantly limit oil imports from Russia. And I am grateful to everyone who worked to reach this agreement. The practical outcome is minus tens of billions of euros, which Russia will now be unable to use to finance terror," Zelensky said in a video address on Wednesday night. According to him, it is also important to understand that the refusal of the EU countries from Russian oil will accelerate the transition to renewable energy. "Strategically, this leaves the Russian state on the sidelines of the modern economy. With such an aggressive policy and a course of isolation from the civilized world, Russia simply will not be able to adapt. So, it will lose. Lose economically," the president said. Zelensky also said that as part of the sixth sanctions package, he expects the disconnection of one of the largest Russian banks Sberbank from SWIFT within the sixth sanctions package, the cessation of broadcasting of Russian disinformation channels in Europe and new personal sanctions. "We will also work on new restrictions against Russia for this war. As soon as the sixth package starts working, we will start preparing the seventh. After all, there must be no significant economic relations of the free word with the terrorist state," he said. Ukraine's calls for the transfer of long-range weapons to it are aimed at protecting the territory of Ukraine and are not connected with the desire to strike at Russian territory, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with Newsmax TV on Tuesday. "We are not interested in what is happening in Russia," he said. "We are only interested in our own territory in Ukraine." At the same time, according to Zelensky, Ukraine's position as a "defensive perimeter" of the world from Russia and Vladimir Putin means that it cannot "concede" anything. "We are not ready to cede any of our territories, because our territories are our territories: this is our independence, our sovereignty, that is the point," he said. Zelensky acknowledged that "with some territories there are some difficulties, there are some details, but all these difficulties, they could be discussed, and these discussions would be necessary to stop the war." Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which Putin has tried to declare independent, are non-negotiable for takeover by force, Zelenskiy added, calling for "these difficulties and challenges to be resolved through diplomatic channels." "If we are talking about ultimatums and 'You must give up a third of your territory, we will leave you alone and let you live" - this is not something we can agree on," Zelensky said. Ultimately, Russia will run out of will to continue fighting in Ukraine's contested southern and eastern regions, as the world rallies around our sovereignty, Zelensky said. "In the near future, Russia will not be able to control everything in Ukraine," he continued. "And then there is only one way out: occupation by force. There may be negotiations, but there must be a sense, there must be a readiness on the part of Russia to conduct these negotiations." In addition, the narrative that neighboring countries should not join NATO is a losing battle for Russia and Putin, Zelensky said. "Putin cannot fight everyone at the same time," he continued. "Either they are not strong enough in the capabilities of their armed forces and will not be able to fight on all fronts." Russian troops destroyed private houses in one of the city microdistricts in Sloviansk, Donetsk region, dozens of other houses damaged, no one was hurt, head of the Sloviansk city military-civilian administration Vadym Liakh said. "Its a bad morning again in Sloviansk. Three private houses in one of the microdistricts of the city were destroyed by a missile attack. About ten more were damaged. Fortunately, there were no casualties. Don't wait until it arrives right at your place! Evacuate!" An expert mission sent by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is visiting the decommissioned Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Ukraine this week to carry out nuclear safety, security and safeguards activities, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has said. According to a press release on the agency's website, the mission the IAEA's second to the Chornobyl NPP in the past six weeks is part of efforts to help ensure nuclear safety and security in the country during the current military conflict. Ukraine, which also has four operating NPPs with a total of 15 reactors, has requested the IAEA's technical assistance in this regard, IAEA said. According to the press release, during their three-day stay at the Chornobyl NPP and the Exclusion Zone around the facility, the team of IAEA specialists will provide support on radiation protection, safety of waste management and nuclear security, Grossi said. They will also conduct verification activities at the site, where various radioactive waste management facilities are located following the 1986 accident, he added. One of the team's priorities is to provide technical advice on re-establishing the automated radiation monitoring system in the Chornobyl NPP's Exclusion Zone, which was interrupted early in the conflict and has not been providing such monitoring data since 24 February. The experts will also assess the status of the facilities at the site and provide training on radiation monitoring equipment delivered by the IAEA in April. In addition, IAEA inspectors and technicians will verify declared nuclear material and activities and confirm the functioning of remote safeguards data transmission from the Chornobyl NPP to IAEA headquarters which was re-established last month. According to the press release, the director general is now also continuing his efforts to organize an IAEA mission to Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant, the Russian-controlled Zaporizhia NPP, to carry out important nuclear safety, security and safeguards activities at this site in the countrys south. At the same time, Ukraine previously categorically objected to such a visit until the station was vacated. Regarding the country's operational reactors, Ukraine said eight are currently connected to the grid, including two at the Zaporizhia NPP, three at the Rivne NPP, two at Pivdennoukrainska NPP, and one at the Khmelnytsky NPP. The seven other reactors are shut down for regular maintenance or held in reserve. Safety systems remain operational at the four NPPs, and they also continue to have off-site power available, Ukraine said. German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz has disagreed with claims of the opposition that Germany is not helping Ukraine with arms. "We have been constantly making deliveries, since the beginning of the hostilities," Scholz said at the German parliament on Wednesday. "As of this moment, we have supplied over 15 million rounds, 100,000 hand grenades, and more than 5,000 anti-tank mines," he said. In addition, Germany performs respective swaps with other EU members: they supply Ukraine with weapons of old modification and receive newer weapons from Germany in exchange. "Together with Denmark, we have granted Ukraine's wish and supplied 54 upgraded armored vehicles. As a result of the first exchange with our Czech friends, Ukraine will receive 20 T-72 tanks initially. We will provide Czechia with a replacement," Scholz said. Swap agreements have also been reached with Greece, he said. Russian occupiers have destroyed more than 1,000 high-rise residential buildings in Mariupol, Mayor Vadym Boichenko said. "There are 2,600 buildings in the city. They destroyed 50% to ashes - this is more than 1,000 buildings: these are our high-rise buildings, this is not a private sector, which is also destroyed in Mariupol," he said on the air of the national telethon #UArazom. Earlier, adviser to the mayor of the city, Petro Andriuschenko said that the occupying authorities of Donetsk region were preparing to demolish most of the buildings they had shelled in Mariupol and, regardless of the condition of the apartments, intended to evict residents literally on the street. The military-political leadership of Ukraine has no doubt that the war should go according to the Ukrainian scenario, adviser to the head of the President's Office Mykhailo Podoliak said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine. "As soon as we make a different decision, thousands of people who have lost their loved ones, relatives, children, wives, husbands will come to Bankova and ask the question: why were all these deaths? If Russia really fought according to the rules, then at any moment one could say: well, we understand - this is an infrastructure war, military facilities are being destroyed, and so on," he said. I would say: well, we understand - this is an infrastructure war, military facilities are being destroyed, and so on," he said. "But here the question will not be the same. We will always be asked: why did these people, these 5-year-old children sit in the basement for three months and ate, in fact, what they found? Why were these people mutilated and killed by the invaders? And we will not answer it if today we postpone the war for two years. Therefore, there is no dualism in deciding whether we need to fight further," Podoliak said. According to him, the military-political leadership is well aware of where Ukraine should go. "We are well aware of all the risks, both of a frozen war and one that was not completed according to the scenario of Ukraine," the adviser to the head of the Presidents Office said. "This is a consolidated decision and responsibility... We also understand that so far weapons are being delivered to us slowly, not in the required volume. This is a matter of the indecision of the European political elites and bureaucracy. But they are gradually breaking themselves," he said. According to Podoliak, "Ukraine needs to accumulate a critical amount of weapons and military equipment." "Russia prepared for war, gathered resources. And now they are spending their key reserves in eastern Ukraine. And we need to hold on. It's not even a matter of any territorial movements, conditionally, a kilometer back and forth. The question is to endure while they squander key resource reserves." Advisor to the Head of the Presidents' Office Mykhailo Podoliak is confident in the timeliness of the publication of the testimony of businessman and former MP of the Opposition Platform for Life party Viktor Medvedchuk regarding fifth president, Petro Poroshenko, since he considers the decisions of the political leadership of Ukraine in 2015-2016 to be one of the reasons for the war. "The question arose - should this be made public? Of course, it is necessary. Because one of the reasons for this war is in the decisions of the political leadership of Ukraine in 2015-2016. This is an attempt to play on both sides, to sit on two chairs, to deceive one's own country, while simultaneously trading with Russia... While Medvedchuk directly regulated everything," he said in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency. Podoliak said that "I would like to see a criminal case brought to an end at least once in Ukraine, within which the elements of the war, its causes, including personal reasons - why it began in 2014" he said. According to the adviser to the head of the President's Office, Poroshenko's signing of the Minsk agreements was one of the directions that provoked the current war and an attempt to legalize the self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. "Yes, this is an attempt by Minsk-2 to legalize them [the so-called "L/DPR"]. At the same time, Minsk-2 was written in the quantity and sequence of paragraphs that were unacceptable for Ukraine in execution. The person, who signed it, obviously knew that this direction would be a conflict. It will be impossible to implement all the points of Minsk. But that person did it," Podoliak said. One of the reasons for the war, he called "the formation in Ukraine of a giant pro-Russian conglomerate called Medvedchuk." "He is not just some kind of corrupt manager. Through him, for a long time, resources entered Ukraine to form pro-Russian positions. Moreover, not just within the framework of pro-Russian competition, but from the positions that Ukraine should kneel before Russia, to recognize its right annexation of Crimea, kill people in Donbas, enter Ukraine at any moment, form their own puppet government," Podoliak said. "We want to get answers to the questions: how did it happen that Medvedchuk became a powerful and media oligarch. Recall that this happened in 2015. Moreover, he also became a political leader. It's not that simple," the source said. Progress in political and diplomatic negotiations with Russia is impossible, as Russia has returned to its extremely aggressive initial rhetoric, which it uses in the domestic market, Mykhailo Podoliak, the adviser to the head of the President's Office, said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine. "They have returned to the original aggressive rhetoric that they use in the domestic market, to talk about the war in the tone that they are allegedly right anyway: what is happening in Ukraine is staged, enemies are everywhere, NATO is everywhere. And they don't care how it looks from side ... This is an absurdity. They stopped perceiving the world as it is. There was a rollback," he said. At the same time, the adviser recalled that during a meeting in Istanbul on March 29, the parties to the negotiations reached certain formulaic solutions. "Irrelevant issues built on Russia's propaganda ideas about Ukraine were cut off ... The Istanbul Communique fixed an agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine, which suggested the possibility of signing a multilateral agreement with guarantor countries," he said. "We realized that the Russian Federation at some point begins to understand the need to withdraw from the war - no longer on ultimatum demands, but using objective agreements. But the world saw the history of Kyiv region, the history of Bucha. There was a severe emotional breakdown, both in Ukraine and in the world," Podoliak said. After that, according to him, there was a significant change in the perception of Russia in the world. "It is impossible to imagine that after that it is still trying to call itself a part of human civilization and strive to sit down at the negotiating table," he said. At the same time, the adviser to the head of the Presidential Office did not rule out that the parties could return to discussing the provisions of the Istanbul Communique. "Any negotiation process can be prolonged. This is a matter of decision by our military-political leadership. When they consider that we can return to the concept of the Istanbul Communique, they will say: sit down, discuss, make changes, taking into account situational circumstances," Podoliak said. The proposals of European and American politicians to stop the war with the loss of Ukrainian territories are connected, among other things, with their irrational fear of Russia, Mykhailo Podoliak, the adviser to the head of the President's Office, said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine. He noted that, on the one hand, the political elites of the West "want to return to the pre-war period and do not want to solve problems." "They got used to certain rules of conformism in terms of doing business with Russia. After all, before the war, this allowed them to receive quite large incomes. They want to try to restore at least some opportunity to earn money without conflict, because they are afraid that the European economy will be different and will require a revision of key rules, including in the energy sector. This affects them very much," the adviser said. "In addition, the pro-Russian lobby (in the West) are starting to raise their head, which has not disappeared, as well as the irrational fear of Europeans of Russia, although the war has been going on for the third month. They believe that Russia can neglect security rules and attack other countries. They are really afraid," he said. At the same time, Podoliak is sure, the leaders of the EU and the US now have a choice: "either now decide everything by military means with Russia, or live in fear all the time, continuing to destroy themselves." "Fear is a bad emotion, leading to a stupor when it is necessary to make anti-crisis decisions," the official believes. As the third reason to force Ukraine to find a compromise solution to the war with the possible loss of territories, the adviser to the head of the Presidential Office named an attempt by European and American partners to return Ukraine to the position it was in before. "We were secondary to Europe. We were not perceived as a newsmaker or a country influencing the formation of common living rules in Europe. We had to agree with something by default. And now Ukraine does not agree. Zelensky's behavior model is almost a straightforward statement about problems. And if at first it was not correctly accepted in the European environment, now Ukraine is becoming a subject that forms other rules in Europe. And this frightens many," he concluded. Tolentino lauds BSP over removal of online sabong feature from e-wallet apps MANILA - Senator Francis 'Tol' N. Tolentino on Friday lauded the decision of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to remove all e-sabong operators from the list of merchants currently listed on existing electronic wallet (e-wallet) applications. "I thank the leadership of the Bangko Sentral for this immediate action and for upholding Filipino values and traditions. E-sabong has somehow led to the deterioration of Filipino values and traditions especially during the COVID-19 pandemic," said Tolentino. ?Tolentino noted that unlike the traditional cockfighting which has cultural significance and dates back during the pre-colonial period, the e-sabong business has led to various 'deleterious effects' in the society. During one of the Senate hearings conducted last April, Tolentino got furious and ?took a swipe at the leadership of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) for allowing the operation of online sabong to continue even during traditional religious holidays like Good Friday--a 'gross violation' of Christian faith according to the senator. Earlier this month, Tolentino asked the BSP issue a circular to all concerned electronic money issuers (EMIs) to remove any and all e-sabong features from their platforms, whether on their mobile application interface or otherwise, amid a parallel probe conducted by the Senate in connection with the alleged mysterious disappearances of more than three dozen cockfighting aficionados participating in virtual cockfighting tournaments. ?Tolentino together with Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs chair Ronald 'Bato' dela Rosa earlier this year spearheaded a series of parallel inquiry over the missing 'sabongeros,' in which the Senate investigation bared various loopholes in the operations of online sabong. Zelensky: Relations between Poland and Ukraine move to new stage strong and historical President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky took part in the opening of the Ukrainian-Polish intergovernmental consultations, the press service of the head of state reports. The President stressed that the meeting of the two governments in this format is taking place for the first time and is historic for our states. "I want to note the priority of relations between Ukraine and Poland. I believe that our relations have moved from warm and neighborly because of the Russia's war against Ukraine to a new stage - strong and historical relations," he said. Zelensky also noted the exceptional support of Ukraine from Poland, manifested in many directions - in particular, in unprecedented defense assistance, as well as support for Ukrainian citizens forced to leave the country fleeing the war. "I want to thank the people of Poland for this closeness, warmth and humanity to our citizens," the president said and stressed that the state would do everything to ensure that Ukrainians return home after the war. He expressed hope that Poland, after the end of the war, would join the restoration of Ukrainian territories affected by Russian aggression. Separately, Zelensky thanked Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki for being a real guide to Ukraine's future membership in the European Union. "I am very glad that we have a large geopolitical army that has come to support Ukraine and sees Ukraine at the same level among the same, equal partners," the President said and expressed hope that important bilateral documents on cooperation between Ukraine and Poland will be agreed during the consultations. "We believe very much in our relations and our great future," the Head of State stressed. In gratitude on behalf of the Ukrainian people, the President of Ukraine awarded state awards to Mateusz Morawiecki and Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski for helping Ukraine defend its independence and territorial integrity during the Russian invasion. After that, a joint meeting of the governments of the two states was held with the participation of Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland. The agenda included issues of legal and social guarantees for Polish citizens on the territory of Ukraine, the development of the western Ukrainian state border and cooperation in monitoring the crossing of the Ukrainian-Polish border. President of Ukraine manages the main blocks military, international and economic, using the Rates system, Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the head of the Presidents Office, said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine. So, according to him, there is a military headquarters of the Supreme commander-in-chief, who is engaged in the analysis of the operational and tactical situation on the front. "This Rate coordinates the president in a regular format regarding the supply of weapons, synchronizes if someone needs to be squeezed somewhere, and so on. There is also a general staff," he said. The second Rate is international. "It is provided by a number of people, because it is constant communication with many of our partners throughout the day in order to intensify somewhere: arms supplies, financial issues, the same support for EU accession. The International Exhibition is working very intensively. This is a constant organization of phone calls, including the president with public speeches," he said. The economic rate, according to the adviser to the head of the Presidents Office, works taking into account certain growing crisis manifestations, which include the Prime Minister and first deputy Prime Minister, profile deputy heads of the President's Office. Among other things, it is engaged in the analysis of "jobs, stimulation of small and medium-sized businesses through credit resources, restoration of infrastructure, logistics routes, etc.". There are also "separate procedural power stakes that are engaged in preventing outbreaks of violence in connection with wartime: looting and so on." In this structure, the National Security and Defense Council, as Podoliak noted, is an effective tool in terms of risk assessment and provision of analytical and predictive materials to the Presidents Office. Speaking about head of the Presidents Office Andrei Yermak, Podoliak called him "the president's chief operating officer." "Yermak is the President's chief operating officer. This includes the organization and modeling of certain processes, when it is necessary to gather people in time and understand exactly who and what function is playing inside the bet. Yermak is effective in this. As an operating director, he understands exactly that such and such specific 10 people will effectively provide certain solutions in the international plan," Podoliak said. Ukraine has assured the United States that it will not use long-range weapons against targets on the territory of the Russian Federation, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Blinken said at a briefing with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Washington on Wednesday that the Ukrainians assured that they would not use these systems against targets on Russian territory. There is strong trust between Ukraine and the United States, as well as between our allies and partners, he added. He pointed out that during this aggression and even before it, U.S. President Biden clearly told Russian President Putin what the USA would do if Russia continued its aggression, including continuing to provide security assistance necessary for Ukraine to protect itself from Russian aggression. Blinken stressed that they had been very clear about this from the first day, and that President Biden spoke about this directly to President Putin. The South Korean and U.S. militaries flew 20 fighter jets over waters off South Korea's western coast Tuesday in a continued show of force as a senior U.S. official warned of a forceful response if North Korea goes ahead with its first nuclear test explosion in nearly five years. The World Bank (WB) expects the Egyptian economy to grow from 5.9 percent to 6.1 percent in the fiscal year (FY) 2021/22. The economic crisis in Palestine has been worsened by Israels withholding of money it owes to the Palestinian Authority The economic crisis has worsened in the Palestinian Territories due to several factors, leaving only bad options that could lead to the collapse of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its inability to meet its obligations. Conditions in the Gaza Strip are even worse since the economy there was already damaged and the situation has been further complicated since the recent Israeli war on Gaza, the Covid-19 pandemic and delays in payments of salaries by the PA. The PA is also unable to pay benefits to beneficiaries of the Ministry of Social Development, some of the poorest people in Palestine. The economic crisis is due to a reduction in funding from donor countries to the PA and Israels withholding of the taxes it collects on behalf of the PA. The Israeli media has reported that Israel transferred part of these funds to assist the PA in overcoming its current financial crisis. Some 500 million shekels ($161 million) out of 1.3 billion owed have been transferred to the PA. Israel claims it has been withholding the funds because the PA uses them to pay stipends to the families of martyrs and detainees. Israel claims the transferred funds are a loan to the PA, but the Palestinian authorities deny asking for a loan from Israel. The Israeli Ministry of Defence said the funds were not taxes collected by Israel and that they would be reimbursed from tax money collected on behalf of the PA. Head of the Palestinian Civil Affairs Authority and member of Fatahs Central Committee Hussein Al-Sheikh denied that the PA had received a loan from Israel. He said the PA had not received money from the Israeli government, while the Palestinian Ministry of Finance said in a statement that Israel was continuing unfairly to deduct more than 100 million shekels ($32 million) from tax revenues and was withholding more than two billion shekels ($640 million). It demanded the immediate release of these funds, describing the amount that had been transferred as part of the withheld funds, all of which must be transferred. It said that Israel must stop the unfair deductions because they were against international law and bilateral agreements. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held talks with Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz in Ramallah to discuss the PAs financial crisis due to Israels freezing of PA funds collected by Israel. Israel has not taken any steps on the ground to alleviate the financial crisis and restricts its assistance to allowing Palestinian traders and labourers to work inside Israel. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Ishtayyeh said the PA was in dire economic straits because overseas funds had dried up and Israel had withheld revenues. He called on the international community to put pressure on Israel to halt the deductions. Media and Communications Spokesman at the EU office in Jerusalem Shadi Othman commented that the PA is going through a very tough financial situation, adding that the EU office was in contact with the Palestinian Ministry of Finance and prime minister. He said the EU would contribute funds, the amount of which was not stated, to help the PA meet part of its salary obligations. In a recent report on economic conditions in Palestine, the World Bank expressed concern about the PAs financial situation, saying it was no longer able to borrow from local banks. It said that the PAs budget deficit would be $1.36 billion in 2021, making it even more difficult to meet its obligations by the end of the year. In the Gaza Strip, which has been under siege for 14 years and suffers from stiff restrictions by Israel, poverty and unemployment rates are soaring. Unemployment now stands at 50 per cent, according to the Palestinian authorities, and families have become more reliant than ever on food assistance provided by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The bleak economic conditions have been further compounded by UNRWAs own financial woes, which have forced the agency to reduce temporary work programmes for Palestinian refugees in Gaza and reduce food assistance to refugee camps in the Gaza Strip. It may soon be unable to pay the operating costs of the institutions it oversees in Gaza that serve two million Palestinians. Surveys conducted by Palestinian institutions show that since the 2014 Israeli war on Gaza more than 40,000 young Palestinians have left the Strip by sea in search of work. Thousands of others are looking for a way to leave on trips that can cost more than $6,000 paid to smugglers, later arriving in a European country where they can submit refugee applications. The recent sinking of a boat carrying Palestinian migrants off the coast of Greece was received with shock in the Gaza Strip. Two people were killed and many others were lost at sea. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said it was searching for the missing persons. Palestinians living in the Strip have been protesting against poor living conditions and demanding that Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, cancel the taxes on imports into Gaza as these further exacerbate the economic crisis and limit the purchasing power of local people, especially as the prices of many basic commodities continue to rise. Hamas has refused to take responsibility for the issue, saying that the economic conditions in Gaza are due to Israels siege as well as what it calls financial sanctions by the PA against the Gaza Strip. Economic experts anticipate that the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip will create jobs for thousands of Palestinians and propel the economy forward. Construction companies are rebuilding and renovating homes and buildings destroyed by Israel during the war on Gaza in May. *A version of this article appears in print in the 18 November, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Chairman of EgyptAir Amr Abul Enein praised on Saturday the performance of the Egyptian flagship carrier's London flight captain in dealing with the repercussions of Storm Eunice during his recent landing at Heathrow Airport. According to a statement by EgyptAir, Abul Enein praised the performance of pilot Walid Morad, the pilot of the Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner flight MS777, which was heading to Heathrow Airport, in addition to his flight crew for their highly professional handling of the situation amid unprecedented weather in the UK. The video of the landing was widely circulated by international and local media, gaining momentum on social media platforms as many cheered the efficiency of the Egyptian Pilot. The video showed the plane yawing prior to the successful landing amid weather conditions that forced many pilots to cancel their approaches and reroute to alternative airports. Morad told Sky News Arabia that he was aware of the weather conditions at Heathrow Airport before taking off from Cairo, stressing that he did not think about changing his flight path, but rather prepared in advance before attempting to land. A large number of airlines cancelled flights at the capital's airports after the UKs national weather service issued a red alert the highest level possible across southwest England and south wales and called on Britons to stay home. Abu Al-Ainin also stressed that this situation is not new to EgyptAir, as all pilots are qualified to deal with various emergency situations and conditions, including bad weather conditions during takeoff and landing, he said in the statement. He explained that rules regulate changing flight plans and that the pilot would only have resorted to doing so in the event that he was unable to land at Heathrow Airport. Morad is 62 years old and has nearly 40 years of experience working for EgyptAir. However, he stressed to Sky News Arabia that even his youngest colleagues in EgyptAir would have been capable of doing what he had due to their professional training. Morad stressed his happiness with his decision, not for himself, but rather to be able to showcase EgyptAirs professionalism and skill of its pilots worldwide. "It makes me proud that EgyptAir is currently trending on all platforms everywhere in the world," he said. The skill of Egyptian airline personnel, from pilots, to engineers, administrative technicians and others, is the best in the aviation industry, the statement concluded. Search Keywords: Short link: EgyptAir announced in a statement on Wednesday that it will be operating direct flights between Cairo and the Libyan city of Benghazi as of 18 April. The company said that the decision is part of its keenness to boost its presence in Africa. EgyptAir Chairperson Amr Abul-Enein said that the Egyptian flag carrier gives special importance to strategic points, such as Benghazi, to serve Egyptian expatriates and increase trade exchange between the two countries. A daily fight will be operated between Cairo and Benghazi via a modern Boeing 737-800 aircraft, said the statement. The company urged its clients to reserve their tickets by contacting its customer service center on 1717, accredited tour operators, or its website for reservations. Search Keywords: Short link: In its third edition, the Ministry of Youth and Sports Nasser Fellowship for International Leadership Program organised a virtual training for 150 youths from 73 Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) countries. The training introduced participants to the concepts of leadership, authority and leadership principles in large companies, in addition to talking about leadership transformation and exemplary leadership practices. Dina Talaat, the director of the Center for Governance at the National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, praised the participants and their leadership experiences, which they shared with her during discussions on the sidelines of the lecture. Talaat explained that the fellowship is a model mechanism that complements the Egyptian governments efforts to enhance the role of youth locally, regionally, continentally and internationally by providing all forms of support, rehabilitation and training, in addition to empowering youth in leadership positions and benefiting from their abilities and ideas. Hassan El-Ghazaly, the general coordinator of the fellowship, added that the third edition is being held under the slogan South-South Cooperation, South and Youth of the Non-Aligned Movement. This focus brings participants together to sit at one table to discuss the lessons learned from the Non-Aligned Movement. They also discussed the movements impact on the world in light of past conflicts, and how to revive the principles of non-alignment to address present needs from a youth perspective. The Nasser Fellowship for International Leadership is held under the auspices of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. This years training was organised in cooperation with the National Institute of Governance and Sustainable Development at the Ministry of Planning. NAM is a forum comprised of 120 world states that are not aligned with or against any major power bloc. In April 1955, representatives from 29 governments of Asian and African nations gathered in Bandung, Indonesia, to discuss peace and the role of the Third World in the Cold War, economic development and decolonisation. The core principles of the Bandung Conference were political self-determination, mutual respect for sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference in internal affairs and equality. Drawing on the principles agreed at the Bandung Conference in 1955, the NAM was established in 1961 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, through an initiative by then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito. This led to the first conference of the heads of state of non-aligned countries. The term non-aligned movement first appeared in the fifth conference in 1976. Search Keywords: Short link: Press Release May 28, 2022 De Lima welcomes Court's junking of DOJ indirect contempt charge vs her, lawyer; calls petition baseless & frivolous Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima welcomed the Muntinlupa court's junking of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) indirect contempt plea against her and one of her legal counsels, Atty. Filibon "Boni" Tacardon, over media statements made about the trial. De Lima, the most prominent political prisoner under the Duterte regime, maintained that such petition lacked merit from the very start as it was merely meant to further silence her and her legal team. "It was a baseless and frivolous petition from the very start, designed to further silence me and my lawyers and to prevent us from relaying to the public how the prosecution cases are crumbling before the court," she said. "As the decision of Judge Gener Gito states, my lawyer, Atty. Tacardon, was just reiterating, upon my imprimatur, what some prosecution witnesses stated during their cross examination. One of them was, Vicente Sy, who categorically said that he does not know me and never delivered any money to me," she added. In a 33-page order dated May 2, which was only released last May 27, Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 206, Judge Gito granted De Lima and Tacardon's motion to dismiss the petition to cite them in indirect contempt for lack of merit. "What respondent Atty. Tacardon reported to the media are mere echoes of the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses. The court does not find malice in them nor contumacious in those statements," Gito said. "If respondent Atty. Tacardon cannot be punished for those statements, the same can be said true likewise for Senator De Lima. Her indictment to the case was on the basis of complicity; of she having authorized respondent Atty. Tacardon to make those statements," he added. It can be recalled that in filing a petition for indirect contempt against De Lima and Tacardon, the government prosecutors accused the two of violating the sub judice rule barring parties to a case from discussing the merits in public to avoid influencing the outcome of the case. The petitioners cited two statements by Tacardon to the media stating that officials of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) have cleared De Lima from the illegal drug charges and that drug lord Vicente Sy admitted on the witness stand that he has never met the Senator despite previously claiming he gave P500,000 as campaign funds to her in 2012. In junking the case, Gito said there was no "clear and present danger" in Tacardon's statement for it to be considered contemptuous. Gito added that Tacardon's statements cannot even be considered sub judice because he only restated the admissions of the prosecution witnesses and his statements were "not fabricated, edited, slanted or couched in such a manner that it may influence the judge." The lady Senator from Bicol said she hopes the recent developments on the trumped-up drug charges against her would convince the DOJ to review her cases. "Together with the recent retractions of Rafael Ragos, Kerwin Espinosa, and Ronnie Dayan saying that they were all just coerced by Duterte officials into testifying against me, the dismissal of this contempt charge should now convince the DOJ to review my cases once and for all and decide if there is any merit or honor at all in prosecuting an innocent person," she said. In a separate statement posted on Twitter, De Lima said that the court's dismissal of the indirect contempt case filed against her and her lawyer is "a triumph of the kindred bedrock principles of free expression, transparency and the public's right to know." "It is beyond cavil that my cases and developments therein are matters of public concern. If only to obviate further travesty of justice, our people and the world need to know what's happening in my cases," De Lima stated. De Lima has consistently and firmly asserted her innocence in the cases filed against her. Due to lack of evidence, one of the three trumped-up drug charges against her has already been dismissed, which she called a "moral victory." The two other cases are still pending. Ahead of US President Joe Bidens visit to Israel later this month Cairo is working hard to warn of the dangers inherent in keeping the Palestinian issue on the backburner. One hundred days since the beginning of the war in Ukraine and few if any observers expect it to be over any time soon. It is likely, say some, to drag on, possibly into next year. It is an assessment that has lead to concern in Arab capitals that other pressing issues, not least the plight of Palestinians, has been placed on the back burner indefinitely. As the Ukraine war continues, with no end in sight, the situation in Gaza and the Palestinian territories has been coming too close to the point of explosion, and few people are taking any notice, said one Egyptian diplomat. A Palestinian government official who spoke this week on condition of anonymity said that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is doing everything possible to encourage self-restraint in the West Bank and is sending clear messages to Hamas leaders in Gaza sometimes directly and at other times through Arab channels that they need to avoid pushing things to the point of confrontation with Israel. We know that Hamas is not looking for a new military confrontation but we cannot predict the possible reactions of Hamas to further Israeli provocation, the PA official said. He added that while the Israeli government of Naftali Bennett does not seem to want to pick a fight in Gaza, the tactics of the Israeli military are more unpredictable. We think that nothing is likely to happen in the next few weeks given the anticipated visit of the American president later this month but we dont know what might happen beyond then, he said. He added that beyond the possibility of a new nuclear deal between the West and Iran little international attention is being paid to the Middle East. The world has almost forgotten the Palestinian Cause. Nobody talks about a political process. The most the world talks about is improving living conditions for Palestinians but the problem of Palestinians is a problem of occupation not of living conditions. According to the Egyptian diplomat, tensions in and around Jerusalem during recent weeks have served as a reminder to regional and international capitals that putting pressure on Israel to improve the living conditions of Palestinians is not good enough and something more has to be done to defuse the growing tensions. The world, he said, needs to take stock of the remarkable show of anger and frustration that was demonstrated during the funeral of Sherine Abu Akleh, the AlJazeera broadcaster shot dead last month while covering an Israeli military attack on the Palestinian territories. What we saw should remind everyone that an outbreak of anger is never far from the surface, he said. This week, all eyes were focused on the Israeli storming of Muslim quarters of Jerusalem by Israeli religious nationalists during the contentious annual flag march during which thousands of Israelis celebrate Israels capture of East Jerusalem in 1967. The Palestinian presidency said that Israel was playing with fire by allowing the march to go ahead while Hamas warned of the consequences of continued Israeli violations of Al-Aqsa. Egypt issued a statement warning against any attempt to tamper with the Arab, Muslim and Christian identity of East Jerusalem, and according to the Egyptian diplomat, Cairo has been communicating with all concerned interlocutors in the Palestinian territories and Gaza in an attempt to ensure the situation does not spin out of control. He added, however, that a purely crisis management approach is inadequate and Cairo is firm that a political process needs to be launched somehow, and sooner rather than later. During the past eight weeks Cairo has been engaging concerned capitals on how to bring international attention back to the Palestinian Cause. Nobody is assuming that it is possible to jumpstart a peace process anytime soon let alone reach a peace deal anytime in the near future, said the diplomat. We are all aware that international attention is focused on Ukraine, China and Iran while regional attention is focused on matters of political stability and economic cooperation, including cooperation with Israel. That said, during meetings and phone calls in the last two months, including gatherings that have convened in Cairo some announced and some not Cairo has managed to sketch an agenda of action to start re-activating politics on the Palestinian front. We have spoken with the Palestinians, Israelis, Jordanians, French and others, including the Americans, and have received delegations from Hamas, the Palestinian Authority and from Israel, explained the diplomat. The Egyptian agenda, he said, is designed to facilitate a series of meetings that will allow for elementary Palestinian-Israeli talks to resume, though not necessarily at the highest level. He added that Cairo is aware of the fact that the Bennett government is not interested in a political process starting but we have to act around the difficulties. Cairo is willing to host direct meetings if the two parties agree to work out a road map to restart the political process. There is the upcoming visit of Biden to Israel, which may include a stop somewhere else in the Middle East, and we want to make sure that the visit helps in re-launching a political process on the Palestinian front, said the diplomat. Last month, Egyptian and European diplomatic sources said Egypt was promoting the idea of a summit level meeting that could bring together Biden, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, Bennett, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and Jordans King Abdullah. This week, the same sources said that the issue is still being discussed and no final decision had been made. It is very significant that the Biden Administration opted to bring back attention to the two-state solution but we need to see some action, the Egyptian diplomat said. In a recent article published by the US Institute of Peace (USIP) Hisham Youssef, a former Egyptian diplomat and a senior fellow at USIP, argued that the dominant discourse on the Palestinian-Israeli struggle since the beginning of the Biden administration and the formation of the Bennett government had held out no hope of a Biden visit to Israel. He also noted that while the Biden Administration re-embraced the concept of a two-state solution it has so far shown little appetite for full engagement in the Middle East. According to Youssef, there are several things Biden needs to do for his visit to Israel to qualify as a game changer on the Palestinian-Israeli front. First, he said, the Biden visit needs to create a clear and sustainable political horizon with a clear endgame. The status of Al-Haram Al-Sharif, he wrote, should also be clearly addressed and the way to move towards a two-state solution must be clearly defined. Youssef argued the Biden visit should build on the work of the Munich Group, which brings together Egypt, Jordan, France and Germany, to relaunch peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians. It should also, he added, encourage moves towards Palestinian elections and make sure that the normalisation process that several Arab capitals have started with Israel help in encouraging serious movement on the negotiations front. *A version of this article appears in print in the 2 June, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: A top EU court on Wednesday rejected a bid by Kremlin-linked oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, the alleged financier of the Wagner mercenary group, to overturn sanctions imposed over the conflict in Libya. Prigozhin had challenged a 2020 decision to freeze his assets in the European Union and to place him on a visa blacklist over the deployment of Wagner fighters to the war-torn north African country. Prigozhin claimed he had "no knowledge of an entity known as Wagner Group" and said the EU had failed to justify the move. But the EU's General Court rejected his case and confirmed the sanctions against him. It said the bloc had provided "specific, precise and consistent evidence demonstrating the numerous close links between Mr Prigozhin and Wagner Group". Prigozhin, reputedly a top ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was also sanctioned by the EU in April 2022 over the Ukraine invasion and is blacklisted by Washington for meddling in the US elections. Shadowy outfit Wagner has been accused of deploying mercenaries with the backing of the Kremlin in hotspots, including Ukraine, Syria, Libya, Central African Republic and Mali. The EU alleged it breached an international arms embargo on Libya and that its fighters were engaged in military operations against UN-backed authorities. Search Keywords: Short link: Russias State Atomic Energy Corporation (ROSATOM) announced on Wednesday that it started the production in Saint Petersburg of equipment for Egypts first nuclear plant, El-Dabaa, according to Sputnik news agency. ROSATOM stated that it launched the production of electrical components for a reactor vessel of El-Dabaa at a production site in Saint Petersburg, the agency reported. In November 2015, the Egyptian government signed an agreement with Russia to build Egypts first nuclear power plant in El-Dabaa region of Marsa Matrouh, which aims to generate a total of 4,800 megawatts through four reactors. Earlier in 2022, CEO of ROSATOM Alexey Likhachev stated that construction of El-Dabaa is set to begin in July. According to the projects design, the nuclear plant will have four VVER-1,200 reactor units, with the first unit scheduled to be operational in 2026. In November 2021, Egypt signed a long-term one million-dollar agreement with the Czech UJV Rez Research and Development company to consult on El-Dabaa Nuclear Plant, according to Chairperson of the Egyptian Nuclear and Radiology Regulatory Authority (ENRRA) Sami Shaaban. According to the contract, UJV Rez will provide technical assistance to the ENRRA in licensing the nuclear plant. Search Keywords: Short link: Denmark's supreme court on Tuesday overturned a lower court ruling ordering the government to compensate 18 civilians tortured during the Iraq war in a joint operation by Iraqi forces and a Danish battalion. Related Danish supreme court rejects Iraqi torture compensation A total of 23 Iraqi plaintiffs had sued Denmark after they were arrested and subjected to "torture and inhumane treatment" in 2004 during operation "Green Desert" near Iraq's main port city of Basra. The supreme court ruled that since the Danish troops neither took part in nor were aware of the torture, the defence ministry was not obliged to pay compensation. An appeals court in Copenhagen ruled in 2018 that although the Danish soldiers did not join in the torture, they failed to prevent the abuse. It said they were aware the prisoners faced a "real risk" of being physically abused by the Iraqi security forces and ordered the Danish state to pay 18 of the 30,000 Danish kroner ($4,300, 4,000 euros) in damages. But the supreme court instead found that "the Danish forces had no command over the Iraqi military and police forces, that the operation was Iraqi-led, and that the Danish forces' participation in and conduct of the operation was in accordance with the mandate they were sent under". "The Danish forces had no concrete and current reason to believe that the Iraqi parties would be subjected to abuses," the court said in a written statement. It concluded therefore that "the defence ministry is not liable for assaults committed by Iraqi special forces following the military operation with the participation of Danish forces". Experts have said they hope the verdict will clarify what responsibility soldiers have when participating in military missions abroad. Search Keywords: Short link: The annual meetings of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group kicked off on Wednesday in Sharm El-Sheikh, making this the first time Egypt is hosting the meetings since 1991. Fifty-seven countries are participating in the meetings alongside representatives from international financial institutions including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. During the first day of meetings, the participants asserted the importance of leveraging private sector investment, especially foreign direct investments (FDIs), to finance both climate action and digital transformation. Speaking to Ahram Online, the head of Digital Transformation at the Office of the Presidency of Turkey Safa Uslu said that Turkey is willing to invest in Egypt in digitalisation and to tap the opportunities the government is providing in this respect. Uslu added that creating the necessary regulations is key for digital transformation to be fully realised, adding that Islamic countries need specific policies in this regard. Creating an attractive business ecosystem is key to stimulate private sector investments to enter developing and Arab countries. Egypt and Saudi Arabia have a story to be told in digital transformation and its related solutions, and it deserves to be shared with other countries, Uslu explained. Meanwhile, the Vice President of the International Affairs and Membership at the Digital Corporation Organization (DCO) Hassan Nasser said that the Middle East has the highest cost in terms of internet accessibility, and so a vision is needed for an inclusive digital transformation strategy that leaves no one behind. The challenge today is how to make the digital transformation inclusive and sustainable, especially in developing countries. This area needs to boost digital FDIs to bridge the gap of internet accessibility and digital transformation. Nasser told Ahram Online that the DCO is willing to cooperate with the government of Egypt in digital transformation. The DCO provides multi-stakeholder programmes that aim to enhance cross-border data flows, driving growth and expansion of small and medium-sized enterprises, boosting innovation through a common regulatory framework, and raising workforce mobility as well as developing new approaches for digital taxation, Nasser said. The IsDB meetings, which are scheduled to conclude on 4 June, include the 47th annual meeting of the IsDBs Board of Governors, the 29th annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), the 15th annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD), the 22nd General Assembly of The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), and the 17th General Assembly of the International Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC). Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt has sent medical aid to a Sudanese childrens hospital in the countrys Red Sea State that includes drugs and medical supplies, a statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday evening. The shipment comes within the framework of strengthening the cooperative relations between Egypt and Sudan in the field of health, the statement added. Consul General of Egypt in Port Sudan Sameh Farouk Shehata stressed Egypts keenness to consolidate relations with the Sudanese people in light of the mutual bonds and the extended relations between the two sides. Furthermore, the acting governor of the Red Sea State expressed his thanks and appreciation for the assistance provided by Egypt, praising the fruitful cooperation between the two brotherly countries in various fields. Egypts defence and health ministries have provided various food and medical aid shipments over the past two years to Sudan to help the country deal with a series of humanitarian crises. Search Keywords: Short link: President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi discussed on Wednesday with the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi the distinguished historical relations between Egypt and the European Union (EU) as well as the latest developments internationally and regionally, foremost of which is the Russian-Ukrainian crisis. El-Sisi stressed the important position the EU and its institutions enjoy in Egyptian policy, which is based on mutual respect and cooperation, a statement by the Egyptian presidency said. The meeting also dealt with developments in international and regional issues, foremost of which is the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and its economic repercussions at the global level, especially with regards to energy and food, said the spokesperson of the Egyptian presidency. El-Sisi also exchanged views with Varhelyi regarding the Palestinian cause and how to coordinate with the EU in efforts to improve living and service conditions in the Gaza Strip, in complementarity with the Egyptian Reconstruction Initiative. El-Sisi and Varhelyi also discussed the latest developments in Libya and agreed on the importance of expediting the process of holding presidential elections. The Egyptian president stressed the importance of ending the presence of armed militias and extremist groups inside Libya, which undermine the chances of achieving stability and peace. For his part, the European Commissioner praised Egypts efforts in combating irregular migration, expressing the EUs appreciation for these efforts, especially since irregular migration from Egypt stopped in 2016. The meeting between the Egyptian president and the European Commissioner was attended by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and EU Ambassador to Cairo Christian Berger. Varhelyis meeting with Shoukry On the same day, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry had a separate meeting with Varhelyi, where Shoukry stressed the importance of continuing cooperation to deal with the repercussions of the Ukrainian crisis on Egypt especially with regard to food security by supporting agriculture projects and developing agricultural technology. Moreover, Shoukry referred to the importance of strengthening cooperation between Egypt and the EU in the field of energy, especially natural gas, liquefied gas, electricity and the production of green hydrogen in preparation for exporting energy surpluses to Europe. Shoukry also presented the ongoing preparations by Egypt to host the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27), and the importance of cooperation between Egypt and the EU to ensure its success. Search Keywords: Short link: Sharm El-Sheikh is currently hosting the annual meetings of the Islamic Development Bank Group, the first to be hosted in Egypt since 1991. President of the IsDB Group Muhammad Al Jasser spoke to Ahram Online about the Groups operations in Egypt and how they contribute to supporting the Egyptian economy. Al Jasser also shed light on the IsDB Groups plan for the country and the support it has extended Egypt amid the severe impacts of the pandemic and the Ukraine war. Ahram Online: How do you perceive Egypts progress in implementing its economic reforms? Muhammad Al Jasser: Despite the fact that the repercussions of the pandemic have affected most of the economies across the world, which have worsened since the beginning of 2021, the Egyptian economy has been resilient in the face of these repercussions. This is certainly due to the containment measures taken by the Egyptian authorities to contain the crisis and its impacts, including launching an economic stimulus package of EGP 100 billion (approximately 1.7 percent of Egypts GDP) in order to address the effects of the pandemic. The economic reforms taken before the pandemic, led by Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, have helped in restoring macroeconomic stability and increasing the growth rate. The current results showed that difficult decisions, such as floating the local currency exchange rate and energy sector policies, were necessary to spare Egypt more difficult economic options. It is worth noting that Egypt is one of the few countries in the world that achieved a positive growth rate in 2020. At the IsDB Group, we are looking forward to the success of cooperation with Egypt to serve its economy. As we all know, any positive growth on the Egyptian economy will positively impact the Arab region and Africa. Egypt's initiative to host the IsDB Group Annual Meetings is an indication of its desire to continue playing its regional role at all levels, foremost of which is economic development. AO: What are the most prominent sectors and projects financed by IsDB in Egypt? MJ: To date, the total facilities the IsDB Group extended to Egypt amount to $16.2 billion, of which $2.2 billion are projects financed by IsDB, and $230 million in private sector financing by the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD). In addition, total trade finance operations are valued at about $12 billion through the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC). The IsDB Groups other funds and programs have also contributed with nearly $1.8 billion to financing. In addition, the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) provided $6.6 billion in trade insurance and $6.8 billion in new insurance obligations. The energy sector is at the forefront of sectors the IsDB Group has financed, as the groups contribution to this sector represents $9.8 billion (60.7 percent of the banks total interventions). This is followed by other sectors such as agriculture with 14.5 percent and industry and mining with 10.9 percent. The rest goes to urban development, road projects, education, transportation, trade, and capacity building. The power stations in South Helwan, West Cairo, Benha, Suez and Assiut, the establishment and development of Al-Azhar University Hospital, youth employment support programs, the National Agricultural Drainage Project, and the Avian Influenza Control Program are among the banks most prominent projects in the Arab Republic of Egypt. The Banks cooperation with Egypt has focused on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by creating sustainable infrastructure, providing energy sources, creating suitable job opportunities, supporting womens empowerment, helping in industry, and creating an environment for innovation and creativity. We are also aware of the role played by the Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Development, in cooperation with the Bank, in exchanging knowledge and experiences, in addition to building technical and institutional capacities in member countries. AO: What are the recent updates in the partnership strategy with Egypt and the IsDBs future plans for the country? MJ: The IsDB Groups contribution to promoting comprehensive and sustainable economic and social development efforts in Egypt, creating jobs for youth, and economic empowerment programs amounted to about $3 billion, according to what was agreed upon during the preparation phase of the partnership strategy between the Arab Republic of Egypt and IsDB Group (2019-2021). This strategy, which was formulated in consultation with the ministries and relevant authorities in Egypt, centres on aligning the economic plans of the Egyptian government with its development priorities and the vision of the IsDB Group. For our future actions in Egypt, the Bank targets vital sectors that influence competitiveness and attract investment. The IsDB Group also aims to create an enabling environment that encourages innovation and supports inventors, thus enhances the position of investment in human capital, which is the main source of social and economic development. AO: What are the total allocations the Bank has made to address the repercussions of the pandemic, and how do they support the green economy in Egypt and other member countries amid the ongoing economic crisis? MJ: On 4 April 2020, the Board of Executive Directors approved the IsDB Groups strategic preparedness and response program for COVID-19 to support member countries in preventing, containing, mitigating, and recovering from the pandemic. The program included two main pillars; which are responding to health emergencies and maintaining and revitalising the economic and social sectors involving response and recovery. The bank has allocated more than $4.5 billion to respond to the pandemic to restore the economic recovery of member countries. In this respect, the implications of the war in Ukraine have shed light on several development issues around the world, the most important of which are food security and energy supply. At the IsDB, we are working hard with all our partners to curb the current impacts of the crisis and to avoid potential impacts in the member countries going forward. As for the second part of the question, the bank encourages and supports the green economy with all available means. During the past 46 years, the bank has been focusing primarily on financing infrastructure projects, in general, and energy projects, in particular. Currently, renewable energy accounts for the largest portion of the Bank's activities, with financing volumes exceeding $3 billion. In addition, the Bank is expanding in issuing green Sukuk (bonds) to finance green projects in its member countries. The Bank also aims for 35 percent of its financing to be sensitive to climate change, and we have already reached that percentage in 2021. In this regard, concerning our cooperation with Egypt, there is no doubt that Egypts ambitious clean energy plan, which aims to generate 42 percent of electricity from new and renewable energy by 2030, represents a good opportunity for cooperation and partnership between the Bank and the Arab Republic of Egypt and between Egypt and member countries in this field. The Bank will cooperate with Egypt and member countries and will support the exchange of knowledge and experiences, so that the development projects that receive attention and encouragement are environmentally friendly. AO: What role does the ITFC play in promoting trade among IsDB member countries and providing trade finances while the volume of intra-regional trade between them remains weak? MJ: The coordination of joint efforts with the institutions of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has helped in increasing the share of intra-OIC trade in the world trade of OIC member countries from 15.5 percent in 2005 to 21.02 percent in 2018. The OIC aims to bring intra-OIC trade to 25 percent by 2025 by encouraging its member countries to diversify their partners, products, and services with technical and financial support from the organisation's institutions. The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) was established in 2005 as an active aid of the IsDB Group in order to advance trade and improve economic conditions in the Islamic world. Intra-trade among the member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation for better access to trade finance. The group also provides the appropriate tools for the development of strategic commodities related to trade in order to enhance competition in global markets. Since its establishment, the institution has mainly focused on the contribution to increasing and promoting trade among the member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation as an essential part of its strategy and portfolio of operations. In 2019, intra-OIC trade finance operations accounted for more than 67 percent of ITFC trade finance operations, amounting to $3.9 billion, with the aim of facilitating trade between member countries, thus increasing the institution's contribution to the social and economic well-being of these countries. Since 2008, the corporation has provided more than $55 billion to finance trade flows to the member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, of which $34.6 billion have been allocated to finance intra-regional trade for these countries, especially for governments and the private sector, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises through local banks and on the bilateral level in member countries. Given the size of the development gap, poverty and inclusive growth cannot be addressed without international partnerships and the public and private sectors support to secure market access, fair trade, and innovative solutions, especially for developing countries. With regard to trade development, the corporation provided its services, technical assistance, and capacity building activities through multiple programs to provide integrated solutions to its members in order to meet their needs and develop their commodity and strategic sectors, through a strategy of integrated solutions and quality programs to support trade cooperation and economic integration at the regional level. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has urged enhancing coordination and close cooperation between the state's ministries and relevant bodies to expedite the activation of the newly-launched partnership industrial initiative with the UAE and Jordan. In a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on Wednesday, El-Sisi urged starting implementing the projects included in the initiative in various sectors to achieve economic integration between Egypt, Jordan, and the UAE. The president's remarks come days after the three countries launched joint initiative of integrated industrial partnership for sustainable economic development in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. The initiative was launched in a tripartite meeting during a visit by a delegation from the Egyptian government headed by Madbouly to the Emirati capital. As part of the initiative, the UAEs government announced on Sunday that it is allocating an investment fund of $10 billion for joint projects with Egypt and Jordan. The fund will be run by Abu Dhabi Development Holding (ADQ) to support and accelerate the projects arising from the initiative. During his meeting with the premier, El-Sisi underlined the importance of the three-way cooperation with Jordan and the UAE, saying the partnership initiative manifests the hoped-for goal of achieving Arab economic integration. The newly-launched initiative focuses on several strategic sectors, most importantly pharmaceuticals, agriculture, food, petrochemicals, metals, minerals, and textiles with the aim of achieving economic sustainable development and contribute to supporting industrial integration between the three Arab nations. The partnership aims to achieve self-sufficiency in the three countries and ensure food and health security and is also expected to provide industrial opportunities with added economic value estimated at billions of dollars in the near future. The combined GDP of Egypt, the UAE, and Jordan is approximately $800 billion, Emirati Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber said earlier this week. The three countries are rich in different resources that can be promoted through this new partnership, he added. Search Keywords: Short link: EgyptAir is calling on travellers visiting Egypt to register through the newly launched website Visit Egypt, which has been launched to replace the mandatory COVID-19-related declaration forms. The new website has been launched experimentally to reduce waiting time for Egyptian and foreign passengers upon arrival at the Egyptian airports. Passengers have to register at the website at least two days before starting their trip or otherwise fill the paper form upon arrival. In a statement circulated by local media on Wednesday, the Egyptian flagship carrier said the launch of the new website is part of the state's efforts to streamline the arrival procedures for passengers. The step would also ensure smooth movement inside airports and reduce crowds at airport halls, EgyptAir added. Those who are not able to register at the website will be allowed to enter the country if they provide accredited COVID-19 vaccination certificates or negative coronavirus test results, the statement said. Vaccination certificates have to show that at least 14 days have passed since the passenger received their second vaccine dose. Negative coronavirus test results must be for PCR or antigen tests taken in the 72 hours before arrival and having a QR code. Egypt cancelled the COVID-related declaration forms in April after launching the Visit Egypt website. Amid a major improvement in the coronavirus situation in the country, Egypt also cancelled exceptional COVID-focused disinfection of planes after each flight, with a return to normal sanitation procedures. Egypt's daily COVID-19 infections have recently dropped to their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic, with the country recording a daily average of four coronavirus infections and two deaths over the past week (21-27 May). Egypt's decision to cancel the mandatory declaration forms and exceptional COVID-19 focus plane disinfection come at a time when the country has been taking measures to support the tourism sector's recovery amid global challenges. Egypt, which relies on tourism revenues as a vital source of foreign currency, received around 7.6 million tourists in 2021, an official told Al-Watan newspaper in April. This is up from 3.7 million tourists who visited Egypt in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, and down from 13 million in 2019, according to Statista. Search Keywords: Short link: Nancy hails repeal of students' medical insurance requirement for in-person classes Senator Nancy Binay on Sunday thanked the Inter Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Commission on Higher Education for their move to repeal the policy requiring students in higher education institutions (HEIs) to have medical insurance before participating in in-person classes. "Nagpapasalamat tayo sa IATF at CHED sa pagbawi ng requirement na dapat may medical insurance ang mga estudyanteng lalahok sa in-person classes." "Bawas perwisyo ito sa mga estudyante't pamilya nila, at reassuring din na nakikinig ang pamahalaan sa mga hinaing ng bayan," Binay said. The senator had earlier urged the government to scrap the policy, which she said was onerous and unnecessary given that all Filipinos are already automatic members of PhilHealth. "Dapat ang requirement, simpleng vaxx card lang. Sinasabi ng iba, isang pindot lang ng app, at magbayad ka ng P500, may insurance ka na. May mali eh. Bakit kailangan papahirapan ang estudyante at magulang? Supposedly libre na nga dahil lahat covered ng PhilHealth," Binay said. Under Republic Act No. 11223 or the Universal Health Care Law, all Filipinos are automatically enrolled in the National Health Insurance Program of PhilHealth. "It takes humility to admit when one needs to correct things and take a step back. We learn from mistakes and make things better. I am glad that the IATF saw it unnecessary to further pursue the insurance requirement. Kung talagang di naman makabubuti o walang katuturan ang isang policy ay dapat itong bawiin o amyendahan," said the lawmaker. The requirement for students to have health insurance was imposed as a condition for the return to in-person classes this year. It was based on Section H of Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2021-004 of the Commission on Education and the Department of Health which stated guidelines on the implementation of limited face-to-face classes for all programs of higher education institutions. The IATF allowed last March the conduct of in-person classes for HEIs in areas under Alert Level 1 to up to 100-percent classroom capacity. However, only fully-vaccinated students and teaching and non-teaching personnel are allowed to participate. MP Gihane Zaki, a member of the Egyptian House of Representatives, has been selected as a member of the 224-year-old scientific institution Institut d'Egypte in Cairo. Zaki, a professor of Egyptology, is a member of the Rome-based International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) and a researcher at the French National Center CNRS-Sorbonne University. She also headed the Egyptian Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. In remarks to the state's news agency MENA, Zaki expressed pride for being selected as a member of Egypt's oldest scientific institution, hailing the institute as globally unique. "I have been chosen by Egypt's elite scholars who made clear scientific contributions and have had greatest impact on the minds of generations of researchers and scholars," Zaki said. Zaki said that the membership of the Institut d'Egypte is granted for life and is a wish for all researchers, as it is a culmination of serious academic work. The Institut d'Egypte was founded in Cairo by the French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798, the year when the French invasion of Egypt and Syria started, to serve as a scientific research academy in much the same way as the Institute de France. The establishment of the institution aimed at promulgating modern knowledge all over Egypt and conducting research on the country's facilities and resources. After the French evacuated Egypt in 1801, the academic activities of the Institut d'Egypte ceased, but they were later resumed in 1836 by French, German, and English scholars under the name The Egyptian Society. In 1859, the institution was transferred to Alexandria under a different name, Institut Egyptien, under the auspices of Egypt's then-ruler Muhammad Said Pasha. The institute was then returned to the capital in 1880. Search Keywords: Short link: Israeli occupation troops shot and killed a Palestinian woman in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. The Israeli army claimed that a Palestinian woman armed with a knife approached a soldier ``conducting routine security activity'' north of the West Bank city of Hebron and that soldiers opened fire. It said that no soldiers were hurt in the incident. The Palestinian Health Ministry said the woman, identified as Ghafran Warasna, died after she was shot in the chest near the Al Aroub refugee camp outside Hebron. The Palestinian Prisoners' Club said that Warasna, 31, was released from Israeli prison in April after serving three months. According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, sources told the Palestinian Red Crescent that the Israeli army blocked ambulances from reaching Warasna for 20 minutes. She died upon arrival at Hebron National Hospital. Israeli crackdown on Palestinians has intensified in recent weeks with near-daily arrest raids by the army in Palestinian-administered areas of the West Bank following a string of attacks by Palestinians that left at least 19 Israelis dead. Tensions have soared following the killing of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who worked for Al Jazeera, and an Israeli ultranationalist march through a Palestinian thoroughfare in east Jerusalem. Recent weeks have seen at least 35 Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation forces. Many of them were carrying out attacks or were involved in confrontations with Israeli troops in the West Bank. But Abu Akleh, an unarmed woman and two apparent bystanders were also among those killed. Rights groups say Israel often uses excessive force. Search Keywords: Short link: Turkey will no longer hold high-level talks with neighboring Greece, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday amid rising tensions between the traditional rivals. Ankara resumed negotiations with Athens last year following a five-year break to address differences over a range of issues such as mineral exploration in the eastern Mediterranean and rival claims in the Aegean Sea. ``We broke off our high-level strategy council meetings with Greece,'' Erdogan told a meeting of his party's lawmakers in Ankara, adding: ``Don't you learn any lessons from history? Don't try to dance with Turkey.'' The talks had made little headway, but were a means for the two countries to air out their grievances without resorting to a potential armed standoff as had occurred as recently as two years ago. Erdogan's pivot on the talks appeared to have been triggered last week when he signaled his displeasure at comments made by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during a trip to the U.S. Erdogan said Mitsotakis ``no longer exists'' for him after accusing the Greek leader of trying to block Turkey's acquisition of F-16 fighter planes. Erdogan also commented on Turkey's objection to Sweden and Finland joining NATO. Ankara has complained the Nordic states harbor terror suspects and arm a group in Syria it accuses of being an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK that has waged a 38-year insurgency inside Turkey. ``NATO is a security organization, not a support organization for terrorist organizations,'' he said. The U.S. and EU have categorized the PKK as a terror group. However, it's Syrian wing, the People's Protection Units, or YPG, has played a leading role in the U.S.-led fight against the Islamic State group. Erdogan said those who tried to legitimize the PKK with ``letter tricks'' were ``deceiving themselves, not us.'' The president added that Turkey would not change its stance on the Swedish and Finnish NATO application without seeing ``binding documents'' demonstrating a hardened approach to those Ankara considers terrorists. Regarding a new cross-border military operation in Syria, Erdogan said Turkey was ``entering a new phase'' in its goal to create a 30-kilometer (19-mile) buffer zone south of the frontier. The territory is controlled by a Syrian Kurdish administration and Ankara says it has been used to launch attacks on Turkey. Erdogan singled out the towns of Tall Rifat and Manbij as targets Turkey will be ``clearing of terrorists.'' Both lie west of the Euphrates river while the main Kurdish-controlled region is to the east. Search Keywords: Short link: Hurricane Agatha left at least 11 people dead and 33 missing in the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca, where it set off flooding and landslides, Gov. Alejandro Murat said Wednesday. Related Hurricane Grace batters Mexico for second time More than 40,000 people in the state have been affected, primarily along the coast and in the mountains just beyond, Murat said. Agatha was the strongest hurricane since records have been kept to come ashore in May in the eastern Pacific. It made landfall Monday afternoon on a sparsely populated stretch of small beach towns and fishing villages as a strong Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (170 kph), but it quickly lost power moving inland over the mountainous interior. Even as Oaxaca continued to search for the missing and clean up downed trees and flooded homes, Mexican officials were watching another large area of thunderstorms along the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan Peninsula that forecasters said could become a tropical storm later this week. The US National Hurricane Center gave the system a 70% chance of becoming a tropical depression in the next 48 hours. As it took shape, it dumped heavy rain on southern Mexico and Belize. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval was headed to Oaxaca to oversee recovery operations. Search Keywords: Short link: The volume of trade exchange between Egypt and Poland unprecedently reached around $720 million in 2021 an increase of 20 percent compared to 2020, according to Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea. Gamea made her remarks in a speech on Monday during the Egyptian-Polish Business Forum in the presence of Polish President Andrzej Duda, Egypts Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, and a host of ministers, senior officials, and businessmen. Egypts exports to Poland also increased in 2021 by more than 60 percent to hit about $300 million, the minister added. The remarkable increase in the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and Poland reflects the two countries keenness to enhance their bilateral cooperation in light of the current global economic challenges. Furthermore, Egypt is keen on promoting economic, trade, and investment ties with Poland, Gamea said, highlighting the crucial role played by the businessmen of the two countries in fostering cooperation across various spheres. The Egyptian-Polish Business Forum represents an important platform to rally efforts to confront the current economic challenges, added the minister. Attractive destination for investors In his remarks to the forum, Duda hailed Egypt as an attractive destination for Polish investors. As a president of Poland, I am deeply interested in pushing cooperation forward, not only at the commercial levels, but in all areas of mutual interest, such as expertise-sharing, Duda said, highlighting his countrys ongoing research on fisheries and food production. He noted that Poland is a country with a great deal of experience in transportation, smart cities, medical technologies, agricultural production, as well as various forms of energy, alluding to the possibility of achieving economic integration between both countries. This would help open the door to new possibilities for Polish as well as Egyptian investors and offer new solutions in various sectors, especially the energy industry. Duda, who embarked on his first-ever official visit to Cairo on Monday, has stressed that the visit will have positive effects on bilateral relations with Egypt. He also reaffirmed that there will be positive impacts on the countrys tourism and economy in light of the forum and the resumption of direct flights between Cairo and Warsaw by Polands LOT as of 31 May with five flights scheduled a week. For his part, Polish Minister of Economic Development and Technology Grzegorz Piechowiak voiced his hope that the forum would be an opportunity to further enhance cooperation between the two countries. He added that Egypt is an essential strategic partner to Poland and a gateway to Africa and several Arab countries. On the side-lines of the forum, Egypts General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) signed an MoU with the Polish Investment and Trade Agency to encourage mutual investments and establish joint investment projects. Search Keywords: Short link: A jury awarded Johnny Depp more than $10 million on Wednesday in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, vindicating his stance that Heard fabricated claims that she was abused by Depp before and during their brief marriage. The jury also found Heard was defamed by a lawyer for Depp who accused her of creating a detailed hoax that included roughing up their apartment to look worse for police. The jury awarded her $2 million in damages. The verdicts bring an end to a televised trial that Depp had hoped would help restore his reputation, though it turned into a spectacle of a vicious marriage. Throughout the trial, fans, overwhelmingly on Depp's side, lined up overnight for coveted courtroom seats. Spectators who couldn't get in gathered on the street to cheer Depp and jeer Heard whenever they appeared outside. Heard, who was stoic in the courtroom as the verdict was read, said she was heartbroken. ``I'm even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It's a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously,'' she said in a statement posted on her Twitter account. Depp, who was not inside the courtroom Wednesday, sued Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as ``a public figure representing domestic abuse.'' His lawyers said he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name. The jury found in Depp's favor on all three of his claims relating to specific statements in the 2018 piece. In evaluating Heard's counterclaims, jurors considered three statements in which a lawyer for Depp called her allegations a hoax. They found she was defamed by one of them, in which the lawyer claimed that she and friends ``spilled a little wine and roughed the place up, got their stories straight,'' and called police. The jury found Depp should receive $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, but the judge said state law caps punitive damages at $350,000, meaning Depp was awarded $10.35 million. While the case was ostensibly about libel, most of the testimony focused on whether Heard had been physically and sexually abused, as she claimed. Heard enumerated more than a dozen alleged assaults, including a fight in Australia, where Depp was shooting a ``Pirates of the Caribbean'' sequel, in which Depp lost the tip of his middle finger and Heard said she was sexually assaulted with a liquor bottle. Depp said he never hit Heard and that she was the abuser, though Heard's attorneys highlighted years-old text messages Depp sent apologizing to Heard for his behavior as well as profane texts he sent to a friend in which Depp said he wanted to kill Heard and defile her dead body. In some ways, the trial was a replay of a lawsuit Depp filed in the United Kingdom against a British tabloid after he was described as a ``wife beater.'' The judge in that case ruled in the newspaper's favor after finding that Heard was telling the truth in her descriptions of abuse. In the Virginia case, Depp had to prove not only that he never assaulted Heard, but that Heard's article, which focused primarily on public policy related to domestic violence, defamed him. He also had to prove that Heard wrote the article with actual malice. And to claim damages he had to prove that her article caused the damage to his reputation as opposed to any number of articles before and after Heard's piece that detailed the allegations against him. Depp, in his final testimony to the jury, said the trial gave him a chance to clear his name in a way that he the UKtrial never allowed. ``No matter what happens, I did get here and I did tell the truth and I have spoken up for what I've been carrying on my back, reluctantly, for six years.'' Depp said. Heard, on the other hand, said the trial has been an ordeal inflicted by an orchestrated smear campaign led by Depp. ``Johnny promised me, promised me, that he'd ruin my life, that he'd ruin my career. He'd take my life from me,'' Heard said in her final testimony. The case captivated millions through its gavel-to-gavel television coverage and impassioned followers on social media who dissected everything from the actors' mannerisms to the possible symbolism of what they were wearing. Both performers emerge from the trial with reputations in tatters with unclear prospects for their careers. Eric Rose, a crisis management and communications expert in Los Angeles, called the trial a ``classic murder-suicide.'' ``From a reputation management perspective, there can be no winners,'' he said. ``They've bloodied each other up. It becomes more difficult now for studios to hire either actor because you're potentially alienating a large segment of your audience who may not like the fact that you have retained either Johnny or Amber for a specific project because feelings are so strong now.'' Depp, a three-time best actor Oscar nominee, had until recent years been a bankable star. His turn as Capt. Jack Sparrow in the ``Pirates of the Caribbean'' film helped turn it into a global franchise, but he's lost that role. (Heard and Depp's teams each blame the other.) He was also replaced as the title character in the third ``Fantastic Beasts'' spin-off film, ``The Crimes of Grindelwald.'' Despite testimony at the trial that he could be violent, abusive and out of control, Depp received a standing ovation Tuesday night in London after performing for about 40 minutes with Jeff Beck at the Royal Albert Hall. He has previously toured with Joe Perry and Alice Cooper as the group Hollywood Vampires. Heard's acting career has been more modest, and her only two upcoming roles are in a small film and the upcoming ``Aquaman'' sequel due out next year. Depp's lawyers fought to keep the case in Virginia, in part because state law provided some legal advantages compared with California, where the two reside. A judge ruled that Virginia was an acceptable forum for the case because The Washington Post's printing presses and online servers are in the county. Search Keywords: Short link: Al-Tagammu Party welcomed President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisis call for a national dialogue on Egypts political and economic priorities, describing it as a way forward in turning Egypt into a modern civilian democratic state. How did you receive President Al-Sisis call for national dialogue? When President Al-Sisi announced his call for dialogue during the Ramadan family iftar on 26 April, Al-Tagammu was among the first political parties to hail the step. The partys political bureau held a meeting to draft an agenda for the proposed dialogue. The party has long asked for both a comprehensive political dialogue and an economic conference. We want a national dialogue to discuss political reform and we want an economic conference to discuss the countrys current and future economic conditions. When the National Academy for Training (NAT), which will be responsible for organising the dialogue, sent us an official invitation, the political bureau convened and drafted a number of proposals which have now been sent back to the NAT. What issues did the proposals address? The proposals can be thought of as headlines rather than detailed stories. We think the details should be left to the dialogue. For example, we produced a paper on the cultural identity of Egypt in which we say Egypt should strive to become a modern civilian democratic state. This means that we reject political Islam movements and political groups which resort to violence and terrorism to achieve their objectives. In this civilian democratic state we ask for complete press freedom. We submitted another paper on social justice because, in the coming stage, utmost priority must be given to the education and health sectors. Poor, limited and middle-income classes should have access to free high-quality education and health care services. We also believe that middle-income classes should not be the ones to bear 90 per cent of the burdens of economic reform. We want to see an economy emerge that is based primarily on industrial and agricultural production. These should be the two main components of the Egyptian economy and they need developing so as to double foreign exchange revenues from their products. What is needed for this dialogue to succeed? In order for this dialogue to be a success all political forces should be invited and treated on an equal footing. By forces I mean all those that were part of the 30 June Revolution alliance. Of course, the Muslim Brotherhood, its offshoots and sympathisers cant be allowed to join this dialogue as the Egyptian people revolted against them in June 2013 and removed them from office. We do not want for this dialogue to be an elite gathering. Representatives of workers, farmers and professional syndicates should all participate . Some forces have said they will participate only after specific pre-conditions are met Al-Tagammu was founded in 1976 and has participated in several national dialogues. We generally welcome participation in dialogues regardless of who issued the invitation and without stipulating pre-conditions. The only exception was in 2013 when Mohamed Morsi sent us a national dialogue invitation. When forces put pre-conditions it suggests they do not trust the person calling for dialogue or its organisers. We trust President Al-Sisi and think the Egyptian people view him not just as the president of Egypt but also as the leader of a revolution. President Al-Sisi is not the leader of a certain political party or a high-ranking official who was promoted to the post. He is a revolutionary hero who is trusted by the people. Do you think the current economic crisis led to the call for national dialogue? No. Egypts ruling regime is not in a crisis. Al-Tagammu and other political forces which formed the 30 June alliance believe Al-Sisis call for national dialogue comes after the regimes success in defeating the forces of terrorism and regaining national stability. After removing the Muslim Brotherhood from office civil forces dreamed of turning Egypt into a modern democratic country but this was impossible while we were fighting a battle against terrorism and suffering from things such as chronic power shortages, poor infrastructure and low growth rates. It was necessary to first solve all these problems in order to pave the way for the second stage, the stage of political reform and democratization. Some believe the national dialogue should be organised by the Senate rather than the NAT which they say is a bureaucratic institution affiliated with the presidency When President Al-Sisi announced the national dialogue he directed his call to all national forces, not only to members of the Senate or the House of Representatives. He did not say that participants should be restricted to political parties with seats in the Senate and the House. If an elite dialogue had been the goal then perhaps the Senate should have organized it. But as the call for is directed to all, a neutral institution such as NAT seems ideal. How much time do you think the dialogue will take? If we are serious about making the dialogue a success we cannot set a fixed timetable. The timeframe needs to be determined by the agenda, not vice versa. I mean, lets begin with discussing political reform. This could easily take three months of discussion, and once we finish we can move to another item. In the end, there will be recommendations that could need changes to legislation, or even changes to the constitution. To pre-set a timetable for such a process is difficult. Does Al-Tagammu see a need to amend the constitution? We think some articles of the constitution need to be put into action on the ground. For example, Article 74 states that no political party should be formed on the basis of religion. This article has never been implemented. Currently we have six or seven political parties with religious foundations. Other articles which relate to the economic system should be amended, and this will require dialogue between all participants, particularly economists, industrialists, businessmen and investors. *A version of this article appears in print in the 2 June, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: Former president of opposition Dostour Party Khaled Dawoud tells Al-Ahram Weekly the recent release of dozens of political prisoners will contribute to the success of the political dialogue initiated by President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi six weeks ago. Did President Al-Sisis call for an expansive political dialogue come as a surprise? No. Actually, I was expecting it to come earlier. Since I was released from prison a year ago, after being held for 19 months in pretrial detention, opposition parties have been receiving messages of willingness to open up the political space after nearly eight years of tight restrictions on both politics and the media. We were told the launch of the National Human Rights Strategy in September and the end of the state of emergency were the first steps towards serious political reforms. The message was that the country had faced many serious and dangerous challenges, domestic, regional and international, and that political reform was not seen as a priority. After achieving a level of stability, particularly in terms of confronting terrorism, and feeling increasingly sure of Egypts position on the regional and international stages, senior officials said they were now ready for a direct conversation with opposition groups. The main obstacle for us in the opposition was, and remains, the release of political prisoners, particularly those held since late 2019. We were all arrested for expressing views, particularly on social media, which security agencies saw as contributing to instability. We all faced charges such as participating with a terrorist group in achieving its goals, spreading false news and abuse of social media. Our argument was that as legitimate political parties, we were operating within the rule of law and regulations set in the constitution that assured multi-party politics and the exchange of power through fair and free elections. We were all partners in the significant changes that followed the removal of late Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed Morsi on 3 July 2013 following protests by millions of Egyptians on 30 June. We did not understand and saw no reason for the arrest of our members. It was a huge shock to be accused of assisting a terrorist group when I had narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by Muslim Brotherhood supporters three months after Morsis removal. But after the president made his call for political dialogue many prisoners were released True, but not enough. We want everyone arrested for peacefully expressing their political views and held in pretrial detention to be released. We are also demanding a presidential pardon for six colleagues who were sentenced to four to five years imprisonment by the State Security Emergency Court, rulings which cannot be appealed. Im talking about Alaa Abdel-Fattah, Hisham Fouad, Yehia Hussein, Ziad Al-Eleimi, Mohamed Al-Baqer, Mohamed Oxygen and Ahmed Doma. President Al-Sisi has already issued a pardon for my prison colleague Hossam Moenes after he spent three years in jail. We also want serious reconsideration of the so-called pre-trial detention law which allows for the detention of prisoners for up to two years if they are charged with terrorism. Worse and I saw this a lot while in prison after prisoners finish the two years they get revolved in a new case with a different number but with the same charges in order that pretrial detention can be extended to three or four years. All this time is spent in prison without trial, which defies basic notions of justice. People charged with murder or dealing drugs go to trial after a few months, at most a year. I was charged with spreading false news and abuse of social media, so how did I come to spend such a long time in pre-trial detention? Everybody is entitled to a fair, speedy trial, and thats why we want to amend the pre-trial detention law. So is it a precondition of opposition parties that political detainees be released? No, we do not set conditions. Thats not the way we conduct the dialogue with the senior officials who are talking to us in order to make the political dialogue initiative a success. But we are being honest in telling them that without the release of prisoners it will be very difficult for us to convince members of opposition parties that the political dialogue is serious. We want those prisoners to be released in order to help the political dialogue succeed. I feel that the authorities are serious this time. The fact that opposition leader Hamdeen Sabahi and I were invited among other opposition figures to attend the Iftar hosted by the president in Ramadan, and briefly exchanging greetings with him in which we requested the release of prisoners, was a reassuring move. Later, we conducted two closed meetings with a senior official who told us that the president is very serious and wants to make the dialogue a success. When do you expect the dialogue to start? Among the signs that the authorities are serious about the dialogue is that there is no rush to hold sessions. We succeeded in our direct talks with officials who agreed that setting the agenda of the dialogue should not be the prerogative of a single party. We agreed to form a joint committee that will act as a secretariat for the political dialogue, while the role of the National Academy for Training, which follows the president, will be mainly logistical and technical. The joint committee will hopefully be made up of around 10 people divided between opposition and pro-government parties and will set the agenda, the topics, working groups, and ways to follow up and implement what we agree on. The release of nearly 20 prisoners on Monday, and we expect more today, will hopefully speed up the process of forming the joint committee and launching the political dialogue. What are your own priorities? There are many different expectations. Some expect the attendees to agree on everything, politics, economics and social reforms. I dont think this is possible, and to set this as a goal will turn the dialogue into a talking festival in which everyone will deliver speeches and then go home. I want the dialogue to concentrate on the most urgently needed political reforms which will allow parties to work freely without fear. I asked the officials we met with to take a political decision that security agencies stop arresting people for peacefully expressing their views, release all those held without trial for long periods, and gradually lift the restrictions on government and privately-owned media companies, print, TV and news websites. It is unacceptable that more than 600 websites are blocked in Egypt and that any attempt to set up an independent media outlet is rejected. We also need to amend the election laws because they discriminate against smaller opposition parties that dont enjoy government backing and mean the results of elections are always known in advance. We need to open up the political and media space and amend pretrial and election laws so that political parties are free to compete in fair elections with the results decided solely by the people. The public wants democracy, the rule of law, and dignified services in health, education and other sectors. Those were the lessons I learned from the 25 January 2011 Revolution and the 30 June 2013 protests that led to the Brotherhoods removal. * Khaled Dawoud is deputy editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram Weekly and a senior writer on regional and international affairs. *A version of this article appears in print in the 2 June, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: Leaders of political parties held a series of meetings this week to prepare their agendas for the national dialogue proposed by President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, writes Gamal Essam El-Din. Wafd Party Chairman Abdel-Sanad Yamama held a meeting with MPs on 22 May to explore their viewpoints so the positions of MPs can be incorporated into the Wafds document on the political and economic reforms that are submitted to the national dialogue. Yasser Al-Hodeibi, Wafds spokesperson in the Senate, told Al-Ahram Weekly the party believes the dialogue should be divided into two parts, the first covering political reforms and the second economic problems. Al-Hodeibi also said the Wafd believes some articles of the constitution should be amended and that at least three laws modified in order to end political sclerosis in Egypt. We think constitutional articles such as the ones regulating the performance of the Senate should be amended to give the second chamber greater legislative and supervisory powers, he said. Al-Hodeibi called for changes in the three laws regulating the performance of political parties, elections, and the media to allow political parties to access adequate funding, ensure they can secure greater numbers of deputies in parliament, and that the media reflects dissenting voices as well as those that toe the government line. Political observers note that in his call for a national dialogue President Al-Sisi invited loyalist and opposition forces to take part, and that in the wake of issuing the call has taken steps to ease tensions with opposition forces. He ordered the release of some political activists in custody and revived a Presidential Pardon Committee entrusted with examining the cases of people held in pre-trial detention or convicted of political offenses. Some have been detained for more than two years pending investigation. On Monday, the authorities ordered the release of lawyer Hassan Al-Said who has been in pretrial detention pending investigation since 2019, said human rights lawyer Khaled Ali in a Facebook post on Monday. A day earlier, Tarek Al-Awadi, a member of the Presidential Pardon Committee, posted that cases currently being examined include researcher Kholoud Said, activist Sameh Saudi and journalist Khaled Ghoneim. Said, a researcher and a department head at Bibliotheca Alexandrina, has been detained since 2020 on charges of spreading false news and joining a terrorist group, while Ghoneim faces charges of spreading false news and misusing social media. Following the national dialogue announcement on 26 April Al-Sisi was seen shaking hands and chatting with Hamdeen Sabahi, a long-time critic who ran against him in the 2014 presidential election. Following the meeting, President Al-Sisi ordered the release of Hossam Moanis, a political activist who was the manager of Sabahis presidential election campaign in 2012 and 2014. In a TV interview with chairman of the Press Syndicate Diaa Rashwan, Sabahi said the national dialogue should be run by a secretariat-general including ten high-profile public figures, five affiliated with the opposition and five with pro-regime forces. Al-Tagammus Chairman Sayed Abdel-Aal told Al-Ahram Weekly that the release of opposition political activists was necessary to create a favourable climate for the dialogue. As a member of the Presidential Pardon Committee, I can say that tens of political activists who are currently in detention pending trial will be released in the coming days, said Abdel-Aal, indicating that he has also asked the committee to propose changes to the pre-trial detention law to shorten the period of detention. Political activists convicted of crimes like using the social media to voice opposition opinions or spread rumours should be pardoned, says Abdel-Aal, as long as they have not been involved in violence. This month, following a request by the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), the hunger striking Egyptian-British blogger and political activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah was transferred from the maximum security Tora prison to West Cairos Wadi Al-Natroun Correctional and Rehabilitation Centre which offers better medical treatment and living conditions. Al-Tagammus Abdel-Aal said such steps reflect good will from President Al-Sisi and the authorities and could pave the way for successful dialogue. Abdel-Moneim Imam, chairman of the Al-Adl (Justice) party, believes the proposed dialogue should be limited to opposition forces. As far as I understand, pro-regime forces will say what the regime wants to hear, while it is dissenting and opposition forces with which the president wants to build bridges, said Imam. Nasserist MP Diaaeddin Dawoud told the Weekly that leftist and Nasserist forces agree that political and economic reforms must both be on the table. He added that if the dialogue succeeds it will be a milestone in Egypts modern history, and if it fails it will be a huge setback. Dawoud believes the dialogue should lead to lifting of state control of the media and opening the door to independent and opposition newspapers and news sites. Dawoud and Sabahi both believe that the market-oriented policies that have been pursued since 1990 have made the rich richer and the poor poorer, and that there is an urgent need to reconsider them and promote policies more geared to ensuring greater social justice. *A version of this article appears in print in the 2 June, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: The African Development Bank (AfDB)s new country strategy for Egypt is expected to be approved and come into effect by early June, said AfDB Officer-in-Charge and Deputy Director-General for the North Africa Region Abdourahmane Diaw. In an interview with Al-Ahram Weekly, Diaw explained that the four-year strategy is built on the two key pillars of strengthening Egypts competitiveness and supporting robust private sector-led growth and job creation and building resilience to achieve food and water security and energy efficiency. Diaw hailed the plan announced by the government in May that involves widening the private-sector share in the Egyptian economy to 65 per cent and up from the current 30 per cent over the coming three years. We support such an objective, especially since Egypt has a clear vision of its economic activity as well as implementing an economic reform programme, all of which is highly commendable, he said. The AfDB plans to showcase Egypts model, showing the successes of its economic reform programme. This could be a footprint to be followed on the African continent. Egypt was among the few countries globally to attain positive real GDP growth in 2020 despite the severe impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, he added. On the AfDB country strategy, Diaw told the Weekly that its first pillar focuses on giving greater space to the private sector as it has a leading role in job creation. He said that President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi had announced an ambitious plan for tapping state-owned assets and pushing forward the governments initial public offerings (IPO) programme, both of which emphasise the role of the private sector. Our role is to support the government of Egypt in creating a suitable environment for private-sector growth, Diaw said. He said the banks strategy also targets the countrys transport sector through railway modernisation projects that will contribute to easing the transport of food products. It aims to enhance workers skills in order to support the countrys value chains. On the second pillar of the strategy, Diaw explained that this centers on building Egypts resilience in order to achieve food and water security and energy efficiency. The government has a clear strategy regarding how to go ahead with economic activity. Egypt has implemented a first wave of reforms to improve fiscal consolidation and macroeconomic performance. The AfDB eyes supporting Egypts second wave of reforms, particularly in the social-protection sector with a special focus on the Decent Life Initiative which is the kind of initiative we are willing to support, he said. The strategy aims to continue AfDB current projects in waste-water management and to increase investments in the agricultural sector based on positive experiences in this field. The Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict have caused a global food crisis that is harshly affecting the food situation in Africa. Egypt, being one of the worlds largest wheat importers, especially from both Russia and Ukraine, needs to diversify the sources it relies on to secure this strategic food commodity, and we can develop some kind of partnership in this regard, Diaw said, indicating that the bank could help to increase the accessibility of arable land in particular. The AfDB can also help to support the government in its efforts to contain the impacts of the crisis and its financial repercussions, Diaw said. On energy, Diaw said the AfDB supported natural gas production and solar energy. In general, the African continent has an abundance of natural gas reserves. We need a balanced plan, as natural gas must be included in the development plans of the continents countries, including Egypt. The European countries are exploring alternative markets that they can count on to secure their natural gas needs. Africa could be one of their sources, he said. He said the AfDB would be pushing this agenda at the upcoming COP27 meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh in November, adding that we are very pleased that Egypt will host such a critical conference as the voice of Africa. Diaw said that the COP27 meeting would host the African Pavilion financed by the AfDB, adding that the bank is currently collaborating with the government in preparing documents and technical papers for it. Once the banks country strategy is approved, we will hold a launch mission and announce the potential programmes that we can execute under it, Diaw said. He revealed that the bank, in collaboration with its partners, is expected to announce an operation targeting Egypt by the end of 2022 by developing a programme exploring avenues through which the government can address the crisis in partnership with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Touching upon Egypts investment opportunities, Diaw explained that the bank eyes tapping such opportunities as being in line with the governments priorities agenda, adding that the AfDB was willing to establish a partnership with the Sovereign Fund of Egypt to seize the opportunities this provides. Diaw said that the AfDBs current project portfolio in Egypt amounts to $1.2 billion over 24 operations, adding that the bank invested $2.2 billion in its last country strategy of 2017-2021. In 2022, we intend to invest $400 million in the Egyptian market. The amount invested each year has yet to be confirmed by the bank, he concluded. *A version of this article appears in print in the 2 June, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: Press Release May 29, 2022 De Lima thanks US Sen. Durbin, USAID Admin Power for concern over her plight as political prisoner Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima thanked US Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin for reiterating his call for her immediate release and for definitive US response over her continued unjust detention. De Lima, the most prominent political prisoner under the Duterte regime, also expressed her gratefulness to United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power for committing to follow up on the developments on the Senator's cases. "I cannot thank Senator Durbin enough for his steadfast support and solidarity with me through the years. His persistent effort urging the US government to act with solidarity over the plight of persecuted political prisoners, myself included, means a lot for us who are suffering from injustice for standing up for our principles," she said. "My most profound thanks also to USAID Administrator Power for expressing concern on my plight, and for committing that she will follow up on any developments on the trumped-up and politically-motivated cases against me," she added. In the recent US Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs hearing on the budget request of USAID for 2023, Durbin asked Administrator Power if she is familiar with the unjust detention of De Lima. Power answered in the affirmative, and even recalled writing a piece on De Lima when the latter was listed in TIME Magazine's "100 Most Influential People" in 2017. "She's been imprisoned five years, Duterte's vengeance against her politically, now a new regime is on the way, is there anything more we can be doing to help her?" Durbin asked Power. Responding to Durbin, Power said that "a new government is a very good occasion to make a diplomatic push and the ones that are the most effective are executive and legislative branches together operating in unison" and that she will follow up on any developments on the Senator's case. De Lima said the support she receives from world leaders and international organizations remind her that her vindication is already within arm's reach. "With the recent recantation of several witnesses who testified against me and the unwavering support I receive from the local and international communities vouching for my innocence, I am further reminded that my freedom and vindication is coming soon, especially as I am on the side of truth," she said. "As the whole world continues to watch, and with more and more people gaining discernment about the Duterte regime's harassment and political persecution against critics and human rights defenders, the truth is coming out and justice will soon prevail," she added. Recall that in 2020, Durbin, along with U.S. Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Chris Coons (D-DE), led the successful passage of a resolution calling for the release of Senator De Lima, a call reiterated in a recent joint statement around the recent recanting of testimony against De Lima. Iraqs parliament passed a new law this week criminalising any moves to normalise the countrys relations with Israel, writes Nermeen Al-Mufti in Baghdad The Iraqi parliament unanimously approved a proposed law on the criminalisation of normalisation with the Zionist entity last Thursday, which states that penalties of death or life imprisonment will be applied to any Iraqi promoting the normalisation of relations with Israel. The law was submitted to parliament by the Save the Homeland (Inqath Watan) Alliance that includes the Sadrist, Siyada (Sovereignty), and Kurdistan Democratic Party blocs. According to the Iraqi News Agency (INA), the law criminalises any kind of political, security, economic, artistic, cultural, sports, or scientific cooperation or dealings under any title whatsoever with Israel. All publications or other materials that promote normalisation with Israel will be confiscated, without prejudice to the criminal responsibility of the perpetrator under the law. Any Iraqi who establishes a relationship with Israel or promotes Zionist or Masonic ideas, principles, ideologies, or behaviour by any means, whether public or private, including conferences, gatherings, publications, publications on social media, or any other means, will be punished with either the death penalty or life imprisonment. The provisions of the law apply to Iraqis inside and outside the country, as well as to Iraqs regional governments, parliamentary councils, and all departments and institutions. Najm Kassab, a political analyst and chair of the Al-Mawrid Group for Strategic Studies, a think tank, told Al-Ahram Weekly that this law proves the sincere intention of powerful clergyman Muqtada Al-Sadr, the leader of the Sadrist Movement, with regard to his alliance with the Kurdistan Democratic Party and Sunni forces close to some of the Gulf countries that have normalised their relations with Israel. Regarding the difference between the new law and Article 111 of the 1969 Iraqi Penal Code, which include punishments such as death and life imprisonment, Kassab said that no other law in Iraq was as severe as the law recently passed by the parliament. After the vote on the law in parliament, Al-Sadr called on Iraqis to take to the streets to celebrate this great achievement. Ahmed Ali, a university student who participated in the celebrations, told the Weekly that the majority of Iraqis have not agreed with any regime that has ruled Iraq for decades, but they agree with these regimes on one point, which they see as a matter of principle no normalisation with the Zionist entity. Sanaa Mohamed, a political science MA student, told the Weekly that the law could be considered by certain foreign countries as being anti-Semitic, but I cannot understand why even a word against the Zionists is considered anti-Semitic when killing thousands of Arabs is not, even when the Arabs and the Jews are cousins and are both of Semitic origin. The law will come into effect after its publication in the Iraqi Official Gazette, Basheer Al-Araji, a journalist and expert on legal issues, told the Weekly. There is no specific date for the publication of the Official Gazette. Instead, it is published whenever a number of official instructions and laws are sent to the Ministry of Justice. The new law would be published in the Official Gazette as soon as it has been sent officially from the parliament, he said. Abdulameer Majar, a political analyst, told the Weekly that the law includes an implicit, though not explicit, recognition of Israel. However, it rejects normalisation and criminalises it because Israel occupies Arab land. It does not call for the elimination of Israel from existence. Majar mentioned the Arab Peace Initiative adopted by the Arab League at its Beirut Summit in 2002 that called for peace in the Middle East between Israel and the Palestinians through establishing an internationally recognised Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, the return of the refugees, and Israels withdrawal from the Occupied Golan Heights, in exchange for the recognition and normalisation of relations between the Arab countries and Israel. However, not long after this Israel launched a war against Gaza and has never shown any willingness to respect the initiative, he added. A month before the law was passed in the Iraqi parliament, the Kirkuk Criminal Court in Iraqs northern oil-rich province sentenced a lawyer to three years in prison because he had participated in a conference calling for the normalisation of relations with Israel held in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and attended by tribal elements in September 2021. The Karkh Criminal Court in Baghdad issued warrants for the arrest of those who attended the conference on the initiative of suits launched by the Iraqi National Security Agency. It is a principle in Iraq that there cannot be normalisation of relations with Israel. The new law says that this is in order to preserve the national and Islamic principles of Iraq and the conviction of the Iraqi people in defending Palestine and its people and all the Arab peoples whose lands are occupied and to deter all those who work for normalisation and for establishing relations with the usurper. *A version of this article appears in print in the 2 June, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday that his country will supply Ukraine with modern anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems, stepping up arms deliveries amid criticism that Germany isn't doing enough to help Kyiv fend off Russia. Scholz told lawmakers that the government has decided to provide Ukraine with IRIS-T SLM missiles developed by Germany together with other NATO nations. He said Germany will also supply Ukraine with radar systems to help locate enemy artillery. The announcement comes as Ukrainian forces are engaged in a grinding battle for the eastern industrial region of the Donbas. Following a series of setbacks in the weeks after their invasion, Russian troops switched their focus to the Donbas and are bent on capturing the parts of the region not already controlled by Moscow-backed separatists. In the Donbas, Russian forces have seized half of a key eastern Ukrainian city in a ``frenzied push,`` the Mayor Oleksandr Striuk said Tuesday. Serhiy Haidai, governor of the larger Luhansk region, meanwhile, said that most of the city, Sievierodonetsk, was under Russian control, though he added that fierce fighting continued and the city wasn't surrounded. Military analysts have said the battles in the Donbas are a race against time: The Kremlin is hoping for a victory before more Western arms arrive to bolster Ukraine's defences. The West is hoping to tilt the balance. President Joe Biden said Tuesday the U.S. will provide Ukraine with the more advanced rocket systems that its leaders have asked for. In an essay published in The New York Times, Biden said the rocket systems will enable Ukraine ``to more precisely strike key targets.'' U.S. officials, speaking before Biden's announcement on condition of anonymity, said Washington will send Ukraine a small number of high-tech, medium-range rocket systems. The rockets could be used both to intercept Russian artillery and to take out Russian positions in towns where fighting is intense, such as Sievierodonetsk. The announcements come amid claims at home and abroad that Germany has been slow to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs to defend itself against Russia. Search Keywords: Short link: The United States has agreed to supply Ukraine with advanced rocket launch systems to try to turn the tide of the war in the eastern Donbas region, where the city of Severodonetsk looks poised to fall to Russian forces. Despite multiple countries sending arms to Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24, Kyiv has complained that it is still outgunned and pleaded for more heavy weapons. Here is a look at the weaponry promised sent or promised so far. This is not an exhaustive list as some nations keep their donations secret. United States The US said Tuesday it had agreed to Kyiv's request for HIMARS multiple-rocket launchers, which will allow Ukrainian forces to hit deeper behind Russian lines while staying out of range of Russian artillery. The HIMARS, which will be limited in range by the US to prevent Ukrainian forces using them to strike targets inside Russia, are the centrepiece of a $700 million package of weapons to be paid for from a $40 billion fund for Ukraine approved by Congress last month. The Biden administration has already sent $4.5 billion in military aid since the war began. The weapons pledged or sent include 72 155mm howitzers, 72 vehicles to tow them, 144,000 rounds of ammunition, and more than 120 "Phoenix Ghost" tactical drones recently developed by the US Air Force specifically to address Ukraine's needs. The US has also pledged helicopters, armoured personnel carriers, 1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 5,000 Javelin anti-tank missiles, several thousand rifles with ammunition and a range of other equipment. Turkey Turkey's Bayraktar TB2 combat drones have become famous the world over since the war began, with videos going viral of Ukrainian forces using them to destroy convoys of Russian armoured vehicles and artillery. Ukraine also said it used a TB2 to distract the defences of the Russian warship Moskva before pounding it with missiles in mid-April, causing it to sink. Before the invasion Kyiv had around 20 TB2s. In March, Kyiv said it had received more, without saying how many. United Kingdom Britain said on May 20 it had committed 450 million (528 million euros) so far to supporting the Ukrainian military. The government said the aid included 120 armoured vehicles, over 5,800 anti-tank missiles, five air defence systems, over 1,000 rockets and 4.5 tonnes of explosives. In early May, Prime Minister Boris Johnson also promised electronic warfare equipment, a counter-battery radar system, GPS jamming equipment and thousands of night-vision devices. Britain says it has also trained more than 22,000 Ukrainian soldiers. Canada Canada has supplied Ukraine with 262 million Canadian dollars (193 million euros) of military aid since February. In late May, the federal government said it was sending 20,000 artillery shells, to go with the M777 howitzers it has already sent to boost Ukraine's defences in the Donbas. Ottawa has also sent Kyiv drone cameras, rifles, ammunition, high-resolution satellite imagery, rocket launchers, thousands of hand grenades and two tactical airlift aircraft. Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday he would send Ukraine an air defence system capable of shielding a "large city" from Russian air raids. Scholz said Germany would also send a tracking radar system capable of detecting enemy artillery fire. His government has been accused of being slow to arm Kyiv. In late April, Berlin broke with its policy of sending only defensive weapons and agreed to supply Ukraine with self-propelled howitzers and tanks. Germany has been negotiating with countries in eastern and southern Europe on sending some of their Soviet-era equipment to Ukraine in return for newer German models. Spain In April, Spain shipped 200 tonnes of military equipment to Ukraine, including 30 trucks, several heavy transport vehicles and 10 small vehicles loaded with military material. France In mid-April the French government said it had delivered more than 100 million euros of military equipment to Ukraine. A week later President Emmanuel Macron promised more aid, including Milan anti-tank missiles and Caesar self-propelled howitzers. A Senate hearing this week confirmed that Paris has sent six howitzers and revealed it also sent Mistral anti-aircraft missiles. Nordic Countries Norway has sent 100 French-made Mistral anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine as well as 4,000 M72 anti-tank weapons. Sweden announced in late February it would send 10,000 single use anti-tank launchers along with demining equipment. Finland, which like Sweden has applied for NATO membership since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, announced in February it would send Kyiv 2,500 assault rifles, 150,000 rounds of ammunition and 1,500 single use anti-tank launchers. A month after the war began, Helsinki said it would send more weapons, without specifying what type. Three days after the war started, Denmark said it would send 2,700 anti-tank launchers. On a visit to Kyiv in late, Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen announced another 600 million Danish kroner ($88 million) for weapons. Washington says Denmark plans to send a Harpoon anti-ship missile system, which can target ships as far as 187 miles (300 kilometres) offshore. Ukraine's Neighbours Poland says it has sent 1.6 billion dollars' worth of arms, including an unspecified number of tanks. Polish and US media have reported that Warsaw supplied over 200 tanks, which would make Ukraine's second-biggest weapons supplier after the US. Warsaw says it has also sent anti-tank missiles, mortars, ammunition and drones. Slovakia has so far contributed military material worth 153 million euros and has reached a deal with Ukraine on the sale of at least eight howitzers. Baltic States Latvia has contributed military material worth more than 200 million euros, including ammunition, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and their launch pads, unmanned aircraft and drones. Lithuania said it has sent military aid to Ukraine worth "tens of millions" of euros, including Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, mortars, rifles, ammunition and other equipment. Lithuanians also crowdfunded over 5 million euros to buy Ukraine another Bayraktar drone. Estonia has given 227.5 million euros of military aid, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, howitzers, anti-tank mines and anti-tank guns, and handguns along with ammunition. Central and Eastern Europe Slovenia announced in late February it was sending Kalashnikov assault rifles and ammunition. Slovenia was also in discussions with Germany about sending Ukraine a large number of its Soviet-era tanks in return for German tanks and troop carriers but no deal has been announced as yet. Bulgaria is not officially providing military equipment to Ukraine due to opposition from pro-Russian socialists. The Czech Republic has provided military aid worth 3.5 billion koruna (141 million euros, $152 million) and says it is planning further supplies worth up to 28 million euros. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the Czech government had supplied combat helicopters and rocket systems. Prague says Czech companies will also repair Ukrainian tanks. Belgium, Netherlands, Greece and Italy Belgium says it has sent 5,000 automatic rifles and anti-tank weapons to Ukraine. The Netherlands in late February promised the delivery of 200 Stinger missiles and in April said it would send a limited number of howitzers. Under a deal announced by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on May 31, Greece will send Ukraine some of its Soviet-era tanks in exchange for more modern vehicles from Berlin. Athens has also sent 400 Kalashnikovs, rocket launchers and ammunition. Italy is keeping its arms deliveries to Ukraine secret. Search Keywords: Short link: The Netherlands and Germany are to jointly drill for a new gas field in the North Sea, the Dutch government said on Wednesday, a day after Russia cut gas supplies to the country. Deputy minister of mining Hans Vijlbrief "issued permits for the Dutch part today", it said in a statement, adding that "an accelerated procedure for the required permits is underway" in Germany. "The cabinet supports gas extraction in the North Sea in order, for example, to have sufficient gas to heat our houses," the economics and climate ministry said. The controversial plan to drill for gas some 10 nautical miles (19 kilometres, 11 miles) offshore on the Dutch-German border is not new, but has taken on a new urgency since Russia's Gazprom announced Tuesday it was halting all gas supplies to the Netherlands. This came after Dutch energy firm GasTerra refused to pay in rubles following the Russian military offensive in Ukraine. The German state of Lower Saxony a year ago decided not to issue permits for the drilling near the eco-sensitive islands of Schiermonnikoog and Borkum and Dutch environmental groups still have concerns. However, Lower Saxony "is now making a different decision because of the war in Ukraine", the Dutch ministry said. The first gas from the platform -- to be powered by a nearby German wind farm -- is expected to be extracted by 2024, it added. Search Keywords: Short link: The third edition, which is organised under the auspices of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, will be held from 31 May to 17 June under the slogan Non-Aligned Youths and South-South Cooperation. According to the General coordinator of the programme, participants from Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Palestine, Tunisia, Turkey, India, Brazil, and Pakistan have arrived to take part in the programm and more are still on the way. He also said that the third edition of the fellowship will feature the participation of youth leaders from about 73 countries in addition to an Egyptian delegation that represents many societal segments. Earlier this week, the Nasser Fellowship organised a virtual training for its participants that introduced them to the concepts and principles of leadership and authority in large companies, in addition to discussing leadership transformation and exemplary practices. NAM is a forum comprised of 120 world states that are not aligned with or against any major power bloc. In April 1955, representatives from 29 Asian and African governments gathered in Bandung, Indonesia to discuss peace and the role of the third world in the Cold War, economic development, and decolonisation. The core principles of the Bandung Conference were political self-determination, mutual respect for sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference in internal affairs, and equality. Drawing on the principles agreed at the Bandung Conference in 1955, the NAM was established in 1961 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, through an initiative by then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito. This led to the first conference of the heads of state of non-aligned countries. The term non-aligned movement first appeared in the fifth conference in 1976. A Yemeni aircraft left the rebel-held capital Sanaa for Cairo Wednesday on the first commercial flight between the two cities since 2016, the latest gain from a two-month truce that is about to expire. The office of the United Nations special envoy for Yemen told AFP there were 77 people on board the Yemenia Airlines flight from Sanaa airport, which has been closed to commercial flights for nearly six years. On Sunday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres praised Egypts decision to allow direct flights between Cairo and Yemens Sanaa in a phone call with Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry. It is the seventh such flight since the UN-brokered truce went into effect on April 2, but the agreement expires on Thursday and talks on extending it has faltered. The six previous flights had all been to the Jordanian capital Amman. Yemen has been gripped by conflict since the rebels overran Sanaa in 2014, triggering a Saudi-led military intervention in support of the beleaguered government the following year. On May 16, a Yemenia plane carrying 126 passengers, including critically ill hospital patients and their relatives, became the first commercial flight to leave Sanaa since August 2016. Air traffic into the rebel-held capital has been largely halted by a Saudi-led blockade, but there have been exemptions for aid flights that are a key lifeline for the population. Despite accusations of violations from both the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi rebels, the truce has significantly reduced levels of violence. The Houthis have said they were considering renewing the ceasefire amid UN efforts to extend the truce. But on Tuesday, the United States warned the truce talks were in "trouble" as it pushed for an extension to help support millions of people at risk. Talks on extending the ceasefire "haven't ended yet but seem to be in a bit of trouble," the US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said. Aid agencies have urged Yemen's warring parties to extend the truce, saying it had "positive humanitarian impacts". "As organisations working across Yemen, we have seen the positive humanitarian impacts of the truce," more than 30 aid agencies, including Save The Children, Oxfam and the Norwegian Refugee Council, said in a joint statement. They said the reopening of Sanaa airport to commercial flights had allowed hundreds of patients in "critical need of life-saving medical treatment outside of the country" to finally receive it. The war has killed more than 150,000 people and displaced millions, creating the world's worst humanitarian crisis, according to the UN. Search Keywords: Short link: The Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) and German energy storage firm H2 Industries signed on Wednesday a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to build the first waste-to-hydrogen plant in the zone, with total investments amounting to $4 billion. The MoU was signed by the chairman of the SCZONE Yahia Zaki and executive chairman and CEO of German energy storage firm H2 Industries Michael Stusch on the sidelines of the sixth edition of the Egypt Can conference, which is being held under the title Egypt Can With Industry in the New Administrative Capital, under the auspices of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. The signing ceremony was attended by the Emigration Minister Nabila Makram and Minister of Military Production Mohamed Ahmed Morsi. Under the agreement, the waste-to-hydrogen plant will be built in the East Port Said area, with a production capacity of 300,000 tons of green hydrogen annually, disposing of 4 million tons of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) per year. Following the signing ceremony, Zaki underlined efforts exerted by the authority to lure investments to the economic zone. For his part, the CEO of H2 Industries said this project has the double benefit of creating valuable clean hydrogen, while addressing the important issue of waste management by using organic waste, including plastic waste. "This is just the first of three international projects where governments around the globe realise that organic waste, and especially plastic waste, if treated correctly, can be a valuable asset and used to generate significant amounts of clean energy with our project in East Port Said." H2 Industries will conduct feasibility studies ahead of the final contracts for the project, planned for COP27 in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh in November. Search Keywords: Short link: Mayor Oleksandr Striuk told the Associated Press that Russian forces, in a "frenzied push," had seized half the city. "The city is essentially being destroyed ruthlessly block by block," Striuk said. He said heavy street fighting is continuing along with artillery bombardments. He said in an online post that intense Russian shelling had made it impossible to deliver humanitarian supplies or evacuate the 13,000 people still sheltering in the devastated city that once had a population of 100,000. Luhansk's regional governor, Serhiy Gaidai, said that after days of fierce fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops, Moscow's forces control most of the city but have not surrounded it. Russia has taken control of half or more of the eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk that plays a pivotal role in Moscow's attempt to capture the industrial Donbas region, the city's mayor and a Ukrainian regional governor acknowledged Tuesday. Meanwhile, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Tuesday that an EU embargo on most Russian oil imports will mean Russia gets "less resources, less financial resources to feed the war machine." Borrell said that while the EU cannot stop Russia from selling to other customers, European countries were its "most important client," and it will have to accept lower prices. EU leaders agreed late Monday to ban two-thirds of Russian oil imports as part of a compromise deal to increase pressure on Moscow while accounting for the economic effects on some EU nations that are more reliant on Russian oil supplies. The embargo cuts off Russian oil delivered by sea, while exempting oil imported through pipelines. Landlocked Hungary had threatened to oppose restrictions on oil imports, a move that would have scuttled the effort that requires consensus of all EU members. European Council President Charles Michel said he expects EU ambassadors to formally endorse the embargo, which is part of a larger sanctions package, on Wednesday. Russia responded to the embargo by widening its natural gas cuts to Europe on Tuesday, with state-owned Gazprom saying it would cut supplies to several "unfriendly" countries that have refused to meet Moscow's demand to be paid in the Russian ruble currency. Ukrainian leaders have long called for banning Russian oil imports to deny Russia income it can use to fuel its war effort. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated his appeal as he spoke to the EU earlier Monday. Combined with pledges from such countries as Germany to phase out their Russian oil imports, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the agreement will "effectively cut around 90 percent of oil imports from Russia to the EU by the end of the year." Other parts of the sanction package include assets freezes and travel bans on individuals, and excluding Russia's biggest banks, Sberbank, from the SWIFT global financial transfer system. The EU is also barring three Russian state-owned broadcasters from distributing content in EU countries. EU leaders also agreed to provide Ukraine with $9.7 billion in assistance for the country's economy and reconstruction efforts. On a visit to Taiwan, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth reiterated support for the island amid rising Chinese threats. Duckworth met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday and emphasized the close economic, political and security relations between Taipei and Washington. China claims Taiwan as its own territory to be annexed by force, and sent 30 military aircraft into airspace close to the island Monday. Taiwan's Defense Ministry said it responded by scrambling jets, putting air defense missile systems on alert and issuing radio warnings. In her remarks to Tsai, Duckworth said she wanted to "emphasize our support for Taiwan security." "I do want to say that it is more than just about military. It's also about the economy," Duckworth, a former Army helicopter pilot and lieutenant colonel in the National Guard, told Tsai. Duckworth also cited strong bipartisan backing for a bill she has put forward promoting cooperation between Taiwan's armed forces and the National Guard. The U.S. launched a new trade pact with Taiwan on Wednesday, hoping to forge closer economic ties with the island territory that China claims as its own, while blunting Beijing's economic clout in the region. Biden administration officials said the U.S.-Taiwan deal would boost bilateral digital and clean energy trade and that the two partners would open talks to further technology trade and investments. In announcing the pact, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said economic relations between the U.S. and Taiwan were especially important because Taiwan is a leading supplier of advanced semiconductors needed in an array of consumer technology products. Senior administration officials said controls on the export of sensitive technologies would be addressed in talks between the U.S. and Taiwan. "Taiwan is an incredibly important partner to us, especially as it relates to semiconductors," Raimondo told reporters. "We look forward to continuing to deepen our economic ties with Taiwan, and we are in active conversations with Taiwan." Herdswoman Qime Garde shows a newly-harvested caterpillar fungus in Biru County of Nagqu, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, May 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Ying) NAGQU, May 31 (Xinhua) -- On the prairie of over 4,700 meters above sea level in Biru County of Nagqu, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, herdsmen are busy hunting down caterpillar fungus at the harvest time. Biru County is a key site of yielding caterpillar fungus, an expensive ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine. Found only at high altitudes, the fungus, known in China as "winter-worm summer-grass," is said to be effective in boosting the immune system. The caterpillar fungus harvest time lasts 45 days. For local herdsmen, collecting this precious fungus offers them seasonal jobs and increases their income. Trekking on the alpine ground, searching for the tiny caterpillar fungus as small as an apple stalk, fungus diggers must brave harsh weather conditions from sunrise till sunset. Fungus diggers use an ice pick to prod the earth and dig a hole about 10 centimeters deep. After plucking the fungus from the soil, the diggers fill up the hole with the removed earth to restore the natural soil structure for fostering caterpillar fungus in the coming year. As the sun sets, the herdsmen return to their tents with the harvested caterpillar fungi after spending a day working on the highlands. They always make a point of taking away the trash with them produced during the long working day. During the caterpillar fungus harvest season, the herdsmen make their home temporarily in tents in the valley. Here, rows of solar panels illuminate the night sky as their tents are all facilitated with solar energy. And inside their tents, the herdsmen enjoy their leisure time after a harsh working day, listening to the raindrops on their rooftop. People rally before departing for caterpillar fungus collection in Lainqu Township, Biru County of Nagqu, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, May 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Jiang Fan) People depart for caterpillar fungus collection in Lainqu Township, Biru County of Nagqu, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, May 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) Herdsmen hunt down caterpillar fungus in Biru County of Nagqu, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, May 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) A caterpillar fungus sprouts on the grassland in Biru County of Nagqu, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, May 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) People depart for caterpillar fungus collection in Lainqu Township, Biru County of Nagqu, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, May 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) The morning view is pictured at a caterpillar fungus collecting site in Lainqu Township, Biru County of Nagqu, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, May 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) A herdsman cleans a newly-harvested caterpillar fungus at a caterpillar fungus collecting site in Lainqu Township, Biru County of Nagqu, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, May 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Jiang Fan) A herdsman hunts down caterpillar fungus on highlands with an altitude of 4,700 meters in Biru County of Nagqu, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, May 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) Local herdsmen hunt down caterpillar fungus on highlands with an altitude of 4,700 meters in Biru County of Nagqu, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, May 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) A medical worker treats a herdswoman at a caterpillar fungus collecting site in Lainqu Township, Biru County of Nagqu, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, May 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) A caterpillar fungus sprout is seen on the grassland in Biru County of Nagqu, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, May 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Jiang Fan) Herdswoman Qime Garde (1st L) poses for a photo with local kids while harvesting caterpillar fungus in Biru County of Nagqu, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, May 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Jiang Fan) A staff member helps herdswoman Qime Garde register her newly-harvested caterpillar fungi for counting the total quantity at a caterpillar fungus collecting site in Lainqu Township, Biru County of Nagqu, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, May 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Jiang Fan) Villagers arrange newly-harvested caterpillar fungi in Lainqu Township, Biru County of Nagqu, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, May 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Jiang Fan) Illuminated tents are seen at a caterpillar fungus collecting site in Lainqu Township, Biru County of Nagqu, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, May 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Jiang Fan) [June 01, 2022] Aera Technology to Present at Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo 2022 Aera Technology today announced the company will host several speaking sessions at Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo 2022, June 6-8, in Orlando. One of the sessions, "The Future of Supply Chain Decisions. Now.," hosted by Aera CEO Fred Laluyaux, will feature supply chain executives from Merck Animal Health, a division of Merck & Co; ExxonMobil Product Solutions Company, a division of Exxon Mobil Corporation; and Colgate-Palmolive; and how they are operationalizing Decision Intelligence. The Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo, recognized as "the world's most important gathering of Chief Supply Chain Officers (CSCOs) and supply chain executives," delivers the must-have insights, strategies, and frameworks for CSCOs and supply chain leaders to think big, make bold moves and drive real impact within their organizations. According to Gartner, "by 2026, more than 50% of supply chain organizations will use machine learning to augment decision-making capability."* Through its Aera Decision Cloud platform, Aera is enabling supply chains to digitze, augment, and automate decisions - and ultimately operationalize Decision Intelligence across critical business functions. Using the innovative AI and machine learning capabilities of Aera's platform, companies with global, complex supply chain ecosystems are accelerating planning, optimizing resources and execution, maximizing performance, reducing waste, and improving customer service. Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo 2022: Aera Technology sessions Session 1: Future of Supply Chain Decisions. Now. Date & Time: June 6, 2022 @ 2:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. EST Location: Asia 1, Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort, Orlando Moderator: Fred Laluyaux, CEO, Aera Technology Speakers: Wendy Mannon, Executive Director - IT Strategy and Operations - AH Office of the CIO Leader, Merck Animal Health, a division of Merck & Co. Corey Alemand, Innovation & Business Transformation Manager, Chemical Supply Chain, ExxonMobil Product Solutions Company, a division of Exxon Mobil Corporation Kim Faulkner, Vice President of Global Demand, Systems, and Ecommerce, Colgate-Palmolive Focus: In our complex digital world, supply chains can no longer rely on traditional approaches to predict, plan, and operate. In this panel discussion, hear directly from leading supply chain executives about how Decision Intelligence is transforming supply chain performance and driving outcomes. ________________________________________________________________ Session 2: Beyond the Digital Control Tower Date & Time: June 7, 2022 @ 5:40 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. EST Location: Theater 1, Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort, Orlando Speaker: Fred Fontes, General Manager, Customer Success, Aera Technology Focus: Learn how Decision Intelligence can take supply chains beyond end-to-end visibility. Gain the agility and resilience needed in today's uncertain times. __________________________________________________________________ Meet the Aera team and hear more about Aera Decision Cloud at Booth #325. For more information about Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo 2022, click here. About the Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo delivers the must-have insights, strategies and frameworks for CSCOs and supply chain leaders to drive impact within their organizations. Supply chain leaders will gather to gain a strategic view of the trends disrupting their business and the insights and frameworks they can use to prepare for disruption, enable digital transformation, and build sustainability as a competitive advantage. *Gartner, "Predicts 2022: Supply Chain Strategy," Simon Bailey, Marco Sandrone, November 16, 2021. https://www.gartner.com/document/4008345 GARTNER and SUPPLY CHAIN SYMPOSIUM/XPO are registered trademarks and service marks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved. About Aera Technology Aera Technology is the Decision Intelligence company that makes business agility happen. The company's innovative cloud platform integrates with existing systems to make and execute business decisions in real time. In the era of digital acceleration, Aera helps enterprises around the world transform how they respond to the ever-changing environment. For more information, visit aeratechnology.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220601005136/en/ [ Back to the Next Generation Communications Community's Homepage ] KYODO NEWS - Jun 1, 2022 - 16:22 | All, Japan Tadashi Yanai, founder and chief of Japanese clothing retail chain Uniqlo, has regained his title as the richest person in Japan even as a global economic slowdown has eroded his wealth sharply, according to international business magazine Forbes Asia's latest list of the 50 richest people in Japan. The founder and president of Fast Retailing Co., the operator of the casual clothing chain, saw his wealth fall by 44 percent to $23.6 billion, hit by a slowdown in sales in the domestic market and China, Forbes said. The sharp drop in the value of his assets is part of a broader trend that has seen the combined wealth of Japan's 50 richest shrink by nearly a third to $170 billion, as soaring energy and commodity prices and supply chain disruptions have taken a toll, it said. Takemitsu Takizaki, the founder of precision device maker Keyence Corp., came in second, his highest position ever, at $21.6 billion, even as his wealth has dropped by $4.2 billion from a year ago. SoftBank Group Corp. founder and CEO Masayoshi Son was unseated from his rank as Japan's richest last year to third as his net worth has more than halved to $21.1 billion. Son "took the biggest hit in both dollar and percentage terms" as his investment firm's two Vision Funds reported a record $27 billion loss for the year ended March 2022, it said. Six newcomers made their debut on Forbes' list, including the Sekiya family, whose company Disco Corp. makes semiconductor processing equipment and scientist-turned-entrepreneur Keiichi Shibahara, who founded Amvis Holdings Inc. to provide hospice care. The complete list of Japan's 50 richest on the 2022 list can also be found at www.forbes.com/japan. Related coverage: Fast Retailing 1st half operating profit climbs to record high Wealth of Japan's richest surges nearly 50% during pandemic Angela Merkel tops Forbes most powerful women list, Kamala Harris ranks 3rd KYODO NEWS - Jun 1, 2022 - 18:23 | All, Japan, Coronavirus Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday and will recuperate at home until at least June 11, officials said. Hayashi is experiencing only mild symptoms, according to the Foreign Ministry. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a press conference that no one at the ministry or the prime minister's office has been identified as a close contact. Hayashi felt pain in his throat when he went to the ministry on Wednesday morning, and took a PCR test for the coronavirus, an official said. He skipped a session of the House of Representatives Budget Committee in the afternoon and also canceled separate meetings with a group of U.S. lawmakers and U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera. Hayashi held talks with North Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani on Monday in Tokyo but did not meet any other leaders or counterparts from other nations this week. The foreign minister attended a meeting between Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden on May 23 and had separate talks with his counterparts from the United States, India and Australia on the sidelines of a Quad summit held the following day, both in Tokyo. He also hosted the foreign ministers of Singapore and Malaysia on May 25, and Vietnam's standing deputy prime minister the following day. The number of new COVID-19 cases across Japan has been below 30,000 per day lately, compared with about 100,000 in early February when the country was struggling to contain the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. Related coverage: Japan test tour by 4 Thai people canceled after COVID infection Masks outside not always needed when not chatting: Japan gov't panel BA.2 subvariant likely represents 90% of coronavirus cases in Japan KYODO NEWS - Jun 1, 2022 - 21:20 | World, All, Japan Japan and the United States held their first strategic dialogue Wednesday on Southeast Asian affairs as part of broader policy coordination in an area under increasing Chinese influence. Senior officials from the two governments met virtually after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed during talks last week in Tokyo to boost ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Wednesday's session involved Takehiro Kano, director general of the Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs Department of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, and Daniel Kritenbrink, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. The new dialogue focused on how the two allies can bring ASEAN member states closer to a U.S.-led group of free and democratic countries, as China has apparently been striving to alter the status quo in the East and South China seas and other areas in the Indo-Pacific with force and coercion. "Southeast Asia is key to realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific," Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Hikariko Ono told a press conference after the virtual talks. The strategic dialogue with the United States was "extremely meaningful" in this regard, Ono said. The Japanese and U.S. officials also discussed how ASEAN members have been dealing with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to a diplomatic source. The 10-member bloc has shown mixed reactions, with Singapore being the only nation to join Washington, Tokyo and other Western countries in imposing sanctions on Moscow. Related coverage: Japan, U.S. defense chiefs rap N. Korea missile launches Japan, U.S. to deepen economic security ties amid supply disruptions Kishida, Biden to boost alliance as Ukraine war fans China worries KYODO NEWS - Jun 1, 2022 - 23:30 | All, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and French Emmanuel Macron agreed Wednesday to closely coordinate their responses to Russia's aggression in Ukraine and assistance to the war-torn country. Kishida told Macron during their phone talks that he attaches great importance to Japan-French cooperation in safeguarding the rules-based international order undermined by Russia's war in Ukraine and realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. The roughly 25-minute conversation was the first since Macron was re-elected as president in April. Kishida hailed bilateral relations, calling Tokyo and Paris "special partners" in addressing global and regional issues. Macron responded by saying that he supports Japan's clear stance over the crisis in Ukraine and expressed hope to deepen bilateral security and economic ties, the ministry said. The two leaders affirmed the need for the Group of Seven, of which the two countries are members, to enforce sanctions on Russia and continue aid to Ukraine. Other G-7 members are Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy and the United States plus the European Union. Kishida and Macron agreed to cooperate in ensuring food and energy security, and in dealing with regional issues such as North Korea. North Korea has repeatedly fired ballistic missiles, with its neighbors on alert against further provocations including a possible nuclear test, which would be the first since 2017. KYODO NEWS - Jun 2, 2022 - 13:10 | World, All South Korea's ruling People Power Party on Thursday was declared the winner of most of the key local elections held the previous day, boosting the momentum for President Yoon Suk Yeol following his razor-thin victory in the March presidential election. Of the 17 metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial posts contested in the elections held across the country, the PPP secured 12, including mayor of Seoul with the re-election of Oh Se Hoon for a fourth term. Oh garnered about 59 percent of the votes to defeat Song Young Gil of the main opposition Democratic Party. The elections were being closely watched after Yoon's 0.7 percent margin of victory in the presidential election on March 9. The ruling party's showing will likely prompt Yoon to pursue bolder policies, amid growing expectations for an improvement in ties between South Korea and Japan after Yoon called for a future-oriented approach in bilateral relations. Among the major contests, the race for Gyeonggi governor was neck and neck until the last minute, with the DP's Kim Dong Yeon eventually beating the PPP's Kim Eun Hye by less than 1 percent. PPP chairman Lee Jun Seok welcomed the outcome of the elections, saying, "I would like to deeply thank the public and our supporters for enabling us to make huge progress compared with previous local elections." Lee vowed that his party will do its best to help Yoon's administration succeed in carrying out policies. Kang In Sun, the presidential spokeswoman, said the administration viewed the election outcome as a reflection of the people's desire for economic revival and the safeguarding of their livelihoods. Park Ji Hyun, interim chief of the DP, expressed regret over the results, which did not see a marked improvement from the presidential race. The elections "were the second judgment by the public following the defeat in the presidential election," she said. The DP, which currently controls the National Assembly, won the local elections previously held in 2018 by a landslide. In seven parliamentary by-elections also held Wednesday, both Lee Jae Myung, who was the DP's presidential candidate, and Ahn Cheol Soo, who withdrew from the presidential race to support Yoon, won seats. Lee, who was also the chief of the DP's campaign for the local elections, said he humbly accepted the people's verdict. "I will do my best to regain people's trust," he added. Of the total eligible voters, 50.9 percent cast ballots in the local elections. Related coverage: Japan, South Korea foreign ministers may meet in Tokyo next month Japan, South Korea business leaders vow to expand cooperation South Korea ship conducted survey near disputed isles: Japan gov't KYODO NEWS - Jun 1, 2022 - 15:38 | All, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will visit Singapore to attend the Shangri-La security dialogue from June 10, becoming the first Japanese leader to do so since 2014, the government said Wednesday. The visit comes as Kishida aims to stress the need for coordinated efforts to deal with Russia's aggression in Ukraine and the rise of an assertive China. The prime minister will deliver a keynote speech at the forum. The annual security forum, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, is scheduled to be held from June 10 to 12, attended by defense ministers, officials, and experts. During his trip, Kishida is expected to hold talks with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, a Japanese government source said. "As the only Asian nation among the Group of Seven, I will tell (the audience) the kind of role Japan will play going forward at a time when the diplomatic and security environment is becoming increasingly severe," Kishida said during a parliamentary session. In 2014, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivered a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue. Japan has strongly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, seeing it as an example of the use of force to change the status quo in clear violation of international law. It has coordinated with other G-7 nations in imposing sanctions to isolate Moscow. Kishida has repeatedly called for efforts to prevent a similar crisis from taking place in the Indo-Pacific, where China's assertive moves have heightened regional tensions. "The prime minister will explain efforts to realize a 'free and open Indo-Pacific' and our foreign and security policy," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a press briefing. Related coverage: Japan may need to boost defense costs to 10 tril. yen: think tank Japan launches new strategy team for longer-term China diplomacy FOCUS: China's Pacific island diplomacy may complicate ties with Japan KYODO NEWS - Jun 1, 2022 - 22:00 | All, World The United States and Taiwan launched a new initiative to deepen trade ties on Wednesday, following the self-ruled island's exclusion from the recently launched U.S.-led economic framework for the Indo-Pacific. Discussions for the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, which will address issues including customs procedures and digital economy practices, could lead to "agreements with high standard commitments," according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The first meeting under the initiative is expected to be held later in June in Washington, it said. The agreement followed the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity in late May by the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden along with a dozen countries including Japan, South Korea, Australia and some countries in Southeast Asia. The Pacific island nation of Fiji also signed up later. Taiwan has been hoping to become part of the framework called IPEF, but its inclusion has been seen as potentially controversial as it could inflame tensions with China and complicate efforts to attract Southeast Asian nations with close ties with Beijing. While Taiwan was not included in the initial launch of the IPEF, a senior Biden administration official said the United States intends to "take a flexible" approach to IPEF participation in the future. Taiwan and China have been separately governed since they split in 1949 as a result of a civil war. In 1979, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Taipei and established them with the rival Chinese government in Beijing. Washington, however, remains committed to unofficial relations with Taipei. It has also opposed China's moves to pressure Taiwan, which Beijing views as a renegade province to be united with the mainland, by force if necessary. Trade areas that will be dealt with under the new U.S.-Taiwan initiative appear to have similarities between the four pillars the Biden administration says will be handled under the IPEF -- fair trade, supply chain resilience, infrastructure and clean energy, and tax and anti-corruption. The USTR also said it will collaborate with Taiwan on ways to address "harmful nonmarket policies and practices," apparently referencing China's extensive use of industrial subsidies, allegations of theft of intellectual property and other trade measures that are deemed unfair. Related coverage: U.S. launches Indo-Pacific economic framework to push back China U.S. will stand with Taiwan, senator tells President Tsai U.S. says still against Taiwan independence after "fact sheet" change BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- China is carrying out its summer harvest at full throttle in a bid to ensure adequate grain supply. During a meeting last week, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stressed that the summer harvest is of great significance to attaining the country's annual grain production target. He urged the smooth logistics of agricultural equipment and personnel and called on governments at all levels to "waste no time and leave no single grain unharvested" during the harvesting season. Traditionally, the summer harvest spans from May to late June in China every year, with most of the work focusing on reaping winter wheat, a staple grain crop, and oilseed rape. The grain output in the period takes up about a quarter of the annual total. In keeping with the nation's pledge to keep its 2022 grain output above 650 billion kg, the wheat harvest is proceeding smoothly across the country. As of May 28, the harvested area for winter wheat had exceeded 2.5 million hectares, with Sichuan and Hubei, two agricultural powerhouses, having completed the majority of their wheat harvest tasks. AID IN PLACE The province of Henan is China's largest wheat producer, accounting for nearly a quarter of the country's total wheat yields and planting area. However, due to the latest COVID-19 resurgences, tightened prevention measures impeded some rural migrant workers' return to their farmlands in their hometowns. In the face of such challenging circumstances, local governments have made multi-pronged efforts to facilitate summer harvest. Their measures include the formation of emergency crop-harvesting teams and the launch of a green channel through which highway inspections and COVID-19 screenings involving farm equipment transport are expedited. Considering that this year's total area of summer grain remains roughly flat compared with the 2021 level, the provincial authorities expect a bumper summer harvest despite the COVID-19 headwinds. With Henan serving as an example, the country's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has urged local departments to better coordinate COVID-19 containment with summer harvest, and work concertedly with healthcare, transport and energy departments to unclog the logistics to ensure timely grain production. While ramping up the monitoring and early warning of meteorological disasters, the ministry has also dispatched nine work teams to major wheat-producing provinces such as Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu to provide instructions. In terms of policy incentives, the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration recently said that it would raise the minimum purchase prices for rice and wheat in major grain-producing regions, amid efforts to safeguard farmers' interests and stabilize the grain market. Another case in point is the Agricultural Development Bank of China, a policy bank, announcing the loan issuance of 110 billion yuan (about 16.5 billion U.S. dollars) for the purchasers of summer grain. The bank said that the amount, if necessary, would be increased to ensure a "steady and orderly summer harvest." SCI-TECH IMPETUS "Thanks to those new machines, we have harvested two-thirds of our crops in three days," said Han Lei, a villager of Jiazhuang village in east China's Anhui, pointing at four crop harvesters in the oilseed rape fields. The upgraded crop harvesters reduce losses in the reaping process by half compared to conventional methods, Han told Xinhua. Anhui has long been renowned for its rapeseed plantations. On mechanizing agriculture, the province's agriculture authorities have said that some 200,000 units of combine harvesters are to be put into use this year, and the proportion of machine harvesting will remain at around 99 percent across the region. Cutting-edge technologies, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and automatic irrigation systems, are also used in crop fields, increasing production efficiency remarkably. "I have four drones and with their help, I completed spraying pesticide on my crops in eight hours last month," Shang Yue, a wheat farmer in Anhui, told Xinhua, adding that UAVs play a crucial role in his crop management every day, including crop protection and pesticide spraying. "Such comprehensive mechanization has boosted my confidence in crop production," Shang said. Research institutes, meanwhile, are seeking sci-tech breakthroughs to further beef up the country's grain output. Last month, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences announced that it would launch a research and development campaign to help expand the yields of five staple grains -- rice, wheat, corn, soybeans and potatoes. The academy added that it will focus on selecting high-quality varieties, nurturing core technologies and promoting yield-increasing skills. Yemenis perform a parade at a ceremony that celebrates the 32nd anniversary of Yemen's Unity Day on May 22, 2022 in Sanaa, Yemen's capital. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua) ADEN, Yemen, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Efforts exerted by the United Nations and other international powers succeeded in convincing Yemen's warring sides to initially accept a proposal of extending the recent two-month nationwide truce, a government official told Xinhua on Wednesday. "Both warring sides expressed their initial agreement during their meetings with the UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, who suggested the extension of the truce for additional two months," the local government source said on condition of anonymity. Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) has officially informed the United Nations of its agreement to renew the truce but laid down a number of conditions, according to the source. "The PLC agreed to extend the truce until Aug. 2 if certain conditions were met, including opening the blocked roads and ending the Houthi siege on the strategic city of Taiz," he said. On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had a phone call with Rashad Al-Alimi, president of PLC, to discuss the implementation of the UN-brokered truce and political and security developments in Yemen. "The UN chief made a pledge to persuade the Houthis to implement the previous terms of the truce including opening the blocked roads for Taiz and preparing for an inclusive political settlement in the country," said the Yemeni official. The government official expected an official announcement to be issued by Grundberg in the upcoming hours to extend the UN-brokered truce in Yemen. Another Yemeni official confirmed to Xinhua that the negotiating team of the Houthi rebel militia also expressed their leaders' initial agreement to extend the truce, which expires on June 2. Starting April 2, the internationally-recognized Yemeni government and the Houthi group have been largely observing the UN-brokered two-month cease-fire despite sporadic armed confrontations. The truce marks the first breakthrough in years to end the war in Yemen that has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed the country to the brink of starvation. A sky wheel is seen at sunset at V&A Waterfront, a popular beach-side tourism attraction, in Cape Town, South Africa, on May 16, 2022. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran) South Africa's popular tourism destination, the Western Cape Province showed a "solid recovery" in the tourism and hospitality sector in April, the provincial government said Tuesday. CAPE TOWN, June 1 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's popular tourism destination, the Western Cape Province showed a "solid recovery" in the tourism and hospitality sector in April, the provincial government said Tuesday. The province, which has Cape Town and other tourist attractions, saw a rise in air passenger traffic and "significant recovery rates" at key attractions, with some attractions recording 100 percent and more growth, it said in a statement. The province said more than 448,000 people visited its 27 attractions in April, which amounts to 61 percent of the numbers in April 2019, while three sections of the iconic Table Mountain National Park showed over 100 percent year-on-year growth, and Agulhas National Park, including Africa's southernmost tip, received over seven times as many visitors as in April 2021. Visitors wait for baboons in the Cape of Good Hope section of the Table Mountain National Park in Cape Town, South Africa, Oct. 27, 2021. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran) International and domestic passengers both recovered to over 70 percent this April and George Airport passengers fully recovered when compared to April 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic started. Hotel occupancy rose to 52.4 percent from 37.9 percent in April 2021, representing a recovery rate of 87 percent when compared to April 2019, official statistics showed. The figures were released as global airlines continued to reopen routes to Cape Town with interest in establishing routes between Cape Town and its new markets like the United States and Belgium. The tourism and hospitality sector is a major job creator in Western Cape, contributing about 15.5 billion South African rands (about 1 billion U.S. dollars) and supporting 174,982 direct jobs in 2019. BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday called for in-depth communication between Chinese and Russian scholars with a view to boosting bilateral ties. Wang delivered a video speech at a high-level think tank forum for scholars of the two countries, calling on them to contribute wisdom to make the world more peaceful, safer and more prosperous. Wang said the Chinese side is willing to work with the Russian side to uphold and practice the correct view on democracy, development, security and order, and promote the development of the global governance system in a more just and reasonable direction. The forum, held annually since 2018, was jointly organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Russian International Affairs Council. This year's forum focuses on topics such as the high-quality development of China-Russian economic cooperation, green cooperation, and global and regional governance. BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang Wednesday urged efforts to speed up the implementation of a package of policy measures to stabilize the economy. Chairing a State Council executive meeting, Li also called for further strengthening assistance and support for people in need and ensuring their basic livelihoods. SANAA, June 1 (Xinhua) -- A commercial flight took off from Yemen's capital Sanaa, which is under Houthi rebels' control, to Egypt on Wednesday as part of a UN-brokered truce agreement between the Yemeni warring parties. The Yemen Airways plane carried 78 passengers to Cairo, the rebel Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported. This is the seventh flight that took off from Sanaa since the Sanaa airport reopened to commercial flights on May 16. The previous flights linked Sanaa and Amman, Jordan's capital. The Sanaa airport had remained closed since August 2016 when the Yemeni government backed by the Saudi-led coalition imposed restrictions on Yemen's airspace. Since the blockade, only planes of a few international organizations had been allowed to enter the Sanaa airport, which used to be the largest hub in the country for international travel. Under the UN auspices, Yemen's warring parties entered a two-month cease-fire on April 2, which includes allowing commercial flights to and from Sanaa and the entry of fuel ships into the Houthi-held port of Hodeidah, and lifting the siege of the government-held Taiz city. The warring parties have largely held the truce, but they have yet to reach a final agreement on lifting the siege of Taiz city. A total of 10 Egyptian secondary school students on Tuesday took part in the 15th Chinese Bridge language contest, which was held at Cairo University's Confucius Institute under the auspices of the Chinese Embassy in Egypt. BEIRUT, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The Arab region is witnessing a fast-paced aging transition, which leaves a tight window for countries to address the needs and priorities of older persons, said the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in a statement released on Wednesday. "With an aging population in the Arab region, older persons are becoming a population group that requires special attention, policies, and actions," ESCWA Deputy Executive Secretary Mounir Tabet said, adding the number of older persons in the Arab region is expected to exceed 71 million by 2050. Tabet's remarks came during the 4th Arab Regional Review of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA), organized by ESCWA and the United Nations Population Fund. The two-day conference, which started on Wednesday at the UN House in Beirut, brings together delegates from various institutions to discuss the acceleration of the MIPAA implementation. Aerial photo shows farmers harvesting wheat in the fields in Huozhuang Village of Wuhe County, east China's Anhui Province, May 23, 2022. (Photo by Li Xiangqian/Xinhua) BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- China is carrying out its summer harvest at full throttle in a bid to ensure adequate grain supply. During a meeting last week, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stressed that the summer harvest is of great significance to attaining the country's annual grain production target. He urged the smooth logistics of agricultural equipment and personnel and called on governments at all levels to "waste no time and leave no single grain unharvested" during the harvesting season. Traditionally, the summer harvest spans from May to late June in China every year, with most of the work focusing on reaping winter wheat, a staple grain crop, and oilseed rape. The grain output in the period takes up about a quarter of the annual total. In keeping with the nation's pledge to keep its 2022 grain output above 650 billion kg, the wheat harvest is proceeding smoothly across the country. As of May 28, the harvested area for winter wheat had exceeded 2.5 million hectares, with Sichuan and Hubei, two agricultural powerhouses, having completed the majority of their wheat harvest tasks. AID IN PLACE The province of Henan is China's largest wheat producer, accounting for nearly a quarter of the country's total wheat yields and planting area. However, due to the latest COVID-19 resurgences, tightened prevention measures impeded some rural migrant workers' return to their farmlands in their hometowns. In the face of such challenging circumstances, local governments have made multi-pronged efforts to facilitate summer harvest. Their measures include the formation of emergency crop-harvesting teams and the launch of a green channel through which highway inspections and COVID-19 screenings involving farm equipment transport are expedited. Considering that this year's total area of summer grain remains roughly flat compared with the 2021 level, the provincial authorities expect a bumper summer harvest despite the COVID-19 headwinds. With Henan serving as an example, the country's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has urged local departments to better coordinate COVID-19 containment with summer harvest, and work concertedly with healthcare, transport and energy departments to unclog the logistics to ensure timely grain production. While ramping up the monitoring and early warning of meteorological disasters, the ministry has also dispatched nine work teams to major wheat-producing provinces such as Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu to provide instructions. In terms of policy incentives, the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration recently said that it would raise the minimum purchase prices for rice and wheat in major grain-producing regions, amid efforts to safeguard farmers' interests and stabilize the grain market. Another case in point is the Agricultural Development Bank of China, a policy bank, announcing the loan issuance of 110 billion yuan (about 16.5 billion U.S. dollars) for the purchasers of summer grain. The bank said that the amount, if necessary, would be increased to ensure a "steady and orderly summer harvest." SCI-TECH IMPETUS "Thanks to those new machines, we have harvested two-thirds of our crops in three days," said Han Lei, a villager of Jiazhuang village in east China's Anhui, pointing at four crop harvesters in the oilseed rape fields. The upgraded crop harvesters reduce losses in the reaping process by half compared to conventional methods, Han told Xinhua. Anhui has long been renowned for its rapeseed plantations. On mechanizing agriculture, the province's agriculture authorities have said that some 200,000 units of combine harvesters are to be put into use this year, and the proportion of machine harvesting will remain at around 99 percent across the region. Cutting-edge technologies, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and automatic irrigation systems, are also used in crop fields, increasing production efficiency remarkably. "I have four drones and with their help, I completed spraying pesticide on my crops in eight hours last month," Shang Yue, a wheat farmer in Anhui, told Xinhua, adding that UAVs play a crucial role in his crop management every day, including crop protection and pesticide spraying. "Such comprehensive mechanization has boosted my confidence in crop production," Shang said. Research institutes, meanwhile, are seeking sci-tech breakthroughs to further beef up the country's grain output. Last month, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences announced that it would launch a research and development campaign to help expand the yields of five staple grains -- rice, wheat, corn, soybeans and potatoes. The academy added that it will focus on selecting high-quality varieties, nurturing core technologies and promoting yield-increasing skills. Juan Lucas Restrepo, director general of the Alliance of Bioversity International and International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), speaks during the award ceremony at the Chinese Embassy to Italy in Rome, Italy, on May 31, 2022. The Chinese Embassy in Italy bestowed the 2020 International Science and Technology Cooperation Award to the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) here on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Jin Mamengni) ROME, May 31 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Italy bestowed the 2020 International Science and Technology Cooperation Award to the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) here on Tuesday. At a ceremony that was long delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Juan Lucas Restrepo, director general of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, was presented the medal and the certificate of the award. "We're very proud to ... receive this award that showcases 40 years of very close collaboration between the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS) and CIAT," said Restrepo, vowing to continue to push for close cooperation with China and promote the sustainable development of agriculture globally. Established in 1967, CIAT has been in long-term cooperation with CATAS since 1982 in the field of cassava and tropical forages. In 2020, Bioversity International and CIAT joined forces to create an alliance, which delivers research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people's lives. Addressing the ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to Italy Li Junhua noted the presentation "represents a new starting point" in the two sides' joint response "to today's global challenges of poverty, malnutrition, climate change, and biodiversity loss." China will deepen international cooperation in science and technology through greater opening-up, he added. The International Science and Technology Cooperation Award is a state-level annual award established by China's State Council in 1994, which is conferred on foreign experts or organizations that have made important contributions to the development of science and technology in China. In 2020, eight foreign experts and one international organization won the award for their collaboration with Chinese scientists, but due to pandemic restrictions, they were absent from the award ceremony held in November 2021 in Beijing. Chinese Ambassador to Italy Li Junhua (R) presents the certificate to Juan Lucas Restrepo, director general of the Alliance of Bioversity International and International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), at the Chinese Embassy to Italy in Rome, Italy, on May 31, 2022. The Chinese Embassy in Italy bestowed the 2020 International Science and Technology Cooperation Award to the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) here on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Jin Mamengni) Fuxin, a once resource-exhausted city in northeast China's Liaoning Province, is regaining vitality following years of efforts to restore ecology and develop new industries in abandoned mine pits. Various fashionable events, such as thrilling motor racing tournaments and exciting music festivals, have lit up the open-cast mines and boosted local economy. Fuxin boasts a long history of coal mining. It has once served as one of China's main sources of coal for industrial use. As mine resources depleted, the local government has been seeking new ways to boost development. In 2008, an expert from Beijing proposed the race track project after in-depth investigation at a mine pit in Xinqiu District. The race track project soon proved successful. The first race attracted about 120 racers and over 30,000 spectators. Since then, the District has hosted 11 races, which attracted over 300,000 spectators in total. The local government also hosted the Strawberry Music Festival in 2021, which attracted an audience of nearly 20,000 people. In April 2021, China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment approved 36 pilot projects nationwide for ecological protection-oriented development, with Fuxin's mine renovation included. Produced by Xinhua Global Service ADEN, Yemen, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Efforts exerted by the United Nations and other international powers succeeded in convincing Yemen's warring sides to initially accept a proposal of extending the recent two-month nationwide truce, a government official told Xinhua on Wednesday. "Both warring sides expressed their initial agreement during their meetings with the UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, who suggested the extension of the truce for additional two months," the local government source said on condition of anonymity. Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) has officially informed the United Nations of its agreement to renew the truce but laid down a number of conditions, according to the source. "The PLC agreed to extend the truce until Aug. 2 if certain conditions were met, including opening the blocked roads and ending the Houthi siege on the strategic city of Taiz," he said. On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had a phone call with Rashad Al-Alimi, president of PLC, to discuss the implementation of the UN-brokered truce and political and security developments in Yemen. "The UN chief made a pledge to persuade the Houthis to implement the previous terms of the truce including opening the blocked roads for Taiz and preparing for an inclusive political settlement in the country," said the Yemeni official. The government official expected an official announcement to be issued by Grundberg in the upcoming hours to extend the UN-brokered truce in Yemen. Another Yemeni official confirmed to Xinhua that the negotiating team of the Houthi rebel militia also expressed their leaders' initial agreement to extend the truce, which expires on June 2. Starting April 2, the internationally-recognized Yemeni government and the Houthi group have been largely observing the UN-brokered two-month cease-fire despite sporadic armed confrontations. The truce marks the first breakthrough in years to end the war in Yemen that has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed the country to the brink of starvation. MACAO, June 1 (Xinhua) -- To boost consumption and secure employment, the government of China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) has continued to inject vigor into local economy amid fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the latest move, Macao residents from Wednesday are entitled to a start-up fund of 5,000 patacas (about 621 U.S. dollars) and a discount grant of 3,000 patacas in their electronic payment as part of a government-sponsored plan to boost consumption. As of Tuesday, some 562,000 people had registered to claim the benefits, showed official data. This year, in addition to shopping, the benefits also cover water and electricity bills as well as TV service charges. Shops and local residents agree that the plan will stimulate consumption. Coco, a sales woman at an outlet store located in the center of Macao Peninsula, said that an obviously higher number of customers have shown up on Wednesday, mostly paying with the government-offered benefits. Analysts expect the plan to expand local demand, stabilize business operations and ensure employment. Besides the consumption benefits, the Macao SAR government is still committed to an annual wealth partaking scheme. Starting in April, Macao's permanent residents can receive 10,000 patacas under the scheme, and non-permanent residents get 6,000 patacas per person. Since the end of January, 86,000 residents have registered for package tours and hotel experiences within the city at prices subsidized by the SAR government. According to the government's Tourism Office, in the first quarter of 2022, visitor arrivals to Macao rose 8.0 percent year on year. During the five-day mainland holiday period for Labor Day, Macao received 137,000 visitors, with the average hotel occupancy rate reaching 59.5 percent. The office said that it has been working to promote Macao as a safe and tourist-friendly destination via online and offline platforms, in order to add new elements to tourism projects while encouraging industry players to innovate continuously. The Labor Affairs Bureau has organized specialized recruitment sessions to help locals get employed in the hotel, retailing, and security and cleaning services industries. Lei Lai Keng, head of the bureau's employment department, said that over 3,000 residents had found jobs during the special sessions in the first five months of this year, while vowing to regularly host such events in future. Since September 2020, pandemic-affected Macao residents can apply for free training courses and obtain financial assistance given they get successfully employed in the trained field. So far, over 12,000 people have taken the training courses. Government subsidies have also been offered to businesses that employ residents who have been unemployed for over 60 days. Vong Kok Seng, vice president of Directors Board of the Macao Chamber of Commerce, said he believes that these measures will help relieve public distress and provide targeted assistance, while calling for the business circle and the public to stay confident in Macao's economic prospect. (1 pataca equals 0.1242 U.S. dollar) AFP: The US government said yesterday that they would strengthen relations with Pacific Island countries. A spokesperson for the US State Department also criticized the agreement proposed by China to the Pacific Island countries of being opaque. What is Chinas comment? Zhao Lijian: The US remarks that China's cooperation agreement with Pacific Island countries (PICs) are "opaque" do not square with facts, but only expose the US bullying practice of projecting its own image and imposing its own will onto others. China has already released information on State Councilor and Foreign Ministers visit to PICs and attendance at the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers Meeting, where important consensus has been reached between the two sides and positive progress has been made. It fully demonstrates that China and PICs conduct mutually beneficial cooperation based on mutual respect for common development. And it will bring exchanges and cooperation between China and the PICs to a new stage. Chinas Position Paper on Mutual Respect and Common Development with Pacific Island Countries has been released after the foreign ministers meeting. You may check out the English version if you need on our website. In it, you can find 15 points and 24 areas for concrete cooperation. China will continue to maintain close communication with relevant parties, give full play to the China-PICs Foreign Ministers Meeting, and build an even closer community of shared future between China and PICs. This Foreign Ministers Meeting held between our two sides as agreed aims to pool consensus on promoting peace and development together and responding to all kinds of risks and challenges, and deepen friendly exchange and practical cooperation between China and PICs in various areas. The relevant cooperation initiatives of China have been warmly received and widely supported by PICs. This is a testament to both sides commitment to true multilateralism and the principle of respecting national sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs. I also want to stress that South Pacific Island countries are not the backyard of any country, still less an arena for geo-political games. The region should rather become a big platform for international cooperation. In developing relations and conducting cooperation with South Pacific Island countries, China always treats all countries, big or small, as equals with sincerity, upholds justice while pursuing shared interests, and follows the principle of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith. At all times, China stays committed to openness and inclusiveness. We have neither forced PICs to take sides nor imposed our will on them, still less seek selfish interests or so-called spheres of influence. China has always been a constructive force for peace, development and cooperation. Macau Monthly: The Philippine Foreign Ministry issued a statement on May 30, complaining that Chinas unilateral imposition of a fishing moratorium in areas of the South China Sea constitutes infringement of Philippines jurisdiction. What is your comment? Zhao Lijian: The summer fishing moratorium in the South China Sea adopted by China is a normal measure of conserving marine biological resources in waters under Chinas jurisdiction, and a manifestation of fulfilling obligations under international law including UNCLOS by the Chinese side. China cannot accept the unwarranted accusation of the Philippine Foreign Ministry. We hope the Philippine side can view the measures objectively and correctly, and earnestly fulfill the obligations as a littoral state of the South China Sea to jointly promote sustainable development of fishery in the South China Sea. Phoenix TV: We noted yesterday that President Biden met with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand and they issued a joint statement. They said We are concerned with growing strategic competition in the Pacific region...we note with concern the security agreement between the Peoples Republic of China and Solomon Islands. In particular, the United States and New Zealand share a concern that the establishment of a persistent military presence in the Pacific by a state that does not share our values or security interests would fundamentally alter the strategic balance of the region and pose national-security concerns to both our countries. ...We reaffirm our support for freedom of navigation and overflight, in the South China Sea and beyond, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). We oppose unlawful maritime claims and activities in the South China Sea. The joint statement also criticized China on issues related to Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong. Whats your comment? Zhao Lijian: We noted the relevant contents of the joint statement, which distorts and smears Chinas normal cooperation with Pacific Island countries (PICs), deliberately hypes up the South China Sea issue, makes irresponsible remarks on and grossly interferes in Chinas internal affairs including issues related to Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong. China is firmly opposed to this. I would like to take some time to make a detailed response. China has repeatedly expounded its position on China-Solomon Islands security cooperation, stressing that such cooperation is conducive to peace, stability and development of Solomon Islands and the South Pacific and proceeds in parallel with existing regional arrangements. The security cooperation does not target any third party, nor does it intend to establish a military base. The hype-up of relevant issues in the joint statement by the US and New Zealand is out of ulterior motives to create disinformation and attack and discredit China. The US has military bases all over the world, yet it expresses concerns about normal security cooperation with other countries. Such act is hypocritical and reflects the US' deep-rooted hegemonic mentality. The real security threat is that the US has cobbled together military blocs in the region, stimulated an arms race and brought nuclear proliferation risks to the South Pacific. I want to stress that State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently visited South Pacific Island countries and co-chaired the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers Meeting with the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Fiji. State Councilor Wang put forward four principles on developing Chinas relations with PICs, namely, equality, mutual respect, win-win cooperation, and openness and inclusiveness, which have been widely welcomed and recognized by PICs. This visit has achieved the expected goals of strengthening communication, enhancing mutual trust, building consensus, deepening friendship and expanding cooperation, and achieved positive results. PICs leaders spoke highly of Chinas positive role in supporting their economic development, improving peoples livelihood and fighting the epidemic, and expressed high expectations for the future of Chinas cooperation with PICs. China and PICs will continue to support and help each other, firmly uphold each others core interests and major concerns, constantly consolidate and develop their comprehensive strategic partnership, pursue common development and prosperity, and work together to build an even closer community with a shared future for China and PICs. I also want to stress that the issues relating to Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong are purely Chinas internal affairs, which brook no interference from any country or external force. There has never been any problem with the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, and there should not be such problem in the future. China is firmly committed to safeguarding its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, as well as the international system with the UN at its core and the international order based on international law. We always maintain that the development of bilateral relations between countries should be conducive to world peace and stability and should not target or undermine the interests of any third party. At the same time, we are firmly opposed to drawing the ideological line and interfering in other countries internal affairs with erroneous words and deeds on issues concerning the sovereignty and security of a third country. China urges the US to abandon its Cold War mentality and ideological bias, stop interfering in Chinas internal affairs and stop slandering and discrediting China. We hope New Zealand will adhere to its independent foreign policy and do more to enhance security and mutual trust among regional countries and safeguard regional peace and stability. TASS: You responded to US Congresswoman Duckworths visit to Taiwan at yesterdays press conference. Will this issue threaten Chinas security? If US officials keep sending wrong signals to Taiwan independence separatist forces and cross the red line, will conflicts be triggered across the Taiwan Strait? Zhao Lijian: I expounded on Chinas solemn position on the US congresswomans visit to Taiwan yesterday. I want to stress that the fundamental reason for the current tension across the Taiwan Strait is the DPP authorities attempt to seek Taiwans independence by soliciting US support and some US individuals scheme to contain China with the Taiwan question. The US has recently made frequent moves on the Taiwan question in contradiction to its own statements. It encourages and supports "Taiwan independence" forces covertly or overtly. This will not only push Taiwan into a dangerous situation, but also cause grave consequences to the US. China Daily: US Secretary of State Blinken characterized the Biden administrations China strategy as invest, align and compete in his recent speech. Do you have any comment on this latest statement? Zhao Lijian: China believes that its a shared responsibility and obligation for China and the US to build a world of connectivity, diversity, inclusiveness, security and shared benefits. Whether China and the US can properly handle the relationship is a question of the century to which the two countries must provide a good answer. State Councilor Wang Yi and Foreign Ministry Spokespersons have responded to Secretary of State Blinkens speech repeatedly. In response to the US three-point strategy to China, Id like to stress the following points: First, we are glad to see the US achieve development through legitimate investment, but the US shouldnt try to revitalize its sense of purpose as a nation by making China an imaginary enemy. How to improve the capability for innovation and competitiveness is the US own business. Its ill-advised to make China an issue, still less use this as excuse to suppress and contain China, interfere in Chinas internal affairs and harm Chinas interests. China will undoubtedly rejects such things once they happen. Take the proposed bipartisan innovation legislation that is still under review as an example, it professes to increase the US competitiveness, but is aimed to make China an imaginary enemy, with the word China mentioned as many as more than 800 times and full of articles and provisions detrimental to Chinas interests. China would firmly reject this. Second, we do not interfere in the normal coordination and cooperation between the US and its allies, but such relations should not target or harm the interests of any third party, neither should they violate basic norms governing international relations. The US has put together an anti-China alliance. Be it the "Indo-Pacific Strategy", the Quad or AUKUS, these exclusive and closed cliques are products of the Cold War mentality and the tool of zero-sum game. This is historical back-peddling, which will escalate tensions and undermine solidarity and cooperation in the region. This runs counter to the shared aspiration of countries in the region to seek common development and regional integration through dialogue and cooperation. It garners no support and is doomed to fail. Third, we do not deny that there is competition between China and the US in the field of economy and trade. However, our relations cannot be defined by competition, nor should we pursue vicious zero-sum competition or engage in major power confrontation under the cover of competition. While talking about competition, the US has actually been stretching the national security concept and flagrantly resorting to illegal unilateral sanctions, long-arm jurisdiction, decoupling, and breakage of supply and industrial chains, which severely undermines Chinese companies legitimate rights and interests and wantonly deprives other countries of their right to development. This is not responsible competition, but rather unscrupulous suppression and containment. If the US insists on defining China-US relations by major power competition and pursuing I-win-you-lose policy objectives, it will only push the two countries to confrontation and conflict and lead the world to division and turmoil. The US sides recent China policy speech is just "old wine in a new bottle". The three-point strategy is merely a rehash of its previous trichotomy of competition, confrontation and cooperation. Essentially, it is about using all the internal and external resources of the US to encircle, suppress and contain China. As China-US relations stand at an important crossroads, the US must make the right choice. Instead of playing word-games, it should focus its efforts on the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, act on President Bidens remarks that the US does not seek a new Cold War with China; it does not aim to change Chinas system; the revitalization of its alliances is not targeted at China; the US does not support Taiwan independence; and it has no intention to seek a conflict with China. The US need to work with China toward the same direction to find the right way of interaction between the two major countries in the new era and deliver more benefits to the people in both countries and the rest of the world. Beijing Youth Daily: According to a report of the Prison Policy Initiative, a US public policy think tank, almost two million people are held in 102 federal prisons, 1,566 state prisons, 2,850 local jails, 1,510 juvenile correctional facilities, 186 immigration detention facilities, and 82 Indian country jails, as well as in military prisons among other facilities in the US territories. What is Chinas comment? Zhao Lijian: I have noted relevant reports. With less than 5% of the world population, the US locks up some two million people in prison, or a quarter of the worlds prisoners, leading the world both in terms of incarceration rate and jailed population. To quote American historian Robin Kelley, the US has been driven into a carceral state. I also noted that by the end of 2019, more than 100,000 people in the US were detained in private prisons. The privatization of many public prisons and the unchecked profits of private prisons have become another unique feature of US endemic human rights problems. Private prisons in the US were born out of the collusion of power and capital. From the 1980s, the US government incorporated private prisons into the national correctional system and shifted the due responsibilities of the government to interests groups under the pretext of easing the burden of incarceration and reducing the cost of imprisonment. Driven by huge profits, the number of private prisons ballooned by 16 times over the course of 20 years from 1990 to 2010. More than 30 states of the US have partnerships with companies running private prisons. With the triad of political donations, lobbying and power-for-money deals, US private prisons, like other interest groups, have affected US political agenda and penal policies, and swooped in a huge fortune by increasing the prison population and extending their term of imprisonment. US private prisons offer textbook examples of forced labor in flagrant violation of human rights. Statistics show that violent incidents in US private prisons outnumber that in other countries prisons by 65%. People behind the bars in these prisons face imminent risks of violence, sexual abuse, restricted access to medical service and abnormal deaths, and are forced to take up intense and low-pay labor for long periods of time. Human rights violations in US private prisons are rooted in the institutional problems of the country. While brandishing democracy and human rights, the US has allowed power and capital to outweigh equity and justice. The US should do some soul-searching, treat their own illness and stop fantasizing about moralizing others on human rights. AFP: Journalists from Pacific Island countries said lately that local media outlets were banned from asking questions during State Councilor Wang Yis visit. Some Chinese officials even blocked journalists from filming relevant activities. What is Chinas response? Zhao Lijian: I can tell you that the allegations are completely inconsistent with facts. They are nothing but smears against China. China believes that all countries, big or small, are equal. Mutual respect and equal treatment is a norm governing Chinas diplomacy. And this is the principle we have been following in handling relations with fellow developing countries including PICs. As to which media are invited and how many journalists are allowed into the venue, I suppose they are decided by the host country based on customary practice and the size of the venue. China fully respects the arrangement of the host country. I can tell you that the visit is smooth and successful. Media from various countries have made extensive and thorough coverage of the visit, which is the best rebuttal to US lies. However, I did hear that some photographers tried to force their way into areas behind the leaders. You may all know that reporters should respect the arrangement of the host when covering diplomatic occasions. This is an international customary practice. The way certain photographers have acted disrupted the order, and was inconsistent with the professional ethics of journalists. If journalists take the stage and film behind me during our regular press conference, would that be allowed? Shenzhen TV: According to US media reports, at least six people have been killed and 32 injured in shooting incidents in Chicago after the tragic school shooting in Texas. The victims include minors. Shootings elsewhere including at the Oklahoma music festival and on US 95 have also led to casualties. Do you have any comment? Zhao Lijian: We are shocked by the shootings across the US and extend our deep sympathy to the innocent victims, especially the minors. Guns have become the top killer of US children and teenagers, according to an earlier research by the University of Michigan. Up to 75 percent of American youth report mass shootings as a significant source of stress. Gun proliferation is not only a deep-seated illness of the US society, but also its greatest human rights trauma. The reverberating gunshots have shattered the American dream. They are also the most visible symptoms of the political divide and social governance dysfunction in the US. After the elementary school shooting in Texas claimed the lives of 19 children, the National Rifle Association (NRA), the largest pro-gun group in the US, held its annual meeting as scheduled. Its preposterous that some at the gathering even called for arming the teachers and allowing them to carry firearms in class. They openly claimed that the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun and advocate fighting violence with violence. Coerced or cajoled by powerful gun rights groups like the NRA, some US politicians play political games and vote against gun control bills in disregard of the safety of the American people. The cost is the loss of one precious and fragile life after another. The US government claims to be a model of human rights. If it cant even protect American citizens basic right to life, how does it have the moral authority and clean conscience to lecture others on human rights? What the US government should do is look squarely at the various social problems at home, cut back on slogans and stunts, reflect more on itself, and take more actions to keep the American people safe, earnestly ensure their right to live free from fear and protect their life and security. Bloomberg: A question regarding a report by the Associated Press that said that China has barred Russian airlines from flying foreign-owned aircraft into Chinese air space. Does the foreign ministry have a comment? Zhao Lijian: I havent heard of what you mentioned. Associated Press of Pakistan: Talking to leading Chinese companies and investors recently, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said Pakistan is keen to emulate Chinas development reforms particularly in trade and agriculture. He also thanked President Xi for exerting support in shape of China Pakistan Economic Corridor project. Do you have any response to this? Zhao Lijian: We have noted the positive remarks by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on China-Pakistan relations and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) on several occasions. He also gave personal attention to encouraging Chinese businesses to invest and operate in Pakistan and facilitating the settlement of specific problems, which has achieved notable results. We highly appreciate it. CPEC, as an important pilot project under the Belt and Road Initiative, has given a strong boost to Pakistans economic growth and livelihood improvement and delivered positive socioeconomic effects. China stands ready to work together with the Pakistani side to act on our leaders consensus, dovetail development strategies, increase experience-sharing in state governance, advance high-quality CPEC development, deepen practical cooperation in such areas as industry, agriculture, science, technology and livelihood, to unleash CPECs potential in accelerating growth and improving peoples wellbeing. We will continue to support Chinese businesses in investing and operating in Pakistan to realize win-win results and shared development. AFP: The US government said yesterday that if the DPRK conducts a new nuclear weapons test, the US will push for additional sanctions on it. In that scenario, will China support US actions at the UN Security Council? Zhao Lijian: To safeguard peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and advance the political settlement process of the Korean Peninsula issue is in the interest of the international community. All sides need to adhere to the direction of political resolution and address each others concerns in a balanced manner through meaningful dialogue. Under current circumstances, ramping up sanctions wont help solve the problem. Dialogue and negotiation is the only viable approach. China stands ready to work with all sides to play a constructive role in safeguarding peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and realizing its denuclearization. AFP: President Biden and other US officials have said that they are ready to engage in dialogue with the DPRK without preconditions, but have not received a reply. In light of this, will China urge the DPRK to hold direct talks with the US? Zhao Lijian: We have taken note of the US remarks on its relations with the DPRK. We hope the US will move beyond rhetoric and take some concrete actions. For instance, it could work for the removal of sanctions on the DPRK in certain areas at an appropriate time. The US should adopt some visible measures instead of merely paying lip service so that the two sides could meet each other halfway. Reuters: For the last few days, you and your colleagues have been talking quite a lot about the speech from Secretary of State Blinken. He mentioned something that Im gonna just quote here. He said during his speech: For too long, Chinese companies have enjoyed far greater access to our markets than our companies have in China. For example, Americans who want to read the China Daily or communicate via WeChat are free to do so. Whats Chinas comment? Zhao Lijian: We have refuted Secretary Blinkens speech on China policy many times. What you mentioned about his remarks on Chinese companies is a smear against China in total contradiction with facts. Since reform and opening-up, China has been a popular destination for foreign investment, including from the US. We have provided a fair and non-discriminatory investment environment for relevant foreign investors, and at one point we even offered more favorable terms to relevant investors. Some of the companies you mentioned are not here in the China market. You should ask them why. If you want to do business in China, you have to respect and abide by Chinese laws. You can surely understand why its hard for them, who have yet to do so, to get into the China market. You also mentioned that people in the US can read China Daily. Yes, they do. But when they open the China Daily webpage, relevant media will remind you that it is a China state-affiliated media. Youre from Reuters. Do you know if BBC has ties to the government? Is NPR in the US also related to the government? Does VOA also have ties to the government? Why arent they labeled? Thats what they call freedom of the press in the US. YTN: Let me ask about North Koreas COVID-19 issue. From time to time, the Chinese government has made it clear that it would support North Koreas anti-COVID-19 struggle. Can you tell us what kind of support China has provided so far? Zhao Lijian: I dont have anything specific on what you said. We have repeatedly stated Chinas position on anti-COVID cooperation with the DPRK. Reuters: Russias war in Ukraine has been going on now for over three months. I wonder if you would give us an update on what China has been doing lately to help broker a peace. For example, have Chinese leaders spoken to Ukraines leaders lately? Zhao Lijian: On the Ukraine situation, China has been making use of every opportunity to call for a ceasefire and cessation of hostilities and for dialogue and peace talks through various channels and on different occasions. We call on the US and other Western countries to stop fanning the flame and imposing unilateral sanctions. With regard to specific communication between China and Ukraine, I have no information to release. Reuters: So you just said that China has been calling for a ceasefire. Has China asked Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader, to organize a ceasefire as well, to take part in this to stop fighting? Zhao Lijian: I was talking about Chinas consistent position. There is no need to draw a particular connection between Chinas position and President Putin. China hopes that Europe could be free from the flames of war and people could see an end to their suffering. We are deeply saddened by the civilian casualties and displacement of refugees caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. We hope all sides will facilitate a resolution to the conflict through dialogue and negotiation instead of resorting to military means. *** As we mark International Childrens Day today on June 1, I would like to take this opportunity to send my best wishes to all children, our hope for a better future. May they embrace the journey to adulthood and boldly pursue their dreams. I would also like to wish those who are forever young at heart a happy Childrens Day as well. Vanuatu President Tallis Obed Moses (R) meets with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Port Vila, Vanuatu, June 1, 2022. (Xinhua) PORT VILA, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Vanuatu President Tallis Obed Moses said on Wednesday that his country will always remain a true friend of China no matter how the international situation changes and what challenges it may encounter in the future. Moses made the remarks in a meeting with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, which fell on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Over the past 40 years, Moses said, Vanuatu and China have always respected each other, treated each other as equals and established solid mutual trust. China always pays attention to Vanuatu's needs and gives priority to helping Vanuatu improve people's livelihood and build infrastructure, which has brought great benefits to the Vanuatu people. The Vanuatu government and people will never forget this, Moses said. Vanuatu will continue to adhere to the one-China policy and take it as the cornerstone to push for greater development of bilateral relations, Moses said. Wang said that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Vanuatu, which is of great significance to inherit the past and usher in the future. China-Vanuatu relations have become even more consolidated and solid after 40 years, Wang said, adding that he believes ties will make even greater progress without any disruption. Wang said that with the joint efforts of both sides, China and Vanuatu have deepened their friendship, consolidated mutual trust and yielded fruitful cooperation outcomes that have brought tangible benefits to the people. China is willing to join hands with Vanuatu to review the successful experience gained in bilateral exchanges, chart out the China-Vanuatu comprehensive strategic partnership and open up a new, bright future for bilateral relations, he added. The Chinese foreign minister stressed that different from some major countries, China always adheres to the principle of sovereign equality in its diplomacy and treats all the developing countries, especially small and medium-sized countries, sincerely and equally. At the international and regional levels, especially in the United Nations system, China also firmly upholds the legitimate rights and interests of the developing countries, he added. China will continue to work in solidarity with other developing countries to defend the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, uphold the principle of non-interference in internal affairs, and safeguard international fairness and justice, Wang said. Moses said Vanuatu and China share the same desire for development, and that Vanuatu highly agrees with the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, believing that people in different countries should equally enjoy the rights of peace, development, equality, justice, democracy and freedom regardless of race, nationality and class. Both sides agreed to enhance cultural exchanges, increase mutual understanding and promote people-to-people connectivity. Vanuatu is the Chinese foreign minister's sixth stop of his South Pacific island nations tour, which will also take him to Papua New Guinea, as well as Timor-Leste. Before arriving in Port Vila, Wang also visited the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji and Tonga. BAGHDAD, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Iraq said on Wednesday that its security forces received 50 prisoners who are the Islamic State (IS) militants captured earlier in Syria by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). According to a statement by the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC), the handover of the prisoners was carried out through the Rabia border crossing in Iraq's northern province of Nineveh under the coordination of JOC and SDF. The Iraqi Interior Ministry's Agency of Intelligence and Federal Investigation will receive the prisoners for interrogation before taking legal actions against them, the statement said. Iraq has received from the Syrian side several batches of Iraqi and foreign nationals associated with the IS group who were arrested in Syria. In 2014, the IS militants established a self-proclaimed caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria, but thousands of IS loyalists were killed or captured after the defeat of the group in Iraq in 2017 and later in Syria. BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Water Resources has urged local agencies across the country to elevate preparedness as this year's main flooding season begins. Local water resource departments were asked to closely monitor the precipitation, water and flood situations, eliminate risks and hidden dangers, and strengthen early warning and forecasts to prevent potential floods. China entered the main flooding season starting Wednesday, the ministry said, warning of possible river flooding. "Major floods are expected in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, as well as in the rivers of Haihe, Huaihe, Liaohe and Hanjiang," said Hu Jianwei, chief hydrology forecaster of the ministry. The Yangtze River, the Songhua River, the Pearl River, and the Taihu Lake Basin might be lashed by torrential rainfall, which could possibly trigger floods in these areas, Hu added. China has recorded an average surface rainfall of 138 mm since March 17, up 9 percent from the same period in normal years. A total of 124 rivers in 19 provincial-level regions have exceeded the flood warning level, data from the ministry showed. BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Fourth grader Chen Yuxin, a student at the Beijing School for the Blind, has had a life-long dream of attending a movie at a cinema. Her wish finally came true in September 2021, thanks to a public-service project dubbed "Ever Shining Cinema." Together with her friends and guided by volunteers, the elementary student attended the barrier-free movie "My People, My Homeland" at the Tiantongyuan cultural arts center in Changping District, Beijing. "I was filled with excitement. I really love the movie," said Chen. "The project and its barrier-free films enable us to enjoy the silver screen, just like sighted moviegoers." The Ever Shining Cinema project was initiated at the end of 2017 by the Communication University of China, Beijing Gehua CATV Network Co., Ltd., and Oriental Jiaying Media Co., Ltd. It aims to produce barrier-free films for visually impaired people through dubbing to meet their spiritual and cultural needs. The production process of barrier-free films is hard in the eyes of Cai Yu, a 26-year-old PhD at the Communication University of China and also a volunteer of the project. During the intervals of dialogues and sounds in the movie, volunteers would describe the characters' actions, expressions and surroundings as much as possible to help the visually impaired audiences better understand the movie, said Cai. "For example, to explain the color 'red,' we would often use the words 'sun' and 'heat,'" said Cai. "A two-hour film often takes volunteers a week to write the narration and four hours to record in the studio." Hard work has borne fruits. By the end of last year, the project had produced 416 barrier-free movies and one barrier-free TV series as well as held 254 public welfare screenings at cinemas, associations for the visually impaired and special-education schools across the country, benefiting over 2 million visually impaired people. China has about 17.3 million people with visual disabilities, according to the second national sample survey on disability. "I hope barrier-free movies can be a light guiding them in this beautiful world," said Cai. BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- With the latest COVID-19 resurgences abating and a weeks-long shopping festival just beginning, the Chinese government is handing out billions of yuan in shopping vouchers and subsidies to shore up domestic consumption. In one of the latest such moves, the central city of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province, announced to issue vouchers worth 240 million yuan (about 36 million U.S. dollars) from late May to August to encourage local spending. Meanwhile, south China's economic powerhouse of Shenzhen began distributing the third batch of its 400 million yuan shopping vouchers over the weekend, which could be spent on deals for the June 18 shopping festival held by the Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com. The massive voucher giveaway came at a time when the Omicron outbreak weighed heavily on China's domestic consumption, particularly the sales of non-daily necessities and the catering sector, in the first four months of 2022. Retail sales of consumer goods, a significant indicator of China's consumption strength, went down 0.2 percent year on year in the January-April period, official data showed. Shopping vouchers proved to be a powerful leverage to boost spending when the COVID-19 epidemic hit the country in 2020. The 500 million yuan worth of vouchers issued by the local government in Wuhan, the hardest-hit Chinese city by the epidemic, stimulated consumption of more than 5 billion yuan. "Shopping vouchers spur consumption instantly," said Pan Helin, a researcher at Zhejiang University, noting that with certain spending rules in place, vouchers can drive up demand and amplify the effect of fiscal funds. A 2020 Peking University study showed that in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, every 1 yuan worth of government voucher issued can generate 3.5 yuan of extra spending, while in less developed regions like Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the extra amount could reach up to 7.7 yuan. Voucher distribution mainly targets large purchases like automobiles, home appliances and furniture, as well as epidemic-hit sectors such as catering, hospitality and cultural activities. In Shanghai, the local government has offered a 10,000-yuan subsidy to consumers who replace old cars with electric ones. Xu Yongjun, general manager of an automobile dealer in Zhejiang's Tongxiang City, said his store witnessed a nearly 40 percent jump in sales after the local government issued 8 million yuan of auto vouchers. "The pent-up consumption will be gradually released with the containment of the epidemic and production and people's lives returning to normal," said Fu Linghui, a spokesperson with the National Bureau of Statistics. Zhong Zhengsheng, an economist with Pingan Securities, said that he anticipates the distribution of more vouchers in more cities to further facilitate consumption recovery. Zhong also emphasized efforts to help market entities tide over difficulties, which would boost employment and in turn increase people's willingness and capabilities to spend. China's commerce ministry pledged last month to promote consumption by upgrading traditional consumption, speeding up the development of new consumption patterns and improving consumption platforms, so as to enhance the catalytic role of consumption in economic circulation. The impact of the virus on consumption is "temporary" as the strong resilience, great potential and sound long-term development fundamentals of China's consumption remain unchanged, the ministry's spokesperson Shu Jueting has said. KABUL, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Police in Afghanistan's capital city Kabul have arrested 150 people on charge of involvement in criminal activities over the past one month, the state-run Bakhtar news agency reported Wednesday. Confirming the huge arrest, Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran on his Twitter account said the arrested individuals were involved in robbery, theft, murder and drug trafficking. All the arrested men have been sent to the central jail Pul-e-Charkhi for further investigation, Zadran said. The Taliban-run administration has vowed to ensure law and order across the war-torn country. BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- On the occasion marking the 40th anniversary of China National Children's Center, Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, sent a congratulatory letter to extend his warm congratulations. Upon the arrival of the International Children's Day on June 1, Xi Jinping, on behalf of the Party Central Committee, extended festive greetings to all the children across the country, wishing them progress in study, happy lives, and healthy growth. In his congratulatory letter, Xi pointed out that over the past four decades, remaining true to its original aspiration of cultivating talent for the Party and the country, the center has done a good job in undertaking its mission of cultivating virtuous children and providing services for children and thus has contributed to nurturing active participators in the socialist cause. Xi said he hopes that the center will carry forward its glorious traditions, rally those who work for children's welfare, endeavor to become a guide for children's growth, a guardian for children's rights and interests, and a builder for children's future, and put heart and soul into the work for children's healthy growth and all-round development. Founded in 1982, China National Children's Center was the first state-level research institution for afterschool education and children's development since the reform and opening up policy was implemented in the late 1970s. Over the past 40 years, the center has seen vigorous development in different undertakings, and hundreds of millions of children have participated in various activities organized by the center. PORT VILA, June 1 (Xinhua) -- China and Vanuatu reached a five-point consensus Wednesday on improving bilateral relations and boosting cooperation in international and regional affairs. The consensus was reached at a meeting between visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Vanuatu's Prime Minister Bob Loughman and his key cabinet members. The two sides agreed to further strengthen political mutual trust, uphold win-win cooperation with mutual benefit, further friendship between the two peoples, deepen strategic coordination and boost regional cooperation. Wang is on a visit to Vanuatu as part of his tour to the Pacific island countries, which will also take him to Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste. Before arriving in Port Vila, he visited the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji and Tonga. UNITED NATIONS, May 31 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday stressed the need to extend and fully implement all elements of the renewable, two-month nationwide truce in Yemen. Guterres earlier in the day had a phone call with Rashad Al-Alimi, the president of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, to discuss the implementation of the United Nations-brokered truce and political and security developments in Yemen. The UN chief reaffirmed "the close relationship" between the United Nations and the Yemeni government. He also underscored the critical role of the truce "in addressing some of the most immediate humanitarian and economic needs to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people," including facilitating the freedom of movement of people and goods to, from and across Yemen. In recent weeks, the UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, has intensified efforts to renew the truce. He tweeted on Monday that an extension was "critical to solidify benefits delivered so far and provide space to move towards a political settlement." On April 1, the warring parties in Yemen's seven-year conflict agreed to a statewide cease-fire. Grundberg said that "the aim of this truce is to give Yemenis a necessary break from violence, relief from the humanitarian suffering and most importantly hope that an end to this conflict is possible." BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Researchers have developed a transparent wearable hyperthermia patch (HTP) for subcutaneous tumor treatment. The soft and skin-mountable HTP has unusual optical and electrical characteristics based on a unidirectional silver nanofibers network with a low-voltage operation and uniform heating even under mechanical deformation. The research appeared in a recent article in the journal Advanced Functional Materials. The patch, designed by the researchers from Lanzhou University, presents high electrical conductivity and highly optical transparency simultaneously, thus allowing real-time inspection of the subcutaneous tumor treatment and skin response during the treatment. The results of the hyperthermia experiment in mice showed that the HTP could significantly inhibit the growth of subcutaneous tumors. The research provides a safe, non-invasive, and mild physical therapy program to treat joint diseases and subcutaneous tumors. By Hu ZhangliangH.E. Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone Recently, certain Western politicians and media, by taking advantage of the international community's attention to the Ukraine issue, deliberately compared the Taiwan question to the Ukraine issue with a view to confusing the public, creating more troubles and emboldening the separatist forces for "Taiwan independence". Such acts are malicious. Anyone who is familiar with the historical development of the Taiwan question and who has some knowledge about the international law knows that the Taiwan question and the Ukraine issue are not comparable at all. Since 1991, with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Ukraine has been an independent country recognized by the world. However, for the case of Taiwan, it has always been an inalienable part of China's territory since ancient times and has never been an independent country. From the middle of the 12th century onwards, successive Chinese governments established administrative organs in Taiwan and exercised jurisdiction. In 1945 when the Chinese people, together with other people of the world, won the great victory in the war against Japanese aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, the Chinese government restored administration in Taiwan. A series of international law documents, including the Cairo Declaration (November 26, 1943) and the Potsdam Proclamation (July 26, 1945), have clearly and unambiguously confirmed China's sovereignty over Taiwan. On October 1, 1949, the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China was formed, replacing the government of the Republic of China as the sole legal government of China and the sole legal representative of China in the international arena, fully enjoying and exercising China's sovereignty, including sovereignty over Taiwan. In 1971, the 26th session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution No. 2758, which decided to restore all rights of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations and recognized the representatives of the Government of the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations. The reality that Taiwan has not yet been reunited with the mainland does not change the fact that Taiwan belongs to China. In 1992, representatives of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait reached a consensus that both sides belong to one and the same China. The Ukraine issue arose from contention between two countries, namely Russia and Ukraine. It is the moves of NATO, which is led by a certain super power, that have pushed the Russia-Ukraine tension to the breaking point. On the Ukraine issue, China has adopted an impartial position and a responsible attitude based on the merits of the matter itself. China has been promoting peace talks in its own way, supporting the efforts of all parties in favor of easing the situation and political solution, and providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine. Unfortunately, some other countries have kept "adding fuel to the fire" under various pretexts, making the situation more complicated and difficult to resolve. The root cause of the existent tension in the Taiwan Strait is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities refuse to recognize the one-China principle and attempt to renege on the consensus that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China. The DPP authorities have sought to create two Chinas or one China, one Taiwan and tried to misrepresent Taiwans history and sever Taiwans historical and cultural ties with the mainland. The peace and future of Taiwan rests on the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and the final reunification of the motherland. To seek Taiwan independence is not only doomed to failure but also disastrous for the well-being of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan's future. Some Western forces, in a bid to hold back Chinas rejuvenation, have condoned and abetted the growth of the separatist forces for Taiwan independence and tried to challenge and hollow out the one-China principle. This grave violation of the basic norms of international relations would not only push Taiwan into a precarious situation, but also bring unbearable consequences for themselves. Those who intentionally compare the Taiwan question to the Ukraine issue attempt to create the illusion that "Taiwan is also a sovereign state" so as to enhance Taiwan's political status and international influence, to interfere in China's internal affairs by internationalizing China's domestic issue with a view to disrupting the pace of China's reunification and to worsen China's development environment and clear the way for some countries to maintain their hegemony. This tactic designed to divert attention, instigate confrontation and profit from the situation is immoral and very harmful. The Taiwan question is entirely Chinas internal affair, where no foreign country has any right to interfere with. The Chinese government and people will strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and efforts, but their resolve and will to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity are unwavering. Some people, while being vocal about the principle of sovereignty on the Ukraine issue, have kept undermining Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity on the Taiwan question. This is a blatant act of double standards. China and Sierra Leone are time-honored friends. China appreciates Sierra Leones long-standing adherence to the one-China principle. I believe that our friends in Sierra Leone are able to see through the true intentions of certain people using the Ukraine issue to speculate on the Taiwan question and will not be misled by them. I am sure that Sierra Leone will continue to firmly support the Chinese government and people in defending their core interests and legitimate rights. After a day of business slump, Afghan shopkeeper Mohammad Zubair was taking the last opportunity to tout cooking oil to sparse shoppers at the top of his voice in his grain shop before the sunset. For Zubair, 28, the recent sharp increase in cooking oil, rice and flour prices caused by the Ukraine crisis has dimmed his dream of riches. "The price of cooking oil has risen from five U.S. dollars per can to six dollars over the past two months," Zubair said. "The situation in Ukraine has affected my business of cooking oil." In accordance with a joint news release by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), Ukraine crisis "continues to put pressure on Afghanistan's wheat supply, food commodities, agricultural inputs and fuel prices." Taj Mohammad Talash, a professor from Ashna Private University in Kabul, said that the situation in Ukraine has affected the daily life of the Afghan people. "Ukraine and Russia always export their goods to Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and then the goods are exported to Afghanistan," Talash said. "Between 2018 and 2019, Afghanistan imported goods from the said countries worth 10 to 15 million U.S. dollars." Echoing Talash, another grain shopkeeper Ahmad Shah Ahmadi said that his business had been greatly affected by the increasing price due to the Ukraine crisis. "There were once several traders importing Ukrainian goods to Afghanistan," Ahmadi said. "Now that is over." Apart from the Ukraine crisis, the triple whammy of war and U.S. sanctions. among others, have also left the unsettled country reeling. After the military withdrawal from Afghanistan, the United States slapped sanctions on Afghanistan and frozen over 9 billion U.S. dollars of its assets in the U.S. banks. Lamenting the price hike, Sayed Mohammad said in sigh that a bag of rice costs 3,000 afghani (about 34 U.S. dollars), complaining that he "can only afford 7 kg rice and a little bit of cooking oil in a month" for his family of six. "My son used to go to school but now we have financial problems and that is why my son has begun selling icecream on the streets and I am now working in a bakery," 35-year-old Mohammad added. An estimated 22.8 million people, more than half the country's population, in Afghanistan are expected to face potentially life-threatening levels of food insecurity, according to an analysis by the WFP and FAO. On May 19, the Taliban-led Afghan caretaker government banned wheat exports in a move to ensure food security and prevent a shortage of wheat, but the rising trend of food prices in Afghanistan has not been eased. "My earnest desire is to go to school, get education and become a medical doctor in the future, but poverty has forced me to work on the streets to support my family," said Alyas, son of Mohammad. Produced by Xinhua Global Service BEIRUT, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Cypriot Ambassador to Lebanon Panayiotis Kyriacou said on Wednesday that Cyprus' joint military exercise with Israel is not directed against Lebanon, Elnashra news website reported. "The aim of these exercises is to train the border guards to defend the island of Cyprus," Kyriacou said during his meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib in the capital Beirut. "The Cypriot Ministry of Defense will issue on Thursday a statement to clarify this matter after the end of the military exercises," the ambassador added. On May 30, Cyprus and Israel began their "biggest ever" joint military exercise in the Cypriot air, sea, and land territory. Israeli Defense Forces announced earlier that the joint drill with the Cypriot military is aimed at "improving the readiness of troops and their competence in operational missions deep in enemy territory." People from local Chinese communities help to transport aid supplies after heavy rains in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, June 1, 2022. The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil's northeast Pernambuco state over the past week rose to 107 on Wednesday, with 11 people still missing, according to the state government. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua) RIO DE JANEIRO, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil's northeast Pernambuco state over the past week rose to 107 on Wednesday, with 11 people still missing, according to the state government. At least 6,650 people have been displaced by the rains, which caused major flooding and landslides that buried dozens of houses, causing most of the deaths in the state capital Recife and its metropolitan area. The death toll makes this the second-worst tragedy in Pernambuco's history, after floods in May 1966 left 175 people dead. Firefighters and the Brazilian Army were focusing on finding the bodies of those still missing with the help of trained rescue dogs. As many as 24 Pernambuco municipalities have declared a state of emergency, and the federal government has announced it will earmark about 200 million U.S. dollars to rebuild affected areas. The rains also took a toll on the states of Sergipe, Paraiba, Rio Grande do Norte and Alagoas, where three people were killed and more than 18,000 were evacuated. A man walks on a street full of garbages and furniture debris after flooding caused by heavy rains in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, June 1, 2022. The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil's northeast Pernambuco state over the past week rose to 107 on Wednesday, with 11 people still missing, according to the state government. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua) A man carrying a stove walks on a street full of garbages and furniture debris after flooding caused by heavy rains in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, June 1, 2022. The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil's northeast Pernambuco state over the past week rose to 107 on Wednesday, with 11 people still missing, according to the state government. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua) A man walks on a street full of garbages and furniture debris after flooding caused by heavy rains in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, June 1, 2022. The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil's northeast Pernambuco state over the past week rose to 107 on Wednesday, with 11 people still missing, according to the state government. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua) People from local Chinese communities help to transport aid supplies after heavy rains in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, June 1, 2022. The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil's northeast Pernambuco state over the past week rose to 107 on Wednesday, with 11 people still missing, according to the state government. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua) Rescuers work at a landslide site after heavy rains in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, June 1, 2022. The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil's northeast Pernambuco state over the past week rose to 107 on Wednesday, with 11 people still missing, according to the state government. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua) A boy looks at the damaged furniture after heavy rains in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, June 1, 2022. The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil's northeast Pernambuco state over the past week rose to 107 on Wednesday, with 11 people still missing, according to the state government. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua) Rescuers work at a landslide site after heavy rains in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, June 1, 2022. The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil's northeast Pernambuco state over the past week rose to 107 on Wednesday, with 11 people still missing, according to the state government. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua) A man cleans the remains of his house that collapsed after heavy rains in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, June 1, 2022. The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil's northeast Pernambuco state over the past week rose to 107 on Wednesday, with 11 people still missing, according to the state government. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua) A man cleans mud at his house after heavy rains in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, June 1, 2022. The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil's northeast Pernambuco state over the past week rose to 107 on Wednesday, with 11 people still missing, according to the state government. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua) A woman walks on a street full of garbages and furniture debris after flooding caused by heavy rains in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, June 1, 2022. The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil's northeast Pernambuco state over the past week rose to 107 on Wednesday, with 11 people still missing, according to the state government. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua) People from local Chinese communities help to transport aid supplies after heavy rains in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, June 1, 2022. The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil's northeast Pernambuco state over the past week rose to 107 on Wednesday, with 11 people still missing, according to the state government. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua) People carry the body of Palestinian Bilal Kabaha, 24, who was killed after he was shot by Israeli soldiers in the chest and leg during clashes, in the village of Ya'bad, west of the West Bank city of Jenin, on June 1, 2022. The Palestinian young man was killed and six were injured on Wednesday during clashes with the Israeli soldiers near Jenin, Palestinian health authorities said. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua) RAMALLAH, June 1 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian young man was killed and six were injured on Wednesday during clashes with the Israeli soldiers near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian health authorities said. The Palestinian Health Ministry said in a press statement that Bilal Kabaha, 24, was killed after he was shot by Israeli soldiers in the chest and leg during clashes in the village of Ya'bad, west of the Jenin city. It added that six other young men were injured by live ammunition, including one shot in the abdomen and the other in the face. The two casualties were transferred to the hospital, and are in critical condition, the statement said. Palestinian eyewitnesses said clashes broke out when an Israeli army force stormed the village with a bulldozer to demolish the home of Deya'a Hamarsheh, a Palestinian who carried out a shooting attack in Tel Aviv that killed five Israelis on March 29. During the Israeli army force raid on the village, Palestinian gunmen and Israeli soldiers traded fire, said the eyewitnesses. An Israeli army spokesman said in a statement that the Israeli army force carried out a regular military activity in Ya'bad village to demolish the home of the Palestinian who carried out the shooting attack in Bnei Brak in Tel Aviv. Earlier on Wednesday, a Palestinian woman was killed by Israeli soldiers at an Israeli army checkpoint near al-Aroub refugee camp close to the southern West Bank city of Hebron. The health ministry said in a short press statement that Ghufran Warasneh, a 29-year-old woman from the refugee camp, was killed after Israeli soldiers at the checkpoint shot her in the chest. Israeli media reported that Israeli soldiers stationed at the checkpoint opened fire at Warasneh, who was carrying a knife and tried to stab one of the soldiers at the checkpoint. Relatives gather around the body of Palestinian Bilal Kabaha, 24, who was killed after he was shot by Israeli soldiers in the chest and leg during clashes, in the village of Ya'bad, west of the West Bank city of Jenin, on June 1, 2022. The Palestinian young man was killed and six were injured on Wednesday during clashes with the Israeli soldiers near Jenin, Palestinian health authorities said. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua) Smokes are seen after Israeli army force demolished the house of Deya'a Hamarsheh with a bulldozer in the village of Ya'bad in the West Bank city of Jenin, June 2, 2022. A Palestinian young man was killed and six were injured on Wednesday during clashes with the Israeli soldiers near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian health authorities said. Palestinian eyewitnesses said clashes broke out when an Israeli army force stormed the village with a bulldozer to demolish the home of Deya'a Hamarsheh, a Palestinian who carried out a shooting attack in Tel Aviv that killed five Israelis on March 29. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua) Smokes are seen after Israeli army force demolished the house of Deya'a Hamarsheh with a bulldozer in the village of Ya'bad in the West Bank city of Jenin, June 2, 2022. A Palestinian young man was killed and six were injured on Wednesday during clashes with the Israeli soldiers near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian health authorities said. Palestinian eyewitnesses said clashes broke out when an Israeli army force stormed the village with a bulldozer to demolish the home of Deya'a Hamarsheh, a Palestinian who carried out a shooting attack in Tel Aviv that killed five Israelis on March 29. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua) Palestinians inspect the destroyed house of Deya'a Hamarsheh after Israeli army force demolished it with a bulldozer in the village of Ya'bad in the West Bank city of Jenin, June 2, 2022. A Palestinian young man was killed and six were injured on Wednesday during clashes with the Israeli soldiers near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian health authorities said. Palestinian eyewitnesses said clashes broke out when an Israeli army force stormed the village with a bulldozer to demolish the home of Deya'a Hamarsheh, a Palestinian who carried out a shooting attack in Tel Aviv that killed five Israelis on March 29. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua) Smokes are seen after Israeli army force demolished the house of Deya'a Hamarsheh with a bulldozer in the village of Ya'bad in the West Bank city of Jenin, June 2, 2022. A Palestinian young man was killed and six were injured on Wednesday during clashes with the Israeli soldiers near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian health authorities said. Palestinian eyewitnesses said clashes broke out when an Israeli army force stormed the village with a bulldozer to demolish the home of Deya'a Hamarsheh, a Palestinian who carried out a shooting attack in Tel Aviv that killed five Israelis on March 29. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua) Palestinians inspect the destroyed house of Deya'a Hamarsheh after Israeli army force demolished it with a bulldozer in the village of Ya'bad in the West Bank city of Jenin, June 2, 2022. A Palestinian young man was killed and six were injured on Wednesday during clashes with the Israeli soldiers near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian health authorities said. Palestinian eyewitnesses said clashes broke out when an Israeli army force stormed the village with a bulldozer to demolish the home of Deya'a Hamarsheh, a Palestinian who carried out a shooting attack in Tel Aviv that killed five Israelis on March 29. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua) Israeli army force are seen near the rubbles of the house of Deya'a Hamarsheh in the village of Ya'bad in the West Bank city of Jenin, June 2, 2022. A Palestinian young man was killed and six were injured on Wednesday during clashes with the Israeli soldiers near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian health authorities said. Palestinian eyewitnesses said clashes broke out when an Israeli army force stormed the village with a bulldozer to demolish the home of Deya'a Hamarsheh, a Palestinian who carried out a shooting attack in Tel Aviv that killed five Israelis on March 29. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua) BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Wednesday urged the United States to truly practice the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. In a recent speech, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken characterized the Biden administration's China strategy as "invest, align and compete." In response, Zhao told a daily news briefing that China has always believed that building a world of connectivity, diversity, inclusiveness, security and shared benefits is a responsibility and obligation that both China and the United States must undertake. He said China is glad to see the United States achieving development through legitimate investment, but the United States should not make China an "imaginary enemy." How the United States improves its own innovation and competitiveness is up to the United States, but it should not suppress and contain China, interfere in China's internal affairs and harm China's interests, Zhao said. "If such a thing occurs, China will firmly oppose it," he added. He stressed that China does not interfere in the normal coordination and cooperation between the United States and its allies, but such relations should not target or harm the interests of third parties, nor should they violate the basic norms of international relations. Zhao said China does not deny that there is competition between China and the United States in the field of economy and trade. "However, our relations cannot be defined by competition, nor should we pursue zero-sum vicious competition or engage in major power confrontation under the cover of competition." If the U.S. side insists on defining China-U.S. relations by major power competition and pursuing "I win you lose" policy objectives, it will only push the two countries to confrontation and conflict and lead the world to division and turmoil, he said. He pointed out that the U.S. side's recent China policy speech is "just old wine in a new bottle." The "three-point approach" is about using all the internal and external resources of the United States to encircle, suppress and contain China. "As China-U.S. relations stand at an important crossroads, the United States must make the right choice. Instead of quibbling over the wording, it should focus its efforts on the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation," Zhao said. A contestant performs during the 15th Chinese Bridge language contest in Cairo, Egypt, on May 31, 2022. The 15th Chinese Bridge language contest was held at the Confucius Institute at Cairo University under the auspices of the Chinese embassy in Cairo on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) by Marwa Yahya CAIRO, May 31 (Xinhua) -- "The Chinese Bridge contest was a challenge for me to defy my fears and learn one of the most difficult languages in the world," said Malak Ihab, an 18-year-old high school student who won on Tuesday the second place in the Chinese language contest for secondary school students in Egypt. The teenage girl, along with nine others, took part in the 15th Chinese Bridge language contest, which was held at the Confucius Institute at Cairo University under the auspices of the Chinese embassy in Cairo. "I plan to finish the advanced levels of the language course and find good job opportunities in the future," said Ihab, who is currently studying at the Egyptian Chinese Friendship School. "I love the Chinese history because it reminds me of the ancient Egyptian heritage," Ihab said. Nashwa Fahmy, the top prize winner in the competition and also an avid reader, said "the Chinese language and culture give me the freedom to fly with my thoughts and paint a colorful picture of my life." She wished that the language could be learned by more people, and not just limited to schools and universities. During the contest, Fahmy staged an amazing performance by telling a story, playing a Chinese traditional instrument, and performing a Chinese folk dance. "I learned that difficult beginnings will end with happy accomplishments," she said proudly while holding her big golden trophy. Mervat Mohamed, director of the Egyptian Chinese Friendship School, said "I'm very proud of my students who won very good prizes in the contest." Cultural activities like this give the students the confidence and resilience to continue learning a difficult language like the Chinese, she said. "China is very advanced at the scientific and technological level, and the strengthening cultural exchange between Egypt and China encourages students to learn the language," the Chinese language instructor said. Meanwhile, Wang Shenggang, minister counselor of education at the Chinese embassy in Egypt, said "the contest has become a bridge linking the two countries and promotes understanding among the people and contributes positively to enhancing China-Egypt friendship." There are four Confucius Institutes in Egypt and over 20 universities offer Chinese majors, the Chinese diplomat said, adding that he wished the students could have the opportunities to study and work in China. Gamal Al-Shazly, vice president for students affairs at Cairo University, stressed that "cultural cooperation plays a very important role in the friendly ties between Egypt and China." The language contests that have run in colleges and secondary schools are a chance for "cultural exchange between our students and the Chinese people," he said. Contestant Nashwa Fahmy plays a Chinese traditional instrument during the 15th Chinese Bridge language contest in Cairo, Egypt, on May 31, 2022. The 15th Chinese Bridge language contest was held at the Confucius Institute at Cairo University under the auspices of the Chinese embassy in Cairo on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) CAIRO, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) signed on Wednesday a deal with the German company H2 Industries to build a 4-billion-U.S. dollar waste-to-hydrogen plant in the northeastern province of Port Said, the SCZone authority said in a statement. "The two parties have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for building a plant capable of producing 300,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year using organic waste and non-recyclable plastic," said the statement. The signing ceremony took place on the sidelines of the 6th edition of the Egypt Can with industry Conference which is being held in the New Administrative Capital. "This project is one of the sectors targeted by the (SCZone) authority in accordance with the Egyptian government's strategy for transforming into a green economy," Yehia Zaki, chairman of the SCZone authority, was quoted as saying in the statement. The plant is expected to dispose of 4 million tonnes of municipal solid waste per year, according to the statement. In May, the SCZone authority said it had signed six green fuel MoUs with a potential total investment of 10 billion dollars in the Ain Sokhna region in eastern Egypt. The SCZone, an economic hub in Egypt, consists of six ports and four industrial zones. MOGADISHU, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Somali National Army (SNA) said Wednesday its elite forces, Danab, killed four al-Shabab terrorists during a military operation conducted in Jubba regions, southern part of the country on Tuesday. The SNA commanders who led the operation told Radio Mogadishu that the elite forces also arrested Mohamed Abdi Mukhtar who was the head of the operations in the Lower Juba regions. The SNA said Mukhar popularly known as Sakhrawi was captured during the joint operation with Jubaland Security Forces near Berhani village in Kismayo district. Government forces have intensified operations against al-Shabab in the southern regions, but the militants are still in control of the rural areas of those regions, conducting ambushes and planting landmines. YAOUNDE, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Security experts from Lake Chad Basin began meeting in Cameroon on Wednesday to devise new strategies in the fight against terrorism and emerging threats in the region. The experts meeting under the canopy of the Regional Intelligence Fusion Unit that was created in 2014 to better combat terror group Boko Haram, aimed to review past security actions in the region and draw a blueprint for rapid response to threats, said Leopold Maxim Eko Eko, Cameroon's director-general of External Research. "The terrorists have upgraded their mode of operations and it's a challenge," Eko told reporters during the meeting in the capital Yaounde chaired by the Secretary-General at the presidency Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh. "We are expecting our agencies to share more intelligence and to act as fast not only to catch up with them (terrorists) but to overtake them. We have to put on the table new approaches to solve all the problems we have been meeting," he added during the two-day meeting. Boko Haram has caused enormous humanitarian and security challenges in Lake Chad Basin in over a decade of operation, according to security reports. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are now targeting Nov. 1, 2022, as the new launch date for NOAA's Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite mission. During recent tests of a key instrument designed to collect visible and infrared images, the team found and corrected an issue, which resulted in additional time needed to complete thermal vacuum testing. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite instrument, or VIIRS, experienced a test equipment issue during thermal vacuum testing. Engineers determined the issue was the result of the movement of test equipment caused by temperature fluctuations during the test. After modifying the test set up, the team retested the system, and it demonstrated excellent performance. JPSS-2, the third satellite in the Joint Polar Satellite System series, is scheduled to lift off from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. The satellite, to be renamed NOAA-21 upon successfully reaching orbit, will continue the work of its predecessors NOAA-20 (formerly JPSS-1) and the NOAA-NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi-NPP). NASA's Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy Space Center, is managing the launch. JPSS-2 will scan the globe as it orbits from the North to the South Pole, crossing the equator 14 times a day. From 512 miles above Earth, it will capture data that inform weather forecasts, extreme weather events, and climate change. VIIRS collects imagery for global observations of the land, atmosphere, cryosphere, and oceans. Launching as a secondary payload to JPSS-2 is NASA's Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID), dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter. LOFTID is a demonstration of a hypersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator, or aeroshell, technology that could one day help land humans on Mars. Together, NOAA and NASA oversee the development, launch, testing, and operation of all the satellites in the JPSS program. NOAA funds and manages the program, operations, and data products. On behalf of NOAA, NASA develops and builds the instruments, spacecraft, and ground system, and launches the satellites, which NOAA operates. The LOFTID project is sponsored by the Technology Demonstration Missions program within NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate in partnership with United Launch Alliance. LOFTID is managed by NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, with contributions from NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. KABUL, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Afghan security forces have arrested seven drug traffickers in the country's three northern provinces, the Afghan caretaker government said on Wednesday. "The suspects were arrested in connection with drug trafficking in several separate operations in Samangan, Takhar and Balkh provinces in recent days," the government said in a statement. The security forces also seized some amount of narcotics named opium, methamphetamine and heroin, according to the statement. The Afghan caretaker government has vowed to fight illicit drugs, drug production and trafficking. SINGAPORE, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Minister of Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Smart Nation and Cybersecurity Josephine Teo launched the Singapore Trade Data Exchange (SGTraDex), a public-private initiative, Wednesday on the sidelines of Asia Tech x Singapore (ATxSG) 2022. SGTraDex is a digital utility that facilitates the sharing of data between supply chain ecosystem partners, streamlining information flows through a common data highway where data can be shared in a trusted, secure and inclusive manner, according to a statement of SGTraDex. It seeks to connect ecosystem partners in the local and global supply chains via a common data infrastructure and aims to minimize a host of problems that have long plagued local and global supply chains, so as to tackle supply chain inefficiencies that hamper international trade flows. SGTraDex was first announced at last year's ATxSG event. In its pilot stage, three initial use cases have been developed. They are the use case for strengthening the financing integrity of trade flows, the use case for enhancing end-to-end visibility of container logistics flows, and the use case for digitalizing the bunkering industry. These three use cases are expected to capture about 100 million Singapore dollars' worth of value by 2026, which will grow as more participants come on board, said Teo, adding that more than 70 participants representing stakeholders across the supply chain ecosystem have been on board and are actually using the system. These participants are from multinational corporations, large local enterprises, and small and medium-sized enterprises. The minister also said three new use cases are being developed, which are the use case for green and sustainable trade financing, the use case for demurrage management and optimization, and the use case for ship supplies and lighterage optimization. Vanuatu Prime Minister Bob Loughman (3rd R) and his key cabinet members meet with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (4th L) in Port Vila, Vanuatu, June 1, 2022. (Xinhua) PORT VILA, June 1 (Xinhua) -- China and Vanuatu reached a five-point consensus on bolstering bilateral ties and cooperation on international and regional affairs Wednesday after Vanuatu Prime Minister Bob Loughman and his key cabinet members met with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Wang said that his meeting with the Vanuatu side highlights the great importance the Pacific island country attaches to its relations with China and the high level of their cooperation. China and Vanuatu have trusted and supported each other for 40 years since they established diplomatic relations, and they have become a model for developing countries for their mutual respect, unity and consultation, he said. He noted that China is willing to work with Vanuatu to sum up their successful experience and plan for their relations for the next 40 years, so as to constantly inject new impetus to a China-Vanuatu community with a shared future. Loughman said Wang's visit to Vanuatu, which he called a historic one, signaled China's commitment to advancing China-Vanuatu relations. Vanuatu and China have given mutual trust and firm support to each other over the past 40 years since they established diplomatic ties, Loughman said. He thanked China for its huge, long-standing assistance to Vanuatu in securing stability and sustainable development, which proved China as a true friend of Vanuatu. Loughman pledged to uphold the one-China principle as a political bedrock, take the joint building of Belt and Road as a guidance for their cooperation, and lift their comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level. The two sides had in-depth exchanges on advancing bilateral ties and boosting cooperation on international and regional affairs, and reached a broad consensus. Firstly, both countries agreed to strengthen political mutual trust, carry forward the tradition of mutual respect and treating each other as equals, and continue to staunchly support each other in safeguarding their core interests and national dignity. Secondly, both sides agreed to uphold win-win cooperation with mutual benefits. They will synergize their development strategies, tap into cooperation potential, jointly advance high-quality construction of the Belt and Road, make full use of the development opportunities offered by China, and expand the export of Vanuatu's quality goods to China. The two sides will develop a blue economy partnership, further explore cooperation highlights including new energy and digital economy, while furthering cooperation in traditional fields such as infrastructure. China will help Vanuatu strengthen its capacity for self-development and enhance its international competitiveness. Thirdly, they agreed to enhance the friendship between the two peoples. Both sides will boost people-to-people exchanges, and consolidate the social and public foundation of bilateral relations. Wang said China appreciates Vanuatu for including the Chinese language teaching in its national education system and stands ready to continue supporting the Chinese language teaching in Vanuatu by dispatching Chinese teachers and conducting two-way language and cultural exchanges, among others, to foster more friendly messengers of the two countries. China will continue to join hands with Vanuatu in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and dispatch more medical teams to help the island country protect the health of its people. Fourthly, both sides agreed to deepen strategic coordination. The two sides pledged to uphold true multilateralism, forge unity in the fight against the pandemic and push forward the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. Loughman spoke highly of the China-proposed Global Development Initiative and stands ready to be part in it. Wang welcomed Vanuatu's support for China's Global Security Initiative, its practice of China's vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and its contribution to world peace. Fifthly, both sides agreed to boost regional cooperation, calling for employing bilateral cooperation and the mechanism of China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting as twin engines for coordinated efforts to accelerate common development. Wang introduced China's Position Paper on Mutual Respect and Common Development with Pacific Island Countries that was released on Monday, saying the document demonstrates China's willingness to deepen political mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and safeguard the common interests with the island countries while providing both overall plan and specific measures for the next-stage cooperation. China's cooperation with Pacific island countries is aboveboard, open and transparent, Wang noted, adding that China will stay in unity and continue the mutual help with the island countries for moving forward together. Loughman said his country speaks highly of the important role of the mechanism of China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting, feels encouraged by the vision and proposals in China's position paper, and appreciates China's pledge to continue building six new platforms of cooperation. Loughman believes that cooperation with China will surely help Pacific island countries better seize development opportunities and further upgrade the cooperation between Pacific island countries and China. After the meeting, the two sides witnessed the signing of a series of cooperation documents, including economy, technology, health and blue economy. Wang is on a visit to Vanuatu as part of his tour to the Pacific island countries, which will also take him to Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste. Before arriving in Port Vila, he visited the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji and Tonga. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson (R) and United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attend a press conference in Stockholm, Sweden, June 1, 2022. The Russia-Ukraine conflict could lead to a global food crisis that will hit developing countries the hardest, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned in Stockholm on Wednesday. (Ninni Andersson/Government Offices of Sweden/Handout via Xinhua) STOCKHOLM, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The Russia-Ukraine conflict could lead to a global food crisis that will hit developing countries the hardest, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned in Stockholm on Wednesday. Guterres met with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson to discuss the security situation in Europe, recovery from the pandemic and the green transition. The Russia-Ukraine conflict is creating suffering and devastation, and "must end now," Guterres said at a press conference after the meeting. He also called for swift decisions to counter the food crisis that could arise from the conflict, putting developing countries most at risk. The situation is fueling "a three-dimensional global crisis for food, energy and finance" that is affecting "the most vulnerable populations, countries and economies," he warned. A "perfect storm" is threatening to destroy the economies of many developing countries," he added. The food crisis cannot be resolved effectively unless Russia's manure and food production, and Ukraine's food production can reach world markets again, he emphasized. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Russia and Ukraine are the world's largest and fifth-largest wheat exporters, respectively. Together, they provide 19 percent of the world's barley supply, 14 percent of wheat and 4 percent of maize, making up more than one third of global cereal exports. In Ukraine, which is known as the breadbasket of Europe, the conflict has left unharvested wheat that was planted months ago, while maize and sunflowers sown when the conflict broke out were left unfertilized. It is estimated that Ukraine's grain production may fall by more than 50 percent in the current season. Moreover, Russia is the leading producer of fertilizers, accounting for 13 percent of global production. Restrictions on Russian fertilizer exports due to the U.S.' sanctions have led to a surge in global fertilizer prices. This has forced farmers in Brazil, the United States and other major agricultural countries to reduce their use of fertilizers, which could affect future harvests. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson (R) and United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attend a press conference in Stockholm, Sweden, June 1, 2022. The Russia-Ukraine conflict could lead to a global food crisis that will hit developing countries the hardest, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned in Stockholm on Wednesday. (Ninni Andersson/Government Offices of Sweden/Handout via Xinhua) United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference in Stockholm, Sweden, June 1, 2022. The Russia-Ukraine conflict could lead to a global food crisis that will hit developing countries the hardest, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned in Stockholm on Wednesday. (Ninni Andersson/Government Offices of Sweden/Handout via Xinhua) NEW YORK, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has said that the world needs a special response team to stop the next pandemic and praised China as an important contributor to global health equality. Gates, also co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has just published his new book titled "How to Prevent the Next Pandemics," urging the world to be prepared for future pandemics. In a recent written interview exclusively with Xinhua, Gates said there are many lessons the world can learn from COVID-19 that can be used to inform the response to future outbreaks. According to Gates, countries that got testing right early on and utilized masks and social distancing did much better in managing the pandemic. "Going forward, the world needs to invest in disease monitoring and response with a global, rapid-response team, R&D for diagnostics, vaccines and treatments, and health systems strengthening," he said. According to Gates, one of the most important ways to protect against future outbreaks will be to create an organization of experts prepared to mount a coordinated response. He proposed the organization name Global Epidemic Response and Mobilization team, or GERM. Once an outbreak is identified, GERM would work with governments and the World Bank to raise funds quickly. Experts would advise governments and companies on the highest-priority drugs and vaccines. The team would also help coordinate responses such as border closures and recommended mask use. Gates said there are several areas the world should focus on when it comes to vaccine R&D -- universal vaccines that target several variants or even multiple pathogens; vaccines that offer total protection; vaccines that are easier to administer; vaccines that don't require cold temperatures when being delivered; and expanded production capacity to make new vaccines more quickly. Gates said China has become an important contributor to global health equity by sharing its expertise and innovations with low-income countries. "I've seen that leadership clearly over the past 15 years that the Gates Foundation has been working with partners across the country." China is now helping to adapt its successful malaria surveillance and response approach for use in sub-Saharan Africa. Gates told Xinhua that a grantee of the Gates Foundation in China is working on biosynthesizing artemisinin, which will help ensure a continuous, affordable supply of anti-malarial drugs in low- and middle-income countries. According to Gates, the foundation also launched a joint program last year with the National Natural Science Foundation of China to develop new outdoor vector control strategies and tools. "In the future, I expect China to play a critical role in global pandemic preparedness efforts. Manufacturers have the know-how to produce new tools in large numbers, and the country has the expertise necessary to monitor emerging diseases, strengthen health systems, and accelerate R&D for vaccines, diagnostics and treatments," he said. According to Gates, since the foundation established its China office in 2007, it has been helping partners accelerate product, technology and systems innovations in health, agricultural development and poverty reduction. "Our goal is to ensure that the most vulnerable people in China and around the world can benefit from these life-saving innovations," he said, noting the foundation has funded programs to fight infectious diseases such as TB. In addition, to support agricultural development in Africa and increase smallholder farmers' adaptability to climate change, the foundation has helped partners in China adapt technologies, approaches and models that increase crop yields and farmers' income. "Over the years, I've witnessed China's huge potential as a source of global health R&D, an important supplier of life-saving tools and products, and a critical contributor to global partnerships in health and development. We'll continue working with our partners in China to help build a healthier, more equitable world," Gates said. CARACAS, May 31 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming Summit of the Americas "has failed," Sacha Llorenti, secretary general of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People's Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), said Tuesday. The 9th edition of the summit is to open on June 6 in the U.S. city of Los Angeles without the participation of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, which were excluded by the United States. At a press conference, Llorenti said it is clear that the meeting is "neither a summit nor a Summit of the Americas." He expected some countries won't attend "in protest of the exclusion while those that do attend will protest the exclusion." The debacle reflects the "decline of U.S. hegemony" in the region, where "the real integration platform" is the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), said Llorenti, former Bolivian ambassador to the United Nations. The United States has no interest in promoting democracy or human rights and "what it wants is for its conditions to be imposed and its interests prioritized above the common interests of the region," he said. The United States has traditionally attacked Latin America's integration mechanisms, while ALBA-TCP has sought to "strengthen CELAC ... and the regional integration processes as the only way to face global challenges" in Latin America and the Caribbean, Llorenti added. New Delhi: You may have heard many stories of your love, but even if you read the news that has come for you today, you will also be surprised. Yes, in fact, a woman crossed the border from Bangladesh to India to marry her boyfriend, that too by swimming. The 22-year-old Bangladeshi woman has just come to India by swimming regardless of the border. During the interrogation, she has said that she has come to India to marry her lover. She said that in this journey, she crossed the dense forests of the Sundarbans and swam in the river for an hour and reached India to meet her lover. According to the report received, the woman has been identified as Krishna Mandal. She says that she was in love with a boy named Abhik Mandal who lives in India. She met Abhik on Facebook and the two fell in love. Krishna did not have a passport so she entered the border illegally. According to police sources, Krishna first entered the Sundarbans which is known for the Bengal Tigers. Thereafter, she swam for about an hour in a river that contains dangerous gharials and thus came to India with her lover. It is being said that after this, Krishna and Abhik got married at Kalighat temple in Kolkata. But on Monday, police arrested him for illegally entering the country. According to sources, Krishna will now be handed over to the Bangladesh High Commission. Earlier, the Bangladesh man had swam into the river and entered the border and during interrogation, he had replied that he had come to India to get chocolates. However, imam Hussain was handed over to the local police to find out the truth of the man. Thereafter, he appeared before the court and was sent to 15-day judicial custody for questioning. Indian Naval Air Squadron commissioning ALH MK-III aircraft Mitali Express: India-Bangladesh train flagged off between Jalpaiguri, Dhaka Covid-19 Updates: India reports 2,745 new cases in last 24-hrs KABUL: Afghanistan's central bank announced on Wednesday that it has received a new batch of USD32 million in humanitarian cash help. According to news report, the Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) said in a statement that USD32 million in cash arrived on Tuesday as part of a series of humanitarian financial aid to the country and was transferred to a commercial bank. "Humanitarian support through the financial sector creates transparency and facilitates the delivery of aid to the people," the bank said, thanking the international community for the assistance. The Afghan central bank had already received another batch of USD32 million in humanitarian cash aid on Monday. The DAB has been working to keep the value of the Afghani at a stable and desirable level versus foreign currencies, according to the statement. Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in mid-August 2021, the US has reportedly blocked more than USD9 billion in central bank assets, putting the country's banking system in hazard. The DAB had said last month that it will auction USD13 million to inject foreign currency into the local market and stabilise the afghani, the country's currency. General situation in N.Ethiopia calm but unpredictable: UN ` 'Islamic Banking System' to be implemented by Afghan central bank NSA Ajit Doval's clear message to Taliban, told what is the relation between Afghanistan and India New Delhi: The much-overdue International Rail Mitali Express, which will leave for Bangladesh from New Jalpaiguri Junction (NJP), has already started today i.e. June 01. The smoothness of the train has brought a lot of curiosity and happiness among the passengers. Let us know that this train from NJP will run every week on Sunday and Wednesday and from Dhaka on Monday and Thursday. Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw and Railway Minister in the Government of Bangladesh Noorul Islam Sujan flagged off train number 13132 Mitali Express from New Jalpaiguri to Dhaka Cantonment. Ashwini Vaishnaw and Noorul Islam were present in Delhi during the event. Mitali Express was flagged off via video conferencing. Anshul Gupta, General Manager, North East Frontier Railway, who was also present at the function, said that the introduction of this train will greatly benefit the passengers. He said that everyone believes that this transport facility will also improve the relationship between North Bengal and Bangladesh. Tourism will also improve and at the same time, as compared to earlier, a large number of people will now be seen travelling in these two places or trafficing for other subjects as well. The passengers will now be provided with even more security arrangements as compared to the previous modes of transport, making the journey of passengers even more memorable and enjoyable. Attention travelers! These 10 trains will not run from June 1 to 5, check here Young man falls in love on Facebook, takes this big step to meet his girlfriend Recruitment in electricity department, notification issued World Milk Day is celebrated all over the world on June 1. The purpose of celebrating this day is to attract attention with regard to milk and provide an opportunity for the promotion of activities related to the milk industry. The first World Milk Day was celebrated on June 1, 2001. The World Milk Day celebration was launched in 2001 by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization to encourage the common people to consume milk and dairy products. In many countries all over the world, all aspects of milk are celebrated annually through this event. The number of countries participating in this festival increases every year to make more impact. It is worth noting that the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) established the first time that World Milk Day was established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to celebrate June 1 every year globally. It was chosen to be celebrated on June 1, as World Milk Day was already being celebrated by many countries during this time. World Milk Day is celebrated on June 1 on an annual basis by people all over the world. It is celebrated to raise awareness of the general public about all aspects of natural milk, such as its natural origin, its nutritional value of milk and its economic importance all over the world, including various milk products. Nepal: Tara Air plane carrying 22 passengers, including 4 Indians, goes missing DSLSA to launch "Environmental Literacy Week" starting from Sunday Three shot at Chicago, heavily injured There are now four spacecraft parked at the International Space Station today after a Russian cargo craft undocked Wednesday morning. A fifth spaceship will arrive on Friday to replace it and replenish the Expedition 67 crew with food, fuel, and supplies. The ISS Progress 79 resupply ship undocked from the rear port of the Zvezda service module at 4:03 a.m. EDT today completing a 214-day cargo mission at the station. The trash-filled space freighter reentered Earth's atmosphere just over three hours later for a fiery, but safe demise over the Pacific Ocean. A new resupply ship, the ISS Progress 81 (81P), stands at its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan counting down to a lift off at 5:32 a.m. on Friday. The 81P will dock three-and-a-half hours later to the same Zvezda port vacated by the 79P. The launch and docking activities will be broadcast live on the NASA app and on the NASA website. Less than a week later, SpaceX will launch its 25th commercial resupply mission to the space station. The Cargo Dragon will launch atop the company's Falcon 9 rocket from Florida at 10:45 a.m. on June 9. It will arrive the next day at 1:30 p.m. automatically docking to the Harmony module's forward port previously occupied by Boeing's Starliner spacecraft. NASA TV will broadcast both the Dragon's liftoff and its arrival at the station. Meanwhile, the seven station residents orbiting Earth started their shifts today with body mass measurements. The crew mates took turns attaching themselves to a mass measurement device that applies a known force to the individual with the resulting acceleration being used to calculate body mass. The measurements are based on a formula using Newton's Second Law of Motion (force equals mass times acceleration). Lab maintenance took precedence today for NASA Flight Engineers Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins as they worked throughout Wednesday on life support gear and orbital plumbing components. Lindgren and Hines also had time for blood sample collections as well as tending to the XROOTS space botany experiment. ESA (European Space Agency) Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti also worked on the space botany study as she checked and photographed the growing plants. The two-time station visitor from Italy also analyzed changes in her body composition for the NutrISS investigation then checked out a robotics control terminal. Commander Oleg Artemyev and Flight Engineer Denis Matveev took turns today studying future planetary piloting and robotic control techniques. Flight Engineer Sergey Korsakov serviced power supply systems inside the Zarya module then replaced a laptop computer battery in the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module. On-Orbit Status Report Progress 79P Undocking: Today, the Russian Cargo Vehicle Progress 79P, which provided cargo and propellent to the ISS, undocked from the Service Module Aft port at 3:08 AM CT. Following departure from the ISS the vehicle's thrusters fired to maneuver 79P into a deorbit trajectory to send it into the Earth's atmosphere where it burned up in re-entry over the Pacific Ocean. Payloads: NanoRacks Relocate: The crew removed Nanoracks Platform-2 from Expedite the Processing of Experiments to the Space Station (EXPRESS) rack 3 and trashed it. Following that, Nanoracks Frame-1 was installed in the old Platform-2 location. NanoRacks Platforms are multipurpose research facilities on board the ISS. NanoRacks Platforms support NanoRacks Modules in the CubeSat form factor by providing power and data transfer capabilities to operate investigations in microgravity. Nutrition Monitoring for the ISS (NutrISS): The crew set up the NutrISS bioimpedance device and performed a measurement session. They also filled out a questionnaire related to the session. Long-duration spaceflight induces relevant changes in body composition and a loss of body mass. In the NutrISS investigation, a periodic assessment of body composition (body weight, fat mass, and fat-free mass) during spaceflight aboard the ISS is carried out using a dedicated bio-impedance analysis device to allow for the measurement of long-term energy balance modification over time. It is hypothesized that an adjusted diet maintaining a near-neutral energy balance, and/or increasing protein intake can limit microgravity-induced bone and muscle loss. Protein Crystallization Research Facility (PCRF): In support of the PCRF semi-annual maintenance activities, the crew relocated the maintenance units from locations 1, 5, 6 to locations 2, 3, 4. The PCRF is a JAXA subrack facility which investigates protein crystal growth in microgravity. PCRF is housed in the Ryutai (fluid) Experiment Rack, along with the Fluid Physics Experiment Facility (FPEF), Solution Crystallization Observation Facility (SCOF), and the Image Processing Unit (IPU). Phospho-aging Mechanism of Accelerated Aging Under Microgravity (Phospho-aging): Blood and urine samples were collected and inserted into the Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) for preservation. Phospho-aging examines the molecular mechanism behind aging-like symptoms, such as bone loss and muscle atrophy, that occur more rapidly in microgravity. Using analysis of human premature-aging syndromes (progeria) in mouse models, scientists identified CalciProtein Particles (CPPs) as a pro-aging factor in mammals. CPPs behave like a pathogen, inducing chronic inflammation and systemic tissue damage that could be the mechanism behind accelerated aging in space. Surface Avatar: The crew performed a Surface Avatar session, answered a questionnaire, took photos, and stowed the hardware. The broad objective in this experiment is to investigate how to effectively teleoperate robots on a planetary surface from orbit. Several properties of the orbit-to-ground scenario are also applicable to terrestrial operation. For example, a high-latency or lossy data connection, the mix of structured and unstructured environments, and the types of tasks (e.g., traversing, manipulation of mechanical parts) are characteristic to scenarios such as arctic exploration, search and rescue in disaster zones and under-sea maintenance. Insights from these studies will be also applicable here. For example, gravity and wind act on objects on a planet's surface which are not felt on orbit. In a similar way, when operating an object underwater, buoyancy, lift and drag forces act on the object which are not found in the operator's environment. eXposed Root On-Orbit Test System (XROOTS): In support of the current growout, the crew performed the manual water recovery activity and checked the status of the plant growth in Root Modules (RM) 1 and 2. Microbial growth was seen in one of the seed cartridges in RM 1, and all six seed cartridges in RM 1 were trashed. No microbial growth was seen in RM2 and the wicks were opened to allow the seeds to develop. The XROOTS investigation uses hydroponic and aeroponic techniques to grow plants without soil or other growth media. Video and still images enable evaluation of multiple independent growth chambers for the entire plant life cycle from seed germination through maturity. Results could identify suitable methods to produce crops on a larger scale for future space missions. Systems: Water Processing Assembly (WPA) Catalytic Reactor Remove & Replace (R&R): The WPA provides the capability to produce potable water from humidity condensate and urine distillate. As a function of the WPA, the Catalytic Reactor introduces Oxygen into the system and oxidizes the organics contaminants in the wastewater to break them down. Today, the crew R&R'd the Catalytic Reactor due to the reactor's thermal instability in preventing the WPA from processing properly. Over time, the reactor degrades and loses the ability to maintain pressure and water in the thermal cover causing condensation in the rack. The bottom thermal covers were removed and inspected for water. The bottom cover had water between the seal and the thermal cover. The crew was able to wipe up the water and place the cover back on the reactor. The Avionics Air Assembly (AAA) filters were replaced because the screens tend to clog with Foreign Object Debris (FOD) restricting air flow and cause elevated temperatures within the racks. These screens are cleaned on an as-needed basis to return AAA temperatures to nominal ranges. Following the R&R, the crew performed WRS and T2 rack closeouts to return the racks to a nominal configuration. Later this week, the crew will reinstall the Urine Transfer System (UTS) and perform a crewed Activation and Checkout (ACO) for T2 to return Node 3 back to a nominal configuration. Completed Task List Activities: None Today's Ground Activities: All activities are complete unless otherwise noted. Newly Installed WPA Catalytic Reactor Flush and Activation HRF Rack 2 Rack Power Down Commanding Primary Power System (PPS) Beta Gimbal Assembly (BGA) Feather RRM3 Payload Xenon Venting [Planned] Look Ahead Plan Thursday, June 2 (GMT 153) Payloads: EML Gas Valve Open and Lens Reconfiguration Systems: Crew Off-Duty Day Friday, June 3 (GMT 154) Payloads: AstroPi BCM Robot Test Biolab EC Removal CAL MTL Jumper Leak Check CIR/ACME Pack/Trash EPM (European Physiology Module) Test Link Connect KERMIT software load MSG/Transparent Alloys/CETSOL-1 Cartridge Exchange and Door Switch WiCo-2 BCG Session and Questionnaire Systems: UTS Install WRS-1 Hardware Restow T2 Crewed Activation and Checkout (ACO) Saturday, June 4 (GMT 155) Payloads: Iceberg desiccant swap ISS Ham pass (x2) Payload NAS Vent Clean XROOTS Systems: Crew Off-Duty Day Today's Planned Activities: All activities are complete unless otherwise noted. Atmosphere Control and Supply (ACS) Oxygen Manual Valve Open Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Measurement Crew Dragon Forward Monthly PCS Checkout DOSIS Main Box LED Check Emergency RS ISS VHF-1 Comm Checkout from USOS [Deferred] Air Quality Monitor Vent Vacuum ISS EveryWear (EVW) Nutrition Tracking HRF Generic HRF Centrifuge Frozen Blood Collection Activity HRF Generic MELFI Sample Retrieval and Insertion HRF Generic Urine Collection WPA Catalytic Reactor Remove and Replace WRS-1 Filter Kit Installation ISS HAM Kenwood Radio Power Up Items gather for European Physiology Module MELFI 2 Ice Brick Insert 3 NanoRacks Platform-2 Relocate Phospho-Aging MELFI Sample Retrieval and Insertion Operations Protein Crystallization Research Facility (PCRF) Maintenance Unit Relocation Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in JEM Sidekick Setup and Stow Surface Avatar Activities T2 and WRS1 Nominal Configuration Operations Transfer CST-100 Cargo Operations WPA Process Line Disconnect WRS1 Rack Closeout XROOTS Fluid Recovery and Status Check Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. ANKARA: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's ultra-ambitious president, is planning to make Ankara into key player in ending the global food crisis by interacting with both Russia and Ukraine. Turkey, which has boasted for months that it is "the only country north of the Black Sea that retains close connections with both of the warring sides," is now considering hosting a United Nations "Control Centre" in Istanbul, which could help defuse the Russia-Ukraine issue. On Monday, Erdogan made back-to-back calls to his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, insisting that Ankara had made every effort to keep the Ukraine-Russia talks going. He told Zelenskyy that Turkey places a high priority on the project of building a secure sea corridor for the export of Ukrainian agricultural products, and that Turkey is ready "from now on" to provide "whatever needed assistance," including mediation. "President Erdogan also stated that Turkey would be interested in joining the Control Center that will be established with the participation of the UN as well as the parties, and hosting the centre in Istanbul," Erdogan's office said in a statement following the phone chat. When discussing the situation in Ukraine with Erdogan, Putin, on the other hand, emphasised the importance of guaranteeing safe navigation in the Black and Azov Seas and eliminating the mine threat in their seas in order to unclog trade from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Biden to send Ukraine USD 700-Mn in Military Aid, Including Advanced Rockets Zelensky meets Slovak President to discuss defence support for Kiev America's warning ignored! After cheap oil, India made another big deal with Russia Home Nature Climate & weather Monsoon to be active in a few days, will rain more than average, say meteorologists Kathmandu, June 1 Meteorologists in Nepal say that the monsoon will start early this year. They say the monsoon has already begun in the Indian state of Kerela and soon would be moving towards Nepal. Meteorologist Raju Pradhananga from the Department of Hydrology and Metrology says the department has forecast monsoon to arrive in Nepal within a few days. He says the monsoon, which usually starts around the second week of June, is around two weeks early this year. The monsoon clouds will enter Nepal from the east and exit from the west, he says. Senior meteorologist Barun Paudel says the country will see more rainfall than usual during the months of June, July, August and September this year. Nepal, on average, sees around 1,500 mm of rain a year, but this year, the meteorologists believe there will be a 10 per cent increase. The Meteorological Forecasting Division has predicted average rainfalls in northern parts of Province 1, most parts of Madhesh province and southern parts of the Bagmati province today. But, the rest of Nepal will see more rain than it has seen in the past few years especially areas in Gandaki and Sudurpaschim provinces. Home Business Nepal Chamber of Commerce urges the Japanese government to consider investment in Nepal Kathmandu, June 1 The Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has urged the government of Japan to consider industrial investment in Nepal. In a meeting with the Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Yutaka Kikuta, the chambers President Rajendra Malla urged the Japanese government to create enabling environment for Japanese investment in Nepals hydropower, road and tourism sectors. Nepal has recently made a number of policy reforms to provide security to foreign investment. The government of Nepal has announced in its recently unveiled budget for the upcoming fiscal year that it would provide land on lease for 50 years. We are committed to providing security to Japans investment in Nepal, said Malla. He urged the Japanese envoy to Nepal to set up factories in Nepal to manufacture products that were high in demand abroad and are used domestically to help reduce the trade deficit between Nepal and Japan. Stating that the land price and labour costs were less costly in Nepal, Malla appealed to the Japanese ambassador to consider setting up factories in Nepal and to trade with India and China among others. We would like to further advance ties between Nepal and Japan through commercial activities, he said. Furthermore, Malla appraised Japanese envoy Yutaka that the government of Nepal had highly prioritised the agriculture sector in the forthcoming budget and requested the Japanese ambassador to take initiative to introduce Japanese technology to Nepals agriculture sector. An independent candidate became Kathmandus mayor for the first time as Balen Shah beat Sirjana Singh from Nepali Congress and UMLs Keshav Sthapit in the recently concluded local elections. There were hundreds of people who attended his victory rally. But, out of everyone there, one man stood apart: a fellow competitor during Shahs mayoral election another independent candidate Suman Sayami. Its great that someone as young as Balen has become Kathmandus mayor. I think it is. This is a win for people who wanted change. Balen has my full support, says Sayami, adding he and Shah have a lot in common. Now, Suman Sayami hopes Balen Shah will change things and keeps promises that he has made to the public about conserving the valleys culture and tradition while creating change in how things worked in the countrys largest metropolis. A bittersweet battle Suman Sayami was a part of Balen Shahs victory parade as he believes Kathmandu voted for change. Photo: Chandra Bahadur Ale Even though Suman Sayami had not been active in politics, he got over 13,000 votes. Despite not being active in politics, he has served the people of the country in a different way. For over 10 years, he has been a social activist shedding light on issues relating to heritage, culture and civil rights. He was also a key person in the Guthi Bill movement. Im someone who believes in work than talking. I dont know how to speak to the public, which is why I wasnt able to tell the public what I had done in the past, he says. Suman Sayami believes that he got over 13,000 votes due to Kathmandus core area, which involves areas occupied by the Newas. They know what Ive done in the past, but sadly I couldnt reach more people because I just didnt have the time, he adds. He believes that he was aiming for more votes. In his estimation, he thought he would get between 20,000-25,000 votes. But, he is not disheartened as he takes the 13,770 as a positive step in his political career, which he says, has just started. Into politics for people Suman Sayami This means Suman Sayami is not going to stop. He is never going to. I used to think politics is a dirty game. But I realised that if people like me didnt get into it and change it, nothing would change. He started getting vocal around 2015 when the state came to destroy his ancestral house in Kalimati in the name of road expansion. His home was built before the Panchayat era and was a safe space for all the communist leaders who held meetings conspiring on how to overthrow the Panchayat system. When he saw the state was going to demolish his house, he could not withstand it. Suman Sayami, who would usually be at the back of the protests, was at the front and centre then. He could not see the state destroy the house where he grew up. They told me they had orders from above. That didnt make sense because the house was legally owned by my family. Whenever there was a public holiday, he would get anxious. With every government office shut down, every time, he would face different issues on how to stop the excavators from destroying his home. Sayami then started to speak to others like him and moved for a legal solution. They started talking to people from the Kalanki area whose houses were demolished in the name of development. The state didnt deploy the excavator to destroy our houses. They deployed to destroy us because, for many people, the house was all they had. Where would these people go? This was nothing but a crime against humanity against us by the Nepal government. Their campaign turned into a movement and soon Suman Sayami was at the Supreme Court. The court ruled in their favour. But still not satisfied, they even moved to the international courts. It was only after the issue went international that the homes of Sayami and others were saved. He knew that if the government could take away a citizens legal home, it could do anything and that paved the way for him to work to save the valleys heritage and culture. He even formed forums and collected like-minded people to fight against the government. He was everywhere, from protests against the proposed Guthi Bill to the building of the Kathmandu-Terai fast track that would take away land from the farmers of Khokona. He played a role in the Occupy Tundikhel campaign that raised awareness about the importance of open green spaces in the valley. The state wants to finish the history of Kathmandu in the name of development. They even tried to finish the guthis. I couldnt sit and watch them do this, he says. Leadership beyond legacy Suman Sayamis father Jivan Raj Manandhar was a communist leader and people told him he should join a communist party too. But, he did not want to. He felt that if he joined a party, he would be no different. He felt it would be against his principle. But, he felt he needed to get into politics only to frame policies about things that the government was not addressing. I didnt want to become a mayor. But, when I saw the party representatives, I felt sick and gave in my name, he says. Im someone who understands the local level because Ive worked there I felt I could be a good mayor. But, Suman Sayami agrees that he gave in his candidacy a little too late. Not being a part of any public discussions programme also did not help him get more votes. I thought what I had done in the past would be enough to convince people but Im not sad because change has won this election, says Sayami. But, he has not lost hope as he now plans to contest the parliamentary elections and hopes people will vote for him then. This story was translated from the original Nepali version and edited for clarity and length. Super Soco TS Street Hunter is the latest addition to the electric bike segment from premium electric two-wheelers company, Super Soco. Super Soco has been offering a wide variety of electric two-wheelers in Nepal. While most electric two-wheeler companies focus on releasing an electric scooter, Super Soco focuses on both scooters and bikes. The launch of TS means Super Soco now has launched its fourth electric bike under its name in Nepal. Super Soco TS Street Hunter offers a good design focusing mainly on riding on the street. The new electric motorbike also offers a lot of handy features for the riders. Lets get into the details of the Super Soco TS to know what more it is offering. Specifications Dimensions Length: 1,898mm Height: 1,059mm Width: 703mm Ground clearance: 184mm Seat height: 770mm Wheelbase: 1320mm Motor power 3500W Motor Bosch Max torque 180N.m Battery type Lithium (18650 cells) Battery capacity 60V26Ah Charging time 3to 3.5 hours Range From 100 km to 200 km Top speed Up to 85kmph Braking type Combi Braking System Brakes Front: Disc Rear: Disc Suspension Front: Inverted hydraulic Rear: Centralised hydraulic Tyre size Front: 70/100-17, tubeless Rear: 110/70-17, tubeless Instrument display LCD Speedometer Digital Rated max loading capacity 150 kg Colours Black, azurite, white, and grey Price Rs 379,900 for the 100 km range variant Rs 479,900 for the 200 km range variant Design and ergonomics Photo: Supersoco Super Soco TS Street Hunter shares a similar design to the already available TSx. This electric bike comes with a high level of modern finishes, with a determined and practical style. The vehicle has a racing-level separated frame. The vehicle is also equipped with a super bright LED and has a digital display, on which the brightness adapts automatically. The digital display is also waterproof and is said to provide the information in high clarity. The electric bike also features an intelligent light-sensing technology that is adaptive to various day and night road situations. Photo: Supersoco At the back, Super Soco TS Street Hunter features an integrated wraparound LED tail light which is said to have a visual range of more than 270 ensuring high safety for the riders. The bike also features 17-inch sporty tubeless tyres with a bionic bird head tread pattern, which is said to have increased ground grip performance by 10%. Furthermore, the bike is also equipped with a high-precision speed control feature for controlled throttling. Photo: Supersoco Super Soco TS Street Hunter has a ground clearance of 184mm which can be really beneficial, especially around the streets of the valley. The bike also features a wider handlebar designed for a sporty riding position. The bike also offers a new sporty seat said to enhance riding comfort with its triple density padding. Performance Photo: Supersoco Super Soco TS Street Hunter is powered by a 3500W Bosch motor and has a 60V26Ah lithium-ion battery. It can achieve a maximum torque of 180 Nm that provides an instant acceleration. The rider has an option to choose from three different riding modes and the throttle response adapts to it. The maximum speed the bike can achieve is up to 75 kmph. Super Soco TS Street Hunter comes in either a single battery or double battery variants. The single battery variant can provide a range of up to 100 km on a single charge while the double battery variant can provide a range of up to 200 km. The charging time can take up anywhere from 3 to 3.5 hours. There is a BMS smart battery management system on the vehicle, which offers: Under discharge protection Overcharging protection Over-current protection Short circuit protection Temperature protection Battery balancer Brakes, tyres and suspension Photo: Supersoco Super Soco TS Street Hunter comes with a combi braking system with hydraulic disc brakes at both the front and the rear. It also features an electronic braking system (EBS) which allows the bike to regenerate the power while braking. The bike features 17-inch wheels with 70/100-17 (front) and 110/70-17 (rear) tyre sizes. The big tyre size can ensure a safe ride regardless of any weather or road surface conditions. Super Soco TS Street provides inverted hydraulic shock absorbers at the front and an adjustable mono-shock at the rear. The price of Super Soco TS Street Hunter is Rs 379,900 for the 100 km range and Rs 479,900 for the 200 km range variants. Description The NASSAU COUNTY POET LAUREATE SOCIETY will affirm PAULA CURCI as the next Poet Laureate in Nassau County for the 2022-2004 tenure. Come celebrate this special presentation as the EVELYN KANDEL, the current Nassau County Poet Laureate, passes the baton of Laureateship t PAULA CURCI. Please bring a poem or letter that honors Paula. All will be collected and presented to her. OPEN POETRY READ TO FOLLOW. 1pm June 25, 2022 Farmingdale Public Library 116 Merritts Road, Farmingdale NY HOUSTON, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Axiom Space announced today that it has been awarded the NASA Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) Contract. Axiom is one of two companies to win the award with a potential total value of $3.5 billion across the life of the program. Under the terms of the contract, the Houston-based company will build the space agency's next generation astronaut spacesuits that may be used for low Earth Orbit (LEO) and the Artemis lunar missions. The new spacesuits by Axiom Space will provide astronauts with advanced capabilities for space exploration while providing NASA commercially developed human systems needed to access, live, and work in microgravity and on and around the Moon. Members of Axiom Spaces Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) work on building the next generation spacesuit at the companys Houston headquarters. Photo credit: Axiom Space The Axiom spacesuit is key to the company's commercial space services. This new NASA contract enables Axiom to build spacesuits that serve the company's commercial customers and future space station goals while meeting NASA's ISS and exploration needs. "Our innovative approach to xEVAS spacesuits provides NASA with an evolvable design that enables cost-efficient development, testing, training, deployment, and real-time operations to address a variety of EVA needs and operational scenarios for a range of customers, including NASA," said Michael Suffredini, Axiom Space's President & CEO. "We are immensely pleased that NASA recognizes the value Axiom Space is providing across a range of human spaceflight activities, from our recent private astronaut mission to the ISS to the design and development of Axiom Station, and now to providing this critical system and associated services for astronauts in LEO and beyond." Axiom Space has partnered with a strong team of industry experts on this contract including KBR, Air-Lock, David Clark Company, Paragon Space Development Corporation, Sophic Synergistics, and A-P-T Research. The firm fixed price contract is structured as an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) award over a 10-year ordering period and allows for two additional years for completion of services. Authorization to perform work under the xEVAS contract will be through the issuance of NASA task orders not to exceed $3.1B with a ceiling of $3.5B for all services. Story continues Axiom's xEVAS spacesuits will be designed to accommodate a wide range of crew members. Building off of NASA's xEMU spacesuit design, the Axiom spacesuits are created to provide increased flexibility and specialized tools to accomplish exploration needs and expand scientific opportunities in space. The xEVAS spacesuits design includes life support, pressure garments, and avionics. The Axiom Space team will provide EVA systems training and real-time operations support to NASA, among other services. NASA may order IDIQ services at any time after the contract starts with a period of performance beginning June 2022 and ending June 2032. No phase-in period is anticipated, and the work will be managed at Axiom's Houston facilities. This NASA contract win is the latest of Axiom Space's list of recent accomplishments in its efforts to grow the commercial space industry. Earlier this month Axiom Space celebrated the groundbreaking at the company's new, long-term headquarters at Houston Spaceport, which will be home to the development and construction of Axiom Station, the world's first commercial space station. Axiom Space also recently welcomed home the crew of Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) after successfully completing the first all-private astronaut mission to the ISS. The company has also signed agreements with several nations including Italy, Hungary, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to fly on future space missions. Axiom Space was founded in Houston in 2016 by space entrepreneur Kam Ghaffarian and Michael Suffredini NASA's ISS Program Manager from 2005 to 2015 to build the world's first commercial space station and develop commercial space infrastructure that will drive a thriving low-Earth orbit economy. The company currently employs more than 500 people, the majority of which work at its current Houston facilities and will grow the number to over 1,000 by 2023. About Axiom Space Axiom Space, the premier provider of human spaceflight services and developer of human-rated space infrastructure, is guided by the vision of a thriving home in space that benefits every human, everywhere. Axiom is opening new markets in low-Earth orbit through operating end-to-end missions to the International Space Station while privately developing its successor a permanent commercial destination in Earth's orbit that will sustain human growth off the planet and bring untold benefits back home. More information about Axiom and its generational mission can be found at www.axiomspace.com Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/axiom-space-wins-nasa-contract-to-build-next-generation-astronaut-spacesuits-301559584.html SOURCE Axiom Space China must develop capabilities to disable and maybe even destroy Starlink internet satellites, the country's military researchers said in a paper published by the Chinese journal Modern Defense Technology. The authors highlighted the possibility of Starlink being used for military purposes that could aid other countries and threaten China's national security. According to South China Morning Post, the scientists are calling for the development of anti-satellite capabilities, including both hard and soft kill methods. The former is used to physically destroy satellites, such as the use of missiles, while a soft kill method targets a satellite's software and operating system. In addition, the researchers are suggesting the development of a surveillance system with the ability to track each and every Starlink satellite. That would address one of their concerns, which is the possibility of launching military payloads along with a bunch of satellites for the constellation. David Cowhig's Translation Blog posted an English version of the paper, along with another article from state-sponsored website China Military Online that warned about the dangers of the satellite internet service. "While Starlink claims to be a civilian program that provides high-speed internet services, it has a strong military background," it said. Its launch sites are built within military bases, it continued, and SpaceX previously received funds from the US Air Force to study how Starlink satellites can connect to military aircraft under encryption. The Chinese scientists warned Starlink could boost the communication speeds of fighter jets and drones by over 100 times. The author warned: "When completed, Starlink satellites can be mounted with reconnaissance, navigation and meteorological devices to further enhance the US militarys combat capability in such areas as reconnaissance remote sensing, communications relay, navigation and positioning, attack and collision, and space sheltering." Between hard and soft kill, the researchers favor the latter, since physically destroying satellites would produce space debris that could interfere with China's activities. The country previously filed a complaint with the United Nations about the Tiangong space station's near-collision with Starlink satellites. Apparently, the station had to perform evasive maneuvers twice in 2021 to minimize the chances of collision. Destroying a few satellites also wouldn't completely take out the Starlink constellation, seeing as SpaceX has already launched over 2,500 satellites at this point in time. (Bloomberg) -- Rodolfo Hernandez, a 77-year-old construction magnate known for his abrasive style, is now the favorite to be Colombias next president after securing a place in next months election runoff. He has sometimes been compared to former US president Donald Trump for his disdain for the establishment and ability to shrug off controversies that would sink other politicians. Most Read from Bloomberg Over the years, he has made derogatory remarks about political and business rivals, minority groups and reporters. He often curses and, on one occasion, used physical violence. These are some of the comments he has made in recent years which raised eyebrows. On Hitler I am an follower of a great German thinker. Hes called Adolfo Hitler, Hernandez said in an interview with RCN Radio in 2016. He later apologized to the Jewish community and said that he had meant to say Albert Einstein. On Venezuelans In a 2019 interview with Blu Radio he described Venezuelan migrants as baby-making machines. While Mayor Why are we paying all these fatsos, to sleep all day long? You stop over in the fire station and they are all sleeping, getting paid overtime, and their snoring wakes the dead, Hernandez said of his citys firefighters when he was Mayor of Bucaramanga. Youre lying, Hernandez told a local politician during a heated argument in 2018, before slapping him amid insults. The incident led to his suspension as mayor of the provincial city of Bucaramanga. While Campaigning Vichada? Whats that? Asked about Colombias second-largest province by area, Hernandez appeared not to have heard of it. Despite this, he won the most votes in the district in the first round of the presidential election on May 29. Look at me in the face. I wont let you down. Hernandez made this address to supporters in a video clip on election day. His words seemed unobjectionable, but Colombians were surprised to see that he wasnt wearing any clothes, other than a pair of swimming trunks. Story continues While Doing Business If you continue to p*ss me off, you son of a b*tch, Ill shoot you. Hernandez said this to an architect and former client, according to a recording published by Semana magazine last year. In an interview with newspaper El Tiempo, he admitted he had been wrong to utter a threat, but said people had overreacted. (Adds insult, threat, in final paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. The Hill, Greg Nash Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is reportedly planning to meet face-to-face with his Chinese counterpart in the coming weeks. Well break down the reported meeting, plus why former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro is suing the Justice Department and House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. This is Defense & National Security, your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. For The Hill, Im Jordan Williams. A friend forward this newsletter to you? Subscribe here. Austin could meet Chinese counterpart next month The U.S. and Chinese governments are working to set up the first face-to-face meeting between their current top defense officials during a conference in Singapore in June, The Wall Street Journal reported. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is set to travel June 10 to the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, and Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe is also expected to attend, people familiar with the situation told the outlet. The people noted to the Journal that the meeting is not set in stone. Did Austin hint at this? Austin earlier this month appeared to confirm the planned meeting to the Senate Appropriations Committee, telling lawmakers that he hoped the expected encounter with Wei would promote security and stability in the region. We both recognize the importance of a dialogue and maintaining open channels, Austin said at the time. I look forward to again engaging him in the future, in the not-too-distant future. The elephant in the room: A conversation between Austin and Wei would carry all the more weight considering the recent increased tensions between the Washington and Beijing over Taiwan. During President Bidens first trip to Asia as president earlier this month, he stoked tensions when he said the U.S. would defend Taiwan militarily if China invaded. The White House quickly walked back Bidens comments, saying that he wasnt announcing a policy change. Story continues Two days later, China announced that it conducted military drills near Taiwan, which it views as its territory. The phone conversation: In April, Austin and Wei spoke by phone the first such conversation between the two to discuss defense relations, regional security issues, and Russias unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, according to the Pentagon. China, meanwhile, said Wei told Austin that the two countries should avoid confrontation and that the U.S. should not support Taiwans independence or underestimate Chinas determination and capability. If the Taiwan question is not handled properly, it will have a subversive effect on the China-US relations, according to a readout of the conversation from Beijing. Read the full story here Navarro sues Jan. 6 panel, DOJ Former Trump White House economic adviser Peter Navarro formally filed suit Tuesday against the Jan. 6 committee and the Department of Justice in a case where he will be acting as his own attorney. The kangaroo committee: Navarro said his lawsuit is mainly directed at the committee, but he included DOJ in his suit after being served the subpoena early Monday morning as he was finalizing his lawsuit. It is 99 percent aimed at the kangaroo committee that [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi [(D-Calif.)] formed. I drafted my lawsuit prior to any communication from the U.S. attorney. And just before I was going to file it I got this other subpoena so I just included that in the filing, Navarro told The Hill. The lawsuit lays out similar arguments as others that have challenged the committee, including a focus on its composition, and reiterates Navarros earlier claims that as a former White House employee he cannot be called to testify. Trump has not asserted executive privilege with respect to Navarro. How we got here: Navarro released a draft of the suit Monday evening, revealing he has likewise been the subject of a grand jury subpoena by Matthew Graves, the U.S. Attorney for D.C. According to Navarro, Mondays grand jury subpoena from DOJ asks him to turn over documents by Thursday, something he said he is not yet sure he will do. Im not commanded to testify, Im just commanded to produce documents, Navarro said. A defendant-led challenge: Navarro is not an attorney, and his suit will be the first defendant-led challenge to the committee. I think the brief speaks for itself, he said. Its written in the genre of the law. I have case law to support my arguments drawing on the constitution and U.S. civil statutes. And Im right. Theres no question Im right. The whole idea of executive privilege and testimonial immunity is to provide an environment where senior advisors like myself can offer advice to the president and among other advisors without concern of the candor being revealed to the broader public, Navarro added. Read the full story here. FROM THE WEEKEND: BIDEN WONT SEND KYIV LONG-RANGE ROCKETS President Biden on Monday said his administration will not send to Ukraine long-range missile systems that can strike into Russian territory, after media outlets reported that officials were preparing to send weapons with long-distance capabilities. We are not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that strike into Russia, Biden told reporters on the South Lawn. The statement conflicts with reporting by CNN and The Washington Post that the administration was preparing to provide Ukraine with the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), a U.S.-made system that can fire rockets up to 300 kilometers, allowing Ukrainian forces to strike into Russian territory. Its possible the U.S. package will only include shorter-range rockets that cant strike beyond 50 miles. Read more here. ON TAP TOMORROW The American Security Project will host a conversation with former NATO Supreme Allied commander Gen. Philip Breedlove at 10 a.m. The Heritage Foundation will host a conversation on Readiness with Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall at 11 a.m. The McCain Institute will host a discussion entitled A 21st Century Iron Curtain? Looking at the Future of NATO at 11 a.m. Adm. Linda L. Fagan will take over as Commandant of the U.S. Coast at a Change of Command ceremony at 11 a.m. The Wilson Center will host a discussion on The Echo of Chechnya in Russias War with Ukraine at 12 p.m. The Ronald Reagan Institute will hold a discussion on the 40th Anniversary of President Reagans Westminster Address at 3 p.m. WHAT WERE READING Thats it for today. Check out The Hills Defense and National Security pages for the latest coverage. See you tomorrow! VIEW FULL VERSION HERE For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A muscle study, a robotics test, and space physics hardware were the main research topics aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The Expedition 67 crew will also see a Russian cargo craft depart and a new one launch to replace it this week. Scientists have been exploring how an astronaut's muscles adapt to weightlessness in order to ensure crews stay healthy in space and can withstand the return to Earth's gravity. NASA Flight Engineers Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines paired up today marking their foot, leg, shoulder, and back muscles for the Myotones study. The duo then took turns scanning the marked areas using the Myotones device and the Ultrasound device to measure the muscle's biochemical properties. Results may improve health monitoring during spaceflight and treatments for muscle conditions on Earth. Hines then joined NASA Flight Engineer Jessica Watkins for orbital plumbing work in the Tranquility module's bathroom. The pair also had a robotics test on their schedule today for the Behavioral Core Measures investigation looking at how working on the surface of Mars might affect a crew member's performance. ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti serviced sample cartridges from inside the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF) located in the Kibo laboratory module. The ELF can safely measure the thermophysical properties of materials at temperatures of over 2,000 degrees Celsius in microgravity. Roscosmos Commander Oleg Artemyev and Flight Engineer Denis Matveev trained on a computer today for the automated arrival of the ISS Progress 81 (81P) resupply ship set for 9:03 a.m. EDT on Friday. The 81P is due to blast off three-and-a-half hours earlier from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It will replace the trash-filled ISS Progress 79 cargo craft after it undocks from the rear port of the Zvezda service module early Wednesday morning. Flight Engineer Sergey Korsakov deactivated Earth observation gear before conducting a physical evaluation on the advanced resistive device that mimics a workout in Earth's gravity. The first time space-flyer later studied future planetary piloting and robotic control techniques then explored ways to improve communications between international crews and mission controllers from around the world. On-Orbit Status Report Payloads: Behavioral Core Measures (BCM): The crew performed two BCM research sessions consisting of a set of 12 runs/tests each. The Standardized Behavioral Measures for Detecting Behavioral Health Risks during Exploration Missions (BCM) experiment initially examined a suite of measurements to reliably assess the risk of adverse cognitive effects, behavioral conditions, or psychiatric disorders during long-duration spaceflight. The studyevaluated the feasibility of those tests within the operational and time constraints of spaceflight for two crewmembers. Subsequent subjects perform a subset of the activities to measure the performance capabilities of deconditioned crew members to complete telerobotic operations within the first 24 hours after landing. This information could help characterize what tasks a crewmember who has spent months in weightlessness can reasonably be expected to perform after landing on the surface of Mars. Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF): The crew gained access to the experiment chamber, collected any samples liberated from the sample holder, cleaned the sample holder and sample cartridge as needed, and closed out the ELF to prepare it for upcoming operations. ELF is an experimental facility designed to levitate, melt, and solidify materials by containerless processing techniques using the electrostatic levitation method. With this facility, thermophysical properties of high temperature melts can be measured and solidification from deeply undercooled melts can be achieved. Electromagnetic Levitator (EML): In support of ongoing operations, the EML high-speed camera was changed from recalibrate mode to standard mode. EML is a multi-user facility that provides containerless melting and solidification of electrically conductive, spherical samples under an ultra-high vacuum and/or high purity gas environments. Heating and positioning of the sample is achieved by electromagnetic fields generated by a coil system. The EML supports research in the field of meta-stable states and phases. EML also aids the study on measurement of highly accurate thermophysical properties of liquid metallic alloys in the stable and undercooled state. Human Research Facility-1 (HRF-1) Supply Inventory: Images were taken of the contents of HRF Supply Kit Purple and the HRF Supply Kit Green. These images will be used to plan for future resupply of the contents and disposal of expired items. HRF-1 provides an on-orbit laboratory that enables scientists conducting human life science research to evaluate the physiological, behavioral, and chemical changes induced by space flight. Research performed using HRF-1 provides data to help scientists understand how the human body adapts to long-duration spaceflight. ISS Ham: The crew participated in an ISS HAM pass with Old St. Mary's School, Chicago, IL. Old St. Mary's opened its doors to its first preschool class of 18 children in 2004. Today, they are proud to serve roughly 500 students in preschool through eighth grade. ISS Ham Radio provides opportunities to engage and educate students, teachers, parents, and members in the STEM community by providing a means to communicate between astronauts and the ground Ham radio units. Myotones: The crew performed skin marking on the designated experiment target areas, took measurements using the MyotonPRO device, and performed ultrasound scans of the target areas using the Echo device. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, some of the Echo scans will need to be re-planned for a later day. The Muscle Tone in Space (Myotones) investigation observes the biochemical properties of muscles (e.g., muscle tone, stiffness, elasticity) during long-term exposure spaceflight environment. Results from this investigation can provide a better understanding of the principles of human resting muscle tone. This could lead to the development of new strategies for alternative treatments for rehabilitation on Earth as well as for future space missions. Phospho-aging Mechanism of Accelerated Aging Under Microgravity (Phospho-aging): Urine samples were collected and inserted into the Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) for preservation. Phospho-aging examines the molecular mechanism behind aging-like symptoms, such as bone loss and muscle atrophy, that occur more rapidly in microgravity. Using analysis of human premature-aging syndromes (progeria) in mouse models, scientists identified CalciProtein Particles (CPPs) as a pro-aging factor in mammals. CPPs behave like a pathogen, inducing chronic inflammation and systemic tissue damage that could be the mechanism behind accelerated aging in space. Systems: Water Processor Assembly (WPA) Catalytic Reactor Remove & Replace (R&R) Prep: Today, the crew performed several activities in preparation for the WPA Catalytic Reactor R&R tomorrow. First, the crew complete a big picture words review and gathered and charged Sidekick. Next, crew removed the Urine Transfer System (UTS) and T2 components to allow for access to rotate the Water Recovery System (WRS)-1 Rack. Finally, the crew installed the Active Rack Isolation System (ARIS) Pivot Fittings to the WRS Rack. WPA provides the capability to produce potable quality water from humidity condensate and reclaimed urine distillate. Robotic Survey Operations: Today, robotics ground controllers completed a survey of the forward International Docking Adapter (IDA) using the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) to verify the IDA is in a good configuration to support the docking of the upcoming SpaceX-25 Cargo Dragon. Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Maintenance: Today, the crew evacuated the ARED Cylinder Flywheel and vacuum Slider Track. They also tightened and torqued set screws within the ARED Cylinder Flywheel and Main Arm Fasteners. Completed Task List Activities: None Today's Ground Activities: All activities are complete unless otherwise noted. SSRMS Survey of IDA-F RRM3 Payload Xenon Venting [Deferred] T2 Deactivation Look Ahead Plan Wednesday, June 1 (GMT 152) Payloads: DOSIS LED Check EPM T/S Gather MELFI Icebrick Insert NUTRISS Measurement and Questionnaire Payload Hardware Trash PCRF Maintenance Unit Relocate Phospho-Aging Inserts Repository Urine and Blood Collection Standard Measures Blood Collection Surface Avatar Session and Questionnaire, Photo and Stow XROOTS Plant Check and Water Recovery Systems: WPA Catalytic Reactor Remove and Replace WRS1 Rack and T2 Closeout T2 and WRS-1 Racks Return to Nominal Configuration Thursday, June 2 (GMT 153) Payloads: EML Gas Valve Open and Lens Reconfiguration Systems: Crew Off-Duty Day Friday, June 3 (GMT 154) Payloads: AstroPi BCM Robot Test Biolab EC Removal CAL MTL Jumper Leak Check CIR/ACME Pack/Trash EPM (European Physiology Module) Test Link Connect KERMIT Software Load MSG/Transparent Alloys/CETSOL-1 Cartridge Exchange and Door Switch T/S WiCo-2 BCG Session and Questionnaire Systems: EXPRESS Rack X Locker Move UTS Install WRS-1 Hardware Restow T2 Crewed Activation and Checkout (ACO) Today's Planned Activities: All activities are complete unless otherwise noted. BCM ROBoT Research Testing 2 CMS ARED Cylinder Evacuate with Slider Track Vacuum Columbus Bay 1, 2, 3 Clean-up and Restow ELF Sample Cartridge and Holder Activities EML Experiment - High-Speed Camera Lens Swap HRF Generic Blood and Urine Sample Collection Iceberg Desiccant Swap UTS Removal and Install Pivot Fitting Scavenge T2 and WRS-1 Rack Prep WRS Big Picture Words Review ISS HAM Columbus Pass Kenwood ISS HAM Kenwood Radio Power Down in Columbus ISS HAM Radio Power Down in Service Module MELFI 2 Ice Brick Insert 2 Echo Unit Setup for Myotones Experiment Myotones Ultrasound Scan using ECHO Unit [Deferred] Robotics On-board Trainer (ROBoT) Setup Phospho-Aging MELFI Sample Retrieval and Insertion Operations Photo shooting in Cupola Sidekick Gather and Charge Treadmill MTL Hose Inspection Connect HDV Camcorders in SM for TORU OBT Video Broadcast UTS Offload EDV Swap VEGGIE Hardware On-Board Training Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. (Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Bank AGs embattled DWS Group Chief Executive Officer Asoka Woehrmann resigned hours after a police raid at the asset manager, the culmination of months of controversy surrounding the executive. Most Read from Bloomberg Stefan Hoops, head of the German lenders corporate bank, will assume the top role at DWS from June 10, according to a statement Wednesday. His previous role will be taken by David Lynne, who leads the corporate bank for Asia-Pacific based in Singapore. The departure of one of Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewings former close allies underscores the rising pressure since former DWS chief sustainability officer Desiree Fixlers allegations that the company inflated its ESG credentials. The raids add to a growing list of regulatory and legal headaches for Sewing after law officials swooped into both firms in Frankfurt on Tuesday. DWS shares fell as much as 8% in Frankfurt on Wednesday, adding to a 5.7% drop the previous day. The stock was down 7.3% at 31 euros ($33) as of 1:05 p.m. local time. The allegations made against DWS and me over the past months, including personal attacks and threats, however unfounded or undefendable, have left a mark, Woehrmann wrote in a farewell message to staff seen by Bloomberg. They have been a burden for the firm, as well as for me and, most significantly, for those closest to me. So it is with an extremely heavy heart that I have agreed with the firm to resign. The greenwashing probes also underscore the growing scrutiny of money managers and their sustainability claims as demand for ESG investments soars. Assets tied to environmental, social and governance issues are expected to surge to more than $50 trillion by 2025, or about a third of global assets under management, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Story continues Asset managers, especially those operating in markets such as Europe and the US, need to make sure they can support their ESG claims given regulators scrutiny of greenwashing, said Mak Yuen Teen, a professor at the National University of Singapore who researches corporate governance. For Woehrmann, the raid was another blow after he faced scrutiny over his use of personal email for business purposes and the role his relationship with a German businessman played in deals. While the negative news flow around DWS in recent months had annoyed the banks top brass, Bloomberg has reported, Sewing had stood by Woehrmann. Earlier this year he said that the executive had done an outstanding job and in Wednesdays statement thanked him for his impressive work and performance. He took over the DWS job in 2018, soon after the asset managers poorly-received initial public offering. Investors had yanked billions of euros from its funds and Sewing asked Woehrmann to turn the asset manager around after hed impressed him running the banks German retail operations. He managed to stem the outflows and morale improved. Woehrmann also slashed costs at the asset manager while boosting revenue. The firm last year achieved the highest pretax profit since before its listing four years ago. Like Woehrmann before him, Hoops is close to Sewing and he has spent his entire career at Deutsche Bank, most of it in the trading unit before Sewing tapped him in 2019 to turn around the flagging transaction banking business. The business was supposed to be a centerpiece of the overhaul but has seen results outshone by those at the investment bank. The unit has faced strong interest-rate headwinds, though Hoops relentless focus on introducing deposit charges for clients has recently contributed to two consecutive quarters of double-digit revenue growth. Growing Chorus The ESG industry has recently faced attacks from a growing chorus of detractors. Jim Whittington, head of responsible investment at Dimensional Fund Advisors, said the sustainability trend is struggling both in terms of real-world impact and returns. HSBC Holdings Plcs asset management unit recently suspended its head of responsible investment after he questioned the sense of focusing on climate change. The US Securities and Exchange Commission floated tighter rules last week to ensure a products name is squarely focused on its actual strategy, with most observers fixating on what the restrictions mean for socially responsible investing. The proposals could hit thousands more funds trading everything from value and growth stocks to bonds and emerging markets. Misleading Claims Fixler has said that DWSs claims that hundreds of billions of its assets under management were ESG integrated were misleading because the label didnt translate into meaningful action by relevant fund managers. DWS has since stopped using the label. Woehrmann fired former sustainability officer Fixler in March last year, saying in a memo to staff that her unit hadnt made enough progress. She sued for unfair dismissal but lost the case before a Frankfurt labor court in January. Still, ESG assets have continued to pour into the bank. DWS funds saw record net inflows of 48 billion euros ($51 billion) in 2021, with ESG products accounting for 40% of the total, according to a press release. (Updates with shares in fourth paragraph, timeline lower) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. gazprom gas Europe lurched closer to an energy crisis on Tuesday after the Kremlin cut off gas supplies to major buyers including Shell. Russias state-owned gas supplier, Gazprom, said supplies to Shell in Germany as well as to rsted in Denmark will be cut off on Wednesday after they refused to bow to Putin's demands to pay in roubles. Gazprom cut supplies to the Netherlands on Tuesday after doing the same to Poland, Bulgaria and Finland this month, weaponising gas amid its war in Ukraine. FTSE 100 company Shell produces fossil fuels itself, but also has a vast trading division that buys gas from companies such as Gazprom and sells it on. The company said in March that it planned to withdraw from its involvement in Russian energy in a phased manner. It has now been forced to abandon the market immediately. Responding to Gazprom's statement, Shell said on Tuesday: Shell has not agreed to new payment terms set out by Gazprom. We will work to continue supplying our customers in Europe through our diverse portfolio of gas supply. Shell continues to work on a phased withdrawal from Russian hydrocarbons, in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The Shell contract cut by Gazprom involves a maximum of 1.2bn cubic metre of gas per year, delivered in Germany for Shell to sell where it is needed. The EU imported about 155bn cubic metres of gas from Russia in 2021, amounting to about 40pc of its gas consumption. The Kremlin last month ordered buyers in unfriendly countries to pay for gas in roubles, in what was seen as retaliation over sanctions and efforts to isolate Moscow over its war on Ukraine. Most of Gazprom's contracts with European buyers remain in place after they found ways to comply with the demand, with the amount cut off thought to equal less than 20bn cubic metres in total. rsted said on Tuesday its supplies from Gazprom would be cut off at 6am on Wednesday. Mads Nipper, chief executive, said the company stand[s] firm in our refusal to pay in roubles. Story continues He added since there is no direct gas pipeline between Russia and Denmark, Russia cannot cut the country off, but Denmark will need to buy more on the European market. Mr Nipper said: We expect this to be possible. We are in ongoing dialogue with the authorities, and we trust that the authorities, who have the overall overview of the supply situation in Denmark, are prepared for the situation. James Huckstepp, manager for European gas analytics at S&P Global Platts, said efforts to replace Russian supplies are being helped by lower demand in Asia owing to Covid lockdowns and other factors, although things will become more difficult towards the end of the year. It comes as Westminster is considering paying for a supply of coal to keep power stations online that would otherwise be shutting before winter. Energy companies Drax, EDF and Uniper would receive the supplies and delay the closure of some coal plants in September, Bloomberg reported. Britain gets less than 4pc of its gas directly from Russia but there are concerns about a significant knock-on effect in Britain if Russia goes further in cutting off supplies to Europe over the next few months. Whitehall planners have warned that under a worst case scenario, first reported by the Times, electricity would need to be rationed to 6m homes in the morning and evenings. Gas is used to generate more than a third of Britains electricity, and the electricity market is already set to be tight this winter due to the planned closure of some UK power plants and ongoing problems with nuclear reactors in France. Corrosion problems with reactors run by EDF mean up to half of the state-owned French giants fleet could be out of action during the colder months. This could result in France importing more electricity from Britain, putting an extra strain on supplies. Meanwhile, the UK market is about to lose several significant power stations, including the Hinkley Point B and Hunterston B nuclear plants, and a Government auction to secure backup generation capacity fell short, with generators offering up less than what was requested. Kathryn Porter, an independent energy consultant and founder of Watt Logic, said this meant that the amount of spare power available during the busiest periods of demand - also called the capacity margin - would be extremely tight this winter. She said: With six gigawatts of capacity set to close later this year and us exporting more to France, it pretty much wipes out any spare margin that we have. The whole system becomes a lot more fragile. And this, I think, is a huge worry. "This winter, we could be consistently exporting to France. When you take that, plus all the plant closures that are planned for this year, plus the shortfall on the capacity market, I worry that we will have pretty much no capacity margin for this winter. She said that in extreme scenarios where there are electricity shortfalls, National Grid may ask big energy users such as manufacturers to rein in their consumption to ease the pressure. A spokesman for National Grid ESO (electricity system operator), which manages the electricity capacity market, said the company would publish its official winter forecasts in July. London, United Kingdom and Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 1, 2022) - GlobalBlock Digital Asset Trading Limited (TSXV: BLOK) (OTC Pink: BLVDF) (FSE: BD4) (the "Company" or "GlobalBlock") announces that in connection with the filing of the Company audited annual financial statements on May 30, 2022, the British Columbia Securities Commission has revoked the management cease trade order (MCTO) issued on May 3, 2022. In addition, the Company's unaudited interim financial statements, management's discussion and analysis and related certifications for the three-month period ended March 31, 2022 have been filed and are now available for viewing on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at https://www.sedar.com/. ABOUT THE COMPANY GlobalBlock Digital Asset Trading Limited is a publicly traded holding company (TSXV: BLOK) whose subsidiary, GlobalBlock Europe, UAB (https://www.globalblock.eu), is a European Union based digital asset broker that provides a personalised telephone brokerage service, trading platform and mobile app. Established by an experienced team of financial services professionals, GlobalBlock Europe, UAB acts as a trusted agent serving the digital asset needs of individuals, corporations, institutional financial firms and intermediaries, providing best execution trading and safe custody of digital assets. At this time, clients or customers based in Lithuania and the UK can be onboarded to its digital asset broker and trading services. For further information please contact the Company at: Rufus Round, CEO c/o 65 Curzon Street, London, W1J 8PE, United Kingdom Tel. +44 20 3307 3795 info@globalblockdigital.com https://globalblock.eu/ and http://www.globalblockdigital.com/ https://twitter.com/Globalblocknews https://www.linkedin.com/company/globalblock/ Media Contact Angus Campbell Citigate Dewe Rogerson Angus.Campbell@citigatedewerogerson.com CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Story continues Certain information set out in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements or information. Forward looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements in respect of among other things: the continued and successful development of the businesses and technologies of each of the Company and its subsidiaries, the ability of the Company and its subsidiaries to obtain the applicable regulatory approvals to continue to conduct its business and other information concerning the intentions, plans, future action and future successes of the Company, and its businesses, technologies and products described herein. Forward-looking statements are based upon the opinions and expectations of management of the Company as at the effective date of such statements and, in certain cases, information provided or disseminated by third parties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, and that information obtained from third party sources is reliable, they can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements included in this document, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which the forward-looking statements are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not occur, which may cause actual results in future periods to differ materially from any estimates or projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, risk factors set forth in the Company's most recent management's discussion and analysis, a copy of which is filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and readers are cautioned that the risk factors disclosed therein should not be construed as exhaustive. These statements are made as at the date hereof and unless otherwise required by law, the Company does not intend, or assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/126209 IBA SA Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium, 1 June, 2022 IBA (Ion Beam Applications S.A., EURONEXT), the world leader in particle accelerator technology and the worlds leading provider of proton therapy solutions for the treatment of cancer, today announces a contract with Eugene M. & Christine E. Lynn Cancer Institute of Boca Raton Regional Hospital, part of Baptist Health South Florida, for the installation of its ProteusONE1 compact proton therapy system. This project represents the second proton therapy center for Baptist Health Cancer Care, which is comprised of Miami Cancer Institute and Lynn Cancer Institute, with the first having been installed at Miami Cancer Institute as South Floridas first proton therapy center. The contract includes a multi-year operation and maintenance agreement, and it is expected that patients will start being treated in 2024. The center will be located at the Boca Raton Regional Hospital and it will be equipped with IBAs ProteusONE solution, including Pencil Beam Scanning (PBS), Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) and Hand Pendant with contextual menus for easy patient positioning. Olivier Legrain, Chief Executive Officer of IBA, commented: This new contract continues to reinforce our leading position in the US market, marking our 20th proton therapy system in the region to date. We are pleased to once again be partnering with Baptist Healths Cancer Care network to provide cancer patients with access to the most advanced radiotherapy technology. After working with Miami Cancer Institute, which has treated more than 1,000 patients to date, we look forward to supporting Lynn Cancer Institute in providing world-class cancer care. Dr. Michael Kasper, Medical Director of Radiation Oncology at Lynn Cancer Institute added: At Lynn Cancer Institute, our goal is to provide comprehensive and the most innovative cancer care to our patients. Partnering with the leader in proton therapy equipment manufacturing IBA was therefore the logical choice for us. We are excited at the prospect of providing our patients with this cutting-edge treatment. Story continues The typical end-user price for a ProteusONE system with a 10-year maintenance contract ranges between 40-50 million US dollars. Revenue recognition on the contract will start upon receipt of the downpayment and subject to building permission. ***ENDS*** About IBA IBA (Ion Beam Applications S.A.) is the world leader in particle accelerator technology. The company is the leading supplier of equipment and services in the field of proton therapy, considered to be the most advanced form of radiation therapy available today. IBA is also a leading player in the areas of industrial sterilization, radiopharmaceuticals, and dosimetry. Based in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, the company employs approximately 1,600 people worldwide. IBA is a certified B Corporation (B Corp) meeting the highest verified social and environmental performance standards. IBA is listed on the pan-European stock exchange EURONEXT (IBA: Reuters IBAB.BR and Bloomberg IBAB.BB). More information can be found at: www.iba-worldwide.com About the Eugene M. & Christine E. Lynn Cancer Institute The Eugene M. & Christine E. Lynn Cancer Institute is part of Baptist Health South Florida, the largest healthcare organization in the region, with 11 hospitals, more than 23,000 employees, 4,000 physicians and 100 outpatient centers, urgent care facilities and physician practices spanning across Miami-Dade, Monroe, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Baptist Health has internationally renowned centers of excellence in cancer, cardiovascular care, orthopedics and sports medicine, and neurosciences. In addition, it includes Baptist Health Medical Group; Baptist Health Quality Network; and Baptist Health Care On Demand, a virtual health platform. A not-for-profit organization supported by philanthropy and committed to its faith-based charitable mission of medical excellence, Baptist Health has been recognized by Fortune as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America and by Ethisphere as one of the Worlds Most Ethical Companies. For more information, visit BaptistHealth.net/Newsroom and connect with us on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter and LinkedIn. About Baptist Health South Florida Baptist Health South Florida is the largest healthcare organization in the region, with 12 hospitals, more than 24,000 employees, 4,000 physicians and 100 outpatient centers, urgent care facilities and physician practices spanning across Miami-Dade, Monroe, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Baptist Health has internationally renowned centers of excellence in cancer, cardiovascular care, orthopedics and sports medicine, and neurosciences. In addition, it includes Baptist Health Medical Group; Baptist Health Quality Network; and Baptist Health Care On Demand, a virtual health platform. A not-for-profit organization supported by philanthropy and committed to its faith-based charitable mission of medical excellence, Baptist Health has been recognized by Fortune as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America and by Ethisphere as one of the Worlds Most Ethical Companies. For more information, visit BaptistHealth.net/Newsroom and connect with us on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter and LinkedIn . ### CONTACTS IBA Soumya Chandramouli Chief Financial Officer +32 10 475 890 Investorrelations@iba-group.com Olivier Lechien Corporate Communication Director +32 10 475 890 communication@iba-group.com Consilium Strategic Communications Amber Fennell, Angela Gray, Lucy Featherstone +44 (0) 20 3709 5700 IBA@consilium-comms.com 1 ProteusONE is the brand name of Proteus235 Attachment Sao Paulo, Brazil--(Newsfile Corp. - June 1, 2022) - The Pacoca team has successfully launched its newest DeFi portfolio manager, Pacoca. This new launch is a portfolio tracker in which users can track their DeFi assets, invest in smart vaults with compounding yields, and use the decentralized exchange aggregator to trade tokens. Pacoca is a powerful portfolio manager, convenient to all DeFi users, and free to use; users can see DeFi investments from multiple chains on a single page. The platform aims to mend the gap between the variety of services offered by DeFi platforms and their unavailability in one place, by being a one-stop DeFi hub that is a multichain portfolio manager, an automated yield farming, and a DEX aggregator. Introducing Pacoca: The One-Stop DeFi Portfolio Manager To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8475/126092_2bfb00bf04463990_001full.jpg Pacoca aims to provide a broad and consolidated view of the assets invested in different DeFi projects in EVM-based blockchains like BNB Chain, Fantom, Polygon, and/or Ethereum in order to improve the experience of DeFi users. The platform emphasizes simplicity and is ideal for individuals seeking an simple but powerful DeFi hub with a real-time portfolio tracker across multiple chains. The Pacoca Dashboard Within a single Dashboard page, users can check all their DeFi staking, borrowing, lending, rewards to harvest, tokens, NFT, and asset allocation. The Dashboard also shows more details on LP farming, and it can show the amount and value of tokens inside of the LP. Additionally, Pacoca has a "Convert your balances into PACOCA" feature through which users can gather tokens that have small amounts together, and swap them into $PACOCA within one transaction. This feature currently works on the BNB Chain. Users can also check their DeFi portfolio in real-time simply on their phone screen by using the Pacoca app and it is not necessary to get access to wallet apps. Story continues Click here to see how to add Pacoca to the home screen. Pacoca's exchange is powered by 1inch. Pacoca is audited by Inspex, and Certix with Skynet, where the smart contracts are monitored 24 hours a day. The Future Pacoca aims to become the most preferred one-stop DeFi service provider. The platform commemorated its first birthday on March 13 by launching its very first NFT birthday collection as well as the 2022 roadmap for the first and second quarters. The best is yet to come, as new and exciting features will be added down the line, such as the ZAP feature, DAO, Portfolio surprise feature, PFP NFT collection, Cross-chain Tokens, and Sweet vaults, among others. Contact Details Company Name: Pacoca Email: salt@pacoca.io Global Community: https://t.me/pacoca_io Announcements Channel: https://t.me/Pacoca_Announcements Website: https://pacoca.io/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/pacoca_io Medium: https://pacoca.medium.com/ To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/126092 Editors note: This story has been updated to reflect a change in the lawsuit listing specific voting precincts in 12 counties. A new Commonwealth Court filing is asking for a hand recount in 150 voting precincts across 12 counties to determine the winner of the GOP U.S. Senate primary. The May 31 petition, which includes the names of about 45 Republican voters, asks the court to order a recount by hand in the race between celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz and former hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick. The initial lawsuit had referenced 150 voting precincts, but also explicitly said it was focused on voting precincts listed in an attached exhibit that listed every voting precinct in those counties. That exhibit was an apparent oversight as an amended petition has since been filed that includes a shorter list of voting districts. A hearing has been scheduled for June 6 at 10 a.m. at the Pennsylvania Judicial Center in Harrisburg. A link for an online stream of the hearing will be posted at www.pacourts.us before the hearing, according to court documents posted Thursday afternoon. Unofficial results have Oz leading McCormick by just 922 votes, a narrow margin slim enough to trigger an automatic recount under a 2004 state election law. The law requires a recount if the margin between candidates is equal to 0.5% of the total votes cast in a race. The race between Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidates David McCormick, left, and Mehmet Oz is headed for a recount. Oz took 419,510 ballots to McCormicks 418,588 votes, a gap between the two equal to about 0.07% of the 1.34 million votes cast in the Senate race. The Pennsylvania Department of State ordered a recount in the Republican Senate primary to begin by Wednesday, but Acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman said last week the counties had options regarding how they tallied the votes. The law requires that the county Board of Elections recount all ballots using a different device than the initial tabulation, or they can recount by hand, Chapman said. Senate race in PA: John Fetterman's US Senate prospects could come down to electability vs. 'the midterm curse' Story continues PA 2022 primary coverage: Oz wins GOP Senate primary 1st count by 902 votes. Recount coming This latest filing submitted Tuesday afternoon by members of McCormicks legal team and the petitioners also seems to allege some kind of fraud or irregularities may be at play in the results. Petitioners believe, based on information they consider reliable, that fraud or error, although not manifest on the general return of votes was committed in the computation of votes cast, in the marking of the ballots, in the canvassing of the votes cast on the machines, or otherwise in connection with the ballots or casted votes in the election districts (named in an exhibit), the petition states. Of the counties named in the lawsuit, there are 24 precincts in Allegheny County; 31 precincts in Bucks County; five precincts in Centre County; 10 precincts in Chester County; five precincts in Cumberland County; 24 precincts in Delaware County; three precincts in Erie County; seven precincts in Lancaster County; three precincts in Monroe County; four precincts in Schuylkill County; 29 precincts in Westmoreland County and five precincts in York County. Richard Tems, one of the Republican petitioners from Bucks County, said he signed on to the filing because he believes a hand recount would be appropriate in such a narrow race. I just want an honest election, Tems said during a phone interview Tuesday. Tems adds that he had heard of claims of an overcount in other counties but that he did not have any first-hand knowledge of those allegations and they were not related to him signing on to this new lawsuit. Beverly Reihart, of northern York County, said she also signed on to the petition out of principle that the tight knit race needed to be accurate. "We want to make sure it's accurate when it's that close," Reihart said. "It just bears checking." McCormick is also involved in another lawsuit filed in the Commonwealth Court to require counties to include mail ballots missing handwritten dates on their secrecy envelopes. The state department advised counties to include mail ballots with either missing or incorrect dates listed on outer return envelopes, but about eight counties indicated previously they did not plan on following that guidance. While President Judge Cohn Jubelirer said a ruling on the case would soon follow a four-hour hearing yesterday, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling may render the issue moot or run out the clock for Pennsylvanias recount. No ruling in Senate mail ballot suit:Commonwealth Court hears McCormick mail ballot lawsuit, no ruling yet PA primary: On PA campaign trail: GOP Senate candidates get nasty, Fetterman a solid frontrunner An order from Justice Samuel Alito paused a lower-court ruling in a lawsuit over a disputed 2021 local court election that would have allowed the counting of mail-in ballots that lacked a handwritten date, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia had ruled that the state election laws requirement of a date next to the voters signature on the outside of return envelopes was immaterial and no reason to throw out such ballots. The Supreme Court order stays a ruling on the circuit court decision until the court has fully considered the issue. There is no set deadline for the nations highest court to act, but Pennsylvanias recount must be finished by June 8 under state law. What GOP results say about November:What does Pennsylvania's GOP Senate race tell us about November's election? McCormicks attorneys say there could be enough ballots at issue in that case to at least further close the gap, while Oz and attorneys for the Republican National Committee have called the lawsuit a desperate attempt to scrounge up votes and asking the court to change the rules in the middle of a race. It is unclear if the petition for the hand recount will affect all voting precincts in the 12 counties listed or just some of them. While an exhibit listing the affected precincts mentioned early in the filing seems to list every polling place in each county, another section of the lawsuit could limit the count to just 150 precincts in total. A request for comment from one of the lead attorneys in the filing was not immediately returned Wednesday afternoon. York Daily Record reporter Teresa Boeckel contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Lawsuit seeks hand recount in PA GOP Senate race COPENHAGEN, Denmark and NEW YORK, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --The Lupus Research Alliance (LRA) and its clinical trial arm Lupus Therapeutics congratulate Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) on new positive results from a Phase 2 trial of its investigational agent deucravacitinib for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Deucravacitinib is a potentially first-in-class inhibitor of Tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2), which regulates the levels of Type I interferons, molecules in the immune system that contribute to tissue damage and lupus symptoms. (PRNewsfoto/Lupus Research Alliance) Data showed that the primary endpoint at week 32 evaluating the effectiveness of deucravacitinib was met; a significantly greater percentage of patients treated with the study drug met the required reduction of symptoms as evaluated by the SLE Responder Index-4 (SRI-4), a composite measurement of disease activity (58.2% of patients taking deucravacitinib versus 34.4% on placebo). At 48 weeks, those patients given deucravacitinib at an oral dose of 3 mg twice daily showed statistically significant reduction in symptoms according to four objective measurements of BICLA, LLDAS, CLASI 50, and change in active joint counts. Safety was demonstrated with similar rates of side effects between those patients given deucravacitinib compared with those receiving placebo. These late-breaking data were presented by Professor Eric Morand, Head of the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health in Australia and Lupus Research Alliance Distinguished Innovator Award recipient, at the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) 2022 Annual Congress, June 1-4, Copenhagen. Albert Roy, Executive Director of Lupus Therapeutics commented, "These are very encouraging results for patients with SLE. We are honored to have played a role in this exciting work by helping to conduct this clinical trial through our Lupus Clinical Investigators Network (LuCIN) of renowned North American academic centers. We thank BMS, all the investigators, and all the patients for their participation in this study evaluating what could serve as a much-needed treatment option." Story continues "The lupus community owes tremendous gratitude to the patients who took part in this study. Lupus is a highly heterogeneous autoimmune disease which differs from person to person, so many new treatments are needed. We urge every person with lupus to talk to their healthcare professionals about participating in the clinical research as an opportunity for high-quality care while helping improve the future for all those living with lupus," Roy added. About Lupus Lupus is a chronic, complex autoimmune disease that affects millions of people worldwide. More than 90 percent of people with lupus are women; lupus is most often diagnosed during the childbearing years of 15-45. African Americans, Latinx, Asians and Native Americans are two to three times at greater risk than Caucasians. In lupus, the immune system, designed to protect against infection, creates antibodies that can attack any part of the body including the kidneys, brain, heart, lungs, blood, skin, and joints. About the Lupus Research Alliance The Lupus Research Alliance, the largest nongovernmental, nonprofit research organization dedicated to lupus research worldwide, aims to transform treatment while advancing toward a cure by funding the most innovative lupus research in the world. The organization's stringent peer review grant process fosters diverse scientific talent who are driving discovery toward better diagnostics, improved treatments and ultimately a cure for lupus. Because the Lupus Research Alliance's Board of Directors funds all administrative and fundraising costs, 100% of all donations goes to support lupus research programs. About Lupus Therapeutics Lupus Therapeutics, an affiliate of the Lupus Research Alliance, aims to accelerate drug discovery and diagnostic innovation for all patients living with lupus. Lupus Therapeutics collaborates with biotechnology and pharmaceutical partners through its unprecedented Lupus Clinical Investigators Network (LuCIN) to drive rapid and meaningful progress in the treatment of lupus patients. The organization aims to place the patient voice and community stakeholders at the center of the clinical research process with the most innovative and renowned experts throughout North America. Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lupus-research-alliance-and-lupus-therapeutics-response-to-positive-data-from-phase-2-study-on-potential-first-in-class-lupus-treatment-301558822.html SOURCE Lupus Research Alliance C$ unless otherwise stated TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK: 945 TORONTO, June 1, 2022 /CNW/ - Manulife today announced the launch of its global Impact Agenda, which articulates the company's commitment to building a better business to better the world, inspired by its mission: Decisions made easier. Lives made better. Manulife (CNW Group/Manulife Financial Corporation) Manulife's Impact Agenda is centred around three interconnected pillars: Empowering sustained health and well-being to support the journey towards a better life Driving inclusive economic opportunities to create a more even playing field for all Accelerating a sustainable future to preserve the planet we all share "I'm pleased to announce the launch of our Impact Agenda, as we deepen our focus on sustainability. By sharpening our focus on the impact we can have, we will drive meaningful change, committing ourselves and our resources to long-term initiatives that create value for our business, shareholders, and stakeholders," said Roy Gori, President and Chief Executive Officer, Manulife. "The Impact Agenda is a lens to help make decisions about our investments to address key societal and environmental issues with our business expertise, including areas related to innovations in products, services and community investments, and decisions around thought leadership, advocacy and public policy." Manulife has established a strong foundation with its environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts. The Impact Agenda provides a framework for the organization to channel its efforts towards tangible and measurable improvements in health, wealth and sustainability, where the company has the greatest ability to effect change. The key commitments of Manulife's global Impact Agenda include: Story continues Empowering Sustained Health and Well-being Innovate and scale behavioural insurance offerings Continue to elevate the well-being of its people through initiatives like family-friendly and mental health benefits programs Expand Healthy Building Certifications for key Manulife Investment Management managed real estate properties Driving Inclusive Economic Opportunity Increase representation of women at the AVP level to 40% and at the VP+ level to 32% by 2022 Increase representation of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) in leadership roles by 30% by 2025 and ensure at least 30% BIPOC representation in graduate programs annually Increase spend with diverse suppliers by at least 4% by 2025 Increase focus on financial inclusion and accessibility of products and services Accelerating a Sustainable Future Net zero financed emissions by 2050 Reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions 35% by 2035 Certify 100% of eligible Manulife Investment Management managed farmland as sustainably managed by 2023 Reduce paper volume by 35% by 2025 and ensure remaining paper is from sustainable sources An international poll commissioned by Manulife and conducted online by The Harris Poll among over 6,000 international adults (defined as those ages 18+ in the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia) echoes the need for ESG commitments that drive value across stakeholder groups. The survey found that 86% of international adults wish there were easier ways to improve their physical and mental well-being, 71% of international adults are concerned they won't be able to achieve their financial goals given the state of the current economy, and nearly 9 in 10 (89%) international adults believe companies must work harder to understand their employees' needs and address them with empathy and compassion. By comparison, 68% (each) of international adults feel it's more important today than 2 years ago for the companies they do business with to combat climate change and commit to sustainable operations. "Through our Impact Agenda, we are continuing to address urgent global needs that matter most to our colleagues, our clients and the communities we serve," said Sarah Chapman, Global Chief Sustainability Officer. "By sharpening our focus and harnessing our unique strengths and the diversity of our business and global footprint, we aim to make a positive impact on the issues that will define our time, for generations to come. This work benefits our business while benefiting our planet and the people who call it home." To learn more about the commitments made by Manulife, and to track progress on our goals, visit Manulife.com/Impact. About the Manulife/ Harris Poll Survey This survey was conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of Manulife from April 18-22, 2022 among 6,347 international adults ages 18 and older in the US (n=2,254), Canada (n=1,042), Hong Kong (n=1,007), Indonesia (n=1,040), and Malaysia (n=1,004), among whom 4,370 are employed. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within + 2.8 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact media_relations@manulife.com. About Manulife Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we provide financial advice and insurance, operating as Manulife across Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. Through Manulife Investment Management, the global brand for our global wealth and asset management segment, we serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2021, we had more than 38,000 employees, over 119,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 33 million customers. Our principal operations are in Asia and Canada, and the United States, where we have served customers for more than 160 years. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong. In the previous 12 months we made CAD$32.7 billion in payments to our customers. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com. Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/manulife-deepens-esg-focus-with-launch-of-impact-agenda-301558333.html SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2022/01/c8842.html Reuters NEW YORK (Reuters) -The former Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein, now in prison after being convicted of sex crimes, on Tuesday sued the U.S. business of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles over a 2019 crash in which he flipped a Jeep Wrangler while trying to avoid a deer. Weinstein is seeking $5 million in damages, saying the Aug. 17, 2019 accident in Bedford, New York left him "catastrophically injured and rendered paralyzed" with "significant and continuing conscious pain and suffering" from what his lawyer called "severe spine and back injuries." According to the complaint filed in a New York state court in Manhattan, Weinstein was wearing his seatbelt when the brakes on the 2017 Wrangler failed as he approached the deer, causing a rollover. OTTAWA, ON, May 31, 2022 /CNW/ - Members of the media are invited to join the Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety, as he speaks about the impact that the Government of Canada's new firearms legislation will have in British Columbia, as well as federal support for crime prevention and community safety. He will be joined by Sukh Dhaliwal, Member of Parliament for Surrey - Newton, British Columbia, and Randeep Sarai, Member of Parliament for Surrey Centre, British Columbia. Following the press conference, Minister Mendicino as well as Members of Parliament Dhaliwal and Sarai will take questions from the media. Date Wednesday, June 1, 2022 Time 1:30 p.m. PDT Location Atrium, Engineering Building 10285 University Drive Simon Fraser University Surrey, British Columbia Media representatives who wish to attend the event must arrive at least 15 minutes in advance to sign in and present photo ID and credentials. Media who wish to participate by phone can dial-in by using the numbers below. Media are encouraged to dial-in 15 minutes before the start of the press conference. Teleconference participants will be able to ask questions. Participant dial-in numbers: 1-866-805-7923 / 613-960-7518 Access Code: 2106893# Media and guests are asked to respect local physical distancing guidelines. Participants will be required to share their name and phone number for possible contact tracing. Wearing masks is recommended, especially when not able to maintain physical distance. Public health protocols are in effect: please stay home if you are experiencing any of the symptoms listed here: Ministry of Health Province of British Columbia, COVID-19, practice good hand washing and other hygiene steps, as well as physical distancing. SOURCE Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada Cision View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2022/31/c7789.html This diagram shows three layers of aerosols in the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune, as modeled by a team of scientists led by Patrick Irwin. The height scale on the diagram represents the pressure above 10 bar. The deepest layer (the Aerosol-1 layer) is thick and composed of a mixture of hydrogen sulfide ice and particles produced by the interaction of the planets atmospheres with sunlight. The key layer that affects the colors is the middle layer, which is a layer of haze particles (referred to in the paper as the Aerosol-2 layer) that is thicker on Uranus than on Neptune. The team suspects that, on both planets, methane ice condenses onto the particles in this layer, pulling the particles deeper into the atmosphere in a shower of methane snow. Because Neptune has a more active, turbulent atmosphere than Uranus does, the team believes Neptunes atmosphere is more efficient at churning up methane particles into the haze layer and producing this snow. This removes more of the haze and keeps Neptunes haze layer thinner than it is on Uranus, meaning the blue color of Neptune looks stronger. Above both of these layers is an extended layer of haze (the Aerosol-3 layer) similar to the layer below it but more tenuous. On Neptune, large methane ice particles also form above this layer. CREDIT International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA, J. da Silva/NASA /JPL-Caltech /B. Jonsson Astronomers may now understand why the similar planets Uranus and Neptune are different colors. Using observations from the Gemini North telescope, the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, and the Hubble Space Telescope, researchers have developed a single atmospheric model that matches observations of both planets. The model reveals that excess haze on Uranus builds up in the planet's stagnant, sluggish atmosphere and makes it appear a lighter tone than Neptune. Neptune and Uranus have much in common -- they have similar masses, sizes, and atmospheric compositions -- yet their appearances are notably different. At visible wavelengths Neptune has a distinctly bluer color whereas Uranus is a pale shade of cyan. Astronomers now have an explanation for why the two planets are different colors. New research suggests that a layer of concentrated haze that exists on both planets is thicker on Uranus than a similar layer on Neptune and 'whitens' Uranus's appearance more than Neptune's [1]. If there were no haze in the atmospheres of Neptune and Uranus, both would appear almost equally blue [2]. This conclusion comes from a model [3] that an international team led by Patrick Irwin, Professor of Planetary Physics at Oxford University, developed to describe aerosol layers in the atmospheres of Neptune and Uranus [4]. Previous investigations of these planets' upper atmospheres had focused on the appearance of the atmosphere at only specific wavelengths. However, this new model, consisting of multiple atmospheric layers, matches observations from both planets across a wide range of wavelengths. The new model also includes haze particles within deeper layers that had previously been thought to contain only clouds of methane and hydrogen sulfide ices. "This is the first model to simultaneously fit observations of reflected sunlight from ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths," explained Irwin, who is the lead author of a paper presenting this result in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. "It's also the first to explain the difference in visible color between Uranus and Neptune." The team's model consists of three layers of aerosols at different heights [5]. The key layer that affects the colors is the middle layer, which is a layer of haze particles (referred to in the paper as the Aerosol-2 layer) that is thicker on Uranus than on Neptune. The team suspects that, on both planets, methane ice condenses onto the particles in this layer, pulling the particles deeper into the atmosphere in a shower of methane snow. Because Neptune has a more active, turbulent atmosphere than Uranus does, the team believes Neptune's atmosphere is more efficient at churning up methane particles into the haze layer and producing this snow. This removes more of the haze and keeps Neptune's haze layer thinner than it is on Uranus, meaning the blue color of Neptune looks stronger. "We hoped that developing this model would help us understand clouds and hazes in the ice giant atmospheres," commented Mike Wong, an astronomer at the University of California, Berkeley, and a member of the team behind this result. "Explaining the difference in color between Uranus and Neptune was an unexpected bonus!" To create this model, Irwin's team analyzed a set of observations of the planets encompassing ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared wavelengths (from 0.3 to 2.5 micrometers) taken with the Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrometer (NIFS) on the Gemini North telescope near the summit of Maunakea in Hawai'i -- which is part of the international Gemini Observatory, a Program of NSF's NOIRLab -- as well as archival data from the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, also located in Hawai'i, and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The NIFS instrument on Gemini North was particularly important to this result as it is able to provide spectra -- measurements of how bright an object is at different wavelengths -- for every point in its field of view. This provided the team with detailed measurements of how reflective both planets' atmospheres are across both the full disk of the planet and across a range of near-infrared wavelengths. "The Gemini observatories continue to deliver new insights into the nature of our planetary neighbors," said Martin Still, Gemini Program Officer at the National Science Foundation. "In this experiment, Gemini North provided a component within a suite of ground- and space-based facilities critical to the detection and characterization of atmospheric hazes." The model also helps explain the dark spots that are occasionally visible on Neptune and less commonly detected on Uranus. While astronomers were already aware of the presence of dark spots in the atmospheres of both planets, they didn't know which aerosol layer was causing these dark spots or why the aerosols at those layers were less reflective. The team's research sheds light on these questions by showing that a darkening of the deepest layer of their model would produce dark spots similar to those seen on Neptune and perhaps Uranus. Notes [1] This whitening effect is similar to how clouds in exoplanet atmospheres dull or 'flatten' features in the spectra of exoplanets. [2] The red colors of the sunlight scattered from the haze and air molecules are more absorbed by methane molecules in the atmosphere of the planets. This process -- referred to as Rayleigh scattering -- is what makes skies blue here on Earth (though in Earth's atmosphere sunlight is mostly scattered by nitrogen molecules rather than hydrogen molecules). Rayleigh scattering occurs predominantly at shorter, bluer wavelengths. [3] An aerosol is a suspension of fine droplets or particles in a gas. Common examples on Earth include mist, soot, smoke, and fog. On Neptune and Uranus, particles produced by sunlight interacting with elements in the atmosphere (photochemical reactions) are responsible for aerosol hazes in these planets' atmospheres. [4] A scientific model is a computational tool used by scientists to test predictions about a phenomena that would be impossible to do in the real world. [5] The deepest layer (referred to in the paper as the Aerosol-1 layer) is thick and is composed of a mixture of hydrogen sulfide ice and particles produced by the interaction of the planets' atmospheres with sunlight. The top layer is an extended layer of haze (the Aerosol-3 layer) similar to the middle layer but more tenuous. On Neptune, large methane ice particles also form above this layer. More information This research was presented in the paper "Hazy blue worlds: A holistic aerosol model for Uranus and Neptune, including Dark Spots" to appear in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. The team is composed of P.G.J. Irwin (Department of Physics, University of Oxford, UK), N.A. Teanby (School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, UK), L.N. Fletcher (School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Leicester, UK), D. Toledo (Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial, Spain), G.S. Orton (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, USA), M.H. Wong (Center for Integrative Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, USA), M.T. Roman (School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Leicester, UK), S. Perez-Hoyos (University of the Basque Country, Spain), A. James (Department of Physics, University of Oxford, UK), J. Dobinson (Department of Physics, University of Oxford, UK). NSF's NOIRLab (National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory), the US center for ground-based optical-infrared astronomy, operates the international Gemini Observatory (a facility of NSF, NRC-Canada, ANID-Chile, MCTIC-Brazil, MINCyT-Argentina, and KASI-Republic of Korea), Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), the Community Science and Data Center (CSDC), and Vera C. Rubin Observatory (operated in cooperation with the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory). It is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with NSF and is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. The astronomical community is honored to have the opportunity to conduct astronomical research on Iolkam Du'ag (Kitt Peak) in Arizona, on Maunakea in Hawai'i, and on Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachon in Chile. We recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and reverence that these sites have to the Tohono O'odham Nation, to the Native Hawaiian community, and to the local communities in Chile, respectively. Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. Editors Note: This story first appeared in 2019 ahead of the Hamilton run during the 2018-19 PNC Broadway in Louisville season. Hamilton dates for the 2021-22 PNC Broadway in Louisville season are June 7-19. So you've got one of the coveted tickets to see "Hamilton" at the Kentucky Performing Arts building. But what if you're a "Hamilton" newbie? How will you even follow along? In a nutshell, here is what to expect: "Hamilton" is the story of America's Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington's right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and was the nations first treasury secretary. Hamilton Trivia: Don't throw away your chance to test your 'Hamilton' knowledge The show, which is the brainchild of composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, features a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B and Broadway. Sounds easy enough to understand, right? Well, have no fear. We asked three experts with intimate knowledge of the Tony Award-winning musical for their insider advice. First, we tapped Kentucky native and "Hamilton" ensemble member Patrick Garr for his expertise. Then we headed to PNC Broadway in Louisville, the powerhouse organization behind bringing "Hamilton" to town, and asked the resident "Leslies" President Leslie Broecker and Senior Director of Marketing Leslie Butler for their opinions. And while this advice was aimed toward "Hamilton" newbies, honestly, these ideas will enhance even seasoned fans. A warning: Their advice does involve doing a bit of "homework" on your part but it's fun homework with a big payoff. "Hamilton" is a fast-moving theatrical production, and if you want to keep up, you'll enjoy the show more if you understand this slice of history and the music written by composer, lyricist, actor, playwright and television producer Miranda, who brings the story to life. Story continues More: It's back! 'Hamilton,' 'Waitress' and more top 2021-22 PNC Broadway in Louisville season So, before you're in "the room where it happens," here's what you need to know: Listen to the soundtrack First up, our experts adamantly agree that you should listen to the soundtrack before you come to the show. "There are more than 30 musical numbers and the show moves extremely fast," Garr told the Courier Journal. "If you already have an idea of what the songs are explaining, you'll be able to pay closer attention to what is happening on stage." Broecker and Butler concur and add this additional step: "Listen to the cast recording while reading the lyrics. There are a lot of words!" Tips: Going to see 'Hamilton'? Here are 9 tips to make you feel 'satisfied' Watch Linn-Manuel Miranda's '60 Minutes' interview Watch or read the "60 Minutes" interview with Linn-Manuel Miranda at cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-presents-a-front-row-seat. The man behind the Broadway phenomenon breaks down his inspiration for the musical. Here's an excerpt from the episode transcript: Lin-Manuel Miranda: "The thing about Hamilton is he spoke in paragraphs. So the opening sentence of our show is this crazy, run-on sentence: 'How does a bastard orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence, impoverished in squalor, comma, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?' Thats the question were gonna answer for the next two hours and 45 minutes." Here's what to know: 'La boheme,' 'Hansel and Gretel' lead Kentucky Opera's 2020-21 season Brush up on your Founding Fathers history If you haven't sat through a history lesson in a few decades, be certain to brush up on the Founding Fathers. "That way your brain isnt wracking itself to remember what you learned years ago," said Broecker. "And be sure to look up the Schuyler sisters." The tight-knit sisters, Eliza, Angelica and Peggy Schuyler, are important characters in the musical and true life of Alexander Hamilton. They are also female role models from American history you may know little about. "And don't forget about Vice President Aaron Burr," said Garr. "You should definitely read up on Burr. His story is extremely important. A lot of people forget about the relationship between Burr and Hamilton and only remember the fatal duel at the end." You'll like: Kentuckian in 'the room where it happens' as 'Hamilton' hits Louisville Catch up on current 'Hamilton' news Finally, and yes we know it's a lot but our three experts insist you'll be glad you made the effort, visit HamiltonMusical.com to see current news and videos. You don't want to "throw away your shot" to have the best possible experience at "Hamilton." With your research of Hamilton, Burr, the Schuyler sisters and the musical's playlist under your belt, all that's left is to find your seat the night of the performance, sit back and take in the theatrical phenomenon. Reach Kirby Adams at kadams@courier-journal.com or Twitter @kirbylouisville. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/kirbya. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Hamilton in Louisville: What newbies need to know before the show ZetaDisplay AB NOTE: This is an unofficial translation of the original Swedish notice. In case of discrepancies, the Swedish version shall prevail. NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING IN ZETADISPLAY AB (PUBL) The shareholders of ZetaDisplay AB (publ) reg. no. 556603-4434 (the Company) are hereby given notice of the Annual General Meeting (the AGM) to be held on 30 June 2022. The Companys annual general meeting will be carried out through advance voting (postal voting) pursuant to temporary legislation. There will be no meeting with the possibility to attend in person or to be represented by a proxy. ZetaDisplay welcomes all shareholders to exercise their voting rights at the AGM through advance voting as described below. Information on the resolutions passed at the AGM will be published on 30 June 2022 as soon as the result of the advance voting has been finally confirmed. The shareholders may request in the advance voting form that a resolution on one or several of the matters on the proposed agenda below should be deferred to a so-called continued general meeting, which cannot be conducted solely by way of advance voting. Such general meeting shall take place if the AGM so resolves or if shareholders representing at least one tenth of all shares in the Company so requests. Right to participate Shareholders that wish to participate in the AGM through advance voting, shall be registered in the share register maintained by Euroclear Sweden AB no later than on 21 June 2022; and shall have notified the Company of their intention to participate at the AGM no later than on 29 June 2022 by casting their advance vote in accordance with the instructions under the heading Advance voting. Nominee-registered shares Shareholders whose shares are registered in the name of a nominee/custodian must register their shares in their own names in order to be entitled to participate in the AGM. Such registration, which may be temporary, must be effected no later than on 23 June 2022 and shareholders must, therefore, instruct their nominees well in advance thereof. Story continues Advance voting The shareholders may only exercise their voting rights at the AGM by voting in advance, so-called postal voting, in accordance with Section 22 of the Act (2022:121) on temporary exceptions to facilitate the execution of general meetings in companies and other associations. A special form shall be used for advance voting. The form is considered as notice to participate in the AGM. The form is available at www.zetadisplay.com. The completed form must be submitted to the Company no later than on 29 June 2022. The completed form shall be sent to ZetaDisplay AB c/o Fredersen Advokatbyra, Lastmakargatan 18, 111 44 Stockholm or by e-mail to zetadisplay@fredersen.se. If the shareholder votes in advance by proxy, a power of attorney shall be enclosed to the form. If the shareholder is a legal entity, a certificate of incorporation or a corresponding authorization document shall be enclosed to the form. The shareholder may not provide special instructions or conditions in the voting form. If so, the entire postal vote is invalid. Further instructions and conditions can be found in the postal voting form. Proposal of agenda Election of chairman of the meeting Nina Johnsson Preparation and approval of the voting register Approval of the agenda Election of one or two persons to attest the minutes Madeleine Odell Determination as to whether the meeting has been duly convened Presentation of the annual report and the auditors report as well as the group accounts and the auditors report for the group Resolution on adoption of the profit and loss account and the balance sheet as well as of the consolidated profit and loss account and the consolidated balance sheet allocation of the Companys profit or loss according to the adopted balance sheet discharge from liability for the Board members and the CEO Resolution as to the number of Board members and auditors Resolution on the remuneration to the Board of Directors and auditor Election of Board members 1 Matthew Peacock (re-election) 2 Michael Comish (re-election) 3 Per Mandorf (new election) 4 Anthony Nicholas Greatorex (new election) 5 Faisal Rahmatallah (new election) Election of chairman of the Board Matthew Peacock (re-election) Election of auditor Ohrlings PricewaterhouseCoopers AB (re-election) Resolutions regarding change of company type and amendments of the articles of the association Proposals It has been proposed that the AGM resolves (item 1 and 8-12) that Nina Johnsson is elected chairwoman of the AGM, that the Board of Directors shall consist of five Board members and no deputy Board members, that one registered audit firm with no deputy auditors is elected as auditor of the Company, that no remuneration to the Board of Directors shall be paid to the Board members, that remuneration to the auditor shall be in accordance with approved invoicing, that Matthew Peacock and Michael Comish are re-elected as Board members, and that Per Mandorf, Anthony Nicholas Greatorex and Faisal Rahmatallah are elected as new members of the Board, for the period until the end of the next AGM, that Matthew Peacock is re-elected as chairman of the Board, and that Ohrlings PricewaterhouseCoopers AB is re-elected as audit firm. Ohrlings PricewaterhouseCoopers AB has informed that the authorized accountant Eva Jonseus Carlsvi will continue as principle auditor, if the AGM resolves in accordance with the proposal. The Boards proposals Preparation and approval of the voting register (item 2) The voting list proposed to be approved is the voting list prepared by Fredersen Advokatbyra on behalf of the Company, based on the AGM share register and received postal votes, controlled and checked by the persons assigned to check the minutes. Election of one or two persons to attest the minutes (item 4) The Board of Directors proposes Madeleine Odell or if she is prevented from participating, the person appointed by the Board of Directors, to attest the minutes. The assignment to attest the minutes also include checking the voting list and that the received postal votes are correctly reflected in the minutes of the meeting. Allocation of the companys profit or loss (item 7b) The Board of Directors proposes that no dividend for the financial year 2021 is to be paid. Resolutions regarding change of company type and amendments of the articles of the association (item 13) The Board of Directors proposes that the Company should change company type from public to private and that the articles of the association of the Company should have the following wording. Company name in 1 is proposed have the following wording: The name of the company is ZetaDisplay AB. Numbers of shares and classes of shares in 5 is proposed to have the following wording: The number of shares shall be not less than 10.000.000 and not more than 40.000.000. Board of Directors and auditor in 6 is proposed to have the following wording: The Board of Directors shall consist of at least 1 and not more than 10 members and up to 3 alternate members. The company shall have at least 1 and not more than 2 auditors and up to 1 alternate auditor. Notice of general meetings in 8 is proposed to have the following wording: Notice of the general meetings shall be given by mail, email or announcement in Post- och Inrikes Tidningar. Pre-registration to general meetings in 11 is proposed to be removed in its entirety. Majority requirements Resolutions in accordance with item 13 above require approval of at least two thirds (2/3) of the shares represented and votes cast at the AGM. Further information As per the date of this notice, the total number of shares and votes in the Company are 27 861 808. The Company does not hold any own shares. The annual report, audit report, postal notification and proxy forms, the Boards complete proposals as well as complete underlying documentation, will be made available by the Company and at the Company's website at least two weeks before the AGM. The documents will be sent to shareholders who request it and provide their postal address. The Board of Directors and the CEO shall, if any shareholder so requests and the Board of Directors believes that it can be done without material harm to the Company, provide information regarding circumstances that may affect the assessment of an item on the agenda and circumstances that can affect the assessment of the Companys or its subsidiaries financial situation and the Companys relation to other companies within the Group. A request for such information shall be made in writing to the Company no later than 20 June 2022, to ZetaDisplay AB, c/o Fredersen Advokatbyra, Lastmakargatan 18, 111 44 Stockholm, Sweden, or via email to zetadisplay@fredersen.se. The information will be made available on the Companys website www.zetadisplay.com and at the Companys offices at Hojdrodergatan 21, 212 39 Malmo, Sweden, no later than 25 June 2022. The information will also be sent to the shareholder who has requested the information and stated its address. The Company has its registered office in Malmo. Processing of personal data For information on how your personal data is processed, see: https://www.euroclear.com/dam/ESw/Legal/Privacy-notice-bolagsstammor-engelska.pdf Malmo, June 2022 ZetaDisplay AB (publ) The Board of Directors For further information, please contact: Per Mandorf, President & CEO Mobile: +46 704-25 82 34 E-Mail: per.mandorf@zetadisplay.com Stefan Egerstad, Interim CFO Mobile: +46 702-99 88 67 E-Mail: stefan.egerstad@zetadisplay.com Robert Bryhn, CMO / Head of Communication Mobile: +46 709-80 20 80 E-Mail: robert.bryhn@@zetadisplay.com About ZetaDisplay ZetaDisplay is a European leader in Digital Signage. We are number one in the Nordic region and second in Europe. We actively drive the digital transformation in physical environments on a daily basis. Our solutions, concepts and software digitize, influence and inform people's behavior at the point of decision-making in shops, in public environments and in workplaces. Our solutions are known as Digital Signage which we develop and offer as SaaS solutions. We are a globally leading player that actively influences the development of the international Digital Signage market organically, through innovation and through acquisitions. ZetaDisplay is headquartered in Malmo - Sweden, has annual sales of approximately SEK 500 million and employs more than 200 people at ten offices in six European countries and the USA. In total, the company handles over 80,000 installations in more than 50 markets. ZetaDisplay is owned by the British investment company Hanover Investors. More information at: https://zetadisplay.com , www.ir.zetadisplay.com and www.hanoverinvestors.com Attachments Private Bancorp of America, Inc. LA JOLLA, Calif., June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Private Bancorp of America, Inc. (OTCQX: PBAM) today announced that it had completed its Second Stock Repurchase Program previously announced on April 28, 2022 through the repurchase of 60,000 shares. There was no minimum time limit for the program, although the Board authorized the Company to repurchase shares through December 31, 2022. The timing of the purchases was based on the stock price, market and other conditions existing at the time of purchase. The shares repurchased have been retired. About Private Bancorp of America, Inc. Private Bancorp of America, Inc. (OTCQX: PBAM), is the holding company for CalPrivate Bank. CalPrivate Bank provides a Distinctly Different banking experience through unparalleled service and creative funding solutions to high net worth individuals, professionals, locally owned businesses and real estate entrepreneurs. Customers are serviced through offices in Coronado, San Diego, La Jolla, Newport Beach, El Segundo and Beverly Hills as well as efficient electronic banking offerings. The Bank also offers various portfolio and government guaranteed lending programs, including SBA and cross-border Export-Import Bank programs. CalPrivate Bank is an SBA Preferred Lender and a Bauer Financial 5 star rated bank. Investor Relations Contacts Rick Sowers President and Chief Executive Officer Private Bancorp of America, Inc., and CalPrivate Bank (424) 303-4894 Mag Wangsuwana Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Private Bancorp of America, Inc., and CalPrivate Bank (424) 348-2145 Safe Harbor Paragraph This press release includes forward-looking statements that involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Private Bancorp of America, Inc. cautions readers that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forwardlooking statements. These factors include the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and related government actions on the Bank and its customers, loan losses, economic conditions and competition in the geographic and business areas in which Private Bancorp of America, Inc. operates, our ability to successfully integrate and develop business through the addition of new personnel and facilities and merged banks, whether our efforts to expand loan, product and service offerings will prove profitable, the effects of the bank mergers and acquisitions in our markets, system failures and internet security, inflation, fluctuations in interest rates, legislation and governmental regulation. You should not place undue reliance on forwardlooking statements and we undertake no obligation to update those statements whether as a result of changes in underlying factors, new information, future events or otherwise. Questex LLC Patel to Lead Hotel Operations Events and the Growth of the Portfolio NEW YORK, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Questex today announces that hospitality and event leader Akshar Patel has joined as Senior Director of Events & Strategy, Hotel Operations. In this newly created position, Patel will be responsible for Questexs hotel operation events Hotel ROI and the Hotec portfolio of hosted buyer meetings and growth of the portfolio through acquisition, partnerships and organic initiatives. Akshar Patel: Akshar Patel A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on the image or link below: With nearly 20 years of experience in leadership, event strategy and business operations, Patel joins Questex with a proven track record of successfully delivering large-scale live and virtual events and trade shows. Most recently, Patel was Vice President of Conventions and Events and a member of the Executive Leadership Team with the Asian American Hotel Operators Association (AAHOA), where he managed the worlds largest hospitality convention and trade show, a portfolio of 150+ hospitality events, as well as virtual/hybrid events. Earlier in his career, Patel managed events for large associations and agencies, as well as InterContinental the Willard Hotel Washington, D.C. and was also an Advisory Board Member for Shepard Exposition Services. Patel is currently an Advisory Board Member for the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, Visit Dallas Customer Advisory Board, Philadelphia CVB Advisory Board and the Events Industry Council APEX Commission. Patel will report to Amy Vaxman, Vice President/Market Leader for the Hotel Operations market. Vaxman said, Akshars reputation for creative and innovative thinking will be a tremendous asset to our portfolio of events. From his event expertise to his industry connections, we look forward to Akshar driving growth for the Questex portfolio. We welcome Akshar to our team. Patel added, Im excited to join Questex, which in the hospitality space, has proven to be a successful organization in bringing together hospitality executives and decision makers advancing innovation, trends, idea-sharing and profitability throughout the world. I look forward to joining a great team of passionate professionals and taking our events strategy and offerings to new heights. Story continues Reach Patel at apatel@questex.com . About QUESTEX Questex helps people live better and longer. Questex brings people together in the markets that help people live better: travel, hospitality and wellness; the industries that help people live longer: life science and healthcare; and the technologies that enable and fuel these new experiences. We live in the experience economy connecting our ecosystem through live events, surrounded by data insights and digital communities. We deliver experience and real results. It happens here. Media Contact Amy Vaxman Vice President/Market Leader Hotel Operations market avaxman@questex.com (Bloomberg) -- Most Read from Bloomberg Russia said Saudi Arabia hailed their oil-market cooperation in the OPEC+ alliance as Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited the kingdom for talks with Gulf officials. The trip comes as Moscow faces growing pressure from the US and its allies over its invasion of Ukraine. Oil-exporting Gulf nations have maintained ties with Moscow and havent joined in the sanctions imposed by the US and its allies. Lavrov and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, praised the level of cooperation in the OPEC+ format, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said in a statement. They noted the stabilizing effect that tight coordination between Russia and Saudi Arabia in this strategically important area has on the global hydrocarbon market. Saudi Arabias state-run news agency reported the meeting but did not provide a detailed readout. Saudis May Exit OPEC+ Pact Early Amid Russia Turmoil, RBC Says The meeting comes as the European Union this week approved a plan to curtail Russian oil exports to the bloc, ratcheting up sanctions against the Kremlin over President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine. Lavrov is scheduled to meet Thursday with his counterparts from around the region at a meeting of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh. The GCC includes major OPEC members aside from Saudi Arabia, including the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. OPEC+ is due to finish restoring production halted during the pandemic by the end of September. But with Russian exports threatened by sanctions, Riyadh could bring back the barrels earlier than scheduled, RBC Capital Markets LLC predicts. Story continues The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that OPEC is contemplating an even more radical option: suspending Russia from the coalitions quota system, as sanctions prevent Moscow from increasing output. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would fill the resulting supply gap, the WSJ said. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced Project Guardian, a collaborative initiative with the financial industry to explore the economic potential and value-adding use cases of asset tokenization, according to a statement from Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on Tuesday. See related article: Singapore wants to bring some adult supervision to crypto Fast facts Project Guardian will test the feasibility of applications in asset tokenization and decentralized finance (DeFi) while managing risks to financial stability and integrity, the statement said. The pilot, led by DBS Bank Ltd., JP Morgan and Marketnode, involves creation of a permissioned liquidity pool comprising tokenized bonds and deposits. The project aims to carry out secured borrowing and lending on a public blockchain-based network through execution of smart contracts. It aims to develop and pilot use cases in four areas open, interoperable networks; trust anchors; asset tokenization; and institutional-grade DeFi protocols. The first industry pilot will explore potential DeFi applications in wholesale funding markets. The move comes at a time when the city-state is gathering steam to position itself as a hub for cryptocurrency service providers while holding onto its reputation as an important watchdog in the global anti-money-laundering, anti-terrorist-financing compliance mechanism. MAS is closely monitoring innovations and growth in the digital asset ecosystem and working through the potential opportunities and risks that come with new technologies to consumers, investors and the financial system at large, said Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer of MAS. The learnings from Project Guardian will serve to inform policy markets on the regulatory guardrails that are needed to harness the benefits of DeFi, while mitigating its risks. MAS said it also welcomes responsible digital asset innovation initiatives from the industry and invites interested parties to submit proposals to the FinTech Regulatory Sandbox for live experimentation. See related article: Caught between a rock and a hard place, Singapore tightens crypto oversight TORONTO, May 31, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Softchoice Corporation ("Softchoice" or the "Company") (TSX: SFTC) announced today the results of its annual general meeting of shareholders (the "AGM") held on Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Election of Directors At the AGM, Softchoice shareholders elected eight directors, comprising seven incumbent directors and one new director, Sylvie Veilleux. Ms. Veilleux is a global technology leader, board director and former chief information officer with more than 30 years of business experience, including considerable experience as a technology executive in leading companies. She has delivered transformative, data-driven solutions for organizations including Apple, Franklin Templeton Investments, Salesforce, Mozilla and Dropbox during periods of hyper-growth, scale and maturation. Sylvie was the first CIO at Dropbox, was named to the Forbes CIO NEXT 2021 Top 50 list of innovative Chief Information Officers and recognized as a Distinguished Chief Information Officer by the California Diversity Council. Ms. Veilleux currently serves as an independent director for Europcar Mobility Group, a Paris-based public company, and as an independent director for several privately held companies headquartered in Canada and the United States. Vince De Palma, director and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Sylvies skillset and wide-ranging experience will be very valuable as we shape our business strategy to enable ongoing success for our customers organizations and their IT professionals." The votes for the election of directors were as follows: Nominee Votes For % Votes For Votes Withheld % Votes Withheld Vince De Palma 48,526,238 93.454% 3,399,251 6.546% Felix-Etienne Lebel 44,595,905 85.884% 7,329,584 14.116% Christopher Voorpostel 46,344,290 89.252% 5,581,199 10.748% Lawrence Pentland 50,664,082 97.575% 1,259,221 2.425% Anthony Gibbons 51,842,212 99.844% 81,091 0.156% Amy Cappellanti-Wolf 50,469,813 97.201% 1,453,490 2.799% David MacDonald 46,685,510 89.909% 5,239,979 10.091% Sylvie Veilleux 51,917,423 99.989% 5,880 0.011% Appointment of Auditor Story continues In addition, KPMG LLP were appointed as Softchoices auditors until the next annual meeting of the Company's shareholders and the board of directors of Softchoice was authorized to fix their remuneration. The votes for the appointment of the auditor were as follows: Votes For % Votes For Votes Withheld % Votes Withheld 51,890,727 99.912% 45,681 0.088% The full details of these matters are set out in the Company's management information circular dated April 12, 2022, issued in connection with the AGM, which is available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Company has filed a report of voting results on all resolutions voted on at the AGM on www.sedar.com. About Softchoice Softchoice (TSX: SFTC) is a software-focused IT solutions provider that equips organizations to be agile and innovative, and for their people to be engaged, connected and creative at work. That means moving them to the cloud, helping them build the workplace of tomorrow, and enabling them to make smarter decisions about their technology portfolio. For more information, please visit www.softchoice.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220531006059/en/ Contacts Investor Relations Tim Foran (416) 986-8515 investors@softchoice.com Media Relations Justin Hane (647) 917-1761 justin.hane@softchoice.com Luxembourg 1 June 2022 - Subsea 7 S.A. (Oslo Brs: SUBC, ADR: SUBCY) today announced the award of a sizeable1 contract by Chevron for the development of the Ballymore project offshore US Gulf of Mexico, in water depths of up to 6,550 feet. The project covers the installation of a Steel Catenary Riser (SCR), flowline and control system. Subsea 7 has supported Chevron with early engineering prior to the award. The offshore scope will be executed in 2023. Project management and engineering will take place in Subsea 7s office in Houston, Texas. Craig Broussard, Vice President for Subsea 7 US, said: "The Ballymore project is an excellent example of how we continue to build on our collaborative engagement with Chevron. We have been working together to drive value creation through early engagement optimising project delivery and accelerating first oil. The relationship allows for a best-in-class project delivery of this tie back development. 1Subsea 7 defines a sizeable contract as being between USD 50 million and USD 150 million ******************************************************************************* Subsea 7 is a global leader in the delivery of offshore projects and services for the evolving energy industry, creating sustainable value by being the industrys partner and employer of choice in delivering the efficient offshore solutions the world needs. Subsea 7 is listed on the Oslo Brs (SUBC), ISIN LU0075646355, LEI 222100AIF0CBCY80AH62. ******************************************************************************* Contact for investment community enquiries: Katherine Tonks Investor Relations Director Tel +44 (0)20 8210 5568 katherine.tonks@subsea7.com Contact for media enquiries: Ashley Shearer Senior Communications Advisor Tel +1-713-300-6792 ashley.shearer@subsea7.com www.subsea7.com Forward-Looking Statements: This announcement may contain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the safe harbour provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). These statements relate to our current expectations, beliefs, intentions, assumptions or strategies regarding the future and are subject to known and unknown risks that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, future, goal, intend, likely may, plan, project, seek, should, strategy will, and similar expressions. The principal risks which could affect future operations of the Group are described in the Risk Management section of the Groups Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2021. Factors that may cause actual and future results and trends to differ materially from our forward-looking statements include (but are not limited to): (i) our ability to deliver fixed price projects in accordance with client expectations and within the parameters of our bids, and to avoid cost overruns; (ii) our ability to collect receivables, negotiate variation orders and collect the related revenue; (iii) our ability to recover costs on significant projects; (iv) capital expenditure by oil and gas companies, which is affected by fluctuations in the price of, and demand for, crude oil and natural gas; (v) unanticipated delays or cancellation of projects included in our backlog; (vi) competition and price fluctuations in the markets and businesses in which we operate; (vii) the loss of, or deterioration in our relationship with, any significant clients; (viii) the outcome of legal proceedings or governmental inquiries; (ix) uncertainties inherent in operating internationally, including economic, political and social instability, boycotts or embargoes, labour unrest, changes in foreign governmental regulations, corruption and currency fluctuations; (x) the effects of a pandemic or epidemic or a natural disaster; (xi) liability to third parties for the failure of our joint venture partners to fulfil their obligations; (xii) changes in, or our failure to comply with, applicable laws and regulations (including regulatory measures addressing climate change); (xiii) operating hazards, including spills, environmental damage, personal or property damage and business interruptions caused by adverse weather; (xiv) equipment or mechanical failures, which could increase costs, impair revenue and result in penalties for failure to meet project completion requirements; (xv) the timely delivery of vessels on order and the timely completion of ship conversion programmes; (xvi) our ability to keep pace with technological changes and the impact of potential information technology, cyber security or data security breaches; and (xvii) the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting;. Many of these factors are beyond our ability to control or predict. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this announcement. We undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Story continues This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. Attachment (Removes Al Kharsaah and Bilbao Knutsen after they leave port; changes expected arrival date for Gaslog Warsaw and Al Mayeda; changes destination for Al Mayeda and Al Bahiya; shows Nikolay Zubov is docked; adds Arctic Discoverer) June 1 (Reuters) - The following liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers are expected to arrive in Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands in the coming weeks. Estimated arrival dates, often revised by port authorities and AIS Live ship-tracking data on Refinitiv Eikon, are updated below. Some tankers heading for Belgium and Britain may be loading at the terminal. Those expected to load are indicated with an (L). Those likely to perform ship-to-ship transfers are indicated with (STS). Tankers that have docked are indicated with (A). For the Reuters LNG guide, click here: LNG TANKER CAPACITY in EXPECTED ARRIVAL FROM PORT cubic metres BRITAIN Al Samriya 258,000 June 2 Qatar South Hook Gaslog Warsaw 176,000 June 7 United States South Hook Methane Julia Louise 168,000 June 7 Peru Dragon Al Mayeda 262,000 June 9 Qatar South Hook Al Bahiya 206,000 June 11 Qatar South Hook Transgas Power 174,000 June 13 United States Isle of Grain Methane Becki Anne 170,000 July 11 Peru Milford Haven BELGIUM Al Ghariya 210,000 May 30 (A) Qatar Zeebrugge Clean Planet 159,000 May 31 (L)(STS) France Zeebrugge Nikolay Zubov 173,000 May 31 (STS) (A) Russia Zeebrugge Celsius Copenhagen 180,000 June 2 United States Zeebrugge Christophe De Margerie 170,000 June 3 Russia Zeebrugge Golar Snow 155,000 June 4 Qatar Zeebrugge Hoegh Gannet 170,000 June 7 United States Zeebrugge Al Rekayyat 212,000 June 10 Qatar Zeebrugge Golar Crystal 160,000 June 26 France Zeebrugge NETHERLANDS Diamond Gas Victoria 174,000 June 2 United States Gate Arctic Discoverer 140,000 June 3 Spain Gate Sonangol Sambizanga 156,000 June 16 Angola Gate Sources: Ports, AIS Live ship tracking, Refinitiv Eikon data. (^) Partial unload (*) Arrival date calculated using www.searates.com at an average speed of 13.5 knots (Reporting by Marwa Rashad) NEW YORK, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Reporters covering the severe weather impacting multiple U.S. states for the balance of this week are encouraged to contact the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) for interviews and analysis. Triple-I subject matter experts listed below can discuss auto, homeowners, condo, renters, and business insurance coverage issues while also providing claims-filing tips. Insurance Information Institute logo (PRNewsFoto/Insurance Information Institute) Triple-I experts are available to help news media covering severe weather events across the U.S. Florida : Mark Friedlander, Director, Corporate Communications: 904-806-7813; markf@iii.org Georgia : William Davis, Southeast Media Relations Representative: 770-331-9279; williamd@iii.org Missouri : Scott Holeman, Director, Media Relations: 785-760-3777; scotth@iii.org New York : Loretta Worters, Vice President, Media Relations: 917-208-8842; lorettaw@iii.org RELATED LINKS: Blog Triple-I Blog: Tornadoes Triple-I Blog: Flood: An Insurable Peril That's Underinsured Consumer Information Settling Insurance Claims After A Disaster Facts & Statistics: Tornadoes and Thunderstorms Spotlight on Flood Insurance Facts About Flood Insurance Recovering from a Flood Issues Briefs Flood: State of the Risk Convective Storms: State of the Risk Video Tornado Tips: Reporting Damage and Loss Tornado Coverage for Small Businesses Website Triple-I's Resilience Accelerator White Paper Severe Convective Storms: Evolving Risks Call for Innovation to Reduce Costs, Drive Resilience The Triple-I has a full library of educational videos on its YouTube Channel. Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/triple-i-can-discuss-insurance-coverage-for-severe-weather-events-301559499.html SOURCE Insurance Information Institute Top Strategist to Stop Planned Parenthood, Rita Diller was Former Feminist who 'Saw the Light' NEWS PROVIDED BYJune 1, 2022FREDERICKSBURG, Va., June 1, 2022 / Standard Newswire / -- American Life League's newly named Interim Director of STOPP International was once "a card-carrying member" of the feminist, abortion promotion group, NOW. Rita Diller openly admits that was a long time ago. Diller, often referred to as a "pro-life hero," now has almost four decades of advocacy for the sanctity of human life behind her. STOPP International is American Life League's initiative dedicated to educating people about Planned Parenthood's culture of death and shutting down its facilities.American Life League President Judie Brown spoke highly of Diller, "Rita is intimately involved with our work. She carries impeccable pro-life credentials. Having worked closely with our late Executive Director Jim Sedlak, as National Director of STOPP, Rita is intimately familiar with the program's objectives to expose the true nature of Planned Parenthood and document its anti-life, anti-family programs. STOPP brings dedicated grassroots pro-life advocates together to counter Planned Parenthood and build a solid wall of resistance to the abortion giant's promotion on a culture of death."Although Diller officially "retired" in 2015, she has continued to advise pro-life leaders and concerned parents about the dangers of Planned Parenthood and its pornographic sex education programs."God has called me out of retirement to help carry on Jim's work after his passing," Diller remarked, and she now steps into the shoes of Sedlak, who was heading up STOPP at the time of his sudden death in January 2022.Sedlak was the cofounder of STOPP and the founder of STOPP International, Christian parent groups focused on putting Planned Parenthood out of business. In 1998, STOPP merged into the American Life League, bringing Sedlak into his dual role in the organization's leadership."Jim was an expert on the ways that people in grassroots movements could be most effective in fighting Planned Parenthood. He spoke from experience, and he always knew exactly what to do to ruffle the feathers of those who promoted a culture of death," Brown shared. "Jim was a faithful Catholic who had an incredible devotion and led not with words, but by example. I believe this is the single greatest reason why he was so effective in battling the Planned Parenthood poison in our midst. Planned Parenthood feared himand with good reason."Looking at Diller's track record, Planned Parenthood could have reason to fear her also, noted Brown."Rita worked 13 years alongside Bishop John Yanta in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Amarillo, where she held the roles of Diocesan Family Life Director, Diocesan Respect Life Director, and Editor-in-Chief of The West Texas Catholic diocesan newspaper. During that time, her efforts helped trigger the closure of all 19 Planned Parenthood facilities in the diocese."Diller reflects that when Bishop Yanta arrived in the diocese, he described the plethora of Planned Parenthood centers there as "a bishop's worst nightmare.""Bishop Yanta knew that we needed to concentrate on educating people about the reality of Planned Parenthood," recalled Diller. "We worked hard to tell the people of the diocese the truth about Planned Parenthood."As a pro-life consultant, speaker, and investigative journalist with decades of experience confronting and stopping Planned Parenthood, Diller is quick to acknowledge that credit for the victories is not actually hers."The very core of our 100 percent effective campaign to stop Planned Parenthood in the Texas Panhandle was always bringing Jesus to Planned Parenthood through Mary," shared Diller. "We did that by praying the rosary on site at the abortion facilities and by always carrying an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe with us. We also met Planned Parenthood's people wherever they were in the community - at their board meetings, their gatherings - any place they were, there we were also. It was a win-win strategy, and we saw the successful closure of every Planned Parenthood facility in the diocese, sometimes one by one, sometimes multiple closures in the same day."Prior to her work with the diocese, Diller, volunteered 14 years at Birthright pregnancy help center and Body of Christ Rescue in Corpus Christi, Texas.A wife, mother, and grandmother, Diller confessed that her pro-life endeavors are deeply connected to her religious beliefs."I am a convert to Catholicism," explained Diller, "It was through that step of faith that I became involved in the pro-life movement and through the grace of the sacraments that I have remained strong in my resolve to work day-by-day, however God leads me, to stop Planned Parenthood and stop abortion."The American Life League has been part of the pro-life abortion debate from its inception. Since 1979, the American Life League has committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to death with a pro-life integrity that stands up for every innocent human being whose life is threatened by a "culture of death." For more information visit all.org , and for particulars on STOPP visit stopp.org SOURCE American Life LeagueCONTACT: Thomas Ciesielka, 312-422-1333, tc@tcpr.net UAS Drone Corp. New location is in proximity to Elbit Systems Land Ltd., which is commercializing Dukes Sniper Drone, powered by Dukes patented TIKAD, an advanced robotic system designed to serve the growing need for tech solutions in the combat field UAS Drones Subsidiary, Duke Robotics, to Move its Operations to a Science & Industry Park with Adjacent Drone Testing Zone TIKAD, an advanced robotic system designed to serve the growing need for tech solutions in the combat field Fort Lauderdale, Florida, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UAS Drone Corp. (OTCQB: USDR), a leader in robotics technology and drone solutions, today announced it has signed a lease for a new facility at the recently built Mevo Carmel Science and Industry Park complex near Yokneam, Israel, which has a large adjacent area for drone flying, takeoffs and landings. "As we continue to evaluate additional applications for our technology, including for its use in the civil market, combined with increasing demand for remote operated drone weapon systems in a time of military tension and conflicts, we are taking steps to meet these growing market needs, said Yossef Balucka CEO of UAS Drone Corp. The transition to our new facility in the summer of 2022 will allow for increased operational flexibility and efficiency, and also benefits from proximity to Elbit Systems Land Ltd. with which we have a global development and commercialization agreement. UAS Drones wholly-owned Israeli subsidiary, Duke Airborne Systems Ltd. and Elbit Systems Land Ltd., signed a Collaboration Agreement in 2021 for global marketing and sales, and production and further development of Dukes Sniper Drone product. UAS Drone believes this collaboration represents a significant opportunity to expand its global business and product sales. About UAS Drone In June 2020, UAS Drone Corp. (USDR) (OTCQB: USDR) completed the acquisition of Duke Robotics Inc. Duke Robotics is a forward-thinking company focused on bringing necessary products and solutions to the defense sector. Duke Robotics developed TIKAD, an advanced robotic system designed to serve the growing need for tech solutions in the combat field. Story continues Duke Robotics' revolutionary stabilization technology enables remote, real-time and accurate firing of lightweight firearms and weaponry via an unmanned aerial platform (UAV). The proprietary and confidential complex kinematic algorithms address the crucial need of modern warfare to bear arms remotely on hostile targets without risk to the military personnel. We believe that troops can use TIKAD to handle potentially dangerous situations quickly and efficiently from the air. This technology also allows troops to potentially disarm a situation remotely, without ever deploying a ground presence. For more information about Duke Robotics, please visit www.dukeroboticsys.com or view documents that USDR files with the Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov . Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. Words such as "future" and other similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as "will" are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are based on our beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to us. For example, when we discuss the potential benefits of Duke Robotics new facility and the potential for the TIKAD system in the military or civilian market, , we are using forward-looking statements. Accordingly, our actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements due to known or unknown risks and uncertainties that exist in our operations and business environment including, but not limited to: the successful integration of acquisitions; the continued development of our products; the ability for Elbit to terminate the Agreement, or cease funding certain the development the TIKAD or the marketing, sales and production of the TIKAD, at its discretion; significant fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; and competition, including technological advances. For additional information on these and other risks and uncertainties, please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the discussion under "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 and any subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Investor Contact: Contact name: Yossef Balucka, CEO Email address: invest@dukeroboticsys.com Attachment COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Vectrus, Inc., (NYSE: VEC), a leading global government services company, announced that company management will address the Stifel 2022 Cross Sector Insight Conference in Boston, on Tuesday, June 7, at 8:35 a.m. Eastern time. Vectrus Logo. A live audio webcast of the briefing will be available at https://wsw.com/webcast/stifel68/vec/1916022 and be available for replay for 90 days afterward. About Vectrus: For more than 70 years, Vectrus has provided critical mission support for our customers' toughest operational challenges. As a high-performing organization with exceptional talent, deep domain knowledge, a history of long-term customer relationships, and groundbreaking technical expertise, we deliver innovative, mission-matched solutions for our military and government customers worldwide. Whether it's base operations support, supply chain and logistics, IT mission support, engineering and digital integration, security, or maintenance, repair and overhaul, our customers count on us for on-target solutions that increase efficiency, reduce costs, improve readiness, and strengthen national security. Vectrus is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., and includes about 8,100 employees spanning 205 locations in 28 countries. In 2021, Vectrus generated sales of $1.8 billion. For more information, visit the company's website at www.vectrus.com or connect with Vectrus on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Contact Information Mike Smith, CFA michael.smith@vectrus.com (719) 637-5773 Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vectrus-to-participate-in-the-stifel-2022-cross-sector-insight-conference-june-7-301559479.html SOURCE Vectrus, Inc. ReportLinker Major companies in the wholesale market include AmerisourceBergen Corp, Cardinal Health Inc. , Walmart Inc. , Sinopharm, Sysco Corp, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. , Brueder Mannesmann AG, Lowes Companies Inc. New York, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Wholesale Global Market Report 2022" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06282496/?utm_source=GNW , Itochu Corp, and Tech Data. The global wholesale market is expected to grow from $42,119.22 billion in 2021 to $46,370.23 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.1%. The market is expected to grow to $65,613.18 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.1%. The wholesale market consists of sales of goods and related services to ultimate users by entities (organizations, sole traders, and partnerships) that sell wholesale merchandise including the outputs of the agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and certain information industries, such as publishing.The wholesale trade comprises purchasing, storing, and selling merchandise to retailers or other wholesalers and providing related services such as breaking bulk. This industry includes wholesale agents and brokers who arrange the purchase or sale of the goods owned by others, on a fee or commission basis. The wholesale industry also includes business-to-business electronic markets and platforms and agents that facilitate wholesale trade that does not own or handle the products they sell. The major types of wholesalers are non-durable goods merchant wholesalers, wholesale electronic markets and agents and brokers, and durable goods merchant wholesalers.The non-durable wholesalers sell products that need to be purchased often like food items, petrol, and so on. The ownership forms include wholesale/distribution chain and independent wholesalers having premium, mid-range and economy prices. Asia Pacific was the largest region in the wholesale market in 2021.North America was the second-largest region in the wholesale market. The regions covered in this report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, and Africa. The wholesale market is expected to benefit from steady economic growth forecasted for many developed and developing countries. According to International Monetary Fund (IMF), the global GDP growth was 3.3% in 2020 and 3.4% in 2021. Recovering commodity prices, after a decline in the historic period is further expected to be a significant factor driving economic growth. The US economy is expected to register stable growth during the forecast period. Additionally, emerging markets are expected to continue to grow slightly faster than the developed markets in the forecast period. Greater economic growth is likely to drive public and private investments, joint ventures, foreign direct investments in the end-user markets, thereby driving the market during the forecast period The outbreak of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has acted as a massive restraint on the wholesale market in 2020 as supply chains were disrupted due to trade restrictions and consumption declined due to lockdowns imposed by governments globally.COVID-19 is an infectious disease with flu-like symptoms including fever, cough, and difficulty in breathing. The virus was first identified in 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei province of the Peoples Republic of China, and spread globally including Western Europe, North America, and Asia.Steps by national governments to contain the transmission have resulted in a decline in manufacture and trade of non-essential goods and an overall decline in economic activity with countries entering a state of lock down and the outbreak had a negative impact on businesses throughout 2020 and into 2021. However, it is expected that the wholesale market will recover from the shock across the forecast period as it is a black swan event and not related to ongoing or fundamental weaknesses in the market or the global economy. The use of analytics in the wholesale trade market is enhancing supply chain efficiencies by anticipating the future demand of the customer.Predictive analytics uses historic data to predict future events. Some of the applications where wholesale trade companies use predictive analytics are to project profitability, model business scenarios, and improve marketing campaigns. For instance, HD Smith, a pharmaceutical wholesale distributor, implemented analytics to streamline their operations, manage their inventory, and perform profitability analysis. The countries covered in the wholesale market are Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, UK, USA, Venezuela, and Vietnam. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06282496/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Story continues CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 As soon as Emily Peck starts walking among the fenced-in pig pens, the concert begins. Some of those in the grassy pastures of Stafford County grunt as she approaches. Others oink. Some let out a combination of the twomaybe a groink?along with a chorus of snorts and squeals, barks, cries and high-pitched whines. Pigs are loud, Peck pointed out, busily moving from one group to another on a steamy morning. While the 28-year-old has been a horse person for years, shes also partial to pigs, and got a black pot-bellied one named Leo as a wedding present. But the dozens of swine gathered around her on a recent hot day are not ones she and husband Brandon bought after they married in 2015. Theyre ones saved from demise when their owners realized that pigs advertised as teacup size became more like soup bowls. Abandoned pigs sometimes were found roaming rural roads of the Middle Peninsula, where Peck used to live. Not a lot of people adopt pot-bellied pigs, and she always came to the rescue for us, said Jacky Wilson, a senior officer with the Gloucester County Animal Control Shelter near Williamsburg. She was just a super-sweet soul who took in animals because she had the space. Peck was able to care for animals when her parents, Ken and Eileen Gedicke, ran a campground in Gloucester. The animal operation snowballedas rescues often doand the Gedickes and Pecks decided to go whole hog. They sold the campground and bought the 114-acre Willowdale Farm in the White Oak area, several miles off State Route 218. The rescue Peck started in 2016 at the campground evolved into Campfire Critters Animal Sanctuary as the group earned nonprofit status in 2020 and moved to Stafford a year ago. Theyve spent months carving large pastures into smaller fields and adding shelters for pigs and horses, alpacas and llamas, goats and donkeys, rabbits and barn cats. They havent openly advertised their shelter, which is primarily for abandoned farm animals, but word of mouth has spread. Campfire Critters has a menagerie of more than 80 animals. More will be accepted when proper pens, fences and space are available, Peck said. Donations and grants have helped to this point, but Campfire Critters is looking for local volunteers and funding. We have the land, she said. I have a plan of where everything could go if we had the money to do it. OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY Campfire Critters will host an open house from 14 p.m. Sunday to give the public a chance to take in the sights and sounds of the farm. The address is 160 Willowdale Lane, Fredericksburg. There will be pony rides, a petting zoo, games and food trucksall vegetarian, of course. Admission is free but donations are required with an activity called Cow Encounters. More information is available at campfirecritters@gmail.com, or on Campfire Critters Animal Sanctuary website or Facebook page. Merilyn Highfield lives near the sanctuary and serves on its board of directors. Her late father-in-law owned Willowdale Farm and shes thrilled with the work of the new owners. Its so wonderful how much progress theyve made, said Highfield who also volunteers at the farm and has seen Pecks pace. She does 95% of the work at this point. Thats in addition to the job from which earns Peck a salarygiving riding lessons and training horses at the newly built barn and show ring on the property. Peck also is the mother of two sons under age 3. She said she doesnt believe in sending children to day care, so her husband and mother watch the boys while shes working. Like Peck, Highfield is fond of pigs. She calls them whip smart and says shed put their intelligence level up against dogs any day of the week. But there also are plenty of other four-legged critters that need attention. Theres a lot of work to be done, even socializing animals that have never been socialized, Highfield said. You can be a professional petter, just sit there and pet them or be near them and not be scary and wait until they come around. CONSISTENCY AND LOVE Peck got Sydney and Sicily, mother and daughter Arabian horses, from a kill pen in North Carolina. They were slated for slaughter because each has a gait thats slightly off of the trot, Peck said, and neither was ever ridden. These two were completely untouchable when they got to us in November, Peck said. It wasnt even formal training or anything. Honestly, it was just consistency and love. They decided it was OK, and now they stand there and let us pet them. While the Arabians were a little jumpy from the clicking of a cameras shutter, Sydney still approached visitors and rubbed her muzzle against them. In another field, goats climbed into the utility vehiclessometimes when riders were still aboardlooking for food or attention. A feisty girl named Mary Poppins grabbed a notebook from a reporters hand and tried to steal her water bottle. Another goat named Baathoven rubbed his head against the visitors, then climbed into the front seat of the vehicle as if he were ready for a rideor to take the wheel. Livestock that couldnt be caught when a nearby farmer got out of the cow-calf business also have become part of Campfire Critters. Brandon Peck spent a lot of time with them and they are friendly to the point of getting too close for comfort. Three cows and seven calves were named after characters in childrens bookstheres always a theme with the namesand a red Angus named Clifford the Big Red Moo stuck a stinky large head into the utility vehicle. Peck gently pushed it back, saying: Can you get your cow-poop ear off of me? Like every other animal on the place, the cattle will live at the sanctuary until they die or are euthanized as part of what Peck calls a mercy kill. That may eventually be the fate of Spartan, a quarter pony with a genetic disease that causes his skin to stretch and tear. Peck regularly checks the sheet draped over him for new signs of blood. Just rubbing against a fence will cause his skin to rip. Basically, hell stay here for as long as hes comfortable, she said. LIVE IN PEACE The only animals not interested in human contact seemed to be a few skittish donkeys and alpacas and the barn cats that do not make their presence known. Soon after moving to the county last year, Peck contacted Stafford County Animal Control to offer the farm as a resource. Stafford doesnt get many livestock, but has feral cats, and asked Peck if she could take them, said Nicole Bates, animal shelter manager. After the cats were vaccinated, spayed or neutered, they have the run of the farm and can live their lives in peace with an endless food supply, according to the sanctuary website. Bates looks forward to more interaction with Campfire Critters and Peck. She seems very willing to help and get involved, Bates said. Were very excited to see in the future what we can send over her way. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. On March 14, 1891, a mob of white men stormed a New Orleans jail and lynched 11 innocent Italian immigrants. It was the largest mass lynching in American history. Eight years later, it happened again in Tallulah, Louisiana, when five Italians were lynched. Animosity toward the Italians was still burning in the 1920s, as the Sacco and Vanzetti murder trial demonstrated. Waves of immigrants from Ireland in the 1840s, and from southern and Eastern Europe in the last quarter of the 19th century and early 20th century, resulted in anti-immigrant, and specifically anti-Catholic, feelings. It wasnt until the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960 that anti-Irish, anti-Catholic hostility was finally put to rest. In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act reflected growing animosity toward the Chinese laborers who had helped build the nations intercontinental railroads. A flood of 23 laws passed in the 20th and 21st centuries further restricted immigration that had been largely open. Hatred of immigrants was fueled by fear, skillfully played upon by media and politicians of the day to increase their power and wealth. This fear came from those Americans with Northern European and British roots who were afraid of being displaced, thereby losing the privileges and political power they had long enjoyed as their right. Today, we see similar fear expressed as replacement theory. And once again, unscrupulous media people and politicians, thinking only of their personal benefit, are cynically manipulating the fears of some whites afraid of losing their place in American society. The United States was a multiracial, multiethnic, multireligious society even before its founding. Whites, however, have almost always been in the majority, but this is rapidly changing. According to U.S. Census projections, as soon as 2044, whites will be simply the largest of many minorities. By 2060, whites will make up just 44 percent of the population. This is not a future that can be avoided by further restricting immigration. What white supremacists blindly refuse to recognize is that the multiracial society train that theyre stridently and ineffectually trying to prevent from entering the American station, pulled out years ago. By 2010, Texas, California, New Mexico, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia had become minority majority. By 2031, eight other states, including New York, Florida, New Jersey, and Georgia will follow. The replacement theory advocates say that they are simply trying to protect the interests of native Americans. Are these todays descendants of the Spanish settlers who came with Coronado, or perhaps the Blacks who fought in the American Revolution and for the Union, or the Tuskegee airmen of World War II, or the Indian code-talkers, or the highly decorated Japanese-American combat brigade that fought in Europe despite having their families incarcerated in internment camps in the Midwest? No, not very likely. The native Americans being appealed to are white only. Replacement theory has become more than a fringe academic abstraction. It is the flip side of white supremacy and provides it with a purported rationale. The slaughter of 10 people in Buffalo doing their grocery shopping is the end product of this pernicious doctrine. Having seen this result, we can hope, probably unrealistically, that everyone who has promoted this theory will denounce it as having led to an unspeakable tragedy. No, they did not pull the trigger on that gun and no doubt will express sorrow and offer condolences. But they willingly laid the foundation for this horror and any tragedies that may follow. Paul Metzger is an attorney, Spotsylvania resident and retired clerk of the Spotsylvania Circuit Court. National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced Wednesday over 2,600 winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities. Officials of each sponsor college selected their scholarship winners from among the finalists in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution. These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship. An additional group of scholars will be announced in July, bringing the total number of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship recipients in the 2022 competition to about 4,000. The following area students were announced as scholarship winners: Colon: Samuel J. Vrana, Wahoo Neumann High School, National Merit University of Nebraska-Lincoln Scholarship, probable career field of chemical engineering. Fremont: Rebekah J. Preston, homeschool, National Merit Hillsdale College Scholarship, probable career field of education. Waterloo: Chloe E. Liebentritt, Skutt Catholic High School, National Merit University of Nebraska-Lincoln Scholarship, probable career field of dentistry. This year, 155 higher education institutions are underwriting Merit Scholarship awards through the National Merit Scholarship Program. Sponsor colleges and universities include 82 private and 73 public institutions located in 42 states and the District of Columbia. College-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners announced Wednesday are a part of the distinguished group of about 7,500 high school seniors who will receive National Merit Scholarships for college undergraduate study worth nearly $28 million. Earlier this spring, NMSC announced winners of corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards and National Merit $2500 Scholarships. High school juniors entered the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program when they took the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall, more than 16,000 semifinalists were named on a state-representational basis in numbers proportional to each states percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors. Semifinalists were the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represented less than 1% of the nations seniors. To compete for Merit Scholarship awards, semifinalists first had to advance to the finalist level of the competition by fulfilling additional requirements. Each semifinalist was asked to submit a detailed scholarship application, which included writing an essay and providing information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions. Semifinalists also had to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirmed the qualifying test performance. From the semifinalist group, over 15,000 met requirements for finalist standing, and about half of the finalists will be Merit Scholarship winners in 2022. 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. Claude Bourbon plays a variety of styles of music on his guitar. Hes known throughout Europe and the United States for his performances said to take blues, Spanish and classical styles into uncharted territories. Now, the musician is coming to Fremont. Bourbon will perform, starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 8, at Keene Memorial Library, 1030 N. Broad St. The Friends of Keene Memorial Library group is hosting the event, which is free and open to the public. Im really excited to hear Claude Bourbon perform, Laura England-Biggs, library director, told the Tribune. He hasnt been able to travel for a couple of years due to the pandemic. England-Biggs appreciates the musicians talent. His playing style is so unique and eclectic, theres a little something for everyone to enjoy, she said. Bourbons style incorporates all five fingers on each hand, independently, but in unison, the library said in a prepared statement. His plucking, picking and strumming takes place at such speed and precision that his fingers often seem to melt into a blur. Many people in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States have enjoyed his music and many audience members return repeatedly to his performances. Some of Bourbons influences include: Paco De Lucia; Deep Purples Richie Blackmore; Joaquin Rodrigo and Johann Sebastian Bach. Bourbon has played at numerous venues including Glastonbury Festival and Colne Great British & Blues Festival and shared the stage with countless musicians including Calvin Russell and Charlie Morgan. For more information about the event, contact England-Biggs at the library at 402-727-2694. 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. Paul Marsh may have been out of school for years, but when it came to serving the public, he did his homework. Marsh served on the Fremont Public Schools Board of Education and later was a Dodge County Board of Supervisors member. The longtime Fremonter died May 24 and his funeral was Saturday. He was 76. Marsh was a 1963 Fremont High School graduate after which he served with the United States Air Force in Vietnam. He started Fremont Electric, Inc., in 1974. After selling that business, he and his wife, Suzanne, operated Marcies Cafe for about eight years, starting in 1988. Those remembering Marsh recall his dedication to public service and diligence in meeting preparation. Former Fremont City Councilman Bob Warner remembers the first day he saw Marsh serve on the county board. He was very impressed by the way Marsh had prepared for that meeting. Warner would watch Marsh operate at county board meetings for more than two decades. Warner knew public servants often got a packet of materials before a meeting. He could tell when a city councilmember hadnt read the materials before a meeting. He didnt see that happening with Marsh on the county board. I never once saw him when he wasnt prepared for a meeting and thats rare, Warner said. Bob Missel, chairman of the Dodge County Board of Supervisors, also remembers Marshs preparedness. Whenever a meeting began, Paul was the most prepared guy in the room, Missel said. He always made sure he was well informed of any topic of discussion. Rob George, former board of supervisors member, recalled Marshs skill when serving the public. Paul had a unique capability of taking multiple opinions and blending them into an opinion that everyone would agree with, George said. Thats probably the biggest talent he had. Everybody had disagreements with him and everybody had agreements with him, but at end of the day it seemed like after all the discussion there could be close to common ground. George recalled Marshs ability to compromise. He always did his homework and yet even if the homework he had done pointed to a certain direction, he would compromise to a point where we could get things done, George said. Warner recalled a time when Marsh didnt compromise in a situation he believes benefitted taxpayers. Back then, the lawyers for Hormel Foods, which had a plant in Fremont, came to the board to protest the companys property valuation which they thought was too high. Property taxes are assessed using the value of a property. They were trying to get it reduced, Warner said. Paul held the ground and he won. They did not get it reduced. Those who knew Marsh recall his stewardship of taxpayer dollars. I attended those board meetings for 22 years and Ive seen a lot of them (supervisors) come and go and I can honestly say that for a steward and a public servant that I would rate Paul Marsh right at the top in dealing with public funds, Warner said. Missel also remembered Marshs dedication to using tax dollars wisely. He was frugal with the taxpayers money, Missel said. He was a bit of a watchdog in that regard. George recalled Marshs concern for fiscal responsibility and doing what was right for the people he represented not only in his district, but in the entire county. Missel has good memories of Marsh, whom he describes as a wonderful man and mentor. Looking back, Missel can see what he learned from Marsh. I learned from him that its essential to understand and take the time to dig in a little bit on a topic thats going to be reviewed and that its OK to take a stance on a position once youve done your homework, Missel said. Missel learned something else. Youre not always going to make everybody in the room happy, Missel said. At some point, a decision needs to be made and if youve done your homework and feel that youre well informed on it, then its time to make a decision. He was good at that. Missel expresses appreciation for the former county board member. I greatly enjoyed my years of serving with him on the county board, Missel said. Hell be missed. Love 2 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 man who spent nearly three decades behind bars before ultimately being acquitted of the charges may not sue the Denver prosecutors and law enforcement officials whose missteps contributed to his wrongful incarceration, the federal appeals court based in Colorado ruled on Tuesday. Activists Demand Abortion for All While Ignoring Trauma to Women NEWS PROVIDED BY Flood Water Productions June 1, 2022 BOLIVAR, Mo., June 1, 2022 /Standard Newswire/ -- "I believe that my story is one that can save even though I can't save my child, and every day I wish that I could," said Angel about aborting her baby years ago. "Every year on what I believe would have been her birthday or holidays or whatever it might be, I imagine what she might look like or how she would sound. Or the things we would have done together or the memories we would have made. That is something I will never escape." "We know that women who have had an abortion are six times more likely to commit suicide," said Abby Johnson, speaking at the 13th annual Midwest March for Life. Johnson is the founder of And Then There Were None. Her life story was the basis for her autobiography and the movie "Unplanned." Photo from 13th annual Midwest March for Life "Fifty percent of the women who have an abortion are going back and having another abortion, added Joan Kane, board member for Support After Abortion. "We came into existence to end the demand for abortion by healing those who have been impacted by abortion." Kane stated that by the end of 2022, 70% of abortions would be chemical. "Which means you get the pills in the mail, no ultrasound, no doctor, the woman is by herself. At our hope line, we are already receiving stories of women who instantly see what they have done." "These women are aborting their babies at home in their bathroom," added Johnson. "Women are having medication abortions up to twelve weeks and sometimes later, and maybe they didn't realize they were going to see a fully formed baby." A U.S. Supreme Court decision to reverse Roe V. Wade would return the abortion issue to the states. "My advocacy doesn't depend on what the Supreme Court decides," said Johnson. "At the end of the day, my work is about conversion. If you want to change a culture, you convert hearts to Christ." Touching hearts and helping to save lives through compelling storytelling is the goal of Missouri filmmaker Gayla Prewitt (pictured right). Prewitt is developing a sanctity of life thriller feature film, "Glimmer." "We know film is another way to influence culture," added Prewitt. In "Glimmer," a young mother searches for a daughter everyone else says never existed. "We have all heard news stories about whole communities searching for a lost child. I hope to take the audience on a journey that will show that the missing child is the same one that just a few years earlier was hidden inside their mother, growing, waiting to be born." "As Christians, we have to be ready to help women," said Dr. Alveda King during her keynote address at the Pregnancy Care Center's annual banquet. "That's why pregnancy resource centers are so important." King has long been a champion for the preborn and is the founder of Speak for Life. King shared that her grandfather, Martin Luther King, Sr., persuaded her mother not to get an abortion. "My granddaddy told my mother, you are being lied to; that is not a clump of tissue. That is my granddaughter. Three years ago, I saw her in a vision, and she has red hair." King is also to play a cameo role in the feature film "Glimmer." "The centers are vital to helping women and families have the tools they need," adds Amanda Smith, Director of Alpha House PRC. "With free resources such as parenting education, baby supplies, and even, in some cases, financial support, pregnancy centers are trying to equip women and men to be the best mothers and fathers. Even if a woman chooses adoption for her child, there is support for her at a pregnancy resource center." Rachel Blackmore, director at Churches for Life, says it was the support of a Christian woman in her church that helped her choose life for her son and raise him as a single mother. Blackmore believes we still need to do more. "Where's the church outside the sidewalk of abortion businesses?" asked Blackmore, also speaking at the midwest march event. "Where's the church when a mom needs diapers or formula, rent, or a car?" "Abortion is a sin problem," added Johnson. "And anything that is a sin problem is a Jesus problem, and anything that is a Jesus problem is a church problem. Church, it's time to stand up. It doesn't matter what the church leaders are doing; God gave you a voice, a calling." "The church is a sleeping giant," concluded Blackmore. "Statistics show that 36 % of women were at church one or two Sundays before their first abortion. Imagine if these women knew their church was a trusted place to turn." To give a tax-deductible donation to the sanctity of life film, "Glimmer." For more information, contact Gayla Prewitt. Dr. Alveda King is the daughter of the late slain civil rights activist Rev. A. D. King and the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the founder of Alveda King Ministries. SOURCE Flood Water Productions CONTACT: Gayla Prewitt, Writer/Producer, 417-326-2853, floodwaterproductions@outlook.com A trial date has been set this fall for the man accused of killing his wife, and then confessing it to his ex-wife over the phone. Dane Kallungi, 39, is accused of killing his wife Jepsy Kallungi in March of 2019, and is facing a first-degree murder charge as a result. Previous reporting from The Gazette describes that on the night of March 20, 2019, Jepsy Kallungi returned from Fort Carson where she was having a sexual relationship with a soldier located at the base. At 10:30 p.m. a 911 call was made from Jepsy Kallungi's phone, before immediately hanging up. That call was the final one made from her phone. That night was also the last night anyone heard from Jepsy Kallungi before she went missing, with police launching an official investigation into her disappearance in April 2019. For two years the investigation remained open, until Dane Kallungi told his ex-wife, Alaine Kallungi, that he had killed Jepsy Kallungi in a phone call recorded by police. I put her on the floor and it was like there was still some kind of breathing going on even though she was gone and I just, just regretted that, Kallungi said on the phone call, an affidavit acquired by The Gazette said. Kallungi put Jepsy's "body into the trunk of his vehicle, took his son to school the following morning, then went to work," the affidavit states. "After work, Dane took Jepsy's body to a remote area in Teller County where he buried her in a clandestine grave." Dane Kallungi was arrested in New Mexico in June 2021 on suspicion of first-degree murder. On Tuesday, Kallungi pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and tampering, setting Oct. 5 as the first day of his jury trial. While Dane Kallungi pleaded not guilty, the prosecution said during the arrangement that it was "leaving negotiations open" with the defense on a potential plea deal. However, the prosecution stated that it had declined the defense's most recent plea deal counter-offer on Tuesday morning. Dane Kallungi is due to appear in court next for a motions hearing Aug. 26 prior to his trial in October. Colorado Springs police on Tuesday arrested a man with an extensive criminal history as he was attempting to steal a truck and a motorcycle, according to a news release from the department. Michael Smith, whom officials called a prolific offender, could face multiple charges including illegal firearm possession, motor vehicle theft and eluding police. Smith reportedly had several outstanding felony warrants from multiple agencies at the time of his arrest. At about 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, detectives found Smith as he was trying to steal a truck and a motorcycle, police said. Because Smith had been previously convicted of violent crimes, and because he was suspected of using stolen vehicles to evade police, officers from the Motor Vehicle Task Force and the Armed Violent Offender Unit were investigating him. One vehicle Smith was suspected of stealing had several guns in it at the time of the theft, police said. When detectives found Smith, they called in tactical officers, who prevented him from driving off in a vehicle. Smith then ran from police and tried to steal a car from a customer at a nearby gas station, police said. Officers physically intervened to prevent the carjacking and took Smith into custody. Smith, who received minor injuries, was carrying two guns when he was arrested, officials said. No citizens or officers were injured, police said. Carlos Diaz, who is accused of killing four people over an ongoing drug dispute in April, had the filing of his charges pushed back two weeks. The prosecution on Wednesday asked Judge Chad Miller of the 4th Judicial District Court for additional time to determine the charges to file against Diaz in the April killings. Diaz, 21, is currently in El Paso County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder in the killings of Joseph Moore on April 22 in El Paso County and an unidentified male at a car wash in Colorado Springs on April 25. Diaz also has a warrant out for his arrest in Pueblo County on suspicion of first-degree murder in the killings of Manuel Zegarelli and Veth Finnell-Vigil on April 25, according to court documents. An affidavit acquired by The Gazette details that Diaz allegedly shot and killed all four men over theft and drug-related disputes. The affidavit states that Diaz himself confessed to all four killings, but claims to have done so in part because he had been, or was going to be, sexually assaulted by two of the men. Judge Miller gave the prosecution two weeks to prepare, and scheduled a date of June 15 for filing of charges. Miller noted that in addition to the filing of charges, the court will discuss a preliminary hearing date. Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country Sign Up View all of our newsletters. by Xinhua writers Bai Lin and Naftali Mwaura NAIROBI, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Kenya has now found a new lifeline in the Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) since its launch on May 31, 2017. The Mombasa-Nairobi SGR, mainly financed by China and constructed by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), which began construction in 2014 and finished in 2017, has become a case study in the transformation of mobility, trade and leisure in Kenya. EASING MOBILITY Farahana Mghoi, a Nairobi-based insurance sales executive and a mother of two, has found respite from chaotic road transport thanks to the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR commuter train that she uses every weekend to travel to her hometown of Voi about 328 km southeast of Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, to meet potential clients. "My experience of using the SGR passenger train since 2018 has been satisfactory. It is very convenient and affordable. I am able to reach my destination on time and negotiate for a business opportunity with ease," Mghoi told Xinhua during a recent interview on the train ahead of the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR's 5th anniversary. She takes four hours to commute from Nairobi to Voi to meet new clients using the modern train as opposed to seven hours using public service vehicles, locally known as Matatus that are laden with the risk of accident and delay. Mghoi, who has traveled more than 70 times between Nairobi and Voi using the SGR commuter train, belongs to a growing army of local skilled workforce and tourists, who have embraced it amid the guarantee of seamless mobility. The Mombasa-Nairobi SGR cut travel time between the two cities by half, from an average of ten hours at the century-old meter-gauge railway to approximately five hours, boosting the movement of cargo and skilled labor along its corridor. Besides the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR, the Chinese-built SGR project also includes the Nairobi-Suswa SGR that connects Nairobi to Suswa, a small town inhabited by the Maasai people. The 120 km Nairobi-Suswa SGR started operation on Oct. 16, 2019. Data from Afristar, the SGR operator, show the modern railway has transported more than 7.7 million passengers in the last five years. In addition, the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR runs six passenger trains daily, says Afristar, adding that in the first five months of 2022, the number of passengers transported through the modern railway reached 962,000, a 63 percent year-on-year increase. ENHANCING CARGO MOVEMENT Edward Opiyo, the terminal manager at the Autoports Freight Terminals Limited, a logistics firm, said the launch of the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR freight service in January 2018 ushered in an era of speedy, affordable and safe means of transporting imported cargo from the port of Mombasa to the hinterland. Currently, it takes eight hours to haul bulk cargo including raw materials for local industries from the port of Mombasa to Nairobi via the modern railway, as opposed to three days using the century-old meter-gauge railway, says Opiyo. He added that the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR has eased congestion at Mombasa port, and reduced operational costs among local manufacturers besides enhancing the efficiency of local and regional supply chains. Ernest Ondego, the terminal manager at Grain Bulk Handlers Limited, another Kenyan logistics firm, said that thanks to efficiencies offered by the modern railway, his clients including wheat importers have been able to generate 25 percent savings. "With the SGR, we have been able to bring losses to zero," said Ondego, adding that importers used to lose up to 100 kg of grains per truckload. James Siele, business, commercial & operations expert team leader at Kenya Railways Corporation, said one freight train has eliminated the use of 110 trucks for transporting bulk cargo by road from the port of Mombasa to Nairobi, boosting the country's quest for transition to a green and resilient future. According to Siele, enhanced movement of bulk cargo including raw materials from the port of Mombasa to Nairobi has cut down on operational costs among local manufacturers, leading to reduced prices for essential consumer goods. Data from Afristar show the modern railway has transported more than 1.7 million TEUs of containers in the last five years. In addition, the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR runs 16 freight trains daily, says Afristar, adding that the volume of cargo transported by SGR freight train in the last five months stood at 2.54 million metric tons, an 8.3 percent year-on-year increase. BOOSTING SKILLS TRANSFER During its five years of safe operation, the modern railway has provided a platform for Kenyan youth to hone their skills, grow their careers and earn a decent income. In particular, female locomotive drivers like Tabitha Kiplimo, a 30-year-old electrical engineering major, admitted that their lives had been transformed after securing employment with the SGR commuter service. An internship with China Road and Bridge Corporation soon after graduation paved way for Kiplimo's storied journey from a simple rural girl to a confident locomotive driver. A two-month course on locomotive operations in China, followed by tutelage by a Chinese instructor soon after the SGR commuter service started operations in June 2017, prepared her adequately for the task of shuttling the train on the modern railway. Kiplimo is among eight Kenyan female locomotive drivers who have broken the glass ceiling, thanks to training and mentorship provided by their employer, the operator of SGR. Other beneficiaries of skills transfer that is embedded in SGR localization include John Pius, a 32-year-old mechanical engineering major who in February joined the first cohort of independent Kenyan locomotive drivers. Pius has been operating the Nairobi-Suswa SGR commuter train independently since February, having acquired adequate skills from a Chinese tutor after he was recruited by CRBC in 2016. While skills transfer and employment creation have been key features of the SGR operations in Kenya, its positive impact on key economic sectors like agriculture, manufacturing and tourism has been enormous in the last five years. Siele believed the SGR had a brighter future in Kenya and the East African region since it is expected to enhance connectivity, cross-border trade and free movement of skilled labor, adding that the modern railway has stood out as a beacon of hope in a continent yearning for economic development and social progress. Produced by Xinhua Global Service By Trend Asian Development Bank will support construction of Garadagh solar power plant in Azerbaijan, Country Director in Azerbaijan of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Candice McDeigan told Trend. According to her, the board of directors of ADB signed an agreement with Masdar Azerbaijan Energy LLC, to provide it a $35.7-million loan for the project to be taken off the ground. This together with other IFC, who will also join the transaction, will be ADB's first renewable energy project in Azerbaijan of this scale," McDeigan said. The solar power plant which will generate 230 MW will be constructed in the countrys Alyat village. The project supports the three operational priorities of ADB's Strategy 2030: combating climate change, building resilience to climate change and natural disasters, and building environmental resilience. FILE PHOTO: Buffalo shooting suspect, Payton S. Gendron, appears in court accused of killing 10 people in a live-streamed supermarket shooting in a Black neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, U.S., May 19, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visits a place of a fight with Russian troops during Russia's invasion to Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine May 29, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS FILE PHOTO: An evacuation convoy travels from Russian troop-occupied Kupiansk town, along a damaged road, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine May 30, 2022. Picture taken May 30, 2022. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado By Azernews Air communication between Baku and Makhachkala resumes, Azernews reports, citing Lezgigazet.ru The press service of the Makhachkala Airport reported that the flights will be operated by Utair Airlines on Fridays and Sundays on Boeing 737500. Departure from Makhachkala Airport will be at 15:00 Moscow time with arrival in Azerbaijan's capital at 17:30 local time. In the meantime, a departure from Baku will be at 18:30 local time with arrival at Makhachkala Airport at 18:30 Moscow time. Tickets can be purchased at the airport's ticket offices and on the airline's website. Azerbaijan and Russia have mutual cooperation in different fields, such as economy, agriculture, customs, communications, high technology, and others. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a Declaration on "Allied Interaction between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation" on February 22, 2022. The Declaration aims to elevate the Azerbaijani-Russian bilateral relations to a qualitatively new level: allied relations. Azerbaijani investments in Russia's economy have exceeded $1.2 billion, with the majority of these investments being in the non-oil sector. In addition, Russian investments in the Azerbaijani economy totaled $6.3 billion, with $5 billion invested in the oil sector and $1.3 billion in non-oil sectors. Additionally, some 14 Russian companies have applied for participation in Azerbaijan's Karabakh reconstruction. U.S. Senate candidate Ron Hanks speaks during the GOP Assembly at the Broadmoor World Arena on Saturday. Colorado will permanently protect people who report public health concerns in their workplace after Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill Tuesday expanding COVID-19 whistleblower protections established two years ago. Effective immediately, Senate Bill 97 prohibits retaliation against workers for reporting any workplace health and safety concern or violation of health and safety rules rather than only protecting reports related to a declared public health emergency, as is the case under House Bill 1415 from 2020. "Extending whistleblower protections for essential workers is the right move to keep our workers and the public safe," said Rep. Leslie Herod, D-Denver, who sponsored the bill. "All Coloradans should feel safe speaking out about workplace conditions that could harm them or the people around them." The bill passed the state legislature almost entirely along party lines, with all Democrats voting in support except for Sen. Rachel Zenzinger of Arvada, and all Republicans voting in opposition save for Sen. Kevin Priola of Henderson. Critics called the bill unnecessary, adding that it would raise annual state costs by around $700,000 and cause an increase of about 150 complaints filed annually. Yes, theres isolated incidents but ... are we trying to fix something that we dont see much evidence of? Sen. Larry Liston, R-Colorado Springs said, while voting against the bill in the Senate. Once you get a program in place, the budget continues to grow and so does the number of full-time employees. Liston insisted Colorado already has enough worker protections in place. Supporters of the bill disagreed. Herod said 169 complaints have been filed to date under the 2020 bill, arguing that shows a need for the legislation to continue allowing workers to speak up without fear of retaliation. Linda Rodriguez, who spoke in support of the bill, said she was fired from her job as an Amazon warehouse worker after speaking out against what she felt were inadequate COVID-19 protections. "No one should be punished for trying to keep their workplace safe," Rodriguez said. "I am grateful that Colorado law protects workers like me from that kind of retaliation and that it will now protect more workers' voices." The nonprofit law firm Towards Justice also testified in support of the bill, saying the current protections under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration only provide a 30-day window for individuals to file a claim, which can take more than two years to process. In 2021, OSHA dismissed 54% of reported claims and found less than 1% of claims to have merit. Five months after the Marshall fire ripped through Boulder County, a district judge has dismissed what could be the final legal challenge to a saga over property debris removal that had county and city leaders tearing their hair out and residents feeling twice-victimized. Ceres Environmental, one of 11 companies that competed for the multimillion dollar contract, filed an action for declaratory relief against Boulder County alleging that its bidding process was corrupt, unlawful and unfair. Ceres claimed that had the process been above board, it could have won the contract over DRC Emergency Services, the Gulf Coast-based company that was awarded the bid. The court ruled that Ceres had no standing and that its complaint failed to state a claim under Colorado law. Judge Kenneth Plotz dismissed the lawsuit late Friday afternoon, according to court records. Boulder County made the decision to go ahead with debris cleanup in April, with the possibility that the lawsuit could halt the process. Once the debris is removed, residents can begin to rebuild. Crews from DRC have excavators working six days a week to haul away tons of twisted metal, melted glass and charred blocks of ruined foundation. Of 588 properties that opted into the Private Property Debris Removal program, Boulder Public Works reports that 316 properties are being cleared off, 105 are in the process of final inspection and 60 are awaiting the last step, which is erosion control. So far, none of them are complete. An excavator that belonged to a California subcontractor hired by DRC was dipping in and out of a ruined basement on Andrew Drive in Superior on Friday. "We have four months to get this dirt laid nice and pretty," said laborer Gage Padgett, adding that he had made hundreds of trips to the dump with truck loads full of fire debris. Boulder County plans to have all of the properties on the debris removal list cleared by August in time for new foundations to be laid before the ground freezes. Authorities have said 1,084 homes were lost in Colorado's most destructive wildfire, which broke out in late December. Some residents were so worried that legal challenges would hold up their plans to rebuild that they opted out of the county program and have already gotten their property cleared. A few have building permits in hand. Superior Mayor Clint Folsom was encouraged by news of the dismissal: It's great to have this cloud of uncertainty lifted from the debris removal process. DRC's crews are making great progress over the past couple of weeks, and we're pleased their important work can continue uninterrupted, he said. There may be an appeal, but so far Ceres has not decided whether it will do so. I cannot comment on potential future litigation, but I can hope for a clear path forward, Boulder Public Works spokesperson Andrew Barth told The Denver Gazette in a text message. ATLANTA (AP) Electronic voting machines from a leading vendor used in at least 16 states have software vulnerabilities that leave them susce Colorados former state court administrator was purposely set up to take the fall in a three-year-old judiciary scandal to ensure "the powers that be" could walk away unscathed, his attorney told The Gazette. Breaking more than a yearlong public silence after exposing a multi-million-dollar contract given to a fired Judicial Department executive that was intended to avert a threatened tell-all sex-discrimination lawsuit, Christopher Ryan said through his attorney that his reputation was intentionally destroyed to protect those complicit in the scandal. Theyve completely ruined Chriss reputation, completely and unjustifiably, attorney Phillip Geigle told The Gazette in an interview. There was nothing to hold Chris to account for. He did everything he was instructed to do by his superiors, including the chief justice, and he did it ethically and legally. He added: This process has been conducted with one goal in mind, to protect the powers that be and in no way is designed to get to the truth of the matter. The Judicial Department through a spokesman said it had no comment. Geigle spoke out following a Gazette exclusive last week that revealed prosecutors had chosen not to investigate Ryan and three others recommended for criminal inquiry by state auditors who looked into the scandal. Prosecutors at the Denver district attorney's office said they received auditors recommendations too late to beat the statute of limitations on any alleged crimes so they closed the file. The Gazette revealed that even though auditors could have told prosecutors of their findings as long ago as May 2021 leaving enough time to investigate further and file charges if merited that didnt happen. Despite a state law requiring auditors to immediately tell law enforcement about potential fraud, lawyers at the Colorado attorney generals office and the Judicial Department argued over whether the word meant at the time it was discovered or when auditors filed a completed report. That report went through nine months of rewritings engineered largely by those same lawyers before prosecutors were told about auditors findings in a report that was highly redacted of critical information necessary for them to investigate. And when prosecutors tried to get at the missing information, they were told to sign non-disclosure agreements or provide a grand jury subpoena in order to receive it. For them to suggest a grand jury subpoena is absurd, especially when its a referral for prosecution made by the judiciary and auditors in the first place, said Geigle, a former assistant prosecutor in Denver. And you need some sort of place to start with, Geigle added. What can you do with a redacted report? It was a setup from the start. That lawyers argued over the definition of a word and redactions is the blind leading the blind and innocent people like Chris get caught in the cross-fire, their reputations completely ruined, Geigle said. Ryan disclosed in February 2021 that a judicial training contract worth as much as $2.75 million was given to a company owned by Mindy Masias, the former chief of staff in the Judicial Department's office of the state court administrator, to prevent her from filing a tell-all lawsuit. She was an unsuccessful candidate for Ryan's job and later faced firing over financial irregularities. The details of what Masias would reveal in her lawsuit were disclosed in a two-page memo read during a January 2019 meeting between Ryan, then Chief Justice Ben Coats, chief justice counsel Andrew Rottman, and Eric Brown, the departments director of human resources and close friend of Masias. The memo contained a number of allegations of judicial misconduct that were intentionally kept quiet or received no discipline, including a confidential settlement of harassment allegations against a then-appellate court judge so as not to prevent him from being named to the Supreme Court, which occurred later. Ryan said it was Coats who authorized the contract after hearing what Masias was prepared to reveal in her lawsuit. Ryan resigned his position in July 2019 during a newspapers investigation into the Masias contract. Brown also resigned and the contract was canceled. Coats retired in December 2020. Following Ryans disclosure about the memo in February 2021, the justices publicly released a copy after saying they were viewing it for the first time. Current Supreme Court Chief Justice Brian Boatright and the other justices jointly denied any wrongdoing occurred and that Coats would not have done anything wrong. Months later it was revealed the justices were aware of the memo all along but had not actually seen it until then. Several investigations were launched when the memo was disclosed, including the state auditors inquiry, which included a whistleblower letter that appeared around the time the contract was awarded to Masias. The letter did not contain any allegations about the contract. The letter contained allegations of fraud and wasteful spending throughout the department. Auditors later found Masias and Brown had been paid to speak at a variety of national conferences while also collecting their state paychecks. Auditors also said it appeared Ryan had negotiated a lucrative severance agreement for a department employee who was a personal friend. Geigle challenged the assertion, saying Ryan only signed off on the deal after a Judicial Department attorney helped with its negotiation. Auditors also determined the process that awarded Masias the contract had been manipulated, but did not discuss the allegation that it was a quid-pro-quo deal. Without elaborating, prosecutors said they chose only to investigate Masias and Browns alleged double-dipping. That prosecutors later decided not to pursue the inquiry simply hurts Ryan further. This is not at all satisfying. You have out there that its a saved-by-the-bell argument, that Chris got off somehow, Geigle said. Thats wrong. Chris has been cooperative since Day 1 and investigated six ways to Sunday and theres nothing there and judicial knows it. They sat on this all for 10 months and then it goes to the DA where it would not see the light of day since they couldnt do anything with it. Geigle said Ryan hopes for better from the remaining investigations by the Commission on Judicial Discipline, the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, two companies hired by the Judicial Department, and the FBI. Theres been a complete lack of transparency in all of this and as a citizen, Im asking what the hell is going on over there, Geigle said of the Judicial Department. Were not yet there to the truth of the matter and we hope it comes out. By Azernews By Sabina Mammadli Cooperation in the renewable energy sector in the liberated Azerbaijani lands ranks among the priority areas of interaction between Azerbaijan and Israel, Ambassador to Azerbaijan George Deek said, Azernews reports. The remarks were made during his visit to Azerbaijans liberated Kalbajar region with other representatives of the diplomatic corps. According to him, Israel has already expressed its readiness to assist Azerbaijan in the field of restoration work. The diplomat also expressed confidence in the further development of Azerbaijans Karabakh region. It should be noted, that the Israeli Ambassador has recently visited a smart village in Zangilan and hailed the visit in a Twitter post. We had an excellent visit lately to the smart village in Zangilan, where Israeli companies are present with their technologies and know-how, the tweet said. Further, the ambassador noted that great work was accomplished in less than one year. Food security is a key part of our growing partnership in Zangilan and everywhere, he added. The inauguration of the first stage of the smart village project in Aghali, Zangilan region, was held on May 27. In a similar vein, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received Israeli Agriculture Minister Oded Forer on May 17 to discuss ways of expanding relations in the agricultural sector. An Azerbaijani-Israeli business forum was held in Baku with the support of the Ministries of Economy and Agriculture, as well as the Export and Investment Promotion Foundation. The forum was attended by representatives of government agencies and companies working in the field of agriculture from both countries. Azerbaijan regularly organizes visits of international delegations, officials, envoys, journalists, and rank and file citizens to liberated lands to familiarize them with the situation on the ground. On October 15, President Ilham Aliyev said in a CIS session that thousands of politicians, diplomats, and journalists from many countries visited the liberated territories in less than one year. Currently, the work is underway to restore Azerbaijan's liberated lands. Azerbaijan will rebuild its recently liberated areas in four stages. The initial stage includes the solution of the issues of governance and security, and infrastructure, while the subsequent stages include the solution of the issues of social services activities, reconstruction, and development of the economy. In 2021, Azerbaijan allocated $1.5 billion to reconstruct liberated territories, followed by AZN2.2 billion ($1.2 billion) in 2022. These funds will be used primarily to restore infrastructure (electricity, gas, water, communications, roads, education, health, etc.) and cultural and historical monuments. The liberation of Azerbaijani territories has created a new geopolitical and geoeconomic situation in the region, and the reintegration of these territories into the overall economy will further accelerate the economic development of Azerbaijan. A Moscow-brokered ceasefire deal that Baku and Yerevan signed on November 10, 2020, brought an end to six weeks of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani army crushed the Armenian troops and won the victory. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s. The peace agreement stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Armenian-occupied Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions and urged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s. Before the signing of the deal, the Azerbaijani army had liberated around 300 villages, settlements, city centers, and historic Shusha city. More than one million Coloradans with non-violent criminal records will soon have their records automatically sealed thanks to a bill signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday. Scheduled to go into effect in August, Senate Bill 99 implements an automatic sealing process for non-violent criminal records. The new law applies to those who are eligible to request record sealing under the current system meaning they have finished their sentence, completed a required waiting period and have not committed another criminal offense. Colorado lawmakers passed the bill dubbed the Clean Slate Act nearly unanimously in a 61-4 vote in the House and a 33-1 vote in the Senate. None of the five opponents, all of whom are Republicans, commented on their no votes. It's not often you get to pass a policy that has the potential to help millions of people overnight, and Clean Slate Colorado did just that, said Healthier Colorado CEO Jake Williams. We've now removed many of these barriers for deserving people and their families and we know our communities will be stronger, safer and healthier for it. Around 1.125 million Coloradans with criminal records are eligible to apply for sealing but have not, according to state estimates. Bill supporters said many dont pursue record sealing because the current process is difficult and expensive, involving filing a petition with the court and paying a fee. Under the bill, those Coloradans can have their records sealed without taking any action. Supporters championed the bipartisan-sponsored bill as a way to increase Colorados workforce by removing a barrier to employment, education and housing for residents with criminal records. Colorado and the rest of the nation are experiencing a pandemic-induced labor shortage. In July 2021, 7.7% of jobs in Colorado were unfilled an all-time high for the state, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bill will also prohibit employment and housing discrimination based on the contents of a sealed criminal record. Business leaders across Colorado recognize that the Clean Slate Act is an essential step towards economic recovery and getting people back on their feet," said Nan Gibson with JP Morgan Chase. "This is demonstrated by the massive groundswell of support within the business community. Nearly three dozen Colorado businesses backed the bill, including JPMorgan Chase, Goodwill, Home Depot and the fair-chance employment platform Honest Jobs. Supporters of the bill also argue that automatic record sealing would lower crime. They cited a 2020 Harvard Law Review study, which concluded that people who have gotten their criminal records sealed or expunged are less likely to reoffend and pose a lower crime risk than the general population. Under the bill, district attorneys can object to automatic record sealing for non-drug felonies by filing notice to a court. The court can deny record sealing based on a victims concern or a media outlets need to access records. By Azernews Azerbaijan and U.S. have discussed the progress of the Southern Gas Corridor, Azernews reports, citing the Energy Ministry. The discussion took place during a meeting between Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Bureau of Energy Resources at U.S. Department of State Laura Lochman, who is on a visit to Azerbaijan as part of her participation in the Baku Energy Week. During the meeting, the parties also discussed the transportation of natural gas to Turkiye and European countries, as well as the issues arising from the expansion of the corridor. The parties discussed the electricity and hydrogen production from renewable energy sources, as well as the projects implemented and planned related to the export. Moreover, the importance of realizing Azerbaijan's priorities for green energy was assessed in the aspect of diversification of energy supplies to Europe. In addition, the importance of mutual cooperation was noted both for the use of the enormous wind potential of the Caspian Sea and for the achievement of the goals of increasing the transmission capacity of the Southern Gas Corridor. Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Bureau of Energy Resources Laura Lochman arrived in Azerbaijan on May 30. During the visit from May 30 to June 2, she will meet with officials of the country and take part in the events of the Baku Energy Week. To recall, the Southern Gas Corridor is an initiative of the European Commission to build a natural gas supply route from the Caspian and Middle Eastern regions to Europe. The South Caucasus Pipeline, the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP), and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline link Azerbaijan to Europe (TAP). The pipeline is powered by natural gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas field in the Caspian Sea's second stage. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Azerbaijan and U.S. cooperate in different spheres of economy. Together, the two countries work to promote European energy security, expand trade and investment, and combat terrorism and transnational threats. The trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $517.5 million in 2021. A 16-year-old was arrested after a reported online post to shoot at a school, the Danville Police Department announced Wednesday afternoon. Authorities said the Virginia Fusion Center an organization comprised of state and federal agencies notified Danville police of a social media post that contained a non-location-specific threat to shoot at a school that originated from the city of Danville area, a news release reported. That launched a joint investigation effort by Danville police, Danville Public Schools and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Within hours, the identity and address of the individual who made the post was established and he was taken into custody at his residence located in the city of Danville, police said in the release. A search of the residence determined that no firearms were present. The unidentified boy is facing a felony charge of making a threat of death or bodily injury to persons on school property. Hes being held at Danvilles W.W. Moore Jr. Juvenile Detention Center. The investigation into this incident revealed that numerous persons who knew the juvenile observed and responded to his post, however we are not aware of any of those persons reporting the threat to law enforcement, officials said in the release. In a time where the nation is mourning tragedy in a school setting, the Danville Police Department would ask the community to immediately notify law enforcement of threats or perceived threats to shoot, bomb, or in any way harm others they may become aware of. Danville police urge residents to tell authorities of any alarming behavior and rumors of an imminent threat, saying it can help to avert a tragic event. The department trains for critical incidents by partnering with the fire department, public schools and Danville Life Saving Crew. The Danville Police Department also provides (CRASE) Citizen Response to Active Shooter Event training for the members of the community who are interested in learning best practices if responding or present during an active shooter event, police wrote in the release. Groups interested in hosting a training session may contact Lt. P.R. Deel at deelpr@danvilleva.gov. To send tips of any crime, contact police by calling patrol at 434-799-6510, investigations at 434-799-6508, 911, Crime Stoppers at 434-793-0000 or through social media. In addition, residents can use the crime tips app CARE. The city of Danville Treasurers Office will host a virtual call event with the Virginia Department of the Treasurys Unclaimed Property office to assist residents with looking for money that may be owed to them. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday, residents will be able to call the toll free event phone number, 833-302-0704, and speak to a treasury representative to assist them in their search. Virginias consumer protection law requires businesses to escheat/report unclaimed property over to the state, relieving the business of the financial liability. Virginia holds the property as the custodian until the rightful owner, or heir, files a claim. More than $1 billion has been paid out to Virginians since this program was started in 1961. Unclaimed property consists of abandoned assets or accounts which are considered dormant due to inactivity and can include utility deposits, customer refunds, unpaid wages, money from insurance policies, securities and investments, bank accounts and tangible property. Property becomes unclaimed when the holder company has not had contact with the owner of the property for a specified period of time. These call events are held to aid residents in searching and starting the claim process. Virginians can also easily search the commonwealths unclaimed property database by visiting VaMoneySearch.org. This free website allows individuals to search the commonwealths unclaimed property database and download a claim form. In Australias Victoria region as far south as you can go without washing up in Tasmania one family continues experimenting with classic Italian grapes. And a recent tasting at Greensboros Zeto wine, led by Master Sommelier Jonathan Ross, was convincing evidence that Aussie wines can be much more than shiraz (syrah). Ross and his wife, Jane Lopes own Legend Imports, introducing the world to under-the-radar boutique wineries across southern Australia. Of the Legend-distributed wines hosted by Zeto, two in particular got my attention. Both are products from Chalmer Family and produced in arid conditions where Italian grapes thrive. The 2021 Mother Block White Blend ($15) is primarily Vermentino with Ansonica, Falanghina and Pecorino in the mix. Perfect for the hot days ahead, it showcased citrus, green apple, green melon and gunflint. The 2021 Mother Block Red Blend ($15) is dominated by Sagrantino with Piedirosso, Negroamaro, Nero d Avola, Uva di Troia and Teroldego in a kitchen sink concoction. A fraction of Spains Graciano is in the blend. Bright, medium-bodied with light tannins, it suggests dried cherry, plum, licorice and Italian herbs. Before reaching for the Aussie labels with kangaroos, convicts and penguins, try something off the beaten path. * * * * This year marks the 50th anniversary of a favorite Sonoma winery: Jordan Vineyards in Healdsburg. Jordans focus is on only two varietals: chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon. The styles are classic and remarkably consistent across vintages. Its cabernet, unlike many in Napa and Sonoma, is immediately approachable. In recognition of 50 years, Jordan scheduled special celebrations this month in Denver, Dallas and Nashville. Jordan wines retail for $40-$60 in the Triad market and are widely available. Im always struck by the zaniness of Jordans owner and his employees evidenced in their annual spoof videos and playfully-themed Halloween parties. Need proof? Watch the videos at www.jordanwinery.com. The blooper reel isnt to be missed. * * * * Speaking of special celebrations, save the date: Aug. 18-19: Asheville Wine and Food Festival, www.ashevillewineandfood.com Sept. 17-18: Festa Italiana at Raffaldini in Ronda, www.raffaldini.com Oct. 15: Yadkin Valley Grape Festival in Yadkinville, www.yvgf.com Oct. 15: N.C. Wine Festival in Cary, www.ncwinefestival.com If you cant get some sand in your shoes on Carolina shores, head to Shelton Vineyards, west of Winston-Salem. Sheltons Sunset Concert series features The Embers (June 18), the Band of Oz (July 16), and the Swingin Medallions (Aug. 20). Learn more at www.sheltonvineyards.com. * * * * The Oct. 22 Men Can Cook event, the premier fundraiser for the Womens Resource Center of Greensboro, is working to add a curated libations sampling, showcasing local wine, beer and distilled spirits at the Greensboro Coliseums Piedmont Hall. More details later on participants. * * * * More wines worth consideration: 2018 Terranoble Gran Reserve Carmenere ($18): Among Chiles signature red grapes, this was too long mistook for merlot. Like merlot, it shows juicy plum, black cherry and licorice spice. 2021 Chehalem unoaked Chardonnay ($20): So many wineries are offering chardonnay now that arent beaten up by oak and secondary fermentation. From Oregons Willamette Valley wine region comes a bright white melon ball and granny apples in a glass. 2021 Shadow Springs Seyval Blanc ($22): A N.C. winery still producing this hybrid, a cross of grapes still debated. When so many North Carolina wineries tore it out for more fashionable vinifera, Shadow Springs stuck by it. Bless their heart. White peach, mango and grapefruit, its perfect for the sticky days ahead. Freelance writer Ed Williams has written about wine for the News & Record since 1990. Send wine news or events to williamsonwine@gmail.com. RALEIGH Legislation authorizing marijuana for medical use in North Carolina and developing a system to grow, sell and regulate cannabis was recommended by a state Senate committee Wednesday, nine months after it last surfaced. The measure, which now heads to the Senate floor for the first of two required votes, would allow patients with at least one of the more than a dozen debilitating medical conditions to purchase and use marijuana with their physicians formal approval. Those conditions would include cancer, epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder. The bill envisions several dozen medical cannabis centers across North Carolina operated by 10 state-licensed growers and vendors. They could sell up to 30-day supplies of pot or cannabis-infused products to patients or their caregivers, who would have to obtain registration cards from the state Department of Health and Human Services. Ten percent of the cannabis suppliers monthly revenues would be forwarded to the state. The legislation idled in the Senate since last August after advancing through three policy committees. Brunswick County Republican Sen. Bill Rabon, chief bill sponsor and a cancer survivor, said the measure was never on a fast track, adding that he wanted to ensure all of his colleagues questions were answered to build bipartisan support. Bill supporters have included war veterans and others with severe illness who say marijuana can ease pain or help them lead more normal lives. The bill is designed to give the citizens of this state who need and deserve compassionate care just that, Rabon said during debate in the Senate Rules Committee, which he chairs. It is nothing more than trying to help those people with the care that they need and augment their treatments. Senate leader Phil Berger of Eden said Tuesday that he planned to support the bill on the chamber floor. The bill, if approved by the full Senate, would then go to the House, where Speaker Tim Moore said he didnt expect medical marijuana to be discussed until 2023. That would mean new legislation would have to be filed. Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia allow the medical use of cannabis products, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Conservative Christian groups remain opposed to the measure and their representatives spoke against the bill in the committee. We all want to be compassionate and help people in need, said Jere Royall with the North Carolina Family Policy Council. But he said several medical associations still dont support the medical use of marijuana and research shows significant health risks remain. By Azernews Azerbaijan and the European Investment Bank have discussed the implementation of ongoing and planned joint projects, Azernews reports. "During the meeting with @MaciejCzura, Head of the European Investment Bank's (@EIB) Regional Representation for the South Caucasus, we discussed the implementation of ongoing and planned projects, economic development of our country, investment opportunities, as well as the prospects of cooperation with the Bank," Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov tweeted. During the meeting, the parties briefed on the bank's financing mechanisms and exchanged views on expanding the partnership. They also discussed the development of cooperation, financing of alternative energy sources, the private sector, especially small and medium businesses, as well as opportunities for cooperation with the Entrepreneurship Development Fund. The European Investment Bank has worked with Azerbaijan since 2014. The bank operates under the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), the Eastern Partnership (EaP), and other EU bilateral agreements. The bank has invested more than 96 million in the country. Through cooperation with a local bank, the EIB has provided funding worth 25 million to more than 120 enterprises. With the support of the EIB, Azerbaijan is aiming to diversify its economy. The bank's priorities in Azerbaijan feature the promotion of balanced and sustained economic development, especially for rural areas, the reduction of inequalities, and the diversification of national energy sources. With tears still fresh from the horrors of mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas, North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is sticking to his guns. In fact, hes bragging about them. I am here today, much to the chagrin of many of the leftists back home in my state who thought I should cower and stay home, and not come here and continue to defend that right for those law-abiding citizens back home in North Carolina and for the law-abiding citizens of this nation, Robinson said Friday at an NRA legislative forum in Houston. Then, using characteristically twisted logic, Robinson scoffed at calls for tighter restrictions on the AR-15-style semi-automatic weapons used by 18-year-olds in both shootings. You are bound and determined to leave our children defenseless, he said as if not keeping such weapons, which make killing easy, out of the hands of dangerous individuals would prevent the type of carnage that claimed 10 lives in Buffalo and 21 in Uvalde, including 19 fourth graders at Robb Elementary School. But those remarks werent even Robinsons worst (at least concerning gun violence). In a tasteless and insensitive speech less than 24 hours after the Buffalo massacre and in a Nash County church, no less Robinson made an impassioned plea for the survival of the AR-15. Im not ashamed to say it. Im probably not supposed to say it. But Im gonna say it anyway, said Robinson, a Greensboro Republican whose rise to fame and power is rooted in his advocacy for guns. I got them AR-15s in case the government gets too big for its britches. Because Im going to fill the backside of those britches with some lead. Im going to say it to you plain: Your boy aint going down without swinging. Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, condemned the church speech in a tweet on Tuesday. So did another Democrat, Attorney General Josh Stein. This is dangerous and not who we are as patriotic North Carolinians, Cooper, a Democrat, tweeted. Stein added: To say that you have an AR-15 to shoot government officials is simply unacceptable. Frankly, you would expect those words from Democrats. But Robinsons fellow Republicans should be speaking out as well. Both the gunmen in Buffalo and Uvalde not only used military-style rifles, each was able to buy them legally, which appears to be just fine with Robinson. Robinson spoke at the NRAs annual meeting in Texas, even though a number of other previously scheduled speakers, including Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, had withdrawn from making in-person appearances. Beyond the cold-heartedness of Robinsons remarks was his tacit endorsement of the armed overthrow of the government in the shadow of the Jan. 6, 2021, siege of the U.S. Capitol. Then again, it figures. Robinsons path to political success began with comments he made at a 2018 Greensboro City Council meeting in defense of gun rights. The NRA Political Victory Fund helped, spending more than $82,000 on pro-Robinson mailers and other tactics in 2020, WRAL reported, as well as a $5,400 donation directly to his campaign. He has since made any number of offensive remarks about LGBTQ people, Muslims and Jews, among others, both orally and in online posts. Every time you cant imagine him going any lower, somehow he manages to outdo himself. And even as at least some Republicans appear finally open to doing something about easy access to military-style weapons, perhaps with red-flag laws and reasonable background checks, this loud and unreasonable man keeps being morally irresponsible for all to hear and see. Yet he is expected to run for governor in 2024. Which raises another troubling concern: How low are North Carolina voters willing to go? A 23-year-old Helena man was arrested early Tuesday after officers received reports that he had made threats regarding a mass shooting at Helena High School and had access to weapons and possible explosive devices, police said. Logan S. Pallister has been charged with two felony counts of intimidation and one felony count of possession of explosives. Authorities said they heard from the complainant Monday and did not know when the alleged threat was planned to occur. Pallister has often made threats of committing a mass shooting at Helena High School, according to court documents. Pallister reportedly told witnesses he idolized and would reenact the April 20, 1999, Columbine High School shooting in which two teen gunmen killed 12 students and one teacher before killing themselves, according to a document filed Tuesday in Justice Court. The arrest comes a week after a teen gunman entered a school in Uvalde, Texas, and killed 19 children and two teachers. Pallister was arrested early Tuesday in front of his residence. Helena police said he had eight firearms, including three semi-automatic rifles and five handguns. Pallister reportedly said he had the same duffle bags used in the Columbine shooting and a trench coat, Helena Police Department Cpl. Kent Anderson said in a May 31 affidavit. Pallister showed a witness several guns including a TEC-9, a long-barreled Uzi and what was later identified as an M-16, the affidavit says. He told the witness a couple weeks ago he was going to make bombs to use in a school, authorities said. He showed a witness the bombs on May 30 and said he would kill them if they told anyone. The witness said he kept the bombs in boxes that looked like a green toolbox in his vehicle. Another witness corroborated that Pallister had made similar statements that he wanted to bomb or shoot up Helena High School, officials said. Helena police officers found Pallisters vehicle near his residence and could see three ammunition canisters in the back seat. Authorities said Pallister can be seen on a website holding guns, and he is wearing a black trench coat in one of the photos. Court officials said Tuesday that Pallister had yet to appear in court. He was being held at Lewis and Clark County Detention Center and may appear in court on Wednesday. The Lewis and Clark County Explosive Ordinance Team with assistance from Missoula County searched Pallisters residence in the 300 block of Broadway and the scene is secured, police said. Officers and members of the joint Helena Police and Lewis and Clark County Sheriffs office set up at the address. Helena Public Schools was notified of the investigation and the arrest at 6 a.m. Tuesday, Communications Officer Karen Ogden said. She said the school district did not lock down any buildings, as law enforcement said there was no threat to the community at that time. Helena Public Schools Superintendent Rex Weltz said in a note to parents that school district officials will "continue to be in close contact with law enforcement through the remainder of the school year." "The district has response protocols in place, and will promptly notify families if lockdowns or other safety measures are needed," he said. East Helena Public Schools were temporarily placed on "secure" status Tuesday morning as part of the school district's standard response protocol, Superintendent Dan Rispens said in a note to parents. All students and staff were kept inside secure buildings until the secure order was lifted around 9:10 a.m. Assistant editor Phil Drake can be reached at 406-231-9021. Love 4 Funny 6 Wow 3 Sad 7 Angry 59 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. Phil Drake Assistant Editor/Reporter Follow Phil Drake 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 Montanas Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen pleaded no contest Wednesday to illegally passing a school bus that was picking up children with its red lights flashing and stop arm down. Helena Municipal Judge Anne Peterson fined Arntzen $500 for the violation plus $35 in fees and surcharges with $400 suspended, for a total of $135. Arntzen received a deferred sentence, which means the charge will be dismissed if she does not have any other traffic violations within 60 days. A no-contest plea means the defendant accepts the conviction but does not admit guilt. In a statement issued Wednesday, Arntzen's Communications Director Brian O'Leary said the superintendent would like to "thank all bus drivers for their vigilance in keeping our children safe." "School bus safety is a very important issue and the Superintendent encourages everyone to be alert and mindful when school buses are picking up and dropping off our children at the bus stop and at school," the statement says. "This is a good reminder for all of us to slow down from lifes daily distractions, and to pay extra careful attention, especially as we enter the busy summer season. The safety of our children must always come first." According to a call for service filed with the Helena Police Department, the bus driver reported that he was loading children onto the bus at Alice Street and Alexis Avenue in Helena's Mountain View Meadows subdivision at 7:37 a.m. May 19 when a red Chevrolet Colorado drove by. The bus driver reported Arntzen as the driver of the truck and provided the license plate number to police. Per Montana law, a driver approaching a school bus that has engaged its red flashing lights must stop at least 30 feet away. Arntzen was cited on May 26, after meeting with an officer. Arntzen acknowledged that she drives a red pickup and lives in the area but has no recollection of the incident, O'Leary said in a May 25 statement. Editor Jesse Chaney can be reached at 406-447-4074, or find him on Twitter: @IR_JesseChaney. Love 0 Funny 4 Wow 3 Sad 1 Angry 33 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 23-year-old Helena man accused of threatening a shooting attack on Helena High School is facing an additional felony charge, and his bond has been set at $750,000. The Lewis and Clark County Attorneys Office on Wednesday amended its complaint against Logan Pallister, adding a charge of possession of a silencer. Pallister was charged Tuesday with two felony counts of intimidation and one felony count of possession of explosives after officers received reports that he had made threats regarding a mass shooting at Helena High School and had access to weapons and possible explosive devices. Police added additional information to their affidavit Wednesday, stating they had dealt with Pallister in 2020 when he was carrying several firearms and had guns in a duffel bag in his vehicle. They said that in 2019 he pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon in a local grocery store and openly carrying a TEC-9-style weapon while concealing a semi-automatic pistol beneath his coat. Pallister appeared via video from the Lewis and Clark Detention Center before Justice of the Peace Mark V. Piskolich. He did not enter a plea and requested a public defender. A preliminary hearing was set for June 10 and arraignment for June 14. Piskolich also ordered Pallister to undergo a mental health evaluation. He said that if Pallister posts bond, he would have to wear a GPS monitor, could not come within 1,000 feet from any school, could have no contact with any victims, could have no contact with firearms or weapons and could not consume alcohol. He said he would also have to undergo drug testing twice a month. According to police, Pallister told witnesses he idolized and would reenact the April 20, 1999, Columbine High School shooting in Colorado in which two teen gunmen killed 12 students and one teacher before killing themselves, according to a document filed Tuesday in Justice Court. He talked of carrying out a mass shooting at Helena High School. His arrest came a week after a teen gunman entered a school in Uvalde, Texas, and killed 19 children and two teachers. Pallister was arrested early Tuesday in front of his residence. Helena police said he had eight firearms, including three semi-automatic rifles and five handguns. He was taken to the Lewis and Clark County Detention Center. Officials in their amended complaint Wednesday said Pallister told a witness he was going to make bombs to use in a school and showed her the bombs on May 30. The witness said the bombs looked similar to mini-propane bottles, but all silver and with a fuse about 4-6 inches long. He threatened to kill her if she told anyone, police said. Officers said they found photos of Logan posted on websites holding weapons. In one of the photos he was wearing his black trench coat. Officers said this backed up the statement by the witness that Pallister was mimicking the Columbine shooters who were sometimes known as the Trench Coat Mafia. Officers, through search warrants, went to Logans residence and vehicle Tuesday. In the vehicle they said they found what they thought were homemade improvised explosive devices and materials to make such devices. Some of the firearms found had threaded barrels capable of being used for a silencer. In the vehicle they found an ammunition box containing not only ammunition but also a homemade silencer made from a Fram oil filter modified to fit to a firearm muzzle, according to court documents A Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent said it had been fired, but had never been registered. Agents also found survivalist literature. There was one catalog that sold devices to speed the firing of a semi-automatic rifle, authorities said. Helena Public Schools was notified of the investigation and the arrest at 6 a.m. Tuesday, Communications Officer Karen Ogden said. She said the school district did not lock down any buildings, as law enforcement said there was no threat to the community at that time. East Helena Public Schools were temporarily placed on "secure" status Tuesday morning as part of the school district's standard response protocol, Superintendent Dan Rispens said in a note to parents. All students and staff were kept inside secure buildings until the secure order was lifted around 9:10 a.m. Assistant editor Phil Drake can be reached at 406-231-9021. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 2 Sad 1 Angry 34 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 National Rifle Association leads the opposition to gun control legislation in Congress. It is also a powerful force in Montana politics. U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale and fellow Republican Sen. Steve Daines rank in the top 25 out of 535 members of Congress for NRA election support. The data comes from OpenSecrets, formerly known as the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan, watchdog of money in politics. The gun groups power is on display again as Congress once again struggles over whether to act following a mass shooting of school children, this time in Uvalde, Texas. The NRA rewards politicians with letter grades, provided they vote the way the NRA wants, espouse the rhetoric the NRA prefers, and completes the NRA questionnaire satisfactorily. More importantly, the NRA spends hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, in the elections of the politicians it favors. Although, the group sat out 2020 after declaring bankruptcy. Rosendale ranks third among current members of the House for lifetime NRA support, having benefitted from $603,583 in spending by the NRA political action committee and donations from NRA employees. OpenSecrets reports that Rosendale has benefitted most from NRA opposition of other candidates. The gun group spent $523,049 targeting Sen. Jon Tester in Montana's 2018 Senate race, which Rosendale lost. Rosendale was offered a chance to comment about his NRA support. Spokesman Jonathan Eberle said I'm extremely disappointed in your decision to take this horrific shooting and politicize it. I'm also confused whether you think this article is going to convince your readers that Mr. Rosendale and the NRA are to blame for another individual's horrendous actions? Mr. Rosendale has condemned the shooting and will always condemn evil acts of violence like this. Daines ranks 19th among current members of the Senate for lifetime NRA support, having benefited from $454,425 in spending by NRA political action committees and NRA employees. Roughly half that money was received as campaign donations since 2012, while the other half was spent in opposing Daines opponents. Daines spokesman Katie Schoettler was proud to have the NRA support. Senator Daines is proud he has kept his promise to Montana voters to defend their Second Amendment rights, and hes honored to receive an A+ rating from the NRA in recognition of his commitment. It should be concerning to Montanans that with Senator Testers D rating from the NRA, he will support Bidens efforts to infringe upon their Second Amendment rights. I believe Pro 2A groups spent 567K opposing Tester to the 454K supporting Daines. If youre going to talk about support from 2A group to Daines, should mention the flip side for Tester. The NRAs lifetime spending against Tester is $734,499. As previously noted, most of that money was spent in 2018 to benefit Rosendales unsuccessful Senate challenge. Rosendale and the NRA are currently codefendants in a lawsuit accusing them of an elaborate scheme through which the NRA political arm allegedly provided the Montana Republican nearly $400,000 in illegal, in-kind contributions. Specifically, Giffords, a non-profit gun-control group founded by former Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, accuses the NRA and Rosendale of orchestrating ad buying through a half-dozen shell companies. The alleged benefit to Rosendale is $383,196 in illegally coordinated expenditures. Rosendale, in January, asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit. In D.C. Federal District Court, Rosendales campaign is arguing Giffords lacks the standing, and that the D.C. District lacks the jurisdiction to hear the case. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 3 Sad 0 Angry 8 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 19-year-old shot dead late Monday night after he shot a Billings Police sergeant had a long criminal history. The sergeant, an eight-year-veteran of the force, was grazed on the arm by a shot from the teenager. It was the first time a police officer had been wounded by gunfire while on duty in many decades, Police Chief Rich St. John said during a press conference Tuesday. Its very fortunate were not burying an officer today, the chief said. The 11:30 p.m. incident began as a routine traffic stop. After a passenger in the car bailed out, the teenager sped away before his car was cornered by police in an alley behind Burnstead Drive at North 19th Street. Residents in the area were told to shelter in place. The teenager, who hasnt yet been publicly identified, fired at police through his windshield, hitting the sergeant, a patrol car and the armored ballistic shield being carried by another officer. After up to four minutes of refusing commands from officers, police heard the suspect pull the slide back on a semi-automatic weapon. The suspect then made the sign of the cross, pointed to the sky, and then got out of the car firing multiple rounds at officers, St. John said. At least 13 Billings Police officers, three of them sergeants, were involved in the shootout, the chief said. The teenager died at the scene. The injured sergeant was taken to a nearby hospital where he was treated and released. All 13 of the officers have been placed on routine administrative leave while the shooting is being investigated. Because of the complexity of the incident and the number of people involved, it isnt yet certain how many shots were fired, the chief said. He also declined to name the police involved, again citing the complexity of the incident. Police at the scene recovered the gun the suspect was using, and a second gun in the car. Earlier in the evening, the suspect drove into the North Side alley behind Burnstead Drive. He was met in the alley by the sergeant approaching in his patrol car. Other officers arriving pinned the suspects car in the alley. The sergeant who was grazed by a shot through his windshield, ducked in his patrol car and then rammed the suspects car before backing up again and returning shots. The realm of training is to get out of the kill zone and re-engage the suspect, so nice job on the officers part, the police chief said. Earlier in the weekend, Billings Police ended a five-hour armed standoff in the Billings Heights by using an armored truck to ram a hole in the suspects house where he held his wife and three children hostage. The man, 44-year-old Robert Janz, had previous run-ins with the Billings Police and other agencies and said he feared the government was going to take his guns away. After his arrest, police took away as many as 30 guns from the residents. The 19-year-old killed late Monday is the third person shot dead by Billings police this year. On May 23, 36-year-old Curtis Dean Yellowtail was shot and killed by police after speeding away from the scene of what had been reported to as an armed assault. After crashing his car on the 1400 block of Industrial Avenue, the man got out of his car, held a gun to his head and then pointed it at police. The cops opened fire. The gun he had been holding was apparently a realistic-looking toy gun, according to photographs. In early February, 39-year-old Raymond D. Dupree Jr. was shot dead by Billings Police Officer Bret Hilde after he pointed a gun at several strangers and then at the officer. Altogether, at least 10 people have been killed by gunfire in Billings this year. Gwen Ann Marshall was found shot dead earlier this month in her home. David Antonio Rodas Sr., 57, was arrested and charged in connection to her death in the days that followed. Domonic Shawn Dale Morgan, 29, was shot and killed in the parking lot of a Billings bar last month. Police have identified the shooter, a 19-year-old man, but no charges have been filed. It is concerning that were starting to see little regard for property, certainly for peoples lives, St. John said. With numerous officers on leave, the chief said staffing the department was going to be tricky. With school ending, several School Resource Officers will be able to be re-deployed, and members of some task forces and special departments could be temporarily reassigned. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 By Trend The interconnector Greece- Bulgaria will play a key role in meeting Bulgarias objectives of diversifying energy sources, energy security and independence, Bulgarias Minister of Energy Alexander Nikolov said in an exclusive interview with Trend. He pointed out that the interconnector Greece-Bulgaria is a key project for the country's energy security and the entire region of Southeast Europe. Despite the accumulated serious delay in the implementation of the interconnector, the government has taken active steps in recent months to launch the gas pipeline, which will provide the opportunity for supplies from different regions. At the moment, the gas pipeline is at its final stage of implementation, the hydro-tests throughout the entire territory have been completed, the connection of the pipeline to the Transatlantic Gas pipeline (TAP) has been carried out, the dispatching centre of Haskovo is completed, there is progress on the reactivation of the route, which shall be carried out under local legislation. Measurement and control systems are currently being installed and tested. The progress of the project in recent months gives us a ground for optimism that the interconnector will be physically completed by mid-year as recorded in the latest updated project schedule. In parallel, we are striving to optimize the time limits for the implementation of the necessary administrative procedures obtaining different licences and permits so that the commercial operation of the facility starts as soon as possible. I am confident that the interconnector Greece- Bulgaria will play a key role in meeting our objectives of diversifying energy sources, energy security and independence, said Nikolov. The energy minister noted that Azerbaijan is a strategic partner for Bulgaria in its efforts to guarantee energy security and independence. The Montana Public Service Commission contended in court last week that asking for $31,000 in legal review fees was necessary to fill a public records request, while a lawyer for a group of newspapers said the cost was a way to avoid having to provide the documents. Lee Newspapers of Montana, which includes The Billings Gazette, Missoulian, Helena Independent Record, Montana Standard and Ravalli Republic, filed a lawsuit over the charge last year. The PSC has countered, asking for summary judgment in the case. Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Mike Menahan heard the arguments last week, but made no indication of when he would issue a ruling. Last year, a reporter from the Gazette asked for records related to travel, expenses and reimbursements for PSC commissioners and staff, along with information related to paying down a debt to a different state agency. That came after a fiscal compliance audit found lax spending practices and falsified documents generated to justify expenses at the agency. The PSC said the agency found about 25,000 documents in response to the request and needed the $31,000 to conduct a legal review before turning over the records. In court last week, Mike Meloy, a lawyer representing the newspapers, said that while a law passed in 2015 allowed state agencies to impose a fee to fill records requests, what the PSC wanted to charge went beyond the actual costs of doing so. Meloy argued that agencies like the PSC already have lawyers on staff to do legal work and that if the agency felt such a review was necessary, that was their responsibility, not the requester of the records, to absorb those costs. Whenever the agency imposes a cost as significant as those in this case, and, frankly, because they're charging for lawyer services, those costs provide a burden, impose a burden, on the right to obtain these documents under Article Two, Section Nine of the (state) Constitution, Meloy argued. But Assistant Attorney General Tim Longfield, the lawyer representing the PSC, said its the agencys view that the legal review fits the definition of what can be charged and that doing the review is necessary so the agency doesnt release inappropriate records. (The law) didnt itemize every specific fee that conceivably an agency could charge, Longfield said. Public information, finding and gathering it, requires legal review, and therefore legal review is part of the time required to gather public information. In 2015 the state Legislature passed a law that allowed agencies to charge a fee for filling requests, not to exceed the actual costs directly incident to fulfilling the request in the most cost-efficient and timely manner possible...The fee may include the time required to gather public information." Meloy argued the law doesnt permit agencies to charge for legal review of documents or to require fees that create a burden too great for someone to be able to access public documents, which is a right in the state Constitution. "The Legislature can help implement a constitutional provision but they can't amend it in a way that imposes a burden on the exercise of the right found in the Constitution, Meloy said. Its my view that the Public Service Commissions reading of this statute is designedspecifically designedto avoid providing the public access to those documents." Longfield, however, said he felt a plain reading of the law allowed charging for the agency's legal review under the actual costs directly incidental to filing the request and the time required provisions. Longfield also said the right to know must be balanced with the right to privacy, which he said necessitated a review of the documents to make sure nothing improper would be turned over to the Gazette. To gather information requires legal review and legal analysis, Longfield said. Longfield also argued legal fees gave the agency a way to push those requesting documents to more narrowly tailor their requests and that large requests actually hampers the right to know. "If the agency doesn't have any sort of bargaining powers to work with a requesting party to say 'Hey let's bring these costs down, lets focus your request to get the information you actually want, then the requesting party can simply submit very broad untailored requests," Longfield said, adding that takes up agency time to work on other requests. "If there's no fee provision, then there is no incentive for the requesting party to focus their requests in such a way." But Meloy countered that the reporter's request was sufficiently focused and that it was the agency's issue that their own search turned up so many documents. He also pointed out a reporter could not tell what records were responsive to their request and which were not without seeing the documents. This demonstrates the recalcitrance of the agency and their unwillingness to provide these records, Meloy said. If the department is unable to figure out how to make a search of their records to eliminate those things so they dont have to review them, that's their problemI dont know how you would negotiate...to narrow down any further without looking at the records." Menahan asked if local governments or other non-state agencies charge for legal reviews, saying Typically doesn't it fall under the duties or job requirements of the agencys legal counsel to conduct these reviews? Meloy answered yes. Longfield, however, said the legal reviews still incurred an "opportunity cost." Reporter Seaborn Larson contributed to this story. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Two years after having an expansion approved for its tailings storage to extend the life of the East Boulder Mine, Sibanye Stillwater Mining Co. is seeking approval of two more expansions. Two public meetings are scheduled for June 23 to provide information and take comments on the proposal. The meetings will begin at 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. During the first 30 minutes of each meeting, officials from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the Custer Gallatin National Forest will give a presentation on the environmental impact statement, the permitting process and a description of the proposed project. A question-and-answer session and the opportunity to provide public comment will follow each talk. The meetings will be held in the Community Meeting Room at the Big Timber Carnegie Library, 314 McLeod Street, and will be live-streamed via Zoom. If you are interested in attending, register for one of the meetings by June 20 at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/public-scoping-meeting-east-boulder-mine-amendment-004-registration-342367348957 Public comments can also be submitted in writing or online through June 27. Last expansion In 2020, the Custer Gallatin National Forest approved Sibanye expanding its waste rock facility 23 miles south of Big Timber along the base of the Beartooth Mountains. That work was meant to extend the mines life through 2033. Now the multinational mining company is seeking to have a tailings facility in Lewis Gulch and Dry Fork authorized, a total of about 470 acres. The facilities are meant to allow the mine to operate through 2045 and 2047, respectively. For more details, the application for the project is available on the Forest Service website at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=61385. Precious metals The East Boulder Mine is one of the only producers of platinum and palladium in the world. Its sister operation, the Stillwater Mine, operates to the southeast near Nye. Both Sibanye mines target the same geological formation, known as the JM Reef area. Under its expansion plan at the East Boulder Mine, Sibanye Stillwater is proposing to: expand the current mill site area from 249 acres to 723 acres; construct the Lewis Gulch Tailings Storage Facility on 88 acres near the current borrow pit for storage of an estimated 5.8 million cubic yards of material allowing mining to continue until 2043 or 2045; another 39 acres would be disturbed with roads and infrastructure for the tailings pit. To the north of the current mine, Sibanye is also proposing to construct the Dry Fork Waste Rock Storage Area across a total of 96 acres, 46 of which are national forest land. Thirty-five of those acres are in the North Absaroka inventoried roadless area. The storage area would be built in three phases, beginning in 2025 and running through 2035. A new road, bridge, water lines, ponds and an electric tower are part of the project. The new facility would hold another 5.4 million cubic yards of waste rock, extending the mines life to around 2036 to 2047. Both estimates of mine life are based on the current mining rate. Concerns The mines expansion of its waste rock facilities has concerned some downstream landowners who voiced their fears in a September Billings Gazette story. Leon Royer said he was worried that Sibanye-Stillwater and Sweet Grass County commissioners had done little to protect downstream landowners if a dam breach were to occur. The companys own dam breach assessment, released as one of the forms in its application, projects that failure of the structure could result in the East Boulder Campground less than four miles downstream being inundated under 16 feet to 24 feet of water within 17 to 18 minutes. At peak discharge the water flow could hit more than 141,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) at the campground. Even by the time the water reached the Yellowstone River confluence 37 miles downstream, about three-and-a-half to five hours later, the water level would be 3 feet higher and running at more than 70,000 cfs, the report estimated. Critical infrastructure that could be affected by the breach include numerous bridges along the Boulder River and Highway 298 and Highway 90, the report said. Although Sibanye Stillwater is required to model the possibility of the dam failing, company officials have defended the design as the best technology has to offer. The most common reasons for dam failure, the report concluded, are unusual weather events like a 500- to 1,000-year flood, poor design or construction, improper management and/or a significant earthquake. As time goes on and the pond dries up, the tailings should present less of a threat of downstream flooding, the engineers concluded. Support Royer said he's given talks around Sweet Grass County to raise awareness of the issue and to voice his concerns. He has asked the agencies to extend the comment period for the public, saying people need more time to study the issue and reply. He's also urging the DEQ and Forest Service to consider requiring Sibanye Stillwater to dry stacking its tailings, removing the problem of a possible dam breach and flood. "So, we're in the fight now," Royer said. "The local people who understand this are engaged." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 There are six candidates for Public Service Commission Region 5. Region 5 includes the counties of Flathead, Glacier, Podera, Lake, and Lewis and Clark. PSC decisions directly or indirectly affect all families and businesses in Montana. All six candidates were given the opportunity to answer three unknown questions and their answers shared with the voters. Three accepted and three declined. Only two answered. John Repke (D) and Anna Bukacek (R) respectfully declined. Derek Skees (R) accepted. When he saw the first question he claimed I do not understand the function of the PSC but would answer. He never answered. Joe Dooling (R) declined stating that he was too busy raising money for his campaign, his ranch was suffering from drought, and I had spoken disrespectfully of the legislative sub-caucus his wife belongs to, the Solutions Caucus. The two remaining answered the three questions as follows: What lessons on energy are we learning from the Russia vs. Ukraine conflict? Kevin Hamm (D): Ukraine had been in the process of moving from interconnectivity with Russia to the EU prior to the invasion. Because of this their current grid has power, but it underlines the issues with large-grid-only services. The spotlight needs to be on multi-site micro-generation that feeds into the grid so a failure, or worse the active destruction of the grid, doesnt completely destroy the lives of the people it serves. Investing in smarter, smaller, generation that bolsters the grid is an imperative at all levels, regardless of war. In Montana we have the natural resources to extend our generation into smaller communities, which will give more resilience to our overall grid, and we should do it. Dean Crabb (R): Montana should become energy independent within its state border. If we control our own energy we can separate from the grid and keep Feds out. We have enough electricity and enough water. Inside Montana we have the largest gas storage facilities in the west. Montana gas needs to fill that storage tank, not Canadian gas. The Federal Government is restricting, shutting down our utilities without an answer for replacement. If we are independent within Montana State, we can refute federal control. Justice Scalia stated, Federal Government may not compel the States to implement by legislation or executive action federal regulatory programs. If Colstrip Unit Four closes prematurely $200M in stranded costs may be levied on ratepayers. Is there anything the PSC could or should do to address this issue? Dean Crabb (R): PSC should be looking at alternate fuel sources. They may be able to switch the plant over and stay running. This mess is created by the Federal Oversight. Since it is a regulatory issue they may be able to shift some of the loss to other plants. Generate more Hydro and sell into the open market to offset some of the loss. The PSC could try to come up with a scenario that will work best for both the Utility and the rate payer. This does happen and it is known that this could happen, historically they drop the whole expense on the ratepayer. I think they should look at all options before that happens. Kevin Hamm (D): The PSC could stand up for the people of Montana and not pass on costs from obviously problematic assets that NWE could have been planning to retire for years. The PSC hasnt addressed this, ever. NWE has known since at least 2012 that neither Washington or Oregon would continue to operate coal plants. NWEs lack of preparation should not be a direct burden for the people of Montana. NWE is allowed to make a profit, not guaranteed one. The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners provides in depth training in Consumers and Public Interest, Critical Infrastructure, Electricity, Energy Resources and the Environment, Natural Gas, International Energy Relations, Water, and Federal Government Collaboratives. Which one would you choose and why? Kevin Hamm (D): That's a difficult choice, because I think any candidate would benefit greatly from more education in each of those areas. Energy Resources and the Environment, and Gas, both touch on issues that matter deeply for the future of our state (and of humanity as a whole). Federal Government Collaborations would be invaluable in terms of learning about how to access resources we might not otherwise realize we have. Northwestern Energy has such a profound impact on Montanans across the state, the committee that would give me the best set of tools with which to deal with them effectively and fairly would be the Committee on Electricity. Dean Crabb (R): Montanans for Limited Government asked me why commissioners need to travel. I responded, The NARUC seminars. I belong to several organizations that are part of NARUC, such as IEEE and NERC with SCADA, also closely involved with micro grids. I would join various committees but mainly Gas. We lack natural gas in Montana. Our biggest down fall in this state at this time. The feds are hard after gas right now but we also need to acquire more. Interesting note-all persons and commissioners put in place by other states, agencies and companies have utility experience. Brad Molnar served on the PSC for eight years; twice as vice-chairman. He currently is a senator serving on the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee and the Legislative Consumer Committee. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 In my 33 years of practicing law across Montana, I have had the opportunity and pleasure to work with many well qualified attorneys and judges, and through that experience have seen what it takes to be an independent member of the judicial branch of government. Among the three candidates for associate justice, I have no doubt Judge McMahon is the most qualified to fill this important position. His track record as both an attorney, and as a district judge serving Montanas First Judicial District demonstrate his skill and knowledge of the law, and most importantly, his integrity and independence in making decisions. At this time, more than ever, Montana needs an associate justice on the Montana Supreme Court with these skills. Naysayers have been abundant over the years since corn has been refined into ethanol for automotive fuel purposes. They cast many concerns that blending 90% gasoline and 10% ethanol would consume so much corn there would not be enough left for their morning bowl of corn flakes. U.S. farmers rose to the challenge to show those concerns held little validity and there has been plenty of corn to feed livestock, make ethanol, and not dip into the supply of sweet corn needed for human foods. Lately, the discussion has shifted to soybeans, which have a high oil content, that is becoming more important as a futuristic fuel, not only for diesel engines, but airplanes, and other forms of transportation and energy. While soybean oil, and other vegetable oils can be used in diesel engines almost straight from the field, there is a greater energy developed from renewable diesel, refined from vegetable oil feed stocks. The food versus fuel concerns are slowly shifting in that direction, spurred, in part, by the Ukrainian conflict. Ukrainian farmers are the global source of sunflower oil and with expectations of diminished production this year, the global vegetable oil market will see shortages and higher prices. The vegetable oil economy that will be developing over coming months will be an indicator of what will happen as soybean oil becomes a more popular feedstock as a transportation fuel. The CEO of Bunge, the worlds largest processor of oilseeds, touted his plans to an investor conference in mid-May that oilseeds like soybeans and sunflowers are the companies target for its future growth. He predicted soybeans will have a greater percentage of oil content and that North America is not going to be an exporter. With current soybean prices at record levels, the Bunge chief executive said the market is sending a signal to farmers to boost production and only two years would be needed to achieve his predictions. Simultaneously, other grain companies, including Cargill and Ag Processing and others currently have 14 soybean crushing plants under construction, expansion, or on the drawing board. When those plants are online it is doubtful there will be enough soybeans to run them at capacity, unless there is a major change in where soybeans are allocated. If those plants offer higher prices for soybeans, than does the export market, the soybeans will be turned into renewable diesel fuel. Lovington soybean farmer Stan Born, a leader on the U.S. Soybean Export Council, says demand is good. He says revenue potential due to more competition for soybeans is exciting, but Its always tempered by reality because theres a lot of hurdles to be able to realize all that excitement. Currently, U.S. farmers are producing just over 4 billion bushels of soybeans, and in rough terms exporting as many for international customers as they process domestically. With the trends in the industry and pronouncements of industry captains, the percentage exported will give way to the percentage that is processed domestically. That diminishes the availability of cooking oil for global households, because it is being converted into fuel for U.S. travelers and truckers. Stu Ellis is an observer of the Central Illinois agriculture scene. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 OXON HILL, Md. After successful preliminary rounds at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Maroa-Forsyth Middle School student Arnav Kolluru ended his run during the quarterfinals Wednesday morning. However, the eighth grader found a positive side to his elimination. "I'm relaxing now," he said. "It's going great." Arnav's misspelling of the word brose, which is a porridge made by stirring boiling liquid into oatmeal or other meal, was his last attempt at the national competition. He will be a high schooler in the fall, and he and his family will be moving to Seattle in June. The 2022 national spelling bee was Arnav's third attempt at the competition. The national spelling bee was canceled in 2020. Last year, the semifinals were held online with only the top 11 spellers traveling to an Orlando, Florida, venue. Arnav attended the 2019 Scripps Spelling Bee as a fifth grader. The 44th annual competition, hosted by the Macon-Piatt Regional Office of Education at Richland Community College's Schilling Center, was held on March 12. Arnav won after spelling the word "exoneration," which describes the act of officially absolving someone from blame and vindication. Arnav was among 88 spellers who made it beyond Tuesday's preliminary rounds, which involved spelling two words and choosing the definition of another from multiple choices. Arnav had been most concerned with the vocabulary portion, which was a new element this year, but it was the spelling in the quarterfinals that ended the competition for him. "Brose is a really tricky word," said Arnav, who spelled the word as broaz onstage. "It's a Scottish word, a very obscure word." Arnav said the word that led to his elimination was harder to spell than some others in the competition. "But I can't do anything about it," he said. The final competition with 48 contestants will be Thursday morning. The Kolluru family plan to spend the rest of the trip visiting Washington D.C. sites, "now that I've been eliminated," Arnav said. "But I'll stay for the awards." The competition concludes with finals on Thursday. Spellers and their families are invited to an awards banquet and farewell party on Friday evening. Contact Donnette Beckett at (217) 421-6983. Follow her on Twitter: @donnettebHR 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. DECATUR Leeandre Honorable, the Decatur man who pulled a gun and blazed away at a fleeing car on a city street flanked by apartments and homes, was sent to prison for 10 years on Tuesday. Honorable was found not guilty of a charge of attempted first degree murder in a Macon County Circuit Court jury trial April 19. But the jurors convicted him of the aggravated discharge of a firearm and unlawful possession of a gun by a felon. And at Tuesdays sentencing hearing, Judge Rodney Forbes handed down the 10 year sentence on the aggravated discharge count. Honorable, 26, was also sentenced to seven years on the unlawful possession charge, but that was ordered to run concurrently with the 10 year sentence, which must be served at 85%. He also gets credit for two years spent in custody since his arrest. Police reports about the case said officers responded in the early morning of May 16, 2020, to the 2300 block of Rosedale Avenue for a domestic violence dispute that had involved Honorable. He was gone by the time police got there, but they were still parked in the neighborhood when officers described watching Honorable step out of the shadows and open fire at the car, driven by someone known to the woman involved in the domestic dispute. The car was hit and crashed, but there were no reports of injuries. Honorable was chased down and caught by the police after a getaway vehicle left without him; the gun used was never found. Special Prosecutor Kate Kurtz had argued that Honorable, who has a long track record of domestic violence convictions and had served two years in prison previously, was steadily escalating his levels of violence. ...He put every single person in that neighborhood in danger, she said of the gunfire. He stood out in the middle, in between two apartment buildings, and just opened fire. Its amazing that no one was struck and, quite frankly, is lucky he is not looking at a more serious charge of murder based on his actions. Honorable addressed the judge and told him he was sorry for what he had done. He pointed out he has sick children and family members to look after and wanted to make a fresh start in his life. I just wanted to ask for a little leniency here, he added. His appeal for clemency was taken up by defense attorney Chris Amero. He said his client came from a tough environment and had suffered the loss of friends by violence while incarcerated since his arrest. He said Honorable was now trying to break the cycle of trouble that had overtaken his life. Amero also pointed out that, despite the dangers, no one was hurt or killed as a result of Honorables latest crime. We can live our lives by what-ifs and, if we do that, then we are just going down this rabbit hole of Lets incarcerate everyone because they could potentially hurt someone, he added. Forbes, passing sentence, said he had to protect the public from people like Honorable. ...He does have a very serious criminal history and repeatedly and knowingly and voluntarily engaged in criminal and antisocial behavior, the judge said. Contact Tony Reid at (217) 421-7977. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyJReid 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. SPRINGFIELD Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation Tuesday that will pump an additional $700 million annually into Medicaid-funded nursing homes, provided they use that money to increase staff and wages in their facilities. This is truly a game changer, Pritzker said at a bill signing ceremony at a Chicago-area nursing home. Together we've delivered a victory for the communities of residents that you serve. The payment reform bill, spelled out in a Senate amendment to House Bill 246, is among the first of its kind in the nation, according to Department of Healthcare and Family Services officials. It passed unanimously out of both chambers of the General Assembly, but only after nearly two years of negotiations between the administration and the nursing home industry negotiations that at times appeared to reach an impasse. Im just I so proud for this administration and this team that we've been able to accomplish this. I don't think anybody really understands how big of a lift this was, and how much of a change it is, HFS Director Theresa Eagleson said during a recent interview. The Illinois Medicaid program pays for the care of about 70 percent of all the nursing home residents in the state, or roughly 45,000 seniors and disabled individuals. For years, though, there have been concerns about the quality of care those people receive. HFS officials have cited studies showing Illinois has more understaffed nursing homes by far than any other state, a problem driven by high turnover rates and low wages. That problem became especially acute during the COVID-19 pandemic when nursing homes became the source of multiple outbreaks and accounted for a disproportionate number of COVID-related deaths. We know that almost half of all COVID-19 related deaths occurred in our nursing homes at the beginning of the pandemic, said Rep. Anna Moeller, D-Elgin, the bills lead sponsor in the House. And we've heard tragic stories of overcrowding and understaffing that happens in far too many nursing homes, especially in homes located in Black and Latino communities. We learned how COVID-19 only exacerbated an already chronically bad situation. Sen. Ann Gillespie, D-Arlington Heights, who carried the bill in the Senate, said that even before the pandemic, many for-profit nursing facilities were reporting profits even as they operated with staffing levels below clinical requirements. The data showed long-term care facilities in predominantly Black and Latino communities had among the lowest staffing levels, she said. And while the situation worsened during the pandemic, the data was clear that this has been happening well before the pandemic ever started. The estimated $700 million in new annual funding is split evenly between state and federal funds. Most of the states portion comes through an increase in the states nursing home bed tax, which is used to draw down additional federal dollars. Under the law, nursing homes can qualify for higher payment rates as they hire additional staff to reach certain target levels. The law also establishes new reimbursement rates for services provided by certified nursing assistants, or CNAs, providing them with wage increases based on their years of experience in the profession, rather than their tenure at the specific facility where they work. The new law also requires more disclosure about the ownership of nursing homes, something that HFS officials said is needed, particularly with for-profit nursing homes. It was also a provision meant to address concerns among nursing home owners that the new payment model could force some nursing homes to close their doors. You cannot measure profit if you don't know who owns a facility, HFS deputy director Andy Allison said in a recent interview. Profit, net and loss, is a function of the definition of the business that you're describing. And you can't define a business if you can't define its ownership, and in particular, common ownership across nursing homes. So the fundamental question of viability, access and serving our customers depends on knowing who owns what. The new rules still need approval from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, but Eagleson said she is confident of getting that approval. They actually came out and talked to us and were asking us how we can help other states move in this direction, she said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Who are they? Who are these boys, these teenagers who viciously kill innocent school acquaintances or maybe unknown children, each victim special in his or her own way, all of them loving and adored? Think of the bright eyes the parents will never see again, the laughs they will never hear again. Think of the astonished horror endured by 19 youngsters and two teachers in a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school as bullets left punctured, bloody bodies where the majesty of life used to rule. That was just one of 27 school shootings this year on top of 34 last year, and there is a lot to understand if we are to overcome this evil in a shrunken society. One place to start is with the shooters and whats welcoming is that all kinds of organizations, governmental and otherwise, have deeply explored their backgrounds, their personalities, their anger and their hatred. Many have arrived at similar explanations for these soulless Americans, and a big one is the raggedy families that produced them. Its an atrociously neglected subject in America today that families are disastrously falling apart in huge numbers, that one parent (usually the father) gets lost and the other faces fierce demands that are hard for even two to satisfy. Sometimes things can work out OK, but fatherless children are more likely to drop out of high school, commit crimes, kill themselves and go jobless. The worst households are often dysfunctional to the point that children are not trained but ignored, rejected and abused. Their guidance is left to TV, video games and cell phones, and if the father and mother ever live together again, they may do more hitting than kissing. A missing father can mean missing lessons in masculinity for the boy, less security, less self-respect, it is said, and this is common for shooters. Researchers say that, when shooters go to school, the door is often open for bullies to harass them as ever more withdrawn tear-soaked, womanish wimps. Girls dont like them and they become resentful. They get depressed, suicidal, more given to guns, drugs and threats, infuriated to the point of explosion. They almost always say they are going to kill people they may not even know before they kill them in supposedly brave, masculine acts. The 18-year-old Texas killer, Salvador Ramos, never knew his father. He did know his grandfather, who was a convicted felon. He and his mother had fights, according to her boyfriend. Bullies had at him in school because of a speech impediment. He was a disliked lone wolf with a fetish for guns and once told someone he cut his face up for the fun of it. His grandmother owned the house he and his mother lived in and was planning to take it away because of the mothers drug problems. Ramos moved in with the grandmother, had arguments with her about dropping out of high school and shot her in the face before he conducted the massacre he briefly advertised online. We all need to cry for these lost lives, for the parents, for all of those out there wondering if this could happen to them, something like 60 percent of teachers nationally, according to a poll. We must strive for safety and for the mental health of those who have witnessed these shootings and those who might commit more of them. The good news is that all kinds of alert organizations, public and private, are trying to come up with meaningful solutions, and no doubt they will on some level or the other. But the final answer, which could take a long, long time, is pretty much up to nearly all of us helping to rebuild the family in this country, fighting for morale, for growth in goodness and love, restoring certain old norms and getting off the path to civilizational destruction. Jay Ambrose is an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service. speaktojay@aol.com Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 By Trend Russian Severo-Zapad Airlines will start operating flights to Azerbaijans Baku from Zhukovsky International Airport (Moscow region of Russia), on June 6, Trend reports with reference to airport. Flights will be operated twice a week - on Mondays and Thursdays. "Departure from Zhukovsky International Airport - at 16:00 (GMT+3), return flight - at 21:35 (GMT+4)," airport said. Theres an easy way to become an elected judge. The candidate following this path will make veiled promises about how he or she will rule on cases coming to court, usually reflecting current hot button political issues. Theres also a harder way to become a judge. That candidate will not run on a wink and a nod about prejudging cases or people; rather that candidate will have superior academic record, a long and distinguished career as a courtroom lawyer, and finally the approval of the lawyers who appear in his or her courtroom every day. One and only one candidate in Macon Countys upcoming primary election for Circuit Judge is doing it the hard way. That candidate is Judge Rodney Forbes. Judge Forbes has served since 2017 as an appointed Associate Judge, and now seeks election as a full Circuit Judge. The non-partisan, anonymous poll of area lawyers conducted by the Illinois State Bar Association found Judge Forbes to be the only candidate running in this election to be recommended for Circuit Judge. I had the privilege of serving the citizens of Macon County for almost 20 years as a Circuit Judge, having been elected as a Republican. In the last 10 years of my term I also served as the Presiding (Chief) Judge of the Macon County Circuit Court. I am proud to give my unqualified support and endorsement to Judge Rodney Forbes. A.G. Webber, Decatur Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 BRISTOL, Tenn. The Bristol Tennessee Police Department (BTPD), alongside the Bristol Tennessee Fire Department (BTFD) and other area agencies, held training exercises at Tennessee High School on Wednesday to prepare for future potential emergency situations. BTPD Capt. Brian Hess, who was in charge of the training exercise, explained Tennessee High is an ideal building for officers to take part in the advanced training exercises. This gives us an opportunity to do some training in a large setting like this with the fire department, maybe an agency or two, in case something would happen, not necessarily in a school, but in a building this big, Hess said. This allows us to get some training in while school is not in session. As part of the training exercises, Hess highlighted that clearing a building as big and as complex as Tennessee High would, if done properly, take an hour or two. This school is a maze. To clear a building like this, youre talking every bit of an hour, if not longer, to clear every part of this building. So it would take some time, especially going slow like youre supposed to go, Hess said. These guys are going to be taking their time. Theyre going to be clearing room to room, area to area. He emphasized that the BTPD tries to set up one big training exercise every month to keep their officers prepared for any large-scale situation, where a mistake could be costly. We train like this every month, but its not the same thing every month. We have different training topics that well do throughout the year. But we do try to do a large building at least once a year as a refresher, Hess said. You dont want to get here and forget the tactics on how to do this safely because theres a right way and theres a wrong way, and you dont want to do it the wrong way. Hess pointed to the recent shooting at Uvalde, Texas, as an example of why they need to be prepared. If something like that happens, we have to go in. We have to stop the threat. Thats our main job is to go in and stop the threat. We cant wait around. We have to go in and do that, he said. The BTPD planned to be at Tennessee High School until around 10 p.m. running multiple scenarios. 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. Scott Cox accepts the James E. Worrall Volunteer of the Year Award at the Perry Chamber Ollie Awards back in February. Stephanie Hill (right) and Frances Worrall (left) are pictured alongside Cox. As a native of Colorado, Scott Cox moved to the Peach State 26 years ago. His professional career began as a mid-career hire, where he manufactured and designed store fixtures. As a first task, Cox helped design the first-ever Starbucks kiosk. Cox began working at Georgia Power over 21 years ago. He began as a lineman but was promoted to work in transmissions shortly afterwards. At Georgia Power, Cox began to work in design and construction, but he left Georgia Power to help and assist the Southern Company. The Southern Company is a sister company to Georgia Power, and during his time working for the Southern Company, Cox helped transmission standards and conducted maintenance on trans lines. Today, he is the area manager for Georgia Power, and as a part of his job duties, he oversees five central Georgia counties: Dooly, Crisp, Houston, Macon and Bleckley. As the area manager, Cox is frequently sought out as a pillar to the Central Georgia community. Within a job description that requires community development, customer service and government affairs, Scott Cox has become involved with several projects that will continue economic development in the area. Involved in several chambers of commerce, Coxs motivation and inspiration comes from winning Volunteer of the Year. Cox was awarded this accolade at Perry Chamber in 2001. He is a member of the Houston County Development authority, as well. "My purpose is to give back and to serve the community in which I live, he said. "You have to love your community in order to really be effective. The purpose of Georgia Power is to make, move and sell electricity while volunteering, as well. Cox believes the rigorous work with industrial customers networking with people and connecting people to one another embodies the purpose of Georgia Power. "At Georgia Power, I work a lot with industrial customers, and I love what I do, he said. "I love to give back. He loves helping his community and wants to continue giving back to the Houston County youth. "I like to say I have 119 adopted children, Cox said. "This is the year of the 25th Houston County Youth Leadership Class. Cox believes helping communities and rebuilding the electrical grid are just a few projects that he has worked with, which continues economic development. "Looking back, all of my community development work has helped me leave a legacy, he said. HICKORY The third-grade students at Jenkins Elementary have been exploring ways to reach out to others with an expression of kindness. They have exchanged in class about methods of sharing kindness with one another, with friends, with their neighbors, and with the community. Throughout the year, they've sent letters to first responders thanking them for their service and caring hearts. Early last March, the opportunity to share kindness with someone who was far away from home came across the desk of third-grade teacher Paula Gambill, who is also the HPS Teacher of the Year. Gambill received notification about an Air Force senior airman who was serving in Saudi Arabia, nearly 7,000 miles away from Jenkins Elementary. The third-grade students began to write letters to Senior Airman Ethan Phillips. They told Phillips about their favorite sports, colors, games and even homework which according to Phillips, helped him to laugh a little and take his mind off the stress of being so far away from home. A native of Illinois, Phillips recently returned to the United States and he is now stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro. "I cherish the letters from the students and I've shared their words with everyone who serves with me. We also appreciate the students sending several boxes of Girl Scout cookies, which didn't last long," Phillips said. Phillips wanted to thank the students, but not just with a card. He believed he needed to thank them in person. So he hit the road, driving from Goldsboro to Hickory to surprise the students who had become his extended family. The third-grade teachers at Jenkins gathered their students in one classroom to meet with a "surprise" guest. The students had no idea who was visiting their school, but once Senior Airman Phillips walked through the door, wearing his uniform, it didn't take long for the third-graders to figure it out. The cheers of excitement could be heard through the halls. Phillips shared about his military responsibilities in Saudi Arabia, adding reflections of his living conditions and the traditions of a different culture. He also shared how much the students' letters meant to him. "Your strong leadership, combined with generous acts of kindness, is a character trait that I hope you will carry for the rest of your lives," he said. "Your kindness lifted my spirits. I will always remember you. On behalf of those who serve with me in the United States Air Force, we thank the third-grade students of Jenkins Elementary School." SPRINGFIELD Past winners of the Cream of the Crop Photo Contest are looking back fondly on how creativity, hard work and an eye for beauty helped them succeed as young photographers sharing their vision of Illinois agriculture. Theyre also looking to the future, offering insight to students who might beor should bethinking about entering the 2022 contest, hosted by Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs. Frerichs is calling on Illinois students, ages 8 to 18, to submit photos for the 2022 Cream of the Crop Photo Contest by the deadline of June 22. Each student may submit up to two photos electronically at www.CreamoftheCropContest.com. Top photographs will be chosen in three age-based categories: ages 8 10, 11 14 and 15-18. The contest, now in its 10th year, provides Illinois students with an opportunity to showcase their most innovative or scenic pictures that depict their vision of agriculture in our state. During the history of the contest, more than 500 students have participated, submitting nearly 1,000 photos. One of those past winners, Anna Johnson of Durand still remembers what she was thinking when she submitted her photo for the 2021 competition: It would be such a great opportunity to share a little piece of my life with everyone else who would see this if I win. Johnson now is building her own photography business while studying agricultural business at college and holding down a marketing job. Winning the Cream of the Crop contest turned out to be an amazing opportunity and experience, she said. Emily Boecker of Morton recalled her photographic technique of trying to get low to the ground to try to capture the best angle and framing that included the path, crop and silos on the family farm. Boecker, who is now pursuing a degree in art, described how thrilled she felt when she was chosen as a 2017 contest winner. It was the first time I had entered the contest. It was a very meaningful photo as it is the farm where four generations of my family have lived, she said. Maria Schilder of Bolingbrook, a 2015 contest winner, remembered taking her photos at a farm that had a friendly goat named Jack. Her cream of the crop photo, however, featured a different animal. I was proud to submit my portrait of a chicken and even more proud when I was recognized for it, she said. While Schilder was excited to learn that her winning photo would be included in the Cream of the Crop calendar, as all winning photos are, she got a bigger kick out of seeing her work displayed at the Illinois State Fair. I love opportunities to be part of something bigger than me and my circle of friends, she said. Other past winners offered additional advice for students who are considering entering this years contest. Do it! said Noah Sandage of Marion, a 2020 Cream of the Crop contest winner who plans to study engineering and history when he goes to college in the fall. You never know what might come of the photo you submit! It is a great opportunity for both you and the community. My advice would be to continue to practice and take pictures of everything you see, said Tanner Mickey of Taylorville, a 2020 contest winner now studying agriculture in college. You will begin to gain an eye for good photos and how to take the perfect shot. Have fun taking pictures and submit something you are proud of! said Renee Gehrke of Byron, a 2017 contest winner and current college student. Go out and capture the beauty in the world, said Jennifer E. Johnson of Hoffman, a 2018 contest winner who is pursuing a career in radiology. You never know where it could lead. The Cream of the Crop Photo Contest is part of the Ag Invest program in the treasurers office. Winning photos will be featured in Ag Invest marketing material, as well as at the 2022 Illinois State Fair. To read the rules, terms, and legal conditions associated with this contest, visit www.CreamoftheCropContest.com or contact Teri Whitfield at 217-900-0075. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Winston-Salem man was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and other charges connected to a 2020 crash that killed a 27-year-old woman. Rafael Marroquin, 41, was on trial last week in Forsyth Superior Court. He faced several charges, including second-degree murder. But the Forsyth County jury did not convict Marroquin of second-degree murder. The jury found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter, felony death by motor vehicle, misdemeanor hit-and-run and several other charges. He was sentenced to a minimum of six years, one month and a maximum of eight years, four months in prison. Germanton man charged with murder A Germanton man was arrested Saturday after a woman was killed, authorities said Tuesday. Dennis William Stultz, 27, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Brandy Smitherman, 38, of Germanton, said Capt. Don Johnson of the Stokes County Sheriffs Office. Stultz was being held Tuesday night in the Stokes County Jail with no bond allowed, Johnson said. Stultz is scheduled to appear June 14 in Stokes District Court in Danbury. Stokes County sheriffs deputies went to a home Saturday in the 1000 block of Rest Home Road in the Germanton community, Johnson said. Deputies then found Smitherman at the scene, Johnson said. Deputies and emergency medical technicians attempted life-saving measures, but Smitherman was pronounced dead, Johnson said. Johnson declined to comment on any injuries that Smitherman suffered before she died. An autopsy will be performed on Smithermans body to determine her cause of death, Johnson said. John Hinton 3 women killed in separate crashes GREENSBORO Police in Greensboro say three women died in two separate highway accidents. Officers responded to a scene on U.S. 29 early Monday in which a Kia SUV was disabled in the left lane. According to a news release, Ciealita Thornton, 42, and Lakeisha Woody, 36, both of Danville, Va., were outside of the SUV when a man driving a GMC Sierra 2500 hit the SUV and the woman, both of whom died of their injuries. Police didnt report on the condition of the other driver or if he will be charged. About five hours later, officers responded to a second crash along U.S. 29. Police said Fantasia Nicole Golden, 28, of Greensboro, was driving a Mazda when her car failed to negotiate a turn to access northbound lanes and hit a Ford Escape which was heading north. Golden was taken to a local hospital, where she died from her injuries. Police didnt comment on the condition of the driver of the Ford. Associated Press Explosion, fire at NC motel kills 1 BLACK MOUNTAIN One person was killed in an explosion and fire at motel in Black Mountain, police said. Black Mountain Police Chief Steve Parker said officers and local fire departments responded to a call regarding an explosion and fire at 10:30 p.m. on Monday at the motel, news outlets reported. Firefighters extinguished the flames and then found the body. Police have not yet identified the man, and Parker said the cause of the explosion and fire has not yet been determined. Parker said an autopsy will determine how the person died. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation has been called in to assist with the investigation. Officials are working to identify the victim and notify family members. Associated Press FBI: Sextortion crimes rise in NC CHARLOTTE Parents, caregivers, and teenagers are being warned by the FBI about an increase in sextortion crimes across North Carolina and the country. According to the FBI Charlotte field office, there have been 29 reports of sextortion in North Carolina in 2022, and in 23 of the reports, criminals demanded money from the mostly male victims. In a news release, the FBI says sextortion begins when an adult contacts a minor on an online platform used to meet and communicate, such as a game, app, or social media account. The predator, posing as a young girl, convinces a young male, usually 14 to 17 years old, to engage in explicit activity over video, which is then secretly recorded by the scammer. The scammer then reveals that they have made the recordings and attempts to extort the victim for money, threatening the victim to pay or have the explicit photos or videos posted online, the news release said. The coercion of a child by an adult to produce what is considered child sexual abuse material carries penalties which can include up to a life sentence. The FBi says children should tell someone, typically a parent, teacher, caregiver or law enforcement. Associated Press 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. About 100 people protested Tuesday in Winston-Salem for tougher gun-control laws a week after 19 children and two teachers were killed in a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The demonstrators gathered in the parking lot of Miller Street Market, near Whole Foods, and they then marched to the corner of West First and Miller streets in front of U.S. Sen. Richard Burrs office in Winston-Salem. A group of students at Reagan, Mount Tabor, Atkins, Reynolds and West Forsyth high schools organized the rally. The protesters held signs, some of which said, Silence Equal Violence, When Will Politicians Bite The Bullet, Ban Assault Rifles and No One is Safe Until We Change. Salvador Ramos, 18, opened fire May 24 at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, killing at least 19 children and two teachers. Ramos, who used an AR-15 assault rifle, was killed when he was confronted by law enforcement officers. Ten days earlier, a man, identified as Payton Gendron, 18, of Conklin, N.Y., fired a rifle at a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., killing 10 people and wounding three others. Gendron has been charged with first-degree murder as prosecutors work to bring additional charges against him. At the rally, many speakers spoke about the horror and pain of mass shootings at schools, criticizing Burr and fellow Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, for accepting campaign contributions from the National Rifle Association. Other speaks encouraged the demonstrators to vote for candidates who support gun control laws in the November election. Edwin Cruz Castillo, a senior at Atkins High School, read the names of the 21 victims in Uvalde, Texas. You cannot dispute that these people had a long life ahead of them, Castillo said. And they were taken from us. Castillo said that 18-year-olds should not be allowed to buy guns. I know how stupid and irresponsible (an) 18-year-old can be, Castillo said. Imagine if that kid had bad intentions. We dont need to imagine. That is the reality. Castillo called for extensive background checks on people who want to buy guns. That measure will help combat the gun culture in the country, he said. Helen Crowley, a senior at Reynolds High School, said the victims of mass shootings at schools have been children, teachers, mothers, fathers, son and daughters. The families, friends and classmates of these (people) murdered in school will have to deal with the consequences of gun irresponsibility and inhumanity, Crowley said. Survivors of mass shootings suffer from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), lifelong injuries and no response from our government, Crowley said. In Congress, a bipartisan group of senators talked over the weekend to see if they could reach even a modest compromise on gun legislation after a decade of mostly failed efforts. That included encouraging state red flag laws to keep guns away from those with mental health problems. At the protest, Quamekia Shavers, an organizer with Winston 4 Peace, a social justice youth group, encouraged the demonstrators to register to vote. We need you guys voting, Shavers said. We need you guys voting at the polls, so we can get people out of office who dont care about us. 336-727-7299 @jhintonWSJ The Associated Press contributed to this story. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. By Azernews By Laman Ismayilova Azerbaijani musicians have thrilled the music lovers at the first Baku International Piano Festival. The marvelous event took place at the Orange Grove restaurant. The concert brought together three talented musicians Zuleikha Usubova, Rovshan Amrakhov, and Ayyub Aliyev who are united by incredible talent and successful musical projects, Azernews reports. The musicians brilliantly performed Beethoven's Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano in C Major Op. 56. Zuleikha Usubova (piano) works as a ballet accompanist at the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. She is a laureate of international and national competitions, and a participant in Gabala International Music Festival. Rovshan Amrahov (violin) studied at the Baku Music Academy and the Turku Conservatory in Finland. He mastered his skills in the class of professor Alexander Vinnitsky. The young violinist has worked with such conductors as Pavel Kotla and Neville Marriner. He is one of the leading soloists of the Azerbaijan State Chamber Orchestra. Ayyub Aliyev (cellist) performs in many orchestras and various musical projects. He is a laureate of the republican competition. The cellist was a participant in master classes of the world-famous musician Mstislav Rostropovich. The musicians were accompanied by the Azerbaijan State Chamber Orchestra conducted by Valid Aghayev. The concert was met with great interest. The host for the evening was Tofig Hasansoy. Notably, the first Baku International Piano Festival kicked off on May 20-27. Every day of the week, music lovers had a chance to enjoy wonderful music in various genres from classical to jazz at the country's best venues: Landmark, YARAT Contemporary Art Space, and the State Philharmonic Hall. The festival event was held with the support of the Culture Ministry. The festival's founder Shahin Novrasli personally compiled the festival's program from the design of posters to the musical part. The first Baku International Piano Festival aroused great interest among music lovers. Photo credits: Kamran Baghirov For more information, please visit the festival's website. Media partners of the event are Azernews.az, Trend.az, Day.az, Milli.az. New legislation aims to resurrect a North Carolina tax-credit program for renewable energy projects that was phased out in 2015 but has still netted more than $1 billion for homeowners and companies in the years since it ended. House Bill 1123, which was filed Thursday and sent to the finance committee Tuesday, mirrors legislation passed by the General Assembly in 2007 establishing a 35% credit on investments in new solar, wind, biomass and other energy sources that dont rely on burning fossil fuels. In a significant change, though, the new legislation would limit the credits to solar projects. Like the 2007 law, the latest legislation caps credits for businesses at $2.5 million. That means the biggest solar investment a company could make and still get a full 35% credit would be about $7.1 million. Investors in industrial parks that meet a set of clean-energy requirements can claim up to $5 million in tax credits. Credits would top out at $3,500 for individual homeowners. N.C. Rep. Amber Baker of Forsyth County, one of the bills three sponsors, did not reply to a request for comment Tuesday. Significant for the state While the original 2007 tax incentives effectively ended eight years after they were adopted, the largest investors were given up to a decade to claim their credits. Through 2021, about $1.6 billion in credits had been awarded, according to N.C. Department of Revenue. About $122 million in credits was claimed in 2021. The 2007 law fueled a wave of investment in solar energy more than a decade before Gov. Roy Cooper signed an executive order establishing initial state goals aimed at slashing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Restoring the solar tax credits would be significant for the state in its efforts to shift to clean energy, said Matt Abele, director of marketing and communications at the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association. North Carolina homeowners who pay federal taxes are already eligible for a 26% tax credit on their solar investment. A Duke Energy program that offered rebates of up to $4,000 for homeowners who installed panels and as much as $30,000 for businesses expired this year. However, only about one-quarter of applicants were approved because there was a limited pool of funds. Solar and wind energy are key elements in North Carolinas strategy to meet enhanced climate-related targets included in a subsequent Cooper order issued in January, including a 50% reduction in the states greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2030, and net-zero emissions no later than 2050. Secondary market Duke Energy, North Carolinas largest utility, claimed $16.6 million in credits in 2021. Apple Inc., which has developed a 58-megawatt solar farm to power its data center in Catawba County, took advantage of $4.9 million in credits last year. But while the 2007 law was a boon for clean energy, it also spawned a secondary market when solar investors began selling their tax credits to companies including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, which has cashed in on more than $200 million worth, including $42 million in 2021 alone, according to the N.C. Department of Revenue. Other purchasers of credits in 2021 included Aetna Life Insurance Company, $3.4 million; Citibank, $2.4 million; Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, $2.2 million; Progressive Premier Insurance Company of Illinois, $2.4 million; Integon Indemnity Corporation, $1.9 million; John Hancock Life Insurance Company USA, $1.7 million; and Builders Mutual Insurance Co., $1.45 million. Those kinds of figures have elicited complaints that the solar incentives ended up benefiting big companies that simply bought them rather than earning them as incentives for investing in clean energy. But Abele stressed that the success of the program should be measured by its overall economic impact. He pointed to a 2016 report by RTI International, a Raleigh-based nonprofit research organization, which concluded that for every $1 of the tax credit claimed, there was $1.64 in revenue returned to state and local governments. The study also found that 85% of all renewable energy investments valued at more than $1 million were in rural counties, which often lack sources of significant local tax revenue. John Deem covers climate change and the environment in the Triad and Northwest North Carolina. His work is funded by a grant from the 1Earth Fund and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. 336-727-7204 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 multilayered health care reform bill that would expand the states Medicaid program cleared the final Senate committee step Tuesday. Senate Republican leaders continue to make good on their pledge to fast-track House Bill 149. The Senate Rules and Operations recommended the legislation, and it was placed on the Senate floor agenda for Wednesday. The Health Care and Finance committees unanimously recommended the bill Thursday little more than a day after the amended bill was unveiled May 25 by Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, and Sen. Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth. If the full Senate approves, it would put pressure on House Republican leadership to act on HB149 before the projected end of the 2022 short session in early July. House GOP leaders have been lukewarm about Medicaid expansion, so much so that speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, has indicated there is little expectation the House will take up HB149 in the next four to five weeks. Medicaid currently covers 2.71 million North Carolinians, which increased by nearly 27% or 588,611 people since the pandemic surfaced, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Those who might be eligible under the expanded program are between the ages of 18 and 64 who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid coverage, but not enough to purchase coverage on the private insurance marketplace. GOP bill priorities Senate GOP leaders have changed their stance on Medicaid expansion thanks in part to several Republican priorities included in the Senates version of HB149. Berger emphasized that Senate GOP leaders believe Medicaid expansion needs to happen with additional reforms, including the very real supply-side issues that prevent North Carolinians from accessing care. Krawiec and Sen. Ralph Hise, R-McDowell, said Medicaid expansion, as proposed in this bill, is preferable to a feared scenario in which the Biden administration, or future administrations, would force expansion onto states that havent already offered Medicaid to more residents. Among the GOP priorities HB149 includes: easing restrictions on certificates of need, which health care providers must obtain from the state before building new health care centers or adding certain equipment. Easing that restriction could allow for more competition, including from for-profit groups, for medical procedures. The states not-for-profit health care systems have opposed weakening certificate-of-need laws out of concern that large for-profit groups would enter North Carolina and cherry-pick the more lucrative services, leaving the not-for-profits treating the sickest patients, likely without health insurance, who come into emergency departments. Other key elements of the proposed Medicaid expansion: permitting nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and nurses with other advanced specialties to practice without a physicians formal supervision; requiring health insurers in the state to cover telehealth services; and requiring in-network health facilities to alert consumers when out-of-network providers are scheduled to provide care. Krawiec said the proposed bill pairs with many other policy changes that will improve access to care and emphasized that it would reform certificate-of-need laws that I have been working on since I got here. Berger said the state must do something to improve health care, especially expand access and control costs. We need coverage in North Carolina for the working poor. Work requirement provision The few Finance committee questions centered on whether a controversial work requirement in the bill could disqualify the state from receiving federal COVID-19 relief money. The proposed work requirement for new Medicaid recipients has received grudging support from some Democratic legislators. The federal relief law would provide North Carolina $1.5 billion over two years to treat traditional Medicaid patients if it accepts expansion and, most important, agrees to not put stipulations on enrollees. Legislative fiscal research analysis staff told Finance members they did not believe North Carolina would be eligible for the relief money if HB149 contains the work requirement provision. In order to qualify ... you cant exclude anybody who would be part of the expansion population, legislative research analysis staff member Mark Collins told the committee. With work requirements, theres of course the possibility that somebody could be excluded. Krawiec said Thursday that, in her discussions with state Health Secretary Kody Kinsley, he did not mention that we may not be qualified. So, thats an interesting note. Sen. Paul Newton, R-Cabarrus and Finance co-chairman, responded to questions about the federal relief funding by saying that theres gray area there as to whether we would be eligible or not. Its TBD (to be determined), but its a fair current reading of the (federal relief act). A Medicaid work requirement passed by the Arkansas and New Hampshire legislatures has been struck down by federal courts. In March 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court said it would not hear additional arguments on the appeals made by the two states. Berger said May 25 the plan is to pass the bill with the work requirement included, and then well deal with whether or not we can convince the Biden administration or the courts that this is the right thing to do. Berger said that, while the work requirement is being litigated, unemployed enrollees would remain eligible and not be denied. New reality Berger and Krawiec said May 25 that most GOP Senate leaders have embraced a new reality about Medicaid expansion. Medicaid expansion has now evolved to the point that it is good state fiscal policy and helps us address the mental health crisis were facing, Berger said. Coopers office said the progress on Medicaid expansion is encouraging and that the governor will carefully review this legislation. Berger said recent Medicaid reform legislation, highlighted by the managed care transition that began in July, has made the states system capable of handling the additional (450,000 to 650,000) people who will be covered without creating problems for the state budget. It was a broken program that was mismanaged and burdened taxpayers with billion-dollar shortfalls on a regular basis, Berger said. Fortunately, over the past decade, Republican leadership in the General Assembly has turned Medicaid around in N.C. with eight straight years of solid Medicaid budgets without cost overruns. 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 state Senate bill that would legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes has resurfaced for a key committee recommendation Wednesday. The Senate Rules and Operation committee is scheduled to address the bipartisan Senate Bill 711, titled NC Compassionate Care Act, at 11 a.m. If the bill gains approval, it could be presented for a Senate floor vote later Wednesday or Thursday. SB711 is the latest in several attempts over the past 12 years to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. The bill has been on an arduous path since being introduced during the 2021 session. It cleared, in order, the Senate Judiciary, Finance, Judiciary a second time and Health Care committees the latter on Aug. 26. Opponents, who included Sen. Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth, expressed concern that SB711 would: serve as a gateway to legalized marijuana in North Carolina by 2024; that the licensing fee for vendors is too low; that a license should not be allowed to be sold; and that the potential profit levels need to be lowered. The pathway through the state House could be equally daunting, if not more so, according to political analysts. Key supporters The bills odds of clearing the Senate are considered promising given that Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick, and chairman of Rules committee, is one of its three primary sponsors, along with Sens. Paul Lowe, D-Forsyth, and Michael Lee, R-New Hanover. Rabon, a cancer survivor, has said SB711 would not serve as a gateway to recreational marijuana use. The bill requires the medical marijuana system to be self-sustaining from a revenue perspective following initial money to set up the system. The funding would come mostly from license fees and a monthly fee equal to 10% of the gross revenue derived from the products sold at the medical cannabis centers. The bill previously was amended to reduce the number of medical cannabis centers from eight to four, two of which would be located in one of the states 20 Tier 1 counties likely Mecklenburg and in the Triangle. Forsyth and Guilford counties are in Tier 2. Lee has said the reason for not having revenue projections yet is that North Carolinas approach is different from that of other states with medical marijuana laws. There really are no projections on how many North Carolinians will be eligible, and there is no best-practice legislation to look at, Lee said. Opposing views Sen. Ralph Hise, R-McDowell, compared the recent Food and Drug Administration decision to give full authorization to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine with no similar action by the FDA on the safety and efficacy of medical marijuana. Where are the FDA recommendations on medical marijuana? Hise asked during the Health Care committee. What is the one thing they say it treats or cures? I know this bill has its path, but this is not about patients and receiving treatments. This is about placing North Carolina on a path that will make it more acceptable to legalize marijuana. Hise said that while I applaud many of the things theyve done in this bill, he expressed concern that additional patient care exceptions will be added in future sessions if SB711 becomes law, and that legislators will be removed from the regulatory process and leave it up to doctors to determine who qualifies. Maybe society is changing to accept this, Hise said. I just didnt want to be part of taking the first steps. Restrictive bill Bill sponsors and other senators supporting SB711 have said it represents what Sen. Wally Nickel, D-Wake, called the most conservative and restrictive medical marijuana bill in the country. There are 36 states that permit some form of medical marijuana use. This bill is narrowly tailored to offer medical marijuana to those with legitimate medical needs, Nickel said. As a primary reason for legalization, the bill says modern medical research has found that cannabis and cannabinoid compounds are effective at alleviating pain, nausea and other symptoms associated with several debilitating medical conditions. Recreational marijuana use is not something we want in our state, Lee said, but added that the prohibition should not keep North Carolina from doing the right thing for people with chronic and debilitating conditions. Lowe has said bill sponsors reviewed legislation in other states in piecing together SB711. We realized that, for some states, it has worked out well, while for others it was just a recreational product, Lowe said. Thats not the goal with this particular bill on our state. 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 Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department on Wednesday announced that it will expand COVID-19 vaccination clinics to include booster doses for children ages 5 to 11 starting Thursday, and it will hold walk-in clinics at schools throughout June. The announcement follows recent approval by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of a Pfizer booster dose for children ages 5 to 11. The booster dose is recommended at 5 months after completing the initial two-dose series. The move also comes as COVID-19 cases continue to trend much higher than they were earlier in the spring. Lancaster County recorded 417 cases last week, which was a slight decline from the 422 cases recorded the previous week. It was the first weekly decline since early April. However, the test positivity rate rose, and Health Department officials said wastewater sampling showed an increase in viral particles. COVID-19 is still circulating in our community," Health Director Pat Lopez said in a news release. "Booster doses help provide continued protection against COVID-19 and help prevent children from becoming seriously sick if they do get the disease." Even though COVID-19 tends to be less severe in children than adults, during the omicron wave, more children were getting sick and being hospitalized, according to the CDC. Some can experience ongoing health problems after getting COVID-19. The Health Department said it is contacting parents and guardians of vaccine recipients who fall within the new recommendations to schedule booster dose appointments. Walk-ins are welcome at all clinics. Parents and guardians can also schedule an appointment for their child at COVID19.lincoln.ne.gov. All clinics will offer first and second doses for age 5 and older, first booster doses for age 5 and older, and second booster doses for those age 50 and older and those age 12 and older with weakened immune systems. Here are the upcoming school-based clinics: * Thursday, 3:30-6 p.m., Fredstrom Elementary School, 5700 N.W. 10th St. * Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Lincoln Northeast High School, 2635 N. 63rd St. * Tuesday, 3:30-6 p.m., Arnold Elementary School, 5000 Mike Scholl St. * June 9, 3:30-6 p.m., Clinton Elementary School, 1520 N. 29th St. The Health Department also offers COVID-19 vaccinations at its clinics at 3131 O St. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Build your health & fitness knowledge Sign up here to get the latest health & fitness updates in your inbox every week! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Katie Martin went through a lot to become a mom. Earlier this month, the Omaha woman delivered her third child. Luke, like his older siblings, was conceived with the help of in vitro fertilization. But Martin, 37, is concerned that the passage of new laws further restricting access to abortion in the United States and the likely overturning of Roe v. Wade could have the unwanted side effect of preventing her and others from taking that route to add to their families. "It's emotionally and financially taxing and worth every bit of it," she said of in vitro fertilization, which helped her become a mom. "And I'm here for the fight." Martin's concerns are shared by doctors with the state's two fertility clinics, both of which are in Omaha, as well as other patients and family members. A number of them have formed a new Facebook group called Save IVF Nebraska to advocate for ensuring access to fertility treatments in the state. Formed on a Monday, it had more than 640 members by Thursday. Dr. Elizabeth Constance, a reproductive endocrinologist with the Heartland Center for Reproductive Medicine, said she can't count the number of patients who messaged her within minutes of the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion outlining the proposed overturning of Roe v. Wade. The patients wondered whether they still would be able to use the frozen embryos held by the clinic or proceed with a planned egg retrieval, one of the early steps in the in vitro process. "These are people who have had to work very hard, often for multiple years, spending tens of thousands of dollars, to build the family they've always dreamed of," Constance said. "To have even the possibility of having that taken away from them is very scary." Of particular concern is a bill adopted by the Oklahoma Legislature that bans most abortions. It defines an unborn child as "a human fetus or embryo in any state of gestation from fertilization until birth." Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed the measure, the nation's most restrictive, into law May 25. Dr. Abigail Delaney, a reproductive health specialist with Methodist Reproductive Health Specialists, said that definition calls into question whether clinics can freeze extra embryos for future use. Reproductive health specialists typically fertilize several eggs at a time in order to maximize the chances that one embryo results in a successful pregnancy. With such language, Delaney said, specialists also wonder whether they still would be able to freeze eggs and sperm collected from cancer patients about to undergo treatment that will leave them infertile, which makes up a considerable portion of the work the specialists do. Those patients later will require in vitro fertilization to create babies. Another question: Will they still be able to conduct genetic testing on embryos for viability and to check whether they carry genes for deadly ailments such as Huntington's disease or Fragile X syndrome? So-called trigger laws in 13 states use similar definitions to Oklahoma's. The laws would ban abortion in those states if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. A similar trigger bill, LB933, died in the Nebraska Legislature this spring. Gov. Pete Ricketts has said he won't decide whether to call a special session focused on abortion until the Supreme Court releases its official opinion on the issue. Ricketts has said, however, that Nebraska needs to be ready to outlaw abortion, and he strongly supported LB933. LB933 also defines an unborn child as "throughout the embryonic and fetal stages of development from fertilization to full gestation and childbirth." "The language of these bills really matters ... (as) to whether or not we can do what we do every day so patients can build the families they want," Delaney said. Sandy Danek, executive director of Nebraska Right to Life, said the same bill may be brought back in either a special session or the regular legislative session in the fall. The language, she said, may need to be clarified. But the measure, she said, is not intended to apply to in vitro fertilization or to treatments for women who suffer miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies, the potentially life-threatening situation in which a fetus begins to develop outside the uterus. "We're concerned about the intentional act of killing a child in the womb," Danek said. Proponents of the bill, she said, did their best to answer such questions during debate on the bill and will continue to do so. "It's unfortunate when those misunderstandings are put out there in the public eye," she said. But Scout Richters, an attorney with the ACLU of Nebraska, said the language in the law, not the intent, is what matters. When proponents of LB933 were asked on the legislative floor to address concerns about in vitro fertilization and birth control, she said, "they couldn't point to any specific language that would not implicate those things." Defining fertilization as the key point for banning abortion, she said, means that in vitro fertilization, emergency contraception and some forms of birth control all could be affected. Constance said such a law would make it difficult for the clinic to recruit new physicians and embryologists. Candidates won't want to risk losing their livelihoods or facing prosecution. Delaney noted that more large companies are covering fertility treatments. Hindering access to them could affect their recruitment. And if such treatments no longer were available, patients would face the added cost in both time and money of traveling to other states to get them. Delaney said she already has patients who drive from western Nebraska for the treatments. Constance said the specialists' first goal is to educate Nebraskans about the impact such bills could have. The roughly one in eight couples who experience infertility already are aware. But even those who don't face such challenges know someone who does. The second aim, she said, is to encourage legislators not to support bans because one appears likely that don't have clear and specific language that excludes in vitro fertilization. "Day in and day out, 100% of our time and energy and passion is funneled into helping people have highly desired pregnancies," Constance said. "There's truly no more pro-family aspect of health care than what we do." Martin, the Omaha mom, and her husband, Joel, turned to in vitro fertilization after all other methods failed to produce a child. Two attempts at intrauterine insemination resulted in ectopic pregnancies. One ended with a medication abortion, the other with the removal of one of her fallopian tubes. After that point, she said, she was told that to have children, in vitro fertilization was the route the couple would have to take. Now the Martins are busy with three young children. Martin said she recognizes that Nebraska is a conservative state. She said she doesn't have to have opinions on every part of the Roe v. Wade debate. But she does on this one. "This issue is not so black and white," she said. "There's no right-wrong way to build a family. When people think of Roe v. Wade, they think of unwanted pregnancies. It has so many more fingers and tentacles that need to be researched and addressed." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Police say an employee at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution reported uniforms, an ID badge and duty belt stolen from a truck while parked in Lincoln on Friday night. Sgt. Chris Vollmer said the victim made a report the next afternoon. He said the 28-year-old told police he ate at a restaurant at 62nd and O Street the night before, then began noticing items missing from his pickup, including uniform pants, work shirts, a ballcap, ID badge and duty belt. The loss was estimated at $3,100. Police saw no damage to the truck. Vollmer said there are no suspects, but the investigation is ongoing. Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSpilger 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. A 39-year-old Lincoln man has been jailed in connection to a dog fight last December. The man pleaded not guilty at his first court appearance on the charge Tuesday, two days after his arrest. On Feb. 25, Assistant City Attorney Marcee Brownlee sought a warrant for the man's arrest, based on the affidavit of B. Gruhn, an animal control officer for the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department. In it, Gruhn said on Dec. 11 he was sent to a house at 27th and M streets about a dog fight that had happened there. Lincoln Police had obtained video that showed two dogs, one black and white and the other tan-colored, biting each other between a Ford Crown Victoria and a Dodge pickup with its lights on, with two people standing over them. They allegedly were the 39-year-old and a 26-year-old, who also has been charged with animal fighting and five other misdemeanors, including allowing a dog to bite a person. Gruhn said two people who recorded separate videos told him they could hear the men yelling "get him, get him." He said the video showed one man trying to end the fight, but then releasing his dog again to bite the other dog. There was blood spatter on the driveway and blood streaks on vehicles parked in the area. Both men are awaiting trial. Setting dogs or other animals or fowl on each other, by agreement or otherwise, or in any manner urging or encouraging them to fight, is a violation of Lincoln city code and is punishable by up to six months in jail and a $500 fine. Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSpilger Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. After dark on April 15, 1848, a small schooner named the Pearl sailed away from a wharf in Washington, D.C. On board were 77 slaves who planned to travel south on the Potomac River nearly 100 miles until they reached Chesapeake Bay, where they would turn and sail some 125 miles north to New Jersey, beyond the reach of slavery. It was the largest nonviolent slave escape recorded in the countrys young history, and though ultimately unsuccessful, it became a defining moment for the Bell family. The Pearl affair, as it became known, was also just one part of a long struggle by Daniel and Mary Bell to find freedom, which is the subject of a new feature-length film by three University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty members. The Bell Affair, which will premiere in Washington on Thursday, chronicles Marys long fight for freedom through the courts, based upon research into the hundreds of instances of slaves suing slaveholders done by William G. Thomas III, a UNL professor of history. The film could play in Lincoln this fall. Thomas, one part of Salt Marsh Productions along with Kwakiutl Dreher and Michael Burton, previously released an 11-minute film, Anna, based on the life of a slave woman named Ann Williams who jumped from a third-story window rather than be sold into slavery after gaining her freedom. Both Anna and The Bell Affair draw on research done by Thomas and published in his book A Question of Freedom: The Families Who Challenged Slavery from the Nations Founding to the Civil War, as well as by UNLs Center for Digital Research in the Humanities. The film draws upon the same archival documents, Thomas said, but employs historical imagination to show a more personal side to the freedom suits. In the film, youre seeing a family, and I hope audiences will take away an understanding of the experiences of these families and care about the history in a way they hadnt before, he said. Dreher, an associate professor of English who returned to write The Bell Affair after having previously penned Anna, said the film will expand viewers perceptions of how slaves struggled for freedom. Our general notions of freedom-making have to deal with running away and the Underground Railroad, Dreher said, but Will Thomas research has shown there was myriad ways of gaining freedom, including through the court system. Using the historical record as a foundation, Dreher said her own experiences interactions between spouses, or between parents and children, the little conflicts that happen every day at home helped flesh out the characters and what their personal lives may have been like. In the Bells case, theres an added wrinkle: Daniel had won his freedom, while Mary remained enslaved. Robert Armistead, who owned Mary and her children, signed a deed of manumission granting Mary her freedom a few days before his death a document processed by the Washington County, Maryland, clerk in September 1835. Armisteads widow, Susan, did not honor the document, however, claiming she owned Mary and the Bell children for life. She successfully contested the deed, leaving Mary enslaved. A dozen years later, abolitionists purchased Marys freedom once more, but a court rejected her petition for freedom, leaving her enslaved until the escape attempt made on the Pearl several months later. Until that point, both Daniel and Mary continued to live in the same house, which Dreher imagines created a heightened sense of conflict. If youre sitting at the table and youre talking about freedom-making, what would that conversation be about? she asked. You just dont get up in the morning and say, oh, lets pack our bags and leave. That takes planning. I imagined what that planning would be like. For a family deeply intertwined with the history of freedom suits the Bell family filed a total of seven lawsuits over 20 years, involving several generations Dreher said it was also important to portray Daniel and Mary thinking about the future. These enslaved people had lives while they were living in the confines of enslavement and owned by people who had an investment in the buying of human flesh and keeping them from living their lives, she said. How do people manage that? I want people to know how one family did that. The Bell Affair was produced during the coronavirus pandemic, with actors from all over the country including local talent like Myeisha Essex as Mary Bell filming themselves in their own homes, with costumes created by Heather Striebel, a Ph.D. candidate in UNLs Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design, and stitched by Anna Kuhlman and Audrey Foster. The footage was later stitched together by Western Meadowlark, a production company consisting of another pair of UNL alums, Elijah Watson of Holdrege and Benjamin Hartzell of Omaha. Similar to the cover of Thomas book, A Question of Freedom, about the freedom lawsuits, as well as Salt Marsh Productions earlier film, Anna, The Bell Affair is presented through animation. Through the sepia tone, viewers are given the sense they are watching an engraving or etching, according to Burton, a UNL assistant professor of design. When we look at images created by people in the past, we tend to think that was a long time ago, he said. When you do that with real people and real actors and have them talk and speak lines, but you maintain that old, etched aesthetic, youre reminded that these are real people with real emotions. Burton said the effect allows viewers to experience history in a different way. "It helps us think about our past and where we came from and how we got here," he said. "We didn't live in the past, and nothing that happened in the past is our fault, but knowing where we are today will help us know where we are going in the future." Thomas said he hopes The Bell Affair allows audiences to see slavery in more personal terms. As an author, we rarely get the opportunity to turn our work into a completely different medium, he said. Its a rare, precious experience that teaches us more things about our work than we knew at the outset. Reach the writer at 402-473-7120 or cdunker@journalstar.com. On Twitter @ChrisDunkerLJS Love 0 Funny 2 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. What once seemed like the end of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Define American chapter turned out to be an opportunity to redirect its focus. Shortly after the coronavirus pandemic shut down college campuses across the country in 2020, the Define American national parent organization announced the collegiate chapters would be sunset. "We had to put a hold on everything and a figure out what was next," said Dulce Garcia, president of UNL's Define American chapter. While their goal has always been to advocate for the immigrant community through education and conversation, they decided to focus more of their efforts on exploring the interconnectedness of immigrants and other minorities. Erick Estrada, vice president of UNL's Define American chapter, said the experiences of immigrants can vary widely depending on a person's intersecting identities. That's why recently they've focused on amplifying the narratives of transsexual immigrants, Black immigrants, refugees, those with temporary protected status and other marginalized groups. "As someone who identifies as queer, having other individuals in the organization who also identify as queer is something so powerful because you see those intersections that we talk about come to life," Estrada said. That's just the latest focus of the UNL chapter that has been working to help immigrant communities in Nebraska since it was formed in 2016 by Valeria Rodriguez, an immigrant from Mexico and undergraduate student at the time. The parent organization was started by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas and other media professionals in 2011. They hoped to launch a campaign to bring U.S. citizen allies' voices into the national conversation on immigration in order to fix a broken system. But Vargas didn't stop there. He wanted to create a community where students could focus on educational success without having to worry about negative criticism. He also wanted to make sure conversations of immigration reform were being held on college campuses across the nation. The first collegiate chapter was formed at Texas Tech University in 2015. In 2016, students at the UNL chapter, along with former vice chancellor of student affairs Juan N. Franco, created the Juan N. Franco Legacy Scholarship to help undocumented students pursue higher education at UNL. Shortly before the pandemic, Define American also started UndocuAlly training on campus, which helps all faculty and staff be better equipped to support students who are undocumented. With pandemic restrictions decreasing, they've been able to get back into a sense of normalcy and hold events on campus. Some of the events they hold each year are UNDOCU Week, fundraisers and their annual banquet that benefits the Juan N. Franco Legacy Scholarship. Garcia believes that having organizations like Define American on campus sets the precedent that everyone is welcome at UNL. Its something so powerful to walk into a room of people and talk about your immigrant parents and immigration story and not be pitied, but rather empowered to say that, Im a product of immigration.'" Reach the writer at 402-473-7228 or emejia@journalstar.com 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. MADISON, Wis. (AP) Two court-appointed prosecutors declined Wednesday to charge a Wisconsin sheriff's deputy in the 2016 fatal shooting of a man sleeping in a park. The decision validates a district attorney's finding years ago that Joseph Mensah had acted in self-defense when he shot Jay Anderson Jr., one of three people he fatally shot over a five-year span. Mensah was a Wauwatosa police officer at the time but has since become a Waukesha County deputy. The special prosecutors, Milwaukee attorney Scott Hansen and La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke, said they couldn't find any legal basis for charging Mensah. Mensah came upon Anderson, who was 25, sleeping in a car after hours in a Wauwatosa park in June 2016. Mensah said he fired after Anderson reached for a gun on the passenger seat, and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm declined to charge Mensah later that year. Chisholm also chose not to charge Mensah in the deaths of either of the other two people he killed. Anderson's family disputed that Anderson had reached for the gun and their attorney used a obscure legal maneuver similar to a grand jury inquiry to persuade Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Glenn Yamahiro that there was enough probable cause to support charging Mensah. I n December, he appointed Hansen and Gruenke as special prosecutors to review the case and file charges if they saw fit. Mensah joined the Wauwatosa Police Department in 2015. That year, he fatally shot Antonio Gonzales, who prosecutors said had refused to drop a sword. Mensah killed Anderson the following year. In 2020, he shot and killed 17-year-old Alvin Cole as Cole fled from police following a disturbance at a mall. Mensah said he fired because Cole pointed a gun at him. That shooting sparked months of protests. In explaining his rationale for not charging Mensah in Cole's death, Chisholm said evidence showed, among other things, that Cole fled from police carrying a stolen handgun, fired a shot while fleeing and refused police commands to drop the weapon. Mensah is Black, as were Anderson and Cole. Gonzales identified as Native American. Mensah resigned under pressure from the Wauwatosa Police Department in 2020 and joined the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 By Azernews By Laman Ismayilova After so many years, Shusha, the cradle of the Azerbaijani culture, once again welcomes its little guests. Azerbaijan's cultural center has hosted the final concert within the Republican Art Festival-Competition "My heart passes through Karabakh" among schoolchildren, Azernews reports, citing Azertag. The final event of the festival competition, which coincides with International Children's Day, is the first republican children's event held after the liberation of Shusha city from the Armenian occupation. The Republican Art Festival Competition is organized by the Culture Ministry in partnership with the Ministry of Culture and the Shusha State Reserve Administration outside the Shusha Real School. Head of the Department of Humanitarian Policy, Diaspora, Multiculturalism and Religious Issues of the Presidential Administration Farah Aliyeva, Minister of Education Emin Amrullayev, Chairperson of the Azerbaijan State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs Bahar Muradova, Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Sevda Mammadaliyeva, children of martyrs, cultural and art figures attended the event. Notably, the International Day for Protection of Children is celebrated in many countries around the world to honor children and raise awareness of children's rights. This day is also celebrated widely in Azerbaijan, where great attention is paid to children's rights. There are about 20 laws governing the rights of children, a total of 40 clauses of the laws that regulate recreation, treatment, education of children in Azerbaijan. Early voting for the June 28 special 1st District congressional election started Tuesday. The election will decide who will serve the remaining six months of what had been Rep. Jeff Fortenberry's ninth term. Two state senators were chosen by their respective political parties: Democrat Patty Pansing Brooks and Republican Mike Flood. They both will also square off in the Nov. 8 general election in a battle for a two-year term after winning the primary vote. Lancaster County Election Commissioner David Shively reminded residents that state law permits any registered voter to vote an early/absentee ballot, but they must request that ballot in writing. An early/absentee ballot request form is on the Election Commissioners website: lancaster.ne.gov/election. Applications for an early/absentee ballot through the mail must be received no later than 6 p.m. June 17. Another option for voters is to cast an early/absentee ballot in person at the Election Office, 601 N. 46th St. The office is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Questions? Call 402-441-7311. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Lawyers for the state have asked a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit challenging Nebraskas requirements for qualifying ballot initiatives, saying that doing so would drastically change the initiative process in the state. In a 46-page brief filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, attorneys representing Secretary of State Bob Evnen said the complaint filed by Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana and the ACLU of Nebraska lacked merit and would upend the initiative process outlined in the states constitution. The lawsuit, filed earlier this month by Crista Eggers, a statewide campaign coordinator for Nebraskans for Medical Marijuanas pair of petitions now being circulated, asserts the requirements for gathering signatures are unconstitutional. The filing in U.S. District Court, which names Evnen, seeks a preliminary injunction on the requirement ahead of the July 7 deadline for submitting signatures. Nebraskas state constitution requires petitions to obtain the signature of 5% of voters in 38 of the states 93 counties, which Eggers lawsuit alleges violates the equal protection and due process clauses of the 14th Amendment, and violates the First Amendment rights of voters. Under the current method, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuanas lawsuit states, voters in rural counties, the vast majority of which have fewer than 10,000 residents, claim outsized power when it comes to qualifying initiatives compared to urban areas, where most of the states population lives. Plus, the lawsuit argues, organizers are forced to reallocate resources, which potentially strips voters of being able to have their voices heard through the petition process. While Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana have suggested that the signatures be gathered from each of the states three congressional districts, or 49 legislative districts which are apportioned by population the state said that plan would not work. Replying on behalf of Evnen, the Nebraska Attorney Generals Office said the signature-gathering requirement was integral to the initiative process in the state, and that doing away with it would effectively cut rural Nebraskans out of the qualification process. That, according to Solicitor General James Campbell, would effectively end the initiative process in the Cornhusker state. (T)he multicounty signature requirement is so integral to the initiative right in Nebraska an indispensable part since its inception that if this requirement falls, the entire initiative power must fall with it, Campbell wrote. The attorney generals office argued the lawsuit fails to state a claim and lacks standing, and argues that it would be impossible to separate the signature requirement from the rest of the initiative process, which was included in the Nebraska Constitution in 1920. This constitutional text and its historical development show that, from the very beginning, the people envisioned an initiative process that guaranteed some measure of broad-based geographical support and involvement, the state wrote in its brief. They did not want a process that operated exclusively in large cities, it continues. They demanded that citizens outside those urban centers be included. Allowing the initiative right to stand without the multi-county requirement would thus do violence to the intent of the (people). The state also said the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment did not apply because the constitutional right to vote is for candidates of representative government not a ballot initiative created under state law. The Supreme Court has never extended the fundamental right to vote into the very different circumstance of this case signing petitions to exercise ones state-created right of initiative, Campbell wrote. Instead, the attorney generals office argued the rules set up by the state ensured a significant modicum of statewide support for ballot initiatives, as well as one that reduced the possibility of local initiatives from advancing. The current rules also promote participating in the initiative process throughout the state, the attorney generals office said, and spread signature verification across several county offices, not just a handful of counties that could be overwhelmed. Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana is circulating a pair of petitions to qualify for the November 2022 ballot. The first would require the Legislature to enact statutes that protect doctors who recommend cannabis for their patients, and for patients who possess or use cannabis at the recommendation of their doctor. The second would require state lawmakers to pass legislation protecting private entities that produce, supply or distribute cannabis for medical purposes in Nebraska. Reach the writer at 402-473-7120 or cdunker@journalstar.com. On Twitter @ChrisDunkerLJS 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. OMAHA The unexpected odyssey began when Ashlea Rodriguez, then 20, on her first Air Force duty assignment and pregnant with her first child, noticed a friend napping in her car at their base in Washington. Rodriguez tapped on the car window to ask what was up. The woman, a close friend and co-worker, explained that she was catching some zs between work and her night class at community college while her husband, with whom she shared a car, was working out. Why dont you take a college class with me next semester? the friend asked. OK, Rodriguez replied. Ill see how I do. Why not? The odyssey will reach its unexpected destination Saturday, eight years and studies at no fewer than five colleges on three continents later. Rodriguez, now a 31-year-old mother of three and Air Force veteran, will walk onto a Mid-America Center stage, deliver the student speech at Bellevue Universitys spring 2022 commencement of 640 students and claim her masters degree in business administration. She and her husband, Steve, a U.S. Army veteran, will take a trip for fun to celebrate theyll drive their kids to Florida. Along the way of her educational odyssey, like many nontraditional college students, Rodriguez found willpower and talents she didnt know she had. She developed a knack for making higher-education systems work for her, and for finding the support she needed to navigate through them. Rodriguez is already putting those skills to work for other people as a project coordinator in Bellevue Universitys Mental Health Clinical Counseling program. My story is really about how the support of other people can create those opportunities that people wouldnt normally take, those risks (to try things) that they dont think theyre competent enough to do, Rodriguez said. And how giving people the support that they need, or the guidance, or taking the extra time can help them choose a path that they wouldnt have chosen before. Education wasnt exactly Rodriguezs passion while growing up in Decatur. I was not exceptional in high school, she said. I procrastinated and did the work I needed to do to pull my grades up to a D. She obtained her high school diploma by independent study through the University of Nebraska. She enrolled at Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, but she quit during her freshman year after she got her first bill from the college. Working in the service industry, driving 45 minutes to school each way, she just couldnt afford school. Rodriguez didnt have a clear idea of what she wanted to do. I had a lot of friends with military affiliations, she said. So I just went to a recruiter. I said: What can you do for me? And I was gone in two weeks. Her first Air Force duty assignment was at Fairchild Air Force Base outside Spokane, Washington. Rodriguez worked in a pediatrics department with amazing doctors who were determined to not just treat symptoms, but to find answers to help people with whatever they were struggling with. A lot of our job description was, how can we help these young moms who have children and dont have their family, and probably have a spouse whose priorities lie with their duty? Rodriguez said. So now theyre juggling a world that they never knew they would be in and wheres their resources? Rodriguez helped the parents find and connect with resources, experience that has helped her through her college odyssey and to help people in her work. She didnt know what field she wanted to go into when she took that first class at Spokane Falls Community Colleges education center at Fairchild AFB. She doesnt remember what that class was. But she does remember the friend who made her think she should try it, and the experience helping her believe she could do it. The class went well. She went on to take more. I dont even know if she really noticed she was giving me the support, Rodriguez said. She literally was just being kind. ... I mean, she is a loudmouth, Jamaican girl from the South. And here I am a little, Midwest girl whose first plane ride was to basic training. I dont know if I would have gotten out of my shell. After 1 years in Washington, Rodriguez, by then a mother, was sent to an Air Force base in Japan. She wanted to work toward a degree in health care, but couldnt find those classes on bases overseas. Shes the kind of person who needs classes in person, so none of her studies have been online until her graduate classes during the pandemic. She decided to focus on business administration. While on active duty in Japan, Rodriguez knocked out some of her lower-level classes though the College Level Examination Program. After a year in Japan, she got out of the military and her husband went into it. He joined a U.S. Army Airborne division. She moved back to Nebraska to have her second child where family could help while her husband went to eight months of training. They were in a kind of limbo, not knowing where they would be sent, and when she would stop living between families and could get back on track with school. They got orders to go to Italy. That was a huge frustration, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, Rodriguez said. She enrolled in the University of Maryland Global Campus Europe. She took night classes on base with soldiers. The classes were four hours long, and met once or twice a week. Her husband was away on duty for his demanding job for all but about six months of their 2 years in Italy. That meant that along with her notebooks, shed often take a baby to class because she was still nursing. She kept plugging away toward her degree through more moves. Her husband got posted to North Carolina. She took classes in Christianity at Campbell University that could apply to her degree and offered insight that regular business classes didnt have. Her husband left the Army but went to Kuwait as a contractor. That occasioned a move back to Nebraska with now three children, a year left on her degree and another hurdle. Because I had done all of most of my schoolwork at military classes, they were eight-week classes, and a lot of the colleges that I called around here at first were not going to accept about a year of those classes, the Christianity classes, or just the different classes that I had, Rodriguez said. She also wanted to attend in person, in part because her post-military benefits paid more for in-person classes than for online. She found Nebraska Wesleyan Universitys Omaha campus. It would take all her credits. Her dad could drive down from Decatur to help with child care and she powered through until she had two classes left. One was an ethics course. Wesleyan only offered the undergraduate version in Lincoln but had the graduate-level class in Omaha. Rodriguez persuaded the school to let her take the graduate class. She was intimidated at first, and her children came to view the computer as their enemy because of all the reading and writing she had to do, but she aced it. That left an internship. At the height of the pandemic. When her children were stuck at home because of COVID-19. She said her advisers at Wesleyan couldnt help her find a company to do her internship. Rodriguez called multiple companies and was denied. She started looking for veterans resources, seeking the unity and mutual support she had experience in. She found Bellevue Universitys Military Veteran Services Center. It crafted an internship for her updating its community resource information for veterans. She did it in record time, said Heather Carroll, manager of the Military Veteran Services Center. Then we were able to sign her off, and she was able to graduate. And because of the services that are offered here in this facility, and how it takes care of the veterans in the process, she decided that she wanted to become a masters degree student here at the university as well. Rodriguez finally got her bachelors degree in 2020. Now, she's earned a masters as well. And her kids Tobias, 9, Vivian, 7, and Abraham, 5 have earned a trip to Disney World and the beach. Whats a 20-hour car ride when youve been on an eight-year educational odyssey like Rodriguez has? Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Each year the Journal Star joins with partners to present the Inspire Awards, recognizing women who have excelled in their professional lives and emerged as leaders and role models in the Lincoln community. Director of Leadership Consulting with Talent Plus B.A. from Allegheny College, Meadville, PA Psychology and Literature double major, minor in Art History; M.S. in Social Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Ph.D. in Personality Psychology, University of Michigan; Member of American Psychological Association; Member, Lincoln Lancaster County Planning Commission; Board President, Angels Theatre Company; and Board member, Stand In for Nebraska. Who has inspired you? Ive been blessed with several mentors throughout my life, but one that stands out is a former dance professor named Jan Hyatt. The way she lives her life is authentic and tenacious whether as an educator or a parent or wife or woman, she is always unapologetically herself and undertakes significant challenges to grow as a human being. And, of course, my mother has always been my biggest supporter and fan. People like Trevor Noah who overcome their circumstances and retain their humor and humanity inspire me. What book or podcast is currently inspiring you? The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson, and Hamnet by Maggie OFarrell. The Inspire Womens Leadership platform has launched Inspire Girls. What advice would you give them? Never allow anyone else to define who you are or what you can accomplish. Follow your own heart and trust your intuition. How can we better inspire, include and invest in others in our community? Begin by seeking out the yet undiscovered potential talent that lies dormant in each person, and consider how it can be refined, nurtured and celebrated. Instead of looking for shortcomings or limitations, we should be thinking about expansion through collaboration and complementarity. One of my favorite words is and because it links ideas as well as people. What does leadership mean to you? To me, leadership is about responsibility what is your obligation to the people you serve? How are you making a positive difference? How are you leaving the community or world in a better state with your efforts? What is your favorite inspirational quote or motto? You are unique, and if that is not fulfilled, then something has been lost. Martha Graham How would you describe a great day? A great day is productive and creative; it affords an opportunity to think, learn, laugh and simply be in the present for a few moments. And it always includes dessert, movement and time in nature. Whats the best advice youve ever received, and who gave it to you? One of my professors once told me that subversion is far more effective than open revolt. Planting subversive ideas spurs change from within. Whats the biggest challenge or adversity you have faced in your life professionally or personally and how did you overcome it? I dont know that I perceive adversity as an enemy to overcome; there are some situations that are more difficult to master than others, but it simply causes me to muster up more energy to achieve my goal. I love the underdog role because there have been many times where Ive been written off for any number of reasons. So I suppose I agree with Nietzsche: That which does not kill us makes us stronger. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Late last month, Gov. Pete Ricketts and a host of Nebraska Department of Correctional Services officials celebrated the unveiling of the reimagined Reception and Treatment Center, just weeks after Ricketts and conservative Republican senators thwarted an initiative that would have brought true prison reform to Nebraska. Built on the parking lot that separated the Lincoln Correctional Center and Diagnostic Evaluation Center on West Van Dorn Street, the Reception and Treatment Center effectively turned the two facilities into one, updating, remodeling and rehabbing the old facilities into what Correctional Services Director Scott Frakes called a modern, highly functional prison. The crown jewel of the $125 million project, according to Frakes, is a 384-bed maximum security wing that will begin to house incarcerated men later this summer. That wing, Frakes said, could get the nations most overcrowded prison system back down to operational level, operational capacity. But given that Nebraska also has the fastest-growing prison population in the country, the luster will go off that jewel in, at most, months after it is opened. In fact, the Reception and Treatment Center project vividly shows why Nebraska will not be able to build its way out of the corrections crisis. That project was a half decade in planning and took months of construction. That would hold true for the new prison that Ricketts and the Corrections Department have proposed and the Legislature authorized, but didn't fund. Given the time it would take to build and staff a new prison, it would likely be nearly full on the day it begins operation. But Ricketts, who initially supported the prison reform initiative, and the Legislatures conservatives, while celebrating the needed increase in beds and modernized center, scuttled the real reform. That, notably, is directly opposite of the approach of the more than three dozen states that have implemented prison reform, most often a coupling of reductions in criminal penalties with treatment and enhanced supervision intended to help people succeed after release. Those reforms have sent U.S. inmate numbers tumbling, including in Texas and other conservative states, where prison reform was embraced by Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, as the criminal justice vision for the 21st century. But the backwards looking legislators and Ricketts opposed the reforms, arguing that the treatment and enhanced supervision should come first, but doing nothing to implement them and then attacking opponents and labeling sentencing reductions as soft on crime. As long as that recalcitrant view of the reforms that other states have shown to work is dominant, Nebraskas prisons will remain in crisis, overcrowded with insufficient staffing and programming. We can only hope that the new governor, who will be elected in November, and the Legislature that will see a number of new senators in 2023, will change that view and adopt reforms that have worked in the majority of states. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 RACINE More than 7% of American LGBTQ youth reported being prevented by their school from attending a dance or function with someone of the same gender and more than 7 in 10 LGBTQ students said they avoided school functions and extracurricular activities to some extent, according to the 2019 National School Climate Survey conducted by the LGBTQ advocacy nonprofit GLSEN. This years traditional proms have come and gone. While more than 1,000 area high schoolers celebrated the prime of their lives with music, friends and possibly a date, there is a subset of people who often didnt have that opportunity to, or felt welcome at prom, growing up. The LGBT Center of Southeast Wisconsin has an event planned that will hopefully give people who never went to prom the chance they never had to shine. The LGBT Center, 1456 Junction Ave., is planning a Pride Prom an astrological-themed event and fundraiser that aims to give youth and adults who might not have attended a proper prom, or even just to relive that moment as their proper selves. The June 11 outdoor event will have simultaneous youth and adult proms on the lawn of the Racine Civic Center, which includes Festival Hall, at 5 Fifth St. It is scheduled for 7:30-11 p.m. Masks will be optional. Quote The month of June is Pride Month. June was chosen as it was the month, in 1969, when the Stonewall Riots (a.k.a. the Stonewall Uprising) began in New York after the Stonewall Inn gay club was raided by police. The adult prom will cost $60 while the youth prom, for those ages 14-18, is free to attend. The events will have an astrological theme, and feature tarot card readers and a drag show. Attendees of the adult prom will receive two drink tickets for the cash bar and one free tarot reading per person. The ticket will also include a plated meal. For the youth prom, there are also free tarot readings and an open mocktail bar. Attendees will also get the chance to work with queer artist Anwar Floyd Pruitt in making a Muppet-themed music video. All proceeds, including profits made from the drag show and auctions, will aid The LGBTQ Center in supporting local LGBTQ youth. Pride Prom WHEN: 7:30-11 p.m., June 11 WHERE: Racine Civic Center, 5 Fifth St. COST: $60 adults, free for youth REGISTER: lgbtsewi.org/prom The LGBT Center hosts two yearly events, a youth-oriented prom in the spring and an adult Gala event to raise money for the centers different programming. Setting up these events had been difficult for the center for the past two years due to COVID-19 restrictions, but with a focus on COVID safety including an outdoor setting with an open tent concept the center hopes to bring both events together and bigger than ever. We wanted to see an event that would just feel different. Bring a date, film your cheesy prom-posal and put it on the internet, put on a costume that is really on theme and take cool and goofy pictures at our photo booth and watch an incredible drag show, said David Ulrich, project manager for the Pride Prom. We just wanted it to feel very unique and elevated for a local pride event. Unless you are wealthy, I dont think that is an experience you get very often as an adult of going to a formal dance; maybe a wedding is the closest thing people have. But this is an entirely queer event just to celebrate the queer community with an experience that many of us have not had since high school. A dance just sounded really fun. Ulrich joked about the Met Gala energy the event has had, and mentioned the outreach the center had already been getting from community members. Several parents have reached out to Ulrich, saying their kids had worked more on their astrological Pride Prom costumes than their regular prom outfits. They added that the youth are more excited about being with people in their community. Many of the youths registering have also shown excitement directly to Ulrich as well; many of them said they have never attended a drag show before. The winner of the drag show will be determined by the amount of real money raised after each performers performance adults will be free to donate real money while the youth will be able to donate Monopoly money to vote. The winning performer will be crowned Prom King, Queen or Royal whichever title the winner best identifies with. States across the country are using LGBTQIA+ youth as a political tool for the midterm elections, wrote Barb Farrar, executive director for the LGBT Center, in the pride proms sponsorship packet. And we in Wisconsin arent immune from seeing laws like those in Texas or Florida passed here, which deny young people the health care, support and representation they need. Your support for our Center helps us to continue advocating for our youth. To support People and organizations in the community are encouraged to sponsor the prom with several tier options. The lowest tier Winter Formal Court with a minimum donation of $1,000 offers four tickets to the event, acknowledgment in the events program and a shout out on the events online landing page. The highest tier Prom Queen/King/Royal with a minimum donation of $10,000 includes perks such as the donors name or logo on the LGBT Centers website for a year, custom safe zone training for the organization and all other perks offered in other tiers. For more information on registering for the event or on applying for sponsorships, visit lgbtsewi.org/prom More The LGBT Center provides resources and aid to LGBTQ people of any age, gender or background, but it specifically aims to support the youth in the communities. The Be You program the LGBT Center puts together is a youth group that hosts weekly online meetings, monthly events and a Discord online chat server for ongoing conversations between youths. The center also aims to support parents of LGBTQ adolescents, offering free monthly Safe Zone training for parents and community members as well as a specific support group Parenting With Pride where caretakers can meet families with kids just like theirs. The center also offers safe zone training to schools and organizations in the area. 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. Nothing could be more appropriate for the Memorial Day federal holiday than to tell the story of a true local hero who was the first commissioned officer from Wisconsin killed in the Mexican-American War of the mid-19th century. Over the years, many people have asked my why I havent written another book. (My one and only was published in 1997, Focus on Louis Theirs: A Photographers View of Kenosha, which I authored with Dane Pollei and Beverly McCumber.) Maybe I will and maybe I wont. What holds me back? Fear. If I make a mistake in the newspaper, a correction can be published in a subsequent issue. In a book, that mistake is forever. Back in 1988 when I was writing Old Kenosha for the Midweek Bulletin, I made such a mistake. In June that month I wrote about Capt. Augustus Quarles, who I said was the first American officer to die during the Mexican-American War. About a week later, Ed Block came to visit me. Ed, the second generation owner of Herberts Jewelers in Kenosha, was quite the history buff, and he disagreed with me. Getting history right From Pioneer Village to Modern City, 1835 1935 by Carrie Cropley tells the story. In May 1847, over 100 soldiers under Captain Augustus Quarles from Kenosha became Company E, 15th Regulars, U.S. Infantry. In about a month, they joined G. Winfield Scott on the march to Mexico City. The company was under terrific fire at the battle of Churubusco, where a third of the company fell dead or wounded. Among them was Captain Quarles, a brilliant young man of 26, who was shot while leading his company in a difficult charge, the first American officer to die. Later his body was returned to Southport and a monument erected by the legislature of the Wisconsin Territory, the Village of Southport, and his family. (Southport was Kenoshas name before its name was changed to Kenosha in in 1850.) Ed and I agreed that the Battles of Churubusco and Contreras were fought in successive days on Aug. 19-20, 1847. Then Ed brought out his big guns, a few reference books on the Mexican-American War and Blooms Territorial Papers of the United States: Vol. XXVII Wisconsin Territory Executive Journal 1836-1848. Within 30 minutes he had me convinced. Quarles may have been the first to die in the battle of Churubusco, where no less than 10 officers died that day, but he wasnt the first to die in the Mexican-American War. The Kenosha Evening News Centennial Edition of 1935 celebrating Kenoshas 100th year, proclaimed Quarles rightful title as The first commissioned officer from Wisconsin who died while engaged in the military service of the United States. Wisconsin was still a territory in 1847. Village is stunned The death of Quarles stunned the residents of Southport. His obituary in the Southport Telegraph read: With his parents he was among the first settlers of our town. He had grown up in our midst and become intimate with our people; and although young when appointed all who new him felt that the responsibilities conferred upon him could not have been confided to better hands. Seven months passed before Governor Henry Dodge signed a bill to make an appropriation to bring Capt. Quarles body back home for interment on March 11, 1848. Quarles was finally laid to rest in Southport on June 27, 1848, with full military honors. A more imposing display, reported the Telegraph, both civic and militarily, has never been witness in Wisconsin. The body was taken from the Quarles home on the west side of the Public Square (now Library Park) to the Episcopal Church on the north end of the square. (The Quarles home was located on the north end of the Christ the King Church campus.) After the service, the coffin was moved to a platform in the tree-laden square where, surrounded by hundreds of people from the Great Lakes Region, General Levi Hubbell gave an appropriate oration. From there the slow-moving procession proceeded to the City (Green Ridge) Cemetery where Southports own Washington Guard, German Riflemen and Dragoons fired three volleys over the grave as Quarles was lowered in the tomb. Its been nearly 34 years since Ed kindly set me straight on the subject of Capt. Quarles. Our Kenosha Community suffered a great loss when Ed died in October of 2011. If you want to know more about Capt. Quarles, check out the Kenosha History Centers Facebook post of August 20. 2021. Just Google search for Kenosha history Capt. Quarles to find it. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 RACINE The man accused of killing a mother of six made a brief appearance in Racine County Circuit Court on Wednesday. Terry L. Jackson, 41, was charged with 23 felonies in connection to the shooting death of Brittany Brooker and multiple attacks on her friend, who is a former girlfriend of Jacksons. The charges include first-degree intentional homicide with the use of a dangerous weapon, kidnapping, two counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, stalking, false imprisonment, strangulation-suffocation, and 12 counts of felony bail jumping. Jackson, who is sometimes known as Scooter Man, was in court for a preliminary hearing. Attorney Addison Kuhn, of the Wisconsin Public Defenders Office, said he and co-counsel Elizabeth Angove were appointed to represent the defendant, but they needed more time with the case before the preliminary hearing. The matter was deferred to 9:30 a.m. on June 15. Jackson remains in the Racine County Jail on $10 million cash bond. History The charges against the defendant stem from three separate allegations of violence against multiple women. According to the criminal complaint: The first allegation was an alleged attack on his former girlfriend that occurred on Feb. 21 that left the accuser in the hospital with significant injuries. On Feb. 27, she attempted to go back to her former residence, the one she shared with Jackson, to retrieve some belongings. She took her friend, Brittany Booker, along with her. Booker brought her 2-year-old daughter. The womans belongings were not in the residence. Believing him to be out of town, the woman called and asked where her belongings were, according to the complaint. But then, Booker became concerned that Jackson might, in fact, still be in the area. She convinced her friend that they needed to leave. According to the criminal complaint, as they attempted to leave Jackson, arrived at the residence armed with a hammer. He attacked the woman who was his former girlfriend. Then, as Booker later told investigators, she had her toddler in her arms and was trying to call 911 when Jackson approached her and began striking her with the hammer in the face and head. She also said she let go of her daughter and attempted to run to a neighbors house. Jackson allegedly followed her and said, Im going to kill you. According to the criminal complaint, when police arrived they found Booker lying on the ground of a nearby bar after fleeing, bleeding heavily from the back of the head. The second woman had large lacerations to her face and was covered in blood. She told investigators Jackson tried to kill her. The third attack occurred on April 24. According to the criminal complaint, Bookers 13-year-old son woke up to find his mother and her vehicle gone. The Racine Police Department was dispatched to a Villa Street residence on the report of suspicious circumstances. There was blood on her bed, on the floor leading to the dining room and on the pajamas of the 2-year-old who was sharing a bed with their mother. Doorbell video shows a male taking Booker from the residence at about 5:30 a.m. When Booker turns and looks back, according to the criminal complaint, he tells her to go. During the investigation, Booker was found deceased in her car with a single gunshot to the head. After a reported standoff, Jackson was arrested by the U.S. Marshals and Racine Police Department in Chicago May 22. 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. CALEDONIA A Racine woman has been accused of nearly causing a multi-car collision while driving drunk. Elizabeth Lauren Hammerel, 35, of the 4500 block of Tennessee Road, was charged with a felony count of second-degree recklessly endangering safety and a misdemeanor count of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence (as a second offense). According to a criminal complaint: On Wednesday, a sergeant was operating in his squad car when he saw a group of several cars in the northbound lanes approaching his position. One of the cars abruptly and aggressively changed from the left lane and cut in front of a car in the right lane, nearly causing a multi-car collision in the process. The sergeant attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but the car traveled another quarter of a mile before coming to a stop. Upon making contact with the driver, Hammerel, the sergeant noticed her eyes were bloodshot and she tried to avoid contact with him. There was an infant in the car as well. There was a bottle of Mikes Hard Lemonade leaking in the back seat of the car. Hammerel said she had been drinking it while she was driving and that she had come from her friends house where she drank two others. Hammerel performed a preliminary breath test and had a result of 0.119 blood alcohol concentration. A search of the vehicle found a can of Mikes Hard Lemonade on top of her purse that was only a full and two small bottles of wine, one of which was completely empty and the other full. Hammerel was given a $1,000 cash bond in Racine County Circuit Court on Thursday. A preliminary hearing is on June 2 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave., online court records show. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 RACINE The issue of restoring 11 positions to the Racine Police Department eliminated in 2020 will go to the voters, but the debate during Tuesdays special meeting of the city council exposed what could be a more pressing issue. The council voted 9-5 to put a property tax hike on the Aug. 9 ballot in order to fund public safety. Aldermen Alicia Jarrett, Jeff Coe, Melissa Kaprelian, CJ Rouse and Henry Perez all voted against the measure. Alderman Terry McCarthy was excused. The 3.53% hike would increase the tax levy by $2 million in 2023 plus an additional $150,000 per year, every year after to pay for increases in salary and benefits. Approximately $1.5 million would fund the 11 officers, their training and benefits. The balance would pay for other public safety measures, which were not detailed. For a homeowner with a home assessed at $135,000, the tax increase would represent approximately $71.55 per year. As of 2022, the average residential assessment in the city was $135,000. The city council cut 11 positions from the RPD in 2020 due to budget constraints primarily brought on by 2011 state legislation that restrains municipalities from increasing property taxes. No one was fired from the RPD at the time since those positions were unfilled, but the capped number of officers was reduced. The 2011 levy limit legislation tied a citys ability to raise taxes to net new construction. For Racine, which has seen little development, the legislation created a structural deficit in which every budget cycle something has to be cut to make ends meet as the cost of doing business increases, a problem the citys administration has repeatedly brought up in recent years. Alderman John Tate II, the president of the city council, said if people wanted to know who was defunding the police, they could look to the state legislature. He spoke in favor of the referendum that would allow the public to have a say in whether there would be an increase in officers at the police department. At issue Aldermen Rouse and Perez said they have heard from constituents who felt they could not bear the cost of a property tax increase, especially coming after the city increased other fees for services in the last budget cycle. The annual increase in the U.S. cost of living is at a 40-year high, surging 8%, driven in part by the high price of fuel. Perez, a retired Miami police officer, said he has heard from constituents on fixed incomes, such as retirees, who say they cannot afford an increase in property taxes. Tate countered that the vote before the council was not for raising property taxes directly, but whether the matter should be put to the ballot and left to the voters to decide. Kaprelian said it looked like the council was shifting the issue to the public rather than tackling it themselves. Fewer cops It does not appear, however, that the loss of 11 officers in 2020 was the departments most pressing issue. Assistant Police Chief Alex Ramirez was on hand to discuss the fact the department is down 20 officers, due primarily to the fact people are leaving at a faster rate than they can be replaced. He said the department has experienced a high rate of retirements and was looking at two more retirements at the end of the week. Ramirez explained it takes a long time to recruit and train new officers; though, they have been able to hire some experienced officers who do not need to attend the law enforcement training academy. He added sending recruits to the academy has challenges because they cannot send them whenever it is convenient, as trainee sessions only occur twice a year; and secondly, there are only so many available slots. Ramirez stressed the importance of having an attractive benefits package to aid in recruitment. When asked if the department would rather have a better benefits package or the 11 new officers, he said they needed both, but the benefits package would better address the most pressing issue: recruitment and retention. ARPA Despite the fiscal constraints imposed by the state, the city has experienced some buoyancy due to $46 million it received in ARPA funding. Kathleen Fischer, finance director, told the council that using the one-time ARPA funds to hire police officers was a bad idea because those funds go away in 2025, but the salaries of the 11 officers will still have to be paid. Three area Republican legislators Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, of Rochester; state Rep. Bob Wittke, of Wind Point; state Sen. Van Wanggaard, a retired Racine police officer called on the mayor to spend ARPA money to hire more officers. Mayor Cory Mason later told The Journal Times he would be open to that idea if he was assured that the state would help pay for those officers in 2025. Perez, in contrast, appeared to support using the ARPA funds to hire police officers. He argued it would allow the police department to act immediately and not have to wait to see if the referendum passed and the funds to be realized in 2023. However, as Assistant Chief Ramirez noted, the department is still trying to hire and train 20 officers, so the hiring of an additional 11 officers would come in the future at best. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. By Azernews By Laman Ismayilova The National Carpet Museum has been represented at a meeting on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Museums of the Turkic World. The large-scale event took place in the city of Bursa, the 2022 Cultural Capital of the Turkic World, Azernews reports. Director of the Carpet Museum Dr. Shirin Malikova took part in the meeting which is held annually in different countries to foster mutual exchange of information and experience and open up new cooperation opportunities. Dr. Malikova delivered a presentation "Revival and Promotion of the Carpet Weaving Art, the Cultural Heritage of the Turkic World at the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum". In her speech, Shirin Malikova noted that this large-scale event provided a great opportunity for the Turkic people to get acquainted with each other's histories, culture, and traditions, establish new cooperation and plan joint projects. The Carpet Museum director informed the participants in the meeting that the next gathering of the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY) will be held in Shusha, the 2023 Cultural Capital of the Turkic World. The museum experts and directors from Azerbaijan, Turkiye, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Serbia, Macedonia, Hungary, Afghanistan, Iraq, Tuva, and Tatarstan. In their remarks, they stressed the importance of the high-level event, co-organized by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Turkish National Committee for UNESCO, and the International Organization of Turkic Culture and hosted by the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality. Founded in 1967, the National Carpet Museum never ceases to amaze the audience with its beautiful architecture. Initiated by eminent carpet artist Latif Karimov, it is beautiful inside and out. The museum's new building is designed in the form of a rolled carpet. The Carpet Museum stores over 14,000 exhibits of the finest Azerbaijani carpets. The museum hosts multiple events, including international symposiums, conferences, and various exhibitions. In 2019, the museum received the national status for its significant contribution to the popularization and promotion of the Azerbaijani Carpet Weaving Art. In 2020, the Carpet Museum enriched its collection with beautiful pile carpets purchased by the Culture Ministry at the Sartirana Textile Show in Italy. The 19th-century Guba carpet Ugakh was donated to the Carpet Museum, while the Karabakh carpet Chalabi enriched the collection of the museum's Shusha branch. The Carpet Museum also focuses on cooperation with world-leading museum organizations. Moreover, the Carpet Museum won Travelers' Choice Awards for the fourth time in a row. Certain Republican legislators among the partys rank-and-file are continuing to raise their volume in opposition to Parole Commission Chairman John Tate II, who is also president of the Racine City Council. It is part of a small but growing rift between Republican legislative leaders in Wisconsin and lower-ranking lawmakers. Last week, state Sen. Steve Nass, a Whitewater Republican whose district included a slice of southwestern Racine County until this year, issued a statement saying I will not defend the failure of the Senate Republican leadership to act on firing John Tate as Chairman-designee of the Wisconsin Parole Commission following the near paroling of wife-killer Douglas Balsewicz. Balsewicz, in 1997, stabbed his wife, Johanna Rose, to death. Their children were later found covered in their mothers blood. Earlier this spring, Balsewiczs parole was approved by the Parole Commission, prompting an outcry from the victims family. Following pressure from the family, Republicans, the public, and later Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, Tate had Balsewiczs parole rescinded on May 13 potentially opening the state to a lawsuit that the state would likely lose. Balsewicz had been due to be released May 17 after serving 25 years of an 80-year sentence; he became eligible for parole after 20 years of incarceration. Like many others appointed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, Tate was never confirmed to his position by the Republican legislature. As such, he could be removed from office if the legislature gets together to vote on Tates appointment, and then Republicans vote him out. State Sen. Roger Roth, R-Appleton, aimed to force an extraordinary legislative session to remove Tate from office. But the Republican leaders of the state legislature didnt support it and the proposal now seems dead. At least one other Republican has indicated that they believe Roth and Nass are making knee-jerk reactions in response to the controversy. Wisconsin Right Now, a conservative-led online news outlet, reported Friday, that State Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, said he doesnt know the facts about (the) now reversed decision to release a convicted wife killer early, so hes not sure if its egregious enough to fire him. Wisconsin Right Now quoted Kapenga, the Senates president, as saying We dont have the facts yet. I support finding out what all the facts are. Once we understand that, then I can make a decision that, yes, this is the right thing to do because hes (John Tates) totally out of line. The sister of the deceased responded to Kapenga with a letter that stated You can fire Tate right now and you WONT because you need to know the facts???? You saw the news, you read all the articles in the paper, you saw our family on TV with all the facts. I can give you the transcripts so you HAVE THE FACTS and can make your decision. The facts are there. THOSE ARE THE FACTS. THIS IS DISGUSTING and again another Senator outright passing the buck. The Legislature isnt due to reconvene until January. Nass continued: On this issue, my leadership is absolutely wrong on the policy, the politics and the morality of their refusal to fire Tate by scheduling a vote on his appointment. Why is my leadership now part of the process started by the Evers administration to victimize this family all over again? It is a fact that John Tate has refused to resign. It is a fact that Governor Tony Evers has refused to remove Tate from his position. It is now also a fact that the Senate Republican majority is refusing to carry out our constitutional authority based on flimsy excuses. Those senators advancing such excuses are wrong on the policy, the politics and the morality. 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. Shortly after the progress pride flag celebrating the beginning of Pride Month was raised over the Capitol on Wednesday, Gov. Tony Evers expressed concern that the packed field of GOP challengers vying to face him this fall would discontinue the now 4-year-old tradition if the Democratic governor is defeated in November. Evers also used the occasion to charge that a Republican governor could push efforts to ban books in the state, primarily those focused on the LGBTQ community. Evers comments follow a Wisconsin Examiner story on Tuesday regarding discussions among some Republican lawmakers looking into books found at school libraries on topics including the LGBTQ community, gender identity and sexuality. They are going to be putting themselves in charge of banning books in the state of Wisconsin and you can be damn sure that some of its going to be directly related to LGBTQ community efforts, Evers told reporters outside the Capitol Wednesday. Just think about that: This Legislature and Republican governor would be banning books in the state of Wisconsin. Its breathtaking. As he seeks a second term this fall, Evers has touted his veto authority and ability to block conservative measures ranging from election administration and abortion rights to gun laws and other efforts. With Republicans likely to maintain, if not grow, majorities in both the state Assembly and Senate this fall, a GOP victory in the gubernatorial race would let conservatives enact any legislation that gets through both chambers. The top Republican gubernatorial candidates include former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, former Marine Kevin Nicholson, state Rep. Timothy Ramthun, R-Campbellsport, and construction business owner Tim Michels. Asked about Evers comments, Nicholsons spokesperson Courtney Mullen said in an email that Nicholson would sign into law a Republican-backed bill dubbed the Parental Bill of Rights, which would allow a parent or guardian to sue a school district or school official if they dont allow parents to determine the names and pronouns used for their child at school; review instructional materials and outlines; access any education-related information regarding the child; receive advance notice of any polls or surveys conducted in the childs classroom; request notice of when certain subjects will be taught or discussed; and opt out of a class or instructional materials for reasons based on either religious or personal conviction. Kevin believes that parents should have easy access to the curriculum used to teach our students and our teachers, and that parents should have the right to get their kids out of environments where they believe inappropriate material is taught, Mullen said. Kleefischs spokesperson Alec Zimmerman said the former lieutenant governor believes in the legalization of same-sex marriages and agrees with President (Donald) Trump that its settled law no longer up for discussion, but added: Rebecca will not use flags over the Capitol as political props. Its not surprising that Tony Evers is playing to the most ideological extremes of his party, Michels campaign adviser Chris Walker said in an email. As a lifelong educator and politician, he should be more concerned with the ABCs, not CRT, referring to critical race theory, a graduate-level theoretical framework that examines how American political and social systems help perpetuate racism and which educators say is not taught in schools. He failed Wisconsins students when they needed him most, and it is time for him to go. Ramthuns campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Dane County Circuit Judge Everett Mitchell announced Wednesday his plans to run next April for the Wisconsin Supreme Court seat currently held by a departing conservative justice. Mitchell joins Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz in the upcoming election to fill the seat currently held by conservative Justice Patience Roggensack, who is not seeking another 10-year term on the states seven-member high court. With conservatives holding a narrow 4-3 majority, the April election could shift the courts power dynamic. Mitchell, who is Black, said in a statement he is running because preserving the integrity and independence of the court has never been more important. A former prosecutor, Mitchell serves as the presiding judge of Dane Countys juvenile division and oversees cases involving child welfare, juvenile delinquency, family and civil law and criminal proceedings. Our state Justices have a tremendous responsibility, and the decisions handed down by the court directly impact the lives of the people in our state, he said. Wisconsinites deserve a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice that reflects the growing diversity of ideas and communities within our state. He added that the court needs to be an instrument of balance and justice rather than partisan divide. Mitchell also presides over Dane Countys High Risk Drug Court program, which provides support to adults with drug addictions and criminal cases through connections to treatment and mental health services. Mitchell said he plans to bring his life experiences and a focus on ethics to the states high court. He was the first in his family to attend college and experienced homelessness as a single father. Mitchell graduated from Morehouse College in 2000, earned a masters degree in divinity in 2003 and a masters degree in theology in 2004 from Princeton Theological Seminary, and received a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2010. Protasiewicz has served as a circuit court judge since 2014 and currently presides in the family court. She previously worked 26 years as an assistant Milwaukee County district attorney. Protasiewicz announced this week she had received endorsements from more than 170 Wisconsin leaders, including current Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Dallet, Municipal Court Judge Derek Mosley and Ed Fallone, associate professor of law at Marquette Law School, who placed third in the 2020 Supreme Court primary with 13% of the vote. Former conservative state Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly is also considering a run next year. Kelly was appointed to the court by former Gov. Scott Walker in 2016. He faced his first election bid in April 2020, losing to former Dane County judge and current state Supreme Court Justice Jill Karofsky. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 1. Yes. Expect rolling blackouts if hot temperatures persist. The grid cant handle the strain. 2. Yes. No significant steps were taken after the grid failed during last years winter storm. 3. No. Texas power officials have been preparing for the hot weather. The grid will be OK. 4. No. If some brown-outs are needed, fine. Thats just part of protecting the system. 5. Unsure. Its hard to know how much stress the energy grid is designed to handle. Vote View Results "We must address sin in America... otherwise the wrath of God will continue... policies can't address His wrath, only repentance and obedience can. Praying for a revival..." -- Honorable Jack Brewer, America First Policy Institute NEWS PROVIDED BY Alveda King Ministries June 1, 2022 ATLANTA, June 1, 2022 /Christian Newswire/ -- The following is submitted by evangelist Alveda King, she is available for comment: My friends, I don't know about you, but it seems like every day I am being inundated with prayer requests. Meanwhile, I find myself in great need of prayer every day as well. Sometimes, I just open my Bible and read, and sigh. Other days, I read my Bible, get up and get moving, working to bless others, even as I find myself in need of a blessing. My colleague Jack Brewer is definitely telling the truth. Our problems in America, personally, in our communities, and around the world, are all related to a common denominator; sin. Fatherless homes and abortion are at the top of the list. Yet all is not lost. Thank God for Jesus. "God's law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God's wonderful grace became more abundant." -- Romans 5:20 NLT Many of the prayer requests I am receiving are for people who are sick in their bodies, ill and feeling bad. Others are sick in their minds and in their souls. Marriages are falling apart, children and parents are fighting and disputing, and then there's what's happening on the national and global scene. My mother just returned from Israel. While she was visiting, there was a fatal shooting of a reporter who was actually attached to mother's traveling group. Needless to say, mother spoke and prayed for peace while she was in Israel. "Pray for peace in Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper." -- Psalms 122:6 NLT Here on the home-front, hundreds of babies are still being aborted; children are still being abused. Then, we have the tragedies of Buffalo, Texas, and so many other violent shootings and atrocities. Meanwhile, my friend John Voight has posted a couple of videos on Facebook about not attaching the problems of America and around the world simply to gun violence. People harm people with weapons. Sometimes those weapons are guns, knives, bombs, poison, scalpels, forceps, fists and all sorts of murder weapons. Which measure of violence and murder control should we pursue? People also wound people with their tongues; harmful violent words also kill the human spirit. Why just single out guns which are one weapon of choice? Recently my goddaughter Angela Stanton King released an open letter to the Republican Party. As I read Angela's letter demanding justice for the Black community, as an aging black woman in America I can certainly sympathize. I've been a victim of skin color racism and loss of family to gun violence all my life. I get it. What is weird is that while other ethnic communities ask for help to live, the Black ethnic community is offered aid to die; by abortion, transgender surgery for minors, and other crippling initiatives. The ASK for the Black community? For a start..... Why not give us a Platinum Plan? Why not give the Black community an American Rescue Fund allotment such as the $49.5 billion awarded to the Asian Community? (However, please remove funding for abortion disguised as womens reproductive freedom, and other population control secret funding. Give us liberty to live, learn and grow; not death.) Why not support conservative Black political candidates? We are in an incremental process with these individual anti-hate crime bills. Each ethnic group is making demands for their ethnic community. Heretofore, when all of the "anti-hate crime bills" were passed, every group except the Black communities received help to live; not die. I'm almost breathless to see President Biden's press secretary singing freedom spirituals with the Asian community while still offering Black Americans death affirming "relief" such as abortion, free Covid shots, and transgender surgeries to our children and racist/Marxist CRT agendas. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." -- MLK Because of this, my heart breaks for everyone with loss of loved ones; regardless of the reason. While I celebrate justice for every ethnic group, I just pray that we stop splintering and dividing. I pray that Jesus, our Divine Mender and Fixer heals us all. Give us Lord a day of an "anti-hate human hate crime bill." Please give us life too, America. Now, on another frequency, I know that all of the demands for justice from every community, while some that have been asked for have been rewarded and some have not; in the final analysis all of these demands for justice for the divided communities must come together, as the One blood/One human race. Not colorblind; eyes wide open, seeing and regarding diversity. We're Not Colorblind | Alveda King You know me, I see the glass half full and I see the silver lining in the stormy clouds. The glass is already full of air and at the halfway mark when there is something else other than air in the glass, we need to pray about filling that glass up with faith, hope and love. And when the glass becomes empty again, let God just fill it again and again. My cup overflows always with the love of God. You may have wondered why I have waited so long to release a new commentary on the violence that is constantly occurring in America. Honestly my friends, I had to step back for a moment and just breathe. People all around me are fighting, destroying each other with their mouths, and with other physical, emotional or spiritual weapons. While my heart aches, I thank God my heart is never shattered because my Redeemer lives. So, we must continue to move forward with faith, hope and love. We must vote for leaders who fear God rather than man; or who will never compromise for power and money. We can never give up because Jesus never gives up on us. Independence Day is just around the corner. Father's Day and Juneteenth are on the same day this month. I'm longing for racial harmony in Christ; no division by skin color; united as one human race. As to liberty and independence? America can never be free until all human life is recognized as sacred unto God; and sanctity of life is regarded; from womb to tomb. Also, though my earthly father figures are in Heaven now, I'm praying that God restores human fathers and heals our families, our wombs, and our lands. I agree with Jack. America has a sin problem; yet this is a problem that can be solved. America must return to God. America Return To God (2017) Autographed | Alveda King As we continue to pray and enact strategies of policy with faith, hope and love, let's remember as individuals to remain humble and repentant, forgiving and loving each other and addressing and approaching all of our problems with kindness and sanity. "America, America, GOD shed His Grace on thee. And crown thy good with [humanhood], from sea to shining sea." -- America the Beautiful I won't stay away so long next time. I'm back now. Pray for me and I'll pray for you. -- Love Alveda P.S. Dr. Alveda King and the Honorable Ginger Howard request your prayers as they receive the conferring of their Doctorate Degrees from Aidan University at the Logos Network 2022 Graduation and Conference. June 24-25, 2022 "Where peripherals collide, convergence is imminent." - Alveda C. King John 3:16 By Azernews Bulgarian President Rumen Radev received Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov on an official visit to Sofia, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Azernews. Pointing out the importance of the Azerbaijani top diplomats current visit ahead of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations, the Bulgarian leader accentuated the vitality for the two countries to further develop all-out relations. The Bulgarian president underscored that throughout the 30-year-long existence of the bilateral relations, the two friendly nations have managed to attain a high-level interconnection in many areas. Reiterating an invitation he had sent to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the Bulgarian president added that the visit would make a positive contribution to the further expansion of ties not only between the two countries but also between the regions. For his turn, Minister Jeyhun Bayramov expressed his gratitude for the reception and extended the sincere greetings of the Azerbaijani president to the Bulgarian opposite side. The nations top diplomat underscored a very useful exchange of views he had with his Bulgarian counterpart during the second strategic dialogue meeting in Sofia. The meeting spotlighted views on the cooperation perspectives between the two countries in the field of energy, economy, trade, information technologies, agriculture, tourism, education, and culture. They also underscored Azerbaijans reliability as a partner for Bulgaria and the European Union in the energy sector. The Azerbaijani foreign minister also filled the Bulgarian president in on the post-conflict situation in the South Caucasus region, including on the restoration work being carried out by Azerbaijan in the liberated territories, as well as on the activities to bring about the lasting peace. Bulgarias intention to support the demining process of the liberated lands was highly appreciated. To recap, Jeyhun Bayramov handed a congratulatory letter from the Azerbaijani president to his Bulgarian opposite side, in which Ilham Aliyev congratulated Rumen Radev on the 30th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between the two nations. KEARNEY The Wagons West celebration will be June 11 at the Buffalo County Historical Society/Trails & Rails Museum. It is the 37th annual event to celebrate local history. The event will be 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Community Engagement Director Broc Anderson is especially excited this year. The last two years, we had to revert our Wagons West to a reverse parade because of COVID. But now it is time to bring back that great traditional experience of exploring our buildings and doing pioneer activities, he said. Being the one day a year that the general public can explore the museum through the free event, the Wagons West Celebration features many family-fun activities, live music, delicious food, exhibitors, demonstrators, archive researchers and kids games. Anderson also says that the museum expects a bigger turnout because of the 175th anniversary of the Mormon Trail through Nebraska. Unlike previous years, kids/families can walk a real Mormon handcart around the property to get the feeling how difficult it was to traverse our state despite being flat. Additionally, guests may explore their own family history with BCHS archive volunteers and genealogists provided by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Other partnering organizations helping making the Wagons West Celebration possible include Fort Kearny DAR, the Gibbon Heritage Center, Prairie Fibers Weavers & Spinners and Prairie Blacksmith Association. The Blue Mill Mystery at Trails & Rails will be replacing the Buffalo County Stampede run. Teams can register for the fundraiser from 6-9:30 p.m. June 11 and solve the Blue Mills Mystery. Teams, up to eight, have the opportunity to listen to witness testimonies on the museum grounds and gather clues from vendors to solve the case. This idea was brought to BCHS by four museum supporters, and we are really excited for this opportunity, says Jennifer Murrish, BCHS executive director. The Trails & Rails Museum is a perfect setting for this mystery fundraiser. The gals that created this story are basing it loosely on Buffalo County facts, which is a fun way to introduce history to a new group of folks. Food will be provided by Billy Jacks Pizza Pub and adult beverages served by Copperfields. Two free drink tickets will be given to each participant. All participants must be 21 years of age. Additional clues may be purchased in advance and during the event. All proceeds will benefit the Trails & Rails Museum. KEARNEY Officials threw the switch today and activated the first phase of a new radio system that will link local and state law officers, firefighters and first responders. This system is going to allow all the public safety entities to speak to each other with secure, reliable efficient communication, said Chief Deputy Dan Schleusener, explaining what the people of Kearney and Buffalo County are getting with the $5 million upgrade. Sheriff Neil Miller has led the effort to design the new system and secure federal funds to help pay for it. The new systems infrastructure consists of stationary radio equipment and eight towers strategically located around the county. During the next three to six months, the radio upgrade will be completed with distribution of individual radios to first responders and firefighters and the installation of the mobile radio units in fire trucks, law officers vehicles and county road maintenance equipment. Also included will be base radios at all Kearney Public School buildings for emergencies and mobile radios in buses. Radios are considered one of the most important pieces of equipment carried by law officers and first responders because they allow for rapid and coordinated responses in emergencies. They might even save someones life. Schleusener said the signal from the new radios will penetrate large buildings, something Buffalo Countys old radios couldnt do. The new radios will allow firefighters, who may have to enter a building, to stay in contact with others on the outside. The infrastructure, activated today, is worth $3.6 million, Schleusener said, and it is jointly owned by the city of Kearney and Buffalo County. The system thats being replaced was owned only by the county. Money to pay for the new radios for rural fire departments came from the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act). The city and county jointly financed the remainder of the cost. Schleusener said employing the federal stimulus funds helps to reduce local costs for the new system, and so does an agreement between local entities and the state. Under what is called a core agreement, the state of Nebraska will allow the county and city access to its main radio system, or core. In turn, the county and city are granting the state access to the countys towers. The state allows us to use their system as the brains of the system, Schleusener said. Not having to pay for a core would be a savings of at least $1 million, plus we dont have to pay annual maintenance costs. The state is reaping the rewards just as much as we are. Planning and design for the new radio system began several years ago. The upgrade became necessary when parts for the old system werent available through the manufacturer and the county had to track down parts online. Schleusener said preparing for todays ribbon cutting was a lot of serious work. Weve been doing coverage testing throughout the county. When the upgrade is complete, a total of 650 radios will have been installed or distributed to law enforcement and emergency personnel. Its going to take the radio needs of the county into the future, Schleusener said. Trevor Mahowald and Jon Droullard, apprentice linemen for their respective electric co-ops, worked to change out an electrical pole at Chippewa Valley Technical College during a recent Overhead Workshop. The two men have done this before on the job, but not with 20 other line workers around to review their work. Mahowald, 26, who works for Minnesota Valley Electric in Jordan, Minn.; and Droullard, 31, who works for Linn County REC in Linn County, Iowa; were two of 56 apprentices who participated in the course this spring. They said they appreciate the additional education CVTC offers them in electrical power distribution. You get to work with people that you never would normally get to work with and see what they do, said Droullard, who has about seven years in the business. You see what they do and you learn different techniques and experiences they have had with certain jobs, like what were doing now. Mahowald, with five years of experience, said they all have their own way of doing things, and to see other peoples way is helpful. Its nice too because you got five years of experience for me, seven for him and three form the next guy, Mahowald said. So you get years of experience added because its all different. In a way, instead of five years of experience, now Im seeing 15. In addition, most line workers in the workshop received their schooling at different colleges, therefore, they might be working with different techniques, Droullard said. We dont do this stuff every week (on the job), Mahowald said. Its good to have the additional training. Kendal Schmidt, electrical line worker apprenticeship instructor, said line worker apprentices in their third and fourth years attend two weeks of courses twice a year to learn from instructors and each other. Schmidt said it takes a good amount of effort to coordinate the extra education, but its important. We break them out in crews and we assess their communication and processes; we practice emergency, real-life scenarios; and we practice bucket truck rescues, Schmidt said. It looks messy and crazy and hazardous, but thats our goal. They have to come in, analyze all the hazards and communicate before touching anything. Mahowald and Droullard joked they just make sure theyre not doing anything theyre not supposed to be doing. And they admit they are a special breed because of the danger of their profession. I dont know if thats good or bad, but I think its good, Droullard said with a laugh. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Four contestants will compete for the 2022 Fairest of the Fair and Junior Fairest of the Fair. The Fairests will reign over this years Vernon County Fair Sept. 14-18. The Fairest of the Fair will represent Vernon County at the Wisconsin Association of Fairs contest in January 2023. An Evening with the Fairests will take place Saturday, June 11, with a social hour at 6 p.m. and program at 7 p.m. The program will be held in the Youth Activity Building on the Vernon County Fairgrounds. The theme for this years fair is Time for Fun. The public is invited to attend. Contestant for Fairest of the Fair: Katelyn Dunnum, daughter of Jamie Howell, sponsored by Split Ends Hair Salon. Contestants for Junior Fairest of the Fair: Maya Dunnum, daughter of Jamie Howell, sponsored by The Home Place; Bridget Palm, daughter of David and Lorene Palm, sponsored by Westby Dental Clinic; Cecelia Vento, daughter of Dan and Lorna Vento, sponsored by Austins Rush Creek Farm. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. is headed for a lot of unnecessary loss of life," the Biden administration says, if Congress fails to provide billions more dollars to brace for the pandemics next wave. Yet the quest for that money is in limbo, the latest victim of election-year gridlock thats stalled or killed a host of Democratic priorities. President Joe Bidens appeal for funds for vaccines, testing and treatments has hit opposition from Republicans, who've fused the fight with the precarious politics of immigration. Congress is in recess, and the next steps are uncertain, despite admonitions from White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha of damaging consequences from every day we wait. Administration officials say they're running low on money to stock up on, or even begin to order, the latest vaccines, tests and treatments. Also lacking are funds to reimburse doctors treating uninsured patients and to help poor countries control the pandemic. House and Senate Democrats have been wrangling over how to resolve the stalemate and even over which chamber should vote first. Its an open question whether theyll ever get the GOP votes theyll need to pull the legislation through the 50-50 Senate, and prospects in the narrowly divided House are unclear as well. There is still an urgency to pass a COVID relief package, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said last week. Its very, very much needed. Optimists hope the measure could start rolling once Congress returns next week. Pessimists say without quick resolution, Democrats may not have enough leverage to push the money to passage until early fall. Thats when they could stuff it into legislation that will probably be needed to finance government a bill that would avert a federal shutdown, a pre-election distraction Republicans will be desperate to avoid. The heap of sidelined Democratic initiatives has grown this year, a victim of GOP opposition and rebellions by centrists like Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. Casualties include bills on voting rights, health care, environment, taxes, gun curbs, abortion rights, policing tactics and an investigation of the 2021 Capitol storming by then-President Donald Trumps supporters. While lawmakers have approved massive packages financing federal agencies through September and helping Ukraine counter Russias invasion, other priorities are dead or drifting, even as Democrats days running Congress are likely dwindling. Republicans are favored to win House control in Novembers elections and could grab the Senate as well, and Democrats frustration is clear. So far it hasnt moved, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said of Bidens latest $22.5 billion request for COVID-19, which he initially sent Congress three months ago. But then neither has sensible gun legislation, neither has voting rights. The 50-50 Senate sucks, she said. The COVID money is needed quickly, officials say. Their warnings have come with over 1 million U.S. deaths from the disease and a fresh variant that daily is hospitalizing over 100,000 Americans and killing more than 300. Both numbers are rising. Officials say that lacking fresh funds, the U.S. is falling behind other countries that are already lining up for supplies needed for fall and winter. That's prompted Jha to plan for the chance that Congress provides no new money at all, threatening painful choices about what to do if there aren't enough vaccines or therapeutics for all who need them. It would be terrible," Jha told reporters recently. I think we would see a lot of unnecessary loss of life if that were to happen." Congress has provided $370 billion for purchasing supplies, for research and other public health initiatives to combat the pandemic, according to administration tallies obtained by The Associated Press. Around $14 billion of it was unspent or not committed to contracts as of April 5, the documents show, serious money but an amount the administration says falls below the ultimate need. Most Republicans are skeptical about added pandemic funding. I have a hard time believing that theres not enough money and not enough flexibility already" to use it, said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. Counterintuitively but unsurprisingly for the always perplexing Senate, one intractable puzzle stymying Democrats is immigration. Senate Republicans are demanding a vote an amending the pandemic legislation with language retaining Trump-era curbs that, citing COVID-19, have made it easier to bar migrants from entering the U.S. A federal judge has blocked Biden from ending those restrictions. Liberals want Congress to eliminate the clampdown, but moderate Democrats in both chambers facing tough reelections want to vote to retain it. The result: Testy divisions between the Democrats' two ideological factions, and knotty questions for party leaders about how to resolve them and push a pandemic package to passage. Their task is compounded by disputes between House and Senate Democrats over why the COVID-19 battle remains unresolved. Senate Democrats note a bipartisan $15.6 billion pandemic compromise was on the cusp of House passage in March until that chamber's progressive Democrats rebelled against spending cuts to pay for it, derailing the money. Were waiting for the House to send us something," Schumer said last week. House Democrats say even if they do, the biggest hurdle will still be the Senate, where 10 GOP votes will be required to reach that chamber's usual 60-vote threshold for passage. They note that an April deal between Schumer and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, for $10 billion in COVID-19 money collapsed after Republicans demanded the immigration vote. We want to get COVID-19 done, but the only impediment right now is the United States Senate," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters recently. That's left Republicans waiting for Democrats' next move. I would imagine at this point way over half of our members will vote against this, no matter what. So the question is what do you do to get it acceptable to 10 or 12 Republican senators, said Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, a member of GOP leadership. "And I dont know. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. WASHINGTON (AP) John Hinckley, who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981, is no longer a danger to himself or others and will be freed from all restrictions this month, a federal judge said Wednesday, capping Hinckleys four-decade journey through the legal and mental health systems. U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman said in September that he would free Hinckley from all remaining restrictions on June 15 as long as Hinckley continued to do well living in the community in Virginia as he has for years. At a hearing Wednesday in Washington which Hinckley did not attend, Friedman noted Hinckley has continued to do well, and the judge made no changes to his plans for full freedom from court oversight. He's been scrutinized. He's passed every test. He's no longer a danger to himself or others, Friedman said at a hearing that lasted about an hour. Friedman devoted much of the hearing to talking about the long road of the case, which he was randomly assigned two decades ago, the third judge to be involved in the case. He noted that Hinckley, who turned 67 on Sunday, was profoundly troubled when he shot Reagan but that he had been able to get mental health help. Hinckley has shown no signs of active mental illness since the mid-1980s, the judge noted Wednesday, and has exhibited no violent behavior or interest in weapons. Hinckley was confined to a mental hospital in Washington for more than two decades after a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity in shooting Reagan. Starting in 2003 Friedman began allowing Hinckley to spend longer and longer stretches in the community with requirements like attending therapy and restrictions on where he can travel. He's been living full-time in Virginia since 2016, though still under restrictions. Some of those include: allowing officials access to his electronic devices, email and online accounts; being barred from traveling to places where he knows there will be someone protected by the Secret Service, and giving three days notice if he wants to travel more than 75 miles (120 kilometers) from his home in Virginia. Prosecutors had previously opposed ending restrictions, but they changed their position last year, saying they would agree to Hinckleys release from conditions if he continued to show mental stability and follow restrictions. Prosecutor Kacie Weston said in court Wednesday that the government believes the case has demonstrated the success that can come from a wraparound mental health system." She noted Hinckley has expressed a desire to continue receiving mental health services even after he is no longer required to do so, and said the government wishes him success for both his sake as well as the safety of the community. Hinckley's longtime lawyer, Barry Levine, said the case had started with a troubled young man who inflicted great harm and but that, in the end: I think we have salvaged a life. John worked hard. He wanted to correct something that he was unable to erase, and this is the best outcome that one could imagine, Levine said after the hearing, adding that "His regrets will always be with him with respect to the families of those he injured. Levine said his client hopes to pursue a career in music and has real talent. In July, Hinckley who plays guitar and sings and has shared his music on a YouTube channel plans to give a concert in Brooklyn, New York. Appearances in Connecticut and Chicago for what he has called the John Hinckley Redemption Tour have been canceled. Reagan recovered from the March 30, 1981, shooting, but his press secretary, James Brady, who died in 2014, was partially paralyzed as a result. Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty were also wounded. Reagan died in 2004. In the 2000s, Hinckley began, with the judge's approval, making visits to his parents home in Williamsburg, Virginia. His father died in 2008, but in 2016 he was given permission to live with his mother full time. Still, he was required to attend individual and group therapy sessions, was barred from talking to the media and could only travel within a limited area. Secret Service would also periodically follow him. Hinckley's mother died in 2021. He has since moved out of her home. In recent years, Hinckley has made money by selling items at an antique mall and by selling books online. Hinckley has said on his YouTube channel that he has started a record label, Emporia Records, and that his first release will be a 14-song CD of his music. He also promotes his music on Twitter. 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 La Crosse Common Council is eyeing legislation that would ban conversion therapy in the city, a move that supporters say would protect the LGBTQ+ community, and one that opponents say is a form of censorship. An ordinance banning the practice was passed by the Judiciary & Administration Committee Tuesday evening on a vote of 5-1. Council member Chris Woodard voted against the legislation. Conversion therapy is a widely discredited practice that is aimed at changing a persons sexual orientation or gender. While its not currently known to be practiced in the city, officials are hoping to keep it that way by banning it from being practiced on or with anyone under the age of 18. Conversion therapy is a myth, said La Crosse resident A.J. DePre, thats built on family rejection and just awful, awful pain. And if it werent, we wouldnt be standing here right now, DePre said. It is long past time for action in this manner. Conversion therapy has been overwhelmingly discredited and refuted by almost all major medical and psychological organizations. Its been shown in several studies to be ineffective and inaccurate for its belief that someones sexuality or sexual orientation can be changed. Its also been shown to cause harm to those that endure it. We all believe, I hope, that things like electrotherapy were cruel and evil and harmful. And as a country and community we have banned those things. We believe that shock therapy is awful this is in a similar vein, said Rev. Rose McCurdy of Onalaska, who said she is also a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Some community members took issue with the city banning the practice, though, citing that it infringed upon their constitutional rights and their parental freedom. This conversation is wholly inappropriate for a city to be considering, said Shannon McKinney of La Crosse. It is partisan and amounts to a government entity meddling in a familys right to raise their children according to their own beliefs, religious or otherwise. McKinney said it also opened the city up to possible litigation. La Crosse pastor Chris Crye, who is the executive director of Next Chapter and an ordained minister with the Evangelical Free Church, argued that the definition of conversion therapy was too broad. It entails those conversations about this topic that have to do with lifestyle decisions and so on, that to ban it is to say those conversations cant happen, Crye said. He said he did a Google search for the definition and found it too broad. When it really is a discussion about a belief not seeking to coerce people, but to express a view, he said. In the citys proposed ordinance, conversion therapy is defined as any practice or treatment, including psychological counseling, that seeks to change a persons sexual orientation or gender identity. This includes any attempt at stopping or reducing someones sexual or romantic attraction for an individual of the same gender, or any attempt to change behaviors or gender expressions. It does not mean that counseling that supports or assists someone in the LGBTQ+ community, including anyone undergoing gender transition, is banned, as long as it doesnt seek to change that individuals sexual orientation or gender identity. Officials also emphasized it does not prohibit conversations between parents and children. Council member Woodard, the only J&A member opposed to the ordinance, took issue with whether it was in the citys scope to issue such a ban. Council president Barb Janssen had similar concerns, saying it might be better for the state or La Crosse County to issue a ban, since they license counselors. I think this is crossing some boundaries, in my opinion, Janssen said. But other officials saw it as a chance for the city to take a stance. I feel like so many times were waiting for the county or the state or someone to make a move, and I think this would be a huge step forward for La Crosse, showing that we are the equitable city that we claim to be. That were a safe space for this community, said council member Mac Kiel, who is sponsoring the legislation. One change was made to the ordinance on Tuesday, removing the requirement that conversion therapy must involve some type of fee to fall under the citys ban. Kiel said this change was to account for instances when there are no fees attached in order to hide when conversion therapy is taking place. She said the definition is still very clear. If passed next week by the full city council, the ordinance would be enforced by the La Crosse Police Department. If police received a complaint, they would investigate, and if the ordinance was violated, it would be referred through the municipal court system and a municipal fine would go along with it. On Tuesday, the conversion therapy ban received support from even some of the more conservative members of the city council, a signal its likely to be adopted next week. It is time to change this, council member Scott Neumeister said. Weve all evolved in life. Weve all gotten better. He continued, And this is one piece where we shouldnt hold our kids back for this. Let them be who they are. Love is love. Its as simple as that. 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. Mayo Clinic Health System is now offering Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations for children 5 to 11 years of age at the Department of Pediatrics in La Crosse and Onalaska, Wisconsin, as well as the Arcadia, Caledonia, Prairie du Chien, Sparta and Tomah clinics. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children in this age group receive a booster vaccination five months after their initial Pfizer vaccination series. Those 12 and older who are immunocompromised should receive a second booster vaccination at least four months after their first vaccination. Parents and legal guardians are encouraged to schedule appointments for children 5 and older using the childs caregiver account on the Mayo Clinic App, or Patient Online Services, Mayo Clinics patient portal. If you do not have a caregiver account, call Mayo Clinic Customer Service at 877-858-0398 weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mayo Clinic Health System in Onalaska also is hosting pediatric COVID-19 booster vaccination clinics weekdays from 3 to 6 p.m. through June 10. Parents or guardians can call the Department of Pediatrics in Onalaska at 608-392-5002 for more information or to schedule a vaccination. A parent or legal guardian must accompany children under 18 when they come for their vaccination appointment. Alternatively, a parent or guardian can provide consent by phone, or the child can bring a signed consent form. 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. By Trend Today, the Azerbaijani tricolor flag flies over Kalbajar thanks to the Victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Ilham Aliyev and the courageous Azerbaijani people, Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Cahit Bagci told reporters, who visited Kalbajar as part of the diplomatic corps, Trend reports. "Karabakh is developing in all directions. We see implementation of construction projects. All this is for the benefit of future generations," Bagci said. He also pointed to existence of consequences of Armenian occupation and vandalism in Kalbajar, as well as in the rest of Azerbaijan's liberated lands. He expressed hope that soon all the internally displaced people will be able to return to their homes. PHILADELPHIA (AP) A veteran Philadelphia homicide detective was convicted of sexually assaulting or exploiting three male witnesses in a case that has led prosecutors to review dozens of homicide convictions. Former detective Philip Nordo, 56, was taken into custody after the jury verdict Wednesday. A 2019 grand jury report accused him of using his position to intimidate and groom male suspects and witnesses into sexual acts. The investigation has already contributed to the reversal of several homicide convictions, including one involving a special needs athlete killed over his headphones. We are going to hold people accountable, civilian or law enforcement, when they commit terrible crimes," District Attorney Larry Krasner said Wednesday. That means we have to reconsider dozens of homicide convictions. It means there will be there have been exonerations." The defense team said that Nordo plans to appeal. There were enormous credibility issues with all three of these witness or complainants, and each of them told very different stories from the versions of events that they told the grand jury, lawyer Richard J. Fuschino Jr. said. Prosecutors dropped more than half the charges before trial when they could not locate a fourth accuser. The jury then convicted Nordo on all of the remaining charges, including rape, stalking, official oppression and attempted sexual assault. Nordo was charged in a 2019 grand jury presentment. The report said the meetings took place in hotel rooms, interview rooms and police vehicles, sometimes after Nordo displayed his firearm. The theft charge involves allegations that Nordo filed false claims for $20,000 in city reward money and other funds to give to victims. Some of the reward money was intended to aid in the investigation of a slain officer, Krasner said. Nordo is set to be sentenced in August. Follow Maryclaire Dale on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Maryclairedale 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 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Sheryl Sandberg, the No. 2 executive at Facebook owner Meta, who helped turn its business from startup to digital advertising empire while also taking blame for some of its biggest missteps along the way, is stepping down. Sandberg has served as chief operating officer at the social media giant for 14 years. She joined from Google in 2008, four years before Facebook went public. When I took this job in 2008, I hoped I would be in this role for five years. Fourteen years later, it is time for me to write the next chapter of my life, Sandberg wrote on her Facebook page Wednesday. Sandberg has led Facebook now Metas advertising business and was responsible for nurturing it from its infancy into an over $100 billion-a-year powerhouse. As the company's second most-recognized face after CEO Mark Zuckerberg Sandberg has also become a polarizing figure amid revelations of how some of her business decisions for Facebook helped propagate misinformation and hate speech. As one of the most prominent female executives in the tech industry, she was also often criticized for not doing enough both for women and for others harmed by Facebook's products. Her public-speaking expertise, her seemingly effortless ability to bridge the worlds of tech, business and politics served as a sharp contrast to Zuckerberg, especially in Facebook's early years. But Zuckerberg has since been catching up, trained in part for the several congressional hearings he's been called to testify in to defend Facebook's practices. Neither Sandberg nor Zuckerberg gave any indication that Sandberg's resignation wasn't her decision. But she's also appeared somewhat sidelined in recent years, with other executives close to Zuckerberg, such as Chris Cox who returned in 2020 as chief product officer after a yearlong break from the company becoming more prominent. Sheryl Sandberg had an enormous impact on Facebook, Meta, and the broader business world. She helped Facebook build a world-class ad-buying platform and develop groundbreaking ad formats," said Debra Aho Williamson, an analyst at Insider Intelligence. But she added that Facebook faced huge scandals under Sandberg's watch including the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the Cambridge Analytica privacy debacle in 2018, and the 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. And now, Meta is facing a slowdown in user growth and ad revenue that is now testing the business foundation that the company was built on, she said. "The company needs to find a new way forward, and perhaps this was the best time for Sandberg to depart. Sandberg is leaving Meta in the fall and will continue to serve on the companys board. Zuckerberg said in his own Facebook post that Javier Olivan, who currently oversees key functions at Meta's four main apps Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger will serve as Metas new COO. But it will be a different job than the one Sandberg held for the past 14 years. It will be a more traditional COO role where Javi will be focused internally and operationally, building on his strong track record of making our execution more efficient and rigorous, Zuckerberg wrote. While Sandberg has long been Zuckerbergs No. 2, even sitting next to him pre-pandemic, at least in the companys Menlo Park, California, headquarters, she also had a very public-facing job, meeting with lawmakers, holding focus groups and speaking out on issues such as women in the workplace and, most recently, abortion. I think Meta has reached the point where it makes sense for our product and business groups to be more closely integrated, rather than having all the business and operations functions organized separately from our products, Zuckerberg wrote. Sandberg, who lost her husband Dave Goldberg suddenly in 2015, said she is not entirely sure what the future will bring. But I know it will include focusing more on my foundation and philanthropic work, which is more important to me than ever given how critical this moment is for women, she wrote, adding that she is also getting married this summer and that parenting their expanded family of five children will also be a part of this future. THE ADULT IN THE ROOM Sandberg, now 52, first helped Google build what quickly became the internets biggest -- and most lucrative -- advertising network. But she left that post to take on the challenge of transforming Facebooks freewheeling social network into a money-making business while also helping to mentor Zuckerberg, who was then 23 to her 38. She proved to be exactly what the then-immature Zuckerberg and the company needed at the right time, helping to pave the way to Facebooks highly anticipated initial public offering of stock a decade ago. While Zuckerberg remained Facebooks visionary and controlling shareholder, Sandberg became engine of a business fueled by a rapidly growing digital ad business that has become nearly as successful as the one that she helped cobbled together around Googles dominant search engine. Just like Googles ad empire, Facebooks business thrived on its ability to keep its users coming back for more of its free service while leveraging its social networking services to learn more about peoples interests, habits, and whereabouts -- a nosy model that has repeatedly entangled the company in debates about whether a right to personal privacy still exists in an increasingly digital age. As one of the top female executives in technology, Sandberg has at times has been held up as an inspiration for working women -- a role she seemed to embrace with a best-selling 2013 book titled Lean In: Women, Work and the Will To Lead. But Lean In received immediate criticism. New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd called Sandberg a PowerPoint Pied Piper in Prada ankle boots, and critics suggested she is the wrong person to lead a womens movement. She addressed some of that criticism in a subsequent book that addressed the death of her husband, Dave Goldberg. In 2015 she became a symbol of heartbreaking grief when Goldberg died during an accident while working out on vacation, widowing her with two children as she continued to help run one of the worlds best-known companies. CRACKS IN THE FACADE In more recent years, Sandberg grew into a polarizing figure amid revelations of how some of her business decisions for Facebook helped propagate misinformation and hate speech. Critics and a company whistleblower contend that the consequences have undermined democracy and caused severe emotional problems for teens, particularly girls. The author of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Shoshana Zuboff, said Sandberg is as responsible as anyone for what Zuboff considers one of Big Techs most insidious invention: the collection and organization of data on social media users behavior and preferences. For years Facebook shared user data not just with advertisers but also with business partners. Sandberg did this, wrote Zuboff, through the artful manipulation of Facebooks culture of intimacy and sharing. Zuboff calls Sandberg the Typhoid Mary of surveillance capitalism, the term for profiting off the collection of data from social media users online behavior, preferences, shared data and relationships. "Sheryl Sandberg may fancy herself a feminist, but her decisions at Meta made social media platforms less safe for women, people of color, and even threatened the American electoral system. Sandberg had the power to take action for fourteen years, yet consistently chose not to," said Shaunna Thomas, co-founder of UltraViolet, a gender justice advocacy organization, which has been calling for Sandberg's resignation, in an emailed comment Wednesday. Sandberg has had some public missteps at the company, including her attempt to deflect blame from Facebook for the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. In an interview later that month that was streamed by Reuters, she said she thought the events of the day were largely organized on platforms that dont have our abilities to stop hate, dont have our standards and dont have our transparency. Internal documents revealed by whistleblower Frances Haugen later that year, however, showed that Facebooks own employees were concerned about the companys halting and often reversed response to rising extremism in the U.S. that culminated in the events of Jan. 6. Havent we had enough time to figure out how to manage discourse without enabling violence? one employee wrote on an internal message board at the height of the Jan. 6 turmoil. Weve been fueling this fire for a long time and we shouldnt be surprised its now out of control. AP Technology Writer Frank Bajak in Boston contributed to this story. 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 school district police chief who served as on-site commander during last week's deadly shooting in Uvalde, Texas, said Wednesday that he's talking daily with investigators, contradicting claims from state law enforcement that he has stopped cooperating. In a brief interview, Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo told CNN that he's speaking regularly with Texas Department of Public Safety investigators. "Ive been on the phone with them every day, Arredondo said. The chief has been the focus of ire in the community and beyond over allegations that he delayed sending officers into the school on May 24, believing that the gunman was barricaded inside adjoining classrooms and the shooting had morphed into a hostage situation. Nineteen children and two teachers died in the attack at Robb Elementary School, the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade. Funerals began this week, and U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona attended Wednesday's services for teacher Irma Garcia, who was killed in the attack, and her husband, Joe Garcia, who died of a heart attack two days later. The district announced Wednesday that students and staff would not return to that campus, though plans were still being finalized on where the less than 600 students would attend classes in the fall. Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez said Wednesday that his office is working with state and federal agencies to request upwards of $45 million in federal funding for the school. According to the U.S. Department of Education, its School Emergency Response to Violence, known as Project SERV, funds short-term education-related services to help educational facilities recover from a violent or traumatic event in which the learning environment has been disrupted. Gutierrez said he is unaware of any plans to tear down Robb Elementary but that funds obtained through the program by other schools have traditionally been used to rebuild. State officials have said police waited for more than an hour outside the classroom where Salvador Ramos, 18, opened fire, despite repeated pleas from children calling 911 for help. At one point there were as many as 19 officers in the hallway, Steven McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said. Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Tuesday that Arredondo had not responded to DPS requests for two days, while other officers in the Uvalde city and schools police departments continue to sit for interviews and provide statements. Arredondo has not responded to multiple requests for comment from The Associated Press. Considine told AP Wednesday that Arredondo had not responded to Texas Rangers' requests for follow-up interviews as of Tuesday. The Texas Rangers the investigative arm of the Department of Public Safety that focuses on major crimes have not commented on Arredondos insistence he was in regular touch with DPS. The Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas, which represents police officers, has urged its members to cooperate with all government investigations into the shooting and police response, and endorsed a federal probe by the Justice Department. The confusing and sometimes contradictory information released in the week since the deadly shooting continued Tuesday with the revelation that the exterior door used by the gunman was not left propped open by a teacher, as police previously said. They have now determined that the teacher, who has not been identified, propped the door open with a rock, but then removed the rock and closed the door when she realized there was a shooter on campus, Considine said. But, Considine said, the door that was designed to lock when shut did not lock. Since the shooting, law enforcement and state officials have struggled to present an accurate timeline and details of the event and how police responded, sometimes providing conflicting information or withdrawing statements hours later. State police have said some accounts were preliminary and could change as more witnesses are interviewed. On Wednesday, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the state to conduct in-person school district security audits, including random, unannounced intruder detection visits to campuses to find weak points and how quickly they can penetrate buildings without being stopped. This will improve accountability and ensure school districts are following the plans they create, Abbott said in a letter to the head of the Texas School Safety Center at Texas State University. Texas has more than 1,200 school districts, according to the Texas Education Agency. Abbott also asked top lawmakers to convene a legislative committee to examine and make recommendations on school safety, mental health, social media, police training, firearm safety and more. The next Texas legislative session is scheduled for January 2023, although some lawmakers have urged Abbott to call a special session in response to the shooting. After previous mass shootings at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Santa Fe High School and a Walmart in El Paso, Abbott convened roundtable discussions, sometimes involving survivors and victims families. After the 2018 shooting at Santa Fe High School, lawmakers in 2019 approved $100 million for schools to improve campus safety with metal detectors, vehicle barriers, shooter alarms systems and other safety measures. They also allowed more teachers to carry guns on campus and be trained in campus shooter response. But Abbott and state lawmakers resisted calls for stricter gun ownership measures. In 2021, Abbott signed into law a measure that allows people 21 and older to carry handguns without a license or training. In Uvalde on Wednesday, Ramos mother was denied service at the drive-thru. Adriana Reyes then walked into an adjacent convenience store where the cashier said she would not be served. She declined to speak with an Associated Press reporter on the scene, saying: I dont want to be rude but I dont want to say anything. More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press writers Adriana Gomez Licon in Uvalde; Jake Bleiberg in Dallas; and Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report. 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 A southeastern Dane County community is suing Wisconsin utility regulators in an effort to block what would be the states largest solar farm yet. The town of Christiana is asking the courts to reverse the Public Service Commissions approval of the Koshkonong Solar Energy Center, which would produce enough electricity to power about a third of the countys homes. The town argues the PSC wrongly approved a project that violates the state Constitution, lacked an adequate environmental review and was presented under false pretenses, among other deficiencies. The 2,400-acre project west of Cambridge would unreasonably interfere with orderly land use and development plans and would adversely affect public health, as well as amenities such as views, historic sites, geological formations, the aesthetics of land and water and recreational use, according to a petition filed in Dane County Circuit Court. The PSC voted 2-0 in April to allow Chicago-based Invenergy to build the 465-megawatt solar-plus-storage facility, which would be the largest in the state and the first industrial-scale solar plant in Dane County. Three utilities, including We Energies and Madison Gas and Electric, are seeking approval to purchase the project for $649 million as part of their plans to replace coal-fired power plants with carbon-free generation. A PSC spokesperson declined to comment on the petition, citing agency policy. However, the commission addressed many of the challenges brought up during the course of the proceedings in a final written order issued May 5. The town argues the commission should not have granted Invenergy a permit to operate a merchant wholesale plant when the company plans to turn it over to regulated utilities. Under state law, unregulated companies like Invenergy dont have to justify the need or cost of a project or show that it is the most cost effective solution, while utilities like MGE, which pass on the costs, with interest, to their ratepayers, are held to a higher standard. The commission says it followed the law as its written. The fact that a project may be acquired by a public utility at some point in the future does not transform the project into a non-merchant plant, the order states. To the extent that certain intervenors find fault with this framework, their argument is with the Legislature and not with the Commission. Opponents also argue the developers lease agreements with participating landowners violate a provision of the state Constitution that limits long-term leases on farmland. The commission dismissed the challenge, which they said was based on a misreading of the 174-year-old document and failed to consider existing laws and court rulings. The intervenors filings reflect a lack of diligence in researching the Wisconsin Constitution and applicable case law, and are unsupported by legal authority, the order states. With about 1,235 residents, the town would receive more than $250,000 a year in utility aid revenue from the plant. The project sparked fierce opposition from neighbors, the surrounding town of Christiana, the Cambridge School District and the village of Cambridge, as well as activists who have fought other utility projects across southern Wisconsin. Supporters, including the Sierra Club, Clean Wisconsin and Dane County sustainability groups, argued the project is needed to complete the swift transition to clean energy that the worlds climate scientists say will be necessary to slow climate change, and the impacts of solar panels pale in comparison to the alternative. The commission found the impacts were unfortunate but a necessary result of maintaining reliable electricity service with clean energy. Love 0 Funny 1 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. Dane County Circuit Judge Everett Mitchell announced Wednesday his plans to run next April for the Wisconsin Supreme Court seat currently held by a departing conservative justice. Mitchell joins Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz in the upcoming election to fill the seat currently held by conservative Justice Patience Roggensack, who is not seeking another 10-year term on the states seven-member high court. With conservatives holding a narrow 4-3 majority, the April election could shift the courts power dynamic. Mitchell, who is Black, said in a statement he is running because preserving the integrity and independence of the court has never been more important. A former prosecutor, Mitchell serves as the presiding judge of Dane Countys juvenile division and oversees cases involving child welfare, juvenile delinquency, family and civil law and criminal proceedings. Our state Justices have a tremendous responsibility, and the decisions handed down by the court directly impact the lives of the people in our state, he said. Wisconsinites deserve a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice that reflects the growing diversity of ideas and communities within our state. He added that the court needs to be an instrument of balance and justice rather than partisan divide. Mitchell also presides over Dane Countys High Risk Drug Court program, which provides support to adults with drug addictions and criminal cases through connections to treatment and mental health services. Mitchell said he plans to bring his life experiences and a focus on ethics to the states high court. He was the first in his family to attend college and experienced homelessness as a single father. Mitchell graduated from Morehouse College in 2000, earned a masters degree in divinity in 2003 and a masters degree in theology in 2004 from Princeton Theological Seminary, and received a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2010. Protasiewicz has served as a circuit court judge since 2014 and currently presides in the family court. She previously worked 26 years as an assistant Milwaukee County district attorney. Protasiewicz announced this week she had received endorsements from more than 170 Wisconsin leaders, including current Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Dallet, Municipal Court Judge Derek Mosley and Ed Fallone, associate professor of law at Marquette Law School, who placed third in the 2020 Supreme Court primary with 13% of the vote. Former conservative state Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly is also considering a run next year. Kelly was appointed to the court by former Gov. Scott Walker in 2016. He faced his first election bid in April 2020, losing to former Dane County judge and current state Supreme Court Justice Jill Karofsky. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Wisconsin State Journal. May 26, 2022. Editorial: Ancient abortion law absolutely must go Wisconsin badly needs to update its ancient and long-dormant law banning abortions with virtually no exception. If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade this summer which appears likely, according to a leaked draft of the decision Wisconsin will be stuck with a law from 1849 that even many social conservatives are uncomfortable with. The Republican-run Legislature doesnt appear willing to address this looming injustice for women, which is disturbing. If it doesnt, then the GOP will be to blame for the chaos that unfolds. Republicans will be the reason long-established rights for women are erased in an instant rights that several Republican-nominated justices had agreed were settled law during their confirmations in recent years. Some 85 men approved Wisconsins abortion ban in 1849 70 years before women could vote. The outdated statute, criminalizing the willful killing of an unborn quick child, hasnt been in effect since the landmark Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion in 1973. The only clear exception to Wisconsins ban is if the mothers life is at risk. Even if a woman is raped even if a girl is a victim of incest the old law would prevent an abortion. It could prevent emergency contraception and, some fear, risk new restrictions on birth control. The old law punishes violators (though not the mother) with as many as six years in prison, a fine as high as $10,000, or both. Legalizing abortion hasnt led to more abortions just the opposite. Over the last half century since Roe v. Wade, abortions and teen pregnancies have dramatically fallen, thanks in part to better sex education and access to birth control. Abortions in Wisconsin decreased from 20,819 in 1981 to 6,430 in 2020, according to the state Department of Health Services. Teen pregnancies in Wisconsin dropped from nearly 45 per 1,000 teenage girls in 1991 to less than 12 per 1,000 today. Abortions also are occurring earlier in pregnancy. Eighty-eight percent of abortions in Wisconsin were induced within the first trimester in 2020, and 39% were nonsurgical, according to state health officials. All of that represents significant progress, especially for the six in 10 Wisconsinites who say abortion should be legal in most or all cases, according to Marquette Law School polls. Republicans at the statehouse should listen to the public, rather than catering to the GOPs judgmental extremes. Abortion is never an easy decision, even if sometimes it is the best choice for a pregnant woman. If Wisconsins antiquated abortion law is enforced again as soon as this summer women could still travel to neighboring Illinois or Minnesota for an abortion. But traveling can be difficult and expensive for low-income women. It shouldnt be required to obtain a widely accepted health care procedure. Most Democratic lawmakers say theyll fight to protect abortion rights, which is welcome. Unfortunately, most Republican representatives have shown little sympathy for struggling and desperate women. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, says he isnt even sure if his colleagues would tweak the 1849 law to allow exceptions for rape and incest. They absolutely should and negotiate further conditions for legal abortions in a bipartisan bill that Gov. Tony Evers can sign. For political reasons during a tough reelection campaign, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, has tried to downplay the impact of Roe v. Wade being overturned: Its not going to be that big a change, he told the Wall Street Journal. Yes, it is. Johnson questioned whether the old law would actually go into effect, given legal challenges. But the 4-3 conservative majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court has shown little interest in bucking the pro-life groups that helped elect them. Already, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin has said it would stop providing abortions if Roe is overturned and the old law is enforced. That could lead to lawyers hatching legal advice in emergency rooms, delaying the ability of doctors to provide care. The 1849 statute should be quickly repealed, with a bipartisan agreement for legal yet limited abortions becoming law this summer. Racine Journal Times. May 27, 2022. Editorial: Near release of murderer leaves questions The recent story of John Tate and the Wisconsin Parole Commissions decision to let a 54-year-old murderer go free after serving 20 years was very concerning. Douglas Balsewicz, 54, was due to be released on May 17 for the 1997 murder of his wife, Johanna Rose. He was sentenced by the Milwaukee County Circuit Court to 80 years in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years were served. The details of the murder are horrific, with Balsewicz having been accused of stabbing his wife dozens of times while their young children were in the house. The children were later found covered in their mothers blood. According to information released by the Wisconsin Parole Commission, Balsewicz became eligible for parole in 2017, but was denied parole on four previous occasions. Tate, who is chair of the parole commission and serves as president of the Racine City Council, approved Balsewiczs fifth request on April 27. Thats sparked controversy, both from the family of Johanna Rose who want to see Balsewicz spend more time behind bars and then ultimately from Gov. Tony Evers, who was the one who appointed Tate to the committee and expressed his concern after meeting with the family. In opposition to the early release, Evers wrote, I do not agree with this decision, and I have considerable concerns regarding whether Johannas family was afforded sufficient opportunity to voice their memories, perspectives, and concerns before this decision was made. Tate later said in an email to The Associated Press and the Department of Corrections that he understands the governors concerns about the lack of victim input and that he was rescinding Douglas Balsewiczs parole. We are still left with questions after all this. Why didnt the family have sufficient opportunity to voice their concerns before this decision was made? Why was the commission planning to release Balewicz in the first place? The commission explained to be granted parole, five matters must be considered: conduct while incarcerated, programming, risk reduction, and time served. According to the Wisconsin Parole Commission, Balsewicz has sustained acceptable institution conduct, with no major conduct reports, and the last minor conduct report was from 2016. That explanation is not good enough. Likewise the way that Tate quickly changed his mind after Evers letter also brings up questions. Even though there are only a limited number of people behind bars who could get early release those incarcerated before Truth in Sentencing families, victims and the public deserve to better understand how these early release decisions are being made. END 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 An official opening ceremony of the 27th International Caspian Oil & Gas Exhibition on the sidelines of the Baku Energy Week has been held at the Baku Expo Center, Azernews reports. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the event. The head of state made a speech at the opening ceremony. Speech of President Ilham Aliyev -Dear ladies and gentlemen. First of all, I would like to express gratitude to the organizers for restart of Caspian Oil and Gas Show after two years break due to pandemic. I am glad that today we have guests from all over the world and I hope that discussions during the Oil and Gas Show and the Baku Energy week will strengthen dialogue on such important issues as energy security and diversification of energy resources. Azerbaijan invested its own energy security during the years of independence and provided fully demands for domestic market and also is playing more and more important role for energy security of growing number of countries. This was not the case in the early years of our independence and I`d like also to mention that Caspian Oil and Gas Exhibition and Conference which is already taking place for 27 time, played a very important role in attracting attention of global energy players to Azerbaijan, the country at that time newly independent with a lot of difficulties with big part of its territory under occupation and facing a lot of challenges. Therefore, the role of organizers of Caspian Oil and Gas Show was really very important in order to attract attention and also to attract investments. And from the very first year of holding this conference Azerbaijan announced its openness for the world. We announced that we want to see Caspian Sea as an area of cooperation and investments. And the first international investments to the Caspian oil and gas fields was made by us and our partners. But, at that time, as I said, energy security was not fully provided. There have been shortages of electricity, gas supply, blackouts. So we really started to work hard in order to provide our own energy security and that was done. At the same time in parallel we were actively working with international investors, leading energy companies of the world in order to increase production of oil and deliver it to international markets. And in the end of last century I think the remarkable event took place, the first oil pipeline from Azerbaijan to Georgian Black Sea coast Supsa was inaugurated. And that allowed us to start export and to start supplying the needs of many more countries. At the same time, we jointly with our partners worked on gas exploration fields, particularly Shah Daniz, which is one of the biggest gas fields in the world. And in 2007, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline was inaugurated and that was the first time when Azerbaijani gas started to be exported to the regional markets of Turkiye and Georgia. A year before that in 2006, we managed to construct, at that time it was considered and still I think, is a remarkable event, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline which connected the Caspian Sea with the Mediterranean Sea, and was a new route and a new source of oil to international market. Since that time, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and all other energy transportation infrastructure of Azerbaijan is working without any disruption. This, of course, is a demonstration of predictability, reliability and also demonstrates that we are capable to implement such a huge infrastructure projects difficult from technical, financial points of view and also these projects we implemented in a very complicated political environment. So, that was surely the important milestone in the issues related to regional energy security and, of course, it is strengthened the regional cooperation between Azerbaijan and its neighbors-Turkiye and Georgia. But our plans were bigger than that and, of course, we wanted to be able to develop huge gas reserves of Azerbaijan. For that, of course, we needed a new pipeline, the pipeline I would say of the 21st century-the Southern Gas Corridor. And the Southern Gas Corridor`s successful completion on the last day of 2020 demonstrates our common will, demonstrates that we can work as a team, and we can achieve great success. So integrated pipelines system of 3.500 km crossing many countries, going on the seabed and climbing to high mountains is a demonstration of our potential and our friendship. Therefore the energy projects which were initiated by Azerbaijan and at early stage created framework for regional cooperation now transformed into a global energy project. The Southern Gas Corridor is the project which we can be proud of, at the same time, it allows us to increase production from huge Shah Daniz gas condensate field, and it happens. Its only one year and five months that Azerbaijan is using this brand new modern infrastructure to transport its gas reserves. But already the expansion of our presence on European continent with our natural resources is something which is needed for us and for our partners. We managed to increase the production and our export. Last year Azerbaijan exported 22 billion cubic meters of natural gas, this year the projection is 24, and the next year it will be even more. There can be different figures depending on the activity of production and also on activation of other fields which are situated in Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, because our gas potential is not limited only with Shah Daniz. Other fields are also very promising. Some of them will start production next year. So that will be an important contribution to energy security, especially now, when the demand for Azerbaijani hydro carbons is more than ever before. And we, as a responsible country take that into account and we try to support countries which due to different reasons face difficulties. Now corresponding structures of Azerbaijan are in permanent contact with growing number of countries. When we were working on implementation of Southern Gas Corridor we established a very close cooperation with countries through the territory of which the pipeline crosses and also international financial institutions and, of course, energy companies and governments of leading countries, and also European Commission. So annual meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council which takes place every February in Baku is a clear example of this team work. And when on February 4 this year, we had the annual meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council, we actually thought that the biggest part of our plans has already been implemented. The Southern Gas Corridor is already in operation. Now we need only to work how to build new bridges, how to build new connections into connectors, and how to expand our presence on European gas market. But, of course, now when we speak on 1 June, the situation is completely different. And the demand for Azerbaijani gas grows rapidly. Of course, we need to take that into account but at the same time our potential consumers should also understand that it is not possible to extract large volumes of gas within one year. For that we need contracts, we need to start and speed up negotiations. We need, of course, to work with our traditional partners, investors, energy companies in order to increase the production. And also we need to expand the existing facilities. That was something which we did not plan in the coming years, because the Southern Gas Corridor as they said is an integrated pipeline system consisting of three pipelines. The last segment of it the Trans-Adriatic Pipelines capacity is 10 billion cubic meters. So, now we think about the expansion, because there is a demand for that. And that, of course, will take time, take a lot of financial resources, and also close coordination, cooperation and active dialogue with all countries involved. And we are ready for that. Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan and SOCAR already got all my instructions and they are in the process of active negotiations. By the way, Baku Energy Week will be an excellent opportunity, because we have guests, high-ranking officials from many countries to address these important issues. At the same time, of course, we need to continue our active dialogue with members of the Southern Gas Corridor team, including governments. Of course, I would like to express gratitude to the governments of Turkiye, Georgia, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, Italy, participants of the Southern Gas Corridor for their active cooperation. Taking into account that there are now new challenges, and new demands, of course, we are already in negotiations with other potential consumers. But for that, of course, only our efforts will not be sufficient. There must be investments in infrastructure in Europe, building new interconnectors and, of course, agreeing on the terms, because as we all know in gas business, you first sell the gas, sign the contract and then start to invest and extract. But all what I say is just to give outlook from our point of view. But, at the same time, we will do everything what we can to speed up the process and it already started. I would like to express also gratitude to the governments of US and UK, our great supporters throughout all the time of our energy policy and performance. With their great support we managed to achieve these results. I would like also to express gratitude to international financial institutions, World Bank, EBRD, Asian Development Bank, EIB, Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank. All those banks which financed Southern Gas Corridor, I hope will also provide financial support to implementation of our new plans, particularly expansion of TAP. We can also think about the expansion of TANAP, because as I said already, the demand for Azerbaijani gas is growing. The potential is here, political will is here. Therefore, we should not waste time. We should bring our capacity of our infrastructure to the potential level of transportation of natural gas. Therefore, not only TAP will need expansion, rapid expansion, but also South Caucasus pipeline and TANAP. So we are working on that. I would like to mention that fruitful cooperation between Azerbaijan and the European Commission also played very important role in implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project and will play important role in implementation of our future plans. We are in permanent contact with the European Commission on that and as a result of discussions which took place in the beginning of February this year in Baku between Energy Commissioner of EU and our Minister of Energy we established energy dialogue between EU and Azerbaijan. The agenda is very broad, of course, traditional issues like oil, gas at the same time electricity, renewables, hydrogen, and energy efficiency. So, I think that these broad range of issues and their active cooperation on these issues will allow us to have more gas for export. Because next plan on our agenda which already is in the process of implementation is renewables. Azerbaijan, I think, demonstrates excellent performance. First, because we already proved ourselves as a reliable country, as a country which respects its obligations. Id like to say that since 1994 when the first contract-PSA contract- was signed with foreign companies until today, not a single word was changed in the contracts. And that is also demonstration of our positons, we respect our obligations and also want our partners to respect their obligations. Therefore, credibility was an important factor. Second, of course, stability, political and economic stability in Azerbaijan. And of course, excellent performance, building the infrastructure for oil, for gas, for electric lines. By the way, Azerbaijan is exporting not only oil and gas, but also electricity, huge potential, experience. All these factors play an important role in attracting major energy companies to invest in renewables. And this year already we had two groundbreaking ceremonies with leading energy companies, ACWA Power and Masdar and now the construction of two - one wind and one solar- power plants of total capacity of 470 megawatts is already underway. And next year, these two power plants will be commissioned. And this is only the beginning. Because we are already in an active phase of negotiations with many leading energy companies on renewables. We have huge potential in the Caspian Sea, which has been already evaluated and according to information, which I was given the capacity and potential of Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea is 150,000 megawatts. This is a huge volume. At the same time, a great potential is now on the territories which have been liberated as a result of the second Karabakh war, particularly in Kalbajar and Lachin and other areas. And we estimate this potential around 9,000 to 10,000 megawatts, only wind and sun. But if we add hydro, which is also a great potential that can be another, probably 1,000 megawatts or more. And all that now is seriously addressed by our government. And the more we have international investments on renewables, the more natural gas we will save for export. This is natural. So combination of all these factors and of course, including the energy efficiency, and reduction of losses in our transportation system, all that will add to increase of gas exports from Azerbaijan. This is our target. I am sure, we will achieve these goals, because so far, everything what we planned not only in oil and gas business, everything what our government planned we achieved, and achieved with maximum degree of efficiency. Now traditional Caspian Oil and Gas Exhibition and Conference and now Baku Energy Week, of course, will address all these important issues, oil supplies, how to increase oil supplies. Because now Azerbaijan is also providing important transit facilities for other countries. And this potential also can be used to maximum degree. Unfortunately, it was not used to the maximum degree. Unfortunately, the potential of Azerbaijan as an important transit country was underestimated by potential suppliers, but I think now they changed their mind, because everybody understands that diversification is one of the important factors of energy security. And we worked on diversification from the very first day of our energy strategy. Therefore, we have diversified export routes, three oil pipelines to different directions, four gas pipelines to different directions, electric lines. We export electricity to four neighboring countries and plan to export electricity to Europe and for that we want also to activate the Zangazur corridor, which could be an important transportation route, not only for cargoes, but also for electricity. We are working on that and already started practical investment. So, diversification for all is important. Therefore, I think, now those who underestimated the potential of Azerbaijan as a reliable transitor, now will change their mind and we see initial hints of that, and we are ready. We are ready to help everyone who needs help. We are ready, because we have a political will. Our policy is always aimed at building bridges, strengthening cooperation. And plus, we have infrastructure we have brand new seaport. We have railroads connecting us with all destinations, highways, a number of international airports. After we complete three international airports construction, one already has been completed, in the liberated territories will be nine, and a geographical location. So, transit potential of Azerbaijan also should be taken into account while we are planning our future plans with respect to oil and gas cooperation. What I am saying is, of course, important for our international partners. Id like also to underline the importance of strategic partnership between SOCAR and bp. bp is our strategic partner and a leading investor in oil and gas. And I'm very glad that bp also shows interest in renewables. And now SOCAR and bp are discussing the construction of a solar power station in liberated Jabrayil district. The capacity will be more than 200 megawatts. I hope soon we will have good results. And also the future plans, because future plans which I said will not be possible to implement without cooperation with our traditional energy partners. Of course, we are ready to cooperate with every company, with every country, which also wants to be with us on this important time when geopolitical situation in the world is completely different from what it was several months ago. But at the same time, all that what I'm saying now, is important also for our internal development and energy factor, energy diplomacy, and project strengthen our economic potential. They allow us to re-channel the funds which we accumulate from oil and gas sales to non-energy sector of our economy. In parallel with very, I would say, brave economic reforms. And we see the results. I can just give several figures of this year. Our GDP this year grew 7.2% and in non-oil sector more than 11%, non-oil industry more than 15%. So, these are all the reflection of reforms and also re-channeling the funds which we accumulated. In other words diversification is not only for energy supply, but diversification is for our economy. We are achieving that, and today business climate in Azerbaijan, I think, is absolutely a good example of how it should be. Today Azerbaijan is one of the countries which is very attractive for foreign investments. Because as I said before, first, we have great experience in oil and gas. We value our partnership with traditional companies. We never violated any word in the contract which we signed. We enjoy rapid development and of course, reconstruction in Karabakh and Zangazur will add economic potential. Of course, very low foreign debt, which is only 12.5% of GDP, also creates good economic environment. We can attract more loans, which just don't do it because we don't need it. We want to reduce foreign debt to GDP down to 10%. That was my instructions to our government. But in the meantime, when we see, or if we see that there are projects of global importance, and the projects are important for Azerbaijan, of course we will ask our traditional partners, leading financial institutions to help us. We have already a great experience in Southern Gas Corridor and other projects. So, I think that I should conclude now. Probably, I talked too much, but that's probably because, we had a two-year break. And we missed this great event, which, as already was said, is the leading international energy event in the region. And I like once again, to express gratitude to our guests for being with us and wish Baku Energy Week success. Thank you. At Phoenix Bikes, a non-profit bicycle shop and educational center, students are learning their ABCs. That stands for the air, brakes, and chain of basic bike mechanics. Phoenix Bikes sells bikes to the public at their business in Arlington, Virginia. But it also teaches teenagers how to repair bikes. Most students at Phoenix start in its after-school earn-a-bike" program, at middle and high schools in and around Arlington County. Once a week over a 12 week period, students learn repair skills. They learn how to use tools, fix flat tires, align the wheels, and adjust brakes and gears. The first lesson involves taking the bike apart, or stripping it down to its basic structure, the frame. By doing this, they learn all the parts of a bike. In the first weeks, they work in small groups to repair a bike donated to the shop. The bikes often have missing or damaged parts. The finished bike is then given to a person in need from the community. Phoenix Bikes director Emily Gage said the shop partners with several local organizations to donate the bikes. Some bikes have been going to Afghan refugees resettled in the area. In the last four weeks of the program, students come to the shop to work on one of the donated bikes which they can then take home at no cost. Anthony Jimenez-Galindo is a student at nearby Wakefield High School. He just completed his bike. He said it was not in good shape at first but was the kind of bike he was looking for and could be made into something better. He said it had no brakes, no front tire, and was without a chain or a cassette, which controls the gears. It was junky but it looked nice, thats really my only reason behind it. It was a very nice looking bike and I was willing to go the extra mile to fix it. Jimenez-Galindo said he joined the program to get better at working with his hands and fixing things. And also because I wanted to learn how to actually repair and fix a bike. And so far Im learning pretty good. Wakefield student Owen Spiegel talked about what went into fixing his bike, as he put his finishing touches on it. Well first when I started the bike I wanted to test, see how everything worked. So first I wanted to see how the brakes worked brakes were not working at first. Other than that, first I went and put pedals on so I could test the gears and the gears seem to be working all fine. Then putting on the brakesthat was the hardest part. I had to completely reattach this brake and then I had to set this brake up so that, you know, it would actually work. Phoenix Bikes is teaching 300 to 400 young people this year. Phoenix communications coordinator Emily Rippy said the classes are fun and let students learn with their hands after sitting in the classroom all day at school. Gage added that bikes are interesting for teenagers especially because they are a means of transportation and freedom. Learning how to fix a bike can also be a fun challenge, she said. Its complex enough to be challenging and to feel really worthwhile when they understand the skills, but simple enough that a teenager can learn. So its just kind of the right level of challenge. Some students who finish the 12-week program go on to a higher-level bike mechanics class. Some race bikes for the shops racing team. And others stay to volunteer at the store and fix more bikes to give away. Phoenixs current shop manager, Noe Cuadra, was an earn-a-bike student in high school. Other full-time Phoenix workers also went through the earn-a-bike program. Jimenez-Galindo said he hopes to return to the shop to fix bikes for the community and continue to learn. What is his favorite part of the experience? Just, the joy, the satisfaction that I get after its done. That now its fully complete, and its actually a bike instead of what was a husk of one. Im Dan Novak. Dan Novak wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Quiz- After-School Program Teaches Teens How to Fix, Earn a Bike Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz ________________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story teenager n a young person between ages 12 and 19 adjust v. to change something in a minor way to make it work better align v. to change something so that it matches, fits or is in line with something else gear n. a wheel in a machine that has teeth frame n. the basic supporting structure of something challenge n. a test of strength or skill, a difficult task to do husk n. the outside of something that has had its insides removed The European Union (EU) has agreed to ban the majority of Russian oil imports. The agreement marks the biggest move yet to punish Russia for its war in Ukraine. Since Russias invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Western nations have sought to punish Russia economically for its aggression. But targeting the energy sector has proven difficult. The EU depends on Russia for 25 percent of its oil and 40 percent of its natural gas. European countries that are even more heavily dependent on Russia have been especially resistant to act. EU leaders agreed late Monday to cut around 90 percent of all Russian oil imports brought in by sea over the next six months. The ban permits a temporary exemption for imports delivered by pipeline. The exemption was critical in bringing Hungary on board with the decision, which required approval from all EU leaders. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had made clear he could support the oil ban only if his countrys supply was guaranteed. Hungary gets more than 60 percent of its oil from Russia through the Druzhba pipeline. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on Tuesday called the oil ban, or embargo, a big step forward. Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin called it a watershed moment. A watershed moment describes a major event that changes the direction of a situation. Both leaders also noted that Europe would need time to get used to the effects of the ban. They said any additional bans on Russian energy could only come slowly, if at all. Dmitry Medvedev is the deputy head of Russias Security Council. Medvedev is also a former Russian president and prime minister. He said Tuesday that energy sanctions against the country were meant to hurt Russian citizens by making it harder for the government to fund social programs. They hate us all! The basis for these decisions is hatred for Russia, for Russians, and for all its inhabitants, Medvedev wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Simone Tagliapietra is an energy expert and research fellow at the Brussels-based organization Bruegel. She said Russia would likely have to sell its oil at a lower cost to other buyers. She called the embargo a major blow. Russia has also made moves to withhold its energy supplies, even with the economic damage it could suffer as a result. Russian energy company Gazprom said it cut natural gas supplies to Dutch trader GasTerra on Tuesday. The move was announced before EU leaders agreed to the embargo. Russia already cut supplies to Bulgaria, Poland and Finland. It is considering doing the same to Denmark. GasTerra said homes would not be affected; it had bought gas from other countries because it expected a possible shutoff. Talks on Tuesday at EU headquarters in Brussels centered on ways to end the EUs dependence on Russian energy. Leaders also expected to discuss how to help Ukraine export millions of tons of grain trapped inside the country as a worldwide food crisis grows. Leaders are calling on Russia to halt its attacks on transport infrastructure in Ukraine and lift its blockade of Black Sea ports so that food can be shipped. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Russia has prevented the export of 22 million tons of grain, much of it meant for people across the Middle East and Africa. He accused Russia of "deliberately creating this problem. Im Ashley Thompson. The Associated Press reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. ________________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story inhabitant - n. a person or animal that lives in a particular place exemption - n. freedom from being required to do something that others are required to do deliberately - adv. in a way that is meant, intended, or planned We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page . Two children were buried on Monday in Uvalde, Texas on what would have been the start of their summer vacation. They were the first burials among 19 students and two teachers killed in a shooting at Robb Elementary School last week. People gathered to mourn 10-year-old Amerie Jo Garza at Hillcrest Memorial Funeral Home. The funeral home is across the street from the school where she was killed. Others went to remember Maite Rodriguez, also 10, at the towns other funeral home. The rest will be buried over the next two weeks while lawmakers and leaders are debating what to do about gun violence. Among the mourners at Ameries funeral were Maites family members. Like many people in the small town near the Mexican border, they were attending both. Some mourners at Ameries wore purple clothing or carried a lilac flower, because her father Angel, said it was her favorite color. Amerie had just turned 10 and received a mobile telephone for her birthday. Friends said she tried to use the phone to call for help during the attack. Maites family wore green shirts with an image showing Maite with angel wings. They stopped at the area where the gunman crashed his car before entering the school. How did he walk for so long? asked Juana Magana, Maites aunt. Questions about police response The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Sunday that it would look to study how law enforcement responded to the school shooting in Uvalde. The gunman, Salvador Ramos, entered the elementary school through an unlocked door around 11:40 on Tuesday morning and started shooting. Police officers followed him into the school within minutes. However, they waited for over an hour before entering a locked classroom and killing Ramos. Officials said Friday that students were calling the emergency phone number, 9-1-1, to ask for help throughout the attack. But the leading police officer at the school did not think the children were still being shot at the time. They said the police believed Ramos was hiding in a different classroom. The information raised new questions about whether lives were lost because officers did not act faster to stop the gunman. Officers from the U.S. Border Patrol finally went into the classroom and killed Ramos. Officials said Ramos had legally purchased two guns shortly before the school attack. He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law. Biden on gun rights During President Joe Bidens visit to Uvalde on Sunday, people shouted, Do something, repeatedly. And Biden promised, We will. On Monday, the American president said there may be support from both Republican and Democrat lawmakers to make it harder to buy powerful guns like the AR kind of gun that Ramos purchased. Biden told reporters, The Second Amendment was never absolute. He added, You couldnt buy a cannon when the Second Amendment was passed. You couldnt go out and buy a lot of weapons. The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. In 2008, the Supreme Court made its first ruling in 70 years related to the Second Amendment. The Court said an individual has the right to have a handgun in his or her home for self-defense. Previously, the Court had said people may only have guns in connection to service in a state militia. Im Dan Friedell. Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by the Associated Press. Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. Words in This Story respond v. to do something as a reaction to something that has already happened infringe v. to limit or restrict something regulate v. to bring something under control of authority absolute- adj. complete and total Texting is a very popular way to communicate with people on wireless phones. But, for first lady Jill Biden and her husband, the president, the activity is often known as fexting. Jill Biden told Harpers Bazaar magazine recently that when Joe Biden was vice president, the couple would settle their arguments over text so their security guards would not have to hear them fight. As a result, fighting and texting became fexting. But, now Joe Biden is president. And that made fexting a little different, Jill Biden learned. She told Harpers that when she recently fexted in a fit of anger, her husband answered with this: You realize thats going to go down in history. There will be a record of that. The law requires that all presidential communications be saved for historical record. Jill Biden told Harpers, I wont tell you what I called him that time. The first lady appears on the cover of the publications June-July issue. Harpers Bazaar said it is the first time in its 155-year history that a U.S. first lady is the cover story. Jill Biden was 18 when she married her first husband. But by her mid-20s, the marriage was over and she was independent for the first time in her life. The failure of her marriage, she said, was difficult. She needed a place to live but did not want to move back home with her parents. So, Biden finished college and became a teacher. I knew I would never, ever put myself in that position again, where I didnt feel like I had the finances to be on my own, that I had to get the money through a divorce settlement, she said. I drummed that into (my daughter), Ashley, Be independent, be independent. And my granddaughters, she said. You have to be able to stand on your own two feet. Jill Biden met Joe Biden in 1975, when he was serving in the U..S. Senate representing Delaware. They were married two years later. She kept teaching as Joe Biden was elected vice president and then president. Jill Biden is a professor at Northern Virginia Community College. She teaches two times a week. Her granddaughter Naomi is engaged to be married. And the Bidens will host the wedding at the White House this November. Another granddaughter recently told the first lady that she received an internship in Washington, D.C. and would like to stay in the house for the summer. Im going to be raising a teenager? Jill Biden said. Im Caty Weaver. Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on Associated Press news report and Harper's Bazaar. Officials in Chinas largest city, Shanghai, have agreed to lift major pandemic restrictions that have been in place for two months. The changes were set to take effect Wednesday. Full bus and subway service will be restarted, along with train links to the rest of China, Vice Mayor Zong Ming told reporters Tuesday. Zong declared that the citys latest COVID-19 outbreak has been effectively controlled and the situation continues to improve. Schools will partly reopen on a voluntary basis. Stores will begin operating at 75 percent capacity. Movie theaters and exercise centers will remain closed for now. Chinese officials ordered a lockdown on April 1, which affected Shanghais 25 million people. The measure was part of an effort to fight the spread of COVID-19. The strong restrictions caused widespread public anger. Issues such as crowded quarantine centers, difficulties getting food and loss of income affected millions. Officials moved to ease some of the measures in recent weeks. But most of the citys public transport system remained closed and people could only drive if they received permission. More than half a million people will not be permitted to leave their homes Wednesday. This includes 190,000 who remain in lockdown areas and another 450,000 who live in communities where COVID-19 cases are still spreading. Shanghai recorded 29 new cases on Monday. That was down from more than 20,000 cases a day in April. Li Qiang is the top official from China's ruling Communist Party in Shanghai. Local media reported he told a government meeting on Monday that the city had made major progress fighting the outbreak through continuous struggles. The citywide lockdown was ordered under China's zero-COVID policy. It aims to quickly slow new outbreaks by carrying out mass testing and sending infected people to quarantine centers. Huge temporary centers were set up to house thousands of people who had tested positive. Teams of health care and other workers were brought in from other parts of China to help run the efforts. Most factories were closed. Some were permitted to operate only if workers slept at the manufacturing centers to prevent spread of the virus. Local leaders repeatedly expressed support for Chinas zero-COVID policy even as other countries opened their borders and attempted to live with the virus. Outside economists widely expect that China will not to reach its 5.5 percent growth target for this year. However, the latest economic data showed that manufacturing activity started to return in May as the government eased some restrictions. Schools will reopen for the final two years of high school and the third year of middle school, but students can decide whether to attend in person. Other grades and kindergarten remain closed. In Chinas capital, Beijing, officials eased pandemic restrictions further Tuesday in some areas. Beijing had ordered limited lockdowns in some areas during a much smaller outbreak. The city recorded 18 new cases on Monday. Im Bryan Lynn. The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. ____________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story capacity n. the largest amount that something can hold lockdown n. an emergency situation in which people are not permitted to freely enter, leave or move around a building or area quarantine n. the period of time during which a person or animal that has a disease or that might have a disease is kept away from others to prevent the disease from spreading positive adj. in a medical test, positive means the person being tested has a disease or condition Democrat Ron Wyden says its up to Republican colleagues in the U.S. Senate to show whether they are serious about federal firearms restrictions after two mass shootings this month in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas. The Senate debated such legislation most recently in 2013, after the 2012 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut claimed the lives of 20 children and six adults. But the Senate fell short of the 60 votes required to advance legislation without a filibuster, although Wyden and Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley voted for it. The Senate is now in recess for Memorial Day, reconvening next week and a group of Democratic and Republican senators began talks to see if there is a basis for legislation. That is the question of our time. You noticed how I approached it: The next 10 days are really crucial, Wyden told reporters Friday, May 27, in the lobby of the federal building where he has his Portland office. The question of common-sense gun reform is not an either-or proposition. We protect the right of gun ownership for law-abiding people, and weve got to have a new measure of safety to prevent gun violence. Wyden himself has introduced or co-sponsored a list of bills. Among the proposals: Universal background checks for firearms purchasers, raising the age of possession from 18 to 21, restricting guns on campuses, banning assault weapons, and barring access to guns by terrorists, domestic abusers and others at risk of harming themselves or others. All of those would make a real difference in reducing the risk of these mass shootings, as well as tackling the reported increase of shooting incidents in our hometown, Wyden said. We are not talking about something thousands of miles away. Wyden discussed the issue at a town hall meeting in Keizer several days after the Feb. 14, 2018, shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida that claimed 17 lives and wounded 17 others. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Albany Democrat-Herald. The prospects for legislation are not high. The Senate has not taken up the issue since the failed votes in 2013. The Senate deadlocked 47-47 on May 26 on closing debate on a bill (HR 350) to improve monitoring, investigating and prosecuting domestic terrorism by the FBI, Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security. That vote was short of the 60 required to close debate, although Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York switched his vote to preserve the option of bringing it back. The House passed two bills in March 2021, but neither is likely to pass in the evenly divided Senate. One bill (HR 8) would expand federal background checks on potential buyers to sales at gun shows and on the internet, not just those by licensed dealers. The other (HR 1446) would allow more time for federal law enforcement to conduct a check and close the so-called Charleston loophole, under which the shooter in a 2015 massacre obtained firearms although the check had not been completed within the required three business days. After Uvalde: Enough Wyden spoke in the aftermath of the nations latest mass shootings. On May 14, 10 Black people died in a supermarket in Buffalo, at the hands of an 18-year-old man motivated by white supremacist ideology. Ten days later, 19 children and two adults died at the hands of an 18-year-old shooter who also died at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Wyden spoke on the same day that the National Rifle Association opened its annual convention in Houston, a few hours from Uvalde, with former President Donald Trump as one of the speakers. Wyden called it a shameless gathering of death." Enough of our country being the only industrialized western nation that shrugs its shoulders at the massacre of children, Wyden said in his opening remarks to reporters. Enough of the cliches and excuses. Enough of letting those convicted of crimes hurting women and kids keep their guns. What other message could there be besides enough, when this shameless gathering of death is being held only a few hours drive from this weeks school massacre? There is a long and ever-lengthening list of atrocities that Oregonians know all too well. Wyden specified the Oregon incidents: Thurston High School, Springfield, 1998: Two parents and two students shot dead; 25 wounded. Clackamas Town Center, 2012: Three deaths, including the shooter. Reynolds High School, Troutdale, 2014: one student dead plus the shooter; one teacher wounded. Umpqua Community College, Roseburg, 2015: Eight students and an instructor shot dead, plus the shooter; eight wounded. Cant put up a fence Wyden said Oregon has compiled a good record of state legislation in the past two decades. Voters extended a requirement for background checks to purchasers at gun shows in 2000, and lawmakers did so for most private transactions in 2015. A red-flag law in 2017 allows family members and law enforcement to seek court orders if people are deemed at risk of harming themselves or others; the orders last one year. Safe storage requirements passed in 2021, under a law allowing school, community college and university governing boards to restrict firearms on campuses. But we cant put up a fence around our state, Wyden said. Though Wyden isnt one of the senators involved in the latest negotiations, he said that as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, he is preparing to advance legislation to improve mental health services with bipartisan support. One of those who testified to Wydens committee earlier this year was a senior at La Pine High School, who also volunteers for a youth line and who said there are not enough people to field calls and offer help. For Wyden, the issue is personal. His older brother, Jeff, had schizophrenia and died in 2002 at age 51. His brothers struggles are described in Conquering Schizophrenia, a book by Peter Wyden, their father, who died in 1998. But Wyden also said improved mental health services must go hand in hand with stricter regulations on firearms. I just dont want anybody to walk away with the argument that (mental health) is somehow the entire solution, he said. Most people with mental health issues are not involved in the kind of massacres weve seen. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 LEXINGTON A collision between a semi-truck and a Dodge pickup at the intersection of Plum Creek Parkway and Cattlemens Dr. sent two passengers to the hospital during the afternoon of Wednesday, June 1. At 1:52 p.m., rescue members with the Lexington Volunteer Fire Department and Priority Medical Transport were dispatched to the intersection due to the report of a semi-truck and pickup crash that resulted in injuries. On scene, a semi-truck carrying a load of disused tires was pulled over to the side of Plum Creek Parkway, just north of the intersection, with light front end damage. A Dodge Ram pickup, with heavy passenger side damage, had left the roadway and came to rest to the northeast of the intersection, having impacted a traffic control signal box. However, the operation of the traffic lights was not affected. Both the LVFD and Priority Medical Transport arrived on scene and transported two female passengers, who had been in the front and back seats on the passenger side of the Dodge pickup, to Lexington Regional Health Center with non-life threatening injuries, according to LVFD Assistant Fire Chief Dahlas Holbein. Lexington Police Department Officer Kareem McDougall said their preliminary investigation showed the semi-truck was northbound on Plum Creek Parkway, when the driver hit their brakes, leaving marks on the highway and then impacted the Dodge Ram, which was turning left off of Plum Creek Parkway to enter into Tysons parking lot. McDougall said the speed the semi was traveling will be determined from the brake marks and they will determine what the state of the traffic light was at the time of the collision by checking security footage from area businesses. A Nebraska State Patrol drone operator later arrived on scene to assist in the investigation. The Lexington Police Department was assisted on scene by the Nebraska State Patrol and Eustis Body Shop. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Mining and Energy of Serbia Zorana Mihajlovi? on June 1, Azernews reports. Zorana Mihajlovic extended the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucics greetings to President Ilham Aliyev. President Ilham Aliyev thanked for Aleksandar Vucic`s greetings, and asked the minister to extend his greetings to the Serbian President. The sides hailed the development of bilateral relations based on strategic partnership between the two countries in various fields, and pointed out the good potential for further expansion of the ties. Noting that she was aware of the destruction in Azerbaijani liberated lands, Zorana Mihajlovic congratulated the head of state on the work done for the country and its people, as well as large-scale reconstruction projects underway in the liberated territories. Deputy Prime Minister Zorana Mihajlovic underlined Azerbaijani companies successful operation in Serbia. The head of state highlighted the massive destruction committed by Armenians in the Azerbaijani lands in the years of occupation. During the conversation, it was noted that the 27th International Caspian Oil and Gas Exhibition contributed to the strengthening of regional and international cooperation, and the importance of Zorana Mihajlovics participation in the exhibition was underlined. The sides exchanged views on prospects for bilateral relations, and pointed to cooperation in the fields of energy and agriculture. Zorana Mihajlovic presented a keepsake to President Ilham Aliyev. GRAND ISLAND Flood Communications, which reaches more than 500,000 homes as the largest news operation in Nebraska, announced today it has started broadcasting Fiesta 94.5 FM, the first full-power Spanish-language radio station to cover the Grand Island, Kearney, Hastings and Lexington areas. The company is remodeling a building at 118 W. Fourth St. to house Fiesta 94.5 and its newest Telemundo Nebraska studio to operate alongside its existing Telemundo Nebraska studio in Omaha. Were excited to be part of the tremendous growth happening on Grand Islands Fourth Street, said Andy Ruback, CEO of Flood Communications. We believe in the momentum the community is putting behind this downtown district and we believe in creating content thats more accessible to this regions growing Hispanic community. Making this investment in Grand Island, Lexington, and beyond is a great decision on all fronts. Flood Communications has seen notable growth since its inception by focusing on the rural and Hispanic audiences of Nebraska, both often underserved. Especially relevant to this new station, the Hispanic community in Hall County has more than doubled since 2000 to now account for 29% of the population. Neighboring Dawson County is now 33.8% Hispanic. Our Hispanic community has grown remarkably, and many business owners want to know how to reach this community, said Jose Ramon Munoz, director of operations for Fiesta 94.5. Were here to be part of their business strategy. Its a great addition to the Telemundo Nebraska family. Previously known as The Breeze, the KLIQ radio station was part of Flood Communications Platte River Radio acquisition in November 2021. The company also operates radio stations; KHAS, 98.9 The Vibe, and ESPN Tri-Cites in central Nebraska. This expansion came on the heels of Flood Communication appearing as the only media company from Nebraska to make the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies in America and the only broadcast company in the entire country. About Flood Communications One of the largest news operations in Nebraska, Flood Communications delivers hyper-local news and high-quality programming to radio, TV and digital audiences across the state, reaching more than 500,000 homes and 300,000 social media followers. Its stations include News Channel Nebraska, Telemundo Nebraska and 15 radio stations. News Channel Nebraska is the only in-state, independent television network of its kind in America. Telemundo Nebraska is the states first network affiliate to deliver live, local Spanish news to Nebraskas nearly 275,000 Hispanic residents. Flood Communications connects communities across the state by covering important events, supporting worthy causes and continuing to look ahead, envisioning the future of communications and media. To learn more, visit floodcomm.com. LEXINGTON As residents got out to enjoy the unofficial start to the summer season, many chose to reflect on Monday and observe Memorial Day. The Lexington Memorial Day ceremony was held at the Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles, speakers included Steve Zerr and Mark Wigstone. Across the local area, communities held their Memorial Day ceremonies, taking time to think of all of those who have given their lives in the line of duty serving their country. A common feature to many ceremonies is the playing of taps. Taps was arranged in its present form by the Union Army Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield, an American Civil War general and Medal of Honor recipient who commanded the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Division in the V Army Corps of the Army of the Potomac while at Harrison's Landing, Virginia, in July 1862 to replace a previous French bugle call used to signal "lights out". The tune is also sounded at many memorial services in Arlington's Memorial Amphitheater and at grave sites throughout the cemetery. It is also regularly played at the American Cemetery in Normandy, France, to commemorate the sacrifice made, at and around that site, by United States servicemen in World War II, during the Allied effort to liberate Europe from the Nazi Germany. The song is also played during each of the military wreath ceremonies conducted at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier every year, including the ones held on Memorial Day. The ceremonies are viewed by many people, including veterans, school groups, and foreign officials. Some ceremonies will also feature a three round volley. The three-volley salute is a ceremonial act with its origins in European dynastic wars, in which the fighting ceased so that the dead and wounded could be removed. After this was accomplished, three shots were fired into the air to signal that the battle could resume. In the United States it is part of the drill and ceremony of the Honor Guard. It consists of a rifle party firing blank cartridges into the air three times. In his statement, Governor Pete Ricketts wrote, On Memorial Day, we honor the brave Americans who have given their lives in service to our nation. For nearly 250 years, our Republic has been defended by brave women and men who have answered the call of duty in times of war. Many have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the freedoms we hold dear. The liberties we enjoy wouldnt be possible without their heroism. This Monday, I encourage all Nebraskans to remember our fallen heroes and to give thanks for their patriotic devotion. Together, lets commit to carrying on their legacy by selflessly serving our communities. In 1868, General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic called for a "Decoration Day", which was widely celebrated. By 1890, every Northern state had adopted it as a holiday. The World Wars turned it into a generalized day of remembrance, instead of just for the Civil War. In 1971, Congress standardized the holiday as "Memorial Day" and changed its observance to the last Monday in May. Many people visit cemeteries and memorials on Memorial Day to honor and mourn those who died while serving in the U.S. military. Many volunteers place an American flag on graves of military personnel in national cemeteries. Memorial Day is also considered the unofficial beginning of summer in the United States, while Labor Day, the first Monday of September, marks the unofficial start of autumn and the end of the summer By Trend EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Toivo Klaar will visit Azerbaijan, Trend reports citing the statement by Barend Leyts, spokesperson of President of the European Council. According to the statement, Klaar will be traveling to Azerbaijan and Armenia in the next days to follow up on all aspects under discussion. By Azernews By Orkhan Amashov As the EU continues its desperate quest to wean itself off Russian energy sources in the least painful way possible, the intractable complexity involving alternative options is sullying the minds of Continental policymakers. Present quest and tentative timeline The present European energy security doctrine seems to place special emphasis on (i) diversifying supplies, (ii) reducing demand, and (iii) ramping up the production of so-called green energy. Since dashing into renewable energy at lightning speed is plausible only as a rhetorical device, not as a practical option, and reducing demand itself will take longer, the diversification of supplies of clean energy seems to be the most realistic measure of relative urgency. Not all Western countries share the same predicament. In the case of the US, which does not import any Russian gas, and the UK, only 5% of whose gas supplies are provided by Russia, the difficulty stems from the high prices set by markets and does not entail security risks as such. The EU, on the other hand, is a different story, as it has long been in the clutches of its current nemesis, with 40% of its gas supplies and 27% of oil imports coming from Russia. The aim is now to get rid of this dependency, boost pan-European energy security, thereby weakening the Russian economy and the Kremlins ability to fund the war in Ukraine. The sixth package of sanctions agreed upon on 30 May is a testament to the EUs continuous resolve, which is not yet sufficiently unflinching when it comes to the gas component. The latest sanctions will immediately impact 75% of Russian oil imports, and by the end of the year, 90% of Russian oil imported into Europe will be eliminated. As to gas supplies, a more phased-out approach has so far been maintained. The stated aim is to decrease Russian imports by two-thirds by the end of 2022. It is only by 2030 that the EU may potentially completely wean itself off Russian gas. Azerbaijani option In the meantime, alternative options are the Holy Grail. Azerbaijan enters the equation in the context of European desire to diversify gas supplies. There is a growing realisation in the EU that investment in alternative pipelines is obligatory, albeit hitherto overlooked. A similar point was made by Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov at the World Economic Forum in Davos on 23 May. Confronted with a question on Baku's role in European energy security, he stated there was available gas, but large-scale investments were needed to extract and deliver this. As Jabbarov propounded, it could be tentatively surmised that, due to its policy to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy, the EU severely underestimated the importance of investing in alternative gas supplies in the interim. The truth is, for some considerable time, Europe was not sufficiently conscious of the long-term consequences of its over-reliance on Russian gas. The concept was to carry in a similar fashion and decrease dependency incrementally in the long run. Thus investing in alternative pipelines for gas supplies was not the top priority. Now, the situation has irrefutably changed and there is an emergency caused by the Ukrainian crisis, and this lies at the heart of Europe's sharpened interest in Azerbaijani sources. Jabbarov, in a diplomatic tone, without being unduly candid, alluded to the aforementioned. He maintained that, back in 2012, when the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) was within the development phase, it was Azerbaijan that bore the core part of the risk, investing heavily in exploration, pipelines, compression stations, valves, and more. For Baku's energy exporting capabilities to be augmented, there has to be a new understanding of "risk sharing" and "risk management", and the strength of the international financial institutions must be utilised. Presently, Baku exports to Europe via the SGC 10 bcm per annum, which some suggest could be more than doubled. For instance, the potential of the Umid gas field, the overall reserves of which are estimated between 300-600 bcm, has been subject to close inspection. It is expected that the annual gas supply from the field may be doubled to 3 bcm, having a significant impact on overall Azerbaijani exports. Moscow declaration In addition to the aforementioned challenges, there is another critical moment of relevance. Two days before the invasion of Ukraine, on 22 February, Russia and Azerbaijan signed a declaration, upgrading relations between the two nations to the level of an alliance. One of the key provisions of that document is that Baku and Moscow will coordinate their energy policy and refrain from undertaking any economic activity that causes direct or indirect damage to the interests of the other party. It has been a long-term policy of Azerbaijan to downplay its role in the energy security of the EU in the context of possible competition with Russia. Baku's "the volumes are not comparable" formulation has been a golden line resorted to during the course of the past few years. Now, there is a fresh ingredient incorporated into the renewed version of this dictum: when small volumes could make a difference, the parties will coordinate so as not to cause problems for each other. David O'Byrne, writing for Eurasianet, believes that the declaration in question "poured cold water on European hopes". This most certainly may appear to be the case. Baku is very careful and, under no circumstances, wants to be at loggerheads with Russia, but it is an independent actor and seems to be ready to play its unique role. In this vein, the agreement on supplying Bulgaria with natural gas via the IGB interconnector for the next 25 years is a case in point. Europe is now determined not to be doomed to eternal mediocrity. Its fundamental failure lies in the inability to extricate itself expeditiously from the Russia-dominated web of energy supplies. However belated Europe's present quest may appear, it has a palpable chance to succeed, and Azerbaijan is primed for the role of not a saviour, but a reliable partner and guarantor. FICTION: An observant novel about two women dragged into the maelstrom surrounding America's antiterror campaign. "Planes" by Peter C. Baker; Alfred A. Knopf (256 pages, $27) The protagonists of Peter C. Baker's understated debut novel live on different continents and speak different languages. They'll never meet, or even be in the same room. But both have been caught up in the cruel vortex of America's 21st-century wars, their lives reshaped by forces beyond their control. Half of "Planes" takes place in Italy, where Amira, a relative newlywed in her 30s, waits for a husband who might not return. It's been two years since Ayoub, a Muslim, traveled to Pakistan, a trip that ended with him in custody. Held at a CIA interrogation site in Morocco, Ayoub hasn't been accused of a crime. But Amira's neighbors know of her husband's plight, and many have abandoned her. Forlorn, she starts taking long walks with Paolo, an old high-school classmate. It's a chaste relationship that nonetheless makes her feel disloyal. In alternating chapters, Baker tells a seemingly unrelated story about a middle-aged North Carolina woman named Melanie. A former liberal activist, she's now a mainstream Democrat on her local school board. Though she loves her husband, Art, she's having an affair with Bradley, a Republican board member and prominent businessman. Things get more complicated for Melanie when an old activist-friend gets in touch. The friend wants to protest outside a local airport that facilitates the CIA's oft-brutal overseas interrogations. A reporter is digging into the story, and it appears that Bradley is involved. It's not initially obvious why these women are in the same book, an unhurried tale that features some small, satisfying twists. That's by design. Baker has structured these narratives as independent entities. Though each could be a satisfying novel of its own, they overlap and fruitfully complement one another. The novel's title offers clues about Baker's intent. "Planes," of course, alludes to the jets that transport prisoners like Ayoub and those that depart from the secretive North Carolina hangar. But the word "planes" also serves as a metaphor for the brain's tendency to forget or strip away details, flattening complicated events into two-dimensional planes that are easier to understand, categorize, act upon. It's a necessary process, part of our species' evolution, but it can be destructive. In Amira's case and to a lesser extent, Melanie's neighbors and erstwhile friends plane away complexities, arriving at conclusions based on snippets of information. This manifests itself in various ways, most palpably in the condescension with which friends, family and acquaintances sometimes treat both women. Amira, named Maria at birth, changed her name when she converted to her husband's faith. Some people interpret this as license to challenge her authenticity. Paolo asks why she adopted her husband's religion, "especially since he's not so observant." Later, a virtual stranger asks, "What's your real name, signora?" Likewise, in a scene that nicely captures the arrogance that often informs ideological zealotry, Melanie's friend a woman who tells herself she's making a difference by sending all-caps e-mail "blasts" about antiwar protests patronizingly suggests that serving on a school board is activism for the timid. Baker opts for a restrained narrative voice. His sentences don't include inessential words or draw attention to themselves; nor are they particularly quotable. But his prose is an apt delivery system for a subtle portrait of two women who've been robbed of things they might never recover. Kevin Canfield is a writer in New York City. MIAMI (AP) Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, an elderly leader of the former Cali cartel that smuggled vast amounts of cocaine from Colombia to the United States in the 1980s and 1990s, has died in a U.S. prison, his lawyer said Wednesday. In 2020, a judge had denied Rodriguez Orejuela, who was in his 80s, early release on compassionate grounds from a prison in Butner, North Carolina. His attorney, David O. Markus, had said at the time that the former drug kingpin was suffering a range of health problems. We were very sad to learn about his passing last night. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time, Markus said Wednesday. God has a new chess partner, the lawyer said, referring to Rodriguez Orejuela's reputation for outsmarting his enemies and rivals, for which he earned the nickname the chess player. Rodriguez Orejuela and his brother, Miguel, built a huge criminal enterprise that succeeded the Medellin cartel once run by drug lord Pablo Escobar. Both operations used violence and killings extensively for intimidation and enforcement. The Rodriguez Orejuela brothers were captured in 1995 and imprisoned in Colombia. At that point, Colombian law prohibited the extradition of its nationals. But under pressure from the U.S, Colombia lifted that ban in 1997. The brothers were found to have been continuing to traffic from prison and criminal charges were filed in Miami and New York. In 2004, Gilberto was extradited; Miguel was extradited the next year. Under a 2006 plea deal that the brothers reached with federal prosecutors in Miami, more than two dozen family members were removed from a U.S. Treasury Department list designating them as part of the Cali cartel. That spared some of them from prosecution for obstruction of justice or money laundering and also allowed legitimate family businesses in Colombia to continue operating. Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuelas prison release date had been scheduled for Feb. 9 2030. His younger brother, is serving his sentence at a Pennsylvania prison. Perhaps the biggest legacy of the Rodriguez Orejuela brothers was their ability to quietly corrupt Colombian politics, delivering shoeboxes of cash to Ernesto Sampers campaign prior to his 1994 election as president and buying off much of Congress. While painted in the popular press as less violent than Pablo Escobar and the Medellin cartel, the Rodriguez Orejuelas brothers were later accused of paying off journalists to suppress news of Cali cartel-related killings. New ranks of narcos quickly replaced the Cali cartel leaders after their arrest and extradition. Many of those successors became leaders of far-right military bands that the U.S. placed on its international terror group list in 2001. Associated Press journalist Frank Bajak contributed from Boston. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Two court-appointed prosecutors declined Wednesday to charge a Wisconsin sheriffs deputy in the 2016 fatal shooting of a man sleeping in a park, saying they didnt believe they could defeat a self-defense argument. The decision echoes a district attorneys finding years ago that Joseph Mensah had acted in self-defense when he shot Jay Anderson Jr., one of three people he fatally shot over a five-year span. Mensah was a Wauwatosa police officer at the time but has since become a Waukesha County deputy. The special prosecutors, Milwaukee attorney Scott Hansen and La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke, spent months reviewing the case, consulting judges and attorneys and even conducting a mock trial with a jury and repeatedly found they couldnt overcome the self-defense argument. Ethical considerations prevent prosecutors from charging cases they know they cant prove beyond a reasonable doubt, Hansen said. Im only sorry that theres nothing that we can do to help heal those wounds, Hansen told Judge Glenn Yamahiro as Andersons family looked on from the courtrooms gallery. But there isnt. And thats our conclusion. Mensah came upon Anderson, who was 25, sleeping in a car after hours in a Wauwatosa park in June 2016. Mensah said he fired after Anderson reached for a gun on the passenger seat, and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm declined to charge Mensah later that year. Chisholm also chose not to charge Mensah in the deaths of either of the other two people he killed. Andersons family disputed that Anderson had reached for the gun. Their attorney, Kimberly Motley, used a obscure legal maneuver similar to a grand jury inquiry to persuade Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Glenn Yamahiro that there was enough probable cause to support charging Mensah. He appointed Hansen and Gruenke in December as special prosecutors to review the case and file charges if they saw fit. Motley argued Wednesday that Gruenke and Hansen were required by law to file charges since Yamahiro ruled enough probable cause existed to support a complaint. This law was put on the books to protect people that are victims, as my clients are, Motley said. Yamahiro said he believes the statutes required him only to find probable cause and launch a review. He said that self-defense is difficult to overcome and Hansen was right when he said prosecutors cant ethically charge cases they know they cant prove. He sympathized with Andersons family but said he never thought a case against Mensah was a a slam dunk. I am sorry from that perspective this is not a more satisfying outcome for them, he said. Linda Anderson, Jay Anderson Jr.s mother, told the judge that all the work that went into forcing the second review had been for nothing. Im not stopping until that man is behind bars where he needs to be, she said, drawing applause from the gallery. Mensahs attorney, Jonathan Cermele, didnt immediately respond to an email message following the hearing. Mensah joined the Wauwatosa Police Department in 2015. That year, he fatally shot Antonio Gonzales, who prosecutors said had refused to drop a sword. Mensah killed Anderson the following year. In 2020, he shot and killed 17-year-old Alvin Cole as Cole fled from police following a disturbance at a mall. Mensah said he fired because Cole pointed a gun at him. That shooting sparked months of protests. In explaining his rationale for not charging Mensah in Coles death, Chisholm said evidence showed, among other things, that Cole fled from police carrying a stolen handgun, fired a shot while fleeing and refused police commands to drop the weapon. Mensah is Black, as were Anderson and Cole. Gonzales identified as Native American. Hansen and Gruenke wrote in a 25-page report summarizing their investigation and conclusions that the Gonzales and Cole shootings were relevant to Andersons case and if they tried to tie the shootings together in court a judge wouldnt permit it. They added that Mensah put himself in danger during his encounter with Anderson by approaching Andersons vehicle from the passenger side rather than the drivers side, using his squads floodlights rather than its emergency lights, not waiting for back-up officers and failing to keep Andersons gun in sight. None of that changes whether he acted in self-defense at the moment he opened fire, however, they said. Mensah resigned under pressure from the Wauwatosa Police Department in 2020 and joined the Waukesha County Sheriffs Department. The Anderson family has filed a civil lawsuit against Mensah in federal court. Motley said after the hearing thats she looking forward to deposing Mensah under oath. Fitchburg police on Friday arrested a man in an April 9 burglary of a Madison construction site, authorities reported. Shane Manchester, 49, was arrested in the 5100 block of East Cheryl Parkway, and faces tentative charges of burglary, criminal damage to property and bail jumping, Madison police Sgt. Scott Reitmeier said in a statement. Tools, equipment and other items were stolen in the April 9 burglary of the construction site at 1859 Aberg Ave., Reitmeier said. Video surveillance showed the burglary as well as the suspect leaving the scene because he took the camera with him. However, the camera was wireless, so police have access to the footage, Reitmeier said. Police said at the time that Manchester was being sought in connection to the burglary. 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. Shortly after the progress pride flag celebrating the beginning of Pride Month was raised over the Capitol on Wednesday, Gov. Tony Evers expressed concern that the packed field of GOP challengers vying to face him this fall would discontinue the now 4-year-old tradition if the Democratic governor is defeated in November. Evers also used the occasion to charge that a Republican governor could push efforts to ban books in the state, primarily those focused on the LGBTQ community. Evers comments follow a Wisconsin Examiner story on Tuesday regarding discussions among some Republican lawmakers looking into books found at school libraries on topics including the LGBTQ community, gender identity and sexuality. They are going to be putting themselves in charge of banning books in the state of Wisconsin and you can be damn sure that some of its going to be directly related to LGBTQ community efforts, Evers told reporters outside the Capitol Wednesday. Just think about that: This Legislature and Republican governor would be banning books in the state of Wisconsin. Its breathtaking. As he seeks a second term this fall, Evers has touted his veto authority and ability to block conservative measures ranging from election administration and abortion rights to gun laws and other efforts. With Republicans likely to maintain, if not grow, majorities in both the state Assembly and Senate this fall, a GOP victory in the gubernatorial race would let conservatives enact any legislation that gets through both chambers. The top Republican gubernatorial candidates include former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, former Marine Kevin Nicholson, state Rep. Timothy Ramthun, R-Campbellsport, and construction business owner Tim Michels. Asked about Evers comments, Nicholsons spokesperson Courtney Mullen said in an email that Nicholson would sign into law a Republican-backed bill dubbed the Parental Bill of Rights, which would allow a parent or guardian to sue a school district or school official if they dont allow parents to determine the names and pronouns used for their child at school; review instructional materials and outlines; access any education-related information regarding the child; receive advance notice of any polls or surveys conducted in the childs classroom; request notice of when certain subjects will be taught or discussed; and opt out of a class or instructional materials for reasons based on either religious or personal conviction. Kevin believes that parents should have easy access to the curriculum used to teach our students and our teachers, and that parents should have the right to get their kids out of environments where they believe inappropriate material is taught, Mullen said. Kleefischs spokesperson Alec Zimmerman said the former lieutenant governor believes in the legalization of same-sex marriages and agrees with President (Donald) Trump that its settled law no longer up for discussion, but added: Rebecca will not use flags over the Capitol as political props. Its not surprising that Tony Evers is playing to the most ideological extremes of his party, Michels campaign adviser Chris Walker said in an email. As a lifelong educator and politician, he should be more concerned with the ABCs, not CRT, referring to critical race theory, a graduate-level theoretical framework that examines how American political and social systems help perpetuate racism and which educators say is not taught in schools. He failed Wisconsins students when they needed him most, and it is time for him to go. Ramthuns campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 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. Dane County Executive Joe Parisi wants an outside assessment of the racial climate within Dane Countys workforce as complaints continue to mount in the media and the County Board plans to vote on their own investigation later this week. While Parisi has defended county investigators own reviews of discrimination and toxic workplace environments, he is now calling for an outside organization that is culturally competent to lead an assessment of the attitudes, practices and culture surrounding race in all county departments. Parisis new approach comes as the County Board is set to vote Thursday on hiring a retired judge to investigate accusations against Vilas Zoo management of racism, retaliating against whistleblowers and neglecting animal welfare. Parisi called the boards plan the Gableman model, referring to the GOP-ordered probe into the 2020 election led by former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman. What Im saying is, lets step back. Everyone take a deep breath, Parisi said in an interview. It has to be something that everyone views as legitimate, the county executive said of a potential outside probe. Lets not fight over the details of what something looks like when we all want the same thing. Earlier this month, a Wisconsin Watch report found that employees at the Dane County Medical Examiners Office endured bullying, insults and transphobia from the chief medical examiner and a former operations director. Due to those revelations, two medical pathologists that the county hired backed out of working for the Medical Examiners Office, Parisi said. A separate report from the Wisconsin State Journal in April detailed accusations against management at the Vilas Zoo of racism and neglecting animal welfare. Given recent events, it is appropriate to conduct a more thorough, follow-up assessment to review attitudes and practices, assess the culture of Dane County workplaces and identify areas where further improvements could be made, according to a draft resolution of the plan, which has yet to be introduced by county supervisors. The boards zoo-specific investigation would cost $50,000, while Parisis countywide proposal would spend $150,000. But board chair Sup. Patrick Miles, 34th District, called the county executives trial balloon a distraction from problems at the zoo, which arent limited to racism. The countys own internal review of the zoo found that staff feel they arent disciplined equally, Miles noted. Other findings in the review, conducted by the Office for Equity and Inclusion, found that management freeze staff out of animal welfare decisions and sometimes favor certain employees over others. I think theres a broader breadth of issues here, Miles said. The board chair pointed out that the county has done countywide studies and surveys of racial equity in recent years. It might be time to revisit how the implementation of those recommendations is going, Miles said. I dont think it justifies doing a whole other assessment, repeating what weve already done, Miles said. Sup. Tim Kiefer, 25th District, who first introduced the resolution for an outside zoo investigation, said while he would support a countywide assessment, it wouldnt look into animal welfare or retaliation against union activity and whistleblowers. Ditching the zoo investigation in favor of Parisis proposal would also delay findings and recommendations by months, Kiefer added. We want to get this moving, he said. The zoo has been working with the Office for Equity and Inclusion to fulfill the suggestions laid out in the countys internal review. The zoo will have ongoing checkups with county investigators, with a final assessment expected in a year. As for any board-ordered investigation, the division of power between supervisors and the county executive does put legal constraints on the scope of the probe. Because Parisi handles management of county staff and functions, the boards investigation cannot look into specific allegations made against employees, Carlos Pabellon, a county attorney, has said. The racial climate assessment does not face those same limitations, though, because it will be overseen by county administration, Parisi spokesperson Ariana Vruwink said. In Parisis view, the outside assessment would build on progress the county has made on racial equity since it created the Office for Equity and Inclusion in 2016. The assessment could also look at employee retention and how departments like the zoo are meeting racial equity recommendations. There has to be an end game, and that has to be problem-solving together, Parisi said. Whenever theres a problem, if we turn people against one another and start pointing fingers, were going to fail. The office, which can investigate discrimination in the workplace, also led the countys review of the Medical Examiners Office. An investigation of the Medical Examiners Office, which started in 2020, remains open and follow-up personnel actions are ongoing, Vruwink said. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Dane County judge has denied a conservative lawyers lawsuit alleging that private grants provided to Madison to administer the 2020 election constituted bribery. Circuit Judge Stephen Ehlke, who had previously described the claims brought by Erick Kaardal, of the conservative Thomas More Society, as ridiculous, on Wednesday affirmed the Wisconsin Elections Commissions dismissal of Kaardals complaint late last year. His ruling marks the latest of multiple court rulings in Wisconsin and nationally to find the grants were legally provided. Ehlke pointed to a host of grievances issued by Kaardal against Madison for accepting election grants from the Chicago-based nonprofit Center for Tech and Civic Life, or CTCL, including a new argument raised last month that some of those funds were used to purchase absentee ballot drop boxes. State law does not prohibit the use of private election grants, which were provided to more than 200 cities across the state to help administer the presidential election during the COVID-19 pandemic. The commission should not be put in the position of having to guess what violation of election law was alleged and then be faulted later when they didnt guess correctly what it is that the complainants are complaining about it is incumbent upon a complainant to state in plain terms what they think is amiss and what the basic facts are supporting their allegations, Ehlke said. Here, plaintiffs were aided by a very experienced lawyer, yet failed to argue violations of (state law) before the commission, Ehlke added. Kaardal filed the lawsuit as an appeal to the commissions Dec. 8 dismissal of his complaints asserting that officials in the states five largest cities broke state election laws by accepting grants from CTCL, funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The commissions lawyers said his allegations didnt raise probable cause to believe that a violation of law or abuse of discretion has occurred. The bottom line is the commission correctly concluded that there is not probable cause to conclude that any election law was violated, Ehlke said. In a statement, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway applauded Ehlkes decision to dismiss the Thomas More Societys lawsuit. Its been clear from the beginning that using grant funds to help conduct an election during a pandemic was legal, Rhodes-Conway said. Every court that has been asked across the country has confirmed this government should be helping people to vote, not constantly throwing up more roadblocks to participating in our democracy. Kaardal has pursued similar lawsuits against the cities of Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha and Green Bay. However, he said Wednesday he does not expect to appeal Ehlkes ruling and the four pending cases will likely be dropped. Thatll be the end of this round, he said. Court rulings have found nothing illegal about the more than $10 million in grants CTCL distributed to about 214 municipalities in 39 of Wisconsins 70 counties, including many in areas solidly won by former President Donald Trump. Nor did CTCL turn down grant requests from any of the Wisconsin municipalities that made them. CTCL funds were put to a variety of uses, including enhanced COVID-related protections for voters, poll worker training, and the purchase of ballot drop boxes and voting machines. However, Republicans note that CTCL showered more money, per capita, on Wisconsins largest and most liberal areas in what they say was an effort to boost turnout for President Joe Biden in a battleground state Trump narrowly won in 2016 and that Biden ended up winning by less than a percentage point in 2020. Drop box lawsuits Kaardal and the conservative group last week filed another round of lawsuits against the states five largest cities related to their use of absentee ballot drop boxes. The lawsuits allege that state law is silent on the use of drop boxes and has asked a judge to declare them legally unauthorized and permanently barred. The legality of drop boxes is currently before the Wisconsin Supreme Court following an appeal filed earlier this year against a Waukesha County judges ruling that barred the use of the free-standing, mailbox-like boxes except for in a clerks office. A ruling is expected this summer. Kaardal has been a regular collaborator with former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman as part of Gablemans GOP-ordered review of the 2020 election. Gableman was hired last year by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, at a cost of $676,000 to taxpayers. Vos announced earlier this month that he had paused Gablemans probe and halved his monthly stipend. Court decisions, recounts and multiple reviews have found no evidence of widespread fraud in Wisconsins 2020 election. 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 neighbor reported a garage fire at a South Side home on Tuesday night before the residents were aware of it, the Madison Fire Department reported. The neighbor of the home in the 900 block of Dane Street called 911 at 7:50 p.m. after noticing smoke coming from the garage, Fire Department spokesperson Cynthia Schuster said in a statement. Fire crews arrived at 7:56 p.m. and found light gray smoke in the area. As they entered the garage, they found flames and smoke, and they quickly put out the fire, Schuster said. Occupants were home, but unaware of the fire until the neighbor let them know after calling 911, Schuster said. No one was injured, but the garage and some items stored inside were damaged. The cause is under investigation, Schuster said. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. President of the United States of America Joseph Biden has sent a letter to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. AZERTAC presents the letter. His Excellency Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Dear Mr. President. During the 30 years of diplomatic relations we have enjoyed between the United States and the Republic of Azerbaijan, we have become strong partners in combatting transnational threats, advancing energy security, and encouraging bilateral trade and investment. As you host the International Caspian Oil & Gas Exhibition in Baku, I want to assure you that Azerbaijan continues to have a committed partner in the United States. Around the world, we find ourselves at an important juncture in ensuring our energy security, while making the necessary investments and changes to meet our longer-term commitments to the clean energy transition. Diversification is more important than ever in addressing our energy security goals, and Azerbaijan has played a central role in regional efforts toward this goal. Azerbaijan is also critical to realizing the immense potential of trans-Caspian cooperation to help stabilize markets in the region and globally. And Azerbaijan is playing a critical role in helping stabilize European energy security, including through the Southern Gas Corridor and by providing crucial fuel supplies to Ukraine. I welcome your continued steps to help achieve Azerbaijans full potential, including by promoting a diversified economy, contributing to global goals to fight climate change through investments in renewables, strengthening the rule of law and accountability, and boosting the standard of living of the Azerbaijani people. The United States is committed to our continued partnership and cooperation. Sincerely, Joseph R. Biden President of the United States of America SAN FRANCISCO (AP) The slavery reparations movement hit a watershed moment Wednesday with the release of an exhaustive report detailing Californias role in perpetuating discrimination against African Americans, a major step toward educating the public and setting the stage for an official government apology and case for financial restitution. The 500-page document lays out the harm suffered by descendants of enslaved people even today, long after slavery was abolished in the 19th century, through discriminatory laws and actions in all facets of life, from housing and education to employment and the legal system. Longtime reparations advocate Justin Hansford, who is a law professor at Howard University and director of the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center in Washington called the moment exciting and monumental. To have an official detail of these histories coming from the state is important," he said. "I know a lot of people say we dont need to keep doing studies, but the reality is until it comes from some source that people think is objective, then it is going to be harder to convince everybody of some of the inequalities described. The report comes at a time when school boards and states across the U.S. are banning books or restricting what can be taught in classrooms, with parents and lawmakers largely opposed to topics of sexuality, gender identity or race. State lawmakers have tried to bar schools from teaching the 1619 Project, a New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning report that reframes American history with enslaved people at its heart. California is headed in the opposite direction, said Adam Laats, a historian at Binghamton University who called the document remarkable in its unflinching account, including detailing how police officers and district attorneys in the Los Angeles of a century ago were members of or had ties to the Ku Klux Klan. Who children should learn are the main actors in the story of us as a nation has always been a real lightning rod, he said. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation creating the two-year task force in 2020, making California the only state to move ahead with a study and plan. Cities and universities have taken up the cause, with the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, becoming the first city to make reparations available to Black residents last year. On Wednesday, Newsom issued a statement praising California for leading the country on a long overdue discussion of racial justice and equity. The state's Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose office is assisting the task force, said, California was not a passive actor in perpetuating these harms." A similar effort is underway to delve into what Newsom has called California's dark history of violence, mistreatment and neglect of Native Americans. The report by the Truth and Healing Council, due in 2025, could include recommendations for reparations. Many tribes across the country have sought to acquire their ancestral land and co-manage public land. The African American reparations task force, which began meeting in June 2021, will release a comprehensive reparations plan next year. The committee voted in March to limit reparations to the descendants of African Americans living in the U.S. in the 19th century, overruling advocates who wanted to expand compensation to all Black people in the U.S. Four hundred years of discrimination has resulted in an enormous and persistent wealth gap between Black and white Americans, said the report by the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans. These effects of slavery continue to be embedded in American society today and have never been sufficiently remedied. The governments of the United States and the State of California have never apologized to or compensated African Americans for these harms. California is home to the fifth-largest Black population in the U.S., after Texas, Florida, Georgia and New York, the report said. An estimated 2.8 million Black people live in California, although it is unclear how many are eligible for direct compensation. African Americans make up less than 6% of Californias population yet they are overrepresented in jails, youth detention centers and prisons. About 28% of people imprisoned in California are Black and in 2019, 36% of minors ordered into state juvenile detention facilities were African Americans, according to the report. Black Californians earn less and and are more likely to be poor than white residents. In 2018, Black residents earned on average just under $54,000 compared to $87,000 for white Californians. We dont own homes and if you look at why theres such a huge disparity between African Americans and white Americans and our ability to hold onto and sustain wealth, its because we dont own homes, said Assembly member Reggie Jones-Sawyer, a task force member. The task force's sweeping initial recommendations include prison system reforms. Inmates should not be forced to work and if they do, they must be paid fair market wages. Inmates should also be allowed to vote and people with felony convictions should serve on juries. The group recommends creating a state-subsidized mortgage program to guarantee low rates for qualifying African American applicants, free health care, free tuition to California colleges and universities and scholarships to African American high school graduates to cover four years of undergraduate education. The committee also calls for a Cabinet-level secretary position to oversee an African American Affairs agency with branches for civic engagement, education, social services, cultural affairs and legal affairs. It would help people research and document their lineage to a 19th-century ancestor so they could qualify for financial restitution. People opposed to paying reparations argue that California did not have plantations or Jim Crow era laws as in the South. But the interim report spells out how California, despite being free, perpetuated harms that have compounded over generations. It noted that Missouri native Basil Campbell was purchased for $1,200 and forced to move to California's Yolo County in 1854, leaving behind his wife and two sons. Campbell eventually paid off his purchase price, married and became a landowner. But when his sons petitioned for a portion of his estate after his death, a California judge ruled that marriage between two enslaved people is not a marriage relation. More recently, it said, the home of Paul Austin and Tenisha Tate-Austin was assessed at a much lower price because it was located in a primarily Black part of upscale Marin County, where African Americans were forced to live starting in World War II. The report should offer other cities and states and ultimately the federal government a blueprint for seeking reparations, members said. Over the next year, the task force will take on the difficult task of crafting an apology and creating a reparations plan to compensate for and stop the harm. The big question is: What are they going to do with it? The danger here is that everyone reads it and nods their heads and waits on the task force to initiate the response, said Hansford, the law professor. We need to have universities, local governments, businesses and others working together to do their part to address ... the recommendations offered in the report. AP writers Cheyanne Mumphrey in Phoenix, Arizona, and Felicia Fonseca in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. MADISON, Wis. (AP) Two court-appointed prosecutors declined Wednesday to charge a Wisconsin sheriffs deputy in the 2016 fatal shooting of a man sleeping in a park, saying they didn't believe they could defeat a self-defense argument. The decision echoes a district attorneys finding years ago that Joseph Mensah had acted in self-defense when he shot Jay Anderson Jr., one of three people he fatally shot over a five-year span. Mensah was a Wauwatosa police officer at the time but has since become a Waukesha County deputy. The special prosecutors, Milwaukee attorney Scott Hansen and La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke, spent months reviewing the case, consulting judges and attorneys and even conducting a mock trial with a jury and repeatedly found they couldn't overcome the self-defense argument. Ethical considerations prevent prosecutors from charging cases they know they can't prove beyond a reasonable doubt, Hansen said. We're sorry there's nothing we can do to help heal those wounds, but there isn't and that's our conclusion, Hansen told Judge Glenn Yamahiro as Anderson's family looked on from the courtroom's gallery. Mensah came upon Anderson, who was 25, sleeping in a car after hours in a Wauwatosa park in June 2016. Mensah said he fired after Anderson reached for a gun on the passenger seat, and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm declined to charge Mensah later that year. Chisholm also chose not to charge Mensah in the deaths of either of the other two people he killed. Andersons family disputed that Anderson had reached for the gun. Their attorney, Kimberly Motley, used a obscure legal maneuver similar to a grand jury inquiry to persuade Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Glenn Yamahiro that there was enough probable cause to support charging Mensah. I n December, he appointed Hansen and Gruenke as special prosecutors to review the case and file charges if they saw fit. Motley argued Wednesday that Gruenke and Hansen were required by law to file charges since Yamahiro ruled enough probable cause existed to support a complaint. This law was put on the books... so that the courts could maintain this power to charge people... and protect people who are victims if the executive branch refuses and doesn't do its basic job to protect victims, Motley said. Yamahiro said he believes the statutes required him only to find probable cause and launch a review. He said that self-defense is difficult to overcome and Hansen was right when he said prosecutors can't ethically charge cases they know they can't prove. He sympathized with Anderson's family but said he never thought a case against Mensah was a a slam dunk. I understand people are disappointed, the judge said. I am sorry from that perspective this is not a more satisfying outcome for them. Mensah joined the Wauwatosa Police Department in 2015. That year, he fatally shot Antonio Gonzales, who prosecutors said had refused to drop a sword. Mensah killed Anderson the following year. In 2020, he shot and killed 17-year-old Alvin Cole as Cole fled from police following a disturbance at a mall. Mensah said he fired because Cole pointed a gun at him. That shooting sparked months of protests. In explaining his rationale for not charging Mensah in Coles death, Chisholm said evidence showed, among other things, that Cole fled from police carrying a stolen handgun, fired a shot while fleeing and refused police commands to drop the weapon. Mensah is Black, as were Anderson and Cole. Gonzales identified as Native American. Mensah resigned under pressure from the Wauwatosa Police Department in 2020 and joined the Waukesha County Sheriffs Department. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. BURLEY By day, hes a business owner, and on his off time, hes a Mexican movie actor. Rigo Chavez, of Burley, is owner of Superior Auto body, and the Superior Convention Center. Chavez also is known for his movies Que Sangre El Pueblo (2018), Contra El Tiempo (2018) and Culpable O Inocente (2019). His recent movies are El Ascenso, which will be shown in theatres and on Netflix. Dando Duro will be released in the near future. To date, he has worked in 14 movie productions, one documentary and one science fiction movie. He is originally from Michoacan, Mexico, and is a U.S. citizen. He came to the United States in 1989, because with hard work and determination there was an opportunity to make something of yourself, he said. If you want to know my life story, watch the movie, Dando Duro its very similar to my struggles, he said. The Superior Convention Center is a venue where dances, quinceaneras and wedding parties are held. The events features some local bands and groups, while others come from all over the West and from Mexico. Becoming an actor was something he didnt think about. It just happened, he said. He became Facebook friends with most of the musicians that came to perform at the center. One day while reading his Facebook, he found San Martin Hidalgo Agency, which was looking for actors. He thought about it, and thought, why not? He contacted Hildago and he explained the pros and cons of acting, the ups and downs, and that it might be difficult, since he was based in Idaho. With his wifes support, Luce, he took a chance. Soon he was in Los Angles, studying method acting under Valentine Trujillo, Alejandro Tomas, but his most famous teacher and actor was Miguel Angel Rodriguez, who starred in 400 Mexican movies and directed 200 of those films. His first film was Refugio Mariscal, and he had a non-speaking part. He would act in other movies playing the side kick and started working his way up to speaking parts in each movie. Lately Ive been playing the bad guy in the movies, he said. Hes met and starred with Mexican actors, Graciela Beltran, Ana Monterrubio, and Raul Baena. I studied theatre in Mexico, he said. Being on stage is different than a movie. He did not believe he would use the learned acting skills in a movie. Being in a Tele-Novela, he said, is a process. He has to join La Anda, the National Actors Association, which is like the U.S version of SAGthe Screen Actors Guild, a powerful union in the United States that represented film and TV principal and background performers worldwide. Once I get my membership card, I can start thinking about novelas, he said. Being in a movie is a lot of work, and a lot of hours. Its work, nothing else he said. There are cameras all around you, and its all business. Chavez doesnt have an agent or manager at this time; he gets his roles through directors recommendations and his acting profile. Eventually, hell sign with an agency. Chavez said he never dreamt of being an actor. He dreamt of just being happy. One who does less than he can be is completely unhappy, he said. He said he had depression episodes, but once he got into acting, it has never returned. He credits acting for keeping him busy and depression free. His wife, Luce, keeps the business going while he is out shooting a movie. She is his biggest supporter, as he purses this adventure, he said. On occasions, she goes with him. While on location for a movie, it can take about a month and half to shoot. Other movies where he had smaller parts took about two weeks to film. For right now, its one movie at a time, he said. Ive worked hard all my life, he said. This is my reward. I come from a poor family, and life was hard. But I know Si Se Pude! You can do it! Love 4 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The World Health Organization declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020. The coronavirus had spread to at least 114 countries by then, and though nobody knew it at the time was already in Idaho. That was 814 days ago, and the WHO has yet to declare the pandemic over. But daily life in Idaho and much of the U.S. has resumed a kind of pre-pandemic status quo. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shifted its focus away from trying to keep people from catching COVID-19, toward keeping hospitals from being crushed by the disease. BRUSSELS (AP) The European Unions groundbreaking decision to ban nearly all oil from Russia to punish the country for its invasion of Ukraine is a blow to Moscows economy, but its effects may be blunted by rising energy prices and other countries willing to buy some of the petroleum, industry experts say. European Union leaders agreed late Monday to cut Russian oil imports by about 90% over the next six months, a dramatic move that was considered unthinkable just months ago. The 27-country bloc relies on Russia for 25% of its oil and 40% of its natural gas, and European countries that are even more heavily dependent on Russia had been especially reluctant to act. European heads of state hailed the decision as a watershed, but analysts were more circumspect. The EU ban applies to all Russian oil delivered by sea. At Hungarys insistence, it contains a temporary exemption for oil delivered by the Russian Druzhba pipeline to certain landlocked countries in Central Europe. In addition to retaining some European markets, Russia could sell some of the oil previously bound to Europe to China, India and other customers in Asia, even though it will have to offer discounts, said Chris Weafer, CEO at consulting firm Macro-Advisory. Now, for the moment, thats not financially too painful for Russia because global prices are elevated. Theyre much higher than last year, he said. So even Russia offering a discount means that its probably selling its oil for roughly what it sold for last year also. He noted that India has been a willing buyer and Chinas certainly been keen to buy more oil because theyre both countries who are getting big discounts on global market prices. Still, Moscow has traditionally viewed Europe as its main energy market, making Monday's decision the most significant effort yet to punish Russia for its war in Ukraine. The sanctions have one clear aim: to prompt Russia to end this war and withdraw its troops and to agree with Ukraine on a sensible and fair peace, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said. Ukraine estimated the ban could cost Russia tens of billions of dollars. The oil embargo will speed up the countdown to the collapse of the Russian economy and war machine, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address that Ukraine will be pressing for more sanctions, adding that there should be no significant economic ties left between the free world and the terrorist state. Simone Tagliapietra, an energy expert and research fellow at the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel, called the embargo a major blow. Matteo Villa, an analyst at the ISPI think tank in Milan, said Russia will take a pretty significant hit now but cautioned that the move could eventually backfire. The risk is that the price of oil in general goes up because of the European sanctions. And if the price goes up a lot, the risk is that Russia starts to earn more, and Europe loses the bet, he said. Like previous rounds of sanctions, the oil ban is unlikely to persuade the Kremlin to end the war. Moscow seized on the new sanctions to try to rally public support against the West, describing it as bent on destroying Russia. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russias Security Council who served as the countrys president, said the oil ban aims to reduce the countrys export earnings and force the government to scale down social benefits. They hate us all! Medvedev said on his messaging app channel. Those decisions stem from hatred against Russia and against all of its people. Russia has not shied away from withholding energy to get its way. Russian state energy giant Gazprom said it is cutting off natural gas to Dutch trader GasTerra and Denmark's Oersted company and is also stopping shipments to Shell Energy Europe that were bound for Germany. Germany has other suppliers, and GasTerra and Oersted said they were prepared for a shutoff. Gazprom previously stopped the flow to Bulgaria, Poland and Finland. Meanwhile, the EU is urging other countries to avoid placing trade barriers on farm products as Russias war increases the risks of a global food crisis. Zelenskyy has said Russia has prevented the export of 22 million tons of Ukrainian grain, much of it meant for people across the Middle East and Africa. He accused Moscow of deliberately creating this problem. Russian oil delivered by sea accounts for two-thirds of the EU's oil imports from Moscow. In addition to the EU cutoff of such imports, Germany and Poland have agreed to stop using oil from the northern branch of the Druzhba pipeline. Agreeing on sanctions against Russian natural gas is likely to prove much tougher because it represents a larger percentage of Europe's energy mix. "The very loud and clear message that Moscow will hear is that it will be near impossible for the European Union to get any agreement on blocking gas because gas will not be as easily replicated from other sources in Europe as oil will be, Weafer said. Associated Press journalists Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine, Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, Colleen Barry in Milan, Italy, and Derek Gatopoulos in Athens contributed to this report. Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WASHINGTON (AP) A divided Supreme Court has blocked a Texas law, championed by conservatives, that aimed to keep social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter from censoring users based on their viewpoints. The court voted in an unusual 5-4 alignment Tuesday to put the Texas law on hold, while a lawsuit plays out in lower courts. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett voted to grant the emergency request from two technology industry groups that challenged the law in federal court. The majority provided no explanation for its decision, as is common in emergency matters on what is informally known as the court's shadow docket. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Elena Kagan and Neil Gorsuch would have allowed the law to remain in effect. In dissent, Alito wrote, Social media platforms have transformed the way people communicate with each other and obtain news. It's not clear how the high court's past First Amendment cases, many of which predate the internet age, apply to Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and other digital platforms, Alito wrote in an opinion joined by fellow conservatives Thomas and Gorsuch but not Kagan. The order follows a ruling last week by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that found a similar Florida law likely violates the First Amendments free speech protections. Republican elected officials in several states have backed laws like those enacted in Florida and Texas that sought to portray social media companies as generally liberal in outlook and hostile to ideas outside of that viewpoint, especially from the political right. The Texas law was initially blocked by a district judge, but then allowed to take effect by a panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 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 SEATTLE (AP) Seattle will create a database of homeless camps and provide more than $100 million to a regional group trying to tackle the region's ongoing crisis of people without homes, the city's mayor announced Tuesday. Issues created over decades cannot be solved overnight, but we must reject the status quo where people are left to suffer unsheltered on sidewalks and in parks, Mayor Bruce Harrell said in announcing his plan to address the ongoing homelessness crisis in the city. Seattle, like many West Coast cities, has faced a vexing problem of unhoused people for decades. Harrell was elected last year on a platform of addressing public safety and the issue of homeless camps in public spaces like parks. He vowed to move people into housing with on-site services. Critics of Seattle's efforts to move people out of camps have said the city has not created enough housing and transitional services for people who are removed from encampents. Harrell's new plan includes $118 million for the King County Regional Homeless Authority, a new agency set up to coordinate homeless programs in the greater Seattle area. Harrell said Seattle is spending $173 million in its 2022 budget to fund his homeless action plan. That represents a sharp increase in city funds devoted to homeless issues; in 2018, the spending was $77 million, the KING5 television station reported. And Harrell says said $572 million enough to build 1,551 new units has been earmarked for affordable housing projects. The figure includes state and federal resources in addition to $138 million in taxpayer money, according to Harrell's new plan. The citys goal is to offer shelter with a bed ready and waiting for every person living in a homeless encampment before any potential sweeps. According to Harrell's plan, authorities will survey, inspect, and verify encampment sites and provide a publicly accessible map of encampment concentration by neighborhood citywide. There are more than 40,000 people in King County experiencing homeless, according to the King County Department of Community and Services. City officials reported 763 tents and 225 RV encampments throughout Seattle as of May. 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 With the recent racially motivated massacre in Buffalo, New York, still echoing through America, Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked passage of a domestic terrorism measure that would have focused federal resources on heading off such tragedies. The legislation didnt involve new gun regulations but would merely create a framework within federal law enforcement to anticipate attacks by white supremacists and other domestic terrorists. Yet, in an astonishing display of callousness toward the victims of Buffalo and a still-grieving nation, Republican senators shrugged off the proposal as unnecessary. In analyzing that response, its useful to consider how those Republicans would have responded had the Buffalo shooter been, say, a brown-skinned American Muslim targeting Christians instead of a white supremacist targeting Black people. Domestic terrorism has a long history in the U.S., with the once-powerful Ku Klux Klan the quintessential example of it. Todays domestic terrorists are less organized and more splintered as a subculture but thanks to the ease with which American civilians can obtain and use weapons of war, it only takes one hate-filled assailant to kill many and terrorize more. The May 14 killing of 10 victims, most of them Black, in a Buffalo supermarket by an 18-year-old white racist attacker is the most recent example, but others abound: the 2015 shooting of nine Black parishioners by a neo-Nazi assailant in Charleston, South Carolina; the 2018 killing of 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh by an antisemitic gunman; the 2019 killing in an El Paso, Texas, Walmart of 23 people, mostly Latino, by an anti-immigrant white nationalist. The list goes on. The lives of those victims werent more or less valuable than those of the 21 victims of the Uvalde, Texas, mass shooting last week. But unlike the deranged assailant in that massacre, who killed randomly and without apparent motive, attackers who target their victims by race, ethnicity, religion, etc., are part of a societal threat that, in theory, can be anticipated and possibly thwarted, with the right investigative structure in place. Last weeks failed legislation would have created a federal framework to analyze and report on threats posted online and other warning signs, with an eye toward anticipating future attacks. Republican House members overwhelmingly supported an almost identical bill just two years ago. What has changed now, aside from the tragic example in Buffalo, about why its needed? What has changed, it seems, is that the midterms are approaching, and the GOP needs all its base voters in line including the increasingly emboldened purveyors of white nationalism, replacement theory and other extremist movements that can become breeding grounds for domestic terrorism. This, in a nutshell, is how radicalized the once-sober party of law and order has become. Reprinted from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, distributed by Creators.com. Love 1 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 By Trend Ambassador of Malaysia to the Republic of Azerbaijan Dato' Yubazlan Bin Yusof expressed his admiration for liberated Kalbajar's beauty, while paying a visit to the district as part of the diplomatic corps, Trend reports. "We were given a great opportunity to see this wonderful place. The trip was fantastic," said Bin Yusof. The ambassador stressed that he had already been in almost all the liberated cities of the country. According to him, he was struck by the level of destruction in these territories. The diplomat also added that fostering biodiversity is one of the main areas of cooperation between Malaysia and Azerbaijan, and a recent project implemented in the Gizilaghaj National Park was also a great contribution to this. He also expressed hope for further proliferation of such projects. Virgil J.R. Powell Jr., 911 Communications Director for the past decade, has been selected as the next Deputy County Administrator of Henry County, effective July 1. It was announced in December that Dale Wagoner, current deputy county administrator, will replace County Administrator Tim Hall when he retires on June 30. Im humbled to be chosen as the next deputy county administrator and I look forward to using my leadership experience in this new position, Powell said in a release from the County Tuesday afternoon. This is a tremendous opportunity to further the goals and objectives of the County and to create a wonderful environment to live and work for our citizens. The county administrator and deputy county administrator serve as the general manager and assistant general manager of the Henry County Public Service Authority (PSA) respectively, and at the PSAs meeting on May 16, Board Chair Gerald Lawicki asked Hall and Wagoner if someone had been chosen to succeed Wagoner as deputy administrator. Were working on it, Hall and Wagoner said in unison. We will have an announcement on that soon, said Hall. Well, we need an order of succession in place, Lawicki said. Powell begin his public service career in 1989 when he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. He received three Navy Achievement Medals and left the military as a Sergeant with a specialization in communications, the release stated. In 1995 Powell began as a dispatcher for the 911 Communications Center. In 1998 he was promoted to assistant shift supervisor and the following year he became operations supervisor. In 2012 Powell was named the departments director, the release said. The 2019 Governors EMS Award for Outstanding Contribution to Emergency Medical Services Telecommunications was awarded to Powell and in addition to serving on the Virginia E911 Services Board, Powell also serves on the Piedmont Regional Criminal Justice Training Academy Board, the Dan River Alcohol Safety Action Program Board and the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials, the release stated. Powell was selected among a highly competitive field of candidates in a process that began when Wagoner was chosen to replace Hall. Now the search turns to a replacement for Powell in the 911 Communications Center that is jointly operated with the City of Martinsville and Henry County, the release said. I am pleased to have Mr. Powell join the Countys leadership team, Wagoner said in the release. I welcome his servant leadership style and experience in public administration. 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. On Friday, the McDowell County Board of Elections certified the results from the primary voting and made them official. And no recount will take place in the Republican primary for McDowell County Commission. In the Tuesday, May 17 primary election, McDowell Republicans chose incumbents David Walker and Tony Brown and former Commissioner Lynn Greene as their top three candidates for County Commission. Local GOP voters gave their strong support for incumbent Melissa Adams as their candidate for the clerk of Superior Court and incumbent Ted Bell as their pick for the office of District Attorney. In addition, Randy Branton submitted enough signatures on Tuesday, May 17 to be certified as an unaffiliated candidate for sheriff of McDowell. The Board of Elections held the canvass on Friday at 11 a.m. and the results were declared official, according to Deputy Elections Director Jane Dale Propst. Commissioner Brenda Vaughn, who placed fourth in the GOP primary for commissioner, did not ask for a recount. The difference between Vaughn and Greene was just 35 votes. Vaughn said to The McDowell News she plans to keep active in the community through other ways. The three top Republican vote-getters for commissioner will go on to face Democrat Phillip Price in the November general election. The Republican primaries for clerk of Superior Court and district attorney were the deciding elections since no Democrat filed to run for those offices. Bahrain and Oman inked Tuesday a parliamentary cooperation agreement to strengthen relations between the two countries, Zawya reports. Parliament Speaker Fouzia Zainal and Omans Shura Council chairman Shaikh Khalid bin Hilal Al Mawali signed the memorandum of cooperation. The deal covers strengthening parliamentary co-operation and promoting interests in sustainable development, future foresight, innovation and the exchange of parliamentary and diplomatic experiences. Both countries also agree to increase consultation, co-ordination and exchange of views on various issues of common interest, and exchange experiences of implementing international charters and agreements. The two Gulf countries also called for strengthening communication between the two countries through the exchange of parliamentary visits and activities, and hold bilateral parliamentary meetings on the sidelines of regional and international forums. UAE-based Gulf Islamic Investments (GII) has taken full control of Anglo-Gulf Trade Bank (AGTB) from Abu Dhabis sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, Zawya reports. The value of the operation has not been revealed. AGTB is a Category 1 digital bank licensed by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the international finance center, Zawya notes. Mubadala set AGTB up in 2018. The move made the bank the worlds first digitally enabled trade bank, in collaboration with AGTB Holdings Limited, a company controlled by the Rowland family. Gulf Islamic Investments private equity, real estate and venture capital company with over $3 billion of assets under management. Soldiers freed several hostages in western Cameroon, including a senator from the presidential party who was kidnapped a month ago, and killed a dozen of their suspected kidnappers, armed Anglophone separatists, the army announced Tuesday. Elizabeth Regina Mundi and her driver were kidnapped on April 30 by rebels demanding independence for the North-West and South-West regions, which are mainly populated by the English-speaking minority in a predominantly French-speaking country. In an army operation against a terrorist hideout on Monday evening in Ashong, in the Northwest, several hostages were freed, including the senator, army spokesman Colonel Cyrille Atonfack Guemo said in a statement. A dozen terrorists have been neutralized, according to the authorities terminology for pro-independence militants who have been killed. Several others are wounded and on the run, and three have been captured, the text added, without giving further details, particularly on the number of hostages released. The separatist conflict erupted in 2017 in both regions after the government cracked down hard on protests demanding equal treatment and more autonomy for anglophones, some of whom feel ostracized by the power of President Paul Biya, who has ruled the country with an iron fist for nearly 40 years. The war has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced about a million in five years, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG). The Global Mercy, the worlds largest civilian hospital ship, made its African debut in the port of Dakar, where it will stay for four weeks to train health professionals. The giant ship measuring 174 meters long and 28.6 meters wide and comprising 12 decks arrived Friday in the port of the Senegalese capital where it can be seen from afar, and will remain there for four weeks until the end of June, before returning in 2023 to offer surgical care to the needy. His arrival coincides with a new tragedy that has shaken the country and highlighted the shortcomings of Senegals health system. Eleven babies died on May 25 in a fire in a public hospital in Tivaouane (west). The Global Mercy hospital covers about 7,000 square meters, and includes six operating theatres, 102 acute care beds, seven intensive care beds and 90 convalescent beds, according to a statement from the international NGO Mercy Ships, which works to improve access to health care in developing countries in Africa. Based on the organizations 43 years of experience and more than five years of studying specifically the results of the Africa Mercy, a hospital ship that has been in service since 2007 to help the poorest in West and Central Africa, Mercy Ship wanted to add another ship of greater capacity and with the same objectives. During its stay in Senegal, the crew intends to participate in the training of 260 Senegalese health professionals, alongside the crew of the Africa Mercy, which has been in the port of Dakar since February (until November) and is performing surgery on board. At the end of June, the Global Mercy will return to the Canary Islands for the complete and final dressing of the ship. Mercy Ships plans to return in early 2023 to conduct training and surgery: maxillofacial and reconstructive surgery, tumor removal, cleft lip and palate repair, obstetric fistula repair, etc. Senegalese President Macky Sall formally welcomed the Global Mercy on Monday morning at a ceremony attended by Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and Comoros President Azali Assoumani. The armed forces announced that they had killed twelve terrorists, including Tidiane Djbrilou Dicko, a jihadist leader. The operation to neutralize them took place on Thursday, May 26, in the commune of Tongomayel, in the Soum province, by air strikes, according to a source in the general staff of the armed forces. According to several security sources, Tidiane Djibrilou Dicko is locally known as a very cruel man and is followed by many young people in Soum province. This cruelty was noticed after the terrorist attack on Silgadji, his own home village. The attack cost the lives of about 40 people in January 2020. Tidiane Djibrilou and his fighters surrounded the people at the village market. The men were executed and the women ordered to leave. He had a lot of influence on the youth, especially south of Djibo, said a senior officer in the Burkinabe armed forces. A fighter for the Islamic State in the Great Sahara, he recently switched to the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims. According to our sources, he was behind several attacks in the Sahel, notably on the Bourzanga-Djibo axis. He was neutralized, to use an expression of the armed forces, along with several other fighters. This action was made possible by the work of the intelligence services over several months, said a security source, who added that the group led by Tidiane Djibrilou Dicko was preparing to attack a supply convoy in the town of Djibo. This 1997 image provided by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the right arm and torso of a patient, whose skin displayed a number of lesions due to what had been an active case of monkeypox. As health authorities in Europe and elsewhere roll out vaccines and drugs to stamp out the biggest monkeypox outbreak beyond Africa, in 2022, some doctors are acknowledging an ugly reality: The resources to slow the disease's spread have long been available, just not to the Africans who have dealt with it for decades. Credit: CDC via AP, File As health authorities in Europe and elsewhere roll out vaccines and drugs to stamp out the biggest monkeypox outbreak beyond Africa, some doctors acknowledge an ugly reality: The resources to slow the disease's spread have long been available, just not to the Africans who have dealt with it for decades. Countries including Britain, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, the United States, Israel and Australia have reported more than 250 monkeypox cases, many apparently tied to sexual activity at two recent raves in Europe. No deaths have been reported. Authorities in numerous European countries and the U.S. are offering to immunize people and considering the use of antivirals. On Thursday, the World Health Organization will convene a special meeting to discuss monkeypox research priorities and related issues. Meanwhile, the African continent has reported more than five times as many cases this year. There have been more than 1,400 monkeypox cases and 63 deaths in four countries where the disease is endemicCameroon, Central African Republic, Congo and Nigeriaaccording to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So far, sequencing has not yet shown any direct link to the outbreak outside Africa, health officials say. Monkeypox is in the same family of viruses as smallpox, and smallpox vaccines are estimated to be about 85% effective against monkeypox, according to WHO. Since identifying cases earlier this month, Britain has vaccinated more than 1,000 people at risk of contracting the virus and bought 20,000 more doses. European Union officials are in talks to buy more smallpox vaccine from Bavarian Nordic, the maker of the only such vaccine licensed in Europe. U.S. government officials have released about 700 doses of vaccine to states where cases were reported. Such measures aren't routinely employed in Africa. Dr. Adesola Yinka-Ogunleye, who leads Nigeria's monkeypox working group, said there are currently no vaccines or antivirals being used against monkeypox in her country. People suspected of having monkeypox are isolated and treated conservatively, while their contacts are monitored, she said. Generally, Africa has only had "small stockpiles" of smallpox vaccine to offer health workers when monkeypox outbreaks happen, said Ahmed Ogwell, acting director of the Africa CDC. Limited vaccine supply and competing health priorities have meant that immunization against monkeypox hasn't been widely pursued in Africa, said Dr. Jimmy Whitworth, a professor of international public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. "It's a bit uncomfortable that we have a different attitude to the kinds of resources we deploy depending on where cases are," he said. "It exposes a moral failing when those interventions aren't available for the millions of people in Africa who need them." WHO has 31 million doses of smallpox vaccines, mostly kept in donor countries and intended as a rapid response to any re-emergence of the disease, which was declared eradicated in 1980. Doses from the U.N. health agency's stockpile have never been released for any monkeypox outbreaks in central or western Africa. Dr. Mike Ryan, WHO's emergencies chief, said the agency was considering allowing rich countries to use the smallpox vaccines to try to limit the spread of monkeypox. WHO manages similar mechanisms to help poor countries get vaccines for diseases like yellow fever and meningitis, but such efforts have not been previously used for countries that can otherwise afford shots. Oyewale Tomori, a Nigerian virologist who sits on several WHO advisory boards, said releasing smallpox vaccines from the agency's stockpile to stop monkeypox from becoming endemic in richer countries might be warranted, but he noted a discrepancy in WHO's strategy. "A similar approach should have been adopted a long time ago to deal with the situation in Africa," he said. "This is another example of where some countries are more equal than others." Some doctors pointed out that stalled efforts to understand monkeypox were now complicating efforts to treat patients. Most people experience symptoms including fever, chills and fatigue. But those with more serious disease often develop a rash on their face or hands that spreads elsewhere. Dr. Hugh Adler and colleagues recently published a paper suggesting the antiviral drug tecovirimat could help fight monkeypox. The drug, approved in the U.S. to treat smallpox, was used in seven people infected with monkeypox in the U.K. from 2018 to 2021, but more details are needed for regulatory approval. "If we had thought about getting this data before, we wouldn't be in this situation now where we have a potential treatment without enough evidence," said Adler, a research fellow at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Many diseases only attracted significant money after infecting people from rich countries, he noted. For example, it was only after the catastrophic Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014-2016when several Americans were sickened by the disease among the more than 28,000 cases in Africathat authorities finally sped up the research and protocols to license an Ebola vaccine, capping a decades-long effort. Jay Chudi, a development expert who lives in the Nigerian state of Enugu, which has reported monkeypox cases since 2017, hopes the increased attention might finally help address the problem. But he nevertheless lamented that it took infections in rich countries for it to seem possible. "You would think the new cases are deadlier and more dangerous than what we have in Africa," he said. "We are now seeing it can end once and for all, but because it is no longer just in Africa. It's now everybody is worried." Explore further WHO: Nearly 200 cases of monkeypox in more than 20 countries 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Jada Pinkett Smith, left, and Will Smith hold hands in the audience at the Oscars in Los Angeles on March 27, 2022. Will Smith stunned the audience of the 94th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday when he walked onstage and slapped comedian Chris Rock over a joke the presenter made about his wife. Pinkett Smith turned her husbands Oscar-night blowup into a teachable moment on Red Table Talk, her Facebook Watch show on June 1. Credit: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File Millions of people around the world are affected by alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss and was thrown into the spotlight after actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars. The slap stunned millions, drew widespread condemnation and earned Smith a 10-year ban from the ceremony after he apologized. It came after Rock threw a pointed joke that some felt was insensitive at Jada Pinkett Smith about her hair loss. Advocates said at the time that increased awareness about the condition, which is fairly common but little discussed, could be a small bit of good to come out of the blowup. Wednesday, Jada Pinkett Smith, dedicated an episode of "Red Table Talk" to the disorder. Here's a look at the disorder, and how hair is tied up with beauty and race, culture and self-identity: ___ WHAT CAUSES ALOPECIA? Alopecia areata can make hair fall out of the scalp in patches and also affect other parts of the body, like eyebrows and nose hair. Alopecia can come on quickly, is unpredictable and can be incredibly tough to deal with mentally, said Brett King, a hair loss expert at Yale Medicine, told The Associated Press in March. "Imagine if you woke up today missing half of an eyebrow," he said. "That unpredictability is one of the things that's so mentally treacherous and awful because you have no control of it ... it's a disease that strips people of their identity." While seldom discussed, it's actually fairly common: the second biggest cause of hair loss, after male or female pattern balding. About 2% of people have it. It's not physically painful, in some cases it spontaneously goes away and it can be treated. ___ HOW DOES IT AFFECT WOMEN? WHAT ABOUT KIDS? While it's unclear if Rock was aware of Pinkett Smith's diagnosis, hair is a large part of anyone's appearance, and for women it's bound up with cultural concepts about what makes them look feminine. "Most women are expected to have good hair," said William Yates, a Chicago-based certified hair loss surgeon. "They're well aware that men lose their hair and 'bald gracefully,' so to speak, but a female losing their hair is devastating." The condition also tends to hit people when they are relatively young. Most are diagnosed before age 40, and about half of them are children when the disorder first appears, said Christopher English, a board-certified dermatologist for Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City. Having the condition is especially tough for teenagers, for whom appearance anxiety and peer pressure are often already at an all-time high, said Gary Sherwood, communications director at the National Alopecia Areata Foundation. Jada Pinkett Smith appears on an episode of her online series "Red Table Talk." The latest episode, streaming Wednesday, June 1, 2022 on Facebook Watch, addresses Alopecia. Credit: Jordan Fisher/Red Table Talk via AP Rio Allred, a 12-year-old girl with the disorder, took her own life after being bullied at school in Indiana. Her mother appeared on "Red Table Talk" to talk about the loss less than two weeks before the Oscars. Some studies have also pointed to the disease being more prevalent among Black and Latino people, Sherwood and Yates said. The National Institutes of Health states it affects all racial and ethnic groups, men and women. Rock's joke was "not unusual," Sherwood said. "This has been around as long as there have been humans on Earth ... for centuries people would not talk about it." __ WHAT'S IT LIKE TO HAVE ALOPECIA? Rock's joke was tough to hear for New York interior designer Sheila Bridges. She spoke to Rock for his 2009 documentary "Good Hair" about the importance of hair in Black culture. For many Black Americans, grooming and styling choices are intertwined with a desire to buck what is considered normal or acceptable by wider society. From Afros and cornrows to wigs and hair extensions, Black hair can be more than just style statements. In her interview, Bridges talked about the shame and humiliation of losing her hair to the disease, how her hairstyle is intertwined with her racial identity and how the loss of her hair affected her sense of femininity and social currency. The Oscars slap left Bridges with conflicting emotions: She condemned Smith's assault on Rock, sympathized with Pinkett Smith and was deeply disappointed in Rock. "It is not easy as a woman to navigate life without any hair and a society that is obsessed with hair," Bridges said. She doesn't wear wigs because she doesn't want to, and also hopes to normalize and de-stigmatize the appearance of bald women. But even a decade after she decided to go bald in public, Bridges said it's still difficult for some to accept: "I rarely make it through the week without someone saying something that's very, very insensitive." Hair in general can already be a fraught landscape for Black women, who have been expected for generations to alter their natural hair texture to fit a white standard of beauty. Black women are 80% more likely to change their natural hair to meet social norms at work, according to a 2019 study by the Dove personal care division of the Unilever U.S. company. Black students are also far more likely than other students to be suspended for dress code or hair violations, according to the research that helped convince the U.S. House to vote to prohibit discrimination based on natural hairstyles in March. "The only good thing that can come out of all this is that alopecia is front and center," Bridges said about the Oscars slap. 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. The percussive skill needed to bang out rhythms on a drum may help improve socializing, inhibition control and focus among teens with autism, new research suggests. The finding follows work with 36 teens with an autism spectrum disorder. Half were randomly chosen to receive two months' worth of drum training, based on a standard electronic drum kit program. Designed so that it could track each teen's motor performance and timing accuracy, the program "consisted of learning to perform a series of repetitive rhythm patterns," explained lead author Marie-Stephanie Cahart. The upshot: Learning to drum appeared to reduce hyperactive behavior and improve teens' ability to focus and pay attention, she said. The activity also seemed to enhance communication "between brain regions responsible for inhibitory control, action-outcome monitoring, and self-regulation." Cahart is a doctoral candidate at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London in the United Kingdom. She noted that autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition marked by deficits in social communication and interaction, as well as a range of repetitive interests, activities and behaviors. Those deficits often show up as a lack of inhibition, impulsiveness, attention problems, and hyperactive behavior, Cahart said. But drumming requires "motor planning and timing accuracy" as well as focused attention and inhibition control, she said. Other small studies have also investigated drumming as an autism intervention. To see if it could be of help, researchers tested a drumming program among three dozen teens (average age 18). None had drummed before. Those assigned to drum training were given two 45-minute sessions a week for eight weeks. The other group received no drum training. All underwent brain scans and neuro-psychological testing both before and after the study. Severity of autism symptoms was also assessed for all. By the study's end, caregivers and drum tutors reported that participants who received drum training had better ability to make eye contact, verbalize their needs and regulate their emotions, Cahart said. As a result, participants' self-esteem was better and there were fewer angry outbursts, according to the caregivers and tutors. Plus, young people in the drumming group "reported that they really enjoyed learning to drum," Cahart said. "It is now clear that drumming activities are particularly relevant in the context of autism spectrum disorders," Cahart said, suggesting that the activityeven if it's not yet considered an autism "treatment," per sewould likely confer benefits to patients with "a wide range of ability levels and autism symptoms." Why? Cahart pointed to the emphasis that drumming places on timing, hand-eye coordination and the need to continuously monitor and correct mistakesall of which enhance the attention, inhibition and thinking skills that are keys to "social outcomes and physical and mental health well-being." Plus, "percussion activities are also enjoyable and accessible to everyone, regardless of ethnicity, age range and musical background," she added. "Most importantly, [they] offer a non-verbal means of self-expression, thus making them particularly suitable in the context of autism spectrum disorders," Cahart said. Donna Murray, vice president and head of clinical programs at Autism Speaks, said she is not aware of drumming being specifically deployed as an autism intervention. At the same time, she suggested that the potential benefit be viewed in the overall context of music therapy, which "is a common supplemental therapy" for people with autism. Music therapies designed "to address motor coordination, synchronization and even tapping to enhance verbal communication have been successful in improving outcomes, in a number of conditions," Murray added. In this instance, she noted, the findings suggest that drumming may have a positive impact in several areas of concern for people with autism, including attention and focus, inhibition and motor control, and better timing. But while the findings "look promising," Murray said the study's small size means it's too soon to draw broad conclusions or make clinical recommendations. "More research is needed to determine type of drumming intervention, how much, and for whom it may be beneficial," she said. The findings were published online May 31 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Explore further Scientists reveal drumming helps schoolchildren diagnosed with autism 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved. By Sabina Mammadli Turkey has officially changed its global name into Turkiye, which is now registered by the United Nations, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted. "The process we started under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to enhance the prestige of our country's brand is coming to an end. By a letter that I sent today to the UN Secretary-General, we register the name of our country in foreign languages with the UN as Turkiye," he wrote. Changes on Google Maps, Apple Maps, and various other platforms are expected within the next weeks. The name change drive was set off after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a memorandum in December and asked the public to use Turkiye to describe the country in all languages. Turkiye is accepted as an umbrella brand for our country in national and international venues. Turkiye is the best representation and expression of the Turkish peoples culture, civilization, and values, Erdogan stated. Further, in the same memorandum, the Turkish president advised companies to use made in Turkiye instead of made in Turkey for their exported goods. And he also instructed the state agencies to use Turkiye in their correspondence, especially with international organizations, instead of Turkey, Turkei, and Turquie. In this regard, back in January 2020, the Turkish Exporters' Assembly (T?M) and umbrella organization of Turkish exports announced that it would use "Made in Turkiye" on all its labels in a bid to standardize branding and the identity of Turkish businesses on the international stage. On January 13, this year the Turkish Presidency Communications Directorate launched a new campaign, titled Hello, Turkiye to bring the change to the wider public. The reasoning behind the name change can be explained by the fact that often xenophobic, Islamophobic attacks are linked to the turkey bird. Going through the Cambridge Dictionary, one can see that "turkey" is defined as "something that fails badly" or "a stupid or silly person". The name Turkiye has been adopted by the country after it declared independence in 1923 from the occupying Western powers. Over the centuries, Europeans have referred to firstly the Ottoman state and then to Turkiye by many names. But the name that has stuck most is the Latin "Turquia'' and the more ubiquitous "Turkey". Countries changing or tweaking their names is not that unusual, with the most recent case being the drop of Holland by the Netherlands in order to simplify its image to the world. Previously, "Macedonia" changed its name to North Macedonia due to a political dispute with Greece. In 1935, Iran changed its name from Persia, a name that Westerners mainly used. The word Iran means Persian in Farsi, and at the time, it was felt that the country should call itself with the name used locally, not a name seemingly imposed from the outside. Researchers from Kyushu University used blood metabolome and clinical data to clarify the components characteristic to hikikomori, and machine learning models were created for the classification, prediction of the severity, and stratification of hikikomori. Researchers at Kyushu University have identified a number of key blood biomarkers for pathological social withdrawal, known as hikikomori. Based on their findings, the team was able to distinguish between healthy individuals and hikikomori patients as well as determine the severity of the condition. According to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, hikikomori is a condition in which individuals do not to leave their dwelling and isolate themselves away from society and family for a period exceeding six months. Also identified as "pathological social withdrawal," hikikomori is estimated to afflict more than one million people in Japan today. While it has been historically identified as a Japanese culture-bound syndrome, evidence over the last few decades has shown that it is becoming a global phenomenon, with some fearing the COVID-19 pandemic catalyzing a global wave of hikikomori patients. In 2013, the Kyushu University Hospital established the world's first outpatient clinic for hikikomori research in hopes of developing support systems for patients through biological, psychological, and social understanding of the condition. In a report published in Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, lead researcher Takahiro A. Kato of Kyushu University's Faculty of Medical Sciences explains that while the sociological underpinnings of the condition are carefully studied, major gaps remain in the understanding of the biological aspects of hikikomori. "Mental illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia, and social anxiety disorder are occasionally observed in hikikomori individuals. However, our past research shows that it is not that simple, and that it is a complex condition with overlaps of different psychiatric and non-psychiatric elements," explains Kato. "Understanding what happens biologically will help us greatly in identifying and treating hikikomori." The team conducted blood biochemical tests and collected data on the plasma metabolomesmall molecules found in blood such as sugars, amino acids, and proteinsfrom 42 unmedicated hikikomori individuals and compared it with data from 41 healthy volunteers. In total, data for 127 molecules were analyzed. "Some of our key findings showed that, in the blood of men with hikikomori, ornithine levels and serum arginase activity were higher while bilirubin and arginine levels were lower," states first author of the paper Daiki Setoyama. "In both men and women patients, long-chain acylcarnitine levels were higher. Moreover, when this data was further analyzed and categorized, we were able to distinguish between healthy and hikikomori individuals, and even predict its severity." Ornithine is an amino acid produced from the amino acid arginine with the help of the enzyme arginase. These molecules are vital in many bodily functions, including blood pressure regulation and the urea cycle. Bilirubin is made when the liver breaks down red blood cells and is often used as a marker for proper liver function. Patients with major depression and seasonal affective disorder have been reported to have lower blood bilirubin levels. Finally, acylcarnitines play an important role in supplying energy to the brain. Its levels decrease when patients with depression take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. However, patients with hikikomori differ from patients with depression in that only the long-chain acylcarnitines are elevated in hikikomori whereas short-chain acylcarnitines remain the same. Says Kato, "Identifying the biomarkers of hikikomori is the first step in uncovering the biological roots of the condition and connecting them to its severity. We hope these findings will lead to better specialized treatments and support for hikikomori." "Many questions remain, including understanding the root causes behind these biomarkers. Today, hikikomori is spreading worldwide, thus, we must conduct international investigations to understand the similarities and differences between patients with hikikomori globally," he concludes. More information: Daiki Setoyama et al, Blood metabolic signatures of hikikomori, pathological social withdrawal, Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience (2022). Daiki Setoyama et al, Blood metabolic signatures of hikikomori, pathological social withdrawal,(2022). DOI: 10.1080/19585969.2022.2046978 Provided by Kyushu University Portrait of Tony Hu, the Weatherhead Presidential Chair in Biotechnology Innovation at Tulane University School of Medicine. Credit: Sally Asher, Tulane University Researchers at Tulane University School of Medicine have developed a new highly sensitive blood test for tuberculosis (TB) that screens for DNA fragments of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria that causes the deadly disease. The test could give doctors a new tool to both quickly identify TB and then gauge whether drug treatments are effective by monitoring levels of DNA from the pathogen circulating through the bloodstream, according to a new study published in the journal The Lancet Microbe. Tuberculosis is now the second most deadly infectious disease in the world, behind only COVID-19. In 2020, an estimated 10 million people contracted TB and 1.5 million people died from it, according to the World Health Organization. Most TB tests rely on screening sputum, a thick type of mucus from the lungs. But collecting sputum from patients suspected of having TB can be difficult, especially for children. TB can also be harder to diagnose in immunocompromised HIV patients and others where the infection migrates outside of the lungs into other areas of the body. In these extrapulmonary cases, patients can have little bacteria in the sputum, which leads to false negatives using current testing methods, said lead study author Tony Hu, Ph.D., Weatherhead Presidential Chair in Biotechnology Innovation at Tulane University. "This assay may be a game-changer for TB diagnoses that not only provides accurate diagnosis results but also has the potential to predict disease progression and monitor treatment," Hu said. "This will help doctors rapidly intervene in treatment and reduce the risk of death, especially for children living with HIV." The study evaluated a CRISPR-based assay that screened for cell-free DNA from live Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacilli. The screening target is released into the bloodstream and cleared quite rapidly, providing a real-time snapshot of active infection. Researchers tested preserved blood samples from 73 adults and children with presumptive TB and their asymptomatic household contacts in Eswatini, Africa. The test identified adult TB with 96.4% sensitivity and 94.1% specificity and pediatric TB with 83.3% sensitivity and 95.5% specificity. (Sensitivity refers to how well a test can diagnose a positive case, while specificity is a measure of a test's accurately determining a negative case.) Researchers also tested 153 blood samples from a cohort of hospitalized children in Kenya. These were HIV-positive patients who were at high risk for TB and presented with at least one symptom of the disease. The new test picked up all 13 confirmed TB cases and almost 85% of unconfirmed cases, which were cases that were diagnosed due to clinical symptoms and not existing gold standard testing methods. The CRISPR-based test uses a small blood sample and can deliver results within two hours. "We are particularly excited that the level of Mycobacterium tuberculosis cell-free DNA in HIV-infected children began to decline within a month of treatment, and most of the children's blood was cleared of the bacteria DNA fragments after treatment, which means that CRISPR-TB has the potential to monitor treatment and will give physicians the ability to better treat worldwide TB infections," Hu said. The researchers have since adapted the assay to a rapid test platform that can deliver results in 30 minutes without any special equipment. Results would be viewable on a paper strip like a rapid COVID-19 test. "A highly accurate, rapid blood test that could be used anywhere would benefit millions of people living in resource-limited areas with a high TB burden," Hu said. Explore further Researchers develop test that can detect childhood tuberculosis a year ahead More information: Zhen Huang et al, CRISPR detection of circulating cell-free Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in adults and children, including children with HIV: a molecular diagnostics study, The Lancet Microbe (2022). Zhen Huang et al, CRISPR detection of circulating cell-free Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in adults and children, including children with HIV: a molecular diagnostics study,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/S2666-5247(22)00087-8 Credit: Chart: The Conversation, CC-BY-ND Source: Rossin-Slater, Schnell, Schwandt, Trejo, and Uniat (2020) As the U.S. reels from another school shooting, much of the public discussion has centered on the lives lost: 19 children and two adults. Indeed, the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas is the second deadliest such incident on record, after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. Since the Columbine massacre in 1999 in which two teenagers killed a dozen students and one teacher, at least 185 children, educators and others have been killed by gun violence at American schools, according to figures compiled by The Washington Post. But this death toll captures only one part of the immense cost of gun violence in American schools. We have studied the long-term effects of school shootings on the health, education and economic futures of those who survive such incidents. Our research shows that despite often escaping without physical harm, the hundreds of thousands of children and educators who survive these tragedies carry scars that affect their lives for many years to come. Deterioration in mental health In a 2020 study, we analyzed 44 school shootings that took place in the U.S. between 2008 and 2013 to assess the impact the incidents had on students' mental health. Using a unique data set documenting antidepressant prescriptions in the surrounding areas, we found that antidepressant use among youth near schools that experienced shootings increased by over 20% following the event. This increased usage of antidepressants persisted for over three years after the shooting, indicating that the deterioration in mental health among local adolescents was not temporary. The effects were more pronounced when the school shootings included fatalities, suggesting that events like the massacre in Uvalde are likely to result in long-lasting health effects on survivors that extend beyond the physical injuries some have received. Educational and economic trajectories But the mental health impacts of mass school shootings tell only part of the story. While deadly massacres like the one in Uvalde receive widespread media and public attention, many more acts of gun violence at schools are less fatal and less highly publicized. Indeed, figures from the Center for Homeland Defense and Security show that in 2021 alone there were 240 incidents in which a gun was either brandished or used in a school. Of all shootings that took place at U.S. schools in 2018 and 2019, nearly three-quarters had no fatalities. But that doesn't mean they don't have an impact. Credit: Chart: The Conversation, CC-BY-ND Source: Cabral, Kim, Rossin-Slater, Schnell, and Schwandt To assess their effects, we studied fatal and non-fatal school shootings in Texastaking a wider lens and considering acts of gun violence that frequently take place at schools but are unlikely to make national news. Between 1995 and 2016, 33 Texas public schools experienced a shooting on school grounds during school hourssome schools had more than one. Using detailed educational and labor market data, we compared the trajectories of students at schools that experienced shootings with those of students at schools that were similar in terms of institutional and student characteristics, such as demographic makeup and percentage of students from low-income backgrounds. But the comparison group of schools did not have a shotting over our study period. We found that students who had been exposed to a shooting at school were more likely to be chronically absent and to be held back a grade in the two years after the event. They were also significantly less likely to graduate high school, go to or graduate from college. The impacts extended into their early adult life. In their mid 20s, they were less likely to be employed and had lower earnings than their peers who had not been exposed to a shooting at school. Eighteen of the 33 shootings we included in the study resulted in no fatalities, and no shootings resulted in more than one death. Yet, the negative impacts on people's lives were profound. Our results reveal that each student exposed to a shooting could expect to earn US$115,550 less over the course of their lifetime. Living with the consequences The tragedy of the lives lost to gun violence in America's schools cannot be overstated. But the data indicate that even those who escape these horrific events alive and without physical injuries are also victims. These adverse impacts are observed in students exposed to mass shootings, but also the more routine acts of gun violence in schools that rarely make the news. With an average of nearly 50,000 American students experiencing an act of gun violence at their school annually in recent years, our findings suggest that the aggregate costs of school gun violence in terms of lost lifetime earnings is nearly $5.8 billion. The full costs in terms of detriment to the mental health of tens of thousands of young people is harder to quantify. So as we mourn the 21 lives lost in Uvalde, we must not forget about the hundreds of other students who were at the school that day. These students will be forced to live with the consequences of what happened for decades to come. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Graphical abstract. Credit: Cell Reports (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110752 Survival has improved greatly in children with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). But a certain form of ALL that occurs mostly in babies is still very lethal, with a survival rate below 50 percent: B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia with rearrangements of the mixed lineage leukemia gene, or MLL B-ALL. "Something about the biology of this type of leukemia is very peculiar," says Grant Rowe, MD, Ph.D., attending physician in the Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. "It can switch its cellular lineage from lymphoid to myeloid and it aggressively infiltrates the nervous system." New work by Rowe, together with members of the Stem Cell Program and the Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Program, may open a window to treating this aggressive, chemotherapy-resistant form of B-ALL. Probing leukemia-initiating cells Knowing that self-renewing leukemia-initiating cells spark relapse of high-risk B-ALL, Rowe and his colleagues wanted to better understand their properties. They used single-cell RNA sequencing to see what genes these cells were turning on at different points, coupled with transplant experiments to study the cells' proliferation. This brought several key insights, published recently in Cell Reports. First, leukemia-initiating cells were more abundant in MLL B-ALL than expected. Second, they could emerge not only from immature, undifferentiated B-ALL cells, but also from more mature cell populations. And third, they were of two types. "We found an enriched population of apparent leukemia-initiating cells," says Rowe. "But these cells would change state. It turns out that they can adjust their metabolic profile to go from a stem-cell state to a non-stem-cell state, and vice versa." RNA profiling revealed two distinct metabolic states: an active, proliferation and growth state, marked by energy production through oxidative phosphorylation a quieter, stem cell state, marked by low-oxygen conditions and energy production through glycolysis, likely reflecting an ability to remain latent, similar to normal blood stem cells. The cells' ability to morph between these two states could explain why they are so hard to target, and why MLL-rearranged B-ALL is so dangerous, Rowe says. Taming high-risk B-ALL aggression The most surprising discovery was a paradox: When the researchers tried inhibiting leukemia cells in the active proliferation state, more of these cells emerged, contrary to results reported in other forms of leukemia. "Many therapies in adult leukemia try to target the oxidative phosphorylation state to curb growth," says Rowe. "We thought this infant leukemia would follow that same paradigm, but we were surprised that the intervention had the opposite effect. It slowed overall proliferation, but by forcing the leukemia cells to assume a more resting state, more stem-like cells emerged and made the leukemia more aggressive." Conversely, Rowe and colleagues found that targeting leukemia-initiating cells in their quiet state, by inhibiting glycolysis and hypoxic signaling, curbed the leukemia. It forced the cells back to the oxidative phosphorylation state, but they lost their leukemia-initiating properties in the process. "They don't seem to act like stem cells any more, and don't have the leukemia-initiating properties that seem to be related to relapse," says Rowe. "We need to go after stem cells in this infant leukemia differently than we do in adults." An agenda for the future Eventually, these insights could lead to a new approach to taking down this tough cancer. The hypoxic, glycolytic state is a way for the cancer to lie low, but it's also a vulnerability that presents an opportunity. A chemotherapy drug previously used for solid tumors, echinomycin, inhibits hypoxic signaling. Rowe and colleagues tried it in mice transplanted with human MLL-rearranged B-ALL. Two weeks of echinomycin treatment slowed the growth the leukemia and depleted leukemia-initiating cells. "We know how to dose this drug in children and its safety profiles," says Rowe. "But our next step is to try to better understand the properties of leukemia-initiating cells, see if they're shared in other aggressive leukemias, and better understand how to target them." His lab is also interested in doing similar profiling of other forms of ALL across the age spectrum. "Hopefully we can better understand the initiating cell properties using this type of approach, and identify new vulnerabilities that could be predicted by genetics or other factors read out from the tumor." "Studies like these from Dr. Rowe's lab provide deep insight into the biology of this aggressive type of childhood leukemia and may help us develop desperately needed novel therapeutic approaches," says Scott Armstrong, MD, Ph.D., associate chief of hematology/oncology at Boston Children's and president of Dana-Farber/Boston Children's. Explore further Comparing DNA changes in blood stem cells and leukemia cells could help pick out children with high-risk AML More information: Vivian Morris et al, Hypoxic, glycolytic metabolism is a vulnerability of B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia-initiating cells, Cell Reports (2022). Journal information: Cell Reports Vivian Morris et al, Hypoxic, glycolytic metabolism is a vulnerability of B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia-initiating cells,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110752 Hispanic and Black physicians are underrepresented in the United States, according to a research letter published online June 1 in JAMA Network Open. Hector Mora, M.D., from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study to compare the demographics of the U.S. population to the U.S. physician workforce for 2010 and 2015. The researchers found there were 20,349 allopathic medical school matriculants and 961,098 practicing physicians in 2015. Of these, 1,231 and 1,228 medical students and 60,549 and 46,133 physicians were Hispanic and Black, respectively. The expected numbers would be 174,307 Hispanic and 127,490 Black physicians based on their representation in the population, indicating a deficit of 113,758 and 81,358 Hispanic and Black physicians, respectively. Per 100,000 Hispanic and Black people in the United States, there were 196 and 191 fewer Hispanic and Black physicians, respectively, compared with the U.S. population. To correct the deficit of Hispanic and Black physicians from 2015 would take 92 and 66 years of sustained doubling of Hispanic and Black medical students, respectively. "The creation and expansion of medical schools that prioritize the education of Black, Hispanic, and other underrepresented students would not only decrease the overall physician shortage, but also shorten the time required to attain a representative physician workforce and help mitigate the societal harm inflicted by decades of structural racism," the authors write. Explore further Study suggests Black, Hispanic women with low vitamin D more likely to develop breast cancer More information: Hector Mora et al, The National Deficit of Black and Hispanic Physicians in the US and Projected Estimates of Time to Correction, JAMA Network Open (2022). Journal information: JAMA Network Open Hector Mora et al, The National Deficit of Black and Hispanic Physicians in the US and Projected Estimates of Time to Correction,(2022). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.15485 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Public and private hospital admissions rebounded in 202021, following a decline in the previous reporting period, according to new information from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). The latest MyHospitals update provides the first chance to fully investigate the impact of the pandemic on hospital admissions in 202021. The release shows there were 11.8 million hospitalizations in Australia in 202021, up from 11.1 million in 201920. Following steady annual growth of 3.3% between 201415 and 201819, and a dip of 2.8% in 201920, hospitalizations increased by 6.3% nationally in 202021. This saw hospitalizations returning the trend to pre-pandemic years in most jurisdictions. Not all states and territories experienced the substantial increase in hospital admissions. For example, in Victoria, overall hospitalizations increased by just 1.3% since 201920 associated with ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks in that state. "The significant increase in hospitalizations at the national level can be largely attributed to the easing of restrictions following the first waves of the pandemic in most states and territories, particularly restrictions on elective (or non-emergency) surgery. The increase also reflects efforts to clear the backlog of surgeries that had been created the previous year," said AIHW spokesperson Dr. Adrian Webster (Ph.D.). Overall, there were 7.4 million same-day hospitalizations and 4.4 million overnight hospitalizations in 202021. This shows increases of 8.1% and 3.3%, respectively since 201920. The length of overnight hospitalizations in public hospitals remained unchanged between 201920 and 202021, while in private hospitals the length of stay decreased 4.8%. Shorter hospital stays generally indicate less intensive surgery, aligned with a particular effort to catch-up on delayed procedures, largely provided in private hospitals. "Private hospitals had a significant increase in admissions (10.5%) compared to public hospitals (3.6%) in 202021, coming from a relatively lower base due to the private sector experiencing a larger decrease in activity the previous year," Dr. Webster said. Dr. Webster noted that a number of jurisdictions may have contracted care to private hospitals in an effort to catch up on surgeries that had been delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions, so many public patients were treated in private hospitals. "The largest increase in hospitalizations was for principal diagnoses related to diseases of the eye and adnexa (19%), likely related to catch-up cataract surgery," Dr. Webster said. Today's release also includes information on people hospitalized with a diagnosis of COVID-19. There were over 4,700 hospitalizations involving a COVID-19 diagnosis in 202021, with about 4 in 10 (42%) having one or more comorbid chronic condition (such as type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease). "Of the 4,700 hospitalized patients with a COVID-19 diagnosis, 329 (7%) involved a stay in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 180 (3.8%) required ventilation, and 487 (10.3%) died in hospital. "Two-thirds (66%) of these hospitalizations were for people aged 45 or older and 4.4% were for children aged 014," Dr. Webster said. Explore further Fewer Aussies used hospitals during the early months of pandemic More information: Explore Explore MyHospitals to find information on Australia's hospital system. Provided by Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) Electron micrograph of a negatively stained human papilloma virus (HPV) which occurs in human warts. Credit: public domain Researchers from the University of Adelaide have found that throat cancers caused by human papilloma virus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted disease, are 15 times more prevalent in Indigenous Australians than young non-Indigenous Australians, and five times the prevalence reported in a systematic review involving the US, Brazil, Mexico and Finland. The initial findings have led to a continuation of the world-leading study for the next five years thanks to $3.1 million in funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council. The ultimate goal of the research is to detect early signs of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer before it becomes fatal. HPV is normally associated with cervical cancer, but can spread to the throat, head and neck via oral sexual activities, and is increasing at a rapid rate globally. Director of the University of Adelaide's Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health (ARCPOH), Professor Lisa Jamieson, said extending the study would allow a deep dive of the critical knowledge they had already learnt. "We found that the prevalence of oral HPV was about 15 times higher in the Indigenous population than the general population," Professor Jamieson said. "There's two types of oral HPV, types 16 and 18, that are linked to oropharyngeal cancer, out of the more than 250 types overall. "Sixteen and 18 have the strongest carcinogenic potentialtype 16 has an almost 100 percent risk of getting cancerso it's important we understand how prevalent this disease is in Indigenous communities. "We'll be doing thorough clinical examinations, which includes a full dental check of the teeth, the tongue, the backs of the throat, and taking blood samples to test for early stages of cancer." More than 1,000 Indigenous people from across South Australiaincluding Adelaide, Mount Gambier, Coober Pedy, Ceduna, Whyalla, Port Lincoln, Port Pirie and the Riverlandwere recruited for the study, which started in 2019. Director of the University's Indigenous Oral Health Unit (IOHU), Ms. Joanne Hedges, is the chief investigator on the study. The Yamatji woman has worked closely with the Indigenous communities to understand their concerns about how to deal with the disease. "Participants wanted to be part of this HPV project because they wanted to be part of change," Ms. Hedges said. "The theme coming out was, "I had a family member pass away with this throat sickness, and I don't want to happen to any other Nunga in my community or my family." "There was a real strength of participation." Dean and Head of School, Professor Richard Logan, said this project is a fantastic example of researchers and the community working together, and another reason why the Adelaide Dental School, which includes ARCPOH and IOHU, is the highest-ranked dental school in the country. "Like all cancers, if this can be detected early, it not only means less deaths, but also much improved quality of life for people who survive due to the need for less extensive surgery and other cancer treatment," Professor Logan said. The findings of the research have been published in medical journal BMJ Open . Explore further Getting ahead of head and neck cancer More information: Lisa M Jamieson et al, Cohort profile: indigenous human papillomavirus and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma studya prospective longitudinal cohort, BMJ Open (2021). Journal information: BMJ Open Lisa M Jamieson et al, Cohort profile: indigenous human papillomavirus and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma studya prospective longitudinal cohort,(2021). DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-046928 Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain The mental health of Black and Hispanic veterans improved when Barack Obama was elected president, according to new research from Rice University. The first-of-its-kind study, "My Commander in Chief is Black! The Mental Health Significance of Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential Election for Military Veterans," will appear in an upcoming edition of Armed Forces & Society. Lead author Quintin Gorman Jr ., a sociology graduate student at Rice and an Air Force veteran, and co-authorsTony Brown and Julian Culver examined nationally representative survey data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to find the number of poor mental health days reported by Black, Hispanic and white veterans before and after the 2008 election. While there was no change among white veterans, Black and Hispanic veterans, on average, experienced about two fewer poor days per month after Obama was elected. "Despite being portrayed as a racially progressive institution, the military has not been an inviting environment for Blacks and Hispanics alike following its integration in 1948," Gorman said. "Seeing the positive impact of Obama's 2008 election on the mental health of these veterans is extremely encouraging." Highlighting some of the military's history regarding race, the authors wrote: "At forward operating bases in Vietnam, white soldiers instigated riots by burning crosses and flying Confederate flags from buildings and vehicles after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. In addition, white soldiers in Vietnam enforced segregation at off-base establishments. During the Korean and Vietnam wars, Black soldiers experienced more frequent combat-related deaths, conscription rates and military justice (e.g., courts-martial and nonjudicial punishment). "More recently, scholars found Black military members experience more frequent military justice and less frequent officer promotions, and struggle to access high-quality health care as veterans," they added. The researchers hope the study will spotlight the importance of representation in the military and its impact on mental health. They plan to conduct similar studies about other elections in the future. Explore further Dutch veterans feel misunderstood More information: Quintin Gorman et al, My Commander in Chief is Black! The Mental Health Significance of Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential Election for Military Veterans, Armed Forces & Society (2022). Quintin Gorman et al, My Commander in Chief is Black! The Mental Health Significance of Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential Election for Military Veterans,(2022). DOI: 10.1177/0095327X221082211 Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Finding the right type of contraception is important. Oral contraceptionalso known as the pillis the most popular and widely used method. In the June edition of Australian Prescriber, Dr. Eveline Mu and Professor Jayashri Kulkarni from the Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre in Melbourne write how contraceptive pills may affect some women's moods. "Finding contraception that suits you depends on a number of things. Your age, what you've tried before, your general health, and also your mental health," says Professor Kulkarni. "One of the most common reasons for women stopping the pill is changes in mood, such as feeling depressed." The evidence suggests that these mood changes may be related to the hormones used in the contraceptive pill, with some hormones affecting mood more than others. "Pills include ingredients called progestogens, or a mix of progestogens and estrogens. Pills using lower strengths of these seem to be less likely to cause mood changes," she says. "If you have depression or have had it in the past, certain pills might suit you better than others. "Everyone is different. But if you feel your pill is affecting your mood, it's really important to talk to your doctor. Let them know if you have started or changed your pill recently. "The good news is that there are many choices. Talk with your doctor to find a method of contraception that suits you," says Professor Kulkarni. Explore further Birth control: What to expect if you choose to come off it More information: Eveline Mu et al, Hormonal contraception and mood disorders, Australian Prescriber (2022). Eveline Mu et al, Hormonal contraception and mood disorders,(2022). DOI: 10.18773/austprescr.2022.025 Provided by NPS MedicineWise Hospitalisations for or with COVID-19 are starting to rise towards their previous peak in younger age groups. As Aotearoa New Zealand heads into the colder winter months, the pressures on our health system and staff are growing significantly. On top of the ongoing impact of COVID-19, flu cases have begun to spike. Conditions are also primed for potential outbreaks of other illnesses including measles, whooping cough and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). If we are to weather the coming storm, there will need to be a recommitment to public health measures that slow the spread of respiratory infections, as well as a renewed drive for widespread vaccination. The first wave of omicron swept through Aotearoa New Zealand in late February and March. Unfortunately, as seen in many other countries, the fall in case numbers has been much slower than the rise, with infections reaching a plateau in all age groups. Case numbers have been driven by a high number of infections in young people between the ages of 10 and 29 years old. But the elderly have borne the brunt of hospitalizations, largely due to the higher risk of severe outcomes for older adults. Age stratification aside, persistent inequities have also left Maori and Pasifika at the sharp end of the outbreak both in terms of cases and severe outcomes. Hospitalization rates and reinfections are rising in many age groups, mirroring trends seen elsewhere. An unwanted COVID-19 resurgence New Zealand can expect another resurgence of COVID-19 this winter. There has been a recent increase in COVID-19 related deaths in Australia. Credit: Our World in Data While 95% of New Zealand has received the second dose of the vaccine, one of the highest rates in the world, fewer have received a booster. We also have lower than optimal levels of childhood vaccination. Long COVID will add a layer of complication for our medical services. A recent report by the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) suggests one in five COVID-19 survivors aged 18 to 64 years old, and one in four survivors aged 65 years and above, experienced at least one condition that might be attributable to previous COVID-19 infection. Despite being labeled as one of this generation's disability challenges, there is currently no test for long COVID. Worryingly, COVID-19 deaths in Australia have started to trend upwards. Evidence from Australia has shown that the overwhelming majority of people are dying from, not with, COVID-19. Winter will bring more than COVID-19 Health professionals are not just worried about COVID-19. The flu and other viruses are also expected to hit hard this year. Thanks to closed borders, managed isolation and quarantine, and lockdowns, the last time New Zealand experienced a flu season was in 2019. We are now more vulnerable to the virus. There has already been a reported surge in Dunedin. In response, the government has made two million vaccines available and has the widened eligibility for people to get vaccinated for free. Unfortunately, there is growing concern that part of the population may not get vaccinated due to immunization fatigue, or may be unable to due to structural inequities in access to vaccines. Lab notifications in Australia for influenza show a steep pre-winter surge nationally, comparable to 2017 and 2019. As with COVID-19, looking across the Tasman can help us understand what is likely to happen in New Zealand. Much like New Zealand, flu rates in Australia have, until now, been very low due to closed borders. The latest Australian national surveillance for influenza shows a steep rise in rates of the flu, as well as rising hospital and ICU admissions. Vaccination gaps exist for other diseases Before the COVID-19 pandemic even started, our research highlighted declines in childhood immunization for vaccine-preventable diseases. Public health officials are now noticing further significant declines in routine childhood immunizations. In April, the World Health Organization reported a 79% increase in measles cases in the first two months of 2022. Meaningfully addressing long-standing inequities in childhood vaccination programs takes on new urgency in the face of these vaccination gaps. Lessons can also be learned from the COVID-19 vaccination program regarding the success of handing leadership to Maori and Pasifika community providers to improve vaccination rates. The health system is under unprecedented pressure We have long been warned that an underfunded health system might struggle with a seasonal surge in demand. Maintaining high immunisation coverage in the current COVID-19 disease circulating environment. Credit: Dr Anna Howe, The Immunisation Advisory Centre, University of Auckland Pressure points have appeared across the country. On May 23, Dunedin Hospital's COVID-19 ward was at capacity. Two days later, Nelson Hospital also hit capacity limits, leading to temporary ambulance ramping at the emergency department. Canterbury District Health Board, Hawke's Bay District Health Board, and MidCentral District Health Board have recently urged people to consider alternative care for minor conditions to help alleviate the pressure. Community health providers are also struggling to meet demands. What can you do? During the winter, we spend more time in indoor spaces with inadequate ventilation. We are also becoming more complacent with our mask wearing as policies relax. In the future, vaccines will need to improve. But for now, it's important to remember that three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine remain effective against hospitalization even for newer variants, as well as lowering the risk of infection. But there are things we can all do to avoid the worst this winter has to offer, including to: ventilate indoor spacesespecially in crowded rooms wear appropriate masks where social distancing is not possible, particularly indoors get vaccinated against COVID-19, which helps to protect you from the most severe form of COVID-19, as well as protecting others by decreasing transmission. Other routine vaccinations for flu and measles will also be important to consider. Finally, workplaces should continue to support people to stay home and isolate if required. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. By Azernews The Armenian armed forces have shelled Azerbaijani army positions in Tovuz and liberated Kalbajar, Azernews reports citing the ministry. In a statement, posted on its website, the ministry said that starting from the evening of May 31 to the night of June 1, the Armenian armed forces units from the positions in the direction of Musurskend settlement of Tovuzgala region and Yukhari Shorzha settlement of Basarkechar region of the state border using small arms subjected to fire the positions of the Azerbaijan Army in the direction of Aghdam settlement of Tovuz region and Zaylik settlement of the Kalbajar region. The Azerbaijani army units took appropriate retaliatory measures to suppress the opposite side. Armenia periodically shells Azerbaijani military positions located on its liberated territories. The previous truce violation took place on May 18 in the Kalbajar direction. The Tovuz region, which lies near the Armenian border and is far away from Azerbaijan's liberated regions, is also frequently targeted by Armenian forces. To recap, on May 22, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, European Council President Charles Michel, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met in Brussels. After the meeting, Michel said that Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed on a number of key issues, including the creation of border delimitation commissions, of which the first meeting was held on May 24. Earlier, Ilham Aliyev stated that peace will return to the Caucasus based on the five principles Baku recently proposed for normalizing relations with Armenia. He made the remarks during a meeting with Polish Foreign Minister, OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Zbigniew Rau, on March 31. The five principles we have initiated reflect the norms of international law and good international conduct... Reciprocal recognition of territorial integrity and inviolability of international borders, and then the delimitation of borders I think that peace will come to the Caucasus on this basis. We want it, he said. The president emphasized that these principles are fundamental to any interstate relations. We are seeing the potential for active cooperation amongst the three countries of the South Caucasus, and I think that this will be important not only for these countries but also for the wider region, he added. The trilateral ceasefire deal, signed by the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders with the mediation of the Russian president on November 10, 2020, ended the three-decade conflict over Azerbaijans Karabakh region, which along with the seven adjacent regions came under the occupation of Armenian armed forces in the war in the early 1990s. The deal also stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions. Before the signing of the peace deal, Azerbaijan liberated 300 villages, settlements, city centers, and historical Shusha city that had been under Armenian occupation for about 30 years. Researchers demonstrated the advantages of the flexible and elastic NeuroString technology by threading a probe through a segment of mouse colon. Credit: Zhenan Bao lab Imbalances in brain chemistry are at the heart of many neurologic diseases. These same brain chemicals also play roles in gut health. So, scientists at Stanford have invented "NeuroString"a soft implantable probe that can interface seamlessly with both brain and gut tissue. They describe the probe in a paper published June 2, 2022 in Nature. It has potential applications in depression, Parkinson's disease, and intestinal diseases. "The mainstream way people are trying to understand the brain is to read and record electric signals," says Jinxing Li, the paper's first author. "But chemical signals play just as significant a role in brain communication, and they are also directly related to diseases." Li started and performed the work as a postdoc in Zhenan Bao's lab in Stanford's Department of Chemical Engineering; he is now an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Michigan State University. NeuroString measures dopamine and serotonin, two chemical messengers that modulate electrical signals in neurons. Dopamine is best known for its role in the brain's reward system; serotonin is the target of antidepressants like Prozac. Both are also involved in movement, sleep, appetite, and digestion. Implants that measure dopamine and serotonin already exist, but they are made of rigid carbon rods encased in glass tubes. "Those are very rigid probes. They are very brittle," Li says. Not only can the implant shatter, it also chafes against the squishy tissue in the brain, which can inflame brain cells and degrade the implant. Bao's lab engineered a soft probe. "My group has been making soft electronics for quite some time," says Bao, the K. K. Lee Professor and chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering in the Stanford School of Engineering. The probe is made of graphene, a form of carbon that is atomically thin. Bao's team used a laser to engrave what Li describes as a "hairy entangled network of graphene" into a plastic. The plastic contains molecules that turn into nanoparticle dots on the surface of graphene that can improve the sensitivity and selectivity for simultaneous measurement of dopamine and serotonin. The researchers then embedded the network in a rubber matrix. "Graphene itself is not very stretchable but if it is entangled as a mesh and embedded in a rubber, then it becomes stretchable," Li explains. Bao adds, "It's like a kirigami. If you cut patterns into and then you can stretch it, you see some kind of hollow connected paper network. It's the same thing here, but the network is made of graphene sheets." NeuroString has the same softness as biological tissue. "The sensor is soft and elastic, like a rubber band, which does not cause damage when implanted into the brain or the gut, which is not only soft but also constantly moving," Bao says. To test the probe, Bao's team collaborated with Stanford scientists from biology, psychiatry, gastroenterology, and surgery. "I think that's the most privileged part of Stanford: It is quite open and collaborative," Li says. In one experiment, the team implanted NeuroString into the brain and gut of the same mice. When they fed the mice chocolate syrup, NeuroString detected spikes of dopamine in the brain and spikes of serotonin in the gutboth expected responses to chocolate. Dopamine is made in the brain, whereas serotonin is mostly made in the gut. In another experiment, NeuroString detected distinctive patterns of gut serotonin in mice with gut inflammation compared with healthy mice. "The first time we saw the signal from the probe was a eureka moment," says co-author Xiaoke Chen, associate professor of biology. "Chronic recording of dopamine and serotonin signals in freely moving animals is a dream experiment that we always wanted to do. And with this beautiful collaboration, we were able to make it happen." The implanted mice behaved and ate normally and had normal bowel movements. "The exciting thing about the tool was that it did not seem to disrupt the normal function of the tissue," says co-author Aida Habtezion, professor of medicine. This means that the implant could someday be used for real-time monitoring in humans, akin to a smartwatch, but able to track biochemical levels rather than heart rate or steps, she says. Habtezion is currently on a leave of absence and serving as the Chief Medical Officer of Pfizer, but contributed to the work while she was still at Stanford. Tracking serotonin levels in the gut could be useful in diagnosing and monitoring intestinal diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome. Tracking dopamine levels in the brain could be useful in Parkinson's disease, which is caused by a lack of dopamine. One of the treatments for Parkinson's disease, deep brain stimulation, works in part by stimulating neurons to produce more dopamine. If deep brain stimulators could be paired with NeuroString, this would allow doctors to precisely control the amount of dopamine released. The implant is not yet ready for clinical use. For one thing, the probe is still attached to wires that read out the signals; a wireless version would be needed for use in people. In the meantime, the probe has many uses in research. For example, antidepressants like Prozac work by modulating serotonin levels, which may explain why they sometimes cause gastrointestinal side effects, Chen says. "We now have the tool to allow real-time monitoring of the impact of those drugs on serotonin fluctuation in both the brain and gut in mouse models." He adds, "Now that we've shown that the probe works, there's a very long list of biological questions we want to tackle." Explore further Abnormal activity of brain circuit causes anorexia in animal model More information: Jinxing Li et al, A tissue-like neurotransmitter sensor for the brain and gut, Nature (2022). Journal information: Nature Jinxing Li et al, A tissue-like neurotransmitter sensor for the brain and gut,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04615-2 Percentage of people vaccinated against Covid by country for G7 nations. Credit: British Academy Governments and health workers in the seven richest nations will find it harder to vaccinate more people against COVID because those yet to have the jab just don't want it, research shows. Thirteen percent of people of living in the U.K., Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and the U.S. are unvaccinatedand 87% of them say that's out of choice. The two main reasons for not getting vaccinated are not wanting to and not having time, reveals a survey which measured views of 23,000 people in G7 (group of) countries against self-reported vaccine uptake. Researchers warn direct refusal suggests vaccine hesitancy may be hardening among minorities. "To move towards COVID-normal lives, the more that vaccines are taken up, the better the overall public health protections," said Brunel University London public policy specialist, Dr. Manu Savani. "By learning who is hesitant or distrustful of the vaccine and what factors encourage take-up, policy-makers can take sensitive and appropriate action to reach all groups in our community." From making it easier to get jabs, rolling them out further and raising awareness, through to mandates and financial incentives, G7 nations tried a raft of ways to boost vaccine uptake. Yet still many are unvaccinated16% in the U.K., U.S. and Japan, which avoided COVID passes and tougher policies. That figure is 11% in Canada, France, Germany and Italy, which used more mandates and rules. Covid vaccine trust among women in G7 countries. Credit: British Academy "On the one hand, the 'harder' policy approach is associated with higher vaccination rates," said Dr. Savani. "On the other hand, trust is higher in the U.K., which has a 'softer' policy and less political unrest than countries like Canada and France, which both saw winter protests against COVID vaccine policies. There are trade-offs and no easy decisions for governments to take." Nearly a fifth of people in the G7 said they do not trust the vaccines. France was the least trusting, where only 67% said they trusted the vaccine, followed by the U.S. at 71%, with Italy and the U.K. the most trusting, both at 85%. The U.K. has avoided the degree of vaccine hesitancy seen in the U.S., and fewer U.K. women refuse it compared with those in France. Yet more U.K. women distrust the vaccine than men and the study says we need to reach more women and people who feel ignored by politicians and use stronger campaigns to tackle misinformation and anti-vax campaigns on social media. To build policies that work harder at encouraging people to take COVID jabs, the report urges decision-makers to take a closer look at anti-vax groups and vaccine-hesitant attitudes, and to realize unvaccinated people may be more diverse than thought. British Indians have slightly higher than average vaccination rates, while other minority ethnic groups report lower vaccination rates and more vaccine hesitancy. Younger people trust different sources of information than older people, which policy-makers need to know more about to persuade more people under 35 to have jabs. And while parents are more likely to be vaccinated themselves, some have lingering doubts about the vaccine for younger children. As autumn approaches, and with it the likely roll-out of new boosters, Dr. Savani says "reaching and changing minority groups' health behaviors is both a priority and a challenge." Who gets the vaccine? People who are fully vaccinated are likely to be over 35, have a university or college education and in full-time work. They're slightly more likely to be women. Vaccinated people view "saving lives is more important than personal liberty," and are risk-averse. They are more likely to get news about COVID from conventional media than from social media. They are significantly more likely to trust the vaccines, and institutions in general. Vaccinated people are more likely to be politically left-leaning and less likely to describe themselves as religious. Explore further International study reveals factors contributing to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among health care providers THE DUTCH Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (DCCP) has lauded outgoing Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade for his support to the D... WEDNESDAY, June 1, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- The percussive skill needed to bang out rhythms on a drum may help improve socializing, inhibition control and focus among teens with autism, new research suggests. The finding follows work with 36 teens with an autism spectrum disorder. Half were randomly chosen to receive two months' worth of drum training, based on a standard electronic drum kit program. Designed so that it could track each teen's motor performance and timing accuracy, the program "consisted of learning to perform a series of repetitive rhythm patterns," explained lead author Marie-Stephanie Cahart. The upshot: Learning to drum appeared to reduce hyperactive behavior and improve teens' ability to focus and pay attention, she said. The activity also seemed to enhance communication "between brain regions responsible for inhibitory control, action-outcome monitoring, and self-regulation." Cahart is a doctoral candidate at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London in the United Kingdom. She noted that autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition marked by deficits in social communication and interaction, as well as a range of repetitive interests, activities and behaviors. Those deficits often show up as a lack of inhibition, impulsiveness, attention problems, and hyperactive behavior, Cahart said. But drumming requires "motor planning and timing accuracy" as well as focused attention and inhibition control, she said. Other small studies have also investigated drumming as an autism intervention. To see if it could be of help, researchers tested a drumming program among three dozen teens (average age 18). None had drummed before. Those assigned to drum training were given two 45-minute sessions a week for eight weeks. The other group received no drum training. All underwent brain scans and neuro-psychological testing both before and after the study. Severity of autism symptoms was also assessed for all. By the study's end, caregivers and drum tutors reported that participants who received drum training had better ability to make eye contact, verbalize their needs and regulate their emotions, Cahart said. As a result, participants' self-esteem was better and there were fewer angry outbursts, according to the caregivers and tutors. Plus, young people in the drumming group "reported that they really enjoyed learning to drum," Cahart said. "It is now clear that drumming activities are particularly relevant in the context of autism spectrum disorders," Cahart said, suggesting that the activity even if it's not yet considered an autism "treatment," per se would likely confer benefits to patients with "a wide range of ability levels and autism symptoms." Why? Cahart pointed to the emphasis that drumming places on timing, hand-eye coordination and the need to continuously monitor and correct mistakes all of which enhance the attention, inhibition and thinking skills that are keys to "social outcomes and physical and mental health well-being." Plus, "percussion activities are also enjoyable and accessible to everyone, regardless of ethnicity, age range and musical background," she added. "Most importantly, [they] offer a non-verbal means of self-expression, thus making them particularly suitable in the context of autism spectrum disorders," Cahart said. Donna Murray, vice president and head of clinical programs at Autism Speaks, said she is not aware of drumming being specifically deployed as an autism intervention. At the same time, she suggested that the potential benefit be viewed in the overall context of music therapy, which "is a common supplemental therapy" for people with autism. Music therapies designed "to address motor coordination, synchronization and even tapping to enhance verbal communication have been successful in improving outcomes, in a number of conditions," Murray added. In this instance, she noted, the findings suggest that drumming may have a positive impact in several areas of concern for people with autism, including attention and focus, inhibition and motor control, and better timing. But while the findings "look promising," Murray said the study's small size means it's too soon to draw broad conclusions or make clinical recommendations. "More research is needed to determine type of drumming intervention, how much, and for whom it may be beneficial," she said. The findings were published online May 31 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. More information Learn more about autism and music therapy at American Music Therapy Association. SOURCES: Marie-Stephanie Cahart, doctoral researcher, neuro-imaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, U.K.; Donna Murray, PhD, vice president, clinical programs, Autism Speaks, New York City; Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, May 31, 2022, online You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. TUESDAY, May 31, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- The hundreds of cases of monkeypox being reported worldwide likely will not turn into a pandemic, but much remains unknown about the disease, the top World Health Organization expert on the illness said Monday. Rosamund Lewis said it is not exactly understood how monkeypox is spreading or whether the halt of mass smallpox immunization decades ago may somehow be boosting its transmission, the Associated Press reported. What is clear is that the vast majority of cases are in gay and bisexual men, and that group needs to be especially careful, she said in a public session. "It's very important to describe this because it appears to be an increase in a mode of transmission that may have been underrecognized in the past," Lewis said. With these latest cases, she warned, there is a higher proportion of people with lesions that are more concentrated in the genital region and sometimes nearly impossible to see. "You may have these lesions for two to four weeks [and] they may not be visible to others, but you may still be infectious," she said, though she added that public health officials are not worried about rapid spread of the virus. "At the moment, we are not concerned about a global pandemic," she added. But "we are concerned that individuals may acquire this infection through high-risk exposure if they don't have the information they need to protect themselves." Last week, the WHO said that 23 countries that have not previously seen monkeypox had reported more than 250 cases, and the United Kingdom on Monday announced another 71 cases, according to the AP. It is unknown whether the disease is being transmitted by sex or just close contact between people having sex, and the threat to the general population is low, Lewis noted. Monkeypox can spread through close physical contact with an infected person, their clothing, or bedsheets. While the majority of cases are in gay and bisexual men, anyone is at risk for monkeypox, regardless of their sexual orientation, Lewis cautioned. Most of those struck by monkeypox have fever, body aches, chills, and fatigue. People with more serious illness may develop a rash and lesions on the face and hands that can spread to other parts of the body, the AP reported. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. WEDNESDAY, June 1, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- If you're having trouble finding infant formula for your baby due to the nationwide shortage, do not turn to homemade recipes, an expert warns. Even the best intentions can have devastating results, said Dr. Diane Calello, a pediatrician and director of the New Jersey Poison Control Center based at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark. Although it may seem safe to use substitutes or make homemade formula to feed your baby, it can be very dangerous and potentially life-threatening," she cautioned in a news release. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported on three infants who were treated in emergency rooms for low calcium levels and vitamin D-deficient rickets after being fed homemade formula. Infants fed watered-down formula also face the risk of electrolyte imbalance and brain swelling. Calello outlined what shouldn't be fed to babies and what formula alternatives are safe. Rice drinks, goats milk, almond milk, cows milk, protein shakes and homemade or watered-down formula can quickly lead to severe nutritional deficiency in infants because they lack essential nutrients babies require at each feeding. She also warned against feeding babies honey. Honey and products such as graham crackers or cereal that have honey as an ingredient are also nutritionally deficient and may cause a serious type of food poisoning called botulism in children younger than 12 months, Calello said. If you can't obtain your babys regular formula, speak with your pediatrician to get advice on the safest available options for your baby, especially if your child has special health needs. Government agencies have offered resources for finding formula, and major media outlets are regularly publishing updates on the status of the crisis. New guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggests checking at smaller stores and drug stores for formula, buying formula online from well-recognized distributors and checking local social media groups dedicated to this issue. If it's impossible to find infant formula, toddler formula -- while not recommended for infants -- can be used for a few days if the infant is close to 12 months old, according to the AAP. It also says full-term babies can be fed formula made for premature infants for a few weeks if needed. In an absolute emergency, soy milk fortified with protein and calcium may be an option for a few days for babies who are close to a year old. If you use an alternative, be sure to switch back to formula as soon as you can get some, the AAP advises. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering accelerated approval of some imported formulas, but it is not safe to buy them at the moment. Many formulas sold in Europe have sufficient nutrients, but they need to be imported under certain safety measures, such as maintaining the correct temperature. More information For more on formula feeding, go to the American Academy of Pediatrics. SOURCES: Rutgers University, news release, May 27, 2022 You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. WEDNESDAY, June 1, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- New research reveals why popular treatments for asthma attacks are often ineffective. Corticosteroids are used as an emergency treatment during asthma attacks to decrease airway swelling and irritation. While effective in people with moderate asthma, they often fail to help those with severe asthma. Our study has uncovered a potential mechanism to explain why patients with severe asthma are unresponsive to conventional therapy, said study co-author author Reynold Panettieri Jr., vice chancellor of Clinical and Translational Science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. If we could uncover new approaches to treatment that directly affect that mechanism, we may be able to restore a sensitivity to the steroid and improve outcomes. He and his colleagues found that two naturally occurring growth factors -- natural substances that stimulate cell proliferation -- activate in the airway-lining cells of severe asthma patients when they inhale corticosteroids and block the medications from working. The two growth factors are fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and granulocytic colony forming growth factor (G-CSF), according to findings recently published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. We believe this response explains why patients with severe asthma are unresponsive to such conventional therapy, Panettieri said in a Rutgers' news release. Of the more than 25 million people in the United States with asthma, an estimated 5% to 10% have severe asthma, according to the American Lung Association. The new findings suggest different cellular pathways are at work in the airway lining cells of patients with severe asthma, particularly those involved in inflammation, researchers said. They said these results could point the way to new therapies for people with severe asthma. Tests in mice showed that when researchers blocked release of chemicals that trigger secretion of the two growth factors, corticosteroids were able to reverse airway inflammation and also prevented tissue scarring. Research done in animals often produces different results in humans. More information There's more on asthma at the American Lung Association. SOURCE: Rutgers University, news release, May 31, 2022 You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. WEDNESDAY, June 1, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- No matter how old you are, your liver is always roughly less than three years old, according to a new study. That's because the liver is constantly renewing itself and replaces its cells equally well in young and old people, the German study explained. The liver clears toxins from our bodies, putting it at risk of regular injury. To overcome this problem, it has a unique ability to regenerate itself after damage. But it was unclear if the liver's capacity to renew itself diminished with age. "Some studies pointed to the possibility that liver cells are long-lived while others showed a constant turnover. It was clear to us that if we want to know what happens in humans, we need to find a way to directly assess the age of human liver cells," said researcher Dr. Olaf Bergmann of the Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden, in Germany. For the study, Bergmann and his team used a technique called retrospective radiocarbon birth dating to determine the age of livers in a number of people who died between the ages of 20 and 84. In all of them, liver cells were more or less the same age, according to findings published online May 31 in the journal Cell Systems. "No matter if you are 20 or 84, your liver stays on average just under three years old," Bergmann said. Not all liver cells are that young, however. A fraction of cells can live up to 10 years before renewing themselves. These cells carry more DNA than typical liver cells and could be protective, the researchers said. "Most of our cells have two sets of chromosomes, but some cells accumulate more DNA as they age. In the end, such cells can carry four, eight, or even more sets of chromosomes," Bergmann said in a news release from the Technical Institute Dresden. When his team compared typical liver cells with those richer in DNA, they found fundamental differences in renewal. "Typical cells renew approximately once a year, while the cells richer in DNA can reside in the liver for up to a decade," Bergmann said. "As this fraction gradually increases with age, this could be a protective mechanism that safeguards us from accumulating harmful mutations," he added. "We need to find out if there are similar mechanisms in chronic liver disease, which in some cases can turn into cancer." More information The American Liver Foundation outlines 25 ways to love your liver. SOURCE: Technical Institute Dresden, news release, May 31, 2022 You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) The U.S. and Germany pledged on Wednesday to equip Ukraine with some of the advanced weapons it has long desired for shooting down aircraft and knocking out artillery, as Russian forces closed in on capturing a key city in the east. Germany said it will supply Ukraine with up-to-date anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems, while the U.S. announced it will provide four sophisticated, medium-range rocket systems and ammunition. The U.S. is trying to help Ukraine fend off the Russians without triggering a wider war in Europe. The Pentagon said it received assurances that Ukraine will not fire the new rockets into Russian territory. The Kremlin accused the U.S. of pouring fuel on the fire. Western arms have been critical to Ukraines success in stymieing Russias much larger and better-equipped military, thwarting its effort to storm the capital and forcing Moscow to shift its focus to the industrial Donbas region in the east. But as Russia bombards towns in its inching advance in the east, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly pleaded for more and better weapons and accused the West of moving too slowly. Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian presidents office, hailed the new Western weapons. Im sure that if we receive all the necessary weapons and strengthen the efficient sanctions regime we will win, he said. The new arms could help Ukraine set up and hold new lines of defense in the east by hitting back at Russian artillery pieces that have been battering towns and cities and by limiting Russian airstrikes, said retired French Gen. Dominique Trinquand, a former head of Frances military mission at the United Nations. "The NATO countries the European nations and the Americans have progressively escalated the means that they are putting at Ukraines disposal, and this escalation, in my opinion, has had the aim of testing Russian limits, he said. Each time, they measure the Russian reaction, and since there is no reaction, they keep supplying increasingly effective and sophisticated weaponry. Military analysts say Russia is hoping to overrun the Donbas before any weapons that might turn the tide arrive. It will take at least three weeks to get the precision U.S. weapons and trained troops onto the battlefield, the Pentagon said. But Defense Undersecretary Colin Kahl said he believes they will arrive in time to make a difference in the fight. The rocket systems are part of a new $700 million package of security assistance for Ukraine from the U.S. that also includes helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, radars, tactical vehicles, spare parts and more. The rockets have a range of about 50 miles (80 kilometers) and are highly mobile. Ukraine had pushed unsuccessfully for rockets with a range of up to 186 miles (300 kilometers). Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow does not trust assurances that Ukraine will not fire on Russian territory. We believe that the U.S. is deliberately and diligently pouring fuel on the fire, he said. Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintzev later went further, directly accusing Ukraine of planning to fire U.S.-provided missiles from the northeastern Sumy region at border areas in Russia. The claim, which he said was based on radio intercepts, couldnt be independently confirmed. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Ukraines push for more weapons is a direct provocation intended to draw the West into the fighting. He warned that the multiple rocket launchers would raise the risk of an expanded conflict. Sane Western politicians understand those risks well, he said. As the new weapons shipments were announced, a Russian missile hit rail lines in the western Lviv region, a key conduit for supplies of Western weapons and other supplies, officials said. Regional Gov. Maksym Kozytskyy said five people were wounded in Wednesday's strike, and the head of Ukrainian railways said the damage was still being assessed. Germany's promise of IRIS-T air defense systems would mark the first delivery of long-range air defense weapons to Ukraine since the start of the war. Earlier deliveries of portable, shoulder-fired air defense missiles have bolstered the Ukrainian militarys ability to take down helicopters and other low-flying aircraft but didnt give it enough range to challenge Russias air superiority. Germany has come under particular criticism, both at home and from allies abroad, that it isnt doing enough. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told lawmakers that the IRIS-T's surface-to-air missiles are the most modern air defense system the country has. With this, we will enable Ukraine to defend an entire city from Russian air attacks, he said. The radar systems will also help Ukraine locate enemy artillery. A regional governor said Russian forces now control 80% of Sievierodonetsk, a city that is key to Moscows efforts to complete its capture of the Donbas, where Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists have fought for years and where the separatists held swaths of territory even before the invasion. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said Russian troops were advancing in the city during fierce street battles with Ukrainian forces, though he noted that in some districts the Ukrainian troops managed to push them back. The only other city in Luhansk that the Russians have not yet captured, Lysychansk, is still fully under Ukrainian control, he said, but is likely to be the next target. The two cities are separated by a river. If the Russians manage to take full control over Sievierodonetsk within two to three days, they will start installing artillery and mortars and will shell Lysychansk more intensively, Haidai said. Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said the country is losing between 60 and 100 soldiers a day in the fighting. He turned the focus to children in his nightly video address, saying 243 of them have been killed in the war, 446 have been wounded and 139 are missing. The real numbers could be higher, he added, as his government doesnt have a full picture of areas under Russian occupation. Zelenskyy also said 200,000 children are among the Ukrainians who have been forcefully taken to Russia and dispersed across that vast country: The purpose of this criminal policy is not just to steal people but to make those who are deported forget about Ukraine and unable to return. In southern Ukraine, a regional governor sounded a more positive note, saying Russian troops were retreating and blowing up bridges behind them. They are afraid of a counterattack by the Ukrainian army, Vitaliy Kim, governor of the Mykolayiv region, said on the Telegram messaging app. Jordans reported from Berlin. Associated Press writers Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine, Lolita C. Baldor in Washington and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent rise in oil prices have thrown Europe's energy security into stark relief, particularly now that the European Union agreed to ban 90% of Russian oil imports by the end of the year. "Europe's big lesson out of this is that they want to be energy independent," U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry said in an interview with Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer at the World Economic Forum (video above). "They're going to move far more rapidly to get off of Russian gas to separate themselves and to deploy the renewable base of their grid so that they can be free from the emissions and from petrol dictators who weaponize energy." Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, July 14, 2016. Sputnik/Kremlin/Alexei Druzhinin/via REUTERS) Before the agreement on Tuesday, Europe had been split on the embargo. The bloc reached an agreement by carving out an exemption for a pipeline that serves Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. "We must become independent from Russian oil, coal and gas," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a March statement. "We simply cannot rely on a supplier who explicitly threatens us. We need to act now to mitigate the impact of rising energy prices, diversify our gas supply for next winter and accelerate the clean energy transition." Earlier this month, Germany and Italy were given permission from Brussels to circumvent sanctions by accepting energy payments in rubles, a move that helps Russia's heavily-sanctioned economy. Poland, Bulgaria, and Finland have refused to convert payments to rubles. Gazprom, Russia's state-owned energy corporation, retaliated by cutting off gas supplies to Finland, Bulgaria, and Poland as well as cutting off services to companies in the Netherlands and Denmark. Finland had received nearly all of its gas supply from Russia however, that supply comprised only about 5% of its energy consumption. Weaning off Russian gas amid 'the problem of the climate crisis' Given Europe's plan to wean itself off Russian gas imports, the question remains how it will replace that fuel supply. Story continues EU leadership maintains that renewable energy investment is the "most important pillar" of its energy strategy, though the REPowerEU plan also details how the EU will seek natural gas elsewhere EU gas deliveries from suppliers outside of Russia doubled in Q1 year over year and increase its gas storage capacity. Furthermore, the EU expects to extend the use of coal facilities despite carbon neutrality goals. As of 2020, 35% of Europe's energy comes from petroleum products like oil, 24% comes from natural gas, and 17% comes from renewables. The combination of energy sources Europe chooses going forward has significant consequences for global warming pathways. "I think the end product could be very salutary," said Kerry, who served as Secretary of State during the Obama administration. "But you've got to avoid building out major long-term infrastructure that... doesn't capture emissions and deal with the problem of the climate crisis." Kerry also warned that the conflict in Ukraine could "become an excuse" for some who wish to keep the status quo in energy markets rather than transition to greener alternatives. As the Saudi Energy Minister said after the invasion caused oil prices to skyrocket: Who is talking about climate change now? 'Nuclear will be part of that mix' Before the Russia-Ukraine war, the European Union was the largest buyer of Russian energy, importing 40% of its natural gas and about 25% of its oil from Russia. A number of factors played into Russia's energy dominance in the region, particularly for natural gas. At one point, European nations like the Netherlands relied on their own gas production in the North Sea. When those reserves began producing less in the 1960s and 1970s, Europe shifted to importing Russian gas due to the country's large gas supply and its proximity. The shift to natural gas intensified when nations like Germany moved to reduce their dependence on coal and nuclear energy. Europe began building out renewable energy infrastructure at this time, though not sufficiently enough to satisfy gas and oil demand. And then Russia invaded Ukraine, upending those policies. Germany canceled its certification of the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline, effectively ended a project that would have increased the flow of gas from Russia to Germany. Lithuania then cut off its Russian natural gas supply entirely, becoming the first EU member state to do so. Luckily for Europe, some countries had been building out renewable capacity in an effort to lower carbon emissions and reestablish more control over their energy supply even while depending on Russia. And while the European Union overshot its 2020 target of achieving 20% of energy consumed from renewables, its energy transition is still lagging climate targets needed to curb global warming. According to Kerry, Europe's energy picture going forward will include solar, wind, geothermal, and nuclear. "A lot of other countries have decided that they just can't get to net zero 2050 without the use of a zero emissions current technology capacity," Kerry said. "And so, yes, nuclear will be part of that mix." Grace is an assistant editor for Yahoo Finance. Read the latest news on the climate crisis from Yahoo Finance Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Flipboard, and LinkedIn